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798, also called the Dashanzi Art District, is Beijing's premier art community. Since it formed in the early 2000s, a number of Western art dealers and corporate entities have set up shop here, and a few of its first tenants, including Ai Wei Wei, have become a powerful force in the art world.
My visit to 798 in February 2013 confirmed this description. Walls and light posts were plastered with exhibition billboards and fliers. Weird public art proliferates. For example, in the first three courtyards closest to the entrance, there was: a resin statue of a scorpion, an airplane wing embedded upright in the ground (its engine looking much like an unblinking camera eye) and a 7 foot tall cement man bound in rope. Spray paint stencils and graffiti coat the exteriors of buildings, buses, and signs. Street sellers hock potatoes and fur pelts as fashionable visitors wander in and out of galleries and cafes, snapping photos. In short, the site bore all the tell-tale semiotics of frenzied artistic and commercial production consistent with international art communities like SOHO and Chelsea.
Still, 798's role–part art-zone, part shopping center—is relatively new. East German architects originally constructed the site as an electronics factory in the 1950s, and until its insolvency in the 1970s, 798 was a paragon of the state-run worker commune. Outside of the storefront facades and the self-consciously asymmetrical, iceberg-shaped gallery at the center of the district (whose presence seems as new as it does out of place), most of the architecture in 798 looks original, and it's easy to imagine the site as it was 50 years ago.
East Germans in Beijing: Building Factory 718
The Danshanzi Art District in northwest Beijing, architecturally speaking, is a modest endeavor (perhaps unsurprising for a factory). The site is a rectangular compound arranged on a grid. It is composed of thick, horizontal buildings made of plain red brick. It has unadorned walls dotted here and there with a few windows, arranged in uniform blocks. The avenues are wide and open. The public squares feel tiny and intimate. Pipes and vents of all colors and ages reach between buildings, supported by metal gantries. Some poke up from the ground, releasing steam into the street. In a lot of ways, this is a pretty unassuming space, one that follows its own iterations of style in an absolutely unconscious way. Even today, with its contemporary art veneer, it still looks more like a place where you make or build things rather than sell them.
The district is a favorite subject of contemporary articles on urbanization and gentrification because of its shift from an industrial production space to a creative development area. The story of 798's construction, operation, decay, and revival parallels a broader story of changes in the modern urban and cultural landscape of Beijing and other post-industrial cities.
798 is a smaller subunit of a much larger factory complex called 718. It was one of a number of projects initiated by the Communist government after their victory over the Nationalists and their subsequent consolidation of power in Beijing. It's part of a Mao Zedongs's incredibly ambitious proposal to industrialize China, after two decades of civil war and nearly two centuries of political and economic decline.
Mao envisioned a future China that outgunned Britain in steel production and a new modern capital whose sky would be populated with a "forest of smokestacks." The journalist Jianying Zha notes (somewhat sarcastically) that when Mao came to Beijing, there were only 15 architects there, and less than 5 of them knew how to construct a three-story building.
It was the Soviet Union, initially, that made the realization of Mao's urban plans possible. Though they may have spitefully destroyed their coal-mining factories in Manchuria in 1946 to keep them out of Chinese Communist hands, by 1950, they've changed their mind. By 1951, there are 156 Soviet projects in the works, in Beijing and across the country.
Factory 718 would become project number 157, initiated by Premier Zhou Enlai. He requests an additional factory to produce electronic components specifically for the People's Liberation Army. The Soviets lack the necessary expertise, but they arrange a meeting with their electronics supplier, the head of the East German government, who agrees enthusiastically to work on the project. Between 1954-1964, a total of 300 East German experts traveled to the site to cooperate with Chinese construction workers and engineers, as thousands of tons of materials made their way from Germany to Beijing by way of the trans-Siberian railroad. At its completion in 1957, the "North China Wireless Appliances Friendship Factory" covered 500,000 square meters and had 7 separate operating units.
The East German and Chinese construction groups, with minimal interference from their Soviet overseers, made an excellent team. Both countries understood the necessity of making much out of little; both were in the process of rebuilding and were eager to reboot (or in China's case, establish) their industrial sector through any means necessary; both worried greatly about the ability to withstand foreign attacks.
The East Germans built 798 with all of these things in mind, and it's apparent in certain aspects of the architecture. While the Soviet leadership initially disliked the undecorated, sparse German design and demand something more "historical" (whatever that means—most likely something that bears more obviously the mark of Soviet domination through kitschy entablature), the Germans refused; records of their conversations with Soviet and Chinese leadership, luckily, show the detailed case the East Germans made for the particular components of their design.
Consider, for example, the oddly Romanesque-looking arch supports, with their massive interior buttresses, that line the inside of some of the larger factory spaces. (It is an odd effect—the buildings look like they're leaning backward and resting on their haunches.) Why this odd design? Presumably, because it's much stronger than walls simply built perpendicular to the ground and topped with a triangular prism of a roof (the Germans repeatedly insist that they've designed the factory this way to ensure that it will survive an air raid—something they certainly know a little bit about.)
Consider also the humble type no. 500 red bricks used in every warehouse and wall. This particular type of brick was not available in China, but the East Germans insisted that without it, they could not guarantee the integrity of the design in the event of an 8-magnitude earthquake. To solve this problem, the Germans built factories to make them. (Factories producing factories in an infinitely recursive fashion—this is the ultimate modernist dream.) They then proceeded, according to a former factory worker, to test the psi of every single one. When a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the neighboring province of Tangshan a few months before Mao's death in 1976, one can only assume the German team felt particularly validated.
Reform Follows Function: Ideology and Urban Policy
In the creation of a new Beijing, both construction and destruction were necessary. When Mao moved to transform Beijing into a socialist masterpiece, a "proletariat-peasant metropolis," his makeover was brutal. The hútòngs, distinctive alleys with dense, infinite recursions of space, were destroyed en mass, as were the city walls and gates; hundreds of teahouses, temples, and residential courthouses (sìhéyuàn) were also systematically bulldozed. Why was this? Jiaying Zha suggests that, from an entirely aesthetic and symbolic perspective, Beijing couldn't function as the capital of communist nation in its existing state; she calls the city walls, for example, symbols of the "feudalism and claustrophobia" that Mao was trying so desperately to purge from the city. They were too much of a reminder of the old ways, of rigid imperial hierarchies, of out-of-touch emperors and stale customs, of decadence and decline and luxury. The city needed to change because Chinese people needed to change too, in the way that they thought about one another and the way they lived together.
Architecture and urban planning worked in an advisory capacity here, attempting to engineer social behavior from the top down. There is no better example of this (at least, that still remains intact from this period) than the state-run factories, 718 in particular. Like many other Soviet-built factories of the time, 718 was intended to be an entirely self-contained entity; each unit included residential, commercial, and work-spaces for its respective denizens. This is in contrast to the previous division of space in old Beijing, in which living and commercial quarters were kept distinctly separate. In communist Beijing, the basic of unit of cultural, spatial and social organization was no longer the neighborhood, but the factory.
This is why 718 is more than just a factory. It is supposed to be a site for both work and play, for sleeping and eating, for new communal identities to form and thrive. While the compound has a distinctly utilitarian vibe, its form seems patently aware that its function is not only mechanical, but human too.
At first, it's hard to identify just what about the complex (outside of great care put into its construction) makes it seem so livable, so pleasing to look at and walk around in. The original site didn't have much in the way of decorative effects, save the red Cultural Revolution slogans added to the interior walls in the late 60s. Maybe it's because the East German design, while sparse and practical, is also incredibly livable, human-sized, and intimate. Rather than trying to overwhelm you with the grand authority of the state (perhaps the goal of Tiananmen Square, a former imperial garden) 798 is trying to amuse and comfort you, to be the proverbial Matissian armchair for the worker at the end of a long and tired day.
Perhaps the best illustration of the designer's ambition to create a space that is both beautiful and functional (both human and machine, and in that way an ideal "machine for living") is the silhouette of the factory roof in the main square, often described as "saw-toothed." These buildings, in addition to a few others within the compound, are capped by a series of what look like sawed-off barrel vaults. The red brick portion of the roof completes about 60 degrees of a circle before it terminates in a slab of paneled glass. From the inside, this forms a gigantic hall, a long wedge-shaped prism that now functions as a gallery space, but was formerly the main factory floor. From the outside, the structures make a scalloped pattern that chunks up the skyline in a pleasing, whimsical way.
This feature is a particularly creative solution to a relatively banal problem. The factory spaces required lots of natural light; the north-facing skylights filter in angled sunlight, bright enough to illuminate a space, not so direct as to overwhelm. It's hard to imagine, though, that the Germans designed these skylights, which look so much like open-mouthed sea bass, without a hint of humor or pleasure in architectural oddity merely for its own sake.
While all this discussion of form-follows function, the elevation of the worker, and the creation of livable machines might sound familiar, it's worth pointing out that this structure wasn't actually designed by the Bauhaus (the progressive German architectural school terminated by the Nazis in 1933). In terms of materials and style, there are few comparisons to be made here. Architects like Mise Van der Rohe were famous for working with volume, and not mass; Van der Rohe defined the quintessential Bauhaus-inspired building as a glass skin hung on a steel frame, plastered with stucco on the inside—glorious and white, radiant and lifted. 798, by contrast, is horizontal and heavy. Its red brick masonry is the definition of mass and not volume. Where contemporary Bauhaus was cinematically stark, Dashanzi is stolidly plain.
Still, one gets the idea that Walter Gropius' ghost implicitly approves of the project. The structure absolutely fulfills and realizes Gropius' greatest vision for the Bauhaus (somewhat ironically, outside of a Western European context)—that its architecture would operate in service of a great class transformation. For a time, 798 oversaw such a transition in China.
The Socialist Utopia that was
798 was a total space built by a total state, meant to fulfill completely the requirements of a life. Into this comprehensive environment, then, the most privileged of China's factory workers and engineers went.
In its first iteration, 798 seems to have been a success, from both a social and economic standpoint. For nearly two decades, 798 served as the model of a centrally-planned, government run, self-contained industrial center. Workers had furnished housing available at 1/30 the price of their wages; their children enjoyed free public education, and their families had access to some of the best medical and dental care in the country. Grainy black and whites from the 60s show happy workers congregating for group exercise and nurses petting the heads of babies at 798's daycare center. In 798, recreation also played an important role. The site boasted basketball, volleyball, and soccer teams, literary clubs, swimming pools, a stadium, a theater, a library with books in both Chinese and German, and an orchestra that played revolutionary hymns and Western music. I even saw an image of one man doing an Evil Knievel on a German motorbike.
What was propaganda and what was reality? From an outside perspective it's hard to judge. 798 was in many ways the ideal exception to the general rule of reorganizational failure and poverty in Communist China. Part of why 798 received such generous resources and became a flagship of model factory life was because it produced some of the most valuable (and top-secret) products in the country. When a U.S. U2 plane was shot down in China in 1962, it was workers at 798 that reverse-engineered electrical components found on board (like an insulator) and began producing them for the PLA and for the North Korean military. (Though this is a bit speculative, some writers suggest that 798 was also where the components of China's first nuclear bomb were created.)
If indeed 798 was ever the socialist utopia it promised to be, it did not last. While workers at 798, due to the selective and important nature of their trade, were shielded and isolated from many of the effects of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and in particular the Great Famine, a radical shift in economic policy under the reformist and moderate leadership of Deng Xiaoping would knock the factory from its privileged state position. Like many state-run enterprises, 798 (and its larger encompassing unit, 718) was essentially insolvent by the mid 90s; over 2/3rds of the work force had been laid off and only one of the original 7 factories, factory 750, was still operational.
Unsustainable as it was, though, 798 was for the Maoist regime a cultural ziggurat; it did not represent the de facto reality of what the country was or necessary would be, but echoed its highest ideals and aspirations. Perhaps Factory 798 was in some ways a huge performance piece, a "culture zoo" that displayed the ideal version of a Communist system, and that became less and less viable as the country struggled with internal divisions, poverty, and the heinous outbreak of the Cultural Revolution. It was, as so many great artworks are, an exercise in articulating not what a society is, but the way in which it sees itself.
Mao is not the only 20st century world leader to find in modern architecture the promise of social reform on a massive scale. Like many other contemporary modern leaders in Western countries, Mao absolutely believed in the transformative power of spatial planning; unlike modern leaders in the west, he had the state power behind him to compel people to realize his vision, in which material reality, social organization, and national ambition merged into one harmonious society, pointedly directed at the future.
798: Factory and Art
How did 798 shift from its previous life as a model socialist electronics factory to its present iteration, an arts and culture center that garners increasing international attention? There are, of course, many unromantic and incredibly practical reasons for this transition, having to do with such boring and obvious things as real estate markets. Jen Currier and Rene Dekker both note, with a touch of irony, that the same market reforms that consigned factory 718 to obscurity, emptying it of its workers and devaluing its property, are what allowed artists to develop it at relatively low costs into an aesthetic enclave in Beijing. The low per-square foot cost to rent was key. Also important: high availability of light, massive high-roofed spaces that function dually well as studios and exhibition spaces, and the orientation of the district far away from the city center and (at least initially) reasonably far away from the watchful eye of Chinese censors.
Still, convenience aside, it's clear from reading descriptions from some of the artists and culture workers who were instrumental in the repurposing of the site that there's more to it than that. Berenice Angremy (2006) of Thinking Hands, an architectural conservation group in Beijing, summarizes it in this way:
"It was very obvious that this area could be where contemporary culture could develop. It contained an architectural testimony to an industrial past that was absolutely very precious, and that's why we wanted to have an art district here."
In China, a generation of artists born in the 30s and 40s worked in the factories alongside their parents and peers; they remember the transition from a state-centered economy to Deng Xiaoping's socialist market system. They witnessed the end of a shared vision of classless prosperity and a culture that glorified the worker. Small, wonder then, that this same generation of artists continues to be preoccupied with factories as culturally resonant spaces and aesthetic objects. There are several 798 artists, including Sui Jianguo, Huang Rui and Xu Yong, who have worked part of their lives in a factory (Huang at a shoe leather factory, Xu at a needle factory).
Sui Jianguo in particular has an interesting history. He was the head of the sculpture department when, in 1995, the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing moved from Wangfujing to another electronic component factory nearby. Two of his sculptures are here at 798. The first is a three-tiered red mesh cage with dinosaurs inside, probably from his "Made in China" series. The second one is the Diskobolus. The copy I see tucked away in a back courtyard, acting as a doorstop shows a thinly-smiling Chinese in a business suit winding up to pitch a discus; Sui's most famous version of the piece, however, currently on exhibition at the British museum, is a stony-faced Greek, nearly a perfect copy of Myron's ancient sculpture, wearing the iconic Mao suit.
Lately, Sui has been making copies of the suit itself, signifying (by his own admission) that "the Chinese people have not yet taken it off."
798 may not longer be the center of experimental avant-garde art and culture in Beijing (that title may go to the districts of Caochangdi and Songzhuang); it may fast become a commercial center for aesthetic commerce and speculation, a hub for the international art community in Beijing, and drive out local talent (indeed it may already have, as climbing rent prices have meant that few artists can afford to have residences there). Still, at the moment it serves a dual purpose, allowing Chinese artists and denizens of Beijing to communicate with a complicated past—part industrial, part idealistic. There's a historical resonance here that is different from the Forbidden City, so neatly sanitized and so clearly a feature of a distant and far removed era. 798 preserves a past-present, a history still on the heels on contemporary China that haunts the memories of its citizens. It stubbornly carries into the affluent present memories of building industrial Beijing, of the construction of state ideologies and their equally rapid dismantling.
Image: Cover Image by Charlie fong 冯成, 2009. All others by author, 2013.


