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SAAB Ball Joint (10mm Holes) 5237516
Ball Joint (10mm Holes) by Genuine SAAB
Product Description
Front ball joint for any 02-09 9-5. 2 per car.
About Suspension Ball Joints
Ball joints connect the steering knuckles to the control arms. The ball joint itself is a flexible ball and socket that allows the suspension to move and the wheels to steer in all directions. Ball joints will eventually wear out and become loose, just like any other suspension component on your car, which can affect tire wear and wheel alignment. Ball joint wear can also cause a clunking noise when going over a bump. If not properly maintained, a ball joint failure can lead to suspension collapse. Make sure your ball joints are properly lubricated (no torn boots) during front end service and replace them immediately if you notice excessive wear and tear.
Country of Manufacture: United Kingdom (Great Britain)
Manufacture Quality: Genuine
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.750
About Genuine SAAB
After WW2 Swedish Aerospace manufacturer Svenska Aeroplan AB needed a profitable outlet for its engineering and production capabilities. The result was SAAB Automobile, some 60 years later the endeavor has yielded some of the most unique and recognizable automotive designs to ever come out of Europe. Turbocharging and novel Safety innovations like a Console mounted ignition key, diagonal, dual circuit brakes and headlight washers became SAAB trademarks. In 1985 SAAB innovated the direct ignition system dispensing with the anachronistic ignition distributor eventually culminating in the laudable Trionic 5, 7 and 8 engine management systems.
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If this is not the exact Ball Joint (10mm Holes) you are looking for, or you would like this part in a brand other than Genuine SAAB, please contact us and one of our customer service experts will help you locate the exact part you need.
Vehicle Fitment & Notes
Click a year range, make, and model below for additional information.
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The eEuroparts for Life™ limited warranty is subject to the following terms and conditions:
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Last Updated: 11/14/2018
Delivery & Returns
Delivery Info
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I have an outfit similar to this that I'm packing for the beach. In North Carolina, they have real summer. I hear they have real summer in other parts of Northern California, but seeing as it's completely impractical to drive 1.5 hours round trip on a weekday whim to prove it to myself, I am instead going to attempt to front load my summer in 10 days. In North Carolina, this isn't even real summer yet, but to my malnourished senses I believe this will be as close as I can get. As you can tell by the sweater and scarf, my mind is telling me that the weather I knew and loved cannot be trusted - I'm a silly San Franciscan now, planning for an unpredictable chill.
Dear East Coast,
Please be hot and humid, just like I remember so that when I sip lemonade, my lips smack with refreshment. And if you could, please also make toting around a fleece a laughable action.
J. Crew - 3" Chino Shorts
Zappos - Sam Edeleman Ginger Sandals in Saddle
Nordstroms - Joie "Marbella" Oversized Linen Sweater
Amazon - Teal Cashmere Pashmina
Life Lately
7 hours ago


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HATTIESBURG - Approximately 500 new Pearl River Community College graduates left the James Lynn Cartlidge Forrest County Multi Purpose Center Wednesday armed with diplomas and the skills and knowledge to take them into the workplace or on to more schooling.The students received Associate in Applied Science or Associate in Arts degrees or Certificates of Proficiency from PRCC President William Lewis after a traditional procession and a brief commencement speech by PRCC alumnus Raymond Hartfield of Austin, Texas.Hampered by laryngitis, Hartfield told the graduates they face a world of inevitable change."One of your major tasks will be to accommodate and take advantage of change," he said. "Continue to learn and reinvent yourself in order to remain marketable and valuable in your field. Thirty percent of you will wind up working in a job that doesn''t exist today."Hartfield, AT&T director of education and research, graduated from then-Pearl River Junior College in 1967 as a music major. He went on to earn bachelor''s and master''s degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of South Alabama and directed school bands before joining the corporate world."Always remember where you came from," he said. "Each of us carries the dust and dreams of the places that helped shape us and all of us can count our blessings that our path has taken us through Pearl River."For dental hygiene graduate Anne Jones of Hattiesburg, graduation marked the start of a second career after many years as a stay-at-home mother to four children."It was a real challenge initially," she said. "I was fearful the brain wouldn''t work, but it''s amazing how that academic part of the brain kicks back in. My previous career before children was computer processing and I taught data processing at Jones County Junior College and Holmes Community College."Jones, 53, graduated with honors and as a member of Phi Theta Kappa honor society and delivered the invocation. She will work this summer at a Hattiesburg dental clinic where an employee is on maternity leave.Heather Schmottlach of Bay St. Louis will continue her education at USM-Gulf Coast. An English major, she graduated with special honors and also is a member of Phi Theta Kappa."It''s been decently hard, challenging, but not too difficult," she said.Krystal Lowe of Purvis plans to spend the summer at home with her four children and start looking for work as a medical billing and coding specialist or a medical transcriptionist when they return to school."The first two semesters were super easy and the next two were super hard, very involved courses toward the end," she said.Approximately 700 students completed their degree or certificate programs in July 2009, December 2009 and last week and were eligible to take part in Wednesday''s ceremony.
PRCC graduates told to embrace change
Submitted by braswell on May 20, 2010 - 7:57am


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Flash Sale Sites For Kids
Going, Going, Gone! The Best Flash Sale Sites For Kiddie Gear
Going, Going, Gone! The Best Flash Sale Sites For Kiddie Gear
For online shoppers, the flash sale is the ultimate guilty pleasure, and as many of us know, the promise of a limited-time bargain can be extremely alluring and even downright addicting. Instead of allowing your in-box to tempt you with unnecessary emails, we suggest you choose your memberships wisely. From your already-favorite brands to more upscale styles, these kid-friendly sites offer the best deals on the web. Limit your load so you can shop smarter. Your credit card will thank you!


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[Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.] Sometimes getting everyone's attention means letting your imagination (or your fans' imaginations) become a reality. People love to talk about when […]
Tag Archives: Arrested Development
Newsletter #929: The "Make It a Reality" Issue
March 21, 2013
Comments Off on Newsletter #929: The "Make It a Reality" Issue - Read & Join the Conversation
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I love taking photos!
All photos labeled "my photo" on this blog are taken by me and are copyright of me, Astrid Hagen Mykletun.
Please give me proper credit - my name and link to this blog - if you use my photos on your blog. Email me for requests about commercial and/or editorial use. Thanks!
I mostly shoot with
iPhone 5s
I have a soft spot for shooting film; this is why. Here are other film lovers' reasons to why they shoot film. PS: Here are my favorite films.
Click the label "photography" for my (mostly) thoughts on taking photos.


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Pumpkin Pedal
Special Olympics Illinois
Sunday, October 5, 2014 from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM (CDT)
Event Details
A TOUR FOR ALL – Join the fun of the Pumpkin Pedal!! This year's 10, 20 & 28 mile trail rides will be entirely on the Great Western Trail. The 40 & 65 Mile Road Rides will be on roads but will utilize the same rest stops as the trail ride. They will all begin and end at Leroy Oakes Forest Preserve on Dean St. just west of Randall Rd. in St. Charles. This is a wonderful ride for families and serious riders.
REGISTER TODAY! – Purchase your tickets by September 19, 2014 and receive your Pumpkin Pedal T-shirt on the day of the ride.
TEAM RIDERS – If you pre-register to ride with 5 or more team riders, you will all receive long-sleeved t-shirts. When registering you must choose the team rider ticket option and include the team's name. Without the team name on your registration, we won't know you are a team rider and you won't receive a long-sleeved t-shirt.
EVENT DAY – The start and finish for all the distances is Leroy Oakes Forest Preserve in St. Charles. It is located on Dean St. just west of Randall Rd. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. and riders may start anytime between 7:45 a.m. and 10:00. The course will be cleared at 3 p.m. This event will take place rain or shine. If cancellation of the event is warranted due to dangerous weather conditions, announcements will be made event day at the event site. A post ride meal will be served from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. A vegetarian option will be available.
WHY BIKE? – Besides the fun you'll have and the great people you'll meet, you'll be riding to help Special Olympics athletes. Your entry will support year-round training for Illinois athletes with intellectual disabilities.
JUST ENJOY THE RIDE – All you have to do is bring your bike and helmet, your family, your friends and pedal!! We'll take care of the rest! You'll find:
- Rest stops with snacks
- Emergency mechanical support
- A delicious post-ride meal at Leroy Oakes Forest Preserve from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. A vegetarian option will be available.
HEALTH & SAFETY – Our main concern!! Please observe the following:
- Bike helmets required!
- Stay to the right.
- Pass cyclists and walkers on the left and say "passing on your left".
- Drink plenty of water.
- Do not ride 2 or more abreast.
- STOP at all road crossings.
- Children under 16 must ride with an adult.
- Stop at stop signs and yield Right of Way.
- Follow all Rules of the Road which apply to both cars and cyclists.
When & Where
Leroy Oaks Forest Preserve
Great Western Trail
St. Charles,
Sunday, October 5, 2014 from 7:30 AM to 3:00 PM (CDT)
Add to my calendar
Special Olympics Illinois
Special Olympics is a global organization that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sport, every day around the world. Through programming in sports, health, education and community building, Special Olympics is changing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities solving the global injustice, isolation, intolerance and inactivity they face. Special Olympics Illinois provides opportunities for more than 21,000 athletes, 40,000 volunteers and thousands more people statewide through 18 Area programs in all 102 counties of the state.
Provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.


