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Archive for the 'Biography' Category
The Jabu Stone Theatre of Hair explains: How to start your dreadlocks (Video)
by KMMR Publishing on Nov 22nd, 2016 Tweet
The name Jabu Stone is synonymous with hair care, especially dreadlocks, and his love of natural hair combined with his entrepreneurial spirit were the driving force behind one of the most successful brands in South Africa.
The man himself has recently released a handbook for entrepreneurs called Turning Passion into Profit – a must read for people interested in biographies, entrepreneurs, mentors and people in the hair care industry.
Stone has also started a YouTube channel, which contains vital information for those wanted to know how to care for their natural hair.
The first video is titled: "How To Start Your Locks". Take a look:
1. Go to a stylist or skilled friend.
2. Your hair must be natural or unrelaxed with 5-6cm of length.
3. If you go to an experience stylist, they will be able to lock your relaxed hair from the new growth just before the relaxed section using Jabu Stone's Invisi Wax.
4. Sectioning is exceptionally important as it determines your entire look.
Watch the video for more information:
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Turning Passion into Profit by Jabu Stone
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A handbook for entrepreneurs: Turning Passion into Profit by Jabu Stone
by KMMR Publishing on Oct 20th, 2016 Tweet
Kmm Review Publishing is proud to present Turning Passion into Profit by Jabu Stone:
To many South Africans, the name Jabu Stone is synonymous with hair care, especially dreadlocks, which has earned him the nickname "Mr Dreads". His love of natural hair (and his quest for an alternative to the harsh chemicals women were using on their hair) and his entrepreneurial spirit drove him to create the brand that carries his name – one of the most enduring and successful brands in South Africa.
Turning Passion Profit chronicles the journey of a resourceful businessperson,from his formative years to his identifying the gap in the market and pursuing his vision, even when others could not make sense of it. For over 20 years he has been an example to those embarking on their own business ventures as well as those who have been in business for a while.
Not having a mentor when he was starting out led Stone to understand and appreciate the value of mentorship and its role in success. Passing on what he learned by trial and error over the years, and sharing this has become important to him – and this book is the perfect vehicle for this. Along with three partners he also created The RIOT (Rise, Innovate, Occupy, Transact) hands-on mentorship programme.
As a handbook for entrepreneurs, this book shows that no dream is too big and that living your dream is possible.
This book is highly recommended for readers interested in biographies, entrepreneurs, mentors and people in the hair care industry.
'She listened until the screams from her husband disappeared' – Jestina Mukoko recalls the Matabeleland massacres
by KMMR Publishing on Sep 5th, 2016 Tweet
Former broadcast journalist and human rights activist Jestina Mukoko was interviewed by The Freedom Collection about Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.
In 2008, Mukoko was abducted and tortured because of her work with the Zimbabwe Peace Project.
Her book, The Abduction and Trial of Jestina Mukoko: The Fight for Human Rights in Zimbabwe, is a gripping and chilling account of Zimbabwe's history.
Mugabe came to power in 1980, when Mukoko was entering high school. She says she remembers Mugabe as a charismatic leader.
"In those early years he was really everyone's hero. We had just come from a protracted liberation struggle, and he came out as a hero of that struggle. In those early years we were basking in the euphoria of getting out independence.
"For me it took a bit of a while to really see the man that he was."
Mukoko recalls talking to the women whose husbands had been killed in the the massacres of Matabeleland in the 1980s, when an estimated 20 000 people are thought to have died. She says it was the stories she heard from these people that really affected her.
"Some of these women had experienced their husbands being buried alive. I remember one woman saying to me she listened until the screams from her husband disappeared."
The Abduction and Trial of Jestina Mukoko: The Fight for Human Rights in Zimbabwe by Jestina Mukoko
Revealed in Jestina Mukoko's new book: Zanu PF minister tried to rescue her after abduction
by KMMR Publishing on Jul 11th, 2016 Tweet
The Abduction and Trial of Jestina Mukoko: The Fight for Human Rights in Zimbabwe tells the story of how a former broadcast journalist and human rights activist was abducted by the government and put on trial in a wave of massive human rights abuses in Zimbabwe's history.
Mugove Tafirenyika recently wrote an article for the Daily News about a particularly interesting fact revealed in Mukoko's book – the Zanu PF Women's League leader at the time, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, had tried to assist her family in finding her.
In a poignant paragraph, Mukoko describes how the Environment Minister hugged her like a long-lost daughter, when at long last she was released from captivity.
Read the article:
My lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa was convinced that if Muchinguri-Kashiri had not been a member of Zanu PF, she would have taken to the streets to protest my disappearance."
"When I did finally meet Muchinguri-Kashiri, she hugged me like a long-lost daughter. Three years later she told me she had not known what work I was doing and had put her head on a block, despite the fact that it made her unpopular, simply because I was a woman in trouble," Mukoko wrote.
Complete article: Daily News
The Abduction and Trial of Jestina Mukoko: A gripping and chilling account of Zimbabwe's history
Read a chilling excerpt from The Abduction and Trial of Jestina Mukoko: The Fight for Human Rights in Zimbabwe
by KMMR Publishing on Apr 29th, 2016 Tweet
KMM Review Publishing has shared an excerpt from the newly released book The Abduction and Trial of Jestina Mukoko: The Fight for Human Rights in Zimbabwe by Jestina Mukoko.
Mukoko is a former broadcast journalist and human rights activist who was abducted and tortured because of her work with the Zimbabwe Peace Project.
While she was imprisoned, Mukoko's family were desperate to find her, visiting government offices for assistance and getting none, searching hospitals and morgues and feeling hope and despair whenever the body of a woman was found – even visiting the much-feared Goromonzi prison.
Mukoko's recollections provide a gripping and chilling account of one of the most turbulent and repressive periods marred by a wave of massive human rights abuses in Zimbabwe's history.
Mukoko has received many local and international accolades for her work as an activist, among them the United States Secretary of State Women of Courage Award. She is based in Harare, and is currently the National Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project.
I had heard a number of people come in and dreaded the turning of the key, which meant continuing where my interrogators had left off the previous night. I heard voices and realised that the boss was there.
I could hear my heart thudding away at such a pace that it threatened to break out of the covering of my chest, which was heaving and out of control. My brow collected strings of sweat and I was uncomfortable in my own skin. The room had suddenly become very hot. December is the height of summer and the small window was closed. I was not called immediately and the waiting gnawed at me slowly. I had decided not to put on the wet panties, but used them as a fan in an attempt to dry them and slipped them on as soon as I sensed the big woman dragging her feet towards the room.
'Now that you have had some sleep and know what we want, do you remember the name of the police officer?' I did not. The interrogation shifted. 'How do you get the information in your reports and how do you identify the people that you assist?' I tried to explain, but they were not interested in my answers, it seemed they wanted particular answers but I did not have them.
The short man questioned me about how the ZPP gets its information. 'Some of the incidents you report happen in the middle of the night and you get the information correct?' I responded that the people who provide information are concerned Zimbabweans who want to see the rights of citizens respected. He then handed me a piece of paper and demanded that I list the names of these concerned Zimbabweans.
I said there were many of them and I would not know where to begin. His body language told me he was not impressed by my response and I thought I might be punished for refusing to write names as instructed.
The subject of the interrogation turned again to Botswana. 'When you travelled to Botswana who did you meet and how many staff members did you leave there?' asked Mararike. Tired of responding to the same question I held back a while then explained again that I had not met and did not even know the people that they thought I had met – if they existed at all.
The short man was unarmed, perhaps he was not angry enough to collect his weapons. However, he embarked on a strange ranting sparked by the perception that I was an MDC-T stalwart and that while I was detained others in the party would scramble for positions in the new government. 'While you are here, your colleagues in the MDC-T are going to be appointing a director of information because you have decided not to reveal the names of the big fish,' the man raged.
Mararike sat on a chair facing me, while the boss seemed to be expecting someone or something. He stood close to the window, his attention divided between the interrogation and what was happening outside. My chest continued to heave and I struggled, dismally, to control it. I suspected the reason was that I feared more beatings.
The boss moved a few steps towards me, pointing a finger at me as if addressing a child. 'I am not governed by the 48-hour or even the 96-hour rule. You simply have to follow what we want here or you go extinct. There are several others buried around here,' he added, gesturing at the surrounds of the building.
According to the old Constitution anyone taken into detention must appear in court within 48 hours or the detaining authority must seek a 96-hour extension for further detention of the suspect. 'No one will find you here even if they try, so you might as well behave and tell us what we want. There are two options – either become a state witness or go extinct. It is your choice,' raged the boss. I was very afraid. I knew that people had been killed in similar circumstances and the thought of that happening to me lingered. On one of the days after this interrogation I realised that there were people digging behind the interrogation room and my mind resolved that it was my grave being dug.
At that moment I made an undertaking to myself that I would try to fend off sleep so that if I was to be killed I would have the opportunity to look into the eyes of my killer.
The boss left the room several times and, although it took a long time for the truncheons to be brought in, the short man punched the desk more than once. The loud music and the banging on the desk were frightening.
As if trying to curry favour with me, Mararike, who was fidgeting in his chair, said, 'there is no hurting of the flesh today. All that is required is for you to give us all the information we are looking for.' But I was not the right person to help them.
As the day wore on it became clear that someone had been after me for a long time. They knew about the places I frequented, the car I drove, where I had worked and lived and the campaigns I had been involved in. They questioned me about the distribution of T-shirts and caps in my home town of Gweru when I was still with Radio Voice of the People. We had run a campaign to publicise the frequency of the station so people could tune in.
With most radio and television stations controlled by the state, Radio Voice of the People offered an alternative voice.
In the afternoon, well after lunch, there were still no truncheons, but the short man continued to bang on the furniture and each time he did so I feared he might leave to fetch the weapons of his trade.
After supper Mararike announced that because I had failed to give them what they wanted they had no choice but to 'take you to our bosses, whose faces you will not see as yours will be tied in a sack. We have no control over what they decide to do.' He signalled that I must put on the blindfold. Before I did so I noticed that one of the men who had sat next to me in the car from home was waiting in the next room.
I groped in the induced darkness, trying to be sure where I was stepping and the door of a van – the type known in Zimbabwe as a kombi and used for public transportation – slid open. I was instructed to lie on a seat that was more like a bench than a car seat. There were a number of people in the vehicle and I could identify 'Guns' and Mararike by their voices. After I was asked a few similar questions to those I had been asked in the afternoon relating to my distribution of T-shirts I sensed that they preferred to talk about other things among themselves.
The drive lasted for what seemed close to two hours on a winding road. After a while the kombi stopped and there was some shuffling between it and some place. For a while I sensed that I might be alone in the vehicle and strange thoughts troubled me. Perhaps they were going to blow it up, or maybe they were making a huge fire outside to throw me in. I dared not get up for fear that someone might be close to the vehicle, and, besides, I was blindfolded. After a good 40 to 50 minutes the door opened, the ignition was turned on and the car moved off again.
This part of the drive was equally long and I was sure I was back in the same place because the radio was blaring. I was led into the interrogation room, where Alice was fast asleep. She asked, 'Where are you people coming from at this time? It is one in the morning.' I was not best placed to answer her, it seemed she was not happy being woken up at such a late hour.
As I sat on the mat that she had left free for me something hot gushed out of my body and I felt a sharp pain in my lower back. I asked to be led to the bathroom and, just as I suspected, I had my periods. When I was growing up my mother had taught me that monthly periods are a private affair that are not announced to strangers, so what should I do? This being the first flow I knew I could manage through the night and I did not think Alice would be pleased to be burdened with searching for sanitary pads at this ungodly hour.
The next morning Alice asked what my totem is. A totem is a form of traditional identity in Zimbabwe. Totems are drawn from animals or birds that families identify with. The tradition is so strong that a man and a woman with the same totem cannot marry as they are considered relatives. If, for some reason, they have to marry, a ceremony is held to untie the relationship. Remembering that I had heard that people could be killed by using their totem, I made one up. The logic is that if your ancestors are approached using a totem they can identify with they can open floodgates for tragedy to strike.
My totem is the zebra – mbizi in ichiShona, dube in isiNdebele, but I told Alice that it is a lion. 'That is the same totem as my mother,' she said, and began to call me 'moms', the street lingo for mother. The zebra is a majestic animal that walks with a certain gaiety in its step. The stripes, which are like fingerprints – no two zebras have the same stripes – look extremely beautiful in the blazing Zimbabwean sun. The zebra adapts to difficult situations, for instance, never losing weight even in times of drought. There are praise songs for different totems and most Zimbabweans love to hear their own. When I have done something good for my mother or the family she takes time to sing 'Maita Mbizi, maita varihowera, varikumasumbureru, gwara', interspersing the words with ululation and clapping with cupped hands.
There was no interrogation on the third day and in the morning I told Alice about the need for sanitary pads, hoping that she would deal with it herself. During the day I had to use toilet paper and frequented the bathroom more than usual because it was only towards early evening that a man brought in the pads and two new pairs of panties. The items were in a shopping bag from the upmarket store, Bon Marché. The next day the boss wanted to know, 'Did you get your parcel?' Anyone listening would have been forgiven for thinking that he had bought me a Christmas present.
My periods had not been due for another two weeks and I was experiencing a lot of pain, anxiety and the fear of not knowing what would happen next. Supper came early and I was told I was going on another drive.
This time I was taken in a saloon car with two men flanking me, my head on the lap of the one to the right. The drive did not take long and when we arrived at our destination the driver blew the horn and waited for the gate to open. One of the two men who were sitting in front went out and, after ten or so minutes the rear left door opened. 'Come with me,' came the instruction as the man sitting next to the door got out to make way for me.
As I walked, forcing my sore legs along, I thought that perhaps the 'bosses' had been unavailable the day before and had made time today.
