text:
Movie Review: Dr. No
Movie Review: The Shawshank Redemption
Movie Review: Solaris
Solzhenitsyn's Warning to the West
Schall on Culture
Political Theology: A Beginning (I)
Russia & the Family
von Balthasar on Beauty
Return of the King?
Something about the arrival of a new year makes people uncharacteristically introspective, a phenomenon for which I am quite grateful. Those for whom such a state is in fact a chronic condition may still, though, take this opportunity to reflect. I shall do so here and now.
First and foremost, many thanks to my esteemed and excellent co-blogger Mr. Northcutt. He kindly invited me to share this space with him and I have been most honored and pleased to do so. I much look forward to his coming writings this next year and toward collaboration.
Second, thank you dear readers. We have attempted to provide you with commentary, considerations, and findings both scholarly and significant, enjoyable and enlightening. We hope you have found them so.
Expect in the future more on conservatism and liberalism and significant disagreement between your humble bloggers. Expect more thoughts on Classics and the Classical world. I intend to continue my essays in musical analysis and film reviews and welcome any suggestions as to what to review.
We have largely refrained from entering the fray of partisan politics and intend only to do so at the service of discussing a philosophical question.
I will leave Herr Mozart the last words of 2009:
Le nozze di Figaro, Act IV: Contessa Perdono. . .
Bryn Terfel, Alison Hagley, Rodney Gilfry, Hillevi Martinpelto.
The English Baroque Soloists conducted by John Eliot Gardiner.
Filmed at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. 1993.
Then let us all
This day of torment,
Of caprices and folly,
Love can end
Only in contentment and joy.
Lovers and friends, let's round things off
In dancing and pleasure,
And to the sound of a gay march
Let's hasten to the revelry!
Ah, tutti contenti
saremo così.
Questo giorno di tormenti,
di capricci, e di follia,
in contenti e in allegria
solo amor può terminar.
Sposi, amici, al ballo, al gioco,
alle mine date foco!
Ed al suon di lieta marcia
corriam tutti a festeggiar!
Translation via Opera Guide: The Virtual Opera House.
Directed by Terence Young. 1962.
I recently revisited Dr. No, this time with the DVD commentary track turned on. The commentary features a variety of clips from people associated with the film's production and one phrase came up with disturbing frequency, tongue-in-cheek; first from the director, incredibly referring to the first shot of Bond when he introduces himself, and then regarding the art direction. Let us add a quote from Richard Maibaum, who adapted Ian Fleming's novel into the Dr. No screenplay:
A bright young producer accosted me one day with glittering eyes. 'I'm making a parody of the James Bond films.' How, I asked myself, does one make a parody of a parody? For that is precisely, in the final analysis, what we have done with Fleming's books. Parodied them. [1]
I had, in fact, known about Maibaum's quote before my recent viewing of Dr. No, but there was something about hearing it directly from the horse's mouth that set me aghast. Dr. No, tongue-in-cheek. . . really? You are making fun of James Bond. . . why?! What exactly about him do you find it necessary to mock? His wit, cleverness, adaptability, strength, dashing, success? That he is irresistible to women, that he trounces his enemies with cunning and technological superiority, that he defends his country? To my mind I have yet to list something I would not consider an asset or laudable characteristic. Aside from being the hero of the plot in the films and novels, why would one mock someone who embodies these characteristics? When one hears the name James Bond what comes to your mind? Some months ago in The Chronicle of Higher Education Michael Dirda wrote:
The first words we think of when we describe James Bond — at least the 007 of the films — are suave, debonair, cosmopolitan. All those are shorthand for Bond's supreme personal characteristic, what Renaissance courtiers always aspired to exemplify: sprezzatura. That is the ability to perform even the most difficult task with flair, grace, and nonchalance, without getting a wrinkle in your clothes or working up a sweat. Bond not only is cool, he always looks cool, at ease in his skin, at home in the world. Whatever his surroundings, he's the best-dressed guy in the room. [2]
Do you think of that, or something like it, or do you laugh, and think, "Oh silly James Bond, he thinks he can do those things! No one can do those things!" With the inevitable and dejected, if suppressed, conclusion following, "I certainly can't." And how do you feel? Exhilarated at the thought of such feats and desirous of emulating them in some fashion, or envious?*
As I have observed, the public reaction to the series has been overwhelmingly closer to the former. The situation is not dissimilar from that of the television program The Avengers, which was apparently conceived of as a parody but went onto be taken seriously by the public and likewise on to great success.[3]
In her book, The Romantic Manifesto, Ayn Rand discussed this issue of self-mockery and succinctly summarized the contradiction:
One may laugh with a hero, but never at him–just as a satire may laugh at some object, but never at itself. . .
In Fleming's novels, James Bond is constantly making witty, humorous remarks, which are part of his charm. But, apparently this is not what Mr. Maibaum meant by humor. What he meant, apparently, was humor at Bond's expense–the sort of humor intended to undercut Bond's stature, to make him ridiculous. . .
[Such tongue-in-cheek thrillers] require one employ all the values of a thriller in order to hold the audience's interest, yet turn these values against themselves, that one damage the very elements one is using and counting on. It means an attempt to cash in on the thing one is mocking, to profit by the audience's hunger for romanticism while seeking to destroy it. [3]
The audacity of James Bond: taking himself seriously! I recall once reading an introduction to Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, one which went to various lengths to try to explain away the fact that title character too, like Bond, takes himself seriously, though we should not. (I tore the introduction from the book.)
Regardless of the director, screenwriter, and production crew's intentions, in Dr. No James Bond is in full form and people love him. He is indomitable, getting the better of the increasingly-dangerous array of goons until defeating the arch villain himself. He is indefatigable, engaging in hand-to-hand combat, gun fighting, and working his way through the defenses of Dr. No's island. Whether he is laying traps setting up his room so he will know if it was searched, or springing the henchmen's traps and then turning the tables on them, Bond remains unfazed. He is irresistible, winning over several gorgeous women. Indeed, Bond is so incontestable when Dr. No, whose unlimited resources have failed to get the better of Bond, remarks to the spy, "you cost me time, money, effort. . . you damage my organization. . . and my pride. I was curious to see what kind of a man you were" we rather appreciate the praise for Bond, despite its source.
In the same article, Dirda concluded, "Bond has become as archetypal as Hamlet or Sherlock Holmes, a hero with a thousand faces — and among them are yours and mine." [2] Indeed. Junior year in high school I was asked by a teacher what literary character I would like to be and replied: James Bond. I haven't changed my mind.
[1] NY Times. December 13, 1964. Selection reprinted in The Romantic Manifesto. Rand, Ayn. 1971. Signet, A Division of Penguin Group. NY, NY.
[2] Dirda, Michael. James Bond as Archetype (and Incredibly Cool Dude). The Chronicle of Higher Education. June 2008. [Link] (subscription required)
[3] Rand, Ayn. The Romantic Manifesto. 1971. Signet, A Division of Penguin Group. NY, NY.
*In the Aristotelian usage.
Bonus: Six Lessons in Manliness from James Bond, via The Art of Manliness.
Christmas Edition for the week of Saturday, December 19 through Friday, December 25.
1-4) In The WSJ:
Julia Vitullo-Martin on King's College Chapel.
Heidi Waleson on Les Contes d'Hoffmann (at The Metropolitan Opera Dec. 23, 26, 30 and Jan. 2)
John J. Miller on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and "The Burden of Holmes."
David Mermelstein interviews pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, who will be playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 KV.488 at Lincoln Center Dec. 29, 30 and Jan. 2. ("Though the repertory may seem unexciting. . ." Surely Mr. Mermelstein jests!)
5) In City Journal Stefan Kanfer reviews "Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong" by Terry Teachout.
. . .the noise of axes grinding could never drown out the immortal sound of Louis Armstrong's music. To Teachout, that constitutes a "sunlit, hopeful art, brought into being by the labor of a lifetime." Second the emotion.
6) In City Journal, Guy Sorman reviews "Last Exit to Utopia: The Survival of Socialism in a Post-Soviet Era" by Jean-Francois Revel.
7) "A Tale of Two Libertarianisms" by Brian Doherty at Reason.
. . . as Rothbard makes abundantly clear here, very important differences exist between the fallibilistic, utilitarian, small-government thinking of Hayek (and Friedman, and to a great degree Mises) and the rights-based anarchism of Rothbard and many of his followers, both of which coexist uneasily under the label libertarian.
8) "Impermissible Ratemaking in Health-Insurance Reform: Why the Reid Bill is Unconstitutional" by Richard A. Epstein at Point of Law.
9) At Reason, Jacob Sullum on "the folly of a 'right to health care.'"
While liberty rights such as freedom of speech or freedom of contract require others to refrain from acting in certain ways, "welfare rights" such as the purported entitlement to health care (or to food, clothing, or shelter) require others to perform certain actions. They represent a legally enforceable claim on other people's resources.
10) Michael Ramirez on "healthcare reform":
via IBD Editorials.
11) "Jesus in the Eyes of Josephus" by Geza Vermes at Standpoint.
12-13) At Big Hollywood:
John Nolte's 25 favorite Christmas films.
Kurt Schlichter: 10 films that take place on Christmas.
Directed by Frank Darabont. 1994.
The Shawshank Redemption could easily have been a banal exercise in politically correct finger-wagging or a hackneyed parable about hope. Two features elevate Shawshank, first is its intense focus on its characters; not simply their current feelings, but their natures, the men they were and who they came to be, and their journey of self-understanding. The film could have gone astray into the territory of police procedurals, legal dramas, or documentary-style exposé. Indeed, the prison's corruption, Red's parole denials, and the set-up that led Andy into prison are not central elements the film's theme. Second is Shawshank does not venture to make foolish generalizations about prisons, prison life, prisoners, "the system" or anything else. Shawshank is about these men and their personal journeys.
It is actually worth noting at greater length where this film does not go wrong, given how many directions in which it could easily have veered and how many other films take those tired paths. First, the film is not mindlessly and vaguely "anti-prison." Shawshank Prison is indeed a dehumanizing place but not on account of some abstract sense of injustice but rather on account of the criminals and the abuses of its authoritarian warden and his right-hand, neither of whom represent the law but rather simple force. The warden is happy to ignore heinous acts, so long as he benefits and the prison is run well. He even uses such violence, violence that he permits, as a threat against Andy. Likewise the film is not foolishly "anti-law" either. You see when Red's case comes up for review, he is not subjected to an objectively understandable law or criterion, but rather the whims of the review board. Consider Red's response when asked by the parole board if he thinks he has been "rehabilitated:"
MAN #1
Shall I repeat the question?
I heard you. Rehabilitated. Let's see now. You know, come to think of it, I have no idea what that means. I know what you think it means. Me, I think it's a made-up word, a politician's word. A word so young fellas like you can wear a suit and tie and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?
Well. . . are you?
Not a day goes by I don't feel regret, and not because I'm in here or because you think I should. I look back on myself the way I was...stupid kid who did that terrible crime. . . wish I could talk sense to him. Tell him how things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, this old man is all that's left, and I have to live with that. . . Rehabilitated? That's a bullshit word, so you just go on ahead and stamp that form there, sonny, and stop wasting my damn time. Truth is, I don't give a shit.
Consider the honesty of this scene for a moment. Red does not shy away from referring to his act as a terrible crime, nor does he try to explain that he should be freed by offering excuses. He knows he deserves to be in jail, but he refuses to continue play the political game with the parole board, who themselves have no definition of "rehabilitated." Is it supposed to mean he is sorry, that he would not do it again, that he is a "normal" person now? Why should he be, what did he do, or what is prison expected to do to him, that would make him so? What is the standard for "rehabilitation?" The definition of the word is up to their whims.
Let us now move on to what Shawshank does well. We said above the prison was a dehumanizing place, first on account of the hard criminals and second on account the corrupt officials. What Andy brings to the prison is something wholly lacking there: a sense of the sacredness of the individual, a sacredness that can only be marred by choice and not force, a sentiment reflected in efforts great and small done over long periods of time. It is something rejected by the criminals when they were free men, something suppressed by the warden, and thus something only an innocent man could have brought to Shawshank. The first example is requesting a couple of beers for his "coworkers" when they roof a nearby factory in outdoor detail. Red aptly summarizes the significance of Andy's deed:
You could argue he'd done it to curry favor with the guards. Or maybe make a few friends among us cons. Me, I think he did it just to feel normal again. . . if only for a short while.
Sure they are prisoners and they are not free, nor does Andy argue they should be, but they need to remember the significance of the concept. They cannot forget it, as freedom or lack thereof defines their experiences. What is significant but unspoken about this scene, though, is that Andy stays apart from them. He does not enjoy the beers with his coworkers and his experience on the roof is a strictly personal one. Gradually, though, Andy's relationships with his fellow inmates, especially Red, begin to define his life there. For example, though he maintains personal projects like shaping his chess pieces from stones, they are stones gathered by his friends as a little welcome back present when he is beaten by a group of inmates. Andy's life is gradually having the threads of others' woven in. Similarly, after his relentless requesting for library funds pays off and the state sends him some money and donated books and records, Andy risks much to share some of that with everyone in the prison.
