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Explore The Deborah J. Norden Fund Essay
Forms of aid: Architectures of humanitarian space in Nairobi, Kenya
Benedict Clouette and Marlisa Wise write about urban and architectural consequences of international humanitarian operations.
The entrance to the Médecins Sans Frontières health clinic in Kibera, Nairobi. Credit: Benedict Clouette & Marlisa Wise.
The Deborah J. Norden Fund, a program of The Architectural League of New York, was established in 1995 in memory of architect and arts administrator Deborah Norden. Each year, the competition awards up to $5,000 in travel grants to students and recent graduates in the fields of architecture, architectural history, and urban studies.
Benedict Clouette and Marlisa Wise received a 2012 award.
In theorizing the operational arena of international relief organizations in the early 1990s, Rony Brauman, the former director of Médecins Sans Frontières, proposed a new term, the concept of "humanitarian space". Humanitarian space, as articulated by Brauman, is a nonpartisan arena of operations, decision-making, access, and movement for relief organizations, where they are "free to evaluate needs, free to monitor the delivery and use of assistance, free to have dialogue with the people." The concept of humanitarian space asserts the relative autonomy of a moral sphere that, in invoking a universal humanity and political neutrality, attempts to transcend national boundaries and local politics, and yet must nonetheless embed itself within particular spatial–political relationships. Despite its claims to universality, humanitarianism produces highly specific spatial consequences in the cities and regions that it temporarily incorporates. In responding to disasters and conflicts in the name of humanity, contemporary humanitarianism has engendered new urban forms, often through the convergence of nongovernmental actors with economic, military/security, and national interests. As architects, it is these forms, the spaces of humanitarian space, that are our concern, in that they suggest the contours of international humanitarianism as it is practiced and as it reorders cities around the world.
Part of the KENSUP project in the Soweto East neighborhood of Kibera under construction in 2013. Credit: Benedict Clouette & Marlisa Wise
The grant from the Deborah Norden Fund supported research on the urban and architectural consequences of international humanitarian operations in the context of the city of Nairobi, Kenya, which we undertook in 2013. We documented a series of sites throughout the city that describe the complex relations between international aid and processes of urbanization. The research focused on a "slum upgrading project" in the settlement of Kibera, called KENSUP, undertaken by the government of Kenya in cooperation with UN-Habitat, and situated that project in relation to other sites across the city, including the UN's African headquarters in the suburb of Gigiri and an industrial processing zone that houses the distribution centers of international aid organizations and relief supply manufacturers.
A map, drawn by the authors, of the sites of research in Nairobi, from the book Forms of Aid.
The research suggested an alternative to the image of Nairobi as a city of isolated extremes, where wealthy estates abut slums, divided only by the walls of private compounds. The urbanism of Nairobi's humanitarian bureaucracy suggests instead the interdependencies between "informal" settlements, globalized markets, international institutions, and urban politics.
The city of Nairobi and the humanitarian operations it hosts comprised one of three sites of research that we developed in the book Forms of Aid: Architectures of Humanitarian Space (Birkhäuser, 2017).
The cover of Forms of Aid: Architectures of Humanitarian Space.
Forms of Aid describes the spatial products of international aid at the scale of the building and the city, drawing attention to the responsibility that architects bear for the production of humanitarian space. The book provides a glimpse into the lesser-known spatial manifestations of aid: not just schools and clinics, but also free-trade zones, highways, checkpoints, nature preserves, cruise ships, factories, and surveillance technologies.
Architecture pressed into service of an idea of a universal humanity often obscures more complicated attachments or complicities between the altruistic mission of relief organizations and the machinations of political and economic actors. These include international NGOs, national governments acting as donors of development aid, private foundations and philanthropies, corporate social responsibility programs, and supranational organizations like the UN, WHO, and the World Bank—not humanity as such, but a very particular set of organizations, infrastructures, legal codes, and technologies. Much of what we wanted to pursue in the research for the book concerned this series of entanglements that take cover under the name of humanitarianism—and the ways in which the humanitarian project is enlisted, often knowingly, in the interests of national or international security and economic globalization.
The towers of KENSUP's "decanting site," used to temporarily resettle residents during the construction of the new housing. Credit: Benedict Clouette & Marlisa Wise.
Humanitarianism between the universal and the particular
In Nairobi, we examined the urbanism that results from the imbrication of international humanitarian operations with local and national interests, considering the slum upgrading program in Kibera as a project of "humanitarian government," to use an expression developed by anthropologist Didier Fassin. As Fassin has described, humanitarian government works not only across national borders, but on the very boundaries between state and non-state formations, between universal moral imperatives and particular political conflicts. The result is a form of international humanitarian order that is sustained through the coordinated activities of NGOs with national and local governments, supranational organizations like the UN, military operations, and multinational corporations.
The main assembly building of the UN Office at Nairobi (UNON) in the Gigiri suburb. Credit: Benedict Clouette & Marlisa Wise.
In Nairobi, we considered the forms of humanitarian government that have been organized around the construction of a large housing estate under construction in the Kibera settlement. The project, which is a joint effort of the UN and the national government of Kenya, is intended to resettle thousands of residents of the settlement, replacing several acres of self-built single-story houses that were demolished to clear the ground for the future project.
Humanitarianism and extraterritoriality
Another aspect of the research concerns the extraterritorial status of humanitarian spaces. The best-known example of the extraterritoriality of humanitarian space are the land parcels on which the UN's four headquarters are built, which are geographically located in New York, Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi, but legally hold extraterritorial status, governed by international law rather than the local jurisdiction.
But the extraterritoriality of humanitarianism is not limited to the land parcels occupied by international diplomatic organizations. The growth of the Mukuru settlement in Nairobi, now one of the city's largest, was driven in part by the Kenyan government's development of an industrial zone, and later the tax-free Sameer Industrial Park EPZ, on the edge of the city, near the airport.
A map, drawn by the authors, of the area around the Sameer Business Park EPZ. Credit: Benedict Clouette & Marlisa Wise.
Mukuru's earliest residents were workers who voluntarily resettled in areas adjacent to the zone to be closer to the factories and the possibilities of employment they offer. Perhaps ironically, the park currently houses the Kenyan warehouses of Médicins Sans Frontières, and its EPZ leases space to several companies that are international manufacturers and distributors of relief supplies, contracted by the UN and NGOs for their work in Kenya's settlements and around the world.
A warehouse operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross in the industrial business area along Enterprise Road. Credit: Benedict Clouette & Marlisa Wise
Humanitarianism beyond the state
Lastly—and this perhaps represents the best possibility that we see for directing architectural practice—the research suggests a reconsideration of the spaces of humanitarianism as representing the possibility of a politics beyond the nation-state. Humanitarianism claims a moral purpose, in that it acts not in the interests of any parties, but for the good of humanity itself. In this sense, humanitarianism is sometimes seen as opposed to or transcending political life. But humanitarian operations and their effects on cities are perhaps opposed not to the political, but to the state; or, more precisely, to the spatial ordering of state territory through the institutions of private land ownership and national boundaries.
An overpass of the Southern Bypass Road that divides Kibera from the "decanting site." Credit: Benedict Clouette & Marlisa Wise.
Humanitarian spaces might point toward new spatial and political formations: governance structures, property laws, and models of land tenure that respect the complex forms of ownership seen in refugee camps and other communities where no land titles exist, or where land has never been formally divided into parcels, or that lack a legal distinction between public and private space. The refugee camp is therefore not outside the realm of politics, but rather points toward a political community beyond the nation-state, and beyond property and territory, the spatial extensions of the state.
Seen in this light, humanitarian spaces, like camps and settlements, might not be outside the polis; rather they are emerging sites of another politics. The architecture of these humanitarian spaces would be designed not for a universal humanity reduced to its basic needs, but for the human of a political life yet to come.
Benedict Clouette
is a founding partner of Interval Projects, a design practice based in New York.
Marlisa Wise
The Deborah J. Norden Fund
The Deborah J. Norden Fund 2012
Past Norden Fund winners
A conversation with Mark Willis
An interview with the former Deputy Commissioner for Development at NYC Housing Preservation and Development, who was instrumental in organizing Vacant Lots.
