text:
THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY (Posted 3rd Time)
François Gérard, The French people demanding destitution of the Tyran on 10 August 1792 (from here)
Reason for latest repost: This comment:
mastersamwise says:
You would rely on the charity of a people that Alexis De Tocqueville described as practicing "self interest rightly understood?" It is an inescapable aspect of human nature, popularized by Peter Singer's thought experiment, that a given person will prefer not to help people in need unless the need is immediate, dire, and right in their face. As my old humanities professor would say, "man is ambitious, rapacious, and vindictive."
You can only get the Early Church if you had the society set up like the Early Church.
What is trying to justify is using the power of government to force people to be charitable. However, such a solution poses a logical conundrum. If we cannot trust the people to be charitable, what makes us think we can trust leaders the people have chosen with the power to steal from some people to give to other people? Of course, we cannot. That is why we are losing our republic.
Reason for repost on July 27, 2011: I first posted this extract from Democracy in America December 14, 2009. Nonetheless, some thoughts stick in the mind. So when I got into a furious debate with Tony at this post, SHOULD CHRISTIANS PARTICIPATE IN POLITICS?, Alexis De Tocqueville's words came to mind.
We live in an era almost like any other in America's history. Our flesh tempts us to shout our opponents down or make our opponents look like fools. In the extreme, when we allow our pride and our fears dominion, we will name our opponents the enemy of the People.
What we believe becomes a part of us. So when another disagrees, we feel rejected, and we angrily return that rejection. Therefore, this rejection of another human being is the instinctive and predictable response of our animal nature. What can we do to resist?
Usually we do not think of majority rule as tyrannical. Alexis De Tocqueville, however, had no such illusions. He understood that more than one republic had passed into despotism because of majority rule. And from his observations of 1831-32 America, he also understood just how tyrannical the majority might be.
What follows is an excerpt from Democracy in America, Chapter II, Section 1 Volume 2 (of 2). In this excerpt, Tocqueville explains the frightful power with which the majority can enforce its will.
When the ranks of society are unequal, and men unlike each other in condition, there are some individuals invested with all the power of superior intelligence, learning, and enlightenment, whilst the multitude is sunk in ignorance and prejudice. Men living at these aristocratic periods are therefore naturally induced to shape their opinions by the superior standard of a person or a class of persons, whilst they are averse to recognize the infallibility of the mass of the people.
The contrary takes place in ages of equality. The nearer the citizens are drawn to the common level of an equal and similar condition, the less prone does each man become to place implicit faith in a certain man or a certain class of men. But his readiness to believe the multitude increases, and opinion is more than ever mistress of the world. Not only is common opinion the only guide which private judgment retains amongst a democratic people, but amongst such a people it possesses a power infinitely beyond what it has elsewhere. At periods of equality men have no faith in one another, by reason of their common resemblance; but this very resemblance gives them almost unbounded confidence in the judgment of the public; for it would not seem probable, as they are all endowed with equal means of judging, but that the greater truth should go with the greater number.
When the inhabitant of a democratic country compares himself individually with all those about him, he feels with pride that he is the equal of any one of them; but when he comes to survey the totality of his fellows, and to place himself in contrast to so huge a body, he is instantly overwhelmed by the sense of his own insignificance and weakness. The same equality which renders him independent of each of his fellow-citizens taken severally, exposes him alone and unprotected to the influence of the greater number. The public has therefore among a democratic people a singular power, of which aristocratic nations could never so much as conceive an idea; for it does not persuade to certain opinions, but it enforces them, and infuses them into the faculties by a sort of enormous pressure of the minds of all upon the reason of each.
In the United States the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own. Everybody there adopts great numbers of theories, on philosophy, morals, and politics, without inquiry, upon public trust; and if we look to it very narrowly, it will be perceived that religion herself holds her sway there, much less as a doctrine of revelation than as a commonly received opinion. The fact that the political laws of the Americans are such that the majority rules the community with sovereign sway, materially increases the power which that majority naturally exercises over the mind. For nothing is more customary in man than to recognize superior wisdom in the person of his oppressor. This political omnipotence of the majority in the United States doubtless augments the influence which public opinion would obtain without it over the mind of each member of the community; but the foundations of that influence do not rest upon it. They must be sought for in the principle of equality itself, not in the more or less popular institutions which men living under that condition may give themselves. The intellectual dominion of the greater number would probably be less absolute amongst a democratic people governed by a king than in the sphere of a pure democracy, but it will always be extremely absolute; and by whatever political laws men are governed in the ages of equality, it may be foreseen that faith in public opinion will become a species of religion there, and the majority its ministering prophet.
Thus intellectual authority will be different, but it will not be diminished; and far from thinking that it will disappear, I augur that it may readily acquire too much preponderance, and confine the action of private judgment within narrower limits than are suited either to the greatness or the happiness of the human race. In the principle of equality I very clearly discern two tendencies; the one leading the mind of every man to untried thoughts, the other inclined to prohibit him from thinking at all. And I perceive how, under the dominion of certain laws, democracy would extinguish that liberty of the mind to which a democratic social condition is favorable; so that, after having broken all the bondage once imposed on it by ranks or by men, the human mind would be closely fettered to the general will of the greatest number.
If the absolute power of the majority were to be substituted by democratic nations, for all the different powers which checked or retarded overmuch the energy of individual minds, the evil would only have changed its symptoms. Men would not have found the means of independent life; they would simply have invented (no easy task) a new dress for servitude. There is—and I cannot repeat it too often—there is in this matter for profound reflection for those who look on freedom as a holy thing, and who hate not only the despot, but despotism. For myself, when I feel the hand of power lie heavy on my brow, I care but little to know who oppresses me; and I am not the more disposed to pass beneath the yoke, because it is held out to me by the arms of a million of men.
"For nothing is more customary in man than to recognize superior wisdom in the person of his oppressor." Consider some examples.
Do you believe in global warming? Are you familiar with the argument that global warming must be true because it is supposedly the overwhelming consensus of scientists? Consensus? Is that the way science is suppose to work?
Do you think the two-party system consisting of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party is best? Why? What would be wrong with a multi-party system?
What is the importance of polls? Do you feel reassured that you are right only when you are in the majority?
Why was the idea of Negro inferiority so difficult to overcome?
What is the basis for the argument supporting same-sex marriage? Does it have anything to do logic or "majority consensus"?
Why do political advocates work so hard to "prove" the majority sides with them?
Alexis De Tocqueville, Book Review, culture, unraveling
Alexis De Tocqueville, america, big-government, human-rights, liberty, philosophy, politics, Tocqueville, Unraveling
SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS — a reblog
Scientific Data Does NOT Support Climate Change…
19 thoughts on "THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY (Posted 3rd Time)"
bluebird of bitterness says:
"There is no virtue in compulsory government charity, and there is no virtue in advocating it. A politician who portrays himself as 'caring' and 'sensitive' because he wants to expand the government's charitable programs is merely saying that he's willing to try to do good with other people's money. And a voter who takes pride in supporting such programs is telling us that he'll do good with his own money—if a gun is held to his head." —P. J. O'Rourke
That's a great quote! Thanks.
oldgringoinmexico says:
Rodney Stark is a sociologist who is actually careful to use data, not just opinions. His book "America's Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists" shows that religion (mainly Christianity) goes have measurable benefits for the overall society, including better health, lower levels of criminality and higher levels of charitable giving of time and money. Not perfect, but very positive and measurable.
Keith DeHavelle says:
As an atheist, though I prefer the term "non-theist" as I don't have the hostility associated with American atheists, I am familiar with studies like this and generally agree with them. And indeed, I have supported a number of religious charities; they do good work.
It seems wrong-headed to me for the US government to actively discourage religious charities, but they certainly do.
===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle
Force is a strong word. But, if you define law to be "nothing other than a certain dictate of reason (rationis ordinatio) for the common good, made by him who has the care of the community and promulgated" then naturally you will conclude that if man is most man when he is virtuous, but man is most commonly vicious, then there must be something to encourage virtue and punish vice. That is the law. The America penal code does an above average job of the latter, but American law is reluctant to do the former. For good reason as you point out. Charitable giving is best when it is free, but what happens when that freedom to give is abused? Is not the abuse a vice? In America, I have noticed we don't like people telling us what to do. In some respects, that is admirable. In others, not so much. When pastors are censured by their congregants for saying we should be like the woman in Mark 12:42, it is clear that there is a crisis that goes much deeper than the government.
Indeed, I would be very disingenuous if I did not make clear that I believe such a law would be pointless unless it was championed by a morally upright people, at least in the majority. The law makes rational sense; if not then God himself would have been irrational which is absurd. Instead, we are a stiff-necked people.The society of the Early Church was one of mutual self-giving. It was not one of mutual self-interest. That is the first problem that needs to be addressed: the First Things. I have heard elsewhere that the nature of man is irrelevant to discussions on politics. I am emphatically disagree. I believe it is central and should always be central. A government not based and focused on man and his nature will always end in tyranny. The left fights for progress; the right fights for liberty. Who fights for man?
Hmmm… mastersamwise, don't you know what will happen to you if you refuse to pay your taxes? Who are you kidding?
Just because other people don't meet our personal standards of generosity does not give us an excuse to rob them. Here are my thoughts in more detail.
https://citizentom.com/2008/11/22/the-difference-between-taxation-and-robbery/
https://citizentom.com/2011/05/09/when-does-taxation-become-stealing/
This has been an interesting discussion to follow, Tom. I do find myself siding with mastersam's words, because as unpleasant as the truth of human nature is to face, people are really not charitable at all, not even Christians. In every church there may well be a dozen people genuinely serving Christ, but if you watch it will be that same dozen people every time. The other 240 members are busy enjoying the Lord's favor, which these days seems to mean prosperity. That is a jaded and anecdotal perception of modern Christians, but it is the truth. The poor stay poor and the rich get richer, right in the middle of our churches. Many of those who do give money, give for their own selves, give to alleviate guilt, give to justify their own decadence. Biblical values like taking care of your own are hardly known today and it is not uncommon for someone's parents to be on soc sec and food stamps while one's grown children vacation in the South of France.
Sadly, this is quite true, "You can only get the Early Church if you had the society set up like the Early Church."
Conversely this is also true, "…what makes us think we can trust leaders the people have chosen with the power to steal from some people to give to other people? Of course, we cannot."
I really have no idea how you fix it. I do know that the gov is a terrible vehicle for charity, because they tend to waste money and create more problems then they solve. What I would like to see is something more akin to the attitudes we once saw during the war effort, where people actually sacrificed things like nylon for the good of the country, so we could build parachutes. There was a voluntary coming together, where people voluntarily collected for the war effort. In the hands of modern gov right now, that would be a disaster, but it is that same spirit that needs to be earned from the people and felt by us. Most of us resent taxes because we know our money is just poured into a giant hole.
Do I have a solution? No. I just know that two wrongs don't make a right. When we try to force other people to do the right thing, we are not solving a problem. We are just being busybodies.
Look at the Federal Budget. Because we tried to force each other to charitable and responsible, we now risk tyranny, and government spending is out-of-control.
2 Corinthians 9:7 New King James Version (NKJV)
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
I think that if we give it a chance the problem will solve itself.
Part of this is that the government has almost crowded out the general public from the charity sphere. Would you be as inclined to give $10 to support the homeless person down the street if you recognized that your taxes are paying the government $200 to accomplish the same thing? (I have seen government budgets versus private charities they replaced at 20 to 1.)
But separately, and crucially it seems to me, you do not increase a person's virtue by forcing them to do something. Especially considering how badly the government mishandles such "contributions" obtained by force, supporting their particular left-flavored charities often against the will of most of the unhappy contributors. That path destroys liberty, and when America was most free, it was also most generous. In 1900, more than a century ago, there were 1,500 charities just in a one-block stretch of downtown New York City. Now there are more than a million in Washington DC, but what they do for people (and to people) is a very different mix.
@insanitybytes22
@Keith DeHavelle
Keith is spot on. When mastersamwise chose to cite Alexis De Tocqueville to support his arguments, I was torn between choking off some righteous indignation and laughing hysterically. When Alexis De Tocqueville toured our nation in the 1830's, he observed with amazement the capacity of Americans to organize and get behind a cause. Here is a sample.
https://citizentom.com/2009/12/07/the-right-of-free-association/
Invisible Mikey says:
I'm only semi-qualified to respond to one of your examples, because I'm a trained scientist (physics), though not a climate scientist.
Yes, consensus is exactly how science works, prior to proof, while a subject is still under study. If we get enough evidence of a vaccine's efficacy, we don't wait for the proof process to be complete before trying to protect people from the relevant diseases. We all believed in the mechanisms of gravity for centuries, based on consensus about Newton's theories, until Einstein was able to prove it mathematically. We currently believe in evolution on the same basis, while evidence is still being compiled. The causes of climate change aren't yet empirically proven, but the vast majority of evidence supports the hypothesis that human industrial activity accelerates increasing rates of weather instability.
Actually, consensus is not how it works. What matters is results.
Here is a silly example. Supposedly, scientists once proved that bumble bees cannot fly => http://www.snopes.com/science/bumblebees.asp. Lots of people have believed that scientists once proved that bumble bees cannot fly. That was the consensus.
However, bumblebees can obviously fly.
The scientist theorizes, but the engineer applies theories. If theories don't work in practice, the scientist has to go back to the lab and figure out why. Meanwhile, the engineer just continues doing whatever works.
In practice, the Theory of Evolution does not matter. Is there really an application? No. Whether The of Evolution is true has more religious than immediate, practical significance. Yet, scientific consensus demands we consider the theory a scientific fact.
In practice, the theory of Global Warming is a scare tactic. It gives politicians an excuse to control trillions of dollars. Thus, Global Warming is a useful scam. Until people recognize they are being tricked, the scam works based upon consensus, and nobody will ever go to jail because of it. Nevertheless, when enough people finally recognize the predicted temperature increases have not happened, the consensus will change because the theory doesn't work.
novascout says:
It's very refreshing when knowledgeable people like IM start from a position of admitting that, for all their knowledge, there are things they don't know or don't know as well as others. We often see, particularly in the blog world, but also in society at large, a kind of inverted pyramid, where vociferously stated opinions rest precariously on tiny stores of fact. IM starts out with more knowledge than many of us have on a subject, but is modest and terribly polite about how he applies it. I like that.
@scout
I think Invisible Mikey was just trying to say he was not making an argument based upon authority. He is, after all, "Invisible Mikey."
However, you are welcome to do the same thing. You could begin by admitting you don't know anything about Conservatism.
I know a bit, Tom, having been a conservative since the early 1960s and being reasonably well read in the relevant materials on the subject as it has developed in England and the United States over the past 275 years or so. I certainly don't know everything, but I do know enough that, while my conservatism is well-grounded and carefully considered, I am not your kind of "conservative". I think that a rather good thing, actually, as I am sure you do also.
Well, thank you for that admission.
While I do wish you were my kind of Conservative, it is well that you at least understand you are not.
As I understand the philosophy, Conservatives try to imitate what they see as virtuous in others. Liberal-Progressive Democrats, on the other hand, think virtue is something only the unwashed masses need to acquire. Such believe that the vanguard of the proletariat rules because of its superior ability to reason, not its superior virtue.
Oh, gee, *scout found another pregressive to praise. A fellow believer in the Global Warming Will Kill Us All meme, who *scout thinks is "knowledgable" despite referring to "proof" in empirical sciences.
That is not how science works, *scout. Proof works in mathematics; in the empirical sciences, one can only have increasingly well-supported hypotheses that can nevertheless be useful but reflect (ideally) only a "best understanding of the moment." And that best understanding process can get, and has been, corrupted by ideological and financial pressures.
In the long term, the process of the scientific method will sort out and sift out the corruptions introduced by human scientists, whether mistaken, sloppy or actively evil. But that can take a while. The current meme of "increasingly unstable weather" (like "more hurricanes" and "less Antarctic sea ice") is simply one of many predictions that failed, which in normal science would have sent the global warming hypothesis out of the game to the bench for rework.
But in this case, they simply insist that "increasingly unstable weather" is really happening, despite all the evidence. The data shows them to be speaking falsely, and their torturing of statistics (coupled with lack of knowledge of statistics) make revealing the falseness quite straightforward.
The reasons that such duplicitousness get any traction are:
(1) people's short memory, particularly about weather,
(2) mainstream media's support for the meme as the PR arm of government,
(3) government direct support for the meme through financial and career pressures,
(4) the unwitting support of unknowledgeable people willing to praise catastrophists as "knowledgeable people."
Actually, Keith, I don't know a thing about Invisible Mikey's political orientation. He said nothing about it and I haven't encountered him elsewhere. My comment was based solely on his comment at the top of the thread. Perhaps you have had exchanges with him/her elsewhere in which he has identified a political persuasion. I took his comment, however, to be based largely, if not exclusively on his scientific training.
I do agree with you that people have short memories about weather. Everytime someone talks about "remember how cold it was in January 2009" or some such thing, my mind casts back futilely. I hardly remember what the weather was like last week, unless something really, really dramatic happened (blizzard, tornado, hurricane, etc.).


