Famagusta is a city on the east coast of the de facto state Northern Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice), Famagusta was the island's most important port city and a gateway to trade with the ports of the Levant, from where the Silk Road merchants carried their goods to Western Europe. The old walled city and parts of the modern city are de facto part of Northern Cyprus as the capital of the Gazimağusa District.

 

The city was known as Arsinoe or Arsinoë (Greek: Ἀρσινόη, Arsinóē) in antiquity, after Ptolemy II of Egypt's sister and wife Arsinoe II.

 

By the 3rd century, the city appears as Ammochostos (Greek: Ἀμμόχωστος or Αμμόχωστος, Ammókhōstos, "Hidden in Sand") in the Stadiasmus Maris Magni.[5] This name is still used in modern Greek with the pronunciation [aˈmːoxostos], while it developed into Latin Fama Augusta, French Famagouste, Italian Famagosta, and English Famagusta during the medieval period. Its informal modern Turkish name Mağusa (Turkish pronunciation: [maˈusa]) came from the same source. Since 1974, it has formally been known to Turkey and Northern Cyprus as Gazimağusa ([ɡaːzimaˈusa]), from the addition of the title gazi, meaning "veteran" or "one who has faught in a holy war".

 

In the early medieval period, the city was also known as New Justiniana (Greek: Νέα Ἰουστινιανία, Néa Ioustinianía) in appreciation for the patronage of the Byzantine emperor Justinian, whose wife Theodora was born there.

 

The old town of Famagusta has also been nicknamed "the City of 365 Churches" from the legend that, at its peak, it boasted a church for every day of the year.

 

The city was founded around 274 BC, after the serious damage to Salamis by an earthquake, by Ptolemy II Philadelphus and named "Arsinoe" after his sister.[6] Arsinoe was described as a "fishing town" by Strabo in his Geographica in the first century BC. In essence, Famagusta was the successor of the most famous and most important ancient city of Cyprus, Salamis. According to Greek mythology, Salamis was founded after the end of the Trojan War by Teucros, the son of Telamon and brother of Aedes, from the Greek island of Salamis.

 

The city experienced great prosperity much later, during the time of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. To honor the city, from which his wife Theodora came, Justinian enriched it with many buildings, while the inhabitants named it New Justiniania to express their gratitude. In AD 647, when the neighboring cities were destroyed by Arab raiding, the inhabitants of these cities moved to Famagusta, as a result of which the city's population increased significantly and the city experienced another boom.

 

Later, when Jerusalem was occupied by the Arabs, the Christian population fled to Famagusta, as a result of which the city became an important Christian center, but also one of the most important commercial centers in the eastern Mediterranean.

 

The turning point for Famagusta was 1192 with the onset of Lusignan rule. It was during this period that Famagusta developed as a fully-fledged town. It increased in importance to the Eastern Mediterranean due to its natural harbour and the walls that protected its inner town. Its population began to increase. This development accelerated in the 13th century as the town became a centre of commerce for both the East and West. An influx of Christian refugees fleeing the downfall of Acre (1291) in Palestine transformed it from a tiny village into one of the richest cities in Christendom.

 

In 1372 the port was seized by Genoa and in 1489 by Venice. This commercial activity turned Famagusta into a place where merchants and ship owners led lives of luxury. By the mid-14th century, Famagusta was said to have the richest citizens in the world. The belief that people's wealth could be measured by the churches they built inspired these merchants to have churches built in varying styles. These churches, which still exist, were the reason Famagusta came to be known as "the district of churches". The development of the town focused on the social lives of the wealthy people and was centred upon the Lusignan palace, the cathedral, the Square and the harbour.

 

In 1570–1571, Famagusta was the last stronghold in Venetian Cyprus to hold out against the Turks under Mustafa Pasha. It resisted a siege of thirteen months and a terrible bombardment, until at last the garrison surrendered. The Ottoman forces had lost 50,000 men, including Mustafa Pasha's son. Although the surrender terms had stipulated that the Venetian forces be allowed to return home, the Venetian commander, Marco Antonio Bragadin, was flayed alive, his lieutenant Tiepolo was hanged, and many other Christians were killed.

 

With the advent of the Ottoman rule, Latins lost their privileged status in Famagusta and were expelled from the city. Greek Cypriots natives were at first allowed to own and buy property in the city, but were banished from the walled city in 1573–74 and had to settle outside in the area that later developed into Varosha. Turkish families from Anatolia were resettled in the walled city but could not fill the buildings that previously hosted a population of 10,000. This caused a drastic decrease in the population of Famagusta. Merchants from Famagusta, who mostly consisted of Latins that had been expelled, resettled in Larnaca and as Larnaca flourished, Famagusta lost its importance as a trade centre. Over time, Varosha developed into a prosperous agricultural town thanks to its location away from the marshes, whilst the walled city remained dilapidated.

 

In the walled city, some buildings were repurposed to serve the interests of the Muslim population: the Cathedral of St. Nicholas was converted to a mosque (now known as Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque), a bazaar was developed, public baths, fountains and a theological school were built to accommodate the inhabitants' needs. Dead end streets, an Ottoman urban characteristic, was imported to the city and a communal spirit developed in which a small number of two-storey houses inhabited by the small upper class co-existed with the widespread one-storey houses.

 

With the British takeover, Famagusta regained its significance as a port and an economic centre and its development was specifically targeted in British plans. As soon as the British took over the island, a Famagusta Development Act was passed that aimed at the reconstruction and redevelopment of the city's streets and dilapidated buildings as well as better hygiene. The port was developed and expanded between 1903 and 1906 and Cyprus Government Railway, with its terminus in Famagusta, started construction in 1904. Whilst Larnaca continued to be used as the main port of the island for some time, after Famagusta's use as a military base in World War I trade significantly shifted to Famagusta. The city outside the walls grew at an accelerated rate, with development being centred around Varosha. Varosha became the administrative centre as the British moved their headquarters and residences there and tourism grew significantly in the last years of the British rule. Pottery and production of citrus and potatoes also significantly grew in the city outside the walls, whilst agriculture within the walled city declined to non-existence.

 

New residential areas were built to accommodate the increasing population towards the end of the British rule,[11] and by 1960, Famagusta was a modern port city extending far beyond Varosha and the walled city.

 

The British period saw a significant demographic shift in the city. In 1881, Christians constituted 60% of the city's population while Muslims were at 40%. By 1960, the Turkish Cypriot population had dropped to 17.5% of the overall population, while the Greek Cypriot population had risen to 70%. The city was also the site for one of the British internment camps for nearly 50,000 Jewish survivors of the Holocaust trying to emigrate to Palestine.

 

From independence in 1960 to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus of 1974, Famagusta developed toward the south west of Varosha as a well-known entertainment and tourist centre. The contribution of Famagusta to the country's economic activity by 1974 far exceeded its proportional dimensions within the country. Whilst its population was only about 7% of the total of the country, Famagusta by 1974 accounted for over 10% of the total industrial employment and production of Cyprus, concentrating mainly on light industry compatible with its activity as a tourist resort and turning out high-quality products ranging from food, beverages and tobacco to clothing, footwear, plastics, light machinery and transport equipment. It contributed 19.3% of the business units and employed 21.3% of the total number of persons engaged in commerce on the island. It acted as the main tourist destination of Cyprus, hosting 31.5% of the hotels and 45% of Cyprus' total bed capacity. Varosha acted as the main touristic and business quarters.

 

In this period, the urbanisation of Famagusta slowed down and the development of the rural areas accelerated. Therefore, economic growth was shared between the city of Famagusta and the district, which had a balanced agricultural economy, with citrus, potatoes, tobacco and wheat as main products. Famagusta maintained good communications with this hinterland. The city's port remained the island's main seaport and in 1961, it was expanded to double its capacity in order to accommodate the growing volume of exports and imports. The port handled 42.7% of Cypriot exports, 48.6% of imports and 49% of passenger traffic.

 

There has not been an official census since 1960 but the population of the town in 1974 was estimated to be around 39,000 not counting about 12,000–15,000 persons commuting daily from the surrounding villages and suburbs to work in Famagusta. The number of people staying in the city would swell to about 90,000–100,000 during the peak summer tourist period, with the influx of tourists from numerous European countries, mainly Britain, France, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. The majority of the city population were Greek Cypriots (26,500), with 8,500 Turkish Cypriots and 4,000 people from other ethnic groups.

 

During the second phase of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 14 August 1974 the Mesaoria plain was overrun by Turkish tanks and Famagusta was bombed by Turkish aircraft. It took two days for the Turkish Army to occupy the city, prior to which Famagusta's entire Greek Cypriot population had fled into surrounding fields. As a result of Turkish airstrikes dozens of civilians died, including tourists.

 

Unlike other parts of the Turkish-controlled areas of Cyprus, the Varosha suburb of Famagusta was fenced off by the Turkish army immediately after being captured and remained fenced off until October 2020, when the TRNC reopened some streets to visitors. Some Greek Cypriots who had fled Varosha have been allowed to view the town and journalists have been allowed in.

 

UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Famagusta by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN. The UN's Security Council resolution 789 (1992) also urges that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the area at present under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus be extended to include Varosha.

 

Famagusta's historic city centre is surrounded by the fortifications of Famagusta, which have a roughly rectangular shape, built mainly by the Venetians in the 15th and 16th centuries, though some sections of the walls have been dated earlier times, as far as 1211.

 

Some important landmarks and visitor attractions in the old city are:

The Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque

The Othello Castle

Palazzo del Provveditore - the Venetian palace of the governor, built on the site of the former Lusignan royal palace

St. Francis' Church

Sinan Pasha Mosque

Church of St. George of the Greeks

Church of St. George of the Latins

Twin Churches

Nestorian Church (of St George the Exiler)

Namık Kemal Dungeon

Agios Ioannis Church

Venetian House

Akkule Masjid

Mustafa Pasha Mosque

Ganchvor monastery

 

In an October 2010 report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, Global Heritage Fund listed Famagusta, a "maritime ancient city of crusader kings", among the 12 sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable loss and destruction, citing insufficient management and development pressures.

 

Famagusta is an important commercial hub of Northern Cyprus. The main economic activities in the city are tourism, education, construction and industrial production. It has a 115-acre free port, which is the most important seaport of Northern Cyprus for travel and commerce. The port is an important source of income and employment for the city, though its volume of trade is restricted by the embargo against Northern Cyprus. Its historical sites, including the walled city, Salamis, the Othello Castle and the St Barnabas Church, as well as the sandy beaches surrounding it make it a tourist attraction; efforts are also underway to make the city more attractive for international congresses. The Eastern Mediterranean University is also an important employer and supplies significant income and activity, as well as opportunities for the construction sector. The university also raises a qualified workforce that stimulates the city's industry and makes communications industry viable. The city has two industrial zones: the Large Industrial Zone and the Little Industrial Zone. The city is also home to a fishing port, but inadequate infrastructure of the port restricts the growth of this sector. The industry in the city has traditionally been concentrated on processing agricultural products.