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The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach re-opened Wednesday after a crippling eight-day strike that idled most of the docks.
Ships backing up into the harbor at the world's busiest ports will finally be able to unload, allowing millions of dollars worth of products to come to market and providing work for an estimated 20,000 truckers and other workers whose own jobs were impacted by the strike.
The tentative agreement was reached Tuesday night, two hours after federal mediators joined the sometimes tense negotiations between clerical and computer workers and representatives of 14 shipping companies at the ports.
The roughly 800-member local of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, all of them clerical workers who help track shipments at the ports, still must ratify the agreement. But they pulled their picket lines last night.
The approximately 10,000 longshore workers who were supporting them also said they would go back to work, clearing the way for the ports to re-open.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who flew back from a trip to Latin America to help broker an agreement, announced the deal last night.
"Just a few short weeks ago we had the shuttle Endeavour in LA, so I think it's appropriate to say, 'Mission Accomplished,'" said Villaraigosa, surrounded by union leaders and negotiators during a news conference at the Port of Los Angeles.
Few details were available about the terms of the proposed new contract, but the main sticking point — the outsourcing of certain jobs — appears to have been resolved.
"I'm really pleased to tell all of you that my 10,000 longshore workers on the ports of LA Long Beach are gonna start moving cargo on these ships," said Ray Familathe, international vice president of the International Longshore Warehouse Union.
"We're gonna get these ships services and get cargo moved throughout the supply chain and the country and get everybody those Christmas presents that they're looking for in those stores."
The punishing strike prompted the mayor to fly back from a trip abroad to help bring an end to the work stoppage.
Villaraigosa, who had been in Latin America pitching Southern California's port operations to manufacturers, shippers and retailers there, arrived at the harbor at about 11 p.m. Monday, joining the negotiations in the hope of brokering a deal.
Tuesday morning, he said, he called to request help from a federal mediator. The mayor said he also discussed the matter with California's two Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and that he has placed a call to the White House.
Despite claims by both sides that they had made significant concessions in the talks, Villaraigosa said at a news conference on Tuesday that neither had moved on issues of top concern to the other.
In particular, he said, the union, which was worried about outsourcing jobs, might need to compromise on other issues to get movement on its top priority.
As the talks dragged on, the clerical workers continued to walk picket lines.
Each side blamed the other for the slow pace of negotiations.
John Fageaux, spokesman for Local 63 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said his organization had backed down on a demand that the companies re-hire 51 positions that the union said had been outsourced, but received no productive response from the employers.
But Stephen Berry, an attorney representing the shipping companies, said those jobs had never been outsourced in the first place. Instead, he said, they represented positions that had been held by clerical workers who were not replaced after they retired.
For his part, Berry said that the shipping companies had agreed to one of the union's key demands, saying that they would hire certain temporary workers from the union's hiring hall, rather than going to outside contractors.
But he said that the union was not satisfied with that offer. He said the union failed to recognize that the economy had still not recovered from the boom years.
The stoppage at 10 of the port's 14 terminals will not affect holiday shipments, experts said, because the toys, books, electronics and clothes aimed at the gift market arrived months ago.
But Villaraigosa said it affected about 20,000 truck drivers, retailers and others who are awaiting shipments for upcoming seasons.
To cope with the strike, some ships changed their itineraries in order to delay their stops in L.A. until after the work action was settled.
For example, a number of vessels had planned to stop first in Los Angeles and then travel on to Oakland. Instead, they swapped those two destinations, heading first to the Bay Area port before then coming south to L.A., said Roberto Bernardo, a spokesman for the Port of Oakland.


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Our videographer Elena Parker -- a serious food and film buff -- is really good at throwing movie-themed dinner parties. She and her friends cook together, serve up, and eat while they watch.
We've asked her to share the menus for her favorite films with us -- here's the latest installment: the whimsical French film Amélie.
2002 was a big year for my relationship with the movies, mostly because of a profound experience in early May which altered the entirety of the universe (at least, it seemed at the time). You see, for me, 2002 was the year of Amélie.
I think most of you know this film. It feels almost as if Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain has become a pillar of sorts for women of my generation, or at least those who blog [someone should write a thesis about Amelie, the internet, and whimsy, methinks]. But for those of you who somehow have not seen the film:
Amélie, by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, stars the fabulous Audrey Tautou as a young, quirky woman in Paris working at a Montmartre café called "The Two Windmills." The discovery of a box of a young boy's hidden treasures spurs Amelie to seek out the owner and return it. The delivery of the box so enthralls her that she begins assisting others in her own, very special, way. In the midst of escorting a blind man across the street while supplying a colorful narrative of the environment, using a mysteriously traveling gnome to get her recluse father out of the house, or avenging the local grocer's verbal attacks on his assistant, Amelie stumbles across a man who might just be her soul mate.
Beyond inspiring a long-gestating desire to hang Michael Sowa's portraits of a dog and a goose wearing pearls above my bed, Amélie changed my entire perspective on what a movie could be. After Amélie, I understood that the magical feeling that I felt when I watched a great film was meticulously designed. I'm talking about design that is more than mere set dressing: rather, a synchronicity of all the pieces of a movie and a phenomenon in which hundreds of people all produce the right emotions at the right time. From the colors, to the music and sound, to the performances, to the cheerfully unexpected computer effects (Amélie melting after an encounter with her would-be-lover, for example), it is an experience of perfect orchestration. Come to think of it, it's not much different than a perfectly prepared recipe.
Towards the end of the film (in a scene which always makes me cry), Amelie bakes her "famous plum cake." While we never see it finished, I can only imagine that, like the film, it is light, sweet and delectable.
As it happens, food52 has its own delightful plum cake and since the minute I started this column I've been saving it for my Amélie post. I can only hope that both the cake and the film produce as much pure delight and perfection for you as they did for me.
(If you click through to YouTube, you can turn on the subtitles.)
Dinner from The Two Windmills
Grilled Bread with Thyme Pesto and Preserved Lemon Cream by fiveandspice
French Peasant Beets by Amy_N-B
Mussels for One or Two by lastnightsdinner
Late Summer Plum Cake by JSCooks
Want more movie menus? See what Elena's serving with Spirited Away and Some Like It Hot.
See what other Food52 readers are saying.


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Bajirao Mastani is a charred historical saga fossilized under the Indian beds of parochial rules. Bajirao was a mighty warrior pestered by his own internal wars and trampled over as a social pariah.
SLB is all about the big and the rambunctious. So he took the epic project of helming the lost mercenary. The Peshwa who was on his way to rule India, but was deliberately slowed down by his fumed relationships, muck amplified more by societal manacles and religious hindrances, than by his own reckless head.
Ranveer aces the character of Bajirao to perfection. With his natural fluency that never leaves him for a second, a Marathi touch that jackhammers every raised voice with a witty comeback or an intervened split, he wears power with confidence. He is flamboyant in his ways, phlegmatic in his attitude towards a situation, and sheer terror when it comes to threatening his enemies. He dons a natural flair and applies it to everything he does something which is quite rare in Indian cinema.
That being said, SLB isn't all quilts either. He does focus on crucial bits in the movie, however overlooks the apparent, taking the audience for granted at times. Like all the fight scenes in the flick are quite mediocre and over-exaggerated. If you are not in the rhythm of the movie, they would all seem almost indigestible. But oddly he cashes in on the audience's emotional frequency and creates a superhuman that was a lost face in history.
The pace of the movie is outrageously fast, that does raise brows at its editing. You almost want to take a pit-stop to breathe, but then comes gorgeous conversations. Crucial, gut-wrenching dialogues that put the saddle back on the horse. The conversation between Mastani and Kashibai and the one between Kashibai and Bajirao before he goes to war (Heads up for that Krishna-Rukmini bit), hammer the nail further down your heart. Extremely stunning talks that reek of human impotency to set broken things right again!
The ending of the movie, which could have been smacked by a George R. R. Martin blow, ends up getting stretched beyond limit so that emotional Indian audiences connect. At times, the right emotions appear missing from every character's face. There isn't love and yet love is supposed to be there. So, we have to assume, since they weren't exactly looking smitten.
If all of the above negative aforementioned vibes get overlooked, Bajirao Mastani ends up being a complete package. You can't just ignore its soothing screenplay that is filled with brilliant dialogues and intercepting comebacks. They are witty, well thought of, and well researched. Some are quite cheesy as well, but they have been all mastered and well executed by the actors.
Bajirao Ballal ends as a true hero avalanched under the ruins of his own deeds. He lost one of the most crucial wars of his life, the mental one, as steeds race past him and his deadly blade, in his contorted head and he drowns a mortal instead of an immortal unstoppable warrior.
Every penny worth epic!


