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|The White House
President George W. Bush
|Print this document
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 27, 2005
Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
MR. McCLELLAN: I came back here, one, to update you on the consultation process for the Supreme Court vacancy. As of about 12:00 p.m. today, we have consulted with nearly 70 senators, and that includes, as I mentioned earlier, 17 of 18 of the Judiciary Committee members. It's well more than two-thirds of the Democratic Conference.
And those consultations were continuing. We are on track to match the level of consultation we did for the first vacancy. The President believes the consultation -- consultative process is an important part of the nominating process, and we have been listening to the views and ideas from members of the Senate. And the President will take those into account as he makes a decision on who should fill that vacancy.
Secondly, you all were of course with us all day, so you were able to see and hear much of what occurred. One of the main reasons the President visited the region today was to make sure things are getting done that need to get done. We want to make sure that the immediate needs of the people in the region are being met, and we want to make sure that the federal, state and local coordination efforts are going as well as possible.
And the President was able to hear from state and local officials whose communities have been impacted by Hurricane Rita, as well as, in some cases, Hurricane Katrina. And this is in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Rita, so many of the resources -- the critical resources that they need are still coming into the area. Obviously, you can't get some of those supplies into the region until after the storm has hit and passed. And we're doing all we can to assist the state and local officials get the supplies -- like food and water and ice and MREs -- that they need.
We're also working to address the issues of getting the power back on, getting generators into the communities. One of the local officials in Texas, during that meeting, mentioned one -- what the President thought was an important lesson that's already been learned from Hurricane Rita, and that was that, in their local preparedness plans, this local official indicated that many of them didn't have the technical specifications for the kind of generators they might need for the critical infrastructure, like hospitals or other critical infrastructure. There are a lot of generators that we're working to move into these communities, to get power back up and running at places -- to hospitals and nursing homes and gas stations. Of course, you need to make sure that the electricity is on, but you need to make sure you have the right-size generator to power the facility. And so that was one issue that was discussed.
Obviously, fuel is something that is a concern right now. It's in the immediate aftermath that they need to get. So we're working with state and local officials to get fuel into the area. National Guard plays an important role with helping with the distribution of some of these supplies. The President had good discussions with the state and local leaders. He knows that this is a time period that they're in right now where they're trying to respond as best they can to the needs of the people, and they need our assistance, and that's what the federal government is there to help with.
He also enjoyed having the opportunity to thank the search and rescue teams from Tennessee and Ohio and Nevada and some from elsewhere that have been working round the clock to save lives. You all were there to cover that while he was shaking hands with a lot of those individuals. I think it really helps to lift the spirits of people who are the first responders that are doing amazing work to save lives.
Anyway, with that, I'll be glad to get into questions, if you have any.
Q Has he been watching or been briefed on Michael Brown's testimony before Congress today, and does he have any reaction to it?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, he hasn't really caught any. He's been visiting with senators and congressmen on board the flight. I talked to him briefly about some of the hearings that were going on, and I think maybe Joe Hagin did, as well. But, you know, just very briefly.
Q He's blaming Louisiana officials for the slow response to the storm. Do you agree with that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Washington tends to focus on finger pointing. The President is focused on problem solving. That's why he's been visiting the region today, he wants to make sure that things -- as I said, he wants to make sure things are getting done that need to get done. We're focused on working together with state and local officials to get people who have been affected what they need.
And it's important that Congress move forward and do a thorough investigation of what went wrong and what went right, and look at lessons learned. We want to fix what went wrong, so that we can make sure we've done our part to prevent some of what happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina from happening again. And so Congress is having hearings to gather the facts. It's important to be able to step back and gather those facts, so that we can apply the lessons learned from this catastrophe.
The President talked -- you all covered one of the meetings he had the other day, at Randolph Air Force Base. One of the lessons learned that the military has already learned, as the Air Force General pointed out, is that we need to have more effective coordination of air assets in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, so that you don't have five helicopters coming in to rescue one person. There were a lot of resources surging into the area to provide critical help to people who are in need. So we're already learning lessons and applying some of those lessons learned. And we support Congress' investigation, and the President wants to make sure it's a thorough investigation. But those hearings are just getting underway.
Q Does the President think it's appropriate that Michael Brown is doing consulting work for FEMA?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that's a question probably to ask to the Department of Homeland Security; I think that they've responded to it. I think he's only on that for about a 30-day period from the time that he announced his resignation.
Q Does the President think that's okay, that 30 --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the President supports Secretary Chertoff and the Department of Homeland Security, and I think they're probably in the best position to answer any questions about it. I'm not sure that you can just simplify it into just a broad statement.
Q Any specific reaction --
MR. McCLELLAN: One of the things that they said that he's focused on is helping them with lessons learned.
Q Did you hear the President express any particular reaction to some of the scenes we all saw from the helicopter, that one town, Cameron, seemed to be pretty much obliterated. Did he have any reaction to any of that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I was in the second helicopter. The Governors and Senators were traveling with him in the other helicopter. I saw the same thing from where I was, and, certainly, when you came into the Cameron, Louisiana area, there was a lot of devastation and flooding. We saw some of the damage along the Texas border region and the Sabine Pass area. So it's another reason the President came to the region today, so he could see first-hand some of the damage and assess some of it from his own standpoint. That's why we're working closely with state and local officials to meet the needs of the region and meet the needs of the people.
Another issue that this region that was impacted by Hurricane Rita is going to have to be dealing with in the coming days and weeks is debris removal. And we, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, working with Mississippi officials and others, we were able to simplify the process for debris removal. And I think that's working well, and that's something we'll carry over when it comes to debris removal along that Louisiana-Texas border area and in those communities.
The President heard from the President of the Cameron Parish, and that is an area that was hit particularly hard. Much of it is essentially wiped out. And this is a very difficult period in the immediate aftermath of a hurricane like Rita. And the President assured these leaders that a better day was ahead. He recognizes this is a very difficult period right now, having been through these type of natural catastrophes before.
And what we're here today to do is to -- partly to let them know that, look, we're committed to cutting through the red tape and the bureaucracy. Chief Paulison was there, Admiral Allen was there, General Honore, and in Texas you had Admiral Hereth and Chief Paulison and General Clark. They all are committed to fulfilling what the President has told these leaders, that we're going to work with you and streamline the process and cut through the red tape as much as possible, to help you get back up on your feet and rebuild your lives and your communities.
Q Can you help those of us who don't know what an offshore oil rig normally looks like? Was that one damaged?
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think that one had much damage. I looked at it, and from what I could see, I don't think it had much damage. It was just to give the President a good view of the region, and so they went offshore for a minute.
Q Has the President ever heard during all these meetings over the past several days, you know, with all due respect, Mr. President, it's great to see you, but your visits are disruptive; some of our leaders here are being pulled out of other key meetings they could be attending. Has anybody ever expressed that kind of concern to him?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, not at all. In fact, quite the opposite. These local officials, state officials are all very appreciative of the President coming down, because one thing the President can do is make sure that we're very focused at the federal level, and that we are cutting through bureaucracy and cutting through red tape to get state and local officials the help that they need. And so I think all the officials were very appreciative of the President coming down there.
And one thing that this does, too, is to bring everybody together, all the different local communities, the governor, the federal officials who are in charge, and enables us to sit down and talk about the concerns that they have, areas where things could be working better, and resolve those issues, or at least start the process of resolving those issues, because when the President says, "we need to get this done," I can assure you that the federal officials who are in charge of our response efforts on the ground are going to follow up and get things done.
We've got a great team that is working on the ground, both in Texas and Louisiana and Mississippi, and these are good discussions to have, not only to help these local officials solve some of their problems, but also for the President to hear what those problems are, and make sure that we're addressing them at the federal level, from our standpoint. Our role is largely to assist the state and local efforts.
Q Who is the one senator on the Judiciary Committee you haven't contacted?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we have reached out to the individual.
Q They're not being snubbed.
MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know about that -- oh, no, no. But I think I'll avoid getting into names. I don't want to single anybody out for any reason. But I'm sure we will have contact with that individual soon.
Thank you.


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Howard Cutler
Born in Webster City, Iowa, on April 27, 1918, Cutler worked his way through the University of Iowa (UI) as a cook, gardener, housekeeper and chauffeur. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Iowa in 1940 and received a master's degree in economics a year later.
Cutler's UI master's thesis was the first in the history of the university's economics department to be published in a national journal.
From 1943-1946, Cutler served in the U.S. Navy in Guam and Saipan as a supply and disbursing officer.
In 1943, Cutler received a certificate of graduation from Harvard University and in 1953 received his doctorate in economics from Columbia University.
He began his teaching career in 1946 as an instructor of economics at UI and has held faculty positions in economics at the University of Illinois, the University of Chicago and Penn State University.
Former UA President William Wood, also a University of Iowa graduate, appointed Cutler in 1962 to the post of vice president for academic affairs for the University of Alaska, a position he held until 1966.
From 1966 to 1976, Cutler served as senior vice president of the Institute of International Education in New York City. The institute administers foreign exchange programs including Fulbright grants.
In 1976, Cutler returned to Fairbanks as chancellor of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. His return to Alaska was requested by more than 100 members of the Fairbanks business community, all of whom had signed a petition supporting his appointment as UAF's first chancellor.
Cutler was a prolific contributor to academic and economic journals. He served as managing editor of The Journal of General Education from 1960-1962 and contributed articles to major publications throughout his lifetime. academic and economic journals. He served as managing editor of The Journal of General Education from 1960-1962 and contributed articles to major publications throughout his lifetime.
Stricken with Parkinson's disease in 1981, Cutler remained active in community and university affairs until his death.
His expertise in economics and academics was sought by committees, boards and advisory councils nationally and internationally. He also was a world traveler, visiting nearly every continent on the globe.
In 1981, Cutler assumed the position of Regent's Professor of Economics at UAF. At UAF's 1983 Commencement, the university conferred upon him the rank of Chancellor Emeritus and Regent's Professor of Economics, Emeritus. The Howard Cutler Award for Excellence in Economic Education was established in his honor and is given annually to Alaskan teachers in primary and secondary education.
In 1989, Cutler was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award by the University of Iowa Alumni Association, which described him as "a common man with an uncommon touch." The University of Iowa recognized Cutler for his work to pioneer higher education in Alaska.
Stricken with Parkinson's disease in 1981, Cutler remained active in community and university affairs until his death on November 17, 1995.
UA Site named after Howard Cutler
BOR Resolution of Appreciation
UAF News Release
University of Alaska Fairbanks 1987-1988 Catalog
Eric Jozwiak, Assoc. Director for Residence Life, UAF
Nathan Platt, Assistant Director for Residence Life, UAF
University Relations files

