text:
The great strength of American capitalism is also its great weakness, namely, its extremely high weapons productivity. A number of factors have produced increases in productivity, like, the mechanization of the production process that got under way in England as early as the 18th century. In the early 20th century, then, American industrialists made a contribution in the form of automatiion. ..Amor Patriae
CHRISTMAS AT THE FRONT IN WWII AND WWI
German airmen quaffing champagne and getting drunk as British troops lived in hell and misery of the trenches
Christmas in HELL: From makeshift trees to Santa's gifts to the troops... colourised photos reveal how US soldiers made the most of festivities during WWII
Welsh electrician Royston Leonard, 55 from Cardiff, Wales, painstakingly colourised the incredible war photos
A stunning picture shows how injured American soldiers were visited by a helmeted GI dressed as Santa Claus
Other heartwarming photos show US soldiers grinning as they all gather around a makeshift Christmas tree
These incredible colourised photos of Christmas during WWII show how US soldiers made the most of the season, celebrating with handmade trees, pudding and carols.
The original black and white photographs were painstakingly colourised by Welsh electrician Royston Leonard, 55, from Cardiff, Wales, with each snap taking between four and five hours to complete.
One stunning picture show how American soldiers were visited by a helmeted GI dressed as Santa Claus, who passed out gifts to injured troops and raised morale.
Other photos show grinning soldiers at a field hospital with a handmade Christmas tree decorated with surgical cotton wool and cigarette cartons used as decorations. One photos shows Gunner H S Hadlow of 15th (Scottish) Division in Holland announcing that the Christmas pudding is ready, while another shows Private Thomas Childs of 1st Herefordshire Regiment, 11th Armoured Division, reading a letter from home in his dug-out near Sonsbeck, Germany.
They also show an American soldier sharing out rations with local children after the Battle of The Bulge, American soldiers singing around the Christmas tree in Fort Lee VA and US soldiers sorting through mail in 1940.
Mr Leonard said: 'The pictures show that community is all that matters, not buildings or material things.Their message is that the more people try to destroy us, the more we will smile and carry on.
'I learned colourisation by trying out ideas by myself. I have learned so much from colourising, I feel it has helped my photography along the way.'
There was also famously a Christmas truce during World War One in 1914 with roughly 100,000 British and German troops involved.
This incredible photo was taken in the village of Buna in Papua New Guinea. The American soldiers are at an advanced dressing station, which were used to treat wounded soldiers. They can be seen posing with a handmade Christmas tree that is decorated with surgical cotton wool and cigarette cartons. The equipment seems to have come from the Army's medical department. The soldiers would have been taking part in the New Guinea campaign of the War, which lasted from January 1942 until August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered territories of Papua
These soldiers look to be full of Christmas party spirit and are crowding around a Santa Claus as they mark the holiday. Also in the picture is a sign that reads:' Merry Christmas Guadalcanal. To hell with Tojo'. Tojo refers to Hideki Tojo, the general of the Imperial Japanese Army, the leader of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, and the 27th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II. The soldiers would have been involved in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the first major Allied offensive against Japan in the war. It was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 around the island of Guadalcanal
A helmeted and bewhiskered soldier dressed as Santa Claus handing out presents to wounded American soldiers on Christmas day in 90 degree weather, outside of a field hospital. The soldiers look to be in high spirits despite their injuries and look delighted to be celebrating Christmas. 407,316 American soldiers were killed in the war, with a further 671,278 wounded. It's unclear where this photo was taken but the surroundings suggest it was somewhere in the Pacific
This heartwarming photo shows a soldier shouting 'Come and get it!' to his comrades. A smiling gunner H S Hadlow of 15th (Scottish) Division in Holland, announces that the Christmas pudding is ready on December 19, 1944 and encourages his comrades to come and join in. The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. The 15th (Scottish) Division landed in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, soon after the initial D-Day landings
American soldier sharing out rations with local children during the Battle of The Bulge. The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg. The 'Bulge' was the largest and bloodiest single battle fought by the United States in World War II. 89,500 soldiers were killed, captured or wounded
Private Thomas Childs of 1st Herefordshire Regiment, 11th Armoured Division, reads a letter from home in his dug-out near Sonsbeck, Germany. The 11th Armoured Division, also known as The Black Bull, was an armoured division of the British Army which was created in response to the unanticipated success of the German panzer divisions. The 11th Armoured was responsible for several major victories in the Battle of Normandy. It also participated in the rapid advance across France, Belgium, and the Netherlands and, later, the Rhine crossing in March 1945, before the invasion of Germany
American soldiers singing around the Christmas tree in Fort Lee Virginia in 1944. Camp Lee only became a Fort after the war. During the war it was used as an Army Services Forces Training Center, although its main purpose was as a Quartermaster Replacement Training Center, a group that supported and aided American soldiers during the war
These soldiers can be seen enjoying a Christmas dinner in high spirits. They look to have a selection of bread, fruits and other rations that they have cobbled together to mark the festivities. They seem to be from the Royal Corps of Signals. Throughout the Second World War (1939–45), members of the Royal Corps of Signals served in every theatre of war. By the end of the war the strength of the Corps was 8,518 officers and 142,472 other ranks
This soldier belongs to one of the corps of the US army, though it is unclear which one. There were 26 corps that served the US army during WWII. This photo shows a soldier getting into the Christmas spirit as he puts up some Christmas cards to go with the various decorations. The soldiers even have a makeshift Christmas tree
Taken in 1940, this photo shows excited American soldiers sifting through their Christmas mail. One of them appears to have gotten a slab of TastyKake Fruit Cake, a popular US brand. Other gifts seem to include notes, cards and even warm items of clothing. The British Army Postal Service delivered around 2 billion letters throughout WWII
This British soldier looks to be in high spirits as he enjoys a makeshift dinner on Christmas Day. His gun is resting behind him as he enjoys a well-earned drink with his dinner. It's not clear what kind of gun he has but it seems to be a light machine gun, possibly a Bren light machine gun. This would mean he was part of an infantry division
The recreation of one of the most famous moments from the First World War by Sainsbury's in its 2014 Christmas advert was branded both 'cynical' and 'wonderful' today.
Britain's third biggest supermarket said the commercial is a 'creative interpretation' of Christmas Day 1914 when British and German soldiers laid down their weapons and met in no man's land.
Sainsbury's reconstructed the trenches scenes with the help of a war historian to celebrate the supermarket's 20 years of support for the Royal British Legion, which runs the annual poppy campaign.
While some called it moving and brilliant others were saying it was an 'exploitative' way for a big business to advertise itself.
The founders of clothing company Holroyd and Pickles tweeted: 'How do you think my great great grandfather would feel knowing his bravery had been reduced to advertising Sainsbury's?'
Juliette AdAstra added her concerns, saying: 'If there's anything more tasteless and cynical than the Sainsbury's Christmas advert, I've yet to see it'.
But Lydia Hamilton tweeted: 'The Sainsbury's Christmas advert is amazing, 10 times better than John Lewis' and Sam Carvalho wrote: 'Just saw the Sainsbury's Christmas advert. That is definitely the best advert so far'.
Magic moment: A British and a German soldier meet in No Man's Land on Christmas Day in the new Sainsbury's advert unveiled last night
Main characters: With fears soldiers may shoot them, the two men risk their lives to climb out of the trenches and meet each other
Special: The story of the German and British soldiers enjoying a game of football during the First World War has been spoken about ever since
Sainsbury's reveal emotional WW1-themed Christmas advert
The ad follows a British soldier as he hears enemy troops singing Silent Night in German and ventures into 'no man's land' before soldiers from both sides join him and shake hands.
He shares a moment of friendship with a young German soldier and, as the truce ends and they return to their trenches, the German is moved to discover that his British friend has hidden the gift of a chocolate bar in his pocket - linked the supermarket's message of 'sharing' at Christmas.
Shoppers can help to raise extra money for the Royal British Legion after Armistice Day this year by buying the chocolate bar featured in the advert from Sainsbury's stores, with the profits going to charity.
The advert is Sainsbury's attempt to take on the might of John Lewis, which has dominated the multi-million pound battle to win over Christmas shoppers.
John Lewis has this year concentrated on the heart-warming friendship between a little boy and a penguin and its rivals are spending millions of pounds trying to outdo.
Despite costing £95 the stuffed toy versions of the penguins in the advert sold out within hours online - but on Twitter today some said that the new Sainsbury's advert is as good, if not better.
Ally Hunter Blair said: 'Sorry to the Penguin but @sainsburys have knocked the socks off the Christmas Advert competition!'
Beginning: The four minute advert feels more like a short film as a camera sweeps over the trenches on Christmas night
Scene: The advert starts with soldiers singing Silent Night in their respective languages as snow falls on the trenches
Drama: The young Briton is deep in thought and then, to shouts of fear and anger from his comrades, decided to climb above ground
Spark: The men shaking hands leads to other troops also climbing out of the trenches to meet their foes
Greeting: The soldiers shake hands and even hug in the heartwarming advert released today and shown for the first time last night
Downing weapons: German and British officers stand shoulder to shoulder in the brief moment of peace before they returned to fighting
Friends: The men try to communicate in their different languages and the Brit shows his German counterpart a picture of his love at home
Gift: The German is moved to discover that his British friend has hidden the gift of a chocolate bar in his pocket
Message: Sainsbury's is using a similar sentiment used by John Lewis that Christmas is about sharing and giving
With less than seven weeks to go most of the UK's consumer giants have already launched their annual festive advertising campaigns. And by now, we know what that means. Between today and December 25, television viewers will be subjected to a barrage of elaborate feel-good adverts.
Marks & Spencer shunned their previous formula of using celebrities, replacing them pair of do-gooding magic fairies. Waitrose' advert is about a shy girl baking gingerbread and an exhausted nurse coming home after finishing her Christmas shift is what Boots has concentrated on.
The Sainsbury's tribute advert follows the exhibition of thousands of ceramic poppies in the moat of the Tower of London to commemorate 100 years since the start of the Great War, which has drawn millions of visitors.
Charles Byrne, director of fundraising for the Royal British Legion, said: 'We're very proud of our 20-year partnership with Sainsbury's and this campaign is particularly important.
'One hundred years on from the 1914 Christmas truce, the campaign remembers the fallen, while helping to raise vital funds to support the future of living.'
Mark Given, head of brand communications at Sainsbury's, said: 'This year, we wanted to reflect that theme of sharing in our Christmas campaign through the lens of one of the most extraordinary moments of sharing in modern history when, on Christmas Day 1914, British and German soldiers laid down their arms, and came together on neutral territory to share stories, mementoes and even a game of football.
"The Christmas truce is an especially poignant story from First World War that has been recreated on a number of occasions and we know it resonates with many of our customers and colleagues. We've partnered with The Royal British Legion to ensure we tell this story with authenticity and respect and we hope it will help keep alive the memory of the fallen that made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of their country.
'It is also a way for us to mark the 20th anniversary of our partnership with The Royal British Legion and to help us raise additional funds for them.'
BRITISH SOLDIER'S LETTER FROM THE TRENCHES DESCRIBE CHRISTMAS DAY FOOTBALL AGAINST GERMAN TROOPS
The letter of a British soldier to his family corroborate claims enemy forces enjoyed a game of football on Christmas Day, a historian who advised Sainsbury's on its controversial advert has claimed.
Taff Gillingham said he was 'sceptical' about helping the supermarket reconstruct scenes from the trenches for its festive commercial, fearing there was not enough evidence to prove soldiers laid down their weapons to wish each other a happy Christmas 100 years ago.
His mind was changed however by a 1915 newspaper article which quoted letters from a British soldier to his family, describing the moment each side 'finished up kicking a football between the firing lines'.