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6pm monthly planning meeting at Polly's Pies, 3464 Katella Ave., Los Alamitos.
The Chapter is leaving at 7:00 a.m. from Keno's, 5750 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. Below is a link to their chapter's flyer.
7:00am leave from Chevron (11426 Telegraph Rd., Santa Fe Springs) to ride to the rally.
Below is a link to their chapter's flyer.


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for my daughter's graduation from high school.
The event was a huge success and better than I could ever have hoped for.
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Congratulations Muse, you exceeded our expectations.


The Hypo Group is still far away the end of restructuring. Losses between € 700m and € 900m are expected for this year. The state gives a guarantee for 500m.
Because of low interest rates and spreads, Austria is able to get convenient financing on the loan market. Euro-bonds would mean significant costs for Austria.
Imminent job cuts because of the uncertain business development.
Massive disadvantages for Austrian companies because of financing made more difficult are feared by the members of the of the Vienna Stock Exchange board, Michael Buhl and Heinrich Schaller.
The Business Barometer presents both opportunities and risks for the Austrian economy. Shortage of skills and low investment continue being weak points.
The recent arrest of former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader casts shadows on the Carinthian Hypo Group.
Austrian OMV considers that the gas pipeline project of European energy companies is developing according to plans.
The plan of an Austrian group of investors to build the largest shopping center in Europe in the Croatian capital threatens to fail.
Is Austria a Risk Country?
Due to its engagement in Eastern Europe, Austria is partially considered as a potential risk country. Lack of understanding for this assessment is shown by Austria.
Although he supports the euro-bonds in principle, the time has not come yet for the Governor of the Austrian National Bank.
The CEO of the Austrian oil group, Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer says: "2010 was a good year for OMV".
Austria follows the international trend of growing corruption. 25% are ready to pay bribes worldwide.
The "red-white-red-card" is to meet the needs of the Austrian economy for skilled foreign workers.
Austrian Economic Chamber President Christoph Leitl supports the EU's Danube region strategy to expand infrastructure between the Danube countries.
Hans Peter Haselsteiner has been reappointed, Siegfried Wanker acts as new technical board member in Special Divisions & Concessions segment.
The Frenchman Thierry Antinori, is to complete successfully for Lufthansa the restructuring of the Austrian subsidiary.
The issue Hypo Alpe Adria preoccupies not only the Austrian justice: Bavaria's Prime Minister Horst Seehofer defended the sale to Austria.
The governor of the Austrian National Bank, Ewald Nowotny, is for the introduction of euro-bonds. Germany's resistance is pre-programmed.
The President of the Vienna Economic Chamber, Brigitte Jank, sees above all great opportunities for Austria in Japanese biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
By 2015, the Chairman of the Board of the Austrian steel group, Wolfgang Eder, intends to achieve sales over € 15b billion through expansions.
The volume of trade between Austria and Russia has increased by 30%. Innovation and modernization are core issues for both countries.
The President of the WKÖ (Austrian Federal Economic Chamber), Christoph Leitl, gives a clear answer to the euro critics: without the euro, Austria would have become a problematic case in 2009.
The President of the VÖSI, Peter Kotauczek, draws a sobering summary of the efforts of domestic software manufacturers.
Wikileaks: Criticism of Austrian Politicians by the U.S.
The critical view on Austria's leading politicians on part of the U.S. is written down in the recent revelations of the Wikileaks platform.
The controversial directors of Flughafen Wien (Vienna International Airport) defend themselves against public criticism of the construction project "Skylink".
Domestic insider trading regulations could be improved, imply top personalities of the Austrian economy. Radical proposals are also being made.
The contract of Peter Michaelis, Chairman of The State Holding Company OIAG, expires in June 2011. There is disagreement over the succession in the government.
The Chairman of the Erste Group is not convinced anymore by Austria's financial policy; the Governor of the National Bank however, still stands on "AAA".
Salary negotiations at Austrian Airlines falter. The staff wants at least a salary increase equivalent to inflation.
The Austrian bank Bawag PSK, now owned by the U.S. fund Cerberus, is to have profits again this year: € 100m are expected.
While the trial date for the CEO of OMV has already been set, many leading personalities express their trust in an open letter.
The Minister of Economy, after meeting with his Swiss counterpart, said: "Switzerland is the third most important export partner; new opportunities with eco-innovations should be profited from".
Whereas Industrialists and the Economic Chamber (WKO) are asking for enactment today, the Umweltdachverband (UWD, Environmental Federation) is against it.
The Austrian development bank aws (austria wirtschaftservice) provides staffing and strategic action steps in order to implement innovative and technological trends.
Basic Element group exercises the call option for 17 percent stake in Strabag.
Austrian Airlines, a Lufthansa subsidiary, is to get the Frenchman Thierry Antinori as its new CEO. The board is to be expanded with this appointment.
The Industriellenvereinigung (IV, Industrialists Association) is relieved about issues concerning location policy, and at the same time calls for structural reforms.
The still ailing Carinthian bank restructures the leasing division. 500 jobs are being cut.
Finnish ex-Prime Minister Lipponen exposes economic success secrets of his country.
After the decisions made about personnel, Kern wants to make the freight division profitable again. The group's CEO has accorded himself three years for the process.
Is the Austrian Industry still competitive?
The chief economist of the Industriellenvereinigung (IV), Christian Helmenstein, draws a sobering picture on the future of the domestic industry.
Young people have to be trained practically to meet the challenges of the future. An administrative reform should not be foregone, said Hochhauser.
The President of the Austrian Economic Chamber (WK), Christoph Leitl, call on the government for location and future investments.