 

Historically, the port was the primary source of income and employment for the city, especially right after 1974. However, it gradually lost some of its importance to the economy as the share of its employees in the population of Famagusta diminished due to various reasons. However, it still is the primary port for commerce in Northern Cyprus, with more than half of ships that came to Northern Cyprus in 2013 coming to Famagusta. It is the second most popular seaport for passengers, after Kyrenia, with around 20,000 passengers using the port in 2013.

 

The mayor-in-exile of Famagusta is Simos Ioannou. Süleyman Uluçay heads the Turkish Cypriot municipal administration of Famagusta, which remains legal as a communal-based body under the constitutional system of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Since 1974, Greek Cypriots submitted a number of proposals within the context of bicommunal discussions for the return of Varosha to UN administration, allowing the return of its previous inhabitants, requesting also the opening of Famagusta harbour for use by both communities. Varosha would have been returned to Greek Cypriot control as part of the 2004 Annan Plan but the plan had been rejected by a majority(3/4) of Greek Cypriot voters.

 

The walled city of Famagusta contains many unique buildings. Famagusta has a walled city popular with tourists.

 

Every year, the International Famagusta Art and Culture Festival is organized in Famagusta. Concerts, dance shows and theater plays take place during the festival.

 

A growth in tourism and the city's university have fueled the development of Famagusta's vibrant nightlife. Nightlife in the city is especially active on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights and in the hotter months of the year, starting from April. Larger hotels in the city have casinos that cater to their customers. Salamis Road is an area of Famagusta with a heavy concentration of bars frequented by students and locals.

 

Famagusta's Othello Castle is the setting for Shakespeare's play Othello. The city was also the setting for Victoria Hislop's 2015 novel The Sunrise, and Michael Paraskos's 2016 novel In Search of Sixpence. The city is the birthplace of the eponymous hero of the Renaissance proto-novel Fortunatus.

 

Famagusta was home to many Greek Cypriot sport teams that left the city because of the Turkish invasion and still bear their original names. Most notable football clubs originally from the city are Anorthosis Famagusta FC and Nea Salamis Famagusta FC, both of the Cypriot First Division, which are now based in Larnaca. Usually Anorthosis Famagusta fans are politically right wing where Nea Salamis fans are left wing.

 

Famagusta is represented by Mağusa Türk Gücü in the Turkish Cypriot First Division. Dr. Fazıl Küçük Stadium is the largest football stadium in Famagusta. Many Turkish Cypriot sport teams that left Southern Cyprus because of the Cypriot intercommunal violence are based in Famagusta.

 

Famagusta is represented by DAÜ Sports Club and Magem Sports Club in North Cyprus First Volleyball Division. Gazimağusa Türk Maarif Koleji represents Famagusta in the North Cyprus High School Volleyball League.

 

Famagusta has a modern volleyball stadium called the Mağusa Arena.

 

The Eastern Mediterranean University was founded in the city in 1979. The Istanbul Technical University founded a campus in the city in 2010.

 

The Cyprus College of Art was founded in Famagusta by the Cypriot artist Stass Paraskos in 1969, before moving to Paphos in 1972 after protests from local hoteliers that the presence of art students in the city was putting off holidaymakers.

 

Famagusta has three general hospitals. Gazimağusa Devlet Hastahanesi, a state hospital, is the biggest hospital in city. Gazimağusa Tıp Merkezi and Gazimağusa Yaşam Hastahanesi are private hospitals.

 

Personalities

Saint Barnabas, born and died in Salamis, Famagusta

Chris Achilleos, illustrator of the book versions on the BBC children's series Doctor Who

Beran Bertuğ, former Governor of Famagusta, first Cypriot woman to hold this position

Marios Constantinou, former international Cypriot football midfielder and current manager.

Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Cypriot singer.

Derviş Eroğlu, former President of Northern Cyprus

Alexis Galanos, 7th President of the House of Representatives and Famagusta mayor-in-exile (2006-2019) (Republic of Cyprus)

Xanthos Hadjisoteriou, Cypriot painter

Oz Karahan, political activist, President of the Union of Cypriots

Oktay Kayalp, former Turkish Cypriot Famagusta mayor (Northern Cyprus)

Harry Luke British diplomat

Angelos Misos, former international footballer

Costas Montis was an influential and prolific Greek Cypriot poet, novelist, and playwright born in Famagusta.

Hal Ozsan, actor (Dawson's Creek, Kyle XY)

Dimitris Papadakis, a Greek Cypriot politician, who served as a Member of the European Parliament.

Ṣubḥ-i-Azal, Persian religious leader, lived and died in exile in Famagusta

Touker Suleyman (born Türker Süleyman), British Turkish Cypriot fashion retail entrepreneur, investor and reality television personality.

Alexia Vassiliou, singer, left here as a refugee when the town was invaded.

George Vasiliou, former President of Cyprus

Vamik Volkan, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry

Derviş Zaim, film director

 

Famagusta is twinned with:

İzmir, Turkey (since 1974)

Corfu, Greece (since 1994)

Patras, Greece (since 1994)

Antalya, Turkey (since 1997)

Salamina (city), Greece (since 1998)

Struga, North Macedonia

Athens, Greece (since 2005)

Mersin, Turkey

 

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.

 

A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.

 

Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.

 

Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.

 

Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.

 

Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.

 

The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.

 

Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.

 

Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.

 

By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.

 

EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.

 

However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.

 

On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.

 

In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.

 

By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.

 

In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.

 

The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.

 

After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".

 

As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.

 

Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

 

On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.

 

Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.

 

The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.

 

Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.

 

Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria

An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."

 

In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.

 

Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.

 

In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.

 

Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.

 

Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.

 

Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.

 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:

 

UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.

 

The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.

 

By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."

 

After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.

 

On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.

 

The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.

 

During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.

 

In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.

 

Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.

 

A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.

Article complet à lire sur : militaryphotoreport.blogspot.fr/2016/07/trains-de-vehicul...

Article here.

 

The picture, of course, shows where my money is going, and thus how personal a stake I have in this question.

Nouvel article sur ma série "Mortification urbaine" paru dans le journal l'Echo de la Lys du 20 septembre 2018. goo.gl/PkALg3

Camera Lens, a different way…

 

To make good pictures, you need a good camera with good lenses. Such lenses are expensive in India. “What if we make lens at home?” was the question that came to the mind of Pune based Meghana Kulkarni, an architect by profession. Who went ahead and successfully experimented on making lens at home. Today, she is also known for her lens along with photography.

 

While studying architecture, Meghana, fell in love with Photography. From here her search for lens with special effects started. While searching the internet, she stumbled upon people in foreign countries who made lens at home. She thought, “What if I made those lenses?” This triggered her experimentation with home made lens for “special” effects.

 

Till date Meghana has made 3-4 special lenses, like a Macro lens for close up photography and a Lens baby. What’s even more special about these lenses is that she made them using stuff easily found at home: paper, cloth, driller and glass from old magnifying glasses. She has also made a pinhole camera using old cameras.

 

She publishes information abt her experiments on her website too.

 

Even though she is an architect, photography has become her passion. Some of her photos have also been published in travel magazines. Such magazines are always open to different types of pictures.

 

Apart from this, she also wants to try film photography and developing.

 

Errors:

1. I publish information about my experiements on my blog. I don't have a website... yet

2. I made a pinhole camera out of a sweet shop box and not out of an old camera.

 

Things I'm unsure about:

1. if a driller is commonly found in every household.

2. If travel magazines really open to different types of photographs.

'How extra-celestial beings changed the course of human history.'

 

www.theawaitedone.com/articles/2017/04/29/mankinds-rise-t...

The Heading of an article, “All Diplomats are not Gentlemen”, that appeared in one of the issues of the Indian newspaper “The Tribune’” in February, 2002 initially shocked the entire Diplomatic Community of that country. However, their shock was short-lived, for they soon realised that the article concerned contained a praiseworthy account as to how the “Indian Lady Diplomats” were contributing to the development of India through their skills in diplomacy and international relations, which were not second or inferior to those of their counterparts, the “Gentleman Diplomats”. It is an unquestionable fact that the Indian Women Diplomats are equal to their tasks and are rendering an invaluable service to their country.

Our own women of Sri Lanka too had left indelible marks in the historical records in rendering invaluable services to our motherland and today, being the International Women’s day, I consider it as our duty to talk about our own Sri Lankan Women Diplomats and other distinguished Sri Lankan Women who had brought fame to our paradise island and some of whom are still rendering their invaluable services towards the betterment of our motherland. Purpose of this article is especially to place on record the contributions they have made in the fields of Diplomacy and International Relations.

When talking about Sri Lankan Women the name of our first Woman Prime Minister, the late Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike, is a sine quo non. After the demise of her husband, the Oxford educated and world famous one time Prime Minister of this country, the late Hon. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the mantle of the Premiership of this country quite unexpectedly fell on the late Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike. With reluctance she accepted the responsibility and in a short period of time she was able to measure up to the very responsible position she was holding. She did not disappoint her supporters nor did she betray the confidence reposed in her by the nation. She soon became a leading world figure and was acclaimed as the “First Woman Prime Minister of the world”. The Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) today stands tall to her memory and hosts conferences of international nature thus bringing fame to this country. The Chinese gift of the BMICH was the result of the friendly relationship she cultivated with world leaders, especially of the Non-Aligned Movement. She associated closely with world leaders of the calibre of the late Mrs. Indira Gandhi of India, the late Field Marshal Ayub Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan the late Hon.Chou En Lai of China, the late Hon. Anwar Sadat of Egypt, the late Marshall Tito of Yugoslavia and the like. She was a friend of the former Socialist Bloc, but was not a foe of the opposite side.

Her involvement in settling the Indo-Pakistan war in 1961 and the China-India Border issue in 1961 amply demonstrated her skills in international relations and her acceptance by the Non-Aligned Nations. It was the late Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike who brought a resolution before the UN seeking the “Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Peace Zone”.

She followed the footsteps of her late husband and played a prominent role in the Non- Aligned Movement. Her crowning moment was when she was elected the Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement and chaired the Non-Aligned Movement Conference held in 1976 at the BMICH. She was not considered as a “Politician”. She was considered as a “Stateswoman” and she fitted into that role in every respect.

