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An urgent appeal
A US Senate select committee on intelligence today, 12-09-2014 released its report on the CIA's detention and interrogation program. Miscellany101 has talked extensively about torture being implemented by America and becoming a form of policy and the report lays it out in startling detail, here.
If you don't want to read it, the appeal I'd like to make is that you head over to this site and sign the petition that asks the US Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the program carried out by the CIA and all those responsible for it in government and prosecute them under appropriate, relevant and prevailing law. America must take full responsibility for its role in breaking international law during the debacle that became known as Operation Iraqi Freedom and like countries that have preceded us one way to do that is to bring those within our borders to justice.
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with Alberto Gonzales, CIA, Dick Cheney, Eric Holder, George Bush, Government, GWB, Iraqi Freedom, rectal force feeding, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, sodomy, Torture, US Attorney General, waterboarding
Ten years ago we invaded Iraq
and our lives have not been the same since. We laid bare for all the world to see the dysfunction of our society, politically with corrupt leaders who lied and led us into an unnecessary war and socially with throngs of people who opposed the war and even more who believed in it and others who fought it….all led by a media that gobbled up everything given them by our self-serving politicians, hook, line and sinker.
All of this was a long time coming. Our institutions had been co opted long before we were attacked that fateful day in September, 2001 that they had ceased to perform in the manner for which they were created. If it's one thing to be taken from all this, it should be that the job of the people in this day and age is to hold everyone involved in shaping public policy accountable for what they've done or said. No where has that been more eloquently done than in a piece written by a young man who will soon die because of the injuries he suffered fighting for his country ten years ago.
Tomas Young has given far more to his country than he has received from those who asked him to make that ultimate sacrifice. It's too bad he won't live to see them held accountable for the deception they offered that rendered him a quadriplegic after just 22 years of life. This is what Chris Hedges had to say about him in a piece entitled "The Crucifixion of Tomas Young"
I flew to Kansas City last week to see Tomas Young. Young was paralyzed in Iraq in 2004. He is now receiving hospice care at his home. I knew him by reputation and the movie documentary "Body of War." He was one of the first veterans to publicly oppose the war in Iraq. He fought as long and as hard as he could against the war that crippled him, until his physical deterioration caught up with him…
Young will die for our sins. He will die for a war that should never have been fought. He will die for the lies of politicians. He will die for war profiteers. He will die for the careers of generals. He will die for a cheerleader press. He will die for a complacent public that made war possible. He bore all this upon his body. He was crucified. And there are hundreds of thousands of other crucified bodies like his in Baghdad and Kandahar and Peshawar and Walter Reed medical center. Mangled bodies and corpses, broken dreams, unending grief, betrayal, corporate profit, these are the true products of war. Tomas Young is the face of war they do not want you to see…
On April 4, 2004, Young was crammed into the back of a two-and-a-half-ton Army truck with 20 other soldiers in Sadr City, Iraq. Insurgents opened fire on the truck from above. "It was like shooting ducks in a barrel," he said. A bullet from an AK-47 severed his spinal column. A second bullet shattered his knee. At first he did not know he had been shot. He felt woozy. He tried to pick up his M16. He couldn't lift his rifle from the truck bed. That was when he knew something was terribly wrong….
Young had been in Iraq five days. It was his first deployment. After being wounded he was sent to an Army hospital in Kuwait, and although his legs, now useless, lay straight in front of him he felt as if he was still sitting cross-legged on the floor of the truck. That sensation lasted for about three weeks. It was an odd and painful initiation into his life as a paraplegic. His body, from then on, would play tricks on him….
Young joined the Army immediately after 9/11 to go to Afghanistan and hunt down the people behind the attacks. He did not oppose the Afghanistan war. "In fact, if I had been injured in Afghanistan, there would be no 'Body of War' movie to begin with," he said. But he never understood the call to invade Iraq. "When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor we didn't invade China just because they looked the same," he said.
He became increasingly depressed about his impending deployment to Iraq when he was in basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. He asked the battalion doctor for antidepressants. The doctor said he had to meet first with the unit's chaplain, who told him, "I think you will be happier when you get over to Iraq and start killing Iraqis."
"I was dumbstruck by his response," Young said….
For Young, the war, the wound, the paralysis, the wheelchair, the anti-war demonstrations, the wife who left him and the one who didn't, the embolism, the loss of motor control, the slurred speech, the colostomy, the IV line for narcotics implanted in his chest, the open bed sores that expose his bones, the despair—the crushing despair—the decision to die, have come down to a girl. Aleksus, his only niece. She will not remember her uncle. But he lies in his dimly lit room, painkillers flowing into his broken body, and he thinks of her. He does not know exactly when he will die. But it must be before her second birthday, in June. He will not mar that day with his death.
And though he is an atheist, though he believes that there is nothing after death—that, as he says, "the body is like a toy that runs out of batteries, only there are no replacements"—his final act honors the promise of Aleksus' life. As he spoke to me softly of this child—it hurts, even now, he said, to know she will grow up without him—I wondered, sitting next to him on his bed, if he saw it, the glory of it, his final bow not before the specter of his death but the sanctity of her life. The resurrection….
Thankfully, for this brave young man who refuses to go down without a fight, he chose to remind people just what it was they asked him to do and what he finally has to say about that. Here is Tomas Young in his own words
The Last Letter
A Message to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From a Dying Veteran
To: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney
From: Tomas Young
I write this letter on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War on behalf of my fellow Iraq War veterans. I write this letter on behalf of the 4,488 soldiers and Marines who died in Iraq. I write this letter on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of veterans who have been wounded and on behalf of those whose wounds, physical and psychological, have destroyed their lives. I am one of those gravely wounded. I was paralyzed in an insurgent ambush in 2004 in Sadr City. My life is coming to an end. I am living under hospice care.
I write this letter on behalf of husbands and wives who have lost spouses, on behalf of children who have lost a parent, on behalf of the fathers and mothers who have lost sons and daughters and on behalf of those who care for the many thousands of my fellow veterans who have brain injuries. I write this letter on behalf of those veterans whose trauma and self-revulsion for what they have witnessed, endured and done in Iraq have led to suicide and on behalf of the active-duty soldiers and Marines who commit, on average, a suicide a day. I write this letter on behalf of the some 1 million Iraqi dead and on behalf of the countless Iraqi wounded. I write this letter on behalf of us all—the human detritus your war has left behind, those who will spend their lives in unending pain and grief.
You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.
I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole.
Your positions of authority, your millions of dollars of personal wealth, your public relations consultants, your privilege and your power cannot mask the hollowness of your character. You sent us to fight and die in Iraq after you, Mr. Cheney, dodged the draft in Vietnam, and you, Mr. Bush, went AWOL from your National Guard unit. Your cowardice and selfishness were established decades ago. You were not willing to risk yourselves for our nation but you sent hundreds of thousands of young men and women to be sacrificed in a senseless war with no more thought than it takes to put out the garbage.
I joined the Army two days after the 9/11 attacks. I joined the Army because our country had been attacked. I wanted to strike back at those who had killed some 3,000 of my fellow citizens. I did not join the Army to go to Iraq, a country that had no part in the September 2001 attacks and did not pose a threat to its neighbors, much less to the United States. I did not join the Army to "liberate" Iraqis or to shut down mythical weapons-of-mass-destruction facilities or to implant what you cynically called "democracy" in Baghdad and the Middle East. I did not join the Army to rebuild Iraq, which at the time you told us could be paid for by Iraq's oil revenues. Instead, this war has cost the United States over $3 trillion. I especially did not join the Army to carry out pre-emptive war. Pre-emptive war is illegal under international law. And as a soldier in Iraq I was, I now know, abetting your idiocy and your crimes. The Iraq War is the largest strategic blunder in U.S. history. It obliterated the balance of power in the Middle East. It installed a corrupt and brutal pro-Iranian government in Baghdad, one cemented in power through the use of torture, death squads and terror. And it has left Iran as the dominant force in the region. On every level—moral, strategic, military and economic—Iraq was a failure. And it was you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, who started this war. It is you who should pay the consequences.
I have, like many other disabled veterans, come to realize that our mental and physical wounds are of no interest to you, perhaps of no interest to any politician. We were used. We were betrayed.
I would not be writing this letter if I had been wounded fighting in Afghanistan against those forces that carried out the attacks of 9/11. Had I been wounded there I would still be miserable because of my physical deterioration and imminent death, but I would at least have the comfort of knowing that my injuries were a consequence of my own decision to defend the country I love. I would not have to lie in my bed, my body filled with painkillers, my life ebbing away, and deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands of human beings, including children, including myself, were sacrificed by you for little more than the greed of oil companies, for your alliance with the oil sheiks in Saudi Arabia, and your insane visions of empire.
I have, like many other disabled veterans, suffered from the inadequate and often inept care provided by the Veterans Administration. I have, like many other disabled veterans, come to realize that our mental and physical wounds are of no interest to you, perhaps of no interest to any politician. We were used. We were betrayed. And we have been abandoned. You, Mr. Bush, make much pretense of being a Christian. But isn't lying a sin? Isn't murder a sin? Aren't theft and selfish ambition sins? I am not a Christian. But I believe in the Christian ideal. I believe that what you do to the least of your brothers you finally do to yourself, to your own soul.
My day of reckoning is upon me. Yours will come. I hope you will be put on trial. But mostly I hope, for your sakes, that you find the moral courage to face what you have done to me and to many, many others who deserved to live. I hope that before your time on earth ends, as mine is now ending, you will find the strength of character to stand before the American public and the world, and in particular the Iraqi people, and beg for forgiveness.
