text:
Das Deutsche Ressourcen-Forschungsgebiet im Pazifik ist ein Offshore-Seegebiet in der Clarion-Clipperton-Bruchzone im Zentralpazifik, welches die Bundesrepublik Deutschland seit 2006 pachtet. Ziel ist es, dort später mineralische Ressourcen wie Mangan und Edelmetalle im Tiefseebergbau abzubauen.

Das Gebiet liegt im Bereich des pazifischen Manganknollengürtels. Geologen der Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) und Wissenschaftler unterschiedlicher deutscher Forschungseinrichtungen erkunden dort den zukünftigen Abbau von Manganknollen. Die Forschungslizenz berechtigt ausschließlich zur Erkundung und Forschung, nicht zum Abbau der Knollen. Neben Deutschland sind auch China, Indien, Japan, Korea, Frankreich, Russland und ein osteuropäisches Konsortium Lizenznehmer in angrenzenden Seegebieten.

Für die Zeit nach 2021 muss der Bund entscheiden, ob und wie abgebaut werden soll. Der Abbau soll an ein Privatunternehmen abgegeben werden. Diese sollen dann die finanziellen Vorleistungen der Erkundung durch das BGR übernehmen.

Am 6. Mai 2015 unterzeichneten der Generalsekretär der Internationalen Meeresbodenbehörde, Nii Allotey Odunton, und der Präsident der Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hans-Joachim Kümpel, im Berliner Bundeswirtschaftsministerium einen Lizenzvertrag zur Erkundung von Massivsulfid-Lagerstätten. Dieser tritt neben die bereits bestehende Lizenz zur Exploration von Manganknollen.

Entwicklung
Mit der Schaffung eines beim Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi) angesiedelten Amtes eines Koordinators für die maritime Wirtschaft im Jahr 2000 begann der Tiefseebergbau auch in der deutschen Politik eine wichtigere Rolle zu spielen. Alle Bundesregierungen seit damals sehen ihn als Zukunftsmarkt von zentraler strategischer Bedeutung. Verbunden damit ist eine Stärkung deutscher Hersteller von Meerestechnologie sowie auch auf eine größere und langfristige Versorgungssicherheit der Industrie mit Hochtechnologierohstoffen. Die Förderung dieser Ressourcen soll die deutsche maritime Wirtschaft darin unterstützen, künftig eine Spitzenposition im internationalen Wettbewerb zu erreichen.

Bereits 2002 waren in Berlin wichtige Weichen zur Förderung des Tiefseebergbaus gestellt worden: Der Bundestag beschloss die Erschließung der weltweiten Märkte für Meerestechnik. Diese Politik wurde 2011 in einem Nationalen Masterplan Maritime Technologien fortgeschrieben. Ziel ist die Etablierung der deutschen Industrie als im internationalen Wettbewerb führende Produzenten maritimer Hochtechnologie. An zentralen Maßnahmen sieht der Plan den Aufbau eines "Leuchtturmprojekts" und den Abschluss bilateraler Kooperationen im Feld der mineralischer Rohstoffe vor. Der Aufbau einer Arbeitsgemeinschaft Marine Mineralische Rohstoffe (AMR) mit Vertretern aus Wirtschaft, Forschung und Behörden wurde anvisiert. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurde im April 2014 die DeepSea Mining Alliance gegründet; die gemeinsames effektives und konsortiales Auftreten in nationalen und internationalen Projekten sowie eine abgestimmte Interessenvertretung gegenüber Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft möglich machen soll.

Treibende Kraft der interessierten Unternehmen und beteiligten Forschungseinrichtungen ist die Gesellschaft für maritime Technik (GTM), die die politische Förderung der Interesse ihrer Mitglieder betreibt.

Hintergrund der Explorationstätigkeiten ist nicht nur die potenzielle wirtschaftliche Nutzbarmachung der Vorkommen. Die Grundlagenforschung zielt auch auf die Schließung von Wissenslücken, etwa in der Tiefseeökologie. Dies für die Bundesregierung wichtig, da dieses Wissen Voraussetzung für die Mitarbeit an internationalen Regelwerken für die Rohstoffgewinnung in Tiefseeregionen oder in Frontiergebieten ist.

Lage und Ressourcen des deutschen Forschungsgebiets
Das Seegebiet liegt südwestlich von Hawaii. Deutschland zahlte 2006 an die UN 250.000 Euro für eine Pacht für die Dauer von 15 Jahren. Das deutsche Interessensgebiet ist etwa 75.000 Quadratkilometer groß. Der sogenannte Mangangürtel zieht sich von der Küste Mexikos bis nach Hawaii.

Das deutsche Lizenzgebiet umfasst insgesamt 75.000 km², verteilt auf zwei Areale mit 17.000 km² im zentralen Bereich und 58.000 km² im Osten des sogenannten Manganknollengürtels. Dieser zieht sich von Hawaii im Westen bis vor die Küste Mexikos im Osten. Die Wassertiefen in dem Gebiet liegen zwischen 4000 und 6000 m. Der Meeresboden ist dicht belegt mit polymetallischen Knollen, auch Manganknollen genannt. Die Knollen sind meist zwischen 3 und 8 cm groß. Sie enthalten neben durchschnittlich 25 Prozent Mangan auch rund 3 Prozent Kupfer, Nickel und Kobalt. Vor allem diese drei letztgenannten "Wertmetalle" sind als Rohstoffquelle für eine zukünftige Nutzung interessant. Weitere Spurenmetalle, die in interessanten Konzentrationen in den Knollen vorkommen, sind Molybdän, Lithium und Neodym, aber auch Antimon, Wismut, Germanium, Indium, Selen, Tellur u. a.

Ein Großteil dieser Elemente wird für die Herstellung von Hochtechnologieprodukten (Computern, Handys, Fernsehgeräten, Photovoltaikanlagen oder Generatoren für Windkraftanlagen) benötigt.

Ökologie

Lange wurde angenommen, die Tiefsee sei ein homogener Lebensraum mit nur wenigen Arten. Nach ausführlicheren Forschungen in großen Tiefen ab den 2000er Jahren wurde stellenweise eine hohe Vielfalt der Mikrofauna festgestellt. In der Clipperton-Bruchzone fanden Wissenschaftler sehr hohe lokale Artenvielfalt (d. h. pro Probennahme), als auch ausgeprägte regionale Ost-West und Nord-Süd-Unterschiede der Artenzusammensetzung. Die bisherigen Erkenntnisse wurden fast ausschließlich durch wissenschaftliche Expeditionen gewonnen, die lizenzierten Unternehmen legen ihre Untersuchungen i. d. R. nicht offen.

Die Seeberge der Region unterscheiden sich individuell durch u. a. Tiefe bzw. Höhe über Grund, Neigung, Bodenbeschaffenheit oder die umgebenden Strömungsverhältnisse. Das spiegelt sich in mehr oder weniger einmaligen Artengemeinschaften rund um die Seeberge wider. Insbesondere werden die Lebensgemeinschaften um die Seeberge und Hydrothermalquellen als globale Schutzprioritäten herausgestellt: sie gelten als "verwundbare", da sie nicht regenerierbare Ökosysteme sind. Seeberge, bzw. die auf ihnen vorkommenden Gärten aus Schwämmen und Korallen sind Kleinstlebensräume und bewohnt von Krustentieren, Muscheln, Seesternen und einer Vielzahl anderer am Boden beheimateter Organismen.

Schwarze Raucher der Hydrothermalfelder sind die am dichtesten besiedelten Lebensräume der Tiefsee. Sie beherbergen eine außergewöhnliche Gemeinschaft, da die Lebensenergie hier nicht per Photosynthese aus Licht gewonnen wird, sondern durch Bakterien die im Wasser gelösten Schwefelwasserstoffe durch Chemosynthese zu Primärenergie wandeln. Die Bakterien selbst dienen Muscheln, Röhrenwürmern und verschiedenen Arten von Krebstieren und selbst Fischen als Nahrung.

Der Abbau von Tiefsseressourcen stört grundsätzlich das marine Ökosystem. In der Einschätzung des IFM Clusters Ozeane der Zukunft schreiben die Autoren, "dass der Abbau von Manganknollen einen erheblichen Eingriff in den Lebensraum Meer darstellt". Wie bei Offshore-Windanlagen wird erheblicher Lärm und die Vibrationen produziert. Das Herauspumpen und Reinigen der Knollen sind technisch laute Vorgänge, die Meeressäuger (Delfine und Wale) stören. Im durchpflügten Bereich sterben alle Tiere, die nicht schnell genug fliehen könnten, Würmer, Schnecken und Seegurken beispielsweise. Das Umweltbundesamt befürchtet erhebliche Auswirkungen durch den Tiefseebergbau auf die ozeanischen Lebensräume.

Rechtslage
Zunächst hatte die Offshore-Industrie die Gebiete mit Tiefseeressourcen nach ihrer Entdeckung in internationalen Gewässer als rechtsfreien Raum betrachtet. Daraufhin forderten Kritiker eine verbindliche Regelung für den Abbau, um Umweltschäden in der Tiefsee zu minimieren und den Wettbewerbsvorteil der Industrienationen auszugleichen. Entwicklungsländer sind von dem teuren und technisch hochgerüsteten Tiefseebergbau meist ausgeschlossen.

