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Guards are Ram tough
For the past three seasons Justin Labagh has been the men's basketball coach at City College of San Francisco, he has always been able to count on having a good team, with nice frontcourt size on the court and on the bench. However, Labagh has a very different CCSF team this year.
"In the past, we would usually have two post guys and run two posts in and three guards out on the perimeter," Labagh said. "Then we would have two post guys on the bench to replace the other posts. This year, we do not have any of that."
Coming off a 27-6 season and a spot in the state Sweet 16, the Rams are 7-1 and averaging 93 points per game entering this weekend's tournament at San Jose City College. That success is because of a strong backcourt.
"This year's team is guard-orientated as we have some really good guards," Labagh said.
Leading the way for the guards are 6-foot-3 sophomore Robert Owens and 6-5 sophomore Brandon Wiley, the only two returners from last season's team. CCSF also has super-talented guards in 6-5 freshman Roburt Sallie and 6-6 Justin Brownlee.
"These four are key guys on this team," said Labagh, noting all four are Division I prospects.
Owens is a point guard who is a knock-down shooter from the perimeter. A graduate of Skyline High School in Oakland, Owens was heavily recruited, drawing interest from St. Mary's, USF, Southern Cal and Fresno State, among others. Owens came off the bench and averaged 14 points a game last season and has bumped that up to a team-best 20.9 this season.
Wiley was not a heralded player coming out of Pinole Valley High School in Pinole. But through hard work and countless hours in the gym, Wiley has turned himself into a Division I prospect. He is a solid outside shooter who is long and athletic. He is putting up 13 points a game.
Sallie and Brownlee are probably two of the more heralded junior college freshmen in California. Sallie, from Valley High School in Sacramento, is a versatile guard who is a prolific scorer and player in the mold of Detroit Pistons guard Rip Hamilton. Sallie can shoot well (he is averaging 15.5 points per game), handle the ball and make plays defensively.
He committed to Washington coming out of Valley, but he didn't get admitted and ended up going to Laurinburg (N.C.) prep school for a year. He later verbally committed to Nebraska, but had paperwork problems. He enrolled at CCSF last year, taking a part-time schedule.
Brownlee is from Tifton, Ga., and is a scorer who has an NBA body and athleticism from the wing spot. He was being recruited by various Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference programs and should be an immediate impact player.
"I hope to bring rebounding and scoring to this City College team," said Brownlee, who is averaging 18.1 points per game. "I want to play solid defense and help the team win."
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Drivers: Don't Be Slow To React, Truck ESC Recall
September 22, 2011 by markarndt · Leave a Comment
A recent Recall by Daimler Trucks of 2006 to 2012 Freightliner Trucks highlights recent concern regarding inadvertent actuation of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) Systems. Potentially 47,000 units are recalled with Meritor Wabco ESC system manufactured since September of 2005. According to the recall summary, "Under certain road and driving conditions, vehicle body roll and road inclination characteristics may adversely affect the slip angle calculation of the Eectronic Stability Control (ESC) system. This might cause the ESC to perceive an over steering situation and therefore apply the outer wheel brake on the front axle until the vehicle is perceived to be stable." The Meritor Wabco technologies include ESC, Roll Stability Control and trailer stability control. Some of these systems are described in the Meritor literature as being available since 2002.
Interesting that the vehicle based risk to motor vehicle safety (the recall) lists the defect's consequence as, "If the driver is slow to react during this ESC intervention, the vehicle may deviate from the intended line of travel increasing the risk of a crash." In other words, the manufacture is saying they are responsible for an unexpected and dangerous external disturbance to the vehicle – presumably a disturbance from no driver input – but the increased risk of a crash occurs if the driver is slow to react??
Tags: Electronic Stability Control, ESC, NHTSA, pre-crash safety, recall
NHTSA Published Update of ESC Analysis
Filed under: Crash Reconstruction, Testing
The August 10, 2011 Federal Register contained NHTSA's updated statistical analysis on its existing Safety Standard 126, Electronic Stability Control Systems. The report's title is: Crash Prevention Effectiveness in Light-Vehicle Electronic Stability Control: An Update of the 2007 NHTSA Evaluation. The Notice stated:
"Statistical analyses based on data for calendar years 1997 to 2009 from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the General Estimates System (GES) of the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) estimate the long-term effectiveness of electronic stability control (ESC) for passenger cars and LTVs (light trucks and vans). Safety Standard 126 establishes standards for electronic stability control systems manufactured for use in light vehicles. This report is an update of a previous NHTSA analysis of ESC effectiveness (72 FR 41582) published in 2007."
"The principal findings are that ESC was associated with a six percent decrease in the likelihood that a vehicle would be involved in any police reported crash and an 18 percent reduction in the probability that a vehicle would be involved in a fatal crash. For passenger cars, the reductions are 5 percent and 23 percent, respectively; for LTVs, 7 percent and 20 percent. Each of these reductions is statistically significant except for the 5 percent overall effect in cars."
Comments from the public are solicited and must be received by December 8, 2011.
Tags: Advanced Crash Avoidance, Electronic Stability Control, ESC, FMVSS, NHTSA, pre-crash safety
Fire Suppression in Buses and Coaches
Filed under: Random, Testing
According to the brandposten (English edition) the number of fires in buses and coaches has more than doubled since the end of the 1990s. As a result many Buses and Coaches are now equipped with automatic fire suppression systems in the engine compartment. The brandposten goes on to describe a test method for evaluating fire suppression systems. There was an interesting recall on this topic in which a fire suppression system in certain Glaval Buses was incorrectly made with the discharge nozzles incorrectly placed in the driver's area. The consequence was described: "In the event of a system discharge, a significant cloud of powder could be released into the driver's compartment possibly obstructing the driver's view. This situation could result in a vehicle crash."
Tags: Post Crash, Testing
The Take Away on Rollover Drag Factors
Filed under: Crash Reconstruction
Dolly rollover tests suggest that the appropriate drag factor range for use in rollover reconstruction, excluding special circumstance, is 0.38 to 0.50. The finding is from the calculated results of 81 dolly rollover crash tests statistically trimmed to exclude the upper and lower 15 percent.
Reevaluation of roll phase analysis of rollover tests on an actual highway found lowered average roll phase drag factors. The average roll phase drag factor as published in the papers was 0.53 g (min = 0.39, max = 0.74) and the average reevaluated drag factor was 0.45 g (min = 0.36, max = 0.52). Natural rollover tests suggest the appropriate drag factor range, excluding special circumstances, is 0.39 to 0.50. The finding is from the calculated results of 21 naturally occurring rollover crash tests statistically trimmed to exclude the upper and lower 15 percent.
Tags: Crash Reconstruction, Rollover, SUV Rollover
Getting Rollover Drag Factors Right
A comparison was conducted of numerous historical studies by reexamination of the original works, analysis of their data, and centralized compilation and analysis of their results. In total 81 dolly rollover crash tests, 24 naturally occurring rollover crash tests, and 102 reconstructed rollovers were identified. Of the 24 naturally occurring tests 18 were steer induced rollover tests.
The range of drag factors for all examined dolly rollovers was 0.38 g to 0.50 g with the upper and lower 15 percent statistically trimmed. The average drag factor for dolly rollovers was 0.44 g (Standard Deviation = 0.064) with a reported minimum of 0.31 g and a reported maximum of 0.61 g. The range of drag factors for the set of naturally occurring rollovers was 0.39 g to 0.50 g with the upper and lower 15 percent statistically trimmed. The average drag factor for naturally occurring rollovers was 0.44 g (Standard Deviation = 0.063) with a reported minimum of 0.33 g and a reported maximum of 0.57 g.
Reevaluation of roll phase analysis published in two papers reporting results of rollover tests on an actual highway (Asay, 2009 and 2010) found lowered average roll phase drag factors as shown in table 1. The average roll phase drag factor published in the papers was 0.53 g (min = 0.39, max = 0.74) and the average reevaluated drag factor was 0.45 g (min = 0.36, max = 0.52). Reevaluation was performed from data published in the papers. A final analysis should be conducted using the actual test data.
Published results of reconstruction derived roll phase drag factors (Hight, 1972) between 0.40 g and 0.65 g was confirmed as the range representing the middle 60% of pre-1972 reconstructed rollover crashes on flat ground, figure 3. The reconstructed drag factors were in a range of 0.04 g to 1.20 g for all 102 plotted results, including downhill rollovers and rollovers with vertical drops. For rollovers on flat ground the reconstructed range was 0.21 g to 0.83 g.
Sudden Acceleration in Reverse
September 8, 2011 by markarndt · Leave a Comment
I ran across an interesting recall this morning. It is interesting because it points to potential for problems with software in the control modules of key safety systems. The recall summary is:
"Honda is recalling certain model year 2011 CR-Z passenger cars with manual transmissions, manufactured from January 8, 2010, through June 27, 2011. Should the engine stall while the brake pedal is not pressed, there is a possibility that the engine control unit (ECU) software may cause the electric motor of the hybrid system to move the vehicle unexpectedly in the opposite direction of the selected gear."
Essentially this Honda recall identified a defect that results in sudden acceleration in the opposite direction of intended travel – sudden acceleration in reverse.
This is not the only recent recall on this issue: Buick Lacrosse' were recalled because an improper diagnosis:
"may cause the ESC to falsely activate, resulting in sudden changes in vehicle handling and deceleration, particularly at higher speeds, which may cause the driver difficulty in maintaining the vehicle's desired path of travel and desired vehicle speed, and could result in a crash without warning."
Essentially the Lacrosse recall identified a defect that may result in brakes application on one side of a vehicle while it is traveling at highway speeds – sudden acceleration to the left (or right).
Tags: Crash Reconstruction, Electronic Stability Control
NTSB Reports Important Steer Axle Tire Failure Testing Results
February 11, 2010 by markarndt · Leave a Comment
Filed under: News, Testing, Tread Separation
By Mark W. Arndt
After conducting testing of natural tire delamination and simulated tire blowout failures on the steer axle of a motorcoach, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported important results that questioned pervasive thought and conventional guidance to drivers regarding such events. Conclusions derived from the report include:
Tire delaminations produced rotation and torque at the handwheel,
Some tire failures trials produced lateral force impulse that presented considerable difficulty for maintaining control, while others were "no problem" and presented little challenge,
Tire delaminations produced sudden, though different from event to event, turning of the vehicle,
Detection of underinflated tires by visual inspection or "thumping" was not accurate and not advisable. A tire gauge must be used to evaluate tire pressure,
Progressive loss of air pressure – even to less than 50% of manufactures recommended pressure – were imperceptible while driving and
Braking, contrary to conventional wisdom and guidance, was shown to not degrade, but improved vehicle control.
The testing was commissioned in an effort to explain factors that may have contributed to a driver's loss of control of a motorcoach. To this end the NTSB conducted a literature review and ultimately testing regarding effects of steering axle tire failures on handling characteristics and dynamics of a bus or motorcoach. The Board cited numerous studies it found instructive, but no published studies examining the dynamics of buses or motorcoaches in response to tire failure. For this reason, the NTSB undertook its tests to evaluate the effects of steering axle tire delamination or blowout failures on a driver's ability to maintain control of a motorcoach. Although it was not part of the original plan, the effect of braking on vehicle control was also specifically evaluated.
The NTSB tests were supported by the parties to its investigation and with the active participation, advice and assistance of individuals associated with: Continental Tire, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Motor Coach Industries, Inc., Greyhound Lines, Inc., The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, SmarTire Systems, Inc., Continental AG, Detroit Diesel/Allison Transmission Distributor and TRW, Inc.
Test conditions and response were recorded via the Last Stop Record which provided a snapshot of vehicle data for the 104-second interval preceding engine shutdown, including the vehicle speed (mph), engine speed (rpm), engine load percentage, throttle percentage, and whether the brakes were applied at the time of the tire failure and/or in the intervening period until the vehicle was brought to a stop. Sensors to monitor tire pressure and temperature and steering wheel torque were used. Global Positioning System (GPS) data were recorded to track the location of the test vehicle on the track.
Tags: Crash Reconstruction, Front Tire Failure, NTSB, pre-crash safety, Tire Tread Separation
Problems with Tire Standard FMVSS 120
February 9, 2010 by markarndt · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Crash Reconstruction, News, Tread Separation
The US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 120 covers tires and rims for motor vehicle other than passenger cars. The standard is applicable to multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, trailers and motor cycles. The core of the standard attempts to assure that the tires and rims that are sold with a vehicle, and that the tires and rims that are specified on a tire label affixed to a vehicle, are capable of supporting the manufacturer's specified gross axle load.
A manufacture can sell vehicles weighing more than 10,000 lbs with tires and rims different from its tire label specified tires, rims and inflation pressures. Such a vehicle must meet the requirements of FMVSS 120 with all sets of tires and rims listed on the label and mounted to the vehicle. The tires and rims on a vehicle are evaluated with information from the sidewall of the tire, including the maximum load at the sidewall inflation pressure. The tires and rims listed on a tire label are evaluated using a source like the Tire and Rim Association Yearbook to determine the load carrying capacity of each tire on the label at the recommended pressure. The evaluation process requires that the sum of load carrying capacity for all tires on an axle equal or exceed the manufacture's front and rear Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR).
There are several problems that are presented by this standard including:
There is no assurance that the tire inflation pressure listed on the tire label will be compatible with different tires in-use on a vehicle. In other words, the inflation pressure listed on a tire label may be too low for the in-use tire given the load and service provided.
The requirement is that the combined tire carrying capacity of an axle must equal or exceed an axle's weight rating, however in some vehicles large side to side weight differences exist rendering a tire or set of tires insufficient for the carrying load.
The standard does not assure compatibility for the variety of tire to rim and mixed tire combinations that might occur given differences between the tire label and the tires sold with a vehicle. For example, the tires listed on a tire label may not properly fit a wider rim appropriate for larger tires sold with a vehicle.
Tags: FMVSS, pre-crash safety, Tire Failure
Correcting the Record on NA Luxury Brand ESC Implementation
October 23, 2009 by markarndt · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Mark Arndt, News
The North American (NA) implementation of Electronic Stability Control was detailed in the 2008 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) paper "Industry Implementation of Automotive Electronic Stability Control (ESC) Systems," by Nicholas Durisek and Kevan Granat of Dynamic Analysis Group LLC. The Paper compares the luxury vehicle brands Mercedes, BMW and Lexus/Toyota and draws conclusions based upon this comparison. The problem is that Lexus/Toyota is two different brands owned by one manufacture and only Lexus is a luxury brand.
Automotive News Data records, in 2002 Toyota sold 1,756,127 vehicles in the United States; Lexus accounted for 234,109 sales. Also in 2002, the BMW division of the BMW group sold 232,032 vehicles and Mercedes sold 213,225 vehicles.
Comparing Mercedes, BMW and only Lexus passenger cars reveals a disturbing and diverging trend in ESC as standard equipment implementation rates beginning in 1998. Mercedes and BMW were essentially at zero implementation prior to 1998 and 100% implementation for 2000 and on, while Lexus using yearly sales recorded in Automotive News Data had ESC implemented as standard equipment in its passenger cars at the rate of 43% in 2000, 40% in 2001, 39% in 2002 and 37% in 2003. Mercedes and BMW saw the value of ESC and quickly implemented the technology in their entire North American fleet. Lexus missed the opportunity of ESC and delayed full standardized implementation by at least 8 years.
Comparing Mercedes, BMW and only Lexus, instead of Lexus and Toyota together, reflects a Toyota marketing strategy that left many Lexus owners with far inferior vehicles when it came to the benefits of ESC. ESC has been described as providing safety benefit second only to seatbelts. The underlying technology of using individual wheel brake application intervention when drivers lose control of their vehicles began development at Bosch in the late 1980s and was first commercialized in their home countries by Toyota and Mercedes in 1995.
According to Durisek and Granat, "Mercedes' implementation included less than 2000 vehicles for each of the first three years an ESC system was offered, 1996 through 1998. Those units amounted to less than 2% of the total number of vehicles sold by Mercedes. By model year 2000, Mercedes equipped all models with an ESC system as standard equipment except the SLK. An ESC system was not available on the SLK until 2001…. Implementation by BMW similarly began with relatively low volumes in 1998 and was increased to 100% by model year 2001…. Toyota's North American implementation of ESC systems as standard equipment began with its Lexus brand in 1998 and included over 50,000 units, more than any other manufacturer for that model year. In model year 2006, the number of Toyota vehicles with an ESC system as standard equipment was over 640,000 units, more than double the number of units sold by Mercedes or BMW."
Durisek and Granat concluded, "The phase-in of ESC system technology by lower volume manufacturers (i.e. luxury brands) took five to six years before having 100% ESC system implementation into their vehicle lines." However, according to the Durisek and Granat data, BMW's North American implementation of ESC as standard equipment took four years with over 95% implementation in three years (by 2000). Mercedes' implementation of ESC as standard equipment took six years with almost 95% implementation in five years (by 2000). Mercedes had less than 2% implementation in 1998, almost 95% standard equipment implementation in 2000 and in 2001 was at 100% implementation. Not to ignore the importance of full implementation, but Mercedes went from essentially zero to almost complete in two years. For both BMW and Mercedes the final standard implementation of ESC was on a single model with low production. Lexus began implementation in 1998, and completed implementation of ESC as standard equipment in 2007, a full ten years. The last Lexus model with ESC standard was its highest production volume ES line which in 2002, according to the Automotive News Data, accounted for 71,450 Lexus sales – almost half of all Lexus passenger cars sold in 2002.
