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Basically, I've been creeping on the forums/blogs/everything else here for quite a while. I live in a very strange place. Orlando, FL is definitely part of the south, but there are so many cultures here, either by emigration or vacation, so the variety of people keeps this city from the fate of so many other southern cities. However, 20 miles out and you can bet there's a church on every street corner. It's a weird place for sure. Quietly liberal. I'm very lucky to have called Orlando my home in an otherwise very red region.
Anyways, I grew up in a Christian household. Barely went to church though, that may have helped me ask more questions than the average 9 year old regarding religion. I always wondered why mine was the correct one. What made Christianity more valid than Buddhism? Or paganism? Why did everyone [that I knew] assume the Bible was right when there are facts that are so blatantly wrong? How could I trust a book that said the sun was made for the earth and mentioned talking snakes? No one could ever answer my questions, so I decided to make my own philosophical decisions. Studying international relations and cultures throughout high school and into college, I started to very much dislike the violence that almost always resulted from religion. Why can't my two gay best friends get married? Why must the default position in the US be "we are all children under the same god" (per Romney last night)? I have respect for other people, I have integrity, dignity, therefore I can trust myself with my own moral decisions.
I've come to find it to be very frustrating being an atheist in America these days. My family is mostly hardcore Republican and ANY mention of liberalism makes their heads explode. They seriously believe that Obama is a Muslim and from Africa. They seriously believe that he is evil and hates America. And they seriously believe that atheism automatically means that someone cannot be trusted and has no moral compass. Yet, they tell me all the time how proud they are that I'm the first in the family to graduate with honors from a university and attempt to go Ivy league for graduate school. But, god forbid that I bring up my distaste for religion and all hell breaks loose. Apparently, I've been exposed to too much "liberal propaganda" from college and thus have been brainwashed by the machine. I can't take it.
Just thought I'd share a bit of my back story. I really enjoy reading the discussions here and am very impressed by all this intellectual discourse. Keep it up!
By the way, my name is Jennifer!
Views: 718
If you expose atheists to holy water, do they catch fire? Or just wonder why you are making them wet?
During my last visit to a catholic church, I think I purposely did not touch the stuff! LOL
I have a massage therapist that recently sprayed something call ALSEA on to my body before she started to work on me. She said it was like tears and could cure just about everything. I did find that I wanted to cry during my massage because she is a very good massuse but nutty as a hatter....LOL
Sometimes the absurd just makes me want to cry........
Sometimes the absurd just makes me want to say, "Unseen, are you still here?!"
It occurred to me a month or so ago that the way to unbaptize someone is to hand them a towel.
Which may be what Douglas Adams was thinking as he wrote Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.


