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When I was in the market for buying my first hammock years ago this was one that I almost bought until I ran across the HH. I have always wants to try this one though. Does anyone have an inputs on this one.
When I was in the market for buying my first hammock years ago this was one that I almost bought until I ran across the HH. I have always wants to try this one though. Does anyone have an inputs on this one.
I have been interested in CJH for a while, but you don't really hear that much about them in the hammocking community.
I am really interested in the North American model which claims to be the "first four-season hammock". If you look at the pictures you can see that they are only using a sleeping bag for a pad. I wonder how well they function in the cold.
The also rate the North American with a 900 lb. maximum load. The Ultra light model is rated at 600 lbs.. It may be just me but these stats seem to be,well, maybe a little exaggerated. A HH max load is 200-300 lbs, depending on model.
My daughter has one and I've slept in it a couple of times. I'm a newbie so keep that in mind. I'm one to buy high quality outdoor equipment and I can say it seemed like a very high quality hammock. There are a couple of different and interesting features which I feel sets it somewhat apart. The bug netting is suspended from above and unzipps on both sides all the way to the top suspension line. In hot weather you can roll it up and tie it to the line. It also has a seperate solid piece of cloth that zipps right over the bug netting and is waterproof. (pretty sure the zippers aren't) I would imagine that would also serve to hold in quite a bit of heat and eliminate drafts. The other nice thing is that it has several quite large pockets on the underside which can be used for storage and/or insulation. In a pinch I could imagine stuffing leaves in there for additional insulation. It also has interior pockets and hanging loops. I had a problem with the netting being too close to my face. I did see an easy fix in the Whiteblaze Picture Gallery. It was a piece of a coat hanger cut so that it could hook into the zippers and act as a spreader bar....simple and effective. It's also on the pricey side. In short...a really high quality piece of equipment with some nice features. One last note...I slept like a baby in the Clark...it's what got me out of a tent and into a hammock. Having said that...I bought two Tom Claytor Jungle Hammocks which has everything I THINK I want/need at a very nice price.
I started using my Clark Tropical in the summer of '05. I posted this reply over in Whiteblaze.net
Satisfied with Clark Tropical
I backpack in Vermont in the summer and this past winter chose a Clark "Tropical" after looking at both Clark and Hennessey. Have been very happy this summer using it during both rainy and dry conditions, and both warm and cool (low fifties). I liked the four pockets underneath the Clark, the neat "pistol pockets" inside the hammock for glasses and headlamp, being able to sit in it from either side, the no-seeum bug net, the optional Weathershield for warmth and a wind break (can zip on either or both sides while in the hammock), the weight (3 lbs. 2 oz. w/Weathershield), the simplicity of setup (2 ropes plus 2 strings to hold up the bug net plus optionally 4 more strings to guy out the rain fly to either vegetation or hiking poles. Plus it all folds nicely into a little bag attached inside one of the pockets - the bag closes with a velcro strap and has a handle strap - goes right into my pack above my sleeping bag. You do need a sleep mat for insulation. And I can sleep on my back or on my side (not on my stomach comfortably) and it has never come close to tipping.
For me the main tie-breakers were the side entry and the pockets.
I have now used the Clark a total of 16 nights on the trail and am more satisfied than ever. BTW, my wife bought a Hennessey this past summer, choosing it over the Clark because of its lighter weight and wider berth. I suggest you try them both if you can.
Now I remember why I did not get one. It was the weight and the ammount of tye-outs. I have always wanted to try one though. I wish there was someone close to me that had one. I would really like to try one.
For me the Clark is an example of the design ethos of adding things to a basic concept until it works. NASA uses the same ethos, which is probably why their stuff is so heavy and expensive, and keeps blowing up. They seem to be masters of finding billion dollar solutions to million dollar problems.
I prefer Antoine de Saint-Exupery's mantra, ie that "An object reaches a state of perfection, not when everything that can be added has been added, but when everything that can be taken away has been taken away."
The Hennessy's come close, but end up losing their versatility in the process.
Last edited by Aramis; 10-24-2006 at 19:23.
I have an HH ultralight and a Clark. About this time of year I retire the HH and use the Clark hammock. With the weather shield up, pockets stuffed with extra clothes, sleeping in a Marmot Helium 15 degree bag and using a Z-rest I can hang comfortably in the low 20's. That's as cold as I've had it.
The Clark is a bit heavier than the HH, but far less fuss-factor for winter use. With the side entry there are no gymnastics required to get into the bag and the Z-rest stays where you put it as well.
I'm a big Clark fan. I've never slept in a HH but have napped in one.
I've had three different models - the Tropical is my newest.
All clarks are best for winter hammocking - the mat/insulator stays put and is the simplest/lightest solution to stay warm. I too have tested mine down to 20* - with a 15* Mountain Hedrware (synth) bag.
I think the tie downs are easier to manage than the HH.
I can't sleep on the ground anymore...
Email me if you need to know more
Troll-You really need to try one. Especially where you live. This will be your 3 season hammock. No need to for all the extra stuff to add underneath like on your HH. Just a closed cell pad which I carry folded up in the pocket of my backpack that usually has the backpad. MY ULA had a stiff board that I switched out with a closed cell pad that came with another pad or you can buy your own. But, when it's cold and wind is blowing there's nothing warmer than a Clark when you have the pad in the bottom and it's zipped up tight so that no wind can enter and it keeps your heat in.
Also, I keep my down sleeping bag in the hammock and stuff the whole thing in my backpack. The hammock is pretty much water proof so that protects my bag and everything is ready to go when it comes time to set up camp.
Contact Clark Jungle Hammock and they will be glad to send you one, if you don't like it just send it back. My feelings are that you'll keep it.
You would want the North American model that has the weather shield. I also see that it has two extra pockets now inside the hammock that mine didn't come with. I added a line across the inside of mine which I attched a mesh pocket to store little stuff so that I don't have to unzip anything to get to things that i might need. Also, having your shoes and everything else in the pockets underneath you makes it nice in the morning when your getting out of it.
Last edited by Hokey Pokey; 02-12-2007 at 18:58.


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"Eee, that man's daughter was built; we can't refuse to acknowledge what our eyes are showing us tho! Owiny has brought us such a beautiful girl; a girl who shines like the sun's eye; who
is as pretty as a copper ornament" ~ Grace Ogot, The Strange Bride (1989)
"When you are frightened, don't sit still, keep on doing something. The act of doing will give you back your courage."~ Grace Ogot
Grace Emily Akinyi Ogot (born May 15, 1930) is a celebrated Kenyan writer of ethnic Luo origin credited for being the first African woman writer in English to be published with two short stories in 1962 and 1964. Ogot was not only an author and the first woman to have fiction published by the East African Publishing House, but an accomplished midwife, tutor, journalist and a BBC Overseas Service broadcaster. Grace Ogot was a founding member of the Writers' Association of Kenya.
As a woman known widely for her anthologized short stories and novels, Ogot`s first novel The Promised Land (1966) was published in the same year as Flora Nwapa's Efuru and deals with the subject of migration. Her stories—which appeared in European and African journals such as Black Orpheus and Transition and in collections such as Land Without Thunder (1968), The Other Woman (1976), and The Island of Tears (1980)—give an inside view of traditional Luo life and society and the conflict of traditional with colonial and modern cultures. Her novel The Promised Land (1966) tells of Luo pioneers in Tanzania and western Kenya.
Grace Emily Akinyi Ogot earned a distinctive position in Kenya's literary and political history. The best known writer in East Africa, and with a varied career background, she became in 1984 one of only a handful of women to serve as a member of Parliament and the only woman assistant minister in the cabinet of President Daniel Arap Moi.
Ogot has also published three volumes of short stories, as well as a number of works in Dholuo. Her attitude towards language is similar to that of her fellow Kenyan, Ngugi wa Thiong'o's, but until recently her writing has not received the critical appraisal bestowed on Ngugi's writings. Her writing style is splendid in its evocation of vivid imagery; she captures the formalities of traditional African interpersonal exchanges, governed by protocol and symbolism. Indeed, Grace Ogot can undoubtedly be said to be one of Africa's finest writers.
Ogot also worked as a scriptwriter and an announcer for the British Broadcasting Corporation's East African Service, as a headmistress, as a community development officer in Kisumu, and as an Air India public relations officer. She appeared on Voice of Kenya radio and television and as a columnist in View Point in the East African Standard. In 1959 Grace Akinyi married the historian Bethwell Ogot of Kenya.
Ogot was born Grace Emily Akinyi to a Christian family on 15 May 1930 in Asembo, in the district of Nyanza, Kenya – a village highly populated by the predominately Christian Luo ethnic group. Her father, Joseph Nyanduga, was one of the first men in the village of Asembo to obtain a Western education. He converted early on to the Anglican Church, and taught at the Church Missionary Society's Ng'iya Girls' School. From her father, Ogot learned the stories of the Old Testament and it was from her grandmother that Ogot learned the traditional folk tales of the area from which she would later draw inspiration.
