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A Strategic Framework for Creating Legality and Order in Immigration
"Immigration harms" undermine the positive economic and social benefits of immigration and in some cases produce economic and social costs that may outweigh the benefits of migration. These risks of migration are extensive, and they include the exploitation of workers, the erosion of working standards, the presence of illegally resident persons that undermine the rule of law, profit to criminal enterprises, government corruption, potential adverse fiscal and welfare consequences, and—at their most severe—violent criminal activity.
This report, part of a Transatlantic Council on Migration series that examines migration "bad actors," analyzes how governments ought to best allocate their resources to address these harms, including choosing which threats to tackle and where to prioritize enforcement efforts. The report explores how immigration policymakers can learn from other public policy regulation efforts to ensure that regulatory actions advance the public interest.
After assessing a wide range of tools that immigration policymakers have at their disposal, the report concludes that an effective and strategic enforcement regime to tackle immigration harms includes: (1) the abiilty of governments to generate new evidence and analysis to improve their operational understanding of the threats they face; (2) an allocation of resources the scale and intensity of the violations, as well as the cost-effectiveness of policies designed to address them; (3) strong partnerships across government agencies; and (4) decisions based on transparent criteria that all participants in the system can understand.
I. Introduction: Approaches to Risk Management and Regulation
II. Immigration and the Public Interest
A. The Public Interest Test
B. Sling Shots and Boomerangs
III. Policy Tools
A. Early Interventions that Disrupt Illegal Flows Before They Reach the Border
B. Cooperation between Destination Countries and Those of Origin and Transit
C. Border Security Efforts
D. Policies Targeting Organized Immigration Crime
E. Policies for Reforming Selection Systems and Opening Legal Migration Channels
F. Employer Sanctions and Labor Standards
G. Demand-Side Reforms
H. An Increase in Returns and Removals
I. Legalization
J. Policies that Limit Welfare Services
IV. Conclusions and Recommendations


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Please Enjoy This Hilariously Racist Iowa Newspaper Story
When you think "The Montezuma (Iowa) Record," you think "just good journalism, as befitting the town that is home to Iowa's best competition motocross race track, Fun Valley Motocross." I'm sad, and chuckling, to tell you that you may be disappointed in the Record's latest effort, however. (Unless you are racist).
The Record did a story on salaries at the University of Iowa this week. Sounds like good public records reporting, eh? Good racist public records reporting, that is! Allow The Ames Progressive to explain, since The Montezuma Record is not online, due to the fact that it is produced by a small but racist band of livestock:
A report listing the employees at the University of Iowa who earn at least $100,000 was introduced by noting, "The relatively high numbers of employees with names from Asia and the Near East is interesting. While there are SMiths [sic] and Jones, there are eleven Ahmeds to only 30 Browns."
Later in the report, the paper astutely observed, "Hyphenated, unspellable and oriental names may get you the big bucks"
The Montezuma (IA) Record is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in the Category of Finding People Named 'Ahmed' in Iowa, 1917-2012.
[Ames Progressive via Romenesko. Photo: Corinna Makris/ Flickr]

subset: commoncrawl


text:
DescriptionEquip yourself with the latest hunting equipment including bows, rifles, shotguns, and defensive firearms and take to 10 real-life regions!
Product Details
- Name: Bass Pro Shops: Trophy Hunter 2007 - Xbox
- Platform: Xbox
- Developer & Publisher: Jarhead Games, Vivendi Games
- Official Release Date: 2006-11-20
- Franchise: Bass Pro Shops
Game Data
- Genre: Sports > Individual > Nature > Hunting
- Age Rating: ESRB T
- Descriptor(s): Violence
- Country: USA
- Item Code: 20626723497
New & Pre-Owned Guarantee
- NEW item(s) are 100% Brand New Factory Sealed in Original Packaging, Ready to Ship securely. NIB: New in Box
- USED item(s) are cleaned and tested professionally, each is individually wrapped to guarantee you a perfectly clear box. 100% safe! CIB: Complete in Box or L: Loose
- If you would like to see actual photo or box art of the pre-owned games, please feel free to contact us for more photos prior purchase. Thanks and Happy Hunting!
※ Please note our prices on our website jnlgame.com may be different from our store prices. All prices and availability are subject to change without prior notice, at the sole discretion of J&L Game Inc. Product images for Pre-Order and NEW Video Games, Consoles, and Accessories are stock photos and may differ from what are available upon release. Product images for Pre-Owned Video Games, Consoles and Accessories are for illustrative purposes only, and may different from what are available at the time of order fulfillment. If you would like to see actual photo or box art of the game, please feel free to contact us for more photos prior purchase. Thank you for your understanding.


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The Trouble With Trump
A Commentary By Joe Conason
Everything we really need to know about the character of Donald Trump was revealed when the wannabe president frivolously accused Barack Obama's late grandparents of committing fraud with his birth announcement. Trump told CNN that they had placed the Aug. 13, 1961, announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser because they wanted to get "welfare" and other benefits. But this casual falsehood revealed only the tiniest hint of the truth about Trump that Americans will discover if he actually runs for the White House.
Anticipating such scrutiny, Trump should use more caution when mouthing off about "welfare," for instance. His family wealth and his own business have both depended heavily on the corporate welfare that supports the real estate industry, starting with the Federal Housing Administration support that undergirded his father Fred's residential empire more than half a century ago.
The sudden refurbishing of Trump as a rugged individualist is as ridiculous as those tea party zealots who hate all government programs, except their Medicare. In "Trump: The Deals and The Downfall," the classic biography by investigative journalist Wayne Barrett, the mythology of the self-made success is pulled aside to show a scion of family privilege, abused power and political sleaze.
Young Donald learned early on about the rental supplements, tax abatements, government loans and other state capitalist tools available in his native New York -- especially to a budding developer whose daddy greased the necessary connections to the Democratic political machine.
When Trump was getting started, Mario Cuomo was governor -- and Donald hired the governor's son, Andrew, who has since ascended to that high office. Meanwhile, he lavished money on Democratic pols high and low, and they repaid him with favors that made his projects financially viable.
In short, Trump is hardly what he claims to be -- and voters will soon realize that very few of the man's boastful statements about himself and his record can stand up to the slightest scrutiny. "I was a great student, I went to the best schools," he told a tea party rally in Florida recently.
Actually, he couldn't cut it at the small New York City private school attended by his siblings, and he was removed to a military academy upstate that specialized in discipline for troubled and failing boys, where he barely earned a B average. From there, he went on to Fordham University and then the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. While both are very fine institutions, Trump coasted academically, although he later bragged that he had earned "the highest grades possible."
It is Trump's bizarre remarks about President Obama, including his birthplace, his schooling and his literary career, that invite the examination of his own past. But perhaps it is pointless to criticize the bluster and hype that are, after all, the most important element in Trump's success. Particularly for the Republicans whose party he may attempt to lead, the more pertinent questions concern his politics, policies and ideology. The answers can be summed up in a single word: opportunist.
Over the years, Trump has mostly donated money to Democrats, including Sens. Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, Harry Reid (that scourge of the tea party) and Rep. Anthony Weiner, the Brooklyn firebrand who often represents liberals on cable television. He gives to Republicans, too, but not nearly as much or as often. During the last cycle, he gave $10,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee -- and $25,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In 2004, he gave to George W. Bush and to John Kerry.
He vocally supported the bank and auto bailouts; he praised Barack Obama before turning around to vilify him; he has endorsed higher taxes on the wealthy and sworn that he would never raise taxes, period. The single reliably Republican aspect of Trump's life is his enduring connection with Roger Stone, a Nixon-vintage dirty trickster.
Watching him run will be fun -- unless you're a Republican who hopes to win back the White House.
See Other Political Commentary.
See Other Commentary by Joe Conason.
Views expressed in this column are those of the author, not those of Rasmussen Reports.
Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.
We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.
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Im September 2019 entstand aus dem Ludwig Boltzmann Institut für Geschichte und Theorie der Biographie (2005-2019) der Forschungsverbund Geschichte und Theorie der Biographie.