While I grieve at the suffering of this young man, I am glad he is on our side, that his answering the call of duty necessitated him speaking truth to power when he realized his mistakes; his absolution for the sin of unbridled trust in dishonorable men was to muster enough strength to honorably assert the obvious, that we were wrong. It's nothing we will ever hear from the likes of those who pushed him towards war and that's what makes Tomas Young special. Courage!
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with Chris Hedges, Dick Cheney, George Bush, Iraq war, Ten year anniversary, Veterans Administration
Crab barrell politics
We get what we deserve. For eight years we had a Republican president who completely overturned by neglect and more often than not, intentionally all that America has stood for in the last 200 years, so much so that over 200 presidential historians went on record to say George W. Bush was the 5th worst president in American history.
The political acumen of the American electorate hasn't gotten sharper with the end of the Bush era, it seems to have gotten nastier. It is as if we relish dirty politics, far worse than anything seen during the Nixon campaign of 1972 when the forces of darkness were let loose on America's political stage. Politicians have become like crabs in a barrel, climbing on the backs of constituents with inflammatory remarks in order get smirks, nods of approval, political contributions from others. Now, the gloves are off and politicians seem to be intent on denigrating segments of America's mosaic for what has become, a very expensive seat in Congress.
Arizona has enacted legislation which will end up directly targeting brown skin people with Latin names, in a throwback to the days of Jim Crowism and stars of David on the clothes of citizens of the state. No one is expected to carry with them their birth certificate except people with names like Gomez, Rodriquez, Abdullah, Muhammad et.al. and it is perfectly acceptable in the minds of many for that to be a legitimate request, even though a similar one wouldn't be made of a Jones, or a Goldberg, a Johnson or a Smith. It was politicians who made this stupid law in Arizona, and now Arizonans and the rest of us have to suffer because of their political xenophobia.
Listen to the latest elected official make a complete jackass of himself. The only stupid people he mentions in his speech on the floor of the US congress are the people who elected him in, not surprisingly, Texas, the home of the 5th worst president in America. Please America, get rid of politicians who want to get to political office, or keep it, by getting you to hate your fellow citizens of this country, or want you to be afraid of or angry with people who are different than yourself. This is an election year; let them know with your vote that America has come a long way from the racism and hatred of a bygone era and that we can today feel comfortable in who or what we are, appreciate the differences we have in our social fabric and live by laws that meant for all citizens, and not just those we hate, don't know or don't like.
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with Arizona, birthers, Congress, George Bush, Government, immigration, racism, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), U.S.
The Truth has been laid bare
It's now painfully obvious why we went to war in Iraq. I agree with former CIA analyst Ray McGovern some of it was because of "oil", "Israel" and "logistics", which form the acronym, oil. The "O" in that word really was the main reason, but on an even larger level there were more and other business interests to satisfy. Basically however, a former US businessman then President sent Americans over to fight a war to increase his bottom line, his ledger, his accounts; war is profitable to the American economy and all that's left to do is figure out how to get people to willing sacrifice their sons and daughters to fight such a war, even when there is no other reason to do so than the personal profitability of the commander in chief and his associates, and then execute that war, not towards a successful conclusion but for as long as it takes to get corporate America back in the black. Now you know why no one wants to talk of withdrawal from Iraq or any other war zone, because such decisions are made when the markets and other economic indicators say it is time to do so and not one day before.
So while partisan politics takes potshots across the great political divide over the ever scandalous BP disaster, intimating that one side or the other is benefiting from the largest eco catastrophe in American history, let them not forget we fight wars where we kill people and get killed in order to revitalize our economy. In essence we fight people who are defenseless; we kill people who mean us no harm, we destroy whole societies, many of them older than our own because we can and because it's good for business. It has nothing to do with defending the homeland, it has nothing to do with promoting democracy or even capitalism and it has nothing to do with helping the weak or the oppressed. The blood of your loved ones and the ones they kill increases the profit margins of the ones who send those very loved ones off to meaningless and perpetual war. How do you like that America?!
Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with conflicts, Dick Cheney, genocide, George Bush, Government, Guantanamo Bay, Iran, Iraq, Politics, President Obama, Republican party, U.S., US military, War, War on terror
April 3, 2010 Leave a comment
One of the reasons Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize from a grateful prize committee is because those who awarded it to him realized America has barely escaped falling into the abyss of becoming a dictatorial and insane government worse than Josef Stalin et.co could ever imagine. It wasn't without a big price that we as a Nation and the world community had to pay; two invasions, the almost complete evisceration of the US Constitution and the de facto persecution and or ethnic cleansing of a religious group that would make even Israel green with envy. In the clear light of day, absent the Bush Administration and its evil cohorts cooperation spin of fantasy from reality, the blinders are falling from our eyes and there is some sense of truth that has made its way in the media, that was once the stenographer for what could be the most corrupt US administration in the history of this country.
One such revelation came in the form of a lecture by a CIA employee, a 30 year veteran by the way, who it can be said has been around in the intelligence field a lot longer than Dick Cheney has, that intelligence gathering by his agency HAS NOT suffered as a result of not waterboarding terrorist suspects. This flies in the face of assertions made by Dick Cheney, most notably, and others in the former Administration who claimed the US was at risk of an imminent attack if it did not waterboard information from people. We've written about waterboarding alot here on the pages of Miscellany101 because it is an illegal activity that was sanctioned and made legal by the illegal Administration of Bush/Cheney. Every other month or so another crack appears in the wall they set up to separate America from the rule of law and slowly but surely voices are speaking out to say we can survive as a Nation without resorting to criminal behavior. This latest voice, that of career intelligence agent, Michael Sulick is a welcomed addition to the others who stand up to say what makes America great and exceptional is 'after 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true to the granite ridge, and her glow has held no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.'
Filed under domestic terrorism, domestic threat, enhanced interrogation, fascism, George Bush, Government, Guantanamo Bay, Media, press, terror, terrorism, War on terror, war on terrorism Tagged with actionable intelligence, CIA, Dick Cheney, George Bush, Government, intelligence, Ronald Reagan, Torture, War on terror, waterboarding
Those Bushism Lies Keep Getting Refuted-Another One Bites the Dust!
The Justice Department has quietly recanted nearly every major claim the Bush administration had made about "high-value" detainee Abu Zubaydah, a Guantanamo prisoner who at one time was said to have planned the 9/11 attacks and was the No. 2 and 3 person in al-Qaeda.
Additionally, Justice has backed away from claims intelligence officials working in the Clinton administration had also leveled against Zubaydah, specifically, that he was directly involved in the planning of the 1998 embassy bombings in East Africa.
Zubaydah's name is redacted throughout the 109-page court document, but he is identified on the first page of the filing by his real name, Zayn Al Abidin Muhammad Husayn. He was the first detainee captured after 9/11 who was subjected to nearly a dozen brutal torture techniques, which included waterboarding, and was the catalyst, the public has been told, behind the Bush administration's "enhanced interrogation" program. Former Vice President Dick Cheney has publicly admitted that personally approved of Zubaydah's waterboarding.
His torture was videotaped and the tapes later destroyed. The destruction of 90 videotapes of his interrogations is the focus of a high-level criminal investigation being conducted by John Durham, a federal prosecutor appointed special counsel in 2008 by then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
In recent months, former Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen has been on a public relations campaign promoting his book, "Courting Disaster," in which he defended the torture of Zubaydah, claiming, among other things, that he reviewed classified intelligence that revealed Zubaydah's torture produced actionable intelligence that thwarted imminent plots against the United States.
But court documents unclassified last week debunk Thiessen's assertions as well as those made by, among others, George W. Bush, who said Zubaydah was one of al-Qaeda's "top operatives plotting and planning death and destruction on the United States."
For the first time, the government now officially admits that Zubaydah did not have "any direct role in or advance knowledge of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001," and was neither a "member" of al-Qaeda nor "formally" identified with the terrorist organization.
The government has a new set of eharges it is leveling against Zubaydah and claims he is being detained by the United States based on his "actions" as an "affiliate" of al-Qaeda that may have included the planning of a counterattack against US forces after the US invaded Afghanistan in November 2001 and a "thwarted" attack at the time of his arrest.
"The Government's accounts frequently have been at variance with the actual facts, and the government has generally been loath to provide the facts until forced to do so," said Zubaydah's attorney, Brent Mickum, in an interview. "When the Government was forced to present the facts in the form of discovery in Zubaydah's case, it realized that the game was over and there was no way it could support the Bush administration's baseless allegations. So it changed the charges."
The government wants the judge presiding over the habeas case to deny defense requests for evidence that would "undermine" government claims that Zubaydah worked in Bin Laden's "military and security plan to confront an American counterattack" in Khost, Afghanistan, after 9/11.
"The Government does not rely on any contention that [Zubaydah] did this work as an 'al-Qaida' deputy or because he was subject to al-Qaida command," according to the court document.
But the exact charges the government appears to be making here is unknown because the information is classified.
"Evidence suggesting that [Zubaydah] lacked knowledge of plans by other persons or groups would not undermine the Government's allegations about [Zubaydah's] own thwarted plans, or any other allegations" against him, according to the Justice Department's filing.
The government acknowledges that it's case against Zubaydah is based entirely on the first six volumes of his diaries that he wrote beginning in 1992 [Please see this report for details about Zubaydah's diaries.] In the court filing, the government says that it filed a "factual return" on April 3, 2009, which included "six volumes of diaries written by REDACTED" and "an undated "propaganda video [Zubaydah] recorded before his capture in which [he] appears on camera expressing solidarity with Usama Bin Laden and al-Qaida." The government further says that it does not rely on "any statements [Zubaydah] made after his capture" in Pakistan in March 2002.
