View allAll Photos Tagged Expectation
Last week's hike along the ridge above the Secret Canyon trail was very pleasant and far surpassed my expectation. No sooner was I home than I was thinking about the rock dome I'd seen from that ridge. After consulting my map, I discovered that the ravine above the dome is the eponymous Secret Canyon, possibly even the source of an earlier Secret Canyon trail. I checked the surrounding landscape on google earth. The southern facing slope of the Secret Canyon ravine looked hikeable and I so I'd hike it.
Thursday I arrived at an empty parking lot. It was about 9 am. I got my things together and headed down Espinosa trail with a feeling of exuberance. It had been months and months since I'd hiked something entirely new, and not just new - intriguing, mysterious.
Pine Creek was all mine; not another soul anywhere. I'd just gotten on the Secret Canyon trail when I met my first snake - practically tripped over it stretched out across the trail. My eye darted to its tail; no rattle. So what snake was this? Its small, shiny scales were grey and patternless, its body was thick and it had a rather narrow head. It was clearly aware of me and, tongue darting, double around and languidly slid up and around a rock beside the trail. I stepped to the other side and went on. The next three miles passed quickly and soon I was eying the slope of the Secret Canyon ravine, looking for a route up. My first thought was to go further along the trail, since it rose to meet the ridge, to see if there were any user trails. As I hiked along, though, I could see that the brush on the foot of the ridge was getting denser the farther north I went. I turned around and went back to where the trail crossed the dry creek. There was still no sign of an obvious way so I shambled into the undergrowth. It turned out not to be too bad and within a few minutes I'd gotten out of the creek bed and was up onto the southern slope where the chaparral became lower and thinner. Rather than follow the creek I headed up, assuming that I'd find some sort of track along the spine of the ridge. The first outcrop of boulders, not more than 20 yards from the trail below, showed signs of having been used by migrants as a camp area. In fact, when I got around to the east side of the rocks I found a sort of cave affair. I was tempted to climb in, since there was a little ledge at the back that I was curious about, but I noticed there were rocks at the top of the crevice and I was concerned they might tumble in, so I just took a picture. I surmounted the outcrop and started my hike up the ridge. The southern facing slope below me was dry and rocky but along the crest there was a mix of laurel sumac, manzanitas, many of which had been chopped back, and chaparral. Though there was no trail, it was obvious that the ridge had always been a natural connector between the highlands above and Pine Creek below. I kept weaving my way up, sometimes dropping down a bit on along the slope, sometimes meandering among the manzanitas. All along the way there were rock spines and I kept my eyes peeled and ears perked. I was about half way up the ridge, and had just cleared a set of boulders and was about to go around another when I heard a sound like a muffled drill. I stopped and looked around my feet. I was standing on a small slab of rock about two foot square. No snakes visible. Then I saw some movement under a low rock overhang three feet away. I stood quietly and the rattling stopped. I could see three or four inches of the rattlesnake's back moving like a brown disk spinning beneath the rock. I turned and found a different way to go.
On my right, across the ravine, the rock dome was getting closer. I decided the best access to the dome would be from above rather than from below in the ravine where there thick brush and trees crowded around its base. As the ridge rose it got steeper and the ravine below deeper. I was about to climb through another spine of cracked boulders the color of dark chocolate when I noticed something unexpected. In the dirt at the foot of these rocks was a rusted, well-worn horse shoe. A nail poked from it like a single tooth. The find seemed to confirm that at some time there had been a trail along this ridge. I climbed up through the rocks. The ridge was now rising to meet the peak above. To my right a ledge of white rock cut laterally across the face of the looming hill. I made my over to the ledge and started hiking along it. This brought me above and around the backside of the dome. Unfortunately, up close the ledge turned out to be more weathered and eroded than it looked from a distance and I was forced to hike up above it. I was not along in this choice. A robust deer trail rose from the ledge and made its way across to the southern corner of the hill, just below a scarp mid-way up the slope. From here I could now see upper Secret Canyon, which lay hidden behind the hill. In fact there were two ravines that converged just below the scarp. One came straight down while the other curved around the eastern side of the hill and continued on to drain two further peaks to the north. I decided to stick with my original plan and go as far as I could along the ridge, now heading north. I climbed to the top of the hill and then hiked along another couple of hundred yards. From there, the ridge line dipped down again and then climbed up to another somewhat higher peak. However in the intervening dip the brush was fairly dense and green. I was sure I could make it out to the next peak but it would be a lot of work. Instead I decided to go back to where the upper ravines met and explore the dome.
Soon I was back at the scarp. From here looking east I could see the back side of Corte Madera. On the far side of the first ravine, the one that came straight down from above, there were several open grassy areas and I suspected these could be Indian camping spots. I scanned the ravine, looking for a reasonable way to cross but couldn't see one. I then turned my gaze to the dome just below me. The approach looked straight forward although there was a formidable manzanita grove at the near end. In a couple of minutes I was standing at the edge of the grove. There was no obvious path skirting the grove so I had to just jump in. The manzanitas were well over my head and once in the bushes I made pretty good headway. At times it was a bit like climbing through a jungle-jim, but there was very little undergrowth and the manzanitas were reasonably spread out. It might have taken me 15 minutes to cross beneath the 20 yards of canopy. When I finally pushed through the last branches, I was a couple feet from a ring of rocks, possibly left there by hunters. I wandered around the dome, whose surface was crisscrossed by large cracks. There were many interesting things there. I was getting ready to leave and had just come around the far side of a large oak bush growing from one of the cracks when I noticed something poking out of the pile of leaves beneath it. I crawled to it; a large pestle protruded from the duff. I cleared away the leaves and uncovered a deep mortar. Finding the pestle propped in the mortar, as if its user was called away and never returned, gave me an eerie, melancholy feeling.
I elbowed my way through the mazanita braches and back under the grove's canopy. I took a little more time now as I climbed through the bushes, looking around and enjoying the grove. Though I hadn't planned it, I emerged at virtually the same spot I'd first entered. I headed for the slope of the hill and then for the white ledge. I undershot it and had to scramble up twenty yards; it was gratifying when I found the deer trail I'd followed earlier. Soon I was descending the ridge, often stepping in my own foot prints. After an hour or so I was back down to the Secret Canyon trail and started heading south. Now that I was down in the canyon I realized how low the sun was. When I got on a fairly even part of the trail I started, for lack of a better term, loping or trotting - a kind of walk/run with my knees bent, my shoulders squared, and my arms kept down at my sides. This gliding stride was much faster than walking and I could do it without breathing hard. Keeping my arms down and shoulders squared prevented the pack from bouncing back and forth. I was able to keep this up for nearly half the five miles back. When I arrived at the car the sun had already descended behind the Alpine hills. It was 7 pm; a ten hour hike.
Photo by Erin Jenkins of the exhibit "Renate Aller: The Space Between Memory and Expectation" on view at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center October 22, 2022 - February 12, 2023. www.brattleboromuseum.org
Less than meets the eye.
You'd think disappointed expectation and resentment at having been imposed upon would dissuade people from buying this product more than once. Certainly it has that effect on me. Yet countless products which use the same ruse to give us less than we think we're getting, seem to generate repeat orders and enjoy healthy sales. So perhaps we've only ourselves to blame, for allowing ourselves to be made fools of.
The main selling tool here is exploitation of neurosis. The "organic" aspect of the product preys upon anxieties about health, or, properly understood, about fear of death ...this during an age in which almost everyone lives to advanced years in good health. The "fairtrade" business exploits guilt about exploitation of fashionably "ethnic" peoples. It's the oldest trick in the book; first get people worried, then sell them the means of allaying their fear.
It could be argued ...and is indeed argued here and now by me... that the modern "healthy living" fetish was deliberately promoted as a means of selling things to impressionable people. I once worked in a warehouse where hundreds of yards of shelving contained "lite", "lo-cal" and "diet" drinks, not to mention ...this'll make you laugh... bottled water which is less pure than the stuff that comes out of the tap virtually free. None of these products had existed twenty years before ...it was all additional consumption.
Advertising and marketing are the Devil's work. In our age they attract some of the very best, most intelligent people. Those who are most successful at their diabolical craft, that is to say those who deceive us most effectively, are admired for their creativity, innovativeness &c. Makes me glad to live in the 21st century.