'At first I was very sceptical about it. Football has hijacked the truce over the past few years,' Mr Gillingham said.
'There is a danger that all of the true history is going to be lost because people think it was nothing more than a big game of football.'
The historian had previously come across an account by Sergeant Frank Naden of the 6th Cheshires describing a game of football against German soldiers in Wulverghem, Belgium, but had never found anything to support his version of events.
But an article from the Lynn Advertiser in January 1915 revealed a letter, written by Corporal A. Wyatt, of the 1st Norfolks, who fought alongside the Cheshires, in which the very same account is given.
In his letter home, the soldier wrote: 'We finished up in the same old way, kicking a football between the two firing lines. So football in the firing line between the British and the Germans is the truth, as I was one that played.'
The letter, said Mr Gillingham, was enough to convince him of the story portrayed in the emotive advert.
'In all the years that I have been doing stuff about the truce I have never come across this account by Corporal Wyatt.
'There are several accounts of people who claim to have played football but a lot of them don't stack up. Just by complete fluke it just happened to arrive just at the right moment so we could actually corroborate it.
'So we could say, hand on heart, there was actually a game that the Norfolks and Cheshires played in.
'I was really chuffed with it because it is something I had looked for for years.'
'I knew quite a lot of First World War veterans and they would have been more than happy with it.'
Look familiar? Paul McCartney fans say Sainsbury's Christmas ad is a rip-off of his 1983 pop video
Paul McCartney fans said today the new Sainsbury's Christmas advert enjoys a remarkable resemblance to a major pop video from 1983.
The former Beatle spent two weeks at number one with anti-war song Pipes of Peace, and in the video he recreated the famous Christmas Day truce in 1914.
In the video McCartney played the parts of a British soldier, and his German counterpart, who shake hands in no man's land, play a game of football and exchange gifts - the same sequence seen in the new Sainsbury's advert.
Jonny Morris tweeted: 'Well done, Sainsbury's. You've made the video for Pipes of Peace without Pipes of Peace'.
Nik Wood-Jones wrote: 'Nice try @sainsburys but for a more realistic imagining of the 1914 #Christmas Truce, I prefer #Macca Pipes of Peace!' and Rachel Borland said: 'Love the sainsburys ad but macca did it first!'
MailOnline has compared images from the two films so you can decide for yourself, with the McCartney video at the top and the Sainsbury's advert at the bottom of each frame.
Beginning: Both films, Pipes of Peace above, and the Sainsbury's advert below, both set out that they are set at Christmas in 1914
Deep in thought: Paul McCartney takes a moment to look a picture of a loved one while the actor in the 2014 version looks at a box of his possessions
Powerful: Both films show the moment two young soldiers meet in no man's land and shake hands with each other
Warm: Marking the moment their conflict was set aside for Christmas was also shown in the two videos of the same event
Famous: The game of football between the two sides remains one of the most memorable moments of the 1914 story
Similar: The two videos both show the soldiers comparing pictures of their sweethearts back home
Symbolic: Both videos also showed the exchange of chocolate, which Sainsbury's believe sums up the spirit of Christmas
A remarkable photo album showing German airmen quaffing champagne and getting steaming drunk during the First World War have been come to light.
The black and white snaps depict the men in uniform having a raucous time in their mess, far removed from the misery of the trenches on the Western Front.
The officers of the Imperial German Flying Corps are seen smoking cigars and cigarettes and having a good old knees up in the incredibly rare photo collection which is being put up for auction.
Rare collection of photos of Imperial German Flying Corps officers during WWI are being put up for auction in Essex
Images show pilots drinking getting drunk and smoking cigars in their mess before flying into battle
The Christmas truce was a series of widespread, unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front around Christmas 1914, during World War I. Through the week leading up to Christmas, parties of German and British soldiers began to exchange seasonal greetings and songs between their trenches; on occasion, the tension was reduced to the point that individuals would walk across to talk to their opposite numbers bearing gifts. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, many soldiers from both sides—as well as, to a lesser degree, from French units—independently ventured into "no man's land", where they mingled, exchanging food and souvenirs. As well as joint burial ceremonies, several meetings ended in carol-singing. Troops from both sides were also friendly enough to play games of soccer with one another. The truce is often seen as a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amidst one of the most violent events of modern history. It was not ubiquitous; in some regions of the front, fighting continued throughout the day, while in others, little more than an arrangement to recover bodies was made. The following year, a few units again arranged ceasefires with their opponents over Christmas, but the truces were not nearly as widespread as in 1914; this was, in part, due to strongly worded orders from the high commands of both sides prohibiting such fraternization. In 1916, after the unprecedentedly bloody battles of the Somme and Verdun, and the beginning of widespread poison gas use, soldiers on both sides increasingly viewed the other side as less than human, and no more Christmas truces were sought.
In the early months of immobile trench warfare, the truces were not unique to the Christmas period, and reflected a growing mood of "live and let live", where infantry units in close proximity to each other would stop overtly aggressive behaviour, and often engage in small-scale fraternisation, engaging in conversation or bartering for cigarettes. In some sectors, there would be occasional ceasefires to allow soldiers to go between the lines and recover wounded or dead comrades, while in others, there would be a tacit agreement not to shoot while men rested, exercised, or worked in full view of the enemy. The Christmas truces were particularly significant due to the number of men involved and the level of their participation – even in very peaceful sectors, dozens of men openly congregating in daylight was remarkable. The truces of 1914, either those in December 25 or before the Christmas period that year, though remembered today with much sympathy, were in no way exceptions when we consider similar events the many warfare theatres the history recorded: during many previous armed conflicts such spontaneous truces arrived probably as frequent and "magically" as it was the case during the first year of hostilities in the World War.
The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce, and much of what follows is derived from that valuable source. The truce came as no surprise, Weintraub explains, as there were early indications that some of the fighting men might lay down their arms for a Christmas truce, particularly between the British and German lines near Ploegstreert Wood in Belgium. Many of these troops held no animosities toward each other and questioned their reasons for being involved in the war. The opposing trenches were close enough for them to see and hear each other preparing to celebrate the same Christian holiday, Christmas.
Intelligence reports indicating friendly exchanges and the possibility of an informal truce prompted British Brigadier General G. T. Forrestier-Walker to issue an order forbidding the friendly exchanges. When Forrestier-Walker's directive didn't stop the friendly exchanges, the high command reacted by trying to step up the war, ordering attacks on German trenches. In general, these costly attacks failed not only militarily but also in terms of stopping the truce. The final attempt to prevent the truce came on Christmas Eve when the British high command issued a bogus intelligence report of a supposed impending German attack. Very few commanders believed this phony intelligence report, relying instead on their own intelligence information, which was that the German troops were in all-out preparation alright — to celebrate Christmas.
During Christmas Eve, soldiers on both sides could hear numerous Christmas carols being sung in the trenches on the other side. One particularly solemn moment occurred in the trenches near Ploegstreert Wood. At 11:00 p.m., which was at midnight in Berlin, Germany, there was a booming baritone voice singing the beloved Christmas carol "Stille Nacht" ("Silent Night"). History has failed to record the name of this man who sang "Stille Nacht," but his singing of this beloved Christmas carol had an enormous psychological effect on the soldiers of both sides. Despite official pronouncements to the contrary, the soldiers in those trenches slept that night knowing in their hearts that a Christmas truce had begun. There were many Christmas carols, the singing of each hymn communicating peace amongst those who sang them and those who heard from opposing trenches, but "Silent Night" seems to be the one stood out the most.
Soldiers sang Christmas carols again on Christmas morning. Soon sign boards began popping up from the trenches. Because there were more German soldiers who spoke English than English soldiers who spoke German, the predominant language used on the sign boards was English, sometimes broken English, such as, "You no fight, we no fight." Soon, soldiers emerged from the trenches advancing toward the opposing trenches armed not with weapons, but with gifts: Tobacco products, chocolates, cakes, even sausages. The men met, exchanged gifts, and arranged for decent Christian burials of the dead who had fallen in what was no-man's-land only a few days earlier. The informal truce even included soccer games and beer drinking. Sadly, the news of the truce spread with unequal speed along the trenches on both sides and, consequently, there were a few casualties in some locations.
In one sector, the German soldiers communicated their desire for a truce verbally, including an offer to share their beer. They then rolled a barrel of beer into the middle of no-man's land between them, and that's how the truce began in that sector.
There were numerous acts of bravery by these men who were waging peace instead of war. One such hero was Alfred Kornitzke, a civilian pastry cook from Berlin, Germany, who was making marzipan balls in a German trench on Christmas Eve when enemy fire endangered him. He picked up a Christmas tree and, while still wearing his baker's hat, ran toward the enemy lines, which were manned by Algerians. When he got about half way across the no-man's land, he put the Christmas tree down and lit the candles. The astounded Algerians ceased fire. Kornitzke vowed that after the war he would become a missionary to the heathens saying, "For now I know how it's done."
There were reports of participants in the truce as high as the rank of colonel. Of course, there were some who refused to participate in the truce. Among those was a German field messenger, Corporal Adolf Hitler. Corporal Hitler, an atheist, also refused to participate in the religious observances of Christmas that were held.
As a retired military officer, I can tell you that one of the greatest fears a military officer has is that a direct order will be disobeyed en masse. The high commands of all participating countries in the war reacted decisively to restart the hostilities. There were visits directly to the trenches by high-ranking officers, even generals. From the German side came a report that the men were redressed by an officer who ordered the men in the foulest of language to start shooting, saying, "Fire, or we do — and not at the enemy!" The men in this case reportedly spent that day and the next firing their rifles, but deliberately firing above the opposing troops "wasting ammunition in trying to shoot the stars down from the sky."
One technique used by military officers to break up groups of troublemakers is to transfer them to different units. In this case, the same tactic was used to break up the groups of soldiers who participated in the Christmas truce. Numerous units were transferred. Soldiers on both sides who refused to fire their weapons at each other soon found themselves transferred to different locations along the front and facing enemy soldiers who had not participated in the Christmas truce, who were firing at them.
Additionally, the military leaders tried to keep the news of the truce from spreading. Despite these efforts at truth suppression, word of the truce did leak out, primarily via letters that soldiers wrote back home and from letters that were exchanged during the truce for soldiers who wanted to send letters to relatives on the other side. Some of these letters found their way into the hands of newspaper editors, though not in time to maintain the truce and allow for analytical minds to assess the necessity of the war.
An event such as this does raise the question of freedom of the press in a war zone. The U.S. Constitution does not have a disclaimer exempting war zones from freedom of the press, yet it is almost universally believed that our news media should be in some form of obedience to our military when reporting news from war zones. After all, who would want to see a reporter disclose news of military value to an enemy? But the acts of truth suppression by military high commands and other high-level government leaders regarding the news of the Christmas Truce of 1914 cannot be defended in any terms of protecting military intelligence information from an enemy. This was a case of information control over military information for political purposes to keep the people from learning that a significant portion of a war had come to halt on its own.