A former President of Sri Lanka, Madam Chandrika Kumaranatunga, is a unique personality. She was also once the Prime Minister of this country and also was once the Chief Minister of a Provincial Council. She is the daughter of two former heads of the Government (Prime Ministers) while she herself was the head of the Government (President) for over a period of a decade. Her record, I believe, cannot be matched by anyone in the democratic world. As President of this country she participated at five SAARC Summit Meetings and chaired the SAARC Summit Meeting held in Sri Lanka in 1998. During her tenure of office as President of this country she participated at several Commonwealth Meetings and also addressed the United Nations.

 

After Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) gained independence from the British in 1948 several diplomatic appointments were made to represent Sri Lanka in several parts of the world and at that time the Sri Lankan diplomatic service was the “domain of the man”. It was only from the year 1963 that women were first chosen by the Sri Lanka Government to represent Sri Lanka as Ambassadors/High Commissioners in other countries.

The scenario in our neighboring countries was not the same. In 1946, Mrs. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit she undertook her first official Diplomatic Mission as leader of the Indian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. She also led India's delegations to the General Assembly in 1947, 1948, 1952, 1953, and 1963. She joined the Foreign Service and was appointed India's first Ambassador to the Soviet Union. In early 1949 she became Ambassador to the United States. In September 1953 she was given the honor of being the first woman and the first Asian to be elected president of the U.N. General Assembly. In December 1954, she served as Indian high commissioner to the United Kingdom

 

Ms. Begum Raana Liquat Ali Khan served as the Ambassador of Pakistan in the Netherlands from 1954 to 1961.

Ms Chokila Iyer became the First Indian Foreign Secretary in 2001. Ms. Nirupama Rao was the Second Foreign Secretary of India. Present Indian Lok Sabha Speaker Ms Mairra Kumar also was a prominent Indian Foreign service Diplomat. Present Pakistan Foreign Minister, Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar and the present Bangladesh Foreign Minister Ms. Dipu Moni are prominent Diplomatic personalities of South Asia.

 

Ms. Manel Kannangara was the first woman to be recruited to the “Ceylon Overseas Service” (now the Sri Lanka Foreign Service) in 1958 and thereafter significant numbers of the fair sex have joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service and are serving in various parts of the world rendering invaluable services to the country

 

It was during the tenure of office of Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike as the Prime Minister of this country that initial steps were taken to appoint women as Ambassadors/High Commissioners to represent Sri Lanka in other countries. The first such appointment, on the Independence Day of 1963, was that of Ms. Loraine Senaratne, a non-career appointee, to represent Sri Lanka in Accra, Ghana. She had to return to Sri Lanka with the change of the Government in 1965 and she was once again appointed as the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Italy in the year 1970.

In 1975 history appeared to have repeated itself. The second woman to be appointed to an Ambassadorial post by the Sri Lankan Government was that of Ms. Theja Gunawardena. That too was a non-career Diplomat and was also with the blessings of the then Prime Minister, Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Her Ambassadorial appointment was to Pakistan and concurrently accredited to Iran to represent Sri Lanka. Mrs. Gunawardena was a very active member and the chief organizer of the Lanka Mahila Samithi Moment. She had gained considerable knowledge in International Relations as a result of her participating at many International Conferences relating to “women and development”. The ‘'Ravana Dynasty in Sri Lanka's Dance Drama” (Kohomba Kamkaariya), one of her reputed publications, illustrates her research and Authorship. After the change of the Government In 1977 she was recalled to Sri Lanka.

Ms. Sumithra Peries, the well-known film Director served as the Sri Lankan Ambassador in France from 1995 to 1997. Her artistic skills in coordinating various events made her a popular figure among the diplomatic community in Paris. She was a non-career diplomat

Ms. Rosy Senanayake was the first to be crowned as “Mrs. World” in 1984. She was appointed as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Malaysia in 2002. She was also a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador for Sri Lanka since 1998. Much of her professional life has been devoted to in promoting Sri Lanka worldwide. Ms. Senanayake has taken a great interest in promoting the rights of women and adolescents in Sri Lanka. As UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador she has encouraged reproductive health services for workers, in particular for migrant women workers of Sri Lanka, the women workers of the Free Trade Zones, and for young people, through the National Youth Services Council. During her two years Diplomatic assignment in Malaysia she contributed immensely to the improvement of Trade, Economic and Cultural affairs between the two countries. She was a non-career diplomat

Ms. Jayathri Samarakone served as the Sri Lankan High commissioner to Singapore from 2008 to 2010. During her two years service in Singapore she arranged several projects to promote the image of Sri Lanka. She was a non-career diplomat.

Ms. Tamara Kunanayakam, is an illustrious non-career Diplomat. In the year 2011 she was appointed as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva, where she is serving at present. In the year 2007 she held the post of First Secretary at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Brazil and in 2008 she was appointed as the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Havana (Cuba). Her splendid knowledge of the French and Spanish languages has stood in good stead for her to discharge her duties at PRUN in Geneva where French and Spanish languages are widely in use.

Ms. Farial Ashroff, a former Cabinet Minister and the widow of the former Chief of the Muslim Congress, the late Mr. Ashroff, was appointed as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Singapore in 2011, where she is presently serving. She is actively engaged in promotional activities on behalf of the country. She is a non-career Diplomat

On 21st December, 2010 Dr (Ms). Hiranthi Wijemanne was nominated to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child”. Prior to her present nomination to the UN Committee she has served the Sri Lanka Peace Secretariat, the National Child Protection Authority and the Department of Probation and Child Care. Dr. (Ms) Wijemanne has worked with UNICEF and other UN agencies for several years. She is a non-career Diplomat. Recently it has announced that Mrs Bharathi Wijeratne, Former Honorary Consul of Turkish Republic to Sri Lankan will be appoint as Sri Lanka Ambassador to Ankara

Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed her to that position in April 2006. In this capacity, she serves as a moral voice and independent advocate to build awareness and give prominence to the rights and protection of boys and girls affected by armed conflicts. From 1996 to 2006 she also had delivered lectures annually at a summer course at New College, Oxford, on International Human Rights of Women. She has also served as a member of the Global Faculty of the New York University of Law. In May, 2003, she was appointed Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission. There are several publications to her credit, including two books on constitutional law and other publications on ethnic studies and the status of women.

In recognition of her service to the country in particular and the world at large, the President of Sri Lanka conferred on her the title of Deshamanya, a prestigious national honour.

Ms. Neetha Ariyaratne Hon. Secretary Sarvodaya Suwasetha Sewa Society is also a prominent social worker who received respect from world community on her capable strength on empowerment of women through Sarvodaya Movement. She has participated at several regional and international conferences. She received number of awards.

Ms Seela Ebert, A former member of Sri Lanka Administrative Service had served as Regional Director of Commonwealth Youth Programme, Asian Centre in Chandigarh from 1994 to 2000. During her service at the Regional Centre, she had participated at many regional and International Conferences on Youth and Development as well as Women and Gender development.

Ms. Sunila Abeysekera is an award winning human rights campaigner and has worked on women's rights and human rights issues in Sri Lanka and in the South Asian region for over a period of 20 years as an activist and scholar. Secretary General Kofi Annan presented Ms. Abeysekera with a UN human rights award in 1999. She was also honoured for her work by the Human Rights Watch.

Ms Kumari Jayawardena is a leading feminist figure and academic in Sri Lanka. She is the author of several books, including “Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World”, for which she was selected for the Feminist Fortnight award in Britain in 1986 and was cited by Ms. Magazine in 1992 as “writing one of the 20 most important books of the feminist decades" (1970–1990). This text is widely used in Women's Studies programs around the world.

In “Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World”, Ms. Jayawardena reconstructs the history of women's rights movements in Asia and the Middle East from the 19th century to the 1980s, focusing on Egypt, Turkey, Iran, India, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Korea and the Philippines.

Ms. Venetia Gamage, a Prominent Social worker of Sri Lanka and Former Commissioner of the Sri Lanka Girl Guide Moments also has participated at many International events as Commissioner of Girl Guide and Chairperson of National Youth Award Authority of Sri Lanka.

The credit of being the first Woman Career Diplomat of Sri Lanka goes to Ms. Manel Kannangara. After her appointment to the Ceylon Overseas Officer as a Cadet Officer in 1958 she received her first Ambassadorial appointment as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand in 1974. Subsequently she functioned as the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Germany with accreditation to Austria and Switzerland. Her constructive contributions to the Foreign Ministry in particular and international diplomacy in general are significant. In the year 1980 she authored “The Protocol Manual of Ministry of Foreign Affairs” while serving as the Chief of Protocol of the Ministry (1974-1980). In the year 1976 she was tasked with the responsibility of organising the Non-Aligned Summit where 92 Heads of States participated at the Conference. Her capacity for work was unquestionable and she was an indefatigable worker. She planned the activities of the Summit meticulously paying attention to every detail and the 1976 Non-Aligned Summit was a complete success.

In 2011 Ms. Manel Abeysekara published her autobiography titled “Madam Sir” where she relates in chronological order the challenges she faced during her diplomatic assignments. An incident she cites in her Autobiography is the hijacking of the “Alitalia” Boeing 747 Aircraft in June 1982 by Sepala Ekanayake, who threatened to blow up the Aircraft unless his demands were met. One of his demands was for his Italian wife to bring his son to him. Ms. Manel Abeysekera’s description of that moment in her autobiography is given as follows:

“Although I am not particularly religious, I prayed fervently at that moment. His wife

Was persuaded to come, together with his son. After the child spoke

to him, I asked him to release the passengers from the plane which he did,”

 

She also served as the Director-General of Political Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; as the Chairperson of the Presidential Committee on Women; and also as the Chairperson of the Sri Lanka National Chapter in the Coalition for Action on South Asian Cooperation.

The Second Career Woman Diplomat was Ms. Mary Lakshmi Naganathan. She joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1960 and resigned from service in 1983 while serving as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Germany. Ms. Mary Luxkshmi Naganathan was the first woman career diplomat from the Tamil community to reach that level.

Ms. Sarala Frenando joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1975. She was the First Sri Lankan woman Permanent UN Representative in Geneva (in 2003). In addition Ms. Sarala Fernando served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Sweden and Thailand.

The 1981 batch of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service Officers had three female officers, viz., Ms. Geetha De Silva, Ms. Chitrangani Wagieswara and Ms. Pamela Deen. Ms. Geetha De Silva served as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada. Ms. Wagiswara is presently serving as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada. Previously she served as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Singapore and the Sri Lankan Ambassador to France. Ms. Pamela Deen is presently the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Poland and previously she served as the Sri Lanka Ambassador to Nepal and The Netherlands.

Ms. Kshenuka Senevirathne joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1985 and the first Ambassadorial post she held was as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in the year 2007. She also served as the Sri Lankan PRUN in Geneva during a difficult period. Currently she is attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an Additional Secretary.

