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In 1992, when Daniel Wemp was about twenty-two years old, his beloved paternal uncle Soll was killed in a battle against the neighboring Ombal clan. In the New Guinea Highlands, where Daniel and his Handa clan live, uncles and aunts play a big role in raising children, so an uncle's death represents a much heavier blow than it might to most Americans. Daniel often did not even distinguish between his biological father and other male clansmen of his father's generation. And Soll had been very good to Daniel, who recalled him as a tall and handsome man, destined to become a leader. Soll's death demanded vengeance.
Daniel told me that responsibility for arranging revenge usually falls on the victim's firstborn son or, failing that, on one of his brothers. "Soll did have a son, but he was only six years old at the time of his father's death, much too young to organize the revenge," Daniel said. "On the other hand, my father was felt to be too old and weak by then; the avenger should be a strong young man in his prime. So I was the one who became expected to avenge Soll." As it turned out, it took three years, twenty-nine more killings, and the sacrifice of three hundred pigs before Daniel succeeded in discharging this responsibility.
I first met Daniel half a dozen years after these events, while he was working for the Papua New Guinea branch of ChevronTexaco, which was then managing oil fields in the Southern Highlands, about thirty miles from Daniel's home village. The fields, where I was doing environmental studies, lie in forest-covered hills near the beautiful Lake Kutubu. The weather is warm but wet—the region gets hundreds of inches of rain a year. As the driver assigned to me, Daniel picked me up an hour before dawn each day, drove me out along narrow dirt roads, waited while I jumped out every mile or so to record birdsongs, and drove me back to the oil camp in time for lunch. He was slim but muscular, and, like other New Guinea Highlanders, dark-skinned, with tightly coiled dark hair, dark eyes, and a strongly contoured face. From the outset, I found him to be a happy, enthusiastic, sociable person. During our hours together on the road, we enjoyed sharing our life stories. Despite some big differences between our backgrounds—Daniel's Highland village life focussed on growing sweet potatoes, raising pigs, and fighting, and my American city life focussed on college teaching and research—we enjoyed many of the same things, such as our wives and children, conversation, sports, birds, and driving cars. It was in these conversations that he told me the story of his revenge.
Daniel's homeland and other parts of the New Guinea Highlands have been of interest to anthropologists ever since the nineteen-thirties, when Australian and Dutch prospectors and patrols "discovered" a million stone-tool-using tribespeople previously unknown to the outside world, and began to introduce them to metal, writing, missionaries, and state government. Since then, changes have been rapid. When I first visited New Guinea as a scientist, in 1964, most Highlanders still lived in thatched huts with walls of hand-hewn planks, and many wore grass skirts and no shirts; now many huts have tin roofs and most people wear T-shirts and shorts or trousers. And yet Highlanders still inhabit two worlds simultaneously. Daniel's loyalties are first to his Handa clan and to his Nipa tribe, and then to his nation of Papua New Guinea, which is attempting to weld its thousands of clans and hundreds of tribes into a peaceful democracy.
State government is now so nearly universal around the globe that we forget how recent an innovation it is; the first states are thought to have arisen only about fifty-five hundred years ago, in the Fertile Crescent. Before there were states, Daniel's method of resolving major disputes—either violently or by payment of compensation—was the worldwide norm. Papua New Guinea is not the only place where those traditional methods of dispute resolution still coexist uneasily with the methods of state government. For example, Daniel's methods might seem quite familiar to members of urban gangs in America, and also to Somalis, Afghans, Kenyans, and peoples of other countries where tribal ties remain strong and state control weak. As I eventually came to realize, Daniel's thirst for vengeance and his hostility to rival clans are really not so far from our own habits of mind as we might like to think.
The war between the Handa clan and the Ombal clan began many years ago; how many, Daniel didn't say, and perhaps didn't know. It could easily have been several decades ago, or even in an earlier generation. Among Highland clans, each killing demands a revenge killing, so that a war goes on and on, unless political considerations cause it to be settled, or unless one clan is wiped out or flees. When I asked Daniel how the war that claimed his uncle's life began, he answered, "The original cause of the wars between the Handa and Ombal clans was a pig that ruined a garden." Surprisingly to outsiders, most Highland wars start ostensibly as a dispute over either pigs or women. Anthropologists debate whether the wars really arise from some deeperlying ultimate cause, such as land or population pressure, but the participants, when they are asked to name a cause, usually point to a woman or a pig. Any Westerner who knows the story of Helen and the Trojan War will not be surprised to hear women named as a casus belli, but the equal importance of pigs is less obvious. However, New Guinea Highlanders, whose main food staples are starchy root crops like sweet potato and taro, are chronically starved for protein, of which the island's dark, bristly pigs traditionally furnished the only large source. As a result, pigs are prized symbols of prestige and wealth. Peaceful competition and ostentatious displays involve pigs, and they are also used as currency for buying women. Pigs are individually owned and named, and, as piglets, they are sometimes nursed at one breast by a woman nursing an infant at her other breast.
A typical Highland village is a cluster of huts housing between a few dozen and a few hundred people plus their pigs, traditionally surrounded by a fence, and situated a mile or a few miles from the next village. A village's pigs are taken out to forage during the day, and are prone then to wander into people's vegetable gardens, breaking down or digging under fences erected to keep them out. A single pig can root up and ruin an entire garden in a few hours. If the intrusion happens at night, or if the offending pig is not caught in the act, it is virtually impossible to prove which particular pig was responsible.
That was how the Handa-Ombal war began. An Ombal man found that his garden had been wrecked by a pig. He claimed that the offending pig belonged to a certain Handa man, who denied it. The Ombal man became angry, demanded compensation, and assaulted the Handa pig owner when he refused. Relatives of both parties then joined in the dispute, and soon the entire membership of both clans—between four and six thousand people—was dragged into a war that had now raged for longer than Daniel could remember. He told me that, in the four years of fighting leading up to Soll's death, seventeen other men had been killed.
Soll was killed in a so-called "public fight"—one fought in the open between large groups of warriors separated by a considerable distance. With the air full of arrows and spears, it is often impossible to tell who was responsible for a kill. Even if the side achieving the kill does know, it is always careful to keep the killer's identity secret. For that reason, the target of Daniel's revenge was not Soll's killer but another Ombal man, named Henep Isum, who had organized the fight for the Ombals. By accepting the official role known as "owner of the fight," Isum took responsibility for the killing, and Daniel became the owner of fights to kill Isum. Isum suited Daniel's needs perfectly, because he was tall, handsome, and marked as a future leader, just as Soll had been. By killing Isum, Daniel would exact appropriate revenge for Soll's death.
Daniel explained to me that Handas are taught from early childhood to hate their enemies and to prepare themselves for a life of fighting. "If you die in a fight, you will be considered a hero, and people will remember you for a long time," he said. "But if you die of a disease you will be remembered for only a day or a few weeks, and then you will be forgotten." Daniel was proud both of the aggressiveness displayed by all the warring clans of his Nipa tribe and of their faultless recall of debts and grievances. He likened Nipa people to "light elephants": "They remember what happened thirty years ago, and their words continue to float in the air. The way that we come to understand things in life is by telling stories, like the stories I am telling you now, and like all the stories that grandfathers tell their grandchildren about their relatives who must be avenged. We also come to understand things in life by fighting on the battlefield along with our fellow-clansmen and allies."
Though we might wonder how Daniel's society came to revel in killing, ethnographic studies of traditional human societies lying largely outside the control of state government have shown that war, murder, and demonization of neighbors have been the norm. Modern state societies rate as exceptional by the standards of human history, because we instead grow up learning a universal code of morality that is constantly hammered into us: promulgated every week in our churches and codified in our laws. But the differences between the norms of states and of Handa clan society are not actually so sharp. In times of war, even modern state societies quickly turn the enemy into a dehumanized figure of hatred, only to enjoin us to stop hating again as soon as a peace treaty is signed. Such contradictions confuse us deeply. Neither pacific ideals nor wartime hatreds, once acquired, are easily jettisoned. It's no wonder that many soldiers who kill suffer post-traumatic stress disorder. When they come home, far from boasting about killing, as a Nipa tribesman would, they have nightmares and never talk about it at all, unless to other veterans.
Then, too, for Americans old enough to recall our hatred of Japan after Pearl Harbor, Daniel's intense hatred of the Ombals may not seem so remote. After Pearl Harbor, hundreds of thousands of American men volunteered to kill and did kill hundreds of thousands of Japanese, often in face-to-face combat, by brutal methods that included bayonets and flamethrowers. Soldiers who killed Japanese in particularly large numbers or with notable bravery were publicly decorated with medals, and those who died in combat were posthumously remembered as heroes. Meanwhile, even among Americans who had never seen a live Japanese soldier or the dead body of an American relative killed by the Japanese, intense hatred and fear of Japanese became widespread. Traditional New Guineans, by contrast, have from childhood onward often seen warriors going out and coming back from fighting; they have seen the bodies of relatives killed by the enemy, listened to stories of killing, heard fighting talked about as the highest ideal, and witnessed successful warriors talking proudly about their killings and being praised for them. If New Guineans end up feeling unconflicted about killing the enemy, it's because they have had no contrary message to unlearn.