Interview Vacant Lots 2013
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The Deborah J. Norden Fund Essay 1995


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joshua hoffman saved by the bell
1/20. The series is notorious for generally introducing brand-new characters that ultimately disappear in later episodes. Some of the more glaring examples of characters that autumn victim to this trfinish are Jessie"s brand-new stepbrother, Eric Tramer (Joshua Hoffman), that, after making tranquility with the gang and also agreeing to live via Jessie permanently, is never watched or spoken of again; Violet Bickerstaff (Tori Spelling), Screech"s girlfriend, who disshows up mid-method via seakid 3; and also Laura (Jennifer McComb), a homeless girl and Zack"s love interemainder from the two-part Christmas episode, that is to live through the Morris family until her father finds a job, yet that is never before watched or referred to after these episodes. However, the a lot of noticeable example is Tori Scott (Leanna Creel), that transfers to Bayside at the beginning of seachild four and also appears sporadically throughout the season, but she disappears before the graduation episode. Her fate was never before revealed.
You are watching: Joshua hoffman saved by the bell
2/20. According to producer Peter Engel, at a meeting before the present had actually been produced, NBC President Brandon Tartikoff argued the show be given a name that offered the word bell (such as "When the Bell Rings"). One of Engel"s colleagues then said the name "Saved by the Bell," which Tartikoff favored. Engel disfavored the name but, believing that someone else more than likely owned the civil liberties to the expression, went in addition to it. As luck would certainly have it, NBC"s legal department discovered that nobody owned the rights to the phrase, and, by the following day, Engel"s office was extended in large banners that said "Saved by the Bell".
3/20. Mark-Paul Gosselaar had actually to dye his hair blond eexceptionally two weeks while the show was in manufacturing.
4/20. Although the five friends were intended to be the very same age, Dustin Diamond was actually 12 years old when the series began. Elizabeth Berkley was 17 and also the rest were all 15. Only Diamond was still at high college age at the end of the series.
5/20. Though Kelly was scripted as Zack"s girlfrifinish for the display, the actress who played the function of Lisa, Lark Voorhies, was Mark-Paul Gosselaar"s real-life girlfriend approximately and during the Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style (1992) movie for 3 years, according to several interviews provided by Gosselaar.
6/20. The set of the institution was never before struck dvery own completely after the show quit production. It has actually been provided and also redressed on many shows that air on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon because then, such as That"s So Raven (2003) and also iCarly (2007).
7/20. In the beforehand 1990s, reruns of the present were being watched by an average of over 4 million viewers on the TBS cable station; this was tantamount to approximately 40 million viewers for programs airing in prime time on major networks.
8/20. Swearing was banned on the collection of the display by executive producer Peter Engel.
9/20. Both Dustin Diamond (Screech Powers) and Tori Spelling (Violet Bickerstaff) mutual their initially on-display screen kiss while on the display.
10/20. Zack and Slater on were intended to be bitter rivals over Kelly. But the 2 were very cshed in actual life. The writers, sensing their apparent chemisattempt, re-created them as ideal friends.
11/20. Dustin Diamond is the only actor to appear as a regular in all "Saved by the Bell" episodes, by-products and also movies.
12/20. The final graduation episode had actually currently been swarm as soon as the network-related ordered additional episodes. Tiffani Thiessen and also Elizabeth Berkley were attached to other jobs already, necessitating the development of a replacement character Tori, that was played by Leanna Creel. The Tori episodes aired in the middle of the other last seachild episodes to sideaction continuity problems; the Tori paradox was based on the principle that Tori, Kelly, and also Jessie were all at Bayside at the very same time and sindicate had actually various classes and different social interactions through Zach, Slater, Screech, and Lisa that never before overlapped.
13/20. The nerd personalities commonly had a last name that contained the word "nerd" or some synonym of it, such as Nerdstrom, Poindexter, Geekman, and so on.
14/20. Slater"s bedroom was the just bedroom on the show that the audience never sees.
15/20. After Saved by the Bell (1989) had been on television for about 4 weeks, research study conducted by NBC showed that fifty percent of teenaged girls in the USA were watching the present.
16/20. In eextremely present the very same classroom was provided simply rearranged for the topic being taught.
17/20. One of the degrees in Mr. Belding"s office is for Kung Fu. It is over the filing cabinet beside his desk.
18/20. Series creator and executive producer Peter Engel did not know that Dustin Diamond was just 12 as soon as he cast Screech and also later angered Diamond by repetitively noting his immaturity loved one to the other and also older regular cast members. Engel likewise sassist that he would not have actually cast Diamond if he"d recognized his age at time.
19/20. The functioning relationship between Dustin Diamond (Screech) and the remainder of the young cast was reportedly so bad, that not just was Diamond not invited to the photo shoot and cover story that PEOPLE magazine did for the show"s 20-year anniversary in 2009, however Diamond"s picture was cropped out of an 1989 team photo of the cast; ironically, Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding), the only cast member through whom Diamond is still on excellent terms, was not invited to sign up with the 2009 team either, yet he did get involved in a reunion sketch on The Tonight Sexactly how Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014).
See more: A Topical Play Interspersed With Music Is Known As A What Does Vaudeville Mean?
20/20. At its elevation, Saved by the Bell (1989) attracted even more teenage viewers on Saturday mornings than the number one present on television at the time, The Cosby Show (1984), did at primetime.
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Album: Check out "SKY ROAD" By OWL MAKER
According to Lakota legend, the crone goddess Owl Maker guards the Sky Road -- the entrance to the Land of the Dead. Souls who bear the wrong tattoos are cast back to Earth to fade into oblivion...
Following the success of their debut EP Paths of the Slain this March, heavy metal trio Owl Maker released the two-track EP Sky Road on November 2nd, 2018. With themes of hopelessness, isolation, and revenge set against a stark desert landscape, and produced by the Owl Maker's own guitarist and frontman Simon Tuozzoli, Sky Road shows a musical and conceptual evolution for the band.
When Paths of the Slain was released in March 2018, it put the essentially unknown local metal group on the international map. Mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Code Orange), the EP garnered many words of praise from far beyond Owl Maker's Connecticut home. Metal Hammer called it "a high-octane drive down the alt-metal superhighway," and Invisible Oranges hoped that the release was "only the tip of the iceberg."
And indeed it is. "Sky Road" and "Owl City" show two different sides of the band: one firmly rooted in blues grooves and the other more brooding and experimental. Tuozzoli, who is an audio engineer by trade and also known for his work in the doom metal duo Vestal Claret, took the recording into his own hands for this release. Also featuring Jessie May on bass and Chris Anderson on drums, Owl Maker continues down a road that is full of potential.
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Xconomy National
Harvest Express Brings Online Grocery Service to Detroit
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Innovation Hub: Rise of the Nerds
Kara Miller
@IHubRadio
I was labeled one. You probably were too. And now that we're grown up, lots of us believe that being a "nerd" is actually a badge of honor.
But David Anderegg, author of Nerds: How Dorks, Dweebs, Techies and Trekkies Can Save America and Why They Might Be Our Last Hope, argues that the nerd stereotype is more detrimental to our future than we realize.
Here's an edited, condensed version of my interview with Anderegg. For audio of the full conversation, visit the Innovation Hub homepage.
Kara Miller: OK, so first of all, let's start with a definition here. What is a nerd?
David Anderegg: That's a really tough question. Nerds are a social stereotype. They don't really exist, but the stereotype is of someone who's very bright, very good at math, usually male, and usually sexually unappealing or awkward.
KM: Is this stereotype changing at all? Think of Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs and Bill Gates—people who you know were nerdy once upon a time. And they went on to amass a lot of power and earn a lot of money. So is there any sense that the story is changing?
DA: I think the story is changing a lot, but it depends on where you are. Around Boston or in Silicon Valley or in places like that, this is not a big deal. But if you live elsewhere, I don't think it has changed that much. Kids are still anxious about being labeled a nerd. And other kids are very down on kids who do nerdy things, like science and math. Pop culture has also changed too, but not as much as I would like. The Big Bang Theory, for example, is every nerd stereotype you could ever imagine. And it's one of the top television shows in the nation, and I think that's kind of terrible.
KM: In the subtitle of your book, you say that nerds can save America. How?
