text:
(written from a Production point of view)
The Enterprise travels back in time to 1968, where the crew encounters the mysterious Gary Seven who claims to be sent by advanced beings trying to help Earth. (Season finale)
- "Captain's log. Using the light-speed breakaway factor, the Enterprise has moved back through time to the 20th century. We are now in extended orbit around Earth, using our ship's deflector shields to remain unobserved. Our mission – historical research. We are monitoring Earth communications to find out how our planet survived desperate problems in the year 1968."
After Captain Kirk finishes his log entry, suddenly the Enterprise is rocked, and Spock reports that they appear to have intercepted someone's transporter beam. Kirk remarks that there were no such devices in the 20th century. Spock maintains that someone is beaming aboard. Spock discovers that the transporter beam originates more than a thousand light years away. Scott finds that difficult to believe, stating that no transporter beam could reach that far, not even in their time. Suddenly a man in a dark suit, holding a black cat, appears on the transporter pad.
Act One[]
The strange man asks Kirk why he was intercepted and who his interceptors are. Kirk identifies himself and tells the man that he is aboard the United Space Ship Enterprise. The man asks what planet they are from, and Kirk says they are from Earth. This the man refuses to believe, because 20th century technology would not allow for a ship like the Enterprise. But when he notices that Spock is a Vulcan, he realizes the ship is indeed from the future and asks to be beamed down to Earth. As security arrives, the man identifies himself as Gary Seven, calling himself a man from the 20th century, and gives his cat's name as Isis. Kirk states, however, that Humans of the 20th century do not go beaming around the universe. Seven explains that he has been on another planet, one much more advanced, and that he was beaming to Earth from that planet when the Enterprise intercepted him. When Kirk asks which planet it is, Seven says that the inhabitants wish their planet to be kept secret and that even in Kirk's time, it will remain unknown. Seven reiterates that he is of this time period and adds that, if Kirk does not allow him to do what he needs to do down on Earth, then Kirk will have changed history. But Kirk, unsure that Seven is telling the truth, decides to keep him aboard the ship until that can be determined. However, Seven tries to escape, overpowering the security guards, and he even shrugs off Spock's attempt at a Vulcan neck pinch. Seven is only subdued by a phaser stun from Kirk. Kirk calls Dr. McCoy and asks him to examine the mysterious man in the brig to determine if he really is Human.
- "Captain's log, supplemental. A man in a 20th century business suit – what is he? Not even Spock's Vulcan neck pinch could stop him. Without our phasers, he would have overpowered all five of us. I find it difficult to believe the mysterious Mr. Seven can be Human. And yet, suppose he is."
In the briefing room, Spock, who is stroking Isis, mentions that he finds himself strangely drawn to the cat. Ensign Chekov reports that analyzing the direction Seven's transporter beam came from show no habitable planets in that area of the galaxy and Scott says that they will not be able to analyze the transporter beam, as it had fused their recording circuits. The beam could have brought him across tremendous distances across space, and perhaps even through time; there is, quite simply, no way to know. Spock also mentions that current crises on Earth could fill a tape bank, noting that, on this one day alone: "There will be an important assassination today, an equally dangerous government coup in Asia, and, this could be highly critical, the launching of an orbital nuclear warhead platform by the United States, countering a similar launch by other powers." Kirk and Spock briefly discuss the nuclear arms race and how that once the sky was filled with orbiting H-bombs, the slightest mistake could have brought one down, setting off a nuclear holocaust.
Seven soon escapes from the brig using a device called a "servo," disguised as a pen, to deactivate the force field and put the guard to sleep.
Back in the briefing room, McCoy tells Kirk that Seven is indeed Human, but also that his is a totally perfect body, without a physical flaw at all within him. This raises the possibility that he could be an alien taking Human form, and Spock points out again that Seven could be telling the truth. Kirk laments that neither of them is telling him anything definite. At that point, Isis jumps out of Spock's lap and leaves the briefing room. Security then alerts them that Seven has escaped. In the transporter room, where Isis rejoins him, Seven renders Lemli and Leslie unconscious with his servo and beams down before Kirk can stop him.
Act Two[]
Seven materializes inside a transporter chamber, disguised as a vault concealed behind a sliding rack of drinking glasses, in what appears to be an otherwise normal office.
Seven accesses a computer behind the bookcase. Seven asks for the locations of agents 201 and 347. The computer asks Seven to identify himself and Seven tells the computer to check his voice pattern, and it will identify him as Supervisor 194, code name Gary Seven. The computer recognizes his voice pattern but is unaware of a Gary Seven being assigned to this planet. Seven then tells the computer that he is a Class One supervisor and that the computer is to override all previous instructions and answer his questions. The computer identifies itself as a Beta 5 computer capable of analytical decision and forces Seven to prove himself by describing the mission of the two agents that were sent here. Finally Seven, after griping that he has "little love for Beta 5 snobbery," relents and tells the computer that missing agents 201 and 347 are a male and a female descendant, respectively, of Humans taken from the Earth approximately six thousand years ago (circa 4000 BC) and that they were specially engineered and trained for this mission. The problem is that on Earth, its science and technology have progressed faster than its political and social knowledge have. Their mission is to prevent Earth from destroying itself before it can become a peaceful society. The computer states that Seven's information, while incomplete, will suffice and tells Seven that the agents have not reported for three days. Seven tells the computer to immediately begin a search and begins describing how to do so when the computer tells him it is aware of proper search procedures.
Meanwhile, back aboard the Enterprise, Kirk, Spock, and Scott are trying to determine where Seven had beamed down. Scott says that they can get to within approximately one thousand meters of where he had gone. Spock reminds Kirk that following him down is very risky because they may end up accidentally doing something to alter history. Kirk says he knows but he must also know if Seven is being truthful with them. Kirk tells Scott to have ship's stores prepare the proper costumes and then prepare to beam them down.
In his apartment, Seven learns that the agents' mission was to disable a rocket that will launch an American orbiting nuclear platform which is a counter-move to an opposing country that has already done the same. This appalls Seven, who says that this arms race is the same kind of nonsense which almost resulted in the destruction of planet Omicron IV, which the Beta 5 computer confirms. Seven asks if the warhead has been disabled, but the computer says both that it has not been and that there are just under ninety minutes before launch. Seven says that unless the agents are immediately located, he will have to undertake their mission in their absence.
Having beamed down, Kirk surreptitiously calls Scott with his communicator and tells him to lead them to Seven. Scott gives Kirk the coordinates and Kirk and Spock proceed.
The computer provides Seven with various pieces of false identification, including identification listing Seven as a colonel with the CIA, a lieutenant in the NYPD, and a colonel with the NSA. It also produces a map of McKinley Rocket Base. At that moment, a young woman walks in and asks if anyone is in. Seven steps out and demands to know where she has been. The woman sees no reason to tell him and asks who he is. Seven asks where 347 is but she neither knows nor understands, jokingly replying that perhaps he is with 348. She then threatens to call the police. After insisting that she sit down, Seven, wrongly believing her to be agent 201, tells her that he is "Supervisor 194, code name Gary Seven" and that he needs a complete report of all that she has done in the last three days. As the woman prepares to start typing, Seven flips a switch and tells her not to bother with her hands. When she wonders how she will type, the typewriter begins typing everything she says. This gets the young woman very frustrated, and after she yells at the typewriter to stop typing what she says, Seven finally switches it off and she says that she will quit. Seven then realizes that she is not acting. Using his servo, he locks the door; he then accesses the computer and has it identify the woman in the room. The Beta 5 identifies her as Roberta Lincoln and says that she is a secretary hired by Agents 347 and 201. Realizing the terrible mistake he has made, Seven asks Roberta what work her employers said they were doing and she says they were doing research for a new encyclopedia. Seven tells her she can go, though she will not be helping her country, unless of course, she does not care for her country. When Roberta protests that she does, Seven tells her that thanks to his incompetence, he has made her aware of some top secret devices vital to the security of the nation. He shows her his false CIA ID and she accepts that it is legitimate. Isis opens the door and meows at Seven. Seven explains to Roberta that Isis is a trained cat and asks Roberta not to let anyone in and she agrees to do so.
Out on the street, Kirk calls Scott again, and Scott tells Kirk that the source was about thirty meters higher than his present location. Thus, Kirk and Spock enter Seven's apartment building.
The Beta 5 tells Seven that agents 201 and 347 were killed in an automobile accident ten miles north of McKinley Rocket Base on Highway 949. Seven laments the uselessness of dying in such a manner and asks if the facts are verified. The computer does confirm this, noting that the description of the agent's bodies is accurate.
On the floor outside Seven's apartment, Scott tells Kirk which way to go and they find the right apartment. Kirk rings the doorbell and Seven has the computer deactivated. Roberta opens the door, but when Kirk asks about Seven, she says that she has no idea who he is talking about, that this is a government office, and that they should leave immediately. But Kirk will have none of it, demanding to know where Seven is. Roberta demands that Kirk leave, but he refuses, and she finally grabs the phone and calls for the police. Kirk and Roberta briefly struggle over the phone and she asks Seven to come help her. Seven, meanwhile, has entered the transporter in his safe and disappeared. Spock discovers where Seven was, and Kirk goes in and has Spock restrain Roberta. She manages to pull Spock's cap off and is dumbstruck at the sight of Spock's pointed Vulcan ears.
Seven rematerializes inside the rocket base and observes the rocket which is armed with the warhead.
