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Disinformation English Extremism Indo-Pacific Internet Media Terrorism
The Christchurch call and the failure of US leadership
By Emerson T. Brooking
The Christchurch Call, signed by eighteen national governments and eight major technology companies on May 15, represents a significant development in the fields of counterterrorism and Internet policy. The statement comes two months after a white ethno-nationalist terrorist used a Facebook livestream to broadcast his massacre of fifty-one worshippers in a Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque. It commits its signatories to explore legal, regulatory, and technical solutions to counter the online spread of terrorist and violent extremist content. The Trump administration refused to sign, citing unspecified free speech concerns.
The Christchurch Call is a remarkable document for two reasons. First, it stands as the first major multilateral statement jointly signed by both governments and Silicon Valley giants—a historic precedent that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Second, the United States' snubbing of the document represents a retreat from previous counterterrorism pledges. It also reveals a dangerous divide between the White House and US allies regarding the growing threat of white ethno-nationalist extremism.
By signing the Christchurch Call, eight online service providers—among them Facebook, Google, and Twitter—commit to proactive removal of extremist content, a review of the role of algorithms in online radicalization, and the offer of assistance to smaller companies unable to adequately police their own platforms. These are achievable goals: together, the corporate signatories hold sway over roughly three billion Internet users.
Although many of the pledged initiatives were already underway (and the document itself is nonbinding), their bold expression here shows how much things have changed. Five years ago, Twitter executives were still debating whether to remove obvious terrorist propaganda. Three years ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg still refused to acknowledge that he wielded any political influence at all. By contrast, both Twitter and Facebook used the opportunity of the Christchurch Call to announce new restrictions on livestream technology and the establishment of "crisis protocols" to respond to terrorist attacks in real-time.
Governments, too, have clearly awoken to the dangers of Internet-abetted terror attacks. The Christchurch Call is the first document of its sort to be coordinated by a state (in this case, New Zealand) and signed co-equally by government representatives and technology CEOs. It presents a number of policy commitments that have bounced for years around the counterterrorism community. These include public investment in media literacy and counter-extremism campaigns, the creation of industry frameworks for the reporting of terrorist and violent extremist content, and the establishment of close working relations between technology companies and law enforcement.
Together, the governments of these signatory nations—New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, India, Jordan, and much of Europe—speak for a combined 2.2 billion constituents. It is a sign of the times that, between the two parties, it is the technology companies that represent more people.
Another, more troubling sign can be seen in the United States' refusal to add its name to the list. Trump administration officials told the Washington Post that doing so would pose "constitutional concerns." A White House statement explained that, while it stood "with the international community in condemning terrorist and violent extremist content online," the United States was "not currently in a position to join the endorsement."
A close reading of the Christchurch Call does not support the White House's position. The document avoids any mention of government-mandated speech codes. It emphasizes that any action must abide by "human rights and fundamental freedoms." The main expectation of governments is that they fight both terrorism and "violent extremism"—as close as the document comes to naming the white ethno-nationalist ideology responsible for the Christchurch attack.
By refusing to sign the Christchurch Call, the United States appears to retreat from previous counterterrorism commitments made under the Trump administration. In May 2017, the United States joined the Group of Seven (G7) in pledging to "combat the misuse of the Internet by terrorists." The statement outlined government policies virtually identical to those proposed in the Christchurch Call. The only apparent difference is context. In 2017, the terrorists were ISIS militants. In 2019, they are white ethno-nationalists.
Instead of offering support, the United States has dedicated itself to attacking recent counter-extremism measures. Hours after rejecting the Christchurch Call, the Trump administration announced a "tech bias" initiative targeting Facebook, Google, and Twitter. The intent is to collect "censorship" stories in preparation for potential regulatory action. The clearest impetus for this initiative was Facebook's prohibition of white nationalist and white identarian speech—a step taken in direct response to the Christchurch attacks, and one which US President Donald J. Trump has railed against on Twitter. "It's getting worse and worse for Conservatives on social media!" the president wrote.
The surreal result is a counterterrorism document cosigned by US allies and major technology companies—seven of eight of which are headquartered in the United States—and opposed by the US government.
The Christchurch Call represented a historic opportunity for international unity. By seizing this opportunity, technology companies show growing awareness of their political responsibilities. By rebuffing it, the United States shows just how far it has retreated from the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
Emerson T. Brooking is a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab and coauthor of LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media. Follow him on Twitter @etbrooking.
Related Experts: Emerson T. Brooking
Image: French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hold a news conference during the 'Christchurch Call Meeting' at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France May 15, 2019. (Yoan Valat/Pool via REUTERS)


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Catocala grotiana, or Grote's underwing, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by James S. Bailey in 1879. It is found in the US from Arizona, north through Utah into Colorado. It has also been spotted in Washington and in the western US north and east of California.

The wingspan is 70–80 mm. Adults are on wing from August to September depending on the location. There is probably one generation per year.

The larvae feed on Populus and Salix species.

References

External links
Species info

Moths described in 1879
grotiana
Moths of North America

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Updated Travel Exemptions for Parents of Australian Citizens and Permanent Residents
Migration & Culture, News and Updates
The Prime Minister has announced that the Federal Government would be looking to expand the definition of 'immediate family' to…
What visa options are available to Afghan nationals and who has priority?
Following the closure of the Australian Embassy in Afghanistan, the Federal Government is providing visa options to Afghan nationals, including…
What are the changes to the citizenship pathway for talented visa applicants?
On 14 September 2021, the Federal Government announced changes to streamline the pathway to citizenship for talented prospective Australians. The…
Australians that live overseas will no longer have a travel exemption to return home after visiting Australia
Citizenship, Health, Visas & Immigration
What is the new change in law for travel exemptions? A new law recently came into effect on 11 August…
What are the new and updated immigration pathways for overseas workers?
Employment & Immigration, Migration & Culture
What are the new and updated immigration pathways for overseas workers? This article will be updated with the latest PMSOL…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Television Purchasing Channels Could Change into The Massive Winners In The Competitors For Online Sales.
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Confronting History – America before World War II – Three New Plays
Segal Theater
Readings and Discussion
Please join us for an evening with playwrights Tanya Barfield (curator), Said Sayrafiezadeh, and Emily DeVoti, who will present their short plays and excerpts about American social crisis and change from the Civil War, Progressive Era, and World War I. A discussion will follow with Emily Morse and others. With additional support from New Dramatists, New York.
Tanya Barfield's plays include: Blue Door (Playwrights Horizons, South Coast Repertory, Seattle Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Harare International Festival of the Arts, Zimbabwe), Dent, The Quick, The Houdini Act, and 121º West. She has been commissioned by Playwrights Horizons, the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, and Geva Theatre Center. She is a member of New Dramatists. Her short play Medallion deals with the story of an African- American woman's request for a Medal of Honor for her brother slain in the First World War.
Emily DeVoti's plays have been developed in NYC by New York Theater Workshop, Underwood Theatre, Cherry Lane Alternative, Six Figures, Judith Shakespeare Company, HotINK/NYU, and produced by New Georges and Shakespeare & Co. (Lenox, MA). Her play H/M will be produced in Fall 2007 by the Perry Street Theatre in Exile. She is the founding Theater Editor of The Brooklyn Rail and has an MFA in dramatic writing from NYU/Tisch. Beyond the Veil stages a fictitious meeting between novelist Edith Wharton and African American intellectual W.E.B. DuBois
Said Sayrafiezadeh's essays and stories have appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Open City, Columbia Journal of Literature and Art, and elsewhere. New York is Bleeding was commissioned by New York Theatre Workshop and developed at the Sundance Theatre Lab. He is currently at work on a memoir about growing up the son of an Iranian father and a Jewish-American mother, both of whom were members of a communist organization in the United States called the Socialist Workers Party. It will be published by Random House in fall 2008.
6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 17, 2007,
The Martin E. Segal Theatre. Free.
Tanya Barfield
Said Sayrafiezadeh
Photo © Karen Mainenti
Emily DeVoti
Photo © M. Memran


