I've not used angels in anything yet, but am not opposed to it, depending on the story line.
I wrote a play with angelic intervention. Well, it was more like a skit. Anyhow, the angel was sunject to what God wanted and his purpose was to reveal God's plan of salvation. But my main character never sees the angel. As far as books go, I haven't written in any angels.
I've read a few books where angels are mentioned but none that focus on them as main characters.
I have mentioned angels in two of my stories but more as a questionable possibility to for the MC.
Thanks for weighing in on the subject. Have a great day!
If you've ever read any of Frank Peretti's novels, he uses angels quite a bit. His early books dealt with spiritual warfare. I enjoyed them, but it's not the type of fiction I write.
To me, angels guide or inform, like they do in the Bible. They also fight demons, and in that case will be helping us in our plight.
Most of the time, God asks us to go through a process of overcoming, and our characters should have to go through process too.
I think M. L. Tyndall had a scene in The Redd Siren where the heroine's sister was being protected by an angel or something supernatural. I liked that addition to the book. It showed the supernatural at work. It fit because evil was a work, and it showed God's protection. Short scene, but poignant.
Thanks for your input. I agree that the characters need to grow and mature.
Thanks for the example. I haven't read that book.
Without getting into a long, theological discussion, I believe we'll be surprised at how much angelic protection we've had during our lives.
My WIP's MC could sure use and angel... but that would change the ending drastically!
I love angels in literature as long as they are working for good. I don't like bad angels or arrogant portrayals of angels.
LOL! A lot of our characters could use a little help from angels.
Unless the novel is a Frank Peretti-type story, I prefer a light touch. Too much of a good thing causes the focus to switch from the characters to the angelic helpers.
I actually had a scene in The Frontiersman's Daughter that dealt with a supernatural occurance but took it out. An early reader complained (she liked it and was sorry to see it go) so I inserted something similar in my 3rd book. I hope it works! Great, thought-provoking question, Susan.
How interesting the reader was upset you removed the supernatural occurrence! Most readers don't seem to have a problem with these references.
I'm not a fan of angelic intervention in fiction. I'd probably still read it, but I'm more of an angels-in-the-background kind of gal.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Always nice to see you.
I think it can be overdone and become more a story about angels than people. Still, it doesn't bother me as long as it's accurate and done well.
A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed Dr. David Jeremiah's angels on my Book Readers Central blog. Some review books I don't keep, but this one has a permanent place on my shelf. I highly recommend it to anyone writing about angels.
I agree with you on your thoughts of angels. They definitely throw a supernatural twist onto things.
You made another good point. Supernatural rescues must be part of the story, not contrived.
The writer must walk a fine line with supernatural doings. Too much and they run the risk of moving into a different genre (Christian speculative fiction).
I've heard of Dr. Jeremiah's book. Billy Graham also wrote about angels years ago. Thanks for bringing this resource to our attention.
I'm with you, Susan. They are beings sent by God to help us, not to be adored.
I've read a couple of books re: angels, one fiction and one nf. The fiction one was way out there, and I was not impressed. The nf, "Angels on Assignment" I found fascinating.
Oh, MYYYY, Susan! My next release grapples with this issue. Will be interesting to see what the editors do with it.
I kinda left it open for interpretation.
Can you BELIEVE we are studying this tonight in our Beth Moore Esther study!! Talk about God's timing.
You put together such interesting posts!
Oh wow! I think I'm with you on this Susan. I definitely think it's a cop-out for writer's to get their characters out of a jam by having angels come to rescue them. Although I have to admit, I don't read much speculative fiction, so this could be done well in that genre!
Thanks for your input and the title of the non-fiction book on angels. If we're going to include angelic beings in our fiction, it's a good idea to do the research.
LOL! I was expecting a comment on the post. Thank you for the birthday wishes! Nice surprise.
I'm having a lovely day.
Your take on angels agrees with mine exactly. Wouldn't it be fantastic to write "realistic" fiction using an angel to help someone. In third world countries, there are tales of angels doing wonderful things. I love to hear about them. In fact, believe it or not, my daughter saw an angel when she was young and ill. Yes, I think I'd like these stories.
You have me intrigued about your book. Please keep me posted.
There's no doubt God uses angels. Most of the time, I think we're oblivious.
Christian Speculative Fiction sometimes incorporates angels. I enjoy those stories (within certain parameters). If they appear in other genres, I prefer they don't overwhelm the main story.
I haven't used angels in writing, but I have played around with the supernatural in inspirational writing.
Yes, supernatural doings can certainly include more than angels. I've got a smidgen of it in my second manuscript.
I'm trying to think of a book that I've read where an angel came to the rescue and for some reason I'm drawing a complete blank. I do agree with you though, Susan, that praying to angels or glorifying them above God is an abomination I won't read or entertain in any way.
Thanks for joining the discussion. Frank Peretti, Tamera Alexander, and Angela Hunt have all incorporated angels in some of their stories. I hasten to add I didn't find any of them objectionable.
As I said, I don't have a problem with using angels as long as they're not elevated to an idolatrous position.
I haven't written anything with angels because I don't want to do it wrong.


