text:
Kansas History Web Sites
Territorial Kansas, May 30, 1854 | Kansas Day, January 29, 1861
Kansas Native Americans
Explorer History
Kansas Trails
Kansas Forts
Kansas Territorial History
Kansas Pioneers
Kansas Cattle Towns
Kansas Railroads
KS 20th Century History
Kansas History Books
KS General History
Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854
Documents for the Study of American History, AmDocs
Abraham Lincoln Speech on the Kansas-Nebraska Act, October 16, 1854
D-Day, 6 June 1944
D-Day Fact Sheet
Ike's D-Day Message
; General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Order of the Day, June 6, 1944
Humanities Kansas
announces KHC speakers bureau intended to strengthen community through the exploration of heritage, traditions, and ideas. The
KHC Speakers Bureau
features presentations about Kansas' people, places, hopes, and dreams and explore both popular and little known aspects of Kansas history and culture.
Dr. Edward N. Tihen's Notes
database from Wichita Newspapers, 1872-1982; Wichita State University
US Agricultural History
Wyandotte Constitutional Convention, July 5, 1859
, KanColl
Fred Harvey
: Harvey Houses on the prairie: How a Kansas man pioneered the hospitality industry
Kansas Alliance of Professional Historic Performers and Ride into History
Boot Hill Gaming and Casinos:
Gambling in the Old West
The Beginnings of Dodge City
by Robert M. Wright, 1913
The Great War Comes to Kansas
, letters exchanged in 1918 between Ward Griffing, while at Camp Funston, KS, and Minnie Frey, a one-room school house teacher, both natives of Manhattan, KS
Cowboy Blues: Early Black Music In The West
Minstrel and Medicine Shows -- Creating a Market for the Blues
The Weasels: Underground Success of A Kansas Rock Group
With Music the Ammunition -- Battles of the Bands in Wichita in the 1960s
19th Century Kansas Traveling Shows
, all by Patrick J. O'Connor
Kansas Counties and Where They Got Their Names
, Kansas County Name Etymologies
The Lawrence Massacre
By A Band Of Missouri Ruffians Under Quantrell, August 21, 1863, History by Rev. Richard Cordley, 1865,
4th of July, 1890, Fort Dodge, Kansas Soldiers Home
Prairie Band
Potawatomi Language
Project, MP-3 Audios
Treaties Between the Potawatomi and the United States of America, 1789 - 1867
Buntline Special Reconsidered
Original research
Prairie Fires on the Santa Fe Trail
Blizzards at Fort Dodge, KS
Kansas Historic Preservation Resources
Racing In Kansas
Artists In Kansas
Kansas Native American History
KS Plains and Emigrant Tribes; Native Americans (Indians)
, Old West Kansas
Kansan: People of the Southwind
Kansas the band from KSHS
Kaw Nation
Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas
Pawnee Nation
Citizen Potawatomi Nation
Prairie Band Potawatomi
Prairie Band Potawatomi Language Project
Sac and Fox Nation
Shawnee Nation
History, Hodge's
Handbook of Indians
Wichita and Affiliated Tribes
(Keechi, Waco and Tawakonie)
The Wyandot Nation of Kansas
Native tribe
Treaty with the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache
, July 27, 1853,
Fort Atkinson, KS: Yale Law School Avalon Project
Native American Storage Pits
, from KSHS Kansas Archeology Week
The Indian War of 1864
, History by Eugene Ware, 1911, KanColl
Center for Indigenous Nations Studies
, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
WWW-VL: History:
America Before The Europeans: Prediscovery
Pre-Contact History
WWW-VL: US History:
Native American Bibliography
Kansas Explorer History
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado History
, PBS The West
Lewis & Clark In Kansas
Kansas State Historical Society
Historical Kansas Maps: 1883
, KanColl
Kansas Trail History
Kansas Trails
Old West Kansas
Pioneer Trails From U.S. Land Surveys
Kansas Heritage Group
Chisholm Trail History
, Kansas Heritage Group
The Jones and Plummer Trail
As It Crossed Meade County, Kansas
The Mormon Road (Trail) in Kansas Territory
, Pioneer Trails
Northeast Kansas Trails
, Pioneer Trails
Oregon Trail History
, Kansas Heritage Group
Santa Fe Trail History
, Kansas Heritage Group
Santa Fe Trail Report, 1910-1911
, KanColl
Interactive Santa Fe Trail
Kansas Heritage Group
A Robbery on the Santa Fe Trail, 1827
Edited by James W. Covington, KHQ
The Rath Trail
, by Ida Ellen Rath, 1961, about Charles Rath, KanColl
Great Western Trail
1874-1886: Texas to Dodge City
Kansas Fort History
Frontier Army Museum
, Ft. Leavenworth
Ft. Riley History Museum
, Junction City
Kansas Forts
Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Dodge, KS: Old West Kansas
Fort Atkinson
on the Santa Fe Trail, 1850-1854, by Leo E. Oliva,
Kansas Forts During the Civil War
, by William C. Pollard, Jr., Old West Kansas
Fort Larned
Santa Fe Trail Research Site
Fort Dodge
Santa Fe Trail Research Site
General Grenville M. Dodge
"Fort Dodge,"
Early Ford County
, by Ida Ellen Rath
Defense of the Kansas Frontier 1868-1869
, by Marvin H. Garfield,
, 1932
Military Posts in Kansas Before 1900
, Pioneer Trails
Some Famous Kansas Frontier Scouts
, by Paul I. Wellman,
Kansas Historical Quarterly
, 1932
Kansas Territorial & Civil War History
Territorial Kansas
Online history links, KS Heritage Group
Song Of The Kansas Emigrants
, Words by John Greenleaf Whittier, 1854
Jayhawkers and Red Legs, 1861-1865
, Historical Research and Analysis
Kansas Bogus Legislature
, 1855
Pottawatomie Massacre
, 12 June 1856
What John Brown Did In Kansas; Battle of Osawatomie, 1856
The Pottawatomie Killings
[1856], Statement of James Townsley
Republican Citizen
, Paola, Kansas, 20 Dec 1879
John Brown, Abolitionist:
by David Reynolds, 2005
The Lawrence Massacre
[1863], History by Rev. Richard Cordley, 1865, KanColl
Abraham Lincoln, 1st Inaugural Address
, 1861
Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
, 19 November, 1863
Quantrill's Raid
Lawrence CyberVillage [archive.org copy]
Eyewitness Reports Of Quantrill�s Raid
, Letters of Sophia Bissell & Sidney Clarke (edited by Fred N. Six), KSHS [.pdf file]
Abraham Lincoln, 2nd Inaugural Address
Germans in the Civil War, (
I goes to fight mit Sigel
by Dr. William Keel, University of Kansas, Lawrence
Kansas Forts During the Civil War
by William C. Pollard, Jr.
Kansas Prisoners of War (POW's) at Camp Ford, TX
, 1863-1865
Nicodemus, Kansas
African-Americans in Kansas history
History: The Coming of the Civil War, 1850-1860
History: United States: Civil War History
Kansas Pioneer History
Wheelbarrow Emigrant of 1850
, Pioneer Trails
Kansas: Its Interior and Exterior Life
, by Sara T.L. Robinson, 1856, KanColl
William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody
, Buffalo Bill Grave and Museum, Golden, Colorado
Hans Brietman Ballads
Graham's Magazine
, 1869
Breitman In Kansas
Old West Ranching in the Early Days
, by Robert M. Wright, Dodge City founder
Charles Rath, Buffalo Hunter
, Old West Pioneer, Dodge City, KS
"Kansas Diary," by Mary Goe Hankins, 1871
Kansas History Web Sites
Kansas Gunfighters
KS lawmen, outlaws: Old West Kansas
William Stafford's Kansas
Cimarron Chronicles, Saga of the Open Range
, by Carrie and M.W. (Doc) Anshutz.
Meade County, Kansas history from pioneers.