Tags: BMW, Electronic Stability Control, ESC, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, pre-crash safety
NHTSA's Research on Advanced Crash Avoidance Technologies
Ray Resendes, Chief of Intelligent Technologies Research, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provided an interesting overview of NHTSA's efforts on Research on Advanced Crash Avoidance Technologies during his recent presentation at the special session on pre-crash technology during the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM) 53rd Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, October 4th through October 7th, 2009.
Resendes described NHTSA's current plans to include a New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) Advance Technologies Rating for Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Warning. The phase in period for ESC pursuant to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 126 (FMVSS126) is 55% in 2009, 75% in 2010, 95% in 2011 and 100% in 2012.
NHTSA's approach groups intelligent technology interventions into Crash Prevention, Crash Severity Reduction, Injury Mitigation and Crash Notification. Examples of technologies in each area were provided. For example crash prevention technologies include: adaptive cruise control, ESC, rollover prevention, rear end collision avoidance, intersection collision avoidance and automatic alcohol detection interlock; and technologies in crash severity reduction include: Electronic Brake Assist and Brake Augmentation.
Interesting thoughts were presented on how sensing the state of various components of the automobile might be used in assisting drivers. For example intelligent sensing the windshield wipers to determine if a safe stopping distance under wet road conditions exists.
The substance of the presentation listed an array of state of the art technology including: Electronic Stability Control (ESC, first commercial use in 1995 and 100% phase-in pursuant to FMVSS126 by 2012), adaptive cruise control (first in Japan in 1998), forward collision warning, forward collision avoidance and mitigation (set for a 2011 rulemaking decision), blind spot detection, lane departure warning, lane departure prevention (set for a 2001 rulemaking decision), crossing path detection (a backup sensor), fatigue detection, night vision assistance (around for about 10-years), automatic alcohol detection, crash notification and vehicle to vehicle communication (set for rulemaking decision in 2013).
Tags: AAAM, Advanced Crash Avoidance, Electronic Stability Control, NHTSA, pre-crash safety
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LaSalle man guilty of manslaughter and murder in double homicide
Altamond Little, 46, was found guilty of manslaughter of Marjorie Dammier, 29, and the second-degree murder of her boyfriend at the time, Maxime Berthiaume Calado, 30.
Paul Cherry, Montreal Gazette
Altamond Little, 46, was found guilty of manslaughter of Marjorie Dammier, 29, and the second-degree murder of her boyfriend at the time, Maxime Berthiaume Calado, 30.	SPVM
A LaSalle man has been found guilty of killing his estranged wife and her boyfriend following a trial at the Montreal courthouse that began more than two months ago.
The jury rendered its verdicts Tuesday after having deliberated over the weekend and on Monday. Altamond Little, 46, was found guilty of manslaughter of Marjorie Dammier, 29, and the second-degree murder of her boyfriend at the time, Maxime Berthiaume Calado, 30. Both were killed inside Dammier's apartment on des Oblats St. in LaSalle on Oct. 8, 2013. Little's trial began on March 14 and was delayed for a while because the prosecutor, David Simon, was named as a Quebec Court judge on March 27. He was replaced by prosecutor Marie-Claude Bourassa.
Dammier was shot in the head near the entrance to her apartment and Calado was stabbed. Little testified in his own defence during his trial and tried to convince the jury Calado shot Dammier by accident while trying to shoot him. He also testified he stabbed Calado to save his own life. The jury did not believe Little, but they found him guilty of a reduced charge in Dammier's death. He was originally charged with second-degree murder in both homicides.
The case enters the sentencing stage on May 25. Little automatically received a life sentence for the murder conviction. But Superior Court Justice Michel Pennou will have to set Little's parole eligibility for the murder and sentence him for the manslaughter conviction.
pcherry@postmedia.com
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Kevin Hart Gives An Update On Health, Says He's 65-75% Back To Normal After Near-Fatal Car Wreck
'My workouts are not full, but I'm back to weighted workouts,' the comedian revealed.
Kevin Hart is on his way to full recovery. During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday, December 11 to promote his upcoming film, Jumanji: The Next Level, the actor, 40, gave viewers an update on his health three months after his serious car crash in September 2019.
"I am about 65 to 75 percent back to my physical self," the comedian revealed to Ellen and viewers. "Workouts are not full, I'm not lifting crazy weights, but I'm back to weighted workouts, agility, mobility, core workouts. I'm a little determined jackass."
The Laugh at My Pain star admitted that although he's feeling better now after the crash, he found himself heavily relying on his family for help.
"I couldn't wipe my a**!" Kevin admitted. "You don't realize that your back is connected to everything. So, coming out of back surgery, everything changed. Because you're kind of helpless. That's when you get to see what really matters, who really matters. Life kind of hits you in a completely different way."
"In that hospital room was me, my wife, my kids, my brother, and my closest friends," the Night School star continued. "My kids didn't want to go to school. They stayed with me… they slept with me day in, day out. My wife was on rotation with my brother, her mom came in, my mother-in-law was there. And you go, 'Wow. This is love. This is what real love and life is.'"
The Central Intelligence star told Ellen that while recovering he had a important moment of clarity. "The things that you think matter, you realize don't. Because if you're gonna have room, it's not about your level of success, it's not about how much money you have… It's about those individuals and who you really mean the most to and who mean the most to you," the actor explained.
Kevin also shared one of his biggest accomplishments since the near-fatal car accident. "The biggest triumph one day was when I put my socks on," Kevin shared. "When I put my socks on, it was the biggest thing in the world. Running around the house, 'I got my socks on! You ain't have to do it, I did it myself!' The biggest thing for me."
Kevin's accident occurred a little after midnight on September 1. The comedian was in the passenger seat of his 1970 Plymouth barracuda, when his friend and producer Jared Black who was driving at the time, lost control and crashed through a wooden fence on Mulholland Highway in Malibu. The accident left both men with major back injuries.
What do you think of Kevin's recovery journey? Sound off in the comments.
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Military Commission Pre-Trial Hearings for Alleged 9/11 "Plotters" Focus on Gitmo Conditions
Adam Hudson,
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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected "mastermind" of the 9/11 attacks, is being tried with alleged co-conspirators Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali (Ammar al-Baluchi) and Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi. The eight charges leveled against them are conspiracy, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, murder in violation of the law of war, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, hijacking or hazarding a vessel or aircraft, and terrorism.
Victims and families of victims of 9/11 attended last week's hearings. In a press conference a day before the first day of pretrial hearings, they shared their stories. Joe Torrillo, a retired New York City firefighter and first-responder who rushed to rescue people on that fateful day, gave a riveting account of how he survived being crushed by rubble. While the families of the USS Cole bombing victims on the whole support execution for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the suspected mastermind of the USS Cole bombing in Yemen in 2000, there was far less support for executing the alleged 9/11 plotters. "I would hope that they wouldn't be executed," Torrillo said. "Two wrongs have never made a right."
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"I would like for them to live long enough to maybe one day, wake up, and admit what they did was wrong," he said.
There were also disagreements as to whether the men should be tried in a military commission at Guantánamo or in a federal criminal court on US soil. Torrillo and Linda Gay, who lost her husband on Flight 11, favored prosecuting the suspects in a military commission at Guantánamo. In contrast, Rita Lasar, who lost her brother Abraham Zelmanowitz, and Glenn Morgan, who lost his father Richard (also a firefighter), supported trying the five men in a federal court on American soil. "We have a proven system and it works," said Morgan.
As with the al-Nashiri hearings, multiple issues were discussed in the 9/11 case. They included monitoring of attorney-client communications, searching of defendants' legal materials for contraband and confiscation thereof, what constitutes contraband (sometimes it included political materials relevant to the defense's case, such as those relating to Islamic extremism and al-Qaeda), defense not getting enough time to seek mitigation and the right of the accused to attend closed sessions during pretrial hearings.
Gitmo-Style Surveillance
Similar to Richard Kammen's experience in the al-Nashiri case, defense attorneys working on this commission experienced electronic monitoring via hidden listening devices of attorney-client meetings. US Air Force Lt. Col. Sterling Thomas, a defense attorney for Ammar al-Baluchi, said that early this year his defense team learned of "listening devices in the meeting spaces where we meet with our clients."
US Navy Commander Walter Ruiz, the defense attorney for Mustafa al-Hawsawi, experienced the same thing. His team has had "issues" and "questions" about "monitoring." "I thought that it was incredibly difficult," said Ruiz, "for a judge to ask us to prove to him that we were being monitored by an agency whose sole purpose is to avoid being detected."
"I'm a lawyer. I'm legally trained. But I'm not a counter-surveillance operative. I have my limits," Ruiz quipped. His team showed the judge "that there were things that were supposed to have been smoke detectors that were actually microphones. That there were cameras that had audio and video recording capability. That the huts that were wired for recording and for sound were the ones that we were getting put into for our meetings … That's pretty egregious."
Monitoring of attorney-client meetings is "something that does not occur … in an Article 3 [federal] court," Thomas pointed out. There is a possible reason for this. Thomas added, "[H]ere we are on an island where the purpose is intelligence collection. And we're being told, 'You can only use this old hut' that was used for intelligence collection."
In the al-Nashiri hearing, Guantánamo prison officials (including Army Col. John Bogdan, the current Guantánamo prison commander/warden) during cross-examination claimed ignorance of the surveillance, blamed the FBI for installing the equipment, and said that while such technology had the "capability" to listen and record meetings, they promised that they were not used for such purposes. It was the government's typical response to critical questions on national security issues: "Trust us."
ICRC's Confidentiality
One key issue discussed was the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) privilege of confidentiality, which defense attorneys are concerned is blocking their access to important information. Matthew MacLean, a private lawyer representing the ICRC, argued in court that the government should respect the organization's "privilege of nondisclosure of its confidential dialogue with the United States." MacLean said that the ICRC needs confidentiality in order to get access to dangerous and difficult-to-reach environments, which is crucial for its work. With the ICRC's consent, that privilege can be waived. In an interview, MacLean did say that the ICRC was hoping to achieve a consultation with the defense to resolve such matters.
Ruiz objected. While acknowledging the ICRC's important work, he said, "[T]he information contained within those ICRC reports is information that could be extremely useful in the presentation of our case." Ruiz said this is not about having the ICRC testify, as the organization suggested, but is rather a request it release relevant documents. The information in question is not classified. Since the case involves the death penalty, disclosure is necessary, Ruiz contends. The other defense attorneys argued in favor of disclosure, as well.
On the other hand, the prosecution defended ICRC's confidentiality privilege and opposed the defense motions against it. Chief Prosecutor Brig. Gen. Mark Martins of the US Army (who is also prosecuting the al-Nashiri case), said that the ICRC possesses "very important, sensitive materials that need to be protected."
In an interview, Ruiz explained that the information ICRC may have is "huge" and very important to his client's case. He referenced a report by the Constitution Project's Task Force on Detainee Treatment, which found that, after the revelations about abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, there was an "intense debate" within the ICRC "about its role and under what circumstances it should speak out publicly in such situations more frequently, despite a strong tradition of not doing so."
Throughout the ICRC's history, "while its representatives generally have free access to detention conditions, they do no publicly disseminate any critical judgments they may make about humanitarian deficiencies."
"Instead," the report continues, "the Red Cross usually delivers its complaints about treatment privately to the involved government. It is, in effect, a trade-off: access for an agreement to keep findings confidential." In some situations, the ICRC will publicize its findings only if the government in question "remains unresponsive to requests to make improvements."
As ICRC officials repeatedly visited Guantánamo between 2002 and 2005, they "were forced to resort to suggesting publicly there were problems at Guantánamo." This "resulted in intense internal debates over how to deal with the US government." ICRC officials who regularly visited Guantánamo, did on-the-ground research and "had a difficult, even at times hostile relationship with authorities who ran the detention center there" split with other, higher-level bureaucrats closer to Washington elites. The Constitution Project's report described "a more formal diplomatic relationship between the senior officials of the Red Cross in Geneva and administration officials." The higher-level bureaucrats won the "internal ICRC debate as to whether to raise the level of public criticism of the US treatment of Guantánamo prisoners."
"If I know that there's this, at least, this information out there that says that some of the ICRC were so offended by what they found at Guantánamo, then I have to think that what was offensive was some of the treatment, some of the conditions, and some of the things that they considered inadequate," said Ruiz. "Therefore, as an advocate in the defense, I have to think that's something that I need to know."
Gabor Rona, the current international legal director at Human Rights First, handled ICRC's confidentiality file while he was in their legal division from 1999 to 2005. In an email interview with Truthout, he said that, "the ICRC is super-sensitive to the sensibilities of its largest single donor, the US, and that affects ICRC policy toward Guantánamo." Rona added, however, that "the ICRC is often the only thing that stands between prisoners and torture, and its confidential working method is critical to its access to prisoners." If the ICRC "starts making exceptions to its policy not to testify," he wrote, "the ICRC may lose the access to prisoners upon which their protection against torture depends."
In the end, no ruling was issued on the defense motions dealing with ICRC confidentiality.
Hunger Strike and Force-Feeding
One issue that was not discussed in the hearings but has steadily made headlines was the force-feeding of detainees on hunger strike. Ruiz filed a motion calling for Joint Task Force-Guantánamo (JTF-GTMO), which runs the detention camps, to end its practice of force-feeding. However, it was not put on the docket. The judge has yet to add it. Prosecutors oppose the motion. Brig. Gen. Martins said the issue is "not ripe." He argued that there is no evidence that al-Hawsawi, Ruiz's client, is being force-fed, thereby making the motion unnecessary.
So far, of the 166 detainees at Guantánamo (86 of whom are cleared for release), 104 are on hunger strike; 44 are being force-fed. Force-feeding involves strapping a detainee to a chair and passing a tube through his nose and down into his stomach to feed him Ensure, a liquid nutritional supplement. The practice has been condemned as being inhumane, a violation of medical ethics, or a form of torture by doctors and human rights advocates from around the world.
In a Thursday press conference, US Navy Captain Robert Durand, the Guantánamo prison spokesman, answered questions about the hunger strike. He delineated how JTF counts hunger strikers. If a detainee eats fewer than nine consecutive meals, then he is counted as going on hunger strike. What counts as a meal is rather arbitrary. It's based on a "point system" of "how much food they're taking," according to Durand. "Sometimes," he said, "it is a best guess." When given a plate, a detainee must eat a "substantial amount of food" to not count as foregoing the meal, but what counts as "substantial" is unclear. Despite Guantánamo's long record of torture, abuse, indefinite detention and harsh measures to break the hunger strike, Durand incessantly insisted with a straight face that JTF is trying to "preserve life" at the camps.
When asked why the detainees were hunger striking, Durand responded, "They haven't given us anything that we can address here in Guantánamo." While he admitted that "detained people don't like to be detained," he also suggested that their main concern was "lack of attention." Durand did not specify how their treatment and conditions under indefinite detention would prompt over 100 detainees to go on hunger strike.
On April 14, 2013, The New York Times published a statement by Samir Naji al-Hasan Moqbel, a Yemeni detainee at Guantánamo. He said, "I will not eat until they restore my dignity." Based on a friend's bad advice, Moqbel traveled to Afghanistan to work, but later found that there was none. He wrote that when the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001: "I fled to Pakistan like everyone else. The Pakistanis arrested me when I asked to see someone from the Yemeni Embassy. I was then sent to Kandahar, and put on the first plane to Gitmo," where he has been detained since 2002.
This story is not unusual. Many, if not most, detainees were snatched under similar circumstances. In many cases, informants, in return for a bounty or to settle a score with someone, would tell the Yemeni or Pakistani authorities that someone is a "terrorist." Those authorities then apprehend that person and send him to be interrogated by the United States, with the frequent result of that person being sent to a detention center like Guantánamo. This too-common story should dispelany lingering idea that Guantánamo detainees are "the worst of the worst."
Moqbel wrote that being force fed "made me feel like throwing up."
"I wanted to vomit, but I couldn't," he wrote. "There was agony in my chest, throat and stomach. I had never experienced such pain before. I would not wish this cruel punishment upon anyone." Medical staff at Guantánamo have continued to force-feed Moqbel, despite his refusal. What Moqbel wants is clear: "All I want is to see my family again and to start a family of my own." He added: "The situation is desperate now. All of the detainees here are suffering deeply … And there is no end in sight to our imprisonment. Denying ourselves food and risking death every day is the choice we have made."
Adam Hudson
Adam Hudson is a journalist, writer and musician based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He typically covers US foreign policy and national security, Guantánamo, police brutality and Bay Area gentrification. His work has appeared in Truthout, AlterNet, Al Akhbar English, teleSUR English and The Nation magazine. On the side, he plays drums in an alternative rock band called Sunata.


