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The crematorium at Hartheim Castle
Filed under: Holocaust — Tags: crematorium, gas chamber, Hartheim Castle — furtherglory @ 11:05 am
A light shines on the spot where the oven was located in the Hartheim Castle Crematorium
Hartheim Castle in Austria is now a Memorial Site in commemoration of the disabled people who were murdered in the gas chamber there during World War II. The room shown in the photo above is sometimes mistakenly identified as the gas chamber, but it is actually the crematorium where the bodies were burned; a light shines on the exact spot where a single oven was located. (People were not killed in the cremation ovens as some people believe.) Note the vaulted ceiling which shows how the ceiling of the gas chamber looked before a passageway for a ramp was cut through the walls. (more…)
How does Mark Zuckerberg kill a chicken?
Filed under: California, Health — Tags: chicken soup, Mark Zuckerberg — furtherglory @ 9:53 am
I've been reading here about Mark Zuckerberg's new challenge, which is not to eat any meat, except the meat from animals that he has personally killed. His first kill was a lobster, which he plunged into a pot of boiling water. Now he's killing chickens, but there is no mention in the news about how he kills his chickens. First of all, where does he get live chickens? Does he raise chickens in his back yard?
When I was a child, my family had a "hen house" and a "chicken pen" in the back yard. Now most cities have laws against raising chickens in a residential neighborhood.
When my mother ran out of pullets, and didn't want to kill and eat the laying hens, she would go uptown to a store that sold live chickens. (A pullet is a young female chicken.) Then she would bring the chicken home and keep it in our chicken pen until Sunday morning when it was time to kill it for our Sunday dinner. (more…)
Schindler's List, the movie, is FICTION, FICTION, FICTION!!! (part 2)
Filed under: Holocaust, movies — Tags: Jewish Combat Organization, Kazimierz, Krakow massacre, Schindler's Ark, Schindler's List, WVHA — furtherglory @ 2:02 pm
In March 1941, the Jews in the area surrounding the city of Krakow were put into a walled ghetto in Podgorze, a district of Krakow. This ghetto is depicted in the movie, Schindler's List, but the actual scenes were filmed nearby in the old Jewish ghetto called Kazimierz.
In my blog post about Schindler's List on May 25th, I neglected to mention one of the most important scenes in Schindler's List — the "Krakow massacre," which began on March 13, 1943 and ended the following day.
Jews marching out of the Krakow ghetto
The photo above is an old photo, which is identified on Wikipedia as the the march of the Jews out of the Krakow ghetto when the ghetto was liquidated, an event known as the "Krakow Massacre."
Prior to this final liquidation in 1943, Jews had been previously sent out of the Podgorze ghetto, beginning in February 1942, as part of Operation Reinhard, the name which the Nazis gave to what they claimed was "the evacuation of the Jews to the East." Operation Reinhard was the beginning of the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question," which was the title of the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942 in which the genocide of the Jews was planned.
In the movie, Schindler's List, the entire liquidation of the Krakow ghetto, which actually happened over a period of years, is lumped together into one scene which takes place on one day. Spielberg filmed the liquidation scene in the Kazimierz ghetto, although the actual Krakow ghetto (Podgorze) was in another location in Krakow.
Stairwell where Mrs. Dresner hides in the movie
One of the most memorable passages in the novel Schindler's Ark is the one in which Mrs. Dresner hides under a stairwell when the Nazis come to round up the Jews in the Podgorze ghetto in June 1942 to take them to the Belzec extermination camp.
Mrs. Dresner hid under the stairwell, pictured above, after a neighbor allowed her daughter, but not her, to hide behind a false wall in an apartment. Mrs. Dresner was the aunt of Genia, the little girl in the red coat, in the movie. In the movie, this scene is part of the final liquidation of the ghetto in March 1943.
Courtyard that is shown in Schindler's List
The photo above shows the balconies in the courtyard from where the suitcases were thrown down, in the scene in Spielberg's movie in which the Podgorze Ghetto is liquidated. This is the courtyard, which links Jozefa street with Meiselsa street, in Kazimierz.
According to Thomas Keneally's novel, after the first liquidation in 1942, in which many of the Jews escaped, the Jewish Combat Organization (ZOB), a group of resistance fighters, bombed the Cyganeria Restaurant and killed 7 German SS soldiers. Next, the SS-only Bagatella Cinema was bombed in Krakow. In the next few months, the ZOB sank German patrol boats on the Vistula, fire-bombed German military garages in Krakow and derailed a German army train, besides forging papers and passports for Jews to pass as Aryans.
In the movie, the date of the scene where Mrs. Dresner hides has been changed to the day of the final liquidation of the ghetto on March 13, 1943. The movie gives the impression that the Jews were killed for no reason and does not mention what the Jews did in the Resistance.
In the movie, the Nazis go through the Podgorze ghetto, room by room, and tear down walls as they look for Jews who are hiding. While the Nazis are searching for the Jews, a German soldier stops to play the piano. The German people love classical music and this scene is based on the claim that the Nazis literally put down their violins in order to kill the Jews.
The basic theme of the movie Schindler's List is that the Germans were bad and the Jews were good. Schindler was the one good German who proves the rule. All the others were evil, especially Amon Goeth, the Commandant of the Plaszow camp, who supervised the final liquidation.
According to the novel, Schindler's Ark, around 4,000 Jews were found hiding in the Podgorze ghetto during the final liquidation and they were executed on the spot. However, during the postwar trial of Amon Goeth, one of the charges against him was that 2,000 Jews were killed during the liquidation of the Podgorze ghetto.
According to the novel, the Jews, who managed to escape from the ghetto, joined the partisans of the Polish People's Army, who were hiding in the forests of Niepolomice.
Unlike the novel, the movie Schindler's List does not mention the Jewish resistance fighters, who fought as partisans throughout the war. In the movie, the Jews are portrayed as totally harmless, so there was no reason for the Nazis to shoot them as they were trying to escape.
Thomas Keneally, who is a native of Australia, mentioned in his novel that in 1944, an Australian plane was shot down by the Germans over Oskar Schindler's factory; the plane was dropping supplies to the Jewish and Polish partisans in the forest east of Krakow, according to Keneally.
Jews being forced into the Podgorze ghetto in 1941
Krakow had been populated by Jews for 600 years before the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, and the Jews had been discriminated against for years, before the Nazis arrived.
In 1494, there was a fire in Krakow which was blamed on the Jews; this was the start of pogroms against the Jews. Because of this, the King of Poland ordered the Jews in the city of Krakow to be resettled in the district of Kazimierz. During World War II, the Nazis ordered the Jews to move out of Kazimierz, into a ghetto in the Podgorze district, which was across the river Vistula.
In the movie Schindler's List, there is a scene where a new transport of Jews is arriving at the Plaszow camp and Commandant Amon Goeth must do a "selection" in which the sick prisoners and those unable to work will be killed in order to make room for more workers. In the movie, prisoners in the Plaszow camp are forced to run naked past German doctors who will decide which ones are healthy enough to work.
The children are loaded onto trucks, presumably to be taken away to be killed. The children frantically try to find hiding places. Some of them hide in the disgusting liquid in an outhouse. This scene shows that Spielberg has no experience with outhouses, or he would have known that the mess in a latrine is not liquid and a child would not sink down into it.
Besides that, how did the children know that they were going to be killed? And who gave Amon Goeth the authority to do a "selection"?
Throughout the movie, the Germans are shown as being stupid and inept, while the Jews are shown as being smarter than the Germans. There is the famous scene where a German pistol won't fire. Then there is the scene where a Jewish woman tells the Germans that they are not building the foundations for the barracks correctly. Amon Goeth shoots her and then tells the workers to build the barracks the way she said to build them.
In real life, the barracks at Plaszow were pre-fabricated buildings and the women prisoners had to carry large pieces of the buildings from the train up the hill to the camp. In the movie, not only were the Jews smarter than the Germans, the women were smarter than the men.
Amon Goeth, the villain of the movie Schindler's List, had joined the Nazi party at the age of 24. In 1940, Goeth had joined the Waffen-SS. In 1942, he had been assigned to the SS headquarters for Operation Reinhard in Lublin. Goeth's first task was to supervise the liquidation of several of the small ghettos in Lublin.
The Jewish ghettos in Lublin were the first ghettos to be liquidated and some of the Jews from Lublin were among the first to be sent to the Belzec extermination camp during Operation Reinhard.
Goeth accepted bribes from the Lublin Jews during the selection process, and put them on the list to be sent to a labor camp, rather than to the Belzec death camp.
The Nazis claimed that Operation Reinhard was the plan to evacuate the Jews from the ghettos in Poland (including the Podgorze ghetto) to three transit camps: Treblinka, Sobibor and Belzec, all of which were in eastern Poland. According to Holocaust historians, the three Operation Reinhard camps were actually death camps where the Jews were immediately killed.
In February 1943, Goeth received a promotion and became the third SS officer to hold the job of Commandant of the Plaszow labor camp.
In January 1944, the forced labor camp at Plaszow was converted into a concentration camp under the jurisdiction of WVHA, the SS Office of Economics and Administration in Oranienburg. The two sub-camps at Prokocim and Biezanow were incorporated into the main camp at Plaszow and living conditions were improved.
Polish prisoners and a few German criminals were now in the same camp as the Jews, as was typical in other Nazi concentration camps. There were factories set up at Plaszow for the production of Germany army uniforms, as well as factories for upholstered furniture. There was also a custom tailoring shop, a jewelry shop and a cable factory set up in the camp.
After Plaszow became a concentration camp, Amon Goeth now had to report to the WVHA headquarters office in Oranienburg.
The following quote is from the novel Schindler's Ark:
"The chiefs in Oranienburg did not permit summary execution. The days when slow potato-peelers could be expunged on the spot were gone. They could now be destroyed only by due process. There had to be a hearing, a record sent in triplicate to Oranienburg. The sentence had to be confirmed not only by General Glueck's office but also by General Pohl's Department W (Economic Enterprises)."
This passage in the novel shows that the author had done some research, regarding the fictional scene where Amon Goeth is shooting prisoners from his balcony. He had to explain why Goeth was not immediately arrested for killing prisoners without permission from WVHA in Oranienburg; it was because Plaszow was a labor camp at the time that Goeth allegedly shot prisoners from his balcony.
According to the Pharmacy Museum guidebook, which I purchased in the former Podgorze ghetto in Krakow, there was a total of 35,000 prisoners in the Plaszow camp during the two and a half years of its operation.
The novel, Schindler's Ark, mentions that the "Main Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Poland" estimated that 150,000 prisoners passed through Plaszow and 80,000 of them died as a result of mass executions or epidemics.
Plaszow also served as a transit camp for prisoners who were being sent to Auschwitz, which would account for 150,000 prisoners passing through the camp. The mass execution of 80,000 prisoners is pure fiction, but that is O.K. in a novel.
Amon Goeth was eventually arrested by the Nazis for stealing from the Plaszow warehouses and taking bribes from the prisoners. But this important point is not mentioned in the movie, Schindler's List. All of a sudden, Goeth is gone, and there is no reason given for his disappearance.
It would have destroyed the whole theme of the movie if it had been mentioned that Goeth had been arrested by the Nazis themselves. Goeth was sent to prison, but was released on parole because he was sick. He was captured by the American army while he was recovering at a hospital.
After World War II ended, the American military turned Amon Goeth over to the Polish government for prosecution as a war criminal. He was brought before the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland in Krakow. His trial took place between August 27, 1946 and September 5, 1946.
At his trial, Goeth was charged with being a member of the Nazi party and a member of the Waffen-SS, Hitler's elite army, both of which had been designated as criminal organizations by the Allies after the war. His crime was that he had taken part in the activities of these two criminal organizations.
The crime of being a Nazi applied only to Nazi officials, and Goeth had never held a job as a Nazi official. In fact, at the time of Goeth's conviction by the Polish court, the judgment against the SS and the Nazi party as criminal organizations had not yet been made at the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal.
It was determined by the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland, after hearing witness testimony from Plaszow survivors, that about 8,000 people had died in the Plaszow camp, most of whom were executed.
It was the custom for the Nazis to bring condemned prisoners to the closest concentration camp for execution. Goeth was charged with the crime of being responsible for the 8,000 deaths. This is an example of the new concept of co-responsibility which the Allies made up after the war, called the common plan or the common design theory of guilt.
