text:
Yellowstone Wolf Buffers
State Management
Sage-Grouse
Wolf OR7's new pups confirmed as California decides to protect the species
By BigGame Forever June 5, 2014 February 15th, 2016 No Comments
June 04–The wolf known as OR7 who roamed California for more than a year is now raising pups just over the state line in Oregon, wildlife officials have confirmed.
The news greatly increases the odds that gray wolves eventually will repopulate the Golden State. It comes on the same day that the California Fish and Game Commission, meeting in Fortuna on Wednesday, voted 3-1 to protect wolves under the state Endangered Species Act.
"There is no species more iconic in the American West than this one, the gray wolf," said commission president Michael Sutton. "We owe it to them to do everything we can to help them recolonize their historic range in this state."
In a field visit to OR7's location in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest on Monday, biologists observed two pups and photographed them peeking out of a log. Officials at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said it is "likely" there are more pups, because wolves typically produce four to six in a litter.
"For California, this is saying we have a breeding population in a national forest that straddles the Oregon-California border," said Amaroq Weiss, a wolf expert at the Center for Biological Diversity. "When those pups start to go off on their own, they will be following OR7's tracks."
Wolf OR7 is so named because he was the seventh wolf to be radio-collared in Oregon. He became a media star when he dispersed from his home pack in northeast Oregon late in 2011 in search of a mate. He entered California in December of that year, becoming the first wild wolf confirmed in the state since the species was exterminated by hunters nearly 90 years ago.
The lone wolf spent much of 2012 wandering northeastern California in a circuitous path that eventually covered thousands of miles. He returned to Oregon in March 2013, but remained near the California border and has repeatedly crossed back and forth.
Michelle Dennehy, a spokeswoman for the Oregon wildlife agency, said OR7's wolf family is not yet officially considered a "pack." That designation will only be applied if at least two pups survive until the end of this calendar year.
The biologists did not approach or handle the pups or the two adult wolves, but merely observed them.
A mystery still surrounds OR7's mate. She was not previously known to wildlife officials, and they have no idea where she came from. On Monday, biologists collected wolf scat from the area where the pups were observed, some of which may shed some light on the adult female.
"We hope to get some DNA samples of her off that," Dennehy said. "Those results will be several weeks from now, if not months."
The decision to protect wolves under the California Endangered Species Act has been controversial. The Fish and Game Commission, meeting in Ventura in April, postponed a final decision to give Northern Californians more opportunity to comments.
At Wednesday's meeting, a number of speakers representing hunting and cattle ranching groups urged the commission not to protect wolves under the state endangered species law, saying it would limit management options for property owners and for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Mike Ford, California representative of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, cautioned that protecting wolves could deplete their traditional primary prey, elk, which are far less numerous in California than other states where wolves have become reestablished.
"Let's face it: Wolves are recovered, in many states they're no longer listed, they no longer need that listing and we are getting dispersing animals," said Mike Ford, California representative of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. "I don't know that listing is going to do anything more than add a layer of bureaucracy and expense, which they don't really need."
Ford and others urged the state, instead, to rely on a wolf management plan being developed by state biologists and a broad spectrum of interest groups.
Others cautioned that the plan, while still necessary, may not be adequate. Federal officials are in the process of withdrawing protection for wolves in the lower 48 states following a successful reintroduction program, which began in 1995 in the Rocky Mountains. As a result, state protection may be necessary to ensure wolves can get a foothold in populous California.
Weiss, of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the state Endangered Species Act requires the wolf population to be "restored and enhanced" as soon as any wolves appear in the state. This, she said, confers more protection than than the proposed management plan, which requires wolves to become "established" in the state first.
Call The Bee's Matt Weiser at (916) 321-1264. Follow him on Twitter @matt_weiser.
Hearing in Sacramento Nov. 22 on proposal to remove gray wolf from endangered species list
Wolf hearing in Ventura draws howls of protest
Federal endangered species protection for OR-7, Oregon wolves drawing closer to end
Officials in Ventura to decide whether wolf gets state protection
New wild wolf sighted north of California border
Fans of wolves clash with livestock ranchers
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Emily Jean Barbe on Wolf Management
Christopher Watson on Wolf Management
Naomi Dobbs on Wolf Management
Vince gallegos on Wolf Management
David on Wolf Management
BigGame Forever
90 West 500 South #428
Bountiful UT 84010
info@biggameforever.org


Tommy Catalano won the Rookie of the Year on the Whelen Modified Tour in 2018. He is a successful modified racer from New York. In the 2018 running of the Seekonk 150, Catalano scored his first career top 10, an eighth-place finish.
Tommy Catalano, driver of the #54 Catalano Motorsports Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Whelen Modified Performance Plus 150 presented by Safety-Kleen on March 16, 2019 at Myrtle Beach Speedway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json;

public class SerializationInfo
{
    private readonly Dictionary<string, object> _data;

    public SerializationInfo()
    {
        _data = new Dictionary<string, object>();
    }

    public void SetValue(string name, float value)
    {
        _data[name] = value;
    }

    public void SetValue(string name, int value)
    {
        _data[name] = value;
    }

    public void SetValue(string name, string value)
    {
        _data[name] = value;
    }

    public void SetValue(string name, bool value)
    {
        _data[name] = value;
    }

    public void SetValue<T>(string name, T value)
        where T : ISerializable
    {
        var serializationInfo = new SerializationInfo();
        value.Serialize(serializationInfo);
        _data[name] = serializationInfo;
    }

    public float GetSingle(string name)
    {
        var value = _data[name];
        return Convert.ToSingle(value);
    }

    public int GetInt32(string name)
    {
        var value = _data[name];
        return Convert.ToInt32(value);
    }

    public string GetString(string name)
    {
        var value = _data[name];
        return Convert.ToString(value);
    }

    public bool GetBoolean(string name)
    {
        var value = _data[name];
        return Convert.ToBoolean(value);
    }

    public T GetValue<T>(string name)
        where T : ISerializable, new()
    {
        var value = new T();
        var serializationInfo = (SerializationInfo) _data[name];
        value.Deserialize(serializationInfo);
        return value;
    }

    public T GetValue<T>(string name, Func<SerializationInfo, T> factory)
        where T : ISerializable
    {
        var serializationInfo = (SerializationInfo) _data[name];
        var value = factory(serializationInfo);
        value.Deserialize(serializationInfo);
        return value;
    }

    public static class Serializer
    {
        private static readonly DataContractJsonSerializer JsonSerializer
            = new DataContractJsonSerializer(
                typeof(Entry[]),
                new DataContractJsonSerializerSettings
                {
                    SerializeReadOnlyTypes = true,
                    IgnoreExtensionDataObject = true,
                    EmitTypeInformation = EmitTypeInformation.Never
                });

        public static void Write(Stream stream, SerializationInfo serializationInfo)
        {
            var entries = CreateEntries(serializationInfo);
            JsonSerializer.WriteObject(stream, entries);
        }

        public static SerializationInfo Read(Stream stream)
        {
            var entries = (Entry[])JsonSerializer.ReadObject(stream);
            return Create(entries);
        }

        private static SerializationInfo Create(Entry[] entries)
        {
            var result = new SerializationInfo();
            foreach (var entry in entries)
            {
                if (entry.NestedData != null)
                {
                    var innerSerializationInfo = Create(entry.NestedData);
                    result._data.Add(entry.Name, innerSerializationInfo);
                }
                else
                {
                    result._data.Add(entry.Name, entry.Data);
                }
            }
            return result;
        }

        private static Entry CreateEntry(string name, object data)
        {
            var innerSerializationInfo = data as SerializationInfo;
            if (innerSerializationInfo != null)
            {
                var entries = CreateEntries(innerSerializationInfo);
                return new Entry
                {
                    Name = name,
                    NestedData = entries
                };
            }

            return new Entry
            {
                Name = name,
                Data = data
            };
        }

        private static Entry[] CreateEntries(SerializationInfo serializationInfo)
        {
            var entries = new Entry[serializationInfo._data.Count];
            var index = 0;
            foreach (var keyValuePair in serializationInfo._data)
            {
                entries[index++] = CreateEntry(keyValuePair.Key, keyValuePair.Value);
            }
            return entries;
        }

