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Always difficult to discern a Cooper's from a sharpshin, but this one appears to have a large head. I always like seeing the tail, but didn't get that view. This little accipter caught a hapless dove down the road a short distance.
Our beautiful world, pass it on.
The Buses of Scotland - The Scottish Bus Group
Kelvin Central Buses
In March 1989, Central Scottish's legal name was changed in preparation for its July 1989 merger with Kelvin Scottish to Kelvin Central Buses (KCB) in preparation for privatisation. KCB had a difficult beginning with ongoing industrial action by staff at the former Central Scottish element of the company over new terms and conditions. The staff at Kelvin Scottish had already agreed these revised terms and so the merger was delayed until after the strike was resolved. By that time, a number of new independent operators had stepped in to take on the services not running due to strike action. Whereas Kelvin had, after earlier difficulties, evolved into one of the more successful of the new Scottish Bus Group subsidiaries, Central was financially weakened due to the industrial action, suffered from heavy competition and burdened with a large debt. Although the new company headquarters moved to the former Central Scottish headquarters at Traction House, Motherwell, it was the former Kelvin Scottish’s management team that was firmly in charge. The new management took drastic action to stem the losses which included shutting Wishaw and East Kilbride depots. East Kilbride at one stage had been Central’s most profitable garage but the company was suffering increased competition there from Strathclyde’s Buses. As part of these cuts it withdrew Central Scottish’s Harrier minibus run in parts of Glasgow such as Castlemilk and Rutherglen and most of its ‘Little Chief’ minibus routes, centred around Hamilton and East Kilbride. All these were run from East Kilbride and only gave it two depots in Lanarkshire proper, namely in Airdrie and Motherwell. It had other depots at Old Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, Stepps on the outskirts of Glasgow, Cumbernauld, Kirkintilloch and the aforementioned ones at Motherwell and Airdrie.
It then tried to service East Kilbride remotely by linking up services to reduce costs. This led to some curious and unusual services such as Cumbernauld - East Kilbride via Glasgow city centre before KCB admitted defeat and withdrew from the Glasgow - East Kilbride corridor. KCB did retain sone services into East Kilbride run from other parts of Lanarkshire.
KCB was the largest operator in Dumbartonshire and Lanarkshire operating services in the towns of Airdrie, Cumbernauld, Dumbarton, Hamilton and Kirkintilloch, Motherwell and also ran several services within Glasgow. As part of cost savings, in 1990, KCB ceased to operate Scottish Citylink services with the profit margin deemed insufficient. As part of the sell off of the Scottish Bus Group, only one bid was lodged, a management/employee buyout with the sale effective from 18 February 1991. Apparently Stagecoach was interested as a way into Glasgow proper but after seeing the books it declined. The company was sold to an off the shelf company called Choiceframe Limited set up by the management/employees. That company was then renamed Kelvin Central Buses. Rumour has it, the employees/management paid just £1 for the business but did assume responsibility for the debts.
One factor of the company was the wide variety of liveries used. When the company was formed it inherited buses in Central Scottish’s original dark red/cream plus the buses in the more vibrant red/cream of Lanarkshire Bus, Green/cream of EK Chieftain and the blue/violet Monklands Bus identities Central had introduced towards the end of its existence, desperately trying to cling to past glories like a drowning man would cling to a life raft. It also had buses in the various versions of the two tone blue and yellow liveries of Kelvin Scottish. Clearly something had to be done to standardise the fleet and initially the thought seems to have been to standardise on the simplified Kelvin Scottish livery. This saw many buses gain a yellow front irrespective of what livery they carried. However, this gave the fleet a very untidy look, with the yellow fronts plastered on whatever livery the bus was in.
At that time, an experiment was undertaken with Leyland Leopard/Alexander Y-type 1548 which saw it painted into a new livery similar to the Kelvin Scottish simplified livery but with the pale blue substituted for Lanarkshire Bus red. Large Kelvin Central fleetnames in cream completed the effect. This at least accommodated the yellow front into the overall livery itself. Sadly, this livery wasn’t pursued but with large number of buses In Lanarkshire Bus red/cream, a decision was taken to standardise in this but with Kelvin Central Buses fleetnames in gold capital letters. Many of these buses already in Lanarkshire Bus livery then had the yellow fronts repainted back....ho hum hoots.
KCB then began to regain many of ground it had lost in the disastrous strikes under Central Scottish. Many of the smaller independent operators that competed heavily with Kelvin Central were successfully purchased, paving the way for Kelvin Central to become the dominant operator once again in much of Lanarkshire but also giving it a rather mixed and sometimes rather elderly fleet. However as a result of bad flooding that saw its Kirkintilloch Depot end up under water at one stage, that particular depot was closed and its services moved to between Cumbernauld and Stepps,
One of the more surprising purchases made by KCB was the former Stagecoach Magicbus operations in 1992. At the time, it was rumoured that Stagecoach had sold the Magicbus operations to remove any potential competition concerns over a proposed bid for Strathclyde’s Buses. However, Strathclyde’s Buses ultimately was sold to a management/employee bid. One result of that was that an agreement was reached that saw KCB withdraw from a significant number of routes in Glasgow in return for Strathclyde withdrawing from services in parts of Lanarkshire. This further consolidated both companies within each of their respective areas.
However with less competition, losses began to reduce and the company became increasingly profitable. This in turn led to its first batch of new buses, Alexander Strider Bodied Volvo B10Bs. These were followed by some Alexander Royale bodied Volvo Olympians and Alexander Dash bodied Volvo B6s. However this increasing profitability made the company attractive to the new bus groups forming at that time. Stagecoach was rumoured to be interested (again) in KCB as a way back into Glasgow but in the end, the company was acquired by SB Holdings, parent company of Strathclyde’s Buses. Consolidation followed and Airdrie and Stepps depots closed, leaving the company with depots at Cumbernauld, Old Kirkpatrick and Motherwell.
Other aspects of the increasing closeness of the fleets saw interchangeable ticketing being introduced between KCB, Strathclyde’s Buses and GCT fleets and a common coach fleet, called United, replaced KCB’s coach business which traded under the Kelvin Central Charter name and Strathclyde’s Buses coach fleet. A common fleet numbering system - based on Strathclyde’s Buses alpha-numeric codes - was introduced. On top of this, bus types were rationalised, with surplus Strathclyde Atlanteans, Olympians and MCW Metroriders replacing KCB Dominators, Fleetlines, early Ailsas and KCB’s rather eclectic minibus fleet, most of which were acquired from its purchase of the independent operators mentioned previously. This produced further cost savings.
At that time, Stagecoach Western Scottish were poised to launch a network of Glasgow city services under the Stagecoach Glasgow banner, competing directly with Strathclyde Buses and Kelvin Central. Weeks before these new services were due to commence, Stagecoach acquired a 20% stake in SB Holdings and a bus war was averted. However, ultimately the Monopolies & Mergers Commission found the Stagecoach stake in the combined company to be against the public interest and ordered Stagecoach to divest its 20% share in the firm early in 1995. One factor whilst Stagecoach had a stake was a sort of Stagecoach element in purchases. As part of the deal to acquire the 20% stake, SB Holdings agreed to buy 20 Alexander PS-type Volvo’s that Stagecoach was poised to use on its Glasgow services. Obviously impressed, KCB went on to buy over a 100-examples of the type, such as SV494 (N94OGG). A new trading name of KCB Network was introduced, but the headquarters were moved to Strathclyde’s Buses Larkfiekd Depot.
The ownership issue was not to be resolved until June 1996, when FirstBus purchased SB Holdings, including Stagecoach's 20% shareholding. Stagecoach walked away having made an impressive profit on its stake.
A new and rather dreary all-over red livery was adopted for the combined company, and the KCB Network trading name was replaced with just Kelvin, and later First Kelvin. In 1998, Kelvin Central Buses was renamed as First Glasgow (No.2) Limited although the company was later merged into a enlarged First Glasgow licence.
Very little now remains of Kelvin Central. Old Kilpatrick Depot was closed first and its operations moved to an separate KCB operation within Strathclyde’s Buses Knightswood Depot. Even that Depot is gone now, moved to the new Scotstoun Depot of First Glasgow, but the Old Kilpatrick depot buildings are still intact, albeit no longer a bus garage. Motherwell Depot, the old Traction House, was closed when First Glasgow’s new Blantyre depot opened. Traction House is now a housing estate. The last active former KCB Depot was Cumbernauld but even that was closed under First Glasgow in 2015, although the Depot was subsequently bought by Stagecoach Western as a new home for its Glasgow fleet.
It's quite difficult to pin point every view from the boat on the map, but these mountains were somewhere between Monaco and Nice! Every now and then we spotted a train. It was nice to be on our spacious boat, even though the sea was rough and it was raining, but it's a great, scenic train ride, with many views of the sea - if you're lucky enough to find a seat!
This used to be a Total site up to about a decade ago. It's one of those difficult to photograph ones due to the road layout! I couldn't find any older images of it in a quick search but I did find that Letterston had another really old garage which survived up to about 2013 before being demolished sadly. That was situated just down the road from this one but came from another era altogether. There's one really good photo of it as it was and another that has been photoshopped to restore the garage but also worth seeing. It was on the junction of the A40 and the B 4331. You can see those other images below and a third one here on Geograph when it was very close to going, December 2008.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_garage_at_road_juncti...
Here's the streetview for this Gulf garage when it was a Total
www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.9251745,-4.988188,3a,75y,200.75...
Difficult to get the right image with the lighting here. I wanted som light on the girl without blowing the bright end of the tunnel.
A couple years since my last attempt and I am reminded how small this is and difficult to get any detail, but a somewhat better attempt than last time.
LHO, color mapped HOO
Equipment
Imaging Telescopes Or Lenses
Celestron EdgeHD 8" · Meade Starfinder 8 f/6 Newtonian OTA
Imaging Cameras
QHYCCD QHY163M · ZWO ASI1600MM
Mounts
Losmandy GM8 / GM8G · Vixen GPDX
Filters
Astronomik H-alpha CCD 12nm 2" · Baader Neodymium Moon & Skyglow 2" · SVBony OIII 7nm 2"
Accessories
Baader 2" MPCC Mark III Newton Coma Corrector (2458400A) · Celestron 0.7X Reducer EdgeHD800 (94242) · OnStep Telescope Mount Goto Controller
Software
Adobe Photoshop · Aries Productions Astro Pixel Processor (APP) · Open PHD Guiding Project PHD2 · Stefan Berg Nighttime Imaging 'N' Astronomy (N.I.N.A. / NINA)
Acquisition details
Dates:
Aug. 8, 2022 · Aug. 9, 2022
Frames:
Astronomik H-alpha CCD 12nm 2": 140×120″(4h 40′) bin 2×2
Baader Neodymium Moon & Skyglow 2": 141×120″(4h 42′) bin 2×2
Baader Neodymium Moon & Skyglow 2": 163×120″(5h 26′) -10°C bin 2×2
SVBony OIII 7nm 2": 69×120″(2h 18′) bin 2×2
Integration:
17h 6′
Darks:
100
Bias:
100
Avg. Moon age:
11.24 days
Avg. Moon phase:
86.30%
Basic astrometry details
Astrometry.net job: 6881484
RA center: 01h42m47s.8
DEC center: +51°34′40″
Pixel scale: 0.641 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: 94.769 degrees
Field radius: 0.396 degrees
Find images in the same area
Resolution: 2636x3584
File size: 8.6 MB
Data source: Backyard
This was a difficult one due to the harsh red lighting that took over the whole image. Converting to Black and White, upping the contrast and reducing the clarity, whilst playing with the red/orange saturation sliders achieved this rather nice monochrome image which hopefully maintains the drama of the moment?