Amon Goeth had not personally executed the 8,000 prisoners, nor had he ordered their executions. Yet, under the common plan ex-post-facto law of the Allies, he was guilty of executing 8,000 prisoners.
At the trial of Amon Goeth, the Nazi party was said to be "an organization which, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, through aggressive wars, violence and other crimes, aimed at world domination and establishment of the National-Socialist regime."
Amon Goeth was accused of personally issuing orders to deprive people of freedom, to ill-treat and exterminate individuals and whole groups of people. His crimes, including the newly created crime of genocide, came under a new ex-post-facto law of the Allies, called Crimes against Humanity.
By 1944, the whole Plaszow camp had become a hotbed of corruption with black market trading in stolen goods by the inmates and by the Commandant, Amon Goeth. According to Keneally's novel, the prisoners were selling the bread, provided by the Nazis for the camp, to Polish civilians outside the camp and the price had finally reached diamonds as currency.
Oskar Schindler was granted permission to draw up a list of 1,100 slave workers for his new factory in Brinnlitz, in what is now the Czech Republic. A Jewish prisoner named Marcel Goldberg was put in charge of the names, according to the novel. Goldberg asked for bribes from those who wanted on the list and the price was paid in "stolen treasures," mostly diamonds. There was a jewelry factory at Plaszow where the prisoners had an opportunity to steal diamonds. At the end of the list, Goldberg put his own name.
There were 800 men and 300 women on Schindler's List; some had also gotten on the list by making threats to Goldberg, according to the novel.
Oskar Schindler didn't know all the names of his 1200 factory workers, and he had never spoken to most of them, but in the movie, he is shown as he personally selects the prisoners that he is going to save.
The site of the Plaszow camp, as it looks today
German soldiers pick flowers at Plaszow
Shown in the first photo above, on a high plateau, is the back side of the large Plaszow monument, which faces the city of Krakow. It was on this plateau that mass executions took place, according to testimony in the trial of Amon Goeth in a Polish court in 1946.
According to survivors of the Plaszow camp, 8,000 bodies were later dug up and burned on pyres in order to destroy the evidence of mass murder. Amon Goeth, who was charged with responsibility for these deaths, was convicted in a Polish court and hanged.
The former location of the camp is now a nature preserve where wild flowers grow; the photo immediately above shows German soldiers picking flowers near the Plaszow camp.
Mound near the Plaszow camp
Curiously, the author of the novel Schindler's Ark mentions the mound of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the Polish General who fought in the American Revolution, but doesn't mention the mound of Prince Krak, which was visible from the Plaszow camp, as shown in the photo above.
Kosciuszko's mound, which was built in the 19th century, is west of the city center. Another mound was constructed in 1937 to honor Marshall Josef Pilsudski, the most important Polish national leader in the 20th century.
Schindler's List, the movie, is FICTION, FICTION, FICTION!!!
Filed under: Holocaust, movies — Tags: Schindler's Ark, Schindler's List, Thomas Keneally — furtherglory @ 11:09 am
Steven Spielberg's 1993 movie Schindler's List looks like a documentary; it appears to be a true story that includes real Holocaust footage, but it is actually fiction, LOOSELY based on a true story. The movie is based on a NOVEL entitled Schindler's Ark, written by Thomas Keneally, an Australian author of several novels, who knew nothing about the Holocaust until he met a Holocaust survivor and began research for this book.
It has been several years since I purchased Keneally's book in the FICTION section of a Barnes and Noble store, but as I recall, there was an introduction in which Keneally explained that he went to a luggage store in southern California in 1980 where he met the owner, a man named Poldek Pfefferberg, who was one of the Jews saved by Oscar Schindler.
When Pfefferberg found out that Keneally was a novelist, he told him the story of Oskar Schindler. Then Pfefferberg went with Keneally to Poland where the two of them visited Kraków, where the Jewish Ghetto in the story was located; Pferrerberg showed Keneally some of the places associated with the Schindler story. In gratitude for all his help, Keneally dedicated his NOVEL entitled Schindler's Ark to Pfefferberg.
In 1982, the book Schindler's Ark won the Man Booker Prize for FICTION. Why did Keneally classify his book as a NOVEL if it is a true story? Because Keneally is a Catholic, who once aspired to be a priest; he learned in Catholic school not to include fictional stories in a book based on the truth and pass the stories off as the Gospel truth.
Keneally's research for his book included finding old photographs which were used to create scenes in his book; Spielberg also used these old photos for scenes in his movie.
Jews shoveling snow on Holy Cross Street
The photograph above shows Jews being forced to shovel snow on Sw. Krzyza (Holy Cross Street) at the corner of Mikolajska street in the Stare Miasto (Old City) of Kraków. Stephen Spielberg recreated this scene in his movie Schindler's List when he showed Jews shoveling snow on Poselska street.
The photo below was used for a reconstruction of the gate into the Podgorze Ghetto for a scene in Schindler's List.
The gate into the Podgorze Ghetto, 1940
Scene from the movie Schindler's List shows re-created gate
The photo below was used by Keneally to create a FICTIONAL scene in his NOVEL Schindler's Ark, which was used by Spielberg in the movie.
Amon Goeth standing on a patio outside of his house
Amon Goeth in the movie, shooting prisoners
The photo below was the inspiration for another fictional scene in the movie Schindler's List.
Goeth on his horse in the Plaszow camp
In the photo above, taken at the Plaszow camp, Commandant Amon Goeth is shown on his white horse. The groom for Goeth's horse was 14-year-old Irwin Gotfried, who managed to survive the Holocaust. After the war, he emigrated to the San Francisco bay area where he lived in a community that included 2,000 other Holocaust survivors. In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle on May 16, 2005, staff writer Charles Burress wrote the following:
"That was me in the movie," Gotfried said, referring to a scene from "Schindler's List," where the young groom is shot and killed by the commander. In real life, Gotfried was not shot and lived to become president of AGI Shower Door and Mirror Co. in Redwood City.
In the movie scene, where Gotfried is shot by Amon Goeth, Spielberg deviated from the real life story in order to make a point that is essential to the theme of the movie: Oskar Schindler was an exception. For the most part, the Nazis were depraved degenerates who were incapable of changing their ways. In a key scene in Schindler's List, Oskar Schindler attempts to teach Goeth that he would have "real power" if he would choose to pardon prisoners for minor infractions instead of summarily executing them. Goeth tries this suggestion, and even practices his pardon demeanor in a mirror, but he cannot overcome his intrinsic evilness. He pardons his 14-year-old groom when his work performance does not meet his standards, but then shoots him in the back with his high-powered rifle.
Today, the movie Schindler's List is shown to students in American schools. The parents of the students are required to sign a permission slip because the movie includes some nudity. The schools should also require a signature, acknowledging that the parents and the students have read and understood an admission from Spielberg that the movie is FICTION.
Continue reading PART TWO
the restored film Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today
Filed under: Germany, World War II — furtherglory @ 12:02 pm
Yesterday, I went to see the film entitled Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today which is playing in American theaters now. The film is a restoration of the film which was originally written and directed by Stuart Schulberg specifically for the de-Nazification program of the American Military government of Germany, and first shown to German audiences in 1948. In other words, this film was INTENDED as a propaganda film to brainwash the German people so that they would accept the Allied contention that every German, without exception, was to blame for World War II, and every German must change his thinking to the American world view. It wasn't enough for the Allies to destroy every German city and town with bombs, it was also necessary to destroy the German people for the sake of American hegemony.
But I didn't know the original purpose of the film before I entered the theater. I thought that this was a new film, newly constructed out of old film footage, for American audiences today. The title threw me off. The word Today in the title refers to 1948, which was two years after the end of the Nuremberg IMT. But I thought it literally meant Today, as in the Spring of 2011.
My first thought, after seeing the film, was that there should be an ex-post-facto law passed, making it a crime to make such a film. My second thought was that this film will surely win an Academy Award.
The person who accompanied me to the theater said that this film is nothing special — it is just the same old propaganda that you see every day on the History Channel. That's true; this is the official history that the History Channel promotes.
After learning that this film is a restoration, made by Sandra Schulberg (the daughter of Stuart Schulberg), of the film made by her father in 1947 and first released in 1948, my opinion is that the film desperately needs an introduction to explain it to today's audiences.
I did a little research online and found this explanation, given here by Sandra Schulberg, for why she didn't include an introduction:
SM: Why didn't you add a brief introductory passage explaining this to viewers?
SS: (Laughing) We considered umpteen versions of opening explanatory credits. I had input from the Holocaust Museum and Josh and people at DuArt Labs, and we tested it on some other people close to the production. There was no simple way to do it. What I didn't want to do was oversimplify it. We ultimately decided it was impossible. We did think of bringing in a well-known actor or television commentator. It might have seemed like the right thing to do, but I had to look at this as a historical document that would exist in perpetuity. Any choice one would make of a spokesperson to fill that role today might seem irrelevant or peculiar 40 or 50 years down the line. Ultimately, we thought it best to let the film stand alone as its own document.
I totally disagree. Today's audience for this film will be (1) young students who are studying the Holocaust, and (2) old people, like me, who were alive when the Nuremberg IMT took place. I was only 13 years old at the time, but I clearly remember seeing film footage of the trial in the newsreels that were shown before every movie. I was already interested in history at that young age.
The film was originally commissioned by the U.S. government; the original was made by Stuart Schulberg, the brother of Budd Schulberg. For his film, Stuart Schulberg used footage taken at the Nuremberg IMT and combined it with footage from two documentaries, one of which was the footage from the concentration-camp atrocities film made by Budd Schulberg, which was shown at the IMT on November 29, 1945. Budd Schulberg was with the OSS in World War II.
Wikipedia gives this definition of the OSS: "The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The OSS was formed in order to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for the branches of the United States Armed Forces."
The restored film, made by Sandra Schulberg and Josh Waletzky, is narrated by Liev Schreiber. These are the same words that are in the original narration but were re-recorded for the restored film.
The first part of the film, which drones on and on ad nauseam, tells the American version of the start of World War II. It tells about how Germany wanted to conquer the world and how the "Master Race" wanted to rule the world. The narrator says that "Two of the world's mightiest nations—the United States and Soviet Russia—blocked the Nazi drive for world supremacy." What about the British? Oh, that's right, the British lost their empire after they foolishly declared war on Germany in 1939 and then didn't fight until 1940. The film tells about how Germany invaded Denmark and Norway but doesn't say WHY Germany decided all of a sudden to start up its conquest of the world again after a long period called the "sitting war" or Sitzkrieg, which followed the defeat of Poland in 1939.
As I watched the first part of the film, I kept thinking "This was not part of the Nuremberg IMT." For example, there is a lot of footage on the German boycott of Jewish stores on April 1, 1933. The German boycott lasted one day and it was an attempt to stop the world-wide Jewish boycott of German goods which started as soon as Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany and continued until the end of the war.
The burning of books in Germany is also shown in the film. Was it a war crime to burn books? There are more books banned in Germany today than there were books that were burned by the Nazis.
The movie was not shown to American audiences in 1948. That should be explained in an introduction. By 1948, America had turned against the Soviet Union and the Cold War had started. America was now an Ally of Germany. The war crimes trials at Dachau stopped and War Crimes Enclosure No. 1 at the former Dachau concentration camp was closed. From the end of World War II to 1948, the American people were taught to hate the Germans, but all that changed in 1948. The lies told in this film no longer served a purpose in 1948, now that Germany and America were Allies.
During the first half of the film, I was mentally making notes and waiting for the German defense which would tell the German side of the story. After all, this was a trial where the Germans were given a chance to defend themselves. But the German defense was not really shown. There was a very short film clip showing Goering as he says that he knew nothing about the extermination of the Jews. Later, Robert Jackson, the American prosecutor, makes fun of Goering for saying that he didn't know about the German plan to kill all the Jews.
