text: At 03:25 PM 2/1/2007, Mark Hahn wrote: >>>the internet bubble. in those days, it was popular to claim that >>>the network >>>was becoming truely ubiquitous and incomprehensibly fast. for instance: >> >>In the long run, ubiquitous and fast IS going to be true (however, latency is > >in the long run, everything is true ;) > >>gross oversupply of fiber across the Atlantic. Hence the >>availability of cheap flat rate long distance (5c a minute >>anywhere, anytime).. the bulk of the system is no longer capacity limited. > >interesting - I assumed that long-distance became cheap not due to >oversupply of fiber and bandwidth, but rather transition away from >old-fashioned circuit switching (ie, towards digital compressed voice >over packets.) Not much compression going on for voice traffic. It's carried as 64 kbps data at 8 ksamples/second, pretty much. There is some statistical multiplexing possible (TASI) because people don't talk at 100% duty cycle, but not a huge amount. >I know that buying fiber/lambdas/bandwidth is still very much not >what I'd call cheap, though I have no doubt it's much better/cheaper >than in the past. In 1993, the capital cost of "one voice channel" worth (64 kbps) of capacity across the atlantic was less than $10, as I recall. Compare that to leased line T-1 rates back then of many dollars per eighth of a mile per month, and that's before you bought the CSU/DSU to connect to the copper. Mind you, the ATT guy thought that it would be 155 Mbps ATM to the desktop, and we see where that went. >>>I don't know about you, but in the 6 years since then, my home net >>>connection has stayed the same speed, possibly a bit more expensive. >> >>Interestingly, they've just rolled out FiOS (fiber to the home) in >>my area, which is a HUGE jump in potential bandwidth from the >>existing DSL or Cable Modem delivery methods. And, moderately >>competitive in price (5 Mbps is $40/month, including the bundled >>ISP kinds of features). What's fascinating is the faster tiers.. >>you can get 15 Mbps down/2 up for $50/mo and 30 M down/5 up for $180 > >seems strange to me - what kind of residential customer would pay >for that kind of thing (and remain free of the RIAA/MPAA)? An interesting question.. I think the upper tiers are there to complement similar offerings in the commercial/business market. Or, there IS a burgeoning market for live video feeds from adult entertainment providers. Without them, the VCR market would never have taken off. Contemplate Youtube type applications, but in HD.. 20 Mbps is the basic rate for HD. I might be interested, for instance, in seeing the Mentos and Pepsi artists in HD, rather than lowfi 15 fps QCIF. But, also, consider something like streaming audio at CD quality (not MP3 compressed).. A stereo 44.1ksps 16 bit stream is about 1.5 Mbps, and say I, my wife, and my daughters all want to listen to different programs at the same time. There will also be video that is not afflicted by MPAA. NasaTV is free to all and streamed over the network as well as being shoved out over C-band transponders. I can see using 15M+ sorts of rates in bursts for myself (downloading the aforementioned climate databases, for instance...) >some smart form of wireless seems like an obvious good solution for >residential last-mile. maybe that's a disruptive innovation that will >finally put the telco/cableco's out of their misery. Nobody has come up with a *good* wireless solution that is as cheap and reliable as pulling a physical media. There's a raft of spectrum occupancy issues, etc. Let's assume you've got a neighborhood with 400 houses in it at a density of, say, 500 square meters/house (roughly 8 houses/acre). It's perhaps 10-20 meters between houses on average. Say each house needs 50 Mbps of bandwidth (e.g. two cable channels worth). If you use a short range wireless scheme (notional range of 50 m) a given transmitter is going to cover half a dozen houses, so each transmitter would need a bandwidth of about 300 Mbps (which is fairly hefty, but not out of the question). AND there would need to be some smart switching in the system that feeds that transmitter the correct subset of the Terabits/second available... And, some way to cleverly do spectrum reuse (so that if you have houses A, B,C, D, and E lined up, A can use channel 1, B can use channel 6, C can use channel 11, and by house D, the signal for Channel 1 going to house A has faded enough that we can reuse it for D, 6 for E, etc.) This is highly nontrivial, and nobody has come up with a automagic way to do it that is efficient and self organizing. Right now, though, the Cable TV folks feed 1 GHz of bandwidth to you and YOU do the channel selection, which reduces their physical plant cost... all they need is power distribution with no intelligence, just management of SNR. (this breaks down in the upstream case, which is a fundamental problem with Cable Modems) >>Likewise, a small business with half a dozen or a dozen desktops >>and a couple servers isn't going to see a huge benefit from faster >>networking, because they're throttled by the server's disk speed, >>more than anything else. > >if their servers disks are only 100bT speed, they're broken. it may well >be that most SMB servers are that crappy, in spite of the fact that >a recycled linux box and one disk will deliver 40 MB/s... Not so much a limitation as that, as the 10 desktops aren't all going to be hitting the server at exactly the same time, most of the time. Relatively few business desktops are doing things like streaming video. They're just moving documents to and from the server, and that's a sort of bursty traffic, so its not a big deal. And 40 MB/s implies 13 Megatransfers/second across a 32 bit bus, with a 33 MHz bus, a transfer from the disk and a transfer to the NIC doesn't leave a whole lot of time for fetching instructions from RAM, etc. now, if your office is comprised of diskless clients....that's another story. >>So, you're looking at GigE making a difference in two >>areas: replacing cable TV (all those 20 Mbps HDTV streams) > >how many 20Mb streams does a typical endpoint need? either residential >or commercial? I can see at least 3 streams for residential. 1 for live viewing, 1 for recording on the TIVO, 1 for the second TV. >>and in big companies. But even in big companies, GigE to the >>desktop doesn't necessarily buy you much, if you're all competing >>for the same server resources. > >wow, dim view of the competence of server admins, but you may be right... No.. it's that network traffic from desktop to server just isn't all that high in most environments. For instance, I consume almost NO network bandwidth most of the time at work, because most of what I work with is on the local machine. Even in a high transaction rate call center, there's just not that many bytes flying back and forth. "yes, Mr. Lux, and your account number is? ...." blurp there's 100 bytes to the server in a SQL query, and maybe a kilobyte coming back. 10 seconds pass, "And you'd like the bullion delivered where?" blurp.. after 30 seconds, the operator sends the delivery address with a few hundred bytes to the transaction processor. blurp...100 bytes come back "your confirmation number is 2.71828, Thank you for calling" Then, that triggers a few more kbytes of traffic to the vault and the delivery truck company, etc. But overall, that's what, an average of 1 kb per second, at most? So the call center has 1000 people.. we're up to only 1 Megabit/second. Even if they do complete screen paints at every step over the network, it's still not that much traffic. Some sort of call center where they look at scanned images might be an example of a bigger volume user. "Yes.. I'm looking at your bearer bonds now, and we'll be able to execute that sell order for 100,000 shares MSFT." or, more realistically, "I'm looking through your loan application now and on page 32, there's a problem with the property description you submitted three years ago." or "Yes, Mr. Lux, that IS a big dent that we need to fix in your bumper" But even then, a full screen image is only a few megabytes, at most, unless you're totally profligate with uncompressed 24 bit TIFF images. The big advantage of GigE to the desktop is that when you do send big files (say a full screen image), it takes less time. But the average rate is still low. >regards, mark hahn. James Lux, P.E. Spacecraft Radio Frequency Subsystems Group Flight Communications Systems Section Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mail Stop 161-213 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena CA 91109 tel: (818)354-2075 fax: (818)393-6875


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Using GCCSDK
From RISC OS
Using GCCSDK and Autobuilder to cross-compile for RISC OS
Building the cross-compiler
The previous version of these instructions referred to the use of the GCC 3.4.6 cross compiler. Due to ongoing development, using GCC 3.4.6 may no longer work with all Autobuilder packages. The focus is now on the GCC 4.7.x (stable) or GCC 4.1.2 (deprecated) cross compiler with the Autobuilder.
Cross-compiling for RISC OS is done by using GCCSDK on a Unix-alike host system, such as GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MacOS X or even Windows (under Cygwin). To get started, ensure you have a Subversion client installed for your system, and fetch the GCCSDK source and Autobuilder infrastructure to the current directory:
In case you want to use the stable cross-compiler (based on gcc 4.7.x):
$ mkdir gccsdk $ cd gccsdk $ svn co svn://svn.riscos.info/gccsdk/trunk/autobuilder/ autobuilder $ svn co svn://svn.riscos.info/gccsdk/trunk/gcc4/ gcc4
In case you want to use old (deprecated) cross-compiler (based on gcc 4.1.2):
$ mkdir gccsdk $ cd gccsdk $ svn co svn://svn.riscos.info/gccsdk/trunk/autobuilder/ autobuilder $ svn co svn://svn.riscos.info/gccsdk/branches/release_4_1_2/ gcc4
Build the cross compiler and follow the prompts:
$ cd gcc4 $ ./build-world
When build-world is run for the first time, it will ask you to confirm the settings in the created file gccsdk-params. Note that its default settings are installing the cross-compiler at gccsdk/gcc4/cross (known as the parent directory of GCCSDK_INSTALL_CROSSBIN) and all with the cross-compiler built RISC OS libraries, binaries and included files in gccsdk/gcc4/env (known as GCCSDK_INSTALL_ENV). More detailed help can be found in the README file in the gcc4 directory.