But later in the filing, however, the government concedes that Zubaydah was not aligned with or directly associated with Bin Laden or al-Qaeda.
The government "does not contend that [Zubaydah] was a 'member' of al-Qaida in the sense of having sworn bavat (allegiance) or having otherwise satisfied any formal criteria that either [Zubaydah] or al-Qaida may have considered necessary for inclusion in al-Qaeda. Nor is the government detaining [Zubaydah] based on any allegation that [Zubaydah] views himself as part of al-Qaida as a matter of subjective personal conscience, ideology or worldview.
"Rather, [the government's] detention of [Zubaydah] is based on conduct and actions that establish [Zubaydah] was 'part of' hostile forces and 'substantially supported' those forces," states the Justice Department's point-by-point response to 213 discovery requests Zubaydah's attorneys made in connection with his habeas corpus case, which sought evidence to support the government's position that Zubaydah was a top al-Qaeda official.
The Justice Department declined to comment on what appears to be contradictory claims in its court filing.
The Bush administration claimed in April 2002, days after Zubaydah was captured in Afghanistan and moved to a CIA-operated black site prison in Thailand that he was a top al-Qaeda official.
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld described Zubaydah on April 1, 2002, as a "close associate of [Osama Bin Laden], and if not the number two, very close to the number two person in the organization. I think that's well established."
Nor did the Bush administration deviate from that position after Zubaydah was transferred to Guantanamo in 2006 and declared an "enemy combatant" in 2007 following a Combatant Status Review Tribunal.
John Bellinger, former legal adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said during a June 2007 briefing on Guantanamo Bay that Zubaydah helped plan the 9/11 attacks and was "extremely dangerous."
The Justice Department's response to discovery request "No. 21" says that "the Government has not contended in this [habeas] proceeding that [Zubaydah] had any direct role in or advance knowledge of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, so [to] the extent that this request seeks information 'tending to show … that [Zubaydah] did not know of the planned attacks of 9/11', the request seeks evidence about contentions the Government has not made."
The government's new position is significant because one of the August 2002 torture memos prepared for the CIA and signed by former Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel attorneys Jay Bybee, now a Ninth Circuit Appeals Court judge, that described the torture techniques interrogators could use against Zubaydah, asserted that he "is one of the highest ranking members of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization," "has been involved in every major terrorist operation carried out by al-Qaeda," and was "one of the planners of the September 11 attacks" and that his torture was necessary in order to thwart pending attacks on US interests, which the CIA claimed Zubaydah knew about.
Exactly what Zubaydah's attorneys had requested from the government in their discovery filing is unknown as the document has not been cleared for release. The Justice Department asked the judge presiding over the case to deny virtually every discovery request sought by his attorneys, explaining, in some instances, that the government no longer relied upon the explosive allegations the Bush administration made about Zubaydah when he was captured and subsequently tortured.
At the time the response to the discovery requests was filed in the fall of 2009, the government argued that the court should "stay further evidentiary proceedings" because it could interfere with Durham's criminal probe into the destruction of the torture tapes. Durham filed a motion under seal thereafter that said as much. A report published in the Washington Post last week said Durham's probe is now winding down.
According to Mickum, the government's "entirely new position" about Zubaydah was revealed late last year in a 50-page Factual Return that included 2,500 pages of exhibits.
"I'm not surprised at all that the Government has dropped the old charges against our client and is alleging new charges against him," Mickum said in an interview. "That is their tried and true modus operandi. That's exactly what they did with my client Bisher al Rawi. He was initially charged with associating with a known al-Qaeda figure in London. Unfortunately, Bisher was associating with him at the express request of Britain's MI5 [intelligence service]. After we established that he worked for MI5, the US simply changed the charges against him, alleging that he had terrorist training in Bosnia and Afghanistan.
"Once again, we were able to show those charges were utterly bogus when we proved that Bisher had never left England from 1998 until his fateful business trip to Africa, where he was arrested by the CIA, rendered to the 'Dark Prison' in Afghanistan and tortured, tortured at Bagram Air Force base and tortured in Guantanamo. What all these cases have in common is torture, and [Zubaydah's] case has that in spades. Given, the government's history, it is not likely they would simply let him go and apologize. No, when their case falls apart, they rejigger the evidence, and come up with new charges and we will defend the new charges with the same zeal we defended the earlier bogus charges."
Zubaydah's attorneys argued in his initial petition for habeas corpus filed in February 2008 that he was not a member of al Qaeda, that he had no knowledge of any terrorist operations, and that the military camp he was alleged to be affiliated with, Khaldan, was closed by the Taliban after it refused repeated demands that it fall under the formal control of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida.
"We have never deviated from that position, and now the government admits that we were correct all along," Mickum said.
Indeed, the Justice Department's response agrees with Zubaydah's attorneys that Khaldan was "organizationally and operationally independent" of al-Qaeda's camps and backed off of other claims made by Bush administration officials that Zubaydah knew the identities of specific individuals who trained at Khaldan and later went on to al-Qaeda-operated camps and allegedly took part in terrorist activities.
"The Government has not contended in this proceeding that petitioner selected or knew the identities of specific persons who were selected to leave Khaldan for training at al-Qaida camps," the filing states.
Nor does the government contend that Zubaydah was responsible for paying Khaldan's "expenses" or that he financed specific terrorist operations that may have had ties to Khaldan. Therefore, the Justice Department said, evidence Zubaydah's attorneys requested to support these earlier claims should be denied.
The government's new position also dramatically changes the substance of the final contents of the 9/11 Commission's report, as it relates to Zubaydah. The report said he was the leader of Khaldan.
When she revealed last year that Zubaydah had been waterboard 83 times in August 2002, blogger Marcy Wheeler noted that the 9/11 Commission had obtained "just ten pieces of information are sourced to Abu Zubaydah's interrogation reports."
"…There are several other damning details that come from this analysis," Wheeler wrote. "One of the ten pieces of intelligence that appears in the 9/11 Report–regarding Abu Zubaydah's role running terrorist training camps–came from July 10, 2002, before the CIA first received oral authorization to use torture. Thus, it either came from persuasive, rather than coercive, techniques. Or it came from treatment that had not been legally approved."
The 9/11 report also said Zubaydah was a "major figure" in the "Millennium plot," claiming he was one of the masterminds behind a plan to blow up a hotel in Jordan and the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The 9/11 report cited several intelligence memoranda from then-counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke that Zubaydah was planning "a series of major terrorist attacks" on Israeli and possibly US targets and was working closely with Bin Laden.
Clarke declined numerous requests for comment.
But the Justice Department no longer supports any of those claims, according to the court document.
When asked about what the 9/11 Commission was told, Mickum suggested that the panel was lied to by the CIA.
"After torturing our client, the CIA knew he was never a member of al-Qaeda and that he had no knowledge of any al-Qaeda terrorist activities," Mickum said. "And this fact was confirmed after other members of al-Qaeda like [self-professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] and the [alleged mastermind of the USS Cole bombing] al Nashiri were tortured."
Zubaydah was also identified as Bin Laden's "lieutenant" in the infamous August 6, 2001, Presidential Daily Brief titled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US, " which alleged that he "helped facilitate" the plot to detonate a bomb LAX. FBI officials obtained that information from Ahmed Ressam, who was actually convicted for the crime in April 2001.
In exchange for a lenient sentence he made up stories about Zubaydah's connections to Bin Laden and his role at Khaldan, which Ressam attended for five to six months in 1998). Ressam also said Zubdaydah told him in 1998 that, independent of Bin Laden, he was preparing his own attack against the United States. He later recanted those claims.
In an exclusive interview last year, Jack Cloonan, a former FBI special agent assigned to the agency's elite Bin Laden unit, said the CIA and the Bush administration were flat wrong in designating Zubaydah as a top official in al-Qaeda.
"To cast him and describe him as the al-Qaeda emir or leader for the subcontinent or worse … I think was a mistake… . Based on his age and ethnicity, [he] would [n]ever be brought into the inner circle of al-Qaeda," Cloonan said.
There was also the question of Zubaydah's personality. "My partner had a chance to look at a lot of Abu Zubaydah's diaries [which forms the basis of the government's case], poems and other things that he has written and he said that after reading this you just come away with the feeling that this is a guy who can't be trusted or be given huge amounts of responsibility."
At his Combatant Status Review Tribunal in March 2007, Zubaydah said that his torturers eventually apologized to him and told him they concluded he was not a top al-Qaeda lieutenant as the Bush administration and intelligence officials had claimed (h/t Marcy Wheeler).
"They told me sorry we discover that you are not number three [in al-Qaeda], not a partner, even not a fighter," Zubaydah said during his tribunal hearing.
Filed under Africa, Al-Qaida, George W. Bush, Government, Guantanamo Bay, Homeland security, Middle East, US politics, War on terror, war on terrorism Tagged with Abu Zubaydah, bin laden, Bush lies, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush, Government, War on terror
Evil Personified
In an interview on ABC's This Week, Dick Cheney loudly proclaimed, 'I was a big supporter of waterboarding. I was a big supporter of the enhanced interrogation techniques' and forever cast himself as an indictable war criminal who will never be indicted. He has been assailed by the progressive side of the political spectrum for not only putting his foot in his own mouth but also for so clearly incriminating himself. Cheney however knows he won't be indicted and the simple reason is his logic is far more pervasive in the American body politic than any of us would care to admit. It would appear the only opposition coming to his remarks is from people outside of government and politics who might possess the last vestiges of decency still have left in America; those people who believe in the American system and ideals and not those who merely spout them as a means to assuming a really nice paying job in government at taxpayer expense.