        [DataContract]
        [KnownType(typeof(Entry[]))]
        private class Entry
        {
            [DataMember(Name = "Name", Order = 1, IsRequired = true)] public string Name;
            [DataMember(Name = "Data", Order = 2, IsRequired = false, EmitDefaultValue = false)] public object Data;
            [DataMember(Name = "NestedData", Order = 3, IsRequired = false, EmitDefaultValue = false)] public Entry[] NestedData;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Sue wants to beat out Vocal Adrenaline by having Kurt dress as a woman.
Tina is finally fed up about being in the background of the glee club.
After some motivating words from Rachel (playing Tina), Tina motivates real Rachel to seek out a second chance with Carmen Tibideaux.
Sue says the Trouble Tones are going to make another appearance at Nationals.
The glee girls find out that Coach Beiste is still with Cooter and they ask her why.
Puck gets in a confrontation at school because he was called a "Lima Loser" by Rick.
"My name is Tina Cohen-Chang!" Tell 'em Tina! For a person that has been on the show since the pilot you would think Tina would have more screen time. Or maybe you don't? Which is probably why we (I) didn't even notice her fashion changes over the course of four seasons. I honestly forgot that she was a year behind all of the relevant characters. Maybe Tina will get to live out her dream of being Rachel next year? But most likely she will be relegated to singing behind some new prodigy that happens to stumble about the campus. Cheers to Tina and, more importantly, obscurity.
Talk about Mash-Ups… Question: Why the h3!! wasn't the whole episode done inside of Tina's mind? Answer: Who's Tina? But seriously, if you didn't think Puck and Finn were the most intimate versions of Blaine and Kurt that we've ever seen then you must be delusional. Shuester's "Sue-Suit" gave off that Eric Northman vibe. Santana is still the hottest living organism in Lima, Ohio while she's portraying Artie. I know I gave Blaine a hard time about his "broccoli" head, but I'd rather see that than seeing him with Puck's mohawk. Maybe going all Bizzaro World in the mind of character that barely exists for an entire episode is a stretch–I get that. But Glee, why must you tease me with genius?!
I Won't Give Up – Rachel (A) If you're like me and you felt that "I won't give up on us" sounds like Rachel was singing to herself, as well as her hopes and dreams, then this could be considered a narcissistic song pick. Who cares, it was fitting and the future Mrs. Hudson sounded amazing.
Because You Loved Me – Tina as Rachel (A) Her mannerisms were completely spot-on, including the way Rachel closes her eyes when she's really into the lyrical content of her song choice. Although this technically wasn't a Tina performance, Jenna Ushkowitz definitely set the stage for Tina to move to the forefront of the glee club next season.
Mean – Puck and Beiste (A) This was an unexpectedly awesome duet from the two people who've experienced (arguably) the roughest moments of the season.
Flashdance (What a Feeling) Tina and Rachel (A) Almost definitely the first and last time we'll hear these two together, which is a shame since they have such similar bouncy, energetic energy. Everything about this performance was the perfect way to head to nationals.


Why do we call it this way?
What makes up a cloud computing system?
What are some of the applications of cloud computing?
What accounts for data backup?
Are there any potential problems about cloud computing?
Cloud computing architecture refers to the powerful servers. Is it true?
The front end comprises the local computer that stores all the applications required. Is it true?
A terminal implies a low-end computer. Is it true?
Cloud computing leads to the reduction in rental expenses. Is it true?


text:
Anderson & Jahde » Articles » Articles » What to do when Confronted with Tax Fraud
What to do when Confronted with Tax Fraud
Articles / July 13, 2015 July 13, 2015
Tax Fraud is a very serious matter that can result in civil and criminal prosecutions, severe penalties, jail time and a felony record. There are, however, different degrees and types of tax fraud and not all tax fraud is criminal. When confronted with potential tax fraud problems it is best to consult with a tax law professional, as opposed to an accountant. The tax lawyers at Anderson & Jahde have extensive tax fraud experience and can help with tax fraud issues.
Proving Tax Fraud
Criminal Tax Fraud, including tax evasion, requires the Government to prove the taxpayer's "willful intent" to evade or defeat a tax or collection matter. While willful intent can be difficult to prove, the Department of Justice only prosecutes those cases it believes it can win and, as a result, the DOJ has a better than 95% conviction rate. Civil fraud also requires the government to prove fraud – but not at the same "willful intent" level of proof as required for criminal fraud.
Criminal Tax Fraud Penalties
If you are facing a Criminal Tax Fraud cause, it should not be taken lightly. A conviction for Criminal Tax Fraud can include, for each violation, a penalty of $250,000, imprisonment for up to five years and a felony conviction. Corporations can also commit tax fraud – fraudulent corporations are subject to penalties twice the amount applicable to individuals, but they do not face jail time. Criminal Tax Fraud can include the following penalties per violation (generally per year):
Tax Evasion 26 U.S.C. § 7201 Imprisonment not more than 5 years
Fine not more than $250,000
Willful Failure
to Collect or Pay Tax 26 U.S.C. § 7202 Imprisonment not more than 5 years
to File or Pay 26 U.S.C. § 7203 Imprisonment not more than 1 year
False Statement 26 U.S.C. § 7206 Imprisonment not more than 3 years
Interference 26 U.S.C. § 7212 Imprisonment not more than 3 years
to Defraud 18 U.S.C. § 371 Imprisonment not more than 5 years
Civil Tax Fraud Penalties
Civil Tax Fraud does not include jail time but it can include severe penalties along with the stigma of being liable for "fraud." Civil penalties include I.R.C. § 6663 Civil Fraud which carries a penalty of 75% of the tax underpayment due to fraud and I.R.C. § 6651(f) Fraudulent Failure to File which carries a possible penalty of 75% of the unreported tax.
Tax Fraud Investigation
Tax fraud convictions generally begin as civil audits and investigations. If, during the civil audit, indications of fraud are detected, the Revenue Agent will contact a Fraud Coordinator and together they will develop the case for referral to Criminal Investigation ("CI"). If CI accepts the case, it can conduct further investigations including undercover and sting operations before it ultimately (if warranted) refers the case to the U.S. Department of Justice for prosecution.
Fraud cases can also begin through routine collection matters, IRS Whistleblower Program or other targeted IRS programs such as the IRS Offshore and Foreign Account Compliance programs. If a criminal fraud referral is accepted by the Department of Justice, a Grand Jury is empaneled and if it returns an indictment, a Criminal Tax trial is held in the U.S. District Court. Civil fraud cases, on the other hand, are prosecuted by the I.R.S. Office of Chief Counsel in U.S. Tax Court.
Confronting Tax Fraud
Because Fraud cases generally begin as civil audits, many are won or lost on the skill of representation during the audit. The Internal Revenue Code and the obligations it imposes on individuals and businesses are confusing. Individuals faced with criminal investigations should not represent themselves or allow themselves to be represented by inexperienced practitioners. Internal Revenue Agents are trained and encouraged to uncover indications of fraud during civil audits and refer cases to Criminal Investigation for prosecution. Indications of Fraud can ultimately be interpreted as simple taxpayer mistake(s) not subject to penalty or they can be convincing evidence of the taxpayer's "willful intent" to commit a crime. The distinction could depend on the skill of the taxpayer's attorney and the representations made to the IRS.
If you have been contacted by IRS Criminal Investigations or you believe you are under investigation for fraud, call an experienced Criminal Tax attorney immediately. Do not speak to anyone (including your CPA) – call a tax attorney. The "accountant client privilege" does not extend to criminal matters and because their conversations are not privileged, accountants are often chief witnesses in DOJ prosecutions for criminal fraud against their clients.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Merck & Co chief executive Kenneth Frazier says that the US giant is looking at acquisitions of products after coming through a tough 2011.
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs' Healthcare CEO's Unscripted: A View from the Top event in New York, Mr Frazier (pictured) began by saying that last year began badly after its much-touted blood clotter vorapaxar has been pulled from one major study and discontinued from stroke patients in another. He added that "you could say we underperformed" in 2011 but "the question is how do you build a sustainable enterprise that can take those bumps and power through them".
He noted that deals were signed with China's Simcere and India's Sun Pharma "that will position us well going into those markets" and "we continued to deliver on the synergies. We have about $2.8 billion of our $3.5 billion net synergies target in the bag and then we announced another $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion over and above that".
Mr Frazier said that going forward, Merck is excited about Tredaptive (extended-release niacin/laropiprant) for atherosclerosis, suvorexant for insomnia, the osteoporosis treatment odanacatib, a cervical cancer vaccine called V503 and Bridion (sugammadex) for the reversal of neuromuscular blockade.
The CEO went on to say that "we still are on target for about 25% of our sales in 2013 being in emerging markets". However, in many countries he seems to prefer alliances to acquisitions, saying "we are not so sure, as a management team, we know how to run an Indian company better than the Indians do or a Chinese company better than the Chinese people do".
Mr Frazier added that "my goal is to augment the pipeline" and find assets "that we can acquire on terms where we believe we can create value for shareholders over the long term". He noted that historically for Merck, "the sweet spot has been earlier rather than late, but we are also looking at Phase II compounds and the occasional Phase III compounds".