text:
Fukushima Tour
- darkometer rating: 10 -
Fukushima is the name of both a prefecture in Japan and the city that is its administrative centre. Furthermore the name was also given to a nuclear power station (NPP) on the eastern coast of the prefecture. It is this NPP in particular that the name Fukushima has become mostly associated with – due to the triple reactor meltdown and explosions at the plant in the wake of the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami in northern Honshu in 2011. That's why it is often referred to as a triple disaster.
As such Fukushima is generally classed as the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. And just as with the latter, an exclusion zone was declared around Fukushima-Daiichi NPP from where all inhabitants had to be evacuated. However, quite unlike Chernobyl, the Fukushima disaster caused hardly any direct fatalities (two workers were drowned by the tsunami and one died from cancer that may have been caused by radiation). Yet the evacuation order and soil contamination are on a similar scale. A massive clean-up operation was quickly begun and is still ongoing. As is the decommissioning of the NPP, which is expected to last decades.
More background info: – coming later! Sorry, but I have to leave the writing of a full detailed background section here for another time, as other, more pressing obligations have to be given priority. But due to evident demand I still wanted to upload this (incomplete) chapter, with at least personal impressions and descriptions of the Fukushima Tour I was on in April 2019, and also upload an accompanying photo gallery as soon as possible.
But for proper background info I have to refer my readers to other sources, on the Internet in particular, of which there are plenty. This chapter is – for the time being – mostly just about what the tour was like. And after all that's what fellow dark tourists need to know the most.
What there is to see: First of all, it may still come as a surprise to some that it is even possible to visit Fukushima – the exclusion zone around the stricken Fukushima-Daiichi NPP, that is. The plant itself remains out of bounds to normal tourists. On the other hand, access to the city of Fukushima was never restricted. In fact many inhabitants of the exclusion zone were actually evacuated to that city rather than from it.
Some of the previously evacuated areas have meanwhile been declared open again, and former residents are encouraged to return – though so far only relatively few have done so (see below). Those parts would in theory be explorable by visitors on an independent basis now, provided you have your own means of transport and at least some decent grasp of Japanese. Otherwise you'll have to go on a tour. That's what I did.
At this point the relevant episode of the 2018 Netflix series "Dark Tourist" has to be mentioned. The "tour" depicted in this series, however, wasn't actually a real one, as I gathered from speaking to various people when I was in Fukushima myself. Apparently it was largely staged for the sake of the "show", which may explain why it was so grossly exaggerated and often hysterically sensationalist in its overall approach – see my detailed review of the series! It certainly did not represent Fukushima adequately or fairly and is full of factual errors and misunderstandings (or possibly, even worse, it's deliberately misleading viewers). No wonder the series caused a lot of unhappiness in Fukushima …
There are a few genuine Fukushima tour offers, however, including day-return excursions from Tokyo for groups by van. But the pick of the lot has to be the one outfit actually based there and operating out of one of the more recently reopened towns formerly in the exclusion zone, namely Odaka. As this outfit is also associated with a guest house near that town's train station, it lends itself to much more in-depth touring of the area, which is why I picked them.
In fact I did two separate tours with them spread over two days. The first was their regular 'standard tour', which lasted from ca. 10 a.m to 4 p.m. – which in theory makes it possible to do as a long day-return trip from Tokyo too. And that's what the other two participants, a couple from Australia did, when I was on the tour. They had taken the same early-morning train to get to the arranged pickup point and then were dropped off at a different station after the tour, from where they made their way back to Tokyo in the evening (via Sendai). However, I had arranged an overnight stopover in Odaka and went on a second, custom tour the next day (which was of a similar length). I had asked for the second tour to be focused more on the tsunami of 3/11, so it complemented the standard tour very well, which concentrated more on the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster and subsequent clean-up efforts.
Day 1, in more detail:
We were picked up at the train station of Tomioka, which is where the JR Joban Line trains currently terminate, since the line was severed by the imposition of the exclusion zone. Normally, the standard tours starts at Odaka station (with connections to Sendai), but we had the tour tailored to start at this more convenient pickup point to the south of the zone.
On arrival our guide/driver handed out a 22-page information pack full of diagrams, facts and figures, maps, charts, photos, and what not, compiled by the tour operator themselves, plus a glossy 26-page brochure by TEPCO (the company that ran the NPP) about the current decommissioning efforts. That's obviously more than could be instantly digested, but a few points were picked out and explained by the guide when they became relevant as we went along (otherwise this material was to take home and study there after the tour – good!). In addition, we were also given a three-page document that a) made a statement about the Netflix series (distancing itself from it) and put it in relation to what this tour would be like instead, and b) two maps showing the exclusion zone before and after the recent (2017) lifting of the restrictions for the outer zones. Furthermore, we were all given personal exposure accumulation measurement devices that we had to clip to our clothing. At the end of the tour it would show us our total radiation exposure (see below).
Our first actual port of call was the "TEPCO Decommissioning Archive Center", which is not so much an archive but an informational exhibition about the disaster and the clean-up efforts. Since it is run by the company responsible for the plant you'd expect a glossy PR show, and to a degree that is indeed what you get. But it does also outline the unfolding of the disaster very well, the measures taken, and the state of the decommissioning at the present time (when fuel removal from the destroyed reactors was the current priority). There's an intro film and several of the display are interactive and involve animations and/or more screens. All these come in English versions, but many of the panels and labels for physical exhibits are in Japanese only. In the centre of the main hall is a walk-in installation with large-scale image projections to emulate being actually at the plant. All around it are various displays, including two with comparisons to the nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl (unfortunately in Japanese only), as well as a scale model of the entire Fukushima-Daiichi NPP complex. On balance, despite a predictable slight bias towards TEPCO, I found this stop at the info centre wholly worthwhile and rewarding.
We then carried on driving through Tomioka, which despite having recently been reopened for residents, is still largely a ghost town. Heading for Route 6, i.e. the road passing through the Red Zone that is open for general traffic – though you are not allowed to stop and get out of your vehicle – we saw plenty of abandoned homes, shops, petrol stations, and so on. North of Tomioka town, roads branching off to the side are either blocked or guarded. Indeed, there is security personnel to be seen all along this route. Also along it, just outside Tomioka, we passed that Pachinko hall (gaming arcade) that the team filming that Netflix series illegally entered and nearly got arrested in the process.
However, we carried on along Route 6 and our next stop was for a lunch break, but not at that restaurant featured in the Netflix series, where they proceeded to (pretend to) panic over the safety of the food (the rules are so strict here, it was probably safer than anything in Tokyo, but researching and mentioning that would probably have dampened the sensationalist thrill-of-danger appeal, no matter how unrealistic that was). Instead we used the canteen that was set up for TEPCO workers. So there were plenty of employees in various uniforms, work outfits or simple suits (the office staff, I guess) all around us. It reminded me a bit of the canteen at Chernobyl NPP – except of course the food here was Japanese (and actually quite good for a canteen!).
After lunch we proceeded to Okuma, which is a completely abandoned ghost town right within the Red Zone (i.e. total exclusion zone), which can only be entered with a special permit. This had been arranged in advance for us by the tour operator, so our guide just had to hand over the paperwork at the checkpoint and we all had to produce our passports for inspection, then some ticks were made on lists and we were waved in by the guards. (Note: Netflix didn't have that permit, so none of what is described in the following sections featured in the series!)
We parked and got out to walk down one street of this eerily quiet and deserted place. We were not allowed to enter any buildings but at many points you could peek in, including an abandoned clothes shop still full of wares hanging from their pegs and racks, still intact, if a little faded from the years that have passed. Looking through windows you could see plenty of dead plants, last watered in 2011. Outside, a few abandoned cars were still parked, including a rather flashy sports car, grass growing all around it. Vending machines by the road looked like you could still use them. There has evidently not been any vandalism! This is Japan, after all.
At one house there was a small poster attached clearly only recently, with some Japanese signs and a figure in Arabic numbers. Our guide explained that this signified that the owner of the building had reached some agreement over compensation for the house. So these negotiations are also still ongoing! Anyway, the general atmosphere of this street is better captured through images than prose, so take a look at the photo gallery below!
After Okuma we headed towards the coast south of the NPP. Here we explored the ruins of a former fish nursery that was destroyed by the 3/11 tsunami. The huge wooden roof of the main hall was still partly intact, but a neighbouring building had been semi-flattened. An ancillary building next to it showed evidence of the force of the waters: the concrete walls facing away from the sea were dramatically bent outwards! On to one section of a broken concrete wall somebody had sprayed some graffiti … and it's a rather unexpected slogan: "TEPCO will last for 1000 years"! Without going into how well previous promises of 1000 year longevity have ended in history, I found it surprising to find so much confidence expressed so close to the disaster-stricken reactors. But I learned on this tour that opinions vary widely in the area. While some still want nuclear energy and fully trust TEPCO, others have lost any such trust they may once have had. Division and controversy remains.
At this point we were also given a demonstration of the difference between ambient radiation (i.e. in the air) and on the ground. Just holding the dosimeter up in front of our eyes the reading for background radiation wasn't so high, but once the sensor was placed on the ground in between the grass it shot up to ca. 13 μSv/h. It goes to show how important top-soil decontamination is. By the way, at lots of points along the way we saw huge piles of plastic bags containing such soil in large storage plots all over the area, and we also saw yet more soil being collected. So the operation is still ongoing. Apparently there are currently (April 2019) 16 million such bags!
Then we carried on to an abandoned hospital. Sadly entering and taking photos was not allowed – empty, deserted, and crumbling hospitals always have a special atmosphere, I find, between intriguing and creepy (see e.g. Pripyat or Beelitz!). However, from the edge of the hospital car park, which is located atop a hill, we got a good view over the Fukushima-Daiichi NPP, including the four stricken reactors, the iconic chimney stacks, and: those ca. 800 water tanks for storage of all the tritium-contaminated water that has been accumulating at the plant. The many cranes in the distance also gave an impression of the activity at the plant. But this was as good a visual impression as we would be able to get on this tour.
Afterwards we visited one of the abandoned school buildings in the zone, but again we were not allowed to enter and could only peer in through the windows. It looked like the lessons in the class rooms had been interrupted for the evacuation only moments ago.
Heading further north we drove on the stretch of Route 6 closest to the NPP, and at one point we were able to see parts of the plant that were not affected by the disaster (blocks 5 & 6). Here LED signs above the road gave the ambient radiation figures. At the time we passed through that was just under 0.85 μSv/h. In the Netflix series such a reading caused hysterical panic (probably just put on), but it really isn't all that high. It's still less than what you have to expect aboard a jet airliner.
At the guest house, we took off our personal exposure readers. We were told beforehand that total exposure on the tour would not exceed 5 μSv. And indeed, the display showed 4 μSv. So, in case you were still wondering: it is perfectly safe to go on these tours. Forget the sensationalist panic that some media people seem to prefer over reality …