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versión On-line ISSN 2071-0771
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Koedoe vol.54 no.1 Pretoria ene. 2012
Phytosociology of the farm Haribes in the Nama-Karoo biome of southern Namibia
Ben J. StrohbachI; Willem J. JankowitzII
INational Botanical Research Institute, Windhoek, Namibia
IISchool of Natural Resources and Tourism, Polytechnic of Namibia, Namibia
Limited historic vegetation data (prior to the 1980s) are available for Namibia. Finding such historic data at Haribes prompted a follow-up survey of the vegetation. We present a classification of the recent data in this paper as a first step towards comparing the two data sets. Six new associations (three with two subassociations each) are formally described. The landscape at Haribes is dominated by a pan with surrounding hummock dunes. The pan supports the Lycio cinereum - Salsoletum, whilst on the hummock dunes the Salsolo -Tetragonietum schenckii can be found. The surrounding plains and escarpment can be divided into three landforms: the torras with the Monsonio umbellatae - Boscietum foetidae, the ranteveld with the Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri (and two subassociations) and calcrete ridges with the Zygophylo pubescentis - Leucosphaeretum bainesii. Dry river beds on the farm support two subassociations of Anthephoro pubescentis - Ziziphodetum mucronatae. The area covered by each dominant landform has been calculated after being mapped. The composition and diversity of the associations are briefly compared to other known vegetation descriptions within the Nama-Karoo. Since November 2011, Haribes has been used as a resettlement farm. This may result in the overutilisation of the limited grazing resources, to the extent that the present, fairly dense Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri of the ranteveld is feared to become degraded to resemble the Monsonio umbellatae - Boscietum foetidae of the torras.
CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS: This paper describes six plant associations of the Nama-Karoo biome in arid southern Namibia. The information presented forms a baseline description, which can be used for future monitoring of the vegetation under altered land use.
Vegetation in Namibia has been described only on a few attempts in the past (Burke & Strohbach 2000; Strohbach & Jürgens 2010). To date, the only concise vegetation map of Namibia was produced in the 1970s, based on field observations rather than actual surveys (Giess 1971, 1998), and depicts broad categories at biome rather than landscape level. Later attempts to map the vegetation of Namibia had to rely on partial, often incomplete, regional updates used in conjunction with the Giess vegetation map to fill in gaps (Mendelsohn et al. 2002). Grazing capacity maps dating from the 1970s (Departement Landbou Tegniese Dienste 1979) are used for land-use planning, including the ongoing Land Reform Programme of the Government of Namibia. However, these maps are regarded as outdated and in urgent need of revision (Espach 2006; Espach, Lubbe & Ganzin 2006; Lubbe 2005). Current efforts to upgrade the grazing capacity estimation with the aid of satellite images require extensive ground surveys, including surveys of the structure and composition of vegetation (Espach et al. 2006; Espach, Lubbe & Ganzin 2010). With this in mind, but also as basis for a biodiversity inventory, the Vegetation Survey of Namibia project was initiated (Strohbach 2001).
Prof. O.H. Volk was one of only a few vegetation scientists active in Namibia before the 1980s. During 1956, he conducted extensive vegetation surveys on selected farms in the former South West Africa. Unfortunately, only one of these data sets had been analysed and formally published (Volk & Leippert 1971); the others that could be retrieved were all in the form of raw data sets with brief comments on the vegetation, generally held in farm archives. Nonetheless, these data sets have proved to be of immense value in reconstructing vegetation changes over the past five decades of land use, especially with regard to the effects of land use and/or global climate change. One of these data sets, surveyed in April 1956, was from the farm Haribes.
This study was initiated to provide data on the current vegetation, for later comparison with Volk's historic data. The aim of this paper, however, is to classify and describe the present vegetation of the farm Haribes as an attempt towards filling the immense gap in vegetation data in Namibia (Strohbach & Jürgens 2010). In a subsequent paper, we intend to compare the present vegetation with that documented in 1956.
Study area
Haribes, in the Mariental district of the Hardap region in southern Namibia (Figure 1), belonged to the Neue Haribes Company until 2010. In 1956 the farm covered 77 500 ha, but has been reduced to its present 50 100 ha through a process of selling off blocks of land. The present survey was conducted across blocks 019/1, 019/REM, 020, 672 and 673, which total 55 487 ha. Initially, Haribes was used for extensive commercial Karakul sheep farming. The most important land-use change took place in 1992, when all the sheep and goats were sold and replaced by cattle as the only domesticated commercial species. As a result of the selective utilisation of the grass layer, woody species, especially Catophractes alexandri, Rhigozum trichotomum and Acacia nebrownii, increased in abundance, resulting in a phenomenon commonly referred to as 'bush encroachment' (De Klerk 2004). A wide variety of game, often in large numbers, are found on the farm. Most numerous are springbok and oryx. There are also many bird species, including many ostriches. The farm was sold in May 2010 to the Government of Namibia as part of its land reform and resettlement scheme (Cloete 2010a; Pretorius 2010), with the first 13 families receiving their plots in November 2010 (Cloete 2010b; Kleinhans 2010).
Haribes is situated approximately 30 km west of Mariental and southwest of the Hardap Dam Nature Reserve within the Central Plateau 4-8 agro-ecological zone (De Pauw et al. 1998). This zone is described as a strongly dissected plain on Karoo rocks. The average rainfall is about 200 mm per year, with a coefficient of variation between 50% and 60% (Botha 1996). Temperatures rise to above 36 °C in summer, with minimum temperatures of between 2 °C and 4 °C in winter (Mendelsohn et al. 2002).
The geomorphology can be described as a plateau broken up by many dry washes and some bigger ephemeral rivers that are responsible for the drainage of the area [a dissected plain according to the terminology of the Digital Soils and Terrain Database (SOTER) (FAO 1995; Oldeman & Van Engelen 1993]. The Riet River drains into a big pan surrounding the farmhouse complex. In and around the pan several well-developed dune hummocks have formed over time. The farm lies between 1120 m and 1320 m above sea level. The geological strata belong to the Fish River subgroup of the Nama sediments. The eastern part of the farm is situated on the Gross Aub Formation dominated by red shale and sandstone, whilst the larger, western part of the farm forms part of the older Nababis Formation with red sandstone and shales (Geological Survey 1980). The soils in the region (at a scale of 1:1 000 000) are classified as eutric leptosols, which means that the soils are fertile but generally very shallow (ICC, MAWRD & AECI 2000; Mendelsohn et al. 2002).
The farm falls within the Nama-Karoo biome (Irish 1994) and its vegetation is classified as Dwarf shrub savanna (Giess 1971, 1998). This can broadly be described as open, short-to-low shrublands dominated by C. alexandri, R. trichotomum, Boscia foetida and several dwarf shrubs. The grass layer, which includes species such as Stipagrostis uniplumis, Eragrostis nindensis, Enneapogon cenchroides and Schmidtia kalahariensis, is relatively sparse. Trees and larger shrubs, including species such as A. nebrownii, Acacia karroo, Euclea pseudebenus and Ziziphus mucronata, are largely confined to dry washes and rivers.
Research method
A total of 177 plots were sampled between March and May 2005. Below average rain (c. 150 mm, D. Poggenpoel, pers. comm., May 2005) had fallen that season, with the first substantial rains falling only in March.
To compare the present composition with that documented by Volk in 1956, we made exhaustive attempts to relocate his original sampling sites according to route descriptions, odometer distance readings (in miles) and old farm maps. Although this information greatly eased the task of relocation, the exact position of those plots could not be determined. Additional vegetation types were sampled using a stratified sampling approach to achieve a good average for the main vegetation types. For the purpose of stratification, a satellite map of the farm (based on Landsat 7 ETM scene path 177 row 077, 26 March 2001) was used as base map. Relatively homogenous areas were delineated as derived from segmentations calculated by Definiens 5 (Definiens 2006). Occasional azonal vegetation types (especially small vleis and related features) were also sampled.
Surveying followed the Braun-Blanquet concept as applied during the Vegetation Survey of Namibia project (Strohbach 2001). For each 20 m x 50 m plot, all species were recorded, as well as their typical growth form and average height. Abundance was estimated according to the modified Braun-Blanquet scale (Mueller-Dombois & Ellenberg 1974). In addition, the position of the plot and environmental parameters such as altitude, aspect, slope, topography, stone cover, erosion and disturbances were noted. Owing to time constraints, no soil samples were taken. Instead, available soil data (ICC et al. 2000; Mendelsohn et al. 2002) were interpolated for the various vegetation associations described. Unknown plant species were collected and identified at the National Herbarium of Namibia. The relevé data were captured in the TurboVeg database (Hennekens & Schaminée 2001).
The data were classified with JUICE (Tichý 2002), using the Modified TWINSPAN classification procedure (Rolecek et al. 2009). The pseudospecies cut level was set to presence/ absence, and total inertia was selected as heterogeneity measure. The classification process concluded after 14 divisions. At this stage, two communities (hummock dunes and the ranteveld) were already subdivided owing to high internal heterogeneity and had to be recombined manually (Figure 2). The classification result was ordered as a table using the phi coefficient fidelity measure (Chytrý et al. 2002) as sorting criterion.
