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I normally don't hang, post, paste, pin, plaster or paint anything decorative (except basic paint) on my office or home walls.
In my office, a few things dangle from wall pegs, but just for ease of utilitarian access to them. I'm not at all puzzled by why others do hang stuff on their walls, because I can explain it—in a number of very different ways, drawing upon various psychological, philosophical and design principles, which is one of the objectives of this analysis.
What also needs to be explained is not only why people hang stuff on walls, but also why they do not leave them blank and empty. Although these sound like the same question, they are not. A reason why someone does something is both logically and psychologically different from a reason why they don't refrain from doing it (much as having no reason to live is not the same as having a reason not to live).
For example, we may do X for the positive rewards, yet refrain from not doing X because of anticipated punishment. Showing up for work, on time and sober, is like that. To the extent that the mechanisms and dynamics of reward and punishment are different and independent of each other, their roles in explanations are also different and independent. (Choosing to buy ice cream for its rewards does not entail punishment for refraining from buying it, if the ice cream is only nice, not necessary.) Hence, it will be very useful to ask two distinct questions:
- What are the expected rewards of hanging stuff on walls?
- What are the expected punishments, if any, for not hanging stuff on walls?
Among the explanations I propose are some very exotic and unexpected ones, in addition to the obvious ones that require little discussion. For the sake of completeness, I will cover both kinds:
1. Exteriorized locus of control: Sticking a note, e.g., "Think thin!", or a plaque with the Ten Commandments on a wall or a refrigerator door, functions as a form of self-control, motivation and inspiration and tool of self-programming to achieve what will power is perhaps unable to, e.g., in connection with weight control.
In its most general terms, such posted prods represent an externalized control, command and imperative that will be obeyed or otherwise followed more readily than inner whisperings, precisely because they carry the force of an external, exterior command, authority or other influence. Psychoanalytically, such hangings are exteriorized "super-ego" or alter-ego, much as the Ten Commandments or AA's 12 Steps are. A nun's wall crucifix, a Bruce Lee poster on a skinny weight-lifting kid's wall and—far more subtly—a corporate logo on the office wall all serve to externally motivate, support and justify desired performance.
The reason why such an external locus of control works is also the reason why it is often necessary: Among those whose "internal locus of control" (sense of autonomy and self-direction) is insufficient for a given task, an external boot or nudge will be necessary to get something done.
Because a command is always, in terms of the "bio-grammar" of the brain and by definition an externally imposed demand, an externalization of a perceived requirement as a command will be far more effective than any inner whisperings. In effect, hanging stuff on walls is often a projection of inner values and priorities onto a surface that will mirror and compel their realization.
What are the implications of a bare wall, from this perspective? The foregoing analysis suggests that workmates or organizations that favor bare walls have a very strong internal locus of control or no values/goals/inspiration/identifications—the former being the likelier of the two. Recall the minimalism of icons, paintings, stained glass, etc., of the Puritan movement and the Protestant Reformation and how these correlated with a break from the external authority of Rome.
In my case, a strong internal locus of control is, I believe, the best explanation for my having no commandments or other motivators on my walls.
2. Status displays: This is perhaps the most obvious reason for stuff on walls, whether it's a photo of you and your Ferrari, you at the peak of Mt. Kilaminjaro, your hot girl/guy friend, a portrait of a famous,(otherwise unremembered) ancestor, a painting you've done, diplomas (which of course also serve as a posted credential and marketing tool or work-group award photo. It's simply piggybacking on achieved status to gain or maintain status (which does not preclude other functions for the hung stuff).
Finding this shallow and transparent, I refrain from hanging anything on a wall that smacks of tacky—make that "thumb-tacky"– status-seeking.
3. Gestalt figure and ground: You can think of your wall as being either a pure horizon or as a background "foil" or frame for something in the foreground. If you regard it as being the latter, you'll be likelier to enjoy Gestalt figure and ground effects, namely, the wholistic interplay of elements respectively identified as foreground and background.
In some instances, the perceptual alternation of the whole's elements' roles as figure and ground creates a number of familiar Gestalt illusions, such as the well-known "Rubin Vase" image that looks like a vase or like the profile of two people nose-to-nose as the Gestalt-shifted foreground and background elements shift. Regarding my wall as pure, unobstructed horizon, I have neither any need nor preference for a figure-ground role for my walls and abhor any patterned wall, e.g., floral wall paper, that imposes that framework of objects against a background.
The really intriguing question is what determines whether one favors pure horizon or figure-ground walls? Among the possible explanations is that for people with any form of claustrophobia (perhaps triggered by walls with dark colors), landscape paintings and other open-space surrogates may suffice as offsets. Conversely, hanging any object on a wall forces our eyes to converge on it, which can create a visual suffocation of its own. Again, that's me.
4. Totemic identification: Just as I don't have anything on my walls, I have no tattoos on my skin. That's not a coincidence, because the reason is the same in both cases: no interest in having any such visible superficial (in both senses) identifiers of my identity and identifications, including totemic identification, the latter being icons that represent the "tribe", sub-culture or other group to which we wish to or actually belong.
Not being the least bit tribal, I will limit my identifiers to purely individual ones, while allowing that these may conform to some type or archetype, but not to a group. This means that I never have and never will have an NBA, American League, NHL, Goth, polar bear or other totemic poster on any wall, preferring to confrim any role as part of something in other ways.
Walls festooned with such totemic tokens, including Amway posters, are prima facie evidence of a group mind set and desire to feel like part of some clan.
5. Idealizations: Just as many post Photoshopped or lucky photos of themselves on Facebook to present their idealized image and persona to the world, people have been adorning their walls with idealizations of themselves or those important to them since time immemorial, e.g., English landed gentry posing for a Gainsborough family portrait in which even the purebred hounds look more perfect than they were.
Those idealizations can range from doctored photos of yourself to images of the real Adonis or Venus statues. Just be sure that you are not standing next to your Photoshopped selfies when showing them to guests (lest they see the difference).
6. Physical surrogates: Here in Vancouver, one version of the story goes, some years ago a very wealthy home owner (or architect) barraged with complaints and/or stricken with an attack of conscience about how his new oversized Stanley Park lagoon-side 3-storey mansion obliterated the view of the lagoon, park and wildlife, commissioned a gigantic scenic mural on the building's rear wall to replicate and replace the real view.
Looking at the mural's lagoon and forest was almost as good as viewing the real scenery. Problem: When the vacant lot adjacent to that wall got filled in with another apartment building, the mural wall adjoined that of the new building and could no longer be seen.
As an example of surrogate wall enhancements, that is the most extreme I'm aware of; but, it illustrates the possibilities, e.g., hanging office paintings of mountains when you live and work in the prairies.
7. Sentimentality surrogates: Although family photos on walls, e.g., graduation photos, almost always have a self-aggrandizing status-enhancing function, they can also serve as what I'll call "sentimentality surrogates" (and sentimentality stimuli). Their job is to display, enshrine, confirm and surrogate strong, usually positive, sentiments (unlike FBI or Wild West post office mug shots on "wanted" posters).
The tempting, seemingly obvious conclusion to draw from bare walls is a lack of sentimentality. However, from a purely logical standpoint, posted sentimental photos, paintings, etc., while possibly sufficient to prove sentimentality, are not necessary, e.g., in the instance in which there are no available photos or other evidence of the object of that sentimentality.
Ironically, it is quite possible that the stronger the sentiment, the less likely a wall display of it, e.g., from fear of damage to it through open exposure to sunlight, to damage when posting or removing them, or to kids' or visitors' mishandling. Moreover, anyone aware of the likely perception of the wall display as a transparent status-seeking/affirming tactic may be inhibited from putting them up. These two explanations cover my not putting such mementos on a wall.
8. Symmetry: If you, like me, favor decorative minimalism, e.g., no bulky furniture or tall cabinets, no paintings or hangings on walls, you may face a special challenge related to symmetry. Having recently moved into a new place, but with old minimalist habits, I found myself compelled to put something on the wall—in this case, a simple gold-colored ersatz platter, and did so, before fully understanding why.
It turns out that the reason was easy to identify: Having mostly furnishings that sit low on the floor, e.g., a futon-style bed with tossed pillows, low chair, low book case and area carpets, the room in question had a disturbing asymmetry, namely, very high walls that were "bottom heavy"–with everything in view on or near the floor.
Hence, to create some semblance of symmetry along the horizontal axis dividing the walls in two, I placed that decorative plate just above the imaginary x-axis and am pleased with the resulting visual symmetry.
9. Marketing: Perhaps the most justifiable use of office wall space is anything put on it for marketing purposes—including branding and promotion. It is important to note that such marketing can comprise not only elements of the pitch to clients and the community, but also selling the company to employees and prospective employees.
Seeing organizational icons, logos, staff photos and messages plastered on office walls can reassure everyone: The organization can afford the design and deployment of such resources; it has a clear, coherent and enduring mission, message and image; it is proud of its star performers (or clients); and the organization is keeping its staff in the information loop, to the extent that charts and other informatics (that double as promotional tools) adorn the walls.
10. Sympathetic magic: As psychologically primitive and instinctive as totemic identification, the use of walls as media for what is called "sympathetic magic" is archaeologically well-confirmed. The famous paleolithic cave paintings at Lascaux and Altamira, which depict ancient and extinct animals such as bison, sabre-tooth tigers and various ungulates, such as deer, are considered by some experts to have been exercises in sympathetic magic—creating magical images that can attract that which they depict, in a kind of artsy voodoo.
Accompanying images of ancient hunters presumably reinforce the magic by depicting them as skillful—in hopes of inspiring or assuring such hunting expertise and success.
Hanging an artist's conception of proposed new corporate headquarters in the lobby may actually have such a magical effect: Its embodied vision and optimism impresses clients and other visitors to the degree that it generates new revenues, donations, etc., to get itself built.
Self-fulfilling artistry, so to speak.
11. Chalk-talk: One of my pet theories about the ancient cave paintings is that they were in fact primitive equivalents of the modern football coach locker-room chalk-talk, i.e., new or reviewed plays to be run in the game, drawn and explained through a chalk-board representation of them.
That would explain why the cave paintings discovered have mostly been on walls in the deeper parts of the caves—to prevent rival tribes and the prey animals themselves from getting wind of the cave occupant's best moves. ("So, Throg, you flank the mammoth on the left, as shown here; Dregth, you on the right…Everyone else—throw stones and shout.")
Presumably, Amway revenue and recruitment pyramid performance charts would or could be displayed in that way, for those purposes and with similar safeguards.
One more idea: If you decide that you like my analyses here enough to frame and hang this article on your office wall, feel free to do so.
It would be legitimized at least as a chalk-talk and, of course, as…
…an idealization of great writing.