text:
Scientology Hypocrisy Knows No Bounds
April 27, 2019 By Mike Rinder 88 Comments
Scientology is shameless. And here is the latest proof. A new article in "Freedom" magazine they are pushing on Twitter.
More evidence they do EXACTLY what they accuse others of doing, without the slightest embarrassment. This is sociopathic behavior.
Freedom attacks the President of A&E Studios because scientology has been unable to arrange a meeting with him.
"the Church's attempts to seek a meeting with A&E since March of that year, met with not so much as an answer nor was there a means of having "a meaningful conversation…""
Funny — we have TRIED for 3 years to get anyone from scientology to appear on our show. Nada. Zip. Not a SINGLE person has ever been willing to talk to us. They send threat letters from lawyers. They have even demanded meetings with the production company lawyers, but only on the condition that neither Leah or I would be present. (So much for "confront and shatter")
The President of A&E Studios is not involved in the day to day production of The Aftermath. At all.
Leah and I certainly are and would be happy to speak with anyone from scientology.
This is a well-worn scientology tactic. It would be like if they didn't appreciate the service at a local McDonalds and rather than talking to the manager of the store who was there ready and willing, even inviting them to discuss what they thought was wrong, they demanded the President of McDonalds address their concerns in an in person meeting. Then when the President didn't grant them an audience, they claim it is evidence their civil rights are being trampled. And that is all just a smokescreen to hide the fact they stole someone else's lunch, trashed the toilet and verbally abused the children in the next booth.
In other words, demand something you KNOW will never happen and then insist that it not happening is "proof" of a conspiracy against you to deflect from your own misdeeds.
Everyone can see through this posturing — EXCEPT scientologists. They are conditioned to accept this sort of thing and it makes perfect sense to them.
They go on with another of their lies:
"The Church has been more than forthcoming in providing valuable information in the past and the Church stands ready to provide accurate information now," Pouw wrote. "Shouldn't you be willing to converse with the Church? Or is A&E dead set on avoiding the truth to such an extent that the network is unwilling to meet to hear the truth?"
They have in fact provided nothing other than legal letters with "Dead Agent" packs attached along with photos of "ideal org" buildings as "proof" of their massive expansion. (Even in this Freedom article they cannot restrain themselves from repeating the "D/A" on the Headleys, Tom DeVocht and Amy Scobee as if the entirety of The Aftermath's 3 seasons was based on what they had to say, or worse that their claims that they were "kicked out" of Scientology (after they escaped) proves they are liars?)
Scientology: We would LOVE to converse with you and hear your version of "the truth" — about The Hole, Shelly Miscavige, missing executives, Danny Masterson, covered up pedophilia, your stance on gays, how you justify the hatred of the Nation of Islam which is now a branch of scientology, your front groups, Miscavige's lifestyle, the Ranches etc etc etc
But the truth is you actually don't WANT to "converse" — you refuse to do so, but then claim it is A&E that is unwilling.
Here Karin, let me say it again: if you (or anyone else) is willing to sit down for a conversation, Leah and I will be there — anywhere and any time you wish. No need to try to get the people who don't know involved, come straight to us. I am sure the world would LOVE to hear the conversation. How about it? Name the place and time…
Final thought: The best evidence of David Miscavige's hand in this piece is the final sentence. Typical condescending, smarmy Miscavige:
Paul Buccieri has apparently been too busy overseeing such culturally relevant programs as Storage Wars, Parking Wars and Dog the Bounty Hunter to reply to these critical matters.
Filed Under: The Aftermath Tagged With: A&E, David Miscavige, Leah Remini, media, Mike Rinder, Paul Buccieri, public relations, Scientology, The Aftermath
Peggy L says
DM is a sniveling little coward, a frightened little mouse who for all his bravado can't come out of his hidey hole unless he's surrounded by his sycophants. Of course his private leeches are kept in line out of fear. Fear of what?! That the sniveling little coward will toss one of his famous temper tantrums? That he might find some other legal team with even less ethics. That might be difficult but there's probably some out there.
Hypocrisy on oh so many levels.
When does "I was just doing my job" cross the legal lines, ethical lines? The cult's attorneys have to know what a huge lie they hide behind the just doing my job standard line. No way they are not fully aware of every lie and abuse.
The Los Angeles DA isn't doing their job when it comes to protecting Danny Masterson unless they are confused about who they are working for. The citizens or the cult, which job is more profitable? Working for two masters usually won't end well. The same could be said about a tiny but powerful few in the LAPD.
No wonder all this sun shining on them makes them bit twitchy. Probably confused too that not everyone understands why they accept favors and money to "Just do their job" no matter who gets hurt.
Harlequin says
When ever I see the cult's spokesholes use the word "truth". I immediately hear what L.R.H had to say about "truth" being "relative" or a cult axiom pops into my head. Keep at it Mike, you and Leah are WINNING
Miscavige and Cruise Are Gay says
They are simply producing more brainwashing content for the folks trapped in the cult. Nothing to be upset about. Just recognize it for what it is and keep pulling rocks out of the hillside to expose this nest of vipers led by the psychopath Mr. Miscavige. While you're doing that I'll grab some more popcorn.
Kat LaRue says
As usual, they have no insight into how they come across. They live in their delusional little bubble world, and this illustrates this perfectly. They seem to think that will dupe the entire world, when in reality it just makes them look stupid. I think the game is up for them and they are feeling the heat. Their orgs are empty, their people are fleeing, their image is mud. Miscavige would be wise to concede defeat, but he will fight to the bitter end, making a fool of himself the entire way.
I went back to DC today and there were two cars at the org. I got a lovely pic of bobble mike sitting out front. I even left several aftermath cards right on the org sign itself. Nary a soul came out. Several people on the street told us 'good luck' and gave us support for the aftermath foundation. Needless to say, it was fun. I will upload the pictures to the Aftermath site.
jere lull (38years recovering) says
It's so obvious that the organization — never falsely call it a "church"– doesn't want to "converse", it wants to proselytize with no chance for anyone to interject anything other than their strict party line.
Their "missive" starts with scn attempting to state passive-aggressively that scn started trying to get a meeting with the President 4 months before "Aftermath's first season aired. AND what ISSUES could scn take up with him before ANYone had seen the show? Meanwhile, "Aftermath" D/As that piece of delusional [expletive deleted] with the notice that IIRC starts every episode:"As of the airing of this show, scientology has declined to participate". Come on, scientology; show us your mettle: Send Mike & Leah a 5-minute recording that they can run unedited, which strictly abides by A&E's editorial policies, which are, I'm sure, published somewhere, if not only in the FCC regulations.. Then Leah can blow it out of the water with a single word:"REALLY!?" Let's see DM or his chosen lackey say ANYTHING which will extricate them even partially out of the deep, dark hole they've been digging for years. I can dream, can't I? And in that dream, he/they might deign to discuss something even in the same universe as the ISSUES "Aftermath" tackles every show.
Of course, IRL, the way it would go is Mike & Leah first discussing the upcoming scn clip; that it'll be an attack, foaming-at-the-moth variety, which doesn't address any issues other than how 'bad' Mike, Leah, et al. are/were, etc, etc. Exactly predicting what scn would deem a 'proper response' to Aftermath's Truth Rundown ®. AND THEN one of them could say:"Let's roll the tape" to introduce Davey's latest foot-bullet, so BEAUTIFULLY created, so incredibly lacking in substance. Of course, the beauty and lack of substance would have been predicted, as well as its (probably) lacking that sand-box favorite insult (just barely):"POOPEY PANTS!" Other than that, could scientology's offering even GET more infantile? At least at the sandbox, the "poopey pants" could reflect a fact of the situation. That would at least explain how DM's video creations stink so much.
I'm still waiting, with somewhat-bated breath, for the Danny "Donkey punch" Masterson show. Having devoured what has been on-line, I'd love to see how the professionals would present the available material .Then let scientology run their "rebuttal". I'd have said "Danny's side", except that that would allow his LAWYERS to get their licks in, and that would be even more unkind to his victims, since that's what lawyers DO in this sort of case. They're of the same mold as DM/scn, attack the attacker, never defend, always attack; even if their counter-attack has nothing to do with the issues in play. Like Ron, scientology can NEVER be defeated because it never plays a fair game that the opponents could win. Instead, they move the goal posts or the whole playing field mid-play. It's as disgusting as it is effective. The only thing they can't fight is the TRUTH, (from multiple directions ideally). I'm hoping that the Aftermath Foundation turns up a plethora of ACTIONABLE complaints about scn's criminality. I'm not happy that individual scientologists might be ground up in the resulting melee, other than Davey, (But he's not, IMO, a real scientologist).Since scientology is specifically a fundamentalist study which by definition can NOT change, those currently "in" and hewing to his selectively altered policies are members of *DM's* organization, NOT scientology, even though he's assumed the mantle of the "punching Pontiff" of an organization which calls itself scientology and might have been some form of a scientology some years ago.
I Yawnalot says
Wasn't it Napoleon who uttered a comment once like, 'never disturb an enemy while they are making a mistake?' The more Miscavige gives speech & letter directives like this, that end up public the tighter the noose gets. Being a cockroach sees him diving for cover at the mere rattling of a door knob. One day he'll be forced to defend Scientology in public discussion by his own minions – every word he has ever uttered from his bunker he'll have to remember. His fear isn't out here really – it's the people in good standing that are the ticking time bomb. A&E is fast becoming his Waterloo. Want to bet he does a runner when push comes to shove?
I don't think he'll ever fess up. He's way too much of a narcissist.
Hey Miscavige! You piece of shit! You're a coward! You've always been a coward.
BTW, you're losing members hand over fist. Your members know what you're doing.
Xenu says
The DM snark at the end is the censured version of;
"Paul Buccieri has apparently been to busy SCOHB to reply to these critical matters."
Typical DM.
#angermanagement #badPR
Of course "they" would be quaking in their shoes should Mike & Leah be anywhere NEAR "them" during an interview process. The little TURD is terrified to be seen in public because he fears he'd be arrested as in "you are under arrest, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law".
Miscavige blew his one time TV interview…he looked like a worm squirming in his seat, very uncomfortable and totally unprofessional.
In reality IF David M was confronted by his two worst enemies on the face of the planet….Mike & Leah, David M would probably have a coronary arrest. Either that or his blood pressure would sky rocket & his brain would literally explode due to a stroke.
ANY "team" that David M WOULD send in, well, they'd have my sympathy because once they open their mouths & stumble all over themselves trying to answer those HARD QUESTIONS…with ANY resemblance to the TRUTH, …..when it was all said and done…..DM would make sure that this "team" would be thrown in the HOLE for the rest of eternity with no chance ever of obtaining a new "meat body." I can only imagine David M launching himself across a desk or table to "get at" one of them.
Haven't seen much of "Muffins"….all that blinking really didn't do much for her, David M or COS. She looked like a complete fool. Any OTHER lawyers that would ever DARE to appear at a meeting with A & E lawyers etc. better be well prepared. I am sure Mike & Leah would make SURE that the A & E Attorneys are well informed.
Since "they" don't want Mike or Leah PRESENT at any meeting…maybe the A & E Attorneys could wear microphones & ear pieces so that Mike & Leah could whisper in their ears the questions to ASK the COB Lawyers…& what answers the A & E attorneys might respond to the COB Attorneys…
If THAT ever happens…I want a front row seat……
BTW DAVID….WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR WIFE SHELLY & WHY HASN'T SHE BEEN SEEN IN PUBLIC OR AT ANY EVENTS STANDING BY YOUR SIDE AS IS THE COMMON PRACTICE WITH ANY CHURCH OR POLITICAL LEADER….A LIFE PARTNER IS USUALLY BY HIS SIDE OR STANDING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY???