I went up one step and there was a change of hands on my arm – someone else was now leading me. The room I entered was carpeted and, after a few steps, an order was given. 'Sit down!' I prepared to go all the way to the floor but something caught me. I was on a chair. I was uneasy in this chair, just occupying a small space of its base, not trying to sit back. I thought about the threat of extinction. All my strength transferred to my mouth and, between gritted teeth, I prayed quietly. My torso was constrained between a table and the back of the chair.
The furniture in this new interrogation was expensive and the room was well curtained and more opulent than the first. Later I was to wonder whether a particular house on Enterprise Road in Harare, between Arcturus and Glenara roads might have been the place. Whenever I drive past it I get goose bumps and I always want to look in when the double black gate is open. There are always unmarked vehicles parked there, some of their windows tinted.
A new male voice instructed, 'Remove the blindfold.' There were ten people in the room, five on either side of a huge pine boardroom table. Nine of them were men and the one woman there was drowned by the mound of lever arch files beside her. She was close to me and, as she perused one, I tried to see whether I could read what she was reading.
'Be careful with that file, Jestina is trying to read,' said a light-skinned burly man, the only one who had spoken so far. She shifted the files out of my sight. I could only make out the frames of those at the end of the table, it was difficult to see them clearly because I was still without my glasses.
They did not tell me their names, but the light-skinned man, in an authoritative voice, broke the silence, bellowing 'We are from the law and we are here to talk to you.' Four years later I found out the man's name when I travelled with him on a flight from Cape Town to Harare. In the arrivals hall our eyes met and he knew and I knew that we were not meeting for the first time. I asked a colleague I was travelling with if he knew the man, who had moved to the other end of the hall while we waited to claim our bags from the carousel. He was an assistant commissioner in the Criminal Investigations Department.
My hosts were given refreshments – tea, served in a beautiful tea set and a jug of water for the Mazoe orange cordial drink. A burly man wearing a loose white lace African caftan offered me refreshment, but I declined. On my immediate left were two fairly young men, one wearing spectacles. They were all smartly dressed and the one without glasses was wearing a black lace shirt. The woman's hair was pulled up into a bun, with a hairpiece that dropped to her shoulders. She was wearing a black top and slightly faded jeans that defined her curves. She stood up once or twice to search for a file.
The interrogation followed the same lines as the previous ones. 'We want to know the people you are working with in the MDC-T and we also want to know about the police officer who came to your office,' demanded the assistant commissioner. I still did not remember the name of the police officer and I made it clear that I did not work with the MDC-T.
The assistant commissioner continued, 'We know you met the police officer in your office and he came ready with your stated requirements of an identity card and a photograph in police uniform.' This is not how it happened. I had met the officer in Broderick's office and I was already holding my handbag and my notebook because I was in a hurry to get to a meeting outside the office.
The police identity card had been on the desk when I entered Broderick's office. As if to chide me, the assistant commissioner said, as though to his colleagues, 'Do you remember Jestina asking the officer, "Wazvipira here kufira nyika yako [Are you committed to die for your country]?"' The name of the police officer might have slipped my mind but I am sure I never asked that question.
Visibly angry in response to my denial that I had made the statement or that I had met the officer in my office, the assistant commissioner charged towards me, going around the table to approach me from the left. By the time he reached me I was shaking and I think I now know why people soil themselves in the face of a threat. He stood very close to me and I could swear he could hear my heart thud. 'She thinks she is still talking to the people where she is coming from who are not doing their job properly. Bring my stick and I will teach her a lesson.'
'It is unfortunate the people holding you are using kid gloves with you,' said the assistant commissioner. It seemed that I was expected to confirm all the accusations they had put on the table. The pain in my feet was no kid glove show. I could hardly sleep or walk after the beatings and I was tempted to lift my feet to show what had been done to me.
'Don't look at me,' he raved. It was difficult to ignore a threat that was so close and was hovering over my head, but I looked down, though from time to time I raised my head. A short, dark man brought in a one-metre long bamboo stick, but the burly man in white advised him, shaking his head from side to side and looking him in the eye, 'Don't do it'. He slowly moved away.
'I feel sorry for you because you are wasting your time and ours – soon we will catch them all,' swore the assistant commissioner. Although he did not physically leave a mark with the bamboo stick, what he put me through left a deep scar that swelled and took a long time to heal.
A huge, dark man sitting towards the end of the table stood to address me. He banged on the table and the vibrations reached my end of the table.
'Uchamama [You will defecate], Jestina, when we are done with you.'
I could not believe that these words had come from a grown man. What I know is that as a child if I had said something like that and my mother or any other adult had found out I would have been severely punished.
During my court appearance I would hesitate to repeat the words but Beatrice, my attorney, insisted that I do so.
'Where did you leave your child?' the man asked arrogantly. I confirmed that I had left Takudzwa at home. 'Is your son still at home?' the man wanted to know. My heart sank. Since I had been taken from my home Takudzwa had occupied my thoughts – I was, after all, his only surviving parent.
Distracted from the goings-on in the room, I wondered just what had happened to my son. The woman forced a thick needle into my heart: 'By not giving us the information that we require from you, what you have done in the process is to sign away an opportunity to unite with your son. Only an irresponsible mother does what you are doing.'
One of the young men to the left confronted me: 'There are figures that you presented at a meeting on 2 December, where did you get them?' I told him the information had come from the community-based monitors the ZPP deployed.
Later that night, back in the first interrogation room, which was now my bedroom, I knew I was in deep trouble. Would I survive two interrogation centres? I began to hum my mother's favourite hymn – number 106 in the Anglican hymn book.
Mubatsiri wedu Mwari,
Tariro yeduzve,
Mudziviriri munhamo,
Chivimbo narini
(The Lord our helper,
our hope and strength,
the one who deters trouble our eternal hope)
I managed just one stanza because I did not know the others well without a hymn book. However, when I did get my hymn book, when I was in Chikurubi, I learned the words and now I do not need to look up the hymn.
Humming the hymn ignited emotions I failed to deal with. I cried myself to sleep. But also, somehow, the hymn brought me closer to my family.
I could almost touch them. In good and in bad times my mother sings and dances to this hymn and I knew that since 3 December it had echoed many times both in Gweru and in Norton.
This feeling would later be confirmed by my brother, Cosmas. 'At times I felt sorry for mbuya Mukoko and gogo Dizha because they would wake everyone up with either hymn 130 or 106, leading them in prayer. One time I looked at my watch and it was 3am.'
I would return to the second interrogation office on three occasions. The second time I was interrogated by a smaller group, without the assistant commissioner. I was told that I had to write a statement when I was returned to what had become my 'home'. As it turned out, I would have to write three statements before one was accepted. In the third statement I was instructed to say that I had referred the police officer, Hwasheni, to my friend Fidelis Mudimu, who had handed him the money. It was all fiction, no money had changed hands. I also had to include in the statement the names of my late father and my mother as well as my mother's residential address. On the third occasion that I returned to the second interrogation office a video was recorded in which I was asked to repeat what I had said in the statement.
The burly man informed me that I was being recorded in order to establish whether I would qualify to be a state witness. I wanted to know what that would mean, as the 'boss' at the detention centre had told me that if I became a state witness he could improve my living conditions.
The burly man giggled. 'It does not mean going home but rather into protective custody because in your case your friends will think you have sold out. Hwasheni [the police officer to whom the ZPP was alleged to have given money] is in protective custody. Harrison [Nkomo, a lawyer who would be a member of my defence team] and other lawyers have the opportunity to visit him.' When I later asked Harrison about the visit he told me that Hwasheni had been 'wearing a suit, holding a television remote control and wanted us to believe that he was comfortable, but his body language told a different story'.
That day, taking advantage of the burly man's good mood, I asked to use the telephone. My request was followed by a prolonged silence and the burly man, who seemed to be the only one talking to me, asked who I wanted to call. Looking him in the eye I told him it was nearly the festive season and I wanted to speak to my son. In fact, what I wanted to do was establish Takudzwa's whereabouts and whether he was in any trouble. The man's response surprised me. 'I hope you do not think we could be that cruel.'
On the fifth day of my incarceration I was in the bathroom looking out through the mesh wire window when I saw a Mazda 626 pull up on the gravel driveway and watched as Broderick was led into the detention centre.
Later that afternoon during my interrogation Mararike was not his usual self. He banged on the desk and shouted, 'You think we are children, but today I will show you we are not because all along you have been lying to us since day one.' I insisted I had not lied. 'You deserve to be punished and that is all I can say about your behaviour. For your information, the record has been set straight and from now on think hard about your answers because we know everything,' he said.
In his rage, Mararike stormed out, and my mind focused on just one thing, the truncheons. When he came back he was holding something in his fists. He came to where I was sitting, emptied his hands and made two mounds of gravel. 'I want you to kneel,' he instructed, pointing to where my knees should be placed. The mounds reminded me of my childhood. When friends wanted to challenge each other we would make two sets of such mounds, which we called a mother's breasts. The kicking of the opponent's mother's breasts resulted in retaliation and the start of a fistfight.
As someone who is socialised to kneel, I thought it would be a piece of cake. I was so wrong. The pain was intense, numbing. I drifted out of my own body and watched this woman from the ceiling.
Despite the pain I still could not name people from the MDC-T. I had not worked with them on any project. I did not meet with anyone in Botswana to discuss the training of youths. I still did not remember the name of the police officer and I did not give him money to go to Botswana. The interrogation went on for about two hours and the pain was unbearable, the small stones kept pushing up bruising the hard skin of my knees.
The interrogation team was thinning out by the day and, on that day, there were only three of them. I was saved when all three filed out to respond to a phone call. I remained on my knees for more than 10 minutes, not knowing whether they would be coming back, then I heard a vehicle leave and the 'watering can man' came in to relieve me. The gravel had left marks on my knees and I had a cramp. I spent the next few minutes massaging my knees. I cannot believe that people leave home to go to work where their business is to inflict pain on others.
Broderick, I was to learn when I finally managed to speak to him, had been interrogated in the same room in the morning and was punished for being conservative with the truth. After he was beaten the soles of his feet turned black – a discolouration he carried for several months afterwards.
After more than 14 days in this detention place the 'watering can man' brought me my meal one evening and left me shell shocked when he said, 'My name is Cosmas'. When he returned to collect the plates and have me wash my hands he spoke softly, 'But I am a better Cosmas because I know where you are, unlike the other Cosmas, who is getting desperate and appealing to anyone who might know where you could be.
'I hear the other Cosmas regularly making passionate pleas on Studio 7,' he continued before disappearing again. I was shocked that someone from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), which, I had established when I overheard a telephone conversation, was responsible for my incarceration, listened to those stations that had been declared to be 'pirate'. They included shortwave Radio Africa broadcasts from the United Kingdom, Studio 7 of the Voice of America from Washington, DC and Radio Voice of the People, broadcast from Cape Town, South Africa.
I am still not sure if Cosmas was his real name and I am torn between believing he was deployed to be pleasant as a bait to fish for information and considering that he did what he did out of the goodness of his heart and hoping that the Lord blesses him. Once he gave me an old magazine, Fair Lady, which helped distract me from the nightmare that continued to unfold and without which I might have lost my mind.
On another occasion he brought me a Mills and Boon novel, whose title I never got to know because its covers were torn. As someone within the system he knew the effect of solitary confinement. One night, while on night shift, Cosmas said I could sit between the two desks in my room to watch the television in the next room. It was always on so loudly when there was power that it hurt my ears. It was during a brief loss of power, when the music and the television were silent, that I had overheard the telephone conversation that suggested I was in a CIO detention centre.
I declined the offer to watch. Being short sighted I have trouble seeing things from a distance so I avoided straining my eyes, but my ears heard every word. Thus I learned about the death of the then Zanu-PF political commissar, Elliot Manyika, who was killed in a car accident on 6 December and was interred in the National Heroes Acre on 11 December. I listened to the address by the president at the burial, thinking I might hear him mention a woman who had disappeared. There was no mention, instead he scoffed at the idea of intervening in response to the cholera epidemic.
On one occasion I asked Cosmas about the digging outside the interrogation room. He explained that the workers were digging for ants the 'boss' liked that came out during the rainy season. The explanation came as a relief and I did not reveal my fears to Cosmas.
'Sisi (sister), I hear you wear glasses and I have been told that carrots improve eyesight,' said Cosmas during one of his meal duties. 'I have carrots in my garden and if you like mealie cobs I can bring those for you.' He brought the goodies, telling me to put them in a drawer until the coast was clear, meaning when all the vehicles had left the facility at the end of the day.
One night, during another power cut, I overheard the operative known as 'Guns' educating Cosmas about the movie The Transporter.
… there is a driver who is supposed to take commodities and people between point A and point B without opening the goods or speaking to the people. He does this well several times but one time when he transports a woman he makes a mistake. The woman, who is gagged, requests to relieve herself and he allows her and the woman flees.
As I listened I got the sense that Cosmas was being warned about getting too close to me.
Late one night, long after activity in the detention centre had died down, I experienced real terror when I saw the glass door that separated my room from the television room being covered with a curtain by the short operative, who had to stand on a chair to reach for the curtain hooks. I wondered why it had suddenly become necessary for the door to be curtained. Sweating and sensing danger I sat up, watching intently. I thought the worst was about to happen and I wanted to see the person who was going to do it. He did not see my movement because the room was dark, as it had been during my entire time as a 'guest'. I said a prayer quietly and started humming an Anglican hymn – number 130:
Mukristu usanete
Inzwa ingirosi yako
Uripedyo pemhandu
Namata urinde
(Christian! seek not yet repose,
Hear thy guardian angel say;
Thou art in the midst of foes -
Watch and pray.)
