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Thursday, April 16, 2009
Black Liquor -- Never So Tasty
The latest opportunity seems to be the pulp & paper industry getting multi-million dollar payments and tax credits from the US government for doing something the industry has been doing for the past 70 years, powering their mills by burning the recovery boiler black liquor residual. Well, actually there is something new in that they have to add some diesel fuel to the black liquor burn to qualify as an alternative fuel, and thus be able to obtain a tax-credit/subsidy. They get this by taking advantage of a loophole some clever paper industry people found in a 2005 highway transportation bill.
As recently reported in The Nation, Washington Post and other sources, the practice of burning black liquor at pulp mills started in the 1930s, but the opportunity for an alternative fuels tax credit is something most pulp mills with recovery boiler operations could now qualify for. Why would any paper company pass up a Wesley Snipes-like, jump-on-the-bandwagon, we-twisted-it tax scheme?
International Paper Company recently touted its windfall of $79 million for one month of operation.
Clearly this tax credit/subsidy for black liquor burning was not the intent of the 2005 highway transportation bill. The alternative fuels tax credit was intended to stimulate and create incentives for new production of non-fossil fuels. Not to support existing 1930's technology.
Possibly kudos should be considered for the people who discovered that pulp mills could, with the minor addition of diesel fuel, be the recipients of US Government largess. But the whole thing is so similar to the public's perception of undeserved bonus money going to AIG executives, that maybe it could backfire. The potential public relations disaster should cause any paper company boardroom to pause. My thought: discontinue the practice…and maybe send back any money already received. The bad publicity is not worth it.
Back during the Reagan Administration, I am certain the idea of having ketchup qualify as a vegetable for school lunch programs was not an Oval Office decision. It was some USDA wise guys who made that "cost effective" pronouncement. But the Reagan Presidency was widely ridiculed as cynical for allowing such a definition in school lunch nutrition programs. It was a PR nightmare for the White House.
Likewise, some bean-counting, tax code-researching, buried-at-headquarters MBAs uncovered the potential to reap some generous rewards from everyday operations at pulp mills…maybe it required an additional meeting to make some minor modifications. But now the boardroom is going to have to deal with resulting heat. Given our current economic climate, the public may lump this in with any and all public money bailout abuse.
Situations like this make our country's operations look amateurish. This just adds to America's unfavorable standing in the world. Hell, even the Canadians are getting pissed off at us.
The paper industry in the US does need help and support. But let's reward jobs and innovation. Not existing everyday technology. These recovery boilers, which are the money-making engines referred to in this alternative fuels subsidy issue were called "...old, relatively inefficient, high maintenance and vulnerable to catastrophic smelt water explosions" in a joint US paper industry and US Department of Energy report in 2006. Senators Baucus and Grassley want to put a stop to the loophole. No doubt pressure will mount to keep the loophole in place. Maybe a review of the report will remind the paper industry that just a few years ago they were focused on the new and innovative...not 70 year old technology.
Someone found this tax loophole and presented it to higher ups. The problem is higher ups in charge said "cool!".
Time to call this a bad idea and shut it down.
With this said, I still may just send away to Pueblo, Colorado and get one of those government booklets on give-away programs. I may be missing out too.
4 comments:
- A.M. Mallett said...
I am never amazed at how quickly so many of you disputers pull the "crook" trigger on anything you dispute. You stated the following:
"Why would any paper company pass up a Wesley Snipes-like, jump-on-the-bandwagon, we-twisted-it tax scheme?"
Just what in particular is criminal about taking advantage of tax code opportunities that help an ailing industry weather the worse recession in over 30 years? We have a Congress and President tossing Trillions of dollars at intangible paper assets and when funds actually flow to buttress hard assets that actually employ people, you cry foul waving the cheat and criminal label at them. Each recipient of these credits has passed muster with the IRS before ever submitting any filings.
Why do I suspect that if the industry were to apply for the same level of assistance through another program, you would vociferously oppose that well? These funds enable these companies to stay in business or avoid prolonged layoffs as well as fund absolutely essential and long delayed capital investments. - April 20, 2009 at 10:01 AM
- Gerard said...
I'll admit that I may have gone overboard in using the name "Wesley Snipes" in that he was convicted of doing something illegal. What I meant was the potential for the pile-on by pulp & paper companies to get undeserved tax credits...and the pile-on resulting from the Welsey Snipes "that tax-dodge applies to me too" thinking.
The tax credit is undeserved. Make some pulp and paper...get a credit for that. But not for everyday bark & lignin burn. I hope the US gives the paper industry some sort of help. But I also hope, like if they help Detroit Auto...that Detroit make some freaking autos to sell w/ the money. Not just collect cash.
The whole problem with America was stuff like buy a home for no money down and flip it. This tax for black liquor burn is the same thinking.
Make products and sell them. Quit ruining America. Take cash and upgrade the mills. Invest in deinking so the curbside and office paper collection programs do not crash.
And I suspect many mills could continue the current smoke & steam production for money, while at the same time handing out pink slips.
-Gerard - April 20, 2009 at 12:57 PM
- Gerard said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- April 20, 2009 at 12:57 PM
- Unknown said...
I also think that they are actually there is something new in that they have to add some diesel fuel to the black liquor burn to qualify as an alternative fuel. Because as the market shows that the prevalence is this kind of fuel. Reports and analysis view here.
- March 13, 2014 at 11:47 PM