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Mashed Radish
everyday etymology
From shoreline to sainthood: the origin of "canonize"
Posted on September 6, 2016 September 6, 2016 Categories Uncategorized
This Sunday, Pope Francis canonized Mother Teresa as a saint, joining her with 10,000 other such holy figures in the Catholic Church. That's a lot of saints, but canonize is still a relatively rare word. So, why is this process called canonization?
"Reed." Image by Viktors Kozers, courtesy of freeimages.com.
Canonize
To canonize is to place a deceased person in the Church's canon of saints. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) first cites this canonize around 1380. We can think of this canon, sometimes known as a calendar, as a kind of list; a saint's placement on this register only takes place by official decree and according to the rules of the church. Indeed, canon means "rule" or "law," originally of the church. This usage of canon, again as the OED dates it, is found in Old English by 890.
While influenced by French in Middle English, the Old English canon comes from the Latin canon, a "rule" or "standard," taken from the Greek κανών (kanon, meaning the same). (Medieval Latin had canonizāre, the immediate source of canonize.) If we dig deeper, we find that both the Latin canon and Greek kanon are metaphorical in origin: Latin canna and Greek κάννα (kanna) literally mean "reed." A reed, as we might understand it, is like a proto-measuring rod. It sets a regular length, which can be used as a model, a standard, a rule for something, hence, its application to law.
The words cane, cannon, and canyon – reeds are tubular – are all related to canon. Generic canon, that is, secular rules or standards, is evidenced by the late 1500s and early 1600s. The canon of literature, at least according to the OED's account, is found by the 1920s, anticipated by earlier such usages of canon in the mid-1800s. The secular canon, we should note, takes a page from the religious: Since the 1380s canon has also been referring to an authoritative list of books of the Christian Bible.
Excepting its secular extensions, canon connotes Christianity. But the more ancient story of its Latin and Greek roots are anything but. Most etymologists agree that the Latin canna and Greek kanna sprouted up on Semitic shores. As the Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology explains it, canon ultimately grew out of the Babylonian-Assyrian qanū, "reed." This, in turn, is from the Sumerian – yes, Sumerian – gin, likewise meaning "reed." Cognates include the Hebrew qāneh and the Arabic qanāh.
As Catholics observe Mother Teresa's new place in the canon of saints, her canonization adds to the long life of a very well-traveled metaphor indeed.
m ∫ r ∫
Tagged Arabic, Babylonian-Assyrian, canon, canonization, canonize, Catholicism, Church, English, etymology, French, Greek, language, Latin, metaphor, Mother Teresa, Old English, plants, Pope Francis, reeds, religion, Semitic, Sumerian, word histories, word origins
Published by John Kelly
I write about word origins buzzing in news and culture at mashedradish.com (@mashedradish). Last year, I read the complete works of Shakespeare and blogged about it at shakespeareconfidential.com (@bardconfidensh). You can also find my writing on Atlas Obscura, Mental Floss, Oxford Dictionaries, Nameberry, and Strong Language.	View all posts by John Kelly
More from Mashed Radish
Why do we call them headphone "jacks"?
2 thoughts on "From shoreline to sainthood: the origin of "canonize""
Leland Olson Hoel says:
Mother Theresa would be a very fitting candidate to become a Saint. I will have to go along with the Pope on that, even if he didn't ask me. My brother in law is a preacher out in California. I was surprised when he said, "He was trying to get me nominated for sainthood" I asked him why? He said, "well you married my sister didn't you?"
Mwncïod (@mwnciod) says:
The word "canon" in this sense of 'rule, law' found its way back into the Semitic language sphere as it was reborrowed from Greek: κανών (rule) or Latin equivalent 'canon' and phonetically rendered into Arabic as قانون (qānūn) canon, law etc. This word in Arabic also went on to become the name of a large zither like stringed musical instrument called a "qānūn" or variously spelt in English as 'ganoun', 'kanoon' or the Turkish version "kanun" (κανονάκι – kanonaki in Greek).
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Some more Emojiology for World Emoji Day
An etymological tricolor: red, white, and blue
Pulling apart "separation"
"Raccoon": an etymological show of hands?
The etymological routes of "trade"