On all the websites that feature articles about Cheney so prominently one can always find letters or comments from people who ask why isn't Cheney in jail, or why hasn't he been indicted. I myself have asked that question a time or two, but when reading another reporter's take on Cheney's remarks ran across this snippet
The "torture memo" and related legal opinions were considered so unprofessional that Bybee's replacement to head the OLC, Jack Goldsmith, himself a conservative Republican, took the extraordinary step of withdrawing them after he was appointed in October 2003.
However, Goldsmith was pushed out of his job after a confrontation with Cheney's counsel Addington, and the later appointment of Bradbury enabled the Bush White House to reinstate many of the Yoo-Bybee opinions.
Last month, Newsweek reported that Yoo and Bybee had avoided any disciplinary recommendations because a draft report by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility had been rewritten to remove harsh criticism that the two lawyers had violated professional standards, softening the language to simple criticism of their judgment.
The weaker language meant that the Justice Department would not refer the cases to state bar associations for possible disbarment proceedings.
Despite the really sophomoric job that Yoo and Bybee did in supporting the Bush administration's desire to torture, a job done so poorly that it was immediately tossed out by someone who replaced them, someone who was also a lawyer, who knew the law and knew that the legal brief written didn't have a leg to stand on and would not hold up to judicial review, members of the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility would not phrase their criticism of such low standards in such a way as to punish Yoo and Bybee. Instead those two gentlemen have gone on to lucrative careers, Bybee as a federal judge who might very well adjudicate terrorist cases he was responsible for jeopardizing with his justification for torture, and Yoo as law professor at UC-Berkeley without any consequence for advising a US administration to break the law! That eventuality was made possible by career government officials who are not accountable to all the voices of disgust and anger at obvious Bush-Cheney illegality who have made it possible for all concerned to evade and escape punishment. But there's also this admission by Cheney himself
The reason I've been outspoken is because there were some things being said, especially after we left office, about prosecuting CIA personnel that had carried out our counterterrorism policy or disbarring lawyers in the Justice Department who had — had helped us put those policies together, and I was deeply offended by that, and I thought it was important that some senior person in the administration stand up and defend those people who'd done what we asked them to do.And that's why I got started on it. I'm the vice president now — ex-vice president. I have the great freedom and luxury of speaking out, saying what I — what I want to say, what I believe. And I have not been discouraged from doing so.
The obvious implication is that Cheney's reach inside the bowels of government is long; anyone not willing to accommodate those who have signed on to his belief in the validity of torture as a tool of foreign policy risks losing his or her job. Similarly, if you are willing to cover for those who have broken the law there is some temporal reward for you. Bybee was appointed to his seat as a circuit court judge by Bush. While he may be at the end of his political career Cheney still has access to many others who depend on politics, political good fortune, appointments and corruptible politicians and he seems quite intent on keeping those who agree with his torturous politics from any harm, professionally or legally, and they in turn are intent on protecting him. So the fix is in and despite our protestations to the contrary, Cheney will not face prosecution because career diplomats, lawyers, intelligence agents and agencies have too much at stake and will do everything possible to protect themselves and their titular heads, i.e. the Cheneys and the Bushes, Obama's pledges of change and transparency nothwithstanding. It's sad that a constitutional lawyer now president like Obama has had his hands tied up by criminal politicians like Cheney who have no regard for the Constitution but such is the situation he finds himself. Realistically, there is no way out; Obama's position is intractable and for us progressives, the sooner we realize that the better. Such is the cost of doing business with evil.
Filed under Dick Cheney, domestic terrorism, domestic threat, free speech, fundamentalism, Government, Guantanamo Bay Tagged with Dick Cheney, George Bush, Government, John Yoo, terrorism, Torture, torture memos, waterboarding


In honor of National Pet Adoption weekend, we believe it is only suitable to blog about adopting a dog. In this blog post, we want to really focus on the ones that have the lowest adoption rate: senior dogs. Elderly dogs get a bad reputation but let's focus only the good and not the bad. The following are 7 reasons why you should adopt an elderly dog.
I believe this is one of the more important reasons to adopt. Elderly dogs, unfortunately, do not have much time compared to younger dogs/pups. By giving them a loving home, not only will it give them a sense of belonging, but you save them from being euthanized. With their low adoption rate, shelters are more likely to put elderly dogs down first, and senior dogs do deserve loving homes.
Some pet owners dread the first year of owning a puppy because it is the hardest year when having a dog. With a senior dog, it is possible that they are fully house trained and an added bonus of knowing some pretty neat tricks that you can show off to your friends. When you have a house trained dog, it saves you a lot of time and effort needed compared to a puppy.
Not everyone is built for extreme hikes, overnight camping trips, and countless trips to the beach. Sometimes, we prefer to sit on the couch and watch our favorite Netflix Original show. This is where older dogs do shine. They enjoy sitting down with you and watching you watch your favorite Netflix movie. To them, being around you is exactly what they ask for, and for some, its a match made in heaven.
For families that have younger children, having a senior dog will be a great addition to the family if you're afraid of your dog jumping all over and tripping your kids; pups are more likely to have more energy and a higher chance to injure your children.
The common misconception is that all elderly dogs have too many health issues and it will be too costly to adopt them. While this might be true in some cases, most senior dogs are at the shelter due to major life changes from their previous owner: divorce, finance troubles, new child, or relocation. Many of them are perfect house dogs and just need a loving home.
There are dogs that say "Hey, today's plan should consist of going to the bathroom, eating breakfast, and then taking a long nap until dinner time." Then there are dogs that wake us up 5:45 in the morning, want to play fetch at the park for a good 3 hours, then conquer that 14 mile hike they have been dreaming about the night before. Everyone dog, like people, have certain needs and wants and we want to make sure we, as people, can provide it to them. Adopting an older dog makes it easier to gauge the dog's personality to match your lifestyle.
Senior dogs are ready to rock n roll now. Instead of having to wait until your puppy receives all of their shots and is properly leash trained, older dogs are ready can go to the park to play fetch. Instead of having to clean up after your puppy's mess that they made in the house, you can already be swimming together in the pool. Instead of testing the waters to see if the pup like car rides, your senior dog could be going on road trips cross country with you and your buddies. With an older dogs, it is more of the exciting adventures you can partake now. With younger dogs, it's "my dog made a mess and I have to clean it or I don't trust my dog to not have an accident at my buddy's house."
There is a reason why the last years of dogs are called the golden years. The amount of appreciation and loyalty is unheard of unless experienced. By adopting an older dog, you give yourself the opportunity to experience the joy of not only saving a life, but truly understand what it means to have a companion with unwavering devotion. By giving that senior dog their second chance at a loving home, it allows them to prove to you their ability "to be the best dog they can be."
So, the next time you go to your local shelter to look for a puppy, please do not overlook the glorious white muzzled, tail wagging senior. They want to be adopted just as bad with their fur-ever loving smile. So before you go and pick up your next cute puppy, remember the amount of poop you have to clean from inside the house, the times they will go through the trash, or the carpet that you have to replace because they ripped it off. With a senior dog, they are ready to go on day 1.
Do you have experience adopting a senior dog? Please leave your story in the comment section! We would love to read about your story!


The long history of 3D technology can be drawn the way back to the start of photography. A new invention by David Brewster in 1844, Stereoscope could take 3D photographic images. At the Great Exhibition in 1851, a picture of Queen Victoria taken by Louis Jules Duboscq, using the improved technology became very well known throughout the world. Soon, the craze for steroscopic cameras caught on and these were quite commonly used by World War II. Read on to gather more info on history of 3D technology.
In the coming years, there were further improvements in the technology, as the history of 3D technology reveals. Kinematascope, a stereo animation camera was invented, followed the first anaglyph movie was produced in 1915. In 1922 the first public 3D movie, "The Power of Love", was produced and it was in 1935 that the first 3D Color movie was produced.
As per the history of 3D technology, the use of this technology was to remain latent for over a decade. The 1950s saw a comeback for the 3D technology. During these times, TVs had become very popular. By 1950, a number of 3D movies were being created, for instance, "Bwana Devil",, "House of Wax" and many more. But not all movie theaters were operational with the 3D technology.
In 1970, Stereovision, a new 3D technology was developed, which used a special anamorphic lens that would widen the picture using a series of polaroid filters. The first movie to be released in Stereovision was "The Stewardesses". Although costing only $100,000 USD, it went on to earn an amazing $27 million in North America. By 1980, many more movies in 3d technology were released, like, Friday the 13th Part III, and Jaws 3-D. In 1986, Canada developed the first 3D movie using polarized glasses, called "Echos of the Sun". In the 1990s, quite recently, many films were released in IMAX 3D. Some of the most popular were "Into the Deep" and , "Wings of Courage".
In the 2000s, many big studio movies were released in 3D, using the latest HD video cameras. Some of them are "Spy Kids 3D: Game over", "Aliens of the Deep", and "The Adventures of Sharkboy Lavagirl","The Polar Express". In 2010, there has been a big push towards 3D television. There are channels already displaying educational shows, animated shows, sporting events, documentaries and musical performances all in 3D.
The long history of 3D technology still continues. As expected, 3D technology will continue and expand in the coming years. As the technology matures, prices are expected to go lower and lower.


