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The Apple TV has been updated with access to five new content services, including premium cable broadcaster HBO, sports content from ESPN, Britain's Sky News service, concert film and music documentary service Qello and anime service Crunchyroll.
Qello and CrunchyRoll are both subscription-based services, though they have free trials available. HBO Go and WatchESPN both require users to activate their Apple TV by verifying their cable TV accounts (you'll need a supported service provider).
WatchESPN allows you to watch recorded ESPN content, as well as live broadcasts from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, and ESPNU. Sky News offers a 24-hour live news broadcasts along with archived and featured content.
Apple has reportedly been talking to cable providers for some time about adding more live content to the Apple TV, and the addition of ESPN and Sky News is another big push in that direction. Up to now, Apple TV users have had to make do with live content only from the Wall Street Journal Live app and Apple's own Events app, which has streamed Apple's last two major public events live.
To access all of this new content, update your Apple TV by going to Settings > General > Update Software.


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Home Page
My most recent videos, highlighting my work with business professionals who need to brand themselves better and express why they do what they do in either of my two teaching methods:
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In September 2015 I was featured again on the popular "WCBS-Bloomberg Business Report" with Joe Connolly on WCBS Newsradio 880 NYC. All segments can be heard by clicking on the logo to the left.
If you came here, you probably want to know more about how LinkedIn can help you as a job seeker, a businessperson or a nonprofit. Indeed it can really make a big difference if you know how to use it correctly.
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subset: commoncrawl


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I'm grumpy. Not hella grumpy, mind you, just regular grumpy. I suppose it's from a week of drinking booze and eating varieties of delicious, weird, snack food that Trader Joe's is always inventing, getting you hooked on, then discontinuing. ("Dark chocolate covered, rosemary-seasoned aspirin, anyone?")
Maybe it's because the weather just became truly warm here in L.A.; the kind of warm that makes you hate wearing shirts and leaves you wanting to bear-hug an electric fan. Most folks here love this weather – in fact, many moved here specifically for it. I am not those people. I like the north aspect to North America. And if it is going to get hot, I want it to smell like baked oak trees and wild grasses – not car exhaust and Beyoncé's Heat.
No amount of orange juice makes this stuff taste good, FYI.


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For the second time in about a month, a mosque in Joplin, Missouri caught fire on Monday, but this time it was burned to the ground.
KODE first reported that firefighters responded to a fire at the Islamic Center of Joplin, but the flames quickly spread and engulfed the building. There were no reports of injuries.
The fire marshal has been called to investigate, the Jasper County Sheriff's Office said.
The FBI recently announced a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrested of a man is who suspected of arson after a July 4 fire was set on the roof of the same building. Surveillance video captured footage of a man throwing a burning object onto the roof.
"We just take this as a test from God," Imam Lahmuddin, the mosque's imam, told The Joplin Globe on Monday. "This is the month of Ramadan. We are fasting we are not supposed to get angry, we are not supposed to say anything bad."
"But that's not only for this month, but for every day of our lives. In Ramadan we are more careful in guarding our tongues, not to say anything inappropriate. We come here during the month of Ramadan more often. Last night we left at about 11:20 p.m. when we finished final prayers and we were supposed to get in here about 5 a.m. for the morning prayer. But God has a plan."
Watch this video from KSN, broadcast Aug. 6, 2012.
This story was originally published by The Raw Story.
This story was originally published by The Raw Story.


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Technical and Career ProgramsTechnical programs are perfect for students who want to learn a specific skill or trade and move into a career in two years or less. Individuals who like a hands-on learning environment often choose technical and career programs, as do those who want a college education but aren't interested in investing four years into a degree.
Alphabetical Program Listing


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PDF creation tools can be very expensive, but those that are cheaper or free can also be rather basic. novaPDF is available in three different versions, each offering its own set of tools and accompanying price tag, so you can carefully select the one that will best serve your needs.
All versions of novaPDF are capable of producing PDF files from any Windows program, with the option of embedding images and formulae. Print resolutions of between 72 and 2400dpi can be selected depending on requirements, and any fonts used in a document are embedded to ensure a uniform look no matter what platform the resulting files are open on.
There are a large number of page formatting options available including the ability to choose which should be used as a start page and choosing between layouts such as single page, continuous and facing pages.
The Standard version of the program adds a number of options including the ability to adjust page margins and adjust zoom levels up to 400%. To help reduce file sizes, text and images can be compressed, and graphics can also be down-sampled. Any URLs and links to local files can be automatically converted into hyperlinks and a highly customisable multiline bookmark system allows for easy navigation of long documents. PDF can be watermarked in a number of different ways for added security.
All of these features can also be found in the Professional version of the program in addition to the following. PDF created in this version of the program can be protected with passwords and secured using up to 128-bit encryption. System certificates and signatures can also be used and the option to configure document permissions enables documents to be used for a variety of purposes. Multiple PDF files can be overlaid while customisable actions control what happens when one document is longer than the other.


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The responses to my blog on FDR and Obama prompts me to reconsider a question famously asked by the political theorist Louis Hartz in his classic work The Liberal Tradition in America: Why no socialism in the United States? Hartz' much debated answer, greatly simplified here, is that because American political development skipped a feudal period, our political culture lacks any sense of class consciousness. Most of us consider ourselves to be the members of the broad, undefined middle class. (As evidence of this, I always ask students in my introductory American politics course how many come from middle class backgrounds. Invariably every hand goes up.) As a result, our politics is dominated by an almost irrational commitment to Lockean liberalism, with its emphasis on individual rights and limited government. Hartz, like many political scientists, eventually went mad. But his question remains relevant today, as the response to my last blog suggests.
Some of you will recall the fervent efforts by conservatives during the 2008 presidential campaign to unearth Obama's "socialist" leanings (see here), and Obama's equally fervent efforts to deny any ideological kinship with socialism. More recently, of course, critics of the proposal to rescue the banking industry by having the government buy up bank assets argue that it is a form of socialism – a charge proponents of the bank rescue plan deny. These exchanges are a reminder that, unlike in most of the world, socialism remains a dirty word in American politics.
To explain the American aversion to socialism, political scientists usually point to two factors. One is the Hartzian notion that American's commitment to liberalism – particularly individual rights – discourages the development of a strong central state. A second explanation, however, points to American political institutions, particularly federalism and the sharing of powers at the national level between two chambers of Congress and the president. American federalism, in which authority is shared concurrently between states and the national government, made the development of a strong working class party rooted in national labor unions more difficult because political parties developed and are organized primarily at the state level. This makes coordinating political action more difficult. So some states develop progressive parties, but others do not. And our system of shared powers, with a legislative body based on local representation, provides many points of access for intense minorities to intervene in the legislative process. In particular, this allows businesses with a vested economic interest in limited government to block efforts to pass legislation increasing the size of the social welfare state. Think back to the effort by small business and insurance companies to block health care reform during the Clinton presidency.
More broadly, this American aversion to socialism makes us an exception in the world. Consider the following two charts. First, note that as a proportion of GDP, we spend much less than many nations on government programs.
And we spend much less on social welfare programs.
Our political culture is also exceptional – we allow for much more individual expression, but we also retain a strong emphasis on traditional values, such as religion. This makes us an outlier among most nations of the world, as the following chart suggests. Notice the location of the United States as a function of expressive and traditional values:
All this is a long prelude to the issue raised by Liz in her response to my discussion of the Obama/FDR comparison. She suggests that Obama might yet be an FDR-like "transformative" president if he is able to persuade Congress to pass social welfare policies that are now common in many industrialized nations. I confess that, given the dire economic circumstances facing the country now, the focus of my critique of the FDR/Obama comparison was on the creation of jobs and the revitalization of the American economy. But perhaps my focus is misplaced. Perhaps, as Liz suggests, Obama may yet push the Democratic Congress to expand the social welfare state through the adoption of policies such as paid parental leave, a government-run, single-payer health care system, nationalized banking system and other statist policies. If so, he might yet go down in history as one of the greater presidents. In a later post I will give my thoughts on Liz' suggestion, but I am curious to hear from you first.
What do you think? Will Obama, working through the Democratically-controlled Congress, succeed in expanding the social welfare state? And, if so, will he be the next FDR?


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visual inspection system Companies (Industrial Inspections - Monitoring and Testing) in Africa
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If proposal #2-142 of the National Electric Code (NEC) passes, it will require combination-type arc-fault circuit interrupter (AFCI) protection for all 15A and 20A, single-phase, 120V circuits in dwelling units by Jan. 1, 2008. The combination-type AFCI combines the protection of branch/feeder circuits with increased sensitivity as well as added protection for cord-and-plug-connected equipment. The proposal isn't the first mention of AFCIs in the Code; however, it is the most expansive and possibly the most controversial.
Like the impetus for all changes to the Code, the new requirement stems from proposals that were acted upon by Quincy, Mass.-based National Fire Protection Agency's (NFPA) committees of volunteer technical experts from the electrical community. "We support the consensus process," says Mark Earley, assistant vice president and chief electrical engineer of NFPA. "What it is at this time is a proposal. There are a few more steps yet. The proposal that the committee has acted on expands the usage in residences, but we still have the public comment phase to get through. The committee may change its position based on the public feedback. It could change and be quite a bit different between now and then."
Too much too late? The NEC first included the use of AFCI devices in its 1999 edition. Section 210.12(A) defines an AFCI as a device that provides protection from the effects of arcing by de-energizing the circuit when it detects an arc fault. Section 210.12 of the 1999 Code required that all branch circuits that supply 125V, single-phase, 15A and 20A receptacle outlets installed in dwelling unit bedrooms to be protected by an AFCI by Jan. 1, 2002. In the next Code cycle — the 2005 edition — combination-type AFCI protection was proposed for all 15A and 20A, single-phase 120V circuits in all dwelling units by Jan. 1, 2008. It is this issue that is currently under review.