Kansas Cattle Town History
Cattle Trade of the West and Southwest
, McCoy's
Historic Sketches
, 1874, KanColl
Kansas Cowtowns
KS cowboys, cattletowns, pioneers: Old West Kansas
Dodge City, Cowboy Capital
, by Robert M. Wright, Town President, 1913
Robert M. Wright, 1840-1915, biography
The Beginnings of Dodge City, by Robert M. Wright
Populating Boot Hill, by Robert M. Wright
Dodge City: "The Beautiful, Bibulous Babylon of the Frontier,"
by Robert Wright
Old West Photograph Gallery
, Ford County Historical Society, Dodge City
Dodge City -- Images of America
, history and photographs from the Ford County Historical Society, Dodge City, KS; by George Laughead, FCHS President, 2012
Dodge City History
, the "Cowboy Capital" & "Queen of the Cowtowns" Kansas Old West
Those Dodge Citians At It Again
, Dodge City
, 1877
H.B. (Ham) Bell
, Deputy U.S. Marshal, Pioneer Sheriff, Mayor of Dodge City and Grand Old Man of the Southwest
Frederick Zimmermann, pioneer Dodge City gunsmith
A Cowboy in Dodge City
, by Andy Adams, 1882
Dodge City Peace Commission, 1883
Old West photograph of lawmen including Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Luke Short; original, FCHS, Dodge City
Bat Masterson
November 26, 1853 � October 25, 1921; Biography
"Big Nose" Kate Elder
, biography of "Doc" Holliday's long-time friend
Battle of Adobe Walls, June 1874
, from
The Rath Trail
FCHS, Dodge City
Ford County Historical Society
Dodge City
Mueller-Schmidt House (1881) Museum
Old West Cattleman's Mansion, Dodge City, QT Virtual Tour
Kansas Cowboy Symposium Links
Kansas Counties: Where they got their names
, from "Admire's Political and Legislative Hand-Book for Kansas," 1891
The Gray County Seat War
, Brendan M. Lynch
"The Bull Fight at Dodge,"
, by Kirke Mecham,
Kansas Historical Quarterly
, 1933
Churches in Old Dodge City
Windthorst Church: Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish
, Windthorst
Western History Quotations
Kansas Railroad History
Kansas Railroads: Old West Kansas
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad
Route guide, Old West Kansas
Harvey Houses
Hotels, Lunchrooms, Restaurants in the Old West
Orphan Trains of Kansas
, between 1867 and 1930, some 5000-6000 children were placed in Kansas homes, KanColl
Kansas 20th Century History
The Populist Party, 1896
, [In 1890 Populists won control of the Kansas state legislature, and Kansan William Peffer became the party's first U.S. Senator]
US Populism History
Agrarian Revolt, Black Populism, Grange, Temperance, Prohibition
Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History
Embracing Events
, 1912, KanColl
The Landon Center
, a political site focusing on the first 50 years of the 20th century, 1900 -1950 in Alf Landon's Independence house
"Kansas History as Published in the Press"
Kansas Historical Quarterly
, 1934
"What's the Matter With Kansas"
, by William Allen White, August 15, 1896
Crossing Boundaries
African American and American Culture; Kansas Humanities Council
Langston Hughes in Lawrence
: Photographs and Biographical Resources," by Denise Low (Kansas Poet Laureate) & T.F. Pecore Weso
Kansas History Web Sites
Langston Hughes Biography
Kansas African-American Poet and Writer: KHC
Dr. James Naismith, Inventor of Basketball
, history, photograph (at University of Kansas), Kansas Heritage Group
"Wilt the Stilt" Chamberlain
, University of Kansas basketball great, KU History Galleries, Lawrence
Kansas Penitentiary, 1913
Kansas Heritage Group
Pioneers Audrey and Fred Plymell
, by Charley Plymell
Dorothy's Kansas Memories
, by Dorothy Painter Rush, Barclay (1908 - 1920s)
Kansas History Web Sites
Dust Bowl History
Black Sunday, April 14, 1935
D-Day, 6 June 1944, Normandy, France
Dwight D. Eisenhower Library [
Operation Overlord
Ike's D-Day Message
; General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Order of the Day, June 6, 1944
Mamie Doud Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kansas Heritage
"The Mythical Jayhawk"
by Kirke Mechem,
Kansas Historical Quarterly
, 1944, KanColl
The Preacher's Kid
, by Dr. C. Robert Haywood, Topeka
A Kansan in South Chicago
, Stories by Lynn H. Nelson, Lawrence
Baseball In Kansas
, 1867-1940" by Harold C. Evans,
Kansas Historical Quarterly
, 1940, KanColl
Evolution In Kansas
Intelligent Design, Creationism Beliefs, Evolution Theory
" 50th Anniversary 1955-2005
Gordon Parks
, Native Kansan (Ft. Scott), RIP 7 March 2006
Greensburg, KS Tornado May 4, 2007
Kansas History Books On-line
KanColl Books
, First full-text Kansas history on-line library, established 1993
Cutler, William G. "History of the State of Kansas" (1883)
Dodge City, The Cowboy Capital and the Great Southwest in The Days of The Wild Indian, the Buffalo, the Cowboy, Dance Halls, Gambling Halls, and Bad Men
; by Robert M. Wright, "Plainsman, Explorer, Scout, Pioneer, Trader and Settler", 1913
Early Ford County (Kansas)
, by Ida Ellen Rath, 1964
Last of the Great Scouts: The Life Story Of Col. William F. Cody "Buffalo Bill"
, As Told By His Sister Helen Cody Wetmore
The Rath Trail
by Ida Ellen Rath, 1961 [Biography of Charles Rath, Indian trader, buffalo hunter, and organizer of early-day towns and trading posts. Great interviews with last of the pioneers.]
Went To Kansas; Being A Thrilling Account Of An Ill-fated Expedition To That Fairy Land, and its Sad Results
, by Mrs. Miriam Davis Colt, 1862 [unique woman's view]
Winter Wheat in the Golden Belt of Kansas
by James C. Malin, Professor of History, University of Kansas, 1944 [book that established hard winter wheat throughout the world]
Kansas General History
Artists In Kansas
Kansas Art Centers, Art Galleries, Art Museums, Art Events
Beats In Kansas: The Beat Generation
in the Heartland: KS Beatniks
Beats Photograph Gallery
Center for Great Plains Studies
Emporia State University, Emporia
Center for Kansas Studies
, Washburn University, Topeka
Cooking In Kansas
Cookbooks, recipes, pioneer and cowboy food
Dwight D. Eisenhower Center
, Abilene
Kansas Heritage Group
History of the State of Kansas
, by William G. Cutler, 1883, KanColl
In Memory of Kansas Photographs
, Kansas Heritage Group
Journal of the West
[new address at subscription site]
Kansas Cattle Towns Coalition
Kansas Collection
, Full-text books on-line
Kansas County Name Etymologies
Kansas Interactive Genealogy
Kansas Timeline
Kansas Museum of History
Kansas Museums Association
Federal Funding Formula for Museums
Initiative Resources
KSU Institute for Military History & 20th Century Studies
, Manhattan
KU History Galleries
, Lawrence
Map of Kansas Literature
, Washburn University, Topeka
Mountain-Plains Museums Association
G.S. McLelland
Racing In Kansas
Kansas Racers, Kansas Races, KS Race Tracks
Women of the West Online
Autry Museum
Wind Power In Kansas
Sources About Kansas History
, Center for Kansas Studies, Washburn University, Topeka
Kansas History Resources
Kansas Museums, Kansas Genealogy, Kansas Libraries
Kansas Heritage Group
Old West, Art, Racing, Cooking, Territorial Kansas
WWW-VL: History:
Kansas History Gateway
Documents for the Study of American History
, AmDocs
American West History
United States History
1930s History
Spanish History
Spain history directory, maintained at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.
US Art Museums
USA History Maps
US History Museums
US Historic Preservation
America First History
W3 Search Engines
Web Site Tools
Base web tools and tips for non-profits and museums
WWW-VL Web Stacks: Electronic Research Library
Search Kansas History
Site author:
George Laughead
Dodge City Tourism
Museum Technology
. See:
George's Favorite Fun Web Sites
for lighter side of web work. Thanks to the late
Dr. Lynn H. Nelson
, original author of the
WWW-Virtual Library: History Central Catalogue
and the
Kansas History Gateway
, established in 1993. Also enjoy
The Surveyor's Trade, by Professor Lynn H. Nelson
Return to the
Kansas Community Networks
or to the
Kansas Heritage Group
Return to the
. Site previously maintained at the University of Kansas. Part of the
WWW-Virtual Library
@ www.vlib.us/ Updated: 06 Jan 2021.
(© 2002-2021, George Laughead)
Kansas History Web Sites


text:
Natural Shower Scrub Bar - Coco Lime
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Our soaps are packaged in Zero waste materials as we continue to drive our sustainability program.
Size: 104ml
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We always strive for 100% customer satisfaction. If you need to cancel or change your order, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com. within an hour of placing your order. We are sorry, but orders cannot be cancelled once they have shipped.
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When your order arrives, please inspect the package for any damage that may have occurred during shipment and to make sure that the correct product was shipped. If damage occurred to the item(s) in your shipment, or if we made an error in the shipment, we would be happy to work with you to get replacement product shipped right out. Please email us immediately at firstname.lastname@example.com with your name, email address, order # and phone #.
Poland: 3,00 EUR
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Model Star
Top: Delta Cep is the star denoted in the bicep of the King's mighty arm which holds the ruling staff. Bottom: Delta Cep and its convenient comparison stars. For proper orientation, refer to the AAVSO Cepheus finder chart. |
Delta Cephei is the prototype of the Cepheid class of variable stars. With a change in visual magnitude of 3.5 to 4.4, delta Cep's entire range of variability can be observed with the unaided eye. Its period of 5.366 days makes it an attractive candidate for anyone anxious to obtain a star's full change in brightness in a short period of time. Further appeal of this variable is enhanced by its prime position in the northern night sky. At a declination of +58 degrees, delta makes for a perfect target for northern observers, especially for those who see Cepheus as a circumpolar constellation. Investigation of delta Cep's heavenly position shows that the variable conveniently sits between two bright stars that shine at either end of its range of variability: zeta Cep at a magnitude of 3.6 and epsilon Cep at a magnitude of 4.2. For those observing with binoculars or a modest telescope, delta Cep's companion stars can be discerned. A 7th magnitude mate is located 41" from the variable itself. It is believed that the duo form a physical pair. A second companion at 13th magnitude is located 20.9" from delta and most likely has an optical, rather than a physical association with the variable. Nevertheless, observers can expect to see delta Cep's rise to maximum take place in about a day and a half, while the fall to minimum occurs over 4 days. With such a rapid variation, observers should plan to watch this star every clear night, if possible. Sound like a recipe for a perfect variable star? Well wait, there's more...
Cepheid variable stars, named for their archetype delta Cephei, have provided astronomers with a wealth of information about our Universe, a feat that no other class can claim. Studies of this type of variable star have provided a key component in unlocking one of the most precious secrets of the Universe: a way to determine cosmic distances. This revolutionary finding has forever changed the way astronomers think of our Universe.