The classification results were confirmed with an ordination using Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) (Hill & Gauch 1980), prepared with PC-Ord 5 (McCune, Grace & Urban 2002). Two iterations were performed, with the first excluding only two wetland relevés (as outliers) whilst the second also excluded the pans and associated hummock dunes. Although DCA has been criticised in recent years for 'detrending' the arch effect, this very effect proved useful in illustrating the relationships between the various vegetation associations, as Reciprocal Averaging (RA) depicted only a severe arch effect. The DCA ordination diagram was also used to depict habitat relations, which could often only be overlaid as categorical data.
Mapping was performed using a Landsat 7 ETM satellite image (path 177, row 077; 26 March 2001). In addition, a digital terrain model derived from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data (available from http://srtm.csi.cgiar.org/) (Jarvis et al. 2008) was used to elucidate the topography. The satellite image was clipped to an area slightly larger than the study area before further processing. This clip was imported into the Definiens software package (Definiens 2006) and segmented into relatively homogenous areas. The segments were classified using the classified sample sites as ground truth data. In a final step, the resulting shape file was clipped according to the farm boundaries and areas for each landscape calculated using the IDRISI Andes software package (Eastman 2006).
A total of 218 species, representing 42 families, were observed on the 177 relevés. Poaceae was the most abundant familiy, represented by the most species (54), followed by the Fabaceae (27 species), Asteraceae (16 species) and the Aizoaceae (13 species).
The classification of these relevés revealed eight communities, of which three were divided into subcommunities. The phytosociological table is presented in an online appendix 1, whereas online appendix 2 is a synoptic table. Figure 2 depicts a dendrogram of the classification result. The ordination diagrams of the DCA are shown in Figure 3a (all data except for two outlier relevés) and Figure 3b (also excluding the relevés representing pans and associated hummock dunes). In Figure 3c, the lithology (i.e. the rock types which gave rise to the soils) has been imposed onto the DCA ordination diagram of Figure 3b to illustrate the habitat relationships between vegetation communities.
The pan and hummock dune communities form a well-defined continuum to the right of the ordination diagram in Figure 3a, indicating most likely a combined salinity and soil moisture gradient from the pan centre (community 1.2; upper right corner) to the surrounding hummock dunes (community 3; lower right corner). In contrast, the remaining communities (plains, ranteveld and rivers) are compressed on the left of the main axis. Splitting out the relevés representing the pan and hummock dune communities resulted in a continuum spread between the stony ranteveld, plain and torra communities as well as the rivers (Figure 3b). The limited habitat data available indicate that this is a gradient of increased stoniness towards the left of the main gradient (Figure 3c), representing the ranteveld. Together with the lithology (i.e. the rock type from which the substrate is derived), the stoniness forms the main ecological gradient in this environment.
Description of the plant associations
We formally describe six of the observed communities as associations, three with subassociations, following the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature (Weber, Moravec & Theurillat 2000). The two wetland communities, however, are described only informally, as the number of samples taken was too small for proper description.
1. Lycio cinereum - Salsoletum ass. nov.
The typicum for this association is relevé 2514, sampled at 24°35'36"S, 17°32'58"E on 09 March 2005 (Figure 4b). The association is represented by 21 relevés and characterised by the presence of Salsola spp. dwarf shrubs, which also dominate the vegetation. The structure is a short, open shrubland (sensu Edwards 1983), with an average shrub cover of 6%. Total vegetation cover barely reaches 10%. In total, 58 species have been observed on these pans, with an average species density of 12 per 1000 m2.
The Lycio cinereum - Salsoletum is typical of the large Haribes pan on the farm. The soils originate from weathered sandstones and some calcretes consisting of fine material which is very prone to capping and surface sealing (Figure 4c). The cation levels are probably elevated to form a halophitic environment, but not sufficiently so to render the pan a salt pan (M. Coetzee, pers.comm., March 2010).
Two subassociations can be distinguished, as described below.
1.1 The Zygophylo simplicis - Salsoletosum subass. nov.
The typicum for this subassociation is relevé 2518, sampled at 24°37'53"S, 17°32'31"E on 09 March 2005 (Figure 4a). Only five relevés represent this subassociation. The occurrence of Tetragonia schenkii, Trianthema sp. and Salsola spp. is characteristic and S. uniplumis var. uniplumis, S. kalahariensis, Boerhavia repens and A. nebrownii also occur constantly.
Along the outer parts of the pan and on the floodplains to the pan the vegetation is better developed, forming a tall, moderately closed shrubland (Figure 5). Few perennial herbaceous species occur here; this layer is dominated by ephemerals. The species density is on average 14 species per 1000 m2 and in total 39 species have been observed here.
1.2 The Lycio cinereum - Salsoletosum subass. nov.
This subassociation forms the typicum for the Lycio cinereum - Salsoletum. It is represented by 16 relevés and characterised by near-monospecific stands of Salsola shrubs. Other species that occur here are mostly of ephemeral nature. The shrubs are on average only 0.5 m - 1 m high and reach a cover of only about 6%, thus forming a short, open shrubland (Figure 5). On average, only five species occur per 1000 m2, with a total of 31 species being observed on these pans.
2. The Eragrostis rotifer - Leptochloa fusca community
This community was found once in relevé 2599 from a sample on a deeper vlei, which is regularly inundated. This is indicated by the presence of the geophytic hydrophyte Aponogeton cf. desertorum and Eragrostis rotifer, also generally associated with water-logged soils (Figure 4d). These uncommon vleis form in relatively small depressions, mostly on top of the plateau area in pans that range from 20 m to 50 m in diameter. The pans are surrounded by sandstone stones varying in size between 5 cm and 80 cm. The reddish colour indicates that the soil is most probably relatively high in nutrient content (M. Coetzee, pers. comm., March 2010).
3. Salsolo - Tetragonietum schenckii ass. nov.
The typicum for this association is relevé 2501, sampled at 24°37'00"S, 17°31'01"E on 08 March 2005 (Figure 4e). Eleven relevés were classified within this association. The association is characterised by the presence of the endemic shrub T. schenckii. Constant species include S. uniplumis var. uniplumis, Stipagrostis ciliata, Salsola spp. and R. trichotomum. The association is dominated by T. schenckii. The typical structure is a tall, moderately closed shrubland (Figure 5), with the shrubs reaching a height of between 1 m and 1.5 m. On average 11 species are found per 1000 m2, with a total diversity of 56 species.
The Salsolo - Tetragonietum schenckii is found on hummock dunes probably originating from a deflation process during the formation of the Haribes pan, similar to that described for the Koës pan and other depressions in the Kalahari (Bullard & Nash 2000; Lancaster 1986; Shaw 1988; Shaw & Thomas 1997). The dunes vary in length, generally between 30 m and 50 m. The slopes of the dunes are often quite steep. The occurence of Salsola spp. on these dunes indicate a high base status, which, in turn, supports the hypothesis that the dunes are the result of the deflation process of the pan.
4. The Cullen obtusifolia - Leptochloa fusca community
This community was identified in three relevés within the larger Haribes pan ecosystem. The presence of Leptochloa fusca and Indigofera alternans indicates water-logging at these vleis, whilst the absence of E. rotifer and Aponogeton sp. and the presence of the flat-growing therophytes Cullen obtusifolia and Platycarpha carlinoides indicate a drier environment than occurs in the deep vleis of the E. rotifer - Leptochloa fusca community. Typically for these vleis, A. nebrownii is dominant along the fringes (Figure 4f). These pans are small (50 m - 80 m in diameter) and very shallow. The high clay content of the soil allows the water to remain in the pan for approximately 2-3 weeks. In most cases, these pans are surrounded by reddish gravel, but no larger stones.
There are very few of these small pans that differ greatly from the big pans on the farm. Some are relatively small depressions, mostly on top of the plateau area, but there are also small pans below the plateau, especially near the old road along the tar road between Mariental and Maltahöhe. These depressions allow water to accumulate, resulting in microhabitats with a wetland character.
5. Anthephoro pubescentis -Ziziphodetum mucronatae ass. nov.
The typicum for this association is relevé 2649, sampled at 24°38'17"S, 17°28'12"E on 16 May 2005 (Figure 4h). A total of 30 relevés have been classified within this association. It is characterised by the diagnostic species Z. mucronata, Ocimum americanum var. americanum, Aristida meridionalis, Grewia flava, Anthephora pubescens, Monechma divaricatum and Melinis repens. These are constantly associated with the species S. uniplumis var. uniplumis, S. kalahariensis, Lycium cinereum, E. cenchroides, Gisekia africana, A. nebrownii, Eragrostis porosa, R. trichotomum and B. foetida. The structure is a low open woodland (sensu Edwards 1983), dominated by trees between 4 m and 6 m high that attain a cover of about 2%. Shrubs attain a cover of between 5% and 10%, at a height of about 1 m to 2 m. A total of 130 species have been observed in this association.
The Anthephoro pubescentis - Ziziphodetum mucronatae represents the riverine woodlands (sensu Giess 1998). There are two types of drainage system on the farm, with dry washes, which contain water only for very short periods during rain storms, being most common. Geomorphologically they can be classified as very young river systems. In many cases the slope is relatively steep and the run-off very fast. They occur mostly on the plateau or at the edge of the plateau. Towards the centre of the farm, more mature rivers, like the Riet, Holz and Lewer, are responsible for drainage. There is a big dam near the farmhouse, where the water of these rivers is captured. These two different habitats support two different vegetation subassociations (5.1 and 5.2).
