The Postcard

 

A postcard bearing no publisher's name. The card was posted in Barnes, London S.W. on Saturday the 9th. May 1908 to:

 

Miss F. Carter,

32, Martin Street,

Stratford,

East London.

 

Martin Street no longer exists as a result of widespread demolition of the area. It was replaced by Meridian Square.

 

The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

 

"Dear F,

Will be over Sunday

Stratford Station 5.30.

Arch.

Please excuse card."

 

Greta Bösel

 

So what else happened on the day that Arch posted the card?

 

Well, the 9th. May 1908 marked the unfortunate birth of Greta Bösel in Wuppertal-Elberfeld, German Empire.

 

Greta Bösel (née Mueller) was a trained nurse who became a camp guard at Ravensbrück Concentration Camp in August 1944. Her rank at the camp was Arbeitseinsatzführerin (Work Input Overseer).

 

In November 1944, Bösel was one of the staff members chosen to select prisoners for the gas chamber, or for transfer to nearby Uckermark Concentration Camp. She is known to have told another SS guard:

 

"If the prisoners cannot

work, let them rot."

 

After the death march of prisoners out of Ravensbrück following the impending liberation by the Red Army of Soviet troops, Bösel fled the camp with her husband. She was later caught and arrested by British troops.

 

The Trial and Execution of Greta Bösel

 

Bösel, along with other female guards including Dorothea Binz, stood accused of war crimes at the first Ravensbrück Trial, which took place between December 1946 and February 1947 in Hamburg, Germany.

 

The court found her guilty of maltreatment, murder and taking part in the "selections".

 

Bösel was executed by hanging for her crimes at 9:55 am on the 3rd. May 1947, 24 minutes after Elisabeth Marschall, by Albert Pierrepoint at Hamelin Prison in Allied-occupied Germany. Bösel was 38 years of age when she died.

 

Hanging as a Means of Execution

 

The Short Drop

 

The short drop is a method of hanging in which the condemned prisoner stands on a raised support such as a stool, ladder, cart, or other vehicle, with the noose around the neck. The support is then moved away, leaving the person dangling from the rope.

 

Suspended by the neck, the weight of the body tightens the noose around the neck, effecting strangulation and death. This typically takes 10–20 minutes. This means that the prisoner can be revived before death and hung again, perhaps multiple times.

 

Before 1850, the short drop was the standard method of hanging, and it is still common in suicides and extrajudicial hangings (such as lynchings and summary executions) which do not benefit from the specialised equipment and drop-length calculation tables used in the newer methods.

 

The Pole Method

 

A short drop variant is the Austro-Hungarian "pole" method, in which the following steps take place:

 

-- The condemned is made to stand before a specialized vertical pole or pillar, approximately 3 metres (9.8 ft) in height.

-- A rope is attached around the condemned's feet and routed through a pulley at the base of the pole.

-- The condemned is hoisted to the top of the pole by means of a sling running across the chest and under the armpits.

-- A narrow-diameter noose is looped around the prisoner's neck, then secured to a hook mounted at the top of the pole.

-- The chest sling is released, and the prisoner is rapidly jerked downward by the assistant executioners via the foot rope.

-- The executioner stands on a stepped platform approximately 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) high beside the condemned, and guides the head downward with his hand simultaneous to the efforts of his assistants. In some countries the executioner would then manually dislocate the condemned's neck.

 

This method was later also adopted by the successor states, most notably by Czechoslovakia, where the pole method was used as the only type of execution from 1918 until the abolition of capital punishment in 1990.

 

Nazi war criminal Karl Hermann Frank, executed in 1946 in Prague, was among approximately 1,000 condemned people executed in this manner in Czechoslovakia.

 

The Standard Drop

 

The standard drop involves a drop of between 4 and 6 feet (1.2 and 1.8 m) and came into use from 1866, when the scientific details were published by Irish doctor Samuel Haughton. Its use rapidly spread to English-speaking countries and those with judicial systems of English origin.

 

It was considered a humane improvement on the short drop, because it was intended to be enough to break the person's neck, causing immediate unconsciousness and rapid brain death.

 

This method was used to execute condemned Nazis under United States jurisdiction after the Nuremberg Trials including Joachim von Ribbentrop and Ernst Kaltenbrunner. In the execution of Ribbentrop, historian Giles MacDonogh records that:

 

"The hangman botched the execution and the

rope throttled the former foreign minister for

20 minutes before he expired."

 

A Life magazine report on the execution merely says:

 

"The trap fell open and with a sound midway

between a rumble and a crash, Ribbentrop

disappeared. The rope quivered for a time,

then stood tautly straight."

 

The Long Drop

 

This process, also known as the measured drop, was introduced to Great Britain in 1872 by William Marwood as a scientific advance on the standard drop.

 

Instead of everyone falling the same standard distance, the person's height and weight were used to determine how much slack would be provided in the rope so that the distance dropped would be enough to ensure that the neck was broken, but not so much that the person was decapitated.

 

The careful placement of the knot of the noose (so that the head was jerked back as the rope tightened) contributed to breaking the neck.

 

Prior to 1892, the drop was between four and ten feet (about one to three metres), depending on the weight of the body, and was calculated to deliver an energy of 1,260 foot-pounds force (1,710 J), which fractured the neck at either the 2nd. and 3rd. or 4th. and 5th. cervical vertebrae.

 

This force resulted in some decapitations, such as the infamous case of Black Jack Ketchum in New Mexico Territory in 1901, owing to a significant weight gain while in custody not having been factored into the drop calculations.

 

Between 1892 and 1913, the length of the drop was shortened to avoid decapitation. After 1913, other factors were also taken into account, and the energy delivered was reduced to about 1,000 foot-pounds force (1,400 J).

 

The decapitation of Eva Dugan during a botched hanging in 1930 led the state of Arizona to switch to the gas chamber as its primary execution method, on the grounds that it was believed more humane.

 

One of the more recent decapitations as a result of the long drop occurred when Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was hanged in Iraq in 2007. Accidental decapitation also occurred during the 1962 hanging of Arthur Lucas, one of the last two people to be put to death in Canada.

 

Nazis executed under British jurisdiction, including Josef Kramer, Fritz Klein, Irma Grese and Elisabeth Volkenrath, were hanged by Albert Pierrepoint using the variable-drop method devised by Marwood. The record speed for a British long-drop hanging was seven seconds from the executioner entering the cell to the drop. Speed was considered to be important in the British system as it reduced the condemned's mental distress.

 

Suicide by Hanging

 

Hanging is a common suicide method. The materials necessary for suicide by hanging are readily available to the average person, compared to firearms or poisons. Full suspension is not required, and for this reason, hanging is especially commonplace among suicidal prisoners.

 

A type of hanging comparable to full suspension hanging may be obtained by self-strangulation using a ligature around the neck and the partial weight of the body to tighten the ligature. When a suicidal hanging involves partial suspension the deceased is found to have both feet touching the ground, e.g., they are kneeling, crouching or standing.

 

Partial suspension is sometimes used, particularly in prisons, mental hospitals or other institutions, where full suspension support is difficult to devise, because high ligature points (e.g., hooks or pipes) have been removed.

 

In Canada, hanging is the most common method of suicide, and in the U.S., hanging is the second most common method, after self-inflicted gunshot wounds. In the United Kingdom, where firearms are less easily available, in 2001 hanging was the most common method among men, and the second most commonplace among women (after poisoning).

 

Those who survive a suicide-via-hanging, whether due to breakage of the cord, or being discovered and cut down, face a range of serious injuries, including cerebral anoxia (which can lead to permanent brain damage), laryngeal fracture, cervical spine fracture (which may cause paralysis), tracheal fracture, pharyngeal laceration, and carotid artery injury.

 

Hanging Practices Across the Globe

 

Hanging has been a method of capital punishment in many countries, and is still used by many countries to this day. Long drop hanging is mainly used by former British colonies, while short-drop and suspension hanging is common in Iran.

 

-- Afghanistan

 

Hanging is the most-used form of capital punishment in Afghanistan.

 

-- Australia

 

Capital punishment was a part of the legal system of Australia from the establishment of New South Wales as a British penal colony, until 1985, by which time all Australian states and territories had abolished the death penalty. In practice, the last execution in Australia was the hanging of Ronald Ryan on the 3rd. February 1967, in Victoria.

 

During the 19th. century, crimes that could carry a death sentence included burglary, sheep theft, forgery, sexual assaults, murder and manslaughter. During the 19th. century, roughly eighty people were hanged every year throughout the Australian colonies for these crimes.

 

-- Bangladesh

 

Hanging is the only method of execution in Bangladesh, ever since its independence.

 

-- Brazil

 

Death by hanging was the customary method of capital punishment in Brazil throughout its history. Some important national heroes like Tiradentes (1792) were killed by hanging.

 

The last man to be executed in Brazil was the slave Francisco, in 1876. The death penalty was abolished for all crimes, except for those committed under extraordinary circumstances such as war or military law, in 1890.

 

-- Bulgaria

 

Bulgaria's national hero, Vasil Levski, was executed by hanging by the Ottoman court in Sofia in 1873. Every year since Bulgaria's liberation, thousands come with flowers on the date of his death, 19th. February, to his monument where the gallows stood. The last execution was in 1989, and the death penalty was abolished for all crimes in 1998.

 

-- Canada

 

Historically, hanging was the only method of execution used in Canada, and was in use as possible punishment for all murders until 1961, when murders were re-classified into capital and non-capital offences.

 

The death penalty was restricted to apply only for certain offences under the National Defence Act in 1976, and was completely abolished in 1998. The last hangings in Canada took place on the 11th. December 1962.

 

-- Egypt

 

In 1955, Egypt hanged three Israelis on charges of spying. In 1982 Egypt hanged three civilians convicted of the assassination of Anwar Sadat.

 

In 2004, Egypt hanged five militants on charges of trying to kill the Prime Minister. To this day, hanging remains the standard method of capital punishment in Egypt, which executes more people each year than any other African country.

 

-- Germany

 

In the territories occupied by Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945, strangulation hanging was a preferred means of public execution, although more criminal executions were performed by guillotine than hanging.

 

The most commonly sentenced were partisans and black marketeers, whose bodies were usually left hanging for long periods. There are also numerous reports of concentration camp inmates being hanged.

 

Hanging was continued in post-war Germany in the British and US Occupation Zones under their jurisdiction, and for Nazi war criminals, until well after (western) Germany had abolished the death penalty. The last execution ordered by a West German court was carried out by guillotine in Moabit prison in 1949.

 

The last hanging in Germany was of several war criminals in Landsberg am Lech on the 7th. June 1951. The last known execution in East Germany was in 1981 by a pistol shot to the neck.

 

-- Hungary

 

During the 1956 Revolution, the prime minister of Hungary, Imre Nagy, was secretly tried, executed by hanging, and buried unceremoniously by the new Soviet-backed Hungarian government. Nagy was later publicly exonerated by Hungary.

 

Capital punishment was abolished for all crimes in 1990.

 

-- India

 

All executions in India since independence have been carried out by hanging, although the law provides for military executions to be carried out by firing squad.

 

In 1949, Nathuram Godse, who had been sentenced to death for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, was the first person to be executed by hanging in independent India.

 

The Supreme Court of India has suggested that capital punishment should be given only in the "rarest of rare cases".

 

Since 2001, eight people have been executed in India. Dhananjoy Chatterjee, the 1991 rapist and murderer was executed on the 14th. August 2004 in Alipore Jail, Kolkata.

 

Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the 2008 Mumbai attacks was executed on the 21st. November 2012 in Yerwada Central Jail, Pune. The Supreme Court of India had previously rejected his mercy plea, which was then rejected by the President of India. He was hanged one week later.

 

Afzal Guru, a terrorist found guilty of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament, was executed by hanging in Tihar Jail, Delhi on the 9th. February 2013.

 

Yakub Memon was convicted over his involvement in the 1993 Bombay bombings on the 27th. July 2007. His appeals and petitions for clemency were all rejected, and he was finally executed by hanging on 30 July 2015 in Nagpur jail. In March 2020, four prisoners convicted of rape and murder were executed by hanging in Tihar Jail.

 

-- Iran

 

Death by hanging is the primary means of capital punishment in Iran, which carries out one of the highest numbers of annual executions in the world. The method used is the short drop, which does not break the neck of the condemned, but rather causes a slower death due to strangulation.

 

Hanging is legally approved for murder, rape, and drug trafficking unless the criminal pays diyya to the victim's family, thus attaining their forgiveness.

 

If the presiding judge deems the case to be causing public outrage, he can order the hanging to take place in public at the spot where the crime was committed, typically from a mobile telescoping crane which hoists the condemned high into the air.

 

On the 19th. July 2005, two boys, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, aged 15 and 17 respectively, who had been convicted of the rape of a 13-year-old boy, were hanged at Edalat (Justice) Square in Mashhad, on charges of homosexuality and rape.

 

On the 15th. August 2004, a 16-year-old girl, Atefeh Sahaaleh was executed for having committed "acts incompatible with chastity".

 

At dawn on the 27th. July 2008, the Iranian government executed 29 people at Evin Prison in Tehran.

 

On the 2nd. December 2008, an unnamed man was hanged for murder at Kazeroun Prison, just moments after he was pardoned by the murder victim's family. He was quickly cut down and rushed to a hospital, where he was successfully revived.

 

The conviction and hanging of Reyhaneh Jabbari caused international uproar as she was sentenced to death in 2009 and hanged on the 25th. October 2014 for murdering a former intelligence officer; according to Jabbari's testimony she stabbed him during an attempt at rape and then another person killed him.

 

-- Iraq

 

Hanging was used under the regime of Saddam Hussein, but was suspended along with capital punishment on the 10th. June 2003, when a coalition led by the United States invaded and overthrew the previous regime. The death penalty was reinstated on the 8th. August 2004.

 

In September 2005, three murderers were the first people to be executed since the restoration. Then on the 9th. March 2006, the Supreme Judicial Council confirmed that the first insurgents had been executed by hanging.

 

Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging for crimes against humanity, and was executed on the 30th. December 2006 at approximately 6:00 a.m. local time. During the drop, there was an audible crack, indicating that his neck was broken, a successful example of a long-drop hanging.

 

Barzan Ibrahim, the head of the Mukhabarat, Saddam's security agency, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge, were executed on the 15th. January 2007, also by the long-drop method, but Barzan was decapitated by the rope at the end of his fall.

 

Former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan had been sentenced to life in prison, but the sentence was changed to death by hanging on the 20th. March 2007. He was the fourth and final man to be executed for the 1982 crimes against humanity. The execution went smoothly.

 

It is alleged that Iraq's government keeps the execution rate secret, and that hundreds may be carried out every year. In 2007, Amnesty International stated that 900 people were at "imminent risk" of execution in Iraq.

 

-- Israel

 

Although Israel has legal provisions for the death penalty for extraordinary crimes, it has been used only twice, and only one of those executions was by hanging. On the 31st. May 1962, Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was executed by hanging.

 

-- Japan

 

All executions in Japan are carried out by long drop hanging.

 

On the 23rd. December 1948, seven men were hanged at Sugamo Prison by the U.S. occupation authorities in Allied-occupied Japan for war crimes during the Asian-Pacific theatre of World War II.

 

On 27 February 2004, the mastermind of the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, Shoko Asahara, was found guilty, and sentenced to death by hanging. In 2018 Asahara and several of his cult members were hanged for committing the 1995 sarin gas attack.

 

On the 25th. December 2006, serial killer Hiroaki Hidaka and three others were hanged in Japan.

 

-- Jordan

 

Death by hanging is the traditional method of capital punishment in Jordan. On the 14th. August 1993, Jordan hanged two Jordanians convicted of spying for Israel.

 

Sajida al-Rishawi, "The 4th Bomber" of the 2005 Amman bombings, was executed by hanging alongside Ziad al-Karbouly on the 4th. February 2015 in retribution for the immolation of Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh.

 

-- Lebanon

 

Lebanon hanged two men in 1998 for murdering a man and his sister. However, capital punishment was altogether suspended in Lebanon, as a result of staunch opposition by activists and some political factions.

 

-- Liberia

 

On the 16th. February 1979, seven men convicted of the ritual killing of the popular singer Moses Tweh, were publicly hanged at dawn in Harper.

 

-- Malaysia

 

Hanging is the traditional method of capital punishment in Malaysia, and has been used to execute people convicted of murder and drug trafficking. The Barlow and Chambers execution was carried out as a result of new tighter drug regulations.

 

-- Portugal

 

The last person executed by hanging in Portugal was Francisco Matos Lobos on the 16th. April 1842. Before that, it had been a common death penalty.

 

-- Pakistan

 

In Pakistan, hanging is the most common form of execution.

 

-- Russia

 

Hanging was commonly practised in the Russian Empire during the rule of the Romanov Dynasty as an alternative to impalement, which was used in the 15th. and 16th. centuries.

 

Hanging was abolished in 1868 by Alexander II, but was restored by the time of his death, and his assassins were hanged. While those sentenced to death for murder were usually pardoned and sentences commuted to life imprisonment, those guilty of high treason were usually executed.

 

This also included the Grand Duchy of Finland and the Kingdom of Poland under the Russian crown. Taavetti Lukkarinen became the last Finn to be executed this way. He was hanged for espionage and high treason in 1916.

 

The hanging was usually performed by short drop in public. The gallows were usually either a stout nearby tree branch, as in the case of Lukkarinen, or a makeshift gallows constructed for the purpose.

 

After the October Revolution in 1917, capital punishment was, on paper, abolished, but continued to be used unabated against people perceived to be enemies of the regime. Under the Bolsheviks, most executions were performed by shooting, either by firing squad or by a single firearm.

 

In 1943, hanging was restored primarily for German servicemen and native collaborators for atrocities committed against Soviet POWs and civilians. The last to be hanged were Andrey Vlasov and his companions in 1946.

 

-- Singapore

 

In Singapore, long-drop hanging is currently used as a mandatory punishment for crimes such as drug trafficking, murder and some types of kidnapping. It has also been used for punishing those convicted of unauthorised discharging of firearms.

 

-- Sri Lanka

 

Hanging was abolished in Sri Lanka in 1956, but in 1959 it was brought back and later halted in 1978. In 1975, the day before the execution of Maru Sira, he had been overdosed by the prison guards to prevent him from escaping.

 

On the day of his execution he was unconscious, so when he was brought to the gallows, he was slumped over on the trapdoor with a noose around his neck, and when the executioner pulled the lever, his execution was botched and he strangled.

 

-- Syria

 

Syria has publicly hanged people, such as two Jews in 1952, Israeli spy Eli Cohen in 1965, and a number of Jews accused of spying in 1969.

 

According to a 19th.-century report, members of the Alawite sect in Syria had a particular aversion towards being hanged, and the family of the condemned was willing to pay "considerable sums" to ensure its relatives were impaled, rather than hanged.

 

This attitude was based upon the belief that the soul ought to leave the body through the mouth, rather than leave it in any other fashion.

 

-- The United Kingdom

 

As a form of judicial execution in England, hanging is thought to date from the Anglo-Saxon period. Records of the names of British hangmen begin with Thomas de Warblynton in the 1360's and continue on to the last hangmen, Robert Leslie Stewart and Harry Allen, who conducted the last British executions in 1964.

 

Until 1868, hangings were performed in public. In London, the traditional site was at Tyburn, a settlement west of the City on the main road to Oxford, which was used on eight hanging days a year, though before 1865, executions had been conducted on the street outside Newgate Prison, Old Bailey, now the site of the Central Criminal Court.

 

Three British subjects were hanged after World War II, having been convicted of helping Nazi Germany in its war against Great Britain.

 

John Amery, the son of prominent British politician Leo Amery, became an expatriate in the 1930's, moving to France. He became involved in pre-war fascist politics, remained in what became Vichy France following France's defeat by Germany in 1940, and eventually went to Germany and later the German puppet state in Italy headed by Benito Mussolini.

 

Captured by Italian partisans at the end of the war and handed over to British authorities, Amery was accused of having made propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis, and of having attempted to recruit British prisoners of war for a Waffen SS regiment later known as the British Free Corps.

 

Amery pleaded guilty to treason charges on the 28th. November 1945, and was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on the 19th. December 1945.

 

William Joyce, an American-born Irishman who had lived in Great Britain and possessed a British passport, had been involved in pre-war fascist politics in the UK, fled to Nazi Germany just before the war and became a naturalised German citizen.

 

Joyce made propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis, becoming infamous under the nickname Lord Haw Haw. Captured by British forces in May 1945, he was tried for treason later that year. Although Joyce's defence argued that he was by birth American, and thus not subject to being tried for treason, the prosecution successfully argued that Joyce's pre-war British passport meant that he was a subject of the British Crown, and he was convicted.

 

After his appeals failed, he was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on the 3rd. January 1946.

 

Theodore Schurch was a British soldier captured by the Nazis who then began working for the Italian and German intelligence services by acting as a spy and informer when he was placed among other British prisoners. Schurch was arrested in Rome in March 1945 and tried under the Treachery Act 1940. After his conviction, he was hanged at HM Prison Pentonville on the 4th. January 1946.

 

The Homicide Act 1957 created the new offence of capital murder, punishable by death, with all other murders being punishable by life imprisonment.

 

In 1965, Parliament passed the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act, temporarily abolishing capital punishment for murder for five years. The Act was renewed in 1969, making the abolition permanent.

 

Following the complete abolition of the death penalty, the gallows were removed from Wandsworth Prison, where they remained in full working order until that year.

 

The last woman to be hanged in the UK was Ruth Ellis on the 13th. July 1955, by Albert Pierrepoint who was a prominent hangman in the 20th. century in England.

 

The last hanging in Great Britain took place in 1964, when Peter Anthony Allen, at Walton Prison in Liverpool, and Gwynne Owen Evans, at Strangeways Prison in Manchester were executed for the murder of John Alan West.

 

Hanging was also the method used in many British colonies and overseas territories. During Queen Elizabeth I's reign, the following was written concerning those who stole a ship from the Royal Navy:

 

"If anye one practysed to steale awaye anye of

her Majesty's shippes, the captaine was to cause

him to be hanged by the heels untill his braines

were beaten out against the shippe's sides, and

then to be cutt down and lett fall intoe the sea."

 

-- The United States

 

The hangman's noose was one of the various punishments the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony applied to enforce religious and intellectual conformity on the whole community. The best known hanging carried out by the Puritans was of Mary Dyer; she was one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs.

 

Capital punishment in the U.S. varies from state to state; it is outlawed in some states but used in most others. However, the death penalty under federal law is applicable in every state. Hanging is no longer used as a method of execution.

 

When Black pastor Denmark Vesey of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church was suspected of plotting to launch a slave rebellion in Charleston, South Carolina in 1822, 35 people, including Vesey, were judged guilty by a city-appointed court and were subsequently hanged, and the church was burned down.

 

The largest mass execution in the United States, of 38 Sioux Indians sentenced to death after being charged of massacring white settlers, was carried out by hanging in Mankato, Minnesota in 1862.

 

Originally, 303 had been sentenced to hang, but the convictions were reviewed by President Abraham Lincoln and the sentences of all but 38 were commuted.

 

A total of 40 suspected Unionists were hanged in Gainesville, Texas in October 1862.

 

On the 7th. July 1865, four people involved in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln—Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt—were hanged at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

 

Hanging was a popular method of lynching, for example the 1920 Duluth, Minnesota lynchings. The hangings became public spectacles for the white community to celebrate what they regarded as white supremacy.

 

While rope was most commonly used for hanging, chains had also been used (mainly during the colonial era), the first being a slave after the New York Slave Revolt of 1712. The last hanging in chains was in 1913, of John Marshall in West Virginia for murder.

 

The last public hanging in the United States (not including lynching, one of the last of which was Michael Donald in 1981) took place on the 14th. August 1936, in Owensboro, Kentucky.

 

Rainey Bethea was executed for the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lischa Edwards. The execution was presided over by the first female sheriff in Kentucky, Florence Shoemaker Thompson.

 

In California, Clinton Duffy, who served as warden of San Quentin State Prison between 1940 and 1952, presided over ninety executions. He began to oppose the death penalty, and after his retirement, wrote a memoir entitled 'Eighty-Eight Men and Two Women' in support of the movement to abolish the death penalty.

 

The book documents several hangings gone wrong, and describes how they led his predecessor, Warden James B. Holohan, to persuade the California Legislature to replace hanging with the gas chamber in 1937.

 

Various methods of capital punishment have been replaced by lethal injection in most states. Many states that offered hanging as an option have since eliminated the method.

 

Condemned murderer Victor Feguer became the last inmate to be executed by hanging in the state of Iowa on the 15th. March 1963. Hanging was the preferred method of execution for capital murder cases in Iowa until 1965, when the death penalty was abolished and replaced with life imprisonment without parole.

 

Barton Kay Kirkham was the last person to be hanged in Utah, preferring it over execution by firing squad. No subsequent inmate in Utah had been hanged by the time the option was replaced with lethal injection in 1980.

 

Laws in Delaware were changed in 1986 to specify lethal injection, except for those convicted before 1986 (who were still allowed to choose hanging). If a choice was not made, or the convict refused to choose injection, then hanging would become the default method. This was the case in the 1996 execution of Billy Bailey, the most recent hanging in American history; since then, no Delaware prisoner fit the category, and the state's gallows were later dismantled.

 

The "Upright Jerker" is a method of hanging that originated in the United States in the late 19th. century, where the person to be hanged is jerked into the air by weights and pulleys. However it proved to be ineffective at breaking the neck of the condemned, and use of the method ceased in late 1930's.

Math whiz Janie adds and subtracts fractional measurements for her carpentry project.

Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world. It rises with an elevation of 8,586 m in a section of the Himalayas called Kangchenjunga Himal that is limited in the west by the Tamur River and in the east by the Teesta River. The Kangchenjunga Himal is located in eastern Nepal and Sikkim, India.

 

The main peak of Kangchenjunga is the second highest mountain in Nepal after Mount Everest. Three of the five peaks – Main, Central and South – are on the border between North Sikkim and Nepal. Two peaks are in the Taplejung District, Nepal. Kangchenjunga Main is the highest mountain in India, and the easternmost of the mountains higher than 8,000 m. It is called Five Treasures of Snow after its five high peaks, and has always been worshipped by the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim.

 

Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations based on various readings and measurements made by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1849 came to the conclusion that Mount Everest, known as Peak XV at the time, was the highest. Allowing for further verification of all calculations, it was officially announced in 1856 that Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain.

 

Kangchenjunga was first climbed on 25 May 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band, who were part of a British expedition. They stopped short of the summit as per the promise given to the Chogyal that the top of the mountain would remain inviolate. Every climber or climbing group that has reached the summit has followed this tradition. Other members of this expedition included John Angelo Jackson and Tom Mackinon.

 

The Kangchenjunga landscape is a complex of three distinct ecoregions: the eastern Himalayan broad-leaved and coniferous forests, the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows and the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands. The Kangchenjunga transboundary landscape is shared by Bhutan, China, India and Nepal, and comprises 14 protected areas with a total of 6,032 km2:

 

- Nepal: Kanchenjunga Conservation Area.

- Sikkim, India: Khangchendzonga National Park, Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary, Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary, Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary, Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary, Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary

- Darjeeling, India: Jore Pokhri Wildlife Sanctuary, Singalila National Park, Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary, Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Neora Valley National Park.

- Bhutan: Torsa Strict Nature Reserve

 

These protected areas are habitats for many globally significant plant species such as rhododendrons and orchids and many endangered flagship species such as snow leopard, Asian black bear, red panda, white-bellied musk deer, blood pheasant and chestnut-breasted partridge.

 

GEOGRAPHY

The Kangchenjunga Himal section of the Himalayas lies both in Nepal and India, and encompasses 16 peaks over 7,000 m. In the north, it is limited by the Lhonak Chu, Goma Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. The western limit runs from the Jongsang La down the Gingsang and Kangchenjunga glaciers and the rivers of Ghunsa and Tamur. Kanchenjunga rises about 20 km south of the general alignment of the Great Himalayan range about 125 km east-south-east of Mount Everest as the crow flies. South of the southern face of Kanchenjunga runs the 3,000–3,500 m high Singalila Ridge that separates Sikkim from Nepal and north Bengal.

 

Four glaciers radiate from the peak, pointing roughly to the north-east, south-east, north-west and south-west. The Zemu glacier in the north-east and the Talung glacier in the south-east drain to the Teesta River, thereby forming a part of the Brahmputra catchment. The summit of Kangchenjunga is the highest point of the Brahmaputra basin. The Yalung glacier in the south-west and the Kangchen glacier in the north-west drain to the Arun and Kosi rivers, thereby forming a part of the Ganges catchment. The summit of Kangchenjunga, therefore, also forms a part of the Ganges basin. The glaciers spread over the area above approximately 5,000 m, and the glacialized area covers 314 km2 in total.

 

The main ridge of the massif runs from north-north-east to south-south-west and forms a watershed to several rivers. Together with ridges running roughly from east to west they form a giant cross. These ridges contain a host of peaks between 6,000 and 8,000 m. On the east ridge is Siniolchu (6,888 m). The west ridge culminates in the Jannu (7,710 m) with its imposing north face. To the south are Kabru North (7,338 m), Kabru South (7,316 m) and Rathong (6,678 m). The north ridge, after passing through the Kangchenjunga North (7,741 m), includes The Twins (7,350 m) and Tent Peak, and runs up to the Tibetan border by the Jongsang La, a 6,120 m high pass.

 

FIRST ASCENT

In 1955, Joe Brown and George Band made the first ascent on 25 May, followed by Norman Hardie and Tony Streather on 26 May. The full team also included John Clegg (team doctor), Charles Evans (team leader), John Angelo Jackson, Neil Mather, and Tom Mackinnon.

 

The ascent proved that Aleister Crowley's 1905 route (also investigated by the 1954 reconnaissance) was viable. The route starts on the Yalung Glacier to the southwest of the peak, and climbs the Yalung Face, which is 3,000 metres high. The main feature of this face is the "Great Shelf", a large sloping plateau at around 7,500 metres, covered by a hanging glacier. The route is almost entirely on snow, glacier, and one icefall; the summit ridge itself can involve a small amount of travel on rock. The first ascent expedition made six camps above their base camp, two below the Shelf, two on it, and two above it. They started on 18 April, and everyone was back to base camp by 28 May.

 

TOURISM

Some of the most famous views of Kangchenjunga are from the hill station of Darjeeling and Antu Dada of Illam, Nepal. The Darjeeling War Memorial is among the most visited places from which Kangchenjunga is observed. On a clear day it presents an image not so much of a mountain but of a white wall hanging from the sky. The people of Sikkim revere Kangchenjunga as a sacred mountain. Permission to climb the mountain from the Indian side is rarely given.

 

Due to its remote location in Nepal and the difficulty involved in accessing it from India, the Kangchenjunga region is not much explored by trekkers. It has, therefore, retained much of its pristine beauty. In Sikkim too, trekking into the Kangchenjunga region has just recently been permitted. The Goecha La trek is gaining popularity amongst tourists. It goes to the Goecha La Pass, located right in front of the huge southeast face of Kangchenjunga. Another trek to Green Lake Basin has recently been opened for trekking. This trek goes to the Northeast side of Kangchenjunga along the famous Zemu Glacier.

 

IN MYTH

The area around Kangchenjunga is said to be home to a mountain deity, called Dzö-nga or "Kangchenjunga Demon", a type of yeti or rakshasa. A British geological expedition in 1925 spotted a bipedal creature which they asked the locals about, who referred to it as the "Kangchenjunga Demon".

 

For generations, there have been legends recounted by the inhabitants of the areas surrounding Mount Kanchenjunga, both in Sikkim and in Nepal, that there is a valley of immortality hidden on its slopes. These stories are well known to both the original inhabitants of the area, the Lepcha people, and those of the Tibetan Buddhist cultural tradition. In Tibetan, this valley is known as Beyul Demoshong. In 1962 a Tibetan Lama by the name of Tulshuk Lingpa led over 300 followers into the high snow slopes of Kanchenjunga to ‘open the way’ to Beyul Demoshong.

 

IN LITERATURE

- In the Swallows and Amazons series of books by Arthur Ransome, a high mountain (unnamed in the book, but clearly based on the Old Man of Coniston in the English Lake District) is given the name "Kanchenjunga" by the children when they climb it in 1931.

- In The Epic of Mount Everest, first published in 1926, Sir Francis Younghusband: " For natural beauty Darjiling (Darjeeling) is surely unsurpassed in the world. From all countries travellers come there to see the famous view of Kangchenjunga, 28,150 feet (8,580 m) in height, and only 40 miles (64 km) distant. Darjiling (Darjeeling) itself is 2,100 m above sea-level and is set in a forest of oaks, magnolia, rhododendrons, laurels and sycamores. And through these forests the observer looks down the steep mountain-sides to the Rangeet River only 300 m above sea-level, and then up and up through tier after tier of forest-clad ranges, each bathed in a haze of deeper and deeper purple, till the line of snow is reached; and then still up to the summit of Kangchenjunga, now so pure and ethereal we can scarcely believe it is part of the solid earth on which we stand; and so high it seems part of the very sky itself."

- In 1999, official James Bond author Raymond Benson published High Time to Kill. In this story, a microdot containing a secret formula for aviation technology is stolen by a society called the Union. During their escape, their plane crashes on the slopes of Kangchenjunga and James Bond becomes part of a climbing expedition in order to retrieve the formula.

- The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, which won the 2006 Man Booker Prize, is set partly in Kalimpong, a hill station situated near Kangchenjunga.

 

WIKIPEDIA

'The White Lotus' ex-Tip Cunane, 1955 Lotus-MG Mk VIII Aerodynamic Sports-Racing Two-Seater Chassis no. MK6/2-1

 

Colin Chapman's emergent Lotus series of ever-more sophisticated competition cars featured cycle mudguard or open-wheeled trials special-type design until what proved to be his landmark design for the Lotus Mark VIII series.

 

These sports-racing cars were the first to feature fully wheel-enveloping aerodynamic bodywork conceived and designed by De Havilland Aircraft aerodynamicist Frank Costin. His brother Michael was one of Colin Chapman's closest and most influential collaborators, and would become technical director of the growing Lotus Engineering Company before joining engineer Keith Duckworth in partnership as the 'Cos' of Cosworth.

 

It was during the winter of 1953 that Colin Chapman began design study for such a car, for which detail chassis design and stress calculation was completed by Peter Ross and Gilbert 'Mac' Mackintosh. The fully triangulated multi-tubular spaceframe chassis was closely based upon the design of the preceding Lotus Mark 6, to the extent that it was identified original as the Mark VI Series 2.

 

Manufactured by Dave Kelsey and John Teychenne's Progress Chassis Company in Edmonton, North London, the chassis frame was welded together from 1¼-inch 20-gauge tubing.

 

Once fitted with the Frank Costin-designed aerodynamic body, fashioned in 20-gauge aluminium sheet by specialist Williams & Pritchard, also of Edmonton, the completed chassis/body unit for the Mark VIII weighed less than a set of five wheels and tyres. The frame alone scaled barely 35lbs. But the original chassis design proved a nightmare in practical terms, for its complex triangulation prevented engine removal in less than 12 hours, and replacement a further 24! Even then the engine had to be largely dismantled in the process.

 

This particular Glasius Collection car is chassis No 1 but it was actually the last Mark VIII to be delivered, as late as April 1955, when it was first UK road registered 'TYC 700', dated the 4th of that month. As such it benefited from Lotus Engineering's experience with its sisters, including the famous works car 'SAR 5', and the forepart of 'TYC's chassis is square-cut like the Mark VI to facilitate engine removal and replacement. At the customer's request, Williams & Pritchard also provided a door on the passenger side, unlike earlier Mark VIIIs. At the time of its delivery to Mr Cunane the prototype Lotus Mark IX had already raced three weeks previously, in the Sebring 12-Hours...

 

It appears that Thomas George 'Tip' Cunane – general manager and head of the still-famous and very old-established St Cuthbert's Paper Mill at Wells in Somerset, England - had paid Colin Chapman a large deposit which was then used by Lotus Engineering to build the other Mark VIIIs, most significantly their own works car, plus those for better-known competition customers, before making delivery to Mr Cunane.

 

Local Wells-based haulier Eric Willmott was Mr Cunane's mechanic at the time and he recalls both late delivery of the car and that its chassis serial as today is 'MK6/2-1 - indicating that the Mark VIII was regarded upon the project's initiation as being the Lotus Mark VI Series 2 design. But when they started to take the car through Customs for Tip Cunane to drive it in Europe it was difficult to locate the chassis number on the car itself, so Mr Willmott stamped it into the bracket at the front supporting the centre of the divided front axle suspension.

 

Early in his ownership Mr Cunane had a steering arm break which Lotus quickly replaced by providing forged arms that proved completely reliable. Eric Willmott recalled that Mr Cunane's Jaguar XK140 "couldn't live with the Mark VIII on the open road". They evidently had a tremendous amount of fun running the car. Mr Cunane planned to compete with it in the 1957 Alpine Rally so had Lotus fit a tall windscreen and provide a hood, only for the Suez Crisis to see the Rally cancelled. He also specified installation of a 16-gallon long-range fuel tank but when filled it proved so heavy that it broke tubes at the tail of the chassis. The frame was repaired and repainted and the fuel tank reduced to a less optimistic 8 gallon capacity. He drove the car with some success at minor level, setting class FTD at hill-climbs such as Trengwainton in the West Country and at Great Auclum, near Reading, Berkshire, and winning at club level at Silverstone during 1955-56. His car was painted overall white and it became known within club racing and sprint circles as simply 'The White Lotus'.

 

Tip Cunane had acquired a very special racing engine from friends working at MG, Abingdon, including their famous contemporary Chief Engineer Syd Enever. This power unit – still installed within the car today - is known as the XPEG design, as distinct from the standard production XPAG used in the MG TC/TD/TF series sports cars. This XPEG engine was an experimental unit as used in MG's illustrious series of World speed record-breaking cars. The unit has a dry-deck cylinder-block/head configuration with cooling water transfer from block to head and back via external pipes rather than internal drillings or cast waterways, obviating any need for a vulnerable head gasket. Engine serial number '3617J3' (1486cc) is noted in the original-style UK log book accompanying the car.

 

Tip Cunane was a perfectly capable amateur racing driver, and he accumulated some 30 awards in 'The White Lotus' through the mid-1950s. He also used it – remarkably – on touring holidays in Europe, intrepidly driving it to the French Riviera and around the Alps, into Italy.

 

The car went through various subsequent UK ownerships – the first ex-Cunane being Performance Cars, the well-known British sporting car dealership, in 1958, followed by Malcolm Brian Dimmick of Orsett Grange, Essex, who is listed in the car's old-style UK log book from May 4, 1959. It is noted that by August 26, 1960, the car had been repainted in British Racing Green. Subsequent ownership changes include one to Anthony Charles Simond of Banstead, Surrey, on August 17, 1961, then to Mrs Dorothy Kathleen Whittington of St Leonard's-on-Sea, Sussex. The car is also accompanied by a V5 registration document in the name of David George Whittington, of St Leonard's, who had adopted formal ownership from his mother in 1963, and marked "No other keepers since March 1984".

 

We understand that Mr Whittington of DW Autos in St Leonard's totally dismantled the Lotus Mark VIII, including its rare XPEG engine, with the intention of restoring it from the ground up over an extended period.

 

However, as is so often the case, the owner never found sufficient time to do the job and 30 years later, in 1993 –Olav Glasius was able to negotiate purchase of the dismantled car from Mr Whittington,"...as a total – but, crucially, absolutely complete - kit of parts".

 

Nothing was missing and the total car was restored and reassembled for Olav over a four-year restoration carried out by noted specialist Fred Fairman in Cornwall. This restoration involved some 3,000 hours work, of which 1,000 hours was devoted to restoration of the original bodywork alone.

 

The XPEG engine was entrusted to the Oudejans brothers, Dutch MG specialists in Badhoevedrop, two ex-Fokker aeronautical engineers, and rebuilt with new pistons, cylinder liners, everything either carefully tested and verified or replaced by new.

 

In recent years the car has competed in the Goodwood Revival Meeting, it runs very well and the special MG XPEG engine is as brisk today as it plainly was in period. Only nine Lotus Mark VIIIs were ever built by Colin Chapman's youthful company in the 1950s, of which only six now survive. Amongst them 'The White Lotus' offered here has survived in highly original form, immaculately restored to its discerning connoisseur owner's taste. It is a road-useable 1950s sports-racing car of enormous presence. As one of the earliest of Lotus aerodynes – built around a supremely sophisticated, lightweight spaceframe chassis which must represent a near pinnacle of that particular technology – it is in itself another Lotus landmark design...

  

Classic Days 2016

Schloss Dyck

Jüchen - Germany

Augustus 2016

Molten Lead

January 05, 2009 By Uri Avnery

Source: Gush Shalom

 

Uri Avnery's ZSpace Page

 

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For years, the Israeli occupation authorities favored the Islamic movement in the occupied territories. All other political activities were rigorously suppressed, but their activities in the mosques were permitted. The calculation was simple: at the time, the PLO was considered the main enemy, Yasser Arafat was the current Satan. The Islamic movement was preaching against the PLO and Arafat, and was therefore viewed as an ally.

  

JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT, Aljazeera's Arabic channel was reporting on events in Gaza. Suddenly the camera was pointing upwards towards the dark sky. The screen was pitch black. Nothing could be seen, but there was a sound to be heard: the noise of airplanes, a frightening, a terrifying droning.

 

It was impossible not to think about the tens of thousands of Gazan children who were hearing that sound at that moment, cringing with fright, paralyzed by fear, waiting for the bombs to fall.

 

"ISRAEL MUST defend itself against the rockets that are terrorizing our Southern towns," the Israeli spokesmen explained. "Palestinians must respond to the killing of their fighters inside the Gaza Strip," the Hamas spokesmen declared.