DA: All the jobs that we have remaining in this country—I'm talking about jobs for high school grads or people who have a two-year degree—those jobs require much more technical expertise than they used to require. And my biggest concern about the nerd stereotype is that a broad swath of the population is discouraged from taking an interest in science and math and computer courses that they need in order to be employed. It's a big concern.
Kara Miller is the host of "Innovation Hub," a national radio program that features the thinkers, researchers, and visionaries who are crafting the future. She is based at WGBH Radio in Boston. Follow @IHubRadio


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With 4/20 just days away, Netflix shares the official trailer for its new cannabis documentary, Grass Is Greener. Serving as the directorial debut for hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy, the picture delves into America's complicated relationship with weed.
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Press play above for a taste of Netflix's Grass Is Greener documentary, which comes to the streaming platform this Saturday, April 20.


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Burroughs Boys Basketball: Burros fall to Pacifica Christian in hard-fought match
Lauren Jennings Sports Editor
Feb 12, 2019 at 12:01 AM Feb 12, 2019 at 10:20 PM
The Barn was loud throughout the entire basketball game but silence came crashing down at the sound of the final buzzer. There were no words after the game, just hugs and tears from the coaches and players alike.
One thing is for certain though: the boys fought, and they fought hard. It just was not enough.
The Burroughs High School boys basketball team lost to Pacifica Christian 54-51 during the CIF quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
"I thought we had a good plan. It was only three points," said head coach Scott Hansen.
The first quarter the Burros went down early 5-0 and allowed the Tritons to score another five unanswered points in the last two minutes, giving the Tritons a 14-7 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Tritons then started the second quarter with a three-pointer. But the Burros did not fall apart, nor did they give up.
The team responded.
The Burros went on to score seven unanswered points, coming within three points of the Tritons. The battle continued to be back-and-forth the rest of the quarter and the Burros kept fighting to close the gap, ending the half down by four, 25-21.
And then the unthinkable happened during the third. The Burros took their first lead of the game, thanks to a couple of three-pointers by Trevor Frisbee and Evan Hansen. Frisbee had the first game-tying shot at 30-30, and then when the Tritons responded with a three-pointer of their own, Frisbee drained another three to tie it once more. Hansen would put the team up by three at the end of the period, 38-35.
The fourth quarter was the most hard-fought of the entire game. The Tritons started by making a three-pointer, which ultimately would be the difference at the buzzer. The Burros fought and stayed even with the Tritons through the majority of the quarter, until Pacifica Christian scored six unanswered points.
The end of the quarter was spent fouling the Tritons in hopes that the team would not make the free-throws; which is the best that Hansen could do in that situation. It got the team within six, and the Burros sank a three-pointer with less than five seconds left on the clock.
And then it was over.
"I am very proud. I cannot put it into words, and I could not [after the game]. I thought we were going to win. I knew we would make a good game out of it," Hansen said.


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Covenant Health Partners is a physician organization that focuses on enhancing the quality of care delivered by its member physicians to improve patient outcomes and patient satisfaction in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
Covenant Health Partners is a physician organization that focuses on enhancing the quality of care delivered by its member physicians to improve patient outcomes and patient satisfaction in both inpatient and outpatient settings. It serves as the primary vehicle for Covenant Health in developing and implementing a sustainable care model.
Covenant Health Partners is a clinically integrated organization of employed physicians, independent physicians, hospitals and other providers of care whose mission is to improve quality and reduce the overall cost of care for patients and the communities we serve. We offer a diverse group of physicians that represent the finest primary care and specialty care available.
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Joshua W. Rollins, DO
Covenant Health Plainview
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Dr. Joshua Rollins specializes in Orthopedic Surgery - a practice that brings together his passions for helping people and working with his hands.
"I love being able to help people and I do enjoy the mechanical aspects of orthopedics," Rollins said. "A lot of my hobbies growing up were rebuilding and restoring old muscle cars as well as carpentry. This is a good match."
Joshua also appreciates the almost instant benefits orthopedic surgery can have in the lives of his patients - whether it's from performing a total knee or hip replacement or easing the pain of severe arthritis.
"I want to fix it and get them back on their feet. In orthopedics, we are making an actual long-term difference in somebody's life for the better," he says.
Rollins grew up in a small town in Wyoming, adding that he and his family really feel at home serving the communities of the South Plains.
"In a small community, people are more down to earth and more honest than in bigger cities. That's something I enjoy."
Dr. Rollins offers many diverse services to the area, including joint replacement surgery, arthroscopy, sports medicine, fracture care and trauma.
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This two bedroom home is immaculately presented.
The kitchen and bathroom have been renovated with every modern convenience, including instant gas hot water.
There are split system air conditioners in the main living area and in the master bedroom, together with a slow combustion wood heater.
This property also features remote access to the attached garage, solar panels, rain water tank and a cement floor shed.
All set in beautiful established gardens, this property is ready to move straight into - all the work has been done for you to enjoy!


text:
Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Wednesday, December 1, 2021
Iranian forces, Taliban reportedly exchange fire across border
By AFP	1 December 2021, 7:39 pm Edit
lllustrative: A group of Iranian border guards march at the eastern border of Iran shared with Pakistan and Afghanistan near Zabol, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, on July 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
An exchange of fire erupts between Iranian forces and Afghanistan's Taliban at Iran's eastern border, according to local media reports.
"A clash erupted in the afternoon between Iranian border guards and the Taliban following a misunderstanding at the border near the [Afghan] province of Nimroz," says Iran's Tasnim news agency.
Iran, which shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Afghanistan, does not recognize the Taliban government formed after the insurgents seized the capital Kabul in August.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh says a "border dispute between residents" of the area triggered the incident, without referring to the Taliban.
"The situation has been resolved. Shooting stopped after contact between border guards of the two countries," he says in a statement.
Tasnim reports that "Iranian farmers passed beyond the protective walls erected within Iran, and the Taliban reacted by deeming that their border had been breached." The Taliban opened fire and Iranian forces responded, it says.


text:
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Dr. Capps joined Triangle Pediatrics in 2008. She earned her bachelor's degree in history at Vanderbilt University and received her medical degree from the University of Florida. She returned to Vanderbilt to complete her pediatric residency. While training in Nashville, she met and married her husband, Michael Capps, an internal medicine and pediatric physician in private practice in Cary. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a Diplomate of American Board of Pediatrics and a member of both the North Carolina Medical Society and the North Carolina Pediatric Society.
As the mother of 3 children, she finds plenty to keep her busy in addition to the practice of medicine. While her academic training prepared her well to care for children's medical needs, Dr. Capps feels her experience as a mother has added an integral part to what she can offer the families she treats. "I love seeing new babies and new parents in the office. Just like I was, they can be unsure and full of nervous happiness. I really enjoy helping them through the pitfalls of sleeplessness, nursing and sickness so that they can learn to love parenthood," she says.
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Hanif Houston is Children's Defense Fund – California's digital content manager. In this role, Hanif oversees the organization's internet presence, email fundraising and advocacy, graphic design, and other public-facing marketing.
Hanif has dedicated himself to a career in advocacy work for disadvantaged populations in California. Before joining Children's Defense Fund, Hanif worked in the California State Legislature, as a Senate Fellow, legislative strategist, and press secretary. In 2012, his efforts led to the adoption of legislation that provided homeless and foster youth with education and health care necessary for academic success.
Hanif has also taught intercity youth in after-school programs; served as a panelist at college recruitment events for minority students; and researched and written on a broad range of public policy topics, including K-12 education, child-welfare, and public safety.
Hanif received his bachelor's degree in English from UC Berkeley, where he studied perceptions of race in the turn-of-the-century American novel.


text:
WSJ: Tale of woe at the IRS; how to raise an additional trillion dollars
The article below is an oped. The day it came out the Journal had a long feature article about the internal revenue service and the attempt to reform and expand it's tax collecting. Unfortunately you have to be a subscriber but anyone interested can email me or leave a comment and I'll send the article - Administration seeks more money for enforcement and other tasks; fixes needed for problem-plagued system
Here's the op ed -
Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig told the Senate Finance Committee last week that the annual gap between taxes owed and taxes paid could be as much as $1 trillion. The so-called tax gap has doubled over the past decade, as IRS resources shrank. The number of IRS employees has declined by 33,000, with more than half of the decrease coming in the hard-pressed enforcement division. As a result, Mr. Rettig says, the IRS is "outgunned." Official statistics underscore the point, particularly on wealthy filers and corporations. Between 2011 and 2018, the share of returns audited fell by nearly half. For filers earning more than $1 million, audits fell by 74%; for corporations, 42%.