subset: commoncrawl


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This Is Who I Am by Cherise Sinclair
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
When trying to save a woman from slavers, Sam screwed up. Royally. Now Linda wants nothing to do with him. Or with BDSM. She won't even admit she's a masochist. As a dominant and sadist, he can give her what she needs, and when an opportunity arises, he slips into her life, intending to make amends. She's everything he knew she would be…except for her bullheaded determination to be 'normal'.
Now the horrible time is past, Linda just wants to return to her small conservative town, pick up her quiet life, and be normal. But how can someone who likes pain be 'normal'? To her dismay, when someone spray-paints her home with obscenities, Sam shows up to rescue her. Again. Doesn't he understand that the last thing she needs in her life is a sadist? He's amused by her objections. But his dry sense of humor can't disguise that he's tough as nails and dominant and stubborn. He's not going to let her drive him off this time. Soon she realizes she wants him to stay.
When he takes her to the Shadowlands, she feels as if she's found a home…until she hears a voice from out of her nightmares.
I have only one thing to say. This author does not write fast enough. I love everything she has written.


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In January 2012, I started a year long campaign on Lorelle on WordPress called Prove It!
I recently learned the true definition of the word "guru." It means to lift someone up through knowledge and wisdom. It means to teach, to impart wisdom, "to dispel the darkness of ignorance" so that those who go after you will be better for it.
Too often the label is used with arrogance. It doesn't mean to lord over others as an expert. A true guru probably wouldn't call themselves a guru. Others would honor them with the title.
After years of being called a guru in WordPress, blogging, and multimedia web publishing and being embarrassed by it, I realized there was more to being a guru than a line on a promotional ad. It's time to reconsider such self-proclamations without anything to show for it. It's time to call myself on the carpet to prove my worth, and for others to step up to the plate and prove it themselves.
Here is the article series so far which focuses on proving your personal expertise and experience to back up what you blog about. I just published the last article which includes research on what elements of a website design and content inspire trust in their readers.
- Campaign 2011: Prove It!
- Prove It: It's Starts With Defining Who You Are
- Prove It: Kym Huynh Exposed
- Prove It: What Makes You Trust a Website?
Future articles will focus on specific design and content elements with recommendations on WordPress Theme and Plugins to help "prove it" on WordPress sites. I'll be writing about how to prove it through accuracy in writing, publishing, and interaction with readers, and how to measure the proof of your success through analytics and feedback. I'll add more articles to this post as the series continues throughout the year.


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In Alcobaça there's a great shop: Granja de Cister. It means something like 'small monastry farm'.
The goal of the shop is to promote local products, and it's part of the Cooperativa Agrícola (agricultural cooperation) of Alcobaça.
You can buy lots of things here: vegetables, fruit, dairy, meat, bread, cookies, wine, and much more. But also things like bags and textiles. And everything is produced locally.
Besides that, the shop is just lovely, everything is displayed beautifully, a pleasure to see. There is also a nice cafe where you can enjoy a coffee with pastry, or a sandwich.
You can go here for your regular shopping, but it's also a great place if you're looking for presents or souvenirs. Isn't it lovely to enjoy al those jummy Portuguese products after your holiday?
Granja de Cister has a website.
The port house Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman in Porto is one of the oldest port houses. It was founded in 1692 as a family company, now in existence for over three centuries and is still a family business. To this day Taylor's is led by the descendants of the Yeatman and Fladgate's.
Both families are since its founding partners. The company has never been sold, bought or taken over and they are rightly proud on that! Their goal is to make good port to sell. This company has been fully independent during all these years.
Taylor grows its grapes in two large vineyards in the Douro Valley, namely Quinta de Vargellas and Quinta de Terra Feita. Quinta de Vargellas seems to be one of the finest vineyards in the world and is 176 hectares. The vineyards are located a considerable distance from the port house itself which is located at the top of the bank of the Douro which runs through the centre of Porto.
Late September is harvest time and the grapes are placed special plastic boxes to counter the fermenting process as long as possible. During the day you pick the grapes and at night the pickers pressing a part of the grapes with bare feet. These grapes are the source of the best wines of Taylor's. It is impossible to press all the grapes, however Taylor has invested much time and money in equipment to mimic the effect of barefoot presses.
In the spring following the harvest, the wine is brought to the Port house on the Douro. The drums go as 60 kilometres downstream toward the cool cellars. The content of the barrels varies between 600 and 22,000 litres, and these are divided into three cellars.
Not only can you do a tour for a few Euros at Taylor but by every port houses. Upon entering, a movie is shown that you watch while sipping a white port. The tour closes it with a tasting. For lovers it is possible to buy in the shop port or port glasses.
Those who visit Porto, be sure to visit one of the port houses! An absolute must.
By coincidence we discovered 10 years ago the resort town of Foz do Arelho. Through the internet we came across the website of a Dutch broker who had his office in this village. In January 2005 we went for a week to Porto and Lisbon, and as well Foz do Arelho was on our list. So Sunday we drove from Lisbon to Foz and when we arrived we saw then this old and some neglected beach place.
But anno 2014 Foz is a fantastic nice seaside resort, both in summer and winter. The roads have improved and there is a new boulevard with plenty of parking places. Along the promenade you will find great beach bars where you can have a drink or eat lunch or dinner. Also outside the summer season it is a good place on the terraces. They lie in the shade overlooking the promenade and the beach. Who alights in the morning, slowly sees flooding the terraces, tourists and locals, as well as groups of cyclists and motorcyclists. We are a fan of this place and come here on nice days when we have time. Relax with a book and a glass of wine, we stay for a few hours easily.
The beach is wide and you will find next to beach visitors also (kite) surfers, kayakers and fishermen encounter. But for everyone there is space and is an ideal resort for families with small children. The local government spent money to open the passage to the sea as it was silted up. This had many implications for the underlying pond, such as excess water during heavy rainfall which business was partly flooded. Now they are working on a solution to permanently open the opening.
This restaurant is close to Buddha Eden, It has a lovely atmosphere, good food and wine, and a friendly staff.
A real topper.
Ginja, liqueur with ancient history
Óbidos is a major attraction in the Costa de Prata. The walled village and inside the castle have a medieval ambiance. With its typical whitewashed houses, almost all have blue, red or yellow decoration. The streets are very picturesque, and relatively cool in warm periods. From the city wall (round trip), you not only have a spectacular view of the old town, but also of the environment.
The history of Óbidos also appeals to the imagination: King Dom Dinis gave the castle to his wife Santa Isabel (queen of Portugal from 1286 to 1336) as a present. During reconstruction of the city after a major earthquake in 1755, the first foundations were found dating even 308 BC, a Celtic settlement.
The main street, that you enter when you enter through the main gate, is a very attractive street, with its beautiful blue wall tiles (azulejos). Many shops have all kinds of handmade and local products for sale. There are also many restaurants and cafes where you can enjoy typical Portuguese cuisine.
At various places you can enjoy a glass of Ginjinha (or simply Ginja). This liqueur made from sour cherries, is a typical drink that is very popular in and around Óbidos. A perfect place to drink it is the bar Ibn Errik Rex at the end of the main street, near the castle. The Ginja they serve is an old family recipe, and is only for sale at that place, in a beautifully designed bottle, perfect as a gift. The bar is beautifully decorated with an original mural (ask for the secret, 'o segredo da parede') and hundreds of small bottles on the ceiling. They serve thin chouriço (sausages) grilled on the table in an earthenware dish, accompanied by bread and cheese cubes. Host Antonio welcomes you with Portuguese hospitality.
Eating at- and from the sea
It will be no surprise that in the coastal areas, so also at the Costa de Prata, fish and shellfish dominate the menu. Don't forget to try some of the many different dishes with fresh grilled fish or seafood.
Ricedishes with seafood or fish are also an excellent choice. Bacalhau, which is salted and dried cod, is eaten in enormous amounts in Portugal. It is said that there are at least 365 different recipes for bacalhau, one for every day of the year.
Portuguese people really have a sweet tooth. So there's always room for a lovely sweet dessert, very often with ingredients like almonds, honey and egg yolks. Why not wash that down with a nice glass of Port or Madeira, a great combination.
For every dish there is a matching wine; wine is produced throughout the country. Port wine is certainly the most famous, but the wines from other Portuguese regions, such as Extremadura, Alentejo, and Dão, are highly commendable. And of course the locally produced olives, sausage and cheese taste are excellent companions.
The pasteis de nata, typical Portuguese pastries, are famous all over the world. The most famous are made in Belém in Lisbon. A stay in Portugal without at least once having coffee with a pastel de nata is actually not possible.
Remarkable garden is place for reconciliation
The Buddha Eden Garden is an area of about 35 hectares designed and conceived by Comendador José Berardo in response to the destruction of the Giant Bamyan Buddhas, sculpted in the rocks of the valley of Bamyan in central Afghanistan and which had for centuries been a cultural and spiritual reference.
Comendador Berardo was profoundly shocked by the attitude of the Taliban Government, which intentionally destroyed these unique monuments of World Heritage, considered acts of cultural barbarism which attempted to erase from memory the art of the late Gandhara period.
In 2001, in response to this loss he initiated another of his dreams, the creation of an extensive oriental garden in honour of those colossal Buddhas.
It is intended that the Buddha Eden Garden is a place of reconciliation. Without any religious tendency, it opens its doors, to all people of all religion, ethnicity, nationality, sex, age, and socio-cultural background, inviting all to come together, to communicate and meditate, to rest and rediscover happiness. Hopefully people will follow a path contrary to the destruction of humankind and the dissemination of culture.
Suniest Beaches
Most Beautiful Places
Popular Activities
Nicest Towns
- Sítio
- São Martinho do Porto
Picturesque fortified town continues to fascinate South of Caldas da Rainha, is the town of Óbidos. Óbidos is a fortified town located on top of…Read more...
- Nazaré