It may ask you to install additional tools. The full list is as follows (the first 6 entries are likely not installed with standard distributions):
- autogen v5.5.4 (or later)
- m4 v1.4.16 (or later)
- makeinfo : version 4.8 (Debian package is 'texinfo')
- gcc and g++ : v3.4.x or v4.x.y
- bison: version 2.3 (other versions might work too)
- flex : version 2.5.4 (other versions might work too)
- svn (subversion) : version 1.2 or later
- bash
- gperf : version 2.7.2
- sed : version 2.05
- GNU make : version 3.81 (other versions might work too)
- libtool : version 1.5.22 (other versions might work too)
- patch : version 2.5.9 (other versions might work too)
- wget
- help2man
For Ubuntu 14.04, install these packages (for GCC and autobuilder):
libtool patch wget help2man autogen m4 gcc g++ bison flex subversion gperf sed make build-essential autoconf2.13 automake automake1.9 automake1.11 cvs doxygen dpkg-dev gettext intltool libglib2.0-dev liborbit2-dev libpopt-dev pkg-config policykit-1 realpath rman subversion unzip wget xsltproc texinfo git libx11-dev tcl
Other non-essential packages that are needed for specific autobuilder packages:
fontforge dos2unix texi2html libfreetype6-dev libfont-ttf-perl
You will also need CVS installed, in order to fetch the binutils source - build-world does not check for this dependency, so your build will fail later if it is missing. http://sourceware.org/ml/binutils/2011-08/msg00198.html
Then run build-world again. For a fast build, run:
$ MAKEFLAGS=-j4 ./build-world
where '4' is the number of CPU cores your computer has. If you're on Linux this can be detected automatically via:
$ MAKEFLAGS=-j$(nproc) ./build-world
If you have a problem you may wish to run a serialised build, which is slower but the debugging output is easier to understand. Please do this if you want to report an error to the mailing list (run 'make clean' beforehand if you've previously built):
$ ./build-world
Depending on your hardware, a build may take an hour or more to complete. If this all went ok, then the cross compiler has been built successfully, and you can proceed to use the Autobuilder. If anything went wrong, or you want to build the RISC OS port of GCC, consult the README file for more detailed instructions.
Using the cross-compiler
The autobuilder is a way to fetch and cross-compile software from other platforms automatically. If you want to use the tools to develop new software, or to port a new program to RISC OS (which you might later put in the autobuilder), first see the Cross-compiling Guide.
Using Autobuilder
Autobuilder requirements
The Autobuilder will have already been checked out in the above instructions and lives in the directory gccsdk/autobuilder. You should not try to build from within that directory. Under the gccsdk directory, create an additional directory build.
$ cd ../ $ mkdir build
You will then have these directories in the gccsdk directory:
- autobuilder (Autobuilder files)
- build (Build work directory)
- gcc4 (Cross compiler source)
The Autobuilder contains a number of programs with quite complex build systems, and has some additional requirements itself which need to be present on the build system. They are the following:
- autoconf2.13
- automake
- automake1.7
- cvs
- doxygen
- dpkg-source (Debian 6, dpkg-dev)
- gettext (for xgettext)
- git
- intltool (for intltoolize)
- libglib1.2-dev (not in Debian 6, try libglib2.0-dev)
- liborbit-dev (Debian 6, liborbit2-dev)
- libpopt-dev
- libx11-dev
- pkg-config
- policykit (for polkit-policy-file-validate)
- realpath
- rman
- svn
- unzip
- wget
- xsltproc
These are the names of Debian's packages for them, other distributions may vary (for example, see the Cygwin page). We strongly recommend that these packages are installed before using Autobuilder, as their absence can lead to wasted time trying to identify the potential resulting problems.
The availability of these programs is checked as needed by the Autobuilder, and they aren't all required for simple builds.
Source code
Fetching the source code of the open-source programs are done via different methods like apt-get, ftp, http, svn, cvs, etc. Historically, the Autobuilder relied upon running on Debian and using the local machine's apt list of sources. This can still be done, but the Autobuilder by default will fetch the source lists itself and download from its own copies. This means it can run on any Linux or Unix setup (including Cygwin).
Most sources are pulled from Debian stable, but the Autobuilder might fall back to oldstable for some packages. Other packages may use alternate download methods where the source does not exist in Debian, or we desire a specific version.
Simple Autobuilder example
Now use the Autobuilder to build a package:
$ cd build $ ../autobuilder/build -v wget
This will attempt to build the wget package in your build directory. For any package, the Autobuilder will first try to build the package's dependencies. In this case, there are a few. For instance, a special RISC OS specific version of 'zip' to run on the cross compiling system which understands RISC OS filetype conventions under Unix in order to usefully package the result. The wget package also relies upon the zlib library (zlib1g) and the OpenSSL library (libssl1.0.2), so these will be built too.
The work is done under a created wget subdirectory. If the build is successful this will be deleted and the results placed in ../autobuilder/autobuilder_packages. This is a zip file which can be copied to RISC OS to be unpacked and run (it's actually a RiscPkg package). If not successful, the wget directory in build will remain for you to inspect. The output from the build process is also saved in ../autobuilder/network/wget as either a file last-success or last-failure depending on what happened.
See the developing for Autobuilder page for complete details.
A more complex Autobuilder example
There are many more packages and libraries in the Autobuilder, too many to list here. Most of the programs in the Unix Porting Project are represented here. Many of these contain dependencies, which means they will instruct other packages to be built first before they can be built.
The method for building them is precisely the same. For example:
$ ../autobuilder/build -v otterbrowser -D
This will build a version of Otter Browser for RISC OS (see its setvars file to know which version is selected). Note that this has many dependencies and could take some hours depending upon your hardware and network connection.
If you want to retain the source to a package (e.g. for debugging or development), simply use the
-D flag alongside the
-v flag as in the example here.
Using ChoX11 with the Autobuilder
Any program in the Autobuilder which has dependencies upon the X libraries will also require ChoX11 and DeskLib (which ChoX11 uses) to be built. The Autobuilder will instruct the linker to automatically replace library references to the X11 library with ChoX11 and DeskLib.
See also: GCCSDK build debugging tips
Most problems with using the Autobuilder come from one of three sources:
- Missing packages on your build Unix system
- Out of date installation of GCCSDK/Autobuilder
- Upstream changes
If you have an error about missing files when trying to build something, it's most likely that there's something missing from your build Unix system. Try searching your distribution to find out which package these files are installed in: try the 'search within packages' for Debian if you use those, or a similar facility for your build OS.
If you think you've got all the files (ask the GCCSDK list if you aren't sure), it's worth a try to rename /home/riscos to something else and run through these instructions from scratch: this will ensure the latest compilers and libraries are used.
If neither of those have any luck, there have probably been upstream changes. Ideally it's best to fix the Autobuilder and/or libraries so the newer upstream will build, but otherwise you can look at the setvars file and tweak it so it fetches older sources (from a specific tarball, instead of CVS, for example). Look at a few setvars files to see how this syntax works.
If you still have trouble, ask on the GCCSDK mailing list. Also if you manage to get anything to build, or spot things which have broken, do inform the list or submit patches.
Help wanted
Ideally, all projects in the Autobuilder can be built with a single command. In practice at any one time there are a few packages which need attention. However, in this state, it is generally minimal effort to update a package to the latest version.
In order to achieve this, we need help in the follow areas:
- Simply testing of builds. In most cases, the developers can fix issues quickly.
- Complete packaging. Many packages are now uploaded in a RiscPkg format, but this work is still on going.
- Bringing up to date abandoned RISC OS ports from other developers, and added them to the Autobuilder.
- It would be great to have a port of Mesa and particular IyonixMesa in Autobuilder as it would all kind of OpenGL based programs to be ported.
- Flash support: either Gnash (talk to John-Mark Bell as he already did some work), either Swfdec.
- Gnumeric : well known open-source spreadsheet.
- Pidgin : previously known as GAIM is a GTK+ instant messaging application. It supports multiple protocols, including AIM, ICQ, Yahoo!, MSN, Jabber, IRC, Napster, Gadu-Gadu, Zephyr, and SILC.
Discussions, questions, new ideas or just a statement you want to help can be done in the GCCSDK mailing list.
- An excellent tutorial on GNU Autotools can help you understanding how most packages are configured using the GNU Autotools and built in Autobuilder.
- Autotools Mythbuster : Handy set of notes for autoconf, automake, libtool.
- The Goat Book (GNU Autoconf, Automake and Libtool)
|GCC and GCCSDK pages
| GCC under RISC OS
GCC for RISC OS, GCC tutorial, GCC common switches, GCC for beginners, UnixLib, ELFLoader

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
There are a lot of myths about the 'failure' of the British Army to use the 3.7″ anti-aircraft gun as a multi-role gun, as the Germans and Italians did with the 88mm AA gun. Quite often there is a claim that this was not allowed. The aim of this post is provide some context around this and distinguish two separate issues – use of the gun in the ground role, and use in the anti-tank role.
A 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun in the Western Desert, 27 June 1941. Note the substantial gun crew and the size of the gun. Courtesy of IWM.
One should note that the Axis did not have a free lunch either. Using (and losing) their precious 88mm guns in tank defence weakened the ability of the artillery arm to provide in-depth air defense over logistics centres, and thus allowed the Royal Air Force far more freedom in attacking bases such as Benghazi, Derna, and Tripoli. Nevertheless, I guess this strategic aspect might not have been overly appreciated by British tank crews at the time.