The scene opens with a wonderful contrast: the lame guard, a free man, condescends to read Jughead of his own free will, while Andy, a prisoner, risks his personal safety not simply to hear but to share Mozart. This particular piece of music, a duet from Mozart's opera Le nozze di Figaro, is particularly significant here. While Red says he hopes they were singing about something too beautiful for words, the significance is how they are singing the piece. Neither voice in the piece is singing anything intelligible on her own, but rather one must piece together both parts to understand what they are saying. Likewise the oboe is essentially an equal third partner to the human voices. On the one hand this is quite simply a beautiful piece of music Andy shares with the inmates of Shawshank, and even as such the act symbolizes his growing ability to act with his emotions and engage more intimately with others. The very act of the inmates listening to the music at the same time, that very shared experience, is significant on these terms. This piece of music, though, itself is especially appropriate for its use in the film. That fact, and the unique way we experience music (as we discussed in light of Bergman and Solaris), accounts for the tremendous power of this scene.
After spending time in silent, dark, solitary for his stunt, Andy shares his thoughts on music and the sacredness of the individual with Red and his circle of friendly inmates:
ANDY (taps his heart, his head)
The music was here. . . and here. That's the one thing they can't confiscate, not ever. That's the beauty of it. Haven't you ever felt that way about music, Red?
Played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost my taste for it. Didn't make much sense on the inside.
Here's where it makes most sense. We need it so we don't forget.
That there are things in this world not carved out of gray stone. That there's a small place inside of us they can never lock away, and that place is called hope.
Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a man insane. It's got no place here. Better get used to the idea.
Later, Andy acquires a harmonica for Red, again emphasizing how Andy is trying to get Red to experience the joy he knows through music. That Red, first staring at the instrument in his dark cell before bed, only gives it a toot is not a symbol of failure, but rather that he has grown to understand its significance, both coming from Andy, and coming from Andy as his friend, and he is not emotionally ready to play yet. This gift represents perhaps the height of what Andy has learned about himself, his emotions and demeanor, and living with others. His last conversation with Red makes the development explicit:
My wife used to say I'm a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. She was beautiful. I loved her. But I guess I couldn't show it enough. I killed her, Red. I didn't pull the trigger. But I drove her away. That's why she died. Because of me, the way I am.
That don't make you a murderer. Bad husband, maybe. Feel bad about it if you want. But you didn't pull the trigger.
No. I didn't. Someone else did, and I wound up here. Bad luck, I guess.
Bad luck? Jesus.
It floats around. Has to land on somebody. Say a storm comes through. Some folks sit in their living rooms and enjoy the rain. The house next door gets torn out of the ground and smashed flat. It was my turn, that's all. I was in the path of the tornado. I just had no idea the storm would go on as long as it has.
Like Red's statement before the parole board, Andy is not filled with bitterness toward "the system" or anger towards his cheating wife or even the man who framed him, but regret for the man he was when he was free. He regrets that he was free but imprisoned anyway, albeit unknowingly and in a different way. As such, what he brought to Shawshank and what he did and learned when he was there enabled his redemption. What Andy brought was something Red had lost before he entered prison also, just as what Andy learned was something he had missed in life outside Shawshank. Indeed it is their friendship that becomes the touchstone of the movie and that which grows alongside their personal developments, in fact it enables them.
Those of us who knew him best talk about him often. I swear, the stuff he pulled. It always makes us laugh. Sometimes it makes me sad, though, Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are just too bright. . . and when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. . . but still, the place you live is that much more drab and empty that they're gone.
Their reconciliation at the end achieves its weight not just from their many years together at Shawshank, but from a certain gratefulness that they should have met in the first place; that Andy Dufresne, a stolid banker who wrongfully went to jail, should have met someone there he could care about, and that Ellis Redding, a dumb kid who committed a terrible crime, should have gone to jail and had his soul reawakened by the imperturbable Andy Dufresne.
Yet as Andy says of the storm above, need his redemption have gone on so long? Indeed the scenes of Shawshank roll by as do the years at the prison and we acutely feel the passage of time. One of Red's sayings towards the end of the film, "get busy living or get busy dying," has the sense and appeal of a bromide, but is it not true? How different was Andy's life inside prison from his old life outside in terms of his happiness? Andy's journey was one of self-discovery, as was Red's; their delays in starting that journey greatly cost them. True probably most people are not introspective by nature, but thinking of Andy and Red, perhaps we should not fritter away our free lives by not first stopping reflect. Perhaps, then, Red's saying would have more weight if we included the above concept of introspection, which would leave us with something not dissimilar from, "the unexamined life is not worth living."
For the week of Saturday, December 12 through Friday, December 18.
1) At the WSJ, Stuart Isacoff on music and the brain.
2) James Gardner at the WSJ reviews the James Tissot exhibition, "The Life of Christ," now on view at the Brooklyn Museum through January 17th.
3) David Mermelstein interivews mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe for the WSJ.
4) At Laudator Temporis Acti, on trees and the nicknames of Samuel Johnson.
5) And now for something completely different: Tim Madigan of Philosophy Now watches Nietzsche clash with Wagner.
6) Geoffrey Robertson at Standpoint makes the case for a British Bill of Rights.
7) Director of The Cato Institute's Center for Constitutional Studies, Roger Pilon on "the modern executive state" in the National Review:
. . .the tale of how so powerful an executive arose is not really complicated: Congress and the Supreme Court conspired to create it. A century ago, progressives began viewing the Constitution's checks and balances not as protections against overweening power but as impediments to enlightened government — the kind of government that would one day be used to "save the planet." Since the New Deal, Congress has delegated ever more powers to the executive branch without much guidance as to how they are to be used. And a supine Court, cowed originally by Franklin Roosevelt's threat to add six new members, has gone along, in the name of "democracy" and judicial modesty, even as the expanding government has looked less and less democratic.
8) Now available at the British Library's Online Gallery: pages from the score of Handel's Messiah.
Solaris. Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. 1972.
When film is not a document, it is dream. That is why Tarkovsky is the greatest of them all. He moves with such naturalness in the room of dreams. He doesn't explain. What should he explain anyhow?
Film as dream, film as music. No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of the soul. –Ingmar Bergman
I. Film as Dream
The reverie passages of Solaris are perhaps the film's signature feature, but what to make of them? And what to make of Bergman's quote above, for that matter? What is the significance of experiencing a film like a dream? While I do not assume Bergman and Tarkovsky were of one mind on the matter, I believe there is some common understanding of films as dreams. For the viewer, the most fundamental aspect of films as dreams is the manner in which we understand them, an aspect expressed in the second quote of Bergman's above: that we experience the movie emotionally first, like music. It is then in our subsequent reflections of why we experienced the feelings we did that we understand the movie and perhaps, and hopefully to a greater extent, ourselves.
II. Self-Reflection
The theme of self-reflection and self-understanding is the central moral issue of Solaris. Each scientist on the station has journeyed there to study the planet, but the nature of the entity on Solaris forces them to study themselves. For example, Dr. Kelvin, himself a psychologist, is forced to confront deep-seated feelings about his late wife and father. First, the entity on Solaris recreates his late wife from his memories. Unable to rid himself of this hallucination, he gradually grows attached to Hari, even confessing that while he left the real Hari on earth years ago, he loves the recreated one now. Yet when he relates this to the recreated Hari, and also the fact that his real wife killed herself when he left her, she too kills herself. Though once again resurrected, she asks the other doctors to terminate her with a device they have constructed. When Kelvin is informed of this, and that "she did it for him" Kelvin says, "things weren't working out between us towards the end." Is he talking about the real Hari or the hallucination? Did he drive one to death by loving her too little, and another by loving too much? Kelvin goes on to ask, "Why are we being tortured like this?" Does he mean generally or is he specifically referring to "being tortured. . . by the entity on Solaris?" Dr. Snaut replies as if it were the former, "In my opinion we have lost our sense of the cosmic. The ancients understood this perfectly. They would never have asked why or what for. Remember the myth of Sisyphus."
Is not understanding oneself what foils attempts peacefully to interact with others. It is simply in man's nature, then, to be contesting with struggle of self in relation to others. It is perhaps, as Nietzsche said, that life is itself the price of living?
Let us look at some more of the closing dialogue:
SNART: When man is happy, the meaning of life and other eternal themes rarely interest him. These questions should be asked at the end of one's life.
KELVIN: But we don't know when life will end. That's why we're in such a hurry.
SNART: Don't rush. The happiest people are those who are not interested in these cursed questions.
KELVIN: To ask is always the desire to know. Yet the preservation of simple human truths requires mystery. The mysteries of happiness, death, and love.
SNART: Maybe you're right, but try not to think about all that now.
KELVIN: To think about it is to know the day of one's death. Not knowing that day makes us practically immortal.
As Dr. Snart says, what dire questions. Is there no chance of objectivity, of an answer to such questions? Kelvin's dissatisfaction implies he seeks some non-materialistic metaphysical answer. Kelvin's statement about mystery is like Snart's about Sisyphus above: our situation is simply the nature of things, and it is our lack of knowledge about our ends that forces us to make use of what we have. But does it really make us practically immortal?
Why does Kelvin stay on Solaris? Is it for the hope of seeing Hari again? To experience the reunification (however artificial) with his father? To interact with the entity? He says he could return to Earth, "But I won't be able to give myself to them fully. Never." Why is that?
III. Many Questions
Interaction with the alien entity is an even greater source of questions in Solaris. Are we really capable of understanding with it? Clearly scientific testing has failed to provide any insight. It certainly has some basic understanding of us, yet it does not (at first) understand that the hallucinations it is conjuring are unasked for and painful, and it does not recreate the images perfectly (e.g. the solid lake and indoor rain.) Are the scientists' interactions with the hallucinations ("guests" as they refer to them) interactions with the Solaris entity or are they solely experiences between the scientists and their own consciousness? Are we capable of understanding the Solaris entity on its own terms or only when it creates something from our body of preconceptions about the universe?
Early in the film, a scientist says, "But what we're talking about is far more serious than just the study of Solaristics. We're talking about the boundaries of human knowledge. Don't [you] think by establishing artificial barriers we deliver a blow to the idea of limitless thought? By limiting our movement forward, we facilitate moving backwards." Is it inherently limitless, or limited? Some phenomena correspond to predictions, others do not. What are the tools of predicting?
What of how technology is portrayed in the film? On the one hand man's technical abilities have brought him the ability to travel far from home. Yet in Solaris man's technical skill has clearly outpaced his philosophical comprehension, evidenced by the scientists' extremely limited approaches toward understanding the entity on the planet. Is technology helping, hindering, neutral? Has it brought the scientists to this great challenge, is it what is now holding them back (compare their distance on the space station to Dr. Kelvin finally going down to the planet at the end), is it incidental?
The final scene generates perhaps the most questions of all. Does Dr. Kelvin choosing to remain on Solaris represent a tragic inability to embrace reality? Or is it a spiritual communion between man and the entity? Is it an act of supplication of man toward a being of far higher understanding or an instance of imperfectly rationalizing phenomena and ignoring the inconsistencies?
Should we infer that Dr. Kelvin may one day come to understand the entity, is it simply beyond human understanding, are we limited to understanding it only in a certain, limited, way? If it is wholly, or partially, unknowable, is the notion of the incomprehensible foolish, awe-inspiring, or terrifying? Is there a middle ground between positions of conceiving of our surroundings as inherently unknowable or inherently knowable? Does the final scene suggest a dialectical or phenomenological method of inquiry? How do all of these metaphysical questions affect the issue of self-reflection discussed above?