I had specifically asked for the second day of touring – now as a custom tour for just my wife and myself – to be more focused on the tsunami damage and subsequent recovery process rather than on the nuclear disaster. And since the latter was already well covered on the standard tour, this turned out to be a good idea.
We started out by visiting and talking to (with our guide acting as our interpreter) a few people in the area, in particular returnees to the ex-evacuation zones of Odaka and Namie. After a short stop at a local collective market with several private stalls selling home-grown vegetables (all with a safety certificate) as well one for arts and crafts (unique souvenir-buying op!), we drove to the house of an elderly returnee, 93 years old and still sharp. We discussed nuclear physics, German politics and even Brexit. Unbelievable. At the other end of the world in an OAP's Japanese living room!
After that we visited a school in Namie that had been rebuilt after the 3/11 disaster. This gave a stark impression of the skewed demographics of the local population. Most of the returnees are older people, young families are still very much the exception. So this three-story school catered for only about a dozen pupils at both the Elementary and Junior High level with a luxurious staff-pupil ratio of 2:1 – unheard of elsewhere. On our tour of the school we did get glimpses of classrooms with just a single pupil or sometimes two. Many of the other large rooms were deserted. From the balcony it was possible to see the coast in the distance. And that's where we would head next.
Namie's coastal areas were badly affected by the tsunami and almost completely destroyed. Its fishing harbour boats ended up stranded all over the area. Now it is undergoing massive reconstruction. The fishing harbour was already largely finished when I was there in mid-April 2019, complete with a sizeable fleet of fishing boats. The new seawall, designed to lessen the effect of any future tsunami, was still under construction. At the harbour there was a small temporary tower made from scaffolding on which several text-and-photo panels were mounted. These explained the scale of the disaster as well as the design of the seawall and provided an outline of the plans for the whole coastal area. No residential houses will be rebuilt here. Instead a forested park is intended to provide further protection.
Of the many ruined houses in the devastated plain immediately behind the coastline, only a few were still there when I visited. And I was able to explore only one of them briefly. Presumably none will remain in the near to mid-term future. We even saw a couple of those heaps of mangled post-tsunami debris still in situ. These will soon be gone too. Possibly to remain, however, is the old cemetery. This was also badly damaged, but the displaced gravestones have been partly brought back, but most of the graves are still damaged and tombstones mostly toppled. Remarkably the parking area sign on the edge of the cemetery still stands. Also still standing were a group of trees, leafless and mostly stripped of their bark, and probably dead … but you never know. There have been other remarkable "survivor trees" coming back to life (see Hiroshima, 9/11 Memorial, Oklahoma City Memorial).
Further south, a complex of concrete buildings still standing in the plain is the ruin of the former Ukedo Elementary School, an usually designed edifice whose main building resembles a ship and with a clock tower and sports complex attached. This unusual school was, so we were told, built with TEPCO money, which would explain its exceptionally lavish design. After the earthquake hit, the school was evacuated before the tsunami came and all the children and teachers survived (quite unlike at the much less fortunate Okawa Elementary School further north). But the building was devastated. You can see the waterline inside the windows on the upper floor, giving an impression of how high the flooding reached. The inside of the school is, again, out of bounds. It wouldn't have been too difficult to go trespassing, but we had promised to be respectful and abstain from any such acts. However, I have seen photos of the inside of the school's sports hall (and you can also see photos on Google Maps), so clearly the rule is not followed by everybody. The police seem to be aware of that. Just as we were standing with our guide by the main entrance, a police patrol car drove up, two officers got out and checked up on us. Our guide was able to put them at ease, but as they were talking in Japanese I noticed that the one officer amplified his no-trespassing warning by making a handcuffed-arms gesture! So they clearly mean it. Out of bounds! If you get caught trespassing, you'll get arrested.
After this we drove around through the expanse of what was basically a huge construction site, and our guide clearly found orientation made difficult by all the reconstruction constantly changing the landscape here. But she did eventually find what she wanted to show us: a stretch of road displaced by about two metres through the force of the earthquake!
We also stopped by a newly constructed memorial park in front of an active cemetery on a hillside overlooking the coastal plain. The names on the big black marble stone were inscribed in Japanese only, but our guide pointed out the grouping according to family name. Often there were four, five or even six identical ones next to each other, possibly whole families washed away … It brought back a very sombre feeling. Driving around all the reconstruction sites it's easy to forget what was here before. A school ruin or a monument like this serves to remind you of that.
As the final point on the tour we drove through one of the storage facilities for bags with removed contaminated topsoil, then we were dropped off at a railway station from where we made our own way onwards (namely to Sendai – see also under Ishinomaki!).
All in all, it was a fantastic two days! The standard tour on the first day was already deeply impressive. The second day, with its encounters with some of the real people here as well as juxtapositions of devastation and ruin with all the frantic reconstruction work really made it a kind of pilgrimage. This was important to me. I had often missed big world events (the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the 9/11 attacks, for instance), but the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami was something I followed live on my computer screen at home ... and it totally shook me. It still does thinking back and recalling all those dramatic and awful images. Finally coming here to some of the authentic places was therefore very special for me. It will stand as one of the most memorable guided tours I've ever been on.
Location: in the northern half of Japan's main island Honshu, between Iwaki and Sendai, and ca. 160 miles (250 km) north of Tokyo.
Google Maps locators:
Fukushima-Daiichi NPP: [37.4213, 141.0328]
Tomioka station: [37.3352, 141.0223]
TEPCO info centre: [37.34065, 141.01421]
Pachinko hall: [37.3599, 141.0103]
Okuma ghost town: [37.4085, 140.9832]
Former fish farm ruins: [37.4075, 141.0332]
Abandoned school in the Red Zone: [37.3912, 141.0118]
Viewpoint south of the NPP: [37.4077, 141.0153]
Odaka station: [37.5628, 140.9962]
Rebuilt school in Namie: [37.4921, 141.0082]
Namie area tsunami damage and fishing harbour: [37.4816, 141.0409]
Cemetery: [37.4824, 141.0342]
Abandoned Ukedo Elementary School: [37.4753, 141.0347]
Road shifted by the earthquake: [37.4665, 141.0311]
Memorial park, Namie Ukedo: [37.4806, 141.0224]
Fukushima-2 Daini NPP: [37.316, 141.025]
Access and costs: near impossible independently, but made possible through pre-arranged guided tours; not cheap.
Details: As already pointed out above, this is not really a destination for independent explorations (unless your Japanese is good enough and you have your own vehicle). But you can go on guided tours these days.
The small company I used (contact me and I'll happily provide more details), which is based in the area and also runs a guest house in Odaka, has good links with the authorities and this enables them to get permits for visits to places inside the Red Zone. And that's pretty unique, as this zone is normally totally off limits.
Prices for such small-group or even individual tours are not cheap. The 'standard' tour costs a flat rate of 5000 JPY per person. Custom tours can be more expensive, naturally, depending on the number of participants. For small groups/couples/individuals it can be between 8000 and 25,000 JPY per day.
In any case, it is a good idea to start planning well ahead. At shorter notice there may be no places/dates available. Especially if you want to request a custom tour get started at least a couple of months ahead of time.
Single-day standard tours can be done as day-return trips from/to Tokyo (it'll be a long day!) or, easier and closer, from/to Sendai, north Honshu's main city. Accommodation in the area can be had at the guest house in Odaka associated with the tour operator (ca. 6000 JPY per person), at the neighbouring Ryokan or at a large sports-complex that has recently reopened (actually a national "soccer center" called "J-Village") south of Tomioka.
As for food and drink, lunches will be worked into the tours (price not included), but dinner options, when staying in Odaka, will be limited, though our tour guide pointed us in the direction of a local sushi restaurant and helped with the ordering. The prices for top-notch quality sushi here are fabulously lower than what you'd be asked to pay in Tokyo. Mind you, though, the upper end of the choices can include some elements that may be a bit challenging to those used to the kinds of sushi you get in the West … Oh, and to repeat: the food is not dangerous. All produce is inspected according to strict standards and anything failing the inspection is not allowed to enter the market. Apparently no seafood produce has failed since 2015. Of course, you have to trust the assurances and the efficiency of the authorities. But personally I'm prepared to do so in the case of the Japanese …
Time required: At a push possible in one day, but better spread over two.
Combinations with other dark destinations: see under Japan in general, and under Ishinomaki and Okawa in particular.
Fukushima-Daiichi, by the way, is not the only NPP here. As the train from the south got near Tomioka I caught a glimpse of the other Fukushima NPP, called Fukushima-2 Daini. Its four reactors were also flooded by the tsunami, but here a catastrophic further multiple meltdown could be prevented through a massive effort, including the laying, by hand, of several kilometres of cables in order to ensure sufficient power supply to keep these reactors cooled. It's sometimes referred to as the "Daini Miracle". Had these reactors also failed and exploded it could all have been so much worse still. Today, this NPP is also undergoing decommissioning.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: Fukushima prefecture has its share of more ordinary tourist attractions, although not on the same scale as the much better known tourism draws such as Kyoto. But let's face it, most international visitors and certainly almost all readers of this website will come here for the dark reasons. However, adding a short visit to the city of Sendai is certainly good idea. I found it a pleasant enough city with tree-lined boulevards, good shopping and a nice bar and restaurant scene (and price levels significantly below those you encounter in Tokyo, Kyoto or Hiroshima!).
Fukushima 01 - first stop
Fukushima 02 - TEPCO Decommissioning Archive Center
Fukushima 10 - all cables lead to Fukushima-Daiichi NPP
Fukushima 11 - that abandoned Pachinko hall
Fukushima 12 - blocked access to houses along Route 6
Fukushima 13 - guards
Fukushima 14 - abandoned house in the Red Zone
Fukushima 15 - you have to wonder what happened to the cat
Fukushima 16 - ex-office
Fukushima 17 - ghost town street in Okuma
Fukushima 18 - abandoned clothes shop
Fukushima 18 - ghost town
Fukushima 19 - impaired beauty
Fukushima 20 - agreement reached
Fukushima 21 - not watered in over nine years
Fukushima 22 - undelivered newspapers from nine years ago
Fukushima 23 - still bright and bushy behind shattered glass
Fukushima 24 - abandoned office
Fukushima 25 - debris
Fukushima 26 - vending machines
Fukushima 27 - abandoned sports car
Fukushima 28 - kitchen
Fukushima 29 - comfy chair and handwash basin
Fukushima 30 - former fish farm
Fukushima 31 - trashed by the tsunami
Fukushima 32 - inconvenienced convenience
Fukushima 33 - bent-out concrete walls demonstrate the power of the tsunami
Fukushima 34 - unexpected TEPCO propaganda
Fukushima 35 - tsunami damage
Fukushima 36 - pipes
Fukushima 37 - empty fish-breeding pools
Fukushima 38 - broken
Fukushima 39 - Fukushima Daiichi NPP
Fukushima 40 - panorama
Fukushima 41 - striken reactors
Fukushima 44 - storage facility under construction
Fukushima 45 - abandoned school
Fukushima 46 - undamaged reactor block
Fukushima 47 - heaps of plastic bags with contaminated topsoil
Fukushima 48 - radiation reading above the road
Fukushima 49 - hotel no longer taking any guests
Fukushima 50 - abandoned taxis in Odaka
Fukushima 51 - new houses for evacuees
Fukushima 52 - tsunami-damaged house near Namie
Fukushima 53 - still life in a tsunami ruin
Fukushima 54 - tsunami ruin and new sea wall
Fukushima 55 - restored fishing harbour and ocean waves
Fukushima 56 - heap of unsifted tsunami debris
Fukushima 57 - damaged cemetery
Fukushima 58 - tsunami-affected cemetery, trees, school
Fukushima 59 - Choritsu Ukedo Elementary School ruin
Fukushima 60 - time of the disaster
Fukushima 61 - ship-bow-shaped school building
Fukushima 62 - school ruin
Fukushima 63 - you can still see the waterline on the upper floor
Fukushima 64 - debris trapped inside
Fukushima 65 - road surface displaced by the earthquake
Fukushima 66 - memorial stone with family names
Fukushima 67 - topsoil-bag storage facility
Fukushima 68 - numbered bags with contaminated topsoil