Regardless, it is likely that most damage on British tanks inflicted by Axis AT guns was by 50mm PAK38 and Italian 47mm Boehler guns, which were far more numerous, more mobile, and easier to camouflage.
What happened in reality, in my view, is rather that the guns weren't anywhere near the ground fighting (and neither should they have been), and that the British army valued air defense over ground defense for these guns. Apart from that, it is also often overlooked that the 3.7″ gun was much heavier and bulkier, and not designed for a mobile multi-role use, unlike the 88mm.
There are also doctrinal questions, e.g. whether AA gun formations were trained to work closely with the tanks, and able to make much of a difference, and whether the specialized equipment needed was present (e.g. the Germans used a half-tracked prime mover for the 88, giving it more off-road mobility – Empire forces did not have such vehicles).
What is clear from the document below is that the 3.7" gun served in the ground role, and that it was considered a specialized asset to be used for specific tasks, rather than general shelling of enemy positions. Like the 88, it had a very good range, and presumably the ability to generate airbursts through the use of timed fuses. These are valuable in counter battery work, and (as noted below) when engaging planes operating on an enemy airfield within range.
Gunners cleaning a 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun near Tobruk, 19 August 1941. Courtesy of the IWM.
Documentary Evidence
In order to lay to rest the myth that it was actually not allowed to use the 3.7″ gun in the ground role or wasn't used as such until much later in the war, I am posting here an excerpt from a Lessons Learned document of 8 Army, published after Operation CRUSADER.
Tobruk was of course a special case. For one, mobility did not matter as much, since it was a siege. The field gunners and AA gunners worked cheek-by-jowl, making cooperation much easier, under a Fortress command. The defended area was small, meaning that guns could be located to be able to be effective in both air and ground work.
AA/A.A. – anti-aircraft
A.Tk – anti-tank
Comd – Commander
M.E.F. – Middle East Forces
The Comd 70 Division reports from TOBRUCH that on many occasions during recent operations, 3.7 AA guns were used against ground targets, notably the EL ADEM aerodrome when enemy aeroplanes were seen landing. They were also used for engaging enemy movement, and for counter battery(1) at ranges beyond that of normal artillery, and for night harassing of roads.
Results were very effective. The guns were very accurate, and fragmentation was excellent. Fuzes were set at safety, and no unexploded round was found on subsequent examination of the areas.
Owing to their high rate of fire, these guns were invaluable for use, in conjunction with others, on one minute area shoots on centres of hostile action.
It is interesting to note that in the German instructions for the defence of the HALFAYA position against Tank attacks, all AA guns were given an A.Tk role while Small Arms fire was to be used against attacking aircraft.
The following points however must influence the use of AA weapons in roles other than A.A.:-
(i) Effective A.Tk range of 40mm shot is 500 yds.
(ii) AA ammunition stocks in M.E.F. are not unlimited.
(iii) Carriages are conspicuous tagets in field operations and must be carefully camouflaged.
(1) engagement of enemy artillery positions to subdue the enemy guns.
Further Reading
Guidelines on the use of the 88mm gun
Artillery order of battle – Tobruk


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LAS VEGAS – No one has more heart on "The Ultimate Fighter: Live" than Chris Saunders.
Actually, scratch that. Andy Ogle said he holds that title, though he ranks Saunders a close second.
So Ogle, who upset Team Cruz's Mike Rio in Friday's new episode of "The Ultimate Fighter: Live" on FX, wouldn't might fighting Team Faber teammate Saunders in the upcoming quarterfinal round. After all, it could net them both a cool $25,000.
"He's my boy, and we both know we'll get 25 grand because we'll make it the 'Fight of the Night,'" Ogle told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), referring to a $25,000 bonus that UFC president Dana White has promised to the season's best fight. "That guy's got the biggest heart here.
"Well, I've got the biggest heart. He's got the second biggest heart. Whatever. We both have huge hearts, man."
Ogle, the only English fighter on this season's cast, entered Friday's round-of-16 tournament fight as a substantial underdog. After his second-round submission victory, he was clearly emotional – but also satisfied that he quieted the naysayers.
Ogle's elimination-round win over Brendan Weafer in the season opener did little to help his stock on the show. So he was the seventh of Urijah Faber's eight picks. And again Rio, he faced Dominick Cruz's fifth pick.
"People just don't know about me," he said. "At the start, I said (in) the fight I had to get into the house, I did enough to win. You didn't see the best of me. You saw the worst of me. You have seen the worst of me … but you still definitely have not seen the [expletive] best of me. I guarantee you that."
Ogle didn't expect to get a chance to shine against Rio, one of the season's most experienced wrestlers. He expected to fend off takedowns and get a grinding win.
So he was pleasantly surprised when he secured the second-round victory via rear-naked choke.
"I knew it was going to be a boring fight for me because I knew what I wanted to do was just stand there, hit and bang and take his [expletive] face off," he said. "But at the end of the day, I knew he was going to shoot. I felt I defended the shot well, and he didn't do much from it.
"And in the second, when I got on top, I felt as if it was my moment to shine. And hell, I got the W."
So now his focus turns to the quarterfinals, which begin next week with Joe Proctor vs. James Vick and Mike Chiesa vs. Justin Lawrence. That means Ogle will fight either Saunders, Al Iaquinta or Vinc Pichel.
And if he doesn't fight teammate and friend Saunders, he thinks Pichel would be a good matchup. And he explains why in his usual British wit.
"If I can get Pichel, I'd love to get Pichel," he said. "I know he's slow. I'm fast. I'm good-looking. He's ugly. I'm white. He's dark. He's tall. I'm short.
"We're like opposites, and opposites sometimes attract."
For the latest on this season and past episode recaps, stay tuned to "The Ultimate Fighter: Live" section of MMAjunkie.com.


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Well, it's Valentine's Day again, and the annual banning for sale of all things red , heart-shaped, or construed in any way to be reflective of the holiday is in full swing here in Saudi Arabia. Red roses? Heart shaped boxes of chocolates? Strawberries? Sexy red lingerie or cute pink teddy bears? Any of these traditional Valentine's Day items are forbidden from being bought or sold in the Kingdom starting the week preceding this special day for lovers. These items are available on the black market during this time at gouged up prices of at least double or more what one would normally pay any other time of the year. The religious police have raided businesses and destroyed or confiscated inventory as well as closing down the guilty shops at a hefty cost to the business owners. On the TV news here today, I even saw a crowd of people, including small children, surrounding a man who was burning red teddy bears and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. The really funny thing is that these items are available here the rest of the year without incident.
The reason for this prohibition is because the religious leaders in Saudi Arabia only support the celebration of two Islamic holidays in this country and any other holiday is forbidden and discouraged. But the religious police here seem to really step up their game in their fight to obliterate the enjoyment of Valentine's Day from the Saudi population, as opposed to other Western holidays.
Their interpretation of Valentine's Day of course has to do with sex because here in Saudi Arabia, in their minds, anything having to do with morality has to do with sex. The religious police are afraid that everyone, married or not, will be out looking for anyone to have sex with - that this is what happens on this day in the West - and their mission is to prevent this from happening. Which is rather funny in a place where men and women are not allowed to socialize together in mixed company anyway. The good people of Saudi Arabia cannot be trusted to behave themselves with the high moral standards that are drilled into them from childhood. So they need religious police here to keep everyone in line.
One of the reasons for the ban on Valentine's Day is because of its Christian origins. But how many people in the West really know the history of Valentine's Day? The truth is that not that many people know or even care. It's a day when we recognize and honor the people we love or who are special to us. And what's wrong with that? The religious police don't want anybody celebrating Christmas or Mother's Day either, but they don't make a big stink about it like they do for Valentine's Day. I get the feeling that many people here resent being treated like children who can't control themselves without the religious police breathing down their necks. In fact many people just react in defiance because of the absurdity of it all, by wearing red accessories or by purchasing red roses when they normally wouldn't. If the religious police didn't make such a big deal about it by having this publicized annual crackdown, to many people here, it would likely be just another day.
I find it ironic that a good intentioned holiday like Valentine's Day is forbidden in this country, while at the same time the women here are put in the uncomfortable position where they are forced to purchase their bras and panties from strange men in lingerie shops. It doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? The women of Saudi Arabia have now organized a two week boycott coinciding with Valentine's Day - rallying against the ridiculous situation of men selling underwear to women. I hope the boycott is a success and sends the message that these crazy confusing contradictions must come to an end... Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!!!
To read more about Valentine's Day in Saudi Arabia and the boycott against buying women's undergarments going on right now, here are some articles:
Happy Valentine's Day...or Not!
Haia Sees Red Again
Ban Men From Selling Lingerie in KSA by SaudiWoman
Ban the Bra...Salesmen!
Peddling Panties
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Valentine's Day Massacre
Well, it's Valentine's Day again, and the annual banning for sale of all things red , heart-shaped, or construed in any way to be reflective of the holiday is in full swing here in Saudi Arabia. Red roses? Heart shaped boxes of chocolates? Strawberries? Sexy red lingerie or cute pink teddy bears? Any of these traditional Valentine's Day items are forbidden from being bought or sold in the Kingdom starting the week preceding this special day for lovers. These items are available on the black market during this time at gouged up prices of at least double or more what one would normally pay any other time of the year. The religious police have raided businesses and destroyed or confiscated inventory as well as closing down the guilty shops at a hefty cost to the business owners. On the TV news here today, I even saw a crowd of people, including small children, surrounding a man who was burning red teddy bears and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. The really funny thing is that these items are available here the rest of the year without incident.
