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D.A.R. HISTORIAN NO LONGER A MYSTERY MAN (June 12/07)
In 1921 the number of Dominion Atlantic Railway employees working out of Kentville numbered 320. In 1921 the D. A. R. payroll for Kentville office alone was $400,000. This is an average yearly salary of $1,250.00 per employee, which wasn't bad for the 1920s.
In 1921 the total number of D.A.R. employees in Nova Scotia was 800. In other words, some 40 percent of all D.A.R. employees in the province worked out of the Kentville rail yard. Kentville's role as a railway hub and the contribution of the railway to the local economy is well illustrated by these statistics. In the 1920s nearly one-third of Kentville's population worked for the railway or belonged to families employed by the D.A.R.
I found these statistics in a history of the D. A. R. by William W. Clarke. This probably was the first published history of the D.A.R., predating Marguerite Woodworth's work on the same topic by over a decade. Woodworth's work, the official history since it was commissioned by the D.A.R., was published in 1936. Clarke's work contains no publication date, but its content indicates it was probably published no later than the early to mid-1920s.
About a decade ago I reviewed Clarke's book in this column, but I knew little about the author. There's a photograph of Clarke in the book and he tells us he was a longtime railway employee and worked as a conductor. Other than bits and pieces of information in local railroad lore, Mr. Clarke was a mystery man.
But not anymore. Purely by chance, when I was reading the scrapbook collection at the Kings County Museum, I came across a newspaper clipping announcing Mr. Clarke's death in 1929. Clarke was born in Hantsport in 1865 and came from a railway family. When he was a boy his family moved to Annapolis Royal where, at age 16, he became a water boy for the Windsor and Annapolis Railway.
Mr. Clarke served for many years as a conductor on the D.A.R. and his obituary notes that he was one of Kentville's best known and most respected citizens. The Advertiser's news release announcing his death noted that he was "one of the outstanding figures in the railway history of Nova Scotia." A dedicated railway man to the last, Clarke had insisted on staying at his post as a conductor while still suffering from a long bout of influenza. "It was this devotion to duty which probably resulted in his death as the influenza was followed by pneumonia which resulted fatally," reads his obituary.
When I reviewed Mr. Clarke's D.A.R. history here in 1999, I said that it was an invaluable contribution to railroad lore. I haven't changed my mind. I'm surprised that his history isn't better known. Unlike Marguerite Woodworth's work, Clarke's history contains railroad lore that but for his book would be lost. If you have a copy of Clarke's history, cherish it. There aren't that many copies in existence today.
Posted on June 12, 2007 by edwingcoleman. This entry was posted in History 2007. Bookmark the permalink.
← WAS IT THE FIRST SHIPWRECK IN KINGS COUNTY? (June 5/07)
KENTVILLE'S OLD TROTTING PARK (June 26/07) →


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Qurbani, the act of sacrificing a livestock animal, is obligatory upon every adult Muslim, eligible to pay zakat
Qurbani is the act of sacrificing a livestock animal. It takes place after Eid-ul-Adha prayers, marking the conclusion of Hajj. Millions of Muslims around the world honour the tradition of Prophet Ibrahim (AS) by sacrificing an animal and then distributing the meat to family, neighbours and the poor.
Qurbani is an act of worship and is one of the good deeds that will bring a person closer to Allah during these ten days is offering a sacrifice, by choosing a high-quality animal and fattening it, spending money for the sake of Allah. Al Fatiha Global strives to offer the high-quality animals for sacrifice since the believer is asked to love for his brother/sister that which he/she loves for him/herself.
Qurbani is obligatory upon every sane Muslim whose is eligible to pay zakat.
Fresh Meat Distribution
Al Fatiha Global only distributes fresh Qurbani meat, as all the animals are purchased and slaughtered locally. As a rule, we will distribute one Qurbani meat packet to each family unless there are exceptional circumstances. We do not slaughter any animals in countries like Australia and New Zealand, where the law requires Qurbani animals to be partially stunned.
Al Fatiha Global strives to select the neediest people in the most remote areas we can access, sometimes these people are in conflict areas and Al Fatiha Global is one of a few charities providing aid to these people.
If you are sponsoring a family in Syria, though the cashless system, we will allocate Qurbani meat to be distributed to your sponsored family and you will be able to see the date they collected the Qurbani meat in the monthly invoices.
We strive to keep these costs to a minimum by sourcing animals as close to the needy as possible. The price charged include all the associated costs incurred to ensure your Qurbani reaches the needy, for example, purchase, slaughter, transportation and distribution costs, etc.
Eid ul-Adha – 2019 | 1440
Al Fatiha Global will provide Qurbani to poor families living in Syria.
Qurbani Prices
Animal Country Price
Sheep – NOT POSSIBLE Jammu & Kashmir £110
Cow (1 share) – NOT POSSIBLE Jammu & Kashmir £85
Cow (7 shares) – NOT POSSIBLE Jammu & Kashmir £595
Sheep Syria £190
Sheep – Qurbani Closed Morocco £150
The cutting of all communication between Kashmir and outside world and the sending of additional indian troops into kashmir means we can't accepting qurbani for Kashmir. Qurbani has to be completed within a specific time window which we can no longer guarantee.
We have been working in Kashmir over 20 years. You can still support the people of Kashmir by donating to our Kashmir Campaign
Name Being Called Out At The Time Of Slaughter
It is also not necessary to give the name of the person, for whom the Qurbani is being offered. As long as you have made the intention that you are giving this Qurbani on behalf of a certain person that is sufficient, for your Qurbani to be accepted.
However, we can make arrangements for a name to be called out. If you wish for us to try and make these additional arrangements then you need to forward the website payment confirmation email, with the names you wish to be called out to qurbani@alfatihaglobal.com, at least 2 days before Eid-ul-Adha.
Sunnah Of Dhul-Hijjah
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: When you see the new moon of Dhul-Hijjah, if anyone of you wants to offer a sacrifice, then he should stop cutting his hair and nails until he has offered his sacrifice.
According to another report, he Muhammad (PBUH) said: He should not remove (literally, touch) anything from his hair or skin.
Among the good deeds which the Muslim should strive to do during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah are fasting on the Day of 'Arafah, one of the holiest days in Islam, which falls on the 9th day of Dhul-Hijjah of the lunar Islamic Calendar.
Fasting on this day will expiate for the sins of two years.
This happens to be approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan. It is the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage and the day after is the first day of the major Islamic Holiday of Eid ul-Adha.
These days also include Yawm al-Nahar (the Day of Sacrifice), the greatest day of the entire year and the greatest day of Hajj, which combines acts of worship in a way, unlike any other day.
It is better to hasten to offer the sacrifice after the Eid prayer, as the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do, then the first thing he would eat on the day of Eid would be meat from his sacrifice.
The time for offering the sacrifice begins after the Eid prayer on Eid al-Adha and ends when the sun sets on the thirteenth of Dhul-Hijjah. So there are four days of sacrifice: the day of Eid al-Adha and the three days after it.
The time for sacrifice ends when the sun sets on the fourth day, which means you can make payments for your Qurbani, right up until the end of the third day after Eid (13th of Dhul-Hijjah) before Maghrib. It is advisable to give the money as early as possible, to ensure that your Sacrifice is done by this date.
Multiple Qurbani
If you are making more than one Qurbani, please select Other, total up the value of your Qurbani and leave a comment to indicate which countries your Qurbani relate to.YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M96see8K3o
QURBANI DISTRIBUTION – LATAKIA, SYRIA – 2018 | 1439YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IELTvR5No4
If making Multiple Qurbani's, please select other amount, type in the total amount for your Qurbanis and leave a comment if you wish your name to be called at the time of Qurbani
Iraqi Refugee Appeal