It's difficult to appreciate the size of the Confederate Memorial Carving from a photograph. The three men on horseback look almost small against the massive side of Stone Mountain. To give some perspective, two school busses could be parked on the back end of Robert E. Lee's horse. This magnificent memorial consists of three acres of chiseled granite making it the largest high relief sculpture in the world. For shear size it even surpasses the better known and more "politically correct" four heads on South Dakota's Mt. Rushmore.
In front is Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865. The central and most prominent figure is that of General Robert E. Lee, and behind him is his right hand man, General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.
The carving, first envisioned in 1912, was not begun until 1923 and was finally completed in 1972. Three sculptors worked on the creation, the first being Gutzon Borglum, who later carved the Mt. Rushmore Memorial in South Dakota. Augustus Lukeman, the second sculptor, did the bulk of the work of carving the three central figures of the Confederacy on horseback. Lack of funding and other problems caused work of the sculpture to remain idle for 36 years. Then in 1958 the state of Georgia purchased the mountain and the surrounding land. Walker Kirkland Hancock of Gloucester, Massachusetts was chosen to complete the carving and work resumed in 1964. A new technique utilizing thermo-jet torches was used to carve away the granite. Chief carver Roy Faulkner did much of the fine carving, completing the work of art with the detail of a fine painting.
Dedication ceremonies for the Confederate Memorial Carving were held on May 9, 1970. Finishing touches to the masterpiece were completed in 1972.
THE THREE CONFEDERATE LEADERS depicted on Stone Mountain were all noble men who were champions of liberty for all people.
GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE was strongly opposed to slavery and when he inherited slaves through his wife's family he set them free. This was at a time when Union General Ulysses S. Grant was a slaveholder who refused to give up his slaves, continuing to work them throughout the War Between the States and even after the war was ended.
GENERAL STONEWALL JACKSON was a civil rights activist who organized black Sunday Schools through his integrated Presbyterian church in Lexington, Virginia, where African Americans were taught to read and write in preparation for their emancipation -and this was many years before the War Between the States. The black citizens of Lexington, Virginia, later raised money to erect a statue in his honor.
PRESIDENT JEFFERSON DAVIS had an adapted free black son who lived with him in the Confederate White House in Richmond, Virginia, as a member of his family.
Stone Mountain is the most popular State Park in Georgia, on the outskirts of Atlanta - a Southern city which is a model of racial harmony for the entire nation. I've been to Stone Mountain dozens of times over the years and on every visit I have seen people from every race and ethnticity peacefully enjoying themselves in this beautiful and historic setting.
Check out my CONFEDERATE DIGEST blog: www.ConfederateDigest.blogspot.com
This is the one that Paul Bibby bought and the one i was mostly interested in too.
Unfortunately it was parked close up to other trucks and i could not get any good pics of it etc...Paul did not take either any on his visit and purchase.
Well, this one was a difficult start. Wanted to try the WA2000 receiver, but initially the weapon really wasn't looking very Star Wars. I liked it enough to not give up, even if I changed the setting. However, on the final detail pass I felt like it started to fit back into a potential Star Wars design.
Though it would be later revealed to have been a misdirection plot, near the end of the civil war between the Republic and Separatists there was a proposed "Alien Soldier Initiative" to create an auxiliary trooper legion consisting not of clones, but of forces from the outer rim planets which did not align with Separatists.
The rationale was that, even though the number of clone troops deployed by the Republic were staggering, losses in conflict (as neither side, with clones and droids, fought with tactics that preserved units) combined with a need to keep the macro-strategy of the war in mind, meant that clone armies were not always fast to react to threats on pro-Republic outer rim planets. The auxiliary legion created by the ASI would be dedicated to responding to such threats, made up from the militias, security forces, and private armies of outer rim planets. They would be equipped with modified variants of clone armor and weaponry, adapted to make use of the unique skills, abilities, and biological features of alien species. A test unit was created with two squads: one of Twi'lek soldiers in modified clone armor and standard armaments, and one of Wookie warriors in a repainted version of their traditional armor and armed with AHI BR500 blaster rifles. The performance of these squads was to be used as the basis for a senate vote on sanctioning the ASI law. However, when the clone armies turned against the Wookies after Order 66 removed the Jedi, the ASI was revealed to have been an elaborate misdirection to conceal what would become a strong anti-alien stigma when the Republic transformed into the Empire. The AHI BR500 would be filed as an unfinished prototype by Arch Heavy Industries, though the models produced for Republic military trials and for arming the Wookie squad were never recovered from the field.
Which Religion is the ONLY true one?
Because there are so many different religions all with conflicting beliefs, many people find it confusing and difficult to decide which one they should follow.
Would a God really want to make it difficult for us to find the truth? Surely the truth has to be available for all humankind - - - for the simple and humble, as well as the clever, the intellectual and the theologian? So, it makes perfect sense to conclude that it must be possible to discern the truth through simple logic.
Firstly, it is easy to see that God has made his existence clear, through reason and logic to those who are open-minded and genuinely desire to seek the truth. [The evidence for the existence of a single creator God, is overwhelming. i.e. an intelligent, single, first cause, itself uncaused, and not subject to the laws of nature (Supernatural), can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of any truly, open-minded person through simple logic and science… for example, the laws of: Cause and Effect, Biogenesis, Thermodynamics, Information Theory and Intelligent Design... all point to a creator.]
Thus monotheism - - belief in one supernatural, eternal, creator God is easy to deduce by those who are open-minded and really wish to seek the truth.
See: (Atheism revealed as false - why God MUST exist:
www.flickr.com/photos/truth-in-science/24321857975
AND
The real theory of everything...
www.flickr.com/photos/truth-in-science/34295660211
Once we have used reason and logic to establish that the Creator God can only be: one, supernatural and eternal, we know that all non-monotheistic religions are automatically ruled out as intrinsically untrue.
Of course, polytheistic or pagan religions may have some teachings which appear good, but it is obvious that they are all based on a false premise.
The true religion has to profess belief in only one, supernatural God and Creator.
We are left with only three major world religions that are strictly monotheistic.
They are: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
So the true religion has to be one of these three.
It is a fact that these three religions have many important doctrines which conflict with each other, for example; Christians and Jews believe in monogamous marriage, while Muslims believe in polygamy.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, while Judaism rejects Jesus and teaches that the messiah is still to come.
Likewise, although Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet and a messiah, they reject many of His teachings, including His teachings on marriage, divorce, Heaven, drinking wine, love of enemies etc. and, even more importantly, His Divinity and His Crucifixion.
Muslims believe that Muhammad was an authentic prophet while both Jews and Christians would refute that.
God is truth, so as these three religions disagree fundamentally with each other - - - - it is obvious that it is possible for only one of them to be completely true in all its doctrines. So how can we decide conclusively which of these three religions is the only true one?
By asking the following question - - - we know that the Creator of the universe (the first cause of everything) must be infinite (unlimited). So everything about God must be perfect, his love is perfect and without limit (all love existing in the world originated from God), so too is his justice (his justice cannot be cheated).
Therefore if God is infinitely and perfectly just, and we have all offended his infinite majesty by sin, how can anyone hope to be saved?
Only because God is also infinitely merciful and loving.
But here we have an apparent contradiction, perfect justice demands that the full price is paid for every sin, whereas perfect mercy and love demand extreme leniency. - - -
HERE IS THE QUESTION: - - -
How can God overcome the apparent contradiction between His perfect justice and perfect mercy?
To clarify ... How can God (who cannot deceive, nor be deceived) satisfy his infinite justice, which demands a price equal to the *offence, yet at the same time enable us to be saved through his infinite, unfathomable, mercy and love?
*[the seriousness of an offence can be judged to be commensurate with the status of the person offended against. In the army, if a private were to insult a fellow private it would not be considered very serious, but if a private were to insult or disobey an officer this would be much more serious and the seriousness would increase the higher the rank of the officer. A sin against a perfect and infinite God (our Creator) is of the ultimate seriousness. Therefore perfect justice demands infinite reparation for an offence against God].
Christianity is absolutely unique. It is the only religion that has a satisfactory answer to this question. And this question is crucial to salvation. Put the same question to the followers of any other religion and they will be unable to give you a credible answer.
THE AMAZING ANSWER - - - Jesus Christ said “I am the way the truth and the life” and “no one can come to the Father except through Me.” Jesus backed up His claim by suffering an agonising death on the Cross for the salvation of all humanity.
Why?
Atonement.
Animal sacrifice, as practiced in the Old Testament, was an imperfect, forerunner to the prophesied, perfect sacrifice.
Only God, Himself, in His infinite mercy, was able to provide an acceptable ‘scapegoat’ to fully satisfy perfect, divine justice. A pure sacrifice, both fully human and fully divine.
Jesus, although completely innocent of all sin Himself, suffered for the sins of all humankind.
He was crucified, as an atoning sacrifice, for the redemption of His enemies, as well as His friends. We are all sinners and have all offended the infinite goodness of god. No one deserves heaven entirely on their own merit.
Everyone is defiled by sin, and nothing defiled can ever enter heaven. An offence against the infinite goodness of an infinitely loving, but also an infinitely, just God, can only be redeemed by an infinitely, good sacrifice. So only a Divine sacrifice can satisfy the demands of infinite, Divine justice. only the sacrifice of the true, spiritual Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, incarnated as man (as prophesied in the Old Testament) is sufficient to save us all from the consequences of sin, to open the gates of heaven and restore eternal life to the whole human race.
This was even foreshadowed in the Old Testament (Book of Genesis), when God asked Abraham (as a test of his obedience) to sacrifice his only son Isaac on a pile of wood at Mount Moria. This Mount Moria is believed by some to be in the same place as Golgotha, the site of the sacrifice of God’s only Son on the wood of the Cross. God prevented Abraham from carrying out the sacrifice of his son , at the last minute, But, because of his steadfast obedience, Abraham became the symbolic, earthly father of all who follow God.
Because of the Incarnation and sacrifice of the Son of God, Jesus, God became the spiritual Father of all who follow Him.
The Cross of Jesus now represents the new tree of life, because it has restored the possibility of eternal life to the whole human race. Access to the original tree of life was removed from Adam and Eve and the rest of the human race because of original sin. The Cross of Jesus is a restoration of the tree of life. It promises eternal life to those who accept its saving message. The new fruit is the bread and wine of the holy Eucharist.
Only those whose garments have been ‘washed white by the Blood of the Lamb’ are fit to enter heaven. The debt of our sin has been paid by Jesus - and His saving sacrifice is offered as an unsurpassed, loving and free gift to us all. We simply have to gratefully acknowledge and accept that gift in a spirit of humility and repentance.
By His supreme sacrifice, Jesus atoned for every sin ever committed, and thereby opened the gates of Heaven to the whole human race. Without His unique sacrifice, no one of any religion could ever enter Heaven. It matters not whether you are the most devout Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Buddhist or follower of any other faith, ultimately you will rely not on any of the rituals or customs of these various religions, but on the sacrifice of Jesus to enter heaven. All who enter heaven do so only with a passport provided by the merits of Jesus’ sacrifice. Without His sacrifice on the Cross you would never get there, whatever your religion. All other sacrifices or religious offerings, rituals etc. are as dirty rags before the Divine majesty of Almighty God, they cannot pay the price for sin that God's perfect justice demands.