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text:
C of E in ageing clergy crisis with 25% of ministers aged over 60
Latest figures also show Church of England clergy continue to be overwhelmingly white and male
Harriet Sherwood Religion correspondent
@harrietsherwood
Wed 1 Jun 2016 19.01 EDT Last modified on Wed 1 Jun 2016 19.02 EDT
Winchester C of E Cathedral. The figures also show that the C of E clergy continue to be overwhelmingly white and male. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock
The Church of England is facing a growing crisis of ageing clergy, with a quarter of its ministers aged over 60.
Although the number of people being ordained has increased in the past four years, new figures published by the church show that only 13% of its ministers are under the age of 40.
People of no religion outnumber Christians in England and Wales – study
"While the number of stipendiary ordinations showed a welcome increase between 2012 and 2015, this is not sufficient to redress the gathering effect of clergy retirements predicted over the next 10 years," said Julian Hubbard, the C of E's director of ministry. "With 25% of stipendiary clergy aged 60 or over, at present rates of ordination this trend will have a material and growing impact on the number of those available to serve in ordained roles across the dioceses."
The figures also show that the C of E clergy continue to be overwhelmingly white and male. Despite efforts to increase the representation of black and ethnic minority people in the church, the proportion only rose from 3% to 3.4% in the four years up to 2015.
The proportion of female clergy has increased by only three percentage points over the period, from 24% in 2012 to 27% in 2015. The number of women in senior positions is less than one in five.
"The statistics on the age and ethnicity of clergy show that we still have some way to go to ensure that the whole cohort fully reflects the demographics of the wider community," said Hubbard.
The shortage of ministers has required some paid clergy to take on additional roles, with 29% taking on the duties of at least one other job, and sometimes multiple other jobs. The figure was likely to be an underestimate, the church said. It is concerned about the increasing load on paid clergy and is placing more emphasis on greater involvement and responsibility for lay leaders within parishes and dioceses.
Mike Eastwood, director of the church's Renewal and Reform programme, said its aim was "not a top-down project to fix the church, but a narrative of local hope in God shared throughout the church. As part of Renewal and Reform, we are currently consulting on how we better release the gifts of all Christian leaders in church and wider society, whether ordained or not."
Overall there were 20,440 ordained clergy in the C of E last year, compared to 20,650 in 2012. The total number of paid clergy fell from 8,006 in 2012 to 7,661 last year.
Church of England to create bishop for minority ethnic community
Anglicans tackle divisive legacy of 1950s and win Queen's permission to set up new post in one of UK's first majority black cities
Church of England seeks more black and minority ethnic clergy
Church appoints national minority ethnic officer to help dioceses increase number of BAME candidates for ordination
As traditional believers turn away, is this a new crisis of faith?
Modern churches are driving up numbers among the young, but critics say their direct and emotional style of worship risks alienating mainstream Christians
Top cleric says Church of England risks becoming a 'suburban sect'
Plans to reverse decline in congregations may alienate even more people, says Oxford dean
Church must appoint more BAME leaders
Anglican church wants to train new clergy with apprenticeship fund
The changing shape of faith in British society
More more on this story