I suspect for many viewers Solaris will appear an impenetrable mass of questions and vagaries, useless perhaps for suggesting both nothing and everything. I hope it is evident, though, the film raises many important questions. Indeed in raising so many questions and presenting them in a manner inviting, indeed requiring, repeated consideration, Solaris achieves what few films do, being about the questioning itself. As such, it is the philosophically-minded film goer that will get the most from Solaris, and it is the individual for whom philosophy is a necessary part of life that it should most affect.
- Quotations from the film taken from the English subtitles of the November 2002 Criterion Edition DVD of Solaris.
Other writing on Solaris:
Director Andrei Tarkovsky on his film, Solaris
Critic Phillip Lopate on Solaris
At the Alt Film Guide, Dan Schneider of Cosmoetica on Solaris.
For the week of Saturday, December 5 through Friday, December 11.
1) On Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 4 in D minor (and the issue of orchestration) at Peter Gutmann's Classical Notes.
2) On the constitutionality of a personal mandate to buy health insurance, from Randy Barnett at The Volokh Conspiracy.
3) Ilya Shapiro and Travis Cushman at The American look at the constitutionality of the "Public Company Accounting Oversight Board."
4) At Big Hollywood, Mark Tapson's, "ZINN 101: A Radical's History of the United States."
5) Carolyn See at The Washington Post reviews, "The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of 'Proper' English from Shakespeare to 'South Park'" by Jack Lynch.
6) In the WSJ, Robert Greskovic on George Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" at The New York City Ballet.
7) At Slate, Witold Rybczynski on the "enduring influence of architect Christopher Alexander, author of 'A Pattern of Language.'"
Alexander argued that the standardized, mass-produced way in which buildings are designed and built today is wrongheaded, and to demonstrate an alternative he started to build himself. . .
Alexander's ideas have taken root in unexpected places. His early books, especially Notes on the Synthesis of Form and A Pattern Language, influenced computer scientists, who found useful parallels between building design and software design. The New Urbanism movement also owes him a debt, as a new book by Andres Duany and Jeff Speck makes clear. The Smart Growth Manual consists of 148 principles—patterns, really—that add up to a language for community design, from entire regions to neighborhood streets. "We believe that new places should be designed in the manner of existing places that work," the authors write, a concept straight out of Alexander. Curiously, the one place that Alexander, a lifelong professor, has had the least influence is in academia. The theories that are taught in architecture schools today are of a different sort, and in the belief that the field of architecture should be grounded in intellectual speculation, rather than pragmatic observation, students are more likely to be assigned French post-structuralist texts than A Pattern Language. Which is a shame.
8) "I.M. Pei's National Gallery of Art East Building: An Ultramodern Building Shows Signs of Age" by Catesby Leigh in the WSJ. (from the article, "It seems pretty clear that the architect's 'technological breakthrough in the construction of masonry walls' was more of an experiment than he realized.")
9) In City Journal, Michael Knox Beran reviews, "The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science" by Richard Holmes.
But Holmes is concerned less with particular discoveries than with the mentality of the discoverers. The wonder revealed by science is not, finally, severable from the mind of the wonderer. Holmes cites Richard Feynman's belief that science is "driven by a continual dialogue between skeptical enquiry and the sense of inexplicable mystery," and that if either is permitted to get the upper hand, "true science" will be "destroyed."
Even as he studies the outer world, the Romantic scientist is preoccupied with the secret of his inward existence. Banks observing the customs of the Tahitians, Davy on laughing gas, Mary Shelley wondering "in what sense Frankenstein's 'Creature' would be human": all remained perplexed by the mysteriousness of man. What laws govern his being? How do changing conditions affect his nature? Is he a creature created on purpose or a mere material accident?
The Text of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Harvard Address
A decline in courage may be the most striking feature which an outside observer notices in the West in our days. The Western world has lost its civil courage, both as a whole and separately, in each country, each government, each political party and of course in the United Nations. Such a decline in courage is particularly noticeable among the ruling groups and the intellectual elite, causing an impression of loss of courage by the entire society. Of course there are many courageous individuals but they have no determining influence on public life. Political and intellectual bureaucrats show depression, passivity and perplexity in their actions and in their statements and even more so in theoretical reflections to explain how realistic, reasonable as well as intellectually and even morally warranted it is to base state policies on weakness and cowardice. And decline in courage is ironically emphasized by occasional explosions of anger and inflexibility on the part of the same bureaucrats when dealing with weak governments and weak countries, not supported by anyone, or with currents which cannot offer any resistance. But they get tongue-tied and paralyzed when they deal with powerful governments and threatening forces, with aggressors and international terrorists.
Should one point out that from ancient times decline in courage has been considered the beginning of the end?...
But should someone ask me whether I would indicate the West such as it is today as a model to my country, frankly I would have to answer negatively. No, I could not recommend your society in its present state as an ideal for the transformation of ours. Through intense suffering our country has now achieved a spiritual development of such intensity that the Western system in its present state of spiritual exhaustion does not look attractive. Even those characteristics of your life which I have just mentioned are extremely saddening.
A fact which cannot be disputed is the weakening of human beings in the West while in the East they are becoming firmer and stronger. Six decades for our people and three decades for the people of Eastern Europe; during that time we have been through a spiritual training far in advance of Western experience. Life's complexity and mortal weight have produced stronger, deeper and more interesting characters than those produced by standardized Western well-being. Therefore if our society were to be transformed into yours, it would mean an improvement in certain aspects, but also a change for the worse on some particularly significant scores. It is true, no doubt, that a society cannot remain in an abyss of lawlessness, as is the case in our country. But it is also demeaning for it to elect such mechanical legalistic smoothness as you have. After the suffering of decades of violence and oppression, the human soul longs for things higher, warmer and purer than those offered by today's mass living habits, introduced by the revolting invasion of publicity, by TV stupor and by intolerable music...
Posted by Tyrell No comments:
Fr. James Schall, SJ: Culture is Never Neutral
Fr. Schall, in this ISI lecture, gives an excellent account of the Catholic theological attitude towards culture.
Here's the text, though apparently, Fr. Schall was only working from the text, not following it verbatim.
For the week of Saturday, November 28 through Friday, November 4.
1) In Standpoint Magazine, a shallow discussion of the staging of oratorios.
2) In The Washington Post a shallow review of, "The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithridates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy" by Adrienne Mayor.
3) At The Hoover Institution, Liam Julian on "A Dictionary of Modern English Usage" by H.W. Fowler and edited by David Crystal
4) In City Journal, Michael Knox Beran asks "Can the polis live again?"
It was left to Thomas Jefferson to show that it was possible to preserve the public virtues within a nation-state. To protect civic artistry in a changing America, Jefferson sought to re-create the civic life he had known in his youth. As a college student in colonial Williamsburg, he had been drawn into little communities of sympathetic scholarship that he would always characterize in Athenian terms: "They were truly Attic societies." It was in communities of this kind, he believed, that men's civic impulses could flourish as they could not in a larger space.
"A great deal of love given to a few," he wrote, "is better than a little to many." Jefferson's University of Virginia reflected this ideal: he intended it to be an "academical village," and in designing its Lawn, he made ingenious use of the classical arts to frame one of America's most beguiling public spaces.
Arendt didn't heed Jefferson in this, and she offers little prescriptive guidance for those seeking to reclaim public space today. Yet her work remains a useful statement of the part that such spaces might play in resisting the social revolution, if only a way could be found to salvage them. A new generation of civic artists is seeking to revive the old public spaces. "New Urbanist" architects, among them Léon Krier, Andrés Duany, and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, want to restore the town square to its old pride of public place. Their effort is noble, but Arendt showed just how fierce the opposition is.
As part of my interest in anti-liberal political philosophies, I'd like to draw the reader's attention to this BBC Radio 4 Beyond Belief program on Christian Socialism. The program features Dr. John Milbank, founding member of the Radical Orthodoxy movement. After listening to the program, I concluded that Milbank, while professing himself an English Christian Socialist, has more in common with European Christian democrats than with conventional socialists or even Christian socialists.(1)
What are the sources of Christian democracy? This is not an easy question to answer: Christian democracy, like any political ideology, is diverse, with different and competing views. At its best, Christian democracy is rooted in the social encyclicals of Pope Leo XIII and Pius XI, Rerum Novarum and Quadragesimo Anno. At its worst, it's indistinguishable from left-wing liberalism (2), supportive of a central, bureaucratic state and none too sound on social questions, such as marriage, the family, and the dignity of the person. But what of the more acceptable version? Where are its roots located? What direction is it headed? What does it get right? What does it get wrong? And what lessons might it offer for American Christians?
These are questions I'd like to consider and will do so by taking a closer look in future posts at some important texts from the Christian democratic tradition: the papal social documents, Radical Orthodox, Distributist and Catholic Worker texts, and the work of recent anti-liberal thinkers such as George Parkin Grant, David Schindler, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. If time permits, I may broaden my topic to include economic thinkers who are within the Christian democratic tradition, including Wilhelm Ropke and E.F. Schumacher. With the possible exception of Ropke, all of these thinkers and movements are fundamentally anti-liberal in outlook, preferring to locate the dignity of man not in Enlightenment views of individual autonomy but in man as the Imago Dei. Because American political philosophy and practice is rooted in the language of the Enlightenment, I shall, I suspect, have to devote some time and energy to adumbrating a Christian critique of classical liberalism.
(1) For instance, the moderator of Beyond Belief calls Tony Blair a Christian socialist, an appellation that Milbank contests, and oddly, Wikipedia even lists the wildly anti-clerical Hugo Chavez as a Christian socialist.
(2) I hope it's become obvious that I'm not using the term 'liberal' in typical American fashion to necessarily denote a left-wing statist.
From Taki's Magazine:
'Love for the Motherland begins with family'—F. Bacon.
'Family is one of nature's masterpieces'—Philosopher George Santayana
The most distinct feature of both ads is the fact that they don't simply depict happy nuclear families, but, rather, emphasize genetic and historic continuity through multi-generational family "clans."
Whether this country's current pro-natalist experiment, in conjunction with the recent anti-alcohol and anti-smoking campaigns, achieves significant results remains to be seen. But for those concerned with the "Death of West," some comfort can be found in the fact that what is taboo in western Europe and America is a national priority in the Motherland.
In a world without beauty --- even if people cannot dispense with the word and constantly have it on the tip of their tongues in order to abuse it --- in a world which is perhaps not wholly without beauty, but which can no longer see it or reckon with it: in such a world the good also loses its attractiveness, the self-evidence of why it must be carried out. Man stands before the good and asks himself why it must be done and not rather its alternative, evil. For this, too, is a possibility, and even the more exciting one: Why not investigate Satan's depths? In a world that no longer has enough confidence in itself to affirm the beautiful, the proofs of the truth have lost their cogency... And if this how the transcendentals fare because one of them has been banished, what will happen with Being itself? Thomas described Being (das Sein) as a 'sure light' for that which exists (das Seiende). Will this light not necessarily die out where the very language of light has been forgotten and the mystery of Being is no longer allowed to express itself? What remains is then a mere lump of existence which, even if it claims for itself the freedom proper to spirits, nevertheless remains totally dark and incomprehensible even to itself. The witness borne by Being becomes untrustworthy for the person who can no longer read the language of beauty.
Hans Urs von Balthasar, "The Glory of the Lord: A Theological Aesthetics: I. Seeing the Form"
Phil Lawler at Catholic Culture reports:
Today the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI met with "His Royal Imperial Highness Otto von Hapsburg, archduke of Austria." The Vatican protocol office thereby conferred upon the Austrian visitor a title that he himself had renounced.
The heir to the storied Hapsburg dynasty, Otto von Hapsburg is the son of Blessed Karl, the last acknowledged ruler of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Although he was forced from the throne and died in exile, Karl I never abdicated. Otto did renounce his claim to the Austrian throne, as a condition for being allowed to return to his native land. He has been prominent in European politics for decades. Now approaching his 100th birthday, he has stepped away from public life, and in more candid moments has admitted that he regrets renouncing his claims-- even though he made it quite clear that he was renouncing only his own personal claims, not those of his heirs.