Emerging from the promised land in the anthills of the Savannah, Ogot attended the Ng'iya Girls' School and Butere High School throughout her youth. From 1949 to 1953, Grace Ogot trained as a nurse at the Nursing Training Hospital in Uganda. She later worked in London, England, at the St. Thomas Hospital for Mothers and Babies. She returned to the African nursing profession in 1958, working at the Maseno Hospital, run by the Church Missionary Society in Kisumu County in Kenya. Following this, Ogot worked at Makerere University College in Student Health Services.
In addition to her experience in healthcare, Ogot gained experience in multiple different areas, working for the BBC Overseas Service as a script-writer and announcer on the program "London Calling East and Central Africa", operating a prominent radio program in the Luo language, working as an officer of community development in Kisumu County and as a public relations officer for the Air India Corporation of East Africa.
In 1975, Ogot worked as a Kenyan delegate to the general assembly of the United Nations. Subsequently, in 1976, she became a member of the Kenyan delegation to UNESCO. That year, she chaired and helped found the Writers' Association of Kenya. In 1983 she became one of only a handful of women to serve as a member of parliament and the only woman assistant minister in the cabinet of then President Daniel arap Moi.
In 1959, Grace Ogot married the professor and historian Professor Bethwell Allan Ogot, a Luo from Gem Location, and later became the mother of four children. Her proclivity towards story-telling and her husband's interest in the oral tradition and history of the Luo peoples would later be combined together in her writing career.
In 1962, Grace Ogot read her story "A Year of Sacrifice" at a conference on African Literature at Makere University in Uganda. After discovering that there was no other work presented or displayed from East African writers, Ogot became motivated to publish her works. Subsequently, she began to publish short stories both in the Luo language and in English. "The Year of Sacrifice" (later retitled "The Rain Came") was published in the African journal Black Orpheus in 1963 and in 1964, the short story "Ward Nine" was published in the journal Transition. Grace Ogot's first novel The Promised Land was published in 1966 and focused on Luo emigration and the problems that arise through migration. Set in the 1930s, her main protagonists emigrate from Nyanza to northern Tanzania, in search of fertile land and wealth. It also focused on themes of tribal hatred, materialism, and traditional notions of femininity and wifely duties. 1968 saw the publishing of Land Without Thunder, a collection of short stories set in ancient Luoland. Ogot's descriptions, literary tools, and storylines in Land Without Thunder offer a valuable insight into Luo culture in pre-colonial East Africa. Her other works include The Strange Bride, The Graduate, The Other Woman and The Island of Tears.
Many of her stories are set against the scenic background of Lake Victoria and the traditions of the Luo people. One theme that features prominently within Ogot's work is the importance of traditional Luo folklore, mythologies, and oral traditions. This theme is at the forefront in "The Rain Came", a tale which was related to Ogot in her youth by her grandmother, whereby a chief's daughter must be sacrificed to bring rain. Furthermore, much of Ogot's short stories juxtapose traditional and modern themes and notions, demonstrating the conflicts and convergences that exist between the old ways of thought and the new. In The Promised Land, the main character, Ochola, falls under a mysterious illness which cannot be cured through medical intervention. Eventually, he turns to a medicine man to be healed. Ogot explains such thought processes as exemplary of the blending of traditional and modern understandings, "Many of the stories I have told are based on day-to-day life… And in the final analysis, when the Church fails and the hospital fails, these people will always slip into something they trust, something within their own cultural background. It may appear to us mere superstition, but those who do believe in it do get healed. In day-to-day life in some communities in Kenya, both the modern and the traditional cures coexist."
Another theme that often appears throughout Ogot's works is that of womanhood and the female role. Throughout her stories, Ogot demonstrates an interest in family matters, revealing both traditional and modern female gender roles followed by women, especially within the context of marriage and Christian traditions. Such an emphasis can be seen in The Promised Land, in which the notions both of mothers as the ultimate protectors of their children and of dominant patriarchal husband-wife relationships feature heavily. Critics such as Maryse Conde have suggested that Ogot's emphasis on the importance of the female marital role, as well as her portrayal of women in traditional roles, creates an overwhelmingly patriarchal tone in her stories. However, others have suggested that women in Ogot's works also demonstrate strength and integrity, as in "The Empty Basket", where the bravery of the main female character, Aloo, is contrasted by the failings of the male characters. Though her wits and self-assertion, Aloo overcomes a perilous situation with a snake, whilst the men are stricken by panic. It is only after she rebukes and shames the men that they are roused to destroy the snake. In Ogot's short stories, the women portrayed often have a strong sense of duty, as demonstrated in "The Rain Came", and her works regularly emphasise the need for understanding in relationships between men and women.
Prior to Kenyan Independence, while Kenya was still under a Colonial regime, Ogot experienced difficulties in her initial attempts to have her stories published, stating, "I remember taking some of my short stories to the manager [of the East African Literature Bureau], including the one which was later published in Black Orpheus. They really couldn't understand how a Christian woman could write such stories, involved with sacrifices, traditional medicines and all, instead of writing about Salvation and Christianity. Thus, quite a few writers received no encouragement from colonial publishers who were perhaps afraid of turning out radical writers critical of the colonial regime."
She was interviewed in 1974 by Lee Nichols for a Voice of America radio broadcast that was aired between 1975–1979 (Voice of America radio series Conversations with African writers, no. 23). The Library of Congress has a copy of the broadcast tape and the unedited original interview. The broadcast transcript appears in the book Conversations with African Writers (Washington, D.C.: Voice of America, 1981), p. 207–216.
Ogot's family members shared her interest in politics. Her husband, served as head of Kenya Railways and also taught history at Kenyatta University. Her older sister, Rose Orondo, served on the Kisumu County Council for several terms, and her younger brother Robert Jalango was elected to Parliament in 1988, representing their family home in Asembo.
*Ber wat (1981) in Luo.
*The Graduate, Nairobi: Uzima Press, 1980.
*The Island of Tears (short stories), Nairobi: Uzima Press, 1980.
*Land Without Thunder; short stories, Nairobi: East African Publishing House, 1968.
*Miaha (in Luo), 1983; translated as The Strange Bride by Okoth Okombo (1989)
*The Other Woman: selected short stories, Nairobi: Transafrica, 1976.
*The Promised Land: a novel, Nairobi: East African Publishing House, 1966.
*The Strange Bride translated from Dholuo (originally published as Miaha, 1983) by Okoth Okombo, Nairobi: Heinemann Kenya, 1989.
Days of Grace Ogot as a woman of culture and lettersDr Grace Ogot (right) presents a land title deed and other documents relating to the Odera Akang'o campus of Moi University to the then Higher Education minister, Prof Hellen Sambili, during a ceremony to hand over the campus to Moi University. Looking on is the Moi University Chancellor, Prof Bethwel Ogot, Dr Ogot's husband.
By Prof Chris Wanjala, Nairobi, January 6 2013
Hon Grace Akinyi Ogot is woman who has powerfully influenced East Africa's literary narrative and played a public role not only in medicine and community development but also in the country and parliamentary politics. She and her husband, Professor Bethwell Allan Ogot, have not only brought up a brilliant family, but they have stood by each other to foster creative and scholarly writing in our region. All the people who remember the sterling role of the East Africa Journal and its literary supplement which ran for decades as a publication of the East African Publishing remember the debates that characterized that publication. They will remember the well- documented polemics raised by the like of Okot p'Bitek, Taban lo Liyong, and Ngugi wa Thiong'o. Grace Ogot's own short story, Island of Tears, which followed the tragic demise of Hon. Thomas Joseph Mboya, was published in one of the issues of the East Africa Journal.
Grace Akinyi Ogot has now published the story of her life entitled "Days of My Life: An Autobiography." Anyange Press Limited based in Kisumu City are the publishers of the 325 page account which traces Grace Ogot's origin to Joseph Nyanduga, the mission boy who grew up in Nyanza, and after being orphaned sought his fortune in Mombasa where he was a locomotive driver, and Rahel Ogori, a mission girl. Nyanduga and Ogori were Christian converts and evangelists who defied the conservative Luo mores and traditions to chart out their lives and the lives of their children. There is a way in which the couple sacrificed a lot to deny themselves a working life in Mombasa to promote Christianity in Nyanza in the best manner possible. It is apparent in this story that when African cultures went against the practical existence of the couple, they defied them and went on with their lives as they thought best. There are, however, instances where Christianity, threatened their existence. In a manner of speaking, they modified conservative aspects of Christianity and went on with their lives.
Perhaps the best examples of their existential choices are there in the manner in which Joseph Nyanduga built his own home as a newly married man, away from his parents. The procedure of establishing one's dala (home) away from one's parents according to the Luo culture is explained in Grace Ogot's novel, The Promised Land (1966). Joseph Nyanduga, however, goes against all the grain, acquires an education, travels to Mombasa where he is employed and when he feels the urge to evangelize among his people, he cuts short his career and returns home in Nyanza.