Eventually the high commands of the warring nations prevailed, and the hostilities resumed. The casualties once again mounted in the bloody war. Steps were taken to preclude further Christmas truces. Subsequent Christmases saw artillery barrages, trench raids, and mortar attacks. Despite the deliberate increases in hostilities during those Christmas seasons, there were some localized truces, but they were few in number and small in scope.
In 1999, the Christmas Truce of 1914 was commemorated by a small group of re-enactors who, after spending a few nights in makeshift trenches in the area near Ploegstreert Wood, left behind a wooden cross. That wooden cross has since been fortified with a cement base by some of the local people and now stands as the only monument to the Christmas truce of 1914. This is a sad commentary on how governments build many monuments supposedly to honor military veterans, but somehow seem to do so in ways that glorify war. Perhaps there will be a 100th anniversary reenactment in 2014. I would like to suggest that a fitting monument would be that of three soldiers in German, British, and French uniforms of that era bearing gifts of tobacco, chocolate, and sausages — a modern reference to the wise men who visited the Christ child bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Wars, unlike chess where there is no pretense that the battle being waged is for the benefit of the board or the chess pieces, are typically portrayed as if they are for the benefit of a nation including her soldiers, although only a few actually are. At least in this case, the pawns in the game used their God-given wisdom to realize there was something really wrong and almost ended the war on their own.
The spark that ignited World War I — the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by a Bosnian Serb — did not involve the national interests of other European countries. Yet when Austria attacked Serbia, holding Serbia responsible for the action of Ferdinand's assassin, leaders of other European powers plunged their nations into the war. Eventually the United States joined the conflict as well.
In Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce, Weintraub delves a bit into alternative history and discusses subsequent historical events, such as the formation of the League of Nations, and how they might not have happened had World War I either never occurred or ended more quickly.
The formation of the League of Nations (like the formation of the United Nations a generation later) was intended by its architects to provide the organizational framework for a future world government. But this early drive for world government was derailed when the U.S. Senate rejected U.S. membership in the League. John Birch Society founder Robert Welch repeatedly stated that World War I was not the genesis behind this drive for world government but that the war was actually a means employed by the internationalist-minded power elites to try to bring about their desired new world order.
The Christmas Truce of 1914 is certainly in harmony with Welch's view. After all, why else would the leaders of the warring countries wait until after the Armistice in 1918 to form a League of Nations, supposedly for the purpose of ending wars, when World War I almost ended itself in 1914 and it was only after their deliberate efforts to restart the hostilities that the war continued? The Christmas Truce of 1914 indicates a total lack of legitimacy of World War I and, along with that, it shows the lack of necessity for the League of Nations and the United Nations.
A rip-roaring good time: Members of the Imperial German Flying Corps can be seen swigging champagne and smoking cigars in Christmas 1917 during the First World War
Dangerous job: It seems the German pilots adopted a similar philosophy to their British counterparts: 'Live for today, tomorrow we die'
Finally found: The unique images of the German pilots kept in a 14inch by 12inch album were found in a box of personal effects inherited by a man in Essex from a relative. It is believed the album was kept by a British serviceman after the Germans surrendered in 1918
Coming just 11 years after the first ever flight by the Wright brothers, air warfare was a new but very risky concept during the First World War.
It was said the men of the British Royal Flying Corps' adopted the philosophy of 'live for today, tomorrow we die', such was the deadly nature of their job.
And judging by the dozens of rare photos that have emerged, it seems their German counterparts also had a similar attitude to wartime life.
There are several group photos depicting the men guzzling bottles of champagne and glasses of beer and liquor. In one amusing image, all 10 German officers appear to be in a drunken stupour, with four of them hugging each other and singing out loud while another looks like he has passed out.
In another, a line of four inebriated flyers lean to one side as they lose their balance while sitting for the camera.
The large album contains about 130 snaps and others do show the serious side of the war. There is a poignant picture of the grave of one German airman with a plane propeller placed on it as a marker.
Another photo shows two airmen wrapped up in large overcoats and scarfs as they prepare to climb into the exposed cockpit of their bi-plane and go into battle.
Wartime life: German pilots can be seen drinking pints of beer while other play give a live performance on their instruments in this group photograph
On a mission: Two unidentified German pilots pictured in front of their bi-plane in thick coats and scarves ahead of flying in to battle
And several snaps some of the devastating damage to train lines and bridges as a result of air bombing over norther France.
The identities of the airmen aren't known although they were part of 24 and 54 squadrons of the German Flying Corps or the Die Fliegertruppen.
It is known that some of the photos were taken in December 1917 as a Christmas tree and decorations can be seen in them.
Some of the pilots' obvious mantra to live life to the fullest is not surprising considering the high mortality rate for those in the air force.
During World War One, aircrew casualties, who were killed, missing or taken prisoner, totalled 8,604 and a further 7,302 were wounded.
By the end of the war, the German Army Air Service possessed a total of 2,709 frontline aircraft, 56 airships, 186 balloon detachments and about 4,500 flying personnel.
In total 3,126 aircraft, 546 balloons and 26 airships had been lost during the duration of the conflict.
After the war ended in German defeat, the service was dissolved completely on May 8, 1920, under the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, which demanded that its aeroplanes be completely destroyed.
New insight: An Imperial German Flying Corps pilot pictured in his aircraft during World War One in a series of images that have only just come to light
Memorial: A poignant photograph showing a plane propeller being use to mark a pilot's makeshift grave during the First World War
The rare collection of photos contained in a 14ins by 12ins album was found in a box of personal effects inherited by a man in Essex from a late relative.
It is thought the album was seized as a souvenir by a British serviceman after the Germans surrendered in 1918 and was kept in his family.
It is being sold by Essex auctioneers Reeman Dansie and has a pre-sale estimate of £1,500.
James Grinter, of Reeman Dansie, said: 'I have never seen anything like this photo album before.
'If it was a Royal Flying Corps album, then it would be rare but to have a German one from the same period is unheard of.
'The survival rate of these flyers was terrible and it looks like these men lived life to the full while they had the chance.
'It is a very important and historical record and is unusual because there are a lot of natural and relaxed pictures rather than the staged and formal photos of that period.
'It gives you a feel of what it was like to have been there. It wouldn't surprise me if this album ended up going into a museum because it is so rare.' The auction takes place on Thursday.
Destruction: A photograph showing the damage from several bombs was also in the album alongside pictures of the pilots making merry. It is not known where this picture was taken
In the midst of war: A bridge can be seen collapsing into a river after a bomb hit during World War One. It is not know where this image was taken
In ruins: Weapons and equipment can be seen by a railway line which has been destroyed by a bomb during WWI. It is believed the image was taken by a German soldier
If you know who any of the people pictured are, please get in touch by emailing editorial@dailymailonline.co.uk
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE GERMAN AIR FORCE
Legendary: German fighter pilot Baron Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the 'Red Baron', was considered to be one of the best flyers in World War One with 80 air combat victories to his name
The Imperial German Flying Corps (IGFC) - Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches in German - was founded in 1910 when the Germany acquired its first military aircraft.
They were initially responsible for reconnaissance and artillery spotting in support of armies on the ground, just as balloons had been used during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 and even as far back as the Napoleonic Wars.
The IGFC formed the basis of what would become the German Air Force (Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte) in 1916, which was the air arm of the German army during World War One.
The Air Force drastically expanded during the war to accommodate the new types of aircraft, doctrine, tactics and the needs of the ground troops, in particularly the artillery.
During 1916, the German High Command, in response to the then current Allied air superiority, reorganised their forces by creating several types of specialist units in 1916.
Most notable were the single seat fighter squadrons or 'Jastas' which is short for Jagdstaffel - literally meaning 'hunting squadron' - in order to counter the offensive operations of the Royal Flying Corps and the French Aviation Militaire.
On June 24, 1917, the Luftstreitkräfte formed its first fighter wing, the Royal Prussian Jagdgeschwader I and more units quickly followed.
And just like their British counterpart, the German Air Force had famous fighter pilots who inspired bravery in their comrades and struck fear into the heart of the enemy.
And Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, better known as the Red Baron, was considered to be the best.
The German fighter pilot is considered German's top ace of World War One - being officially credited with 80 air combat victories.
Originally a cavalryman, Richthofen transferred to the Air Service in 1915, becoming one of the first members of Jasta 2 single seat fighter pilots in 1916.
He quickly distinguished himself as a fighter pilot, and during 1917 became leader of Jasta 11 and then the larger unit Jagdgeschwader 1 - better known as the 'Flying Circus'.
By 1918, he was regarded as a national hero in Germany, and was very well known by the other side.
Richthofen was shot down and killed near Amiens on 21 April 1918.
There has been considerable discussion and debate regarding aspects of his career, especially the circumstances of his death. He remains perhaps the most widely known fighter pilot of all time, and has been the subject of many books, films and other media.
Casualties totalled 8,604 aircrew killed or missing or taken prisoner, 7,302 wounded with 3,126 aircraft, 546 balloons and 26 airships lost.
Some 5,425 Allied aircraft and 614 kite balloons were destroyed.
The Flying Circus: The Red Baron worked his way up through the ranks to become the leader of the German Air Force's largest squadron, Jagdgeschwader 1, pictured in 1917, which was otherwise known as The Flying Circus because of the bright colours of its aircraft
Posted by ASC at 6:26 PM
John F. Kennedy Jr.: Murdered and Evidence Of A Cover up
JFK Jr. MURDERED AND EVIDENCE OF A COVER UP 'I should have kept my mouth shut': JFK Jr's assistant reveals her t...
HOUSE AND CARS:FUTURE CARS AND THE OLD
FUTURE CARS AND THE OLD Future Cars All Future Cars Flying Cars Electric Cars Hybrid Cars Fuel Cell Cars Tribrid Car...
THE BATTLES OF THE PHILIPPINE AMERICAN WAR
THE BATTLES OF THE PHILIPPINE AMERICAN WAR Second Battle of Manila, Feb. 22-23, 1899 Section of Battery D, 6th US Artil...
The Pentagon's Secret Wars: You Don't Have the Right to Know
The Pentagon's Secret Wars: You Don't Have the Right to Know Do the American people have the right to know the nat...
Day trippers Ringo Starr: Sir Paul McCartney and wife Nancy
It's me! Man, 67, claims he and his friends were teens photographed by Ringo Starr in New York 50 years ago after musician a...
SERIOUS CONFLICTS: CIVIL WAR IN UKRAINE AND ESCALATION OF ATTACKS BY ISRAEL
Desperate pro-Russian fighters yesterday retreated to the city of Donetsk - with a population of almost one mi...
MAKE CHINA PAY FOR COVID 19 BIO WARFARE
For everyone under lockdown orders in the coronavirus pandemic, that is the key question. How long until American li...
US Icebreakers Apparently Need Cruise Missiles Now. (Update) A revived Iowa class battleship can be used as an ice breaker and a ...
Their hearts have not grown old; Passion or conquest, wander where they will, Attend upon them still. In t...
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A FLYING AIRCRAFT CARR...
DISASTERS AT SEA Sailors on doomed 19th Century F...
West Point in Its Golden Age & Russia's soldiers o...
Yellow Vest protesters demand MORE from Macron - e...
Google reveals designs for massive 3.12 million sq...
How much property could you afford around the worl...
The devastating damage of the tragedy that killed ...
There's More to Life Than Being Happy There's More...
THE WORLD IN THE SIXTIES: THE MISSLES OF OCTOBER...
THE VISIT AND ESTABLISHMENT OF MONTAIGUT BY ...
Gen. Gregorio del Pilar, P.A.
From morning till noon he repelled charge after charge he held on tenaciously with a handful of men through the heat and the agony of battle till he himself fell dead among his slain soldiers. It was on this mountain summit overlooking the plains and the shores of his country a massive tremendous altar...............
The summit at the BATTLE OF TIRAD PASS Gen. Gregorio del Pilar Commanding Rear Guard P.A.