But it's also too easy for taxpayers to underreport their income. Noncompliance rates are less than 5% when the IRS has information from, say, banks that it can use to check taxpayers' filings. Without such information, only 45% of unreported income ends up taxed. In addition, the IRS is forced to rely on obsolete technology. For example, the IRS receives Schedule K-1 forms, which report income from partnerships and pass-through entities, but it doesn't have the technology to match these reports to individual tax filings.
The principle underlying this initiative—individuals and corporations should pay what they owe—enjoys near-universal support across party lines. The extra revenues could fund much of President Biden's agenda, without breaching his campaign pledge not to raise taxes on households making less than $400,000 a year or requiring Republicans to walk back their 2017 tax bill.
It sounds too good to be true, but experts think it's doable. Working with economists and information technology experts, former IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti has developed a detailed plan to reduce the tax gap. At a total cost of $64 billion, Mr. Rossotti estimates that a 10-year program to rebuild the IRS would boost tax revenues collected by $1.4 trillion over this period, a return of $22 for each dollar invested.
Implementing a plan of this scope would require support from the White House, congressional action, and obscure but important rule changes. For example, current rules prevent the Congressional Budget Office from including revenue gains from tax compliance when estimating the fiscal impact of IRS modernization programs. Congress is less likely to act if the plan appears to increase the budget deficit.
No doubt corporations and high-earning individuals will protest the increased burden of tax compliance. But Mr. Rossotti reports that during his term as commissioner, he was visited by tax-compliant businesspeople complaining that they couldn't compete against the tax evaders in their industry. Not only would a more efficient and effective IRS increase revenues; it also would bolster the rule of law and enhance public confidence in the fairness of the system.
Friday, April 30, 2021 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Democratic intellectual Joy Behar explains racism for Senator Tim Scott
Quoting from the youtube description "What happens when a white female ignoramus presumes to lecture a thoughtful black man about the reality of systematic racism." The commentator is Dinesh D"Souza.
Thursday, April 29, 2021 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Feast today: St. Catherine of Siena
40 years ago, while we were traveling Europe between leaving the Cayman Islands and moving to NY, we were in Siena and saw the relic of St. Catherine - her head. No need to supply a picture...
St. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380) was born in Siena, Italy, the 24th of 25 children born to a wealthy wool dyer and his wife. Catherine began having profound mystical experiences at the age of six which encouraged her in a life of virtue, extreme penance, and total consecration to God through a private vow of virginity.
She became a Dominican Tertiary at the age of 16 while continuing to live in the home of her parents. She had regular mystical visits from, and conversations with, Jesus, Mary, and many of the saints. Catherine had no formal education and was illiterate, yet her theological knowledge acquired through prayer astounded learned theologians. She was especially devoted to working for the unity and spiritual health of the Church. Among her most famous accomplishments was that she persuaded the Pope to return to Rome from Avignon in 1377. She was an important political figure in her day, often entering into negotiations between warring rulers through personal visits and dictated letters.
Her practical wisdom and profound spiritual insight was widely sought both inside and outside the Church. St. Catherine was a great mystic and was granted the stigmata which was made visible only after her death. She died in Rome at the age of 33, offering her life to God for the sanctification of the Church, and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1970. St. Catherine of Siena is the patron saint of Italy and Europe. Her feast day is April 29th.
From wikipedia - "Catherine ranks high among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Church.[13] She remains a greatly respected figure for her spiritual writings, and political boldness to "speak truth to power"—it being exceptional for a woman, in her time period, to have had such influence in politics and on world history."
Funny: A Shakespearean rendering of "The Three Little Pigs"
And gets funnier as it goes along.
Astronaut Michael Collins
Collins was the "forgotten astronaut" who who flew the Apollo 11 command module Columbia around the Moon in 1969 while his crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, made the first crewed landing on the surface.
I'm not sure when he gave this short interview. Obviously years after the Apollo 11 mission.
Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Useful - The CDC vaccination/mask chart recommendations
I suppose this is helpful. The village of Croton sent it around. Based on yesterday's CDC recommendations.
Perfect! (for me): 12 ways to help your wife without putting in too much effort
HEAVEN SENT -
Being considerate and helping your wife around the house is key to a healthy marriage-- and it doesn't even have to be hard work! Here's decades decades of marriage experience to compile a list of easy ways to help your wife out.
1. Rinse a dish and leave it near the sink: Your lady will swoon when she sees how considerate you are! For bonus points, place the dish in the sink so she can easily put it in the dishwasher later.
2. Place excess trash in an organized pile near the trash can until she takes it out: Little things to make her life easier go such a long way!
3. Avoid the toilet seat debate by peeing in the sink: Lifehack!
4. Never shower so she'll have fewer towels to fold: Also, if you never wear socks, you'll never get in trouble for not throwing them in the hamper.
5. Helpfully gather all the dirty clothes and passive-aggressively place them in front of the washer: Whatever you do, DON'T actually put them in the washer. You'll probably do it wrong.
6. Leave her helpful instructions on sticky notes around the house so she'll know how to do things properly: You can add little hearts and "XOXOXO" for extra romance.
7. Say helpful phrases like "My mom didn't do it that way" when she's cleaning: Wives love to learn new things from their mothers-in-law.
8. Send her pictures of the messes around the house while she's away so she can mentally prepare for the tasks ahead of her: This selfless act will help her stay mentally organized. It's the least you can do.
9. Start the lawnmower for her: Use your big man strength to start the mower so she has more energy to mow the lawn. If you really want to drive her crazy, roll up your sleeves so she sees your big arms while you crank the engine.
10. Pick up your feet while playing Xbox so she can vacuum under them.
11. Place all the sandwich ingredients together on the counter to cut down on her lunch-making time: For extra helpfulness, leave another sticky note to help her make it correctly.
12. Have many children so they can help around the house: And if you're a Mormon, you can also take a second wife to help your first wife with the chores!
There you have it! And I'm still married... Now go and invest in your marriage!
AI analysis of Dead Sea Scrolls: more than one scribe
Artificial intelligence catches small variances that the human eye missed. A new study of the Dead Sea Scrolls suggests that multiple scribes could have contributed to their writing. The research was conducted by paleographers and computer scientists from the University of Groningen. Inverse reports that the team employed artificial intelligence software with advanced pattern recognition to analyze the characters. The work focused on the motions of the writing, such as curvature and character shape. Through analysis the team identified several slight variances that suggested there could have been more than one hand at work.
Bill Maher (and others) on Covid scientism
Very good. This is also worthwhile. NY Times answers the question, "Are masks necessary outdoors?"
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Amazing - Brigid new hobby
2nd UPDATE: Brigid's instructor liked this so much he's posting pictures on a couple of his websites
UPDATE: Got this in an email from one of my excellent correspondents - "Tom, you're not untalented. Few among us have the ability to summon up such words as "galoot". "
Pottery - she took a 2 hour course online and then made this in 3 plus hours. The clay was originally just a lump. Difficult to understand why she married a talentless galoot - must have been opposites attract. A little commentary below the pictures. The inspiration was the semi-documentary My Octopus Teacher which we saw on Netflix and last night won the Oscar as best documentary.
It will be fired in an outdoor kiln made of brick and wood (old fashioned method.) Brigid's comments to me (which she won't know I'm posting until she sees this) and bear in mind she has an art and graphic design degree:
"I'm not entirely happy with it. Bit rough. 50 years since I've done anything in clay. It came back a bit."
My contribution yesterday - I took a picture of the sunset while walking just north of Half Moon Bay. Of course sunsets from there - like shooting fish in a barrel. Any moron...
Monday, April 26, 2021 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Working out without a gym - when you're 92 years old
UPDATE: Well he passed away just a few days ago at age of 96. Went skydiving when he was 94. Thanks to Nancy for sending me this.
"bummer - he passed a couple of weeks ago! (per YouTube comments section)"
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dfw/obituary.aspx?n=jack-houser&pid=198351369
I hope I can find this video 23 years from now...