Normally, a clan first tries to obtain vengeance within three weeks. During that period, the situation is tense, and people feel especially aggressive. As Daniel described it to me, a clan has four rapid-response options: ambush parties deployed along public roads; a special type of long-range arrow; surprise attacks on enemy houses at night; and sorcery and magic. Daniel, however, was unable to pursue any of these courses, because at the time of Soll's death he was in the coastal town of Madang, about two hundred miles from his homeland. He didn't even receive the news until two weeks later, after which the journey home took him a further week. A consequence of that delay which evidently upset Daniel was that he never got to see Soll's corpse; he saw only the site where Soll was buried.
Once home, Daniel assumed his role as owner of the fight and quickly organized efforts by his demoralized relatives to take revenge. On the first day of the resulting fight, Daniel was wounded. "I was advancing in battle with my biological father, who was holding a shield to protect me, while I myself held the weapons," he told me. "As my father and I went up a hill towards a stone quarry from which the Ombal enemy was throwing stones as well as spears, a stone hit my father on his leg. So I took the shield to protect my father, and I told him to go faster. That was when I was left unprotected, and an Ombal spear struck me on the back of my lower left leg." He showed me an inch-long scar and explained apologetically, "If, in a fight, you receive a wound on your forehead, then you are considered to have done well, but if you only have a spear wound on the back of your leg, like this one of mine, then you are viewed as not having fought well."
All in all, Daniel's first attempt at quick revenge was a failure, and so the war entered a slower, more complex and costly second phase, involving alliance-building, negotiation, and incessant plotting. Daniel's clan realized that it would have to enlist supporters from other villages. The selection of allies posed tricky and dangerous problems. The New Guinea Highlands are full of aggressive men seeking revenge for their own reasons, and skilled at using treachery to achieve it. Whenever a battle takes place, men not hired by either side are likely to present themselves, hoping for the opportunity to kill an enemy of their own. "You have to make sure that the men that you hire as paid killers or allies are real enemies of your target, bearing grievances of their own from years ago," Daniel said. "If you make the mistake of hiring a man who actually does not consider your target to be his own enemy, he may seize the chance to kill you, then go to your enemies and claim a reward."
Another factor complicating the plans is that, if two people die in a fight, there will be at least two owners of the next fight to avenge those two deaths. In the case of Daniel's campaign, there were actually three owners, because, in the fighting in which Soll was killed, another Handa man, named Fukal Limbuzu, was also killed, and a man called Wiyo was speared in the eye and blinded, which was regarded as equivalent in gravity to being killed. Hence Daniel and the brothers of Fukal Limbuzu and of Wiyo became from the outset the three Handa owners of the next fight. Meanwhile, the Ombals, too, had their own motives for revenge, because an Ombal man named Sande had been killed in the same fight as Soll, and Isum himself had been wounded.
Daniel engaged more than two hundred men as allies for his own revenge agenda: about seventy from each of the three neighboring villages of Ingin, Komea, and Poya. Naturally, the Ombal clan was simultaneously trying to enlist allies for its cause. Eventually, out of the fourteen neighboring clans, five (the Aralinja, Ungupi, Tapol, Sandap, and Ak clans) decided to join the Handa; four (the Henep, Inga, Solopen, and Mungan clans) joined the Ombal; and five (the Yup, Ulal, Twen, Hukup, and Tang clans) opted to remain neutral.
Hiring, supporting, and rewarding all those allies was a complex logistical operation. Daniel had to feed them during the actual days of combat, to arrange for houses in which they could sleep, and even, as he delicately phrased it, "to provide ladies for the warriors when they were homesick." Daniel estimated that, in the three years that it took him to get his revenge, he had to furnish about three hundred pigs. By custom, the pigs to be slaughtered during that long phase of preparation should be not one's own but, rather, stolen from the enemy clan. Yet Daniel had to be careful to steal only Ombal pigs and not to make the mistake of stealing pigs from other clans; otherwise, he would acquire new enemies. Ombal pigs were stolen either by day or at night, with the treacherous help of three Handa women who had married into the Ombal clan, and who hid occasionally from their Ombal husbands and in-laws and advised Daniel where best to steal Ombal pigs. In a small village, it isn't easy to slip away unnoticed, and the women might have been killed if their treachery had been detected. The Handa men arranged to meet their kinswomen at secret places close to Ombal villages; though this increased the risk of the Handa men being caught, it made the women's absences as brief as possible. I asked Daniel whether, conversely, any Ombal women who had married into the Handa clan might have been equally treacherous. He answered, "If we had found that a woman married into our clan was squealing, we would have tied her up and burned her with hot wires and hot pieces of wood. That was our plan, but in fact we never found any woman married into our clan who squealed; they all remained loyal to us, not to their blood relatives."
Intermarriage complicated Daniel's preparations in other ways, because it created restrictions on who was permitted to kill whom. Because the three female relatives of Daniel's had married into the Ombal clan, Isum had become Daniel's relative by marriage—Daniel referred to Isum as an uncle—and so Daniel was not permitted to kill him, or, indeed, any other Ombal clan member, by his own hand. Yet hiring killers to kill Isum was permissible. "By killing Isum or arranging for Isum's killing," Daniel explained, "I would lose Isum as an uncle, but that would be worth it, because I would gain my revenge."
Fighting among the Nipas differs in several respects from fighting among other New Guinea Highland groups, such as the Baliem Valley Dani, made known to Western readers and viewers through Robert Gardner's film "Dead Birds," Peter Matthiessen's book "Under the Mountain Wall," and Karl Heider's monograph "The Dugum Dani." In these accounts, Dani public battles emerged as somewhat ritualized, announced in advance by the issuance of challenges, confined to daylight hours, and abandoned in case of rain. By contrast, Nipa fighting is unannounced and takes place day or night, rain or shine, so clans must be always on the alert. Warriors post guards constantly, up to ten kilometres away from their village, in order to protect their houses, families, gardens, and domestic animals.
Daniel emphasized the importance of distinguishing between long-range public fights and close-range private ones. He contemptuously described the former as a "small boys' game shoot." As he explained it to me, "Public battles are open not just to experienced fighters but also to new trainees, new allies hired to come and gain confidence, and fun-seekers. In a public battle, the fight-owners have the opportunity to see who really are the best marksmen, with the necessary experience to make quick but correct decisions." Such warriors are selected for the much more dangerous task of private fights, in which hired teams of stealth killers prepare ambushes. "That requires nerve, judgment, and presence of mind, to select the right target, and not to panic and shoot the first man who moves into a shootable position," he said. "Boys and young men are prone to make such mistakes and hence are excluded from the stealth parties."
In a battle, each warrior faces dozens or hundreds of enemy warriors who constitute quickly moving targets but to many of whom he is related by various degrees of closeness, and some of whom he is not permitted to kill. Decisions must be made instantly among a seething mass of enemy warriors. Intermarriage creates further complications: many or even most warriors may be motivated to protect relatives on the other side, and they carry blunt-tipped arrows for warning unshootable close relatives as well as sharp ones for firing at shootable enemies. Daniel mentioned that an "uncle" of his on the opposing side in a battle (presumably an uncle by marriage) had once shot a blunt arrow at him to warn him that he was in danger. Even before a fight, people on one side, such as women married into a clan other than their natal clan, make hand signs or smoke signals at a distance to warn their natal relatives that the enemy is coming to attack.
On one occasion, I asked Daniel whether there are any rules that limit how one may kill enemies. He said, "In a night raid in which we sneak into an enemy village and surround the hut of a targeted enemy individual, we can tear down the hut to force the enemy to come out so that we can kill him. But it's not acceptable to set fire to the hut and burn him to death." I then asked, "Is it acceptable for six of you surrounding a hut to attack and kill a single outnumbered enemy?" Daniel answered, "Yes, that's considered fair, because it's already extremely dangerous for us to penetrate enemy territory, where we are greatly outnumbered." From conversations with other New Guineans, I've learned that fighting etiquette varies among groups. For instance, the quest of a Tudawhe friend of mine, Kariniga, to avenge the killing of his father and many other relatives by the Daribi tribe culminated when Kariniga and his surviving relatives marched through the jungle at night to surround the Daribi village just before dawn, set fire to the huts, and speared the sleepy occupants as they stumbled out.
The psychology of fighting is a theme that Daniel discussed with me at length—especially the inevitable tension between the anger that drives one to fight, and the clear mind necessary for fighting well. Daniel summarized his philosophy as "fighting while thinking." He said, "When you hear that your own brother has been killed in a fight, then you have bad feelings, you feel anger inside yourself, you become aggressive, you cannot think clearly, and you want to tear someone apart with your bare hands." He went on, "But, if you fight when that feeling of anger is on top of your mind, you'll expose yourself, and it will be easy for the enemy to kill you." In a public fight, both sides sing taunts across the battlefield to provoke rash actions. "Both men and women on the other side sing out unexpected words, which you can hear from far away and which make you feel badly. They'll sing, 'We killed your brother, and he was a coward.' They'll sing war songs to bring up old memories in you: 'I was there on that day of battle, I tried to kill you then, we should have killed you then, you were our target and we missed, but now we won't miss.' Those words make you want to go straight to the attack and to kill the other side, but then you'll end up being killed yourself, because you are not thinking clearly and you're incautious."