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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New York museum honors city's rich basketball…
Poll: What was your favorite inauguration moment?
Howie: Thanks for everything, Trump
Text: Read the complete text of President Trump's farewell address
New York museum honors city's rich basketball history
FILE – In this Feb. 11, 1965, file photo, Power Memorial player Lew Alcindor (33) leaps high for the ball during a high school basketball game against Rice at Power Memorial Gym in New York. (AP Photo/Harvey Lippman, File)
PUBLISHED: February 14, 2020 at 8:34 a.m. | UPDATED: February 14, 2020 at 8:34 a.m.
By DOUG FEINBERG
NEW YORK (AP) — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar smiled as he rattled off the names of his former high school teammates and opponents.
The Hall of Fame center was intently watching video of one of his New York high school championships when he starred for Power Memorial Academy 55 years ago. He was known as Lew Alcindor back then, when he dominated the city before heading to UCLA.
The video was part of a new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York that chronicles some of New York's greatest basketball players and moments — City/Game.
"I will always enjoy those memories," Abdul-Jabbar said. "I remember I was still in grade school when I started to go to NBA games at Madison Square Garden and that had an effect on me."
Abdul-Jabbar spent about 15 minutes walking through the exhibit, which opens to the public Friday. Besides the video, there was also a photo of him playing in high school. He quickly pointed out former Knicks' great Dean Meminger in the picture, as well.
The NBA's all-time scoring leader was also proud to talk about his father Ferdinand, who played in high school in New York in the 1930s with legendary Knicks coach Red Holzman.
"People don't realize that my dad played in high school with Red. They were teammates in high school and I don't think Red realized that I was the son of someone he played with," Abdul-Jabbar said. "Red graduated in January. My dad said we were good until Red graduated and then forget it."
Holzman's Knicks are well represented in the exhibit, with one of Bill Bradley's warmup jerseys and the 1970 championship banner the team won that usually hangs in the Westchester training facility.
The exhibit is divided into different eras of New York basketball starting in the 1900s and going through current time. There's Kenny Anderson's high school jersey, as well as that of Sue Bird and Tina Charles. A signed Jeremy Lin Knicks jersey from the height of "Linsanity".
"Basketball's history and development is inextricably tied to New York," says Whitney Donhauser, the director and president of the museum. "City/Game captures the excitement and evolution of this quintessentially urban game and the energy of the diverse New Yorkers who play it and love it."
There's also a nod to the culture and outdoor game that has made New York famous. There are over 1,800 outdoor courts in the city.
There's also items from women's basketball, including a video of Queens College and their legendary coach Lucille Kyvallos. The team played the first women's game at MSG in 1974 against Immaculata.
The museum had a gala Tuesday night, when they honored Abdul-Jabbar. Other New York basketball greats were in attendance, including Bernard King and Felipe Lopez.
King grew up in Brooklyn and starred for the Knicks in the 1980s. He went to college at Tennessee and joked that Hall of Fame St. John's coach Lou Carnesecca tried to recruit him, but King said no. Although he did get a good Italian dinner out of the deal, because, "how could you say no to an Italian meal with coach?" King recalled.
One of Carnesecca's sweaters is on display, as well as the NIT and NCAA trophies that CCNY won in 1950. They are the only school to ever win both tournaments the same year.
Museum curator Lilly Tuttle said it took about 18 months to pull this exhibit together. It runs through January.
"The exhibition is a way to celebrate the long history of basketball in New York and the legacy of talent that's come through the city," she said.
Follow Doug Feinberg on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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Poll: What was your favorite Biden inauguration moment?


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Drivers will get 'automated' speeding tickets at two dangerous Kelowna intersections - InfoNews
Drivers will get 'automated' speeding tickets at two dangerous Kelowna intersections
KELOWNA - While the province isn't using the term photo radar, it is planning to use existing red light cameras to issue speeding tickets at what it calls the highest-risk intersections in B.C.
Thirty-five intersections are being targeted in B.C. with only two in the Interior. They are both in Kelowna at Harvey Avenue and Cooper Road, and at Highway 97 and Banks Road.
"The previous government only saw fit to activate each safety camera for up to six hours a day and to target only red-light runners," Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, said in a news release.
"We moved quickly to fully activate the red light cameras, and now we're adding speed enforcement - because it works, and because we want people who travel through these busy intersections to get where they're going safely," he said.
In all, the province studied 190 intersections in B.C. and selected 35 it believed could benefit from the new automated speeding ticket system.
The ticketing will start this summer.
The province doesn't say what speeds will trigger the tickets, but does say between 2012 and 2016 an average of 10,500 vehicles a year were speeding at least 30 kilometres per hour over the speed limit through intersections with red light cameras.
Speeding tickets will go to the registered owners of the vehicles.
Tags: Kelowna newsKelowna speedingKLMAY2019Rob Munro


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Home Golf PGA Championship winner and former Alabama Crimson Tide golfer Justin Thomas takes...
PGA Championship winner and former Alabama Crimson Tide golfer Justin Thomas takes jab at Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher
PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, a former Alabama star and big Crimson Tide football fan, couldn't help but weigh in on the Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher feud after winning a second Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday.
Thomas, who rallied from a 7-shot deficit in the final round at Southern Hills Country Club to win his second major championship, was asked if he would follow Saban's 24-hour celebration rule.
"Yeah, I got a 24-hour rule," Thomas told Sirius XM. "I'm not sure what Jimbo Fisher's rule is, but I guess he's gotta win something first before he figures out his rules."
Saban, whose teams have won six national championships at Alabama, caused a firestorm last week when he told a group of people in Birmingham, Alabama, that Texas A&M "bought every player" in its vaunted 2022 recruiting class. The Aggies signed five five-star prospects in the 2022 ESPN 300, with 20 of them ranked in the top 150.
In a fiery news conference the next day, Fisher denied the accusation and called Saban's comments "despicable."
"We never bought anybody," Fisher said. "No rules are broken. Nothing was done wrong. It's a shame that you've got to sit here and defend 17-year-old kids and families and Texas A&M. Because we do things right. We're always going to do things right. We're always going to be here. We're doing a heck of a job."
Fisher helped Saban guide LSU to a national championship in 2003, and he won a second one as Florida State's coach in 2013. His teams have had a 34-14 record at Texas A&M the past four seasons, losing at least four games in all but one.
A Guide to Spectating at a Professional Golf Tournament – Golf News


