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BLACK DIAMOND S.S. V. STEWART & SONS, LTD., 336 U. S. 386 (1949)Subscribe to Cases that cite 336 U. S. 386
U.S. Supreme Court
Black Diamond S.S. v. Stewart & Sons, Ltd., 336 U.S. 386 (1949)
Black Diamond Steamship Corp. v. Robert Stewart & Sons, Ltd.
No. 121
Argued January 3-4, 1949
Decided March 14, 1949
A vessel owned by the United States and chartered under a bareboat charter to an American corporation collided with a British vessel in territorial waters of Belgium. The British vessel sank with all of her cargo; her chief steward was killed, and the American vessel damaged the bank of the river. Owners of the British vessel sued the charterer of the American vessel in England, claiming damages of $1,000,000. Owners of the cargo of the British vessel sued the United States and the charterer of the American vessel in a federal district court for claims aggregating nearly $1,000,000. Alleging that the value of the American vessel was about $1,000,000, that the total claims would exceed that amount, and that their liability under Belgian law was limited to $325,000, the United States and the charterer petitioned the District Court for limitation of liability under R.S. § 4285, as amended, 46 U.S.C. § 185. The United States posted no bond, and the charterer posted a bond of only $325,000. The District Court dismissed the petition, and the Court of Appeals affirmed.
Held: the District Court should not have dismissed the petition, but should have required the charterer (but not the United States) to post a bond of $1,000,000, to guard against the possibility that American law, and not Belgian law, might be found to control the amount of liability. Pp. 336 U. S. 388-399. chanrobles.com-red
1. R.S. § 4285 is applicable because the total amount of potential claims exceeds the fund available for their satisfaction, whether that fund be measured by the law of Belgium or of the United States. Pp. 336 U. S. 393-394
2. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2408 and 46 U.S.C. § 743, the United States is not required to post a bond in a proceeding under R.S. § 4285. P. 336 U. S. 394.
3. In view of the six-month limitation on proceedings under R.S. § 4285, the Court of Appeals, instead of affirming the dismissal, should have remanded the case to the District Court in order to give the charterer an opportunity to file a larger bond, since the defect was not jurisdictional. P. 336 U. S. 395.
4. If the Belgian law is not merely procedural, but attaches to the right of recovery, and if it does not conflict with any overriding domestic policy, it is applicable in this case. Pp. 336 U. S. 395-396.
5. The Belgian law having been pleaded, it must be proved as a fact, even though it is derived from the Brussels Convention of August 25, 1924, limiting the liability of owners of seagoing vessels. Pp. 336 U. S. 396-397.
6. Upon remand, the question of what law governs the substantive limit of liability should be determined in advance of the proof of individual claims. Pp. 336 U. S. 397-398.
7. If Belgian law is found to control, a $325,000 bond would suffice, but if American law is found to control, a $1,000,000 bond would be required. P. 336 U. S. 398.
8. The District Court, in the exercise of its power to preserve the status quo pending appeal, should require the charterer to post a bond for the value of the ship and freight. Pp. 336 U. S. 398-399.
167 F.2d 308, reversed.
A federal district court dismissed a petition of the United States and the charterer of one of its vessels for limitation of liability under R.S. § 4285, as amended, 46 U.S.C. § 185. The Court of Appeals affirmed. 167 F.2d 308. This Court granted certiorari. 335 U.S. 809. Reversed and remanded, p. 336 U. S. 399. chanrobles.com-red
MR. JUSTICE FRANKFURTER delivered the opinion of the Court.
We brought these cases here because they call for determination of important issues in the administration of admiralty law. 335 U.S. 809. They bring for review a decree of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirming the dismissal of a petition for limited liability brought in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York by the United States, as owner and the Black Diamond Steamship Corporation as bareboat charterer of the S.S. Norwalk Victory. 167 F.2d 308.
The facts controlling our decision are briefly these. On April 28, 1947, the Norwalk Victory, while proceeding down the Schelde River in the territorial waters of Belgium, collided with the British steamer Merganser. The Merganser sank with all her cargo; her chief steward was killed; in backing away from the Merganser. the Norwalk Victory struck and damaged the bank of the Schelde. Soon after the collision, the owners of the Merganser brought suit against Black Diamond in the High Court of Justice of England, claiming damages in the amount of $1,000,000. That is the only proceeding which has been brought abroad. On October 14, 1947, the owners of the cargo lost in the sinking of the Merganser brought suit in the Eastern District of New York; aggregate claims thus far filed total nearly $1,000,000.
In their petition for limitation of liability, brought under R.S. § 4285, as amended, 49 Stat. 1480, 46 U.S.C. chanrobles.com-red
§ 185, [Footnote 1] the United States and Black Diamond allege the possibility that, in addition to the suit in the High Court of Justice and the suits by the cargo owners in New York, there may be suits in the courts of the United States by other cargo owners, by the personal representative of the Merganser's chief steward, and by the Belgian Government for damages to the bank of the Schelde and for the cost of removing the wreck of the Merganser from the river. These claims, they say, would exceed the value of the Norwalk Victory, which is about $1,000,000. But the petitioners, despite the provisions of R.S. § 4283, as amended, 49 Stat. 1479, 46 U.S.C. § 183, [Footnote 2] do not recognize chanrobles.com-red
the value of their ship as the limit of their liability. They insist, rather, that their liability is limited by the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules relating to the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Seagoing Vessels, signed at Brussels on August 25, 1924. [Footnote 3] The Convention was ratified by Belgium on chanrobles.com-red
June 2, 1930, and took effect on June 2, 1931; it is alleged therefore to have been part of the territorial law of Belgium at the time of this collision in Belgian waters. On the basis of this Convention, the petitioners assert their maximum liability to be $325,028.79.
Accordingly, Black Diamond accompanied its petition for limitation of liability with a bond in the amount of $325,028.79. The United States, standing upon 28 U.S.C. § 2408, [Footnote 4] and § 3 of the Suits in Admiralty Act, 41 Stat. 526, as amended, 46 U.S.C. § 743, [Footnote 5] filed no bond. The District Court, holding that the privilege of limiting liability relates "not to the substantive rights giving rise to the liability, but to the remedy, and that is governed by the law of the forum," dismissed the petition of the ground that Black Diamond had not complied with R.S. chanrobles.com-red
§ 4285 by filing a bond in the amount of the value of the ship -- $1,000,000. The standing of the United States (which was not separately represented at that stage of the proceeding) was not considered.
Upon appeal, the petitioners were found to be in "a dilemma from which they cannot escape." 167 F.2d 309. Reading the petition as alleging that the Belgian limitation attached to the claimants' substantive right to recover, and treating that allegation as proved for purposes of determining the sufficiency of the petition, the Court accepted arguendo the sum of $325,000 as "the limit of all their [petitioners'] liabilities." Id. But, though the Court of Appeals looked to the lex loci delicti for the substantive limit of liability, its next step was taken on the assumption that the conditions under which a petition praying for the injunction of other proceedings and a forum concursus may be filed are matters of procedure governed by the lex fori. It is a condition imposed by the lex fori, the court's reasoning continued, that a petition for limitation of liability is not available to a shipowner unless the aggregate of known and probable claims against him is greater than the value of his ship. As establishing this proposition, the court cited The Aquitania, 20 F.2d 457; Curtis Bay Towing Co. v. Tug Kevin Moran, Inc., 159 F.2d 273, and The George W. Fields, 237 F.4d 3. And it held these cases applicable on the ground that the maximum liability imposed by Belgian law was less than the value of the Norwalk Victory.
But the lower court found it unnecessary to pass finally on the question whether the Belgian limitation was in fact, controlling because, if it were not, petitioners would be impaled on the other horn of the dilemma: if the substantive law of the forum, rather than that of Belgium, applied, the limit of liability, by R.S. § 4283, would be the value of the vessel. chanrobles.com-red
Since the procedural law of the forum, moreover, requires the posting of a bond in the amount of potential liability, and since the bond proposed by petitioners was for less than a third of that amount, upon this hypothesis also they were dissentitled to proceed. The Court of Appeals accordingly affirmed the dismissal of the petition.
If the Court of Appeals' reliance upon The Aquitania, Curtis Bay Towing Co. v. Tug Kevin Moran, and The George W. Fields, supra, was, as we are convinced, under the circumstances misplaced, we escape its dilemma without wanting in respect for the wisdom of that most experienced of admiralty courts. Those cases, it is true, hold that, where the aggregate claims against a shipowner can by no possibility exceed the value of his ship, a proceeding under R.S. § 4285 will not lie. But the value of the ship was relevant in those cases only because, under the law of the United States, which was assumed to be applicable, that was the limit of the owner's liability. Since the total amount of all potential claims in each case was only a fraction of that limit, the fund available for their satisfaction was more than ample. There was no reason, therefore, for permitting the petitioners to invoke a forum concursus. But where, as here, the total amount of potential claims exceeds the fund available for their satisfaction, whether that fund be measured by the law of Belgium or of the United States, there exists just such a situation as R.S. § 4285 was designed to meet.
"Unless some proceeding of this kind were adopted which should bring all the parties interested into one litigation, and all the claimants into concourse for a pro rata distribution of the common fund, it is manifest that, in most cases, the benefits of the act could never be realized. Cases might occur, it is true, in which the shipowners could avail themselves of those benefits, by way of defense alone, as where both ship and freight are totally lost, so that the
owners are relieved from all liability whatever. But even in that case, in the absence of a remedy by which they could obtain a decree of exemption as to all claimants, they would be liable to a diversity of suits, brought, perhaps, in different states, after long periods of time, when the witnesses have been dispersed, and issuing in contrary results before different tribunals; while, in the ordinary cases, where a limited liability to some extent exists, but to an amount less than the aggregate claims for damages, so as to require a concourse of claimants and a pro rata distribution, the prosecution of separate suits, if allowed to proceed, would result in a subversion of the whole object and scheme of the statute."