Even though the requirements may change before they even go into effect, electrical industry professionals are already speculating as to the impact, if any, the requirements will have on public safety as well as the costs in both time and money for electrical designers, contractors, and inspectors.
In defense of the 1999 NEC AFCI requirements, which went into effect in 2002, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Bethesda, Md., cites that each year problems in home wiring, such as arcing and sparking, are associated with more than 40,000 home fires that are responsible for the deaths of more than 350 victims and 1,400 injuries. "The U.S. CPSC is an avid supporter of AFCIs and views the Code calling for AFCI installation in bedrooms to be a very positive life-saving standard," says Scott Wolfson, deputy director, Office of Information and Public Affairs, CPSC. "Any work to expand the application of AFCIs throughout the home is supported by agency staff, and there is ongoing work to make AFCIs even more effective in terms of their sensitivity to electrical arcing and their ability to cut off what could be a life-threatening electrical fire."
The NFPA narrowed the numbers down even further by blaming fixed wiring for 13,000 to 15,000 fires in U.S. homes, which cause more than 100 deaths and roughly 350 injuries per year. Both agencies claim that AFCIs provide protection against fires started by damaged wiring by shutting off the electrical circuit before the problem can become an ignition source. Others disagree.
"I was totally opposed to the 1999 Code change because I felt that something wasn't right about the technology," says Mike Holt of Mike Holt Enterprises, Sunrise, Fla. "AFCIs are designed to protect the circuit conductor wiring. They're not designed to clear a fault in the event that something was plugged into a receptacle or a piece of equipment. It protects the wiring in the walls, and how many wires in the walls cause fires? More than likely, a fire would be caused by something plugged into a receptacle or a piece of equipment failing, and that failure doesn't have sufficient fault current to trip a regular breaker quick enough."
Holt concedes that by including the combination-type AFCI in the wording of the Code, appliances and electronics plugged into a receptacle will now be protected from arcing or sparking. However, if the standard AFCIs did too little to protect, the combination-style AFCIs may do too much, rendering appliances unusable. "My concern is they've moved that threshold down from 75A to 5A," Holt says. "Of course you want to protect people, but if the technology overshoots its goals and people can't run their vacuum cleaner or turn on the standard loads, it leaves the electrical industry in the middle."
Holt proposes that the problem may lie with the appliances and electronics — not the AFCIs — but that's little consolation for the electrical industry, which may be held to the requirements in the near future. "Maybe the manufacturers of paddle fans and vacuum cleaners need to do a study and get with the manufacturers of the AFCI devices," Holt says. "Do I think we're going to eventually work this all out? Sure. My understanding of the technology is that it will be better, but there are a lot of problems right now with the branch-circuit feeder AFCIs that haven't been resolved."
Some industry insiders don't agree that appliances and electronics are incompatible with the combination-type AFCI devices. "I totally disagree with that," says Keith Laughlin, former electrical inspector and current electrical industry educator in Richardson, Texas. "I've heard that in seminar settings but I have seen absolutely zero substantiated evidence that say that this appliance or that appliance is not compatible with an AFCI."
Laughlin believes that not only are combination-type AFCIs compatible with appliances, but that they also will aid public safety by preventing house fires. "In 10 to 12 years from now, we'll look back and say, 'Look at how the number of deaths in a dwelling due to fires has dropped. Now what caused that?' I think you're going to have to look at the AFCI and say, 'There's the reason for that drop in residential fires and deaths occurring from the same,' so personally I'm a big proponent of AFCIs. As of right now, I don't think we have the evidence, but we'll see it in 10 years or so. I don't have to pay for them though."
The bottom line The issue of who will pay for the extended use of AFCIs may be one of the deciding factors for the acceptance of proposal #2-142. Electrical designers, contractors, and inspectors may be the ones carrying the brunt of the increased costs, in both time and money. The difference in cost between a standard receptacle and one protected by an AFCI device could force contractors to face the choice between higher bids for their customers or lower margins for themselves. "It will be a dramatic change in cost," Holt says.
In addition, Holt's argument extends to the burden the electrical and construction industry as a whole may carry with regard to the cost of installing AFCIs in every applicable outlet. An impromptu cost-benefit analysis certainly makes the technology seem cost-prohibitive. "Let's assume this technology saves 10 people a year, and let's say it costs $5 billion a year to do this, what does that come out to be? $500 million a person?" Holt asks. "If you put money somewhere else you may have a bigger return on your investment but is it cost-effective? Is it really practical?"
Some industry players are also concerned about the practicality of these devices and how they'll fit in with a homeowner's lifestyle. What happens if these devices prevent people from running their appliances? Will they hire someone to replace the outlets or change them out themselves? Some feel this problem will only worsen if the proposed plan to extend AFCIs throughout dwellings is approved.
Laughlin claims that residents tamper with with all technology put in dwellings but that fact shouldn't be the reason not to approve the new proposal. "I do see homeowner tampering," Laughlin says. "You see that with anything. You can't limit that to just AFCIs."
When the Code began requiring GFCIs some homeowners removed the devices, but the improved public safety numbers were still evident. "You can't protect someone from ignorance, from taking out an AFCI and replacing it with a normal receptacle because the regular receptacle doesn't cost as much as that AFCI when it goes to be replaced," he says.
In Laughlin's experience, misinterpretation of the Code was the biggest problem in implementing the past changes with regard to AFCIs. "You got grumblings from an economic standpoint," he says. "But most of it came from misinterpretation of the Code. A lot of contractors were saying, 'Well, this is going to change the way that I've got to wire bedrooms. Now I've got to run an AFCI circuit in the bedroom, circle that bedroom, and dedicate that circuit.' I don't know where they were getting that. Nothing said that the AFCI circuit had to be a dedicated circuit, so if you were running a circuit around the bedroom, and you had a receptacle in the same wall facing into the hallway or facing into the den, that receptacle's not required to be AFCI protected. It can be if you choose to put it on that circuit: Nothing said you couldn't do that. There were some grumblings, but it was from misinterpreting the Code."
Inspect your gadget Ironically, the proposed AFCI requirements may make interpretation of the Code easier. According to Holt, inspection will only be a matter of looking for the breaker. "If there's a breaker on the panel, then you know it's not a problem," he says. "If there's not a breaker on the panel, then there's a problem. The technology is very clear to identify."
Concerns over time-consuming inspections could also be alleviated with the use of spot checking. "Inspectors are having to test AFCIs right now," Laughlin says. "I suspect that even right now and in the future what you're going to get is spot checking. The inspector's not going to check every single circuit but would spot check one here and one there. I can't say that's how every inspector's going to do it, but that's what I suspect."
Because the proposal would require AFCI protection on all 120V, 15A to 20A, single-phase outlets, confusion regarding what constitutes a bedroom outlet will no longer be a concern. "Inspectors were always having to answer questions, 'What about the closet lights? Is that part of the bedroom? What about the smoke alarms?'" Laughlin asks. "Those were the kind of issues everyone was having to deal with. 'I've got a switch in a bedroom that provides power to a floodlight outside. Does that require AFCI protection?' Technically, that's not an outlet, but if you line up 10 inspectors, five of them would say 'Yes, it is,' and five of them would say, 'No, it's not.' With the new proposed changes all those questions would go away. If it's a 120V, 15A/20A outlet, and you're at a dwelling — if everything stays the way it's proposed, then it's got to be AFCI protected. The guesswork is gone. I don't think it's a problem: I think it's a solution."
Currently, the public comments in support or opposition to proposal #2-142, submitted by the Oct. 20 deadline, are under review by CMP-2, which may accept, reject, or hold the comments that suggest changing or deleting this proposal. In late November, the panel will convene in Redondo Beach, Calif., where it will compile a report on the public feedback it has received on this issue, which will be published in the National Electrical Code Committee Report on Comments (ROC). Then, in February, the Technical Correlating Committee will consider the results of the CMP's work to correlate this and other related proposals. In June, at the NFPA's annual meeting, the NFPA membership will vote on the accepted proposals. Time will be allowed for challenges of the action to the NFPA Standards Council and appeal to the NFPA Board of Directors. The Standards Council then considers the entire record from initial proposal to last appeal and determines whether or not to release the new Code.
Editor's note: In writing this article, at least a dozen electrical contractors were contacted for comment — each one declining to weigh in on the matter. Therefore, we've presented two strong yet opposing views on the proposed NEC change in requirements for AFCIs. Although the time for public comment has passed, EC&M would still like to have your input regarding the proposed change. If you would like your opinion included in a possible future article on the installation of AFCIs, please e-mail Staff Writer Beck Ireland at [email protected]. Your comments may be published in a future print or online issue as we track the progress of this important issue.
Sidebar: Proposal #2-142
Recommendation: Revise 210. 12(B) as shown below:
(B) Dwelling Units. All 120V, single-phase, 15A and 20A branch circuits supplying outlets installed in dwelling units bedrooms shall be protected by a listed arc-fault circuit interrupter, combination type installed to provide protection of the branch circuit. Branch/feeder AFCIs shall be permitted to be used to meet the requirements of 210.12(B) until January 1, 2008.
Substantiation: For the past three NEC cycles, CMP 2 has reviewed extensive amounts of data and information pertaining to the benefits of AFCls for the protection of dwelling-unit branch circuits. After careful consideration, the panel decided to require AFCls on branch circuits that supplied bedrooms as a means to gain experience and to put the application in an easily defined area.
AFCIs have had an excellent track record in the field and their installation/use have found numerous wiring errors and in addition they have found wiring damage and equipment damage that could have been potential sources of fire. With the experience gained, it is an appropriate time to expand AFCls to all 15A and 20A branch circuits in the dwelling. There is no basis for limiting the protection to circuits that supply only bedrooms and the increased protection is needed for other circuits. This expansion will continue the effort to address fires of electrical origin in dwellings.