With so many impressive credits to its name, it is no wonder that delta Cep sits in the King constellation of Cepheus, for it is truly royalty among the stars.
A Great Place to Start
"Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure science." -Edwin Hubble Image Credit: Robert Williams, the Hubble Deep Field Team (STScI), and NASA. |
Delta Cep is a terrific "starter" variable star for the amateur astronomer looking a place to begin, or for the student seeking a research project for math and science courses. The interest in studying delta Cep is further enhanced by the excitement involved in observing an object that is so closely linked to opening the secrets of our Universe.
For the amateur astronomer, the bright star proves to be an easy and satisfying object to observe. Armed with a finder chart, the observer does not need more equipment than a pencil, a piece of paper, and a watch to make observations. The recorded estimates should then be compiled and sent to the AAVSO for inclusion in the AAVSO International Database.
For the teacher or student seeking a project for their astronomy class, search no further. In C. Martin Gaskell's paper titled "Variable Star Observations in an Introductory Astronomy Course" the author outlines that the perfect variable star candidates for students to observe should adhere to the following criteria:
- They must be bright enough to observe throughout their entire variability range.
- There must be suitable comparison stars.
- To keep student morale up there must be detectable variability during the course term (over two months ~60 days, say).
- They must be visible in the evening sky during the term.
He also states that "Cepheid variables are good because they are always changing and have very convenient periods." Delta Cephei fits this bill perfectly and is a highly recommended variable in pursuing such a study. As a start, you may want to check out our tutorial Observing Delta Cephei.
Discovering Delta
Portrait of John Goodricke |
By the late 1700s, variable star discovery had virtually come to a standstill, with only 6 known stars in existence. Convinced that there must be more, English astronomer Edward Piggot began a campaign to expand the count of variable stars. With him in his search was Piggot's 17-year-old deaf-mute neighbor, John Goodricke. Goodricke, who had acquired his physical handicap during infancy, lived under fortunate conditions. While it was common in those days to refrain from educating a person with such a handicap, Goodricke's parents saw that he received a proper education. Goodricke proved to be a bright student, and excelled in both mathematics and astronomy. His interest in astronomy was further fostered by good friend, neighbor, mentor, and variable star companion, Edward Piggot.
Defying the odds of prejudice belief, Goodricke was honored by the Royal Society of London in 1783 when he was presented the prestigious Godfrey Copley science medal for his work in determining the period and cause of variation in the great variable star of Algol. The remainder of Goodricke's short life proved fruitful as he and his comrade Piggot worked to discover more variable stars. Eta Aquila was the first to be discovered by Piggot in 1784, followed by Goodricke's discovery of beta Lyrae and delta Cephei, both also in 1784.
Sadly, Goodricke died at the tender age of 21 after a bout with pneumonia which he reportedly caught while observing delta Cep in 1786. The young life was whisked away just when he seemed to be entering career as a promising astronomer. Upon the loss of his dear friend and trusted colleague, Piggot had this to say about his luminous protege:
This worthy young man exists no more; he is not only regretted to many friends, but will prove a loss to astronomy, as the discoveries he so rapidly made evince.
Piggot, however, went on to discover two more well-noted variable stars: R Coronae Borealis and R Scuti, both in 1795.
Cepheids Abound
In just over a century after the discovery of delta Cephei, 33 variables of Cepheid type were known to exist; all of which had a range in brightness of a full magnitude and periods of just a few days to 39 days. In 1895, E.C. Pickering announced that after investigating plates taken at the Boyden Station in the high Andes in Peru, S.I. Bailey found a number of variables with Cepheid characteristic within some globular clusters. These variables, however, had periods that were much shorter than the known Cepheids and were on the order of a fraction of a day. Upon further study it was found that these clusters were virtually mines of Cepheid variables. Because of their location, these stars were termed cluster Cepheids. Hence, the number of known Cepheids dramatically increased within just a few short years after initial discovery of the cluster-type Cepheids. These smaller amplitude variables, have come to be known as RR Lyrae-type stars.
The Period-Luminosity Relation
During the late 1800s/early 1900s, Edward Pickering, director of Harvard College Observatory, hired many women to function as "computers" to reduce astronomical data. Pictured here is one of Pickering's many cheap hires, Henrietta Swan Leavitt. In addition to recognizing the Period-Luminosity relation, Leavitt is credited with discovering about 2400 variables during the course of her work. |
In 1912, Henrietta Swan Leavitt of Harvard College Observatory catalogued over 1777 variable stars in the nearby Magellanic Clouds. Of this impressive count, 25 were found to be of Cepheid-type and were located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). (At that time, the SMC was thought to be a nebula within the Milky Way Galaxy.) When Leavitt arranged the Cepheids by period, a surprising fact arose: ordering these stars in terms of increasing period revealed that they had also been ordered by increasing brightness. Thus, the resulting sort showed the brighter the Cepheid, the longer it took to vary. Upon finding this impressive relation, Leavitt reported that "A straight line can be readily drawn among each of the two series of points corresponding to to maxima and minima, thus showing that there is a simple relation between the brightness of the variable and their periods." This extraordinary finding proved to be a means of determining cosmic distances; a parameter which is crucial in our understanding of the Universe. Because of the work of this incredible woman, the foundation of modern astronomy had been set, and the field was about to go through a wonderful revolution.
In 1917, American astronomer Harlow Shapley extended Leavitt's work to include Cepheids located in systems other than the SMC. He found that not only did the Period-Luminosity relationship hold for the SMC, but it could also apply to all Cepheids (although the relation is different for two types of Cepheids, as described below).
The steps used to determine such distances, is outlined in the Hands-On Astrophysics manual as follows:
- Identify the star as a Cepheid variable by studying its spectrum (if possible) and/or by the shape of its lightcurve.
- Calculate its period.
- Use the Period-Luminosity relationship to determine the absolute magnitude.
- Use the inverse-square law to calculate how far a star of that absolute magnitude would have to be moved from the standard distance of 32.6 light-years to appear as a star of the apparent magnitude observed.
Many of the physical parameters we know about stars and galaxies (size, mass, etc.) can be determined by knowing the distance to that object. Now that distances to remote locales could be determined, the scale and structure of the heavens could be probed. Great minds came together and sometimes clashed at the cosmological implications. One of the most famous debates in astronomy fell at the mercy of the scale of the Universe. "The Great Debate" as it is known, included two men of astronomical nobility: Harlow Shapley and Herber Curtis. Although the differences in opinion spanned many fine details, some of the key points were as follows: while Curtis held the belief that the Universe is composed of many galaxies (or "spiral nebulae" as they were then known) like our own, Shapley argued that the spiral nebulae were nearby gas clouds and that the Universe itself was composed of one grand Galaxy. In terms of our position in the vast picture of things, Shapley believed that our Sun was positioned far from the center of the Universe/Galaxy, while Curtis argued that the Sun be located near the center of our Galaxy. How could the debate be resolved? Evidently, with some help from Edwin Hubble...
The Dawn of Cosmology
While examining the photographic plates of the Andromeda Nebula in search of novae, Edwin Hubble marked each suspect with the letter "N". On this plate, three suspected novae are indicated. Hubble later discovered that one of marked stars was actually a Cepheid variable. The "N" was subsequently crossed out and the star was relabeled as "VAR!" Image Credit: Mount Wilson Observatory, Historical Archive |
In 1923, American astronomer Edwin Hubble applied the Period-Luminosity relation to 12 Cepheid variables that he had discovered in, what had then been called, the Andromeda Nebula. The outcome proved to show that Andromeda was so distant that it could not be contained within our own Milky Way Galaxy, but must be a galaxy itself! This ground-breaking discovery drastically expanded the view of our Universe and the components it contains.
An anology that astronomers use to help visualize this concept is that of a baking raisin bread. Imagine bread dough in which randomly distributed raisins have been placed - kind of like space with galaxies interspersed. As the dough bakes in the oven it expands, and the raisins, stuck in the dough, expand and move away from the other raisins - kind of like galaxies expanding with the fabric of space. From the viewpoint of one raisin (or galaxy) the remaining raisins (or galaxies) are moving with a motion that is receding from the reference point and likewise, when viewed from another raisin (or galaxy). |
By far, Hubble's most valuable contribution to modern science came when he published his paper on the velocity-distance relation in 1929. As a result of this finding, Hubble devised a linear relationship linking cosmic velocities and distances. This relationship, known as Hubble's Law, is expressed as: Vr = Hod, where Vr is the recessional velocity (how quickly a galaxy is moving away from us), Ho is Hubble's Constant, and d is the distance to the galaxy. In words, this relation implies that the deeper one looks into the Universe, the more the recession velocity increases. Or more simply stated: the Universe is expanding!
Hubble has since had a remarable "landmark" named in honor of the terrific impact he has had on the scientific community: the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). With this impressive instrument, astronomers have probed deep into the Universe, and have discovered more treasures than ever imagined. Carrying on in the spirit of the Hubble, the HST is, among other things, continuing the astronomer's work with Cepheid variables. While ground-based observations have detected Cepheids in galaxies within 12 million light-years, studying Cepheids out to at least 30 million light-years away will provide scientists with the imformation needed to really study the overall expansion of the Universe. In 1994, observations of Cepheids in M100 (located at 56 million light-years) by the space-bound HST brought the distant standard candles closer in reach.
Click here to see an animation of a distant Cepheid in the spiral galaxy M100. (Animation credit: STScI.)