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March 9, 2010, 5:48 pm
I'm for Ken Buck! Me too!
COLORADO SPRINGS – The first person to greet U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck at a candidate event here tonight was his own volunteer, Erika Chavez.
She held a variety of homemade signs, including ones that read "Ken Will Buck the System," "True Grassroots, Ken Buck" and "Conservative Leadership, Ken Buck."
Next Post »
« Previous Post


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Behind the $1,000 App
Not all apps are free or 99 cents. A handful of developers are pricing their apps at $999.99-the upper limit of Apple's store. Matthew Lynley previews some on Markets Hub. Photo: Apple.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... I ... I ... if you're like me love a good deal you love the free app Brian Wordle of a free Apple sign up for renewal a lot to me is um ... would you pay a thousand dollars for an app that the most they can charge and there are some companies ... that actually charge and their differ reasons for that it's not just to rake in all the big box ... break Matthew Lynn reviews here also this one bought the friends when you want to say some companies and their only know it thirty years of the seven hundred plus thousand hours on the app stars are still pretty strong but yet it turns out you can actually make a good bit of money ... selling out for a thousand dollars in the app store brand is your story that we just flashed up is a really interesting story ... by now ... the one thing is to charge thousand dollars because that's most Apple will lead to torture an outbreak but talk about some the strategies behind these companies and why they're charging the price falls so basically they focus on very niche markets more than anything else so for example one of the apps it's out there is the piano tuning out ... and you never going to sell a million of these asked is there an email in piano tuner on the industry building or maybe four thousand will more than one thousand or so ... so in order to make money off of an app that you're going to sell at most four thousand copies of their houses to set the price higher ... and you know a dollar or two dollars and ten on the one hundred dollars right ... and so if you know it's there and the reviews and was in essence of the instances of this um there's a present when the Wednesday but that was a ... good test a test any app for the offer ... and basically the organ was that will bar the bar exam courses impacts courses or have held a sleek reasonably where they are in each our July monies were in charge a lot of money but not as much of that ... and still pitches much values as it cannot but basically ... the reason for the rating firm on piano tuner is ... the point they made was that ... he has been on a lot of clients with the clients they do have the really need to prop them and they use to distribute CDs and they're ... now using Apple to distribute its distributor ... and they can charge that because they have a market really needs the proper it also helps that Apple's technology is pretty good when it comes and so for sample ... you know when to talk ... about was how does the marker phones are very good on our very get on the I phone you're able to to use uses that you can actually use an app to tune piano this is some sort of an unprecedented ... before so you know it's a combination of like the technology existed distribution offerings the Senator distill the inner they can actually turns out there's a market for this and then tell us what the I V I P is inching because that is anything because it's it's I it's you know when you when your when you pay money for after taking get some kind of like functionality and yet ... the thousand dollars This app is more of like a barrier than anything else and then you know what they said was the reason why the turnstiles NARS gives us the most they can charge you actually have to prove ... that your net worth is you know well more than a million dollars I before e able for eleven to this what's basically an exclusive club the flood of deals with ... new casinos and hotels in that kind of thing ... and aam you know the building to notice that the ... IDP along with a couple of these other causes for looking down the stream see if there's more ... more interesting I may be lower price points you know for example the farm accept is considering breaking up into ... more discrete chunks that bad are you know tube you buy one section of the bars and steady course instead of all that was that he just needed along those lines ... so there's some change purling out that at uni into this tiny tiny market there's there it seems like no it's the Wild West the sort of ... this is is gradually are becoming law so while less an hour in overseeing sometimes in the match was unchanged happening even out the very very very common in the spectrum ... Matthew Lynley can stop the story to thank Slott for