The testimony of Goering was the highlight of the Nuremberg trial. I was looking forward to seeing it and hearing it. I was disappointed that more of his testimony was not shown. Robert Jackson almost quit after Goering's testimony — that's how good it was.
The German defense part of the film mainly shows the German defendants expressing remorse and admitting their guilt in their final statements. You don't see Rudolf Hess loudly saying "Nein" when he is asked whether he pleads guilty. Kaltenbrunner is shown on the witness stand, but this part is totally confusing because it doesn't show the important part of his testimony.
The Nuremberg IMT was totally unfair to the Germans and this film is even more unfair; it is completely one-sided and disingenuous. Here is the trailer for the film, so you can get an idea of what I am talking about:
Glenn Beck mentions the Balfour Agreement
Filed under: Germany, TV shows — Tags: Balfour Agreement, Glenn Beck — furtherglory @ 9:58 am
I was watching the Glenn Beck show yesterday, along with some young college students who were gathering at my house for an event that was set to begin later. When Beck mentioned the Balfour Agreement, I asked the students at the next commercial if they knew what Beck was talking about. What? The Balfour Agreement? Never heard of it! Is the text of the letter online somewhere? Yes, of course. Everything is online. You can read the Balfour letter here.
The Balfour letter mentions what the British are going to do for the Jews, but what did the Jews agree to do for the British?
As I understand it, and correct me if I'm wrong, the Jews promised to lend money to the British to continue fighting in World War I. In 1916, America was not yet involved in World War I and Germany was winning. The Jews also promised to get America into the war.
The significance of the Balfour agreement is that it contributed greatly to Germany losing World War I, which really pissed off young Adolf Hitler who was lying in a hospital bed, blind from a mustard gas attack, when he heard that Germany had surrendered. But that wasn't the worst of it.
At Versailles, Woodrow Wilson brought along 17 Jews who made sure that the 5 million dollar loan was paid back. Germany had to pay back the money loaned to the British by the Jewish bankers in New York. And the bankers demanded the money in gold, not paper money backed by gold. Eventually all the gold in Germany wound up in the hands of the Jewish bankers. This really pissed off Hitler and when he became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, he had no love for the Jews. Hitler was forced to print paper money, not backed by gold, which started something new, that is now considered to be acceptable.
After I explained all this to the students, I saw light bulbs over their heads as they began to realize why Hitler hated the Jews. They had always thought that Hitler was just an evil man who wanted to kill all the Jews for no reason at all. Or because they were a different race. No, it was because Hitler blamed the Jews for causing Germany to lose World War I.
Why doesn't Glenn Beck tell you these things? And why don't the students learn this in their college classes?
Another thing that Glenn Beck didn't explain on his program yesterday was why President Roosevelt didn't persuade Congress to change America's immigration laws to allow all the Jews in Europe to come to America after Hitler came to power in 1933. He mentioned a ship full of Jews that was turned away from America, not allowing the Jews to enter. Beck didn't mention the name of the ship, but he was obviously talking about the ship called the St. Louis. He made it sound like Roosevelt was against the Jews. But how could this be? Hitler believed that Roosevelt himself was a Jew.
Since Beck didn't provide an explanation, I am going to jump in and give my opinion on why America didn't allow all the Jews to come here before the Holocaust got started. Beginning in 1921, the immigration laws in America limited the number of German immigrants, which included German Jews. However, during World War II, German Jews were allowed to come here under the limited quota. Those who were allowed in were mainly young men who then returned to Germany during and after the war, as American soldiers, and helped with the roundup and prosecution of the German war criminals.
If America had saved all the Jews of Europe by allowing them to come here, there would have been no Holocaust, but there would also be no Israel today. Most of the Jews would have stayed in America and would not have gone to Palestine. I think that Roosevelt did not bring all the Jews here because he wanted to encourage the Jews to go to Palestine and set up the Jewish homeland of Israel. The survivors of the Holocaust were forced to go to Palestine because America did not change its immigration laws until 1948. Why wait until 1948? Because it was in 1948 that Israel became a country.
Finally, Dutch Jews get justice, long delayed
Filed under: Germany, Holocaust — Tags: Demjanjuk, Dutch Jews, Sobibor — furtherglory @ 10:51 am
According to the latest news about John Demjanjuk, which you can read here, "Families of Jews who were slaughtered in Sorbibor death camp said Saturday they were pleased with the conviction of John Demjanjuk, who was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday for his role in the killing of 27,900 Jews as a guard at the Nazi camp."
Jews from many countries were sent to Sobibor to be "slaughtered." When will their relatives get justice? Why were only Dutch Jews included as co-plaintiffs in the prosecution of Demjanjuk? (more…)
Lipstadt compares "Demjanjuk in Munich" to Eichman in Jerusalem
Filed under: Germany, Holocaust — Tags: Adolf Eichmann, death camps, Demjanjuk, Trawniki training camp — furtherglory @ 12:50 pm
In an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times, which you can read here, Deborah Lipstadt compared the recent trial of John Demjanjuk in Munich to the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. In her article, Lipstadt pointed out that "Coincidentally, this year is the 50th anniversary of the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a case that, in its significance, appears to dwarf the Demjanjuk proceedings." Lipstadt has recently published a book entitled The Eichmann Trial.
In comparing the two trials, Lipstadt wrote this:
But what happened at both of these trials is more important than the ultimate fates of the guilty. Now as then, the victims were given a chance to tell their story, not in a book, interview or speech, but in a court of law. At the Eichmann trial close to 100 witnesses testified about their suffering. At the Demjanjuk trial we heard from the victims' children. They joined the prosecutor in pointing their fingers at the man who facilitated their parents' murders. In other words, the Demjanjuk trial proves that while Eichmann himself may be history, the robust process that made Holocaust trials into something more than mere court proceedings is still effective.
Can the same "robust process" be used in place of "mere court proceedings" in any trial, or just in a trial involving Holocaust victims? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a "robust process" can be used in a trial in America. Or in Germany, for any other crime. The victims of a crime in America have a chance to speak in court before the convicted criminal is sentenced, but I don't think the victims are given the opportunity to tell about their suffering before the judge makes his decision on guilt or innocence. I would be very surprised if this can be done in a German court when it is not a trial involving the Holocaust.
Lipstadt also wrote this in her Op-Ed piece in the New York Times:
The Demjanjuk trial also underlines the lessons learned from Eichmann. Like Mr. Demjanjuk, Eichmann claimed he was only a small cog in the wheel. Both men argued that they did not have the choice to say no; it was kill or be killed. […]
Both men could have said no with few consequences; no defense lawyer or historian has found evidence of someone being killed for refusing to participate in the Holocaust. But these men chose not to refuse.
According to Wikipedia, "In December 1939, he (Eichmann) was assigned to head RSHA Referat IV B4 (RSHA Sub-Department IV-B4), which dealt with Jewish affairs and evacuation, where he reported to Heinrich Müller.[17] In August 1940, he released his Reichssicherheitshauptamt: Madagaskar Projekt (Reich Main Security Office: Madagascar Project), a plan for forced Jewish deportation that never materialized.[18]"
Wikipedia also gives this information about Eichmann's early career:
By 1934, Eichmann requested transfer into the Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service) of the SS, to escape the "monotony" of military training in SS-Standarte Deutschland at Dachau. Eichmann was accepted into the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and assigned to the sub-office on "Freemasons" that was run by SS-Sturmbannführer Prof. Schwarz-Bostowitsch.[12] After a short time, Eichmann had a meeting in the Wilhelmstrasse with Leopold von Mildenstein, a fellow Austrian, and was invited to join Mildenstein's "Jews Section", or Section II/112, of the SD at its Berlin headquarters.[12] He later came to see this as his "big break".[13] Eichmann's transfer was granted in November 1934.
So when Eichmann was invited in 1934 to join the "Jews Section," was he given a chance to refuse to be part of the Holocaust? Did Mildenstein say to Eichmann, "Hitler is planning the genocide of the Jews. Do you want to participate or not?"
When Eichmann was assigned in 1939 to RSHA Sub-Department IV-B4, did anyone say to him, "This is the department that will be in charge of the transportation of the Jews to the death camps that Hitler is planning. Do you want to participate in the genocide of the Jews or not?"
Was it explained to Demjanjuk before he was sent to Trawniki for training that he was going to be trained to be a "death camp" guard and that he would be participating in the Holocaust?
In my humble opinion, neither Demjanjuk nor Eichmann was given the opportunity to refuse to participate in the Holocaust because it was not explained to them that they would be participating in the Holocaust if they accepted a job that was offered to them.
In Demjanjuk's case, he was given the choice of being a prisoner in a POW camp, where he had a good chance of dying, or going to a training camp to learn to be a concentration camp guard. I doubt that it was explained to him that Hitler had given an order to kill all the Jews and that he might be assigned to work at one or more of the "death camps."
What does it take to become a saint in Germany?
Filed under: Germany, Holocaust — Tags: "hatred for the faith", Catholic Church, Dr. Johannes Neuhäusler, Georg Häfner, martyr, saint — furtherglory @ 12:16 pm
Deutsche Welle ran this story today, 16 May 2011:
Catholic Church beatifies Nazi-resisting priest
A priest who defied the Nazis by continuing to practice Roman Catholicism despite a ban has been beatified by the Catholic church. Georg Häfner died in a concentration camp for his resistance to the Nazi regime.
Beatification is the first step toward sainthood. But first, the person has to be declared a martyr. I found out from this website why Georg Häfner qualifies as a martyr:
Sixty-eight years after he died of starvation and disease at Dachau, early on this "Good Shepherd Sunday" brought the beatification of the German priest Georg Haefner, whose death at the hands of the Nazis was judged to be "in odium fidei" — out of "hatred for the faith" — and, thus, has seen his designation as a martyr.
Häfner wasn't killed at Dachau, but he did die "at the hands of the Nazis" because of the Nazi "hatred for the faith."
According to the book entitled What was it like in the Concentration Camp at Dachau? by Dr. Johannes Neuhäusler, who was also a prisoner at Dachau, there was a total of 2,720 clergymen at Dachau, including 2,579 Catholic Priests. According to Dr. Neuhäusler, there were 447 German priests at Dachau. Of the 1,034 priests who died in the camp, 94 were German. So Häfner was one of only 447 priests, out of a total of 20,000 German priests, who was sent to Dachau and one out of 94 that died. What did he do to be singled out for persecution by the Nazis?
According to Deutsche Welle, "Häfner was honored by the church for his resistance to Nazi rule. Despite a ban on continuing to practice his religious duties as a priest in Oberschwarzach, which is near Würzburg, Häfner carried on and was arrested by the Nazis in 1941."
This sounds like there was a ban on all priests in Nazi Germany, which prevented them from practicing the Catholic religion, but that is not the case. According to this website, "Häfner's reported offense was to preach against the rise of the Third Reich." So, the truth is that he was banned from "practicing the Catholic religion" because he was preaching against the government. The priests who didn't preach against the government were free to practice the Catholic religion with the blessing of Hitler, who was a Catholic.
Of course, Germany is now a free country, a democracy, where everyone has the right of free speech and Catholic clergymen can say anything they want, right? If you believe that, do a search on "Bishop Richard Williamson." He is due to go on trial in July for "Holocaust denial." He will automatically be convicted because there is no defense against a charge of "Holocaust denial." He will go to prison and if he dies there, he will be a martyr. He could be the first person to become a Catholic saint for saying what he believes, in defiance of the German government.
The grandchildren of the Nazi "monsters"
Filed under: Germany, Holocaust — Tags: Auschwitz Trial, Wilhelm Boger — furtherglory @ 3:38 pm
One of the regular readers of this blog alerted me to a news article on the European MSNBC website about the grandchildren of alleged Nazi war criminals; you can read it here. I was particularly appalled by the emotional pain heaped upon unsuspecting grandchild Ursula Boger. The article pointed out that "It was only during her university years — reading books about the Holocaust — that Ursula Boger found out her grandfather was the most dreaded torturer at Auschwitz."
According to the MSNBC article, "Boger, 41, said it took her several years of therapy and group seminars to begin to come to terms with the fact her grandfather was a monster." (more…)