Der Tiefseebergbau außerhalb der 200-Seemeilen-Zone Tiefseebergbau wird von der Internationalen Meeresbodenbehörde auf Jamaika geregelt. Sie verwaltet die Bodenschätze der Tiefsee als "gemeinsames Erbe der Menschheit". Die Behörde prüft und beurteilt alle Vorhaben, die dann entweder genehmigt oder abgelehnt werden. Bei ihr müsste die Bundesrepublik eine Abbaugenehmigung beantragen.

Die von der IMB an Deutschland vergebene Lizenz, berechtigt den Vertragspartner in dem zugeteilten Gebiet 15 Jahre lang Exploration zu betreiben.

Projekt der BGR

Zur ersten Erkundung des Lizengebietes nutzte das BGR das US-amerikanische Forschungsschiff Kilo Moana. In den Jahren 2008 und 2009 fanden zwei Explorationsfahrten mit dem Ziel der detaillierte topographische Vermessung des Meeresbodens im gesamten Lizenzgebiet zur Erstellung eines digitalen Geländemodells statt.

Parallel zur Erkundung der ertragreichsten Lagerstätten entwickelt das BGR Techniken, um die Förderkosten zu senken und die Schäden am Meeresboden möglichst klein zu halten. Das Projekt wird in enger Kooperation mit dem Leibniz-Institut für Meeresforschung in Kiel (IFM-Geomar) und Senckenberg am Meer in Wilhelmshaven durchgeführt. Jährlich findet eine Expedition teilweise mit dem RV Sonne in das Gebiet statt, um die Tiefseeböden zu beproben. In dem Gebiet gibt es bis zu zehn Meter dicke Krusten und Schlote, sogenannte Schwarze Raucher. Sie sind reich an Kupfer, Zink, Gold und Silber. Da die Metalle zumeist in Verbindung mit Schwefel vorliegen, werden sie auch als Sulfidlagerstätten oder schlicht Massensulfide bezeichnet.

In einem "Pilot-Mining-Test" versucht das BGR gegenüber der IMB zu belegen, dass in Zukunft die Rohstoffe umweltgerecht abgebaut werden können. Jetzt wird das Testgebiet über mehrere Jahre beobachtet, um die Einflüsse des Abbaus auf die Fauna und Biodiversität im Meer zu dokumentieren.

Im Jahr 2016 wurden in einem 200 km² großen Erkundungsgebiet 5 Millionen Tonnen an Manganknollen entdeckt.

Expeditionen
Seit 2010 finden unter Leitung der BGR fast jährlich Expeditionen in das Gebiet statt.

 2015: Flum 2015 Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone: German License Area. RV Sonne, Chief Scientist: T. Kuhn (BGR)
 2014: Mangan 2014 Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone: German License Area. RV Kilo Moana, Chief Scientist: C. Rühlemann (BGR)
 2013: Mangan 2013 Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone: German License Area. RV Kilo Moana, Chief Scientist: C. Rühlemann (BGR)
 2012: BioNod 2012 Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone: German and French License Areas. RV L'Atalante, Chief Scientists: C. Rühlemann (BGR), L. Menot (IFREMER)
 2010 Mangan 2010 Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone: German License Area. RV Sonne, Chief Scientist: C. Rühlemann (BGR)
 2009 Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone: German License Area. RV Kilo Moana
 2008 Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone: German License Area. RV Kilo Moana

Beteiligte Einrichtungen
 GEOMAR, Kiel
 AWI, Bremerhaven
 Senckenberg am Meer (DZMB), Wilhelmshaven
 Zentrum für Marine Umweltwissenschaften an der Universität Bremen (MARUM)
 Institut für Umweltphysik der Universität Bremen
 Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Bremen
 Jacobs University Bremen

Kontroverse

Kritik an dem deutschen Engagement beim Manganabbau im Südpazifik gibt es auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen. Viele Naturschützer sehen in dem Abbau einen schweren Eingriff in Tiefseeökosysteme, deren Folgen nicht wirklich abgeschätzt werden können.

Das Vorgehen der Bundesregierung bei der Aneignung der Abbaurechte in dem Seegebiet steht ebenfalls in der Kritik. Sämtliche Forschung, Erkundung und Probe-Abbau wird von Anstalten der öffentlichen Hand durchgeführt. Neben dem BGR sind hochrangige wissenschaftliche Forschungseinrichtungen (IFM-Geomar, Senckenberg u. a.) beteiligt. Diese forschen jedoch mit öffentlichen Geldern für eine spätere privatwirtschaftliche Nutzung dieser Gebiete. Die wirtschaftlichen Interessen der Forschung würden nicht transparent gemacht und durch meereswissenschaftliche Forschungsaufträge verschleiert.

Der WWF kritisierte, dass ökologische Daten zu den Gebieten bisher kaum vorlägen. Obwohl die von der ISA lizenzierten Staaten und Unternehmen dazu verpflichtet seien, ihre Erkenntnisse aus der Erkundung der Tiefsee offenzulegen, kämen diese ihren Pflichten bis heute nicht nach.

Publikationen
 Diskussion der wegweisenden ablehnenden Entscheidung der neuseeländischen Umweltschutzbehörde gegen den Abbau von Phosphaten in der Tiefsee der Ausschließlichen Wirtschaftszone (EEZ) von 200 Seemeilen (2014)
 Carolyn Gramling (2014): Seafloor Mining Plan Advances, Worrying Critics. Science, 2 May: Vol. 344 Nr. 6183 S. 463
 Michael Gross (2014): The deep sea under siege. Current Biology, Vol. 24 Nr. 4, S. R137-R139
 Kathrin J. Mengerink et al. (2014): A Call for Deep-Ocean Stewardship. Science, 16. Mai, 696–698.

Weblinks
 BGR-Karte mit Lage der Gebiete

Einzelnachweise

Geographie (Pazifischer Ozean)
Meeresbodenbergbau
Wirtschaft (Deutschland)
Außenpolitik (Deutschland)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
este un termen japonez folosit în karate ce se refera la o schemă ce detaliază parcursul unui kata. Astfel, în cadrul ei se pot identifica punctul de început al unui kata, precum și liniile folosite în deplasări de către practicanți.

Linia de embusen variază pentru fiecare serie de kata . Este, de exemplu, o linie dreaptă pentru seria de kata Shōtōkan Tekki . Urmează forma unei litere majuscule I pentru seria de kata Heian, precum și pentru seria Taikyoku . Kata mai avansat, cum ar fi Kanku-Dai și Gojūshiho Dai și Sho kata, in stilul Shotokan, precum și Gōjū-ryū Seipai și Kururumfa kata, de exemplu, au o embusenă din ce în ce mai complexă pentru a antrena practicantul în unghiuri defensive mai avansate. Pentru orice kata, embusenul este fixat și trebuie urmat exact pentru stăpânirea corectă a stilului.

Note

Lectură suplimentară
 Marius Podeanu. Best Embusen: Shotokan.

Karate


text:
For her digital commission, Miami filmmaker Faren Humes gathers raw footage that she recorded at a Martin Luther King Parade in the Liberty City neighborhood from 2019. The images capture the joy and energy of community celebration but also suggests, through the presence of police lines and helicopters, the pervasive tensions of post-Civil Rights social relations.
Faren Humes is a writer and director from Miami, Florida. Her films have screened with special recognition at Berlinale, Internationale Kurzfilmtage, SXSW, AFI, New Orleans Film Festival, and Miami Film Festival. She has held fellowships with Film Independent, Knight Foundation, Sundance Institute, and Oolite, among others. Her work melds documentary and narrative conventions for social realist portrayals of Southern Black communities to explore themes of connectedness, belonging, and liminality.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
What to see & do in Skopelos
Located in the western Aegean Sea, Skopelos belongs to the Northern Sporades and in fact, is the second largest island -after Skiathos- of this island complex. Skopelos traces its history back to the Neolithic period. During ancient times, this area was named Peparethos, after the half brother of the Cretan ruler of the island, King Stafylos. Notably, Thucydides,the father of history, mentioned Skopelos as Peparethos in his scripts. The mythical King Stafylos, who was the son of Dionysos and Ariadne, was the first to introduce viticulture on this beautiful and fertile island.
# What to see
The unspoilt beaches of Skopelos and its emerald green and virgin pine forest were the main reasons why this lovely island was selected by the producers of the famous Hollywood film "Mamma Mia". In 2008, when the film was released, everyone had the opportunity to witness the hidden beauty of Skopelos and the island became world-famous; thus, its tourism grew even more.
Skopelos has three main settlements: Glossa, Palio Klima and Neo Klima. In the Neo Klima settlement, there is the amazingly beautiful beach of Hovolo and elegant hotels, such as Hovolo Hotel Apartments, that can indeed live up to your expectations. There are many options available for those who wish to spend their vacation in this idyllic place.
Ai-Yiannis Chapel (Kastri), is probably one of the most famous chapels in Greece. Beautifully built upon a steep rock, it offered a spectacular and ideal scenery for the shootings of "Mamma Mia". In fact, a key scene of this movie was shot there and after the movie was released it became a famous choice for couples that want to get married. The view from the chapel is mesmerizing! Bear in mind that you should ascend 106 stairs, which are carefully carved upon the steep and solid rock.
Given Skopelos' long religious tradition, there are plenty of monasteries, churches and chapels. The Monastery of Evangelistria on Skopelos, located only at a distance of 3,5 km away of Skopelos' maintown, constitutes a significant post-Byzantine monument. During the 18th century, the Monastery was renovated thanks to a local family of noble ancestry named Deponte. You should also visit the Monastery of Agia Varvara which is the oldest monastery on the island, built in 1648. Well-preserved and having frescos of rare beauty, the Monastery will captivate you with its architecture. Plus, the view is absolutely gorgeous!
If you want to take a closer look to Skopelos' folklore tradition, visit its museums that clearly depict its long and rich tradition. In the Museum of Cultural Heritage, there is a lovely collection of folklore items that people used to use in their daily life and also, there is a collection of beautiful traditional costumes. The Mansion of Vakratsa opened its doors to a public that wishes to witness a real example of the way people used to live in Skopelos in the 18th century. Festivities and presentations take place in there and, if you are lucky, you may have the opportunity to attend one.