 

The two Women Diplomats, Ms. Aruni Wijewardena and Ms. Grace Asiriwatham are of the 1988 batch. Ms. Aruni Wijewardana served as the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Austria and Ms. Asiriwatham served as the Sri Lankan Ambassadors to Nepal and The Netherlands. While serving at the Sri Lankan Embassy in The Hague in the year 2011 Mrs. Asiriwatham joined the OPCW as its Deputy Director General.

Several female officers, who joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service after 1994, are holding many prestigious posts in the Sri Lankan Missions abroad. Ms. P Shanthi Sudusinghe of the 1994 batch is currently serving as the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner in the Maldives with Ambassador Rank.

Ms. Damayanthi Rajapaksa of the 1994 batch is currently serving as the Director of SAARC Secretaria in Kathmandu. In the absence of the Director General of the SAARC Secretariat Ms. Rajapaksa is presently serving as its Acting Secretary General.

Ms. Hasanthi Dissanayaka of Sri Lanka Foreign Service1996 batch is presently serving in Sri Lanka Consulate in Shanghai as Consul GeneralMs.Manisha Gunasekera of the 1996 batch is currently serving at the PRUN Office as its Deputy.

Ms. Maheshini Colonne of the 1998 batch is presently serving at the Sri Lankan High Commission in India as the Deputy High Commissioner.

The present cadre strength of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service Officers is 152. Of which 58 are females, many of whom are holding prestigious positions in Ministry of External Affairs of Sri Lankan and Sri Lankan Missions abroad.

My desire on this International Women’s Day is to highlight the above factual details with a view to encouraging the Sri Lankan young women to pursue a path in Diplomacy and International Relations so as to climb the ladder of success. (I wish to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Lionel Fernando, the former Foreign Secretary who encouraged me to keep updated records on Sri Lankan Foreign Service and Diplomacy)

 

The writer is a member of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service and Present Minister Counsellor of Sri Lanka High Commission in Pakistan. His email is menikb@hotmail.com

 

St Mary at Quay, Key Street, Ipswich

 

Back in 1999, I said in an early version of this article that St Mary at Quay had surely the most urban and industrial setting of any East Anglian church. It was, and is, a grubby little jewel, and its setting in a sea of concrete and high-rise, surrounded by factories and dual-carriageways, created quite a contrast.

 

When I first moved to Ipswich in the 1980s, this was a busy area, a hive of industrial activity. Immediately opposite the church was the Cranfield factory; they made animal feed, and a bit further down was Paul, the malsters. To the west was the white tower of Burton, the confectionery factory. On crisp winter mornings the air was full of sweetly fragranced steam, the smell of Wagon Wheels and Jammie Dodgers being made. The waterfront, behind the factories, was increasingly moribund, with the larger boats no longer able to negotiate the lock gates. Still, you might see grain ships from Hamburg, or timber being offloaded from Soviet Russia, the sailors on the decks mysterious as they looked wistfully out at the town centre skyline. At the end of the docks was the Tolly Cobbold brewery, another set of sweet smells and activity.

 

Today, almost all of that activity and setting has gone. The dock has become a busy upmarket marina, and St Mary sits on the edge of what became the largest building site in the east of England, the regeneration of the Ipswich docklands. Not without controversy, the Waterfront Development changed the face of Ipswich. The vast factory complexes made way for high rise apartment blocks and loft conversions. The brewery has stood empty these last twenty years. There are restaurants and retail spaces, a dance theatre, and most of all a new University.

 

Although most of the development, which stretches around all sides of the Wet Dock, is no more than ten storeys high, the Mill. a centrepiece tower not far from St Mary which rises to an amazing 25 storeys, is the highest residential block in the east of England. Beside it stands the wine rack, twelve storeys of concrete shell, abandoned when the economy collapsed in 2008 and no doubt one day either to be demolished or finished.

 

A regeneration scheme on this scale, especially where the land has had hundreds of different owners and must be bought up painstakingly by the developers, inevitably causes a lot of planning blight. To visit this church any time in the last ten years has been to see it surrounded by a wasteland of overgrown empty lots, and only the dual carriageway gives the scene life. And yet, St Mary at Quay is very beautiful, and would be much admired and better known in a different setting. It has a pretty little tower, delicate windows and a beautiful clerestory. There are grand transepts. It is all of a piece, built in the 1450s. The hammerbeam roof is the original. This is Perpendicular writ small.

 

In Medieval times the dedication of the church was probably to Sancta Maria Stella Maris: Our Lady, Star of the Sea. The wealth of 15th and 16th century merchants like Henry Tooley and Thomas Pounder left their mark, in the form of fine fittings and magnificent memorials. These can now be seen in Ipswich Museum, and there is a replica of the Pounder brass on view in the church.

 

St Mary at Quay has been out of use for longer than any other Ipswich church. The church was restored rather primitively in the 1870s, but this restoration failed to address the greatest problem of the church. It is built on such marshy soil that it suffered from water ingress. This was worst in warm, wet weather, when the church vaults would flood, filling the building with an unbearable smell.

 

In 1898 the church closed, and the vaults were dug out and filled in to try and address the problem. But it recurred, causing frequent closures, until one night in 1943 when German bombs fell beside the little church, destroying the windows and causing other major structural damage.

 

The church closed again, this time never to reopen for regular worship. The fine set of benches went to St Andrew, Ipswich, where they can still be seen. The traditional East Anglian late medieval font went to Brantham, although it has now been returned. The organ went to a church in Norwich. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the church was used as a hall by Ipswich Boys Brigade. Well into the 21st Century, the curious brick partitions in the south aisle were still visible as the remains of their internal dividing walls. You could still see their badminton court marked out in the nave.

 

After its somewhat turbulent 20th Century, and to its eternal salvation, St Mary at Quay found itself in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, their only Ipswich church. They gave the building a thorough restoration in the 1990s, and the church was rented out to Ipswich Arts who used it for exhibitions and art 'happenings' and Red Rose Chain Theatre, Ipswich's prominent alternative theatre company, whose home it became for several years. Their banked temporary seating, facing westwards, gave a stunning close view of Ipswich's finest medieval hammerbeam roof. In 2004, the building itself became an installation art project; geiger counters were put outside, and fitted up to the lighting system. They caused a flash of illumination every time background radiation was detected in the docklands air. This was pretty startling if you happened to be driving along the docks road at night, I can tell you.

 

I first visited the church in the late 1980s, and the most striking impression was of the sense of decay. The walls were blackened, the pillars of the arcades eroded by water ingress. Coming back in 2005 after the restoration, the church was full of light, and completely empty. The nave seemed square, it was so bereft of furnishing.

 

However, even as I was wandering around inside, it was becoming clear that the CCT's restoration was largely cosmetic. Decades of heavy traffic rolling past a few feet from the door as well as industrial activity on the soft ground around, coupled with the well-meaning but unfortunate misuse of a concrete raft to stabilise the foundations in the 1940s, meant that St Mary at Quay was crumbling and sinking, and something had to be done urgently. The repair bill would run into millions of pounds.

 

The Churches Conservation Trust went into partnership with the mental health charity Suffolk Mind, who applied for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to convert St Mary at Quay into a well-being centre. They were awarded an astonishing £3.6 million, but even so a large proportion of the CCT's budget for the east of England was taken up with the project for a couple of years. A glass mezzanine was put up in the south aisle, which leads through to a two-storey glass and flint office extension in the south-east corner. This is rather alarming when viewed from the east, rather spoiling the harmony of the church's unified Perpendicular shape, but it could have been a lot worse. It seems almost to echo George Gilbert Scott's south transept on St Peter at the Waterfront a couple of hundred yards to the west.

 

Work began in April 2014, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. The building has been rebadged as Quay Place, and will be available for hire for exhibitions, concerts and so on. What access there will be for church explorers remains to be seen, although everyone involved in the project when I visited at Open Heritage Weekend in September 2016 seemed very friendly, even though they wouldn't let me go and have a look inside the new extension.

The "Smoke" was the model most often illustrated in articles about the super-luxurious Argonaut, a car that apparently never got built.

LEAH GARCHIK writes in the San Francisco Chronicle: 'I am informed by ADDA DADA , who never misses a party, that the winner of the Hunky Jesus Contest was TWERKING JESUS. And "Why carry your cross when you can ride it?" is what REBECCA ZITO when she spotted a cyclist so accessorized.'

 

In Wednesday's Leah Garchik column in the San Francisco Chronicle.

 

www.sfgate.com/entertainment/garchik/article/Dancing-in-t... ............................................................................................SISTER's of PERPETUAL INDULGENCE's 35th Annual HUNKY JESUS & FOXY MARY fun....The best thing about the Sister's show were the Marijuana 4/20 folks who incorrectly wandered into the Sister's party space...They were like "OMG, This is like , OZ, man."

  

Yes, it was.

 

Probably because it was the Sister's 35th Anniversary and it was an homage to the Wizard of Oz. The lawn in front of the stage was filled with red-paper poppies. There were several 'Cowardly Lions", many "Glenda the Good Witch", a couple of 'Bad Witches" including one on a bike...a very young 6-year old Judy Garland passing out Giradelli Chocolate, an awesome Scarecrow of indeterminate sex, a few Tin Men (and one obviously Tin Woman), and even a couple of 'munchkins'...yes, real little people. Though, ADDA DADA is happy to report that there were no Flying Monkeys.

 

THANK YOU to all the beautiful adults who let ADDA take their photos! (Everyone was properly asked & everyone consented.)

  

(These photos carry copyright protection. Do NOT post them elsewhere! )

============================

THE 'NUDES' ARE PROPERLY MARKED EITHER RESTRICTED OR MODERATE ON ADDA'S SITE! (EVERYONE PHOTOGRAPHED IS OVER 18-YEARS-ONLY!) There is NO stolen PORN on my site!

============================

NOTE: MY photos are NOT to be used or reproduced, COPIED, BLOGGED, USED in any way shape or form. Understand clearly these are my photographs and use of them by anyone is an infringement of my copyrights and personal artistic property!

 

© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal

*************************************** ***********

NOTE:

 

Viewers should be aware that these photos are viewed by a wide variety of folks and inappropriate X & R rated & RUDE comments shall be removed forthwith

 

The resolution question

 

www.mingthein.com

 

Article complet à lire ici : militaryphotoreport.blogspot.fr/2016/06/eurosatory-2016-d...

Article in this months American Bungalow magazine. Authentic period fashions from Syacuse University's Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection with styling by Jeffrey Mayer, curator. Mannequin makeup by Dash-N-Dazzle.

The Facility Compatibility Article (FCA) being worked on by possible Brown & Root/Northrop (BRN) technicians during compatibility checkout in Chamber A of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL)/Bldg 32, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), ca. April 1966.

