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Doug BrotherofCats Dandridge
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Caine's Mutiny by Charles E Gannon
Posted by dougdandridge on July 6, 2017
Posted in: Conferences, eBooks, Far Future, science Fiction, Space Navy, Space Program, Writing.	Tagged: Caine Riordan, Caine's Mutiny, Chuck Gannon, Dr Charles Gannon, Dragon Awards, Military Science Fiction.	Leave a comment
Caine's Mutiny is available on Amazon, among other places. First off, a disclaimer. I have known Chuck Gannon for several years, having met him first at LibertyCon, then at DragonCon. I consider him a friend. Which has nothing to do with my review of his book, really. I only review books I like, a lot. If I didn't like a book I will not about stoop to giving it a crappy review. That's not what I'm here for. Giving bad reviews can backfire on an author, so I only review the ones I like. Bottom line, if I review it, I think it has merit. If I don't, it could be many things, including it just didn't impress me enough.
So, on to the review of Caine's Mutiny, by triple Nebula Award nominee Dr. Charles E Gannon. Chuck was nominated for the Nebula for each of the preceding three novels, Trial By Fire, Fire With Fire, and Raising Caine, an unheard of feet in one series. This book didn't come out in time for this year's nomination, and in my opinion is the best of the bunch. We'll see next year. Not saying the others were bad. They were all really good. Chuck has a way of extrapolating the future from what we have now and what we will have in the future. The science and future political predictions are tight, the characters are well developed, and the action is exciting. That said, Mutiny has the most action of any of the books. Set on another planet in an unusual system inhabited by two of the space faring races of the series, it has ground and space combat tightly interwoven into the storyline. The villainous Ktor make appearances early and often in this novel, and they have become the enemy I love to hate. The other alien species can also be a pain at times, but, unlike the Ktor, not because of any truly evil intent. Can't say much more, but fans of military history will get many of the references to past wars.
I bought this book on my own, and didn't request a reviewer's copy. It really helps the author to have sales loaded into the Amazon algorithm, and I'm happy to contribute.
Also, the Dragon Awards are coming up for their second year. Unlike any other awards in scifi, you don't have to belong to an organization or pay a membership fee to vote. Just go here and register, then vote for your favorites in the categories. Caine's Mutiny will be my selection in Military Science Fiction. Beyond that, I just don't know, and will have to look over the categories and think about books I have read.
A Fistful of Credits: Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 5) is now available.
Posted in: Alien Life, Armor, eBooks, Far Future, Future Prediciton, Future Warfare, Intelligent Life, Kindle, Military, self publishing, Space Navy, Writing.	Tagged: Brad Torgersen, Charity Ayres, Charles Gannon, Chris Kennedy, Chris Nuttall, Christopher Woods, Doug Dandridge, Jason Cordova, Jon Del Arroz, Jon R Osborne, Kacey Ezell, Kevin Ikenberry, Mark Wandrey, Military Science Fiction, PP Corcoran, Terry Mixon, The Four Horsemen Universe.	Leave a comment
A Fistful of Credits: Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 5) is now available. No, this is not one of my books, though in one way it is, since I have a story in it, along with thirteen other authors. The anthology was the brainchild of author and publisher Chris Kennedy. Chris and Mark Wandrey have developed a very interesting universe in which humans have one commodity they can sell on the galactic marketplace, their fighting skills. The Four Horsemen Universe is about mercenaries, not all of them human, taking on the contracts of other actors to defend or take resources. I've read the first two novels of the series, one by Chris, the other by Mark. Both were excellent. And then I was asked to contribute to it, and I jumped at the chance. Especially when I found out who some of the other authors were.
I've known Chris and Mark since my first LibertyCon, four years ago. Chris was doing well with a couple of books, while Mark was writing some good stuff that just wasn't getting a lot of traction. He had later success with some urban fantasy, I think it was. Then they developed this series and it took off. I've known Kevin Ikenberry for five years, since my first year at Superstars Writing Seminar. I also met Jason Cordova at my first LibertyCon, and have known Brad Torgerson online for almost as long, since he was also one of the people associated with Superstars. And Chris Nuttall? Never met the man, but he's simply one of the most successful indie science fiction authors out there, incredibly prolific, and with sales numbers to die for. I didn't know much about the other authors; Terry Mixon, Jon R. Osborne, Jon Del Arroz, Kacey Ezall, Christopher Woods, PP Corcoran and Charity Ayres. But if Chris asked them to contribute, I know they must have something going for them, and they are names I will be paying attention to in the future. I know some of the people who will be in the second volume, and again they are good, very good. And Chuck Gannon, three time Nebula nominee, did the foreword, so even that lead in was first rate.
I have to commend Chris Kennedy for coming up with this idea. The guy is a promotional genius, bringing everyone together for a little bit of cross fertilization of fan bases. He also got everyone involved in the promotion, multiplying the impact. I still remember when Mark communicated with me about contributing, and the words 'we want your fan base' still stick with me. Fair enough. I want theirs, and Nuttall's, and all of the rest. It was a great idea. Maybe someday I'll get into another one by this pair. We had a release party at LibertyCon this weekend, and I got to meet and talk to some of the authors I wasn't familiar with. All were great people. And during the party we learned that the book was already at number 4 on Amazon for all anthologies. Quite an accomplishment.
About the book. There are fourteen short stories by fourteen authors, all of whom have experienced commercial or critical success. My story was just under 10,000 words, and I suspect most came in at a similar mark. And there are excerpts from two other novels at the end. That's the length of a very long novel, and at $3.99 it's a bargain. Or you can get it on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Even the paperback is reasonably priced at $15.99 (and believe me, I sell my paperbacks at $17-20 and don't make very much in the way of profit). I highly recommend this book to all of my fans. If you like my work, I have an original ten thousand word story in it. And so far it's got a 4.9 star average with twenty-seven reviews. I am a big fan of the Four Horseman Universe. I will be reading them as they come out, and have already given the first two books five stars. Of course I won't be doing a review on the anthology since I'm in it, but I'm sure all of us would appreciate it if you did. Thanks.
So click the link and get this book. A Fistful of Credits: Stories from the Four Horsemen Universe (The Revelations Cycle Book 5).
Five By Five 3: Target Zone is out.
Posted by dougdandridge on November 14, 2014
Posted in: Alien Invasion, Alien Life, Antimatter, Armor, eBooks, Far Future, Fusion, Future Prediciton, Future Warfare, History, Intelligent Life, Kindle, Military, Nuclear Weapons, science Fiction, Space Industry, Space Navy, Writing.	Tagged: Dani Kollin, Eytan Kollin, Kevin J Anderson, Kobo, Michael A. Stackpole, Military Science Fiction, Nook, Prometheus Award, Sarah Hoyt, Smashwords.	1 Comment
Just received notice yesterday that the anthology Five By Five 3: Target Zone is out on all the normal venues. This includes Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Smashwords and iBooks, and it is also available on Amazon as a print book, and will be available elsewhere in tree and ink. And the coolest thing, to this writer at least? I'm included in this volume, with a brand new 15,000 word Exodus: Empires at War novella, Goliath, that can only be seen here. Also included are two New York Times Bestsellers, Kevin J. Anderson (who also edited) and Michael A. Stackpole. Rounding out the lineup is Baen author Sarah A. Hoyt and Prometheus Award Winners Eytan and Dani Kollin. Whew, what a lineup. Even if I was not included I would recommend this book based on the other four (actually five, but Eytan and Dani work as a team).
I encourage all of my fans, especially those of the Exodus series, to buy this book. I am hoping that those who don't know about Exodus will find enough in my story to look up the series and jump on board. Goliath is not the first story I sent to Kevin for possible inclusion in this anthology. Retribution was written in a similar style to my novels, with many characters and points of view. Kevin wanted major changes, but I decided, now that I knew what he wanted, to give him a different story and save that one for another time. It will be coming out in about a week with two more novellas about Exploration Command, the exploratory branch of the New Terran Empire Fleet. Goliath deals with warriors, New Terran Empire spacers faced with an unwinnable situation when a Ca'cadasan battleship comes calling on a lightly defended system. Commander Cynda Klerk soon finds herself facing the twenty-five million ton behemoth with the only surviving warship in the system, a ninety thousand ton frigate. Her ship was built to patrol and screen, to fight the occasional pirate, not take on the most awe inspiring ship of the current war. Her choices are to hide, insuring the survival of her ship and crew, but allowing the fifty thousand settlers of the one inhabitable planet in the system to perish. Or to battle the Goliath, pitting her David against a ship that out masses hers by two hundred times. The second choice seems like suicide, and of no help to the civilians, who will die anyway, no matter what she does. But the Ca'cadasans, who have had problems with human ingenuity in the past, find once again that you can't take the hairless primates for granted. I think Goliath is an action packed tale like those my readers have come to expect in the Exodus: Empires at War novels. It has allowed me to explore the novella form, and I expect I will revisit that length of story again in the future (though, as said above, three more novella length stories will be coming out soon in one volume).
The Exodus series is doing well. The last five books of the, so far, seven book series, have hit the top five in Space Opera and Military Sci-fi at Amazon.US, and have made it to number one at Amazon.UK in the same categories. But, like most authors, I would like to have more readers. I was very excited when Kevin asked me to submit to this anthology. It was an honor for a relatively unknown. And I hope it leads to even more opportunities down the road. And now the links.
amazon print:  http://www.amazon.com/Five-Target-Zone-Military-Volume/dp/1614752478/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1415913410&sr=1-1
Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/Five-3-Target-Zone-ebook/dp/B00P6ZOUMS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415913410&sr=1-1&keywords=anderson+five+by+five+target
Kobo:  http://store.kobobooks.com/search?Query=five+by+five+3+target+zone
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/five-by-five-3-kevin-j-anderson/1120679828?ean=2940150383012
Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/490252
It's also on iBooks, but we don't have the link yet, and is to be featured in the Baen eBook Library in December.  I hope everyone who buys this book enjoys it.  And I will keep on putting out stuff for you to read.
Hitting the 100,000 Milestone
Posted by dougdandridge on September 14, 2014
Posted in: Alien Invasion, Dragons, eBooks, Fantasy, Far Future, Fusion, Future Warfare, Genetic Engineering, History, Kindle, Magic, Military, Movies, Near Future, Past, Plotting, science Fiction, self publishing, Titles, Websites, Writing.	Tagged: 000 Sales, 100, Exodus: Empires at War, Five by Five, Kevin J Anderson, Military Science Fiction, Refuge: The Arrival, The Deep Dark Well.	6 Comments
On Saturday, September 13, 2104, one day after my 57th birthday, I woke up, tallied my sales for the month on the XL spreadsheet I use for that purpose, and cheered as I saw that I had passed the one hundred thousand sales mark since I had been keeping track. I had been keeping this spreadsheet since August of 2012, which discounts the forty to sixty books I had sold from January through September 2012 across multiple outlets. And in August of 2012 I had only sold twenty-two books. The Deep Dark Well was my big seller that month with eight books. Things changed in September when I gave away 4,035 copies of The Deep Dark Well in a KDP Select promotion, and I later sold over 200 of TDDW that month on the way to selling 237 books. October was even better, with 507 sales, 307 of them TDDW, but also 112 copies of Exodus: Empires at War: Book 1. In November Exodus 1 took off, with 872 sales, then ,1,721 in December, along with 1,297 copies of Exodus 2. January 2013 was the real eye opener, the one that really let me think I could do this for a living, as I sold 8,560 ebooks, including 3,088 of Exodus 1, 2,758 of Exodus 2, and 750 of TDDW. Heady days, and I made the decision to quit the State of Florida and go full time in the Fall of that year. 5,677 sales in February changed those plans, and I never looked back as I left Department of Children and Families in March of 2013. Since then, my worst month has been 1,917 in July of 2014. My best, after that eye opening January, was 7,002 in May of 2014. Book 7 of the Exodus series came out August 20th, and has already sold over 4,300 copies, while September is turning out to be another great month.
What it comes to is 100,000 total sales in just a little more than twenty-four and a half months (August 2012 can be thrown out of that calculation, since I was over 100K by more than I had sold in that entire month). I was hoping when I got into this self-publishing thing that I would be successful. Success defined as enough money, along with my day job, to get by and possibly get ahead. By that definition I have been successful beyond my wildest dreams. I work for myself. I travel where I want to go when I want to. I'm buying a house, by damn. Not a big house, a nice little three bedroom two bath that I can fix the way I want. Enough for me, without being a big job keeping up. And I've met some really great people, at Dragon Con, Liberty Con, and the Superstars Writing Seminars. Big time authors, and people in the early part of their careers. My kind of people. And the many fans I have met, a few in person, most over the net. Again, my kind of people, even if we don't agree on everything, we have a passion for one thing, sci-fi and fantasy.
On the same day I sold my hundred thousandth book among ebooks, paperbacks and audiobooks, I signed a contract with Kevin J Anderson to appear in the third volume of his Five by Five military science fiction series, coming soon. Kevin, Michael Stackpole, Sarah Hoyt, and Dani and Eytan Kollin round out the authors of the five stories, and I couldn't be more proud or excited to be in their company. Looking forward to the coming year, and some more books to put out there, more people to meet. And hopefully come some steps closer to become a hybrid author, publishing in both the traditional and self-pub realms. I am working on a fantasy submission for Baen books right now, along with book four of the Refuge series. If Baen doesn't like the fantasy I eventually will publish it myself, while working on a sci-fi idea for them.
I'm not on the New York Times Bestseller list yet, I'm not on any Hugo or Nebula lists, not well known outside my small circle of fans and friends. But I'm doing what I love, every day. I'm my own boss, and the future is looking really good.
Tomorrow will be a blog interview with Cornelius Walborski, the Hunter from the Exodus: Empires of War series. And the day after I will be blogging about my very soon to be released book (probably that day) How I Sold 100,000 Books On Amazon. More than I'm use to doing with the blog in such a short time, but such is life right now.
Just in Time for the Holidays: Exodus: Empires at War: Book 5.
Posted by dougdandridge on December 20, 2013
Posted in: Alien Invasion, Antimatter, Armor, eBooks, Far Future, Fusion, Future Prediciton, Future Warfare, Genetic Engineering, Genetics, Kindle, Military, Nanotechnology, Nuclear Weapons, Plotting, Quantum Physics, Robots, science Fiction, self publishing, Space Industry, Space Navy, Titles, Tropes, Wormholes, Writing.	Tagged: alien life, Amazon, Books Military Science Fiction, Cornelius Walborski, Exodus: Empires at War, Exodus: Empires at War: Book 5: Ranger, lasers, Military Science Fiction, particle beams, Space Fleet, Space Opera.	6 Comments
Still not sure of the actual release date, but Exodus: Empires at War: Book 5: Ranger. will definitely be out before New Years Day. Most probably by a day or two after Christmas. Can't narrow it down more than that, as sometimes things come up, or problems come to my attention at the last moment. I already have the next three books in the series in mind, and hope to release them through the 2014 year. To my mind this will be a long series, at least 20 books, and as new subplots develop that might turn out to be a conservative estimate.
Ranger is a book about Cornelius Walborski, the farmer introduced as a minor viewpoint character in books 1 and 2, His role grew in ways I never expected, and I thought he needed a book of his own. While trying to keep the series in some kind of chronological order, I knew the book had to come out early in the series. The story follows Cornelius as he trains to become a regular in the Imperial Army, culminating in his augmentation and induction into the ranks of the elite Specops warriors of that Army, the Rangers. It also tells the tale of the invasion and slaughter of the civilian population of a developing world in Sector IV, the main theater of combat in the Human/Ca'cadasan War. It follows the efforts of a young girl forced to survive in the wilderness of one of the deadliest planets in the Empire. The two main characters eventually come together, each aiding the other in their plans.