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Or, you may ask, Arvind Kejriwal ko ghussa kyon aata hai... Here is the inside story of the obsessive man behind the draconian Lokpal Bill
Sadiq Naqvi Delhi
"Get a Muslim and Dalit face, we want them on the stage. A lot of negative publicity needs to be countered," says Arvind Kejriwal, before Anna Hazare broke his fast at Ramlila Ground. Team Anna insiders informed that this is how a 'symbolic' Muslim and Dalit girl were huddled to the dais in front of TV cameras, where Hazare was sitting on fast in the 'second freedom struggle'. (Incidentally, the father and mother of the little ones belong to Kejriwal's NGO.)
His friends say that Kejriwal, architect of the Jan Lokpal campaign, can give the best of PR agencies and event managers a run for their money. Since the fast at Jantar Mantar (held between the cricket World Cup and IPL – two cash-rich TV grand shows), and the manner in which mobile companies, TV channels, and multiple fronts were mobilised, including RSS fronts, a lot of strategic thought went into it. "In the first programme against the Commonwealth Games, there were not even 100 people. That's when Kejriwal went to Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravishankar and the Delhi Church. This translated into numbers in the subsequent events," says Devinder Sharma, agriculture expert and founder member of India Against Corruption (IAC). "You just can't match his managerial skills. Every step is taken in a planned manner," says an IAC member. "He is ambitious. There is a strong driving force," says an old friend.
IAC was not just a good coincidence. It was a coalition of individuals from diverse backgrounds in tune with a certain urban-centric ethos. "It wasn't a fluke, but a well-laid plan," says a member of the National Campaign for Protection of Right to Information (NCPRI). "Kejriwal is behind the entire conceptualisation of the Lokpal Bill."
Says an old associate who worked with him in his first NGO: "This obsessive Lokpal piece with the vision of a gigantic bureaucracy is his baby. It's psychic and typical – as if he is repositioning his incestuous past in the bureaucracy, once again playing super-boss and dictator combined. This is in synthesis with the basic fascist character of Anna Hazare's life and philosophy. This is precisely why the Lokpal draft is draconian, without imagination or flexibility, and completely unoriginal. It's reflective of Kejriwal's basic character and wish-fulfilment."
"It's not easy to pick and choose a few people from such a big country. It was a huge task," says Devinder Sharma. In September 2010, a meeting was called at the India International Centre in Delhi by Kejriwal. Participants recount it as a brainstorming session where he picked up points to carry the campaign forward.
With a middle-class 'Amol Palekar' look (sans the simplicity or vulnerability of Palekar), with unimpressive loose trousers and shirt, this ex-IIT, Indian Revenue Service (IRS) man seems to have a burning desire to get things done within iron curtain objectives – in a mechanical, one-dimensional, managerial manner. There is little concern for complexities, ideological/paradigm shifts, social contradictions, larger vision, self-criticism, philosophical underpinnings. Hence, when he unilaterally said that Hazare is above Parliament, his Team Anna associate Justice Santosh Hegde was quick to say, "It was unwarranted. This is what happens when you talk too much."
Others say, why only Hazare, Kejriwal himself would want to be "above Parliament". "And why only Parliament, he would want to be above everything: government, judiciary, Parliament, democracy itself," says a former, bitter associate.
"The movement consisted of people from all shades of political opinion, including Left, Right and Centre," says a recent IAC statement. (Fact is, it was mostly Rightwing.) This was in response to RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat's public declaration that the RSS was out there in full strength at Ramlila Ground during the Hazare fast.
Kejriwal started his career with Tata Steel in Jamshedpur. An electrical engineering graduate from IIT Kharagpur, a journal quoted his father as saying that he initially wanted to join the Indian Police Service (IPS). (All the unrequited police traits are still there for everyone to see, say his critics; also, no wonder, ex-cop Kiran Bedi is currently his best pal.) That's why, perhaps, his rigid stand on issues and a belief that tough and draconian laws are the answer to every problem plaguing this country. He quit his job with the Tatas and decided to take the civil services examination. Extremely bright since his school days, he was selected for the IRS.
Those who know about his "status quoist careerism" for long, laugh at his obsession with 'bureaucratic power'. "So why did he go to IIT in the first place? Is it not absurd and reflective of a certain state of intellectual integrity, or lack of it, that he dropped out of engineering to become a revenue officer? What a pity!" says an old friend of Kejriwal. "And then, irony of irony, dropping IRS, to start an NGO! He could very well have started an NGO in Haryana itself!"
Apparently disgruntled with the inept and corrupt ways of the Indian bureaucracy early in his career, he started to think of ways to tackle it. "Since his training days, he would say that he wants to work on tackling corruption in the country," recounts a faculty member from the civil services academy in Mussoorie. "He seemed to have a genuine interest in tackling corruption."
Old associates told Hardnews how he would organise camps outside the then DESU offices, where consumers were asked not to bribe the officials. "He soon realised that this was not enough; so he started working with the MCD on the sanitation system in Pandav Nagar and IP extension," says a former associate.
Even as he was a serving deputy commissioner in the Income Tax Department, he got a group of 'like-minded people' together and "secretly" started an NGO called Sampoorna Parivartan at Pandav Nagar, East Delhi, after he found that the name Parivartan was already registered. "I don't know how he managed to bring all these people together. However, at least one member of the governing body was an RSS man," says an old associate. Manish Sisodia, now a close confidante, was also part of the team, though he was not a regular. Incidentally, Kejriwal registered Kabir in 1999 at Pandav Nagar itself.
In 2001, the Delhi RTI Act was implemented. "This gave Arvind a readymade issue on which he hadn't even worked. So he quickly shifted his gaze from corruption to RTI," says the associate. Now, Sampoorna Parivartan was using RTI to set things right in MCD and other civic bodies.
As the organisation grew, Kejriwal became its sole face and unilateral authority. "Others felt ignored and left out." Obviously, differences were bound to rise. It reportedly arose within the governing body too, with most of its members not involved in day-to-day activities. Active members, including Kejriwal, wanted internal elections. "Kejriwal was also not heard," says an ex-employee of the NGO. "All of us wanted that we, who are working in the field, should be made part of the governing body. It had to be democratic. When they did not listen, all of us, including Kejriwal, left the outfit," says Rajeev, an old time associate. The governing body had differences on Kejriwal's association with Aruna Roy, and the organisation's proposed Jan Sunwayi (public hearing) at Sunder Nagri in East Delhi. The body was opposed to this grassroots action. So, on August 15, 2002, Kejriwal and others left Sampoorna Parivartan.
"Kejriwal said let's find some work and we will get together again when we have some money," recounts an associate. A few days later, all the associates met at his Girnar Apartment flat in Kaushambi and decided to go ahead with the proposed Jan Sunwayi, insisting they don't need money for it. Manish Sisodia was also present. The new campaign was called Parivartan. An office was also set up at Sunder Nagri.
Soon after, one of the first urban Jan Sunwayis in the country was held in Sunder Nagri, with a galaxy of well-known faces, including Aruna Roy and Arundhati Roy. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Aruna Roy's Rajasthan-based group (Kejriwal was in close touch with them) helped in the preparations. "He had attended a public hearing in Rajasthan and found it revolutionary," says an MKSS member. "We wanted to help him. We did not know of his associations or tendencies. We imagined Parivartan could be a credible grassroots outfit in urban areas."
With a hardworking team, Parivartan started to grow. Based in Sunder Nagri, among many things, it was working on the RTI and against corruption in the Public Distribution System (PDS). "He thought PDS was a mobilising force," says a colleague.
As Kejriwal expanded his reach in other networks like the NCPRI, funding became an issue. Parivaratan was still a campaign and not a registered NGO or trust that could apply for funds or grants. "This is when he quietly told us that he already had an NGO registered (Kabir) and it just needed to be activated – and we can get funds," says an associate.
This is how Manish Sisodia came into the picture. A producer with Zee network, Sisodia was roped in full-time. This is when some of the old timers decided to leave Parivartan. "Post Kabir, it became messy. Objectives of the campaign seemed to have taken a back seat," says an associate.
By now, he had taken 'study leave' from his IRS duties. This 'study leave' has now become 'financially controversial' (the rule is, after two years of study leave, it is mandatory to work for three years). An old associate claimed that Kejriwal had no plans of rejoining the IRS, but was still withdrawing salary from the government.
In Parivartan, the rule was that nobody would earn more than Rs 15,000 a month. There were people who left the organisation after Kejriwal refused to give them a salary hike even though he was reportedly taking fellowships from some institutions, including the Centre for Equity Studies.This rule was never followed in his case, his associates say. Rules were later changed for Kabir. Sisodia, and other 'technocrats' who joined Kabir, were taken on high salaries.
"Among the first funders of Kabir was Ford Foundation," says Rajeev, who himself runs an NGO now. There were other funders as well, including Association for India's Development (AID), he remembers. Ford Foundation has since been a generous funder of Kabir, giving it nearly $569,000 in the last six years. So much so, there were speculations that the entire anti-corruption campaign was running on this money. Kejriwal terms this as mere foresight; he claimed (The Hindu, August 31) that the last instalment totalling $200,000 has not been taken by Kabir as yet. Something which, NGO veterans say, seems funny, as grants are only given on the basis of detailed proposals.
Rajeev was disillusioned after his request for an audit of Kabir's account was turned down by Kejriwal. "It started interestingly one day with chai and samosas when he asked why we should give out information that we are funded by international outfits," says Rajeev, adding that four months later Kejriwal wrote a mail saying that anyone can audit the accounts. "There was certainly some sort of bungling in the accounts," says an associate. "Why else would he be so secretive about it?"
Meanwhile, Kejriwal reportedly told one of his associates that he was asked to teach once again at Sankalp, the RSS-run coaching classes for civil services aspirants. "He used to teach there earlier. I told him this would not be a good idea," says a colleague. There are unsubstantiated stories about Kejriwal's old family connections with the RSS. "This does not make him RSS," clarifies one of his friends. "That he kept mum on the RSS involvement in the Anna movement is a clear pointer to where he stands," says another old associate.
Working in tandem with activists of the NCPRI, Kejriwal became a regular at World Bank and UN events. "He would go to attend Jan Sunwayis organised by World Bank and UN," says an associate. "Contrary to the norms in Parivartan, he would not consult the team before going for any such meetings," he adds.
Also, with his strong media management skills, he suddenly became RTI's face in Delhi. "He considered it a magic wand," says an RTI activist. "With his populist approach, he approached Indu Jain, proprietor of the Times of India, and became a partner in a one-year-long campaign on RTI. He wanted to take all the credit," says a veteran social activist. "He was now all over the place. An RTI Manch was established in Delhi. This is how he operates; he establishes partnerships with the corporate media, uses them to the hilt."
He got in touch with other activists, including Sandeep Pandey. "This is how he got the Magsaysay," says an associate, "It was not the right time to recommend him for a Magsaysay." "I think it was Pandey who recommended his name for the award," says Rajeev. Pandey is part of Team Anna. He too is apparently terribly miffed.
Post Magsaysay, things took an altogether different turn. "He became totally disinterested in Parivartan," says Ritu, who was among the founders of Sampoorna Parivartan. "He came to office just once in 18 months after receiving the award," says a colleague. "Parivartan has been dead since," says another associate. "He did not work as much for the nationwide RTI Act as people believe. There was more hype than anything of substance. There were huge differences, with good people
distancing themselves."
Now, he was hobnobbing for his friends and associates to get them plum postings in the newly set up Central Information Commission (CIC) in Delhi. "He proposed Sisodia's name for the post of independent commissioner in the CIC through backdoor channels," says a senior RTI activist. This did not materialise, however, reportedly because of Sisodia's lack of experience on the ground. "He was pitching for Shailesh Gandhi, who was later appointed. However, he had differences with Gandhi too, and in one instance he got really angry when Gandhi disagreed with his idea of penalising every erring public information officer," says the activist.
With the Magsaysay money, he started a 'trust': Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF). It was this 'trust' which organised RTI awards in five star hotels with corporate funding, involving media groups like NDTV and Dainik Jagran, with active support of multi-millionaire film stars like Aamir Khan. "This was shocking for many veterans, including the late editor of Jansatta, Prabhash Joshi, who said that if one starts taking money from corporates, it would defeat the whole purpose of RTI," says an activist. Kejriwal reportedly told Joshi that he can't back off.
"It is a marriage of convenience. It happens with him all the time. He would later feign ignorance even though he knows exactly what he is doing," says an associate. A similar thing happened during the Lokpal movement when people raised questions on the presence of another millionaire guru, Baba Ramdev, despite his overt Sangh Parivar links. Indeed, Ramdev gave a speech at Ramlila Ground also.
A Delhi-based RTI activist says Kejriwal refused to part with information on an application seeking details of funding and expenditure on RTI awards. "It was, if not legal, a moral question, for all those who talk of RTI petitions. I petitioned all the NGOs who work in the RTI sector. Kabir and PCRF gave ambiguous details. Instead, Kejriwal called me and said, come to my office for tea. I refused," says Afroz Alam, a freelance journalist.
"He is an agent of the corporates," says veteran activist Ashok Choudhary. Among other sponsors for the RTI awards were the Tatas and Infosys.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal started a tacit and unsuccessful campaign supporting Kiran Bedi's appointment to the CIC. He also ran a campaign against privatisation of Delhi Jal Board. "It was a good campaign. Despite that, people were feeling marginalised," says an activist.
By now, as is the pattern, his interest in RTI diminished. "His group started saying that there's nothing left in RTI," says an activist. "This is why, when CBI was taken out of the ambit of RTI recently, Kejriwal did not protest."
This dogmatic, obsessive, media-savvy campaigner has a history of taking up one issue after another. And dumping them as easily. "The irony is, he never takes them to a logical conclusion," says an old associate. "In his Gram Swaraj and Mohalla Sabha campaigns, they are asking for decentralisation. However, his Jan Lokpal campaign is asking for complete centralisation. What an irony!" remarked a source. "(Kejriwal) did maximum damage to the (Lokpal) movement," 'waterman' Rajendra Singh said recently.
"He has a simplistic, managerial and dangerous understanding of corruption. He can't link it with communalism, social and political contradictions, stark inequality, income disparity and systemic transformation," says an old friend. "His understanding is apolitical; there is no sense of history," he adds. "His presentations on RTI used to be dumbed-down, mechanical, dry," says a former colleague.
"We could not share the same platform after I discovered he was regularly sharing spaces with anti-Dalit and casteist groups like Youth for Equality," says an old associate. "This is his basic ideology. His silence on Narendra Modi or RSS is tactical. He is opportunistically using forces which can be fascist or corporate – he does not care. This man has no principles, no ideological scaffolding, no clear moral vision. He can align with anybody. And he cares two hoots, as he did in Hisar where his campaign benefited two dubious candidates with a history of massive corruption."
"He attracts good people. But when they don't fit in his scheme of things, they are dumped. Like what happened with Swami Agnivesh, PV Rajgopal and Rajendra Singh, and is bound to happen with Prashant Bhushan. Kejriwal does not need Prashant now," says a former colleague.
Says a veteran NCPRI activist: "He has no base. Even Hazare has a base in Ralegan that he can always go back to. Kejriwal can't form his own political party, since he has publicly said so. Earlier he said Team Anna is not political. Now he is saying he is political. He constantly wants media attention. He is impatient, authoritarian, obstinate and tolerates no dissent. He wants things done only his myopic way – he basically hates democratic opinion, dissent, norms of democracy. Soon he will have no option but to join some political party. And that, surely, won't be Congress. So you can guess which party he is backing now."
"He is very stubborn in his attitude. Perhaps that is why he is so focussed," says Rajgopal.
"What he does not realise is that he can't always get away," says a journalist, an associate from his early days. "His fall into utter disgrace might be closer than he can imagine."
For this ambitious NGO prototype, it's always a machine-like goal to be fulfilled at any cost, with all kinds of allies (like the RSS-VHP-ABVP in the Lokpal movement), and with an unchanging enemy. In this case, the Congress government, the Congress party. At Ramlila Ground it was a common refrain: You can't meet Hazare without Kejriwal's yes. The other joke was, Anna can't break his fast without Kejriwal's yes. As the song goes, "No one can ever change his mind."