I would say that is exactly what they are. For every example you wish to share of an underutilised Chromebook there is an iPad, Windows Laptop and ICT Suite example to match and most probably many more. Any focus on an individual device/computer is wasted. All tools for learning rely on teachers who understand learning picking tools to support it. The Chromebook can do this if planned for and understood.
Teacher, Trainer and hoping to become a design thinker in the way I approach those..


If your vehicle is running rough, stalling, overheating, or having any other issues running, high-grade fuel will have no impact on this. Your best bet is to stop by the Delray Buick GMC service department serving Delray Beach, Florida for a complete inspection. Or you can trade it in on a new or preowned vehicle from our vast inventory.


text:
image from Jan. 13 video by Hawaii Emergency Management Agency
Hawaii Tourism Authority: Travel Demand Unaffected By Alert Scare
on Jan 16, 2018 at 6:37 pm
HONOLULU, Hawaii - George Szigeti, HTA President and CEO, says there has been little to no impact in travel demand.
(BIVN) – The Hawai'i Tourism Authority says the false alert of an inbound missile to the Aloha State says travel demand appears unaffected by the frightening mishap on January 13.
HTA president and CEO George Szigeti joined Governor David Ige and Hawaii Emergency Management Agency administrator Vern Miyagi for a media conference on Saturday, immediately following the false alarm. The emergency alert appeared on cell phones across the state, after an emergency management employee accidentally pushed the wrong button.
It took 38 minutes to retract the mistaken message through the same emergency notification channel. Residents and visitors panicked. Stories of families coping with those terrifying moments are now known around the world.
On Tuesday, Szigeti provided the following statement:
"Thankfully, we have seen little to no impact in travel demand for the Hawaiian Islands in these first few days following the false alert of an inbound missile threat to Hawai'i that was mistakenly issued by the Hawai'i Emergency Management Agency.
"We are monitoring this situation closely and maintaining continuous contact with our tourism marketing partners in 10 global travel markets. Thus far, just a small number of concerns have been reported by travelers or travel trade professionals in these markets about coming to Hawai'i.
"Additionally, only a handful of inquiries regarding the false alert have been made as of today to the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau's call center that takes calls and e-mails from people throughout the U.S. mainland interested in travel to Hawai'i.
"We are also in contact with the visitor industry locally about potential impacts to their businesses. Industry partners are understandably angry about the false alert, but none have reported to HTA an undue number of cancellations since it was issued.
"We already have in place a strategic marketing program to elevate Hawai'i's brand and help drive travel demand for the Hawaiian Islands in each of our 10 global markets. Our marketing efforts to promote travel to Hawai'i will continue unabated. If we see an increase in trip cancellations or a decline in future bookings due to the false alert, we will immediately assess and take the necessary actions to help reverse such a trend from continuing.
"Tourism can be a fragile industry and the confidence of travelers in booking trips can be shaken by an incident like this. Fortunately, in these first few days, the impact on travel to Hawai'i appears to be minimal, if at all. Hopefully, that will continue to be the case but we won't know for certain for several more weeks until we can monitor trends in airline and hotel bookings and gauge the sentiments of travelers. We will be doing this knowing how vital the tourism industry is to supporting jobs and the economic well-being of families and communities statewide.
"Our message to travelers continues to be that there is no cause to cancel trips already booked to Hawai'i or to look elsewhere for a vacation because of this false alert. Hawai'i is and continues to be a safe, secure and welcoming destination to all visitors from around the world."
Filed Under: Breaking Tagged With: George Szigeti, HTA


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Home Category Middle East Saudi Arabia
Qatar has renewed its intransigence in trying to impede Qataris from performing the Hajj rituals this year. Its move came after Saudi Arabia urged on Sunday concerned...
Jordan and Qatar announced the restoration of full diplomatic ties by naming their respective ambassadors, two years after Amman downgraded its relations with Doha due to pressure...
U.S., Taliban to Resume Talks in Qatar to End Afghanistan Bloodshed
U.S. and Taliban officials will on Tuesday resume talks in Qatar aimed at ending Afghanistan's 18-year war, hours after a delegation of Afghan citizens and the militants...
Yemen: UAE confirms withdrawal from port city of Hodeidah
The United Arab Emirates has announced a "strategic redeployment" from the port city of Hodeidah in Yemen, as well as a more limited tactical retreat elsewhere in the country...
Saudi strategic foray into Asia underscores kingdom's ambitions
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz wrapped up a recent visit to Japan with a meeting with Emperor Naruhito, who acceded to the throne in...
Solar-energy club boosted by Saudi Arabia's entry
Saudi Arabia is expected to play a significant role in the future of solar energy following an agreement it signed with an inter-governmental organization that has its...
Saudi Arabia's hometown ambitions could clip wealth fund's wings
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) risks being pulled deeper into the domestic projects of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) curbing its international ambitions and tying its fortunes...
Putin Says Russia and Saudi Arabia Will Maintain Oil Cuts
Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a deal with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to extend the OPEC+ agreement at current production levels for the rest of...
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) risks being pulled deeper into Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's domestic projects, curbing its international ambitions and tying its fortunes closer...
Saudi Arabia confirms its commitment to update national regulations
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has confirmed on Tuesday, before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) here, that it is always working in updating its national...


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Military>
American Sniper - Hardcover
Enlarge Book Cover Audio Excerpt
Memorial Edition
by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, Jim DeFelice
Hardcover Mass Market Paperback Trade Paperback E-book Large Print
The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir of U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle, and the source for Clint Eastwood's blockbuster movie which was nominated for six academy awards, including best picture.
From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. His fellow American warriors, whom he protected with deadly precision from rooftops and stealth positions during the Iraq War, called him "The Legend"; meanwhile, the enemy feared him so much they named him al-Shaitan ("the devil") and placed a bounty on his head. Kyle, who was tragically killed in 2013, writes honestly about the pain of war—including the deaths of two close SEAL teammates—and in moving first-person passages throughout, his wife, Taya, speaks openly about the strains of war on their family, as well as on Chris. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle's masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.
Imprint: William Morrow
BISAC1: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Military
BISAC3: HISTORY / Modern / 21st Century
BISAC4: HISTORY / Military / Iraq War (2003-2011)
"Chris Kyle tells his story with the same courage and grit he displayed in life and on the battlefield. American Sniper is a compelling read." - CLINT EASTWOOD
"An amazingly detailed account of fighting in Iraq--a humanizing, brave story that's extremely readable." - PATRICIA CORNWELL, New York Times Book Review
"In the elite community of warriors, one man has risen above our ranks and distinguished himself as unique. Chris Kyle is that man. A master sniper, Chris has done and seen things that will be talked about for generations to come." - MARCUS LUTTRELL, author of Lone Survivor
"Chris Kyle was incredible, the most celebrated war hero of our time, a true American hero in every sense of the word." - D Magazine
"The raw and unforgettable narrative of the making of our country's record-holding sniper, Chris Kyle's memoir is a powerful book, both in terms of combat action and human drama. Chief Kyle is a true American warrior down to the bone, the Carlos Hathcock of a new generation." - CHARLES W. SASSER, Green Beret (US Army Ret.) and author of One Shot, One Kill
"Reads like a first-person thriller narrated by a sniper. The bare-bones facts are stunning. .... A first-rate military memoir." - BOOKLIST
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - No Source
"American Sniper is the inside story of what it's like to be in war. A brave warrior and patriot, Chris Kyle writes frankly about the missions, personal challenges, and hard choices that are part of daily life of an elite SEAL Sniper. It's a classic!" - RICHARD MARCINKO (USN, Ret.), First Commanding Officer of SEAL Team Six and #1 bestselling author of Rogue Warrior
Audio Excerpt
https://b0f646cfbd7462424f7a-f9758a43fb7c33cc8adda0fd36101899.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/hc-audio/9780062116130.mp3
Sudden Courage
by Ronald C. Rosbottom
Every Man a Hero
by Ray Lambert, Jim DeFelice
Code Name: Johnny Walker
by Johnny Walker, Jim DeFelice
by Mark Lee Gardner
American Sniper [Movie Tie-in Edition]
The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Inspiration for the Major Motion Picture Official Secrets
by Marcia Mitchell, Thomas Mitchell
Digital Gold
by Nathaniel Popper
Official Secrets: The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War
The Hunter Killers
by Dan Hampton
by Alistair Horne