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- This event has passed.
Saturday Weekend Service
May 1, 2021 @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 5:00 pm on Saturday, repeating indefinitely
Join us for worship and preaching from God's word every Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Compass Bible Church main auditorium! Outside seating and online streaming options available.

subset: commoncrawl


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5 members of Texas family, including infant, fatally shot
BLANCHARD, Texas (AP) — Authorities say five members of an East Texas family, including a 15-month-old child, have been found dead at the family's home.
Polk County sheriff's officials say they all were shot and killed, and that two men were found dead inside the house while two women and the infant girl were discovered outside the residence.
Chief Deputy Byron Lyons identified the adults as Ashley Delaney, her husband Randy Horn, and Delaney's in-laws, Carlos and Lynda Delaney. The child's identity wasn't immediately released.
Lyons says a woman who was found safe and locked in a bedroom closet told investigators that she awoke about 5:30 a.m. Monday to a disturbance described as popping noises. She called her son, who alerted authorities about 10:30 a.m.
Lyons says a firearm was recovered from the house about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northeast of Houston and that no suspects are being sought. But he declined to characterize the shootings as homicides and a suicide.


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Pocono Events Calendar
Each season, the Pocono Mountains lives up to its promise...
The spring is fresh, lively and green; the summer sweet, warm and inviting; the fall plentiful, colorful and fragrant; and the winter pure, silent and majestic. Festivals, activities, indoor and outdoor life never slow.
Hundreds of events and activities take place in the Pocono Mountains each year. Music and food festivals, holiday celebrations, whitewater rafting days, ski season events and NASCAR races are just some of the exciting events that brighten the region throughout the year. Be sure to take advantage of the many day deals at area attractions that include water activities, outdoor adventures, golf, and dining!
Discover the destination behind the celebrations! Wake refreshed and ready to explore when you stay overnight through one of our romantic, family, or girlfriend getaways.
In the meetings market? Consider planning your meeting around one of the region's signature events!