Days of My Life is a well-told story by one of Africa's internationally acclaimed prose writer; it places the author in a unique position as far as the recent spate of autobiographies by erstwhile and practicing politicians in this country is concerned. It is the story of a woman who rises from the humble background of missionary life to soar high in the ranks of hospital nurses in Kenya, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. She goes against all the odds of racial prejudice among the colonial minority who did not expect Africans to excel in Medicine, and treats fellow Africans who are patients in her hands as respectable creatures against all the brutal practices where white health workers discriminated against their African patients. She has the best training in England and comes to work at Maseno Mission Hospital and Mulago hospital, Kampala. She is appointed Principal of a Homecraft Training Centre, becomes a councilor, a church leader, a business woman, and leading politician in the Moi era.
The book goes into the author's education in colonial Kenya, revealing her leadership qualities, her high moral values, and her ability to learn new local languages. But perhaps the most instructive thing about the book is the strength of the love between Grace and the man she married. Throughout the account is the sobriety of their relationship and the way it informed her career development including writing. Their marriage was preceded by a protracted courtship period and an exchange of lengthy love letters. She had come from a background of strong story telling tradition which merged with her husband's interest in oral history. He was then researching the history of the southern Luo drawing heavily from oral traditions. He readily appreciated her as a writer and pointed out the poetry in her letters to him. As the editor of Ghala: the Literary Supplement of the East Africa Journal he became one of early East African intellectuals to encourage her as a writer.
Mrs Ogot comments generously on her parents, relatives, members of the protestant church to which she belongs, her siblings and her fellow writers and literary intellectuals. There are stylistic flaws and errors of fact, dates, and even information on people, events and places in the book. Per Wastberg , the current Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Literature is a man. He has done a lot of work for African literature in Europe and Africa. But Grace Ogot writes: "In March 1961, I received a letter from a Swedish lady – a Miss Wastberg – author and journalist. She was on a tour of East Africa. In her letter, she told me that she was editing an anthology of African writing for publication in Sweden later that year. She had failed to discover any authors in East Africa. Eighteen countries in Africa would be represented in her book. She had heard from several people at Makerere University College, including Gerald Moore (a literary critic)."
The book is courageous and strong on politics and public administration of Nyanza Province and the entire country during the so-called Nyayo Era. It gives background information on assassinations on politicians in Nyanza and some of the people she replaced in her constituency. She gives accounts of how she and her husband went through a lot of pain to have access to President Moi in order to organize fund-raising meetings to develop her constituency. The book however shows how she badly let down writers and thespians as Assistant Minister for Culture and Social Services. She never worked to improve the working climate of the Kenya Cultural Centre in general and the Kenya National Theatre in particular.
Prof Chris Wanjala is chairman of Literature Department, University of Nairobi and National Book Development Council of Kenya.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Terry Hancock seemed to raise a few hackles when he presented case recently that "copyleft has no impact on project activity?!)". I'm not certain why, because it seemed he was just asking a question really (you'll note the question mark). In that piece he mentions the reasons developers choose a copyleft licence. As a -- somewhat small-time -- developer of free software this topic interests me. Terry made a few statements about why developers choose a copyleft licence as did Tony Mobily in his editorial for issue 20. So let me tell you why this developer chose (and continues to choose) a copyleft licence?
Why is a copyleft licence chosen?
Straight down to business then. This is a good question with a whole myriad of possible answers. Terry suggested:
"If you ask most developers, they'll say they want a copyleft, because they want to avoid their work being co-opted or exploited (or even "hijacked")."
While this was a reason, it's not the main reason I chose copyleft. It's not even something I directly considered when making my choice but it was a "bonus" side effect if you like. Terry went on to say:
"That implies an assumption that a copyleft license will encourage more people to feel more comfortable about contributing their work to the project."
This was definitely not a consideration when I chose a licence. I did not envisage anybody contributing patches or code because my projects are pretty small. Neither did I think of it as encouraging others to contribute. Honestly? I didn't care if they did or not. I was and am expecting to remain the sole developer on these projects. That's mostly because the nature of the projects does not demand a lot of developers. People have contributed patches and fixes though, so while this is another side-effect of my choice it was not a factor in making it. Terry's findings indicate that a significant majority of Sourceforge projects are single developer ones. So perhaps -- if they are like me -- the idea of people being able to contribute code was not foremost in the project administrators' minds?
A convenient truth?
Tony Mobily suggests it could be just a case of convenience:
"Paid or unpaid, company or private programmers, the question remains: why do they [write free software]? The answer, as amazing as it sounds, is "convenience". It's better, and more importantly cheaper, to develop free software."
Now we're getting closer. It was certainly a lot more cost effective for me to develop using free software tools and making the software available on Sourceforge cost me nothing but a bit of time. So convenience and cost did come into it. However cost did not play a part in why I chose to release my software with freedom built in and while hosting on Sourceforge means I have to use an OSI approved licence, that does not have to be a copyleft one. In fairness to Tony, he was talking about why people write free software and not why they specifically chose a particular type of licence but there is some correlation between the two.
Enough already - tell us why!
Okay cards on the table, this is why I chose a copyleft licence (specifically the GPL) for my projects.
- Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.
- Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs
- Freedom 2: The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbour.
- Freedom 3: The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.
Yes I know that freedom 3 is what Terry was talking about, but as I said it wasn't paramount for me. The four freedoms together and giving them to users of the software were paramount. I should acknowledge here that Terry did not say this was the sole or main reason copyleft was chosen. When I made my decision I particularly considered those who would deploy the software because that's the place in which I so often find myself. Both my projects are web-based so the web administrator is the target user. So I guess my decision was made on giving those four freedoms in largely that order of importance and to the web administrators.
- Freedom 0 was a key factor in why I chose the GPL because I have encountered too many applications that told me I couldn't use their software how I wanted -- even though it perfectly fitted that particular need of mine. I wanted users of my software to be able to deploy it how, where and when they wanted.
- Freedom 1 backed this up because it's what I like to do -- take something that works and make it work better in my situation.
- Freedom 2 made my decision easier because it's what I consider to be human nature. When I find a good restaurant I tell people about it. When my meal tastes delicious I'll get my wife to try it - I share it (unless it's too tasty that is). When I find some useful software I want to share it.
- Freedom 3: gave me an added bonus of "many eyes" and thus a confidence that errors and their fixes could be fed back into the main code.
So there you have it: this developer chose the GPL because of the freedom it gives those deploying the software. I don't claim mine are the only, best or most popular reasons but I am guessing that among single developer projects I am not alone in them.


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Leaked Photos Show Trump Insider, Who Was Arrested for Child Porn, Partying With Bill Clinton
"It's a Big Club and You Ain't in It"! — George Carlin
Damning photos were recently leaked showing the behind the scenes nature of the political elite and the facade that is the two-party paradigm. The photos show Bill Clinton partying with a rather unscrupulous individual at an elite island resort in Punta Cana who is tied to both the Clintons, President Donald Trump—and pedophilia.
As the political blowhards attempt to claim there is a difference between the left and the right, the truth is far different. While they may act like they hate each other in public, behind closed doors, the majority of politicians rub elbows and agree on what really matters to them, pleasing their corporate masters and expanding the empire.
The man in the photograph below proves this notion as he was a regular visitor to the White House and former associate of White House adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner. His name is George Nader.
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Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman who has recently been in the news because of his current cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller, is also an adviser to the United Arab Emirates—who wields massive influence over American politics.
Nader is getting press right now due to his involvement in a meeting in the Seychelles between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. Dmitriev, whose role in the UAE-brokered meeting was revealed by The Intercept last November, had been appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2011 to administer the state-run sovereign wealth fund, according to the Intercept.
But Nader's ties to back-channel intelligence deals is only the tip of the iceberg for this man. Highlighting the nature of his reach and power, in the 1980s, Nader was found with a cache of child pornography—only to have the charges thrown out and the records disappeared.
As the Atlantic reported last week, Nader was indicted in 1985 on charges of importing to the United States obscene material, including photos of nude boys "engaged in a variety of sexual acts," according to publicly available court records.
The Intercept explains:
According to prosecutors, as relayed in the U.S. District Court judge's ruling on a motion to suppress evidence in the case, Nader received a package that included both a film of young boys engaged in sexual acts and pictures depicting nude boys. Authorities conducted a search based on a warrant, and similar material was found in a room that Nader rented in a Washington home, according to the court documents. The evidence discovered in the home was ruled inadmissible when the warrant was challenged, but the material delivered in the original package was not ruled inadmissible at the time. In July 1986, just ahead of a jury trial, the charges were dismissed, according a docket sheet from the U.S. District Court in Washington. Not all of the court filings are available online, and the reasons for the dismissal were not immediately clear.
In essence, the charges were thrown out because the key evidence — photos and film of nude children engaging in sexual acts — was also thrown out.
Then, years later this alleged pedophile surfaces behind the scenes and begins visiting the White House—frequently.
What's more, as the images show, just before visiting the White House, Nader was partying away with Bill Clinton at some elite resort in Punta Cana.
You can't make this up.