Der Forschungsverbund stellt eine Maßnahme des Rektorates der Universität Wien zur Förderung von Aktivitäten im Bereich der Biographieforschung dar.
Mehr dazu finden Sie hier!
en1/1 | The Institute
The Institute was founded by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft in 2005 in cooperation with the University of Vienna, the Austrian National Library, the Jewish Museum Vienna and the Thomas Bernhard Privatstiftung. Four years later, two further partners joined the consortium – the German Literature Archive in Marbach and the Frankfurter Goethe-Haus / Freies Deutsches Hochstift. Following a successful evaluation procedure, the Institute adopted new research strands in 2012 in cooperation with the University of Vienna, the Austrian National Library, the Wienbibliothek (Vienna City Library), and Bixa TechnoConsulting. In 2015, the Department of German and Dutch at the University of Cambridge became a further member of the consortium.
With a broad research programme connecting archival research with historiography, literary studies and the digital humanities, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for the History and Theory of Biography is committed to furthering the dynamic interdisciplinary field of life-writing.
Comprising an international team of researchers, the Institute conducts fundamental research into the theory of biography, reflects critically on the historical conditions of life-writing, and develops scholarly biographical projects. Previous work at the Institute has looked at the life and work of key figures of Austrian Modernism: Leopold von Andrian, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Eugenie Schwarzwald, Thomas Bernhard and Ernst Jandl.
A focus on Austrian Modernism has been maintained with a forthcoming exhibtion on the Young Vienna circle and a scholarly biography of Arthur Schnitzler. Further biographical projects have been established on Karl Kraus, Mira Lobe, Arthur Koestler and Oskar Pastior. The development of virtual biographies aims to make a significant contribution to the digital humanities.
The results of the Institute's work are communicated to the public via an ongoing series of publications, symposia and exhibitions, and presented to students at universities in Austria and abroad through numerous lectures and seminars. In 2012, an annual Ludwig Boltzmann Lecture at the University of Cambridge was established.
• Mirror and Mask: Constructions of Biographical Truth
• Inside Stories: Film and Biography
• The Many Lives of Biography: Biography as Paradigm of Cultural Studies
• Biography and Religion
• IABA Europe Conference 2013: Beyond the Subject - New Developments in Life Writing
• Hungary 1919. The Allure of Communism
• Tradition in Viennese Modernism (15.-16.12. 2014)
• Thomas Bernhard (2009, Austrian Theatre Museum)
• Ernst Jandl (2010, Wien Museum)
• Mira Lobe (2014/2015, Wien Museum)


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BANGLADESH: NGO ban hurting undocumented Rohingya
COX'S BAZAR, 17 December 2012 (IRIN) - Some 40,000 undocumented Rohingya refugees are being adversely affected by a government ban four months ago on NGOs working at two makeshift sites in southeastern Bangladesh.
"If we get some rice, we eat. Otherwise, we don't eat," Anowara Begum, an undocumented Rohingya refugee and 40-year-old mother-of-four at the Leda makeshift camp outside Nayapara, one of two makeshift sites outside two official government camps for Rohingya refugees told IRIN.
'Since the NGOs stopped coming our kids don't get medicine. They don't get treated for what they need. They don't get the food they need,' Sokeya Begum, 39, another undocumented Rohingya, said.
In August, Bangladeshi authorities ordered three NGOs - Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Action Against Hunger and Muslim Aid UK – to stop the formal delivery of humanitarian services, including health care and food to undocumented Rohingya refugees, saying such services would encourage more to flee to Bangladesh.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are more than 200,000 Rohingyas in Bangladesh, of whom only 30,000 are documented and living in two government camps assisted by the agency.
Some 12,000 documented refugees live at the Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazar District, with another nearly 18,000 further south at Nayapara - both within 2km of Myanmar.
Documented refugees are provided food rations by the World Food Programme (WFP), along with shelter assistance, non-food items, water/sanitation services, vocational training and supplementary feeding for malnourished refugees by UNHCR.
However, most Rohingya - a mainly Muslim ethnic group who fled persecution en masse to Bangladesh from Myanmar's neighbouring Rakhine State years earlier - are undocumented.
UNHCR has not been permitted to register newly arriving Rohingya since mid-1992.
Only those who are documented receive regular assistance, while those who are undocumented are largely dependent on a handful of international NGOs who until recently were allowed to work in the area.
Poor living conditions
Prior to the government ban, conditions in the makeshift camps were described by Physicians for Human Rights as "among the worst they had ever seen".
Most people outside the Kutupalong camp are housed in ramshackle huts made of twigs and plastic sheeting, denied food aid, and live beside open sewers, the Boston-based group says.
In its most recent survey, MSF found that global acute malnutrition, one of the basic indicators for assessing the severity of a humanitarian crisis, was as high as 27 percent at the Kutupalong makeshift camp, where an estimated 20,000 unregistered refugees live - almost double the emergency threshold of 15 percent set by the World Health Organization.
No further surveys have been made since the ban took effect.
In June, the Bangladeshi authorities effectively closed the door to Rohingya fleeing communal violence in Rakhine State in June and October which left dozens dead and thousands of homes destroyed.
'We are not interested in more people coming to Bangladesh,' Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told reporters at the time, noting that Bangladesh was already a densely populated country and could not afford a fresh influx.
Government figures suggest 200,000-500,000 undocumented Rohingya live in villages and towns outside the camps, many of them in Cox's Bazar, Bandarban and Chittagong.
UNHCR has repeatedly called on Dhaka to lift the ban, but more than four months on it remains in place, leaving aid workers reluctant to comment on the record.
"The situation here is very bad, it's horrific," Shahina Akter, a local nutrition volunteer who asked that her organization not be identified, citing issues of severe malnutrition.
"Because of the ban, it's harder for us to help the Rohingya," another aid worker who asked not to be identified, confirmed.
Theme (s): Refugees/IDPs,
Copyright © IRIN 2012
This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States.
IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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"ICE immigration raids 'abusive' according to report" (Free Speech Radio News):
President Obama has expanded the powers of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Administration to include the investigation of drug crimes. But even without this expanded power, ICE is coming under criticism from Unions and human rights advocates for the way they conducted immigration raids under the Bush Administration. Kellia Ramares has more.
Reporter: A National Commission of labor and civil rights experts, founded by the president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, conducted a yearlong investigation. It released a report entitled "Raids on Workers" detailing systematic abuses of workers' rights and willful disregard for the rule of law. In a series of regional hearings, the commission found a pattern of misconduct. During raids, U.S. Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents were detained for hours even after establishing their status. Families were separated, leaving children without proper care. The commission also collected information about repeated incidents of racial profiling and harassment. Kellia Ramares FSRN Oakland.
Does Barack do anything right? Anything at all? We know he's worked overtime to go after the LGBT community but turns out there's plenty of hate for him to spread around.
C.I. made a point earlier this week that I see Gay Socialites is also making:
Hillary Clinton seems to be the big rainbow flag in Barack Obama's administration. Hillary has always been a friend of the gays, and she's been working for us since her first day in office as Secretary of State.
Clinton evidently asked if she had the authority to extend benefits to same-sex partners at one of her first senior staff meetings. A memo to State Department employees leaked a few months ago, and it looks Hillary paved the way for President Obama to do the same.
You won't find that at the Gay Kool Aid sites. You know the ones who whored for Barry O and savaged Hillary with right-wing lies which were exposed as lies back in the 90s.
Gay People's Chronicle reminds of some of the attacks Barry's launched at the LGBT community:
The brief goes on to make claims typically used by LGBT rights opponents.
"The fact that states have long had the authority to decline to give effect to marriages performed in other states based on the forum state's public policy strongly supports the constitutionality of Congress's exercise of its authority in DOMA," asserts the government.
To illustrate that point, they use the examples of incest and pedophilia in three cases--an uncle and niece married in Italy but not Connecticut, a 16-year-old's marriage to an adult voided in New Jersey, and the marriage of first cousins in New Mexico declared invalid in Arizona.
The administration argues that same-sex couples have no federal right to marriage or the benefits of marriage, that marriage is not a constitutionally fundamental right for same-sex couples, and that the government has an interest in preferring heterosexual marriage.