With Russia's parliamentary elections scheduled for December 2and the pro-Kremlin United Russia party expected to win an overwhelmingmajority in the voting, President Vladimir Putin has intensified attackson his opponents–most recently, accusing them of being in the pocketof Western governments. Most of the country's state-run media have fallenin line.
On the eve of elections, there has been an intensification of attacks onwhat remains of Russia's free press. On November 9, Russianauthorities shut down one of the country's few remaining independentnewspapers– the Samara edition of Novaya Gazeta. The pretext providedby authorities was cynical and hypocritical: in a country which leadswhen it comes to intellectual piracy, the police confiscated the paper'slast remaining computer (the others were seized in a raid last spring)and indicted its editor for allegedly using a counterfeit version ofMicrosoft software.
Last week, Dmitrii Muratov–the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta'snational edition–was in New York to receive the Committee to ProtectJournalist's International Press Freedom Award. I had the honor andpersonal pleasure of presenting CPJ's award to him. My husband StephenCohen and I first met Dmitrii–a tenacious and brave editor–in 1993.He and a few other colleagues had gathered in the basement cafeteria ofMoscow News–then a bold paper of the glasnost era–to plan the launchof Novaya Gazeta. Survival of a different kind was on their minds atthat time; they were beginning the paper with two computers, oneprinter, two rooms and no money for salaries!
An initial boost of financial support came from former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev,who contributed part of his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize Award to pay for morecomputers and salaries. By 1996, Novaya's circulation had risen to70,000 from its initial run of 10,000; today it's national circulationis close to 600,000 and 100,000 visit its website every week.
One by one, newspapers and television networks have yielded toKremlin pressure and surrendered their independence. Nonetheless, asRussia has descended from the media freedoms of Gorbachev's "glasnost"to today's conformity and compliance, Dmitrii Muratov and NovayaGazeta's reporters and editors have continued –despite the financial,political, physical threats and pressures—to remain independent andpublish.
In his remarks at the Committee to Protect Journalist's dinner in NYlast week (the English translation of his speech and a You Tube video of the event are posted below), Muratov spokepowerfully, and personally, of his fight for press freedom–and forjustice on behalf of his slain colleagues.
Let all who care about a free press and a democratic society workto ensure that Novaya Gazeta survive and thrive as an independent,oppositionist force–and that the journalists' killers be brought tojustice.
Igor Domnikov was murdered for investigating corruption. YuriShchekochikhin, my best friend, deputy, and a nationally famousjournalist was murdered. Anna Politkovskaya was murdered. Three of themost important people in my life. And it's me who gets to stand here ina tuxedo and receive an award. It's not normal. I feel no joy. I neverwill.
If she were alive, Politkovskaya would have had some of her favorite redwine with me. With Domnikov and Shchekochikhin–I would have had lots ofvodka. And we would've been happy. But now we cannot be. And I won'tever be.
So why do this? Why continue to publish a paper that endangers people'slives?
Because our million readers share the values of democracy. Realdemocracy–not its imitation. This is not fashionable in Russia today.This could damage one's career and reputation. Because today there isonly one official god – the State and its interests. As opposed tosociety and individual rights.
The state, alas, became a corporate business–the business of specialsecurity forces.
And that business–like special security forces–needs silence, notpress freedom.
On November 9, one of our regional editions was shut down – NovayaGazeta in Samara. The pretext: police found unlicensed Microsoftsoftware in its computers during a search.
The paper is no longer. All of its documents and equipment were seizedahead of parliamentary elections, now just two weeks away.
Our paper is denied advertising for political reasons. Americancompanies and institutions are allowed to advertise in other Russianpapers, not us. I call on advertisers to work directly with NovayaGazeta.
Support us and our smart, highly intelligent, thinking readership. Mypaper needs your support.
On the anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya's death we turned on her cellphone. There were thousands of calls on the phone.The readers appealedto us to continue her work; to not be silent.
We will not be silent.
But we can allow ourselves a moment of silence for our murderedjournalists. I am asking you to honor them right now.
A granddaughter was born to Anna Politkovskaya this year. Her name isAnna Victoria. Life goes on.


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McCalmon is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Eddie McCalmon (1902–1987), Canadian ice hockey player
Jason McCalmon (born 1987), English boxer


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Shropshire FA
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The FA launches nationwide football festival
To mark 100 days to go until UEFA Euro 2020
THE FA LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE FOOTBALL FESTIVAL TO MARK 100 DAYS TO GO UNTIL UEFA EURO 2020
Monday 16 March
The FA has marked 100 days to go until the start of UEFA EURO 2020 by launching THE FA FIVES – a nationwide five-a-side football festival that is set to captivate the nation ahead of this summer's European Championships.
Funded by the Government via Sport England and promoted in partnership with BBC Sport, THE FA FIVES will be the nation's largest and most inclusive five-a-side football event to date. More than 5,000 teams and up to 50,000 participants are expected to register a team into one of the 15 categories on offer, which include U14, U16, adult, veteran, disability and walking football provisions for both male and female players.
Events are set to take place at over 120 venues across the country, providing an opportunity for thousands of people to get involved. The fun kicks off on the 2-3 May at Telford College with teams looking to progress to one of five festival-style Regional Final events on the weekend of 30-31 May. THE FA FIVES will reach its climax with a very special National Finals weekend played against the backdrop of the iconic Wembley Stadium on the 12-13 June – the same weekend that UEFA EURO 2020 gets underway in Rome.
The FA is working with Rio Ferdinand, England's ambassador for UEFA EURO 2020, to get as many teams across the country registered for the event before the sign-up period closes on 23 April.
Speaking about the initiative, Rio said: "If having the chance to watch England on home soil this summer wasn't exciting enough, people all over the country can now dust off their boots and get involved in a football festival of their own.
"It's great to support such an inclusive initiative – one that's completely free to enter and has provision for so many different people, regardless of their ability or background. With just 100 days to go until the tournament starts, there really is no better time to give football a go."
Chris Bryant, The FA's Head of Tournament Delivery, said: "For Wembley Stadium to host seven games at UEFA EURO 2020 is a real privilege, but also an extremely exciting prospect for the whole country. We're delighted to be able to deliver this inclusive event giving people of all abilities the chance to be part of it – whether that be playing for the first time at a Round One event or supporting friends and family at a Regional Final. We're grateful to our partners and stakeholders for their support in delivering THE FA FIVES and look forward to watching the fun unfold this summer."
In its 60th anniversary year, UEFA EURO 2020 will be the biggest celebration of European football in history, with the hosting shared by 12 cities across Europe – including London – for the first time. Wembley Stadium will welcome over 600,000 fans when it hosts seven games next summer, including both semi-finals and the showpiece final.
THE FA FIVES is one of many initiatives taking place to celebrate UEFA EURO 2020 this summer. In the capital the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is working with boroughs and other organisations to ensure that Londoners from all walks of life and backgrounds can share in the joy and excitement of the tournament. Throughout the competition there will be fan zones, cultural activities, interactive public art, as well as Mayoral funding for grass-roots community groups and initiatives. The family-friendly Greenwich Fan Zone will screen England games, the semi-finals and the final for 30,000 fans, who will be able to apply for free tickets via a ballot in due course.
Sports Minister, Nigel Huddleston, said: "Major sporting events have the power to bring the nation together and inspire people to take up sport, boosting both physical and mental wellbeing.
"UEFA EURO 2020 is a golden opportunity to host some of the best footballers in the world, and to get more people from all backgrounds into the sport.
"I encourage people of all ages and abilities to get involved in THE FA FIVES, a festival that I hope will capture the imagination of the nation and offer the public their own chance of glory at the home of football."
For more information or to register a team for THE FA FIVES, visit TheFA.com/THEFAFIVES.
Sport England EURO 2020 Small Grants Legacy Programme
Sport England has successfully linked its Small Grants programme to THE FA FIVES to enable organisations including the Shropshire County Football Association and Telford and Wrekin Council's Public Health Department the opportunity to unlock additional revenue investment to support EURO 2020 legacy projects. Sport England's Small Grants programme uses National Lottery Funding to make awards of between £300 and £10,000 to not-for-profit organisations and statutory bodies that support its 'Towards an Active Nation Strategy 2016-2021'.
The Small Grants fund will help local organisations support people to stay active during and beyond THE FA FIVES and can be used for things such as hiring coaches, facilities, equipment and transport, and supporting organisations to use a diverse range of accessible facilities including park settings for THE FA FIVES events. The funding is primarily aimed at projects that are encouraging more people to become active from those living in the top 20% most deprived parts of England.
Shropshire Football Association Chairman Dave Simpson said: " our Inclusion Advisory Group brings together some of our Key partners including Telford & Wrekin Council, Telford College and AFC Telford and we were delighted to be informed last week by Sport England that we had been awarded £10,000 to fund recreational football sessions for young people in 5 of the most deprived Communities in Telford for a 12 month period in 2020/21. It is an added bonus that some of these youngsters can also enter the FA fives and get the opportunity to play under the shadow of the iconic Wembley stadium".
Picture: Left - Cllr Andy Burford – Telford and Wrekin Council (Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care) / Centre - Dave Simpson - Shropshire FA (Chairman) / Right - Gavin Hurran - AFC Telford United (CIC Foundation Manager)
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Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse & Museum
#2 in Best Things To Do in Daytona Beach
Courtesy Daytona Beach Area CVB
4931 South Peninsula Drive
Museums, Tours, Sightseeing Type
A National Historic Landmark since 1998, the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse & Museum is Florida's tallest lighthouse It's also a traveler favorite, thanks to the well-preserved structures and rich history. If you're looking for a bird's-eye view of the area, prepare to hoof it 203 steps to the top of the 175-foot-tall edifice. Travelers recommend wearing walking shoes for the long climb, but say the spectacular views are a must-see and well worth the effort. Once you've reached the top, you'll see Daytona Beach and the north bank of the Ponce Inlet, where the Halifax and Indian rivers meet.
After surveying the Florida coast below, stop by the Ayres Davies Lens Exhibit Building, where you can stroll through exhibits that detail the history of lighthouse evolution. Recent travelers also recommended touring the restored keepers' dwellings. Originally constructed in 1887, these residences now offer a glimpse into the history of the Ponce de Leon Inlet Light Station, the United States Lighthouse Service and the town itself. Should you get hungry (and who wouldn't work up an appetite after a climb like that?), the inlet offers plenty of spots to grab some grub.
You'll find the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse and Museum about 11 miles south of Daytona Beach. The lighthouse and museum are open daily, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m Memorial Day through Labor Day, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Labor Day to Memorial Day. Admission for adults costs $6.95; children (ages 3 to 11) can enter for $1.95; admission is free for infants up to 2 years old. For more information, visit the official website.
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#1 Daytona Beach
Stretching for more than 23 miles, the "World's Most Famous Beach" is a must-see if you're in Daytona. Situated near the middle of the peninsula, the beach is famous for its large crowds, bustling pier and hard-packed sand. In fact, it's thanks to the sand's firm composition that drivers are allowed to park their cars right on the beach. Though some see this privilege as a major convenience, parents lament the fact the cars create another safety hazard for young children. However, there is a mile-long pedestrian-only zone that surrounds the pier. Beyond the pier you'll also find a variety of shops, bars and restaurants.
The beach is open 24 hours a day to pedestrians, but driving hours are limited to sunrise to sunset (permitting tidal conditions) between Nov. 1 and April 30, and between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. May 1 through Oct. 31. Access to the beach is free, but you will have to shell out $20 per day to drive on the beach from Feb. 1 through Nov. 30. The speed limit on the beach is 10 mph. Pedestrians and drivers should also be mindful of nesting sea turtles from May to October, who typically nest in marked dune areas.
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Elegance and class on 65 secluded acres! 3bed/3bath, open concept with formal entry and dining, study/entertainment suite with wet bar. Patio and dining nook overlook large pond, fruit trees. Classy pipe/cable fenced entrance and drive. Acres are partial wooded, partial pasture. Excellent deer hunting! Property has well-maintained cross fencing and is cattle ready. Lots of extras! Two fireplaces, two H/A units, two water heaters, central vac, generator plug-in, walk-in attic storage, sprinkler system. *2000sf shop with very nice apartment.* Magazine schools.
From Paris: South on State Hwy 109 7 miles. Location on left. From Magazine: North on State Hwy 109 6 miles. Location on right. Silver pipe entrance.