38 comments:
Happy Valentine's Day Susie. But please, maintain your dignity and DO NOT take this day as an excuse to go out fornicating with strangers! (Hold off til tomorrow!)ReplyDelete
Well, happy You-know-what Day to you, Susie.ReplyDelete
Great last picture; don't pull the pin!
Lol oh dear i better not go out in my car today as its red hahaha, hope you and adnan had a wonderful valentines day hun :) Trae, dan and jazzReplyDelete
Just how high can I make you jump? Surely, the brains of the people in SA are no different from anyone elses...why don't they use them? The use of intimidation is absurd. Good for the two week boycott.ReplyDelete
Have a very Happy Valentine's day...I hope you don't get frowned upon (or worse) if we say this to you on February 14th.
It does seem kind of crazy. Funny that they think people are out having sex all over the place. SOOOOO not what happens. I am sure some young lovers might view it as a special day to celebrate physically,(but do they really need an excuse to do so???) but anyone married a while knows it certainly is not a day to get all hot and bothered. I think a lot of husbands view it with some trepidation...there is a lot of pressure in getting a gift for the woman. "If it isn't just right she may not think I love her enough". My husband once asked me if he could get me one Wowza of a gift and could it suffice for the entire year. He gets tense at times like this. some people put too much pressure on the romance of the day which, when under pressure romance can melt faster than snow in summer.ReplyDelete
I think if people are going to recognize the day they should just see it as a day of love for your loved ones. My husband, my daughter and myself go out for a nice dinner and maybe he buys me roses or a card. We don't make a big deal out of it.
He shows his love for me everyday by getting up when it is still dark outside to go to work and take care of our family. He doesn't need one day to show us he loves us. Plus, as my daughter said to him the other day "Dad you are really lousy at the romance stuff". She's 10 and I am sure holding out hopes that one day her Prince will bring her flowers and a romantic dinner! LOL!
- AnonymousFeb 15, 2010, 4:02:00 AM
I'm not sure why, but reading your post made me wonder whether some don't just leave the KSA for a couple of days to celebrate? I guess they do since the research for my own post on Valentine's Day led me to Dubai's Hotel packages and the full celebrations in Dubai and other GCC and MENA countries.ReplyDelete
Any idea?
btw I updated my post on the Lingerie ban for the kick off, with a short new one. That is another way to celebrate I guess.
Hi TheQueen - Thanks and same to you! I promise I'll try to control myself! Maybe it would be best if I just stay locked up inside the house all day!ReplyDelete
Hi Dina - Thanks! That last photo that you like is from a Green Day album.
Hi Trae - You too! Thanks.
Hi Lori - I don't think we'll get into trouble for wishing one another a Happy V.D. If these type of things made sense, it would be so much easier to understand...
Hi Oby - I agree - we don't play it up big either. In fact, my husband had such a busy day today that he's taking me out for breakfast tomorrow and that's fine with me. My hubby is like yours - He says that for him, every day is Valentine's Day. Mine used to be pretty romantic, and he still surprises me occasionally. I have no complaints there...
Hi Chiara - I'm sure there are some who do leave to celebrate. The kids are all off from school this week too, so I would think even more left the country than usual.
My MIL in KSA has never even noticed the ban (of course, maybe she's never looked for red lingerie on Feb. 14th...). She's from the eastern province (Shia territory) and I was wondering if things are just different there, or if she's just naive about the whole thing because it's unimportant to her.ReplyDelete
My Saudi husband and I had a wonderful Valentine's day here in the states complete with red roses, a heart shaped box of chocolates, and a victoria's secret gift card. The Saudi government needs to lay off on the whole "under their thumb" approach to people control. When people feel stifled, they have no choice but to act out.
Happy Valentine's Day, Susie!ReplyDelete
When I was a child this was just another fun day at school when we would have special art projects, sing songs, and make cards to exchange and eat candy.
When I was older it was a day to buy or make cards for my parents and friends and to let the people I cared about know how much they meant to me. And eat candy.
And now it is still a special day set aside to remind loved ones how special they are with a small gift, dinner, or card. And eat candy.
I never knew, met, or heard of these people who use this day to behave badly. Strange ideas SA has of the West. This day has always been a family and friend appreciation day.
Hope you have a fun day. And that you get to eat some candy too.
I like the candy theme that runs throughout your Valentine's day childhood to adulthood. YUM!
- AnonymousFeb 15, 2010, 7:44:00 AM
I find it amusing that the powers that be in your country place so much emphasis on how HORNY it's population presumably is or could be without it's safe guards.ReplyDelete
Seems to have the opposite effect if you ask me. Women are cloaked and mysterious.. unavailable.. And apparently too much for the average SA to control himself over!
Does not bode well for the men in your society but then again little does from my Canadian eyes.
Seems like just another excuse to scare people away from Western ways. Are you Allowed to celebrate birthdays? Glady you and hubby will get a chance to celebrate in your own way. Nothing much happened here.ReplyDelete
I like Callie's idea, eat more candy.
I'm with Callie, lets eat some candy.ReplyDelete
I repeat this again:ReplyDelete
Saudi men come to Egypt in the summer time, "marry" Egyptian girls for the vacation time, divorce them at the end of the holiday.
Saudi men also party, drink, use protitute services.
Saudi women come here for holiday, unveil themselves, look like any Western woman, end of the holiday before leaving the hotel, they cover themselves again.
What does that tell about these people and their religion?
At home you behave like this and abroad like that?
Why Saudi men can do what ever they want to do but women should be like prisoners?
Fundamentalists are the worst in this world.
No human being shouldn't be in any god's position.
- AnonymousFeb 15, 2010, 1:40:00 PM
Dear Susie, I just read your comment and it really put a warm smile on my face!! Thank-you sooo much, my friend -- wallah I appreciate it <3ReplyDelete
Now about this post...
There are so many things that the Saudi is doing wrong -- what seems to be a constant urge to control the masses -- the un-healthy segregation of the sexes -- WOMEN NOT BEING ALLOWED TO DRIVE...
I could go on and on and while I'm sure there *are* good things about Saudi, it's just a shame that we don't really see the positive aspects of Saudi culture being communicated. And the students coming to my old city in Canada sure don't do anything to help their image... Meanwhile, I don't celebrate Valentines' Day because I am aware of the history behind it and it's not something I feel all over-joyed with love & happiness. That being said, I do celebrate non-Muslim holidays such as Thanksgiving Day with my non-Muslim family. You'll find people going crazy with the whole "that's haraam!" but in our religion there is something called balance & moderation, and being strong enough in our `aqeedah (creed) to be able to control ourselves in regards to the many different situations today. Unfortunately many Muslims fail to educate themselves or understand this concept.
Oh well...
PS I am being Anonymous for now but I think u know who this is ;-)
Very interesting blog. You're a brave woman writing these things on the web. Happy Valentine's anyway!ReplyDelete
happy valentines day ms.susie...ReplyDelete
I am currently in Amman and the past two days I have noticed a considerable number of cars and men from KSA... I was wondering what brought so many of them here so suddenly and this post has solved the mystery... Valentines Day! It's a pretty big deal here in Jordan, and I guess these Saudis wanted in on the fun. I had no clue.ReplyDelete
visiting via Bloitise.ReplyDelete
You are really brave to have this blog.
Just reading it makes me kinda scared shitless...
- AnonymousFeb 16, 2010, 2:01:00 AM
It's just another stupid commercial holiday.ReplyDelete
I prefer getting gifts and flowers just because he thought of me, not because the expectation is there a pagan day.
You should also know ,it's known as a very depressing day for a lot of single people,newly widowed or divorced and some poor kids at school feel left behind.
I found the post interesting - I didn't know about how Valentines Day is observed (or not) in Saudi Arabia or the Muslim world in general. I assumed it just wasn't a big deal, I didn't know it was banned. It might technically be a saints day and therefore a Christian holiday but it's plenty secular. In fact, I was chatting to an Israeli friend the other day and she says everyone in Israel celebrates it (as well as the Hebrew day for lovers in the summer), except for the Orthodox.ReplyDelete
I found it interesting that you describe it as "a day when we recognize and honor the people we love or who are special to us." It does seem in the US that people give Valentines cards or gifts to friends or family. Where I come from (Australia) it is very much just for lovers. You'd never give a Valentines card to your mother, for example.
It's not really my favourite holiday - it has to be the worst day of the year to eat out, the flowers are overpriced and I don't like the tat. I have other special days that I observe with my husband instead, so we don't miss out on the romance. This year I took a very minimalist approach - one single card sent to the object of my affections/desire (my husband) from a secret admirer. Fun without being a drama.
Callie said: "When I was a child this was just another fun day at school when we would have special art projects, sing songs, and make cards to exchange and eat candy."ReplyDelete
This is what I was getting at in my last comment. This is very foreign to me. Valentines Day is definitively not for children in my culture. It's not anything until you reach dating age.