Act Three[]
Kirk finds Seven's map of McKinley Rocket Base. Roberta tells them she has already called the police to the office. When the police arrive, Spock tries to keep Roberta quiet, but she screams before he can. Kirk calls Scott, whom he orders to perform a wide scan, as they will be moving, and be ready to beam them up. They run into the office, but Roberta runs to the door, admits the police, and points them into the office. They run in just as Kirk orders them beamed up – and the two police officers are beamed up with Kirk and Spock, all four disappearing before Roberta's eyes. Kirk and Spock jump off the transporter platform, and Kirk immediately orders Scott to beam the policemen back down, which he does. The two policemen are returned to the office, leaving them dumbstruck at what they have seen and experienced and Roberta not knowing what to believe.
At the rocket base, there are only fifty minutes until launch. Seven is approached by a security guard as he approaches launch control. The guard, Sergeant Lipton, has Seven lower Isis to the ground and requests identification, and Seven produces his CIA ID. While the guard calls to verify, Isis distracts Lipton, allowing Seven to stun him with his servo and he then takes the phone and tells the security identification office at the other end that everything is now OK. He then sits the stunned guard down and tells him to take a nap. Seven then makes his way to the gantry elevator by hiding in the trunk of the launch director's, Cromwell's, car. When the car arrives at the launch pad, he exits the trunk, hides in the elevator, reaches a gantry, removes an access panel with his servo and begins to rewire the rocket.
Meanwhile, Kirk, Spock, and Scott, in the transporter room, search for Seven at the launch site by reflecting their sensors off a low-orbiting weather satellite. Unable to find him, Kirk and Spock decide to beam down to the base to search for Seven the old-fashioned way. They materialize in front of the previously stunned guard as he awakens. Lipton takes them into custody and escorts them to the control room in the launch complex. They are briefly interrogated, but all attention is focused on the launch preparations. Kirk and Spock stand there unable to act.
Meanwhile, planning to quit again and telling the computer interface that she promises not to tell anyone about Seven or anything she has seen, Roberta accidentally discovers that depressing a pen holder on the desk opens the sliding glass rack. She then fiddles with the combination lock to the safe and succeeds in opening the safe/alien transporter room. At the same time, using the ship's sensors, Scott locates Seven on the rocket gantry while he is manipulating wires on the rocket. Scott calls for security and then attempts to beam Seven back aboard. Sensing the transporter beam, Seven gathers Isis into his arms. But at the same time, Lincoln's fiddling with the safe/alien transporter controls pulls him back to the NYC office.
In the launch facility, Kirk and Spock watch helplessly as the countdown progresses. The security officers inspect Kirk's and Spock's phasers and communicators. The security supervisor tells Kirk that only the slightest possible charges will be brought against them if they explain why they are here and what they are doing. Kirk can only stand silently and watch as the rocket launches up toward space.
- "Captain's log, supplemental. Spock and I are in custody. Even if we'd talk, they wouldn't believe us. We're powerless to stop Mr. Seven or prevent the launch, or even be certain if we should. I have never felt so helpless."
Act Four[]
In the office, Seven is initially angry at Roberta for interfering, but he then calms down when he realizes that what she had done likely kept him from being transported back aboard the Enterprise and again taken prisoner. He then goes over and begins to work at the Beta 5 computer. He inquires whether he had done enough to take control of the rocket, and the Beta 5 confirms that he had.
Seven uses the Beta 5 exceiver circuits to cause the third stage of the American rocket to malfunction and veer off course. He also arms the warhead and Roberta, who had become very suspicious of Seven, hits him on the head with a small jewelry box, for she now realizes that what he has been doing is beyond the CIA's abilities. She grabs Seven's servo and tells him to stay where he is. Seven begs Roberta to let him finish what he had started, otherwise when the rocket warhead detonates somewhere in six minutes, it will start World War III.
From the science station on the bridge, Chekov and Sulu see the warhead arm and call Scott in the transporter room to inform him of what has happened. Sulu tells Scott that the computers indicate an impact somewhere in the heart of the Eurasian landmass. Uhura, listening in to broadcasts from her station in multiple Earth languages, reports that she is receiving military alerts from the major powers. Scott decides that he will have to risk calling Kirk, and tells Uhura to open a channel to his communicator.
At launch control, the mission planners note the malfunction in the rocket and try to override it and get it back on course. When the warhead arms itself, the scientists are confused as to how it could have done so on its own. They prepare to send a self-destruct signal to prevent the H-bomb from otherwise detonating on an unsuspecting population somewhere.
Kirk, taking advantage of this distraction, steps over and tries to activate his communicator, but Lipton catches him and sends him back to his corner. Just then, Scott attempts to contact Kirk for instructions. When the communicator beeps and the rocket base guard picks it up and tries to talk to Scott, Spock steps over, under the guise of showing Lipton how to use it, and uses his nerve pinch to render him unconscious again. Kirk has Scott beam them directly to Seven's office. Unfortunately for the scientists, the self-destruct signal does not work. The lead flight controller picks up a red phone to make a call to the President.
Back in Seven's apartment, Seven tries to tell Roberta the truth about what has been happening and that truly advanced civilizations would neither take strange forms nor visit Earth in force, explaining that the best option is to bring Humans to their planet and train them for generations, until they are needed on Earth. Roberta tells him that she wants to believe him, for she knows that her world needs help; this explains the seemingly insane conduct of some of the people of her generation, of whom she points out, "We wonder if we're gonna be alive when we're thirty."
Just as Seven tries to run back to the computer, Kirk and Spock enter the apartment again. Kirk asks Spock if he can detonate the warhead using the computer, to which Spock replies that he can attempt it. Seven says that he wants the warhead detonated too, but that he will have to do it, and at least a hundred miles above the ground, so that it will frighten the people of Earth out of the arms race. At that moment, Scott calls Kirk, telling him that the Enterprise's monitors show all major powers on full missile alert and a retaliatory strike is ordered upon warhead impact. Spock says that without more time, he can only estimate, and Seven angrily asks Kirk to allow him to do his job. Kirk insists that he still does not know what Seven's job is, and that for all he and Spock know, Seven may set the controls so that the warhead may not even be detonated. Then Roberta points the servo at Kirk and demands that he leave Seven alone. Seven quickly grabs it from her hand and tells her that the servo was set to kill. He deactivates it and then hands it over to Kirk. Kirk tells Spock if he cannot detonate the warhead, then they will both have to trust Seven. Spock tells Kirk that in the absence of facts, there is no logical decision and that he will have to rely on his Human intuition to guide him.
After a brief moment, Kirk tells Seven, "Go!" Seven runs over to the Beta 5 and begins working the controls, activating a visual of low Earth orbit and having the computer count down the miles by tens. Finally, at 104 miles, Seven manages to detonate the warhead.
Later in the day, Seven is dictating the last bit of his report into the typewriter. "…and in spite of the accidental interference with history by the Earth ship from the future, the mission was completed." Spock then corrects Seven and tells him that by all appearances they did not interfere but that, rather, that the Enterprise was simply part of what was supposed to happen on this day in 1968. Kirk says that their record tapes show that while it was never generally revealed, a malfunctioning sub-orbital warhead was exploded exactly 104 miles above the Earth. Spock adds that, furthermore, it caused the nuclear powers to re-assess the risks of a nuclear orbiting platform. That everything turned out just how it was supposed to leaves Seven feeling relieved.
For a moment, Roberta looks over at Isis and sees a rather gorgeous woman. She steps over to Seven and asks if he will explain who that is. Seven says that it is simply his cat. When Roberta looks back, Isis is a cat again. Seven then asks Kirk what else their record tapes show, but Kirk says they cannot, in turn, reveal all they know. Spock does say that it would be safe to say that Seven and Roberta have some interesting experiences ahead of them and Kirk agrees with that assessment. Kirk calls to be beamed up by Scotty, Spock tells Seven to "live long and prosper," and Kirk says that the same goes for Roberta. They shimmer and vanish with Roberta looking on in awe once more, and the Enterprise leaves orbit to go back to its proper time.
Log entries[]
Memorable quotes[]
"Humans of the twentieth century do not go beaming around the galaxy, Mister Seven."
- - Kirk, after Gary Seven beams aboard the Enterprise
"It's impossible to hide a whole planet."
"Impossible for you, not for them."
- - Scott and Seven, on Tau Alpha C
"Mr. Spock, historical report."
"Current Earth crises would fill a tape bank, Captain."
- - Kirk and Spock
"Where's Three-Four-Seven?"
"With Three-Four-Eight?"
- - Seven and Roberta Lincoln, as they meet for the first time
"Well, how do you expect me to type? With my nose?"
- - Lincoln, after Seven sets up the typewriter
"I'm telling you, you're through monkeying around with my country's rocket."
- - Lincoln to Seven, after the warhead rocket separates
"I know this world needs help. That's why some of my generation are kind of crazy and rebels, you know? We wonder if we're gonna be alive when we're thirty."
- - Lincoln, as she doubts Seven's story
"Without facts, the decision cannot be made logically. You must rely on your Human intuition."
- - Spock to Kirk, as the warhead descends to Earth
"That, Miss Lincoln, is simply my cat."