I received some complaints that my last book, Exodus: Book 4: The Long Fall, did not have enough space action, despite having almost a half dozen major space fights in it. Some said that good Space Opera mostly concerned itself with spaceships and space battles. Well, when I first put out the series I tagged it as Military Science Fiction, which does cover land warfare as well. It was tagged Space Opera by readers on Amazon. This book will be almost all ground action, the exception being some point of view scenes of the battle for the orbitals as seen from the surface of the planet. That said, the next two books in the main storyline will concern themselves almost entirely with space action. I realize that by the time the books are set in arrives, the Army will definitely be the secondary service after the Fleet, though there will still be a place for ground warfare.
Speaking of past books, the series to date has sold over 43,000 books across the four, mostly ebooks, but some paperbacks. Book 3 made it to number two in Space Opera (all books) on Amazon.US, while book 4 topped out at number 1 on Space Opera, Space Fleet and Military Science Fiction on Amazon.UK, and number 2 Military Science Fiction and number 8 Space Opera on Amazon.US. In order of sales, Amazon.US and Amazon.UK are the big two, followed distantly by Amazon.DE and Amazon.CA. I hope that this book will do as well.
An now to the excerpt:
That's it, thought Rebecca, looking at the rock formations on the side of the mountain and checking her position. She had only seen the refuge from the air before, or on the ground right outside of it. Nothing else she had seen on the mountainsides on the way here had looked familiar, not like this.
She lay there for almost an hour, using the field glasses she had packed to scan the area. It looked unoccupied, which was how it should be, even if there were someone there. A refuge that looked like it was occupied, especially from the air, was not much of a hideout. She found a dark area on the mountainside, just behind the flat region that would have been the landing pad for her family. It looked like a cave entrance. They had planned to provide cover for that opening when they had started their habitation. That it hadn't been done was a sign that the cave hadn't been inhabited. Or had it?
Something moved, and she focused the glasses on that area, seeing a hunched over figure at the entrance to the cavern. At this distance she couldn't tell if it was human or Caca. Caca meant the refuge was closed to her. Human? Maybe, maybe not. She continued to study the figure, which stayed hunched down in a stance that didn't allow her to see the number of its limbs. She was also having problems with the scale. Was it a less than two meter tall being, or one over three?
A second figure joined the first, and they squatted there, looking out over the area in front of the cave and beyond. They were obviously talking, and one waved a hand at the open area, then looked up at the sky.
Come on, thought the child, the sweat rolling down her face as she continued to watch. Move out where I can see what you are.
Almost as if in obedience to her thoughts the second figure stood up and walked out into the clear area, heading for the spring that was near the south end of the small plateau. Rebecca almost whooped for joy as she saw the easily recognizable motion of a human walking. She focused in the glasses and saw that the being only had two upper limbs, swinging with the walk, one holding an empty water container.
So, do I take the chance that they might let me in, or do I just go away? she thought. Looking over her shoulder at the jungle behind her she shuddered. She was surviving in that jungle, barely. That could change any day now. There had been some near misses in the last couple of days, and it would only take one hit by a native life form to kill her. She glanced up at the sun that was beating down on her. Clouds were gathering on the horizon, a sign that the afternoon deluge was gathering. She thought it would be nice to be dry again. The survival suit kept the rain off of most of her body, but the humidity went everywhere.
I'll just be careful, she thought, getting up and moving back into the jungle to start working her way to the refuge. It took several hours of hard going to work her way within earshot of the cave. She was still a dozen meters down the mountainside, out of sight from the cave, conversely not able to see what was going on up there.
She climbed those last dozen meters, her muscles aching under the pull of gravity that wanted to deposit her at the bottom. She could hear voices now, a couple of people talking. She thought they were male voices. The chances were greater that women would let her in. Not that men wouldn't, but as a, as of this day, thirteen year old with a developing body, there were other risks with men in a situation where societal norms had broken down.
She climbed the last meter, looking over the rocks while exposing as little of her face as possible. There were now three people at the entrance, all male. A fourth male was returning from the spring, a full water container in his hand. She studied the men, still not sure what to make of them. That they were using the refuge her family put together went without question. That would not be a problem, since her family had not come, but she still needed it.
She saw another man come out of the cave, this one in partial light battle armor, the type the planetary militia wore. That gave her a bit more hope. If they were militia they would surely have an officer, or at least an NCO, in charge. With that thought she scrambled up the last bit of slope and rose into sight.
The men at the cave all jumped and pointed, and some weapons made their appearance. They calmed a bit as they saw that she was just a child. She didn't like some of the looks that came across the faces of the group. They made her distinctly uncomfortable.
"Where the hell did you come from, girl?" asked the oldest looking of the men, one wearing the torso covering of light battle armor and a partial helmet.
"From the jungle," she said, her eyes looking for a way out, just in case this had been as bad a decision as it was now looking. She looked back at the man. "This place was my family's. We set it up when the aliens came."
"And where is this family of yours?"
"They didn't make it. Are you militia? My father is a reserve officer. Is there any way you can contact him?"
"We were militia," said the man with a sneer. "Until those sons of bitches wanted to throw us away trying to slow them down, for no damned reason. Now we're on our own."
Deserters, she thought with a shudder. What the hell did I get myself into?
"How old are you, girl?" asked another of the men, moving toward her.
"Ten," she said, lying, hoping that they would decide she was too young for whatever game they wanted to play.
"You look a lot older than that, girl," said the older man who seemed to be in charge. "We don't have any women here. And you sure could fill the bill."
Thoughts of gang rape started to go through her head, and she started to back toward the place where she had climbed onto the small plateau.
"You stop right there, girl," said the man, pulling a pistol from the holster at his side. "We won't hurt you, not really. You play with us, we'll make sure you're protected and fed."
Rebecca knew about sex. She had learned about it in biology courses. And she knew she was too young, and didn't want to have anything to do with it at her age. She would become a sex slave to these men, all of them using her whenever they wanted. Her internal nanites would keep her from getting pregnant, and protect her from disease. Still, the idea of being used by these deserters was not her first choice, or her last.
"Stop," said the man, pointing the pistol at her. "If you take another step I will shoot you."
And he doesn't know I'm wearing a military class survival suit, she thought, looking at the pistol, then at the nearby rocks. They also don't know what kind of weapon I have.
With that last thought she dove for the ground. Something smacked into her suit, which went rigid from the impact. Rolling over she came to a stop behind the rocks and pulled her particle beam pistol from its holster. A flick of her finger and the weapon's accelerator started humming and whining.
"Come out of there and you won't be hurt," yelled the leader. "Make us come for you and it will go hard for you."
I can imagine, she thought, checking the pistol and seeing that the proton charge was up to full acceleration.
One man came around the rocks and caught the particle beam in the chest. The nearly relativistic particles ripped into his body and vaporized kilograms of tissue, dropping him into a smoking heap on the ground.
Rebecca stared at the man for a moment. She had never killed a human. She had of course killed a Ca'cadasan, and many animals, but never another human being. She thought that she should have felt shock. Instead it was rage that was the dominant emotion. Rage that these people had made her a killer of her own kind.
"Fuck you," she yelled out, looking around the rock and leveling her weapon at the cave mouth. A quartet of shocked looking men stood there, some pointing weapons her way. A couple fired, the worst thing they could have done.
The girl pulled the trigger on the pistol and held it down, swinging the beam across the mouth of the cave. Three men went down with catastrophic wounds while the other ran into the cave. The beam tore into the rock, shattering large pieces that fell into the mouth.
"This is mine," she yelled, still holding the trigger down even when the weapon stopped firing. "I will be back, and I want you gone."
She wasn't sure that was the truth, but in her anger she wanted to panic them. She looked down at the pistol, afraid that she had broken something, and was relieved to see that the blinking light indicated that the proton pack was empty. She only had one left, and she cursed herself for a fool for letting her anger rule her.
Rebecca slipped back over the lip of the plateau and started down the slope. Her shoulder blades cringed at the thought that the men might come out of the cave and shoot at her from above. Her suit might protect her from a few shots, but with enough there was sure to be a hit to her head, or a penetration of the suit.
She reached bottom without incident, saying a prayer of thanks before she realized what she was doing. Stopping for a moment, she looked back up at the mountain, wondering what she was going to do now that the refuge was closed to her. I could wait and see if they leave, she thought, rejecting that idea as soon as she had it. They might never leave, and she wasn't sure she could force herself into another firefight. Having to fire back was one thing. Starting a battle in which she intended to kill other humans was quite another.
Rebecca shook her head, knowing that waiting here was not the answer. But where to from here? She checked the map and saw that there were several villages and a minor town within five days walk. There was no guarantee that they were intact, or that she would be able to shelter there if they were. Seeing no other option, she took a compass reading, set her location on the inertial navigation device, and started on her way.
How I Learned to Write About Land Combat
Posted by dougdandridge on October 28, 2013
Posted in: Alien Invasion, Antimatter, Armor, Barbarians, Dragons, eBooks, Fantasy, Far Future, Fusion, Future Prediciton, Future Warfare, Genetic Engineering, Genetics, Golden Age, Kindle, Marvel, Military, Movies, Multiverse, Nanotechnology, Near Future, Nuclear Weapons, Plotting, Proofreading, Quantum Physics, Robots, science Fiction, self publishing, Titles, Tropes, Websites, Writing.	Tagged: Explorer Scouts, ground combat, Jerry Pournell, John Ringo, Land Warfare, Michael Z Williamson, Military Fantasy, Military Science Fiction, Nazi Germany, R A Salvatore, Robert E Lee, Robert Heinlein, Roman Legions, Romans, Russian Front, Vietnam, World War 2.	3 Comments
This morning I received a tweet asking how I handle ground combat. I really didn't think I could give an answer in a 142 character tweet, or even in a series of tweets. Now I have never been in ground combat. I have heard rounds cracking overhead in training, and because of an error in basic my partner put ten rounds from a M16 within inches of where I was lying on a bunker prepping a practice hand grenade to throw into the aperture of the position. Some of what I learned about ground combat was in training in Marine JROTC, in the Army, in the Florida National Guard, and even in Explorer Scouts. In the Guard we spent two weeks learning how to conduct air mobile operations, in and out of helicopters. In Explorer Scouts we played search and evasion (advanced hide and seek) on the Myakka River, against other kids who were as good at woodcraft as I was, even against a former member who was a Marine. I also grew up with firearms, and have fired everything from .22 revolvers to the German Panzerfaust, including auto-rifles, belt fed machine guns and sub-machine guns. I still shoot quite often, pistols, M1 Carbines, AR-15s.
Then there were the discussions with people who had been there. Almost all of my NCOs in Germany were Vietnam Veterans. All of our squad leaders in the Guard were also vets. I can still remember a mission Sgt Gluckman, who looked like a clerk, led on us to find and destroy a Recondo HQ (they were regulars stationed in Panama). The little wimpy looking guy who was a combat veteran in Nam found and destroyed the HQ of these supposedly elite soldiers, which goes to show that real experience goes a long way. I talked with my brother, who had been in almost nine months of combat in Nam before he was wounded. He taught me that even a good shot (which he was) could miss everything in front of him due to the adrenaline rush of fear. I have talked with Marines who were in WW2, Korea and Vietnam, Rangers, Green Berets and Seals. Listened to their experiences. Heard their stories, both funny and tragic.
I have read a lot of books on history, from the Greeks to the Persian Gulf. Both the grand picture books and the personal stories. The memoirs of Eric von Mannstein and a book by a little know German LT on the Russian front (and if you really want a great description of hard core no holds barred combat, you can't get anymore real than this.) First person accounts of the SAS in Iraq. Books on strategy and tactics, and how superweapons aren't always the way to go, since your opponent will go all out to defeat them. Books on the organization of the German Army, probably the best military force of the Twentieth Century (and sure they lost, mostly because they were outnumbered and had a complete idiot at the top of the power pyramid). Books on the Panzer tactics of that army. Books about how the Roman Army was trained and organized. Books about the Napoleonic Wars, the Revolution, the Civil War. Hundreds of books of history. War is terrible, as Robert E Lee said. It's also flipping interesting, no fascinating. Reading fiction also helps give one an idea of what its like. Bernard Cornwell does a great job in the Medieval to gunpowder era. Robert Heinlein's Starship Trooper is still the classic book about powered armor. John Ringo continues that tradition. Michael Z Williamson gives great accounts of future warfare sans the armor, as does Jerry Pournell. For fantasy R A Salvatore does a very good job of describing fights with ancient weapons.
Games. Yes, games, both board and computer, can give you an idea about what combat is like, and what small changes might have ended battles with different results. Be careful here though, because sometimes the minds of games designers can come up with some ridiculous concepts. Still, I have played some of the good ones and gotten some really good ideas, like how to defeat a more powerful infantry force with cavalry in Rome Total War. Or how some wars were literally unwinnable because of disparity in industrial capacity (like World War 2).
And I watched war movies. Some can give you ideas because they are so good. And some can give you an idea of what not to do, or how to do it better, because they are so bad. Cross of Iron (Russian Front), Saving Private Ryan, A Bridge Too Far, Stalingrad, Enemy at the Gates, Waterloo, Glory. Watching the Roman legions deploy in Spartacus, an awe inspiring sight, and maybe too much for most opponents. Assaulting from boats into machine guns (Private Ryan), Airborne assaults (Band of Brothers). Seeing lines of men in lines shooting into each other at fifty yards using weapons designed to kill at five hundred. Everything is grist for the mill.
Finally some knowledge of near future weapons development, and the realization that what seems so fantastic today will be ancient in the future. The limitations of today, in battery power, in armor protection, in stealth tech, will not be the limitations of tomorrow. I studied the effects of lasers and particle beams, including their strengths and weaknesses. There are actual programs on the internet that will tell you how much power it takes to burn through different materials. The negative effects of weapons, like using something that vaporizes a target but fills the air with superhot steam, which could be a real bitch. I was asked particularly about smart ammo in the tweet. To us it looks like a great idea. In the far future, when you need ammo that can penetrate really tough armor, maybe a round that has to slow down so it can turn a corner might not be so hot. Then again, with explosive rounds capable of penetrating armor they might be just the thing.
What kind of weapons do I use in future combat. Tough armor that allows unprecedented mobility, stealth and protection. And the weapons that can defeat that armor. That goes hand in hand in weapons development through the ages. Maybe the armor can't withstand a direct hit, or many of them, but if it can render a near miss by a particle beam something that doesn't fry the soldier, then it has a purpose. The soldiers themselves will be highly trained, valuable, and something to be protected. Particle beams, lasers, and high velocity rounds that might have penetration aids built in. And of course nukes and kinetic weapons and lots of battlefield radiation, also necessitating some kind of armor or field protection. Cover and concealment will still be important. I wouldn't want to be wearing a suit of powered armor that could take a dozen hits by the enemy's best weapons, then stand out in the open where I could be easily hit thirteen or more times.
