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Archive for April 2017
Translink Liveries
This post started life as a comment. Back in 2007. Originally the links in the comment went to a site called fotopic.net which ceased operations in 2011. So I went to my flickr stream to see if I could find similar illustrations.
So why did I "need" this? Becuase of this in my inbox this morning
The pingback was to this post and was from this article . It is nice to see that old stories from this blog continue to have some utility. And now this new post can be the source of reference to the old article and my comment under it.
For a while Translink had plain white buses: this was for buses ordered in the period of transition from BC Transit, before the new blue and yellow livery was decided on.
Many remained in service in the old red, white and blue of BC Transit.
Note that black paint has been added to to window pillars and on the upper part of the doors. This was peculiar to the Vancouver transit system and was not added to BC Transit buses operating elsewhere.
This was the standard livery in Translink's first iteration. As the fleet went through its usual maintenance cycle the older buses were repainted white with a blue and gold set of stripes.
Community shuttles had a variation on the paint scheme.
The B Line had its own variation, with a blue front to help intending passengers spot the difference from regular services. This was very similar to the BC Transit B Line livery, which had a red rather than the gold swoosh.
Of course that did not stop artics in regular livery being used on the B Line. A number of regular bus services needed the capacity of articulated buses to meet the surge of demand caused by the introduction of U Pass as UBC and SFU
When the new trolleybuses started being delivered they carried this new black and grey livery with the blue stripe converted to a swoosh and the black being expanded on the front and onto the upper panel – not just the window surrounds. New diesel and natural gas buses were similarly treated.
The Novabus did not get nearly as much black paint as the New Flyers, and I think looks the better for it.
But the new Shuttle buses did
The high floor Orion highway coaches used on the express routes got their own yellow livery. This is the first version.
Later versions have grey on the lower panel. This one was photographed at Burrard Station: the introduction of the Canada Line saw these services cut back to Bridgeport Station in Richmond – which is where the previous picture was taken.
The most recent variation has also reduced the amount of black paint with grey on the front and sides and is, to my eye, more pleasing.
This was a variation used in West Vancouver for a while.
This is what they use now. There is so little blue visible that the words BLUE BUS have to be added above the bike rack in large, friendly capital letters.
BC Transit now uses this livery instead of the old red white and blue.
Though in 2015 it could still be seen in Victoria – here on a British built Transbus (Dennis) Dart Plaxton Pointer delivered in 2000.
And, by special request, here is a preserved bus in the old BC Hydro Transit livery
Photo by Michael Chu on flickr
And I think this one may be earlier. I am told that in the bad old days buses got repainted with each change of government into the colours of the ruling party – but that can't be true can it?
For those of you who like such things here is a complete graphic which also has SeaBus and Amtrak
Fraser Voices Press Release
In the wake of Christy Clark sending a letter to Justin Trudeau suggesting a tax on US coal exports through Vancouver would be an appropriate response to the softwood lumber tariff
Actually this lady beat her to it
No Coal Makes Way for a Cheaper, Faster, Safer Second Tunnel
No need for $4 billion Boondoggle Bridge
After years of ignoring thousands of people complaining about the impacts of US thermal coal through the Lower Fraser Delta, Premier Christy Clark is finally acknowledging that the coal is "not good for the environment."
Now she is asking Prime Minister Trudeau to ban the export of thermal coal. No matter how he responds, the public now expects the B.C. Government to stop plans of Fraser Surrey Docks to export US thermal coal.
The reason for the largest, most expensive bridge ever built in B.C. is to remove the George Massey Tunnel, dredge the Fraser deeper and facilitate export of US thermal coal through Fraser Surrey Docks.
Plans also include transport of dangerous jet fuel and LNG on Panamax vessels and LNG carriers on the Fraser for the first time in history. As Canada has no effective laws, these projects do not meet international safety standards.
With no need for coal freighters, the public should demand that the B.C. Government revive the original plans to upgrade the George Massey Tunnel and build a second tunnel by immersing a second tube. This would be cheaper, faster, and safer.
Cheaper: Bridge: $3.5 to $6 billion Tunnel: $1 to $2 billion
Faster: Bridge: 5 to 6 years Tunnel: 2 to 3 years
Safer: During seismic activity: "Underground structures suffer minor damage compared to aboveground structures."
(Tunnel under seismic loading: a review of damage case histories and protection methods, page 24)
ENGOS, Journalists and Politicians
"… politicians (other than all local mayors except one) simply have done little to challenge this $3.5 Billion boondoggle when another tunnel at less than 1/4 the coast is the best alternative to protect the fragile lower Fraser River.
The issue is mainly about building a bridge that will allow large freighters and tankers up the river after the tunnel is removed and that will be a very large nail into the coffin of the Lower Fraser in that it will be followed by Port Vancouver's grandiose plans to industrialize the estuary and lower river.
This and the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project will be the modern era's beginning of the final degradation process of the last significant biological values in this globally significant river and estuary. It is time that the federal Trudeau Ministers did stand up and take notice of an out of control Port Vancouver and a total lack of and or proper CEAA assessment of such large projects affecting many federal values."
Otto Langer Fisheries Biologist
The B.C. Government triple-deleted all information on how they changed plans from a twinned tunnel to a massive bridge. Freedom of information requests from the public and MLA Vicki Huntington yielded a response of:
"Although a thorough search was conducted, no records were located in response to your request."
However, a FOI request from Voters Taking Action on Climate Change revealed that from 2012 to 2014, the B.C. Liberals had ongoing discussions and correspondence with the federal government, the Port of Vancouver, Fraser Surrey Docks and vested interests.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Wanderlust
The challenge this week opens with "Have you traveled anywhere exciting lately?" Well yes and I have been posting pictures of Cuba for a while now. That was our most recent trip. In October 2015 we were much further from home. This photo was taken as our cruise ship arrived in Sydney in the early hours of the morning. We did not see any kangaroos in our trip, but this landmark is about as iconic as it gets.
Unless you count the Opera House of course, just opposite the bridge and the cruise ship terminal – and in much better light.
The great advantage of taking a ship is that when you arrive in a city on the other side of the planet, there is no jet lag, and you get to enjoy your visit straight away. On that cruise we also visited Honolulu, Fiji and some of the smaller islands of the South Pacific, which for a lad from East Ham was about as exotic as I have ever experienced.
Living now in Beautiful British Columbia we are spoiled for wonderful destinations on own doorstep. Even a short trip to the nearest beach produces breathtaking views. And some of my wanderlust has been tempered simply by the increasing harassment travellers experience just trying to get on a plane to somewhere else. Or even to drive over the border. We are not planning to travel anywhere very much in the immediate future, just to avoid these hassles.
Sailing into Unknown Waters
file photo: Reuters
There is a lot wrong with the present BC government's obsession with establishing an LNG industry. It is, of course, based on fracking – which has been creating earthquakes in BC, a place which, you might think, has quite enough of an earthquake risk already. We also know that the industry has been understating the release of methane from fracking – and that is far more damaging greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. It is also the case that the costs of producing and storing power from wind and solar sources have been dropping rapidly – far faster than any other power producing source anticipated. That means that whole idea that there is a need for some kind of intermediate step between phasing out coal and switching to 100% renewables is redundant.
The siting of LNG plants has also been one of significant controversy, mainly because of sensitive ecological issues which have been ignored by our deliberately crippled environmental review process. There is an LNG plant operating here already – and has been for many years. It is operated by what is now called Fortis BC, which used to be BC Gas. They developed an LNG program to reduce their storage costs. Gas gets produced year round but demand is heavily seasonal. They were also interested in developing new markets in an exercise called load spreading – for example using natural gas either in its compressed or liquid forms for transportation. Which is where I came in. As a policy analyst and transportation economist for the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum resources in the early 1990s I was lobbied by BC Gas to try to get CNG powered buses for BC Transit, and LNG for BC Ferries. The first did happen, the second didn't. But CNG in transit had a very chequered history.
The LNG plant is located at Tilbury on the Fraser estuary.
One of the reasons the Port is so keen on getting rid of the tunnel is the potential to increase traffic on the river – including much larger LNG tankers for exports. People like Todd Stone have been denying this, but the evidence is overwhelming. But what that also means is that due diligence has not been done in assessing whether such a proposal is desirable at this location. I used to be a Fortis shareholder, as my financial advisor was very keen on their performance and its impact on my portfolio. We had a very interesting discussion about the meaning of the words "risk assessment" – particularly when it came to the expansion of the Tilbury terminal.
I am indebted to Kevin Washbrook, who has been very diligent in researching this issue and bringing it to the attention of Fraser Voices – one of the groups opposing the tunnel replacement. That is another reason for the insertion of the map: the proximity of the terminal and the idea of very large LNG vessels passing under the bridge is a concern, but because of the way the way that all the proposals in the area are viewed as standalone and no cumulative assessment has been done, the concern is not now being addressed.
As Kevin says
Canada is way behind what is legally required in the US and not at all prepared for security or safety risks of building LNG terminals near coastal communities. The Wespac proposal on the Fraser River is particularly egregious. I don't think there is any way it would be approved in the US.
The comparison to security procedures in the Port of Boston is interesting. There a major bridge over the Tobin River is closed every time an LNG tanker transits underneath.
I don't have any sense that the Province has considered this in their planning for the new 10 lane Fraser River crossing. Security closures during rush hour when LNG tankers are transiting the river? That won't go down well.
There is a full report as a pdf file. Part Five is a focused review of the Wespac proposal on the Fraser River and is of particular interest.
To give you a taste of what is covered I am going to cut and paste the Executive Summary here
The pursuit of an LNG export industry in British Columbia is taking place without the government oversight needed to protect the public from safety and security risks.