This is the unavoidable truth, whether you like it or not.
Of course, we should all have free choice to follow any religion we choose, but once we know that it is only the sacrifice of Jesus that can make us fit to enter heaven and eternal life, we will surely wish to love and follow Him. It would be foolishness indeed for us to choose to follow any religion which refuses to acknowledge this, but would rather pretend that we can redeem ourselves by following its manmade doctrines and rituals.
Death entered the world through the sin of disobedience of one woman and one man (Adam and Eve), but sin was pardoned and eternal life restored through the obedience of one woman (Mary) and the death of one man (Jesus).
The ancient Hebrews used the blood sacrifice of an animal as a symbolic scapegoat to bear the punishment for their sins. The old animal sacrifices of atonement ended with the destruction of the temple. Animal sacrifice was simply a precursor to the only acceptable sacrifice of the true Messiah, Jesus. They were intended to show the necessity of atonement, repentance alone is not sufficient. Atonement for sin is essential. There is no atonement for sin in present day Judaism or in Islam.
Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, (true man and true God) became the real scapegoat who bore the punishment (by His Crucifixion) for the sins of the whole world. His death on the Cross was a perfect, holy, once and for all sacrifice, sufficient to atone for every sin ever committed. It is re-enacted in remembrance, with bread and wine, every day, by Christian priests all over the world. It is known as the Holy Eucharist which is part of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. God is reminded at every Mass that Christians trust in the perfect atonement made by Jesus.
Only God Himself could pay the enormous price that God's perfect justice demands for sin, but as it is man who is responsible for sin, in true justice, it is man who should pay the price. Therefore only someone who is both God and man (God made man) would be able to pay the price for sin. So the only possibility of salvation for humankind had to be provided by God Himself, and that is exactly what He did. That is why Jesus has to be God incarnated as man. Those who deny that Jesus is God, or deny the Crucifixion of Jesus, have fallen for the lies of Satan, his false prophets and false religions and, sadly, they deny the only possibility of salvation.
Abraham (the representative, earthly father of all followers of God) showed he was willing, when asked by God, to sacrifice his only son Isaac to God, as reparation for sin (it didn’t happen, because God stopped it at the last moment). And God, our heavenly Father, (who cannot be outdone in love or generosity) offered His only Son (Jesus) as a sacrifice for our sin.
Prophesies from the Old Testament.
Isaiah 53 New International Version (NIV)
1. Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2. He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3. He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4. Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5. But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7. He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8. By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9. He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11. After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53 New International Version (NIV)
___________________________________________
Psalm 22 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah
22 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
5 They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
6 But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 “He trusted[b] in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
11 Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
13 They gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced[c] My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog.
21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered Me.
22 I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.[d]
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.
Psalm 22 New King James Version (NKJV)
____________________________________________
Babylonian Talmud: "The Messiah --what is his name?...The Rabbis say, The Leper Scholar, as it is said, `surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted...'" (Sanhedrin 98b)
Midrash Ruth Rabbah: "Another explanation (of Ruth ii.14): -- He is speaking of king Messiah; `Come hither,' draw near to the throne; `and eat of the bread,' that is, the bread of the kingdom; `and dip thy morsel in the vinegar,' this refers to his chastisements, as it is said, `But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities'"
Targum Jonathan: "Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper; he shall be high and increase and be exceedingly strong..."
Zohar: "`He was wounded for our transgressions,' etc....There is in the Garden of Eden a palace called the Palace of the Sons of Sickness; this palace the Messiah then enters, and summons every sickness, every pain, and every chastisement of Israel; they all come and rest upon him. And were it not that he had thus lightened them off Israel and taken them upon himself, there had been no man able to bear Israel's chastisements for the transgression of the law: and this is that which is written, `Surely our sicknesses he hath carried.'"
Rabbi Moses Maimonides: "What is the manner of Messiah's advent....there shall rise up one of whom none have known before, and signs and wonders which they shall see performed by him will be the proofs of his true origin; for the Almighty, where he declares to us his mind upon this matter, says, `Behold a man whose name is the Branch, and he shall branch forth out of his place' (Zech. 6:12). And Isaiah speaks similarly of the time when he shall appear, without father or mother or family being known, He came up as a sucker before him, and as a root out of dry earth, etc....in the words of Isaiah, when describing the manner in which kings will harken to him, At him kings will shut their mouth; for that which had not been told them have they seen, and that which they had not heard they have perceived." (From the Letter to the South (Yemen), quoted in The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters, Ktav Publishing House, 1969, Volume 2, pages 374-5)
Rabbi Mosheh Kohen Ibn Crispin: This rabbi described those who interpret Isaiah 53 as referring to Israel as those: "having forsaken the knowledge of our Teachers, and inclined after the `stubbornness of their own hearts,' and of their own opinion, I am pleased to interpret it, in accordance with the teaching of our Rabbis, of the King Messiah....This prophecy was delivered by Isaiah at the divine command for the purpose of making known to us something about the nature of the future Messiah, who is to come and deliver Israel, and his life from the day when he arrives at discretion until his advent as a redeemer, in order that if anyone should arise claiming to be himself the Messiah, we may reflect, and look to see whether we can observe in him any resemblance to the traits described here; if there is any such resemblance, then we may believe that he is the Messiah our righteousness; but if not, we cannot do so." (From his commentary on Isaiah, quoted in The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters, Ktav Publishing House, 1969, Volume 2, pages 99-114.)
Why the Isaiah 53 prophesy cannot refer to Israel.
Why Isaiah 53 cannot refer to the nation of Israel, or anyone else, but must be the Messiah
1. The servant of Isaiah 53 is an innocent and guiltless sufferer. Israel is never described as sinless. Isaiah 1:4 says of the nation: "Alas sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity. A brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters!" He then goes on in the same chapter to characterize Judah as Sodom, Jerusalem as a harlot, and the people as those whose hands are stained with blood (verses 10, 15, and 21). What a far cry from the innocent and guiltless sufferer of Isaiah 53 who had "done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth!"
2. The prophet said: "It pleased the LORD to bruise him." Has the awful treatment of the Jewish people (so contrary, by the way, to the teaching of Jesus to love everyone) really been God's pleasure, as is said of the suffering of the servant in Isaiah 53:10 ? If, as some rabbis contend, Isaiah 53 refers to the holocaust, can we really say of Israel's suffering during that horrible period, "It pleased the LORD to bruise him?" Yet it makes perfect sense to say that God was pleased to have Messiah suffer and die as our sin offering to provide us forgiveness and atonement.
3. The person mentioned in this passage suffers silently and willingly. Yet all people, even Israelites, complain when they suffer! Brave Jewish men and women fought in resistance movements against Hitler. Remember the Vilna Ghetto Uprising? Remember the Jewish men who fought on the side of the allies? Can we really say Jewish suffering during the holocaust and during the preceding centuries was done silently and willingly?
4. The figure described in Isaiah 53 suffers, dies, and rises again to atone for his people's sins. The Hebrew word used in Isaiah 53:10 for "sin-offering" is "asham," which is a technical term meaning "sin-offering." See how it is used in Leviticus chapters 5 and 6. Isaiah 53 describes a sinless and perfect sacrificial lamb who takes upon himself the sins of others so that they might be forgiven. Can anyone really claim that the terrible suffering of the Jewish people, however undeserved and unjust, atones for the sins of the world? Whoever Isaiah 53 speaks of, the figure described suffers and dies in order to provide a legal payment for sin so that others can be forgiven. This cannot be true of the Jewish people as a whole, or of any other mere human.
5. It is the prophet who is speaking in this passage. He says: "who has believed our message." The term "message" usually refers to the prophetic message, as it does in Jeremiah 49:14. Also, when we understand the Hebrew parallelism of verse 1, we see "Who has believed our message" as parallel to "to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed." The "arm of the Lord" refers to God's powerful act of salvation. So the message of the speaker is the message of a prophet declaring what God has done to save his people.
6. The prophet speaking is Isaiah himself, who says the sufferer was punished for "the transgression of my people," according to verse 8. Who are the people of Isaiah? Israel. So the sufferer of Isaiah 53 suffered for Israel. So how could he be Israel?
7. The figure of Isaiah 53 dies and is buried according to verses 8 and 9. The people of Israel have never died as a whole. They have been out of the land on two occasions and have returned, but they have never ceased to be among the living. Yet Jesus died, was buried, and rose again.
8. If Isaiah 53 cannot refer to Israel, how about Isaiah himself? But Isaiah said he was a sinful man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5-7). And Isaiah did not die as an atonement for our sins. Could it have been Jeremiah? Jeremiah 11:19 does echo the words of Isaiah 53. Judah rejected and despised the prophet for telling them the truth. Leaders of Judah sought to kill Jeremiah, and so the prophet describes himself in these terms. But they were not able to kill the prophet. Certainly Jeremiah did not die to atone for the sins of his people. What of Moses? Could the prophet have been speaking of him? But Moses wasn't sinless either. Moses sinned and was forbidden from entering the promised land (Numbers 20:12). Moses indeed attempted to offer himself as a sacrifice in place of the nation, but God did not allow him to do so (Exodus 32:30-35). Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah were all prophets who gave us a glimpse of what Messiah, the ultimate prophet, would be like, but none of them quite fit Isaiah 53.
So what can we conclude? Isaiah 53 cannot refer to the nation of Israel, nor to Isaiah, nor to Moses, nor another prophet. And if not to Moses, certainly not to any lesser man. Yet Messiah would be greater than Moses. As the rabbinic writing "Yalkut" said: "Who art thou, O great mountain? (Zech. iv.7) This refers to the King Messiah. And why does he call him`the great mountain?' because he is greater than the patriarchs, as it is said, `My servant shall be high, and lifted up, and lofty exceedingly' --he will be higher than Abraham...lifted up above Moses...loftier then the ministering angels..." (Quoted in The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters, Ktav Publishing House, 1969, Volume 2, page 9.)
Of whom does Isaiah speak? He speaks of the Messiah, as many ancient rabbis concluded. The second verse of Isaiah 53 makes it crystal clear. The figure grows up as "a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground." The shoot springing up is beyond reasonable doubt a reference to the Messiah, and, in fact, it is a common Messianic reference in Isaiah and elsewhere. The Davidic dynasty was to be cut down in judgement like a felled tree, but it was promised to Israel that a new sprout would shoot up from the stump. The Messiah was to be that sprout. Several Hebrew words were used to refer to this undeniably Messianic image. All the terms are related in meaning and connected in the Messianic texts where they were used. Isaiah 11, which virtually all rabbis agreed refers to the Messiah, used the words "shoot" (hoter) and branch (netser) to describe the Messianic King. Isaiah 11:10 called Messiah the "Root (shoresh) of Jesse," Jesse being David's father. Isaiah 53 described the suffering servant as a root (shoresh) from dry ground, using the very same metaphor and the very same word as Isaiah 11. We also see other terms used for the same concept, such as branch (tsemach) in Jeremiah 23:5, in Isaiah 4:2 and also in the startling prophecies of Zechariah 3:8 and 6:12.