"DOMA merely codifies that definition of marriage historically understood by society," the government claims.
The administration also argues that DOMA "protected the ability of elected officials to decide matters related to homosexuality."
DOMA "plainly was not born solely as a result of animosity towards homosexuals," they continue.
Preranai Swami (CBS News) reports:
The Obama administration's decision to file a controversial brief on behalf of the Defense Of Marriage Act appears to have been the last straw for many gay and lesbians who were once enthusiastic supporters of the administration as well as the Democratic party. Politico reports that the National Stonewall Democrats is the latest group to pull out of a June 25 Democratic National Committee fundraiser because of the Obama administration's defense of DOMA and lack of action on gay issues. The group said is "incredibly disappointed" in the party for a variety of reasons, including a perceived lack of support.
"The DNC has traditionally provided materials for the many Pride parades and festivals around the country to help educate the LGBT community about why the Democratic Party is the Party for full LGBT equality," National Stonewall wrote in an e-mail, according to Politico. "This year, we were informed that we would not be receiving any materials or support for producing materials for the various nationwide Pride activities. These decisions were very disappointing."
The e-mail also cited the DOMA brief as a reason to pull out of the fundraiser.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Friday, June 19, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, the VA backlog continues and will continue for some time judging by a Congressional hearing, Gordon Brown continues to be a newsmaker of the week (not a good thing for Brown), Iraqi refugees continue to struggle, and more.
Late yesterday, well after 6:00 p.m., the House Committee on Veterans Affairs' Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs called their 2:00 p.m. hearing to order. US House Rep John J. Hall chaired the subcommittee hearing, "Addressing the Backlog: Can the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Manage One Manage One Million Claims?" Hall observed, "This is a problem that's plagued the VA and the veterans it's supposed to serve for years."
The first panel was composed of the American Legion's Ian de Planque, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Disabled American Veterans' Kerry Baker, Service Women's Action Network's Rachel Ntelson and Gulf War veteran David Bohan of Oregon.
Bohan shared his personal story which is not unique to him and which members of the House Veterans Committee and its various subcommittees have heard repeatedly but there's still been no action on it -- even with John Hall having proposed legislation to assist with this (HR 952).
David Bohan: A counselor at the VA in Roseburg suggested I pursue a claim for my PTSD and for injuries to my left foot during the time I was stationed at Fort Riley Kansas and recommended I contact the American Legion for help. The VA system is confusing, overwhelming and it is not all friendly to veterans. [. . .] So many of the people at VA are not veterans and don't understand what we are going through. You end up feeling like some of them care more about their rules and regulations and paperwork than they care about the veterans. We veterans don't have any idea where the piece of paper or that record is after all of the time. Regarding military records, veterans don't have any idea where our records are kept. And apparently the military doesn't know either. I was up late last night digging through boxes, looking for records to prove I was in the army, that I was in the Gulf War and that I had been in a combat -- in combat and that I had all the necessary stressors to qualify for VA assistance. The memories -- the memories that going through all these materials from my army days were very painful. With the help of American Legion service officer Gregg Demaris, I received a PTSD rating from the BA. But the issues with my foot have not yet been -- been addressed. My medical records from Fort Riley are missing. I've spent hour on the telephone, I've sent faxes, I've even sent e-mails. But after months of trying, no one can find my records. The hospital at Fort Riley says they do not have the records of the surgeries on my foot. I have contacted the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis many, many times. But I still do not have the records of the multiple surgeries on my foot. Until I can obtain those records and present them to the VA, I cannot pursue the rest of my case.
HR 952 would make it much easier for veterans suffering from PTSD to receive treatment for it without jumping through hoops of paperwork. The measure would not help David Bohan with his foot injury. The issue of the foot injury, however, is something that a call to one of his senator's office should have resolved already. (Via the office lighting a fire under the VA. I'm not stating Bohan hasn't pursued that. I would guess he has. I'm stating someone's dropping the ball: Gordon Smith or Ron Wyden -- or both.) We'll note this section of Rachel Ntelson's opening remarks.
Rachel Ntelson: To begin, studies indicate an institutional bias in favor of claimants with combat experience, an advantage which disproportionately favors men. Not only do claim processors fail to understand the degree to which women are effectively -- if not nominally -- serving in combat positions but they also fail to appreciate the extent to which service members in non-combat occupations and support roles are exposed to traumatic events. Among the most pervasive stressors experienced by military women are incidents of sexual assault and harassment. The prevalence of sexual assault in the military is hardly news and has been the subject of a number of recent Congressional hearings and Pentagon reports. By some accounts, nearly a third of female veterans report episodes of sexual assault during military service while seventy-one to ninety percent report experiences of sexual harassment. These experiences are closely associated with PTSD in a variety of studies; in fact, military sexual assault is a stronger predictor of PTSD among women veterans than combat history. Likewise, studies indicate that sexual harassment causes the same rates of PTSD in women as combat does in men. In spite of this correlation, the VA grants benefits to a significantly smaller percentage of female than male PTSD claimants. This disparity stems largely from the difficulties of substantiating experiences of military sexual assault -- especially in a combat arena. Under military regulations, for example, sexual harassment investigations are only retained on file for two years from the close of each case. While criminal investigations of sexual assault are better documented, eighty percent of assault victims fail to report the offense and over twenty percent of those who do file reports opt for a 'restricted' mode that precludes official investigation. Although training and reference materials for raters provide a great deal of guidance on how combat medals and commendations may be used to support PTSD claims, they make little mention of how to address the challenges of documenting military sexual assault as an in-service stressor.
The first panel was the only one not staffed by government employees. We'll note a series of exchanges from it and these are my notes and I may have missed a word or two. (I was tired. During the long wait for the hearing to start, I believe it was Kerry Baker who was on his laptop throughout the wait using the time wisely. Most waiting were thinking, "This has to start soon. This has to." Or as one reporter put it during the long wait, "It won't look very good for the House Veterans Committee if they can't handle a hearing on whether or not the VA can handle claims." No, it wouldn't. That's all stated because the Ranking Member may have had good questions but my pen skids right across the paper during his questions. It was a long wait for the hearing to start.)
Chair John Hall: Mr. de Planque, there have been some concerns and misperceptions about the role of service connection in being able to access VA health care. If a veteran is not service connected than how likely is it that he or she will get turned down for VA health care treatment? Should veterans with claims pending adjudication be held eligible for VA health care and should mental health counseling be offered to all veterans during the stress of the VA claims processing system?
Ian de Planque: In the sense of that, Mr. Chairman, it's -- it's actually -- it's a slightly complicated issue and there have been a number of things that have changed although they are attempting to bring them back forward. In 2003, when the category eight veterans were shut out of VA from treatment, it made it very difficult for them to receive treatment for -- for medical conditions. And that is being phased back in. However veterans who are serving now in the present conflict are entitled to five years of VA health care after they demobilize, after they are discharged from the military and it will run out after that point and they will not be able to get health care for the conditions that are not service connected. With regards to mental health care, in many of the VA outreach clinics they're not in a position to be turning people away from trying to get the care they need but it's not always capable of getting the full level of care that particularly severe cases of mental disorders which can arise. It is possible to get some degree of health care within certain circumstances when you fall into certain categories as a veteran but in terms of an all inclusive group of veterans being able to receive health care if they are not service connected for a condition than that is not the case.
Chair John Hall: I would ask you one more question if I may which is that some of the solutions highlighted in your testimony were already considered and enacted by Congress in PL110-389. Do you think these provisions are sufficient or are there other legislative changes the Legion would like to see Congress enact?