The text has been modified to apply to all 120V, 15A and 20A branch circuits that supply outlets in all locations. The second paragraph is proposed to be deleted since it is no longer applicable.
2-142 Log #3488 NEC-P02 Action: Accept
Number Eligible to Vote: 12
Ballot Results: Affirmative: 8 Negative: 4
Source: NFPA, Report on Proposals A2007
Sidebar: This Is a Test
According to Underwriters Laboratories, Northbrook, Ill., special equipment isn't necessary for testing of AFCIs. There isn't a reason for a test on circuits with AFCIs that wouldn't be conducted on standard circuits. If you choose to test the installation, it's possible to check it's properly functioning by pressing the test button after the device has been energized with 120V, as if in service. Pushing the test button, which imposes a simulated arcing condition on the circuit, should result in the device opening. If the device does not open, then the AFCI should be replaced. If the device opens and can be reset, then it is a properly functioning AFCI. The test button is the only recognized method for testing the proper operation of the AFCI.
You can also perform an insulation resistance test to verify that the wiring and connections are properly insulated. Disconnect all loads and verify that unconnected wire ends are insulated. To prevent AFCI and GFCI devices from being damaged by high voltage, disconnect the load wire to any device in the circuit. Use an insulation resistance tester that will apply a direct current voltage of at least 500V to the circuit you're testing. All resistance readings should be at least 1 megohm. The test should indicate that the insulation is intact and that an arc would not be likely to occur in the portion of the circuit tested.
Note: Neither of these tests identifies loose connections.
Sidebar: Arc Fault Versus Ground Fault Detection
There is a major difference between the functions of an AFCI as compared to a GFCI. An AFCI device protects against faults or damage to wiring and equipment that could initiate unwanted, fire-causing arcs, which can exceed 10,000°F, anywhere in the circuit. A GFCI device protects people who may come into contact with energized parts connected to receptacles.
- Protects against fire hazards due to arcing conditions.
- Currently required by the NEC on all circuits for bedrooms in dwellings.
- Can be used in any 15A or 20A 120V circuit.
- Includes overload and short-circuit protection.
- Protects people from severe electrical shock.
- Required by the NEC in bathrooms, kitchens, basements, garages, and outdoor receptacles.
- Can also provide protection on pool pump, jacuzzi, hot tub, and wet bar.
- Includes overload and short-circuit protection.
Sidebar: AFCI Categories
A branch/feeder device is installed at the origin of a branch circuit or feeder, such as at a panelboard. The device is designed to protect branch-circuit wiring and feeder wiring against the effects of arcing and also provides limited protection to branch circuit extension wiring. This device also provides limited protection to branch-circuit extension wiring (e.g. cord sets and power supply cords). It may be a circuit breaker-type device or a device in its own enclosure mounted at or near a panelboard. The category control number for branch/feeder AFCIs is AVZQ.
An outlet circuit AFCI should be installed at a branch-circuit outlet, such as an outlet box, to provide protection of cord sets and power-supply cords connected to it (when provided with receptacle outlets). It may provide feed-through protection of cord sets and power-supply cords connected to downstream receptacles. The category control number for outlet circuit AFCIs is AWCG.
The combination AFCI complies with the requirements for both branch/feeder and outlet circuit AFCIs. This device is intended to protect downstream branch-circuit wiring as well as cord sets and power-supply cords. The category control number for combination AFCIs is AWAH.
An outlet branch circuit AFCI should be installed as the first outlet in a branch circuit. It protects downstream branch-circuit wiring, cord sets, and power-supply cords. These devices also provide protection to upstream branch circuit wiring. The category control number for outlet branch AFCIs is AWBZ.
A portable-type AFCI is a plug-in device that connects to a receptacle outlet and features one or more outlets. It protects connected cord sets and power supply cords against the unwanted effects of arcing. The category control numbers for portable AFCIs is AWDO.
A cord AFCI is a plug-in device for connection to a receptacle outlet that protects the power-supply cord connected to it. The cord may be part of the device. The device has no additional outlets. The category control number for cord AFCIs is AWAY.
Power supply cords or cord sets are available with a leakage-current detection and interruption (LCDI) device, which is similar to an AFCI. When the LCDI senses leakage current flowing between or from the integral cord conductor, it interrupts the circuits at a predetermined level of leakage current. The category control number for leakage-current detection and interruption is ELGN.
Information for these categories can be found in UL's Online Certifications Directory at www.ul.com/database and on pages 5-6 of UL's "2005 General Information for Electrical Equipment Directory" (White Book).


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March 8, 2009
The Durban Castle Steamship
Dubbed "The Porthole Murder Case" by the British tabloids, a steward was sentenced to hang for the disappearance at sea of an aspiring actress.
At noon, shining Chevrolets and Fords began pulling up beside the large white steamship with the lavender hull and the black and red funnel anchored along the quayside.
From the automobiles stepped middle-aged ladies in frumpy summer frocks, comfortable shoes and small feathered hats, all clutching purses in which were the medication they were certain they would need for seasickness on the 14-day voyage that lay ahead.
At the ladies' sides were their husbands; men who were also no longer in their prime wearing their double-breasted suits cut by London or New York's best tailors and their fedoras bought in Paris or Rome.
The husbands dropped copper coins into the hands of small brown-skinned men in tattered clothing, many of them barefoot; these were the porters who would carry the portmanteaux, the suitcases and the hat-boxes up the gangplank, but who would go no further than the ship's reception lounge.
This was Cape Town, capital city and main port of the British Colony of South Africa, and it was 1947 – Friday, October 10 - and although apartheid, the system of racial segregation that would later cast a cloud over what a seafarer had once called "the fairest Cape of all" had not yet been made law, every man whose skin was darker than a cappuccino knew his place. And his place was not on the Durban Castle, set to sail to Southampton, England, at the strike of four with her 1,300 passengers of whom just 57 were in first-class.
|Gay Gibson
One of the first-class passengers, Eileen Isabella Ronnie Gibson, 21, arrived in a Ford cab driven by a Lymie, the derogatory name the Afrikaners had bestowed on British immigrants. The Afrikaners were the descendants of Dutch, French and German immigrants and the ones who governed the colony. The origin of the name Lymie is not known but some say that it derives from the limes the British soldiers ate when they were based in Africa believing that these would prevent them getting syphilis. Today this derogatory name is used globally by English speakers when wishing to insult an opponent.
The young woman, a vivacious redhead, asked the cab driver to grab her a porter. With a large portmanteau as well as a large suitcase and hat-box, she was not exactly travelling light, but she was travelling towards what she believed was a future of glitz and big bucks.
Gay, to use her professional name, was an actress; having moved from her native England not all that many months previously, she'd been acting with a Johannesburg-based theatrical company. She was off to London with a promise of a West End contract. Asked, when she was still only 17, whether she had a young man, she had replied: "Oh no, all I want to do is go on the stage and be an actress."
It was just after 3 p.m., the African sun hot and high over the flat-topped Table Mountain beyond the harbor, when Gay trotted up the gangplank. At the top stood one of the ships' deck stewards. His job it was to welcome the passengers on board and to direct them to their cabins after they had produced their tickets.
James Camb – Jimmy to his wife and family, Don James after Don Juan to his fellow crew members, and by his own admission a sailor with a girl on every ship and in every port – noticed Gay instantly. "She's mine!" he supposedly whispered to another steward standing beside him.
"Her appearance was fairly striking, small and slightly plump, with deep auburn hair and the alabaster skin that accompanies it. Somewhat flashily dressed, she was what I always describe as 'a bit tarty'," a female passenger would years later describe her.
When at 4 p.m. sharp the 17,382-ton, 594-foot (181m) ship, built in 1938 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the British Union Castle Steamship Line, lifted its anchor, Gay began unpacking.
She was in a single cabin numbered 126 on the port side of B Deck or as it was known on the ship, the Shade Deck. The cabin had a porthole and a wash-basin but no toilet or bathroom: these were across the corridor; men and women having separate amenities. Also on the Shade Deck were a hairdressing salon, souvenir and tobacco shop, the doctor's surgery and dispensary, as well as the pursers' and stewards' offices.
All the crew members were white and British nationals. Not employing non-Brits was to ensure that the crew would always be white; the company officially abhorred the racism of South Africa – its ships, all named after cities, sailed between Britain and South Africa, but business was business and no-one wanted to displease the Afrikaners. A year later, in 1948, the British Parliament would heatedly debate a case of racial discrimination on the Durban Castle. That year, the ship had arrived in Cape Town on Saturday, October 23, with racially segregated amenities. Three African male passengers, two of them preachers, had not been allowed to use the white bathrooms and toilets; they had been given a bathroom and toilet of their own, duly marked "For Non-Europeans Only." Non-European was the South African classification term for a person of color; European having been that of a white.
On the afternoon that Gay was unpacking her bags, the ship's master was Captain Arthur Patey, a tall, slim man. He didn't envisage a troubled voyage; the Atlantic Ocean would be calm, the company's weather people had informed him. There were also only one passenger who would need a little extra care and attention; Sir Vernon Thomson, the steamship company's chairman and managing director. Among the company's past passengers had been the Mahatma Gandhi, the journalist Henry Morton Stanley of "Dr. Livingston I presume" fame and Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout movement.
The ship's surgeon was Dr. Anthony Griffiths; previously he had been a general practitioner in a private North England practice. Eileen Field was the name of Gay's cabin stewardess.
All crew members wore navy-blue uniforms – pants, jackets, shirts, ties and caps – but once the ship reached the Equator all would be allowed to take off their jackets and ties and strip down to white short-sleeved shirts and plimsolls.
Behavioral rules were however to remain strict: crew members were, as the steamship company's rule-book stipulated, to "conduct themselves in an orderly, faithful, honest and sober manner," and dining-room staff had to assemble in the chief purser's office before meal times and hold out their hands to show that their nails were not grimy.