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Dani Rodrik: Straight Talk on Trade – Ideas for a Sane World Economy
Today, international trade intertwines countries' economies more closely than ever before. This state of the world is a victory for those who, since the end of World War II, have promoted free trade as the solution to global ills. However, trade has become a target of popular backlash and new tariff battles. Many people believe that nations have created their own Frankenstein monster in complex global treaties. In a collection of his previously published articles, economist Dani Rodrik offers a wide-ranging overview of the complications of early 21st-century trade agreements. He coalesces his thoughts into seven intriguing principles for "a sane world economy." Though his text is often abstract and tends to meander, Rodrik nevertheless makes some salient points about fair and equitable trade and the need for strong nation-states. While always politically neutral, getAbstract recommends his thought-provoking work to executives, trade experts and economists.
About the Author:
Dani Rodrik is a professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.


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THANK YOU THANK YOU to everybody who stopped by our Ropa Vieja Clothing Swap to drop their clothes off, stayed for strawberry mojitos, and found some new stuff for themselves to bring back. We really really luv you! Shouts to Raisa Mar @ Terrae and Adrian @ Sara Bassan Alta Costura for all your help. We were bad with the camera on Saturday, but here are a few pictures if you missed out… after the jump.
Tag Archives: Terrae
MAIRENA BRIONES: WHO'S THAT GIRL? We met up with Mairena Briones, the super-beautiful and talented PTY-based graphic designer and DJ for some empanadas and coffee to talk about her work and the evolution of Panama City's cultural scene. Mairena is the creative mind behind LateralPTY, Panama's alternative print-turned-digital publication. She's studied in both Costa Rica and Spain and has years of professional experience (she was a producer and creative director at Blank Magazine, and also a graphic designer for the Panamanian agency Aji Pintao). She considers herself "an eclectica — I work freelancing, art direction, branding, everything."
REC's & ROPA VIEJA
MM: So we want to tell you a little about an event we're doing on June 9th at Terrae. It's a clothing trade called Ropa Vieja, where everyone brings their old clothes, we organize it and then you can take what you like. So what do you have lingering in the back of your closet?
MB: I like things a lot. I'm not a coleccionista, but I like things. I have so many pieces of jewelry, so many little things. I have a lot of accessories that I don't use that much now, but I still have because I think it's coming back.
MM: We ask everyone about their recommendations in Panama City, so, anything that you would recommend in Panama City?
MB: I love Via Argentina. I think it [has a] very not-Panama style, in that people live there, but there are [also] a lot of coffee shops, like in Mexico City or Buenos Aires. You can feel the soul of the city. I love walking around, here [in Panama] you don't see that so much. The classic stores like Espacio Vintage, La Botica. You should definitely put in Sak's.
MM: [Redacted 10 minute story of Eve buying a full red linen suit for under $5 and Christina getting a $400 silk blazer for $8.] Oh my god we love Sak's. And Dorian's.
Filed under day


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Even in the Land of Marriage Equality All is Not Yet Equal
During a recent trip to Vancouver, BC, I found it to be the land of Smart Cars and Prius taxis, where marriage equality is the law of the land. At the same time, I found it interesting that there were flyers for anti-bullying fund raising events, and that one of my fellow travelers was harassed with anti-gay slurs hurled by local juvenile ruffians. Clearly having marriage equality is not the end of the line for equality and inclusion; there is still much work to be done even in Vancouver, BC.
~ Marcie


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Note: During the hunting holiday of the Spanish king a grand son is said to have shot himself by accident in the foot; under what circumstances the elephants finally landed into the tree remains unclear; the picture of General Franco is taken in 1949 while he was hunting ducks in earlier days he also was hunting other species…like anarchists, socialist and those associated with them; the 1936 photograph of Robert Capa of the death of Federico Borrell García a republican soldier fighting the insurgent Franco troops, has been debated with opinions differing from being staged, to an accidental enemy shooting when Federico stood up to pose for Capa; the picture of the king with the elephant has been taken on an earlier Botswana safari trip – Jeff Rann of Rann Safari at the left Juan Carlos at the right – according to the elephant protection campaign web site elephantjournal.com, which gives interesting details on the economics of such hunting parties. As the direct link to the article in elephantjournal.com does not work (you are asked first to become a member, not a good idea for a campaugning organisation), hereby a quotation from that article by Andréa Balt:
Murdering animals for pleasure is not a new hobby to Don Juan Carlos. The 74-year old monarch has 50 years of experience (almost his entire adult life) hunting elephants, bears, wolves, leopards… you name it. According to The Guardian, he paid 7.000 Euros in 2004 to shoot a European bison —one of the world's most endangered species (approximately 1.600 left)— during a trip to Poland.
And the rest of his hunting deeds could easily fill up a second or third memoir. I'd suggest "How to Rule the Wilderness in Two Easy Steps" as a title.
Step 1: Buy it.
Step 2: Kill it.
Rann Safaris, the king's hunting ally in Botswana, has deactivated today both its website and the Facebook page, where several photographs of the king's hunting adventure with the company had been previously posted.
But the shocking video of their bloody trails is still spreading around the internet, like a dark shadow of what man—with money, a gun and no compassion—can do to nature, animals and, ultimately, to himself.
Source: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/04/king-of-spain-gets-it-bad-for-hunting-elephants/
Though as noted by the ElephantJournal web site most of the Rann Safari web sites have been taken down, there is still an informative brochure on-line which shows the photograph of the King of Spain in its context. I show here a screen shot from that publication that shows the picture now widely circulating on the Internet in its 'historical context'.
To understand the tone of such kind of royal and other fortunate holidays I cite here the introductory text:
Rann Safaris had 100% success with elephant hunts.
The African Elephant is considered by many as the Ultimate African Trophy and many hunters dream of the day they can relive one of Africa's oldest hunting Elephants are worthy of their status and offer one of the most arduous challenges available today. It is the world's largest land mammal.
Botswana has the largest elephant population of any country and offers excellent hunting opportunities for trophy bulls.
Rann Safaris has consistently taken the largest elephants in Botswana since elephant hunting reopened. Taking over 260 trophy bulls with an average over 60
The 2010 Elephant hunting season has been extended to November 30th FOR THESE AREAS
These concessions previously not hunted with exportable elephant licenses have been auctioned this week.
Elephant to Jeff Rann of Rann Safaris. This concession borders Rann Safaris old Delta areas NG29 and NG 30 as well as all the southern delta
was the highest auctioned price per elephant.
elephant went to Jeff Rann of Rann Safaris. This concession boarders CT1, Jeff Rann's current concession where Rann took an 86 x 83 lb elephant second highest auctioned price per elephant and is close to 2 million acres stretching from the Hwange Game reserve on the Zimbabwe border to CT1 & Nxai an 80lb elephant in this concession in April this year.
27 Trophy Bull Elephants taken in 2010.
These elephants were taken from Hunting Concessions: CT 1, CT 7 and NG 35.
Areas will be on offer again in 2011.


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New episode of Synthentral is now online!
Today's episode features music by Erasure, People Theatre, Electro Planet, Mindless Faith, Priest, Coders, Neuroactive, VHS Glitch, Crisk, Neonsol, Millimetric, Helios, Microwaved, Spektralized, Incubite, Paresis, Toxic 'N Blue, Kryonix, Berlin, Anna Oberg, Chamaeleon, Bow Ever Down, Red Mecca, Klonavenus, Lazerpunk!, Second Version, Goja Moon Rockah, and Covenant!
Just click on the synthesizer below to listen!


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Checkout Lane: Some tips for buying antiques
The phrase "one man's trash is another's treasure" especially rings true for shoppers of antiques.
"You can find things that are unique and different," said Les Moloneaux, owner of the North River Antiques Center in Pembroke, Mass. "You can find furniture that is hand-crafted that will last."
The North River Antiques Center and similar shops have a varied assortment of collectibles, from dollar books to furniture and pottery to priceless paintings. North River specializes in wares from Dorchester Pottery Works, books and art by local artists.
"I've had someone come and look at a nice piece of Dorchester Pottery five or six times, and when they finally came to buy it, it was gone," Moloneaux said. "If you find something that is unusual or rare and you want it, then you should buy it."
Some antiques dealers offer replicas for customers who would like an antique feel without fear of a piece breaking.
"We have exact replicas of original pieces … and we also do newly designed pieces based on traditional styles with a more modern take, usually with an antique finish," said Gillian Dillon, owner of Dillon & Company in Plymouth, Mass. "To most people, it doesn't matter if it is a real antique or not, as long as they love it and the price is right."
Prices can range dramatically: Dillon's store has accessories and furniture ranging from $100 to $7,000, while used books at North River can cost as little as a dollar.
For novice shoppers of antiques, it is important to purchase from trusted antiques dealers to ensure your pre-war china wasn't made last week.
"Even people who have been in the trade for years and years and years can be fooled," Dillon said. "It's just trusting the person that you're buying it from."
Patriot Ledger writer Lana Lagomarsini may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Antique Furniture Care
- Don't over polish. The idea that older wood dries out more and therefore needs polishing more often is a myth.
- Don't place your antique next to a heat source. The culprit of dried-out wood is the environment, so steer your antique clear of the stove, radiator or fireplace.
- Do wax your wood. The best way to maintain a finish is through high-quality paste wax, and to dust regularly with a soft, lint-free cloth. Any spills? Blot them up as quickly as possible.
- Do ask an expert. If you want to refinish or refurbish your antique, it is best to consult an expert before trying to do it yourself.