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Traveler Postcard From Panama Canal
Filed under: Year 3: July09 - July10 Greece to Newport Beach, CA, Caribbean, Pacific Ocean — mrlawlerjr @ 3:52 pm
April 8 and 9
What a contrast between our two days transiting the Panama Canal, and what an exciting and wonderful experience. On board Traveler were Barbara and her two longtime friends and our guests, Marsha and Bill Horsfall (he is 87 and this was one of his Bucket List things to do), Brian, two professional line handlers and a Panama Canal Authority Advisor (same as a pilot for ships, but if the boat is under 65 ft. they're called advisors and get less pay.)
Day One. On the Atlantic side, at the Shelter Bay Marina, there was some confusion about the meeting time and place for our line handlers to come to the boat. They were supposed to meet us at the marina, but an hour after the appointed time and when they were very late, I checked my cell phone and saw I missed a call. It was from our agent to say the meeting place was changed at the last minute. So now we were behind schedule, and if you are late for your transit appointment the Panama Canal Authority fines you $1,500! With the two line handlers on board along with our ten rented truck tires, wrapped in plastic so the top sides don't get scuffed, hung in place as added fenders (very much needed!), we got to the meeting place for the advisor just with 15 minutes to spare, only to find out he was running late (no fine if he is late), and so our appointment to transit was pushed back from 4 pm to 5:30 pm. Hurry up and wait.
To transit the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific, which is generally a north to south direction, four miles south of Colon there are three consecutive up-locks called the Gatun Locks. After that you motor across a huge lake, Lake Gatun, for about 30 miles, passing ships going the other direction along the way. Then there is one down-lock, called the Pedro Miguel Lock, followed by the relatively small Pedro Miguel Lake. Finally, there are two consecutive down-locks called the Miraflores Locks, after which you are at sea level on the Pacific side. Each lock lifts or lowers about 25 ft., so the large lake in the middle is 75 ft. above sea level. If you get a very early start, like 5 or 6 am, you can make it all the way through in one day during daylight. Because of our late afternoon starting time, ours was a two-day transit.
As we were about to enter the first lock, the PC Authority instructed our advisor via radio, along with the advisors on two other yacht, to raft together, with the biggest boat, a 46 ft. Bertram sportfishing boat, in the center. While the line handlers on the Bertram (obviously not pros and drinking beers) were rigging spring lines between the boats, they screwed it up and took 15 minutes to do a job that should have taken just three or four minutes. During that time, the wind pushed us slowly into the path of a ship that was underway at about 4 knots and moving into final position in the lock. The ship was unable to turn or stop. And because we were side tied to the Bertram we could do nothing to get Traveler out of the way of the ship. The ship blasted its very loud horn five times, which is the signal for, essentially, "I can do nothing to avoid the impending collision between my ship and your small boat, and so you must either move out of the way immediately or brace for collision." You can only imagine the stress I was having. It was a very close call, but the guys on the Bertram got their act together (with instructional help in Spanish from our pro line handlers) and managed to move Traveler, the small yacht on the other side and themselves out of the ship's path. After that, the guys in the Bertram were needlessly heavy on their throttles, both forward and reverse, nearly causing the deck cleats on their boat to rip out. I found out later the owner of the Bertram was not on board and this was a delivery crew. Even though we were side tied and basically being towed by the Bertram, to ease the strain on the lines, I was at the helm with the advisor giving near constant instructions: "Forward just a bit, that's good, now reverse a little. Stop. Turn to port a little, that's good." He was also giving instructions in English (to Brian and Barbara) and Spanish to our line handlers: "Take up the slack on the port side stern. Keep the tension steady and even on both sides." After an hour and a half or so, we made it through the third lock well after sunset. As planned, we took a nearby mooring on Lake Gatun for the night.
Day Two: The next morning, a new advisor was ferried out to our boat at 0600 and we were underway before the sun came up. After a light rain shower of 15 minutes, we had a beautiful day. Shipping traffic was relatively light that day. We passed, as I recall, about ten ships going the other way as we crossed the lake and went through the Gaillard Cut, named after the chief engineer responsible for the most challenging part of the canal's construction.
A little history note: In the late 1800s the French tried to build a canal across the isthmus of Panama. But they ran into construction difficulties, workers were dropping like flies from illness and then they ran out of money. A few years later, with the clandestine help of the US government, the State of Panama declared their independence from Colombia to form their own country. The first formal act of the new Panamanian Government was to sign a treaty with the US giving us the canal zone and the right to construct, own and operate the canal. From 1908 to 1914, under the leadership of President Teddy Roosevelt, the US built the Panama Canal, at the same time both separating two continents and joining two oceans. But it was not easy. Altogether, ten thousand people died building the canal, most of them while laboring in the Gaillard Cut through the mountain range. Many of the deaths were from industrial accidents, but most were from malaria or yellow fever. One of the French laborers who was hospitalized with yellow fever and nearly died was Paul Gauguin, then in his early 20s. He recovered from his illness and went on to become one of the world's greatest artists. I have one of his paintings on Traveler, "Tahitian Menu," painted near the end of his life when he was in Papeete.
When we went down the three locks on the Pacific side, beginning about noon, we had fabulous conditions (daylight, no wind, no rain, good visibility) and to our surprise, the entire lock to ourselves! Our advisor, who has been doing this for 20 years, said he has never been on a boat that had a lock to itself, or even heard of one. He joked that we must know el presidente. It was actually just a scheduling fluke, in our favor.
After completing the transit, it felt strange to be back in the Pacific Ocean and once again on the west coast of North America. Like finishing a good book, for my three-year circumnavigation you might say I've started the final chapter. If you look at a world map, like in the back of a Lonely Planet travel guide, heck, I only have about two more inches to go and I'm back home!
I really wish Barbara could finish the voyage with me. But she had to fly back to work. So it is just Brian and me for the final push up the coast of Central America and Mexico over the next ten weeks.
I'm starting to make some plans for a homecoming party at the Balboa Yacht Club for July 3.
Our next Postcard will be from Costa Rica. Until then,
with Brian
Traveler Postcard From San Blas Islands, Panama
Filed under: Year 3: July09 - July10 Greece to Newport Beach, CA, Caribbean — mrlawlerjr @ 2:56 pm
San Blas Islands, Panama
After Brian and I arrived at Colon and checked in with the Panama Canal Authorities to have Traveler measured and paid the fees ($1,750 for a boat our length to transit the canal), we scheduled a transit date of April 8 and 9. That gave us about a week to visit the San Blas Islands, a vast archipelago of 340 islands on Panama's Caribbean coast midway between the Canal and the Colombian border. The San Blas Islands are a favorite stop for cruisers either before or after transiting the canal.
On April 1 Brian and I anchored at one of the more popular islands (but only four other boats when we were there) called Chichime. Within a few minutes three colorfully dressed Kuna Indian women, probably related, paddled out to Traveler in a dugout canoe to offer to sell us molas. A mola is a hand stitched colorful quilt of cotton fabric, usually about 8″ x 10″ and often made into decorative throw pillows or stitched onto the front of a t-shirt. Each mola is unique, takes a Kuna woman about a day to make, and costs about $20. I bought six. Not sure what I'm going to do with them when I get back, but they are beautiful. We went ashore and made friends with the man of the family (only six Kuna live on this gorgeous tropical island.) The next morning he took Brian out in his dugout canoe to the reef to spear fish and try to catch lobster with a snare. They brought back a couple of lobster, which we ate for dinner. We also gave this Kuna family some medicine for their sick grandmother and some milk for a nursing dog with puppies. One of the puppies, about 6 months old, broke its pelvis from a falling coconut, causing it to walk with a severe limp.
Barbara arrived the next day, April 2, by flying in a small plane from Panama City to the tiny island of Porvenir, just three miles form Chichime, where we dinghied in to meet her. After getting by without Barbara for the past three months, it was really great to have her back onboard Traveler. We celebrated with a Captain's Brunch with champagne! The tiny runway at Porvenir was built by the US Navy in WWII and is the only airstrip in the San Blas, with one flight a day. We then sailed four miles to the Lemon Cays, anchored and learned from a neighboring yacht that the group of 20 or so yachts in that popular small group of islands (within the San Blas Islands) were having a potluck dinner and happy hour that night. Some of the cruisers had sailed from California or from Florida, got this far, and decided they didn't really need to go any further–they had found their paradise–and have been cruising the San Blas for four or five years!
We stayed a week, snorkeled every day, met Kuna and explored uninhabited islands (loved Coco Bandero), and then had to sail back to Colon to transit the canal.
We stopped for the night along the way at Portobelo (also spelled Porto Bello and Puerto Velo on some charts). What an amazing history. Discovered and named by Columbus on his Fourth Voyage, it became the primary port for the Spanish galleons to transport gold and silver from throughout Central and South America to Spain. For over one hundred years, one-third of the world's gold passed through Portobelo. The 'Queen's Pirate,' Sir Frances Drake, the first British navigator to circumnavigate the world, died of yellow fever here in 1596 and was buried at sea at the mouth of the deep bay in a lead coffin. Later, in 1739, at the height of the Spanish gold shipments, Adm. Edward Vernon sacked Portobelo and made off with millions in gold. After that, the Spanish crown abandoned the overland route across the Panamanian isthmus and ordered its ships to sail the long way around Cape Horn to and from the west coast of South and Central America.
Portobelo is also famous throughout Panama for the colonial church, built in 1776, which contains the life-sized statue of the Black Christ on the cross. Thousands of pilgrims come to Portobelo, many of them crawling on their knees to show respect (and a handful of those crawling come from as far away as Costa Rica!) each year for the Festival of the Black Christ. The statute was being shipped from Cartagena to Portobelo when the ship sank in a storm. The statue, in a wooden crate, floated, was found by fishermen and brought to Portobelo–considered a miracle. That year, yellow fever swept through nearly every village of Panama killing thousands, but no one died in Portobelo–considered another miracle and attributed to the Black Christ–which is believed by the devoted Catholics of Panama to have miraculous healing powers. I said a prayer to the Black Christ for Traveler's safe passage on our remaining 2,700 miles, the home stretch.
The next Postcard will be about our transit of the Panama Canal.
Michael with Barbara and Brian
Yacht "Traveler"
Colon, Panama
Today at about 4:30 or 5:00 pm local time (2 hours ahead of Pacific daylight savings time) Barbara, Brian and I begin our two-day transit of the Panama Canal, and we are all very excited.
You can watch us transit live by logging on to www.pancanal.com, then click on the web cam, then select the Gatun Locks, which we will go through today. Tomorrow (Friday) morning we will go through the Miraflores Locks at about 10:00 am (I'm only guessing on tomorrow's time).