This week, activist and Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill was fired from his position as a CNN commentator only days after giving a speech at the United Nations to recognize the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. In his speech, he spoke about the normalization of settler colonialism in Israel, the displacement of Palestinians due to the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and the continued human rights atrocities targeting civilian protesters in Gaza, ultimately calling for the liberation of Palestinian people who continue to live under an apartheid occupation.
In the final portion of his speech, Hill called for Palestinian freedom "from the river to the sea," suggesting that from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, Palestinians will be free within their native territory. While critiques have argued that this protest anthem is anti-Semitic and a call for the destruction of Israel, this is a gross mischaracterization of a freedom anthem and is an attempt to smear those standing in solidarity with Palestinians living under occupation. Palestinians face a harshly limited freedom of movement, maintained by an extensive infrastructure of walls and checkpoints which confine the population of Gaza within what many have called an "open-air prison." Palestinians also face the highest rate of disability in the world, primarily because of bombing and live ammunition used as a form of population management by the Israeli military.
While this issue is incredibly complicated, it is important that students learn to understand the difference between legitimate criticism of Israeli settler colonialism and anti-Semitism. The conflation of criticism of the Israeli state with anti-Semitism falsely suggests that all Jewish people support the state of Israel and that the state and its people are interchangeable. In reality, many Jewish communities and activist organizations within the United States are leading national campaigns against ongoing Israeli occupation, groups such as If Not Now and Jewish Voice for Peace. In an era where real anti-semitism of the far right is materializing in violence against Jewish people in their places of worship, it is dangerous for the media to continue to paint Palestinian liberation activists (many of whom are themselves Jewish) as anti-Semitic for criticizing the state of Israel or supporting Palestinian human rights.
Marc Lamont Hill's UN speech must be contextualized within the long and rich history of Palestinian solidarity in the Global South and within U.S. civil rights organizing. Hill's speech is a reflection of intellectual traditions criticizing Israeli occupation by global thought leaders and civil rights activists including Angela Davis, Cornell West, Stephen Hawking, Noam Chomsky and Judith Butler. Activist and Harvard Professor Cornell West spoke out against the firing of Hill in a recent interview expressing that "the degree to which we are still unable to have a public dialogue recognizing the humanity of both sides is the degree to which we will find ourselves impoverished." Political commentators, activists and scholars continue to risk professional and material consequences when they stand in solidarity with Palestinian human rights. As we consider Hill within this legacy, let us not also forget to center Palestinian voices, silenced within global debates about their fundamental human rights.
Caren Holmes, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at CHolmes17@wooster.edu.


This section of the Symbolic Homepage will be used to list any BASIC or Assembly programs for the TI-83+ and TI-83+ Silver Edition calculators that make use of the new functions provided by Symbolic, and that require our application to run. We hope that this location of exposure will encourage other programmers to develop advanced mathematical programs that implement the features of our application, as well as serve as a resource where TI-83+/SE users may download programs that extend Symbolic. We welcome any new additions to this page, unless there becomes a flood of similar programs, in which case we must be selective of the highest-quality programs. If you have made a relavent program that you would like to see listed here, then you may Email us at site@detachedsolutions.com, giving us your personal information and a link to where we may download and evaluate your program. Thanks.
Makes differention of expressions easier. No need to worry about quotes.
Type in equations to be differentiated implicitly. A very helpful program!
This is an amazing application which pretty prints equations and expressions like the TI-89! You can use this application a variety of different ways. You can run the app and import equations from the TIOS or just type them in. This application also interfaces with Symbolic versions 1.6 and higher. You can use the token, pretty(, from Symbolic's custom menu to display pretty print from menus if you put this app on your calculator too. See http://www.softheiss.de/ for more details.