The Cepheid Class
The variability of Polaris occurs with a 3.97 day period and fluctuates by only a tenth of a magnitude, but the change is markedly detectable particularly through photometry. However, it has been seen that Polaris' variability is definitely on the decrease with just hundredth of magnitudes now being detected. Is Polaris ceasing to be a Cepheid? |
Currently, over 1000 stars of Cepheid-type have been catalogued, while the count continues to grow. These remarkable stars comprise one of the most interesting and important classes of variables known. Other bright, well-known Cepheids include eta Aquilae, zeta Geminorum, and surprisingly, the North Star Polaris! The later thus gives little credibility to Shakepeare's Julius Caesar when he spouted the words "I am as constant as the Northern Star."
As a class, Cepheid variable stars are characterized by a change in brightness of several hundredths to 2 magnitudes, which occurs with extreme regular periodicity of just 1 to 135 days. Such stars are commonly of spectral class F at maximum and G to K at minimum, whereby the rule of thumb that applies is the later the spectral class, the longer its period. In terms of stellar evolution, this class of variable is seen to be pulsating luminous white or yellow giants, and may form a link between the red giant and main sequence-type phase. Stars that begin with 5 to 20 solar masses ultimately pass through the instability strip. Those that become Cepheids generally posses a specific range of temperatures (5000 to 6000 Kelvin).
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin's 1925 doctoral dissertation titled "Stellar Atmospheres" has been called "the most brilliant Ph.D. thesis ever written in astronomy." Dr. Payne-Gaposchkin's life and work will be celebrated on what would be her 100th birthday in conjunction with the 89th Annual Meeting of the AAVSO. Join us in paying tribute to this remarkable lady. |
According to Payne-Gaposchkin (1979), "Probably all stars with masses more than three times that of our Sun - at least all that are not close binaries - will go through this stage and will therefore become Cepheids." Turner (1998) further explains that Cepheids are post-main-sequence objects that begin their lives as hydrogen-burning, B-type stars. At this stage, they have evolved such that hydrogen burning ceases to take place in the core of the star, and so they are going through more advanced stages of nuclear fuel consumption. In addition, Turner states that "They become unstable to radial pulsation perhaps five times during such stages: once during shell hydrogen burning, twice more during core helium burning, and twice again during shell helium burning."
"Cepheids are law-abiding citizens, but they remain individuals, always reserving the right to deviate from their own laws to some extent." -L. Campbell and L. Jacchia, 1941, in The Story of Variable Stars |
The majority of known extragalactic variables are believed to be of Cepheid type. Those classified as delta Cep variables yield to about 60% in the LMC, 78% in the SMC, 45% in the Andromeda Nebula (M31), and 54% in the Triangulum Nebula (M33) (Lipunova 1992). "In the Magenllanic Clouds, for instance, there are a large number of Cepheids with short periods. This is due to the low abundance of elements heavier than helium in theses galaxies. The evolution tracks differ from those in a galaxy such as our own with a more "normal" chemical composition, carrying more stars into the lower part of the instability strip where the periods are shorter" (Percy 1992).
Like many types of variable stars, Cepheids can be further classified based on the amplitude of variation and period. The fine distinction can be reviewed in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS), but two of the main divisions are as taken from the GCVS:
DCEP - classical Cepheids, delta Cephei-type variables. Comparatively young objects which have [left] the main sequence and are situated in the instability strip of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. They obey the well-known Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation, and belong to the flat component of the Galaxy. DCEP stars are present in open clusters. They display a certain relation between the shape of the light curve and the period value.
CW - variables of W Virginis type. Pulsating variables of galactic spherical component or old disk population with periods approximately from 0.8d to 35d and amplitudes from 0.3m to 1.2m V. Obey a Period-Luminosity relation different from that for delta Cep variables. For an equal period value the W Vir variables are fainter than delta Cep variables by 0.7m-2m. The light curves of W Vir variables for some intervals of periods differ from the light curves of delta Cep variables for corresponding periods either by amplidtues or by the presence of humps on the descending branch, sometimes turning into broad flat maxima. W Vir variables are present in old globular clusters and under high galactic latitudes.
Dr. Doug Welch of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada maintains an extensive database which houses numerous tables of published photometric and radial velocity data for galactic and extragalactic Cepheids. For more information about your favorite Cepheid, be sure to visit this site.
The Shape of Things
Light curves of Cepheid variables are detectable by their shark fin-like shape. The patterns generally display a rapid rise to maximum, with a short stay at its brightest state, which is then followed by a smooth, slow decline to minimum. These "cosmic yardsticks," as Cepheids are referred to, are known for their precise and consistent periodicity; many stars have periods that are known to the second. Below is an example of the typical Cepheid shape as displayed by our featured star, delta Cephei.
A portion of the delta Cephei light curve from the AAVSO International Database, which displays the typical shark-fin structure. The 20-day section shown is composed of nearly 750 observations, from 35 loyal AAVSO observers such as yourself. |
Great Balls of Gas
Knighted in 1930, Sir Arthur Eddington is best known for his work with the interior structure of stars. His observations of star positions during the 1919 total solar eclipse, however, provided confirmation of Einstein's general theory of relativity. |
With such regular and precise periods of variability, one would perhaps expect the observed variations to be the result of an eclipsing double star. However, it has been determined that these stars are pulsating, whereby they expand and contract in an alternating pattern. One of the earliest supporters of Cepheid pulsations was the English physicist, Sir Arthur Eddington. Eddington's theory proposed that the star's pulsation is the result of two opposing actions. While the force of gravity would cause the star to contract, the outward pressure of the gas would tend to expand the star. Briefly stated, it is postulated that as the star contracts under the force of gravity, the pressure increases. Since temperature is directly related to pressure, the temperature increases, which again increases the pressure, and so on. The inertia of the system causes the star to continue its tendency to contract, but the increasing pressure begins to build as an opposing force and eventually wins over so that an expansion begins. The cycle then reverses itself, whereby pressure and temperature are dropping as the star expands, but the force of gravity is fighting to pull the star inward. The forces battle against each other until gravity takes the upper hand and causes the star to again contract. The cycle then continues with the opposing forces as the star expands and contracts.
Although Eddington is revered for his work with stellar interiors, this explanation does not fully coincide with the observed processes of the Cepheid variables. An interesting feature of this process is that maximum brightness occurs at a time which coincides with most rapid expansion. This observed process is contrary to what the theory predicts. Instead, the mechanism is revised such that Eddington's theory holds for the interior of the star. The outer layers, however, do not follow instantaneously with the same rhythm of the interior pulsations.
For an animated look at how Cepheid brightness changes with pulsation, click here. (Animation credit: STScI.)
Returning to Delta
"Cepheids are the most useful stars in the sky." -L. Campbell and L. Jacchia, 1941, in The Story of Variable Stars |
Throughout its two centuries of fame, delta Cephei has been associated with breaking barriers of prejudice, and composing the building blocks of our understanding of the Universe. With all this majestic association and scientific fallout, how could one not be in awe of the Cepheid class of variables and its prototype, delta Cep? This humbly bright variable nearly becons its observers with promises of sure contentment. We hope that you too will fall subject to its mighty lure!
- AAVSO "a" scale chart for 2225+57 delta Cep
- AAVSO finder chart for the constellation of Cepheus
- Burnham, Robert, Jr. Burnham's Celestial Handbook (3 Volumes). New York; Dover, 1978.
- Carlson, George A. "Sighting Cepheid Variables." Scientific American, November 1992, 128-130.
- Croswell, Ken. "The First Cepheid." Sky & Telescope, October 1997, 90-91.
- Fernie, J.D. "Classical Cepheids with Companions. I. Delta Cephei." The Astronomical Journal, 71, 1996, 119-122.
- Freedman, Wendy L. "The Expansion Rate and Size of the Universe." Scientific American, March 1998, online article.
- Gaskell, C. Martin. "Variable Star Observations in an Introductory Astronomy Course." Journal of the AAVSO, 20, 1991, 41-50.
- Hoskin, Michael. "Goodricke, Pigott and the Quest for Variable Stars." Journal for the History of Astronomy, 1979, 23-41.
- Lipunova, N.A. "The Extragalactic Variables in the Fourth Edition of the GCVS, in Variable Star Research: An International Perspective." In Percy, Mattei, and Sterken, eds., Variable Star Research: An International Perspective. New York: Cambridge UP, 1992, 55-59. ISBN 0-521-40469-X.
- Madore, Barry F., Cepheids: Theory and Observations. (Proceedings of the IAU colloqium no. 82.) Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1985. ISBN 0-521-30091-6.
- Osterbrock, Donald. E., Joel A. Gwinn, and Ronald S. Brashear. "Edwin Hubble and the Expanding Universe." Scientific American, July 1993, 84-89.
- Payne-Gaposchkin, Cecilia. "Sighing Like Furnace-The Cepheid Variable." in Stars and Clusters. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1979. ISBN 0-674-83440-2.
- Percy, John R. "Variable Stars." The Physics Teacher, 31, December 1993, 541-543.
- Percy, John R., "Variable Stars and Stellar Evolution." In Percy, Mattei, and Sterken, eds., Variable Star Research: An International Perspective. New York: Cambridge UP, 1992, 137-147. ISBN 0-521-40469-X.
- Turner, David G. "Monitoring the Evolution of Cepheid Variables." Journal of the AAVSO, 26, 1998, 101-111.
- Welch, Doug has a web site which contains Cepheid Photometry and Radial Velocity Data Archive.