text:
V.S was born in Pretoria, South Africa. Started writing his music 2011 when he wanted to express his feelings through an artistic picture, and then he was inspired to write a song called "you never know". His passion for music build up and began to create music production on his own, making genres such as Hip Hop and R&B all his work and creativity was influenced by artist such as Ryan Leslie, Jay Z, and Lupe Fiasco to write his own music.
He released his first Mixtape in June 2012 called "Count Me In", which opened doors for him to collect audience worldwide to build his mailing list and social presence online. V.S produced and recorded all songs from the Mixtape on his own and started to make a name for himself. In the year 2013 (12 of August) he released his first debut album independently called "V.S Meets Love". 1 of the songs from the album namely "Go Hard" has made a placement of being in the top 20 list of hottest songs at modernbeats.com song submit reference link (www.modernbeats.com/hit-talk/song-submit-top-20-for-october-2013/).
He now has over 43 thousand (43k) twitter followers and over a thousand (1k) facebook likes worldwide.
Made radio appearance to radio stations such as VUTFM, SoshFM, TshwaneFM, Megazone Hit radio, West Coast (Kinky Friday), SMUFM.
Made TV appearance on Tshwane TV Channel 262(DSTV)


text:
Q: Elastic search highlights the whole word instead of the part of word If the query was Brid I want to get Bridgitte in highlighted fields, not the whole word Bridgitte
My index looks like this (I've added ngram analyzer as was suggested here Highlighting part of word in elasticsearch)
{
"myindex": {
    "aliases": {},
    "mappings": {
        "mytype": {
            "properties": {
                "myarrayproperty": {
                    "properties": {
                        "mystringproperty1": {
                            "type": "string",
                            "term_vector": "with_positions_offsets",
                            "analyzer": "index_ngram_analyzer",
                            "search_analyzer": "search_term_analyzer"
                        },
                        "mystringproperty2": {
                            "type": "string",
                            "term_vector": "with_positions_offsets",
                            "analyzer": "index_ngram_analyzer",
                            "search_analyzer": "search_term_analyzer"
                        }
                    },
                    "mylongproperty": {
                        "type": "long"
                    },
                    "mydateproperty": {
                        "type": "date",
                        "format": "strict_date_optional_time||epoch_millis"
                    },
                    "mystringproperty3": {
                        "type": "string",
                        "term_vector": "with_positions_offsets",
                        "analyzer": "index_ngram_analyzer",
                        "search_analyzer": "search_term_analyzer"
                    },
                    "mystringproperty4": {
                        "type": "string",
                        "term_vector": "with_positions_offsets",
                        "analyzer": "index_ngram_analyzer",
                        "search_analyzer": "search_term_analyzer"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "settings": {
            "index": {
                "creation_date": "1498030893611",
                "analysis": {
                    "analyzer": {
                        "search_term_analyzer": {
                            "filter": "lowercase",
                            "type": "custom",
                            "tokenizer": "ngram_tokenizer"
                        },
                        "index_ngram_analyzer": {
                            "filter": ["lowercase"],
                            "type": "custom",
                            "tokenizer": "ngram_tokenizer"
                        }
                    },
                    "tokenizer": {
                        "ngram_tokenizer": {
                            "token_chars": ["letter", "digit"],
                            "min_gram": "1",
                            "type": "nGram",
                            "max_gram": "15"
                        }
                    }
                },
                "number_of_shards": "5",
                "number_of_replicas": "1",
                "uuid": "e5kBX-XRTKOqeAScO1Fs0w",
                "version": {
                    "created": "2040499"
                }
            }
        },
        "warmers": {}
    }
}

}
This is embedded Elasticsearch instance, not sure if it's relevant.
My query looks like this
    MatchQueryBuilder queryBuilder = matchPhrasePrefixQuery("_all", query).maxExpansions(50);
final SearchResponse response = client.prepareSearch("myindex")
    .setQuery(queryBuilder)
    .addHighlightedField("mystringproperty3", 0, 0)
    .addHighlightedField("mystringproperty4", 0, 0)
    .addHighlightedField("myarrayproperty.mystringproperty1", 0, 0)
    .setHighlighterRequireFieldMatch(false)
    .execute().actionGet();

And it doesn't work. I've tried to change query to queryStringQuery but it seems like it doesn't support search by part of the word. Any suggestions?

A: It's not possible. Elastic search does the indexing of a word.  From tokenization perspective, you can not do much here.
You may need to write the wrapper over a search result. (Not elastic search specific)

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Mexican Tea leaves are gathered days before, they now have covered with proper washcloth to avoid sunlight by hitting these leaves, it will probably change their colors probably shades. Japan is most popular country to produce this kind Thai Tea Nishio and so Uji. However, Matcha is considered dried, handpicked and that time converted into green film. This Thai Tea is planted, harvested and if you can to what makes model Matcha Thai Tea Matcha Thai Tea comes far from same plant which can be to make oolong, pelouse and black Thai Tea leaf camellia sinensis.
stop oxidization and keep in mind vivid green color, may properly harvested leaves always be sThai Teamed on warm temperature. There re main key differences in asia and other types. From this day forward Thai Tea leaves have been passing through multi chambered airmachine and they are generally cooled and blown. Now, they re passing because of large equipped cages among blowers. In this stage, leaves are called Survival mode or Aracha .After blow drying process, it is and then task of eliminating i would say the veins and stems using this plant; it is wiped out special drum such compared to machine.
Its part to become is called tencha and raw subject material is used. At this point , final step is usually grinding of produces into powder. Of past, this procedure was done by hand bow now, more and more machines are in use that can cycle them slowly. Additionally it is called grinded . It takes long time and hour with regard to grind it as part of gram of matcha. Now keep that in very cold. Otherwise it will start oxidizing.Now until this Thai Tea can have vegetable reminiscent of and bitter savor like an boring Thai Tea.