We have more than 50 years experience and in this time we have expanded our operations across many communities on Vancouver Island, from Victoria to Campbell River. Our services have advanced at a leading pace with the industry and with the increase awareness of environmental responsibility.
rental and delivery of bins and storage containers.
We continuously strive to develop new services and methods to recycle waste materials in an environmentally responsible manner.


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The Athenaeum- Under new management
A clubhouse for those who share an interest in literature, the arts and sciences, international politics and philosophy
Anarcho-Communism
"... it works anyway." Washpost
"...on the Road to Mars?" Musk
"...the Black History of Pocahontas Island." Washpost
Ortega - by Richard Sale
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"When the Evening Dim, Draws Round Us" By Richard Sale
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Robert E. Stevenson Jr. on Ortega - by Richard Sale
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Herbert Ely on Lecture on Islam - Lang
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"How Santa Claus Came To Simpson's Bar"- Bret Harte
It had been raining in the valley of the Sacramento. The North Fork had overflowed its banks and Rattlesnake Creek was impassable. The few boulders that had marked the summer ford at Simpson's Crossing were obliterated by a vast sheet of water stretching to the foothills. The up stage was stopped at Grangers; the last mail had been abandoned in the tules, the rider swimming for his life. "An area," remarked the "Sierra Avalanche," with pensive local pride, "as large as the State of Massachusetts is now under water."
Nor was the weather any better in the foothills. The mud lay deep on the mountain road; wagons that neither physical force nor moral objurgation could move from the evil ways into which they had fallen, encumbered the track, and the way to Simpson's Bar was indicated by broken-down teams and hard swearing. And farther on, cut off and inaccessible, rained upon and bedraggled, smitten by high winds and threatened by high water, Simpson's Bar, on the eve of Christmas day, 1862, clung like a swallow's nest to the rocky entablature and splintered capitals of Table Mountain, and shook in the blast.
As night shut down on the settlement, a few lights gleamed through the mist from the windows of cabins on either side of the highway now crossed and gullied by lawless streams and swept by marauding winds. Happily most of the population were gathered at Thompson's store, clustered around a red-hot stove, at which they silently spat in some accepted sense of social communion that perhaps rendered conversation unnecessary. Indeed, most methods of diversion had long since been exhausted on Simpson's Bar; high water had suspended the regular occupations on gulch and on river, and a consequent lack of money and whiskey had taken the zest from most illegitimate recreation. Even Mr. Hamlin was fain to leave the Bar with fifty dollars in his pocket -- the only amount actually realized of the large sums won by him in the successful exercise of his arduous profession. "Ef I was asked," he remarked somewhat later, --"ef I was asked to pint out a purty little village where a retired sport as didn't care for money could exercise hisself, frequent and lively, I'd say Simpson's Bar; but for a young man with a large family depending on his exertions, it don't pay." As Mr. Hamlin's family consisted mainly of female adults, this remark is quoted rather to show the breadth of his humor than the exact extent of his responsibilities.
Howbeit, the unconscious objects of this satire sat that evening in the listless apathy begotten of idleness and lack of excitement. Even the sudden splashing of hoofs before the door did not arouse them. Dick Bullen alone paused in the act of scraping out his pipe, and lifted his head, but no other one of the group indicated any interest in, or recognition of, the man who entered.
It was a figure familiar enough to the company, and known in Simpson's Bar as "The Old Man." A man of perhaps fifty years; grizzled and scant of hair, but still fresh and youthful of complexion. A face full of ready, but not very powerful sympathy, with a chameleon-like aptitude for taking on the shade and color of contiguous moods and feelings. He had evidently just left some hilarious companions, and did not at first notice the gravity of the group, but clapped the shoulder of the nearest man jocularly, and threw himself into a vacant chair.
"Jest heard the best thing out, boys! Ye know Smiley, over yar -- Jim Smiley -- funniest man in the Bar? Well, Jim was jest telling the richest yarn about --"
"Smiley's a ---- fool," interrupted a gloomy voice.
"A particular ---- skunk," added another in sepulchral accents.
A silence followed these positive statements. The Old Man glanced quickly around the group. Then his face slowly changed. "That's so," he said reflectively, after a pause, "certingly a sort of a skunk and suthin of a fool. In course." He was silent for a moment as in painful contemplation of the unsavoriness and folly of the unpopular Smiley. "Dismal weather, ain't it?" he added, now fully embarked on the current of prevailing sentiment. "Mighty rough papers on the boys, and no show for money this season. And tomorrow's Christmas."
There was a movement among the men at this announcement, but whether of satisfaction or disgust was not plain. "Yes," continued the Old Man in the lugubrious tone he had, within the last few moments, unconsciously adopted, --"yes, Christmas, and tonight's Christmas eve. Ye see, boys, I kinder thought -- that is, I sorter had an idee, jest passin' like, you know -- that may be ye'd all like to come over to my house tonight and have a sort of tear round. But I suppose, now, you wouldn't? Don't feel like it, may be?" he added with anxious sympathy, peering into the faces of his companions.
"Well, I don't know," responded Tom Flynn with some cheerfulness. "P'r'aps we may. But how about your wife, Old Man? What does SHE say to it?"
The Old Man hesitated. His conjugal experience had not been a happy one, and the fact was known to Simpson's Bar. His first wife, a delicate, pretty little woman, had suffered keenly and secretly from the jealous suspicions of her husband, until one day he invited the whole Bar to his house to expose her infidelity. On arriving, the party found the shy, petite creature quietly engaged in her household duties, and retired abashed and discomfited. But the sensitive woman did not easily recover from the shock of this extraordinary outrage. It was with difficulty she regained her equanimity sufficiently to release her lover from the closet in which he was concealed and escape with him. She left a boy of three years to comfort her bereaved husband. The Old Man's present wife had been his cook. She was large, loyal, and aggressive.
Before he could reply, Joe Dimmick suggested with great directness that it was the "Old Man's house," and that, invoking the Divine Power, if the case were his own, he would invite whom he pleased, even if in so doing he imperilled his salvation. The Powers of Evil, he further remarked, should contend against him vainly. All this delivered with a terseness and vigor lost in this necessary translation.
"In course. Certainly. Thet's it," said the Old Man with a sympathetic frown. "Thar's no trouble about THET. It's my own house, built every stick on it myself. Don't you be afeard o' her, boys. She MAY cut up a trifle rough -- ez wimmin do -- but she'll come round." Secretly the Old Man trusted to the exaltation of liquor and the power of courageous example to sustain him in such an emergency.
As yet, Dick Bullen, the oracle and leader of Simpson's Bar, had not spoken. He now took his pipe from his lips. "Old Man, how's that yer Johnny gettin' on? Seems to me he didn't look so peart last time I seed him on the bluff heavin' rocks at Chinamen. Didn't seem to take much interest in it. Thar was a gang of 'em by yar yesterday -- drownded out up the river -- and I kinder thought o' Johnny, and how he'd miss 'em! May be now, we'd be in the way ef he wus sick?"
The father, evidently touched not only by this pathetic picture of Johnny's deprivation, but by the considerate delicacy of the speaker, hastened to assure him that Johnny was better and that a "little fun might 'liven him up." Whereupon Dick arose, shook himself, and saying, "I'm ready. Lead the way, Old Man: here goes," himself led the way with a leap, a characteristic howl, and darted out into the night. As he passed through the outer room he caught up a blazing brand from the hearth. The action was repeated by the rest of the party, closely following and elbowing each other, and before the astonished proprietor of Thompson's grocery was aware of the intention of his guests, the room was deserted.
The night was pitchy dark. In the first gust of wind their temporary torches were extinguished, and only the red brands dancing and flitting in the gloom like drunken will-o'-the-wisps indicated their whereabouts. Their way led up Pine-Tree Canyon, at the head of which a broad, low, bark-thatched cabin burrowed in the mountain-side. It was the home of the Old Man, and the entrance to the tunnel in which he worked when he worked at all. Here the crowd paused for a moment, out of delicate deference to their host, who came up panting in the rear.
"P'r'aps ye'd better hold on a second out yer, whilst I go in and see thet things is all right," said the Old Man, with an indifference he was far from feeling. The suggestion was graciously accepted, the door opened and closed on the host, and the crowd, leaning their backs against the wall and cowering under the eaves, waited and listened.
For a few moments there was no sound but the dripping of water from the eaves, and the stir and rustle of wrestling boughs above them. Then the men became uneasy, and whispered suggestion and suspicion passed from the one to the other. "Reckon she's caved in his head the first lick!" "Decoyed him inter the tunnel and barred him up, likely." "Got him down and sittin' on him." "Prob'ly bilin suthin to heave on us: stand clear the door, boys!" For just then the latch clicked, the door slowly opened, and a voice said, "Come in out o' the wet."
The voice was neither that of the Old Man nor of his wife. It was the voice of a small boy, its weak treble broken by that preternatural hoarseness which only vagabondage and the habit of premature self-assertion can give. It was the face of a small boy that looked up at theirs -- a face that might have been pretty and even refined but that it was darkened by evil knowledge from within, and dirt and hard experience from without. He had a blanket around his shoulders and had evidently just risen from his bed. "Come in," he repeated," and don't make no noise. The Old Man's in there talking to mar," he continued, pointing to an adjacent room which seemed to be a kitchen, from which the Old Man's voice came in deprecating accents. "Let me be," he added, querulously, to Dick Bullen, who had caught him up, blanket and all, and was affecting to toss him into the fire, "let go o' me, you d----d old fool, d'ye hear?"
Thus adjured, Dick Bullen lowered Johnny to the ground with a smothered laugh, while the men, entering quietly, ranged themselves around a long table of rough boards which occupied the centre of the room. Johnny then gravely proceeded to a cupboard and brought out several articles which he deposited on the table. "Thar's whiskey. And crackers. And red herons. And cheese." He took a bite of the latter on his way to the table. "And sugar." He scooped up a mouthful en route with a small and very dirty hand. "And terbacker. Thar's dried appils too on the shelf, but I don't admire 'em. Appils is swellin'. Thar," he concluded, "now wade in, and don't be afeard. I don't mind the old woman. She don't b'long to ME. S'long."
He had stepped to the threshold of a small room, scarcely larger than a closet, partitioned off from the main apartment, and holding in its dim recess a small bed. He stood there a moment looking at the company, his bare feet peeping from the blanket, and nodded.
"Hello, Johnny! You ain't goin' to turn in agin, are ye?" said Dick.
"Yes, I are," responded Johnny, decidedly.
"Why, wot's up, old fellow?"
"I'm sick."
"How sick!"
"I've got a fevier. And childblains. And roomatiz," returned Johnny, and vanished within. After a moment's pause, he added in the dark, apparently from under the bedclothes, --"And biles!"
There was an embarrassing silence. The men looked at each other, and at the fire. Even with the appetizing banquet before them, it seemed as if they might again fall into the despondency of Thompson's grocery, when the voice of the Old Man, incautiously lifted, came deprecatingly from the kitchen.
"Certainly! Thet's so. In course they is. A gang o' lazy drunken loafers, and that ar Dick Bullen's the ornariest of all. Didn't hev no more sabe than to come round yar with sickness in the house and no provision. Thet's what I said: 'Bullen,' sez I, 'it's crazy drunk you are, or a fool,' sez I, 'to think o' such a thing.' 'Staples,' I sez, 'be you a man, Staples, and 'spect to raise h-ll under my roof and invalids lyin' round?' But they would come -- they would. Thet's wot you must 'spect o' such trash as lays round the Bar."
A burst of laughter from the men followed this unfortunate exposure. Whether it was overheard in the kitchen, or whether the Old Man's irate companion had just then exhausted all other modes of expressing her contemptuous indignation, I cannot say, but a back door was suddenly slammed with great violence. A moment later and the Old Man reappeared, haply unconscious of the cause of the late hilarious outburst, and smiled blandly.
"The old woman thought she'd jest run over to Mrs. McFadden's for a sociable call," he explained, with jaunty indifference, as he took a seat at the board.
Oddly enough it needed this untoward incident to relieve the embarrassment that was beginning to be felt by the party, and their natural audacity returned with their host. I do not propose to record the convivialities of that evening. The inquisitive reader will accept the statement that the conversation was characterized by the same intellectual exaltation, the same cautious reverence, the same fastidious delicacy, the same rhetorical precision, and the same logical and coherent discourse somewhat later in the evening, which distinguish similar gatherings of the masculine sex in more civilized localities and under more favorable auspices. No glasses were broken in the absence of any; no liquor was uselessly spilt on floor or table in the scarcity of that article.
It was nearly midnight when the festivities were interrupted. "Hush," said Dick Bullen, holding up his hand. It was the querulous voice of Johnny from his adjacent closet: "O dad!"
The Old Man arose hurriedly and disappeared in the closet. Presently he reappeared. "His rheumatiz is coming on agin bad," he explained, "and he wants rubbin'." He lifted the demijohn of whiskey from the table and shook it. It was empty. Dick Bullen put down his tin cup with an embarrassed laugh. So did the others. The Old Man examined their contents and said hopefully, "I reckon that's enough; he don't need much. You hold on all o' you for a spell, and I'll be back"; and vanished in the closet with an old flannel shirt and the whiskey. The door closed but imperfectly, and the following dialogue was distinctly audible: --
"Now, Sonny, whar does she ache worst?"
"Sometimes over yar and sometimes under yer; but it's most powerful from yer to yer. Rub yer, dad."
A silence seemed to indicate a brisk rubbing. Then Johnny:
"Hevin' a good time out yer, dad?"
"Yes, sonny."
"Tomorrer's Chrismiss, ain't it?"
"Yes, Sonny. How does she feel now?"
"Better rub a little furder down. Wot's Chrismiss, anyway? Wot's it all about?"
"O, it's a day."
This exhaustive definition was apparently satisfactory, for there was a silent interval of rubbing. Presently Johnny again:
"Mar sez that everywhere else but yer everybody gives things to everybody Chrismiss, and then she jist waded inter you. She sez thar's a man they call Sandy Claws, not a white man, you know, but a kind o' Chinemin, comes down the chimbley night afore Chrismiss and gives things to chillern -- boys like me. Puts 'em in their butes! Thet's what she tried to play upon me. Easy now, pop, whar are you rubbin' to -- thet's a mile from the place. She jest made that up, didn't she, jest to aggrewate me and you? Don't rub thar . . . Why, dad!"
In the great quiet that seemed to have fallen upon the house the sigh of the near pines and the drip of leaves without was very distinct. Johnny's voice, too, was lowered as he went on, "Don't you take on now, fur I'm gettin' all right fast. Wot's the boys doin' out thar?"
The Old Man partly opened the door and peered through. His guests were sitting there sociably enough, and there were a few silver coins and a lean buckskin purse on the table. "Bettin' on suthin -- some little game or 'nother. They're all right," he replied to Johnny, and recommenced his rubbing.
"I'd like to take a hand and win some money," said Johnny, reflectively, after a pause.
The Old Man glibly repeated what was evidently a familiar formula, that if Johnny would wait until he struck it rich in the tunnel he'd have lots of money, etc., etc.
"Yes," said Johnny, "but you don't. And whether you strike it or I win it, it's about the same. It's all luck. But it's mighty cur'o's about Chrismiss -- ain't it? Why do they call it Chrismiss?"
Perhaps from some instinctive deference to the overhearing of his guests, or from some vague sense of incongruity, the Old Man's reply was so low as to be inaudible beyond the room.
"Yes," said Johnny, with some slight abatement of interest, "I've heerd o' HIM before. Thar, that'll do, dad. I don't ache near so bad as I did. Now wrap me tight in this yer blanket. So. Now," he added in a muffled whisper, "sit down yer by me till I go asleep." To assure himself of obedience, he disengaged one hand from the blanket and, grasping his father's sleeve, again composed himself to rest.
For some moments the Old Man waited patiently. Then the unwonted stillness of the house excited his curiosity, and without moving from the bed, he cautiously opened the door with his disengaged hand, and looked into the main room. To his infinite surprise it was dark and deserted. But even then a smouldering log on the hearth broke, and by the upspringing blaze he saw the figure of Dick Bullen sitting by the dying embers.
"Hello!"
Dick started, rose, and came somewhat unsteadily toward him.
"Whar's the boys?" said the Old Man.
"Gone up the canyon on a little pasear. They're coming back for me in a minit. I'm waitin' round for 'em. What are you starin' at, Old Man?" he added with a forced laugh; "do you think I'm drunk?"
The Old Man might have been pardoned the supposition, for Dick's eyes were humid and his face flushed. He loitered and lounged back to the chimney, yawned, shook himself, buttoned up his coat and laughed. "Liquor ain't so plenty as that, Old Man. Now don't you git up," he continued, as the Old Man made a movement to release his sleeve from Johnny's hand. "Don't you mind manners. Sit jest whar you be; I'm goin' in a jiffy. Thar, that's them now."
There was a low tap at the door. Dick Bullen opened it quickly, nodded "Good night" to his host, and disappeared. The Old Man would have followed him but for the hand that still unconsciously grasped his sleeve. He could have easily disengaged it: it was small, weak, and emaciated. But perhaps because it WAS small, weak, and emaciated, he changed his mind, and, drawing his chair closer to the bed, rested his head upon it. In this defenceless attitude the potency of his earlier potations surprised him. The room flickered and faded before his eyes, reappeared, faded again, went out, and left him -- asleep.
Meantime Dick Bullen, closing the door, confronted his companions. "Are you ready?" said Staples. "Ready," said Dick; "what's the time?" "Past twelve," was the reply; "can you make it? -- it's nigh on fifty miles, the round trip hither and yon." "I reckon," returned Dick, shortly. "Whar's the mare?" "Bill and Jack's holdin' her at the crossin'." "Let 'em hold on a minit longer," said Dick.
He turned and re-entered the house softly. By the light of the guttering candle and dying fire he saw that the door of the little room was open. He stepped toward it on tiptoe and looked in. The Old Man had fallen back in his chair, snoring, his helpless feet thrust out in a line with his collapsed shoulders, and his hat pulled over his eyes. Beside him, on a narrow wooden bedstead, lay Johnny, muffled tightly in a blanket that hid all save a strip of forehead and a few curls damp with perspiration. Dick Bullen made a step forward, hesitated, and glanced over his shoulder into the deserted room. Everything was quiet. With a sudden resolution he parted his huge mustaches with both hands and stooped over the sleeping boy. But even as he did so a mischievous blast, lying in wait, swooped down the chimney, rekindled the hearth, and lit up the room with a shameless glow from which Dick fled in bashful terror.
His companions were already waiting for him at the crossing. Two of them were struggling in the darkness with some strange misshapen bulk, which as Dick came nearer took the semblance of a great yellow horse.
It was the mare. She was not a pretty picture. From her Roman nose to her rising haunches, from her arched spine hidden by the stiff machillas of a Mexican saddle, to her thick, straight, bony legs, there was not a line of equine grace. In her half-blind but wholly vicious white eyes, in her protruding under lip, in her monstrous color, there was nothing but ugliness and vice.
"Now then," said Staples, "stand cl'ar of her heels, boys, and up with you. Don't miss your first holt of her mane, and mind ye get your off stirrup QUICK. Ready!"
There was a leap, a scrambling struggle, a bound, a wild retreat of the crowd, a circle of flying hoofs, two springless leaps that jarred the earth, a rapid play and jingle of spurs, a plunge, and then the voice of Dick somewhere in the darkness, "All right!"
"Don't take the lower road back onless you're hard pushed for time! Don't hold her in down hill! We'll be at the ford at five. G'lang! Hoopa! Mula! GO!"
A splash, a spark struck from the ledge in the road, a clatter in the rocky cut beyond, and Dick was gone. *
Sing, O Muse, the ride of Richard Bullen! Sing, O Muse of chivalrous men! the sacred quest, the doughty deeds, the battery of low churls, the fearsome ride and grewsome perils of the Flower of Simpson's Bar! Alack! she is dainty, this Muse! She will have none of this bucking brute and swaggering, ragged rider, and I must fain follow him in prose, afoot!
It was one o'clock, and yet he had only gained Rattlesnake Hill. For in that time Jovita had rehearsed to him all her imperfections and practised all her vices. Thrice had she stumbled. Twice had she thrown up her Roman nose in a straight line with the reins, and, resisting bit and spur, struck out madly across country. Twice had she reared, and, rearing, fallen backward; and twice had the agile Dick, unharmed, regained his seat before she found her vicious legs again. And a mile beyond them, at the foot of a long hill, was Rattlesnake Creek. Dick knew that here was the crucial test of his ability to perform his enterprise, set his teeth grimly, put his knees well into her flanks, and changed his defensive tactics to brisk aggression. Bullied and maddened, Jovita began the descent of the hill. Here the artful Richard pretended to hold her in with ostentatious objurgation and well- feigned cries of alarm. It is unnecessary to add that Jovita instantly ran away. Nor need I state the time made in the descent; it is written in the chronicles of Simpson's Bar. Enough that in another moment, as it seemed to Dick, she was splashing on the overflowed banks of Rattlesnake Creek. As Dick expected, the momentum she had acquired carried her beyond the point of balking, and, holding her well together for a mighty leap, they dashed into the middle of the swiftly flowing current. A few moments of kicking, wading, and swimming, and Dick drew a long breath on the opposite bank.
The road from Rattlesnake Creek to Red Mountain was tolerably level. Either the plunge in Rattlesnake Creek had dampened her baleful fire, or the art which led to it had shown her the superior wickedness of her rider, for Jovita no longer wasted her surplus energy in wanton conceits. Once she bucked, but it was from force of habit; once she shied, but it was from a new freshly painted meeting-house at the crossing of the county road. Hollows, ditches, gravelly deposits, patches of freshly springing grasses, flew from beneath her rattling hoofs. She began to smell unpleasantly, once or twice she coughed slightly, but there was no abatement of her strength or speed. By two o'clock he had passed Red Mountain and begun the descent to the plain. Ten minutes later the driver of the fast Pioneer coach was overtaken and passed by a "man on a Pinto hoss," -- an event sufficiently notable for remark. At half past two Dick rose in his stirrups with a great shout. Stars were glittering through the rifted clouds, and beyond him, out of the plain, rose two spires, a flagstaff, and a straggling line of black objects. Dick jingled his spurs and swung his riata, Jovita bounded forward, and in another moment they swept into Tuttleville and drew up before the wooden piazza of "The Hotel of All Nations."
What transpired that night at Tuttleville is not strictly a part of this record. Briefly I may state, however, that after Jovita had been handed over to a sleepy ostler, whom she at once kicked into unpleasant consciousness, Dick sallied out with the bar-keeper for a tour of the sleeping town. Lights still gleamed from a few saloons and gambling-houses; but, avoiding these, they stopped before several closed shops, and by persistent tapping and judicious outcry roused the proprietors from their beds, and made them unbar the doors of their magazines and expose their wares. Sometimes they were met by curses, but oftener by interest and some concern in their needs, and the interview was invariably concluded by a drink. It was three o'clock before this pleasantry was given over, and with a small waterproof bag of india-rubber strapped on his shoulders Dick returned to the hotel. But here he was waylaid by Beauty -- Beauty opulent in charms, affluent in dress, persuasive in speech, and Spanish in accent! In vain she repeated the invitation in "Excelsior," happily scorned by all Alpine-climbing youth, and rejected by this child of the Sierras -- a rejection softened in this instance by a laugh and his last gold coin. And then he sprang to the saddle and dashed down the lonely street and out into the lonelier plain, where presently the lights, the black line of houses, the spires, and the flagstaff sank into the earth behind him again and were lost in the distance.
The storm had cleared away, the air was brisk and cold, the outlines of adjacent landmarks were distinct, but it was half past four before Dick reached the meeting-house and the crossing of the county road. To avoid the rising grade he had taken a longer and more circuitous road, in whose viscid mud Jovita sank fetlock deep at every bound. It was a poor preparation for a steady ascent of five miles more; but Jovita, gathering her legs under her, took it with her usual blind, unreasoning fury, and a half-hour later reached the long level that led to Rattlesnake Creek. Another half-hour would bring him to the creek. He threw the reins lightly upon the neck of the mare, chirruped to her, and began to sing.
Suddenly Jovita shied with a bound that would have unseated a less practised rider. Hanging to her rein was a figure that had leaped from the bank, and at the same time from the road before her arose a shadowy horse and rider. "Throw up your hands," commanded this second apparition, with an oath.
Dick felt the mare tremble, quiver, and apparently sink under him. He knew what it meant and was prepared.
"Stand aside, Jack Simpson, I know you, you d----d thief. Let me pass or --"
He did not finish the sentence. Jovita rose straight in the air with a terrific bound, throwing the figure from her bit with a single shake of her vicious head, and charged with deadly malevolence down on the impediment before her. An oath, a pistol- shot, horse and highwayman rolled over in the road, and the next moment Jovita was a hundred yards away. But the good right arm of her rider, shattered by a bullet, dropped helplessly at his side.
Without slacking his speed he shifted the reins to his left hand. But a few moments later he was obliged to halt and tighten the saddle-girths that had slipped in the onset. This in his crippled condition took some time. He had no fear of pursuit, but looking up he saw that the eastern stars were already paling, and that the distant peaks had lost their ghostly whiteness, and now stood out blackly against a lighter sky. Day was upon him. Then completely absorbed in a single idea, he forgot the pain of his wound, and mounting again dashed on toward Rattlesnake Creek. But now Jovita's breath came broken by gasps, Dick reeled in his saddle, and brighter and brighter grew the sky.
Ride, Richard; run, Jovita; linger, O day!
For the last few rods there was a roaring in his ears. Was it exhaustion from loss of blood, or what? He was dazed and giddy as he swept down the hill, and did not recognize his surroundings. Had he taken the wrong road, or was this Rattlesnake Creek?
It was. But the brawling creek he had swam a few hours before had risen, more than doubled its volume, and now rolled a swift and resistless river between him and Rattlesnake Hill. For the first time that night Richard's heart sank within him. The river, the mountain, the quickening east, swam before his eyes. He shut them to recover his self-control. In that brief interval, by some fantastic mental process, the little room at Simpson's Bar and the figures of the sleeping father and son rose upon him. He opened his eyes wildly, cast off his coat, pistol, boots, and saddle, bound his precious pack tightly to his shoulders, grasped the bare flanks of Jovita with his bared knees, and with a shout dashed into the yellow water. A cry rose from the opposite bank as the head of a man and horse struggled for a few moments against the battling current, and then were swept away amidst uprooted trees and whirling drift-wood.
The Old Man started and woke. The fire on the hearth was dead, the candle in the outer room flickering in its socket, and somebody was rapping at the door. He opened it, but fell back with a cry before the dripping half-naked figure that reeled against the doorpost.
"Dick?"
"Hush! Is he awake yet?"
"No -- but, Dick? --"
"Dry up, you old fool! Get me some whiskey QUICK!" The Old Man flew and returned with -- an empty bottle! Dick would have sworn, but his strength was not equal to the occasion. He staggered, caught at the handle of the door, and motioned to the Old Man.
"Thar's suthin' in my pack yer for Johnny. Take it off. I can't."
The Old Man unstrapped the pack and laid it before the exhausted man.
"Open it, quick!"
He did so with trembling fingers. It contained only a few poor toys -- cheap and barbaric enough, goodness knows, but bright with paint and tinsel. One of them was broken; another, I fear, was irretrievably ruined by water; and on the third -- ah me! there was a cruel spot.
"It don't look like much, that's a fact," said Dick, ruefully . . . "But it's the best we could do . . . Take 'em, Old Man, and put 'em in his stocking, and tell him -- tell him, you know -- hold me, Old Man --" The Old Man caught at his sinking figure. "Tell him," said Dick, with a weak little laugh -- "tell him Sandy Claus has come."
And even so, bedraggled, ragged, unshaven and unshorn, with one arm hanging helplessly at his side, Santa Claus came to Simpson's Bar and fell fainting on the first threshold. The Christmas dawn came slowly after, touching the remoter peaks with the rosy warmth of ineffable love. And it looked so tenderly on Simpson's Bar that the whole mountain as if caught in a generous action, blushed to the skies.
("How Santa Claus Came to Simpson's Bar" was published in the New York Times on February 18, 1872)
Wishing all Athenaeum/Sic Semper readers, posters, & commenters a happy holiday season spent in the company of family & friends.
-Maureen Lang
Posted at 07:30 AM in Books, Maureen Lang, Prose | Permalink