First-class deck steward James Camb
Camb, as first-class deck steward, worked the Promenade Deck, two up from the Shade Deck. He served tea, coffee and alcoholic drinks on the sun-deck beside the swimming pool as well as in the lounge, the library and in the smoking room. He also organized card games and saw to it that no-one ended up a lone wall-flower at tea-time or at night when there was dancing in the lounge. He had his own office to work from and he had an assistant, a deck man, to do jobs too menial for a deck steward.
"A very personable young man, and quite the best steward on the ship. Efficient and always cheerful," another of Gay's fellow passengers said about Camb years later.
He was thirty-one years old; he was born in Lancashire, Northern England on Sunday, Dec. 24, 1916. He started out in life working in a shoe factory, like his father. Then he joined the wartime (WW II) merchant marine and after the war, the Union Castle Steamship Line, working himself up from galley boy. In May 1946 he had made his first voyage on the Durban Castle.
Not very tall, but a looker with black hair and black eyes, and already a married man and the father of a baby daughter, he, indulging in both on-board and off-shore sexual adventures, had quickly earned his sobriquet "Don James." At school already he was known as one for the girls; ungallantly he had made a game of putting his hands up the skirts of the girls in his class.
Said the same passenger: "He was very charming, a very good steward. He showed me a picture of his little girl. I was young and much better looking then than I am now, but he never made one single play for me. Obviously he was a bit over-sexed, but there was no harm in him."
On the first morning of the voyage that will take the ship up the west coast of Africa to its home port of Southampton, Gay sat down in the Promenade Deck's lounge, her silk-stocking legs crossed at her knees. She called Camb over; she wanted rum. The two started to chat. "She told me about a man named Charles. She told me that she was very fond of him, but possible complications may have set in," he would recall when the time had come to defend himself. He asked her whether she was pregnant. "You don't mean to tell me you are going to have a baby?" he said were his exact words. She told him that it was too soon to know. "So why don't you marry him?" he asked her. Her reply was short and to the point. "He's married."
What Camb did not know because Gay did not tell him was that Charles had paid her passage. Charles Schwentafsky was part of her past, the past that she hoped the forthcoming glitz and big bucks would forever eliminate.
Gay Gibson was born in Jamalpur, India, in June 1926 where her British wanderer father worked as a blacksmith for the East India Railway. In 1943, aged 17 and a chubby schoolgirl in wartime England, she joined a tap dancing troop, The Top Hats Gay Dancing Company. (Gay meaning jolly.) Always described by the troop's manager as a "gay young thing," she soon adopted the name Gay for the stage.
After the war, 21 years old and having lost some of her puppy fat, she set off by ship – the Durban Castle's sister ship, the Carnavon Castle – for South Africa with her mother to join her father who was already living in Durban. The two women sailed steerage class as immigrants on assisted passage: At that time there was an influx of demobilized British serviceman to the colonies; South Africa, North and South Rhodesia (today Zambia and Zimbabwe), Kenya, Tanganyika (today Tanzania), Australia and New Zealand.
First in Durban and then in Johannesburg, she joined small theatrical companies. Looking older than her age, she always played a femme fatale. Critics often slammed her acting as wooden, therefore despite her dreams, she was not hailed as Hollywood's next great star.
Speaking about her later, those who knew her those years in South Africa said that she was never without a boyfriend. A woman who was on stage with her said: "She was attractive enough for all the men to go round her like bees round a honeycomb. Her response was very, very flirtatious, as any pretty girl's would be, and perhaps more so as she was sexually experienced. South African girls in those days were either good or bad ... She was crazy about men. She was always throwing her arms round them, or talking to them, or propositioning them."
One of the men she had thus propositioned, an amateur actor named Mike Abel, liked her easy approach to sex. On the day that he had first met her he told a friend: "I bet you a dollar I will have her by the end of the week".
So Abel did, but the relationship soon ended.
And it ended very openly.
Gay was overheard by the rest of the theatrical troupe accusing Abel of having made her pregnant. The argument became violent – on her side; she kicked him and tried to scratch his face. Then she fell down in a faint. "Come on, you bitch, you are acting!" he shouted at her and walked off. She picked herself up after a few minutes of lying motionless on the floor and walked off as well.
Fainting was something she did. Whenever something or someone upset or excited her, she slid to the floor. Like Abel, all believed that it was an act to draw attention to herself. But a few did wonder whether she might not be suffering from the after-effects of an undetected bout of malaria or perhaps from tuberculosis; she was often very wheezy.
Polish-born Charles Schwentafsky had arrived in South Africa via Kenya. Later a friend of his would sum his life up as one of "to put it crudely, screwing. It wasn't his fault, because the girls literally threw themselves at him. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he was a charmer with a becoming smile, very sexy, penetrating eyes, blond hair."
He also had a beguiling bedside manner, always sending flowers before and jewelry after.
As had happened with Abel, Gay also claimed that he had made her pregnant. He, also like Abel, denied it, telling all who cared to listen that he had not even had sex with her. "I promise you she didn't appeal to me sexually one little bit," he would say.
But he wanted her out of the way all the same and when she bemoaned the fact that she did not have the £500 needed for a passage to England, he gave her the money.
Romancing the Starlet
For the first seven days of the sea voyage north, Camb and Gay played a kind of musical chairs of the emotions.
Each morning she sat down in the Promenade Deck's lounge. She always sat at the same table. He was always waiting with a glass of rum for her.
He would later say: "Perhaps it was an unlucky chance for both of us that she was the only attractive young woman on my deck. The first morning she asked for a drink but in such a way that I felt instinctively that I need not be lonely on the 14-day voyage back to Southampton.
"She had the trick of tucking her long legs under the chair, clasping her knees with her hands and throwing back her head as she spoke. I found myself watching her sitting in this quiet corner of the lounge as I was serving drinks to other passengers. When the lounge filled just before dinner we would steal glances across the crowded tables. When she was chatting to friends she had made on board, I felt her eyes following me."
She kept on asking him to bring her a late-night cup of tea to her cabin. He never himself took the tray to her cabin, but always sent another steward. On her eighth morning on board – Friday, October 17 - she loudly reprimanded him for having forgotten about her request for the late-night cup of tea.
That night, the ship off the coast of Sierra Leone, the air was hot and humid. In the lounge some of the passengers were enjoying themselves dancing to the ship's band playing Glen Miller. Gay sat at her usual table. Alone. Three times she called Camb to bring her rum. When she took to the floor, which wasn't often, there was not an eye in the lounge that was not on her. She wore a clinging off-the-shoulder black evening gown and high-heeled silver shoes. "A pretty red-head but a very excitable girl," one of her ex-boyfriends would also later describe her.
That night twirling in the arms of the husbands of her fellow female passengers to "In the Mood," beads of perspiration formed on her perfectly made-up face; she was in a high state of excitement.
Camb, although he was rushing around serving drinks, did not fail to notice. "I have a bone to pick with you, and a big bone at that," he was heard to say to her.
"Why?" she asked
The darkness of the night not cooling the air, some passengers discussed going for a swim. Gay said that she was going to join them. She went down to her cabin to get her swimsuit. A few minutes later she was back in the lounge; she couldn't find her swimsuit, she said. Meanwhile, the plan to go swimming had been abandoned and only a handful of men were still in the lounge; their womenfolk having gone to bed. The band had packed up for the night. Camb asked Gay if she wanted another rum. "I've got a good mind to bring one down to your cabin and to join you there," he told her.
"Please yourself. It's up to you," she replied.
Taking their drinks with them, she and the men went out on to the deck hoping it would be cooler there.
At 12:45 a.m. the lounge deserted and in semi-darkness, a steward named Bill Pott joined Camb in the Promenade Deck's pantry; the deck steward was washing, drying and packing away glasses. Pott, Camb's cabin mate, offered to help but he was told that it would not be necessary. "Go down to the cabin, I won't be long," said Camb.
Pott having left, Camb started to carry in deckchairs that had been left out on the deck. He saw Gay leaning over the rail, a glass in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Beside her stood her table companion, a man named Frank Hopwood, an official from the steamship company, on his way back to England after a holiday in Cape Town. They were chatting.
Not very many minutes later Camb, back in the pantry, saw Gay walking past. She was walking in the direction of the elevator; to retire for the night obviously.
But no; very quickly she was back on deck. The ship's maintenance man, Bill Conway, saw her leaning over the rail; Hopwood had gone to bed. Conway walked up to Gay and she told him that it was too hot down below to sleep. After a while she slowly walked off, back to the lounge and towards the elevator.
|First-Class Cabin on the Durban Castle
What happened next only Camb knew. He would later say that shortly before one o'clock he had gone down to her cabin. He knocked but the door remained closed. He then returned to the Promenade Deck; he thought that Gay had stepped out on the deck yet again, so he went to have a look. The deck was deserted. He waited an hour and went downstairs to Cabin 126 again. He knocked and felt the knob; it turned. It was going on two in the morning. He walked into the cabin and closed the door behind him.
Gay was wearing a yellow quilted dressing gown and slippers. The seductive black evening gown hung on a clothes hanger. She was flushed; she had had three rums in the lounge and another one or two out on the deck. Camb had another with him. She took it and for a while she sipped it, then she put the glass down on the night table and lay down on the bed. So did Camb.
"As I pulled her towards me and kissed the nape of her neck, I had second thoughts about the unlocked cabin door. She smiled and said, 'It doesn't matter no-one will come in. We will be quite safe'," he would remember.
Finally, the two had stopped playing musical chairs of the emotions; what was to follow would be for real.
When day came – Saturday, October 18 – Gay Gibson was nowhere to be found. Eileen Field, her cabin's stewardess said that her nightgown, a pair of black silk pajamas and her slippers were gone too. Her black evening gown still hung on the clothes hanger. There was no sign of a struggle in the cabin; the bed had been slept in as a dent in the pillow and a yellow stain on the bottom sheet bore witness.
Had she fallen overboard? Had she jumped overboard? Had she been pushed overboard?