Singing hymns always brought me closer to the family during the dark days and nights and somehow after singing I gained a bit of courage to face my tormentors.
For a long time, perhaps an hour, I heard people talking in the next room but the voices were low and difficult to catch. My mind went wild as I speculated about the reason for the curtain.
New from KMM Review Publishing, The Abduction and Trial of Jestina Mukoko: The Fight for Human Rights in Zimbabwe:
The book tells the story of Jestina Mukoko, a former broadcast journalist who parted ways with the Zimbabwean state broadcaster in 2000 after becoming concerned about the level of editorial interference.
In 2002, while she was working for an independent radio station, she became a human rights activist.
Mukoko poignantly describes how, at the crack of dawn, in her nightclothes and in front of her teenaged son, she was bundled into an unmarked vehicle and abducted. In flashbacks combined with narratives related to her childhood, her family, and her work at the Zimbabwe Peace Project, Jestina documents what happened to her between 3 December, 2008 and her first appearance in court on Christmas Eve of the same year.
During her many appearances in court and continuing persecution, Mukoko challenged her abduction, torture, and the fact that she was not protected by the law. Mukoko's family also suffered in their desperation to find her, visiting government offices for assistance and getting none, searching hospitals and morgues and feeling hope and despair whenever the body of a woman was found – even visiting the much-feared Goromonzi prison.
Mukoko's recollections provide a gripping and chilling account of one of the most turbulent and repressive periods marred by a wave of massive human rights abuses in Zimbabwe's history. In doing so, the book stands as a testament to the power of the human spirit and the will to survive.
Mukoko has garnered many local and international accolades for her work as an activist, among them the United States Secretary of State Women of Courage Award. She is based in Harare, grew up in the high density suburb of Mambo in Gweru and attended the University of Zimbabwe. An award winning peace and human rights campaigner, she is currently the National Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project.
Brigalia Bam delivers Chief Albert Luthuli Memorial Lecture, praising his 'faith'
by KMMR Publishing on Jan 28th, 2016 Tweet
Former IEC Chairperson Brigalia Bam delivered the annual Chief Albert Luthuli Memorial Lecture recently.
The lecture was held at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban.
Luthuli was a teacher and activist, and became the president of the African National Congress. He was awarded the 1960 Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first African to be awarded the prize.
Bam said it was important remember to remember that, as an activist, Luthuli remained deeply involved in his community as a spiritual leader.
"He is comparable to other world leaders that we know, like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Theresa, the Dalai Lama, and others," Bam said.
"These were leaders who were moved by their faith in waging the struggle for social and political justice."
Brigalia Bam reflects on the 'suppressive streak of the Mail and Guardian' after Thabo Mbeki article
Former IEC Chairperson Brigalia Bam Argues for a New Electoral Regime for South Africa in Her Autobiography
Brigalia Bam: South Africa Needs a Electoral System that is Relevant to Our Present Situation (Podcast)
Does South Africa Need Electoral Reform? Brigalia Bam Considers the Case on a Dispatch Panel (Video)
Democracy – More Than Just Elections by Brigalia Bam
by KMMR Publishing on Jan 21st, 2016 Tweet
Brigalia Bam, former chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and author of Democracy – More Than Just Elections, has written a response to the way in which the Mail & Guardian reported on the first of former president Thabo Mbeki's series of articles on the period of his presidency.
Bam is Chair of the Board of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation.
The article in question was published on Thabo Mbeki's Facebook Page on January 11. In the article, entitled "The tragedy of history: When caricature displaces the truth", Mbeki addresses the documentation of the struggle and the subsequent "characterisation" of leaders of the liberation movement. He refers specifically to the controversy related to Minister of Safety and Security, the late Steve Tshwete.
For various reasons many of us who were directly involved in our struggle for liberation have not taken the time to write about this struggle and the subsequent efforts to build a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa.
One result of this is that people who were essentially observers of both these periods have written much of what has been published about these times, a good part of which has come to be accepted as authoritative and definitive, with no suggestion whatsoever that the authors of these supposedly authoritative and definitive histories had their own political or ideological mind-sets.
Some of this writing has sought to define my character as I served as President of the ANC and the Republic, and argued that this characterisation helps to explain various developments during this period.
Keep reading: Thabo Mbeki on Facebook
On the January 15, the Mail and Guardian published a doctored photo of Mbeki with the headline "There's an old sheriff back in town", leading to a scathing editorial that asked the former president "to go back to not ruling from the grave", and criticising his writing and choice of topic:
For all his reputation as being aloof and unaccountable, we always had at least some idea of what Thabo Mbeki was thinking during his time as president. Not always a clear idea, mind you; his use of impenetrable allusions and convoluted logic caused us a fair bit of head scratching. We had something to work with, though. Regular as clockwork there would be a lengthy essay in the ANC Today online newsletter, or a long academic speech to unpick. Mbeki was never a Twitter-length politician.
Complete article: Mail and Guardian
In her article, also published on Mbeki's Facebook Page, Bam explains the context of Mbeki's article and questions the newspaper's response to it.
Read the article in full:
THE SUPPRESSIVE STREAK OF THE MAIL & GUARDIAN REVEALED
Dr Brigalia Bam January 17, 2016
Perhaps reflecting a dry week in the news business, an inability to make sense of so much that is happening in the world around us or just exhibiting an existential crisis of sorts, this week's edition of the Mail & Guardian led with a piece pretending to be an informed explanation of the first of former President Thabo Mbeki's articles on the period of his Presidency.
Accompanied by a photo-shopped image of the former President donning cowboy regalia and a hunting rifle, the total package (the headlines: "There's an old sheriff back in town" and "Mbeki is back, with guns blazing," the photo-shopped image and the article) sought to conjure an image of a vengeful Mbeki on a mission to settle old scores.
Reading the story, one imagines a shebeen where all manner of urban legends proliferate. And so, the less said of it, the better.
The editorial ("Please put a lid on it, Mbeki") on the other hand is worth a brief engagement for its extraordinary counsel. It advises
former President Mbeki to stop writing; to shut up!
At last, the Mail & Guardian, one of our country's self-proclaimed defenders of free speech, has let the guard down, revealing its true belief. Freedom of expression applies only to itself and those with whom it agrees!
The supposed reasons Mbeki must shut up are that his first article did not discuss his "stance on HIV," his supposed "failure in oversight that led to current electricity and water shortages," his alleged "role in making the ANC into the patronage-dispensing machine it is today," and that there are ANC factions who, like the EFF, allegedly want to rehabilitate Mbeki for their own ends."
Supposing that we agreed with the Mail & Guardian, are these the reasons for gagging someone in a democratic society? What business are ANC and other political parties' factional machinations to a paper which professes non-partisanship? Is this an inadvertent admission that the Mail & Guardian is not, after all, as non-partisan as it claims; worst of all that it intervenes in political parties in a factional manner?
The baseless charge that "Now Mbeki … shows every sign of wanting to influence South Africa's path again" is in similar disposition as the Mail & Guardian's extraordinary desire for a gag on him. No one, certainly not Mbeki, has explicitly stated or remotely implied that the articles are about issues other than those that served on the agenda of public discourse during his Presidency.
On December 15 last year, the CEO of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, Max Boqwana, published a notice on this Page on the "Forthcoming articles by Thabo Mbeki." Among other things, Boqwana wrote that: "The Thabo Mbeki Foundation (TMF) regularly receives requests from South Africans and others in Africa and abroad asking President Mbeki to comment or speak on a whole variety of issues.
Follow Thabo Mbeki on Facebook to stay up to date with his articles
"Some of these communications request that President Mbeki should comment on matters which arose during the years he served in our country's Presidency. These include direct criticisms that were and have been made over the years concerning his own personal conduct in Government."
In the first article about which the Mail & Guardian complains, Mbeki would confirm that it is the first of many articles to come. Why then does the Mail & Guardian think that Mbeki must not continue to write if his first article does not raise the issues they protest it omitted? In principle, why does the Mail & Guardian think they have a right to determine for him or anyone for that matter, what to write and, by implication, what not to write, especially when the issues are of public interest?
Again, the reason can only be that the Mail & Guardian has long determined that Mbeki represents views with which they fundamentally disagree and do not want heard. The perverse reality is that the Mail & Guardian, which pretends to be one of our country's torchbearers of free speech, is, at the best of times, effectively a Censorship Board, unafraid to gag and to set the agenda of public discourse by means subtle yet no less asphyxiating as those of the Censorship Board of yesteryear.
Alas, somewhere in the dark corners of the psyches of these purported defenders of free speech lurk an Idi Amin: "You have freedom of speech, but freedom after speech, that I cannot guarantee you."
One might be expecting too much, but even in its Idi Amin mindset, the Mail & Guardian can surely do better than regurgitate swear words and phrases of no meaning and analytical value. What, for instance, does this verbiage mean? – "It was vintage Mbeki, right down to the hint of a whiff of pipe smoke and armchair leather – and the blinkered paranoia, the disconnection from reality, and the belief that he can change by decree how South Africans interpret facts."
How does an article amount to a decree? Do South Africans interpret facts the same way? Which reality, which facts, whose reality, whose facts,
determined by who and why is a change in the interpretation of facts deemed impermissible in a democratic society?
The false and insulting charge that Mbeki believes that he can "change
by decree how South Africans interpret facts," reveals more than it conceals the Mail & Guardian's own undemocratic perspective which consists in the belief that society has a one size fits all lens of interpreting facts. We are firmly back to the era when it was widely
believed that the earth is flat, with the most grotesque and barbaric
violence visited upon those who dared to suggest otherwise.
But the newspaper may want to ponder the words of Naom Chomsky: "Goebbels was in favour of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you're really in favour of free speech, then you're in favour of freedom of speech for precisely the views you despise. Otherwise, you're not in favour of free speech."
We are indeed in the fortunate position that Mbeki's articles are being published in a medium other than the pages of the Mail & Guardian. It gives South Africans the opportunity to interpret facts variously and differently from the lenses by which the newspaper interprets them. This surely can't be a heresy in a democracy!
Dr. Brigalia Bam is Chair of the Board of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation.
Brigalia Bam Provides a Glimpse Behind the Scenes of the IEC at the CCR Public Dialogue (Podcast)
Brigalia Bam Describes Working with Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki as Head of the IEC
Brigalia Bam, Former IEC Chairperson, Explains Why She Penned Her Autobiography
Rediscover an iconic South African artist: Dumile Feni
Gallery MOMO in Cape Town recently held a special exhibition of South African artist Dumile Feni's work, including many never-before-seen pieces.
This exhibition rekindled interest in one of South Africa's most iconic artists, stressing the importance of Chabani Manganyi gripping biography The Beauty of the Line: The Life and Times of Dumile Feni.
This book is a celebration of an eminent South African artist, who carved a place for himself, in art circles in South Africa and abroad.
The subject of diverse interpretations, Feni was a larger than life figure whose reputation as an artist is evidenced by his captivating sculptures, drawings and sketches.
With skilful narration, Manganyi weaves intimate stories from Feni's friends and acquaintances such as Hugh Masekela, Willie Kgotsisile and Louis Maqhubela, who reflect on his personal challenges and how these impacted on the creative processes behind his artistic flare. The author's portrayal of the famed artist will engage and entice the readers into the nooks and crannies of Dumile Feni's life, and the expressive power of his art.
Feni's work is featured on many respected platforms. Have a look at his work by visiting some of these art websites:
Gallery MOMO
Mutual Art
Ashraf Jamal Draws Parallels Between Dumile Feni and Frantz Fanon
Dumile Feni's Sculpture, "The Prisoner", Sells for R6 Million – Breaks all Previous Art Sales Records
Reflecting on the Life and Art of Dumile Feni and His Relevance in South Africa Today
The Beauty of the Line: The Life and Times of Dumile Feni by Chabani Manganyi
by KMMR Publishing on Dec 7th, 2015 Tweet
The Centre for Conflict Resolution hosted a public dialogue earlier this year on the role of Chapter Nine institutions: those organisations, as laid out in Chapter Nine of the South African Constitution, which have been set in place to guard democracy.
Chapter Nine institutions include the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities; the Commission for Gender Equality; the Auditor-General; the Electoral Commission; and an independent broadcast regulation authority.
The CCR discussion was chaired by Professor Barney Pityana, with speakers Brigalia Bam and Mfanozelwe Shozi attempting to answer the question of whether or not Chapter Nine institutions have fulfilled their constitutional mandate.
Bam is the former chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the author of Democracy – More Than Just Elections. Reflecting on her years as the head of the IEC, Bam explains the challenges that the IEC have had to face, such as issues of independence, budgets, impartiality and so forth.
"Chapter Nine institutions do work that is specialised in a way and we find that in the particular case of the Electoral Commission some people are not familiar with the acts of the commission, with the number of things that we do," she says, adding that there is much confusion across the board with Chapter Nine institutions on who they are, how they work and what they do.
Listen to the podcast for this fascinating look at the inner workings of the IEC in particular, and Chapter Nine institutions in general:
Brigalia Bam on the role of Chapter 9 institutions [ 19:07 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Listen to all the speeches: Centre for Conflict Resolution
The Legacy of Brigalia Bam Preserved with a R93 000 Oil Painting at NMMU
Podcast: Brigalia Bam Shares Some Memorable and Influential Moments from Her Biography
"We Never Called Him Nelson. He was Buti Rolihlahla" – Brigalia Bam Recalls Mandela's Early Years
"The IEC Cannot Possibly Fill the Shoes of Brigalia Bam" – Lebo Keswa
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Dedicated to High Performance SUP Surfing. Our mission is to debrief the visionaries, innovators and athletes leading the charge to define Paddle Enhanced Surfing.
Chase and Chris have a candid conversation about many of the hotest topics in sup racing and sup surfing.
Chris Parker created and operates SUPracer.com. SUP racer is by far the most influential and important website in the world of sup racing. Chris's unqique and informed perspectives have given his website the undisputable title of, "the pulse of stand up paddle racing". Chris offers his knowledge on all things sup racing and sup surfing in today's show.
- And much more! Tune in because this is a good one!
Blue Zone SUP - paddle surfing coaching retreats in Nosara, Costa Rica.
Portal Surf Designs - Pushing the limits in paddle surf and surfboard design.
Fisher Grant, Chase and Erik from Costa Rica. Fisher joins Portal. Why you should surf without a paddle.