On board Traveler, with me at the wheel, we will have:
Barbara and Brian as "line handlers" paired up with two professional line handlers, bow and stern. We will also have a "Canal Advisor"–like a pilot, guiding me in the cockpit.
In addition, we have two guests, Bill and Marsha Horsfall (friends of Barbara) joining us.
Transiting the Panama Canal is a significant milestone for Traveler's three-year circumnavigation, geographically, chronologically and psychologically. We still have 2800 miles of mostly upwind sailing to go to Newport Beach over the next three months. But it is all relatively easy coastal cruising along the Pacific side of Central America and Mexico. We will soon be on the home stretch.
Traveler Postcard From Cartagena
Filed under: Year 3: July09 - July10 Greece to Newport Beach, CA, Caribbean — mrlawlerjr @ 11:26 am
Hola de Cartagena, Colombia,
We enjoyed our five-day visit to historic Cartagena. This was our only visit to a South American port, and my first time ever to this continent. We now have seen on this voyage six out of the seven continents of the world.
We anchored off the cruisers' favorite marina, the Club Nautico. The marina was nearly full and the few spaces available were in shallow water, too shallow for our 8 foot draft. But we are quite happy at anchor, using the dinghy to get ashore. The old restaurant and bar at Club Nautico were torn down about a year ago and a new building was under construction for several months. But the owners got into a dispute with City Hall, and now the lawyers are involved and construction has halted, so it is a mess.
We liked to walk or bike ride around the old walled city, especially early in the morning or at night. The midday sun is just too hot, in the upper-90s and humid.
Last night, in lieu of a Captain's Dinner on Traveler, we had a farewell dinner for Kellie at a fun Cuban restaurant in the old town. Kellie has been with us for the past seven weeks, joining the boat in St. Martin on February 2 for her second long tour on Traveler. This time she got to visit Anguilla, St. Barts, Saba, the British and US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Colombia. She is flying today to Managua, Nicaragua to join her friend, Dylan, to travel around Central America for a month or so.
One of the highlights of our time here in Cartagena was a visit aboard the USS Freedom, the US Navy's latest and fastest, high-tech, stealth ship. It is the first of its class, a Littoral (means coastal) Combat Ship. Its published speed is 40+ knots, but when it is lightly loaded it can reach up to 60 knots! That is an incredible speed for a ship that is 385 feet! Freedom is still on its maiden voyage, from Wisconsin where she was built by Lockheed Martin, to San Diego, her home port, due to arrive there on April 23. She is powered by four Rolls Royce jet engines (no propellers) which combined can pump 12 million gallons of water per minute–the equivalent of being able to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in just three seconds! Anchored just 200 yards away from her, I tried to pick Freedom up on my radar, and there was nothing there! The stealth technology is amazing! Google "USS Freedom LCS 1″ for photos and articles about it, or check out their website at www.freedom.navy.mil. Special thanks to LCDR Mark West for the great tour.
So now it is just Brian and me, and we set sail for Colon, Panama in a few hours. It is a 258nm passage to the west, and it should be a comfortable down wind run. It should take us about 40 hours, assuming we average 6.5 knots and sail a straight course.
The good news is that Barbara will re-join Traveler in Panama, although it will be a short ten-day visit while she is on her Spring Break. But we get to do the Canal together!
Traveler Postcard From Historic Cartegena
Filed under: Year 3: July09 - July10 Greece to Newport Beach, CA, Caribbean — mrlawlerjr @ 7:59 am
Hola de Cartegena, Colombia,
Did you know there was a huge, historic battle between the Spanish defending Cartegena and the invading British in 1741? King Philip of Spain had spies in London who discovered, in 1740, that the British were planning a major assault on Cartegena. On learning this, the viceroy of Cartegena, which was then the most important Spanish colony in South and Central America, requested Spain's most feared and heroic military leader, Don Blas, to lead the defense of the walled city. Spain had spent 100 years building the wall around Cartegena and several forts around the harbor to defend her. Most of the gold shipments from the New World to Spain passed through Cartegena. The British knew it had been nine months since the last shipment, so they reasoned a massive fortune awaited them. If they could only capture Cartegena's mighty Fortress of San Felipe, strategically located on a hill guarding the harbor and the walled city, the rest of the city's defenses would fall quickly.
Don Blas, born in the Basque country of noble parents, was a living legend. At age 16, already an officer, he lost his left leg in the Battle of Gibraltar. However, he continued his distinguished military service to the king, with more battle wounds to come. In the Battle of Toulon he lost his right eye, and later in the Battle of Barcelona he lost his right arm. Still, at age 52 (quite old for those times), he agreed to cross the Atlantic and go to Cartegena to prepare the troops for the British invasion. He had only 500 Spanish soldiers plus about 2,000 slaves and native Americans, which he armed and trained in four months to help defend the city.
On March 15, 1941 the first three of Adm. Edward Vernon's fleet anchored off Cartegena, waiting for the other ships to arrive. Over the next few days, a terrifying sight developed as 186 ships gathered for the invasion. Not counting the sailors (who stayed on the ships), Vernon had 23,600 men and 2,070 cannons ready for battle. One of his officers was Lawrence Washington, George's half brother. The Washington family admired Adm. Vernon so much they named their farm Mount Vernon in his honor.
The battle began on April 1. Adm. Vernon sent two of his largest warships into the harbor to bombard Fort San Felipe. Lucky shots from gunners at San Felipe, aided by a chain stretched tight across the channel to stop the British ships, hit and sank both ships right in the narrowest part of the harbor, blocking the channel so the other ships could not follow. Adm. Vernon then decided to off-load his cannon and mount an assault by land. This took about a week, and resulted in one of the bloodiest battles in British history. In addition to the casualties of war, during that week, many of the British troops became ill, mostly dysentery, malaria and yellow fever. The epidemic spread quickly through the officers and soldiers to the point where the vast majority where unfit for duty and a retreat was ordered. It took a month for the British to tend to their wounded and get ready for sea. In their retreat, they destroy the minor forts that were taken. Finally, on May 12 the siege of Cartegena was over.
But during the battle, while leading his soldiers, Don Blas took a cannon shot to his good leg, and died of his injuries shortly after the last British ship returned for England.
Two interesting footnotes.
1. The British were so sure the would prevail that they struck a victory medal as soon as the siege was underway. It depicted Don Blas kneeling before the British commander with the inscription, "The pride of Spain humbled by Ad. Vernon." The Brits apparently thought it was ungallant to conquer half a man (Don Blas' amputations were well known), so the artist put his arm and leg back on for the medal, for the surrender that never occurred.
2. Had the British won the Battle of Cartegena, historians believe that not only Colombia but all of the Spanish colonies throughout South and Central America would have fallen like dominoes and become British colonies. And consequently they would be speaking English, rather than Spanish, throughout North and South America today.
Enough of the history lesson. In my next Postcard I'll share with you our visit to this historic city.
with Kellie and Brian
Traveler Postcard–"No more bad luck!"
"I've had enough bad luck. No more bad luck!" I was just listening to Eric Clapton crying the blues on my iPod, and I can really relate.
I was reading in one of the two dozen sailing magazines I keep on Traveler about another full time cruiser spending so much time fixing things on his boat. He said, half jokingly, "Every part, every system, everything on a boat is either (a) broken, (b) just about to break, or (c) will break eventually." I'm beginning to think he speaks the truth.
So far this voyage, the list of mechanical, electrical, rigging, plumbing, and other things that have broken or somehow managed to go wrong is long, and never ending.
The current "To Do List" when I arrive in Cartegena includes (and I'm only half way there):
1. The radar screen freezes. Good thing the visibility is good at night and I haven't really needed it. We've seen only six ships in two days at sea. I'll have a Raymarine technician check it out, if and when I can find one. With the past as a guide, it will probably be a part that will have to be ordered, will take a week to get here and will cost about a grand (also known as one boat buck.)
2. The cotter pin (probably only a $1 part) on the starboard side jib car failed. No idea how. Without it, the boat cannot be sailed, at least the jib cannot be used on a port tack. I have two dozen spare pins, all the wrong size. Maybe I can jury-rig something.
3. The connector for the blue wire on the alternator broke off. Again, no idea how, but at least I've become enough of an amateur marine electrician to diagnose the problem myself. This means (a) the tachometer won't work (no big deal), and (b) the alternator can't charge the batteries (hum, this is a big problem). In addition to the engine-powered alternator to charge the batteries, I have solar panels (which work well, but not nearly enough to provide all my power needs), a wind generator (which works well when the wind is over 15 knots, and it has been under 12 this passage), and a gas-powered Honda portable generator. The generator works great, but it's noisy and I have to keep refilling its small gas tank–a bit of a challenge in rolling seas. And it seems odd to be motoring in light air and have to run the generator at the same time to charge the batteries. This loose wire thing can be fixed, but by a qualified marine electrician in Cartegena.
4. And, more importantly to Brian and Kellie, the stereo has a power short. It keeps going dead then restarting. Very annoying when you are trying to listen to the Flaming Lips, for example.
But my worse luck this passage happened off the boat. Yansen missed his flight back to Indonesia. It wasn't his fault. He arrived at the Kingston Airport, ticket and passport in hand, several hours before the departure time. It was the ticket I bought for him on line with Expedia. I typed in "Kingston" as the departure airport, meaning Kingston, Jamaica. But the box just said Kingston (not Jamaica). Somehow, the ticket ended up departing from Kingston, Canada! (No where on the ticket did it say "Kingston, Canada" as the departure city, just "Kingston" plus the three-letter code, which we know now is the code for Kingston, Canada. The first leg of Yansen's flight was form Kingston to Toronto, and Air Canada flies to Toronto from both Kingston, Jamaica and Kingston, Canada. Not until Yansen arrived at the Kingston, Jamaica airport, after a two-hour bus ride and after we had departed for Cartegena, did he discover the mix up. The $1,200 ticket was non-refundable. I learned of the problem via an email from the manager of the marina where we stayed–Yansen returned there to try to sort things out. After a few sat phone calls and several more emails and reviewing my options (which weren't many), I had to buy a new ticket for Yansen, for another $1,200. Ouch!
As the country Western song goes, "If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all." Time to change that. Wish me luck.
Traveler Postcard From Jamaica, Mon!
Port Antonio, Jamaica
18-10.8N, 076-27.2W
Day-O! Port Antonio was the inspiration for the Harry Bellafonte's "Banana Boat Song." ("Work all night for a drink of rum! Daylight come and me wanna go home.")
We just departed the Errol Flynn Marina in Port Antonio, where we stayed for three nights. The marina is named after the actor who had a vacation home here. Did you know he made 60 films back in Hollywood's golden years?