US regulatory processes provide clear guidance on how to screen LNG proposals for these risks, and how to enforce security protocols around LNG facilities and tankers. Both are needed to protect communities and critical infrastructure from the risks posed by LNG. Similar regulatory processes could easily be established in Canada – if governments chose to make public safety and security a priority.
However, in British Columbia LNG export proponents choose siting locations according to their own criteria. When these proposals enter licensing, permitting and approval processes, those sites are taken as a given:
• NEB export licensing decisions consider only whether proposed exports will impact Canada's domestic supply of natural gas;
• Our federal government, with responsibility for marine safety, has not established a pre-screening process for marine LNG facilities or a process for assessing the security of our waterways for the movement of LNG tankers;
• The voluntary TERMPOL review process does not consider security concerns;
• Federal Marine Transportation Security Regulations contain no terminal siting criteria or waterway assessment protocols;
• Federal and provincial environmental assessment processes address accidents, but not the likelihood and consequences of deliberate attack; and
• The BC Oil and Gas Commission, with authority over the permitting of coastal LNG facilities, does not explicitly require assessment of the risk of deliberate attack on those facilities, and excludes consideration of LNG tankers and marine approaches to proposed facilities from hazard identification and emergency planning processes.
In short, no government agency, federal or provincial, is tasked with asking fundamentally important questions:
• Is this a safe place to build an LNG terminal?
• Is this an appropriate waterway for the movement of LNG tankers?
As a result, as project reviews gain momentum, there is valid concern that approval processes will attempt to mitigate risks through design requirements for projects that should have been rejected at the outset because they are poorly sited.
The best way to manage security and safety risks around LNG development in BC is to avoid creating those risks in the first place. Canada and British Columbia need to establish transparent and well justified site selection and waterway suitability assessment processes for LNG export proposals to ensure we avoid these risks. A preliminary pre-screening process will be an important tool for eliminating poorly sited project proposals, and will save proponents and government time and money that would otherwise be spent in lengthy approval and permitting processes.
Fortunately, the hard work of developing a pre-screening process has already taken place in the United States. Studies by Sandia National Laboratories have determined justifiable hazard planning distances for assessing risk posed by proposed LNG facilities and LNG tanker movements on nearby populations and critical infrastructure.
The Sandia Laboratory findings have been incorporated into a comprehensive waterway suitability assessment process used by the US Coast Guard to screen LNG marine terminal proposals for safety and security risks. USCG waterway suitability findings from this process are used by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the US agency in charge of LNG terminal approvals) in their decisions on LNG terminal proposals.
Canada should look closely at existing US regulations – they provide a ready made and proven template for developing our own pre-screening process to protect the public from LNG risks during the process of LNG terminal site selection.
However, even if government did develop a comprehensive pre-screening process, British Columbians would still face risks from LNG export projects. Our federal government has failed to establish a preparedness and response regime for ship-source incidents involving hazardous substances like LNG, despite long identifying such a regime as a priority. The LNG industry has not established a dedicated response organization such as the one in place to address oil spills. Coastal first responders are likely unprepared to deal with the serious hazards posed by a worst case incident involving loss of containment and fire on an LNG tanker. Canada has not established a regulatory regime for bunkering LNG–fuelled vessels, nor, apparently, a certification program for LNG bunker barges.
Further, existing marine security regulations in Canada are underdeveloped and reactive. They do not incorporate, as normal operating procedure, moving exclusion zones around LNG tankers that are common practice in US ports. In addition, neither our Port Authorities nor LNG proponents themselves appear adequately resourced to enforce such exclusion zones if they were applied.
While the probability of a deliberate attack or serious accident on an LNG tanker or facility may be low, the consequences for our communities or critical coastal infrastructure of such an attack could be catastrophic. Government has a responsibility to properly assess and prepare for these risks before BC exports LNG.
Our governments have shown themselves to be keen supporters of development of an LNG export industry. However, before LNG exports proceed, they must show they are just as keen to protect public safety and security from the risks posed by that industry.
BC and Canada should place a moratorium on approved and proposed LNG exports until key regulatory issues are addressed, including 1) developing a proper site screening and waterway suitability assessment process for evaluating LNG export proposals 2) establishing mandatory and enforceable security procedures to address the risk of deliberate attack on LNG facilities and tankers and 3) creating a robust preparedness and response regime for ship source incidents involving LNG, and ensuring that LNG bunkering is properly regulated and LNG bunker barges are properly certified.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Earth
When I first saw the challenge for this week I was thinking of looking for one of my gigantic panoramas. But then as I was scrolling through Photos on my MacBook I saw this little snapshot. We were walking around the Cleveland Dam and Capilano park, when I saw this skunk cabbage emerging from the earth. That does look like a particularly fecund bit of ground – lots of naturally composting plants and detritus from the forest. And that fern is really artistic, don't you think?
We have had almost continuous rain here for months – and the chance to get outside during the brief dry spells is eagerly grasped. Spring has been late, but all around things are emerging and blooming as the warmth returns – if not much actual direct sunshine.
We need to keep in mind how much we depend on earth. The fact that we have anything to eat at all depends on a few inches of topsoil and dependable rain. But humans seem to be very bad at understanding that this is very fragile and easily broken. There might be water on a moon of Saturn, but that does not give us any realistic alternative to taking better care of the Earth we inherited and are so lucky to have survived our ill treatment thus far.
Weekly Photo Challenge "Surprise"
The little white dots of foam that you see on the surface of the spaghetti squash are where I carefully pierced the skin with a large fork to allow the steam to escape. I have done this many times when cooking it in the microwave. Probably the easiest way to deal with this vegetable. This time, there were not enough holes, apparently, as there was a loud bang. Surprise!
Fortunately this was toward the end of the cooking time, and the mess was fairly limited. It was very tasty: served with a meat sauce, of which there were leftovers, which I have just finished for lunch today – with real spaghetti – not another squash or any surprises.


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Restaurant Review: Jerry's Galaxy Cafe
The warning that Jerry's Galaxy Cafe is out in the untraveled frontiers of Hilliard, that was an understatement.
In the age of Google Maps, far-flung-ed-ness shouldn't be a problem, but those maps can't help you when the turn-off sign on Scioto Darby Road is bent all to hell and points in some random direction. And when it's time to go home, better make a map too, otherwise you'll end up wandering around on Trabue trying to figure out where the Downtown skyline went.
Shucks, Jerry's Galaxy Cafe is worth the ride anyway. Jerry's is a branch off the infamous Galaxy and Starliner family trees — both restaurants acclaimed for quirky style, and a funky mix of Southwest and Caribbean influenced fare.
There's a cute sense of design that comes with the Galaxy concept. Upon immediate entry, it feels like a diner. Then the decor starts to speak. Jerry's Galaxy hosts a random collection of folk art, the best of which are a series of totem polls with non-traditional faces.
Then there are the Plantains ($6). Once a peculiarity on the local dining scene, plantains are now a starchy prize you can find at a few local spots, and this cafe is one of them. True to form, the kitchen puts a little crispy fried edge on the mildly sweet fruit and serves it with an addictive sauce.
You can also score a Burrito off the menu. They come in veggie, chicken and steak flavors. The chicken version ($8) is busting with black beans, rice, lettuce, chicken, pico de gallo and a fabulous amount of sour cream to pull it together.
But better than the burrito were the Chiliquilles ($7.50). An order provides an epic playground of goodness that has more than the eggs, chips, corn, and cheese promised. First, because the sum is always better than the parts. Second: because there are slices of zucchini in there too. Glorious mess.
One of the periodic specials is a Chili Relleno stuffed with chicken. Totally worth a try, if it makes an appearance. Though the traditional version of peppers stuffed with cheese will probably always be the favorite (because… cheese), this is a solid almost-healthy tasting rendition with a soft battered pepper hiding chucks of chicken and a little creamy sauce inside.
And then there are Chili Cheese Nachos ($7). It's on the appetizer menu, but it's worth consideration as a main event. It's chips topped with the savory house chili and lots of melty jack and cheddar cheese. It really should be on the official list of comfort foods.
The menu runs the range from breakfast to sandwiches and burgers to roasted chicken. There's even a kiddie menu, and small people eat free on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with an adult.
You can find Jerry's Galaxy Cafe at 4920 Scioto Darby Road. It's open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 9am until 9:30pm. Then it's open Fridays and Saturdays from 9am until 10pm and Sundays from 9am until 4pm. At the last visit, the restaurant had added additional Monday hours from 9am until 4pm.
For more information, visit www.jerrysgalaxy.com.
Photos by Mollie Lyman of www.fornixphotography.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Part of living simply, for me, has included cutting out things that weren't working for me, including foods that weren't working for me. Sugary sweets (that I LOVE) that were only making me sluggish, moody and adding bulk to my body. I have NEVER been able to stick to a diet for ANY amount of time (not even 1 day people!), so when I realized that my body is 70% diet and only 30% gym I knew I was in trouble. I had an AWEFUL sugar addiction, I literally felt like I COULDN'T stop eating sweets, or say no if they were in the house. I hated it.
Finally I decided to try the 21 Day Fix, which is a workout program that includes an eating plan, and it ACTUALLY seemed simple and doable…but still I doubted I could stick to it. Lo and behold, I am in my 9th week of eating clean and feeling incredibly energetic, I've slimmed down by 20lbs and it's something I think I can maintain for LIFE.
Some people have been intimidated by all the different containers, but by keeping it simple, I've experienced amazing results.
Here's what I eat in a day:
I start my day with a protein, carb and fruit. Giving myself so much food in the mornings makes a huge difference in my cravings and energy level throughout the day.