- - Seven, after Lincoln sees Isis in Human form
Background information[]
Production timeline[]
Original pilot (no Star Trek connection)[]
- Story outline "Seven" by Gene Roddenberry: 20 April 1965
- Revised story outlines: 23 April 1965, 25 April 1965
- First draft teleplay: 14 November 1966
- Revised first draft: 16 November 1966
Star Trek version[]
- Story outline by Roddenberry and Art Wallace: 21 October 1967
- Revised story outline by Wallace: 13 November 1967
- First draft teleplay: 21 November 1967
- Revised first draft: 11 December 1967
- Second draft teleplay: 14 December 1967
- Revised second draft: 18 December 1967
- Revised draft by Roddenberry: 20 December 1967
- Final draft teleplay by Roddenberry: 1 January 1968
- Additional page revisions: 3 January 1968, 5 January 1968, 9 January 1968
- Filmed: 2 January 1968 – 10 January 1968
- Day 1 – 2 January 1968, Tuesday – Desilu Stage 9: Int. Engineering, Sickbay, Bridge, Transporter room
- Day 2 – 3 January 1968, Wednesday – Paramount Stage 5: Int. Gary Seven's apartment, Hallway corridor
- Day 3 – 4 January 1968, Thursday – Paramount Stage 5: Int. Gary Seven's apartment
- Day 4 – 5 January 1968, Friday – Paramount Stage 5: Int. Gary Seven's apartment
- Day 5 – 8 January 1968, Monday – Paramount Windsor Street backlot: Ext. New York City street, Paramount officer buldings: Ext. McKinley Rocket Base
- Day 6 – 9 January 1968, Tuesday – Desilu Stage 10: Int. Mission control room; Desilu Stage 9: Int. Briefing room, Transporter room
- Day 7 – 10 January 1968, Wednesday – Desilu Stage 9: Int. Bridge, Briefing room, Transporter room; Desilu Stage 10: Int. Rocket Platform
- Original airdate: 29 March 1968
- Rerun airdate: 9 August 1968
- First UK airdate (on BBC1): 4 November 1970
- First UK airdate (on ITV): 27 February 1983
- Remastered airdate: 3 May 2008
- This episode was designed partly as a pilot for a new series featuring Gary Seven and his mission. Star Trek was teetering on the brink of cancellation late in its second year, and Roddenberry hoped to get a new show going for the fall season. The first draft pilot script (14 November 1966) had no mention of Star Trek or its characters. [1]
- Assignment: Earth did not enter production as a television series, but Seven and Roberta were featured in several stories and they spun-off a comic book series from IDW Publishing, Star Trek: Assignment: Earth by John Byrne.
- The plot concept of benevolent aliens secretively helping Earthlings, as opposed to the much more common "villain aliens" scenarios, was later resurrected by Roddenberry for his movie The Questor Tapes.
- Stock footage of the Enterprise orbiting Earth (without clouds) is reused from "Miri".
- A closeup of Montgomery Scott behind the transporter station is recycled from "The Enemy Within".
- According to The Star Trek Compendium (1st ed., p. 140), the first draft script (dated 20 December 1967) had the Enterprise bridge crew watching an episode of Bonanza on the viewscreen.
- The establishing shot of downtown Manhattan used to open act 2 is also seen in numerous episodes of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. throughout that series.
- East 68th Street is also the street that was home to the main characters from the Desilu TV show I Love Lucy.
- The typewriter is a Royal Emperor, which could type from a cassette tape recording of the text. [2](X)
- The Beta 5 computer contains many components from the M-5 multitronic unit in "The Ultimate Computer". These components were recycled yet again for "All Our Yesterdays" and "Spock's Brain".
- A new effect is used for the transporter as Seven is beamed aboard for the first time – slow motion flames can be seen behind the opaque back wall of the chamber. This may be due to the Enterprise's unintentional interception of Seven's unusually powerful transporter beam.
- The rocket storage buildings at the rocket base were studio buildings on the Paramount lot, with NASA footage of Apollo rockets matted in above them. This is the third and last episode utilizing Paramount office building exteriors for location filming, after "Bread and Circuses" and "Patterns of Force". Launch Director Cromwell's car matches the car seen in one of the stock footage sequences.
- NASA shot all their footage using the anamorphic format, hence all the rocket launch stock footage in this episode is cropped from the 2.35:1 aspect ratio to television's conventional 1.33:1. [3]
- The rocket stock footage in this episode is actually of three Saturn Vs: footage of the rocket on the ground is a combination of the SA-500F Test Vehicle (the only Saturn V to feature "USA" markings on the third stage) and Apollo 6 (the only Saturn V launched with a white service module). Footage of the rocket launching is of Apollo 4.
- This is the only episode of the second season to have Gene Roddenberry credited as "Producer" instead of "Executive Producer," the first time he had received such a credit since the first season. Roddenberry wanted to be very "hands-on" for this episode, as he hoped to turn it into a spin-off series. He rewrote Art Wallace's script and was heavily involved in production, including sets, props, casting of actors, and even the costume of Terri Garr – he insisted on shortening her mini-skirt to be "more revealing," much to the anger of costume designer William Ware Theiss. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story) Garr had a very unpleasant time filming this episode, perhaps stemming from Gene Roddenberry's involvement in decisions regarding her costume, specifically the length of her skirt. The hem was taken up so much it became very distorted. In interviews since, she has refused to talk about Star Trek in any way. [4]
- This is also the only episode of the second season that has no credited studio executive in charge of its production, as Herbert F. Solow had left Paramount Television by this time, and would be replaced by Douglas S. Cramer beginning with the third season.
- Robert Lansing (Gary Seven) is the only Star Trek: The Original Series guest star whose credit appears after the opening credits instead of during the end credits – complete with character name. The fact that the episode was to serve as the pilot for a proposed spin-off series explains the unique credits.
- William Blackburn appears as a rocket control room technician in this episode. He can also be seen walking in front of Gary Seven just after he materializes at McKinley Rocket Base.
- This episode marks the final appearance of the unknown actor who portrayed Bobby. His appearance in the corridor was "new" recycled footage that was originally shot during the filming of "The Corbomite Maneuver".
- This is the only episode of Star Trek in which time travel is treated as "routine." The Temporal Prime Directive does not yet appear to have been proposed, let alone taken effect.
- This is the only episode where a Federation transporter system is used to intercept and re-direct another transporter beam.
- Along with the Vians and Khan, Colonel Gary Seven is one of the few humanoids to have ever manifested insensitivity to a Vulcan nerve pinch.
- This episode was first aired on 29 March 1968. Six days later, on 4 April 1968, there was indeed an important assassination – that of Martin Luther King, Jr..
- However, the coincidence goes beyond this: Spock says that the same day as the assassination that the US was launching an orbital nuclear warhead platform. The King assassination was the same day as the launch of the unmanned Apollo 6 Saturn V rocket. This same Saturn V amazingly enough also suffered a serious mishap and went off course. The details of the mishap with the Saturn V on April 4th differ greatly in detail from the events of Assignment: Earth. However, Kirk comments at the end of the episode that the real events were never "generally revealed" at the time. It makes sense therefore to assume, within the context of Star Trek's fictional history that there was a massive cover-up about the Apollo 6 mishap and that a false cover story was put out to hide the truth that they were launching a nuclear weapon into orbit. This episode uses footage of the Apollo 4 Saturn V, the only previous test of that rocket. Chronologically, the closest candidate to Spock's other "prediction" of a government coup in Asia would be the July 17th military coup in Iraq that brought Saddam Hussein to power (17 July Revolution).
- This episode takes place entirely in 1968, with no scenes in the 23rd century. Along with ENT: "Storm Front" (which takes place in 1944), this is one of only two Star Trek episodes based entirely in the 20th century. Furthermore, both episodes take place mostly in and around New York City.
- The events of this episode, which take place in 1968, occurred (from the point of view of the Enterprise crew) over a year after those of "Tomorrow is Yesterday", which take place in 1969.
- In various novels and comics, the alien race that trained Gary Seven was revealed as an ancient race called the Aegis.
- Seven and Lincoln have appeared in several Star Trek novels (Assignment: Eternity and the two-volume series, The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh by Greg Cox) and short stories ("The Aliens Are Coming!" by Dayton Ward in Strange New Worlds III, "Seven and Seven" by Kevin Hosey in Strange New Worlds VI and "Assignment: One" by Kevin Lauderdale in Strange New Worlds VIII).
- Gary Seven has also appeared in several comic books, including "The Peacekeeper Part One", "The Peacekeeper Part Two: The Conclusion", "Split Infinities", "Future Imperiled", and the Star Trek: Assignment: Earth mini-series.
- The Department of Temporal Investigations novel Forgotten History explicitly places the episode on April 4, 1968.