Finally, the human factor. Will future land warriors be just like us? Or will their emotions be controlled, making them heartless automatons? I personally think the second route is a dead end, as fear and anger have a place in combat. I might be wrong, and it is an area to explore. What will motivate them, what will they fight for? King and Country? Medals? Sometimes, but I don't think that often. Sometimes soldiers do fight for a leader. I remember playing a war game years ago set in the Roman period, and one of the basic rules was that units panicked from losses and then took a beating as they ran. A caveat to this rule was that units that fought under Julius Caeser never panicked. Sometime people fought for flags or standards. I wouldn't have been one of those people who grabbed the standard before it hit the ground, and then became a magnet for enemy fire that had already dropped the first ten people who had carried that piece of cloth on a stick. I would rather keep my weapon and shoot back. What people most often fight for is their comrades and the people at home. Study Vietnam and the Russian Front, and you will find that American and German soldiers fought heroically for their friends, the people around them. German soldiers didn't fight for Hitler and the Nazi Party, unless they were fanatical. Russians didn't fight for Stalin. And both sides fought fanatically to save their own people from what they saw as a menace. The Russians to keep the Germans from exterminating them. The Germans to keep the Russians from doing the same thing to their country that they had done to the Russians. And another lesson you learn from reading about past conflicts, which should translate into stories about future war, is that at times good people fight for bad causes, and bad people fight for good ones. Many of the soldiers who died for the South in the Civil War were not bad men trying to hold down their fellow man. Many Germans were not Nazis, but fought hard nonetheless. And there have been some truly horrible people who have helped the side we most would want to see win with their barbaric actions. I don't think any of this is going to change in the future. There will be Saints and Demons in every Army, though they may be seen as universally one or the other depending on which side is looking at them.
Any way, that;s my take on how to learn how to write land combat, both future and fantasy. Learn about the real thing, talk to people who have been there, read the works of people who write it well, and get as many ideas as possible, so you can generate your own. I think next I will talk about naval and space naval combat.
Exodus:Refuge: Mirror Images of Scifi:Fantasy.
Posted by dougdandridge on January 16, 2013
Posted in: Antimatter, Armor, Dragons, eBooks, Fantasy, Far Future, Fusion, Future Prediciton, Future Warfare, Kindle, Magic, Military, Nanotechnology, Near Future, Nuclear Weapons, Proofreading, Robots, science Fiction, self publishing, Space Navy, Sword and Sorcery, Titles, Tropes, Wormholes, Writing.	Tagged: Best Fantasy, Best Science Fiction, Exodus, Kindle eBooks, Military Fantasy, Military Science Fiction, Refuge.	Leave a comment
My science fiction series Exodus is doing very well, selling almost two hundred ebooks a day between the first two books of the series. Refuge is also doing well, not as well, but book 1 has sold 600 copies. Now I believe that, while there may be some crossover readers of both series, the readership is in fact very different between them. Maybe some readers are strictly science fiction, while others are completely devoted to fantasy. Readers of both series are awaiting the release of the third book. My answer is, why not read the other series while you are waiting. In my opinion they are mirror images of each other. And I don't mean that in a bad way. Both deal with members of the human race in a fight for survival. Both are very complicated series with lots of characters and lots of action. Some reviewers of both have stated that there was too much action, or too much detail in the battle scenes. Not sure how that is possible, but to me it beats the alternative. I really hate novels which have a big build up to the battle, maybe a couple of short paragraphs about the fight itself, then a long section about the aftermath, dealing with all the physical and psychological costs of war. To this reader that is boring. I want the details of the fight. I have also been told that some of the physics of Exodus, and I would guess some things like the Pantheons of Gods in Refuge, were too complicated as well. But, again, I want to do something different than having a captain order her ship to match vectors with another, and voila, they are suddenly right up next to the other ship. I have received a review from another science fiction novel of mine, The Deep Dark Well, in which the reader stated he liked that approach, being treated like an adult who could understand 2 + 2.
I guess the point is that if you like Exodus you will probably like Refuge, and if you like Refuge, the same will be true of Exodus. If you don't like one of them then odds are that you won't like the other. So if you are a fan of one series, give the other a try while waiting for the next book. I think you will like it, whichever one it is. And now for some excerpts:
Refuge:
Lieutenant Jacquelyn Smith hurtled the body of one of the Elves that had attempted to get in her way. She had shot the man through the face after the first two rounds she sent his way bounced from his armor. She was learning that some of the enemy soldiers had much better equipment than others. And those needed head shots to take out.
Movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she twisted and jumped as the arrow came hissing at her, flying past her shoulder. The US Army officer pulled her rifle to her shoulder, brought the archer into her sights, and squeezed off a round. The man's head splattered inside his helmet and his lifeless hands let fly an arrow that flew unaimed into space.
Jackie turned in time to bring her rifle around to block the thrust of a sword. She back peddled as she brought the rifle down and fired from the hip, striking the Orc swordsman in the throat. The Orc attempted to come on, only to fall to his knees as he choked on his blood. She looked down at her assault rifle, one she had picked up moments ago when an ax had smashed the action of her American made weapon. The sword had only nicked the barrel guard.
The Lieutenant felt more fully alive than she had ever imagined she could feel, here in the midst of battle. Her senses were sharp, her situational awareness at a new height, her reflexes lightning, and she dodged in and out of the melee as if her opponents were handicapped. Arrows and spears came her way, dodged easily as if they were traveling in slow motion. Sword and axmen died just out of their reach of her, as she snapped off shots and killed without thought. Troops gathered to her as she fought, recognizing a war leader that would carry them to victory.
Her German made assault rifle empty, the officer squatted for a moment over a soldier who had been killed by an arrow through the neck. She avoided looking at his staring eyes, which brought the reality of the situation too close to home; making the game she had been playing a horrible event that snuffed the lives from young men. She unbuckled the web gear and pulled it from the man, taking his full load of ammo with it and slinging it over her shoulder. Then it was back to the business of killing her enemies and guarding the flanks of her friends.
A roar from ahead caught her attention as she ran forward. She was aware that there was still fighting behind her, as more of the enemy came out of the woods and more Germans fought their way forward. But from the sounds up ahead the battle was raging, and that was where she wanted to be.
Jackie skidded to a halt on the grass as she came around a turn and saw what lay ahead. She had not imagined that the enemy would have anything like the three creatures she saw killing Germans with the huge maces in their hands. An APC lay tilted over on the side of the road, the turret on top dislodged from its mount. And the Lieutenant didn't hesitate, fear totally removed from her adrenaline charged system. She ran forward at a sprint, yelling at the top of her lungs and firing her rifle at the nearest creature.
The Troll swiveled in mid step towards the soldier, bringing its shield up to bat the bullets from the American's rifle away. She ran toward it, firing low now, watching as her bullets bounced off its skin and wondering for a moment what the hell she was doing. Then she was in range of its mace and the creature swept the weapon down to crush her.
Jackie dodged away from the blow and the monster brought the blunt weapon down onto the ground. It pulled the mace back and attempted a backhand swing at the woman. Jackie ducked under the blow. It brought the mace back again on a downswing, this time missing the leaping woman.
Another roar brought a shiver down the young woman's spine, breaking through the warrior's trance she had been a captive of, and she realized that another of the monsters was on her, coming in from behind. She caught a glimpse over her shoulder and dove forward, tucking into a roll that brought her between the legs of the first Troll, and the second missed with its swing, almost hitting its fellow, who gave an accusatory roar in return.
I need a better weapon, thought Jackie, feeling the inadequacy of the rifle in her hands. She couldn't really use an auto cannon, it being too big and bulky to carry. And all the ones in the area were already manned. A grenade launcher might do some damage, but she didn't have one of those either.
Jackie's thoughts were interrupted as she became aware that the Troll she had dodged through the legs of was rearing up over her. She quickly dodged from its downward swing, then ducked the swing of the other Troll, then leapt backwards ten meters from the beasts, her eyes searching for a weapon.
How in the hell did I jump so far, she thought as the leap registered on her mind. Then time for thinking was gone as both Trolls came at her again, moving so they would come in on opposite sides. Jackie moved into a graceful dance that was perfectly timed, making both of the Trolls miss with multiple swings. The creatures stopped for a moment as the human back flipped away, staring stupidly at each other as their tiny minds tried to come up with a strategy to take the annoying warrior out of the fight.
Jackie noticed that she was not even breathing hard. Her reflexes were much faster than she had ever remembered them being. She was dancing around the creatures like Spiderman, one of her favorite comic characters. And while she wasn't doing the creatures any damage, she was keeping them occupied, away from harming any of her fellow soldiers.
I wonder how strong I am, she thought, moving fluidly to keep the Trolls off balance. With a thought she was moving in, bringing her leg in as she leapt through the air. Her right leg rocketed out and struck her target Troll in the face. She was ready to ride through the kick and land on the monster as it went over. Reality was very different. Her foot hit the monster in the face, the shock transferred up her leg, and she bounced off with a sickening crunch of broken bone in her ankle, while the creature staggered back about a half meter.
Jackie landed on her back, feeling the agonizing pain in her ankle as the ground jarred her. She ignored the pain to the best of her ability, and rolled away as the second Troll brought his mace down on where she had been. Rolling up onto her feet, she felt nausea almost take her down again as the pain shot up her leg from the ankle. She backed up as fast as she could, hopping on her good foot, keeping a wary eye on the two Trolls that came after her with snarling faces.
A mace came at her from head high, and Jackie ducked under the weapon, then jumped with her good leg into the air over the second mace that was coming in at her waist. She was surprised that she still cleared the second mace, and came down well balanced on her one leg. The first Troll came at her with a back swing and she back peddled away, forgetting her injured ankle and surprised that it held up so well. Jumping over another swing and twisting in the air, she landed on both feet and felt no pain.
I know the damned thing was broken, she thought as she ran around the Trolls on both feet. But now there was no pain and the ankle was functioning perfectly. And the Trolls were again roaring in frustration as they chased after her.
Lieutenant Smith felt the physical shock of the arrow before she felt the pain. The arrow sliced through the back of her body armor, through her lower left thoracic region, nicking the heart, and out through the front of her armor. She looked down at the red dripping head of the arrow before the intense pain hit her brain. She could feel blood in her throat and coughed, which caused more pain. The roar of the Troll came to her as from a distance.
Something slammed into her hip and she was flying through the air. The agony in her side was warring for space in her awareness with the agony in her abdomen. Light and shadow flashed by before she hit the ground, adding more pain to the mix. She lay on her back, trying to pull air into her lungs through the pain of broken ribs, feeling the tread of massive feet approaching and knowing that any moment she would be smashed to jelly under a massive mace. That was her last thought as blackness unfolded over her brain and the world faded away.
Exodus:
"Missiles firing," said the tactical officer.
Captain Dame Mei Lei sat in her command chair, battle armored with helmet nearby. The Jean de Arc bucked slightly as she released a spread of missiles from the starboard tubes. The port threat had been taken care of by the remnants of the fighter force that had originally struck the enemy fleet. They had continued on, accelerating away from the action. Two hundred fighters had swarmed over the enemy force, taking out the three cruisers and the super destroyer pair of that force.
The battle cruiser was now firing on the other force, which was more distant than was thought at first. They had fired as well, and the battle cruiser's fighters were forming a screen between their mother ship and the enemy, waiting for the incoming missiles.
"Missile ETA in fifteen minutes," said the tactical officer, his voice cracking with tension.
We've all been under too much tension for far too long, she thought, watching the holo display.
"I wonder why they haven't thrown their fighters at us," said Commander Jackson from CIC.
"We don't know enough about the capabilities of those platforms," said the tactical officer. "They may be too short ranged to be employed against us."
"Ours could chase us three times around the system," said Jackson. "I wouldn't assume theirs were any less capable."
"Maybe they just didn't think of it," said Sean, his voice flat.
"What did you say, your Majesty?" asked the Captain, wondering if he was being sarcastic.
"What if they didn't think of it," said Sean, his voice coming alive. "What if they don't think as well as we do? After all, we are the most powerful race in this region of space, able to out think most of the dozens of other sentients in this region. Maybe we are smarter on the average than the Ca'cadasans. Maybe we are better at strategy and tactics than they are."
"They are more advanced than we are, your Majesty," said the tactical officer.
"By what," said Sean. "Maybe a couple of decades. Maybe less. I can tell you that some of the advanced tech I have seen from these demons from our past is similar to what we have on the drawing boards right now. Hell, some of it is in predeployment trials right now."
"And they were thousands of years ahead of us, thousands of years ago," said the Captain, nodding her head. "And that time includes a thousand years in transit, without a lot of advancement going on. Now they are only decades ahead of us, if that."
"They are too big," said Sean, smiling into the link. "They have rolled over everyone they have ever come in contact with. There was no pressure to advance, while we were involved in the fight of our lives against other powers that were more or less technologically equal to us. In some cases superior. And we continued to advance so we could continue to win."
"And we learned from those who had ruled this space before us," said Jackson. "We picked up their tricks, and tech from our friends."
"They are still really big," said the tactical officer. "Even if we catch up with them. I think it was Stalin who said quantity has a quality all its own."
"You know your history, Lt. Commander," said the Emperor, his eyes glowing. "It will be a fight. But we may have the advantage in smarts. As long as we keep those dumb asses in Parliament out of the way."
He's coming back to us, thought the Captain, a smile breaking out on her face. He can see hope in the future, and that is lifting him up.
"We have translation ahead," called out the tactical officer. "Something big."
The Captain's eyes narrowed. Of course there was so much going on in the near hyperspace to this system that they were having trouble tracking individual ships. But it couldn't be coincidence that the ship was coming in right here, right now. And they were so close to the hyper limit themselves.
"Can you tell whose it is?" she asked the tactical officer, feeling her chest tighten.
"It could be one of our super battleships from the size of it," said Jackson hopefully. "Or it could be…"
"One of theirs," said the tactical officer. "Thirty light seconds ahead on our present bearing."
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 16: The Shield is out. And the recovery continues.
Exodus 15 is out, and in other news.
Kinship War: Contact. An Apology.
Lost Signals Anthology is Finally Here.
@deynac18 It was such a joy to watch you on the pitch these last 4 years. Proud that you are a Nole. Thank you. 1 month ago
Available now on #Amazon UK. Exodus: Empires at War: Book 16: The Shield. The bestselling saga continues.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 month ago
Available now on #Amazon US. Exodus: Empires at War: Book 16: The Shield. The bestselling saga continues.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 month ago
Get it today. Exodus: Empires at War: Book 16: The Shield at #Amazon UK. 16th book of the bestselling series.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 month ago
Get it today. Exodus: Empires at War: Book 16: The Shield at #Amazon US. 16th book of the bestselling series.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 month ago
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text:
De Paddepoelsterbrug was een brug in de Paddepoelsterweg in de stad Groningen, die in 1930 gebouwd werd bij de aanleg van het Van Starkenborghkanaal. Hij werd in 2018 vernield bij een aanvaring en is later verwijderd. Anno 2022 is er budget voor aanleg van een nieuwe, vaste brug.