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Muscat: Investment Promotion and Export Development Agency (Ithraa) was honoured at the Savoy Hotel in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt with the 2018 Corporate Excellence Award for Public Administration.
Presented by the Excellence Awards Academy, the accolade recognises Ithraa's contribution to the field of inward investment and growth of Oman's non-oil exports.
Accepting the prestigious award was Taleb al Makhmari, Ithraa's Director General of Marketing and Media: "I am thrilled Ithraa has received this prize as it celebrates the work we do with our partners in government and Oman's business community".
Al Makhmari enthused: "We are absolutely committed to supporting local as well as international businesses succeed and this Corporate Excellence Award for Public Administration is testament to our continued innovation to develop these relationships.
supported by private and public sector partners.
The award underscores Oman's outstanding business offer and further enhances its global brand as a great place to do business and as an investment destination.


The Fitbit Aria scale automatically uploads your daily weight and percent body fat measurements to the cloud. This data is available when logged into the Fitbit website.
If you use the download feature, the resulting download is limited. For example, the time of your weigh ins will be missing, and if you've been tracking your high and low weight for the day, that information will be lost. Only one weight per day is provided in the download. Another example of missing data is with sleep tracking. The download doesn't include when you went to bed and when you woke up.
On the Fitbit data download page, you'll find this statement: "Your data belongs to you." It's great that they make some provision for getting data out of their site. However, it's odd that they wouldn't just allow the download of all the data including the details that are actually there.
Login to the Fitbit website.
Scroll down to see Measurement History.
Click the Load 10 more option.
Keep clicking the button to reveal as much data as you'd like. Unfortunately, if you've been using Fitbit for years and only just recently decided you'd like your detailed data, you'll need to click the Load 10 more button a lot of times to see all your data.
Once you've revealed as much as you want, highlight all the values and then copy them (using CTRL+C or the right mouse click menu).
Paste this information into Notepad (on Windows) or TextEdit (on Mac).
Select all the text and then copy and paste it into Microsoft Word. Putting the text into Notepad or TextEdit first helps to remove the formatting from the text. This can also be done within Word, but people may find it easier to use these intermediary programs instead.
Replace the days of the week with nothing. Be sure to include the comma and space. This will help cleanup the date information so it can be recognized by Excel. So, as an example, replace "Sunday, " with nothing. Do this for all days of the week.
Replace the word " at " including the spaces around it with the year for the exported data. This will make the data information complete and recognizable by Excel later.
Replace "Delete Measurement" with "^t" which is the symbol for a tab. This will put a tab between the date and the weight measurement that follows.
Replace " kg " with "^t" to insert a tab separator there. Or, if you used pounds then replace " lb " with a tab.
Replace "% fat" with nothing. This will remove the % symbol and the word fat.
If you had some weight measurements that didn't include the percent body fat, then your previous replacement of " kg " would not have replaced the kg where there was no space after kg. So, replace " kg" with nothing to ensure it's gone. This needs to be done last because for the other entries, a tab needs to be inserted.
At this point, you should be left with a clean listing of entries for your weigh-ins. Copy and paste this into Excel.
Excel should automatically place the data in separate columns.
Now you have your detailed weigh-in data.


text:
Q: Why does \dt *. show me a list of relations in psql but \dt not show me a list of tables in my postgreSQL database? I am working on PostgreSQL version 8.4.20. I cannot upgrade it because of a work issue and existing databases running on it.
I have created a schema that looks like this:
--
-- Name: Bug Tracking; Type: COMMENT; Schema: bugtrackingdb; Owner: aa2_role
--