Beyond doubt, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 refers to Messiah Jesus. He is the one highly exalted before whom kings shut their mouths. Messiah is the shoot who sprung up from the fallen Davidic dynasty. He became the King of Kings. He provided the ultimate atonement.
Isaiah 52:13 states that it would be the Messiah who will "sprinkle" many nations. What does that mean? What was Messiah's ministry to be toward the nations? The word translated "sprinkle" or sometimes "startle" is found several other places in the OT. The Hebrew word is found in Leviticus 4:6; 8:11; 14:7, and Numbers 8:7, 19:18-19. The references cited all pertain to priestly sprinklings of the blood of atonement, the anointing oil of consecration, and the ceremonial water used to cleanse the unclean. Is Isaiah 52:13 telling us that the Messiah will act as a priest who applies atonement, anoints to consecrate, sprinkles to make clean? (This vision of the Messiah as both priest and king is also found in Zechariah 6:12-13). But, priests were to come from the tribe of Levi and Kings from the tribe of Judah! What kind of priest is he? David told us Messiah would be a priest of the order of Melchizedek (see Psalm 110 and Hebrews chapters 7-9).
Isaiah 53 must be understood as referring to the coming Davidic King, the Messiah. King Messiah was prophesied to suffer and die to pay for our sins and then rise again. He would serve as a priest to the nations of the world and apply the blood of atonement to cleanse those who believe. There is one alone who this can refer to, Jesus, whom millions refer to as Christ, which is from the Greek word for Messiah. Those who confess him are his children, his promised offspring, the spoils of his victory. According to the testimony of the Jewish Apostles, Jesus died for our sins, rose again, ascended to the right hand of God, and he now serves as our great High Priest who cleanses us of sin and our King. Jesus rules over his people and is in the process of conquering the Gentiles. The first century Jewish disciples were willing to die rather than deny they had seen the risen Messiah. Only if one has presupposed Jesus cannot have been the Messiah can one deny that which is obvious. Israel's greatest son, Jesus, is the one Isaiah foresaw.
(c) 1997 Fred Klett
___________________________________________
The many paths to God lie.
‘There are many paths to God‘ has become a politically, correct catchphrase, used by the liberal establishment to imply that all religions and beliefs are equally worthy.
Of course, you don’t need a degree in common sense to work out that this is illogical.
Everybody is aware that even the major religions disagree on many important issues. Therefore, simple logic dictates that they cannot all be right. Where they all disagree on a particular belief (if any are right) it can only be ONE that is right.
It is obvious then that all those religions that are wrong in any belief cannot be equal in merit, or equal as a path to God, as the one that is wholly right. So to insist they are all equally worthy is to be unjustly biased against the one that is true.
Error should never be given equality with truth.
Therefore it is inexcusable that our society should not to make every effort to discern, and then to officially recognise the truth in this matter.
For anyone to contend that ERROR should ever be entitled to equal endorsement and support by the state as TRUTH is unjust, prejudiced, morally reprehensible and downright stupid.
Western civilisation was founded and built on the commendable notion that truth really matters and should be encouraged and supported.
For centuries, it was accepted and agreed by the most learned persons and rulers, that the beliefs of Christianity best represent spiritual truth. Whilst also providing superlative spiritual and social benefits for citizens and society. And therefore it was agreed that Christianity should be entitled to official recognition and special support by society and the state. The traditions, heritage, laws and culture of Christendom were founded on this generally, accepted precept.
It is not hard to understand why?
Christianity really is special.
Jesus Christ taught love, peace and forgiveness.
Jesus is the role model for Christians. Although they are not always completely successful, the teaching and example of Jesus Christ are what every genuine Christian aspires to. Those things are eminently conducive to the moral, spiritual and material good of society. They are the fundamentals of Christianity and a Christian society. We hear a lot today about religious fundamentalism being something bad, but in the case of Christianity the opposite has to be true. The more fundamental a Christian seeks to be, the more like (the Christian role model) Jesus they hope to become.
In a nutshell Jesus taught - love God above all and love your neighbour as yourself. and seek to advance the welfare of all, materially and spiritually - be humble, not proud or envious, be prepared to serve others, not lord it over them - love and forgive even your enemies and do not seek revenge or bear grudges.
Saint Augustine.
“Let those who say that the teachings of Christ are harmful to the State find armies with soldiers who live up to the standards of the teachings of Jesus. Let them provide governors, husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants, kings, judges, taxpayers and tax collectors who can compare to those who take Christian teachings to heart. Then let them dare to say that such teaching is contrary to the welfare of the State! Indeed, under no circumstances can they fail to realize that this teaching is the greatest safeguard of the State when faithfully observed.” (“Epis. 138 ad Marcellinum,” in Opera Omnia, vol. 2, in J.P. Migne, Patrologia Latina, col. 532.)
A major problem today is that the term 'religion' is cynically used by secularists rather than 'religions'. The effect is to lump all religions together and stereotype them as though they are a single entity. Which means if one religion is perceived in some way as not conducive to the public good, people are led to believe that all religions are a problem - that 'religion' is a problem per se. This sort of stereotyping would be unlikely to be tolerated in any other field. But it suits the aims of militant atheists and the liberal, secular, politically correct agenda.
There is no question that the twentieth century was the bloodiest century in the history of the world. It was in this century that the major nations of Christendom began to abandon Christian beliefs, principles and heritage. And, in the misguided name of progress, began to embrace a variety of pagan, atheistic, materialist, Darwinian, Marxist and socialist ideologies. As a result we were subjected to 2 world wars, numerous other wars, including the Spanish civil war, and an horrendous, mass murder as a result of the German nation adopting the national, socialist policies of a crazed, Darwinian inspired, anti-Christian, pagan occultist named Hitler. An even greater, mass slaughter was carried out by atheistic, socialist revolutionaries in pursuit of their proposed ‘paradise on earth‘. The historical record of the twentieth century is absolutely horrendous, the atheistic, Marxist, socialist regimes of; Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot were together responsible for the brutal slaughter of an estimated thirty six million people. In addition, we have seen millions of war deaths, countless murders carried out by other, atheistic, socialist regimes and various other tyrannies, and millions of unborn babies callously slaughtered in state approved and funded, abortion mills.
We hear a lot today about equality, which sounds admirable. And true equality certainly is admirable and a God-given right. However, false equality is not admirable, it can be discriminatory against truth, goodness and, if enforced by the state, can result in an evil tyranny. Error should never be equated with truth and evil should never be equated with good.
So what is true equality?
Every human person is of equal value and should be equally respected and cared for, regardless of gender, colour, race, disability, wealth, influence, intelligence or power. That is true equality.
What is false equality?
False equality is the idea that everything any human person does or believes, is equally valid. The idea that all lifestyles, beliefs, traditions or cultures (that are not against whatever the state decides should be legal) are equally valid and worthy of equal respect.
In post Christian, secular society, while it is demanded by supporters of the liberal establishment that all religions, beliefs and lifestyles should be treated by the state as equally worthy, with no preference or special status given to any. In practice, we can see this is completely ignored in one respect, because there is an exception, inasmuch as it is now the beliefs of 'atheism' that actually receive special recognition and status in most, Western nations. This is evident in the state approved and funded, promotion and teaching of the (unscientific) naturalistic beliefs of Darwinian evolution and spontaneous generation of life, as though they are ‘scientific truths’ (they are treated as sacrosanct - with no alternative, scientific views or contrary evidence, permitted in any state funded or approved, educational curriculum).
The modern, secular state's 'enforced' equality demands that all beliefs etc. are treated as equally worthy, regardless of truth or merit. But, in practice, the liberal mind-set is that all beliefs/religions are inferior to the atheist/secularist ideology, which is perceived as the pinnacle of rationality and arbiter of 'scientific truth' which benevolently deigns to grant (a false) equality to every inferior, belief system. And religions should all be grateful that the secular state grants them equality with each other.
All religions and religious beliefs are thus lumped together as
being equal (the crazy with the not so crazy - the logical with the illogical - the true with the patently false) with no intelligent, or logical discernment permitted.
And so we are led to believe by a secular state (which doesn't recognise God) that there are:
‘Many paths to God’ -That all religions and beliefs are equally valid.
But are they?
Anyone who agrees with this automatically rejects the claims of Jesus Christ, who stated; “I am the way, the truth and the life” and “no one can come to the Father except through Me.”
Uniquely, Jesus backed up his claim by suffering an agonising death on the cross as a sacrifice for the salvation of all humanity. The words of Jesus means you cannot be a Christian if you claim or believe there are many paths to God, or that there is any path to God other than through Jesus Christ.
The fact is that Jesus (although completely innocent of all sin himself) suffered for the sins of all humankind, He was crucified for the redemption of His enemies as well as His friends. We are all sinners and have all offended the infinite goodness of God, no one (not even a saint) deserves heaven entirely on their own merit. Everyone is defiled by sin, and nothing defiled can enter heaven. An offence against the infinite goodness of an infinitely loving, but also an infinitely, just God can only be redeemed by an infinitely, good sacrifice. So only a divine sacrifice can pay the price justice demands for our sins.
Only the sacrifice of the true, spiritual messiah, Jesus Christ, the son of the living God, incarnated as man, is sufficient to save us all from the consequences of sin, open the gates of heaven and restore eternal life to the whole human race.
Only those whose garments have been ‘washed white by the blood of the lamb’ are fit to enter heaven.
The debt for our sin has been paid by Jesus and His saving sacrifice is offered as an unsurpassed, loving and free gift to us all. We simply have to gratefully acknowledge and accept that gift in a spirit of humility and repentance.
Jesus requested that a remembrance of his sacrifice should be celebrated (the Eucharist). This unites us with Him and His sacrifice, and is the only sacrificial ceremony for sin which is truly acceptable to God. All other sacrifices devised and offered by humans are as ‘dirty rags’ before the divine majesty of the almighty creator.
Only the sacrifice of the true messiah, God made man
(as prophesied by Isaiah in the old testament), is acceptable to God.
By his supreme sacrifice Jesus paid the price for every sin ever committed, and thereby opened the gates of heaven to the whole human race.
Without His sacrifice, no one of any religion could ever enter heaven.
It matters not whether you are the most devout Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Buddhist or person of any other faith, ultimately you will rely, not on any rituals and customs of these various religions, but on the sacrifice of Jesus to enter heaven.
All who enter heaven and eternal life do so only with a passport provided by Jesus, without His sacrifice you would never get there.
This is the truth whether you like it or not.
Dr James Tour - 'The Origin of Life' - Abiogenesis decisively refuted.
youtu.be/B1E4QMn2mxk
In partnership with our workshop manager Clay he had been tinkering with the model digitally to perfect a design that could actually be built. Clay had to mastermind a skeleton to hold the model up and a system of counterbalances to make sure it could stand.
Ryan really wanted the model to stand out, so he built it using a stark arctic camouflage pattern. The pattern was made up of light gray, dark gray, white and dark blue, with occasional black highlights. This made building it actually very difficult and much more time consuming!
Difficult light under the canopies, hard to make FP4+ look as contrasty as this. No photobooks though.
Your Path lies among shadows, but the Light is its Goal!
No matter how difficult the Path may be, you can become one of Those Born in the Light!
La difficulté pour le petit Olivier (6ans) n'est pas d'attraper les crapauds ou les grenouilles, mais plutôt qu'elles restent dans ses mains pour que je puisse les prendre en photo. Il mesurait à peine 1 centimètre. Crapaud d'Amérique, American toad, Bufo americanus americanus.