When we look at past associations with convicted pedophiles, it appears that these people have no problem associating themselves or looking the other way when dealing with them.
One obvious association shared by Clinton and Trump—which is similar to this one—is that of Jeffrey Epstein.
In April of last year, the Free Thought Project reported on Trump's pick for Labor Secretary, Alexander Acosta.
At the time, prosecutors from Acosta's office, working with the FBI and documented for the court, found that, through assistance from several female assistants, Epstein "would recruit underage females to travel to his home in Palm Beach to engage in lewd conduct in exchange for money … Some went there as much as 100 times or more. Some of the women's conduct was limited to performing a topless or nude massage while Mr. Epstein masturbated himself. For other women, the conduct escalated to full sexual intercourse."
Rather than the minimum ten-year sentence the billionaire pedophile faced, Acosta's arrangement with Epstein's lawyers landed a part-time, eight hours per day county jail term for a scant 13 months in a club med prison—a travesty of justice indeed.
He let Jeffrey Epstein off pedophilia charges with a wristslap; now he's Trump's SecLabor…. https://t.co/xJzNqldAsQ
— Cynthia McKinney PhD (@cynthiamckinney) April 28, 2017
These are undisputed facts — yet, in April, Trump still appointed Acosta as his Secretary of Labor.
Acosta's appointment should come as no surprise, given Trump's outspoken praise for Epstein, including referring to the convicted pedophile as a "terrific guy," he is "fun to be with," and "he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."
Giving Trump the benefit of the doubt with Acosta would be easier had he not made those comments. It would also be easier to overlook if he didn't let George Nader, another alleged pedophile who's extremely close with Bill Clinton who frequented Epstein's private island on the infamous Lolita Express into the White House.
As Carlin famously said, "It's a big club,and you ain't in it."
Below are three photographs that prove this notion and illustrate the disturbing reality that is the political elite.
Article posted with permission from The Free Thought Project. Article by Matt Agorist.


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Prairie State Canoeists
A Northeast Illinois Canoe and Kayak Club
Salt Lake City, UT: After one month in the beautiful desert mountains of Central Arizona, we are northbound chasing winter – driving through snowstorms with blustery winds as we cross over the border from Arizona into Utah. Finally! Winter, and the seasons are upon us. We sigh happily. Our eyes light up. And we start to hum songs about snow, "Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" As our outward excitement grows, we quietly brace ourselves for cold weather camping. And what better way to warm our bodies and spirits than by having a campfire? There's no better way; or is there?
As we drove higher and higher into winter, we were faced with one minor issue - campfires are rarely permitted at high-elevation wilderness destinations (typically those above 4,000 feet). Why, you might ask? Well there are a lot of reasons actually:
1. Frequent removal of wood can exhaust the high country of nutrient-rich, soil stabilizing ground cover. In addition, the regeneration of wood sources often cannot keep pace with the demand for firewood.
2. The natural appearance of many areas has been degraded by the overuse of fires. For example, rock scars are a common unfortunate sight in the backcountry.
3. Irresponsible fires can cause wildfires that wreak havoc, damaging precious landscapes, homes and infrastructure along the way.
4. There are great alternatives available for cooking food, such as lightweight affordable backpacking stoves.
In fact there are alternatives to every common reason that people desire to have a campfire – warmth, cooking, moral and light. Let us elaborate. There was a day, when campfires were required to cook and keep from freezing to death. Well, the fact of the matter is that modern advances in camping equipment and gear are contributing to a shift towards lightweight stoves and movements like Leave No Trace are encouraging a user to consider enjoying their stay without a campfire. That's right. No campfire. Now what? Here we break down ways to enjoy a campfire without one.
1. Warmth – The idea that heat loss occurs primarily through our head is an old wives tale. In actuality, the only reason we would lose more heat through our head is if it is the only part of our body not covered. Make sense? Cover up and keep warm. The human body is not engineered to withstand freezing temperatures for extended periods of time. However, your 600 fill down, merino wool and Polartec layers are designed to help you do just that. And thanks to co-ops like REI you can find your essentials for an affordable price.
2. Cooking – Gone are the days of needing to cook your wieners over the fire. Lightweight efficient stoves are trending in the outdoor community because they are fast, flexible, eliminate firewood availability as a concern in campsite selection and promote minimum impact camping. Get your superior stove here!
3. Morale – You can't put a price on morale! That is why it's important to always remember your favorite lightweight games: dice, cards, a portable magnetic chess set, Frisbee and the list goes on. Any wannabe musicians in your party? Bring the flute and harmonize on (so long as you're being respectful of your neighbors of course)! Caught up in your favorite murder mystery novel? Bring it along and relax into the pages. With a little bit of prep and imagination, you'll be hard pressed to find yourself bored.
4. Light – Let's see… there are literally hundreds of light alternatives: Luci lanterns (our favorite!), headlamps (a must have), hand crank lanterns, battery operated lanterns, Eno hammock led twilight lights, solar lights, old fashioned flashlights, new fashioned phone flashlights, candles, starlight, moonlight. Need we list more?
So as we neared the majestic snow-covered mountains, we maintained a peaceful feeling knowing that we had so many options to enjoying a campfire without one. Won't you join us in this movement during your next campout?
To learn more, check our recommendations on how to minimize campfire impact.
Helping keep our wildness wild,
Jenna and Sam - Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Team West
Leave No Trace's Jenna Hanger and Sam Ovett are part of the 2015 Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainer Program that provides free, mobile education to communities across the country. Proud partners of this program include Subaru of America, Deuter, Hi-Cone, REI, Smartwool, The North Face, and Yakima.
Sources: http://online.nwf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=gabc_GetReady_REI_campfir...


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Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right. – Laurens van der Post
Though prohibitionists will vociferously deny it, all prohibitionism is the same. Oh, they'll throw out all sorts of bogus reasons such as "morality", "decency", "health", "public order", "national security" and of course "the children", but in reality they're all based in one thing: a busybody desire to control the private behaviors of others because they make individual prohibitionists uncomfortable. Many of my columns tagged "welcome to our world" clearly demonstrate this; just change a few words and Presto! an argument against porn, gay rights, immigration or even a woman wearing a certain article of clothing or selling her eggs for research becomes an argument against prostitution. The closest parallel is probably the expensive, rights-trampling, unwinnable "War on Drugs", and this article from the January 17th Huffington Post demonstrates it as clearly as anything I've ever seen. It's called "How to Write a Clichéd, Unpersuasive Argument Against Drug Legalization" by Scott Morgan, and is a dissection of a (drug) prohibitionist article. Change a few words, and it's equally applicable to those who support the War on Whores:
This piece by Manon McKinnon at The American Spectator is so perfect an exhibit in pompous drug war cheerleading that one can construct a fairly comprehensive crash course in bad drug policy writing based entirely upon its contents. Let's take a moment to review some of the tactics on display here…
Step 1: Attempt to marginalize supporters of drug policy reform by claiming they are "pot heads."
From the article: "Every so often, alas, the subject of drug legalization reappears. This time it is…one of many bad ideas from presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul and is cheered on by the usual fans, from libertarians to pot heads"…Since recent polling shows that half the country supports marijuana legalization, you'll immediately offend many of your readers by ignoring their legitimate public policy concerns and dismissing them as a bunch of self-righteous drug addicts. Huge numbers of non-users are interested in improving our approach to drug policy, so name-calling is a quick way to alienate well-meaning people and prove that you don't know what you're talking about.
Step 2: Frame legalization as a plan for "surrendering" or "giving up" and letting drugs defeat us.
From the article: "'Paul deserves full credit for endorsing drug legalization,' writes Ms. Charen as she goes into all the reasons she thinks the U.S. should give up and give in to corrosive drugs." This is a good way to show that you don't understand the opposing argument. Supporters of reforming drug laws believe that the problems associated with drug use…can be better addressed [under legalization]…Referring to that process as a form of surrender will help to demonstrate that you aren't listening and don't understand even the most basic motivations behind reforming our drug policy.
Step 3: Insist confidently — but without citation — that no one actually gets in serious trouble for personal use.
From the article: "…the imagined wrongful incarceration of simple users (no — such prisoners have plea bargained down from major trafficking and violent crimes)" This is great for destroying your credibility, because examples of people being sent to prison for personal use are so numerous. A lot of people know someone who's done time for drugs, without ever getting involved in "major trafficking and violent crimes," so you can lose a lot of people quickly by speaking against their own experience…one of the main concerns people have…is that their own friends and family could be scarred for life by the criminal justice system…a minor marijuana arrest can [result in] lost employment opportunities, loss of public housing, child custody, professional licenses, and…other serious consequences. By implying that a drug arrest is insignificant unless it involves jail-time, you can show everyone how little you know about the real impact of the policies you're promoting.
4: Insist that illegal drugs can never have medical value.
From the article: "…medical necessity (banned drugs are not medicine)"…Many Americans have seen firsthand the benefits of medical marijuana in their own families, and public opposition to medical use has dwindled into near invisibility. Meanwhile, the federal government itself is growing medical marijuana for select patients and the DEA is trying to change the rules so that pharmaceutical companies can begin growing marijuana plants and making medicines out of them…
Step 5: Compare regulating drugs to legalizing rape.