text:
The coronavirus affects us all.
Help us hold our leaders to account and plan for a future beyond lockdown.
Dozens of fathers among migrants to be forcibly deported tonight
Men with strong family ties to the UK are being forcibly removed on ghost flights, leaving pregnant partners and young children behind.
Phil Miller
A coach pulls up at the plane, Stansted Airport 21:51, July 28, 2015 (PIC Daniel Trilling)
UPDATE 21:24 Tuesday 28 July: Unity Centre report that Fred, mentioned in this piece, has been occupying the roof of the courtyard at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre for the past couple of hours. Whenever Home Office officials try to come near him, he is threatening to jump, Unity says. A mattress has been placed in the courtyard below him: "He has been living in the UK for more than 13 years, since he was 11 years old, and he knows no one in Sierra Leone where they are trying to remove him to." Yesterday Fred told Unity: "I am 24 years old and I have never been this scared in all my life."
PUBLISHED 16:00 Tuesday 28 July: The Home Office is preparing to deport dozens of west African migrants on a specially chartered aircraft leaving Stansted tonight, bound for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gabon. Immigration officials have reportedly detained hundreds of people this month ahead of the flight.
Many of the men booked on the flight are being separated from pregnant partners and young children, according to volunteers at the Unity Centre, Glasgow, who have spoken to deportees. They say that the the men, being held in London immigration lock-ups, expressed "terror and desperation at the prospect of being separated from established lives in the UK".
Anthony* has a wife and two-year-old child who both have the right to remain in the UK. "We lost a baby in 2008, we visit the burial site regularly. They are trying to take me away from this," Anthony told the Unity Centre. "Every time I call my wife my son is crying. It is very disheartening that a country that preaches human rights all over the world can do this. How can you split me from my family?"
The Home Office claims Anthony poses a risk to society, after he was arrested for working without permission in 2010. Anthony said he was just trying to support his family.
Another man booked on the flight, George, said: "I have been here for 11 years and I just don't know what to do. I have nowhere else to go and I am not leaving my fiancée." His partner is three months pregnant. She is an EU citizen, and the couple have an ongoing application to stay here under European laws.
Charter Flight by Oviyan for Corporate Watch
David will be separated from his pregnant partner, who is British. David told the Unity Centre, "I can't believe that they won't even let me see my daughter being born. I haven't committed any crime in the UK."
Roland is being taken to Ghana tonight, leaving behind his daughter and sick partner after spending eight months in immigration detention. He says: "I can't live without my daughter, she's my everything, she's my world. I've lived here all my life. I don't know anyone back home."
Tom, who is being separated from his child, said: "The conditions here are appalling because the way we are being treated is just like animals. They don't even practice human rights and people need to know about this."
One man booked on the flight, Steven, wanted to highlight what his fellow deportees were going through: "It is evil. That is the only adjective I can use to describe what is happening. People have families here. They have children here. They pay their taxes. They pay everything. Now because of one silly thing they want to take away people's right of being with their family."
Fred, 24, faces deportation to Sierra Leone tonight, even though it is a country that the UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel, "except for those involved in the direct response to the Ebola outbreak".
Fred said: "I have never been this scared in all my life". He says he knows no one in Sierra Leone, and has lived in the UK since he was 11. He is being deported solely on the basis of intelligence supplied by the Metropolitan Police to immigration officials under Operation Nexus. That's a joint police and Home Office scheme that puts Border Agency staff into police custody suites and permits the deportation of people only suspected of crime, without any judicial process.
And they're gone. Take-off, Stansted Airport 01:14, July 29, 2015 (PIC Daniel Trilling)
The Home Office started removing migrants by charter flights from secret locations in 2001. Up until March last year, almost 30,000 people had been removed by 800 flights, according to a Home Office response to an inquiry made under the Freedom of Information Act. The flights continued for a decade before independent inspectors were allowed on board, in 2011.
The first reports from HM Inspectorate of Prisons were not reassuring. On a deportation to Nigeria, a flight plan which the Home Office curiously code-names 'Operation Majestic', "inspectors were very concerned at the highly offensive and sometimes racist language they heard staff use between themselves. Quite apart from the offence this language may have caused to those who overheard it, it suggested a shamefully unprofessional and derogatory attitude that did not give confidence that had a more serious incident occurred, it would always have been effectively dealt with."
Three years after that flight, Chief Inspector of Prisons, Nick Hardwick reported on the findings from a follow-up inspection:
"While there were some noticeable improvements, especially in the attitudes and language of escort staff, several of our recommendations have had to be repeated verbatim this time. The distress of detainees undergoing removal is evident from the behaviours and accounts outlined in this report."
That report detailed the case of Ms D, a mentally ill Nigerian woman. When she heard that they were going to deport her, she told them she "had nothing in Nigeria" and threatened to kill herself if sent back. Ms D, "was at the extreme of non-compliance, resisting at every point and spitting at anyone who spoke to her". So to get her out of the country, Home Office contractors placed her in "leg restraints for 10 hours 5 minutes and in handcuffs for 14 hours 30 minutes, continuously in each case."
Then: "Her head was restrained continuously for more than 45 minutes without sufficient testing of her compliance; her arms were restrained by some staff (but not others) throughout the flight, which was unnecessary; and at one point pain compliance was used when restraint would have sufficed."
According to the Chief Inspector's report: "Half an hour later, she was sitting on the tarmac in front of the plane with nobody communicating with her. She took all the medication, including anti-psychotic drugs that the [Home Office] paramedics had handed to the local officials who had then passed it to Ms D."
"Nigerian officials subsequently said that Ms D was unfit to remain in Nigeria and wanted her to return to the UK. They brought her to the foot of the aircraft front steps unclothed except for a towel around her shoulders as she had ripped her clothes off."
"Up to 30 local officials surrounded the foot of the stairs, one of whom pushed Ms D forward. She fell on to the stairs, grabbed the handrail and began to struggle. The aircraft commander, additional Tascor staff, pilot and paramedic all said that Ms D was unfit to fly and needed hospital attention, and approximately half hour later, an ambulance arrived." (Tascor is the escort company, part of Capita).
Ms D was taken to a local hospital and, according to the Home Office, "discharged on the same day". The inspectors, "do not know what happened thereafter, or whether any dialogue has taken place between the Nigerian and British governments about the way that the incident was handled."
Those terrible things happened when a team from HM Inspectorate of Prisons was watching, and taking notes. Who knows what goes on when there are no independent witnesses aboard?
*Note: All names have been changed. Thanks to Oviyan for his illustration.
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Immigration detention and removal in the UK


text:
Givarlais est une ancienne commune française, située dans le département de l'Allier en région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, devenue, le , une commune déléguée de la commune nouvelle de Haut-Bocage.

Géographie

Histoire

Politique et administration

Démographie

Lieux et monuments
 Église Saint-Genès du
 Château et chapelle des s

Personnalités liées à la commune

Voir aussi

 Liste des communes de l'Allier

Notes et références

Notes

Références

Liens externes

 Givarlais sur le site de l'Institut géographique national

Ancienne commune dans l'Allier
Commune déléguée dans l'Allier
Aire urbaine de Montluçon


text:
Q: Did the Ents and the Númenóreans ever clash? Númenóreans are known to have leveled large forests in Eriador and in (the later) Gondor in their greed for shipbuilding-wood. Did they ever have trouble with the Ents?

A: This is never explicitly mentioned
There may be one reference, made it passing, that may refer to Numenoreans.

Indeed I have not seen them roused like this for many an age. We Ents do not like being roused; and we never are roused unless it is clear to us that our
  trees and our lives are in great danger. That has not happened in this Forest
  since the wars of Sauron and the Men of the Sea.

an earlier passage with similar wording "The war between Sauron and the Men of the Sea", however, has been speculated as in fact being the War of the Last Alliance, which involved Sauron and the Men of the Sea after they'd cut down all the trees and not while they were chopping them down. It is likely that this is the same for the original quote, as during the chopping of the trees by the Numenoreans, Sauron was under the pseudonym Annatar, and although it is possible that Treebeard has realised that Annatar was Sauron, it is unlikely.

So if there wasn't a clash between the Ents and the Numenoreans, why didn't the Ents protect their trees?
Well, the Ents were created (or the spirits were sent into trees) to protect against the fell things in Middle-earth (including Dwarves), those creatures that were not the Children of Illuvatar, that would not care for killing the trees.
It is also likely that the might of the Numenoreans drove the Ents back, as they didn't have great strength, although their strength in the Elder days was greater than in the end of the Third Age.

A: No idea, honestly
It would seem that the Númenóreans felled trees near Vinyalondë, the haven for the Númenóreans of the Second Age. For this reason they were in feud with the men living near the area, but there is no mention of feuds between the Ents.
From the letter of Gil-galad to then King of Númenór, Tar-Meneldur.