text:
CALLAGHAN O'HARE/REUTERS
The US reported more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday — the most virus-related deaths the country has reported in one day since the pandemic's start.
It's the third day in a row of record daily deaths from the disease, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, while the number of people who have been infected topped more than 21.56 million, CNN wrote.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent forecast projected there will be between 405,000 and 438,000 deaths by the end of the month. The previous forecast, published on December 30, projected up to 424,000 deaths by January 23.
The ongoing spread of the virus and climbing number of deaths come even as the US is working to distribute vital COVID-19 vaccines — a process that has been criticized for being too slow.
US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on Thursday that states able to vaccinate beyond Phase 1a recommendations — which include health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities — should do so.
"States not only can, but SHOULD aggressively expand vaccinations to other phases if current supply exceeds demand in Phase 1a," the surgeon general said on Twitter.
The guidance by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that identifies prioritized groups for vaccination, Adams said, are "recommendations — not mandates."
He shared a picture of other groups identified phases 1b and 1c, including frontline essential workers, people aged 75 and older and those with high-risk conditions, among others.
Adams' comments were echoed by Kentucky Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack, who said on Thursday that sticking to guidelines of who should be prioritized for the vaccine "should not stand in the way of" facilities using all the doses they receive.
"Sometimes, more than 30 percent of eligible people decline to receive the vaccine when offered," Stack said. "There's a need to be flexible or else we don't administer the vaccine."
"A shot in a willing arm is ultimately a higher priority than a shot in only certain arms," he added. "We're prioritizing, but focusing on not letting vaccines sit in a freezer, where it helps no one, for extended periods of time."
In an interview with NPR, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the vaccine rollout still needs a couple weeks to catch up to earlier projections. But if that doesn't happen, he said, "then we really need to make some changes about what we're doing".
Nearly six million people have received their first dose of coronavirus vaccines, the CDC said, and another 21.4 million doses have been distributed.
Resource: CNN
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Vanderbilt University Senior Sarah Fuller Makes College Football History as Kicker
No woman had appeared in an SEC football game or for any Power Five team
By Joseph Walljasper	• Published November 28, 2020 • Updated on November 28, 2020 at 3:04 pm
AP Photo/L.G. Patterson
Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller became the first woman to participate in a Power Five conference football game when she kicked off to start the second half against Missouri on Saturday.
Fuller kicked off the turf with a holder rather than using a tee, and she sent a low kick to the 35-yard line where it was pounced on by Missouri's Mason Pack. Fuller didn't get any opportunities in the first half as the Tigers opened a 21-0 lead over the Commodores.
She went straight to the sideline where she high-fived some of her new teammates and swapped some elbow bumps. Fuller's parents watched and cheered from the stands along with her boyfriend and best friend.
Fuller, a senior goalkeeper on the Vanderbilt soccer team and alumna of Wylie High School in the Dallas area, joined the football team this week after helping the Commodores win the Southeastern Conference Tournament last weekend. COVID-19 protocols and restrictions left Vandy football coach Derek Mason with a limited number of specialists available against Missouri. Mason reached out to soccer coach Darren Ambrose for some help.
Fuller agreed to give football a try and practiced with the winless Commodores before making the trip to Missouri. She wore "Play Like A Girl" on the back of her helmet. She wore No. 32 on Saturday, the same as her number when playing soccer.
After her kickoff, reaction poured in on social media as Fuller the No. 2 trending topic on Twitter followed by Vandy. Her soccer team wrote on Twitter: "Glass. Everywhere."
As in glass ceiling.
Pat McAfee, former NFL punter, reviewed Fuller's squib kick noting the ball didn't go out of bounds, didn't give up a touchdown with no chance of a return to set up the defense.
"Congrats to (at)SarahFuller_27 for being THE FIRST EVER WOMAN TO KICKOFF A POWER 5 GAME," McAfee wrote. "Incredibly rare to be the '1st ever person to do something' these days..this is really cool."
No woman had appeared in an SEC football game or for any Power Five team. Liz Heaston became the first woman to score with two extra points for Willamette in NAIA on Oct. 18, 1997.
Katie Hnida was the first woman to score at the Football Bowl Subdivision level with two extra points for New Mexico on Aug. 30, 2003.
April Goss was the second with an extra point for Kent State in 2015. Tonya Butler was the first woman to kick a field goal in an NCAA game for Division II West Alabama on Sept. 13, 2003.
"Let's make history," she wrote Friday on Twitter with a photo of herself wearing a football jersey with a soccer ball between her feet while holding a football in her hands.
College Footballvanderbilt universitySEC