Police officers spend their professional lives trying to play down the public order implications of demonstrations - it's in their interests to keep things calm
But the enormous logistical challenges of providing the world's leaders with security, amid widespread expectation of substantial protests, has led the capital's top officers to issue exceptional warnings about this week's G20 meeting in London.
Last week, Commander Simon O'Brien, one of the senior officers involved in planning the events, said the capital was about to see an "almost unprecedented level of activity" with seven officially notified demonstrations - and potentially many more they don't know about.
It's little wonder that Scotland Yard is describing the G20 policing plan as one of the largest, most challenging and complicated public order operations it has ever devised.
If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response
Commander Simon O'Brien
Metropolitan Police
Events begin on Monday with the three-day state visit to the UK by the President of Mexico.
At the same time, thousands of officials from the other G20 delegations will be arriving in London.
On Wednesday, large "direct action" events are predicted in the Square Mile (although by no means guaranteed) in the shape of the over-lapping "Fossil and Financial Fools Day" protests and the "G20 Meltdown".
At the same time the seemingly well-resourced Climate Camp group says its supporters will try to build a tent city in the middle of one of London's busiest roads to protest against the carbon trading market.
Meanwhile, a couple of miles away, the Stop the War coalition will march from the US Embassy to Trafalgar Square.
And then as evening approaches, there's the small matter of Wembley turning on the floodlights for England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.
As for Thursday, the day of the G20 itself, all police can honestly say at the moment is that the picture is "still emerging".
And did we mention that London is a city where there might be a few people trying to get to work and back?
So when officers describe this coming week as a "fluid and dynamic situation", that's something of an understatement.
Click here for a map of expected protests
The security strategy for all of this boils down to something that resembles a three-dimensional ever-changing puzzle. The Met needs to be prepared for a virtually unlimited number of scenarios.
Some 84,000 police man-hours have been allocated to the entirety of Operation Glencoe, the G20 security strategy. All police leave has been cancelled in London for Wednesday and Thursday.
OFFICIAL ADVICE TO CITY FIRMS
Cancel meetings
No entry without ID
Check ID outside buildings first
Minimise entry and exits
Review external smoking areas
Check CCTV equipment
Don't antagonise protesters
Source: City of London Police
Six police forces are part of the £7.5m security plan. The Metropolitan Police is naturally leading - but also calling in colleagues from the City of London and British Transport Police.
Outside of the M25 motorway, officers from Bedfordshire, Essex and Sussex will have critical roles in securing the arrival and transfer of delegations to their virtual bunkers in embassies and hotels.
Don't expect to see President Barack Obama waving from his bomb-proof limousine; he'll walk down the steps of Airforce One at Stansted Airport and board his presidential helicopter for the short hop to the West End.
Inside the capital, police will co-ordinate the movement of these entourages and create a sterile environment at the Excel centre, base for the talks in East London's Canning Town.
The security arrangements at Excel are so rigorous that Newham Council is warning some residents will find it difficult to get into their own homes.
Three Docklands Light Railway stations will close, along with the roads nearest the centre. Pedestrian access will be severely limited and residents will need to carry two forms of identification.
Old faces
Police intelligence suggests the return of "some old faces" to the protest scene - although officers will not be drawn publicly on what that means.
G20 Meltdown poster
Police want "dialogue" with groups planning demonstrations
The level of activity on the net, and its style, suggests a re-emergence of groups which share the aims and tactics of some of the anti-globalisation protesters who turned to violence in 2000 and 2001.
While the Met has tried-and-tested tactics to deal with violence, its strategy for the street occupation promised by the Climate Camp is more difficult to call.
Scotland Yard will not be drawn on how it will respond if the camp turns into something significant, other than its commanders have "flexible plans".
It admits that its overall plans are being informed by the wealth of information now being posted online by the protest organisers.
This internet activity is also helping City firms decide how to prepare. Firms spoken to by the BBC were reluctant to go on the record about any of their specific plans.
Many have turned to private security consultants, who, in turn, are keeping a watchful eye on any specific threats that emerge online. At present, City of London Police are telling firms to cancel unnecessary meetings and deliveries, beef up building security and keep a low profile.
Unpredictable
Each year the Met deals with about 4,500 events requiring visible public order policing. They range from innocuous Boy Scout marches through to the recent angry scenes outside Israel's embassy.
The Genoa 2001 protests
Officials hope to avoid the violence of the 2001 G8 in Genoa
Police believe that if there is a big turn-out on Wednesday and Thursday, the vast majority of people will peacefully make their voices heard.
Past experience suggests unorthodox and imaginative street events can be inconvenient - but also benign.
The unknowable factor is the demonstrator bent on violence.
The police will be determined to avoid the internationally embarrassing scenes of the 2001 G8 in Genoa in which one protester was killed and hundreds more injured.
So with three days to go, the police say their message to protesters is clear.
"Come forward and make contact with us so we can make sure that your [legitimate] aims are achieved," says Commander O'Brien.
"But there are groups that by their very ethos won't talk to us. The groups which enter dialogue with us, we will facilitate [their events].
"We will not tolerate anyone breaking the law, be it by attacking buildings, people or our officers.
"We are looking to police peaceful protest. We don't talk in terms of riots. If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response."
Here lyes in hope and expectation of the joyfull and disyred day of resurrection when the Saviour of the world shall appeare in power and judgment, to awake all those who have slept in Him, to be partakers of the everlasting happiness of the eternall kingdome, Sir Henry Sydney, knight, discended from the stemme of Viscount Lisle, Baron of Penshurst in Kent. Lorde Chamberleyn to the Queenes majestie and governoure of Flushing
His youth was seasoned with the feare of God, duty towards his parents and love to learning, his following aged yielded fruites of hospitality towards all the men of charitie, towards the poore, of faithfulness towards his friendes, and of peaceablenes amongst his neighbours. He and his end was concluded with piety, with patience and with a comfortable farewell at the tearme of 59 yeares, the 2d of November Anno Domini 1612
Here (joynd as well in ye safe hope of a joyfull resurrection as in all piety and conjugall love to the sayd Sir Henry Sidney) rests the body of Dame Jane his wife, daughter of Francis Jermy of Brightwell in Suffolk, esq, who after her peregrination of 73 yeares injoying 28 thereof in the happy society of her sayd husband and continuing his name and memory for 28 more (in a most chast and retired widowhood) upon the 9th of August 1638 departed this life . No lady lived more christiany nor dyed more happily, many daughters have done virtuously but thou excellest them all (proverbs 31.29)
Henry was the son of Thomas Sydney 1585 & Barbara 1585 daughter of William Walsingham 1534 & Joyce Denny 1496 widow of John Carey & sister of Sir Francis Walsingham
He was the grandson of Agnes & Thomas Sydney 1544 who was employed by the townsmen to buy the priory lands for the town, but on paying £90 to the Crown, kept it for himself.
As the inscription says Henry was Lorde Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth & Governor of Flushing.
He succeeded his brother Thomas husband of Mary Southwell who died without issue.
He m 1581 Jane (aged 16) daughter of Francis Jermy of Brightwell & Margaret heiress of Thomas Tey of Brightwell & Stutton
Having no children, Henry left all his properties to Jane, and on her death they passed to Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester and thence to other families.
.
Now lying under the west window, www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/69H6h6 their monument once lay in the Sidney chapel here, but was damaged by the fire of 1961 which also destroyed the jacobean font cover given by Jane www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/o9LW8J She also gave 4 acres of land to support the church minister "for ever"!
The broad arrow on his shield was the mark Henry used to identify the king's property when he took an army to fight the Spanish forces across the channel, has replaced his crest of a porcupine with collar and chain. - Church of St Mary & All Saints, Little Walsingham Norfolk
Police officers spend their professional lives trying to play down the public order implications of demonstrations - it's in their interests to keep things calm
But the enormous logistical challenges of providing the world's leaders with security, amid widespread expectation of substantial protests, has led the capital's top officers to issue exceptional warnings about this week's G20 meeting in London.
Last week, Commander Simon O'Brien, one of the senior officers involved in planning the events, said the capital was about to see an "almost unprecedented level of activity" with seven officially notified demonstrations - and potentially many more they don't know about.
It's little wonder that Scotland Yard is describing the G20 policing plan as one of the largest, most challenging and complicated public order operations it has ever devised.
If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response
Commander Simon O'Brien
Metropolitan Police
Events begin on Monday with the three-day state visit to the UK by the President of Mexico.
At the same time, thousands of officials from the other G20 delegations will be arriving in London.