Video and DVD releases[]
- Original US Betamax release: 1986
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 29, catalog number VHR 2381, 3 September 1990
- US VHS release: 15 April 1994
- UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.9, 22 August 1997
- Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 28, 10 July 2001
- As part of the TOS Season 2 DVD collection
Links and references[]
- William Shatner as Capt. Kirk
Also starring[]
- Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
- And
- DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy
Guest star[]
- Terri Garr as Roberta Lincoln
- James Doohan as Scott
- George Takei as Sulu
- Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
- Walter Koenig as Chekov
- Don Keefer as Cromwell
- Lincoln Demyan as Sergeant
- Morgan Jones as Col. Nesvig
- Bruce Mars as First Policeman
- Ted Gehring as Second Policeman
- Paul Baxley as Security Chief
Uncredited co-stars[]
- James Doohan as Mission Control announcer (voice)
- Barbara Babcock as
- Beta 5 computer (voice)
- Isis (voice) [5]
- William Blackburn as
- Frank da Vinci as Brent
- Rudy Doucette as rocket base technician
- Eddie Paskey as Leslie
- Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli
- Jeannie Malone as
- Edwin Rochelle as Passerby #1
- Robert C. Johnson as Ground Control (voice) [6]
- Sambo and two unknown cats as Isis in cat form [7]
- April Tatro as Isis in Human form
- Esther Ying Lee as Passersby
- NASA stock footage used for
- Unknown actors as
- William Blackburn as the stand-in for DeForest Kelley
- Frank da Vinci as the stand-in for Leonard Nimoy
- Jeannie Malone as the stand-in for Teri Garr
- Eddie Paskey as the stand-in for William Shatner
- Edwin Rochelle as the stand-in for Robert Lansing
6,000 years before; 20th century; 1948; 1968; 1978; acceleration; accident; agent (government agent); Agent 201; Agent 347; alien; all decks alert; altitude; analysis; ancestor; animal; apartment; arc; area; arms race; Asia; assassination; automobile accident; auxiliary transmitter; baby carriage; badge number; balance of power; behavior; Bermuda; Beta 5 computer; bird; birthmark; body; "Bones"; briefing room; business suit; button; Canary Islands; cat; Central Intelligence Agency (aka CIA); century; chance; channel; charge; chronological age; circuit; civilization; class 1 supervisor; close orbit; coat rack; code name; colonel; control center; control setting; costume; countdown; country (aka nation); coup; course; crisis; custody; date; day; deflector shields; degree; Department of Investigation; descendant; destruct signal; detonation; device; dial; Dodge Coronet; doll; door; Earth; Earth Cold War; East 68th Street; elevator; employer; encyclopedia; engineering personnel; era; estimate; Euro-Asian continent; exceiver (aka exceiver circuit); existence; experience; expert; extended orbit; fact; Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); feet; finger; flight control; flight path (aka trajectory); flight telemetry; force shield; Ford Falcon; Franklin; French language; friend; fur coat; Gary Seven's homeworld; gantry (aka rocket gantry); gantry area; generation; government; government office; green; groovy; ground station; Ground Station 3; Ground Station 4; Ground Station 11; guard dog; H-bomb; hair; hand; heart; hello; Highway 949; historical report; historical research; history; Hobson, Albert; Homicide Squad; honey blonde; hour; Human; Human history; hundred; hydrogen; idea; identification; identification card; impact; inch; incompetence; information; inspection; instruction; intelligence quotient; international agreement; intruder; Intruder alert; intuition; IQ; jealousy; jerk; job; knowledge; Johnson, Lyndon B.; launch; launch area (aka launch pad or launch site); launch director; launch site scan; light-speed breakaway factor; light year; Liquid hydrogen; location; logic; machine; major power; malfunction; McKinley Rocket Base; medical analysis; meow; meter; mile; military alert; Milky Way Galaxy; minute; missile; missile alert; mission; mistake; mole; name; nap; National Security Agency; navigation report; news broadcast; New York City; New York City Police Department; nonsense; no parking sign; north; nose; nuclear holocaust; nuclear warhead; Omicron IV; "on the double"; "on the one hand...on the other hand"; orbit; orbital nuclear warhead platform; oxygen; phaser; plan; Plymouth Belvedere; Plymouth Satellite; Plymouth Savoy; phone; planet; police; pound; Precinct 19; Precinct 81; President of the United States; prisoner; problem; product; profession; programming; progress; proof; pound; question; range safety; rebel; recording circuit; record tape; research; retaliatory strike; report; risk; rocket; rocket stage; rule; Ryan, John; safety group; Saturn V; science; science personnel; search; search procedure; second; secretary; security alert; security confinement; sensor; sensor scan; sergeant; servo; ship's store; shoulder; sleep; smoking; society; South Africa; "stand by"; star; star map; status board; sub-orbit; suborbital platform (aka orbital platform); subway; Supervisor 194; supervisory personnel; tape bank; Tau Alpha C; technology; telemetry control transmitter system; telephone; thing; time; time period; time travel; tracking station; transporter; transporter beam; transporter circuit; transporter room; training; truth; typewriter; typing; United States of America; USS; verification; visual scan; voice pattern; Volkswagen Beetle; Vulcan; Vulcan nerve pinch; Vulcan salute; warhead; weapon; weather satellite; World War III; worry; year; "your lucky day"
External links[]
- "Assignment: Earth" at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- "Assignment: Earth" at Wikipedia
- "Assignment: Earth" at MissionLogPodcast.com
- "Assignment: Earth" • Gary Seven, Isis, & Roberta Lincoln at AssignmentEarth.ca – includes the series' proposal, and first script along with its first and final Star Trek scripts
- "Assignment: Earth" at the Internet Movie Database
Previous episode produced: "The Omega Glory" |
Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2 |
Next episode produced: "Spectre of the Gun" |
Previous episode aired: "Bread and Circuses" |
Next episode aired: "Spock's Brain" | |
Previous remastered episode aired: "Mudd's Women" |
TOS Remastered | Next remastered episode aired: "Court Martial" |


text:
Before I leave, there's one more thing I wanted to write about and something that took me until now to be able to do. I don't talk about the business side of things often here but AnandTech is represented by a 3rd party sales and marketing company known by the name LMCD. They've been our exclusive partner since 1999 and we've got a long history with them. They handle the ads, we handle the content and the two stay separate.
I've worked with the team there for most of my life and last year they unexpectedly lost a member of the family - Cara Hamm. She was only 39 and passed away suddenly without warning or explanation. I remember the day vividly. I had just landed at SFO about to head to Intel for a Bay Trail reviewer's workshop. That week was going to see the release of the iPhone 5s and the debut of the AnandTech Mobile Show at IDF. Cara had passed away between the time that I took off from RDU in the morning to the time that I landed at SFO. I got the call before we pulled into the gate at SFO and began what can only be described as a blur. She left behind her wonderful husband Mike and two sons, Cody and Dylan.
Cara was easily our biggest fan. She believed in the site more than anyone else. She believed in me and exuded so much confidence in me whenever she was around. The reality is that's the effect she had on everyone. Cara could and would take an interest in everyone, she'd make you feel like you could accomplish anything and that your problems and feelings were the most important in the world. She was ridiculously thoughtful, caring and wouldn't take no for an answer.
I remember being at a CES dinner several years ago and discussing our challenges being taken seriously in the mobile market. We were having issues with getting HTC to sample us (a problem that eventually got fixed) and just as we were discussing this Peter Chou, CEO of HTC, walked by our table on the way to his. We recognized him and I remember Cara walked straight over to him, introduced herself and gave him a pitch on working with AnandTech. She did something I don't even think I would've done. She had the courage, confidence and ambition to do anything.
For the longest time I was only able to write to Cara, not about her, in her passing. Cara was a huge part of my life for over the past decade and although most of you never knew her, I wanted to make sure I left behind something remembering her. She was truly our biggest fan and the biggest AnandTech supporter I've ever known. We all miss you very much Cara. If you knew her or if you want to leave some kind words for her family, please feel free to do so here.
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Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link
My first CES, in 2011, I had no idea what the heck I was doing or where I was going. LMCD organized our meetings, and I was periodically getting shirpa'ed around by various members from meeting to meeting.
At one point I was handed off to Cara...I can't even remember which vendor I'd ticked off prior to the show, but we met with them, and she graciously let me try and work things out (I think I was successful). After that she talked to me for a bit about how the meeting went, and she was very encouraging. And then, when I started bungling the next meeting, she righted the ship.
I was extremely green when I started at AnandTech and not at all used to handling meetings with vendors. It was a tremendous learning experience, and she was a big part of that. -
at80eighty - Saturday, August 30, 2014 - link
Peace to you Cara. and thanks for making this possible -
TETRONG - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link
Her spirit and talents must've been needed elsewhere very desperately to be called away so suddenly..looks like she had the whole being an "awesome human being"-thing mastered, ..judging by this pic and the effect she had on you.
If I sound certain that this isn't the last you or her family will see of her..it's because I am. -
HusseinH - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link
Rest in peace, Cara. -
Hairs_ - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link
Thank you for sharing this story. All too often the human side behind tech and business gets ingored, particularly by we keyboardists in the comments. It's good to know that the site has, and had, such ardent supporters behind the scenes. -
CameronR - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link
News of Cara's passing last year shook me deeply. It was always a delight whenever I ran into her at events and she'd flash that big Cara smile and give you a big hug. Even though I hadn't been in a position that manages an ad budget for years, she would still stay and touch and always offer to take me Skiing with Larry in Nevada. Sorry I never took you up on that ski trip, Cara. -
HisDivineOrder - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link
Death of one you care about helps you understand how your own life is short. Even her passing has impact. In this, she lives on, though not in the way we might wish. -
Caramia - Sunday, August 31, 2014 - link
Thank you Anand for honoring Cara. Her big smile and heart of gold is missed by all who love her. You were the brother she never had. Cara fiercely protected those that she loved. She demonstrated strength, courage and a willingness to go the extra mile at all costs.
I had the special honor of being her Mom! -
maximumGPU - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link
She seems like a truly genuine person. They're rare these days.
Rest in peace Cara. -
sheh - Monday, September 1, 2014 - link
Didn't know her but it's always sad. All the best to her friends, and family.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
New Experimental Rite for Palm Sunday
New Experimental Rite for Palm Sunday
The Paschal mystery – the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ – is central to our Christian faith, and therefore to the liturgical year.
For this reason the Liturgy Committee was asked to produce new rites for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, which would work more naturally with the Scottish Liturgy 1982 than the current authorised provision, Services and Ceremonies for Ash Wednesday and Holy Week 1967. After scrutiny by the Faith and Order Board, the College of Bishops has now approved a new set of rites for the beginning of Lent (Ash Wednesday), Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter. These rites have been authorised for use by all churches in the province for an experimental period until they are submitted to the General Synod for the formal canonical process of permanent authorisation.


text:
Handmade within the Knightsbridge atelier each Gyunel Couture piece is a testament to the label's high level of craftsmanship.
Intricate customised fabrics, specialised silks, and structured silhouettes are key features of Gyunel Couture's creations, often featuring intricate hand embroidery.
The skilled teams within the atelier tailor every element of the design process to the client, with meticulous consultation and personal fittings being an integral part of the Gyunel couture experience.
Each Gyunel garment is carefully constructed by the most qualified craftsman working in Couture today, Our skilled team searches worldwide to source only the finest fabrics, only the rare and beautiful qualify to be included in a Gyunel creation.
The craftsmanship is painstaking, perpetuating age-old skills handed down from generation to generation, it takes literally hundreds of hours of work to make a single Gyunel Couture piece.