Providence & N.Y. S.S. Co. v. Hill Mfg. Co., 109 U. S. 578, 109 U. S. 594-595. Indeed, if the total amount recoverable is fixed by Belgian law, the need for the issuance of a monition under Admiralty Rule 51, the injunction of other suits, and a forum concursus is obviously greater than it is under the higher substantive limitation of our own law. Thus, one of the horns of petitioners' dilemma disappears; we must, accordingly, reverse the judgment below, and remand the cases for further proceedings.
Since the cases are going back, it is necessary to confront the other horn of the dilemma. In that branch of its reasoning, the Court of Appeals assumed that the posting of too small a bond would require the dismissal of the petition. The court's attention apparently was not directed to the status of the Government, which, by the plain import of 28 U.S.C. § 2408 [Footnote 6] and 41 Stat. 526, as amended, 46 U.S.C. § 743, [Footnote 7] relieves it of the duty to post a bond in order to be entitled to proceed under chanrobles.com-red
R.S. § 4285. And perhaps it is well to add, in passing, that, in view of the six-month limitation [Footnote 8] on proceeding under that statute, remand to the District Court in order to give Black Diamond an opportunity to file a larger bond would have been a better course, since the defect was not jurisdictional, than affirmance of dismissal of the petition. See Langnes v. Green, 282 U. S. 531, 282 U. S. 541-542; Curtis Bay Towing Co. v. Tug Kevin Moran, Inc., 159 F.2d 273, 276; cf. 79 U. S. 149; Davis v. Wakelee,@ 156 U. S. 680. We add this observation because, under the circumstances, affirmance could only have had the effect of depriving the petitioners altogether of the privilege of a limitation proceeding, no matter what the amount of the bond they were willing to post. It threw them back upon the dubious advantage of limitation of liability as a partial defense to successive suits in admiralty in which the recoveries, though separately less than the applicable limit, might in the aggregate far exceed it. And such would be the effect were we also to affirm the judgment.
Having decided that the case must be remanded because the petition was improperly dismissed, we turn to the question whether there are any circumstances under which the Belgian limitation would be enforceable by our courts. On this point, we agree with the Court of Appeals -- and disagree with the District Court -- that if, indeed, the Belgian limitation attaches to the right, then nothing in The Titanic, 233 U. S. 718, stands in the way of observing that limitation. The Court in that case was dealing with "a liability assumed already to exist on other grounds." Id. at 233 U. S. 733. But if it is the law of Belgium that the wrong creates no greater liability than that recognized by the Convention of 1924, we cannot, without more, regard our own statutes as expanding chanrobles.com-red
the right to recover. Any other conclusion would disregard the settled principle that, in the absence of some overriding domestic policy translated into law, the right to recover for a tort depends upon, and is measured by, the law of the place where the tort occurred. 42 U. S. 33; Slater v. Mexican National R. Co., 194 U. S. 120; Cuba R. Co. v. Crosby, 222 U. S. 473; Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Brown,@ 234 U. S. 542.
If, on the other hand, the Convention merely provides procedural machinery by which claim otherwise created are brought into concourse and scaled down to their proportionate share of a limited fund, we would respect the equally well settled principle that the forum is not governed by foreign rules of procedure. See Pritchard v. Norton, 106 U. S. 124; Davis v. Mills, 194 U. S. 451. We leave open the choice between these opposing hypotheses. Nor do we mean to imply that these apparently clear-cut alternatives are exhaustive. A limit which attaches not to an individual's right of recovery, but to the aggregate claims arising from a given tort, can be said to be "attached to the right" only in a special sense of that phrase, and a rule which operates to cut down the amount recoverable by a claimant cannot be fitted within any but a very broad definition of the term "procedure." Whether there are, in fact, considerations of domestic policy which deserve to be measured against application of the lex loci delicti, and whether such considerations are as significant where the foreign limitation is lower than our own -- as where it is higher -- these too are questions not now before us in view of the fact that the case is here merely on exceptions to the petition for limitation of liability.
Since Belgian law may be enforceable by our courts, that law, having been pleaded, must be established. It is true that this Court has, on several occasions, held chanrobles.com-red
international rules which had passed into the "general maritime law" to be subject to judicial notice. 81 U. S. 370; Richelieu & Ontario Nav. Co. v. Boston Marine Ins. Co., 136 U. S. 408, 136 U. S. 422; The New York, 175 U. S. 187. But where less widely recognized rules of foreign maritime law have been involved, the Court has adhered to the general principle that foreign law is to be proved as a fact. Liverpool & G. W. Steam Co. v. Phenix Ins. Co., 129 U. S. 397; see 5 U. S. 38; 81 U. S. 188. See also the decisions of the lower federal courts cited in 3 Benedict on Admiralty 11, n. 36 (6th ed., Knauth, 1940). Although we would no doubt be free to notice the terms of the Limitation Convention itself even though they were not set forth among the allegations of the petition, their legal significance does not appear on the surface. "Many doubts are left unresolved by the documents before us." Slater v. Mexican National R. Co., supra, at 194 U. S. 130. Respondents, indeed, in their effort to show that the Convention lays down purely "procedural" requirements, rely upon "personal consultations with three active maritime lawyers of Antwerp" which are no part of the record before us. "Substance" and "procedure," moreover, are not legal concepts of invariant content, see Guaranty Trust Co. v. York,@ 326 U. S. 99, 326 U. S. 109, and, on the basis of what is before us, we are precluded from choosing one of these categories rather than the other.
It is important to add, moreover, that the question of what law governs the substantive limit of liability should be determined upon remand in advance of the proof of individual claims. A proceeding to limit liability is, ipso facto, a proceeding to limit recovery, and the amount of the applicable limit, like the value of the vessel and freight, is a question affecting the magnitude of the res from which recovery is sought. It is a question, therefore, chanrobles.com-red
which lies at the threshold of all claims, is equally relevant to all, and should accordingly be disposed of before any.
One last point remains to be considered -- the amount of the bond to be required of Black Diamond upon remand of No. 121. A literal reading of the procedural requirements of R.S. § 4285 would compel the posting of a bond in "a sum equal to the amount or value of the interest of such owner in the vessel and freight," in this instance, about $1,000,000. But we think that this provision, as part of a total legislative scheme, should be read in the light of the substantive limitation imposed by R.S. § 4283, for it is obvious that the words "amount or value of the interest of such owner" in § 4285 were carried over from, and are relevant solely to, the identical language of § 4283 laying down the limit which recovery against the owner "shall not . . . exceed." The whole tenor of R.S. § 4285 -- the option of depositing cash or "approved security," the discretion granted the court to require additional deposits if "necessary to carry out the provisions of section 4283," and the alternative of transferring the vessel and freight to a trustee -- is one of concern with protecting the assets from which the claimants' satisfaction must ultimately come.
If, therefore, Belgian law, rather than R.S. § 4283, should be found to govern the substantive limit of liability, no purpose would be served, so far as proceedings in the District Court are concerned, by demanding security in excess of that limit. But the choice of law presents a knotty problem, and we cannot overlook the contingencies of appellate review. If the District Court should find Belgian law controlling, it might, under our interpretation of § 4285, exact a bond of only $325,000. If, however, a contrary view should ultimately prevail, the requisite amount of the bond would have been $1,000,000. The District Court therefore should provide for that contingency by requiring Black Diamond to chanrobles.com-red
post a bond for the value of the ship and freight, not because § 4285 demands it, but as an exercise of its power to preserve the status quo pending appeal. See Scripps-Howard Radio, Inc. v. Federal Communications Comm'n, 316 U. S. 4, 316 U. S. 9-10.
So, for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion, the case is
Reversed and remanded.
* Together with No. 130, United States v. Robert Stewart & Sons, Ltd. et al., also on certiorari to the same court.
"SEC. 4285. The vessel owner, within six months after a claimant shall have given to or filed with such owner written notice of claim, may petition a district court of the United States of competent jurisdiction for limitation of liability within the provisions of this chapter, as amended, and the owner (a) shall deposit with the court, for the benefit of claimants, a sum equal to the amount or value of the interest of such owner in the vessel and freight, or approved security therefor, and in addition such sums, or approved security therefor, as the court may from time to time tax as necessary to carry out the provisions of section 4283, as amended, or (b) at his option shall transfer, for the benefit of claimants, to a trustee to be appointed by the court his interest in the vessel and freight, together with such sums, or approved security therefor, as the court may from time to time fix as necessary to carry out the provisions of section 4283, as amended. Upon compliance with the requirements of this section all claims and proceedings against the owner with respect to the matter in question shall cease."
"SEC. 4283. (a) The liability of the owner of any vessel, whether American or foreign, for any embezzlement, loss, or destruction by any person of any property, goods, or merchandise shipped or put on board of such vessel, or for any loss, damage, or injury by collision, or for any act, matter, or thing, loss, damage, or forfeiture, done, occasioned, or incurred, without the privity or knowledge of such owner or owners, shall not, except in the cases provided for in subsection (b) of this section, exceed the amount or value of the interest of such owner in such vessel, and her freight then pending."
The pertinent parts of the Convention, published in U.S. Dept. of State Treaty Information Bull, No. 20, p. 13 (1931), are:
"The liability of the owner of a seagoing vessel is limited to an amount equal to the value of the vessel, the freight, and the accessories of the vessel, in respect of -- "