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50 E Freedom Way
Cincinnati , OH 43202
513-333-7500 | http://freedomcenter.org/
Open Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission: Adult General Admission: $15, see website for discounts
The Struggle for Freedom: Past and Present
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's mission centers around showcasing the history of the underground railroad, starting relevant conversations, and providing educational opportunities to visitors of all ages about slavery and its lasting effects in a historical context and in its modern forms.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center interprets and presents the stories of the underground railroad and the continued struggle for global freedom today. Its home along the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati honors southern Ohio's past as a hotbed for abolitionist and Underground Railroad activity. and nineteenth centuries.
Cincinnati sits in what was known as the borderlands – regions that bordered slave states in the south. Southern Ohio was an active region for Underground Railroad activity because of its proximity to Kentucky and Virginia. Fugitive slaves escaping north would either settle in free states, like Ohio, or attempt to travel to Canada. The Fugitive Slave Laws, which were enacted as early as 1793, required that runaway slaves be returned to their owners; those who escaped to live in free states were not legally released from bondage. However, these laws did not apply outside of US territory, which is why Canada was known among those enslaved and along the Underground Railroad as the "Promised Land." A fugitive slave's path to true freedom was daunting and life-threatening. Ohio had Underground Railroad sites throughout the state, but mixed in among abolitionists were pro-slavery supporters, whose beliefs ranged across the spectrum from sympathizers to harsh advocates. Once a runaway slave made it across the Ohio River, the next leg of his or her journey required travel across the entire length of the state, from the southern border to the shores of Lake Erie, without being caught and sent back to a life of servitude. Some runaway slaves did attempt to settle in northern states disguised as free men and women, while others settled among Native American populations, risking the possibility of being caught and returned to bondage.
The stories of the Underground Railroad are those of survival, perseverance, and continued relevance. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center connects the history of slavery and those who played a role along the underground railroad to agents of change against global oppression.
Notes for Travelers
The museum sits on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati and offers a spectacular view of the Kentucky border on its opposite side. Along with interpreting stories and artifacts related to Underground Railroad activity before the Civil War, the National Underground Railroad Freedom center designs exhibits and programming about modern abolitionism and African American History beyond the Antebellum period. Its mission is to highlight stories about heroes of freedom, and it does so internally through interpretation, by way of their website, and by connecting with Underground Railroad historic sites, university collections, research centers, and other museums that focus on Underground Railroad history across the nation. More information about its Freedom Stations program is available on the museum website. One of the museum's most notable programs is End Slavery Now, designed to educate and inspire people to help end modern slavery.
Related: AbolitionAfrican AmericansCivil WarErieLaborLake ErieMuseumOhio RiverRailroadRiverServitudeSlaveryUnderground RailroadWar
Battle Cry for Freedom: The Civil War Era, James McPherson.
The Underground Railroad in Ohio, Henry Wilbur Siebert.
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First, our hearts go out all who are suffering in Japan.
We've often talked about the ways technology is changing the way we read. Here's another. That old advice about keeping your resume to just one page? It may be obsolete.
As U.S. News & World Report notes, "Reading onto a second page now means scrolling down on a computer screen rather than actually turning a piece of paper. And job seekers have more than the human reader to consider; resumes are now at the mercy of computerized applicant-tracking systems. Those databases search not only for keywords, but for frequency of keywords."
What do you think? Pop over to our Facebook page and tell us.
Speaking of dead-tree media, the work of Atlanta artist Brian Dettmer may make book lovers squeamish at first. Dettmer, a.k.a. "The Book Surgeon," seals the edges of illustrated books, then uses knives, tweezers, and surgical tools to cut into them, exposing layers of pages and images.
Also stunning is this brief video, in which Dettmer muses about books, language, and what he calls "endangered analog media."
Did we mention Dettmer's work is stunning?