Ligging en gebruik
De brug lag in het agrarische gebied aan de rand van Paddepoel, een noordelijke wijk van Groningen, niet ver van het Zernikecomplex waar veel faculteiten van de Groninger universiteit zijn gevestigd. Ten tijde van de aanleg lag de brug op enkele kilometers van de stedelijke bebouwing. Tot hij in 2018 kapotgevaren werd, was hij in gebruik voor woon-werkverkeer en recreatie, met name door fietsers tussen stad en Ommeland. Verder kwamen er wandelaars van het Pieterpad overheen; motorvoertuigen waren alleen toegestaan als bestemmingsverkeer. Met 500 à 600 fietsbewegingen per dag was de brug volgens Rijkswaterstaat van beperkt belang. De dichtstbijzijnde bruggen over het Van Starkenborghkanaal liggen beide hemelsbreed op iets meer dan twee kilometer: de Walfridusbrug aan de rand van de stad en de Dorkwerderbrug voorbij het Reitdiep bij Dorkwerd en Aduard.

De lage brug moest ook voor kleine bootjes open, in 2017 zo'n 35 keer per dag. Met een doorvaartbreedte van 22 meter en een doorvaarthoogte van 1 meter voldeed hij niet aan de eisen voor de Hoofdvaarweg Lemmer-Delfzijl, waar het Van Starkenborghkanaal deel van uitmaakt. Rijkswaterstaat streeft naar een vaarweg volgens de normen van CEMT-klasse Va, met een breedte van 54 meter en een doorvaarthoogte van 9,1 meter.