Sunday, April 25, 2021 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Ocasio Cortez: Biden's first 100 days have "Exceeded Expectations that progressives had"
They certainly have - "very impressive"
Nick Springer - an obituary with extensive photos
Hit the link and scroll down for the photos. Thanks to Maria fro sending me this.
EDWARD F. CARTER WEBSITE: NICHOLAS BOWEN SPRINGER NOTICE OF DEATH, EXTENSIVE FAMILY PHOTOS AND TRIBUTE VIDEO AT https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/croton-on-hudson-ny/nicholas-springer-10163907
Saturday, April 24, 2021 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Feast day today - St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen
By a funny coincidence (Divine set-up?) I'm going to see a Fr. Fidelis today. And very much in the mold of Saint Fidelis. Hopefully he won't come to the same end - the sword symbolizing what happened to him...
If a poor man needed some clothing, Fidelis would often give the man the clothes right off his back. Complete generosity to others characterized this saint's life. Born in 1577, Mark Rey became a lawyer who constantly upheld the causes of the poor and oppressed people. Nicknamed "the poor man's lawyer," Rey soon grew disgusted with the corruption and injustice he saw among his colleagues. He left his law career to become a priest, joining his brother George as a member of the Capuchin Order. Fidelis was his religious name. His wealth was divided between needy seminarians and the poor.
He was appointed head of a group of Capuchins sent to preach against the Calvinists and Zwinglians in Switzerland. Almost certain violence threatened. Those who observed the mission felt that success was more attributable to the prayer of Fidelis during the night than to his sermons and instructions.
He was accused of opposing the peasants' national aspirations for independence from Austria. While he was preaching at Seewis, to which he had gone against the advice of his friends, a gun was fired at him, but he escaped unharmed. A Protestant offered to shelter Fidelis, but he declined, saying his life was in God's hands. On the road back, he was set upon by a group of armed men and killed.
Fidelis was canonized in 1746. Fifteen years later he was recognized as a martyr.
A local account of his martyrdom:
From Grüsch he went to preach at Seewis, where, with great energy, he exhorted the Catholics to constancy in the faith. After a Calvinist had discharged his musket at him in the Church, the Catholics entreated him to leave the place. He answered that death was his gain and his joy, and that he was ready to lay down his life in God's cause. On his road back to Grüsch, he met twenty Calvinist soldiers with a minister at their head. They called him a false prophet, and urged him to embrace their sect. He answered: "I am sent to you to confute, not to embrace your heresy. The Catholic religion is the faith of all ages, I fear not death." One of them beat him down to the ground by a stroke on the head with his backsword. Fidelis rose again on his knees, and stretching forth his arms in the form of a cross, said with a feeble voice "Pardon my enemies, O Lord: blinded by passion they know not what they do. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. Mary, Mother of God, succor me!." Another sword stroke clove his skull, and he fell to the ground and lay in a pool of his own blood. The soldiers, not content with this, added many stab wounds to his body with their long knives, and hacked-off his left leg, as they said, to punish him for his many journeys into those parts to preach to them.[3]
WSJ: Representative Jerry Nadler "unwittingly calls to abolish the corporate and estate taxes."
Jerry Nadler - he's witless alrighty. But alas, like 80% of Congressional seats, he's gerrymandered into an entirely safe Democrat seat. Been in office 43 years.
Democrats from high-tax blue areas are asking President Biden to restore an unlimited federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT), and here's New York Rep. Jerry Nadler's pithy pitch on Twitter : "No one should ever be taxed twice on the same income. It's not fair and it's not just."
Deal! Quick, shake on it, before he realizes what he's saying. Conservatives have been making arguments about double taxation for years. We're glad to hear Mr. Nadler thinks the death tax and the corporate-income tax are unjust and should be repealed. Also, it's nice to see him pledge never to vote for any sort of wealth tax.
This is a joke, alas. In reality Mr. Nadler is simply trying to reframe the unlimited SALT deduction, which is a tax break for wealthy urbanites mostly in New York and California, as a matter of justice. What makes his complaint especially unpersuasive is that it involves overlapping taxes by different bodies: The federal government has an income tax. So does New York state. So does New York City.
More pernicious double taxation is when the same level of government takes multiple bites, which is what business profits face. Say you own part of a corporation that makes $1. Setting aside deductions and whatnot, the federal corporate tax on that money is 21%, and Mr. Biden wants to make it 28%. When the profits hit your tax return, the feds take another cut, with a top rate of 23.8% on capital gains or qualified dividends.
That's not all, as they say on TV. Imagine that instead of celebrating the remaining fruits of your work by taking the family on vacation, you prudently save and reinvest. If you die after managing to accumulate a sufficient sum, your reward is to have the feds swoop in again to assess the estate tax, with a rate of 40%....
Mr. Nadler's interest is something else entirely. Since 2018, the SALT deduction has been capped at $10,000. If the unlimited deduction were restored, according to a report last year from the left-leaning Brookings Institution, 96% of the benefits would go to taxpayers in the top quintile, with "essentially no benefit to the middle class." When the Tax Foundation crunched the 2016 data, the SALTiest place in America was Manhattan, which Mr. Nadler partially represents, with deductions of $25,627 per filer.
... If he'd really like to worry about double taxation, the corporate revenue code is the place to look.
NY Times answers the question, "Are masks necessary outdoors?"
The one word answer - No. So now my true believer NY Times reader friends can unmask outdoors.
Here's the article and got to love that term below, "a culture of mask wearing".
We're looking at two Covid questions people may have heading into summer.
On the issue of outdoor mask wearing, it helps to review a basic fact: There are few if any documented cases of brief outdoor interactions leading to Covid transmission. If you're passing other people on a sidewalk or sitting near them on a park bench, the exposure of exhaled particles appears to be too small to lead to infection.
"Viral particles quickly disperse in outdoor air, and the risk of inhaling aerosolized virus from a jogger or passers-by are negligible," my colleague Tara Parker-Pope writes, citing an interview she did with Linsey Marr of Virginia Tech. As Dr. Muge Cevik, an infectious-disease expert at the University of St. Andrews, says, outdoors is "not where the infection and transmission occurs."
Still, why not try to eliminate even a minuscule potential risk and tell people to wear a mask at all times? Because that's not an effective way to reduce overall risk. "I think the guidelines should be based on science and practicality," Marr said. "People only have so much bandwidth to think about precautions."
There are still important precautions to take, ones that are much more based in science than universal mask wearing. Unvaccinated people should wear masks when in close conversation with people outside their family — even outdoors — and should almost always wear a mask when indoors and not at home. Vaccinated people should continue to wear a mask in many indoor situations, to help contribute to a culture of mask wearing. It's the decent thing to do when more than half of Americans still are not vaccinated.
Tara's story includes a delightful graphic that summarizes the advice.
The second question has to do with vaccinations and children and if interested hit the link above.
Ohio 16 year old girl with knife is shot dead; here's the video
Not sure what other option the policeman had. That's a big knife she was attacking the other girl with.
"The pandemic brought a huge faith boost for many"
This seems to be the case in our little parish in Croton, Holy Name of Mary. The article is on the website Aleteia, a Catholic spirituality site. It's a short article if you hit the link.
Pew Research reported in January that in America "Nearly 3 in 10 U.S. adults say the outbreak has boosted their faith," and "about 4 in 10 say it has tightened family bonds." This certainly happened to me. I felt gripped by God's love and compelled to do more with my time and go deeper in my faith after both my own coronavirus infection and witnessing the incredible power of prayer at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas.
In my case this led to a rediscovery of Scripture, through Bishop Robert Barron and Father Mike Schmitz. One mom told me the same thing happened to her.
"Bishop Robert Barron has played a huge role for me too," said Alexa Paul, in the Washington, D.C., area. She also "read a chapter of St. Paul's letters every day with one of my sisters and we reflected on it together" through video chat.
You know this is from the Holy Spirit because a huge number of people rediscovered Scripture during the pandemic.
"Right now I'm doing Fr. Mike's Bible in a Year podcast as well," she said. "All these Old Testament readings are kind of killing me, but I've never read the entire Bible. There's also a different experience to hearing it every day rather than just reading it."