From the article: "[If] Drug prohibition creates drug crimes, so legalize drugs and, poof, no more crime. However, it should be pointed out that no one makes the same argument for rape." No incoherent anti-legalization rant is complete without a variation on this classic theme. You can appear instantly and fundamentally clueless by suggesting that all criminal laws are equally sound…the "why not legalize rape, then?" argument could be made in defense of any law, no matter how stupid and unjust. Demonstrate your demagoguery and total lack of perspective by mindlessly comparing marijuana users to rapists.
Step 6: Mention something bad that happened involving drugs and ask smugly whether legalization would have prevented it.
From the article: "Two small children were found that night wandering alone in the storm with no coats. They were trying to find their grandmother's house with food and warmth because their own parents had passed out on drugs. Would legalization have helped here?" Another trademark of the typical drug war supporter is the habit of pointing out examples of the failure of our current approach and then incoherently citing them as arguments for continuing the policies that produce these outcomes. Insist that legalization must be proven to be the indisputable solution to every single existing social problem on the planet before being considered in any form.
Step 7: Close with a sweeping, apocalyptic generalization.
From the article: "And here are the words of sociologist James Q. Wilson who once put it: 'drug use is wrong because it is immoral and it is immoral because it enslaves the mind and destroys the soul.' Let's not legalize that." In your closing statement, you'll want to double-down on outrageous claims that defy the knowledge and experience of the general public. Hyperbolic concepts such as slavery of the mind and destruction of the soul will leave you plainly and hopelessly divorced from reality. If executed properly, your conclusion should result in…everyone…wondering what your problem is and doubting whether you've ever actually met a drug user in real life…
I couldn't have written a better primer on "How to Write a Clichéd, Unpersuasive Argument Against the Decriminalization of Prostitution" if I tried. The seven steps are almost exactly the same:
Step 1: Attempt to marginalize supporters of decriminalization by claiming they are "trafficking apologists" or "rape supporters."
Step 2: Frame decriminalization as a plan for "surrendering" or "giving up" and letting the "exploiters" win.
Step 3: Insist confidently — but without citation — that "real men" never pay for sex and only damaged or coerced women sell it.
Step 4: Insist that sex work can never be consensual or therapeutic.
Step 5: Compare decriminalization to legalizing rape.
Step 6: Mention something bad that happened involving prostitution and ask smugly whether decriminalization would have prevented it.
Step 7: Close with a sweeping, apocalyptic generalization.
See what I mean?
One Year Ago Today
"Real People" is a look at people (especially politicians and prohibitionists) who promote their anti-whore campaigns by working to dehumanize the real people involved in sex work.


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Denver, CO 80224
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6825 East Hampden Avenue, Suite 200
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Colorado Prosthodontic Society
1905 Lawrence St, Suite B
Denver, CO, 80202
Dentist Dr. John C. Craiger
7090 E Hampden Ave
Denver, CO, 80224-3022
(303) 758-5252
Karmali, Rahim D.D.S.
8111 E Lowry Blvd # 290
Denver, CO, 80230-7255
Endodontics Of Cherry Creek
155 Cook St Ste 301
Denver, CO, 80206-5317
(303) 321-7930
Franklin D. Roosevelt was right: the only thing we have to fear is … fear itself.
Many times, the worst part of a procedure is the anxiety a patient endures before even climbing into the chair. It's a problem that's preventable, and your dentist would like to help you with that right now.
If you (or someone you care about) has an appointment that's beginning to darken your thoughts, try this: First focus on the specifics of your dental fear. Is it the procedure in general, or a particular piece of equipment, or a vague sense of invasion of the privacy of your mouth? Once you've got it pinned down, talk with your dentist about it. If it's general dental anxiety, your dentist can help you feel better. If it's concern over a specific instrument or technique, often your dentist can change the way he does things.
You can help the "pre-op jitters" by avoiding stimulants (coffee, cocoa, sugar) six hours before your visit. And concentrate on breathing naturally; denying yourself oxygen increases anxiety.
Finally, there's a matter of trust. When your dentist describes a procedure, ask him to be honest. Ask him to tell you if it will be uncomfortable or stressful, if he tells you it won't be, believe him. And spare yourself the unnecessary burden of dental phobia.
It's called sedation dentistry (performed by a specially trained dentist called a sedation dentist), and it may well be the greatest advance ever made towards truly comfortable and anxiety free dentistry procedures.
For a lot of people, the unpleasantness of a dental appointment isn't so much fear as it is stress from that "in-your-face" aspect of the procedure.
We all have our own sense of personal space. And when hands and tools enter the mouth, as they must, the feeling can get downright claustrophobic. Fortunately, there's an antidote to this problem, anxiety-free dentistry!
After an initial consultation with a sedation dentist you'll take a medication just before your next visit. You'll need a friend to help transport you to and from the office safely.
When you arrive for your appointment you'll be awake, but drowsy. Most important, you'll be relaxed and anxiety free. While you're in the chair, the sedation dentist and team monitors you closely. You won't be unconscious, you'll just enjoy a soothing mental and emotional "distance" from the goings on.
Next thing you'll know, your dentist is telling you the procedure is complete and it is time to go home - thanks to anxiety-free dentistry.


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eSmart Hybrid Island - Kit ECO-4086 is an attractive, eco-conscious display option offering attractive exhibits with large format, dye-sublimated graphics. The hybrid display system boasts sustainably-sourced materials including recycled aluminum framework, bamboo woodwork, recycled plastic fabrics, and energy-efficient LED lighting.
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Wash. Times continues to smear Jennings with false claim that he failed to report "sexual abuse" of student
In an October 4 editorial, The Washington Times advanced the discredited falsehood that Department of Education official Kevin Jennings "violated Massachusetts law" over 20 years ago by "covering up" the "sexual abuse" of one of his students and also advanced the manufactured link between Jennings and the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) because of Jennings' past praise of gay rights activist Harry Hay. In fact, the student in question has confirmed that he was, indeed, 16 years old at the time of the incident, which is -- and was -- the legal age of consent in Massachusetts, and in the 1997 speech in which Jennings mentioned Hay, Jennings' praise was of Hay's work as an early gay rights activist and had nothing to do with NAMBLA.
Wash. Times: Jennings had "knowledge about the sexual abuse of a high school sophomore"
From the October 4 Washington Times editorial:
For more than a 1 1/2 weeks [sic] now, The Washington Times has tried unsuccessfully to get the Obama administration to answer questions about the controversies surrounding Kevin Jennings, the president's "safe schools czar." On Wednesday, Mr. Jennings released a five-sentence statement regarding his knowledge about the sexual abuse of a high school sophomore named Brewster when he was a teacher at the teenager's school. After repeated denials and backpedaling, Mr. Jennings finally halfheartedly admitted this week that perhaps covering up sex between an adult and a high school student might not have been totally appropriate. "I can see how I should have handled this situation differently," he said.
This week's meager statement answered no important questions, and the evidence we have reported indicates that Mr. Jennings' behavior violated Massachusetts law. The teacher was obligated to report suspected abuse. That he didn't in at least one case reveals outrageous judgment on Mr. Jennings' part.
The student has confirmed that he was 16, which is -- and was -- MA age of consent
Student: I "was of legal consent at the time." The former student at the center of the Fox News-fueled Jennings controversy, whom Jennings has referred to as "Brewster," provided Media Matters for America with the following statement:
Since I was of legal consent at the time, the fifteen-minute conversation I had with Mr. Jennings twenty-one years ago is of nobody's concern but his and mine. However, since the Republican noise machine is so concerned about my "well-being" and that of America's students, they'll be relieved to know that I was not "inducted" into homosexuality, assaulted, raped, or sold into sexual slavery.
In 1988, I had taken a bus home for the weekend, and on the return trip met someone who was also gay. The next day, I had a conversation with Mr. Jennings about it. I had no sexual contact with anybody at the time, though I was entirely legally free to do so. I was a sixteen year-old going through something most of us have experienced: adolescence. I find it regrettable that the people who have the compassion and integrity to protect our nation's students are themselves in need of protection from homophobic smear attacks. Were it not for Mr. Jennings' courage and concern for my well-being at that time in my life, I doubt I'd be the proud gay man that I am today.
The student's license shows he was 16 at the time. Media Matters obtained a copy of the student's driver's license, which appears edited below in order to protect his identity:
Jennings' attorney: Conversation was "with a sixteen-year-old student"; "no factual basis" that Jennings was "aware of any sexual victimization of any student." In an August 3, 2004, letter, Constance M. Boland of the law firm Nixon Peabody -- which represented the organization that Jennings ran -- wrote that the "conversation" Jennings had was with "a sixteen-year-old student" and that there "is no factual basis whatsoever for" the "claim that Mr. Jennings engaged in unethical practices, or that he was aware of any sexual victimization of any student, or that he declined to report any sexual victimization at any time." [Boland letter, 8/3/04]
Massachusetts age of consent is -- and was at the time -- 16. As Media Matters for America has repeatedly noted, Massachusetts law then and now provides that the age of consent is 16.