I'm usually not super hungry just two hours later at 10am, but if I skip this snack, then I'm starving at 12pm and can't stop eating. Forcing myself to eat every 2 hours has been revolutionary in my health. I like to have a fruit, even though fruits are high on the glycemic index – meaning they can spike your blood sugar – if I couple the fruit with some protein, like some almond butter, it keeps me full until lunch.
Lunch for me is always a fresh, flavorful salad. I just love it. This one has romaine, grape tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, some shredded rotisserie chicken and feta cheese. Yum!
Shakeology has also been a game changer for me. It made it possible to cut most sugar and dairy from my diet, without me even trying – and if you know me, you know that's CRA-ZY. I am obsessed with the chocolate/banana/almond butter combo.
My 5pm snack isn't something I'm always hungry for either, but I'm always glad I have it, because again, it keeps me from being a ravenous wolf at dinner. Today's snack was carrot sticks with hummus.
I don't know if you've noticed, but I keep all my meals and snacks SUPER simple…seriously…ANYONE can do this. A whole wheat sandwich thin, some more romaine with a little more feta and a rotisserie chicken breast. Preparing these meals and snacks was effortless, and pretty inexpensive.
Don't make being healthy more complicated than it has to be!
If you are interested in learning more about the 21 Day Fix, or joining a challenge group, contact me by clicking the button at the top of the page.


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Many of our state parks, recreation areas, hatcheries and visitor centers offer seasonal outdoor education programs. From mammals, birds and insects to dunes, wetlands and more, learn about the resources in and around the parks you visit. Program schedules will also be posted in the park, or you can ask the campground host or other park staff.
These programs are offered free of charge; however, a Recreation Passport is required for park entry.
See what's going on in nature this week.
- Weekly Nature Program Schedules
- Learn more about state parks
Special Topics
- Wildlife Weekend featuring "Feathered Friends" June 21-23, 2019
In 2019 we are featuring programs about Michigan's birds. Please join us in celebrating our feathered friends!
- Michigan Mammals Week, July 8-14, 2019
Michigan is home to a wide variety of wild mammals. Join us at a programs all around Michigan to learn more about their habits, habitats and adaptations for survival. Activities will feature hikes, animal tracking programs, games and much more
- STOP the Invasives Week, August 5-11, 2019
Invasive species are non-native plants and animals that have the potential to become established in an ecosystem, spread widely, and cause ecological or economic harm or even pose a risk to human health. Learn more at one of our park programs.


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I am 30 000 feet over the Baltic Sea, heading East and North, Later today I will fly over Siberia, in fact cover all of Siberia, all the way to Vladivostok. We will be relatively close to the North Pole before we curve down towards the Pacific Ocean and land in Tokyo tomorrow morning. It is very cold down there!
It has been a very busy spring, and no time to deliver my regular blog posts. Partly the days have been filled with work from morning till night, partly I have had no internet when I had an hour free. But here we go again, the Blue Music Blog flies higher than before! Flying High and Low. Who can send me a message about the origin of my title of this blog post?
The Youth Empowerment agenda of the NEW WAY Strategy has made real progress over these last months. We set out to recruit 200 Change Agents from around the globe to work with us to implement the change we see is needed We have fundraised and motivated people to join this important undertaking, and today we have no less than 249 Change Agents in full action. They are being trained and brought together in Area groups in Europe, in Latin America, in Asia and Pacific, in Africa and in Canada and USA. For the Middle East we had a training course in Egypt recently.
For most of those training courses our Executive Secretary for Youth Empowerment, Romulo Dantas, has been the key leader, and we are very consciously investing his time and efforts so that all the Change Agents will recognize Romulo as the inspiring leader of this new undertaking. In addition to Romulo, the rest of the WAY staff and Area Staff have been actively involved.
Webinars and on-line training is provided for all the participants and they are writing essays and delivering reports according to fixed timelines. Now the next big adventure facing our Change Agents is the YMCA Europe Festival in Prague the first week of August. We will fly all 249 Change Agents to Prague. In the mornings they will have intensive training sessions and we will use the week in Prague to create a real team feeling for the whole group. In the afternoons and evenings they will participate in the programme and introduce the Change Model Space-Transformation-Impact for the thousands of young YMCA leaders coming to the festival. In this way we will train and prepare our Change Agents for the World Council in Estes Park in the summer of 2014, where they will help us to change the way we make world events in the YMCA.
Each one of these Change Agents have their own Mentor, an experienced leader of the YMCA, who will dedicate time and care and wisdom for our young leaders. We hope and believe that our Mentors will find a lot of inspiration in this close work with the new generation YMCA leaders from around the globe.
We started this very ambitious programme without any funds at all. Today we have 1 million dollars pledged and raised so that the Change Agent programme for 2 years is fully financed.
At the same time we are launching the 1 Million Voices youth research, the biggest and most extensive research on young people of 15-24 years of age ever. We have several partners already, a very experienced researcher, Professor Fred Coulter, is our coaching partner, ILO (The International Labour Organization) is our technical partner, and several of the 6 Big, the other Youth Organizations of the world, are interested in working with us on this great research project. We plan to deliver a first report from this research in 2015. It is a huge undertaking with a lot of people involved. We have already 50 National Movements signed up for the project. You will hear a lot more about this project in the near future. We need to raise another 1 million dollars for this project and we are knocking at many doors these days to find funding partners. Please send us ideas!
Since the very successful Executive Committee meeting in Jericho, Palestine, early April, and the NAYDO meeting in Vancouver, I have been traveling in the country I am flying over just now while I am writing these words – Russia. First I met with Fredrik from Norwegian Y and Egil Odd from Y's Men Norway in St. Petersburg where I brought them together with Nikolay and Misha from the Russian YMCA. We discussed partnerships and planned for joint projects and prepared for Change Agents training in Russia and Eastern Europe.
The meeting in St. Petersburg included one day with brilliant sunshine and a fascinating excursion to places where Dostoyevsky had lived and worked in this big and beautiful city.
We also discussed another famous person from St. Petersburg, presently extremely influential in the Russian society and who happens to create rather serious problems for NGOs in this country just now. No names mentioned here, but we were planning survival strategies with our partners.
From St. Petersburg the train took us through the majestic Russian Taiga to the YMCA centre at Volga, close to Yaroslavl. Vitaly, the Russian YMCA President, joined our discussions there, and we were planning for our world YMCA President Ken Colloton's visit in August, together with Tom Valentine and Kent Mayer from Estes Park. A very important visit to further develop the new partnership between Russia YMCA and YMCA of the Rockies.
Easter Sunday was celebrated in Orthodox way with beautiful ceremonies during the night before, I visited three churches and saw the different processions. The strongest impression for me was all the young people participating in services and processions. Fascinating!
Just now I am sitting 33 000 feet over Russia and can see the river Volga down there.
I can see the reflection of both the Russian past and the Russian future in the eyes of this young boy during Easter night celebration.
Two weeks ago I gave a key note speech in Grossmunster Cathedral in Zurich to celebrate hundred years of CEVI (YMCA) Military Service.
The highest commanding officer of the Swiss Military.
At my side in the church was the Chief Commander of the Swiss Military, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland and representatives for political life in Switzerland.
Quite impressive and a very strong recognition of this YMCA work, competently led by my very good friend Martin Weder. At his side his wife Helen.
Last week took me to London where I met with the Alliance of Youth CEOs, or the leaders of the Big 6, Red Cross/Crescent, Boy Scouts (WOSM), Girl Scouts (WAGGS), YWCA and the International Award Association. Again a very interesting and future oriented meeting. We are representing more than 100 million young people in those organizations. Next time I will host the meeting of the Big 6 in Geneva, and the theme will be Youth Empowerment.
5 of the 6 Big, WAGGGS, YMCA, Prince's Trust, YWCA and Red Cross/Crescent.
A day with the staff team of Y Care under its new CEO Adam Leach followed, and the day after I was invited by Daleep, the Chair of the Board of Y Care International to speak to their volunteers and participate in a days meeting of the Board.
Adam Leach together with Roland Werner.
Tom Valentine, Adam Leach, Jose Varghese and Martin Meissner.
After London I took Selma with me to Amsterdam and Utrecht where I had asked for a meeting with the CEO and staff members of ICCO, the Dutch Church Aid. Ed Egging accompanied us to that meeting, where we introduced the Change Agent programme as well as the 1 Million Voices Research. It was a meeting in a very friendly and constructive atmosphere.
And here I am, sailing over Siberia on my way to Japan and the National YMCA General Assembly and a meeting of the General Secretaries from Japan. I will also visit the Tsunami hit areas of Japan and spend altogether 10 days in this exciting country where we have a strong YMCA organization.


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This is a condition where the blood supply to the bone has been compromised
Due to injury or disease, and the bone in that area is permanently damaged causing pain and in later stages collapse of the bone. To avoid having to go for a hip replacement we treat this condition in stage I or II with a core drilling down to the femoral head into the defect. Than we perform a stem cell aspiration and place your own stem cells into the center of the defect to stimulate new blood vessel growth to repair the damaged bone.


text: Aleksandra obtained her Environmental Engineering degree at the Warsaw University of Technology (WUT, Poland) in 2014 and continued her master studies at the University of Stuttgart (Germany). During her master thesis she worked on the elimination of organic micro pollutants from the secondary wastewater effluent using advanced treatment methods. She joined ICRA in September 2018. Her current research is focused on reactive electrochemical graphene-based membranes for cathodic wastewater treatment. Welcome Aleksandra!


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The truth about Chief Sitting Bull. What most Americans remember about him was his defeat of Lieutenant Colonel George Custer. On to better things, the simplistic life style of the true Americans, the Indian Nation, and in one particular case the Sioux, is one of the largest groups of Native American tribes and First Nations peoples in North America.