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Yes. Forms are available in the Building Department or through the following link below.
(2) The Protected Tree(s) to be Removed are weakened by age, fire or other injury or are in major decline, have a fatal and communicable disease, a fatal and communicable insect infestation, or have a defective structure that is a hazard; or
3) The Protected Trees to be removed must be removed in order to construct house improvements, pools, change of grade or new construction.
2) Any tree that is not on the 'Protected tree and Replacement list.'
3) Due to their status as exotic species or invasive species, any trees listed on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council most recent Invasive Plant List I and II are not protected tree species.
4) Dead protected trees that are verified by the city arborist.
Any individual or entity for hire that improperly prunes a cabbage palm within a commercial or multi-family development shall be subject to a fine of $100 per tree.
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Making Popcorn – K. R. Wireman – November 2, 1918
We bet you've never seen this cover from The Country Gentleman (a sister publication to the Post for many years). This was how you made popcorn in 1918, and it makes for a beautiful mother/daughter moment – until she grows up to be a flapper or something. Oh, that's the next image.
New Generation – Paul Stahr – July 22, 1922
Gracious, this new generation! Dressing up all fancy-schmancy, doing those crazy dances and with (gasp!) bobbed hair. Mom (or grandmother) looks on from a photo in this beautiful 1922 cover by artist Paul Stahr.
Shopping for Mothers Day – Constatin Alajalov – May 10, 1947
Hmmm, what would mother like best? A spiffy meat grinder, that pink sewing kit, or does she need a new rolling pin? Okay, it's 1947, but may we recommend something more fun like flowers or chocolates?
Passing the Blame – K. R. Wireman – February 24, 1923
Here's another Country Gentleman cutie. Every mother knows that kids learn early to pass the blame. Somebody has turned over the coal bucket. Mom isn't quite buying the story about the cat doing it, even if it is black. We think there's enough soot on the child for mom to point the finger in the right direction.
Sack Full of Trouble – April 14, 1956 – Dick Sargent
We had to share our favorite beleaguered mom cover. If you click on the cover for a close-up, you'll see what bundle of mayhem is in the bag the grocer is carrying. Lesson to new mothers: never let your child take a bow and arrow to the grocery store. Mom looks exhausted, but maybe there should be a "Grocer's Day" – the poor guy looks positively shell-shocked.
Morning Coffee Break – Amos Sewell – September 12, 1959
Mom taught you how to pop popcorn, ferreted out the truth when you were passing the blame and put up with you at the grocery store. We think she deserves a break, like this mother after getting her brood off to school. Show your mom this cover and insist that this is exactly how she should be spending her special day.
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People who count your falls and 101 reasons I'll ski again
Remember the last time something over-exceeded your expectations? On Saturday I drove up to Tahoe with a few friends for a day of skiing, aaaaaand more fun than I could ever predict from a mountain of snow and steep hills. The day had more adventures than a mundane Saturday should hold, so after, one of my friends suggested for someone to write a book about it, and although this is not a book, it's pretty close! I don't remember writing such a long post in a while, but hopefully it will make up for a week of silence after, in case I get picked for jury duty tomorrow morning! So happy Monday and happy reading!
100 Reasons I will never go skiing again …
….Skiers' etiquette, you can't say excuse me or I'm sorry while passing others
… People on snow mobiles who give your a ride for 20 feet when you expect them to take you down the mountain
… Careless people who drive their cars over others' snowboards (sorry Alex)
… People who ask you your weight (I didn't find that on skiing manual)
… People who don't pick up their phones, or throw them into snow (much better option)
… Friends who watch the sunset from the mountain and make you call ski patrol for them
… People who say they're looking for you, but are really catching the next lift for another ride
… Weird old men on lifts, who don't make sense and tell skiing stories from the eighties
… Resort workers who tell you to move over on the lift
… Ski lifts that randomly assign you a date, just ask my fiend Anna
… Or worse people on lifts that try to hook you up
… Alternating lines for ski lifts that almost separated me from my teacher
… Snowboarders who head straight for where you're sitting and then use chairs to make turns (that's NOT a good first impression)
… Snowboarders who think they can glide under things … Ivan that only works in movies
… Lame guys who make their date suffer going uphill to the lift without giving them a push
… Snowboarders who go off path
… People who ski backwards
… People who lose their Christmas presents on the mountain (I see how it is Dina)
… People who don't speak loud enough on the ski slope and then label you as deaf and blind
… People who take a hundred pictures, make these cool panoramas and post only one on Instagram
… Ski instructors who ask if you really expected them to help you come to a stop!!! (Obviously not everyone knows about the "I'll catch you if you fall" stop)
… People who make your jaw hurt from laughing
… People who count your falls and then separate their falls into categories of intentional falls, not a full fall, sliding down the mountain falls … so basically my ski instructor had no falls
101 Reasons I'll go skiing again and again …
… Skiers' etiquette, you'll get the needed push without asking
… People who get you fully covered with outfits, skis, and even give you an option of goggles when you complain, Mike you've outdone yourself
… People who help you put on and take off your ski boots without breaking my ankle
… Ski patrol that will get your sister down from the mountain even if on the last cable car
… Little kids who ask you for permission to ski by you when you're waiting for a lift
… Resort workers who'll pull you uphill to the ski lift
… Resort workers who'll secure you to your skis even with little English
… People who take pictures of you so I can relive the amazing memories and views of Tahoe
… People who wait to Instagram a photo of you until you've successfully got down the ski slope
… The sudden silence that hits you once you get on the lift (those were my favorite moments)
… Nice skiers on the slopes that help strangers tighten their skis and will pull uphill a poor snowboarder (clearly ski etiquette changes on every slope)
… Ski instructors who coach you the entire way down the mountain with . . . you got this, now get a little speed, watch for that snow, keep turning your head, bend your knees, straighten out, get some speed, turn your head, raise your poles, YOU GOT THIS!
… People who hike uphill on their skis to help you put yours on when they fall off (the skis not the people)
… People who remind you to look at the horizon at the gorgeous view and not just at the snow downhill
… Friends who do comeback for you when the resort shuts down
… Friends who wait for you in the freezing weather holding their snowboards until you safely off the mountain
… People who'll drive a spare key to you in case yours happens to lock itself in the trunk, good thing it didn't happen in Tahoe
… People who'll ski at your speed of .00001 miles per hour and not make you feel bad
… Snowboarders who know what they're doing and will ride around you
… People who'll save the scary stories once you're off the lift, for the most part
… People who'll watch you fall and not make fun of you
… People who'll enjoy themselves with beginners even though they could be riding the hardest terrains
… People who tell you jokes to make the waiting time between the pain attacks and heat strokes more enjoyable
… People who say you got this with every turn and stop
What a day, thank you friends for making my ski trip so amazing, can't wait to feel the snow again, with my skis of course ;).
Yuliya, you are so detailed, I love that about you! Good summary of your first experience. 🙂
what a day!
Fun! Cute picture 🙂
Good times… I really enjoyed your recap of the trip. Thanks! Sorry again for making you guys wait. Haha
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Guest Blogged by Stephen Heller
The truest act of patriotism is to protect the public from a corrupt and wasteful government.
-- TheFirstWhistleblower.org
The United States government and American corporations are counting on you to keep your mouth shut.
According to Transparency International's Peter Eigen, the World Bank estimates that every year corruption costs one trillion dollars. Here in the United States, billions of our tax dollars are stolen every year due to corruption, bribery, fraud, willful malfeasance and misfeasance, and plain old greed. And if you come across evidence of this fraud and corruption, you are expected to keep quiet about it.
The government and the corporations want you to shut up. Stay asleep, people. Nothing to see here, just move along. Go to work, earn your pay, watch TV so you'll know what products you should be buying, then go to the mall and buy them. Don't worry about what your government is doing, don't think about what the corporations are doing, just trust us and be good little "sheeple." Just. Shut. Up.
To hell with 'em.
Don't shut up. Don't let the bastards win. When you see something, say something. Take a deep breath, and blow that whistle HARD!
You should know that you'll probably get hammered for it. You'll likely lose your job, get harassed and threatened, you might even be charged with a crime.
I know whereof I speak...
I became known as the Diebold Whistleblower. While working as a temp word processor at the Los Angeles office of international corporate law firm Jones Day, I saw, in the course of my assigned duties, documents about Jones Day's client Diebold Election Systems, Inc., that caused me to fear for the integrity of our elections, and thus of our entire democracy. (You can read PDFs of some of the more important documents here.) These documents provided smoking-gun evidence that Diebold was breaking the law in California and lying to the state, the taxpayers, and the voters about their voting machines and the software therein.
I made the choice to steal and expose those documents, and as a result I was charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney with three felonies: unauthorized access to computer data, commercial burglary, and receiving stolen property. Long story short, Diebold got de-certified in the state of California due in part to the documents I exposed. I eventually pleaded guilty to one felony count of unauthorized access to a computer. I acknowledged in court that I committed a serious crime by stealing attorney-client privileged documents. I did not receive any jail time, and I am currently on felony probation. For the record, I do accept full responsibility for the crime I committed. After all, I did it; I did steal the documents, and they were clearly marked as attorney-client privileged. As I said, I committed a serious crime. And just as I warned in the previous paragraph, I lost my job, was harassed and threatened, experienced a financial meltdown, and was arrested.
There are countless other whistleblowers with more dramatic stories than mine. Think of people like Jeffrey Wigand. Sibel Edmunds. Daniel Ellsberg. Joseph Wilson. And people like Ron Ridenhour or Donald Vance; these two are superheroes. They served their nation in the military, and served their nation again by blowing the whistle on crimes against humanity. All of them faced terrible pressure, retaliation, threats, fear, financial hardship, and much more because they dared to speak truth to power, dared to make their voices heard in the interests of truth, justice, and the American way.
They dared to blow the whistle.
So with the examples above, and the example of my own story (three felony charges, fired from two good-paying jobs with full benefits, a double mortgage on our house to pay the legal bills, threats from the Jones Day law firm with a financial judgment that would have kept my wife and me impoverished for the rest of our lives, threatened by the District Attorney with a state prison sentence, and a lot of tension and fear), you might be thinking that no matter what, you'd never blow that whistle. It's just not worth it, right?
Why do it? Why risk everything to expose fraud and corruption?
Because our nation, our democracy, our way of life, depends on it. "In this era of increasingly secretive government and government contracting, whistleblowers are one of the only ways of finding out what our elected officials are doing to our rights," says Cindy Cohen of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Whistleblowers reveal crimes against our society. They expose and stop government and corporate misconduct. They save lives.
All of us, as citizens of this great democratic republic, have a responsibility to ourselves and our fellow citizens to see to it that the government and corporations conduct their affairs ethically and in compliance with all laws and regulations. If we fail in this duty as citizens, we fail our neighbors, our children, ourselves, and our nation.
Everyone claims to be a patriot. But patriotism is more than waving the flag and chanting "U.S.A.! We're Number 1!" True patriotism means, among other things, believing in and standing up for American justice. And American justice means that when (not if) the government or a corporation is lying, cheating, screwing you, your neighbors, your kids, your nation, and you see evidence of it, you stand up. You make your voice heard. You hold your head high. And, unfortunately, you get ready to fight the crooks in expensive suits and the government lackeys who will try to destroy you.
But you won't be alone. When news of my story went public, there was quite a response. People from all over the world contacted my wife and me with messages of support and donations to my legal defense fund. The Los Angeles District Attorney's office was flooded with calls, letters, and emails insisting that they stop prosecuting a whistleblower. Here in Los Angeles, a number of celebrities stepped forward to help me with publicity and donations. The blogs pitched in big time, especially our own Brad Friedman. We heard from people in all 50 states, as well as Guam and Puerto Rico. We heard from people in Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Netherlands, Holland, Germany, and France. We heard from people in the American military who applauded me for standing up for the integrity of our elections and our democracy. So if you blow that whistle, you'll have to take some hits for it, but others will be there to stand with you, encourage you, and maybe even assist you financially.
"Freedom isn't free." How many times do we all hear that? And it's the truth; freedom is most certainly not free. Usually "freedom isn't free" is referring to the terrible cost paid by soldiers to establish, defend, or expand freedom. But we citizens who aren't soldiers also have a duty to help pay the cost of freedom.
Those of us who live in this country and who aren't in the military get our freedom for free, for the most part. The cost of freedom is paid for us by others. But by becoming a whistleblower, you have a chance to repay some of that cost.
I never had to be in the military; when I turned 18 there was no more draft. I never had to pay anything for my freedom. Becoming a whistleblower changed that. Blowing the whistle on Diebold's dirty deeds, lifting up the pretty skirt Diebold wears before the world and exposing the filthy corruption underneath, led to some hard knocks for me and my wife. But it was an opportunity for me to pay a small part of the cost of freedom.
And let me tell you, it feels pretty good.
I was surprised to find within myself the courage to stand up and risk jail and financial ruin in the name of American democracy and clean elections. I exposed, at great risk to myself, information that threatened the integrity of our republic. I am now a convicted felon, but my head is held high. I am a patriot, an American, and a man. No one - not Diebold, not Jones Day, not the District Attorney - can take that away from me.
So for those of you who have seen or someday will see evidence of government or corporate corruption, join me. Expose it. You'll help pay the cost of freedom. You'll feel like a true American patriot. That's a feeling that can't be bought, and it can't be beat.
Blow that whistle, and blow it hard.