text:
Episode 5 Scene
Rose Coyne's class prepares for a special event in this scene from the season finale of My Mother and Other Strangers. See it Sunday, July 16th, 2017 at 8/7c on MASTERPIECE on PBS.
Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking and Raymond James with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust, created to help ensure the series' future.
Episode 5 Preview
See a preview for My Mother and Other Strangers, Episode 5.
Preview: 07/16/2017 | 26s
See if Tillie can stop the captain and Rose from making a terrible mistake.
Learn the captain's plan to thwart advances from Rose's sister, Vera.
Is a rescue in time, and why does stolen paint provoke a theological crisis?
See what happens when Francis goes poaching and Rose stands up for justice.
Learn how Rose meets Capt. Dreyfuss and Emma incites an international incident.


Steph interviews Michelle Kenney Carlson about the Hand in Hand Parenting methodology. This is an alternative perspective to parenting that doesn't involve bribes, threats, rewards and punishment. Learn why connection is one of Michelle's top strategies for navigating hard feelings, how our childhood experiences influence the way we parent, and tools you can implement today to create a more relaxed household.
Michelle lives in Los Angeles with her two girls 9 and 12. Before becoming a Hand in Hand certified instructor in 2015, she worked for 12 years in public schools as a teacher and counselor. She also served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Education instructing in the teacher credentialing program. None of which prepared her to be a mom. After years of consequences, bribes and star charts she found Hand in Hand parenting, created by Patty Wipfler. It reshaped the relationship she shares with her daughters, and she credits it with changing her life.