Villa Atlas and the sister-villa Pan are two stone-built exclusive properties constructed by owner in 2011.
The villa is the place for those seeking a hidden gem. Located in a privileged and secluded position on top of Agrari Beach (one of the best Mykonian beaches), Villa Serenity provides tranquility, stunning sea views and total privacy.
Level A provides an open plan living, dining and kitchen space with direct access to the outdoor areas. Outdoor areas and gardens are enhanced and supported by built seating zones, artfully integrated in the rocky landscape and orientated to panoramic sea views. It has three comfortable en-suite bedrooms, one master bedroom with en-suite bathroom and dressing room that offers direct access to the outdoor seating area. Moreover there is a WC and a laundry room.
Finally on the level C there is one comfortable en-suite master bedroom with walking closet, privileged with direct access to the swimming pool and the open seating area through an external staircase.


#Ramky Estates & Farms Ltd. has installed home backup generator which protects your home automatically and keeps your home or business powered up when the grid is knocked out by blizzards, ice storms and from other natural disasters @Ramy One North - Benguluru.
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Ava is a student of Middle School.
Ava August was born on the 19th of August, 2005, in South California. The girl is not only a star who has gained that status due to her talent and hard work. She is a living example that it is quite possible to live a very active and interesting life having a serous disease. She is one of the rare type of people who can never let despair interfere with the plans and achieving the goals. Due to the great efforts and support of her family Ava has become a real performer and an athlete.
Father: The name of Ava's father is not available.
Siblings: Ava has a sister. Her name is Regan. She is older than Ava.
Husbands and kids: Ava does not have a husband yet. She is too young to have a family of her own.
Ava does not tell about her personal life. She never broadcasts the names of her possible boyfriends.
Place of living: Ava resides in California.
Cars: There is no information about Ava's cars.
She likes swimming and diving.
What health problems does Ava have?
She has diabetes. The girl got that diagnosis when she was a toddler. She depends on medicines. But it does not prevent her from active way of living and creative activity.
What sports is Ava engaged in?
She is engaged in softball and soccer. The girl takes an active part in competitions and makes good progress in these kinds of sports.
What is the girl's creative activity based on?
Ava makes cover versions of different famous songs. She makes semi-professional videos and uploads them on her channel on You Tube.
What is the most famous of her songs?
The song that lad the girl to fame and recognition is called 'You Let Me Fly'. It is written by Ava herself. It was uploaded on her You Tube channel in 2015 and rather quickly brought her a lot of fans and admirers.
Does Ava prefer to work alone or with any collaborators?
Ava is a very communicative child, so, she is always happy to work with somebody. For instance, she has a song which is called 'Gone'. It was created in co-working with her friends.
Does the girl work only on You Tube?
As she has been noticed and recognized, she has signed a contract with a recording company, so, she is becoming a recording artist.