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This artist's illustration shows the planet Kepler-186f, the first Earth-size alien planet discovered in the habitable zone of its star. (Image: NASA Ames/SETI Institute/JPL-CalTech)
For the first time, scientists have discovered an Earth-size alien planet in the habitable zone of its host star, an "Earth cousin" that just might have liquid water and the right conditions for life.
The newfound planet, called Kepler-186f, was first spotted by NASA's Kepler space telescope and circles a dim red dwarf star about 490 light-years from Earth. While the host star is dimmer than Earth's sun and the planet is slightly bigger than Earth, the positioning of the alien world coupled with its size suggests that Kepler-186f could have water on its surface, scientists say. You can learn more about the amazing alien planet find in a video produced by SPACE.com.
"One of the things we've been looking for is maybe an Earth twin, which is an Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of a sunlike star," Tom Barclay, Kepler scientist and co-author of the new exoplanet research, told Space.com. "This [Kepler-186f] is an Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of a cooler star. So, while it's not an Earth twin, it is perhaps an Earth cousin. It has similar characteristics, but a different parent." [9 Exoplanets That Could Host Alien Life]
This artist's illustration shows what it might be like to stand on the surface of the planet Kepler-186f. (Photo: Danielle Futselaar)
Potentially habitable planet
Scientists think that Kepler-186f — the outermost of five planets found to be orbiting the star Kepler-186 — orbits at a distance of 32.5 million miles (52.4 million kilometers), theoretically within the habitable zone for a red dwarf.
Earth orbits the sun from an average distance of about 93 million miles (150 million km), but the sun is larger and brighter than the Kepler-186 star, meaning that the sun's habitable zone begins farther out from the star by comparison to Kepler-186.
"This is the first definitive Earth-sized planet found in the habitable zone around another star," Elisa Quintana, of the SETI Institute and NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author of a new study detailing the findings, said in a statement.
Other planets of various sizes have been found in the habitable zones of their stars. However, Kepler-186f is the first alien planet this close to Earth in size found orbiting in that potentially life-supporting area of an extrasolar system, according to exoplanet scientists.
'An historic discovery'
"This is an historic discovery of the first truly Earth-size planet found in the habitable zone around its star," Geoff Marcy, an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley, who is unaffiliated with the research, told SPACE.com via email. "This is the best case for a habitable planet yet found. The results are absolutely rock-solid. The planet itself may not be, but I'd bet my house on it. In any case, it's a gem."
The newly discovered planet measures about 1.1 Earth radii, making it slightly larger than Earth, but researchers still think the alien world may be rocky like Earth. Researchers still aren't sure what Kepler-186f's atmosphere is made of, a key element that could help scientists understand if the planet is hospitable to life. [Kepler-186f: Earth-Size World Could Support Oceans, Maybe Life (Infographic)]
"What we've learned, just over the past few years, is that there is a definite transition which occurs around about 1.5 Earth radii," Quintana said in a statement. "What happens there is that for radii between 1.5 and 2 Earth radii, the planet becomes massive enough that it starts to accumulate a very thick hydrogen and helium atmosphere, so it starts to resemble the gas giants of our solar system rather than anything else that we see as terrestrial."
This diagram shows the position of Kepler-186f in relation to Earth. (Image: NASA Ames/SETI Institute/JPL-CalTech)
The edge of habitability
Kepler-186f actually lies at the edge of the Kepler-186 star's habitable zone, meaning that liquid water on the planet's surface could freeze, according to study co-author Stephen Kane of San Francisco State University.
Because of its position in the outer part of the habitable zone, the planet's larger size could actually help keep its water liquid, Kane said in a statement. Since it is slightly bigger than Earth, Kepler-186f could have a thicker atmosphere, which would insulate the planet and potentially keep its water in liquid form, Kane added.
"It [Kepler-186f] goes around its star over 130 days, but because its star is a lower mass than our sun, the planet orbits slightly inner of where Mercury orbits in our own solar system," Barclay said. "It's on the cooler edge of the habitable zone. It's still well within it, but it receives less energy than Earth receives. So, if you're on this planet [Kepler-186f], the star would appear dimmer."
Exoplanet hunting in the future
Kepler-186f could be too dim for follow-up studies that would probe the planet's atmosphere. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope — Hubble's successor, expected to launch to space in 2018 — is designed to image planets around relatively nearby stars; however, the Kepler-186 system might be too far off for the powerful telescope to investigate, Barclay said.
Scientists using the Kepler telescope discovered Kepler-186f using the transit method: When the planet moved across the face of its star from the telescope's perspective, Kepler recorded a slight dip in the star's brightness, allowing researchers to learn more about the planet itself. Kepler suffered a major malfunction last year and is no longer working in the same fashion, but scientists are still going through the spacecraft's trove of data searching for new alien worlds.
"I find it simply awesome that we live in a time when finding potentially habitable planets is common, and the method to find them is standardized," MIT exoplanet hunter and astrophysicist Sara Seager, who is unaffiliated with the research, told Space.com via email.
The new research was published online on April 17 in the journal Science.