Although the vegetation of the riverbed and the riverbank differ, they were sampled as one for the purposes of this study and are thus included in the same plant association.
5.1 Ehretrio albae - Ziziphodetosum mucronatae subass. nov.
The typicum of this subassociation is relevé 2574, sampled at 24°32'34"S, 17°32'45"E on 11 May 2005 (Figure 4g). A total of 17 relevés belong to this subassociation. There are no diagnostic species for this association, but the following are constantly present: S. uniplumis var. uniplumis, S. kalahariensis, L. cinereum, A. nebrownii, R. trichotomum, Limeum sulcatum, G. africana, B. foetida, E. cenchroides, G. flava, E. porosa and B. repens. The structure is a low, open woodland (Figure 5), with the trees only 4 m - 5 m tall and shrubs reaching height of 1 m - 2 m. In this subassociation, 99 species have been recorded; on average 21 species occur per 1000 m2.
The Ehretrio albae - Ziziphodetosum mucronatae occurs along the dry washes. Their slopes vary from steep to almost level (15°-20° and < 3°, respectively). Erosion is a common occurrence on the steeper slopes. Most of these dry washes start on top of the plateau and generally run eastward or southward to join the Riet, Holz and Lewer rivers. They are all typically ephemeral and are active only during and shortly after thunderstorms. Varied soil character is observed:
although most soils are very shallow, occasionally with big rocks, gravel and small stones also represent a common soil cover. At the base of the plateau some of the washes have deeper soils, which are also higher in nutrient content.
5.2 Heteropogo contorti - Ziziphodetosum mucronatae subass. nov.
This subassociation, with 13 relevés, is the typicum of the Anthephoro pubescentis - Ziziphodetum mucronatae (Figure 4h). It is characterised by the presence of the diagnostic species Heteropogon contortus, Cleome hirta, Kyphocarpa angustifolia and Senecio sp. in addition to the diagnostic species defining the Anthephoro pubescentis - Ziziphodetum mucronatae. These are also constantly accompanied by Tephrosia dregeana, Otoptera burchellii, G. flava, Tribulus terrestris, Mollugo cerviana, Kohautia caespitosa subsp. brachyloba and Cenchrus ciliaris (in addition to the constant species listed for the association). Owing to the higher moisture content in the soils, the trees grow up to 7 m tall, thus forming a short, open woodland with a tree cover of 2% (Figure 5). Species density is on average 28 species per 1000 m2, whilst a total of 109 species have been observed in this subassociation.
The Heteropogo contorti - Ziziphodetosum mucronatae occurs along the more mature rivers (Riet, Holz and Lewer). Their slopes are normally less than 3° and water remains standing in river pools for long periods. The soils in the riverbeds are normally rough gravels, which can be very stony with big rocks. The nutrient level in these gravels is low, but water content is usually relatively high. The soils of the river banks are sandy loams with a relatively high nutrient content, whilst the moisture content varies depending on the slope of the river.
6. Zygophylo pubescentis - Leucosphaeretum bainesii ass. nov.
The typicum for this association is relevé 2526, sampled at 24°32'34"S, 17°37'08"E on 10 March 2005 (Figure 4i). The association comprises 14 relevés and is characterised by the diagnostic species Leucosphaera bainesii, Commiphora glandulosa, Zygophyllum pubescens, Stipagrostis obtusa and Eriocephalus pubescens. These are constantly associated with B. foetida, S. uniplumis var. uniplumis, R. trichotomum, C. alexandri, E. cenchroides, O. burchellii, Enneapogon desvauxii, Dicoma capensis and Tribulus sp. The structure is a short, moderately closed shrubland (Figure 5), with shrubs standing approximately 0.5 m - 2 m tall and a canopy cover of about 10%, reaching up to 20%. Here, 65 species have been observed, with an average of 19 species per 1000 m2.
Zygophylo pubescentis - Leucosphaeretum bainesii is associated with shallow calcrete soils, either along the northern Haribes pan edge, as part of the flood plain system of larger rivers or on dolerite ridges. The soils are shallow (20 cm - 30 cm deep), whitish in colour and have a high clay content. The soils are expected to be alkaline with a pH of more than 7 (M. Coetzee, pers. comm., March 2010). Stone cover in the form of calcrete gravel and pebbles is often found mixed with medium to large dolerite blocks and can reach up to 80%.
Steep terraces, with slopes of between 5° and 10°, are formed along the pan edge.
7. Monsonio umbellatae - Boscietum foetidae ass. nov.
The typicum for this association is relevé 2632, sampled at 24°37'10"S, 17°37'03"E on 15 May 2005 (Figure 4j). This association was found on 17 plots in the study area. The occurrence of the low spreading forb Monsonia umbellata ('rabas') is characteristic of this association. In addition, the constant presence of S. uniplumis var. uniplumis, R. trichotomum, C. alexandri, B. foetida, S. kalahariensis, Tribulus cristatus, Ptychtolobium biflorum subsp. biflorum, G. africana, E. desvauxii, D. capensis and T. dregeana is typical for this association. The vegetation structure can be defined as a tall, open shrubland (Figure 5). The shrubs are between 0.5 m and 2 m high and represent less than 5% of the ground cover. Density is on average 17 species per 1000 m2, with a total of 67 species being observed in this association.
The Monsonio umbellatae - Boscietum foetidae typically occurs on the torras on the farm. Torras are defined as flat plains, with little or no internal relief, covered with reddish brown gravel on the surface (often more than 80%). The soils are loamy, with a crust, and with very low water infiltration capacity. This low water infiltration capacity results in patchy, near-banded vegetation, with run-off from the open patches feeding the vegetated patches (run-on). Similar vegetation patterns have been described as brousse tigree in the Sahel (Boaler & Hodge 1962; Bromley et al. 1997; Couteron et al. 2000; Thiéry, D'Herbès & Valentin 1995) and banded mulga in arid Australia (Dunkerley 1997a, 1997b).
8. Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri ass. nov.
The typicum for this association is relevé 2606, sampled at 24°32'31"S, 17°28'59"E on 13 May 2005 (Figure 4l). The association comprises 80 relevés. It is characterised by Eragrostis nindensis as characteristic species, with the following constant species: S. uniplumis var. uniplumis, C. alexandri, B. foetida, L. cinereum, E. cenchroides, S. kalahariensis, Triraphis ramosissima, T. dregeana and Aristida adscensionis. The structure is a typical tall, open shrubland, with shrubs of 1 m - 2 m in height, reaching a cover of about 5%. The total cover varies between 20% and 50%. Species density is on average 19 species per 1000 m2, whilst a total of 131 species have been recorded for this association. Two subassociations have been identified within this association.
8.1 The Schmidtio kalahariensis - Boscietosum foetidae subass. nov.
The typicum of this subassociation is relevé 2546, sampled at 24°41'17"S, 17°34'54"on 14 March 2005 E (Figure 4k). This subassociation was represented by 28 relevés and is characterised by the following constant species: S. uniplumis var. uniplumis, B. foetida, L. cinereum, R. trichotomum, C. alexandri, S. kalahariensis, E. cenchroides, Tribulus sp., D. capensis, A. nebrownii, T. dregeana and Aptosimum albomarginatum. No characteristic species were identified. The structure is a tall, open shrubland (Figure 5), with a shrub cover of less than 5%. Shrub height ranges between 0.5 m and 1.8 m. The species density is on average 18 species per 1000 m2, whilst a total of 87 species have been found in this subassociation.
The Schmidtio kalahariensis - Boscietosum foetidae occurs on flat plains and footslopes as well as on ranteveld proper and forms a transition between the torras and the ranteveld. These plains are underlain by sandstones of the Nababis formation. Fragments of these form the stone cover on the soil surface, ranging from gravel to medium-sized stones and covering up to 80% of the soil surface. The low vegetative cover indicates a tendency to degrade to a similar vegetation as the Monsonio umbellatae - Boscietum foetidae on the present torras (Figure 4j).
8.2 The Acacio senegal - Catophractetosum alexandri subass. nov.
This subassociation forms the typicum of the Acacio senegal -Catophractetum alexandri (Figure 4l). A total of 52 relevés have been classified into this subassociation. It is characterised by E. nindensis as diagnostic species, with S. uniplumis var. uniplumis, C. alexandri, B. foetida, L. cinereum, E. cenchroides, T. ramosissima, G. africana, S. kalahariensis, A. adscensionis, T. dregeana and Eragrostis porosa as constant species. This subassociation forms a tall, open shrubland or occasionally a low bushveld (Figure 5), with shrubs of 0.5 m - 3 m tall. Occasional trees stand 4 m - 5 m tall. On average, 19 species have been found per 1000 m2, whilst the total species diversity is 105.
The Acacio senegal - Catophractetosum alexandri forms the ranteveld and occurs mainly in areas on top of the plateau. The plateau is dominated by very stony outcrops and small escarps (rante) of Nababis sandstone. The soils are leptosols, red in colour and very shallow, of moderately coarse to medium texture, with many coarse fragments and well drained. The surface layer is typically 10 cm - 20 cm thick. These soils have a moderate hydraulic conductivity and present a moderate infiltration rate with a low water holding capacity (ICC et al. 2000). The landscape is relatively flat on top of the plateau, but forms occasional low hills and an escarpment area to the west of the farm, with steep-sloped ravines in between.
Vegetation mapping
It was not possible to map all vegetation types, for several reasons. Firstly, many units are just too small to map with the 30-m ground resolution of Landsat 7 ETM satellite images. This holds true for the two vlei communities, E. rotifer -L. fusca and C. obtusifolia - L. fusca, as well as the Zygophylo pubescentis - Leucosphaeretum bainesii, which occurs on ridges with very limited spatial extent.