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Here is a collection of Connecticut General Statues that apply to State of CT Employees:
|Chapter 63 Secs. 5-1 to 5-93b
|State Employment (Repealed)
|Chapter 64 Secs. 5-94 to 5-141
|Retirement (Repealed)
|Chapter 64a Secs. 5-141a to 5-141e
|State Employees' Benefits and Protections
|Chapter 65 Secs. 5-142 to 5-151
|Disability Compensation and Death Benefits
|Chapter 66 Secs. 5-152 to 5-192mm
|State Employees Retirement Act
|Chapter 66a Sec. 5-192nn
|Newington Children's Hospital, American School for the Deaf, Connecticut Institute for the Blind
|Chapter 67 Secs. 5-193 to 5-269
|State Personnel Act
|Chapter 68 Secs. 5-270 to 5-280
|Collective Bargaining for State Employees


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After lovable wingnut Mario Balotelli broke team curfew to visit a strip club in Liverpool last weekend, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini proposed a cure for his young striker's antics: marriage.
Domesticity, Mancini claimed, would tame Balotelli. The Guardian offers the counter-point today, courtesy of Barney Ronay, who writes that Balotelli needs no cure. It's worth a read, especially because Ronay also writes stuff like this:
At least one recent Premier League manager is known to have forbidden his daughters, with a skinny-handed Ancient Mariner fervour, from ever marrying a footballer. It may be fair to add another caveat: Premier League footballers should, if possible, avoid marrying women who are willing to marry Premier League footballers. This is nobody's fault, but is instead an inevitable product of the peculiar plastic universe of the modern footballer, an environment peopled by hustlers and fixers, goons and creeps, profiteers, brutes, aardvarks, baboons, popinjays, sea cucumbers, bilious barnacles and a distinct species of sharp-taloned power-woman: irradiated by spray-on celebrification, empowered by bloodless consumer-lust, willing stooges to the textureless inanities of football's captive princes, big-haired, money-glossed, and dressed alternately in vamp-glam predator chic or the fashion-tracksuits of the basking social athlete.
With this in mind it was a bit surprising to hear Roberto Mancini suggest earlier this week that now may be the ideal moment for Mario Balotelli to get married. "It could be that marriage would help him," Mancini said, albeit under provocation from the latest episode in the miscellany of unbounded zaniness that now surrounds Balotelli, a player recast by the tabloid press from burgeoning scandal-magnet into a largely benign figure, a kind of man-child semi-cretin most commonly spotted unicycling around Manchester city centre with a beggar under one arm, playing croquet in a top hat made entirely from parmesan cheese or hijacking a school bus and driving it to Narnia.
That might be the best description of Balotelli yet.
(h/t The Fenian Mob)


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WASHINGTON – The United States Mint today announced that it is requesting public comment from all interested persons on factors to be considered in conducting research for alternative metallic coinage materials for the production of all circulating coins.
These factors include, but are not limited to, the effect of new metallic coinage materials on the current suppliers of coinage materials; the acceptability of new metallic coinage materials, including physical, chemical, metallurgical and technical characteristics; metallic material, fabrication, minting, and distribution costs; metallic material availability and sources of raw metals; coinability; durability; sorting, handling, packaging and vending machines; appearance; risks to the environment and public safety; resistance to counterfeiting; commercial and public acceptance; and any other factors considered to be appropriate and in the public interest.
The United States Mint is not soliciting suggestions or recommendations on specific metallic coinage materials, and any such suggestions or recommendations will not be considered at this time. The United States Mint seeks public comment only on the factors to be considered in the research and evaluation of potential new metallic coinage materials.
The recently enacted Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–302) gives the United States Mint research and development authority to conduct studies for alternative metallic coinage materials. Additionally, the new law requires the United States Mint to consider certain factors in the conduct of research, development, and solicitation of input or work in conjunction with Federal and nonfederal entities, including factors that the public believes the United States Mint should consider to be appropriate and in the public interest.
Comments must be submitted on or before April 4, 2011. Interested parties may submit written comments by any of the following methods:
|(202) 756–6500
|New Coin Materials Comments
Mail Stop: Manufacturing 6 North
United States Mint
801 Ninth Street, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20220
|Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as mail address.
For further information, contact: Jean Gentry, Deputy Chief Counsel, United States Mint at (202) 354–7359 (not a toll–free call).


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PANYL: Easy & Affordable IKEA Customization
Many of us are IKEA fans but do you ever wish there were more finishes and colors to choose from? Sure, some DIY IKEA hackmasters may be able to put orange cabinets on their Expedit shelves but for the rest of us IKEA is a universe dominated by white and birch. Until now. A new company called Panyl is giving IKEA lovers a way to personalize and customize their favorite flat-pack pieces.
PANYL creates flexible, self-adhesive vinyl film that is pre-cut to the dimensions of specific IKEA furniture models. You can choose from 34 (and counting) different vinyl finishes in solid colors, wood grains, and a few specialty finishes like brushed aluminum.
Panyl is like many excellent inventions because it seems so logical and obvious in hindsight that you pinch yourself for not thinking of it yourself! I haven't bought any yet but am certainly planning to!
All you have to do is peel-away the backing, line it up with the surface your putting it on, and apply pressure. The film is also easy to remove (PANYL doesn't permanently bond with the underlying surface). And the "architectural grade" finishes are waterproof and fire retardant– and won't smudge or fade.
Which IKEA products?
Now: All of the various door and drawer fronts in the IKEA Expedit and Besta Tombo lines, and for the slide-in backpanels for the Framsta flat-panel TV mount.
Later: The company will soon offer PANYL patterns by the linear foot as well "for people who just want to run free with it." New IKEA and other ready-to-assemble lines will be added over time, including the inexpensive Ekby shelves. Co-founders Tristam Steinberg and Dan Goldman hope to expand to other build-it-yourself products from retailers like Target and CB2.
(Images: PANYL.)


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NFL And L.A. Doing Their Same Old Dance, But Is This Tune Different?
By Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times
It is a bizarre anniversary, one that would have been crazy to predict.
Los Angeles has gone nearly two decades without an NFL franchise. The Rams and Raiders began their final season in Southern California 20 years ago. Since, the nation's No. 2 market has watched its No. 1 sport from afar.
In a nod to Roman numerals, we're fast approaching LAXX.
Dozens of ambitious plans — from billionaires to business leaders to blowhards — have been tossed on the scrap pile. In the meantime, the NFL has flourished without Los Angeles, and L.A. fans have grown comfortably accustomed to watching the NFL from their homes. Even with stadium proposals that gained momentum, there has been no cohesive, community-wide push for any particular concept. And there probably never will be. There's one general consensus that even the league has learned to live with: No public money for a stadium.
That said, this season is different. The St. Louis Rams, San Diego Chargers, and Oakland Raiders — all of whom previously played in L.A. — are eyeing the market. That's not new. What's different, though, is for the first time since this saga began, each team has what amounts to a year-to-year lease in its current venue.
It used to be that only the Chargers had an option to leave after each season, a considerable advantage over other NFL clubs weighing relocation. But now the Rams and Raiders have caught up, and all three teams are searching for stadium solutions.
With long-term TV and labor deals in place, and a proven willingness to experiment with a new way of doing things — witness changes to the Pro Bowl, draft, and scouting combine — there are indications the NFL is ready to make another run at L.A.
"We're excited about that," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week. "We're investing billions of dollars in new stadiums. We'd like to do that here. We think there's a great opportunity here. We think opportunities are starting to develop, maybe in part because we have that long-term planning in front of us."
In one sense, the league has already taken a step toward Southern California. L.A. and Chicago are the two finalists to play host to the 2015 NFL Draft. That event has been held in New York since 1965, but the league couldn't work out a deal with Radio City Music Hall to keep it there.
All this L.A. talk will set eyes rolling, of course, because of the rich history of all talk and no action. The threat of L.A. unquestionably has been used as leverage over the years to get deals done in other cities. Without that hammer, for instance, would there be new venues in Seattle or Indianapolis? Would Minnesota have a new stadium in the works? Absolutely not.
The fact that the iron is glowing hot doesn't guarantee a return to L.A. any time soon.
But league executives and owners insist the city is once again a bright blip on the radar screen.
"I think ownership is collectively very concerned that we don't have at least one team in downtown L.A.," New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. "We'd like to do everything [we] can to help facilitate that happening."
There is another difference about this year too. Last December, Rams owner Stan Kroenke quietly bought the 60-acre Inglewood parcel that sits between the Forum and Hollywood Park, land that's sufficient to accommodate a stadium but not all the parking that the league would want.
Kroenke has looked into buying the whole Hollywood Park property, which would give him all the land he'd need for a stadium, parking, and ancillary development. And seeing as the Rams and St. Louis are about $600 million apart on how much the city, county, and state should chip in for a new stadium, Kroenke's interest in L.A. should not be underestimated.
Buying that land was a shrewd move by Kroenke because he can keep it and potentially move forward with a stadium project, develop it in some other lucrative way, sell it (the owners of the Forum wanted it in the first place), and all the while hold smelling salts under the noses of negotiators in St. Louis.
As for the L.A.-area sites that are currently in play — and keep in mind these fall in and out of favor with the league and team owners — most of the inside chatter these days involves Hollywood Park, downtown, Carson, and Dodger Stadium. At this point, there is little talk about City of Industry.
The most viable of these is Hollywood Park, mainly because Kroenke owns those adjacent 60 acres and might not be able to find a solution in St. Louis.
The Raiders are scrambling to line up their own Southern California stadium options in case they feel compelled to leave Oakland, and they have said they're not interested in becoming a second tenant in the San Francisco 49ers' new stadium in Santa Clara.
O.co Coliseum in Oakland is the only venue shared by the NFL and Major League Baseball. But the Raiders and the Oakland Athletics don't share the same stadium vision. While the A's are working on a 10-year lease to stay at the site, the Raiders would like the city to demolish the stadium and build them a new place to play football. One or both of the teams could end up leaving.
There are indications that the Raiders would be willing to be the second team at Hollywood Park. Al Davis, late owner of the Raiders, wanted to build his own stadium at Hollywood Park, subsequently arguing in court that the NFL torpedoed his plans by insisting that his be a two-team venue.
The Chargers, too, are kicking the tires on L.A., just as they have for the last decade. During that span, the city of San Diego has seen seven mayors come and go. The franchise has never gotten much traction on a stadium solution.
The Chargers' most recent unsuccessful bid was made last fall when the club proposed combining a new stadium with the expansion of the Convention Center, similar to the Farmers Field concept in downtown L.A. That San Diego concept is now saddled with at least three pieces of litigation that could require years to resolve.
Sitting idle as another team moves into the L.A. market would be devastating to the Chargers, not only because a significant number of their premier customers (suite holders, local sponsors) are from Orange County and north, but also because they would lose what leverage they now have to get a deal done in San Diego. In other words, if another team is already in L.A., San Diego would be far less concerned about the Chargers' threatening to relocate.
So the Chargers are quietly on the lookout as well.
All this could just be more fantasy football. L.A. has been "at first and goal" so many times that even the most ardent NFL fans have lost hope, interest, or both. Still, there's no denying the dynamics have changed this season.
That could mean the stage is set for a solution. Or just another false start.
Photo via WikiCommons
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On Saturday October 13th, four members of the Alice Lloyd College Cross Country team participated in the 2012 Knott County "Run for Change" 5K race, which took place in Hindman. The purpose of this event was to raise awareness of the drug epidemic that plagues our region. All money raised was donated to the Knott County Drug Awareness Council.
In the actual challenge itself, over 60 runners signed up to participate. The Eagles made an excellent showing, as freshman Greg Randolph overcame all challengers to finish first overall with a solid time of 16:55. His buddies, sophomore Jimmy Noble and freshman Blain Grubbs, came in second and fourth, respectively. Their times were 18:54 and 20:22.
On the ladies side, freshman Allison Holbrook defeated the field to win in a time of 23:00. When asked how she felt to participate in such a worthwhile event, Holbrook responded, "It felt great to know that I was running for something bigger than myself and to know that the money we raised could potentially benefit an entire community."
The impact of the event definitely made an impression on the men as well. "It meant a lot going out there and giving it my all for those who fight a battle I couldn't imagine. I am honored to win for them," Randolph said.
"I have had family members affected by drugs," stated Noble. "Running for my family was my biggest motivation and encouragement."
Summing up the day, Blain Grubbs said, "I enjoyed running in a race that actually meant something and served a purpose when so many people have to fight this addiction. I felt as if my run could truly make a change."