COMMENT ON DATABASE bugtrackingdb IS 'CCDD Viewer Web Application Bug Tracking DB.';

--- CREATE DATABASE bugtrackingdb;

CREATE SCHEMA bugtracking AUTHORIZATION aa2;

CREATE TABLE bugtracking.issues (
    issueID BIGSERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    issue VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE bugtracking.users (
    id BIGSERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    issueID BIGINT NOT NULL UNIQUE REFERENCES bugtracking.issues(issueID),
    userName VARCHAR(25) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE bugtracking.openDate (
    issueID BIGINT NOT NULL UNIQUE REFERENCES bugtracking.issues(issueID),
    dateOpened DATE NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE bugtracking.closeDate (
    issueID BIGINT NOT NULL UNIQUE REFERENCES bugtracking.issues(issueID),
    dateClosed DATE NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE bugtracking.priority (
    priorityID BIGSERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    issueID BIGINT NOT NULL UNIQUE REFERENCES bugtracking.issues(issueID),
    priority VARCHAR(15) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE bugtracking.status (
    statusID BIGSERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    issueID BIGINT NOT NULL UNIQUE REFERENCES bugtracking.issues(issueID),
    status VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE bugtracking.comments (
    commentID BIGSERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
    issueID BIGINT NOT NULL UNIQUE REFERENCES bugtracking.issues(issueID),
    description TEXT NOT NULL
);

I am still new to postgreSQL and I am trying to figure it out, although I am familiar with how databases work, I am trying to figure out if I am doing this correctly.
I have connected to the database, and I have created the schema, successfully I believe.
After creating my SCHEMA in the database psql returned a series of notices like:
bugtrackingdb.sql:14: NOTICE:  CREATE TABLE will create implicit sequence "issues_issueid_seq" for serial column "issues.issueid"

bugtrackingdb.sql:14: NOTICE:  CREATE TABLE / PRIMARY KEY will create implicit index "issues_pkey" for table "issues"
CREATE TABLE

bugtrackingdb.sql:20: NOTICE:  CREATE TABLE will create implicit sequence "users_id_seq" for serial column "users.id"

bugtrackingdb.sql:20: NOTICE:  CREATE TABLE / PRIMARY KEY will create implicit index "users_pkey" for table "users"

bugtrackingdb.sql:20: NOTICE:  CREATE TABLE / UNIQUE will create implicit index "users_issueid_key" for table "users"
CREATE TABLE

My issue is that when i run the psql comand \dt to view the list of tables I get a No relations found message.
However, when I run \dt *. I get:
                        List of relations
       Schema       |          Name           | Type  |  Owner
--------------------+-------------------------+-------+----------
 bugtracking        | closedate               | table | aa2
 bugtracking        | comments                | table | aa2
 bugtracking        | issues                  | table | aa2
 bugtracking        | opendate                | table | aa2
 bugtracking        | priority                | table | aa2
 bugtracking        | status                  | table | aa2
 bugtracking        | users                   | table | aa2

Does this mean I have created everything successfully and I am now ready to run my INSERT INTO commands and SELECT statements???
If the tables are not created, then what do I have to do to get this working properly?
Also, Is my SCHEMA written correctly or is there a better way to do it?
Why do I get No relations found when I run \dt???

A: This is how I would create the data model:
CREATE SCHEMA bugtracking AUTHORIZATION aa2;

CREATE TABLE bugtracking.issues (
    issueID BIGSERIAL NOT NULL UNIQUE PRIMARY KEY,
    issue VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
    dateOpened DATE NOT NULL,
    dateClosed DATE,
    type VARCHAR(25) NOT NULL,
    priority VARCHAR(15) NOT NULL,
    status VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL,
    comments TEXT NOT NULL
);

CREATE TABLE bugtracking.users (
    id BIGSERIAL NOT NULL UNIQUE PRIMARY KEY,
    issueID BIGINT NOT NULL UNIQUE REFERENCES bugtracking.issues(issueID),
    userName VARCHAR(25) NOT NULL
);

This is the output I am getting.
bugtrackingdb=# INSERT INTO bugtracking.issues (issue, dateOpened, type, priority, status, comments) VALUES ('Test issue data', '20 Jul 2017', 'Logic Error', 'low', 'Not Started', 'Enter key needs to acctuate login button when pressed.');
INSERT 0 1
bugtrackingdb=# SELECT * FROM bugtracking.issues AS issueID; issueid |      issue      | dateopened | dateclosed |    type     | priority |   status    |                        comments
---------+-----------------+------------+------------+-------------+----------+-------------+--------------------------------------------------------
       1 | Test issue data | 2017-07-20 |            | Logic Error | low      | Not Started | Enter key needs to acctuate login button when pressed.
(1 row)

Think about it, One user will have many issues to report but each issue only has one instance of each of those columns.
Just my 2 cents. You're going to kill yourself writing a million queries doing it your way.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Home/Integrity Icon/Pakistan 2019 Icon Rohana Kakar Defies Stereotypes And Inspires Others
Pakistan 2019 Icon Rohana Kakar Defies Stereotypes And Inspires Others
Sheena Adams2020-06-17T22:42:17+00:0015th June 2020|
Rohana Kakar serves as a Secretary for the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) in Quetta Balochistan province. The mandate of her position is to provide safe and dignified transport services to people in three districts – Quetta, Pishin, and Qilla Abdullah. She takes strict action to prevent malpractice in public transport such as the cancellation of illegal permits and licenses, and against those caught driving without licenses. For this purpose she introduced a Driving License Mechanism and made driving tests mandatory for everyone. Apart from this, Rohana also works as the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO), and Revenue Collecting Officer (RCO) for the same department.
After graduating with a master's degree, Rohana took her first step to serve as a public officer at the Secondary Education Department of Balochistan. One of the projects assigned to her was the "Promoting Girls' Education in Balochistan" project. The objective was to provide access to primary school education to girls in far-flung districts of Balochistan. Around 700 primary schools were constructed in various districts of Balochistan, along with facilities that were previously missing in most schools such as boundary walls, sanitation facilities, and teaching and education staff.
After this, Rohana appeared in the national testing service exam and was designated to serve at Balochistan Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) as an Assistant Director. The mandate of her job was to regulate the procurement of public goods and services and ensure that the process was conducted in a transparent manner. In 2017, she appeared in the competitive exam for joining the civil service and secured second position from all over Balochistan which led to her appointment as the Assistant Commissioner Staff Officer, categorized as Assistant Commissioner Political to the Commissioner of Quetta. Nine months later, she was transferred and posted as Secretary of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) of Quetta division.
Watch Rohana's Integrity Icon Pakistan video here to learn more about her incredible work to build integrity in the public sector.
Challenges in Rohana's sector
Being a secretary of a regional transport authority in a male-dominated district, where women are discriminated against and not seen as equals, has its challenges. Many of the people she deals with are illiterate and include drug abusers, with no understanding of vehicle registration, driver's license and permit mechanism, or even traffic etiquette. Dealing with such a market is quite tricky; she has been threatened many times for consistently refusing the requests of transporters who demand favors in obtaining licenses and renewing their expired permits.
Another challenge is taking action against unlawful groups who tend to get their work done by bribing or even by applying political pressure on the department. Along with her team, Rohana continues to struggle to take action against and punish these agents as they continue to resurface every two months. Since receiving the Integrity Icon Pakistan award for being a "Brave Public Official", these groups continue to provoke authorities to take this award away from her as they know its value. Knowing that this award means a lot to her, and seeing no other way to pressure her, they think that by claiming it they will be able to take hold of her and blackmail her into doing things they want to get done in the manner they find appropriate. However, Rohana stands firm and continues to take action against them.
After Integrity Icon Pakistan
Rohana often heard concerns in her department that she may not be promoted to Assistant Commissioner as she was a woman and the assumption was that she wouldn't be able to perform her duties during evenings or at night. These are the kinds of stereotypes that keep Rohana motivated every day. She has proven many times to society that a woman can be a strong and dedicated civil servant who is available 24/7, can work on public roads, fight against powerful agents and bring improvements to the system.
After winning Integrity Icon Pakistan 2019, Rohana feels that the pressure on her has increased. Her family members, colleagues, seniors, juniors, and clients have increased their expectations of her. She adds that after winning the award, they know that she is the right person to go to in order to solve their problems. This further motivates her to work with more integrity and to take actions that will benefit her community further. Many of her colleagues are looking forward to taking part in Integrity Icon Pakistan 2020 after being inspired by her. Just the thought of receiving an award for integrity and being titled as an Integrity Icon is one of the most prestigious and honorable achievements anyone can ever achieve in a society that assumes integrity practices lead to no good. Rohana further adds that she herself was motivated and inspired by IIP 2018 winner Batool Asadi; that led her to be where she is now. Now she stands to inspire others through her example that following honesty and integrity do repay you for the work you do.
She is currently working towards digitizing the license and route mechanisms which will not only benefit the public – who will be helped within seconds rather than days – but also improve the status of her department. Likewise, also working as a Revenue Collecting Officer (RCO) along with her team of 5 to 6 employees, she has been able to increase the revenue of the government exchequer from 1.4-5.5 billion up to 5-6 crore per year which is a big achievement. Her efforts in modernizing public transport are remarkable, keeping in view the lack of resources in Balochistan. Recently, she has been appointed as Assistant Commissioner Hub to Tehsil Hub – defying expectations in her department.
Rohana's hard work, dedication and acts of integrity have made her a role model in her province. People's perceptions are changing in respect of stereotypes around women's educations and roles or professions.