On Wednesday, large "direct action" events are predicted in the Square Mile (although by no means guaranteed) in the shape of the over-lapping "Fossil and Financial Fools Day" protests and the "G20 Meltdown".
At the same time the seemingly well-resourced Climate Camp group says its supporters will try to build a tent city in the middle of one of London's busiest roads to protest against the carbon trading market.
Meanwhile, a couple of miles away, the Stop the War coalition will march from the US Embassy to Trafalgar Square.
And then as evening approaches, there's the small matter of Wembley turning on the floodlights for England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.
As for Thursday, the day of the G20 itself, all police can honestly say at the moment is that the picture is "still emerging".
And did we mention that London is a city where there might be a few people trying to get to work and back?
So when officers describe this coming week as a "fluid and dynamic situation", that's something of an understatement.
Click here for a map of expected protests
The security strategy for all of this boils down to something that resembles a three-dimensional ever-changing puzzle. The Met needs to be prepared for a virtually unlimited number of scenarios.
Some 84,000 police man-hours have been allocated to the entirety of Operation Glencoe, the G20 security strategy. All police leave has been cancelled in London for Wednesday and Thursday.
OFFICIAL ADVICE TO CITY FIRMS
Cancel meetings
No entry without ID
Check ID outside buildings first
Minimise entry and exits
Review external smoking areas
Check CCTV equipment
Don't antagonise protesters
Source: City of London Police
Six police forces are part of the £7.5m security plan. The Metropolitan Police is naturally leading - but also calling in colleagues from the City of London and British Transport Police.
Outside of the M25 motorway, officers from Bedfordshire, Essex and Sussex will have critical roles in securing the arrival and transfer of delegations to their virtual bunkers in embassies and hotels.
Don't expect to see President Barack Obama waving from his bomb-proof limousine; he'll walk down the steps of Airforce One at Stansted Airport and board his presidential helicopter for the short hop to the West End.
Inside the capital, police will co-ordinate the movement of these entourages and create a sterile environment at the Excel centre, base for the talks in East London's Canning Town.
The security arrangements at Excel are so rigorous that Newham Council is warning some residents will find it difficult to get into their own homes.
Three Docklands Light Railway stations will close, along with the roads nearest the centre. Pedestrian access will be severely limited and residents will need to carry two forms of identification.
Old faces
Police intelligence suggests the return of "some old faces" to the protest scene - although officers will not be drawn publicly on what that means.
G20 Meltdown poster
Police want "dialogue" with groups planning demonstrations
The level of activity on the net, and its style, suggests a re-emergence of groups which share the aims and tactics of some of the anti-globalisation protesters who turned to violence in 2000 and 2001.
While the Met has tried-and-tested tactics to deal with violence, its strategy for the street occupation promised by the Climate Camp is more difficult to call.
Scotland Yard will not be drawn on how it will respond if the camp turns into something significant, other than its commanders have "flexible plans".
It admits that its overall plans are being informed by the wealth of information now being posted online by the protest organisers.
This internet activity is also helping City firms decide how to prepare. Firms spoken to by the BBC were reluctant to go on the record about any of their specific plans.
Many have turned to private security consultants, who, in turn, are keeping a watchful eye on any specific threats that emerge online. At present, City of London Police are telling firms to cancel unnecessary meetings and deliveries, beef up building security and keep a low profile.
Unpredictable
Each year the Met deals with about 4,500 events requiring visible public order policing. They range from innocuous Boy Scout marches through to the recent angry scenes outside Israel's embassy.
The Genoa 2001 protests
Officials hope to avoid the violence of the 2001 G8 in Genoa
Police believe that if there is a big turn-out on Wednesday and Thursday, the vast majority of people will peacefully make their voices heard.
Past experience suggests unorthodox and imaginative street events can be inconvenient - but also benign.
The unknowable factor is the demonstrator bent on violence.
The police will be determined to avoid the internationally embarrassing scenes of the 2001 G8 in Genoa in which one protester was killed and hundreds more injured.
So with three days to go, the police say their message to protesters is clear.
"Come forward and make contact with us so we can make sure that your [legitimate] aims are achieved," says Commander O'Brien.
"But there are groups that by their very ethos won't talk to us. The groups which enter dialogue with us, we will facilitate [their events].
"We will not tolerate anyone breaking the law, be it by attacking buildings, people or our officers.
"We are looking to police peaceful protest. We don't talk in terms of riots. If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response."
Police officers spend their professional lives trying to play down the public order implications of demonstrations - it's in their interests to keep things calm
But the enormous logistical challenges of providing the world's leaders with security, amid widespread expectation of substantial protests, has led the capital's top officers to issue exceptional warnings about this week's G20 meeting in London.
Last week, Commander Simon O'Brien, one of the senior officers involved in planning the events, said the capital was about to see an "almost unprecedented level of activity" with seven officially notified demonstrations - and potentially many more they don't know about.
It's little wonder that Scotland Yard is describing the G20 policing plan as one of the largest, most challenging and complicated public order operations it has ever devised.
If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response
Commander Simon O'Brien
Metropolitan Police
Events begin on Monday with the three-day state visit to the UK by the President of Mexico.
At the same time, thousands of officials from the other G20 delegations will be arriving in London.
On Wednesday, large "direct action" events are predicted in the Square Mile (although by no means guaranteed) in the shape of the over-lapping "Fossil and Financial Fools Day" protests and the "G20 Meltdown".
At the same time the seemingly well-resourced Climate Camp group says its supporters will try to build a tent city in the middle of one of London's busiest roads to protest against the carbon trading market.
Meanwhile, a couple of miles away, the Stop the War coalition will march from the US Embassy to Trafalgar Square.
And then as evening approaches, there's the small matter of Wembley turning on the floodlights for England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.
As for Thursday, the day of the G20 itself, all police can honestly say at the moment is that the picture is "still emerging".
And did we mention that London is a city where there might be a few people trying to get to work and back?
So when officers describe this coming week as a "fluid and dynamic situation", that's something of an understatement.
Click here for a map of expected protests
The security strategy for all of this boils down to something that resembles a three-dimensional ever-changing puzzle. The Met needs to be prepared for a virtually unlimited number of scenarios.
Some 84,000 police man-hours have been allocated to the entirety of Operation Glencoe, the G20 security strategy. All police leave has been cancelled in London for Wednesday and Thursday.
OFFICIAL ADVICE TO CITY FIRMS
Cancel meetings
No entry without ID
Check ID outside buildings first
Minimise entry and exits
Review external smoking areas
Check CCTV equipment
Don't antagonise protesters
Source: City of London Police
Six police forces are part of the £7.5m security plan. The Metropolitan Police is naturally leading - but also calling in colleagues from the City of London and British Transport Police.
Outside of the M25 motorway, officers from Bedfordshire, Essex and Sussex will have critical roles in securing the arrival and transfer of delegations to their virtual bunkers in embassies and hotels.
Don't expect to see President Barack Obama waving from his bomb-proof limousine; he'll walk down the steps of Airforce One at Stansted Airport and board his presidential helicopter for the short hop to the West End.
Inside the capital, police will co-ordinate the movement of these entourages and create a sterile environment at the Excel centre, base for the talks in East London's Canning Town.
The security arrangements at Excel are so rigorous that Newham Council is warning some residents will find it difficult to get into their own homes.
Three Docklands Light Railway stations will close, along with the roads nearest the centre. Pedestrian access will be severely limited and residents will need to carry two forms of identification.
Old faces
Police intelligence suggests the return of "some old faces" to the protest scene - although officers will not be drawn publicly on what that means.
G20 Meltdown poster
Police want "dialogue" with groups planning demonstrations
The level of activity on the net, and its style, suggests a re-emergence of groups which share the aims and tactics of some of the anti-globalisation protesters who turned to violence in 2000 and 2001.
While the Met has tried-and-tested tactics to deal with violence, its strategy for the street occupation promised by the Climate Camp is more difficult to call.
Scotland Yard will not be drawn on how it will respond if the camp turns into something significant, other than its commanders have "flexible plans".
It admits that its overall plans are being informed by the wealth of information now being posted online by the protest organisers.
This internet activity is also helping City firms decide how to prepare. Firms spoken to by the BBC were reluctant to go on the record about any of their specific plans.
Many have turned to private security consultants, who, in turn, are keeping a watchful eye on any specific threats that emerge online. At present, City of London Police are telling firms to cancel unnecessary meetings and deliveries, beef up building security and keep a low profile.