text:
Asteroid of Fear
By Raymond Z. Gallun
Asteroid of Fear is a science fiction novel written by Raymond Z. Gallun and was first published in 1951.
The Horsham House Press (Public Domain)
The Horsham House Press
http://www.lulu.com/shop/raymond-z-gallun/asteroid-of-fear/paperback/product-20428649.html
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Asteroid of Fear By Raymond Z. Gallun eBook:


Attached herewith is Chet Richards' elegantly written and highly entertaining review of Robert Coram's latest book, a personal coming of age memoir, Gully Dirt: On Exposing the Klan, Raising a Hog, and Escaping the South.
I have known Chet since 1977, and he is one of my dearest friends as well as a close colleague. Chet has a PhD in Mathematics and is a protégé of the late Colonel John Boyd, the subject of Robert Coram's, Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War.
But Chet also has his hidden sides. One of the lesser known dimensions of Chet's intellect is that he is a perceptive student of culture — he once held my wife and me in dazed silence for about 45 minutes as he described the vagaries of the now forgotten royal court of Poland.
Chet grew up in the Deep South, and as this highly positive review of Coram's memoir of Deep South reveals, Chet's appreciation of culture is not limited to Poland.
This must-read review just appeared on Chet's website, Slightly East of New.
Way off in the southwest corner of Georgia, where that state, Alabama, and Florida come together, there's a constellation of small towns that exist only to serve the farms that surround them. Peanut country. Edison is one of them. There were no Interstate highways when Robert Coram was growing up in Edison, and when they were built, the closest was 60 miles away. Television did arrive before the big highways, and on a good day, and with a tall antenna, you could pick up two stations.
In most of the rural South, life went on as it had for millennia. Outside of the towns themselves, most people did not have what we call "indoor plumbing." If you've never had the pleasure of using the outdoor variety — yes, they did use the Sears Roebuck catalogue for toilet paper — Coram will fill in this gap in your experience.
Coram doesn't exactly say that he hates Edison, but leaving is all he can think about as he nears graduation from high school. He concludes that the people of the town are just "mean." This feeling, of course, is hardly unique to the South. In fact, the only uniquely southern event is the scouts from Georgia all taking their rebel flags with them to a jamboree at Valley Forge, PA.
Even the dreaded Klan had spread far beyond the South by Coram's time (Google "KKK Indiana governor," for example). The vicissitudes of farming are universal, as are parental abuse, underage drinking, discovering sexuality, and driving far too fast on unpaved country roads (I often think about a certain night in Mississippi when my best friend in high school let the left front tire wander a little too far onto a very soft shoulder). The urge to flee the nest will be familiar to most of us, too. We are all scarred, and Gully Dirt is our memoir, too.
The South, though, is unique in one big way — the sting and poverty that accompanied losing the Civil War and enduring Reconstruction. Today, hardly anybody south of Dalton can tell you where Chickamauga is, and the decisive battlefields around Atlanta are parking lots. When Coram was growing up, there were still lots of people who remembered their parents', aunts', and uncles', stories of sitting by the fireplace listening to their parents tell what it was like when the Yankees were down here. One of the most popular novels of all times, Margaret Mitchell's epic of life in the Old South, was published just before Coram was born. And the list of poorest counties in the USA is still dominated by counties in the old Confederacy. Coram's Calhoun County, GA, is 38th in per capita income, with about half the national average.
At first, the red clay of rural Georgia might seem as far from our own hometowns as the red surface of Mars. But as you laugh and occasionally cry along with Coram's tales, it doesn't seem so strange. We all grew up. We all did things we shouldn't have and a few that might have done us in. We all did some things that we had to do but which are not usually written about. We all had to figure out how to approach potential romantic partners and what to do when our partners then go and pick someone else. Although his relationship with his father will remind you of another southern writer's with the Great Santini, he comes to realize its value, that after a 17-year boot camp wth his abusive retired master sergeant Daddy, the scowl of a pissant sheriff checking up on his daughter is as nothing. Neither is much else in life.
At the end of the book, though, Coram finally claims "that cruel, God-struck, sun-blasted corner of southwest Georgia" as his home. He can do no other: The South does not release its children. However despite all this, I suspect that Robert has a soft spot for Edison somewhere. He points out with barely hidden pride that for all its faults, Edison was resolutely NOT anti-semitic, a rare virtue among so many places not so long ago. On his Amazon page, he assures us that "… southwest Georgia remains a big part of who and what I am" for which we can all be grateful. Even his mother didn't blame Edison or the South for his father's temper: "It was the Army," she assured him.
Robert Coram is probably best known for his magisterial biography of the late USAF Colonel John Boyd, which fact will explain the pig. He's also, however, a crime novelist (my favorite is Kill the Angels) and a storyteller in the grand tradition of Faulkner, Pat Conroy, Flannery O'Conner, Willie Morris, Eudora Welty and the list goes on. In this coming-of-age memoir, Coram spins a web of tales, all of which he assures us are the gospel truth. They may well be — Southern towns have provided the grist for many a literary mill.
Bottom line: Gully Dirt is a worthy new member of the clan that includes Rick Bragg's All Over but the Shoutin' Frank McCourt's 'Tis, and one might throw in his friend the late Pat Conroy's The Great Santini and its non-fictional companions. If you liked any of these, you'll love Gully Dirt.
I've known Robert since about 2000 when he was working on the Boyd book [CS note - Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5, 401 reviews, sales > 100,000]. He encouraged me to complete and publish Certain to Win [CS note - Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5, 39 reviews], and he introduced me to his wife, Jeannine Addams, who gave me a home in her PR agency for the next dozen years. He may be the last of a lineage of tellers of tall tales extending back way past Faulkner to kitchens, parlors, and porches throughout the South, the last because even Edison has the Internet, now.


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A Roth IRA is a powerful way to help you plan for and enjoy your retirement. Like a traditional IRA, Roth IRAs allow annual contributions up to $5,000. However, Roth IRA contributions are not tax deductible, but your money grows tax free.


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Addressing Your Objections to Matt Rhule As Nebraska's Head Coach (And Why Mickey Joseph Isn't)
By Jon Johnston@CornNation Nov 27, 2022, 9:25am CST
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I've seen many Huskers fans objecting to Matt Rhule being hired as Nebraska's next head coach. This is my attempt to address some of those objections.
I am guessing most of those objections are just excuses to knock on Matt Rhule because you really wanted Mickey Joseph as head coach. I address that as well.
Here are the major objections I've seen:
Matt Rhule's 47-43 record (He's Mike Riley or Bill Callahan 2.0!!!!!!)
He took over reclamation projects which added a lot of losses to his record at the beginning of each job. This isn't that hard to understand.
Never stayed at a program over 4 years
The implication is he won't stay at Nebraska. I find this weird that people project this far out, but as humans we spend a lot of time and energy worrying about events that haven't happened yet.
Never beat a ranked team (with Baylor)
This is true, but again, he was rebuilding and in the end, in 2019 his three losses to ranked teams were to Oklahoma (twice) and Georgia, all ranked in the Top Ten. Those aren't bad losses.
Mickey Joseph isn't head coach
This is the principal objection to Matt Rhule. I give you VERY VALID REASONS why Mickey Joseph shouldn't be our head coach.
I explain each of these points in the video below.
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Nebraska hires Matt Rhule, his staff slowly filling out
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Reaction to Nebraska Hiring Matt Rhule


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Kawasi Lakhma is currently serving as cabinet Minister of Chhattisgarh he was also elected as MLA 5 times consecutively from Konta. He was one of the survivors of 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley. His name was widely discussed as his own party men expressed doubt about his integrity and questioned his role in the Naxal attack, when other Congress leaders were shot dead in the attack, Kawasi Lakhma was spared and this has raised doubts.

Early life
Kawasi Lakhma is from Nagaras village, Sonakukanur post, Konta Tehsil, Sukma district, Chhattisgarh and his place is a part of Bastar region.

Political life
Kawasi Lakhma, a tribal leader, was elected as MLA (elected in 2008) from Konta constituency of Chhattisgarh state and he was earlier elected in 2003 with a huge margin (securing 51.54% of votes polled). His constituency is a Naxal hit area and he is capable of interacting with Naxals in their native language.  During 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha Valley, more than 30 people were killed and two other leaders travelling in the same car were taken away and killed by Naxals, sparing Lakhma unharmed and this has raised doubts about the role of Lakhma in the Massacre. As an opposition party MLA, he has raised concerns about the quality of developmental activities undertaken in the Naxal hit Sukma district. He is cabinet minister of Commercial Tax (Excise), Commerce and Industry in government of Chhattisgarh.