Geschiedenis
De brug is 1930 gebouwd in samenhang met de aanleg van het kanaal, dat pas jaren later – in 1938 – officieel werd geopend. Hij werd uitgevoerd als pontondraaibrug, evenals de Gerrit Krolbrug uit 1936 die 3½ kilometer zuidoostelijker ligt. Het kanaal en de bruggen werden aangelegd en tot 2013 beheerd door de provincie Groningen. Op 1 januari 2014 werd de vaarweg overgenomen door het rijk, dat daardoor ook eigenaar werd van de brug.

De Paddepoelsterbrug werd in 1993 vernield bij een aanvaring. De draaibare pontonbrug is toen gerenoveerd tot een gewone draaibrug, waarbij het noordelijke landhoofd gerenoveerd werd en het zuidelijke vervangen, inclusief de paalfundering. De vernieuwde brug had een breedte van vier meter tussen de leuningen en een aslast van tien ton.

In september 2018 werd de brug na een bedieningsfout opnieuw vernield. De Paddepoelsterbrug werd elektronisch geopend en gesloten vanaf de Gerrit Krolbrug en de brugwachter sloot de verkeerde brug, waardoor een schip de dichtdraaiende brug ramde. Het brugdek werd daarbij losgerukt van de draaikrans en de landhoofden. Het werd later met een drijvende bok en een ponton uit het water gehaald en afgevoerd.

Volgens Rijkswaterstaat waren er dat jaar al twee eerdere botsingen geweest. De oorspronkelijke delen waren aan het eind van hun technische levensduur en de in 1993 gerenoveerde delen ook nagenoeg. De overgebleven landhoofden, aanbruggen en afmeervoorzieningen versmalden het kanaal en werden in september 2020 verwijderd, zodat tegemoetkomende schepen niet meer op elkaar hoeven te wachten.

Plannen
Eind twintigste eeuw rustte Rijkswaterstaat de beweegbare bruggen over het Van Starkenborghkanaal uit met afstandsbediening. In dit kader gaf men de voorkeur aan vervanging door een vaste brug toen de Paddepoelsterbrug in 1993 beschadigd was. Dit zou een fietsbrug zijn met een doorvaarthoogte van 6,60 meter, maar na bezwaar van de gemeente werd het toch een draaibrug.

De vervanging van de Paddepoelsterbrug, gepland voor 2023, was in 2017 wegens ontbrekend budget al opgeschoven naar 2025. In 2017 kozen de belanghebbenden als voorkeursvariant een nieuwe draaibrug, die getoogd uitgevoerd zou worden, dus met een verhoging, vergelijkbaar met de brug bij Stroobos over het Prinses Margrietkanaal; dit is het Friese deel van het Van Starkenborghkanaal. Met een doorvaarthoogte van drie meter zou de meeste recreatievaart eronderdoor kunnen, waardoor ze de beroepsvaart niet zouden belemmeren.

Door de aanvaring in 2018 ontstond een nieuwe situatie, waarbij in 2019 voorlopige oplossingen toegezegd werden. Een tijdelijke, hoge fietsbrug die in 2021 klaar zou zijn werd niet verwerkelijkt, evenmin als een fiets- en voetveer. Sinds 2020 zijn er plannen om een definitieve hoge, vaste brug aan te leggen; deze zou er volgens de gemeente Groningen in 2025 moeten liggen. Eind 2021 stelde demissionair minister Barbara Visser € 70 miljoen ter beschikking aan de provincie Groningen voor nieuwbouw van de Paddepoelsterbrug en van de Gerrit Krolbrug, die in 2021 eveneens door een aanvaring vernield werd.

Afbeeldingen

Brug in Groningen (stad)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Milk delivery today. Old woman this time. A lowly form of an immortal delivering a message. Buck invited her in. Haines tried to impress her with his knowledge of working class movements in America and it was like he was speaking a foreign language. Haven't paid the milk bill in a while, Haines made the woman wait so we could pay. Buck paid most of it, an oblation, said we'd owe the rest.
Buck spent morning talking like an old woman. Burned breakfast, we had to open the door to let the smoke out. Key in the lock, but Buck thought I had it. Made coffee too strong for Haines and no milk. Haines interested in the seventies feminist movenent now, Gloria Steinem teaching women how to piss standing up. Where you truss be circumspicious and look before you leak, dears. Treating everyone like God in drag. There is a restaurant in BC that prohibits men from peeing standing up. Told Haines that would not exist in or out of the Northwest.