Hi Susie, I've been a long time reader and am starting up my own blog, hope it's okay that I link to yours for this Valentine's Post.ReplyDelete
It always amazes me how hypocritical fundamentalists are when it comes to actually practicing what they preach. Do they think no one notices that that are not "men", let alone "men of their word" when they cavort in foreign lands? To use religion as a tool to suppress women reveals an immaturity and deep set fear. This unadaptable tribal mentality will implode the nation one day.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFeb 18, 2010, 10:39:00 PM
it doesn't have any christian origins, in fact its a pagan ritual. that is why its banned in Islam. we don't ONE day to feel love for someone, we have the whole year thank God.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFeb 19, 2010, 2:49:00 AM
Actually Valentine's Day has both pre-Christian Roman and Christian origins, as I discussed in my post on the topic:ReplyDelete
St Valentine, His Day, and Its Celebration
Saudi is certainly free, in my opinion, not to celebrate, and is spared the violence that has occurred in India and Indonesia over it, but the holiday is definitely not a holy day, and barely ever was one in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar.
Celebrating one's love everyday, and on a special day are not required, but not mutually exclusive either.
I do hope you will read the post if you are interested.
This is totally unrelated and it just came to my mind because I saw the picture of the woman veiled reaching for the candy: Do men cross dress there? It would seem so easy for this to occur.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFeb 19, 2010, 8:50:00 PM
look at the pic more closely, its the back of her. Not the front.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFeb 19, 2010, 8:51:00 PM
if you look closely she is touching her sunglasses in the front (what at first appears to be the back of her head).ReplyDelete
Did you celebrate Valentine's Day with your husband?ReplyDelete
You must be exhausted by the legalism! I am and I only live in "Q8". I am guessing in spite of all their best efforts, fornication still exsists in KSA.ReplyDelete
Thanks so much for all the comments! Sorry I got behind in addressing each one individually, but I was without internet for a few days...ReplyDelete
Hi Nikki - The more that things are forbidden, the more people will want it. It's human nature!
Hi Callie - As a confirmed chocoholic, I must say that your ideas about Valentines Day are totally in sync with mine!!!
Hi Anon @7:44AM - Exactly! Everything points to sex here. They can throw sex into a "What if?" situation like nowhere else. I have never ever thought that way before in my life!
Hi Gaelyn - Some people here DO celebrate birthdays, but many people do not. The only two holidays that are recognized officially here are religious.
Hi BlogItse - Some Saudi men act deplorably when they are out of the country. They are poor examples of their religion. But I also have to say that there are many Saudi men who are decent, fair and good human beings. To me, the women who dress differently in and out of this place are obviously forced into wearing the garb here in KSA and that it is NOT their choice.ReplyDelete
Hi Anon @ 1:40PM - XOX!!!
Hi Helena & MightyDacz - Thanks - and same to you, even though I'm late now...!!!
Hi Caitlin - I think if the religious police didn't make such a big deal about it each year, and let things be, there would really be not much out of the ordinary happening. It's their method that ticks people off and makes them defiant. In the US, it's really more a day of being nice to everyone, but of course, much more special when you are in love!ReplyDelete
Hi Monica - I'm honored! Best wishes with your new blog!
Hi Linda - So true.
Hi Anon @10:39AM - Most people don't know it, but SAINT Valentines Day started as a Christian holiday, named after a Christian martyr.
Hi Yoli - Yes, men have actually been arrested when they are caught cross dressing as women.ReplyDelete
Hi Pat - He usually takes me out for dinner, but this year, he was so busy on that day, there was no time - so he took me out for breakfast the next morning. I'm okay with that. In past years in the states, he made a bigger deal about it, with flowers, candies, etc., sometimes even a romantic weekend getaway.
Another shocking post. I won't say more, I'm sure you know what I think.ReplyDelete
Thanks for bringing all of this to us Susie. I hope you had a happy non-special day anyway.
- AnonymousFeb 28, 2010, 3:43:00 PM
Valentine's Day is for everyone, I think. To me, it's just a good reason to buy presents for people whom you care about.ReplyDelete
My dad always made sure that all the ladies in the family, from the great-aunts to the littlest niece, had their heart-shaped box of candy with all the frippery on top. The great-aunties appreciate being remembered, and the little girls get all bug-eyed over red satin (you know how it is!)
I usually buy for family and friends, but this year, since I'm far from home, it was the cleaning ladies and secretaries at work who got all the red-wrapped chocolates. Valentine's day doesn't have to be for couples. It's for showing that you appreciate and like someone for who they are.
Hi Crystal - They try very hard to control morals here, but those in charge of that are only human themselves, so it can make for some interesting news articles...ReplyDelete
Hi Nathalie - You're welcome. Thanks - my day was good - I have no complaints...
Hi Anon on Feb.28 - Your idea of Valentine's Day is exactly like mine. It's not just for lovers. Thanks for your comment.


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This entire post is reblogged from Renegade South: histories of unconventional southerners. I find it to be a fascinating piece of American history. It's one of those stories in which "american" history and "african-american" history are so intertwined that a distinction between the two can hardly be made. That's just how it always should be, in my opinion. This country has just one history. It's black and white and everything in between. The story is long and may be hard to follow, but I think it's worth the effort.
The Family Origins of Vernon Dahmer, Civil Rights Activist
by renegadesouth
Vernon F. Dahmer, a well known Mississippi civil rights worker, was murdered in 1966 by white supremacists connected to the Ku Klux Klan. Before the night of January 10, 1966, when the Dahmer grocery store and home were firebombed, Vernon had been leading voter registration drives in his community. To facilitate that effort, he had recently placed a voter registration book in the grocery store he owned.
Vernon Dahmer's grocery store, located on Monroe Road, 3.5 miles from the Jones County line. Photo courtesy of Vernon Dahmer, Jr.
It took many years and five court trials to convict KKK Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers in 1998 of having ordered the murder of Vernon Dahmer. Today, Dahmer is revered for his courageous work on behalf of black civil rights. In honor of his memory, both a street and memorial park in Hattiesburg bear his name.
In the essay that follows, Dahmer's grandniece, Wilmer Watts Backstrom, and Yvonne Bivins, a member of his extended family, enrich our understanding by telling the story of his family roots in southern Mississippi. Dahmer's multiracial heritage included white, black, and Indian ancestors. The narrative begins with the story of his grandmother, Laura Barnes.
The Family Origins of Vernon F. Dahmer, Mississippi Civil Rights Activist
By Wilmer Watts Backstrom and Yvonne Bivins
Laura Barnes was born in Jones County, MS in October 1854. According to her daughter, Roxanne Craft, "she was given to a black family to raise because she was born out of wedlock to a white girl."
The 1870 census for Twp 9 in NE Jones County, Mississippi, shows that fifteen-year-old Laura was living in the household of Ann Barnes, a 55-year-old mulatto woman born in Mississippi whose occupation was housekeeper. A young mulatto boy, Augustus, age 12, also lived in the home. Living next door to the Barnes family were Andrew and Annice (Brumfield) Dahmer.
Laura Barnes, grandmother of Vernon Dahmer, Sr., courtesy of Vernon Dahmer, Jr.
After the Civil War, Andrew Dahmer and his brothers became traveling salesmen who peddled their wares in Wayne, Jones, and Perry Counties in Mississippi. Andrew soon met and married Annice Brumfield, whose mother, Altamarah Knight Brumfield, was the daughter aunt of Newt Knight and Serena Knight.
Andrew and Annice's neighbor, Laura Barnes, met Andrew's brother, Peter Dahmer, in the early 1870s. They began a relationship that resulted in the birth of a baby boy in 1872, who Laura named George Washington Dahmer. Peter apparently did not acknowledge his child, and soon moved to Chickasaw County with several brothers, where they farmed and built a mercantile business.
For giving birth out of wedlock, Laura became a "marked woman." During this period in her life, she operated a boarding house for the railroad and sawmill workers in northeast Covington County and near "Sullivan's Hollow" in Smith County. The "Hollow" was notorious for its lawlessness and racial bigotry. Blacks were not welcome there. Black families that did live there were descendants of Craft and Sullivan slaves.
Laura hired a black man from the hollow named Charlie Craft. Working closely together on her place, they soon fell in love and developed a relationship. This would bring trouble, because although Laura was raised by a mulatto woman and listed as mulatto on census records, whites still considered her off limits to a black man.
Charlie and Laura Barnes Craft, grandparents of Vernon Dahmer. Photo courtesy of Vernon Dahmer, Jr.
Charlie Craft was born in Smith County, MS, around 1853. According to family history, he was part Creek Indian and part African, with piercing eyes and coal black straight hair. A former slave of Bryant Craft, Charlie was known as a man who had never run from a fight. Story has it that after a shootout with the infamous Sullivans, he left Smith County, but doubled back to spirit away his siblings. Because newly freed slaves were not welcome in Smith County, they moved to Covington County, where they settled on a ridge south of the Hollow in the Oakohay area. Here, they established a prosperous community called Hopewell.
By 1880, thirty-year-old Charlie and twenty-eight-year old Laura lived in the Oakohay District. Four children lived with them: George (Laura's son by Peter Dahmer), age 10; [Roxanne] Viola, age 7; Bettie, age 5; and Elnathan, age 2. All, including Laura and her son George, were listed as "mulattos" on the 1880 federal manuscript census for Covington County. Living nearby were Charlie Craft's mother, Melvina, and several siblings.
One night a local white mob filled with home brew surrounded and attacked their home. Both Laura and Charlie were excellent shots. Laura shot and killed one of attackers as they tried to protect their children from the mob and, in so doing, the couple had to flee "the ridge." Laura's son, George Dahmer, helped them escape. Upon arriving in the Kelly Settlement, they moved off in the swamps on the Leaf River on the old "William Jenkins Place."