Differentiating between the Monsonio umbellatae - Boscietum foetidae and the Schmidtio kalahariensis - Boscietosum foetidae proved extremely difficult owing to their similar structures and especially similar low vegetative cover. For this reason, a landscape map was produced (Figure 6) to differentiate between plains and torras, and ranteveld. Table 1 lists the mapped landscapes, their spatial extent and their included vegetation associations or subassociations.
Four distinct higher syntaxonomic groupings can be recognised, namely the saline pans and associated hummock dunes (as represented by the Lycio cinereum - Salsoletum and the Salsolo - Tetragonietum schenkii), the wetlands (as represented by the two vlei communities), the river systems (as represented by the Anthephoro pubescentis - Ziziphodetum mucronatae) and the surrounding plateaus (as represented by the Zygophylo pubescentis - Leucosphaeretum bainesii, the Monsonio umbellatae - Boscietum foetidae and the Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri). Unfortunately the data set is too limited to define and describe such higher syntaxonomic levels at this stage. Volk and Leippert (1971) refer to the class Rhigozetea as representing the larger dwarf shrub savanna of southern Namibia; this encompasses all those syntaxa containing R. trichotomum (i.e. specifically the latter grouping).
Giess (1998) superficially described the Dwarf shrub savanna, as follows:
Characteristic for the greatest part is Rhigozum trichotomum (...). Parkinsonia africana, Acacia nebrownii, Boscia foetida subsp. foetida, B[oscia] abitrunca var. albitrunca and Catophractes alexandri as well as Karoo bushes such as Pentzia spp., Eriocephalus spp., and others are typical for this vegetation type. (Giess 1998)
This description is illustrated with three plates. Yet the Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri has a too tall structure (2 m - 3 m) to be regarded as true dwarf shrub savanna. Within the broader Nama-Karoo (of which Giess' dwarf shrub savanna forms the northern extent), the Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri can structurally be compared to the Acacia mellifera open shrubland of the Blouputs karroid thornveld as described for the Augrabies Falls National Park (Bezuidenhout 1996; Mucina & Rutherford 2006). However, the shrub component here is dominated by A. mellifera subsp. detinens, a species rarely found in the Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri. In this respect, the Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri is to be regarded as a xeric outlier of the highland savanna (sensu Giess 1998). The rocky habitat with shallow soils, and often steep slopes, is similar in both vegetation types.
The Salsolo - Tetragonietum schenckii resembles the Saline desert and dwarf shrub savanna fringe (sensu Giess 1998) described for the Etosha pan. Here the structure of the hummock dune vegetation can specifically be compared to the Okondeka duneveld (Le Roux 1980). However, the composition varies widely, with T. schenkii not occurring in northern Namibia. For the Lycio cinereum - Salsoletum no comparable vegetation type is known. It is likely that these, in a future synopsis of syntaxa, will form a class on their own.
The very close relationship between the Monsonio umbellatae - Boscietum foetidae and the two subassociations of the Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri is well illustrated in the ordination diagram in Figure 3b. This leads to the assumption that these three units form degradation stages of one another:
Acacio senegal - Catophractetosum alexandri degrading to Schmidtio kalahariensis - Boscietosum foetidae, and in very extreme cases (possibly also owing to soil degradation processes such as erosion and capping) to Monsonio umbellatae With reference to biodiversity patterns, species density is - Boscietum foetidae. This hypothesis needs to be tested and comparable to other descriptions within the Nama-Karoo described in a paper in which dynamic trends are considered. biome in southern Namibia. The Nico observatories (Nico
North and Nico South) of the BIOTA Southern Africa project are the nearest to Haribes and are also situated on relatively stony soil, albeit of origin from the Dwyka formation (Geological Survey 1980). The Nico observatories display an average of 21 and 20 species per 1000 m2, respectively (Jürgens et al. 2010), compared with the 17-19 species per 1000 m2 for the Zygophylo pubescentis - Leucosphaeretum bainesii, Monsonio umbellatae - Boscietum foetidae and Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri. The slightly lower values observed during the current study can be related to the survey being conducted during a single, comparatively dry year, whilst the Nico observatories had been resurveyed over a period of seven years (but unfortunately not in 2005). However, the overall number of species observed at Haribes (218) is higher than the total number of species observed at both Nico North (166) and Nico South (204). This can, in turn, be attributed to the fact that the area sampled at Haribes is far bigger and more diverse than the 1 km2 sample areas of the BIOTA observatories. Comparing the Zygophylo pubescentis - Leucosphaeretum bainesii to the Narias and Duruchaus observatories, which also have shallow soils on calcretes (thus a comparable edaphic habitat), a far lower species density was observed (19 vs 36-37 per 1000 m2). The climatic environment at the Narais and Duruchaus observatories is, however, far more moist, with a mean annual rainfall of 289 mm (Jürgens et al. 2010).
Haribes is unlikely ever to become a conservation area. On the contrary, the recent change in ownership also introduces an entirely different land use, with the farm being targeted for resettlement. Some 13 families have already been resettled on small parcels of the farm, each ranging between 1700 ha and 7500 ha (Cloete 2010b; Kleinhans 2010). These units, meant to support the livelihoods of these families (Werner & Odendaal 2010), have been calculated according to grazing capacity maps from the 1970s (Department Landbou
Tegniese Dienste 1979). However, the general indications are that the grazing capacity has drastically reduced throughout the entire country over the past decades (Espach et al. 2010). This is due to a multitude of factors generally associated with land degradation [e.g. bush encroachment (De Klerk 2004)]. It is thus unlikely that these small farming units will be sustainable and severe degradation of grazing resources may result (Werner & Odendaal 2010).
Within the Nama-Karoo biome in Namibia, livestock farming depends mainly on browsing of dwarf shrub species (Espach et al. 2006), with grazing playing a secondary role. This does not hold true for Haribes. A comparison of the shrub, dwarf shrub, grass and total vegetation cover of the various associations (Figure 5) shows that farming on Haribes is more dependent on grazing than browsing. The pans and surrounding dunes are mostly covered by shrubs dominated by Salsola spp. and T. schenckii, which are both known to be poisonous (Mannheimer, Marais & Schubert 2008). This makes roughly 13% of the farm unsuitable for grazing. The Zygophylo pubescentis - Leucosphaeretum bainsii on the calcrete ridges provide some dwarf shrub browse, but is very limited in extent. The Monsonio umbellatae - Boscietum foetidae (torras) and the Acacio senegal - Catophractetum alexandri (ranteveld) provide the main grazing resources on the farm. However, as pointed out in the discussion, these seem to form a degradation gradient from each other; thus, extensive overgrazing will lead to desert-like torra plains.
Global climate change has been identified as a reality in recent years. Temperature increases coupled with less precipitation, in more erratic events, are predicted for southern Africa (Parry et al. 2007). Based on these forecasts, it is predicted that large parts of southern Namibia will become unsuitable for livestock farming, as it will turn into a virtual desert (Midgley et al. 2005). Similar scenarios have been developed for the Kalahari basin, with forecasts of remobilisation of sand dunes as far north as southern Angola (Thomas, Knight & Wiggs 2005). In addition, a human-induced drought, as described for other Nama-Karoo regions (Booysen & Rowswell 1983), threatens. This is aggravated by the fact that farming on Haribes depends largely on grazing, meaning that protection of the perennial grass cover is essential for sustainable use of the farm in the long term. Perennial grasses have been shown to be able to withstand prolonged droughts (i.e. periods of below-normal precipitation), but are unable to withstand heavy grazing together with arid conditions (O'Connor 1991, 1994). It is thus likely that overgrazing in the ranteveld may lead to a composition (and vegetation cover) similar to that of the present torras. When planning the redistribution of the farm Haribes, it should be kept in mind that only 75% of the farm (the ranteveld) provides adequate grazing and that even this grazing needs to be utilised judiciously to prevent severe degradation to desert-like conditions.
We are grateful to Mr and Mrs Poggenpoel, previous managers at the farm Haribes, for making Volk's data of 1956 available to us and for their kind support during fieldwork. The assistance of staff members at the National Herbarium of Namibia (WIND) during specimen identification is gratefully acknowledged. Many thanks also go to Mrs Marina Coetzee of the School of Natural Resources and Tourism, Polytechnic of Namibia for providing information on soil properties. This work was financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under their BIOLOG programme, promotion number 01 LC 0024A, as part of the BIOTA Southern Africa project.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationship(s) which may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this paper.
Authors' contributions
B.J.S. (National Botanical Research Institute) initiated the project. W.J.J. (School of Natural Resources and Tourism) was responsible for the vegetation surveys and the habitat and structural descriptions of the associations, whilst B.J.S. (National Botanical Research Institute) was responsible for data analysis, diagnostic descriptions of the associations, and mapping.
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Correspondence to:
Ben Strohbach
Private Bag 13184, Windhoek,
Received: 14 Dec. 2010
Accepted: 16 Sept. 2011
Published: 29 Mar. 2011
Nomenclature follows Craven (1999) and subsequent name changes used by the National Herbarium of Namibia (WIND).
© 2012. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.