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Coon Rapids Dam
Construction of the Dam
Construction of the Coon Rapids Hydroelectric Power Dam began in January 1913 by the Northern Mississippi River Power Company. It was built on choice acreage of the M.E. Dunn Farm on the eastern shore of the Mississippi River in Anoka County, near Coon Creek, for the purpose of generating electricity to be used in Anoka and Hennepin Counties. The Coon Rapids Dam was completed in late March 1914. The hydroelectric power station house was completed in the late summer of that year and went into service on August 1, 1914, the same month that the "Guns of August" were to roar across the ocean in Europe bringing America closer to World War I.
Dam Measurements & Details
- The dam is made of earth and solid concrete construction resting on steel and wood piling, founded on river sand and a hard layer of firm clay subsoil over bedrock.
- The total length of the Coon Rapids from the end of one embankment to the end of the other is approximately 2,150 feet, or just 490 feet short of 1/2 mile.
- Over 42,000 cubic yards of concrete went into the dam, and over 800 carloads of crushed rock were required.
- The concrete spillway section was 1,070 feet long with 28 gates, each 33 feet wide, with 4 sluice gates, and 1 log sluice.
- The height of the dam above the lowest point of the original bed stream is 13 feet. The normal differential between the headwater and the tailwater is 19 feet.
- The old power house on the east shore contained a pump, a superintendent's dwelling, garage, and several miscellaneous structures. The power house was about 200 feet in length, 80 feet in width, and 36 1/2 feet high.
Hydroelectric Power Station
Wires were strung for the transmission of electricity. In 1916, the property and rights of the Mississippi River Electric Power Company were purchased by Northern States Power Company and they leased out the property to the Minneapolis General Electric Company, who later merged with Northern States Power Company. As time passed, this dam and its hydroelectric power station served Anoka and Hennepin County citizens, Coon Rapids included, for half a century. By 1966, however, electrical demands grew so rapidly that the hydroelectric power station was no longer economically feasible, and so its use was officially discontinued on December 31, 1966. After 52 years of operation and service the electric generating and transmission equipment was removed from the power house.
In December 1969, the ownership of the land and the Coon Rapids Dam was transferred to the Hennepin County Park Reserve District. This became the basis for developing the Coon Rapids Dam and surrounding 360 acres of land (225 of which are on the Anoka County side) into the beautifully new completed Coon Rapids Regional Park completed in mid-September 1978. The county public park facilities feature a 1,070-foot concrete walkway with an elevated observation deck spanning the entire Mississippi River between Hennepin and Anoka Counties. This deck gives visitors an intimate, exciting, and breathtaking view of the immense force of the water rushing through-the spillway gates on its way southward to Minneapolis.


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January 22, 2013 | Quote
Damascus Rebels Stuck in Stalemate
The deadly shelling of one of Syria's largest universities in Aleppo on Tuesday came as the rebel campaign there approached the six-month mark, offering a stark reminder of the entrenched nature of the country's war. Despite months of combat and carnage that have decimated the once-elegant commercial capital, the battle for Aleppo remains far from won, with both sides locked in a brutal stalemate. It's a far cry from the rebels' surge of optimism that accompanied their initial push into Aleppo this summer, when some thought the city might quickly fall to the opposition, and the government of President Bashar al-Assad along with it.
In Damascus, following a surge by the rebels there late last year, their momentum has likewise seemed to be tempered of late. Though opposition fighters managed to push close to the center of the heavily-secured capital, and even shut down the city's commercial airport, they have since found themselves held back in their strongholds by a merciless government campaign. Like Aleppo, Damascus is now mired in an endless back-and-forth of gunfire, bombings, and aerial assaults of rebel-held neighborhoods by Assad's warplanes.
Analysts say the rebels there remain far from their goal of tipping the balance in the capital their way. "I really do believe that the regime can hold Damascus until the bitter end," says Joseph Holliday of the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, D.C. "Not all of it. They already don't hold all of it. But they can control downtown Damascus," and other strategically important areas.
Holliday says the Syrian government has adopted a strategy of containment—giving up ground to rebel strongholds in the suburbs, then targeting them with artillery and airstrikes, while working to keep rebels away from key points of interest like the heavily secured city center.
The result has been a wave of destruction. In the days leading up to the attack on Aleppo University—in which twin blasts killed more than 80 and wounded more than 160 as students took exams—opposition activists relayed harrowing reports of women and children killed in government airstrikes in the Damascus suburbs amid one of the most intense attempts yet by the government to drive the rebels back. "I think the rebels have been forced to halt their push into Damascus for now, on account of the brutal bombardment of host suburbs by the regime," says Ammar Abdulhamid, a U.S.-based dissident and fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Holliday notes that the rebels face a similar problem in Damascus as in Aleppo—while they have managed to take control of certain neighborhoods, those areas immediately become targets for government forces, which have shown little hesitation to decimate civilian neighborhoods in their pursuit of the rebels. The government has played this up to their advantage, in an apparent attempt to turn ordinary Syrians against the opposition. "The dynamic that seems to work among the population is to blame the rebels for bringing this upon them, not the regime" Holliday says.
The government has also blamed the rebels for unclaimed bombings over the past months and for Tuesday's attack on Aleppo University, which the opposition has in turn pinned on the government.
For their part, opposition activists say rebels in the capital have not stalled, but are working instead to regroup and strengthen their hold on neighborhoods under their control. They also say that rebels continue to inflict heavy casualties on the government. An activist who goes by the nickname Lena, with a group called the Damascus Media Office, said ambulances could regularly be heard transporting government casualties away from Daraya, the rebellious Damascus suburb that has been central to the rebel bid for the city. She also said rebels were preparing for another push to seize areas held by the government. "They are preparing themselves," she said.
Still, she acknowledged that a sense of unease lay heavy on the capital. "Nobody knows what will happen in Damascus," she said.
Firas Abi Ali, the acting head of Middle East and North Africa forecasting at Exclusive Analysis, a risk-consultancy firm in London, predicts that Aleppo would fall to the rebels by the spring, citing their success in choking off supplies to government forces in the city. This would be a significant gain for the opposition, which has yet to claim a major city in the conflict. But he cautions that a crucial win in the capital remains a long way off. "They still can't mass their forces in significant enough numbers to take on the government strongholds there," he says. "They can infiltrate well-secured areas, and they can control the city's suburbs. But when the government assaults begin with the heavy artillery and air force—the insurgents just can't hold their ground against that kind of firepower."
The Syrian government has adopted a strategy of containment—giving up ground to rebel strongholds in the suburbs, then targeting them with artillery and airstrikes.
Despite speculation over Assad's imminent demise—or reports such as one published earlier this week in Saudi Arabia's al-Watan newspaper, later picked up by the global intelligence firm Stratfor, that he is actually living on a Russian naval ship off the coast of Syria and occasionally dropping into Damascus by helicopter—the president still appears to want to show off his supposed strength in the conflict. Earlier this month, he gave a defiant speech along those lines at the Damascus opera house, less than a few miles from the scene of some of the capital's heaviest fighting. In the speech, he sought to dispel the idea that he might be open to negotiating an exit from power—a sentiment he doubled down on this week, with the announcement that he would stand for reelection in 2014.
But most analysts expect that Assad will soon face another push from the rebels in Damascus—and that the capital will remain battered by conflict for months to come. "The battle is not over," says Abdulhamid of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "As usual, in a few weeks, after reconsidering their tactics, regrouping and acquiring some more supplies, a new drive [by the rebels] will begin. Giving up is simply not an option for either side."