George Washington Dahmer, father of Vernon Dahmer, son of Laura Barnes Craft and Peter Dahmer, stepson of Charlie Craft. Photo courtesy of Vernon Dahmer, Jr
The area commonly known as Kelly Settlement was settled by John Kelly, a white man born in North Carolina about 1750. John and his wife, Amelia, left Hancock County, GA, and arrived in Mississippi in late 1819, settling in Perry County. By 1820, the Kelly household included John, Amelia, sons Green, 16, and Osborne, 18, Osborne's wife Joene, and nine slaves. Among these slaves were the parents of Sarah, whose descendants later formed Kelly Settlement. Although the 1820 federal manuscript census for Perry County listed no free blacks living in the household of John and Amelia Kelly, descendants claim that Sarah's folks were not slaves, but free people who accompanied the Kelly family to Mississippi.
After the Civil War, Sarah's children began to homestead land, marry, and raise children. Working together as they had down on John Kelly's place, they cleared the land to raise crops, cut timber, and hauled it to the Leaf River by oxen to float it down to the Gulf Coast.
Laura Barnes Craft's son, George Dahmer, moved to the Kelly community ahead of the rest of the Crafts. In 1895, George married Ellen Louvenia Kelly, the daughter of Warren Kelly and Henrietta McComb. Like his own mother, Laura, Ellen's mother, Henrietta, was a white child born out of wedlock and given to a black family, the McCombs, to raise. The McCombs were living on the William Jenkins place when the Crafts arrived in Perry County. Ellen Kelly's father, Warren Kelly, was the mulatto son of Green H. Kelly and the grandson of John Kelly, the original white settler of the area. Warren Kelly's mother was Sarah, the daughter of John Kelly's slaves (or perhaps free black servants).
Warren Kelly, son of Green Kelly and Sarah Kelly, father of Ellen Kelly Dahmer, grandfather of Vernon Dahmer. Photo courtesy of Vernon Dahmer, Jr.
It was to this community that Charlie and Laura Barnes Craft fled with the aid of Laura's son, George Dahmer. According to Wilmer Watts Backstrom (their great granddaughter), Charlie and Laura's family lived in isolation for many years after being forced out of Covington County; they were prone to violent disagreements and exhibited heated tempers. This family drank heavily with much cursing. They lived down in the swamps isolated from the community until the children were all grown. As the children became adults, they gradually moved out of the swamps, married and had families of their own.
Charlie was employed by Green Kelly as a night watchman on the Leaf River. He died before 1910 in Forrest County, MS. By that year, several of his and Laura's children were married and living in Kelly Settlement, MS. Although Laura's name does not appear on the 1910 Census, she was still alive that year. In 1920, she lived with her oldest child, daughter Roxanne Craft Watts, on the Dixie Highway, Forrest County, MS. Laura died on 5 June 1922.
Ellen Louvenia Kelly, wife of George Dahmer, mother of Vernon Dahmer, daughter of Warren and Henrietta McComb Kelly. Photo courtesy of Vernon Dahmer, Jr.
Laura's son and Charlie's stepson, George Dahmer, identified as a black man even though his mother and biological father were white, demonstrating how strongly one's racial identity is shaped by social experience.
George and Ellen Kelly Dahmer were the parents of Vernon Dahmer. George was known as an honest, hardworking man of outstanding integrity, rich in character rather than worldly goods. Like his father, Vernon worked hard and became a successful storekeeper and commercial farmer. Before his tragic death, he served as music director and Sunday school teacher at the Shady Grove Baptist Church, as well as president of the Forrest County Chapter of the NAACP. He and his wife, Ellie Jewell Davis, were the parents of seven sons and one daughter.


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about Uga V's attempted meeting with Robert Baker's crotch – and can't even tell the damned story right.
… The 1996 Auburn-Georgia game, the 100th in the series, became a battle for the history books. Rallying from a 21-point first-half deficit, Georgia won 56-49 in four OTs and for quite some time it remained the longest in NCAA history. It was one of the toughest losses of my entire career.
I will never forget, on the final play of the first quarter, I called a pass play to Baker in the back of the end zone and he made a leaping catch to put us ahead 14-7. But, before he had a chance to celebrate, UGA V leaped forward, perched on his hind legs and attempted to take a chunk out of Robert Baker's kneecap.
Actually, Baker got the chance to celebrate by taunting the dog with the football. Briefly.
And the only reason Bowden thinks that Baker's kneecap was at risk is because Baker had elevated Uga V's target away from the dog's lunge.
Good story other than that…


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Originally published by CNN
While the most controversial provisions of the President's revised ban blocking travel to the US remain tied up in the courts, a federal appeals court formally cleared the way late Monday for different portions of the executive order to move forward.
The Trump administration can now conduct internal reviews of other countries' vetting procedures for visa applicants while the broader case is on review in the US Supreme Court.
Last week a three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals largely affirmed a lower court's decision to halt the core provisions of President Donald Trump's revised executive order that attempted to limit travel from six predominately Muslim countries and block refugees.
However, the 9th Circuit concluded that US District Court Judge Derrick Watson's decision was overbroad in certain limited respects, and reversed the portions of Watson's ruling that barred the administration from conducting internal reviews of other countries' vetting procedures -- a move Secretary John Kelly called a "big win" last week in an interview with CNN's Tal Kopan.
This part of the ruling "was not narrowly tailored to addressing only the harms alleged," the 9th Circuit panel explained. "For example, internal determinations regarding the necessary information for visa application adjudications do not have an obvious relationship to the constitutional rights at stake or statutory conflicts at issue here. Plaintiffs have not shown how the government's internal review of its vetting procedures will harm them."
Normally, the 9th Circuit's decision would sit for 52 days while the parties tie up loose ends, but last week the Justice Department asked the court for a speedy mandate to make its decision from June 12 take effect immediately -- a request the court granted Monday, thereby specifically allowing the vetting portions of the executive order to proceed now.
Legal experts caution, however, that this "win" for the administration may have an unintended practical effect.
"Procedurally, this is a narrow, but significant, victory for the government," said Steve Vladeck, CNN legal analyst and professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law. "But it may have the opposite effect substantively. The stated purpose of the entry ban was to allow the government to conduct this internal review. If it's now able to conduct that review while the ban itself remains on hold, that may undermine the justification for the ban in the first place."
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Raed more: www.cnn.com/2017/06/19/politics/ninth-circuit-mandate-vetting/index.html


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I recently had the distinct pleasure of participating in a fascination workshop on "Information and Communication Technology in Areas of Limited Statehood: A New Form of Governance?" The workshop was organized by the Frei Universität's program on Governance in Areas of Limited Statehood and co-directed by Professors Gregor Walter-Drop and Steven Livingston. Update: the result of this meeting, and a follow up meeting in 2012 is a book on the topic to be published by Oxford University Press in 2013.
Throughout the workshop, I kept thinking back to one of my all time favorite books, James Scott's "Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed." But while I've been fully immersed in the field of crisis mapping since the early days (2007), I haven't really taken the time to think through the deeper implications of these new tools with respect to governance and especially statehood.
My colleague Gregory Asmolov made the link explicit during his excellent presentation on "Russian Wildfires and Alternative Modes of Governance: The Role of Crowdsourcing in Areas of Limited Statehood." Here's a summary:
"Because of it's geographical size, high degree of corruption, and reliance on an extraction economy, governance by government in Russia is often weak and ineffective. Russian political expert Liliya Shevtzova goes so far as to claim that the current regime is an imitation of governance. The 2010 wildfires demonstrated the limited capacity of the state to provide effective emergency response. Information technologies, and crowdsourcing platforms in particular, fulfill the gap of the limited statehood. At the same time, however, the Russian government is also trying to use ICT to increase its claims to effective governance."
Gregory and his colleagues in Moscow used the Ushahidi platform to create a "Help Map" during the forest fires. They also set up a call center to facilitate communication between those who needed help and those who were offering it. While I knew this had been one of the most stunning examples of citizen-based crowdsourcing initiatives in Russia, I hadn't thought through the deeper political implications. Not only were citizens helping themselves because of Russia's limited statehood, they were actually taking over functions of the state, which the map made very explicit. Gregory noted that some Russian citizens even went out to buy firefighting equipment with their own money to combat the fires themselves. Many official fire stations didn't even have basic equipment needed to respond. In some ways, these efforts laid bare and indeed exposed the Russian regime as an "imitation of governance."
The Russian government apparently responded by setting up webcams around the country to show that it was in control and still able to monitor the situation. But as this cartoon shows (from Gregory's presentation), many in Russia were not buying the pretense. See also this article from Christian Science Monitor that Gregory shared: "Russia's YouTube Democracy is a Sham."
As James Scott notes in his book Seeing Like a State, "the legibility of a society provides the capacity for larger-scale social engineering, high-modernist ideology provides the desire, the authoritarian state provides the determination to act on that desire, and an incapacitated civil society provides the leveled social terrain on which to build." By legibility, Scott means the ability of the state to index, search, understand and hence manipulate society. But unlike the past, and thanks to free mapping software and crowdsourcing, society is no longer as incapacitated as it used to be. Indeed, thanks to new free and open source mapping technologies, society is able to define it's own legibility, the contours of which necessarily reveal the limits of statehood.