subset: commoncrawl


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Monday, October 20, 2008
On the Street…Wrapped, Paris
CommentsClose comment
111 comments
the woman following this madonna look-alike lady seems interesting too…
The belt of her fur coat looks quite wonderful, and is that a one piece I spot underneath? Also loving her boots, and in fact the lady behind her looks equally amazing!
Fabulous coat and belt!
What a place to be, this lady looks incredible and so does the woman behind her
Good Heavens, no!
She must be Russian. So bling bling with fur and all…
The person coming behind seems much more interesting. Great platforms, weird rope around her neck & a nice bag!
Amazing! I love the Marc Jacobs clutch and the fur genie pants. Such an unexpected combination. The lady two steps behind her is also fabulous!
I hope that's fake fur
Oooooh, I hate that people are going to say Madonna, in response to this. This lady has a fantastic sense of style. I love love love the eastern-looking coat.
i remember seeing this post over at style.com – i rather preferred the 4th photo of the lady with that gorgeous grey coat (it is so incredibly covetable) for me this is just not at all appealing aesthetically. although i love textures and it looks like theres so much that would be lovely to feel and touch i doubt any woman would take too kindly to being petted by a complete stranger :-P
sartorially it's just not a style i can appreciate
love those boots…..but the fur ruins the whole thing.
so madonna..
And yet I'm so much more interested in the woman behind…the rope-like scarf, the towering platforms, the 80′s bag. She's got this whole Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego vibe that thrills me. Perfection.
You sure this is Paris and not Moscow?
I too like the idea of a wide belt with a generous fur coat. Not liking her bag,boots nor pants though. But really, it´s not fur time yet !
It's ALWAYS fur time…….
um, can see why they are stylish,i mean, they are not wallflowers. but none of it works for me. i like big accessories, but the rope is silly to me. love the black shoes in back. hat and outfit too. the rope too big for me. lady in front, too much.
The Marc Jacobs clutch and the fur genie pants is awesome!!
I have to be honest, the lady behind the subject is most interesting to me. For lack of a better word, I would say that her look is very…interesting =)
Wow, this is opulence. In all its many many layers…. Only possible in the cooler months. (Is that a j-suit underneath?)
I love how some people wear animal skins–not, that is to say, fur, but the delicate pad of a shoeboot under those poufy trousers looks delectably feline. I think it's easy to go your whole life finding the sleek feet of a cat who's otherwise a fat, silky persian unquestionably graceful, and never translate that quality into human fashion. This brings an accessibility to nature.
I don't have the courage to go out in a full-on fur coat, but this looks fantastic. I love the over-the-topness of it, combined with the 'Please, don't take my photo!' air.
Fur…pfffft…. prefer the lady following
Anna Piaggi in the making?
love the whole thing, fur, belt, pants, heels, glasses, clutch
i think its too much of everything!
too much of volume, details…
kind of freeky look)
I think this woman looks fabulous, and so does the lady behind here. Seeing the two of them together is what makes this photo awesome.
As a side note, I have to say that I'm not a fan of the disapproving comments which some people feel entitled to leave here. This isn't a "Rate the Outfit" site, and posters who nitpick each outfit to death should realise they're taking the wrong approach … these photos are about individual creativity, and celebrating the fact that all around the world there are people with the means to express themselves so vibrantly. We should all be empowered by that.
I love the *look* of fur but I will never be behind it. You just know it's real too. She doesn't look like the type to do faux anything.
Its good to see that the Romanovs are out and about in Paris… or maybe this woman just robbed them and piled on as much as she could get?
If Madonna would not have been so famous today, I think she would look something like this…
Love the texture of the pantsuit…
catherine baba
fab! i love her pants!
Love gray! The belt on an outfit of singular color might look better.
That's a gorgeous wide-rimmed hat.
She reminds me of my mom in the 70s, except my mom would've had big, floaty Diana Ross hair. I like the bright clutch, nails and lips with the mellow colors of all else. If I were going to wear a harem jumpsuit and a fur, this is how I'd do it.
she's french, her name is catherine baba, she's stylist and socialite..(vogue japan, french etc)
She's like a spider waitin' for the kill…
Very Cruella De Vil.
I just love the lady behind the "fur-lady"!
Hello? 1986 is that you? Long time no see.
Did you grab any more photos of the mysterious women behind her…. I'm so curious about her.. funny how both these women are in one piece gettups with fab shoes…. love it
if Madonna was Russian…
i hope it's NOT fake fur. so, so fabulous.
Simply JUST too much. I am more interested in the woman behind her with the hat and rope as a necklace
she's not russian, she's an american stylist, Mademoiselle Catherine Baba and yes she dresses quite amazing and is capable to do everything for fashion.
Marvellous looking!
madonna and zorro in one picture? amazing!
Look at the woman behind the fur lady. Those shoes! And that rope scarf. What is going on with her? I know it's Paris, but where was this taken? Were you going in to a show? I would love it if that is just her attire for a regular day!
Divine! She is truly inspiring.
my first thought–what about the mysterious woman in the background…those shoes, that coat…the hat and her hidden face…i want to see more of her!
Incredible! A mature Gwen Stefani, perhaps?
I'm seventeen, and am terrified of even attempting this new trend of hareem trousers, despite constant assurances that at my age I could pull off most things. Yet here she is, and instead of going for greys and blacks and the neutral palats and silhouettes which women over thirty are encouraged to embrace… and she looks better than I could ever dream of looking!
I love the fur, and although I do wish it were faux… she seems like an all or nothing kind of woman, doesn't she? I don't think fakes would especially agree with her, and they would sort of ruin the lavish decadence going on here…
And to cut myself off from an animal rights tangeant; love the cuffs, love the lip colour , love the bag on the girl behind her, and am intrigued by the rope/necklace worn by the irl behind her.
I believe this is fake fur! :)
I love her style! She's amazing! She pulls the style off very well.
to. the. nines! …even the woman behind her.
I thought "Russian", too. But Cossack-run-amok with the tucked voluminous pants, boots, and gold braid on the belt. It looks peculiar, and it can't be that damned cold. Too heavy and too drama queen for me.
This picture brings me mixed feelings. I love it and hate it at the same time because it is both wonedrful and overwhelming. Agree with the above commentor, this looks so Russian! Or is it already this cold in Paris?
I thought it was Madonna when she was younger (and had a bit more body…)
that's some super cool, wild stuff. Your recent posts from Paris demonstrate that the French seem to have rediscovered their Diva-era style.
Funny Melkur – I was just thinking that this could be Madonna in 10 years time without all the work…
I suppose this is all designer but it looks like thrift, seems a bit in congruous but then maybe that's the look she was going for?
The woman behind is waaay more interesting to me. I want to see her obi/skirt in more detail, please!!
Look at the woman BEHIND HER. That hat is sweeeeeet. And Check out the Rope necklace. The 13th Century is back BABY!!!
so early 80′s…so fabulous!
I don't know how to feel about this. I hate hate hate it, but I love love it. Thank you, crazy fashion lady.
The woman behind is far more interesting. That black hat is killin' me softly. This woman is a true gangster. Love it.
What a look! Just to make such an effort (but yet look so amazingly casual) should be rewarded. She looks like an Icon… and the shades are really completing it all… must also say that the women behind looks very interesting!
To anonymous 7:44… Yes, my first thought was Russian.
I like the woman behind her even more.
it's catherine baba!!!
A little too bulky for my taste.
How rare it must be to find two people with jump suits on in a row. each with rope detailing in the outfit. This photo is a great example of personalizing a trend
If you had waited to take the photo 5 more seconds you could have captured the woman in the back whom everyone seems to agree, is the more fashionably daring of the two in the picture. They both have a rope theme going though… new-age bondage perhaps? Her orange money bag reminds me of a sack filled with gold. I like it!
I think she's australian, I can't remember her name but she is a fashion stylist and has amazzing style.
Cathrine someone I think
I hope it's fake also….but she's got a wonderful, crazy, Cruella DeVille meets Aladdin look.
Very striking.
This for me is the story of the off-kilter pair of pants (genie pants for the lady in front; and what look like deconstructed drop-crotch trousers for the lady in the back) and the rope detail (in the front lady's belt and around the back-lady's neck). Quite odd but cool.
the coat paired with the lipstick= absolutely fabulous.
Oh here we go, let's wait for the "I hate fur" comments. I wish you wouldn't post any fur pics just to avoid those comments, but I understand that you have to. I agree with other commentators, lady behind this furry person deserves her own pic. I have never seen a rope as pseudo-jewellery! Wow.
Really cool, she looks like the blonde girl from The Human League! Early 80′s!
A material.. a material… a material..
How many mammals died for that!?! Yikes!
Now the look behind her? Is rope the new black? Asian designer(lest anyone think this is me being insensitive, designers instill a sense of the place they are from in the designs)? It's got that feel about it. I love hats, very nice fedora.
she reminds me of an 80′s madonna
hm i know it's probably politically incorrect to say, but i love fur.. especially this kind of blatantly luxurious and gorgeous fur.. what a great colour. and i thought of russian too when i saw her
I hope it's not fake fur. Fake fur is….well…..fake.
Catherine Baba
A Paris Fashion icon.
Catherine Baba: French, American, Australian, Russian stylist and socialite.
This lady knows.
I remember when my daughter went through the stage of wearing ALL of her favorite clothes at the same time. She was 4 or 5. Maybe not everyone outgrows it.
One more person has to say this, but she is sooo Madonna. BUT MOOOORRE INTERESTING!
reminds me of madonna circa desperately seeking susan
No,sorry, she just looks ridiculous. It is far too over the top and dated.
SO Chic. xo K.
she looks like she stepped out of 1975 to now. personally it's early to wear fur, fake hopefully but i don't think so.
i do prefer the woman behind her with the rope accessories looks much more interesting but for variety she'll do.
The fur is dreadful!
I'd like to get a better lok at the lady behind her tho..
she's amazing
Yeah ! C'est la rue Rivoli ! J'aime la fourure et toutes ces superpositions.
She looks a little bit like carry in Sex and the City!
I think she is stunning – people are so afraid of looking different. IMO if the fur were fake it would ruin the look
love her fur coat. class!!!
questions still without answer:
Where is she going?
What is written in that paper?
Why her mouth is open?
Is the woman behind her bodyguard?
Catherine Baba's myspace says she's 72. Should we believe that or not?
people here said she looks russian… nooo way!!! Russians wear furs only when it's freezing outside… when it's -20′ C it is the best way to keep warm… i would say that it's totally american style to wear fur when the weather is not so bad!
I don't like this at all. Well, maybe the sunglasses, but the rest is just… eh.
This is… waaaaaaaawwwww!!!
Madonna?? Is that you?
I love the look of the woman in the fur coat, and NO, she doesn't look like Madonna. Just a beautiful blond woman.
All these comments like, "I hope she's not wearing real fur" and "I hope it's not fake fur" are boring and stupid, especially when they come from persons who eat meat and use leather. Let people have their choice and stay out of it. Just focus on the total look, and don't impose your morality on the rest of the world, okay?
The wonder of daily life, the power of beuty, the work of an artist…
I hope to read soon that book Sartorialist.
dear Sartorialist!
did you know…?
1st girl you shot at BALMAIN SHOW on 09/28/08 is supermodel ELISA SEDNAOUI
I've seen her in the new
LOVE MOSCHINO by Tom Munro
yes it looks interesting but i wouldn't say it's very pretty…. the pants are very mc hammerish, and i find the dead animal coat quite hideous. plus with the belt and the loud handbag… the whole thing looks too busy.
This is Miss Baba at her very usual best at the SS 09 Vuitton show,i have seen her a looot of times and if u guys think this look makes u comment , u should see her w her huge pink or yellow, very colourful anyway … fur, on a more than vintage bike , huge sunglasses bigger-than-life accessories, w everyone stopping in the street to watch..ahhahaha…. such a memorable image……even if u don't notice her at first…. hard not to, lol…. , u hear speak from far far away and u know that that crazy mix of french and english ( i think she's australian )can't be anyone but her. really like this woman !!! individuals are hard to find and she surely is one !! can hardly wait to see what she's pulling out next ! :)
and after this they dare to say smth buot the russins …. lol
That is the appropriate blog for anybody who desires to search out out about this topic. You notice so much its nearly hard to argue with you (not that I really would want…HaHa). You undoubtedly put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just nice!