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Home Link of the Day Blog Nadia Bolz Weber says we can't rely on others to be the...
Nadia Bolz Weber says we can't rely on others to be the source of our peace
"What a Lousy Idea It Is for Other People to be the Source of Our Peace"
From her Sarcastic Lutheran blog on Patheos, Pastor Nadia Bolz Weber shares her thoughts about Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 (which was the July 7 scripture for the liturgical year) and provides a fresh way to think about the text and apply it to our lives. She writes: "But it's not helpful to make other people the source of our peace when, as our text says, not everyone shares in peace. Not everyone is up for this, maybe not your boss or your friends or your parents, and if you extend peace to them and they do not take it, that peace is not wasted—Jesus says it returns to you —and you know why? Because they were not really the source of your peace to begin with." Related reading: While you're on Nadia's blog, take some time to read her moving tribute to a friend who died recently, a woman who not only offered her loving acceptance and peace in the midst of a tumultuous life but gave her a room in her home, an act of kindness that helped turn Nadia's life around twenty years earlier— simply because this woman believed in her. (For more about Nadia's amazing story, watch this video in which she addresses a conference of Lutheran young people. We've featured it before, but it's well worth watching again. Nadia Bolz Weber's ministry is reaching people who all too often don't feel welcome in other churches.)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Arianespace continues to perform strongly in the Asia-Pacific region, with satellite launches for customers in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan and Korea over the past 12 months. Since the beginning of 2017, Arianespace has successfully launched Telkom 3S for Telkom Indonesia and KOREASAT–7 for ktsat, with three further launches for India and Japan scheduled later in the year, all using Ariane 5. Arianespace is planning for 12 launches in 2017: seven by Ariane 5, three by Vega and two by Soyuz. World leader in commercial launch services, Arianespace confidently looks to the future with increasing focus on the constellation market.
Since Arianespace's first mission for an Asian customer in 1981, the company has launched a total of 78 satellites for 17 customers in the Asia-Pacific region. With regional offices operating in Singapore since 1996 and Tokyo since 1986, the region is a core market for the company, contributing significantly to a 60% global market share for commercial launches. This represents around 25% of Arianespace's global business. Arianespace is the launch service provider of choice for new operators in the region and over the years has launched the first-ever satellites for customers in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
Arianespace's first customer in the region came from India, with the 1981 launch of the first-ever satellite for ISRO (the Indian Space Research Organisation). Australia's Aussat was the second regional customer with the launch of its K3 satellite in 1987 (the company later became part of Singtel Optus). Arianespace subsequently launched a further five satellites for Optus and two more for Singtel between 1998 and 2014. Shin Satellite of Thailand became Arianespace's first customer from South East Asia in 1991, with the contract for the launch of Thaicom 1. Other key customers from South East Asia include Telkom Indonesia and BRIsat from Indonesia, Measat from Malaysia, ABS from Hong Kong and Vinasat from Vietnam. In Australia, nbn is an Arianespace customer; for North East Asia, customers are SKY Perfect JSAT from Japan, along with Korea's ktsat and KARI.
2017 continues to be a prolific year for Asia-Pacific launches. After two successful launches with Ariane 5 for Telkom Indonesia (Telkom 3S on February 14) and ktsat (KOREASAT-7 on May 4), three other missions are planned: two for the Indian Space Research Organisation (the GSAT-17 and GSAT-11 satellites) and one for BSAT (the BSAT-4a satellite).
After announcing on April 20 the signature of a contract to launch the Horizons 3e satellite (to be operated by SKY Perfect JSAT and Intelsat through a joint venture), Arianespace's order book now stands at €4.9 billion for 51 launches (19 by Ariane 5, 25 by Soyuz and seven by Vega) for 28 customers worldwide.
Looking to the future, Arianespace will not only continue to offer high reliability launch capability for large geostationary orbit (GEO) telecommunications satellites using Ariane 5, but the company also is now well prepared for the rapidly changing nature of the satellite market – where customers are increasingly looking at the launch of broadband and Earth observation constellations into low Earth orbits (LEO) and medium Earth orbits (MEO). Using the family of launchers in service today and the introduction of Ariane 6 and Vega C over the next decade, Arianespace is perfectly positioned to answer to this promising market.
In December 2016, Airbus Safran Launchers became the majority shareholder in Arianespace, with a 74% stake, after the transfer of shares from French space agency CNES. The balance of Arianespace's shares, held by companies in the European launcher industry, remains unchanged. As a subsidiary of Airbus Safran Launchers, Arianespace retains its status as a distinct company – with a neutral stance in relation to satellite manufacturers – and continues to be the single point of contact for its customers.
On March 27, 2017, Arianespace's shareholders voted unanimously to change the legal form of the launch services operator, as well as its governance. Stéphane Israël, confirmed as Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace, also joins the Executive Committee of Airbus Safran Launchers as Executive Vice President, in charge of Civil Launcher Programs.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


06 Nights accommodation in twin sharing basis as per hotels mentioned in the chart or similar.
Meal Plan - Daily Buffet/ fixed Menu Breakfast & Dinner Included.
Personal expenses such as laundry, telephone calls, tips & gratuity, mineral water, soft & hard drinks, rafting.
For Indian Nationals to visit Bhutan, valid passport (validity needs to be minimum 6 months from the date of return) OR voter ID card are the only valid documents. A proper scan copy of any of these 2 ID proof is required at the time of booking.
For certain groups, we may have to obtain online permits for entry into Bhutan. For such groups, only Passport copies can be used as ID documents and travellers will need to share coloured copies of passport for the same.
Please take a note of the same.
For minors who don't have a passport, Birth Certificate (has to be in English) along with school ID or any other ID can be used. If Birth Certificate is not in English, then you need to carry notarised affidavit mentioning about the date of travel.
Day 01: Arrive at Bagdora Airport and Drive to Phuntsholing Bhutan.
As on Arrival our crew member will pick you from the airport and will coordinate towards Phuntsholing Bhutan.An on arrival if the time permits than process for the entry permit which will be coordinated by your guide. During Evening stroll around and explore the Indo-Bhutan Border town.Halt at Hotel Tsheringma,Classic Inn,Bhutan Residancy,Central Hotel,Tropical.
Day 02: Phuntsholing to Thimphu Distance: 175 kms Drive Time:06 hour approx.
With your early breakfast drive towards Thimphu The capital city of Bhutan. later visit Tashichho Dzong in Thimphu. According to a legend, Simtokha Dzong was constructed to subdue an evil spirit, that was harassing the people in the region, and to guard the place. Simtokha is believed to be the first dzong built in Bhutan and is the gateway to Thimphu valley.Once in Thimphu visit Tashichho Dzong. This dzong is an impressive building also known as 'the fortress of the Dharma Raja'. It has traditionally been the seat of the Druk Desi, the head of Bhutan's civil government. Note: Tashichho Dzong is open during weekdays after office hours (5pm onwards) and from 9am to 5pm on weekends. Overnight at Hotel,Kenny/Shantideva/Zey Zang/89.
today we will drive to Punakha, enroute we will visit Dochula pass and upon reaching Punakha we will visit Chimi Lakhang and Punakha Dzong. On the way to Punakha from Thimphu, the Dochula pass offers a 360-degree of beautiful panoramic view of the Himalayan mountain range, especially on clear winter days. Chimi Lhakhang flanked with hundreds of prayer flags sits on a round hillock near Punakha. The monastery, built in 1499 is dedicated to Lama Drukpa Kinley, also known as 'the Divine Madman' or the 'Mad Saint". He is also the saint who advocated the use of phallus symbols as paintings on walls and carved wooden phalluses on house tops. The majestic Punakha Dzong, also known as 'the palace of great happiness or bliss' is the second largest dzong in Bhutan. Constructed on the 8th day and 8th month of the Fire ox year in 1673, the Punakha dzong was the administrative center and the seat of the Government of Bhutan until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. Overnight at Hotel, Phunsum/Kintin/Lobesa Hotel.
Day 04: Hike to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten and Drive to Paro.
After breakfast we will hike for about an hour to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten which is a fine example of Bhutanese architecture and artistic traditions. Built out on a beautiful ridge above the Punakha valley, this 4-storey temple has been dedicated for the wellbeing of the kingdom, its people and all sentient beings. The Chorten was built to remove the negative forces and promote peace, stability and harmony in the ever changing world. During Afternoon drive to Paro,On arrival check in to the hotel and during evening explore the market. Over night at Hotel in Paro.Tashiladen/All season.
Day 05: Paro Sightseeing Includes.
With your early breakfast you will be driving towards Chelela Pass and later in the evening explore some of the handicrafts at Paro. Halt at Paro Hotel Tashiladen/All season.
Day 06: Paro to Phuntsholing to Gorumara.
During morning visit Paro Dzong.Paro Dzong, also known as Ringpung Dzong means 'Fortress on a heap of jewels'. This impressive dzong is the finest example of Bhutanese architecture and is one of the most popular and well known dzongs in Bhutan. Later drive back to Phuntsholing Bhutan to Gorumara West Bengal. Overnight at Hotel at Gorumara Reserve.
Today you will be transferred to the airport for your onward journey. Tour ends with lovely memories.


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All incidents that cause harm to a client during service delivery need to be reported by all in-scope services through CIMS.
Reporting client incidents through CIMS applied to department funded organisations and NDIS providers from 15 January 2018.
The Client incident management system
The Client incident management system (CIMS) focuses on the safety and wellbeing of clients by outlining the approach and key actions to manage client incidents.