We forget or never new the three great truths about the confrontations.
The term "Sioux" can
refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation which differ in
some small customs, like accents, in the majority of the nation's three major
language dialects. They are 180,000 strong.
They are Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota. The ones I have contacted and met were warm, friendly, hospitable and devoted to their heritage and besieged with problems economically speaking and a youth generation questing for education and jobs. There are four additional sub-chapters within the primary tribes.
One of, if not the most significant person of the Sioux
Tribe was Sitting Bull. Sitting Bull was a Hunkpapa
Lakota (sometimes pronounced Hunk-a-papa) He was a
great warrior, Holy man and visionary.
Later as the tribes of the Lakota , Dakota and Nakota came together into the Sioux Nation he became the chief of all the tribes. He would lead his people during years of resistance to United States government prejudices and policies. Sitting Bull had a spiritual premonition of his most famous victory and visionaries are held in strong reverence by the tribe. (Read On)
Again for clarification, though mainly remembered as a warrior and political leader, Sitting Bull was a Lakota "Wichasa Wakan," a type of holy man believed to have the gift of spiritual insight and prophecy. You can even see it in his portrait. He is sitting yet showing great power and enormity of strength, courage and resource. Thus the bull is sitting, but he is still a bull and can be the warrior yet instead of his lance and bow, he grasps a peace pipe.
The Great Sioux Nation scattered, some to Canada and others surrendered to the reservations. The United States Government demanded that the Lakota nation move to the reservations. The people finally surrendered after being cold and hungry and moved on the reservations. The government still insisted buying the Black Hills from the Lakota people. The Hills were their holy land.
The Sioux (Lakota) Nation refused to sell their sacred lands. The United States Government introduced the Sell or Starve Bill or the Agreement of 1877. The Lakota people starved but refused to sell their sacred land so the US Congress illegally took the Black Hills from the Great Sioux Nation.
The Allotment Act of 1888 allotted Indian lands into 160-acre lots to individuals to divide the nation. The Act of 1889 broke up the Great Sioux Nation into smaller reservations, the remainder of which exist today at about one half their original size in 1889.
Many of the Lakota people began believed in the Ghost Dance experiences as the movement spread to the reservations. The U. S. Army feared the unity through prayer among the Tribes and ordered the arrest of Sitting Bull on the Standing Rock Reservation. In the process of the arrest Sitting Bull was shot by Indian Police on December 15, 1890.
He was also known for the defeat of Col. Custer, a decorated soldier at the battle of the Bighorn who ignored the battle plan given to him , split his forces and went off on his own with 266 brave men. It was that defeat that taught the military (The 7th Calvary) the value of good intel and to strictly follow orders. Col. Custer was his own man and his ego cost 266 lives. Listen to no one , make your own path and never admit you were wrong.
Sitting Bull, I like to think of him as a real hero to his people in war and peace, is very much like Mahatma Gandhiji. His thoughts and statements have a strong similarity with the little man of great stature and conviction. He cared. He said:
• "Let us put our minds together and see
what life we can make for our children".
• "The white man knows how to make everything, but he does not know how to distribute it".
• "Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love"!
Compilation by Evan Andrews 2015, shortened by Al Jacobson
He was originally named "Jumping Badger." Sitting Bull was born around 1831 into the Hunkpapa people, a Lakota Sioux tribe that roamed the Great Plains in what is now the Dakotas. He was initially called "Jumping Badger" by his family, but earned the boyhood nickname "Slow" for his quiet and deliberate demeanor.
The future chief killed his first buffalo when he was just 10 years old. At 14, he joined a Hunkpapa raiding party and distinguished himself by knocking a Crow warrior from his horse with a tomahawk. In celebration of the boy's bravery, his father relinquished his own name and transferred it to his son. From then on, Slow became known as Tatanka-Iyotanka, or "Sitting Bull."
Sitting Bull was credited with several legendary acts of bravery. Sitting Bull was renowned for his skill in close quarters fighting and collected several red feathers representing wounds sustained in battle. As word of his exploits spread, his fellow warriors took to yelling, "Sitting Bull, I am he!" to intimidate their enemies during combat.
The most stunning display of his courage came in 1872, when the Sioux clashed with the US Army during a campaign to block construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad. As a symbol of his contempt for the soldiers, the middle-aged chief strolled out into the open and took a seat in front of their lines. Inviting several others to join him, he proceeded to have a long, leisurely smoke from his tobacco pipe, all the while ignoring the hail of bullets whizzing by his head.
Upon finishing his pipe, Siting Bull carefully cleaned it and then walked off, still seemingly oblivious to the gunfire around him. His nephew White Bull would later call the act of defiance "the bravest deed possible."
He was the first man to become chief of the entire Lakota Sioux nation. Sitting Bull's camp was located in the Big Horn Mountains.
In the 1860s, Sitting Bull emerged as one of the fiercest opponents of white encroachment on Sioux land. His resistance usually took the form of raids on livestock and hit-and-run attacks against military outposts, including several against Fort Buford in North Dakota. Visionary and war chief.
Knowing that the Indians required unity to face down the might of the US Army, Sitting Bull's uncle Four Horns eventually spearheaded a campaign to make the war chief the supreme leader of all the autonomous bands of Lakota Sioux—a position that had never before existed.
Sitting Bull was elevated to his new rank sometime around 1869. Other hunting bands later flocked to his banner, and by the mid-1870s his group also included several Cheyenne and Arapaho.
During a Sun Dance ceremony in early June 1876, he made 50 sacrificial cuts into each arm and danced for hours before falling into a trance. When he awoke, he claimed to have witnessed soldiers tumbling into his camp like grasshoppers falling from the sky—a vision he interpreted to mean that the Sioux would soon win a great victory.
Just a few weeks later on June 25, the prophecy was fulfilled when Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer's Seventh Cavalry attacked the encampment in what became known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Spurred on by Sitting Bull's vision, the numerically superior Indians surrounded the bluecoats and completely obliterated Custer's contingent of over 200 troops.
He didn't lead the Indians at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Following the rout at the Little Bighorn, many people credited Sitting Bull with having masterminded the Indian victory.
Bizarre but some even claimed the 45-year-old had once attended the military academy at West Point. Quite a credit to his skills but not true. But while Sitting Bull was active in protecting the camp's women and children during the attack, he seems to have left the fighting to the younger men, most of whom battled in disorganized groups.
The Indians were no doubt energized by Sitting Bull's prophecy, but the main heroes on the day were his nephew White Bull and the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse, who led a charge that supposedly split the soldiers' lines in two.
After the embarrassment at the Little Bighorn, the US Army doubled down on its efforts to defeat the Plains Indians and force them onto reservations. Sitting Bull refused to submit, however, and in May 1877 he led his followers across the border to the safety of Canada. He would spend the next four years hiding out in the land of the "Grandmother," as he called Queen Victoria, but the disappearance of the buffalo eventually drove his people to the brink of starvation.
Prodded along by the Canadian and American governments, many Sioux refugees abandoned the camp and crossed back into the United States. In July 1881, Sitting Bull and the last holdouts followed suit and surrendered to American authorities in North Dakota. The aging chief spent most of the next two years as a prisoner before being assigned to Standing Rock Agency—the reservation that remained his home for the rest of his life.
He considered Annie Oakley his adopted daughter. In the years after his surrender, Sitting Bull was hailed as a minor celebrity by the same country that had once branded him an outlaw. He found people were willing to pay $2 just for his autograph, and in 1884, he was allowed to leave the reservation to tour as the star of his own exhibition show.
During a stopover in Minnesota, he took in a performance by the famed lady sharpshooter Annie Oakley. Sitting Bull was hugely impressed by her marksmanship, and the two became fast friends after he requested a photograph of her.
The old warrior nicknamed Oakley "Little Sure Shot" and insisted on unofficially adopting her as his daughter. To seal the arrangement, he supposedly gifted her the pair of moccasins he had worn during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
In June 1885, the former army scout and entertainer William "Buffalo Bill" Cody hired Sitting Bull to perform in his famous "Wild West" show. For a fee of $50 a week, the chief donned full war attire and rode on horseback during the show's opening procession.
He considered the job an easy way to earn money and draw attention to his people's plight on the reservation, but he was occasionally subjected to booing from his audiences and criticism in the press. One reporter in Michigan even labeled him "as mild mannered a man as ever cut a throat or scalped a helpless woman." Sitting Bull soon grew tired of traveling and longed to return to his family. He left the tour for good after its final show in October, saying, "The wigwam is a better place for the red man."
He was killed over his supposed involvement in the "Ghost Dance" movement. Beginning in 1889, many reservation tribes were gripped by the "Ghost Dance," a spiritual movement that spoke of a messiah who would bury the white man's world under a layer of soil and allow the Indians to return to their old ways.
Sitting Bull had been at the forefront of preserving the Lakota's traditional culture—he still lived with two wives and stubbornly resisted converting to Christianity—and it wasn't long before the authorities became convinced he might use the Ghost Dance movement to foment a resistance or lead a breakout from the reservation.
On the morning of December 15, 1890, reservation agent James McLaughlin dispatched a party of Lakota policemen to arrest Sitting Bull and bring him in for questioning. The men succeeded in dragging the 59-year-old from his cabin, but the commotion caused a large group of his followers to converge on the scene.
One of the Ghost Dancers fired a shot at the policemen, setting off a brief gun battle. In the confusion that followed, more than a dozen people were killed including Sitting Bull, who was shot in the head and chest.
The location of his gravesite is still debated today. Two days after he was killed, Sitting Bull's body was unceremoniously buried in the post cemetery at Fort Yates, North Dakota. There it remained for more than 60 years until 1953, when a Sitting Bull descendant named Clarence Grey Eagle led a party that secretly exhumed and relocated it to a new grave in Mobridge, South Dakota.