 

As a matter of fact, the cease-fire did not collapse, because there was no real cease-fire to start with. The main requirement for any cease-fire in the Gaza Strip must be the opening of the border crossings. There can be no life in Gaza without a steady flow of supplies. But the crossings were not opened, except for a few hours now and again. The blockade on land, on sea and in the air against a million and a half human beings is an act of war, as much as any dropping of bombs or launching of rockets. It paralyzes life in the Gaza Strip: eliminating most sources of employment, pushing hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation, stopping most hospitals from functioning, disrupting the supply of electricity and water.

 

Those who decided to close the crossings - under whatever pretext - knew that there is no real cease-fire under these conditions.

 

That is the main thing. Then there came the small provocations which were designed to get Hamas to react. After several months, in which hardly any Qassam rockets were launched, an army unit was sent into the Strip "in order to destroy a tunnel that came close to the border fence". From a purely military point of view, it would have made more sense to lay an ambush on our side of the fence. But the aim was to find a pretext for the termination of the cease-fire, in a way that made it plausible to put the blame on the Palestinians. And indeed, after several such small actions, in which Hamas fighters were killed, Hamas retaliated with a massive launch of rockets, and - lo and behold - the cease-fire was at an end. Everybody blamed Hamas.

 

WHAT WAS THE AIM? Tzipi Livni announced it openly: to liquidate Hamas rule in Gaza. The Qassams served only as a pretext.

 

Liquidate Hamas rule? That sounds like a chapter out of "The March of Folly". After all, it is no secret that it was the Israeli government which set up Hamas to start with. When I once asked a former Shin-Bet chief, Yaakov Peri, about it, he answered enigmatically: "We did not create it, but we did not hinder its creation."

 

For years, the occupation authorities favored the Islamic movement in the occupied territories. All other political activities were rigorously suppressed, but their activities in the mosques were permitted. The calculation was simple and naive: at the time, the PLO was considered the main enemy, Yasser Arafat was the current Satan. The Islamic movement was preaching against the PLO and Arafat, and was therefore viewed as an ally.

 

With the outbreak of the first intifada in 1987, the Islamic movement officially renamed itself Hamas (Arabic initials of "Islamic Resistance Movement") and joined the fight. Even then, the Shin-Bet took no action against them for almost a year, while Fatah members were executed or imprisoned in large numbers. Only after a year, were Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and his colleagues also arrested.

 

Since then the wheel has turned. Hamas has now become the current Satan, and the PLO is considered by many in Israel almost as a branch of the Zionist organization. The logical conclusion for an Israeli government seeking peace would have been to make wide-ranging concessions to the Fatah leadership: ending of the occupation, signing of a peace treaty, foundation of the State of Palestine, withdrawal to the 1967 borders, a reasonable solution of the refugee problem, release of all Palestinian prisoners. That would have arrested the rise of Hamas for sure.

 

But logic has little influence on politics. Nothing of this sort happened. On the contrary, after the murder of Arafat, Ariel Sharon declared that Mahmoud Abbas, who took his place, was a "plucked chicken". Abbas was not allowed the slightest political achievement. The negotiations, under American auspices, became a joke. The most authentic Fatah leader, Marwan Barghouti, was sent to prison for life. Instead of a massive prisoner release, there were petty and insulting "gestures".

 

Abbas was systematically humiliated, Fatah looked like an empty shell and Hamas won a resounding victory in the Palestinian election - the most democratic election ever held in the Arab world. Israel boycotted the elected government. In the ensuing internal struggle, Hamas assumed direct control over the Gaza Strip.

 

And now, after all this, the government of Israel decided to "liquidate Hamas rule in Gaza" - with blood, fire and columns of smoke.

 

THE OFFICIAL NAME of the war is "Cast Lead", two words from a children's song about a Hanukkah toy.

 

It would be more accurate to call it "the the Election War".

 

In the past, too, military action has been taken during election campaigns. Menachem Begin bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor during the 1981 campaign. When Shimon Peres claimed that this was an election gimmick, Begin cried out at his next rally: "Jews, do you believe that I would send our brave boys to their death or, worse, to be taken prisoner by human animals, in order to win an election?" Begin won.

 

Peres is no Begin. When, during the 1996 election campaign, he ordered the invasion of Lebanon (operation "Grapes of Wrath"), everybody was convinced that he had done it for electoral gain. The war was a failure and Peres lost the elections and Binyamin Netanyahu came to power.

 

Barak and Tzipi Livni are now resorting to the same old trick. According to the polls, Barak's predicted election result rose within 48 hours by five Knesset seats. About 80 dead Palestinians for each seat. But it is difficult to walk on a pile of dead bodies. The success may evaporate in a minute if the war comes to be considered by the Israeli public as a failure. For example, if the rockets continue to hit Beersheba, or if the ground attack leads to heavy Israeli casualties.

 

The timing was chosen meticulously from another angle too. The attack started two days after Christmas, when American and European leaders are on holiday until after New Year. The calculation: even if somebody wanted to try and stop the war, no one would give up his holiday. That ensured several days free from outside pressures.

 

Another reason for the timing: these are George Bush's last days in the White House. This blood-soaked moron could be expected to support the war enthusiastically, as indeed he did. Barack Obama has not yet entered office and had a ready made pretext for keeping silent: "there is only one President". The silence does not bode well for the term of president Obama.

 

THE MAIN LINE was: not to repeat the mistakes of Lebanon War II. This was endlessly repeated on all the news programs and talk shows.

 

This does not change the fact: the Gaza War is an almost exact replica of the second Lebanon war.

 

The strategic concept is the same: to terrorize the civilian population by unremitting attacks from the air, sowing death and destruction. This poses no danger to the pilots, since the Palestinians have no anti-aircraft weapons at all. The calculation: if the entire life-supporting infrastructure in the Strip is utterly destroyed and total anarchy ensues, the population will rise up and overthrow the Hamas regime. Mahmoud Abbas will then ride back into Gaza on the back of Israeli tanks.

 

In Lebanon, this calculation did not work out. The bombed population, including the Christians, rallied behind Hizbullah, and Hassan Nasrallah became the hero of the Arab world. Something similar will probably happen this time, too. Generals are experts on using weapons and moving troops, not on mass psychology.

 

Some time ago I wrote that the Gaza blockade was a scientific experiment designed to find out how much one can starve a population and turn its life into hell before they break. This experiment was conducted with the generous help of Europe and the US. Up to now, it did not succeed. Hamas became stronger and the range of the Qassams became longer. The present war is a continuation of the experiment by other means.

 

It may be that the army will "have no alternative" but to re-conquer the Gaza Strip because there is no other way to stop the Qassams - except coming to an agreement with Hamas, which is contrary to government policy. When the ground invasion starts, everything will depend on the motivation and capabilities of the Hamas fighters vis-à-vis the Israeli soldiers. Nobody can know what will happen.

 

DAY AFTER DAY, night after night, Aljazeera's Arabic channel broadcasts the atrocious pictures: heaps of mutilated bodies, tearful relatives looking for their dear ones among the dozens of corpses spread out on the ground, a woman pulling her young daughter from under the rubble, doctors without medicines trying to save the lives of the wounded. (The English-language Aljazeera, unlike its Arab-language sister-station, has undergone an amazing about face, broadcasting only a sanitized picture and freely distributing Israeli government propaganda. It would be interesting to know what happened there.)

 

Millions are seeing these terrible images, picture after picture, day after day. These images are imprinted on their minds forever: horrible Israel, abominable Israel, inhuman Israel. A whole generation of haters. That is a terrible price, which we will be compelled to pay long after the other results of the war itself have been forgotten in Israel.

 

But there is another thing that is being imprinted on the minds of these millions: the picture of the miserable, corrupt, passive Arab regimes.

 

As seen by Arabs, one fact stands out above all others: the wall of shame.

 

For the million and a half Arabs in Gaza, who are suffering so terribly, the only opening to the world that is not dominated by Israel is the border with Egypt. Only from there can food arrive to sustain life and medicaments to save the injured. This border remains closed at the height of the horror. The Egyptian army has blocked the only way for food and medicines to enter, while surgeons operate on the wounded without anesthetics.

 

Throughout the Arab world, from end to end, there echoed the words of Hassan Nasrallah: The leaders of Egypt are accomplices to the crime, they are collaborating with the "Zionist enemy" in trying to break the Palestinian people. It can be assumed that he did not mean only Mubarak, but also all the other leaders, from the king of Saudi Arabia to the Palestinian President. Seeing the demonstrations throughout the Arab world and listening to the slogans, one gets the impression that their leaders seem to many Arabs pathetic at best, and miserable collaborators at worst.

 

This will have historic consequences. A whole generation of Arab leaders, a generation imbued with the ideology of secular Arab nationalism, the successors of Gamal Abd-al-Nasser, Hafez al-Assad and Yasser Arafat, may be swept from the stage. In the Arab space, the only viable alternative is the ideology of Islamic fundamentalism.

 

This war is a writing on the wall: Israel is missing the historic chance of making peace with secular Arab nationalism. Tomorrow, It may be faced with a uniformly fundamentalist Arab world, Hamas multiplied by a thousand.

 

MY TAXI DRIVER in Tel-Aviv the other day was thinking aloud: Why not call up the sons of the ministers and members of the Knesset, form them into a combat unit and send them off to head the coming ground attack on Gaza?

 

A Village in December

 

Said Hazrat Sahel Tustari (ra), “Purification is of three types; the purification of ilm, knowledge, lies in the disappearance of ignorance. The purification of zikr, focus upon Allah, comes from the vanishing of forgetfulness. The purification of true obedience comes from abstinence from sin."

 

I can’t remember the last time I visited Radhan in December. It’s always March and November and nothing else except when there is a death in the family and we head there for the burial in the family graveyard. But this year, the winter had been late. There was no rain to kick-start it and the temperatures were a mild 26 every single day. That was a first for me. Climate change concern aside, it felt amazing. I hate the cold.

 

The house was all mine. It was warm and quiet and gorgeous. I was acutely aware of my state of happiness that was bordering on elation. That didn’t have just to do with being outside the city. I was also planning a pilgrimage to Iraq with a friend. I had specific things I wanted to do this time, on what would be my second trip. Specifically in Baghdad at Ghaus Pak’s (ra) steps and in Najaf, where lay the Door of the City of Knowledge, the blessed Imam Ali (ratu).

 

I chose the vegetables I would eat every day that the chef, who had been there for 30 some years, would be cooking to perfection; all flavor, no crazed quantity spices to blunt the taste the way they did in the city. Turnips, carrots, peas, mustard spinach, cauliflower, organic chicken, grass-fed beef, liver, the list went on and on. Then there was the fruit in season which was in full bloom and appeared everywhere; grapefruits, oranges, sugarcane. I had brought Ghaus Pak’s (ra) Al Fath Ar Rabbani and two New Yorkers, my Ipod and a usb to watch something at night.

 

Shaan was supposed to come but then I decided against it. My friend from Karachi was coming to see me in March and wanted to return to the village for sure. I thought that might be a better time. If there was one extra person, there may as well be two! Plus someone from my staff in Lahore would accompany us and that would make things easier. All three of us had our idiosyncrasies. In numbers would be our strength

and no one would stand out.

 

I had decided to continue my classes with Qari Sahib per our schedule. We were working only on translating the exegesis of the Quran by Ghaus Pak (ra) in the Tafseer e Jilani and I was motivated as hell. I had a list of verses already that I kept adding to every time I heard a lecture by Uzair or Sheikh Nurjan. (flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/51683698952/in/dateposted-...)

 

If I could, the only impediment being that Qari Sahib already had several classes a week, I would work with him on it for hours every single day. By my calculation, it would still take me 10 years to translate the whole tafseer. Still, every verse revealed a jewel that only one with inner eyes could see and only one whose being a fountain of generosity could make others, the ordinary, see.

 

This piece was the third I was writing in months. I had started two but then each of them became so long, crossing 70 pages, that I couldn’t put them together. I had been adding notes to them as I wrote, thinking I could make it all cohesive later but they became like the jigsaw puzzles that have a thousand pieces. Which I could never assemble even if I had a thousand years. So I abandoned the first, then went to Ormara, wrote there and abandoned it next.

 

But this time, I was feeling joy, even in my tears, which I noticed only fell from my eyes before or after the dawn prayer. The rest of the prayers through the day could be uttered seriously but I rarely cried. In the village the writing flowed because the happiness made me able to concentrate on words that were other than the Quran. I knew the window was small. I decided to take it. It was not possible to compete with revelation!

 

سَنُرِيهِمْ ءَايَتِنَا فِى ٱلْءَافَاقِ وَفِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ ۗ

 

Soon We will show them Our Signs in the horizons and in themselves

until becomes clear to them, that it (is) the truth.

Is it not sufficient concerning your Lord, that He (is) over all things a Witness?

Surah Fussilat, Verse 53

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Then points Allah Subhana Ta’ala towards the One-ness of His Essence and His Appearance according to His Names and Attributes in every day presence and His Creations and all that His One-ness encompasses within those Creations and which includes all of it, so that they all become a clear proof upon the Truthfulness of His Book and that it came forth from Him, so He said:

 

Sa nurihim: “Soon, We will show them i.e. the Majboleen, those that have been formed upon the Nature of One-ness, the Makhloqeen, the ones created upon the substance of imaan, faith and irfaan, Recognition of Allah, and the Mo’qineen, the ones possessing certainty of clear unveiling and eye-witnessing, (to these three)…

 

Ayatina: Our Signs i.e. the Clear Proofs of Our One-ness which leads to the One-ness of Our Essence, Apparent…

 

Fil afaaq: in the horizons i.e. in each speck of the Universe external from their beings, which they discover with their tools and their senses. “Afaaq” is named “specks” because it is through them that the rise of the Sun of the Essence of Allah is evident and that rise is also evident in these specks…

 

Wa fi anfusihim: (And Our Signs are apparent) in themselves i.e. their selves are the highest evidence of the ma’rifat, the Recognition of Allah, and Wahdat al Haq, the One-ness of His Essence.

 

For this reason, said Asdaq al Qaileen, the Most Truthful of the ones who speak and the Akmal al Kamileen, the Most Perfect of the perfect ones, the Prophet (peace be upon him);

 

مَن عَرَفَ نَفسَہُ فَقَد عَرَفَ رَبَۤہُ

 

“The ones who know their own selves, indeed, know their God.”

 

And no doubt, We (Allah) will show them what We will show them….

 

Hatta yattabayyana lahum: until it becomes clear for them and apparent in front of them and unveiled upon them…

 

Annahu: that indeed it i.e. this matter, which is made completely clear in the horizons and in their selves, is…

 

Al Haq: Al Haqeeq, Allah, who is The Rightful Possessor of Truth and Al Saboot, The One who is Unchanging in His Disposal of affairs, Alone in His Being. In the same way, the Quran, which is full of miracles, is also the ultimate Truth, and overall encompasses His Appearance and His Attributes.

Poets gave their reaffirmation in their own way:

 

ہم ایسے اہل نظر کو ثبوت حق کے لیے

اگر رسول نہ ہوتے تو صبح کافی تھی

 

Those of us seeing through the eyes of the heart, for evidence that there is a God,

if the Prophets had not been, a sunrise would have sufficed!

Josh

Subhan Allah!

 

I had heard a lecture recently by Uzair in which he had quoted the verse and the poetry above so I had studied it. It had reminded me of something he had said in earlier lectures; Allah describes Himself more often by that which that he is not i.e. using negation (nafi) rather than that which He is (asbaat). Subhan is the word for it in Arabic which describes the former, meaning “pure of all negativity.” Hamd is for the latter, the praise of that which is undeniable and requires no proof.

 

The Kalima Tauheed (Declaration of One-ness of God), the utterance to enter the fold of Islam, become a Muslim, the one who surrenders, starts with the word “la,” which is negation;

 

لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِؕ

 

Not is there a god but Allah and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His Messenger.

 

The Kalima itself is worded differently by various Spiritual Masters, Ghaus Pak (ra) using the world Maujood i.e. present;

 

لا الہ الا اللہ ای لا موجود الا اللہ

 

There is no God but Allah means there is no Presence except that of Allah.

 

I guess that meant negation prevails over assertion. For a moment I thought about science and if it followed the same premise but then I stopped myself. Science follows Man, say the Spiritual Masters, it doesn’t precede us. The idea of negation had made me think about the definition of sabr in Surah Al Asr, a personal favourite, on the four types of patience.

 

The Surah is extraordinary even before you read the exegesis. It begins with Allah taking an oath upon time. It states that every single person is, without doubt, in a state of loss. Then comes the exception. The only ones who aren’t are the Muqinoon, those who possess inner certainty, which is then defined. Like all of the Quran, the rhythm of the words fall on a beat which makes it easy to memorize and lovely to repeat.

 

‏وَٱلْعَصْرِ

‏إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ ‎

‏إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّلِحَتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ ‎

 

(Allah takes an oath) upon time,

that the human being is surely in a state of loss,

except those who believe and do righteous deeds and enjoin (each other) to the truth and enjoin (each other) to [the] patience.

Surah Al-Asr, Verses 1-3

 

Tafeer e Jilani

 

Wal Asr: Then Allah Suban Ta’ala takes an oath upon time and the ages, the meaning of which is about the Eternal Essence of Allah, from the beginning till the end, Timeless and Everlasting.

 

Innal Insaana: Indeed, the human being, created such to have a natural propensity towards the nature of ma’rifa, the Recognition of God and imaan, faith according to his share of the Lahoot, the Realm of the Divine, where there is no time and space…

 

Lafe khusr: is in a state of loss, immense and humiliating failure, as a result of their busyness in that which is useless due to the requirements (and needs) of his physical being, as related to his share of the world of Nasoot, the life in this world.

 

Illa: Except the Muqinoon, those who possess inner certainty…

Alladina Aamino: about the One-ness of Allah Subhan Ta’ala and are conscious, through their steadfastness, in their behaviour continuously in His Kingdom and about His Authority.

 

Wa: And with this faith and certainty…

 

Amilos Sualihaat: they do good deeds which points towards their ikhas, sincerity and their yaqeen, absolute conviction, and niyyat, intention.

 

Wa: And in this condition…

 

Tawasau bil Haq: they enjoin each other towards the Path of God and His One-ness…

 

Wa tawasau: and they also enjoin each other…

 

Bis sabr: towards patience for the practice of matters that require obedience and (patience towards) their tiredness from striving hard and (patience towards) from what they suffer as a result of cutting themselves off from their love of the world and (patience towards) leaving their animalistic desires which are attached to human nature.

 

All the Spiritual Masters had said that the practice of patience in denying oneself of that which one wanted, be it related to the world or the physical self and human desire, was the most noble. Again, negation!

 

On that first day as I lay in the garden, alternating between taking photos of birds and reading, I discovered another reason Shaan had come into my life. It was to empty my heart of all others. To bring me closer to eradicating the possibilities of shirk, (associating others with God), that persisted regardless of my worship. Those hopes, never ending, those desires I always obeyed!

 

In the Golden Chain of ahadith, which is when the words of Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) are recorded by his family, Maula Ali (ratu) narrates;

 

قال علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه:

إن أخوف ما أتخوف عليكم اثنتين:

اتباع الهوى، وطول الأمل،

فأما اتباع الهوى فيصد عن الحق، وأما طول الأمل فينسي الآخرة

 

Maula Ali (ratu) said that the Prophet of God (peace be upon him) said;

“Indeed of what I fear for you, I fear the most two things;

the following of desires and the endless greed for the world.

For the following of desires blocks you from the Truth, and the endless greed makes you forget the Afterlife.”

 

A line in Al Fath Ar Rabbani echoed exactly why the focus was all in the wrong place, the ego, which had become the false origin of all emotion;

 

“The happiness of your nafs, the base self, is what makes you happy. It’s sadness is what makes you sad.”

 

Ever since Shaan had come into my life I was already detaching from everyone else. It was like I didn’t need anyone. I thought about it sometimes when I was in my room alone. Was that it with people? Having a person in one’s life that one cared for, took responsibility for, worrying about their emotional state, was that what made them indifferent to others? (flickr.com/photos/42093313@N00/51621076407/in/dateposted-...)

 

Since he was around me I didn't care at all about who I met and who I didn't. I didn't miss anyone. I didn't seek anyone. I even spent time thinking about how I would treat others now that I didn’t need them. I had been pondering over it as if it was going to be a spiritual exercise. But of course it was just a whispering of Iblis to ignite my ego. Its eternal wanna-be goody two shoe-ness sans sincerity.

 

I only ended up reinserting thoughts of events past and creating nostalgia around those that were and will always willingly absent and eternally betraying. The falsehood of my thoughts was too apparent to ignore. The sadness relating to them reverberating in my heart, created the impression of some warm remembrance, which was really just hurt.

 

More importantly, a hadith was brought before me that brought a swift end to the pondering of whether I would be kind or cruel. In searching for something I came across something Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him) had said about what he was commanded by His Lord, who raised him, nurtured him. He had listed nine things. I had focused on three that had to do with other people:

 

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَمَرَنِي رَبِّي بِتِسْعٍ:

خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ فِي السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ

وَكَلِمَةِ الْعَدْلِ فِي الْغَضَبِ وَالرِّضَى

وَالْقَصْدِ فِي الْفَقْرِ وَالْغِنَى

وَأَنْ أَصِلَ مَنْ قَطَعَنِي وَأُعْطِي مَنْ حَرَمَنِي

وَأَعْفُو عَمَّنْ ظَلَمَنِي

وَأَنْ يَكُونَ صَمْتِي فِكْرًا

وَنُطْقِي ذِكْرًا

وَنَظَرِي عِبْرَةً و

آمُرُ بِالْعُرْفِ

 

The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) said; I was ordered by my Lord nine Commands:

To be in fear of God in secrecy and in announcement,

and to speak justly when in anger and in happiness,

and to be moderate in poverty and wealth,

and to connect with the one who disconnects from me and to give to the one who deprives me,

and to forgive the one who is unjust to me,

and for my silence to be for reflection (of Him)

and my utterance to be of remembrance of (Him)

and my seeing to be to seek lessons

and to enjoin others towards goodness.

 

So that was that! Whether I could do it or not was another matter of course. But that bridge could only be crossed when it appeared. If they appeared that is. It served to remind me of a line I had read in the Tafseer e Jilani that we only see those for whom love has been placed in our hearts. Then I came across a cartoon or rather a sketch in one of my New Yorkers titled Paul and Audrey, that I type below as was, that proved just that magnificently.

 

Paul Desmond was the alto saxophonist in the Dave Brubeck Quartet from 1951 5o 1967. He wrote “Take Five,” the Group’s biggest hit. He had a lifelong crush on Audrey Hepburn. Though they never met…

 

The strip was about her performing at the 46th Street Theater starring in “Ondine” in the spring of 1954. The Quartet was playing a few blocks away. Every night, Paul asked Brubeck to call an intermission at the same time. Desmond would duck out of the club and cut across Times Square. He’d stand in an alley to watch Hepburn walk out the stage door and climb in to her limo.

 

That year Paul wrote a song called “Audrey” which appeared on the Columbia Records Album “Brubeck Time.” Desmond died from lung cancer in 1977. He was single and never knew whether Hepburn had heard the song he wrote for her.

When Hepburn died in 1993, her ex-husband Andrea Dotti called Brubeck to ask if his Quartet would play “Audrey” at a memorial service at the UN Headquarters. This took Brubeck by surprise.

 

“I had no idea you’d be aware of Audrey…”

 

“My wife listened to that song every night before she went to bed.”

 

Sob!

 

The love was inserted in one’s heart for another. The fruit of that love was mushahida, a witnessing. It felt comforting to me that if people were going to be coming and going out of my life, my seeing them, them seeing me, or not, would at least only be a function of love. There would be ikhlas that I didn’t have to inject, never knowing if it was real (sincerity) or fake. It would either be there or not entirely outside my own existence.

 

In these warm winter days I read in Al Fath Ar Rabbani that disobedience was a result of being jahil.

 

“The one who was disobedient was ignorant of his Lord, therefore he became disobedient. Instead he became obedient to Satan and chose agreement with him. If he had not been jahil, ignorant, he would not have become disobedient. If he had become cognizant of his base self, the nafs, aware that it bids him towards what is wrong, he would never have succumbed to it…The nafs, desire, nature, and bad company they are all helpers of Iblis who deludes you.”

What the nafs was infatuated with was the world. The company sought was within the world. And it was all attractive.

 

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا

 

(Truly we have made all that is on Earth as an adornment for it)

that We may try them, as to which of them is best in their deed.

Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 7

 

Tafseer e Jilani:

 

Inna ja’alne ma ala alardi: Without doubt We created upon this Earth three basic things; animals and humans, vegetation, and buried treasures. And We created whatever else comes from this Earth; different tastes and different lusts, which are physical or fantasy.

 

Zeenatal laha: These are adornments for it that make it (the world) beautiful and attractive…

 

Ayyuhum ahsan amlan: to see which of them (Mankind) has the best deeds and these deeds are the ones which are completed with true guidance and reflection by detachment from the world. And the absence of focus towards it and staying away from its enjoyment which is an illusion. And staying away from the distraction it creates and its lusts which bring with them all kinds of pain and difficulties and desires.

 

It is these wishes which in turn cause different sins and crimes. It is then imperative that in this world then one lives in a single room and wears a single outfit and eats simply, for everything else is just debris which is transient, which inherits sinfulness and trials.

 

When I read the last line of what is “imperative” only one word came to mind; Shaan.

 

The connection of knowledge and deed became clearer through the hadith:

 

من عمل بما یعلم اورثہ اللہ علم ما لم یعلم

 

Hence Nabi Pak (peace be upon him) says:

“The one who acts upon what he acquires as knowledge, Allah makes him inherit the knowledge which he does not know.”

 

Al Fath Ar Rabbani: “First learning must be gained from Creation. That is a command. Then comes the Knowledge from the Creator. And this is the Ilm ul Ludunni, the Knowledge of the Divine. This Divine Ilm from Allah is specific for the qalb, the Seat of Recognition of Allah, and it is a secret which is specific for the soul.

 

O Listener! How is it possible that you possess the capability to gain knowledge without a teacher? You are in the House of Wisdom so seek knowledge for seeking it is dutied upon you. Which is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said;

 

اطلبوا العلم ولو بالصين

 

Seek knowledge even if it lies as far as China.”

 

I had noticed how many current day political analysts quoted that particular saying frequently now that Pakistan was allied with China in an inseparable way geo-politically. But then every word The Beloved (peace be upon him) spoke was deliberate. It was taught. It had deep repercussions, some that seemed to be unveiling themselves for us in the homeland at least, 1,400 years later.

 

What was it that made the world and all that in it a distraction so intense that one’s soul was forgotten? It was the reason the soul could be ignored for an entire lifetime. I always paid attention to what was happening in China. Like everyone else the Party was doing things that were good and bad.

China had discovered that it had lost control of an entire generation. That thousands of years of culture had been wiped out in a matter of years. India had discovered the same but its reins were firmly in the hands of Hollywood and their own billionaires. They were only sinking fast with no turn around in sight.

 

Recently in China had started what was being called in the press, a new “cultural revolution.”

 

Reuters, August 31st, 2021; “Three hours a week: Play time's over for China's young video gamers. China has forbidden under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week, a stringent social intervention that it said was needed to pull the plug on a growing addiction to what it once described as ‘spiritual opium.’”

 

I was captivated by the language the Party used; spiritual opium! I guess once something bad happened to them, it was never forgotten. But it wasn’t just the limiting of the time during the seven days in a week. It was also exactly which days and which timings within those days that the three hours could be used.

 

“They limit under-18s to playing for one hour a day - 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. - on only Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to the Xinhua state news agency. They can also play for an hour, at the same time, on public holidays. "Teenagers are the future of our motherland," Xinhua quoted an unnamed NPPA spokesperson as saying. "Protecting the physical and mental health of minors is related to the people's vital interests, and relates to the cultivation of the younger generation in the era of national rejuvenation."

 

They didn’t care if billions were wiped in shareholder value of the companies making the games. Which they were. In fact, quite the opposite. The Party had begun forcing them and the tech moguls to give charity in the billions as part of their “common prosperity” drive;

 

“To answer Beijing’s call of ‘common prosperity,’ China’s Big Tech are scrambling to prove their commitment to social values. Alibaba had earlier this year earmarked 100 billion yuan to help the national strategy of equal distribution of wealth, while Tencent has set up two batches of funds totalling 100 billion yuan."

 

I had been wondering how they could possible enforce such stringent rules, monitor hourly playing of games on the internet by millions of kids. But of course the Party knew how to get what it wanted exactly as it wanted; by controlling the supply of the “electronic drugs.

 

“Gaming companies will be barred from providing services to minors in any form outside the stipulated hours and must ensure they have put real-name verification systems in place, said the regulator, which oversees the country's video games market… The NPPA regulator told Xinhua it would increase the frequency and intensity of inspections for online gaming companies to ensure they were putting in place time limits and anti-addiction systems.”

 

When I read the pieces, I had been in the States. I mentioned the rules to every kid I saw strapped to their Ipad like it was an IV that gave them life. They looked amazed and then unsurprisingly, had the same response; “Thank God I don’t live in that country!”

 

But China didn’t stop at gaming and time spent on the internet. In 2009 they had banned internet porn and heavily fined and penalized any company distributing it. Not to mention adverse consequences for the viewers. But now they were shifting gears.

 

Insider, July 22nd 2021; “Chinese tech giants were fined for distributing ‘soft porn’ sticker packs and sexually suggestive videos with minors in them. The companies have been told to remove related content on their sites. The internet watchdog also imposed a blanket ban on people under 16 from appearing in live streams.”

 

No influencers, no You-tubers! It sounded like a miracle to me. And again the companies would be the ones enforcing the compliance.

 

“Under the campaign ‘Summer cleanup of the internet for minors,’ the CAC issued a blanket ban on young people under 16 from appearing on live streams, which have become an extremely popular way for Chinese e-commerce sites to sell goods. The statement did not detail how the agency is going to impose the ban, which would likely be left up to companies to comply. The internet regulator said the move is aimed at preventing young people from "worshipping money" and selling ‘extravagant pleasure.’”

 

Meanwhile Time Magazine named unhinged Elon Musk, Person of the Year, who was now saying that like the Prophet Noah (as), he wanted to take animals up to Mars on a space ship! The next day the story broke about misogyny rampant at Tesla with filings of sexual harassment suits and the claims that the 256 billion dollar “Person of the Year” was “sadistic.”

 

Hype around the metaverse, most heavily being pushed by the epitome of evil, Facebook, revealed the ugliest downside; sexual harassment in the virtual universe, starting with groping. Beta testers were having the unpleasant experience on Horizon World, Meta’s virtual reality social Media platform.

 

I had concerns about the whole virtual reality world we were going to be entering en masse but unwanted physical aggression was not on that list. I was mostly worried about people becoming reclusive and children getting further addicted to a life online.

 

The Post was printing article upon article about the links of social isolation to violence. On top of that “Since the return of spectators to high school sporting events following the pandemic shutdown, many young athletes across the country have experienced similar hate speech and other abuse. Namely using foul language, making obscene gestures, throwing objects and physically fighting. The uptick also has included spectators hurling sexually demeaning and racist language at young athletes."

 

The Wall Street Journal had been investigating TikTok and Instagram. Both had algorithms inundating minors with “endless spools of content about sex, drugs and eating disorders.” Little could be done about it by the companies and oversight was absent. But the new kid on the block was virtual reality.

 

MIT Technology Review, Dec 12th, 2021: …“There I was, being virtually groped in a snowy fortress with my brother-in-law and husband watching.”

 

…A recent review of the events around the user’s experience published in the journal for the Digital Games Research Association found that “many online responses to this incident were dismissive of the experience and, at times, abusive and misogynistic … readers from all perspectives grappled with understanding this act given the virtual and playful context it occurred in.” A constant topic of debate on message boards after the user’s Medium article was whether or not what she had experienced was actually groping if her body wasn’t physically touched.

 

Katherine Cross, who researches online harassment at the University of Washington, says that when virtual reality is immersive and real, toxic behavior that occurs in that environment is real as well. “At the end of the day, the nature of virtual-reality spaces is such that it is designed to trick the user into thinking they are physically in a certain space, that their every bodily action is occurring in a 3D environment,” she says. “It’s part of the reason why emotional reactions can be stronger in that space, and why VR triggers the same internal nervous system and psychological responses.”

 

The question is: Whose responsibility is it to make sure users are comfortable? Meta, for example, says it gives users access to tools to keep themselves safe, effectively shifting the onus onto them…If anything is clear, it’s this: There is no body that’s plainly responsible for the rights and safety of those who participate anywhere online, let alone in virtual worlds. Until something changes, the metaverse will remain a dangerous, problematic space.”

 

Companies off the hook and here we go again!

 

The cause of disobedience made me reflect on how I understood the word jahil. It was in two ways; the first was to be ignorant. The second was to know but deny the truth. That denial was rooted in the ego, the nafs, the base self. Why? Because it wanted to do what it wanted to do and justify it at all cost. I wondered which I was going to be when the “enemy” appeared.

 

My intense desire was to somehow be what Maula (ratu) had ordered;

 

إذا قدرت على عدوك فاجعل العفو عنه شكرا للقدرة عليه

 

“If you had the ability to destroy your enemy, forgive them out of thanks to God who granted you that ability (to forgive him).”

In the village reading I came across the teachers without whom spiritual journeys were just endless circles; the three types of guides.

 

Al Fath Ar Rabbani: “O Disciple! Remain in the company of the one that helps you to fight your nafs as opposed to the one who aids it against you.

 

When you adopt the company of a jahil, uninformed and munafiq, pretender Spiritual Master, who is a slave to his desire and his nature, he will help the nafs against you. It is compulsory upon you to seek the company of the Spiritual Masters who are not companions of the world but are companions for the Hereafter.

 

When the Sheikh is the one who is a follower of nature and desires, then he will keep company only for sake of the world.

When he is a Sahib e Dil, Sheikh of the Qalb, he will keep company keeping in mind the Afterlife.

 

And when the Sheikh is Sahib e Sirr, of the soul, then his company is to connect (others) with Allah alone.”

Since Shaan came in to my life I never got stuck for days on end on a thought, no matter what it was. Good or bad, disturbing or pleasing. Everything was a door. I saw the emotion, marked it and passed through it. I would even say the words out loud to stop fixating on a thought that would loop while I tried to make excuses that made its existence valid.

 

“See the door of nostalgia, judgement, anger, disappointment, grief, paranoia, anything and everything!

 

See the door!

 

Pass through it.”

 

There was no stuckness. At least not for long. But that also wasn’t always the case.

 

I had heard Sheikh Nurjan (ra) in a lecture talk about

 

وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقً

 

And declare, O Prophet (saw), “The truth has come and falsehood has vanished, for falsehood is bound to wither away - Surah Al-Isra’, Verse 81

 

“When you are solid in your settlement in Allah’s Unveiling before you, a clear Sun of Allah’s Essence has appeared, then there is nothing else for all has disappeared; the shadows and darkness that destroy one’s being. When you find that knowledge and you find that door, your life is to serve, to enter into that door. Once you enter that door, you pray to never leave it, to die in it.”

 

Babu ji (ra), my spiritual Master from Golra, had once said in Punjabi to my Mamu when he was in his early 20s, likely looking inside his heart, “don’t get stuck like a donkey in mud. Move on!”

 

I used to think maybe he said that in the context of love. My Mamu was deeply sensitive. That probably made him a classical romantic. But he didn’t say it in the context of any one thing. He said it in reference to every single thing.

 

Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra) in the Tafseer e Jilani:

 

“You had made the behaviour of your nafs overpower the attributes of your qalb, which is the Seat of Recognition of Allah. This is because your good deeds were only for display and to claim good repute. Your purpose in following in the footsteps of the nafs was to receive things from this world that you thought would benefit you and showing truthful regard for your Lord was not your intention.

 

Still, he delivered you from painful punishment (for such acts) so that you would only desire to seek the Pleasure of Allah and occupy yourself only with His worship (by being mindful of Him at all times). If you were thus granted, due to His Mercy, advances in your spiritual ranks, don’t become stuck in them. Instead, move forward and continue to seek union with the Status and Stations of Allah’s Essence until you achieve success in reaching them.”

 

The placement of people, all of creation, in one’s life is tricky. They all serve as mirrors to see one self and they are the bait Iblis uses to create havoc. Truly a case of you cant live with them or without them!

 

Al Fath Ar Rabbani: Remember! Makhlooq, creation, is the veil over your nafs, ego.

And your ego is the veil over your qalb that prevents you from recognizing your Lord.

And your qalb is the veil over your batin, the inner being.

So as long as you remain stuck with people, you will not be able to see your nafs.”

 

It made me think back to the hadith on knowledge as self-awareness.

 

من عمل بما یعلم اورثہ اللہ علم ما لم یعلم

 

“The one who acts upon what he acquires as knowledge, Allah makes him inherit the knowledge which he does not know.”

 

So if one acted upon deed, the condition being that the act was rooted in ikhlas, sincerity, Allah opened a new door of knowledge. And if that was brought into deed, another door opened. Door upon door opening and door upon door carrying one towards sincerity.

 

It was the word ikhlas, the requirement of sincerity, of the deed that was elusive to me. Until Ghaus Pak (ra) told me what was the one place where it lay. The beginning of his words had made me cry because it was all I did wrong:

 

“Stop being satisfied by relaying the states of the Friends of God, and trying to look like them and copying and transmitting their words (to others), when all the while you act in complete opposition to their deeds.

 

For this will bring you no benefit at all. You are grime without purification, mere creation without the Creator, the world without the Afterlife, falsehood without truth, zahir, overt, without a batin, the inner being, words without deed and deed without ikhlas, sincerity.”

 

The whole paragraph had me sitting on edge but the word Ikhlas took me over the top. And then came the last line;

 

“The sincerity is not in accordance with the Sunnah, the acts and deeds of the Beloved of Allah (peace be upon him). Indeed, Allah never accepts words without deed. And He never accepts deeds without sincerity. Whatever it may be, if it is not in line with His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace be upon him), He will never accept it.

 

This is all claim without proof. Therefore nothing is rightly accepted from you.”

 

Never before in my life was I being pointed with such emphasis towards one door alone; the Sunnah of The Belveod (peace be upon him). I always thought I knew how important it was but I never grasped that it was essential to the point that its absence made things worth naught. Usualy I always circled back to the world I guess because we were stuck in it. Even me who claimed such detachment from it.

 

The connection of sincerity with the Sunnah reminded me of a translation I had done of the end of Surah Al Araaf from the Tafseer e Jilani;

 

“It is incumbent upon you that if you want to receive true guidance from the Book, you have to enjoin yourself with the ahadith of Rasool Allah (peace be upon him). Because the ahadith are meant to explain it, reveal the secrets and signs in it, and make clear that which is ambiguous in it. The ahadith will give you the security you need to have true belief and secure you from slipping and turning away from guidance. It is the ahadith that which take you, according to your capacity, to the path of One-ness.”

 

Every day I sat in the garden and saw the light outside turn a warm yellow in the afternoon. The sky became a powdery blue and everything became brighter and brighter, light upon light. And every day I wished it was the first day there, the beginning of five. In one of my New Yorkers I came across an excellent piece of fiction by a Native American writer. I had not come across him before.

 

It was titled Featherweight. I loved it because it was a story about love. The writing was a little racy but there were lines in it that made me pause. Like the first; “When I first met my love…” I don’t come across romance often in the magazine so it was a treat. Especially since it was written about young love, kids in their 20s, the intensity running sky high all the time in angst and pleasure.

 

…She was like that – anything I said she rejected on principle.

 

…She could never calm down. Her nerves were always at DEFCON 1. One night I told her the true divide between us was not the thing her mother had told us but that I came from buffalo people and she came from fish people. No, she said. You come from sober people and I come from people who throw plates.

 

…Love is most often a resurrected thing.

 

…Some of us are like that. One moment we’re one way, the next we’re another.

 

And my favourite:

 

…I accepted it completely and forever, just as the sun accepts that it will never catch the moon.

 

Because it was exactly about my first short story, Ash Shams Wa Al Qamr, The Sun and the Moon.

 

Every afternoon after I read I took my books in and waited for Pathani. To ask her which direction we would go in that day. To hear her reply whichever you want. The comfort of sameness never leaves me.

 

As I walked amidst the orchid of orange trees trying to choose one to pick some fruit from to try, I thought about how it was not surprising to me that Iblis’ favourite tactic was inserting delusion, creating paranoia, causing obsession over all things worldly. There was no one more deluded than him. He gloated over the warp speed with which he corrupted everything that was made pure and we reveled in our embracing of it under the single guide of modernity, applauding ourselves over non-judgment and freedom. He handed us matches and we set ourselves on fire. That’s another 70 pager that is exhausting to just think about.

 

So when I came across the verse in the Quran about how on the Day that mattered, the excuse that we were led by him, deceived by him would not stand, I was amazed that we were even foretold that.

 

Then the deceiver would just turn around say, “I have nothing to do with you or your choices.” The beginning of the exegesis was amazing starting with this; that desires and lusts that caused ruin would be given the appearance of Satan.

 

وَقَالَ ٱلشَّيْطَنُ لَمَّا قُضِىَ ٱلْأَمْرُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَوَعَدتُّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ ۖ

وَمَا كَانَ لِىَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن سُلْطَنٍ إِلَّآ أَن دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَٱسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِى ۖ

فَلَا تَلُومُونِى وَلُومُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُم ۖ

مَّآ أَنَا۠ بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَآ أَنتُم بِمُصْرِخِىَّ ۖ

إِنِّى كَفَرْتُ بِمَآ أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ مِن قَبْلُ ۗ

إِنَّ ٱلظَّلِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ

 

And when everything will have been decided Satan will say,

"Indeed, Allah promised you a promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed you.