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Ack Attack: Record Breaking Motorcycle; How Much Faster Can It Go? by Dick Lague
Submitted by Admin on Wed, 01/11/2012 - 10:50am
A very interesting book, in fact a cornerstone for motorcycle enthusiasts is Dick Lague's Ack Attack: Record Breaking Motorcycle: How Much Faster Can It Go? It's a book that has international interest as I found out by googling the internet; and a book that should be in the library of every person who follows motorcycle land speed racing. My reviews are different from the artsy style of the New York Times or the Los Angeles Times. I leave it up to the readers to decide what the psychological motives are of the Ack Attack team; my reviews go into the nuts and bolts of the book and what you can expect for your money. There are a lot of great books out there to buy and build a home library around, but the typical hot rodder has only so much time and money to invest. We can't buy them all and we certainly can't read all the books that have been written; nor should you buy a book merely because I tell you so. A review should fit the style of the subject being discussed; so what you read here is the construction of the book and its contents. Ack Attack was written and copyrighted in 2009, so it has been out a while. It's a quality hard bound book with a blue cover and silver lettering for the title on the spine. The book jacket has three color photographs and a very nice styling to it with a bit of text on the back side. I always remind you to take extra care of the book jacket or sleeve, because believe it or not, over time the value of a book is doubled by collectors who want both the book and the jacket. Part of the problem is the rarity of the jackets, because they often do not survive rough handling and are discarded. When I was young and foolish I often tossed out the worn and torn jackets and I regret that today; for the look diminishes rapidly when the jackets are worn or lost. The same thing is true with toys; we save them and toss away the boxes that they came in, thus diminishing the overall value of the collectibles.
Some books have the pages pasted in and over time the glue gives way and the book falls apart. Ack Attack has a high quality cloth binding that will hold the pages in and won't let that happen. You have to really bang up a cloth bound book to see the pages loosen and fall out; and no cloth bound book has ever done that in my library. Ack Attack has the finest quality photographic waxed paper that shows off the plates to their fullest. The book has 160 pages, with 119 color and 5 black and white photographs. There are also 2 magazine covers and one poster, all of which are in color. There are a few photographs that are grainy, due to age, but for the most part they are excellent reproductions of the original. The author placed the photographs in such a way that there is one or two pictures on each page, in a sort of National Geographic layout that engages the eye and makes the reader follow along with the story. Ack Attack is published by Parker House Publishing, Inc, in Stillwater, Minnesota with a copyright date of 2009. The ISBN # is 978-1-935350-09-5, though I had no trouble finding copies on the internet by simply googling the title of the book. The design concept for the book was done by Molly Lague and the design itself by Mandy Kimlinger. The editors were John Stein and Adam Swenson. There is a two page foreword by Sam Wheeler, followed by a two page prologue by the author. There are nine chapters, a six page appendix and a three page index. There was no price listed on the book jacket, which is only an estimated one anyway, so I checked the internet and found the book available in many places. You can buy Ack Attack in India for 1310 Rupees, in Europe for 31 Euros, in England for 28 Pounds and finally at a site in the United States for $40. I only mention this to show that the interest in Ack Attack is international in scope. The world loves our land speed racing teams. One of the sites offered a free DVD with the book. The DVD is a documentary and I will tell you about that later in this review. Make sure that you find a seller willing to provide the DVD with the book as a set.
I searched the internet to find out more about the author, Dick Lague, but he is very illusive. He has a website called Ignition3 and you should check that out, though the only information I could find came from the book jacket. Lague is a California resident who worked in the motorcycle industry and retired to found Ignition3 where he creates videos. His interest in land speed racing and Bonneville racers was the basis for his work in creating Ack Attack. Sam Wheeler on the other hand, who wrote the Foreword, is a well-known racer at the dry lakes and Bonneville. I see his trailer around the area once in a while, hauling his E-Z Hook #999 motorcycle Streamliner to and from events. Sam and I have talked about a motorcycle reunion at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California for some time. We have yet to get it going, but it is an interesting project. Wheeler is highly respected in land speed racing and his word carries a great deal of weight; so he was a natural for starting the book out with a foreword. It's important to read the forewords to any book, for they prepare you for what is to follow. Besides, Wheeler knows a great deal and I wanted to read his remarks. He nails the sentiment that land speed racers are both competitors and friends who help each other. They want that record and are thrilled to see others rise to the occasion and challenge them. For Sam, this is the greatest generation of motorcycle land speed racing. Dick Lague's prologue gives the story of the motorcycle land speed attempts from Glenn Curtiss in 1906 to the intense rivalry this past decade by Sam Wheeler, Denis Manning and Mike Akatiff (Rocky Robinson driving). These three and other motorcycle racers are intent on regaining the land speed record and boosting it higher and higher.
Chapter One is called "Sisyphus was punished." The content of this chapter describes how hard it is to set a record and how sometimes it takes a decade or more to do it. The author describes Bonneville, the FIM organization in France and their record attaining requirements, and the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA). The story begins with the record runs of the Ack Attack team in late September, 2008. Rocky Robinson was the first driver off the line in the Ack Attack and achieved a speed in the 342 mph range. Sam Wheeler in the E-Z-Hook streamliner managed a one-way time of 352 mph. Then came the run of Leo Hess, who crashed his streamliner and was hospitalized in serious condition. The next day Robinson made a two-way average of 360.913 mph and the record now belonged to him and Ack Attack's owner, Mike Akatiff. Some of the photographs are supported by good captions, but some of the pictures had little or no captions. In that situation the reader has to pay particular attention to the text in the book. Chapter Two, "Who is Mike Akatiff" discussed the drive and tenacity of Mike Akatiff to define a goal and set out to achieve it. Akatiff's early history is portrayed; his ability to teach himself mechanical skills, his drive and persistence and his focus on a project. He went to work for Bob Chaves and later for Tom Sifton and later took up motorcycle racing. Tall, at six foot three inches, Akatiff became a skilled motorcycle racer. He was also a skilled mechanic and tuner and teamed with Jim Rice in AMA dirt bike racing. Mike Akatiff's mind was constantly probing new challenges and after leaving Sifton's he went into partnership with a former boss of his, Bob Chaves, to produce engine parts. He sold his position in the company and went into a partnership with Gene Rocchi of Rocky Cycle Corporation, forming Pacific Coast Cycle. Five years later Mike bought out the company, then sold off the product line and tooling.
In 1981 Akatiff earned his pilot's license and this led to a new challenge; designing and building an improved version of an altitude digitizer. His partner in this enterprise was Jim Rice. His E-01 Emergency Locator Transmitter became a main product of his company, ACK Technologies. Akatiff also bought and developed real estate properties, buildings and infrastructure projects. Chapter Three is titled "The Ack Attack" and tells how he got the idea of a land speed record at the annual Mountaineers Motorcycle Club Oktoberfest reunion. Sam Wheeler couldn't attend because he was running for a record at Bonneville and this gave Mike an idea. If Wheeler could do it, so could he. Akatiff had the skills, tenacity and drive, so why couldn't he build a streamliner and go after the record. The more that his club members kidded him, the more determined he was to try. With Jim True, the project started two months later. Chapter Three is the longest one in the book and describes the methodology and construction of the car. Mike started with the tires and the power plant. He used a Hayabusa motor for the power and endurance and Mickey Thompson tires. At first MT couldn't provide the team with tires as they had ceased production, and so the Ack Attack team put the project on hold. Three years later the MT tire company resumed production and the team was back in operation on a viable project. Special land speed tires are crucial when the speeds reach what they do at Bonneville. But going fast creates all sorts of problems, not the least is weather. The Ack Attack found conditions to be wet and difficult during the 2005 racing season at Bonneville and decided to ship the streamliner to Australia to see what the conditions would be like on Lake Gairdner in South Australia. After a great deal of work they finally reached this huge salt bed only to find that normally arid Australia had been deluged by rain. Sam Wheeler was the driver and could only manage a speed of 249 mph and the team shipped the bike back to the States.
The 2006 season proved to be the opposite of 2005 and the various teams attempting to set the record succeeded in doing just that. The record went back and forth with Chris Carr prevailing. Carr's record would last through the 2007 racing season, which had been a disappointment for the Ack Attack. But that's land speed racing, where success and failure wait for all. Land speed racing cars and bikes are custom built based on designs and ideas that have to be tested on dry lakes or on salt flats. Power plants, aerodynamics, braking, internal reinforcement are all skills demanded of the teams that go racing for records. Various sanctioning bodies have rules to follow and the best minds try differing solutions. The bikes look good in the shop, but only on the race course do the theories prove to be correct or not. There are some interesting shop pictures showing the construction of the streamliner. The frame was welded 4130 chrome-moly steel and the body was fabricated on a wooden lath. The Ack Attack is twice as heavy as the BUB Seven and three times the weight of Wheeler's E-Z Hook streamliner. But the engines produce 1100 horsepower and make up for the weight differential. Racing teams will always face the dilemma of whether to go lighter and use less horsepower or heavier and produce more power. A bigger streamliner is also likely to be less aerodynamic. Theories abound as to size, weight, shape and power, but that's what makes land speed racing so unique and interesting. The Ack Attack team chose to use turbocharging and make their own wheels. They used Erc gasoline rated at 118 octane rather than methanol.
Chapter Four was named "The Riders," and tells us about the men who ride these streamlined motorcycles. Lague goes back into the past and tells us about men such as Bob Leppan, Dave Campos, Cal Rayborn, Don Vesco, Chris Carr, Rocky Robinson, Sam Wheeler, Bert Munro, Jim Odom, and John Noonan. There is a respect in the book that borders on reverence for these special men. There were no preparatory schools to hone their skills; they were self-made men with a great talent for driving streamline bikes to record-breaking speeds. Chapter Five is titled, "The Teams," and list the people involved in bringing the record to the Ack Attack. The team consisted of 19 people, including; aerodynamicist Ken Mort, Jim and Mary True, Buzz Muhlbach, crew chief Ken Puccio, chief machinist Frank Milgram, engine builder Jim Leale, owner Mike Akatiff, electronics technician Greg Akatiff, Chris Bullwinkle, Bob Miller, Jason Akatiff, and Rich Bonner. Chapter Six is called; "Riding a Streamliner" presents the views of several racing teams and the thrill and dangers of the chase for the record. Chapter Seven is dedicated to "Top 1 Oil and Ack Attack." Chapter Eight is entitled "The Aerodynamic Evolution." There is a fascinating photograph of Tommy Smith, date unknown, clad only in a bathing suit, shoes and a helmet, lying prone on his bike as he tried to reduce the resistance against motorcycle and rider. I can only guess at what the SCTA/BNI and USFRA organizations would think of that today. With the adoption of airplane fuel drop tanks and customized bodies, the art of aerodynamics vastly improved the speeds. This is one of the more interesting chapters in the book. Chapter Nine is called, "Nowhere near the Limit," and describes what the author believes will happen next. Several teams have held the record, with the Ack Attack being the latest, but redesigns and adaptations will increase the power, weight and aerodynamics of the bikes and new records will be achieved.
Akatiff is very philosophical in this regard. He sees the record as something that is lent to a team; it is never going to stay with the Ack Attack. He respects and admires the other teams that are trying to take his record away from them and even hopes that they succeed. For a record is best appreciated at the moment it is achieved; then it's up to everyone else to break it, including the new, redesigned Ack Attack. Following the chapters are an appendices and an index. The first appendix concerns the specifications and dimensions of the Ack Attack. Appendix two tells us about the venue sites that streamlined motorcycles can run on besides the Bonneville Salt Flats; they are Lake Gairdner in Australia, the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, El Mirage and Muroc in Southern California. Appendix three lists the sources used in the book.
Appendix four describes the DVD "Landspeed Shootout." Make sure that when you buy the book that you also get the free DVD that comes with Ack Attack; Record Breaking Motorcycle How Much Faster Can You Go? The DVD provides a 50 minute feature, followed by a 30 video called "Riding the Ragged Edge." There are two shorter films totaling 11 minutes with the last one showing what the driver sees from the cockpit when he is going 360 mph. Finally there is a three page index that is comprehensive and very useful. I often find racing books where the author has decided to forgo using an index. That lessens the value to readers. Here Dick Lague has made the decision to give us important appendices and an index to make this a more valuable book. Land speed motorcycle racing is an important component of timed trial racing. I enjoyed the book and it is a fast read. The text and photographs are not overwhelming in size, but they cover all the basic information for both the zealot and the average reader. The design of the book is very good and Ack Attack at 9x10 ¼ inches is a perfect size for a coffee table book or as a major work on the subject of land speed motorcycle racing. I give it a 7 out of a possible 8 spark plugs and recommend that you add it to your racing library.
Gone Racin' is at [email protected]
I rate this book a 7 out of 8 sparkplugs.
Pick Ack Attack up Today!
You can purchase this book wherever books are sold or
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NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile operator, has announced that it has acquired 97 percent of Italian mobile content provider Buongiorno, after revealing the final results of its voluntary public tender offer, which sees it pay $267 million for the share.
The deal is near completion and will see the operator further expand in Europe. The bid, first announced in May, will be processed by DoCoMo's German subsidiary, DoCoMo Deutschland. DoCoMo is in the process of completing its acquisition of the remaining shares, deslisting Buongiorno from the Italian stock exchange and transitioning it into a wholly-owned subsidiary, the announcement says.
The move is a significant one as it gives DoCoMo's business, which holds 52 million customers in its domestic market, a new, sizeable international push to help it grow overseas and, crucially, beef up its mobile content strategy.
The acquisition will combine Docomo's innovative mobile business and services know-how in Japan and other countries with Buongiorno's advanced mobile technologies and extensive global customer base. As part of expanding the businesses of both companies, Docomo expects to strengthen the foundation of its mobile platform businesses overseas.
The company is one of the few first-world operators that does not have an agreement with Apple, primarily due to Apple's shipment demands and its outlawing of pre-bundled software. Instead, the operator has focused on Android. The firm announced its new line-up of 16 new Android-powered smartphones in May, and is developing its own platforms and strategy to deliver mobile content.
That focus is nothing new, since DoCoMo pioneered iMode, the once flagship mobile Internet system which never quite took off in the West. Now it is busy pulling scaling its plans to provide other revenue streams and services.
Established in 1999, Buongiorno has 848 employees and is a major mobile content player. the firm posted revenues of $295 million and profits of $9 million in 2011. The completion of the deal comes just weeks after DoCoMo completed a $22.5 million investment in Baidu Yi Xin, a mobile content joint venture in China.
Just last month, CEO Kaoru Kato discussed the importance of the content push, and these two deals — Baidu Yi Xin included — are a major step as the firm pushes itself forward.