Items where Author is "Acharya, Preetam Rajgopal"
Acharya, Preetam Rajgopal and *, Anand R and Acharya, Vishak K. and Sahoo, Rameshchandra (2014) PUO - A Rare (And Forgotten) Cause! Journal of the association of physicians of india, 62. pp. 66-68.
Shastry, Anuradha and *, Radish Kumar Balasubramanium and Acharya, Preetam Rajgopal (2014) Voice Analysis in Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. International Journal of Phonosurgery and Laryngology , 4 (2). pp. 45-49.
Acharya, Preetam Rajgopal and *, Anand Ramakrishna and Kanchan, Tanuj and Magazine, Rahul (2014) Dual Primary Malignancy: A Rare Organ Combination. Case Reports in Pulmonology, 2014. pp. 1-3.
Sahoo, Ramesh Chandra and Acharya, Preetam Rajgopal and *, Noushad T.H. and *, Anand R and Acharya, Vishak K. and Sahu, Kausalya R. (2009) A Study of High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein in Bronchial Asthma. The Indian Journal of Chest Diseases & Allied Sciences, 51. pp. 213-216.
This list was generated on Wed Apr 24 12:12:23 2019 UTC.


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The Tsang po river from Tibet flows into India as Siang and after the confluence of Dibang and Lohit becomes the great Brahmaputra. While most Indian rivers bear female names, this river has a rare male name, as it means "son of Brahma" in Sanskrit. The expedition on the great Brahmaputra begins at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh where it is still called the Siang. Get ready for some of the best big white water the world has on offer for rafting. You'll be pumping adrenaline all the way as you hit rapids such as the 'Pulsating Pulsi' and 'Toothfairy' at Cherring. This self contained river run offers an awe-inspiring journey through tropical forests, gorges and a peek into a rich culture, unlike any other. The Great Brahmaputra is for anyone who is looking for an exhilarating rafting and kayaking experience that is sure to leave you with goose bumps whenever you think about it. We camp on a beach beside the river almost every night of the expedition and doze off, gazing at the stars as we slip into dreams of the adventures of the day and look forward to the next.


text:
Adjust text-sizeA | A+
Dr Richard Hart
MBChB, FRANZCO
Ophthalmic Plastic Surgeon
Richard studied medicine at the University of Auckland and trained as an Ophthalmologist in Auckland and Hamilton.
After completing basic training he worked as a specialist registrar in Oculoplastic Surgery at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom. Richard also undertook two years postgraduate subspecialty Fellowship training in Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery in London at Chelsea & Westminster and Moorfields Eye Hospitals. He has been a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Greenlane Clinical Centre and a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Ophthalmology at the University of Auckland since 2004 and his special interests include eyelid, lacrimal and orbital surgery. He is also an experienced cataract surgeon. Richard has served on the Continuing Professional Development and International Development Committees of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists. Richard participates in clinical research and he is a regular speaker at national and international professional meetings. He is committed to volunteering and has regularly spent time teaching trainee eye surgeons in south-east Asia since 2005. He also has an interest in Aviation Medicine related to Ophthalmology.
Richard was a founding director of City Eye Specialists in 2007.
Eyelid Surgery: Blepharoplasty / Blepharoptosis
Eyelid Surgery: Ectropion / Entropion
Pterygium and Pingueculum
Trichiasis (misdirected eyelashes)
Driver's Licence Vision Testing
Orbit, Eyelid & Lacrimal systems
Conjunctivitis & Corneal Disease
Dr Sonya Bennett
Dr Clairton Feitosa De Souza
info@cityeye.co.nz
Tel +64 9 5344079
howick@cityeye.co.nz
Website development by FutureLab

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Governor Northam Announces StarKist Co. to Relocate Headquarters from Pittsburgh to Fairfax County
Leading U.S. seafood and chicken producer to invest $3.6 million in new operation and create 83 jobs
RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam today announced that StarKist Co., a leading seafood and chicken producer in the United States, will invest $3.6 million to relocate its corporate and administrative headquarters operations from Pittsburgh to Fairfax County. The company will occupy approximately 24,000 square feet at 1875 Explorer Street in Reston. Virginia successfully competed with Maryland for the project, which will create 83 new jobs.
"Virginia is home to a diverse ecosystem of more than 800 corporate headquarters representing a broad cross section of industries," said Governor Northam. "We are thrilled to welcome StarKist Co. to Fairfax County, which consistently attracts top talent and is well connected to key customer markets and major metro areas throughout the United States and beyond. The Commonwealth looks forward to a long and fruitful partnership with this popular American household brand."
Founded in 1917, StarKist Co. was the first brand to introduce single-serve pouch products, which include Tuna Creations®, Salmon Creations®, and Chicken Creations®. StarKist's charismatic brand icon, Charlie® the Tuna, swam into the hearts of tuna fans in 1961 and is still a fan favorite today. StarKist Co. is a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Dongwon Industries Co., Ltd.
"Adding StarKist Co. to our roster of corporate headquarters is a wonderful testament to the Commonwealth's ability to provide a world-class workforce, reliable infrastructure, and much sought after quality of life," said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball. "StarKist will be a great addition to the many global brands that call Fairfax County home."
"StarKist is proud to make Reston, Virginia our official global headquarters starting in April 2022," said Andrew Choe, President and CEO of StarKist Co. "We would like to thank Governor Northam and the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority for their ongoing support throughout this process. I believe the move to Virginia will provide an outstanding work environment for our employees, as well as an opportunity to expand the StarKist business in the years ahead."
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority to secure the project for Virginia and will support StarKist's job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP), which provides consultative services and funding to companies creating new jobs in order to support employee recruitment and training activities. As a business incentive supporting economic development, VJIP reduces the human resource costs of new and expanding companies. VJIP is state-funded, demonstrating Virginia's commitment to enhancing job opportunities for citizens.
Commercial real estate firm K&L Gates and West, Lane & Schlager assisted StarKist with its move to Fairfax County.
"I am so pleased to thank StarKist for choosing Fairfax County for its new headquarters," said Victor Hoskins, President and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. "This is a testament to the growing attractiveness of Northern Virginia to a wide variety of industry sectors and companies that know we have the assets and talent base to succeed here."
"I am very pleased to welcome StarKist, a 100-year-old staple of the American economy, to Reston and appreciate the company's decision to relocate its corporate and administrative headquarters to Northern Virginia," said Senator Janet Howell. "Everyone knows StarKist— 'America's favorite tuna'—and we love the products. I have no doubt that StarKist will bring something quite special to the Reston area, and look forward to watching them take full advantage of what Fairfax County's vibrant economy has to offer."
Buffalo Tuna Celery Sticks
Get Recipe for Buffalo Tuna Celery Sticks
Lemon Pepper Tuna Casserole
Get Recipe for Lemon Pepper Tuna Casserole
Spiral Pasta Salad
Get Recipe for Spiral Pasta Salad