But I had no authority over you, except that I invited you, and you responded to me.

So do not blame me, but blame yourselves.

I cannot be called to your aid, nor can you come to mine.

Indeed, I deny your previous association of me (with Allah).”

Indeed, the wrongdoers, for them (is) a punishment painful."

Surah Ibrahim, Verse 22

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa qala Shaitaan: The desires which corrupt and corrupt others, first of all, they will say about Mankind, when they will have been given the appearance of Satan the deceiver…

 

Lamma qudiyal amr: after the matter has been decided about the abode of the people of Heaven in Heaven and the people of Hell in Hell...

 

Innallaha: (those desires that will be given the appearance of Satan will say) indeed Allah, Al Muslih, The Reformer, Al Mudabbir, The Disposer of the affairs of His Servants…

 

Wa’adukum wa’adal Haq: He promised you about this Day (to not follow Satan) which you are now held accountable for…

 

Wa wa’adtukum: and I promised you waywardness and delusion, opposite to His Promise…

 

Fa akhlaftukum: so I went against that which your Lord promised you, despite that its fulfillment (of my promise) was impossible and there was never any doubt about that ever. And you followed my words despite that this was a delusion and disobedience. There could have never been any hope that the promises would come true and still, you believed me.

Wa: And yet another thing is that…

 

Ma kana li alaykum min sultan: I had no control over you. There is no proof that I could have overcome you and nor do I have an argument which allows me refuge…

 

Illa an dawutakum: except that I only invited you according to your choices and your desires which was exactly based on your lusts and physicality, and knowing all that…

 

Fastajabtum li: you accepted my call and you accepted it to be true, without reflection and without delaying, willingly and with want.

 

Fala talumoni alyoum: So don’t blame me today…

 

Wa loumo anfusukum: and blame your selves which persuaded you and beckoned you towards following me, along with your knowing (full well that this) was my trap and my enemity.

 

Ma ana: I am not today…

 

Bimusrihikum: your helper (if you want to call upon me to help you), nor do I have authority to help you, even if I claim to be with you, like I used to in the past, to deceive you and create illusions…

 

Wa ma antum: And neither are you…

 

Bimusrikhi: my deliverers, now that everything has come to light and the bondage of love between us has been cut and everyone has become the saver of their own selves according to what they have done.

 

Inni: Indeed I, on this day after the unveiling of the secrets and the hidden truths,

 

Kafartu: deny i.e. disassociate myself from and refuse…

 

Bima asharktumooni: those things by which you joined me in committing shirk (associating others) with Allah, who is Al Wahid Al Ahad, The Only One, As Samad, The Eternal One on whom all depends, with whom nothing can be associated at all…

 

Min qablu: from what happened in the world of delusion and lies and deception.

 

Inna ad dalimeena: Indeed, the transgressors, the ones who are outside the parameters of the fulfillment of Allah’s Commands and what He forbids in hostility and in deviance…

Lahum: for them today…

 

Adaaun aleem: is a painful torment.

 

It made me think of the two verses I had translated about the human will. Its existence only by virtue of God’s Will. The first verse was for everyone and the word that caught my eye was “conscience.”

 

‏وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّ ٱلْعَلَمِينَ

 

And you cannot will it unless Allah wills it.

Surah At-Takwir, Verse 29

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa: And the end of this chapter is this, that indeed…

 

Ma tasha’oona: what you will and what you choose in the way of your conscience and guidance for yourselves…

 

Illa ayyasha Allahu: is not except that which Allah wills for your guidance and gives you ability for with steadfastness and morality, as a favour upon you and His Bounty.

 

Because the deeds performed by you in your routine are only coming from Allah, generated by Him in their origin, because He is the Only One, Glory be to Him…

 

Rabbul Alimeen: Sustainer of the Universe. There is no Sustainer present except Him and there is no Disposer of Affairs in the apparent realms except Him. And the demand of His Nurturing and making perfect and complete is fulfilled by guiding His Servants and granting them ability towards that which is best for them and what is the most suitable for their situation.

 

The second applied only for His Friends, the Mutaqarraboon:

 

‏وَمَا تَشَآءُونَ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًۭا ‎

 

But you cannot will it unless Allah wills it.

Indeed, Allah is All Knowing, All wise.

Surah Al Insaan, Verse 30

 

Tafseer e Jilani

 

Wa: But…

 

Ma tasha’oona: you cannot will anything, those who attained Allah’s Qurb i.e. Closeness, the Mutaqarraboon, who travel towards Him according to their ability from Allah and ease from Allah…

 

Illa ayya sha’ Allah: except that which Allah wills, who is Al Muwaffiq, The One who grants ability, Al Mujid, The One who creates, Al Muqaddir, The One who decides destiny, for their (the Mutaqaarbeen’s) routine actions and deeds, Al Munji, The One who saves them from the invisibility of possibilities and the darkness of thoughts and paranoia.

 

Innallaha: Indeed, Allah is Al Muttali’u, The One who is Fully Aware of the ability of His Servants.

 

Kana Aleemun: And He is The Knower of their capacity that makes one able to receive the Bounty of Kashf, unveiling and Shuhood, eye-witnessing.

 

Hakeem an: Allah, He is All Wise in their nurturing and their completion.

 

Everything in these days was highlighting that my refuge only existed in “The One who saves them from the invisibility of possibilities and the darkness of thoughts and paranoia.” I thought of Shaan. He was saved. In his routine actions and deeds, in his words, he was innocent and he was kind. He instantly forgave those who were mean to him. I saw it. There was never grudge. He was made pure.

 

He repelled negativity naturally by leaving the space it sprung in. Often when he was around my friends, who he seemed initially excited to meet, he would leave within 10 minutes of us hanging out. It took that much time, if not less, for someone to start gossiping or saying something critical about someone. I would look around and he would be gone, either walking outside or watching a video on his game.

 

It was like he knew the incident:

 

A man reviled Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (ratu) in the presence of Nabi Kareem (peace be upon him). The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) remained seated. He looked pleased and smiled. The man insulted Hazrat Abu Bakr (ratu) twice but the latter controlled himself and remained silent. He insulted him for a third time and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ratu) let his tongue loose and responded back.

 

At that time the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) got up and left. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique (ratu) followed after him and said, “Ya Rasool Allah (peace be upon you)! He insulted me and you just sat there. Then when I responded to some of what he said, you became angry and left.”

 

The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) replied. “There was an angel with you who was responding to his insults on your behalf. When you insulted him back, the evil Jinn appeared and I don’t sit in the company of Shaitaan. Keep in mind a thing which is always true Abu Bakr: Whenever a person is subjected to an injustice but leaves the matter to Allah, then Allah will come to his aid.”

 

A verse that I had uttered practically since birth took on a renewed significance, one that I had entirely ignored my whole life in my saying it purely verbatim.

 

I seek refuge from Satan, the accursed.

 

Since reading in so many verses that refuge was sought in Allah, I was trying to be more mindful of saying the line. Sometimes mid-prayer inane distracting thoughts would enter my mind, sometimes disturbing ones and I would say the line mid-prayer.

 

‏إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ إِذَا مَسَّهُمْ طَٓئِفٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلشَّيْطَنِ تَذَكَّرُوا۟ فَإِذَا هُم مُّبْصِرُونَ

 

Indeed, those who are mindful and conscious of Allah, when touches them an evil thought from the Shaitaan,

they remember Allah and then they are those who begin to see things clearly.

Surah Al-Araaf, Verse 201

 

Tafseer e Jilani:

 

Then said Allah reminding His Beloved (peace be upon him);

 

Innalladina ittaqau: Those who are conscious and mindful of Me amongst My Servants, they are in a routine such that…

 

Ida massahum: whenever touches them and tries to overcome them…

 

Taifun: the sender from Satan who awaits and encircles their hearts…

 

Min Ash-Shaitan tadakkaru: they remind themselves of what they been commanded to do and what is forbidden for them from Allah…

 

Fa idahum: so in the same moment, due to the remembrance of what has been commanded and that which is forbidden…

 

Mubsiroon: they become able to differentiate the placement of the sins and therefore become careful of them and come into the Refuge of Allah from those things that put them into false illusions about Him.

 

Especially when anger came upon me. As rare as it had become, when it appeared it was still as consuming as the early days, when I can only admit with shame, I reveled in it. It’s ability to overpower and defeat another. Anyone!

 

وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ نَزْغٌ فَٱسْتَعِذْ بِٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

 

If an evil suggestion come to you from Satan stirring you (to blind anger),

then seek refuge with Allah. Surely He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Surah Al-A’raf, Verse 200

 

Tafseer e Jilani:

 

Wa Imma Yanazaghannaka: So if reaches you whispers which then disappear, thus placing you in a state of disruption…

 

Min Shaitaan: it is from Shaitaan, who influences you physically through the organs which cause anger and stokes the ego in a way that is only ignorant creating a false sense of dignity…

 

Nazghun: causing doubts and delusions that persuade you to become angry and take you out of the state that you have been ordered to stay in, which is tolerance and softness of behaviour.

 

Fasta’iz billah: So come into the Refuge of Allah from these entrapments and return to Him from these doubts and this plotting. He is with His Glory Enough to protect you from his evil and treachery.

 

Inna hu: Indeed, Allah is Pure from everything that is negative…

 

Sami’un: and is the Acceptor of your prayers,

Aleem: and the Fulfiller of your needs.

 

The above verse was in particular a breakthrough for me. All that angered me all the time was around the feeling of disrespect. Recently I had raged because of people disrespecting Shaan. Who cared nothing about it. It wasn’t just gossip he didn’t engage in. It was also anger, complaining, even sadness.

 

If I thought someone tried to dismiss him or take advantage of his naiveté, I would fly off the handle. The recent incident that came to mind was on the 12th of Rabbul Awwal, the day that the Universe celebrates the birthday of the Mercy for it, I had a gathering at my house. Shaan came. He told me there was no water at his apartment for the last day and a half so he wanted to bathe and change at mine.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me there was no water Shaan?” I asked concerned. “I would have called the landlord.” Who I was already furious at for kicking Shaan out of the place because he couldn’t figure out the lock and key situation. He had then set conditions that Shaan couldn’t leave the house unattended in case he left something ajar again. He had to be picked and dropped because he couldn’t leave the house alone in case he left something unlocked. I wanted to call the guy and yell at him.

 

Then the opportunity for revenge appeared. Courtesy of Iblis! The landlord had to return the security deposit. He was play hardball saying I will keep this and I will deduct them. I called up someone I knew in the police. The police in Pakistan have a particular reputation of extraction in the worst way possible. I imagined him being slapped around when his first reaction, given his arrogance, would be of refusal.

 

For two night though the fantasy left me sleepless. During the day I would feel fine making a decision for retribution which was justified for many reasons; the man was a bully. He was treating me the way he was only because I was a woman. That was standard in Pakistan. No one took us seriously. A downside I hardly ever experienced so now that I was, my being livid was off the charts. Plus there was always the “decent” excuse. If I didn’t teach him a lesson, he would do it to someone else. At night I would lie thinking, am I doing the right thing? Am I doing it for my ego or is it justice well deserved?

 

The sleeplessness should have been the tell. If I was doing it for the right reason, I would have slept like a baby.

It was exactly like how the verse described; my organs were making me angry, my ego was being stoked in a way that was definitely only ignorant. I was well outside the circles of tolerance and softness of behaviour. And I was being jahil, in this case denying the truth, that Nabi Kareem (saw) would have forgiven him for sure because he literally forgave everyone everything.

 

Then there was the other factor; running to people to get something done. It was rendering me restless and humiliated. That was really all that I knew was deserved.

 

I even did an istakhara; ask the Quran what to do. The verse that had come was this;

 

وَمَا يَسْتَوِى ٱلْبَحْرَانِ هَـٰذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ سَآئِغٌ شَرَابُهُۥ وَهَـٰذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ ۖ

وَمِن كُلٍّ تَأْكُلُونَ لَحْمًا طَرِيًّا وَتَسْتَخْرِجُونَ حِلْيَةً تَلْبَسُونَهَا ۖ

وَتَرَى ٱلْفُلْكَ فِيهِ مَوَاخِرَ لِتَبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ

وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

 

The two bodies of water are not alike: one is fresh, palatable, and pleasant to drink

and the other is salty and bitter.

Yet from them both you eat tender seafood and extract ornaments to wear.

And you see the ships ploughing their way through both,

so you may seek His Bounty and give thanks to Him.

Surah Fatir, Verse 12

 

At the time I was told the sign was to go ahead. Pull the trigger on sending in the troops so to speak and “extract” all that was owed. The amount itself was so insignificant, I can’t even mention it here. I had worked around that too in my head; it wasn’t about the money, it was the principal at stake blah blah blah…

 

At dinner I was relieved the verse gave me the green light. By midnight I hadn’t sleep so at Fajr, I prayed and wept and apologized to Allah and His Rasool (saw) for being eternally out of control. In endless waves. During the prayer, I thought of the verse in the istakhara as the two rivers being my soul and my ego. One sweet and pleasant, the other salty and bitter. Both however had corals for me.

 

Initially I had seen myself as the pleasant, sweet, palatable river. My ego was thrilled. The landlord was the salty bitter nightmare. Of course! But at Fajr I saw it differently. The two bodies, separate and opposite were within my own self; the first was my soul, the second my nafs. In both were jewels for me. One polished my heart so my Qalb could gain recognition of God. The other was nothing but a reminder of Him. Or so was my reading of the situation.

 

I had come across a fascinating commentary by Hazrat Najumddin Kubra (ra) about the pact made between the nafs, the ruh (soul) and the batin (the inner being) every time a human being was created.

 

‏بَرَآءَةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ عَهَدتُّم مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

 

The disavowal from obligations by Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) from the covenant with the idolators.

Surah Tauba, Verse 1

 

Commentary by Hazrat Najmuddin Kubra (ra) on the verse:

 

The symbolic meaning of the verse is this: The mushrikeen, the idolator, is the wayward and polytheist nafs, the base self, who made desires its lord and master and began to worship the idols of the world. When a person is in their early years, the ruh and qalb, the soul and the heart within the heart which is the Station of Recognition of Allah, made a pact with the nafs.

 

The terms of it being that the ruh and the qalb will not fight and kill the nafs until the person reaches maturity. Similarly, the nafs also makes a pact not to instigate problems with the ruh and the qalb so that the bodily skeleton reaches complete maturity and the physical strength is attained at its peak, which carry the burden of Allah’s Trust and become watchful of Islamic Jurisprudence, the Shari’a.

 

In this time, the aql, the intellect, the power to reason and reflect, becomes strong which can then accept the invitation of Truth and have the ability to answer it. It is this aql that allows the recognition of the Prophets and their miracles. And it is through this aql that the proof of the Presence of Allah is established and it understands the compulsion of His Worship in order to express gratitude towards Him for His Blessings.

Indeed, Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) withdraw from the pact after maturity is gained.

 

Because Man broke the pact which was between the nafs and the ruh and the qalb. Before maturity was gained, the nafs was only focused on eating, drinking and clothing itself so that the body can develop and all its needs are met. To this extent, there was no problem for the ruh and the qalb from the nafs. But once maturity was gained, lust and desires became added to these needs.

 

When the lust appeared along with the need for food and drink, its destruction, created physical desires for a mate. When that lust was aroused and started tempting the body, the qalb and the ruh began to become weak. This was the fatal disease for which the Prophets were sent so as to dispel it.

 

انما بعثت لرفع العادات و ترک الشھوات

 

Just like Nabi Kareem (peace be upon said),

“I have been sent to end the ways of ignorance and to prevail over the desires of lust.”

 

“It’s cool Ma’am,” Shaan had said about the water situation, answering me with his favourite response. “I didn’t want to disturb you. I made do with whatever water I had in the fridge.”

 

Two hours later we had found out that Shaan had left one of the taps in the house open so the water from the now fixed water tank was gone again. I didn’t care. “Tell them,” I told my driver, “that if he didn’t complain about not having water for two days, they can shut up about a running tap.”

 

The match that could light that anger was right next to me I was told.

 

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا وَقَدْ وُكِّلَ بِهِ قَرِينُهُ مِنْ الْجِنِّ

قَالُوا وَإِيَّاكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ

قَالَ وَإِيَّايَ إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَعَانَنِي عَلَيْهِ فَأَسْلَمَ فَلَا يَأْمُرُنِي إِلَّا بِخَيْرٍ

 

The Prophet of God (peace be upon him) said, “There is no one amongst you except that next to him is an associate from the Jinn (who propels him towards sin.)

 

The Companions asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Even with you?”

 

He replied, “And even with me except that Allah helped me against him and he surrendered so (now) he doesn’t say order me towards anything except goodness.

 

Ghaus Pak (ra) says, “Melt your nafs, your desires and your nature with regular fasting, constant salat and constant patience. When that melting is made right for a person, then his Lord remains without any interference. The only thing that then remains is the qalb, the batin and God; open-ness without tightness, illness without disease.

 

Use your powers to reflect! Gain knowledge, act upon it, and become sincere.”

 

In Lahore, I had been reading Surah Tauba on my own. In the last few verses to command to establish prayer had been coming up a lot.

 

‏إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَجِدَ ٱللَّهِ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَلَمْ يَخْشَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ ۖ

فَعَسَىٰٓ أُو۟لَٓئِكَ أَن يَكُونُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ

 

Only those who will maintain the Masajid of Allah, who believes in Allah and the Last Day

and establishes the prayer and gives the zakat and does not fear anyone except Allah.

Then perhaps, they are of the guided ones.

Surah Tauba, Verse 18

 

I focused on the tafseer of the words aqaam as salat - establish prayer: “Because it always keeps the inclination and focus on Allah alone.”

 

That wasn’t true for me but then I wasn’t praying like I was told to, as if I was seeing God.

 

‏فَإِن تَابُوا۟ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَوُا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ فَإِخْوَنُكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۗ

 

If they repent and pray and give the purifying alms, they become your brethren in faith.

Surah Tauba, Verse 11

 

Aqamus Salat: “Establish prayer for it cleanses their batin, inner being, from inclination from anything other than Allah.’

I wondered when and how that would ever happen for me.

Then one evening I had asked Shaan; “In the Quran, Shaan, it says “establish prayer.” Not read it or perform it. “Aqeemu salat” – establish prayer. What does that mean to you?”

 

Shaan flicked his hair aside and just said matter of factly, “I think it means when you pray, pray with a pure, truthful heart. When it is clean and cleansed of everything.”

 

I just stared at him. He wasn’t even praying yet he was in a state of establishing prayer. Which I had heard Uzair describe as being on the prayer mat the same as off of it; Physically clean and focused on Allah alone. The ablution was a requirement we could fulfill and hope it was correctly performed. But the singular focus on God, zero distraction, who had that in their salat?

 

Shaan was what had gotten me interested in the verses about the nature of Man in the Quran; the verses that had to do with me, not him.

 

‏إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَنَ لِرَبِّهِۦ لَكَنُودٌۭ ‎

 

Indeed Man towards his Lord is forever ungrateful.

Surah Al Adiyat, Verse 1

 

Tafseer e Jilani:

 

And overall Allah takes oaths, great, (upon previous verses to say):

 

Innal insaana: Indeed, Man who is formed in ingratitude and forgetfulness…

 

Li Rabbihi: towards His Lord, who raised him in varying types of karam, Blessings, and ehsaan, Favour,

 

La kanood: is ungrateful and denies the Truth, transgressing the boundaries of ingratitude and denial of Truth and is tyrannical.

 

‏وَإِنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ ذَلِكَ لَشَهِيدٌۭ ‎

 

And indeed, surely he is a witness.

Surah Al Adiyat, Verse 6

 

Wa Innahu: And indeed, the nafs of Insaan, Man’s own self…

Ala’ dalika: upon his tyranny and his ingratitude and denial of truth…

 

La shaheed: is a witness. The effects of kufran, ingratitude and denial of Truth and tughyan, oppression, appear upon him forever.

 

Continued at:

8296348544 CIA Whore Jami Rose MURDERED all of those people, DESTROYED all of those lives, what should her punishment be? CIA Whore Jami Rose MURDERED all of those people, DESTROYED all of those lives, what should her punishment be? CIA Whore and MURDERE

 

8296348544 CIA Whore Jami Rose MURDERED all of those people, DESTROYED all of those lives, what should her punishment be? CIA Whore Jami Rose MURDERED all of those people, DESTROYED all of those lives, what should her punishment be? CIA Whore and MURDERE

 

8296348544 CIA Whore Jami Rose MURDERED all of those people, DESTROYED all of those lives, what should her punishment be?

 

CIA Whore Jami Rose MURDERED all of those people, DESTROYED all of those lives, what should her punishment be? CIA Whore and MURDERER, Jami Rose. her photo, right here :)

 

www.flickr.com/photos/89268704@N08/81238 54555/in/photostrea

 

CIA Whore Jami Rose MURDERED all of those people, DESTROYED all of those lives, what should her punishment be? CIA Whore and MURDERER, Jami Rose. her photo, right here :) www.flickr.com/photos/89268704@N08/81238 54555/in/photostream JamiRoseCIAWhore

 

your CIA Whore Jami Rose MURDERED all of those people, DESTROYED all of those lives, what should her punishment be?

 

CIA Whore and MURDERER, Jami Rose. her photo, right here :)

 

www.flickr.com/photos/89268704@N08/8123854555/in/photostream

 

JamiRoseCIAWhore

 

jami rose cia whore all those people that she killed all that damage that she caused

 

looking for who is responsible for the aurora colorado july 19 2012 theatre shooting for the dark night rises? look no further.. CIA Whore Jami Rose, right here

 

JamiRoseCIAWhore

 

jami rose cia whore all those people that she killed all that damage that she caused

 

1)hurricane katrina

2)bp oil spill

3)japan tsunami

 

and most recently, Aurora Colorado Batman Murders,

 

and many others in time.

 

raped. robed. murdered. dismembered.

 

never punished for her crimes

 

born on april 4 1980.

 

here you go :)

 

by entering in her information from date of birth here:

 

www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html

 

you can monitor her information that is used by the world markets on a daily basis, not only that, but control for what is in numerical belief, thru out the us and the rest of the world.

 

on a daily basis. in forward motion time placement.

 

also,

 

www.timeanddate.com/date/durationresult.html?m1=01&d1...

 

(The stasis of origin should show in the above link, like what is just listed below. why not tell people? :)

 

From and including: Saturday, January 1, 0001 (Julian calendar)

To, but not including : Friday, April 4, 1980 (Gregorian calendar)

 

It is 722,910 days from the start date to the end date, but not including the end date

 

Or 1979 years, 3 months, 3 days excluding the end date

 

Note:The From date is a Julian calendar date. The current Gregorian calendar was adopted in United States where Thursday, September 3, 1752 was the first of 11 days that were skipped. This has been accounted for in this calculation. Read more about the Julian and Gregorian calendars

 

Alternative time units

722,910 days can be converted to one of these units:

62,459,424,000 seconds

1,040,990,400 minutes

17,349,840 hours

103,272 weeks (rounded down)

 

if you need a little help to her "stasis of orgin" here you go. if you're not smart enough to know what a birthday does in time, its an active measure for which you create throught your life span. there, i said it. don't like that intelligent secret? millions people living, and not knowing that. how could anyone not know? :)

 

and all those people she killed. never punished

 

thomas warn varnas will make sure that happens, won't he?

 

you attempted two murders on his life at 143 Rue Esplanade and Villa Du Lac,

 

by channeling his dreams with tenants and parking cars outside of his residence, capturing him..

 

how does it feel now Jami, to know the same is happening

 

to you :)

 

:)

 

there you go :)

GEORGE PARKER BIDDER, M.A., Q.C., was born on the 18th of August, 1836, in London. He was the eldest son of George Parker Bidder, known from boyhood for his powers of mental calculation and who was President of the Institution in 1860 and 1861.

 

The subject of this notice was educated first at King’s College School and at the University of Edinburgh, where he gained distinction in the mathematical classes under the late Professor Kelland. Passing to Trinity College, Cambridge, he obtained a scholarship there, and in 1858 graduated as seventh wrangler.

 

Two years afterwards he was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn and joined the Home Circuit, his success as a Junior being marked and rapid. He was Counsel for a large scheme originally proposed for the Forth Bridge by Sir Thomas Bouch, which was reported upon by Mr. W. H. Barlow and Dr. Pole in 1873, and his conduct of that case determined the course of his subsequent career. This lay mainly among Parliamentary Bills, arbitrations, and compensations, involving engineering, scientific or statistical evidence. Clear and lucid statement, easy exposition of intricate argument, that mastery of evidence and 'first principles' which makes cross-examination so effective, were the weapons with which Mr. Bidder achieved his success. The rapid calculation of his father in the witness box was one of the puzzles to parliamentary counsel of the last generation; the same power, in the son’s hand, has proved perturbing to more than one engineering witness of later date, and he is perhaps best known for successful contest with expert evidence, alike in the box and in the convincing analysis of his subsequent speech.

 

Perhaps one of his greatest triumphs was in 'The Metropolitan Board of Works v. The Millwall Dock Company' (1876), a case which turned on the laws of deposit and silting in rivers; better known is his masterly and effective opposition for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board against the Manchester Ship Canal, based mainly on the theory of the formation and erosion of banks in an estuary. In the inquiry into the collapse of the Tay Bridge he successfully defended the reputation of its engineer, the case involving the closest study of every technical detail. The later Forth Bridge Bills were entrusted to him, and he was Counsel for the Metropolitan Board of Works against the Thames Conservators, a case largely depending, like that of the Millwall Dock and the Manchester Ship Canal, on the laws of flow and deposition of suspended matter, but also on elaborate arguments from chemistry and biology. He appeared for some twenty-eight years in all the Bute Dock, Midland, North-Eastern and most of the District Railway cases, and held general retainers for the Midland, North British and Brighton Railways, the Mersey Dock Board, the Marquis of Bute and the Bute Dock Companies.

 

He was also standing counsel for more than one of the great water companies. The last case in which he appeared was one for compensation against the Great Eastern Railway Company, and his speech, on the Saturday before he died, was considered exceptionally able.

 

He took silk in 1874 and shortly afterwards became a bencher of Lincoln's Inn, standing at the time of his death next in rotation for the annual office of Treasurer.

 

It is of more than personal interest to compare Mr. Bidder's special gifts with those of his father. In a letter published in the

Spectator of 28th December, 1875, he says of the latter :-

 

'In my opinion he had an immense power of realising the actual number. . . . He was aided, I think, by two things - first, a powerful memory of a peculiar cast, in which figures seemed to stereotype themselves without an effort; and secondly, by an almost inconceivable rapidity of operation. I speak with some confidence as to the former of these faculties, as I possess it to a considerable extent myself (though not to compare with my father). Professor Elliot says he (my father) saw mental pictures of figures and geometrical diagrams. I always do. If I perform a sum mentally, it always proceeds in a visible form in my mind; indeed, I can conceive no other way possible of doing mental arithmetic. The second faculty, that of rapid operation, was no doubt congenital, but developed by incessant practice, and by the confidence thereby acquired. . . . With my father, as with myself, the mental handling of numbers and playing with figures afforded a positive pleasure and a constant occupation of leisure moments. . . . It is also worthy of record that my father had an enormous store of facts, formulas, and constants relating to all manner of geometrical questions and physical subjects, which were always available for the ready solution of problems, either in pure mathematics, or in the application of mathematics to mechanics, hydraulics, etc. In my opinion, this is a kind of knowledge which is not half appreciated. I have found continually immense advantage in having formulas and constants ready to hand. . . . I myself can perform pretty extensive arithmetical operations mentally, but I cannot pretend to approach even distantly to the rapidity and accuracy with which my father worked. I have occasionally multiplied fifteen figures by fifteen in my head, but it takes me a long time, and I am liable to occasional errors. Last meek, after speaking to Professor Elliot, I tried the following sum, to see if I could still do it :-

 

378,201,969,513,829 x 199,631,057,265,413.

 

And I got in my head the answer: -

 

75,576,299,427,512,145,197,597,834,725,

 

in which I think, if you take the trouble to work it out, you will find four figures out of the twenty-nine are wrong.'

 

The final statement at first sight seems to contradict the claim for great inferiority to his father in arithmetical gifts. But the method of calculation explained to the Institution by Mr. Bidder in 1856l was not followed by the son when the number of significant figures was large. For such cases he employed a method which, although inapplicable without powers of numerical conception and realisation, yet enormously increased their scope and effect.

Briefly, the two numbers to be multiplied and the answer as obtained, were recorded by a simple memoria technica ('Gray’s') as letters of the alphabet or diphthongs, and the answer was obtained from right to left, as in ordinary paper arithmetic.

 

Mr. Bidder often remarked that the method pursued by those of very great numerical gifts, such as his father, necessitated a far more severe mental operation, since there had always to be Carried in the mind a perpetually fluctuating number of the order of magnitude of the final answer, whereas multiplying as on paper every figure obtained is final. He was wont to lay down the rule that to facilitate mental calculation, every operation, where possible, should take the form of division. Mr. Bidder, the elder, said:- 'Division is, in mental, as in ordinary arithmetic, much more difficult than multiplication.' If followed out, these two statements will be found to well illustrate the essential difference between the two methods.

 

Multiplying billions by billions accurately to the twenty-ninth place has no value except as a form of mental athletics. Such athletics, however, produced in the Queen’s Counsel, as formerly to a greater degree in the engineer, a knowledge of numbers of the highest practical importance, causing the ordinary calculations occurring in daily life to present themselves instantaneously in forms of almost spontaneous solution. In addition to this, the actual material of such athletics was mainly those 'facts, formulas and constants' above referred to, which were thus not only perpetually receiving additions, but perpetually becoming more and more familiar and ready to the mind.

 

In 1890 he added some explanations and remarks to a Paper contributed to the Proceedings of the Institution by Dr. W. Pole, describing the mode of calculating logarithms mentally adopted by his father.

 

Mr. Bidder hated to feel dependent on works of reference for any constants or formulas, and it was one of his greatest powers, perpetually utilised, that he could almost always remember data and devise a method to form a rough and rapid estimate of any calculable quantity. In cross-examination especially, this power furnished a valuable weapon, for the figure given by an expert presented rapidly to his mind its long train of consequent figures, branching all over the case in his charge and crossing or coinciding as might be with the lines traced by evidence from other sources already obtained or obtainable.

 

He was very fond of mechanics as a diversion and used to amuse himself by designing little suspension-bridges for his trout stream; two of which-one, with the tension-members beneath the roadway, of light and graceful design-were erected from his drawings and are in use.

 

In the 'Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society' will be found the account of a new form of position micrometer, devised by him for the telescope and always used by him in double-star measurements. He invented an ingenious modification for increasing the delicacy of the chemical balance, and used to spend hours in filing brass and in polishing agates; for in the workshop, as with calculations, he hated to be compelled to use a ready-made article. But perhaps his most favourite intellectual recreation, besides the construction of easy formulas for mental calculation, was the study of ciphers.

 

He early published an article on their general principles and from the latest advertisement in The Times to seventeenth-century State Papers, he was to the end of his life never tired of pitting his ingenuity against that of the man who believed concealment insoluble and rarely succeeded in preserving it.

 

Mr. Bidder took a prominent part (as Chairman of the Cannock Chase Colliery Co) in the great coal strike of 1893, and was a member of the body of coal-owners which, under Lord Rosebery’s presidency, met the representatives of the colliers. He published at this time a valuable article on the economics of a coa1-rniney2 pointing out the importance of quantity in coal mining, as opposed to price, on account of the heavy fixed expenses which are unaffected by diminution of output. His mastery over figures was greatly valued by his colleagues of the Cannock Chase Colliery Company, of the Danish Gas Company (of which he was Chairman) and of the Rock Life Assurance Company.

 

He was on the County Council and Commission of the Peace for Surrey, and was a considerable benefactor to Mitcham, where he resided, especially in the continuous protection of Mitcham Common, for which he ultimately obtained an Act fairly assuring its future. Among other instances in which he helped to preserve the property of the community may be mentioned his successful defence of the right-of-way along a beautiful path near Dartmouth to Compass Cove. He was a pioneer of the Charity Organization Society, and took great interest in all that tended to increase the liberty and well-being of the less wealthy classes. While he lived in London he served as almoner at Stepney, working there through a severe cholera epidemic.

 

Mr. Bidder was a keen fisherman and golf-player, and in 1867 was fourth for the Queen’s Prize at Wimbledon. In physique he was robust, capable alike of great concentration and of prolonged exertion. In character he was always courageous, never spared himself, and gave freely of time, money or labour for the public good or in private kindness ; he was much loved by very many friends. Stern conscientiousness and strong combativeness were the qualities most known in his public relations. Those intimate with him will remember as vividly a boyish lightness of spirit, a fresh versatility of culture and a sincere reverent piety.

 

Mr. Bidder was elected an Associate on the 3rd of December, 1861. A few months previously he had contributed to the Institution a Paper entitled 'The National Defences,' for which he was awarded a Telford Medal and a Manby Premium. He was also an Associate of the Surveyors’ Institution and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.

 

He married in 1860 Anna, daughter of Mr. J. R. McClean, M.P., F.R.S., President of the Institution in 1864-65.

 

He died at Queen Anne’s Mansions, Westminster, in the full tide of ability and success, on the 1st of February, 1896, quite unexpectedly, from the effects of a street accident in Manchester three weeks previously. It was characteristic that the day after he had been run over, rather than necessitate the inconvenience to so many people of coming together again at a future date, he conducted cross-examinations for six hours, though suffering acutely.

Still at Winchelsea ...

 

I finally did a calculation of everywhere I've been in the last four months of lockdown and until yesterday I had been out a total of 8 times ... six times to farmshops to get veg and compost and twice to my garage when the car was serviced.

 

I know I'm luckier than some people as my partner has been doing our main shopping. We finally started getting home deliveries again a fortnight ago which lessens the burden on her ... carrying all those bottles were stretching her arms!!!

 

We had decided last week that as I would have a whole week free from distractions (art class) I would finally, for the first time in many years, have a day out dressed here, rather than Dartmoor or Ireland. For various reasons we have to avoid local spots (essentially, most of the nice bits of Kent) so we took ourselves off to East Sussex to see Spike Milligan's grave. His epitaph, I read, was voted the nation's favourite back in 2012.

 

We had to cut short our time out as we kept encountering closed loos ... we are thinking of investing in Shewee products for the next outing!

Business profit calculations for the final years of the nineteenth century (possibly in J J Allen's own hand).

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The Sondergerät SG104 "Münchhausen" was a German airborne recoillless 355.6 mm (14-inch) caliber gun, intended to engage even the roughest enemy battleships, primarily those of the Royal Navy. The design of this unusual and massive weapon began in 1939. The rationale behind it was that a battleship’s most vulnerable part was the deck – a flat surface, with relatively thin armor (as typical hits were expected on the flanks) and ideally with vital targets underneath, so that a single, good hit would cripple of even destroy a ship. The purpose of such a high angle of attack was likely to allow the projectile to penetrate the target ship's deck, where the ship's armor, if there was any, would have been much thinner than the armor on its sidesHowever, hitting the deck properly with another ship’s main gun was not easy, since it could only be affected through indirect hits and the typical angle of the attack from aballistic shot would not necessarily be ideal for deep penetration, esp. at long range.

The solution to this problem: ensure that the heavy projectile would hit its target directly from above, ideally at a very steep angle. To achieve this, the gun with battleship caliber was “relocated” from a carrier ship or a coastal battery onto an aircraft – specifically to a type that was capable of dive-bombing, a feature that almost any German bomber model of the time offered.

 

Firing such a heavy weapon caused a lot fo problems, which were severe even if the gun was mounted on a ship or on land. To compensate for such a large-caliber gun’s recoil and to make firing a 14 in shell (which alone weighed around almost 700 kg/1.550 lb, plus the charge) from a relatively light airframe feasible, the respective gun had to be as light as possible and avoid any recoil, which would easily tear an aircraft – even a bomber – apart upon firing. Therefore, the Gerät 104 was designed as a recoilless cannon. Its firing system involved venting the same amount of the weapon's propellant gas for its round to the rear of the launch tube (which was open at both ends), in the same fashion as a rocket launcher. This created a forward directed momentum which was nearly equal to the rearward momentum (recoil) imparted to the system by accelerating the projectile itself. The balance thus created did not leave much net momentum to be imparted to the weapon's mounting or the carrying airframe in the form of felt recoil. A further share of the recoil induced by the moving round itself could be compensated by a muzzle brake which re-directed a part of the firing gases backwards. Since recoil had been mostly negated, a heavy and complex recoil damping mechanism was not necessary – even though the weapon itself was huge and heavy.

 

Work on the "Münchhausen" device (a secret project handle after a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in the late 18th century who reputedly had ridden on a cannonball between enemy frontlines), was done by Rheinmetall-Borsig and lasted until 1941. The first test of a prototype weapon was conducted on 9th of September 1940 in Unterlüss with a satisfactory result, even though the weapon was only mounted onto an open rack and not integrated into an airframe yet. At that time, potential carriers were the Ju 88, the Dornier Do 217 and the new Junkers Ju 288. Even though the system’s efficacy was doubted, the prospect of delivering a single, fatal blow to an important , armored arget superseded any doubts at the RLM, and the project was greenlit in early 1942 for the next stage: the integration of the Sondergerät 104 into an existing airframe. The Ju 88 and its successor, the Ju 188, turned out to be too light and lacked carrying capacity for the complete, loaded weapon, and the favored Ju 288 was never produced, so that only the Dornier Do 217 or the bigger He 177 remained as a suitable carriers. The Do 217 was eventually chosen because it had the biggest payload and the airframe was proven and readily available.

 

After calculations had verified that the designed 14 in rifle would have effectively no recoil, preliminary tests with dumm airframes were carried out. After ground trials with a Do 217 E day bomber to check recoil and blast effects on the airframe, the development and production of a limited Nullserie (pre-production series) of the dedicated Do 217 F variant for field tests and eventual operational use against British sea and land targets was ordered in April 1942.

 

The resulting Do 217 F-0 was based on the late “E” bomber variant and powered by a pair of BMW 801 radial engines. It was, however, heavily modified for its unique weapon and the highly specialized mission profile: upon arriving at the zone of operation at high altitude, the aircraft would initiate a dive with an angle of attack between 50° and 80° from the horizontal, firing the SG 104 at an altitude between 6,000 and 2,000 meters. The flight time of the projectile could range from 16.0 seconds for a shot from an altitude of 6,000 meters at a 50° angle to just 4.4 seconds for a shot from 2.000 meters at an almost vertical 80° angle. Muzzle velocity of the SG 104 was only 300 m/s, but, prior to impact, the effective velocity of the projectile was projected to range between 449 and 468 m/s (1,616 to 1,674 km/h). Together with the round's weight of roughly 700 kg (1.550 lb) and a hardened tip, this would still ensure a high penetration potential.

 

The operational Sondergerät 104 had an empty mass of 2.780 kg (6,123 lb) and its complete 14 inch double cartridge weighed around 1.600 kg (3,525 lb). The loaded mass of the weapon was 4,237 kg, stretching the limits of the Do 217’s load capacity to the maximum, so that some armor and less vital pieces of equipment were deleted. Crew and defensive armament were reduced to a minimum.

Even though there had been plans to integrate the wepaon into the airframe (on the Ju 288), the Gerät 104 was on the Do 217 F-0 mounted externally and occupied the whole space under the aircraft, precluding any use of the bomb bay. The latter was occupied by the Gerät 104’s complex mount, which extended to the outside under a streamlined fairing and held the weapon at a distance from the airframe. Between the mount’s struts inside of the fuselage, an additional fuel tank for balance reasons was added, too.

The gun’s center, where the heavy round was carried, was positioned under the aircraft’s center of gravity, so that the gun barrel markedly protruded from under the aircraft’s nose. To make enough space, the Do 217 Es bomb aimer’s ventral gondola and his rearward-facing defensive position under the cockpit were omitted and faired over. The nose section was also totally different: the original extensive glazing (the so-called “Kampfkopf”) was replaced by a smaller, conventional canopy, similar to the later Do 217 J and N night fighter versions, together with a solid nose - the original glass panels would have easily shattered upon firing the gun, esp. in a steep high-speed dive. A "Lotfernrohr" bomb aiming device was still installed in a streamlined and protected fairing, though, so that the navigator could guide the pilot during the approach to the target and during the attack run.

To stabilize the heavy aircraft during its attack and to time- and safely pull out of the dive, a massive mechanical dive brake was mounted at the extended tail tip, which unfolded with four "petals". A charecteristic stabilizing dorsal strake was added between the twin fins, too.

 

The ventral area behind the gun’s rear-facing muzzle received additional metal plating and blast guiding vanes, after trials in late 1940 had revealed that firing the SG 104 could easily damage the Do 217’s tail structure, esp. all of the tail surfaces’ rudders and the fins’ lower ends in particular. Due to all this extra weight, the Do 217 F-0’s defensive armament consisted only of a single 13 mm MG 131 machine gun in a manually operated dorsal position behind the cockpit cabin, which offered space for a crew of three. A fixed 15 mm MG 151 autocannon was mounted in the nose, too, a weapon with a long barrel for extended range and accuracy. It was not an offensive weapon, though, rather intended as an aiming aid for the SG 104 because it was loaded with tracer bullets: during the final phase of the attack dive, the pilot kept firing the MG 151, and the bullet trail showed if he was on target to fire the SG 104 when the right altitude/range had been reached.