text:
This story has inspired many people. This is a short version (6500 words) in easy English, of the true story of a brave Dutch woman. The full story is told by Corrie in her book The Hiding Place, (ISBN 0340208457) which was also made into a film of the same name (by Worldwide Films). It went on general release and is still available in video shops. Corrie was able to rescue many Jews from certain death at the hands of the Nazi SS during the Holocaust. Her rescue work can be compared with Otto Schindler, in the film Schindler's List (taken from Thomas Keneally's book Schindler's Ark). It also helps us to understand the background to The Diary of Anne Frank which took place in Holland too.
Many English teachers use this book in class - it was particularly designed for school use and is one of a series.
Permission is given to download and print out this material for teaching purposes only. At the end of the book are questions which a class can think about, discuss, or write on. If you print it from your browser, use a small font. On Microsoft Internet Explorer 3, toggle the 'Font' button for smallest font display, or go 'View' and 'fonts'. On Netscape, go to 'Options', 'General Preferences' and 'fonts'. You could also save it onto a floppy disk or your hard disk to read off-line. There is also a zipped file of the story in formats .RTF or .MS doc for you to download if you prefer. These files do not contain the pictures.
The War starts
"You need not fear," said the Dutch Prime Minister over the radio. "We shall not be attacked by any of the countries fighting in this war. They have promised this." Father ten Boom suddenly turned off the radio. His two daughters, Corrie and Betsie, looked up in surprise. "The Prime Minister is wrong," said the old watchmaker. There will be war. Germany will attack us and we shall be defeated." That night Corrie and Betsie woke up to the sound of explosions. Hitler had suddenly attacked the peace-loving country of Holland without warning. The Dutch army fought bravely for five days, but they had no chance against Hitler's army and air force. Gradually life changed for the old watchmaker and his family. The streets of Haarlem, the Dutch town where they lived, were filled with German soldiers. No one could buy food unless they had a ration card. Dutch newspapers were stopped. All radio sets had to be given up (although the ten Boomfamily secretly kept one). Then there was the "curfew", which meant that no one was allowed on the streets after a certain time. At first this was fairly late, but gradually it became earlier and earlier, until at last curfew was at six o'clock in the evening. This meant that Corrie had to close down all her girls' clubs, which she had run for nearly twenty years. These had been started for girls of 12-18 years, and included activities like gymnastics, music, walking and camping. But in the midst of all the fun, Corrie had taken time to teach the girls that God loved them, and that they could always turn to Him in prayer. She also ran a club for mentally-handicapped young people, and she found that many of them really understood when she told them of God's love. Now all this had to end. Corrie was glad she had taught the girls more than how to enjoy themselves. During the terrible years that followed, many of them found real strength from the faith in God that they had learned from Corrie.German soldiers confiscating radio sets
The Star of David
(Still from The Hiding Place)
Soon worse things happened. One Sunday afternoon, all the young men out on the streets were rounded up by German soldiers and sent to Germany as slave factory-workers. Some were never seen again. From that time onwards, young Dutchmen had to go about secretly or stay in hiding. The German soldiers also began to smash the windows of shops owned by Jewish people and steal the goods inside. Sometimes the Jewish shopkeepers and their families disappeared as well. At the time, no one knew what happened to them. Now we know that Hitler and the Nazis murdered over six million Jews in Europe.
One day there was an order for all the Jewish people in Holland to report to the police. They were told that they must wear a bright yellow star, the "Star of David", on their clothes, wherever they went. The Jews had always been proud of this sign, but now it had become a label that set them apart from other people.
The ten Boom family were very sad about this. They loved the Jewish people because the Bible says that they are God's "chosen people". Jesus Himself was a Jew, and most of the Bible has come to us through the Jews. Father ten Boom also had a son, called Willem. Willem was a church minister, and had worked with Jewish people for a long time. He had a large house in Hilversum for Jews who had escaped from Hitler's Germany before the war. Now he had to find safer places for them to live. On a rainy day in November 1941, some German soldiers broke into a fur shop across the road from the ten Boom home. It was owned by a Jew called Mr Weil. The soldiers smashed the windows and took all the furs. Then they threw Mr Weil's clothes into the street. Corrie ran outside and brought Mr Weil into their home above the watch shop. He told them that his wife was staying with friends in Amsterdam. It was clear that Mr and Mrs Weil could not go back to their home. As they thought about the problem, Corrie and her sister Betsie both felt they must ask their brother Willem what they should do. Corrie went to his home in Hilversum that afternoon. Willem was out, but his twenty-two-year-old son, Kik, was in. Corrie explained the problem.
"Tell Mr Weil to be ready as soon as it's dark," said Kik. That evening at nine o'clock Kik rapped on the door, and led Mr Weil away into the dark. About two weeks later, Corrie met Kik again. She asked where he had taken Mr Weil. "If you are going to work with the 'underground', Aunt Corrie, then you must learn not to ask questions," he answered with a smile. Soon other Jewish people came to the ten Boom home asking for help. Although the family knew it was dangerous, they were all agreed that they must help. They had several spare rooms in the old house, but it was only a hundred yards from Haarlem Police Station! Besides, there was the problem of getting food for people who had no ration cards.
The Dutch underground
Corrie went to talk things over with her brother Willem, but he could not help. He already had so many people who needed hiding-places that he could not deal with any more. "You will need ration cards as well as places to hide your Jewish friends," he said. "You will have to find your own supply."
On her way back to Haarlem, Corrie thought hard. How could she get ration cards? How could she find families who were willing to risk hiding a Jewish person? She began to pray. As she did so, a name flashed into her mind - Fred Koornstra. His daughter used to belong to one of Corrie's girls' clubs. Yes, didn't he work in the office where ration cards were issued? But would he help? Could he be trusted? Again she prayed, and then felt certain that she should go and see him. That evening she called on Fred. Could he help? "Quite impossible," he replied. "Those cards are counted over and over again. There is no way I could take any - unless there was a robbery! Perhaps I know the very man...." "Don't tell me any more," said Corrie. "It wouldn't be safe." A few days later Fred Koornstra called at the watch shop. He had a black eye and some bruises. The "robbery" had been very true to life! But he had the ration cards. Soon Corrie realised that through her girls' clubs, and through the watch shop, she knew half the people in Haarlem. Each time she needed to ask someone for help, she prayed, and then she seemed to know whether it would be safe or not. This was important, for many Dutch people did not want to run the risk, and some were actually helping the Germans in return for more money and food, and good jobs. One evening Kik took Corrie to a big house in Haarlem to meet a group of Dutch "underground" workers. These people worked secretly against the Germans to help the Allies (countries like Britain and France who fought on the same side as Holland in the Second World War). If a British aeroplane was shot down by the Germans, the underground workers would try to rescue the pilot. If they found out about a train carrying ammunition meant for the Germans, they blew up the train. If Dutch people were arrested, they tried to free them. Corrie recognised an old friend of her father's among the underground workers. The ten Booms called him Pickwick because he reminded them of a picture of a character in Charles Dickens' book Pickwick Papers. Pickwick told the others that Corrie was helping the Jews in Haarlem, and one by one they told her how they could help. "I can get you false identification papers," said one. "I can get you an official government car, if you need one," said another. Then she met an oldish man with a wispy beard. He turned out to be an architect. "This is Mr Smit," said Pickwick. (Of course this was not his real name. "Smit", like "Smith" in England, is a very common name in Holland, and it was safer for underground workers to be called Smit!) "What you need," said Mr Smit, "is a secret room in your home, in case the Gestapo raid your house looking for Jews. I will come and visit you to arrange it." (The Gestapo were the hated German police.)
The secret room
"This is a perfect house for a secret room," said Mr Smit when he came. The ten Boom house was a very old house, with all kinds of unexpected corners and spaces in it. "The room should be as high up as possible, to give your people time to hide if there is a raid," he said. In fact he chose Corrie's own little room at the top of the house. He then marked off a space about 75 centimetres from the end wall. "This is where the false wall will come," he explained. "I cannot make the room any bigger, but several people will be able to get in."
During the next few days, a number of "customers" came to the shop, each bringing tools and materials hidden in harmless-looking bags or boxes. When it was finished, not even Corrie could have guessed that there was anything behind that stained old wall, with a bookcase against it. None of it looked new. Somehow the workmen had made the new wall look a hundred years old! Mr Smit was very pleased with the result. "They will never find this," he said. "But now you must practise getting your 'guests' in there in the shortest possible time. And they must leave nothing behind in the house to show that they are here. If they are eating a meal, their cups and plates must be hidden. If it is at night, even the mattresses on their beds must be turned over so that there is no 'warm spot' for the Gestapo to find." By now they had four regular guests and often other members of the underground as well. So there had to be many practices. In the end they managed it in just over a minute. To give them a little time, one of the guests fixed up an alarm system with a buzzer and several push-buttons, including one near the door of the shop.
As far as possible Corrie tried to find other houses where the Jews could hide. A farm in the country, or a big house, was much safer than her family's little shop in the centre of Haarlem. (Still from The Hiding Place)
By now she was in touch with about eighty people, all helping the Jews to escape. Some were only teenagers who ran messages. Usually they used a code."We have an old watch, with an unusual face. Do you know someone who would like to buy it?" This would mean that there was an elderly Jew whose face would easily give him away. One day a policeman named Rolf came into the watch shop. Corrie knew he was one of the underground workers. He asked Corrie if she could send a messenger to another house with a warning that the Germans were planning to raid it. A boy of seventeen named Jop volunteered to go. But unfortunately the Gestapo got to the house first, and Jop was caught. Corrie and her friends knew that Jop would be tortured. It would be hard for him not to give anything away.
The ten Boom family knew that they ought to stop their work for the Jews now, before they also were arrested. But how could they let their Jewish friends down? They had to go on.
It happened one Wednesday morning in February 1944. Corrie was ill with flu at the time. A Dutchman whom Corrie did not know asked for some money. He said he needed it urgently to save some Jews. Corrie did not feel sure about him, but could not risk letting down any Jews. It turned out later that the Dutchman was working for the Germans.
She went back to bed because she was so unwell. Suddenly the buzzer sounded. All the guests piled into the secret room.
Some Gestapo officers and two Dutch Nazis burst into the house. They took all the ten Boom family into the living-room. Corrie's brother Willem happened to be in the house that day, as well as some Dutch people who knew nothing about the Jews.
The ten Boom family at the beginning of the war
One of the Gestapo took Corrie into another room.
"Where are the Jews?" he asked. "There aren't any Jews here," answered Corrie. She hated telling lies, but surely that was better than allowing people to be murdered, she thought. The policeman hit her, repeating the question, but Corrie did not answer.
"Where is the secret room, then?" he asked, keeping on at her and hitting her again and again. Corrie felt blood in her mouth. She was so ill, and felt faint.
"Lord Jesus, help me," she cried out.
"If you use that name again, I'll kill you," said the policeman. But he stopped beating her and took her back to the others.
Next he started on Betsie. When she came back she also was bruised and bleeding. All this time, German soldiers were searching the house, smashing open cupboards and doors in an effort to find the secret room. But they could not find it, and after half an hour they gave up.
"All right," said the officer in charge, "take this lot to the police station, and set a guard outside the house. If anyone is here they will starve to death."
At the police station, Corrie and her family had to spend the rest of the day sitting on the floor of a large room. Many other people had been arrested at the same time, including Pickwick.
The Dutch policeman named Rolf came into the room.
"Let's have it quiet in here," he shouted. "Toilets are outside at the back. You may go out one at a time under escort."
Then he bent down quickly and whispered in Willem's ear, "You can tear up any papers you don't want the police to see, and flush them down the toilet." Willem passed this on to the others who needed to know.
At home, every evening at about nine o'clock Father ten Boom always held family prayers. Here, under arrest, a group gathered round him to do the same. There was no Bible, but Father ten Boom knew much of it by heart anyway. In his deep voice he quoted some words from Psalm 119:
"You are my hiding place and my shield: I hope in your word.... Hold me up, and I shall be safe."
His faith in God gave the others comfort and strength.
Life in prison
(Still from The Hiding Place)
(Still from The Hiding Place)
The next day they were taken to a prison near The Hague, a town 40 kilometres south of Haarlem. Each prisoner from Haarlem was put in a different cell. The last time they saw Father ten Boom was when they were led to their cells. Ten days later he died.
At first Corrie was put in a cell with several other women. However, when it was discovered that she was ill, she was taken under guard to see a doctor at a hospital.
The Dutch doctor said she was seriously ill, hoping the police would allow her to stay in the hospital. But instead they took her back to the prison and put her in a cell by herself. She stayed there for four months.
Before she had left the hospital, a nurse had given Corrie a small packet which she had hid in her clothes. In it she found a toothbrush, some soap and, best of all, copies of the four Gospels in booklet form.
Life in prison is never pleasant, but here it was dreadful. There was no bed in Corrie's cell, just a dirty straw mattress with only one blanket, which someone had been sick on. The cell was bitterly cold. The only food was a plate of thin porridge each morning, and one piece of black bread in the evening.
At first Corrie was desperately ill, but gradually her strength returned. She desperately wanted to talk to someone, but the women warders were very strict. Even the "trusty" prisoners who brought the food round were afraid to talk to her.
Every day Corrie wondered what had happened to the other prisoners from Haarlem. One day the chance came to find out. All the prisoners started to make a noise and the warders did not stop them. It was Hitler's birthday, and all the warders were at a party!
The prisoners called out their names to each other, and passed on all the news they could. Corrie learnt that most of the people from Haarlem had been released. Her sister Betsie was still in prison, and there was no news of her father. It was only later that she heard he had died.
One day when Corrie was a little better, a warder threw a parcel into her cell. She was thrilled to find that it contained some biscuits, a bright-red towel and a needle and thread. It had come from her married sister Nollie, who lived in Haarlem.
She noticed there was something odd about the address and the stamp. It was all crooked. Suddenly she had an idea, and peeled off the stamp. There was some writing underneath: "All the watches left in the cupboard are safe." This meant that all the Jews hiding in the ten Boom home had escaped. That was wonderful news.
The hearing
However, there was still the hearing to come, when Corrie would be questioned by a Gestapo officer. This could be terrible. Torture was often used to gain information. Every prisoner was afraid that they might give some of their friends away.
Corrie was called for her hearing one chilly morning in May.
"Lord Jesus," she prayed, "you were once questioned too. Please show me what to do." The German officer began in a very friendly way.
"I would like to help you, Miss ten Boom. But you must tell me everything."
Corrie and her co-workers in the underground had often practised answering questions. For an hour the German officer questioned her, and she managed to avoid giving away anything vital. He specially wanted to know how the ration cards had been stolen. Corrie was glad she really did not know!
"And now tell me about your other activities, Miss ten Boom."
Other activities? Oh yes, about the girl's clubs and my work for the mentally handicapped." Of course, the German officer did not mean this, but Corrie eagerly told him all about it, and he listened in amazement.
"But that is a waste of time," he said.
"Oh no," said Corrie, "God loves everyone, even the weak and feeble. You see, the Bible tells us that God looks at things very differently from us."
"That will be enough for today," the officer snapped.
But the next day, when the hearing continued, the officer asked Corrie more and more about God and the Bible. It turned out that he hated the work he had to do. Also he was very worried about his family in Germany, because their town was being bombed every night. Corrie was able to tell him about the peace and forgiveness which Jesus Christ can give if we ask Him.