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Tobacco Smoking and Solid Organ Transplantation
Smoking remains a major public health issue. This review article discuss the effects of smoking by both donors and recipients on outcomes after transplant. It also covers the literature on smoking cessation. They also argue whether active smoking should be a contraindication to transplantation.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hable Construction (www.hableconstruction.com) is the product of family history. Named after their great grandfather's road construction business, sisters Katherine & Susan Hable merged their business and creative backgrounds and introduced their fabrics to Brooklyn in 1999. Known for their fabrics-by-the-yard, pillows, totes, and storage containers, Hable has also created lines for Barneys, Garnet Hill and Pottery Barn Kids. Working with Hickory Chair is their first venture with a traditional full-service furniture line.
Check out some of their storyboards that were on display at their satellite office at the Hickory Chair showroom in High Point.
And here is one of their playful patterns found on a campaign style lounge chair - SO FUN!


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Elm Guest House claims and controversy
In Britain, controversy arose from claims reported in 2012, which some state to have been later discredited,[1] of sexual abuse and grooming of children at parties held at the former Elm Guest House in Rocks Lane, near Barnes Common in south-west London, during the late 1970s and 1980s. Several prominent British men were alleged, in a list produced by convicted fraudster Chris Fay[2] and never verified or corroborated by any other source, to have attended the Guest House including former government ministers, senior MPs, top police officers, judges, pop music stars, and people with links to the Royal Households.[3] Since 2012, the allegations of an establishment paedophile ring have been part of a complex multi-agency investigation.[4]
Elm Guest House was alleged to have been used by a Westminster paedophile ring.[5] Prominent people who were claimed, without any proof, to have attended parties at Elm Guest House included the Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith, the Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Fairbairn,[6] the Soviet spy Anthony Blunt, the former British diplomat Sir Peter Hayman, and the Foreign Office barrister Colin Peters, who was later jailed in 1989 for being part of a network which abused over a hundred boys.[4][7][8] According to The Independent, other alleged visitors to the guesthouse include a Sinn Féin politician, a Labour MP and several Conservative politicians.[3][9] During 2014 and 2015, allegations against several other leading politicians of the period, mostly now deceased, were made public in the British press.
An investigation, Operation Fairbank, led by the Metropolitan Police Service, started in late 2012. This was a "scoping exercise" aimed at a "preliminary assessment of the evidence rather than a formal inquiry",[10] and the existence of the "assessment" operation was confirmed only on 12 December 2012 after operating in secret for several weeks.[10] As a result of allegations arising from Operation Fairbank, a full criminal investigation, Operation Fernbridge, was launched in February 2013.[11] In November 2014, another operation—Operation Midland—was set up to examine claims of a possible homicide,[12] later extended to cover allegations of three murders and activities at the Dolphin Square development in Pimlico and elsewhere;[13] on 21 March 2016, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that Operation Midland had been closed without any charges being brought.[14] In 2015, the Independent Police Complaints Commission began investigating claims that the Metropolitan Police had suppressed evidence of child sexual abuse and prevented the investigation of some allegations between 1970 and 2005, because of the alleged involvement of police officers and MPs.[15]
In addition to eight guest rooms, facilities at the three-storey Elm Guest House included a sauna, solarium and video studio.[7][16] The Edwardian house is now a private residence, and the current occupants are not connected to the allegations.[17]
- 1Claims by Tom Watson MP
- 2Operation Fairbank
- 3Criminal investigation – Operation Fernbridge
- 4Operation Hedgerow
- 5Operation Cayacos
- 62014 allegations
- 72015 allegations
- 8Operation Midland and homicide allegations
- 9Independent investigation into Metropolitan Police
- 10See also
- 11References
Claims by Tom Watson MP
Operation Fairbank was set up following claims by Labour MP Tom Watson in the House of Commons that the police should look afresh at claims of a "powerful paedophile network linked to Parliament and No 10".[10] Watson raised the issue at Prime Minister's Questions on 24 October 2012.[10][18] The information was passed to him by a journalist from the investigative news website Exaro.[19] He suggested that such a network may have existed in the past at a high level, protected by connections to Parliament and involving a close aide to a former Prime Minister; neither the aide nor the former Prime Minister were named.[20]
Watson referred to Peter Righton, a former consultant to the National Children's Bureau, who was convicted of importing and possessing illegal pornographic material in 1992. Watson said that files on Righton contained "clear intelligence of a widespread paedophile ring…One of its members boasts of a link to a senior aide of a former Prime Minister, who says he could smuggle indecent images of children from abroad."[10]
Operation Fairbank
The police investigation known as Operation Fairbank was first set up under conditions of secrecy. The Independent on Sunday[21] reported that it focused on claims of sexual abuse and the grooming of children, involving parties for men at the former Elm Guest House in Rocks Lane, close to Barnes Common in south-west London, during the late 1970s and 1980s.
The guest house was managed at the time by Carole Kasir, who died in 1990 at the age of 47; an inquest found that the cause of Kasir's death was an overdose of insulin. Two employees from the National Association for Young People in Care told the coroner they believed that because Kasir seemingly had not had an insulin injection for three days, she had been murdered. Nevertheless, she was found to have committed suicide.[21] A party was raided by the police in 1982, following which 12 boys gave evidence that they had been abused by men at the house. Kasir was convicted of the charge of running a disorderly house, but allegations of abuse against children, and a subsequent reported investigation in 2003, were apparently not pursued.[21]
The Independent on Sunday reported in January 2013 that police were investigating claims that Cyril Smith, a former Liberal MP who died in 2010, sexually abused young boys at Elm Guest House, which the article claimed "was allegedly used by a powerful paedophile network whose members are said to have included former leading Conservative politicians."[22] Smith is reported to have been a regular visitor to Elm Guest House.[23] A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We can confirm Cyril Smith visited the premises."[24]
In February 2013, it was reported that police were investigating allegations that in the early 1980s a "paedophile ring of VIPs" abused boys from the Grafton Close Children's Home in Richmond, south-west London. A claim was also made that Kasir had photographs or video of many establishment figures at Elm Guest House, one photograph allegedly showing a former cabinet minister in a sauna with a naked boy.[25] One alleged victim of abuse at the guest house said that at the age of 13 he and his 12-year-old brother, both orphans, were sent there for parties when they were residents at Grafton Close Children's home. He said boys were plied with alcohol before being abused by men at the guesthouse.[4] In March 2013, The Independent on Sunday reported that at least three men named in documents as visitors to the Elm Guest House were later convicted of multiple sexual offences against children.[7]
It was reported in December 2013 that a former Conservative cabinet minister was being investigated as part of Operation Fairbank, following the seizure of footage and photographs from a London party where children were abused in the 1980s. The film and images were seized at the home of a known paedophile in London. The unnamed politician was photographed entering the property where the party was held. One alleged victim has claimed that the ex-cabinet minister was one of those who raped him.[26] Cyril Smith and Jimmy Savile were among other alleged visitors to the parties. Some of the parties were organised by Sidney Cooke, who was jailed in the 1980s for the rape and manslaughter of Jason Swift in east London.[26] Cooke, described by The Guardian in 1999 as "Britain's most notorious paedophile",[27] was part of a ring of paedophiles who picked up young boys in London, often taking them to Amsterdam to be abused. Allegations were reported in December 2013 that several Conservative MPs frequently attended sex parties in Amsterdam in order to have sex with young boys.[26]
Criminal investigation – Operation Fernbridge
A full criminal investigation, Operation Fernbridge, was launched as a result of allegations that arose from Operation Fairbank. Two men, a Catholic priest from Norwich, and a man understood to be connected to the Grafton Close children's home in Richmond, were arrested on suspicion of sexual offences and questioned by child investigation officers from Operation Fernbridge in February 2013.[11][28] A third arrest, of a 69-year-old man, took place in July 2013.[29] A trial against Tony McSweeney, the Catholic priest, started at Southwark Crown Court in February 2015. However, John Stingemore, the man who formerly worked for Richmond Council, was found dead at his home in January 2015 whilst still awaiting trial.[30] The two men always denied the charges against them.[31]
Operation Fernbridge was supported by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and Richmond Social Services.[11] In June 2013 it was reported that seven police officers were working on the case and were following more than 300 leads.[19] In July 2014, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that they had more than tripled the number of officers working on the case, announcing that 22 officers were working on the operation.[32]
In March 2015, it was reported that Operation Fernbridge had closed, but that allegations that had been made to it were still being considered as part of other ongoing investigations.[33]
Westminster paedophile dossier
In 1983, Conservative MP Geoffrey Dickens compiled a dossier, telling his family it was "explosive" and would "blow the lid" on powerful and famous child abusers. The dossier was handed over to the then Home Secretary, Leon Brittan, who acknowledged receipt in a letter and suggested the police had been informed. The dossier was subsequently lost. The Observer revealed on 5 July 2014 that the Dickens dossier was just one of 114 potentially relevant files found to be missing by officials when they did their initial search.[16] The chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee Keith Vaz said that files had been lost "on an industrial scale".[34] In July 2014, Prime Minister David Cameron ordered an enquiry into the missing Dickens dossier,[35] and a subsequent inquiry by Peter Wanless and Richard Whittam QC failed to find the dossier or missing files.[36]
Allegations of impropriety by police officers
The Independent on Sunday reported in 2014 that the police's Professional Standards Directorate was examining potential criminal offences by undercover officers at the time of a police raid on Elm Guest House in June 1982. The raid took place while two officers were at the premises posing as guests. A former masseur, Lee Towsey, then aged 16 (that is, under the homosexual age of consent at the time), alleged he had sex with two undercover officers at the guest house.[37]
Operation Hedgerow
In March 2013, The Independent on Sunday reported that Colin Peters, a Foreign Office barrister, was a regular visitor to Elm Guest House, where he allegedly abused boys.[38]In 1989, Peters was jailed for being part of a network of paedophiles who abused over a hundred children. Peters' conviction followed an investigation known as Operation Hedgerow, which recorded 650 offences against 150 boys. The Independent on Sunday described Peters as being "a key figure behind one of the UK's most extensive paedophile rings". He was jailed in 1989 for eight years for sexual offences, conspiracy to commit a sexual offence and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.[38]
The paedophile ring was reported as having lured young boys into prostitution. Reports at the time of Peters' 1989 trial said the ring "was used by highly placed civil servants and well-known public figures", but that the police did not have "the evidence or manpower to pursue them in court".[38] Also in 1989, The Glasgow Herald reported that the paedophile ring resembled the Mafia in its organisation and strength and included "well-placed and influential professional people linked to Westminster and Whitehall".[8]
Through this paedophile ring, Colin Peters allegedly abused boys at Elm Guest House, one of whom was Peter Hatton-Bornshim, a Grafton Close care-home resident; Hatton-Bornshin later killed himself. One alleged Elm Guest House victim said that he was also trafficked to an Amsterdam brothel where he was allegedly abused by a prominent politician.[38]
Operation Cayacos
A spin-off inquiry, Operation Cayacos, is an investigation into historical claims of child abuse by a paedophile ring linked to Peter Righton. The investigation is being conducted by the Metropolitan Police.[39]
2014 allegations
In April 2014, Simon Danczuk MP said he was convinced there had been a "network of paedophiles" operating in the House of Commons who helped to protect Liberal MP Cyril Smith. Claims were made that a 16-year-old boy had been abused by Smith at Elm Guest House.[40] Allegations had earlier been reported in The Independent that Smith had used rent boys under the age of 16 and in local authority care at Elm Guest House.[22] After it emerged that a dossier of claims made by former MP Geoffrey Dickens had apparently disappeared, Danczuk referred to the police investigation into events at the guest house when he called for former Home Secretary Leon Brittan to clarify what he knew about allegations made in the 1980s of paedophiles operating in Westminster.[41][42] It was reported by The Guardian that events at the guest house were at "the heart" of the "long-simmering sex scandal".[16]
Retired child protection team manager Peter McKelvie, whose claims formed part of the Operation Fernbridge investigation, said in July 2014 that more than ten current and former politicians were on a list of alleged child abusers held by police investigating claims of a Westminster paedophile ring. Several, including Cyril Smith and Peter Morrison, were no longer alive, but other alleged abusers were reportedly still active in Parliament.[43] McKelvie believes there are sufficient grounds to arrest at least one senior politician.[44] McKelvie said that evidence of a powerful paedophile ring had been covered up in 1992. He told Labour MP Tom Watson that the police had discovered letters implicating powerful individuals in a paedophile network.[45]
Also in July 2014, The Daily Telegraph reported that a senior Conservative politician being investigated as part of Operation Fernbridge had allegedly been stopped by a customs officer with child pornography in the 1980s. A border guard, who is now retired, told detectives that when he searched the MP's car he found videotapes of children "clearly under the age of 12" taking part in sex acts. He passed the material on to his superiors, but the MP was never arrested or charged over the alleged child pornography seizure because it was reported that police were understood to have insufficient evidence to take any action against the senior Conservative politician who was also accused of abusing a young boy at Elm Guest House.[43][46] A few days later, the same newspaper reported that a statement had been given by a child in 1982 alleging that he was abused at Elm Guest House by a senior political figure. It was reported that Operation Fernbridge detectives had closely examined the case of the eight-year-old alleged victim. Detectives also interviewed a retired police officer who had been involved in the original Elm Guest House investigation and who had interviewed the alleged victim at the time. The eight-year-old boy had reportedly been rescued from Elm Guest House after allegedly suffering what was described as a "horrific sexual assault" by the "leading political figure".[47]
During this same period, in July 2014, there were also calls for the late Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Fairbairn, a former Solicitor General for Scotland, to be posthumously investigated after being linked to child abuse allegations at Elm Guest House. It was alleged that Fairbairn, who died in 1995 aged 61, was one of a number of politicians who visited the guest house in June 1982. Photographs were allegedly taken of Fairbairn—as well as Cyril Smith—at the guest house. Fairbairn was linked to alleged abuse of boys in a sauna at Elm Guest House.[6] In 2000, the daughter of a prominent Scottish lawyer had already alleged that Fairbairn, a former legal adviser to Margaret Thatcher, was part of a paedophile ring. Pete Wishart, an SNP MP, who represents Fairbairn's former constituency of Perth, called for the allegations to be fully examined. He said: "If there is any evidence that Sir Nicholas Fairbairn was involved in the abuse of children, it should be looked at and properly investigated."[6]