 

The first Do 217 F-0 was flown and tested in late 1943, and after some detail changes the type was cleared for a limited production run of ten aircraft in January 1944. The first operational machine was delivered to a dedicated testing commando, the Erprobungskommando 104 “Münchhausen”, also known as “Sonderkommando Münchhausen” or simply “E-Staffel 104”. The unit was based at Bordeaux/Merignac and directly attached to the KG 40's as a staff flight. At that time, KG 40 operated Do 217 and He 177 bombers and frequently flew reconnaissance and anti-shipping missions over the Atlantic west of France, up to the British west and southern coast, equipped with experimental Henschel Hs 293 glide bombs.

 

Initial flights confirmed that the Do 217 airframe was burdened with the SG 104 to its limits, the already rather sluggish aircraft (the Do 217 had generally a high wing loading and was not easy to fly) lost anything that was left of what could be called agility. It needed an experienced pilot to handle it safely, esp. during start and landing. It is no wonder that two Do 217 F-0s suffered ground accidents during the first two weeks of operations, but the machines could be repaired, resume the test program and carry out attack missions.

However, during one of the first test shots with the weapon, one Do 217 F-0 lost its complete tail section though the gun blast, and the aircraft crashed into the Bay of Biscay, killing the complete crew.

 

On 4th or April 1944 the first "hot" attack against an enemy ship was executed in the Celtic Sea off of Brest, against a convoy of 20 ships homeward bound from Gibraltar. The attack was not successful, though, the shot missing its target, and the German bomber was attacked and heavily damaged by British Bristol Beaufighters that had been deployed to protect the ships. The Do 217F-0 eventually crashed and sank into the Atlantic before it could reach land again.

 

A couple of days later, on 10th of April, the first attempt to attack and destroy a land target was undertaken: two Do 217 F-0s took off to attack Bouldnor Battery, an armored British artillery position located on the Isle of Wight. One machine had to abort the attack due to oil leakages, the second Do 217 F-0 eventually reached its target and made a shallow attack run, but heavy fog obscured the location and the otherwise successful shot missed the fortification. Upon return to its home base the aircraft was intercepted by RAF fighters over the Channel and heavily damaged, even though German fighters deployed from France came to the rescue, fought the British attackers off and escorted the limping Do 217 F-0 back to its home base.

 

These events revealed that the overall SG 104 concept was generally feasible, but also showed that the Do 217 F-0 was very vulnerable without air superiority or a suitable escort, so that new tactics had to be developed. One consequence was that further Do 217 F-0 deployments were now supported by V/KG 40, the Luftwaffe's only long range maritime fighter unit. These escorts consisted of Junkers Ju 88C-6s, which were capable of keeping up with the Do 217 F-0 and fend of intercepting RAF Coastal Command’s Beaufighters and later also Mosquitos.

 

In the meantime, tests with the SG 104 progressed and several modifications were tested on different EKdo 104's Do 217 F-0s. One major upgrade was a further strengthening of the tail section, which added another 200 kg (440 lb) to the aircraft's dry weight. Furthermore, at least three aircraft were outfitted with additional dive brakes under the outer wings, so that the dive could be better controlled and intercepted. these aircraft, however, lost their plumbed underwing hardpoints, but these were only ever used for drop tanks during transfer flights - a loaded SG 104 precluded any other ordnance. On two other aircraft the SG 104 was modified to test different muzzle brakes and deflectors for the rear-facing opening, so that the gun blast was more effectively guided away from the airframe to prevent instability and structural damage. For instance, one machine was equipped with a bifurcated blast deflector that directed the rearward gasses partly sideways, away from the fuselage.

 

These tests did not last long, though. During the Allied Normandy landings in June 1944 E-Staffel 104 was hastily thrown into action and made several poorly-prepared attack runs against Allied support ships. The biggest success was a full hit and the resulting sinking of the Norwegian destroyer HNoMS Svenner (G03) by "1A+BA" at dawn on 6th of June, off Sword, one of the Allied landing zones. Other targets were engaged, too, but only with little effect. This involvement, however, led to the loss of three Do 217 F-0s within just two days and four more heavily damaged aircraft – leaving only two of EKdo 104's Do 217 F-0s operational.

 

With the Allied invasion of France and a worsening war condition, the SG 104 program was stopped in August 1944 and the idea of an airborne anti-ship gun axed in favor of more flexible guided weapons like the Hs 293 missile and the Fritz-X glide bomb. Plans for a further developed weapon with a three-round drum magazine were immediately stopped, also because there was no carrier aircraft in sight that could carry and deploy this complex 6.5 tons weapon. However, work on the SG 104 and the experience gained from EKdo 104's field tests were not in vain. The knowledge gathered from the Münchhausen program was directly used for the design of a wide range of other, smaller recoilless aircraft weapons, including the magnetically-triggered SG 113 "Förstersonde" anti-tank weapon or the lightweight SG 118 "Rohrblock" unguided air-to-air missile battery for the Heinkel He 162 "Volksjäger".

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 3 (pilot, navigator, radio operator/gunner)

Length: 20,73 m (67 ft 11 in) overall

18,93 m (62 ft 3/4 in) hull only

Wingspan: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)

Height: 4.97 m (16 ft 4 in)

Wing area: 57 m² (610 sq ft)

Empty weight: 9,065 kg (19,985 lb)

Empty equipped weight:10,950 kg (24,140 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 16,700 kg (36,817 lb)

Fuel capacity: 2,960 l (780 US gal; 650 imp gal) in fuselage tank and four wing tanks

 

Powerplant:

2× BMW 801D-2 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, delivering

1,300 kW (1,700 hp) each for take-off and 1,070 kW (1,440 hp) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft),

driving 3-bladed VDM constant-speed propellers

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 475 km/h (295 mph, 256 kn) at sea level

560 km/h (350 mph; 300 kn) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft)

Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn) with loaded Gerät 104 at optimum altitude

Range: 2,180 km (1,350 mi, 1,180 nmi) with maximum internal fuel

Ferry range: 2,500 km (1,600 mi, 1,300 nmi); unarmed, with auxiliary fuel tanks

Service ceiling: 7,370 m (24,180 ft) with loaded Gerät 104,

9,500 m (31,200 ft) after firing

Rate of climb: 3.5 m/s (690 ft/min)

Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 4 minutes 10 seconds

2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 8 minutes 20 seconds

6,100 m (20,000 ft) in 24 minutes 40 seconds

 

Armament:

1x 355.6 mm (14-inch) Sondergerät 104 recoilless gun with a single round in ventral position

1x 15 mm (0.787 in) MG 151 machine cannon with 200 rounds, fixed in the nose

1x 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine gun with 500 rounds, movable in dorsal position

Two underwing hardpoints for a 900 l drop tank each, but only used during unarmed ferry flights

  

The kit and its assembly:

This was another submission to the "Gunships" group build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2021, and inspiration struck when I realized that I had two Italeri Do 217 in The Stash - a bomber and a night fighter - that could be combined into a suitable (fictional) carrier for a Sondergerät 104. This mighty weapon actually existed and even reached the hardware/test stage - but it was never integrated into an airframe and tested in flight. But that's what this model is supposed to depict.

 

On the Do 217, the Sg 104 would have been carried externally under the fuselage, even though there had been plans to integrate this recoilless rifle into airframes, esp. into the Ju 288. Since the latter never made it into production, the Do 217 would have been the most logical alternative, also because it had the highest payload of all German bombers during WWII and probably the only aircraft capable of carrying and deploying the Münchhausen device, as the SG 104 was also known.

 

The fictional Do 217 F-0 is a kitbashing, using a Do 217 N fuselage, combined with the wings from a Do 217 K bomber, plus some modifications. What initially sounded like a simple plan soon turned into a improvisation mess: it took some time to realize that I had already donated the Do 217 K's BMW 801 engines to another project, an upgraded He 115... I did not want to use the nightfighter's more powerful DB 603s, and I was lucky to have an Italeri Ju 188 kit at hand which comes with optional BMW 801s and Jumo 211s. Transplanting these engines onto the Do 217's wings took some tailoring of the adapter plates, but was feasible. However, the BMW 801s from the Ju 188 kit have a flaw: they lack the engine's characteristic cooling fans... Another lucky find: I found two such parts in the scrap box, even though from different kits - one left over from another Italeri Do 217 K, the other one from what I assume is/was an Italeri 1:72 Fw 190 A/F. To make matters worse, one propeller from the Ju 188 kit was missing, so that I had to find a(nother) replacement. :-/

I eventually used something that looked like an 1:72 F6F Hellcat propeller, but I an not certain about this because I have never built this model...? With some trimming on the blades' trailing edges and other mods, the donor's overall look could be adapted to the Ju 188 benchmark. Both propellers were mounted on metal axis' so that they could also carry the cooling fans. Lots of work, but the result looks quite good.

 

The Do 217 N's hull lost the lower rear gunner position and its ventral gondola, which was faired over with a piece of styrene sheet. The pilot was taken OOB, the gunner in the rear position was replaced by a more blob-like crew member from the scrap box. The plan to add a navigator in the seat to the lower right of the pilot did not work out due to space shortage, but this figure would probably have been invisble, anyway.

All gun openings in the nose were filled and PSRed away, and a fairing for a bomb aiming device and a single gun (the barrel is a hollow steel needle) were added.

 

The SG 104 was scratched. Starting point was a white metal replacement barrel for an 1:35 ISU-152 SPG with a brass muzzle brake. However, after dry-fitting the barrel under the hull the barrel turned out to be much too wide, so that only the muzzal brake survived and the rest of the weapon was created from a buddy refueling pod (from an Italeri 1:72 Luftwaffe Tornado, because of its two conical ends) and protective plastic caps from medical canulas. To attach this creation to the hull I abused a conformal belly tank from a Matchbox Gloster Meteor night fighter and tailored it into a streamlined fairing. While this quite a Frankenstein creation, the overall dimensions match the real SG 104 prototype and its look well.

 

Other cosmetic modifications include a pair of underwing dive brakes, translanted from an Italeri 1:72 Ju 88 A-4 kit, an extended (scratched) tail "stinger" which resembles the real dive brake arrangement that was installed on some Do 217 E bombers, and I added blast deflector vanes and a dorsal stabilizer fin.

In order to provide the aircraft with enough ground clearance, the tail wheel was slightly extended. Thanks to the long tail stinger, this is not blatantly obvious.

  

Painting and markings:

This was not an easy choice, but as a kind of prototype I decided that the paint scheme should be rather conservative. However, German aircraft operating over the Atlantic tended to carry rather pale schemes, so that the standard pattern of RLM 70/71/65 (Dunkelgrün, Schwarzgrün and Hellblau) with a low waterline - typical for experimental types - would hardly be appropriate.

I eventually found a compromise on a He 177 bomber (coded 6N+BN) from 1944 that was operated by KG 100: this particular aircraft had a lightened upper camouflage - still a standard splinter scheme but consisting of RLM 71 and 02 (Dunkelgrün and Grau; I used Modelmaster 2081 and Humbrol 240), a combination that had been used on German fighters during the Battle of Britain when the standard colors turned out to be too dark for operations over the Channel. The aircraft also carried standard RLM 65 (or maybe the new RLM76) underneath (Humbrol 65) and on the fin, but with a very high and slightly wavy waterline. As a rather unusual feature, no typical camouflage mottles were carried on the flanks or the fin, giving the aircraft a very bleak and simple look.

 

Despite my fears that this might look rather boring I adapted this scheme for the Do 217 F-0, and once basic painting was completed I was rather pleased by the aircraft's look! As an aircraft operated at the Western front, no additional markings like fuselage bands were carried.

To set the SG 104 apart from the airframe, I painted the weapon's visible parts in RLM 66 (Schwarzgrau, Humbrol 67), because this tone was frequently used for machinery (including the interior surfaces of aircraft towards 1945).

RLM 02 was also used for the interior surfaces and the landing gear, even though I used a slightly different, lighter shade in form of Revell 45 (Helloliv).

 

A light black ink washing was applied and post-shading to emphasize panel lines. Most markings/decals came from a Begemot 1:72 He 11 sheet, including the unusual green tactical code - it belongs to a staff unit, a suitable marking for such an experimental aircraft. The green (Humbrol 2) was carried over to the tips of the propeller spinners. The unit's code "1A" is fictional, AFAIK this combination had never been used by the Luftwaffe.

The small unit badge was alucky find: it actually depicts the fictional Baron von Münchhausen riding on a cannonball, and it comes from an Academy 1:72 Me 163 kit and its respective sheet. The mission markings underneath, depicting two anti-ship missions plus a successful sinking, came from a TL Modellbau 1:72 scale sheet with generic German WWII victory markings.

 

After some soot stains around the engine exhaust and weapon muzzles had been added with graphite, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and final details like position lights and wire antennae (from heated black plastic sprue material) were added.

  

Well, what started as a combination of two kits of the same kind with a simple huge pipe underneath turned out to be more demanding than expected. The (incomplete) replacement engines were quite a challenge, and body work on the hull (tail stinger, fairing for the SG 104 as well as the weapon itself) turned out to be more complex and extensive than initially thought of. The result looks quite convincing, also supported by the rather simple paint scheme which IMHO just "looks right" and very convincing. And the whole thing is probably the most direct representation of the inspiring "Gunship" theme!

 

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The Sondergerät SG104 "Münchhausen" was a German airborne recoillless 355.6 mm (14-inch) caliber gun, intended to engage even the roughest enemy battleships, primarily those of the Royal Navy. The design of this unusual and massive weapon began in 1939. The rationale behind it was that a battleship’s most vulnerable part was the deck – a flat surface, with relatively thin armor (as typical hits were expected on the flanks) and ideally with vital targets underneath, so that a single, good hit would cripple of even destroy a ship. The purpose of such a high angle of attack was likely to allow the projectile to penetrate the target ship's deck, where the ship's armor, if there was any, would have been much thinner than the armor on its sidesHowever, hitting the deck properly with another ship’s main gun was not easy, since it could only be affected through indirect hits and the typical angle of the attack from aballistic shot would not necessarily be ideal for deep penetration, esp. at long range.

The solution to this problem: ensure that the heavy projectile would hit its target directly from above, ideally at a very steep angle. To achieve this, the gun with battleship caliber was “relocated” from a carrier ship or a coastal battery onto an aircraft – specifically to a type that was capable of dive-bombing, a feature that almost any German bomber model of the time offered.

 

Firing such a heavy weapon caused a lot fo problems, which were severe even if the gun was mounted on a ship or on land. To compensate for such a large-caliber gun’s recoil and to make firing a 14 in shell (which alone weighed around almost 700 kg/1.550 lb, plus the charge) from a relatively light airframe feasible, the respective gun had to be as light as possible and avoid any recoil, which would easily tear an aircraft – even a bomber – apart upon firing. Therefore, the Gerät 104 was designed as a recoilless cannon. Its firing system involved venting the same amount of the weapon's propellant gas for its round to the rear of the launch tube (which was open at both ends), in the same fashion as a rocket launcher. This created a forward directed momentum which was nearly equal to the rearward momentum (recoil) imparted to the system by accelerating the projectile itself. The balance thus created did not leave much net momentum to be imparted to the weapon's mounting or the carrying airframe in the form of felt recoil. A further share of the recoil induced by the moving round itself could be compensated by a muzzle brake which re-directed a part of the firing gases backwards. Since recoil had been mostly negated, a heavy and complex recoil damping mechanism was not necessary – even though the weapon itself was huge and heavy.

 

Work on the "Münchhausen" device (a secret project handle after a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in the late 18th century who reputedly had ridden on a cannonball between enemy frontlines), was done by Rheinmetall-Borsig and lasted until 1941. The first test of a prototype weapon was conducted on 9th of September 1940 in Unterlüss with a satisfactory result, even though the weapon was only mounted onto an open rack and not integrated into an airframe yet. At that time, potential carriers were the Ju 88, the Dornier Do 217 and the new Junkers Ju 288. Even though the system’s efficacy was doubted, the prospect of delivering a single, fatal blow to an important , armored arget superseded any doubts at the RLM, and the project was greenlit in early 1942 for the next stage: the integration of the Sondergerät 104 into an existing airframe. The Ju 88 and its successor, the Ju 188, turned out to be too light and lacked carrying capacity for the complete, loaded weapon, and the favored Ju 288 was never produced, so that only the Dornier Do 217 or the bigger He 177 remained as a suitable carriers. The Do 217 was eventually chosen because it had the biggest payload and the airframe was proven and readily available.

 

After calculations had verified that the designed 14 in rifle would have effectively no recoil, preliminary tests with dumm airframes were carried out. After ground trials with a Do 217 E day bomber to check recoil and blast effects on the airframe, the development and production of a limited Nullserie (pre-production series) of the dedicated Do 217 F variant for field tests and eventual operational use against British sea and land targets was ordered in April 1942.

 

The resulting Do 217 F-0 was based on the late “E” bomber variant and powered by a pair of BMW 801 radial engines. It was, however, heavily modified for its unique weapon and the highly specialized mission profile: upon arriving at the zone of operation at high altitude, the aircraft would initiate a dive with an angle of attack between 50° and 80° from the horizontal, firing the SG 104 at an altitude between 6,000 and 2,000 meters. The flight time of the projectile could range from 16.0 seconds for a shot from an altitude of 6,000 meters at a 50° angle to just 4.4 seconds for a shot from 2.000 meters at an almost vertical 80° angle. Muzzle velocity of the SG 104 was only 300 m/s, but, prior to impact, the effective velocity of the projectile was projected to range between 449 and 468 m/s (1,616 to 1,674 km/h). Together with the round's weight of roughly 700 kg (1.550 lb) and a hardened tip, this would still ensure a high penetration potential.

 

The operational Sondergerät 104 had an empty mass of 2.780 kg (6,123 lb) and its complete 14 inch double cartridge weighed around 1.600 kg (3,525 lb). The loaded mass of the weapon was 4,237 kg, stretching the limits of the Do 217’s load capacity to the maximum, so that some armor and less vital pieces of equipment were deleted. Crew and defensive armament were reduced to a minimum.

Even though there had been plans to integrate the wepaon into the airframe (on the Ju 288), the Gerät 104 was on the Do 217 F-0 mounted externally and occupied the whole space under the aircraft, precluding any use of the bomb bay. The latter was occupied by the Gerät 104’s complex mount, which extended to the outside under a streamlined fairing and held the weapon at a distance from the airframe. Between the mount’s struts inside of the fuselage, an additional fuel tank for balance reasons was added, too.

The gun’s center, where the heavy round was carried, was positioned under the aircraft’s center of gravity, so that the gun barrel markedly protruded from under the aircraft’s nose. To make enough space, the Do 217 Es bomb aimer’s ventral gondola and his rearward-facing defensive position under the cockpit were omitted and faired over. The nose section was also totally different: the original extensive glazing (the so-called “Kampfkopf”) was replaced by a smaller, conventional canopy, similar to the later Do 217 J and N night fighter versions, together with a solid nose - the original glass panels would have easily shattered upon firing the gun, esp. in a steep high-speed dive. A "Lotfernrohr" bomb aiming device was still installed in a streamlined and protected fairing, though, so that the navigator could guide the pilot during the approach to the target and during the attack run.

To stabilize the heavy aircraft during its attack and to time- and safely pull out of the dive, a massive mechanical dive brake was mounted at the extended tail tip, which unfolded with four "petals". A charecteristic stabilizing dorsal strake was added between the twin fins, too.

 

The ventral area behind the gun’s rear-facing muzzle received additional metal plating and blast guiding vanes, after trials in late 1940 had revealed that firing the SG 104 could easily damage the Do 217’s tail structure, esp. all of the tail surfaces’ rudders and the fins’ lower ends in particular. Due to all this extra weight, the Do 217 F-0’s defensive armament consisted only of a single 13 mm MG 131 machine gun in a manually operated dorsal position behind the cockpit cabin, which offered space for a crew of three. A fixed 15 mm MG 151 autocannon was mounted in the nose, too, a weapon with a long barrel for extended range and accuracy. It was not an offensive weapon, though, rather intended as an aiming aid for the SG 104 because it was loaded with tracer bullets: during the final phase of the attack dive, the pilot kept firing the MG 151, and the bullet trail showed if he was on target to fire the SG 104 when the right altitude/range had been reached.

 

The first Do 217 F-0 was flown and tested in late 1943, and after some detail changes the type was cleared for a limited production run of ten aircraft in January 1944. The first operational machine was delivered to a dedicated testing commando, the Erprobungskommando 104 “Münchhausen”, also known as “Sonderkommando Münchhausen” or simply “E-Staffel 104”. The unit was based at Bordeaux/Merignac and directly attached to the KG 40's as a staff flight. At that time, KG 40 operated Do 217 and He 177 bombers and frequently flew reconnaissance and anti-shipping missions over the Atlantic west of France, up to the British west and southern coast, equipped with experimental Henschel Hs 293 glide bombs.

 

Initial flights confirmed that the Do 217 airframe was burdened with the SG 104 to its limits, the already rather sluggish aircraft (the Do 217 had generally a high wing loading and was not easy to fly) lost anything that was left of what could be called agility. It needed an experienced pilot to handle it safely, esp. during start and landing. It is no wonder that two Do 217 F-0s suffered ground accidents during the first two weeks of operations, but the machines could be repaired, resume the test program and carry out attack missions.

However, during one of the first test shots with the weapon, one Do 217 F-0 lost its complete tail section though the gun blast, and the aircraft crashed into the Bay of Biscay, killing the complete crew.

 

On 4th or April 1944 the first "hot" attack against an enemy ship was executed in the Celtic Sea off of Brest, against a convoy of 20 ships homeward bound from Gibraltar. The attack was not successful, though, the shot missing its target, and the German bomber was attacked and heavily damaged by British Bristol Beaufighters that had been deployed to protect the ships. The Do 217F-0 eventually crashed and sank into the Atlantic before it could reach land again.

 

A couple of days later, on 10th of April, the first attempt to attack and destroy a land target was undertaken: two Do 217 F-0s took off to attack Bouldnor Battery, an armored British artillery position located on the Isle of Wight. One machine had to abort the attack due to oil leakages, the second Do 217 F-0 eventually reached its target and made a shallow attack run, but heavy fog obscured the location and the otherwise successful shot missed the fortification. Upon return to its home base the aircraft was intercepted by RAF fighters over the Channel and heavily damaged, even though German fighters deployed from France came to the rescue, fought the British attackers off and escorted the limping Do 217 F-0 back to its home base.

 

These events revealed that the overall SG 104 concept was generally feasible, but also showed that the Do 217 F-0 was very vulnerable without air superiority or a suitable escort, so that new tactics had to be developed. One consequence was that further Do 217 F-0 deployments were now supported by V/KG 40, the Luftwaffe's only long range maritime fighter unit. These escorts consisted of Junkers Ju 88C-6s, which were capable of keeping up with the Do 217 F-0 and fend of intercepting RAF Coastal Command’s Beaufighters and later also Mosquitos.

 

In the meantime, tests with the SG 104 progressed and several modifications were tested on different EKdo 104's Do 217 F-0s. One major upgrade was a further strengthening of the tail section, which added another 200 kg (440 lb) to the aircraft's dry weight. Furthermore, at least three aircraft were outfitted with additional dive brakes under the outer wings, so that the dive could be better controlled and intercepted. these aircraft, however, lost their plumbed underwing hardpoints, but these were only ever used for drop tanks during transfer flights - a loaded SG 104 precluded any other ordnance. On two other aircraft the SG 104 was modified to test different muzzle brakes and deflectors for the rear-facing opening, so that the gun blast was more effectively guided away from the airframe to prevent instability and structural damage. For instance, one machine was equipped with a bifurcated blast deflector that directed the rearward gasses partly sideways, away from the fuselage.

 

These tests did not last long, though. During the Allied Normandy landings in June 1944 E-Staffel 104 was hastily thrown into action and made several poorly-prepared attack runs against Allied support ships. The biggest success was a full hit and the resulting sinking of the Norwegian destroyer HNoMS Svenner (G03) by "1A+BA" at dawn on 6th of June, off Sword, one of the Allied landing zones. Other targets were engaged, too, but only with little effect. This involvement, however, led to the loss of three Do 217 F-0s within just two days and four more heavily damaged aircraft – leaving only two of EKdo 104's Do 217 F-0s operational.

 

With the Allied invasion of France and a worsening war condition, the SG 104 program was stopped in August 1944 and the idea of an airborne anti-ship gun axed in favor of more flexible guided weapons like the Hs 293 missile and the Fritz-X glide bomb. Plans for a further developed weapon with a three-round drum magazine were immediately stopped, also because there was no carrier aircraft in sight that could carry and deploy this complex 6.5 tons weapon. However, work on the SG 104 and the experience gained from EKdo 104's field tests were not in vain. The knowledge gathered from the Münchhausen program was directly used for the design of a wide range of other, smaller recoilless aircraft weapons, including the magnetically-triggered SG 113 "Förstersonde" anti-tank weapon or the lightweight SG 118 "Rohrblock" unguided air-to-air missile battery for the Heinkel He 162 "Volksjäger".

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 3 (pilot, navigator, radio operator/gunner)

Length: 20,73 m (67 ft 11 in) overall

18,93 m (62 ft 3/4 in) hull only

Wingspan: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)

Height: 4.97 m (16 ft 4 in)

Wing area: 57 m² (610 sq ft)

Empty weight: 9,065 kg (19,985 lb)

Empty equipped weight:10,950 kg (24,140 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 16,700 kg (36,817 lb)

Fuel capacity: 2,960 l (780 US gal; 650 imp gal) in fuselage tank and four wing tanks

 

Powerplant:

2× BMW 801D-2 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, delivering

1,300 kW (1,700 hp) each for take-off and 1,070 kW (1,440 hp) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft),

driving 3-bladed VDM constant-speed propellers

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 475 km/h (295 mph, 256 kn) at sea level

560 km/h (350 mph; 300 kn) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft)

Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn) with loaded Gerät 104 at optimum altitude

Range: 2,180 km (1,350 mi, 1,180 nmi) with maximum internal fuel

Ferry range: 2,500 km (1,600 mi, 1,300 nmi); unarmed, with auxiliary fuel tanks

Service ceiling: 7,370 m (24,180 ft) with loaded Gerät 104,

9,500 m (31,200 ft) after firing

Rate of climb: 3.5 m/s (690 ft/min)

Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 4 minutes 10 seconds

2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 8 minutes 20 seconds

6,100 m (20,000 ft) in 24 minutes 40 seconds

 

Armament:

1x 355.6 mm (14-inch) Sondergerät 104 recoilless gun with a single round in ventral position

1x 15 mm (0.787 in) MG 151 machine cannon with 200 rounds, fixed in the nose

1x 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine gun with 500 rounds, movable in dorsal position

Two underwing hardpoints for a 900 l drop tank each, but only used during unarmed ferry flights

  

The kit and its assembly:

This was another submission to the "Gunships" group build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2021, and inspiration struck when I realized that I had two Italeri Do 217 in The Stash - a bomber and a night fighter - that could be combined into a suitable (fictional) carrier for a Sondergerät 104. This mighty weapon actually existed and even reached the hardware/test stage - but it was never integrated into an airframe and tested in flight. But that's what this model is supposed to depict.

 

On the Do 217, the Sg 104 would have been carried externally under the fuselage, even though there had been plans to integrate this recoilless rifle into airframes, esp. into the Ju 288. Since the latter never made it into production, the Do 217 would have been the most logical alternative, also because it had the highest payload of all German bombers during WWII and probably the only aircraft capable of carrying and deploying the Münchhausen device, as the SG 104 was also known.

 

The fictional Do 217 F-0 is a kitbashing, using a Do 217 N fuselage, combined with the wings from a Do 217 K bomber, plus some modifications. What initially sounded like a simple plan soon turned into a improvisation mess: it took some time to realize that I had already donated the Do 217 K's BMW 801 engines to another project, an upgraded He 115... I did not want to use the nightfighter's more powerful DB 603s, and I was lucky to have an Italeri Ju 188 kit at hand which comes with optional BMW 801s and Jumo 211s. Transplanting these engines onto the Do 217's wings took some tailoring of the adapter plates, but was feasible. However, the BMW 801s from the Ju 188 kit have a flaw: they lack the engine's characteristic cooling fans... Another lucky find: I found two such parts in the scrap box, even though from different kits - one left over from another Italeri Do 217 K, the other one from what I assume is/was an Italeri 1:72 Fw 190 A/F. To make matters worse, one propeller from the Ju 188 kit was missing, so that I had to find a(nother) replacement. :-/

I eventually used something that looked like an 1:72 F6F Hellcat propeller, but I an not certain about this because I have never built this model...? With some trimming on the blades' trailing edges and other mods, the donor's overall look could be adapted to the Ju 188 benchmark. Both propellers were mounted on metal axis' so that they could also carry the cooling fans. Lots of work, but the result looks quite good.

 

The Do 217 N's hull lost the lower rear gunner position and its ventral gondola, which was faired over with a piece of styrene sheet. The pilot was taken OOB, the gunner in the rear position was replaced by a more blob-like crew member from the scrap box. The plan to add a navigator in the seat to the lower right of the pilot did not work out due to space shortage, but this figure would probably have been invisble, anyway.

All gun openings in the nose were filled and PSRed away, and a fairing for a bomb aiming device and a single gun (the barrel is a hollow steel needle) were added.

 

The SG 104 was scratched. Starting point was a white metal replacement barrel for an 1:35 ISU-152 SPG with a brass muzzle brake. However, after dry-fitting the barrel under the hull the barrel turned out to be much too wide, so that only the muzzal brake survived and the rest of the weapon was created from a buddy refueling pod (from an Italeri 1:72 Luftwaffe Tornado, because of its two conical ends) and protective plastic caps from medical canulas. To attach this creation to the hull I abused a conformal belly tank from a Matchbox Gloster Meteor night fighter and tailored it into a streamlined fairing. While this quite a Frankenstein creation, the overall dimensions match the real SG 104 prototype and its look well.

 

Other cosmetic modifications include a pair of underwing dive brakes, translanted from an Italeri 1:72 Ju 88 A-4 kit, an extended (scratched) tail "stinger" which resembles the real dive brake arrangement that was installed on some Do 217 E bombers, and I added blast deflector vanes and a dorsal stabilizer fin.

In order to provide the aircraft with enough ground clearance, the tail wheel was slightly extended. Thanks to the long tail stinger, this is not blatantly obvious.

  

Painting and markings:

This was not an easy choice, but as a kind of prototype I decided that the paint scheme should be rather conservative. However, German aircraft operating over the Atlantic tended to carry rather pale schemes, so that the standard pattern of RLM 70/71/65 (Dunkelgrün, Schwarzgrün and Hellblau) with a low waterline - typical for experimental types - would hardly be appropriate.

I eventually found a compromise on a He 177 bomber (coded 6N+BN) from 1944 that was operated by KG 100: this particular aircraft had a lightened upper camouflage - still a standard splinter scheme but consisting of RLM 71 and 02 (Dunkelgrün and Grau; I used Modelmaster 2081 and Humbrol 240), a combination that had been used on German fighters during the Battle of Britain when the standard colors turned out to be too dark for operations over the Channel. The aircraft also carried standard RLM 65 (or maybe the new RLM76) underneath (Humbrol 65) and on the fin, but with a very high and slightly wavy waterline. As a rather unusual feature, no typical camouflage mottles were carried on the flanks or the fin, giving the aircraft a very bleak and simple look.

 

Despite my fears that this might look rather boring I adapted this scheme for the Do 217 F-0, and once basic painting was completed I was rather pleased by the aircraft's look! As an aircraft operated at the Western front, no additional markings like fuselage bands were carried.

To set the SG 104 apart from the airframe, I painted the weapon's visible parts in RLM 66 (Schwarzgrau, Humbrol 67), because this tone was frequently used for machinery (including the interior surfaces of aircraft towards 1945).

RLM 02 was also used for the interior surfaces and the landing gear, even though I used a slightly different, lighter shade in form of Revell 45 (Helloliv).

 

A light black ink washing was applied and post-shading to emphasize panel lines. Most markings/decals came from a Begemot 1:72 He 11 sheet, including the unusual green tactical code - it belongs to a staff unit, a suitable marking for such an experimental aircraft. The green (Humbrol 2) was carried over to the tips of the propeller spinners. The unit's code "1A" is fictional, AFAIK this combination had never been used by the Luftwaffe.

The small unit badge was alucky find: it actually depicts the fictional Baron von Münchhausen riding on a cannonball, and it comes from an Academy 1:72 Me 163 kit and its respective sheet. The mission markings underneath, depicting two anti-ship missions plus a successful sinking, came from a TL Modellbau 1:72 scale sheet with generic German WWII victory markings.

 

After some soot stains around the engine exhaust and weapon muzzles had been added with graphite, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and final details like position lights and wire antennae (from heated black plastic sprue material) were added.

  

Well, what started as a combination of two kits of the same kind with a simple huge pipe underneath turned out to be more demanding than expected. The (incomplete) replacement engines were quite a challenge, and body work on the hull (tail stinger, fairing for the SG 104 as well as the weapon itself) turned out to be more complex and extensive than initially thought of. The result looks quite convincing, also supported by the rather simple paint scheme which IMHO just "looks right" and very convincing. And the whole thing is probably the most direct representation of the inspiring "Gunship" theme!

 

Here life is quite different than we know about life…… Life here has no color as we always knew…..life here has no song as we always heard…..Here life means to add some moment to carry on….Here life means to manage a chance to stay alive……Life here always looking for an opportunity for maintaining existence....

 

They are homeless, as river takes away their home and dream....

 

Captured from Dhaka University

 

After lots of thoughts and calculations I decided to buy my 7th lens , the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8. I could not afford a Nikon since the price is 3 times higher than Tamron.

 

Still struggling to handle it , with its weight and size, I hope this lens will produce good street photography when I travel soon.

 

Location: My Bedroom - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 

Calculation of solar and lunar eclipses from: Marvels of Creatures & Strange Things Existing, by al-Qazwini, 14th century

Today I read about the Brenizer-method and decided to try it out. The image was supposed to be much wider but I failed with the stiching.

 

brettmaxwellphoto.com/Brenizer-Method-Calculation/

 

Effective focal length 21.44mm

Effective aperture : 0.6

 

Check out the website below to se how it should be done.

 

www.ryanbrenizer.com/category/brenizer-method/

 

Check out this great photographer!

Today members of the We're Here! group are visiting the The Three Stooges Existential Balloon Factory. Things could get messy.

Doing the final calculations as to the f stop, focal length and wave resolution and etc. of my mirror that I had ground and the telescope that I was building. All of this was done in my unfinished basement room of my parents new house in Catharpin VA.

French public debt at record high French debt in percentage of GDP value. French public debt decreased in 2013, but is still higher than expected. Total debt continues to climb and fails to meet the Maastricht criteria. EurActiv France reports. Despite austerity measures, France's public deficit did not meet its government targets for 2013. The French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) published figures showing that it currently stands at 4.3% of GDP.The French government expected this percentage to be 4.1%, whilst the European Commission predicted 4.2%. However timid, the reduction of public deficit from its previous level of 4.9%, in 2013, is still a significant improvement. Struggling with revenue On closer inspection, the statistics should worry the French government. Although expenses reached target reductions from 3% in 2012 to 2%¨in 2013, revenue is lower than expected. Revenue has decreased from 3.3% compared to 3.7% in 2012. The state has reduced its financial needs, but those of local administrations have increased. According to a press release from the French Ministry of Budget, Public Accounts and Civil Administration, “measures to restore public accounts recorded a historical 2.5 percentage points of GDP, whereas unfavourable economic conditions adversely affected revenues by 1.5 percentage points. The implementation of expenditure, consistent with expectations, proves the government’s ability to meet spending targets set by the parliament”. Almost €2000 billion of debt France's Ministry of Finance criticised the debt-to-GDP ratio, and called for a change in the calculation. According to the INSEE, public debt was 93%, or €1925 billion, in 2013, a new record, and higher than the €1841 billion recorded in 2012. The French Ministry of Finance argues that this number should not include financial support provided to European states like Greece, Spain or Portugal. It should also exclude the contributions made to the European Stability Mechanism, the measure put in place to help ailing banks. When excluding financial support to troubled countries, and the capitalisation of the European Stability Mechanism, the debt ratio is 90.4% of GDP. The Minister of Economy highlights that “it would then be in line with government forecasts,” and effectively blames the EU for another French mishandling of public accounts. Socialist leaders in concerted push to relax EU budgetary constraints

Le Pen eyes VP role in new far-right EU Parliament group Brussels wages new battle against VAT fraud. ECB rate cut boosts Spanish, Italian yields Insurance companies push forward with European investment EU fines SIM card chip cartel €138 million UK government: Independent Scotland can't both rejoin the EU and keep the pound

French bosses rally around Juncker's 300 billion investment plan France is one of the countries of which the public debt exceeds economic convergence criteria set out by the Treaty of Maastricht, both in terms of annual deficit and total volume of debt. According to the treaty, public deficit should not exceed 3% of GDP, and public debt should be limited to 60% of GDP.Macroeconomic and public finance predictions for 2014-2017 should be provided to the parliament within the stability programme in mid-April and to the Commission before 30 April.The Juncker team revealed Ukraine to request NATO membership Putin: ‘I can take Kiev in two weeks if I want’ Britain handed climate and energy portfolio in draft Juncker Commission line-up Parliament reacts to Juncker’s plan to merge energy and climate portfolios Poroshenko: The EU's agenda now revolves around Ukraine Bildt slams Juncker over absence of enlargement portfolio Cyber threat now ‘real and growing’, EU official warns Commission cautiously welcomes news of Ukraine ‘ceasefire’ EU considers ban on Russian bond-buying as part of new sanctions package

Efficacité et Transparence des Acteurs Européens © 1999-2014 EurActiv.com PLC | Terms and Conditions...As history has shown, France is capable of the best and the worst, and often in short periods of time. On the day following Marine Le Pen's Front National victory in the European elections, however, France made a decisive contribution to the reinvention of a radical politics for the 21st century. On that day, the committee for a citizen's audit on the public debt issued a 30-page report on French public debt, its origins and evolution in the past decades. The report was written by a group of experts in public finances under the coordination of Michel Husson, one of France's finest critical economists. Its conclusion is straightforward: 60% of French public debt is illegitimate. Anyone who has read a newspaper in recent years knows how important debt is to contemporary politics. As David Graeber among others has shown, we live in debtocracies, not democracies. Debt, rather than popular will, is the governing principle of our societies, through the devastating austerity policies implemented in the name of debt reduction. Debt was also a triggering cause of the most innovative social movements in recent years, the Occupy movement. If it were shown that public debts were somehow illegitimate, that citizens had a right to demand a moratorium – and even the cancellation of part of these debts – the political implications would be huge. It is hard to think of an event that would transform social life as profoundly and rapidly as the emancipation of societies from the constraints of debt. And yet this is precisely what the French report aims to do. The audit is part of a wider movement of popular debt audits in more than 18 countries. Ecuador and Brazil have had theirs, the former at the initiative of Rafael Correa's government, the latter organised by civil society. European social movements have also put in place debt audits, especially in countries harder hit by the sovereign debt crisis, such as Greece and Spain. In Tunisia, the post-revolutionary government declared the debt taken out during Ben Ali's dictatorship an "odious" debt: one that served to enrich the clique in power, rather than improving the living conditions of the people. The report on French debt contains several key findings. Primarily, the rise in the state's debt in the past decades cannot be explained by an increase in public spending. The neoliberal argument in favour of austerity policies claims that debt is due to unreasonable public spending levels; that societies in general, and popular classes in particular, live above their means. This is plain false. In the past 30 years, from 1978 to 2012 more precisely, French public spending has in fact decreased by two GDP points. What, then, explains the rise in public debt? First, a fall in the tax revenues of the state. Massive tax reductions for the wealthy and big corporations have been carried out since 1980. In line with the neoliberal mantra, the purpose of these reductions was to favour investment and employment. Well, unemployment is at its highest today, whereas tax revenues have decreased by five points of GDP.The second factor is the increase in interest rates, especially in the 1990s. This increase favoured creditors and speculators, to the detriment of debtors. Instead of borrowing on financial markets at prohibitive interest rates, had the state financed itself by appealing to household savings and banks, and borrowed at historically normal rates, the public debt would be inferior to current levels by 29 GDP points. Tax reductions for the wealthy and interest rates increases are political decisions. What the audit shows is that public deficits do not just grow naturally out of the normal course of social life. They are deliberately inflicted on society by the dominant classes, to legitimise austerity policies that will allow the transfer of value from the working classes to the wealthy ones. A stunning finding of the report is that no one actually knows who holds the French debt. To finance its debt, the French state, like any other state, issues bonds, which are bought by a set of authorised banks. These banks then sell the bonds on the global financial markets. Who owns these titles is one of the world's best kept secrets. The state pays interests to the holders, so technically it could know who owns them. Yet a legally organised ignorance forbids the disclosure of the identity of the bond holders. This deliberate organisation of ignorance – agnotology – in neoliberal economies intentionally renders the state powerless, even when it could have the means to know and act. This is what permits tax evasion in its various forms – which last year cost about €50bn to European societies, and €17bn to France alone. Hence, the audit on the debt concludes, some 60% of the French public debt is illegitimate. An illegitimate debt is one that grew in the service of private interests, and not the wellbeing of the people. Therefore the French people have a right to demand a moratorium on the payment of the debt, and the cancellation of at least part of it. There is precedent for this: in 2008 Ecuador declared 70% of its debt illegitimate. The nascent global movement for debt audits may well contain the seeds of a new internationalism – an internationalism for today – in the working classes throughout the world. This is, among other things, a consequence of financialisation. Thus debt audits might provide a fertile ground for renewed forms of international mobilisations and solidarity.