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Comic > "HQ-Fate/Destiny"
Latest | Review | A-Z | Top(week) | Top(month) List View  Gallery 6 of 35 pages (684 items)
A Secret Until Now
AuthorJunko Okada Kim Lawrence
Angel gifted her purity to Alex and believed he was the love of her life. But the very next morning, a ring fell out of his pocket. Angel was devastated and hid her broken heart beneath her memories. Six years later, she was a popular model on a small island in Greece for a photo shoot. While she was at a party on location, Alex showed up. Angel played it cool, but there was more than her heart on the line-she was keeping a secret from Alex that he must never find out.
(c)JUNKO OKADA/KIM LAWRENCE
Husband by Contract
AuthorErika Kari Helen Brooks
Grace grew up in an orphanage, but she found herself a happy, stable family when she married Donato, an Italian millionaire, and gave birth to their son. But her happiness was short-lived since their son died as an infant. The days that followed were full of grief for Grace...and then she discovered that Donato was having an affair. It was all too much for her,and she left Italy. That was one year ago...and now her mother-in-law, who was always warm and loving to Grace, has passed away. Grace returns to Italy for the funeral, where she sees Donato again. He's just as kind and charismatic as ever, and the memories come flooding back.
(c)ERIKA KARI/HELEN BROOKS
Pretender to the Throne The Call of Duty I
AuthorMasami Shinohara Maisey Yates
Xander, prodigal prince and the infamous firstborn heir to the throne of Kyonos, a small island kingdom in the Aegean Sea, has returned home. Layna is at a loss for words when her former fiance, who now appears before her for the first time in fifteen years, demands that she come with him. Once a candidate to be queen, Layna is now a shadow of her former self, living a quiet life as a nun in training. So why has he returned now? It's because of him that Layna's heart and body are permanently scarred, so she refuses his command. But resisting him won't be so easy.
(c)MASAMI SHINOHARA/MAYSEY YATES
The Marriage Resolution Sweet Revenge Seduction IV
AuthorJET Penny Jordan
Until recently Dee had always been close with her friends, laughing and enjoying life. She's watched as they've become wives and then mothers. She's an industrious businesswoman, free from the restraints and shackles of married life. There have been some things that she couldn't achieve, but she intends to live her life to the fullest nevertheless. Then, in an instant, the heartbreak she thought she had buried forever reemerges. While visiting her former teacher's house, Dee runs into the man she first gave her body and heart to, the one she was once wildly in love with-Hugo!
Stranger from the Past
AuthorMasako Ogimaru Penny Jordan
Ten years ago, Sybilla's childhood friend Gareth, who was a few years older than she, cruelly shattered her heart, and now he's returned home from America following his grandfather's death. All those years ago Gareth said he found Sybilla's affection annoying, and those words carved a deep wound in Sybilla's heart that still hurts her to this day. But now he's grown even more handsome than he was before, and the feelings she thought she'd buried deep down are desperate to make themselves known. She knows it's stupid, and she knows she'll just end up getting hurt, but it seems her heart won't be denied.
(c)MASAKO OGIMARU/PENNY JORDAN
Forgotten Marriage
AuthorAzusa Kurokawa Paula Roe
Ally was speechless when she saw her husband, Finn, again after two months apart. They'd fallen in love and eloped in the blink of an eye, but their marriage didn't last. The successor to one of the biggest jewelry companies in the world, he took her to his hometown right after they got married. But his disposition soon turned stony, and he devoted all his time to his work, never giving his lonely wife a second thought. Deeply hurt, she left his house out of desperation. But now Finn is back in Ally's life and looking at her with passionate eyes. What could have led to such a change?
(c)AZUSA KUROKAWA/PAULA ROE
Christakis's Rebellious Wife The Legacies of Powerful Men II
AuthorSae Nanahoshi Lynne Graham
Betsy and her Greek multimillionaire husband are in the middle of divorce proceedings! Betsy wanted to have a baby with the man she loves from the bottom of her heart. But then she found out the unthinkable truth: Nik had gotten a vasectomy! She should've known he'd never want a baby with a poor girl like her! Betsy was living on her own as they worked through their divorce when Nik showed up out of the blue and they shared a night of passion. Many weeks later, she's still grappling with her feelings for him when she begins to notice changes in her body!
(c)SAE NANAHOSHI/LYNNE GRAHAM
The Last Groom On Earth
AuthorKaoru Ohashi Candace Camp
Bryce Richards is a brilliant auditor, so when his mentor's daughter, Angela, is facing business problems, he is asked to help. At first he's reluctant to go because Angela used to play nasty tricks on him when they were young. But he is surprised to find her grown into a gorgeous redheaded beauty. Angela is furious at her mother for sending Bryce to help her. As a child, Angela was jealous of Bryce because he was her mother's favorite student while she was hopeless at school. But the Bryce she meets twelve years later is stunningly handsome. Still, Angela cannot bring herself to face her own feelings...
(c)KAORU OHASHI/CANDACE CAMP
A Groom Worth Waiting for
AuthorMachiko Ocha Sophie Pembroke
Thea is to marry the eldest son of the notable Ashton family in just a few days. But that's when her first love-the one she hasn't forgotten about after eight years-shows up. Her heart becomes restless when she faces her first love and his suggestive stare. Zeke used to be an heir to the Ashton family, but he left after his relationship with his father deteriorated. He asked Thea to come with him, but she declined his offer. So why has he come back now...and why does she still want him?
(c)MACHIKO OCHA /SOPHIE PEMBROKE
Emergency: Mother Wanted
AuthorMito Orihara Sarah Morgan
As a new intern, Keely is shocked by the identity of her clinical instructor. It's Zach-a friend of her brother's, the man she was head over heels in love with when she was sixteen...and who rejected her marriage proposal. Zach lost his wife a year ago and is struggling with the care of their little girl. So Keely offers to help him with his daughter, but she also vows to herself not to fall in love with him again and to act like a sensible grown-up. As they spend time together, though, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to honor that vow...
(c)MITO ORIHARA/SARAH MORGAN
Zane: the Wild One
AuthorEko Yumi Bronwyn Jameson
Plenty was a beautiful and serene town, and Julia was the mayor's well-behaved daughter. Her sister decided to host a party in order to find Julia a husband, but on her way to the party, Julia got into a car accident. The man who came to tow her car took Julia's breath away-it was Zane. He was a wild and dangerous man-her complete opposite. Zane was surprised to see Julia, too. He couldn't believe the sexy beauty before him was the same, innocent Julia he'd always known.
(c)EKO YUMI/BRONWYN TURNER
Bridal Blues
AuthorChisato Nakamura Cathie Linz
Melissa was shocked when the man calls her Lissa. The only one who'd ever called her that before was her childhood friend Nick. But in front of her stood a strong, handsome man, the complete opposite of the timid, skinny, glasses-wearing boy she'd once known! After not seeing each other for twenty years, Nick had come back into Melissa's life, and not a moment too soon. She was hurting, having just been abandoned by her fiance. After discovering that the other villagers gossip about and pity her, Nick suggests they pretend to be a couple. That way no one will pity her anymore, and maybe her fiance would even return!
(c)CHISATO NAKAMURA/CATHIE L. BAUMGARDNER
Secret Baby, Public Affair Rogue Diamonds II
AuthorHarumo Sanazaki Yvonne Lindsay
Three days before her wedding, Blair discovered her fiance was having an affair with her best friend. In order to heal her heartbreak, she went to Tuscany, where they should have had their honeymoon, and met Draco, an aristocrat from a noble family. They shared several wild days together, but the worlds they live in are just too different... Afterward, Blair throws herself into her work to try to forget about him, but one day Draco makes a surprise visit. No matter how much she tries to insist it was just a brief fling, he won't relent, and she eventually succumbs to his passionate advances. He's reawoken her pleasant memories of Italy, but everything's about to change again... She's pregnant!
(c)FUYUKI MIZUHARA/DOLCE VITA TRUST
For the Babies' Sakes
AuthorMio Takai Sara Wood
Helen loved her husband, Dan, from the bottom of her heart. The teenage sweethearts tied the knot two years ago, and their life together was wonderful. Until the day Helen came home from work early with a nasty cold...and found her half-naked husband with his secretary, Celine. When she wasn't home, it seems the two of them had been... She couldn't even think about it! Dan begged her to trust him. But what on earth was she supposed to believe!
(c)MIO TAKAI/SARA WOOD
Dangerous Rhapsody
AuthorYuko Ichiju Anne Mather
Emma's big brother is in trouble-he's embezzled from his company, and in order to help him, she's gone to her ex-lover, the company's CEO, Damon Thorne. The two dated seven years ago, but Emma felt their difference in social status and left him. Damon, still hurting from their past love, says he'll help if she works as a live-in nurse and babysitter for his daughter, who is blind, in the Bahamas. No matter how coldly he treats her, Emma can't say anything when she thinks about how she treated him. So she spends her time with little Annabel, and she hides her cherished love for Damon...
(c)YUKO ICHIJU/ANNE MATHER
The Greek's Long-Lost Son
AuthorHaruhi Sakura Rebecca Winters
Stella's veins turn to ice when she hears his voice over the phone... It's been six years since she last saw Theo. Her parents didn't approve of their relationship, so when she got pregnant, they decided to elope. Stella believed they were deeply in love, but Theo never showed up the day they planned to run away together. Hearing from Theo now throws Stella's heart into turmoil, but he wants to talk about their son, so she agrees to meet him. He's grown even more attractive as time has passed, and Stella's heart is in her throat. She knows he's no good for her, and yet she can't help how she feels!
(c)HARUHI SAKURA/REBECCA WINTERS
Rawhide and Lace
AuthorMiyako Fujiomi Diana Palmer
After losing her ability to walk in an accident, Erin was forced to quit her job as a model. She felt miserable, but then she received news that her friend Bruce had passed away, as well. His will gives Erin everything he had, but there's one condition-she must live with his brother, Tyson, on their family farm in Texas. Why would Bruce do this to her? In the past, Erin was attracted to Tyson's solitary nature and she slept with him. The very next day, he sent her packing. She still bears the emotional scars from that day. Is this Bruce's revenge?
(c)MIYAKO FUJIOMI/DIANA PALMER
Husband Not Included!
AuthorMaoko Nagasaki Mary Lyons
Flora, a fashion model on the way to a shoot in the Caribbean, is shocked when she learns the name of the man who owns the island-Ross Duncan Whitney, her husband! He walked out on her years ago. She never expected to run into Ross in a place like this! To make matters worse, her current contract requires that she be single. Even after living apart for so long, Flora and Ross are still technically married. If their secret gets out, the breach of contract will mean more than just the loss of a job... But when she begs Ross to keep quiet about it, he responds by kissing her!
(c)MAOKO NAGASAKI/MARY LYONS
His Sicilian Cinderella
AuthorMao Karino Carol Marinelli
One day, when maid Bella took breakfast up to the deluxe suite of the luxury hotel where she works, she was frozen by what she saw. It was Matteo, her lover from five years ago...in bed with another woman! Since escaping Sicily, where they both grew up, he's become a famous and wealthy entrepreneur. There are even rumors that he's bought the hotel Bella works at! Long ago, the night before eighteen-year-old Bella was to be sold into prostitution, she gave Matteo her virginity, and they promised each other they would escape their mafia-controlled island. However, Bella was unable to escape with him that night and remained trapped for many years. So why, after finally reuniting, does Matteo look at Bella with eyes full of resentment and anger?
(c)MAO KARINO/CAROL MARINELLI
After the Ball
AuthorTakane Yonetani Catherine George
Eliza does her twin sister a favor and goes to a party in her place, but how long will she be able to fend off the roguish glances of her sister's boyfriend? He seems intent on taking her to bed. Eliza is trying to find a way out of the situation when her first love, Giles, appears out of the crowd. Just seeing his face brings back old memories...and he's the only one who can help her now! She explains the situation and asks for his help. But he says he wants something in return!
(c)TAKANE YONETANI/CATHERINE GEORGE
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package org.drools.fluent;

public interface VariableContext<P> {

    P get(String name);

    <T> T get(String name, Class<T> type);