I'm getting a tooth pulled at 10am, and you know what that means . . .
My first experience with prescription pain killers!!!
Do they think you're a junkie if you ask for morphine? If I have to be drugged, I want to go all the way!
Isn't this like the beginning of a bad Lifetime movie? Driven by emotional craziness, Stewart (I would be played by Valerie Bertinelli, Tracy Gold, or (shudder to think) Tori Spelling) turns to prescription drug abuse.
I think today's theme song will be Carly Simon---I haven't got time for the pain. Once my mouth is full of novacaine, I'll sing just like her.
Enough cattiness. Happy day, everyone, I love y'all.
Why are you getting a tooth pulled??? Wisdom tooth?
Why would you want to lose your innate wisdom?
Wisdom tooth that needed a filling, but the dentist says that filling a wisdom tooth usually results in complications and that he would rather pull it instead. So we did.
I remember the euphoric feeling of being on Tylenol w/codine after a tooth extraction. Happy pills!
Take it easy. Hope you feel better soon!
we have a whole basket left on our kitchen table if you want some more.


text:
Home Sector Buildings Kenya signs US $39.7m deal to construct 1,200 affordable homes in Kiambu
Kenya signs US $39.7m deal to construct 1,200 affordable homes in Kiambu
Dorcas Kang'ereha
Tatu City Managers Rendeavour have signed a deal with Real Estate developer Unity Homes for the construction of 1,200 affordable homes at Tatu City in Kiambu County Kenya, worth US $39.7m.
The project will address the shortage of affordable homes in the country and provide opportunities for local employment in the area. The houses are set to be priced between US $29,806 and US $49,677 featuring approximately 600 ft² of floor space, two bedrooms, parking, modern kitchen, spacious stone worktops, stainless steel oven-hood and dining room/lounge.
The project is located adjacent to a 50-acre woodland park in close proximity to Tatu City's Business District, as well as the nearby Tatu Industrial Park.The Unity Homes at Tatu City will occupy 23 acres and will have a fitness centre, 5-aside football pitch, swimming pool, restaurant and shops.
Affordable housing pillar
"Our goal is to build a flourishing community of decent, affordable homes that supports the housing pillar of the Kenyan government's Big Four agenda: Universal Healthcare, Manufacturing, Affordable Housing and Food Security," said Jason Horsey, Director of Unity Homes.
The signing ceremony between Unity Homes and Rendeavour took place at the Big Four Summit in Nairobi, where deals worth US $99.4m were signed between US and Kenyan entities.
The signing of multi-billion deals, witnessed by President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and U.S. Under Secretary of State of Commerce Gilbert Kaplan, include a US $19.9m deal between the Kenyan government and American firm Medtronic for a medical dialysis centre whose scope will cover strengthening specialized medical services in the country.Victoria Commercial Bank also signed a US $10m credit line from World Business Capital a global small and medium enterprise financier.
USAID Power Africa and the Kenyan Government also signed a projects and investments financing arrangement designed to enable Kenya to achieve its objective of ensuring universal electrification by 2022.
The USAID Power Africa-Kenyan pact framework will enable Kenyan power sector utility and infrastructure institutions covering Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), Kenya Power and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to access financing for their projects.
Also read: International firms to help Kenya meet affordable housing deadline
Agreement signing
President Kenyatta also witnessed the signing of an agreement between the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) with the Kenya Tea and Development Agency (KTDA) to undertake a feasibility study for a solar and battery storage project.
The solar and battery storage project, when developed, will provide KTDA, which a is a leading global exporter of black tea, with approximately 30 MW of reliable electricity, while also reducing operating costs at its tea factories.
Further, the President oversaw the signing of an agreement by leading US Energy Company for supply and commissioning of East Africa's largest off-grid solar and battery systemThe 1260 kWh battery system will be installed at the Serena Safari Lodge in the Amboseli National Park.
Real Estate developer Unity Homes
Tatu City
Tatu Industrial Park
Editor/ Business Developer at Group Africa Publishing Ltd


text:
namespace PcapDotNet { namespace Core
{
    public delegate void HandlePacket(Packets::Packet^ packet);
    public delegate void HandleStatistics(PacketSampleStatistics^ statistics);

    /// <summary>
    /// Used to receive and send packets accross the network or to read and write packets to a pcap file.
    /// </summary>
    public ref class PacketCommunicator abstract : System::IDisposable
    {
	private:
		static PacketCommunicator()
		{
		}

	public:

        /// <summary>
        /// The link layer of an adapter.
        /// </summary>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown when setting the datalink fails.</exception>
        property PcapDataLink DataLink
        {
            PcapDataLink get();
            void set(PcapDataLink value);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// List of the supported data link types of the interface associated with the packet communicator.
        /// This property is currently unsupported to avoid memory leakage until a bug fix will be released in winpcap.
        /// </summary>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown on failure.</exception>
        property System::Collections::ObjectModel::ReadOnlyCollection<PcapDataLink>^ SupportedDataLinks
        {
            System::Collections::ObjectModel::ReadOnlyCollection<PcapDataLink>^ get();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The dimension of the packet portion (in bytes) that is delivered to the application.
        /// </summary>
        property int SnapshotLength
        {
            int get();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The IPv4 netmask of the network on which packets are being captured; useful for filters when checking for IPv4 broadcast addresses in the filter program. If the netmask of the network on which packets are being captured isn't known to the program, or if packets are being captured on the Linux "any" pseudo-interface that can capture on more than one network, the value will be null and a filter that tests for IPv4 broadcast addreses won't be done correctly, but all other tests in the filter program will be OK.
        /// </summary>
        property IpV4SocketAddress^ IpV4Netmask
        {
            IpV4SocketAddress^ get();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// True if the current file uses a different byte order than the current system.
        /// </summary>
        property bool IsFileSystemByteOrder
        {
            bool get();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The major version number of the pcap library used to write the file.
        /// </summary>
        property int FileMajorVersion
        {
            int get();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The minor version number of the pcap library used to write the file.
        /// </summary>
        property int FileMinorVersion
        {
            int get();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Statistics on current capture.
        /// The values represent packet statistics from the start of the run to the time of the call.
        /// Supported only on live captures, not on offline. No statistics are stored in offline, so no statistics are available when reading from an offline device.
        /// </summary>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown if there is an error or the underlying packet capture doesn't support packet statistics.</exception>
        virtual property PacketTotalStatistics^ TotalStatistics
        {
            PacketTotalStatistics^ get() = 0;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The working mode of the interface.
        /// </summary>
        property PacketCommunicatorMode Mode
        {
            PacketCommunicatorMode get();
            void set(PacketCommunicatorMode value);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Switch between blocking and nonblocking mode.
        /// Puts a live communicator into "non-blocking" mode, or takes it out of "non-blocking" mode.
        /// In "non-blocking" mode, an attempt to read from the communicator with ReceiveSomePackets will, if no packets are currently available to be read, return immediately rather than blocking waiting for packets to arrive.
        /// ReceivePacket and ReceivePackets will not work in "non-blocking" mode.
        /// <seealso cref="ReceiveSomePackets"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown if there is an error.</exception>
        property bool NonBlocking
        {
            bool get();
            void set(bool value);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Set the size of the kernel buffer associated with an adapter.
        /// If an old buffer was already created with a previous call to pcap_setbuff(), it is deleted and its content is discarded.
        /// LivePacketDevice.Open() creates a 1 MByte buffer by default.
        /// <!--seealso cref="LivePacketDevice::Open"/-->
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="size">the size of the buffer in bytes</param>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown on failure.</exception>
        void SetKernelBufferSize(int size);

        /// <summary>
        /// Set the minumum amount of data received by the kernel in a single call.
        /// Changes the minimum amount of data in the kernel buffer that causes a read from the application to return (unless the timeout expires).
        /// If the value of size is large, the kernel is forced to wait the arrival of several packets before copying the data to the user.
        /// This guarantees a low number of system calls, i.e. low processor usage, and is a good setting for applications like packet-sniffers and protocol analyzers.
        /// Vice versa, in presence of a small value for this variable, the kernel will copy the packets as soon as the application is ready to receive them.
        /// This is useful for real time applications that need the best responsiveness from the kernel.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="size">minimum number of bytes to copy</param>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown on failure.</exception>
        void SetKernelMinimumBytesToCopy(int size);

        /// <summary>
        /// Define a sampling method for packet capture.
        /// This function allows applying a sampling method to the packet capture process.
        /// The mtthod will be applied as soon as the capture starts.
        /// </summary>
        /// <remarks>
        /// Warning: Sampling parameters cannot be changed when a capture is active. These parameters must be applied before starting the capture. If they are applied when the capture is in progress, the new settings are ignored.
        /// Warning: Sampling works only when capturing data on Win32 or reading from a file. It has not been implemented on other platforms. Sampling works on remote machines provided that the probe (i.e. the capturing device) is a Win32 workstation.
        /// </remarks>
        /// <param name="method">The sampling method to be applied</param>
        void SetSamplingMethod(SamplingMethod^ method);

        /// <summary>
        /// Read a packet from an interface or from an offline capture.
        /// This function is used to retrieve the next available packet, bypassing the callback method traditionally provided.
        /// The method fills the packet parameter with the next captured packet.
        /// <seealso cref="ReceiveSomePackets"/>
        /// <seealso cref="ReceivePackets"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="packet">The received packet if it was read without problems. null otherwise.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <list type="table">
        ///     <listheader>
        ///         <term>Return value</term>
        ///         <description>description</description>
        ///     </listheader>
        ///     <item><term>Ok</term><description>The packet has been read without problems.</description></item>
        ///     <item><term>Timeout</term><description>The timeout set with LivePacketDevice.Open() has elapsed. In this case the packet out parameter will be null.</description></item>
        ///     <item><term>Eof</term><description>EOF was reached reading from an offline capture. In this case the packet out parameter will be null.</description></item>
        ///   </list>
        /// </returns>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown if the mode is not Capture or an error occurred.</exception>
        PacketCommunicatorReceiveResult ReceivePacket([System::Runtime::InteropServices::Out] Packets::Packet^% packet);