In the three years following Soll's death, there were six battles. (A public fight is counted as a battle only if a man is killed.) In any given battle, different participants and their hired allies were pursuing different agendas. While Daniel's agenda was to avenge Soll, his co-owners of the fight on the Handa side were out to avenge Limbuzu's death and Wiyo's blinding; the Ombals aimed at avenging Sande's death and Isum's wounding in the same battle in which Soll and Limbuzu had been killed; and both sides sought vengeance for accumulated unavenged deaths and maimings and woundings from earlier battles. In total, about thirty people were killed in those six battles.
In the sixth battle, while a public fight was raging, the Handas sent out several groups of stealth killers—one that went up to the north end of Karinja Village, another that went down the main road, still another that went down along the side of the river, and so on. Daniel described what happened next: "Isum was in the public fight, with his bow and arrow ready for a long-range battle, and he was shooting and dodging arrows in the open. He was concentrating on that public fight, looking at our men far away in the open, and he wasn't prepared for our attack from behind and nearby by one of our hidden parties. It was our group that had gone down along the side of the river that got him. Only one arrow hit Isum, but it was a bamboo arrow, flat and sharp as a knife, and it cut his spinal cord. That's even better than killing him, because he's now still alive today, eleven years later, paralyzed in a wheelchair, and maybe he'll live for another ten years. People will see his constant suffering. Isum may be around for a long time, for people to see his suffering, and to be reminded that this happened to him as proper vengeance for his having killed my uncle Soll."
When I asked Daniel how he felt about the battle in which Isum became paralyzed, his reaction was unapologetically positive: a mixture of exhilaration and pleasure in expressing aggression. He used phrases such as "It was very nice," and his gestures projected euphoria and a huge sense of relief. "I felt that it was a matter of 'kill or else die by suicide.' I was prepared to die myself in that fight. I knew that, if I did die then, I would be considered a hero and would be remembered. If I had personally seen the arrow go into Isum, I would have felt emotional relief then. Unfortunately, I wasn't actually there to see it, but, when I heard that Isum had been paralyzed, I thought, I have everything, I feel as if I am developing wings, I feel as if I am about to fly off, and I am very happy. After that battle, just as after each battle in which we succeeded in killing an Ombal, we danced and celebrated and slaughtered pigs. When you fight with thinking and finally succeed, you feel good and relieved. The revenge relieves you; now it can be your turn to help someone else get his own revenge."
The maiming of Isum did not end the affair for Daniel. There was still the matter of compensation to be paid to allies. Traditionally, this was paid in pigs, and today it is paid in pigs plus kina, the national currency of Papua New Guinea. The pigs paid in compensation to allies after the fight must be one's own pigs, and it may take a fight-owner four or five years to raise all the pigs he owes. The pay rate for a kill—payable in Daniel's case to the man who shot the arrow that paralyzed Isum—is eighty pigs plus fifteen thousand kina, around fifty-four hundred dollars. Highland etiquette forbade Daniel to tell me who fired the arrow, but he did say that he was a member of another clan, who lived far away and had a grievance of his own: about twenty-five years previously, some Ombal clansmen had damaged his village and killed his grandfather. When he succeeded in paralyzing Isum, his desire for revenge was satisfied, and the Handa-Ombal war ceased to concern him.
But it continued to concern Daniel, who was now, of course, a target for Ombal revenge. He told me that Ombal men tried for several years to kill him and three other Handa clansmen who had been fight-owners, but they never succeeded. "The four of us were too tough for the Ombal people to kill," he boasted. I asked him whether he had feared for the safety of his wife and young son, who were surely not too tough to kill. Daniel explained that he worried about his son but not his wife. She was not a Handa, and, if the Ombals had made the mistake of killing her, they would have acquired a whole new set of enemies.
Fortunately for Daniel and his son, several years later a shift in clan enmities and alliances, typical of Highland clan politics, ended the whole Handa-Ombal cycle of revenge killing and united both clans against a common enemy. To the west of Daniel's Nipa tribe is the land of the Huli tribe and language group. Even by the aggressive standards of the New Guinea Highlands, the Hulis are notorious. (Once, within a few minutes of my arriving with a colleague at a Huli camp on the extinct volcano Mt. Sisa, to carry out a biological survey, at the invitation of the Hulis themselves, one man grabbed an axe and threatened my colleague. Fortunately, my colleague had once been a London policeman, and so had been trained to respond to armed assailants while he was unarmed; by standing firm, he cowed the man into backing down.) Given the pride that the Nipas take in their aggressiveness, it's no surprise that they eventually came into conflict with their Huli neighbors.
Although the underlying nature of the conflict was traditional, its immediate cause and some of the weapons used were modern. In a Papua New Guinea national election, a parliamentary seat in a district shared by Hulis and Nipas was contested by a Huli candidate and a Nipa candidate who happened to be from the Handa clan. Faced with the Hulis, the Handas and the Ombals buried their differences: the Ombals voted for the Handa candidate and received a big cash payment from the Handas for doing so. But the Huli candidate, as Daniel put it, "won the game," and the Nipas, considering this "a personal problem," responded by blocking highways on which supplies reached the Hulis, stopping vehicles, and killing Huli men they found in the vehicles and raping Huli women. In the fighting that followed, warriors on both sides used not only bows and arrows but also guns, most probably stolen from a government armory. Tension between the Hulis and the Nipas has continued to this day.
Since then, the Handas and the Ombals have maintained their alliance and peace agreement. Daniel, after spending the first twenty-eight years of his life being taught to hate the Ombals, constantly fearing ambushes by them, plotting and paying for ambushes against them, and fighting in wars that killed dozens of Handas and Ombals, now feels safe visiting Ombal villages, sleeping there overnight, and playing in Ombal-vs.-Handa basketball games.
Daniel seems satisfied with these developments. Once he said to me, "I admit that the New Guinea Highland way to solve the problem posed by a killing isn't good. Our way disturbs our day-to-day life; we won't be comfortable for the rest of our lives; we are always in effect living on the battlefield; and those feelings go on and on in us. The Western way, of letting the government settle disputes by means of the legal system, is a better way. But we could never have arrived at it by ourselves: we were trapped in our endless cycles of revenge killings."
Nearly all human societies today have given up the personal pursuit of justice in favor of impersonal systems operated by state governments—at least, on paper. Without state government, war between local groups is chronic; coöperation between local groups on projects bringing benefits to everyone—such as large-scale irrigation systems, free rights of travel, and long-distance trade—becomes much more difficult; and even the frequency of murder within a local group is higher. It's true, of course, that twentieth-century state societies, having developed potent technologies of mass killing, have broken all historical records for violent deaths. But this is because they enjoy the advantage of having by far the largest populations of potential victims in human history; the actual percentage of the population that died violently was on the average higher in traditional pre-state societies than it was even in Poland during the Second World War or Cambodia under Pol Pot.
Daniel seemed to recognize this when he concluded that, despite his former passionate waging of war against Ombals, the Western state system of adjudicating disputes is preferable. Why, then, didn't New Guineans give up a way of life that obviously made their lives miserable? A striking feature of New Guinea's history is that New Guineans traditionally practiced unchecked violence against each other, yet they offered only limited resistance to the imposition of state government and the ending of that violence by European colonial powers. That wasn't just because Europeans had guns and New Guineans didn't; the number of armed Europeans involved in "pacification" was often absurdly few. Daniel's view points to another reason: as more New Guineans were exposed to the benefits of state-administered justice, they saw that they were better off living without the constant fear of being killed, though, of course, no tribe could ever have followed that course of peaceful dispute adjudication unilaterally.
This question of state government's recent origins, and, conversely, of its long failure to originate throughout most of human history, is a fundamental concern for social scientists. Until fifty-five hundred years ago, there were no state governments anywhere in the world. Even as late as 1492, all of North America, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, New Guinea, and the Pacific islands, and most of Central and South America didn't have states and instead operated under simpler forms of societal organization (chiefdoms, tribes, and bands). Today, though, the whole world map is divided into states. Of course, most of that extension of state government has involved existing states from elsewhere imposing their government on stateless societies, as happened in New Guinea. But the first state in world history, at least, must have arisen de novo, and we now know that states arose independently in many parts of the world. How did it happen?
In the eighteenth century, the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued, without any empirical evidence, that state government arose historically through a voluntary social contract: people foresaw the benefits of state government, and they freely agreed with each other to subordinate their own individual rights to those of the state, in order to obtain the hoped-for benefits. Through the writings of Western travellers who have observed states arising de novo in various parts of the world during the past six hundred years, and through the deductions of archeologists, we now have abundant empirical evidence that Rousseau was completely wrong. No people has ever freely organized itself into a state in the absence of external pressure, and people have always been understandably reluctant to cede power over themselves to some other entity.
Instead, anthropologists, historians, and archeologists tell us that state governments have arisen independently under one of two sets of circumstances. Sometimes external pressure from an encroaching state has placed a people under such duress that it ceded individual rights to a government of its own that would be capable of offering effective resistance. For instance, about two centuries ago, the formerly separate Cherokee chiefdoms gradually formed a unified Cherokee government in a desperate attempt to resist pressure from whites. More frequently, chronic competition among warring non-state entities has ended when one gained a military advantage over the others by developing proto-state institutions: one example is the formation of the Zulu state by a particularly talented chief named Dingiswayo, in the early nineteenth century, out of an assortment of chiefdoms fighting each other.
In New Guinea, as in most other parts of the world, neither of those two sets of circumstances operated, and state government was brought in from the outside. But the traditions of Highlands clan warfare are still fresh in the memories of many living New Guineans, and tend to reappear when the current state government cannot muster credible displays of force.