Skyler says
Balletlady said: "Miscavige blew his one time TV interview – he looked like a worm squirming in his seat, very uncomfortable and totally unprofessional."
Do you think that might have anything to do with the fact the little worm refuses to listen to anyone else? Refuses to take anyone else's opinions? And anytime he perceives the slightest hint that anyone disagrees with him, he reacts by locking them up in The Hole or pysically beating them?
Of course, no one is ever going to offer him any advice or opinions that have any chance or running contrary to his own.
The result? It's obvious that he is afraid to be seen in public because people who can speak with him in public are nothing like the people in Scientology who are scared to death to be honest with him.
The asshole has painted himself into a corner now from which there is little hope of escape and which should provide the rest of us with endless entertainment until the day arrives when he hears the words, "You are under arrest. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law."
Stay tuned. The rest of this story will surely be most memorable.
Jenyfurrr says
Skyler,
Have you ever seen that interview he did? I believe it was in 1992 with Ted Koppel (but in suffering from pregnancy brain … so could be wrong).
Here's a link to a 25th anniversary of that on Tony O's site where he provides some background from Mike, since that's when he was actively involved at that level. I'd watched it before, but this background info plus reading the actual transcript here then watching how manic he seems plus realize some of the craziness he actually says… it sheds some light on the level of narcissism (as you said, listening or taking advice from NO ONE) that created this major footbullet!
Hope you're having a good weekend!
Might help if I posted the actual link to which I referred (told you I've got serious P-brain!).
https://tonyortega.org/2017/02/14/25-years-ago-today-scientology-leader-david-miscaviges-nightline-appearance/
BalletLady opined:"In reality IF David M was confronted by his two worst enemies on the face of the planet….Mike & Leah, David M would probably have a coronary arrest. Either that or his blood pressure would sky rocket & his brain would literally explode due to a stroke."
Please, folks, let's not even joke about a stroke or other lethal event. As a stroke survivor, I can say definitively that strokes are no joke.
AND publicly wishing him bad luck just plays into his martyr narrative, how beleaguered he is, with enemies on all sides postulating his early demise…. You get the idea. One thing that I brought away from the sociopath discussions a while back is that the sociopath most wants people to PITY him and his plight.
KatherineINCali says
I'm pretty sure Balletlady wasn't actually saying she hopes Miscavige dies of a stroke.
She probably just meant he'd lose his shit & be very physically/emotionally uncomfortable meeting with Mike & Leah because he's such a coward.
So sorry you had a stroke. Hope you're well now!
Exactly Katherine….I would NOT wish a stroke on anyone….my BFF had a full blown stroke at age 43, actually died 3 times during the horrific scenario & was brought back to life. The stroke left her completely disabled, she had to learn how to walk, talk, & take care of herself. She is now 66 & has now got to use a scooter as she can't get around with her walker as well as she use to.
As you noted, I DID mean he'd go totally ballistic & would work himself into a frenzy where his blood pressure would be OFF the CHARTS & he MIGHT suffer a TIA or full blown stroke or heart attack since he had a deep penchant to over indulge in alcohol. I would NOT wish that on him, as rotten as he is….with his bad temper his blood pressure could kill him.
Jere I am please to hear you a stroke SURVIVOR….for a period of time I actually was a volunteer on a stroke support line (my grandmother suffered a stroke which left her paralyzed on her right side)…..no offense meant.
I don't have to wish "him" bad luck…KARMA will intervene eventually….,there are plenty of people on the blog who've had their say as what they "hope" for him.
Aquamarine says
jere, I hear you, and I'm sorry you had a stroke, and truthfully I don't wish a stroke on anyone including DM because wishing harm on others creates bad, harmful energy.
That said, its equally true for me that if he happened to drop dead from a stroke tomorrow I wouldn't be sorry. I'd figure he "pulled it in." 🙂 Seriously, it wouldn't bother me at all. I'd be glad. I'd be relieved.
One less sociopath in the world. Something like that.
I guess I'm not a nice person. What can I tell you? Its hard for me to pretend to feel emotions that I don't feel. Except if I'm purposefully acting – you know, like, for fun.
But as re something serious and real, its against my nature to pretend.
I feel what I feel and when I do, its unmistakable. If I don't feel it, c'est la vie, I don't give a damn 🙂
DM's death would into the latter category. Actually, if I'm strictly truthful, it would have its own category; I would feel something; I'd be relieved and glad.
Tan says
President of A&E Studios wil speak ONLY with Scientology COB.
In public.
Tan said:
Let's raise the steaks with a hotter grill fire:
Make that ON CAMERA" and on the RECORD and the kid will go hyper-nova.
What?! You're cooking up steaks? And you didn't invite OSD! I'm a bit shocked, but, I guess I'll get over it. DAMN! I want those steaks, and I want them now!
J. Swift says
Scientology Sea Org member Taryn Teutsch and her Scientology camera crew failed in their attempt last week to hijack a rape survivors rally — Denim Day — in order to force Scientology's agenda on the event. Taryn and her fellow OSA members were asked to leave and this was caught on camera.
Scientology's Office of Special Affairs failed in its phony Interfaith event in which forged letters from Dr. Cecil Murray of USC were published in an attempt to force a meeting with Disney CEO Bob Iger. Mr. Iger has been so busy skyrocketing Disney's stock price, as is his job, that his staff ignored the Scientology forged letters.
Scientology gave up on targeting Mr. Iger after its fake event at the gates of Disney Studios in Burbank. failed. Tens of people attended the Scientology bogus event. The attendees were OSA members, a rented choir, and a few rented clerics. I was there watching Scientology trying to work its con job. It was as bad as Taryn's attempt to run her con job on Denim Day along with her camera crew.
Scientology now demands a meeting with Mr. Buccieri. However, Mr. Buccieri has a network to run. He has a real job, this unlike the hacks at OSA whose social media jihadist machinations consist solely of attempting to impose censorship on a television show that exposes the depravity of Scientology. These OSA jihadists never address the substance of Scientology and the Aftermath but rather rage and lash out with lies, false accusations, and fraud.
Scientology can meet with Leah and Mike. However, a meeting with the actual hosts of the show would be far too dangerous for Scientology officials.
No confront OSA? You idiots roar on Twitter and fail in real life.
Take a meeting with Mike and Leah.
OSA cannot get traction in real life and so it always takes its Fair Game con jobs to Twitter.
What happened to Miscavige's $100 million Scientology TV network? What happened is that it was Dead on Arrival.
mk says
slay those MFs J Swift!
J. Swift, My ever-so-helpful dyslexia supplied "OSA 'phoned in' its "Denim Day" hijack attempt. Your version was unnecessarily kind to the sociopath in charge at OSA, (DM, I suspect.)
Way to go, J Swift!!!! Couldn't have said it better myself. "No confront OSA? You idiots roar on Twitter and fail in real life." "OSA cannot get traction in real life and so it always takes its Fair Game con jobs to Twitter." "What happened to Miscavige's $100 million Scientology TV network? What happened is that it was Dead on Arrival."
RE: JSwift
This just in from Faux News:
Mr. Inger, CEO of Disney announced today that Aftermath has been green-lighted for season 4. The continuing publicity from Screeology has kept the general public CURIOUS and flooding the studio for more episodes. As a public service to Screeology for their free publicity, and to provide what is needed and wanted from the general public, season 4 will include some of the episodes that were withheld, as well as an update with recent escapees with first hand experience and the accountant who just defected with the IAS financial records from the last 5 years.
Thank you for the up date….we ALL want a front row seat as soon as the Aftermath 4 hits the TV Screen!
Thank you Mike & Leah, thank everyone on this blog, especially the former INS who keep us well informed.
Wow JSwift, this is great news! Thank you. Do you know if they will have anything on the Danny Masterson rape cases and the LA District Attoreny's shameful protection of Danny Donkey Punch Masterson?
And tell us more about the accountant with IRS financial records who recently defected? Did anyone do an interview of him so we can watch it? If not, maybe you could interview him?
How were their stats this week?
STATS? we don't need no stinkin' STATS!
Stats? Stats this week? YOu don't have the fucking rank to ask about stats!
God damn right! We don't need no stinkin' STATS! STATS are for wogs!
Donuts are for UPstats.
Projection, thy name is $cientology. All that bullshit is for internal consumption. Miscavige and Parkin can't conceive that anyone in the real world would see this and take exception to it. And they don't care if any non-clam sees it.
"Nation of Islam which is now a branch of scientology," Farrakhan gets well programmed minions and Miscavige gets what? A few dollars and some non-honky faces in the mOrgs. I don't see either group getting much out of that arrangement. Though Farrakhan does seem to get a kick back on $cieno materials.
Who is playing Mussolini and who is playing Hitler? All I see is Moe Howard and Larry Fine.
ZEE MOO SAid in part:
"…"Miscavige and Parkin"…
Isn't that Miscavige/Parkin? because if they're not the same, they're following the same delusional script.
Rosemarie says
I love this from a commenter, "JJ," above, "
Parking Wars and Dog the Bounty Hunter haven't been on A&E for 7 years now." OMG! This is an example of their, "research," just as it's always been. NONE.
HA HA HA! What a great belly laugh I got from that. Wonderful catch Rosemarie.
How typical of the imbecile assholes.
You've got a belly? Can we all sit around and make funny noises with our mouths! We just need you to pull up your shirt.
His timing is charming as usual, also. Any fans (of those shows, NOT co$ or DM! Lol) that see that are likely to jump ALL over them – The wife of D the BH has been in the news in recent months, as she's suffering from later-stage cancer and been incredibly courageous/strong.
As usual, NO awareness or tact on the part of co$!
Peter Blood says
It's like trying to have a truthful conversation with the Devil, Scientology is incapable of being honest. Being honest goes against every LRH & David Miscavige deliberate intent to deceive – a part of their essential nature. In about every respect $cientology is a form of Satanism. It can't be reckoned with so must be ignored & banished.
Overun in California says
Well, how do you know when Scientology execs are lying?
Their lips are moving.
Overrun said:"
It's more basic than that: If you can SEE them, they're lying in some way, particularly the Dwarfenführer (and his hyper-humongous 'sets'.)
LDW says
I'm sitting here trying to imagine how it might look if Karin POW were to sit at a table with yourself, Leah and Mr. Buccieri. Just her and her stack of fake, easily dispelled propaganda.
How long before she runs out the door in terror as each of her lies gets meticulously dismantled?
She and dave are like little jerks throwing rocks at cars from an overpass. Chuck 'em and run gleefully into the night. No honor, no integrity, no truth, no value to society. Just a couple of assholes.
Love this post. Excellent!
OH! MY. GOD!!! Karin is being held as a POW! Run Karin, RUN!
Ann Davis says
The way dm isolates himself and has no real conversations with anyone outside of scientology truly is the action of a coward! I can't think of a bigger coward than david miscavige. The leader of a religion? Unbelievable! But it's not a religion, just insanity. I can't even!! Beyond disgusting and despicable.
Well said Ann. I would love to know what goes through Miscavige's mind. You'd think as the years pass, perhaps even a sociopath would soften. But even the so-called christian, Jim Baker, got out of prison and is still up to his same old tricks, duping old ladies out of their money. No shame, no conscience. Sadly, karma is not real, but the world would love to see some schadenfreude.
bixntrm says
And no real conversations with anyone IN scientology, for that matter. Who's going to disagree with him and end up in the hole?
Chee Chalker says
Isn't David Miscavige "far too busy" to ever meet with reporters? Or even, in some cases, unhappy Scientologists?
For example – he was too "busy" (read: afraid) to meet with Lisa Marie Presley and instead sent his sisters to do his fighting for him.
That sociopathic asshole is afraid to meet with ANYONE, unless it's a member who he's planning to belittle, berate, and beat.
Cowardly prick…
He sent in his sisters in to fight for Corn on the COB? What a pussy! How shameful can you get!
Hey idiot stick, you're the biggest wimp I've ever seen. And I mean THE BIGGEST! You're like a little boy who cries all the time.
More like the biggest LITTLE pint-sized wimp. Or, pimp. ?