This month's Variable Star of the Month was prepared by Kerri Malatesta, AAVSO Technical Assistant.


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I promise you, this article doesn't have to do anything with religion. It talks about site security. The beast I am referring to is unwittingly opening a back door to your site to potential hackers. You may not know it, but you could be a sitting duck. It all lies in the dark world of ownership, users, groups and permissions. This is a long article, but I promise you to learn things you would have never imagined. Let us shed some light to the mystery of the 777 number and kill the evil beast!
Once upon a time in the Linuxland...
Most of the web servers out there run on Linux or another UNIX variant, such as Solaris, FreeBSD, etc. One common theme among all UNIX variants of operating system is the security model of the file system, based on users, groups, ownership and permissions. This is a big topic and one concise resource to understanding it is the Security Information chapter in Akeeba Backup's documentation, written by yours truly. Since it's a quite big and tough read, I'll try to give you the executive summary.
UNIX variants have users, each one belonging to one or several groups. Each file and directory on the file system is owned by one and only one user and group. The owning user doesn't necessarily belong to the owning group, which allows for flexibility. The system knows who is permitted to do what on each directory and file by means of permissions. Permissions are usually written down as three digit octal numbers. The first number tells the system what the owning user can do, the second one tells it what the owning group can do and the third number tells it what everybody else (the rest of the "world") can do. The commonly used numbers are 4 (read only), 5 (read and execute), 6 (read and write) and 7 (read, write and execute). The execute bit has a special meaning on directories: it means "browse", i.e. allow someone to produce a list of the directory's contents. This is different than "read", which simply means allowing the user to read files from that directory if and only if he knows their name.
But how does the operating system knows how to parse these permissions? Just like directories and files, each program you run is owned by a user and a group. Apache – the most commonly used web server – is also a program. It runs "under" a user and group. So does the FTP server. To make things more complicated, the FTP server actually runs under the user you used to log in to it.
So, there you have it. The operating system knows who asks for access based on the user and group of the program which requests the access. It also knows what kind of access you request (read, write or execute/browse). When it finds the file or directory it can look up its owning user and group, as well as its permissions. It will first check if the owning and running user match. If they do, it will use the first number of the permissions to decide what to do. If not, it will check if the owning and running groups match and use the second number of the permissions to decide what to do. If all else fails, it will use the third number of the permissions (the "world" permissions) to decide. This is an elegant and effective system, until someone tries to use it unintelligently.
Taking a bite off an apple is all it takes
Most shared hosts are configured to run PHP as an Apache "module" (a.k.a. mod_php). This means that your PHP files run under the same user and group as your web server. Usually, these are called "nobody" and "nogroup". However, when you upload your files with FTP, the FTP server runs under the user you used for logging in. Let's say that your user name is "foobar" and you belong to a group named "users". You now have all the directories and files you uploaded with FTP owned by foobar:users and run under nobody:nogroup (do note that I use the shorthand notation of user:group for the rest of the article). This means that under the usual default directory and file permissions of 644 your PHP files can't write to files on your site, or even list the contents of your own site's directories!
Why should you care? Well, modern web applications – such as Joomla!, WordPress and Drupal – need to be able to write to files for several reasons: cache files, software installation, logs, uploaded files through a web interface, backups, etc. Since the owning and the running users and groups differ, the only way to assign adequate permissions is to enable read, write and browse/execute access using the third permissions number, the infamous "world" permissions. A lot of instructions – and even software – suggest that you should use 777 permissions. Indeed, that works well and your PHP files can now write to files. However, it actually works a bit too well for your site's well-being. It's like taking a bite off the forbidden apple. How bad can it be?
You know the story. One bite off the apple is all it takes. You see, on a shared host, you are not the only user. Other sites also have a user on the same system. To make things worse, the exact path (a.k.a. absolute file system path) to each site's root is very predictable, usually in the format /home/username/public_html. If someone wants to hack your site, all he has to do is create an account on the same server and try to write to one of your site's files. With the 0777 permissions, HE CAN DO THAT EVEN THOUGH HE DOESN'T HAVE YOUR USER NAME AND PASSWORD! Remember how many times I've referred to the third number of the permissions as the "world" permissions? They truly live up to their name. They allow anyone – and I mean anyone – on the same system to write to your directories and files!
Adding insult to injury, a clever hacker doesn't even have to create an account on the same server. Your server runs a lot of software, such as a web server, an FTP server, a DNS server, an SSH server, a mail server and so on. If one of them is vulnerable, he can exploit them to write to your site's files. Even if you lock everything down, shared hosts pose a wonderful opportunity to screw you without even knowing about it. Even though you have taken all measures to avoid exploits being able to run on your site, another site hosted on the same server might not be so keen on security. If the other site is exploited, the hacker will be able to hack your site because the 777 permissions allow him to do that.
In other words, giving 777 permissions is the quickest path to allowing potential hackers to "own" your site with at least three different ways. Do you believe me now when I tell you that 777 is the number of the beast?
Time to call an exorcist... or maybe not?
There are different ways to expel the evil 777 permissions off your server. It all depends on how your web server is set up. Fasten your seatbelts, we're entering the do-it-yourself zone! Remember: before you attempt any change on a live site, take a backup. Download it locally and store it in at least three different media. Never, ever, under any circumstances whatsoever attempt doing changes on a live site unless you have a valid and tested backup. You can use the free Akeeba Backup Core to accomplish that.
The perfect shared host runs on suPHP
This is the ideal case, when your host's servers run on suPHP, like Rochen does. suPHP is a very clever workaround to the permissions problem. Instead of running PHP under the web server's user and group, it runs PHP under the owning user and group of the PHP file. This means that only the first number of the permissions is important, while the second and third ones can be set to 4 (just read) or 5 (read, browse) for directories. Don't use 0, as you'll be denying access to non-PHP content, such as images, Javascript and CSS files. In this case, the perfect permissions are 0644 for files and 0755 for directories, which you can set using your favourite FTP software.
If unsure, there's an easy way to figure out if your host runs on suPHP. Go to Joomla!'s administrator back-end and click on the Help, System Info menu item. If the "Web server to PHP interface" reads CGI or FastCGI there's a good chance that your host is using suPHP. Just ask them.
The layman's shared host
Some shared hosts deny to use suPHP. These are the kind of hosts which cram 2,000 - 3,000 sites on a single server. suPHP comes with a performance hit, so they don't use it in order to be able to overcrowd their servers without bringing them to a screeching halt. Anyway, even in this case you can do something to semi-protect your site.
The common and wrong approach is to make al your files and directories owned by the web server user. The easy way to do that is taking a backup of your site with Akeeba Backup, erasing everything from your account, then restoring the backup archive using Kickstart. All your files will be owned by the web server's running user and you can use 0644 permissions for files and 0755 for directories. From a security perspective, this is a big load of cow dung. Unfortunately, even seasoned professionals with a vast Linux experience don't avoid this pitfall. Why a pitfall? Ha! If another site hosted on the same server gets hacked, the hacker can write to your site's files, as the owning user of both sites is the same: the user and which the web server is running. Congratulations, you're hacked.
The correct approach is painful and time consuming. You need all your files and directories owned by your account's user (i.e. use FTP to upload them) except those you need to be able to write to. Since we're talking Joomla! here, do the following:
- Remove the cache, tmp and logs directories
- Install Joomla! eXtplorer or NinjaXplorer on your site. These file managers run inside Joomla!, ergo under the same user and group as your web server.
- Create the cache, tmp and logs directories using either of these file managers. These directories are now owned by the web server user.
- Give them temporarily 777 permissions, again using these file managers.
- Use your favourite FTP program to create a .htaccess file inside each of these directories with the following contents:
order deny, allow deny from all
- Give that file 0644 permissions using the FTP program.
- Go back to the file manager (eXtplorer or NinjaXplorer) and give the cache, tmp and logs directories 0700 permissions. Note: you may need to give 0744 permissions to the cache directory and remove the .htaccess file for some CSS/JS aggregation & compression plugins to work. I consider this an awful practice, but it seems to be the only workaround... If you ask for my opinion, uninstall the plugin in question.
- Go to Joomla!'s Global Configuration and enable the FTP layer. Do not store your password!
The trick here is multi-faceted. For starters, we made sure that the cache, tmp and logs directories are owned by the web server user, therefore they can be written to by Joomla!. Since these directories contain file which must not be accessible from the web, we used the .htaccess file to ban web access to them. Because the .htaccess was uploaded by FTP it is now owned by your account's user and its permissions do not allow it to be overwritten. Even if a hacker tried to exploit our site by writing files to those world-writeable directories, he wouldn't be able to execute them and his attack would fail. You also need to be able to write to other directories during components' installation. That's why we enabled the FTP layer. Not storing the FTP password will cause Joomla! to request it every time it needs it. Since it's not written on any file on your site, even if your site gets exploited, the hacker won't be able to retrieve your passwords. Mission accomplished, with extreme prejudice!
The performance tuned dedicated host
That's my favourite part, because the widely adopted form of this kind of hosting represents a double failure.
When you have a heavily trafficked web site you need to run it on a dedicated server. Since it's a dedicated server, it implies that there is only going to be one site running on it. However, you want to put every CPU cycle to good use, therefore you can't use suPHP due to its overhead and incompatibility with performance tuning tricks, such as using op-code caches (e.g. APC – the Alternative PHP Cache). This is all good and sweet, until you decide to install ISPConfig, Plesk, cPanel or any other pre-packaged server environment manager (SEM) on the server.