Aftar Naxal attack

Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded a narco test on Kawasi Lakhma, so that the details of dialogue he exchanged with Naxals during the deadly attack and any possible conspiracy, can be found out. He won the election and became the minister of the state.

References

Living people

Indian National Congress politicians
Chhattisgarh MLAs 2008–2013
Chhattisgarh MLAs 2003–2008
People from Dantewada district
Year of birth missing (living people)
Chhattisgarh MLAs 2018–2023
Madhya Pradesh MLAs 1998–2003

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I hate the word "e-waste". It has been used to label everything "second-hand". Maybe if we properly defined it to be something thrown away, everyone would agree on policy. When repaired and recycled items are referred to as "wastes", it creates impossible situations.
Here are Sites I recommend for a better understanding of Recycling in General or Electronics Reuse, Repair and Recycling in particular.
US Geological Survey. These people in the USA Department of Interior get it. They know where the mining Superfund sites are, they know how much copper and lead etc. the USA imports and exports, they know the processes. I've always found the staff there to be knowledgeable environmentalists.
ISRI. The Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries is a great resource for finding out about recycling and recycling policy. Also produces Scrap Magazine. New in 2012, ISRI has launched its own EScrapBeat blog.
Earthworks. Formerly known as the Mineral Policy Center, Earthworks has a long term, geological approach to mining vs. recycling. They also took on the more difficult discussions about finding social and economic jobs for people whose mining jobs are "reformed", for example by promoting ethical jewelry.
WR3A. The World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association is a business consortium of electronics recyclers who want to create cooperative fair trade agreements with Geeks of Color, and to defend markets (like Samsung's CRT glass cullet furnace in Klang, Malaysia) which are improperly accused of being "waste importers" when the replace mined virgin material with recycled or reused material (a definite blessing to Earth).
RepairFAQ. Silicon Sam Goldwasser's Sci.Electronics.Repair website was my first tool in evaluating whether Techs of Color really know how to repair used electronics. I found that the "specifications" they had for purchasing items made perfect sense when you read the repair guides... The export market was able to describe things they didn't want and couldn't fix, and the RepairFAQ explained why.
DigiTimes. That's a surprise? I'm giving up one of my best secrets. This is an Asian based newsletter which specifically updates trends on display devices. Find out about Foxconn, Wistron, BenQ, Proview, etc... the companies which really make "Stuff".
R2 Solutions. R2 Solutions is a new non-profit organization formed by electronics manufacturers, recyclers, and regulators to make sure that EPA's Responsible Recyclers Certification is maintained and can evolve with changing standards and times.
IFixIT is a website similar to Silicon Sams, but they handle much newer products... like my HTC Evo 4G cell phone, which I just cracked in my pocket (car keys). Ouch. Now IFIXIT.org has added a professional writer, Elizabeth Chamberlin, who just may take the ewaste blogging crown.
BAN. The organization means well, and is still a great watchdog, even if I wish they'd stop barking at the repairman. He's our friend and our guest. Several posts here are critical of the "mission creep" by the Basel Convention into second hand goods and recycling commodities. However, the organization is still the one on the front lines if greedy polluters dump drums of toxic fluid waste on the shores of Ivory Coast, Nigeria, etc.
AGMA. The Anti-Gray Market Alliance, aka the Alliance for Grey Market and Couterfeit Abatement, is an important group when it comes to electronics repair and reuse policy.
ShanghaiScrap. Adam is an American living in Shanghai, who takes random walks through recycling and repair shops. His insights are written in an accessible, man-on-the-street, common-sense tone.
Recycling International is a Europe-based scrap industry periodical.
TechSoup is a geek-to-geek website promoting greater digital access. In recent years, TechSoup has made its footprint international.
SOS-Arsenic.net List of the ten "most toxic places" on earth from a scientific source.
Exporters.com.sg, www.alibaba.com, www.recycle.net and www.tradeloop.com are some of the oldest and best known B2B recycling and reuse trading sites.
Fair Trade Recycling Facebook group. An open group for posting and discussion on "fair trade recycling", reuse and repair.
Earthworks, formerly "Mineral Policy Center", has been a favorite of mine for 20 years, following the international metal mining and hard rock mining industries.
Freedom To Tinker, and other blogs on Patent Exhaustion doctrine/principle. Reuse on the battlefield of barrier to entry is a jillion dollar issue creating lots of court precedents.
ElectronicsTakebackCoalition presents the prosecutions case for a ban on exports of e-waste.
EPA Reports: Two that I was a consultant on in particular focus on E-Waste reuse and EWaste exports, the Jobs Through Recycling 2000 on Infrastructure Development and the Electronic Waste Management in USA 2007 report from EPA. Warning, on the latter study, the chief consultant quoted the daily import figures for CRT refurbishment as monthly. Now exports have fallen to where the monthly figure is more correct.
Recyclage Ethique de l'Electronique is a new junior blog written by WR3A intern Adelaide of France. She is translating some work here, but also creating new content and showing step-by-step how electronics recycling works, to de-mystify it for the Francophone world.
Internet World Stats: how the rest of the world is catching up to internet access at 10X the rate of growth of wealthy nations.
There are about a dozen other sites which I could share. Some of the best sites contain names and addresses of overseas recycling and environmental groups. I consider many of those to be targeted by governments who don't want their citizens the freedom to get online. Not all import bans are environmental laws.
Chapter Series Blogs: If you are a glutton for information, use the blog "search box" to find these terms in "series titles", for extremely dense efforts to penetrate important and complex environmental topics, usually using "e-waste" as a lens.


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Q: Smack 4.1 Re-connection issue I am developing a Chat application in which

*

*I have a background service that is continuously running.

*The Application is running smoothly and I am able to receive and send messages without any issue.

*I am using default Smack 4.1 Re-connection Manager, which is connecting as soon the connection is lost (Almost 90% of the time).

But sometimes, when the connection is lost, the Smack Re-connection Manager stops working.
I have not been able to find out what is causing this issue.
When I check my phone, after a delay of 12 to 14 hours, I can see the Android service is still running, but the XMPP re-connection has stopped working. I must then force-stop the application in order to then restart the service and have it connect to the XMPP server again.
My assumption is that is happening when "Phone Network switches from Wifi-to-Data or Data-to-Wifi". In the meantime, Smack 4.1 Re-connection Manager stops working. Although, I am not sure about it.
And I have Questions

*

*What is the use of PingManager? Can PingManager be helpful in this case?

*What is StreamManagement? How can I enable it? Is it helpful in this case?
Any other solutions to conquer this problem? I am thinking of the following solutions:

*

*To use GCM as well with XMPP, so when XMPP failed to reconnect, I can get the PUSH and connect again on the basis of the PUSH.

*Use Alarm Services. (PROBLEM : Messages that were in Queue because of the connection lost will be dependent on next alarm schedule)

*Every time connect XMPP when user returns to the Application. (PROBLEM : Messages that were in Queue because of the connection lost will be dependent on the User returning back to app)

A: A little late but maybe it helps others. I am not XMPP expert but i came across a presentation of Ignite Realtime called "XMPP and Android" and it points out this issue and how to handle this.

It offers using Server ping with Alarm Manager ideally with 30 min intervals.
Also I found another post related to this issue and offers 3 option. It worths to see. https://ramzandroidarchive.wordpress.com/2016/03/14/handling-connection-break-issue-in-smack-4-1/.