Gentlemen — The High Art & Science of ‘Living Las Vegas’ is difficult and daunting enough, as it is, without the added challenge of having to ‘Live Las Vegas’ Coronavirus Global Pandemic Style! But in the midst of avoiding the deadly threat of the Delta Variant of COVID-19, how absolutely delightfully delicious would it be if upon your late arrival at Latin Dance Night at the Gonzalez y Gonzalez Mexican Restaurant, you encountered a very pretty lady, also vacationing Solo in Vegas, who just happened to know how to dance Mambo, Merengue, and Cha-Cha just as well as you!! And she’s had her two Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccinations to compliment your two Moderna COVID-19 Vaccinations!!! 😃
How Sweet Would That Be!!! 😄
©Jane Brown2016 All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without explicit written permission
after Elsie had perfected her reindeer face makeup (see previous two photos) she turned to me and said it was time to have my face painted. Oh no, I thought, and held out my hand. Please paint something beautiful on my hand. Taking a photo iwth my left hand only wasn't easy, but I sat down to supper as Grangran and not as something from Elsie's imagination!
Krafla caldera (the edge of the rim), North Iceland
Pāhoehoe (helluhraun) lava fields - quite easy to cross and on the left ʻAʻā (apalhraun) lava field - difficult and slow to cross
P1070151
Cleaning up photo files, I came across this shot, taken on 7 January, 2021, when I was in Western Australian Covid quarantine.
Entry to the then largely Covid-free state of Western Australia was extremely difficult to get, even for genuinely desperate reasons. Four failed applications, the fifth, to my great relief, finally granted.
I spent quarantine in comfort at my daughter's in-laws' house that came with a lovely garden. I have to say, I quite enjoyed my COVID quarantine time, and was able to easily continue with my online painting course without being disturbed - apart by random calls from police COVID surveillance.
The way this worked:
When I applied for permission to enter the state of Western Australia, which was still largely COVID-free at that time (four rejections...) I had to provide the following information:
- reason for application (all compassionate reasons were routinely rejected)
- where I was staying;
- how many rooms the premises had;
- how many bathrooms;
- whether other people were living there during my stay;
- if yes, whether I would have my own room and bathroom;
- how I would get food;
- how I would get to and from the nearest PCR testing centre and - how I would travel to the final destination in Western Australia after quarantine, and its location.
After providing all this information it then was up to the particular officer who reviewed my application, whether the application would be accepted, or denied. Two were rejected straight away (not enough information provided); With the third I received some information on what would assist with the application, i.e. all the information listed above in detail, the fourth application was again rejected, despite providing detailed information and so, for the fifth time, I started the whole process again, now also providing a recommendation for approval by a medical practitioner whose care my relative was under. That was a great relief and I stayed in WA for close to six months and providing my relative desperately needed support.
I then received a G2G (Good to Go) pass which I needed to carry with me at all times.
Conditions:
- I was not permitted to leave the premises, except on day 14 to get a PCR test.
- During quarantine, I received calls at random times of the day, then had to take a selfie, tick some health checks, and send this information within 5 minutes to the Covid control centre, which was manned by police. Sending this information included, of course, the location.
- Failing to do this, police would come knocking in order to find out my whereabouts.
Apart from that, I also received daily emails from WA Covid Health, also requiring and confirming health information.
I was quite shocked the first time the call came: I was in the garden, the mobile phone inside, and a siren went off! Panicked I rushed inside fearing I had left the stove on, something was on fire, and it may be the fire alarm. It was the call from police! It was loud, very loud! The earliest calls came around 7am, just around the time I was in the bathroom, i.e. I learnt quickly to get up earlier than 6:30am in order not get caught sitting on the loo or be in the shower. The latest calls came around 8pm. On the odd occasion there were two calls per day.
PCR test on day 14:
One was permitted to walk no more than 2km to the nearest testing centre which, unfortunately, was more than 2km away. Day 14 turned out to be a very hot day.
The following is how this went:
RING A CAB
Destination?
Fiona Stanley Hospital
Aha. PCR test?
Yes
One moment please. I have to refer you to the supervisor.
Thank you.
Destination?
Fiona Stanley Hosptial
Aha. For a PCR test?
Yes, please
Taxi should be there within 10 minuites.
Thank you.
Taxi arrived within 10 minutes. How good is that?
Friendly driver whose daughter lived in Syndey and who he couldn't visit due to return entry restricitons to WA (14 day quarantine requirements for returning WA residents who also needed to apply for permission to re-enter WA leaving some WA residents stranded in other states, unable to return home and causing major distress, not to mention additional expense for accommodation, to many).
Arriving at the clinic, there was a small marquis and two nurses in full protective gear, handing out information and hand-sanitizers, taking details. I was then motioned to proceed to the clinic.
To my relief, I was the first at the clinic and was promptly whisked into a room for testing. After the test, I was given some written information in an envelope which I did not bother reading and asked to wait outside. Two chairs were provided in the shade. It was very hot already, probably in the mid to high 30's C.
RETURN TRIP
Ring taxi. The same company. The same lady answering the call.
Pick up, please?
Fiona Stanley Hospital
Aha. PCR test?
Yes
I have to refer you to the supervisior.
Thank you.
Pick up?
Fiona Stanley Hospital
Aha. PCR test ...
Yes
Ok. I have to find a driver who will take the fare. If the wait is longer than 30 minutes, call back and I'll try to find someone else.
HUH ???
And so, the wait began, in very hot weather. While waiting, I decided to read the information I was given. People walking past looked at me with suspicion. WA at this time was basically covid-free and anybody near a PCR clinic could be a potential health hazard.
The information was for the taxi driver:
- All windows to be open;
- Passenger and driver to wear masks;
- Hands sanitized
- Taxi to be deep-cleaned after every fare with a passenger from a PCR testing clinic!
No wonder drivers were reluctant to take a fare! The clinic was about 4km away from 'home', which I could have easily walked had it not been due to restrictions and the by now very hot day. Half an hour came and went and I was contemplating how to get back if no driver was prepared to take the fare. Ring police? Thankfully, shortly after a taxi arrived. Windows open, masks on, hands sanitized. It was a very breezy drive, wind in the hair :)
I had the impression the taxi driver was not impressed.
I was not permitted to leave my quarantine until I had received the PCR test result which needed to be nagative, i.e. the earliest I could leave was day 15. The negative result came in the afternoon of day 15, together with a last police check around 8pm. Hence, left quarantine on day 16.
And now?
Eventually, the authorities decided to just let it rip and 'live with covid'. I don't follow the statistics anymore, but there appear to be claims that despite high vaccination rates, numbers of COVID deaths have increased more than would be expected at any other time (whatever that may mean...)
So far, I have evaded getting ill with this virus :)
Another difficult choice presented itself during the recent Ensignbus running day. Would you ride on a mark 2 Metrobus or a Duple Caribbean bodied Leyland Tiger? However, as I’d arrived earlier on the Metrobus, it had to be the Tiger :-) . Both are seen in Brentwood. The Tiger was new to Southend as their 250 (A250 SVW) and the Metrobus had been new to Ensign themselves, as one of a batch of 16 new in November 1988. All 16 Metrobuses would pass to CNT Holdings a couple of years later when Ensign sold their LRT tendered work but just this one would be bought back in 1994 and has been owned ever since. That said, it had been off the road for many years until being reactivated and repainted just a few months ago. I think it looks superb.
I have always found Paddington a difficult station to get a decent photograph. On New Years Eve 1977 we find 50035 waiting to depart with an express for the West Country which I will travel on as far as Newbury.
Locomotive History
50035 was built by English Electric at there Vulcan Foundry works as D435 and entered service in August 1968 on West Coast Main Line duties north of Crewe. With the completion of the West Coast Main Line electrification to Glasgow in 1974 thirty five class 50’s were transferred to the Western Region, however 50035 was one of the fifteen locomotives retained by the London Midland Region until finally transferred to the Western Region (Bristol Bath Road) in January 1976. In December 1976 it transferred to Laira followed by a transfer to Old Oak Common in June 1980. In 1978 it was decided to name the class after Royal Navy warships and 50035 was the first to be named when it received the name Ark Royal on the on the 17th January 1978 at Plymouth station. In the early 1980’s it was decided to refurbish the class 50 fleet and 50035 entered Doncaster works in November 1980 for refurbishment and was released back into traffic on the 27th March 1981. 50 035 worked its last passenger British Rail revenue earning train on 14th July 1990 (1V10 Brighton - Plymouth from Salisbury to Exeter) and was withdrawn at 10.00hrs on 3rd August 1990. Following withdrawal it was sold for preservation and can currently (April 2012) be found on the Severn Valley Railway.
Praktica LTL, High Speed Ektachrome
Always being alone during Valentine’s Day and Christmas time? Can’t find a lover for yourself? Always being dump? Best friend took away your lover? You are having an unfaithful lover? Do you find it extremely difficult to make friends with anyone? Are you a desperate seeker of love who has been rejected many times? Thinking that you'll be single forever? Are you getting nervous when you are pursuing a woman? Do you feel your love life is just stuck up? Been through every heart-broken and lonely nights yourself? Watching all your friends having a happy partner but not you? No worries!!! And now, let me announce to you that your “LUCKY STAR” has born!!!!!
Archan Perm, 38 years of age, is a high ranking Cambodian White Magic Form MASTER living in East Thailand. He is a specialist of making effective love charms. This special edition of amulet is made of just a bottle of pure corpse oil (Thai people called it Nam Mun Prai) and a little metal statue of Iper is inserted into the bottle. According to Archan Perm, this final batch of pure corpse oil Iper is a limited edition. In addition, master said that he has decided to stop producing this kind of high level pure corpse oil amulets. Corpse oil is something very difficult to collect in Thailand because burning dead body to collect corpse oil has become illegal. It is very hard to persuade any families to donate the corpse oil to the masters for making amulets usage. Therefore this bottle of powerful Iper with pure corpse oil has become a treasury amulet. Especially, master swore that he is not making it anymore, unless for charity purpose. Archan Perm admitted that this Iper is so much powerful than his previously made amulets. Corpse oil is the best ingredient of making powerful love relationship amulets. Archan Perm spent ages to collect just a little of corpse oil from 3 young pregnant ladies which they were passing away in accident. In other word, this Iper is a superb class amulet to seduce your targets to move many steps faster to drop into your arms. Frankly, it is for sure the most powerful love relationship amulet in these years that I’ve ever seen. One last tip, I preferred to share with you all. Please begin to make your wishes to this pure corpse oil Iper if the user smelled a strange female used perfume while being alone, especially at night. The user personally smelled it means that Iper has arrived and also the best timing to make your whishes. The advantage of fulfillment is approximately 99%. Try it you’ll know!
This is important for all users of this Iper to know:
First of all, user have to get the targets to know he/she is existing and then this Iper will only started to help he/she in the ways which are stated in below.
The strength of wearing this Iper:
1.Instantly make targets feel that the user is the most special one.
2.They will fully trusting just the user more than any others.
3.This Iper amulet is not just a secret weapon for the user to go after their targets but in fact this Iper can make user’s targets to chase the user back. Try to imagine how powerful the user can be.
4.Always capture the user’s targets attention.
5.Maintain the user’s lovers eternally loyal and totally faithful just to the user alone.