The CIMS applies to the following department delivered services and funded organisations:
Children, youth and family services
out-of-home care
secure welfare
statutory child protection services
information, planning and capacity building
targeted services
residential accommodation services
Victorian approved National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) providers of disability and psychosocial supports
aged care and carer's support services
alcohol and drug treatment services
community and palliative care services
home and community care (HACC) services for people aged under 65 and under 50 for Aboriginal people
mental health community support services (MHCSS)
sexual health prevention services
Housing and community building services
department managed housing
homelessness assistance
long-term housing assistance
refugee minor program
For NDIS providers: Victoria's quality and safeguards arrangements will remain during transition to full scheme roll-out in 2019. This means that NDIS providers are required to comply with the CIMS.
Applicable policies
CIMS is supported by a new policy:
Client incident management guide
Client incident management guide - out-of-home care addendum
Find out more about the CIMS
The CIMS webpage has more information about the CIMS, including the policy, link to the incident report webform and client incident register, fact sheets, implementation guidance, learning and development materials and IT requirements.
For assistance with the CIMS, refer to resources within the CIMS webpage or email CIMS@dhhs.vic.gov.au. Stakeholders using their own IT reporting system and submitting incidents via the application program interface should continue to speak with their IT vendor.
Reporting privacy breaches alongside CIMS
Funded organisations previously reported privacy incidents as category one critical incident reports. With the introduction of the Client Incident Management System (CIMS) a new eform based Privacy incident report form was developed to enable funded organisations to continue notifying the department about privacy incidents.
Privacy incidents must be reported within one business day. A privacy breach that impacts a client may need to be reported as a client incident under CIMS as well as through a privacy incident report.
Visit the Privacy page for more information, including a link to the Privacy incident report web form, fact sheets and guidelines.
Failure to disclose child sexual abuse
The offence for failure to disclose child sexual abuse to the police came into effect on 27 October 2014.
The offence requires that any adult who holds a reasonable belief that a sexual offence has been committed in Victoria by an adult against a child (aged under 16) disclose that information to police.
The offence applies to all adults, not just professionals who work with children, unless they have a reasonable excuse.
For more information about the regime and how to report, visit the DHHS offence for failure to disclose child sexual abuse page.
Better safeguards for people with a disability
The Victorian Government is strengthening the safeguards for people with a disability and implementing the recommendations of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Abuse in Disability Services (the Parliamentary Inquiry). The Parliamentary Inquiry was set up to investigate why abuse is not always reported in the disability sector and responded to, and how abuse can be prevented.
As part of its response to the Parliamentary Inquiry, the Victorian Government is increasing the independent oversight of the disability sector by expanding the Disability Services Commissioner's (the Commissioner) inquiries into client incident reports to include client deaths.
Victoria has also agreed to the Commonwealth Government's National Quality and Safeguards Framework for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which will establish the national safeguards under the NDIS. Until that framework is in place, the government will continue its work to implement the Parliamentary Inquiry's recommendations and ensure the highest standards of quality and support for people with a disability.
Expanded review of critical incidents
The department currently provides the Commissioner with all Category One incident reports of:
emotional/psychological trauma
inappropriate physical treatment
poor quality of care
client deaths
Services in scope
The Commissioner's inquiries into assault, injury, poor quality of care and deaths apply to disability services provided by the department and disability service providers registered, funded or contracted under the Disability Act 2006 (the Act).
During the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), this includes Victorian approved NDIS providers registered under the Act.
For further information about the Commissioner's new functions and powers, see:
the department's website, which includes a fact sheet for service providers
the Commissioner's website.
Include your email address if you would like a reply
Human services incidents
Health incidents
CIMS Helpline
CIMS@dhhs.vic.gov.au
CIMS webpage


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Legislative leaders shelve new school funding another year
by Len Lazarick | December 20, 2018 | Education, General Assembly, News | 0 |
At a bill signing earlier this year, Gov. Larry Hogan shakes hands with House Speaker Michael Busch, as he did with Senate President Mike Miller at the table. Governor's Office photo
By Len Lazarick
The most expensive and most controversial issue facing the new legislature — increasing the formulas for school funding — has been shelved for another year.
The House speaker and Senate president told the Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education in a letter that there was not enough time for the legislature to take up both its policy changes and its funding decisions in the 90-day session that starts in three weeks.
That's because the commission hasn't fully determined how much its broad recommendations for education reform will cost, which state and county taxpayers will foot the bill, and where the money will come from.
The commission missed its first deadline to complete its work a year ago. The legislature gave it another year. Now it will be given another nine months to finish what it has really only begun to tackle in the last few weeks.
The 2016 legislation creating the commission gave it more than 17 tasks to perform, some very broad and some very specific, but almost half of them related to funding.
Focused on broader issues
Instead, through the guidance of Commission Chair Brit Kirwan, former chancellor of the University System of Maryland, the commission spent a good deal of its time focusing on just one of those tasks — "to determine how the State can better prepare students to be competitive in the workforce and with other high performing countries in the global economy."
That lead the commissioners to spend considerable time and money on consultants from the National Center on Education and the Economy that had done extensive research on what "other high performing countries" had done with their schools.
The commission also studied how Massachusetts had improved its school systems in the 1990s. Massachusetts students, and those in the other countries, consistently outperform Maryland students on tests. Kirwan and its consultants never bought the idea that Maryland schools were No. 1 in the country.
This led them to a complete revamping of how teachers in Maryland are recruited, trained and employed, including a new career ladder with higher pay, reduced class time and more certification to achieve promotion.
None of this is mentioned in the legislature's directives to the commission. The last of its 17 tasks does include a broad charge "to make any other recommendations on legislation and policy initiatives to enhance the availability of innovative educational opportunities and to enhance the adequacy and equity of State funding for prekindergarten through grade 12 public education in the State."
The commission did spend considerable time and effort on other of its assigned tasks:
expanding pre-kindergarten — mentioned twice among its tasks;
improving career and technical education, the subject of one of its five work groups;
improving outcomes in schools with high concentrations of poverty and how to identify these students.
But only in the last two months has it begun to tackle "funding"– a term mentioned 10 times among its 17 tasks, and an issue that has already become contentious as the commissioners argued among themselves. (Story continues below.)
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Funding at top of the list
Everybody knew the proposals would be expensive. In fact, the commission's task at the top of its to-do list was to review the findings and recommendations of a consultants' report that found Maryland public schools needed $2.9 billion more to achieve adequate funding in 2015. (The consultants were paid $1 million to come up with that finding.)
That was just to keep up with what the schools were already doing, not to make the vast changes in delivery and performance the Kirwan Commission envisions.
When they finally came up with $4.4 billion figure two weeks ago, everybody began to take notice, including Gov. Larry Hogan. He said that was way too much money and he wasn't going to raise taxes to pay for it. Instead he wants to spend the casino gambling money that voters put into a lockbox on new and renovated school buildings — another huge unmet need that another legislative commission had identified two years ago. Overcrowded schools are an issue across the state, and not part of the Kirwan commission's charge.
No appetite for raising taxes
Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch blamed Hogan for not buying into the commission's recommendations. But Sen. Paul Pinsky, a commission member and incoming chair of the Senate education committee, said on Tuesday, "there is no consensus for an increase in revenues this session." He said it with some regret because he is one of the legislature's strongest supporters of increased funding for schools and the teaching profession.
What Pinsky added was a dose of political reality to what in many cases has been a high-level discussion of what is best for all students, including students from high poverty, students with disabilities and students who wanted careers without a college education.
Miller and Busch were adding their own dose of political reality. As ambitious and forward-looking as the recommendations of the commission are, the legislators will be asking what they will cost and who will pay for them. There is little doubt that some jurisdictions will get more than others, and other jurisdictions will pay more than others.
Legislative leaders would like to get those details hashed out by next fall — they had hoped it would happen sooner — not in the midst of a new session with a third of the legislators new.
Teachers, school boards and superintendents already were harping on $2.9 billion in inadequate funding. They are understandably disappointed. But the reality is that the commission faced a hard sell for some of its proposals, particularly the changes involving teachers — hiring more of them when it was already hard to fill those jobs — giving them higher pay, fewer class hours but larger class sizes.
Even the widely popular extension of school for 3- and 4-year-olds and expanded career and technical education must have fiscal notes saying how much they will cost and where the money will come from.
The commission is still wrestling with how to keep the 24 local school systems accountable. While it adopted many of the best practices of high performing schools in other countries, the commission never considered embracing a common feature they also have — strong centralized control and funding. That contrasts with Maryland's layers of divided responsibility between local school boards and superintendents, county government funders, the state school board and education department, the legislature and the governor.
PreviousState Roundup, December 19, 2018
NextState Roundup, December 20, 2018
State to post loan data online
Human Resources head promises better enforcement and information
Gansler calls for an independent review of Maryland's police departments
Blog: Sen. McFadden upset at letter from teachers union


You can expect a lot from the 2019 Hyundai Elantra. This 4 door, 5 passenger sedan provides a satisfying ride for all passengers. Smooth gearshifts are achieved thanks to the efficient 4 cylinder engine, and for added security, dynamic Stability Control supplements the drivetrain. Both high fuel economy and flexible performance are assured by the 6 speed automatic transmission. Top features include air conditioning, 1-touch window functionality, a tachometer, a blind spot monitoring system, heated seats, tilt steering wheel, power moon roof, and much more. Audio features include an AM/FM radio, and 6 well positioned speakers. Hyundai also prioritized safety and security by including: dual front impact airbags, head curtain airbags, traction control, brake assist, a security system, an emergency communication system, and 4 wheel disc brakes with ABS. This car was designed with safety in mind, allowing you to drive with even greater assurance. Our sales reps are knowledgeable and professional. They'll work with you to find the right vehicle at a price you can afford. We are here to help you.