He'd never make it as a pimp. The girls would beat him up.
Good point, Miscavige should be the one to meet with Buccieri – or if he's too important for that, then certainly so is the President of the network. A&E's annual revenue is around $3.8 billion, while Scientology's "business" is less than a 10th of that, so the counterpart of Miscavige would not be the President, but maybe one of the Executive Vice Presidents who deals with programming, or even someone below them responsible for Aftermath.
Nan B says
Exactly, what a wuss!
pluvo says
Such (Knowledge-) reports as Valerie Haney's are what David Miscavige/Karin hates most – next to that Mike Rinder escaped and he can't "destroy him utterly" (and Leah Remini):
Valerie Haney provided a stunning opening to Leah Remini's third season in its premiere episode Tuesday night. After working in Scientology's Sea Org for 22 years, she had escaped the church's international management compound, Int Base east of Los Angeles, by hiding out in the trunk of an actor's car as he drove back to LA.
Her escape was especially problematic for Scientology not only because it was so recent and because Valerie could provide a new layer of confirmation of what others had said about the base, but also because of her position, working so closely with church leader David Miscavige and his wife, Shelly, who disappeared from Int Base in 2005.
https://tonyortega.org/2018/11/30/the-valerie-haney-interview-scientology-smear-tactics-and-where-shelly-miscavige-is/
Wynski says
I'm glad the Church of Sociopaths does this kind of thing. Just as I'm glad that insane cult members like Fool post here. It shows the rest of the world that these guys are nuts and it just isn't being said by ex-members. From the horses mouth flies the insanity.
Kristin G says
I've seen this on STAAD and it's absurd. Like the Just Ice 4 Mom blog, saying on Denim Day, A&E and you (MR) orchestrated an ambush on Taryn with a whole camera crew, etc. blah blah. As you say, "$cientology is shameless".
Who does the writing and scripting for all of the lies? Is it DM, or does he just give an outline for people to write? How many people would there be involved that KNOW they are making stuff up? Certainly Slimy Eddie?
I was surprised to learn Expose Network is run by a 19 yr old kid. He must be forced to study all the fake stories he posts. I think a "higher-up" recently made him block about everyone. Don't want him Exposed to the Truth. The post that got me blocked was in response to his tweet about Valerie Haney and that she was dismissed from $cientology, and I answered -"So, she was dismissed, and then removed from the property in the trunk of a car??".
Scientology is like a snarling junk yard dog. All the dog wants to do is frighten, snarl and bite.
Scientology is hopelessly ignorant of itself and has no clue that their communications to the outside world are revelations of that cluelessness.
Thanks for posting this mike.
It's the revelation of Scientology, what it is, which is its greatest enemy. And just like FP, the more they communicate the more they become an aversion therapy against Scientology.
Please keep communicating Scientology. We see who you are and know what you are doing by the quality of your propaganda and immoral nature revealed in your communications.
Communication is the universal solvent to Scientology's demise.
And kill.
As it has been trained to do from puppyhood.
As are the Koolaid Drinkers trained to provide "a snarling defense" (a Hubbard phrase) of "the Power" (Miscavige and Hubbard) on command, just like trained attack dogs.
These people, and I use the term loosely, don't THINK.
Nothing has to make sense. They don't even know if what they're doing is going to be effective, nor do they care. They're human junkyard dogs.
They are trained to do one thing and one thing only, and that is to attack, on command.
If what they do is deemed successful they'll be thrilled by a pat on the head and getting thrown a piece of meat by their Master.
If what they do doesn't work and their Master is displeased and angry with them, they'll cower and cringe at the harsh tone of his voice, and slink away.
But they'll always remain ready to leap into action, to go instantly, thoughtlessly again into attack mode whenever they get the command, hoping once more, striving once more to please the Master.
Because pleasing the Master is ALL they live for.
And when the Master is displeased, like dogs, they never say, "Well, we just carried out your orders, Sir. We did exactly what you told us to do. We did our best. Looks like it wasn't such a great idea, Sir."
No, they don't say that. Saying that would make them sentient human beings and that's not what they are.
Like dogs, ALL they know or care to know is that the Master is pleased with them, or displeased with them.
When the Master is pleased, they are, if not happy, at least, secure.
On the other hand, like dogs, when the Master is displeased, Their world instantly becomes a scary, uncertain place. They'll do anything to not feel this way.
Chris Shugart says
Am I the only one who finds the COS mindless harangues tedious and boring? Their lame posturing has never changed, and I don't think many people care anymore. It's the same old hokey indignation time after time. It's a bit like watching someone flick a spoonful of cream-of-wheat at a passing bus. It's an underwhelming gesture that has all the drama of a childish temper tantrum. The world has passed them by, but they can't see it. And they likely never will.
You are not the only one Chris. Bubble people have been out of touch for so long and have imagined themselves as powerful OTs for so long that what they communicate is precisely that "out of touchness".
Their communication can be summed up in one word, a word that they word cleared and have agreed to as the MO of treating all critics:
ATTACK, NEVER DEFEND
And that is why they will never speak to Mike and Leah. They would have to DEFEND themselves.
If they met with A&E without Mike and Leah they could ATTACK them till the cows and they would not be there to defend.
ALL OF THEIR BEHAVIOR IS AN EDUCATED LEARNED RESPONSE TO THE SP AND CRITIC DOCTRINES THAT ARE CAUSING THEIR PERSONALITIES TO BECOME DERANGED.
There is nothing mysterious about their behavior. Their behavior is the expression of the insane words from Hubbard roaming in their minds.
And since they have bookoo bucks, they can pay money scavengers called lawyers to defend their deranged depravity.
Badafuco says
*puts "Flicking spoonfuls of Cream of Wheat at passing bus" on list of things to do.
Which TR should I use?
Chris Shugart said: "Am I the only one who finds the COS mindless harangues tedious and boring?"
With respect Chris, I believe you may have forgotten "laughable". So very laughable.
Skyler threw into the ring:
Here, you BOTH are SO RIGHT!
After a few seconds of Dwarfenführer on my screen, I have to turn to a different channel/video or turn it all off.
Sky, there are comedies I can watch over and over again and still laugh even though I know the bits by heart. Frankly, the COS' bubble-world idiocy just doesn't strike my funny bone. Like I said, it may just be me. Rather than chuckle at the absurdity, I'm more inclined to plead, "Can someone please make the stupid stop?"
Wow! You really see through that BS! I love seeing it picked apart and exposed for what it is. And LOVE the McDonald's analogy! Woo Hoo!!!
Mary Kahn says
(Eyeroll) You pretty much said it, Mike, except that the church of scientology and david miscavige are obviously very desperate. If this were a truly thriving church, why would dave give two shits about a couple of malcontents and their failing little show.
david miscavige cannot take any responsibility for his shrinking church. Since the 80's and david mayo, it seems there has always been a scapegoat to blame for the church's failings. I am just happy that there are fewer and fewer people that step into this cruel church and will never suffer from its abuses.
Blub Blub Blub. You and your church are going down, dave, and it's no one's fault but LRH and yours. Blub Blub Blub.
LongTimeGone says
I like your omission of capital letters! The first time I figured it was a mistake, the second time I realized that it definitely wasn't. Well done!
Mary Kahn opined:
SINCE 1950, Ron has found nothing but scapegoats to explain why his results are different than his assured predictions. Nothing but excuse, after excuse, after excuse ….
It only made sense to me when someone said scientology Works as DESIGNED, not as ADVERTISED. That's more true than I could have believed when I first read that opinion.
The church is very much shrinking. And the ones still in are mostly UTR, afraid to leave because of disconnection. I put the Russell Miller book about LRH on hold at the library so that when it is available, they'll call me in to come pick up the book to read. It's been many weeks and I'm still on the wait list. So there are many someone's in the San Fernando Valley in CA who are reading Miller's book ahead of me. That alone tells me that there are more of us out here outside the church than there are inside. OR maybe it tells me there are UTR's inside the church reading Russell Miller's book too!
Mat Pesch says
Scientology and the little coward hiding behind the curtain (with a bottle of Scotch) are both predictable and lame. No one buys it any more.
Oh boy, miscabage is desperate. What an affront that Leah and Mike are still succeeding while his leadership has been exposed for what it truly is – a bunch of abuses, frauds, crimes and more lies that any other prior sociopaths that do nothing but destroy those who don't bow when they walk in.
It seems he has nothing else to do but whine.
On the other hand Mike and Leah could gather thousands of letters of support and evidence to back up the many facts and trues they have had the courage to tell through the Aftermath.
Different purposes, different results.
Yes and not only that but Leah has won many awards for her and Mike's A&E program which tells the truth about DM and Scn. They have the kudos and chops to show for their work and David has nothing.
Hmmmm….if they continue to cry about the show…..this must mean…season 4 will be happening!!! Yes! ???
I am hoping for Season 4 also….then continue with as many seasons as it takes to bring the entire "church" down! Good post Kim!
Xenu willing.
It would be incredibly stupid if A&E didn't continue the series, considering how many people watch. Millions.
Plus, the series won an Emmy and was nominated for another.
Roger Larsson says
Scientologists clicking on the mouse goes high. On google the first three pages belongs to the cult. Has Elaine Siegel reappered?
JJ says
Parking Wars and Dog the Bounty Hunter haven't been on A&E for 7 years now. That little dig was probably not the best way of dispelling their reputation as out of touch and disconnected from society.
georgemwhite says
The irony is that one sensible word out of Scientology would do a great deal for healing. But Miscavige is so entangled in lies he cannot even start any real conversation. Scientology is a total mess from the bottom of the bridge to OT VIII. Miscavige has created his own cult right on top of Hubbard who based his thoughts, writings and occult leanings on Blavatsky. The subject of Scientology is not original and this pride needs to leave all Scientologists. Scientologists take pride in calling me Torquemada. They are ignorant of the fact that they are not quoting Hubbard. They are reading what Hubbard copied from Blavatsky. and so on….
*FAIL to respond (sorry, no edit option for me this time)
And… mic drop!
(EXCELLENT response… and one they'll be petrified and daily to respond… which IS proof that they don't want an open dialogue. They want an "in" to slander and threaten. But you know… confront and shatter, communication and all that!)
Dice says
They fear you.
Hell, I fear them! What are we talking about?
What a sesame seed bun? Too much sauce – what? Just keep believing it's all healthy for you and you won't have such fears. Looking like a bowling ball is 'in' you know?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Sandesh is a most popular and delicious dessert of Bengal made with chhena or cottage cheese and sugar or date palm jaggery.
And if you like watermelon, you will love the taste.
I have made it very lightly sweet taste with only 4 tablespoon sugar. But you can add one more tablespoon if you like.
Our this week's 90th #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is #cheese. This time our fellow blogger Mayuri Patel suggested this theme. Go with any cheese and I have selected cottage cheese.
You can get some more sandesh recipes here.
If you don't have moulds you can roll it like small balls and make laddu shaped sandesh.
Coming to the recipe of soft textured delicious watermelon sandesh.
Grind fresh homemade chhena/paneer or cottage cheese, sugar, watermelon pieces, cornflour and milk powder. Make a smooth paste.
Use full cream milk to make chhena/paneer or cottage cheese. If you have low fat cottage cheese add 1 – 2 tablespoon ghee or clarified butter.
Heat a heavy bottom or nonstick pan.
Add the ground mixture. Cook on low flame. Stir continuously.
When the mixture becomes dough like consistency and leave the sides switch off the flame. I didn't used cardamom or any flavour to retain the watermelon falavour. You can add 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder if you like.
Knead well with your palm to make it smooth.
Make small balls and give shape with any type of moulds. Or if you can roll it with rolling pin use cookie cutters to give shape. Or you can use your chocolate moulds too.
Keep the sandesh in refrigerator.