At 9:45 a.m. a message was broadcast over the ship's loudspeakers. "A first-class lady passenger, Miss Eileen Gibson, cannot be found. Any person who knows where she is or can give any information concerning her, please report at once to the purser."
Forty-five minutes later Captain Patey turned the ship round; it was his duty to go and look for a missing passenger. The other passengers joined him and his crew in leaning over the rails to search the shark-infested ocean with their eyes and with binoculars. There was no sign of the red-headed starlet.
The captain also sent an S.O.S. over the ship's radio alerting other vessels in the area that a passenger was believed lost overboard. The passenger, female, might be wearing black silk pajamas under a yellow quilted gown and possibly bedroom slippers.
Camb was calmly preparing the Promenade Deck for the day's drinking and jovialities. He had started at 6 a.m.
What happened to Gay
Later that morning, while Cabin 126 was being sealed on orders from the steamship company's London headquarters, Captain Patey called those crew members connected to the Shade Deck to his office for statements on their whereabouts and activities the previous night. There were eight such crew members, Camb being one. The captain also took a statement from passenger Hopwood.
It appeared from what he heard that the previous night had been somewhat different from what the crew was used to.
At 2:58 a.m. the silence of the tropical night was broken by two emergency buzzers sounding simultaneously on the Shade Deck. One summoned the deck's head steward; the other the deck's stewardess. Both were off duty and asleep in their cabins, so it would be two night-watchmen, Jim Murray and Fred Steer, who ran up the stairs to see from which cabin the urgent calls had come. An indicator board at the top of the stairs showed that Cabin 126 had buzzed. Murray and Steer rushed to it and saw that from underneath its door came light. Steer grabbed the knob and it turned in his hand. He pushed open the door but a man behind it blocked his way. "It's all right!" said he and slammed the door. He wore blue trousers, a brown leather belt and the white short-sleeved shirt and plimsolls of a member of the Durban Castle's crew. "That's Camb in there," said Steer to Murray.
Later, back on the Promenade Deck, Murray told another crew member about the buzzing from Cabin 126 but he did not say that the man in Gay's cabin was Camb. He did though go down to the cabin yet again just to make sure that the young woman was indeed all right. It was 3:20 a.m. and the light in the cabin was still on but the cabin was silent. Having a good idea what was going on in there, he returned to the Promenade Deck. Steer thought that he should also go down to the cabin just to make sure that the young starlet really did not need help. It was 3:40 a.m. and the cabin was not only silent but dark.
The rest of the night had passed calmly.
As for Camb, told that he had been seen in Cabin 126, he denied that he had been anywhere near it on that night or on any other night.
Having heard all out, Captain Patey wrote in the Durban Castle's log: '18/10/47. At 11:40 a.m., after hearing statements of the aforementioned persons (he named them), it was assumed that Miss Gibson disappeared sometime between 3 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. today and that no reasonable hope could be entertained of recovering her by retracing ship's course any further. To confirm this assumption the ship's doctor was consulted and he agreed. The Master then gave orders to resume the ship's normal course."
But he wanted to have another word with Camb.
Later, Camb would recall: "Stewards exchanged glances. Officers hurried past us without speaking. Then I felt the ship turning. We were going back to search. I went down to my quarters for a smoke, to calm my nerves. I must not crack. I wondered whether I was suspected of having something to do with Gay's disappearance. I was soon to know the answer. The chief steward told me that Captain Patey wanted to see me in his cabin immediately."
Elsewhere on the ship, the passengers had no idea that Camb was under suspicion. So the tarty passenger was nowhere to be found, so what? One female passenger would recall: "She (Gay) had been seen on deck late at night by a member of the crew and many people reckoned she had committed suicide and just jumped overboard. There was no indication that Camb had anything to do with her disappearance."
Camb though was told that when the ship called in at Funchal, Madeira, he was to stay on board. It led to him writing a letter to the captain. He again denied having been to Cabin 126 on that night or on any other night. He signed off, "I am, sir, yours faithfully. J. Camb, Deck Steward."
Meanwhile, the ship's doctor, Anthony Griffiths, examined Camb to see if he had any bruises or scratches on his body. He did. He had some dry scratches on his left collar bone and some fresh scratches on the back of his right shoulder and another 12 fresh scratches on his right wrist. The doctor described the wrist scratches as "of an intriguing interest." He said some were "linear, some crescentic, running more or less horizontally across the inside of the lower right arm, commencing four to five inches above the wrist."
The examination resulted in a second letter from Camb to the captain. "The slight scratches on my left shoulder and wrist, also a few on my right wrist were self-inflicted three or four nights ago whilst in bed. I was feeling terribly hot and itchy, and I must have scratched myself during sleep. I remarked during the following morning that I'd damned near scratched myself to death. Also early last week I broke a small patch of skin on my neck by a too vigorous rubbing with a very rough towel."
On the night of Friday, October 24, eight days since Gay Gibson's disappearance and 14 days after having sailed from Cape Town, the Durban Castle docked in Southampton. As discreetly as possible detectives arrested Camb.
"I believe that you were in Miss Gibson's cabin at about three o'clock on the morning of the 18th of October," said Detective Sergeant John Quinlan of the Southampton police to Camb.
"That puts me in a tight spot," he replied.
"Are you in the habit of visiting female passengers in their cabins?" he was asked later at the Southampton station house.
"Yes," he replied, "some of them like us stewards better than the passengers."
A few hours later he admitted to having been to Gay Gibson's cabin on the night of her disappearance. He said that he had wanted to speak of this before but he waited for a moment when no Union Castle Steamship Line official would be present.
"I had no right to go to her cabin. But I did go at about 11 o'clock that night to ask her if she wanted some lemonade with her rum."
Then after yet a few hours had passed he asked if what he would be saying next could be taken down.
"Can you take this down in shorthand? I want to make a quick and short statement."
He was told to go ahead, his words would be taken down.
"Whilst in the act of sexual intercourse she suddenly clutched at me, foaming at the mouth. I immediately ceased the act, but she was very still. I felt for her heartbeats but could not find any. My wife must not know. If she does I will do away with myself. "
Quinlan replied: "James Camb, I charge you with the willful murder of Eileen Isabella Ronnie Gibson."
"My God is it as serious as that?" Camb wanted to know.
Ten days after having docked in Southampton, the Durban Castle was back on her way to South Africa. Cabin 126 did not have a passenger; it had no bed. The bed had been ripped out; it was needed as evidence in court. So was the bed's bottom sheet; police pathologists had identified the yellow mark on it as human urine. No-one had asked Camb to hand over the clothes he had worn on that Friday night; no-one had in fact even looked at them.
Camb faced capital punishment; if found guilty of willful murder he would be hanged.
Camb in the Dock
Five months later, on Thursday, March 18, 1948, the Porthole Murder Case, as the media called it, opened in Winchester Court House, nine miles (14 kms) away; Southampton Court House had not yet been rebuilt after WW II bombing. The court room was packed. As the media would report, most in the public gallery were women. James Camb, all the ladies agreed, was one very handsome hulk of a man. After the first day, admission would be by ticket only; one woman who would not be applying for a ticket would be Margaret, Camb's wife.
In court, Camb pleaded "Not guilty," in a firm voice. He stuck to the story he had already told the police and his team if lawyers, Geoffrey Wells, Joshua Casswell and Joseph Molony.
After Gay had told him not to worry about the unlocked door, she took off her slippers and gown and he saw that she was naked underneath. He loosened his belt and unbuttoned the fly of his trousers, but he did not take off his clothes. Sexual intercourse took place in the "missionary style."
He said: "I lay on top of Miss Gibson. I was face down … her head was in the crook of my left arm, my right arm resting on her hip. Her right hand was around my neck and her left hand holding my right arm. Just as intercourse would normally have come to an end she suddenly heaved under me as though she was gasping for breath, as though she was taking a deep breath… her body stiffened for a fraction of a second and then relaxed, completely limp … her right arm was still round my neck when she heaved against me. That arm automatically tightened, and the left arm, holding my right forearm gripped tightly. All this happened in a matter of seconds."
He added that Gay's nails had at first dug into his flesh then her whole body had stiffened in his arms and her back had arched in a violent spasm.
"She heaved a long, tired sigh and her head lolled awkwardly to one side. Her eyes opened wide and fixed me with a sightless stare."
He said that he must have held her for several seconds before jumping off the bed. He thought she must have fainted. Her mouth was slightly open and bubbles gathered in the corners of her mouth. The bubbles were a muddy color as if blood-speckled. He felt for her pulse, there was none. He put an ear to her chest but could not hear a heartbeat. For 20, perhaps 25 minutes, he tried to bring her back to consciousness. He massaged her stomach upwards towards her heart, he pumped her chest, he slapped her face, rubbed her hands, massaged her arms and legs hoping to restore her blood circulation.
Just at that moment there was a tap on the door and someone started to open it. He jumped to it, said "It's all right", and locked the door.
Then he panicked.
Being in a passenger's cabin was against the rules; he would certainly lose his job and what would he say to Margaret caring for their little girl Evelyn or Tootsie as they called her up in Glasgow, Scotland? But he might still have got around that problem, but how was he going to explain the passenger being naked – and dead?
|Detectives examine the porthole through which Gay Gibson's body
was thrown.
The solution, the only one he could think of, was to push the body through the porthole.
"I confess it sounds very foolish but I hoped to give the impression that she had fallen overboard and deny all knowledge of having been in that cabin in the hope that the captain's further inquiries would not be too severe."
The porthole was just short of 16 inches in diameter (41 cm), but right above the bed.
"I lifted her up to a sitting position and then lifted her with my hands just above her hips to the porthole and pushed her arms through and then her head," he explained.
Next, he pushed her body and legs through. She hit the water, some 25 feet (eight meters) below, with a loud splash.