Every season, Gyunel designs delicate embroidery that brings her creations to life. Our embroidery specialists have spent years perfecting their craft, and the playful embroidered designs bring an extra element of luxury to the dresses. The more you look at them, the more you can appreciate the unique details hidden throughout the garments, and translate the hidden meanings behind them.
To create your own appointment, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com or call our VIP team on 02075815560


text:
In this article, I have added the following commands:
Centered horizontal
Centered vertical
Bring forward
Bring to top
Send backward
Send to back
Note: I will only support Visual Studio 8.0 on .NET 3.5 !
The way I use WPF commands is straight forward, as described in the WPF SDK documentation, no extra infrastructure.
My first approach to group items was to use a DesignerItem object that should work as a group container. For this, I created a new instance of the DesignerItem class with a Canvas object as its content. On this canvas, I planned to position the designer items to be grouped. But before I could put the items on the group canvas, I had to remove them from the designer canvas because in WPF an element cannot be a child of two elements. If you try, you will get an InvalidOperationException with the following message:
"Specified element is already the logical child of another element. Disconnect it first."
So I removed the items from the designer canvas and put them on the group canvas. Now it is interesting to understand what WPF did behind the scenes: as soon as I removed an item from the designer canvas, its template was unloaded and when I added it to the group canvas, a new template was loaded. Now do you remember the last article where I showed you how to connect designer items? There I connected items via connectors, connectors that were part of the designer item's template, a template that is lost as soon as I remove the item from the designer canvas. You see the problem? I have connected designer items via their templates and so the designer item itself has absolutely no information about existing connections. All connection related information is isolated in the designer item's template.
Imagine a database diagram where the designer item's content is a database table. The table would never recognize any relation to other tables. One solution would be to tunnel the information from the template to the designer item to the table. A better solution is to redesign the application and divide the whole bulk into separate parts, e.g.
I will not start redesigning this code in the midst of an article, instead I will ride this 'view-only-approach' until the end of this article. The more painful this ride is, the more welcome a better solution will be. (I will cover a model backed designer in a future article.)
So let's continue. An alternative approach to group designer items uses the following interface:
public interface IGroupable { Guid ID { get; } Guid ParentID { get; set; } bool IsGroup { get; set; } }
The idea is that the DesignerItem class has to implement this interface to become part of the grouping infrastructure, which works like this:
This is simple, but the real work happens when I modify items (Select, Move, Resize, Copy, ...); with each of these operations I have to consider an item's group status. Sounds like a lot of work, but it's not as painful as it would be without LINQ. For this, I have wrapped most of the work into the SelectionService class.
Note: The Connection class does not implement the IGroupable interface and so cannot directly be part of a group, but indirectly - since a connection is always attached to an item. This gives me the flexibility to re/connect items, no matter if they are members of a group or not.
To save a diagram, I have chosen to use a combination of XML and XAML. For the DesignerItem related data I use XML, and the content is serialized to XAML. Here again, please note that serializing a designer item's content to XAML only preserves the visual aspects and thus is used as a short term solution only. To create the XML file, I use LINQ. Since this is the first time I experiment with LINQ, don't expect it to be necessarily the "right" way to use it.
Here is an example of how I serialize designer items:
XElement serializedItems = new XElement("DesignerItems", from item in designerItems let contentXaml = XamlWriter.Save(((DesignerItem)item).Content) select new XElement("DesignerItem", new XElement("Left", Canvas.GetLeft(item)), new XElement("Top", Canvas.GetTop(item)), new XElement("Width", item.Width), new XElement("Height", item.Height), new XElement("ID", item.ID), new XElement("zIndex", Canvas.GetZIndex(item)), new XElement("IsGroup", item.IsGroup), new XElement("ParentID", item.ParentID), new XElement("Content", contentXaml) ) );
The let keyword allows you to store the result of a sub-expression in a variable that can be used in a subsequent expression. Here I use this feature to save the serialized content in the contentXaml variable, which I use a few lines below. Finally, I use the Save method of the XElement class to store the element's underlying XML tree:
When loading a diagram from an XML file, we have to start with the designer items because we need their connectors to create connections. We have learned that connectors are part of the item's template, so the designer item has to load its template before we can continue. Fortunately the Control class provides the ApplyTemplate() method which forces the WPF layout system to load the control template so that its parts can be referenced.
In the previous article, I provided a mechanism to customize the ConnectorDecorator template, which allows you to freely position connectors around a designer item. That solution did apply the customized template after the designer item's Loaded event was fired and that event is not fired before the item becomes visible on your screen. Now the screen cannot be redrawn before the command has ended. So the only way is to set the customized ConnectorDecorator template explicitly within the Open command, see the SetConnectorDecoratorTemplate(item) method.
Note: When defining customized connectors, you must set the x:Name property. A connection uses the name to identify its source and sink connectors.
<s:Connector x:Name="Left" Orientation="Left" VerticalAlignment="Center" HorizontalAlignment="Left"/>
The Copy and Paste commands work analogous to the Open and Save commands, except that they are applied only to the selected items and that they read and write the serialized content to the Clipboard. The Delete command simply removes all selected items from the designer canvas' Children collection, and the Cut command finally is a combination of Copy and Delete command.
Not much to say about these commands, except that the reference item for alignment is the item that was selected at first (also called primary selection). This works only when you select items with the LeftMouseButton + Ctrl, or LeftMouseButton + Shift, but not if you use rubberband selection.
The Panel class (from which Canvas is derived) provides an attached property named ZIndex that defines the order on the z-plane in which the children appear, so we only have to change that property to bring an item forward or backward.
This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)
<s:Toolbox and <ToolBar xaml
<ToolBar x:Shared="false" x:Key="MyToolbar" Height="120">
<s:Toolbox x:Shared="false" x:Key="ShapeStencils" ItemSize="60,60">
public Connector ConnectorRight { get { var connectorDecorator = this.Template.FindName("PART_ConnectorDecorator", this) as Control; connectorDecorator.ApplyTemplate(); return connectorDecorator.Template.FindName("Right", connectorDecorator) as Connector; } }
DesignerItem CreateAndAddDesignerItem(Point point, Brush brush) { var ellipse = new Ellipse { Fill = brush, IsHitTestVisible = false }; var item = new DesignerItem { Content = ellipse, Width = 80, Height = 80 }; Canvas.SetLeft(item, point.X); Canvas.SetTop(item, point.Y); MyDesigner.Children.Add(item); MyDesigner.SetConnectorDecoratorTemplate(item); return item; }
void CreateAndAddConnection(Connector source, Connector sink) { var connection = new Connection(source, sink); MyDesigner.Children.Add(connection); }
var mainItem = CreateAndAddDesignerItem(new Point { X = 100, Y = 100 }, Brushes.Blue); var subItem1 = CreateAndAddDesignerItem(new Point { X = 100, Y = 200 }, Brushes.Red);
CreateAndAddConnection(mainItem.ConnectorBottom, subItem1.ConnectorTop);
General News Suggestion Question Bug Answer Joke Praise Rant Admin
Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.


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Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON—ING Bank N.V., a financial institution headquartered in Amsterdam, has agreed to forfeit $619 million to the Justice Department and the New York County District Attorney's Office for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) and for violating New York state laws by illegally moving billions of dollars through the U.S. financial system on behalf of sanctioned Cuban and Iranian entities. The bank has also entered into a parallel settlement agreement with the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The announcement was made by Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Ronald C. Machen, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. of the New York County District Attorney's Office; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office; Richard Weber, Chief, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation; and Adam J. Szubin, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
A criminal information was filed today in federal court in the District of Columbia charging ING Bank N.V. with one count of knowingly and willfully conspiring to violate the IEEPA and TWEA. ING Bank waived the federal indictment, agreed to the filing of the information, and has accepted responsibility for its criminal conduct and that of its employees. ING Bank agreed to forfeit $619 million as part of the deferred prosecution agreements reached with the Justice Department and the New York County District Attorney's Office.
According to court documents, starting in the early 1990s and continuing until 2007, ING Bank violated U.S. and New York state laws by moving more than $2 billion illegally through the U.S. financial system—via more than 20,000 transactions—on behalf of Cuban and Iranian entities subject to U.S. economic sanctions. ING Bank knowingly and willfully engaged in this criminal conduct, which caused unaffiliated U.S. financial institutions to process transactions that otherwise should have been rejected, blocked, or stopped for investigation under regulations by OFAC relating to transactions involving sanctioned countries and parties.
"The fine announced today is the largest ever against a bank in connection with an investigation into U.S. sanctions violations and related offenses and underscores the national security implications of ING Bank's criminal conduct. For more than a decade, ING Bank helped provide state sponsors of terror and other sanctioned entities with access to the U.S. financial system, allowing them to move billions of dollars through U.S. banks for illicit purchases and other activities," said Assistant Attorney General Monaco. "I applaud the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who for years pursued this case."
"Banks that try to skirt U.S. sanctions laws undermine the integrity of our financial system and threaten our national security," said U.S. Attorney Machen. "When banks place their loyalty to sanctioned clients above their obligation to follow the law, we will hold them accountable. On more than 20,000 occasions, ING intentionally manipulated financial and trade transactions to remove references to Iran, Cuba, and other sanctioned countries and entities. Today's $619 million forfeiture—the largest ever—holds ING accountable for its wrongdoing."
"For years, ING Bank blatantly violated U.S. laws governing transactions involving Cuba and Iran and then used shell companies and other deceptive measures to cover up its criminal conduct," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "Today's resolution reflects a strong collaboration among federal and state law enforcement partners to hold ING accountable."