text:
British decolonisation was an unrecognised success
by Brian · 26 August, 2009
On the admirable New York University Aidwatch blog, Professor Bill Easterly has set us an interesting teaser. He asks us to guess the source of a document about British aid. In quoting his blog post below, I'm including a spoiler, so if you want to try to work out the answer for yourself, don't read any further here: go over to Aidwatch and read the question before you click on the link there to get the answer.
So for those who don't mind me giving the game away, here is Prof. Easterley's post, including the answer to his riddle, followed by a copy of the comment I have submitted to it and some further thoughts about Britain's decolonisation effort:
Guess the source of this British aid document on Country Ownership
by William Easterly
"However able their government…many countries cannot finance out of their own resources the research and survey work, the schemes of major capital enterprise… which are necessary for their development.
"Assistance from United Kingdom funds should be related to what countries can do for themselves…There is a need for machinery to provide complete coordination between the efforts of these separate departmental staffs so as to ensure that development proceeds on a balanced and comprehensive plan…With the requisite financial assistance once assured…Governments {would} prepare development programmes for a period of years ahead.
"The whole effort will be one of collaboration…There must be ready recognition that conditions vary greatly from country to country, and that country governments, who best know the needs of their own countries, should enjoy a wide latitude in the initiation and execution of policies."
The answer is after the jump.
Here's a hint: I have omitted words as shown by ellipses but not changed any except one – I used the word "country" where the original document used the word "Colony".
This document is The Statement of Policy on Colonial Development and Welfare, presented by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to Parliament by Command of His Majesty, February 1940.
http://blogs.nyu.edu/fas/dri/aidwatch/2009/08/guess_the_source_of_this_briti.html
I have submitted the following comment:
"I was a junior official in the Colonial Office in London (not to be confused with the Colonial Service whose officers worked in the field for the colonial governments) for several years not long after the war when the Colonial Development & Welfare Acts were still a startling innovation. Introduced at a low point of WW2 when Britain's economy was in desperate straits, and defeat at the hands of Hitler seemed a real possibility, CD&W was a striking testimony to the UK's commitment to the paramountcy of the interests of the colonial peoples for whom we had assumed responsibility. Some terrible things were done in the name of colonialism but some far-sighted and altruistic things were done too, put into effect in distant lands by a body of remarkably dedicated and committed men and women working in often arduous conditions on behalf of the colonial peoples whom they served, and whose paths to independence they actively helped them along. The current fashionable stereotype of colonialism as unrelieved racism and exploitation gives a very lopsided and partial picture. But with the passing of my generation, I'm afraid it will acquire the status of historical fact, if it hasn't already. CD&W should be a heartening eye-opener to those who have never heard of it."
From the late 1950s, when I joined the Colonial Office, until well into the 1960s when I transferred for unexpected reasons to the newly formed Diplomatic Service, British colonialism was transformed into a rigorous policy of voluntary decolonisation as one British colony after another was brought to independence, at a rate which many people at home (and some in the territories themselves) thought recklessly fast, and which our many critics in the United Nations and some of our territories thought much too slow. In most of the territories the movement towards independence developed its own momentum. Delays were sometimes forced on us by conflict in a territory between different political groups competing to gain control of the newly independent country when the British left; sometimes that conflict was violent, and in those cases our efforts to bring about reconciliation and unity were often dismissed in New York and elsewhere as a facade for the traditional British tactic of 'divide and rule', which betrayed a fundamental misunderstanding of what we were about. Our decolonisation process was both idealistically driven and also the product of national self-interest: diplomatically, politically, financially and economically our remaining colonies were a burden that inhibited us in many ways from doing other things that needed doing. The label of "colonial power" forced us into the same uncomfortable category of less enlightened colonial powers such as South Africa, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and others; even France resisted the decolonisation imperative for much longer than we did.
Many mistakes were made along the way. Some crimes were committed and in pretty rare cases blood was spilled, although very rarely indeed in a violent conflict involving a "struggle for independence" against British resistance to it. The record was certainly marred by the slaughter that accompanied the partition of India, but even now it's far from clear that any alternative solution to that problem would have been less costly in blood and treasure. In some cases more time to prepare for independence would theoretically have been desirable, but mostly the timetable had a life of its own and trying to stretch it out would have created more problems than it solved. We tried to leave each territory with an independence constitution tailored to its own circumstances and negotiated painstakingly with the local political and traditional leaders in such a way as to offer the new independent country the best possible chance of a peaceful and increasingly prosperous future. In many cases they included provisions for the protection of human rights, early forerunners of our own Human Rights Act. Sometimes the system on independence was a federal one, carefully designed to help widely disparate groups to live peacefully together without any one dominating another: there are lessons to be learned from some of these for us now that our United Kingdom has acquired a quasi-federal status as a result of devolution. As it turned out, few of these laboriously negotiated independence constitutions survived for more than a few years, but they often served a limited purpose as a template for local civil society to aim at in the future.
Whatever historians might make of Britain's overall colonial record, it's virtually incontrovertible that our post-war record of decolonisation was accomplished more peacefully, with more friendly collaboration between the decoloniser and the decolonised, more quickly, and with far less violence, than anyone had any right to expect, and certainly than many other former colonial powers were able to achieve. Overall, and despite the lapses and the shortcomings, the decolonisation effort was an extraordinary success, and I'm proud to have played a minor role in it. My only regret is that this verdict is likely to strike many younger readers of this as perverse, counter-intuitive, smug, and harshly indifferent to the sufferings and sacrifices of the many vicitms of the oppressed colonial peoples' heroic struggle for their freedom. If that's what people want or need to believe, so be it. The record, though, says otherwise.
John Miles says:
29 August, 2009 at 11:49 pm
"My only regret is that this verdict is likely to strike many younger readers of this as perverse, counter-intuitive, smug, and harshly indifferent to the sufferings and sacrifices of the many vicitms of the oppressed colonial peoples' heroic struggle for their freedom."
Why do you think it's likely to do this?
Having had the privilege and pleasure to have also played a minor role in the decolonisation process, as one of the last four District Officers recuited in the UK for service in Africa ( in my case Swaziland ), I endorse almost all of Brian's analysis including his conclusion that overall it was generally an unrecognised success. In some cases delay might have led to that particular territotory being better prepared to face the huge developmental and social challenges of independence. Inevitably expectations were raised which could not adequately be met. But in almost all cases the momentum for change was such that the process could not have been slowed and today this can be seen to have been largely irrelevant. Whereas in 1964 Zambia at independence had a mere handful of graduates and few people with technical skills, in contrast by 1980, or at least when they returned home, Zimbabwe had a large cadre of skilled and experienced people ready to run the country. Yet this can now be seen not to have been a determininant of progress. .
Two issues intrigue me. First, the contrasting approaches adopted by the former colonial powers towards their former wards. The Belgians left abruptly with minimum provision for the future, perhaps envisaging the chaos which was soon to engulf the Congo. The French attemped, initially with considerable success, to protect their interests and investments by keeping their hands on the levers of power by exerting influence behind local front men. The British generally preferred to leave the ring completely but to provide some help and advice, but usuallyonly when asked. Although the Commonwealth today is a faint shadow of what it was for the first decade of the post-coloial period, it dhould not be underrated as an instrument for disseminating british and western values and professional skills . Whilst France's relatively greater influence for atime protected it from much of the anti-colonial flak which we had to endure in the sixties to eighties, today I believe we are as much if not more respected by most of our former colonial subjects than the French.
The other issue is whether we could have better equipped the new nations to govern themselves successfully. Without now blaming the early settlers, missionaries and those who governed, Europeans had little understanding of the social structures of the societies of those they ruled. So inevitably these were disrupted and often irreparably destroyed – despite Whitehall's relatively enlightened and inexpensive policy of indirect rule. In the lead up to independence a Wesminster style democacy, or a modified version of it, was imposed. Should it have been? With hindsight probably not, but most of the early leaders, familiar with the British system, would have regarded any derogation from Parliamentary democracy as being fobbed off with second best. All too often the outcome was one man one vote – once – but the Colonial Office can not relly be blamed for this. Corruption was during the colonial era largely covered up rather than suppressed but, again, any remedy would have been hard to discern. Yet I remain uneasy; I believe we could have opted for a syxtem which offereed an amalgam of western democracy based on traditional structures. the skill of the Catholic Church in both Africa a nd South America in 'bolting ' Christianity on to indigenous religions perhaps provides a model of what could have been?Others may regard these reflections as wishful thinking!
Brian, forgive me if I've made similar comments to the following, at another place and time. I wondered to what extent the pace of decolonisation was influenced by military considerations. One gets the impression that before the second World War, the official feeling was that the Empire would bumble along for another century or so and there was no especial hurry as regards giving the colonial peoples control of their destiny (except for India, which is another story). By 1946, on the other hand, Britain was practicallyly broke, and we had nearly lost a big war by having to maintain forces, and then to fight, in widely-separated parts of the globe. Moreover, the people of the colonies were well aware that Europeans were not supermen, and that colonial powers could have military setbacks (Britain) or outright defeat (France) inflicted on them by another European power (Germany) and furthermore by a non-European power (Japan). By 1951, when I was a reluctant conscript, Britain was committed to maintaining an army in Germany and a sizeable force in Korea, and the Malayan insurgency and the Mau Mau rebellion were taking place; the powers that be must have been praying that the Gold Coast and Southern Rhodesia, as they then were, and Sierra Leone and Nigeria didn't chose to flare up at the same time. I know this was all before you joined the FCO, but I wondered whether you had later become aware that there had been any thinking alone the lines 'We'd better give them independence as soon as can be decently arranged, before we have to call in the army for duties-in-aid-of-the-civil-power'?
Brian writes: Tim, I observed a key period of decolonisation (from 1957 to 1968) for seven years from the Colonial Office in London (not to be confused with the Colonial Service out in the field) and another four dealing with decolonisation issues at the UN in New York. I had also previously done most of my national military service in another colony (Hong Kong). I was especially closely involved, from a junior position, in the intricate negotiations leading to Nigerian independence. The need to pre-empt and head off the risk of serious conflict or violence in any of our colonial territories was certainly an element in our policy-making but in almost no case — even in Kenya — was this a fear of violence directed at Britain as the colonial power: it was almost always a threat of conflict between rival political groups in the territories fighting each other to succeed Britain as the dominant political force when we withdrew on independence. Everyone knew that Britain's avowed policy, ever since the election of the Attlee government in 1945, was to encourage the progress to full independence of every colonial territory that (a) wanted it, and (b) was big enough to stand on its own in the world. More than a dozen of our territories didn't want independence and knew they were too small and vulnerable for it. Some didn't want it because their territory was claimed by large irredentist neighbours, and they relied on Britain to continue to protect them from them. Some didn't want independence, or didn't want it any time soon, because of internal communal tensions and conflicts which they feared would break out into bloodshed if the British referee left the field before they had worked out, with our active help, some kind of modus vivendi among themselves. Most of the rest wanted it, or at any rate their vocal political class did, but surprisingly often they didn't want it too soon and were in reality nervous about what it would bring. (Southern Rhodesia, which was internally fully self-governing and quasi-independent under a white minority government, came under the Commonwealth Relations Office, not the Colonial Office, and was sui generis: the violence there was directed at the ruling white population, not at Britain, which had the worst of all worlds, nominal responsibility without power.)
I am absolutely clear that in the minds of at least the younger generation of policy-makers in the Colonial Office, of almost all Labour ministers of the time, and certainly some influential Tory ministers (notably the great Iain Macleod), the driving force behind our decolonisation policy was that we had just fought a bloody war for the right to govern ourselves and not to be governed against our will by foreigners, even if the foreigners reckoned that they could govern us better than we could govern ourselves: that this central principle of self-determination had been enshrined in the Churchill-Roosevelt Atlantic Charter of August 1941 (even before the US was forced to enter the war): and that the notion of a divine right to rule over "lesser breeds without the law" byond the seas whether they wanted it or not was an out-dated, indefensible and obnoxious concept. We decolonised with enthusiasm because we believed in what was then called 'colonial freedom', not because we were too weak to resist the colonial people's demands for it, nor because we could no longer afford to run a global empire (a theory, incidentally, that isn't easily reconciled with the accompanying theory that we tried to hang onto our empire so that we could go on exploiting it). In a very few cases Conservative governments tried, with varying success, to get the agreement of the local leaders to our maintaining military bases in their countries after their independence: Aden and Cyprus, for example. But this was never represented, even tacitly, as a condition for the grant of independence. Where there was strong disagreement between London and local colonial leaders it was almost always over the pace of progress to independence, or the political and constitutional framework to be established on independence, and not about whether independence should come at all. The final stages of each territory's progress to independence almost invariably involved a period of full internal self-government with free elections to the local parliaments and governments, the UK retaining responsibility only for external affairs and defence until the moment of independence. The great independence conferences, often at Lancaster House, were genuine diplomatic negotiations between the British government on the one hand, and powerful local leaders who everyone knew would soon be the recognised Presidents and prime ministers of an independent Commonwealth country on the other. In many cases even the date of independence was not an issue: the UK's overriding concern was often to try to ensure that ethnic or other minorities in the country concerned would have their rights protected under the independence constitution after British protection was withdrawn. We didn't always succeed in that honourable aim, but it wasn't for lack of trying.
In the vast majority of cases, the "struggle for independence" was a convenient myth. At one international conference in Ethiopia which I attended as the Colonial Office representative in the UK delegation, the head of the delegation of a recently independent African country, formerly a British colony, asked me privately for my comments on the draft of the keynote speech he planned to deliver at the opening session. I had to advise him strongly to delete all the tributes in the speech to Britain's enlightened administration during the colonial period and the help they had had from Britain during the transition to independence: if he spoke like that, I warned him, he would be dismissed as an Uncle Tom. I wrote out a few lines for him to substitute about the way the independence struggle had toughened and united his people. He was reluctant, but accepted the advice and included my draft in his text. His resulting speech went down a storm. He was very grateful and subsequently bought me a drink in the bar, much to the annoyance of the American delegation which regarded such a spectacle of fraternising between the newly liberated hero and the former colonial slave-driver as being against nature.
Malcolm McBain says:
Congratulations, Brian, on the line you take. Having spent 5 years in India in the 1950s, not long after Independence, I have been surprised by comments about the sub-continent of recent diplomats to my diplomatic oral history programme. A lot of younger (more senior) colleagues seem to me to be apologetic in tone about our record. When I was there, I found it gratifying to observe the slight puzzlement on the part of Americans in particular at the curious way the former "colonial oppressors" were able to get on well with such people as former members of the ICS, then in commanding positions in the Indian administration, as well as with politicians (in private). Almost all foreigners seemed to think we must be suffering greatly from the fact that we could no longer exploit the Indian masses. Now, our own people show signs of believing that we exploited the Indians excessively. Their ignorance about the realities is regrettable.
Brian writes: Malcolm, thanks. I agree that it's sad that such a perverse and one-sided PC version of Britain's colonial (and imperial) record has now become the received wisdom, probably irreversibly. Of course there were some terribly bad blots on that record, but much that was good as well.
As early as the 1960s when our decolonisation programme was in full swing there were many Americans who simply couldn't understand how we could be on such good, friendly and relaxed terms with the people of our former colonies — some of whom were extremely wary of the Americans!
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In front of the Bolshoi Theatre!
The view from the overlook - note that we were still pretty close to the city centre.
That's the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Red Square, and St Basil's Cathedral in the background.
Well, it's been a whirlwind of a first week! From the moment I touched down in Moscow on Saturday afternoon, I don't think I've stopped moving!
My first chance to see Moscow on a personal level came almost as soon as we checked into the hotel. After dinner on Saturday night, one of our Russian buddies, Polina, took two of us on a walk through Sokolniki Park. The park was fairly lively, with children biking and families eating or just buying ice cream for the walk from the many stands lining the main pedestrian walkways. We stayed in the most developed area of the park, with shops, an amphitheater, and large paved paths, but further in the park has many spaces for sports and eventually turns into forest.
On Sunday, we took a bus tour all around Moscow to see the sights. My favourite was the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the tallest Orthodox cathedral in the world. We were lucky enough to come during a service (unfortunately, no photography was allowed) sung in both Old Church Slavonic and Serbian, as one of the priests there that day was Serbian. The hidden choir sounded angelic, and the priests' vocal ability and command was impressive. The church itself was beautiful as well, gilt and covered in icons of saints.
Exterior of Christ the Saviour.
The one thing that really struck me from the tour was all the green space Moscow has. Across from one of the main Moscow State University buildings, we went to an overlook that provided a view of much of the city. Swaths of green forest and park cut across so much of the city in a way that American cities would almost never have.
Sunday night, we went to a classic Soviet restaurant near the Red Square. Because our group was fairly large, we got to eat in the private room, which was decked out just like an old Soviet office complete with a giant portrait of Leonid Brezhnev on the wall. I ordered fried вареники, which were dumplings filled with potatoes and cheese, and блины with condensed milk. I would show y'all, but unfortunately I was so hungry that I dug right in without taking any pictures! Rest assured, however, it was delicious.
On Monday, we moved into the MGIMO dorm and learned more about the university. My roommate is on the same program I am, although her Russian is definitely better than mine. Nevertheless, we've been getting along very well. While our dorm room is small (as expected), we have so much shelf and closet space that we don't know what to do with it!
Tuesday was our first day of class! I woke up bright and early and got ready for my first class at 9 AM – Politics and Security in Post-Soviet Eurasia. Because exchange students at MGIMO shop around for classes for the two weeks before the add-drop deadline, it's always a tossup as to how many students will attend each class. That morning, my first class switched rooms twice (and threatened a third move) before we found one that fit all the students! The process ate up almost half an hour, so the lecture was shortened to fifty minutes. However, it was still a fascinating and engaging class period. The other classes that I've attended so far were similar – slow starts but interesting lectures (in English, of course).
On Wednesday morning, three of us navigated public transport by ourselves and went to Капитолий Вернадского mall to buy some breakfast food and much-needed supplies. It took us a bit to figure out the paying situation (a cashier scanned our items but we paid at a kiosk and then scanned our receipts to leave) and by the time we were done, we were starving. Luckily, there was a food court on the top level of the mall, and I found a cute little pho place! The cashier took one look at me and gave me the Chinese version of the menu, which was helpful as I understood slightly more of it than I would have the Russian version.
I had one class early Friday morning and then went to the city center to explore with my roommate. We first went to a newly-opened park near the Red Square that had an overlook jutting out over the Moscow River.
Afterwards, we went to ГУМ, a large high end shopping centre just across the street, known for its мороженое, or ice cream. We didn't buy anything (well, I bought a cinnamon bun from Гастроном No 1 because it smelled so good and was also only 55 rubles) but we had a lot of fun walking around and window shopping. For dinner, we met up with a friend from Uzbekistan who we had met on our first day of classes at MGIMO. Stella has lived in Moscow for a few years and was excited to show us around, provided that we told her all about life in America.
Stella is also very familiar with all the best restaurants in the city, and we're super excited to continue the friendship!
Saturday was the start of Moscow City Day festivities! Every year, Moscow celebrates its founding during the first weekend of September. This year, Moscow turns 871 years old. We went back into the city to participate in the fun. The entire centre was so crowded, and everywhere we looked we saw something new. There were pop-up stands selling various handicrafts, innovators at the Maker Faire, and the ubiquitous ice cream vendors. We walked along Tverskaya Street, which was closed off for pedestrians and featured dance performances and live music.
So far, I've figured out how to order food pretty coherently and navigate the metro system (MGIMO itself is a bit harder, in all honesty.) My Russian still isn't up to speed but I'm sure that will change once I actually start my Russian classes on Monday. The classes have all been pretty good, however, and most of them have an almost equal proportion of exchange versus bachelor's program students.
The one thing that's really hit me is how much we've been walking. I'm making it my goal to get out of the MGIMO universe and into the city once every day, and the consequence is that I've been walking maybe five times more than I would be at home. It's pretty tiring, and we're always going to bed early, but Moscow is so beautiful and every corner brings something new.
Alright, this has been a long one, but thank you so much for reading!