"1. Compensation due to third parties by reason of damage caused, whether on land or on water, by the acts or faults of the master, crew, pilot, or any other person in the service of the vessel;"
"* * * *"
"5. Any obligation to remove the wreck of a sunken vessel, and any obligations connected therewith;"
"* * * *"
"Provided that, as regards the cases mentioned in Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, the liability referred to in the preceding provisions shall not exceed an aggregate sum equal to 8 pounds sterling per ton of the vessel's tonnage."
"* * * *"
"The freight referred to in article 1, including passage money, is deemed, as respects vessels of every description, to be a lump sum fixed at all events at 10 percent of the value of the vessel at the commencement of the voyage. . . ."
"* * * *"
"Where death or bodily injury is caused by the acts or faults of the captain, crew, pilot or any other person in the service of the vessel, the owner of the vessel is liable to the victims or their representatives in an amount exceeding the limit of liability provided for in the preceding articles up to 8 pounds sterling per ton of the vessel's tonnage. . . ."
"* * * *"
"Where a person who operates the vessel without owning it or the principal charterer is liable under one of the heads enumerated in article 1, the provisions of this convention are applicable to him."
"For the purposes of the provisions of the present convention, 'tonnage' is calculated as follows: "
"In the case of steamers and other mechanically propelled vessels, net tonnage, with the addition of the amount deducted from the gross tonnage on account of engine-room space for the purpose of ascertaining the net tonnage. . . ."
"§ 2408. Security not required of United States."
"Security for damages or costs shall not be required of the United States, any department or agency thereof or any party acting under the direction of any such department or agency on the issuance of process or the institution or prosecution of any proceeding. . . ."
"§ 743. Procedure in cases of libel in personam."
". . . Neither the United States nor such corporation shall be required to give any bond or admiralty stipulation on any proceeding brought hereunder."
MR. JUSTICE JACKSON, dissenting.
I suspect this decision will cause confusion in practical application of the Act of Congress governing limitation proceedings in admiralty.
The Act is designed to encourage American capital to risk itself in shipping ventures where "ships are but boards, sailors but men, . . . and then there is the peril of waters, winds, and rocks." In order that disaster at sea might not jeopardize the shipowner's other assets, Congress limited his liability to the "value of the interest of such owner in such vessel, and her freight then pending." R.S. 4283, as amended, 49 Stat. 1479, 46 U.S.C. § 183. 336 U. S.
The statute also provides a skeleton proceeding, filled in by our rules, for affirmatively effecting this limitation of liability when catastrophe threatens claims that exceed the value of ship and freight. To a landlocked mind, it has some analogy to voluntary bankruptcy. It is, in chanrobles.com-red
effect, a turn-over of the assets at risk to satisfy creditors. The owner may, after petitioning the District Court for limitation of liability, either transfer to a trustee his interest in the vessel and freight, together with enough to make up the limitation, and be quit of further responsibility, or he may keep his ship and sail on, provided he shall deposit with the court "a sum equal to the amount or value of the interest of such owner in the vessel and freight, or approved security therefor." R.S. § 4285, as amended, 49 Stat. 1480, 46 U.S.C. § 185.
Our statute is clear: § 4283 fixes the maximum liability at ship plus freight, and § 4285 sets the minimum security at the same figure. To provide any other limit of liability or security is to rewrite both sections. As written, the two sections provide, and are designed to provide, a provisional remedy to let the ship go her way while the creditors are secured as well as if she were held in custody to pay their claims.
Our own rules in admiralty, as amended June 21, 1948, prescribe the practice for applying this limitation when the shipowner takes the initiative under R.S. § 4285. The proceeding is conducted in two stages. In the first or preliminary stage, the owner petitions for relief from personal liability, is required either to surrender his interest in the ship and her freight or to stipulate, with adequate bond, to pay into court its value. The statute says,
"Upon compliance with the requirements of this section, all claims and proceedings against the owner with respect to the matter in question shall cease."
At this point, an important change in the nature of the proceeding occurs.
The proceeding continues as a proceeding in rem against either the ship or the fund as the res. Our rules provide that, when petitioner complies with the court's order as to surrender or bond, the court shall issue a monition requiring all persons asserting claims to file the chanrobles.com-red
same and may also issue injunction against the further prosecution of suits against either the owner or the vessel. Rule 51. The court then adjudicates the claims and apportions the available fund among them. Rule 52. The owner is at liberty to contest his liability or the liability of the vessel "provided he shall have complied" with the requirements of surrender or deposit as above set forth. Rule 53.
We think such compliance is a condition precedent to obtaining a forum concursus to adjudicate liability. As the petitioner in this case did not post the security nor surrender the ship as required, the court below properly dismissed the petition and refused to enter the second or adjudicating stage of the proceeding.
This Court apparently holds that compliance is not a condition precedent, and that, instead of the vessel's value, some other measure of liability might be adequate. While it requires the prescribed bond in this particular case, it does so, as we read its opinion, only as a matter of discretion, and because of uncertainty as to the final decision on the foreign law issue on appeal. It seems to authorize a foreign law limitation on liability to be applied before a forum concursus takes place, while we think any issue as foreign law liability is to be applied only in the latter stage of the proceedings when the general issues as to liability are to be determined.
Congress could not have been unaware that maritime usages the world over have imposed some limitation upon ship-owners' liability, and that several bases for its ascertainment have existed. Some systems have admitted no personal liability of the owner, confining liability to the ship itself; others have limited the owner's personal responsibility on his abandonment of the ship and freight. Still others have limited personal responsibility to payment of a sum computed on the ship's tonnage. Congress, however, has deliberately imposed and adhered to chanrobles.com-red
our own measure of liability based on the actual value of the interest in the ship and her freight. We think there is no authority for releasing the owner from liability, or releasing the ship, which are the steps now under consideration, until the owner has complied with provisions which fully protect this American measure of liability.
In this case, the reason the owners did not comply with the American limitation provision is that they aver that, on the Schelde, where the collision occurred, Belgian law granted a much more drastic limitation under which their liability is only about one-third of that imposed by our law. The court below held that release of the owner and ship, and invocation of a forum concursus, could not be granted on this basis. But it held that, if they had complied with provisions of American law necessary to reach the question of the amount of aggregate liability, they were at liberty to interpose the Belgian law as a defense. The Court now holds that this question of fact -- what is the foreign law? -- should be determined as a part of the preliminary step in the case, and that the bond may be limited thereby. We think this is not the scheme of the statute and the rules, and that, except for issues subsidiary to the court's fixing of the security required under Rule 51, all matters of fact, going to the substance of liability, are to be heard only at the later stages of the proceedings.
The limitation figure is established preliminarily not because it represents the res, but because the statute and rules prescribe that formula and procedure for fixing both the maximum liability and minimum security required of the owner. And it has no bearing on the amount of claims that may be proved -- until the latter are determined and a proportion established, there is no need to know, for that purpose, what limit of liability applies. Indeed, unless it is intended to also change the chanrobles.com-red
rule where the statutory limitation under R.S. § 4283 is set up as a defense, it may be asserted after trial on the merits and after judgment. The Benefactor, 103 U. S. 239. And, by the terms of Rule 55, the provisions of Rules 51-54 regulating limitation of liability proceedings are made applicable even to the Courts of Appeals.
Admiralty practice is a unique system of substantive law and procedure with which members of this Court are singularly deficient in experience. The court below is perhaps the most experienced in this country. The issue on which we reverse it is not one of ultimate rights of parties, but one of practice, the consequences of which cannot be foreseen. I should leave the problem, at least at this stage, where the Court of Appeals left it, with a minor exception.
Of course, it should be noted that the Government is exempt from giving any security, but that is an oversight that it hardly needed to come here to correct. It should have the limitation which Congress has prescribed.
Except for that detail, I would affirm.
It may be that petitioner should now be allowed to amend and file the required bond equal to the ship's value and proceed. It has not so far asked to do so, insisting instead upon what it thought to be its legal right to proceed without compliance. This question, too, may be left to the courts below.
MR. JUSTICE REED and MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS join in this opinion.
"The liability of the owner of any vessel, whether American or foreign, for any embezzlement, loss, or destruction by any person of any property, goods, or merchandise shipped or put on board of such vessel, or for any loss, damage, or injury by collision, or for any act, matter, or thing, loss, damage, or forfeiture, done, occasioned, or incurred, without the privity or knowledge of such owner or owners, shall not . . . exceed the amount or value of the interest of such owner in such vessel, and her freight then pending."
MR. JUSTICE RUTLEDGE, dissenting.
I agree with MR. JUSTICE JACKSON that, when Congress gave shipowners the privilege of limiting their liability and conditioned that privilege, in the alternative, upon turning over the vessel and freight for the benefit of claimants or depositing with the court cash or approved chanrobles.com-red
security of equivalent value, it meant exactly what it wrote into the statute concerning the amount of the security to be given.