A monument and a bust of Sitting Bull were later erected on the Mobridge site, but to this day rumors persist that Grey Eagle and his team may have dug up the wrong body. North Dakota officials even put up a plaque at the original Fort Yates site reading, "He was buried here but his grave has been vandalized many times." Others, meanwhile, claim the great chief's bones had already been exhumed prior to 1953 and reinterred near Turtle Mountain in the Canadian province of Manitoba.
My late wife and I had a connection with several beautiful and proud native Americans we met while I was doing articles on the Sioux, Cheyenne, Apache, Cherokee, Seminole and the Miccosukee tribes, and as it was a cumulative research with several others and myself, with interviews she accompanied me on over the years. I have a passion for understanding other cultures and she had a smile that opened doors.
Though Dolly was a Methodist and I am Jewish, our birth rights, it was never mattered, nor even spoken about, not one bit for 31 years. But we both shared our love, and were one with nature and I called her my tree hugger. And I lived and loved my tree hugger.
We both loved animals, the mountains, the prairies and the woods. We were at the top of Mt. Le Conte in the smokies looking over the horizon, standing at the edge and her attention was drawn to a gnarly tree barely grasping with its roots to the rock. It's in the picture over her right shoulder.
My weather radio was bleeping that we were about to get impending snow. The trails get very slick, wet snow and decaying leaves and very dangerous. The signs were telling us to leave, and then she said to me:
"Look at Gods work, he made the tree strong to survive and he made these mountains so we could get closer to him". She believed your path is based on not what a person may say but what a person does for others is accountable.
The commonality of all of the tribes was their connection with the land, they called the land, Mother of Earth (not to be confused with Mother Nature) and the great Father in the sky was a pure religion immersed in traditions, homage and respect and with lots of common sense.
How noble a person and leader was Sitting Bull, a true leader who defended his people to the last and his land from the great onslaught and his eventual murder, it was not an accident.
A statement that has been in my mind for years and is addressed every day is one that came from an interview with a Sioux Chief who said to me, "Who is more guilty, the liar or the person repeating what the liar said". The crazy part was while in Cherokee, having breakfast with a tribal leader he expressed the same, similar statement of the importance of truth and what a lesson in this day and age, especially after our last election in 2016 and the tactics and falsehoods portrayed made this one statement the most important statement of all.
The Native American Indian culture is totally immersed in itself, you are born into it. There are many fake shamans and fake medicine men out there proposing to convert you which is not welcomed by the tribes nor do they proselytize.
Here is authenticity for you to read: http://www.native-languages.org/religion.htm
Sitting Bull was a Hunkpapa Lakota and holy man. Under him, the Lakota bands united for survival on the northern plains. Sitting Bull remained defiant toward American military power and contemptuous of American promises to the end.
Named Slon-ha, Slow, by his parents, the future leader was born around 1831. His birthplace was on the Grand River in South Dakota at a place the Lakota called "Many Caches" for the number of food storage pits they had dug there.
Later in life, the boy called Slow was given a more fitting name ... Tatanka-Iyotanka. The leader's name describes a buffalo bull sitting intractably on his haunches. It was a name the holy man would live up to throughout his life.
Sitting Bull's Youth
As a young man, Sitting Bull became a leader of the Strong Heart Warrior Society. Later, he became a distinguished member of the Silent Eaters, a group concerned with tribal welfare.
He first went to battle in June 1845 - at age 14 - in a raid on the Crow. There, he saw his first encounter with American soldiers. The US Army had mounted a broad campaign in retaliation for the Santee Rebellion in Minnesota ... a rebellion in which Sitting Bull's people played no part.
The next year, Sitting Bull fought U.S. troops again at the Battle of Killdeer Mountain. And, in 1865, he led a siege against the newly established Fort Rice in North Dakota.
Widely respected for his bravery and insight, he became head chief of the Lakota nation in 1868.
Immeasurable Courage
Sitting Bull's courage was legendary. In 1872, during a battle with soldiers protecting railroad workers on the Yellowstone River, Sitting Bull led four other warriors out between the lines. He sat calmly sharing a pipe with them as bullets buzzed around. Sitting Bull carefully reamed the pipe out when they were finished, and casually walked away.
The stage was set for war between Sitting Bull and the US Army in 1874. An expedition led by General George Armstrong Custer confirmed gold had been discovered in the Dakota Territory's Black Hills, an area sacred to many bands. This land was placed off-limits to white settlement by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.
Despite this ban, prospectors began a rush to the Black Hills, provoking the Lakota to defend their land. When government efforts to purchase the Black Hills failed, the Fort Laramie Treaty was set aside. The commissioner of Indian Affairs decreed all Lakota not settled on reservations by January 31, 1876 would be considered hostile. Sitting Bull and his people held their ground.
In March, as three columns of federal troops under Generals George Crook, Alfred Terry and Colonel John Gibbon moved into the area, Sitting Bull summoned the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho to his camp on Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory. There, he led them in the sun dance ritual, offering prayers to Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit. Sitting Bull slashed his arms 100 times as a sign of sacrifice for his people. During this ceremony, Sitting Bull had a vision. He saw soldiers falling into the Lakota camp like grasshoppers falling from the sky.
Inspired by this vision, the Oglala Lakota war chief, Crazy Horse, set out for battle with a band of 500 warriors. On June 17, he surprised Crook's troops and forced them to retreat at the Battle of the Rosebud. To celebrate this victory, the Lakota moved their camp to the valley of the Little Bighorn River. They were joined by 3,000 more Indians who had left the reservations to follow Sitting Bull.
They were attacked on June 25 by the Seventh Cavalry under George Armstrong Custer. Custer's badly outnumbered troops first rushed the encampment, as if in fulfillment of Sitting Bull's vision. Then, the cavalry made a stand on a nearby ridge where they were destroyed.
Public outrage at this military catastrophe brought thousands more cavalrymen to the area. Over the next year, they relentlessly pursued the Lakota, who had split up after defeating Custer. Chief after chief was forced to surrender.
Sitting Bull remained defiant. In May 1877, he led his band to Canada, beyond the reach of the US Army. When General Terry traveled north to offer him a pardon in exchange for settling on a reservation, Sitting Bull angrily sent him away.
A Leader Surrenders
Four years later, however, Sitting Bull found it nearly impossible to feed his people in a world where the buffalo was almost extinct. So, he moved south to surrender.
On July 19, 1881, Sitting Bull's young son handed his father's rifle to the commanding officer of Fort Buford in Montana. Through this action, Sitting Bull hoped to teach his son "that he had become a friend of the Americans."
Yet, Sitting Bull said, "I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle." He asked for the right to cross back and forth into Canada whenever he wished and for a reservation of his own on the Little Missouri River near the Black Hills.
Instead, he was sent to Standing Rock Reservation. His warm reception there raised Army fears about a fresh uprising. So, Sitting Bull and his people were taken further down the Missouri River to Fort Randall. They were held as prisoners of war for nearly two years.
Finally, on May 10, 1883, Sitting Bull rejoined his tribe at Standing Rock. The Indian Agent in charge of the reservation, James McLaughlin, was determined to deny the great chief any special privileges. McLaughlin even forced him to work in the fields, hoe in hand.
Sitting Bull still knew his own authority, and when a delegation of US Senators came to discuss opening part of the reservation to white settlers, he spoke forcefully, though futilely, against their plan.
In 1885, Sitting Bull was allowed to leave the reservation to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He earned $50 a week for riding once around the arena. Sitting Bull also charged whatever he could for his autograph and picture.
Unable to tolerate white society any longer, he stayed with the show for four months.
Returning to Standing Rock, Sitting Bull lived in a cabin near his birthplace on the Grand River. Still living with two wives and rejecting Christianity, Sitting Bull refused to give up his old ways as the reservation's rules required. He did, however, send his children to a Christian school because he believed the next generation of Lakota would need education to survive.
After his return to the reservation, Sitting Bull had another vision, like the one foretelling of Custer's defeat. This time, he saw a meadowlark on a hillock beside him. He heard it say, "Your own people, Lakotas, will kill you."
Nearly five years later, this vision also proved true.
A Great Man Falls
In the fall of 1890, a Miniconjou Lakota named Kicking Bear came to Sitting Bull with news of the Ghost Dance, a ceremony that promised to rid the land of white people and restore the Indian way of life. Lakota had already adopted the ceremony at the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations, and Indian Agents there had already called for troops to bring the growing movement under control.
At Standing Rock, the authorities feared Sitting Bull, still revered as a spiritual leader, would join the Ghost Dancers as well. Authorities sent 43 Lakota policemen to bring Sitting Bull in.
Before dawn on December 15, 1890, the policemen burst into Sitting Bull's cabin and dragged him outside, where his followers were gathering to protect him. In the gunfight that followed, one of the Lakota policemen put a bullet through Sitting Bull's head.
Sitting Bull was buried at Fort Yates, North Dakota. In 1953, his remains were moved nearer his birthplace to Mobridge, South Dakota. Today, a granite shaft marks his grave.
He was remembered among the Lakota not only as an inspirational leader and fearless warrior but as a loving father and gifted singer. Sitting Bull was an affable man and friendly toward others. His deep faith gave him prophetic insight and lent special power to his prayers.


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Blue's Clues: Study of Marriage
This is the eighteenth post in Blue's Clues, a series on the resolutions and reports of the Episcopal Church's General Convention. The index of posts is here, and my index of resolutions and likely votes is here.