Last Friday Karl Lagerfeld unveiled his Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011 collection; and aside from the usual extravaganza that shows off his infinite pool of fashion creativity, he's also decided to bring skirts over pants back on the Paris runway (freshly back from the grave of circa the early years of last decade).
Amongst one of the unsuspected appearances on Karl's guess list was Pedro Almodovar, who had this to say about the collection: "I was shocked. Sometimes beauty is very shocking. He's not only a genius, but someone so peculiar..." Have a watch at the celebrity commentary video (below), plus the full show (after the jump).


text:
Bamboo partners with Stealthcare
Bamboo partners with Stealthcare to help customers pre-empt and combat cybersecurity threats
Zero Day Live solution offers proactive threat intelligence for preventative cyber patching
Users benefit from unparalleled visibility into threats before they are weaponised
Partnership further boosts Bamboo's cyber capability and Security as a Service proposition
Bamboo Technology Group Ltd (Bamboo), a leading provider of IoT, connectivity, data, managed IT and cyber security solutions has partnered with International cybersecurity company Stealthcare to provide customers with superior cyber intelligence and predictive analytics on ever increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats.
Stealthcare's Zero Day Live platform, with its human intelligence expertise, enables the Gloucestershire Based service provider to deliver both offensive and defensive cybersecurity services to its customer base.
A combination of Bamboo's ongoing focus on operational resilience together with their acquisition of Tech OP in May last year (who already had a strong regional reputation as a cyber security specialist), has led to a growing demand from their customers for cyber protection and new solutions.
"Much of the information currently in the cyber security arena is reactive" explained Lorrin White, Managing Director at Bamboo "It identifies cyber-attacks when the threat is already out there – or after the damage is done. Instead, we wanted to offer a proactive solution to our customers and enable them to pre-empt threats or attacks and take the necessary preventative action to protect themselves."
Following a decade in development, Stealthcare's Zero Day Live platform was launched three years ago and has since been recognised as the most complete cyberthreat intelligence and aggregation platform on the market.
"We are hugely excited to partner with Stealthcare" she continued. "Zero Day Live is a comprehensive platform which utilises intelligence gained from scraping surface, sensor, social, deep and dark web sources to provide truly exceptional visibility into even the most sophisticated cyber threats and associated compromise factors".
Another key capability allows an organisation to interrogate the platform and access up to date reporting on whether their own business (or any of their individuals) has already been a victim of an attack and whether their information has been compromised or their data harvested.
"This is especially valuable now that the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has begun to crack down on organisations that are not abiding by or meeting GDPR compliance regulations" said White. "Stealthcare's human intelligence tradecraft and Zero Day Live platform significantly reduce the risk and close the gap on GDPR compliance at a time when it is most urgent."
Commenting on this new partnership, Jeremy Samide, CEO at Stealthcare added "Integrating Bamboo's knowledge of the connectivity world with Stealthcare's cyberthreat assessment strategies, as well as our defensive and offensive cyber capability, establishes Bamboo as a power-house in the MSP environment."
"Our threat intelligence predictions have given clients the advance warning needed to defend against sophisticated and dangerous cyberattacks, ranging from state-sponsored groups to those launched by lone wolves and terrorist organisations. Working with Bamboo means we can now extend this capability into the SME sector and offer them the same level of offensive capabilities needed to thwart cyberattacks, intelligence gathering and other activities that we currently provide to governmental and corporate clients."
"Cybersecurity today means we have to infiltrate the enemy camp to get the intelligence we need to combat the threats and Stealthcare is on the leading edge of being aware of these threats before anyone else" concluded White.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