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Pioneering the past
Clayville Spring Festival is May 19-20 at the Clayville Historic Site, just east of Pleasant Plains on Route 125, and not far outside of town following Jefferson Ave. west. The old stage coach stop village comes alive with pioneer artisan and craftsman demonstrations, historic building tours, pony rides, pioneer crafts and games for kids, 40 craft vendors and local musicians. See the 10th Illinois Volunteer Calvary Regiment Civil War encampment, cowboy shows, Ollie DePriest - puppeteer, and Chris Camp The Whip Guy. Admission helps the Pleasant Plains Historical Society in its mission to restore the Broadwell Inn Stagecoach House and site. The website address is clayville.org.
Clayville Spring Festival
Saturday, May 19, 9am-6pm
Sunday, May 20, 10am-4pm
Clayville Historic Site
Route 125, Pleasant Plains
$3 adults, $1 ages 7-12, children six and under free


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01 November 2011
On 31 October at 22:58 CET (on 1 November at 05:58 local time), the Chinese spaceship Shenzhou-8 was launched on board a Long March rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia.
DLR/Markus Braun.
Bird's eye view of the SIMBOX experiment rack.
Successful launch of the German SIMBOX on board the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft
On 31 October at 22:58 CET (on 1 November at 05:58 local time), the Chinese spaceship Shenzhou-8 was launched on board a Long March rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia. On board is the SIMBOX (Science in Microgravity Box) experimental facility containing 17 experiments from the fields of biology and medicine, which will be conducted by German researchers together with their Chinese colleagues This is the first time that the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) cooperates with another nation in the use of Shenzhou – the core of China's human spaceflight programme.
The German Aerospace Center's (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) Space Administration is responsible for the German mission share. "We congratulate the Chinese space organisation on this outstanding achievement. China will remain a highly interesting cooperation partner for future bilateral space projects, for example in the field of microgravity research. We see an enormous potential to enhance our cooperation with China with respect to the peaceful use of outer space", said Gerd Gruppe, member of the DLR Executive Board, responsible for the German Space Administration, on occasion of the launch. The SIMBOX facility - a combination of intelligent incubator and centrifuge - was built at Astrium in Friedrichshafen. Seven German universities have contributed experiments to the project. The flight of the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft to the first module of the Chinese space station Tiangong, which is currently under construction, will be China's final test for future human space flight.
Biological samples will remain in space for 17 days
On 2 November, Shenzhou-8 will dock to 'Tiangong-1'. After approximately 17 days in space, Shenzhou or 'Divine Craft' will undock and, after re-entering Earth's atmosphere, it will land by means of a parachute. The samples will then be recovered by helicopter search teams and transported to Beijing for evaluation.
In the scope of SIMBOX, plants, nematodes, bacteria and human cancer cells will be exposed to zero gravity and space radiation for nearly three weeks. These experiments will include investigating the crystallisation of medically relevant biomacromolecules. The objective is to tackle fundamental biological and medical questions that also play an important role on the Earth. Researchers at the Universities of Erlangen, Hohenheim, Magdeburg, Tübingen, Freiburg, Hamburg and the Charité Berlin are involved in these studies. In addition to the six German experiments, the Universities of Erlangen and Wuhan are carrying out joint German-Chinese experiments.
Last modified:04/11/2011 15:49:39


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When American Stuff Research was founded in 1993, we already had several years experience as part of a family business in the field of vintage clothing and fabrics. American Stuff Research buys, selects and bulk sells second hand retro clothing. Our vintage garments reach out to a vast clientèle in major cities. Our philosophy is to understand customers' requirements and do everything we can to satisfy them.
Company websites
www Corporate site


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Philips amBX gets Ubisoft on board
>> Friday, January 11, 2008
Philips announced that Ubisoft games are going to use amBX technology, the last bit of gaming involvement Philips has after CD-i. Talks started over a year ago and what they already decided is that Far Cry 2 and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway will be compatible with the wind and light effects amBX adds to PC games. Philips also announced console versions will be available in the near future. Although amBX is part of Philips, I read here it operates independent of Philips. Their HQ is in UK and Philips is the main customer, which means Philips has a license on amBX to produce amBX hardware. This would mean other companies are able to get a amBX license as well, something that is going to happen according to this blog. They also revealed Brothers in Arms will get a special extra [level?] something to do with Philips and Eindhoven (their hometown). Sounds promising to me, I'll keep you posted.


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Willow Smith will no longer play little orphan Annie in her dad WIll Smith's planned revamp of the beloved musical.
The singer/actress was 10 years old when the project was announced back in 2011, but the 12 year old will no longer take the lead because "she has outgrown the role," reports Deadline.com.
Willow's replacement has not yet been announced.
Movie star Will Smith, who remade "The Karate Kid" with his son Jaden, is producing the modern remake with rapper Jay-Z, while "Friends With Benefits" director Will Gluck has been tapped to take charge.
Shooting is scheduled to begin in the fall with a slated 2014 release date.


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Welcome to The College of St. Scholastica! Whether at the Duluth campus, or at one of our extended sites, or online, you are joining a community of learners who are committed to academic excellence and the values of our Catholic Benedictine heritage. We believe that the world wants thoughtful leaders who have a moral compass. We look forward to working with you to develop the knowledge and skills for success in your chosen profession, as well as the larger sense of meaning and purpose that will guide the application of your knowledge. Welcome to what I hope will be a wonderful journey!
Colette Geary, Ph.D.
This catalog includes the best information available at the time of publish. All information is subject to change without notice or obligation.
Build Your OwnCourse ScheduleBrowse by Program
This PDF includes information available on 07/18/2017.


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Sunday, May 13, 2012
the random-themed blogpost typed up in 7-8 minute intervals....
Posted by dkuroiwa at 1:22 AM
Labels: family, Golden Week, power spot, random thoughts, travel
10 comments:
- ChiTown Girl said...
Happy Mother's Day to you, too, my friend!
The tiara is an awesome idea. I should have worn one the other day. I'll remember for next year. :)
- May 13, 2012 1:40 AM
- smalltownme said...
I highly approve of cookies!
- May 13, 2012 1:59 AM
- Yarni Gras! said...
love the tiara!!!!
- May 13, 2012 7:21 AM
- San said...
You are one tiara wearing supermom goddess Debbie! Hope your Mothers Day was good!
- May 13, 2012 8:06 AM
- Jenn @ Juggling Life said...
Happy Mother's Day! I will keep the tiara in mind in a couple of years.
- May 13, 2012 10:01 AM
- Busy Bee Suz said...
I love the Tiara idea....perhaps I should start getting used to that now?? Yes.
I love all your adventures where you are....seems so far away from my life. because it is!!
So happy that your trip back on this side of the world was good.
love to you and your peeps!
- May 13, 2012 10:28 AM
- Janet said...
You never fail to make me smile!
- May 15, 2012 12:18 AM
- Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...
You rock the tiara! I'll have to remember that accessory.
Those red boots come with the cape, right?
- May 17, 2012 12:03 AM
- Kim said...
Thanks for your kind words today. I think you're right; everything will work out.
Your pics of the bridges and rice paddies are beautiful! looks like it was a lovely day trip!
- May 17, 2012 1:25 AM
- magiceye said...
that was a fun post!
- May 26, 2012 8:03 PM


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Ashes second battle started with Australian devastation, despite Michael Hussey's heroic combat and helpful inning of Haddin and Watson, England ruled over Aussies by catastrophic bowling attack of James Anderson. Except these three good samaritan, rest of Australian team washed out without doing something on opening day of second test for Ashes at Adelaide.
Australia won the toss today and elected to bat, later this decision converted as wrong turn for hosts.
Rising and shining of Anderson
England currently hold the Ashes, can Australia win them back? As it turns out, no.
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Last week's decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend Vermont Yankee's operating license for another 20 years does not end the controversy over the future of the plant.
The full text of this article is only available to online subscribers.
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The history of April Fool's Day is, according to the briefest of Internet searches, a bit muddy. Many sources trace it back to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the late 1300s, some back even further to when Noah released one of his doves too early, before the flood waters had receded. These claims, however, are way off. Friday marks just the 200th anniversary of April Fool's Day. And I should know because the true origins of the holiday are, I am foolishly revealing here for the first time, linked directly to my Norwegian ancestors.
MIDDLEBURY — A senior who helped the Middlebury Union High School boys earn the best record among local squads is the IndependentPlayer of the Year and headlines the 2011 Addison IndependentBoys' Basketball All-Star Team.
Center Carl Leduc's emergence this winter played a big role as Coach Chris Altemose's 10-12 Tigers finished strong, including a first-round road win in the Division II playoff and a near second-round upset of the defending champion. Two more Tigers are honored here.
BRISTOL — Local House representatives said on Monday they regretted having to make substantial cuts in the fiscal year 2012 state budget — particularly in the area of human services — but they added the reductions would have been a lot deeper had they endorsed Gov. Peter Shumlin's spending plan.
We all have personal markers for the arrival of spring.
Mine include seeing Middlebury College baseball and softball scores show up from Florida or Arizona against schools I've never heard of, (McHenry County?), trash-talking at our annual fantasy baseball draft, (it did not go unremarked-upon that our defending champ bought non-Cy Young candidates Doug Fister, Vin Mazzaro and David Pauley), and second-guessing winter high school all-star teams (no Carl Leduc on the boys' Lake Division stars, and no Tiger skaters on the Free Pressteams?)
BRISTOL — Students at three Addison Northeast Supervisory Union schools have kissed desserts, processed foods and daily hamburgers goodbye because the ANeSU's new Food Service Cooperative isn't having any of it.
When Kathy Alexander, president of the Vermont School Nutrition Association, grabbed the cooperative's reigns last summer, the food staff put down their box cutters and picked up their paring knives, changed recipes to include healthier ingredients, and instituted a tighter fiscal monitoring system.
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The vs_get_id function finds the ID of a VirtualServer*.
The ID of a virtual server is a unique null-terminated string that remains constant across configurations. While IDs remain constant across configurations, the value of VirtualServer* pointers do not.
Do not FREE the virtual server ID string. If called during request processing, the string will remain valid for the duration of the current request. If called during VSInitFunc processing, the string will remain valid until after the corresponding VSDestroyFunc function has returned. For more information, see vs_register_cb() Function.
To retrieve a VirtualServer* that is valid only for the current request, use request_get_vs.
const char* vs_get_id(const VirtualServer* vs);
A pointer to a string representing the virtual server ID. Do not FREE this string.
const VirtualServer* vs represents the virtual server of interest.