I know, I know. I've been on a bit of a hiatus with this blog. And it's not cause I've been lazy with my writing or anything like that… I've actually been working on a novel that I've been meaning to write for close to erm… four years now. The idea came to me when I was chilling in my apartment in Japan. I sketched the whole concept out in a notebook and then forgot all about it (and the rest of my God forsaken dreams). But that was then, and this is now. And I'm proud to say that the novel is… DONE!
Everywhere I turn, people are speaking Spanish – America's unofficial second language. I'm surprised that I can still understand the language fairly well – considering that I haven't spoken it in some four years. I learnt a lot of new languages in my twenties – but Spanish is my still my favourite. I hear a whole plethora of other languages, too. Some I recognise. Others I don't. I breathe in and out. It's my first time in San Francisco, but I feel at home for the first time in a while.
Saturn is the school principal of the cosmos. Very few people like a trip to school principal's office. I didn't when I was in high school and I liked it even less as I ushered in the big 30.
It's so easy to get caught up in this daily grind stuff and wake up one day and find that too many years have gone by and your dreams are all dead and that it's too late to do anything about it. It's so easy to settle for being a big fish in a small pond. It's so easy to abandon your own vision and support someone else's. It's easy because you never have to take responsibility for yourself or really build something that's truly yours.


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Edith Renfrow Smith (born July 14, 1914) is an American woman who was the first African American woman to graduate from Grinnell College, in Grinnell, Iowa. The granddaughter of slaves, Edith at age 108 was designated a "superager" in a study by Northwestern University for her remarkable memory and longevity. At the age of 108, she was given an honorary degree from Grinnell College. There are also two spaces on the campus named in her honor. As of February 2023, Edith is still living in Chicago.