Nothing in the statute's wording, purpose, or legislative history is cited or exists to justify rewriting "a sum equal to the amount or value of the interest of such owner in the vessel and freight," [Footnote 2/1] so as to make that wording read
"a sum equal to one-third the value of the interest of such owner when that amount possibly, but by no means certainly, will be the limit of his substantive liability after the claims against him are finally determined."
The most appealing argument put forward to support this statutory distortion is petitioners' wholly specious plea of resulting "injustice" if the judicial revision is not made. The plea is founded altogether upon petitioners' assumption that their view of the extent of their aggregate possible liability will prevail when the time comes for deciding that question.
Petitioners' view is that the lex loci delicti governs both the existence and the extent of their liability in this case. That law is the law of Belgium, because the collision here involved took place in Belgian waters. Moreover, since Belgium ratified the Brussels Convention of August 25, 1924, [Footnote 2/2] that Convention is claimed to be controlling of the resulting substantive liability. This because the aggregate limit the Convention prescribes comes to only some $325,000 in this case, and that limit, so it is argued, attaches to the right of recovery as part of the right, not merely as a matter of remedy. See Slater v. Mexican National R. Co., 194 U. S. 120. Cf. 42 U. S. 33; Cuba R. Co. v. Crosby, 222 U. S. 473; American Banana Co. v. United Fruit Co.,@ 213 U. S. 347.
Hence, it is urged petitioner Black Diamond satisfied the requirements of Rev.Stat. § 4285, as amended, for limitation of liability when it deposited an approved bond for $325,000, rather than one in the amount of $1,000,000, the value of the owner's interest in the vessel and freight, as § 4285 in terms requires. The conclusion is grounded on the "injustice" which petitioners say would result if one substantively liable for only $325,000 were required to post bond in three times that amount in order to have the advantage of limitation. This, it is said, would mean forcing such an owner to pay bond premiums three times larger than necessary to discharge all his liabilities, an "injustice," it is argued, Congress cannot have contemplated, notwithstanding its clear and unambiguous language.
Even if petitioners' assumption concerning their ultimate liability should turn out to be true, the statutory command is clear and unequivocal: turn over the ship and the freight or their value as the price of limitation. In this command, Congress was concerned not at all with the extent of aggregate claims or liabilities. It was concerned only with affording the owner a chance to limit his liabilities, but at the same time allowing this privilege only on precise and fixed conditions for giving security to his creditors in the amount specified. This was unrelated to the amount of the liabilities in the aggregate, whether above or below the maximum fixed by the statute. [Footnote 2/3]
That Congress intended the same maximum and the same security for claimants, regardless of the alternative mode chosen for giving the security, is shown by chanrobles.com-red
the very alternatives themselves. They are equivalents. There was no intent to permit less security to be given when the owner elects to give the statutory substitutes than when he turns over the ship. Correlatively, there was no intention to give him the limitation for less cost or on more advantageous terms in the one case than in the other. The provision for substituting money or security for the ship had no purpose or function to correlate the bond required with the amount of the ultimate aggregate substantive liabilities which seldom can be known in advance of their final determination. The alternative mode's purpose was only to permit the owner to release the ship and continue it in active business use, provided he substituted its equivalent in value, not some lesser sum, for it.
It is quite true that the statute was enacted for shipowners' benefit and for encouragement of the industry, by enabling owners to limit their liability. But, in doing this and thereby cutting down the rights of claimants to recovery, Congress was not unmindful of the latter. For satisfying their unrestricted claims, it substituted a fund, instead of the owner's general and unlimited liability. That fund was the vessel's value, or its equivalent. Nor was this a subordinate feature of the scheme of limitation. It was the very heart of that scheme, and, in my opinion, was intended to create a general and uniform policy for application in American courts. In cutting down claimants' rights of recovery to the fund prescribed, Congress was not giving the owner the additional right to cut further the security provided for their payment by either assuming or pleading that his ultimate aggregate liabilities would be below that fund.
This brings us to the final consideration, which is that there is no injustice whatever here -- there is only an imagined one -- in requiring Black Diamond to deposit in court cash or security in the full amount of $1,000,000 chanrobles.com-red
required by the statute's terms. The aggregate of petitioners' liabilities has not been determined, nor can it be until the further and probably extended proceedings for that purpose have been concluded. Meanwhile, it must remain uncertain, as it has during all the litigation to this date, whether petitioners' or respondent's view on that matter ultimately will prevail. In other words, it is now as likely that petitioners' liabilities eventually will be found to be $1,000,000 as it is that they will be fixed according to petitioners' view of the Belgian law and ours. Indeed, the Court's opinion sets forth considerations casting grave doubt on whether petitioners' theory of the substantive limitation can prevail.
In this state of affairs, petitioners actually are asking us to gamble with them, and against respondent and other claimants, on the ultimate computation of petitioners' aggregate liabilities. And, in this, petitioners are asking us to put upon the claimants the risk that petitioners will turn out to be right. That risk, under the statute's policy, should be the other way. Likewise, under the policy, the cost of that risk is put upon petitioner Black Diamond. In reducing claimants' rights of recovery to the value of the ship or its equivalent, Congress did not mean that the claimants should take the risk of not having that value available to satisfy their claims if the aggregate should eventually be held to be the amount of the specified fund. Nor did it mean that they should have that value for security if the ship were turned over for their benefit, but should bear either the loss or the risk if the shipowner elected to substitute cash or other security, with the court's approval, in a smaller amount in order to keep his vessel running.
In the event petitioners turn out to be wrong and, as seems likely in that event, valid claims should amount to $1,000,000 or more, under the view petitioners would have us take, the claimants would have certain security chanrobles.com-red
to apply on what is due them for only $325,000. Petitioner Black Diamond then either will have limited its liability to that amount, to the claimants' loss and contrary to the statute's provision, or, if the District Court should then see fit to apply the authority given it to require further security to carry out the purposes of § 4283, as amended, [Footnote 2/4] it will have cast the burden of Black Diamond's solvency on the claimants for the probably extended period of litigation necessary to complete the final determination of petitioners' substantive liabilities.
I do not think the statute meant the claimants to bear either such a loss or such a risk. Its policy is to exchange limitation for security. The security specified is not contingent, or to be supplied in the future. It is a present exchange, immediately effective, to give the shipowner immunity to liability beyond the fund exacted and, at the same time, to relieve claimants of any risk that the fund will not be available if their valid claims eventually equal or exceed it. To allow security in less than the statutory amount to be given, on the chance that valid claims may turn out to be less than the fund, vitiates that clear statutory object and command. The only purpose of requiring the approved substituted security to be deposited in court is to assure that claimants will not bear the risk of loss of the fund pending the final determination of their claims.
Petitioners' claim of "injustice" is therefore without substance. Black Diamond seeks to shift to its creditors the risk which the language and policy of the statute place on it. The statute does not permit security contingent upon the outcome of the adjudication of claims chanrobles.com-red
or to be given in the future. The security is to be given concurrently with the privilege of limitation, and is to stand in the court's control and at the statutory amount until the claims are finally adjudicated. Black Diamond seeks to have the statutory limitation without paying the statutory price. If that were allowed, the injustice would fall upon the claimants, not upon Black Diamond.
No case has been cited which holds that the statutory limitation can be obtained by giving security in less than the statutory amount. Nor need we now express opinion upon the problem considered in cases like The Aquitania, 20 F.2d 457, and Curtis Bay Towing Co. v. Tug Kevin Moran, Inc., 159 F.2d 273. [Footnote 2/5]
In my view, petitioner Black Diamond has not complied with the statute. Strictly, therefore, it is not entitled to the statutory limitation. But, because the question is novel, the time for instituting another limitation proceeding has passed, and filing of security now in accordance with the statute's command would better serve its objects than dismissing the cause, I would reverse the judgment and remand the cause to the District Court to permit the filing of the statutory security if Black Diamond can and promptly will comply with that requirement. This is for the reason that the statute, § 4285, requires security to be given by turning over the ship or its value in order to secure the limitation of liability, not merely as a matter of judicial discretion to preserve the status quo pending appeal from determination of the issues concerning whether the Belgian substantive limitation applies. The statutory security, if given, should remain in force until all claims have been filed and finally adjudicated.
Rev.Stat. § 4285, as amended, 49 Stat. 1480, 46 U.S.C. § 185. The full text of the section is quoted in note 1 of the majority opinion
International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Seagoing Vessels, signed at Brussels on August 25, 1924. See note 2 of the majority opinion
But cf. the cases cited in the text infra at 336 U. S.
Whether the ship is turned over for the creditor's benefit or other acceptable security is substituted, § 4285, as amended, authorizes the court to require "in addition such sums, or approved security therefor, as the court may from time to time fix as necessary to carry out the provisions of" § 4283, as amended. 46 U.S.C. § 185.
Holding, as the Court of Appeals said in this case, that the limitation proceeding is not available where the aggregate of known and probable claims is less than the value of the ship.