 

Prior to manned thermal vacuum tests within the chamber, the CSM boilerplate was used for insertion procedure familiarization, as the entire CSM could not be inserted into the chamber in one piece. Each module had to be transferred individually and then stacked on the test stand/platform inside it.

 

I believe this photograph to be of the same CSM boilerplate and taken during the same time period:

 

archive.org/details/S66-30818

 

Additional info at:

 

ston.jsc.nasa.gov/collections/TRS/_techrep/CR-2003-208933...

Credit: Johnson Space Center

 

www.drewexmachina.com/2016/10/26/the-apollo-flights-to-no...

Credit: DrewExMachina website/Andrew LePage

 

Last, but not least:

 

www.nps.gov/articles/space-environmental-simulation-labor...

"my picture" ...well it is from my Flickr account but if truth be known, Paula clicked the picture.

 

I am in the picture

 

Down Recorder 22 January 2025 - documenting the great fundraising achievements at Sunflower Cottage his year!

AFTER bathing in the warm, fuzzy glow of the Mandela years, South Africans

today are deeply demoralised people. The lights are going out in homes,

mines, factories and shopping malls as the national power authority, Eskom -

suffering from mismanagement, lack of foresight, a failure to maintain power

stations and a flight of skilled engineers to other countries - implements

rolling power cuts that plunge towns and cities into daily chaos.

Major industrial projects are on hold. The only healthy enterprise now worth

being involved in is the sale of small diesel generators to powerless

households but even this business has run out of supplies and spare parts

from China .

The currency, the rand, has entered freefall. Crime, much of it gratuitously

violent, is rampant, and the national police chief faces trial for

corruption and defeating the ends of justice as a result of his alleged

deals with a local mafia kingpin and dealer in hard drugs.

Newly elected African National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma, the state

president-in-waiting, narrowly escaped being jailed for raping an

HIV-positive woman last year, and faces trial later this year for soliciting

and accepting bribes in connection with South Africa's shady

multi-billion-pound arms deal with British, German and French weapons

manufacturers.

One local newspaper columnist suggests that Zuma has done for South Africa

's international image what Borat has done for Kazakhstan . ANC leaders in

2008 still speak in the spiritually dead jargon they learned in exile in

pre-1989 Moscow, East Berlin and Sofia while promiscuously embracing

capitalist icons - Mercedes 4x4s, Hugo Boss suits, Bruno Magli shoes and

Louis Vuitton bags which they swing, packed with money passed to them under

countless tables - as they wing their way to their houses in the south of

France.

It all adds up to a hydra-headed crisis of huge proportions - a perfect

storm as the Rainbow Nation slides off the end of the rainbow and descends

in the direction of the massed ranks of failed African states. Eskom has

warned foreign investors with millions to sink into big industrial and

mining projects: we don't want you here until at least 2013, when new power

stations will be built.

In the first month of this year, the rand fell 12% against the world's major

currencies and foreign investors sold off more than £600 million worth of

South African stocks, the biggest sell-off for more than seven years.

"There will be further outflows this month, because there won't be any news

that will convince investors the local growth picture is going to change for

the better," said Rudi van de Merwe, a fund manager at South Africa 's

Standard Bank.

Commenting on the massive power cuts, Trevor Gaunt, professor of electrical

engineering at the University of Cape Town , who warned the government eight

years ago of the impending crisis, said: "The damage is huge, and now South

Africa looks just like the rest of Africa . Maybe it will take 20 years to

recover."

The power cuts have hit the country's platinum, gold, manganese and

high-quality export coal mines particularly hard, with no production on some

days and only 40% to 60% on others.

"The shutdown of the mining industry is an extraordinary, unprecedented

event," said Anton Eberhard, a leading energy expert and professor of

business studies at the University of Cape Town .

"That's a powerful message, massively damaging to South Africa 's reputation

for new investment. Our country was built on the mines."

To examine how the country, widely hailed as Africa's last best chance,

arrived at this parlous state, the particular troubles engulfing the

Scorpions (the popular name of the National Prosecuting Authority) offers a

useful starting point.

The elite unit, modelled on America 's FBI and operating in close

co-operation with Britain 's Serious Fraud Office (SFO), is one of the big

successes of post-apartheid South Africa . An independent institution,

separate from the slipshod South African Police Service, the Scorpions enjoy

massive public support.

The unit's edict is to focus on people "who commit and profit from organised

crime", and it has been hugely successful in carrying out its mandate. It

has pursued and pinned down thousands of high-profile and complex networks

of national and international corporate and public fraudsters.

Drug kingpins, smugglers and racketeers have felt the Scorpions' sting. A

major gang that smuggle platinum, South Africa 's biggest foreign exchange

earner, to a corrupt English smelting plant has been bust as the result of a

huge joint operation between the SFO and the Scorpions. But the Scorpions,

whose top men were trained by Scotland Yard, have been too successful for

their own good.

The ANC government never anticipated the crack crimebusters would take their

constitutional independence seriously and investigate the top ranks of the

former liberation movement itself.

The Scorpions have probed into, and successfully prosecuted, ANC MPs who

falsified their parliamentary expenses. They secured a jail sentence for the

ANC's chief whip, who took bribes from the German weapons manufacturer that

sold frigates and submarines to the South African Defence Force. They sent

to jail for 15 years a businessman who paid hundreds of bribes to then state

vice-president Jacob Zuma in connection with the arms deal. Zuma was found

by the judge to have a corrupt relationship with the businessman, and now

the Scorpions have charged Zuma himself with fraud, corruption, tax evasion,

racketeering and defeating the ends of justice. His trial will begin in

August.

The Scorpions last month charged Jackie Selebi, the national police chief, a

close friend of state president Thabo Mbeki, with corruption and defeating

the ends of justice. Commissioner Selebi, who infamously called a white

police sergeant a "f***ing chimpanzee" when she failed to recognise him

during an unannounced visit to her Pretoria station, has stepped down

pending his trial.

But now both wings of the venomously divided ANC - ANC-Mbeki and ANC-Zuma -

want the Scorpions crushed, ideally by June this year. The message this will

send to the outside world is that South Africa 's rulers want only certain

categories of crime investigated, while leaving government ministers and

other politicians free to stuff their already heavily lined pockets.

No good reason for emasculating the Scorpions has been put forward. "That's

because there isn't one," said Peter Bruce, editor of the influential

Business Day, South Africa 's equivalent of, and part-owned by, The

Financial Times, in his weekly column.

"The Scorpions are being killed off because they investigate too much

corruption that involves ANC leaders. It is as simple and ugly as that," he

added.

The demise of the Scorpions can only exacerbate South Africa 's

out-of-control crime situation, ranked for its scale and violence only

behind Colombia . Everyone has friends and acquaintances who have had guns

held to their heads by gangsters, who also blow up ATM machines and hijack

security trucks, sawing off their roofs to get at the cash.

In the past few days my next-door neighbour, John Matshikiza, a

distinguished actor who trained at the Royal Shakespeare Company and is the

son of the composer of the South African musical King Kong, had been

violently attacked, and friends visiting from Zimbabwe had their car stolen

outside my front window in broad daylight.

My friends flew home to Zimbabwe without their car and the tinned food

supplies they had bought to help withstand their country's dire political

and food crisis and 27,000% inflation. Matshikiza, a former member of the

Glasgow Citizens Theatre company, was held up by three gunmen as he drove

his car into his garage late at night. He gave them his car keys, wallet,

cellphone and luxury watch and begged them not to harm his partner, who was

inside the house.

As one gunman drove the car away, the other two beat Matshikiza unconscious

with broken bottles, and now his head is so comprehensively stitched that it

looks like a map of the London Underground.

These assaults were personal, but mild compared with much commonplace crime.

Last week, for example, 18-year-old Razelle Botha, who passed all her

A-levels with marks of more than 90% and was about to train as a doctor,

returned home with her father, Professor Willem Botha, founder of the

geophysics department at the University of Pretoria, from buying pizzas for

the family. Inside the house, armed gunmen confronted them. They shot

Professor Botha in the leg and pumped bullets into Razelle.

One severed her spine. Now she is fighting for her life and will never walk

again, and may never become a doctor. The gunmen stole a laptop computer and

a camera.

Feeding the perfect storm are the two centres of ANC power in the country at

the moment. On the one hand, there is the ANC in parliament, led by

President Mbeki, who last Friday gave a state-of-the-nation address and

apologised to the country for the power crisis.

Mbeki made only the briefest of mentions of the national Aids crisis, with

more than six million people HIV-positive. He did not address the Scorpions

crisis. The collapsing public hospital system, under his eccentric health

minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, an alcoholic who recently jumped the

public queue for a liver transplant, received no attention. And the name

Jacob Zuma did not pass his lips.

Last December Mbeki and Zuma stood against each other for the leadership of

the ANC at the party's five-yearly electoral congress. Mbeki, who cannot

stand again as state president beyond next year's parliamentary and

presidential elections, hoped to remain the power behind the throne of a new

state president of his choosing.

Zuma, a Zulu populist with some 20 children by various wives and mistresses,

hoped to prove that last year's rape case, and the trial he faces this year

for corruption and other charges, were part of a plot by Mbeki to use state

institutions to discredit him. Mbeki assumed that the notion of Zuma

assuming next year the mantle worn by Nelson Mandela as South Africa 's

first black state president would be so appalling to delegates, a deeply sad

and precipitous decline, that his own re-election as ANC leader was a

shoo-in.

But Mbeki completely miscalculated his own unpopularity - his perceived

arrogance, failure to solve health and crime problems, his failure to

deliver to the poor - and he lost. Now Zuma insists that he is the leader of

the country and ANC MPs in parliament must take its orders from him, while

Mbeki soldiers on until next year as state president, ordering MPs to toe

his line.

Greatly understated, it is a mess. Its scale will be dramatically

illustrated if South Africa 's hosting of the 2010 World Cup is withdrawn by

Fifa, the world football body.

Already South African premier league football evening games are being played

after midnight because power for floodlights cannot be guaranteed before

that time. Justice Malala, one of the country's top newspaper columnists,

has called on Fifa to end the agony quickly.

"I don't want South Africa to host the football World Cup because there is

no culture of responsibility in this country," he wrote in Johannesburg's

bestselling Sunday Times.

"The most outrageous behaviour and incompetence is glossed over. No-one is

fired. I have had enough of this nonsense, of keeping quiet and ignoring the

fact that the train is about to run us over.

"It is increasingly clear that our leaders are incapable of making a success

of it. Scrap the thing and give it to Australia, Germany or whoever will

spare us the ignominy of watching things fall apart here - football tourists

being held up and shot, the lights going out, while our politicians tell us

everything is all right."

- CEDWYNN TOWEEL

11:50pm Saturday 9th February 2008

from More Fantasy art Masters

article complet à lire sur militaryphotoreport.blogspot.fr/2018/05/vehicules-militai...