A few days before our arrival Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz were wrapping up "Knight and Day," expected to be released this summer. We met some of the locals who assisted with the production, and they said the celebrities were nice and fun to work with. TC also filmed "Cocktail" here.
We rented a car and had a local show us around–really the best way to see a new country. Highlights included swimming under a waterfall, seeing the Palace Hotel, and having some good, local Jamaican food at a locals' favorite beachfront restaurant outside of town. Brian had ox tail, Kellie had curry goat, and I had jerk chicken.
We feel like we could have stayed another week or two, as there was so much we didn't get to see: the beaches and nightlife of Montego Bay, watching the sunset at Rick's Cafe in Negril, Dunn's River Falls near Ocho Rios, touring the Bob Marley Museum, seeing Goldeneye, the estate where Ian Fleming wrote most of his novels (hey, I'm a big James Bond fan.) Oh, well. Next time.
Jamaica is a great place to visit, but not so much to cruise around. Officialdom is the problem. It takes a half a day to check in and then another half day to check out, and you must check in and check out each time you move the boat, even if it is to the next harbor a short distance away.
Jamaica is a huge island, the third largest in the Caribbean (behind Cuba and Hispanola). It has a population of 2.5 million, about of third of whom live in the capital of Kingston, and boasts the world's greatest coffee (from the Blue Mountains) and the world's fastest human being (from last summer's Olympics.)
But the big news is that Yansen quit. He missed home, his mother is not doing well, and he was becoming unhappy on Traveler. We had a farewell Captain's Dinner for him last night and remembered all the amazing experiences we have had together. I put him on a bus to the airport this morning. It was sad saying goodbye, and we hope to see him again. We wish him a "Happy Long Life."
So now it is just Kellie, Brian and me, and we are underway to Cartegena, Columbia, 475 nm due south, a three-day passage. We expect to arrive at Club Nautico the afternoon of March 19.
The next time we will see this latitude (18N) we will be approaching Manzanillo, Mexico, on the home stretch, around the first of June.
Traveler Postcard From Haiti
Port Morgan
Ile a Vache, Haiti
Lat 18-06.24N
Long 073-41.57W
The cruising guide warns yachts sailing between Puerto Rico and Jamaica to avoid Haiti altogether, especially the southwest corner of the island. It recommends giving it a wide berth, passing at least 50 miles offshore. There are a lot of desperate people with nothing to lose. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Piracy has been a part of their culture for hundreds of years, since the days of Capt. Henry Morgan (the port we are in is named after him and this is where his ship sank.) And all of that was before the January 12 earthquake.
Since then you have seen the footage on CNN and read newspaper and magazine stories about the current situation. Suddenly, there are 2 million people homeless with a huge percentage of the population injured and/or unemployed, spending all day trying to scrounge for themselves and their families, with very little food, clean drinking water or other necessities available.
This is now our third day in Port Morgan on Ile a Vache (Cow Island) at the SW corner of Haiti. It has been an amazing experience, mostly in a good way.
On our arrival here we found it to be a very sheltered harbor with three other cruising sailboats at anchor (always a reassuring sight), two from France and one from the US. We were immediately greeted by a dozen, friendly, polite boat boys who wanted to help us, clean the boat or sell us something. We bought four drinking coconuts for $2, a nice way to start our visit. A lobster fisherman paddled his dugout canoe to Traveler and sold us seven live lobster for $10, and Yansen made us a great dinner that night.
Next we gave away our care packages to four young men, each with six to eight in their families, and each had paddled out to Traveler. This included a bag of rice, a sack of potatoes, a salami, Frosted Flakes, a bag of Chips Ahoy cookies, four rolls of toilet paper, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a razor and a bar of soap. Our donations were well received, as you can imagine.
The island has a population of 12,000, with 99% black and descendants of slaves. It is about 7 miles long and 2 miles wide, and is situated just 6 miles off mainland Haiti. We learned that Ile a Vache has no cars or electricity, just a dozen or so rural villages with foot trails connecting them. About 90% of the island's population has never even been to the mainland–so they have never seen a city, or a car, or used a telephone, or watched TV, or used a computer. Wow!
We had two guides take us on a hour-long hike to the main village for market day. It was more of a sight-seeing field trip than provisioning, as there was very little offered for sale that we wanted. The local bananas, however, were tree-ripened and excellent. We saw lots of used clothing, probably donated items, offered for sale.
The fishing boats are mostly sailing vessels without engines. We rode one, with our guides, from the market in the main village back to Port Morgan. It was a fun, memorable, downwind sail that took about a half hour.
We then rented horses to ride the island's rolling hills, or at least we tried to do so. The horse I was assigned to ride was pregnant, near full term, and didn't like my weight on her back. And the horses assigned to Kellie and Brian didn't like each other, at all. One violently bit the other on the neck and they both bucked, throwing Kellie and Brian off the homemade saddles. It was a wild and memorable ride, and lasted barely five minutes.
We met the captain and crew for "Sea Hunter," a 220 ft. research vessel specializing in recovering ship wrecks. A few months ago they discovered the "Port Nicholson," a wreck that was sunk by a German U-boat in 1942 off Boston in 650 ft. of water. It has, they say, billions in gold and plutonium in its holds. They plan to recover the treasure in the coming months. Check out their website at subsearesearch.com. The Sea Hunter came to Haiti on a humanitarian mission with over a hundred thousand dollars worth of aid. Unfortunately, its distribution was a disaster. The ship and crew were first swamped with customs officials and police, who took the best for themselves, and then hundreds of desperate Haitians started fighting for the aid. One man punched a woman in the face and took from her what she was given. It got so out of control that Gary Esper, the captain, fired two warning shots into the air trying to regain control and ordered everyone off his ship. By then, there was not much left. The police arrested one of the locals hired by the Sea Hunter to facilitate the distribution, and demanded a payment of $10,000 US in customs duties (which Sea Hunter refused to pay). The police tried to detain the Sea Hunter because the captain fired a gun into the air and refused to pay the duty. The situation was so bad that Sea Hunter left quickly without unloading a mobile field hospital, which was the most important single item they brought with them from the US to Haiti. All this happened a few miles away on the mainland, and we met up with them the following day here at Port Morgan, where they were trying to unwind and enjoy themselves, and clean up their ship from all the mess, before returning to the US.
The Port Morgan Hotel, run by a Frenchman, is the only hotel on Ile a Vache, and I'd give it, generously, two stars (by American standards.) But it is one of the finest hotels in the country, and one of the few that is open for business. The food was excellent. We had a fabulous fish dinner here our last night. At the hotel we met a French woman who had been working for the past five weeks in Port-Au-Prince for a Swiss charity that focuses on children. She lived in a tent with few amenities. She was at the hotel to take a weekend off. She said one of the many shocking things she saw in Port-Au-Prince were all the flies, millions of them.
We are now in the Eastern Time Zone and have traveled through 21 out of 24 time zones, completing 7/8ths of the circumnavigation.
In a couple of hours we set sail for Port Antonio, Jamaica, an overnight passage of 155nm. Look for our photos from Haiti, which I'll post when we get to an internet cafe in Jamaica.
Traveler Postcard From Santo Domingo
After a most unpleasant experience with the officialdom in San Pedro de Macoris, our first port of entry in the Dominican Republic, we sailed 35 nm west to the nation's capital, Santo Domingo, the oldest colonial city in the New World. What a contrast. Here the customs and immigration went very well, one of the easiest and most pleasant I've experienced on the voyage. We took a berth at the Marina Bartolome Colon (only $26 per night).
The marina has both private armed security guards (pistols and shotguns) and armed military guards (AK 47s). I asked if the heavy security was "necesario," and was told "si." When I told the guards that we (Kellie, Brian, Yansen and me) wanted to walk from the marina to old town to sight see (it was about 7:30 pm), they said it was unsafe for tourists to walk around at night, especially through the area between the marina and old town, and strongly advised against it. But one of the guards, dressed in plain clothes and packing a visible pistol holstered in his belt, volunteered to escort us. Yansen was a bit shocked and joked with me about the VIP treatment. Just then (emphasizing Yansen's point) a uniformed police officer stopped heavy, fast-moving traffic on the city's main boulevard using his flashlight and whistle so we could safely cross the street. It felt a little weird having a bodyguard for our two-hour stroll through the city, especially with all the locals staring at us. We did not see any other tourists. I got the impression that it is rare for Americans to visit Santo Domingo.
The next night Brian and Kellie ventured out alone. I was a little concerned when I got up the next morning and I found they had not returned to Traveler. They finally returned at 10 am with stories of a really fun night out on the town, and begged me to stay a few more days. One of the locals they met with, Andres, is the 22-year old son of one of the wealthiest men in the country, and he showed Brian and Kellie a good time. In the wee hours, Andres took Brian and Kellie to his home. Brian said it was the biggest and nicest home he has ever been seen, rivaling anything in Newport Beach or Beverly Hills.
Last night was Carnival. The DR celebrates it on the first Sunday of March, regardless of the start of Lent. The parade had nearly 200 amazing entries in colorful, fantastic costumes, and took five hours to pass. It was an incredible sight and rich display of their culture, music and wild dancing. They say Dominicans learn to dance before they learn to walk.
Unfortunately, the festivities were marred by some violence that I witnessed (and perhaps more that I missed.) Two rival gangs were mixing it up, and a couple of police stepped in to take control. One of the gang leaders, with all of his buddies watching, started mouthing off to the police and resisting. Big mistake. The police pounded him with their night sticks. Standing just a few feet away, I caught it all on my video camera. It was ugly. (Think LAPD and Rodney King.)
Then, about an hour later and near the end of the parade, I sensed the beer-drinking crowd was getting rowdy. Yansen got lost in the crowd hours earlier, and Kellie and Brian wanted to cruise around on their own and try to find their local friends, so I was by myself. I decided it was time to head back to the boat when I heard Bang! Bang!–two gun shots fired in the crowd about a boat length away from me. The crowd panicked and ran, but I remained standing next to a tree, watching and wondering what had happened, if anyone was shot. I saw three police quickly disarm the shooter, rough him up a bit, and haul him off to jail. Fortunately, no one was shot. Strangely, within a minute, everything was back to normal, as if nothing had happened. Could violence be that common here, I wondered as I walked quickly back to Traveler?
We went shopping yesterday for food to donate to families in Haiti, our next stop. I bought four each of the following, so each of us could adopt a family for the day: a large Italian salami, a bag of rice, a sack of potatoes, Frosted Flakes cereal, a small bag of Chips Ahoy cookies, toothpaste and toothbrush, a pack of four rolls of toilet paper, a bar of soap and a disposable razor. We also plan to do some volunteer work at a school. I'll let you know how it goes in my next Postcard From Haiti. We set sail in just a few hours.
Michael and Team Traveler