Moreover, as I have noted before, the resulting map is often not as profound as the social capital generated between the dozens, often hundreds, of people collaborating on a live crisis map. In turn, this social capital facilitates mass collective action. In other words, social capital is fungible. As Scott notes, "this transformative power resides not in the map, of course, but rather in the power possessed by those who deploy the perspective of that particular map." In many ways, therefore, the Ushahidi platform is a social-capital and collective-action generating technology.
For more on the Russia Fires projects, I recommend the following links:
- http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/08/30/russia-online-cooperation-as-an-alternative-for-government
- http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/09/08/russia-bloggers-clash-with-the-ruling-party
Development of the project following crisis situation:
- http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/10/23/russia-post-emergency-sustainability-of-crowdsourcing-projects/
The Russian National award:


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You look SPECtacular
Makeup tips for glasses-wearers
Makeup tips for glasses-wearers
Your choice of glasses makes a fashion statement of who you are to the world, furthering that by combining your frames with makeup produces a look that is uniquely yours. While social distancing and mask wearing are becoming part of our daily lives, dressing up your eyes is more important than ever to highlight your features and personalize your style.
Silhouette's wide array of eyewear offers a timeless accessory that doesn't go out of style but complementing your choice of glasses with on-trend makeup will give your eyes a modern, playful look that you'll want to sport all year long.
Whether you like experimenting with a bold color palette or prefer a nude, minimal complexion, makeup artist Bianca Hartkopf gives valuable advice on how to achieve the perfect look that matches your mood as well as your favorite frames.
Blue Eyes
Dare to pair blue eyelids with the nuanced colors of these rimless eyewear to show off the natural radiance of your eyes. The gradient blue lenses of the Titan Dynamics Contour will accentuate this eye-catching makeup completed with a gentle gloss on the cheeks and lips to add an elegant finishing touch.
Bianca's tip: If color blocking is too much for you, use a mascara in a blue hue on upper and lower lashes.
Red Lips
Neutral makeup and minimal, rimless eyewear create a lovely contrast to matte red lips defined by a seductive lip liner. Classic frames such as the Titan Dynamics Contour in shades of caramel go well with brown mascara on the upper lashes for a pared-back yet elegant look.
Green Eyes
This glowing green makeup style will make your eyes stand out and highlight your colorful personality. With its transparent frames, the ultralight Infinity View tone down the impact of the eyeshadow, so don't be afraid to go for a striking color while soft pink lips bring a softer balance.
Bianca's tip: Use a base coat on the eyelid and color powder on top to make the look last longer.
Beautiful Brows
Make your eyebrows the star of your glamorous look by prepping them with brow soap and using a brow pencil to add definition. Full-rim glasses such as the Infinity View give another dimension to this bare makeup style and emphasizes a mysterious character.
Play with the timeless shapes of the hexagonal Lite Spirit frames to create a daring makeup look that can be adjusted to your personal style. To achieve this adventurous look, draw a line along the base of the lashes and into a dynamic angular shape diagonally above the outer corner of the eye and back along the top of the eyelid.
Bianca's tip: Use a liquid liner pen to define this dramatic shape.
Cat Eye
Build upon the graphic trend to create a more retro look by pairing an expressive makeup with circular eyewear, like the rounded shape from the Lite Spirit collection. The precise line is extended beyond the outer corner of the eye and intense black mascara brings an extra layer of intensity.
If you want to let your frames be the main focus of your look, your skin tone should be radiant and flawless. Start with a moisturizing cream and a good foundation, then add a touch of blush color on the lips and cheeks to warm up your look. Finish with a spray mist for extra freshness before pairing with your choice of frames.
Bianca's tip: Use highlighter on top and in the corner of the eye to add dimension.
Find out more tips from Bianca Hartkopt in her color blocking tutorial on IGTV.


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I don't closely track the popularity of my blog. If what I share helps people in their day to day job, it's already good enough to me. But I do look at site statistics now and then just out of curiosity and it seems that network-related posts get a lot of popularity. A blog post I wrote a while ago on Dell N4000 switches has quickly got in top five over the last year.
So it seems that there is a demand for entry-level switch configuration guides. I've worked with a quite a few different switch brands over the years, so I thought I will build on the success of the Dell blog post and this time write about HPE FlexNetwork/FlexFabric 5000 switch series.
Operating Systems
HPE has several network switch product lines. I won't even try to cover all of them in this post. But it's important to know that there are a few different operating systems you can encounter, while working with HPE network switches. There is a familiar ProCurve product portfolio (now merged with Aruba), which is based on ProVision operating system.
HPE FlexNetwork/FlexFabric 5000 series, on the other hand, is based on Comware operating system. It has a different CLI command set and can be a complete surprise if you've worked only with ProCurve switches before. So this blog post will be particularly valuable for those who're dealing with HPE 5000 for the first time.
The following guide has been tested on a pair of HPE FlexFabric 5700-series switches. Even though commands are mostly the same, on other switch series, like FlexNetwork 5800, there might be some minor differences.
Initial Configuration
When the switch is booted for the first time it will start automatic configuration by trying to obtain settings over DHCP, which you can interrupt by Ctrl+C to get straight to CLI.
You start in user view where you can run display commands to review switch settings. To start the configuration, change to system view:
> system-view
Let's start by configuring remote access to the switch. There are two ways you can do that. You either use the out-of-band management port:
> interface M-GigabitEthernet 0/0/0
> ip address 10.10.10.10 255.255.255.0
> ip route-static 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.10.10.1
Or you can configure a VLAN interface IP address:
> interface vlan-interface 1
> ip address 10.10.10.10 255.255.255.0
> ip route-static 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.10.10.1
Then configure switch name, enable SSH, set passwords and you can start managing the switch over SSH:
> sysname switchname
> public-key local create rsa
> ssh server enable
> user-interface vty 0 15
> authentication-mode scheme
> protocol inbound ssh
> super password simple yourpassword
> local-user admin
> password simple yourpassword
> authorization-attribute user-role level-0
> service-type ssh
User "admin" will have an unprivileged role. You will need to run the following command and enter password once logged in, to elevate to network admin rights:
> super
Intelligent Resilient Framework
In small non-business-critical environments one standalone switch is usually sufficient. In larger environments switches are typically deployed in pairs for redundancy. To simplify management and to avoid network loops most switches support some sort of MLAG or stacking. IRF is HPE's version of it.
Determine what ports you're going to use for IRF. There are two QSFP+ ports on 5700-series dedicated for it. And then on on the first switch (master) run the following commands (it's recommended to shut down the ports before you set them up as IRF):
> irf member 1 priority 32
> int range FortyGigE 1/0/41 to FortyGigE 1/0/42
> shutdown
> irf-port 1/1
> port group interface FortyGigE 1/0/41
> irf-port 1/2
> port group interface FortyGigE 1/0/42
> int range FortyGigE 1/0/41 to FortyGigE 1/0/42
> undo shut
> save
> irf-port-configuration active
On the second switch (slave) run the following commands to change the IRF ID to 2:
> irf member 1 renumber 2
> reboot
When the switch comes up, configure IRF ports:
> irf member 2 priority 30
> int range FortyGigE 2/0/41 to FortyGigE 2/0/42
> shutdown
> irf-port 2/1
> port group interface FortyGigE 2/0/41
> irf-port 2/2
> port group interface FortyGigE 2/0/42
> int range FortyGigE 2/0/41 to FortyGigE 2/0/42
> undo shut
> save
> irf-port-configuration active
Now you can connect the physical IRF ports. IRF is a ring topology, that means (in my case) port 1/0/41 should connect to 2/0/42 and port 1/0/42 should connect to 2/0/41.
Second switch will automatically reboot and if all is configured correctly, you should see both switches join the IRF fabric. Member switch 1 has the highest priority of 32 and becomes the master:
> display irf
Firmware Upgrade
Firmware upgrade is the next logical step after you set up IRF. The latest firmware revision for the switches can be download from HPE web-site. Keep in mind you will need a HPE passport account, with a valid service agreement (SAID) added to it.
You will also need a TFTP server to upgrade the firmware. There are a few of them out there, but the most commonly used is probably Tftpd64.
When you get the TFTP server up and running and copy the firmware file to it, perform an upgrade:
> tftp 10.10.10.20 get 5700-CMW710-R2432P03.ipe
> boot-loader file flash:/5700-CMW710-R2432P03.ipe slot 1 main
> boot-loader file flash:/5700-CMW710-R2432P03.ipe slot 2 main
> irf auto-update enable
> reboot
Confirm firmware has been updated:
> display version
VLANs, Aggregation Groups and Tagging
In Comware the term "aggregation group" is used to describe what is a "port channel" in Cisco world. Trunk/access ports are also called tagged/untagged ports throughout the documentation.
In this section we will discuss a few common port configuration scenarios:
- Untagged ports, which can be your iSCSI storage array ports
- Tagged ports, such as your VMware host uplinks
- Aggregation groups, typically used for LAGs to upstream switches
First of all create all VLANs and give them descriptions:
> vlan 10
> description iSCSI
> vlan 20
> description Server
> vlan 30
> description Dev and test
Then specify untagged ports:
> vlan 10
> port te 1/0/1
> port te 2/0/1
To configure tagged ports and allow certain VLANs (ports will be added to the VLANs automatically):
> int te 1/0/2
> description ESX01 vmnic0
> port link-type trunk
> port trunk permit vlan 20 30
> int te 2/0/2
> description ESX02 vmnic0
> port link-type trunk
> port trunk permit vlan 20 30
And to create an LACP aggregation group:
> interface bridge-aggregation 1
> description Trunk to upstream switch
> link-aggregation mode dynamic
> port link-type trunk
> port trunk permit vlan 20 30
> interface te 1/0/3
> port link-aggregation group 1
> interface te 2/0/3
> port link-aggregation group 1
Common Commands
Other useful commands that don't fall under any specific category, but handy to know.