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(As the sun dipped below the horizon on October 24, 2014, an estimated one million people worldwide participated in this extraordinary initiative.)
by Simon Apfel, 10/2014
Paula Abdul and The Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik have joined Nobel Prize laureates, international sports stars, a US vice-presidential candidate and Jews of every nationality, ethnicity and level of observance who, in less than a week, will be uniting in 340 cities across the globe for what might just be the most extraordinary Shabbat in Jewish history…
In Melbourne, a sociology professor from Monash University has undertaken an in-depth study of the city's Jewish community to focus efforts, while scores of committees and subcommittees are ensuring the initiative reaches every last Jew in the state of Victoria. An estimated 50% of the 60,000-strong community are expected to take part.
In Buenos Aires, where every single Jewish community organization, school and synagogue in the city has signed up, more than ten thousand people are expected at an enormous Havdallah Unity Concert which has been put together with the help of the Argentinian government, and which will be broadcast on national television.
In Miami, a crack team have perfected a revolutionary recipe for a Thursday night Challah Bake expected to draw thousands, while a local high-school pupil is bringing hundreds of fellow high-school students from across South Florida to Miami Beach for one gargantuan shabbaton, and a local Chabad rabbi has set up a big tent on the premises of his shul, and is offering lavish Shabbat meals for anyone in his zip code pledging to keep that Shabbat.
In Canada – where even Prime Minister Stephen Harper is endorsing the initiative – posters are appearing in subway stations in Toronto, while an enormous neon billboard has recently gone up in New York's Times Square.
Poster ads will also be emblazoned on hundreds of Egged busses and on busy highways and byways across Israel, where the local team have just launched the #Keeping it Together app – packed with all anyone needs to know about keeping Shabbat, and programmed to put users' phones to sleep over Shabbat. Meanwhile, the Rami Levy supermarket chain will be offering a "challah for a shekel, wine for five shekels" special this week.
So far, over 60,000 words of support material have been adapted into Ashkenaz, Sepharad and Ari versions, and translated into English, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, German French, Italian and Portuguese. A recent print run of an "Unofficial guide" to keeping Shabbat and a Shabbat "Toolkit" (which you might have seen at your local synagogue over Yom Kippur) may have been one of the biggest in Jewish history.
The project's website has received 14 million hits since the beginning of the year, and this past Friday, as many as 8,000 people tried signing up at one time, crashing the server. As the sun dips below the horizon on October 24, an estimated one million people worldwide will be participating in the initiative.
Jews of all walks of life – religious and secular, young and old, from all corners of the world – are uniting to experience one full Shabbat together.
In unprecedented fashion, Nobel Prize winners, writers, politicians, sportsmen, musicians and celebrities have joined revered rabbis and rosh yeshivas in lending their support and voicing their commitment to the cause. Hong Kong and Tokyo are "keeping it together", as are Lima and Manila, Addis Ababa and Abuja, and Vilna and Venice. They are joined by around 50 cities in Israel, over 100 cities in the US, and more than 340 cities in 35 countries around the world.
Welcome to the Shabbat Project.
First South Africa, now it's the rest of the world
The concept is simple: Jews of all walks of life, from across the spectrum – religious, secular and traditional; young and old, from all corners of the world – uniting to experience one full Shabbat together, in full accordance with Jewish law.
The Shabbat Project was introduced in South Africa in 2013 to quite astonishing effect. On the Shabbat over which it ran, close to 70 percent of the country's 75,000 Jews kept Shabbat in full, most for the first time in their lives. Perhaps more significantly, the initiative drew people together in ways never seen before.
In the aftermath, many wrote in from around the world, wanting to bring the initiative to their own cities and communities. And so, the international Shabbat Project was born.
It has already been described as "an experiment that has no precedent in modern Jewish history," and "the most ambitious Jewish unity initiative ever undertaken," with final preparations now feverishly underway coordinated by around 1500 partners in 340 cities.
"The Shabbat Project is an opportunity for the entire Jewish world to keep one complete Shabbat together – from Friday evening just before sunset on October 24, until Saturday night after the stars have come out on October 25," says South African Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein, who originated the Shabbat Project last year in South Africa, and whose ideas and vision have enabled the project to go global in 2014. "The beauty of this is that it is so practical and manageable. It's only one Shabbat. It's something everyone can do."
The Shabbat Project is not merely about performing a symbolic gesture to acknowledge Shabbat, but rather about keeping it in full. For Goldstein, authenticity is everything.
"This approach is predicated on the idea that the real energy of Shabbat – its transformative power – is wholly dependent on immersing oneself in the full Shabbat experience."
Keeping it together
The tagline of the Shabbat Project, "Keeping it together," neatly encapsulates the twin ideals of the initiative – unity and wellbeing.
"Keeping it together means keeping our lives together," Goldstein explains. "Of course, there is the good food, sound sleep and deep relaxation to look forward to on Shabbat, but there's more. Shabbat restores us, not just in a physical sense, but emotionally and spiritually as well, so that we emerge on Saturday night as new human beings ready to face the week with all of its challenges and opportunities."
"Keeping it Together" is an allusion to the unique restorative powers – the opportunity for deep physical, emotional and spiritual rejuvenation – which the full Shabbat experience affords. This is especially relevant in a modern world in which society is bombarded with technology and gadgetry; where what is truly important often takes a backseat.
"Shabbat can hold us together in a society where everything seems to be pulling us apart."
"A unique tranquility and intimacy permeates our homes on Shabbat," says Goldstein. "No one has to answer the phone or rush off. No one is distracted by the screens of information and entertainment that saturate our world. We are left with a remarkable, uninterrupted haven of love and connection, which allows us to appreciate and focus on what we have in our lives."
He believes that Shabbat has a special power and resonance for our time.
"Shabbat enables us to momentarily set aside the distractions, demands and pressures of daily life, offering us the time and space to renew our inner selves, and to revisit and reinvigorate our most important
relationships," says Goldstein. "Shabbat can hold us together in a society where everything seems to be pulling us apart."
"It's going to be awesome"
Mayim Bialik, three-times Emmy-nominated actress of smash-hit sitcom, The Big Bang Theory and a trained neuroscientist, has written extensively on the importance of face-to-face time with one's family while not working, and specifically about the lessons of Shabbat in setting aside a day of the week free of the trappings of technology.
Over the past few weeks, Bialik has emerged as a proud, vocal ambassador for the Shabbat Project. In a recent post, she called on her many fans around the world to "try one Shabbat," assuring them: "it's going to be awesome in the most peaceful, quiet, restorative, and unifying way possible."
The multi-award winning US entertainer and American Idol and X Factor judge, Paula Abdul has also joined other international singers (including fellow Grammy honoree, indy folk-rocker Lisa Loeb, and US Billboard Hot 100 hitmaker and Brit Award nominee, Alex Clare) in lending her voice to the cause.
"Shabbat is very important to me because in a way it's my Club Med in life," Abdul reflects in a recent video interview. "I know when Shabbat comes, I can be me – no paparazzi, no invasion of my privacy. I can always look forward to the end of the week and say, 'Thank God I have Shabbat'.
"We're living in a world where social media and our jobs pull us away from the most basic human comfort zones – being with family and enjoying human company and connecting with God without the interruptions from the phone or the TV."
Abdul calls the Shabbat Project, "A phenomenal initiative… that can bring everyone back to their inner happiness, bring Jews together, and preserve our traditions, our families and our sanity."
Boxer, Dmitry Salita, is another champion of the Shabbat Project.
"Shabbat gives you the opportunity to take a deep breath of fresh air and makes you realize there is another dimension to life other than the everyday tasks and responsibilities," says the WBA and IBF international welterweight champion, who has thrown his name into the ring along with a few other well-known sportsmen, including basketballer Tamir Goodman (the "Jewish Jordan") and former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman and Super Bowl winner Alan Veingrad.
Shabbat is an opportunity to focus on another set of responsibilities," he says. "It's a time to be with friends and family, a time to focus on your relationships with them and with God. It's a time to disconnect from the ever-pressing burdens of weekday life. On Shabbat, you can't pick up your phone or switch on your TV – but this, in fact, is what makes the experience so holy and special."
Senator Joe Lieberman has also come out in support of the initiative.
"I was amazed when I heard what happened (last year) in South Africa – this whole idea of getting as many Jews as possible of all levels of observance and non-observance to commit to putting everything down for 25 hours and observing this Shabbat together…" says the author of The Gift of Rest (2011), an account of Lieberman's spiritual journey through the American corridors of power, and a moving testament to how Shabbat in particular enriched not just his personal life, but his professional career as well.
"Watching the videos I was quite taken with what was clearly the growing and deepening sense of community that swept over people as a result of this experience. I am very excited that Goldstein and his team are taking it on the road – I think the Jewish world needs the Shabbat Project at this moment in our history."
Lieberman is of course alluding to the simple meaning of "Keeping It Together" – the unifying experience of literally keeping Shabbat together – as one Jewish people, and as individuals, families and communities all over the world, all at the same time.
Thus far, it's this unity factor more than anything else that people seem to be responding to. Indeed, one of the unique aspects of the Shabbat Project is that all factional identities – all denominations, affiliations, ideologies, and political differences – are put to the side.
The message couldn't be timelier.
"At this moment in time," says Goldstein, "in the aftermath of the Gaza War – and the pressures Jews everywhere have felt in its wake – the international Shabbat Project provides us with a unique, historic opportunity to give birth to a new sense of Jewish unity and Jewish identity. As Jews around the world, we will be doing this together. The power of that shared experience is unimaginable."
The international Shabbos Project is taking place around the world over the Shabbat of Parshat Lech Lecha, on 23/24 October 2015. For more info, or to sign up, visit http://www.theshabbosproject.org
Posted on September 27, 2015, in 2015, Events, MAJCO, October, Planning, Ram's Horn. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
It is too bad that Ruz is coming in Oct 30 for the weekend. If she were coming in this coming weekend, we could incorporate this Shabbos project in some way. Oh well, it will be great to have her on the 30th


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Last night marked another first: my first track race.
The venue? Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island.
The distance? The mile.
The goal? Break six minutes.
The reality? Not on this night.
Just getting to the stadium was a trial. Google Maps said "18 minutes, 40 in traffic." I gave us 45. That still wasn't enough. It was bumper to bumper for much of the way. We finally got onto the RFK (aka Triboro, for you old school New Yorkers) Bridge and got way the hell over to prepare to exit right for Randall's Island. I learned this lesson before when we drove to the Reebok games. But as we neared the toll plazas we saw signs that said "New. Left Lane. Ward's Island"? Wha?
Panic. Go left or go right? We decided to stick with what we knew, which was to go right.
Now this maneuver is not for the faint of heart. I learned to drive in New York, so I'm fairly fearless on the roads, but crossing four lanes of traffic on this bridge takes the hand-eye coordination of a 12 year old and the steely resolve of a mercenary, neither of which I possess.
Jonathan, who accompanied me on this trip as much for moral support as for the purpose of helping me to not get hopelessly lost (which I would have), rolled down the window in an attempt to help me navigate through the onrush of cars. Just as he did that a giant SUV came by, landed in a pothole and sent a wave of water through the passenger side window. I half expected to see a fish in Jonathan's lap. He was soaked.
So things were starting off well.
We wended our way down to the stadium. The next problem was, where to park? Any lots nearby were blocked and the one just outside the stadium was charging $20 for "event parking." Oh, right. This is New York. If someone can gouge you, they will. A bunch of random schlubs running round a track was considered an "event"? I paid $20 to park for the Reebok meet. I wasn't paying it tonight. We circled back and found parking outside of some sort of tennis complex.
It was a quick jog over to the stadium. In the pouring rain. Yes. It was pouring. And very windy.
As was promised, this was a very low key affair. I paid my $10 and then prepared to wait. It was about 6:45 and the races were to start at 7:00, running the 400, 800, 3000 and, finally, my event. The mile.
Did you know that Icahn has an open wifi network? I used it to post morose Facebook updates.
Jonathan, wet, was getting hypothermic. I gave him my extra pair of warmup pants (actually, they're his, but I've gradually claimed ownership by wearing them constantly) and that helped. With no body fat, he's delicate in cold, wet conditions. While he was off getting changed I found myself in a battle of wills with a mangy squirrel that found my duffel bag worthy of fascination. I looked at the track, which was in a downpour. And the flags, which were horizontal. I felt bad for all of us. This was rapidly feeling like a total waste of time.
I went down to do a warmup when they started the 800. I probably jogged a half mile back and forth along the side of the track. Then I did four strides. I ran the second one so fast that I nearly fell down. That would have been a little embarrassing.
Midway through the 3000 I put on my spikes, which for the record are called Gel Dirt Divas. I am not happy with that name. But they cost $35 and they are light and comfortable as can be. The 3000 ended (I felt sorry for those people, 7.5 laps in this shit). The rain had actually started to let up a bit. It was now a light rain. The wind, however, had kicked up and was a steady 20-25 mph blowing straight down the home straightaway.
The mile group was big, maybe 40-50 people. They divided us up into two races: the fasties and slowies. The fasties were all men, except for one brave woman. I raced with the slowies.
I did have a pacing strategy for this race, which was to run 88-90 for the first lap, hold on at 90 for two and three, then do whatever I could for the last 409+ meters. Standing there in the wind, I was thinking I'd be lucky to run between 6:20 and 6:30.
We line up on the special white curvy line and, whee, we actually get a starter gun. I'm in lane 5 when we go. Coming around the curve I position myself in lane 3, where I am stuck for the first lap and a half. I actually manage a 90 second first lap and think, so far so good. But it won't last. I come through lap two seven seconds slower. Although, on the bright side, I'm now in lane 2 and working to get into the inside lane by passing a few people.
Lap three is, as Coach Kevin promised, the hardest one. My legs feel okay but my lungs are feeling it and I have a pain forming in my throat and rising up my neck to the sides of my head. This is a completely foreign sensation. I have never run this hard, for this far, in my life. Lap 3 is a little slower still, maybe 98.
We round the first 100 of the last lap and I'm really feeling it now. But I only have to do this for another 300 meters, so I push. There's one guy a couple meters ahead of me whom I'd love to catch, but I can't. Still, he pulls me along and I manage a slightly faster last lap, despite the extra 9 meters — another 97.
There is no clock at the finish. I don't know what my official time is because the results haven't been posted yet. But my watch said 6:23. I ran 1.04 miles, due to being in the outer lanes for most of the way. Doing the math, had I been in lane 1 the whole way, I would have been good for around a 6:08. Without the wind, I know I would have broken 6:00. Oh, well. Oh, well.
Afterwards, I couldn't speak. My jaws were stiff and I was wheezing. I'd also generated a tremendous amount of heat. Despite being in a tee shirt and shorts in a wind chill in the 40s, I was boiling.
Spotted Robert (and said hi to his girlfriend, Helen, before the race), but I honestly couldn't talk to anyone. I was in something like mild shock from the race. It was the oddest sensation.
Despite the bad conditions, the crowded track and lack of amenities like a clock for splits, I enjoyed myself. It was a new experience and an intense one at that. Unfortunately, there are no more mile races scheduled this season. But there's a 1500 on June 8 and I'll take another crack at it then. My goal is the 1500 equivalent of a 6:00 mile, or 5:36. I hope it's not windy.
Filed under: coaching, racing, shoes | Tagged: icahn, mile, nyrr, randall's isand, rfk bridge, triboro bridge, tuesday night at the races | 19 Comments »