The author, Tom Hoopes, is writer in residence at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, and author most recently of The Rosary of Saint John Paul II.
More on Nick Springer - lovely article
This was sent to me by my friend Regina and is off lohud. you should be able to access the whole article through the link.
Gary Springer remembers the day his son, Nick, announced he was switching from a motorized wheelchair to one he'd have to physically power himself. Electric wheelchairs were for people who are "really disabled," he'd said, and Nick didn't view himself as that. Nick Springer powered his wheelchair from then on, just as he always would power himself through life. When the former Croton resident died suddenly of a suspected heart attack last week at age 35, he was in a pool, swimming.
It didn't matter that the meningococcal meningitis he contracted at age 14 had forced the surgical removal of both his arms at mid-forearm and both his legs above his knees.
He swam, did scuba diving, snowboarded, played sled hockey and was an international figure in rugby.
In 2008, at the age of 23, he was named game MVP when the U.S. rugby team defeated Australia to win the gold medal at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, China.
Please read the whole article - it is a wonderful tribute to an amazing person.
Coinbase (#1 firm to buy/sell cryptocurrency) now a public company - what it means
The symbol for Coinbase is COIN. (FULL DISCLOSURE - I bought a little yesterday. If it were to drop significantly I'd buy more.) Here's what it's done since going public last week - it came out at $250 (never traded at that) and closed Friday at $342.
The listing of Coinbase, the largest bitcoin exchange in the U.S., introduces a new way to invest in cryptocurrencies. WSJ explains how Coinbase is trying to distance itself from the risks of bitcoin to succeed on Wall Street.
Wow. The Brearley School father's letter
Published on substack by Bari Weiss (ex NY Times reporter - pretty liberal - whose own letter of resignation from the NY Times is a pip). I've posted the whole Brearley School letter below the video.
And here's the full letter - link below. The writer is getting a lot of support - and of course criticism.
Bari Weiss
It was written by a Brearley parent named Andrew Gutmann.
If you don't know about Brearley, it's a private all-girls school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It costs $54,000 a year and prospective families apparently have to take an "anti-racism pledge" to be considered for admission. (In the course of my reporting for this piece I spoke to a few Brearley parents.)
You have to read this letter
Very sad news - Nick Springer
UPDATE: Nick Springer and his family were parishioners of my church when he contracted meningitis.
Nick Springer was a 14 year old when in 1999 he contracted meningitis. A heroic story - among other accomplishments, two time medal winner in the Paralympics. Well worth reading this entire short tribute.
Two-Time Paralympic Medalist, Nick Springer Has Gone to Play With The Angels
Nick Springer was a Two-Time Paralympic Medalist, who died suddenly on Wednesday, April 14th. He was a man who lived with an incredible zest for life making sure that every moment counted and was an inspiration to a global community. After contracting Meningococcal Meningitis at age 14, Nick endured the amputation of both legs above the knees and both arms mid-forearm.
Typical no-brainer - sunset over the Hudson
Yes along the walkway going up to Croton Landing. With moi as a bonus.
Taking a decent selfie is difficult - especially when you don't have much to work with...
Another picture of the Croton eagle nest
Hit the link and then click on the picture. Really cool!
https://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2021/04/croton-eagle-nest-2021-another-shot.html
For the first picture go here - "CROTON EAGLE NEST 2021"
Queen Elizabeth shares photographs of herself and husband Prince Philip before final farewell
Nice. my mother always got a kick out of the fact that she and the Queen were virtually the same age - Queen Elizabeth being eight days older.
From GQ: "How Fit Can You Get From Just Walking?"
From the magazine formerly known as Gentlemen's Quarterly. It was rebranded GQ in 1967.
... Sharkman and a few other friends made a commitment to walking 10,000 steps a day and tracking our food. We aimed for about 2,000 calories. Sharkman dubbed the initiative Health Zone. After four months following those guidelines, my friend dropped 43 pounds. Collectively the group chat was down 105. Those are life-changing, infomercial-pitch numbers. Some caveats obviously apply: losing weight is hard, and keeping it off is even harder. Your mileage will almost certainly vary. But the whole experience made me wonder: just how fit can you get from just walking ?
It's not like walking is some secret. 10,000 steps is the default recommendation of some of the most popular fitness trackers on the market, and long walks have been a hidden weapon of superhero body transformations for ages. But until witnessing Sharkman undergo his transformation I didn't realize just how powerful just walking could be.
Of course, it's not the right tool for every goal. It won't get you over the finish line of a marathon. And if you want to achieve some sort of beach body, unless you already have some muscle mass, at a certain point simply getting leaner starts to have diminishing returns. That's why celebrity trainer and champion bodybuilder Eren Legend is wary of signing off on walking as a solution for looking better naked.
"If you do cardio and you have a pear-shaped body, all that you can expect is to become a smaller pear," says Legend. "The only way to change your body composition, the shape and look of your body, is to perform a form of resistance-based training. That's not to say that 10k steps is bad—if you're regularly performing some type of physical activity your body is going to change. But is it the most efficient way? Some form of resistance training like weight lifting or sprints in addition to a nutrition plan will get you to your goals faster."
"Press Release: Indian Point Closure Update"
This PR is from the town of Cortlandt and thanks to Maria for sending me the link to this. I've included the complete press release below the link - but hit the link if you don't trust me ...
Indian Point closure (April 30, 2021) and the MOU with Holtec voted on by the Cortlandt Supervisor and Town Board to stabilize tax revenue
The Town Board and I along with our other partners, due to the complete closure (April 30, 2021) of Indian Point (nuclear reactors) still owned by Entergy Corps, voted on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at our public town board meeting of April 13, 2021.
This MOU is now with the new company HOLTEC, who is in the process of buying Indian Point from Entergy to become what is called the decommissioning company to dismantle the three closed reactors in the Village of Buchanan and in the Town of Cortlandt.
The dismantling process will take anywhere from 20 – 60 years, as per the NRC and the Mayor, the Town Supervisor and other members of our task force will oversee and monitor the important aspects of this dismantling project for years to come. Our major task will be to make sure it is being done safely to protect our residents and the environment.
This MOU voted on by the Town Board, the other night, will continue our PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) in order to stabilize tax revenue we receive from Holtec as we go forward. The Town of Cortlandt will receive the amount of $809,000. in 2022 and $550,000. in 2023. The $800,000. number is what we have been receiving from Entergy in past years.
Even though the board and I had wished this extension covered more years, we made sure there was a clause allowing for future negotiations with Holtec.
We found out about the closure of Indian Point four years ago and have spent that time lobbying Entergy and now Holtec to provide tax payments and to keep jobs. Holtec will continue about one third of the jobs (300) we have been told.
In conclusion, we thank our legal team and other staff members as well as our partners (Village of Buchanan, Hendrick Hudson School district, etc.) for their work and cooperation.
"CROTON EAGLE NEST 2021"
What a great photo! Hit the link and then click on the picture!
More at https://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2021/04/croton-eagle-nest-2021.html
Patron Saint of laundresses (who knew?)
Saint Hunna whose feast day is today.
St. Hunna (d. 679 A.D.) was born in Alsace, France. She was the virtuous daughter of a duke, and she married a similarly virtuous nobleman. Hunna and her husband did not indulge in unnecessary luxuries according to their high state in life, and instead detached themselves from their riches by opening their home to the poor and assisting them in their need. St. Deodatus, a bishop who resigned from his See, came to live with the holy couple for a time. St. Hunna and her husband greatly profited from his religious instruction and grew in sanctity as a result. When Hunna bore a son, she named him after St. Deodatus. This child, raised by such holy parents, later joined a monastery and also became a saint. After her husband's death Hunna continued to spend her life serving the poor, especially women. No task was too menial for her. She tended to the poor and the sick and regularly, including their laundry and mending, even to the point of exhaustion. For this she was nicknamed the "Holy Washerwoman." She also gave away her wealth and property to build churches and monasteries. So many miracles were attributed to her that Pope Leo X canonized her in 1520. St. Hunna is the patron saint of laundresses and her feast day is April 15.
Gorgeous - hike up Sugarloaf, two days ago
With my hiking buddy Jeanne Marie, who unfortunately (for us) will be moving with her husband Damian to Charlotte in a few weeks. Sugarloaf is just north of Breakneck Ridge and one of my favorite, relatively short (3 miles round trip) day hikes.