So the Lord Aldarion long has seen. At Vinylondë by the mouth of Gwathló he has long laboured to
  establish such haven, secure against sea and land; but his mighty works have been in vain. He has great
  knowledge in such matters, for he has learned much of Círdan, and he understands better than any the
  needs of your great ships. But he has never had men enough; whereas Círdan has no wrights or masons to
  spare.
Unfinished Tales of Númenór and Middle-earth: Part Two, II, Aldarion and Erendis

Here follows the part of their feuds with men in the area (in the previous chapter):

But for long the crews of the great Númenórean ships came unarmed among the men of Middle-earth; and
  though they had axes and bows aboard for the felling of timber and the hunting for food upon wild shores
  owned by no man, they did not bear these when they sought out the men of the lands. It was indeed their
  grievance, when the Shadow crept along the coasts and men whom they had befriended became afraid or
  hostile, that iron was used against them by those to whom they had revealed it.
Unfinished Tales of Númenór and Middle-earth: Part Two, I, A Description of Númenór

It may be that Treebeard was "prejudiced" against Saruman for felling trees, in his territory. While we have no idea if the Ents' territories included Vinyalondë, it would seem it would have been unlikely for them to attack the Númenóreans, given their "good" nature as descendants of the Edain.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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The Law Enforcement Families Readiness Initiative: Overview
Human-made disasters such as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey and Florence; and large-scale public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak create enormous stressors for law enforcement officers who are charged with maintaining public safety in the midst of the resulting chaos. Anecdotal evidence suggests that law enforcement agencies, officers and officers' families were ill-prepared for the widespread, devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, which included the genuine concern for the safety of their families, prolonged absences of the officer from home, lengthy lapses in communication with loved ones, and challenges associated with being personally affected by the events (e.g., death and/or injury of loved ones, damage or loss of personal property). Law enforcement agencies were affected with diminished assets, including responding officers, resulting in major disruptions in the agencies' ability to enforce the law and ensure public safety.
Concerns facing law enforcement officers in response to large-scale crisis events led the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation (NFOPF) to query its Hurricane Katrina-affected membership regarding their duties and responsibilities to their departments and families during the crisis. Overwhelmingly, officers responded that they reported for duty maintaining their focus on public safety, but with the safety of their family and loved ones heavy on their minds. However, the NFOPF also learned that a small number of officers, who were personally affected by the disaster, failed to report when called to duty. Since natural and human-made disasters and other crisis events will continue to occur, it is likely that officers will again be faced with difficult decisions about whether to report for duty or secure family and loved ones unless their concerns about family safety can be proactively addressed before the crisis occurs.
The NFOPF proposed conducting research designed to explore law enforcement family readiness at times of disaster. This research would be based on examination of research literature, input from law enforcement officers and their families, and data collected from various types of law enforcement agencies. This data would be used to develop guidance tools and materials and a comprehensive model policy to enable local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to design and implement their own law enforcement family readiness plan for officers and their families. Agencies that have already developed family readiness plans would be able to incorporate the tools, materials and model policy as empirically based best practices components of their existing plans.
Law enforcement officers face dangers and life-threatening situations in the course of performing their duties. Officers take an oath to protect and serve. However, when their families and loved ones are involved in and possibly affected by a public safety crisis, the officer may feel as if they are faced with a difficult decision—duty to job or duty to family. Officers are expected to choose duty before family; however, it is clear that in the case of a small number of officers called to duty during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the call to protect family and/or home was too great for them to ignore or overcome.
Law Enforcement Families Readiness Initiative (LEFRI)


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women-empowerment
Mississippi's Asya Branch Is the New Miss USA
Branch is a criminal-justice-reform advocate who once attended a meeting with the Trump administration on the issue.
By Michella Oré
No One Plays the Game Like Billie Jean King
Fifty years after signing one of the most lucrative—and consequential—contract in sports, Billie Jean King is still fighting for more.
By Macaela MacKenzie and Mattie Kahn
Photography by Celeste Sloman
She's So Calm
For Jessamyn Stanley, Self-Care Is a $6 Bath Soak and Giving Herself Permission to be 'Selfish'
"The most important act of self-care for me is just letting whatever I need be the most important thing."
By Macaela MacKenzie
Paralympian Scout Bassett Won't Be Tokenized
"If you're just using me as a way to check a box, you're not creating change."
The Story Behind the First All-Female Sports Broadcast in History
"This wasn't a novelty. Like, 'Oh, look how cute this is—let's get a bunch of random women and see if they can string together some sentences about hockey.' No, this is what we do."
It's a New Era For U.S. Women's Soccer. And Cindy Parlow Cone Is In Charge
U.S. Soccer is now run by a woman. This former player will see the governing body of the sport through its high-profile fight over equal pay.
Loretta Claiborne Doesn't Want You to Feel Inspired. She Wants You to Change Your Mind
The chief inspiration officer of Special Olympics is an ambassador for athletes with intellectual disabilities—and for building empathy.
Brehanna Daniels Is the First Black Woman in a NASCAR Pit Crew
Racing has a diversity problem. Daniels is part of the team helping to make the sport more inclusive.
To My Sister Naomi Osaka, a Love Letter
This year wasn't cancelled for Naomi Osaka—2020 is the year the 22-year-old officially became the highest-paid female athlete in history.
By Mari Osaka
'Athlete A' Maggie Nichols Will Not Be Silent
The first gymnast to report the abuse of Larry Nassar to USA Gymnastics shares her story in a new documentary out on Netflix today.
Sabrina Ionescu Changed Women's Basketball. And She Hasn't Even Played Her First Pro Game
The 22-year-old point guard is one of the most buzzed-about basketball players in a generation.
Goals Issue
13 Times Women in Sports Fought for Equality
Women in sports are underpaid, undervalued, and underfunded at every turn. But they're fighting back—and winning.
By Jenny McCoy
It's 2020 and Periods Are Still Holding Women Back
Activist and author Jennifer Weiss-Wolf reflects on what's changed—and what hasn't—in her five years of fighting for period equality.
By Jennifer Weiss-Wolf
Women Are Traveling Home to Vote in Ireland's Abortion Referendum
Some women are traveling up to 9,000 miles to repeal the country's Eighth Amendment.
The Candidates Running in Alabama Say Their Wish for Women in America
17 women of color are running for office in Alabama, the most to ever run in a state at once.
17 Women of Color Say Why They're Running for Office in Alabama
It's the most women of color who have ever run in a state at once.
What Would Your Grandmother Say If She Knew You Were Running for Office?
The 17 women of color candidates in Alabama answer.
Advice The Candidates in Alabama Would Give Their 10-Year-Old Selves
What It's Like To Live With A Water Shortage
Here's how one Cape Town woman is dealing with the crisis.
Here's Why Lawmakers Are Wearing Black to the State of the Union
Women in Congress talk about their decision to stand in solidarity with the #MeToo movement by wearing black to the State of the Union.


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Blue plaque for Kindertransport home in Gloucester
A Gloucester building that housed Jewish child refugees fleeing Nazi Germany is to be given a blue commemorative plaque, following a campaign by the son of one of those housed here. The unveiling will mark 82 years since the arrival of these children in Gloucestershire, but not the end of the plight of refugees.
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The Alexandra Road hostel was organised by Gloucester Association for Aiding Refugees, who brought in a Checkoslovakian refugee couple to help raise the rescued children. Apart from a safe home, these children were given education, training and jobs by the city that opened its arms.