This new internationalism could start with three easy steps. 1) Debt audits in all countries The crucial point is to demonstrate, as the French audit did, that debt is a political construction, that it doesn't just happen to societies when they supposedly live above their means. This is what justifies calling it illegitimate, and may lead to cancellation procedures. Audits on private debts are also possible, as the Chilean artist Francisco Tapia has recently shown by auditing student loans in an imaginative way. 2) The disclosure of the identity of debt holders A directory of creditors at national and international levels could be assembled. Not only would such a directory help fight tax evasion, it would also reveal that while the living conditions of the majority are worsening, a small group of individuals and financial institutions has consistently taken advantage of high levels of public indebtedness. Hence, it would reveal the political nature of debt. 3) The socialisation of the banking system The state should cease to borrow on financial markets, instead financing itself through households and banks at reasonable and controllable interest rates. The banks themselves should be put under the supervision of citizens' committees, hence rendering the audit on the debt permanent. In short, debt should be democratised. This, of course, is the harder part, where elements of socialism are introduced at the very core of the system. Yet, to counter the tyranny of debt on every aspect of our lives, there is no alternative.

  

--------------

Curated by Indigo, Unintended Calculations brings together a group of internationally renowned artists – Augustine Kofie (LA), Jerry Inscoe (PDX), Remi/Rough (LDN) and Scott Sueme (VAN) – for an exhibition at Becker Galleries and two collaborative murals at Moda Hotel exploring four very different approaches to abstraction. Working in a variety of mediums, these artists have evolved the letterform building blocks of their shared graffiti background, deconstructing and rebuilding them as compositions of color, line, shape and movement.

 

www.unintendedcalculations.com

After completing primary school, he entered the Fine Arts School in Iaşi, where he was taught by Gheorghe Panaiteanu Bardasare, Constantin Daniel Stahi, and Emanoil Bardasare, graduating in 1893. Between 1894 and 1897, he lived and studied abroad on a scholarship: first in Italy and France, and finally in Germany, where he studied under Nicholaos Gysis at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich.

 

Upon his return, Băncilă began exploring his major themes: the lives of peasants, factory workers, empoverished Jewish traders and artisans, conscripted soldiers, and of nomadic Roma people. After 1901, he taught calligraphy and art in primary schools in the city. Impressed by the outcome of the 1905 Revolution in the Russian Empire, he was soon active in socialist circles, and became an acquaintance of major intellectual figures on the Left, including Gala Galaction.

 

In 1907, following the crushing of the Romanian Peasants' Revolt, Băncilă began traveling the country and attempting to gather evidence of government repression and violence. The result was a series of paintings including his famous figure of an old peasant standing open-armed (titled Înainte de 1907, "Before 1907"), several images of dead bodies piled up in fields (being looked on by soldiers), and the eponymous 1907, depicting three ragged peasants running into rifle fire.

 

Following the outbreak of World War I, he became involved in pacifist causes, using his work to comment on the results of conflict. In 1916, he was appointed professor at the Fine Arts School in Iaşi (a position he kept until his retirement in 1937). With Constantin Ion Parhon and Bujor, Băncilă founded, in 1919, the short-lived Laborer Party.

 

He remained critical of social and political developments inside Greater Romania, was supportive of strike actions in the Jiu Valley, and used his art to attack anti-Semitic trends in Romanian society. Towards the end of his life, he came to sympathize with communism (he was not, however, affiliated with the Communist Party of Romania).

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Development studies at Grumman for jet-powered fighter aircraft began near the end of World War II as the first jet engines emerged. In a competition for a jet-powered night fighter for the United States Navy, on 3 April 1946 the Douglas F3D Skyknight was selected over Grumman's G-75, a two-seater powered by four Westinghouse J30s. The Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) also issued a contract to Grumman for two G-75 prototype aircraft on 11 April 1946, in case the Skyknight ran into problems.

However, Grumman soon realized that the G-75 was a dead end. But the company had been working on a completely different day fighter, the G-79, which offered a higher potential. In order to keep Grumman in the US Navy’s procurement loop, BuAer, in a bureaucratic maneuver, did not cancel the G-75 contract, but changed the wording to include prototypes of the entirely different G-79, too.

 

The G-79 project comprised a total of four different layouts and engine arrangements for a single seat fighter aircraft. G-79A and B were traditional tail sitters, but both featured mixed propulsion for an enhanced performance: G-79A was powered by an R-2800 radial engine and a Rolls Royce Derwent VI jet booster in the tail, fed by a pair of dorsal air intakes behind the cockpit. The G-79B was a similar aircraft, but its primary engine was a General Electric TG-100 turboprop in a more slender nose section. Even though both designs were big aircraft, initial calculations indicated a performance that would be superior to the Grumman F8F Bearcat, which had been designed as a thoroughbred interceptor.

 

The other two designs were pure jet fighters, both with a tricycle landing gear. G-79C had a layout reminiscent of the Gloster Meteor and was powered by two Derwent VI engines in bulky wing nacelles, and G-79D was finally an overall smaller and lighter aircraft, similar in its outlines to the early Vought F6U Pirate, and powered by a single Nene in the rear fuselage, fed by air intakes in the wing roots.

 

Since the operation of jet-powered aircraft from carriers was terra incognita for the US Navy, and early turbojets thirsty and slow to react to throttle input, BuAer decided to develop two of Grumman's G-79 designs into prototypes for real life evaluation: one of the conservative designs, as a kind of safe route, and one of the more modern jets.

From the mixed propulsion designs, the turboprop-powered G-79B was chosen (becoming the XF9F-1 'JetCat'), since it was expected to offer a higher performance and development potential than the radial-powered 'A'. From the pure jet designs the G-79D was chosen, because of its simplicity and compact size, and designated XF9F-2 'Panther'.

 

The first JetCat prototype made its maiden flight on 26 October 1947, but it was only a short airfield circuit since the TG-100 turpoprop failed to deliver full power and the jet booster had not been installed yet. The prototype Panther, piloted by test pilot Corky Meyer, first flew on 21 November 1947 without major problems.

 

In the wake of the two aircrafts' test program, several modifications and improvements were made. This included an equal armament of four 20mm guns (mounted in the outer, foldable wings on the JetCat and, respectively, in the Panther’s nose). Furthermore, both aircraft were soon armed with underwing HVAR air-to-ground rockets and bombs, and the JetCat even received an underfuselage pylon for the potential carriage of an airborne torpedo. Since there was insufficient space within the foldable wings and the fuselage in both aircraft for the thirsty jet’s fuel, permanently mounted wingtip fuel tanks were added on both aircraft, which incidentally improved the fighters' rate of roll. Both F9F types were cleared for flight from aircraft carriers in September 1949.

 

The F9F-1 was soon re-engined with an Allison T38 turboprop, which was much more reliable than the TF-100 (in the meantime re-designated XT31) and delivered a slightly higher power output. Another change was made for the booster: the bulky Derwent VI engine from the prototype stage was replaced by a much more compact Westinghouse J34 turbojet, which not only delivered slightly more thrust, it also used up much less internal space which was used for radio and navigation equipment, a life raft and a relocated oil tank. Due to a resulting CG shift towards the nose, the fuselage fuel cell layout had to be revised. As a consequence, the cockpit was moved 3’ backwards, slightly impairing the pilot’s field of view, but it was still superior to the contemporary Vought F4U.

 

Despite the engine improvements, though, the F9F-1 attained markedly less top speed than the F9F-2. On the other side, it had a better rate of climb and slow speed handling characteristics, could carry more ordnance and offered a considerably bigger range and extended loiter time. The F9F-2 was more agile, though, and more of the nimble dogfighter the US Navy was originally looking for. Its simplicity with just a single engine was appealing, too.

 

The Panther was eventually favored as the USN's first operational jet day fighter and put into production, but the F9F-1 showed much potential as a fast fighter bomber. Through pressure from the USMC, who was looking for a replacement for its F7F heavy Tigercat fighters, a production order for 50 JetCats was eventually placed, later augmented to 82 aircraft because the US Navy also recognized the type’s potential as a fast, ship-borne multi-role fighter. Further interest came in 1949 from Australia, when the country’s government was looking for a - possibly locally-built in license - replacement for the outdated Mustang Mk 23 and De Havilland Vampire then operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Both Grumman designs were potential contenders, rivalling with the domestic CAC CA-23 fighter development.

 

The Grumman Panther became the most widely used U.S. Navy jet fighter of the Korean War, flying 78,000 sorties and scoring the first air-to-air kill by the U.S. Navy in the war, the downing of a North Korean Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter. Being rugged aircraft, F9F-2s, -3s and -5s were able to sustain operations, even in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire. The pilots also appreciated the Panther’s air conditioned cockpit, which was a welcome change from the humid environment of piston-powered aircraft.

 

The F9F-1 did fare less glamorous. Compared with the prototypes, the T38 turboprop's power output could be enhanced on service aircraft, but not on a significant level. The aircraft's original, rather sluggish response to throttle input and its low-speed handling were improved through an eight-blade contraprop, which, as a side benefit, countered torque problems during starts and landings on carriers.

The JetCat’s mixed powerplant installation remained capricious, though, and the second engine and its fuel meant a permanent weight penalty. The aircraft's complexity turned out to be a real weak point during the type's deployment to front line airfields in the Korean War, overall readiness was – compared with conservative types like the F4U and also the F9F-2, low. Despite the turboprop improvements, the jet booster remained necessary for carrier starts and vital in order to take on the MiG-15 or post-war piston engine types of Soviet origin like the Lavochkin La-9 and -11 or the Yakowlev Yak-9.

 

Frequent encounters with these opponents over Korea confirmed that the F9F-1 was not a “naturally born” dogfighter, but rather fell into the escort fighter or attack aircraft class. In order to broaden the type's duty spectrum, a small number of USMC and USN F9F-1s was modified in field workshops with an APS-6 type radar equipment from F4U-4N night fighters. Similar to the Corsair, the radar dish was carried in a streamlined pod under the outer starboard wing. The guns received flame dampers, and these converted machines, re-designated F9F-1N, were used with mild success as night and all-weather fighters.

 

However, the JetCat remained unpopular among its flight and ground crews and, after its less-than-satisfactory performance against MiGs, quickly retired. After the end of the Korean War in July 1953, all machines were grounded and by 1954 all had been scrapped. However, the turboprop-powered fighter bomber lived on with the USMC, which ordered the Vought A3U SeaScorpion as successor.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 40 ft 5 in (12,31 m)

Wingspan: 43 ft 5 in (13,25 m)

Height: 15 ft 6 3/4 in (4,75 m)

Wing area: 250 ft² (23 m²)

Empty weight: 12,979 lb (5,887 kg)

Gross weight: 24,650 lb (11,181 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Allison T38E turboprop, rated at 2,500 shp (1,863 kW) plus 600 lbf (2.7 kN) residual thrust

1× Westinghouse J34-WE-13 turbojet booster with 3,000 lbf (13.35 kN)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 507 mph (441 kn; 816 km/h) at 30,000 ft (9,100 m)

497 mph (432 kn, 800 km/h) at sea level

Cruise speed: 275 mph (443 km/h; 239 kn) at 30,000 ft (9,100 m)

Stall speed: 74 mph (119 km/h; 64 kn) with flaps

Range: 2,500 mi (2,172 nmi; 4,023 km)

Service ceiling: 47,000 ft (14,000 m)

Rate of climb: 5,300 ft/min (27 m/s)

Wing loading: 71 lb/ft² (350 kg/m²)

Thrust/weight: 0.42

Armament:

4× 20 mm (0.79 in) AN/M3 cannon in the outer, foldable wings with 220 RPG

Underwing hardpoints and provisions to carry combinations of up to 6× 5 " (127 mm) HVAR

missiles and/or bombs on underwing hardpoints, for a total ordnance of 3,000 lb (1,362 kg)

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is another submission to the Cold War GB at whatifmodelers in early 2018, and rather a spontaneous idea. It was actually spawned after I finished my fictional Gudkov Gu-1 mixed propulsion fighter - while building (using the engine front from an F6F Hellcat) I had the impression that it could also have ended up as a post-war USN fighter design.

 

A couple of days later, while browsing literature for inspiration, I came across Grumman's G-79 series of designs that eventually led to the F9F Panther - and I was amazed that the 'A' design almost looked like my kitbashed Soviet fighter!

 

So I considered a repeated build of a P-47D/Supermarine Attacker kitbash, just in American colors. But with the F9F relationship, I planned the integration of Panther parts, so that the new creation would look different from the Gu-1, but also show some (more) similarity to the Panther.

 

The plan appeared feasible. Again, the aircraft's core is an Academy P-47D, with its outer wings cut off. Cockpit and landing gear were retained. However, instead of Supermarine Attacker wings from a Novo kit, I attached F9F-2 wings from a Hasegawa kit. Shape-wise this worked fine, but the Panther wings are much thinner than the Thunderbolt’s, so that I had to integrate spacers inside of the intersections which deepen the Hasegawa parts. Not perfect, but since the type would feature folding wings, the difference and improvisation is not too obvious.

 

On the fuselage, the Thunderbolt’s air outlets on its flanks were faired over and most of the tail section cut away. In the lower part of the tail, a jet pipe (from a Heller F-84G) was added and blended with PSR into the Thunderbolt fuselage, similar to the Gu-1. A completely new fin was scratched from an outer wing section from a Heinkel He 189, in an attempt to copy the G-79B's shape according to the drawing I used as benchmark for the build. I also used the F9F's stabilizers. With clipped tips they match well in size and shape, and add to the intended Grumman family look. The original tail wheel well was retained, but the tail wheel was placed as far back as possible and replaced by the twin wheel from a Hasegawa F5U. The Panther’s OOB tail hook was integrated under the jet pipe, too.

 

The front section is completely different and new, and my choice fell on the turboprop-powered G-79B because I did not want to copy the Gu-1 with its radial engine. However, the new turboprop nose was not less complicated to build. Its basis is a 1:100 engine and contraprop from a VEB Plasticart Tu-20/95 bomber, a frequent ingredient in my builds because it works so well in 1:72 scale. This slender core was attached to the Thunderbolt's fuselage, and around this basis a new cowling was built up with 2C putty, once more in an attempt to mimic the original G-79B design as good as possible.

 

In order to blend the new engine with the fuselage and come close to the G-79B’s vaguely triangular fuselage diameter, the P-47's deep belly was cut away, faired over with styrene sheet, and everything blended into each other with more PSR work. As a final step, two exhaust pipes were mounted to the lower fuselage in front of the wings’ leading edge.

 

The air intakes for the jet booster are actually segments from a Sopwith Triplane fuselage (Revell) – an unlikely source, but the shape of the parts was just perfect. More PSR was necessary to blend them into the aircraft’s flanks, though.

  

Painting and markings:

As per usual, I'd rather go with conservative markings on a fictional aircraft. Matching the Korean War era, the aircraft became all-over FS 35042 (Modelmaster). A black ink wash emphasized the partly re-engraved panel lines, and some post shading highlighted panels.

 

The wings’ leading edges and the turboprop’s intake were painted with aluminum, similar edges on fin and stabilizers were created with silver decal material. The interior of cockpit and landing gear was painted with green chromate primer.

 

The markings were puzzled together. “Stars and Bars” and VF-53 markings were taken from a Hobby Boss F4U-4 kit. The blue fin tip is the marking for the 3rd squadron, so that the “307” tactical code is plausible, too (the latter comes from a Hobby Boss F9F-2). In order to keep things subtle and more business-like (after all, the aircraft is supposed to be operated during the ongoing Korean War), I did not carry the bright squadron color to any other position like the spinner or the wing tips.

 

After some final detail work and gun and exhaust soot stains, the kit was sealed with semi-gloss acrylic varnish (Italeri). Matt acrylic varnish was used for weathering effects, so that the aircraft would not look too clean and shiny.

  

While it is not a prefect recreation of the Grumman G-79B, I am quite happy with the result. The differences between the model and the original design sketch can be explained through serial production adaptations, and overall the whole thing looks pretty conclusive. In fact, the model appears from certain angles like a naval P-51 on steroids, even though the G-79B was a much bigger aircraft than the Mustang.

Executing the obvious calculation. I'm a 12 year old trapped in an older shell.

If I buy maybe five or six...

Jetzt wissen wir, warum ein Schnitzel so teuer ist

Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world. It rises with an elevation of 8,586 m in a section of the Himalayas called Kangchenjunga Himal that is limited in the west by the Tamur River and in the east by the Teesta River. The Kangchenjunga Himal is located in eastern Nepal and Sikkim, India.

 

The main peak of Kangchenjunga is the second highest mountain in Nepal after Mount Everest. Three of the five peaks – Main, Central and South – are on the border between North Sikkim and Nepal. Two peaks are in the Taplejung District, Nepal. Kangchenjunga Main is the highest mountain in India, and the easternmost of the mountains higher than 8,000 m. It is called Five Treasures of Snow after its five high peaks, and has always been worshipped by the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim.

 

Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations based on various readings and measurements made by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1849 came to the conclusion that Mount Everest, known as Peak XV at the time, was the highest. Allowing for further verification of all calculations, it was officially announced in 1856 that Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain.

 

Kangchenjunga was first climbed on 25 May 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band, who were part of a British expedition. They stopped short of the summit as per the promise given to the Chogyal that the top of the mountain would remain inviolate. Every climber or climbing group that has reached the summit has followed this tradition. Other members of this expedition included John Angelo Jackson and Tom Mackinon.

 

The Kangchenjunga landscape is a complex of three distinct ecoregions: the eastern Himalayan broad-leaved and coniferous forests, the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows and the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands. The Kangchenjunga transboundary landscape is shared by Bhutan, China, India and Nepal, and comprises 14 protected areas with a total of 6,032 km2:

 

- Nepal: Kanchenjunga Conservation Area.

- Sikkim, India: Khangchendzonga National Park, Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary, Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary, Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary, Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary, Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary

- Darjeeling, India: Jore Pokhri Wildlife Sanctuary, Singalila National Park, Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary, Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Neora Valley National Park.

- Bhutan: Torsa Strict Nature Reserve

 

These protected areas are habitats for many globally significant plant species such as rhododendrons and orchids and many endangered flagship species such as snow leopard, Asian black bear, red panda, white-bellied musk deer, blood pheasant and chestnut-breasted partridge.

 

GEOGRAPHY

The Kangchenjunga Himal section of the Himalayas lies both in Nepal and India, and encompasses 16 peaks over 7,000 m. In the north, it is limited by the Lhonak Chu, Goma Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. The western limit runs from the Jongsang La down the Gingsang and Kangchenjunga glaciers and the rivers of Ghunsa and Tamur. Kanchenjunga rises about 20 km south of the general alignment of the Great Himalayan range about 125 km east-south-east of Mount Everest as the crow flies. South of the southern face of Kanchenjunga runs the 3,000–3,500 m high Singalila Ridge that separates Sikkim from Nepal and north Bengal.

 

Four glaciers radiate from the peak, pointing roughly to the north-east, south-east, north-west and south-west. The Zemu glacier in the north-east and the Talung glacier in the south-east drain to the Teesta River, thereby forming a part of the Brahmputra catchment. The summit of Kangchenjunga is the highest point of the Brahmaputra basin. The Yalung glacier in the south-west and the Kangchen glacier in the north-west drain to the Arun and Kosi rivers, thereby forming a part of the Ganges catchment. The summit of Kangchenjunga, therefore, also forms a part of the Ganges basin. The glaciers spread over the area above approximately 5,000 m, and the glacialized area covers 314 km2 in total.

 

The main ridge of the massif runs from north-north-east to south-south-west and forms a watershed to several rivers. Together with ridges running roughly from east to west they form a giant cross. These ridges contain a host of peaks between 6,000 and 8,000 m. On the east ridge is Siniolchu (6,888 m). The west ridge culminates in the Jannu (7,710 m) with its imposing north face. To the south are Kabru North (7,338 m), Kabru South (7,316 m) and Rathong (6,678 m). The north ridge, after passing through the Kangchenjunga North (7,741 m), includes The Twins (7,350 m) and Tent Peak, and runs up to the Tibetan border by the Jongsang La, a 6,120 m high pass.

 

FIRST ASCENT

In 1955, Joe Brown and George Band made the first ascent on 25 May, followed by Norman Hardie and Tony Streather on 26 May. The full team also included John Clegg (team doctor), Charles Evans (team leader), John Angelo Jackson, Neil Mather, and Tom Mackinnon.

 

The ascent proved that Aleister Crowley's 1905 route (also investigated by the 1954 reconnaissance) was viable. The route starts on the Yalung Glacier to the southwest of the peak, and climbs the Yalung Face, which is 3,000 metres high. The main feature of this face is the "Great Shelf", a large sloping plateau at around 7,500 metres, covered by a hanging glacier. The route is almost entirely on snow, glacier, and one icefall; the summit ridge itself can involve a small amount of travel on rock. The first ascent expedition made six camps above their base camp, two below the Shelf, two on it, and two above it. They started on 18 April, and everyone was back to base camp by 28 May.

 

TOURISM

Some of the most famous views of Kangchenjunga are from the hill station of Darjeeling and Antu Dada of Illam, Nepal. The Darjeeling War Memorial is among the most visited places from which Kangchenjunga is observed. On a clear day it presents an image not so much of a mountain but of a white wall hanging from the sky. The people of Sikkim revere Kangchenjunga as a sacred mountain. Permission to climb the mountain from the Indian side is rarely given.

 

Due to its remote location in Nepal and the difficulty involved in accessing it from India, the Kangchenjunga region is not much explored by trekkers. It has, therefore, retained much of its pristine beauty. In Sikkim too, trekking into the Kangchenjunga region has just recently been permitted. The Goecha La trek is gaining popularity amongst tourists. It goes to the Goecha La Pass, located right in front of the huge southeast face of Kangchenjunga. Another trek to Green Lake Basin has recently been opened for trekking. This trek goes to the Northeast side of Kangchenjunga along the famous Zemu Glacier.

 

IN MYTH

The area around Kangchenjunga is said to be home to a mountain deity, called Dzö-nga or "Kangchenjunga Demon", a type of yeti or rakshasa. A British geological expedition in 1925 spotted a bipedal creature which they asked the locals about, who referred to it as the "Kangchenjunga Demon".

 

For generations, there have been legends recounted by the inhabitants of the areas surrounding Mount Kanchenjunga, both in Sikkim and in Nepal, that there is a valley of immortality hidden on its slopes. These stories are well known to both the original inhabitants of the area, the Lepcha people, and those of the Tibetan Buddhist cultural tradition. In Tibetan, this valley is known as Beyul Demoshong. In 1962 a Tibetan Lama by the name of Tulshuk Lingpa led over 300 followers into the high snow slopes of Kanchenjunga to ‘open the way’ to Beyul Demoshong.

 

IN LITERATURE

- In the Swallows and Amazons series of books by Arthur Ransome, a high mountain (unnamed in the book, but clearly based on the Old Man of Coniston in the English Lake District) is given the name "Kanchenjunga" by the children when they climb it in 1931.

- In The Epic of Mount Everest, first published in 1926, Sir Francis Younghusband: " For natural beauty Darjiling (Darjeeling) is surely unsurpassed in the world. From all countries travellers come there to see the famous view of Kangchenjunga, 28,150 feet (8,580 m) in height, and only 40 miles (64 km) distant. Darjiling (Darjeeling) itself is 2,100 m above sea-level and is set in a forest of oaks, magnolia, rhododendrons, laurels and sycamores. And through these forests the observer looks down the steep mountain-sides to the Rangeet River only 300 m above sea-level, and then up and up through tier after tier of forest-clad ranges, each bathed in a haze of deeper and deeper purple, till the line of snow is reached; and then still up to the summit of Kangchenjunga, now so pure and ethereal we can scarcely believe it is part of the solid earth on which we stand; and so high it seems part of the very sky itself."

- In 1999, official James Bond author Raymond Benson published High Time to Kill. In this story, a microdot containing a secret formula for aviation technology is stolen by a society called the Union. During their escape, their plane crashes on the slopes of Kangchenjunga and James Bond becomes part of a climbing expedition in order to retrieve the formula.

- The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, which won the 2006 Man Booker Prize, is set partly in Kalimpong, a hill station situated near Kangchenjunga.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Yes, I actually wrote out Pi to 50 digits. Pi is not as much fun as the Fibonacci sequence, but interesting nonetheless. And much more mysterious.

Sailboat Specifications

 

Hull Type: Keel/Cbrd.

Rigging Type: Gaffhead Sloop

Length overall: 22’6″ 6.858m

Length over deck: 19’3” 5.867m

Length of waterline: 17’7″ 5.334m

Beam: 7’2” 2.184m

Draught:1’6” – 4’0”0.457m – 1.219m

Displacement:2350lb1065kg

Ballast: 700 lb / 318 kg

Sail area:194ft218.02m2

Approx towing weight:3300lb1500kg

RCD categoryC

S.A./Disp.: 17.60

Bal./Disp.: 29.79

Disp./Len.: 195.75

Construction: GRP

Designer: Roger Dongray

First Built: 1979

# Built: 1000

 

Builder

 

Cornish Crabbers LLP

Unit 5, Bess Park Road

Wadebridge

Cornwall

PL27 6HB

Telephone: +44 (0)1208 862 666

Email: info@cornishcrabbers.co.uk

  

Auxiliary Power/Tanks (orig. equip.)

Make: Yanmar (opt.)

Model: Yanmar 1GM10 9hp

Type: Diesel

 

Sailboat Calculations

 

S.A./Disp.: 17.60

Bal./Disp.: 29.79

Disp./Len.: 195.75

Comfort Ratio: 14.60

Capsize Screening Formula: 2.16

 

Shrimper 19 standard sail away specification

 

Hull Construction: Hand laid solid GRP hull with no foam core. Integral centerplate case laminated as part of the complete hull structure. Internal bunk and

forepeak moulding bonded into hull with internal structural bulkheads bonded to both hull and deck mouldings. Standard colours are off white, dark blue

or dark green. The hull and deck joint is by way of an overlap or ‘Biscuit Tin Lid’ with GRP bonding.

Rudder: The rudder is transom hung on two stainless steel hangings bolted through the transom with Hardwood backing pads. The rudder is constructed

from laminated plywood with a stainless steel lifting drop plate.

Engine Beds: Engine beds are incorporated in the GRP bunk moulding with mild steel mounts bonded into the bed design which incorporates an oil drip tray.

Ballast: Ballast is by way of iron punchings encapsulated in resin inside the hull keel moulding. A galvanised steel centerplate forms part of the ballast

with a stainless steel lifting wire leading to a winch lifting system operated from the cockpit.

Boot Top: A single boot top moulded in gel coat located above antifouling level. Colour in contrast to main hull and normally matching the deck.

Deck Construction: Hand laid GRP with Balsa core in way of horizontal load areas. Hard wood pads under deck fittings and stress points.

Cockpit : Cockpit locker lids are hand laid with Balsa core. There is integrated non slip on horizontal surfaces with an optional two tone colour. A cockpit

drain is located in the center of the main foot well with additional drainage from the seats. A central watertight locker offers general storage or houses the

diesel engine when fitted.

 

Deck Fittings: Bespoke deck fittings including bowsprit, tabernacle and chain plates are made from stainless steel. 4 aluminium deck cleats are positioned

aft & amidships with two fairleads feeding a teak Sampson post forward. All sail controls are led aft to rope clutches / jammers with a single halyard

winch to starboard. Adjustable jib & mainsheet cars. Access below is via a teak lined sliding companionway hatch and split plywood / Perspex washboards.

Extra ventilation provided by an aluminium forward hatch.

Ports: 2 aluminium fixed ports are fitted one each in the hull topsides.

Chain plates: Chain plates are in stainless steel and through bolted on the hull sides.

Vents: Ventilation is via a washboard vent and opening forward hatch.

 

Miscellaneous Equipment: Fuel filler &tank vent.(Inboard version only), Life harness attachment point by the companionway, Rope tidies for halyards.

Cockpit Lockers: Two main watertight lockers with latches and padlocks are provided. A padlock is also provided for the companionway hatch.

Mainmast: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a stainless steel mast band to take Cap shrouds, jib and mainsail halyards.

All deck mounted on a substantial stainless steel tabernacle.

Main Boom: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel gooseneck fitting, kicker and mainsheet bands and all

associated reefing line leads / terminals.

Bowsprit: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel pivot fitting, end plate and bobstay take off points.

Gaff: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel gaff collar with rubber protection on bearing surface. Wire hoist

span and block.

 

Standing Rigging: Cap shrouds, lower shrouds & forestay in 4mm 1 x 19 stainless steel wire with swagged ends. Chromed rigging screws. Jib mounted on

reefing spar and controls led aft to cockpit.

Running Rigging: Main throat / peak halyards – 6mm braid. Jib &Staysail halyards – 6mm braid. Main topping lift – 6mm braid. Mainsail reefing lines –

6mm braid. Mainsail outhaul – 6mm braid. Mainsheet & Jib sheets – 10mm sheet rope. All associated blocks for purchase tackles.

Mainsail: Dacron in tan or cream. 2 reef points with tie in lacing. Luff and gaff lacing as required.

Jib: Dacron in tan or cream with wire luff and tell tails.

Boom Cover: In maroon, or cream acrylic. Fixings to allow for topping lift and mainsheet take off. All sails supplied with, sail numbers, logo and ties.

Engineering

 

Outboard Version

 

Outboard well: A teak engine mounting with stainless brackets. Engine well hull blank. GRP moulded fuel tank stowage and fuel lead splitter through aft

locker compartment. (fuel lead not supplied as standard)

Inboard Version

 

Stern Gear: A 1” stainless steel shaft is fitted, connected to the engine via a coupling and fitted with a Tides Marine ‘lip seal’ gland. The shaft drives a fixed

2-bladed propeller.

Engine: Yanmar 1GM10 9hp marine diesel engine. A 55 amp (12V) alternator is fitted to the engine.

Engine Instruments and Controls: The engine instruments are located at the rear of the cockpit coaming and are recessed with a clear cover. Instruments

include audible alarm, alternator warning light, start switch and stop control. A single lever engine control is supplied and fitted in the cockpit well.

Engine Cooling: The engine is directly salt water cooled. A 1/2″ diameter pipe leads from the main seawater inlet through a strainer to the engine and

discharges overboard through the exhaust.

Engine Exhaust: A flexible exhaust hose connects the exhaust via a swan neck with water trap to the outlet fitting through the transom.

Fuel System: A plastic diesel tank with a capacity of approximately 18 litres, breather and integrated fuel gauge. The tank is fitted with flow and return

lines, the flow line having a manual shut off valve.

Plumbing

Bilge System: 1 x Manual bilge pump operated from the cockpit with a handle stored in the aft locker.

Fresh Water Tanks: 2 x 10ltr plastic jerry cans with manual hand pump. Also a bucket / sink.

Soil System: When fitted the heads discharge directly to sea via a vent loop and skin fitting.

Inlet / Outlet Fittings: Engine: In through a single skin fitting with a valve and strainer, out via the exhaust system.

Gas System: There is a double burner hob cooker attached to a separately stored gas bottle.

12 volt DC system

Batteries: Engine – one 12 volt 55 amp/hour. (Optional on outboard version)

Charging: Via main engine – a 35 amp (at 12 volt) alternator.

Switchboard: An optional switch panel is fitted to boats that have additional electronics fitted.

Miscellaneous Standard Equipment

Deck: 1 x winch handle. 1 x bilge pump handle. Stowed in aft cockpit locker. 1 x fire extinguisher – situated down below.

Joinery: The interior joinery is constructed from high quality materials and in accordance with good yacht practice. Bulkheads and side back linings are

from plywood.

Finish: All cabin woodwork is finished in a mix of painted bulkheads and varnished trim.

Soles: Rubber textured sole throughout.

Upholstery: A choice of soft or wipe down plastic upholstery is available.

Sailboat Specifications

 

Hull Type: Keel/Cbrd.

Rigging Type: Gaffhead Sloop

Length overall: 22’6″ 6.858m

Length over deck: 19’3” 5.867m

Length of waterline: 17’7″ 5.334m

Beam: 7’2” 2.184m

Draught:1’6” – 4’0”0.457m – 1.219m

Displacement:2350lb1065kg

Ballast: 700 lb / 318 kg

Sail area:194ft218.02m2

Approx towing weight:3300lb1500kg

RCD categoryC

S.A./Disp.: 17.60

Bal./Disp.: 29.79

Disp./Len.: 195.75

Construction: GRP

Designer: Roger Dongray

First Built: 1979

# Built: 1000

 

Builder

 

Cornish Crabbers LLP

Unit 5, Bess Park Road

Wadebridge

Cornwall

PL27 6HB

Telephone: +44 (0)1208 862 666

Email: info@cornishcrabbers.co.uk

  

Auxiliary Power/Tanks (orig. equip.)

Make: Yanmar (opt.)

Model: Yanmar 1GM10 9hp

Type: Diesel

 

Sailboat Calculations

 

S.A./Disp.: 17.60

Bal./Disp.: 29.79

Disp./Len.: 195.75

Comfort Ratio: 14.60

Capsize Screening Formula: 2.16

 

Shrimper 19 standard sail away specification

 

Hull Construction: Hand laid solid GRP hull with no foam core. Integral centerplate case laminated as part of the complete hull structure. Internal bunk and

forepeak moulding bonded into hull with internal structural bulkheads bonded to both hull and deck mouldings. Standard colours are off white, dark blue

or dark green. The hull and deck joint is by way of an overlap or ‘Biscuit Tin Lid’ with GRP bonding.

Rudder: The rudder is transom hung on two stainless steel hangings bolted through the transom with Hardwood backing pads. The rudder is constructed

from laminated plywood with a stainless steel lifting drop plate.

Engine Beds: Engine beds are incorporated in the GRP bunk moulding with mild steel mounts bonded into the bed design which incorporates an oil drip tray.

Ballast: Ballast is by way of iron punchings encapsulated in resin inside the hull keel moulding. A galvanised steel centerplate forms part of the ballast

with a stainless steel lifting wire leading to a winch lifting system operated from the cockpit.

Boot Top: A single boot top moulded in gel coat located above antifouling level. Colour in contrast to main hull and normally matching the deck.

Deck Construction: Hand laid GRP with Balsa core in way of horizontal load areas. Hard wood pads under deck fittings and stress points.

Cockpit : Cockpit locker lids are hand laid with Balsa core. There is integrated non slip on horizontal surfaces with an optional two tone colour. A cockpit

drain is located in the center of the main foot well with additional drainage from the seats. A central watertight locker offers general storage or houses the

diesel engine when fitted.

 

Deck Fittings: Bespoke deck fittings including bowsprit, tabernacle and chain plates are made from stainless steel. 4 aluminium deck cleats are positioned

aft & amidships with two fairleads feeding a teak Sampson post forward. All sail controls are led aft to rope clutches / jammers with a single halyard

winch to starboard. Adjustable jib & mainsheet cars. Access below is via a teak lined sliding companionway hatch and split plywood / Perspex washboards.

Extra ventilation provided by an aluminium forward hatch.

Ports: 2 aluminium fixed ports are fitted one each in the hull topsides.

Chain plates: Chain plates are in stainless steel and through bolted on the hull sides.

Vents: Ventilation is via a washboard vent and opening forward hatch.

 

Miscellaneous Equipment: Fuel filler &tank vent.(Inboard version only), Life harness attachment point by the companionway, Rope tidies for halyards.

Cockpit Lockers: Two main watertight lockers with latches and padlocks are provided. A padlock is also provided for the companionway hatch.

Mainmast: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a stainless steel mast band to take Cap shrouds, jib and mainsail halyards.

All deck mounted on a substantial stainless steel tabernacle.

Main Boom: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel gooseneck fitting, kicker and mainsheet bands and all

associated reefing line leads / terminals.

Bowsprit: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel pivot fitting, end plate and bobstay take off points.

Gaff: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel gaff collar with rubber protection on bearing surface. Wire hoist

span and block.

 

Standing Rigging: Cap shrouds, lower shrouds & forestay in 4mm 1 x 19 stainless steel wire with swagged ends. Chromed rigging screws. Jib mounted on

reefing spar and controls led aft to cockpit.

Running Rigging: Main throat / peak halyards – 6mm braid. Jib &Staysail halyards – 6mm braid. Main topping lift – 6mm braid. Mainsail reefing lines –

6mm braid. Mainsail outhaul – 6mm braid. Mainsheet & Jib sheets – 10mm sheet rope. All associated blocks for purchase tackles.

Mainsail: Dacron in tan or cream. 2 reef points with tie in lacing. Luff and gaff lacing as required.

Jib: Dacron in tan or cream with wire luff and tell tails.

Boom Cover: In maroon, or cream acrylic. Fixings to allow for topping lift and mainsheet take off. All sails supplied with, sail numbers, logo and ties.

Engineering

 

Outboard Version

 

Outboard well: A teak engine mounting with stainless brackets. Engine well hull blank. GRP moulded fuel tank stowage and fuel lead splitter through aft

locker compartment. (fuel lead not supplied as standard)

Inboard Version

 

Stern Gear: A 1” stainless steel shaft is fitted, connected to the engine via a coupling and fitted with a Tides Marine ‘lip seal’ gland. The shaft drives a fixed

2-bladed propeller.

Engine: Yanmar 1GM10 9hp marine diesel engine. A 55 amp (12V) alternator is fitted to the engine.

Engine Instruments and Controls: The engine instruments are located at the rear of the cockpit coaming and are recessed with a clear cover. Instruments

include audible alarm, alternator warning light, start switch and stop control. A single lever engine control is supplied and fitted in the cockpit well.

Engine Cooling: The engine is directly salt water cooled. A 1/2″ diameter pipe leads from the main seawater inlet through a strainer to the engine and

discharges overboard through the exhaust.

Engine Exhaust: A flexible exhaust hose connects the exhaust via a swan neck with water trap to the outlet fitting through the transom.

Fuel System: A plastic diesel tank with a capacity of approximately 18 litres, breather and integrated fuel gauge. The tank is fitted with flow and return

lines, the flow line having a manual shut off valve.

Plumbing

Bilge System: 1 x Manual bilge pump operated from the cockpit with a handle stored in the aft locker.

Fresh Water Tanks: 2 x 10ltr plastic jerry cans with manual hand pump. Also a bucket / sink.

Soil System: When fitted the heads discharge directly to sea via a vent loop and skin fitting.

Inlet / Outlet Fittings: Engine: In through a single skin fitting with a valve and strainer, out via the exhaust system.

Gas System: There is a double burner hob cooker attached to a separately stored gas bottle.

12 volt DC system

Batteries: Engine – one 12 volt 55 amp/hour. (Optional on outboard version)

Charging: Via main engine – a 35 amp (at 12 volt) alternator.

Switchboard: An optional switch panel is fitted to boats that have additional electronics fitted.

Miscellaneous Standard Equipment

Deck: 1 x winch handle. 1 x bilge pump handle. Stowed in aft cockpit locker. 1 x fire extinguisher – situated down below.

Joinery: The interior joinery is constructed from high quality materials and in accordance with good yacht practice. Bulkheads and side back linings are

from plywood.

Finish: All cabin woodwork is finished in a mix of painted bulkheads and varnished trim.

Soles: Rubber textured sole throughout.

Upholstery: A choice of soft or wipe down plastic upholstery is available.

Moving to Mars , vast land beautiful heaven awaits you. ----fangruida

Moving to Mars , vast land beautiful heaven awaits you.

Human landing on Mars of the greatest initiative in human history and the universe a new historical era ------- human landing on Mars of the most critical and most important sophisticated technology will revolutionize and rewrite the history of the entire human history and nature of the universe this is millions of years, humans --- advanced wisdom will completely get rid of the animal attraction of the Earth, life will continue to explore the universe and the planet's vast world, the history of mankind's greatest creation. Human landing on Mars and able to survive and returned safely to Earth, is the greatest in human history of the Earth's most formidable revolution, the genetic revolution, the revolution of the universe, and the most magnificent natural revolution. --------- Professor Fang Ruida this evaluation and describe, and his articles and other technologies together with this record, and multi-language translation of the control, in order to read and enjoy. Investor parties agreed to the consent of the editor, Professor, especially the collection of relevant literature translation. In fact, humans can survive on Mars and returned safely to Earth a variety of high, refined, Tsim technology has begun to take shape, funding to complete this mission was not nervous about direct landing and successfully returned safely direct investment budget of the Earth in 100 one hundred million -500 million (R & D and testing fees in 1000-2000 billion US dollars), conservative estimates, $ 250 billion is enough. Direct cost of 100-200 one hundred million US dollars landing enough. High risk, high investment, low returns, so a lot of people are cautious, especially business investment, more cautious. In fact, this is not a low-return but high-return investment 10 billion US dollars, in return for the 100 billion -10 000 million, long-term returns rather than short-term returns. Mars and return safely, according to a long-term budget planning, business value above $ 10-100 trillion. Even on short-term returns, business profits are directly above the tens of billions of dollars. Consideration, the greater good, not only in absolute return within 3000-50000 billion US dollars. Moreover, comprehensive benefits, comprehensive income benefits, it is priceless, if calculated according to the value of the dollar in terms of economic, worth up to $ 1,000,000,000,000,000 -5000 trillion. New human living space is indeed difficult to measure directly bill calculation. There must be somewhat lost income, has lost a great will have some large. Therefore, pre-empted, seize the opportunity, it is fateful Albert initiative. Of course, the reality of choice, within their means and heart, security, savings, more critical, as far as possible so that a significant decline in investment, improve the integration of technology integration and reduce the cost of risk R & D costs, to adopt a more commercial goal of the operation, lower expenses, higher return faster. Direct cost control and return safely landed at 50-100 billion dollars, Business Development 1000-5000 billion or more in return. Therefore, and despite the global economic downturn, however, landed on Mars and a variety of R & D investment and therefore can not be weaned stop transfusion, and more austerity should greatly improve the technical level, the production does not dramatically change the pay situation. Mars landing just around the corner, this is not a purely commercial investment, which includes unlimited benefits and endless charm.