text:
Often times, when I read profiles, I read about loving husbands and beautiful children. I read about wishes, dreams, ambitions. Sometimes, I read about folks loving God. I was attempting to keep my profile more "business" oriented and less about me. And I have hardly succeeded in that! So, let me tell you here and now...I am a Christian. God is a big part of me. I don't thump my bible and I'm not going to quote scripture to you right now. But, I am going to tell you that Jesus Christ died for my sins and I accepted Him as my Savior many years ago. I am not perfect. I won't be perfect. I do love me some God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit. As for religion? If you want a label, we'll go with baptist. But, it's honestly not about religion. It's about faith.
I had the pleasure of bonding with Miss Talking Trash (Tn'T, Debbie) Saturday. We enjoyed some discussion about faith and religion. Today, Debbie blogged a prayer request. You'll see that I also added the prayer request button to my blog for Baby Witt. I do not know these people, but I do know God. I know that He likes us to talk to Him. I know that He likes us to share Him. I know that He offers peace and comfort and love. And because I find myself loving Debbie, I find myself caring about what she cares about. And if she asks me to talk to God, well, how easy is that? And how powerful and true is He to listen?
It's like a pyramid scheme. Deb asked, and now I am asking you. Will you pray for this family? Maybe by the end of the day, God will have shown Himself through love and blogship to more than we could have ever imagined. Maybe that family, who already feels the strength of God, will feel more comfort and love than before.
Miracles? Well, God gave us Baby Witt and now look. I am talking to you about God and faith and prayer. Witt is a little miracle maker already, eh?
Happy Life!
Painted Breadboard
6 hours ago