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To judge how far aid has helped Africa along the road to prosperity, just look down at the pavement — or the lack of it.
The most important highway in East Africa starts at the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa. Tens of thousands of trucks every year carry food, fuel and other goods to 100 million people in east and central Africa up a bone-jarring two-lane road.
Despite millions of aid dollars spent on roads, the wear and tear is so bad that journeys take weeks. And the cost makes it cheaper to have a container of corn shipped from Iowa than to truck it 500 miles to western Kenya.
In the 50 years since the first African countries won independence, the world has spent $568 billion on Africa. Yet Africans are poorer now than a quarter century ago, and much of the money has ended up on the road to nowhere. This dismal record is sparking a vigorous debate on how best to help the world's poorest continent, and to what degree aid is the answer.
A growing chorus of Africans is saying what they really need is not to rely on handouts, but to rebuild on their own with investment. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister of Nigeria, says many African countries now realize that while they can invite partners to join them, it is up to them to succeed.
"Africans do not want to be viewed as a charity case," adds Okonjo-Iweala, a World Bank managing director. "Ninety-nine point nine percent of Africans are people who are getting on with their own lives. All they are asking for is ... a set of tools."
Lifeblood of a continent
Roads are the lifeblood of an economy, the delivery system for agriculture, mining, tourism and other mainstays of African industry. But roads in Africa are few and bad. When foreign companies calculate the price of doing business on the continent, they look at figures like the cost of transportation and decide to go somewhere else.
"No one would ever have 100 million people in the rich world along a broken-down, two-lane, undivided road as we do here," said leading economist Jeffrey Sachs about Nairobi. "If the donors were thinking about what would really provide development, it's a proper, divided highway on which truck traffic could go."
Truth is, they did think of it — and almost built it — 40 years ago. But today, the east-west Trans-African Highway exists only on maps. On the ground, it turns into a muddy footpath in the jungles of eastern Congo.
The story of the highway shows why aid to Africa has largely failed in the past, and what can be learned for the future.
Back in 1969, the Japanese government proposed extending the Mombasa Highway to Lagos, Nigeria, on the Atlantic Ocean. The four-lane, 4,400-mile paved highway would be slightly longer than Interstate 90 running from Boston to Seattle across the United States. It was to bring modern trade to six African countries.
By 1971, the deal had the support of the six countries, nine other rich countries and six international aid agencies. They hoped to have at least two lanes of all-weather road open by 1978.
Joke reflects Africa thinking on roads
It did not take long for problems to emerge. Dictator Idi Amin took control of Uganda and threatened neighboring Kenya, which then closed the highway.
The fight reflected a constant plague for foreign aid to Africa — corrupt dictators, and donors who gave them money to protect political and economic interests. Nowhere was this exchange clearer than in Zaire, now known as Congo.
Zaire needed to build roads from scratch. But the Central African country was ruled by Mobutu Sese Seko, one of most brutal dictators in African history.
Mobutu seized power during the Cold War, at a time when the United States and the Soviet Union were scrambling for influence in Africa. In the mid-1970s, he was a funnel for arms flowing to anti-communist rebels.
And so billions of dollars poured into Zaire to keep him happy, and to maintain the flow of Zairean gold, diamonds and copper to the West. Western nations largely looked the other way as the aid money disappeared into his offshore bank accounts and into the pockets of dozens of corrupt leaders.
Mobutu stopped plans for the highway in 1974, after stealing the money Belgium gave him for initial surveys. In a well-known African joke that reflects the thinking of the time, a young African dictator calls Mobutu for advice after coming under rebel attack.
"Did they come by sea?" Mobutu asks.
"No," the younger ruler would reply.
"Did they come by air?" Mobutu asks.
"No, they came by road," the protege answers.
"Tsk tsk, my son, I always told you," Mobutu says. "Never build roads."
Lack of maintenance hurts roads
Despite Mobutu in Zaire, the highway was in good condition in Kenya. In the 1970s, the East African country's economy was booming, with trucks filled with valuable coffee and tea running downhill from mile-high Nairobi and across breathtaking African savanna to the port of Mombasa.
But roads do not last forever. The average African highway is designed to last 15-20 years, if properly maintained, says Andrew Gitonga, the Kenya roads project officer for the European Union. Since 1983, the European Union has spent $200 million to repair Kenya's section of the highway and has about $120 million more of road projects planned this year.
Gitonga says the road needs to be completely rebuilt.
"There has been no standard maintenance program for 15 years, so the roads are falling into disrepair until they collapse," he says. "Some government contracts in the past were given in an untransparent manner to unqualified contractors without clear standards."
The transition between good road work and bad is painfully obvious when you hit a pothole at 50 mph. A close examination of the hole will show that whoever built it skimped on the thickness of the rock bed and the asphalt surfacing, pocketing a little extra profit.
Almost every day road workers can be seen patching the holes. One man sprays in some tar, a second shovels in a little asphalt and a third goes over it twice with a compactor. Within five minutes the lane is open, with hundreds of cars every hour driving over a repair that will probably last less than six months, or until the seasonal rains wash it away.
Road travel six times costlier in Africa
The same neglect for maintenance has led to the slow deterioration of thousands of donor-funded projects over the years.
Just off the Mombasa highway in Nairobi, the International Committee of the Red Cross maintains its distribution hub for eastern Africa. Trucks loaded with food and supplies set off to deliver aid to some of the world's most desperate people.
The biggest obstacle: The roads.
"The roads are in a desolate state and they are not getting any better," says Bent Korsgaard, logistics director for the Kenya office.
A University of Minnesota study determined that big trucks cost about 43.4 cents a mile to operate on normal roads. In Africa, the cost for Red Cross trucks is $2.88 a mile.
A truck that follows the Trans-African Highway for the 1,500 mile, 21-day roundtrip to Butembo, Congo requires five days in the workshop when it gets back. It's cheaper to hire a Russian cargo plane than to drive a truck to some cities within 620 miles.
That doesn't even count the bribes truckers have to pay on African roads. A recent survey in West Africa found they range from about $3.33 per 60 miles in Togo to $25 in Mali.
Not only aid problem
Roads are hardly the only aid fiascos. Kenya alone is littered with dozens of half-baked, half-built projects funded by wealthy countries, monuments to good intentions gone awry.
Often donors did not understand Africa or talk to Africans. The Norwegian government built a fish processing plant on Lake Turkana in the 1970s to provide jobs for nomadic cattle herders — soon doomed in part because the local community had no fishing culture.
In a self-assessment in 1987, the World Bank found 106 out of 189 African development projects audited — almost 60 percent — had serious shortcomings or were complete failures. African agriculture projects failed 75 percent of the time.
The World Bank did better when it worked more closely with communities and better monitored projects. But a recent report on aid from the World Bank's private arm, the International Finance Corporation, found only half of its Africa projects succeed.
Aid is also hampered because it is often determined not just by what poor countries need but by what rich countries want to give to boost their own economies.
Much so-called foreign aid never leaves the country that promised it, because donor governments spend it to buy domestically-produced products or hire its own citizens as consultants.
The World Bank estimates that throughout the 1980s, more than half of all aid was tied to what donor countries wanted to export, often at higher prices than could be found on the market. This practice reduced the value of aid by anywhere from 11 to 30 percent.
Under the Buy American Act, the U.S. Agency for International Development must spend aid money to buy products and services from U.S. suppliers whenever possible, and then deliver them aboard expensive U.S.-flagged ships or planes.
"Foreign assistance is far from charity," J. Brian Atwood, the USAID director under former President Clinton, told Congress in 1995. "It is an investment in American jobs, American business."
Other rich nations do the same. Japan, one of the largest donors to Africa, provides a lot of aid in the form of four-wheel-drive vehicles — despite the roads.
Critic: Aid must be invested at all levels
Sachs, the Columbia University professor, argues past aid failed because not enough was invested at every level, in every sector. In 2004, Sachs and the United Nations started the Millennium Project experiment to supply 12 African villages with all they need, all at once, and see if they can be self-sufficient in five years.
"The speed of results is astounding and the point is that if the resources are there, the rate of improvement is wonderful," Sachs says. "I believe that we're at the cusp of that now."
Sachs' nemesis, economist William Easterly of New York University, retorts that Sachs' results are on a very small scale. He says only a free market can lift a nation out of poverty, and wants to see far more limited aid for specific programs with good track records, such as health care.
Easterly argues that aid bureaucracies are now rewarded for giving money that never reaches those who need it.
"It's just not possible for outsiders with their experts to create economic development and prosperity in another country," he says. "We should say: `There are a lot of problems and as rich outsiders we can't fix everything, but where can we do the most good for the most people?'"
The stakes are high. The outcome will decide if — and how — the world spends another $568 billion on Africa.
World has learned
The dream of a world-class road network for Africa is still alive, at least on paper. The African Union has a plan to build it, but it would take tens of billions of dollars that could come only from rich countries.
The east-west Trans-African Highway is still missing about 1,826 miles. But West African states are building a regional network that will run from landlocked Chad to the Western port of Dakar in Senegal, and from Mauritania to Nigeria. Kenya is also building a road to neighboring Ethiopia.
Aid to Africa is going up again to about $37 per capita, from a low of $24 in 1999. But this time the world has learned something. Aid to countries with more democratic systems has tripled at the expense of those whose leaders have unchecked power, according to the World Bank.
These days, when a new road is under construction in Kenya, white cars with European Union flags on the doors visit every day to make sure every inch of the highway is built to specification.
And a maintenance contract comes with it.


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Go Doolally
What's the meaning of the phrase 'Go Doolally'?
Originally 'doolally tap', meaning unbalanced state of mind.
What's the origin of the phrase 'Go Doolally'?
The spelling of dolally is fairly arbitrary and is seen as, 'go doolally', 'go doo-lally', 'go doolali' etc. This arbitrariness is due to it being an Anglicized version of an Indian place name rather than any English word.
The term is British Army slang, from the Deolali sanatorium, Marashtra, India and is first cited in Fraser & Gibbons', Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases, 1925:
"Deolali tap (otherwise doolally tap), mad, off one's head. Old Army."
Frank Richards, (Francis Philip Woodruff) was a soldier in the First World War and wrote a classic account of it in Old Soldiers Never Die. Richards was also a veteran of the Indian campaign, which he wrote about in in Old Soldier Sahib, 1936:
"Time-expired men sent to Deolalie from their different units might have to wait for months before a troop-ship fetched them home... The well-known saying among soldiers when speaking of a man who does queer things, 'Oh, he's got the Doo-lally tap,' originated, I think, in the peculiar way men behaved owing to the boredom of that camp."
The phrase is quite archaic now, even in its 'go Doolally' form. The tap is now rarely heard, but hasn't quite died out of everyday use. Francis Marion Crawford, in his Mr. Isaacs, 1882, makes the meaning of the word clear:
"Unless I feared the tap, the bad kind of fever which infects all the country at the base of the hills."
Other phrases first cited in Fraser and Gibbons:


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The Litigation Funding Conference is an intense networking and deal-making event for financial and legal professionals. The next conference will be on September 18, 2020 in Delray Beach at Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce. The conference is attended by attorneys, litigation finance executives, litigation support experts, brokers, hedge funds, private equity firms, government and consultants. Those involved with corporate cases & high value commercial claims will benefit the most from this event. The conference is also for those involved with: lawsuit litigation funding, arbitration funding, pre-settlement financing, legal advances, third party litigation funding, dispute resolution funding solutions and international arbitration.
Read Litigation Funding Conference latest news here