A mash-up of Deadpool with a Spartan from "The 300." This guy had far too much fun with this costume by adding in very Deadpool-esque elements (the sporran made of grenades, trash can lid for a sheild, the fuzzy dice and air-freshener attached to his spear, etc.) ... he even had his own soundtrack (speakers on his belt). *cackles with laughter*

 

UPDATE: Spartan-Pool was featured on the Uproxx article Wonder Woman And Knightmare Batman Lead The Cosplay Of The Week (04.08.16). *cackles with more laughter*

See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.

 

Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum | Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird:

 

No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.

 

This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.

 

Transferred from the United States Air Force.

 

Manufacturer:

Lockheed Aircraft Corporation

 

Designer:

Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson

 

Date:

1964

 

Country of Origin:

United States of America

 

Dimensions:

Overall: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 55ft 7in. x 107ft 5in., 169998.5lb. (5.638m x 16.942m x 32.741m, 77110.8kg)

Other: 18ft 5 15/16in. x 107ft 5in. x 55ft 7in. (5.638m x 32.741m x 16.942m)

 

Materials:

Titanium

 

Physical Description:

Twin-engine, two-seat, supersonic strategic reconnaissance aircraft; airframe constructed largley of titanium and its alloys; vertical tail fins are constructed of a composite (laminated plastic-type material) to reduce radar cross-section; Pratt and Whitney J58 (JT11D-20B) turbojet engines feature large inlet shock cones.

 

Long Description:

No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71 Blackbird. It is the fastest aircraft propelled by air-breathing engines. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War. The airplane was conceived when tensions with communist Eastern Europe reached levels approaching a full-blown crisis in the mid-1950s. U.S. military commanders desperately needed accurate assessments of Soviet worldwide military deployments, particularly near the Iron Curtain. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's subsonic U-2 (see NASM collection) reconnaissance aircraft was an able platform but the U. S. Air Force recognized that this relatively slow aircraft was already vulnerable to Soviet interceptors. They also understood that the rapid development of surface-to-air missile systems could put U-2 pilots at grave risk. The danger proved reality when a U-2 was shot down by a surface to air missile over the Soviet Union in 1960.

 

Lockheed's first proposal for a new high speed, high altitude, reconnaissance aircraft, to be capable of avoiding interceptors and missiles, centered on a design propelled by liquid hydrogen. This proved to be impracticable because of considerable fuel consumption. Lockheed then reconfigured the design for conventional fuels. This was feasible and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), already flying the Lockheed U-2, issued a production contract for an aircraft designated the A-12. Lockheed's clandestine 'Skunk Works' division (headed by the gifted design engineer Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson) designed the A-12 to cruise at Mach 3.2 and fly well above 18,288 m (60,000 feet). To meet these challenging requirements, Lockheed engineers overcame many daunting technical challenges. Flying more than three times the speed of sound generates 316° C (600° F) temperatures on external aircraft surfaces, which are enough to melt conventional aluminum airframes. The design team chose to make the jet's external skin of titanium alloy to which shielded the internal aluminum airframe. Two conventional, but very powerful, afterburning turbine engines propelled this remarkable aircraft. These power plants had to operate across a huge speed envelope in flight, from a takeoff speed of 334 kph (207 mph) to more than 3,540 kph (2,200 mph). To prevent supersonic shock waves from moving inside the engine intake causing flameouts, Johnson's team had to design a complex air intake and bypass system for the engines.

 

Skunk Works engineers also optimized the A-12 cross-section design to exhibit a low radar profile. Lockheed hoped to achieve this by carefully shaping the airframe to reflect as little transmitted radar energy (radio waves) as possible, and by application of special paint designed to absorb, rather than reflect, those waves. This treatment became one of the first applications of stealth technology, but it never completely met the design goals.

 

Test pilot Lou Schalk flew the single-seat A-12 on April 24, 1962, after he became airborne accidentally during high-speed taxi trials. The airplane showed great promise but it needed considerable technical refinement before the CIA could fly the first operational sortie on May 31, 1967 - a surveillance flight over North Vietnam. A-12s, flown by CIA pilots, operated as part of the Air Force's 1129th Special Activities Squadron under the "Oxcart" program. While Lockheed continued to refine the A-12, the U. S. Air Force ordered an interceptor version of the aircraft designated the YF-12A. The Skunk Works, however, proposed a "specific mission" version configured to conduct post-nuclear strike reconnaissance. This system evolved into the USAF's familiar SR-71.

 

Lockheed built fifteen A-12s, including a special two-seat trainer version. Two A-12s were modified to carry a special reconnaissance drone, designated D-21. The modified A-12s were redesignated M-21s. These were designed to take off with the D-21 drone, powered by a Marquart ramjet engine mounted on a pylon between the rudders. The M-21 then hauled the drone aloft and launched it at speeds high enough to ignite the drone's ramjet motor. Lockheed also built three YF-12As but this type never went into production. Two of the YF-12As crashed during testing. Only one survives and is on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The aft section of one of the "written off" YF-12As which was later used along with an SR-71A static test airframe to manufacture the sole SR-71C trainer. One SR-71 was lent to NASA and designated YF-12C. Including the SR-71C and two SR-71B pilot trainers, Lockheed constructed thirty-two Blackbirds. The first SR-71 flew on December 22, 1964. Because of extreme operational costs, military strategists decided that the more capable USAF SR-71s should replace the CIA's A-12s. These were retired in 1968 after only one year of operational missions, mostly over southeast Asia. The Air Force's 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (part of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) took over the missions, flying the SR-71 beginning in the spring of 1968.

 

After the Air Force began to operate the SR-71, it acquired the official name Blackbird-- for the special black paint that covered the airplane. This paint was formulated to absorb radar signals, to radiate some of the tremendous airframe heat generated by air friction, and to camouflage the aircraft against the dark sky at high altitudes.

 

Experience gained from the A-12 program convinced the Air Force that flying the SR-71 safely required two crew members, a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). The RSO operated with the wide array of monitoring and defensive systems installed on the airplane. This equipment included a sophisticated Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) system that could jam most acquisition and targeting radar. In addition to an array of advanced, high-resolution cameras, the aircraft could also carry equipment designed to record the strength, frequency, and wavelength of signals emitted by communications and sensor devices such as radar. The SR-71 was designed to fly deep into hostile territory, avoiding interception with its tremendous speed and high altitude. It could operate safely at a maximum speed of Mach 3.3 at an altitude more than sixteen miles, or 25,908 m (85,000 ft), above the earth. The crew had to wear pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts. These suits were required to protect the crew in the event of sudden cabin pressure loss while at operating altitudes.

 

To climb and cruise at supersonic speeds, the Blackbird's Pratt & Whitney J-58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner. While this would appear to dictate high fuel flows, the Blackbird actually achieved its best "gas mileage," in terms of air nautical miles per pound of fuel burned, during the Mach 3+ cruise. A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. Each time the SR-71 refueled, the crew had to descend to the tanker's altitude, usually about 6,000 m to 9,000 m (20,000 to 30,000 ft), and slow the airplane to subsonic speeds. As velocity decreased, so did frictional heat. This cooling effect caused the aircraft's skin panels to shrink considerably, and those covering the fuel tanks contracted so much that fuel leaked, forming a distinctive vapor trail as the tanker topped off the Blackbird. As soon as the tanks were filled, the jet's crew disconnected from the tanker, relit the afterburners, and again climbed to high altitude.

 

Air Force pilots flew the SR-71 from Kadena AB, Japan, throughout its operational career but other bases hosted Blackbird operations, too. The 9th SRW occasionally deployed from Beale AFB, California, to other locations to carryout operational missions. Cuban missions were flown directly from Beale. The SR-71 did not begin to operate in Europe until 1974, and then only temporarily. In 1982, when the U.S. Air Force based two aircraft at Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall to fly monitoring mission in Eastern Europe.

 

When the SR-71 became operational, orbiting reconnaissance satellites had already replaced manned aircraft to gather intelligence from sites deep within Soviet territory. Satellites could not cover every geopolitical hotspot so the Blackbird remained a vital tool for global intelligence gathering. On many occasions, pilots and RSOs flying the SR-71 provided information that proved vital in formulating successful U. S. foreign policy. Blackbird crews provided important intelligence about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, and pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 raid conducted by American air forces on Libya. In 1987, Kadena-based SR-71 crews flew a number of missions over the Persian Gulf, revealing Iranian Silkworm missile batteries that threatened commercial shipping and American escort vessels.

 

As the performance of space-based surveillance systems grew, along with the effectiveness of ground-based air defense networks, the Air Force started to lose enthusiasm for the expensive program and the 9th SRW ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990. Despite protests by military leaders, Congress revived the program in 1995. Continued wrangling over operating budgets, however, soon led to final termination. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration retained two SR-71As and the one SR-71B for high-speed research projects and flew these airplanes until 1999.

 

On March 6, 1990, the service career of one Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird ended with a record-setting flight. This special airplane bore Air Force serial number 64-17972. Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and his RSO, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Vida, flew this aircraft from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging a speed of 3,418 kph (2,124 mph). At the conclusion of the flight, '972 landed at Dulles International Airport and taxied into the custody of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. At that time, Lt. Col. Vida had logged 1,392.7 hours of flight time in Blackbirds, more than that of any other crewman.

 

This particular SR-71 was also flown by Tom Alison, a former National Air and Space Museum's Chief of Collections Management. Flying with Detachment 1 at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Alison logged more than a dozen '972 operational sorties. The aircraft spent twenty-four years in active Air Force service and accrued a total of 2,801.1 hours of flight time.

 

Wingspan: 55'7"

Length: 107'5"

Height: 18'6"

Weight: 170,000 Lbs

 

Reference and Further Reading:

 

Crickmore, Paul F. Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1996.

 

Francillon, Rene J. Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1987.

 

Johnson, Clarence L. Kelly: More Than My Share of It All. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.

 

Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. Leicester, U.K.: Midland Counties Publishing Ltd., 1995.

 

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird curatorial file, Aeronautics Division, National Air and Space Museum.

 

DAD, 11-11-01

from More Fantasy art Masters

My write up along with Vijayalayan's photos as Wrapper Article in April 2015 issue of American Tamil Magazine, Thendral

 

For more details visit: tamilamudam.blogspot.in/2015/04/blog-post_8.html

 

Best wishes to K.S. Vijayalayan! [ www.flickr.com/photos/clicking-moments/ ]

Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance Brennan

David Boreanaz as Special Agent Seeley Booth

To edit at trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/5600207?searchTerm=w.%20...

 

Done….. years ago…

  

On a visit to the US vehicle factories Sep. 1918.

FULL SPEED AHEAD.

OUT TO WIN THE WAR.