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The Telephoning in English CD-ROM provides business people with the opportunity to improve their telephoning skills while working at home on their PC, or in a self-study centre.
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Editor's note: Meg Urry is director of the Yale Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics and the chair of the Yale physics department. Her nearly three-decade career of space study includes a 14-year stint at the the Space Telescope Science Institute, the home of the Hubble Space Telescope, where she headed the Space Science Selection Office, sifting through thousands of applications from scientists each year hoping to use the telescope. This piece was written in association with The Op-Ed Project, an organization seeking to expand the range of opinion voices to include more women.
(CNN) -- Atlantis, the last space shuttle, returned to Earth on Thursday and will go to its post-retirement gig at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. After more than 30 years and 135 shuttle flights by literally hundreds of astronauts, NASA has reason to be proud.
But for any terrestrial mourners out there, I have some tissues and another perspective: It's time.
The shuttle is an aging workhorse that should be put to pasture -- it's time for a new direction for the space program.
The private sector should take over routine spaceflight while NASA develops new, more technologically current vehicles that can carry human explorers well beyond low Earth orbit.
Just as importantly, NASA should continue its wildly successful program of robotic space science, which has returned an incredible wealth of knowledge for pennies on the human-spaceflight dollar.
When Mercury, Gemini and Apollo rockets were launched in the 1960s, the country stopped to watch the launch. President Kennedy's ambitious goal of landing on the moon was achieved in eight years, by a NASA that was free to soar on a budget that rose to 4.4% of the annual federal budget in 1966, according to noted space historian John Logsdon. Doing my own math, I can compare that with today's NASA budget, which runs about 0.6%, or about $60 per American.
During that era of rapid innovation, lives were sacrificed -- by test pilots in space and Gemini astronauts on the ground -- but the space program moved ahead at light speed.
In the summer of 1969, almost 42 years ago to the day, the entire world was talking about Americans going to the moon. I was a child visiting tiny Meckesheim, Germany, where a childhood friend's father was on sabbatical. Everyone gathered at the one house with a TV set. When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, near dawn, a bottle of California (not French!) champagne was poured in celebration.
Then what had once transfixed the world became increasingly routine, especially after NASA successfully launched the space shuttle program. The shuttle was a big bus -- a reusable vehicle that could carry both cargo and people to low Earth orbit. In 135 flights, as the five space shuttles collectively circled the Earth more than 20,000 times, we learned about the physiology of humans in space and about the behavior of substances in near-weightless conditions.
Making spaceflight routine was a huge success for NASA. Now it's time to declare victory and move on.
Did you capture images of the final shuttle? Share your story on CNN iReport.
NASA should be building sports cars, not buses -- cutting-edge vehicles that define a path toward our future in space. Private industry should take over routine spaceflight activities, with NASA as a customer.
NASA experts on human spaceflight should focus on the next frontier -- exploring asteroids, Mars, and beyond. Low Earth orbit? Been there, done that.
Space is about discovery -- the voyage, yes, but now, a destination beyond our near-Earth neighborhood. Yet after the moon missions in the 1960s, NASA was never funded to follow its ambitious vision for human spaceflight.
So what should we be doing in space? Here's the second critical point: Don't forget robotic space exploration, the other half of what NASA does.
Many Americans recognize the unsurpassed science and inspiration that have come from the Hubble Space Telescope over the past two decades, as well as from its less famous sister satellites like the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Spitzer Space (Infrared) Telescope and the Fermi gamma-ray observatory. With robotic satellites exploring everything from the Earth, sun, and solar system (how about those Mars rovers!), to the farthest reaches of the universe, NASA has had one stunning success after the other.
NASA space science has taught us how the universe is expanding, how the stars and galaxies around us came to be, how planets form and how life might evolve in interstellar space. The list of top discoveries made with Hubble reads like the hit parade of astronomy: a mysterious new "dark energy" causing the accelerating expansion of the universe, distances to other galaxies, the supermassive black holes at their centers, the age of the universe, planet formation around other stars, searches for signs of extraterrestrial life -- and the list goes on.
These NASA achievements are our pyramids at Giza, and the knowledge they bring is our library at Alexandria.
And space science is relatively cheap. One look at the NASA budgets will tell you: 20 years of Hubble -- including all the research done by thousands of scientists across the country -- costs about the same as one year of shuttle operations.
Saying goodbye to the shuttle isn't saying so long to space. It's time to turn to the future. Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope -- designed to reveal the first galaxies ever formed in the universe and to study other planetary systems -- could far surpass Hubble's discoveries. It doesn't get any cooler than that.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Meg Urry.


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Dayna Stephens Quartet : Live At Berklee
Dayna Stephens Quartet: Live At Berklee (full concert audio)
The saxophonist Dayna Stephens, originally of the San Francisco Bay Area, has built up an impressive educational pedigree: Berkeley High, Berklee College of Music, the Thelonious Monk Institute's masters program. But he's really flourished by backing up greats like Kenny Barron and Idris Muhammad, and being a first-call player on both the East and West Coast. Blessed with a warm, enveloping tone, he's made two records as a bandleader, including this year's Today Is Tomorrow.
Dayna Stephens' band visits its leader's alma mater, Berklee College of Music, for this installment of the concert series The Checkout: Live. In a live radio broadcast on WBGO — and a live online video webcast at NPR Music — the quartet performed live. For the full concert archive of this series, visit npr.org/checkoutlive.
Set List
All compositions by Dayna Stephens unless otherwise indicated.
- "On the Trail" (Grofe)
- "Contagious"
- "Haden's Largo"
- "Black Narcissus" (Henderson)
- "Radio-active Earworm"
- "Loosy Goosy" [video highlight]
- Dayna Stephens, tenor saxophone
- Julian Lage, guitar
- Kiyoshi Kitagawa, bass
- Jaimeo Brown, drums
Producer and Host: Josh Jackson; Audio Engineer: David Tallacksen. Recorded Nov. 15, 2012 at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass. Photo courtesy of Michael Borgida/Berklee College of Music.