text:
Sriwijaya Air 737 search teams rule out mid-air...
World Travel and Tourism Council attacks Qantas vaccine...
Teams close in on Sriwijaya Air 737's black...
Joyce doubles down on Qantas vaccine requirement
written by Adam Thorn December 3, 2020
Qantas Airbus A380 Nancy-Bird Walton VH-OQA at the delivery ceremony in 2008. (Airbus/Qantas)
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has doubled down on his pledge that all international passengers will require a COVID vaccine to fly.
He said on Thursday that the airline has made the decision because it has a "duty of care to our people" and it would put "safety ahead of popularity".
The comments come the day after UK became the first major Western country in the world to approve a jab.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday morning, Joyce said, "As the Prime Minister said, it will become a binary choice for international travellers to either get the vaccine or quarantine for two weeks. And quarantine places are very limited.
"Our position on this is clear. We have a duty of care to our people and our passengers, and once a safe and effective vaccine becomes readily available, it will be a requirement for travel on our international services.
"There will be some exceptions for people who can't – for medical reasons – take vaccines. And our flights to New Zealand will probably be exempt given their success at controlling COVID as well, just as domestic flights will be exempt.
"I acknowledge some people are opposed to vaccines in-principle. We respect that. But in return, we ask everyone who travels on Qantas and Jetstar to respect our safety protocols – which will include a COVID vaccine for international flights, at least until the pandemic is under control overseas.
"In the past week, we've asked some of our customers their thoughts on this: 87 per cent said they would take a COVID vaccine if it was required to travel internationally; 85 per cent thought it should be required for travel to at least some countries.
"We will always put safety ahead of popularity – but it seems the vast majority of our customers agree with us on this."
Last night, the UK approved the Pfizer/BioNTech jab – also purchased by Australia – and would begin rolling it out by "early next week".
Last month its manufacturer's chief executive Dr Albert Bourla revealed the vaccine was "90 per cent effective" and would "help bring an end to this global health crisis".
The rollout of the vaccine will be challenging as, unlike some of its competitors, it needs to be kept at minus 70 degrees.
Australia has purchased 10 million doses of the vaccine produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, which is one of the world's leading candidates. The country has also agreed to deals with candidates from Novavax, the University of Oxford and the University of Queensland.
Manufacturing of the Pfizer vaccine is already underway and the business said it could supply up to 50 million doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion in 2021.
The vaccine works by injecting people with the genetic material needed to grow the "spike protein" of SAR-CoV-2 inside their owns cells, which elicits an immune response.
Phase three trials – the final, mass testing vaccines must go through – began on 27 July and has so far enrolled more than 43,000 participants, most of whom took the required two doses. The trial contained a mix of people from a variety of racial and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
BioNTech was founded by two married German scientists, Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci. It originally set out to develop new types of immunotherapy for cancer but has recently concentrated on tackling COVID-19.
COVID has been the biggest crisis Australian aviation has seen. In June, the wider Qantas group said it would cut 6,000 jobs altogether, or nearly 20 per cent of its workforce, and later revealed a further 2,500 ground handling jobs would be lost.
The drastic cuts followed the business' full-year financial results showing a loss before tax of $2.7 billion and an underlying profit before tax of just $124 million.
Virgin, meanwhile, went into administration before cutting 3,000 jobs and axing the Tigerair brand.
Adam Thorn
Huge increase in repatriations with 24 confirmed for December and January
Hrdlicka proves doubters wrong to seal union deal
rickster December 4, 2020 - 9:50 am
What a draconian move from a guy who thinks he's worth $24 million and then fires most of the ground handling staff after accepting millions in government funds. He seems to think that he makes the rules , no one can demand that you have a vaccination, he is suffering from delusions of grandeur. Is it any wonder I dropped flying biz class with this mob back in the 80's.
John G December 4, 2020 - 10:17 am
Vaccination is a good idea. I remember the days when you had to have a valid smallpox vaccination or you weren't allowed to travel or were refused entry into Australia without going into mandatory 10 day quarantine
john December 4, 2020 - 2:53 pm
"Doubled down"! Adam, how about "confirmed.
Adam Thorn December 7, 2020 - 6:17 pm
Because it wasn't a confirmation – Joyce made it clear previously that decision was final. That he choose to speak about it again, in detail, was about him selling this decision to the media.
matthew jones December 4, 2020 - 7:19 pm
I don't get it. All we know is the current vaccines prevent covid-19 disease from developing. They so far have no data showing the vaccines prevent the spread of sars-cov-2 so why do we insist on a vaccine for airline travellers? This seems ill informed and very much jumping the gun.
Michael ONeill December 5, 2020 - 6:56 am
Well, as a Platinum QANTAS Frequent Flyer, who is ready to fly immediately, I am very sorry to realise that my flying days with QANTAS may have come to its end. I refuse to take the vaccine, and have no interest in 14 days solitary confinement.
Glenn Rentoul December 5, 2020 - 4:45 pm
So Mr Joyce will you require all international passengers who want to fly on your Qantas planes to have Flu and Hepatitis vaccines as well????
It seems to me this is bigger than the issue at hand? 🤔
$50k fine for passengers not wearing masks at WA airports
Virgin trumps Qantas by waiving change fees until 30 June
Hangar 106, home to Australia's most significant collection of Great War aircraft