Unpredictable
Each year the Met deals with about 4,500 events requiring visible public order policing. They range from innocuous Boy Scout marches through to the recent angry scenes outside Israel's embassy.
The Genoa 2001 protests
Officials hope to avoid the violence of the 2001 G8 in Genoa
Police believe that if there is a big turn-out on Wednesday and Thursday, the vast majority of people will peacefully make their voices heard.
Past experience suggests unorthodox and imaginative street events can be inconvenient - but also benign.
The unknowable factor is the demonstrator bent on violence.
The police will be determined to avoid the internationally embarrassing scenes of the 2001 G8 in Genoa in which one protester was killed and hundreds more injured.
So with three days to go, the police say their message to protesters is clear.
"Come forward and make contact with us so we can make sure that your [legitimate] aims are achieved," says Commander O'Brien.
"But there are groups that by their very ethos won't talk to us. The groups which enter dialogue with us, we will facilitate [their events].
"We will not tolerate anyone breaking the law, be it by attacking buildings, people or our officers.
"We are looking to police peaceful protest. We don't talk in terms of riots. If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response."
The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) was a heavy British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, and its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles. It was one of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war.
The origins of the design lay in the expectation that war in Europe might be fought under similar conditions to that of the First World War and emphasized ability to cross difficult ground. The Churchill was rushed into production in order to build up British defences against a possible German invasion and the first vehicles built had flaws that had to be overcome before the Churchill was accepted for wide use. After several Marks had been built a better armoured version - the Mark VII - entered service.
The Churchill was used by British and Commonwealth in North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe. In addition many were supplied to the USSR and used on the Eastern Front.
The hull was made up of simple flat plates which were initially bolted together and were welded in later models. The hull was split into four compartments: the driver's position at the front, then the fighting compartment including the turret, the engine compartment, and the gearbox compartment. The suspension was fitted under the two large "panniers" on either side of the hull, the track running over the top. There were eleven bogies either side, each carrying two 10-inch wheels. Only nine of the bogies were taking the vehicle weight normally, the front coming into play when the vehicle nosed into the ground or against an obstacle, the rear acting in part as a track tensioner. Due to the number of wheels, the tank could survive losing several without much in the way of adverse effects as well as traversing steeper terrain obstacles. As the tracks ran around the panniers, escape hatches in the side could be incorporated into the design. These were retained throughout the revisions of the Churchill and were of particular use when the Churchill was adopted as the AVRE.
The Bedford Vehicles engine was effectively two engines in horizontally opposed configuration ("flat twelve") on a common crankshaft. There were four Solex carburettors each on a separate manifold that fed three cylinders formed as a single cylinder head. The elements of the engine and ancillary components were laid out so they could be reached for maintenance through the engine deck covers. Air for the engine was drawn from the fighting compartment through air cleaners. Cooling air was drawn into the engine compartment through louvres on the sides, across the radiators and through the engine compartment by a fan driven by the clutch. This fan blew the air over the gearbox and out the rear of the hull. By opening a flap between the fighting compartment and the engine compartment this airflow could be used to remove fumes produced by firing the armament. The 1,296 cubic inch capacity engine was rated at 350 bhp at 2,000 rpm delivering 960 lb·ft (1,300 N·m) over an engine speed range from 800 to 1,600 rpm.
The gearbox featured a regenerative steering system that was controlled by a tiller bar instead of the more commonplace brake levers or a steering wheel. The tiller was connected with servo assistance, hydraulically to the steering brakes. The Churchill was also the first tank to utilise the Merritt-Brown gearbox, which allowed the tank to be steered by changing the relative speeds of the two tracks; this effect became more pronounced with each lower gear, ultimately allowing the tank to perform a "neutral turn" when no gear was engaged where it could fully turn on its own axis. There were final reduction gears, of the planetary type, in the driving wheels.
The first turrets were of cast construction and were rounded in shape, providing sufficient space to accommodate the relatively small 2 pounder gun. To fulfil its role as an infantry support vehicle the first models were equipped with a 3 inch howitzer in the hull in a layout very similar to the French Char B. This enabled the tank to deliver a useful high-explosive capability while retaining the antitank capabilities of the 2 pounder. However, like other multi-gun tanks, it was limited by a poor fire arc - the entire tank had to be turned to change the aim of the hull gun. The Mk II dispensed with the howitzer and replaced it with a bow machine gun and on the Mk III, the 2 pounder was replaced with the 6 pounder, significantly increasing the tank's anti-tank capabilities. The tank underwent field modification in North Africa with several Churchills being fitted with the 75 mm gun of destroyed M4 Shermans. These "NA75" variants were used in Italy. The use of the 75 mm, which was inferior as an anti-tank weapon to the 6 pounder but better as an all-around gun was soon made standard on successive versions.
Churchills made use of the Vickers Tank Periscope MK.IV. In the Mark VII, the driver had two periscopes as well as a vision port in the hull front that could be opened. The hull gunner had a single periscope as well as the sighting telescope on the BESA mounting. In the turret the gunner and loader each had single periscope and the commander had two fitted in his hatch cupola.
The armour on the Churchill, often considered its most important feature, was originally specified to a minimum of 16 millimetres (0.63 in) and a maximum of 102 millimetres (4.0 in); this was increased with the Mk VII to a range from 25 millimetres (0.98 in) to 152 millimetres (6.0 in). Though this armour was considerably thicker than its rivals (including the German Tiger I tank, but not the Tiger II) it was not sloped, reducing its effectiveness. Earlier models were given extra armour by the expedient of welding extra plates on.
On the Mark VII, the hull front armour was made up of a lower angled piece of 5.5 in (140 mm), a nearly flat 2.25 in (57 mm) plate and a vertical 6 inch plate. The hull sides, were for the most part, 3.75 in (95 mm). The rear was 2 in (51 mm) and the hull top 0.525 in (13.3 mm). The turret of the Mark VII was 6 in (150 mm) to the front and 3.75 in (95 mm) for the other sides. The turret roof was 0.79 (20 mm) thick. Plate was specified as IT 80, the cast sections as IT 90.
The A22F, also known as "Heavy Churchill" was a major revision of the design. The most significant part was the use of welding instead of riveted construction. Welding had been considered earlier for the Churchill but until its future was assured this was no more than testing techniques and hulls at the firing ranges. What welding reduced in the overall weight (estimates were around 4%), the thicker armour of the A22F made up for. Welding also required fewer man-hours in construction. The hull doors changed from square to round which reduced stresses. A new turret went with the new hull. The sides, which included a flared base to protect the turret ring, were a single casting while the roof which did not need to be so thick was a plate fitted to the top.
Since the engines on the Churchill were never upgraded, the tank became increasingly slower as additional armour and armament was equipped and weight increased; while the Mk I weighed 39,118 kg (40 long tons) and the Mk III weighed 39,626 kg, the Mk VII weighed 40,643 kg. This caused a reduction in maximum speed of the tank from its original 26 kilometres per hour (16 mph) down to 20.5 kilometres per hour (12.7 mph). The engines also suffered from many mechanical problems.
Another problem was the tank's relatively small turret that prevented the use of powerful weapons; definitive versions of the tank were armed with either the QF 6 pounder or the derivative QF 75 mm gun, both having reasonable powers against armoured and soft targets respectively but with limited performance against the other. Although earlier Churchills could outgun many contemporary German medium tanks, like the Panzer IV with the short-barrel 75 mm gun and the Panzer III's 50 mm gun, with its 6 pounder, and the thick armour of all Churchill models could usually withstand several hits from any German anti-tank gun, in late war Germans had 75 mm high-velocity cannons as their main armament and increased protection, against which the Churchills' own guns often lacked sufficient armour penetration to fight back effectively.
The Churchill had many variations, including many specialised modifications. The most significant change to the Churchill was that it was up-gunned from 2 pounder to 6 pounder and then 75 mm guns over the course of the war. By the war's end, the late model Churchill Mk VII had exceptional amounts of armour - considerably more than the German Tiger tank. However, the firepower weakness was never fully addressed. The Mark VII turret that was designed for the 75 mm gun was of composite construction - cast with top and bottom plates welded into position.