subset: commoncrawl


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I met with Leon a few years back when I was ending my time motorcycle racer and he was just starting his. He impressed me then and still impresses me know. Let's hope there are no team orders in the Aprilia team this season, at any of the Italians rounds of WSB.
They learned the trade together as teenagers and although their careers have taken different paths, Leon Camier and Casey Stoner continue to compete against each other.
Ashford's World Superbike rider Camier and former Moto GP champion Stoner have come a long way since they first set foot on the motorsport ladder, but have remained close friends. Despite competing in different world championships, the pair continue to learn from each other in training sessions and are keen to resume their previous on-track battles.
The duo were reunited last month for a series of training sessions at Stoner's home in Australia. But it was in the British 125cc Championship a decade ago when they first met, becoming firm friends and fierce track rivals. Stoner, then 16, made the trip to Britain from Australia in 2000 to launch his superbike career, while Camier was embarking on only his third season of circuit racing. Stoner won the championship that year, while Camier finished 12th overall. They locked horns the following season, with the Kent rider taking the title.
Since then, Stoner has risen through the Moto GP ranks, impressively beating Valentino Rossi to the world title in 2007 at the tender age of 21. Although Camier is yet to taste glory in the World Superbike Championship (WSB), the former British champion is hot on his friend's heels in training and is eyeing another track meeting.
Camier said: "After the Phillip Island test last month I went up to Casey's house with my manager Andy Walker, we have all known each other since 2000. It's great that we are all still friends. We have been training but also having fun, but most things turn into a big competition. I'm thinking about going pro at table tennis after some of the games we played.
"It's difficult to learn from each other as neither of us disclose detailed information about our bikes and we're in different classes, but we can learn about training techniques. All racers want to be the best and Casey proved it in 2007. Maybe one day soon we will be in the same championship again."
While Camier hopes to beat his friend on the track in the future, his mind is firmly fixed on his second season in the WSB with Aprilia. The campaign begins at Australia's Phillip Island on February 27.
He said: "Every year is a big year, and I will continue to put maximum effort into every session and every race. After having a good rookie season, I would like to build on that and be a regular podium contender."


text:
EPFL EMBA and Creative Supply are collaborating on a series of instructional videos linking innovation and branding. Positioning your product as well as branding your innovation the right way, makes a difference between a market success and a market failure.
In each video lasting only 3-4 minutes, Youri Sawerschel, Founder of Creative Supply, shares the tools and outcomes of innovation branding that can help startups and tech-based companies thrive in competitive marketplaces.
In the first episode of the series, Youri speaks about the importance to think "beyond a product". Through the example of the Apple Watch, Youri shows that the company went from developing electronics to creating an inspirational product by using branding tools. People are not just buying the product, they want to buy also the idea behind the product.
About EPFL EMBA
EPFL EMBA, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, focuses on technology and innovation at the forefront of the increasingly fast-changing and interconnected world. Since 1998, this EMBA combines innovative thinking with strategic management skills, fostering a more hands-on approach. Courses are taught by academic experts in innovation areas, but also by industry experts using a more pragmatic approach based on their experiences and on-the-field knowledge.
About Creative Supply
Creative Supply is a Swiss agency bringing together global creatives to develop brands, design experiences and market products and services in an interconnected world. The branding company drive projects from concept to implementation at the intersection of business, design and technology. Their collaborative approach to creative work delivers tangible values for clients across industries, from a Chinese hotel to a Swiss bank.
If you would like to be informed about new videos, sign up to our newsletter below and follow our LinkedIn page.


text:
Date posted:
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
New ABC Trustee John Kinghorn & team win this years Guardian's title
John Kinghorn of the Birding Ecotours Youth Africa Birders.
© Untamed Birding
John Kinghorn, newly arrived as a Trustee of the ABC Council & representing the voice of young birders everywhere, put a team together to compete in the Champions of the Flyway 2017 competition. His team,The Birding Ecotours Youth Africa Birders, raised the most money from sponsors. Well done guys, magnificent effort. See their story here.


text: Kata Bunkai for Bassai Dai Seminar Kata Bunkai for Bassai Dai SeminarSo much bunkai (analysis/application) that has been taught to us in the West only works when choreographed with a semi-compliant training partner. Much of it (if we're really honest) simply won't work under pressure. This seminar focuses on practical, street effective bunkai for this pivotal and important kata, Bassai Dai. To find out more about me, my approach and my views on martial arts; please visit my website at www.BunkaiJutsu.com. If you visit the store, you will notice that years ago I have (along with a Kung Fu friend) produced a download on Bassai Dai kata bunkai (http://bunkaijutsu.com/product/download-inside-bassai-dai/). This Download has been endorsed by some very senior martial artists, including our own Geoff Thompson 7th Dan: "Shotokan has always been my base system, so it was fascinating for me to watch the Charlie Wildish DVD on Bassai Dai, and come away with so much new information about this powerful kata and its origins. I particularly like the historical element about Sokon Matsumura (who created the kata) and how, when & why he created the "grappling kata". I got a lot from this DVD and highly recommend it". Open to all styles and levels Venue: Bristol South Aikido Dojo, Fortfield Road, Bristol, BS14 9NX.Date/Time: Saturday, 16 March 2019 from 01:00-04:00 Cost: £15 per person (or £10 each for groups of 5 or more). For more info contact Charlie Wildish via: * https://www.facebook.com/events/366305237541248/ * 07940 852496 * email@example.com