Barry Strevens, an ex-detective chief inspector for Cheshire police and former bodyguard to Margaret Thatcher, also claimed he warned her that another of her aides, Peter Morrison, allegedly held sex parties with under-age boys. Strevens said that, despite his passing on the allegations to Thatcher, she later promoted Morrison to the position of deputy chairman of the Conservative party.[48] Morrison died in 1995 aged 51 and has since been linked to alleged sex abuse at children's homes in north Wales[48] and the alleged rape of a 14-year-old boy at Elm Guest House.[5] Three years after Morrison died, it was first reported in 1998 that he had been arrested for molesting underage boys during his career. He received a mere police caution and was never charged with any crime during his lifetime. In 2002, former Conservative minister Edwina Currie described Morrison as a "notable pederast".[49]
Former cabinet minister Norman Tebbit said in July 2014 that there "may well have been" a political cover-up of child sex abuse in the 1980s. Tebbit, who served in various ministerial roles under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, said that the culture at the time was to protect "the establishment". He said that it was seen as "more important to protect the system than to delve too far into claims". Tebbit stated that he felt this view was "wrong".[34] Former Labour health minister Lord Warner said that powerful people in the 1980s targeted children's homes that served as a "supply line" for paedophiles. He described the sexual abuse of children as a "power drive". Warner said that insufficient action was taken to deal with child abuse in the 1980s because there was "disbelief in the public mind".[50]
In an interview with The Guardian in November 2014, Labour MP Tom Watson said: "There is no doubt in my mind that sexual abuse by powerful figures took place." Watson said that he was aware of the name of the senior aide of a former Prime Minister who allegedly smuggled indecent images of children from abroad, but that it would be wrong for him to name the individual.[45] Watson said: "In one particular case of one person, there have been multiple allegations from unrelated people, some more credible than others, about severe cases of abuse. And in my mind I'm pretty certain that the person has broken the law and abused kids."[45]
Two journalists—the former news editor of the Surrey Comet, Hilton Tims, and the former editor of the Bury Messenger, Don Hale—both stated in November 2014 that they had been served with D-notices, or warnings not to publish material that might damage national security, during the 1980s. Tims stated that the notice was issued directly after the newspaper began investigating rumours of activities at the guest house. Hale said that he was threatened with a D-notice after starting to investigate a file given to him by Barbara Castle, which contained details of a Home Office investigation into Geoffrey Dickens' allegations of a paedophile ring. According to Hale, the threat of a D-notice was given by police who came into his office the day after he had received a visit from Cyril Smith, whom Hale described as "aggressive".[51]
The Scottish Sunday Express published a claim in November 2014 that in 1985 a Scottish solicitor and former vice-chairman of the Scottish National Party, Willie MacRae, had evidence about paedophiles in the Scottish and English establishments. On 5 April 1985, MacRae's car crashed on a remote stretch of the A87 road in Inverness-shire; he was shot in the head with a revolver and left to die. The evidence was supposedly in a briefcase in McRae's car at the time but disappeared.[52] The gun was recovered some distance from the car, but there were no fingerprints. In 2006, a former policeman, Iain Fraser, who worked as a private investigator after leaving the police, said he was asked by a mystery client to spy on McRae three weeks before he died. Fraser added to calls for a public inquiry into the death. Repeated requests for an official inquiry into MacRae's death have been turned down.[53]
In December 2014, an alleged "survivor of VIP abuse parties" said that he and other children were taken for weekend trips to Pimlico in the early 1980s. He said that he was abused growing up in care in north Wales and was taken to central London aged 11 or 12, where he was raped. He has been interviewed by police officers investigating the claims. The alleged victim said that children were plied with alcohol, taken into bedrooms and forced into sexual acts with various older men including MPs and government ministers. He said that other survivors have since died or in some cases have taken their own lives. The survivor of the alleged abuse said that he did not have faith in the Home Office or the Government to protect the victims.[54]
Labour MP John Mann gave Scotland Yard detectives evidence in December 2014 relating to 22 political figures suspected of involvement in Westminster paedophile rings, including three serving MPs and three members of the House of Lords. The list of those alleged to have been involved in child sex abuse included fourteen Conservative politicians, five Labour politicians and three from other parties. Thirteen former ministers were among the list, of whom at least two were alleged to have assaulted young boys at "abuse parties" held at the Dolphin Square apartment block in central London. Mann said that some of his sources were highly placed officials within institutions, and that he believed the complexity of child abuse networks at the heart of government in the 1970s and 1980s had been seriously underestimated.[55][56][57]
2015 allegations
In January 2015, an academic researcher found in The National Archives a reference to a file regarding allegations of "unnatural" sexual behaviour taking place at Westminster that probably went to the Prime Minister in the early 1980s. The file was entitled "Allegations against former public [missing word] of unnatural sexual proclivities; security aspects 1980 Oct 27 – 1981 Mar 20." The file remains classified as it contained information from the security services and Law Officers. The Cabinet Office stated that any pertinent files would be made available to the forthcoming Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.[58]
After the former Home Secretary Leon Brittan died in January 2015, he was accused of "multiple child rape". Labour MP Tom Watson said he had spoken to two people who claimed they were abused by Brittan, including a man who alleged he had been attacked more than a dozen times as a boy. The alleged victim also said he had seen Brittan assault others. Watson said that he—along with others, including media organisations—had known of the accusations but had decided not to speak out of fear of prejudicing any jury trial that Brittan might have one day faced. Watson said he believed the alleged victims he had spoken to were "sincere".[59]
The Independent on Sunday reported allegations that Leon Brittan had abused a pre-pubescent boy at Elm Guest House in 1982. The boy had been taken to a safe venue by police after being abused by several people, one of whom was allegedly Brittan. In 1990, Chris Fay, a campaigner for the National Association of Young People in Care, claimed on oath that Brittan had been involved in abuse and that in March 1990 he had seen a photograph of Brittan in a French maid's uniform, with a young boy. The picture had been shown to him by Carole Kasir, co-owner of the Elm Guest House, who died weeks later.[60]
Allegations were reported that Brittan had been photographed attending a male prostitution orgy in 1986. It was alleged that young boys were picked up at Kings Cross, London and dropped off at a north London building to be repeatedly raped, but the day before the planned arrests of Brittan and other high-profile figures including the Liberal MP Cyril Smith the 1986 investigation was disbanded without explanation.[61]
Meanwhile, in March 2015, BBC's Newsnight reported that a 1981 undercover police operation which gathered evidence of child abuse by Cyril Smith and other public figures was scrapped shortly after Smith was arrested. A former police officer, who is familiar with the original investigation and its closure, told Newsnight that Smith was arrested during an investigation into alleged sex parties with teenage boys in south London. During the three-month inquiry in 1981, officers reportedly gathered a substantial amount of evidence of men abusing boys. The order to scrap the inquiry came from a senior officer after Smith and others had been arrested. Police officers were then ordered to hand over all their evidence—including notebooks and video footage—and were warned to keep quiet about the investigation or face prosecution under the Official Secrets Act. Labour MP Simon Danczuk said: "It is my view that Smith was being protected by some fairly powerful people. They ensured that he was never put before the courts."[62]
Also in March 2015, it was reported by The Sunday Times that police were looking into new allegations of child abuse committed by the former Speaker of the House of Commons George Thomas and Labour MP Leo Abse. The new allegations have been passed to officers leading an investigation into an alleged "network of politicians". Earlier in 2014, South Wales Police confirmed that officers were investigating allegations that Thomas abused a boy aged 9.[63]
During this same month The Independent also published a report saying Enoch Powell was one of the MPs whose activities had been investigated as part of Operation Fernbridge. Powell's name had been passed to police by Paul Butler, the Bishop of Durham, after allegations of Powell's involvement in abuse were made by one individual in the 1980s to the then Bishop of Monmouth, Dominic Walker.[33] Powell's biographer, Simon Heffer, criticised the Church of England's actions in "putting this smear into the public domain", while the church stated that it had simply responded to an inquiry from the press and confirmed that allegations about Powell, which related to an alleged satanic cult rather than any criminal activity, had been passed to the police.[64] David Aaronovitch of The Times wrote in April 2015 that the 1980s claims about Powell originated from fabricated claims invented by a conman, Derry Mainwaring Knight, whose false assertions had become known to the clergy, but had been unwittingly conveyed to the police in good faith. The police found no evidence to support the allegation against Powell.[65]
Later, in an edition of Panorama broadcast on 6 October, a former Elm Guest House prostitute was interviewed who claimed that he was unaware of any MPs visiting the brothel. Journalist John Oakes told them he had investigated Chris Fay's claims, but had never been able to find any "solid" information nor trace of photos Fay said he had seen. Fay told Panorama that 17 or 18 children from Grafton Close had told him they had been trafficked to Elm Guest House; one of them, Mark, stated that he had been an abuse victim at Grafton Close but had never been to Elm Guest House nor spoken to Fay.[66]
Operation Midland and homicide allegations
In November 2014 the Metropolitan Police announced that they were establishing a related investigation, Operation Midland, intended to examine claims made in November 2014 about a possible homicide over 30 years earlier.[12] The police later stated that three alleged homicides were being investigated as part of the inquiry, and appealed for further information regarding activities at the Dolphin Square apartment block in Pimlico near the Houses of Parliament in the 1970s and 1980s. Events elsewhere in London and at military establishments were also under investigation.[13]
Operation Midland arose from claims by "Nick", a man aged in his 40s who was a child at the time of the alleged incidents.[67] Having written of his abuse, Nick was contacted by Exaro, an investigative journalism website. Exaro sold stories to newspapers about the alleged incidents, and a reporter from Exaro accompanied "Nick" to meetings with police.[68]
Nick said his stepfather, a military figure, was the first to physically and sexually abuse him and that he was subsequently passed to other figures of authority during his childhood from 1975 to 1984. Nick specifically named 12 people in a group of powerful child abusers, including Harvey Proctor, the former home secretary Leon Brittan, the former prime minister Edward Heath, the former chief of defence staff Lord Bramall, the former director of the Secret Intelligence Service Maurice Oldfield, and Michael Hanley, the former Director-General of MI5.[68] Nick claimed that he was abused at a number of places including Dolphin Square, the Carlton Club, and various other places in the home counties. Nick also claimed that the group murdered three, two for sexual pleasure, and a third to intimidate the others. Proctor's solicitors told him that Nick had alleged that he had seen Proctor repeatedly stab a 12 year old boy before strangling him to death; and that he had been raped by Proctor.[68]
The officer leading the investigation, Detective Superintendent Kenny McDonald, said in December 2014 that experienced officers had concluded that the allegations were "credible and true".[69] McDonald was later criticised for the statement, and it was retracted. The very public nature of the investigation was modelled on the successful investigations of Operation Yewtree, but no further witnesses came forward.[68]
Proctor detailed Nick's claims in public for the first time at a press conference, and also named his fellow accused. In September 2015 the Metropolitan Police said that they should never have said that Nick's claims were true. Proctor and Bramall were subsequently interviewed under caution but never arrested, and nothing was found in any police searches to support Nick's allegations. Bramall and Proctor both wanted Nick investigated for wasting police time. Brittan subsequently died during the inquiry without knowing that police had concluded that there was no credible case against him four months before his death. Police had raided Brittan's home six weeks after his death and taken computers, hard drives and papers without telling his widow the reason.[68]
The Labour politician Tom Watson met Nick during the early stages of the investigation and subsequently claimed that Brittan was "close to evil". Watson later apologised to Brittan's widow for the comment. The Conservative politician Zac Goldsmith alleged in a parliamentary speech that Brittan was an abuser. The Guardian wrote in March 2016 that "Both politicans have been accused of abusing their positions to influence the police inquiries and cast aspersions upon alleged abusers".[68]
In December 2014, the brother of a 15-year-old who went missing in the late 1970s claimed that the teenager was among the victims abused by members of the alleged historic Westminster paedophile ring. Kevin Allen told ITV News he was "convinced" there had been "a massive cover-up" in relation to the disappearance of his brother Martin Allen from London in 1979.[70]
An episode of the BBC investigation series Panorama, The VIP Paedophile Ring: What's the Truth? interviewed "David" and examined his claims, and found that he had "told the Metropolitan Police he was worried that two well-known campaigners may have led him into making false claims". He said that the names were "a joke suggestion to start with but that suggestion became reality" and that he subsequently felt "guilty" for naming people he had never met and that he believed that it was "…time that the truth came out. I believe it's time that maybe the police could stop putting their efforts into things that probably aren't even true." In a statement issued before the broadcast of the programme the Metropolitan Police said that they were "…worried that this programme and other recent reporting will deter victims and witnesses from coming forward in future. Seeing an individual make allegations and then be targeted by the media is not going to encourage others to speak out".[71][72]
Disappearance and murder of Vishal Mehrotra
Vishambar Mehrotra, the father of eight-year-old Vishal Mehrotra who disappeared in July 1981 said in November 2014 that he believed his son may have died at the hands of a paedophile ring involving high-profile individuals, and that he feared that the Metropolitan Police covered up links between his son's death and activities at Elm Guest House. Mehrotra went missing in Putney, close to the Elm Guest House in Barnes. The upper half of his torso was subsequently found seven months later, buried in woodland in West Sussex.[71] In May 1983 the inquiry into Mehrotra's death was wound up by the police.[73] Mehrotra's murder was linked at the time by detectives to the activities of Sidney Cooke. Police investigated the paedophile ring involving Cooke in a major inquiry known as Operation Orchid, after they received intelligence that the ring could have abducted and killed up to 20 children. Mehrotra said he was contacted by a man a few months after his son's disappearance who suggested the boy's abduction might be connected to the activities of a group of "powerful, high-profile" paedophiles who frequented Elm Guest House. He said that he taped the phone call and passed it onto detectives investigating his son's abduction, but the information was never followed up.[71] Mehrotra said that "It is clear to me that there has been a huge cover up. There is no doubt in my mind."[73]
Police also investigated a possible link between former Conservative MP Peter Morrison and Mehrotra's death after a 46-year-old man alleged that Morrison raped him in Elm Guest House when he was aged 14, and claimed that the police covered it up. The man said he was walking in the village of Harting in 1982 when Morrison gave him some money and later lured him to London. Mehrotra's remains had been found a few months earlier less than two miles away from Harting.[5] In March 2015, it was reported that the Independent Police Complaints Commission would investigate allegations of negligence and corruption in relation to Mehrotra's murder.[74] Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg subsequently said that allegations that the police helped "cover up" the death of Vishal Mehrotra at the hands of a paedophile ring were "grotesque" and called for an investigation to be launched into the claims, saying that "We are in the early stages of a reckoning with our past of things happening on a scale and of a gravity which just a few months ago would have seemed unimaginable and almost too horrific to contemplate. The task is to peel back the layers of deception that appear to have happened in the past."[73][75] The chief executive of the child-abuse charity NAPAC, Peter Saunders, said that a full-scale investigation needed to be launched into the allegations. Saunders said: "It seems beyond doubt that dreadful things, including murder have been perpetrated and that much has been covered up."[73]