Wash. Times claimed: "[T]he evidence ... indicates that Mr. Jennings violated Massachusetts law" by not reporting "sex between an adult and a high school student"
Massachusetts law required reporting by those with reason to believe child "is suffering serious physical or emotional injury resulting from abuse." According to a footnote in a 1990 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case, in 1988, chapter 119, section 51A, of the General Laws of Massachusetts provided:
[Any] public or private school teacher ... who, in his professional capacity shall have reasonable cause to believe that a child under the age of eighteen years is suffering serious physical or emotional injury resulting from abuse inflicted upon him including sexual abuse ... shall immediately report such condition to the department by oral communication and by making a written report within forty-eight hours after such oral communication ...
Jennings' attorney: Book passage does not indicate that Jennings had reason to believe student was being abused. In the letter, Boland stated, "Nowhere in the book does Mr. Jennings state that he understood the student was being abused of victimized, or that he suffered injury from any abuse." Boland added, "Based on the plain meaning of the words in the book, it is clear that Mr. Jennings had no 'reasonable cause to believe' that the student was being abused in any way. Because there was no abuse and no 'sexual victimization,' the statute does not apply." [Boland letter, 8/3/04]
Wash. Times advanced manufactured Jennings-NAMBLA link
From the October 4 Washington Times editorial:
The tale gets even more troubling. On Oct. 25, 1997, at a conference for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Mr. Jennings stated, "One of the people that's always inspired me is Harry Hay." The late Hay was a "gay-rights" activist most notorious for supporting the North American Man Boy Love Association. In 1983, speaking in support of NAMBLA, Hay claimed: "[I]f the parents and friends of gays are truly friends of gays, they would know from their gay kids that the relationship with an older man is precisely what 13-, 14-, and 15-year-old kids need more than anything else in the world."
Jennings reportedly said he was inspired by Hay, "who started the first ongoing gay rights groups in America ... the Mattachine Society." Peter LaBarbera, president of a group that seeks to "expos[e] and counter the homosexual activist agenda," published a transcript of Jennings' 1997 remarks at the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) mid-Atlantic conference that LaBarbera said was reprinted from the Lambda Report. In that speech, Jennings said, "One of the people that's always inspired me is Harry Hay, who started the first ongoing gay rights groups in America. In 1948, he tried to get people to join the Mattachine Society." Jennings' remarks include no mentions of NAMBLA.
Hay broadly recognized as gay rights pioneer. Upon Hay's death in October 2002, numerous obituaries (retrieved from Nexis) noted that Hay was a pioneer of the American gay rights movement -- just as Jennings noted in his 1997 speech. The New York Times noted that Hay "founded a secret organization six decades ago that proved to be the catalyst for the American gay rights movement." The Associated Press called Hay "a pioneering activist in the gay rights movement" who founded "the Mattachine Society." The San Francisco Chronicle stated that Hay was "considered by many to be the founder of the modern American gay rights movement." None of the obituaries mentioned NAMBLA.


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Don't all vacation shots look somewhat the same? Blue sky, sunshine and white clouds - most photos are strikingly similar and quickly forgotten. Break new ground and take control of the weather in your shots! NATURE projects creates mesmerizing images with a vast collection of lighting and weather effects housed in an incredibly easy to use slider-driven interface for stunning results in just a few clicks!
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NATURE projects weather assistant helps you create the perfect illusion with ease. 14 weather and daytime conditions are freely combinable and customizable!


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by David Crane [email protected] DefenseReview has just received exclusive video footage (links below) of an MPS Auto Assault-12 Full-Auto Shotgun (a.k.a. MPS AA-12 Full-Auto Shotgun) successfully firing (and cycling) British FRAG-12 munition (12-gauge grenade) on full-auto at 300 rpm (rounds per minute). The test (AA-12) shotgun sucessfully fired (and cycled) a total of 60 fin-stabilised FRAG-12 grenades/munitions over the course of the full-auto …Read More »
Tag Archives: aa12 – auto shotgun
Auto Assault-12 Full-Auto Shotgun Gets Urban Camouflage Treatment (Pic)
by David Crane david at defensereview.com DefenseReview has a little snack-size treat for all of the fans (like us) of the Auto Assault-12 Full-Auto Shotgun (AA-12 Shotgun). It's a photo of the weapon system and 20-shot drum mag (magazine). Both are outfitted with urban camouflage (urban camo) finish. The Grip Pod System vertical foregrip/bipod and Surefire M900-series vertical foregrip/tactical white light, both in dark earth finish, are also …Read More »
Auto Assault-12 (AA-12) Full-Auto Machine Shotgun/FRAG-12 High-Explosive Round Combo/Weapon System!
by David Crane [email protected] June 03, 2005 DefenseReview.com was given exclusive permission/rights by SOF Magazine to display the complete SOF Magazine article, below (at the bottom of this story). All SOF Magazine article photos were scanned by DefenseReview.com, specifically for this story. Click on digital photos below to view them full-size. DefenseReview readers may remember the short article we published on the …Read More »


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I don't think it's a good idea to combine these settings because they become more difficult to find. Some player buttons show up only if they're useful (for example, the annotation button) and they let you disable feature with a single click. The unified control requires more clicks and doesn't show useful information at a glance.
{ Thanks, Yu-Hsuan Lin. }


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Our Friendsgiving Thanksgiving Party Invitations features a bright and colorful phrase of friendship on a festive background. Designed to help make hand writing invitations a breeze, you'll love how easy it is to ask all your friends & loved ones to celebrate the special day with you! Fill-in spaces give you plenty of room to write in the name of the guest of honor or reason for celebration, party time & location, plus how to RSVP.
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Ford, Microsoft to work on electric-car charging
(AP) -- Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp. have signed a deal to work together on a computerized link between houses, electric cars and utility companies to help manage energy use.
The companies said Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show that this is the beginning of a smart system that will help utilities and customers manage energy costs and electrical generating capacity.
The system would start with the all-electric Ford Focus compact car that is scheduled to go on sale late in 2011. Called "Microsoft Hohm," it will allow utilities to vary electric rates based on the time of day. A computer would determine the best time to recharge the car at the lowest cost and the least burden on the utility's generating system.
Charging an electric car can double the energy used at a home, and utilities worry about the increased burden on their power generators. But charging the cars late at night, when appliances and other big electricity users aren't working, can help manage the load.
The companies have time to work out details of exactly how the system will work, figuring out electric rates and loads on generating systems, said Derrick Kuzak, Ford's global product development chief. Microsoft already has computer nodes for home thermostats and appliances to manage electricity use, he said.
"We're doing a lot to bring vehicles to market, but there has to be a lot of other work done from both a consumer and utility perspective to make this viable and affordable," Kuzak said Wednesday in an interview.
The system eventually will lead to homeowners being able to use their cars to power home appliances and cut costs at peak electricity use times, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said Wednesday.
"As the batteries get more capable, we'll be able to store the electricity and then actually start to move the electricity around to where you really need it," he said.
Ford says the software to charge the cars will be included at no additional cost.
Ford and Microsoft are not the first to start such an effort. Many utilities and other companies have been working on "smart home" technology for several years.
In 2008, General Motors Corp. joined with more than 30 utility companies across the U.S. to help work out electric use issues when rechargeable cars start showing up in large numbers. GM plans to begin selling the Chevrolet Volt rechargeable car in late 2010.
Besides the electric Focus, Ford plans to begin selling an all-electric Transit Connect small commercial van this year. Its plans include offering a total of five new electric or gas-electric hybrid vehicles in North America and Europe by 2013.
Ford shares were down 58 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $12.70 in afternoon trading. Microsoft shares fell 30 cents to $29.47.
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To describe the age-specific and lifetime incremental societal costs of autism in the United States.
Estimates of use and costs of direct medical and nonmedical care were obtained from a literature review and database analysis. A human capital approach was used to estimate lost productivity. These costs were projected across the life span, and discounted incremental age-specific costs were computed.
United States.
Hypothetical incident autism cohort born in 2000 and diagnosed in 2003.
Main Outcome Measures
Discounted per capita incremental societal costs.
The lifetime per capita incremental societal cost of autism is $3.2 million. Lost productivity and adult care are the largest components of costs. The distribution of costs over the life span varies by cost category.
Although autism is typically thought of as a disorder of childhood, its costs can be felt well into adulthood. The substantial costs resulting from adult care and lost productivity of both individuals with autism and their parents have important implications for those aging members of the baby boom generation approaching retirement, including large financial burdens affecting not only those families but also potentially society in general. These results may imply that physicians and other care professionals should consider recommending that parents of children with autism seek financial counseling to help plan for the transition into adulthood.