I asked Daniel why, on learning of Soll's death, he hadn't saved himself all the effort and expense, and just asked the police to arrest Isum. "If I had let the police do it, I wouldn't have felt satisfaction," he replied. "I wanted to obtain vengeance myself, even if it were to cost me my own life. I had to ask myself, how could I live through my anger over Soll's death for the rest of my life? The answer was that the best way to deal with my anger was to exact the vengeance myself."
Those words of Daniel's have haunted me ever since, because, through the experiences of a relative who passed up the opportunity for vengeance and lived to regret it, I came to appreciate the terrible personal price that law-abiding citizens pay for leaving vengeance to the state. The relative was my late father-in-law, Jozef Nabel. As a result of being born Jewish in Poland in 1913, he witnessed during the Second World War the worst cruelties that modern state societies have invented. In September, 1939, when Poland was invaded by both Germany and the Soviet Union, Jozef fought on the eastern front, where he was captured by the Soviets and shipped to a concentration camp in Siberia. Nearly two years later, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the Soviets realized their need for more troops, remembered their Slavic brethren languishing in Siberia, and formed them into a Polish division of the Red Army, in which Jozef became an officer and fought his way westward to participate in such events as the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 and the fall of Berlin, in 1945. During the six years since the start of the war, he had received no information about his parents, his elder sister, Ruzha, or his sister's young daughter, Eva. In the summer of 1945, after Germany's surrender, Jozef, while still on active duty in that Polish division of the Red Army, requested and received his commander's permission to take an armed platoon of fellow-soldiers to his village of Klaj, near Kraków, in order finally to be reunited with his family or else to discover their fate.
On reaching Klaj, Jozef quickly learned that, in 1942, his father, trusting in human goodness and proudly insisting that his family did not stoop to hiding, was arrested by the Gestapo and loaded with other captives onto a transport train to a concentration camp, never to be heard of again. Klaj villagers had learned from inhabitants of a village farther along the railroad line that transport trains regularly stopped there, and that older people considered unfit for labor were taken into a nearby field, shot, and buried in mass graves. Because Jozef's father was in his sixties at the time of his arrest, the Klaj villagers assumed that that had been his fate. The villagers spoke openly and without hesitation, because they had not been complicit in the killing and hence had no cause to fear retribution from Jozef and his platoon.
The villagers of Klaj also told Jozef that his mother, his sister, and his niece had managed to go into hiding with the family's Catholic housekeeper in another village, several kilometres distant. Jozef and his platoon marched to that village, but the villagers there were more evasive than those in Klaj, and at first no one would say what had happened. But Jozef and his men had guns, and the villagers didn't, and eventually someone told him the story. It turned out that the three women had succeeded in remaining hidden for about two years, until October, 1944, when an armed gang heard rumors of Jews hidden in the house. Assuming that all Jews had gold and money, the gang went to the house and demanded that the women turn over what they had, but they had nothing. The gang members then shot the three women—whether in the house itself or in nearby woods, Jozef couldn't find out. The villagers took Jozef to a site in the woods and pointed out shallow graves in which lay the remains of three bodies. By this time, a year after the killings, the bodies were unrecognizable, but clothing and hair identified them as the remains of his mother, his sister, and his niece.
Jozef demanded that the villagers bring him the man who had led the gang of killers. Initially, they refused or professed ignorance. At that point, Jozef and his men rounded them all up and he told them, "If you don't bring me the man within one hour, I will shoot every fourth person among you." From the expression on Jozef's face, the villagers saw that he meant it, and they brought him the man. Finally, Jozef stood face to face with the killer of his mother, sister, and niece, his gun loaded.
But he found himself hesitating to shoot. His comrades understood his hesitation, and they told Jozef that he should leave the killer with them and they would shoot him. However, Jozef kept hearing in his mind the words "I've seen enough of people killing, and behaving like animals. I've done enough killing myself. This man behaved like an animal, but I don't want to become an animal myself by shooting him." One of Jozef's closest friends in the platoon suggested that they could count on the new Polish government to administer justice, and that they should turn the man over to the police, so that he could be tried and punished. So it was that Jozef lowered his gun and brought the murderer to the police. He arranged for the remains of his mother, sister, and niece to be reburied in Kraków. The police imprisoned the murderer, investigated—and then, after about a year, released him. He was never punished beyond that relatively brief imprisonment.
Jozef met and married a woman (my future mother-in-law) who was also a concentration-camp survivor, and, in 1948, they moved to Los Angeles, where my wife, Marie, was born. When Marie was growing up, Jozef told her little of his life before 1948 or of his parents, and he became angry when pressed for details. He kept a photograph of his father on his desk, but not until Marie was in her forties, and her father in his eighties, did he even show her a picture of his mother. Only in the last ten years of his life did Jozef gradually begin to reveal more about his childhood and his wartime experiences, and to take out his stored photographs.
One day, he took out a sheaf of photographs and showed Marie a picture of three shallow excavations in a forest: the photo that he had taken of the graves of his mother, sister, and niece. Then, for the first time, he told Marie the story of how he discovered what had happened to them, and of his release of their killer. Once, when he was about ninety years old, he recounted the story to Marie and me together. I recall his talking in an emotionally flat, distant, storytelling way, as if he no longer attached feelings to the story. In fact, his distanced manner must have been a tightly controlled act, a way of preserving his sanity while living with his memories.
On other occasions, he admitted to Marie, "Every day, still, before going to sleep, I think of my mother's death, and of my having let her murderer go." Until his own death, nearly sixty years after the murders of his parents and his release of his mother's killer, Jozef remained tormented by regret and guilt—guilt that he had not been able to protect his parents, and regret that he had failed in his responsibility to take vengeance. That was the responsibility that Daniel had satisfied, and the terrible burden that Daniel had spared himself, by personally orchestrating the shooting of Isum.
We regularly ignore the fact that the thirst for vengeance is among the strongest of human emotions. It ranks with love, anger, grief, and fear, about which we talk incessantly. Modern state societies permit and encourage us to express our love, anger, grief, and fear, but not our thirst for vengeance. We grow up being taught that such feelings are primitive, something to be ashamed of and to transcend.
There is no doubt that state acceptance of every individual's right to exact personal vengeance would make it impossible for us to coexist peacefully as fellow-citizens of the same state. Otherwise, we, too, would be living under the conditions of constant warfare prevailing in non-state societies like those of the New Guinea Highlands. In that sense, Jozef was right to leave punishment of his mother's killer to the Polish state, and it was tragic that the Polish state failed him so shamefully. Yet, even if the killer had been properly punished, Jozef would still have been deprived of the personal satisfaction that Daniel enjoyed.
My conversations with Daniel made me understand what we have given up by leaving justice to the state. In order to induce us to do so, state societies and their associated religions and moral codes teach us that seeking revenge is bad. But, while acting on vengeful feelings clearly needs to be discouraged, acknowledging them should be not merely permitted but encouraged. To a close relative or friend of someone who has been killed or seriously wronged, and to the victims of harm themselves, those feelings are natural and powerful. Many state governments do attempt to grant the relatives of crime victims some personal satisfaction, by allowing them to be present at the trial of the accused, and, in some cases, to address the judge or jury, or even to watch the execution of their loved one's murderer.