My dog has stepped in her poop that I forgot to pick up more times than I care to share. She'll get to running around in the yard and the next thing you know, I'm giving her an unscheduled bath. It'd be convenient to have a dog poop service clean up my yard for me. It's a stinky job, but someone's got to do it!


text:
Q: WPF coded UI test doesn't trigger the change of bound property I have a WPF view and create a radio button on it programmatically:
// public class MyView
var radioButton = new RadioButton
{
    Name = "NameGoesHere",
    Content = "Use alternative option",
    FontWeight = FontWeights.Bold,
    IsChecked = false
};
radioButton.SetBinding(ToggleButton.IsCheckedProperty, new Binding("UseAlternativeOption")
{
    Converter = new CustomNullableBoolConverter(),
    ConverterParameter = true,
    Mode = BindingMode.TwoWay
});
panel.Children.Add(radioButton);

This radio button has a two-way binding to a property in my view model:
// public class MyViewModel
public bool? UseAlternativeOption
{
    get
    {
        return _useAlternativeOption;
    }
    set
    { // breakpoint here is not being hit when updated from automated UI test scenario
        _useAlternativeOption = value ?? false;
        OnPropertyChanged(nameof(UseAlternativeOption));
    }
}

Now, when I click this radio button in the application, it correctly calls a property setter and sets the value.
The problem is that it doesn't work when I try to do the same from coded UI test:
// public class MyUnitTests
var alternativeOptionRadioButton = UIControlBuilder<WpfRadioButton>.Builder()
    .Parent(ContentPane)
    .AutomationID(AlternativeOptionRadioButtonAutomationID)
    .Build();

alternativeOptionRadioButton.Selected = true;
Assert.AreEqual(true, viewModel.UseAlternativeOption);

I see that the radio button is selected on the form and can see that Selected property is true, but the viewmodel setter is not being hit. I have put a breakpoint on _useAlternativeOption = value ?? false line and it doesn't get hit, while it is hit when run outside of UI test scenario and clicked manually.
Is there anything I am missing?
How to make RadioButton trigger the change of its Binding within automated UI test scenario?

A: Coded UI Tests run in a different process from the application under test. So, make sure your debugger is actually attached to the correct process. You won't hit any breakpoints in the application code unless you also attach the debugger to that process.
To do this in Visual Studio 2017, go to Debug > Attach To Process... and select the process of the application under test.

A: Instead of setting the true/false value, try performing a SendKeys with a {SPACE} key. If space doesn't work, try {ENTER}. I hope this gets you through.
if(!alternativeOptionRadioButton.Selected)
{
    Keyboard.SendKeys(alternativeOptionRadioButton, "{SPACE}");
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The shop itself extends to around 100m2 and has been completely renovated, with a new ceiling, electrics (including three large air conditioning units and an air conditioning curtain), tiles etc and, most importantly, conforms to the very latest legal requirements, including disabled access. To the rear, there are two fully shelved storerooms, one with a fridge and cloakroom, of around 5m2 each.
This bright airy shop has a large 'picture' window to the front, so the many passers-by can easily see the range of goods displayed inside. These goods include furniture, bedding, gifts and homeware (available for purchase separately), although the new owner could expand the range to his/her own preference. It is also worth mentioning that the premises are eminently suitable for a large number of retail or commercial businesses, given the very large useable space and the location.
The shop currently opens from 10.00 to 14.00 and from 16.00 to 19.00, from Monday to Friday and, during the winter months, on a Saturday morning from 10.00 to 13.00; however, the new owner is able to adapt these times if wanted.
The clientele are an international mix, mainly of residents and ex-pats, including Spanish, British, German, Scandinavian and French, many of whom are loyal and returning customers.
COMMENT: This is ideal for a couple with some part-time help, perhaps, who want to be in the busy city centre, so having the advantage of constant footfall and 12-month trading and we strongly recommend viewing at your earliest convenience.
Well located in a busy street in the centre of the capital city, this engaging business is open and trading all year round, so representing an excellent opportunity for someone to take over with immediate effect.
I am interested in the following property b3983bs.