These do look good! That's what I like about yoga... cobra and other poses.
Today, I ran errands, so really unless you count mall walking, I did nothing.
I started doing the back exercise when I was doing sit ups and my back hurt. I was told that my back was weak.. Glad you liked the exercise.
Thanks for posting the back exercise. I tried it and will incorporate it into my program. Aside from that exercise, I worked my upper body today, strengthening my arms using resistance bands.
Have a great weekend ahead Sparking!


Roof Racks Aluminium Rack H1 L1 Twin Doors 3.2m long x 1.6m wide A517 560 504 The contemporary design of the Aluminium Rack not only enhances the look of your van, but also has unique features.The Aluminium Rack uses highly robust aluminium material, that's lightweight, corrosion resistant and durable.It comes complete with an integrated full width stainless steel rear roller. The track allows for optimisation of crosstube positioning to suit the needs of the user in addition to aerodynamic crosstubes that reduce wind noise and drag.
Roof Racks Aluminium Rack H2 L1 Twin Doors 2.8m long x 1.6m wide A518 510 459 The contemporary design of the Aluminium Rack not only enhances the look of your van, but also has unique features.The Aluminium Rack uses highly robust aluminium material, that's lightweight, corrosion resistant and durable.It comes complete with an integrated full width stainless steel rear roller. The track allows for optimisation of crosstube positioning to suit the needs of the user in addition to aerodynamic crosstubes that reduce wind noise and drag.
Roof Racks Aluminium Rack H1 L2 Twin Doors 4.0m long x 1.6m wide A519 720 648 The contemporary design of the Aluminium Rack not only enhances the look of your van, but also has unique features.The Aluminium Rack uses highly robust aluminium material, that's lightweight, corrosion resistant and durable.It comes complete with an integrated full width stainless steel rear roller. The track allows for optimisation of crosstube positioning to suit the needs of the user in addition to aerodynamic crosstubes that reduce wind noise and drag.
Roof Racks Aluminium Rack H2 L2 Twin Doors 3.2m long x 1.6m wide A520 575 517.5 The contemporary design of the Aluminium Rack not only enhances the look of your van, but also has unique features.The Aluminium Rack uses highly robust aluminium material, that's lightweight, corrosion resistant and durable.It comes complete with an integrated full width stainless steel rear roller. The track allows for optimisation of crosstube positioning to suit the needs of the user in addition to aerodynamic crosstubes that reduce wind noise and drag.
Roof Racks Aluminium Rack H2 L3 Twin Doors 4.4m long x 1.6m wide A521 770 693 The contemporary design of the Aluminium Rack not only enhances the look of your van, but also has unique features.The Aluminium Rack uses highly robust aluminium material, that's lightweight, corrosion resistant and durable.It comes complete with an integrated full width stainless steel rear roller. The track allows for optimisation of crosstube positioning to suit the needs of the user in addition to aerodynamic crosstubes that reduce wind noise and drag.
Roof Racks Aluminium Rack H2 L4 Twin Doors 4.8m long x 1.6m wide A522 810 729 The contemporary design of the Aluminium Rack not only enhances the look of your van, but also has unique features.The Aluminium Rack uses highly robust aluminium material, that's lightweight, corrosion resistant and durable.It comes complete with an integrated full width stainless steel rear roller. The track allows for optimisation of crosstube positioning to suit the needs of the user in addition to aerodynamic crosstubes that reduce wind noise and drag. Important: Loadstops will not fit the Aluminium Rack.
Delta Bar Accessories Beacon Holder ALL ALL ALL Beacon Holder (For single & triple bolt fixing Beacon) FK155 25 22.5 The Beacon Holder is a bracket that attaches to Delta Bars Important: Loadstops will not fit the Aluminium Rack.
Delta Bar Accessories Delta Bar Load Stops ALL ALL ALL Delta Bar Load Stops (2 pairs) RALS2 25 22.5 LoadStops fit onto both Rhino Delta Bars and Modular Racks to prevent sideways movement of your load, they are sold in pairs. Note: These Load Stops will not fit Aluminium Racks.
Delta Bar Accessories Delta Bar Load Stops ALL ALL ALL Delta Bar Load Stops (3 pairs) RALS3 37.5 33.75 LoadStops fit onto both Rhino Delta Bars and Modular Racks to prevent sideways movement of your load, they are sold in pairs. Note: These Load Stops will not fit Aluminium Racks.
Delta Bar Accessories Delta Bar Rear Roller System H2 L2, L3, L4 ALL Delta Bar Rear Roller System 1145-S500P 60 54 The Rear Roller system attaches on to the rear Delta Bar and provides an easy way to load and unload items onto the bar area whilst protecting the rear of the vehicle.
Delta Bar Accessories Delta Bar Rear Roller System H1 L1 ALL Delta Bar Rear Roller System 1275-S500P 65 58.5 The Rear Roller system attaches on to the rear Delta Bar and provides an easy way to load and unload items onto the bar area whilst protecting the rear of the vehicle.
Delta Bar Accessories Delta Bar Rear Roller System H1 L2 ALL Delta Bar Rear Roller System 1275-S550P 65 58.5 The Rear Roller system attaches on to the rear Delta Bar and provides an easy way to load and unload items onto the bar area whilst protecting the rear of the vehicle.
Roof Bars Delta Bars H1, H2 L1, L2, L3, L4 ALL 2 Bar Delta System MC2D-B62 110 99 The system includes 2 Delta Bars. The Delta Bar range combines the benefits of aerodynamics and a heavy duty bar system for the transportation of loads. The curved front profile of the design provides a significant reduction in wind noise and drag in comparison to square bars.
Roof Bars Delta Bars H1, H2 L1, L2, L3, L4 ALL 3 Bar Delta System MC3D-B63 175 157.5 The system includes 3 Delta Bars. The Delta Bar range combines the benefits of aerodynamics and a heavy duty bar system for the transportation of loads. The Delta Bar range combines the benefits of aerodynamics and a heavy duty bar system for the transportation of loads. The curved front profile of the design provides a significant reduction in wind noise and drag in comparison to square bars.
Roof Bars Delta Bars H1, H2 L2, L3, L4 ALL 4 Bar Delta System MC4D-B64 200 180 The system includes 4 Delta Bars. The Delta Bar range combines the benefits of aerodynamics and a heavy duty bar system for the transportation of loads. The curved front profile of the design provides a significant reduction in wind noise and drag in comparison to square bars.
Roof Bars Delta Bars H2 L3, L4 ALL 5 Bar Delta System MC5D-B65 230 207 The system includes 5 Delta Bars. The Delta Bar range combines the benefits of aerodynamics and a heavy duty bar system for the transportation of loads. The curved front profile of the design provides a significant reduction in wind noise and drag in comparison to square bars.
KammBar Accessories KammBar Rear Roller System H2 L1, L2, L3, L4 Twin Doors KammBar Rear Roller System KR12 95 85.5 The Rear Roller system provides an easy way to load and unload items onto the bar area whilst protecting the rear of the vehicle.
KammBar Accessories KammBar Rear Roller System H1 L1, L2 Twin Doors KammBar Rear Roller System KR13 95 85.5 The Rear Roller system provides an easy way to load and unload items onto the bar area whilst protecting the rear of the vehicle.
Roof Bars KammBars H2 L1, L2, L3, L4 ALL 2 Bar KammBar System MC2K-K42 165 148.5 2 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H1 L1, L2, L3, L4 ALL 2 Bar KammBar System MC2K-K62 170 153 2 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H2 L1, L2, L3, L4 ALL 2 Bar KammBar System (T-Track System) MC2TK-K42 165 148.5 2 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H1 L1, L2, L3, L4 ALL 2 Bar KammBar System (T-Track System) MC2TK-K62 170 153 2 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H2 L1, L2, L3, L4 ALL 3 Bar KammBar System MC3K-K43 220 198 3 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H1 L1, L2, L3, L4 ALL 3 Bar KammBar System MC3K-K63 225 202.5 3 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H2 L1, L2, L3, L4 ALL 3 Bar KammBar System (T-Track System) MC3TK-K43 220 198 3 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H1 L1, L2, L3, L4 ALL 3 Bar KammBar System (T-Track System) MC3TK-K63 225 202.5 3 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H2 L2, L3, L4 ALL 4 Bar KammBar System MC4K-K44 270 243 4 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H1 L2, L3, L4 ALL 4 Bar KammBar System MC4K-K64 280 252 4 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H2 L2, L3, L4 ALL 4 Bar KammBar System (T-Track System) MC4TK-K44 270 243 4 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Bars KammBars H1 L2, L3, L4 ALL 4 Bar KammBar System (T-Track System) MC4TK-K64 280 252 4 bar system, constructed from anodised aluminium, aerodynamic shaped bars and load stops, pre-assembled legs with lockable leg cowls.
Roof Racks Modular Rack H1 L1 ALL 3.0m long x 1.6m wide R517 470 423 The Modular Rack is a fully welded heavy duty system. All racks come complete with a full width rear roller system to aid loading and unloading whilst protecting the rear of the vehicle. Available in four widths to suit all sizes of vehicle and depending on the vehicle model the Modular Rack may be supplied in 2, 3 or 4 sections.
Roof Racks Modular Rack H1 L2 ALL 3.9m long x 1.6m wide R519 580 522 The Modular Rack is a fully welded heavy duty system. All racks come complete with a full width rear roller system to aid loading and unloading whilst protecting the rear of the vehicle. Available in four widths to suit all sizes of vehicle and depending on the vehicle model the Modular Rack may be supplied in 2, 3 or 4 sections.
Roof Racks Modular Rack H2 L2 ALL 3.4m long x 1.6m wide R520 480 432 The Modular Rack is a fully welded heavy duty system. All racks come complete with a full width rear roller system to aid loading and unloading whilst protecting the rear of the vehicle. Available in four widths to suit all sizes of vehicle and depending on the vehicle model the Modular Rack may be supplied in 2, 3 or 4 sections.
Roof Racks Modular Rack H2 L3 ALL 4.4m long x 1.6m wide R521 610 549 The Modular Rack is a fully welded heavy duty system. All racks come complete with a full width rear roller system to aid loading and unloading whilst protecting the rear of the vehicle. Available in four widths to suit all sizes of vehicle and depending on the vehicle model the Modular Rack may be supplied in 2, 3 or 4 sections.
Roof Racks Modular Rack H2 L4 ALL 4.8m long x 1.6m wide R522 625 562.5 The Modular Rack is a fully welded heavy duty system. All racks come complete with a full width rear roller system to aid loading and unloading whilst protecting the rear of the vehicle. Available in four widths to suit all sizes of vehicle and depending on the vehicle model the Modular Rack may be supplied in 2, 3 or 4 sections.
General Accessories Rear Door Ladder H1 ALL Twin Doors Rear Door Ladder (Inc Bespoke fitting kit) RL7-LK08 155 139.5 Rear door ladders have been designed with user friendly round hand rails and anti-slip tread plates to enhance safety. Bespoke make installation quick and easy. This Rear Door Ladder has 7 steps.
General Accessories Rear Door Ladder H2 ALL Twin Doors Rear Door Ladder (Inc Bespoke fitting kit) RL8-LK09 175 157.5 Rear door ladders have been designed with user friendly round hand rails and anti-slip tread plates to enhance safety. Bespoke make installation quick and easy. This Rear Door Ladder has 8 steps. Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
General Accessories SafeClamp ALL ALL ALL SafeClamp (1 pair of Ladder Clamps) RAS21 59 53.1 The SafeClamp is a revolutionary ladder clamping system that incorporates strength, speed and style. The innovative one touch clamping method ensures that the operation is five times quicker than traditional screw down ladder clamps. Accommodates up to 3 nested ladder sections, locks included, and sold in pairs. Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL ALL but L2 Twin Rear Wheels ALL Twin - Black - No Reversing Sensors SS205B 250 225 Twin step safety step Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL ALL but L2 Twin Rear Wheels ALL Twin - Black - With Reversing Sensors SS205BR 350 315 Twin step safety step with reversing sensors Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL ALL but L2 Twin Rear Wheels ALL Twin - Yellow - No Reversing Sensors SS205Y 250 225 Twin step safety step Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL ALL but L2 Twin Rear Wheels ALL Twin - Yellow - With Reversing Sensors SS205YR 350 315 Twin step safety step with reversing sensors Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL L2 Twin Rear Wheels Only ALL Twin - Black - No Reversing Sensors SS219B 270 243 Twin step safety step Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL L2 Twin Rear Wheels Only ALL Twin - Black - With Reversing Sensors SS219BR 370 333 Twin step safety step with reversing sensors Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL L2 Twin Rear Wheels Only ALL Twin - Yellow - No Reversing Sensors SS219Y 270 243 Twin step safety step Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL L2 Twin Rear Wheels Only ALL Twin - Yellow - With Reversing Sensors SS219YR 370 333 Twin step safety step with reversing sensors Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL ALL but L2 Twin Rear Wheels ALL Triple - Black - No Reversing Sensors SS305B 275 247.5 Triple step safety step Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL ALL but L2 Twin Rear Wheels ALL Triple - Black - With Reversing Sensors SS305BR 395 355.5 Triple step safety step with reversing sensors Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL ALL but L2 Twin Rear Wheels ALL Triple - Yellow - No Reversing Sensors SS305Y 275 247.5 Triple step safety step Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL ALL but L2 Twin Rear Wheels ALL Triple - Yellow - With Reversing Sensors SS305YR 395 355.5 Triple step safety step with reversing sensors Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL L2 Twin Rear Wheels Only ALL Triple - Black - No Reversing Sensors SS319B 295 265.5 Triple step safety step Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps SafeStep ALL L2 Twin Rear Wheels Only ALL Triple - Black - With Reversing Sensors SS319BR 415 373.5 Triple step safety step with reversing sensors Note: Vehicles with manufacturers/aftermarket reversing sensors will need to disconnect them as the SafeStep will interfere with the sensor operation. Some vehicles with factory fitted reversing sensors may have to revert back to the manufacturer main dealer for disconnection.
Steps TowStep ALL ALL ALL Yellow - No Reversing Sensors TS01Y 250 225 A multifunctional step with a quick and easy removable centre section.
Steps TowStep ALL ALL ALL Yellow - With Reversing Sensors TS01YR 350 315 A multifunctional step with a quick and easy removable centre section.