In 1976, General Convention passed a resolution (1976-A069) saying that "homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church." Since then, we as a church have been working to make real that vision. In the report from this task force, there is a chronicle of all the various General Convention resolutions over the years, and the journey is remarkable. Fortunately, we are very close to realizing the full embrace of LGBTQ people in our church, at last.
In 2015, our church approved same-sex marriage liturgies, having approved same-sex blessing services in 2012. In the USA, same-sex marriage became the law of the land during the 2015 General Convention, so it was certainly a good time for us to take this step. It is worth remembering that our beloved church is present in around 16 nations, some of whom do not yet permit same-sex marriage. So whatever we do has to take into account the varied legal situation and cultural diversity of our church.
This triennium, the marriage task force continued to study the issue of same-sex marriage and more. Their mandate was quite broad, and I don't see how any committee could have been 100% thorough in addressing…
those who choose to remain single; unmarried persons in intimate relationships; couples who cohabitate either in preparation for, or as an alternative to, marriage; couples who desire a blessing from the Church but not marriage; parenting by single or and/or unmarried persons; differing forms of family and household such as those including same-sex parenting, adoption, and racial diversity; and differences in marriage patterns between ethnic and racial groups…
That's a LOT to study. And I'm not even listing half of what they were supposed to do. Still, our intrepid task force did good work, collecting data and even offering brief papers on these topics.
The debate over issues raised in this task force's resolutions will be some of the more visible debates at convention. If you are a deputy or a bishop, it is essential that you make the time to digest thoroughly what the task force has offered. It's an important issue, and we as a church need to respond bravely, pastorally, and carefully.
I won't try to enumerate all of the (considerable) work done by the task force. They collected lots of data and stories, and the report gives a good sense of that. I commend them for doing a better job than we've sometimes done at collecting feedback from outside the USA and outside the Episcopal Church.
It is important to highlight an aspect of their research. The 2015 resolution (2015-A054) that enabled same-sex marriage directed that, "Bishops exercising ecclesiastical authority or, where appropriate, ecclesiastical supervision will make provision for all couples asking to be married in this Church to have access to these liturgies." In most cases, this request has been met. However, in eight dioceses of the Episcopal Church here in the USA (where same-sex marriage is legal), no convenient provision has been made. Same-sex couples must leave their dioceses and, in most cases in those eight dioceses, find a priest they may not know to conduct their wedding. I do not call this "provision for all couples," and I'm not alone in that assessment.
So this time around, we need to ensure that all means all, and provision means provision. I'll say more below, but I think we need to specify that same-sex couples may be married in their own churches, by their own clergy, when the clergy and the congregation are willing. If that means the parish finds alternate episcopal oversight, then that is what must happen.
Our conversation about same-sex marriage in the Episcopal Church too often leaves out our siblings in Province IX, where attitudes and cultural norms may differ from the USA. It is a kind of neo-colonialism to either force others to our view or ignore their concerns when raised. You can read the distress of many Province IX bishops in their letter to the task force, helpfully linked from the report. Also, I think attitudes and practices toward same-sex marriage may be more varied in our church, even in the USA, then we who gather at General Convention sometimes imagine. I'm not suggesting that we stop or delay the realization of the "full and equal claim" vision, but rather that this vision be realized in a way that is gracious.
I do hope, wherever you are in your desire to see same-sex marriage, that you'll read the whole task force report carefully. If you are "progressive" on the issue, ponder carefully the responses from our siblings outside the US and the data from inside the US. If you are "traditionalist" on the issue, hear the yearning for the church's blessing among those who seek it. Note carefully how the task force has listened attentively. Make sure you read the "minority report" from the one "traditionalist" on the task force (so much for theological diversity, as requested in the mandate resolution).
The task force drafted several essays on various aspects of relationships and marriage. Early drafts were circulated to a number of people, including your blogger. Based on responses, the essays were revised and they are included in the reports. I did see that many of my concerns were addressed. The essays are, of necessity, quite brief. But they do show where many leaders of our church are in their thinking.
If I were going to be critical of the essays and the approach of the whole report, I'd express three key ideas. First, I do not think we've adequately stated that goods of marriage. Why get married? Recognizing that not everyone is called to marriage, why might we urge people in relationship to consider marriage as a good thing? In our desire not to condemn those who are not called to marriage, we seem unwilling to lay claim to the benefits and desirability of marriage. Here we have an opportunity to teach people about the grace offered in the sacrament of marriage. And surely that grace is worthy of commending to those who might be called to marriage?
Second, I think our approach continues to manifest a predominantly US-centric, Anglo ethos. You can see Pew Forum data (2017) about US attitudes about same-sex marriage by race and other demographics, and it's clear that all demographic groups are not of one mind on the issue. Looking globally, the Pew Forum (2013) also shows that attitudes vary greatly by country, including many of the nations of the Episcopal Church. Now, I'm not suggesting that our moral positions should be governed by polls. But too often I hear church folks talking as if every sensible person is on board. Perhaps we can continue to find ways to approach the issue carefully and graciously. At our best, we have done this well.
Third, we seem very eager to explore options for sexual intimacy outside marriage, but the real pastoral need of our church, at least in my experience, is to make room for single people. I don't know that most folks in sexually intimate non-marriage relationships are waiting to be told they're OK, but I do think our congregations continue, in many cases, to fail to welcome those who come alone (either by choice or by circumstance). If we are going to study anything beyond marriage (same-sex or opposite-sex), I hope our next frontier is how to welcome single people, whether or not they are eventually called toward marriage.
Make sure you set aside time to read their thoughtful and full report. There are liturgies to ponder, lots of data points, and a minority report. It will take time, but it's worth every minute.
A085: Trial Use of Marriage Liturgies. Full text. Likely vote: YES, but only if amended.
This resolution does a couple of things. First, it continues authorization for trial use of the same-sex marriage materials previously authorized in 2015. Second, it proposes a first reading of revision of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) to include the same-sex marriage liturgies. Most readers probably know this, but it takes two successive General Conventions to approve changes to the BCP. In detail the resolution would add, following page 438, the following materials to the BCP:
"The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage," "The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage 2," "The Blessing of a Civil Marriage 2," and "An Order for Marriage 2" (as revised and appended to the report of the Task Force on the Study of Marriage to the 79th General Convention)
The resolution also amends spots in the prayer book where marriage is now defined as between a man and a woman (i.e., "Concerning the Service" and the catechism). There are also a new pair of prefaces for Eucharist at marriage liturgies. This adds to the prayer book, so the current marriage liturgies would remain in place.
The resolution directs, during the trial use period, that "bishops exercising ecclesiastical authority or, where appropriate, ecclesiastical supervision, will make provision for all couples asking to be married in this Church to have reasonable and convenient access to these trial liturgies." I do not believe this is adequate, and I hope the committee will craft more precise language that ensures people do not have to leave their churches (when the clergy and congregation are willing to host same-sex marriages) to be married.
For example, take the example of St. Swithun's in the Diocese of East Somewhere. The bishop is a Communion Partner bishop and cannot in good conscience endorse same-sex marriage. The people of St. Swithun's and their priest want to conduct same-sex marriages in their church. Under the current status quo, there is no provision for St. Swithun's and its people. I believe the resolution needs to provide for delegated episcopal pastoral oversight for St. Swithun's, which frees the Bishop of East Somewhere to maintain a position of conscience and frees the people of St. Swithun's to offer same-sex marriage. The resolution needs to be detailed about how this will work. Offering this will benefit both Communion Partner bishops (and others of similar mind) and the congregations that wish to offer same-sex marriage.
Finally, the resolution requires that the same rules about marriage after divorce that apply for opposite-sex couples apply to same-sex couples. And of course, the "conscience clause" is reiterated, which allows any cleric to decline to solemnize any marriage. In other words, no clerics will be forced to marry same-sex couples (or any couples) if it is not their wish.
I am generally positive toward this resolution. Personally, I very much like most of the updated version of the marriage liturgy that's based closely on the current BCP liturgy. It preserves the beauty and cadences many of us love. Most of the updates are simply to remove pronouns. There are, however, a couple of other updates that I find more problematic.
The current BCP marriage liturgy says, in the bidding, "The bond and covenant of marriage was established by God in creation…" The new bidding omits that, and the reference to the wedding in Cana. I can live without the Cana reference (though I'd miss it), but omitting the creation reference is hugely problematic. To want to omit it seems to acknowledge the "Adam and Steve" argument, which is silly. On the other hand, if one sees that, in creation, God ordained companionship and selfless relationship between two people, as I see it, to not include that reference reduces the depth of our teaching and understanding of marriage.
Similarly, the permitted readings list omits several current choices, all of which seem to be removed in response to what I take as narrow, non-contextual readings of scripture. I'd prefer to see the same set of readings for all marriage liturgies, knowing that some of them might not be chosen very often. We might consider some kind of permissive rubric that could allow other readings, not contemplated here, under permission of the priest or bishop.
I won't say much about the all-new marriage liturgy, which I do not enjoy. Many people love it, I know. Many of my friends are not impressed by it. It seems to break down along generational lines. Certainly, I have no desire to withhold a liturgy that many people adore, so I'll gladly vote to authorize it. There's room for a variety of liturgical preference in our church!
I want to see same-sex marriage available to all who seek it, in every place where it is the law of the land. At present, I believe the right way to do this is to authorize same-sex marriage liturgies for continued use, but not to amend the prayer book. As long as the authorization provision is adequate, everyone who desires same-sex marriage will be able to enjoy it. And that is something to celebrate.
There are five reasons why I do not favor immediate prayer book revision. First, I do not believe the liturgies are mature enough yet for inclusion in the prayer book. Remember, it took a good 20 years of trial to get our Eucharistic liturgies right. I'd like to see continued trial and experimentation, as we work toward developing excellent liturgies. At present, these liturgies have only three years under their belts, so some more time is warranted before we include them in our prayer book.