人類登陸火星最偉大的創舉，人類歷史和宇宙歷史新的紀元-------人類登陸火星最關鍵和最重大的高精尖技術將徹底改變和改寫整個人類的歷史和自然宇宙的歷史，這是千百萬年以來，人類---高級智慧動物將徹底擺脫地球的吸引力，將生命延續和開拓到宇宙星球最廣闊的天地，人類歷史最偉大的創舉。人類登陸火星並且能夠生存和安全返回地球，是人類歷史最偉大最艱鉅的地球革命，基因革命，宇宙革命，和最為波瀾壯闊的自然革命。 ---------方瑞達教授這樣評價和抒寫的，他的相關文章以及技術等一併錄此，而且採用多語種對照翻譯，以便閱讀和欣賞。編者徵得方瑞達教授的同意，特將相關文獻資料匯集翻譯。實際上，人類登陸火星並能夠生存，安​​全返回地球的各種高，精，尖技術已經初具規模，完成此項使命經費並不緊張，大約直接登陸並勝利安全返回地球的直接投資預算在100億-500億美元（研發試驗費在1000-2000億美元左右），保守測算，2500億美元足矣。直接登陸費用100-200億美元足夠。高風險，高投資，低迴報，使的好多人對此小心翼翼，特別商業投資，更為謹慎。其實，這並不是低迴報，而是高回報，投資100億美元，回報為1000億-10000億美元，長線回報，而不是短線回報。登陸火星並安全返回，根據長遠規劃預算，商業價值在10-100萬億美元之上。即使在短期回報上，直接商業利潤也在幾百億美元之上。綜合考量，利益更大，回報絕對不止在3000-50000億美元之內。更何況，綜合效益，綜合利益所得，更是無價之寶，若按照經濟價值美元計算換算，價值高達1000萬億美元-5000萬億美元。人類新的生存空間的的確確是難以用鈔票直接來衡量計算的。有所失必有所得，有所大失必有所大得。所以，捷足先登，搶占先機，更是至關重大的偉業創舉。當然，現實抉擇，量力而心，安全，節約，更為關鍵，使投入盡可能大幅度下降，提高整合技術集成，降低風險成本研發成本，採取更商業化目標運作，經費更低，回報更高更快。直接登陸並安全返回成本控制在50-100億美元，商業開發回報1000-5000億美元或更多。因此，儘管全球經濟並不景氣，但是，登陸火星的研發經費和各種投資並不能因此斷奶，停止輸血，而更應當厲行節約，大幅度提高技術水平，極大改變產不付出的局面。火星登陸指日可待，這並不是單純的商業投資，裡麵包含有無限的利益和無窮的魅力。

Человек посадки на Марсе величайшей инициативы в истории человечества и вселенной новая историческая эпоха ------- человек посадка на Марс наиболее важных и наиболее важных современных технологий будет революционизировать и переписывать историю всей истории человечества и природы вселенной это миллионы лет, люди --- передовые мудрости будет полностью избавиться от притяжения животных Земли, жизнь будет продолжать изучать вселенную и огромный мир планеты, историю величайшего творения человечества. Человек посадки на Марсе и в состоянии выжить и благополучно вернулся на Землю, является самым большим в истории человечества самой мощной вращения Земли, генетической революции, революции вселенной, и самый великолепный естественный революции. --------- Профессор Fang Ruida эту оценку и описать, а его статьи и другие технологии вместе с этой записью, и многоязычного перевода управления, для того, чтобы читать и наслаждаться. Стороны согласились с инвесторами согласия редактора, профессор, в особенности сбора соответствующей литературы перевода. На самом деле, люди могут выжить на Марсе и благополучно вернулся на Землю множество высоко, рафинированные, технология Цим начала складываться, финансирование, чтобы завершить эту миссию не нервничать по поводу прямой посадки и успешно благополучно вернулись прямой инвестиционный бюджет Земли в 100 сто миллионов -500000000 (R & D и тестирование платы в 1000-2000 млрд долларов США), согласно консервативным оценкам, 250 миллиардов $ достаточно. Прямые расходы 100-200 сто миллионов долларов США посадки достаточно. Высокий риск, высокий уровень инвестиций, низкая доходность, поэтому многие люди проявляют осторожность, особенно деловые инвестиции, более осторожными. На самом деле, это не является низким, но возвращение высокой отдачей инвестиций 10 миллиардов долларов США, в обмен на 100 миллиардов -10 000 млн, долгосрочные доходы, а не краткосрочные прибыли. Марс и благополучно вернуться, в соответствии с долгосрочным планированием бюджета, стоимость бизнеса выше $ 10-100 трлн. Даже на краткосрочные прибыли, прибыли бизнеса непосредственно над десятками миллиардов долларов. Рассмотрение, тем больше хорошо, а не только в абсолютном возвращения в пределах 3000-50000 млрд долларов США. Кроме того, комплексные выгоды, всесторонние льготы на прибыль, она бесценна, если рассчитывается в зависимости от стоимости доллара с точки зрения экономической, стоит до $ 1,000,000,000,000,000 -5000000000000000. Новый человек жизненное пространство действительно трудно измерить непосредственно выставлять счет расчета. Там должно быть несколько потерянный доход, потерял отличный будет иметь некоторые большие. Поэтому, упреждающий, воспользоваться этой возможностью, это судьбоносная инициатива Альберт. Конечно, реальность выбора, в пределах своих возможностей и сердце, безопасность, сбережения, более критично, насколько это возможно, так что значительное снижение инвестиций, улучшение интеграции технологии интеграции и снизить стоимость риска R & расходов D, чтобы принять более коммерческую цель операции, снизить затраты, более высокая доходность быстрее. Прямой контроль над затратами и вернуться благополучно приземлился в 50-100 миллиардов долларов, развитие бизнеса 1000-5000 млрд или больше взамен. Поэтому, несмотря на глобальный экономический спад, однако, приземлился на Марсе и разнообразие R & D инвестиций и, следовательно, не может быть отнято от груди остановки переливания крови, и более жесткой экономии должно значительно повысить технический уровень, производство не кардинально изменить ситуацию в оплате труда. Марс посадки только вокруг угла, это не чисто коммерческих инвестиций, которая включает в себя неограниченные преимущества и бесконечное очарование.

atterrissage humain sur Mars de la plus grande initiative dans l'histoire humaine et de l'univers une nouvelle ère historique ------- atterrissage humain sur Mars de la technologie sophistiquée le plus critique et le plus important va révolutionner et de réécrire l'histoire de toute l'histoire humaine et la nature de l'univers ce sont des millions d'années, les humains --- sagesse avancée va complètement se débarrasser de l'attraction des animaux de la Terre, la vie continuera d'explorer l'univers et vaste monde de la planète, l'histoire de la plus grande création de l'humanité. atterrissage humain sur Mars et capable de survivre et est retourné en toute sécurité à la Terre, est le plus grand dans l'histoire humaine de la plus formidable révolution de la Terre, la révolution génétique, la révolution de l'univers, et le plus magnifique révolution naturelle. --------- Professeur Fang Ruida cette évaluation et de décrire, et ses articles et d'autres technologies, avec le présent dossier, et la traduction de la commande multi-langue, afin de lire et d'apprécier. parties investisseurs ont accepté le consentement de l'éditeur, professeur, en particulier la collection de la traduction de la documentation pertinente. En fait, les humains peuvent survivre sur Mars et est retourné en toute sécurité sur Terre une variété de haute, raffinée, la technologie Tsim a commencé à prendre forme, le financement pour terminer cette mission n'a pas été nerveux au sujet de l'atterrissage direct et retourné avec succès budget d'investissement en toute sécurité directe de la Terre en 100 cent millions -500000000 (R & D et les frais d'essai en 1000-2000 milliards de dollars), des estimations prudentes, 250 milliards $ est suffisant. Le coût direct des 100-200 cent millions de dollars américains atterrissage suffisant. Risque élevé, investissement élevé, de faibles rendements, de sorte que beaucoup de gens sont prudents, en particulier l'investissement des entreprises, plus prudent. En fait, ce n'est pas un faible rendement mais à haut rendement investissement de 10 milliards de dollars, en contrepartie des 100 milliards de -10 000 000 000, les rendements à long terme plutôt que des rendements à court terme. Mars et le retour en toute sécurité, selon une planification budgétaire à long terme, la valeur commerciale au-dessus de $ 10-100000000000000. Même sur les rendements à court terme, les bénéfices des entreprises sont directement au-dessus des dizaines de milliards de dollars. Examen, le plus grand bien, non seulement dans le rendement absolu au sein de 3000-50000 milliards de dollars américains. En outre, les avantages complets, les avantages du résultat étendu, il est inestimable, si elle est calculée en fonction de la valeur du dollar en termes de développement économique, d'une valeur de $ 1,000,000,000,000,000 -5000000000000000. Un nouvel espace de vie humaine est en effet difficile de mesurer directement facturer le calcul. Il doit y avoir quelque peu perdu le revenu, a perdu une grande aura quelques gros. Par conséquent, préempté, saisir l'occasion, il est l'initiative fatidique Albert. Bien sûr, la réalité de choix, au sein de leurs moyens et le cœur, la sécurité, l'épargne, plus critique, dans la mesure du possible, de sorte qu'une baisse significative des investissements, améliorer l'intégration de l'intégration de la technologie et de réduire le coût du risque des coûts de R & D, d'adopter un objectif plus commercial de l'opération, la baisse des dépenses, rendement plus élevé plus rapide. le contrôle des coûts directs et retourner en toute sécurité ont atterri à 50-100 milliards de dollars, Développement des affaires 1-5000000000000 ou plus en retour. Par conséquent, et en dépit de la récession économique mondiale, cependant, a atterri sur Mars et une variété d'investissements en R & D et ne peut donc être sevré la transfusion d'arrêt, et plus d'austérité devrait grandement améliorer le niveau technique, la production ne change pas radicalement la situation salariale. Mars atterrissage juste autour du coin, ce n'est pas un investissement purement commercial, qui comprend des avantages illimités et charme infini.

aterrizaje humano en Marte de la mayor iniciativa en la historia de la humanidad y el universo una nueva era histórica ------- aterrizaje humano en Marte de la sofisticada tecnología más crítica y más importante revolucionará y volver a escribir la historia de toda la historia de la humanidad y la naturaleza del universo esto es millones de años, los seres humanos --- sabiduría avanzada por completo va a deshacerse de la atracción animal de la Tierra, la vida continuará explorando el universo y vasto mundo del planeta, la historia de la creación más grande de la humanidad. aterrizaje humano en Marte y capaz de sobrevivir y regresó a salvo a la Tierra, es el más grande en la historia humana de la revolución más formidable de la Tierra, la revolución genética, la revolución del universo, y la más magnífica revolución natural. --------- Profesor colmillo Ruida esta evaluación y describir, y sus artículos y otras tecnologías junto con este registro, y la traducción multi-idioma del control, con el fin de leer y disfrutar. Inversores partes acordaron el consentimiento del editor, profesor, especialmente la colección de la traducción literatura relevante. De hecho, los seres humanos pueden sobrevivir en Marte y regresar con seguridad a la Tierra una variedad de alta precisión, tecnología de Tsim ha comenzado a tomar forma, la financiación para completar esta misión no estaba nervioso por la descarga directa y regresó con éxito el presupuesto de inversión con seguridad directa de la Tierra en 100 cien millones -500 millones (I + D y honorarios de la prueba en 1000-2000 millones de dólares USA), estimaciones conservadoras $ 250 mil millones es suficiente. 100-200 costo directo de cien millones de dólares estadounidenses aterrizaje suficientes. Alto riesgo, alta inversión, bajos rendimientos, por lo que una gran cantidad de personas son cautelosos, especialmente la inversión empresarial, más cauteloso. De hecho, esto no es un bajo rendimiento pero de alto retorno de inversión de 10 millones de dólares, a cambio de los 100 mil millones de -10 000 millones de dólares, el rendimiento a largo plazo en lugar de rendimientos a corto plazo. Marte y regresar de forma segura, de acuerdo con una planificación presupuestaria a largo plazo, el valor de negocio por encima de $ 10-100 billones de dólares. Incluso en rendimientos a corto plazo, los beneficios empresariales están justo encima de las decenas de miles de millones de dólares. Consideración, el bien mayor, no sólo en el rendimiento absoluto dentro 3000-50000 millones de dólares USA. Por otra parte, comprensivo de las ventajas, beneficios de utilidad integral, que no tiene precio, si se calcula en función del valor del dólar en términos de desarrollo económico, un valor de hasta $ 1.000.000.000.000.000 -5000 billones de dólares. Nuevo espacio de vida humana es, en efecto difícil de medir directamente la factura cálculo. No debe perderse un poco de ingresos, ha perdido una gran tendrán algún grande. Por lo tanto, vaciado anteriormente, aprovechar la oportunidad, es iniciativa fatídico Albert. Por supuesto, la realidad de la elección, dentro de sus posibilidades y el corazón, la seguridad, el ahorro, más crítica, en la medida de lo posible de manera que un descenso significativo de la inversión, mejorar la integración de la integración de la tecnología y reducir el costo del riesgo costes de I + D, la adopción de un objetivo más comercial de la operación, menores gastos, una mayor rentabilidad más rápido. control de costes directos y regresar a salvo aterrizaron en 50-100 millones de dólares, Desarrollo de Negocios 1000-5000 millones de dólares o más a cambio. Por lo tanto, ya pesar de la recesión económica mundial, sin embargo, aterrizó en Marte y una variedad de la inversión en I + D y por lo tanto no puede ser destetado parada de la transfusión, y más austeridad debería mejorar en gran medida el nivel técnico, la producción no cambia radicalmente la situación de pago. Marte de aterrizaje a la vuelta de la esquina, esto no es una inversión puramente comercial, que incluye beneficios ilimitados y encanto sin fin.

Menschliche Landung auf dem Mars der größten Initiative in der Geschichte der Menschheit und des Universums eine neue historische Epoche ------- menschliche Landung auf dem Mars der kritischsten und wichtigsten ausgefeilter Technik revolutionieren wird und die Geschichte der gesamten Geschichte der Menschheit und der Natur des Universums neu schreiben diese Millionen von Jahren ist, Menschen --- erweiterte Weisheit vollständig von dem Tier Anziehung der Erde loszuwerden wird, wird das Leben auch weiterhin das Universum und den Planeten riesige Welt, die Geschichte der Menschheit die größte Schöpfung zu erkunden. Menschliche Landung auf dem Mars und in der Lage, zu überleben und wieder sicher zur Erde, ist die größte in der Geschichte der Menschheit von der Erde gewaltigsten Revolution, die genetische Revolution, die Revolution des Universums, und die prächtigsten Natur Revolution. --------- Professor Fang Ruida diese Bewertung und beschreiben, und seine Artikel und andere Technologien mit dieser Platte zusammen, und mehrsprachige Übersetzung der Kontrolle, um zu lesen und zu genießen. Investor Parteien vereinbart, die Zustimmung des Herausgebers, Professor, vor allem die Sammlung relevanter Literatur Übersetzung. In der Tat kann der Mensch auf dem Mars überleben und kehrte sicher eine Vielzahl von hoch auf die Erde, raffiniert, hat Tsim Technologie den Weg zu bringen, die Finanzierung begonnen diese Mission zu erfüllen war nicht nervös über direkte Landung und erfolgreich zurück sicher Direktinvestitionshaushalt der Erde in 100 hundert Millionen -500000000 (F & E und Testkosten in 1.000-2000000000000 US-Dollar), konservativen Schätzungen ist 250.000.000.000 $ genug. Direkte Kosten von 100-200 hundert Millionen US-Dollar, der Landung genug. Hohes Risiko, hohe Investitionen, niedrige Renditen, so dass eine Menge Leute sind vorsichtig, vor allem Investitionen der Unternehmen, vorsichtiger. In der Tat ist dies kein Low-Rückkehr, aber mit hoher Rendite Investitionen $ 10000000000, im Gegenzug für die 100 Milliarden -10 000 Millionen, langfristige Renditen eher als kurzfristige Renditen. Mars und zurück sicher, nach einer langfristigen Haushaltsplanung, Geschäftswert über $ 10-100000000000000. Auch auf kurzfristige Renditen, sind Unternehmensgewinne direkt über den zig Milliarden Dollar. Die Prüfung, desto größer ist gut, nicht nur in absoluten Ertrag innerhalb 3000-50000000000000 US-Dollar. Darüber hinaus umfassende Vorteile, umfassende Einkommensleistungen, ist es von unschätzbarem Wert, berechnet, wenn nach dem Wert des Dollars in Bezug auf die wirtschaftliche, im Wert von bis zu $ ​​1.000.000.000.000.000 -5000000000000000. Neue Lebensraum des Menschen ist in der Tat schwierig, direkt zu messen Berechnung Rechnung zu stellen. Es muss etwas verloren Einkommen werden kann, hat eine große verloren wird einige große haben. Daher vorgegriffen, die Gelegenheit nutzen, ist es verhängnisvoll Albert Initiative. Natürlich der Wahl der Realität, im Rahmen ihrer Möglichkeiten und Herz, Sicherheit, Sparen, kritischer, so weit wie möglich, so dass ein deutlicher Rückgang der Investitionen, die Integration der Technologie-Integration zu verbessern und die Kosten der Risiko F & E-Kosten zu senken, ein bestimmtes Ziel der Operation, niedrigere Kosten, höhere Rendite zu verabschieden schneller. Direkte Kostenkontrolle und Rück landete sicher bei 50-100 Milliarden Dollar, Business Development 1.000-5000000000000 oder mehr zurück. Aus diesem Grund und trotz des weltweiten Wirtschaftsabschwungs jedoch auf dem Mars gelandet und eine Vielzahl von F & E-Investitionen und daher nicht Stop Transfusions entwöhnt werden können und mehr Strenge sollte stark die technische Ebene zu verbessern, wird die Produktion nicht dramatisch die Lohnsituation ändern. Marslandung gleich um die Ecke, das ist nicht eine rein kommerzielle Investitionen, die unbegrenzte Vorteile und endlosen Charme umfasst.

人間の歴史の中で最大のイニシアチブと新しい歴史的時代が-------最も重要かつ最も重要な洗練された技術の火星に人間の着陸は革命を起こすと宇宙の全体の人類の歴史の歴史と自然を書き換えます宇宙の火星に人間の着陸これは数百万年で、人間は---高度な知恵が完全に地球の動物の魅力を取り除くだろう、人生は、人類​​の最大の創造の歴史を宇宙と地球の広大な世界を探求していきます。火星と生き残り、地球に無事返さすることに人間の着陸は、地球の最も恐ろしい革命、遺伝的革命、宇宙の革命、最も壮大な自然の革命の人間の歴史の中で最大です。 ---------教授牙Ruidaこの評価と説明し、彼の記事や他の技術一緒にこのレコードを持つ、と読み、楽しむために、制御の多言語翻訳、。投資家のパーティーは、エディタ、教授、関連文献の翻訳の特にコレクションの同意に同意しました。実際には、人間が火星で生き残るためには、地球に安全に高いの様々な返却することができ、洗練された、尖沙咀技術は形を取り始めている、このミッションを完了するための資金が直接着陸に不安はありませんでしたし、正常に100の地球の安全に直接投資予算を返さ億-500000000（R＆Dおよび1000から2000000000000米ドルでのテストの手数料）、保守的な見積もりは、$ 250億で十分です。十分な着陸100-200億ドルの直接的なコスト。ハイリスク・ハイ投資、低リターンなので、多くの人は慎重である、特に事業投資、より慎重。実際には、これは千億-100億、長期的なリターンではなく、短期的なリターンと引き換えに100億ドル、低リターンが、ハイリターンの投資ではありません。火星とは、長期的な予算計画によると、安全に返し、$ 10から100000000000000上記のビジネス価値。でも短期的なリターンに、ビジネスの利益は直接数百億ドルを超えています。 3000から50000000000000ドル内の絶対リターンでの配慮、大きく良いだけでなく、。 $ 1,000,000,000,000,000 -5000000000000000までの経済、価値の面でドルの価値に基づいて計算場合はさらに、総合的なメリット、包括利益の利点、それは、貴重です。新しい人間の生活空間は、実際に直接請求書の計算を測定することは困難です。多少の収入が失われなければならない、偉大ないくつかの大きなを持つことになります失ってしまいました。したがって、横取りされ、チャンスをつかむ、それは運命的なアルバート・イニシアチブです。もちろん、可能な限りの選択肢の現実、その手段や心臓内の、セキュリティ、コスト削減、より重要な、投資が大幅に減少するので、技術統合の統合を改善し、動作のより商業目標を採用すること、リスクR＆D費のコストを削減し、コストの削減、より高いリターン速いです。直接的なコスト管理と安全に返すリターン50〜100億ドル、ビジネス開発1000から5000000000000以上に着陸しました。したがって、そして世界的な景気後退にもかかわらず、しかし、火星とR＆D投資の多様に上陸し、したがって、ストップ輸血を離乳することができず、より多くの緊縮財政が大幅に技術的なレベルを向上させる必要があり、生産は飛躍的に賃金状況は変更されません。角を曲がったところに火星着陸は、これは無制限の利点と無限の魅力を備えて純粋に商業的な投資ではありません。

Human landing op Mars van de grootste initiatief in de menselijke geschiedenis en het universum een ​​nieuw historisch tijdperk ------- menselijke landing op Mars van de meest kritische en meest belangrijke geavanceerde technologie zal een revolutie en herschrijven van de geschiedenis van de hele menselijke geschiedenis en de aard van het heelal dit is miljoenen jaren, mensen --- geavanceerde wijsheid zal volledig te ontdoen van de dierlijke aantrekkingskracht van de aarde, het leven zal doorgaan met het universum en uitgestrekte wereld van de planeet, de geschiedenis van de grootste creatie van de mensheid te verkennen. Human landing op Mars en in staat om te overleven en veilig terug naar de Aarde, is de grootste in de menselijke geschiedenis van de meest geduchte omwenteling van de aarde, de genetische revolutie, de revolutie van het heelal, en de meest prachtige natuurlijke revolutie. --------- Professor Fang Ruida deze evaluatie en te beschrijven, en zijn artikelen en andere technologieën samen met deze plaat, en multi-language vertaling van de controle, om te lezen en te genieten. Investor partijen zijn overeengekomen om de toestemming van de uitgever, professor, met name het verzamelen van relevante literatuur vertalen. In feite kan de mens overleven op Mars en veilig terug naar de Aarde een verscheidenheid van hoge, geraffineerd, heeft Tsim technologie begonnen met de vorm, de financiering aan te vullen deze missie was niet zenuwachtig over directe landing en met succes terug veilig directe investeringen begroting van de Aarde in 100 honderd miljoen -500.000.000 (R & D en het testen van kosten in 1.000-2000000000000 US dollars), conservatieve schattingen, $ 250.000.000.000 is genoeg. Directe kosten van 100-200 $ 100.000.000 landing genoeg. Hoog risico, hoge investeringen, lage rendementen, dus veel mensen zijn voorzichtig, vooral investeringen van het bedrijfsleven, voorzichtiger. In feite is dit niet een laag rendement, maar hoog rendement investering $ 10000000000, in ruil voor de 100 miljard -10 000.000.000, rendement op lange termijn in plaats van korte termijn rendement. Mars en veilig terug te keren, op basis van een lange termijn begroting planning, business waarde van meer dan $ 10-100000000000000. Zelfs op korte termijn rendement, bedrijfswinsten zijn direct boven de tientallen miljarden dollars. Overweging, het grotere goed, niet alleen in absolute return binnen 3000-50000000000000 dollar. Bovendien uitgebreid pakket secundaire arbeidsvoorwaarden, comprehensive income voordelen, het is onbetaalbaar, als berekend op basis van de waarde van de dollar in termen van economische, ter waarde van maximaal $ 1.000.000.000.000.000 -5000000000000000. Nieuwe menselijke leefruimte is inderdaad moeilijk om direct te meten factureren berekening. Er moet iets worden gederfde inkomsten, heeft verloren een groot zal enkele grote hebben. Daarom vooruitlopen, de kans grijpen, is het noodlottige Albert initiatief. Natuurlijk, de realiteit van de keuze, binnen hun mogelijkheden en het hart, veiligheid, besparingen, kritischer, voor zover mogelijk, zodat een aanzienlijke daling van de investeringen, het verbeteren van de integratie van de technologie-integratie en vermindering van de kosten van risico R & D-kosten, naar een meer commerciële doel van de operatie, lagere kosten, hogere opbrengst vast te stellen sneller. Direct kostenbeheersing en veilig terug te keren landde bij 50-100 miljard dollar, Business Development 1000-5000000000000 of meer voor terug. Daarom, en ondanks de wereldwijde economische neergang, maar landde op Mars en een verscheidenheid aan O & O-investeringen en kan daarom niet worden gespeend stop transfusie, en meer bezuinigingen moet het technische niveau sterk verbeteren, heeft de productie niet drastisch veranderen de pay situatie. Mars landing net om de hoek, is dit niet een zuiver commerciële investering, die onbeperkt voordelen en eindeloze charme omvat.

Eye of God in human history's greatest pioneering history of the world's most brilliant picture, the natural splendor of the universe's greatest landscape ----- 30 most significant scientific universe's most cutting-edge technology research and development projects // No big news outside / Heavy news

Space Science 30 major cutting-edge technology research and breakthroughs, the commercial value of hundreds of trillions and huge profits

21-22 century science and technology advances, brewing a major breakthrough in all areas. In the field of cutting-edge technology, aerospace engineering to bear the brunt, most important, led the way, an extremely important area for future development of human society. In a sense, it will completely change the rewrite human history and natural history of the universe. Particularly with regard to Mars landing, establishing a lunar base, the Moon of Earth, Mars, the planet of the countries in the world put a lot of manpower, material and financial resources to develop the breakthrough Figure in cosmic science. Mars landing probably need to invest billions of dollars to, or less, if the budget billions of dollars can also be piloted. Simple lunar base only about several hundred billion dollars to the initial shape. The large-scale transformation of the moon, Mars transform costly, it can not be said to astronomical, but it also needs tens of trillions of dollars. Save some estimates, at least invest between $ trillions and tens of trillions of dollars. Of course, technically feasible, the return naturally considerable, about investment profits worth hundreds of times, this is self-evident. Water temperature, air is the most important prerequisite for the existence of life. Planet trillions of kilometers away, rather than the Earth, very, difficult to imagine in the north and south. The most critical scientific research is Earth, the Moon, Mars or other planets countless whether absolute 'homogeneity', or 'heterogeneity', which is the major issue of great concern to scientists.

Space science and technology major cutting-edge technology are many, but the most important to solve the most urgent of the most critical include the following 30 top cutting-edge technology. The following are described as follows: "design, drawings, patents, know-how, formulas, processes, materials, etc.). Aerospace science and technology, space technology high investment, high risk, therefore, very important systems integration technology, safe, reliable and feasible, low-cost, otherwise, even the best technical drawings also will become a dead letter, shelved, it is the success of R & D The key lies. Thus, R & D 30 cutting-edge technology can be streamlined to save, for example, simulation, simulation, simulation design, simulation, design, and so on, with high high high intelligence capability means a significant reduction in a variety of research costs. For example, the spacecraft design, spacecraft dynamic design, automatic control, new materials, Mars geology, etc., greatly reducing the development costs.

Mainly to solve the major cutting-edge technology, including (1) the planet water synthesis. Regardless of the moon or Mars, water is undoubtedly the source of life. Overcome difficulties water is primary sophisticated high-end technology. Water Planet manufacture of synthetic technology. As long as this technology breakthrough, it means that the human world greatest success. Of course, there are in-depth exploration and mining of groundwater resources of the planet, there may be possibilities. (2) Preparation of air oxygen composite technology. This is not very difficult. (3) temperature, energy technologies. This technique has difficulty factor, but not very obvious. (4). Speeding spaceship energy technology. The new spacecraft. (5). A full life support systems technology. (6). Biosystems survival techniques. (7). Cosmic radiation radiation technology and specialty materials. Special space suits. This technique also requires breakthroughs. (7) Space instant messaging technology. (8) Super energy accumulator technology / space solar energy machine technology. (9). Universe mineral mining technology. (10) Air, water, energy recycling technology. Recycling technology. (11). Living Planet warehouse full set of technology, security technology; universe warehouse full technical work; universe outside warehouse full set of technology and other sports activities. (12) moon base, Mars base life support backup system. Moon base, Mars base complete set working system. System is divided into A, B, C multi-class "A system >>, <> <>, <> <>, <> << Systèmes C, ainsi que des engins spatiaux système d'urgence de sécurité, système d'urgence automatique, l'engin spatial, le système de sauvetage des astronautes, le système d'évacuation automatique et ainsi de suite. (13) Espace biomédicale, système de soins de santé humaine. Univers technologie biomédicale, en particulier dans des conditions extrêmes de technologies de la santé de la survie humaine. médicaments Univers Planète d'urgence des systèmes d'équipement médical. Under (14) dans des environnements extrêmes, des changements extrêmes dans les garanties minimales en vertu de la vie et de la maintenance du système. (Quinze). la fabrication d'aliments de la planète et le système de régénération. (16). super-télescope cosmique, la lune ou Mars, le prisme cosmique d'origine solaire. (17) à Mars Lune automatiques véhicules de génie, des avions Planet (18) caractéristiques Ultra haute capacité vaisseau cargo de la navette (19) La technologie spatiale système d'acquisition géologique (20). La technologie de super ordinateur, ordinateur spécial haute performance à grande échelle et son logiciel système utilisé dans l'univers de l'art, des applications, etc. (21). la technologie de transmission de relais univers. interstellaire technologie planète de l'univers de pointe de communication (22). Spaceship technologie des étoiles retour automatique de l'univers (système de sauvegarde 1,2, le vaisseau spatial a atterri sur Mars et Mars vaisseau spatial retourne automatiquement la technologie), l'engin spatial revenir automatiquement la technologie à mi-chemin. (Correspondance) (23). Les gros véhicules de construction lunaire / Mars véhicules de grande construction. (vingt quatre). poussette buggy de lune / Mars. Distance mouvement longue distance. (25) la planète survivent (système de réserve) technique imprévu. (26) la science spatiale techniques expérimentales. (27) de la planète la vie humaine de la technologie de traitement nécessaire et l'autre l'intégration de la technologie connexe. (28) de la planète a vécu longtemps et d'étendre le système, le système d'extension, de la technologie de travail du sol et d'autres planètes. système d'exploitation de robot intelligent (29) Planète. systèmes d'aide à la vie spirituelle et culturelle (30) Planète personne. Univers et de nombreux autres convergence sophistiquée d'intégration top de la technologie, et ainsi de suite. Indépendamment de la Lune ou Mars, ils sont inséparables de ceux-ci une grande précision et une technologie de pointe. Y compris les dessins, modèles, brevets, contrôle industriel et d'autres aspects. Mars seul ou mettre en place une petite base sur la lune, vous pouvez Shanfanjiujian pas besoin de tout, en choisissant quelques-uns sur elle. Sophistication, pratique, la faisabilité, la fiabilité, l'économie, l'un des cinq, la fiabilité, l'économie et essayer. Toutefois, en raison d'appliquer la technologie au-delà de la Terre, souvent soumis à des limitations de la Terre développés, par conséquent, ont besoin de développer la conception de redondance, la marge technique maximal conseillé de préparer à toute éventualité et le risque d'accidents.

 

Human landing on Mars, the transformation of the Moon - Mars, the history of mankind is the history of the universe's greatest and most glorious pinnacle

 

Into the modern, the rapid development of science and technology, high technology for space science - Space science and technology has brought great opportunities and challenges. From both polar to the moon and from the moon to Mars, to the other planets and the universe of deep space, the world of mankind began to invest heavily in the Moon - Mars triumphal march. Russian Gagarin first flew Earth, the United States the first successful landing on the moon, the Chinese lunar exploration spacecraft flying planet, the rover landed, the European Space Agency, India, Japan and other countries have begun large-scale space exploration, space flight and other activities , a lot of attention and focus on the moon - Mars, especially the first human landing on Mars, pre-empted the global aerospace competition competition, competition Mars landing. Planet era is coming and will, in human history, natural history of the universe is bound to rewrite history or refresh. Mars landing techniques, Mars transformation technology, focused on the world's most advanced and cutting-edge science and technology, and demonstrate the full display of human wisdom and strength, to celebrate. Of course, competition or, competition worth mentioning, international cooperation essential. Mars, the transformation of Mars and the Moon, is the human effort to forge ahead goal. For the benefit of mankind, to open up the second and third generations happy home, this is the fundamental goal.

  

ISS is a human life in the universe, working platform, and its main structures are: residential and service spaces, cargo features, JEM, the node is responsible for different functions, and so on cabin accommodation, all kinds of space for humanity in the universe survival, provide different functions work.

  

A. Yes launch. There is no direct experience of manufacturing oxygen and rocket fuel on Mars, manned spacecraft must carry a roundtrip flight and all the supplies needed during detention Mars.

 

B. Manned spacecraft landed safely. After the spacecraft from the lander to Mars-orbiting process, because it is not real-time control by a ground command center, but also not as touching as the "Spirit" the ground by repeatedly bouncing airbag cushion, and therefore requires automatic control devices work must be absolutely reliable. Lander and the proposed sub-segment declined rising section, drops paragraph to have a cushioning device, ascent need to take off the rocket. After the astronauts complete study tasks will take to rise to the upper rail and flight segment spacecraft docking, and then return to Earth. To solve these problems than to solve the soft landing of unmanned spacecraft to Mars many difficulties. Special circumstances, unexpected situations, system failure, improper operation and other issues.

 

C. It is to return to Earth. Astronauts will take the return capsule from an off-track to complete the landing recovery tasks. This requires that the return capsule carrying the control and communications equipment, parachute and braking rockets, spacecraft 440 days or longer after some time, performance is still in good condition. This is hundreds of millions of kilometers away from the Earth to Mars is difficult to control the design of all the earth absolute guarantee, especially very state, unforeseen circumstances, even if comprehensive design, technical reserves, emergency equipment, backup procedures so difficult is guaranteed. The changing nature of the universe, the solar system is even so that any possible risks are present.

 

D. flight power. The distance to Mars, launched in addition to the need to carry a powerful driving force, the people need to provide reliable power for the spacecraft sailed long. But also solve the problem of human energy needs after landing on Mars. The current approach is to use solar panels, nuclear batteries, need to bring their own devices.

E. habeas corpus and air, food, and so on. Astronauts en route to Mars boat, solar storms and cosmic ray storm will last for several days, which need to strengthen and improve space weather forecasting ability of various protective equipment. Meanwhile, after a trip to Mars and landing on Mars, we need to ensure that astronauts need for oxygen, water and food. Special space suit, space special radiation shielding material is essential.

 

F. is the astronauts adapt to the new environment. On the way to Mars, astronauts in microgravity long, bone or muscle relaxation appear lighter and other space syndrome. After reaching Mars, the human body to adapt to a variety of reactions, medical care, physical health and other emergency rescue and other aerospace medicine, space, special drugs and so on.

 

G. is in real-time, Communication. Mars from orbit to go through the transition into the atmosphere and a soft landing in four stages, although not long, but very dangerous. Since the Earth and Mars distance, one-way radio signal transmission process takes time, Communication, messaging, remote telemetry, etc. is very important.

 

F. In addition, there are many problems, the spacecraft maintenance, maintenance, repair, Life on Mars warehouse, warehouse work, energy security, water, oxygen and other support, monitoring Mars, the spacecraft returned warehouse and seamless return and so on.

  

Design Parameters "Curiosity rover"

 

weight

  

power

 

Lithium-ion battery powered, multitasking thermoelectric generators (MMRTG) provides charging,

 

Master computer

 

With 2 sets (one as a spare) IBM special type of computer that can withstand -55 and 70 degrees temperature changes and radiation levels 1000 Gy.

 

Hardware IBM PowerPC 750-based RAD750 processor (computing power can provide 400MIPS), 256KB EEPROM, 256MB DRAM, 2GB flash memory.

 

Software On the software side, NASA uses VxWorks operating system. VxWorks by the Wind River Systems (has been rover global FIG acquired by Intel) development, a large number of real-time operating system for embedded systems used. Before Mars (travelers, Spirit, Opportunity), the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and SpaceX Dragon spacecraft are used VxWorks.

 

Data transfer

 

Direct data bandwidth Curiosity about the Earth about 8Kbit / s, but with the best bandwidth Mars 2001 Mars Odyssey of the reach 2Mbit / s.

 

Life: "Curiosity" was the design life of a Martian year, which is about 687 Earth days, or 669 days on Mars.

  

Curiosity rover parachute: Mars Curiosity Mars

Mars Curiosity

  

Insulation board:

 

Nuclear batteries to provide a stable power: "Curious" No power is provided by a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator, which is essentially a nuclear battery. Because of the use of nuclear power. The system includes two components: a loading plutonium-238 dioxide source and radioisotope generators

 

Due to the high degree of difficulty, risk, number combination after the atmospheric friction and deceleration parachute deceleration "Sky Crane" On 8 recoil propulsion engine to enter motivated slow decline stage. When the recoil propulsion engine "Sky Crane" and "curiosity" No combination of speed down to about 0.75 meters per second later, a few cables will be "curious" number from "Sky Crane" in hanging out, hanging below. When a certain height from the ground, the cable will be automatically cut off, "Sky Crane" followed at a distance "Curiosity" landed in the No. necessarily safe distance.

  

Mast Camera (MastCam)

  

Mars Landing Imager (MARDI)

 

Mars sample analyzer (SAM)

 

Chemical and mineralogical analysis instrument (CheMin)

 

Chemistry and Camera instrument (ChemCam)

Alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS

Neutron albedo dynamic detector (DAN)

 

Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD)

 

Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS)

 

Mars Science Laboratory entry, descent and landing instrument (MEDLI)

 

Navigation camera

 

Chemical camera

 

Hedge camera

 

Robots and other latest devices and other design, to name a few.

  

Mars, of transforming Mars moon, and the focus of heavy, including the following key technologies of special innovation:

Composite high anti-radiation material, new multi-functional nature of space suits, synthetic water, oxygen preparation, nuclear energy supplies, the new ultra-high-speed power spacecraft, new energy batteries, and so on.

 

Human landing on Mars, the transformation of the Moon - Mars, the history of the universe in human history, the greatest and most glorious pinnacle. Its scientific significance comprehensive integrated implications far transcend the interests of a comprehensive history of mankind all over.

  

atterrissage humain sur Mars, la transformation de la Lune - Mars, l'histoire de l'humanité est l'histoire de la plus grande et la plus glorieuse apogée de l'univers

  

Variables can be used almost anywhere a number is expected.

Using the useful trail calc: yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/trailcalc.php

 

Calculating for BB Drop:

Tire Diameter = 676mm (with 42mm Hetres)

Tire Radius = 338mm

BB Height = 265mm

 

Stag BB Drop = 338mm - 265mm = 73mm Drop

According to my calculations there were 41 straw bales on the low loader and 1 on the front prongs. 42 - the answer to everything which in this case is the answer to how many bales of barn straw does the farmer need.

Sailboat Specifications

 

Hull Type: Keel/Cbrd.

Rigging Type: Gaffhead Sloop

Length overall: 22’6″ 6.858m

Length over deck: 19’3” 5.867m

Length of waterline: 17’7″ 5.334m

Beam: 7’2” 2.184m

Draught:1’6” – 4’0”0.457m – 1.219m

Displacement:2350lb1065kg

Ballast: 700 lb / 318 kg

Sail area:194ft218.02m2

Approx towing weight:3300lb1500kg

RCD categoryC

S.A./Disp.: 17.60

Bal./Disp.: 29.79

Disp./Len.: 195.75

Construction: GRP

Designer: Roger Dongray

First Built: 1979

# Built: 1000

 

Builder

 

Cornish Crabbers LLP

Unit 5, Bess Park Road

Wadebridge

Cornwall

PL27 6HB

Telephone: +44 (0)1208 862 666

Email: info@cornishcrabbers.co.uk

  

Auxiliary Power/Tanks (orig. equip.)

Make: Yanmar (opt.)

Model: Yanmar 1GM10 9hp

Type: Diesel

 

Sailboat Calculations

 

S.A./Disp.: 17.60

Bal./Disp.: 29.79

Disp./Len.: 195.75

Comfort Ratio: 14.60

Capsize Screening Formula: 2.16

 

Shrimper 19 standard sail away specification

 

Hull Construction: Hand laid solid GRP hull with no foam core. Integral centerplate case laminated as part of the complete hull structure. Internal bunk and

forepeak moulding bonded into hull with internal structural bulkheads bonded to both hull and deck mouldings. Standard colours are off white, dark blue

or dark green. The hull and deck joint is by way of an overlap or ‘Biscuit Tin Lid’ with GRP bonding.

Rudder: The rudder is transom hung on two stainless steel hangings bolted through the transom with Hardwood backing pads. The rudder is constructed

from laminated plywood with a stainless steel lifting drop plate.

Engine Beds: Engine beds are incorporated in the GRP bunk moulding with mild steel mounts bonded into the bed design which incorporates an oil drip tray.

Ballast: Ballast is by way of iron punchings encapsulated in resin inside the hull keel moulding. A galvanised steel centerplate forms part of the ballast

with a stainless steel lifting wire leading to a winch lifting system operated from the cockpit.

Boot Top: A single boot top moulded in gel coat located above antifouling level. Colour in contrast to main hull and normally matching the deck.

Deck Construction: Hand laid GRP with Balsa core in way of horizontal load areas. Hard wood pads under deck fittings and stress points.

Cockpit : Cockpit locker lids are hand laid with Balsa core. There is integrated non slip on horizontal surfaces with an optional two tone colour. A cockpit

drain is located in the center of the main foot well with additional drainage from the seats. A central watertight locker offers general storage or houses the

diesel engine when fitted.