text:
There were perhaps fewer things he dreaded than visiting the Keep's Steward, Thalberg the alligator. While Sir Edmund assured him that the arrogant and demanding demeanor of the stalwart reptile masked a tender and protective devotion to the House of Hassan, it did little to improve Stealth's opinion of him. Ever since the incident with the chicken and the mouse with the frying pan, any time he was forced to deliver a message to Thalberg it took him half the time just to build up the courage to face the massive scaly beast. Every time those yellow eyes surveyed him he felt as if the alligator was looking for an excuse to consign him to working in the kitchens as he'd once threatened.
But this time was different. He'd tried to take a long route through the Keep, but the geometry stymied him. Every time he turned a corner there was the familiar door to the Steward's office. The guards outside were probably getting sick of seeing him run past. After the fourth time, Stealth decided that he couldn't put it off any longer and marched up to the door and presented his summons.
The guards let him through and Stealth tiptoed into the very warm office. A fire roared in a nearby hearth, and light from the sun streamed through unseen windows. It was actually quite comfortable for the cheetah. He stretched a little as he stepped into a pool of light in front of Thalberg's desk.
"Ah, Stealth, I'm so glad you came so quickly," Thalberg intoned with a faint hint of dry sarcasm. The alligator was dressed in a heavy woollen red robe that cover him from neck to tail. His green-scaled hands extended from the voluminous sleeves and offered him a small letter. "I need this delivered to Baron Samuel Christopher of the Iron Mines. Today if you could."
Stealth blinked and nodded. "The Iron Mines? I know of them but not where they are."
"Take the southern road past Lorland. Turn east when you see the sign of the pick and sword at the next crossroads." Thalberg offered him the letter. "It is very important that this letter arrives with all haste. I have heard good things about your recent services. I will be expecting the same diligence on your part."
Stealth took the letter and held it carefully between two fingers. "I'll be on my way at once." Anything to get out of the Steward's office!
The alligator cracked his jaws in what was either a smile or a sign of ravenous hunger. "I'm delighted to hear it. Now hurry. This is very important." Stealth was out the door only a second later.
Being a crisp winter day, Stealth felt grateful once again for the suit the tailor in Euper and his mage friends had made for him. After several adjustments and his trial runs it felt comfortable and kept him warm as he ran along the southern road and unlike the first time he thankfully had a place to put his back pack. His legs moved in tandem, paws bounding across hard packed snow and the occasional patch of frozen mud. His chest swelled with each breath, golden eyes focussed upon every twist and turn as the road made it's way through a series of low hills and white frosted trees.
The road south from Metamor Keep was travelled far more than the northern road which made the cheetah feel both safer and more conspicuous. After only a quarter of an hour running alongside the road he passed two wagons and a pair of riders. All of them glanced at him with a far greater curiosity than he appreciated. But with as fast as he ran, he knew they wouldn't see anything on his body he didn't like strangers seeing. Still, the exposure reminded him just what his suit didn't cover.
But after a while Stealth found he could ignore the others passing him on the road. His eyes strayed to the scenery. The sun stayed behind the grey clouds to the south which gave the valley a sombre and quiet cast. The trees thinned as he journeyed south, soon broken by more than watchtowers. Farms and small hamlets dotted the countryside. Several times he caught the scent of cooking meat rich in salt and had to keep his paws from veering off the road.
The Iron Mines were about as far from the Keep as was Glen Avery, and in the opposite direction. But the road to the Iron Mines was easier than that to the forested Glen, passing as it did by the relatively flat Lorland. To his right he stared at the long rows of field covered in snow. In four or five months the fields would be full of peasant digging and planting. But now they were populated only by scarecrows.
His heart lifted when he saw the castle of Lorland set amidst those selfsame fields. It's once gaudy accoutrements had been torn down and the old fortifications were restored. The excess stone had been reshaped into new barracks and a town commons. Stealth remembered hearing how the people of Lorland were all brow beat by the thrice-damned Loriod, but just looking at the town none would have ever guessed.
Stealth suddenly felt grateful for living at Metamor. He'd been afraid of the beast inside him for a long time, but Sir Edmund and others had shown him how it could be a powerful ally. But he'd never been afraid of tyranny from Duke Thomas. He tried but failed to imagine what life would have been like under a ruler who would have insisted that he live out his animal shape.
Stealth took one last look at Lorland castle and pressed on, shutting the thought out of his mind.
Ten minutes after taking the left fork, Stealth had his first glimpse of the Iron Mines. A long city wall stretched in a semi-circle around a tightly packed cluster of wooden and stone homes as well as several far larger buildings. Some Stealth recognized as towers for defence, but several were wholly unfamiliar; from the tops of these issued a steady stream of smoke. Beyond the walls lay a long field of grasses and tree stumps. The city walls drove into the side of the mountain at which the tallest towers stood. The mountains rose into the impenetrable sky, and with the low clouds, were lost to view.
It took Stealth another two minutes to run down the road to the city gates. Tall, wide, and fashioned from bronze, they seemed both dull and imposing. And to his surprise they were closed. Stealth blinked and paced back and forth to keep his muscles from tightening.
"Hallo down there!" a voice shouted from above. Stealth glanced up and saw a human man who looked old enough to have been touched by the curse waving down to him from the top of the wall. Next to him and sitting on the crenellation was a small red squirrel man. There was something odd about the squirrel's tunic, but he couldn't tell from the ground.
Stealth sat down on his haunches and stared wide eyed at the two. The man said something to the squirrel who laughed and flashed his tail back and forth. Stealth growled under his breath.
"Messenger from the Keep?" the man yelled down. Stealth nodded his head and the two guards conferred again. The man yelled, "Wait a minute while we open the door. Krystoff here will take you to the Baronness." While Stealth waited the man shouted to somebody else on the other side of the wall. The bronze doors creaked as they ground inward. Beyond Stealth saw the main road lead between the thick walls and another gate at the end. Those little killing zones always made the cheetah nervous, and this time was no different as he crept through the massive bulwarks of stone.
"Lookout below!" a newer higher pitched voice shouted. Stealth glanced up as he passed out of the killing passage and gaped as the squirrel jumped off the city wall. He stretched out his arms and legs and a flap of skin between them stretched and billowed in the air. To the cheetah's surprise and to the amusement of the guards, the squirrel glided down to the ground and landed comfortably. The folds of skin drew back against his sides as he lowered his arms. The squirrel turned back, claws ticking on the stone road, "Sorry to surprise you. I love doing that! I'm Krystoff. Follow me."
The red squirrel was definitely smaller than Lady Avery had been, and judging by his awkward gait, it looked as if he'd be better off falling to all fours and scampering like his arboreal brethren. Stealth followed him at a leisurely pace while glancing around to get a better view of the city.
The Iron Mine looked to be about the same size as Euper with a similar variety of shops. The homes were small and fit together like pieces of a puzzle. The main road was cleared of snow, but Stealth could hear children playing in the drifts beyond the line of houses. The steady clang of blacksmiths resounded from the east, as well as a deeper groaning coming from a large pyramid shaped building stained black. Smoke billowed out of the top, dark and carrying a very dirty scent that he couldn't identify.
The squirrel led him nearly all the way to the mountains and then up an incline toward one of the larger towers. Krystoff gestured to the mountains and the network of cables, pulleys, and wooden planks leading into several gaping holes in the mountainside. Several large animal morphs pushed cranks that kept the contraption moving. "And that's the Iron Mine. Richest deposit of iron in all the valley. We've dug pretty deep into the mountains. There's even some tunnels underneath the town now. The Baron has talked about opening some new tunnels to the north and to the south, but until we can build the defensive works, it's still not safe enough."
Stealth turned his head in surprise. Krystoff laughed. "Yeah, we don't see many Lutins this far south. We used to, but these days its pretty quiet. But there's plenty of thieves and bandits still. Any we catch the Baron'll make into miners. We've got one fellow down there who hasn't seen the sky in two years. Course, he raped and murdered one of the Baron's cousins."
Stealth wasn't sure whether he should be amazed that the murderer was still alive, revolted at what he'd done, or more revolted at his sentence. Either way, staring at the gaping hole in the mountainside and watching men, women, and many age regressed coming in and out covered in dirt, he knew that he didn't want to get on the Baron's bad side!
The squirrel continued on his way to the tower, oblivious to Stealth's confusion. The tower door was flanked by a pair of older male guards who in heartiness reminded Stealth of George, despite the fact that both must have been female before the curses changed them. They nodded to the squirrel and let him pass through the wide doorway.
The tower was wide and flanked the mountainside. Inside, it appeared a little cramped with close walls and low ceilings. There was carpeting and tapestries bearing a silver pickaxe on a black escutcheon, as well as several other symbols and decorations the cheetah didn't recognize, but they were the only signs of opulence in the otherwise drab interior.
Krystoff led him to another small room off the main foyer and bade him sit down. "Wait here and make yourself comfortable. I'll go fetch the Baronness." Without another word, the squirrel flicked his tail and scampered out the main door. It swung shut behind him, effectively trapping the cheetah inside.
Stealth stretched a little and glanced around. He stood in a sitting room with a quartet of upholstered chairs whose backs had been opened up to allow for tails. A bookshelf occupied part of one wall, though the shelves were filled with more brightly coloured rocks than with scrolls or tomes. Hanging from them all next to it was an old pick with rusted head and worn handle whose value could only be sentimental. A liquor cabinet stood next to it with several bottles and glasses.
Stealth was about to risk shifting to his morph form (Changing in a room where anyone could enter at any time did trouble him as opposed to changing behind a bush) and replace the clothes in his back pack when he noticed the bundle of clothes resting in one of the chairs. He walked over and nosed it, blinking in surprise when he glimpsed the parchment that lay atop the pile. On the parchment was a drawing of a cheetah. Curious, he nosed the paper off and stared at the clothes. Tunic and breeches. Were they for him?
Very curious, Stealth finally did risk shifting into his morphic form. The running suit and armour stretched and slid along his frame as he shifted. Once he could stand on his hind legs, he removed his pack and took the tunic in his paws and pulled it over his chest. A little baggy but it fit. The same with the breeches. The breeches had a rope belt sewn into the sides. This he pulled tight to keep himself modest then replaced the pack. The clothes were a dusty tan that blended well with his fur, and he smiled as he ran his paws over the fabric.
He heard footsteps approaching. Stealth straightened up and smoothed the clothes down against his running suit. The doors opened and an enticing woman stepped one pace into the room. Her cheeks were hard but faintly plump. Raven black hair fell behind her without a curl in sight. Pert breasts accented her chest. And then Stealth saw that her belly was distended in an obvious sign of pregnancy. It was then that he finally noticed that she was also wearing clothes of a simple but elegant weave. At the cuffs silver lace was embroidered in the blue wool of her blouse and gown. But she eschewed the many petticoats typical of female nobility.
And then it finally dawned on Stealth that this lady must have once been a man. Her smile and voice had a pleased turn to it. "Ah, you must be the courier Stealth. Welcome to the Iron Mines. I'm Baroness Stephyni Christopher. Do you like the clothes?"
Stealth nodded. "They look very nice on you, milady."
The lady's lips drew back in a chuckle. "I meant yours."
The cheetah blinked and glanced down at himself. "Oh yes! I have my own clothes but it's very nice to have something waiting for me when I arrive." He blinked again and then removed his pack. "I have a message for your husband somewhere in here."