MARVELS IN AMERICA.

(From Mr. "W. A. Crowie.)

Detroit, September 7.

I wish I could transfer every Australian to America for a few weeks to see for themselves the unanimity of capital

and labor and the whole nation for the wining of this war.

 

There is evidence everywhere of no "let up," with a continued increase of effort to make the German nation know that America is in the war for nothing but victory. .

 

This week I went over the Ford ship building plant. The boats, which are over 200 ft. long, are housed in a large building, and 18 are being built at one time.

The building is situated several miles from any water, and a canal has been built to the works. When a launching takes place the boat is put on an elevator which drops down into the canal, and the steamer floats off. The steamers are built on large moving railway trucks which allow them to be moved from one special production gang to another, who progressively only carry out certain special operations.

It is a most inspiring sight. Before very long launchings are to take place at the rate of one vessel complete a day. I am confident this will be accomplished.

 

I have been over several motor car factories of repute which are no longer manufacturing motor cars. Their total

output is devoted to munitions and gun carriages. The quantity of shells both for aeroplane bombing work and the guns being produced would give the impression that it would be impossible ever to exhaust them at the front. The general opinion here is that if the war continues on the present scale the production of motor cars for general sale will be stopped by January 1.

 

Many motor car factories are patriotically devoting their energies in this direction in anticipation of a possible Act of Congress.

Only yesterday an Act went through Congress making the whole United States dry for alcobolic liquors until after the de-

mobilisation of the fighting forces when peace is concluded.

 

Considering the great interests involved this will give some idea of how the country is backing the President. One cannot help coming to the conclusion that instead of America being the greatest democracy in the world, it is really

the greatest autocracy.

 

The President's powers are unlimited.

Last Sunday a request from the powers that be went into force, that motor cars should not be used on Sundays so as to conserve gasoline, and practically the whole of the motoring public adopted the suggestion, thus conserving many hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline for the

benefit of the Allies.

 

The streets of Detroit were almost without automobiles on

Sundays. Yet on every business day of the week I had to drive my car some times around several city blocks before I

could find ' place to park it.

 

Last Monday was "Labor Day," one of the four great national days of America.

To show the progress made during the last four years in general motor engine design it has got to be said that at the annual motor boat races at Monaco, in the South of France, before the war it was unusual for the fastest boats to attain more than about 35 miles an hour. On the lake here last Monday the vessels that won the race attained the speed of 70 miles an hour, and several did over 60 miles an hour.

 

These races were wonderful.

 

I wish I could impress on the Australians generally the great amount of prosperity which has come about in America to the agricultural community especially, and which mostly concerns us, by the putting down of good roads and the provision of irrigation. I consider these are most essential for the success of Australia in coming generations, to encourage both immigration and the right kind of settlement on the land.

 

In motoring through to New York I had an opportunity of seeing several military camps, each of which is training approximately 50,000 men. Over 1,000,000 soldiers are in constant training in these camps, and over 1,500,000 are already in France.

 

As each camp empties of trained men it is filled up with a fresh draft for training.

 

America has surprised even the most optimistic of Americans.

 

from trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/5600207?searchTerm=w.%...

 

see also down below!

Article complet sur : militaryphotoreport.blogspot.fr/2018/03/prepa-ops-prepara...

article complet sur la FIM à lire ici : militaryphotoreport.blogspot.fr/2015/10/la-defense-lhonne...

This article is about the ancient city of Anatolia. For other uses, see Miletus (disambiguation).

Miletus

Μί̄λητος

Milet

 

The theater of Miletus

  

Shown within Turkey

Location

Balat, Didim, Aydın Province, Turkey

Region

Caria

Coordinates

37°31′49″N 27°16′42″E

Coordinates: 37°31′49″N 27°16′42″E

Type

Settlement

Area

90 ha (220 acres)

History

Builder

Minoans (later Mycenaeans) on site of the Luwian or Carian city[1][2][3]

Site notes

Public access

Yes

Website

Miletus Archaeological Site

Miletus (/maɪˈliːtəs/; Ancient Greek: Μί̄λητος Mīlētos; Hittite transcription Millawanda or Milawata (exonyms); Latin: Miletus; Turkish: Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria.[3][4][5] Its ruins are located near the modern village of Balat in Aydın Province, Turkey. Before the Persian invasion in the middle of the 6th century BC, Miletus was considered the greatest and wealthiest of Greek cities.[6][7] In other sources however it is mentioned that the city was much more modest up until the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), when, for example, the city state of Samos on the island of Samos opposite Miletus was considered a larger and more important city and harbor at the time. Miletus' greatest wealth and splendor was reached during the Hellenistic era (323–30 BC) and later Roman times.

Evidence of first settlement at the site has been made inaccessible by the rise of sea level and deposition of sediments from the Maeander. The first available evidence is of the Neolithic. In the early and middle Bronze age the settlement came under Minoan influence. Legend has it that an influx of Cretans occurred displacing the indigenous Leleges. The site was renamed Miletus after a place in Crete.

The Late Bronze Age, 13th century BC, saw the arrival of Luwian language speakers from south central Anatolia calling themselves the Carians. Later in that century other Greeks arrived. The city at that time rebelled against the Hittite Empire. After the fall of that empire the city was destroyed in the 12th century BC and starting about 1000 BC was resettled extensively by the Ionian Greeks. Legend offers an Ionian foundation event sponsored by a founder named Neleus from the Peloponnesus.

The Greek Dark Ages were a time of Ionian settlement and consolidation in an alliance called the Ionian League. The Archaic Period of Greece began with a sudden and brilliant flash of art and philosophy on the coast of Anatolia. In the 6th century BC, Miletus was the site of origin of the Greek philosophical (and scientific) tradition, when Thales, followed by Anaximander and Anaximenes (known collectively, to modern scholars, as the Milesian School) began to speculate about the material constitution of the world, and to propose speculative naturalistic (as opposed to traditional, supernatural) explanations for various natural phenomena.

Miletus is the birthplace of the Hagia Sophia's architect (and inventor of the flying buttress) Isidore of Miletus and Thales, a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher (and one of the Seven Sages of Greece) in c. 624 BC

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miletus

"toad lily " in western name.

 

we call this "hototogis" meaning is a little cuckoo, their chest design is looks like this flowers dot, it is very interesting. we have difference flowers name, by our imaginations..

flower code is "Im yours forever" :)

 

article complet sur militaryphotoreport.blogspot.fr/2016/07/14-juillet-2016-d...

One of several "inserts" in a JM asbestos product marketing folder discussing use of asbestos fiber in asphalt road application. This page consists of a reprinted article from a 1963 magazine publication.

One of several "inserts" in a JM asbestos product marketing folder discussing use of asbestos fiber in asphalt road application. This page consists of a reprinted article from a 1963 industry publication.

I still have one or two pictures to post of my stay in Barbezieux, so it is not finished ... but nice surprise, an article in the local press, released today.

 

J'ai encore un ou deux dessins à poster de mon séjour à Barbezieux, donc c'est pas fini... mais, joli surprise, un article paru dans la presse locale, publié ce jour.

Download full article as a PDF: keltruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/chris-kelly-keltr... #Scania

 

keltruckscania.com/5

 

keltruckscania.com/about-keltruck/news-centre/press-relea...

 

TRUCK September 1987

 

THE TRUCK INTERVIEW

 

Some say Chris Kelly's pace is too hot to handle. He has built one of Scania's biggest-selling dealers in just four years, and now plans to turn his carefully chosen Midlands site into the UK's first truck parts supermarket. A transport entrepreneur of the '80s, he is professional, innovative and shrewd. He is also one of the best-known and best liked dealers in his area. Jack Semple went to meet him

 

CHRIS KELLY IS THE SORT OF person who can put the Black Country back on the industrial map. Well-liked and respected, shrewd, hard working and acutely aware of money, he has come from relative obscurity to be one of the most successful truck dealers of the '80s. He aims to be on the Unlisted Securities Market before the end of the decade.

 

He only got his Scania franchise for the West Midlands in '83, but the business grew so fast that by '86 he had almost the biggest Scania distributorship in Britain, second only to the combined sales of the Scantruck dealer outlets in Purfleet and Heathrow, which are owned by the manufacturer. In the calendar year, Keltruck delivered 385 units.

 

Scania has reason to be thankful for Kelly's success. Not only has he moved a lot of metal, in stark contrast to his predecessor, but he has bolstered the Scania back-up network in his area, which has the busiest motorway stretches in Europe.

 

His plan is to develop Keltruck still further to make it an industry showpiece for the '90s. At the same time, the Kelly Group has diversified into other aspects of the industry, including contract haulage, and a clearing house, reversing the common pattern for hauliers to take on heavy truck outlets.

 

As Keltruck has grown, especially in the past year, it has changed, perhaps by necessity. and several members of staff and some fitters have left. Chris Kelly didn't seek to play down the changes when we spoke to him last month.

 

It could all have been a bit different if Lloyds of Ludlow, a well-known Welsh border haulier, hadn't been given the Daf outlet in the West Midlands in preference to Chris Kelly. At that stage, his secondhand truck business had not long developed from being just a one-man band.

 

Chris Kelly already had a firm grounding in trucks. He left school at 15 for an apprenticeship at Atwoods, which in the '60s was well-known for selling high-class cars, but also Bedford trucks. After five years in the workshop he moved across into service reception instead. 'I quite liked that. It was a means of leaving the shop floor.'

 

Ryland Group, which he joined in the early '70s, gave him a strong background in dealer management, first at Oldhill Motors, a Seddon dealer, then at head office, where he was given a job in administration by director Gordon Cox. 'They had an excellent group of people,' he said. The group was progressive. and gave good training in discipline and management control systems. 'Ryland was very much the exception.'

 

In '75, he branched out on his own, selling used trucks from an office lent by a local haulier, and using a corporation car park to keep the trucks. The business became better known when he moved to Neachells Lane, a popular road for trucks delivering to steel foundries and stockholders, where he could hardly fail to be noticed. 'I had an aptitude and ability to seek out secondhand trucks,' he said.

 

In those days, many of the trucks were Dafs, including 20 on hire operations, and he applied, unsuccessfully, for a Daf distributorship. In '80, he moved to a bigger, five acre site at Wolverhampton. Then the recession hit.

 

'It was just as if somebody had cut the telephone wires. Interest rates shot up from 12percent to 18percent, very, very quickly.' I had £400,000 of stock, which today would be worth £1.5 million. A late truck then would cost £10,000. Now, it costs up to £30.000.'

 

Chris Kelly developed a contract hire business in the early '80s, partly as a tax mitigation, and partly to develop a second, peripheral business. He had been making steady progress in building the business and profit, but it was almost entirely dependent on him being available all the time. Apart from himself, there was only a part-time office girl and a driver. 'I was off sick for three weeks and the place virtually ground to a standstill.'