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NIFA provides national leadership and support for the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN), which is led by five regional labs (at Cornell University, the University of Florida, Michigan State University, Kansas State University, and the University of California at Davis) and one support lab (at Texas Tech University).
NPDN is a national network of diagnostic laboratories that rapidly and accurately detect and report pathogens that cause plant diseases of national interest, particularly those that could be deemed to be a biosecurity risk. This laboratory network ensures that all participating land-grant university diagnostic facilities are alerted of possible plant disease outbreaks and/or introductions and are technologically equipped to detect and identify pests and pathogens rapidly.
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Zero-emission Transportation Fuels: Alberta's New Economic Opportunity
Posted on Tue, 03/05/2019 - 06:38
By David B. Layzell PhD, FRSC and Jessica Lof MSc
Three-quarters of the refined petroleum products from Alberta-produced oil ends up as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. In fact, Alberta's oil provides ten times more transportation fuel to North American markets than that consumed within the province. Clearly, the province of Alberta is in the transportation fuel business.
"…Alberta is in the transportation fuel business [and it] is poised for transformative, potentially disruptive change."
Every indication is that the transportation business is poised for transformative, potentially disruptive change. Technology drivers include autonomous, connected and electric vehicles, car sharing and big data. Knowing this, can Alberta remain a key supplier of energy for transportation into the future?
Concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from fossil fuel combustion provide additional major forces for transformative, systems-level change. As of September 2018, 18 countries and more than 16 major international cities have introduced plans to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles and/or introduce incentives for adopting electric vehicles between 2020 and 2040. California and Quebec already have zero-emissions vehicle standards, and British Columbia has mandated a zero-emissions vehicle standard by 2040.1
Electrified, zero-emission vehicles are the greatest challenge to Alberta's oil industry, and they come in two distinct types:
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that get their energy from the public grid, store it in on-board batteries and use that electricity to power the motors that turn the wheels. Charging can either be carried out while the vehicle is not being used, or with electrified portions of highways while vehicles are moving2.
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (HFCEVs) that generate the electricity onboard from hydrogen fuel, allocate some power to temporary battery storage, and draw on both battery and fuel cell electricity to power the motors that turn the wheels.
While BEVs seem to be the technology of choice for smaller, lighter vehicles driving shorter distances, the jury is still out for the best zero-emission technology for freight transport, a sector that consumes about 69% of all diesel consumption in Alberta. Indeed, companies promoting zero-emission trucks are very active in advancing either their BEV or HFCEV vision for the future of freight and some are even working to undermine the competition3.
"…Albertans should care deeply about which technology pathway – battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell electric – ultimately wins in the marketplace."
Albertans should care deeply about what technology pathway – battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell electric - ultimately wins in the marketplace.
While the province is not well positioned for the production of low-cost, low-carbon dispatchable electricity, it has incredible resources and capacity be a global leader in providing zero-emissions fuels for HFCEVs.
The Economic Opportunity for Hydrogen in Alberta
For more than a year, CESAR researchers, in collaboration with the freight transportation sector, governments and other stakeholders, have been examining various low or zero-carbon energy systems capable of supporting existing diesel markets. Our research shows that Alberta's best "Plan B" for the future of its oil-based economy is to transition to the production of a clean, more energy efficient, and much more valuable transportation fuel: hydrogen.
Figure 1. From crude oil production (A) to diesel fuel use in Alberta (E), showing that transportation fuels dominate refined petroleum products (C) and diesel production from Alberta oil is about nine times diesel demand in the province (D). Figure compiled by CESAR with data from the National Energy Board, Alberta Energy Regulator, Energy Information Administration (USA) and Statistics Canada.
In 2016, about 7,900 petajoules (PJ) of crude oil from Alberta were delivered to refineries where 77% of the products were transportation fuels (Figure 1A-C). Of the 2,286 PJ of diesel fuel produced, only 258 PJ per year were consumed in Alberta, the largest portion (97 PJ/yr) by heavy-duty freight transportation vehicles (Figure 1D-E). Therefore, Alberta oil provides about nine times more diesel fuel than the amount consumed in the province.
If there is an energy transition away from diesel to zero-emissions fuel, it would be in Alberta's economic interest to be able to supply this new market, while continuing to supply oil for the remaining diesel fuel market.
Alberta is already a major producer of hydrogen which is used for cracking hydrocarbons and producing nitrogen fertilizer. Extending the hydrogen market to transportation fuel – especially fuels for heavy duty vehicles where direct electrification is problematic – offers a major new opportunity for economic diversification and business growth, while rebranding the province as a leader in the production of zero-emission fuels. Transitioning to a made-in-Alberta hydrogen economy will enable the province to sell and export a value-added commodity.
"...producing and exporting hydrogen would generate two to four times more economic activity for Alberta then producing and exporting crude oil."
Alberta oil at has been selling at $4 to $8 per gigajoule (GJ) ($25 to $50 per barrel)4. In a future hydrogen economy, the wholesale price of hydrogen is expected to be $18 to $25/GJ ($2.50 to $3.50 per kg hydrogen). Even if we take into consideration that Alberta would sell less hydrogen energy than crude oil energy to support the same transportation market,5 producing and exporting hydrogen would generate two to four times more economic activity for Alberta then producing and exporting crude oil for the diesel market.
This will not only mean jobs, but the earnings from the production, wholesale and retail sale of hydrogen will contribute to the province's gross domestic product, royalty and tax revenue.
The Technologies and Sectors Behind a 'Made in Alberta' Hydrogen Economy
There are many technologies that could be used for the production of hydrogen with minimal or no greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere (Figure 2). Some of the top contenders include:
Steam-methane reforming of natural gas. This mature technology would need to be modified to produce a pure CO2 stream for geological sequestration (i.e. Carbon Management in Figure 2) in addition to transportation grade hydrogen. Using a recent US government study,6 CESAR estimated that the hydrogen could be produced with 90% of the CO2 sequestered for about $10/ GJ hydrogen ($1.42/kg hydrogen), assuming a natural gas feedstock cost of $2.50/GJ. The spread between this price and the $18 to $25 /GJ hydrogen wholesale price mentioned above leaves room for profit, royalties and taxes.
Figure 2. Possible components for a 'Made-in-Alberta' hydrogen economy. H2, hydrogen; O2, oxygen; CO2, Carbon dioxide.
Gasification of bitumen or biomass.7 In the case of biomass, sequestration of the CO2 byproduct could deliver both negative greenhouse gas emissions and a zero-emission transportation fuel. In the case of bitumen, gasification could even be carried out underground with only the hydrogen being brought to the surface.8
Electrolysis of water with wind or solar power. Wind and solar generation are rapidly becoming the lowest cost forms of electricity generation.9 When this generation is not needed for the grid, it can be used to create hydrogen and oxygen from water.10 With the option to use surplus power to make hydrogen, it should be possible to oversize wind and solar generation in the province, dramatically reducing the carbon intensity of the public grid while simultaneously generating a zero-emission transportation fuel.
"…[for] the production, distribution and use of hydrogen, Alberta has major competitive advantages:
Vast oil and gas resources;
Geology for CO2 storage;
Plentiful wind & solar;
Superb human resources."
For these and other technologies associated with the production, distribution and use of hydrogen, Alberta has major competitive advantages compared to other jurisdictions in North America and around the world. These include:
Vast natural gas and crude oil resources that are valued below U.S. and world-market prices. These can be converted to hydrogen more cost-competitively than most other jurisdictions. Selling value-added hydrogen made from oil and gas for $18 to $25/GJ could be a better business opportunity than selling the feedstocks for $1 to $8/GJ.
The necessary sub-surface geology that can either use the byproduct of hydrogen production – carbon dioxide – for enhanced oil recovery or to provide a permanent, safe, underground storage site for the CO2;
Plentiful, low-cost renewable energy resources (especially wind and solar) for electrolytic production of hydrogen. Wind farms are now being built in Alberta that will deliver grid power for less than $40/MWh.11
Superb technical and human resource expertise and the innovative spirit needed for the safe production and distribution of hydrogen and the creation of a Western Canadian hydrogen economy.
The Time to Act is Now
The electrification of freight transportation is still at an embryonic stage, but the proponents of BEVs and HFCEVs have the attention and interest of the freight transportation sector. Many freight companies are eager to find cleaner, lower-maintenance alternatives to the diesel/ internal combustion engine technology that is currently their only alternative. They are attracted by the torque of electric vehicles and interested in trucks with fewer moving parts that have a longer life with lower maintenance costs. With the eventual introduction of autonomous vehicles and improved logistics made possible by big data, there is a concern that diesel vehicles will hold them back. Give them a credible, compelling alternative, and they will switch.
Freight transportation is the 'anchor tenant' in a future made-in-Alberta hydrogen economy. They need to be a key part of a 'Plan B' for an Alberta economy that keeps this province in the transportation fuel business. However, the transportation fuel needs to be zero-emission so Alberta can be key part of the solution to both the climate change and air pollution challenges.
In the mid 1970's, Premier Peter Lougheed established the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA) to unlock the economic potential of the province's oil sands.12 That initiative led to the development of many technologies, including Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) that have contributed significantly to the economic development of the province in the past 15 to 20 years.
Perhaps Alberta needs an AOSTRA2, but this one could be called AZEFRATA for Alberta Zero Emissions Fuels Research And Technology Authority. Suggestions for alternative names are invited - and clearly needed!
CESAR will be publishing the detailed analysis and modeling work behind this post over the next few months. Register with CESAR if you want to receive a notification as each paper is released.
This work would not have been possible without the contributions of the following CESAR researchers: Kyle McElheran, BSc, EIT. Nicole Belanger, BSc. EIT; Bastiaan Straatman, PhD, Song Sit, PhD, Geoff Martin, BSc, Madhav Narendran BSc and Mark Lowey BA.
We are grateful for the financial support of this work that has been provided by the Edmonton Community Foundation, the Ivey Foundation, the Clean Economy Fund, the Transition Accelerator and Alberta Innovates.
1 https://climateprotection.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Survey-on-Global-Activities-to-Phase-Out-ICE-Vehicles-FINAL-Oct-3-2018.pdf
2 https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-full-episode-1.4621483/electric-avenue-sweden-builds-a-road-that-charges-your-vehicle-while-you-drive-1.4621485 or https://new.siemens.com/global/en/products/mobility/road-solutions/electromobility/ehighway.html
3 https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/21/musk-calls-hydrogen-fuel-cells-stupid-but-tech-may-threaten-tesla.html
4 All currency values in this document are in Canadian dollars and the energy values are in gigajoules (GJ) of higher heating value (HHV).
5 This calculation considers that crude oil must be refined to produce diesel, and that hydrogen fuel cells and electric motors are more efficient than internal combustion engines.
6 NREL H2A: Hydrogen Analysis Production Case Studies- Current Central Hydrogen Production from Natural Gas with CO2 Sequestration version 3:
https://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/assets/docs/current-central-natural-gas-with-CO2-sequestration-v3-2018.xlsm
7 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15567249.2016.1263250?journalCode=uesb20 for biomass; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213343717305948 or https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie800773a for bitumen
8 http://proton.energy/
9 https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-energy-and-levelized-cost-of-storage-2018/
10 https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-production-electrolysis
11 https://www.jwnenergy.com/article/2018/12/alberta-announces-12b-new-wind-energy-projects/
12 http://www.history.alberta.ca/energyheritage/sands/underground-developments/energy-wars/alberta-oil-sands-technology-and-research-authority.aspx
colleencollins replied on Fri, 03/08/2019 - 11:38 Permalink
Hydrogen transport
Great work - looking forward to detailed reports. Will they include economic modelling?
David Layzell replied on Sun, 03/10/2019 - 22:41 Permalink
Economic Modelling
Yes, we will certainly be providing a techno-economic assessment for how the current technologies could perform if deployed 'at scale'. We are still analyzing how best to get 'there' from where we are today. Our work to date shows considerable opportunity with both environmental and economic benefits. More work is needed to define and assess possible transition pathways.
cspopoff replied on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 10:14 Permalink
ARIS Gen IV potential use
I wonder if the studies performed in conjunction with INL and PTAC investigating the integration of nuclear and petrochemical industries could be used to plug in the Gen IV reactor specs provided by vendors in the ARIS Gen IV reactor database to evaluate producing synthetic combustion fuels instead of leaving hydrogen as the product. Turning over transportation to an EV centric model would require a massive overhaul in infrastructure and hydrogen fuels would be no different. Producing synthetic low GHG or even GHG neutral combustion fuels would address a significant wedge of industrial heat and transport demand (and thus ghg emissions).
David Layzell replied on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 10:43 Permalink
Worth exploring
This is certainly a concept worth exploring as we need to consider multiple pathways to a low carbon economy. For the particular example you are proposing, I would want to analyze a number of issues, including:
Are GHG emissions the only objective? Air pollution from internal combustion engines is another problem of our existing transportation fuel system, and your proposal would not address that issue.
The source of the carbon for the synthetic fuels? Ideally this would be come from air capture which is not low cost.
Economics. The cost of air capture of CO2 + nuclear generation of power + its conversion to hydrogen and then to hydrocarbons would, I expect, be a lot more than the cost of extracting hydrocarbon energy as hydrgen and leaving the carbon in the ground. Yes, the former would preserve more existing infrastructure, but the fuel cost would be more expensive. We have not done the calculations, but I expect it would be more cost effective to transform the infrastructure over then next few decades, as it will need to be replaced anyway.
Public support. This will be important for any major system change, and it is often the most important factor.
There may be better ways of putting together the technologies you have proposed. CESAR is involved with a new organizagtion called the Transition Accelerator which may be able to support the advancement of promising pathways. More about that in a future blog post.
rob@airterra.ca replied on Tue, 01/14/2020 - 19:02 Permalink
Completely Resonates
I am delighted to see this vision taking shape.
Is there a way of inviting a larger group of businesses, innovators and investors to get involved?
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Getting Canada energized about hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks
Hydrogen can make Canada an energy superpower again
Alberta can lead the Transition to a Net-Zero Canada – While Re-Energising its Economy
Sankey diagrams of Canada's energy systems
End-use sectors: energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in Canada and its provinces
End-use sectors: energy use vs greenhouse gas emissions
Introduction to CanESS
The BIOCAP Canada Foundation Archive
Green Hydrogen production – By SolarGenEnergyinc
8 months 9 hours ago
David,I appreciate your – By rob@airterra.ca
10 months 3 weeks ago
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Sanding Bands quickly reduce nail length and thickness. Disposable, good for one-time use. Available in 150 grit size.