"I was sure nobody could have heard the splash. The ship's motion gives a certain amount of backwash and the initial wave of the bow cutting through the sea washes back past the ship and creates a suction noise," he said.
He did not throw her nightgown, pajamas and slippers out as well. He had no idea what had happened to those. He said that he had not even seen a pair of black silk pajamas in the cabin; she wore nothing under the nightgown.
The body gone, he switched off the light and went to his and Pott's cabin and crawled into his bunk to lie awake for what was left of the night on the high seas.
Truth or Rumors
Without a body nor with hard, damning evidence that Camb was in Gay Gibson's cabin on the night of her disappearance, the prosecution had to prove that the starlet, on her death, was in excellent health and that the cause of death was strangulation either during or after violent non-consensual sex.
The prosecution's pathologist, Dr. Donald Teare, pointed out that on death by strangulation the human body empties itself of waste. Therefore the yellow stain on the bottom sheet, identified as human urine, proved that the victim was strangled to death. It also of course therefore proved that she was dead on hitting the water; her family did not have to fear that she had been thrown into a shark-infested ocean alive.
The defense team however argued that Gay had a history of inexplicable faints and that these might have been caused by a serious undetected and consequently untreated heart condition. And the human body did, the team added, empty itself of waste on death, whether death had been natural or not. Gay having urinated on death did not therefore prove that Camb had strangled her. She probably died of a heart attack.
Passenger Hopwood testified that the young woman had appeared tired when he had chatted to her out on the deck. He also described her as having often been not in a cheerful mood. He thought something was worrying her. "She was more or less like that all the time except for one evening when she seemed to brighten up."
Worried about what? About being pregnant perhaps and having to find an abortionist in London; not only was abortion illegal but also very costly.
As not all of both the prosecution and the defense's witnesses were able to make the voyage from South Africa, the absent ones had sent affidavits; the defense alone had as many as 22. All these affidavits painted a picture of a sexually uninhibited, hard-drinking, hard-playing young woman.
Present to give evidence was a Johannesburg-based physician, Dr. Ina Schoub. Gay had consulted her the week before the Durban Castle's had sailed from Cape Town; she wanted to be fitted with a contraceptive device. Schoub had to examine her internally and she was adamant that the young woman was not pregnant. Gay had told her that she had moved to South Africa because she suffered from asthma. She also told her that she often missed a period. Schoub, the wife of a theater director and someone who therefore knew Gay's social history, suggested to her that her lifestyle – the partying, the drinking, the excitability – might be a little hectic and it could certainly upset her menstrual cycle, but she need not believe that she was going to have a baby.
Gay's mother Ellen, called Daisy, described by the media as "a pleasant, round-faced, middle-aged Englishwoman, just like millions of other English mothers, with the same pride and the same loyalties; a tragic figure in the witness box," said that her daughter had always enjoyed excellent health. She dismissed Schoub's claims that her daughter had consulted her about missing periods and asthma.
She also dismissed as rumors what had been reported about her daughter's sex life. "She was not really keen on anybody. She was not particularly interested in men or marriage. She had one interest in life and that was a theatrical career."
As for a man having paid her daughter's passage, she said: "She was going to pay him back. She was a hardworking conscientious girl and she was hoping to become successful in her career."
Former lover, Mike Abel, was in court too and his evidence contradicted that of Mrs. Gibson. In detail he described the sex he had had with Gay. One act had taken place in his car and she had fainted. He described how her lips had turned blue and she complained of a pain in her left arm.
Abel's testimony was backed up by Schoub, who said that Able had told her, speaking of Gay, "She nearly died on my last night. I was screwing her in my car and she passed out. I thought she was dead. Then she came round."
Other witnesses spoke of how Gay used to pass out at parties after having had too much to drink. Once they had found her lying unconscious out in the garden. "I'm sorry," she apologized when they got her back on to her feet.
Dr. Anthony Griffiths, the ship's physician, admitted that he could not with certainty say that the scratches on Camb were caused by a woman's long nails. Neither could he testify to their freshness. And he also said that the scratches on Camb's wrist could have been caused by gripping during a seizure.
It was Counsel Joshua Casswell's task to plead for Camb's life.
On the first day of the trial he had addressed the jury by saying that all that his client could be blamed for was having thrown Gay Gibson's body through the porthole of her cabin. "We must remember that we are not here to decide whether he ought to have disposed of the dead body, nor is the charge that of having concealed a dead body. What he is charged with is having murdered that girl, and it is for the prosecution to prove to your satisfaction that he did murder her before you can find a verdict of guilty. It is not a question of suspicion; it is not a question of probability. It must be a question of certainty in your minds beyond reasonable doubt; not a flimsy doubt, of course, but by bringing your minds to bear upon it as men and women of the world. That is why you are here so that you may bring common sense to your deliberations."
At the end of the trial he said: "In any case of this sort which comes before a jury, there is suspicion. If there were no suspicion there would be no trial, but you will realize that suspicion, and even probability, falls short of what is required before you can return a verdict of guilty."
There were 12 jurors. They would be described by the media as "predominantly male, middle-aged, middle-minded and middle-class." Only two were female.
Forty-five minutes after they retired to consider their verdict, they were back in the court room.
They did not look at Camb; to those in the public gallery it meant they had found him guilty of murder. They had.
The judge, Justice Sir Malcolm Hilbery of the King's Bench, asked Camb if he had anything to say.
"My lord, at the opening of this case I was asked to plead guilty or not guilty. I pleaded not guilty and I repeat that statement now," he replied.
A clerk balanced a square piece of black cloth on the judge's wig and then, all in the court room standing, the judge said: "James Camb, the sentence of the court upon you is that you be taken from hence to a lawful prison, and thence to a place of execution, and that you there be hanged by the neck until you be dead, and that your body be buried within the precincts of the prison within which you shall last have been confined before your execution, and may the Lord have mercy upon your soul."
Camb did not react.
His Fate
Camb did not die on the gallows. At that time the British Parliament was debating abolishing capital punishment and a moratorium was in force so that his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Soon though the death sentence was reinstated but the commutation of his sentence was upheld. He would spend the rest of his life locked up and he would probably die forgotten. (Capital punishment was abolished in 1965.)
But, James Camb would be in the news again.
In 1959, having served almost 12 years and 43 years old and as handsome as before, Camb was paroled for good behavior.
Camb, now long divorced from Margaret, who remarried, took a job as a waiter in Radcliffe, a town in his native Lancashire. Soon afterwards he met a barmaid and married her; and he adopted her 6-year-old daughter.
In 1967, eight years later and 51 years old, he was back in court for having made lurid gestures to a young girl, a friend of his adopted daughter. He lost his job, but did not have to return to jail.
In 1971, he did go back to jail. He received a 12-year sentence for "lewd, indecent and libidinous practices" towards three girls; two were 11 years old and the other 10. He was working as a waiter in the bar of a hotel and broke into the bedroom of the girls on a school outing. His second wife then left him.
In 1978 he walked free for a second time. He was 62 years old and ill with heart disease. He set off for Leeds in West Yorkshire, not far from Lancashire, and despite his health took a job as a waiter at a golf club. Gray, thin and not so steady on his feet, he was quickly popular with everyone; they called him Jimbo.
He had only a few months to live though. He died behind the golf club's bar of a heart attack on July 7, 1979.
An old aunt of his named Florrie had asked him when he was on trial for murder: "In the name of God, Jimmy, why?" He had replied: "I must have needed by head tested."
He had by his own confession only ever loved one woman: his first wife Margaret.
After having been sentenced to death he had written her a letter. "I do not know what I am going to say – what can I say?" he began.
He wrote of the torment she must be suffering and what a handicap his name would be to the future of their daughter.
He told her that whatever she decided to do he would not oppose her.
"I beg of you to always be sure that you have been my one true love and no matter what the future holds for me I shall go on loving you and loving Tootsie, our sweet child."
He ended the letter: "God bless you both, my dear wife and daughter. Jimmy."
Did he or did he not kill her?
At the time of the trial the British and South African public had little sympathy for Gay. People said that she was a bad girl and that she certainly had not died defending her honor or fighting off a rapist.
James Camb on the contrary was liked. He was described as intelligent and articulate and even as a "very debonair fellow."
His male supporters said that he had an open invitation to Gay's cabin and that any man would have followed it through. They also believed that Gay died the way he had described; so did his female supporters.
"Actress Had Fainting Fits," London's Daily Telegraph headlined. The page-one headline of another London newspaper, the Sunday Express, was, "Gay Gibson died in my arms says Camb. Doctor says: I think that story is perfectly possible."
Eight years after the trial one of the defense's forensic pathologists, Dr. Denis Hocking, made it clear in a letter to a colleague that he also believed that Gay had died of natural causes: "I have always thought that very odd fun and games went on in that cabin that night."
He mentioned masochism saying that Gay was probably a sadomasochist. He also mentioned oral sex.
In some of the affidavits sent to Camb's lawyers it was claimed that Gay indulged in both in South Africa.
"To an undoubtedly highly-sexed man like Camb, this may have proved an irresistible attraction …," wrote Hocking in the letter.
In 1947 words like masochism, sadomasochist and oral sex could not however be mentioned in a court of law; they could not even be written in a newspaper. The jury therefore heard only that "sexual intercourse in the missionary style" had taken place.
So why did Gay Gibson die?
Since Dr. Hocking's letter to his colleague, the case has frequently been discussed in books about forensic pathology. The experts all point out that sudden death during sexual intercourse happens more often than one realizes.
One cause of such sudden death is ischaemic heart disease (IHD) when the blood supply to the heart muscle is reduced or halted.
Another is cardiomyopathy, weakness of the muscle of the heart due to an inadequate oxygen supply. Three of its symptoms are apnea (interrupted breathing), fainting and hyperventilation. Signs of the latter are lightheadedness and slurred speech with the sufferer consequently mistaken for being under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.