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NEW YORK (AP) — Young New Yorkers who want to light up will soon have to wait for their 21st birthdays before they can buy a pack of smokes after lawmakers in the nation's most populous city voted overwhelmingly to raise the tobacco-purchasing age from 18 to 21.
The City Council's vote Wednesday makes New York the biggest city to bar cigarette sales to 19- and 20-year-olds, and one of only a few places throughout the United States that have tried to stymie smoking among young people by raising the purchasing age so high. The age limit also would apply to electronic-vapor cigarettes, and the council also approved setting a minimum $10.50-a-pack price for tobacco cigarettes and stepping up enforcement on illegal tobacco sales.
"We know that tobacco dependence can begin very soon after a young person first tries smoking, so it's critical that we stop young people from smoking before they ever start," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement after the council's vote.
Bloomberg, a strong supporter of tough smoking restrictions, is expected to sign the measure. The minimum age would rise 180 days afterward.
Merchants who sold to under-21 customers would face fines starting at $1,000. Repeat violations could cost them their cigarette-vending licenses.
The city's current age limit is 18, a federal minimum that's standard in many places. The city prohibits smoking in restaurants, bars, parks and beaches.
Advocates say higher age limits help prevent, or at least delay, young people from taking up a habit that remains the leading cause of preventable deaths nationwide.
But some smokers say it's unfair and patronizing to tell people considered mature enough to vote and serve in the military that they're not old enough to decide whether to smoke. And cigarette manufacturers, who argue that the city's high cigarette taxes have fueled black-market sales, have suggested young adult smokers may just turn to illicit sellers.
"This new law will only make the problem worse," said Bryan D. Hatchell ,a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which makes Camel and other brands.
Another anti-smoking initiative pushed by the Bloomberg administration was shelved ahead of Wednesday's vote: forcing stores to keep cigarettes out of public view until a customer asks for them.
Newsstand clerk Ali Hassen, who sells cigarettes daily to a steady stream of customers from nearby office buildings, said he didn't know if the new age restrictions would do any good.
While he wouldn't stop vigilantly checking identification to verify customers' age, Hassen doubted the new rules would thwart determined smokers.
"If somebody wants to smoke, they're going to smoke," he said.
Similar legislation to raise the purchasing age is expected to come to a vote in Hawaii this December. The tobacco-buying age is 21 in Needham, Mass., and is poised to rise to 21 in January in nearby Canton, Mass. The state of New Jersey also is considering a similar proposal.
"It just makes it harder for young people to smoke," said Stephen McGorry, 25, who started smoking at 19. He added that had the age been 21 when he took up the habit, "I guarantee I wouldn't be smoking today."
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-10-31-Smoking-Minimum%20Age/id-c94bbde7a0ee428c99f6c0a4711d4655Tags: september 11 Spring High School Bryan Cranston tracy mcgrady Vma Miley Cyrus


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Calendar: 1856-1857 Page 2
Please note: The digitised calendars in this site have had their contents extracted using OCR (optical character recognition) and as a result, there may be occasional errors in the text. We are working on correcting these errors, but this may take some time.
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THE or KING'S COLLEGE LONDON for 1856-5T KING'S COLLEGE LONDON 1856
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Man with strange watch arrested at Calif. airport,
charged with having bomb-making materials Associated Press | November 16, 2012 OAKLAND, Calif. – A Southern California man was arrested at Oakland International Airport after security officers found him wearing an unusual watch they said could be used to make a timing device for a bomb, authorities said Friday. Geoffrey McGann, 49, of Rancho Palos Verdes was taken into custody Thursday night after he tried to pass through airport security with an ornate watch that had switches, wires and fuses, according to Sgt. J.D. Nelson, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff's Department. A bomb squad arrived within five minutes and determined there were no explosive materials in the watch, Nelson said. The checkpoint was closed while officers secured the area. McGann was taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin where he was charged with possessing materials to make an explosive device, sheriff's officials said. He was still in custody Friday night and could not be reached for comment. McGann told Transportation Security Administration officers that he's an artist and the watch is art, Nelson said. While no actual explosives were found, McGann was carrying potentially dangerous materials and appeared to have made alterations to his boots, which were unusually large and stuffed with layers of insoles, Nelson said. A profile for a person named Geoffrey McGann on the website LinkedIn.com lists him as the owner and creative director of a media production company called Generator Content. He attended the Art College Center of Design in Pasadena from 1984 to 1987, according to the website. |


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Show All Answers
No. Registration is not required for "One Time Pay."
No, they do not.
From the Customer Portal Sign On screen, select "Forgotten Password" link near bottom left of screen and follow directions.
No. If a customer needs to update a mailing address, telephone number they must contact a City of Hagerstown Customer Service Representative:
AutoPay. AutoPay is a scheduled payment in full for the due date every month. This feature allows customers to automatically pay their bill(s) in full each month. If customers sign up for AutoPay, they will get a reminder several days prior to the payment date.
Recurring Scheduled Payments. Recurring Scheduled Payments can be for any amount and customers may select time frames and dates to pay. The bill's due date remains the same. If a fixed payment option is chosen, the balance due may not be paid in full. Customers may schedule more than one payment per month. There are four options from which customers may choose:
Payments taken by a Customer Service Representative either in person or by telephone will not show up immediately in Invoice Cloud as a payment. The balance due on the account will reflect on the next business day.
If a scheduled payment or AutoPay date falls on a weekend, the payment will still process. However, if the payment method is an electronic check (ACH), it may not show up on the customer's bank account as a pending payment until Monday morning. If a credit or debit card is used, payment will be authorized in real time.
Yes, Google Chrome is recommended.
Yes. The customer receives an email confirming they are enrolled in paperless billing.


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The pilot of a boat that collided with a Missouri State Highway Patrol boat on the Lake of the Ozarks is facing charges.
The Camden County prosecutor on Thursday charged 55-year-old Brian Pecenka, of Lake Ozark, with four counts of second-degree assault with a vessel and a misdemeanor of not displaying navigation lights on his boat.
The patrol says Pecenka turned in front of a patrol boat being driven by 35-year-old Trooper Stephen Burgun, of Jefferson City, on Aug. 29. Burgun's boat hit the starboard side of Pecenka's boat, which flooded and capsized. Burgun spent the night in the hospital.
KYTV reports that the assault charges are for injuries to Burgun and three of Pecenka's seven passengers.
Online court records don't indicate if Pecenka has an attorney.


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Reviewed By: A customer from Upstate, NY on 9/12/12
I pedaled most of this map in the summer 2012 and had a fantastic trip. One recommendation, is that they might make more clear on the map is that going around Lake Koocanusa (on route) has its merits even though the loop looks nonsensical on the map. I opted to cut through Flathead National Forest instead (an option visible on most road maps) and ended up riding on hours of fire road, over the most difficult pass of the entire trip, and even had to stop and camp in the middle of the forest on account of 4 bears blocking the roadway--quite a good adventure, but not for everyone. Overall, excellent maps and much essential information.


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Podcast: Matt Kemp's Faulty Hamstrings
Marco Scutaro should slide over to shortstop with Troy Tulowitzki out.
This week's episode of RotoRob's Fantasy Baseball Weekly Podcast (heard every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on Blogtalkradio) got off to a rocky start as Blogtalkradio was clearly having some issues and none of the guests could join host Buck, who valiantly flew solo for the first 25 minutes or so of the show. Finally, Tim and I were able to be patched in (thanks to Chris Wassel!), but scheduled guest Ivar Anderson was shut out. Thanks so much to Ivar for agreeing to join us; we'll be sure to get you on again real soon.
Once the dust settled, we managed to tackle tons of Fantasy baseball content, including:
- How Nick Punto won't exactly save your Fantasy season if you're missing Dustin Pedroia.
- The dynamic situation in the Chicago Cubs bullpen, where Carlos Marmol just returned from the DL, forcing his replacement (Rafael Dolis) back to the minors.
- The bullpen situation in Pittsburgh, where Juan Cruz has been put on the restricted list and Doug Slaten has been recalled.
- The progress of Franklin Gutierrez in his rehab and how he might help you in the stolen base department when he makes it back to Em City.
- An update on Lance Berkman and his chronic injury woes.
- Tim's status post-surgery, and how he's replaced gummy bears with pain killers.
- Our impressions of Bryce Harper's performance and his approach to the game.
- The verdict on Yu Darvish's first two months as a big leaguer.
- The photographic memory of our accurate prognostications.
- How we feel about closers that don't throw strikes.
- How Fernando Rodney went from journeyman failed closer to save master supreme.
- The status of Alfredo Aceves' job security as the Red Sox closer.
- Roy Oswalt landing in Texas and his chances of providing Fantasy value.
- Will Middlebrooks taking grounders at shortstop in practice and what this could mean for the Red Sox.
- The Mets shortstop situation since Jose Reyes left has become a battle of attrition thanks to a wave of injuries.
To hear the entire show in its technologically-deficient glory, click play below.