Daniel concluded his story in the same happy, satisfied, straightforward tone in which he had recounted the rest of it. "Now, when I visit an Ombal village to play basketball, and Isum comes to watch the game in his wheelchair, I feel sorry for him," he said. "Occasionally, I go over to Isum, shake his hand, and tell him, 'I feel sorry for you.' But people see Isum. They know that he will be suffering all the rest of his life for having killed Soll. People remember that Isum used to be a tall and handsome man, destined to be a future leader. But so was my uncle Soll. By getting Isum paralyzed, I gained appropriate revenge for the killing of my tall and handsome uncle, who had been very good to me, and who would have become a leader." ♦


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SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY COMMISSION Minutes of the regular meeting of Thursday, March 17, 2005. (As approved June 16, 2005) The San Francisco Public Library Commission held a regular meeting on Thursday, March 17, 2005 in the Koret Auditorium, Main Library. The meeting was called to order by President Higueras at 4: 07pm. The following members were present: Bautista, Coulter, Higueras, Gomez, and Strobin. Commissioner Chin joined the meeting at 4:11pm. Vice President Steiman's arrival was expected. President Higueras introduced Commissioner Jewelle Gomez who had been recently appointed to the Public Library Commission by Mayor Newsom who responded with a brief introduce of herself. Agenda Items: 1) Public Comment 2) Approval of the Minutes of February 3, 2005 3) Approval of the Minutes of February 17, 2005 4) Bernal Heights Branch Library Renovation 5) BLIP Manager's Report Adjournment APPENDIX A -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AGENDA ITEM #1 PUBLIC COMMENT An anonymous member of the public began with "stop the ignorance, stop the hate, don't give money to the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, don't accept money from the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library". This person then commented that Commissioner Gomez might not know what she was getting into. This person then discussed Library related implications of Cato the Elder's epigram calling for total war against Carthage; expounded their view of the Library's history of broken promises; and elucidated on the importance of democratic process; and spoke concerning their perspective on the struggle between democracy and aristocracy. Mr. Robert Pender, Park Merced Residents' Association and Lakeside Branch user, noted the importance of public libraries as being central to maintaining freedom, found that schools and libraries worked well together, and urged that the Library Commission allow the State Preschool to remain in the Bernal Heights Branch Library. Mr. Peter Warfield welcomed the new Commissioner and called attention to: a March 4th anti-RFID article he had co-authored in the Berkeley Daily Planet; his remarks in the article disputing Berkeley Public Library claims about RSI-related injuries; his concern that RFID was a privacy threatening, secret technology; and said its use by the Library was opposed by the ACLU and EFF and other groups. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AGENDA ITEM #2 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 3, 2005 Public comment on AGENDA ITEM #2 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 3, 2005 An anonymous member of the public called attention to inaccuracies in the report of the Eureka Valley Branch Library Agenda Item #4, suggesting that some of those offering public comments were not correctly identified or their affiliations not reported. This person questioned attribution of comments to Ms. Thompson thought to have been made by someone else and cited lack of report of specific comments offered by Commissioner Chin. Ms. Edith Wellin requested a correction in the spelling of her name. Mr. Peter Warfield commented on the importance of accurate minutes and called attention to the omission of important anti-RFID comments, citing the lack inclusion of specific mention of the names of the organizations opposed to RFID implementation and the lack of specificity in reporting his Page 7 comments on approval of the Minutes. Mr. Warfield urged that the Minutes be corrected. Commission discussion of AGENDA ITEM #3 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 3, 2005 MOTION: by Commissioner Chin, 2nd Commissioner Bautista for approval of the minutes of the regular Public Library Commission meeting of February 3, 2005. ACTION: 6-0 AYE (Bautista, Chin, Coulter, Higueras, Gomez, and Strobin) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AGENDA ITEM #3 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 17, 2005 Public comment on AGENDA ITEM #3 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 17, 2005 An anonymous member of the public noted that past meeting minutes were now posted on the Library website. This person commented that the Minutes report of their comments on the Commission's handling of the City Librarian appointment were completely inaccurate and not what he had said. This person then commented on what they believed to be misrepresentation in the Minutes report of Mr. Warfield's comments offered in an Agenda Item #2 public comment. Mr. Peter Warfield said that a Page 2 comment attributed to him was not what he had said. Mr. Warfield noted that he had attempted to make the point that he had been unable to obtain documents that he had requested from the Library. Mr. Warfield reported his comments pointed out that the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force had taken action against the Library in support of this request for records. Mr. Warfield also noted that it was significant in his view that the Library had not mentioned RSI related injuries in its recent reports concerning RFID. Ms. Consuelo Faust-Anderson commented that her reported Page 6 public comments on the Bernal Heights Preschool issue had not been intended to suggest that the real class and racial divisions existing in the community were a basis of this issue rather that they were not. Commission discussion of AGENDA ITEM #3 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 17, 2005 MOTION: by Commissioner Coulter, 2nd Commissioner Bautista for approval of the minutes of the regular Public Library Commission meeting of February 17, 2005 ACTION: 6-0 AYE (Bautista, Chin, Coulter, Higueras, Gomez, and Strobin) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AGENDA ITEM #4 BERNAL HEIGHTS BRANCH LIBRARY RENOVATION BLIP Manager Marilyn Thompson presented an update concerning the proposed renovation of the Branch Library presenting an overview of the various proposed floor plans and revisions, and calling attention to a March 7 cost estimates memo and its implication that the planned extension of the building would have to be eliminated. Ms. Thompson then outlined the history of the existing branch facilities, its design by Fred Meyer in 1940, and discussed in detail the needs placed on the spaces in both the upper and lower level of the current building highlighting the State Preschools use of the existing non-code complaint space in the lower level. Ms Thompson discussed the seismic safety issues and ADA and Building Code issues that the renovation would have to correct. The BLIP Manager reported what would be required to make necessary renovations: seismic safety and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) improvements; relocation and improvement to the staff work areas; relocation and expansion of the Children's Library; enhancement of the program/community meeting space; and creation of a dedicated teen area upstairs, as proposed in renovated branch building with the planned addition. Ms. Thompson then discussed designs developed by Asian Neighborhood Design to make the proposed lower level spaces compatible for joint use by the Library and the Preschool. Deputy City Attorney Catherine Barnes next explained the limitations on uses of Prop. A (Branch Library Improvement Bond 2000) funds and noted that the State Preschool would be required to pay a proportionate share of the costs of any renovation of dedicated space in the lower level of the Branch. Ms. Barnes additionally noted that as a result of recently enacted legislation, the Board of Supervisors would have to approve the granting of any below-market lease agreement allowing the Preschool to use space in the Branch Library. Vice President Steiman joined the meeting at 4:46pm. In response to a question by President Higueras, Ms. Thompson noted that the additional cost to accommodate the Preschool ranged from several hundred thousand to one million dollars. Then the proposed Asian Neighborhood Design design concept was discussed. Mr. Stephen Santos Rico, Chair, Child Development & Family Studies at City College of San Francisco, then outlined the efforts of City College to explore all possible options to keep the Preschool open as well as identify additional sources of funding to provide the maximum amount of services. It was noted that an approach had been made to the San Francisco Unified School District concerning possible use of available space in the nearby Paul Revere School. It was reported that while a possibility for relocation of the State Preschool to the school site existed, there was as yet no agreement that it could do so. Mr. Santos Rico concluded by reporting that City College also had to consider the impact of ongoing financial costs related to this program. Ms. Thompson then outlined the challenges imposed when the construction cost estimates for the proposed renovation were received by the Library at the beginning of February. She again reported dramatic construction costs increases and noted that as proposed the project was $1 million over budget. The BLIP Manager observed that there were limited options in this situation and suggested that it would be necessary to eliminate the proposed addition and modify the proposed design to contain project costs. Ms. Thompson noted that the Commission would have to decide, given ADA and Code requirements, as well as library program needs that the entire existing facility would have to be reserved for Library use or that there would have to be significant library services reductions in order to accommodate dedicated space for the Preschool in the facility. Public comment on AGENDA ITEM #4 BERNAL HEIGHTS BRANCH LIBRARY RENOVATION An anonymous member of the public observed that this was a discouraging situation and suggested the Library's adoption, as a result of efforts to obtain Prop. 14 State Library Bond funds, of the goal of cooperation between schools and public libraries with dedicated space for study centers was problematic. This person suggested that the Library had also been $1 million over budget on the new Mission Bay and Glen Park Libraries. President Higueras clarified a point raised by the anonymous member of the public pointing out that Prop. 14 (State Library Construction Bond) called for partnerships to be formed with school districts. Vice President Steiman corrected an erroneous assertion by this member of the public that the proposed new Glen Park Branch Library had been "one million" over budget. Vice President Steiman noted that the $88,000 in increase costs had made possible creation of more than 8,000 sq. ft new Branch Library. Mr. Bill Sorro, a 45 year resident of Bernal Heights, lamented the loss of affordability in the neighborhood leading to the loss of many low income families. Mr. Sorro suggested that the Preschool was entitled to stay in the Branch Library and that the community would not allow another loss of such a community resource. Mr. Sorro found that race and class divisions were at issue in this situation. Ms. Jennifer Norris commented that it was becoming clear that budget limitations and the ADA requirements would lead to loss of public space in the Branch. Ms. Norris urged that access to the playground be retained by the Children's Room. Mr. Robert Pender, Park Merced Residents' Association and regular library user, lauded free public libraries as supported by Carnegie and again noted that schools and libraries worked well together. Mr. Pender urged that the Library Commissioners to allow the State Preschool to return to the Bernal Heights Branch Library after renovation. Mr. Peter Warfield expressed puzzlement at the cost increases report for this Branch in contrast to those for the Eureka Valley Branch. Mr. Warfield noted this was the only preschool located in a branch library and that the Library had in the past provided free space to the Friends of the Library. Mr. Eric Quesada, 15 year Bernal Heights resident, found the staff's presentation among the worse he had ever seen and suggested that it was wrong that an outside organization had to become involved to save the Preschool. Mr. Quesada said that he disagreed with the Deputy City Attorney's views concerning limitations on expenditure of bond funds. Ms. Virginia Khyber regretted that it would be necessary for the Preschool to relocate but noted that the Library needed the space. Ms. Vida Sanford