Every year, as part of the New Year Honours list, the Queen rewards special achievements with titles such as Knighthoods and Damehoods.
And while actors, artists and authors like Twiggy and The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood were happy to accept the titles, one celebrity reportedly respectfully turned it down.
Singer Ariana Grande was offered a Damehood for her bravery following the Manchester attack, and organising a concert to support the victims' families.
However, she is said to have turned it down as she felt it was too soon after the incident in May 2017, when a bomb went off at her concert, claiming the lives of 22 victims, including many youngsters.
Just a few weeks after the attack, Ariana hosted the One Love Manchester benefit concert, where the likes of Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus performed, which resulted in more than £10m in donations to the British Red Cross. Fans then started a petition for the Thank U, Next performer to receive a Damehood.
The singer has yet to comment on this.


text:
package org.killbill.billing.jaxrs.json;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonCreator;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;

public class HostedPaymentPageCustomerJson extends JsonBase {

    private final String firstName;
    private final String lastName;
    private final String email;
    private final String phone;

    @JsonCreator
    public HostedPaymentPageCustomerJson(@JsonProperty("firstName") final String firstName,
                                         @JsonProperty("lastName") final String lastName,
                                         @JsonProperty("email") final String email,
                                         @JsonProperty("phone") final String phone) {
        this.firstName = firstName;
        this.lastName = lastName;
        this.email = email;
        this.phone = phone;
    }

    public String getFirstName() {
        return firstName;
    }

    public String getLastName() {
        return lastName;
    }

    public String getEmail() {
        return email;
    }

    public String getPhone() {
        return phone;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        final StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer("HostedPaymentPageCustomerJson{");
        sb.append("firstName='").append(firstName).append('\'');
        sb.append(", lastName='").append(lastName).append('\'');
        sb.append(", email='").append(email).append('\'');
        sb.append(", phone='").append(phone).append('\'');
        sb.append('}');
        return sb.toString();
    }

    @Override
    public boolean equals(final Object o) {
        if (this == o) {
            return true;
        }
        if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) {
            return false;
        }

        final HostedPaymentPageCustomerJson that = (HostedPaymentPageCustomerJson) o;

        if (email != null ? !email.equals(that.email) : that.email != null) {
            return false;
        }
        if (firstName != null ? !firstName.equals(that.firstName) : that.firstName != null) {
            return false;
        }
        if (lastName != null ? !lastName.equals(that.lastName) : that.lastName != null) {
            return false;
        }
        if (phone != null ? !phone.equals(that.phone) : that.phone != null) {
            return false;
        }

        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public int hashCode() {
        int result = firstName != null ? firstName.hashCode() : 0;
        result = 31 * result + (lastName != null ? lastName.hashCode() : 0);
        result = 31 * result + (email != null ? email.hashCode() : 0);
        result = 31 * result + (phone != null ? phone.hashCode() : 0);
        return result;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Apparently, Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen was under duress when he made a bet with comedians Propesa for the Everton versus Gor Mahia friendly match.
As you probably already know, the former English Champions outclassed the 17-time Kenyan champions as they strolled to a 4-0 win at Goodison Park to clinch the SportPesa Trophy on Tuesday evening.
It proved to be a disappointing outcome for a much-hyped clash that had some K'Ogalo fans hoping for a miraculous upset. One of those fans was the Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen who just five days before the clash had struck a bet with Propesa.
He had pledged to donate balls to ten schools of Propesa's choosing should Everton win.
But shortly after the Everton mauling of Gor Mahia, Senator Murkomen released a video statement disowning the bet. Being a learned friend, he argues that he was ambushed and coerced, and therefore, under duress.
Watch that hilarious statement below.


In its place comes the equally charming (and carnivore-friendly) Hammerheads. Specializing in smoked meats prepared in a pair of on-site smokers, Hammerheads still has plenty for veggie lovers. The venue also has been brightened up a bit with a splash of yellow paint and some additional lighting.
The new proprietors, Adam Burress and Chase Mucerino, veterans of the local dining scene, also installed a stuffed hammerhead shark just above the entrance to make sure nobody misses the joint.
The Hammerheads menu is built for carnivores but ranges far enough to please any palate. You can get a pork belly sandwich ($5), made with thick slabs of smoked pork, or a meatless Garcia burger ($7), made with sun-dried tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms and falafel.
Ever the meat-eating tribe, we each chose dishes built on a foundation of animal flesh: Dad went for the pulled pork sandwich ($6), Mom opted for an Angus burger ($7), and I chose the duck tacos ($8). Dad and I each ordered a Falls City draft ($3.50) from the above-average beer list, bringing his beer experience full circle some 60 years later. Mom opted for iced tea.
We ended up splitting an order of fries ($3), which was big enough to share, as well as a side of smoked macaroni and cheese, topped with panko bread crumbs, that carried a hint of flavor from the smoker. We almost opted for a second order of the delicious, creamy macaroni.
Kudos to the barbecue. The pulled pork was tender and smoky, served with a vinegar-based sauce that tasted like a cross between barbecue and teriyaki. I prefer barbecue sauce with more zip, but this had an interesting sweetness. I can't recall having tasted anything quite like it before.
Mom's Angus burger, served on a Kaiser roll, was small but packed plenty of flavor. The burger came dressed with a house-made sauce that appeared to be Thousand Island-based. One can also add blue cheese, smoked cheddar, pepper jack or American cheese for an extra 75 cents. I'm thinking the smoked cheddar would be the way to go here.
The duck tacos were so tasty I could have eaten five. They were served as a pair, taquería-style, in doubled soft corn shells, with the smoky pulled duck dressed with a tasty jalapeño aioli and topped with diced tomatoes and cilantro. Delicious.
There's plenty to love about the Hammerheads menu. For one, the French fries were outstanding — cooked golden brown and skin-on. I can't wait to go back and try the Grippo's fries, which are coated in Grippo's potato chips' barbecue seasoning.
I also hear splendid things about the barbecued lamb ribs ($8 half rack, $15 whole), as well as appetizers like the smoked cheddar grit cakes ($6) and crispy mac-and-cheese balls ($7). One can also choose from "sliders" made with duck, pork or beef ($3 and up), which looked like miniature versions of the regular barbecue sandwiches. It's a great way to try a little of each for about 10 bucks.
On the negative side of the ledger, the blues and rock being piped into the small bar and dining area was a bit loud for the dinner hour. Also, while our server was friendly, well informed about the menu and always on cue, our food came out in waves. There was a good four- or five-minute lapse between my tacos arriving and Dad's pork sandwich finally being delivered.
Nevertheless, the food was top quality and the presentation excellent — many dishes were served on beautiful wooden trays rather than plates. All this attention to detail is a sign of where Hammerheads (which has a Facebook page, complete with menu) is headed.
Looking about the confines, my dad reminisced that while Hammerheads was bright and had clearly been remodeled since his youth, the venue still had the same cozy feel it had in the days when he frequented the neighborhood.
And while it's still tiny — "It never took too many people in here to make a crowd," my dad observed — the new look and menu do seem primed for bigger things.


text:
A song called "Too Old to Rock" could easily be the official anthem of If It's too Loud... Combine that with a press release comparing Sloth Fist to a combination of Descendents and Motorhead and you've officially got my attention. "Too Old to Rock" sounds a bit more like Lemmy and his crew than Descendents, and with this song it's not a bad thing. This is just pure thrashy punk rock and roll. This lives in that hazy area between metal and punk with just enough elements of both to allow both punks and metalheads to claim it without being turned off by the existence of the other sound. Sloth Fist are a fun as hell band that is making me wish something like the Warped Tour still existed.
You can listen to "Too Old to Rock" below. Bombs Away is due out October 7 on Mindpower Records, and can be pre-ordered here. For more on Sloth Fist, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram.
Sloth Fist · Too Old to Rock
Labels: bombs away, Ken Sears, mindpower records, sloth fist, too old to rock


I'm starting to rediscover del.icio.us, and I love how it now knows when I tag something 'research', I'm likely to also tag it 'toread'. Ditto when I use 'collaboration', 'socialsoftware' is presented as a recommended tag.
I like it when software learns and presents sensible choices like that.
Gone off mag.no.lia (or however it's written) then? I'm a bit fed up that I am the only one posting to the Japan group at the moment.
Since that post I haven't actually used Magnolia (as you said, however it's written). I keep forgetting about it. For that matter, today was the first day since April I used del.icio.us!
I like delicious. Meh, I just leave out the periods when I type it too 'cause I always put them in the wrong places. But yeah, I like its simplicity the same way I like Google and Gmail for its simplicity.
I've become a bit paranoid about my del.icio.us bookmarks. Not about what I have in them but that one day they'll have a huge server crash and they'll be lost forever.
Last count I had 538 links in my account – so I've taken to backing them up once a week using the export function. So if something does happen I shouldn't lose too much.
I was temporarily seduced by magnolia's prettiness but the fact I signed up a few weeks back and haven't even logged in once yet does indicate it might not be the solution for me.
del.icio.us on the other hand – I have a backlog of links built up (even if they are all now rather old), and I have it integrated into Firefox with various extensions. Plus, I know how to use it so I don't have to spend valuable time working out the kinks in something new. Sometimes I enjoy kink-workthroughs. At the moment simple, tried, tested, and familiar is looking good to me.
I got 497 links in my account! :O Hadn't realised I had so many.


At Spectile, our team have a wealth of technical knowledge to accompany a wide range of anti slip tiles, in a range of finishes dependent on end user requirements. Our anti slip tiles are tested to comply with all relevant Health Safety Requirements and European Standards (shown below) with certification available for all tiles.
DIN 51130 Shod Foot Ramp Test – R Rating (R9, R10, R11, R12, R13) – DIN 51097 Bare Foot Ramp Test – A+B+C Rating.


Oh, sorry – let me turn off the tv and the radio. I got distracted for a moment.
I don't know about you but I get overwhelmed with all the messages of doom. disaster, injustice, and things that feel too big to change.
Of course, it is important to be informed but constantly being bombarded with bad news makes me anxious. It feels like there is nothing you can do.
That is when you need a mega dose of inspiration and restoration of hope, reminding you that there is still good in this world.
One of my desires as an artist is to bring hope and inspiration to you and others in my own small way.
If you thought the only way to make a difference is to do something big, really big, and dramatic, you would most likely be stopped in your tracks.
What if you could do small, tiny things that could make a difference?
What if those small things could make you feel good AND help someone else?
Drum roll please…….I think you can!
I have created an Act of Kindness challenge for myself and I hope to inspire you to join me!
Small acts of kindness have a way of going beyond their humble origins generating a powerful chain reaction.
Whenever you focus on anything, you begin to notice it more and more, and it expands. Kindness allows you to also feel and notice gratitude.
These feelings have a way of elevating your day, giving you hope in yourself and others.
So, I am excited to challenge myself and you to do 1 small act of kindness every day for 30 days.
I will give you some ideas as we go along that I will share by email, my blog, and social media.
I want to make this as easy as possible for you.
Here are a few simple acts of kindness ideas to start.
A simple but genuine compliment.
Just a couple of days ago, I left the house in a hurry, with no make-up and little attention to my appearance. I was the happy recipient of two compliments from the lovely person giving me my eye exam. She complimented my haircut and said I didn't look my age. Well, hello, she made my day!
That doesn't take time, money, or advance planning – just say some of those nice thoughts you are having out loud.
This could be a thank you card to someone who did something for you or a post it note telling someone what a good job they did.
You have heard of this one many times but paying for a someone's coffee, parking, etc. You don't always get to see the reaction but it leaves people feeling good.
Leaving a flower or muffins or something for a neighbor, a co-worker, friend, or stranger just to put a smile on their face.
Sometimes just getting a reminder that someone is thinking of you is a kind and loving gesture that makes you feel good and in turn nicer to those around you. That is a pretty good gift!
Again this is something so simple but powerful.
You know when someone looks at you and gives you a genuine smile, you can't help but smile back and create a brief but lovely connection.
None of these ideas are big or difficult. It is not as much about what you do.
Deliberate and conscious thinking about kindness is where the magic happens.
I made a fun, free downloadable art quote that I hand lettered that you can print on regular paper or save as a screensaver. It will be a reminder to help you incorporate a simple act of kindness in your day.
I would love to hear from you any ideas you have and what small acts of kindness you are doing that will make this a fun and rewarding way to add a little goodness to our world.