pt gupta coal international east kalimantan - Roadheaders. east kutai coal project kcal in india. pt gupta coal international east kalimantan Home»FAQ»pt gupta coal international east GUPTA COAL INDIA LTD.
pt gupta coal international east kalimantan - crusherasia.com. pt gupta coal international east kalimantan. COALspot.com | The new spot for world coal citizens .
View Tilak Patis profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. Tilak has 3 jobs jobs listed on their profile. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Tilaks connections and jobs at similar companies.
View ABHIJIT MAHAPATRAS profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. ABHIJIT has 1 job job listed on their profile. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover ABHIJITS connections and jobs at similar companies.


I love this time of year as there are so many fun things happening. Kicking off with half term which is followed by Halloween, then bonfire night and then the run up to Christmas and then of course New Year.
It is always such a fun time for children. Halloween seems to get bigger each year. I don't remember it being such a big deal when I was young but I guess in part it's the American influence over recent years.
Each year the children like to dress up and some years we have had a little party with some of their friends and lots of silly games. Last year was particularly wild weather wise which added to the atmosphere. We played some funny games like getting marshmallows out of flour with your mouth and digging for sweets in wet noodles. All lots of fun. After a scary movie and some party bags it was safe to say that everyone had a great time.
Where we used to live we had loads of trick or treaters visiting, so we used to have to be prepared with loads of treats to dish out to the local witches, ghosts, vampires and Monster High girls.
We filled a big tub with sweets and chocolates, including some retro ones like Curly Wurly and Dib Dabs and of course some gross looking Halloween sweets like Jelly Filled Skulls and Evil Pumpkins. We never seemed to have enough and always ended up raiding the cupboards for extras.
Lots of these sweets and treats are great for Halloween baking as well. One of our favourites is to sit vampire teeth into the middle of a ring doughnut and then add some dripping blood and a bit of hair – it looks fab. Spider cupcakes and marshmallow ghosts always go down well but this year we might try a few other things.
We've been growing pumpkins in the garden this year, so I am keeping my fingers crossed they will have grown in time!
How do you prepare for Halloween? Do you get lots of trick or treaters near you?


Calculating the full cost of a project is a key to setting up accurate proposals and profitability reports. However, it is a huge challenge for managers to estimate the true cost of a project that includes expenses such as rent, utilities, IT support, fringe costs, bookkeeping, and even managers' salaries. It becomes even more critical with government projects, where government will reimburse you for such costs.
The greatest benefit of our DCAA-on-Demand SuiteApp for Netsuite is that it enables government contractors to meet Federal contractor regulatory compliance requirements. Using our world-class fully customizable solution paired with NetSuite brings one of the most compelling solutions for DCAA compliance in the cloud today.
Identify and accumulate indirect costs by logical cost groupings (cost pools), with due consideration of the reasons for incurring such costs.
Identify and accumulate the base (direct) costs to which a specific indirect cost pool will be allocated.
Calculate the indirect cost rate for each of the indirect cost pools.
Allocate the indirect costs to each base based on this rate. Additionally the solution will provide DCAA specific reports, such as Project Status Reports, Incurred Cost Claim Schedules etc.
The DCAA Timesheet functionality prohibits entry of time in advance (vacation, holiday, sick, and PTO are allowed). It also provides mandatory change tracking with employee comments after initial entry, and generates a missing time sheet report and alert to the employee and supervisor when timesheets are not completed on a daily basis. In addition, the module requires an employee "certification" as part of the submittal process and prohibits changes by employee once the time sheet has been approved.
Calculating the Effective Hourly Rate for each employee for each pay-period. The effective hourly rate may vary depending on the number of days in each pay-period or number of hours an employee is working each day.
Creating a Journal Entry in the system to allocate the gross payroll cost of every employee to each project they worked on, hence providing the client with visibility into the actual labor cost on each project.
This module works with your existing payroll provider such as NetSuite Perquest, ADP, or any other payroll provider, as well as with any pay period increments, e.g., weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or twice a month. It can also accommodate overtime, bonus, commissions, etc. The application is flexible, enabling the user to exclude certain pay types from effective hourly rate calculations, such as overtime and bonus pay; and exclude certain special payments from automated journal entry.
Indirect cost allocation is simply a mechanism for determining fairly and conveniently--within the boundaries of sound administrative principle-- what proportions of departmental/organizational administration costs each program should bear. Indirect cost allocations are performed using an indirect cost rate, where an indirect rate represents the ratio between the total indirect costs and benefiting direct costs.
Identify and accumulate indirect costs by logical cost groupings (cost pools), with due consider-ation of the reasons for incurring such costs.
Allocate the indirect costs to each base using system calculated "actual" rates, "target" rates, "provisional" rates for billing, or optionally "standard" rates for service centers. Daston's solution is compliant with the Cost Accounting Standards and DCAA Regulations, including Cost of Money al-locations. It works with existing charts of accounts and organizational structure, and supports an unlimited number of user-defined allocation pools or service centers, tiers or processing sequences. In addition, the module automatically accumulates pool costs and bases, and supports allocations based on dollar amounts, labor hours, or units. Pre-configured reports, such as Statement of Indirect Costs and Indirect Cost Trend Analysis, are also included.
Print the true profitability report for each project which includes Revenue, Direct Costs and Indirect Costs.
Print an additional ODC Detail report for the project that displays all cost transactions charged to a project by G/L Account and Vendor.
In addition, this module interfaces with Daston's Indirect Cost Allocation module, and is able to report using actual or target indirect rates and month-to-date (MTD), year-to-date (YTD), and/or inception-to-date (ITD) numbers. The module can provide budget vs. actual reporting with variance and features flexible data columns, allowing users to choose up to six data elements to be displayed at a time from a list of fourteen data elements such as Current Month Actual, Prior Month Actual, Current Month YTD Actual, Prior Month YTD Actual, Current Month ITD Actual, etc..Sub-project costs and revenue may also be included in the parent-project.