End of investigation; apologies to Bramall and Proctor's comments
In August 2015, it was reported by The Guardian that claims against former Prime Minister Edward Heath were being investigated as part of Operation Midland.[76]
In March 2015 Metropolitan Police officers searched the homes of Field Marshal Lord Bramall in Yorkshire and London and the home of former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor on the estate of Belvoir Castle, in Leicestershire, as part of Operation Midland.[77] In interviews with the BBC, Proctor denied being part of any "rent-boy ring" or attending sex parties with prominent figures.[78] Bramall also said that "categorically, never have I had a connection or anything to do with the matters being investigated. It is not in my character or my psyche."[79]
In January 2016 the police confirmed that there was insufficient evidence to bring any charges against Bramall and that he would face no further action.[80] The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Bernard Hogan-Howe later personally apologised to Bramall and said that "Although police knew from very early on they had no case to answer they couldn't stop investigating because they didn't want to be accused of not investigating it properly" and that the situation surrounding the inquiry arouse out of "…apparent mistakes back in 2012 relating to revelations of very serious and serial child abuse, a mixture of public outrage and propaganda" which "put immense pressure through the home secretary, on the police". Bramall believed that a "witch-hunt culture [arose] in which child abuse, particularly historic child abuse, came to be dealt with entirely differently to other criminal offences".[81]
Proctor was told he would face no further action in March 2016.[82] Proctor subsequently said that the investigations had "irreparably ruined my life" and that as a result of the allegations he had lost his house and his job. Proctor said "I do believe it is profoundly un-British and unfair. …I believe I have been pilloried and the Met Police service has enabled me to be wrongly depicted as a paedophile, child abuser, child murderer" and that these were the "worst things that can be said of a human being". Proctor called on Hogan-Howe to resign and stated that Operation Midland "…has had a disastrous affect on genuine complaints of child sexual abuse, both present and historical. I think it has been incredibly counterproductive. …And when they established the truth – some time ago I think – they were too afraid of each other and the media to pull the plug."[83]
Independent investigation into Metropolitan Police
It was announced on 16 March 2015 that the Independent Police Complaints Commission was investigating claims that the Metropolitan Police had suppressed evidence of child sexual abuse and prevented the investigation of some allegations between 1970 and 2005, because of the alleged involvement of police officers and MPs. The police referred themselves to the IPCC, which described the claims as being of "high-level corruption of the most serious nature". The allegations included claims that an investigation into activities at the Dolphin Square flats had been halted; that no action had been taken in relation to a document from the Houses of Parliament that had linked prominent individuals to a paedophile ring; and that allegations of serious child sex abuse by a prominent politician had been covered up. The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that the allegations had emerged when officers were working on Operation Fairbank, and that they had "voluntarily referred the 16 separate allegations to the IPCC."[15] The investigations headed by the IPCC have drawn in units from the MPS under the umbrella of Operation Winter Keys in order to support the ongoing and extensive IPCC led investigations. Evidential statements have been taken from complainants with others to follow.
See also
- Child sexual abuse in the United Kingdom
- North Wales child abuse scandal
- Kincora Boys' Home
- Jersey child abuse investigation 2008
- Westminster paedophile dossier
- Jump up^ Syal, Rajeev (14 October 2015). "Zac Goldsmith urged to withdraw paedophile ring allegations". The Guardian. London.
- Jump up^ Mendick, Robert (26 September 2015). "'VIP child abuse ring' accuser served time in prison for fraud". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Milmo, Cahal; Peachy, Paul (9 June 2013). "Police reveal scale of Elm Guest House investigation into alleged paedophile ring". The Independent. London. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Davenport, Justin; Harper, Tom (6 February 2013). "Two arrested in paedophile probe linked to politicians". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Gardner, Bill (5 January 2015). "Murder link to Margaret Thatcher aide accused of raping teenage boy". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c "Sir Nicholas Fairbairn in child abuse scandal link". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Hickman, Martin (3 March 2013). "Police failings put dozens of children at risk from notorious paedophile ring". The Independent on Sunday. London. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "Four men found guilty in 'rent boy' conspiracy case". The Glasgow Herald. 3 February 1989. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- Jump up^ "Tory MP warned of powerful paedophile ring 30 years ago". The Independent. London. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Hickman, Martin (12 December 2012). "Scotland Yard investigating allegations senior politicians abused children in the 1980s and used 'connections' to escape justice". The Independent. London.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Hickman, Martin (6 February 2013). "Two arrested over claims that MPs took part in child-sex ring". The Independent. London. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "'Possible homicide' examined in historical abuse inquiry". BBC News. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "Child abuse inquiry: Police investigate three alleged murders". BBC News. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- Jump up^ Laville, Sandra; Syal, Rajeev (21 March 2016). "Operation Midland: inquiry into alleged VIP paedophile ring collapses". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "Metropolitan Police probed over child abuse 'cover-up' claims". BBC News. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Boffey, Daniel (5 July 2014). "Edwardian house at heart of a long-simmering sex scandal". The Observer. London. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- Jump up^ "Met investigates guesthouse child abuse claims". BBC News. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- Jump up^ Tom Watson, West Bromwich East (24 October 2012). "Daily Hansard: House of Commons". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. col. 923.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "Operation Fernbridge: Met looking into 300 lines of inquiry". BBC News. London. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- Jump up^ Hickman, Martin (25 October 2012). "Was there a paedophile ring in No 10? MP Tom Watson demands probe". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Hanning, James; Cahalan, Paul (16 December 2012). "Special report: Police revisit the grim mystery of Elm Guest House". The Independent on Sunday. London. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Hanning, James; Cahalan, Paul (27 January 2013). "Cyril Smith named in Barnes abuse case". The Independent on Sunday. London. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- Jump up^ Hanning, James; Cahalan, Paul (21 July 2013). "Elm Guest House investigation: Former senior cabinet minister faces rape investigation". The Independent on Sunday. London. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- Jump up^ "Sir Cyril Smith 'visited alleged sex abuse guest house'". BBC News. 13 September 2013.
- Jump up^ Wright, Stephen; Pendlebury, Richard (2 February 2013). "Timebomb at Elm Guest House: Pop stars, a bishop and a top politician appear on a list seized by police investigating child abuse at the London hotel in the 1980s". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Piggott, Mark (8 December 2013). "Ex-Tory Minister to be Questioned About Paedophile Party Claims". International Business Times. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- Jump up^ Kelso, Paul (6 October 1999). "Cooke admits years of child abuse". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- Jump up^ "Operation Fernbridge: Norfolk priest Tony McSweeney arrested". BBC News. 7 February 2013.
- Jump up^ Davies, Margaret (9 July 2013). "Third arrest in Elm Guest House investigation into alleged paedophile ring". The Independent. London.
- Jump up^ "Children's home boss facing historical sex abuse charges found dead". The Daily Telegraph. London. 16 January 2015.
- Jump up^ CPS to reinstate key charges after error over Elm Guest House, "Exaro News", 6 August 2014
- Jump up^ Ship, Chris (10 July 2014). "Police triple number of officers working on Westminster 'child sex abuse cover-up' claims". ITV News.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Milmo, Cahal (30 March 2015). "Tory MP Enoch Powell investigated as alleged member of Westminster paedophile network". The Independent.
- ^ Jump up to:a b "Child abuse 'may well have been' covered up – Norman Tebbit". BBC News. 6 July 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- Jump up^ Syal, Rajeev (4 July 2014). "David Cameron asks top civil servant to look into Westminster child abuse claims". The Guardian. London.
- Jump up^ "'No cover-up found' in abuse review by Peter Wanless". BBC News. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
- Jump up^ Hanning, James (13 July 2014). "Child abuse victims to sue Government". The Independent on Sunday. London. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d Cahalan, Paul; Hanning, James (3 March 2013). "Paedophile ring leader, Colin Peters, linked to Barnes scandal". The Independent on Sunday. London. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- Jump up^ "Child abuse investigations". BBC News. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
- Jump up^ Swinford, Steven (18 April 2014). "'Influential' politician visited guest house at centre of child sex investigation". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
- Jump up^ Whitehead, Tom (6 July 2014). "Westminster paedophile ring allegations: timeline". The Sunday Telegraph. London. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- Jump up^ "Leon Brittan urged to comment on 1980s 'paedophile dossier'". BBC News. 1 July 2014.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Rayner, Gordon; Barrett, David (4 July 2014). "'More than 10' politicians on list held by police investigating Westminster 'paedophile ring'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
- Jump up^ Smith, Lewis (4 July 2014). "Child abuse list includes 10 MPs and peers". The Independent. London. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Aitkenhead, Decca (28 November 2014). "Tom Watson interview: 'There is no doubt in my mind that at least one politician abused kids'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- Jump up^ Rayner, Gordon; Tate, Tim; Hope, Christopher (4 July 2014). "Tory MP allegedly found with child porn in 1980s faced no charges, police told". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
- Jump up^ Barrett, David; Tate, Tim; Hope, Christopher (6 July 2014). "Westminster paedophile ring allegations: Scotland Yard detectives trace 'victim'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Eleftheriou-Smith, Loulla-Mae (27 July 2014). "Thatcher 'was warned of Tory child sex party claims'". The Independent on Sunday. London. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
- Jump up^ Gardner, Bill (5 January 2015). "Thatcher confidant raped boy and police covered crime up". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- Jump up^ Watt, Nicholas; Wintour, Patrick (8 July 2014). "Children's homes were 'supply line' for paedophiles, says ex-minister". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- Jump up^ Boffey, Daniel (21 December 2014). "Media 'gagged over bid to report MP child sex cases'". The Observer. London.
- Jump up^ Murray, Paula (30 November 2014). "SNP activist 'killed over child sex files'". Scottish Sunday Express. Glasgow. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
- Jump up^ "New evidence emerges in 20-year riddle surrounding SNP man's death". Scotland on Sunday. Edinburgh. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- Jump up^ Parmenter, Tom (18 December 2014). "Victim Shows Sky Where 'MPs' Abused Him". Sky News. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- Jump up^ Harper, Tom (21 December 2014). "Paedophile dossier given to Yard names MPs and peers". The Sunday Times. London. (subscription required)
- Jump up^ Barrett, David (21 December 2014). "'Paedophile' dossier naming MPs and peers handed to police". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- Jump up^ Barrett, David (23 December 2014). "Paedophile MPs focus of Scotland Yard probe". The New Zealand Herald. Auckland.
- Jump up^ Swinford, Steven (21 January 2015). "Secret government file on 'unnatural' sexual behaviour at Westminster unearthed". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- Jump up^ Millmo, Cahal (25 January 2015). "Leon Brittan sex abuse allegations: Two come forward to claim they were abused by former Home Secretary". The Independent on Sunday. London.
- Jump up^ Hanning, James (25 January 2015). "Lord Brittan: The accusations against the former Home Secretary that refused to die". The Independent on Sunday. London. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- Jump up^ Magnay, Jacquelin (31 January 2015). "A missing boy and the Australian high commission in London". The Australian. Sydney. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- Jump up^ Hopkins, Nick; Morris, Jake (17 March 2015). "Cyril Smith child abuse inquiry 'scrapped after his arrest'". BBC News.
- Jump up^ "Police investigate abuse claims against late Labour MPs". BBC News. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- Jump up^ Gledhill, Ruth 30 March 2015). "Enoch Powell 'satanic cult' claims: CofE defends decision to pass name to police". Christian Today. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- Jump up^ Aaronovitch, David (2 April 2015). "Let's expose the satanic abuse con artists". The Times. London. Retrieved 8 October 2015. (subscription required)
- Jump up^ Panorama – The VIP Paedophile Ring: What's the Truth? (6 October 2015) – 14:49 to 20:38; iPlayer link
- Jump up^ Evans, Martin (15 November 2014). "Tory MP 'murdered' boy at orgy, abuse victim claims". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Syal, Rajeev; Laville, Sandra (21 March 2016). "Operation Midland: how the Met lost its way". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- Jump up^ Evans, Martin (18 December 2014). "'I witnessed Tory MP strangle child', claims abuse victim". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- Jump up^ "Man believes 'VIP sex ring' abducted his missing brother". ITV News. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Halliday, Josh (7 October 2015). "Panorama report: sex abuse claim against Leon Brittan 'began as joke'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 October 2016. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Laville1" defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- Jump up^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06h7jbl BBC One Panorama – The VIP Paedophile Ring: What's the Truth?
- ^ Jump up to:a b c d Smith, Amelia (19 November 2014). "Deputy Prime Minister Calls for Investigation Into Westminster Paedophile Ring Murder Claims". Newsweek. New York. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- Jump up^ "IPCC Looking At Investigation Of Boy's Murder". LBC News. 3 March 2015.
- Jump up^ Gardner, Bill (19 November 2014). "Nick Clegg: 'Claims Scotland Yard covered up boy's murder are grotesque'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- Jump up^ "Edward Heath: Met has been investigating claims for several months". The Guardian. London. 4 August 2015.
- Jump up^ Barrett, David (8 March 2015). "Police search home of Lord Bramall as part of paedophile sex abuse inquiry". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- Jump up^ "Ex-Conservative MP Harvey Proctor's home searched by police". BBC News. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- Jump up^ Symonds, Tom (9 March 2015). "Ex-army chief Lord Bramall 'mystified' by police search of house". BBC News. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- Jump up^ Rawlinson, Kevin (15 January 2016). "Lord Bramall 'will face no further action' in Operation Midland investigation". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- Jump up^ "Lord Bramall 'receives Met Police apology' over abuse claims". BBC News. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- Jump up^ Evans, Martin (21 March 2016). "Operation Midland: Harvey Proctor told he faces no further action". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- Jump up^ "Operation Midland: Harvey Proctor criticises child abuse inquiry". BBC News. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.