Ian de Planque: In some sense with the changes which have been enacted, they've all been enacted very recently and we're seeing promising signs for example with what VA is beginning to do with improving electronic communication and making 4As into the IT solutions. They're showing promising signs but it's still very early to determine how overall effective those will be. As I've stated before, it would be beneficial to work with the -- the changes that are creating improvements but we don't want to just change the set of tools that continues to operate within the same system. If we -- if you're continuing to make the same problems but doing it electronically that doesn't make it any better than if you're making the same mistakes and doing it on paper. In terms of legislative solutions which could be brought forward, already up for consideration are the -- as we mentioned in our testimony -- the changes to the Section 1154 which covers veterans -- currently covers veterans who have engaged in combat in proving the occurrence of incidents that are consistent with combat and the expansion of it to combat zones as we recognize the non-linear battlefield of modern warfare and that the documentation of all such incidents for all soldiers -- not just soldiers who have infantry cross rifles and can get a combat infantry badge. Not just soldiers who are wounded and receive a Purple Heart which makes things obvious, but all the soldiers who are deployed to combat zones and experience these incidents which are sometimes difficult to document. So continuing to work towards the legislation and pass solutions on that front would be a great help in reducing because it would reduce a lot of their burden for overdeveloping. They would be able to grant that one point and they wouldn't spend a lot of time needlessly developing.
Chair John Hall: Thank you sir, and Mr. Bohan once again thank you for your testimony and your service. It sounds like nobody from VA mentioned to you that you could file a claim even though you were in treatment for over 15 years before you did file. Would your experience with this process have been easier if you had filed a claim right away?
David Bohan: Mr. Chairman, not knowing what the technology back then at that point, I'm assuming there would be roadblocks also as well. But that's hard to say because I did not file back at that time.
Chair John Hall: Fair enough. Thank you. And, Mr. Jackson, I'm interested in the provisional claims processing proposal you mentioned in your testimony. Could you elaborate on how it would work practically by walking us through the first steps of finality for a veteran who might file a claim under this system?
Robert Jackson: My pleasure, Mr. Chairman. What this does, it essentially is not a -- it's not a permanent fix. What it does is buys time. What you're doing is you're -- you're allowing existing information to be used for a provisional rating. The veteran then -- if he or she decides that that rating is not what they think is sufficient then they can continue the process that they normally would. The goal of the provisional proposal that Jerry [Manar] has created is to -- is to get claims -- new claims through the system quickly allowing the VA workforce to work on the backlog. It's -- it's something that's not going to be a permanent fix but it's something that could certainly alleviate some of the workload.
This is where the Ranking Member Doug Lamborn came in. I believe I nodded off for his entire questioning of the first panel. Here's where Hall resumed speaking.
Chair John Hall: In listening to your testimony I'm reminded of a hearing we held over a year ago on artificial intelligence, Dr. Randy Miller, Chair of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University made similar observations about reducing the days to process claims by using clinical informatics which is what your imaging scanning center would seem to do. Have you also considered that the scanned image should be converted into a standardized electronically processed format? What is the feasibility of implementing the proposed centralized information system that you mentioned in your testimony?
Kerry Baker: Well Mr. Chairman, if you're talking about -- are you suggesting if we use something like an image scanning center would you do more than just copy the document? Would you have a workable format that could provide some sort of database and search-able tool? That would absolutely be preferable. It would allow people to search the claims file much, much easier than sitting there having to read 1000 pages on the computer. The feasibility of that? I'm afraid I don't have the expertise. I don't know where VA is in their IT development, if they could do something like that. As I understand it, there's a lot of companies out there and processes out there that can capture that sort of data. I just don't know where VA is with that technology.
Chair John Hall: Thank you. And your plan also calls for a reduction time from one year to 180 days of the time that a veteran can make an appeal but then allows them the opportunity to ask for an extension. Other insurance programs have restrictions that do not allow an appeal after the due date. Are their circumstances in which you could see a case being closed and an appeal being disallowed? And should there be a limitation on the number of times that a veteran can appeal the same condition without new evidence?
Kerry Baker: I could see where one could get closed and disallowed if they allowed the six months to run out and they did not request an extension and they couldn't show any cause as to why their appeal should be equitably told. That would be no different than the appeal running out at the in excess of one year point right now. Only right now they cannot request an extension and they cannot be equitably told the court have stopped short of addressing that issue with the appellate period. So we realize that the six months issue may not be met with a lot of favoritism upfront but when you're providing a couple of extra benefits that a lot of people are going without right now -- which is the extension and the equitable tolling -- we think that's more than fair. And it's still six months we're talking about. The average time it takes VA to get an NOD is forty-one days. 90% of all the POs are received in the first six months. So we think in the long run the system will be much better with that. You had a second part of that question?
Chair John Hall: Should there be a limitation on the number of times the veteran can appeal the same condition without new evidence?
Kerry Baker: Well VA -- VA has a process now, a lot of people get it confused. If you -- if you reapply for the same thing and you've been denied for and you don't have any new evidence, what you normally get is -- you will get a decision saying 'you haven't presented new evidence, your claim is not reopened.' However, that issue -- in and of itself -- can be appealed all the way up to the courts. So it is, in effect, a claim within the system -- the claim is an appeal to reopen the claim. During the appelate process, that could be decided in favor of the veteran and goes all the way back down to the beginning just to be reopened and the actual issue decided so I mean there is some convulsion there -- how do you go about, you know -- Iiii -- rectifying that. I wouldn't suggest that you simply not allow the veteran to reopen anything without new evidence, I mean there's a fine line where you start taking away rights as some point. But if they had no evidence whatsoever, that's kind of what they do now. You can just appeal that decision just like you can appeal anything else.
Chair John Hall: Thank you very much. And Ms. Ntelson, thank you first of all for your support of HR 952. The information that you've presented on women's veterans -- women veterans corroborates what we have heard before at our hearings. When the Department of Defense appeared at one of these hearings, they described their PTSD approach as relying on the opinion of the medical examiner which is what it seems you are suggesting. So if VA like DoD instituted a disability evaluation system that relied more on medical opinions than psychometric testing results, do you think this change would be reliable enough for the establishment of compensation?
Rachel Ntelson: Well I think that there's a value in allowing -- a VA professional has a treating relationship with the claimant. To have their word, you know, taken at face value. Presumably since these are VA medical professionals, there's been some sort of vetting, some sort of determination, that their credentials are approriate. So it doesn't make very much sense to me that if somebody has been in a treating relationship with a medical professional or counselor employed by the VA on the VHS side of the equation that -- that somebody on the benefit section to decide that, you know, that person's word isn't good enough.
Chair John Hall: Thank you. And lastly would you please elaborate on your recommendation to incorporate upon request investigative files of harassment and sexual assault into the joint virtual lifetime electronic record. How would thi help women veterans
Rachel Ntelson: Well an enormous problem for women with military sexual trauma in establishing their in-service stressor is that it's so hard to obtain those documents. Like I say there are actual military policies -- especially with harassment as opposed to an actual criminal case of assault that prevent records from even being kept on file for more than a couple of years. So if somehow those -- the documents that do exist could be memorialized and kept within the system, you know, for as long as possible, so that if the claimant elected to they could use that in support of their claim. I think that would be very helpful in establishing that there was an in-service stressor.
The second panel was composed of the VA's Lt Gen James Scott and the VA's Michael Ratajczak. Michael Ratajczak made many sound points in his opening remarks but the point we'll emphasize was his points that managers without experience or with only a little experience when it comes to processing claims are not able to provide training, to supervise or to assist with the work. That's basic but it is a repeated point you will hear from VA as you step away from the appointees and administrators at the top. US House Rep Deborah Halvorson was probably the strongest voice from the committee or the panel on the second panel. She pointed out how confusing the form alone was and how someone's claim being turned down can be confusing and leading to more work as a result of appeals over a denail that may or may not have been judged correctly. Who answers the question when a veteran calls in about a denied claim is a basic question.
Her efforts to keep it basic and simple weren't helped by Ratajczak meandering answer that did not address the issues but offered bromides (no heading in the manual with "do the right thing"). Good for Halvoroson for interrupting and asking, "And why aren't we doing that?" Why aren't veterans brought in immediately when there's something confusing about their case that might lead to a denial. Ratajczak replied that it's "because we're not giving credit for doing it." Halvorson explained how she runs her office, "Because I have a lot of caseworkers in my office and I don't let them share cases, I want them starting it and finishing it because when there's questions, one person can answer the question because if you've got a team or five people working on something, you're going to get five different answers depending on who answers the call." Ratajczak wanted to offer a ton of examples that backed up Halvorson's question but none that answered her question. He ate the time, ran out the clock and avoided providing an answer.