6.For working purposes, this Iper will helps user to develop a solid good relationship with the user’s bosses, user’s clients and as well user’s working partners.
7.The user will have non-stop and continuously strong sex appeal.
8.Enhance more chances to meet up difference targets.
9.User can make wishes for this Iper to fulfill and the Iper will help the user.
10.During the first meet up, user wills definitely giving target a very good impression and the target will be missing the user days and nights. And the target will not know what actually make him/her missing the user so much. You are so much more to her/him than "just a friend" in her/his memory.
11.User has supreme sex attraction power while they are going after their targets.
12.User will become super confident while they are going after their targets.
13.User will have a fantastic romantic life.
14.Get back that "girl/guy from the past". It could be a crush or a lady/ men whom you missed out because you did not know how to pursue her/him last time. It can also be your ex-gf/bf or former husband/wife.
15.It is best for people working in nightlife or people used to enjoy nightlife.
16.Turn the members of the opposite sex who rejected you to love you.
17.Your lovers are so charm by you and emotionally dependant on you. They will not be able to leave you.
18.Turn enemies to become friends. Turn friends to become best friends. Turn best friends to become lovers.
19.Improvement of user’s all interpersonal relationship.
20.User always being the popular one among a group of members. You are just like a super movie star because even strangers on the street will take a second look at you. Amazing!!!!
21.Everyone knowing the user will start to admire him/her. Love the way user talk, love the way user reacts and user will be respected by all.
Let me tell you something:
1.I am here to help you to reach your goals much easier and faster.
2.Amulets here which I am providing are to delight your life and make you richer.
3.Let me make your life more colourful.
4.Let me make you to become another successor.
5.I do concern about how the amulet has helped you in your life. Please do not be hesitating to e mail me while you are having questions about any of my amulets before or after you have invited it from me.
6.I would be pleased that any of my amulets here can really help you in your life. Because nothing is more important than my amulets can changed my client’s world to become wonderful and grateful.
7.A super class amulet is hardly appeared once a while in our life time. This opportunity will be gone forever if you do not make your action to invite one or a few as your secret weapon.
8.This pure corpse oil Iper is firmly limited made by Archan Perm and this amulet is too powerful and it could hurt others. Therefore it is recommended to be use wisely and not for the purpose to be abused others.
For those who are interested in this Iper please write me a mail.
This is my e-mail add
sebastiancheung17@yahoomail.com.sg
Happy Monday flickr friends!
Absence is what you have mostly noticed here & so right you are ~ Even though we most probably see each other on FB, pinterest or through or blogs, regular posting here is something I miss, but then so difficult to handle recently time wise in a correct manner~> that of posting & visiting your streams to exchange opinions & comments.
Anyways, I'll be hopefully catching up tonight and till then I thought I also let you catch up with what's with me & Domestic Stories: for starters,
a give away for all friends & readers, open till Friday the 16th. Hope you enter & enjoy! :)
....................................................................................................................................................
National Prime Rib Day Is April 27
Frankly speaking, it is difficult to speak precisely about the time of the appearance of the steak, but it is necessary to say that our ancestors began to eat meat raw many thousands of years ago. And they did it in order to survive in harsh conditions. Frying meat on the fire was initiated when men and women realized that it was much easier to eat that way.
In the middle of the 15th century, the description of the steak appeared in British cookbooks for the first time. After three centuries, the technology of cooking meat on an open fire began to spread throughout continental Europe.
Into the New World, English Herefords and Scottish Aberdeen Anguses were brought in, which, in fact, began to develop the American meat industry. In addition to the United States, steaks have become widespread in all former British colonies, as well as in Latin America, Germany, Italy and France.
Actually, the culture of steak as well as the steak houses was born at the end of the 19th century, and it happened, as you might guess, in America – in Chicago to be more exact.
Interesting Food Facts about Prime Rib
1. A standing rib roast is a prime rib consisting of SEVEN ribs.
2. A scooped & tied standing rib roast will have the bones taken off and then tied back on.
3. A rib eye roast is a boneless prime rib.
4. The beef is cut from the rib section, the largest central area of the steer, located in between the chuck and the short loin, just above the plate.
5. If choosing a prime rib at the butcher, look for a cut that has a bright color and milky white fat.
Fun Fact:
“Au Jus” refers to the drippings that come off the meat during cooking, and it is often served alongside the prime rib.
The prime rib comes from ribs 6-12 of the cow.
Prime rib cooking temperatures are: rare:120°-125°, medium rare: 130°-135°, medium:140°-145° and well done:160°.
Okay, so you've had your 'technical' lesson for today. Now for the fun:
One of Bill the Butcher's customers came in and said he had a bone to pick with him.
20200427 118/366
Deutschland / Nordrhein-Westfalen - Tagebau Hambach
seen from Viewpoint Berrendorf / Forum terra nova
gesehen vom Aussichtspunkt Berrendorf / Forum terra nova
The Tagebau Hambach is a large open-pit coal mine (German: Tagebau) in Niederzier and Elsdorf, North Rhine–Westphalia, Germany. It is operated by RWE and used for mining lignite.
The mine is on the site of the ancient Hambach Forest which was purchased by RWE in 1978. They then cut most of it down and cleared it to mine. Only 10% of the forest area remains. RWE plans to clear half of the remaining area of the forest between around 2018 and 2020; this plan was met with massive protests in autumn 2018, and was temporarily stopped in October 2018 by the supreme administrative court of North Rhine–Westphalia (Oberverwaltungsgericht für das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen).
Begun in 1978, the mine's operation area currently (as of end of 2017) has a size of 43,8 km2, with the total area designated for mining having a size of 85 km2. It is the deepest open pit mine with respect to sea level: the bottom of the pit with up to 500 metres (1,640 ft) from the surface is 299 metres (981 ft) below sea level, the deepest artificially made point in North Rhine–Westphalia.
The open pit operator RWE, then known as Rheinbraun, initiated the permitting process for open pit mining in 1974 and was able to commence operations in 1978. The first excavator began its work on 15 October 1978. This was accompanied by the resettlement of local villages and towns and the largest forest area in the region, the Hambach Forest, was largely cleared. On 17 January 1984, the first brown coal was mined.
Hambach is the largest open pit mine in Germany with an area of 3,389 hectares (as of 2007) with an approved maximum size of 8500 hectares. About 40 million tons of lignite are produced annually in this mine. It has recently been estimated that 1772 million tons of lignite are still available for mining. The lignite was created from extensive forests and bogs, which developed in the Lower Rhine Bay between 30 and 5 million years ago. The geology of the Lower Rhine Bay is characterized by long-lasting subsidence movements in the last 30 million years, which led to the deposition of up to 1300 m thick sediment layers through the North Sea and many rivers, which today consist of lignite seams up to 100 m thick.
At 299 m below sea level, the deepest point of the Hambach open-pit mine forms the deepest artificial depression in North-Rhine Westphalia.
Since 1995, the giant bucket-wheel excavator Bagger 293 is used to remove the overburden. It hold several Guinness records for terrestrial vehicles.
The opencast mine annually produces a spoil amount of 250 to 300 million m³. The ratio of overburden to coal is 6.2:1. The extracted lignite is transported via the Hambach industrial spur to Bergheim - Auenheim and from there transported via the North–South industrial spur to the power stations Niederaussem, Neurath, Frimmersdorf and Goldenberg near Hürth-Knapsack. The overburden was until 16 April 2009 partially transported by conveyor belt to the Bergheim mine, which has run out of coal and therefore been refilled and recultivated. The visible mark of the open pit is the Sophienhöhe spoil tip, which is considered to be the largest man-made hill, towering over the flat landscape by 200 metres.
From 2013, the open pit area is to be extended southeast. For this, the villages Morschenich and Manheim must be relocated. The A4 motorway and the Hambach industrial spur, via which the lignite is transported to the power stations, were laid around three kilometres to the south parallel to the Cologne-Aachen railway line. In addition, a small piece of the federal highway 477 was moved east.
The open pit mine was put into operation in 1978. Every year about 0.3 cubic kilometres are moved, so that coal and soil with a volume of about 18.6 km³ will be mined by the time the coal runs out in 2040. By April 2009, the overburden, which was hitherto incurred in Hambach is now transported by conveyor belt in the now exhausted Bergheim mine to fill this in again. Now it is tilted exclusively on the western edge of the opencast mine and on the Sophienhöhe. Due to the accumulation of about 1 km³ of material at the Sophienhöhe and the extracted coal, a residual hole is created, which is to be filled up with water after completion of the mining activities.
A lake with an area of 4 ha and a depth of up to 400 m is planned. Size and volume depend on whether the west-located open pit Inden after its decarburization as well as the mine Bergheim filled with material from the open pit Hambach or left open. Lake Hambach would then be the deepest and (in terms of volume) after Lake Constance the second largest lake in Germany. How to fill the opencast mine is still controversial. Some voices suggest taking water from the Rur and / or the Erft or even filling the open pit with a pipeline of Rhine water. However this happens, the filling of the open pit mine is expected to take several decades. Thus, a completion of this artificial water is not expected before the year 2100.
In addition to the complete flooding is also possible to build a pumped storage power plant. A patent from 1995 states that such a pumped storage plant in the Hambach opencast mine can be realized and can provide a multiple of the pumped storage capacity currently available in Germany. The increased use of renewable energy makes this option more important and is being followed with interest by the Mining Authority.
On May 6, 2020, Meyer Burger, a manufacturer of solar cell production machinery, presented its idea for a huge solar park in the Hambach open-cast mine.[9] This would generate electricity with a capacity of around ten gigawatts, which would roughly correspond to the capacity of the Weisweiler, Neurath, Niederaussem and Frimmersdorf coal-fired power plants, which are currently dependent on the open-cast mines. Considerations for a later use of the area of 50 square kilometres include flooding to form a lake landscape. According to Meyer Burger CEO Gunter Erfurt, it would be conceivable to cover Lake Hambach with solar modules. Up to 50 million solar modules with a capacity of 10 gigawatts could be installed - as a floating solar park, as has already been realised in other parts of the world.
According to Meyer Burger CEO Gunter Erfurt, the construction of a state-of-the-art plant for cell and module production is currently being evaluated. In an interview with Radio Rur, Uwe Rau replied that such an idea was feasible, as a major advantage of the Hambach opencast mine was the power transmission lines already in place due to the power plants, which could thus continue to be used.
RWE Power AG announced in May 2020 that photovoltaic projects for the Sophienhöhe are conceivable.
Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitisation and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia, also expressed his support for the project.
Since around 2012, an area within the remaining part of the Hambach Forest has been occupied by environmentalists to prevent its planned destruction by RWE.
The occupation involves a settlement with around two dozen tree houses and numerous road barricades. The barricades were erected to prevent mining company and police vehicles from entering.
In November 2017, environmentalists entered the mine and temporarily halted operations. They were met with police using horses and pepper spray.
In 2004, Greenpeace activists demonstrated against climate damage in the Hambach mine due to power generation using lignite. They flew over the open pit with a hot air balloon, occupied an excavator for several days and painted it partly pink. On 13 May 2009, the joint action of the local action group of citizens' initiatives against the relocation of the A4 and Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) failed before the Federal Administrative Court. The plaintiffs tried to stop the relocation of the A4, which was deemed necessary for the planned extension of the open pit mine and justified this, inter alia, with feared noise pollution as well as the possible threat to the protected Bechstein bat and other species. In 2009, the construction of the new section of motorway began, in September 2014, it was opened to traffic.