text:
Streetwear Icon Erik Brunetti and Altamont Team Up on Spring Capsule Collection
February 24, 2016
To kickoff spring 2016, Erik teamed up with Altamont to curate a full range of apparel that is available today. From his humble beginnings as a young graffiti writer to his rise as a pivotal street wear figure, Erik Brunetti has maintained and nurtured a sense of self and raw talent. To view the entire Altamont x Erik Brunetti collection, check it out here: http://altamontapparel.com/articles/2016/2/22/erik-brunetti-for-altamont/
With more than two decades of work under his belt and his creation of one of the most influential subculture brands, FUCT, Erik's rebellious nature and astute observations remain present throughout all of his undertakings. If Erik Brunetti's work could be described, it would be thought out to be caliginous, risqué, yet extremely precise and analytical.
For spring 2016, Erik and Altamont created an assortment of products ranging from a custom ripstop camo jacket and cargo short, custom opiate print woven shirt, 5 t-shirts and one flocked crew neck sweatshirts. Inspired by Erik's recurring fascination with the Vietnam era Americana, the capsule brings light to times of the counter culture movements of the 1960's as if they were brought back to life in 2016.
The Altamont x Erik Brunetti is available exclusively on http://www.AltamontApparel.com now.


text:
Two cousins, one fat (Luka) and the other lean (Sunny), are the main characters. The main character Luka (Shekhar Menon) is the youngest member of the family which calls the shot in the local political Party, Prakash Congress. Sunny is the son of Luka's father's brother.
Copyright: © 2020 Cineklik. All rights reserved.