 

By '82, he was buying Scanias for contract hire, and rental, and retailing a lot of used Scanias. In '82, the manufacturer, looking to replace its West Midlands dealer, called. At the time, Kelly also had around 100 trailers on hire. But he decided to take the plunge with Scania.

 

To raise funds. he auctioned off most of his trucks and all the trailers. A recession-hit local haulier, J & S Hemmings, which had a history going back to the horse and cart days, was also wanting to sell up, and the two combined their fleets into a single auction, handled by CMA from Leeds. Almost the whole lot was sold off.

 

Keltruck was the first new name on the Scania franchise network to replace a dealer (although Scania had bought out Scantruck), but Kelly was determined to break the mould in other ways, too. Many truck distributors had been sited up back streets, miles away from industrialised areas. 'I thought the right and logical place was next to the largest population and concentration of industrial manufacturing, and if possible couple this with a motorway.'

 

In fact Kelly's site, the old Corona typewriter works in West Bromwich, lies next to the M5, just short of the intersection with the M6. He got it at an ideal time, when industry in the Black Country was at a low level.

 

Being next to a motorway is not unique, and several dealers have moved to such sites in recent years. But you can't miss Keltruck from the M5. ‘Talk to truck drivers and ask them to name a distributor they know in the Midlands, and they're likely to say Keltruck. That to me has got to be a good thing.'

 

While Keltruck looks well positioned from the outside, internal management holds the key to success, he said. A lot of dealerships have gone under 'through lack of control systems within the business and lack of management awareness.'

 

He believes in paying high salaries. 'It's a very, very tough business, and you've got to have very good people.' Low salaries increasingly are a thing of the past now, he said.

 

Kelly has been almost as valuable to Scania as the maker has been to him. His tidy office is mirrored in the workshop and the yard

 

That's not to say they don't work for their money. Kelly is an entrepreneur who gives it all he's got, and he demands a lot from his staff. And he stated that he is not the sort of managing director of a company who allows a man to stay in a job if he's not performing as required.

 

Kelly said he'd had to learn how to run a bigger company. 'I've had to learn how to delegate and set guidelines and parameters to competent people.' He's been to three management courses at Ashridge College, arranged by Scania for dealer principles, and found them valuable. 'I wouldn't spend two-and-a-half days there if it was just a social gathering.’

 

Within the company, Kelly has used the Industrial Society in recent months as part of a programme aimed at building a management team. The IS was recommended by Kelly's brother-in-law, who is company secretary with a large group. Late last year he had the whole management team, including wives and children, at a weekend course organised by the IS, at a big West Midlands hotel. 'It gave the wives more of an appreciation of the hours people have to work in this industry.

 

'Operators of trucks are getting more and more demanding. Just like Arthur Scargill is trying to fend off six-day rota working, we have to work over seven days.' Management rotas have to take account of that, he said. (Keltruck has five breakdown vans, and a parts back-up stock which is highly regarded among Scania users in the Midlands.)

 

Kelly explained the IS involvement: 'It's just like building a football team. And we're trying to counter poaching.' At the moment there's a situation in the business of 'all change' when the whistle blows', Kelly said. 'The truck industry has failed to train younger people from within. We're looking for university graduates in business management or engineering to join us as management trainees.'

 

When Kelly takes his company onto the USM. he'll be offering employees shares in the enterprise. 'Share participation has been a great success for the NFC. I hope to do something similar, in a much smaller way.'

 

The team does not look the same as it did last year, as at least three managers have left the group, to join or set up a new company. Without being drawn on individual cases, Kelly acknowledges the departures. The changes are a consequence of moving from a smaller company to a larger firm. he said.

 

In the workshop it is no longer possible for customers simply to wander in and chat to individual fitters, which some customers had been used to, but which is impracticable in a large workshop. Tools tend to go ·missing, too, he added.

 

Kelly has adopted much of the current thinking on fitters. Not all are realistically able to be trained to do every job on a truck, and that should be recognised, he said. Changes in the workshop are aimed at making it more efficient. It's more formal, certainly, but should also prove more flexible and reliable for the truck operator.

 

The belt and braces approach is now clearly out at Keltruck, if it was ever in. Kelly wages war on clutter, and demands clarity at all times. In the workshop he has three men employed solely to keep the place clean and tidy. Trucks parked at the dealership ready to go out to customers are parked in immaculate rows, on Kelly's insistence.

 

But it is his office which most clearly shows the Chris Kelly style. Sited at an extreme corner of the main building, the room housed the water storage tank in the days when the place was a typewriter factory with a sprinkler system to put out fires.

 

When you go in, you can't see a desk. His work station is behind a partition, and is a fairly narrow shelf which of necessity prevents a build -up of paperwork. 'This way I can keep my own bits and pieces out of sight, and no-one can see the clutter. (By any normal standards, there is none.)

 

'In this trade there's a lot of good upside-down readers', he quipped. If anyone comes in to see him, they meet over a businesslike table, although there are leather armchairs, too.

 

Some trucks were ready for August 1 registration, but not as many as last year, as supply fell frustratingly behind demand

 

A couple of impressionist prints by Lavery are on the wall. They're Roger Stevens' taste,' (group marketing manager) he said.

 

Kelly plans to· put in similar work stations for his managers. 'It's the trend at the minute, but I think it's very good.' It gives people peace to concentrate on the job, he said.

 

Kelly's next development at West Bromwich will be a major redevelopment of the site, which will bring the supermarket concept to the UK truck industry, by the end of '88. There will be a complete range of t ruck maintenance and repair services on site, with facilities for drivers collecting, delivering, or waiting for a truck.

 

But most innovative of all, will be a parts 'supermarket', where customers will literally be able to pick parts off shelves. Keltruck aims not only to have a full Scania range, but trailer parts, and other components and accessories. He won't be following the Multipart line, though, and offering parts for Scania's competitor marques.

 

'There are quite a few places like that in the States, but there are only two or three in Europe, and there are none in Britain.'

 

Before that, Keltruck will open an out let in Stoke-on-Trent, to compete with other heavy truck dealers in the area. The site will be open by the end of the year, he said.

 

The Ashridge courses help to give a vision of where the industry is going, and where a dealer's business can fit in to it, Kelly said. He'll take the group onto the USM to enjoy the benefits he's worked for, and to raise cash to expand the business both internally and through acquisition.

 

So Kelly will be keeping an eye out for business opportunities associated with trucks. Tm not into property.' Business development has already taken him back into contract haulage, which he said has been a natural progression from truck contract hire, and which in turn was developed from truck retailing.

 

He has bought several haulage firms, in one case to turn round a traditional general haulage operation running older lorries to a new, streamlined firm, working on contract.

 

'I like the word contract,' he said, 'it's got some future to it. It means the work isn't here today, gone tomorrow.

 

'The traditional market for purchasing of trucks is declining substantially,' he said. Operators are increasingly looking for fixed prices. A new breed of businessman is coming into haulage, and looking carefully at the cost of use of trucks.

 

Trucks in future will be used more intensively than they have been, and they'll be cut up earlier, to avoid expensive breakdowns. Kelly has changed his views on extensive rebuilding of trucks, which has been given a boost by tax changes. The practice is common in the States, under the 'glider kit' system.

 

'I now believe that people haven't got the time,' he said. But it could vary from one part of the country to another. There's a lot of truck expertise available in Yorkshire and Lancashire at reasonable cost, for example.

 

'There's never been a better time to buy new and trade-in than now,' he said, adding: 'We're the best buyers for a clean used Scania.'

 

Kelly's biggest problem this year has been a shortage of trucks to sell, both second-hand and new. 'We're sold through now until September production,' he winced, talking to us in early July.

 

One area Kelly is not at all keen to attack again is spot rental of trailers. They're too much trouble. There's too much potential accident damage, unless they're on contract hire. And the trailers can go through a £1400 set of tyres in anything from six months to 12 months.' Also, tri-axle trailers rip off tyres much more than on tandem trailers.

 

While Chris Kelly is widely known to have a good nose for business, his nose itself is well known, too. The scar running across the bridge results from an exploding battery, in the early days of the second-hand business. 'I was charging up two 12V batteries overnight. When I went down to the yard at six o'clock the next morning to get the truck ready for a customer, I failed to switch the power off, and the battery exploded. It blew me back 10ft, and blew a hole in the workshop roof.'

 

Fortunately, he got blown against the wall right beside a tap, and was able to wash out his eyes.

 

The accident had its positive side. 'I used to make frequent trips to Scotland looking for used trucks. The scar was a useful means of identification for Scotsmen who weren't quite sure of my credit worthiness.'

 

Scotland has also made Chris Kelly teetotal. He admits, over a Perrier water, to once having bought a few rust buckets on the strength of some stiff whiskies at Glasgow airport.

 

Kelly's pace has been hectic. So much so that he's 'only had time' to drive 500miles in one of his prized possessions, a 4.2 E-type roadster that's done only 20,000miles (true).

 

He has built not only one of the most successful dealerships of the decade, but done so without the backing of one of the large groups which own so many truck outlets.

 

No longer a one-man-band, he is now boss of a multi-million business which has changed in character since it was set up just a few years ago. Not everyone agrees with or likes the changes at present. But Kelly is driving the business with commitment and imagination, and most people in the Midlands want to see him succeed.

 

Kelly demands neat parking. E-type is immaculate, but Kelly's pace is too hot – he doesn't have time to drive it

One of several "inserts" in a JM asbestos product marketing folder discussing use of asbestos fiber in asphalt road application. This is a two-page article reprinted from a 1965 industry publication.

Article disponible sur :

militaryphotoreport.blogspot.fr/2016/06/le-1er-regiment-d...

Cape Towner newspaper, article on my second solo exhibition:

"Liquid Swords; Slices of Le[m]on"

Freshly baked pastizzi just out of the oven at a bar in Rabat, Malta. Malta's fast food, Pastizzi are little pies of rough puff pastry filled with either rikotta cheese or mushy peas. You can find as many pastizzi shops in Malta as there are churches (and that's saying something!). Be warned : your waist will never be the same if you get addicted to these!

 

You can read my full article about Pastizzi on Everywhere Magazine everywheremag.com/articles/274 which I submitted to the theme 'Local Flavour'

 

This particular bar is called Crystal Palace and is situated in Rabat in the street opposite the Greeks' gate of Mdina. You may think from the name it's some grand place. Well the pastizzi are grand, it's open probably 24 hours a day but hmmm it's more like a cave than a palace. Definately worth a visit. Oh and try the black nescafe with herbs served in a glass. Are you curious enough now?

Daily Telegraph, Sydney.

From the John Noyce collection.