Ulltrasign aluminium composite panels are widely used for display, signage, as signboards and for advertising panels.
Ulltrasign Composite Panel has a three layer composite structure.
This warranty pertains to the polyester coating system with one coat polyester quality on the surface of the aluminium composite sign panel.
In regards to weather resistance the polyester coating has a consistent colour aging of white over 10 years and approximately 5 years for all other colours. This is dependent upon the panels being used in standard project locations and under normal conditions.
Corrosive or aggressive environments e.g. wind-borne sand, chemicals or chemical fumes, contamination by salt spray, submersion in water and airborne fumes or liquids.
Damage to the product caused by cut edges exposed to the environment.
Damage such as scratching caused in storage, handling, processing, during or after installation.
It is recommended that the panels be cleaned with a fluff free cloth using warm water (20-30° C) mixed with a neutral detergent. After cleaning, panels should be washed down with cold water.
DO NOT USE any powerful alkaline cleaning agents such as potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate or caustic soda, or any powerful acidic products or scouring agents.
DO NOT STORE in rain, wet areas or areas with high condensation.
Note that as a result of the slight radius produced when bending, your finished panel dimensions will be 2 - 4mm larger.


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On this page, you can find Self-adhesive Vinyl Film (Vehicle Wraps) used for wide format digital printing indoor and outdoor, the eco solvent printing and screen printing. Enjoy your shopping experience from us.


The BOINC 'STARFLEET - Star Trek Fan Association' team is an international team, as a good Trek team should be. We have more than 500 million BOINC credits in the projects for which we currently do work. Our team has more total BOINC work credits than all the other Star Trek related teams. By pooling our efforts for the largest Star Trek related team, we can better represent the Trek franchise. Regardless of which series or movie was your first Star Trek, the show from its earliest days was an inspiration for cooperation, research, and exploration, all of which are exemplified by BOINC and its pioneers at SETI@Home.
The majority of our total work credits were done for the SETI@Home project. Many of us have been active since the classic SETI@Home days, prior to the BOINC system when other projects became available. SETI@Home continues to be our most popular project, but most members do work for more than one project, so that they can continue working when SETI@Home work is not available or they want to do work for other projects we care about.


Don't actually know where to start, or if I really want to, to be honest.
The show was tiny – about 1/2 the size of the Stitches and Craft show. Certainly doesn't compare to wood shows of old. Took me about 10-15 minutes, and I had walked the entire floor plate. Takes about that long to walk the floor of the Ballarat Wood Show (and that is not a negative perspective of the Ballarat Show – Ballarat has a population of under 100,000 after all). Given that the Ballarat show is only 2 weekends away, it might be worth a drive for those who didn't find the Melbourne show provided enough.
For those exhibitors who had turned up, there are many who have put in a definite effort. The new Carbatec demonstration area looked great. The chairs that House of Dunstone bought along were beautiful. I am seriously hoping that they branch out into running some courses in how to make such fine furniture. Timbecon had a good display, covering a good range of heavy machinery, smaller machines, consumables etc. Carbitool had their normal, impressive range of router bits on display, Arbortech had their standard display, and their latest offerings. HNT Gordon had a typically impressive range of beautiful planes, including the stunning new addition to the stable, the moving fillister plane. The Warrior Wood Mill was set up outside, showing a range of their new log mills.
But many more were MIA. Perhaps it had something to do with the organisers moving the date. And then choosing a date that clashed with one of the biggest woodturning events in Australia: the Phillip Island Down Under Turnaround. It may be by registration only, but I bet there were many people, and suppliers there instead, including Carrolls, and I daresay Ubeaut as well. And given the typical (but not exclusively by any stretch) demographic for the woodshow would also overlap V8 aficionados, even more potential visitors are dragged away.
I don't know what the crowds were like on Saturday or Sunday, but I sure hope for the exhibitors' sake that it was better than Friday. I remember wood shows of old (especially in the early-mid 2000s) when crowds were so deep that the place pulsed with the enthusiasm of all present.
I didn't find any timber for sale. I might have missed a small pocket of sales (outside?), but the only sales I could see were some long strips of veneer. Some really nice strips, if you want veneer.
This, after all is what was promised.
The Timber & Working With Wood Show is Australia's premier event for woodworking. From the weekend hobbyist and home DIY'er through to the most experienced enthusiasts, this is a show you cannot miss! See the best in the industry, share their expertise, have fun trying new techniques and tools – and experience some of the world's finest timbers… all at the one location!
Can the wood show come back from this point? I don't think so. Unless there is some plan for a small show one year, and a massive one the next (and nothing like that has been communicated), then I think the only way we will get to a show of any substance in the future at this stage is to head to the WIA in Las Vegas in 2017.
If the industry (suppliers) have any interest in future wood shows, I think they all need to come together and organise a new model. 1 show a year in the entire country. One year in Sydney, the next in Brisbane, then Melbourne, then Perth, then Hobart, Adelaide, Darwin and back to Sydney again. Pricing for exhibitors needs to be really affordable, to justify their efforts in attending the show. Pricing for visitors also needs to be really affordable – the show needs bodies to attend, and spend. Charge $10 max, and free for anyone under 18. Under 18s need to be encouraged, as they will become the woodworkers (and consumers) of the future, so sewing the seed that woodworking is a worthy pursuit to be passionate about will pay off in spades in 10-20 years time. Especially since we'd want as many people to attend from interstate each each annual show. That is absolutely not to say that regional woodshows (such as Ballarat) shouldn't still run annually – we need them more than ever now.
Anyway, this is all just my opinion. Not everyone will agree with me. I hope the show was a win for everyone. I just can't see, with the cost of exhibition space, the lack of visitors, and the lack of exhibitors how it would have been.
I miss the spectacle of a real wood show already. And on that happy note, I'll sign off here. I'll touch on what I did find at the show in upcoming posts.
Looks like the Timber and Working with Wood Show is moving again, not only to a new home, but a new date.
It is now on in September, 11th to the 13th at the Caulfield Racetrack. Door prices are still $16, but there is free parking. Doesn't clash with the AFL Grand Final, which is in October this year, and it finally manages to avoid the MotoGP at Phillip Island, which was normally the same weekend.
Of course, it does make it the same weekend as the Sandown 500, which is, to my mind, a similar demographic – perhaps with some age separation? For some of us, that makes it a real choice: the one V8 Supercars race that is held locally in the year, or the annual wood show? With an attendance in the vicinity of 200,000 over the weekend at the Sandown 500, that won't impact too badly on Working with Wood Show numbers would it?
We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of wood!
But it is bigger than ever – previous 'full' catalogues were around 150 pages. The latest one is massive – 384 pages! Of course, going that large does come at a price – literally. A whopping $5. Or free if you spend over $100.
Do hope the show has some new stuff to see – as much as I enjoy catching up with people, and restocking consumables, the show should be about new products, new techniques (and not just the same old). As much as sales are needed to justify the huge expense of a stand, the show itself needs to encourage more than that.
Check out a Maker Faire, or the AWFS for how other shows do it.
A week from today (in fact many will even start a day before that), the majority of the work goes into setting up the stands for this year's Melbourne Working with Wood Show.
It is that time again already!
As in 2011, I won't be doing anything formal at this show (although due to much less controversial circumstances), but still have no intention to miss it!
As many will be aware, the location has changed for this year, with a return to Jeff's Shed, although at a smaller scale to the last time the show was there. And no, I don't intend to call it "The MCEC" – if you say it quickly, sounds like something my cat does after eating grass!
You can find the official list of exhibitors here, and map here.
Had to look up some of the exhibitors – no idea who they were. Still don't?!
There are plenty of stands I am looking forward to getting into.
Henry Eckert and HNT Gordon are always particularly dangerous stands, as is Chris Vesper's next door – fine handtools are always a real temptation.
Carroll's Street (as I call it, perhaps Carroll's Lane) is well done.
Vermec (and their CNC) and 3D Printing will be getting a fair few questions!
This is just a sample of what I will be looking at, and there are plenty of others worthy of mention as well, but perhaps just head along and enjoy what is on offer!
This is a smaller show that what we are used to in previous years, and as much as I believe shows should be about getting a company's name out there, promoting up-coming products, and generally selling the brand, I also understand it is an expensive business and most are hoping to make as many sales as possible. This is the main parameter they use to justify coming back in future years, and it is concerning to see it continuing to shrink.
All I can say is – I hope the companies are doing what they can to provide the customers in the way of good prices and interesting stands. In turn, we do need to buy things, not only because new tools are always welcome, but also because we want the wood shows to survive.
I always have a great time at the show, working or not. Hope you do as well!
You've heard of Whale Wars, Storage Wars even Abalone Wars.
Now, to a city near you comes "Woodshow Wars".
The first few stones have been thrown, and whether you agree with the content or not, they have a singular target in mind.
News to hand, is that the Melbourne Timber and Working with Wood Show is returning to Jeff's Shed for 2013!
I'm sure there are many pros and cons, and reasons why the decision was made to return to what is officially called the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
This year, it is on from the 18th through to the 20th October. Not sure what (if any) my involvement will be, but one way or another, I will be there, if only as a visitor!
So there you have it, to the cries of joy of some, to despairing wails of others.