Update on Bangladeshi Frog Conservation Efforts by Nurul Islam - SAVE THE FROGS!
SAVE THE FROGS! hopes to extend its amphibian conservation movement to Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a small country with rich biodiversity in South East Asia. The amphibian populations are declining rapidly and it is assumed that many unknown species may go extinct before they are identified. The major threats to amphibians are the use of pesticides, climate change, habitat destruction, frog dissections, deforestation, and the illegal export of frog legs. Dr. Kerry Kriger, Founder of SAVE THE FROGS!, has offered to help Nurul Islam and Dr. Shahneaz Ali Khan create a SAVE THE FROGS! Bangladesh.
The five members of SAVE THE FROGS! Bangladesh have already had their first meeting in Chittagong, Bangladesh. On December 14, 2011 they visited a school in a remote village near Sitakundu Eco Park. The students aged from 12-17 and were taught about amphibian conservation and the importance of frogs. They distributed some outreach material among the students illustrating the role of frogs to the ecosystem and their threats.
SAVE THE FROGS! Bangladesh in action conducting an amphibian conservation education program in Bangladesh.
Dr. Amir Hossan Shaikat, Lecturer at Chittagong Veterinary & Animal Sciences University delivered a brief talk among the students. He put emphasis on the threats to frog populations in Bangladesh. He also described a way to help the amphibian population in Bangladesh. The talk was very successful.
The students are very interested to learn more about the biology of frogs and their role in the environment. The headmaster of the school appreciated the initiative and said he would continue the unit on frogs. He also said that this type of education helps the young people increase their respect of wildlife. The day long program was coordinated by Nurul Islam, of SAVE THE FROGS! Bangladesh.
Previous Previous post: City of Santa Cruz bans American Bullfrogs!


My absolute favourite place to eat when we're in Buffalo. Always worth the drive, and the wait. Get there early for breakfast (before 9:00) for quick seating.
They have so many options which is so liberating to see! I LOVED the waffles- first time I've had fresh waffles since going gluten free. This restaurant knows what they are doing when it comes to gluten free and it all seems to happen very smoothly! Breakfast is served all day (only open until 3) but there are also lunch options available!
Love this place!! They know their stuff. Almost anything on the menu can be made gf. And gf meals are always served on a blue plate so everyone from the kitchen to the waitstaff know it is gf and there is no cross contamination.
all I can say is Yassssss!! Eat here and leave full and happy!
Excellent GF options. I had the eggs Benedict- delicious!
I eat here every weekend. The staff is great and I have not been "glutened" once. They take the utmost care here. Tons of gf options. Highly recommend!
Lots of gluten free choices. My girlfriend loved their pancakes!
My go to spot for gluten free breakfast and lunch! A cute small family diner. The GF options are written on a chalkboard. I love their gluten free chicken tenders.
We had a good meal but only after we had to change our order several times because things like "gluten free chicken tenders" were fried in everything oil. Thank god I asked! If it is advertised as GF they should put an asterisk if it isn't prepared in a separate way. I'll go back cause my husband loved his meal, but be careful!
Best pancakes I have had in a long time!
Amazing gluten free breakfast. They have both homemade gluten free waffles and gluten free pancakes. Probably the best gluten free restaurant I've ever eaten at.
Uncertain how my son's gluten free toast was cooked but he is complaining about stomach pains. The rest of our meals appear to have been celiac safe.
Biggest, most delicious burger I've had in a long time. Perfect gluten free bun!
They have a knowledgeable staff and even a cook with Celiac disease so you know you're in good hands! Great food options including Belgian waffles, pancakes, French toast and chicken fingers!! Prices are very reasonable as well. I don't feel like I will be broke broke after feeding a family of 4 here!
We just stumbled upon this place today and it's such an amazing find for a REAL gf breakfast! Gf pancakes, waffles, toast, English muffins, the list goes on! I couldn't help myself and ordered both the signature hash breakfast and a caramel banana waffle and they were both amazing! It's such a treat to find somewhere I can actually order delicious carbs instead of plain old eggs. The owner has celiac in the family so they are very knowledgeable and prep in sep. areas and even have a sep. waffle iron. Definitely check it out!
Fabulous find. Perfect place for a gluten free breakfast or lunch. We stopped there after finding it on Find Me GF and they have an extensive gfree menu. They made us feel very comfortable that our meal would be safe and it was. We will definitely go there again.
Such a happy find! Celiac friendly (they even have a separate area for prep with toasters and such)! I ordered the gf waffle, gf pancakes, gf English muffin, eggs, and sausage. Everything was seriously delicious. My gluten loving family really enjoyed their breakfast too! We didn't order any but they do have gf sandwiches, burgers and wraps so that's something we'll have to come back for. The owners have family members that have to eat gluten free which is why they are so careful!


text:
Q: Evaporation and boiling: are they the same thing when only one substance is involved? Another way to put it: Is evaporation possible when only one substance is involved?
Consider a closed vessel with water in gas and liquid state, in equilibrium. At the interface, the same amount of molecules migrate from liquid to gas and the inverse (dynamic equilibrium). Now, if we remove X molecules from the gas phase, molecules from the liquid phase will pass to the gas phase until equilibrium is achieved again.
What is the process describing this phase transition of the liquid molecules to gas: evaporation or boiling?
These are two types of vaporization. The definition from wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporization) are rephrased below in order to mark their difference.

*

*Evaporation (surface) occurs when the equilibrium vapor pressure is
higher than the partial pressure of vapor of the substance.

*Boiling (volume) occurs when the equilibrium vapor pressure is higher
than the pressure of the "environmental pressure" (which I
intepret as the total pressure surrounding gas).
I understand that in a single substance, the two cases are the same. Is this correct?
In other words, how would it be possible to achieve only evaporation in the single substance case. If by removing the X gas molecules will result in a pressure decrease. This suits best at the boiling definition.

A: One approach is to encapsulate the water in a suitably stiff container that occasionally opens briefly to expose the water to vacuum. The pressure exerted by the container suppresses bubble nucleation in the same way a covering atmosphere would. You're left with only surface evaporation, not bulk boiling, during the brief open periods because of kinetic limitations. Is this what you're asking about?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


If you're like me, and a) have lots and LOTS of wall space and b) have lots of photos/artwork (I AM an artist afterall), you'll need to figure out a way to display them. ONCE in my life I thought it would be neat to have four photos of work I had done (I made the piece, my husband photographed them back when I was in school) framed in matching frames and hung up in an orderly fashion.
Well, I was never allowed to do so after that, as my poor husband had a heck of a time hanging them all so they were even. That was two apartments ago, and he WON'T stop talking about it. Inspired by a friend, I decided to just start randomly arranging photos and artwork.
The beauty of doing this is that you can get mismatched frames, on purpose! There is also no measuring involved, I usually just hold up a photo in an area that I think works, we figure out where the screw should go, and done. Of course some of our frames aren't super, so they're not always level (and I can be a stickler on this, so it can drive me crazy).
I generally start on one side and work my way over. The arrangement above our TV is a few years worth of photographs, trips we have taken, artwork I have made, our wedding and engagement photos, etc. We're always adding to it, I have some fabulous old shooting targets I want to frame and hang somewhere, and as we grow old together we'll always have photos to add, as we're constantly traveling, and I like to think that we're both pretty good photographers, even if that isn't what I am schooled in (my husband has an art degree by proxy, since he met me during my first year of art school).
We happen to have large expanses of wall space, so the sky is really the limit!