But if Gay's death were due to one of the above, who buzzed for assistance from her cabin? And what happened to her pajamas, nightgown and slippers?
Today, British criminologists say that as both buzzers sounded at the same time it means that it was Camb who had summoned help. A woman's hand being smaller than that of a man, Gay could not have hit both simultaneously. Also, if Camb had killed Gay either willfully or accidentally during violent sex, he would certainly not have buzzed for help. He would have had only one idea: to vacate the cabin.
But that the two buzzers were pressed simultaneously and in such a way to make the two night-watchmen think that there was something very wrong up on the Shade Deck, showed that all that Camb could think of at that moment was to get someone, perhaps the doctor, to the cabin urgently. Then, after one or two minutes of reflection while waiting for help to arrive, he decided that it would be wiser to deal with the situation himself.
As for the pajamas, nightgown and slippers, the criminologists say that Camb shoved those through the porthole as well hoping that it would be thought that Gay had either jumped or fallen overboard.
The final word should perhaps go to Camb's old Aunt Florrie.
Asked, after Camb's death, by a journalist to describe him, she said: "I couldn't say he was a bad man. Apart from the women side, he never did any thieving or robbery. Just women. Stupid, isn't it? All his trouble because of the women thing."
The Durban Castle's Fate
The Durban Castle continued to sail between South Africa and Britain until 1962 when it was sold for $288,000 (£200,000; €224,000) to a German firm based in Hamburg to be broken up.


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|2012-11-28, 02:49
|Link #1
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
One Piece - Chapter 690 [manga]
Welcome to the weekly manga discussion thread for One Piece.
Thread Guidelines
Spoiler's here! Credit goes to Aohige and redon from AP forums:
-Chapter title is "SAD". The ministory features Caribou being saved by an old woman.
-Luffy vs. CC resumes. It seems that the scientist is capable of firing beams from his mouth, but that still doesn't save him from getting smashed into a pulp.
-Meanwhile, focus briefly switches back the other Straw-Hats scrambling around the lab, then back to another battle in progress: Smoker vs. Vergo in the SAD room. It looks like despite his impressive display from earlier, Smoker loses the fight. However, his loss was intentional, as Law used this opportunity to regain his heart...!!
-Law calls out Doflamingo through Vergo's denden mushi, telling him that he'll lose his most valuable people and assets. Vergo is ready to strike him with his haki-infused body, but..... Law slices him AND THE ENTIRE LAB in half! He then tells his old boss that things have changed since Whitebeard's era, and that there's no turning back the inevitable tsunami now. Doflamingo gets most displeased by this sudden turn of events...!!!!
Veeery nice chapter. And I believe I even predicted that Law would use Smoker's fight as a way to get his heart back, as well. I'm a bit unsure if Vergo's down for the count just yet, though..... even if he was sliced in half, Law's power doesn't immediately kill his enemies, so the VA may still have some tricks up his sleeve....
Anyway, looks like Dofla's going to be our first major NW enemy at this point. Now that Law attracted his wrath, it's only a matter of time before the veteran warlord takes matters to his own hands (though I still doubt he'll go to PH himself.... I'm guessing that the Luffy/Law alliance would take the fight to his base at Dresrosa). Man, it really sucks to know that the next few chapters are going to be released in-between holiday breaks, considering what's at stake here now.....
|2012-11-28, 02:53
|Link #2
Hmmm... wouldn't have thought Smoker would have lost. Figured Law would'a got his heart back, and they would'a double teamed him. Well.... now that Vergo's in half, I do wonder what Smoker will do with him now.... unless Smoker's actually unconcious.
|2012-11-28, 04:24
|Link #5
a random Indonesian otaku
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Xanadu
Age: 27
great chapter I must say...
Law is back and kicking Vergo.... Luffy is also kicking Caesar!
the new era will really begin... Vergo and Caesar used to be famous in the past but these two new pirates has kicked them out
|2012-11-28, 06:35
|Link #9
( ಠ_ಠ)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Somewhere, between the sacred silence and sleep
Considering the fact Big Mam is randomly shown when Law is making the speech about knocking oiut a cogwheel, it's much more likely now that Dofla's business partner Yonkou is her.
|2012-11-28, 08:00
|Link #10
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Malaysia
This perfectly described how I feel about Law this chapter:
And Luffy's "Extreme Makeover" on Caesar's face is one of the other highlights of this chapter for me. I wonder if Caesar's face would remain like that for the rest of the fight.
|2012-11-28, 08:00
|Link #11
Law is a badass.
I guess Vergo wasn't top tier.. as we saw in the war, top tiers have insane durability and do not get taken out in one shot (Marco, Akainu, etc.. although Jozu may be an exception).
I wonder how much of a fight Smoker would've given Vergo if he was fighting seriously to win.. somehow I see him being able to force a win, although it would've been a huge struggle.. maybe something like Luffy's win against Lucci.
|2012-11-28, 08:10
|Link #12
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: East Cupcake
Dieragof!!! Fwagabah!!! Pogabebwah!!!
Fun Fun Fun chapter. Good bit o' fighting, lots of funny bits, and we finally get to see Usopp and Brook again...though Frankie is still hiding (probably waiting to defeat the Shinokuni in one blow).
|2012-11-28, 08:55
|Link #13
lost ronin
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: in the recesses of my convoluted mind...
awesome chapter! law is back to his badass self! i never would have thought that law and smoker would do such a good tag team against vergo. pissing off doffy is not a good idea but if this means that we'll finally get to see the bird man in action then i'm all for it!
|2012-11-28, 09:27
|Link #14
I never hid my hurts.
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Where the wild things are--Hell.
when I first read the chapter, I sort of didn't expect Law to 1 shot(?) Vergo. Don't get me wrong, Law seemed strong pre-timeskip but I don't know,..he just didn't seem powerful enough to defeat someone like Vergo in one shot, let alone do what he did to the Island. Either way, where's the Panda and the rest of Law's crew? Either way, this chapter was badass, and so was Law. I didn't really know someone could harden their entire body with Haki though.
|2012-11-28, 09:48
|Link #15
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: East Cupcake
^Law has one of the most powerful devil fruits we have seen in the series. He can control almost anything in his 'rooms'...as so long as he can surpass their Haki. The only reason Law has suffered so far has been because his heart was being controlled by Vergo. Once he had his heart back, and he could equal or surpass Vergo's Haki, it is not surprising that he could defeat Vergo (though I agree the entire mountain being 'cut' was also surprising.
|2012-11-28, 09:56
|Link #16
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
They both thought Law was a punk that Vergo could unfair him like they old days and he was below them .
Vergo ran at him thinking there was nothing he could do instead of playing it smart and he pay the price for it .
Which is why Law said to Donflamingo he was just sitting on his ass thinking he going to remain on top but new generation are about the come for the old one .
|2012-11-28, 10:12
|Link #17
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Oh god, Caesar's face. Well, if he manages to survive this whole mess, the dude's pretty much going to have to wear a mask for the rest of his life like Spandam!
Anyway, don't have much else to say about the chapter. Though I do also find it curious that Franky's been absent for a while now.....
Yeah, looks like Big Mama being the one with the zoan army has a bit more merit now, I admit. I'm still sticking with the idea of Kaidou being the target of the Straw-Hearts alliance, though....
Yeah, I pretty much agree with everything here. Dofla and Vergo were just too cocky and underestimated Law. And again, it's not like Vergo is out of the picture yet, anyway (he got sliced in half, but he's obviously still alive due to Law's "Room" being in effect).
BTW, it looks like it's been pretty much confirmed that Vergo is Dofla's right-hand man, I think. I mean, Law referred to him as his "most valuable" subordinate. And one must certainly admit that the bamboo demon proved himself a more reliable underling than a certain dachshund hyena.....
|2012-11-28, 10:47
|Link #20
Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 32
I'm impressed Law managed to cut through Vergo's armament haki (which has been hyped a lot) so easily. He is definitely worthy of the rank of Shichibukai. His DF combined with his strong haki makes him a frightening opponent. Luffy was right to forge an alliance with him.
Caesar's face is hilarious. I hope he'll remain that way forever
I've got to hand it to him, he is damn resilient. It's only a matter of time before he gets defeated though. Luffy is completely overwhelming him.
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Confirmed Athletes Include: Shaun White, Louie Vito, and Kelly Clark
Winter Action Sports Festival Will Serve as Season's First USSA Selection Event
The Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships returns to Breckenridge, Colo., December 12-15, featuring the world's top freeski and snowboard athletes, including Shaun White, Louie Vito, Danny Davis, and Kelly Clark competing in superpipe and slopestyle competitions. The event will serve as the first official US Ski and Snowboard Association Olympic team selection event of the 2013-2014 season, and the first ever USSA selection event for freeski slopestyle, freeski superpipe and snowboarding slopestyle disciplines. The iON Mountain Championships will bring together the country's top male and female pro superpipe and slopestyle athletes, along with an array of international talent looking to capture the Dew Cup.
Two time Olympic snowboard half pipe gold-medalist Shaun White (2006, 2010) will attempt to emphasize his dominance in the superpipe, while also showcasing his skills in slopestyle. Louie Vito and Scotty Lago will bring their experience on the podium to the superpipe competition. In addition, Olympic half pipe gold-medalists Kelly Clark (2006) and Australian Torah Bright (2010) will compete in the women's superpipe contest, alongside US contender Elena Hight.
"I'm stoked the Dew Tour is the first Olympic team qualifier. You can guarantee the pipe will be great and everyone comes out for the contest swinging," said Lago, 2010 Olympic half pipe bronze-medalist. "Game on!"
Competing for a spot on the USSA team for the first time, snowboard slopestyle athletes will take on the Dew Tour course for the sixth consecutive year at Breckenridge. Chas Guldemond and Breckenridge local Eric Willett will hit the rails and jumps alongside Canadian Mark McMorris and Norwegian Torstein Horgmo in a contest that will preview the action in Sochi. Jamie Anderson and young gun Ty Walker will show the world what the ladies are capable of in slopestyle.