From then on, the officer actually helped Corrie all he could. He gave her a chance to see her relations when her father's will was read out. But he did not have the power to set Corrie or Betsie free.
All this time, Corrie was still in a cell on her own. It was terribly lonely. But she had one friend - an ant! She gave it a few crumbs of bread whenever it appeared from a crack in the floor.
During the four months that Corrie was alone in her cell, she spent much of her time reading and re-reading the four Gospels that the hospital nurse had given her. The life and suffering of Jesus became more real to her than ever before. She even began to see that all her suffering might have a purpose. The death of Jesus had brought forgiveness to mankind. In the same way, she felt that God can bring something good out of troubles that we go through. This thought gave her fresh courage and strength.
One day in June 1944, all the prisoners were told to pack their belongings. They were marched to the railway station and put on a train. As they were getting into the train, Corrie saw her sister Betsie, and managed to push her way through the crowd to reach her. At last they were together again.
The train took them to a labour camp in southern Holland. Here they lived in barracks. During the day they had to work. Corrie was put in a section of the Philips factory, making radios for German aircraft. She took care to make plenty of mistakes!
Life was still hard. Punishments were very severe, and sometimes men prisoners were shot. But everyone knew that the Allies had now invaded Europe, so that there was hope at last.
By September there were rumours that the Allied army was not far from Holland. One day the prisoners heard a lot of explosions and they became very excited. But it had turned out that the Germans had only been blowing up roads and bridges.
The next day, the Germans shot 700 of the men prisoners. The women and the rest of the men were put into cattle trucks and sent to Germany.
The barrack-room at Ravensbruck concentration camp (still from The Hiding Place
Corrie and Betsie were taken to Ravensbruck concentration camp. This was worse than any other prison they had been in. The first two days they had to sleep out in the open. It poured with rain, and the ground became a sea of mud. Then they were packed into a huge barrack-room. It had been built to house 400 people, but there were now 1400 prisoners in it. They had to sleep on straw mattresses filled with choking dust and swarming with fleas. Even the guards did not like going into the barrack-room because of the fleas.
Roll-call was at half-past four in the morning. There were 35000 women in the camp, and if anyone was missing they were counted again and again. So it often went on for hours. If the prisoners did not stand up straight the women guards beat them with riding whips.
The work was extremely hard. Corrie and Betsie had to load heavy sheets of steel on to carts, push them for a certain distance, then unload them. All the time the guards shouted at them to work faster.
They were only given a potato and some thin soup at lunch-time, and some turnip soup with a piece of black bread in the evening. The prisoners who were doing lighter work had no lunch at all.
If the prisoners became ill, the guards took no notice of them unless their temperature was over 40C, which meant they were seriously ill. Then they had to join the long queue for the camp hospital. But nothing was done for them when they finally got there. When the hospital was full, the weakest prisoners were put onto lorries and taken to gas chambers to be killed. Then their bodies were burned. The tall chimney above the ovens in the centre of the camp was always belching grey smoke. This was the "hell on earth" to which Corrie and Betsie had come. Yet when they arrived at Ravensbruck, God had shown them that He could still help them, even in a place as terrible as this.
Before they had left Holland, on the day Father ten Boom's will had been read, one of Corrie's relations had managed to smuggle a small Bible to her. She had also received a bottle of vitamin drops in one of the parcels sent to prisoners by the Red Cross.
When the prisoners arrived at Ravensbruck they had to give up everything they had with them. Corrie was determined to keep the Bible and the vitamin drops. Somehow she managed to smuggle them in without a guard seeing them.
When they first moved into the barrack-room, the conditions there made the women angry and selfish. There were arguments and fights. Everyone suffered so much that they spent all their energy looking after themselves.
When Betsie noticed this, she began to pray that God would give peace to the barrack-room. Very soon the atmosphere changed. The women became a little more patient with each other. They even began to make a few jokes about their troubles.
In the evenings, after a hard day's work and a miserable supper, Corrie and Betsie took out the little Dutch Bible. At first a small group gathered round to listen, then more and more women joined them. The guards never came in to stop them, because of the fleas. So Corrie and Betsie thanked God for the fleas!
The women came from many countries, including Poland, France, Germany and Russia. Corrie translated the Bible from Dutch into German, someone else translated the German into Polish, and so on.
Under these terrible conditions, the goodness in the words of the Bible shone out brightly and their message of God's love brought comfort. With death all around, the promise of eternal life and the glory of heaven gave the women hope for the future.
One day, Betsie was cruelly whipped by a guard for not working hard enough. But she did not give in to hatred. She prayed for the guards as much as she prayed for the prisoners. Corrie found this very difficult, but somehow Betsie seemed to have risen above all the suffering, and to be living very close to God.
One night as they were lying on their bunks, Betsie whispered to Corrie, "I can see a house, somewhere in Holland. It is a beautiful house with a large garden. There is a large hall with a carved wooden staircase. We are going to look after people who have been hurt in the war, until they can live a normal life again. Corrie, I believe God is going to give us a house like this."
Later on, Betsie had another vision. This time she saw a concentration camp in Germany. But there was no barbed wire in this camp, and there were no guards. All the buildings were painted a cheerful green. It was a camp for German people that had been hurt by the evil of Hitler, even people like the guards at Ravensbruck, who had been taught to be so cruel.
"Corrie," she said, "we must tell people how good God is. After the war we must go around the world telling people. No one will be able to say that they have suffered worse than us. We can tell them how wonderful God is, and how His love will fill our lives, if only we will give up our hatred and bitterness."
All this time Corrie had been giving Betsie a few vitamin drops each day because she was so weak. But there were so many other needy prisoners that she began giving drops to them also. She gave them to more and more people. She knew the bottle must soon be empty. But every day more drops came. Nobody could understand it, until Betsie reminded them of the story in the Bible of the widow's jar of oil, which did not run dry for many days.
Gradually, however, Betsie became weaker and weaker. It was bitterly cold, for it was now November. In the end, Betsie was so ill that she was admitted to the hospital. Corrie was not allowed to visit her sister, but each day went to look at her through one of the hospital windows. Finally, one day Betsie's bed was empty.
Corrie was heart-broken. At first she did not dare to look in the room where the dead where placed. Then another prisoner called her. There was Betsie. Yes, she was dead. But her face had changed. Instead of being full of pain and suffering as it had been, it was now beautiful, like the face of an angel!
Death or freedom?
Once again it was roll-call. The women stamped their feet to keep warm. Suddenly Corrie heard her name: "Prisoner ten Boom, report after roll-call."
What was going to happen? Was she going to be punished? Or shot?
"Father in heaven, please help me now," she prayed.
When she reported, she was given a card stamped "Entlassen", which means "Released". She was free! She could hardly believe it. She was given back her few possessions, some new clothes and a railway pass back to Holland. After a long, hard journey, she arrived back among friends in her own country.
Afterwards she learned that she had been released by mistake. A week after her release all the women of her age in the camp were killed.
Sharing the good news
Corrie on her travels
Corrie visiting prisoners in the Philippines
As soon as she was well enough, Corrie began to tell of her experiences. When the war ended a few months later, she told people about Betsie's vision of a house for people who had suffered during the war. One person who heard it was a lady whose son had returned from prison in Germany. She was so grateful to God that she gave her large house to Corrie for this work. It was just the kind of house that Betsie had seen in her vision!
In that house many people found peace and comfort through the loving care that Corrie and others gave them.
After a while, news of Corrie's experiences reached other countries. She was invited to speak in America, England and many other countries. The hardest place for her to go was Germany, with all its bitter memories. But God helped her to love and to forgive, even when she met some of the former guards from Ravensbruck.
Then a Christian relief organisation in Germany asked her to help run a camp for refugees and people who had been made bitter by their experiences of life under Hitler. It turned out to be just like the concentration camp Betsie had seen in her vision! Again Corrie passed on the message of God's love and forgiveness.
Corrie also wrote several books about her experiences. As a result, she received many more invitations to speak. For over thirty years Corrie visited country after country telling bitter, sad people how wonderful God is, just as Betsie had foretold. She went to nearly every country in the world, including Russia and other communist countries. Sometimes she travelled with Brother Andrew, another famous Dutch Christian.
Wherever Corrie went she tried to visit people in prison. She knew just how they felt. She had spent four months alone in a cell. She had been beaten. People she loved had been cruelly treated; some had been killed. But she also knew that God can take away all feelings of bitterness and hatred.
Corrie wrote down her story in a book called The Hiding Place, which was later made into a film of the same name. She also wrote several other books telling of her life before the war and her experiences travelling around the world.
Finally Corrie became too old to travel. In 1977 she settled down in a beautiful, peaceful home in America, where she continued to do all she could to share God's goodness with other people. Although she later had a stroke and could no longer speak, she remained full of the peace of God, and prayed for people who wrote to her or visited her. She died in 1983.
Biographical notes
Corrie (short for Cornelia) ten Boom was born in Haarlem in Holland on 15 April 1892. The youngest child of Caspar and Cornelia ten Boom, she had two sisters, Betsie and Nollie, and a brother Willem. Caspar ten Boom was a watchmaker. When Corrie grew up she became the first women in Holland to qualify as a watchmaker.
Corrie ran the Haarlem Girl's Clubs from about 1921 to 1940. She also founded a Christian organisation for girls which at one time had thousands of members in Holland and Indonesia.
On 10 May 1940 German forces invaded Holland. Soon after this, the ten Boom family began their underground work, helping Jews to escape from the Germans.
On 28 February 1944 the ten Booms were arrested. Corrie's father was then 84. He died ten days after his arrest.
Corrie was taken to a prison at Scheveningen, near The Hague, along with Betsie and Willem. Willem was soon released, but died shortly after the war from an illness contracted in prison.
In June 1944 Corrie and Betsie were moved to a labour camp at Vught in southern Holland. In the same month the Allied forces invaded Europe and the last stage of the Second World War began.
In September 1944 the sisters were moved to Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany. Betsie died there a few days before Christmas 1944. Corrie was released on 31 December 1944.
Willem's son Kik died as a German prisoner of war during the last few months of the war. Holland was liberated by the Allies on 5 May 1945 and Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945.
Schapenduinen, the large house in Bloemendaal given to Corrie for her rehabilitation work, was opened in June 1945.
After the war Corrie was invited to speak in many countries. She visited over sixty countries, and came to Britain six times. In 1968 she was honoured by the State of Israel for her work in aid of the Jewish people by being invited to plant a tree in the Avenue of the Righteous Gentiles, near Jerusalem, where Otto Schindler is also honoured.
In 1975 The Hiding Place, a film of Corrie's life, was released. In 1977 she finally gave up travelling and settled in California. She died on 15 April 1983, her 91st birthday.
We have not reproduced this true story to bring back guilt or hatred from the terrible times in World War 2. After the war, Corrie worked for forgiveness and reconciliation between former enemies. At one meeting soon after the war, one of the former SS guards at the camp came up to her and asked to shake her hand. To start with, she had a very big problem with this, but then found that she was able to forgive the guard. She later wrote about how important forgiveness was. In her rehabilitation work with victims of the Holocaust and other camp survivors, she found that only those who were able to forgive, could made a good recovery and begin to live again.
Photographs taken from "The Hiding Place" are reproduced by permission of World Wide Pictures
Reproduced by permission of the author and the publishers:
Chansitor Press,
St Mary's Works,
St Mary's Plain,
Norwich, NR3 3BH,
This story is not now in print. However other booklets in this series Faith in Action are still available. They tell the true stories of well-known people of different religious faiths, and how their beliefs changed their lives.
Test questions on this story - for class or individual study
A) Test yourself Here are some short questions. See if you can remember the answers from what you have read. Then write them down in a few words.
1. What was the name of the town in Holland where Corrie lived?
2. How many Jews in Europe were murdered by the Nazis?
3. How long did it take for the people in Corrie's home to hide in the secret room?
4. What did Corrie cry out when the Gestapo man kept on hitting her?
5. What did Father ten Boom do each evening at nine o'clock?
6. What was the message under the stamp on the parcel?
7. What "friend" did Corrie have when she was alone in her prison cell?
8. How many women were there in Ravensbruck concentration camp?
9. Why did the guards not stop the women reading their Bible in the barrack-room?
10. What is the title of the book and the film of Corrie's life?
B) Think through
These questions need longer answers. Think about them, and then try to write two or three sentences in answer to each one. You may look up the story again to help you.
1. How did the lives of the people of Haarlem change when the Germans took over their country?
2. Why were Corrie and her family so concerned about the Jews?
3. Why did the German officer in the prison want to know more about God and the Bible?
4. How did it help Corrie to read about the life of Jesus while she was alone in prison?
5. How could the story in the Bible of the widow and the jar of oil (1 Kings, chapter 17, verses 7-16) explain why Corrie's vitamin bottle lasted so long?
6. What was the message that Betsie felt they must tell other people after the war?
C) Talk about
Here are some questions for you to discuss together. Try to give reasons for what you say or think. Try to find out all the different opinions which people have about each question.
1. Can you think of any reasons why the Jews have been persecuted so often? Why did Hitler want to wipe them out? Why do many Jews and Christians have difficulties in different countries today?
2. Why did God allow Corrie and her family to be arrested? Did anything good come out of it?
3. How do you explain Betsie's visions and the way they came true? Is it possible for people to live so close to God that He can show them things that He wants them to know about their future work for Him? (Compare the story of Paul's vision, in the Bible - Acts, chapter 16, verses 9-10.)
D) Find out
Choose one or two of the subjects below and find out all you can about them. History books, geography books and encyclopaedias may be useful. You could also use reference books in your school or public library to look up some of the people and organisations.
1. The Jews (a) How did the Jewish nation begin? Using a Bible, write a short account of the part played by each of the following people:
Abraham (Genesis, chapters 12-25)
Moses (Exodus, chapters 2-20)
King David (1 Samuel, chapters 16-17: 2 Samuel, chapters 5-8)
Queen Esther (The Book of Esther)
(b) Find out about the Zionist movement, the persecution of the Jews under Hitler and the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. (c) Learn all you can about the modern state of Israel. (d) How do Jews worship? What is a synagogue, and a rabbi? What do Jews believe about a Messiah?
2. Youth Work (a) Make a list of the youth clubs in your area. Find out whether they are run by a church, the local council or a voluntary organisation. (b) Find out about one or more national youth organisations such as the Girl Guides, Boys' Brigade and Boy Scouts. Find out how they started, how they are organised and what their aims are.
3. Mentally handicapped people (a) What are mentally handicapped people? What are some of the causes for people being born like this, or becoming like this? (b) How can we help mentally handicapped people? Contact charities that help people with learning difficulties, for more information.
4. Nazi Germany (a) Who was Hitler, and how did he come to power in Germany? (b) What did Hitler believe about the German people and other members of the "Aryan" race? What did he believe about other races? (c) What was the Nazi Party? What is a dictator? (d) Find out about Sir Oswald Mosley and the "blackshirt" movement in Britain before the war. (e) Find out more about the Holocaust. In UK, you can write to the Holocaust Educational Trust, BCM Box 7892, London WC1N 3XX.
5. Resistance movements Find out about the underground resistance movements in Europe during the Second World War. Look for books on the subject in your library. Try to find out about Violet Szabo and Odette Churchill, British women who worked with the French resistance movement.