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It was a wonky start, hitting stop lights, iphone falling out of case – had to restart, runkeeper a little off.
Goal: 4 miles
Path: ran 1/2 way to park, loop around reservoir, loop on bridle path/lower reservoir
Intensity: tried to keep it at a conversational pace … eh. Dehydrated – didn't bring water & didn't stop at fountains (<— need to work on that)
Injuries: nothing major, usual hip / shin splints (wore compression sleeves)


text:
I had, briefly, considered just typing out the script word-for-word for tonight's episode. Because tonight, Rizzles lovers, the line between subtext and maintext became so irreversibly blurred that it's almost just a straight-up recap. Almost. Well, at least in my head. Well, always in my head. And away we go.
The Rizzoli-Isles family is all at the dinner table together, because where else would they be? It's a farewell to Tommy and I think I can safely say from all of us gay ladies – don't let that door that hit you in the ass on the way out, chess boy. Mama Rizzoli is all proud of her 32-year-old ex-con son for cutting up celery and broccoli. Elder siblings Frankie and Jane are somewhat less impressed, they're apparently saving their "good job, gold star" faces for when he does something truly impressive like peel a banana or tie his shoes.
Jane wants to see his new place – always the big sister and wanting to check stuff out – but Tommy says they can't come until he has the money to get the lights turned on. So, um, he is moving into his new apartment without electricity? I can see why your mother is so proud. Maura tells him she'd be happy to co-sign the lease and Jane and Frankie simultaneous blurt out "No!" I love how Frankie knows what's what. He's like, if I'm going to be an in-law to Dr. Isles, I want to be an in-law to the good sibling, not the one living alone in a dark apartment.
Later, as Maura is doing the dishes, Tommy emerges all "Hey, girl, hey. My sister's not here anymore to kick my ass, right? Because I want to 'talk.'" And then the moment all lesbians have been dreading is upon us. He says he's going to miss their chess matches, gives her an expensive bottle of wine (which is apparently where his electrical bill money went) and says it's rare like Maura. Then he leans in for a kiss.
Before we can scream, "Bad Maura! Wrong Rizzoli!" she stops him mid-pucker with a gentle yet very firm, "Whoa." And then simply says, "I should finish these dishes." When a lady would rather get dish-pan hands than lock lips with you, dude, that's pretty much the definition of denied. Also that's pretty much the definition of every gay lady I know. So, well, there's that.
Back in crime land, a pair of bank robbers in creepy old guy masks are robbing a bank and shoot and kill the manager on their way out. Det. Rizzoli arrives on scene to find Frost outside, pacing. She asks him why he isn't where the action is and he says the FBI has taken over. Jane is like FBI, Schmefbi – I shot a guy thought my own stomach and swaggers inside.
She asks a female agent for the person in charge and lo and behold, it's her – Special Agent Anna Farrell (played by Veronica Mars alum Tessa Thompson). They have a chuckle at the whole "girl running the task force" automatic sexist assumption thing, but then Farrell attempts to crime-scene block Jane citing bungled police work in another department. Jane reassures her Boston homicide is the real deal, and they have what appears to be mutual admiration eye sex. I'd be a little jealous for Maura, but women with authority and guns giving each other professional respect is kinda hot.
Maura is examining the dead bank manager's body and comments on his belly fat. That's our Dr. Isles, always thinking of the deceased's cholesterol levels. Frost finally comes in to deliver some news about a partial license plate for the getaway van. He gives the eye cold shoulder to Farrell, and it gets so chilly in the room everyone grabs a sweater.


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Get the jump on new items at Anthony's Comic Book Art! Join our mailing list today!
Captain America #448? p.33 Color Guide Art - Cap and Sharon Carter Splash - 1996
"This is a B&W STAT photo copy that a colorist painted over to create the published page. This is color art only, the original pencils and inks aren't on here."


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Tuesday, June 12, 2012
31 comments:
I have been thinking of having a post on Drongos too:)Sometime soon I hope..they are indeed noisy birds..you've still captured them very well.Have a great day!ReplyDelete
the remind me of our grackles, except the grackles have piercing yellow eyes. these are great!ReplyDelete
Those eyes, especially in #3, are incredible. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.ReplyDelete
I admire how well you captured the bird's eye in each of these photos.ReplyDelete
Fantastic to see and read about Mick... a great post.ReplyDelete
What a cracking bird.ReplyDelete
Great serie of photos!ReplyDelete
Cool looking birds, I love the eyes. Great shots.ReplyDelete
I was listening to crows while sitting on my front porch yesterday - talk about noisy. :)ReplyDelete
This is quite an attractive bird. You got some great shots and I like the tree needles and the blue sky made an interesting background.
Thanks for coming by today.
A very interesting bird, it looks similar to our grackles which also have that iridescent sheen to their feathers. Grackles are quite noisy as well!ReplyDelete
What a striking bird! I love the red eyes!ReplyDelete
These are great shots of the Spangled Drongos Mick! I think you have done well catching their iridescence and the red eye.ReplyDelete
reminds me of some our local birds...love 3rd shot. Wonder what kind of noise they would make.ReplyDelete
awesome captures....i love those red eyes!!ReplyDelete
Beautiful picture series you run. Wishing you a good day :) Hanne Bent / hbt.finus.dkReplyDelete
I think you captured the spngles Mick, especially in that second shot. What a great name by the way - just rolls off the tongue. As great mimics they may be related to orioles but I dont know because we dont get any drongos here in the UK.ReplyDelete
Nice pictures.ReplyDelete
I'm under no illusions that the birds around my accommodation were really wild - but it does make them easier to photograph!
Stewart M
Wonderful shots of bird of great clarity.ReplyDelete
Beautiful bird! Well done, Mick.ReplyDelete
Beautiful images of the red-eyed bird, Mick! I can imagine you don't want them imitating the screeching of parrots, but may be you can teach them to laugh like human?ReplyDelete
Iv'e never seen or heard of these birds before, Mick! That red eye is incredible and the spangles on their neck and head is so bright & shiny. Great captures!!ReplyDelete
(I've posted the other 3 birds from my Wynnum waterfront visit)
such an interesting bird. Would love to see it in person. And your whots are great. :) Thanks for the info.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 14, 2012 at 4:10 AM
What a beautiful bird and those eyes!! Happy WBW!!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 14, 2012 at 5:59 AM
Beautiful bird with piercing red eyes! Nice captures!ReplyDelete
Mimics can play some real tricks. I have a Northern Mockingbird at work that does a great Killdeer. The give away is the shorebird calling from the top of a tree :)ReplyDelete
Nice pictures and you did get a good sheen and spangles.
Very interesting bird. Love the red eyes. Great captures!!ReplyDelete
We only have the black drongos here. The spangled ones are lovely...and I loved your photos!ReplyDelete
Beautiful birds, Mick. It is so difficult to capture refracted and reflected colors of black birds. Photos just do not do them justice.ReplyDelete
What a cool bird! Love those shots of them in the interesting vegetation.ReplyDelete
I think your shots are great. Like the narrative also. I was not familiar with these birds.ReplyDelete
Thanks for visiting my bird post. Sorry to be a bit behind on my blog hopping. I do so appreciate your nice comment
What funny birds! Wonderful pictures (I love to see birds' eyes -- and these are incredible.)ReplyDelete