text:
package com.google.api.client.auth.openidconnect;

import com.google.api.client.auth.oauth2.TokenRequest;
import com.google.api.client.auth.oauth2.TokenResponse;
import com.google.api.client.auth.oauth2.TokenResponseException;
import com.google.api.client.json.JsonFactory;
import com.google.api.client.json.webtoken.JsonWebSignature;
import com.google.api.client.util.Beta;
import com.google.api.client.util.Key;
import com.google.api.client.util.Preconditions;

import java.io.IOException;

/**
 * {@link Beta}

 * OAuth ID Connect JSON model for a successful access token response as specified in OpenID Connect Basic Client
 * Profile 1.0 (draft 23).
 *
 *

 * Implementation is not thread-safe. Sample usage:
 *

 *
 *

  static JsonWebSignature executeIdToken(TokenRequest tokenRequest) throws IOException {
    IdTokenResponse idTokenResponse = IdTokenResponse.execute(tokenRequest);
    return idTokenResponse.parseIdToken();
  }
 *

 *
 * @since 1.7
 * @author Yaniv Inbar
 */
@Beta
public class IdTokenResponse extends TokenResponse {

  /** ID token. */
  @Key("id_token")
  private String idToken;

  /** Returns the ID token. */
  public final String getIdToken() {
    return idToken;
  }

  /**
   * Sets the ID token.
   *
   *

   * Overriding is only supported for the purpose of calling the super implementation and changing
   * the return type, but nothing else.
   *

   */
  public IdTokenResponse setIdToken(String idToken) {
    this.idToken = Preconditions.checkNotNull(idToken);
    return this;
  }

  @Override
  public IdTokenResponse setAccessToken(String accessToken) {
    super.setAccessToken(accessToken);
    return this;
  }

  @Override
  public IdTokenResponse setTokenType(String tokenType) {
    super.setTokenType(tokenType);
    return this;
  }

  @Override
  public IdTokenResponse setExpiresInSeconds(Long expiresIn) {
    super.setExpiresInSeconds(expiresIn);
    return this;
  }

  @Override
  public IdTokenResponse setRefreshToken(String refreshToken) {
    super.setRefreshToken(refreshToken);
    return this;
  }

  @Override
  public IdTokenResponse setScope(String scope) {
    super.setScope(scope);
    return this;
  }

  /**
   * Parses using {@link JsonWebSignature#parse(JsonFactory, String)} based on the
   * {@link #getFactory() JSON factory} and {@link #getIdToken() ID token}.
   */
  @SuppressWarnings("javadoc")
  public IdToken parseIdToken() throws IOException {
    return IdToken.parse(getFactory(), idToken);
  }

  /**
   * Executes the given ID token request, and returns the parsed ID token response.
   *
   * @param tokenRequest token request
   * @return parsed successful ID token response
   * @throws TokenResponseException for an error response
   */
  public static IdTokenResponse execute(TokenRequest tokenRequest) throws IOException {
    return tokenRequest.executeUnparsed().parseAs(IdTokenResponse.class);
  }

  @Override
  public IdTokenResponse set(String fieldName, Object value) {
    return (IdTokenResponse) super.set(fieldName, value);
  }