It is important to note that, despite its weaknesses, the Churchill had a significant advantage that was apparent throughout its career. Due to its multiple bogie suspension, it could cross terrain obstacles that most other tanks of its era could not. This feat served well, especially during the fighting in Normandy particularly the capture of Hill 309 between the 30 and 31 July 1944 in operation Bluecoat conducted by VIII Corps
(Text Wikipedia)
AI Images:
Thank you for group invites, I'm flattered. But I'm not going to submit my AI images to regular groups, where they could be mistaken for real images, as that may create an unrealistic expectation for other people.
However, I have started a new group, specifically for trans-AI images. Feel free to join and post. Unlike my original group ' A Celebration of Trans', which is a 'Safe' only group, and strictly moderated, the AI group will accept 'Restricted', or 'Not Safe For Work' images.
I will also consider posting to other AI themed groups if invited.
There is no doubt a growing pressure to be the perfect mother - to hand make all food, breastfeed, and above all else, for your life to be all about your children needs. The social expectation from the minute you give birth is to essentially put yourself on pause until the child allows you to hit play ten or so years down the line (if you're lucky).
I'm not advocating a swing in the polar opposite direction, but I do feel we need to get our children in perspective. They are members of a family, not the head of it. The birth of the child feels very much like the death of a mother as an individual to me. Her needs are no longer valid and any attempt to validate them herself are frowned upon by a patriarchal social system and perhaps worse, other women (see also: pro-lifers value of the fetus vs the female).
From the second the child is born, this switch is apparent. There is an Agar score, there are schools of physicians around testing and monitoring the child (assuming you birth in a hospital) but why is there no score for the mothers well being?
As a new mom, there is just the innate belief that whatever more is to come, will not replace what is, but will only be heaped onto everything else. And the question you immediately raise to yourself is how as a new mom, you will continue to keep your head above water when you are barely keeping afloat already is not only a mystery but feels dauntingly impossible. There are millions of women who give birth every single day in this world, it is not a unique experience, it is not really even a miracle, and yet it is the most lonely experience in the world.
Everyone focuses on the pregnancy but much like a wedding, there is an entire marriage which follows that often no one prepares you for. It is emotionally and physically exhausting to become a mother. You become invisible. I keep hoping the deficiency lies not within me but within the support (or lack of support) around me. I may wish for something different, but still find I have no real options or solutions.
There is a widespread assumption that we as mothers have to do it all alone, that we enjoy doing it alone, and if we don't know something or can't manage it, or heaven forbid, don't want it, there is something lacking in our makeup. If you are lucky enough to have them in your life, the chauvinist males will also remind you of this any time you do 'fail'. Almost everyone in older generations tells you, you should be able to handle this 'its in your nature'. I have been surprised, especially- and almost without exception- by the men. I felt if anyone would get this, it would be the fathers. However, when I ask for anything that can be interpreted as 'a break' they immediately come back with why that is a bad bad idea and the implications that will have on the child. Meanwhile, they whisk off to their (full) day jobs and personal trainers, often without a second thought to their own families.
It is so painful to try to give from an empty source yet as new mothers we are expected to do exactly that. It 'takes a village to raise a child' but when you don't have a village anywhere near you, you are expected to not only be the entire village but do it without complaining and with the expectation that your life is now the child's life. Your life ends. End of story.
So what are my options? I can hand the child off. Raised essentially by nannies. Children are often given whatever they want, not taught manners or anything other then self indulgence and shown a world view which revolves around their every whim. From what I have observed, children mollycoddled to this degree end up being selfish and unable to cope with not being the center of attention. They grow up to be socially retarded adults, with tempers, who manipulate, as if they are professionals. They often grow up with dysfunctional relationships and a narcissistic view of the world. But, on the other hand, if we go back to a distant, emotionally-retarded way of raising children we will end up with distant, emotionally-retarded adults (if in doubt of this, please read Prince Charles' biography). There has to be a middle ground.
In fact, it seems to me that the major problem with our child-rearing culture is not that women are slaves to their children or to their work. The problem is that our society seems to think that all women are the same, with the same needs, desires and goals. This one size fits all attitude is what forces women to try and do everything, and why so many women feel that they are failing. Popularly, mothers are censured for poor career performance, working women are criticized for being bad parents and deliberately childless women are thought strange - or, if under thirty, are patronizingly considered not to have seen the error of their ways yet.
...If this is having it all, you can have it back.
My best Friend;))
Part II...I think rest of the series will be only for her..and her Family..:))
Have a nice weekend!
The plaque reads in Dutch:
Monotoon maar vol beloften
Klonk de zang der luchtvloot in het oor
Bracht, hunkerend naar onze vrijheid,
Ronkend nieuwe hoop daarvoor
Jac van Someren, 2006
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translated to English:
Monotonous but full of promises
Sounded the singing of the air fleet
Brought, hankering for our freedom
Throbbing new hope for that
Police officers spend their professional lives trying to play down the public order implications of demonstrations - it's in their interests to keep things calm
But the enormous logistical challenges of providing the world's leaders with security, amid widespread expectation of substantial protests, has led the capital's top officers to issue exceptional warnings about this week's G20 meeting in London.
Last week, Commander Simon O'Brien, one of the senior officers involved in planning the events, said the capital was about to see an "almost unprecedented level of activity" with seven officially notified demonstrations - and potentially many more they don't know about.
It's little wonder that Scotland Yard is describing the G20 policing plan as one of the largest, most challenging and complicated public order operations it has ever devised.
If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response
Commander Simon O'Brien
Metropolitan Police
Events begin on Monday with the three-day state visit to the UK by the President of Mexico.
At the same time, thousands of officials from the other G20 delegations will be arriving in London.
On Wednesday, large "direct action" events are predicted in the Square Mile (although by no means guaranteed) in the shape of the over-lapping "Fossil and Financial Fools Day" protests and the "G20 Meltdown".
At the same time the seemingly well-resourced Climate Camp group says its supporters will try to build a tent city in the middle of one of London's busiest roads to protest against the carbon trading market.
Meanwhile, a couple of miles away, the Stop the War coalition will march from the US Embassy to Trafalgar Square.
And then as evening approaches, there's the small matter of Wembley turning on the floodlights for England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.
As for Thursday, the day of the G20 itself, all police can honestly say at the moment is that the picture is "still emerging".
And did we mention that London is a city where there might be a few people trying to get to work and back?
So when officers describe this coming week as a "fluid and dynamic situation", that's something of an understatement.
Click here for a map of expected protests
The security strategy for all of this boils down to something that resembles a three-dimensional ever-changing puzzle. The Met needs to be prepared for a virtually unlimited number of scenarios.
Some 84,000 police man-hours have been allocated to the entirety of Operation Glencoe, the G20 security strategy. All police leave has been cancelled in London for Wednesday and Thursday.
OFFICIAL ADVICE TO CITY FIRMS
Cancel meetings
No entry without ID
Check ID outside buildings first
Minimise entry and exits
Review external smoking areas
Check CCTV equipment
Don't antagonise protesters
Source: City of London Police
Six police forces are part of the £7.5m security plan. The Metropolitan Police is naturally leading - but also calling in colleagues from the City of London and British Transport Police.
Outside of the M25 motorway, officers from Bedfordshire, Essex and Sussex will have critical roles in securing the arrival and transfer of delegations to their virtual bunkers in embassies and hotels.
Don't expect to see President Barack Obama waving from his bomb-proof limousine; he'll walk down the steps of Airforce One at Stansted Airport and board his presidential helicopter for the short hop to the West End.
Inside the capital, police will co-ordinate the movement of these entourages and create a sterile environment at the Excel centre, base for the talks in East London's Canning Town.
The security arrangements at Excel are so rigorous that Newham Council is warning some residents will find it difficult to get into their own homes.
Three Docklands Light Railway stations will close, along with the roads nearest the centre. Pedestrian access will be severely limited and residents will need to carry two forms of identification.
Old faces
Police intelligence suggests the return of "some old faces" to the protest scene - although officers will not be drawn publicly on what that means.
G20 Meltdown poster
Police want "dialogue" with groups planning demonstrations
The level of activity on the net, and its style, suggests a re-emergence of groups which share the aims and tactics of some of the anti-globalisation protesters who turned to violence in 2000 and 2001.
While the Met has tried-and-tested tactics to deal with violence, its strategy for the street occupation promised by the Climate Camp is more difficult to call.
Scotland Yard will not be drawn on how it will respond if the camp turns into something significant, other than its commanders have "flexible plans".
It admits that its overall plans are being informed by the wealth of information now being posted online by the protest organisers.