text:
|XP is just a number
Need help on hashes.by ElMagnifico (Initiate)
|on Feb 03, 2008 at 20:10 UTC ( #665855=perlquestion: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
ElMagnifico has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:
Bretheren, I seek your guidance. I have read the scriptures but have not found enlightenment. No doubt the answer is there but I understand not the wisdom. I beg thine assistance. (Ok...I'll cut that out. :p) I have a flat file (with some 185k lines)with values like the following:
I need to do the following:
My questions:
1) Is a hash the proper structure for what I'm trying to do?
2) If so, how do I get it to do what I'd like?
Thank you in advance for your help. My experience is at the beginner level and I sincerely appreciate your help.
ElMagnifico - I work at it so that maybe one day it'll be true! :-D
20080205 Janitored by Corion: Added formatting, code tags, as per Writeup Formatting Tips
Back to Seekers of Perl Wisdom


text:
For the optical recording of data for the CAD/CAM technology
Fixed Prosthetics - chairside - Prepare
The following products form a part of the "Fixed Prosthetics - chairside" product category. They cover the procedure involved in the fabrication of fixed prosthetic restorations – from temporization to restoration care. The products are optimally coordinated with each other and enable successful processing and application
The CAD/CAM solution for the fabrication of long-term temporaries
Self-curing crown and bridge material for temporary restorations
Latex-free lip and cheek retractor


text: The Linksys E3000 is a powerful dual-band Wireless-N router optimized for wireless entertainment. Connect your Blu-ray players, DVRs, and gaming consoles, and enjoy the smoother and faster HD video streaming and wireless gaming performance that simultaneous dual-band technology enables. A built-in USB port and UPnP AV media server let you share files over your network, as well as stream media content to an Xbox 360, PS3, or other compatible device. Plus, included Cisco Connect software gets you set up in a few simple steps and offers powerful tools for managing your wireless network


text:
And look who it was over on the Woodlands stage – back for their fifth Kendal, British Sea Power, playing amongst their beloved nature in the Deer Park's most gracious stage. Their usual stage camouflage of branches and leaves looked especially well-matched amongst the glade's trees and plants, while their traditional giant bear seemed actively in his element as he roamed through the backs of the crowds. 'Waving Flags' to 'All In It', it was a gently uplifting triumph end to end.
And now, with the tenth anniversary over, Andy and Ben and everyone on the team would like to take this moment to say a very special thanks.
"From that first tent-pole climbing high-wire act at Abbot Hall Park in Kendal a decade ago, we never believed it would turn into what it has. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to every single person who has, by coming or contributing, made this festival with us."
See you in the fields for another ten years.
Photographs by
Tom Martin,
Scott Salt,
Lisa Errico,
Benjamin Paul,
Ian Taylor, Paul Whiteley,
Giulia Spadafora and
Amy Weightman.
Words by Gavin Haynes. Web development by Andrew Kendall for Digital Photo Gallery. Art direction by Kris Atomic.