commented that she had voted in support of the Bonds to renovate the Branch Library and was opposed the loss of the Preschool. Ms. Sanford noted that the Preschool's parents were also taxpayers and that the preschool had been a cultural hub for 25 years. Ms. Sanford called attention to the active parent participation in the Preschool and that the voters also approved additional funding to create and maintain preschool services. Ms. Demece Garepis, Bernal Heights Community Center, noted that everyone was working to find a way to preserve the Preschool, agreed with Mr. Quesada's comments about funding, and urged the creation of relationships between San Francisco School District and City College to preserve low income services. Rosaria, a site supervisor at the State Preschool, reported that the Preschool did not currently share use of the community room and noted that they did not have an alternative location to go to. She suggested a need to be creative, pointing out that the Preschool children grew up and would use the Library. She also noted that gentrification was a painful issue in the community. Ms. Elizabeth Correa, a preschool teacher for 25 years, urged that the Commission allow the Preschool to remain in the Branch Library, noting that it was a critically needed resource in the community. Ms. Amy Lee, Parent's Voices, a City College student and Preschool parent requested that the Preschool return to the Branch Library after renovation. Ms. Lee called attention to the a success of this model cooperative program and called attention to the limited options available to parents for convenient safe and inspiring preschool programs. Ms. Lee suggested that allowing the Preschool to return was in fulfillment of the Library's mission. Ms. N'Tanya Lee, Executive Director, Coleman Advocates for Children & Youth, congratulated Commissioner Gomez on her appointment and expressed support for the Preschool remaining in the Branch Library. Ms. Lee commented that there was too narrow a vision and that public resources needed to be dedicated to serve all of the children of the community. Ms. Anna Schell, Parent's Voices, and a HUD Section 8 holder, urged the Commissioners to preserve the Preschool and with it diversity in the Community noting that low income Bernal Heights residents were facing significant losses of services. Ms. Schell urged that funding be found to allow the Preschool to remain at the Branch Library. Ms. Sydney G. Clements, an early childhood specialist and Bernal Heights Branch Library user, noted the importance of bringing both children and parents into the libraries and called attention to the community's ownership of the Library; suggesting that the various agencies involved should collaborate and think creatively to serve the community. Mr. Jose Luis Pavon, a Bernal Heights resident, thanked the parents for supporting the Preschool and speaking for low income residents, communities of color, and taxpayers noted the importance of preserving diversity, and urged the Commissioners that pre-school deserved use of space in the Branch. Ms. Lara Soto, 18 year San Francisco resident, called attention to the lack of affordable preschool services for Latinos and called on the Commissioners to preserve the preschool as an investment in youth. Ms. Soto noted that preschool children were kept away from crime and violence and provided the opportunity for further education. Ms. Miriam Mueller, a Library volunteer, suggested that should City College be able to raise $1 million, a renovation package could be put together that would resolve the issue. She noted that any loss of library space, especially Children's space must be avoided, so this problem had to be solved. Mr. Jesse Powell, 57 year San Francisco resident, commented that the children should not have to suffer and that the funds must be found to keep the Preschool at the Branch Library. He urged the Commissioners to think creatively and find a solution. Ms. Linda Mickelson, a CCSF Preschool Director, noted her familiarity with the difficult issues involved pointing out that family involvement in the Preschool was essential as was the case with the State preschool which served both parents and children. Ms. Mickelson called on the Commissioners to value education and family involvement and recognize the critical importance of the teacher training provided by the State Preschool. She found disturbing that essential community services were pitted against one another. Mr. David Turner, a 30 year resident of Bernal Heights, urged the Commissioners to preserve use of the Branch Library as a library noting that everyone in the community was supportive of the Preschool, suggesting for example the Bernal Heights Community Center or the Paul Revere School. Ms. Consuelo Faust-Anderson, an 18 year Bernal Heights' resident, commented that if the preschool would have to leave the neighborhood she would support its remaining in the Library, but as a mother of teenage library users, she also supported expanding the Library. Ms Faust-Anderson urged that that the community come together to find a solution. She also suggested that a community forum on issues related to gentrification would be beneficial noting that the Library was not the enemy. Mr. Steve Shapiro, Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, supported keeping the Preschool at the Branch Library suggesting that the issues involved were being framed too narrowly and that the Library should try something unique that could serve as a model. Mr. Shapiro suggested that the community was under attack and needed to rally to preserve its vital resources. Mr. Terry Milne commented that should the Preschool remain at the Branch it would result in a renovated Branch Library actually smaller than before. Noting that the Preschool would have to relocate in 2006 in any event, he wondered why the emphasis was on the 2008 reopening of the Library with little discussion of the actual certain move out in 2006. Mr. Milne called attention to the importance of the community room. Ms. Viola Morris, Executive Director of the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, commented that the proposed Asian Neighborhood Design proposal was the best option and urged continued discussion to find ways to make it possible. Ms. Muriel Meunier-Fiebelkorn, Director of the City College State Preschool at the Bernal Heights Branch Library noted that they had considered the Neighborhood Center as a possible relocation option but found that it was not usable. Ms. Laverne Fisher commented that if the Preschool remained there would be less library services and therefore she opposed permanent use of library space by the preschool. Keeping the preschool would be a costly symbolic gesture, especially as the need for neighborhood libraries had increased by the closure of many school libraries. Ms. Fisher suggested the Preschool find another permanent home. Ms. Blesilda Almacon, Parent's Voices, urged the Commissioners to save the Bernal Heights State Preschool. Ms. Maria Luz Torre, Parent's Voices, requested that the Preschool remain located in the Branch Library and expressed dismay that the choices were being narrowed to exclude the preschool. She observed that there were no available location options and that the Revere School was only a possibility. She suggested that the choice made should reflect the greater public need. Mr. Oscar Grande, an Excelsior/Mission neighborhood activist, supported keeping the State Preschool at the Bernal Heights Branch Library. He noted that the parents and children were speaking from their hearts and expressing a sincere desire to stay. He suggest as public servants the Commissioners should listen and find that the best use for the Library was to serve the low income children already facing many barriers. Mr. Mauricio Vela, a 16 year Bernal Heights resident, thanked all of those who supported saving the Preschool. He urged the Commissioners to reflect on the choice for a shared use and noted that the Community had not had a chance to consider the other options. Mr. Vela suggested that the choices were not as narrow as presented. Mr. Vela expressed support for expanding the Branch Library and keeping the Preschool. Ms. Rosanne Liggett, Bernal Heights' representative on the Council of Neighborhood Libraries and volunteer at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center supported the proposed plan for renovation of the Bernal Heights Branch Library and suggested that as it was very important that the community find a new home for the Preschool. Ms. Liggett noted that the Library was not responsible for the Preschool's problems and that they should find a new permanent home. Ms. Viola Morris, Executive Director of the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, called for everyone concerned to work together to find a way so that the Branch Library and the State Preschool could continue to co-exist and serve the Community. Commission discussion of AGENDA ITEM #4 BERNAL HEIGHTS BRANCH LIBRARY RENOVATION President Higueras noted that everyone was aware of the importance of services provided to low income minority families and the Bernal Heights Community by the State Preschool. President Higueras also acknowledged that low-income and minority families were facing many challenges as the neighborhood changed. President Higueras noted that the Public Library and City College had differing roles, responsibilities and that while in a perfect world shared use could be of value, at the end of the day the Commissioners had the responsibility to secure the best possible library services within their financial limitations. President Higueras suggested that City College now had opportunity to step forward and include support for the Preschool in a planned construction bond issue. The Library Commission President noted the City College would have to take action by July 2005 in order to include funding to sustain its Preschool Program in the proposed bond issue. President Higueras noted that there was no lack of appreciation for the contributions of the Preschool and urged that the Community take their concerns to the City College trustees. The Library Commission President called attention to the fact that it was the Commissioners duty to provide the best possible Library for Bernal Heights and that it might be possible for a win-win if City College would step up to its responsibilities for its Preschool program and thereby allow for shared use within a larger structure. President Higueras pointed to use of the Paul Revere School as a potential option and urged that the School District be actively involved in helping to find as solution. The Commission President pointed out that both an interim and funding for a permanent solution for the Preschool had to be done. President Higueras suggested that others must join in finding an answer and noted that this was likely the Library's only opportunity for a long time to improve the Bernal Heights Branch Library. Commissioner Helen Marte Bautista noted that the Library serves the entire community and called attention to the need for increased library services for teens and children. Commissioner Bautista noted that the Library could consider a shared arrangement similar to other joint uses but only in circumstances where both partners had the means to fulfill their commitments. Commissioner Bautista urged that a dialogue begin to identify ways to configure space in the Branch to address its serious seismic safety and ADA accessibility issues as well as library best uses. Commissioner Bautista found that there was hope that City College could identify funding in their proposed bond issue but emphasized that the Library's Bond funds could not be used for this purpose. Commissioner Bautista pointed out that the Community needed both a good branch library and the Preschool. Commissioner Steven Coulter noted that everyone supported the Preschool but that the Library had responsibility to serve the entire community. Commissioner Coulter called attention to the fact that the Preschool had enjoyed 25 years of rent free use of space and that there were reasonable options, such as the Paul Revere School, for them to relocate and remain in the neighborhood. Commissioner Coulter pointed out that the San Francisco Unified School District wanted to have a preschool at its Revere site and that City College was going forward with its own bond proposals that could also provide solutions. Commissioner Coulter affirmed that the Library was interested in potential for shared use but felt that the proposal by Asian Neighborhood Design did not provide for real shared use when Library and Preschool hours coincided. Commissioner Coulter expressed concern with the possible loss of the community meeting space and noted that the Commissioners had to make a decision consistent with its policy against reducing library services. Commissioner Coulter observed that the Library remained open to true shared use but that it was time for the San Francisco Unified School District and City College to be approached to become involved in solving this situation. The Acting City Librarian and the BLIP