This internet activity is also helping City firms decide how to prepare. Firms spoken to by the BBC were reluctant to go on the record about any of their specific plans.
Many have turned to private security consultants, who, in turn, are keeping a watchful eye on any specific threats that emerge online. At present, City of London Police are telling firms to cancel unnecessary meetings and deliveries, beef up building security and keep a low profile.
Unpredictable
Each year the Met deals with about 4,500 events requiring visible public order policing. They range from innocuous Boy Scout marches through to the recent angry scenes outside Israel's embassy.
The Genoa 2001 protests
Officials hope to avoid the violence of the 2001 G8 in Genoa
Police believe that if there is a big turn-out on Wednesday and Thursday, the vast majority of people will peacefully make their voices heard.
Past experience suggests unorthodox and imaginative street events can be inconvenient - but also benign.
The unknowable factor is the demonstrator bent on violence.
The police will be determined to avoid the internationally embarrassing scenes of the 2001 G8 in Genoa in which one protester was killed and hundreds more injured.
So with three days to go, the police say their message to protesters is clear.
"Come forward and make contact with us so we can make sure that your [legitimate] aims are achieved," says Commander O'Brien.
"But there are groups that by their very ethos won't talk to us. The groups which enter dialogue with us, we will facilitate [their events].
"We will not tolerate anyone breaking the law, be it by attacking buildings, people or our officers.
"We are looking to police peaceful protest. We don't talk in terms of riots. If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response."
The strong look of this comparse of the Chiocciola's (Snail) contrade catch my attention.
Tree days before Palio's race and Siena is in this guise!
I really love the snail in his hat!!
This July winner: The ISTRICE (porcupine) contrade! Congratulations!!
Go here if you want to see this horse and jokey couple in action!
La mirada de concentración de este comparsa de la contrade del caracol (Chiocciola ) me llamó la atención. Y me encanta el caracol en el gorro!
A tres días del Palio y Siena era ya una fiesta!
Los ganadores de este año: la contrada del puerco espín (Istrice).
Seguid este enlace si queréis ver una foto del caballo y el jinete en acción.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission. © All...
You can contact me through Flickr mail.
Por favor, no usen ninguna de mis imágenes sin mi permiso EXPLICITO. Pueden contactar conmigo enviándome un mail a través de Flickr.
Police officers spend their professional lives trying to play down the public order implications of demonstrations - it's in their interests to keep things calm
But the enormous logistical challenges of providing the world's leaders with security, amid widespread expectation of substantial protests, has led the capital's top officers to issue exceptional warnings about this week's G20 meeting in London.
Last week, Commander Simon O'Brien, one of the senior officers involved in planning the events, said the capital was about to see an "almost unprecedented level of activity" with seven officially notified demonstrations - and potentially many more they don't know about.
It's little wonder that Scotland Yard is describing the G20 policing plan as one of the largest, most challenging and complicated public order operations it has ever devised.
If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response
Commander Simon O'Brien
Metropolitan Police
Events begin on Monday with the three-day state visit to the UK by the President of Mexico.
At the same time, thousands of officials from the other G20 delegations will be arriving in London.
On Wednesday, large "direct action" events are predicted in the Square Mile (although by no means guaranteed) in the shape of the over-lapping "Fossil and Financial Fools Day" protests and the "G20 Meltdown".
At the same time the seemingly well-resourced Climate Camp group says its supporters will try to build a tent city in the middle of one of London's busiest roads to protest against the carbon trading market.
Meanwhile, a couple of miles away, the Stop the War coalition will march from the US Embassy to Trafalgar Square.
And then as evening approaches, there's the small matter of Wembley turning on the floodlights for England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.
As for Thursday, the day of the G20 itself, all police can honestly say at the moment is that the picture is "still emerging".
And did we mention that London is a city where there might be a few people trying to get to work and back?
So when officers describe this coming week as a "fluid and dynamic situation", that's something of an understatement.
Click here for a map of expected protests
The security strategy for all of this boils down to something that resembles a three-dimensional ever-changing puzzle. The Met needs to be prepared for a virtually unlimited number of scenarios.
Some 84,000 police man-hours have been allocated to the entirety of Operation Glencoe, the G20 security strategy. All police leave has been cancelled in London for Wednesday and Thursday.
OFFICIAL ADVICE TO CITY FIRMS
Cancel meetings
No entry without ID
Check ID outside buildings first
Minimise entry and exits
Review external smoking areas
Check CCTV equipment
Don't antagonise protesters
Source: City of London Police
Six police forces are part of the £7.5m security plan. The Metropolitan Police is naturally leading - but also calling in colleagues from the City of London and British Transport Police.
Outside of the M25 motorway, officers from Bedfordshire, Essex and Sussex will have critical roles in securing the arrival and transfer of delegations to their virtual bunkers in embassies and hotels.
Don't expect to see President Barack Obama waving from his bomb-proof limousine; he'll walk down the steps of Airforce One at Stansted Airport and board his presidential helicopter for the short hop to the West End.
Inside the capital, police will co-ordinate the movement of these entourages and create a sterile environment at the Excel centre, base for the talks in East London's Canning Town.
The security arrangements at Excel are so rigorous that Newham Council is warning some residents will find it difficult to get into their own homes.
Three Docklands Light Railway stations will close, along with the roads nearest the centre. Pedestrian access will be severely limited and residents will need to carry two forms of identification.
Old faces
Police intelligence suggests the return of "some old faces" to the protest scene - although officers will not be drawn publicly on what that means.
G20 Meltdown poster
Police want "dialogue" with groups planning demonstrations
The level of activity on the net, and its style, suggests a re-emergence of groups which share the aims and tactics of some of the anti-globalisation protesters who turned to violence in 2000 and 2001.
While the Met has tried-and-tested tactics to deal with violence, its strategy for the street occupation promised by the Climate Camp is more difficult to call.
Scotland Yard will not be drawn on how it will respond if the camp turns into something significant, other than its commanders have "flexible plans".
It admits that its overall plans are being informed by the wealth of information now being posted online by the protest organisers.
This internet activity is also helping City firms decide how to prepare. Firms spoken to by the BBC were reluctant to go on the record about any of their specific plans.
Many have turned to private security consultants, who, in turn, are keeping a watchful eye on any specific threats that emerge online. At present, City of London Police are telling firms to cancel unnecessary meetings and deliveries, beef up building security and keep a low profile.
Unpredictable
Each year the Met deals with about 4,500 events requiring visible public order policing. They range from innocuous Boy Scout marches through to the recent angry scenes outside Israel's embassy.
The Genoa 2001 protests
Officials hope to avoid the violence of the 2001 G8 in Genoa
Police believe that if there is a big turn-out on Wednesday and Thursday, the vast majority of people will peacefully make their voices heard.
Past experience suggests unorthodox and imaginative street events can be inconvenient - but also benign.
The unknowable factor is the demonstrator bent on violence.
The police will be determined to avoid the internationally embarrassing scenes of the 2001 G8 in Genoa in which one protester was killed and hundreds more injured.
So with three days to go, the police say their message to protesters is clear.
"Come forward and make contact with us so we can make sure that your [legitimate] aims are achieved," says Commander O'Brien.
"But there are groups that by their very ethos won't talk to us. The groups which enter dialogue with us, we will facilitate [their events].
"We will not tolerate anyone breaking the law, be it by attacking buildings, people or our officers.
"We are looking to police peaceful protest. We don't talk in terms of riots. If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response."
I praise my great luck to frame this Green Bee Eater. Standing right next to it was a sizzler really, trust me. What is most exciting is that all my shots are hand-held hence was the problem of shaking hands in excitation. Man I was lucky at my best!! Pics was taken from Nal Sarovar, Gujrat, India.
In this episode, Brooke and Ashley talk about the impact that unknown exceptions has on us, especially during the current Pandemic!
click for more info : sparkcurriculum.org/coronavirus-the-expectation-tunnel-of...
Dîner pour 672 calories: carotte, brocoli, tomate et oeuf 😋 #postworkout#eatforabs#eatclean #healthy #gymaddict #bodybuilding #allnatural #expectation #fitness #fitnessaddict #lifestyle
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HISTORY AND CREED
Golden Knights are Army Soldiers first, but they also have a unique history and creed that sets them apart.