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What if Dale Steyn had remained fit?
July 20, 2018 Miles
This week Dale Steyn will become South Africa's leading Test match wicket taker when he overhauls Shaun Pollock's record (with whom he is currently level at the time of writing) of 421 wickets. It is a phenomenal achievement by the South African pace bowler who is considered by most as the best bowler the world has seen in the last decade.
No South African has taken more Test wickets than Dale Steyn, a true great of the modern game – if not a true great full stop
There is a tinge of sadness surrounding this feat, though, because he became only the 15th player to take over 400 wickets in late 2015 and due to injuries, has only featured in seven Test matches since then. His most recent return, before this current series, was during the ill-tempered Australian tour of South Africa earlier on this year when he picked up one wicket before hobbling off the field with an ankle injury. Now back in a South African shirt in Sri Lanka, one can only hope that his injury worries are behind him and we can finally sit back and enjoy a truly world class performer.
It is only really when you start looking through his numbers that you really appreciate just how much the game has lost during these two and half years of injury. He currently has 421 wickets in just 87 Tests at an average of 22.42. To put that into context, James Anderson, widely considered one of England's greatest ever bowlers, has taken 540 wickets in 138 test matches at an average of 27.23. He has taken 26 five wicket hauls and five 10 wicket hauls across his career compared with 25 and three for Anderson. It is truly phenomenal.
If he'd played as many games as Anderson, for example, and maintained roughly the same average, he'd now have taken around 650 wickets and would be comfortably the most successful pace bowler the game had ever seen. Of course the unknown variables can come into it and perhaps he might not have been as successful, but as Anderson is showing now and Glenn McGrath showed during the latter years of his career, these wily pace bowlers get better with age and experience.
It would be wrong though to think of Steyn as purely a speedster though. He is one of the most skillful and thoughtful bowlers we've seen in international cricket and allied with an impressive arsenal of methods with which to get batsmen out, the entire batting fraternity of world cricket has been able to sleep much easier without him being on the pitch. That immense focus he seems to get in his eyes when he smells wickets being on offer has been sorely missed.
The term 'great' is banded around all too readily these days and quite often lacks context. In Gideon Haigh's Ashes to Ashes book, published in 2014, he wrote a small chapter that was concerned with the number of great players who retired around that time and the increasingly changing world of international cricket since the advent of the IPL and other lucrative domestic tournaments around the world. When discussing T20 he wrote; "you can be proficient in scoring the maximum runs off 60 balls and conceding the minimum runs from a four over spell but, at present, the appellation 'great' in the context of T20 makes no more sense than it would if applied to a burger, a music video or Piers Morgan. Greatness matters, greatness stirs."
As those fortunate enough to watch Steyn taking his 422nd Test wicket this week will testify, Steyn matters and he also stirs. He has been a truly great performer throughout his career with South Africa and deserves this accolade. Let us hope there is much more to come in terms of wickets, if not injuries.
By Andy Hunter
bowlingDale SteynShaun PollockSouth Africa


text:
Q: When Jenkins stage get error then to do something? I want when some of the stages in the Jenkins pipeline get error then to have some options like asking for input, or print some message.
For example in this pipeline error is in the stage 2 by executing not existing 'shit' (sh 'asdasd')
node('master') {
  try {
    stage('stage1') {
      echo 'stage 1 succeeeded'
    }
    stage('stage2') {
      echo '1st task of stage 2 is cool'
      // this is the ERROR
      sh 'asdasd'
    }
  } finally {
      echo 'SUCCESS'
    }
}

My question is how ask for input IF error popup if some of the stages?

A: There are several posts that show how to capture errors using try - catch blocks inside anything, stages in this case: see e.g. this or this
What you want additionally is define an user input in the "catch" case. In general, that is a bad idea, see this article describing why user inputs are dangerous in pipelines. But the article also offers a solution including timeouts.
If really needed, code can be something like...

node('master') {
  try {
    stage('stage1') {
      echo 'stage 1 succeeeded'
    }
    stage('stage2') {
      try {
        echo '1st task of stage 2 is cool'
        // this is the ERROR
        sh 'asdasd'
      } catch (errScript) {
         try {
              timeout(time: 60, unit: 'SECONDS') { // set desired timeout
                  userInput = input( id: 'userInput',
                                  message: 'Press OK to continue',
                                  )
              }
          } catch (err) { // timeout reached or user input
             def user = err.getCauses()[0].getUser()
             if('SYSTEM' == user.toString()) { // SYSTEM means timeout.
                    // Do your timeout thing
             } else {
                    // Evaluate your user input action
             }
          }
      } // catch (errScript)
    }
  } finally {
      echo 'SUCCESS'
  }