text:
SKIN AND SOFT TISSUE INFECTIONS
SKIN AND SOFT TISSUE INFECTIONS is a topic covered in the Harrison's Manual of Medicine.
Skin and soft tissue infections are diagnosed principally by a careful history (e.g., temporal progression, travel, animal exposure, bites, trauma, underlying medical conditions) and physical examination (appearance of lesions and distribution). Treatment of common skin infections is summarized in Table 87-1; parenteral treatment is usually given until systemic signs and symptoms have improved. Types of skin lesions include the following:
Vesicles: due to proliferation of organisms, usually viruses, within the epidermis (e.g., VZV, HSV, coxsackievirus, poxviruses, Rickettsia akari)
Bullae: caused by toxin-producing organisms. Different entities affect different skin levels. For example, staphylococcal scalded-skin syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis cause cleavage of the stratum corneum and the stratum germinativum, respectively. Bullae are also seen in necrotizing fasciitis, gas gangrene, and Vibrio vulnificus infections.
Crusted lesions: Impetigo caused by either Streptococcus pyogenes (impetigo contagiosa) or Staphylococcus aureus (bullous impetigo) usually starts with a bullous phase before development of a golden-brown crust. Crusted lesions are also seen in some systemic fungal infections, dermatophytic infections, and cutaneous mycobacterial infections. It is important to recognize impetigo contagiosa because of its relation to poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis.
Folliculitis: Localized infection of hair follicles is usually due to S. aureus. "Hot-tub folliculitis" is a diffuse condition caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Freshwater avian schistosomes cause an allergic reaction after penetrating hair follicles, resulting in "swimmer's itch."
Papular and nodular lesions: Raised lesions of the skin occur in many different forms and can be caused by Bartonella henselae (cat-scratch disease and bacillary angiomatosis), Treponema pallidum, human papillomavirus, mycobacteria, and helminths.
Ulcers, with or without eschars: can be caused by cutaneous anthrax, ulceroglandular tularemia, plague, and mycobacterial infection. Ulcerated lesions on the genitals can be caused by chancroid (painful) or syphilis (painless).
Erysipelas: abrupt onset of fiery red swelling of the face or extremities, with well-defined indurated margins, intense pain, and rapid progression. S. pyogenes is the exclusive cause.
TABLE 87-1: Treatment of Common Infections of the Skin
DIAGNOSIS/CONDITION
SEE ALSO CHAP(S).
Animal bite (prophylaxis or early infection)a Amoxicillin–clavulanate (875/125 mg PO bid) Doxycycline (100 mg PO bid) 29
Animal bitea (established infection) Ampicillin–sulbactam (1.5–3 g IV q6h) Clindamycin (600–900 mg IV q8h) plus Ciprofloxacin (400 mg IV q12h) or cefoxitin (2 g IV q6h) 29
Bacillary angiomatosis Erythromycin (500 mg PO qid) Doxycycline (100 mg PO bid) 94
Herpes simplex (primary genital) Acyclovir (400 mg PO tid for 10 days) Famciclovir (250 mg PO tid for 5–10 days) or valacyclovir (1000 mg PO bid for 10 days) 102
Herpes zoster (immunocompetent host >50 years of age) Acyclovir (800 mg PO 5 times daily for 7–10 days) Famciclovir (500 mg PO tid for 7–10 days) or valacyclovir (1000 mg PO tid for 7 days) 102
Cellulitis (staphylococcal or streptococcalb,c) Nafcillin or oxacillin (2 g IV q4–6h) Cefazolin (1–2 g q8h) or ampicillin/sulbactam (1.5–3 g IV q6h) or erythromycin (0.5–1 g IV q6h) or clindamycin (600–900 mg IV q8h) 89, 90
MRSA skin infectiond Vancomycin (1 g IV q12h) Linezolid (600 mg IV q12h) 89
Necrotizing fasciitis (group A streptococcalb) Clindamycin (600–900 mg IV q6–8h) plus penicillin G (4 million units IV q4h) Clindamycin (600–900 mg IV q6–8h) plus a cephalosporin (first- or second-generation) 90
Necrotizing fasciitis (mixed aerobes and anaerobes) Ampicillin (2 g IV q4h) plus clindamycin (600–900 mg IV q6–8h) plus ciprofloxacin (400 mg IV q6–8h) Vancomycin (1 g IV q6h) plus metronidazole (500 mg IV q6h) plus ciprofloxacin (400 mg IV q6–8h) 95
Gas gangrene Clindamycin (600–900 mg IV q6–8h) plus penicillin G (4 million units IV q4–6h) Clindamycin (600–900 mg IV q6–8h) plus cefoxitin (2 g IV q6h) 95
aPasteurella multocida, a species commonly associated with both dog and cat bites, is resistant to cephalexin, dicloxacillin, clindamycin, and erythromycin. Eikenella corrodens, a bacterium commonly associated with human bites, is resistant to clindamycin, penicillinase-resistant penicillins, and metronidazole but is sensitive to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and fluoroquinolones.
bThe frequency of erythromycin resistance in group A Streptococcus is currently ∼5% in the United States but has reached 70–100% in some other countries. Most, but not all, erythromycin-resistant group A streptococci are susceptible to clindamycin. Approximately 90% of Staphylococcus aureus strains are sensitive to clindamycin, but resistance—both intrinsic and inducible—is increasing.
cSevere hospital-acquired S. aureus infections or community-acquired S. aureus infections that are not responding to the β-lactam antibiotics recommended in this table may be caused by methicillin-resistant strains, requiring a switch to vancomycin, daptomycin, or linezolid.
dSome strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) remain sensitive to tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Daptomycin (4 mg/kg IV q24h) or tigecycline (100-mg loading dose followed by 50 mg IV q12h) is an alternative treatment for MRSA.
Kasper, Dennis L., et al., editors. "SKIN and SOFT TISSUE INFECTIONS." Harrison's Manual of Medicine, 19th ed., McGraw Hill Inc., 2017. harrisons.unboundmedicine.com/harrisons/view/Harrisons-Manual-of-Medicine/623645/all/SKIN_AND_SOFT_TISSUE_INFECTIONS.
SKIN AND SOFT TISSUE INFECTIONS. In: Kasper DLD, Fauci ASA, Hauser SLS, et al, eds. Harrison's Manual of Medicine. McGraw Hill Inc.; 2017. https://harrisons.unboundmedicine.com/harrisons/view/Harrisons-Manual-of-Medicine/623645/all/SKIN_AND_SOFT_TISSUE_INFECTIONS. Accessed January 21, 2021.
SKIN AND SOFT TISSUE INFECTIONS. (2017). In Kasper, D. L., Fauci, A. S., Hauser, S. L., Longo, D. L., Jameson, J. L., & Loscalzo, J. (Eds.), Harrison's Manual of Medicine (19th edition). McGraw Hill Inc.. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://harrisons.unboundmedicine.com/harrisons/view/Harrisons-Manual-of-Medicine/623645/all/SKIN_AND_SOFT_TISSUE_INFECTIONS
SKIN and SOFT TISSUE INFECTIONS [Internet]. In: Kasper DLD, Fauci ASA, Hauser SLS, Longo DLD, Jameson JLJ, Loscalzo JJ, editors. Harrison's Manual of Medicine. McGraw Hill Inc.; 2017. [cited 2021 January 21]. Available from: https://harrisons.unboundmedicine.com/harrisons/view/Harrisons-Manual-of-Medicine/623645/all/SKIN_AND_SOFT_TISSUE_INFECTIONS.
TY - ELEC T1 - SKIN AND SOFT TISSUE INFECTIONS ID - 623645 ED - Loscalzo,Joseph, ED - Jameson,J Larry, ED - Longo,Dan L, ED - Hauser,Stephen L, ED - Fauci,Anthony S, ED - Kasper,Dennis L, BT - Harrison's Manual of Medicine UR - https://harrisons.unboundmedicine.com/harrisons/view/Harrisons-Manual-of-Medicine/623645/all/SKIN_AND_SOFT_TISSUE_INFECTIONS PB - McGraw Hill Inc. ET - 19 DB - Harrison's Manual of Medicine DP - Unbound Medicine ER -
MYOSITIS / MYONECROSIS
OTHER CLOSTRIDIAL INFECTIONS
Chapter 89: Staphylococcal Infections
Chapter 87: Infections of the Skin, Soft Tissues, Joints, and Bones
MIXED ANAEROBIC INFECTIONS
INFECTIOUS ARTHRITIS
STREPTOCOCCAL AND ENTEROCOCCAL INFECTIONS


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Q: Single url variable with multiple values into array I have a url with a single variable (category), but the variable has multiple values.
Example: http://websiteurl.com/?category=cat+dog+rabbit+-cow
I'd like to generate an array with this information.
    <?$category[] = $_GET['category'];?>

print_r reveals this:
    $category = Array ( [0] => cat dog rabbit -cow )

Here's what I need that to look like:
    $category = array('cat','dog','rabbit','-cow');

A: Have you tried...
$categories = explode(' ', $_GET['category']);