  @Override
  public IdTokenResponse clone() {
    return (IdTokenResponse) super.clone();
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Max Schmeling: Fuhrer's Poster Boy or Good Guy?
Apr 22, 2019 Matthew Gaskill, Guest Author
Max was ordered to the Fallschirmjäger. That was no accident. Goebbels and Hitler both wanted Schmeling to "die a hero's death"
Max Schmeling. Boxer. Nazi poster boy. Joe Louis' punching bag. That's all most people know about the man who held the world heavyweight boxing title from 1930-32. And you know, much of that is correct – but there is another side to Max Schmeling, the boxer and the man, that many people don't know about.
Sure, Joe Louis beat him badly in 1938.
People who lived during the time (my New York City-born and bred mother being one of them) will tell you that on the night of the Louis-Schmeling fight in 1938, not only NYC, but most of the United States came to a standstill – city blocks went quiet except for the sounds of radios blasting the voice of the fight announcer from every window, and for the cheers when Louis was doing well.
Max Schmeling in 1938
In that fight, Louis, a black American who couldn't travel safely in many parts of his own country, was fighting a supposed Nazi, and both people and governments imbued the fight with a symbolism far beyond a contest between two athletes.
The fight had become a proxy battle between Nazism and Democracy. When Louis won the fight, most of America went crazy. "Now Hitler really knows who the Superman is!" people seemed to say.
The weigh-in for Louis vs. Schmeling, 1938
All Max Schmeling wanted to be was a fighter. As a teen, he had seen newsreels in Germany of the great American champion Jack Dempsey and decided then and there that he wanted to be a fighter. Truth be told, with a face like Max's, he really was destined for it.
People who haven't seen a picture of the man, but know of the Louis fight and the legend around it, sometimes picture a giant blond "Aryan Superman" in the ring – like the Ivan Drago of the Rocky and Creed movies. Honestly, Max looked like a pug – which was a slang term for boxers back then: short for "pugilist."
He may have had a head that looked like it was made of granite, a caveman-like forehead and eyebrows, and kind of a dull look, but Max was actually quite smart, astute, and good-natured.
He began fighting in 1924 at the age of 19, and within four years had made a name for himself in Europe, winning the German light-heavyweight title in 1926. He even sparred with his hero Jack Dempsey in 1925. Dempsey, according to those there, had nothing but good words to say about the German fighter.
Like today, though, if a fighter is going to "make it" he has to go to the USA, which is what Schmeling did in 1928 after winning both the German and European Heavyweight titles.
Max Schmeling in 1930.
When Schmeling came to America, a lot of managers, promoters, and sports-writers thought he was an over-rated European "stiff" with little style. During his first year in the USA, he garnered little attention, but kept working and fighting, finally destroying a former heavyweight contender in 1929's "Fight of the Year."
After winning a few more fights, Max was given a title shot against champion Lithuanian Jack Sharkey (real name Juozas Zukauskas). In a controversial match that Schmeling won because Sharkey was disqualified for a low-blow, Max became the first European heavyweight champion and the first German to hold that title.
All criticism about Max's fight with Sharkey faded when he won his next fight against future boxing hall-of-famer Young Stribling, but Max lost the title when he lost his rematch against Sharkey in a match that many believed was crooked.
Jack Sharkey.
Schmeling went on to fight whenever he could, and one fight, against new sensation Max Baer, cemented Max's unfair label as a Nazi puppet. The fight took place in June 1933, just months after Hitler came to power. Bad press had already started to pour out of Germany, and fight fans in America (mostly people in America's multi-ethnic cities) had begun to associate anything German with Hitler.
Ironically, the promoter for the fight was former champ Jack Dempsey. Dempsey teamed with Baer to play up an angle that was certain to give the fight more publicity: Baer's father was Jewish. It didn't matter that Baer wasn't a practicing Jew in the slightest – though he wore a Star of David on his trunks, often to rile up anti-Semites in the crowd – Baer fed off hostility.
So, for the Schmeling fight, the angle was "Nazi Bad Guy against Wholesome American Jewish Boy Baer." The fight was anything but, but that didn't matter. This was the beginning of Schmeling's being labeled a Nazi. When Baer beat him, it wasn't just the American fighter that beat him, but the country as well.
Schmeling got destroyed in the fight, unable to cope with Baer's aggressive unorthodox style – and his dirty tactics, which included backhands, low-blows, elbows, and rabbit punches. After the fight, people began to wonder whether Schmeling still "had it."
Schmeling and Hitler.
Max went back to Germany, trained hard, and won three of his next four fights over the next two years. By the time the first Louis fight was made in 1936, Schmeling had been away from America for a while, and people not only thought of him as washed up but also as a Nazi stooge. They also knew that Louis was supposed to be the "next great thing" and could hit like a jack-hammer.
On the cruise to America for the fight, Schmeling was interviewed by newsmen in front of newsreel cameras. Over and over during the trip, and when he arrived in New York, Max told anyone who wanted to listen that he "saw something" in the way Louis fought that made him believe he himself could win – but only Max and his team believed it.
When the fight took place on June 19, 1936, the first three rounds were close and competitive. In the 4th round, Louis, who had never been knocked down, was flattened by Schmeling, who had seen that every time Louis threw a left jab, he dropped that hand coming back. After one jab, Schmeling threw a hard right, flooring the American, though he got up to continue.
Schmeling then jabbed and jabbed throughout the fight, puffing Louis' eyes and making it hard for him to see. In round 12, Schmeling hit Louis with a right to the body followed by another to the jaw…and Louis was counted out by the referee.
Max Schmeling was the only man to knock out Joe Louis, except when Rocky Marciano did it at the very end of Louis' career.
Joe Louis looks for an opening during boxing match with Max Schmeling
Schmeling was supposed to get a title shot against Cinderella Man James Braddock, but by 1936-37, no one wanted to give a "Nazi" a shot at the title. Truth be told, Schmeling did return home to Germany after the Louis fight a national hero and was feted by the Nazi Party and its bigwigs. He didn't turn down their attention, but how could he have?
He did not adhere to their ideas of racial superiority – even going so far as to help two Jewish boys escape Nazi persecution during the Night of the Long Knives, and refusing to fire his Jewish-American manager, Joe Jacobs, when Josef Goebbels insisted on it.
Still, in America, Max was a Nazi. When Louis beat Braddock for the championship, things changed. Now, Joe could get revenge against "the Nazi" and people would pay to see it. As we know, Louis destroyed Max in the first round, knocking him down three times before the fight was stopped. Americans went wild. Hitler was "not pleased."
Fallschirmjäger in Italy 1943
When the war broke out, Max was ordered to the Fallschirmjäger, the German paratroops – among the most dangerous jobs in the army. That was no accident. Goebbels and Hitler both wanted Schmeling to "die a hero's death" so they could at least regain some face after his defeat by the African American fighter.
In the Battle of Crete, Schmeling was wounded almost immediately, mortar fire tearing into his knee. He was then removed from combat duty and made a training officer. At times during the war, he visited American POWs and, when he could, tried to improve living conditions for those he visited.
When the war ended, Schmeling had a hard time getting "de-Nazified," the process the Allies used to vet people to make sure they hadn't been involved in war crimes or were dedicated Nazi Party members.
Schmeling had never been a Party member, but his name did appear on a book about the superiority of German athletes. It had been ghost-written by the Ministry of Propaganda and was full of the usual Nazi nonsense. Schmeling was blamed for it until notable Americans spoke up for him.
Joe Louis (left) poses with Max Schmeling in 1971
For the years immediately after the war, Max put on exhibitions for Allied troops for a little money and won three of five professional fights before retiring for good. Now the question was: what was he going to do for a living?
Fate stepped in and he was approached in Germany by an American acquaintance who now worked for the Coca-Cola company. Coke had become exceedingly popular in Europe during the war, and the company wanted someone well-known to be its spokesperson in Germany. Max took the job and never looked back.
He became one of the main distributors of Coke in Europe and even owned his own bottling plant. When he died in 2005 at 99 years old, he was a very wealthy man.
Henry Maske and Wladimir Klitschko, after the unveiling of the Max Schmeling monument in Hollenstedt on 21 May 2010
Read another story from us: Big Percy Price – The Marine That 'Beat Up' Muhammad Ali
Max was married for 54 years, to former European movie star Anny Ondra, and remained a boxing fan until he died. One last thing: he had become friends with Louis after their fights and again after the war.
They were never enemies, though everyone wanted them to be. Louis had money troubles throughout his life after boxing – Schmeling helped him on occasion, and even financed the champ's funeral in 1981. Some "Nazi."
Matthew Gaskill
Matthew Gaskill holds an MA in European History and writes on a variety of topics from the Medieval World to WWII to genealogy and more. A former educator, he values curiosity and diligent research. He is the author of many best-selling Kindle works on Amazon.


This entry was posted on Thursday, June 27th, 2013 at 1:07 pm and is filed under The Salgi Foundation - Esophageal Cancer Awareness, Early Detection & Research.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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text:
Q: How to display the names of users from a specific group with a shortcode? I have in the database a table with the user_id and corresponding group_id values, so each row contain the ID of the user that is a member of a group and the related group ID. The question is: How to display the names of users from a specific group, plus some metadata, with a shortcode, for example [group_members group_id=1]? With the bellow function, that I try to adapt for this without success, I can to display only the user ID or the group ID.
add_shortcode( 'group_members',  'group_members_shortcode_handler' );

function group_members_shortcode_handler ( $atts, $content = null ) {

  global $wpdb;
  $querystr = "SELECT * FROM wp_groups_user_group";
  $users = $wpdb->get_results($querystr, OBJECT);

  foreach ($users as $user) {
    $output .= $user->group_id;
  }

 return $output;
}

A: Below is my own answer to the question. I will appreciate any constructive comment.
add_shortcode( 'group_members',  'group_members_shortcode_handler' );

function group_members_shortcode_handler ( $atts, $content = null ) {

  global $wpdb;
  $querystr = "SELECT * FROM wp_groups_user_group";
  $users = $wpdb->get_results($querystr, OBJECT);

  $output='';
  foreach ($users as $user) {
    if($user->group_id == $atts['group_id']){
      $firstName = esc_html(get_user_meta($user->user_id, 'first_name', true));
      $lastName = esc_html(get_user_meta($user->user_id, 'last_name', true));
      $output .= '<li>' . $firstName . ' ' . $lastName . ' - ' . esc_html(get_user_meta($user->user_id, 'teaching_position', true)) . '</li>' . PHP_EOL;
    }
  }

  return $output;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
The Arts	| Performing Arts | Live Music | Art News | In the Galleries | Bookshelf | On The Screen | Museums | HIFF
CfAR And Hamptons Drive-In Screening "Raiders of the Lost Ark" During Family Outdoor Movie Night
The classic follows renowned archeologist and adventurer, Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), who is tasked by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant, which is believed to still hold the ten commandments. (Photo: www.facebook.com)
On Wednesday, August 24th, join Citizens for Access Rights (CfAR) and Hamptons Drive-In for a Family Outdoor Movie Night at Maidstone Park Ball Field in East Hampton.
"We love hosting our annual family movie night," shared Nicole Castillo, CFAR Board. "It's a great way to continue to raise awareness about maintaining public beach access, while enjoying a great movie outdoors in the summertime."
The evening will feature a screening of Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark. The classic follows renowned archeologist and adventurer, Dr. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), who is tasked by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant, which is thought to still store the Ten Commandments. It's no simple trek, as agents of Hitler are also on the hunt for the Ark. During the high action film, Indy, and his ex-beau Marion (Karen Allen), are constantly finding their way out of close encounters with the enemy during the exploration that takes them from Nepal to Cairo.
Gates to the Family Outdoor Movie Night will open at 7:30 p.m. and the viewing will begin at 8:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for non-members and free for 2016 CfAR members. Attendees may bring beach chairs and blankets, and snacks and refreshments will be available for purchase. Guests may not bring in outside food or beverages.
All proceeds from the event will support CfAR's mission of protecting East End beach access, as well as to defend the current lawsuit affecting the stretch of beach on Napeague.
The rain date is August 31st.
Maidstone Park Ball Field is located at Maidstone Park Road in East Hampton. For more information, visit www.citizensforaccessrights.com.
Catching Up With Ina Garten, Christie Brinkley, Eric Ripert And More At East Hampton Library's Authors Night
58th Annual Southampton Hospital Summer Party Raises Over $1.3 Million
Southampton Hospital Hosting 58th Annual Summer Party In Support Of Emergency Department
Gwyneth Paltrow, Eric Ripert, Christie Brinkley, Ina Garten, and More To Participate In 12th Annual Authors Night
What color is a firetruck?


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Students from all secondary schools in Enniskillen held a poignant guard of honour this afternoon at the funeral of former teacher Tom Noble.
Many of the schoolchildren held oars in one final tribute to the much loved rowing coach and former principal of Erne Integrated College who died last Saturday at the age of 68.
Mr. Noble's son Gareth paid tribute to the husband, father, Grandfather, father in law, brother, uncle, friend, colleague, mentor, teacher, confidante, sports coach, life coach, fixer, adviser, campaigner and peace builder.
"As Seamus Heaney once wrote, sometimes there is neither rhyme nor reason to events or things that happen. We will in time rejoice in the happy memories but we are still in that survival mode.
"We feel robbed that he is gone at just 68. But whilst we have to let Daddy go, we will never let his values, his principles, his ideas, his dreams, his vision go. That would be to fail him and all that he stood for," he told mourners, during the service at Ballycassidy Funeral Home.
Full report in next week's Impartial Reporter.