"I don't have an answer for that," Michael Waldcoff said in a flat voice on the third panel. Though VA sends many people to Congress who make that comment, the Deupty Under Secretary for Benefits was replying to John Hall's question about how many veterans committed suicide while waiting for their claims to be settled? That's a basic question and as distrubing as Wadlcoff's claim that he didn't know was his obvious disinterest in the question. Hall rightly noted that this was "a question that VA should be able to answer" -- yes, they should.
Today Gregg Zoroya (USA Today) reports that there has been an increase ("nearly doubled") in the number of enlisted seeking treatment for dependency on or abuse of alcoholism. and he notes there were 142 recorded army suicides in 2008 and that there are already 82 confirmed so far this year. This as VA's backlog continues.
Turning to England. Gordon Brown's been the topic of the week. Fresh from nearly losing his prime minister post and on the heels of the spending scandals in Parliament, Brown promised a new age of transparency only to turn around Monday and offer the long promised inquiry into the Iraq War . . . as a back-door, hidden-from-public view song and dance. Today Andrew Sparrow (Guardian) offers "Iraq war inquiry: Five reasons why a full Gordon Brown U-turn looks inevitable" which includes:
1. The Commons wants a public inquiry This hasn't had much publicity, but yesterday the (Labour-dominated) Commons public administration committee published a strong report criticising the format proposed by Brown. This was its key finding: While we welcome the government's announcement that an inquiry into Iraq will be held, that it will have a broad scope, and that it will aim to learn lessons from the decision to go to war, the conflict and its aftermath, there is a strong risk that the inquiry as currently constituted will not be able to pursue what should be its fundamental purpose: to identify the truth and ensure that the executive can be held properly accountable for its decisions and conduct in relation to Iraq. Tony Wright, the committee's chairman (and the man Brown has just asked to recommend ways of making the Commons operate more effectively), said this: It is also crucial that the inquiry be conducted openly and in public, and that Parliament has a role in establishing it. Only an open, legitimate and credible process of this kind will satisfy a sceptical public that this inquiry is not a whitewash.
Aljazeera's Inside Iraq this week explores Gordon Brown's never ending problems. "The announcement," Aljazeera notes of Brown's closed-door inquiry, "was supposed to boost his populartiy among the British public. However the calls for an inquiry has met with indifference at best, hostile criticism at worst." John F. Burns (New York Times) offers that the "outcry" has been from the families who lost service members in Iraq, "the House of commons, from newspaper editorials and from powerful establishment voices, including a retired military commander, Gen. Sir Michael Jackson, who oversaw Britain's operations in Iraq as army chief in 2003." Duncan Gardham (Telegraph of London) covers Brown's spokesperson who swears that "the precise format of the inquiry" will be determined by Sir John Chilcot.
While everyone else appears eager to pull correspondents out of Iraq, a British paper has actually sent another correspondent into the country. Alice Fordham (Times of London's Inside Iraq) notes that Barham Salih, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, is now Twittering. Yesterday Salih noted he was following news on Iran's elections while "Busy with our own elections". Click here for Ray Odierno's Facebook page. Alice Fordham is blogging at the paper's Iraq blog and blogging regularly on a variety of topics. Visiting an American base, she noted all the food associated with the US, "It's not a new observation, and my colleague Martin Fletcher wrote brilliantly about the supply chain required to keep the thousands of troops stationed here in popcorn and Froot Loops. But sometimes in Iraq an unexpected offer of marmalade or somesuch reminds me of the British colonial legacy here, and I wonder if, as the Americans withdraw, they will leave behind a taste for infintely variable ice cream and baseball."
From baseball to karate, BBC reports 45-year-old Izzat Abdullah was shot dead in Mosul today. He had been the coach of Iraq's karate team. On the topic of Mousl, Thursday Chelsea J. Carter (AP) reported it was allegedly Mosul police that shot dead US Lt William Emmert February 24th, as well as his interpreter (five more people were wounded in the attack). Carter reported that Col Gay Volesky was told by the Mosul police chief that the reason the two alleged killers hadn't gone before a judge was because there were 'doubts' but "Volesky wasn't buying it, saying the men's relatives had identified them." Nikki Weingartner (Digital Journal) observes, "The first step in the process of prosecution is appearing before a judge."
Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Mosul bombing targeting an alcohol store which left two people injured, a Baquba roadside bombing which wounded Ahmed Zarkush ("District Commissioner of al Saidyah") and three members of his security team, a Falluja house bombing and an Anbar Province sticky bombing targeting Zeki Obaid's son who was wounded (Obaid fled to Jordan in 2008).
Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports aremd clashes in Falluja in which two civilians were wounded, 1 person shot dead in Mosul from "a speeding car" and, dropping back to last night, 1 Iraqi soldier and 1 iraqi civilian shot dead in Mosul.
Patrik Jonsson and Kristen Chick (Christian Science Monitor) report on the small number of Iraqi refugees admitted into the US and note that the number who have been able to find work has fallen from 80% in 2007 to 11% this year. International Rescue Committee's Alaa Naji states that the Iraqi refugees "never imagined that they would be struggling to survive here in America. They expected more from a country that was involved in the violence that destroyed our land, homes, and loved ones." IRC has a new report [PDF format warning] entitled "Iraq Refugees In The United States: In Dire Straits." "We conclude," the report notes, "that the U.S> resettlement program, likely the only safe alternative for thousands of Iraqi refugees, faces major structural challenges in its organization and funding. These challenges are exacerbated by a simultaneous global economic downturn and resettlement of a highly educated refugee population with many special needs. Issues like rising unemployment and homelessness are threatening the well-being not only of Iraqi refugees but also of all recently resettled refugees in America." The report notes conditions that can add to economic issues:
Many of the women widowed by the war in Iraq have young children. Without male relatives, these women are especially at risk in Iraq and in its neighboring countries and are considered among the most vulnerable of refugees. In Phoenix, the IRC delegation met with six refugee women from Iraq whose husbands were killed. The situation for those who are here alone with young children is especially precarious. Like other refugees, they must secure a job soon after arrival in the United States. Manyhave been separated from sons, brothers or other family members because of the delays from the additional security checks that Iraqi men are subjected to before the United States will grant them admission.
In Atlanta Commission members met Shayma Sadeq, a single mother with three children who recently obtained a job working the night shift cooking for inmates at a detention facility in Atlanta. It is a job she is not likely to continue to hold for long. The support she receives from the state pays only for certified day care providers, and such providers do not operate at night. Unable to afford nightmare childcare for her three minor children, she has arranged for a neighbor to watch the children at night, but the arrangment is not sustainable. At the same time, the financial support the IRC is able to provide to her has run out. Without a job she and her children will soon face eviction.
Inaya Al Basha, a widow from Iraq living alone in Phoenix, has received multiple eviction notices. She jokes that if she is evicted she will come to sleep at the IRC office. Like other refugees with eviction notices, she has nowhere else to go. The homeless shelters in Phoenix are at capacity and the waiting list for subsidized housing is up to two years long.
Assyrian International News Agency also covers the refugees with a report (including many photos) entitled "Assyrian Refguees in Sweden Caught in Political Struggle." The article notes that despite puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki meeting with Pope Benedict XVI there's no increase in trust. A refugee is quoted stating, "How will he [al-Maliki] protect anyone? He doesn't even dare to leave the Green zone."Meanwhile Asia News reports that the Pope met with the Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians Ignace Youssiff III Younan today and the Pope declared, "I constantly pray for peace in the Middle East, in particular for the Christians who lived in the beloved nation of Iraq, every day, during the Eucharistic Sacrifice, I present their suffering to the Lord." On Iraqi Christians, Iran's Press TV observes the declining number of Christians in Iraq stating "nearly half have fled" as a result of threats and attacks "unleashed by the Salafi militants as well as the Al-Qaeda. These Salafi groups did not appear over night in the Arab countries. Some regional governments have been funding these groups primarily to target Shia Muslims and those Sunnis who rose up against extremism." A large percentage of Iraq's external refugees are Christians. Some Christians remain in Iraq. In Kirkuk, Archbishop Louis Sako has called for an end to executions in Iraq as Amnesty International also has. Adnkronos Security quotes Archbishop Sako stating, "The Death penalty is horrible deed. It is humanly and spiritually unjustifiable. It is an offence to life and to the maker." This as Iraq Oil Report notes a Sunni satellite TV station which is said to broadcast hate speech aimed at Shi'ites and Christians inflaming tensions in Najaf with such comments as, "If I have ten nuclear bombs, I would use one against Christians and Jews, and the remaining nie agains Shi'ites."