Since 2008, there have increasing complaints about possible damage to the hill in the Elsdorf-Heppendorf area; since the burden of proof lies with the complainants, it is difficult to prove the mining operator guilty. The newly formed brown coal committee therefore decided on 16 April 2010, to set up the Bergschaden Braunkohle NRW reclamation service for damage victims in the Rhenish lignite mining area. The former chairman of the Higher Regional Court Hamm Gero Debusmann was appointed chairman of the recourse office. He is already chairman of the conciliation body mining damage in the coal industry. He can be contacted if attempts at reconciliation with RWE Power remain unsatisfactory. The procedure is free of charge for the applicant.
In November 2012 and March 2013, the police cleared tent and hut camps of mining opponents in the remaining Hambacher Forst. In 2012, a squatter had to be fetched from a six-metre deep tunnel and the following year two activists were roped off a tree platform. Later, a new camp was built at another location in the Hambacher forest.
In September 2018, a journalist died after falling from the tree structures built by activists.
(Wikipedia)
Der Tagebau Hambach ist der größte von der RWE Power AG betriebene Tagebau im Rheinischen Braunkohlerevier. Er betrifft die Gemeinden Niederzier, Kreis Düren, und Elsdorf, Rhein-Erft-Kreis. Der Tagebau Hambach ist aufgrund der mit ihm einhergehenden Abgase der Kohleverbrennung und weiterer Umweltzerstörung, unter anderem der Rodung des Hambacher Forsts, umstritten. Über 1000 Jahre alte Ortschaften wie Manheim müssen dem Tagebau weichen.
Der damals noch unter dem Namen Rheinbraun firmierende Tagebaubetreiber leitete 1974 das Genehmigungsverfahren für den Tagebau ein und konnte 1978 mit dem Aufschluss beginnen. Der erste Bagger begann seine Arbeit am 16. Oktober 1978. Damit ging die Umsiedlung von Ortschaften einher und das größte Waldgebiet in der Jülicher Börde, der Bürgewald – bekannter als Hambacher Forst –, wurde weitgehend gerodet. Am 17. Januar 1984 wurde die erste Braunkohle gefördert.
Hambach ist mit einer Betriebsfläche von 4.380 Hektar (2017) bei einer genehmigten Maximalgröße des Abbaufeldes von 8.500 Hektar der größte in Betrieb befindliche Braunkohletagebau in Deutschland. Laut RWE lagerten im Geschäftsjahr 1973/74 geschätzte 4.500 Mio. Tonnen Braunkohle in einer Tiefe bis zu 500 Metern. Gegen 2011 standen noch geschätzte 1.772 Mio. Tonnen Braunkohle zum Abbau zur Verfügung und es wurden auf dieser Fläche jährlich etwa 40 Mio. Tonnen Braunkohle gefördert. Die Braunkohle entstand aus weitflächigen Wäldern und Mooren, die sich in der Niederrheinischen Bucht vor 30 bis vor 5 Mio. Jahren entwickelten. Die Geologie der Niederrheinischen Bucht ist gekennzeichnet durch langanhaltende Senkungsbewegungen in den letzten 30 Mio. Jahren, die zur Ablagerung eines bis zu 1300 m mächtigen Sedimentpaketes durch die Nordsee und durch viele Flüsse geführt haben, in dem sich heute bis zu 100 m mächtige Braunkohleflöze befinden.
Mit 299 m unter NHN bildet der tiefste Punkt des Tagebaus Hambach die tiefste künstliche Senke Nordrhein-Westfalens.
Der Tagebau fördert jährlich eine Abraummenge von 250 bis 300 Mio. m³. Das Verhältnis von Abraum zu Kohle beträgt 6,2 : 1. Die geförderte Braunkohle wird über die Hambachbahn nach Bergheim-Auenheim und von dort aus weiter über die Nord-Süd-Bahn zu den Kraftwerken Niederaußem, in die Kraftwerke Neurath und Frimmersdorf in Grevenbroich sowie nach Goldenberg bei Hürth-Knapsack transportiert. Der Abraum wurde bis zum 16. April 2009 zum Teil per Band zum Tagebau Bergheim befördert, der bereits ausgekohlt ist und deshalb verkippt und rekultiviert wurde. Weithin sichtbares Markenzeichen des Tagebaus ist die Hochkippe Sophienhöhe im Nordwesten des Tagebaus, sie gilt als größter künstlich angelegter Berg, der die ebene Bördenlandschaft um 200 Meter überragt.
Seit Oktober 2014 leitet der Bergbauingenieur Thomas Körber den Tagebau.
Seit 2013 wird die Tagebaufläche südöstlich erweitert. Dazu werden die Ortschaften Morschenich und Manheim umgesiedelt. Die Autobahn A 4 und die Hambachbahn, über die der Transport der Braunkohle zu den Kraftwerken geschieht, wurden um rund drei Kilometer nach Süden parallel zur Eisenbahnstrecke Köln–Aachen verlegt. Außerdem wurde ein kleines Stück der Bundesstraße 477 Richtung Osten verlegt.
Im August 2020 wurde bekanntgegeben, dass an der Abbruchkante ein Brunnen aus dem 2. Jahrhundert ausgegraben werden konnte.
Die CO2-Emissionen aus der Verbrennung der 2019 noch verbliebenen Braunkohle würden rechnerisch für eine Erhöhung des natürlichen CO2-Gehalts der Atmosphäre um ca. 0,7 Promille weltweit ausreichen, oder zusammengezogen eine CO2-Verdoppelung auf der Gesamtfläche Deutschlands bewirken, gerechnet mit 4 kg CO2 je m2 und einer Tonne CO2-Emissionen je Tonne Braunkohle. Das entspricht einer Gesamtmenge von 2,4 % des CO2-Budgets (9,9 Mrd. t CO2), welches sich Deutschland bis 2050 gesteckt hat.
Der Tagebau Hambach ist an Feinstaub-Emissionen in seinem näheren Umfeld beteiligt. Der Anteil des vom Tagebau herrührenden Feinstaubs wird vom Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz Nordrhein-Westfalen (LANUV NRW) mit 25 % angegeben.
Für das Jahr 2004 wird vom LANUV NRW für Überschreitungen des Feinstaub-Grenzwertes von 50 µg/m³ kein vollständiges Messjahr aufgelistet, der erlaubte Jahresmittelwert von 40 µg/m³ wird jedoch mit 30 µg/m³, der an der Messstation Niederzier festgestellt wird, deutlich unterschritten.
Seit Anfang 2005 gelten EU-weit neue Grenzwerte für Feinstaub-Emissionen. Unter Federführung der Bezirksregierung Köln wurde ein Aktionsplan zur Feinstaubminderung in der Umgebung des Tagebaus Hambach erarbeitet, der am 29. September 2005 in Kraft trat. Der Tagebaubetreiber hatte bereits vorlaufend mit der Umsetzung von Maßnahmen zur Feinstaub-Reduzierung begonnen. Im Jahr 2006 wurden in Niederzier 35 Überschreitungen des Grenzwertes verzeichnet, was genau den erlaubten Überschreitungstagen entsprach. Der Jahresmittelwert sank für diesen Zeitraum auf 29 µg/m³.
Nach der EU-Richtlinie 1999/30/EG sind ab dem 1. Januar 2005 maximal 35 Überschreitungen des PM10-Tagesmittelwertes von 50 µg/m³ pro Jahr zulässig. Seit dem 1. Januar 2010 darf der einzuhaltende Tagesmittelwert für PM10 weiterhin 50 µg/m³ betragen. Seit dem Jahr 2010 sollte der Jahresmittelwert für PM10 nur noch 20 µg/m³ betragen. Dies ist durch die Richtlinie 2008/50/EG vom 21. Mai 2008 (Anhang XI) wieder entschärft worden, so dass ab 2010 weiter der Jahresmittelwert für PM10 40 µg/m³ gilt.
Folgende Maßnahmen zur Bekämpfung von Feinstaub werden laut RWE im Tagebau umgesetzt:
Anpflanzen von Bäumen auf der Abraumseite
Grasbewuchs auf brachliegenden Flächen
Straßen werden befestigt und Bandanlagen auf festen Untergrund gestellt, was Staub vermindert
Berieseln der oberen Sohle auf der Baggerseite
Berieseln der Nordwand
Berieseln von Kohlebunker und Kohlebändern
beim Baggern wird Wasser auf den Abraum gesprüht.
In Betrieb genommen wurde der Tagebau 1978. Jährlich werden etwa 0,3 Kubikkilometer bewegt, sodass gegen Ende der Auskohlung im Jahr 2040 Kohle und Erdreich mit einem Volumen von etwa 18,6 km³ abgebaut sein werden. Bis April 2009 wurde der Abraum, der bis dahin in Hambach anfiel, zum Teil durch Bandanlagen in den ausgekohlten Tagebau Bergheim geschafft, um diesen wieder zu füllen. Nun wird ausschließlich am westlichen Rand des Tagebaus und auf der Sophienhöhe verkippt. Durch die Anhäufung von rund 1 km³ Material an der Sophienhöhe und durch die entnommene Kohle entsteht ein Restloch, das nach Abschluss der Abbautätigkeiten mit Wasser aufgefüllt werden soll.
Als Bergbaufolgelandschaft ist ein Tagebausee mit einer Fläche von 4200 ha, einer Tiefe bis 400 m und einem Volumen von 3,6 Mrd. m³ geplant. Größe und Volumen hängen davon ab, ob der westlich gelegene Tagebau Inden nach dessen Auskohlung ebenso wie der Tagebau Bergheim durch Material aus dem Tagebau Hambach verfüllt oder offen gelassen wird. Der See Hambach wäre dann der tiefste und (nach Volumen) nach dem Bodensee der zweitgrößte See Deutschlands. Wie der Tagebau befüllt werden soll, ist noch umstritten. Einige Stimmen schlagen vor, Wasser aus der Rur und/oder der Erft zu entnehmen oder gar den Tagebau über eine Pipeline mit Rheinwasser zu füllen. Wie dies auch geschieht, die Füllung des Tagebaus wird voraussichtlich einige Jahrzehnte in Anspruch nehmen. Somit ist mit einer Fertigstellung dieses künstlichen Gewässers nicht vor dem Jahr 2100 zu rechnen.
Am 6. Mai 2020 stellte zudem Meyer Burger, ein Hersteller von Solarzellen-Produktionsmaschinen, seine Idee für einen Solarpark vor. Dadurch würde Strom mit der Leistung von etwa zehn Gigawatt erzeugt, was in etwa der Leistung der heute von den Tagebauen abhängigen Kohlekraftwerke Weisweiler, Neurath, Niederaußem und Frimmersdorf entspreche. Überlegungen für eine spätere Nutzung des Gebietes mit einer Fläche von 50 Quadratkilometern sehen die Flutung zur Seenlandschaft vor. Gemäß Meyer Burger CEO ist es denkbar, den Hambacher See mit Solarmodulen zu bedecken. Bis zu 50 Millionen Solarmodule mit einer Leistung von 10 Gigawatt könnten installiert werden – als schwimmender Solarpark, wie er in anderen Teilen der Welt bereits realisiert wurde.[14] Gemäß Uwe Rau ist ein wesentlicher Vorteil des Braunkohletagebau Hambach, dass Stromübertragungsleitungen aufgrund der Kraftwerke bereits vorhanden seien und genutzt werden könnten.