text:
Tiamat (band)
Swedish metal band
Tiamat performing at Kavarna Rock Fest 2011
Treblinka (1987–1989)
Täby, Stockholm, Sweden
gothic rock
blackened death metal (early) [1]
symphonic black metal (early) [2]
Century Media, Nuclear Blast, Napalm
Johan Edlund
Anders Iwers
Lars Sköld
Roger Öjersson
Jörgen "Juck" Thullberg
Anders Holmberg
Stefan Lagergren
Niklas Ekstrand
Thomas Petersson
Johnny Hagel
Kenneth Roos
P.A. Danielsson
Tiamat is a Swedish metal band that formed in Stockholm in 1987 and led by Johan Edlund. The band went through a number of stylistic changes, usually leaning toward gothic metal.
Initially, the band had the name Treblinka and a style of black/death metal. After having recorded the album Sumerian Cry in 1989, vocalist/guitarist Johan Edlund and bassist Jörgen Thullberg parted ways with the other two founding members, and subsequently changed the name to Tiamat. The Sumerian Cry album included re-recorded Treblinka songs and was released in June 1990. AllMusic refers to early Tiamat as "one of the leading lights in symphonic black metal." [3]
After the debut, Edlund's leadership would modify the band's style with influences ranging from Black Sabbath, Mercyful Fate, Candlemass, Pink Floyd and King Crimson, with Sumerian lyrical themes. H. P. Lovecraft's writings also appear to have influenced Tiamat's thematology, a development consistent with a broader trend in death metal culture. [4] Polish guitarist Waldemar Sorychta would produce and contribute instrumentation to many of the band's albums, as well as those by Tiamat's own tour and labelmates, including Moonspell, Rotting Christ, Lacuna Coil and Samael.
1994's critically acclaimed Wildhoney mixed raw vocals, slow guitar riffs and synthesizer sounds which sounded different from other extreme metal bands active at that time. An almost continuous forty-minute piece of music, Wildhoney led to the band's appearances at the Dynamo [5] and Wacken Open Air heavy metal festivals in 1995. The group would play a second gig at Dynamo two years later.
Tiamat performing in Krasnodar, Russia, May 2013
Upon the release of A Deeper Kind of Slumber (1997), Edlund relocated from Sweden to Germany and declared himself the only permanent member of the band; all albums that would follow would cement the band into a more gothic rock sound, quite different from the extreme music they did in the years before, with recent albums showing a Sisters of Mercy and Pink Floyd influence. [6]
The band signed to Nuclear Blast in June 2007, and released their ninth album Amanethes on 18 April 2008.
On 10 August 2008, Thomas Wyreson announced that he was quitting the band, stating that "it's just kinda hard to make everything work with the family etc." [7]
Their song "Cain" was also featured in the 2004 video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines .
The band's tenth full-length studio album, The Scarred People , was released on 2 November 2012 through Napalm Records.
Johan Edlund – vocals, guitars, keyboards, theremin (1987–present)
Lars Sköld – drums (1994–present)
Anders Iwers – bass guitar (1996–present)
Roger Öjersson – guitars, keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals (2012–present, touring 2011–2012)
Jörgen "Juck" Thullberg – bass guitar (1987–1992)
Anders Holmberg – drums (1987–1990)
Stefan Lagergren – guitars (1987–1990)
Niklas Ekstrand – drums (1990–1994)
Thomas Petersson – guitars (1990–1994, 1996–1999, 2001–2008)
Johnny Hagel – bass guitar (1992–1996)
Kenneth Roos – keyboards (1992–1994)
P.A. Danielsson – keyboards (1994–1995; died 2004)
Current touring members
Jonas Öijvall – keyboards (2010–present)
Rikard Zander – keyboards (2014–present)
Former touring members
Nicke Andersson – drums (1989)
Martin Brändström – keyboards (2002–2009) [8] [9]
Henrik Bergqvist – guitars (2002) [10]
Fredrik Åkesson – guitars (2004) [8]
Henriette Bordvik – female vocals (2005, 2015, 2016, 2017)
Martin Powell – keyboards (2006–2007)
Johan Niemann – guitars (2008)
Joakim Svalberg – keyboards (2011)
Peak chart positions
Sumerian Cry
Released: 7 June 1990
Label: CMFT Productions
Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL
The Astral Sleep
Released: 1 September 1991
Released: 2 December 1992
Wildhoney
Released: 25 October 1994
— 29 — —
US: 8,082+ [15]
A Deeper Kind of Slumber
Released: 12 August 1997
39 29 22 —
Skeleton Skeletron
Judas Christ
Released: 30 April 2002
52 28 — —
Amanethes
Released: 27 May 2008 [16]
Formats: CD, LP, DL
The Scarred People
Released: 2 November 2012 [17]
Label: Napalm
11 62 — 154
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
"A Winter Shadow"
1990 The Astral Sleep
"Cold Seed"
1997 A Deeper Kind of Slumber
"Brighter Than the Sun"
1999 Skeleton Skeletron
"Vote for Love"
2002 Judas Christ
"Cain"
2003 Prey
"The Temple of the Crescent Moon"
2008 Amanethes
"Born to Die"
2013 The Scarred People
EP details
Formats: CD
For Her Pleasure
Released: 8 November 1999
Formats: CD, DL
The Sleeping Beauty (Live in Israel)
Released: 5 April 1994
The Musical History of Tiamat
Released: 26 February 2007
The Ark of the Covenant - The Complete Century Media Years
The Church of Tiamat
Formats: DVD
1992 "Sleeping Beauty"
1995 "Whatever That Hurts"
Tamara Jordan
"Gaia"
1997 "Cold Seed"
1999 "Brighter Than the Sun"
Doro Film
2002 "Vote for Love"
Alexander Detig (Sound & Vision Film, Video & Media GmbH)
2003 "Cain"
Patric Ullaeus (Revolver Film)
2003 "Do You Dream of Me?"
Eugen Erhan
2012 "The Scarred People" [19]
angst-im-wald
2013 "384"
Ioanna Lampropoulou [20]
"Love Terrorists"
Johan Edlund, Ioanna Lampropoulou [21] [22]
"The Red of the Morning Sun"
Hypocrisy is a Swedish death metal band formed in October 1991 in Ludvika by Peter Tägtgren.
Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates. Dark Tranquillity is regarded as the Gothenburg fathers in the film entitled Out of Nothing: A DT Documentary released by Century Media, which was filmed in their home town in April 2009.
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal.
Darkest Hour is an American heavy metal band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1995. Though failing to break through early in their tenure, the band has received acclaim for their albums Undoing Ruin, Deliver Us, and The Eternal Return. Deliver Us debuted at number 110 on the Billboard album charts, with sales of 6,600, and their more recent effort The Eternal Return garnered them an even higher position in the Billboard album charts at number 104. Their latest album Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora charted at 42 on the Billboard 200, a peak for the band, and it marked a stylistic shift in the band's discography.
Wildhoney is the fourth studio album from Swedish music group Tiamat. The album was produced by Waldemar Sorychta and released by Century Media records in 1994. Vocalist Johan Edlund and John Hagel were the only two remaining members of Tiamat who were still with the group after their previous album Clouds in 1992. The album was marked a strong change in the style of Tiamat's music with more progressive rock and psychedelic music-influenced music and a less death metal-oriented style. The music on the album deals with the occult, nature, and LSD.
A Deeper Kind of Slumber is the fifth studio album from Swedish band Tiamat. Featuring female background vocals by Birgit Zacher and experimentation with a variety of influences, the album marked the group's first complete withdrawal from both death metal and conventional heavy metal, following their 1994 release, Wildhoney. It was also the first production after their relocation to Germany, and was written almost entirely by founder/lead songwriter Johan Edlund. Much of the music had reflected on Edlund's personal relationship with drugs, creative differences within the band as well as an interpersonal relationship.
Scar Symmetry is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Avesta, formed in 2004. The band has released six albums, with seven released singles. They were signed to Nuclear Blast Records.
Pain is a musical project from Sweden that mixes heavy metal with influences from electronic music and techno. The project started out as a hobby project for frontman Peter Tägtgren, whose idea was to fuse heavy metal with 1980s-inspired electro-industrial and techno influences. Tägtgren, who is also the vocalist/guitarist of Hypocrisy and producer of his own The Abyss studios, is the only current member.
Sumerian Cry is the debut album from the Swedish metal band Tiamat.
The discography of In Flames, a Swedish metal band formed in the early 1990s, consists of thirteen studio albums, one live album, three extended plays, nine singles, two video albums, and twenty-eight music videos. Signed with Wrong Again Records, In Flames released their full-length debut, Lunar Strain (1994), followed by the EP Subterranean (1995). After signing to Nuclear Blast, they released The Jester Race (1996). The following year, they issued their second EP, Black-Ash Inheritance, and the full-length album Whoracle. The band's fourth studio album, Colony (1999), reached the top 30 in Sweden and Finland. Clayman followed in the same vein the next year, reaching the top 20 in the same countries. The tour to promote it was released as The Tokyo Showdown (2001) live album, which also charted in Sweden and Finland, breaking the top 40. Reroute to Remain (2002) peaked at number 5 on the Swedish and Finnish charts, and number 10 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. The album was accompanied by the band's first single, "Cloud Connected", which failed to chart.
The Agonist is a Canadian melodic death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2004. The current line up consists of lead guitarist Danny Marino, bassist Chris Kells, drummer Simon Mckay, rhythm guitarist Pascal "Paco" Jobin and lead vocalist Vicky Psarakis, who joined in March 2014 following the departure of vocalist and founding member Alissa White-Gluz. Both White-Gluz and Psarakis use growled and clean vocals. Originally known as the Tempest, the band adopted their current moniker upon their signing to Century Media in 2007. To date, the Agonist has released six studio albums; the latest, Orphans, was released in September 2019. Touring extensively since their first album, they have shared the stage with bands such as Arsonists Get All the Girls, Epica, the Faceless, Chelsea Grin, Kamelot, and Visions of Atlantis.
Johan Edlund is a Swedish singer, guitarist, and keyboardist and leader of the bands Tiamat and Lucyfire. He has also re-mixed songs for Rammstein and London After Midnight. He was also a guest singer in the Dutch progressive metal project, Ayreon.
Amanethes is the ninth studio album by Swedish gothic metal band Tiamat. It was released on May 2, 2008. The album was more positively received than Tiamat's previous releases, in part because of its return to their earlier metal sound in a few songs, while keeping the gothic rock in other songs.
The following is the discography of Dark Tranquillity, a six-piece Swedish melodic death metal band formed in Gothenburg in 1989. They are one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene. Since 2020 their line-up consists of vocalist Mikael Stanne, keyboardist Martin Brändström, and guitarists Christopher Amott and Johan Reinholdz.
Expulsion was a death metal band from Vallentuna, Sweden, that existed from 1988 to 1999. The band gained notability for being one of the earliest Swedish death metal bands, and that two of its members also played in the black metal band Treblinka.
Solution .45 is a heavy metal supergroup from Sweden, created by guitarist Jani Stefanovic. Their current lineup includes vocalist Christian Älvestam, guitarists Stefanovic and Ronnie Björnström, and drummer Rolf Pilve.
Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in early 2011 by singer Russell Allen, guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's current lineup consists of Allen, Orlando, and drummer Jordan Cannata.
The Scarred People is the tenth studio album by Swedish gothic metal band Tiamat. The album was released on November 2, 2012 through Napalm Records in digital download, CD and limited edition vinyl formats.
The German heavy metal band Powerwolf has released eight studio albums, three live albums, two video albums, three EPs, three box sets, two compilation albums, sixteen singles, and eighteen music videos.
↑ Hickman, Langdon. "A Pocket-Sized Sun: Tiamat's "Wildhoney" Turns 25". Invisible Oranges . Retrieved 6 July 2022.
↑ Henderson, Alex. "Amanethes:Overivew". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
↑ Huey, Steve. "Tiamat - Music Biography, Credits and Discography : AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 2 September 2012. Over the course of the 1990s, Sweden's Tiamat evolved from a typical death metal outfit into one of the leading lights in 'symphonic' black metal.
↑ "H.P.Lovecraft and Death Metal (4th update) | overground scene". Overgroundscene.wordpress.com. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
↑ "MusicMight - Unique, Detailed Biography MusicMight". Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
↑ Huey, Steve. "allmusic ((( Tiamat > Biography )))". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
↑ bravewords.com. "Thomas Wyreson Leaves Tiamat". Bravewords.com. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
1 2 "Tiamat: Dark Tranquillity Keyboardist, Talisman Guitarist To Join Touring Lineup". Blabbermouth.net. 2 November 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Dark Tranquillity's Martin BrÄndstrÖm To Tour With Tiamat". Blabbermouth.net. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Tiamat, Pain To Embark On European Tour". Blabbermouth.net. 20 July 2002. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche". musicline.de. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Austria Top 40 - Hitparade Österreich". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. 24 November 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Sludge Scan For March 2000 | Metal Sludge". Metalsludge.tv. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ Alex Henderson (27 May 2008). "Amanethes - Tiamat | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "The Scarred People - Tiamat | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan.se. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Tiamat: 'The Scarred People' Video Released". Blabbermouth.net. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Tiamat: '384' Video Released". Blabbermouth.net. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Tiamat: 'Love Terrorists' Video Released". Blabbermouth.net. 28 April 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
↑ "Tiamat - Release New Video". Metal Storm. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
Media related to Tiamat (band) at Wikimedia Commons
Tiamat at AllMusic
MusicBrainz artist