TV notes. Starting with PBS. This week on Bill Moyers Journal (begins airing tonight on most PBS stations, check local listings, and it streams online -- video and audio -- and offers transcripts):
Instructed by a dream and organized in prayer, Leymah Gbowee andthousands of everyday women in Liberia - both Christians and Muslimsalike - confronted warlords and a corrupt president to successfullyfight for peace and dignity in their war-torn nation. "I realized thatevery problem we encounter on this journey, I'm going to rise above itand lead these women because they trusted me with their lives and theirfuture," says Gbowee. Journal guest host Lynn Sherr interviews LeymahGbowee and Abigail Disney, who documented their inspiring tale in theaward-winning film PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL. Lynn Sherr is along-time broadcast journalist who most recently covered events inLiberia for PBS' news program, WORLDFOCUS.NOW on PBS offers:According to the Department of Education, the average amount of undergraduate student debt in this country is now more than $22,000. And sudden changes in lenders' terms and rates can quickly turn a personal debt into a financial sinkhole, grounding the dreams of many college graduates even before they've started.This week, NOW follows the story of a single mother in Baltimore trying to dig herself out of more than $70,000 student loan debt. While issues of personal responsibility are debated, there's no question the high price of higher education is creating an ocean of student loan debt for people who can least afford it.How are the 70 million Americans with student debt frustrating America's economic recovery?Washington Week finds Gwen sitting around the table with Barbara Slavin (Washington Times), Karen Tumulty (TIME magazine), David Wessel (Wall St. Journal) and Jeff Zeleny (New York Times). All begin airing tonight (check local listings) on most PBS stations and tonight also finds Bonnie Erbe sitting down with Karen Czarnecki, Irene Natividad and Leslie Sanchez to discuss the week's news on PBS' To The Contrary. Check local listings. And turning to broadcast TV, Sunday CBS' 60 Minutes offers:
A Clean Version Of Hell Exclusive footage from within and a rare interview with its former warden takes viewers inside the secretive "Supermax" federal prison, where the nation's most dangerous and infamous criminals - including terrorists - are held under the strictest rules. Scott Pelley reports.
The War Next Door Drug-cartel fueled violence has turned into a war in Mexico, with thousands of deaths and the government battling well-armed gangs whose military-quality weapons come mostly from U.S. dealers. Anderson Cooper reports.
LeBron Steve Kroft profiles the Cleveland Cavalier's superstar, LeBron James, who at only 24, is already among an elite handful of athletes who command tens of millions a year in playing and marketing fees.
60 Minutes, Sunday, June 21, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
gregg zoroyausa todaythe new york timesjohn f. burnsandrew sparrow
patrik jonssonkristen chickthe christian science monitor
mcclatchy newspapers
bill moyers journal60 minutescbs newsto the contrarybonnie erbenow on pbsnprthe diane rehm showpbs


text:
All June I bound the rose in sheaves.
Now, rose by rose, I strip the leaves
And strew them where Pauline may pass.
She will not turn aside? Alas!
Let them lie. Suppose they die?
The chance was they might take her eye.
How many a month I strove to suit
These stubborn fingers to the lute!
To-day I venture all I know.
She will not hear my music? So!
Break the string; fold music's wing:
Suppose Pauline had bade me sing!
My whole life long I learned to love.
This hour my utmost art I prove
And speak my passion---heaven or hell?
She will not give me heaven? 'Tis well!
Lose who may---I still can say,
Those who win heaven, blest are they!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.I would like to translate this poem


text:
Manchester Airport
|Continent: Europe
|Country: United Kingdom
|Region: England
|Manchester Airport
|Manchester, England
|IATA code
|ICAO code
|Airport type
|Overview map
|Google Maps
|121.85 (Primary) 125.375 (Secondary)
|121.7 (delivery)
|118.575 & Director 121.35
|118.625 & 119.4
|128.175 (Arrivals) 121.975 (Departures)
|Plane Spotting Hotels guide
In 2004, Manchester International Airport (Ringway) was voted Britain's premier spotting airport by a well-known aviation magazine, and anyone who has been there will probably agree with them. It is not a question of which is the best place to watch planes at Manchester, more a question of which spot do I want to choose?
MAN has 2 parallel runways, 23R / 05L (Runway 1) and 23L / 05R (Runway 2) . Aircraft movements are generally inbound on 23R and outbound on 23L. However the wind direction shifts approx 20% of the year and this flow is reversed. During the quieter period of each day from 12.00hrs to 15.00hrs and at night between 22:00hrs and 06:00hrs the airport reverts to single runway use and uses 23R / 05L (Runway 1) for both inbound and outbound flights. Single Runway operations data sheet.
Official Spotting Locations
Multi Storey Car Park Terminal 1
13th Floor of the multi-storey car park - Terminal 1 - Views of Runway 1 where you can view aircraft landing and taking off, also close views of aircraft parking and moving from Terminals 1 & 2 plus a good view of the Cargo area. Level 13 is now being used by the Car Rental Companies. Unfortunately there aren't any facilities here any more. Toilets are situated in the Terminal 1 arrivals area, just get the lift down from Level 12. There were some thoughtfully provided camera holes in the security fences, however these have now been filled in. Although it is still extremely easy to take photographs from here, you may occasionally encounter difficulties, especially when using wide-angle lenses. Be warned however that this is a short-stay car park and is very expensive to park your car:
The Aviation shop is now situated in Terminal 1 arrivals and stocks everything for the enthusiast, binoculars, telescopes, models, airband radios, scanners, DVDs, notebooks, pens, postcards, and the SBS Radar System.
A.V.P. - Aviation viewing park
The A.V.P is located approx 2/3 way along Runway 23R (Runway 1) and offers excellent views of both flying and taxiing aircraft,and is widely recognised as the best facility for enthusiasts in the UK. It has 3 raised platforms for better viewing and photography, a very good snack bar, Family picnic areas and clean Male and Female toilet facilities. There is also a well-stocked aviation shop selling books, aircraft models, binoculars and radios etc.
Signposted from main terminal areas and railway station. This A.V.P also contains a British Airways Concorde G-BOAC (for details of tours see below), BAe Avro 146-RX100, Monarch DC-10 nose section, and a BEA British European Airways Hawker Siddley HS-121 Trident 3B G-AZWK aircraft resplendent in full BEA Colours and RAF BAe Nimrod MR2 XV231, which you can have a tour of (at cost).
The A.V.P is situated off the A538 between Junction 6 of the M56 motorway and the airport tunnels.
From the Junction 6 Roundabout follow signs for Wilmslow. After a very short distance you will see Sunbank Lane on the left with a sign post for "Concorde". Turn left here and then immediately right at the crossroads onto Wilmslow Old Road and follow to the end. Be aware that Wilmslow Old Road is a very narrow and twisty country lane with very few sections of pavement for pedestrians, so keep an eye out for traffic, which tends to speed along this road.
You can get to the A.V.P by bus from the "The Station" at the Airport, which is situated mid-way between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 . Journey time by bus is approximately 5 minutes. The Swans Shuttle bus 200 operates year round on weekends and Bank Holidays. Buses leave The Station at 09:16, then every hour until 17.16. Buses leave the Viewing Park every hour 09.25 until 17.25. The fare is £1.40 for a single (one-way) ticket, or £2.30 for a return (July 2011).