Our meeting is NOT our usual Tuesday night this month.
This month's program features Matthew Binns discussing "Birding The Gambia." His talk will describe a recent visit in Nov/Dec 2018, the highlights of which included a great variety of birds of prey and the stunningly colorful bee-eaters, rollers, kingfishers and estrildids.
of Birds. He is a keen photographer and has traveled extensively to photograph more than 1600 bird species worldwide.
Next month's meeting is back to its usual day: Tuesday, May 21. In that program, John Martin will talk about the San Diego National Wildlife Refuges.
Unpaid dues are still welcome. Please bring a check (payable to SDFO) or cash. Single memberships are $25; family are $35.


A source inside the Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital where the first four boys are being kept said their condition was "not bad" but doctors were watching for signs of emerging conditions such as hypothermia. Authorities had said that incoming monsoon rains that could send water levels in the cave rising, coupled with falling oxygen levels in the enclosed space, added to the urgency of getting those trapped out.
Operation chief Narongsak Osottanakorn said a total of 90 divers would be involved in the rescue mission, with 40 divers from Thailand , and 50 from overseas, including the United States, Australia, China, and Europe, according to the Washington Post .
In a statement released by an unnamed foreign ministry spokesman, Pyongyang accused the United States of betraying the spirit of last month's summit between Donald Trump and Kim by making "one-sided and robber-like" demands on "CVID" - the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of North Korea .
The navy is also seeking permission to posthumously promote Saman, who was a petty officer first class when he left the unit, Channel News Asia reports . For the first time since they were found, the boys communicated by letter with their relatives - many camped outside the cave's entrance. They were found on July 2, but because of the difficulty of their position in the cave, they can't be rescued yet.
But Mr Davis's concerns stretched well beyond the actual policy that he would have been forced to sell in a tour of European capitals, starting this week. The pound weakened slightly on the news . May replied in a letter saying that her Brexit plan "will undoubtedly mean the returning of powers from Brussels to the United Kingdom" and was in line with her commitment to leave the European single market and customs union.
Asahara was born Chizuo Matsumoto in 1955 on the southwestern island of Kyushu and changed his name in the 1980s, when the Aum cult was being developed. "I cheered when I heard he'd been killed, but worry that his former followers might deify him and do something". He called it appropriate. They fear his death may trigger the naming of a new cult leader, possibly his second son.
Pence singled out a handful of Democrats who've called for the agency's abolition, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. and Sen. Some commentators, such as Fox News host Tucker Carlson , have suggested Ocasio-Cortez's shocking win is pushing establishment Democrats further to the left on the issue, likely leading to more top members of the party calling for ICE to be abolished in the near future.
POTUS got trolled hard by actual best selling author, J.K. Rowling; various other celebrities; the dictionary and many other English-speakers. Instead of pour over, he wrote "pore over". "He is incapable of reading a book, much less writing one", he responded to the President's claim. Trump in a tweet, hailed himself as "best selling" author.
Iran is also anxious about continuing its oil exports to other markets and about being shut out of global bank payments systems. "If they continue to demonstrate the political will they showed today, they will get things done without any problem".
Kim reportedly said he was unaware of the song, the newspaper said. "Since the summit the consultations have continued". He will spend the night in the North Korean capital, marking his first overnight stay in the country. "We both hope that's true", Mr Pompeo said on Twitter after a phonecall with Mr Trump as he headed for North Korea. Kim Eui-keum, a spokesman for the presidential Blue House, would not respond directly to the report when asked about it on Friday.
No question in my mind", Trump said. A spokesman for Mr. Jordan, a founder of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus who represents a solidly Republican district in OH, said the congressman was unaware of any abuse. "This is false", Jordan said. Jordan attacked his accusers, particularly the first one who came forward, Mike DeSabato. Dailey told NBC News, "It was very common knowledge in the locker room that if you went to Dr.
Prime Day , which Amazon describes as an "epic day of our best deals", will see major reductions across most product categories on Amazon's marketplace, notably in electronics and homeware. Do you need a Prime membership to participate? If you aren't a subscriber already, you can choose to sign up for the 30-day trial free of charge before deciding to pay $12.99 monthly or $119 annually.
Members of the press gather outside of the Kuala Lumpur Court complex in Putrajaya July 4, 2018. In this May 24 photo, former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak speaks as he leaves the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Office in Kuala Lumpur .
Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley speaks at a news conference in Annapolis , Maryland, on Tuesday, July 3, 2018 , to discuss the lowering of the USA flag to half-staff to honor the employees killed in last week's shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper.
It sparked amid a regional fire hazard warning in place throughout the day Saturday and into Sunday morning, due to high temperatures, low humidity and gusting winds. Several structures have been lost since the fire started Sunday, but it's unclear how many, said Jason Curry of the Utah Division of Forest, Fire and State Lands.
I think it's about him, and he's a narcissist, it's all about him. Trump said on Wednesday in the Oval Office that topics like Syria and Ukraine might be discussed. "Show him the evidence you've got, Mr. President, because it's overwhelming". The tweet reopened the question of whether Trump would broach the issue with Putin during their highly anticipated summit next month in Helsinki.
Rebels controlling several towns in southern Syria were on Friday considering a deal for a regime takeover in exchange for an end to fierce bombing, state media and a monitor said. In Washington, a State Department official said the United Sattes could not confirm the truce report, and the situation in southern Syria remained "grim" with Russian Federation and Syrian government forces continuing to bomb the area.
Responding to the report, Trump said, "I think they (North Koreans) are very serious about it (denuclearisation)". Stanford University researcher Siegfried Hecker, a former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and authority on global nuclear threat reduction, said this was the tough part of a denuclearization deal with notoriously deceptive North Korea.
Most , if not all , of the potential nominees on his previously released list of candidates were vetted by the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group whose leadership disagrees with the Roe decision. Collins hit back against this suggestion, pointing to her bipartisan record in the Senate and thorough vetting of Supreme Court picks. She emphasized that there were certain people on Trump's candidate list that she wouldn't vote for, though she didn't specify who those people were.
Redoine Faid , probably the most notorious French gangster, has escaped jail for the 2nd time, this time in a helicopter. Incredibly, it's not the first time Faid has been involved in a spectacular jailbreak. Police tracked him down in the suburbs of Paris and arrested him at the end of the following May. He spent years as an global fugitive before his capture, and then a decade in prison, and then wrote an autobiography after his release on parole in 2009.