Often the driving factor behind clients buying an equestrian property is the desire to be able to keep their horses at home, or to have one with the facilities that they need relative to their equestrian needs. One factor which is regularly overlooked by buyers of an equestrian property, is that in some cases business rates are payable on the property they buy depending on the commercial rateable value of the property and the facilities it has.
Katherine Watters, the equestrian specialist at Garrington, who works primarily in the Surrey and West Sussex regions, explains more about the rateable values on equestrian properties and how these may affect your purchase.


text:
NRM didn't cheat Kayunga by-election: Museveni
By URN
President Museveni (File Photo)
KAMPALA, UGANDA: President Yoweri Museveni has said the NRM party candidate in the Kayunga LC5 by-election, Andrew Muwonge won genuinely.
In his end-of-year address at his country home in Rwakitura on Friday, Museveni said NRM operatives could not have stolen the by-election from the opposition National Unity Platform candidate Harriet Nakwede Kafeero because they [NRM] are always sleeping.
"I did not know that NRM actors had enough energy to cheat because most of the time they are asleep and allow the opposition to intimidate people, cheat, etc. Why only cheat in Kayunga? Why not in the few other areas where NUP won? Kayunga, Buganda and the whole of Uganda are politically NRM territory. Why? It is because the NRM has done more for those areas than anybody else, the internal weaknesses within NRM, notwithstanding… The opportunistic opposition will be wiped out," Museveni said.
He added that those concerned with ballot stuffing, and other electoral malpractices are the very people who have never supported his plans for only electronic voting with thumbprints.
"It is the opposition and their collaborators that always avoid voting electronically. We should amend the law to stop all non-electronic voting. That is what Democrats should be demanding," Museveni said.
ALSO READ: Middle East Consultants, Eagles Supervision, 13 other labour firms suspended over forgery
NUP maintains that their candidate won the hotly contested by-election with more than 15,000 votes. However, the Electoral Commission declared Muwonge the winner having obtained 3,830 votes against Nakwede's 3380 votes. The by-election saw several NUP supporters arrested following the death of Muhammad Ffeffeka Sserubogo, a NUP member who had just been sworn in as the first opposition chairman ever since the creation of Kayunga district 20 years ago.
In his speech, Museveni said the arrest of NUP leaders in Kayunga followed intelligence reports that they wanted to stop him from campaigning for Muwonge. "Our young people in the persons of Nakwede, Zaake [Francis, the MP for Mityana municipality] etc., putting it in their heads that they would not allow the old man with a hat, Ssabalwanyi, to peacefully drive from Kampala and address the NRM leaders at Kayonza Church of Uganda Primary School in Bbale and Busaana sub-county play-ground. Of course, the police could not allow that.
President Museveni also revealed that the Uganda People's Defense Forces-UPDF has so far lost two soldiers in the current war it is engaged in with the Allied Democratic Forces-ADF in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
ALSO READ: Matters Escalate: PPDA Board abandons Embattled Turamye to 'Die in Own Movie' as IGG closes down on him in Sh17bn NWSC Scandal
In November, the UPDF launched attacks on the camps of the ADF in Congo following the bomb attacks in Kampala that the government blamed on them.
"In all these operations, UPDF did not lose a single soldier by enemy action. The two soldiers who died, Pte. Lugingi Nicholas and Pte. Kapulyaka Mustafa died on account of self-inflicted accidental injury. One, on account of an RPG that was loaded and corked and the other one, from MGLs (Multiple Grenade Launchers) fired while in the middle of trees. They had not been thoroughly briefed," Museveni said.
He added that now ADF fighters are fleeing to other areas and that UPDF is willing to pursue them if the Congolese government allows them. "We shall hit them even if they go up to Kisangani or Buta or beyond. Their only choice is to surrender so that the peoples of Congo and Uganda have peace and they also get rehabilitated and learn how to earn an honest living in the four sectors of commercial agriculture, small industries, services and ICT, instead of being parasites on the population," Museveni said.
Related Items:Andrew Muwonge, featured, Harriet Nakweede, Kayunga By-election, Museveni, National Resistance Movement, National Unity Platform


text:
K & D
Mine, Probably inactive
As; Au; Pb; Sb; Zn
antimony; arsenopyrite; galena; gold; jamesonite; sphalerite; stibnite
The K & D Mine is labeled on the USGS 1:63,360-scale topographic map. It is about 2.1 mile northeast of the mouth of Libby Creek and about 0.6 mile north-northeast of the center of section 1, T. 51 S., R. 74 E. The location is accurate.
The K & D Mine was discovered in about 1936 by Herman Kloss and Jack Davis. By 1939, there was a 2-ton Gibson mill on the property and a 90-foot drift (Nelson, 1935; Williams, 1951 [PE 115-02]; Still and others, 2002). From 1939 to 1948, about 58 tons of ore was produced that contained 25 ounces of gold and 10 ounces of silver. The prospect consists of two short adits, the longest about 120 feet long with a 38 foot winze. The vein generally follows Libby Creek and Kloss noted that the vein could be followed upstream for nearly 2,000 feet in a series of small pits. Many companies looked at the property prior to 1980 (Herman Kloss, oral communication, 1979) and Aspen Exploration, Phillips Petroleum, and WGM, Inc. examined and sampled the property from the early 1980s to 1992. The property was active to at least 1994. Both Williams (1951 [PE 115-02]) and Still and others (2002, figure 25) provide maps of the surface and underground workings.
The deposit consists of a quartz vein 25 to 30 feet thick that strikes N 60 E and dips 45-50NW (Williams, 1951 [PE 115-02]; Still and others, 2002). The vein is conformable to the layering of the host rock, a graphitic, gray schist of Cretaceous to Permian age (Gehrels and Berg, 1992). The vein is fractured and the quartz occurs in parallel layers ('ribbons') 1 to 6 inches thick across the full width of the composite vein structure. The vein contains native antimony, stibnite, galena, sphalerite, arsenopyrite, jamesonite, and gold, mostly in small grains disseminated through the quartz. The native antimony is unusual because of its rarity; it occurs in masses up to 6 inches or more in diameter. A few samples collected by the Bureau of Mines in 1950 contained 1.95, 0.71, and 0.50 ounces of gold per ton; sample collected by Aspen Exploration and Phillips Petroleum in the early 1980s contained up to 5 ounces of gold per ton. In 1991 and 1992, samples collected by WGM, Inc. (1992), across the width of the vein contained up to 0.079 ounce of gold per ton, 0.63 ounce of silver per ton, 0.403 percent lead, and 0.208 percent zinc. Of the 16 samples collected by Still and others (2002), the richest contained 0.747 ounce of gold per ton, more than 50 parts per million silver, and 1.27 percent arsenic.
Polymetallic gold vein with native antimony.
Quartz vein is younger than the Permian to Cretaceous host rock.
The K & D Mine was discovered in about 1936 by Herman Kloss and Jack Davis. By 1939, there was a 2-ton Gibson mill on the property and a 90-foot drift (Nelson, 1935; Williams, 1951[PE 115-02]; Still and others, 2002). From 1939 to 1948, about 58 tons of ore was produced that contained 25 ounces of gold and 10 ounces of silver. The prospect consists of two short adits, the longest about 120 feet long with a 38 foot winze. The vein generally follows Libby Creek and Kloss noted that the vein could be followed upstream for nearly 2,000 feet in a series of small pits. Many companies looked at the property prior to 1980 (Herman Kloss, oral communication, 1979) and Aspen Exploration, Phillips Petroleum, and WGM, Inc. examined and sampled the property from the early 1980s to 1992. The property was active to at least 1994. Both Williams (1951 [PE 115-02) and Still and others (2002, figure 25) provide maps of the surface and underground workings.
Yes; small
From 1939 to 1948, about 58 tons of ore was produced that contained 25 ounces of gold and 10 ounces of silver.
MRDS Number
Bittenbender, P.E., Still, J.C., McDonald, M.E., Jr., and Gensler, E.C., 2000, Mineral investigations in the Stikine area, central Southeast Alaska: Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Open-File Report 83, 265 p., 2 sheets, scale, 1:250,000.
Clark, A.L., Brew, D.A., Grybeck, D.J., and Wehr, Raymond, 1970, Analyses of rock and stream-sediment samples from the Sumdum B-5 quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 70-75, 85 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:63,360
Cobb, E.H., 1978, Summary of references to mineral occurrences (other than mineral fuels and construction materials) in the Sumdum and Taku River quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-698, 64 p.
Gehrels, G.E., and Berg, H.C., 1992, Geologic map of southeastern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I-1867, 24 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:600,000.
Nelson, G.E., 1935, Report on the Kloss-Davis prospect, Hobart Bay, Frederick Sound, southeastern Alaska: Unpublished report, 7 p. (Copy in the files of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management minerals library, Juneau, Alaska.)
Still, J.C., Bittenbender, P.E., Bean, K.W., and Gensler, E.G., 2002 Mineral assessment of the Stikine area, central Southeast Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Land Management Technical Report 51, 560 p.
WGM, 1991, K & D prospect area, Hobart Bay, Alaska; Interim progress report: Unpublished report prepared for Goldbelt, Inc., 11 p. (Copy in the files of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management minerals library, Juneau, Alaska.)
WGM, 1992, K & D prospect area, Hobart Bay, Alaska; Progress report: Unpublished report prepared for Goldbelt, Inc., 15 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:6,000. (Copy in the files of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management minerals library, Juneau, Alaska.)
Williams, J.A., 1955, Taylor Creek, Windham Bay copper: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines, Mineral Investigation 115-2, 5 p.
Donald Grybeck (U.S. Geological Survey)