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Labor Bureau Says 'Misclassification Error' Is Making Unemployment Rate Look Lower Than It Really Is
"Long story short, BLS is telling us that we're at 16 percent unemployment."
Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia speak during a roundtable discussion with President Donald Trump and industry executives in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on May 29, 2020. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Buried at the bottom of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May jobs report—which President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers touted Friday as evidence that the U.S. economy is rebounding from the Covid-19 crisis at an extraordinary clip—is a note conceding that a "misclassification error" during the agency's data-collection process made the unemployment rate look significantly lower than it really is.
BLS, a Labor Department agency staffed with more than 2,000 career officials, admitted at the end of its report that "a large number of workers... were classified as employed but absent from work." Those workers, the agency explained, should have been classified as "unemployed on temporary layoff" by household survey interviewers but were not.
If those workers had been categorized correctly, the agency said, the "overall [May] unemployment rate would have been about 3 percentage points higher than reported."
"However, according to usual practice, the data from the household survey are accepted as recorded," the agency said, explaining its decision to report that the unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May, down from 14.7% in April. "To maintain data integrity, no ad hoc actions are taken to reclassify survey responses."
Because the classification error also affected the March and April jobs reports—the actual unemployment rate in April, according to BLS, was likely 19.7% rather than the reported 14.7%—it remains the case that the U.S. unemployment rate likely fell in May, just not to 13.3%.
"Unemployment fell no matter how you cut it," tweeted economist Martha Gimbel, "but double-digit unemployment is unacceptable and should not be our standard for victory."
Many U.S. media outlets on Friday—including, regrettably, this website—reported the top-line BLS unemployment number for May without emphasizing the agency's "misclassification error." (Common Dreams' Friday article on the unemployment numbers has been adjusted to highlight the agency's error.)
Analysts quickly dismissed speculation that the BLS numbers were improperly tampered with by the Trump administration, a possibility that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman hinted at in a series of tweets Friday.
This is a bad tweet.
Paul, you're right to point out that the underlying models/processes used to produce jobs numbers are less reliable during a pandemic.
But these data weren't tampered with and Paul knows it. The economic debate doesn't need this garbage innuendo. Do better https://t.co/R6tLHldF00
— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) June 5, 2020
Late Friday, the Washington Post's Heather Long explained the process behind BLS' calculation of the unemployment rate:
The unemployment rate comes from a survey where Census workers ask about 60,000 households questions about whether they are working or looking for a job the week of May 10 to 16.
One of the first questions that gets asked is did the person do any work "for pay or profit?" There are then 45 pages of follow up questions that come after that. One of those questions asks if someone was "temporarily absent" from the job and why that absence occurred. One of the responses is "other."
The BLS instructed surveyors to try to figure out if someone was absent because of the pandemic and, if so, to classify them as on "temporary layoff," meaning they would count in the unemployment data. But some people continued to insist they were just "absent" from work during the pandemic, and the BLS has a policy of not changing people's answers once they are recorded. It's how the BLS protects again bias or data manipulation.
"Long story short, BLS is telling us that we're at 16 percent unemployment," David Dayen, executive editor at The American Prospect, wrote in a summary of the jobs report Friday. "And while that's better than the nearly 20 percent (if you include the misclassified) in the April jobs report, it means we've only brought a small sample of those workers back. The level of employment remains sharply reduced from the pre-pandemic months; we've maybe brought back a little over 10 percent of the jobs."
Donald Trump, Labor, Workers, Pandemic


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Extreme Wind Forecast: PG&E to Proactively Turn Off Power for Safety in Portions of Sierra Foothills, North Bay Communities
October 14, 6:00 PM – The City of Sonoma and Sonoma Valley are not affected at this time. In Sonoma County, PG&E will be turning off power in Cloverdale, Geyserville, Healdsburg and Santa Rosa.
Begin Press Release from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced today it will begin proactively turning off power for safety as part of a Public Safety Power Shutoff in portions of several Northern California communities as early as 5 p.m. and continuing throughout the evening.
To help reduce the risk of wildfire during extreme winds and keep PG&E customers, their families and their homes and businesses safe, the company will first turn off power in the following extreme fire-risk areas—a total of about 70,000 customers in Sierra Foothills communities:
Butte County (Berry Creek, Brush Creek, Clipper Mills, Feather Falls, Forbestown, Oroville)
Sierra County (Alleghany, Downieville, Goodyears Bar, Pike City, Sierra City)
Placer County (Alta, Applegate, Auburn, Baxter, Colfax, Dutch Flat, Emigrant Gap, Foresthill, Gold Run, Loomis, Meadow Vista, Weimar)
Nevada County (Chicago Park, Grass Valley, Nevada City, North San Juan, Penn Valley, Rough and Ready, Soda Springs, Washington)
El Dorado County (Aukum, Camino, Coloma, Cool, Diamond Springs, El Dorado, Fair Play, Garden Valley, Georgetown, Greenwood, Grizzly Flats, Kelsey, Kyburz, Mount Aukum, Omo Ranch, Pacific House, Placerville, Pollock Pines, Shingle Springs, Silver Fork, Somerset, Strawberry, Twin Bridges)
Amador County (Fiddletown, Jackson, Pine Grove, Pioneer, Plymouth, Sutter Creek, Volcano)
Plumas County (La Porte)
Calaveras County (Glencoe, Mokelumne Hill, Mountain Ranch, Rail Road Flat, West Point, Wilseyville)
Yuba County (Brownsville, Camptonville, Challenge, Dobbins, Marysville, Oregon House, Strawberry Valley)
The power shutoffs mark the first of two phases in this Public Safety Power Shutoff today. Later tonight, as the weather continues to progress, PG&E plans to turn off power to communities in the North Bay, affecting about 17,000 customers. Those communities are:
Lake County (Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Clearlake Park, Cobb, Finley, Hidden Valley Lake, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Lower Lake, Middletown)
Napa County (Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Napa, Pope Valley, Saint Helena)
Sonoma County (Cloverdale, Geyserville, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa)
PG&E is working directly with first responders and other state and local agencies to prepare for this safety event.
"Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and the communities we serve. We know how much our customers rely on electric service, and we have made the decision to turn off power as a last resort given the extreme fire danger conditions these communities are experiencing. PG&E has a plan. We want our customers to have plans, too," said Pat Hogan, senior vice president of electric operations.
When the extreme weather has passed, and conditions are safe, PG&E crews will visually inspect the lines for any necessary repairs and safely restore power to customers.
Most customers are expected to be restored by Monday night (October 15), with some outages potentially lasting into Tuesday (October 16). In addition to notifying customers directly, PG&E will provide outage updates and information through social media, local news, radio, and the pge.com website.
PG&E began outreach late Saturday to customers in portions of the Sierra Foothills and the North Bay to notify them of the potential for a Public Safety Power Shutoff. PG&E is also doing additional outreach to its customers who are in the Medical Baseline program.
In making a decision whether to turn off power, PG&E considers a combination of criteria, including:
A Red Flag Warning declared by the National Weather Service
Low humidity levels, generally 20 percent and below
Sustained winds above approximately 25 mph and wind gusts in excess of approximately 45 mph
Site-specific conditions such as temperature, terrain and local climate
Condition of dry fuel on the ground and live vegetation (moisture content)
On-the-ground, real-time observations from PG&E field crews
As part of PG&E's wildfire preparedness efforts, the company is asking customers to:
Learn whether their home or business is in or near a high fire-threat area on the California Public Utilities Commission's High Fire-ThreatDistrict map. Customers also can visit pge.com/wildfiresafety to enter their address and find out whether their home or business is served by an electric line that may be turned off for safety during periods of high wildfire threat.
Update their contact information at pge.com/mywildfirealerts or by calling 1-866-743-6589 during normal business hours. PG&E will use this information to alert customers before turning off electric service for safety, when and where possible.
Prepare for and practice an emergency plan to keep themselves, their families and/or employees emergency-ready and safe during an outage. Keep in mind family members who are elderly, younger children and pets. Information and tips including a safety plan checklist are available at pge.com/wildfiresafety.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation(NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy companies in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.


Are you excited enough about the StarCraft 2 beta to spend hundreds of dollars to get in?
To most people, spending $300 on an unfinished version of a game that will cost maybe $60 when it sees release is just outright lunacy, but to others, playing first is important enough that they're willing to splash out. Thankfully, for them at least, there are people online more than happy to take their money in exchange for the codes they seek.
At time of writing, there are 51 Ebay auctions for beta codes, with most seeming to have come from Blizzcon 08, which includes a World of Warcraft polar bear mount as an added bonuses. Prices range from just $26 on an auction with more than two days left to a $950 'Buy It Now' price, and the largest actual bid for a code is currently $305.
I appreciate that StarCraft 2 is a big deal, but personally, there's no game that I want to play so much that I'd be willing to pay five times the retail price just to get into the beta.