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Senate Cloture Vote on NCB Fails
A late-night bid on Thursday, June 26, to allow a full-Senate vote on the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 has failed.
The Senate Cloture vote to consider H.R. 6331, the so-called "doc fix" bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier this week, was 58-40. A total of 60 votes would have enabled the bill to be voted on by the full Senate.
H.R. 6331 contained competitive bidding program reforms, including a delay to first-round implementation, scheduled to begin July 1. The bill also would have eased payment reductions to physicians billing Medicare, thus leading to the bill's "doc fix" nickname. The bill was passed in the House by a 355-59 vote on Tuesday.
The House has adjourned until after the Independence Day holiday next week, with the Senate scheduled to recess today for the holiday.
New CRT Wheelchair Accessory Bills Introduced in House & Senate
DOJ Report: South Dakota Treatment of People with Disabilities Violates ADA
The H.R. 3229 Fixer


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Today 19 July 2019, Friday - Last updated at ora 20:39
Moldova's European course established by the Constitution has to be maintained!
News 24 June 2019, at 10:04
On 21 of June, the Venice Commission adopted the Opinion regarding the constitutional crisis in Moldova, i.e. on the dissolution of the Parliament (see the referrence below). More precisely, it was one of the rare cases when the Commission directly and critically assessed the acts (decisions, judgments and opinions) of the Constitutional Court. As follows from the Commission's Opinion, it is due to the exceptional character of this case as the Constitutional Court of Moldova (CCM) has acted outside of the parameters of its authority and responsibility.
As it was expected, the Venice Commission concluded that the CCM acts of 7-9 June, which had been at the core of the constitutional crisis, were not based on reasonable arguments and were passed in violation of the procedural rules. The establishment of the term of 90 days (instead of 3 calendar months) for the formation of a parliamentary coalition, by the CCM decision of 7 June, was found to be incorrect. Meanwhile, as the Commission concluded, other CCM acts of 8-9 June were adopted in breach of the equality and procedural rights of the parties to the proceedings.
The suspension of the powers of the President on 9 June was also found to be without any ground. As it is noted, however, the suspension of the powers of the President is not an unprecedented practice in Moldova. Therefore, it is my understanding that the previous practice cannot be questioned; this is not the aim of the Commission's Opinion either. Otherwise there would be no possibilities to ensure the constitutional stability and the effectiveness of the legislative and executive activities in Moldova in cases when the President (as it happenned more than once) deliberately refuses to exercise his constitutional duties with regard to the promulgation of laws or the appointment of the members of the Government.
This view can be supported by the Commission's emphasis on the necessity to maintain consistency of the CCM jurisprudence. This is the most important in the current context. It follows that the CCM decision of 15 June to annul all the decisions of 7-9 June, which was grounded on political changes, cannot serve as the precedent to review other acts of the CCM. Therefore, the European integration that is recognised by the CCM as a part of Moldova's constitutional identity cannot be reversed. It continues to be one of the key constitutional principles, in light of which other provisions of Moldova's Constitution have to be interpreted.
Dainius Žalimas
President of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania,
Member of the Venice Commission
17 Jul Moldova FM: Country 'irreversibly anchored' in trade with EU
17 Jul Bloomberg.com - New Cabinet Pledges 'Quiet Revolution' Against Graft in Moldova
16 Jul Merkel Urges Moldova To Speed Up Reform Pace
14 Jul In Moldova Visit, U.S. Diplomat Expresses Support For New Government
11 Jul Moldova has Become a Geopolitical Battleground between Russia and the West
News 17 July 2019, at: 18:10
Moldova FM: Country 'irreversibly anchored' in trade with EU
Moldova's foreign minister Nicu Popescu has said that his country "would love to join" the European Union and that the wish is supported by a broad social consensus. He added, however, that Moldova wants to preserve good relations with Russia.
( ) Read all
News 17 July 2019, ora: 18:07
Bloomberg.com - New Cabinet Pledges 'Quiet Revolution' Against Graft in Moldova
Natalia Gavrilita used to run a charity. Now she's finance minister of a country that has become a byword for corruption and says her modest goal is just to make it normal. That will be a lot harder than it sounds.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Moldova's new pro-European government to continue on the path of reforms and step up the fight against widespread corruption, saying Berlin would offer Chisinau its support.
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Q: Seamlessly using a template system with Kohana? I'm planning to use Mustache templates along with Kohana in my next project. So what I'm trying to do is to make Kohana seamlessly use Mustache whenever rendering a view. For example, I would have this file in my views folder:
myview.mustache
Then I can do in my application:
$view = View::factory('myview');
echo $view->render();

Just like I would do with a regular view. Does Kohana allow this kind of thing? If not, is there any way I could implement it myself using a module? (If so, what would be the best approach?)

PS: I had a look at Kostache but it uses a custom syntax, which for me is the same as using Mustache PHP directly. I'm looking to do it using Kohana's syntax.

Edit:
For information, this is how I ended up doing it, based on @erisco's answer.
The full module is now available on GitHub: Kohana-Mustache
In APPPATH/classes/view.php:
<?php defined('SYSPATH') or die('No direct script access.');

class View extends Kohana_View {

    public function set_filename($file) {
        $mustacheFile = Kohana::find_file('views', $file, 'mustache');
        // If there's no mustache file by that name, do the default:
        if ($mustacheFile === false) return Kohana_View::set_filename($file);

        $this->_file = $mustacheFile;

        return $this;
    }

    protected static function capture($kohana_view_filename, array $kohana_view_data) {
        $extension = pathinfo($kohana_view_filename, PATHINFO_EXTENSION);
        // If it's not a mustache file, do the default:
        if ($extension != 'mustache') return Kohana_View::capture($kohana_view_filename, $kohana_view_data);

        $m = new Mustache;
        $fileContent = file_get_contents($kohana_view_filename);
        return $m->render($fileContent, Arr::merge(View::$_global_data, $kohana_view_data));
    }

}

A: Yes, you can. Since Kohana does some trickery with autoloading, what they dubbed "Cascading Filesystem", you can effectively redefine the functionality of core classes. This is something that Code Igniter also does, if you are familiar.
Particularly, this is the View::factory method you are referring to. Source.
public static function factory($file = NULL, array $data = NULL)
{
    return new View($file, $data);
}

As you can see, this returns an instance of View. Initially, View is not defined, so PHP goes looking for it using autoloading. This is when you can take advantage of the cascading filesystem feature by defining your own View class, which must be in the file APPPATH/View.php where APPPATH is a constant defined in index.php. The specific rules  are defined here.
So, since we can define our own View class, we are good to go. Specifically, we need to override View::capture, which is called by $view->render() to capture the inclusion of the template.
Take a look at the default implementation to get an idea of what to do and what is available. I've outlined the general idea.
class View
{
    /**
     * Captures the output that is generated when a view is included.
     * The view data will be extracted to make local variables. This method
     * is static to prevent object scope resolution.
     *
     *     $output = View::capture($file, $data);
     *
     * @param   string  filename
     * @param   array   variables
     * @return  string
     */
    protected static function capture($kohana_view_filename, array $kohana_view_data)
    {
            // there
            $basename = $kohana_view_filename;

            // assuming this is a mustache file, construct the full file path
            $mustachePath = $some_prefix . $basename . ".mustache";

            if (is_file($mustachePath))
            {
                // the template is a mustache template, so use whatever our custom
                // rendering technique is
            }
            else
            {
                // it is some other template, use the default
                parent::capture($basename, $kohana_view_data);
            }