Arriva North West operates a regular daily service (bus 18, 18A, 20, 20A) stopping at the rear of the World Freight Terminal from where the Aviation Viewing Park is approximately a 10 minute walk. Full timetables for the service can be found at http://www.arrivabus.co.uk but generally there are four services per hour in each direction between The Station (Stand K) and the Freight Terminal. Some evening services are operated by service number 19. The adult single fare is £1. From the Freight Terminal bus stop, turn left out of Viscount Drive on to Avro Way and follow the road to where it bends round to the left. Walk into the junction on the right - you should see LSG SkyChefs on your right hand side, and a yellow and black car barrier ahead with a bollard to allow pedestrians through. Pass the barrier and turn left up the lane (Wilmslow Old Road, as in the directions above.) The AVP is about 6-7 minutes walk, right at the end of this lane.
Other Spotting Locations
South Side (Runway 2 - 23L/05R)
A disadvantage of the official Aviation Viewing Park (AVP) is that it faces into the sun until late in the day, making photography more difficult. Better photography is often offered by heading around to Runway 2 on the South side of the airport. Going there is easy by car. By public transport is possible too, but a bit of a handful.
The closest bus stop to Runway 2 is at the Moat House Hotel (Holiday inn) on the A538 Wilmslow road . Bus service no 288 runs along the A538 and there is a stop near to the AVP at the junction with Sunbank lane – from the AVP this means walking back towards the main road (approx ½ mile). From this bus stop it is then 2 stops along to the Moat House Hotel (Holiday inn). The bus runs every 30 mins.
By car, from the Junction 6 Roundabout off the M56, follow signs for Wilmslow along the A538. Approximately 1 mile along this road you will drive under the 2 runway tunnels. As you exit the 2nd tunnel you will come to a roundabout. Turn left at this roundabout and then turn immediately right before the gate - Then park up on the left before the bridge, as this road becomes the Moat House hotel car park beyond the bridge. Do try to tuck your car into the hedge, as the hotel mini-bus screams up and down here every half-hour or so and its a narrow road!!
DO NOT park anywhere between the roundabout and the gate - you WILL get a ticket or a TOW - even on the grass verge.
Once you have reach the Hotel, you have two options. There are raised viewing mounds running the length of runway 23L. These are segregated by the road tunnels which allow the A538 to go under the runways. So your choice is to cross the road and go left and past the new fire station to get to the mid point and beyond of runway 23L for views of aircraft rotating and taking-off OR go right to the start of runway 23L for close-up taxiing and line-up views of aircraft.
Runway 23L - taxi and line-up
From the Hotel entrance, turn right and walk through the car park, over the small stone bridge and up to the top of this road. On the right is a black cattle gate. Walk through the gate and follow this footpath for approx half-a-mile. The path finishes at the runway security fence and you will see long earth mounds either side of you which offer superb elevated views of the first 1/3 of runway 2.Further around to the right is an elevated mound which is directly in front of the link taxi-way between runway 1 and 2 - you can practically count the rivets on the aircraft as they line-up !!!
Runway 23L - rotation and take-off
The second option is to walk from the hotel back to the roundabout. On the other side of the road you just came in on, you will see a footpath of steep steps rising to the top of the hill. Follow this path for roughly 15 minutes past the side of the new fire station and up to the runway security fence.
From here, you can go left and follow the path parallel to runway 2 down into a valley and then back up again to raised mounds which offer superb views of aircraft rotating on runway 2 for take-off.
As an alternative, turn left after the fire station and follow the path downhill to the lowest lowest point of the valley. Then turn right and follow the river through the tunnel under runway 2. As you exit the tunnel turn right up the hill for a viewing spot half way between runway 1 and runway 2
Please note that runway 2 is usually closed between 12:00 and 15:00 hours. Also check before making any journey which way the aircraft are flying!. For approx 20% of the year, the wind shifts and the flying changes direction.
South Side (Runway 1 - 05L/23R)
Runway 05L - approach and landing, rotation and take-off
From the Moat House hotel, cross the A538 and head back to the roundabout. On the other side of the road, there is a footpath with steep steps leading up a hill. Follow this path for roughly 15 minutes past the rear side of the new fire station and follow the path on the left side fence of the fire station. Follow this path (it goes a bit up and down) until you descend into a valley and the River Bollin tunnel.
Cross the Bollin using the metal bridge and head North through the tunnel. Then, turn left up the steep hill with Crash Gate No. 12 at the top. Carry on up there until ground levels out and you're beside Runway 2. Then, go right through a gate. Follow the long path past the dead tree (on your right) and then go through the gate at the end of the path. Turn left at this gate and then take the next right turn. This will lead to a field with the lights for Runway 05L. This is a really good place to photograph and film from.
If 05L is being used for landings, aircraft come straight over your head and if the same runway is being used for take-offs, the aircraft take off away from you. Alternatively, if 23R is being used for take-offs, the aircraft will take off directly at you. This spot is especially interesting during the curfew of runway 2 (23L/05R) when all movements are on runway 1 (23R/05L).
(This spot is usually quite quiet and there's normally nobody about.)
Junction of Ringway Road & Shadowmoss road
Not far from Terminal 1, this area gives excellent views of aircraft on final approach to Runway 23R. Be warned that car parking is limited because of parking restrictions. The local residents get rightly annoyed when thoughtless spotters park cars that partially block access to their driveways and the hand-painted yellow lines outside some houses show the level of feeling about this – please be considerate.
Airport Hotel Public House
Next to the final approach to Runway 23R, the beer garden of this pub offer great views of landing aircraft and also aircraft holding for departure. This spot is especially interesting during the 12PM - 3PM curfew of Runway 2(23L/06R). Because the public house and it's beer garden have become so popular with spotters, the pub has a pay-and-display car park. It's essential to pay-and-display if you don't wanted to be fined £60.
Locations to Avoid
None really - just be sensible - don't park in-front of crash gates and stay on the public side of the security fences and you will be ok.
The areas offered as alternatives to the AVP (the mounds and the area beyond the new fire station) are public footpaths and you wont get more than a passing glance from the security staff when they are patrolling airside.
The airport and council have always been fairly spotter-friendly so just read the notices and don't go or park where it says you shouldn't.
Spotting Locations Map
Regular Traffic
Scheduled/Charter Airlines
- British Airways - Airbus A319/320/321
- American Airlines - Boeing 757/767, Airbus A330
- United Airlines - Boeing 757
- Delta Air Lines - Boeing 757/767
- Emirates - Airbus A380, Boeing 777
- Etihad - Boeing 777, Airbus A330
- Qatar Airways - Boeing 777/787, Airbus A330
- Cathay Pacific - Boeing 777
- Singapore Airlines - Boeing 777
- PIA - Boeing 777
- Monarch Airlines - Airbus A320/321
- Flybe - Dash 8-400, Embraer 170/195, ATR72, Dornier Do328, Saab S2000
- Jet2.com - Boeing 737/757
- Thomson - Boeing 737/757/767/787
- Air France - Airbus A318/319/320/321
- KLM - Boeing 737, Embraer 190
- Lufthansa - Airbus A319/320/321, CRJ-900
- Finnair - Airbus A319/320, Embraer 170/190
- Turkish Airlines - Airbus A320/321, Boeing 737
- Ryanair - Boeing 737-800
- Aer Lingus - Airbus A320, ATR72
- Thomas Cook - Boeing 757/767, Airbus A320/321/330
- Virgin Atlantic Airways - Boeing 747-400, Airbus A330/340
plus many more, for a full list (and of which Terminal) click on this link: http://www.manchesterairport.co.uk.
Cargo Airlines
- Lufthansa - Boeing 777, McDonnell Douglas MD11
- Federal Express - Boeing 757
- Air Contractors - ATR72
Plus you never know what will turn up, the A380 has done a missed approach at Manchester, the Antonov An-225 and a few An-124s have been to Manchester, there are always a few surprises!
Facilities and Transportation
Public Transport
The Railway Station is situated at the Airport between Terminals 1 & 2. Services from most of the UK mainline stations. The Bus & Coach Station is adjacent to railway station, as is the Metrolink station. Also served by National Express. Bus service number 200 serves the viewing park from the airport bus station at 15 minutes past the hour from the bus station and 25 minutes past the hour from the viewing park. The fare is £1.40 for a single (one-way) ticket, or £2.30 for a return (July 2011).