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I fill in the date and time, like July 1st, 8 pm and that time will be converted to everyones timezone right?
When I fill "July 01, 2006 20:00" in the pop-up box, the time that is automatcly placed by the pop-up changes in my reply screen to "Sun, 02 Jul 2006 03:00:00 GMT"
It shows Sunday, July 02, 2006 15:00:00 - that would be my time for your July 1st 8pm.
I miss my mind the most..
Yup, the time is automagically displayed as the right date and time in every users browser.
Yep, this is expected behaviour.
now now... where can i set the avatar on this darn forum board. must be something wrong with this hotel's PC!
You can do that in "My Controls" ( it's on the top of the screen under search, members, calendar etc.), and select "Edit Avatar Settings" from the menu on the left.
Looks like Cleft beat me to in answering your question, but that's cool.
Feel free to take part in any discussion here. This is a very friendly place, and there are lots of knowledgeable folks here to answer questions.
The popup works in Firefox but not in IE8 where you must type it manually in the correct format.


text:
"Media Capture: The Japanese Press and Fukushima" in Legacies of Fukushima: 3.11 in Context (University of Pennsylvania, 2021)
"A Pooch After All? The Asahi Shimbun's Failed Foray Into Investigative Journalism" in Freedom of Press in Contemporary Japan (Routledge, 2017)
"Trouble-Makers or Truth-Sayers? The Peculiar Status of Foreign Correspondents in China" in
China's Transformations: The Stories Beyond the Headlines (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007)
"The Experiences of a Business Journalist in South Korea" in First Drafts of Korea: The U.S. Media and Perceptions of the Last Cold War Frontier (Shorenstein APARC, 2009)
Articles (by topic)
Media in Japan
In Magazines and Journals:
Media Coverage of Fukushima, Ten Years Later (The Asia-Pacific Journal, Sept. 1, 2021)
Sinking a Bold Foray Into Investigative Journalism in Japan (Columbia Journalism Review, Oct. 25, 2016)
The Silencing of Japan's Free Press (Foreign Policy, May 27, 2016)
The Asahi Shimbun's Failed Foray into Watchdog Journalism (The Asia-Pacific Journal, Dec. 15, 2016)
In The New York Times:
Rewriting the War, Japanese Right Attacks a Newspaper (Dec. 2, 2014)
In Reporting a Scandal, Media Are Accused of Just Listening (May 28, 2009)
Efforts by Japan to Stifle News Media Are Working (Apr, 26, 2015)
New Leaders in Japan Seek to End Cozy Ties to Press Clubs (Nov. 20, 2009)
(including Pulitzer Prize-nominated series)
In Japan, a Culture That Promotes Nuclear Dependency (May 30, 2011)
In Nuclear Crisis, Crippling Mistrust (Jun. 12, 2011)
Japan Held Nuclear Data, Leaving Evacuees in Peril (Aug. 8, 2011)
Reporter Suits Up for First Visit to Fukushima Nuclear Plant (Nov. 14, 2011)
Japanese City's Cry Resonates Around the World (Apr. 6, 2011)
Fukushima's Long Link to a Dark Nuclear Past (Sep. 5, 2011)
Japan's Nuclear Refugees, Still Stuck in Limbo (Oct. 1, 2013)
With a Plant's Tainted Water Still Flowing, No End to Environmental Fears (Oct. 24, 2013)
Six Years After Fukushima, Robots Finally Find Reactors' Melted Uranium Fuel (Nov. 19, 2017)
Powerful Quake and Tsunami Devastate Northern Japan (Mar. 11, 2011)
Tsunami Survivors Return to See What, If Anything, Is Left of Their Lives (Mar. 13, 2011)
For Elderly, Echoes of World War II Horrors (Mar. 14, 2011)
In Remote Japanese Towns, Survivors Tell of a Wave's Power (Mar. 15, 2011)
Severed From the World, Villagers Survive on Tight Bonds and To-Do Lists (Mar. 23, 2011)
City, Destroyed and Yet Hopeful, Begins to Move On (Apr. 10, 2011)
Before It Can Rebuild, Japanese Town Must Survive (May. 15, 2011)
Japanese Coastal Town Still Struggling to Rebuild From 2011 Tsunami (Mar. 12, 2015)
Tsunami Warnings, Written on Ancient Stones (Apr. 20, 2011)
History and Territory
Japan's Last Zero Pilot Sees an Old Danger on the Horizon (Apr. 3, 2015)
In Shark-Infested Waters, the Resolve of Two Giants is Tested (Sep. 22, 2012)
Japanese Unearth, and Their Nation's Past, on Guadalcanal (Nov. 29, 2014)
Pressure in Japan to Forget the Sins of War (Oct. 18, 2014)
A Western Outpost Shrinks on a Remote Island Now in Japanese Hands (Jun. 9, 2012)
In Test of Will, Japanese Fighter Pilots Confront Chinese (Mar. 8, 2015)
Ahead of World War II Anniversary, Questions Linger Over Stance of Japan's Premier (Apr. 9, 2015)
In Okinawa, Talk of Break From Japan Turns Serious (Jul. 5, 2013)
In The Wall Street Journal:
Reef or a Rock? Question Puts Japan in a Hard Place (Feb. 16, 2005)
Guadalcanal, 2014. Photo by Martin Fackler.
A 'Black Widow' Case Strikes a Nerve in Japan (Dec. 8, 2014)
In Japan, a Beloved Deaf Composer Appears to Be None of the Above (Feb. 6, 2014)
Star Envoy's Frankness Puts Kennedy Mystique to the Test in Japan (Jan. 24, 2014)
Tokyo Gas Attack Arrest Reawakens National Trauma (Jun. 7, 2012)
With Risk, a Japanese City Takes on a Once Accepted Fact of Life: the Yakuza (Feb. 2, 2012)
Japan Stalls as Leaders Are Jolted by Old Guard (Jan. 19, 2010)
Mayor's Death Forces Japan's Crime Rings Into the Light (Apr. 21, 2007)
In Bloomberg News:
Meet the Racketeer Who Took Down Japan's Largest Financial Companies (Independent, Aug. 17, 1997)
Culture and Pop Culture
Going From Bond Girl to 'a Normal Life' (Mar. 3, 2017)
Old Ways Prove Hard to Shed, Even as Crisis Hits Kimono Trade (Feb. 9, 2015)
American's Star Power is Unrivaled in Japan (Aug. 22, 2014)
A Way of Life Moves With a Market (Sep. 16, 2013)
Rubber-Suit Monsters Fade. Tiny Tokyos Relax. (Sep. 1, 2013)
As Japan's Mediums Die, Ancient Tradition Fades (Aug. 20, 2009)
Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Place (Oct. 20, 2007)
Honoring a Westerner Who Preserved Japan's Folk Tales (Feb. 20, 2007)
Splitting a Hip Neighborhood, in More Ways Than One (Oct. 2, 2006)
With Haruo Nakajima, the actor in the original Godzilla suit. Photo by Ko Sasaki.
In The Associated Press:
History and Hardship Shape China's Elderly (Los Angeles Times, Feb. 23, 2003)
Chinese Provinces Police Salt of the Earth (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 24, 2002)
Hainan: Sunny with Shady Side (The Seattle Times, Apr. 8, 2001)
Dam Leaves Some Residents High, Dry (Feb. 17, 2002)
Growing Slave Trade of Chinese Women (Jan. 21, 2002)
China Races to Save History (Jan. 19, 2002)
Damming the Mekong (Sep. 29, 2001)
China Hunts Culprits in Disco Fire (Dec. 28, 2000)
In Ferry Deaths, a South Korean Tycoon's Downfall (Jul. 26, 2014)
A Korean City With 250 Holes in its Heart (Apr. 30, 2014)
In Korea, a Boot Camp to Cure Internet Addiction (Nov. 18, 2007)
A Stolen Buddhist Statue Becomes a Symbol of Two Nations' Anger (Jun. 3, 2013)
Sony's International Incident: Making Kim Jong-un's Head Explode (Dec. 14, 2014)
On North Korean TV, a Dash of (Unapproved) Disney Magic (Jul. 9, 2012)
Young Heir Faces Uncertain Transition in North Korea (Dec. 19, 2011)
In Artillery Exchange Between Koreas, Fishermen Take the Brunt (Jun. 23, 2009)
Big dreams for North Korean industrial park (Aug. 20, 2008)
For North Korean Resort, Symbol of Engagement, Nuclear Test's Fallout Is Financial (Nov. 1, 2006)
On Yeonpyeongdo, 2009. Photo by Martin Fackler.
Copyright © 2021 Martin Fackler - All Rights Reserved.


text:
Ute Schell-Wagner-Stange (Heubach 2 april 1966) is een Duits roeister.