One thing I see all the time when someone starts a gluten-free diet, is that they immediately start buying the gluten-free cookies, cakes, and other processed foods. I've said this before, just because it is gluten-free doen't mean it's good for you. If you're trying to improve your health, and go gluten-free, one of the first things you can do is improve the way you cook your food. But when people talk about healthy gluten-free cooking, it can sound a little intimidating and more than a little less than delicious.
But healthy cooking, gluten-free or not, doesn't have to be difficult or boring. With just a few small changes you can make a big difference in the health of you and your family. Once you get used to doing things a different way, it will become simple and easy.
One of the easiest ways to lower the fat content of your food and boost your heart health is to skip frying foods. When you fry foods, you add a large amount of oil to your food. While fat is something that your body needs, it doesn't need it in such high amounts.
Fat is full of extra calories, so the oil you're adding to your food will sneak in many extra calories you don't need if you're working to eat healthy. In addition, most oils used for frying are not the healthiest kind for your heart.
Instead of deep frying your foods, there are a few different ways you can cook them. If you've never tried cooking with these methods, you'll have to experiment to see which one works best for you.
One of the healthiest ways to cook is to use your grill. There are several different types of grills. If you prefer to use outdoor grills, you can use charcoal or propane. Gas grilling is quicker, but doesn't have the same flavor.
Grilling can also be done indoors. There are many indoor grill models available for purchase. Indoor grills won't give you the smoky flavor that you get from outdoor grills. However, they help you to eliminate extra fat from cooking and allow you to cook foods quickly.
Using your oven is another option. Old fashioned baking and broiling produces delicious food without having to add excess fat. Baking is the process of cooking your food evenly. When you broil food, you use only the top element of your oven.
With baking you get a constant temperature in the oven and your oven will cut off and on to keep that steady temperature. With broiling, the top element will stay on constantly. This can produce the same type of effect as grilling your food.
Roasting is another excellent way to cook delicious foods that your family will love and are very healthy as well. I love to roast vegetables in the oven. It really deepens the flavor of them.
Broiling works well for cooking steaks and other types of meat. You'll have to turn the pieces of meat over in order to get consistent cooking on both sides. You'll also need a broiler pan that allows fat to drip through to the bottom away from your food.
You can sauté your food in a pan as well. This is a type of frying, but you don't need as much oil as you do with deep frying. For this type of frying you can usually use one or two tablespoons of oil as opposed to a quart of it.
You can also use the most heart healthy oils with pan frying. You'll want to use oils that are monounsaturated. These oils actually help you to lower your cholesterol. Extra virgin olive oil is generally the best choice for heart health.
Steaming is another powerful way to cook. This is especially good for cooking vegetables. You can purchase a special steamer that plugs into the wall or you can actually convert a pan into a steamer by inserting a special steaming basket.
With steaming, you'll add a little water to the pan, then add the steaming basket. You'll place your veggies on top of the basket. The water won't actually cover the vegetables at all. You'll then need to put a lid on the pot.
As you heat the water at the bottom of the pan, it creates steam that will surround the food and cook it. Steaming doesn't take a long time and it's one of the best ways you can cook to preserve the nutrients in your food.
One of the greatest tools you can purchase for your kitchen is a slow cooker. This is a healthy way to cook and can really be a timesaver in your life. With slow cookers you can add ingredients to the pot, set the temperature, and then walk away for hours.
This is especially helpful if you have a job outside of your home or just a very busy schedule. You can put healthy foods in to cook but then you can continue with your activities knowing that you'll have a great meal for dinner.
The biggest complaint people have about slow cookers tends to be the cleanup. However, there are liners now you can place inside your slow cooker that make cleaning it much easier. You simply throw them away when you're done. Better yet, choose a slow cooker that has a removable crock. No liners to throw away, but cleanup is easier because you can put the crock into the sink and let it soak.
Many times when people begin to work to cook and eat healthy foods, they try to eliminate fats from their diet. However, your body needs fats in order to function properly. You'll need to understand the difference between healthy fats and unhealthy fats.
Unhealthy fats are those that are saturated. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. You find these fats in meats and dairy products. You also find them in lard. These are the fats that can clog your arteries and cause you to have heart problems.
Nuts – almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, etc.
When you're cooking, you'll want to use these types of fats as much as possible. Adding nuts or avocado to a dish can boost the heart healthy fats. And they also add delicious flavor and boost the excitement of healthy meals.
When you're baking, you can also make substitutions for fats. For example, if a cake or brownie recipe calls for oil you can substitute applesauce or carrot puree. These will give the same texture and moisture without the fat.
If you're not ready to go completely away from the oil, try substituting half of the oil for applesauce. This will give you the best of both worlds. In many recipes, the oil can be cut in half without significantly changing the texture. You may want to experiment with your favorite recipes.
Sugars are another area where people tend to have too much of a good thing. You need to have sugars in order for your brain to work. But the types of sugar that you eat can make a difference. Eliminating processed sugars can boost your healthy cooking.
Ingredients such as white granulated sugar, brown sugar, and powdered sugar can be tasty, but aren't great choices for cooking healthy foods. Instead, you can try to have sweetness through more natural ingredients.
Honey and molasses are natural sources of sugar. Raw cane sugar is also a natural source of sugar. While these choices are natural and less processed than other types of sugar, you'll still want to use them in limited quantities. A little goes a long way.
Even better is to get your sources of sweetness from fruits. They naturally contain sugar that can satisfy your sweet tooth while still delivering nutrients to your body. The sugar you get from strawberries, apples, or grapes provides satisfying sweetness and also delivers fiber and vitamins.
In addition to getting sugar from sweet foods, many people get a lot of sugar from the drinks they consume. Sugary sodas, sweet teas, and juices can give you a lot of calories without giving much in the way of nutrition. This is a great place to start eliminating sugars from your life.
Switch to water with lime or herbal teas that are flavored naturally. If you want to add sweetness, try a natural sweetener such as stevia to add that punch. Other calorie free sweeteners can be less healthy.
There are many dessert options using fruits and other healthy ingredients that can help you to get the sweetness you crave without sacrificing your health. As you eliminate sugar, you'll get to a point where you really don't crave it as much.
Another considering with healthy cooking is lowering the amount of sodium, or salt, in your diet. Salt can cause problems with high blood pressure and bloating. While you need some salt in your diet for good health, most people get too much.
When shopping for ingredients, look for items labeled as "low sodium" or "sodium free." This way you can control how much salt you add to your meals. When you do use salt, choose natural sea salt.
For many people the idea of healthy cooking is synonymous with bland food. But if you're going to cook healthy it's critical that you enjoy what you're eating. Otherwise you won't be able to adopt these techniques for very long.
It's important to make sure that while you're eliminating unhealthy fats and sugars that you don't forget to add flavor. Natural spices and herbs can be the best way to enhance the flavor of your food and can boost your health, too. Just be sure that they are gluten-free. Most spices and herbs are naturally gluten-free, unless they have been cross-contaminated. However, spice blends could contain glutenous ingredients. So be aware of that and read labels. If in doubt, call the manufacturer and ask.
As you continue to cook, you'll add more and more spices to your supply. But these are general spices that can get you started. You'll also want to consider keeping fresh herbs on hand. Growing your own is the least expensive way to enjoy them.
I try to have fresh basil on hand all year long and adding fresh spices will make any dish more flavorful. Remember that healthy cooking doesn't have to be boring and bland. The more flavor you add, the more you'll enjoy what you're eating. If you enjoy the food you eat when cooking healthy, you'll be more likely to make a long-term change.
If you're not familiar with cooking healthy, it can take some time to adjust. But as you add a new technique you'll find that it can be easy and rewarding. As you cook more and more, you'll begin to feel comfortable with experimenting with recipes – and unleashing your inner chef can also be a lot of fun.


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Opinion: Steve Jobs knew this secret about career success
Published: Nov. 1, 2017 at 4:16 p.m. ET
Kabir Sehgal
It pays to approach your goals like an artist
If you want an edge in business, think like an artist. When you reason like a musician, painter, or writer, you act more creatively, earn a reputation for thinking differently, and ultimately stand out from your peers.
Here are two things you can learn from artists, and which you can leverage for success in your business career:
1. Combine areas of interest
Ask yourself: "What doesn't belong here?" And that's exactly how you'll stumble upon what could and should become part of your business. For example, perhaps your office would benefit from hosting a monthly book club to foster team camaraderie. Or schedule your team to tour the manufacturing plants of your clients, so you better understand their supply chain — doing so could spark new ideas.
Artists constantly search for sources of inspiration. They look within their field of expertise, and perhaps more importantly, outside the areas in which they've made their name. For example, when jazz composer Ted Nash was looking for an idea from which to compose a suite of music, he turned to political speeches, which he transformed into "Presidential Suite: Eight Variations in Freedom" which won two Grammy Awards. By merging fields, he created a unique production.
In the business world, look no further than the late Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple AAPL, -1.89% , who consistently merged areas of interest. He dropped out of college but continued taking courses for no credit. "The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting," Jobs said.
One of those courses that he "dropped in" on was a calligraphy course, after he was mesmerized by some posters on campus that were handsomely rendered. It's an insight that he applied to his business career: "If I had never dropped in on that single college course, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces…and since Windows just copied Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them," Jobs recalled.
Build your brand for the long term
One day you'll leave your job. What will you take with you? Besides your experiences and reputation, it helps to build a portfolio you can leave with. If you're a lawyer, for example, you could publish articles in a legal-related publication. If you're a sales executive, you could commission artists to create beautiful paintings for your clients.
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Indeed, the arts last forever. Jobs once told a movie director that he hoped he would be reborn as a director of Pixar films. He said that all Apple products would eventually end up in the garbage. He recognized that despite his business contributions, his innovations were temporary — until the next big thing came along. Jobs took great pride in Pixar DIS, +0.22% , his animation studio, which created movies that would live on in the hearts and minds of those who watched and experienced them.
In my case, I knew that in the long run, none of the deals or trades that I structured at J.P. Morgan would amount to much personally. I wanted a life after banking. I realized that I should do whatever I could while I worked at J.P. Morgan to produce things that stood the test of time.
As a result, I toiled for four years working on my book, "Coined: The Rich Life of Money And How Its History Has Shaped Us," which explores the history and future of money. I slipped away during lunchtime to do research in the public library. Now I no longer have a J.P. Morgan business card, but I have something that gives me more pride.
Kabir Sehgal is the co-author of Home: Where Everyone Is Welcome, and the author of "Coined: The Rich Life of Money And How Its History Has Shaped Us." (Grand Central Publishing, 2015). He is a former vice president at J.P. Morgan, a multi-Grammy Award winner, and U.S. Navy veteran. Follow him on Twitter @HiKabir
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U.S. Gears Up for Showdown with Russia over Iran Missile Tests
(Washington Free Beacon) Adam Kredo - The U.S. is preparing for a diplomatic showdown with Russia as it prepares to release an official report accusing Iran of breaching international accords prohibiting the test-firing of ballistic missiles, according to Obama administration officials. Iran and its allies argue that the UN resolutions governing the nuclear deal only suggest that the Islamic Republic abstain from testing ballistic missiles, a claim the U.S. has publicly opposed in recent days. One U.S. official said, "Contrary to what the Russians believe, we, the U.S., strongly believe that the launches by Iran do fall under the scope of [UN Resolution] 2231. Ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering a payload of at least 500 kilograms to a range of at least 300 kilometers are inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons." Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, "is clearly furious with Russian protection for Iran and is dragging the rest of the administration along with her in an attempt to do something that holds the Iranians accountable for their illegal missile launches," the source said.
Settlements Hizbullah Syria IDF Iraq Hamas Muslim Brotherhood Europe Fatah Middle East Jordan Jihad Radical Islam Israeli Security Iranian Lebanon Egypt Iran Palestinian Iranian Nuclear Libya Saudi Arabia Gaza West Bank Peace Process Terrorism Video Al-Qaeda Turkey Jerusalem