        /// <summary>
        /// Collect a group of packets.
        /// Used to collect and process packets.
        /// <seealso cref="ReceivePacket"/>
        /// <seealso cref="ReceivePackets"/>
        /// <seealso cref="Break"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="maxPackets">
        ///   <para>
        ///   Specifies the maximum number of packets to process before returning.
        ///   This is not a minimum number; when reading a live capture, only one bufferful of packets is read at a time, so fewer than maxPackets packets may be processed.
        ///   </para>
        ///   <para>A maxPackets of -1 processes all the packets received in one buffer when reading a live capture, or all the packets in the file when reading an offline capture.</para>
        /// </param>
        /// <param name="callback">Specifies a routine to be called with one argument: the packet received.</param>
        /// <param name="countGot">
        ///   <para>The number of packets read is returned.</para>
        ///   <para>0 is returned if no packets were read from a live capture (if, for example, they were discarded because they didn't pass the packet filter, or if, on platforms that support a read timeout that starts before any packets arrive, the timeout expires before any packets arrive, or if the communicator is in non-blocking mode and no packets were available to be read) or if no more packets are available in an offline capture.</para>
        /// </param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <list type="table">
        ///     <listheader>
        ///         <term>Return value</term>
        ///         <description>description</description>
        ///     </listheader>
        ///     <item><term>Ok</term><description>countGot packets has been read without problems. This includes the case where a read timeout occurred and the case the communicator is in non-blocking mode and no packets were available</description></item>
        ///     <item><term>Eof</term><description>EOF was reached reading from an offline capture.</description></item>
        ///     <item><term>BreakLoop</term><description>Indicates that the loop terminated due to a call to Break() before any packets were processed.</description></item>
        ///   </list>
        /// </returns>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown if the mode is not Capture or an error occurred.</exception>
        /// <remarks>
        ///   <para>Only the first bytes of data from the packet might be in the received packet (which won't necessarily be the entire packet; to capture the entire packet, you will have to provide a value for snapshortLength in your call to PacketDevice.Open() that is sufficiently large to get all of the packet's data - a value of 65536 should be sufficient on most if not all networks).</para>
        ///   <para>When reading a live capture, ReceiveSomePackets() will not necessarily return when the read times out; on some platforms, the read timeout isn't supported, and, on other platforms, the timer doesn't start until at least one packet arrives. This means that the read timeout should NOT be used in, for example, an interactive application, to allow the packet capture loop to ``poll'' for user input periodically, as there's no guarantee that ReceiveSomePackets() will return after the timeout expires.</para>
        /// </remarks>
        PacketCommunicatorReceiveResult ReceiveSomePackets([System::Runtime::InteropServices::Out] int% countGot, int maxPackets, HandlePacket^ callback);

        /// <summary>
        /// Collect a group of packets.
        /// Similar to ReceiveSomePackets() except it keeps reading packets until count packets are processed or an error occurs. It does not return when live read timeouts occur.
        /// <seealso cref="ReceivePacket"/>
        /// <seealso cref="ReceiveSomePackets"/>
        /// <seealso cref="Break"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="count">Number of packets to process. A negative count causes ReceivePackets() to loop forever (or at least until an error occurs).</param>
        /// <param name="callback">Specifies a routine to be called with one argument: the packet received.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <list type="table">
        ///     <listheader>
        ///         <term>Return value</term>
        ///         <description>description</description>
        ///     </listheader>
        ///     <item><term>Ok</term><description>Count is exhausted</description></item>
        ///     <item><term>Eof</term><description>Count wasn't exhausted and EOF was reached reading from an offline capture.</description></item>
        ///     <item><term>BreakLoop</term><description>Indicates that the loop terminated due to a call to Break() before count packets were processed.</description></item>
        ///   </list>
        /// </returns>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown if the mode is not Capture or an error occurred.</exception>
        PacketCommunicatorReceiveResult ReceivePackets(int count, HandlePacket^ callback);

        /// <summary>
        /// Receives a single statistics data on packets from an interface instead of receiving the packets.
        /// The statistics can be received in the resolution set by readTimeout when calling LivePacketDevice.Open().
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="statistics">The received statistics if it was read without problems. null otherwise.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <list type="table">
        ///     <listheader>
        ///         <term>Return value</term>
        ///         <description>description</description>
        ///     </listheader>
        ///     <item><term>Ok</term><description>The statistics has been read without problems. In statistics mode the readTimeout is always used and it never runs on offline captures so Ok is the only valid result.</description></item>
        ///   </list>
        /// </returns>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown if the mode is not Statistics or an error occurred.</exception>
        PacketCommunicatorReceiveResult ReceiveStatistics([System::Runtime::InteropServices::Out] PacketSampleStatistics^% statistics);

        /// <summary>
        /// Collect a group of statistics every readTimeout given in LivePacketDevice.Open().
        /// <seealso cref="Break"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="count">Number of statistics to process. A negative count causes ReceiveStatistics() to loop forever (or at least until an error occurs).</param>
        /// <param name="callback">Specifies a routine to be called with one argument: the statistics received.</param>
        /// <returns>
        ///   <list type="table">
        ///     <listheader>
        ///         <term>Return value</term>
        ///         <description>description</description>
        ///     </listheader>
        ///     <item><term>Ok</term><description>Count is exhausted</description></item>
        ///     <item><term>BreakLoop</term><description>Indicates that the loop terminated due to a call to Break() before count statistics were processed.</description></item>
        ///   </list>
        /// </returns>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown if the mode is not Statistics or an error occurred.</exception>
        PacketCommunicatorReceiveResult ReceiveStatistics(int count, HandleStatistics^ callback);

        /// <summary>
        /// Set a flag that will force ReceiveSomePackets(), ReceivePackets() or ReceiveStatistics() to return rather than looping.
        /// They will return the number of packets/statistics that have been processed so far, with return value BreakLoop.
        /// <seealso cref="ReceiveSomePackets"/>
        /// <seealso cref="ReceivePackets"/>
        /// <seealso cref="ReceiveStatistics(int, HandleStatistics)"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <remarks>
        ///   <list type="bullet">
        ///     <item>This routine is safe to use inside a signal handler on UNIX or a console control handler on Windows, as it merely sets a flag that is checked within the loop.</item>
        ///     <item>The flag is checked in loops reading packets from the OS - a signal by itself will not necessarily terminate those loops - as well as in loops processing a set of packets/statistics returned by the OS.</item>
        ///     <item>Note that if you are catching signals on UNIX systems that support restarting system calls after a signal, and calling Break() in the signal handler, you must specify, when catching those signals, that system calls should NOT be restarted by that signal. Otherwise, if the signal interrupted a call reading packets in a live capture, when your signal handler returns after calling Break(), the call will be restarted, and the loop will not terminate until more packets arrive and the call completes.</item>
        ///     <item>ReceivePacket() will, on some platforms, loop reading packets from the OS; that loop will not necessarily be terminated by a signal, so Break() should be used to terminate packet processing even if ReceivePacket() is being used.</item>
        ///     <item>Break() does not guarantee that no further packets/statistics will be processed by ReceiveSomePackets(), ReceivePackets() or ReceiveStatistics() after it is called; at most one more packet might be processed.</item>
        ///     <item>If BreakLoop is returned from ReceiveSomePackets(), ReceivePackets() or ReceiveStatistics(), the flag is cleared, so a subsequent call will resume reading packets. If a different return value is returned, the flag is not cleared, so a subsequent call will return BreakLoop and clear the flag.</item>
        ///   </list>
        /// </remarks>
        void Break();

        /// <summary>
        /// Send a raw packet.
        /// This function allows to send a raw packet to the network.
        /// <seealso cref="Transmit"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="packet">The packet to send (including the various protocol headers). The MAC CRC doesn't need to be included, because it is transparently calculated and added by the network interface driver.</param>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">The packet wasn't successfully sent.</exception>
        void SendPacket(Packets::Packet^ packet);

        /// <summary>
        /// Send a buffer of packets to the network.
        /// This function transmits the content of a queue to the wire.
        /// <seealso cref="SendPacket"/>
        /// <seealso cref="PacketSendBuffer"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="sendBuffer">Contains the packets to send.</param>
        /// <param name="isSync">Determines if the send operation must be synchronized: if it is true, the packets are sent respecting the timestamps, otherwise they are sent as fast as possible.</param>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Trying to transmit to an offline device or an error occurred during the send. The error can be caused by a driver/adapter problem or by an inconsistent/bogus send buffer.</exception>
        /// <remarks>
        ///   <list type="bullet">
        ///     <item>Using this function is more efficient than issuing a series of SendPacket(), because the packets are buffered in the kernel driver, so the number of context switches is reduced. Therefore, expect a better throughput when using Transmit().</item>
        ///     <item>When isSync is true, the packets are synchronized in the kernel with a high precision timestamp. This requires a non-negligible amount of CPU, but allows normally to send the packets with a precision of some microseconds (depending on the accuracy of the performance counter of the machine). Such a precision cannot be reached sending the packets with SendPacket().</item>
        ///   </list>
        /// </remarks>
        virtual void Transmit(PacketSendBuffer^ sendBuffer, bool isSync) = 0;