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Post your feedback regarding the site. Suggestions for improvement, forum issues, Q's for the staff, etc.
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Tyyr wrote:If you don't , then they will have the balance seriously off. You should need an entire IG platoon to have a chance of killing a Space Marine. Mind you that's just a chance, and not a good one.
That's pretty much why I think the IG players should be "Officers" in charge of their platoon. In short, they will be the minion masters, and will be able to specialise their squads to be DPS, or tank or debuffers.
And if they don't, well, they'd be stupid, because having a ridiculously numerous army is the whole point of the IG. Make each of the factions special in their own way, and leverage it to make it pleasant to the different kinds of players.
Hmm.. and now I just have the desire to play a Minion-master game of the like of Overlord, but as either a Tyrannid Lictor as the main character, or maybe an Orc Boss. You could even have a IG commander. Multiplayer would be a blast.
Although the S.M. would be a bitch to fight against


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As the Fed decision draws near, we're doing an overview of the various moves the Fed might make to stimulate the economy.
We already explained the possibility of unlimited Quantitative Easing, meaning that the Fed would commit to buy bonds open-endedly until the economy improved.
Here's another possibility that's being buzzed about this morning.
Instead of easing policy through purchases, the Fed would ease policy via its language: Verbal Easing.
What this means, essentially, is that the Fed would indicate low rates for an even longer time than they've currently stating. Currently the Fed suggests low rates through 2014. The assumption is that the Fed would say they're on hold, probably, until 2015.
This might seem pointless, but there's a theory that that could be even more powerful than bond buying, because it could lower long-term rates even further, and commit to businesses that they don't have to worry about higher rates for a longtime.
In fact, the power of language is essentially at the core of the recent Michael Woodford paper that was the buzz of Jackson Hole.
Verbal Easing allows the Fed to do something, while also waiting to see if things improve until after the election (when any decision will be less politically fraught). With Europe seemingly improving, the Fed may want just a couple more months to see what's going on in the real word before it commits to new asset purchases.


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Working on cloud, mobile and information projects within international analyst firm, Gartner, while keeping the CFO happy is a balancing act which global CIO Darko Hrelic has juggled for almost six years.
US-based Hrelic spoke with CIO Australia during his visit to the Gold Coast for Gartner's annual Symposium/ITxpo
An expert amongst experts: Gartner CIO and senior vice president
Q&A: Good Technology CTO, Nicko van Someren
Big data to create 960k new IT jobs in APAC by 2015: Gartner
What does your role at Gartner involve?
As the global CIO of Gartner, my role is to play an integral part of innovation at the company whether that is products, customer facing or internal. It comes down to innovating new mobile applications or just new capabilities to help the business.
As CIO, do you worry that your role will be phased out because of cloud/outsourcing?
If I was thinking of my role as it was five years ago, absolutely, that [CIO] role is history. If I look at my role as being much more strategic for the company, then not at all. It's becoming a more important role so we're hiring [IT] people who can improve the value proposition of products that we deliver and support.
How important is it for you to have a good relationship with the CFO?
Paramount. I find ways to help the CFO meet his objectives which are financially related and in turn, he helps me to innovate. The partnership is extremely important because if the CFO just cares about shrinking the budget and the CIO only cares about getting a bigger budget it's a mismatch. At the end of the day the company loses.
What are some of the challenges you face in the role of CIO?
The pace of change is increasing so things are getting more complicated, they are not getting simpler. Information technology needs to make things simpler because it is too complex for users as well.
Skills. If there are existing people in the organisation they need to be retrained or we need to find new people out in the market. Companies are smart enough to hold onto good [IT] people.
IT mindset change. People need to step back and say, "We're going to be partners in this to jointly innovate new ideas." That's critical because the complexity and volume of information out there is difficult for even technical people to keep up with.
What are some of the technology projects you have been working on?
We're working on Gartner's nexus of forces which includes the intersection of cloud, mobile, social and information. We are using over 12 cloud services but very strategically because we have to be careful about our data and who has access to it. The conversations that analysts have with vendors or clients cannot get out of our hands.
With mobility, we're way down that path. As a company, 70 per cent of our people travel so laptops and mobile devices are their office. For smartphone and tablets, we offer bring your own device support. None of our staff have desktop computers, even our receptionists use notebooks. Everyone uses laptops or tablets so if there is a [natural] disaster they can work from home.
What are the three biggest issues facing CIOs today?
Having the right skills in your organisation. If you don't have the people then it is very difficult to make progress.
Dealing with complexity and having architectures/technologies that are ready for agility. The only thing you can count on these days is that anything you are doing today, a year down the road things are going to change. Your architecture and technologies need to allow for that.
What is your favourite gadget?
I can do my work on my iPhone or iPad which is great as I don't need to unpack my laptop.
Hamish Barwick travelled to Gartner Symposium on the Gold Coast as a guest of Good Technology
Follow Hamish Barwick on Twitter: @HamishBarwick
Follow CIO Australia on Twitter and Like us on Facebook… Twitter: @CIO_Australia, Facebook: CIO Australia, or take part in the CIO conversation on LinkedIn: CIO Australia
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.


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When the Australian Cattle Dog came to Europe, to the States, even in the most remote areas of this world, he met white, red, yellow, brown and black people with qualities as different as their skin colours.
He was always the same: devotedly faithful and outstanding intelligent, to name only two of his impressive features. Many loved him on the spot and still do. Some disliked him. They did not think that he was as attractive like f.ex. an Afghan, he just did not suit their expensive way of life. After all he was only a Cattle Dog.
A Cattledog is faithful, ready never to forsake his owner. This characteristic people estimate on him very much. Nevertheless they do not follow this example. Why should they? To be faithful is not really in human nature. After all they are not a Cattle Dog.
There he is standing in the fenced yard. Sometimes children are passing, who would love to play with him. But a big sign post says, "I am dangerous"! It is boring and hours are passing by so slowly.All spots in the yard have been marked hundred times. Sometimes he tries to communicate with other dogs on a leach, but for their owners it was only disturbing barking.In summertime he is hunting butterflies sometimes. Half-hearted he is chewing a toy, which the producer claims to be "dogbiteresistant".
Finally his friend and owner returns home.Now it starts to be joyful. We will enjoy together our freedom in chasing, running, jumping; playing with a ball, diving and swimming in the nearby lake.But walking to the freezer with the cool beer attracts the friend magically.And then the sofa and the TV – a highlight of the day! How enjoyable to knock off work! Why should he ran outside until he will be exhausted and sweatening? After all he is only a Cattle Dog.
Today was an exciting day – a small child was missing.Probably it was only lost, could not find home. The little sweater smelled for porridge, a bit of sand trickled out of it and it tasted salty from tears.The Cattle Dog is running without a rest, sniffing here and there, was listening to every noise.He did not allow himself to be irratated by the tempting smell of bitches in season or the fascinating markings of taller and smaller buddies. He took his challenge seriously and did not fail in his task, just as it was his talent. But what was this? His owner took him and fenced him to the car. His friend's duty was over. Going on working without salary? Unthinkable! After all he is only a Cattle Dog!
Again a tedious day came to its end. Promised time of cuddling with his friend was waiting! Happy anticipation was spreading. Then he would lick all over his face, roll his back on the floor and enjoy to be cuddled.Perhaps he could try once more to touch out to him with his paw. A gesture which his owner called milk kneading and did not like too much as claws were scratching. He woke up from his day dream, when the door bell was ringing. His friend's girl friend came in.
They did not want to be disturbed and locked the kennel door behind him.Why should he wave away this delight? Why should he keep his word?
After all he was only a Cattle Dog.
Doris Duewel, Finland in November, 2010


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Enjoy the beach or pool with your very own personalized beach towel. Make it personal by choosing your favorite font! Our bath/beach towels are a softened cotton/polyester blend and machine washable. Our towels are thinner than an average towel making them lightweight and quick to dry and perfect for summer travel or summer camp for the kiddos! They fold easily and compact to throw in your beach or pool bag.
Softened Cotton/Polyester Blend
Sublimated Print
Approximately 30x60
Design prints edge to edge on front side only.
Back of towel is white.
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