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The conventional wisdom has always held that extended warranties are a sucker's bet. It's often said that businesses far and wide—from automakers to computer companies—make more money on the sale of extended warranties than they do from the actual products they make. Consumer Reports has led this charge for years, finding that retailers that push extended warranties and service plans keep 50 percent or more of what they charge for them.
The logic is that, even though equipment of all kinds eventually breaks down, the extended warranty doesn't make sense because many needed repairs are covered by a standard manufacturer's warranty, and that once the standard warranty expires, equipment breakdowns are relatively unlikely. Further, even when things do break after the warranty has expired, the cost of repairs is not much higher than buying the warranty to begin with.
It all makes sense, but now the debate over extended warranties is raging again. An authority no less that the Harvard Business Review jumped into the mix last year with an interesting blog post in which writer Rafi Mohammed previously argued that Consumer Reports' analysis didn't include additional value that consumers and businesses receive from extended warranties.
Namely, this includes "peace of mind" benefits that can't be easily quantified financially, since an extended warranty takes the hassle out of those eventual repairs. As Mohammed notes, "Extended warranties mitigate the concern of being 'ripped off' on the repair, because service companies have an incentive to fix the problem efficiently. Bottom line: There's value in being able to sleep well at night."
There's truth to this. When I purchased a new car last year I sprung for the extended warranty, in part because it seemed like a real bargain, in part because the salesman noted that some of my options—including a pricey navigation system—were more prone to failure than the rest of the vehicle. Sure enough, a month ago, that nav system started acting up, and the company is replacing it with this year's model for free.
Mohammed has a similar story, involving a laptop that began acting up, his subsequent panic, and how he's now become a loyal Dell customer because of the speedy service he received when the machine was repaired. (That's also an important lesson for businesses that sell warranties: They aren't just financially lucrative; if you service them well you can make someone a customer for life even if their equipment breaks.)
When those failures happen, we're thankful for having the extended warranty on that specific device, and feel like it was money well spent. But we don't consider the other 10 extended warranties that we purchased but never used.These anecdotes are part of the reason why extended warranties work. Buyers have had an emotional experience involving something failing and either having to be replaced at great cost and hassle, or having been saved by the safety net of the extended warranty.
For businesses, the stakes are considerably higher. Extended warranties on major business purchases like laptops can be costly. Upgrading the standard one-year warranty on a Lenovo ThinkPad T530 to a four-year warranty will add $269 to the $849 price tag—and that doesn't include coverage for accidental damage (a massive $429 for four years). For a company with a fleet of 100 laptops, that represents an investment of over $40,000 in warranties alone.
But Stephen McDaniel, assistant executive director for the Service Contract Industry Council, a trade association for the service industry, says extended warranties have other tangible benefits that shoppers need to consider. "A lot of service contracts also come with free tech support for the life of the extended warranty," says McDaniel, even if the equipment isn't broken. And with computer gear, he says even a pricey warranty can be worth it. "With respect to laptops, a typical repair can cost $350 for an LCD screen repair or $450 for a new motherboard. These aren't insubstantial costs."
If you do consider an extended warranty, make sure you know what you're getting into. ITWire says to be especially wary of loopholes that don't cover certain components (one warranty excluded the backlights in LCD TVs), don't cover "fair wear and tear," don't cover shipping costs, or offer replacements but don't specify the equipment you're receiving will be new.
Minefields abound, but with tech products, don't forget to consider another big caveat: If your three-year old PC breaks down today: Would you really want to get it fixed, or would you want to buy a new one?


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This rural coastal part of town includes Edgartown Great Pond, Oyster Pond, Wintucket, and a portion of the state forest. Three-acre minimum zoning and conservation land have kept this area more sparsely populated than other parts of the town, and there are vast tracts covered with blueberry and huckleberry bushes. Turkeyland Cove, a public landing at Edgartown Great Pond, is a favorite spot among kayakers and shell fishermen.
South Shore in the News
Lawmakers Weigh Property Rights on Ponds
Landowners May Fund Dredge for Use in Edgartown Great Pond
MVC Approves Morning Glory Expansion
Morning Glory's Leap of Faith Takes Off With Community Fun
Dredge Report: Nessie Makes a Splash
All Outdoors: Great Ponds, Great Places
Gazette Chronicle: Summer Curtain Call
Edgartown Great Pond Receives State Assistance


text: Beer Sales Catching up to Hard Alcohol Sales Eick December 31, 2007 Beer, Booze 3 Comments Bet you didn't know that sales of booze and mixed drinks were more than beer did you? I know I didn't. But in an article titled, "Beer closing in on cocktails as drink of choice" MSNBC reports: "After years of losing people to mixed drinks, industry experts say the beer industry regained some of its lost luster in 2007, helped by surging interest in craft beers, a slowing economy and the desire of more drinkers to imbibe at home." While sales of spirits and beer are both up about 2% this year, this represents a slow-down in sales growth for the spirits industry, which had been growing at a faster rate in previous years. An executive for Brown-Forman, who make Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort, believes the slowing economy may also be having an effect:  "We speculate that the typically higher out of pocket cost for the standard sizes purchase hurts spirits relative to beer and wine in an environment where many consumers are feeling short on cash." So does this data ring true to anyone? Have any So Good readers changed their drinking habits lately? Either going from spirits to beer or vice-versa? The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Eick Latest posts by Eick (see all) Fast Food Bracket Round 1: Jack in the Box vs. Five Guys, KFC vs. Checkers - March 3, 2016 BK's "Polygameat" Campaign Shockingly Similar to Wendy's "Meatatarian" Campaign - September 16, 2014 Surge Wins Discontinued Foods Bracket! - April 12, 2013 3 Responses Dave Hunter January 2nd, 2008 I hate having to come up with a cocktail to drink and just choose one of the beers on draft. Much simpler that way, especially if its not my first drink of the night… Reply Chris Soden March 24th, 2008 i think it is way better to just open a beer and relax.. i mean beer is to drink and talk, and have fun but booze is for more for getting drunk and having fun Reply Leave a ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Current ye@r * Leave this field empty


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The Foreign exchange market has quickly become one of the largest growing markets in today's trading world. There are those that report over $3 trillion is turned over in the forex market every day. Even with the global economy in a recession, the foreign exchange market seems to still be holding strong. For this reason, many people have begun to invest in this market with hopes that they will gain money and be protected in their golden years. Its actually not that unusual and many times can be a sound investment. There are literally millions of people trading daily in the forex markets who are making their livings trading forex.
Forex trading however can be very risky even if you are an expert. For some who have never traded before it can become overwhelming to see how the numbers go up and down so often. If you are planning to invest in the Forex trading market and have no idea how to capitalize or to protect your investment, then you should take special care with your money. Just recently software has become available to the public at a very affordable price which are known as forex robots. One such robot that is being released on July 14th is the FAP Turbo Evolution. The purpose of these robots is to help you to better understand the process of Forex trading and to help you to minimize your losses. If you feel like you don't know where to start because you've never traded forex before but would like to start trading, then forex trading robots can assist with this.
Forex trading robots can assist by making decisions for you in some cases. Some of these robots come pre programmed to do all the trading for you, leaving you with nothing to do. So you don't even need to know anything about forex trading. The robots will analyze the markets for you and advise when to buy and sell a certain pair of currency.
The majority of robots are designed to function from those indicators that are considered to be key and that come before certain events. If forex trading is new to you, it would be advised that you do some research on the forex trading process and how these robots can better assist you. For beginners who have just started trading in the forex markets, these robots can be a real time and investment saver. For those traders that are seasoned in the forex market, forex robots can still even be helpful in maintaining and creating additional profits from their trading. To learn more on forex trading robots and how they are helping everyday traders, visit our FAP Turbo Evolution Review site to receive further information.