A: It is somewhat of an old question but I have personally struggled with maintaining a persistent connection using Smack in the past and had to figure out the answers based on multiple resources. I will try to address my findings in this answer.
Notice - do not use isConnected() method of your AbstractXMPPConnection to determine whether the connection is active. This is a mere internal state of the object. It has no real way of knowing whether a connection is actually active.
The only way to be sure is by pinging, either by the server or by the client.
The persistent connection route - NOT recommended
First thing to understand - if you indeed want a persistent connection with the server (and I've been this route and do not recommend it - more about it below), you have to do things manually.
On the server side - make sure you disconnect clients that are idle after a reasonable amount of time (too long and you will lose messages, as the connection will be terminated but the server will still consider it active. too short and you will have repeating broken connections if your users have poor internet connection. I personally user 30 seconds. I guess anything between 30 and 60 seconds is fine). This will allow you to detect on the client side when connection with the server is lost.
Second thing to do is implement the ConnectionListener Smack interface. It contains callbacks to various connection events such as connectionClosedOnError that allow you to resume your connection with the server.
Then you should listen to network connectivity events - if the user has changed networks you should probably disconnect and reconnect again.
This is arguable, but I personally had problems with keeping the connection alive this way, relying on server pings and callbacks. If you have too - you should ping the server from the client to be certain.
Smack has the ServerPingWithAlarmManager class precisely for that - it pings the server every 30 minutes. Alas, for me this did not work, as some OEMs (Xiaomi I am looking at you) have restricted background tasks in their custom Android skins. The way that worked for me was to ping the server using a custom PingManager. Get it using PingManager.getInstanceFor(connection) and schedule it to run every X minutes (7 minutes worked for me) using an AlarmManager.
For this ping manager you should register a PingFailedListener that will reconnect on its pingFailed() method.
All this sounds bad? here is the worst part - the whole things falles apart on api >= 23. This all works fine until Doze and App Standby come into play. This is why if you go the persisted connection route - you have to ask for the dreaded ACTION_REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS permission which allows your app to bypass Doze and App Standby.
Congratulations! assuming Google did not ban your app from the Play Store for asking for the whitelist battery optimizations permission recklessly - you now have a reliable and persistent xmpp connection with your server inside an app that drains battery like crazy even when the user does nothing to engage with it for a long  period of time.
Not an ideal solution, as I have previously stated.
The better solution - FCM high-priority messages
After understanding the problems with persisting a connection with the server - this is the method I recommend using.
Do not try to fight the network connection and the battery optimizations that get more restrictive with each Android version.
Integrating FCM messages into your server will allow your users to receive the messages in real time even when the device is in Doze mode.
This is the approach I use nowadays and it works pretty well with the benefit of much much lower battery drainage.
I do not ping the server, and the server does not ping my app. when the device changes networks or the connection is closed due to am error - I just disconnect the connection.
While connected, messages are received by a Message type StanzaListener.
While disconnected, messages are received by the FirebaseMessagingService() implementation.
No need to persist the connection. No need to fight the system. No huge battery drainage.
Hope this answer helps somebody in the future and saves them some time, as it took me a lot of time, effort and trial and error to get to a solution I am satisfied with.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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ELAN ArtEd: Connecting & Creating with Artists, Youth & Families to Support Mental Health
By Christie Huff, Lead Learner at ELAN ArtEd
We've been through many weeks of "The Things We Didn't Choose", although Rob Lutes didn't write the song for COVID-19, it's been helpful to me as I struggled with my roles and the uncertainty in this challenging time. In lieu of an in-person tour of three Gaspé schools planned for March, Rob's skills in facilitating songwriting experiences with youth contributed to the virtual program we piloted in April. While we look forward to schools opening and welcoming our Artists in person, we are exploring all of the ways we can connect Artists with youth and families to provide arts and culture activities.
Lead Learner Christie Huff & musician Guillaume Jabbour's Zoom meeting, connecting with Artists to plan virtual workshops.
Before schools closed, 14 Artists who participated in a training program for adults who work with youth funded by the Community Health & Social Services Network were scheduled to facilitate creative experiences with students. The feedback from Artists and Educators made it very clear that the niche the art-making experience creates enables youth to express themselves in ways they do not typically in school. There is a positive impact on the teacher-student relationship and on student-peer relationships. The time the Artist spends with teachers and students is motivating, meaningful and fun!
When school closures were announced, we offered Artists support and opportunities to connect virtually to share their experience and consider how they can make a difference. We encouraged all of our Artists to reach out to schools, teachers, and youth they had interacted with this year to say hello, offer to connect virtually, and share a message empathizing and expressing care.
While we have many stories to tell each month, we're featuring a few Artists whose work was outstanding in developing practice for ArtEd.
Theatre & Role Play for Education
Tina Bye, an artist with a Fine Arts degree in theatre design, an Education Degree with the teachables of Visual and Performing Arts, and a Master's Degree in Drama Therapy, developed a program to prepare Cycle 3 students to animate a recess program (Quebec schools now have 3 recess periods/day). Based on an example of a Recess Rangers program in Ontario applying Restorative Justice practices and using students as mediators, students are coached on intervening in bullying situations and social disputes using theatre techniques through role play and audience feed-back. These activities address social development needs of students, an integral part of every Quebec school's Educational Project. Tina Bye also worked with two schools using the Zones of Regulation model, using performing arts skills, to help students integrate at a behavioral level. Based on this experience, she will run a workshop for other Theatre / Movement Artists who work with schools using this model that is approved by the Centre for Excellence for Mental Health.
Photo: Recess Rangers vests by Tina
Music in the Laurentians
To give youth living in the Laurentians an artistic outlet and a voice during these uncertain times, songwriter and musician Guillaume Jabbour has restructured the format of the high school songwriting club at Sainte Agathe Academy into remote workshops. Twice a week, participants connect virtually to learn from each other, share respective music projects and work on their craft. Guillaume listens to each student and provides suggestions for how to keep moving forward.
Guillaume says of the program, "Some students are making beats, some are practicing their instruments and others are writing rap lyrics. In terms of an ArtEd experience, it's amazing because each student can do their own thing if they want and we're all working at the same time. Some students have already started connecting outside our meeting times to share beats. We always start off with a check-in conversation to make sure everyone is ok, but then we direct our energy into the music. I listen and then if a student needs guidance to get to the next step, I provide suggestions based on my knowledge as a songwriter and musician. The ELAN ArtEd team was super helpful in making this happen quickly. They supported me in adapting my program and in figuring out the logistics. The club runs until early June, the same as the in-person club would have."
Release the Gaspesians!
Release the Gaspesians! debuted April 3rd and ran daily for the entire month with Ronnie Leblanc and Laura Teasdale.
In a quick response to the need for social distancing, Ronnie Leblanc and Laura Teasdale collaborated to transform what would have been a month-long residency involving all of the teachers and students from New Richmond and New Carlisle Schools, into a daily live-stream art show to connect with students, families and community members. The Release the Gaspesians! series includes daily drama and music exercises, story-telling, fine art challenges, and even ukulele lessons on-line! In addition, Ronnie and Laura garnered valuable inspiration from speaking over the phone and virtually with seniors, elders and community pillars. Once released from the confines of social distancing, Laura and Ronnie will present a live on-stage concert using the ideas from the community.
Laura Teasdale says this project has proven to be life changing. "I had to adapt and re-think techniques and exercises that I have been doing so long, they had become second nature. It took a lot of brain power to learn to instruct without being there to literally take a child's hand and put their fingers on the strings in the frets. To inspire someone to want to play a game without just modeling the behavior was a special challenge… So grateful for this strange and beautiful experience."
Watch an episode of Release the Gaspesians! by clicking here.
Whether we connect in-person or virtually, and despite the uncertainty of times ahead, we know for certain that Artists are needed and that Art helps us to get through challenging times. We also know that coming out of this crisis, Artists will need additional training to facilitate ArtistsInspire experiences. After the social quarantine, children and youth will be trying to make sense of their world. We believe that art can help mediate their experiences, allow for creative self-expression, and help them to connect, benefiting their health, learning and overall well-being.
We are here for you and we'll find a way to support you to Connect, Create, Collaborate & Celebrate!
To learn about all of the amazing ArtistsInspire experiences that have been facilitated in schools across the province, please visit the Stories & News section of our website, www.artistsinspire.ca .
Please keep in touch virtually by following us on Facebook & Instagram @ELANArtEd. We encourage you to stay connected as we support each other through these times.
May 1, 2020 /by ELAN Communications
Tags: ArtEd Initiatives, artists in schools, Education, ELAN, Projects
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Director's Message - June 2020
News From Our Partners: Machinerie of the Arts Toolbox Launch Event
ARTS2U Website: Beta Version Goes Live!
Learning and Planning Together to Connect with Youth
Director's Message - January, 2021
Official Language Community Media Consortium meets with Minister Mélanie Joly
The SELFIES (Seeing English-Language Families in Engaging Stories) Project: and how you can win $100 by suggesting a favourite work of art!
ACE Lessons Learned: How ELAN Art Ed Artist-Residencies in Rural Communities Benefit Artists
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ELAN is an official minority language organization within a country that recognizes two languages as official. ELAN is located in Tiohtiak:ke, the original name for Montreal in Kanien'kéha, the language of the Mohawk—also known as Mooniyang, which is the Anishinaabeg name given to the city by the Algonquin. While we are based in this city, our projects have also taken place in many regions across Quebec.
We acknowledge the colonial origin of English and French in Canada, and recognize that both languages benefit from official status throughout the land. The province that we know as Quebec is an amalgamation of the traditional territories of the Innu and Inuit nations, Algonquian nations, as well as the Mohawk nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Kanien'kéha and Anishinaabeg are but two of the original languages of this province; Atikamekw, Cree, Inuktitut, and Innu-aimun are also among the many Indigenous languages spoken across Quebec as majority languages, all well before French and English.
ELAN acknowledges the important work being done by First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples to revive the traditional languages of these territories, and their advocacy for the official status of Indigenous languages.
ARTS2U Update for May, 2020 Staying Connected: Asian Artists in Quebec


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Harold J. "Bud" Mertz is considered to be the driving force in the creation of the Hybrid III crash test dummy, the standard dummy used today. Working with General Motors in the late 1960s, Mertz designed and built the dummy which is today the only recognized test device in both North America and Europe for restraint devices which protect against frontal collisions.

Mertz earned his bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering at Wayne State University, and took a course on fluid dynamics under the tutelage of Lawrence Patrick, who was at the time using himself as a guinea pig in investigating the effects of car crashes on humans. Patrick offered Mertz an opportunity to work as his research assistant, and Mertz accepted.

Mertz went on to do his graduate studies at Wayne State, and worked with cadavers in crash testing studies too violent to use live volunteers. He completed his Ph.D. with a dissertation on whiplash-type injuries in 1967, In 1969, he was hired as a senior researcher at GM.

Mertz retired from General Motors in 2005, and lives with his wife in Harper Woods, Michigan.

External links
"GM's 'Father' of Hybrid III Crash Test Dummies Has Dedicated His Career to Automotive Safety", General Motors

20th-century births
Living people
General Motors former executives
Automotive safety pioneers
Wayne State University alumni
People from Harper Woods, Michigan
Year of birth missing (living people)