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Want to connect with the expat community of South Africans in Oman? Looking for South African compatriots to help you with your questions on expat life? Or are you looking for other South African expats to go on an excursion to the peninsula of Musandam with?
InterNations Oman offers everything you might need as an expat, no matter whether you already live in Oman or are still in South Africa planning your upcoming foreign assignment. InterNations is the leading platform among expatriates and global minds in all countries around the world. Needless to say, our community of South African expats in Oman is going very strong, with members having roots all across South Africa - from Durban, over Johannesburg to Cape Town.
Attend our monthly events and activities for South Africans expatriates to get to know like-minded expatriates in real life.
Get trustworthy advice and local insights from fellow South Africans in our Oman expat forums.
Obviously, expat life in Oman goes well beyond shipping your belongings and taking care of red tape. Socializing with fellow South Africans is an important facet of living abroad and can be a huge stepping stone in getting to know the Omani mentality and way of life. South Africans in Oman are a part of our community, calling cities such as Sohar, Haima, Muscat, and many others home. You can use InterNations to look for fellow South Africans in Muscat, for example.
Wondering where to shop for South African delicatessen, want to discuss your national team's latest match, or simply talk to someone in your native language? Become a member of the Omani InterNations Community!
From the peninsula of Musandam to the Al Hajar Mountains, you can meet supportive and friendly South African expats in Oman on InterNations.
Additionally, InterNations hosts regular expat events and activities in Oman. Our get-togethers are sure to cater to your taste as well: as a member, you can partake in cozy gatherings to enjoy some Omani khawa, join one of our huge expat celebrations with hundreds of participants in Muscat's best locations, and much more. Want to discover Oman? Go on a weekend trip with your fellow expats to see the massive rolling dunes at Wahiba Sands and other beautiful landmarks.
Our meet-ups and activities offer many wonderful opportunities to mingle with expatriates hailing from South Africa and dozens of other countries in a casual setting. Just sign up for your InterNations membership and you'll soon hear a cordial Siya namkela nonke, welkom, isibingelelo from our South Africans living in Oman!