Manager noted that efforts were still under consideration to preserve the community meeting space within the revised design. Commissioner Lonnie Chin said that the Commissioners needed to decide this question and recalled the lesson learned in her 35 years of experience as an educator serving largely low income and minority communities. Commissioner Chin pointed out that the Library had an important role to play but that the primary responsibility for education rests with the schools. Commissioner Chin remarked that it was the norm that there be seamless education for both children and their parents and that in her experience shared spaces did not result in a quality program. Commissioner Chin found the Preschool's proposals not well thought out and called attention to that fact that declining enrollments resulted space being available in many underused school buildings. Commissioner Chin noted that the Paul Revere School was slated to become a "Dream School" and that many critically important additional staffing and funding resources were going to be provided there. Commissioner Chin noted that the Commissioner should do what is best for the children, observing that our libraries were small and very heavily used. Commissioner Chin point out that the Bernal Heights Branch was small and that all of its space was needed for a library for all. Commissioner Chin suggested that it was only practical to look to the schools to Recreation and Park Department to find available space that best served the kids. Commissioner Jewelle Gomez expressed concern that City College appeared to be less than responsive to the needs of its own program. Commissioner Gomez agreed that the Preschool needed to remain in the neighborhood and expressed concern that City College did not appear to be actively involved in finding a solution. Commissioner Gomez noted that she was moved by the sincerity of the community speakers and urged them to express their concerns to the City College Trustees and urge them to assume their responsibilities. Commissioner Gomez noted that there were many valid points raised on all aspects of this matter, but noted that staff working conditions was a critically important issue that had not appropriately been considered. Commissioner Gomez called on City College Administration to come forward with its response to this problem. President Higueras reiterated that it was necessary that proposed responses to this problem go forward together; that City College take the issues seriously; and that community advocates let the College Trustees and the School Board members know the importance of this Preschool Program. President Higueras said that the Library Commissioners were duty bound to provide Bernal Heights with the best library possible and affirmed that the Commissioners were committed to explore all possible options. However, President Higueras point out that City College had the responsibility to find the funds needed to preserve their own program. President Higueras observed that should funding for the Preschool become available, then the Commissioners could consider options, but it was their first duty to do justice to the needs of the Library system. Commissioner Chin pointed out that inclusion of preschool was become the norm nationwide for local education systems and that the Federal Government had been funding such efforts since 1965. She noted that a preschool in every school has been the wave of the future and was appropriate as most schools, even small ones, had sufficient space available. Commissioner Chin remarked at a key element was teacher training and more parent involvement. Commissioner Bautista emphasized that it was important that the Commissioner provide Bernal Heights with the same level of Children's services provided in other similar sized branch libraries and that doing so would benefit all of the community's children. Commissioners requested that Ms. Muriel Meunier-Fiebelkorn, Director of the City College State Preschool at the Bernal Heights Branch Library come forward so that they could request that she convey their concerns to the City College program administrators. Ms. Meunier-Fiebelkorn reported that she had been diligently searching for alternative locations for the Preschool without success since the beginning of last Summer. Commissioner Coulter recommended that as part of the Commission action on this item that formal letters be sent to both the Chancellor and Board of Trustees of City College and the Superintendent and Board of Education of the San Francisco Unified School District requesting their involvement in efforts to preserve the Preschool in Bernal Heights. In response to a question by Mr. Vela, the Acting City Librarian suggested that the Commission's proposed action was similar to that taken in response to proposals for shared space at the Eureka Valley-Harvey Milk Memorial Branch; going forward with the renovation as planned but leaving open a possibility for other options should sufficient funding be found to make them feasible. MOTION: by Commissioner Coulter, 2nd Commissioner Gomez directing staff to: 1) proceed with planning for the space (at the Bernal Heights Branch Library) for Library use; 2) continue to explore with the Bernal Preschool possibilities for a shared use; and, 3) the Commission will send letters to the chief executives of City College of San Francisco and the San Francisco Unified School District explaining the Library Commission's decision and urging them to continue a search for another location, particularly at the Paul Revere Elementary School. ACTION: 6-1 adopted 6 AYES (Bautista, Chin, Coulter, Higueras, Gomez, and Steiman) 1 NO (Strobin) President Higueras called a recess at 6:44pm The Library Commission returned to session at 6:55pm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLIP MANAGER'S REPORT BLIP Manager Marilyn Thompson presented her regular tripartite report on the Branch Library Improvement Program's Budget, Schedule, and ongoing and planned construction activities (copy attached). The BLIP Manager noted in her budget report that the Library proposed to go forward with its 3rd sale of Prop. (2000) Bonds in conjunction with the City's proposed sale of Academy of Sciences and Zoo Bonds. Ms. Thompson noted that there would be no special or informational reports presented at this meeting. Public comment on the BLIP MANAGER'S REPORT An anonymous member of the public called the Commissioners' attention to the Board of Supervisors February 23rd action making the Richmond Branch Library a City landmark. This individual noted that the landmarking legislation emphasized the 9th Avenue side of the building rather than its 10th Avenue side. Commission discussion of BLIP MANAGER'S REPORT President Higueras expressed concern with the choice to paint the exterior of the renovated Excelsior Branch white, making it an inviting target for graffiti, and strongly recommended a darker color be chosen. The Commission President suggested that he would welcome a request for "change order" if necessary to paint the building a color more resistant to tagging. In response to President Higueras' question about project signage, it was reported that the artwork had been sent to the contractor and that appropriate signage was in production. Commissioner Bautista reported that tagging at Excelsior Branch she had seen in the Morning had been cleaned up before the end of the same day. Ms. Thompson reported graffiti removal was the responsibility of the contractor during construction. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AGENDA ITEM # ADJOURNMENT President Higueras proposed that the Commission adjourn in honor of the observance of St. Patrick's Day. MOTION: by Commissioner Coulter, 2nd Commissioner Chin to adjourn the regular March 17, 2005 Public Library Commission meeting in honor of St. Patrick's Day, Ireland, and the contributions of Irish Americans to San Francisco and the late San Francisco Poet Philip Lamantia. Public comment on AGENDA ITEM # ADJOURNMENT An anonymous member of the public called attention to the recent death of internationally renowned Excelsior Distinct of San Francisco born Surrealist Poet Philip Lamantia whose passing had been recognized by the Board of Supervisors. Mr. Peter Warfield agreed with the proposal to recognize St. Patrick's Day noting that while not wearing anything green he was carrying a green file folder. ACTION: AYE 7-0 (Bautista, Chin, Coulter, Gomez, Higueras, Steiman, and Strobin) The Commission meeting adjourned at 7:17pm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Housh, Commission Secretary 3/25/05 Please note: Copies of Commission Minutes and handouts are available in the Office of the Commission Secretary, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Bernal Heights Branch Library Floor plan (February 17, 2005)
Bernal Heights Branch Library Floor plan (October 6, 2004)
Asian Neighborhood Design Options for the Bernal Heights State Preschool memo March 7, 2005
BLIP Summary Schedule, Budget, and Construction Reports
Library Commission meeting of March 17, 2005
Appendix A
The Public Comment Summary Statements included in these Minutes are authorized by San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.16.
These summary statements are provided by the speaker. Their contents are neither generated by, nor subject to approval or verification of accuracy by, the San Francisco Public Library Commission.
Explanatory documents: Copies of listed explanatory documents are available as follows: (1) from the Commission Secretary/Custodian of Records, Main Library, 6th Floor, (2) in the rear of the Koret Auditorium immediately before and during the meeting, and (3) to the extent possible, on the Library's Web site .
Additional materials not listed as explanatory documents, if any, that are distributed to the Library Commissioners prior to or during the meeting in connection with any agenda item will be available to the public for inspection and copying in accordance with Government Code Section 54954.1 and Sunshine Ordinance §§ 67.9, 67.28(b) & 67.28(d).

subset: commoncrawl


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Allora USA - KSN-2718-16 Combo - 27" x 18" x 9" Undermount Single Large Bowl 16 gauge Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink and Accessories
Where do the products ship from?
Our products ship from our headquarters in Virginia.
Are the products you sell remanufactured?
Everything we sell is new, first quality purchased direct from the manufacture. We do not sell any used or factory seconds.
Why are your prices so low?
We skip all the middlemen, which lowers the prices. We purchase direct from the manufactures.
What is your return policy?
You may return any of our products providing they meet the following conditions:


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September 12, 2013
Last chance to register for Day of Service
Registration for the Columbus State Day of Service in recognition of the college's 50th anniversary will end tomorrow, September 13 at the end of the day. Day of Service is Thursday, September 26, when the Columbus State community will get together to perform volunteer service activities across central Ohio and also in Delaware County. Register here.
A number of opportunities are still available, especially for department groups who wish to volunteer together as a team. There are several locations that require 7-10 people to come as a group to complete the activity, such as Habitat for Humanity, which offers the opportunity to work on a building site reserved exclusively for Columbus State on our Day of Service. If your group or department has a special request to work together but needs additional information or assistance signing up, please contact Barb Smith-Allen immediately.
Individuals can also still register for volunteer opportunities as well by checking the registration page for an organization or project that appeals to you!
On September 26, we will meet on campus for a pep rally prior to heading out to job sites. Remember, if you picked up an anniversary t-shirt for the big group photo August 30, you should bring that with you for Day of Service, as we will be wearing the same shirts. You can get your 50th anniversary photo poster when you arrive as well. Lunches, information packets and supplies will be available at the registration tables.
Still have questions about Day of Service? Go online here to find a list of volunteer descriptions, the registration page, and a list of Frequently Asked Questions.
Student photo bloggers want to visit you!
In conjunction with our 50th anniversary celebration, several Columbus State student photographers are capturing the images of "A Year in the Life of Columbus State." These talented student photographers have been all over campus at special events, sporting events, and in classrooms and labs, photographing the people and moments that make our college special.
The images are used in a Photo of the Week on the web, and can also be seen on the photo blog on the 50th anniversary site. At the close of our anniversary year, the best of the best will be published in a book or calendar.