Early life and family history
Born on July 14, 1914, Edith Renfrow was the fifth of six children of Eva Craig and Lee Augustus Renfrow. The Renfrows were one of the few African American families in the community of Grinnell, a small rural town in central Iowa. Both Eva Craig and Lee Renfrow's parents had been slaves and were born into slavery. Lee's father, Perry Renfrow, was born into slavery in North Carolina. His mother, Elia (sometimes Alice) Anderson, was born in Gambia and brought to the Americas as a slave.

NAACP article in "The Crisis"
The story of Eva's mother, Eliza Jane, is told in a 1937 article in the NAACP publication The Crisis, entitled "Up from Slavery," written at the time of Edith's graduation from Grinnell College by Professor Milton Wittler. Edith tells the story of her grandmother, Eliza Jane, and the French man who fell in love with her when she was his slave. Edith is quoted as saying, "[he] made her mistress of his house, treating her with honor and affection. When children came he accepted them as his own and gave them every advantage, even planning for their complete education by a clause in his will." She tells the story of her grandparents sending their children north at the time their father grew ill, making arrangements to pay for their lodging and schooling. When he urged his wife to go with them, she refused to leave.

Edith continued the story by telling of how her grandmother was forced back into slavery: "For on the death of her master, his brothers, who had no patience with his ideas, burned my grandmother's writ of freedom before her eyes and forced her back into slavery, dividing their brother's estate among themselves."

The article tells how Eliza Jane was raised by Quakers in Ohio and later Iowa, where she met and married George Craig. Their daughter, Eva Pearl Craig, would marry Lee Augustus Renfrow and raise the six Renfrow children in Grinnell.

Siblings
Eldest sibling Helen Renfrow Lemme (1904-1968) became a celebrated educator and civil rights advocate in Iowa City, Iowa. The Helen Lemme Elementary School in Iowa City is named in her honor. She is also among those listed on the Grinnell High School Alumni Hall of Fame.

Alice Renfrow (1906-1997) attended Hampton University and went on to a career at the Library of Congress.

Rudolph Renfrow (1907-1972) graduated as valedictorian of his class at Hampton and was a part of the New Negro Alliance in Washington, D.C. in the 1930s.

Evanel Renfrow (1908-1994)  received a Bachelors and Master's degree in nutrition from the University of Iowa. She became a professor at Savannah State University.

The youngest, Paul Renfrow (1916-1974), served in the US Army during World War II and was part of the D-Day invasion, reaching the rank of Master Sergeant before his discharge. He attended optician school and practiced in Washington, D.C.

Education

Education was a priority in the Renfrow family, and all the children attended college and later had careers. Edith, like most of the other Renfrow children, completed her public school education in Grinnell. She was the only one to stay in town and attend Grinnell College. She graduated in 1937 with a major in psychology and a minor in economics. She was the first African American woman to graduate from Grinnell College.

A student during the depression, she worked a number of campus jobs and lived and ate her meals at home to save money. Despite the living arrangement, she was able to participate in the campus community. In a 2007 article in the Grinnell Magazine, she is quoted as saying "That was a wonderful experience. I was just part of the group, and I enjoyed all the group activities that we had at Grinnell."  She attended dances and dinners along with the other female students. She also played sports, including basketball and field hockey.

Career
After college, Edith moved to Chicago in search of work. There she worked at the YWCA and later the University of Chicago. In Chicago she met Henry T. Smith and on May 25, 1940 the couple was married in the Renfrow home in Grinnell. They had two children, Virginia and Alice. She earned her teaching license and taught in the Chicago school system for 21 years. After retirement in 1976, she started to volunteer regularly at Goodwill and the Art Institute of Chicago, something she continued into her nineties.

Later life and honors
In 2009, at the age of 94, Edith was admitted to the Chicago Senior Citizen Hall of Fame and was the 2009 Luminary Award Recipient for her many years of community involvement.  Because of her remarkable vitality and memory, at the age of 99, Edith was selected to be a part of a "superager" study being conducted by Northwestern University. To qualify as a "superager," a person must be "age 80 or older with memory performance equal to or even better than healthy people in their 50s and 60s. To qualify, an individual must pass a rigorous set of memory tests, ones so tough that less than 10 percent of people who believe they could be a SuperAger actually qualify." In 2018, Edith appeared on the Today Show as a part of their series on superagers. In 2021, she appeared in a PBS produced piece entitled "Build a Better Memory through Science" that broadcast on some stations and is available to stream online.

In 2019, at the age of 104, Edith received an honorary degree from Grinnell College. Earlier that year the Edith Renfrow Smith Black Women's Library was opened in the Grinnell College Black Cultural Center. In 2006, she had been honored by the school in the naming of the Smith Gallery in the Joe Rosenfield Campus Center.

The Chicago Sun-Times did a two-part feature on Edith when she turned 107 in July, 2021. They did another piece on her when she turned 108.

In 2022, Grinnell College announced their new Civic Engagement Quad residential hall building would be named Renfrow Hall in honor of Edith Renfrow Smith.

She was featured in a piece, "She was an education pioneer. At 108, Edith Renfrow Smith shares her life lessons," on the NBC News website in February 2023.

She was featured in an NPR Weekend Edition interview with Scott Simon, "Meet the woman who has witnessed over 100 years of Black history in Chicago", broadcast on Feb. 11, 2023.

Additional resources
 Grinnell Historical Museum created an exhibit on Early African Americans which featured several of the Renfrow family members. Read about the exhibit here: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/grinnell/2017/02/07/focus-african-american-family-early-grinnell/97586050/
 Edith Smith: a Century of Life, The Scarlet & Black, October 8, 2015
 Video of Interview at Drake Community Library in 2015, at the age of 101.
 Podcast: Interview when receiving Honorary degree from Grinnell College https://allthingsgrinnell.podbean.com/e/edith-renfrow-smith-37/

Further reading
The stories of the Renfrow family members are explored in the book "Grinnell Stories: African Americans of Early Grinnell" by Dan Kaiser, published in 2020 by the Grinnell Historical Museum.

A website created by Grinnell College expands on research done into Edith's life. "Through the eyes of a pioneer: Living history with Edith Renfrow Smith '37, Grinnell College's First Black Alumna" was created by Dr. Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant as a result of multiple interviews with and research into Edith Renfrow Smith's life.

A webpage created by Drake Community Library provides an overview of her life and family history. The information is also available as a pdf here.

References

1914 births
Living people
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
African-American centenarians
American centenarians
Grinnell College alumni
Women centenarians

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Hedley John Price ARIBA (1861 - 8 April 1905) was an English architect based in Nottingham.

Career
He was born in Liverpool in 1861, the son of John Price (b. 1829) and Mary (b. 1834). He was baptised on 22 September 1861 in St Anne's Church, Stanley, Lancashire.

He was educated at Nottingham School of Art where he was awarded a Bronze medal for his design for a cathedral and University College Nottingham.

He studied as a pupil of Abraham Harrison Goodall for 5 years and then remained in this practice as his assistant for another 3 years.

He was appointed Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects on 9 June 1884.

He married Annie Mary Charlesworth in 1898, and his son Hubert H.C. Price was born in 1900.

He died on 8 April 1905 at his home in The Park, Nottingham.and was buried in Church Cemetery, Nottingham on 11 April 1905.

Notable works

References

1861 births
1905 deaths
Architects from Liverpool
Architects from Nottingham
Associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Alumni of Nottingham School of Art


An on-campus job can be a convenient way to gain valuable work experience and make some money right here at King's while completing your degree.
International Summer Programs Assistant As part of the International Summer Programs team, you will be an essential part of ensuring that our visiting students have an unforgettable experience at King's.
Working as part of the Undergraduate Recruitment and Admissions team at King's, Campus Tour Guides are an integral part of the King's campus tour service.


Visconti found inspiration from the Vincent van Gogh masterpieces: Self Portrait, Starry Night, Room in Arles and The Sunflowers. Feel the calm, anguish, warmth and brightness van Gogh brushed into each painting. The rollerball features silver trim which includes a center ring engraved with the artist and painting names. A unique magnetic closure brings the cap gently closed. A triangular gift box opens to a display a reproduction of the original piece of art. We have rollerball refills available in a wide range of colors to precisely fit your pen. Begin your own artistic journey.


Native to Assam, Tezpur Chilli is the plant that produces the hottest chilli on earth. Tests in 2006 conclusively proved that Tezpur Chilli is many times hotter than the previously believed hottest chilli, Red Savina from Mexico. Flowers do not look very different from the normal chilli flowers. However, the plant can grow tall, like a shrub. Tezpur Chilli is an old favourite in the North-East. Known in Manipuri as Oomorok (tree pepper), it is a much loved chilli in Manipur.
Identification credit: Thingnam Sophia Photographed in Imphal, Manipur & Mumbai.


text:
package ru.yandex.market.graphouse.retention;

import java.util.List;
import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentMap;

/**
 * @author Mikhail f. Shiryaev
 * @date 07/03/2019
 */
public class CombinedRetentionProvider implements RetentionProvider {
    private final List<MetricRetentionConfig> configRetentions;
    private final ConcurrentMap<String, ConcurrentHashMap<String, MetricRetention>> combinedRetentions;

    public CombinedRetentionProvider(List<MetricRetentionConfig> configRetentions) {
        this.configRetentions = configRetentions;
        this.combinedRetentions = new ConcurrentHashMap<>();
    }

    @Override
    public MetricRetention getRetention(String metric) {
        MetricRetentionConfig firstMatch = null;
        MetricRetention result;

        for (MetricRetentionConfig metricRetentionConfig : configRetentions) {
            if (metricRetentionConfig.getIsDefault()) {
                if (firstMatch == null) {
                    // There is only default match
                    if (metricRetentionConfig.getType() == MetricRetentionConfig.Type.ALL) {
                        return metricRetentionConfig.getMetricRetention();
                    }
                    break;
                } else if (firstMatch.getType() != metricRetentionConfig.getType()) {
                    // There is first partial retention pattern and default has a different type
                    if (firstMatch.getType() == MetricRetentionConfig.Type.RETENTION) {
                        result = getOrMakeCombined(firstMatch, metricRetentionConfig);
                        return result;
                    }

                    if (firstMatch.getType() == MetricRetentionConfig.Type.AGGREGATION) {
                        result = getOrMakeCombined(metricRetentionConfig, firstMatch);
                        return result;
                    }
                }

                break;
            } else if (metricRetentionConfig.matches(metric)) {
                if (metricRetentionConfig.getType() != MetricRetentionConfig.Type.ALL) {
                    // It's partial retention pattern
                    if (firstMatch == null) {
                        // And it's first match
                        firstMatch = metricRetentionConfig;
                        continue;
                    }