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Department of Music & Theatre
UNW Orchestra
Our acclaimed UNW Orchestra has performed in Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria. Explore opportunities to share your passion for orchestral music with this esteemed ensemble.
The UNW Orchestra, under the baton of David Kozamchak since 2003, fulfills its mission to glorify God while providing music majors, music minors, and students from other academic disciplines with the opportunity to play a wide variety of orchestral literature from Baroque to contemporary, as well as jazz, film, and newly-composed music. The ensemble has performed for the Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter Clinic and in 2007 represented the United States at the XVII International Music Meeting in Padua, Italy.
Committed to a full spectrum of historic music and music of the present, the UNW Orchestra has presented world premieres of Cowboy Songs by Libby Larsen, Sacred Americana Suite by faculty member Barbara J. Rogers, collaborated with the Northwestern Choir in the full-length opera Ruth by Rogers and Pamela S. Wynn, and Hollywood film composer/orchestrator and alumnus Jordan Cox: Zachor, Andante and Capriccio for English Horn and Orchestra, The Holly and the Ivy, and Arran & Nerys which featured UNW faculty members Roger Frisch, violin, and Michele Frisch, flute.
On campus, the UNW Orchestra pursues its mission through numerous performances, including the Homecoming Fall Showcase with the Symphonic Band and Northwestern Choir and the Concerto-Aria Competition Winner's Concert. Its annual Children's Concert for thousands of Twin Cities school children and their families has featured a musical instrument "petting zoo" and various children's activities prior to the show.
The UNW Orchestra Praise Chapel has become a very popular praise and worship chapel, and the orchestra has regularly collaborated with the Northwestern Choir in presenting choral-orchestral masterworks such as Brahms' A German Requiem, Beethoven's Choral Fantasy and Mass in C, Schubert's Mass in G, Gloria by Vivaldi, J.S. Bach's Cantata BWV 80 "Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott," and Mendelssohn's Lobgesang, among others.
The UNW Orchestra has presented annual domestic tours throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and in the Midwestern United States, and extensively throughout the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Every fourth year, the ensemble travels overseas. In its history, the UNW Orchestra has appeared in prestigious concert venues in Italy, in France at the Halle aux Grains in Lavaur, and at the Church of St. Denis in Nuits St. Georges, where a local critic described the ensemble as "Magnificent! A quality orchestra!" In Switzerland, the UNW Orchestra concertized in the Cathedral of St. Pierre, in Aula Hall at the Collège Calvin in Geneva. Their visit to Austria featured performances in Haydn Hall in the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, at the Orangerie at Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace, and Votivkirche.
UNW Orchestra Tour Schedule
University of Northwestern - St. Paul
1:00 p.m. BON VOYAGE CONCERT
Knight Performance Hall
3003 Snelling Avenue N
Benjamin Franklin High School
8:00 a.m. All School Concert
18864 Germann Road
Hawthorn Court
13822 S 46th Place
Desert Hills Presbyterian Church
8:15, 9:45, 11:10 a.m. Worship Participation
4:00 p.m. Concert
34605 N Tom Darlington Drive
Olive Grove Retirement Community
3014 E Indian School Road
Bellevue Heights Church
7:00 p.m. Joint Concert
with Phoenix Christian School
9440 W Hutton Drive
Recent Tours
2018 California
2017 with Jazz Ensemble: Chicago, IL
2016 with Northwestern Choir: ND, SD, and MN
2015 Hawaii
Considering joining Northwestern's Symphonic Band? Check out the ensemble's mission, performances,...
Does your toe tap to jazz? Want to play in a swing band? Learn more about our Jazz Ensemble.
Deepen your passion for chamber music by joining this motivated and collaborative group of musicians.
Learn about our vibrant piano program. Start your application to audition.
Ask Questions & Connect


text:
African Prospect
ICSAA
The Environmental Destruction and Resource Exploitation of African Land Grabs
By: Benjamin Ngachoko and Jillian Nowlin
In addition to infringing on property rights, economic rights, and food and water rights, land grabs have also significantly violated the environmental rights of African people. Environmental rights assert that all human beings deserve to live in a clean, healthy environment regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, and/or gender, and future generations deserve an environment in which they can continue to live and thrive. Environmental injustice happens when environmental degradation not only takes place, but the environment of disenfranchised, poor communities is destroyed. This is often the case with African communities forced to leave their land. The ways in which land from land grabs is used is often detrimental to existing ecosystems, and research has shown that when communities' environments are damaged the result is violent conflict. To take away one's land is certainly unjust, but to destroy an ecosystem leaving it unfit for further human use is blatant injustice. In this article on environmental rights and land grabs, I will discuss the environmental degradation that often comes with land grabs as well as the existing laws that protect people's environments.
Economic Development or Environmental Injustice?
As briefly discussed in the previous articles on land grabs, resource extraction, agribusiness, and industry are the predominant usages for land taken through land grabs. Timber, mining, and oil production are relatively old industries in Africa dating back to colonialism while growing produce for biofuels is relatively new. All these industries are incredibly detrimental to the environment in that they cause deforestation, biodiversity loss, and water and soil pollution. They are not only incredibly detrimental to the land, but also to human health for both the laborers working the mines and the communities living nearby. The byproducts from the industrial process are often toxic and hazardous to human health and end up in the natural water sources around the industrial sites. Moreover, these industries, especially agribusiness, require extensive amounts of water that is already a scarce resource in Africa.
In addition to the negative side effects of biofuel production, waste distancing is another relatively new environmental challenge for Africa. Waste distancing is when a rich government or community is able to pay to have their waste dumped within or nearby an impoverished community. One of the first environmental justice cases on waste distancing happened in Koko, Nigeria where a farmer was paid a small fee to take toxic-waste drums from Italy[1]. In Ghana, children drag magnets through e-waste landfills hoping to collect metals like coltan, gold, and tungsten that are used in electronic devices. Those metals are then bought by Chinese brokers and reused in new electronic products[2]. A number of studies on environmental justice have shown that "poor neighborhoods and communities, including those made up largely of people of color or Native peoples, tend to be targeted for the siting of landfills and other toxic activities"[3] because they usually do not have the resources or political clout to resist the waste dumping and need the income that waste scavenging brings in.
Protecting Human Rights and Human Habitats
Because of the impending negative environmental and social consequences of climate change, environmental protection is an increasingly important endeavor for governments and communities all over the world. This is especially true for Africa as it is expected to experience some of the worst effects from global climate change. Many international laws have been implemented to protect environmental rights, prevent biodiversity loss, and promote sustainable resource development. The African Union Convention on the Conservation of Natural Resources was created to promote the sustainable development of African resources while also protecting the surrounding ecosystem from exploitation and pollution. Additionally, there are two conventions that prohibit waste distancing and monitor the transboundary movement of hazardous materials in Africa: Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes Within Africa and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Both conventions call for "the reduction of hazardous waste generation and the promotion of environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes, wherever the place of disposal, [as well as] the restriction of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes except where it is perceived to be in accordance with the principles of environmentally sound management."[4] Additionally, countries like Namibia and South Africa have strong environmental justice laws protecting both the rights of the people in their habitats as well as the ecosystems of their territories[5].
Nonetheless, more can be done to protect the environment for all people by preventing land grabs. The forcible removal of people from their land is wrong, but destruction of land sanctioned by the government adds insult to injury. One cannot assume that pollution would not take place if African communities were not disenfranchised from their land or the economy. However, it is much easier to pollute land one has no connection to instead of a homeland where one and one's family must survive for years to come. As with the previous rights issues surrounding land grabs, it is not that laws to prevent environmental injustice are lacking. Environmental injustice takes place because of government and corruption a lack of law enforcement.
As we have already witnessed decades of violence, sickness, and death resulting from the environmental degradation caused by Dutch Royal Shell in Nigeria's delta region, one can expect more violence and conflict to occur throughout the African continent if environmental damages continue. Investment, industry, and economic growth are all essential to Africa's development for the future. However, a healthy, pollution-free environment with enforced human rights law is also essential to Africa's future. Land grabs are not an economic activity that supports the social justice and environmental protection that sustainable development is about, which is why these types of deals must stop. As with any healthy democracy, people must rally for government transparency and protection of their rights. Obviously, this is no easy task. However, without civil protest Africans will continue to be disenfranchised from their land and suffer environmental injustice.
[1]- Clapp, Jennifer. "The Distancing of Waste: Overconsumption in a Global Economy." Confronting Consumption. Cambridge: MIT, 2002. 155-76. Print.
[2]- Puckett, Jim. "After Dump, What Happens to Electronic Waste." Interview by Terri Gross.
Audio blog post. Fresh Air. National Public Radio, 21 Dec. 2010. Web. 21 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132204954/after-dump-what-happens-to-electronicwaste>.
[3]- Clapp 164.
[4]- "The Basel Convention at a Glance..." Basel Convention, The Convention Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2012. <http://www.basel.int/TheConvention/Overview/tabid/1271/Default.aspx>.
[5]- Ruppel, Oliver C. Environmental Rights and Justice under the Namibian Constitution. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Environmental Law and Policy in Namibia. Hanns Seidel Foundation, 11 Feb. 2011. Web. 20 June 2012. <www.environment-namibia.net/tl_files/pdf_documents/selected_publications/Environmental%20Rights%20and%20Justice%20under%20the%20Namibian%20Constitution_Ruppel%202010.pdf>.


text:
Linia kolejowa 862 – znaczenia miejscowego, jednotorowa, częściowo zelektryfikowana linia kolejowa, łącząca rejon RTB stacji Rybnik Towarowy z posterunkiem odgałęźnym Radlin Obszary. Odcinek linii należący do Infra Silesia, według numeracji tego zarządcy, nosi numer 216.

Charakterystyka techniczna
Linia w całości jest klasy D3, maksymalny nacisk osi wynosi 221 kN dla lokomotyw oraz wagonów, a maksymalny nacisk liniowy wynosi 71 kN (na metr bieżący toru). Linia podlega pod obszar konstrukcyjny ekspozytury Centrum Zarządzania Linii Kolejowych Sosnowiec, a także pod Zakład Linii Kolejowych Tarnowskie Góry. Prędkość maksymalna poruszania się pociągów na linii wynosi 30 km/h, natomiast prędkość konstrukcyjna wynosi 40 km/h.

Przypisy

862

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