Autism is a very expensive disorder costing our society upwards of $35 billion in direct (both medical and nonmedical) and indirect costs to care for all individuals diagnosed each year over their lifetimes.1 Given the financial and nonfinancial costs we face and given increasingly more options for treatment and possibly for prevention, information on the distribution of costs is needed to help us decide on how to best allocate scarce resources to support individuals with autism and their families. Because the complementary (or competing) treatment and prevention strategies currently available, or yet to be developed, vary in effectiveness or implementation costs, understanding how total costs due to autism are distributed across the life cycle is important to make better decisions.
Relatively little is known about the societal costs of autism, in total and at different points across the life cycle. In earlier work, the per capita and total societal costs for individuals with autism were described.1 Although the per capita and societal costs were described overall and across 17 components of direct medical, direct nonmedical, and indirect costs, age-specific costs were not. Because certain categories are more relevant and more costly and because these costs are borne by different parties at different ages, presenting the age distribution of the costs of autism can provide policy makers information that is helpful for cost-utility analyses and for current and future resource planning activities. The focus of this study is to present estimates of the costs of autism along with some detail on how the estimates were constructed. Although no clinical data are presented, these data should be useful to health care professionals, families, and agencies in planning for future care, especially with respect to nonmedical costs.
A detailed description of the sources of data and computational methods used to compile the costs of autism has been presented elsewhere.1 Briefly, cross-sectional cost data from different age groups were used to create prevalence-based cost estimates that approximate incidence-based estimates (ie, those constructed by longitudinally tracking an incident cohort over time). A prevalence-based cohort, also known as a synthetic, or hypothetical, cohort,2 allows us to approximate the lifetime experiences of a single incident cohort by using the prevalence-based cost patterns as if they were observed longitudinally from an incident cohort. Although an incidence-based cost-of-illness approach is more appropriate because it captures the full experience of autism, including any comorbid conditions, formidable data requirements preclude it.3
The total costs of autism equal the sum of its direct and indirect costs. Direct costs measure the value of goods and services used and indirect costs measure the value of lost productivity due to autism. These direct and indirect costs represent the value of other activities that these resources could have purchased (ie, opportunity costs).4,5 Physician and other professional services, hospital and emergency department services, drugs, equipment and other supplies, and medically related travel and time costs are typical components of direct medical costs. Direct medical costs were obtained either from the literature or from an analysis of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)6 and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).7 Special education, transportation, child care and babysitting, respite care, out-of-home placement, home and vehicle modifications, and supported employment services are typical components of direct nonmedical costs. Nonmedical costs were obtained from the literature. Multiple cost estimates within categories were averaged to obtain a single cost estimate for each category. Indirect costs are the value of lost or impaired work time (income), benefits, and household services of individuals with autism and their caregivers because of missed time at work, reduced work hours, switching to a lower-paying but more flexible job, or leaving the workforce. Indirect costs were computed using a human capital approach3,8 that combines average earnings, benefits, and household services with information on average work-life expectancies and labor force participation rates for men and women at different ages.
In the analyses that follow, the incremental costs of autism are presented, which are defined as those additional costs that are due exclusively to autism. For example, costs due to use of medical services for periodic well-child preventive care or care related to the common cold are not considered herein because those costs are common to children with and without autism; however, costs specifically due to autism are considered herein. When incremental costs were not available or otherwise specifically presented in the source materials, they were computed by subtracting national average costs calculated from the MEPS from the costs reported in the source documents. For example, if a source document presented an average cost of $X for all children with autism and the national average for all children for that same category was $Y, then the incremental cost was computed as $(Y−X). Because of the broad impact of autism on families, insurers, taxpayers, and society and because of the considerable public autism funding, a societal perspective was used, as recommended by the Panel on Cost-effectiveness in Health and Medicine.8
The Harvard School of Public Health Human Subjects Committee had previously exempted this study from institutional approval.
Direct costs
Literature Review
An in-depth targeted literature review concentrating on US-based studies was conducted to obtain data on use and costs. British and Canadian studies were also used when data were otherwise unavailable. Data on physician, outpatient, clinic services, dental care,9 prescription medications,9-11 complementary and alternative therapies,12-18 behavioral therapies,19-22 hospital and emergency services,9,23 allied health, equipment and supplies, home health,9 and medically related travel9 were classified as direct medical. Data on child care,9,19 adult care,19,20 respite and family care,9,19,20 home and care modifications,9,24 special education,19,20,25-27 supported employment,20,28-34 and other costs9,24 were classified as direct nonmedical. Although some dimensions of care may be misclassified between direct medical and direct nonmedical (for example, many special education programs provide behavioral therapies), because the degree of misclassification is not known, no corrections were made. Costs, as reported in the source materials, were inflated to 2003 US dollars using the all-item consumer price index.35 State-specific costs were transformed to national averages36 and foreign costs were converted to US costs using the latest available Federal Reserve exchange rates.37 Use measures were translated to costs by multiplying the use measures by age group–specific survey-adjusted average costs from the MEPS.6 More in-depth information on how the cost estimates were constructed from these sources is available elsewhere1 and in a technical appendix available on request.
Survey Analysis
Data from the NHIS7 and the MEPS6 were also used to supplement data on costs of autism and to also compute average costs for use in deriving the incremental costs of autism. Because confidentiality concerns constrain the MEPS to only report the first 3 digits of diagnosis codes, individuals with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) diagnosis code of 299, which includes autism diagnoses (299.0x) as well as disintegrative psychoses (299.1x) and early childhood psychoses (299.8x/299.9x), were used as proxies for individuals with autism. Specific autism questions were available in the NHIS during 1997-2000. Information from those questions was combined with an ICD-9 diagnosis code of 299 in the NHIS and was linked to the MEPS to increase the number of usable cases. Survey-adjusted means for expenditures were then computed as described earlier. Further information is available elsewhere1 and from the technical appendix.
Indirect costs
Productivity losses for people with autism were estimated by combining standard average work-life expectancies for all men and women taken from the economics literature (ages 23-57 years for men and 23-53 years for women),34 with average income and benefits (from Tables 696 and 628 of the Statistical Abstract of the United States36) and estimates of age- and sex-specific labor force participation rates.38 Average incomes are projected for future years based on estimated productivity growth rates35 to estimate average total earnings and benefits at each age. These estimates are adjusted for the fact that while some adults with autism are unable to work, others are (35% of adults with lower levels of disability and 10% of adults with higher levels of disability work in supported work environments). Finally, the lost value of sex-specific household services is added.3,39 These estimates do not account for the effects of taxes or lost leisure time. Similar methods were used to estimate productivity for parents. Fathers of children with lower levels of disability were assumed to be unemployed 10% of the time (and working full-time during the remaining 90%) and mothers were assumed to be unemployed 55% of time (and were working half-time 25% of the time and full-time, 20%).40,41 Fathers of children with higher levels of disability were assumed to be unemployed 20% of the time and mothers were assumed to be unemployed 60% of time (and were working half-time 30% of the time and full-time, 10%). These assumptions were combined with the same average earnings, benefits, productivity growth, labor force participation rates as used for individuals with autism, and the appropriate work-life expectances. These estimates assumed households in which both a mother and a father care for 1 child with autism. These estimates will differ based on different family configurations.
Calculating costs
To the extent possible, cost estimates were derived for higher- and lower-functioning individuals as they were presented in the literature. Semidependent, independent, or those individuals described as having high-functioning autism were classified in the higher-functioning category. Dependent individuals or those not described as having high-functioning autism were classified in the lower-functioning category. Based on data presented in Fombonne,42 the prevalence of higher-functioning autism is assumed to be 54%. The male-female ratio is assumed to be 4:1. Weighted average per capita costs were computed based on the assumed distribution of lower- and higher-functioning status and the male-female ratio. Age 3 years was considered to be the baseline age (age at diagnosis) and 2003 was the baseline year. Because there is some evidence that people with autism have reduced life expectancies,43-46 costs were tabulated through age 66 years for males and through age 65 years for females. Costs were discounted to present value (to age 3 years) using a discount rate of 3% as recommended by the Panel on Cost-effectiveness in Health and Medicine.8 Costs in future years were discounted, or deflated, to reflect the time value of money: a dollar today is worth more than a dollar in the future. In doing so, all costs were adjusted for the different periods in which they were incurred. In other words, dollars at different ages become comparable. Because health care resource investments, such as in the case of autism research and treatment budgets, incur costs in the present and potentially realize the benefits in the future, it is common to discount future flows of costs (and benefits) to present value. Although 3% is the currently used standard for a discount rate, this rate is varied in the sensitivity analyses described in the next subsection.