It stands like a gigantic rectangular amoeba, risen from the heavily-polluted Newton Creek just beyond The Chimney's high, industrial-era walls. An amalgamation of plastic garbage bound by tar, Atsunobu Kohira's 'Monolith' has taken on a life of its own, dominating the old factory floor like a guardian to the underworld.
Can you tell me about the piece you did for The Chimney?
My exhibition is about the environment around The Chimney, especially the creek near the gallery. This creek is polluted—it's the most polluted creek in the United States—and I was very interested in the subject. So, instead of bringing in some works from afar, I proposed to make a site-specific work for this exhibition concerned with the creek, which has been polluted since the 19th century because of the petrol refinery. So, this creek is very polluted by petrol, back to the Industrial Revolution. I work with materials like coal, and coal and petrol are the same family, sort of—they're fossil fuels. So, I thought, 'Maybe I could work in the same idea through petrol this time.' So, what I've done, I've built a kind of Shinto shrine for all this negative history of this creek, and what's floating in it. It's not to clean the creek with my work, but to purify the creek by the spirituality of this dark history.
It reminds me of something ancient.
Exactly, the title of the sculpture is 'Monolith.' I decided to make a monolith that suited this space—The Chimney has quite a high ceiling. Actually, this building was made as a petrol refinery. It's an ancient power plant.
Do you always draw from things around the gallery?
I like to work site-specific, but not every time—it depends. Usually, I like to work on a conceptual level with the environment.
I was interested in where this pollution was coming from, and what's going on now, and what we're going to do after. So, I made a shrine to this dark history, to here, to what's going on, what happened in this creek, and I picked up a lot of garbage on the street around this creek to construct the Monolith—I picked up a lot of plastic garbage.
Is it a shrine to garbage? Is garbage the god of the shrine?
Yeah, kind of. There was a lot of plastic around the creek, so I picked up a calculator, bottles, even forks and knives, dental floss, very quotidian objects I found around the river—and I covered it with tar. It's the same material as petrol—so everything in the sculpture is made by petrol.
Do you think these little plastic objects have a certain spirit to them?
While I was producing this Monolith, I didn't think there was a spirituality to this sculpture, but after I made it, I made a fresco on the walls near the windows, and actually this fresco is connected to all the electric power, which illuminates the space. And these are all connected with one cable—it's just like the shimenawa wire that hangs in a Shinto shrine in Japan. So, this electric cable surrounds the sculpture to charge the spirituality of the negative history.
So, the wire is connected to the lights?
How is it similar to a Shinto shrine? I don't know much about them.
I was inspired by Shinto shrines for this installation. The wire helps to divide the spirit world and the human world, and also it helps to charge or keep the energy in the space. In Japan, there's a lot of huge trees that are roped by large wire or rope to keep the power in. Since Fukushima [nuclear disaster] in 2011, I think about how I use electricity and power in my work. So, this is a good example of how I treat electricity and power in my installation, because after Fukushima there was no electricity, and most Japanese power plants run on coal. So, fossil energy, and today we still use petrol to create electricity—even in New York, they use mostly petrol for electricity still.
Have you ever considered using something radioactive in your work?
Not really, because I'm not interested in nuclear power, I'm more focused on fossil fuels. After Fukushima I didn't know where our power was coming from. I realized it was so stupid to use nuclear power for electricity. We're using nuclear power just to boil water, to turn on the lights—it's such a simple thing to produce energy, why do we have to take so much risk just to produce energy when we can use solar or hydraulics?
I was very curious why we use coal and petrol, which produce so much CO2, but we use it because actually fossil fuels are made by ancient living things, like plants or animals, which are accumulated after they pass away. So, with this accumulation of energy, we remove it from the ground and then we burn it, so all the ancient powers are expanded today—that's why we have so much energy in petrol or coal. But instead of energy we produce a lot of CO2, and the carbon from CO2 is a trace of these ancient living things. I think we release the CO2 as a kind of spirit energy. I don't feel that it's good to release the CO2—it's just a question of should we release all this CO2 or let the fossils sleep in the ground? I tried to reveal the actuality of the situation, the real history.
It reminds me of diamonds, because that's the next rung on the carbon ladder. Have you ever worked with diamond?
Not yet, because of financial problems, but I've worked with other carbon materials, like lead, carbon graphite. I like this exhibit because it really has to be experienced in person—there's the smell of tar—you have to feel it with the five senses.
I make a lot of sound works, actually. But sound was an important part of this exhibit, too, because I opened this huge gate—not enough to allow a human to pass through, but it's an open gate to let the spirit enter the sculpture. Also, The Chimney is placed in front of a big avenue, so there are a lot of cars passing through. So, the sound of the cars is very important.
I love that little detail.
There's lots of hidden details.
Above: The Chimney in Brooklyn; all photos courtesy of the gallery.
'Seek Hope, Who Enter Here,' will be on view every weekend through October 21, 2018.


There are some really super tips in this article published on Buzzfeed. Read it at https://www.buzzfeed.com/alannaokun/clever-tricks-to-make-wedding-planning-so-much-easier.
Here's an article I received at http://www.myonlineweddinghelp.com/bridal-news/wedding-ideas/25-non-traditional-wedding-ideas-you-may-not-have-thought-about that I want to share with you all. I thought it had some good tips in it. Enjoy!
Spring, Summer, and even Fall are coming up fast!
Statistics from WeddingWire.com last November indicated that Officiants are almost the last to be hired as a necessary vendor in the wedding ceremony planning process. That may have been true in 2016, as I received dozens of requests during July, August, and September and was able to accommodate those clients for the most part.
But this year seems to be different. People are planning their weddings earlier and requesting officiants much earlier in the planning process than I've experienced before.
The graphic above, with March on top and November on the bottom, shows the number of bookings for which I have confirmed dates with paid deposits for the rest of the coming year. By my count, there are fifteen on the books already. What is more interesting, though, is the increase in the number of requests that I've experienced over the last week or so.
I have had to turn down three requests each for June 10th and June 17th, two on July 7th, three each for August 12th and 26th, and another for September 9th. Those seem to really be the most popular dates coming up.
I hate turning people down when I'm already booked, but when I am booked for a date, time, and venue I honor those commitments. And I feel sorry for the folks I'm unable to serve because, frankly, I love marrying people! So if you are planning to wed in the next 6-8 months, I suggest that you select your officiant once you've secured your venue, rather than waiting until the last minute. That way you can avoid disappointment by having to settle for someone who would not be your first choice.
There are literally hundreds of checklists, many in previous posts on my blog, that can help you with your wedding planning needs. Please take advantage of these resources and remember: If you fail to plan, you may be planning to fail! You don't want to subject yourself to any more last minute stresses than you need to, so proper planning and early hiring are critical to accomplishing that.
If you have any questions at all about scripts, vows, rehearsals, or other ceremony elements, I'm available by phone, email, or live video chat on multiple platforms. Have a wonderful ceremony!


imaginakins: SOCIAL JUSTICE ART SHOW 2017 . JAMAICA CENTER FOR ARTS AND LEARNING. WOMAN VIEWING "THE TORCH HOLDERS" AND "THE ORIGIN OF SUPER FREEDOM" DIGITAL ENLARGEMENTS.
SOCIAL JUSTICE ART SHOW 2017 . JAMAICA CENTER FOR ARTS AND LEARNING. WOMAN VIEWING "THE TORCH HOLDERS" AND "THE ORIGIN OF SUPER FREEDOM" DIGITAL ENLARGEMENTS.


text:
Q: Anonymus struct after json serialization in go I want achieve such format for output json
{
    "2019-07-22": {
        "something": {
            "type": "ENTRY",
            "id": 1766617,
        },
        "something2": {
            "type": "ENTRY",
            "id": 1766617,
        },
    },
    "2019-07-23": {
        "something": {
            "type": "ENTRY",
            "id": 1766618,
        },
        "something2": {
            "type": "ENTRY",
            "id": 1766620,
        },
    },
}

So far I've split those data into 3 structs:
type Response struct {
    Days map[string]Day
}

type Day struct {
    Entries map[string]Entry
}

type Entry struct {
    type            string `json:"type"`
    Id              int    `json:"id"`
}

After serialize into json I have structure with field names and nested json objects which is wrong:
{
    "Days": {
        "2019-07-22": {
            "Entries": {
                "something": {
                    "type": "ENTRY",
                    "id": 1766617
                },
                "something2": {
                    "type": "ENTRY",
                    "id": 1766617
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Is there possibility to skip those field names in Response:Days and Day:Entries fields? I will not deserialize json into structs so only problem is serialization. I can't change json structure because of BC breakes.

A: To achieve the json you want your Response type should be a map of maps.
type Response map[string]map[string]Entry