Schell won in 1988 olympisch goud in de acht voor de DDR. Een jaar later veroverde Schell de wereldtitel in de vier-zonder. In 1992 nam Schell deel namens het verenigde Duitsland en veroverde de bronzen medaille in de acht. Schell won in 1994 haar tweede wereldtitel dit maal in de acht.

Resultaten

Olympische Zomerspelen

Wereldkampioenschappen roeien

Oost-Duits roeier
Duits roeier
Oost-Duits olympisch kampioen
Duits olympisch deelnemer


text:
Tax Lawyer Blog
A Blog written by the Tax Attorneys for Individuals and Businesses
Non-citizens Risk Immigration Status for Offshore Bank Accounts
Posted on August 22, 2012 February 19, 2019 by moskowitz Posted in International Taxation
The increased focus by the IRS on foreign income has generated a lot of news and a slew of criminal prosecutions. While US citizens need to consider the possibility of monetary penalties or a long prison sentence, resident non-citizens (green card holders) also need to worry about the possibility of being deported after they serve their prison sentence and are stripped of their assets. What is required of resident non-citizens and what are the consequences for failing to disclose offshore accounts and foreign interest income?
All "United States persons," including green card holders, are compelled to report all their global income, including interest income earned in foreign bank and financial accounts, to the Internal Revenue Service. According to the general definition in Internal Revenue Code Section 7701(a)(30), both United States citizens and non-citizen residents qualify as "United States persons". The international portion of a "United States person's" income is required to be reported on the following forms: See Offshore & Foreign Compliance
Form 1040, Schedule B, Part III
This form contains three yes/no questions you must answer regarding any foreign accounts and trusts that you have an interest in and directs you to two additional forms to complete, Form TD F 90-22.1 for foreign accounts and Form 3520 for foreign trusts. In the event that you are required to file Form TD F 90-22.1, you must also report on Form 1040, Schedule B, Part III where the financial account(s) are located.
Form TD F 90-22.1
The Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, also known as the FBAR, is required when the total value of foreign financial accounts held is in excess of $10,000 USD at any time within the calendar year. This includes accounts in which you had signature authority but not an ownership interest. The form is filed separately from your tax return and reported to the Department of the Treasury.
A separate Form 3520 is required to be filed with your tax return for each qualifying foreign trust transaction or qualifying foreign gift received. Examples of qualifying transactions include distributions received from foreign trusts and gifts of more than $100,000 from nonresident alien individuals or foreign estates. A full list of qualifying transactions and exceptions can be found in the Form 3520 instructions.
In tax years beginning after March 18,2010 (for most this is their 2011 filing), "United States persons" meeting the asset thresholds are also required to file the new Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets (Form 8938). For unmarried and married persons filing separately that reside in the U.S. the threshold is $75,000USD at any point during the year or $50,000USD at the end of the tax year. Married persons residing in the U.S. filing a joint return are required to file this form when their total foreign financial assets exceeds $150,000USD at any point in the year or $100,000USD on the last day of the tax year. Full filing requirements including exceptions and qualifying assets can be obtained through the Form 8938 instructions.
Failure to file any forms required to disclose the existence of any offshore financial accounts or any income acquired from said foreign financial accounts opens a "United States person" to the possibility for Criminal Tax Crimes and criminal penalties as well as Civil Tax Assessments and penalties.
Filing a False Tax Return
If an individual is proven by the IRS or Department of Justice to have willfully signed or filed a tax return or other document such as the FBAR that he or she did not believe to be true and correct in a material matter, they could be convicted of filing a false tax return. An individual may also be prosecuted for filing a false tax return if it is proven that the individual willfully aided or assisted in the preparation of a tax return, affidavit, claim, or other document that is fraudulent or false as to any material matter with knowledge that the document would be submitted to the IRS.
Willfully attempting to defeat or evade a federal tax due and owing or evasion of payment of an assessed tax can lead to prosecution for tax evasion.
Willful Failure to File an FBAR
Choosing not to file an FBAR can lead to criminal prosecution. There are increased penalties if this violation occurs concurrently with the violation of other laws or is part of a pattern of illegal activity involving more than $100,000USD in a 12-month period.
Conspiracy to Defraud
If two or more individuals agree to commit a substantive offense against the United States or to defraud the United States, and if the commission of the overt act is in furtherance of the conspiracy, charges could be brought forward for conspiracy to defraud the United States.
IMMIGRATION ASPECTS OF TAX CRIMES
In addition to the formerly mentioned criminal penalties, various civil penalties can be charged, as well as various penalties under state law, for failing to disclose offshore income. The implications of conviction go further. Persons failing to disclose foreign account(s) and/or foreign source income and suffering a criminal conviction could face incarceration, serious fines, loss of child custody or even termination of pension benefits. Some aliens receiving criminal convictions may even face deportation.
One such judgment resulting in deportation is "aggravated felony". Aggravated felony includes offenses that, as defined in Title 8 of the United States Code §1101(a)(43)(M),"(i) involves fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victim or victims exceeds $10,000; or (ii) is described in section 7201 of Title 26 (relating to tax evasion) in which the revenue loss to the Government exceeds $10,000." Aliens in the United States receiving an aggravated felony conviction are not eligible for review from deportation or asylum. Therefore, it is important for noncitizens with previously undisclosed foreign bank accounts or foreign source income to obtain competent legal counsel to advise them of any immigration consequences that may result from a tax crime criminal conviction.
Unfortunately, not all criminal attorneys representing noncitizen taxpayers are properly prepared with the necessary knowledge of immigration law to competently represent their clients. This fact was illustrated in the case of Padilla v. Kentucky, 130 S Ct. 1473 (2010). Padilla, a long-time lawful permanent resident, was charged with a drug offense. The Kentucky state court charged the defendant with the transportation of marijuana. Assured by his attorney that his immigration status was secure due to the length of his residence, he accepted a plea bargain. However, the mere acceptance of his plea bargain caused him to be deportable without the opportunity for relief. After realizing the consequences of his plea, the defendant attempted to challenge his guilty plea citing ineffective counsel, but the Kentucky Supreme Court denied his challenge on the grounds that the Court did not view deportation as a direct consequence of his conviction and therefore outside the purview of the Sixth Amendment's guarantee for "the effective assistance of competent counsel." The United States Supreme court disagreed with the ruling and overturned the lower state court's decision.
The lesson to be learned from the Padilla v. Kentucky case is that attorneys representing noncitizens in felony class cases need to be knowledgeable of immigration law. This understanding is even more pressing when plea agreements are being negotiated on behalf of the client.
As stated by Judge Stevens, addressing the Court, in the case of Padilla v. Kentucky:
Changes to our immigration law have dramatically raised the stakes of a noncitizen's criminal conviction. The importance of accurate legal advice for noncitizens accused of crimes has never been more important. These changes confirm our view that, as a matter of federal law, deportation is an integral part—indeed, sometimes the most important part—of the penalty that may be imposed on noncitizen defendants who plead guilty to specified crimes.
The Supreme Court went on to rule that it is the duty of criminal defense attorneys to competently advise noncitizen clients when pending criminal charges may carry adverse immigration consequences and equally important, when deportation is certain. By obtaining a qualified criminal defense attorney, the defense counsel may be able to construct a plea that minimizes the possibility for deportation. In cases relating to undisclosed foreign source income or offshore accounts, noncitizens should look for an attorney competent in immigration law or associated with counsel competent in immigration law, as well as an attorney prepared to promptly discuss the consequences of a criminal conviction.
As previously discussed, an aggravated felony charge can results in an automatic deportation without the opportunity for a discretionary review by the immigration court. Until recently, the immigration court determined whether a charge fit the definition of an aggravated felony by looking at the language of the statute under which the defendant was convicted. Generally a categorical approach to review was taken foregoing examination of the underlying facts and circumstances of a conviction. In the 2009 case of Nijhawan v. Holder, 129 S. Ct 2294, 2300, the United States Supreme Court seems to have changed this approach to an extent. As the United States Supreme Court discussed whether a conviction for conspiracy to commit fraud was an aggravated felony as defined in 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(43)(M)(i), it was determined that in order to come to a conclusion it was applicable to review the circumstances of the defendant's crime to determine the amount of the victim's loss. Further, that while the amount of loss suffered by the victim(s) is a legitimate matter to be gleaned from the record of conviction; an actual figure of loss does not need to be included in the conviction. As such, the immigration court should continue to conclude from the statutory language of the offense whether it included "fraud or deceit," and then utilize the criminal proceeding records to calculate if the loss exceeded $10,000USD.
As previously discussed, tax evasion is the only tax crime specifically listed in 8 U.S.C. §1101 as being categorized as an "aggravated felony," when the loss exceeds $10,000. Among the various Supreme Court circuits, there has been debate as to whether congress meant to exclude other tax crimes from being categorized as "aggravated felonies" or merely wished to ensure that tax evasion is seen as an "aggravated felony." All previously mentioned criminal penalties include an element of fraud or deceit and thus at the discretion of the court could meet the first test as to whether or not the offense qualifies as an "aggravated felony." Tax offenses that can potentially be classified as fraudulent or deceitful are not limited to those that have been discussed. As such, it is extremely important for defense attorney(s) representing noncitizen taxpayers to be mindful of the language of offenses being negotiated in a plea and when appropriate specify a tax loss that is less than $10,000 to ensure it does not later come into contention.
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text:
Bhoga Srinivasa is a silver deity that is a near-replica of the main deity (Dhruva Bera) of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, India. The deity is also known as Manavalapperumal or Kautuka Bera. The deity is used daily for performing the Abhishekam ceremony (as part of Thomala Seva) and the Ekanta Seva. The deity is believed to imbibe the essence of the Dhruva Bera as well as grant devotees' wishes.

Bhoga Srinivasa was consecrated to the temple in 614CE by the Pallava queen Samavai (also known as Kadavan-Perundevi) along with donation of land and gold to the temple. The idol is a faithful copy of the Dhruva Bera except that the Shankha and Sudarshana Chakra are fixed in the case of Bhoga Srinivasa. On the pitham and below the feet of the deity is a Yantra that is in the shape of two interplaced equilateral triangle. The deity is connected permanently to the Dhruva Bera by means of a silk cord. When the deity is brought outside the sanctum sanctorum for deputising for the Dhruva Bera, the cord remains attached and is reinforced with gold links.

References

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
Tirumala Idols


We have been commissioned to produce 7 short videos for the relaunch of the Alvine Capital new website. The videos are based on the interviews with the Founder and Managing Director of the company Thomas Raber and the Head of Investment Management Committee Stephen Isaacs.
Key requirement for this project was simplicity and minimum distraction of the involved people from their core work.
Here is the company introduction by Thomas Raber.
Below is the Investment Advice from Stephen Isaacs.