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 19, 2019MEDIA CONTACT: KIRA CALM LEWIS 301-446-3327 - or - email@example.com IYANA MOORE 301-446-3313 - or – email@example.com
Springtime at Montpelier Arts Center:Cultural Arts Programming by the M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation
Riverdale, MD – Gaze upon playful art installations or move and groove to relaxing tunes at M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation's many arts and cultural heritage events! Join us this spring at the Montpelier Arts Center to witness these talented local and international artists, musicians, and vocalists.
WHAT: INCOMMUNICADO: Montpelier Art Center's April Public Reception
WHEN: Sunday, April 7, 2019, 2PM- 4PM
WHERE: Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Rd Laurel, MD 20708
Celebrate the artists of Maryland at Montpelier Art Center's April Public Reception. All three galleries will be filled with beautiful artwork that is guaranteed to inspire and evoke conversation. In the main gallery, Incommunicado, an exhibition that investigates the art and installations of various artists who use text in playful and meaningful ways to explore communication and human expression. In the library gallery, Jill Tanenbaum and Cathy Abramson showcase glassworks and paintings that feature the colors, shapes, and energy found in and around urban settings. In the resident artist gallery, Patricia Phillips Bowden experiments with other painting media as well as 3D objects to present an interesting exhibition on cultural ancestry and the passage of time. In this exhibition, Bowden begins to explore her heritage using images that evoke time, poetry, and culture.
WHAT: Live! at Montpelier: Carl Grubbs
WHEN: Monday, April 8, 2019, 8PM – 10PM
COST: $25/person; 10% discount for Montpelier members and seniors
This evening of jazz with a legendary musician. Carl Grubbs, is an award-winning jazz saxophonist with a distinguished career as a performer, composer, music educator, and recording artist. He has toured with his ensemble in major cities worldwide. Early in his career, Grubbs received extensive training from his brother Earl and one of the music world's greatest legends in jazz, John Coltrane. Through his own family, Carl Grubbs was close to many of the history-making musicians of the 1950s and 1960s. Reservation required by 4/5/2019.
WHAT: Live! at Montpelier: Cyrille Aimee
WHEN: Friday, April 12, 2019, 8PM – 10PM
Improvisation is not just a technique for Cyrille Aimée, it's a way of life. The acclaimed vocalist ventured from singing on street corners in Europe to dazzling audiences at the world's most prestigious jazz festivals; from sneaking out to sing in gypsy encampments in her native France to acting on Broadway; from braving the notoriously tough audiences at New York's Apollo Theatre to being called a "rising star in the galaxy of jazz singers" by the New York Times.
WHAT: Annual Montpelier Festival of Herbs, Tea, and the Arts
WHEN: Saturday, April 27, 2019, 10AM-4PM
Visit the resident artists' studios, watch art demonstrations, paint the Montpelier bird, and create spring-themed crafts. Unwind as you stroll Montpelier's historic and beautiful surroundings, enjoy the flower and herb garden. Browse over 30 vendors of original-handmade items and local cuisine. Be the first to get your herbs and plants, and find the perfect Mother's Day gift! Gain gardening tips from local master gardeners. Sip a delightful cup of tea with friends and family in the elegant South Wing. Take a tour of the historic house, and let the kids play in the hands-on history playground. Enjoy music from a variety of performers.
WHAT: Classical Recital Series: Ismar Gomes
WHEN: Saturday, April 27, 2019, 1PM
COST: FREE; $5/person donation appreciated
Award-winning cellist Ismar Gomes will perform a special solo concert that will feature modern and baroque cello. This unique program will include major works such as Bach's Fourth Suite for solo cello and the Kodaly Solo Sonata. Ismar Gomes has performed internationally as a chamber musician and soloist. Hailed for his "impressive virtuosity, energy, and a handsome tonal range" (Berkshire Review), he has established himself as a captivating young artist, delivering exciting and innovative performances. Gomes currently performs with the Virginia and Delaware Symphonies and teaches at Loyola University of Maryland, Notre Dame of Maryland University, and Morgan State University.
WHAT: Live! At Montpelier: Brasilian Vibes Trio
WHEN: Friday, May 3, 2019, 8PM- 10PM
Brasilian Vibes Trio members, Arthur Lipner, Nanny, and Leonardo Lucini have been performing together for almost 10 years. Their album Brasilian Vibes was nominated Best CD of the Year by the Brasilian Press Awards. This ground-breaking trio integrates mallets and percussion with varied Brazilian styles and repertoire to create exciting new sounds which will tap your feet and your ears.
WHAT: Smooth Sounds for Seniors: Karen Linette
WHEN: Thursday, May 9, 2019, 12PM -1PM
COST: $12/person
Karen Linette is a songstress who hails from Silver Spring. For the past twenty years, she has been commanding audiences performing at local and international clubs and venues including the world-famous Apollo Theatre in New York City and the Café di Simo in Lucca, Italy. Her voice has been likened to Aretha Franklin's and Gladys Knight's as she performs rhythm and blues tunes.
WHAT: Live! at Montpelier: Janine Gilbert-Carter
WHEN: Friday, May 10, 2019, 8PM- 10PM
Janine Gilbert-Carter has established herself as a world-class vocalist beyond the environs of the Washington Metropolitan area, where she has resided since 1988. She's been touring every year internationally since 2009. Gibert-Carter was introduced to gospel, jazz, and blues at a very early age by her parents and grandmother and has been singing the standards ever since.
WHAT: Live! at Montpelier: Chieli Minucci and Special EFX
WHEN: Friday, May 17, 2019, 8PM- 10PM
Back by popular demand after a sold out performance! Chieli Minucci and Special EFX return to the Montpelier stage for an evening of entertainment. Guitarist, composer, and arranger Chieli Minucci is the longtime leader of the Grammy-nominated jazz-fusion group Special EFX, featuring Chieli Minucci, a major force on the jazz and world music scene for 35 years. Besides writing and performing his own music, Chieli shares his guitar brilliance throughout the entertainment world. He has recorded and performed with many top artists, including Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Lopez, Jewel, Mark Anthony, Michael Bolton, and Anastasia.
WHAT: Classical Recital Series: Alicia Losack
WHEN: Sunday, May 19, 2019, 3PM- 4:30PM
Alicia Kosack enjoys a diverse career as a performer of both modern and Baroque flute. She has won numerous honors, including a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award. An active soloist and chamber musician, she regularly performs with the Fortunata Trio and has performed with groups such as the Ash Lawn Opera Festival, Inscape Chamber Orchestra, Washington Bach Consort, Opera Vivente, the Handel Choir of Baltimore, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.


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Book review: All the Dark Secrets by Jennie Felton
Jennie Felton – who already has a fine clutch of books under the names of Janet Tanner and Amelia Carr – writes her stories straight from the heart, and All the Dark Secrets is the first of what promises to be an exciting new series.
Only a few miles from Felton's home town of Radstock in Somerset, twelve miners died at Wells Way Coal Works in 1839 when a rope snapped as they were descending into the pit. Popular belief has it that the rope was maliciously cut, although nobody was ever arrested.
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Hide AdSet almost 60 years later in 1895, The Families of Fairley Terrace sagas chart the fortunes and misfortunes of the people who live in a row of ten houses in a small village caught up in a terrible tragedy.
There will be romance, drama, trials and triumphs as the residents, all bound together by the colliery which they overlook, face an uncertain future and the bitter legacy of shocking events.
Maggie Donovan grew up in a tough mining area but she has always been a cut above. Despite her Irish-born father Paddy's addiction to alcohol and gambling, she's done well for a Donovan and found work as a sales assistant at a smart drapery shop.
The Donovans are the poorest family in Fairley Terrace, known locally as the Ten Houses, but Maggie is engaged to neighbour Jack Withers, a hard-working, dependable young man who works at nearby Shepton Fields colliery.
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Hide AdMaggie is only too aware that Jack would make an ideal husband but, deep inside, she knows he doesn't make her heart sing.
When tragedy strikes at the pit, the residents of the ten houses suffer more than one loss and Maggie's world comes tumbling down. Turning for comfort to Jack's wild and charmingly roguish brother Josh, she finds a sudden and undeniable passion instead.
But any future with Josh Withers seems a betrayal of her past, and Maggie realises that the only way to survive is to conceal a very dark secret of her own...
All the Dark Secrets sweeps us back to a time of struggle and hardship in a story packed with high emotion, dramatic landscapes and the harsh realities of living and working in a mining community.
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Hide AdUsing her own family experiences, Felton evokes time and place with compelling authenticity, and conjures up a feisty heroine and a cast of engaging characters.
And hold onto your hats for The Miner's Daughter, next book in the Families of Fairley Terrace series.
(Headline, paperback, £6.99)