type Entry struct {
    Type string `json:"type"`
    Id   int    `json:"id"`
}

https://play.golang.com/p/4GBEZi_TS9m


text:
Chapter 632 Misty Slasher
Chapter 633 Costly Add-on
Chapter 634 Ego
The Mech Touch Chapter 633 Costly Add-on
Space became littered with mechs and debris. Over a stretch of tens to hundreds of thousands of kilometers, the trail of wrecks unceasingly grew as the battle raged on. The death toll grew as well, particularly on the side of the Caged Masters.
The lethality of melee weapons surpassed the deadliness of rifle weapons. Laser weapons especially harvested the least lives as mech pilots were usually able to eject in time.
When faced with swords or daggers, a single well-placed hit could easily pierce through mech armor meant to withstand hardy kinetic rounds. The Vandal Inheritor mech pilots might not be the best representatives of their mech regiment, but their rigorous training and discipline quickly pulled them through.
While the rifleman mechs of the Caged managed to survive up to now with the help of their miniboosters, their less sophisticated cousins didn't fare so well. The genetic aptitude of many mech pilots of the Caged was rather poor. Putting them in humanoid mechs was a waste, so they piloted frontline mechs instead.
These cheap, disposable machines incorporated miniboosters as well, but their mech pilots weren't skilled enough to evade the determined Inheritor mechs. The Vandal skirmishers soon figured out the evasion pattern of the frontline mechs, and teamed up to place another teammate in the direction of the automatic activation of the miniboosters.
The frontline mechs fell in quick succession. The rifleman mechs of the Caged moved to rescue their brethren, but before they could move to help, the rest of the Vandal spaceborn mechs arrived.
"Hellcats! Get right up in their face!"
The Inheritor mechs weren't meant to destroy the mechs of the Caged on their own. Their primary goal was to entangle the enemy ranged mechs and force them to slow down in their flight. This granted the Vandal medium mechs the opportunity to catch up to the battle.
The Hellcat hybrid space knights made their presence known, leading a formation of many different Vesian mech models into the fray!
"Commence Chosen Shock Charge!"
Missiles darted out from their shoulder launchers, each of them forcing the Caged mechs into a defensive posture.
Once the Hellcats neared the rifleman mechs, they fired their wrist-mounted nail drivers instead. The agile Caged mechs mostly managed to dodge the short-ranged projectiles, but the ones that got hit suffered a severe piercing blow that punched right through their fragile armor.
The Caged mechs only had a couple of seconds left before the Hellcat mechs all slammed their shields into their disoriented frames! Though the Vandals wasn't able to field the Hellcat mechs in great numbers, their courageous charge had a disproportionate impact on their targets! Each mech they slammed into suffered an enormous amount of concussive damage.
With their frontal armor crunched and their mech pilots jarred from the shock, the vulnerable rifleman mechs couldn't do anything as the Hellcat mechs delivered the coup-de-grace with their swords.
Now that they caught up, the main force of the Flagrant Vandals finally unleashed their full might!
With the arrival of the Vandal prestige mechs, the battle instantly took a turn for the worse to the Caged. The predominantly ranged force had no hope of fending off the melee mechs of the Vandals. With the swift and agile Inheritors cutting off their escape routes, the Hellcats and the other Vandal medium mechs formed into pre-arranged formations and came at the disheveled gang mechs with unstoppable force.
"Double Chevron Assault!"
Mech squads formed into double-ranked chevrons and slammed into the Caged mechs. If the first impact didn't finish them off, the follow-up attacks guaranteed the kills. With the use of this formation, the disparity between the two forces widened! The Caged could never match the coordination of the Flagrant Vandals!
"Retreat!" Sub-boss Scornburned finally ordered. "The Flagrant Vandals can't be overcome! Let us depart!"
Ordinarily, the mech pilots of the Caged would never retreat so easily. Roppongans took their honor very seriously. Yet they had already started sliding into defeat ever since the Inheritor mechs caught up to them. The sudden shock attacks by the Hellcat mechs had tipped over their courage, causing them to waver just enough for the sub-boss to recognize the moment.
They had to retreat! As ignoble as it sounded, it was better than to perish against a foe they could never hope to defeat!
The mech pilots of the Caged had lost their nerve and flew their mechs back to their carriers as swiftly as possible. The Inheritors followed them but kept their distance. Their presence was meant to pressure the Caged and prevent them from regaining their courage.
The Hellcats and the other medium mechs turned to the mechs of the Masters of Combat. The Misty Slasher mechs started to run out of steam. While their berserk fighting methods might have been a recipe for success in the frontier, the Masters of Combat was made up entirely of seasoned veterans and elite mercenaries.
The Vandals needed to save the Swordmaidens from their own blunder!
"The battle is over now." Ves declared to himself. Even though they hit a couple of snags, they still managed to achieve the expected result. "It feels good to be on the superior side for once."
Still, the Vandals didin't let down their guards. They expected the Caged to crumble early, but they expected more from the Masters of Combat. Even now, their Nyven Skrats still managed to withstand the offensive. Now that the Vandal medium mechs had entered the fray, their situation became increasingly dire. If they still held back a trump card, then now would be the final time to put it into play.
Major Verle turned to Ves. "Those enhanced sensor arrays you produced. How much do you trust them?"
"With my life, sir. They might not be able to pick up anything fancy from the Friday Coalition of the Hexadric Hegemony, but at our level it's more than enough."
"Good. Initiate full active scanning! I want those sensors and detectors pumped up to the highest power!"
Not every Inheritor had raced ahead to tackle the Caged mechs. The Vandals held at least a company of Inheritors, half of which bore the crucial sensor upgrades. They formed the main line of defense against any threats that attempted to sneak up to their ships.
Upon the major's command, a series of scanning arrays popped up from the heads of the light mechs. A powerful pulse of energy surged from the arrays. Within a range of thousands of kilometers, the entire space around the Flagrant Swordmaiden fleet rippled with invisible waves.
Nothing became visible, but that didn't mean nothing was there!
"We've detected several anomalous signals to the rear of our ship! Range, two-hundred kilometers!"
"Akkara mechs, open fire at the suspect coordinates!"
The heavy mechs entrenched in the bunkers of the Shield of Hispania and the other Vandals ships all erupted their heavy cannons in the direction of the anomalous readings. Hundreds of laser beams and physical rounds saturated the region.
Within a spread of tens of kilometers, one explosive shell hit something other than empty space. A stealthed objected immediately lost its transparent visage and became visible to the naked eye!
"It's a stealthed boarding shuttle!"
The explosive shell had ripped through the thinly-armored shuttle, blasting apart its entire frontal section! The continuous volleys of the Akkara mechs soon hit other stealthed shuttles.
By the time the heavy artillery mechs fired ten volleys in quick succession, the entire area around the first shuttle became riddled with pieces of shuttle wreckage!
"What is the result?"
"Sir, our Akkara mechs have taken out seven stealthed shuttles in total! There are no survivors!"
The Vandals in the command center grinned when they heard how many precious stealth shuttles they destroyed. These high-tech toys cost a pretty penny to produce. Ever since the Flagrant Vandals aimed at the Masters of Combat, they did not believe a word about their inability to acquire stealth tech on their own.
"The Masters of Combat are made out of elite veteran Venidsan mech pilots. If any mercenary company has access to stealth tech, then they should be at the front of the list!"
Ever since Ves returned to the fleet, his trauma against stealth technology had compelled him to hit the books. He crammed through several books on anti-stealth tech. He still retained his position as head designer, so much of the knowledge library of the Mech Corps was open to him. Though the central database prohibited the dissemination of knowledge on stealth tech, books on how to counter them was readily available.
"Though I only had a day to read through a couple of books, that is more than enough to install some upgraded sensors on a handful of light mechs."
His paranoia paid off. The Venidsan mercenary corps had indeed planned to perform a fatal strike from stealth! Ves couldn't even imagine the damage the invisible shuttles could unleash to the unsuspecting Vandals.
Catching them off-guard and shooting them down before they could run or close the distance was the best outcome possible!
Ves softly laughed as nothing remained of the expensive shuttle and their well-trained boarding parties. The sensor readings could barely pick up the minute pieces of rubble. He enjoyed getting the better out of sneaky bastards attempting to ruin his life.
"It feels good to catch these Venidsan mice. I should make these sensor upgrades more prevalent among the Inheritor mechs."
The only reason why he couldn't upgrade all of the light skirmishers was because it was a fairly expensive upgrade. Ves had made a conscious decision as head designer to deviate from Professor Velten's standard design templates. Though he could justify his decision if it only affected a small portion of the Vandal mechs, if he insisted on making it a standard feature, then he would violate a bunch of rules, the most important of which was budget stipulations.
"If five million extra credits per mech allows me to sleep better at night, what does it matter?"
This didn't sound like a lot, but it increased the costs associated with the Inheritor mechs by twenty-five percent. The powerful sensor arrays were also very delicate, requiring frequent servicing in order to keep them functioning at their optimum states.
"It's not economical to arm a hundred Inheritors with this upgrade."
The Inheritors were meant to be cheap and disposable. Turning them all into expensive detection platforms was a step too far to the Vandals.
"Keep sweeping our perimeter with active scans. I don't want any space rock left unturned!"
Though a follow-up attack seemed unlikely, the Vandals did not mind wasting their energy on continuous scans.
The mech battle up ahead entered into the final stage. The Masters of Combat had been holding out hope that their stealth shuttles were able to turn the tide of the battle. Now that the Vandals wiped them all out before they could complete their missions, the Venidsan mercenaries had nothing left to throw at the Vandals!
Nonetheless, the Vesians stoically kept fighting even as the Vandal mechs took over from the exhausted Misty Slashers. While the Swordmaidens recalled their mechs, the Masters of Combat began to buckle.
Their multipurpose space knights endured a lot of hits, but their lack of mobility became their downfall. In front of the coordinated might of the Vandals, they were unable to move and had to force themselves into a spherical formation with every mech facing outwards. While this prevented the Vandals from striking at their rear, the relatively rigid formation fared very poorly against ranged bombardments.
The Vandal ships soon entered into firing range. The Akkara mechs unleashed volley after volley of heavy firepower. The Nyven Skrats didn't last. The continuous outpouring of laser cannon beams and high-explosive shells shredded their thick tower shields and pounded their frames until they broke up into pieces.
The Vandals didn't ask for surrender, and to their credit the Vesian mech pilots didn't ask for any. There could be no reconciliation between Brighters and Vesians, especially when the stakes were so high. They did not fight on behalf of their states right now. All of their decisions were being influenced by the players in the shadow.
"Sweep the battlefield and prepare to catch up to their ships." Major Verle commanded. "Tell Commander Lydia to pursue their combat fleet. Their escort mechs shouldn't be a hindrance to them. Make sure she understands to take the flagship intact. Inform Captain Rakeshir to separate from the Swordmaiden fleet in order to pursue the support ships. If we hurry up now, we might be able to catch up to them before they transition into FTL."
The Flagrant Swordmaidens managed to secure their first victory ever since they joined forces! Though everyone was already salivating about the spoils, not everyone seemed pleased by the outcome.


William was born on 14 September 1765 in Boggall, Northumberland, to Parents John Winley and Dorothy Sabron.
He is the younger brother of Thomas.
William marries Elizabeth Wiles on 20 May 1787 at Woodhorn.