 

Deck Fittings: Bespoke deck fittings including bowsprit, tabernacle and chain plates are made from stainless steel. 4 aluminium deck cleats are positioned

aft & amidships with two fairleads feeding a teak Sampson post forward. All sail controls are led aft to rope clutches / jammers with a single halyard

winch to starboard. Adjustable jib & mainsheet cars. Access below is via a teak lined sliding companionway hatch and split plywood / Perspex washboards.

Extra ventilation provided by an aluminium forward hatch.

Ports: 2 aluminium fixed ports are fitted one each in the hull topsides.

Chain plates: Chain plates are in stainless steel and through bolted on the hull sides.

Vents: Ventilation is via a washboard vent and opening forward hatch.

 

Miscellaneous Equipment: Fuel filler &tank vent.(Inboard version only), Life harness attachment point by the companionway, Rope tidies for halyards.

Cockpit Lockers: Two main watertight lockers with latches and padlocks are provided. A padlock is also provided for the companionway hatch.

Mainmast: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a stainless steel mast band to take Cap shrouds, jib and mainsail halyards.

All deck mounted on a substantial stainless steel tabernacle.

Main Boom: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel gooseneck fitting, kicker and mainsheet bands and all

associated reefing line leads / terminals.

Bowsprit: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel pivot fitting, end plate and bobstay take off points.

Gaff: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel gaff collar with rubber protection on bearing surface. Wire hoist

span and block.

 

Standing Rigging: Cap shrouds, lower shrouds & forestay in 4mm 1 x 19 stainless steel wire with swagged ends. Chromed rigging screws. Jib mounted on

reefing spar and controls led aft to cockpit.

Running Rigging: Main throat / peak halyards – 6mm braid. Jib &Staysail halyards – 6mm braid. Main topping lift – 6mm braid. Mainsail reefing lines –

6mm braid. Mainsail outhaul – 6mm braid. Mainsheet & Jib sheets – 10mm sheet rope. All associated blocks for purchase tackles.

Mainsail: Dacron in tan or cream. 2 reef points with tie in lacing. Luff and gaff lacing as required.

Jib: Dacron in tan or cream with wire luff and tell tails.

Boom Cover: In maroon, or cream acrylic. Fixings to allow for topping lift and mainsheet take off. All sails supplied with, sail numbers, logo and ties.

Engineering

 

Outboard Version

 

Outboard well: A teak engine mounting with stainless brackets. Engine well hull blank. GRP moulded fuel tank stowage and fuel lead splitter through aft

locker compartment. (fuel lead not supplied as standard)

Inboard Version

 

Stern Gear: A 1” stainless steel shaft is fitted, connected to the engine via a coupling and fitted with a Tides Marine ‘lip seal’ gland. The shaft drives a fixed

2-bladed propeller.

Engine: Yanmar 1GM10 9hp marine diesel engine. A 55 amp (12V) alternator is fitted to the engine.

Engine Instruments and Controls: The engine instruments are located at the rear of the cockpit coaming and are recessed with a clear cover. Instruments

include audible alarm, alternator warning light, start switch and stop control. A single lever engine control is supplied and fitted in the cockpit well.

Engine Cooling: The engine is directly salt water cooled. A 1/2″ diameter pipe leads from the main seawater inlet through a strainer to the engine and

discharges overboard through the exhaust.

Engine Exhaust: A flexible exhaust hose connects the exhaust via a swan neck with water trap to the outlet fitting through the transom.

Fuel System: A plastic diesel tank with a capacity of approximately 18 litres, breather and integrated fuel gauge. The tank is fitted with flow and return

lines, the flow line having a manual shut off valve.

Plumbing

Bilge System: 1 x Manual bilge pump operated from the cockpit with a handle stored in the aft locker.

Fresh Water Tanks: 2 x 10ltr plastic jerry cans with manual hand pump. Also a bucket / sink.

Soil System: When fitted the heads discharge directly to sea via a vent loop and skin fitting.

Inlet / Outlet Fittings: Engine: In through a single skin fitting with a valve and strainer, out via the exhaust system.

Gas System: There is a double burner hob cooker attached to a separately stored gas bottle.

12 volt DC system

Batteries: Engine – one 12 volt 55 amp/hour. (Optional on outboard version)

Charging: Via main engine – a 35 amp (at 12 volt) alternator.

Switchboard: An optional switch panel is fitted to boats that have additional electronics fitted.

Miscellaneous Standard Equipment

Deck: 1 x winch handle. 1 x bilge pump handle. Stowed in aft cockpit locker. 1 x fire extinguisher – situated down below.

Joinery: The interior joinery is constructed from high quality materials and in accordance with good yacht practice. Bulkheads and side back linings are

from plywood.

Finish: All cabin woodwork is finished in a mix of painted bulkheads and varnished trim.

Soles: Rubber textured sole throughout.

Upholstery: A choice of soft or wipe down plastic upholstery is available.

A worksheet from Son #1's Engineering studies.

Sage can compute the image, kernel, eigenspaces, and eigenvectors of a matrix.

Maths display with section for each operation and supporting resources / examples / success criteria

half the horizon's gone for a skyline of numbers

half the horizon's gone we're working the numbers

'till i'm sick

 

sleep don't pacify us until

daybreak sky lights up the grid we live in

dizzy when we talk so fast

fields of numbers streaming past

  

monday:

work 13h

drive 2h

sleep 6h

 

tuesday:

work 10h

drive 2.5h

class 3h

class missed .3h

sleep 5h

 

wednesday:

work 14h

drive 3h

eat/social 1h

sleep 3h

 

thursday:

work 11.5h

drive 3h

social stuff 4h

sleep 6h

class skipped 3.3h

 

friday:

work 11h

drive 3h

sleep 5h

 

saturday:

work 14h

drive .7h

sleep 6h

 

sunday:

work 7h

drive .5h

sleep 6h

 

time spent in starbucks: 23h

laptop batteries carried: 3

cumulative runtime: 6h

resignations to employers tendered: 1

resignations from employees received: 1

clients: 3

projects: 8

times woken up by phone: 2

number of calls ignored while sleeping: 4

hours overslept: 3

fall semester courses registered: 2

tv watched: 0

cigarrettes: 25

alcohol: 6 units

other: 1.5 units

books purchased: 2

Sailboat Specifications

 

Hull Type: Keel/Cbrd.

Rigging Type: Gaffhead Sloop

Length overall: 22’6″ 6.858m

Length over deck: 19’3” 5.867m

Length of waterline: 17’7″ 5.334m

Beam: 7’2” 2.184m

Draught:1’6” – 4’0”0.457m – 1.219m

Displacement:2350lb1065kg

Ballast: 700 lb / 318 kg

Sail area:194ft218.02m2

Approx towing weight:3300lb1500kg

RCD categoryC

S.A./Disp.: 17.60

Bal./Disp.: 29.79

Disp./Len.: 195.75

Construction: GRP

Designer: Roger Dongray

First Built: 1979

# Built: 1000

 

Builder

 

Cornish Crabbers LLP

Unit 5, Bess Park Road

Wadebridge

Cornwall

PL27 6HB

Telephone: +44 (0)1208 862 666

Email: info@cornishcrabbers.co.uk

  

Auxiliary Power/Tanks (orig. equip.)

Make: Yanmar (opt.)

Model: Yanmar 1GM10 9hp

Type: Diesel

 

Sailboat Calculations

 

S.A./Disp.: 17.60

Bal./Disp.: 29.79

Disp./Len.: 195.75

Comfort Ratio: 14.60

Capsize Screening Formula: 2.16

 

Shrimper 19 standard sail away specification

 

Hull Construction: Hand laid solid GRP hull with no foam core. Integral centerplate case laminated as part of the complete hull structure. Internal bunk and

forepeak moulding bonded into hull with internal structural bulkheads bonded to both hull and deck mouldings. Standard colours are off white, dark blue

or dark green. The hull and deck joint is by way of an overlap or ‘Biscuit Tin Lid’ with GRP bonding.

Rudder: The rudder is transom hung on two stainless steel hangings bolted through the transom with Hardwood backing pads. The rudder is constructed

from laminated plywood with a stainless steel lifting drop plate.

Engine Beds: Engine beds are incorporated in the GRP bunk moulding with mild steel mounts bonded into the bed design which incorporates an oil drip tray.

Ballast: Ballast is by way of iron punchings encapsulated in resin inside the hull keel moulding. A galvanised steel centerplate forms part of the ballast

with a stainless steel lifting wire leading to a winch lifting system operated from the cockpit.

Boot Top: A single boot top moulded in gel coat located above antifouling level. Colour in contrast to main hull and normally matching the deck.

Deck Construction: Hand laid GRP with Balsa core in way of horizontal load areas. Hard wood pads under deck fittings and stress points.

Cockpit : Cockpit locker lids are hand laid with Balsa core. There is integrated non slip on horizontal surfaces with an optional two tone colour. A cockpit

drain is located in the center of the main foot well with additional drainage from the seats. A central watertight locker offers general storage or houses the

diesel engine when fitted.

 

Deck Fittings: Bespoke deck fittings including bowsprit, tabernacle and chain plates are made from stainless steel. 4 aluminium deck cleats are positioned

aft & amidships with two fairleads feeding a teak Sampson post forward. All sail controls are led aft to rope clutches / jammers with a single halyard

winch to starboard. Adjustable jib & mainsheet cars. Access below is via a teak lined sliding companionway hatch and split plywood / Perspex washboards.

Extra ventilation provided by an aluminium forward hatch.

Ports: 2 aluminium fixed ports are fitted one each in the hull topsides.

Chain plates: Chain plates are in stainless steel and through bolted on the hull sides.

Vents: Ventilation is via a washboard vent and opening forward hatch.

 

Miscellaneous Equipment: Fuel filler &tank vent.(Inboard version only), Life harness attachment point by the companionway, Rope tidies for halyards.

Cockpit Lockers: Two main watertight lockers with latches and padlocks are provided. A padlock is also provided for the companionway hatch.

Mainmast: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a stainless steel mast band to take Cap shrouds, jib and mainsail halyards.

All deck mounted on a substantial stainless steel tabernacle.

Main Boom: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel gooseneck fitting, kicker and mainsheet bands and all

associated reefing line leads / terminals.

Bowsprit: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel pivot fitting, end plate and bobstay take off points.

Gaff: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel gaff collar with rubber protection on bearing surface. Wire hoist

span and block.

 

Standing Rigging: Cap shrouds, lower shrouds & forestay in 4mm 1 x 19 stainless steel wire with swagged ends. Chromed rigging screws. Jib mounted on

reefing spar and controls led aft to cockpit.

Running Rigging: Main throat / peak halyards – 6mm braid. Jib &Staysail halyards – 6mm braid. Main topping lift – 6mm braid. Mainsail reefing lines –

6mm braid. Mainsail outhaul – 6mm braid. Mainsheet & Jib sheets – 10mm sheet rope. All associated blocks for purchase tackles.

Mainsail: Dacron in tan or cream. 2 reef points with tie in lacing. Luff and gaff lacing as required.

Jib: Dacron in tan or cream with wire luff and tell tails.

Boom Cover: In maroon, or cream acrylic. Fixings to allow for topping lift and mainsheet take off. All sails supplied with, sail numbers, logo and ties.

Engineering

 

Outboard Version

 

Outboard well: A teak engine mounting with stainless brackets. Engine well hull blank. GRP moulded fuel tank stowage and fuel lead splitter through aft

locker compartment. (fuel lead not supplied as standard)

Inboard Version

 

Stern Gear: A 1” stainless steel shaft is fitted, connected to the engine via a coupling and fitted with a Tides Marine ‘lip seal’ gland. The shaft drives a fixed

2-bladed propeller.

Engine: Yanmar 1GM10 9hp marine diesel engine. A 55 amp (12V) alternator is fitted to the engine.

Engine Instruments and Controls: The engine instruments are located at the rear of the cockpit coaming and are recessed with a clear cover. Instruments

include audible alarm, alternator warning light, start switch and stop control. A single lever engine control is supplied and fitted in the cockpit well.

Engine Cooling: The engine is directly salt water cooled. A 1/2″ diameter pipe leads from the main seawater inlet through a strainer to the engine and

discharges overboard through the exhaust.

Engine Exhaust: A flexible exhaust hose connects the exhaust via a swan neck with water trap to the outlet fitting through the transom.

Fuel System: A plastic diesel tank with a capacity of approximately 18 litres, breather and integrated fuel gauge. The tank is fitted with flow and return

lines, the flow line having a manual shut off valve.

Plumbing

Bilge System: 1 x Manual bilge pump operated from the cockpit with a handle stored in the aft locker.

Fresh Water Tanks: 2 x 10ltr plastic jerry cans with manual hand pump. Also a bucket / sink.

Soil System: When fitted the heads discharge directly to sea via a vent loop and skin fitting.

Inlet / Outlet Fittings: Engine: In through a single skin fitting with a valve and strainer, out via the exhaust system.

Gas System: There is a double burner hob cooker attached to a separately stored gas bottle.

12 volt DC system

Batteries: Engine – one 12 volt 55 amp/hour. (Optional on outboard version)

Charging: Via main engine – a 35 amp (at 12 volt) alternator.

Switchboard: An optional switch panel is fitted to boats that have additional electronics fitted.

Miscellaneous Standard Equipment

Deck: 1 x winch handle. 1 x bilge pump handle. Stowed in aft cockpit locker. 1 x fire extinguisher – situated down below.

Joinery: The interior joinery is constructed from high quality materials and in accordance with good yacht practice. Bulkheads and side back linings are

from plywood.

Finish: All cabin woodwork is finished in a mix of painted bulkheads and varnished trim.

Soles: Rubber textured sole throughout.

Upholstery: A choice of soft or wipe down plastic upholstery is available.

The Postcard

 

A postcard published by DLG that has a divided back.

 

The card was posted in Amiens on Monday the 19th. April 1909 to:

 

Monsieur Georges Lee,

Ouvrier Marechal,

Chez M. Coengnet,

Rue Victor Hugo,

Boves,

Somme.

 

Jim 'Killer' Miller

 

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

 

Well, on the 19th. April 1909, Jim Miller escaped from prison.

 

Jim "Killer" Miller had been a terror in the southwestern United States for 25 years.

 

After Miller murdered former U.S. Marshal Gus Bobbitt in 1908, he and the three men who hired him were caught in March 1909, and placed in the Pontotoc County Jail in Ada, Oklahoma, to await trial.

 

At 2:00 a.m. on the 19th. April, the electric power to the jail was cut and more than 100 men broke in, overpowered the guards, and took the four men to a nearby livery stable.

 

Miller, along with Jess West, Joe Allen and B.B. Burwell, were hanged by their vigilante executioners.

 

William Howard Taft

 

Also on that day, William Howard Taft became the first U.S. President to attend a major league baseball game He joined Vice-President Sherman in watching the Washington Senators host the Boston Red Sox.

 

Boston won 8–4.

 

Hanging as a Means of Execution

 

The Short Drop

 

The short drop is a method of hanging in which the condemned prisoner stands on a raised support such as a stool, ladder, cart, or other vehicle, with the noose around the neck. The support is then moved away, leaving the person dangling from the rope.

 

Suspended by the neck, the weight of the body tightens the noose around the neck, effecting strangulation and death. This typically takes 10–20 minutes. This means that the prisoner can be revived before death and hung again, perhaps multiple times.

 

Before 1850, the short drop was the standard method of hanging, and it is still common in suicides and extrajudicial hangings (such as lynchings and summary executions) which do not benefit from the specialised equipment and drop-length calculation tables used in the newer methods.

 

The Pole Method

 

A short drop variant is the Austro-Hungarian "pole" method, in which the following steps take place:

 

-- The condemned is made to stand before a specialized vertical pole or pillar, approximately 3 metres (9.8 ft) in height.

-- A rope is attached around the condemned's feet and routed through a pulley at the base of the pole.

-- The condemned is hoisted to the top of the pole by means of a sling running across the chest and under the armpits.

-- A narrow-diameter noose is looped around the prisoner's neck, then secured to a hook mounted at the top of the pole.

-- The chest sling is released, and the prisoner is rapidly jerked downward by the assistant executioners via the foot rope.

-- The executioner stands on a stepped platform approximately 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) high beside the condemned, and guides the head downward with his hand simultaneous to the efforts of his assistants. In some countries the executioner would then manually dislocate the condemned's neck.

 

This method was later also adopted by the successor states, most notably by Czechoslovakia, where the pole method was used as the only type of execution from 1918 until the abolition of capital punishment in 1990.

 

Nazi war criminal Karl Hermann Frank, executed in 1946 in Prague, was among approximately 1,000 condemned people executed in this manner in Czechoslovakia.

 

The Standard Drop

 

The standard drop involves a drop of between 4 and 6 feet (1.2 and 1.8 m) and came into use from 1866, when the scientific details were published by Irish doctor Samuel Haughton. Its use rapidly spread to English-speaking countries and those with judicial systems of English origin.

 

It was considered a humane improvement on the short drop, because it was intended to be enough to break the person's neck, causing immediate unconsciousness and rapid brain death.

 

This method was used to execute condemned Nazis under United States jurisdiction after the Nuremberg Trials including Joachim von Ribbentrop and Ernst Kaltenbrunner. In the execution of Ribbentrop, historian Giles MacDonogh records that:

 

"The hangman botched the execution and the

rope throttled the former foreign minister for

20 minutes before he expired."

 

A Life magazine report on the execution merely says:

 

"The trap fell open and with a sound midway

between a rumble and a crash, Ribbentrop

disappeared. The rope quivered for a time,

then stood tautly straight."

 

The Long Drop

 

This process, also known as the measured drop, was introduced to Great Britain in 1872 by William Marwood as a scientific advance on the standard drop.

 

Instead of everyone falling the same standard distance, the person's height and weight were used to determine how much slack would be provided in the rope so that the distance dropped would be enough to ensure that the neck was broken, but not so much that the person was decapitated.

 

The careful placement of the knot of the noose (so that the head was jerked back as the rope tightened) contributed to breaking the neck.

 

Prior to 1892, the drop was between four and ten feet (about one to three metres), depending on the weight of the body, and was calculated to deliver an energy of 1,260 foot-pounds force (1,710 J), which fractured the neck at either the 2nd. and 3rd. or 4th. and 5th. cervical vertebrae.

 

This force resulted in some decapitations, such as the infamous case of Black Jack Ketchum in New Mexico Territory in 1901, owing to a significant weight gain while in custody not having been factored into the drop calculations.

 

Between 1892 and 1913, the length of the drop was shortened to avoid decapitation. After 1913, other factors were also taken into account, and the energy delivered was reduced to about 1,000 foot-pounds force (1,400 J).

 

The decapitation of Eva Dugan during a botched hanging in 1930 led the state of Arizona to switch to the gas chamber as its primary execution method, on the grounds that it was believed more humane.

 

One of the more recent decapitations as a result of the long drop occurred when Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was hanged in Iraq in 2007. Accidental decapitation also occurred during the 1962 hanging of Arthur Lucas, one of the last two people to be put to death in Canada.

 

Nazis executed under British jurisdiction, including Josef Kramer, Fritz Klein, Irma Grese and Elisabeth Volkenrath, were hanged by Albert Pierrepoint using the variable-drop method devised by Marwood. The record speed for a British long-drop hanging was seven seconds from the executioner entering the cell to the drop. Speed was considered to be important in the British system as it reduced the condemned's mental distress.

 

Suicide by Hanging

 

Hanging is a common suicide method. The materials necessary for suicide by hanging are readily available to the average person, compared to firearms or poisons. Full suspension is not required, and for this reason, hanging is especially commonplace among suicidal prisoners.

 

A type of hanging comparable to full suspension hanging may be obtained by self-strangulation using a ligature around the neck and the partial weight of the body to tighten the ligature. When a suicidal hanging involves partial suspension the deceased is found to have both feet touching the ground, e.g., they are kneeling, crouching or standing.

 

Partial suspension is sometimes used, particularly in prisons, mental hospitals or other institutions, where full suspension support is difficult to devise, because high ligature points (e.g., hooks or pipes) have been removed.

 

In Canada, hanging is the most common method of suicide, and in the U.S., hanging is the second most common method, after self-inflicted gunshot wounds. In the United Kingdom, where firearms are less easily available, in 2001 hanging was the most common method among men, and the second most commonplace among women (after poisoning).

 

Those who survive a suicide-via-hanging, whether due to breakage of the cord, or being discovered and cut down, face a range of serious injuries, including cerebral anoxia (which can lead to permanent brain damage), laryngeal fracture, cervical spine fracture (which may cause paralysis), tracheal fracture, pharyngeal laceration, and carotid artery injury.

 

Hanging Practices Across the Globe

 

Hanging has been a method of capital punishment in many countries, and is still used by many countries to this day. Long drop hanging is mainly used by former British colonies, while short-drop and suspension hanging is common in Iran.

 

-- Afghanistan

 

Hanging is the most-used form of capital punishment in Afghanistan.

 

-- Australia

 

Capital punishment was a part of the legal system of Australia from the establishment of New South Wales as a British penal colony, until 1985, by which time all Australian states and territories had abolished the death penalty. In practice, the last execution in Australia was the hanging of Ronald Ryan on the 3rd. February 1967, in Victoria.

 

During the 19th. century, crimes that could carry a death sentence included burglary, sheep theft, forgery, sexual assaults, murder and manslaughter. During the 19th. century, roughly eighty people were hanged every year throughout the Australian colonies for these crimes.

 

-- Bangladesh

 

Hanging is the only method of execution in Bangladesh, ever since its independence.

 

-- Brazil

 

Death by hanging was the customary method of capital punishment in Brazil throughout its history. Some important national heroes like Tiradentes (1792) were killed by hanging.

 

The last man to be executed in Brazil was the slave Francisco, in 1876. The death penalty was abolished for all crimes, except for those committed under extraordinary circumstances such as war or military law, in 1890.

 

-- Bulgaria

 

Bulgaria's national hero, Vasil Levski, was executed by hanging by the Ottoman court in Sofia in 1873. Every year since Bulgaria's liberation, thousands come with flowers on the date of his death, 19th. February, to his monument where the gallows stood. The last execution was in 1989, and the death penalty was abolished for all crimes in 1998.

 

-- Canada

 

Historically, hanging was the only method of execution used in Canada, and was in use as possible punishment for all murders until 1961, when murders were re-classified into capital and non-capital offences.

 

The death penalty was restricted to apply only for certain offences under the National Defence Act in 1976, and was completely abolished in 1998. The last hangings in Canada took place on the 11th. December 1962.

 

-- Egypt

 

In 1955, Egypt hanged three Israelis on charges of spying. In 1982 Egypt hanged three civilians convicted of the assassination of Anwar Sadat.

 

In 2004, Egypt hanged five militants on charges of trying to kill the Prime Minister. To this day, hanging remains the standard method of capital punishment in Egypt, which executes more people each year than any other African country.

 

-- Germany

 

In the territories occupied by Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945, strangulation hanging was a preferred means of public execution, although more criminal executions were performed by guillotine than hanging.

 

The most commonly sentenced were partisans and black marketeers, whose bodies were usually left hanging for long periods. There are also numerous reports of concentration camp inmates being hanged.

 

Hanging was continued in post-war Germany in the British and US Occupation Zones under their jurisdiction, and for Nazi war criminals, until well after (western) Germany had abolished the death penalty. The last execution ordered by a West German court was carried out by guillotine in Moabit prison in 1949.

 

The last hanging in Germany was of several war criminals in Landsberg am Lech on the 7th. June 1951. The last known execution in East Germany was in 1981 by a pistol shot to the neck.

 

-- Hungary

 

During the 1956 Revolution, the prime minister of Hungary, Imre Nagy, was secretly tried, executed by hanging, and buried unceremoniously by the new Soviet-backed Hungarian government. Nagy was later publicly exonerated by Hungary.

 

Capital punishment was abolished for all crimes in 1990.

 

-- India

 

All executions in India since independence have been carried out by hanging, although the law provides for military executions to be carried out by firing squad.

 

In 1949, Nathuram Godse, who had been sentenced to death for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, was the first person to be executed by hanging in independent India.

 

The Supreme Court of India has suggested that capital punishment should be given only in the "rarest of rare cases".

 

Since 2001, eight people have been executed in India. Dhananjoy Chatterjee, the 1991 rapist and murderer was executed on the 14th. August 2004 in Alipore Jail, Kolkata.

 

Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the 2008 Mumbai attacks was executed on the 21st. November 2012 in Yerwada Central Jail, Pune. The Supreme Court of India had previously rejected his mercy plea, which was then rejected by the President of India. He was hanged one week later.

 

Afzal Guru, a terrorist found guilty of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament, was executed by hanging in Tihar Jail, Delhi on the 9th. February 2013.

 

Yakub Memon was convicted over his involvement in the 1993 Bombay bombings on the 27th. July 2007. His appeals and petitions for clemency were all rejected, and he was finally executed by hanging on 30 July 2015 in Nagpur jail. In March 2020, four prisoners convicted of rape and murder were executed by hanging in Tihar Jail.

 

-- Iran

 

Death by hanging is the primary means of capital punishment in Iran, which carries out one of the highest numbers of annual executions in the world. The method used is the short drop, which does not break the neck of the condemned, but rather causes a slower death due to strangulation.

 

Hanging is legally approved for murder, rape, and drug trafficking unless the criminal pays diyya to the victim's family, thus attaining their forgiveness.

 

If the presiding judge deems the case to be causing public outrage, he can order the hanging to take place in public at the spot where the crime was committed, typically from a mobile telescoping crane which hoists the condemned high into the air.

 

On the 19th. July 2005, two boys, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, aged 15 and 17 respectively, who had been convicted of the rape of a 13-year-old boy, were hanged at Edalat (Justice) Square in Mashhad, on charges of homosexuality and rape.

 

On the 15th. August 2004, a 16-year-old girl, Atefeh Sahaaleh was executed for having committed "acts incompatible with chastity".

 

At dawn on the 27th. July 2008, the Iranian government executed 29 people at Evin Prison in Tehran.

 

On the 2nd. December 2008, an unnamed man was hanged for murder at Kazeroun Prison, just moments after he was pardoned by the murder victim's family. He was quickly cut down and rushed to a hospital, where he was successfully revived.

 

The conviction and hanging of Reyhaneh Jabbari caused international uproar as she was sentenced to death in 2009 and hanged on the 25th. October 2014 for murdering a former intelligence officer; according to Jabbari's testimony she stabbed him during an attempt at rape and then another person killed him.

 

-- Iraq

 

Hanging was used under the regime of Saddam Hussein, but was suspended along with capital punishment on the 10th. June 2003, when a coalition led by the United States invaded and overthrew the previous regime. The death penalty was reinstated on the 8th. August 2004.

 

In September 2005, three murderers were the first people to be executed since the restoration. Then on the 9th. March 2006, the Supreme Judicial Council confirmed that the first insurgents had been executed by hanging.

 

Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging for crimes against humanity, and was executed on the 30th. December 2006 at approximately 6:00 a.m. local time. During the drop, there was an audible crack, indicating that his neck was broken, a successful example of a long-drop hanging.

 

Barzan Ibrahim, the head of the Mukhabarat, Saddam's security agency, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge, were executed on the 15th. January 2007, also by the long-drop method, but Barzan was decapitated by the rope at the end of his fall.

 

Former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan had been sentenced to life in prison, but the sentence was changed to death by hanging on the 20th. March 2007. He was the fourth and final man to be executed for the 1982 crimes against humanity. The execution went smoothly.

 

It is alleged that Iraq's government keeps the execution rate secret, and that hundreds may be carried out every year. In 2007, Amnesty International stated that 900 people were at "imminent risk" of execution in Iraq.

 

-- Israel

 

Although Israel has legal provisions for the death penalty for extraordinary crimes, it has been used only twice, and only one of those executions was by hanging. On the 31st. May 1962, Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was executed by hanging.

 

-- Japan

 

All executions in Japan are carried out by long drop hanging.

 

On the 23rd. December 1948, seven men were hanged at Sugamo Prison by the U.S. occupation authorities in Allied-occupied Japan for war crimes during the Asian-Pacific theatre of World War II.

 

On 27 February 2004, the mastermind of the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, Shoko Asahara, was found guilty, and sentenced to death by hanging. In 2018 Asahara and several of his cult members were hanged for committing the 1995 sarin gas attack.

 

On the 25th. December 2006, serial killer Hiroaki Hidaka and three others were hanged in Japan.

 

-- Jordan

 

Death by hanging is the traditional method of capital punishment in Jordan. On the 14th. August 1993, Jordan hanged two Jordanians convicted of spying for Israel.

 

Sajida al-Rishawi, "The 4th Bomber" of the 2005 Amman bombings, was executed by hanging alongside Ziad al-Karbouly on the 4th. February 2015 in retribution for the immolation of Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh.

 

-- Lebanon

 

Lebanon hanged two men in 1998 for murdering a man and his sister. However, capital punishment was altogether suspended in Lebanon, as a result of staunch opposition by activists and some political factions.

 

-- Liberia

 

On the 16th. February 1979, seven men convicted of the ritual killing of the popular singer Moses Tweh, were publicly hanged at dawn in Harper.

 

-- Malaysia

 

Hanging is the traditional method of capital punishment in Malaysia, and has been used to execute people convicted of murder and drug trafficking. The Barlow and Chambers execution was carried out as a result of new tighter drug regulations.

 

-- Portugal

 

The last person executed by hanging in Portugal was Francisco Matos Lobos on the 16th. April 1842. Before that, it had been a common death penalty.

 

-- Pakistan

 

In Pakistan, hanging is the most common form of execution.

 

-- Russia

 

Hanging was commonly practised in the Russian Empire during the rule of the Romanov Dynasty as an alternative to impalement, which was used in the 15th. and 16th. centuries.

 

Hanging was abolished in 1868 by Alexander II, but was restored by the time of his death, and his assassins were hanged. While those sentenced to death for murder were usually pardoned and sentences commuted to life imprisonment, those guilty of high treason were usually executed.

 

This also included the Grand Duchy of Finland and the Kingdom of Poland under the Russian crown. Taavetti Lukkarinen became the last Finn to be executed this way. He was hanged for espionage and high treason in 1916.

 

The hanging was usually performed by short drop in public. The gallows were usually either a stout nearby tree branch, as in the case of Lukkarinen, or a makeshift gallows constructed for the purpose.

 

After the October Revolution in 1917, capital punishment was, on paper, abolished, but continued to be used unabated against people perceived to be enemies of the regime. Under the Bolsheviks, most executions were performed by shooting, either by firing squad or by a single firearm.

 

In 1943, hanging was restored primarily for German servicemen and native collaborators for atrocities committed against Soviet POWs and civilians. The last to be hanged were Andrey Vlasov and his companions in 1946.

 

-- Singapore

 

In Singapore, long-drop hanging is currently used as a mandatory punishment for crimes such as drug trafficking, murder and some types of kidnapping. It has also been used for punishing those convicted of unauthorised discharging of firearms.

 

-- Sri Lanka

 

Hanging was abolished in Sri Lanka in 1956, but in 1959 it was brought back and later halted in 1978. In 1975, the day before the execution of Maru Sira, he had been overdosed by the prison guards to prevent him from escaping.

 

On the day of his execution he was unconscious, so when he was brought to the gallows, he was slumped over on the trapdoor with a noose around his neck, and when the executioner pulled the lever, his execution was botched and he strangled.

 

-- Syria

 

Syria has publicly hanged people, such as two Jews in 1952, Israeli spy Eli Cohen in 1965, and a number of Jews accused of spying in 1969.

 

According to a 19th.-century report, members of the Alawite sect in Syria had a particular aversion towards being hanged, and the family of the condemned was willing to pay "considerable sums" to ensure its relatives were impaled, rather than hanged.

 

This attitude was based upon the belief that the soul ought to leave the body through the mouth, rather than leave it in any other fashion.

 

-- The United Kingdom

 

As a form of judicial execution in England, hanging is thought to date from the Anglo-Saxon period. Records of the names of British hangmen begin with Thomas de Warblynton in the 1360's and continue on to the last hangmen, Robert Leslie Stewart and Harry Allen, who conducted the last British executions in 1964.

 

Until 1868, hangings were performed in public. In London, the traditional site was at Tyburn, a settlement west of the City on the main road to Oxford, which was used on eight hanging days a year, though before 1865, executions had been conducted on the street outside Newgate Prison, Old Bailey, now the site of the Central Criminal Court.

 

Three British subjects were hanged after World War II, having been convicted of helping Nazi Germany in its war against Great Britain.

 

John Amery, the son of prominent British politician Leo Amery, became an expatriate in the 1930's, moving to France. He became involved in pre-war fascist politics, remained in what became Vichy France following France's defeat by Germany in 1940, and eventually went to Germany and later the German puppet state in Italy headed by Benito Mussolini.

 

Captured by Italian partisans at the end of the war and handed over to British authorities, Amery was accused of having made propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis, and of having attempted to recruit British prisoners of war for a Waffen SS regiment later known as the British Free Corps.

 

Amery pleaded guilty to treason charges on the 28th. November 1945, and was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on the 19th. December 1945.

 

William Joyce, an American-born Irishman who had lived in Great Britain and possessed a British passport, had been involved in pre-war fascist politics in the UK, fled to Nazi Germany just before the war and became a naturalised German citizen.

 

Joyce made propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis, becoming infamous under the nickname Lord Haw Haw. Captured by British forces in May 1945, he was tried for treason later that year. Although Joyce's defence argued that he was by birth American, and thus not subject to being tried for treason, the prosecution successfully argued that Joyce's pre-war British passport meant that he was a subject of the British Crown, and he was convicted.

 

After his appeals failed, he was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on the 3rd. January 1946.

 

Theodore Schurch was a British soldier captured by the Nazis who then began working for the Italian and German intelligence services by acting as a spy and informer when he was placed among other British prisoners. Schurch was arrested in Rome in March 1945 and tried under the Treachery Act 1940. After his conviction, he was hanged at HM Prison Pentonville on the 4th. January 1946.

 

The Homicide Act 1957 created the new offence of capital murder, punishable by death, with all other murders being punishable by life imprisonment.

 

In 1965, Parliament passed the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act, temporarily abolishing capital punishment for murder for five years. The Act was renewed in 1969, making the abolition permanent.

 

Following the complete abolition of the death penalty, the gallows were removed from Wandsworth Prison, where they remained in full working order until that year.

 

The last woman to be hanged in the UK was Ruth Ellis on the 13th. July 1955, by Albert Pierrepoint who was a prominent hangman in the 20th. century in England.

 

The last hanging in Great Britain took place in 1964, when Peter Anthony Allen, at Walton Prison in Liverpool, and Gwynne Owen Evans, at Strangeways Prison in Manchester were executed for the murder of John Alan West.

 

Hanging was also the method used in many British colonies and overseas territories. During Queen Elizabeth I's reign, the following was written concerning those who stole a ship from the Royal Navy:

 

"If anye one practysed to steale awaye anye of

her Majesty's shippes, the captaine was to cause

him to be hanged by the heels untill his braines

were beaten out against the shippe's sides, and

then to be cutt down and lett fall intoe the sea."

 

-- The United States

 

The hangman's noose was one of the various punishments the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony applied to enforce religious and intellectual conformity on the whole community. The best known hanging carried out by the Puritans was of Mary Dyer; she was one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs.

 

Capital punishment in the U.S. varies from state to state; it is outlawed in some states but used in most others. However, the death penalty under federal law is applicable in every state. Hanging is no longer used as a method of execution.

 

When Black pastor Denmark Vesey of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church was suspected of plotting to launch a slave rebellion in Charleston, South Carolina in 1822, 35 people, including Vesey, were judged guilty by a city-appointed court and were subsequently hanged, and the church was burned down.

 

The largest mass execution in the United States, of 38 Sioux Indians sentenced to death after being charged of massacring white settlers, was carried out by hanging in Mankato, Minnesota in 1862.

 

Originally, 303 had been sentenced to hang, but the convictions were reviewed by President Abraham Lincoln and the sentences of all but 38 were commuted.

 

A total of 40 suspected Unionists were hanged in Gainesville, Texas in October 1862.

 

On the 7th. July 1865, four people involved in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln—Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt—were hanged at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

 

Hanging was a popular method of lynching, for example the 1920 Duluth, Minnesota lynchings. The hangings became public spectacles for the white community to celebrate what they regarded as white supremacy.

 

While rope was most commonly used for hanging, chains had also been used (mainly during the colonial era), the first being a slave after the New York Slave Revolt of 1712. The last hanging in chains was in 1913, of John Marshall in West Virginia for murder.

 

The last public hanging in the United States (not including lynching, one of the last of which was Michael Donald in 1981) took place on the 14th. August 1936, in Owensboro, Kentucky.

 

Rainey Bethea was executed for the rape and murder of 70-year-old Lischa Edwards. The execution was presided over by the first female sheriff in Kentucky, Florence Shoemaker Thompson.

 

In California, Clinton Duffy, who served as warden of San Quentin State Prison between 1940 and 1952, presided over ninety executions. He began to oppose the death penalty, and after his retirement, wrote a memoir entitled 'Eighty-Eight Men and Two Women' in support of the movement to abolish the death penalty.

 

The book documents several hangings gone wrong, and describes how they led his predecessor, Warden James B. Holohan, to persuade the California Legislature to replace hanging with the gas chamber in 1937.

 

Various methods of capital punishment have been replaced by lethal injection in most states. Many states that offered hanging as an option have since eliminated the method.

 

Condemned murderer Victor Feguer became the last inmate to be executed by hanging in the state of Iowa on the 15th. March 1963. Hanging was the preferred method of execution for capital murder cases in Iowa until 1965, when the death penalty was abolished and replaced with life imprisonment without parole.

 

Barton Kay Kirkham was the last person to be hanged in Utah, preferring it over execution by firing squad. No subsequent inmate in Utah had been hanged by the time the option was replaced with lethal injection in 1980.

 

Laws in Delaware were changed in 1986 to specify lethal injection, except for those convicted before 1986 (who were still allowed to choose hanging). If a choice was not made, or the convict refused to choose injection, then hanging would become the default method. This was the case in the 1996 execution of Billy Bailey, the most recent hanging in American history; since then, no Delaware prisoner fit the category, and the state's gallows were later dismantled.

 

The "Upright Jerker" is a method of hanging that originated in the United States in the late 19th. century, where the person to be hanged is jerked into the air by weights and pulleys. However it proved to be ineffective at breaking the neck of the condemned, and use of the method ceased in late 1930's.

My scientific calculations reveal that there were approximately a zillion Tree Swallows in this flight over Smith Point.

Bletchley Park Visit – 11th April 2015.

 

Colossus was the world's first programmable, electronic, digital computer. The Colossus computers were developed for British codebreakers during World War II to help in the cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher. Without them, the Allies would have been deprived of the very valuable military intelligence that was obtained from reading the vast quantity of encrypted high-level telegraphic messages between the German High Command (OKW) and their army commands throughout occupied Europe. Colossus used thermionic valves (vacuum tubes and thyratrons) to perform Boolean operations and calculations.

 

Colossus was designed by the engineer Tommy Flowers to solve a problem posed by mathematician Max Newman at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. Alan Turing's use of probability in cryptanalysis[1] contributed to its design. It has sometimes been erroneously stated that Turing designed Colossus to aid the Cryptanalysis of the Enigma. Turing's machine that helped decode Enigma was the electromechanical Bombe, not Colossus.

  

Bletchley Park, near Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire England, was Britain’s Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), which during the Second World War regularly penetrated the secret communications of the Axis Powers – most importantly, that of the German Enigma and Lorenz ciphers.

 

Alan Turing was one of the famous analysts at Bletchley, and he famously designed the Bombe to help break the German codes, and was portrayed within the film ‘Imitation Game’ by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Annual Transgender festival @ Koovagam, Viluppuram, Tamilnadu, April 2013

  

Of the many bizarre and strange customs and festivals observed in India, the Koothandavar festival of Koovagam is one among them. The very basis of the festival, its associated rituals and the people involved make it the weirdest possible celebration on earth. A celebration of love and death, of sacrifice and life.

 

The small hamlet of Koovagam is present in the Vizhuppuram district of Tamil Nadu, making it virtually a ‘nothing’. However, once a year this tiny village turns into the biggest camp for transgenders from all over the country. They gather in flocks to take part in the rituals of the festival which lasts for 18 days, culminating on chitra pournami (april-may).

 

Story behind this

A festival which has its base rooted into the depths of the Mahabharatha war, Krishna’s cunningness and the noble nature of a very valiant young man.

 

War between the Pandavas and Kauravas was imminent. There was no way that a war could be averted, thus saving millions of innocent human lives. Krishna, as the protector of the universe was worried about the outcome of the war. It was true that he could intervene with his divine powers and avert catastrophe, but humans are required to decide their own fates. That’s what the vedas and shastras say. But still, he wanted the Pandavas to win the war, for he was on their side and their doings were just and moral. This would be the ultimate “Good wins over Bad” story if it went along as he desired.

 

Having no choice, he goes to Sahadeva who is blessed with the talent of accurately forecasting the future and reading horoscopes, Sahadeva rolled his Shozhi (shells used to help in prediction) and after several calculations looked up and said “To attain victory in the upcoming war, you need to sacrifice a man filled with all the good qualities of Valor, strength, bravery, beauty and such, to the goddess of war, Kali. He who first performs this sacrifice will gain the blessings of Kali and win the war”,

 

All along his way back his mind was filled with a single thought, “Is there anyone… Anyone else, other than Arjuna who can match the requirements of sacrifice? Anyone at all?” He pleaded, only to be met by a stunning silence. Krishna’s heart shattered at the thought of losing a dear friend. He felt light headed and started to sway with dizziness, when a voice cut through his haziness.