"Investigations of financial institutions, businesses, and individuals who violate U.S. sanctions by misusing banks in New York are vitally important to national security and the integrity of our banking system," said New York County District Attorney Vance. "These cases give teeth to sanctions enforcement, send a strong message about the need for transparency in international banking, and ultimately contribute to the fight against money laundering and terror financing. I thank our federal partners for their cooperation and assistance in pursuing this investigation."
"Today, ING Bank was held accountable for their illegal actions involving the movement of more than $2 billion through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Cuban and Iranian entities subject to U.S. economic sanctions," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge McJunkin. "Investigations of this type are complicated and demand significant time and dedication from agents, analysts and prosecutors. In this case, their steadfast tenacity brought this case through to today's result, and we will continue to pursue these matters in diligent fashion."
"In today's environment of increasingly sophisticated financial markets, it's critical that global institutions follow U.S. law, including sanctions against other countries," said IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Weber. "The IRS is proud to share its world-renowned financial investigative expertise in this and other complex financial investigations. Creating new strategies and models of cooperation among our law enforcement partners to ensure international financial compliance is a top-priority of the IRS."
"Our sanctions laws reflect core U.S. national security and foreign policy interests and OFAC polices them aggressively. Today's historic settlement should serve as a clear warning to anyone who would consider profiting by evading U.S. sanctions," said OFAC Director Szubin. "We commend our federal and state colleagues for their work on this important investigation."
The Scheme
According to court documents, ING Bank committed its criminal conduct by, among other things, processing payments for ING Bank's Cuban banking operations through its branch in Curaçao on behalf of Cuban customers without reference to the payments' origin and by providing U.S. dollar trade finance services to sanctioned entities through misleading payment messages, shell companies, and the misuse of ING Bank's internal suspense account.
Furthermore, ING Bank eliminated payment data that would have revealed the involvement of sanctioned countries and entities, including Cuba and Iran; advised sanctioned clients on how to conceal their involvement in U.S. dollar transactions; fabricated ING Bank endorsement stamps for two Cuban banks to fraudulently process U.S. dollar travelers' cheques; and threatened to punish certain employees if they failed to take specified steps to remove references to sanctioned entities in payment messages.
According to court documents, this conduct occurred in various business units in ING Bank's wholesale banking division and in locations around the world with the knowledge, approval, and encouragement of senior corporate managers and legal and compliance departments. Over the years, several ING Bank employees raised concerns to management about the bank's sanctions violations. However, no action was taken.
For decades, the United States has employed sanctions and embargoes on Iran and Cuba. Financial transactions conducted by wire on behalf of Iranian or Cuban financial institutions have been subject to these U.S. sanctions. The TWEA prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in financial transactions involving or benefiting Cuba or Cuban nationals and prohibits attempts to evade or avoid these restrictions. IEEPA makes it a crime to willfully attempt to commit, conspire to commit, or aid and abet in the commission of any violations of the Iranian Transaction Regulations, which prohibit the exportation of any services from the United States to Iran and any attempts to evade or avoid these restrictions. IEEPA and TWEA regulations are administered by OFAC.
The Investigation
The Justice Department's investigation into ING Bank arose out of ongoing investigations into the illegal export of goods from the United States to sanctioned countries, including Iran. For instance, ING processed payments on behalf of one customer, Aviation Services International B.V. (ASI), a Dutch aviation company which was the subject of a U.S. Commerce Department-initiated criminal investigation, through the United States for trade services relating to the procurement by ASI of dual-use U.S. aviation parts for ASI's Iranian clients. The ING Bank investigation also resulted in part from a criminal referral from OFAC, which was conducting its own probe of ING Bank.
ING Bank's forfeiture of $309.5 million to the United States and $309.5 million to the New York County District Attorney's Office will settle forfeiture claims by the Department of Justice and the state of New York. In light of the bank's remedial actions to date and its willingness to acknowledge responsibility for its actions, the Department will recommend the dismissal of the information in 18 months, provided ING Bank fully cooperates with, and abides by, the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement.
OFAC's settlement agreement with ING deems the bank's obligations to pay a civil settlement amount of $619 million to be satisfied by its payment of an equal amount to the Justice Department and the state of New York. OFAC's settlement agreement further requires the bank to conduct a review of its policies and procedures and their implementation, taking a risk-based sampling of U.S. dollar payments, to ensure that its OFAC compliance program is functioning effectively to detect, correct, and report apparent sanctions violations to OFAC.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jonathan C. Poling of the Justice Department's National Security Division; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann H. Petalas and George P. Varghese, of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia; and Trial Attorney Matthew Klecka of the Criminal Division's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.
The case was investigated by the FBI's Washington Field Office and the IRS-Criminal Investigation's Washington Field Division, with assistance from the Treasury Department's OFAC and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.
The Department of Justice expressed its gratitude to Executive Assistant District Attorney, Chief of Investigation Division Adam Kaufmann; and Assistant District Attorneys Sally Pritchard and Garrett Lynch of the New York County District Attorney's Office, Major Economic Crimes Bureau.


text:
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text:
Venture Capital
Police rushed in and found the boy standing there behind the kicked-in door. He was having a cigarette. He was only about six years old. They asked him where his mother was, and he pointed to where she was. She was lying in a cot with a bottle of milk and was about thirty years old. She offered some greeting by raising the bottle. The boy finished his cigarette and asked: 'What seems to be the problem here, officers?'
'We've had complaints about a smell up here.'
That old chestnut. The six-year-old boy thought this no reason to come barging in.
'I forgot to change her,' the boy said, and laughed. He genuinely had forgotten; a lot had been going on lately. He hadn't spent a lot of time at home and his mother had been left in the cot the whole time. 'It won't happen again,' he promised. He didn't finish his next cigarette and stubbed it out under his heel.
'Where's your father?' The police asked while lighting his next cigarette.
'Your lookin' at 'im,' said he.
They turned on some David Bowie before leaving.
After they left, he looked up and down at the door, hanging on its hinges, and said: 'Who's going to pay for all this?'
'They're gone now.' His mother said. 'You can stop.'
He looked at her. 'Next time you have the cigarettes,' he said.
His mother stared blankly at the ceiling, hoping no one could see her.
Black Forest Gateau
She was born there. Born there. Fell out there, onto the hay almost; the hay that tidily dressed the floor. She did not hit the hay that night. Some splashes did and the hay came back to life, for a moment.
For a second, some splashes. Born there. Fallen out onto the hay. They removed her carefully, the hands of a vet, took her away to be cleaned. Took her away to be cleaned, carried over the hay. She was alive, floating over it, in fat vegetarian's hands.
The tidy hay. Her grandfather coughed often. He had lungs that behaved as if they were not his. Years of shifting turf with a pipe lit. Inhaling hay.
A pipe and lungs that were not his. She was born there. Alive there. On the hay. The hands stood over her and watched her, asking her to grow faster.
The hay needed tidying. They couldn't wait. This was in Ireland.
Later they discussed how to assassinate the Queen. The grandfather took a shit because he knew it couldn't be done. They only had hay, a newborn, a vegetarian and a pipe. It would take a genius to do it.
He couldn't even be bothered, and he was the only one old enough to remember. He fetched his pipe and smoked some, then his lungs leapt out onto the hay.
Everyone was astonished.
The vet tried to put them back in but the grandfather wasn't swallowing, because he couldn't breathe.
They didn't know what to do. The vet just sat there in the hay with black lungs in his hands. They dripped on the hay and brought it to life for a moment. They hated the Queen even more that day. The dead man was indifferent and most likely he was over the whole thing anyway.


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RADIOLOGY: HEAD: Case# 33608: CEREBELLAR PILOCYTIC ASTROCYTOMA. This two year old child presented with a history of ataxia and loss of motor coordination. T1 weighted axial MRI reveals a heterogeneous low signal mass in the right cerebellum. T1 weighted axial MRI after gadolinium shows enhancement of mass posterior to fourth ventricle. T2 weighted axial MRI shows high signal mass to be posterior to fourth ventricle. Pilocytic astrocytomas are slowly growing neoplasms of children and young adults which usually arise around the third and fourth ventricles. About one half arise in the optic pathways or hypothalamus, and one third arise in the cerebellar hemispheres or vermis. On imaging studies the cerebellar lesions are cystic with variably enhancing mural nodules.
- Author
- Peter Anderson
- Posted on
- Thursday 1 August 2013
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{ photo courtesy of Lifetime }
Yooooouu GUYS!? Ahhhhhh wassup! Did you all tune in last night? And by last night I mean Wednesday night cuz I'm a day late posting. In case you've been living under a rock and missed my social media blitz the past week, our new show, "Terra's Big House" premiered 2 nights ago on Lifetime. (WATCH ONLINE HERE). It's the first of 6 episodes during which my trusty right hand contractor & partner in crime – Cory McCrummen – and I will take on a HUGE remodel for Terra Jolé (star of Little Women & DWTS) and her husband Joe Gnoffo (most hilarious dude on the planet), renovating their house ONE room at a time… Or will we? Cuz I feel like we're always just about ONE sneeze (or fart) away from getting canned. Ya never can tell. I mean let's be honest. Even Penny looks like she's not so sure about us.
But apparently I'm feelin like we're sittin pretty at this point. Cory looks like he's about to do the Care Bear Stare to win them over.
SO – we have $150,000, and the goal is to stretch that moo as far as we can to completely tailor the house to Terra & Joe's family's needs and make it function and FEEL little people ("LP") friendly, but not necessarily LOOK like we scaled everything down. Take everything "custom" out of the equation, and a whole house reno for $150k is already a lofty goal. I know, I know, it sounds like a lot – AND IT IS – but as anyone who has ever renovated any space (let alone an entire house) will tell ya, that money goes SO FAST. So in addition to staying on budget, we needed to somehow do this renovation:
a) *without* overtly shrinking everything in the house, and
b) without alienating average sized folks like yours truly.. (hey. what if I come over for pancakes one morning?), or potential buyers down the road, should they ever decide to sell. We also needed to be mindful of their littlest nugget, D'Artagnan (aka Grayson)… he's still young enough that T&J aren't sure if he's going to grow up to be little or average sized, so we needed to design for both.