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The Bomb Was Not NecessaryHistorians/History
With the sixty-fifth anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb almost upon us, there is undoubtedly going to be a flood of commentary on the wisdom of its use by the United States during World War II. The justified scolding of Charles Pellegrino and his The Last Train From Hiroshima and Nagasaki is likely only the opening salvo.
Venturing into the arena of discussing the wisdom of the use of the atomic bomb is fraught with danger. It is somewhat akin to asking for the creation of an "impartial panel" to rationally discuss the issue of abortion, immigration reform, or the merits of the Obama health plan.
Virtually overlooked in the often heated debate is the question of whether the use of the bomb was justified from a strategic viewpoint. In other words, could we have induced Japan to surrender without the use of the bomb? This writer says yes.
For anyone looking for a recent accumulation of articles both pro and con, a useful starting point would be the 2005 essay by J. Samuel Walker in that April's Diplomatic History. Clearly, the issue of the bomb is still an important story and will be with us for some time. Walker references a 1999 poll by Newseum, a museum of the news media, of sixty-seven American journalists who ranked the atomic bombing of Japan in 1945 at the top of all the news stories of the twentieth century. It would not be surprising if the story had the same rank at the end of this century. Walker, like almost all the others who venture into this arena, concentrates on the ethics and morality of President Truman's decision to utilize the bomb. Whether it was necessary to win the war is not discussed.
Walter Trohan, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune with impeccable credentials for integrity and accuracy, reported that two days before President Roosevelt left for the Yalta conference with Churchill and Stalin in early February 1945, he was shown a forty-page memorandum drafted by General MacArthur outlining a Japanese offer for surrender almost identical with the terms subsequently concluded by his successor, President Truman. The single difference was the Japanese insistence on retention of the emperor, which was not acceptable to the American strategists at the time, though it was ultimately allowed in the final peace terms. Trohan relates that he was given a copy of this communication by Admiral Leahy who swore him to secrecy with the pledge not to release the story until the war was over. Trohan honored his pledge and reported his story in the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times-Herald on August 19, 1945. According to historian Anthony Kubek, Roosevelt, in the presence of witnesses, read the memorandum and dismissed it with a curt "MacArthur is our greatest general and our poorest politician." [1]
Specifically, the terms of the Japanese peace offers of late January 1945 were as follows:
- Full surrender of the Japanese forces, air, land and sea, at home and in all occupied countries.
- Surrender of all arms and ammunition.
- Agreement of the Japanese to occupation of their homeland and island possessions.
- Relinquishment of Manchuria, Korea and Formosa.
- Regulation of Japanese industry.
- Surrender of designated war criminals for trial.
- Release of all prisoners.
Other than retention of the emperor these terms were identical to the final surrender terms. Harry Elmer Barnes, in his essay "Hiroshima: Assault on a Beaten Foe," published in the May 10, 1958 issue of the National Review, tells the same story. Barnes said that the Trohan article was never challenged by the White House or the State Department, and says that after MacArthur returned from Korea in 1951, his neighbor in the Waldorf Towers, former President Hoover, took the Trohan article to General MacArthur and the latter confirmed its accuracy in every detail. The Trohan story was ignored by other news media and almost immediately dropped off the public radar.
Admiral Ellis M. Zacharias of the Office of Naval Intelligence, in his book, Secret Missions, tells how Naval Intelligence learned of the desperate condition of the Japanese and their real desire to conclude a peace. There were other "leaks" some coming through the Russians and the Chinese. But all this information made no impression on Roosevelt or Truman, and they gave it no more importance than the MacArthur memorandum. They continued to prepare for a land assault on the home islands that was obviated only by the dropping of the bomb and the Japanese surrender on August 14, 1945. No historian disputes the desperate condition of Japan in the spring of 1945 or that numerous "peace feelers" were being sent out. The traditional interpretation has been that these "peace feelers" were either unauthorized or not bona fide. Would it not have been possible to at least respond to them in some formal manner acknowledging their existence and then demand a clear cut response to a definite counteroffer, instead of ignoring them completely? Any such counteroffer should have allowed for the retention of the emperor but insisted on compliance with all the other terms announced at the Potsdam conference.
The real significance of this tragic error of judgment of Roosevelt and Truman is that, in addition to the needless loss of life of innocent civilians on the Japanese homeland, two of the most vicious and costly battles of the Pacific, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, could have been avoided. In addition, the bribing of the Soviet Union to enter the war allowed them to enter Manchuria, strip that area of close to a billion dollars of industrial equipment, and capture enough Japanese arms and ammunition to supply ten divisions, equipment which they then turned over to Mao, thus contributing substantially to the defeat of the Kuomintang. The loss of China had other tragic consequences, namely the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
There is some justification for holding former President Truman less responsible for this tragic blunder. After all, he was new on the job. He was kept completely out of the loop on all important presidential decisions; he was in awe of General Marshall and the decision to go with the bomb had the unanimous support of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs and the majority of the senior presidential advisors. The same reasoning, of course, would not apply to President Roosevelt.
We are all familiar with the nursery rhyme "for want of a nail, the shoe was lost, for want of the shoe the horse was lost," and so on. Was Roosevelt's curt dismissal of MacArthur's warning the "nail" that cost us the loss of not only thousands of soldiers and sailors at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, but also the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Korean War, and Vietnam?
HNN Special: The Bomb
- John J. McLaughlin: The Bomb Was Not Necessary
- Lester Stone II: What Would Happened in an All-Out Nuclear War?
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Arnold Shcherban - 8/28/2010
I feel embarrassed to explaining such an elementary logical connection to allegedly educated and knowledgeable man as you, Mr. Mejia, should be to participate (to any significant degree) in the debates occurred on HNN pages, but "the necessity of the bombs'use" and the "war crime" I indicated are two mutually negating conclusions.
Carlos Mejia - 8/21/2010
How are the U.S. government's alleged knowledge and Truman's alleged hypocrisy relevant to the necessity of the bombs' use?
Arnold Shcherban - 8/21/2010
American government knew at the time that it committed a war crime by dropping A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
This is clearly indicated by the lie President Truman has resorted to
when explaining the nuclear attack after the bombings (before the American and world public received the horrible description of the reality from the US reporters): "The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base," he said. "That was because we wished in this first attack to avoid, in so far as possible, the killing of civilians."
The Paramount of murderous hypocrisy achieved by any modern political leader, indeed...
Donald Staringer - 8/20/2010
The wrangling continues and properly so. The "revisionists" and "tradionalists" put forth their interpretations and attempt to absolve their vision of the truth.
The tradionalists who accept the official story completely put forth: Japanese build up of forces for the US invasion, their military leadership's intransigency, Japanese fanaticism demanded a "psychological shock" to end the war quickly and save American lives, acceptance of "total war" doctrine, A-bombed cities were "legal military targets," demonstration bomb unsure, only two bombs at the time, keep Russians out of Japanese occupation of Japan and send them a message re Europe, the $2 ½ billion cost of Manhattan project, etc.
On the other hand, revisionists point out the defeated nature of the Japanese position, the unwillingness of US leadership to consider the position of the Emperor until after the bombing, the role of Russian entrance, decision not to warn the Japanese we had an atomic bomb, the fact of the Nov 1st invasion left plenty of time for negotiations, the lack of effort to closely examine Japanese peace feelers, the mass death of innocents, our capability of producing more bombs prior to the invasion date, etc.
As more information comes out it will probably only skirt the essential arguments suggested here and the record will be examined anew by future generations according to their moral and psychological proclivities
Carlos Mejia - 8/20/2010
Which War Department report? What are the sources for what Truman and the Japanese military "knew"? Who "noted" the "discussions and conditions of a Japanese surrender," and why does it matter? Which "more and more investigations"?
Arnold Shcherban - 8/20/2010
Oh,surely... that just shows the barbarian side of your American absolutism and exclusivity.
Arnold Shcherban - 8/19/2010
After the nuclear bombs were detonated the War Department interviewed civilian and military leaders in the country. As the report, which was released in 1946, noted:
"Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated."
President Truman and others most certainly knew this prior to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. American intel had infiltrated and broken Japanese code, and the Japanese military knew they were being intercepted by our military forces. Over in Moscow, as early as June 1945, the Japanese ambassador there was already working on a peace agreement with the allies. Discussions and conditions of a Japanese surrender were noted a full year before Truman dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
More and more investigations are coming to the conclusion that the main
goal of the A-bombing was to scare the light out of USSR, thus killing its possible demands for shared with Americans Japan's occupation and making it much more timid in its post-war actions in South-Eastern Asia.
art eckstein - 8/13/2010
A reading of Sadao Asada's groundbreaking article in Robert J. Maddox's Hiroshima and History (U of Minnesota Press, 2007--based on heretofore unused *Japanese* archives--reveals that the Japanese Army chiefs were unmoved by Hiroshima, and wanted to continue the war. That's how "defeated" they were. They believed, and had made huge preparations to ensure (650,000 soldiers, plus another 250,000 on the way), that the American invasion of Honshu in autumn 1945 would be so bloody that the Americans would accept a compromise peace, thus saving Japanese honor and power. They thought the invasion might even be defeated. They had some reason to think it: note that the Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima numbered only about 25,000. Meanwhile, the U.S. Government had prepared 500,000 purple-heart decorations (serious wounds) for the November invasion of Honshu; so many that in the event they weren't used up until the first Gulf War. It took the second, Nagasaki bomb to give the Emperor the power to intervene and end the war. The Army chief committed suicide rather than surrender. And even after Nagasaki there was a serious attempted coup d'etat by younger officers that would have stopped the surrender.
See Sadao Asada: "The Shock of the Atomic bomb and Japan's Decision to Surrender--A Reconsideration", in Maddox.
On the horror that awaited U.S. forces on Honshu, see the new book by D. M. Giangreco.
There is no reason to believe that conventional bombing would have forced a Japanese surrender before the invasion of Honshu (set for Nov. 1, 1945). The Army (if only the Army) would have been fed.
These are facts.
Carlos Mejia - 8/12/2010
What is "'undisturbed' history"? And, if Japan's ability to fight was "destroyed" than why was the Japanese military sending tens of thousands of combat troops to the very island where the American invasion was slated to land? Also, isn't Japan described more accurately as an archipelago?
ted bohne - 8/12/2010
Japan's "post-war" leadership was that of the US. The Japanese sought only to protect the Emperor, not lay down a list of demands. This sounds like yet another yank with desperate need to see the US as infallible. Again, unvarnished history shows just the opposite as true.
ted bohne - 8/12/2010
well, Japan's Navy and air forces were largely on the bottom of the pacific. The USAAF bombed most of the cities in Japan using incendiary bombs which caused more casualties immediately than did the nukes. Japan is an island. The US virtually destroyed japan's ability to fight. Many official documents that are available on the internet also demonstrate that the Japanese authorities were prepared to surrender but were in desperate need to hold a centuries old issue with the Emperor being a virtual Deity intact. Clearly Mr. Maddox is one of those with a desperate need to see the US as infallible when actually, the exact opposite is proven true by "undisturbed" history.
rick w. peuser - 8/12/2010
Why would the US Government spend millions of dollars in R&D to develop and build the bomb and then not use it? That would not make sense.
I am not trying to minimalize the devestation and horror from the decision to use it, but the logic was, at the time, it took so much resources to build so we will use it.
My preference would have been Tokyo Bay to show the destructive force that would be unleashed.
art eckstein - 8/12/2010
Professor Dresner is correct on all points.
In addition, perusal of Sadao Asada's groundbreaking article in R. J. Maddox's Hiroshima and History (U of Minnesota Press, 2007--based on heretofor unused Japanese archives--reveals that the Japanese Army chiefs were absolutely unmoved by Hiroshima, and wanted to continue the war. That's how "defeated" they were. They believed, and had made huge preparations to ensure (650,000 soldiers, plus another 250,000 on the way), that the American invasion of Honshu in autumn 1945 would be so bloody that the Americans would accept a compromise peace, thus saving Japanese honor and power. They thought the invasion might even be defeated, and they had some reason to think it: note that the Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima numbered only about 25,000. It took the second, Nagasaki bomb to give the Emperor the power to intervene and end the war. The Army Chief of Staff committed suicide rather than surrender.
See Sadao Asada: "The Shock of the Atomic bomb and Japan's Decision to Surrender--A Reconsideration", in Maddox.
On the horror that awaited U.S. forces on Honshu, see the new book by D. M. Giangreco.
There is no reason to believe that conventional bombing would have forced a Japanese surrender before the invasion of Honshu (set for Nov. 1, 1945).
Carlos Mejia - 8/11/2010
Before one can conclude that there was a "tragic error of judgment" or a "tragic blunder," three basic questions need to be answered:
1) What happened to MacArthur's 40-page memorandum?
2) How did MacArthur verify that the Japanese surrender offer was genuine (i.e., not a ruse or a delaying tactic) and serious (i.e., that it came from the Japanese military's high command)?
3) Where are the corroborating Japanese sources regarding this surrender offer?
Lawrence Brooks Hughes - 8/11/2010
Iwo Jima and Okinawa were fought before Truman was confronted with the bomb decision, so the lives lost in those battles do not count as lives which could have been saved.
Thousands of Americans and other allies in Japanese captivity were close to death at the time of Hiroshima, and many of them survived because Truman dropped the bombs and they were liberated quickly thereafter.
The number of Japanese lost in Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been repeatedly exaggerated by Peace Movement types who have harped on these bombings for decades, and they fudged the numbers in many reference books. This has long been a staple item in the catalogue for hate-America-first folks. Some Australian POWs confined four miles from ground zero at Hiroshima, for instance, were not killed and lived on for decades. Likewise, the number who died years later but died early as a result of atomic wounds turned out to be much smaller than had been forecast, and good statistics are lately available on them. It was something less than 2% of the number killed immediately.
If Japan was so ready to surrender, why did it take two bombs to get them to sue for peace?
When one considers the tenacity with which Japan fought at Okinawa, it suggests every subsequent landing on their home islands would have been very costly to us and them. Strictly on the basis of the potential numbers in jeopardy, it has always seemed to me that Truman's action saved lives.
Edmond Dantes - 8/11/2010
While discussing this subject a friend told me to read Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa.
Ruel J. Eskelsen - 8/10/2010
This area of WWII historiography is obviously still contested. However, there are several articles right here on HNN that present an opposing point of view to Mr. McLaughlin's article here. I searched HNN for "japanese surrender" and found these two very helpful:
Jeremy Yellen - 8/9/2010
I concur with most of the above criticisms. The "peace feelers" the author discusses were rather feeble at best. A problem with many articles or books that discuss the willingness of Japan to surrender is that they focus wholly on U.S.-based sources to the exclusion of Japanese sources. It is difficult to make any claims about a Japanese willingness to surrender without at least a cursory look at the Japanese sources. After all, it is easy to over-emphasize the importance of the MAGIC diplomatic codes, which make it appear that surrender was only a matter of time.
I recommend the author read recent works by Richard Frank, Herbert Bix, and Tsuyoshi Hasegawa.
omar ibrahim baker - 8/9/2010
Except for the TERROR it was planned to instill in the Japanese and TERRORIZE them into submission the use of the A bomb against Japan, who was transmitting all sorts of declarations of defeat and readiness to surrender , was meant primarily for the after war era and for the world at large!
That A bomb was meant to announce the birth of an America dominated world; a sort of nuclear weapons imposed PAX AMERICANA
On that particular historical junction it was meant to terrorize the Soviet Union in particular.
Only the Soviet success in developing his counter weapons of mass and massive destruction first neutralized then frustrated that strategic, and ever present, US goal: to terrorize the enemy and by inference the whole world, into submission to American will.
Terror as the ultimate weapon was also used, under different forms, to terrorize the adversaries of the USA ever since.
In Viet Nam it took the form of massive bombing of civilian targets, rember the bombing of Hanoi.
In Cambodia the concept of carpet bombing and massive defoliation of forests.
Recently in Iraq it took the form of excessive use of all sorts of new weapons with all sorts of lethal new and old components and materials imbedded therein, whose output in genetically deformed new born babies is slowly coming to the fore front with increasing frequency and accumulated figures that the WHO (World Health Organization) dare not investigate!
It is truly ironical that the master Terrorist of modern times chose to declare a War against Terror!
Alonzo L Hamby - 8/9/2010
I was made aware of the Trohan article several years ago. I have found no mention of a Japanese peace offer to the General in MacArthur biographies or any mention of it in the numerous histories of the atomic bomb decision. Is such a document in the MacArthur papers? Can it be found at the Roosevelt or Truman libraries? Does it exist at all? Is it in the Trohan papers?
Why does it seem to me quite unlikely that the Japanese would transmit an offer to surrender to General MacArthur rather than through existing diplomatic channels to Washington?
If there is really a document out there, let's get it out and subject it to a basic historical evaluation.
John Connally - 8/9/2010
The author of this piece allegedly tries to forego the standard emotionally-charged question of – Was dropping the atomic bomb wise? – and instead asks if it was strategically important. Yet as I read through it, all I hear is rehashed regrets of "tragic error of judgment," "needless loss of life of innocent people," and other "tragic consequences." Will historians in America ever cast off all this guilt? It seems like a heavy and irrational burden to carry?
John D. Beatty - 8/9/2010
While all here are correct, another issue was who was going to surrender what to whom? Japan's civil government was about to be abolished. Would anyone in the war council offer a surrender? Not likely. To the Soviets? Even more remote. To the Chinese? Never, not voluntarily.
The "peace offers floated in 1944 and early 1945 came from people who were not authorized by anyone to negotiate an armistice, because that's pretty much what they offered. Nothing like these terms would be presented by anyone Japanese.
Lewis Bernstein - 8/9/2010
Where is the citation for the "Japanese surrender offer?"
I am not persuaded by the author's argument. All I have seen is the after the fact justifications for the position.
What was known at the time by the decision makers? Who really thought the Japanese would surrender peacefully? Please remember, the Japanese army had not yet suffered a decisive defeat outside the Pacific islands even though the navy had been destroyed. Public opinion in Japan, as we have been able to reconstruct it, was not convinced of the hopelessness of their cause until the US fleet appeared off shore and began to bombard targets that were left unopposed.
The Japanese army was convinced that to have "100 million die as one" would be preferable to surrender.
Roger Brown - 8/9/2010
This "peace offer" from January 1945 reads like a draft of possible _Allied_ terms to be presented to the Japanese government (e.g., as occurred in the later Potsdam Declaration). On what basis does the author believe it is a _Japanese_ offer (Mr. Trohan's credentials aside)?
Jonathan Dresner - 8/8/2010
There are two obvious errors in this piece, and a curious positioning issue. First, I don't believe any discussion of the atomic bombings has ever ignored the strategic question of necessity, except for those that take a 'first principles' approach to the acceptability of atomic weapons. So the introduction is weak.
The proffered surrender terms "of late January 1945" are not "identical to the final surrender terms ... Other than retention of the emperor": the open-ended reformist Occupation of Japan, the conversion of Japan from an Axis enemy to a Cold War ally, none of that would have been likely under a conditional surrender that left Japan's constitutional and political revision to Japan's post-war leadership. Japanese proposals - coming from some of Japan's most liberal leadership in modern history - for constitutional revision were laughably minor, largely retaining the Emperor-centered irresponsibility which made pre-war Japanese politics so interesting and, ultimately, deadly. There's no evidence that a lighter hand would have produced real reform.
The discussion of post-surrender disposition of Japanese forces and equipment in China is fatally one-sided: Japanese forces in China were given direct authorization by the US to continue fighting against Communist forces, and a great deal of their equipment and personnel ended up in the hands of the Guomindang; at best, it was a wash.
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- 12 medium sized prawns
- 125gm zucchini, sliced thinly
- 125gm green pumpkin, sliced thinly
- 1 medium sized tomato, cut into 8 wedges
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 3 tbsp tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 4 tbsp water
- 2 tsp sugar
- Clean, peel and de-vein the prawns. Pat dry with kitchen towels. Marinate lightly with salt & pepper. Keep in the fridge for ½ hour.
- Heat up some oil in a frying pan. Layout all the prawns over the pan and let them fry untouched until they turn pink. Flip over the other side and continue frying until the prawns turn pink and curl up. Do not overcook prawn. Dish up and place on kitchen towels to absorb excess oil. Set aside.
- Return heat to medium high. With remaining oil in pan, sautée garlic until fragrant.
- Add in zucchini & green pumpkin slices and stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add in tomato wedge and stir-fry for another 1 minute until the tomato turn slightly soft.
- Add in seasonings and mix well with zucchini and tomato. Lastly return the cooked prawns to coat with the rest of the ingredients. Turn the heat to high and stir-fry quickly for 8-10 seconds. Dish up and serve.