HISTORY
In 1959, nineteen Airborne Soldiers from various military units formed the Strategic Army Command Parachute Team (STRAC). Brigadier General Joseph Stilwell Jr. gathered the Soldiers with the intent of competing in the relatively new sport of skydiving, which at that time was dominated by the Soviet Union. That year, the U.S. Army team began representing the United States on the international competition circuit, and performed their first demonstration in Danville, Virginia. Two years later, the Department of Defense announced that the STRAC team would become the United States Army Parachute Team.
By 1962, the team earned the nickname the "Golden Knights". "Golden" signified the gold medals the team had won while "Knights" alluded to the team’s ambition to conquer the skies.
Since then, the Golden Knights have conducted more than 16,000 shows in 50 states and 48 countries, reaching an average of 60,000 people per show. The team has earned the U.S. Army 2,148 gold, 1,117 silver, and 693 bronze medals in national and international competition. Team members have also broken 348 world records.
The Golden Knights are one of only three Department of Defense-sanctioned aerial demonstration teams, along with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. The team is composed of approximately 95 men and women, which includes four parachute units, an aviation unit and a headquarters. The demonstration teams, which use five dedicated aircraft, perform at more than 100 events per year. The tandem section is known for taking Soldiers, celebrities and heads of state on jumps, and the competition section focuses on winning national and international skydiving events.
CREED
Under a canopy of black and gold I fly the colors of the Army. I volunteered to become an ambassador of my service and I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, high standards, and esprit de corps of the United States Army Parachute Team. The memories, achievements and legacy of all my predecessors are my responsibility; I will not fail them.
Safety is my way of life. Nothing is worth its compromise. No jump is so important, no flight is so essential, and no activity that pressing. All shall look to me for the standard.
Always will I keep myself mentally alert, substance free, physically fit, and morally straight. I represent the image of the U. S. Army. I cannot lose the confidence entrusted in me as a Golden Knight and I will not tolerate those who do.
Professionalism is my trademark regardless of the time or place. My pursuit of excellence in training and performance is with diligence, dedication and attention to detail. My own goals are second to those of the Team and the expectation of me to pass on my skills to all who desire.
The goal I pursue is simple, yet bears a responsibility I must discharge without reservation: when I have gained the respect, admiration, and gratitude of the American public and my teammates, then I have fulfilled my mission as a Golden Knight.
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of the judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
So what are we sinning against? The knowledge of the truth just revealed to us in verses 17 - 18. “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 18 And where these HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.
So we are sinning against this truth when we continue to ask for forgiveness of sin, when we’ve been given this knowledge, THAT WE’VE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WE AREN’T GOING TO GET ANY MORE FORGIVEN THAN WE ALREADY ARE. We either except the truth of that, or we have become an ENEMY OF GOD, by denying that truth, and teaching others to do the same. This is as bad as it gets folks, this then is the unpardonable sin you’ve been hearing about all your lives.
So do you want to come to REAL FAITH IN JESUS, or do you wish to merely continue to give lip service to the cross?
Do you have any idea how many people go to church every time the doors are open, tithe, get baptized, try to babble in some unknown tongue, pray constantly asking God to forgive them, again and again. Thinking their saved, and are as lost as Muslims beheading people for Allah? We aren’t saved by believing a LIE, we are saved by believing TRUTH not fiction.
If you are still asking for what you’ve been given in Christ Jesus, you’ve become an enemy of God. Why, because as it say’s in Hebrews 9:22 without the shedding of blood there is NO FORGIVENESS. Is Christ going to suffer and die again every time you ask him to? No, It clearly states, “The death he died, he died to sin ONCE for ALL; but the life he lives, he lives to God.” (Romans 6:10)
Most people don’t even realize what SALVATION is. Were led to believe that salvation is getting our sins forgiven. It’s not! Why, because Jesus died for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD. Is the whole world saved do you think? NO! Merely being forgiven, as important as that is, in and of itself is NOT SALVATION! SALVATION is the imputation of LIFE FROM THE DEAD. Where is this Life found? In the RESURRECTED LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST. Where he took away the sins of the whole world, so he could live his resurrected life in and through us. SALVATION, comes ONLY through FAITH in Jesus Christ, in his FINISHED work in his burial and Resurrected Life on the third day!
No faith, no Life, and no Forgiveness of sins. Because all that is found only in the person of Jesus Christ. Not believing a half gospel, asking for what you have already been given, proving you’re still an unbeliever.
This is truth, grab hold of it, and never allow somebody by persuasive words, to keep you from entering into the Sabbath Rest for people of God, that are resting from their works, just as Christ rested from his... Look at verses 19 – 23.
Real Faith say’s, “THANK YOU JESUS, FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE FOR ME, I WILL PRAISE YOUR HOLY NAME FOREVER, FOR YOUR GLORY AND GRACE.” Amen?
Want to learn more about who YOU ARE in the New Covenant?
------------------------ JESUS ✝️ SAVES -------------------------
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Here’s how it’s supposed to work: Your promise sets the expectation. When a customer has a purpose that matches your promise, they come to you with that job to do. If you can perform in such a way that you meet the customer’s expectations, you win. To succeed in services, companies must align promise, purpose and performance as closely as possible.
Consider Southwest Airlines. The company’s promise is to deliver cheap flights within the US, and to make that no-frills flying experience as fun as possible. Customers come to Southwest with the purpose of getting from here to there as cheaply as possible. And Southwest delivers on its promises. Think of a service provider you’re happy with (I know, it might take a while) and you will find a good match between that company’s promise, your purpose, and their performance.
How do they do it? For Southwest to achieve this alignment requires that they coordinate a whole host of activities to support that simple promise. To take just one example, for Southwest to make the flying experience fun, they must have cheerful workers. To have cheerful workers, they must have great relationships with employees.
Southwest is 85% unionized but leaders at the highest level are committed to good employee relationships, and consequently the company has very little labor strife. Employees, spouses and dependent children fly free on Southwest and enjoy discounts on other airlines. Employees can also earn up to four “buddy passes” per quarter so friends can fly free too. Employees share in the company’s profits (yes, an airline with profits! Southwest has been profitable 38 years running), and enjoy excellent health benefits including vision and dental.
Police officers spend their professional lives trying to play down the public order implications of demonstrations - it's in their interests to keep things calm
But the enormous logistical challenges of providing the world's leaders with security, amid widespread expectation of substantial protests, has led the capital's top officers to issue exceptional warnings about this week's G20 meeting in London.
Last week, Commander Simon O'Brien, one of the senior officers involved in planning the events, said the capital was about to see an "almost unprecedented level of activity" with seven officially notified demonstrations - and potentially many more they don't know about.
It's little wonder that Scotland Yard is describing the G20 policing plan as one of the largest, most challenging and complicated public order operations it has ever devised.
If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response
Commander Simon O'Brien
Metropolitan Police
Events begin on Monday with the three-day state visit to the UK by the President of Mexico.
At the same time, thousands of officials from the other G20 delegations will be arriving in London.
On Wednesday, large "direct action" events are predicted in the Square Mile (although by no means guaranteed) in the shape of the over-lapping "Fossil and Financial Fools Day" protests and the "G20 Meltdown".
At the same time the seemingly well-resourced Climate Camp group says its supporters will try to build a tent city in the middle of one of London's busiest roads to protest against the carbon trading market.
Meanwhile, a couple of miles away, the Stop the War coalition will march from the US Embassy to Trafalgar Square.
And then as evening approaches, there's the small matter of Wembley turning on the floodlights for England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.
As for Thursday, the day of the G20 itself, all police can honestly say at the moment is that the picture is "still emerging".
And did we mention that London is a city where there might be a few people trying to get to work and back?
So when officers describe this coming week as a "fluid and dynamic situation", that's something of an understatement.
Click here for a map of expected protests
The security strategy for all of this boils down to something that resembles a three-dimensional ever-changing puzzle. The Met needs to be prepared for a virtually unlimited number of scenarios.
Some 84,000 police man-hours have been allocated to the entirety of Operation Glencoe, the G20 security strategy. All police leave has been cancelled in London for Wednesday and Thursday.
OFFICIAL ADVICE TO CITY FIRMS
Cancel meetings
No entry without ID
Check ID outside buildings first
Minimise entry and exits
Review external smoking areas
Check CCTV equipment
Don't antagonise protesters
Source: City of London Police
Six police forces are part of the £7.5m security plan. The Metropolitan Police is naturally leading - but also calling in colleagues from the City of London and British Transport Police.