"Take your time to find it."
He did so. His tail flicked nervously from embarrassment as he opened a side pocket but quickly found the letter and handed it to Stephyni who took the letter from his outstretched hand. "So, milady Christopher, I was told that a reply was needed. How long will it be?"
"Don't be in a rush to return. It's already past midday," Stephyni smiled as she sat down in one chair. She ran one hand over her swollen belly and sighed. "My husband will be here soon. I sent Krystoff to the mines to fetch him."
"He works in the mines?"
"Every day he can," Stephyni replied with a fond smile. "Would you like something to eat while you wait? It may be a few candlemarks before he returns."
Trying not to look too closely at his hostess, Stealth nodded. "Thank you, milady. I would like some food."
She smiled and clapped her hands.
It was an hour later that the Baron finally arrived. During that time Stealth enjoyed a meal of roasted duck and potatoes. The cook lacked the fine artistry of the Keep's kitchen staff who were capable of the most delicate of flavours, but at least he wasn't stealing these delectable morsels.
When they were finished, Stephyni introduced him to her two children, a young boy and girl both of whom were only a few years old. The children were amiable but were more interested in chasing each other waving toy mallets around. Though both were human like their mother, the boy's black hair was marred by a streak of white like a badger down the middle of his head. Stephyni proudly said he took after his father.
The boy reacted to this praise by smashing Stealth's foot with the mallet, at which the baroness admitted sometimes he took too much after his father. After having the children taken back to their chambers to rest she apologized to the cheetah who continued to hop up and down cradling his bruised toes.
So it was when the Baron arrived that Stealth had a cold cloth wrapped around his paw and could neither rise nor kneel to greet him. The Baron was a stout badger who stood shorter than either Stephyni or Stealth. But his arms and chest strained within his russet doublet. The cheetah stared in amazement at his arms, noting they were thicker than he was in his middle. This Baron probably ripped trees out of the ground for fun!
The Baron was flanked by a child similarly muscled who dressed in slightly less fine clothes. Both of them, though freshly cleaned, smelled of soot and stone. The badger put his paws akimbo on his waist and smirked. "I see you've met my boy. Little Samuel wants very much to be a miner like his father. He's the only child I know who wants to receive rocks for Yule."
Beside him the boy who looked only twelve but must have been much older began to laugh. "That's one way to keep the poor fellow in town, Sam! Break his foot!"
"It's not broken," Stealth said, feeling quite uncertain in the face of these two. "Just bruised. I can make it back to Metamor." He wasn't about to have his abilities questioned!
The badger's grin widened and he began to nod. "I'm sure you can, lad. I'm sure you can. But I hear you have a message for me that requires a reply. Since my son has done you injury, I insist that you enjoy my hospitality for the night while I compose my reply. It smells like you've been enjoying my dinner already, so you may as well as enjoy my bed."
Stealth flushed with embarrassment. "Oh no, my lord, I couldn't possibly impose for the night."
The age regressed man laughed again. "Hear that, Sam? He thinks your offering him that lumpy pile of dirt and rocks you call a bed."
Stealth groaned and clutched his face with a paw, "I didn't mean your personal bed."
Baron Samuel Christopher glanced at the youth and then smacked him across the back of the head with the flat of his paw. The youth neither stumbled nor did he stop laughing. Returning his gaze to Stealth, the badger replied, "Aye, I wasn't offering you my personal bed just a bed inside my home. It's better than anything you'll find at the inns and it's free." He cast a quick glance at the youth who still chuckled to himself. "And despite what my cousin here says, I don't actually sleep on dirt and rocks."
"Not if he wants to share a bed with me!" Stephyni said with obvious admiration in her voice.
All of them laughed except for Stealth who felt slightly uncomfortable. It was always that way when in a group who he didn't know but who knew each other well. These three were family whereas Stealth was an outsider. Friendly though they may be, and far less intimidating than Steward Thalberg despite their physique, he'd still only met them today.
"But where are my manners?" the Baron asked.
"You probably left them back at the mine," his cousin interrupted. This rewarded him with another swat to the back of his head.
The Baron walked into the room and stood beside the seat where Stealth reclined with one leg propped up. "I'm Baron Samuel Christopher of the Iron Mines. And this is my cousin Daniel. You'll have to forgive him. He's both incorrigible and intolerable."
"Hey!" Daniel objected with a twinkle in his eye. "Why don't you tell him about some of my bad qualities too?"
Even Stealth laughed at that. Somehow the repartee between these cousins set him at ease. "My name is Stealth. I'm a courier for Metamor. Your wife has the message already."
Samuel turned to Stephyni and smiled as his eyes admired her form. "Good. I'll read it later. Did you really run here on all fours from Metamor?"
Stealth nodded. "Yes, this morning."
While Samuel settled into the chair next to his wife's, Daniel rocked back on his heels where he stood just inside the room. The youth's eyebrows raised incredulously. "This morning? How long did that take?"
"Maybe four hours."
"Four! That's better than some horses. What kind of cat are you?"
"I'm a cheetah. According to the library at Metamor, we're the fastest runners in the world." It was very hard not to let the pride slip into his voice. There were times when he still feared the beast inside of him, but making it serve him and Metamor had helped immeasurably.
Daniel's grin widened. "I guess I don't want to race you even with that injured paw."
"I'd definitely beat you," Stealth admitted as he looked the youth up and down. He was strong from his time working in the mines, but Stealth knew he could outrun him hopping on just one leg.
Daniel stretched his arms. "Running's good and all, but how well do those twigs of yours work?"
"Pardon?"
Samuel rolled his eyes and Stephyni shook her head. Daniel grinned and waved his fingers. "Your arms. Come on, I'm just a kid. Surely you can beat me."
Stealth blinked "Arm wrestling?"
"Of course! Arm wrestling!"
Stealth blinked again and stared at the kid's biceps. An uncertain chuckle lodged in the back of his throat. "Uh, no, I don't think I'd win. Your arms are much stronger than mine."
Daniel's grin fell a little, but he nodded and settled into a seat next to him. His feet almost reached the floor. "Good! This one's got some sense about him, cousin!"
"Stealth is our guest," the badger baron reminded his cousin with a light-hearted laugh. "And since this is my land, I would like, with your permission, to show you much of what we do here at the mine."
The cheetah flexed his still sore toes. "Mind if I rest my foot a little bit longer?"
"By all means," Samuel waved one paw and grinned revealing his mixed set of teeth. "Tell us news of Metamor! As a courier, you are privy to many things that I will never hear down here!"
Stealth wasn't so sure about that, but found it easy to share what he knew with the affable Baron and his wife.
"So those belts carry the ore out of the mine and into that building over there?" Stealth asked as he pointed at a long series of pulleys and rollers across which cloth had been sown. The cloth strip was a few feet across, an inch thick, and hundreds of feet long to make the full circuit carrying the heavy ore. The entire system was connected to a tower that turned with the strenuous pushing of several bulky animal-morphed Metamorians. They toiled at what looked like a set of wheel spokes without the wheel and with spokes thicker than Stealth was around.
The badger beside him nodded and waved his claw in the air following the belt from the opening in the mine to the pyramid shaped building which continuously belched smoke. "That's right. And that's the forge. All of the ore is smelted inside that building. We send shipments of fresh iron bars to Metamor every two weeks, but many things we build here. Swords, plowshares, and everything in between."
Stealth admired it all as he stretched. Baron Christopher's tour of the Iron Mines had been delayed until the next day not because of other affairs, but because the four of them had got to talking so extensively about Metamor, the Valley, its history, economy, and everything else that by the time Stealth realized his paw felt like normal again, the sky was already darkening with twilight. So instead of a tour they reclined at dinner, then that squirrel Krystoff showed him where he could sleep. The bed was comfortable and much like the one he had at Metamor, so he slept peacefully.
Anxious to make his way back to Metamor in the morning, he nevertheless felt some duty to his host to see the Mines. And they were quite fascinating, though it was a way of life he wouldn't want. Daniel's bravado the day before had a more serious edge to it than Stealth had realized at the time. Many of the miners were cutthroats and thieves caught by the Watch and sentenced to work off their debts. There were minerals other than iron in the mine, some far more valuable. Daniel and Samuel had to stay strong to help their men keep the involuntary miners from causing any trouble or from stealing anything else.
As a cheetah, Stealth wasn't built for the brute strength the life of a miner required. As a badger, Baron Samuel Christopher was uniquely suited to it.
Stealth listened as the badger rattled off more facts and pointed to more and more places about town. Though a small community, it was welcoming and Stealth felt very comfortable here. He secretly hoped he could run a few more messages here in the weeks and months ahead. He had never received so kind a welcoming as he had here.
But he still had to return to Metamor at some point.
"So," Samuel said as they made their way back to the family tower. "What do you think of my city?"
"Much smaller than Metamor, but at least it looks like a city. I don't think I'd fit in here very well."
Samuel chortled and patted him gently on the back. "A few years swinging and you'd build up the muscles. But I think you're doing exactly what you should be."
"Thank you, my lord." Stealth smiled a little as they climbed the road.
"The message to Thalberg is waiting for you. I take it you wish to return soon?"
"Yes, I would like to get back."
The Baron nodded. He swayed a little as he walked up the slope, but he never looked likely to lose his balance. "I understand. I always yearn to rush back here when my tasks at Metamor are done."
Stealth fingered the loose clothes he still wore over his running harness. "Thank you for the clothes too. It was nice to have something to change into when I arrived. I'll fold them back up before I leave."
"That reminds me," Samuel said with a broad grin. "I do have one more thing for you." He reached into the satchel slung over his shoulder and drew out a flat leather pouch with hooks at all four ends. "If the measurements are right, this will attach to your running harness without all the bulk of your current back pack. You can carry the clothes in this and dress yourself whenever you wish."
Stealth blinked and took the pouch in his paws. He rubbed the tough leather hide with his thumbs and stared bewildered. "Why are you doing this for me? You don't even know me."
"True enough. I'm not doing it for you," the Baron said with a sad smile. "But after meeting you, I wish I could say I was. It was Thalberg's idea."
"Thalberg? But he's... so..."
"Cold? He was like that before he became an alligator or so I hear. This is his way of saying he was wrong about you. You'll never get him to admit it, but that's what this is." Samuel smiled at him with an almost fatherly affection. "He told us your measurements and had us make both pouch and clothes for you."
Stealth blinked and continued to stare at the pouch. "So this whole delivery here was a ruse to say he's sorry?"
Samuel shrugged. "Not a ruse. His letter was important. But these are gifts from him to you, and I hope you think of them as from us as well. You are always welcome here at the mines, Stealth."
"But it was..."
"An act of kindness," Samuel said, a gruff certainty pervading his voice. The cheetah looked up and nodded. The pouch would fit onto his harness easily, and it would be very nice to have a proper pouch for his full suit to carry his clothing in. A little less awkwardness over the winter months.
"An act of kindness," Stealth murmured, then he too began to smile. "Thank you, my lord. Do you think I should tell him too?"
"Who, Thalberg?" The badger laughed. "I don't know if I'd thank him personally, but I'd wait a month or two before stealing another chicken from his kitchens."
Stealth grimaced and held the pouch tighter. "You heard about that?"
The badger laughed long and loud. He patted the cheetah on the back and with one arm scooped around his slender shoulders, herded the feline up the slope to the tower. "Heard? I used to steal food from the Keep's kitchens when my dad was the Baron. You should have seen Thalberg then!" Stealth suddenly liked this badger a whole lot more. Together, they laughed as they returned to the tower to fetch the letter. Stealth knew now that he would definitely come back this way any chance he could. And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't quake in his fur the next time Thalberg called for him!