Sensitivity analyses
In previous work, the robustness of the overall cost estimates was assessed using 1-way sensitivity analyses and conclusions were mostly robust to changes in many key parameters.1 However, the total costs were found to be most sensitive to changes in the discount rate and to changes in the assumed level of indirect costs. Because variations in indirect costs will not substantially change the pattern of costs over the life cycle, herein focus is placed on the discount rate.8 The discount rate is varied between 2% and 5% as suggested by Gold et al.8
Definition of autism
Many of the sources of data simply used the term autism and did not differentiate between the different autism spectrum disorders. Reflecting the literature, the term autism herein is used in an inclusive manner to mean all disorders in the spectrum. Given the nature of many of the nonmedical and indirect costs, it is likely that those costs are more representative of more disabled individuals. Older sources9 may have only included lower-functioning children and individuals in their definitions of autism. However, varying the proportions of lower- and higher-functioning individuals does not substantially change conclusions about overall lifetime costs.1
In the Tables that follow, the average per capita costs by category are presented in 5-year intervals (the full Tables are available as eTable 1, eTable 2, eTable 3, and eTable 4). Table 1 and Figure 1 display the incremental societal direct medical, direct nonmedical, and indirect costs. Direct medical costs are quite high for the first 5 years of life (average of around $35 000), start to decline substantially by age 8 years (around $6000), and continue to decline through the end of life to around $1000. Direct nonmedical costs vary around $10 000 to approximately $16 000 during the first 20 years of life, peak in the 23- to 27-year age range (around $27 500), and then steadily decline to the end of life to around $8000 in the last age group. Indirect costs also display a similar pattern, decreasing from around $43 000 in early life, peaking at ages 23 to 27 years (around $52 000), and declining through the end of life to $0.
Age distribution of incremental societal costs of autism (present value).
Table 2 displays the individual components of the incremental societal direct medical costs. Considered over the entire life span, direct medical costs make up 9.7% of total discounted lifetime costs. Behavioral therapies, which are the largest component of direct medical costs, make up 6.5% of total discounted lifetime costs.1 However, behavioral therapies, as presented herein, are only relevant for children 19 years or younger. The large direct medical costs early in life are driven primarily by behavioral therapies that cost around $32 000 during the first 5-year age group and decline from about $4000 in the 8- to 12-year age group to around $1250 for the 18- to 22-year age group. Physician and dental costs are initially high, then decrease, but increase again in later life. Prescription drugs, complementary and alternative therapies, and hospital and emergency services are also relatively high initially but steadily decline. Some costs decline less smoothly than others because of different availability of cost-by-age estimates in the literature.
Table 3 displays the individual components of the incremental societal direct nonmedical costs. Nonmedical costs, except during ages 3 to 7 years, are more expensive than direct medical costs and make up 31% of total discounted lifetime costs.1 Different costs become relevant at different ages, which contributes to the dips and spikes in the direct nonmedical line in Figure 1. Child care and respite costs, which average about $5700 in early ages to around $3600 at ages 18 to 22 years, contribute far less (3% of total discounted lifetime costs) than adult care costs (21% of total discounted lifetime costs), which range from around $25 000 at ages 23 to 27 years to around $7400 at ages 63 to 66 years. Special education costs, which make up 4.8% of total discounted lifetime costs, range from around $12 000 at age 6 years (costs for ages 3-5 years are assumed to be zero) to around $6200 at ages 18 to 22 years, and supported employment costs range from around $800 at ages 23 to 37 years to around $300 at ages 53 to 57 years (age 57 years is the assumed end of working life).
Table 4 displays the components of the incremental societal indirect costs. Indirect costs are by far the largest component of the total incremental societal costs of autism (59.3% of total discounted lifetime costs).1 Own indirect costs, which make up 30.7% of total discounted lifetime costs, range from around $33 000 at ages 23 to 27 years to around $18 000 at ages 53 to 57 years. Not own (assumed herein to be parents') indirect costs, which make up 28.6% of total discounted lifetime costs, range from around $43 000 at ages 3 to 7 years, when parents are assumed to be about 33 to 37 years of age, to around $19 000 at ages 23 to 27 years, when parents are assumed to be 53 to 57 years of age, to around $3000 per year for the next 5 years until the end of the average work life. Although total indirect costs spike at ages 23 to 27 years, because of the overlapping own and not own indirect costs, as Figure 2 indicates, at any given time from age 3 years through age 57 years, there is a substantial and smoothly declining level of indirect costs. Figure 2 also dramatically illustrates, at least for this model, the transition from exclusive parental lost productivity almost immediately to lost own productivity.
Age distribution of own and not own indirect incremental costs (present value).
Sensitivity analyses using 2% and 5%, which are common upper and lower bounds, reveal that the patterns of age-specific expenditures are similarly shaped. Figure 3 displays total costs using 2%, 3%, and 5% as the discount rates. There is an inverse relationship between the discount rate and the weight placed on future costs: lower discount rates place greater weight on future costs and higher rates place less weight on future costs. As a result, total present value costs will be larger the smaller the discount rate. The maximum difference in total costs between the 5% scenario and the 2% scenario (about $53 000) occurs at age 24 years and the average difference in costs between the 5% and 2% scenarios is about $31 000.
Age distribution of total incremental societal costs of autism computed at different discount rates.
This article presents the first description, to my knowledge, of the societal costs of autism in the United States across all ages of the life span and contributes not only to the literature on the costs of autism but also to the literature on age-specific health care costs in general. As was previously reported, the total annual societal per capita cost of caring for and treating a person with autism in the United States was estimated to be $3.2 million and about $35 billion for an entire birth cohort of people with autism.1 Sensitivity analyses revealed that these lifetime costs could range from $13 billion to $76 billion depending on the underlying assumptions of the model. Although those estimates are highly conservative because they exclude a number of important elements (such as legal costs that families incur to secure services47,48; lost productivity of those other than parents; the costs of genetic testing; the full costs of alternative therapies, including diets; the costs of adverse outcomes of potentially dangerous treatment modalities; and costs associated with immunization-avoidance behaviors48), they are valuable because they add information to a relatively underdeveloped literature. As treatment and, perhaps prevention, strategies are developed, knowledge of when costs are incurred relative to when benefits are expected is important for clinical decision-making and cost-effectiveness analysis efforts.
Knowledge about age-specific per capita incremental societal costs is particularly important because, as opposed to the summary lifetime data presented previously,1,25,47 age-specific data illuminate the relative magnitudes of different types of costs at different ages. Given that at different ages different segments of society are responsible for absorbing these costs, this detailed disaggregation of costs can provide even more valuable information to planners, policy makers, and even to families making decisions that can affect current and future financial health, especially as they consider the fact that at various points in the life cycle different costs are more germane than others.
Although autism is typically thought of as a disorder of childhood, its costs can be felt well into adulthood. Adult care, which has the largest lifetime cost of all direct costs, is typically more than 5 times larger than the next 3 largest costs, which include care incurred during childhood (behavioral therapies, child/respite care, and special education). Alemayehu and Warner49 reported that the typical American spends about $317 000 over his or her lifetime in direct medical costs, incurring 60% of those costs after age 65 years. In contrast, people with autism incur about $306 000 in incremental direct medical costs, implying that people with autism spend twice as much as the typical American over their lifetimes and spend 60% of those incremental direct medical costs after age 21 years.
These results, especially on the substantial costs resulting from lost productivity of both individuals with autism and their parents and from rather large adult care costs, have important implications for those aging members of the baby boom generation approaching retirement. As those individuals retire, many of their adult children with autism will be transitioning into adult care settings. Those costs, combined with very limited to nonexistent income for their adult children with autism combined with potentially lower levels of savings because of decreased income and benefits while employed, may create a large financial burden affecting not only those families but potentially society in general. Perhaps physicians and other care professionals should consider recommending that parents of children with autism seek financial counseling to help plan for the transition into adulthood.
Although this study is limited by a number of factors, it is the first of its kind, to my knowledge, and can shed insight into the lifetime distribution of autism costs and also motivate future, more rigorous studies. The cost model presented herein is based on a number of simplifying assumptions and relies on sometimes incomplete and old information. These caveats should be kept in mind when using these estimates for policy or practice decision making. The results presented herein for direct medical costs are consistent with recently published data on health care use and costs for children with autism. Gurney et al50 reported that, relative to children without autism, children with autism, as reported by their parents, experience a significantly higher number of preventive visits and emergency and nonemergency hospital visits. Croen et al51 reported, based on administrative data from the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Care program, that children with autism incurred 2.5 times as much outpatient costs, 2.9 times as much inpatient costs, and 7.6 times as much medication costs as randomly selected children without autism. Pursuing a research agenda of both carefully and systematically documenting the costs of autism in the United States can be helpful in improving these estimates. Prospectively tracking the life experiences of individuals with autism and their families and obtaining a wide variety of data on the different sources of services for people with autism can provide this more complete picture. Prospectively collected clinical and quality-of-life data combined with cost data will be even more useful for understanding the societal costs, both financial and nonfinancial, of caring for those members of our society with autism at every age of the life course.
Correspondence: Michael L. Ganz, MS, PhD, Abt Associates Inc, 181 Spring St, Lexington, MA 02421 (email@example.com).
Accepted for Publication: November 16, 2006.
Financial Disclosure: None reported.
Additional Information:eTable 1, eTable 2, eTable 3, and eTable 4 are available.
Ganz ML. The Lifetime Distribution of the Incremental Societal Costs of Autism. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(4):343–349. doi:10.1001/archpedi.161.4.343
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