But imma tell you one thing: kid's gonna be a stud with the ladies. LOOK AT THIS LITTLE MUFFIN!!
Long story long, this house needs to be comfortable and functional for EVERYONE. So, that's the premise, and that's a tall order (pun totally unintended). Let's spitball about THE SHOW!
First of all, can I talk about my co-star for a sec?? I feel like we filmed so much that they probably just couldn't squeeze everything into a wee hour, but I gotta toot C's horn for a sec: Cory McCrummen and I have been pals for AGES (he's married to a lovely friend of me + Karrie's, so fan those loins, ladies!), and he's the one contractor I know that I trust implicitly. He's got that good 'ol Honest Abe thing going, is genuinely the kindest person you'll ever meet (WAY nicer than I am), is so conscientious about his work (which is impeccable) and so thoughtful and compassionate when it comes to dealing with clients… um, contractors like that don't exist, people. What makes C really unique is that he cut his teeth in both the design AND construction fields, so he's got killer experience on both sides, and an amazing aesthetic to show for it.. and much different than mine. I joke that his is "moody" (code for a restrained palette) and I think he said once that my style is like my personality (e.g. like "a party")… or like Skittles. But if you saw the shots of his work, you can tell he's got very refined, pared down but still warm, soulful, timeless taste. So, I have the best partner in crime EVER heading into this season.
Which is also going to be like heading into battle, if you happen to have seen the Entertainment Tonight trailer… YIKES.
The Studio was like our "try out" to do the main house. The studio space is behind the main house, and was being used as a guest house / storage area before we got our grubby little paws on it. We had $3,000 to do this space, which doesn't go far when you need: paint, some construction materials, wallpaper, an electrician, new lighting, furniture, rugs, accessories etc. Add to that the fact that 4 people (and 3 dogs) needed to live in this space, and it had to serve as: a bedroom, a kitchen, a dining room, a baby's room, and an office. That's a little something I like to call trying to ride 5 horses with one a$$. Here's what it looked like before… The two-toned wall/ceiling thing here was distracting and just made the space feel disjointed. I knew we needed to paint the ceiling, walls AND that weird trim piece in between all the same color to unify the space and give it a seamless, clean look.
Walking thru here unscathed was like playing Operation, but in real life.
This is the scene you see when you walk in the sliding glass doors – bed against the wall, boxes peppered (everywhere else).
This was the kitchen… see how low the ceiling starts at the top of the backsplash (before it vaults)? It's almost as low as the bottom of the cabinetry. So if we had wallpapered ONLY that area, and left the ceiling, the wallpaper would've gotten lost and looked confusing. And chopped up the room. I also really needed the kitchen to kind of have a **POW** element and to delineate it from the rest of the space, since the natural barrier – that closet (on the right) – was coming out and being replaced by an eat-in island. Also.. the boob lights – no bueno.
We weren't given many (decor) parameters on this first project – it was early on in the process, and while I did have a grasp on Terra's taste, I also knew this was going to revert to a Guest House later, so I was thinking about it as something they may want to AirBNB someday… something that needed to feel like an escape and have a universal appeal for guests. So this space was kind of like a free style. I told Cory that I thought it might be fun to do a Hawaii theme, and he legit looked at me like I had 7 heads with 1 eyeball in the middle. But that idea was born of this BEAUTIFUL WALLPAPER from Hygge & West (Aja in Khaki by Justina Blakeny), which I'd been obsessing over – and figured Terra would not be into at all.
Here's how that scene went down. She fer SHURE thinks I'm nuts.
But check it out! HUUUUUGE thanks to Hygge & West for rushing these rolls out to us! They are the tits, if you guys haven't worked with them before. Wallcoverings are super affordable, they have a calculator on each product's page so you can tally how much you need (this is a pain in the arse otherwise), and their patterns are so great. PS: video of the kitchen all completed at the bottom of this post!
See! Cory's stoked.
We replaced those godawful boob / mushroom lights with these little fellas. Less than $10 at Home Depot, and we spray painted them with a dark green Rustoleum. This was one thing Terra loved.
What do you guys think??
Another big project for this space was recovering the existing bed (that velvety-teal one) to make it more gender-neutral and just a little more fresh. I found this KILLER striped upholstery fabric at Threads in San Diego for like, $15 a yard. #stealing.
C-money was nice enough to help me get the fabric stapled into place on the headboard.
HHHHAAAAAAaaaaa – ask him if he came back to nail in nailheads after this……………
After the headboard was done, I had to detach the footboard from the side rails so that I could recover those as well. This is where it gets ugly, kids.
When they wouldn't come apart, I went all CofC vball on it and put my back into that sucker and gave the footboard a big WHAP to knock it loose from the side rail. And then it jacked me in the face SO HARD that I heard real-life birdies tweeting and saw stars for a few minutes. And then, the next morning, I hatched a Cadbury egg, right there outta my forehead. In July. Happy early Easter.
So hot. Imagine trying to ice this thing to get the swelling to go down… biggest cold-headache ever.
But check out that detail!! That was a $5 box of antique brass nailheads from (Michael's, I think), a little elbow grease and one near-concussion.
Here's how the rest of the studio turned out… those cameras move so fast! I wanted you guys to see more of it, in case you missed:
Lanterns are from HOMEGOODS! Have you ever? Console was World Market and it's so affordable. Desk & desk chair were Terra's existing.
One really interesting thing I learned about doing a TV show is that you can't use ANY artwork without the written consent of the original artist. Like, not even an iPhone pic, and certainly not any sort of artwork you'd normally think nothing about scooping up from TJ Maxx, or even a garage sale. So the night before this reveal, I went to CVS, bought a piece of posteboard and some kiddos' paints & paintbrushes, and painted THAT pink gem below.
With the help of my trusty co-blogger and bestie, Karrie, we stayed up till 1am at the dining room table painting this guy. What you didn't hear last night on camera was Terra saying that it looked like Penny painted it… bahahhahahaha. And she's not wrong! But it was the best I could do with about $20 in the budget and 12 hours left to find scrounge up some art. Covet Living Original Artwork right there, kids.
I also had to use pics from my trip to Hawaii last year for the black & whites over the bed.
Frames are IKEA!
BIG THANKS to my homegirl Lauren at Hollywood at Home for helping me with pillows!!!
And thanks to my trusty off-camera man for helping me carry them, cuz I didn't make it far past the front door. That bag weighed about 4 zillion pounds.
Look how pretty… aaaaaand it was right around this time when Terra told me no more pink/purple.
Breakfast, anyone? Nothing tickles my pickle more than a few really gorgeous vintage pillows on an all-white bed.
We kept Terra & Joe's existing sofa (though it was MASSIVE) to make them kind of feel at home here, and also to help out budget-wise. It's funny – it is SO BIG and it was 1 of 4 furniture layouts I did in CAD, and it even looked massive in the drawings… like it was going to swallow up the room. But in the space in real life, it totally worked. That doesn't always happen.
Trunk courtesy of One Eyed Willie. #gooniesneverdie
That little plug-in wall sconce was from eBay… I was looking to use one from Schoolhouse Electric, but theirs have a weeks-long lead time and they're also around $300, give or take, so I scoured Etsy & eBay. Ended up with this guy, who is brass and ORB/black… #mixedmetals. Which I came to find that Terra was NOT a fan of, but I needed that fixture to be two-toned to tie into the other dark and brass elements in the room and add some cohesiveness. Another note… that fella was just under $100 which was great for our budget, but is a great example of "you get what you pay for." I was afraid if I touched it, it might fall off the wall (or break) because it was VERY fragile and not well made. You guys know I will cross 7 lanes of traffic if I see a Goodwill or an Estate Sale, so I appreciate saving where you can, but there are some things where it's better to buy quality. I would've swapped that sucker out if I could but we were in a hustle.
The breakfast area may've been my favorite. Probably because of those cute little kumquats that I had one of the producers bring from his yard (what up J!) cuz they were impossible to find. The table settings I snapped up from Homegoods LITERALLY the night before. Rocks glasses are mine (Tarjay!) Stools are from CB2.
(More behind the scenes)
…WHAT UP CAMERA CHRIS?! Best guy ever right there.
Rug was from Rugs USA and was a &#% STEAL! That 9×12 was on sale from $379. Drapery Panels are Pottery Barn Emery Linen drapes in Oatmeal, double width. Lantern Cory actually brought from home and gave to Terra. How much do we love him?
Did you notice that we were all MELTING during that reveal?? I think Joe said his "fat was crying" at one point and I almost peed my pants. It's because it was about 105 degrees outside and the Studio didn't have A/C… just a little rolling unit in the bathroom. Which is where everyone would huddle in between takes.
Otherwise, this scene KILLS ME. I've been cackling for days.
And this one warmed my little heart. ONE POINT GRIFFENDOR!!!! SLASH yay Terra for being open and coming around! Everybody's giving her a lotta &$#% for pushing back so much (and oh, did she ever) but it's easier said than done having some stranger come into your house and start goin' to town. :
This made me cackle and spit out my food a few hours before the premiere:
This text from a client after the show also had me in stitches… she's not wrong!