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9 dead, villages destroyed in Solomons tsunami
By Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press –
Sydney — Aid workers struggled to reach remote, tsunami-ravaged villages in the Solomon Islands on Thursday and the death toll rose to at least nine as more bodies were found in wrecked homes and debris in the South Pacific country.
The victims, including a child, were killed when a powerful earthquake set off a small tsunami that sent 1.5-meter (5-foot) waves roaring inland on Santa Cruz Island, in the eastern Solomons, on Wednesday. Around 100 homes across five villages were damaged or destroyed.
The waves proved deadly for five elderly villagers and a child, who weren't fast enough to outrun the rushing water, said George Herming, a spokesman for the prime minister. Three more bodies were found Thursday, but Herming said details of how those victims died were not immediately available.
Several others are missing and dozens of strong aftershocks were keeping frightened villagers from returning to the coast, Herming said.
"People are still scared of going back to their homes because there's nothing left, so they are residing in temporary shelters on higher ground," Herming said.
The tsunami was generated by an 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck near the town of Lata, on Santa Cruz in Temotu, the easternmost province in the Solomons.
Disaster officials were en route to the isolated area Thursday after the local airport, which was flooded by the tsunami, was finally cleared of debris.
The Solomons comprise more than 200 islands with a population of about 552,000 people. They lie on the "Ring of Fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur.
More than 50 people were killed and thousands lost their homes in April 2007 when a magnitude-8.1 quake hit the western Solomon Islands, sending waves crashing into coastal villages.