“Am I eligible to be sacrificed?” the voice asked. Looking for the source of the voice, Krishna’s eyes land on a very handsome man, dressed as a warrior and bearing resemblances to Arjuna. “Who are you, may I know?” questioned Krishna, as hope revived in his heart.

 

“I am Aravaan, the son of Arjuna, born to the Naaga princess Chithrangadha, through an illicit wedlock. I have come here to help bring victory to my father and his brothers. And if I can indeed help them win by sacrificing myself, then I am ready to die.” he proclaimed.

 

Krishna is flooded with relief. Using his divine powers, he comes to know that Aravaan is indeed a warrior par excellence, full of good qualities and excellent character. “He would make the perfect sacrifice to Kali”, Krishna thought and he beckoned Aravaan to come with him. He introduced Aravaan to the Pandavas including to Arjuna, his father (what weirdness!!!) and praised the sacrificial qualities of Aravaan. “So you will be sacrificed to the Goddess at the dawn of war, tomorrow. Purify yourself mentally and physically and prepare for the day. Long live your sacrifice”, Krishna told Aravaan and turned to leave.

 

“One moment my lord, I have but a few wishes to be granted before I die. Will you grant them?” Aravaan asked Krishna. “Why don’t you try me?” Krishna winked mischievously at Aravaan.” My lord”, began Aravaan,” I have had the good fortune to enjoy much in life, but before I die, I would like to enjoy the heat of a woman. I wish to die a married man, my lord.” Krishna is stunned. Which woman would marry a man who is going to the sacrificial altar the very next day? Probably none. No woman is crazy to throw her life away.”We will manage that”, he assured Aravaan, “Anything else?”.”Yes my lord, I would like to witness the entire war unfold, in my physical body and I would also like to fight on the Pandava side for a minimum of three weeks. Is that agreeable?”

It was here that the jealousy of Krishna kicked in. He knew that Aravaan was an excellent warrior and if he was allowed to fight there would be no need of any of the Pandavas or Krishna himself. “ParthaPuthra, what is ‘three weeks’ to a man like you? You can probably crush the entire enemy forces in three and a two third minutes. You will be able to fight on the Pandava side for those three and a two third minutes.” Aravaan agreed, charmed by Krishna’s flattery and speech. “If that is all, you can follow me to meet your bride, who will be your wife tonight and your widow in some days.” Krishna commanded.

 

Aravaan followed Krishna to the interiors of the palace. There, in the presence of the Pandavas and a few close friends, Krishna did the unbelievable. He transformed himself into Mohini, a form so beautiful that even Shiva had fallen for it, and in the presence of the elders, married Aravaan. That night Aravaan got his first wish fulfilled. Mohini seduced him with all her sexuality. All through the night, Aravaan was confused if he was with a man or woman. The smell of butter and milk reminded him of Krishna, but at the same time he couldn’t come out of Mohini’s clutches. The night passed and the day of the war dawned.

 

Aravaan was taken to the battle field and was made to stand at the center. There he tore off his skin from his arms and offered them to Kali. Kali, ever thirsty for blood, pounced on it and gave her blessings to Pandavas. The war began. Over the course of the 18 days, Aravaan kept Kali satisfied, stripping pieces from his body and offering it to her. On the final day when his allotted 3 and a two-third minutes of time came up, he realised that he had been tricked. He just had his head and his skeleton intact. A fat lot of use they would come to.

 

Conetemplating, he assumed his Vishwaroopa form and with his head as a large stone, he rolled over the enemy forces killing millions and badly hurting himself. The war was over. The Pandavas had won and the cause for it all, Aravaan, was lying, all alone on the Kurukshetra field. During his final moments on earth, when his life was ebbing away, he heard the high pitched wail of a woman. Turning towards the source of the wail, he sees Krishna, as Mohini, beating her breasts and wailing, the very picture of a widowed woman grieving her husband. With that final sight, his spirit soared heaven-wards and joined the other immortal heroes in warrior heavens, forever shining upon the brave warriors of yore. Aravaan had passed on, a happy man.

 

This chapter in the Mahabharatha forms the central theme of the 18 day festival at Koovagam. The small shrine at Koovagam is dedicated to none other than Aravaan himself and he is worshipped as Koothandavar. The 18 day festival celebrates the final days of Aravaan’s life, right up to his brave sacrifice on the 18th day. The highlight of the festival happens to be the marriage of Aravaan. The transgenders who gather here are the self-proclaimed brides of Aravaan. They claim themselves to be incarnations of Krishna, who was a man trapped inside a woman’s body, when he seduced Aravaan, just like the transgenders themselves. The first 15 days of the festival pass in dancing, singing and merrymaking, the transgenders putting up colourful and lively performances. All through the 18 days, a gigantic head of Aravaan is made and painted with the greatest care within the temple precincts

 

On the 17th day, the priest does special poojas to the idol of Aravaan and bringing upon the power of Aravaan on himself, he ties the mangalsutra (the sacred marital thread) around the neck of all the transgenders present there. They are now the wives of Aravaan, just for the night. A gala feast is organised which is followed by a night full of merrymaking, laughter and dance. The gigantic head of Aravaan is mounted on a chariot and taken around the village.

 

At the dawn of the 18th day, the air is ripped by sharp wails, as Aravaan is beheaded, widowing all his one-day-old wives. Following the traditions, the widows of Aravaan rip the Mangalsutraa from their necks, tear flowers out of their hair, throw away ornaments, and remove all cosmetics from their faces, wailing loudly, beating their chests, just like Krishna mourned for Aravaan long, long ago. They did a holy dip and wear a white saree (widow costume). And till that day arrives, they have to rely on the grace of Aravaan to take them through the rough times to come.

 

In shot; a vintage Italian adding machine, some 45s (including Tubeway Army), a 1950s Heals headboard, a tie-dyed embroidered wall hanging, a tin whistle, an old blue glass vase, cycling gloves drying on the radiator, flowers picked in the garden (dropping petals), lots of wild Autumn growth outside… Guess this is our aesthetic.

Sailboat Specifications

 

Hull Type: Keel/Cbrd.

Rigging Type: Gaffhead Sloop

Length overall: 22’6″ 6.858m

Length over deck: 19’3” 5.867m

Length of waterline: 17’7″ 5.334m

Beam: 7’2” 2.184m

Draught:1’6” – 4’0”0.457m – 1.219m

Displacement:2350lb1065kg

Ballast: 700 lb / 318 kg

Sail area:194ft218.02m2

Approx towing weight:3300lb1500kg

RCD categoryC

S.A./Disp.: 17.60

Bal./Disp.: 29.79

Disp./Len.: 195.75

Construction: GRP

Designer: Roger Dongray

First Built: 1979

# Built: 1000

 

Builder

 

Cornish Crabbers LLP

Unit 5, Bess Park Road

Wadebridge

Cornwall

PL27 6HB

Telephone: +44 (0)1208 862 666

Email: info@cornishcrabbers.co.uk

  

Auxiliary Power/Tanks (orig. equip.)

Make: Yanmar (opt.)

Model: Yanmar 1GM10 9hp

Type: Diesel

 

Sailboat Calculations

 

S.A./Disp.: 17.60

Bal./Disp.: 29.79

Disp./Len.: 195.75

Comfort Ratio: 14.60

Capsize Screening Formula: 2.16

 

Shrimper 19 standard sail away specification

 

Hull Construction: Hand laid solid GRP hull with no foam core. Integral centerplate case laminated as part of the complete hull structure. Internal bunk and

forepeak moulding bonded into hull with internal structural bulkheads bonded to both hull and deck mouldings. Standard colours are off white, dark blue

or dark green. The hull and deck joint is by way of an overlap or ‘Biscuit Tin Lid’ with GRP bonding.

Rudder: The rudder is transom hung on two stainless steel hangings bolted through the transom with Hardwood backing pads. The rudder is constructed

from laminated plywood with a stainless steel lifting drop plate.

Engine Beds: Engine beds are incorporated in the GRP bunk moulding with mild steel mounts bonded into the bed design which incorporates an oil drip tray.

Ballast: Ballast is by way of iron punchings encapsulated in resin inside the hull keel moulding. A galvanised steel centerplate forms part of the ballast

with a stainless steel lifting wire leading to a winch lifting system operated from the cockpit.

Boot Top: A single boot top moulded in gel coat located above antifouling level. Colour in contrast to main hull and normally matching the deck.

Deck Construction: Hand laid GRP with Balsa core in way of horizontal load areas. Hard wood pads under deck fittings and stress points.

Cockpit : Cockpit locker lids are hand laid with Balsa core. There is integrated non slip on horizontal surfaces with an optional two tone colour. A cockpit

drain is located in the center of the main foot well with additional drainage from the seats. A central watertight locker offers general storage or houses the

diesel engine when fitted.

 

Deck Fittings: Bespoke deck fittings including bowsprit, tabernacle and chain plates are made from stainless steel. 4 aluminium deck cleats are positioned

aft & amidships with two fairleads feeding a teak Sampson post forward. All sail controls are led aft to rope clutches / jammers with a single halyard

winch to starboard. Adjustable jib & mainsheet cars. Access below is via a teak lined sliding companionway hatch and split plywood / Perspex washboards.

Extra ventilation provided by an aluminium forward hatch.

Ports: 2 aluminium fixed ports are fitted one each in the hull topsides.

Chain plates: Chain plates are in stainless steel and through bolted on the hull sides.

Vents: Ventilation is via a washboard vent and opening forward hatch.

 

Miscellaneous Equipment: Fuel filler &tank vent.(Inboard version only), Life harness attachment point by the companionway, Rope tidies for halyards.

Cockpit Lockers: Two main watertight lockers with latches and padlocks are provided. A padlock is also provided for the companionway hatch.

Mainmast: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a stainless steel mast band to take Cap shrouds, jib and mainsail halyards.

All deck mounted on a substantial stainless steel tabernacle.

Main Boom: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel gooseneck fitting, kicker and mainsheet bands and all

associated reefing line leads / terminals.

Bowsprit: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel pivot fitting, end plate and bobstay take off points.

Gaff: Laminated in Sitka Spruce and treated with Sikkens Cetol including a Stainless steel gaff collar with rubber protection on bearing surface. Wire hoist

span and block.

 

Standing Rigging: Cap shrouds, lower shrouds & forestay in 4mm 1 x 19 stainless steel wire with swagged ends. Chromed rigging screws. Jib mounted on

reefing spar and controls led aft to cockpit.

Running Rigging: Main throat / peak halyards – 6mm braid. Jib &Staysail halyards – 6mm braid. Main topping lift – 6mm braid. Mainsail reefing lines –

6mm braid. Mainsail outhaul – 6mm braid. Mainsheet & Jib sheets – 10mm sheet rope. All associated blocks for purchase tackles.

Mainsail: Dacron in tan or cream. 2 reef points with tie in lacing. Luff and gaff lacing as required.

Jib: Dacron in tan or cream with wire luff and tell tails.

Boom Cover: In maroon, or cream acrylic. Fixings to allow for topping lift and mainsheet take off. All sails supplied with, sail numbers, logo and ties.

Engineering

 

Outboard Version

 

Outboard well: A teak engine mounting with stainless brackets. Engine well hull blank. GRP moulded fuel tank stowage and fuel lead splitter through aft

locker compartment. (fuel lead not supplied as standard)

Inboard Version

 

Stern Gear: A 1” stainless steel shaft is fitted, connected to the engine via a coupling and fitted with a Tides Marine ‘lip seal’ gland. The shaft drives a fixed

2-bladed propeller.

Engine: Yanmar 1GM10 9hp marine diesel engine. A 55 amp (12V) alternator is fitted to the engine.

Engine Instruments and Controls: The engine instruments are located at the rear of the cockpit coaming and are recessed with a clear cover. Instruments

include audible alarm, alternator warning light, start switch and stop control. A single lever engine control is supplied and fitted in the cockpit well.

Engine Cooling: The engine is directly salt water cooled. A 1/2″ diameter pipe leads from the main seawater inlet through a strainer to the engine and

discharges overboard through the exhaust.

Engine Exhaust: A flexible exhaust hose connects the exhaust via a swan neck with water trap to the outlet fitting through the transom.

Fuel System: A plastic diesel tank with a capacity of approximately 18 litres, breather and integrated fuel gauge. The tank is fitted with flow and return

lines, the flow line having a manual shut off valve.

Plumbing

Bilge System: 1 x Manual bilge pump operated from the cockpit with a handle stored in the aft locker.

Fresh Water Tanks: 2 x 10ltr plastic jerry cans with manual hand pump. Also a bucket / sink.

Soil System: When fitted the heads discharge directly to sea via a vent loop and skin fitting.

Inlet / Outlet Fittings: Engine: In through a single skin fitting with a valve and strainer, out via the exhaust system.

Gas System: There is a double burner hob cooker attached to a separately stored gas bottle.

12 volt DC system

Batteries: Engine – one 12 volt 55 amp/hour. (Optional on outboard version)

Charging: Via main engine – a 35 amp (at 12 volt) alternator.

Switchboard: An optional switch panel is fitted to boats that have additional electronics fitted.

Miscellaneous Standard Equipment

Deck: 1 x winch handle. 1 x bilge pump handle. Stowed in aft cockpit locker. 1 x fire extinguisher – situated down below.

Joinery: The interior joinery is constructed from high quality materials and in accordance with good yacht practice. Bulkheads and side back linings are

from plywood.

Finish: All cabin woodwork is finished in a mix of painted bulkheads and varnished trim.

Soles: Rubber textured sole throughout.

Upholstery: A choice of soft or wipe down plastic upholstery is available.

Amex - my first day June 1969 - Age 23

 

My first day at Amex was the day I thought would be my last day on earth. My arrival into the world of Amex came strangely thru the concept of nepotism. The previous summer I had worked for the City of Kamloops in the water works department. Actually a very interesting job laying water pipe in the new subdivisions, repairing broken water lines and contending and pretending that sewer lines were jolly good fun to fix and an anatomical look at the under belly of Kamloops, so to say.

 

One must also mention... at that time getting a job "in" Kamloops was a highly prized nugget. One could maintain one's normal weekend routines as opposed to being a way out there...somewhere...where telephones, television, the theatre, flushing toilets, hot water, springy mattresses, beer and that essential whiff of femininity hadn't quite made their mark yet.

 

So I went back to school in the fall and hoped to find at the end of the term summer work back with the City of Kamloops.

 

My brother Bud had just got a job there and when I applied they said…,” Sorry”. It was sort of like…"we don't hire members of the same family due to the potential, possibility of collaborative, nefariousness. I was just hoping for a summer job not to hijack…with my brother in tow...a shipment of sewer lids....and turning up at the local junkyard… hoping to turn some revenue. I was laid low! My summer plans in tatters!

 

Returning home with these sad tidings…. Pete Kirby… who boarded at Mum's place...said. ”Oh, I know someone in the survey business. He might be looking for someone. Here's his phone number." So I called and much to my surprise...I talked to Ab right off. He said ..."Can you be ready Monday morning at 5:00 A.M? I'll pick you up." So brief! In my excitement I didn't even ask him one important question… like: What should I take? How long is the job? Where are we going? How much is the pay? Any pain involved?

 

I wasn't too worried about my initial lack of curiosity though. A couple of years before, I had spent a wonderful summer up in Valemount working for the Department of Highways on one of the many survey crews creating the new Yellowhead Highway. I had some idea about the basics of surveying. In our case there were three of us. The transit man, with a vest full of pens and pencils all used in order to deal with many a triangulation. Red…he did have red hair…the rod man and me… the ever so steady holder... of one end of the steel chain and carrier of armfuls of short-sharpened pickets.

 

We strolled along…I don’t remember ever running…measuring the initial gouged out route and indicating on the pickets how much fill and how much cut was needed for any particular section. Lots of pauses due to the transit man doing the necessary calculations…in that time... we’d do the chats…watch blasters drill, load and blow rock to smithereens, occasionally, an exception here, having to run like hell as falling rock started landing all around us,…marvel at earth movers and bull dozers…till it was time to move on. Indeed, a very interesting, pain free way in which to earn money and pass the summer surrounded by all that majestic scenery.

 

Basically, I thought I was pretty well prepared for this, as yet, unknown job. Intact clothing in spades, the ever too thin sleeping bag….and a major purchase…the new work boots with a tin of leather grease…Dubbing, I think. But ,none the less, I felt I was ready for this adventure... I was ready to fly.

 

So up with the birds on that sunny Monday and sure enough at 5:00, Ab was outside the house in a pickup truck with canopy. I nimbly dashed out with my Dad’s old duffel bag in tow, stowed it in the back, hopped in the passenger side and realized there was another passenger sitting beside Ab.

 

Holy shit!!! It was Gordy Siemans!

 

In Kamloops, even in 1969, you didn’t have to know people personally to see or hear about their do-daring deeds, their bravado and generally their crazy times. Reputations…like the smell of the pulp mill…. could invade even the tiniest, mental crannies, creating, sometimes, catastrophic pictures of vast destruction. Gordy, in his teens already carried somewhat of a dare devil, difficult-fisticuffs sort of lad. I wondered what could have attracted Gordy to this rather passive job of surveying. Did he do some kind of survey course? Or?

 

I think mentally I went… “Whoa! Whoa!” Alas, many seconds too late as we were now racing up Columbia and shooting out Savona way. A strange silence filled the cab. Ab wasn’t saying anything. Gordy wasn’t saying anything. I thought it best to remain nonchalant. At least we all smoked…and that, at least, was a vague puff of communal sharing.

 

Right at the Savona Bridge… before the whirr, whirr, whirr part… Ab finally spoke. He said…”Is this where it happened?” Gordy said…”Yes.” The silence continued till we stopped at Cache Creek to tank up. Ab got out of the truck to pay and Gordy turned and looked at me with that irrepressible grin of his and said…”Ab’s really pissed off at me. I rolled his truck coming off the Savona Bridge on Saturday.”

 

Before I could utter anything intelligible…Ab was back in the truck and we zipped through Ashcroft and headed up to Logan Lake.

 

This was all new country for me so I was content to check the scenery out while the frosty silence was maintained until we bumped our way into the Logan Lake Lodge.

 

I think I remember a sprinkling of rustic cabins with a larger cabin which seemed to be the Amex nerve centre. Milling about were various people in various states of, what I would learn later was, bush dress.

 

Bush dress was once new but has been roundly savaged by whatever hell lurks out there in the bush. You just sensed that waving a needle and thread around would seem a futile gesture. I gathered breakfast had just been finished and work prep was underway. I was told to grab my bag and find a bed inside the large cabin.

 

Probably many a soul has not experienced the smell that can stick to a place inhabited by a community of humans who toil and sweat all day and live in those clothes for what smells like a really long time. Those have really missed one of live’s infinite slices.

 

Upon entering “The Lodge,” I immediately felt some gravitational force trying to draw me back outside. It’s hard to find a word to describe a place where so many different bad smells can coalesce into one major, nasal-hair burning, unforgettably, mind boggling stench. I was to learn later that when you add your own stink to all those other difficult to describe odours…you could feel almost right at home.

 

“The Lodge,” was one big open space. Filled with beds along the sides. A large wood stove in the middle and kitchen with a large table for the meals. On first sight this dwelling might be deemed chaotic. There was such a spread of “things” covering and filling the whole space. The area where the wood stove was located was surrounded by every item of clothing known to man. That was only the stove. Rank clothing hung everywhere!

 

Trying to avoid socks hung in artful ways…socks that you knew could walk on air…..sweat-stiffened T shirts draped on anything that you could hang something on…in fact… you could have used them as kites. Not so white-in-rags, fart-stained Stanfield’s underwear badly in need of some, as yet, un-invented, heavy-duty detergent. Truly overly mature underwear seriously hoping that someone would take mercy on their beggarly state and build a pyre and cremate them. You just had to be visually impressed at all of this! Trying to find a new way to breath, I located a bed and quickly eased my way outside.

 

Up to now, there had not been a formal introduction made to anyone. A friendly…” How do you do?” would have, somehow, seemed excessive. Except for Gordy… I knew no one. But slowly, I realized that there were two other new guys standing about wondering what was in store for them, and, as I remember, they were from Ontario hitching to Vancouver. Some Amexer had picked them up and offered them a job.

 

Obviously, the customary job interview with the padded resume was not considered a necessary appendage for Amex workers.

 

We chatted a bit until I heard Ab say…”give the new guys an axe and file.” Some person brought them to us and said for us to sharpen them. I had never sharpened an axe before and holding the axe in one hand and the file in the other, was real foreign territory for me. Scrape, scrape, scrape was not really doing it. Before I could even peak on that learning curve we were forming into work groups.

 

When this was happening, a car pulled up and out popped 3 guys… Bill Metcalfe, Gary Lyall and Bruce Bried. I think they were returning from doing a recon on a property near Kelowna. There was a very animated discussion with Ab over the horrors that they had encountered there. In reality they might have been communicating in Japanese for all that I understood.

 

There was a lot of new vocabulary in this biz to assimilate. What I did understand was that some evil force dwelled there and that overwhelmingly large widow makers with flexible-steel limbs and bad-tempered, massive, piles of windfall would render any person who entered their realm into garden mulch.

 

So back to work groups. I found myself with 8 other guys crammed into Bruce’s car. A wonderfully, fading late 50s something or other. In about 20 minutes Bruce dropped 6 of us off and left to some other unnamed destination. So there we were… 6 of us…three rookies and three compass men and not a transit between us.

 

Still no real explanation as to what we were expected to do. We lit up our cigs and looked across a flat expanse of what my eyes could see was a very damp marsh. It looked like a very damp, 400 meter marsh. I could definitely see an infinite array of water-like blue specks held in place by little grassy hillocks. The water was being tenderly rippled by a light breeze.

 

Gordy and the two compass men (names unknown) were actually discussing if there was another way to reach our work area. It seems there wasn’t. I think Gordy said…”Well fuck it! Let’s go!” Before you can say…”Excuse me guys! What about my new boots?” There they were and us heading out into that marsh. We were very reluctantly following… but following we did. First there was a vain attempt to hop from hillock to hillock but they were too wet and wobbly so you just slipped off them into the water anyway. It was a long, wallowing haul to reach the other side… every step a little water-logged heavier.

 

The other side was where something called a base line was. As water seeped out of me boots, I gazed at my first hand-made picket. There was B/L 0+00 something on it. If you really looked you could see that there was a cut out, blazed and flagged line running up this big hill which you could not see the end of. We had to climb this big hill. For a guy like me… at this time in space…exercise was a short walk to the corner store for cigs and changing gears and stepping on the gas in my car. Without a thought about a massive coronary… up we went.

 

Wet, new boots are like wearing massive, saturated sponges, taped onto old automobile transmissions. Weighty, very weighty! Feet in wet work socks are like fine sandpaper on soles and… you know…you never thought about bringing an extra pair, did you? At this point, you realize you didn’t think about very much. But how were you to know?

 

So, with baptized boots, the ascent began, squishing ever upwards. Soon…legs screaming! Lungs gasping! Upwards! Ever upwards! God! Please make it end soon! I was ahead of the other two rookies and I occasionally looked back to see how they were coping and I thought… if I looked like them… it was very scary…their faces were twisted and contorted into some orgasmic form of the grotesque.

 

Eventually, up ahead, I could see the three compass men sitting having a smoke. As I slowly came closer to them…I was quickly composing myself…tiding up the pain and trying to get my breathing and throbbing-beating heart under control. That is, I sure and hell didn’t want them to know that I had just gone through a near death experience and I was really trying to exude some semblance that all was well. This was my everyday! Splashing around in swamps and dashing up mountains was all quite the norm to me. In fact lads, a real lark. The other two rookies were pretty good actors too.

 

Yes! The pause that refreshes and I didn’t know if I ever could get up again. Cigs out and Gordy says I’m going with him. Now I find out what my job is. The other four headed further up the line. Adding to my vocabulary, I find out that I’m a “tail chainer” and would be “tailing the chain.” We were working on a “grid.” I find out that we are standing at a “station.” There is a handmade picket that proudly proclaims this… B/L 0 S+28 W. “From this point we will head south so many hard feet. You have a few things to do. First you must follow me. I have here a chain. It hooks on to my belt here.” He shows me a nylon cord a 100 feet long. “When I’m out a hundred feet and the end is even with this B/L picket… you must tug the line and yell out…”CHAIN!”

 

“Then follow me to the next station. In between throw some blazes and tie some flagging. You must as well make the pickets. First cut something this high, shows me…he expertly cleans both sides off the top of this young spruce and tells me to write…for example…L 28 W 1 S then, L 28 W 2 S etc.”

 

Gordy, quickly made three pickets for me and presents me with some rolls of blue and yellow flagging and a black Pental pen. “When we get to the end of the line we will turn around...clean out the line…limb the branches axe high… back to the base line and then we will go out the opposite direction and repeat the process.”

 

Did I get it all? There was no formal question period as I was trying to stick flagging in my jeans pockets, balancing three pickets, wondering how to hold my axe, while Gordy took a compass shot and disappeared into the bush. I intently watched the chain. It was moving quite rapidly. In fact, I almost missed grabbing the end. Catching and holding it up to the B/L picket…I hollered my first…”CHAIN!”

 

Starting off from that cut out base line, I plunged into my first real bush. On that first day, I didn’t really notice the infinite variety of vegetative forms that abound there in. It was simply, ”the bush.” By the end of that first day I was to find out how malevolent it could be. There are so many different ways in which the bush can inflict painful reminders of just how weak and sensitive our human vessel is.

 

On that first line, or was it the first 100 feet… I was slapped, poked, jabbed, tripped up, slipped off a knee high deadfall landing on my shin, received quite a few whacks, mostly facials from sneaky, spring-loaded spruce boughs . You bet they all hurt. Worse, a bough gently waltzed across my eye ball, temporarily blinding me. Fuck! Did that smart! By the way…where is that chain? GOOOOORD!!!!

 

While Gordy is waiting for me to find the end of the chain…I must digress and add this interesting psychological observation. When you are being Amexed out there, flailing about in all that greenary, ”The Bush” is different.

 

For example, when you are in your car driving by it, normally, you consider it to be a beautiful, inanimate force of nature. All art forms have praised its visual majesty… but you don’t normally talk to it... do you?

 

For example, I didn’t walk the streets of Kamloops having the chats with various trees. Nor did I see others so occupied. Indeed, exceptions do exist…shamans, wizards, magi and others so gifted who can connect with vegetation on other wonderful levels… but… the norm excludes somebody coming up to you and saying…”Jesus! I just had an interesting chat with that maple tree over there”.

 

On my first day, when I was really in the bush, getting quite intimate, much to my surprise, I found out that trees and shrubs or anything trying to impede me…did really take on personalities of their own. I slowly, became aware of an intelligence that I had never met before.

 

Later, I always thought of “the bush” as an experienced, well armed gladiator that I had to outwit and everyday, on the job, you were back in the coliseum. I even thought, more so, that they really communicated in the spirit of The Old Testament. Acting out scriptures full of smite, smoke, sulphur and sacrifice. They spoke and acted in such a way that you clearly knew that you were not of the chosen.

 

No poop here. They could communicate in their way, and, I, in turn, was actually now talking to them. In fact, as I experienced the wonders of Amex in more detail, I overheard conversations that others had had with the bush that were truly masterpieces of base eloquence. The bush induced truly awe-filled, vocal pagan calls for respite, mercy and down on your knees, seeking forgiveness for vile acts nobody ever did.

 

These oral outpourings were, unfortunately, never recorded to my knowledge. In my imagination, I see a Canadian library filled with inventive words of cuss with a dash of fear. Shelves bending!

 

I think the norm was chatting to them in the way one talks to somebody who wishes you grave ill. In fact, my emotional-vocal range covered begging and pleading to rage. I’ve begged and pleaded with the bush in a situation like finding yourself entangled in the embrace of a large, dark spruce that is trying to eat you… frantically looking for that fucking chain.

 

I have politely said… ” Please! Please! Let me through!” I might, on occasion, have even offered to pay a toll. In fact, I would have given anything to have been allowed to keep up to that chain.

 

On the other hand, I have also found myself turning into a psychopathic, raging lunatic. In a situation like… a big Spruce branch that your dull axe can’t quite cut. You smash it and it swings way out and comes flying right back into your face. You smash it again and it comes swinging back once again… right into your face.

 

You get really pissed off… drop your axe and attack it with your bare, fucking hands. Yes, you give it a sound drubbing! You rip that limb off that tree…throw it to the ground! You repeatedly jump on it! You pick up your axe… and lay into that poor booger and do your best to reduce it to sawdust.

 

All the while…during this give and take with the bough… you are talking to it all the time as if it’s human. Mostly… it is a fairly coarse conservation…but a conversation, none the less. Screaming, the most basic of Anglo-Saxon cuss words like a religious, manically-incantation. You are doing your damnable best to put a hex on it and you know it’s getting the message. It knows that you want to lay it low. It’s fighting back and “he” knows what you are all about.

 

He knows a lot of under bush tricks that he, in turn, is going to lay on you. That is why you soon find out that there is not a bush type out there called… Bobby, Dick, Jane or Sally… but many a bush type so named… that if your mother heard you using such a name… not only would she drop her drawers... but she would vigorously wash your mouth out with soap.

 

Back to that first line and I quickly realized that the chain was moving quite faster than I was. My trot was moving into a gallop in order to grab the end of the chain at the next station. My attempts at tying some flagging and blazing a few trees was indeed rather paltry. The most crushing anxiety came after I had used up my first three pickets that Gordy had made for me, and now, I had to start making my own.

 

Sometimes, within the station area, there was not to be found suitable picket material and you had to go further a field to find one slender tree that was useable… and that really ate up valuable nano seconds. That chain simply wasn’t waiting for you. Even trying to stick that bloody picket in the ground could create some time consuming but very deep and involved conversations with the earth.

 

I was now in full flight chasing that chain. Smashing and crashing through the bush changing quite rapidly from a genial human being into some other animal form. I know I wasn’t multi-tasking but it sure felt like it. Frantically, tying flagging, blazing, looking for and making pickets, pounding after that cursed chain… I was certain that it was really happening all at once.

 

Why were my eyes the size of saucers? Why was I so recklessly running through this shit? Why wasn’t Gordy walking normally? Me! Who collapsed after one lap at Kamloops High and got a C minus in gym. Was I participating in some sadistic, Olympic event, sans medals, lost in the wilderness without a grain of blessed humour?

 

I really noticed quite quickly that Gordy wasn’t politely waiting for me at every station. Making an occasional picket or two for hapless me. All I could occasionally see was his back disappearing into another dark, green maze as I dashed desperately towards the next station.

 

Eventually, we got to the end of that first line. It was to me 1500 feet of the most punishing work experience I had ever fallen into and, by golly, we had to go back up it. As I walked up to Gordy, it was really hard to suppress the shock waves thundering through my body. I just could not imagine what kind of wicked, wicked force could have formed all of this unpleasantness? If there wasn’t that element called pride… I would have fallen down on my knees and begged Gordy to get me out of here. Trying my best to prevent my shaking legs from collapsing under me I did manage to ask him for a smoke.

 

Gordy rolled up the chain and we proceeded back up the line cleaning it out. It does take more than a few days to become conversant with the power of an axe. It’s historically a mighty work and war tool and deserves a lot of respect because you can create lasting scars on your body even when it is really dull. Probably, your first days swinging an axe are your safest because you are a little frightened of it and haven’t developed, as yet, that carefree, disdain for its deadly powers.

 

The formula for heading back to the baseline was that I ran up a hundred feet cutting and blazing to upgrade our initial pass. Gordy would catch up to me… then I would run up ahead until he got up to me again. I was hacking and trotting, hacking and trotting cause Gordy was pretty fast at limbing, dismembering and disembowelling anything that offended him. As he got closer to me I could hear his axe going…Whack! Whack! I was getting…chip, chip, out of mine. Soon Gordy was breathing fire down my neck and off I ran.

 

Back at the base line we had a quick smoke before we headed off in the next direction.

 

Believe me it was the same theme. I’m trying to keep up to that ever elusive chain, blazing, tying flagging, making pickets, jousting with the bush, and trying to keep the pain level low. Somehow, it seemed like a long, long, punishing marathon before we finally ended up back at the base line for lunch.

 

I think we completed 3 or 4 lines. We actually met up with another duo and settled in for some chats. I pulled out my sandwich, but it didn’t look like the sandwich I had made this morning. Someone had played road hockey with it. I tried to find out how the other rookie had found the job so far. I can’t really remember what he said… but I like to think that when I looked into his eyes…I saw the same horror that he saw in mine.

 

I found out another interesting aspect about the job when Gordy’s first question to the other compass man was. “How many feet have you done?” He said something like 3000 feet and Gordy said…jokingly… but not really…if you know what I mean…”Is that all! We have done 4,500 feet so far.”

 

In spite of my fatigue I really perked up at that. You mean the other rookie had not been dragged through as much bush as I had! That Gordy is much more, fleet of foot than the other compass man! That the other rookie perhaps didn’t have to run! That the other compass man might have been a compassionate sort! That… in the big axe throwing contest in the sky… I won a trip with an apparent over achiever and, perhaps someone, doing his best to atone for a rolled, pickup truck!

 

That underneath all of this shared pain, comrades-in-axes fellowship, I was involved in a very deadly, serious competition based on, “footage!!!” A competition… I was quickly finding out…that so far surpassed the rigours of a decathlon or the labours of Heracles.

 

The “footage” competition was totally unfair! It was not played on flat ground or placid waters! It was not a level playing field! The game’s grounds were determined by massive geological forces that had bent and twisted this playing field into infinite arrays of extraordinarily, confounding patterns of contour lines that made every foot earned a conquest of appalling magnitude! Add the vegetative aspect and you are now facing a natural force so omnipotent that it demands unconditionally not only, your clothing and new boots, but, as well, your body and your soul!

 

Man! That was a short lunch! Before I could shake the kinks out that had settled within my body…I was again up and running. Was it me or had the pace picked up? Or was I experiencing that famous last blast? Had I broken through that barrier and was gliding on pure energy? In hind sight, I think, my body sensory capabilities had just shut down… no doubt due to excessive jolts of pain. Survival instinct turned up really high. I was literally running on auto pilot. Blaze, flag, chain! Cut, cut, cut! Blaze, flag, chain! Cut, cut, cut!

 

We finished the last line around 5:00, I believe. I can tell you now what it feels like getting a reprieve from the hang man after spending most of your life in jail and being finally set free. Forget about fornication because this feeling is so much deeper. It’s that feeling where you just might pause one day in front of your local Salvation Army band-choir and hum along a bit…tapping your foot ,build a few roadside shrines, or, perhaps, become better acquainted with Psalm 23 and contemplate all the good deeds you could do for your fellow man. For lack of a better word…it is a very “holy” feeling.

 

Time wise, on any other job, it was a reasonable day. But in that day I had blown out about as much energy that I would normally use in a year and now all we had to do was get off this fucking hill and Bob’s your uncle.

 

Walking down that hill proved worse than walking up. Stabbing pains ran up and down my legs as I tried to brake myself going downward. My legs were all rubbery with nil shock absorber effect. I did my best to stifle the moans. If other people weren’t around I would have probably cried, wailing at my fate and rolled down or slid down on my ass just to see the end of that hill.

 

At the bottom was that swamp. This time I didn’t give a shit! I plunged in like an eager beaver. I could see that road off in the distance and Bruce’s car waiting to pick us up and I focused directly on that spot and who knows I may have even walk on top of that water. Bruce’s car…Bruce himself… what a beautiful sight! A really, really, truly, heavenly vision! I thought I saw halos over that car and you don’t get that too often.

  

We again crammed into his car and the game of footage was a hot topic. I wasn’t really listening. I was fascinated by the strange seizures that my body was going through. I couldn’t feel certain things. I had trouble unfurling my pitch-sticky hands. They looked like claws. When I tried to straighten them they would spring back into claws. My feet seem to be missing. In all that dampness they had floated off somewhere.

 

So it made it quite fun when we arrived back at the lodge to discover that sitting up and getting out of Bruce’s car was quite a physical event for me. Muscles and joints were seizing up fast and it was easiest to crawl out on my hands and knees, pretending I was looking for something. Slowly, carefully, standing up…while still acting the jocular…mind… was excruciatingly painful.

 

I walked like Frankenstein into the lodge hoping that the more intense footage conversations were so involving that no one would notice that I had become a physical oddity. I heard Ab ask Gordy how much footage he had got and when he off handily said,” 9000.” Ab, really didn’t say anything… but you sensed that Gordy had made a small but substantial down payment on that rolled, pickup truck.

 

I was so happy to be out of that bushy horror that the lodge reek that had scared the shit out of my nose in the morning had taken on a more subtle tang and was actually quite comforting. I really stank myself and could hardly wait to don some fresh clothing and dry socks. My new boots had been reduced to boots that had walked around the world a 100 times and I felt I would be lucky if they could hold together for another two days.

 

No need to tell what a job it was to get undressed and dressed again. Finally, getting those wet socks off and having a look at my feet really scared me. They were all soft, red and wrinkly, rather outer worldly, as if they belonged to some other alien life form. They seem to have aged tremendously, all in one fell swoop a swamp.

 

All my clothing was now hanging just like everybody else’s and I felt big time bagged and definitely not firing on all cylinders. Post traumatic stress, the 1000 yard stare, battle fatigue all wars rolled into one.

 

Some lads were making supper. Can’t remember what it was but do remember helping out with the dishes in some sort of daze… then walking over to my bed… laying on it… then it was morning again! Truly a sleep of such deepness that when my eyes flashed open for a couple of minutes I really didn’t know where I was. When I did realize where I was... a very dark, depressing cloud of horror settled in. I was still in hell.

 

A loud tapping was coming from the roof area and after some thought I realized it was really raining outside. I tried to move and realized I couldn’t! Yes…I could move… but every atom of my body was in extreme pain. Wrinkle your toes and spasms of pain rolled upward. Wink, and die the death of a thousand cuts. My body said don’t move! It said it very loud and clear! Totally immobile… and realizing this, I began to feel a growing sense of panic creeping through every suffering, molecule of my body.

 

I couldn’t imagine how I was supposed to cross swamps, ascend mountains, swing that axe, tie that flagging while running after that chain in my present condition. I might as well have been in an iron lung.

 

People were starting to roll out of their beds, someone making coffee, belching and farting away while I am trying to deal with my rather serious, anxiety attack. I believe I began to think of desperately, viable excuses to explain my present inability to rise and shine. Take my axe to myself! “Oh! Look guys what my axe did to me!” Jesus! I couldn’t think of one way that wouldn’t have had me melting into a deep pool of shame. What could I say to my mother? Again, pride does have its kill side.

 

I tried ever so slowly to ease myself into something that looked like a sitting position and to this day I can remember the agony. I can’t remember how many minutes it took. During this slow motion process…I tried to muffle many a long drawn out moan… which I foolishly tried to disguise as a long drawn out smoker’s, cough attack.

 

Lifting my arms to put on that T shirt. Sanding to pull my pants up, are what legends are made of. The ultimate pinnacle of dealing with this pain was putting on my still damp boots. They seemed to have shrunk. That was the total Spanish inquisition all in one go. Jesus on the cross stuff.

 

But now breakfast was ready and grand smells of bacon and coffee had me ever so slowly inching my way over to that table and ever so slowly easing myself into a chair. My hands curiously, were still doing claw-like things and made... picking the fork and knife up and dealing with my coffee cup… a little challenging. Even crunching on bacon and toast was causing pain, but, at least, with eggs, a less painful option, if you carefully let them slide down on their own.

 

With breakfast over, I gingerly helped out with the dishes. The rain continued to tap dramatically on the roof and I could see out the window that the rain was really coming down. Big puddles were turning into ever growing mini Amazons. I really tried not to think about the possible transformations that were taking place out in the bush. I felt and sensed that more evil things could even be multiplying out there.

 

An ominous fear of getting close to that bush was now added to all my other fears. With my body….the all over…really, stiff-painful body that I now inhabited… it was sure going to make it more than difficult to put on a chipper face and fake the cheerful…this is, “ really a lark lads, ” thing.

 

Over on the cleaned off dinner table a major conference was taking place. Ab, Frosty, Gordy, Jack, Bill, and others were peering down at a map and discussing strategy. I didn’t really hear what it was they were talking about but I did hear this, and this is the point in your life where you learn that miracles are not only confined to biblical scripture. That, just perhaps, there are really angels perched on your shoulders lending, in times of extreme duress, a much needed hand and flap of wing.

 

Ab raised his head and the golden chords of his voice filled every nook and cranny of that lodge. Ab said…”Hey you guys were going to knock off work for few days and let this rain clear up.” For a sec you couldn’t hear a pin drop. Nobody said much…. but if overwhelming relief was measured in water we would have flooded the total landmass of British Columbia.

 

In a pain free world…I would have fell on my knees …first thanking every God and Goddess out there… and then leapt up off of my knees… hopped, skipped and jumped into Ab’s arms and kissed him all over. My cup was truly running over with pure, blessed thankfulness.

 

Unable to express my true physical feelings in my current state …I remained frozen at the wash sink...gazing out the window as the river built upon the mini Amazons. So relieved as ecstatic waves of love sponged away my fears. Oh! Blessed rain! Giver of life! I wasn’t going to die out there today.

 

Getting back to Kamloops was made really easy because Bruce was heading there himself and offered to take me and a few other lads as well. I think the other two rookies who were hitching to Vancouver were also in the car and were placed back on the road outside of Ashcroft.

 

I just knew that after we headed off, that they both got down on that pavement, and kissed it many, many times. Never in the annals of history has a road ever looked so good in the pissing rain.

 

When I got home the first thing I did was take a very hot shower and took my trashed body off to bed. I actually slept that day and night away and knew in my heart of hearts… even then… that I would never-ever forget what I had experienced on that first day for Amex. It added a whole, unforgettable dimension to the world of surveying and a lasting blaze on my heart.