Outside of the M25 motorway, officers from Bedfordshire, Essex and Sussex will have critical roles in securing the arrival and transfer of delegations to their virtual bunkers in embassies and hotels.
Don't expect to see President Barack Obama waving from his bomb-proof limousine; he'll walk down the steps of Airforce One at Stansted Airport and board his presidential helicopter for the short hop to the West End.
Inside the capital, police will co-ordinate the movement of these entourages and create a sterile environment at the Excel centre, base for the talks in East London's Canning Town.
The security arrangements at Excel are so rigorous that Newham Council is warning some residents will find it difficult to get into their own homes.
Three Docklands Light Railway stations will close, along with the roads nearest the centre. Pedestrian access will be severely limited and residents will need to carry two forms of identification.
Old faces
Police intelligence suggests the return of "some old faces" to the protest scene - although officers will not be drawn publicly on what that means.
G20 Meltdown poster
Police want "dialogue" with groups planning demonstrations
The level of activity on the net, and its style, suggests a re-emergence of groups which share the aims and tactics of some of the anti-globalisation protesters who turned to violence in 2000 and 2001.
While the Met has tried-and-tested tactics to deal with violence, its strategy for the street occupation promised by the Climate Camp is more difficult to call.
Scotland Yard will not be drawn on how it will respond if the camp turns into something significant, other than its commanders have "flexible plans".
It admits that its overall plans are being informed by the wealth of information now being posted online by the protest organisers.
This internet activity is also helping City firms decide how to prepare. Firms spoken to by the BBC were reluctant to go on the record about any of their specific plans.
Many have turned to private security consultants, who, in turn, are keeping a watchful eye on any specific threats that emerge online. At present, City of London Police are telling firms to cancel unnecessary meetings and deliveries, beef up building security and keep a low profile.
Unpredictable
Each year the Met deals with about 4,500 events requiring visible public order policing. They range from innocuous Boy Scout marches through to the recent angry scenes outside Israel's embassy.
The Genoa 2001 protests
Officials hope to avoid the violence of the 2001 G8 in Genoa
Police believe that if there is a big turn-out on Wednesday and Thursday, the vast majority of people will peacefully make their voices heard.
Past experience suggests unorthodox and imaginative street events can be inconvenient - but also benign.
The unknowable factor is the demonstrator bent on violence.
The police will be determined to avoid the internationally embarrassing scenes of the 2001 G8 in Genoa in which one protester was killed and hundreds more injured.
So with three days to go, the police say their message to protesters is clear.
"Come forward and make contact with us so we can make sure that your [legitimate] aims are achieved," says Commander O'Brien.
"But there are groups that by their very ethos won't talk to us. The groups which enter dialogue with us, we will facilitate [their events].
"We will not tolerate anyone breaking the law, be it by attacking buildings, people or our officers.
"We are looking to police peaceful protest. We don't talk in terms of riots. If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response."
Police officers spend their professional lives trying to play down the public order implications of demonstrations - it's in their interests to keep things calm
But the enormous logistical challenges of providing the world's leaders with security, amid widespread expectation of substantial protests, has led the capital's top officers to issue exceptional warnings about this week's G20 meeting in London.
Last week, Commander Simon O'Brien, one of the senior officers involved in planning the events, said the capital was about to see an "almost unprecedented level of activity" with seven officially notified demonstrations - and potentially many more they don't know about.
It's little wonder that Scotland Yard is describing the G20 policing plan as one of the largest, most challenging and complicated public order operations it has ever devised.
If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response
Commander Simon O'Brien
Metropolitan Police
Events begin on Monday with the three-day state visit to the UK by the President of Mexico.
At the same time, thousands of officials from the other G20 delegations will be arriving in London.
On Wednesday, large "direct action" events are predicted in the Square Mile (although by no means guaranteed) in the shape of the over-lapping "Fossil and Financial Fools Day" protests and the "G20 Meltdown".
At the same time the seemingly well-resourced Climate Camp group says its supporters will try to build a tent city in the middle of one of London's busiest roads to protest against the carbon trading market.
Meanwhile, a couple of miles away, the Stop the War coalition will march from the US Embassy to Trafalgar Square.
And then as evening approaches, there's the small matter of Wembley turning on the floodlights for England's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.
As for Thursday, the day of the G20 itself, all police can honestly say at the moment is that the picture is "still emerging".
And did we mention that London is a city where there might be a few people trying to get to work and back?
So when officers describe this coming week as a "fluid and dynamic situation", that's something of an understatement.
Click here for a map of expected protests
The security strategy for all of this boils down to something that resembles a three-dimensional ever-changing puzzle. The Met needs to be prepared for a virtually unlimited number of scenarios.
Some 84,000 police man-hours have been allocated to the entirety of Operation Glencoe, the G20 security strategy. All police leave has been cancelled in London for Wednesday and Thursday.
OFFICIAL ADVICE TO CITY FIRMS
Cancel meetings
No entry without ID
Check ID outside buildings first
Minimise entry and exits
Review external smoking areas
Check CCTV equipment
Don't antagonise protesters
Source: City of London Police
Six police forces are part of the £7.5m security plan. The Metropolitan Police is naturally leading - but also calling in colleagues from the City of London and British Transport Police.
Outside of the M25 motorway, officers from Bedfordshire, Essex and Sussex will have critical roles in securing the arrival and transfer of delegations to their virtual bunkers in embassies and hotels.
Don't expect to see President Barack Obama waving from his bomb-proof limousine; he'll walk down the steps of Airforce One at Stansted Airport and board his presidential helicopter for the short hop to the West End.
Inside the capital, police will co-ordinate the movement of these entourages and create a sterile environment at the Excel centre, base for the talks in East London's Canning Town.
The security arrangements at Excel are so rigorous that Newham Council is warning some residents will find it difficult to get into their own homes.
Three Docklands Light Railway stations will close, along with the roads nearest the centre. Pedestrian access will be severely limited and residents will need to carry two forms of identification.
Old faces
Police intelligence suggests the return of "some old faces" to the protest scene - although officers will not be drawn publicly on what that means.
G20 Meltdown poster
Police want "dialogue" with groups planning demonstrations
The level of activity on the net, and its style, suggests a re-emergence of groups which share the aims and tactics of some of the anti-globalisation protesters who turned to violence in 2000 and 2001.
While the Met has tried-and-tested tactics to deal with violence, its strategy for the street occupation promised by the Climate Camp is more difficult to call.
Scotland Yard will not be drawn on how it will respond if the camp turns into something significant, other than its commanders have "flexible plans".
It admits that its overall plans are being informed by the wealth of information now being posted online by the protest organisers.
This internet activity is also helping City firms decide how to prepare. Firms spoken to by the BBC were reluctant to go on the record about any of their specific plans.
Many have turned to private security consultants, who, in turn, are keeping a watchful eye on any specific threats that emerge online. At present, City of London Police are telling firms to cancel unnecessary meetings and deliveries, beef up building security and keep a low profile.
Unpredictable
Each year the Met deals with about 4,500 events requiring visible public order policing. They range from innocuous Boy Scout marches through to the recent angry scenes outside Israel's embassy.
The Genoa 2001 protests
Officials hope to avoid the violence of the 2001 G8 in Genoa
Police believe that if there is a big turn-out on Wednesday and Thursday, the vast majority of people will peacefully make their voices heard.
Past experience suggests unorthodox and imaginative street events can be inconvenient - but also benign.
The unknowable factor is the demonstrator bent on violence.
The police will be determined to avoid the internationally embarrassing scenes of the 2001 G8 in Genoa in which one protester was killed and hundreds more injured.
So with three days to go, the police say their message to protesters is clear.
"Come forward and make contact with us so we can make sure that your [legitimate] aims are achieved," says Commander O'Brien.
"But there are groups that by their very ethos won't talk to us. The groups which enter dialogue with us, we will facilitate [their events].
"We will not tolerate anyone breaking the law, be it by attacking buildings, people or our officers.
"We are looking to police peaceful protest. We don't talk in terms of riots. If anyone wants to come to London to engage in crime or disorder, they will be met with a swift and efficient policing response."
I clearly remember the VC10 returning as a feature of the SBAC show at Farnborough back in 1982.
Previously operated by BOAC and Gulf Air, ZA141 wore a green and grey camouflage which was not be repeated on further examples.
Not the best photo, but it serves a memory.
Farnborough, Hampshire
8th September 1982
Pentax MX, Kodachrome
19820908 21130 ZA141 FRN clean std