text:
Archdiocese gears up for a year of St. Joseph filled with 'real graces'
St. Gabriel School to close; students to attend nearby St. Thomas Aquinas
Dr. King commemoration, led by archbishop, set for Monday night
Archbishop Perez inspires young adults to learn, get involved in church
South Korean priests criticize North Korean shelling
By Catholic News Service
INCHEON, South Korea (CNS) – A South Korean chancellor whose diocese was affected by the recent North Korean military provocation criticized the aggression and expressed concern for local residents.{{more}}
"The relationship between the North and the South worsened under the current South Korean government," Father John Kim Yong-hwan, chancellor of Incheon, which covers Yeonpyeong Island, told the Asian church news agency UCA News. "The South Korean government should introduce dialogue and embrace the North."
On Nov. 23, North Korea fired several hundred artillery shells at the South Korean island in the Yellow Sea. The attack killed two soldiers while injuring 13 soldiers and three civilians, said the South Korean military.
The shells also set fire to about 70 houses and mountains in the island, local media reported. Meanwhile, South Korea returned fire, aiming at the North Korean coastal artillery base.
North Korea accused the South of firing first. South Korea was conducting military exercises in the area but said its shells were not directed at the North.
Father Kim expressed concern for the island's residents, including its more than 450 Catholics.
Father Baptist John Kim Hun-il, executive secretary of the Subcommittee for Aid to North Korea under the Korean bishops' committee for reconciliation, said North Korea should stop the attack.
"Aiming at civilians and civil houses is inhumane, and it can cause further tragedy in the Korean Peninsula," he added, urging South Korea to stop the return fire and, through dialogue, persuade the North not to provoke such attacks.
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text:
module Koala
  module Facebook
    # This class, given a Koala::HTTPService::Response object, will check for Graph API-specific
    # errors. This returns an error of the appropriate type which can be immediately raised
    # (non-batch) or added to the list of batch results (batch)
    class GraphErrorChecker
      attr_reader :http_status, :body, :headers
      def initialize(http_status, body, headers)
        @http_status = http_status.to_i
        @body = body
        @headers = headers
      end