When we arrived at the base on 9D there was a sign saying Sugarloaf summit was closed to protect the habitat. Probably because of two brushfires in the last 18 months.
We avoided these areas -
So... we went up the Wilkinson Trail (yellow blazes) and it went circled around the top of Sugarloaf came about 100 yards north of the summit. These views are from there - just short of 900' in elevation. About three quarters of the way there I said to Jeanne Marie "We've been walking for 46 minutes, I used to get to the top in 42-44." And Jeanne Marie said "Tom be thankful you can still do it." Which of course I am very thankful for ...
A little closer - the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge -
The visibility looking north had to be at least thirty miles - all the way to the Catskills.
Since there were no signs on the north side, we ambled the few yards to the actual spot everyone knows Sugarloaf by - the tree with Storm King in the background.
Good thing Jeanne Marie had that nice bright top on -Bannerman Island below
on the way back down, trees and bushes starting to flower - sky incredibly blue.
We'd left my house around 10:45 and were back a few minutes after 2. Spent some of the time talking about Saint Teresa of Avila (really!) as well as our kids. Then in the evening, from in front of Farandaville a beautiful sunset across the Hudson - as I headed to the gym. What a great day!
Pandering to woke/cancel culture/critical theory doesn't seem to work
Bernie Madoff - "Everyone's greedy. I just went along. It's not an excuse."
Madoff was 82 when he died in prison of kidney failure today. This is excerpted from the Wall Street Journal.
The size and duration of his fraud were elusive. Initial reports indicated $65 billion had been wiped out at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. But it soon became clear that the assets Mr. Madoff boasted of managing existed only on paper. He hadn't invested clients' money, instead shuffling billions of dollars through his company's bank account and fabricating statements showing profits year after year. Ultimately, a court-appointed trustee estimated Mr. Madoff took $17 billion of customer money through the scheme.
Mr. Madoff was a brilliant con artist. He exuded respectability and cut an aristocratic figure, with a mane of silver hair. He enticed victims with an air of exclusivity, luring investors to plunk down huge sums by threatening to turn them away. Mr. Madoff let it be known that he wouldn't be bothered with clients who couldn't invest enough. He was famously secretive about his methods, adding to the allure—and allowing him to escape detection.
Mr. Madoff cultivated a large, though not solely, Jewish clientele. His wealthy and well-known clients included members of the Wilpon family, the previous owners of the New York Mets; the late Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate; banks, hedge funds and charities, and thousands of elderly retirees. Victims crowded into his 2009 sentencing hearing.
Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee assigned to recover funds for victims, had collected more than $14 billion, largely through lawsuits and settlements against investors who withdrew more from Mr. Madoff's firm than they invested and institutions he accused of ignoring red flags because of Mr. Madoff's healthy profits.
As a result, many victims recouped what they had initially invested with Mr. Madoff. But they didn't recover the wealth they once thought they'd had because of his lies.
Later, he would lay some blame on his investors, saying they had enough warning signs to catch on: "Everyone was greedy," he told New York magazine in a jailhouse interview published in 2011. "I just went along. It's not an excuse."
Rejecting pleas by Mr. Madoff's lawyer for a sentence that might allow him some life after prison, Judge Chin sentenced him to 150 years.
"The message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil, and that this kind of irresponsible manipulation of the system is not merely a bloodless financial crime that takes place just on paper," the judge said.
Ruth Madoff, cut off by her sons for standing by her husband, eventually stopped speaking to him. Mark Madoff hanged himself by a dog leash in 2010 on the second anniversary of the scheme's revelation. Andrew Madoff died of cancer in 2014.
Mr. Madoff didn't go unsuspected. A 2001 Barron's article focused on the improbability of his returns. Whistleblower Harry Markopolos, who concluded Mr. Madoff's reported gains were impossible after trying and failing to replicate them, complained to the Securities and Exchange Commission, sparking an inconclusive investigation.
Some bank and hedge-fund employees privately questioned his methods and wondered if he was a fraud. Mr. Madoff, insisting that his trading operation remain a black box, rebuffed requests from these institutional investors to visit his operations or explain them, according to lawsuits filed by Mr. Picard, the trustee. While some didn't work with him because of these questions, others nevertheless put their questions aside in light of his steady profits.
The SEC's failure to discover Mr. Madoff's fraud revealed it, in the minds of many, as an ineffectual guardian of the markets. A nearly 500-page report by the agency's inspector general in 2009 concluded that substantive, specific complaints and news articles over 16 years should have raised significant questions about whether Mr. Madoff was trading.
Yet during three examinations and two investigations, the agency never gave him "thorough and competent" scrutiny, for instance by independently verifying his trading, the inspector general found.
Only the pressure from the crisis brought Mr. Madoff down, as his fund was overwhelmed with redemption requests when people lost money elsewhere.
Murdered Capitol policeman honored in the Capitol rotunda.
"William Evans, who like Brian Sicknick before him, is lying in honor inside the US Capitol rotunda."
"Bo Jackson explains who he is" to a little leaguer
"Bo knows baseball." This is great. Some comments left on the video are below the video.
Here are two comments of the over 4,465 left in the comment section -
Bo: Have you ever eaten Wheaties?
Kid: Yes
Bo: I was on the Wheaties box.
That kid is going to be so pissed when he gets older and realizes he had no clue he was talking to Bo Jackson
Queen Elizabeth will go on - without Prince Philip
From the Guardian (UK). Normally not very sympathetic to the monarchy, but this is a good piece, 11 paragraphs long.
The Queen, newly widowed, will find it "difficult" without the support she has leant on over 73 years of marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh, but royal observers have dismissed any speculation that she might consider stepping down.
The former prime minister Sir John Major acknowledged that her position as monarch was "a very lonely position". He told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show: "There are a limited number of people to whom she can really open her heart, to whom she can really speak with total frankness, to whom she can say things that would be reported by other people and thought to be indelicate."
She could "unburden herself" on Philip. When facing "a sea of problems", or when feeling overwhelmed and needing to share decision-making, one needed someone to understand, "someone who can metaphorically – or in the case of Prince Philip, I think, probably literally – put their arms around you and say: 'It's not as bad as you think,'" said Major, on whom the Queen bestowed the honour of Garter Knight.
Speculation about Philip's death precipitating an abdication is unlikely to bear out, say royal experts. "One main reason why the Queen will absolutely not abdicate is unlike other European monarchs, she is an anointed Queen," the royal historian Hugo Vickers told the Guardian, referring to the pact she made with God during her coronation. "And if you are an anointed Queen you do not abdicate."
If she was unable to fulfil her constitutional duties, a regent could be appointed, as happened with George III. She also celebrates her platinum jubilee next year. "It would be completely illogical to abdicate just before that extraordinary anniversary," he said. "It's a wonderful opportunity to celebrate. And I would hope she would be feeling up to that; a bit of time would have passed.
NYU - Their Catholic Center
I wouldn't be posting this, but last February - right before the pandemic - Brigid and I were spending the weekend in Manhattan and walked past the Center. Very interesting - we went into the chapel where Mass was going on, and then had a look around. I think the Center was funded by a personal donation from the late Cardinal Egan. This video periodically is shown on EWTN.
Med student can sue after being expelled for questioning "microaggressions"
Kieran Bhattacharya. The surname is from sanskrit so probably of Indian extraction. Here's the story. You have to wonder if there were other issues ... once in medical school it's rare to be tossed out.
The trouble for Bhattacharya began in October 2018, when the then-second-year medical student attended a panel discussion on the subject of microaggressions. The term is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a racial minority)."
During a question-and-answer portion of the panel, Bhattacharya sought clarification on the definition of microaggression, asking the presenter, assistant dean Beverly Cowell Adams, if only marginalized groups were impacted by it, court records show.
Adams said it was a "very good question" and the answer is "no" and then Bhattacharya cut in and said her slide indicated victims of microaggressions must be members of marginalized groups.
Stossel on the "Make America California" campaign
John Stossel is an outspoken and intelligent Libertarian - I disagree with him on many things but some of his videos (like this one) are very good.