        }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Geese get a bad rap. Almost everyone I know has a story about a goose or gander knocking them silly for getting too close to a nest, "goosing" them for the crime of existing within reach of their biting bills, or otherwise just being a cantankerous critter that doesn't like people. It would never even occur to most people that geese would make a good addition to their backyard flocks, but the truth is, aside from being tremendously useful, geese are also surprisingly friendly — even affectionate — towards their humans.
The fact is, if you were to ask me about the subject, I would say that my only regret about getting geese is that I didn't get them years sooner! They have proven to be the most delightful, economical, and entertaining animals in my flock — not to mention there is nothing in the world as cute or as impossibly soft as a baby goose. Visitors are delighted by their personalities and antics. My students have chosen their own favorites from the flock that they spoil rotten, and even my neighbors throw food out for them to bribe them closer for their viewing pleasure. They have utterly failed to live up to the mean, nasty reputation, and have surprised and delighted in virtually every possible way. Throw in their value as efficient and economical livestock, and you really just can't go wrong.
One of the strongest cases for keeping geese is that, in spite of their initial cost, they are remarkably inexpensive to care for and feed. They require minimal shelter, their favorite food is grass, and they're very easy to pen into a specific area since they aren't as nimble as other livestock species. With little more than a few stakes and some snow fencing, you can corral your geese in a particular area of the yard and have them feast on the grass and greens that grow there, mowing and fertilizing your lawn even as they nourish themselves.
Geese are seasonal layers, so you won't get eggs from them year-round like you can with chickens or ducks, but because it costs so little to feed them, it's not a problem to keep them on even when they're not producing eggs. When they are laying, they will produce huge, delicious eggs that are similar in richness to duck eggs and excellent for a variety of recipes. That's assuming you want to eat them, of course. You may prefer instead to let your geese hatch a brood of goslings, or even incubate them yourself. Most geese will try to set a nest if given the chance to do so, so you shouldn't have trouble repopulating your flock with new geese if you have a fertile gander.
As meat birds, they might seem an unusual choice, but until recently in our history, goose was the traditional holiday feast. They are a practical choice over turkeys for a small homestead for several reasons. For one, turkeys are difficult to sustain in a small space, as they are agile flyers, accident-prone, and susceptible to a variety of diseases. This means turkeys will likely have to be confined to covered runs, unable to take advantage of forage, and requiring that their meals be brought to them. Geese, on the other hand, can be penned easily. They are too heavy to easily take flight, requiring a sufficient running start and favorable headwind to get off the ground. They are not nearly as accident prone as turkeys, and suffer from very few avian maladies. As a result, you are more likely to see your investment in young birds result in healthy, mature adults, at lower cost than what you could expect from confined turkeys.
It may come as a surprise, considering the reputations of geese, to learn that they can be friendly. In fact, geese can be so affectionate, intelligent, and loyal that it isn't uncommon for people to keep them as pets rather than livestock--some geese will even seek physical contact, snuggling up to their owners and wanting to be held. Some breeds of geese are especially people-oriented or docile, such as African browns, pilgrims, and American buff, but most varieties will bond strongly to the people who raise them, even the ones touted as "guard geese" by breeders and hatcheries. Purchasing the geese as goslings will give you a good start, but it is even better if you can hatch them yourself and handle them from the moment they enter the world. This will cause them to imprint on you, and they will follow you faithfully wherever you let them for the rest of their lives.
This trait of geese (and ducks, too) makes them very easy to move from place to place. If you need to transfer the geese from one pen to another--perhaps to graze, or to isolate them from other animals or guests--all you have to do is call them and they will follow. If your geese have disappeared from the yard and you need them to come home in a hurry, call out for them and they will answer, returning with greater reliability even than wayward dogs.
Exhibit C: They're Just so Gosh Darned Useful!
Much like chickens, geese have a variety of uses beyond the obvious tasks of producing eggs and meat. As I mentioned before, they can be pets, but they can also be put to work as your own personal landscaping crew, mowing down grass and weeds, fertilizing, even weeding your garden in some cases. You won't be able to completely get rid of your lawnmower and weed eater, but they will cut down significantly on how often you have to mow or pull up weed trees because they spend the vast majority of their time wandering around and nipping off grass and other greens. They don't scratch like chickens or dabble like ducks, so they won't destroy your lawn, and because of their passion for dandelion greens, they will swiftly eradicate any of these tenacious plants that they find. Some breeds are known as "weeder geese", and depending on the crop you are raising, they can be turned loose in the garden to eat the weed grass that grows there. I have had minimal success with this, since the varieties I have also like to eat my garden plants, but it is something to consider researching in greater depth if you are intrigued by the prospect.
One of the comments you're likely to hear the most often when you tell people you're planning on getting geese is that they poop--a lot! This is not an unfair observation, because geese do produce a lot of waste. However, much like other herbivores like horses or sheep, their poop is mostly chewed-up plant matter, and doesn't have the foul odor of droppings from animals like chickens, turkeys, or ducks. This doesn't mean you can ignore cleaning up after them completely, but it does make the odor and mess much more manageable. As a bonus, their droppings make excellent fertilizer. Your garden will benefit greatly from compost that includes the goose poo you muck out of their run.
It is super, duper easy to care for geese, really.
First of all, geese are a lot tougher than other species you might be used to, like chickens, ducks, and especially turkeys. They suffer from very few diseases or physical ailments, seem to have an easier time keeping warm, and are ready to start chowing down on grass almost from the get-go. (provide grit to any goslings in confinement that you are providing greens to). As they grow into adults, they will need less shelter than chickens or turkeys, and as full-grown geese, they will be able to fight off most small predators, including foxes. Goslings and juveniles will still be vulnerable however, so keep them in a secure run until their wings have fully developed.
As I mentioned, food is a lot easier than you would suspect. Goslings really don't enjoy chick starter or chicken feed much, but a head of romaine lettuce will disappear faster than a cow carcass in a tank of starving piranha. Pretty much any greens or natural grains will thrill your goslings--just make sure to provide some form of grit to help them digest it. Also, steer clear of iceberg lettuce. Commonly referred to as "crunchy water", it has very little nutritional content compared to green leaf, romaine, or other varieties.
As adults, your geese will generally be happy to graze for their food. Sowing your yard or pasture with nutritious plants like clover will help supplement their diet and give them a tasty treat to look for in the grass. In the winter, a bucket of water with scratch grain at the bottom will keep them entertained and fed, and of course, you can throw them your kitchen scraps any time of year, just like you would with chickens. If you have to feed them formulated feed due to a lack of adequate pasture, "all flock" or "flock raiser" pellets will suffice, though they seem to prefer the scratch grain to anything else--especially if you have soaked it first!
Shelter is remarkably simple as well. Goslings of course will need a supplemental heat source and shelter from rain and snow, while adults will need some kind of roof they can get under and possibly a wind break. My entire goose family takes shelter under an open-ended shed when they need to, but in most weather is happy to sleep out in the open--even in the rain. They mostly only seek the shelter of the shed to lay eggs and brood. A simple lean-to with some straw to nest in may be all the more your geese need.
Their health needs are blessedly minimal. There are very few ailments that afflict geese, and they seem to be especially robust and hardy. It is unlikely that you will need to seek advice regarding the health of your geese, but if you do, there is a vibrant online community willing to step up and assist you. The most likely ailments you will encounter will be injuries, which is not to say that geese are particularly accident prone--it's just more likely that they'll injure themselves than get sick.
Obviously, since geese are waterfowl, they will benefit from having something they can swim in. I tend to use plastic kiddie pools, because they are relatively easy to drain and clean. If you don't have the ability to set up a pool for some reason or another, your geese will be grateful to at least have a bucket of water that they can submerge their heads in. This will help them clean out their bills and nostrils, but sooner or later, they'll need standing water that they can bathe their whole bodies in.
So, how do you go about interacting with your geese? If you have heard (or experienced) horror stories involving mean geese, it may seem logical to be afraid of them. However, geese are deeply social, affectionate birds who will only attack people who are perceived as threats. If you raise your geese from infancy, handling and feeding them regularly, they will recognize you as family and are more likely to be friendly to people in general. The best possible scenario is to hatch them yourself so you can start imprinting them on you from minute one, but even just raising them from goslings will usually be enough.
If you acquire your geese as adults, they are likely to be more territorial and distrusting of you. Patience and bribery are the way to go, though there is no guarantee you will ever be able to convince them to fully trust you. Bring them treats like romaine lettuce, bok choy, spinach, or other greens, and talk to them (loudly) while you feed them. Geese are very vocal creatures, and will benefit from the conversation. You can yell their names or just say "I love you" over and over--it's more about the tone than what you're actually saying. Although it sounds absurd to someone who has never owned geese before, the difference in reception you will get from your gees when you talk to them is profound. During the breeding season, when ganders are tense and territorial, a few strong words from me is enough to make them cease their posturing.
Loud honking, chewing on your shoes, and tilting their heads to look up at you are signs of trust and affection. Alternatively, you may have a meek or quiet goose who demonstrates her adoration for you by following you closely and making soft, whispery honks. It seems to vary somewhat by breed and individual exactly how your goose prefers to say "I love you".
Whether you acquire your geese as eggs, goslings, juveniles, or adults, it's important to talk to them. The more you talk to them, the more they'll trust you, even like you. Sometimes, geese will puff up and charge someone they know and love, simply because they didn't recognize them. Talking to them and announcing your presence will help alleviate any confusion. In addition, you can develop a special call for your geese that will bring them in from any corner of the property. This is especially useful if you have a large plot of land that you let the geese roam freely on. Use the call whenever you feed them treats or fill their pool, and you will find that before long, they will come running from wherever they are when you make it.
Some geese may even decide to snuggle with you. This cannot be forced, and is entirely up to the goose, but don't be alarmed if your goose wants to climb into your lap or snuggle up next to you when you sit on the ground. Your geese may even gently nibble at you with their bills in a sort of "goose kiss". These little nibbles are not aggressive and are a form of social grooming behavior. If your goose kisses you, that means they love you!
Geese reach maturity relatively quickly, laying eggs perhaps as early as 6 months of age. Although they mature as quickly as chickens, they are seasonal layers, so only expect to get eggs from them in the late winter through early summer. Eggs laid outside of this timeframe are the exception rather than the norm, so if you have a year-round laying goose, treasure her!
Geese benefit from having a body of water such as a pond or pool to swim in when they mate, so if you plan to breed your geese, you will need to provide them with a swimming hole. In addition, some breeders have reported low fertility in geese and ganders under 2 years of age, but my geese were successfully breeding before they were even a full year old. Your results may vary as well.
To encourage your geese to go broody and hatch their own eggs, leave the eggs in the nest, or seed the nest with fake eggs if you intend to introduce them to purchased goslings later. Once they have assembled enough eggs in their nest, they will make up their own minds to sit. Keep in mind: once your geese commit to a clutch of eggs, they will stop laying for the rest of the year, so if you want more than just a few goslings out of them for the season, collect the eggs to hatch and raise yourself.
Once the goslings hatch, raising them will be a family affair. Keep an eye on your gander as not all ganders are good fathers, and may attack or even kill the goslings, not realizing that they are in fact baby geese. Alternatively, some ganders will happily dote on goslings, perhaps even goslings they didn't father. Assuming everyone in your flock understands their role, the goslings will integrate seamlessly into the family unit, introduced by their mothers, and protected by everyone in the flock. This makes predation of goslings less of a risk, and eliminates the need to brood the goslings in a special pen with a heat source.
Would you consider getting geese?
I already have them and I love them!
I already have them. They're alright.
I have them and I'm planning on getting rid of them.
I plan on adding geese to my flock.
I haven't yet decided if I want geese.
I do not have any plans to get geese.
Yes and no. They cannot fly as well as wild geese, but with a strong headwind, may make sufficient loft and distance to clear a fence or--in one peculiar instance--end up on your roof. Usually, they will only fly for short distances, when very excited, and will not have an interest in getting off the ground very far.
What is wrong with geese who suddenly can not stand or walk?
There are a number of afflictions that may be at work. If you have several geese experiencing these symptoms at once, then your culprit is either a viral infection or a nutrient deficiency. Unfortunately, without more information, I cannot narrow it down more than that.
Is a pond necessary for geese ?
I wear long dresses( denim), when my geese tried to bite they just got a mouthful of skirt.
Yes, I've been chased by a goose before. They are fast lol. The video of the Mother Goose was really cute to watch!