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A new update has dropped for Fortnite Battle Royale, bringing with it several additions including a brand new inventory UI and four free heroes to celebrate Fortnite Battle Royale's Xbox One X support.
Meanwhile, other items in the V.1.10 patch notes include a variety of performance fixes and tweaks. To make everything easier to recap, we've posted the full V.1.10 patch notes for Fortnite Battle Royale down below!
Fortnite Battle Royale V.1.10 Patch Notes
Save the World - Exclusive Xbox One Heroes
- Xbox Exclusive heros are granted to all players who have purchased a Founders Pack on Xbox.
- Players will receive all 4 exclusive heroes after completing the quest "Loot Llamas". This is the same point most other Founders items are granted.
- Players who have already completed the quest will receive each heroes as they login.
- Soldier: Commando Renegade
- Constructor: Guardian Knox
- Ninja: Jade Assassin Sarah
- Outlander: Trailblazer Jess
- Decreased chance of getting Bandages from Treasure Chests and Supply Drops by 35%.
- Reduced aim assist on controllers, this should make it easier to lead targets with Sniper Rifles.
Bug Fixes
- Improved network priority for doors, which reduces the likelihood of seeing players run through a closed door.
- Improved network priority for chests, which reduces the likelihood of them appearing to remain closed for a short time after opening them.
- Players will no longer fall through the world if they are eliminated while jumping.
- Gliders will no longer deploy if a player uses a Launch Pad in the DBNO state.
- Player will no longer jitter while falling and skydiving.
- Dancing no longer goes on cooldown if it fails to play.
- Chests in attics no will longer spawn loot on roofs or outside walls.
- Fixed an issue which caused players to sometimes survive fatal fall damage with 1 HP.
- Fixed an issue causing teammates names to jitter.
- Fixed an error message that players would sometimes receive when being invited to a BR match when they hadn't completed the Save the World tutorial mission yet.
- Removed tracers from the silenced SMG.
- Sniper Rifles no longer reload while in scoped view.
- Fixed an issue which prevented grenades from exploding.
- Fixed an issue which caused crosshairs to disappear if a Sniper Rifle was fired right before the Battle Bus took off.
- Fixed several issues with the Smoke Grenade effect.
- Smoke effects now appear the same in and out of the Storm.
- Players can no longer see through smoke effects when using a scope from within the smoke.
- Players will no longer experience a "flash" effect when multiple smoke grenades go off at once.
- Reduced volume for ambient trap sounds, and made them less frequent.
- Added a new warning sound that activates when a player approaches a ceiling or wall trap.
- Teammate footsteps now sound quieter than enemies.
- If you are spectating a player, their footsteps are quieter.
- Added different footstep sounds for wood, stone, metal, and dirt/grass surfaces. It's now easier to hear footsteps through walls.
- Added "terminal velocity" wind sound when falling from large heights, and impact/pain sounds for when taking damage from falling.
- Increased the audio range for the sniper gunshot from 180m to 250m.
- Reduced gunshot sound volume for tactical shotguns (does not affect audio range).
- Reduced volume of revolver equip/reload/fire sounds.
- New sounds for Medkit, Shield Potion, and Slurp Juice consumables.
- It is now easier to hear the sound of an another player gliding towards you after using a Launch Pad.
- All audio for the dance emote is now adjusted with the SFX slider instead of Music.
- Wind volume reacts more dynamically while skydiving or using a glider/umbrella.
- Removed low-frequency content in the "ticking clock" sound that plays prior to the storm eye shrinking.
- Improved general frame rate when multiple characters are nearby.
- Improved server performance by reducing the number of redundant movement events sent from clients.
- Improved Xbox One rendering by reducing CPU stalls.
- Improved performance when rendering lighting and shadows.
- Improved performance when rendering bushes and other clutter objects.
- Improved game thread performance by converting more game logic BPs to C++.
- Improved UI performance. Improved PhysX performance.
- Improved CPU performance on Xbox One and Windows by tweaking thread priorities.
- Improved performance of particle systems by adding batching.
- Improved performance of animation trail effects and particles.
- Improved performance when using the glider.
- Optimized particles associated with players/weapons.
- Optimized audio for the safe zone indicator.
- Tweaked how often animations update and optimized many other animation systems.
- Reduced general hitching by optimizing garbage collection of objects loaded within memory.
- Reduced network bandwidth used when spawning players in a squad match.
- Fixed a server performance issue caused by building actors that moved every frame.
- Fixed a server performance issue where rubber banding could be caused when jumping out of the Battle Bus.
- Fixed various hitches that could occur during gameplay.
- You can now view your personal stats and XP gained at the end of a match or when spectating.
- You can now choose to abandon one of your Daily Challenges each day.
- Added "Net Debug Stats" panel to the Battle Royale UI (currently only available on Windows and Mac platforms with console support coming in future update).
- Net Debug Stats can be enabled by going to Settings > Game > HUD > Net Debug Stats.
- Net Debug Stat setting displays ping, bandwidth, packets per second, and packet loss for both uploading and downloading.
- If you haven't received a packet from the server in more than 1 second, the UI will also display a "Connection Lost" warning.
- Added the option to send a friend invite to squadmates on the Spectator and Victory screens (PC/Mac only.)
- Added some look-and-feel polish to the matchmaking buttons.
- Added a warning message that activates when players attempt to disguise themselves as a bush while already disguised.
- Replaced the 60-second warm up timer with "Waiting for Players."
- Increased the size of the large map so it takes up more screen space when open.
- The revive timer now shows the revive progress for both keyboard and controller players.
- Sensitivity sliders for the mouse and gamepad will now stop at 0.01 instead of 0.0.
- Disconnected squadmates will now remain on the HUD and will be listed as "Disconnected."
- Character models inspected in Save the World will no longer be displayed in the Locker tab.
- The Up button on the D-Pad no longer closes the inventory tab while using the Pro Controller layout.
- Settings will now properly save when players apply them and back out of the settings menu quickly.
- Added descriptions to equipped items in the Locker tab.
- Storm zone graphics will no longer flicker when the storm begins to close in.
- You can now report players that have unicode and Chinese characters in their names.
- Fixed the timers on the Global Wins leaderboard.
- When knocked down by the storm, the elimination message will now properly read: [PLAYER] was knocked down by the storm.
- Smoke grenade effects are now visible to spectators when watching a player within the smoke.
- Fixed bug where teammates could be invisible while spectating them.
- Scope visuals will no longer be stuck on screen while switching between players in spectate mode.
- Fixed a rare crash that could occur when backing out to the Main Menu.
Save the World Gameplay
- Increased effective range of the Vindertech Scoped Handcannon from 7.5 to 8 tiles, decreased damage from 62 to 56 and impact from 100 to 90 to rebalance accordingly.
- The "Head Explosion" alteration now scales up with the player's Tech attribute and Hero Level, rather than dealing a flat percentage of the player's weapon damage.
- Using the incorrect resource type when trying to build a blueprint (such as "Build the Radar Towers") will now properly show as red instead of blue.
- Vindertech weapons will use Crystal Energy and Ore Energy recipes as intended in the Crafting Recipes sheet.
- All recycled world items will now be removed from your inventory before the resulting items are added, reducing the chance of overflow dropping items on the ground.
- Tracks in "Deliver the Bomb" can now be placed where quest props or Outlander Fragments are.
- The cart will now pass through quest props and Outlander fragments so they won't block players from using more direct routes.
- Added the missing quest update from a Durrrburger restaurant in the city.
- Picking up multiple items at once will no longer cause items to stretch into the player's backpack and hang around for long periods.
- Vindertech weapons no longer give Blast Powder when disassembled.
- Legendary Hydraulic Hammers and Spears now correctly use Legendary level crafting requirements instead of Epic level crafting requirements.
- Fixed an issue which caused items that are picked up to fall off the map and be destroyed.
- Fixed an issue which caused Floor Healing Traps to not take up inventory space.
- Fixed an issue which resulted in transformation keys turning into a different item than intended.
- Fixed an issue which caused some containers to become permanently highlighted.
- Fixed an issue which caused the Head Clipper Spear to have an incorrect tier 1 power rating.
- Added 5 new daily discovery quests. Explore the zones to find specific locations.
- Drone Salvage activity now auto starts after 20 seconds if nobody starts it earlier.
- Players can now build around the crash site before it lands. The structures will take damage, so plan wisely.
- New map icons have been added for all secondary activities to make it easier to locate the activities you want to play.
- You now only need to find missing modules during "Repair the Shelter" missions.
- Mutant Storm Mission Alert quota remains unchanged at 10 per day.
- The Epic Troll Stash quest now completes upon opening the chest.
Mutant Storm Mission Alerts no longer spread. Instead, the number of Mission Alerts available at a time are set to a fixed target number.
- Stonewood: 5
- Plankerton: 15
- Canny Valley: 15
- Twine Peaks: 15
- Fixed a rare crash on shutdown related to online cleanup.
- Fixed Xbox One Rich-Presence text not updating in the Party Finder window.
- Fixed an issue which caused an error to appear when accepting invites from a suspended state on Xbox One.
- Added an option to logout from the Main Menu on PC and Mac.
- When comparing items, stat rows are now colored green or red based on which item's stats are better.
- When upgrading items, the stat change arrows are oriented based on whether the stats are higher, but the arrow colors are still based on whether stats are better.
- Clarified the pickup interact failure reason for M80s and bottle rockets, which are limited to a single stack in the backpack.
- Improved friend invite menu flow when in game.
- Larger stacks of items that are otherwise identical will now consistently sort before smaller stacks.
- Rescued survivors will no longer appear as items in the backpack during play.
- Fixed the bug where the item pickup notification might show the incorrect count.
- Schematic craftability is now properly refreshed after any change to backpack space.
- The Skills page alert will no longer appear for skill nodes that cannot be purchased.
- The Pickaxe Damage stat now correctly displays the effects of the "Work, Work" support perk.
- Corrected the interaction indicator HUD visibility toggle to control the proper HUD element.
- Fixed a few graphical issues that occurred when selecting a mission region.
- Fixed an issue which caused user options would not be saved.
- Fixed some text that was cut off in the menus.
- Fixed headshot damage display in the detailed stats menu.
- Updated art for the SEE-Bot and Hidden module found in Repair the Shelter missions to match the new models and animation.
- Updated art for the Med-Bot module found in Wounded Survivor missions to match the new models and animation.
- Multiple-in-one Upgrade Llamas now sell 25% off!
- Updated quest titles for the Stonewood Storm Shield Defenses 1 through 10.
Undocumented Changes
- Scavenger Assault Rifle - Base damage reduced from 33 to 28, and impact from 87 to 73.
- Buzzcut - Base damage reduced from 36 to 30, and impact from 95 to 80.
- Scavenger Semi-Auto Shotgun - Base damage reduced from 149 to 124, and impact from 528 to 440.
- Husk Buster - Base damage reduced from 162 to 135, and impact from 576 to 480.
- Epic Halloween heroes now have epic stats instead of legendary stats.
- Traps no longer set off propane tanks. This allows players more control over when the propane tank explodes and will prevent the explosion from damaging the players own traps.
- Fixed an issue that caused Element+Affliction weapon perks to display as a common "gray" rarity perk. The color now reflects the correct rarity of the perk.
We've been exploring how to reduce the size of patches for Xbox. We found a solution, but that means this particular update is larger than usual. (It's about ~10 GB.)
PlayStation 4
We are aware of an issue that occurs to some players where downloads are extended in duration and users may believe that a "hang" has occurred. Our investigation tells us that the download is NOT hanging, but the process is taking longer than it should to complete. In the meantime, please continue to let the download and install process complete naturally. We are partnering with SIE to address this issue as quickly as possible.
For the complete Fortnite Battle Royale V.1.10 patch notes, be sure to head over to the official Fortnite website.