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Scott Sumner has an interesting new post in which he argues that Utah is "America's Denmark". I like Scott's theory a lot. Mostly because I think of Utah is how Denmark used to be. I really don't like to write about Denmark, but this topic is too interesting to miss.
I left a long answer to Scott on his blog. This post is based on that answer.
Lets start out with Scott's PS:
"I knew Miles and Lars had something in common"
Scott obvious thinks of Miles Kimball and yours truly. If I am not wrong Miles grew up in Utah as a Mormon (Miles in no longer a Mormon).
Miles and I indeed have a lot in common. So Scott is on to something – Utah in fact is "Danish" in the sense that a large share of the early Mormon pioneers in Utah in fact came from Denmark. In fact Miles is 1/4 Danish. Miles' grandfather was named Elmer (Madsen). Elmer happens to be my son's middle name (a very rare name in today's Denmark).
Last year I spoke at Brigham Young University in Utah. At my presentation I was asked how the Danish welfare model could work. My answer was "because we are like you". Ever since I visited Utah last year I have been thinking about the early Mormon society as an anarchic form of a welfare society. A society where collective goods problems are solved through common norms (religion). Denmark of the 1950s and Utah of the 1860s probably have that in common. That is not a surprise – a lot of the people in both places of course were/are Danes. As Miles' grandfather and my grandfather. In fact I have for some time had the crazy idea that I want to try to write a book in the topic of how collective goods problems were solved in early Mormon society in Utah. As a Dane I might have a comparative advantage in that endeavor (The other thing is that I don't have time to undertake this task… )
My argument was that the "original" Danish welfare state really just is a form of the Mormon style welfare system. Everybody in society are very similar and as a consequence there is little difference between a "one-size-fits-all" tax funded system and a private based system like the Mormon private based welfare system.
The interesting thing here is that the Mormon pioneers in Utah established a basically anarchic welfare system that basically covered everybody. That worked fine and I believe that is not really that different in the foundation form the Danish Welfare system. What is different is how the two systems developed over time. In fact I believe that had Utah not become part of the United States Utah might very well have developed into Danish style welfare state. This of course is somewhat os a paradox – anarchic welfare society that develops into a society with a very large public sector. Maybe some of the Bleeding Heart Libertarians have a view on this topic.
However, I am too optimistic on the future of the Danish welfare model. First of all I think it is extremely important to notice that the Danish model really was largely private sector based until the late 1960s. In fact until the mid-1960s the size of the public sector in Denmark (and all the other Nordic countries) was smaller than in public sector in the US (as share of GDP). Hence, when Milton Friedman wrote Capitalism and Freedom (in 1962) Denmark really was closer to his ideal than the US was.
In the end of the 1960s the public sector in Denmark started growing very dramatically until the early 1980s. In that period Denmark also started its relative income decline.
Finally I would note that in a society where everybody "normally" works and where most people are very similar people would tend to be "honest" and not misuse public benefit systems and because your neighbours come knocking on your door and tell you to get your act together if you want to be invited over for BBQ etc. That undoubtedly was the case in Denmark until the early 1970s. However, that changed in the 1970s.
Two things happened. First of all, unemployment rose dramatically in Denmark in the early 1970s as a result of the first oil crisis AND a sharp increase in benefits levels. That made it "socially acceptable" to be unemployment and live of taxpayer money. Second, Denmark saw a sharp increase in immigration from the late 1960s and until the early 1980s. That changed Denmark from an extremely homogeneous society to a more multicultural society. These two factors in my view removed the implicit 'social threat' that your neighbors would think of you as an idiot if you remained on the dole for years. That effectively sharply reduced the cost of misusing the public welfare system.
As consequence while Dane used to the work ethics as Utah Mormons Denmark today is a "leisure society" with low work ethics. This in my view probably is the biggest threat to the "Danish model". A new working paper by Casper Hunnerup Dahl has an interesting discussion of this topic.
Finally, the strength of the "flexicurity system" in my view is mostly a myth. Yes, we have a very flexible labour market in Denmark with low levels of labour market regulation. There is for example no official state sponsored minimum wage and firing and hiring rules are liberal. However, high benefit levels is a massive burden to public finances and in the long-term the model will not survive in its present form.
Denmark, however, still benefits from have a fairly homogenous society in the sense that it probably has positive impact on the political system. Hence, while the welfare state is overblown Danish policy makers over the last three decades in general have agreed on the overall need for scaling back the public sector and continue economic reforms. Hence, since the early 1980s different (left and right) governments have tried to reform the welfare state. Hence, had it not been for the policy mistakes of the late 1960s and early 1970s Denmark would probably have had a public sector of a similar size to Switzerland. Incredibly enough the present centre-left government has – much against its voters wishes – pushed from reforms of welfare benefits, educational reform and pension reforms.
Concluding, I believe Scott in general is right. Utah might be America's Denmark, but it is probably the Denmark of 1960 rather than of today.
PS I hope Scott will soon visit Denmark to take a look for himself. I know Miles will soon be here.


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It's been a while since I've posted about News Mixer, and since then the intertubes seem to have taken a liking to our little project. I'm delighted that our code might live on in other projects.
Steal this code!
Like I explained in my interview with Kristen Taylor at Knight Pulse, the code is free.
So take it, and make cool stuff. Please!
Using News Mixer right now
I was delighted to learn that the Populous Project decided to adopt News Mixer. Anthony Pesce's post at Media Shift Idea Lab,Populous Is Adopting News Mixer (And More), covers the details.
Initially we were planning on building similar features into Populous, but our original vision was to create a whole separate network on our own site to handle it. That plan had a few problems, but two in particular were too large to ignore: Facebook is ubiquitous on college campuses and it does social networking better than we ever could, and new readers would have to join a whole new network which is an unacceptable impediment.
We realized that using Facebook Connect as a way of authentication for the site, and as a way of giving our readers a robust social networking experience, would almost work better than making the whole thing on our own from scratch. Facebook, we think, will also help drive additional traffic to our site because people who aren't already on our network will still be exposed to content when their friends interact with it.
Patrick Beeson wrote a very thoughtful post about News Mixer in December (and I'm dying to know what he's got up his sleeve…): Medill's News Mixer remixes story comments
Although News Mixer [doesn't] change the traditional story format — stories are still stories that don't work as well online as they do in print — I think their radical take on user participation is a great step forward for news sites.
And because News Mixer is built in Django, I plan on using their open-sourced code for my own project very soon, in fact.
And be sure to check out Rich Gordon's comprehensive post about how news organizations might use News Mixer: News Mixer Options: Launch a Site, Use the Code or Be Inspired
This past week, e-Me Ventures (a Chicago-based technology firm affiliated with Gazette Communications, which sponsored the class that developed News Mixer) announced it had deployed a portion of the News Mixer code as an add-in to a test site, powered by WordPress.
"The News Mixer idea was huge. I was really blown away by the work that [the students] did," said Abe Abreu, CEO of e-Me. "We wanted to be the first to do something with it."
With these new developments, it seems like a good time to lay out some of the ways News Mixer — and/or its functionality — might be implemented on a production Web site.
News Mixer in the news
Finally, if you're interested in reading more about the press we've received, check out Rich's excellent roundup, keep an eye on my newsmixer tag on delicious, and follow along on Twitter.