Why? Because the moment you do that, you enter "dumb mode". Your brain shuts down and accept the setting "imposed" to you by the SEM. More specifically, all SEMs suppose that you are setting up a shared host and configure Apache to use a different user than the owning user of the one and only site you'll be hosting. As a result – and because you can't use the FTP layer due to the huge performance impact – you start giving 777 permissions.
Argh! You let the beast creep in! You do host only one site, therefore a hacker would have to penetrate this site's security to hack your site. Or not. He could use one of the various system servers (FTP, mail, SSH, DNS, etc) as an attack vector. Your 777 permissions give him the right to do so. Once more, you've made yourself a sitting duck. Why, oh, why do that? The solution is so simple.
No matter which SEM you use, you are the system administrator. You can edit Apache's configuration file and do something magical. Configure Apache to run under the same user as the owning user of the one and only site you're hosting. That's right. It's that simple. From that point, you can simply use 0700 permissions for directories and 0600 permissions for files. As Julious Caesar would have put it: veni, vidi, vici.
In retrospect
We are all humans and we are all subject to mistakes, even in the area of security. Being an expert doesn't help with completely avoiding mistakes. As I was writing this article I came to question my own security practices. You know what? I have screwed up on some sites, I have made the perfect setup on others. It's impossible to be perfect, but it helps having it all written down. You can use this article as a reference for the next time you'll be setting up a client's site, or even your own site.
Remember that security is like contraception. It's optional, but only if you don't mind the consequences of an unfortunate intercourse with the wrong person. On the web it's even worse, as the wrong person will not even ask you. In the end of the day, it's entirely your responsibility.
Be well. Be safe. And don't let any software decide for you that 777 permissions are anything but evil!


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Ferrari has revealed its new supercar at the 2013 Geneva motor show, and it's called LaFerrari.
First, some stats. The new car is powered by a 950bhp petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain. It can accelerate from 0-62mph in less than 3sec, from 0-124mph in less than 7sec and from 0-186mph in less than 15sec. Top speed is in excess of 217mph and production is limited to just 499 models.
The Italian manufacturer boasts that LaFerrari represents the pinnacle of its technology, but that such technology will filter down to other models in time. In particular, it means the hybrid system, know as Hy-Kers, which makes "full use of the Scuderia Ferrari's F1 Kers know-how".
Unlike the McLaren P1, which also makes its debut at Geneva in production form, the Ferrari does not feature a fully electric mode (Ferrari says it would not "fit the mission" of this car), meaning CO2 emissions are 330g/km (in the P1 they are less than 200g/km). However, it says the system could be adapted to include an electric-only mode on future cars.
The battery compartment is integrated into the chassis (the batteries and engine are mid-mounted) to improve stiffness, while the electric drive itself consists of two motors, one with 161bhp to power the rear wheels and another for the ancillaries. The batteries weigh 60kg and can be charged either under braking or via any excess torque produced by the engine, which is diverted from the rear wheels.
This is all attached to a 6,262cc V12 with a screaming 9,250rpm rev limit, driving through a seven-speed paddle-shift gearbox. On its own this engine produces 789bhp and 516lb ft of torque. Combined with the electric motor this swells to the 950bhp headline figure, as well as 664lb ft of torque.
The new hypercar, which is the successor to the Enzo and measures 4.7m long and 2m wide, also features active aerodynamics, with the engineers aiming "to deliver the highest degree of aerodynamic efficiency ever achieved with any road car". The package includes active diffusers at the front and rear of the car as well as an active rear spoiler, which only generate downforce when needed. They active automatically, depending on a myriad of factors, including driver input. It seems to have worked too: the new car has lapped Ferrari's Fiorano track in less than 1min 20sec, which is 5sec faster than the Enzo and 3sec faster than its F12 Berlinetta, making it the fastest road car the company has ever built.
There's no word yet on price, but suffice to say that with LaFerrari, the new McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder all arriving this year, the very well-heeled supercar enthusiast has quite a tough decision to make.
Speaking about the new car, Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari's president, said: "We chose to call this model LaFerrari because it is the maximum expression of what defines our company – excellence. Excellence in terms of technological innovation, performance, styling and the sheer thrill of driving.
"Aimed at our collectors, this is a truly extraordinary car which encompasses advanced solutions that, in the future, will find their way on to the rest of the range, and it represents the benchmark for the entire automotive industry. LaFerrari is the finest expression of our company's unique, unparalleled engineering and design know-how, including that acquired in Formula 1."


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5 Water-Saving Ideas Worthy of a High-Five from Mother Earth
Protecting our water is one of the biggest challenges facing the planet, but many of us don't realize how much water flows through our lives every day. According to the EPA, the average US household wastes nearly 10,000 gallons of water each year – roughly enough to fill a residential-sized swimming pool. Talk about a reality check.
This year, resolve to care for our most precious resource with a few simple eco-conscious tricks and swaps that will reduce water waste and keep our water clean – not to mention help out your wallet, too.
Implement meatless Mondays. A single pound of beef requires more than 1,800 gallons of water to produce, compared to tofu, which only takes approximately 300 gallons, according to the Water Footprint Network. So, once a week, plan a meat alternative for a meal or hit up your hipster, foodie friend and go to a vegan restaurant (they're all the rage right now).
Reuse excess water. Your leftover cooking water is liquid gold. Save water remaining from boiling pasta and steaming vegetables and recycle it by nourishing your houseplants or outdoor garden with the surplus. Plus, your plants will love the extra nutrients.
Replace your showerhead. A great way to conserve water is by installing a low-flow showerhead. With an Eco-Performance showerhead, like the Velocity rainshower showerhead from Moen, you can conserve water and still have plenty of pressure to lather, rinse and repeat.
Invest in a reusable water bottle. Whether you're chugging water after SoulCycle or casually sipping throughout the day, reusable water bottles are convenient and eco-friendly. With the growing problem of plastic pollution in our water supply (see ya, straws!), utilizing a reusable water bottle can make a big difference, with the possibility to save an average of 156 plastic bottles each year, according to EarthDay.org.
Try a waterless facial cleanser. The secret is out: rinse-free cleansers are taking over. These detergent-free liquids will purify skin of dirt, oil and makeup. Simply apply a few drops to a cotton pad, swipe it across your skin and you're done. These cleansers will get your complexion squeaky clean— no water necessary.
These water-saving ideas can help you be more conscientious when it comes to protecting this limited resource -- and will ensure you'll get a hearty pat-on-the-back from Mother Earth.


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Visit The *EVEN NEWER* Barrow-Downs Photo Page |
Dread Horseman
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Behind you!
Posts: 2,743
Rules for the Quiz Room
Welcome to all members who wish to participate in the Quiz forum!
The rules here are quite simple, and the games are open to anyone. 1. All those who wish to create a new quiz game must first look to make sure that there is nothing else like it, so that it will not be simply a repeat thread which will be deleted. 2. Anyone can join into any game if they feel they have the correct answer to a quiz question. However do not just ask another question unless the thread has grown stagnant (see below). Simply answer a current question and wait until your answer is confirmed. 3. A thread may be considered stagnant if after at least 10 days:
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Toren was a fascinating guy, the founder of Studio Proteus and arguably one of the most important figures in the entire history of the English-language manga industry. Please take a few minutes to read this personal tribute from his friend Jonathen Clements - it paints a picture of a unique and exciting life, and fills in details about the earliest days of manga and anime fandom in America. The instrumental role Toren had in American comics history (alongside folks like Same Hat heroes Fred Schodt, Fred Patton, and others) can't be overstated.
If you were a manga/anime nerd in the '90s like me, and enjoyed any of the following Studio Proteus-powered titles, please remember Toren Smith today and keep his family and friends in your thoughts:


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Newt Gingrich is officially out of the presidential race. The former House speaker said Wednesday that he's suspending his campaign, and he's ready to help the presumptive Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, battle President Obama. But Gingrich might have a more pressing problem: His campaign has about $4 million in debt.
In Gingrich's exit speech, he opened by thanking people — first his family, then his financial backers.
"I also want to single out, first of all, the over 179,000 donors who helped us at Newt.org and who helped make the campaign possible," he said.
Yet those donors weren't nearly enough to keep up with Gingrich's spending.
'Eternally Optimistic, Until They Lose'
Most of all, he was spending money to raise money. Federal Election Commission data, compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, show that the campaign spent 32 cents of every dollar on fundraising.
Still, on March 31, the Gingrich campaign had $1.2 million in the bank and $4.3 million of debt.
"I think presidential candidates are eternally optimistic, until they lose," says Karl Sandstrom, a Democratic campaign finance lawyer who formerly served on the Federal Election Commission.
"They ... are able to convince the creditors they're not a bad bet. Often, they turn out to be a bad bet," he says.
The Gingrich campaign owes the most — $1 million — to a charter airplane company, Moby Dick Airways Ltd. Company president Roy Oakley said he "has assurances from the speaker that they're going to make good on it."
Gingrich himself isn't liable for these debts, and the campaign is paying off some bills. Back in February, he was at the Bing Crosby Theater in Spokane, Wash., for the last vote before Super Tuesday.
Gingrich finished fourth in Washington state. The theater's manager said that last week the campaign finally paid the outstanding bill for $589.
Help From The Nominee?
There's one common way for a presidential primary candidate to pay off those debts: getting the nominee to hit up his donors to finance it.
It's something that presidential candidate Obama did for Hillary Clinton just about four years ago.
Now Romney's campaign has offered to be helpful as Gingrich works on retiring the debt.