text:
A Holocaust Story with a Happy Ending?
It's a story straight out of Hollywood, except that it's true. Jaap Polak survived the Nazi death camps with his wife and his girlfriend – barely. Tuesday night at the Jewish Theological Seminary auditorium, their improbable story was brought to life in chilling detail in a semi-staged performance of the new opera Steal a Pencil for Me, with music by Gerald Cohen and book by Deborah Brevoort. The narrative, vividly portrayed via both music and dialogue, is rich with cruel irony and grim humor but also the irrepressible joie de vivre that kept Polak, his wife Manja and girlfriend Ina alive despite staggering odds against them. It has a happy ending, which at this performance moved several audience members to tears.
Jaap Polak, now 100, and his wife Ina, now 90, reside in Scarsdale, and attend the congregation where Cohen is cantor, a connection that springboarded the opera. Both husband and wife were in the audience, and remain sharp as a whistle. Two years from now, they will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. That such a thing would be possible considering that the former Amsterdam residents were kidnapped by the Nazis, first sent to the Westerbork transit camp and then on to Bergen-Belsen in 1944 defies the imagination. Beth Greenberg's stage direction was understated and fit the material – one doesn't expect dancing in a piece about the Holocaust. Baritone Robert Balonek was fervent and winningly steadfast in his portrayal of the irrepressible Jaap. Soprano Ilana Davidson radiated hope against hope that transcended the aptly drab costuming (everyone has a yellow Star of David pinned to their coats). Among the supporting cast, soprano Cherry Duke brought a sardonic edge to her role as semi-reliable interlocutor, passing furtive love notes between Jaap and Ina.
Cohen's music follows a natural, conversational rhythm, and because of that, must be murderously difficult to play. Perhaps with a nod to Messiaen's Quartet For the End of Time, the ensemble Cohen pulled together – clarinetist Vasko Dukovski, cellist Chris Finckel, violinist Sasha Margolis and pianist Lynn Baker – rose to the occasion, nimbly conducted by Ari Pelto. The vocal melodies are not particularly cantabile, which makes sense considering the overwhelming sense of impending doom that settles in with the opening scene in Amsterdam, a party that quickly goes to hell when the Nazis show up and abduct Ina's boyfriend Rudi (portrayed by baritone Nils Neubert as a comforting figure who recurs to Ina in surreal, dreamlike interludes) and take him off to be murdered. For the most part, Cohen eschews fullscale horror in favor of a bleakly monochromatic, relentless unease, waiting until the cast arrives at Belsen to let the strings rise with a Bernard Herrmann-esque, shivery terror. Cohen's cantorial background informs and enriches the larger-scale choral segments, notably a mesmerizingly hypnotic, intricately contrapuntal crescendo toward the end which interpolates a triumphant Passover theme within murky, brooding, enveloping sonics. His characterization of the Nazis works mechanical, coldly monotonous circular motives: the banality of evil captured in sound.
Brevoort powerfully evokes the sheer surrealism and the increasing sense of dehumanization and despair that befalls the cast, but also moments where humanity emerges triumphant when least expected. Lisette, who at first betrays the burgeoning affair between the two lovebirds, has a change of heart and becomes their ally again, enabling Ina, who's been given a menial job in the commandant's office, to steal a pencil for Jaap so that he can continue to write her clandestine letters. The affair between them unwinds with not a little suspense, especially since Jaap's wife and Ina's father are both in the camp and prove to be a considerable impediment. In particular, the character of Manja is underwritten. The implication that she was a shrew with a wandering eye doesn't go very far, and the reality – as Jaap Polak emphasized in a brief address to the audience afterward – is that she was the unsung heroine of this twisted adventure, nursing him back to health from a near-fatal bout of typhoid fever and then handing him off to Ina to live happily ever after. She deserves better. Somewhere there's a circus rock band who ought to do the song "I Lost My Husband to a Rich Younger Woman in a Nazi Death Camp."
As far as getting the message of this piece across, it would work better as a musical than an opera, which is not to say that Cohen should rewrite it as Springtime for Hitler. As it is now, the lyrics are likely more easily understood by regular operagoers than by general audiences: all too often, a particular nuanced moment, a shift in the plotline or even a punchline get lost in arioso vocal pyrotechnics. Considering the talent of the cast onstage, it's a good gamble that they'd be equally capable of rendering the story in a more musically accessible, less stylized manner. Those who buy into the argument that in the age of microphones and vocal individualism, the bel canto style of singing has reached the end of the line, will probably agree with that statement. Those who don't probably won't. And it's an argument that's probably academic, anyway, since where this is ultimately bound is most likely the big screen. Steven Spielberg, are you out there?
May 2, 2013 Posted by delarue | avant garde music, classical music, concert, Live Events, Music, music, concert, review, Reviews	| 21st century, ari pelto, avant-garde music, beth greenberg director, cherry duke, chris finckel cello, classical music, concert, concert review, deborah brevoort, gerald cohen composer, ilana davidson, ina polak, ina soap, indie classical, jaap polak, jewish music, lynn baker piano, manja polak, Music, music review, opera, robert balonek, sasha margolis violin, steal a pencil for me, steal a pencil for me opera, steal a pencil for me review, toby newman imdb, vasko dukovski | 1 Comment
A Riveting, Eternally Relevant Holocaust Remembrance from the Cassatt String Quartet
The Nazis murdered approximately 14,700 children out of the 15,000 interned at the Terezin transit camp. Of course, this happened after using the camp as a showcase for how well the prisoners throughout the death camps were ostensibly being treated. Red Cross observers, for example, were shown musical and theatrical performances by captives there. As documented in Hannelore Brenner's The Girls From Room 28 and elsewhere, Terezin contained a vital artistic community – it might seem laughable to call it a "scene," but that's what it was – in the brief months before most of its victims were shipped off to be killed. Thursday night at Symphony Space, the Cassatt String Quartet paid tribute to those performers' extraordinary fortitude under the worst kind of duress.
Opening a concert with Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 runs the risk of rendering the rest of the program anticlimactic, or even redundant: after that work's harrowing cinematics, there's just about nowhere to go but down. That the ensemble – who are in residence at Symphony Space and making the absolute most of it – managed to avoid that pitfall speaks to the power and resonance of the rest of the bill, and how well they played it. Titled Music for a Vanished World, the show also featured Terezin prisoner Viktor Ullmann's Quartet No. 3, contemporary American composer Gerald Cohen's Playing for Our Lives, and a conversation midway through with eloquent, charismatic Terezin survivor and author Ela Weissberger, famous for her role there playing the cat in several stagings of the musical Brundibar.
Taken out of context, Ullmann's work is fascinating, an intricate, strikingly modern web of countermelodies that run the gamut from unabashedly somber to a joyous romp at the end as everybody rushes out through the gates. As a work made under circumstances as cruel as they were, it's an extraordinary achievement. A sort of more defiant counterpart to Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, the quartet took it full throttle at the end, leaving no doubt that this was one big "sieg heil" right in Der Fuhrer's face. Cohen's suite, a recent composition, worked austere, sometimes acidic permutations on three themes: Beryozhkele (Birch Tree), the plaintive Jewish folk song; the lullaby from Brundibar; and the Dies Irae section of Verdi's Requiem, another piece that was actually performed at Terezin. Working its way through them, stately and methodically, with tinges of horror, the suite's most memorable section was when Cohen took the lullaby – a rather saccharine, schlocky melody – and twisted it into a cartoonish menace.
As for the Shostakovich, it was as shattering as it possibly could have been: one can only hope that this performance might have been recorded. One of the most vivid and chilling pieces of music ever written, it is as cutting-edge and difficult to play today as it was over fifty years ago when it was premiered. The familiarity of the narrative makes its introductory lament, tumbling microtonal chase scene, satanically phantasmagorical puppet's dance and gunshot-ridden dirge even more resonant. The ensemble played as a single instrument: there were places, especially early on, where it was impossible to tell who was playing what, among violinists Muneko Otani and Jennifer Leshnower, violist Sarah Adams and celllist Nicole Johnson. The swooping tumble of bodies being chased down by the gestapo in the second movement fell to the violins to echo an endless warning siren, over and over, and they did it relentlessly. As the piece grew quieter and more elegaic, it fell to Johnson to carry many of the work's most plaintive melodies, which she did with equal parts grace and stunned horror. The group seemed moved almost to the point of tears by the end, a feeling clearly shared by the audience: in an era when Iran executes women for blasphemy, drones rain death down on weddings in Iraq and Palestine, and the prison at Guantanamo is still open, this quartet could not be more relevant. The Cassatt String Quartet return auspiciously to Symphony Space early next spring; watch this space. Happy Hanukah, everybody.
December 8, 2012 Posted by delarue | classical music, concert, Live Events, Music, music, concert, New York City, review, Reviews	| Cassatt String Quartet, cassatt string quartet review, Cassatt String Quartet symphony space, Cassatt String Quartet symphony space review, chamber music, classical music, concert review, Ela Weissberger, gerald cohen composer, Jennifer Leshnower, jewish music, Muneko Otani, Music for a Vanished World, Music for a Vanished World review, Music for a Vanished World symphony space, Music for a Vanished World symphony space review, music review, Nicole Johnson cello, Sarah Adams viola, shostakovich, terezin, teriezenstadt, viktor ullmann composer | Leave a comment
Concert Review: The Grneta Duo+ at Bechstein Hall, NYC 5/27/10
The concert was billed as something of a wild and crazy night, but it was as much about the strength and intelligence of the playing and the compositions as it was about raw excitement. The Grneta Duo+ dedicate themselves to preserving the dual clarinet tradition, which isn't as uncommon as it might seem, particularly in eastern Europe. Clarinetist Vasko Dukovski won first prize at the International Woodwind Competition at Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, which in the clarinet world is sort of the equivalent of being named guitarist of the year at jambase. His fellow reedman and Juilliard pal Ismail Lumanovski is one of the world's foremost improvisers in any style of music, perhaps most notably with the New York Gypsy All-Stars. The "+" in the group is pianist Alexandra Joan, a perfect addition with her edgy intensity, confidently wide-ranging virtuosity and also a degree of gravitas. It's not hard to imagine her in rehearsal: "C'mon, guys, let's get serious." As much as this was an evening of sophisticatedly tongue-in-cheek fun, there were just as many moments of flat-out, riveting power.
The trio opened with Bartok's Romanian Dances, a suite of fairly simple themes that gave the clarinets plenty of opportunity to playfully blend and bend their tones. Dukovski and Joan would revisit a similar suite, Pablo de Sarasate's Gypsy Airs later on, Dukovski airing out his upper register boisterously over Joan's cantabile glimmer. The first of two world premieres, Gerald Cohen's Grneta Variations very cleverly worked permutations of a cantorial theme (without any particular liturgical connotation, the composer explained beforehand). A recurrent fanfare with the clarinets grew with increasing degrees of disquiet, juxtaposed against a series of increasingly more comedic motifs; Joan handled her score's tricky rhythms with a nimble aplomb worthy of Dave Brubeck.
Night at the Kafana, by Nicholas Csicsko was premiered by Lumanovski at Carnegie Hall last year. Interpolating several famous Balkan folk themes within a sometimes bracing, sometimes otherworldly architecture, it hinted at a dance, morphed into a big ballad and then a matter-of-factly nail-biting rondo that the duo of Lumanovski and Joan approached with a nonchalantly singleminded intensity.
Lumanovski then went off-program, leading Dukovski in an improvisation that awed the crowd: both clarinetists are Macedonian, so Dukovski was instantly, seemingly intuitively in on his bandmate's sizzling, rhythmically dizzying flights, eventually moving from providing a pulse to join in the whirlwind of savage chromatic fun. The last two pieces were a study in contasts, Mohammed Fairouz' Ughiat Mariam (another world premiere) stoically, stately and soulfully expanded on an understatedly brooding Arabic theme, while Serbian clarinetist/composer Ante Grgin's Hameum Suite became a delightfully counterintuitive dialogue between two very distinct clarinet voices, Dukovski following Lumanovski's most brilliantly blazing passage of the night with a suave deviousness, as if to say, "uh uh, that's not how it's done" and then picking up with the same lightning attack when least expected while Joan anchored the work with an unaffected plaintiveness. She's a leading advocate of the music of George Enesco, and that influence could be felt strongly here.
May 29, 2010 Posted by delarue | classical music, concert, Live Events, Music, music, concert, New York City, review, Reviews, world music	| alexandra joan, ange grgin, avant-garde music, balkan music, bartok, chamber music, clarinet duo, clarinet music, classical music, eastern european music, gerald cohen composer, grneta duo plus, grneta duo+, gypsy music, improvisation, ismail lumanovski, mohammed fairouz, new music, nicholas csicsko, pablo de sarasate, romanian music, serbian music, vako dukovski | Leave a comment