Travel tips
If traveling by car and you do not wish to pay for the airport car parks, you could always park your car at Heald Green Railway Station and catch the train to the airport. Before 09:30 the fare is £1.60 single or £2.20 return. After 09:30 the fare decreases to £1.40 single or £1.50 return. (July 2011)
External links
- Manchester Airport Forum to discuss all aspects of the airport about all aspects from route development to infrastructure improvements. All the latest aviation news for spotters and aviation professionals alike.
- One page spotter guide for print out - contains radio frequencies, airport map and a brief description of the spotting spots at MAN.
- Manchester airport aircraft movements website - contains every movement of every plane at Manchester since 2003. You can submit your photos or view others from the day as well as view timetables of expected aircraft in a large database.
- The official Manchester Airport Runway data sheet featuring all the relevant information regarding the runway operations.


text:
Mushrooms have been valued throughout the world as both food and medicine
for thousands of years. Throughout the world, many people enjoy hunting
for wild mushrooms, delighting in the variety of shapes, sizes, and colors
exhibited by these "flowers of the fall." Europeans have always
appreciated the gastronomic value of wild mushrooms. In Japan, pushcart
vendors on the streets still sell medicinal mushrooms to the average citizen
who uses them to maintain health and promote longevity. Some Japanese people
have even been said to travel hundreds of miles in order to collect wild
mushrooms that only grow on very old plum trees–such as the Reishi–renowned
as a cure for cancer and degenerative diseases. Likewise, for over 3,000
years the Chinese have used and revered many fungi for their health-giving
properties, especially tonics for the immune system (Bo and Yun-sun, 1980;
Yun-Chang, 1985). To the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria a number of fungi
became an important part of their mythology and medical practice (Oso, 1977).
Mushrooms may also be the perfect food for staying trim and healthy. A recent
"letter from the editor" in the Nutrition Action newsletter
(September, 1994) from the Center for Science in the Public Interest mentioned
that up to 1/3 of the U.S. population are overweight. Because fats occur
in mushrooms in minor amounts, especially compared with protein and carbohydrates,
and the fatty fraction consists predominantly of unsaturated fatty acids
such as linoleic acid, they may be the perfect food for losing weight and
maintaining a healthy heart and cardiovascular system.
When it comes to mushrooms, most Americans and inhabitants of the British
Isles are rather ignorant. Many people in the United States have a distinct
dislike, even a fear, of fungi–a phenomenon that may be called "fungophobia"–a
term coined by Hay (1887). Rolfe and Rolfe wrote about the distinctly unsavory
view of which the British view mushrooms and mushroom hunters, in
their delightful Romance of the Fungus World (1925). Generally, the
first association wild mushrooms bring to mind here is "poisonous."
The principal edible mushroom most Americans know is the bland Agaricus
bisporus (Lange) Sing., or "button mushroom" found in supermarkets.
It has little flavor and negligible medicinal value compared with other
wild species. In fact, it can even be unhealthful in the sense that
it may be heavily sprayed with malathion and other pesticides (many commercially
cultivated mushrooms are among the most heavily sprayed items in the vegetable
section). The button mushroom may also have cancer-causing properties when
eaten continuously, though exactly how potent this effect might be in humans
is not clear. See the section on this common mushroom on page xx for further
In recent years other cultivated species such as the oyster mushroom and
shiitake have begun to appear in markets.
Happily, however, there are signs that these narrow-minded attitudes in
the United States and England are changing and catching up with the rest
of the world. The spreading popularity of natural foods is one factor that
has helped re-awaken interest in mushrooms and mushroom-hunting. Another
factor is the recent growth of the mushroom-export business, which has been
boosted by troubles in Europe. Due to acid rain, sprawling development,
and industrial accidents such as the one at Chernobyl, millions of acres
of mushroom habitat in Europe and Russia have been disturbed, and many species
of wild mushrooms are becoming scarce (Cherfas, 1991).
Europe imports thousands of pounds of chanterelles and boletus each
year. The high price these traditional gastronomic delights bring creates
a good supplementary income for knowledgeable gatherers in the United States.
Indeed, wild or home cultivation may soon become viable cottage industries
in the Pacific Northwest, which has the forest habitats and substantial
rainfall needed for such ventures. Cultivation as a home business may be
preferable to the recent problems that are surfacing in the Pacific Northwest
among professional and itinerant pickers alike–namely squabbling over mushroom
patches on public lands. A newspaper article told of teams of professional
pickers using walkie-talkies to coordinate harvests and mentioned that they
can become upset when other pickers strayed into what they considered their
turf. In response to the increased harvesting pressure, quotas were recently
set in the Mt. Hood National Forest (McRae, 1993). For books and supplies
for the cultivation of edible and medicinal mushrooms, see the appendix.
Finally, Japanese products containing LEM, a polysaccharide-rich extract
from the shiitake mushroom and similar extracts from maitake are currently
undergoing trials in Japan and the U.S. to test their effectiveness in treating
various forms of cancer. They show promise for treating people suffering
from various forms of cancer and AIDS and are currently in strong demand
in Japan. Commercial shiitake cultivators in the U.S., Canada, and in parts
of Asia are decidedly interested in this new potential market and are starting
large cultivation efforts, hoping the demand will continue to grow as further
scientific studies are conducted. At present, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical
products from mushrooms may be worth more than 1.2 billion dollars U.S.
Wei Qi Soup for Building Immune Strength
Fill a pot 2/3 full with purified or spring water, then add:
Astragalus membranaceus (5-7 sticks)
Ganoderma lucidum (reishi) (1 medium)
any other tonifying mushrooms 2-3
Slightly sprouted beans (1/4-1/2 cup)
(aduki, black, etc.)
Bring water to boil, simmer for 20 minutes, then add:
Organic barley (1/2-1 cup)
(choose amount depending on thickness desired)
Simmer another 20 minutes, then add favorite vegetables such as:
carrots & celery
beet tops (or chard, collards, mustard greens, etc.)
potatoes (optional)
sea vegetables (nori, kelp, wakame, etc.)
gobo (i.e., burdock root)
nettles or other wild greens (when available)
garlic & onions
Simmer until the vegetables are tender, then add miso and spices such as
ginger, celery, or fennel seed. Make enough for a few days and store it
in the refrigerator.
Indications and Dosage: During illness, when solid food is not desirable,
drink 3-4 cups of the warm broth (add less barley and more water to make
broth). For degenerative immune conditions, eat 1-2 small bowls per day,
and drink the broth as desired. For autoimmune diseases such as allergies,
lupus, diabetes, and hepatitis accompanied by fatigue, weakness, or autoimmune
conditions, eat the soup when desired, or drink the broth. This soup can
be used upon occasion (1-2 times per week) for general tonification and
may help to increase stamina.
Table 1: Sources of Medicinal Fungi
Table 2: Use Summary of Major Medicinal Mushrooms: Arranged by Species
Table 3: Medicinal Mushroom Uses: Arranged by Symptom or Condition
Fungi Perfecti
P.O. Box 7634
Olympia, WA 98507
206 426-9292
Mayway U.S.A.
1338 Cyperus St.
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 208-3113
Chinese herbs in bulk, extracts and other herbal products
Medicinal Mushrooms by Christopher Hobbs
Kombucha by Christopher Hobbs
Manual on Mushroom Cultivation by Peter Oei.
Mushrooms in the Garden by Helmut Steineck.
The Shiitake Growers Handbook by P. Przlbylowicz and J. Donoghue.
The Mushroom Cultivator by P. Stamets and J. Chilton.
Growing Shiitake Mushrooms in a Continental Climate by Mary Ellen
Kozak and J. Krawczyk.
Cultivating Edible Fungi by P.J. Wuest.
Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora.
All That the Rain Promises and More by David Arora.
Rainbow Light Herbal Systems
Reishi Supercomplex
Deep Defense
Liquid Extracts
Deep Defense
Medicinal Mushrooms Christopher Hobbs, L.Ac., A.H.G. 6