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New service from ThaiTicketMajor, eazy way to buy or make the reservation for bus service via website. reserve now!!
Thailand Ticket Center
- Online Realtime Service, the online ticketing service in order to make customers' life easier
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ThaiTicketMajor has changed the system, customers have to use only E-mail for log in.
For old members
1. Log in with existing username and password
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What's On
Please meet outside the museum for Fossil and Mary Anning Walks.
Fossil Walks provided by Paddy Howe of the Fossil Workshop.
Mary Anning Walks provided by Natalie Manifold.
Lyme Regis History Walks provided by Chris Lovejoy.
- This event has passed.
Lyme History Walk Saturday 26th October, 11am
26th October 2019 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
With Chris Lovejoy
Discover the unique and colourful history of Lyme Regis with local historian Chris Lovejoy, including tales of smuggling, heroism and the skirmishes of the English Civil war.
Tickets are not available as this event has passed.


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viszz needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 123 designs submitted by 34 freelance designers.
I get most of my business through referrals so I would like to have some official looking documents and business cards to hand out.
Desired Color Scheme:
My favorite colors are dark blues, grayish blues, seafoam type greens
Desired Style:
sketches or abstract symbols of a honu coupled with the business name Vizion Information Solutions or the initials VIS
Accepted File Formats:
Standard Web Formats (.jpg, .gif or .png); Layered Formats (.psd or .tiff)
The link above is a picture of the tattoo design I had done. I love Hawaiian culture and their laid back approach. Plus I love the colors.
I have an almost zen-like approach to my websites. I prefer sketches or abstract symbols so the user is not distracted from the content.
I like blues and greens. My favorite colors are dark blues, grayish blues, seafoam type greens (like my tattoo).
I would like the logo to convey a professional and expert in my field type atosphere, but at the same time friendly with a touch of humor. I would like some sort of honu symbol combined with my business name, Vizion information Solutions ,or the initials VIS.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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All Star Memories: Grant Morrison on All Star Superman, 7
In the seventh part of our 10-part look back at All-Star Superman with Grant Morrison, we find out what went into making the "ultimate" Superman story, some insights into the nature of Morrison's collaboration with artist Frank Quitely, and why writing this series wasn't like his gigs on Batman and Final Crisis.Part One
Part Five
With All Star Superman, "Frank" and I were able to spend a lot of time together talking it through, and we agreed it had to be about grids, structure, storybook panel layouts, an elegance of form, a clarity of delivery. "Classical" in every sense of the word. The medium, the message, the story, the character, all working together as one simple equation.Frank Quitely, a Glasgow Art School boy, completely understood without much explanation, the deep structural underpinnings of the series and how to embody them in his layouts. There's a scene in issue # 8, set on the Bizarro world, where we see Le Roj handing Superman his rocket plans. Look at the arrangement of the figures of Zibarro, Le Roj, Superman and Bizaro–Superman and you'll see one attempt to make us of Renaissance compositions. The sense of sunlit Zen calm we tried to get into All Star is how I imagine it might feel to think the way Superman thinks all the time - a thought process that is direct, clean, precise, mathematical, ordered. A mind capable of fantastical imagination but grounded in the everyday of his farm upbringing with nice decent folks. Rich with humour and tears and deep human significance, yet tuned to a higher key. We tried to hum along for a little while, that's all. In honor of the character's primal position in the development of the superhero narrative, I hoped we could create an "ultimate" hero story, starring the ultimate superhero. Basically, I suppose I felt Superman deserved the utmost application of our craft and intelligence in order to truly do him justice. Otherwise, I couldn't have written this book if I hadn't watched my big, brilliant dad decline into incoherence and death. I couldn't have written it if I'd never had my heart broken, or mended. I couldn't have written it if I hadn't known what it felt like to be idolized, misunderstood, hated for no clear reason, loved for all my faults, forgotten, remembered… Writing All Star Superman was, in retrospect, also a way of keeping my mind in the clean sunshine while plumbing the murkiest depths of the imagination with that old pair of c****s Darkseid and Doctor Hurt. Good riddance. Next: The elements of Superman's past that went into creating All Star Superman, and how Morrison recreated Krypton.
Special Thanks to Grant Morrison: The Early Years author Timothy Callahan for his help with this feature.


text: We are Starks, our way is the vintage way. And prom night is coming. This short video (possibly the beginning of a webseries?) recasts the families as high school cliques, and it's kinda funny/fairly enjoyable. The Stannis/Renly relationship is the most spot-on part, and the map of the school is great. Honestly, anything that ramps us up for the March 31 premier of season 3 is something to get excited about. But why are Jon Snow and Daenerys being romantic or whatever, they've never even met. It's cool that Loras and Renly can be out and proud, and where is Arya — after-school fencing lessons?? Oh, and Daenerys should be stuck at another school, locked in a shitty relationship with the dirty head of the LARPing club. Ugh, I can tell I'll be watching this, and I don't like myself for it. Much like the actual show SORRY NOT SORRY. (I'm sorry.)


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Hey everyone, here's a tutorial on how to go about drawing character faces realistically. This is how I go about building character portraits from scratch. Get your pencils and paper ready!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!