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04/24/08 The Hidden Victims of the Laboratory
Animal Friends marks the World Day for Laboratory Animals
Every year on April 24, compassionate people around the world speak out on behalf of the victims of vivisection. The World Day for Laboratory Animals is a time to reflect upon the suffering of millions of mice, cats, monkeys, fish, rats, dogs, bird, rabbits, guinea pigs, pigs, horses, and many other species.
Animal Friends will mark World Day for Laboratory Animals by setting up intriguing billboards in the center of Zagreb. The billboard will also be presented on the information stalls in Split, Zagreb, and Slavonski Brod, where citizens will have the opportunity to receive leaflets with the list of cosmetic companies that do not test their products and ingredients on animals.
On April 24 at 12 noon in the city center of Slavonski Brod, Animal Friends' activists will demonstrate a skin irritancy test by painting their faces blood-red while and holding banners.
The skin irritancy test is one of the most common tests in which a concentrate chemical is applied on shaved skin of an animal, with effects being monitored for a several days. The wounds are horrible, pain unbearable, and the animals do not get any painkillers.
Animals are also poisoned to death in so called "safety tests." In disease research, they are surgically mutilated, blinded, burnt, starved, psychologically tormented, and infected with lethal viruses.
The UK conducts about three million experiments every year. A poll of British GPs found that more than 80 per cent are concerned about the reliability of animal research. One recent major study assessed the accuracy of more than 200 research projects that used thousands of animals. Around half failed to predict human outcomes accurately.
In the European Parliament, a large majority of MEPs has called for an end to monkey experiments. Our closest genetic relative, the chimpanzee, is essentially unharmed by a range of illnesses that devastate people. These include HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, and common malaria.
The Croatian Animal Protection Act prohibits experiments on animals for testing of cosmetics and their ingredients as well as cleaning agents, while the European Union also plans to ban the sale of cosmetics tested on animals.
There is no legal obligation for testing cosmetic products on animals – animal testing protects only producers, not the consumers. For them, it is an easy way to satisfy the legal obligation and protect themselves from possible charges.
Animal Friends invites everyone to only buy products that are not tested on animals. The so-called "white list," which can be found at www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr, shows companies which do not test their products and necessary ingredients on animals, but rather use alternative methods. Those methods not only do not kill animals, but also provide a better guarantee for safe human consumption.
Using animals to test products is unreliable, expensive and slow. Science will not progress until the use of live animals in experiments will be completely abandoned, and scientists will switch to modern, humane testing methods, such as the use of cells and computer models.


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Homosexuals Shouldn't 'Force' Gay Marriage in Scotland, Says George Michael
Civil Partnerships Already Offer the 'Same Rights' as Marriage, He Claims
During a radio interview in Scotland, entertainer George Michael stated that civil partnerships already offer same-sex couples the "same rights" as married couples, leaving to question the need to redefine marriage.
Scotland is vying to become the first U.K. nation to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, although the Scottish government has seen opposition by the Catholic Church and the Church of Scotland.
Currently, Scotland allows for same-sex civil partnerships, but there is an increasingly vocal aspect of Scottish society that it focused on fully recognizing marriage for gay couples, BBC reported.
"Civil registration partnerships are legally correct. They give people the same rights as people in marriage … But I don't believe in forcing it and I think it will fail if you force churches who don't believe in it to have gay marriage ceremonies," Michael, who is openly homosexual, explained.
The comments, made to during a Scottish radio interview, come as the legislative body of Scotland debates whether to change the current law, go against biblical teachings, and redefine marriage.
Under the proposed legislation, the Scottish proposal is thought to provide a provision for religious institutions opposed to same-sex marriage to forego performing those types of ceremonies.
But mainstream Scottish Christian communities are concerned that changing the traditional definition of marriage to include same-sex couples will force churches to go along with laws that are in direct conflict with their beliefs.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien has been outspoken in the defense of traditional marriage in Scotland warning of the adverse consequences as a result of same-sex marriage actions.
"The serious implications for freedom of belief and expression of redefining marriage should be as important to a free society as any constitutional matter," he said.
"In light of the unprecedented strength of response to the consultation paper, I remain eager to hear the outcome of the consultation and to have an indication of how the people of Scotland regard the issue," O'Brien added.


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Shaun Phillips found his way off the free-agent market.
The veteran linebacker signed a one-year contract with the Denver Broncos, NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported Saturday. The team later confirmed Phillips' addition.
Follow on your smartphone or tablet for exclusive content including live video from Radio City Music Hall.
The Broncos hope Phillips will fill the pass-rushing void left by Elvis Dumervil's unexpected departure last month. Free agents John Abraham and Dwight Freeney have visited the Broncos' headquarters in recent weeks.
Phillips showed last season that he still had something left, finishing with 9.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in 16 games, all starts. He spent the first nine seasons of his NFL career with the AFC West rival San Diego Chargers, finishing with 69.5 sacks in that time.
Phillips, who turns 32 in May, serves as a decent stopgap for the franchise. It remains to be seen if this move closes the door on Freeney landing with the Broncos.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.


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Trigger Warning - This article deals with the death of Loretta Saunders, an Inuk woman who was found murdered on Wednesday, February 26th in Salisbury, New Brunswick.
In Honour of Loretta
I woke up early this morning, unable to fall back asleep. As you may imagine, the past 10 days or so have been extremely difficult, for a number of reasons that I never could've predicted.
After hearing about Loretta's murder, I walked home, the loneliest walk of my life, braving onlookers who were no doubt puzzled at the tears streaming from my eyes and the sounds emanating from my body. I came home, lay in bed, and ignored all attempts to communicate with others for several hours. I couldn't move. I ended up speaking with a few friends and family members before falling asleep from exhaustion, my heart heavy with sorrow and my head aching.
I'm still in shock at the news, and especially of her final resting place. That image hurts beyond anything I could say in words.
And I refuse for that to be the last image I have of Loretta, given her remarkable spirit.
Even as I write this, as the tears wrack my body and the letters on my keyboard blur, none of this seems real. I was always so worried about Loretta. She presented all of the vulnerabilities to which indigenous woman are prone, through no fault of her own. I reread her thesis proposal last night and was reminded of how deeply she was aware of being a product of a Canadian society intent on destroying and eliminating indigenous peoples. That last word, "eliminating," may seem extreme to some, but it is now so charged, so raw, so very real. Elimination. [Deep breath] [Deep breath] [Deep breath] Elimination.
Lying in a ditch along the Trans-Canada Highway. I simply cannot get this image out of my mind.
So many friends want to discuss the details of the case with me, they want to dissect it like they were the lead characters in a crime drama, the same ones that actually promote the incarceration and elimination of indigenous peoples and peoples of colour from society. What in the world makes somebody think that I want to listen to them piece together Loretta's murder. "Darryl, do you think they did it? C'mon, you must know." This is not a crime drama, she is dead. Murdered. "What is wrong with those people?" "What were they thinking?" If it's not friends acting like sleuths, it's the media acting like buzzards, circling and waiting for somebody to surrender like fallen prey. No more than 5 minutes goes by between the police announcement of Loretta's murder and my inbox and voicemail being filled with requests.
If you're reading this, take it as my statement.
I refuse to speculate about Loretta's death. What I do know is that our society has discarded indigenous women and girls in much the same manner for generations. These people were playing out a script that we all know intimately, but never acknowledge.
It's our doing, which Loretta articulated so clearly in her writing -- theft of land base, legalized segregation and racism, residential schools for several generations, continued dispossession = social chaos.
It is a recipe for disaster for indigenous peoples, and especially indigenous women. Who suffers most when access to land, to the ecological order at the basis of most indigenous societies, is limited, controlled, or outright eliminated? Is that not what's at the basis of a settler society like our own, eliminating indigenous peoples' relationship to the land (and/or their actual bodies), so that can we plunder it for our gain?
All the while, through trickery and deceit, we convince our children that indigenous peoples are to blame for their condition, that through no fault of our own, they simply don't understand how to live well in society.
When I discuss these issues with my non-indigenous students in an open, honest, and non-judgmental manner, I am continuously disappointed, though no longer surprised by their lack of knowledge.
Less than half of my second-year students have heard of residential schools, and among those who have, only a handful can imagine and articulate the impacts such a system would have had in their own communities. We are for the most part incapable of empathy.
I ask my students, who are you meant to care about in society? The answer is always clear to them – I have been taught in such a way that I'm mostly incapable of caring about indigenous peoples. It's not that they don't want to, it's that it takes years of hard work. And who has that much time or is willing to be vulnerable in the face of the seemingly unending gulf that lies before them?
And so we continue to look to indigenous peoples like the savages we imagine them to be. Meanwhile, Loretta is dumped in a ditch in a province that once paid European invaders for the scalps of Mi'kmaq women, children, and men, repeating a centuries-old pattern in ways that are much too familiar to be a coincidence, to be irony, to be senseless. But these are the most common qualifiers I read about Loretta's life and death. Loretta herself expressed the patterned, structured ways of colonial violence very clearly in her work, which I reread last night before falling asleep.
It is an organized terror of the everyday. And it must stop.
Darryl Leroux spent many hours speaking with, advising, and reading Loretta Saunders undergraduate honours thesis research.