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Photo Challenge: Magic. A little naiad (water nymph) guarding a tributary of the Vltava River, Prague.
Photo Challenge: Magic. A little naiad (water nymph) guarding a tributary of the Vltava River, Prague.
Posted in Travel, Weekly photo challenges
Tagged Czech Republic, moments, mythical, naiad, photography, photos, Prague, Vltava river, weekly photo challenge
This week's Photo Challenge: Morning. What better way to celebrate morning than by walking? Storks walking in a river in Vir, Czech Republic, 7 am.
Posted in Travel, Umbria, Weekly photo challenges
Tagged Czech Republic, moments, photography, Umbria, weekly photo challenge
Our mothers didn't die like this.
Today is the 65th anniversary of the death of a remarkable woman. Milada Horáková was arrested in Prague in 1949 and tried in the 1950 show trial that made the world stand still. She was condemned to death on trumped up charges of treason and being an enemy of the state.
The night before her execution, she was granted 30 minutes with her 16-year old daughter, Jana. After Jana left, Milada was allowed to write three letters: one to her husband, one to her sister, and one to Jana. The letter to Jana never reached her, but it survived. Jana first saw the letter in 1970 when it was published in some kind of underground paper. (I've quoted parts of the letter at the end of this blog along with a link to the entire letter.)
After spending the entire night writing her letters, Milada Horáková was brutally executed by hanging (the only woman to be hanged by the communists) in the early hours of June 27, 1950. She was 48 years old.
My connection to this historical figure—this incredibly brave woman, "mother, lawyer, social worker, humanitarian, enemy of dictatorship"—who sacrificed everything for her country, is through a book I've written about her colleague and friend who was also condemned to death in the show trials. His sentence was later reduced to 22 years hard labor in the Uranium mines, hence the reason I was able to meet him and write the book about him 50 years later. (The book will be published this fall in Prague, in Czech and English.)
But more important, my connection to her is through my husband's father and through her only daughter, Jana Horáková Kansky, whom I have the privilege and honor of knowing. She spent many hours telling me the story of her parents, and her own story. The one thing she would not talk about was the content of the visit with her mother that fateful night.
My husband's father and mother are buried in the Milada Horáková tomb in the National Cemetery in Prague, along with other brave souls who fought for a free Czechoslovakia. No one knows where Milada herself is buried. Jana told me that when she comes to Prague, she visits the tomb and three cemeteries with the hope that she's visiting her mother.
Having lost my own mother four years ago, this letter reaches more deeply into my soul than I ever imagined. I have no further words; the heartbreak is too profound. Here are some of Milada's words to her only little girl Jana:
My only little girl Jana,
God blessed my life as a woman with you. As your father wrote in the poem from a German prison, God gave you to us because he loved us. Apart from your father's magic, amazing love you were the greatest gift I received from fate. However, Providence planned my life in such a way that I could not give you nearly all that my mind and my heart had prepared for you. The reason was not that I loved you little; I love you just as purely and fervently as other mothers love their children.
But I understood that my task here in the world was to do you good by seeing to it that life becomes better, and that all children can live well. And therefore, we often had to be apart for a long time. It is now already for the second time that Fate has torn us apart. Don't be frightened and sad because I am not coming back any more. Learn, my child, to look at life early as a serious matter. Life is hard, it does not pamper anybody, and for every time it strokes you it gives you ten blows. Become accustomed to that soon, but don't let it defeat you. Decide to fight. Have courage and clear goals and you will win over life. Much is still unclear to your young mind, and I don't have time left to explain to you things you would still like to ask me.
…Go through the world with open eyes, and listen not only to your own pains and interests, but also to the pains, interests and longings of others. Don't ever think of anything as none of your business. No, everything must interest you, and you should reflect about everything, compare, compose individual phenomena. Man doesn't live in the world alone; in that there is great happiness, but also a tremendous responsibility.
…You have to put down your roots where fate determined for you to live. You have to find your own way. Look for it independently, don't let anything turn you away from it, not even the memory of your mother and father. If you really love them, you won't hurt them by seeing them critically—just don't go on a road which is wrong, dishonest and does not harmonize with life. I have changed my mind many times, rearranged many values, but, what was left as an essential value, without which I cannot imagine my life, is the freedom of my conscience. I would like you, my little girl, to think about whether I was right.
…And don't forget about love in your life. I am not only thinking of the red blossom which one day will bloom in your heart, and you, if fate favors you, will find a similar one in the heart of another person with whose road yours will merge. I am thinking of love without which one cannot live happily. And don't ever crumble love—learn to give it whole and really. And learn to love precisely those who encourage love so little—then you won't usually make a mistake. My little girl Jana, when you will be choosing for whom your maiden heart shall burn and to whom to really give yourself remember your father.
I don't know if you will meet with such luck as I, I don't know if you will meet such a beautiful human being, but choose your ideal close to him. Perhaps you, my little one, have already begun to understand, and now perhaps you understand to the point of pain what we have lost in him. What I find hardest to bear is that I am also guilty of that loss.
…Janinko, please take good care of Grandfather Kral and Grandmother Horakova. Their old hearts now need the most consolation. Visit them often and let them tell you about your father's and mother's youth, so that you can preserve it in your mind for your children. In that way an individual becomes immortal, and we shall continue in you and in the others of your blood.
…I kiss your hair, eyes and mouth, I stroke you and hold you in my arms (I really held you so little.) I shall always be with you. I am concluding by copying from memory the poem which your father composed for you in jail in 1940…
[There followed a poem written by her husband about the birth of their daughter, and a reading list.]
For the entire letter, here is a link:
For details of Milada Horáková's incredible life, there are a number of websites. Here are two:
Posted in Reflections, Travel
Tagged Czech Republic, Horakova tomb, memoirs, Milada Horakova, moments, Prague
In Prague through a glass lightly for the daily prompt.
Posted in Daily prompts, Travel
Tagged Czech Republic, daily prompt, photography, postaday, Prague, reflections, travel
Posted in Weekly photo challenges
Tagged Charles Bridge, Czech Republic, moments, photos, postaday, Prague, St. Vitus, weekly photo challenge
Reflections on the Vltava River, Cesky Krumlov, in Bohemia, Czech Republic.
Enchanting, intriguing, beautiful Prague. Take away the tourists and gaudy souvenir shops, and you'll see one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Prague is my husband's home town, but he had to escape when the communists took over. And then came 1989. He was able to go back and stand on the ground of his beloved Prague. To say that it was unbearably emotional is an understatement.
Today, Prague is stuffed full of tourists with heads up and mouths open. It can be suffocating. But we know how to escape the crowds and venture into the more untouched spaces. I love Prague. It has become my home away from home.
If one knows where to look, there are surprises lurking around corners, behind doors, some in plain sight that the tourists don't even see.
Here are some of my Prague surprises. I hope they delight and surprise you as well. (If you click on any photo, a slide show appears.)


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Pressed between the pages of my mind
Sweetened through the ages just like wine
Quiet thoughts come floating down and settle softly to the ground
Like golden autumn leaves around my feet
I touch them and they burst apart with sweet memories
Lyrics by the Lettermen
(the sun cutting through the clouds / Julie Cook / 2020)
Do you remember when we use to worry about things like tornados, hurricanes, blizzards,
droughts…what about things like The Wall, illegal aliens, the fab four, Madame Speaker,
'pencilneck', impeachments, our President, the left, the right, the wrong…
What about the pollen?
The highest ever, in all of recorded history took place this week—
Or what about climate change…oh wait, didn't it cause the pandemic or was that Trump??
But who has time to worry about sneezing and itchy eyes, the climate, global warming,
ad infinitum, when we can't even find toilet paper?
Ahhh, those were the good old days…
So isn't it simply amazing how a pandemic just seems to glibly push all that
other stuff aside?
There was a doctor from Emory University, who was interviewed by the news this morning,
who quipped that we might as well just wipe the month of April off the books cause we
ain't budging from this life on lockdown for at least 4 to 6 more weeks.
And then to put the icing on the cake, I actually read that Easter was being canceled.
Yep, canceling Easter.
You mean canceling local egg hunts, Sunday services with fancy new dresses and frilly
Spring hats, the wee hour sunrise services…canceling luncheons and afternoon gatherings…
canceling that Easter right?!
Because we know that nothing…not politicians, principalities, dominions, rulers, kings,
pandemics—-not even death can ever stop Easter…
But of course, we already knew that, didn't we…??
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
John 11:25


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Lowell's Irish and French Canadian populations long had an uneasy relationship. I grew up hearing about it, a century after the French Canadians first starting appearing in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1870s. By the time the French Canadians began arriving in Lowell, the Irish Catholics – who had started appearing a generation earlier – had been winning some hard-fought political control over their circumstances and had started arguing for labor reform in the city's textile mills. The French Canadians, newly arrived to Lowell, were not looking to jeopardize their chances of finding employment in the mills by becoming involved in the Irish efforts at labor reform. As a result, the Irish viewed the French Canadians as strike breakers, and the French Canadians resented the Irish for making their quest for lasting and steady employment more difficult.
Gradually, as newer waves of emigrants arrived – among them the Greeks, Polish and Portuguese – the resentment between the Irish and French Canadians began to ebb as they formed an uneasy alliance against these newer groups who, like them before, so needed work that they were willing to act as 'strike breakers' when labor discussions turned toward reform in the years surrounding the turn of the twentieth century. But, the tensions never really faded away entirely.
As both populations became 'more American', and less 'Irish' or 'French Canadian', their US-born children almost began to forget about the original divides between the two groups. Almost. Many mill town family trees, mine included, show evidence of marriages uniting children of the Irish with children of the French Canadians.
When Peter Foisy, of French Canadian descent, married my Great Aunt Catherine McNamara, of Irish Catholic descent, in the mid-1920s, a sense of scandal rocked the family – for a few reasons. He was older, by more than 20 years. He was divorced. And – he was French Canadian – one of 'them'. For similar reasons, a sense of scandal also rocked his family, when their son divorced his wife to marry a woman young enough to be his daughter.
Soon after their marriage, Catherine became pregnant – which wasn't really a surprise to anyone since Peter had left his first wife since she hadn't wanted children. Their daughter, my Aunt Emily, was born in 1927, and the family lived happily, until 1929, when Peter died at the age of 47. My Aunt Emily, was just two years old.
Decades later, I grew up hearing the story of how Aunt Emily's French-Canadian grandmother tried to convince my aunt's newly widowed mother to place her in the Franco American Orphanage in the months after her father's death. The stories led me to envision this woman as a 'wicked witch' sort of grandmother. And, years later, when I found her photograph among my aunt's things, that image wasn't exactly disproven.
The orphanage, to me, as a child hearing the story, seemed like it would have been a big, scary, lonely place to send a newly fatherless toddler in the late 1920s. Now, after the passage of a few decades and a chance to further study the Franco American Orphanage, it turns out that it wasn't such a desolate, lonely place after all. The original building, shown above, dates to the 1870s and was built for Frederick Ayer, one of Lowell's most prominent nineteenth-century businessmen. Today, his former estate, once known as the Ayer estate and later as the Franco American Orphanage and School quickly became one of Lowell's most recognizable landmarks on the corner of Mammoth Road and Pawtucket Streets. Frederick Ayer, in life, was a successful Lowell businessman whose business pursuits included partnering with his equally well-known brother, J.C. Ayer, in his patent medicine business.
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate bought the Ayer estate in 1908 and soon received Cardinal O'Connell's blessing to open an orphanage to serve the orphans of the city's growing Franco American population. Father Joseph Campeau, OMI, who was pastor at St. Joseph's parish, helped found the orphanage, with the help of the Sisters of Charity. They had their work cut out for them, trying to refurbish the estate and turn it into an orphanage and school. The estate had been vacant since 1890, when Ayer had moved to Boston. In the end, they succeeded in renovating the estate, and the nuns welcomed the orphanage's first sixteen orphans on October 15, 1908.
The orphanage prospered, and as times changed, it began to admit day students as early as the 1950s. The number of day students continued to grow through the 1960s, when the Franco American Orphanage officially became the Franco American School in 1963. Fifteen years later, in 1978, the Franco American School discontinued its boarding school services and moved to the day-student-only format that continues through today.
By the time I came around, the Franco American School had stood on Lowell's Pawtucket Street for decades, where it still provides a Catholic education to the city's youth. Although additions have been added to the original Ayer estate over the years, the front building, the original, still retains much of its original historical charm. Fortunately, very little remains today of that initial resentment between Lowell's earliest Irish and French Canadian populations, except when recalled in family stories and old newspaper articles. My aunt passed away in 2004, and never lost pride in either heritage – although I think she more readily claimed her Irish Catholic background just to spite that French Canadian grandmother who almost sent her to the orphanage all those years ago.