99 years old. Some sadness in Farandaville. But a long life well lived
PRINCE Philip has died aged 99, Buckingham Palace announced today. The Duke of Edinburgh, who had been married to the Queen for 73 years and described as her constant strength, passed away "peacefully" at Windsor Castle this morning.
Facebook apology: 533 Million Users' Personal Data Stolen Before They Could Sell It
Very sad, no doubt will effect Facebook earnings, lower the value of their stock, costly for Zuckerberg. Need to start a gofundme page for him.
Facebook quickly issued an apology that the data ended up in hackers' hands for free before they had the chance to sell it.
"Darn, that's a lot of your data we just gave away for free," said Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone. "You people are worth more than that--we're so sorry. Please think about it from our perspective though-- we just lost a ton of potential revenue and political leverage in this hack. Try to have a little sympathy for us too, at least."
Cybersecurity experts say that over 33 million Americans on Facebook now have their personal data available for free on a website where it is easily accessible to identity thieves.
"Even though hackers got your data for nothing, we find all of you users to be valuable and special!" said Stone. "We'll be sure not to give away your data for free next time."
The "Hemingway" series by Ken Burn and Lynn Novick
Was fascinating. While I confess that he was a great writer at his best - or even less than his best - I much preferred Graham Greene, Hermann Hesse or Faulkner when reading a novel (but I rarely read novels so ...).
But the three part, six hour series is splendid. What a life the guy had!
The third part of the series reminded me of what it must be like watching a slow motion train wreck. The drinking, the crashed marriages and relationships, the multiple head injuries - all added up to - well, a horrid end.
Well worth watching - it is on PBS channels and available to view on their website.
Elephant news: Babysitting nanny tells kids to knock it off and get across the river
Who doesn't love elephants?
BBC: "'Can you help me?': Boy in tears found alone at US-Mexico border"
How sad is this... Glad to see the BBC is covering it. There's already a claim going around that this was all a set-up by the evil Republicans.
Google modifies google maps search - changes Georgia...
But what about the Augusta Country Club, home of The Masters?
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—Tech giant Google announced today that they are removing the entire state of Georgia from their Google Maps platform, effective immediately. This comes in response to the state's recent voter law that many are calling racist.
"We cannot allow these racist laws to stand," said a spokesman from the Google Office of Diversity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism, Climate Change, Immigration Reform, and LGBTQ Affairs. "That's why we must act quickly to get states like Georgia off the map, both literally and figuratively."
Starting today, the state of Georgia will be replaced with a blue body of water labeled "Sea of Racism" on all Google Maps platforms. Driving directions given by the site will be altered. For example, directions from South Carolina to Florida via I-95 will state: "continue south through the stupid Sea of Racism without stopping for 112 miles."
Google will also be updating searches for locations inside the state. A search for directions to Atlanta, GA now returns the following message. "Location not found. Would you like to travel to a Google-approved destination such as Seattle, Minneapolis, or Beijing?"
The spokesman went on to clarify that Google hasn't completely abandoned the state. "Google will still provide one-way driving directions out of the state for anyone who currently resides in Georgia," he noted. "Also, we will still provide directions to any out-of-state celebrities or businesses who want to donate money to the Georgia Democratic Party."
The Georgia voting law and baseball all star game move to Denver
Stacy Abrams flip-flopping on moving the game out of Atlanta - Abrams, who suffered a narrow defeat in the Georgia gubernatorial race in 2018, commended the MLB's decision on Friday but said she was disappointed the game was being relocated. "I respect boycotts," she said, "although I don't want to see Georgia families hurt by lost events and jobs. Georgians targeted by voter suppression will be hurt as opportunities go to other states. We should not abandon the victims of [Republican] malice and lies – we must stand together."
Here's a no doubt incomplete chart of the differences between the Georgia and Colorado voting law - pretty similar, so why move the all star game to Denver?
And this is from NR online - a partial explanation for why the republicans changed the "food and drink" rule -
The first-time Democratic candidate for the state House of Representatives ordered four pizzas, and handed out slices to the people in line, while a campaign worker photographed it all and then posted pictures on social media, according to a local newspaper account.
Two years later, in the run-up to the 2020 general election, Georgia state Representative Roger Bruce and a local county commissioner were photographed handing out snacks to voters waiting in line at the courthouse of an Atlanta exurb. Bruce, a Democrat running unopposed for reelection, wore a "State Representative Roger Bruce" shirt, according to another newspaper.
Those are just two cases Georgia elections leaders are investigating for possible violations of state law, including allegations of vote buying and illegal campaigning within 150 feet of a polling location. Both Wilson and Bruce have denied knowingly violating the law.
Carlson: "Unequal Treatment Under the Law"
A clip from Tucker Carlson's show last night - lots of good points (sorry for the commercials - can't be avoided). And the two teenage girls who killed the Pakistani Uber driver? A plea deal already?
CNN's Jim Acosta: "We're All Dealing With Post-Trump Stress Disorder"
Jim Acosta and Brian Stelter - a truly witty duo... Duh...
Yanks: Aaron Judge hits 344' homer; Stanton 471' grand slam
"A Stantonian home run". And, "It's Judgement Day". Hit the link - you have to scroll down for the Judge homer.
'He's a unicorn': Stanton hits 471-foot slam. Judge also swats first HR of 2021; Montgomery sharp over 6 scoreless
When are valid ID's required - and not required
Here's a pretty good and up to date chart -
Tuesday, April 06, 2021 | Permalink | Comments (23)
Military push for diversity; will accept chihuahuas in canine units
Stroke of genius - those little guys will piss on the enemy's feet!
So far, there have been no Chihuahuas capable of taking down a 250-pound man by the arm, so the military has elected to eliminate that test altogether.
LACKLAND AFB, TX—Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has directed all branches of the military to step up diversity efforts when it comes to working dogs in canine units. For the first time, the military-- which has always favored German Shepherds in the past-- will admit other breeds such as Chihuahuas and Pomeranians.
"We've always had this narrow-minded view that the German Shepherd is the best dog for chasing down dangerous terrorists and sniffing out improvised explosive devices," said Austin. "But why not Chihuahuas? Why not poodles? Bringing in more dog breeds will increase our diversity-- which is the greatest strength any military can have."
Military leaders confirmed the current plan is just to invite every breed of dog and hang out, eat doggy treats, and have a good time while taking diversity courses.
"We're proud of this beautiful mosaic we have created here," said one Staff Sergeant while knitting a cute sweater for Squeaker, his working dog. "This is what our military is all about!"


We offer you to come make your own flying single wire deer.
Chrystel guide you to carry and you can customize it to your tastes.
Then if the wind is there we will test it on the football field and see rising in the sky.
Fin de l'activité vers 16h30- 17h.


Sumitomo Aluminum Co. and Sumitomo Copper & Steel Pipe Co.
Japanese obon, i.e., tray, engraved with a map of central Japan, including central Honshu around Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya, over which military aircraft fly in formation. Below the map is an inscription with the name of the Sumitomo Company, aluminum and copper and steel pipe divisions, and the number 2594, which corresponds to the year 1934.
The Sumitomo Corporation, as it is now known, is a family of companies which began in the late 16th century as a copper mining and smelting business. From the turn of the 20th century, the company was a major producer of metal products, including copper, aluminum and steel. Since 1935 it has been known as Sumitomo Metal Industries. This tray was made at a time when Japan had begun to act on imperialist ambitions, having invaded Manchuria in 1931 and set up the puppet state of Manchukuo the following year.
Transcription of inscription with translation: Sumitomo Aruminiumu Kabushikigaisha [Sumitomo Aluminum Co.] – 2594 [the Kouki year corresponding to 1934] – & Sumitomo Shindoukoukan Kabushikigaisha [Sumitomo Copper & Steel Pipe Co.].
Bowman, Jim and Christina M. Stansell. "Hoover's Profile: Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd." Answers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/sumitomo-metal-industries-ltd (25 September 2008).
Davies, Stephen. "Re: Japan, not China [MapHist] Need help identifying map, possibly Manchukuo." Posts to Maphist Discussion List and off-list e-mail. 27 and 30 September 2008.
Horikoshi, Jiro. "I Designed the Zeke." Air Trails. November 1950. Online at The Combat Report. 2 June 2008. http://www.thecombatreport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=610 &Itemid=91 (10 October 2008).


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