        /// <summary>
        /// Compile a packet filter according to the communicator IPv4 netmask.
        /// <seealso cref="SetFilter(BerkeleyPacketFilter^)"/>
        /// <!--seealso cref="SetFilter(String^)"/--> todo bug in documentation
        /// <seealso cref="BerkeleyPacketFilter"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="filterValue">A high level filtering expression (see <see href="http://www.winpcap.org/docs/docs_40_2/html/group__language.html">WinPcap Filtering expression syntax</see>)</param>
        /// <returns>
        /// The compiled filter that can be applied on the communicator.
        /// </returns>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">An error occurred.</exception>
        /// <remarks>
        /// The created filter should be disposed by the user.
        /// </remarks>
        BerkeleyPacketFilter^ CreateFilter(System::String^ filterValue);

        /// <summary>
        /// Associate a filter to a capture.
        /// <seealso cref="CreateFilter"/>
        /// <seealso cref="BerkeleyPacketFilter"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="filter">The filter to associate. Usually the result of a call to CreateFilter().</param>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown on failure.</exception>
        void SetFilter(BerkeleyPacketFilter^ filter);

        /// <summary>
        /// Compile and associate a filter to a capture.
        /// This method actually wraps a call to CreateFilter(), SetFilter() and Dispose().
        /// <seealso cref="CreateFilter"/>
        /// <seealso cref="BerkeleyPacketFilter"/>
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="filterValue">A high level filtering expression (see <see href="http://www.winpcap.org/docs/docs_40_2/html/group__language.html">WinPcap Filtering expression syntax</see>).</param>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown on failure.</exception>
        void SetFilter(System::String^ filterValue);

        /// <summary>
        /// Open a file to write packets.
        /// Called to open an offline capture for writing. The name "-" in a synonym for stdout.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="fileName">Specifies the name of the file to open.</param>
        /// <returns>
        /// A dump file to dump packets capture by the communicator.
        /// </returns>
        /// <exception cref="System::InvalidOperationException">Thrown on failure.</exception>
        /// <remarks>
        /// The created dump file should be disposed by the user.
        /// Only ISO-8859-1 characters filenames are supported.
        /// </remarks>
        PacketDumpFile^ OpenDump(System::String^ fileName);

        /// <summary>
        /// Close the files associated with the capture and deallocates resources.
        /// </summary>
        ~PacketCommunicator();

    internal:
        PacketCommunicator(pcap_t* pcapDescriptor, SocketAddress^ netmask);

	protected:
        property pcap_t* PcapDescriptor
        {
            pcap_t* get();
        }

        System::InvalidOperationException^ BuildInvalidOperation(System::String^ errorMessage);

    private:
        static Packets::Packet^ CreatePacket(const pcap_pkthdr& packetHeader, const unsigned char* packetData, Packets::IDataLink^ dataLink);

        PacketCommunicatorReceiveResult RunPcapNextEx(pcap_pkthdr** packetHeader, const unsigned char** packetData);

        [System::Runtime::InteropServices::UnmanagedFunctionPointer(System::Runtime::InteropServices::CallingConvention::Cdecl)]
        delegate void HandlerDelegate(unsigned char *user, const struct pcap_pkthdr *packetHeader, const unsigned char *packetData);

        void AssertMode(PacketCommunicatorMode mode);

        ref class PacketHandler
        {
        public:
            PacketHandler(HandlePacket^ callback, PcapDataLink dataLink)
            {
                _callback = callback;
                _dataLink = dataLink;
            }

            void Handle(unsigned char *user, const struct pcap_pkthdr *packetHeader, const unsigned char *packetData);

            property int PacketCounter
            {
                int get();
            }

        private:
            HandlePacket^ _callback;
            PcapDataLink _dataLink;
            int _packetCounter;
        };

        ref class StatisticsHandler
        {
        public:
            StatisticsHandler(HandleStatistics^ callback)
            {
                _callback = callback;
            }

            void Handle(unsigned char *user, const struct pcap_pkthdr *packetHeader, const unsigned char *packetData);

        private:
            HandleStatistics^ _callback;
        };

    private:
        pcap_t* _pcapDescriptor;
        IpV4SocketAddress^ _ipV4Netmask;
        PacketCommunicatorMode _mode;
    };
}}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Book: The Wind Cries Mary: Murders That Shook A Power Town
June 5, 2022 January 6, 2013 by Erika Grey
The Wind Cries Mary: Murders That Shook A Power Town brings to the true crime reader's attention several Connecticut killers whose crimes have escaped the annals of the nation's most brutal killers and places them on the map.
The true events, which occurred during both the Mount murder and the Rice homicides offer the reader an emotional and riveting story.
Ten-year-old Mary Mount, the daughter of a wealthy IBM executive was abducted when child abductions were almost unheard of. Law enforcement officials conducted the most extensive search for any one child in CT's history. Three weeks later, two boys out fishing discover Mary Mount's decomposed body. The place where Mary was found gives clues to her killer.
One year and a half later 17 year old John Rice, brutally murdered four members of his family. Before their murders he admitted to hunting other victims to kill for the thrill of killing. He immediately became a suspect in the Mary Mount murder. The Court found Rice not guilty of his crimes by reason of insanity and the State of Connecticut sent Rice to the Whiting Forensic Institute which released him five and a half years later.
All true crime books either catalog various killers or provide the details for one story. The Wind Cries Mary does both. While focusing on the Mary Mount Murder, the book accounts the crimes of three Connecticut serial killers who became suspects in her murder. Other renowned killers come into focus as John Rice's insanity defense is examined. A couple of unsolved serial homicides are highlighted to see if they have any possible tie in to John Rice who was freed over 30 years ago.
In addition, The Wind Cries Mary brings in Criminal Profiler Gregory M. Cooper, who provides his expert advice regarding the Mary Mount case and put together the sequence of events that most likely occurred the day of Mary's abduction and also his analysis for the John Rice murders.
Criminal Profiler, international speaker, consultant and author, former Provo, Utah police chief, Gregory M. Cooper, was employed by the FBI, serving in various investigative and supervisory positions, including the Critical Incident Response Group, FBI Academy, Quantico VA. He served as national manager of the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP); supervisor of the Investigative Support Unit and FBI Academy Instructor of Criminal Psychology, Criminal Investigative Analysis and Analytical Aspects of Criminal Behavior. He consulted internationally with law enforcement agencies on over 1, 000 cases and served with the Department of Homeland Security. As an expert witness in crime scene analysis, he provided expert testimony which behaviorally linked multiple homicides from separate jurisdictions contributing to the conviction of a serial killer. This case is highlighted in John Douglas' The New York Times best seller, Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit .
Greg Cooper co-authored:
Crime Classification Manual: A Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes ,
Who Killed King Tut?: Using Modern Forensics to Solve a 3,300-year-old Mystery,
Predators: Who They Are and How to Stop Them.
Cooper also authored instructional manuals for law enforcement, which titles include:
Cold Case Methodology
Cold Case Methodology,
Analyzing Criminal Behavior and Victimology, Predators Part I.
Cooper has also appeared in documentaries which have been featured on the Discovery Channel and Court TV.
The Wind Cries Mary is officially for sale and you can find The Wind Cries Mary: Murders That Shook A Power Town on Amazon.com. I am excited about the book being available in the marketplace. I will be looking forward to the feedback, thus far the feedback has been expressed as surprise that I was able to gather so much information and how did I do it.
While I write on end time Bible Prophecy and nearly all of my books are teachings on the book of Revelation, this is my one secular work and I could not resist writing the story because it happened in my home town right down the road from the house where I grew up.
This story was so close to home I had to write about it.
Categories Bible Prophecy News Tags crime stories, Erika Grey's books, john rice murders, mary mount murder, new canaan ct, new canaan murders, serial killers
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As the Men region's specialist provider of savings and pension solutions, Takaud will take part in the seventh Global Pension and Savings Conference, organised by the World Bank from September 19 to 21, in Washington, DC.
Chief government business and communications officer Ebrahim K. Ebrahim will represent the Bahrain pension firm at the notable event, which is held every two years.
Takaud will participate along with delegates from every region of the world, pension experts from such esteemed institutions as Yale University and Wharton Business School, and representatives of pension commissions and retirement fund administrations from the UK, Albania, India, South Africa, Costa Rica and Cambodia, among many others.
The conference will address key issues of concern in this region and globally, including pension reforms, investment strategies, and attitudes towards aging, retirement and savings. The conference will culminate in hands-on workshops to develop strategies to supervise long-term investment outcomes and to improve pension administration.
The World Bank's Global Pensions Conference will be followed in October by the Middle East Pensions Conference, which is being organised by Takaud under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain. The Middle East conference is attracting participation by high-profile delegations and speakers from international organisations such as the World Bank, former OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) experts, the World Pension Council, several government pension and regulatory entities, asset management firms, banks, financial services providers and large corporates from the MENA region.
The Conference will address the need for the Mena region to support personal and corporate retirement savings, and explore options beyond the sole provision by governments, in line with the World Bank's recommendations.
Moreover, with the presence of substantial numbers of expatriate workers throughout the region, there is a need for this large working population to have options/access to regulated private-sector pensions, assuring them of some sort of retirement security.