                    // It's second match and types are different
                    if (firstMatch.getType() == MetricRetentionConfig.Type.AGGREGATION
                        && metricRetentionConfig.getType() == MetricRetentionConfig.Type.RETENTION
                    ) {
                        result = getOrMakeCombined(metricRetentionConfig, firstMatch);
                        return result;
                    }

                    if (firstMatch.getType() == MetricRetentionConfig.Type.RETENTION
                        && metricRetentionConfig.getType() == MetricRetentionConfig.Type.AGGREGATION
                    ) {
                        result = getOrMakeCombined(firstMatch, metricRetentionConfig);
                        return result;
                    }
                } else {
                    // It's a typeAll retention pattern
                    return metricRetentionConfig.getMetricRetention();
                }
            }
        }
        throw new IllegalStateException("Retention for metric '" + metric + "' not found");
    }

    private MetricRetention getOrMakeCombined(MetricRetentionConfig retention, MetricRetentionConfig aggregation) {
        String rRegexp = retention.getRegexp();
        String aRegexp = aggregation.getRegexp();
        ConcurrentHashMap<String, MetricRetention> subMap = combinedRetentions.computeIfAbsent(
            rRegexp, k -> new ConcurrentHashMap<>()
        );
        subMap.computeIfAbsent(aRegexp, k -> makeCombined(retention, aggregation));
        return subMap.get(aRegexp);
    }

    private MetricRetention makeCombined(MetricRetentionConfig retention, MetricRetentionConfig aggregation) {
        MetricRetention.MetricDataRetentionBuilder builder = MetricRetention.newBuilder(
            aggregation.getMetricRetention().getFunction()
        );

        return builder.build(retention.getMetricRetention().getRanges());
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
was a Japanese prince, the fifth son of Emperor Tenmu, who lived from the Asuka to Nara periods. He was the first child of the emperor and Soga no Ōnu-no-iratsume, who later had two daughters together as well. After the death of his half-sister Princess Tajima in 708, with whom he had had a tryst, he married the poet Ōtomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume. Four of his poems (plus many by his wife and Tajima) are included in the Man'yōshū, including a lament written after the death of the Princess. He had two sons.

Much of his early life is unknown. In 703 he was responsible for organising the funeral of Empress Jitō. He became Prime Minister in 705, taking over after the death of his half-brother Prince Osakabe. It has been speculated based on the Man'yōshū that he was banished to a mountain temple, , in Ōmi, where he became a monk after the discovery of his affair with Princess Tajima, who was married to his older half-brother Prince Takechi.

Family
Parents
Father: Emperor Tenmu (天武天皇, c. 631 – 1 October 686
Mother: Soga no Ōnu-no-iratsume (蘇我大蕤娘), Soga no Akae's daughter
Consort and issues:
Consort (Hi): Ōtomo no Sakanoue no Iratsume (大伴坂上郎女), daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro (大伴 安麻呂)
First Son: Prince Kamido (上道王, d. 28 April 727)
Second Son: Prince Sakaibe (境部王)

References

Japanese princes
Year of birth uncertain
715 deaths
Sons of emperors
8th-century Japanese people


text:
Who is winning the EV race in Asean?
POSTED BY Yamin Vong ON 30 March 2018
Photos supplied by Charnchai Petchin
There are only three contenders in the race to be an electric vehicle (EV) hub among Asean member countries. While Thailand is in the lead, Malaysia might possibly make up for lost time, whereas Singapore can snatch the prize without manufacturing a single car.
A visit to the 39th Bangkok International Motor Show (BIMS), which is on till April 8, proved Thailand has a clear lead in the race to hatch an EV industry.
The prize is the wealth and competitive advantage gained from the convergence of three global disruptors:
popularity of EVs
growth of ride-hailing/car-sharing services
the possibility of creating autonomous vehicle
Volvo Car Sweden has made Malaysia its regional PHEV hub and it would be interesting to see how the industry grows.
A prototype of a made-and-developed in Thailand five-seater passenger battery/electric car was conspicuously positioned on the front ranks of pavilions in the Challenger Hall of BIMS. The ready-for-production prototype is the result of a joint-venture between Mine Mobility Research Co. Ltd and Energy Absolute Public Co. Ltd (EA), a public-listed company on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
One of three prototypes, the C-segment passenger car with a 200-250km range will be the first to be ramped up for commercial production by next year.
"We're planning to have a pre-launch – proof of concept – at the end of the year and ramp up one model for manufacturing by next year," said 50-year-old Wanswad Prinyawat, technical director of Mine Mobility.
"Our price point will be one million Thai Baht (roughly RM124,000). The mass of our Thai automotive market is below the one-million-baht point and we want that mass market," Prinyawat continued.
A mechanical engineering graduate from Chulalongkorn University, Prinyawat said that his R&D company had developed the three prototypes before teaming up with EA (a biodiesel producer, solar and wind energy utility company) for the commercialisation of Mine Mobility next year, making it the first Thai EV.
The EV for commercial launch will employ a traction motor from China and a battery pack from Taiwan that will allow it to run between 200 and 300km depending on driving condition and load.
"We know that there is a range anxiety. To overcome this, we already have about 300 charging points distributed radially within Bangkok and its suburbs. We will have 1,000 charging points by the end of the year," said Prinyawat.
In addition to the Mine Mobility exhibition, we were surprised at the traction EVs had gained in Thailand in recent years.
There were four EV manufacturers exhibiting at BIMS – two Japanese JVs with small EVs, battery-maker turned upstart auto EV company BYD from China and EA itself.
BYD displayed its BYD e6 at THB1.89 million (RM235,000) with expected delivery within two months. The BYD e6 is a pure-electric D-segment MPV with seating for five and a maximum range of 400km.
The BYD e6 is widely adopted as a taxi in Shenzhen, China. BYD is so confident of itself that it also put a Tesla on display, confusing some people who thought that BYD had displayed a fake Tesla, or ripped off a Tesla design as its own.
Fortunately, it was a Tesla with an unmistakable Tesla badge.
In comparison, Malaysia's EV market is somewhat of a still-born. Edaran Tan Chong had brought in a batch of EVs from Renault – the Zoe and a two-seater Twizy – and Nissan's Leaf but the company had only managed to sell the last unit after two years.
This translates to approximately only 500 EVs sold to date in Malaysia in comparison to about one million cars sold over the same 2016-2017 period in Thailand.
The Malaysian EV market is doomed and the way forward in Industrial Revolution 4.0 looks dim unless the National Automotive Policy (NAP) is strategically revised.
The re-draft must take a bottom up approach to promote the EV industry. This means that the policy should let car buyers decide what car to buy and let the brand owners compete for the market.
The Malaysia Automotive Institute's focus should be to convince the government that the EV market needs to be nurtured.
Fortunately for vehicle distributors in Malaysia, duty-free cars get traction amongst the upper-middle class. This can be seen with the appetite for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) from Volvo, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Brisk sales of PHEVs justified Volvo Car Sweden's foreign direct investments to not only locally assemble the XC90 PHEV in Malaysia but make the country its PHEV hub for the region.
The new NAP should allow duty-free imports of EVs for five years, at the end of which, those that have achieved a certain degree of localisation will be allowed another five years of fiscal benefits, if not subsidies.
Therefore, the NAP should also clarify and assist in enabling metal engineering companies to build an electric vehicle and obtain vehicle-type-approval (VTA) at a rate that is competitive to Thailand's.
The beauty of the EV industry for young companies operating in countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia is that they do not have the baggage of internal car engines.
At present, even a utility power company can build an EV from components produced by Continental AG, Bosch, Siemens, and a host of Chinese companies including BYD and yes, Zhejiang Geely.
Revising the road traffic laws with the inclusion of the Transport Ministry's and the AG's Chambers to open the way for autonomous driving and legal liabilities will be the third plank of the new NAP expected to be launched later this year.
Malaysian policy makers should note that Mercedes-Benz has already decided to make battery power packs for its PHEVs in Thailand.
On the autonomous vehicle narrative, Singapore has the lead with its pilot one-square-mile test with US self-driving start-up NuTonomy.
Vanda Electrics launched its super EV, Dendrobium, with a 1,000hp electric motor at last year's Geneva Motor Show.
However, the pride of coming up with its own autonomous vehicles that will be the main prize for all the major car companies.
Despite the first fatality caused by an autonomous car, the United States, England, and just this week, China, have opened the doors to pilot testing of robo-cars in defined areas.
What if Malaysia introduced the laws that would allow autonomous car testing in upmarket areas such as Cyberjaya and Forest City in Johor?
That would certainly make Malaysia a lucrative and interesting place for manufacturers such as Geely and BYD to explore.
The key economic driver in the Southeast Asian region is the automotive industry. Among Asean member countries, Malaysia kickstarted the move for national cars with Proton in 1985 by partnering Mitsubishi Motor Corporation.
After the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997/98 when Japanese car companies bought Thai assets at firesale prices, Thailand has since surged ahead as the Detroit of Asia.
Can Malaysia retake the lead in the Asean automotive industry and should it attempt to do so?
Going electric at the 39th Bangkok International Motor Show