Display switch configuration:
> display current-configuration
Save switch configuration:
> save
Shut down a port:
> int te 1/0/27
> shutdown
Undo a command:
> undo shutdown
Whether you are a network engineer new to the Comware operating system or a VMware administrator looking for a quick cheat sheet for FlexNetwork/FlexFabric switches, I hope this guide has helped you get the job done.
If this blog post gets the same amount of popularity, maybe it will turn into another series. But for now – over and out.


text: This is an inspiring and motivational track with an optimistic, positive energy. This piece of music played on electric piano, drive guitar, strings and drums. Great for inspirational videos about wonderful journeys around the world, beauty of our planet and also suit for inspirational and motivational videos, commercials, websites and other projects that need an inspirational, energetic and positive mood.


text:
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
"Listen – Don't Leave Me This Way MP3″
Greetings all.
I hope the middle of the week finds you well.
I wasn't originally going to do a Wednesday post this week, but last night, as I was getting in a little headphone work before turning in (as I often do), I was flipping through my list of stockpiled blog tracks and when today's selection came on I cranked the volume, closed my eyes and let the music carry me away.
The first time I heard Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes perform 'Don't Leave Me This Way' I was just about pole axed.
I – like most people – always associated the song with the version (which I mistakenly assumed to be the original) by Thelma Houston. Her explosive take on 'Don't Leave Me This Way' was a Number One hit in 1977, and is justly considered one of the truly great moments of the disco era (not to mention a fantastic record by any standards).
Then, sometime shortly after I moved in with my then fiancée (now wife), some nine years ago, we were listening to Felix Hernandez' Rhythm Revue radio show*, and heard that familiar song, delivered by an unfamiliar (male) voice. Of course I hung over the radio until Felix announced the track, and was shocked to discover that 'Don't Leave Me This Way' was in fact a cover of a recording by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and the male voice was none other than the great Theodore 'Teddy' Pendergrass.
I was shocked.
How did I not know this?
I certainly knew who Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were, but this was one of those moments when it became immediately clear that I had been asleep at the wheel, not only on this particular record, but on mid-70's soul in general, more specifically disco.
Now, I've said this before, but I was always – if not a closet disco fan – one of those soul snobs who was willing to acknowledge that there were some good records within the world of disco, but insisted on turning a cold shoulder to the genre as a whole. I felt bold in professing my love for a record like 'Get Down Tonight' by KC & The Sunshine Band, but insisted that it was because the record was atypical, and thus an exception to the (my) rule ( a more succinct explanation here).
Anyway, suffice to say that in the years since then, for a number of reasons, including maturing tastes, a greater understanding of DJ culture and the world of disco (thanks largely to Peter Shapiro's 'Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco' and Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton's ''Last Night a DJ Saved My Life'), and of course exposure to a wider variety of music, my musical world view was reshaped considerably.
That said, that very day I ran out and grabbed a budget 'Best of' by HM&theBN's and listened to it over, and over, and over again.
No matter how you slice it, 'Don't Leave Me This Way' is an absolutely monumental record. It was a perfect combination of vocalists, composers, producers and musicians, all at the peak of their powers, riding the crest of a wave that had yet to fully break (that being disco).
The Blue Notes had been together in one form or another since the mid-50s. By the early 60's he group had split in two, becoming Bernard Williams and the Original Blue Notes , who recorded the brilliant 'It's Needless to Say' for Harthon, and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes (featuring lead singer John Atkins) who recorded the equally brilliant 'Get Out' for Landa (which was included on the Funky16Corners Radio Philly Soul Mix). By the end of the 60's Atkins was out, and was replaced by Blue Notes drummer Teddy Pendergrass. The group signed with Philly International in 1972, and soon hit with their first really big record 'If You Don't Know Me By Now' which topped the R&B charts and entered the Pop top 5.
The following year they hit again with 'The Love I Lost' and then again in early 1975 with 'Bad Luck'.
Later that year they released the LP "Wake Up Everybody' and had another R&B Number One with the title track, a gem of socially conscious soul. Oddly enough, the finest track on that album 'Don't Leave Me This Way' was never released as a single in the US, though it was a Top 5 hit on the disco charts and a Top 20 hit in the UK. It wasn't until two years later that Thelma Houston recorded her version for Motown, and the rest as they say is history.
It's hard to listen to the Blue Notes original without wondering what the hell Philadephia International was thinking when they didn't release it as a single. Though disco had not yet really gained steam as a commercial powerhouse, it would be foolish to pigeonhole 'Don't Leave Me This Way' as just a "disco" record. This is not to use disco as a pejorative, but is rather a reflection on how this record transcends genre. Pendergrass's vocal is absolutely flawless and the arrangement is a masterpiece of dynamics.
Opening – and running with – the Rhodes (as does the Houston version) , and the congas, the tune builds very gradually before literally exploding in the chorus, and then building again and again until the listener is carried away on a wave of emotion. It's almost impossible to imagine anyone hearing 'Don't Leave Me This Way' (especially the chorus which is absolute perfection) and not jumping up to dance. Had this record come out a few years later, when disco was at its height it would have been HUGE.
'Don't Leave Me This Way' is a great example of a great dance record that works on so many different levels. Clocking in at just over six minutes, it was long enough to build a fever on the dance floor, without resorting to any fluff or filler. When the record seems like it has reached its climax (right around the 5 minute mark), Pendergrass and the band take things back a notch. He whips a little mellow scatting on the room, backed by a very percussive electric piano and the drums, but then seemingly out of nowhere the rhythm guitar powers its way to the fore, taking over for just a few seconds and it's a thing of beauty. I'm not sure who's playing guitar here (Bobby Eli or Norman Harris most likely) but it's amazing.
It's interesting to contrast the Blue Notes version with Thelma Houston's hit. While there's no denying that Houston's Motown-powered recording is a killer, especially her amazing vocal, the Blue Notes version manages to be incredibly exciting and a masterpiece of restraint at the same time. Where Houston's version is marked by sharp trebly peaks, the Blue Notes recording has a richness about it. With all of its heightened moments of bliss it retains a wholly organic sound. The arrangements by Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker and Bobby Martin, and the production by Gamble/Huff is typically on point. The Philadelphia International crew (with the MFSB house band) created a huge catalog of incredible music, and 'Don't Leave Me This Way' is one of their finest moments. It was also one of the last big moments for the group with Pendergrass, who embarked on a very successful solo career the next year.
Following his departure, the Blue Notes left Philadelphia International for ABC, and bounced from label to label through the mid-80's. Despite several personnel changes, Melvin continued touring with the Blue Notes until his death in 1997.
I hope you dig this record as much as I do.
*The Rhythm Revue, which started out on listener-supported WBGO moved on for a time to commercial radio and lives on today in a series of popular dance nights hosted by Hernandez.


text:
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text:
Minori derives its name from the torrent Reginna Minor (or Reginuolo) that crosses it. It has been inhabited since Roman times, as some remains of the splendid Villa Romana testify. In the Middle Ages it had a more than adequate economic development, in fact, Minori had been a Diocese since 987, due to Pope Giovanni XV's will and shared the histoiy and fate of the near Amalfi, with which it was often in competition.
lt is a small but very nice town with a beautiful promenade, enriched by a splendid Ilth-century fountain (Lions'Fountain) and a net of picturesque and lively lanes. Minori has often been devastated by natural catastrophes and plagues: a tempest in 1597 was particularly terrible, it destroyed the walls and the main square. The Cathedral deserves a visit: it preserves S. Trofimena's relics , a saint venerated all along the Coast. A 17th-century marble pulpit is very remarkable. A wooden Baroque altar is interesting too, it is in the Church of S. Lucia at Benedictine Convent.
However, above all , Minori offers the possibilità of visiting the remains of a Roman Villa of the Augustean Age (i st century), built on a 2500-square-metre arca. Excavations began in 1932 and were continued after the flood of 1954 buried it under a blanket of mud. The building had two storeys originally, but the top floor has been lost. The ground floor is still intact and is surrounded by three archways and a nymphaeum and is decorated by frescoes and mosaies. In the inside a swimming-pool of Roman times was discovered.
The Roman Villa is of a great archacological interest: it is the only evidence of this type on the Coast. lt permits historians to verify their theorics about the importance of the Villa (and in particular of Minori) during Roman dominion. On the other hand, even its toponym, that is its country name, is of Latin origin, like that of the near Maiori. Besides, perhaps it will be necessary to explain that the augmentative (maior that is bigger) and the diminutive (minor, that is smaller) do not refer to the importance or size of the respective towns, but to the torrents' flow crossing their centres and having the same name, Reginna Maior the former and Reginna Minor the latter. These torrents are both terrible when they fall headlong into the sca during the winter. As a matter of fact both towns have often been devastated by terrible floods. Fortunately, today, this danger is only a memory of the past thanks to the progress of civil engincering.
Only at Hotel Olimpico
- Free access to beach and pool
- Free parking
- Free shuttle to Salerno harbor and train station