Gemäß RWE Power AG ist ein Photovoltaik-Projekte für die Sophienhöhe vorstellbar.
Unterstützend äußerte sich auch der Minister für Wirtschaft, Innovation, Digitalisierung und Energie von Nordrhein-Westfalen, Andreas Pinkwart.
Neben der vollständigen Flutung des Tagebaurestloches besteht auch die Möglichkeit, ein Pumpspeicherkraftwerk zu errichten. Ein Patent von 1995 führt aus, dass ein solches Pumpspeicherwerk im Tagebau Hambach realisierbar ist und ein Vielfaches der aktuell in Deutschland verfügbaren Pumpspeicherkapazität zur Verfügung stellen kann.[18] Durch die zunehmende Nutzung erneuerbarer Energien gewinnt diese Option an Bedeutung und wird vom Bergamt mit Interesse verfolgt.
Die RWE Power AG gab im Mai 2020 bekannt, dass ein Pumpspeicherwerk zumindest für die Sophienhöhe keine Lösung sei, da dort die Anlage eines Obersees nicht möglich sei. Hingegen seien Photovoltaik-Projekte vorstellbar.
Es gibt ein weiteres Konzept zur Speicherung von elektrischer Energie. Dabei soll aus dem Restloch des Tagebaus Wasser nach oben gepumpt werden und bei Strombedarf wieder an Turbinen vorbei nach unten gelassen werden. Abhängig von der Größe der realisierten Anlagen sind dort gemäß Konzept Speicherkapazitäten von einigen 100 bis einigen 1000 GWh möglich, die Speicherkosten sollen bei 1 bis 2 ct/kWh liegen.
An Pfingsten 2004 demonstrierten Greenpeace-Aktivisten im Tagebau Hambach gegen die Klimaschädigung durch die Braunkohleverstromung. Sie überflogen den Tagebau mit einem Heißluftballon, hielten mehrere Tage einen Bagger besetzt und strichen diesen zum Teil rosa an. Am 13. Mai 2009 scheiterte die gemeinsame Klage der lokalen Aktionsgemeinschaft der Bürgerinitiativen gegen die Verlegung der A 4 und des BUND vor dem Bundesverwaltungsgericht. Die Kläger versuchten, die zur geplanten Erweiterung des Tagebaus notwendige Verlegung der A 4 zu stoppen, und begründeten dies u. a. mit befürchteten Lärmbelastungen sowie der möglichen Bedrohung der unter Naturschutz stehenden Bechsteinfledermaus und andere Arten. 2009 wurde mit dem Bau des neuen Autobahnteilstücks begonnen, im September 2014 wurde es dem Verkehr übergeben.
Seit 2008 werden vermehrt Beschwerden wegen möglicher Bergschäden im Bereich Elsdorf-Heppendorf laut; da die Beweislast bei den Beschwerdeführern liegt, ist der Nachweis gegenüber dem Bergbautreibenden schwierig. Der neugebildete Braunkohlenausschuss beschloss deshalb am 16. April 2010 die Einrichtung der Anrufungsstelle Bergschaden Braunkohle NRW für Betroffene von Bergschäden im rheinischen Braunkohlenrevier. Zum Vorsitzenden der Anrufungsstelle wurde der ehemalige Präsident des Oberlandesgerichts Hamm, Gero Debusmann, berufen. Er ist bereits Vorsitzer der Schlichtungsstelle Bergschäden im Steinkohlenbergbau. Er kann angerufen werden, wenn Einigungsversuche mit RWE Power unbefriedigend geblieben sind. Das Verfahren ist für den Antragsteller kostenfrei.
Im November 2012 und März 2013 räumte die Polizei Zelt- und Hüttenlager von Tagebaugegnern im verbliebenen Hambacher Forst. 2012 musste ein Platzbesetzer aus einem sechs Meter tiefen Erdversteck geholt und im Folgejahr zwei Aktivisten von einer Baumplattform abgeseilt werden. Später entstand ein neues Camp an einer anderen Stelle im Hambacher Forst.
Am 23. Oktober 2016 fand eine Demonstration im Hambacher Forst statt, um das letzte Stück des Waldes zu schützen. Es nahmen laut Polizeiangaben über 1000 Personen teil, die sich in Rot kleideten, um eine rote Linie auf der alten A4 bei Buir zu bilden. Sie wollten mit der Aktion ein Zeichen gegen die Abholzung des letzten Stückes des Hambacher Forstes setzen.
Am 5. November 2017, einen Tag vor Beginn des Weltklimagipfels in Bonn, besetzten rund 3.000 Aktivisten Teile des Tagebaus, um darauf aufmerksam zu machen, dass wenige Kilometer vom Konferenzort entfernt mit dem rheinischen Braunkohlerevier die ihren Angaben zufolge größte CO2-Quelle Europas liegt.
Die Hambach-Gruppe war eine 1977 gegründete Initiative von jungen Wissenschaftlern der RWTH Aachen, die sich kritisch mit Braunkohleabbau und dessen Folgen beschäftigte; beispielsweise dem Aufkauf und Abriss von Ortschaften durch den Tagebau und somit der Vertreibung der dort ansässigen Bewohner. Von 1984 bis 1985 war der spätere Politiker Rüdiger Sagel Geschäftsführer dieser Bürgerinitiative in Aachen. Ihre Aktivitäten endeten vor 1990.
Die Aktionsgemeinschaft der Bürgerinitiativen gegen die Verlegung der Autobahn A4 war ein von 1992 bis 2013 aktiver Zusammenschluss von sechs örtlichen Bürgerinitiativen der Ortschaften Arnoldsweiler, Buir, Manheim, Merzenich und Morschenich gegen den Tagebau Hambach und die Verlegung der Bundesautobahn 4. Der Aktionsgemeinschaft gelang es erstmals, die enormen und irreversiblen Umweltschäden des Tagebaus Hambach in groß angelegten Aktionen darzulegen und so den betroffenen Bürgern vor Augen zu führen, dass Widerstand möglich ist. Die Aktionsgemeinschaft hat viele Widerstandsformen – wie z. B. regelmäßige Waldspaziergänge – erfunden, um auf das Abbaggern des Hambacher Forstes aufmerksam zu machen.
(Wikipedia)
A large, natural waterfall on Fossil Creek is the destination of an easy, one mile hike on Dixon Lewis (formerly Waterfall) Trail. A large, deep pool at the base of the fall is a popular swimming hole.
Fossil Creek produces 20,000 gallons of water a minute from a series of springs at the bottom of a 1,600 foot deep canyon. This permanent water source has created a stunningly beautiful, green riparian zone rich with flora and fauna at the bottom of this arid canyon in Arizona's high desert. Travertine deposits encase whatever happens to fall into the streambed, forming the fossils for which the area is named. These deposits create deep pools along the length of the creek, providing opportunities to find more secluded swimming holes than the popular pool at the waterfall. Fossil Creek is one of two "Wild and Scenic" rivers in Arizona. This designation was achieved when the Irving power plant was decommissioned, and removal of flume and dam on the creek allowed the creek to flow free.
Increasing popularity has led to the Coconino and Tonto National Forests to implement a parking permit reservation system in 2016. Reserved parking permits allow visitors to have a parking spot available in their chosen parking lot. Many visitors drive two or three hours to get to the creek. The final descent to the creek at the bottom of a canyon is on an extremely rough, rocky jeep road. In prior years, the area would often be closed to entry when it reached capacity, and potential visitors would be turned away after the long, difficult drive.
Photo by Deborah Lee Soltesz, May 4, 2016. For trail and recreation information, see Fossil Creek, Fossil Springs Wilderness, and the Coconino National Forest.
I have come to a difficult decision this weekend.
Due to other commitments (work & family related) I'm currently going to have to decline any commission work.
I'm a bear artist who works from home, have four school age children & my time just runs away with me every day. I'm finding it very hard to put the proper time & effort needed into doll commissions.
Thank you to everyone who has contacted me & for liking my work. It means a lot to me :)
I'll still have bit's and pieces available on the DOA marketplace as I can.
Thanks so much for understanding.
Hugs & smiles,
Ingrid xo
Hi folks, this is Daisy. I have an update on my situation as regards to my HRT, and Madame Tina has insisted I tell you personally.
Due to some staffing issues at my job, I had to fill in for a couple of my people recently, and I was surprised at how difficult it had become for me to perform in the field. In fact, I nearly dropped a heavy object on a coworker at one point. Even though it has only been a few months since I began treatment, it seems my strength has been reduced quite a bit. And if it were to continue, I would not be able to do my job properly, and as I have already found, it could even put my people at risk. Up until now, I have been able to delegate most of the heavy labor, but since it will be awhile before we are able to re-staff completely, I will have to fill in regularly for the time being. And since I never know when something like this might happen again, I have very reluctantly decided to discontinue hormone treatment for the time being.
I really, REALLY hate to disappoint everyone, especially Madame Tina, but it just can't be helped. And of course I hate it for myself too, because I have truly enjoyed the psychological changes in particular the hormones have brought about. There hasn't been enough time I guess for much in the way of physical changes, but I was really looking forward to those as well. 😥
Please know that I truly appreciate all of your wonderful comments and support, and I apologize if anyone feels I have let them down.
All that said, I want you all to know that nothing is going to change otherwise at all. As I hope is clear from pictures like the one above, I am extremely happy and content living the majority of my life as Daisy, and I will continue to do so no matter what. And besides, as Tina has told me in no uncertain terms, after putting in such a huge amount of time and energy making all of this happen, there is no chance she would ever let me quit even I wanted to. And believe me, you don't ever want to find out what she is willing to do to get her way when she makes up her mind about something. So it is a good thing we are both on the same side. 😊
I have loved every minute of the journey Lady Tina and I began three or so years ago, and I wouldn't go back for anything. I love looking and feeling feminine without fear. I love makeup and nylons, and all the other sensual things women get to wear, and I love all the sweet and wonderful comments I get from everyone here, and from so many people out in the world when I'm Daisy. I would never dream of turning back, now or ever, and I fully intend to go back on HRT as soon as my situation allows.
Thank you all, and never give up. Dreams really do come true. It sure helps to have someone like Madame Tina in your corner as I do, but I promise you this: You can do it yourself, if you believe in yourself! 💖💖💖
Daisy 💋💋💋
Difficult to work out much on this one. It seems to be sitting on 12" wheels, but given a different look with the hubcaps.
The most difficult thing to explain to somebody who has not seen the Himalayas first hand is also the most obvious thing about the Himalayas: The sheer enormity of its size.
One drives for hour after hour and the mountain keep rising in leaps the size of the biggest sky scraper currently in Dubai. But these leaps in size are relentless, happen every few minutes and pretty soon they are just monotonous continuation, just like cows grazing in the fields.
The image above gives an indication. You can see relativity of size through the the cattle in the foreground. The mountain face is a sheer drop. It continues unabated and uninterrupted either side for as far as the eye can see.. And this is just a small microcosm of the Himalayas itself.
It takes 5 hours to fly a jumbo jet from one side of the Himalayas starting in Pakistan across to the other side in Mongolia. Its sheer size and the difficulty in navigation within it must mean that huge parts of it are yet to be explored and discovered by man. Who know, maybe the Himalayan yeti does exist, safely ensconced in a place where man currently cannot reach.