Second, I'd rather not see piecemeal prayer book revision. We've not been particularly successful at recent amendments to our prayer book, and I don't think it makes sense to go at it one bit at a time. We're likely to end up with confusing and contradictory material. For example, in the proposed "Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage," the term "Presider" is used, and that is found nowhere in the 1979 prayer book. There are other examples. If we can accomplish what we want to accomplish (which we can, by broad authorization of supplemental liturgical material for same-sex marriage) without BCP revision, I'd prefer to see us wait until we are ready for full-scale revision. It won't be too long.
Third, it will be expensive and impractical if we amend the prayer book as proposed. For one thing, congregations may not want to pay to replace their books, which we would most certainly want to encourage if these liturgies are added. And in places where we begin to see mixed books (1979 prayer book or 2021 prayer book), it will add confusion. "We will now read together Psalm 100, found on either page 729 or page 797, depending on which prayer book happens to be in front of you."
Fourth, this prayer book amendment would likely make the Episcopal Church untenable for many of our Province IX siblings and others. Now, when I was in parish ministry, I refused to be held hostage to those who made threats. "If you do ____, I'm going to leave the church" was not going to work on me, and it sometimes firmed up my resolve to make the change. But in my more pastoral moments, I realize that sometimes it's worth listening to those who have grave reservations. If there is a way to accommodate their concerns AND to move forward, I'm so inclined. In this case, I believe that by authorizing same-sex marriage outside the prayer book (for now), we can keep our church in unity. We don't need more schism.
Fifth, my hope is that, one day, there will be a single set of liturgies for all couples, whether same-sex or opposite sex. Adding these liturgies to the prayer book, while also keeping the current ones, enshrines a separated liturgical life into our prayer book. If we're going for prayer book revision, then let's wait until we have beautiful, perfected marriage liturgies that work for all people. That's going to take a while, but meanwhile, we can continue to offer same-sex marriage to all. Then when we approve the 2033 prayer book (or whatever), we can have new, lovely liturgies for all.
As an aside, to make the authorizations really "stick", we'll want to pass resolution A063, which amends the Constitution of the Episcopal Church to permit supplemental liturgies to be fully authorized. I'll cover it more when I write about the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music report, but the current provisions of our Constitution only cover the prayer book and trial use liturgies intended to be added to the prayer book. So this Constitutional amendment opens things up a bit. (This is good, because technically, Lesser Feasts & Fasts, The Book of Occasional Services, and Enriching Our Worship may not be licit. So let's fix this!)
So, to summarize, I hope we pass the parts of this resolution that authorize the same-sex marriage liturgies for supplemental use, ensuring they're available to all who seek them. I hope we do all that we do in a way that honors the cultural diversity of our church and the varied legal situation of marriage. I hope we continue to develop a marriage liturgy (or set of liturgies) that works for all people, since our current "trial use" liturgies are not, in my view, quite there yet.
A086: Authorize Rites to Bless Relationships. Full text. Likely vote: YES, but only if amended.
This resolution does several things. It authorizes a service, "The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant" as part of Enriching Our Worship, intended for use by same-sex couples where same-sex marriage is not legal. This is much needed. The liturgical material is not exactly my cup of tea, but I think we should authorize the material now, and the liturgies can be refined over time.
The resolution also adds to Enriching Our Worship a liturgy called "The Blessing of a Lifelong Relationship." This is for "couples who desire to form and to formalize a relationship with one another that is monogamous, unconditional and lifelong, but is nevertheless something different than a marriage in that it does not include the merging of property, finances or other legal encumbrances" and for "couples for whom the requirement to furnish identification to obtain a marriage license could result in legal penalties including deportation, because of their immigration status."
It's non-marriage kinda-looks-like-a-wedding for people who cannot or who choose not to be married. I'd like to hear more about the demand for this before I vote in favor of it. The immigration status case is compelling, and maybe that's sufficient. But I'm concerned that it will be used by other couples who simply don't want the obligations (or the work) of marriage, but who want something that looks like a wedding. While the resolutions specifies that this "shall not be used for mere convenience," I'm not sure how one draws the line. Will a priest be willing or able to say, "No, you must get married?" Why don't we hold up marriage for all, unless there is a legal impediment, such as immigration status? Why can't we teach that, yes, marriage is sometimes costly. That is, in fact, the very point of it. I'm likely to vote no if the authorization for this service is retained, but I very much want to learn and to hear more.
A087: Develop Relationship Pastoral Resources. Full text. Likely vote: NO.
This resolution seeks to "acknowledge and minister to the growing number of persons entering into sexually intimate relationships other than marriage by calling for the development of resources that provide pastoral guidance and teaching on relationships that involve sexual expression." The resolution also calls for the "development of resources, including but not limited to spiritual practices, to aid individuals and couples in discerning their vocation to relationship, be it to singleness, celibacy, marriage and/or parenting."
Now, I'm guessing there are shelves full of books and loads of websites on these topics. I'm not sure why the Episcopal Church needs to add to the pile. But, more to the point, I'm not convinced that people are yearning to receive something we are going to develop. I know loads of people who happily live together, and the conversation has never turned to "I sure hope General Convention provides us with some materials so we can continue our relationship."
We love to pass resolution asking for studies (because then we don't have to make firm decisions), so I'm sure this will pass. But I wish we'd think about this. As I wrote above, if we are going to study anything, let's look at the church's often-awful attitude toward single people. Or let's create evangelism resources for weddings (of all kinds). Or let us find ways to encourage people to discern whether or not marriage is right for them. Or let us look at rampant divorce rates and see what the church might do to help. I just don't think we need to create a committee that will write a report about the fact that people are having intimate relationships outside marriage. It's happening. I don't think it warrants a task force.
To conclude, I am delighted that our church offers same-sex marriage now, and I hope we'll ensure that same-sex marriage is available in all congregations who wish to offer it. I also hope we'll continue to look at our teachings on marriage from a global perspective, fully honoring both the context of much of the USA, as well as the context of our overseas siblings.


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Holger Wansing wrote: > today I tried to perform a test installation on an old > Toshiba laptop Satellite 320CDS (low memory install, netinst cd, > daily build from 17. Sept. 2007). > The system is lacking any network hardware Using a netinst CD on a machine without a network is not very much recommended since it leaves you with a base system and no way to add whatever software you need, except for using a second CD. apt-setup has recently become more intelligent about making sure users set up a mirror with a netinst CD. In my testing, I am not able to get through apt-setup using a netinst CD w/o choosing a mirror. When it fails to connect to the mirror due to there being no network, it just loops back and asks again what mirror to use. This isn't the behavior you describe, although it seems suboptimal. It looks like patches were applied to try to fix this as described in #402645, but they do not take into account what happens if the system actually has no network card. In that case, netcfg/dhcp_options is never seen, and does not have the value tested for ("Do not configure the network at this time") but instead some other, default value. I've fixed this bug, but I am not 100% sure it's the one you reported, since it doesn't match your reported behavior. Anyway, the fixed version works in my testing. Please let us know if it doesn't work in tomorrow's builds. > so I have to skip > the steps "Detect network hardware" and "Configure network", > and also the next step in the list, "Configure the clock" You don't need to; all these steps handle the case of there being no network cleanly. Clock setup will let you choose your timezone, even if it can't use ntp to synch the clock. Network configuration will still let you pick a hostname for the machine, which is useful even if it's not networked. (main-menu allows skipping over a previously failed option, and will not keep returning to it, but this doesn't help if a user wants to skip over a whole block of options. See #288053.) -- see shy jo
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Mr Justice Saunders
Sir John Saunders, 64, has long experience of presiding over complex and high profile trials. It was he who oversaw the ground-breaking cases of several former MPs and peers prosecuted following the parliamentary expenses scandal.
The criminal prosecutions followed Saunders's ruling – later upheld in the supreme court – that three of the MPs, David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine, and Conservative peer Lord Hanningfield, were not protected by the ancient right of parliamentary privilege.
After guilty pleas, he passed prison sentences on Chaytor, Morley and Eric Illsley. He also jailed Devine, Hanningfield and Tory peer Lord Taylor of Warwick after they were found guilty.
Called to the bar in 1972, Saunders worked initially as prosecuting counsel to the then Department of Health and Social Services. As a barrister and recorder on the Midland circuit, he occasionally met Taylor, a fact he declared at the outset of the disgraced lawyer's trial.
Saunders also found himself having to deal with the challenges of policing Twitter during the trials. He ordered Apprentice presenter Lord Sugar to remove a tweet he had published on the micro-blogging site commenting on Taylor's trial while it was ongoing.
In the pre-trial hearings, which could only be reported after all the trials were complete, Saunders criticised Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg for their remarks about the cases after legal proceedings had begun.
Saunders "took silk" and became a QC in 1991, and was appointed a full-time circuit judge in 2004. He was appointed recorder of Birmingham, the most senior judge at Birmingham crown court, and in 2007 was elevated to the high court (Queen's bench division) in 2007.
He was named in the Evening Standard's "London's 1,000 most influential people 2011" list, which stated his "self-assured approach in the media spotlight means he is being increasingly trusted for major criminal cases".
In February 2012 he jailed senior Metropolitan police commander Ali Dizaei for three years for perverting the course of justice and misconduct in a public office over allegations he used his powers to frame a man following a row over money.
Last year he also presided over the case of Royal Navy petty officer Edward Devenney, who offered nuclear submarine secrets to M15 agents posing as Russian spies. Devenney, who admitted breaching the Official Secrets Act, was sentenced to eight years by Saunders, who said he had been "prepared to betray his country and his colleague".
Debrett's lists the judge's recreations as sailing and music.