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Monday, September 30, 2013
wee sneak peek aw 2013
Another glimpse of the wood & wool wee wear autumn/winter collection.
This one is perfect for a wee baby boy or cool baby girl.
All cardigans are handmade by me and each wee cardigan is unique. I'm having so much fun working on this collection.
On Wednesday the cardigan collection is launched!
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 12:16 PM 10 comments:
Labels: aw2013, baby, cardigan, collection, handmade, wood & wool wee wear, wool
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 10:24 PM 2 comments:
Labels: deliplein, nrcafé, places to go, rotterdam, sunny saturday
Saturday, September 28, 2013
nobel's brood
This morning Sander & Willemijn opened their 'fair bakery' Nobel's Brood in Dordrecht.
Nobel's Brood is located in the most beautiful street of Dordrecht, the interior is bright and charming. It feels like an old fashioned bakery with a contemporary vibe.
A bakery where you can get wonderful various breads, honest and fresh regional products and a cup of good coffee, with or without a sandwich.
Freshly baked bread everyday, even on Sunday's they bring your order with a delivery bicycle in the old town of Dordrecht.
Highly recommended if you live in Dordrecht or if you happen to be in the neighborhood!
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 7:51 PM 3 comments:
Labels: bakery, bread, coffee, dordrecht, fresh, nobel's brood, places to go, sandwich
Friday, September 27, 2013
yee haw!
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 7:45 PM 1 comment:
Thursday, September 26, 2013
late summer flowerday
Today was a gentle autumn day with lots of sunshine and still plenty of flowers to pick from the Villa Augustus garden.
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 9:49 PM 2 comments:
Labels: at work, colors, dahlia, flowerday, garden flowers, september, villa augustus, zinnia
savons de cuisine
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 8:08 AM 2 comments:
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
wood & wool wee wear
Soon in the shop: WOOD & WOOL WEE WEAR
I'm working on a new collection of handmade cardigans for babies.
Just have to share this sneak preview with you, for the tiny cardigans are so cute!
The cardigans cabinet closes for now, but soon more about wood & wool wee wear...
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 1:04 PM 3 comments:
Labels: autumn, baby, cardigan, clothing, collection, fashion, handmade, harlequin blanket, new design, sneak preview, wee, wood & wool wear, wood & wool wee wear
For a stool-addict like me, this is a wonderful pile.
I should actually try this 'stacking' once, with the private collection of the old stools that are spread throughout our house...
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 12:46 AM 4 comments:
Labels: amsterdam, collection, stool addict, stools, van dijk en ko, vintage
Sunday, September 22, 2013
flowers, puk & souk
roses from Pippa - weekend guest Puk
dahlia - picked by Lammie
great book design - De Souk (The Lebanese Kitchen), our latest cookbook
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 11:42 AM 5 comments:
Saturday, September 21, 2013
borlotti beans
Yesterday I shelled the beans, so they could soak overnight.
The beans have a wonderful color and pattern, both the shell and the beans.
The 'print' vanishes during cooking, the taste is delicious.
We will make an italian Borlotti bean soup tonight, using Larissa Bertonasco's recipe from the book La Nonna, La Cucina, La Vita.
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 8:03 AM 5 comments:
Labels: borlotti beans, italian, kitchen, larissa bertonasco, recipe, soup, weekend
Friday, September 20, 2013
circles cupboard
The circles cupboard we bought at Lammies and although it was planned in the kitchen, it ended up on my desk.
Well I can't get enough of the zinnias yet. They just look so damn pretty in that bucket, right?!
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 11:54 AM 4 comments:
Labels: colors, cupboard, home, lammie verkoopt, natalie lete, vintage, wood & wool harlequin blanket, zinnia
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
bike management
We are looking for a nifty way to 'park' our vintage race bike in the house.
I like this elegant solution by Knife & Saw a lot.
Does anyone have another cool and practical indoor bike-storage idea?
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 7:54 PM 9 comments:
Labels: home, inspiration, nifty, race bike, vintage
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
let's stay inside
Ingredients for an autumnal siesta:
rug - handmade harlequin boucherouite
sneakers (off) - Topshop London
magazine - AD spanish edition
bowl - yogurt & cereals
Geplaatst door wood & wool stool op 2:21 PM 11 comments:
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TEMPE, AZ – Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona, Inc. negotiated the $11.4 million ($59 PSF) sale of a former electronics manufacturing/warehouse building at 615 S. River Dr in Tempe, AZ.
The 193,000-square-foot property was built in 1982, expanded in 1994 and expanded again in 1997. It includes 176,000 square feet of fully air-conditioned manufacturing and warehouse space and 17,000 square feet of office space. It sits on 16.5 acres with direct frontage on the Loop 101 and close proximity to the Scottsdale and Chandler submarkets.
"EverWest Real Estate Partners and CarVal Investors will reposition the property as creative office space and will fill the void felt by the many tech-related users in the market seeking modern, collaborative office environments with above-standard parking," said Chad Littell.
"We are excited about the opportunity this building will bring to the market. Upon completion of the renovations, the property will offer high-tech creative office space with a 7:1 parking ratio in a thriving and high-demand large user market," said Curt Kremer, Managing Director – Acquisitions with EverWest Real Estate Partners.
Littell, Chris Toci, Jackie Orcutt and John Grady of Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona collaborated with John Boyd of Signature Associates in Michigan, a Cushman & Wakefield affiliate, and Tim Callahan of Cushman & Wakefield Florida, to represent Jabil. The buyers are EverWest Real Estate Partners and CarVal Investors. Jerry Noble, Ryan Bartos and Orcutt of Cushman & Wakefield will be retained to handle the leasing.
St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Jabil announced it would close the facility last September. Jabil moved into the building in 2005 when it took over an electronics manufacturing business.
To learn more Littell, Toci, Orcutt, Bartos and Grady can be reached at the Cushman & Wakefield office in Phoenx at (602) 253-7900.