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Executive Edge: Why data science projects fail
Delivering brilliant ideas is the easy part; execution is often where things go awry.
By David Maman
Thousands of companies all over the world are competing for a finite number of data scientists, paying them big bucks to join their organizations – and setting them up for failure.
For most organizations, data science is not the be all and end all. It cannot be the answer if company leadership has not formulated the strategy or questions that data science needs to answer or paved the route to production.
Even organizations that have already invested millions in integrating their complete corporate data infrastructure to create the ultimate data repository – data lakes, data pools, common data sources or whatever pleasant definition your organization has chosen – for integration and analysis will not be able to see results at the rate and accuracy they are demanding once the system is in production.
As with the long-term adoption and implementation of any business process or procedure, fully benefiting from data science takes time. You cannot just jump in head first.
At most companies, data science fails for very specific reasons:
1. Undefined business goals/processes. Just because your data science team can map and predict customer satisfaction rates for the next six months doesn't mean that information is significant. If the results demonstrate broad-scale customer dissatisfaction, simply predicting the results is woefully inadequate without resolving the roots of that dissatisfaction. You can predict an untold number of data points, but without clearly defined goals accompanied with the will to fix your problems, those data points are meaningless. Many organizations keep following the misconception that data scientists (no matter how smart they are) can correctly define the business goals. Most of the time they can't, because it's not their job.
2. Inability to build and apply a uniform data set across the organization. While the politics in your organization may have inspired silos and fiefdoms, each department in your organization is ultimately driving toward the same goal – increasing ROI. To maximize the value of data science, you need to create a uniform data set that will deliver actionable results that every part of the organization can implement.
3. Investment in "sexy" algorithms instead of useful ones. You have just hired the data scientist who graduated in the top of her class. Having just joined your company, she's extremely excited to get started. Because of her in-depth mathematical and academic background, she has some great algorithms that can get some really cool results. However, are those algorithms going to deliver the results that can focus your organization and drive it forward? Just because something is old, tired, tried and true doesn't mean it won't work.
Your team needs to examine the full range of algorithms you are using for your modeling and preprocessing with an objective eye. Is the information those algorithms are delivering actually useful? Do they deliver the actionable intelligence that will increase ROI? Often not.
In most cases, the challenge you are facing isn't new. A simple Google search will lead you to some great research and case studies to see how others tackled the challenge and how they tailored the solution. Be open. Start thinking from a problem perspective and not just from a solution perspective.
4. Inappropriate data or infrastructure. Most organizations are built in silos. Large organizations have both an ERP system and a CRM system and many others, but those systems may not be in sync. They may not even be touching the inbound marketing and sales software. Until everyone in the organization can work with the same data and analyze the same data, siloed data science results aren't as applicable or effective. Sometimes it takes much longer to determine whether specific data or the volume of data is sufficient for the specific task.
5. Failure to differentiate between academia or research and the real world. Data scientists generally go from the ivory tower directly into the data silos. They generally deliver great results in most properly defined challenges. Remember, though, at the end of the data scientist's job, the hard work may only be beginning. The engineers need to implement it into production – many times from scratch. Don't expect your data science team to learn how businesses actually work. It's up to the engineers and systems analysts to determine your specific system requirements to get their work into production.
The most critical result of any data science activity is relevancy. Every "answer" generated by your data science team needs to answer specific questions derived from the overall corporate strategy. While investment in the "bells and whistles" of AI is fun and exciting, organizations need to make sure that they have a defined strategy, the right idea and a properly mapped roadmap before the first dollar of data science investment is spent.
David Maman is CEO, CTO and co-founder of Binah.ai, whose out-of-the-box data science solutions leverage signal processing combined with machine learning and AI to create models and accelerate delivery of the right answers to critical business questions.
Related Posts
- 91With the rise of big data – and the processes and tools related to utilizing and managing large data sets – organizations are recognizing the value of data as a critical business asset to identify trends, patterns and preferences to drive improved customer experiences and competitive advantage. The problem is,…
- 90The Internet of Things (IoT) is considered to be the next revolution that touches every part of our daily life, from restocking ice cream to warning of pollutants. Analytics professionals understand the importance of data, especially in a complicated field such as healthcare. This article offers a framework on integrating…
- 87Data science has seen a dramatic rise in the last decade. The LinkedIn 2017 US Emerging Jobs Report revealed the two fastest growing jobs as "machine learning engineer" and "data scientist." Universities are struggling to keep up with this trend, assembling new programs to address the growing need for data…
- 87Data science has seen a dramatic rise in the last decade. The LinkedIn 2017 U.S. Emerging Jobs Report revealed the two fastest growing jobs as "machine learning engineer" and "data scientist." Universities are struggling to keep up with this trend, assembling new programs to address the growing need for data…
- 87Businesses are greatly expanding the autonomous capabilities of their products, services and manufacturing processes to better optimize their reliability and efficiency. The processing of big data is playing an integral role in developing these prescriptive analytics. As a result, data scientists and engineers should pay attention to the following aspects…


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Fiorenze - Infinity White (Bonded PU) Leather Set
Chuck Norris counted to infinity ..twice.. but you won't need to be an iconic legend to act like one, with this superstar sofa. Made from beautiful PU bonded leather. it's far more affordable than the Santorini Genuine leather. Tougher than a one inch punch but soft & sensitive like an Italian lover. This beautiful bean bag is stark white and strikingly contemporary with its even matt finish. The Infinity White is both style and substance, with a supportive backrest that offers maximum comfort, coupled with the soft feel of thick bonded leather and chunky individual panel stitching.
It's better not to even think about the Infinity White Fiorenze as a 'bean bag'... your guests will ask you with wonder what is inside. Don't worry about the white color marking either - due to the sheer quality of the PU bonded leather this Sofa does not mark, scuff or scratch easily and wipes clean. Unlike the genuine leather Fiorenze this retain and even color and matt consistency with the total look and feel of leather.
It is very important that customers can make the distinction between our bonded leather and genuine imported leather.Bonded leather or reconstituted leather (like the material used for the Infinity White Fiorenze) is a term used for partially synthetic leather. It is a synthetic material made of varying types polyurethane that is spread over ground-up leather, mechanically processed to give the appearance and feel of leather, but at reduced cost. Depending on your taste and budget, some people can prefer the look of the bonded leather and find it difficult to tell apart from the genuine leather. We will not be unethical and call bonded leather 'real leather' like some companies our there attempt to do. However, bonded leather also comes in varying qualities and processes. We at Ambient Lounge are very proud of the high quality and soft texture of our 1mm thick bonded leather and the stitching technique that we use to finish the Fiorenze product. It's a sound choice for the budget conscious who love leather feel and look
- Contoured Piping
- Individually Stitched Fabric Panels
- Square Feature Paneling
- YKK Safety Locking Zip
- Zip & tip system to allow you to fill to personal comfort levels
WATCH: Funnelweb Zip & Tip Filling System in Action
Rec. Filling Instructions: The Fiorenze Sofa Sofa takes approx 300 liters of beans, but this may vary a little depending on the filling mix. The product needs to be filled to the point where the base should be quite giving and slightly baggy and the beans will push up into the back when you are seated to give you a very comfortable lounging experience.
Step 1. Open the filling compartment situated under the end of the beanbag cover (using a zip tool or paper clip)and pull out the Funnelweb tube from inside the product. Zip the Funnelweb bag of beans onto the tube and lift the bag of beans to allow the filling to run into the beanbag. As you do this, massage and pat the outside of the beanbag to ensure you work the beans into every corner.
Step 2. Leaving the Funnelweb Bag of beans still attached, test the seat by pushing down with your hands to make sure it will sink down considerably when one is sitting on it. You can then add or remove beans until the comfort level suits you, then unzip the Funnelweb Bag and zip closed the opening to the beanbag using the child-proof zipper. Set any remaining beans to one side, as these can be zipped closed and stored away for future topping up as your bean filling settles and compresses over time.
Product care information coming soon


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For the last week, I have been having trouble sleeping – something has not been right. I couldn't figure it out, since it was a great week for Dad Does. Our Father's Day Gift Guide 2012 has been well received. Readers seem to appreciate the fun and unique Father's Day gift ideas in the guide. We also launched our huge Father's Day Gift Giveaway – over $1,100 in prizes and a guarantee that everyone will at least win a $10 gift card. So, what was eating at my soul and keeping me up at night?
Damn You Unlucky 13!
Then it hit me – I looked at that list of prizes in the Father's Day Giveaway and was shocked – WE HAD 13 PRIZES! 13??? Was our superstition fact checker sleeping on the job that day? How can we make Dads happy when we are giving away an unlucky amount of prizes. Something had to be done about 13agate, this was developing into a major scandal and the fate of all humanity clearly was in my hands…
As Always, Leave it To Clint Eastwood (and friends) to Save the Day
We needed a 14th prize to giveaway, but it still had to be a cool prize that Dads would love. Is there anyone cooler than Clint Eastwood? Or Tommy Lee Jones? Perhaps Wesley Snipes? More into Mel Gibson? What about Kevin Costner? Doesn't matter who you think is the coolest – we are giving them all to you!
Yes, our friends over at Warner Brothers have come to rescue us from the unlucky 13 and have created a very lucky and awesome 14th Prize in our Father's Day Giveaway…
Win This Awesome Warner Brothers Blu-Ray Collection -
- Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows ($30 Retail)
- A Perfect World ($19 Retail)
- Blood Work ($19 Retail)
- Lethal Weapon Collection ($60 Retail)
- Journey 2 To The Mysterious Island ($30 Retail)
- U.S. Marshals ($19 Retail)
That is over $175 in great movies that any Dad will love.
All Dads Like A Good Movie
We have some more wacky gift ideas in our Father's Day Gift Guide, but I have yet to meet a Dad who does not enjoy a good movie. With this vast collection from Warner Brothers, Dad can take some time this summer and get away from watching Barney, Bert and Elmo and instead cheer on Clint, Costner and Snipes!
How Do You Win This Father's Day Blu-Ray Gift Bundle?
Just jump on over to our Father's Day Gift Giveaway and enter on that post (giveaway ends on 6/7/12). By entering the giveaway you will not only have a chance to win this Blu-Ray bundle, but you can also win 13 other awesome prizes. Oh no, there is that number 13 again…maybe we need to find a 15th prize to giveaway now!
More Information:
Father's Day Gift Giveaway 2012
Purchase the Movies At WBShop – Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows, A Perfect World, Blood Work, Lethal Weapon Collection, Journey 2 To The Mysterious Island and U.S. Marshals