      # Facebook has a set of standardized error codes, some of which represent problems with the
      # token.
      AUTHENTICATION_ERROR_CODES = [102, 190, 450, 452, 2500]

      # Facebook can return debug information in the response headers -- see
      # https://developers.facebook.com/docs/graph-api/using-graph-api#bugdebug
      DEBUG_HEADERS = %w[x-fb-debug x-fb-rev x-fb-trace-id x-business-use-case-usage x-ad-account-usage x-app-usage]

      def error_if_appropriate
        if http_status >= 400
          error_class.new(http_status, body, error_info)
        end
      end

      protected

      def error_class
        if auth_error?
          # See: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/authentication/access-token-expiration/
          #      https://developers.facebook.com/bugs/319643234746794?browse=search_4fa075c0bd9117b20604672
          AuthenticationError
        else
          ClientError
        end
      end

      def auth_error?
        # tbh, I'm not sure why we restrict Facebook-reported OAuthExceptions to only those without
        # codes or whose codes match the list above -- let's investigate changing this later.
        error_info['type'] == 'OAuthException' &&
          (!error_info['code'] || AUTHENTICATION_ERROR_CODES.include?(error_info['code'].to_i))
      end

      def error_info
        # Build up the complete error info from whatever Facebook gives us plus the header
        # information
        @error_info ||= DEBUG_HEADERS.inject(base_error_info) do |hash, error_key|
          hash[error_key] = headers[error_key] if headers[error_key]
          hash
        end
      end

      def base_error_info
        response_hash['error'] || {}
      end

      def response_hash
        # Normally, we start with the response body. If it isn't valid JSON, we start with an empty
        # hash and fill it with error data.
        @response_hash ||= begin
          JSON.parse(body)
        rescue JSON::ParserError
          {}
        end
      end
    end
  end
end


BEIJING - Studying President Xi Jinping's new book on governance will deepen the understanding of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, said senior official Wang Huning Friday.
Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a symposium on the second volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," which was published and put up for sale earlier this month.
"Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is considered as the Chinese Marxism of the 21st century, which shows its originality and reflects the features of the times," said Wang. "According to the 19th CPC National Congress, it is an important strategic task to equip the whole Party with Xi's thought."
The first volume was published in September 2014 and received widespread attention and praise from readers at home and abroad.
The second volume, covering 17 topics, collects 99 of Xi's speeches, conversations, instructions and letters between Aug. 18, 2014 and Sept. 29, 2017.
Sales are likely to exceed those of the first book, which has sold about 6.6 million copies worldwide in 24 languages, according to the Foreign Languages Press, the book's publisher.
The new volume depicts the practice of the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core in uniting and leading Chinese people to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in a new era.
According to Wang, the new book reflects the development and achievements of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It also provides Chinese wisdom and solutions for developing a community with a shared future for mankind and in promoting peace and development.
Wang called for deep understanding of the historical background that has produced Xi's thought, the original contributions it has made to Marxism and the guidance it provides for the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.
"Studying and publicizing the newly-published volume will further ingrain Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in people's hearts and enhance the international community's understanding of Xi's thought," Wang said.
"The main reason why foreigners should read these books is that they are the first time that a Chinese leader has sought to capture his whole philosophy and communicate it to the international audience in so many languages," said David Ferguson, the English editor of both books, with the Foreign Languages Press. "There is everything you need to know about where China is now, and where China is trying to go."


text:
1 reviews with 7-9 stars
November 27, 2022 (Updated: November 27, 2022)
A very good edit of my nostalgic favorite Batman movie, one that didn't try to change the tone into something that it wasn't meant to be, which I appreciate. The story flows well with the deleted scenes added, though I really didn't like the placement of the Chase x Batman rooftop scene: it didn't make sense to me that Chase would try to seduce Batman after seeing something as traumatizing as seeing a family murdered in front of her at the circus. I think it's placement was better in the original cut.
Audio was fine, though Chase's muted dialogue in the aforementioned rooftop scene was so noticeable it took me out for a second. The video quality of the deleted scenes were noticeably different than the rest of the film, which of course isn't the fault of the editor.
Overall, it's my favorite of all the Batman Forever edits I've seen, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to see the film in the original shooting script order.
buffshipper Top 100 Reviewer 35 reviews


text:
Greg Clark
MP for Tunbridge Wells
Local Campaigns
Visits to Parliament
Greg responds to Gatwick Master Plan consultation
Greg has written to the Chief Executive of Gatwick Airport, Stewart Wingate, in response to the consultation on the airport's draft Master Plan. Read his full response below:
galmp1-223.jpg 46.85 KB
Controlling aircraft noise
Intrusive levels of aircraft noise affects many of my constituents, especially those living towards the west of Tunbridge Wells. I have been working alongside community groups and local experts to press for Gatwick, the airlines and the regulators, to change flightpaths and operate quieter aircraft.
2022 will be a year to remember
In his first column of the year for the Times of Tunbridge Wells, Greg looks forward to 2022 and hopes that from Covid to Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubillee, it will be a year to remember and enjoy. For the full article, click here.
Greg Clark MP for Tunbridge Wells
Tunbridge Wells constituency
This website is funded by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) for the purpose of assisting Greg Clark MP in the performance of his Parliamentary duties.
Copyright 2022 Greg Clark MP for Tunbridge Wells. All rights reserved.


The widow of the famous military general, George Armstrong Custer, left a five-page will and Codicil with some interesting bequest. Interestingly, she left a large portion of her estate to an East coast college. This is an interesting and detailed Last Will with reference to George Armstrong Custer and the military acadamy at West Point. Her exquisitely rare check was written from Michigan.
This Elizabeth B. Custer autograph check reproduction would look great in an album or display.


An open armchair for sale on behalf of a reader of this website: The chair is in unrestored condition and has never been tampered with. The upholstery is more or less intact but very distressed, some of the H&S ticking fabric is missing. The woodwork is excellent.
The chair was owned by Sir James Drummond and came from Hawthornden Castle in Scotland – when the family died out the estate was inherited by the butler who gave this chair and some others to the housekeeper who is related to the current owner.
Approx Dimensions: Height (back) 75cm, Width 65cm, Depth (seat) 60cm, Height (seat) 35cm.
Seller is in Carmarthenshire but could deliver for a fee depending on area.


text:
In the United States, the Peninsula District is a district of the Virginia High School League.  It consists of public high schools in the cities of Hampton and Newport News, plus Gloucester High School in Gloucester County.

Schools in the Peninsula District compete in the 6A, 5A, and 4A divisions.

Schools in the Peninsula District

Gloucester County
Gloucester High School, 5A

Hampton
Bethel High School, 5A
Hampton High School, 5A
Kecoughtan High School, 5A
Phoebus High School, 3A

Newport News
Denbigh High School, 4A
Heritage High School, 4A
Menchville High School, 5A
Warwick High School, 5A
Woodside High School, 6A

Former members
Homer L. Ferguson High School of Newport News, Virginia (school closed in 1996)
Lafayette High School of Williamsburg, Virginia (now in the AA Bay Rivers District)
Newport News High School of Newport News, Virginia (school became Newport News Intermediate School, which eventually closed in 1980)
Tabb High School of Tabb, Virginia (now in the AA Bay Rivers District)
James Blair High School (Williamsburg, Virginia) 1967 - 1973 (school became a middle school in 1973)
York High School (Yorktown, Virginia) (now in the AA Bay Rivers District)

References

Education in Gloucester County, Virginia
Education in Hampton, Virginia
Sports in Hampton Roads
Virginia High School League
Sports in Newport News, Virginia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This standard tubing bender will bend up to 180° and fits a wide range of sizes including 3/16", 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8" tubing. The Earls Standard Tubing Bender is compatible with steel, copper and copper/nickel tubing and features a durable black powder coated finish.
Find in OPGI's 2018 Riviera Catalog pages 122, 89.