Andrew Edis QC
The lead prosecutor in the trial is regarded as a top crime advocate in legal circles. He was named "crime silk of the year" in the 2013 Chambers and Partners UK Bar Awards, and is described as "a true heavyweight and a genuine star", by industry guide Legal 500.
His notable successes include prosecuting the former energy minister Chris Huhne, and his ex-wife and economist Vicky Pryce, both sentenced to eight months earlier this year over the speed points swapping scandal that ended Huhne's political career.
Oxford-educated, Edis, 56, was called to the bar in 1980 and came to public prominence when he defended footballer Bruce Grobbelaar who was cleared of allegations of match fixing in 1997.
Last year he prosecuted at the so-called "honour killing" trial of the parents of Shafilea Ahmed, both sentenced to life for her murder at the family home in Warrington, Cheshire.
In 2004 he prosecuted Gordon Park, the former teacher convicted of the murder of his wife Carol 30 years after she disappeared in the infamous "lady in the lake" case. The deputy headmistress vanished in 1976 and her body was eventually found trussed up in Coniston Water in 1997. Park committed suicide in his prison cell on his 66th birthday in 2010.
Other high profile prosecutions include the "beauty in the bath" case, which saw the 1999 conviction of former double glazing businessman John Taft for the murder of beautician Cynthia Bolshaw, strangled at her home in Heswall, Wirral, in 1983.
Edis also prosecuted the 2000 conviction of John Allan, an industrial chemist from Merseyside who poisoned his wealthy girlfriend Cheryl Lewis, a solicitor from Pwllheli, north Wales, while they were on holiday on the Nile in 1998.
Appointed Queen's Counsel in 1997, Edis has also prosecuted seven terrorism cases and appeared on behalf of the Serious Fraud Office.


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rick dejarnette just updated his ipaq resource sheet to include the new models and more links. this is an incredible site for ipaq and pocket pc users. while a few areas are ipaq-specific, most areas are applicable to all pocket pc devices. now that the new 2002 devices all run the strongarm processor, software is usually the same. this is the single, most extensive list i have ever seen for the pocket pc and should be saved as a favorite on every pocket pc user's computer.
joel's note: definitely a very extensive list. i'm glad to see pdageek made the cut, too. :)
user comments 1 comment(s)
|no no noo!! (9:01am est wed jan 16 2002)
it should not be "saved as a favorite". it should be put in the bookmarks list.


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International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
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This World War II film highlights the role of Canadian corvettes on convoy duty in the North Atlantic. Battle scenes show a crew sighting and sinking a German submarine. Other scenes show training on the high seas.
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Well done. All WWII navy "sons-of-a-guns" will enjoy.


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Meet Cynthia Howerter
As a descendant of men who served in the American Revolution, history flows through my veins.
Growing up, I played in a Revolutionary War fort owned by family and heard fascinating stories of my ancestors' experiences during the war for America's liberty - stories which taught me that history is exciting.
I love using my writing, teaching, research, speaking, and genealogical skills to introduce people to the beginnings of our country when life was anything but boring.


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3 Mil Copper Foil
Copper Foil Sheets and Rolls 3 Mil (.003 inches) Thick Copper Alloy 110 (99.9% CU) Smooth Commercial Finish/Annealed (Dead Soft and Very Malleable) and manufactured to ASTM-B152 specifications with a thickness tolerance of +/- 5%. These are High Quality Premium Copper Sheets for Crafts and Art Projects, Embossing, Manufacturing, Electrical Applications including RF Shielding, Research and Development, Do It Yourself Projects, and Much More! Available in widths of 6", 12", 18", and 24." This is thin foil. It is approximately twice as thick as 1.4 mil and 4.5 times household aluminum. It can be easily cut with scissors, torn by hand, and wrinkles fairly easy. See our Thickness Guide for help determining the proper thickness for your project and a video description of this thickness. If you don't see the size you need or have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us via phone at 252-491-2812, email at email@example.com or try our "live chat" feature for immediate assistance!


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In search of the black wine drinker / African American vintners eyeing an untapped market
Mac McDonald of Windsor is an anomaly. He is an African American who drinks wine every evening with dinner. And he is one of seven black vintners in a state with 900 wineries
African Americans are under-represented both in wine-making and in wine- drinking. Now McDonald and a handful of other black vintners are trying to raise their profile and also reach out to a group that has historically been ignored by wine marketers.
"My idea is to help others appreciate wine," says McDonald, the son of an East Texas moonshiner and the maker of an award-winning Pinot Noir. "If they appreciate it, they will buy it."
The Association of African American Vintners is still in its infant stages. Four winemakers joined at the first meeting in November and a Wine Country publicist, Jo Diaz, has signed on as executive director.
They are planning a group tasting event in San Francisco in 2003 and have bandied about the idea of starting a college scholarship for African Americans to study viticulture. Eventually they may open a shop and tasting room in wine country.
A key mandate is to reach out to African Americans who may have a taste for wine but need more exposure to cultivate their interest. At the same time, the association's members want to avoid pigeonholing themselves as a group catering only to black consumers.
"I think this will introduce us to the marketplace and introduce African Americans to the premium wine market," says Vance Sharp, 54, the owner of Sharp Cellars in Sonoma. "But our wines will be judged the same as all other wines."
Fewer black Americans than any other major U.S. ethnic group consume table wine. Just 25.8 percent drink domestic table wine, compared to 34.3 percent of whites, 32.2 percent of Hispanics and 28.8 percent of Asians, according to Adams Wine Handbook 2002.
Blacks also rank last when it comes to drinking imported wine, but first in wine coolers, sparkling wines and dessert wines.
"I've never seen any (wine) advertising or marketing directed at African Americans," says Tony Harris, vice president of Calpine Corp. and a member of Private Reserves, an African American wine tasting group in the East Bay. "This is clearly a missed opportunity."
Most mainstream marketers are unaware of African Americans' spending capacity, black marketers say. With purchasing power of $550 billion, according to one consultant, African Americans represent one of the largest economies in the world.
"We're the size of Canada, and everybody thinks we don't have any money," says Michael LeBlanc, chief executive of Brothers Brewing Co., a premium brewery in Oakland that targets African Americans.
In fact, affluent African Americans can be a terrific market for prestige products. Blacks drink more than half of all of the cognac consumed in the United States, for example.
"Once we break through and get a piece of the American dream, we tend to demand and want the best and we're willing to spend for it," says LeBlanc.
Auto brands including Jaguar and Mercedes, watchmaker Rolex, jewelry merchant Tiffany and cognac houses such as Hennessy all recognize the potential of the African American market and target blacks in their advertising. But they are the exceptions rather than the rule.
"Spirits have done a nice job reaching out to African Americans, but wines have not done much of anything," says Ivan Burwell of Street Source Marketing in Denver. "Wine brands are kind of stodgy, and there's no image for black consumers."
The vintners' plan to step into this vacuum was applauded by both African American marketers and Caucasian wine producers, who stand to gain from an expanded market. "This sounds like a complete positive to me," says Chuck Wagner, the owner of Caymus Vineyards in Rutherford and a mentor to McDonald.
Of course, the association is a tiny grassroots effort. With four members paying $300 each in annual dues, its budget this year was just enough to cover administrative costs.
But in the wine world, a great deal of the buzz and consumer education happens through tastings, news stories and word of mouth rather than large advertising campaigns.
McDonald, a retired PG&E supervisor who co-owns Vision Cellars with his wife, Lil, pours his fruit-packed Pinots at fundraisers and tastings around the country, often for free.
The events, such as a black film festival and a recent nonprofit fund- raiser hosted by Danny Glover, pay for themselves through subsequent orders of his $50 wines.
At the Black Cuisine Expo earlier this year, McDonald's tasting classes "were way overbooked," he says. "Folks want to know about wine."
But corner liquor stores frequently carry only low-end products, and few African Americans are exposed to good wine by their parents, he says.
McDonald, 60, grew up with sweet, homemade wines made from windfall apples and cherries. But when he was 12, a doctor who had hired his grandfather as a hunting guide gave McDonald a bottle of Burgundy, whose wondrous flavors McDonald says he can remember clearly to this day.
McDonald has been pursuing his passion ever since. He began making homemade wine in 1984 from French Columbine grapes and couldn't figure out why it didn't taste like Burgundy, which is made from Pinot Noir grapes.
By 1997 he was selling close to 400 cases of high-end Pinot Noir. Three years ago, he became a full-time vintner, using purchased grapes and rented equipment, and produced 941 cases in the 2000 vintage, his most recent bottling. Top-notch restaurants such as San Francisco's Rubicon and New York's Jean George carry Vision Cellars Pinot.
When McDonald leads tastings, he says one way he is able to connect to black consumers is by referencing flavors like huckleberries or Jamaican spices that are familiar to the black palate.
African Americans who come to his tastings with a fondness for sweet wines and coolers wind up "on my list buying all kinds of wine . . . and they're not griping about the price."
Of the seven black vintners in California, just four have joined the association -- McDonald, Sharp, Bates Creek Winery of Napa and the Postons of Napa Valley, a wine-grape-growing family who are gearing up to make wine.
Family members at Brown Family Estates in the Chiles Valley and Esterlina Vineyards in the Anderson Valley say they are interested in joining, but are currently focused on other things.
But Iris Rideau of Rideau Vineyards in Santa Barbara County says she will remain independent.
"You have to be very, very careful in this business about how you market yourself . . . and I want to be in charge of that," says Rideau, who ran her own insurance company before "retiring" to the wine country.
"We really have to depend on the white community to support us," says Rideau. "Blacks are starting to drink wine, but they don't spend a lot of money on wine. I'm very sensitive to that."