There are so many different superstitions that surround weddings that it can get quite out of hand if you try to avoid them all. From wearing pearls to not letting the groom see the dress, there are lots of superstitions that no one wants to mess with – even if they're not that superstitious.
Is It Bad Luck to Wear a Watch on your Wedding Day?
Wearing a watch might be considered bad luck by some, but for others, it's that wearing a watch doesn't complement your wedding outfit. Even if you wear a watch every day and you'd feel naked without it, a watch often looks clunky and inappropriate when paired with an elegant white dress and a veil.
Another aspect of wedding day watch wearing is that a watch is more often than not a practical item – to tell the time. This is probably not necessary for your wedding day, as there will be many other people that will be able to keep you updated.
However, there are many modern watches that look beautiful, and often don't look like watches at all. Whether you want something sparkly, glamorous or something that will stand the test of time, there will be something out there that will suit your wedding dress perfectly. Take a look at ones by DKNY or Versace from The Branded Watch Shop.
A charm watch is the perfect hybrid between bracelet and watch. Whether you go for a watch with charms on the strap, or a bracelet with a watch charm, you can't go wrong. This is perfect if the dress you're wearing is simple and elegant with minimal embellishment.
A silver watch will complement any wedding dress, but if you want to add a little bit of interest, then consider mixing your metals. Whether you opt for silver, gold, or rose gold, a combination of metals will always match the rest of your wedding jewellery.
If you're worried that your watch will look out of place on your wrist when you look back at wedding photos, why not wear bracelets too? This will prevent it from sticking out and looking odd, and will enhance your outfit too. You could wear a watch on one wrist and a pretty bracelet in the same style on the other, or wear a few on each wrist. Whatever you do, just make sure that you don't overload on jewellery.
Which Celebrity Wedding Ring is Right for You?


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Nobody's Business
DESCRIPTION: Singer confesses to all sorts of infractions -- rambling, drinking, gambling -- but says it's "nobody's business if I do." He says he might even kill somebody; his girlfriend "runs a weenie stand..." and drives a Cadillac, but it's all nobody's business
AUTHOR: Porter Grainger, Clarence Williams, Graham Prince, Everett Robbins?
EARLIEST DATE: 1911 (JAFL)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Singer confesses to all sorts of infractions -- rambling, drinking, gambling -- but says it's "nobody's business if I do." He says he might even kill somebody; morphine, cocaine and women will drive him out of his mind; his money goes to buy his girlfriend fancy clothes; "she runs a weenie stand/way down in no man's land" and drives a Cadillac, but it's all nobody's business
KEYWORDS: sex homicide clothes gambling rambling drink nonballad whore
FOUND IN: US West Indies(Jamaica)
Murray-FolkSongsOfJamaica, pp. 34-35, "Nobody's Business" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Noel Dexter and Geodfrey Taylor, _Mango Time: Folk Songs of Jamaica_ (Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers, 2007), pp. 86-87, "Nobody's Business" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #17344
Emry Arthur, "Nobody's Business" (Vocalion 5230, 1928)
Jerry Behrens, "Nobody's Business" (OKeh 45564, 1932)
Tommie Bradley "Nobody's Business If I Do" (Champion 16696, 1933; Varsity 6055, n.d. [as by Big Richard]; rec. 1932; on GoodForWhatAilsYou)
Warren Caplinger's Cumberland Mountain Entertainers, "Nobody's Business" (Brunswick 224/Brunswick [Canada] 224, 1928)
Edric Connor with the Caribbeans and Earl Inkman, "Nobody's Business" (on WIEConnor01)
Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five, "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" (Decca 27200, c. 1950)
The Gaylads, "Nobody's Business" (2002, on "Ska Days," Soul Beat CD, 2002 [apparently a reissue of a Rolando & Powie 1964 45EP)
Boysie Grant with Reynolds' Calypso Clippers, "Sweet Charlie";"Mattie Rag";"Nobody's Business" (1952, on Motta MRS 06A, 2004, "Mento Madness, Motta's Jamaican Mento: 1951-56," V2 Music Ltd CD 63881-27201-2)
Alberta Hunter, "T'ain't Nobody's Biz-ness" (Paramount 12018, 1923)
Mississippi John Hurt, "Nobody's Dirty Business" (OKeh 8560, 1928; on MJHurt01, MJHurt02; on MJHurt05); "Nobody's Business" (on MJHurt04)
Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers, "Ain't Nobody's Business" (OKeh 45092, 1927, on Rough2)
[Billy] Jones & [Ernest] Hare, "Nobody's Business" (CYL: Edison [BA] 5115, n.d.)
Lulu Belle & Scotty, "It Ain't Nobody's Bizness" (OKeh 04962, 1939)
Sara Martin w. Fats Waller "'Tain't Nobody's Bus'ness If I Do" (OKeh 8043, 1923; rec. 1922)
Charles Nabell, "Nobody's Business" (OKeh 40389, 1925)
Riley Puckett, "Nobody's Business" (Bluebird B-6103, 1935; Bluebird B-8621, 1941)
Roy Sexton & his Arizona Hoedowners, "Nobody's Business" (Old Timer 8013, n.d.)
Bessie Smith, "Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do" (Columbia A3898, 1923)
Leo Soileau & his Aces, "Nobody's Business" (Decca 5101, 1935)
Peter Tosh, "Leave My Business" (on "Early Masters," (2009, on Goldenlane Records MP3 [recorded 1971; see NOTES])
Walker's Corbin Ramblers, "Nobody's Business" (Vocalion 01648, 1934)
Lena Wilson, "Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do" (Victor 19085, 1923)
Jimmy Witherspoon, "Ain't Nobody's Business, Pts. 1 & 2" (Supreme 1506/Swing Time 263, 1947)
SAME TUNE:
She Came from Kelligrews, She Likes Her Fish and Brewis (by Harry Mercer) (Cox-FolkMusicInANewfoundlandOutport, p. 161)
NOTES [344 words]: This shouldn't be confused with Will E. Skidmore & Marshall Walker's 1919 "It's Nobody's Business But My Own," which concerned the extracurricular activities of a deacon. Skidmore and Walker copyrighted that song (and Bert Williams recorded it on Columbia A2750 the same year), but the JournalOfAmericanFolklore reference precedes that copyright, so it's likely they arranged and adapted a traditional piece. And, while I have not seen the sheet music to the copyrighted version, I strongly suspect it doesn't contain all the verses listed above. - PJS
THE JAMAICAN VERSIONS
The Gaylads' ska structure is the same as Dexter/Taylor and Murray-FolkSongsOfJamaica, with the chorus line being "nobody's business, business" and a verse of "if I marry a tiny girl/ or I marry a fat gal/ nobody's business but me own." Dextor/Taylor and Murray is in Jamaican patois with, partly, a similar theme to Gaylads' "if I marry a black man/ And left him for a Chinese man/...." This theme is also in - for example - Tommy Bradley's version: "If I dislike my lover/ And leave her for another/ Nobody's business if I do."
The structure of Boysie Grant's mento version and Peter Tosh's reggae version is like the U.S. recordings: the chorus line is simply "nobody's business" rather than "nobody's business, business."
Grant's verse, like all but Tosh's, has to do with trading lovers: a sailor man for a soldier man, and a Coolie [East Indian] man for a Chinee man.
Tosh's, like the U. S. versions, deals with hard times and shady business, among other things: "When landlord come collectiing rent/ Me not come beg you fifty cent/ That's nobody's business but my own" and "If I get high and fly like bird/ You should never say a word...." So does Dexter/Taylor, "Solomon granma swear she no go beg/ Tief 'way an Bra Sammy fowl an' egg/ Nobody's business but she own."
The date on the Peter Tosh recording is from KAZO, Bob Marley and the Wailers "Compared Discography", Issue 14(February 2nd, 2010) p. 52, downloaded March 14, 2015, from http://kazo.wailers.free.fr/. - BS
File: RcNobBu1