More of these zingers to come… cuz my microphone was on ALL THE TIME which isn't always a good thing. PS they ALWAYS made me sit on a chair higher than Cory's for these interviews. Why, I ask? Am I interviewing for the role of Paul Bunyan's wife? Also.. you guys know I don't wear makeup in real life, but def had to for on camera, and had it professionally done for these interviews, so I look a lot like Stephanie Ballard's distant cousin, Stacy.:
And this is DEFINITELY some foreshadowing…
Stay tuned!! The show airs every Wednesday night for the next 5 weeks in a row! 10pm East Coast Time, 9pm Central, 10pm West Coast Time, and if you have Direct TV anywhere you can watch on the East Coast schedule!
Love you guys all for watching!! Thanks so much for all the support 🙂


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#99cents #preorder
A WICKED HALLOWEEN: A Paranormal Romance Box Set of Tales
Featuring Witches, Vampires, Shifters, Ghosts, and More is now available for
Thirteen paranormal romance tales that will thrill and chill
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Salem has never been this hot!
Stories by: Gwen Knight, Debbie Herbert, Erzabet Bishop,
C.E. Black, Angelica Dawson, Charlie Daye, Kiki Howell and Gina Kincade,
Phoenix Johnson, Sherrie Lea Morgan, Elizabeth A. Reeves, Linda Thomas
Sundstrom and Hope Welsh.
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Visit the website:
Excerpt from Malediction by Erzabet Bishop
Alistair spotted the gorgeous brunette across the room and,
when she approached the refreshment table, he followed. For a millisecond he'd
taken her for the scrawny woman in the red dress, but on closer inspection he
was pleased to note the differences. Same dress, but the way this woman wore
it, he was tempted to peel it from her, inch by scrumptious inch.
His pack mate had
poured a few bottles of something into the punch and, while it was entertaining
to watch some of the guests succumb to the antics of the season, he didn't
quite feel the same about the sexy female in front of him. This woman would be
far more interesting sober, he had a hunch and his predictions usually turned
out to be spot on. The markings on her arms intrigued him and he wondered if
they covered more of her body. Like tendrils of smoke curling around her flesh,
they spiraled around her skin in an unending pattern, giving him the urge to
trace every single one and see where it led.
He should be home at Briarwood, but his duties as Beta
brought him here to make sure Jessup didn't get too out of hand. So far the pup
had been a bit mischievous, but nothing that would make him worry. Whatever
concerns he had melted when he gazed at the beauty in front of him, his animal
taking control.
Serious gray eyes winked at him from behind an elegant lacy
black mask and he had the urge to peek beneath it to see what she was hiding.
Full lips bowed below the mask, and her mass of dark hair was wound into an
up-do that he longed to plunge his fingers into while he explored her mouth
with his.
Jesus, Alastair. Get a grip.
His wolf perked up when she'd come into view and his
instinct to bed her followed in quick succession. He shook it off with a frown.
One night stands were not his style, especially with women he didn't know. He
had other concerns and, as soon as he made sure Jessup wasn't going to fuck up
and intoxicate half of the wealthier citizens of Salem, he was out of here.
Duncan was still missing and he'd left Laurel in charge in his stead.
But, her eyes. Fuck. They fairly glowed with a power that
socked him in the gut as they watched him from behind the mask. When she wet
her lips and took her bottom lip between her teeth, he almost lost the battle
with himself not to let his beast take over and drag her into the nearest coat
"Are you here with someone?" He cleared his throat, aware of
the growl threading through his voice.
"No. Are you?"
"Just a couple of friends. What do you think? Want to end up
in a compromising situation with a stranger?" He grinned and, seeing Jessup
approach, steered her away from the refreshment table. Alistair wanted her to
himself, at least for a little while.
"Seven deadly sins? How about a dance? With my footwork,
that could lead towards all kinds of infractions."
"Hmm." He swung her into his arms and into the crowd,
relishing the sensation of his hand on her lower back. The plunging view
offered by her bodice made his body stand at attention and the wolf beneath his
skin whined with want. "So, which deadly sin could you possibly have that would
sink a guy faster than lust? That dress…"
"These shoes."
"Oh, but those… those are not a sin. Not at all. In fact, I
could look at them all night long."
"You could, could you?" The woman laughed, deep and sensual.
Her eyes snapped with amusement.
"Then you try wearing them."
"Maybe I will." He wanted her, and the closer they got, the
more obvious it was going to become. He weaved her around the dance floor, her
movements matching his. Her perfume and the spicy scent of her hair were making
it hard to concentrate. At the look in her eyes, he dragged her back hard
against him, his animal wild in his blood.
"Do you want to get out of here?"
"Let's get some air."
Alistair led her out onto the balcony, the twinkle lights flickered making the
grounds outside the hotel look enchanted. He had to clear his head.
"Who are you?" Alistair brushed a strand of hair away from
her face.
"I'm just a girl who needs an escape from reality. How about
"Same here."
"Just a girl, huh?" The mystery woman smiled.
He gathered her into his arms, letting her feel the full
force of his arousal. "I don't know. I'm not feeling much like a girl right
"No. I didn't think you were." She leaned into his embrace,
her lips curving up in an inviting smile.
"What's your name?"
"Bridget. Yours?"
"Well, Alistair. It's nice to meet you. I have one
"What's that?"
"How long is it going to take for you to kiss me?"
"Time me." Alistair's mouth covered hers hungrily and he
forced her mouth open with his thrusting tongue. She gasped, trembling within
his embrace and he pulled her deeper into the shadows, away from prying eyes.
About Erzabet:
Erzabet Bishop is an award winning and bestselling author
who loves to write naughty stories. She is the author of Lipstick, Crave, Snow
(Three Times More Lucky Box Set), Malediction (upcoming-A Wicked Halloween Box
Set), Map of Bones (upcoming-A Wicked Affair Box Set), Sanguine Shadows
(Vampire Bites Box Set), The Science of Lust, Wicked for You, Heart's
Protector, Burning for You, Red Hot (upcoming), Bayou Shadows (upcoming-Nola
Naughty Nine) Hedging Her Bets (Alpha Fever Box Set), Cat's Got Her Tongue
(Alpha Heat Box Set), Arcane Imaginarium: Spirit Board, Holidays in Hell,
Mallory's Mark (upcoming),The Devil's Due (upcoming), Charity Benshaw's
Enchanted Paddle Emporium (upcoming), Sigil Fire, Glitter Lust (upcoming),
Written on Skin, Club Beam, Pomegranate, A Red Dress for Christmas, The Black
Magic Café, Fantasies in Red, Sweet Seductions, Holiday Cruise, Fetish Fair,
Temptation Resorts: Jess, Temptation Resorts: Marnie, Taming the Beast, The
Erotic Pagans Series: Beltane Fires, Samhain Shadows and Yuletide Temptation
along with being a contributor to many anthologies. She lives in Texas with her
husband, furry children and can often be found lurking in local bookstores. She
loves to bake, make naughty crochet projects and watch monster movies.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erzabetbishop/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/erzabet-bishop
Google +: https://goo.gl/YJnNmd
The Romance Reviews:
Website: http://erzabetwrites.wix.com/erzabetbishop
Facebook "like" page:
Amazon author
Street team:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erzabet.bishop
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/erzabetbishop/
Review Blog: http://erzabetsenchantments.blogspot.com/
Triberr: http://triberr.com/ErzabetBishop
Author Database:


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Researchers from the University of California, Irvine and NASA have uncovered a remarkably strong link between high wildfire risk in the Amazon basin and the devastating hurricanes that ravage North Atlantic shorelines. The climate scientists' findings are appearing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters near the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's calamitous August 2005 landfall at New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
"Hurricane Katrina is, indeed, part of this story," said UCI Earth system scientist James Randerson, senior author on the paper. "The ocean conditions that led to a severe hurricane season in 2005 also reduced atmospheric moisture flow to South America, contributing to a once in a century dry spell in the Amazon. The timing of these events is perfectly consistent with our research findings."
Lead author Yang Chen discovered that in addition to the well-understood east-west influence of El Niño on the Amazon, there is also a north-south control on fire activity that is set by the state of the tropical North Atlantic. The North Atlantic has two modes. In years of high numbers of hurricanes and high fire risk, warm waters in the North Atlantic help hurricanes develop and gather strength and speed on their way to North American shores. They also tend to pull a large belt of tropical rainfall - known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone - to the north, Chen said, drawing moisture away from the southern Amazon.
As a consequence, ground water is not fully replenished by the end of rainy season, so coming into the next dry spell, when there is less water stored away in the soils, the plants can't evaporate and transpire as much water out through their stems and leaves into the atmosphere. The atmosphere gets drier and drier, creating conditions where fires can spread rapidly three to six months later. Ground-clearing fires set by farmers for agriculture or new deforestation can easily jump from fields to dense forests under these conditions.
"Understory fires in Amazon forests are extremely damaging, since most rainforest trees are not adapted to fire," noted co-author Douglas Morton at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The synchronization of forest damages from fires in South America and tropical storms in North America highlights how important it is to consider the Earth as a system."
The team pored over years of historical storm and sea surface temperature data from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and fire data gathered by NASA satellites. The results showed a striking pattern, a progression over the course of several months from a warm condition in the tropical North Atlantic to a dry and fire-prone southern Amazon, and more destructive hurricane landfalls in North and Central America.
According to Randerson, the importance of this study is that it may help meteorologists develop better seasonal outlooks for drought and fire risk in the Amazon, leveraging large investments by NOAA and other agencies in understanding hurricanes.
"The fires we see in the U.S. West are generally lightning-ignited, whereas they are mostly human-ignited in the Amazon, but climate change can have really large effects on the fire situation in both regions," Randerson said. "Keeping fire out of the Amazon basin is critical from a carbon cycle perspective. There's a huge amount of carbon stored in tropical forests. We really want to keep the forests intact."
Geophysical Research Letters


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Happiness is Homemade Link Party #138
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