Showcasing their skills in men's and women's freeski superpipe will be top contenders Torin Yater-Wallace, David Wise, Simon Dumont, Maddie Bowman, Devin Logan and Jen Hudak. The slopestyle contest will feature heavy hitters including Breckenridge native Bobby Brown, Nick Goepper, Tom Wallisch and Gus Kenworthy, all hungry for valuable USSA selection points. Logan will be pulling double duty at the Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships, as she will also be competing in the slopestyle contest against top contenders including Keri Herman and Grete Eliasson.
"I couldn't be more excited that the Dew Tour is the first USSA selection event this December," said Yater-Wallace. "The event always brings out the best competition, so it will be the perfect way for freeskiers to make our statement as we prepare for our first Games in Sochi."
The iON Mountain Championships will once again host the Nike Snowboard Slopestyle event in downtown Breckenridge. The contest will highlight snowboarding's best urban talent on a collection of street features under the lights on Washington Ave.
NBC Sports Group will feature more than four hours of live coverage of the Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships, from Breckenridge, Colo. Coverage begins Saturday, December 14 at Noon ET on NBC, and continues through the weekend on NBC and NBCSN. All practice, qualifying, and finals will be streamed live on DewTour.com.
Sat., December 14
Men's Snowboard Superpipe Final
Sun., December 15
Men's Freeski Slopestyle Final
Sun., December 15
Men's Snowboard Slopestyle Final
3 p.m.
Sat., December 14
Men's Freeski Superpipe Final (taped)
1 a.m.
*All times listed are ET. Schedules are subject to change.
For a full list of confirmed athletes and additional Dew Tour event information, visit www.DewTour.com, www.facebook.com/dewtour, and www.twitter.com/DewTour.
Dew Tour
The Dew Tour consists of three marquee events in distinct beach, city and mountain locales, featuring summer sports of skateboarding and BMX, with additional competitions of surf and freestyle motocross; snowboard (superpipe and slopestyle) and freeskiing (superpipe and slopestyle) will be featured at the winter event. The Dew Tour events are premium action sports and lifestyle festivals combining the best in action sports competitions along with the Dew Tour Experience and live music performances. The Dew Tour is broadcast live on NBC and NBC Sports Network and streamed live on dewtour.com. The Dew Tour is also distributed on Universal HD, and internationally on Eurosport, Extreme Channel, Rogers Sports Network, TVA, and Globosat. The Dew Tour partners include Mountain Dew (tour title sponsor), iON, Toyota, Mongoose, National Guard, Paul Mitchell and Stride. More information can be found at www.DewTour.com.
Alli Sports
Alli Sports is a media, event and branded content company that specializes in action, adventure, and adrenaline based sports. Alli Properties include the Dew Tour, Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, the Red Bull Signature Series, World of Adventure Sports presented by Go Pro and Octane Academy founded by Ford; Alli Media, which creates original content, produces and presents content with partners and distributes content through a variety of channels; and Alli Enterprises consisting of e-commerce, event merchandise and branded licensed product. Alli Sports is a division of the NBC Sports Group. More information can be found at www.Allisports.com.
NBC Sports Group
When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form NBC Sports Group, which serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of a unique array of broadcast television, cable television, radio and digital sports assets, including NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBC Sports Network, Golf Channel, 11 NBC Sports Regional Networks, two regional news networks, NBC Sports Radio and all of their respective digital properties. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, PGA of America, USGA, Churchill Downs, Premier League, MLS, Tour de France, French Open, Formula One, IndyCar and many more.


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A bid by Disney shareholders to split Bob Iger's dual chairman and CEO role was defeated at the AGM on Wednesday [6].
The move followed recent reports that Iger received a $40m package in fiscal year 2012 and echoed earlier protests by opponents when former head Michael Eisner held both roles.
According to reports the AGM was conducted in a generally positive mood on the back of record stock prices.
Shareholders voted to re-elect all 10 members of the board. The directors including Iger are: Susan E Arnold, John S Chen, Judith L Estrin, Fred H Langhammer, Aylwin B Lewis, Monica C Lozano, Robert W Matschullat, Sheryl Sandberg and Orin C Smith.
Iger also unveiled the first model image of Shanghai Disney Resort ahead of the targeted late 2015 opening ceremony.
The resort will include Shanghai Disneyland, two themed hotels, a 46,000-sq m gross floor area retail, dining and entertainment venue, recreational facilities, a lake and parking and transportation hubs.


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Finance committee meeting set for Thursday
The finance committee will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday in Pinckney Hall. This meeting was rescheduled from the Jan. 19 meeting that was postponed.
Nominate an award-worthy volunteer
Do you know someone whose volunteer work makes a difference in Sun City or in the Lowcountry? Nominate them for a Board of Directors Award or a Volunteer Award. The Leadership Development Committee's Awards subcommittee is accepting nominations for both awards.
The Board of Directors Award is the most prestigious award given to Sun City residents. It recognizes longtime volunteers whose service has had a measurable effect on the community. The annual volunteer awards recognize residents who give their time and talent to make great impacts on the community. Guidelines and applications are available on pages 33 to 36 in the February issue of SunSations. You can pick up nomination applications and a copy of the guidelines in Pinckney Hall, Palmetto Commons, Magnolia Hall ticket counter or at Hidden Cypress and Purrysburg Fitness Centers. Applications for the awards will be accepted in Palmetto Commons through Feb. 15. The awards ceremony will be held April 22 in Magnolia Hall. The ceremony is open to Sun City residents.
The Lettermen to perform encore in Magnolia Hall
Back by popular demand, The Lettermen will make another appearance at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Feb. 12 in Magnolia Hall. The group put on two sold-out shows in December of 2010. Tickets are available, so stop by Lifestyle Services today to reserve your seat. Tickets are $25 for the matinee and $30 for the evening performance.
Tickets on sale for March events
Tickets for March events are on sale in the Lifestyle Services Office in Pinckney Hall. Lifestyle Services has a lot planned for March, including a bus trip to see the St. Patrick's Day parade in Savannah, Cocktails & a Comedian, and the finale of our winter session of Wii Bowling.
New Cypress Grille deli hours
The Deli at the Hidden Cypress Grille has new, temporary hours from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Check future eNews Weekly for Hidden Cypress Grille's Valentine's Day specials.


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Registration open for soccer season
Marion County United Soccer Club is reopening registration for its 10th spring season of soccer.
Players who played in the fall may register at no additional charge.
The reopening of registration will allow those who didn't play but are interested to participate.
Registration forms are available at Marion and Hillsboro elementary schools, from the Marion Chamber of Commerce, or by contacting Stephanie Moss at (620) 877-7454 or at firstname.lastname@example.com.
The registration deadline is March 15. Practices begin the week of March 25, and games begin April 6.
The cost for registration is $35 for preschool to second grade and $50 for third grade through high school.


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Six-time climber: Everest is 'a natural beast'
More than a dozen people are dead or missing in the worst-ever recorded disaster on Mount Everest. (USA TODAY, USA NOW)
Adrian Ballinger has climbed Mount Everest six times, and on Saturday, he leaves for his seventh trek up the highest peak in the world.
Ballinger's journey will start just days after an avalanche killed at least 12 people in the worst-ever recorded disaster on Mount Everest. But as an experienced climber, it's a reality he's had to accept.
"This is an accident all of us know is a constant possibility," Ballinger says with a sigh. "Everest is an incredibly dangerous place. It's a natural beast."
Especially the Khumbu Ice Fall, where the avalanche hit. "It's a very dangerous, constantly moving river of ice being pushed between two mountains," Ballinger says. "It's the most uncontrollable part of the mountain. The only way to be safer is to move faster and get through it quicker."
Climbers go back and forth over the Khumbu Ice Fall a few times during each journey to the peak — it's how they acclimate to the higher altitude. But for Sherpas setting up camp and helping climbers, they might go across the stretch 20 times, Ballinger says. Crossing the dangerous stretch takes 2½ to three hours for an experienced Sherpa and four to six hours for an average climber.
STORY: Mount Everest avalanche kills 12 guides; 4 still missing
It's so dangerous that Ballinger's company, Alpenglow Expeditions, which leads trips, is looking for ways to minimize time in the area. After this week's record deaths on the patch his group will soon approach, Ballinger says it's impossible to ignore the risk.
"There are probably some hard conversations going on amongst my climbers' families today, and there should be," he says. "It's a risk. Deciding if it's worth that risk is an important conversation to have."
It's an expensive decision, too. The average Everest climb costs between $65,000 and $100,000 per person, with about $50,000 in training and equipment costs before even getting to the mountain.
The traditional trip takes 2½ months because of how long it takes to acclimate to the high altitude. New technologies have cut that time in half.
Ballinger and his team of climbers sleep in special $6,000 tents every night at home to mimic the altitude changes.
"It allows us to shorten our trip to almost half of what it would be," he says. "People arrive stronger and faster."
The actual climbing from base camp to summit is five days up and two days down. The rest of the time is spent climatizing at the camps in between. For climbers, that means reading, hanging out, playing cards and, now, Internet time.
Relaxing isn't always easy when climbers are surrounded by the possibility of an avalanche or snowstorm, Ballinger acknowledges.
"I hope no one out there is suggesting that Mount Everest doesn't have unbelievable danger to it," he says. "Nature always wins."
Ballinger is heartbroken over the deaths of the Sherpa people, who he has come to think of as family.
"Climbing Mount Everest is completely impossible without the support of the high altitude of the Sherpa people," he says. "They do the heavy lifting that allows us to climb these heavy peaks."
But when Ballinger gets to the top — there is nothing like it.
"You're sitting at 29,000 feet and taking it all in. It's beautiful," he says. "But you can always tell that Everest has fangs. It's a place that never lets you forget where you are. You can never forget what a risky place it is."