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Asen's Fortress Bulgaria 11/15
The earliest archaeological findings date from the time of the Thracians, the area of the fortress being also inhabited during the Ancient Roman and Early Byzantine period. The fortress gained importance in the Middle Ages, first mentioned in the statute of the Bachkovo Monastery as Petrich in the 11th century. The fortress was conquered by the armies of the Third Crusade. It was considerably renovated in the 13th century (more precisely 1231) during the rule of Bulgarian tsar Ivan Asen II to serve as a border fortification against Latin raids, as evidenced by an eight-line wall inscription. The foundations of fortified walls—the outer ones being 2.9 metres (9.5 ft) thick and preserved up to a height of 3 metres (10 ft), originally 9 to 12 metres (30 to 39 ft) high—a feudal castle, 30 rooms and 3 water repositories have been excavated from this period.
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Neel talks with Roland about his next release landing on One Instrument.
As this November draws to a close Neel will release on the Berlin-based and deeply conceptual record label One Instrument. The label, ran by Grand River, releases compositions created by artists who have accepted the challenge to produce a sound experiment with the restriction of using only one instrument and adhering to specific guidelines.
Neel produced two tracks for the release using a different piece of studio gear for each. Side A features "Aria" a 22-minute exploration through the power of the E340 Cloud Generator of Synthesis Technology. The flip side, however, was crafted using the boutique version of one of Neel's all-time favourite synths and a true classic in the Roland SH-101.
It didn't take long for Roland to hear the news about Neel's track titled "The Morning After" which pays homage to one of their most famous creations sparking an interview to unravel the whole process. Follow the link, here, where you will find Neel talk about his inspirations for the track, how he uses the SH-01A, his love for hardware instruments and much more!


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Palaeontology Isn't Protected In The NWT
And with climate change melting permafrost, that means history could be lost.
From the JULY/AUGUST 2019 Issue
The first thing Shane Van Loon noticed about the ancient bones was the smell. He was walking along the river in September, 2007, behind his parent's house in Tsiigehtchic, NWT, in an area known locally as "Church Hill" because it's directly underneath the Roman Catholic Church and cemetery.
"It smelled like something was rotting, I wasn't sure if it was something from the graveyard maybe," he says. "So I climbed up there anyway and I saw a big bone sticking out of the side [of the hill] about six feet down from surface, and so I went in a little closer and I could see fur lining the bank. And I could tell it was something."
That "something" was a steppe bison that had been frozen in permafrost for over 13,600 years. With a skull, horns, hair, and organs, it's the first Pleistocene mammal with soft tissue recovered from the glaciated regions of the Northwest Territories.
"It really stinked, so I thought I'd just leave it alone, come back in a couple of days when it thawed out a little bit more," says Van Loon. By the time he went back, it had defrosted to the point where the carcass almost slid into the river.
That wasn't the only time the bison was nearly lost. Because in the NWT, Van Loon never legally had to tell anyone about his find. While there is legislation in the NWT protecting archaeological finds, there are no territorial rules governing palaeontological discoveries—the only province or territory in Canada without such protection.
"I got somebody to come and help me carry the skull up and then I went back with a shovel and picked up whatever bones and everything I could find," says Van Loon. "First I put it in my back porch in a tarp, and then I found what sort of looked like intestines and stuff, and the skin I put in the freezer. I just didn't want it to rot."
Which is where Glen MacKay, a territorial archeologist, found it.
"The Tsiigehtchic steppe bison fossil is incredibly unique because I believe it's still the only known fossil that was frozen and had soft tissue outside of Beringia in Canada," he says.
MacKay is one of just two archaeologists working for the GNWT. There is no paleontologist. So, when news of the discovery reached MacKay at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Museum, he called Grant Zazula, a paleontologist in the Yukon, where Pleistocene fossil finds are more common. The two first journeyed out to inspect the site where the bones had been found. "There's an ice lens there so the slump was probably related to the thawing of ice-rich permafrost. In the headwall of the slump there was still kind of ice visible," says MacKay. Then, it was time to peek into the freezer. Tucked away in bags was something much, much older than frozen peas and freezer-burnt popsicles.
"It was a pretty unique experience for me to see soft tissue," says MacKay. "It has soft tissue preserved which really means it was probably frozen quite rapidly after its death and covered in sediment and then probably permafrost formed in that sediment in fairly short order to preserve it, and there it stayed for thousands and thousands of years."
It's happened before where wood bison carcasses float downriver, or newer fossils of the 400-year-old vintage have been discovered on the Tuk peninsula. "But once we started looking at the skull and measuring the horns, it became pretty obvious this was older."
Despite the find's significance, MacKay had to close the freezer door and leave it behind. "Shane at that time wasn't willing to part with the bones, and in the absence of palaeontological regulations, we requested to take one bone on loan, so that we could radio carbon date it," he says. They took a metacarpal, a bone from the lower forelimb and left the rest. "We bagged some of it for him, we brought some big bags, and then sort of suggested a few more things that could maybe be frozen."
Eventually, Van Loon decided to donate the find to the museum, on the condition they create a replica and display for the local community, as well as putting the remains on display for the public in Yellowknife. This way, people in the community will have access to their own history, where it was found, without having to travel to far off centres to experience their own territories' past.
MacKay calls the steppe bison a "really dramatic case," but in the years since, they've had a few other ice age fossils emerge from thaw slumps in the Delta region. "The Tsiigehtchic steppe bison is what really kind of alerted us to the risk of permafrost thaw exposing frozen fossils."
MacKay speculates that paleontology was probably just left out of the legislation when it was written as an oversight—it wasn't known that it might be needed. But now, with climate change speeding up permafrost melt, more and more of the past is literally rising to the surface. A study published in the journal Nature in April noted that instead of a few centimetres of soil thawing each year as previously predicted, now several meters of soil in the Arctic and Boreal regions can be destabilized within weeks, even days. It's happening so fast scientists are losing equipment they've left in the areas—swallowed up before they can retrieve the gear. While many studies have focused on the greenhouse gasses being released, or the impact on human habitation as homes are destabilized and roads turn into rivers, for archaeologists and paleontologists, the melt is a double-edged sword. Because permafrost suspends matter in an oxygen-free, neutral pH zone, perishable items can survive thousands of years on ice. In Birnirk, Alaska, archeologists found clothing made from seal and polar bear fur from A.D. 600-1300, and in 2012, researchers at the Russian Academy of Sciences brought Silene Stenophylla, a white tundra flower, back to life from 30,000-year-old fruits found in ancient squirrel burrows. It gives an unprecedented window to the past, but also creates risk: sites can be lost, discoveries destroyed before we even know about them.
In the NWT, melt has revealed single bones, like a steppe bison leg that turned out to be beyond the reach of radio carbon dating—placing it as older than 50,000 years—and a horse bone that was 14,000 years old. Construction, too, has turned up finds, like another skull, this one as the world's worst speed bump on the Tuk highway. "A guy from Tuk found it in the roadbed. He was working on the project and he saw the horns sticking out of the roadbed. I'm speculating, but it was probably transported from the gravel source," says MacKay.
No one knows for sure because unlike archaeological sites that have to be registered, paleontology sites aren't covered by law. And without that legislated protection, history could literally be lost.
"The Tsiigehtchic steppe bison as a specimen itself, it's amazing. It's got 13,000-year-old skin: someone looking at that, that's amazing for anybody I think. And in our exhibit, you can see what colour they were, because we have their hair. Shane van Loon's parents, like 10 times in that trip, said you should make a toupee out of that, that was the joke of the weekend," says MacKay.
But it's more than just a cool find—it helps researchers paint a picture of what was happening in the region millennia ago. "Because that steppe bison was there over 13,000 years ago, it helped us learn more, in more detail, about the glaciers leaving that area. And about the environment of that area, that it was probably viable. We didn't know for sure that at that time it was a viable environment for this type of fauna. And that's also interesting because if it was viable for steppe bison it was probably viable for humans. We don't have any evidence that old of human occupation of that region, but that gives us a clue that it was at least a possibility."
That kind of possibility weaves paleontology into a larger story that includes archaeology and human history, and centers Indigenous history in the region.
"This territory has a long rich history," says Sarah Carr-Locke, director at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. "The steppe bison is now part of a Gwich'in story, so that's also the importance of protecting those pieces, because a Gwich'in community member found it and it was found in the area. So there are a lot of different ways to look at paleontology being part of community stories."
For rare finds like the steppe bison, she says one of the museum's roles is to stabilize the find because as soon as it begins to defrost it begins to degrade.
"We do get a reputation sometimes that we want to squirrel it away and hide it, but what we want to do is stabilize and protect it, for the benefit of making sure it's available for future generations, because it won't be available to future generations if [finds] are sold or they're not managed properly."
Currently, there are over 6,500 known archaeological sites in the NWT—these are designated and given numbers, and developers looking at the area must take precautions around them. But the territory is large, and the number of archaeologists small—just two working for the government of the NWT, covering the entire territory, with a spattering of independent researchers. The nearest paleontologist is in the Yukon, and unlike with archaeological finds (which must go to the designated repository, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre), there's no central spot to gather anything that is turned up.
David Finch is one of those independent researchers. Over his 20 years in the field, he's worked as an archaeologist with the heritage centre, and even on a number of forensic cases including the Robert Pickton case in British Columbia.
"With the exception of myself there are no non-government archaeologists in the territory. And I don't do it full-time because there's no money to be made out of it," he says. "I make it sound horrible—it's not. But we need more people, we need more money and we need tighter legislation."
One of his big concerns isn't just what's being missed, but what's being forgotten. Even after sites are discovered and identified, site revisits can be a problem—and with permafrost changing the landscape, it means that a site that was there two years ago may not be now. "If there aren't people there to actually witness it you're not going to know that heritage was ever there," he says. "Quite frankly, heritage issues aren't a concern for anybody until something goes wrong."
Carr-Locke says they haven't heard of any instances of sites being ignored or finds not being donated to the museum—yet. "We don't know what we don't know," she says. She and her colleagues would like to see protection for paleontology added to territorial legislation.
"A lot of people don't really care about heritage until it impacts them directly," says Finch. "We need to foster that sense of identity in the Northwest Territories, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, that it does matter and that it's connected. There's heritage, it's our heritage, and we have a responsibility to it."
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