text:
This headline grabbed me: "WWII Devastation" in Joplin, Missouri. And here's what that devastation looked like:
Not that Obama gives much of a damn.
There's a famous picture that killed the Bush presidency. It shows him flying over the Katrina devastation in a jet:
That one picture was all the mainstream media needed to frame their narrative that Bush was either uninvolved, uncaring, incompetent – or all three. They showed it over and over.
Here are some pictures of Obama as tornadoes ripped across America and killed hundreds. He didn't HAVE to go on this trip; it wasn't a major summit of any kind. He visited distant relatives in Ireland, for Pete's sake!
On his trip – while Americans were dying in droves and losing their homes by the tens of thousands – Obama enjoyed a nice game of ping pong:
Why aren't those photos about a gazillion times worse? Other than the fact that the mainstream media would never do unto Obama what they repeatedly did unto Bush?
And, of course, there's the story of Obama totally screwing up during the playing of the British national anthem and talking over it.
There's the footage of Obama – who mocked the Republicans over the metaphor of their "driving the car of state into a ditch" – having this LITERALLY happen to his motorcade:
There's the incredible picture of Obama not knowing what YEAR it was as he signed the guest book at Westminster Abbey:
Remember how many times the mainstream media replayed the footage of Bush going to the wrong door in China? They mocked that Bush had "no exit strategy." How is this not about a million times more stupid???
All this happened while Americans losing their lives and having their homes' destroyed by tornado after tornado.
Meanwhile, there are Americans who are suffering – and continue to suffer – the aftermath of that "World War II devastation," who would LOVE their president flying over the ruins of their homes:
You can bet that the same mainstream media that destroyed Bush one story and one picture at a time will never attack their messiah the same way – even though they have TWENTY TIMES the ammunition they had on Bush.
The most ideological and biased media since Adolf Hitler's propaganda machine will keep on protecting their beloved Führer.
Tags: beer, bias, devastation, guest book, Ireland, Joplin, limo, log book, mainstream media, Media, Missouri, motorcade, national anthem, Obama, ping pong, propaganda, queen, stuck, tornado, Westminster Abbey, wrong year


text:
Associated Press
LONDON — J.K. Rowling is back with a novel involving
a writer whose acid-tipped pen may have led to murder.
Publisher Little, Brown said Monday that it is publishing
a second book by Robert Galbraith, the "Harry Potter"
author's thriller-writing pseudonym.
"The Silkworm" sees the return of detective Cormoran
Strike, the ex-soldier hero introduced in "The Cuckoo's Calling."
In the new book, Strike investigates the disappearance
of a novelist who has written a book that features scathing
descriptions of real people.
"The Cuckoo's Calling" initially attracted little notice
when it was published last year, but rocketed up the charts
once Rowling was exposed as its author.A lawyer has been
fined for letting slip the writer's identity.
"The Silkworm" will be published June 19 in Britain and
June 24 in the U.S.


text:
All News Releases By Date
S. Portland Maine Facility faces EPA Sanction for Unsafe Storage of Hazardous Chemicals
Release Date: 09/19/2011
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017
(Boston, Mass. – Sept. 19, 2011) – A chemical manufacturing and distribution facility in South Portland, Maine, faces an EPA fine of up to $151,900 for improper storage of hazardous materials, in violation of federal and state laws.
Monson Companies Inc. of Leominster, Mass., which operates a warehouse, distribution, repackaging and custom blending chemical manufacturing facility, was recently issued a complaint by EPA for its failure to meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act, the Maine Hazardous Waste Management Rules and the federal Emergency Planning & Community Right-to-Know Act.
According to EPA, Monson violated the Clean Air Act's chemical accident prevention provisions by not appropriately storing numerous chemicals that, alone or in combination, are extremely hazardous and can cause explosions or other violent reactions. The complaint alleges that the facility stored incompatible chemicals sufficiently close together that a spill or release of one chemical could result in a chemical reaction with other chemicals, creating toxic gases or causing a fire or explosion.
"EPA's inspections of chemical warehouses and distribution facilities have revealed some dangerous storage conditions and, often, a failure to adequately warn emergency responders about chemicals that they could encounter while fighting a fire or responding to a release," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "Carefully following the appropriate methods when storing hazardous chemicals is easy to do, and can help save lives."
The complaint also alleges that the facility violated the Clean Air Act by not leaving enough aisle space between piles of hazardous materials to allow personnel or other emergency responders access in the event of an accidental release. The "General Duty Clause" of the Clean Air Act aims to prevent accidental releases of substances that can cause serious harm to the public and the environment from short-term exposures and to reduce the severity of accidental releases that do occur.
Further, Monson failed to submit a complete emergency and hazardous chemical inventory (Tier II) form for calendar year 2009 to local and state emergency planning officials and to the local fire department, in violation of the federal right-to-know law. Monson filed a Tier II form for calendar year 2009, but failed to include more than 20 hazardous chemicals found at the facility in quantities that exceeded the regulatory threshold. Failure of a facility to file these forms leaves the community unaware of the presence of chemicals in the neighborhood that may affect public health and the environment. Also, these forms help federal, state and local authorities plan for emergency response actions and the cleanup of industrial pollution.
The complaint also alleges that Monson failed to conduct hazardous waste determinations, as required by Maine Hazardous Waste Management Rules. EPA inspectors found several containers that were identified by facility personnel as waste, but without any determination of what kind of waste, as required by Maine Hazardous Waste Management Rules. The proper determination of wastes generated or stored on-site is fundamental to a facility's waste management program, and failure to determine the hazards associated with each waste and label them poses a substantial risk to employees, emergency responders, and the environment. Monson also failed to maintain an updated hazardous waste contingency plan, as required by Maine law. The facility had a contingency plan, but it was inaccurate and out-of-date in several key areas. Failure of a facility to maintain an adequate hazardous waste contingency plan puts employees, emergency responders, and the community at increased risk in the event of an unexpected incident.
This case arises out of a series of inspections that EPA New England has undertaken at chemical warehouse and distribution facilities in an effort to address compliance issues at these facilities.
Some of the lessons learned from those investigations (many of which are not applicable to Monson's facility) include the following:
• Lack of sufficient inventory management can result in failure to recognize that chemical inventories have exceeded Clean Air Act and EPCRA regulatory thresholds;
• It is important to ensure the adequate separation of incompatible materials;
• It is important to ensure that the buildings are structurally appropriate for flammable chemical storage and that they are equipped with the proper fire protections;
• Facilities should not assume that the list of chemicals covered by OSHA Process Safety Management regulations is perfectly consistent with the list of chemicals covered by Clean Air Act Risk Management Program regulations;
• Companies violating the Clean Air Act often were also violating EPCRA and/or hazardous waste regulations;
• Companies should ensure that secondary containment systems for chemicals (to contain spills or leaks) are in good repair, that drums are stored in a stable manner, and that there is adequate aisle space for emergency responders;
• Several companies were unaware that the Clean Air Act's General Duty Clause can apply even when Risk Management Program regulations do not. The General Duty Clause requires companies that manage extremely hazardous substances to prevent chemical accidents by, among other things, designing and maintaining a safe facility;
• Companies should do regular inspections to ensure the integrity of their indoor or outdoor tank areas, including but not limited to testing of tank integrity, piping systems, and secondary containment areas; and
• Companies storing and distributing large quantities of chemicals must ensure that they have excellent coordination with local emergency responders; local fire departments had safety concerns about some facilities.
Monson has since submitted the required hazardous chemical inventory form and has addressed the Clean Air Act hazards identified by the EPA inspector. The company has also completed hazardous waste determinations and properly shipped certain wastes off site as hazardous wastes.
EPA New England has brought 10 Clean Air Act enforcement actions against companies that warehouse chemicals, including six administrative compliance orders and four penalty orders.
More information:
- Clean Air Act General Duty Clause (https://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/caa/gdcenf.html)
- EPCRA (https://www.epa.gov/lawsregs/laws/epcra.html)
- Tier II (https://www.epa.gov/osweroe1/content/epcra/tier2.htm)
# # #
Learn More about the Latest EPA News & Events in New England (https://www.epa.gov/region1/newsevents/index.html)
Follow EPA New England on Twitter (http://twitter.com/epanewengland)
Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.