The Gingrich campaign couldn't be reached for comment.
Like a lot of the GOP establishment, Republican campaign finance lawyer Jan Baran has had a run-in with Gingrich. Sixteen years ago, he represented Gingrich in the House ethics probe but then quit.
Baran says Republicans tend to like the show of unity when the nominee helps the other candidates.
"It really depends on how much in the hole Gingrich is, but there certainly will likely be some effort to help retire some of his debt," he says.
After all, Romney wants Gingrich's supporters to climb aboard his bandwagon. Plus, Gingrich wants to remain a player, even if he can't be the nominee.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Engraved Damascus Pocket Knife - EDC Folding Knife with Exquisite Abalone Handle - Unique Gift for Him - Husband Boyfriend Dad Gifts NR37
🌿 Welcome to NorthRustic! 🌿
Engraved Damascus Pocket Knife - EDC Folding Knife with Exquisite Abalone Handle
🐚 Product Overview - Key Features 🐚
• Abalone Handle: The handle of this pocket knife is adorned with genuine abalone, known for its iridescent, ocean-inspired hues. Each handle is unique, displaying a mesmerizing play of colors and patterns, making it a true collector's item.
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• Compact and Versatile: This pocket knife is designed with everyday carry in mind. Its compact size allows it to slip easily into your pocket, making it the perfect companion for camping, hiking, fishing, or simply handling everyday tasks.
• Smooth Opening Mechanism: Equipped with a reliable and smooth folding mechanism, this knife can be opened with one hand, making it both practical and safe to use.
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In conclusion, a pocket knife is more than just a tool; it's a versatile, practical, and timeless gift that embodies preparedness, craftsmanship, and thoughtfulness. When you choose a pocket knife as your gift, you're giving a piece of utility and tradition that will be cherished for a lifetime. So, why wait? Make your loved one's day special with the perfect pocket knife gift memorized with your engraving!
💬 Engraving: 💬
• Add the custom details (name, initials, date) in the designated text box.
• Place your order, and we will create your personalized knife with care and precision.
Gift this personalized engraved knife to your loved ones, and watch their eyes light up with joy. It's a practical yet sentimental gift that will remind them of your thoughtfulness every time they use it. Order yours today and make every occasion a memorable one!
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We use USPS for shipping with Free USPS Ground Advantage or an Optional Upgrade to USPS Priority Mail. Your Knife will arrive gift ready!!
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We do our very best to get all orders out within 1-3 business days
🔗 More from North Rustic Shop: 🔗
• https://northrustic.com
💌 Questions or Custom Requests: 💌
If you have any questions or custom requests (such as logos or images) please message us at anytime. We answer all questions within 24 hours.
🐻 Thank you for choosing North Rustic! 🐻
As a Small Business run and operated by a Husband and Wife team, we truly appreciate your support. We are a family run shop and pride ourselves on outstanding customer care.
Artisan Bound LLC (North Rustic) sells knives and related merchandise only to individuals who can legally purchase and own such items in the particular jurisdiction where they reside. When you order and purchase any merchandise from Artisan Bound LLC (North Rustic), you represent that you are of legal age to purchase this merchandise and that this merchandise can be purchased and owned in your state, county, and/or city of residence. By offering merchandise for sale, Artisan Bound LLC (North Rustic) does not represent or warrant that any specific purchaser may legally purchase, own, or possess the merchandise ordered. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LAWS! Knives and related merchandise may be dangerous, even deadly, if used improperly, negligently, and/or illegally. When you purchase merchandise from Artisan Bound LLC (North Rustic) you agree that you will use the purchased merchandise in a safe and legal manner, consistent with all applicable laws, safety rules, and good common sense. You further agree that you will take such steps as may be reasonably necessary or required by applicable law to keep any merchandise out of the hands of minors and untrained and/ or immature individuals. When you purchase merchandise from Artisan Bound LLC (North Rustic), you agree to assume all risks related to and/or arising from your ownership and use of the merchandise and agree to indemnify and hold Artisan Bound LLC (North Rustic) harmless from any and all claims brought by any person or entity against Artisan Bound LLC (North Rustic) related to and/or arising from your ownership and/or use


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How to Discourage Artists in the Church
From: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/05/28/how-to-discourage-artists-in-the-church/
Many Christian artists live between two strange worlds. Their faith in Christ seems odd to many of their friends in the artistic community—almost as odd as their calling as artists seems to some of their friends at church. Yet Christians called to draw, paint, sculpt, sing, act, dance, and play music have extraordinary opportunities to honor God in their daily work and to bear witness to the grace, beauty, and truth of the gospel. How can pastors (and churches) encourage Christians with artistic gifts in their dual calling as Christian artists?
As a pastor and college president, I have made a sad discovery: the arts are not always affirmed in the life of the local church. We need a general rediscovery of the arts in the context of the church. This is badly needed because the arts are the leading edge of culture.
A recovery of the arts is also needed because the arts are a vital sign for the church. Francis Schaeffer once said:
For a Christian, redeemed by the work of Christ and living within the norms of Scripture and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the lordship of Christ should include an interest in the arts. A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God—not just as tracts, but as things of beauty to the praise of God.
In this article, I am taking a fresh and somewhat contrarian approach by seeking to answer the question, "How do you discourage artists in the church?"
In preparation, I asked some friends for their answers to my question: an actor, a sculptor, a jazz singer, a photographer. They are not whiners, but they gave me an earful (and said that it was kind of fun).
Here is my non-exhaustive list of ways that churches can discourage their artists (and some quotes from my friends).
Treat the arts as a window dressing for the truth rather than a window into reality. See the arts as merely decorative or entertaining, not serious and life-changing. "'Humor' artists by 'allowing' them to put work up in the hallways, or some forgotten, unused corner with terrible lighting, where it can be 'decoration,'" David Hooker told me.
Embrace bad art. Tolerate low aesthetic standards. Only value work that is totally accessible, not difficult or challenging. One example would be digital images and photography on powerpoint as a background for praise songs. Value work that is sentimental, that doesn't take risks, that doesn't give offense, that people immediately "get."
Value artists only for their artistic gifts, not for the other contributions they can make to the life of the church. See them in one dimension, not as whole persons. Specifically, discount artists for leadership roles because they are too creative, not analytical, too intuitive.
Demand artists to give answers in their work, not raise questions. Mark Lewis says, "Make certain that your piece (or artifact or performance) makes incisive theological or moral points, and doesn't stray into territory about which you are unresolved or in any way unclear. (Clear answers are of course more valuable than questions)." Do not allow for ambiguity, or for varied responses to art. Demand art to communicate in the same way to everyone.
Never pay artists for their work. Expect that they will volunteer their service, without recognizing their calling or believing that they are workers worthy of their hire. Note that Old Testament artists and musicians were supported financially.
When you ask them to serve through the arts, tell them what to do and also how to do it. Don't leave room for the creative process. Take, for example, a children's Sunday school mural: "Tell them what it should look like, in fact, draw up plans first," David Hooker said. Discourage improvisation; give artists a AAA road map.
Idolize artistic success. Add to the burden artists already feel by only validating the calling of artists who are "making it."
Only validate art that has a direct application, for example, something that communicates a gospel message or can be used for evangelism. Artist Makoto Fujimura answers the following question in an interview at The High Calling: "How then do you see art as evangelism?" He says:
There are many attempts to use the arts as a tool for evangelism. I understand the need to do that; but, again, it's going back to commoditizing things. When we are so consumer-driven, we want to put price tags on everything; and we want to add value to art, as if that was necessary. We say if it's useful for evangelism, then it has value.
And, there are two problems with that. One, it makes art so much less than what it can be potentially. But also, you're communicating to the world that the gospel is not art. The gospel is this information that needs to be used by something to carry it.
Only, that's not the gospel at all. The gospel is life. The gospel is about the Creator God, who is an artist, who is trying to communicate. And his art is the church. We are the artwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works. If we don't realize that fully, then the gospel itself is truncated and art itself suffers.
Do not allow space for lament. The artist's call is to face the darkness while still believing in the light, to sense God's silence and sorrow. Ruth Naomi Floyd asks, "How can artists of faith trace the darkness and pain of Good Friday to the joy of Sunday's Resurrection?"
I could go on. Here are some more ways to discourage artists in the church:
- Not setting reasonable boundaries.
- Not allowing artists to experience creative freedom.
- Asking the input of artists and deciding not to use it without an explanation.
- Not giving artists the gift of real listening.
- Not preaching and teaching the unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ.
But the last item on my list is, in general, make artists not feel fully at home in the church.Most of the items on my list reflect a failure to understand art and to let art be art as a creative exploration of the potentialities of creation. This is a crushing burden because artists already know that as Christians they will not be fully at home in the world of art—they don't worship its idols or believe its lies. N. T. Wright comments:
In my experience the Christian painter or poet, sculptor or dancer, is regularly regarded as something of a curiosity, to be tolerated, humoured even, maybe even allowed to put on a show once in a while. But the idea that they are, or could be, anything more than that—that they have a vocation to re-imagine and re-express the beauty of God, to lift our sights and change our vision of reality—is often not even considered.
So will you make a home for Christians called to be artists?


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The Gathering will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, April 19, at Geechee Kunda, 622 Ways Temple Road in Riceboro.
The event will feature food, exhibits and demonstrations on the Gullah-Geechee African spirits, historians, truth-tellers, Geechee shouters, conjurers, musicians and more.
For more information, call 912-220-5966 or 884-4440 or go to geecheekunda.com.