Do you have a classroom or laboratory setting that you can offer as a photo assignment for our photographers? Let us hear about it at email@example.com and we will work to have the photo bloggers visit your class! We want to capture student participation, interesting laboratory experiences, active classrooms, and especially the great teaching that happens every day at Columbus State!
Cheerleading tryouts by student photographer LaRae Scheurell.
Holiday week approaching
As in 2012, the Columbus State Board of Trustees has authorized the use of Personal Business Leave (PBL) in 2013 to allow full-time employees to use these days as holiday leave days on any or all of the following days: December 26, 27, 30 and 31, 2013. (Columbus State is closed on December 25 and January 1, 2014.)
During this period in 2013, to minimize expenses, the College will not offer student services in person or by phone during the designated holiday week. Students will be able to register and pay fees online through CougarWeb as well as access other web-based resources during this period. Implementation plans are underway and additional information will be forthcoming.
Fire alarms to be tested Sunday
Columbus State's fire alarm contractor will test fire alarm horns and strobes on campus Sunday, September 15, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The alarms will sound for only a matter of minutes and announcements will be made on the public address system to advise the occupants prior to, and following each test.
IT announces dedicated Classroom Technology Help line
The Information Technology Support Center (ITSC) and Telecommunications are pleased to announce a new dedicated Classroom Technology Help Line. The number is (614)287-HELP (4357) or simply ext. 4357.
This new number can be used by instructors or facilitators who need support for urgent technical issues occurring while a class or meeting is in progress. The goal is to reduce the loss of technology-dependent instruction.
This line is designed for immediate response needs only. Response times are resource dependent; calls to this number for non-urgent support will reduce our resource availability for urgent calls.
All other issues should still be reported by calling the ITSC at ext. 5050, by submitting a Help Request, or by using the "GO" button at http://www.cscc.edu/services/itsc/.
The Classroom Technology Help Line will be staffed from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Ext. 5050 is still the primary call number for IT Support. The 287-HELP line is another option when you have an urgent need for support in an active classroom!
High School Visit Day is October 18
Did you know that more central Ohio high school grads start college at Columbus State than anywhere else?
Local high school students can find out why at Columbus State's Visit Day for High School Seniors, Friday, October 18, on the Columbus Campus, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Prospects will be able to explore degree programs, meet faculty, staff and students, tour the campus, find out about financial aid options and scholarship opportunities, and discover why so many of our students graduate with no college debt!
Please continue to refer prospective students and new applicants to this event:
High School Senior Visit Day. You can also download the PDF schedule from this link, print it and distribute it at schools or when meeting with prospective students.
BLUEprint workshops increase opportunities for student success
Beginning this semester, students can earn a new type of recognition by attending an Advising Services BLUEprint Success Workshop. Not only will they get extra help on success topics, but now they will also earn a non-credit notation on their student record in Colleague after completing a workshop. In addition, students who would like their own documentation after completing a workshop can request a Certificate of Completion by emailing their name, their Cougar ID#, and workshop information to email@example.com.
Many competitive programs at four-year colleges, as well as graduate programs, require students to be involved during their studies. These certificates will be a great way for students to keep track of their academic and extracurricular involvement while at Columbus State.
Please spread the word to students and encourage them to attend at least one new workshop each semester. Workshops cover a variety of topics such as Library services, money and time management, transfer planning, student services, and more.
For information about upcoming workshops, visit: http://www.cscc.edu/services/advising/blueprint.shtml or view the BLUEprint offerings on the Autumn Class Schedule under "Non-Credit Offerings."
BLUEprint expands to help busy students
BLUEprint has expanded services to meet the needs of our busy students who cannot attend a full workshop due to their school, work, and family schedules. This month, BLUEprint Success Series is piloting the "Table-Top Info-Stop." These information tables are designed for students who are unaware of BLUEprint and what it has to offer, students who cannot attend a full workshop, or students who want a little more information about a certain success topic.
At the Table-Top Info-Stop, BLUEprint workshop presenters will be on hand to share their expertise on the topic for the week. Students can learn how to manage their time and balance their workload, learn about the importance of DARS and how to run their Degree Audit, and learn about how Advising Services can assist them outside of Aquinas Hall 116.
The information table for September is located under the covered walkway outside of Aquinas Hall from 10:00 a.m. to noon, every Friday this month.
Please refer your students to stop by to pick up some helpful handouts or to chat with an expert about ways to succeed in college. See the schedule below for the remaining Table-Top Info-Stop dates: Friday, September 13 – "Time" Manage Your Semester; Friday, September 20 – DARS: The Tool for Mapping Your Path to Graduation; and Friday, September 27 – Advising Outside of the Box.
Security Tip of the Day: Be skeptical when you read your email
When you read your emails, keep asking yourself "Why should I believe that?" It is important to remember that you can't trust the "from" address on email from outside the organization. If you didn't expect a message, link, or attachment from someone, ask yourself why you should trust that it really came from the apparent sender, and whether it's safe. When in doubt, it's a good idea to call and verify that they sent you the message.
Also, if it's too good to be true, it probably is! An example is receiving notification via email that you won an overseas lottery. Never respond with the information they are asking of you so they can "release your winnings."
As a reminder, Columbus State will never call or email you asking for your login name, password, or Social Security Number. If you receive a phone call or email asking for this information, do not provide it and immediately call the Help Desk at ext. 5050.
If you have any IT security questions, call Rob Clifford at ext. 3686.


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HOUSTON — With David Beckham and Brad Davis on the same field, Saturday's MLS Cup final (4:30 pm ET; ESPN, TeleFutura in the US; TSN and RDS in Canada) is sure to offer some dangerous dead-ball deliveries. And aerial targets on both teams will need to be alert and mobile not only in the attacking penalty area, but in their own as well.
In this postseason, both teams have reached the final with only limited set-piece production, as Will Bruin's header against the Chicago Fire was the only headed goal from a restart notched by either team. But as Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall can attest, both Beckham and Davis will be major threats on Saturday afternoon.
"I had an opportunity to take shots from both Brad and Beckham, side by side in All-Star Game training, where they were going back and forth," Hall said, laughing at the memory. "They were just enjoying the fact that they were so good at it, and I was trying to hold on."
The teams' lone regular-season meeting was decided by dead-ball delivery, with Andre Hainault heading in a Davis corner kick to give Houston a 2-1 win back on May 26. But the Galaxy's key man in defending set-piece delivery, 6-foot-5 center back Omar Gonzalez, has returned since then, and the Dynamo know they will have to be aware of him at both ends.
The Scouting Report: MLS Cup
"We may do what we can to maybe drag him out of those spaces or disrupt him in those areas," midfielder Ricardo Clark said. "Mostly we'll just try to keep doing what we've been doing on set pieces."
Change in schedule, mentality
While the Dynamo have stayed true to their training routines in the build-up to the MLS Cup, their schedule is noticeably different than last year.
Houston are arriving in Los Angeles one day later this time, allowing time for only one training session in Southern California before the game. Head coach Dominic Kinnear said he consulted with players before making the decision, and defender Bobby Boswell said the decision indicates a changed Houston attitude toward the final.
"I think last year, with the game on Sunday and the build-up to it all, it was kind of cool, going there," Boswell said. "This year, it's more of a business mentality. We're going there to do a job and we're going to treat this like all the other games this year. Let's go in the day before, get a training session in, and then play the game, so it's definitely different than last year."
Return to health
Two weeks off have done wonders for the Dynamo. Coming out of the Eastern Conference Championships the club was banged up with questions surrounding Clark and forward Calen Carr, who were listed as probable on Tuesday's injury report. After a week of training the pair is fit both mentally and physically.
"To be here on Sunday and be integrated that early in the week and have a full, normal week of training is going to serve really well," said Carr, who credited the training staff for working with him through the Thanksgiving holiday. "I should be available no problems for Saturday."


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World champions Viktoria Komova and Aliya Mustafina grabbed the final two gold medals for women as the Russian Cup ended Sunday in Penza.
After finishing 1-2 in Friday's all-around final, Komova and Mustafina each picked up another gold and silver medal. Komova topped Mustafina for the balance beam title, 15.325-15.000, while Mustafina prevailed over her younger teammate on floor exercise, 14.750-14.300.
Mustafina, who won uneven bars Saturday, leaves Penza with three gold medals apiece. Both were members of the victorious Moscow team that took first on Wednesday. and Komova each
The Russian Cup is the final competitive chance for the gymnasts to prove themselves to Russia's coaching staff. Komova and Mustafina are locks for the squad, as is Anastasia Grishina, who competed uneven bars only and won the silver on that event.
European champion Anna Dementyeva picked up the bronze on balance beam with a solid 14.950, keeping her in the mix at least as an alternate to the squad. Former junior standout Anastasia Sidorova took third on floor exercise, but failed in Penza to reverse her reputation for inconsistency, falling multiple times throughout the competition.
David Belyavsky took another title on parallel bars to go with his all-around and pommel horse gold medals. Penza's own Denis Ablyazin vaulted to first.
Ablyazin, Alexander Balandin and Emin Garibov have already secured spots on Russia's Olympic team based on their medal-winning performances at last month's European championships. However, Konstantin Pluzhnikov made a case for a second Olympic appearance, winning the gold medal on still rings ahead of Ablyazin and Balandin.
External Link: Russian Gymnastics Federation
2012 Russian Cup
International Gymnast Magazine Related Features:
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