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Options for Judy Moody's Mini-Mysteries and Other Sneaky Stuff for Super-Sleuths by Megan McDonaldBorrow Sample Click here to view eBook details for Judy Moody's Mini-Mysteries and Other Sneaky Stuff for Super-Sleuths by Megan McDonald
Options for The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee by Tom Angleberger
Options for Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket
Winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award! This #1 New York Times bestselling, modern classic in which boys are forced to dig holes day in and day out is now available with a splashy new...
Winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award! This #1 New York Times bestselling, modern classic in which boys are forced to dig holes day in and day out is now available with a splashy new...
Available Formats-
- Kindle Book
- OverDrive Read
- EPUB eBook
Library copies:2
Winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award! This #1 New York Times bestselling, modern classic in which boys are forced to dig holes day in and day out is now available with a splashy new look.
Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes.
It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.
Includes a double bonus: an excerpt from Small Steps, the follow-up to Holes, as well as an excerpt from Louis Sachar's new middle-grade novel, Fuzzy Mud.
"A smart jigsaw puzzle of a novel." —The New York Times
From the Paperback edition.
- Best Fiction for Young Adults
Young Adult Library Services Association
- National Book Award
National Book Foundation
- Newbery Medal
American Library Association
From the book
Stanley Yelnats was the only passenger on the bus, not counting the driver or the guard. The guard sat next to the driver with his seat turned around facing Stanley. A rifle lay across his lap.
Stanley was sitting about ten rows back, handcuffed to his armrest. His backpack lay on the seat next to him. It contained his toothbrush, toothpaste, and a box of stationary his mother had given him. He'd promised to write to her at least once a week.
He looked out the window, although there wasn't much to see—mostly fields of hay and cotton. He was on a long bus ride to nowhere. The bus wasn't air-conditioned, and the hot heavy air was almost as stifling as the handcuffs.
Stanley and his parents had tried to pretend that he was just going away to camp for a while, just like rich kids do. When Stanley was younger he used to play with stuffed animals, and pretend the animals were at camp. Camp Fun and Games he called it. Sometimes he'd have them play soccer with a marble. Other times they'd run an obstacle course, or go bungee jumping off a table, tied to broken rubber bands. Now Stanley tried to pretend he was going to Camp Fun and Games. Maybe he' d make some friends, he thought. At least he'd get to swim in the lake.
He didn' t have any friends at home. He was overweight and the kids at his middle school often teased him about his size. Even his teachers sometimes made cruel comments without realizing it. On his last day of school, his math teacher, Mrs. Bell, taught ratios. As an example, she chose the heaviest kid in the class and the lightest kid in the class, and had them weigh themselves. Stanley weighed three times as much as the other boy. Mrs. Bell wrote the ratio on the board, 3:1, unaware of how much embarrassment she had caused both of them.
Stanley was arrested later that day.
He looked at the guard who sat slumped in his seat and wondered of he had fallen asleep. The guard was wearing sunglasses, so Stanley couldn't see his eyes.
Stanley was not a bad kid. He was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. He'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It was all because of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!
He smiled. It was a family joke. Whenever anything went wrong, they always blamed Stanley's no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!
Supposedly, he had a great-great-grandfather who had stolen a pig from one-legged Gypsy, and she put a curse on him and all his descendants. Stanley and his parents didn't believe in curses, of course, but whenever anything went wrong, it felt good to be able to blame someone.
Things went wrong a lot. They always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He looked out the window at the vast emptiness. He watched the rise and fall of a telephone wire. In his mind he could hear his father's gruff voice softly singing to him.
"If only, if only," the woodpecker sighs,
"The bark on the tree was just a little bit softer."
"While the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely,
He cries to the moo–oo–oon,
"If only, if only."
It was a song his father used to sing to him. The melody was sweet and sad, but Stanley's favorite part was when his father would howl the word "moon".
The bus hit a small bump and the guard sat up, instantly alert.
Stanley's father was an inventor. To be a successful inventor you need three things: intelligence, perseverance, and just a little bit of luck.
Stanley's father was smart and had a lot of perseverance. Once he started a project he would work...
About the Author-
Louis Sachar is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Holes, which won the Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Christopher Award, as well as Stanley Yelnats' Survival to Camp Green Lake; Small Steps, winner of the Schneider Family Book Award; and The Cardturner, a Publishers Weekly Best Book, a Parents' Choice Gold Award recipient, and an ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book. His books for younger readers include There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, The Boy Who Lost His Face, Dogs Don't Tell Jokes, and the Marvin Redpost series, among many others.
- catmoji - Stanley Yelnats, falsely convicted of stealing a celebrity's sneakers, is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention center in the middle of the desert, where the inmates are required to dig a large hole every day. Getting to know the other inmates and getting used to the grueling routine is only part of the story, though. There's a mystery behind this strange punishment that is related to a treasure and the supposed curse on Stanley's family dating back to his "dirty-rotten-pig-stealing" great grandfather. The keys to the mystery are scattered among a boy named Zero, a warden with rattlesnake venom nail polish, and a boat that is named after an onion-eating mule and sits in the middle of a dry lake bed.
May 8, 2000
PW's starred review of the 1999 Newbery Medal winner described it as a "dazzling blend of social commentary, tall tale and magic realism." Ages 10-up.
January 31, 2000
With an ever-so-slight Texas twang, Beyer transports listeners to barren, blistering-hot Camp Green Lake, the juvenile correctional facility where Stanley Yelnats is serving a sentence he doesn't deserve. If it weren't for lousy luck, Stanley would have no luck at all--a condition that his family traces to Stanley's "no-good dirty-rotten pig-stealing great-great-grandfather." Stanley toughs out his time with an unflagging sense of humor, considering he and his fellow offenders must each dig a hole five feet wide and five feet deep every day with little water and the constant threat of poisonous lizards. But as Stanley gets into the swing of things, he and his new pal Zero discover that the warden actually has them digging for buried treasure--treasure that is somehow linked to the Yelnats family curse. Beyer's buoyant, boyish manner ensures that Sachar's witty novel, winner of both the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award, makes a smooth transition to audio. The short chapters breeze along for a thoroughly entertaining listen. Ages 8-up.
Publishers Weekly, Starred
"A dazzling blend of social commentary, tall tale and magic realism."
- School Library Journal, Starred "There is no question, kids will love Holes."
Title Information+
PublisherRandom House Children's Books
Kindle BookRelease date:
OverDrive ReadRelease date:
EPUB eBookRelease date:
Digital Rights Information+
- Copyright Protection (DRM) required by the Publisher may be applied to this title to limit or prohibit printing or copying. File sharing or redistribution is prohibited. Your rights to access this material expire at the end of the lending period. Please see Important Notice about Copyrighted Materials for terms applicable to this content.


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Mon, 30 July 2012
Thanks for downloading Wedway NOW!, your weekly news companion and window to the Disney community. This week we are joined by Cory Disbrow of Disneyphotographyblog.com and the ISO5571 podcast.
This week we discuss the following news stories
- Grizzly Gulch opens in Hong Kong Disneyland
- Disney announces Epcot 30th Anniversary merch
- Extra Magic Reduction
- Finding Nemo 2 rumors
- Disneyland installs sharks teeth railings
Check out the show notes at wedwayradio.com
Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wedwaynow
Check us out on Facebook http://facebook.com/wedwayradio.com
Email us at email@example.com
Spread the word about Wedway NOW! and rate the show on iTunes.
Direct download: WEDwayNOW_Jun_29.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 5:21am UTC


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A Matter of BrillianceAimee Berrent
Phone: (617) 304-0174
About Our Company
A Matter of Brilliance is a professional jewelry appraisal company serving the needs of jewelry consumers estate planners attorneys and insurance companies. All work is performed while you watch. Appraisals are by appointment either in my office or on-site. I am a graduate gemologist from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) with over 25 years experience in the jewelry industry. Peace of mind is the number one reason you should have your jewelry appraised.
Services We Offer
We do appraisals of jewelry and silver for insurance records. We work with estate attorneys, and we can create a personal jewelry catalog for you..


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Preview sample from Money Drip Kicks 2
23 KICK PUNCHY LOFI.wav
Format: wav Product: Money Drip Kicks 2 Provider: 5DOLLAKITS
About sample: 23 KICK PUNCHY LOFI.wav
The sample comes from 5DOLLAKITS - Money Drip Kicks 2. The sample was inspired by artists such as Lil Wayne, Chief Keef, 21 Savage, 6ix9ine, Blue Face. This sound is perfect to build Hip-Hop, Dirty South, Trap, Cloud rap, Lo-Fi beats. By downloading this sample you get a studio-quality WAV file compatible with all today's music production programs. This sound is 100% royalty free.
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Europe's Largest Logistics Center Lands in Russia
- By
- Oct 19, 2016
By Ioana Moldovan
Moscow—Auchan Retail Russia, a subsidiary of Auchan Retail, has recently signed an agreement for the development of a 1,485-square-foot warehouse and logistics center in the Domodedovo district of Moscow. Local warehouse developer Radius Group has been tapped as the company's partner for the construction of the $95 million project, which is expected to create more than 750 jobs upon completion.
Development plans call for the build-out of an energy-efficient and environment-friendly facility with the help of advanced technologies. The final project will have the capacity to handle the loading and unloading of more than 230 trailers simultaneously and will serve more than 50 regional Auchan stores, marking the company's major expansion in Central Russia.
"During the first stage we plan to build infrastructure for a warehousing center that will allow us to expand it in the future," Oleg Alkhamov, CEO for hypermarkets at Auchan Retail Russia, said in prepared remarks. "This is a major investment project that we intend to implement in Moscow region. Russia has always had and continues to have enormous potential for our future growth, and logistics is a key element in successful retailing."
The center will be located on a dedicated land plot at the Radius Group's South Gate Industrial Park, a 355-acre project situated at the intersection of two major federal highways, M4 and A107 Moscow Ring Road. The area's infrastructure and transport accessibility will help optimize construction and maintenance costs for the large-scale building. South Gate is already home to distribution centers of major retailers including Leroy Merlin and Decathlon.
"This agreement once again illustrates that major retailers are continuing to invest in logistics as a key competitive advantage despite challenging economic circumstances and the market situation in Russia. Radius Group is delighted to partner with Auchan Retail Russia on this project, which will be developed and constructed with the use of Radius InSite's suite of 3D and other digital management tools, providing unparalleled control and transparency over the design process and control on budget and schedule," said Radius Group Managing Director David Simons.
Image courtesy of Radius Group