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Ink & Paint
Let Your Creativity Run Wild
Above image: UV Glow Paint At Home Glow Party
Many Types Of Glow Paints And Invisible Inks
If you are looking for a glow in the dark, UV Black Light Reactive, Invisible, or Reflective Paints or Inks you will love our range of Goodies.
If you a curious as to who uses or products, here is your answer. TV Production Companies, Business, Consumers, Universities and their students, Primary and High Schools, TAFE students, and many other groups to numerous to list here.
If you have any problems finding the products you are after, then remember you can use our sites search feature (top left on screen) on any page, or email us.
Fluorescence explained (UV Reactive)
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation of a different wavelength.
It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation.
Striking Examples
The most striking examples of fluorescence occur when the absorbed radiation is in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum, and thus invisible to the human eye, and the emitted light is in the visible region. (Reference Wikipedia.org)
Luminescence explained (Glow In The Dark)
Luminescence is emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat; it is thus a form of cold body radiation.
It can be caused by chemical reactions, electrical energy, subatomic motions, or on a crystal.
This distinguishes luminescence from incandescence, which is light emitted by a substance as a result of heating. (Reference Wikipedia.org)
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Greenies satisfy your dog's natural desire to chew. The consistency/ingredients have been shown to help reduce odors, control dental tartar (calculus) & plaque, strengthen gums and diminish oral bacteria. All ingredients are completely digestible and, except for the palatability enhancer, are used in human food products.
Greenies were the first treat to provide all of these benefits in one nutritious, enjoyable chew:
Petite size bone is 3-1/2 inches long; recommended for dogs weighing 15-25 pounds.
Ingredients: Wheat flour, glycerin, wheat protein isolate, gelatin, water, rice flour, oat fiber, pea protein, potato protein, lecithin, natural poultry flavor, apple pomace, tomato pomace, minerals (dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, magnesium amino acid chelate, zinc amino acid complex, iron amino acid complex, copper amino acid complex, manganese amino acid complex, potassium iodide), ground flaxseed, choline chloride, decaffeinated green tea extract, sodium copper chlorophyllin, vitamins (dl-alpha tocopherol acetate [source of vitamin E], vitamin B12 supplement, d-calcium pantothenate [vitamin B5], niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement [vitamin B2], vitamin D3 supplement, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride [vitamin B6], thiamine mononitrate [vitamin B1], folic acid)
Bag of 20 Petite Greenies.


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Fear and loathing on the Afghan Silk Road
Will the New Silk Roads, a.k.a. Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) ever manage to cross the Hindu Kush?
Temerity is the name of the game. Even though strategically located astride the Ancient Silk Road, and virtually contiguous to the US$50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a key BRI node – Afghanistan is still mired in war.
It's easy to forget that way back in 2011 – even before President Xi Jinping announced BRI, in Kazakhstan and Indonesia, in 2013 – the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touted her own Silk Road, in Chennai. No wonder the State Dept.'s vision bit Hindu Kush dust – because it assumed war-torn Afghanistan as the plan's lynchpin.
The state of play in Afghanistan in 2017 is even more depressing. Dysfunctional does not even begin to describe the administration that emerged out of the fractious 2014 presidential election and which passes for a government.
Since 2002 Washington has spent a mind-boggling US$780 billion on its (unfinished) Operation Enduring Freedom. It has absolutely nothing to show for it – apart from over 100,000 dead Afghans.
President Obama's much-touted 2009 nation-building-cum-counterinsurgency surge was, predictably, a disaster. Aside from reframing the global war on terror (GWOT) as Overseas Contingent Operations (OCO) it achieved nothing. There was no "clear, hold, and build"; the Taliban are back virtually everywhere.
Washington has spent around US$110 billion in Afghan "reconstruction." Adjusted for inflation that's roughly equivalent to the full cost of the Marshall Plan. Yet no gleaming Afghan Frankfurt sprang up around the Ghazni minaret; over US$70 billion went to the Afghan military and police; and waste and corruption were always pervasive. Afghanistan's GDP last year was still a paltry US$17 billion, or US$525 per capita.
The new Afghan "policy" under the Trump administration has consisted in dropping an MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) in the east, to no effect, coupled with the Pentagon demanding more troops. Enduring Freedom forever, indeed.
Wanna go mining? Ask the Taliban
It should not come as a surprise that, under the radar and without most Atlanticist circles even noticing, Chinese government researchers recently met with foreigners in Beijing for a discussion billed as "Afghanistan Reconnected".
Sun Yuxi, the first Chinese ambassador to Kabul after the Taliban were bombed out of power in late 2001, correctly summed up the stakes as follows: "If the way and connectivity through Afghanistan is not open, it would be like an important vein being blocked on the Belt and Road, which leads to many diseases to this organ."
How to reconnect/ reconstruct/ rebuild Afghanistan is the substance of sleepless nights in places such as the Beijing-based Centre for China & Globalization think tank.
Everyone knows about the projections Afghanistan may be sitting on at least US$1 trillion in mineral wealth from copper, gold, iron ore, uranium and precious stones. But how to safely extract it?
Beijing's security dilemma about protecting its investments is spectacularly illustrated by the ongoing Mes Aynak copper mine saga. The Chinese Metallurgical Group Corp bought the mine – 40 kilometers southeast of Kabul – in 2008. Theirs was the largest foreign investment project in Afghanistan. It took the Taliban another eight years to pledge its resolve not to attack it.
Meanwhile, on the railway front – which is key to BRI – in September 2016 the first ever freight train from China arrived in Haratan, in Afghanistan, via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The trade flow is still negligible, though, so no regular service for now.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), led by Russia and China, is finally stepping in. At its latest summit, while warning about the security "deterioration", the SCO pledged to be directly engaged in finding an "all-Asian" solution for Afghanistan, with both India and Pakistan, now full SCO members, on board.
The "Syraq" connection
Afghanistan is a close neighbor to the Xinjiang autonomous region – and some of its most inaccessible parts host the odd member of the Uyghur separatist East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is closely linked to al-Qaeda (while being dismissed by Islamic State).
To compound the problem, any possible New Silk Road eventually traversing the Hindu Kush must consider the direct connection with what's happening with the phony caliphate in "Syraq".
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is moving inexorably towards the Iraq border. At the same time, the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units have reached the Syrian border in Al-Waleed. Between them we happen to find US forces – which are occupying al-Tanaf in Syria. Damascus and Baghdad have agreed, however, to close the al-Tanaf crossing from the Iraqi side of the border. This means the US forces have nowhere to go, except back to Jordan.
Bets can be made that the Pentagon won't take this lightly. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow is convinced these US forces will use High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to eventually prevent the meeting of the Iraqi units and the Syrian army, whose mission is to pursue Daesh remnants inside Syrian territory.
This "Syraq" meeting of the armies is so important because it heralds in effect the realignment of a key nexus in the New Silk Roads: Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut.
It is a categorical imperative for Beijing to expand BRI across the Levant, linking China to the Mediterranean overland just like the Ancient Silk Road did. And yet that clashes frontally with the crucial fact admitted on record by Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn himself: that the Obama administration made a "willful decision" to let Islamic State fester, with the objective of arriving at a "Sunnistan" across "Syraq" as a means to accelerate regime change in Damascus. Translation: let ISIS break up the BRI in the Levant.
There's no question influential sectors of the US deep state have not abandoned the project. At the same time President Trump has declared unwavering war on ISIS. The fundamental question is whether the "House of Saud policy" – striking against Damascus and its supporters in Iran – will prevail in Washington.
When the Taliban went after Afghan warlords across Pashtun lands in the mid-1990s, the local population supported them because they brought safety to roads and villages. They were widely regarded as angels fallen from heaven to help the Prophet against his enemies in Mecca.
This "Syraq" meeting of the armies is so important because it heralds in effect the realignment of a key nexus in the New Silk Roads: Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut
In my travels across "Talibanistan," some of them documented at Asia Times, I found the Taliban to be stone-cold pious and moralistic, enveloped in a sort of heavily-weighted obscurity, virtually inaccessible.
But the main actors in this renewed Great Game in the Hindu Kush are far from being the Taliban. It's all about the jihadi diaspora after the collapse of the caliphate in "Syraq".
ISIS is already shipping out jihadis in retreat in both Iraq and Syria to the Hindu Kush. At the same time, it is actively enrolling scores of Pashtuns with lots of cash and weapons – a workforce including tens of thousands of potential suicide bombers.
Besides Afghans, a new batch of recruits includes Chechens, Uzbeks and Uyghurs, all of them quite capable of blending in with the scenery in a mountainous region inaccessible even to the Pentagon's MOABs.
It's no wonder secularized Afghans in Kabul already fear that Afghanistan is the new citadel of a re-morphed caliphate. Against the self-declared Islamic State Khorasan (ISK), it's up to the SCO – primarily China, Russia, India, Pakistan – to come up with a rescue brigade. Otherwise Eurasian integration will be in mortal danger all across the intersection of Central and South Asia.
By Pepe Escobar
Source: Asia Times


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Chromeo feat. Toro Y Moi "Come Alive" + Spring Tour Dates
Posted on Jan 6th, 2014
Chromeo continue teasing new LP White Women with another track reveal, this time going with the uber-catchy "Come Alive" featuring fellow funkateer Toro Y Moi. Pitchfork premiered the jam this morning, along with a gang of "Come Alive" tour dates for spring, with support by Oliver and Tokimonsta. See 'em all after the jump.