text:
A new, user-friendly tool is now available to help you and your club navigate the moving target of health care reform. This comprehensive National Club Association online resource provides guidance on regulatory and compliance issues surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA). NCA Members receive free access to what we hope will serve as the health care hub for the private club industry.
We are committed to providing a resource that reflects the latest information, knowing that the ACA has been ever changing when it comes to deadlines and delays. NCA's Health Care Resource Center takes the guesswork away from busy club leaders and empowers them with the information they need to adapt to the latest changes and emerging provisions.
In just one location, the website provides an array of information, including tools, guidelines, website links to trusted sources, timely news articles and NCA resources to assist clubs with implementation timelines and compliance rules. The NCA Health Care Resource Center will be your best source for information to share with club leaders, HR managers and staff as the new law is implemented over the next few years.
This exclusive resource for NCA members can be found on the private side of our website www.nationalclub.org. After logging in, look under the Knowledge Management tab for the Health Care Resource Center.
The Health Care Resource Center landing page guides you to multiple pages of valuable information, including:
- Compliance and implementation guidelines and links to NCA regulatory alerts and updates
- News & Information organized by topic, web resources, recorded webinars, breaking developments and pertinent news articles
- Ongoing opportunities to ask questions about the ACA during regular health care law town hall meetings via conference call on Mondays at 4:00 p.m. ET
- History of how the ACA evolved over time and NCA's involvement in reporting regulatory updates and information to club members
NCA hopes you find the new online resource valuable as we continue to offer support and information for private clubs on the health care law. If you have questions about the website, contact Cindy Vizza at 202-684-8751 or firstname.lastname@example.com. For questions related to the health care law, please contact Brad Steele at 202-684-8753 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Good morning!
T'is a new week and a fresh start! So why not roll up these little balls of deliciousness? I was really happy when I took a bite to find - that they were really good! Packed full of protein and it takes only five minutes to make! They're definitely worth it, and I can see me making these again in the very near future :D
Cocoa Power Marbles
(Makes 6, about 33 calories each)
30g chocolate protein powder
15g coconut flour
2-3 drops stevia (I used vanilla creme - optional)
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
4-5 tsp almond milk (can use normal milk)
To decorate: Icing sugar, almonds, melted chocolate, dessicated coconut - it's up to you!
- Start by mixing all the dry ingredients in a sall bowl.
- Make a well in the middle and add 4 tsp almond milk and the stevia drops. Mix with a spoon first, and then start mixing it with your hands once it starts getting incorporated. If the mix is still a little too dry (depends on the protein powder), add another teaspoon of milk.
- Roll the dough into a small sausage between your hands, and divide into six. Roll them into little balls, decorate if you want, and put them on a plate, refrigerate for an hour or two, or eat straight away!
I use a protein powder called Instant Whey (Native Whey) by Reflex, and I thiiiink they don't used artificial sweeteners, correct me if I'm wrong though! It is actually one of the best protein powders I've had so far. A little sweet, but hey! It's chocolate after all, right?
For the "decorating", I used sukrin icing sugar, almonds aaaand then I left two "eu natural" - SO good!
Oh, and on a super good note - After having been stuck with a stupid inflamed ankle for almost a month now, I think it is getting better. What I would give to get to run again! Perhaps soon, fingers crossed *sneaky smile*
Original Source:
- Jules


text:
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text:
We have three homes at Harmony Residential Care: Harmony House, Abundant Living and Autumn Glow. All of them are small, residential homes that are designed to make you feel right at home. We promote soothing, comfortable environments. Families can visit any time they want. Whenever you would normally pop by Mom's house, please, come by our house. Treat our homes as if they are your parent's home. Many of our families find they come to visit Mom and end up sitting down for tea with her friends.
We promote soothing, comfortable environments.
Our residents form friendships with each other, with other families, and with our caregivers. It's a wonderful social environment. They watch TV together, eat together, or play games together. They look out for each other.
It is a secure environment where residents can feel comfortable walking the enclosed grounds, sitting outside, gardening, or visiting the birdbath.


text:
Monthly Archives: June 2012
Week 14 – Fires everywhere in Colorado
Today we were preempted by the fire coverage here in Colorado. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those and their families who have been evacuated, lost their homes, or have lost family members. It's very hard to not … Continue reading
Week 13 – How to beat the heat and keep your plants looking cool
Not much was cooking at the garden today except the plants. We had one 101 degree day with more 90's expected in the next couple of days. We didn't have a camera truck today so Rob ran down to the … Continue reading
Week 12 – Tour to benefit the Denver Dumb Friends League
The tour last Sunday to benefit the Denver Dumb Friends League was a big success. Many thousands in donations were collected for the Denver Dumb Friends League. Today I'm posting images from the day as we will not be gathering … Continue reading
Today is the garden tour for the Denver Dumb Friends League of Rob Proctor's garden. I must say it's the most beautiful I've seen it. It's amazing and fantastic. Watch 9NEWS this morning at 8:15 for a preview of what … Continue reading
Week 11 – How to deal with storm battered plants
Luckily the garden survived the tornado winds and 6 inches of hail that fell last night around Colorado. It was a scary night around South Denver and eastern plains, then in the early morning up by the foothills. Lots of … Continue reading
Week 10 – Planting Companion Plants
Last week we were preempted by the rain but I posted some pics of all the pots in the yard that needed to be planted and told about my adventure of going over anyway and planting for a couple of … Continue reading


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Practice Areas
FTZ Subzone Status Sought for Puerto Rico Facility
The Foreign-Trade Zones Board has received from the Puerto Rico Trade & Export Company, grantee of FTZ 61, an application requesting subzone status for the Autogermana Inc. facility in San Juan, Puerto Rico. No authorization for production activity has been requested at this time. Autogermana is currently operating within site 22 of FTZ 61 but is requesting removal of site 22 following a transition period to allow merchandise to be transferred to the new subzone. Comments on this application are due no later than July 27.


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Thanks to everyone who came to our Sunday at Studio 36 on 26th November.
Category: Events
at Studio 36 and elsewhere
Patterns at St Sidwell's!
Thank you to everyone who came along to our performance of Patterns – an exploration in words, image, music and dance at St Sidwell's Community Centre on Sat October 21st. We've had lovely feedback from the full and enthusiastic audience and you can see a selection of images from the night below:
What a wonderful show!
A great night!
3 flutes explored Studio 36 on 5th November
Ruth Molins' flute trio Flute Cake performed Ruth's new music: Make Room in and around the rooms, galleries and gardens of Studio 36. Click the photos to expand.
Why Not, What If? A big success at St Sidwell's
Why Not, What If? – an exploration of the whys and wherefores of 'Don't', conceived by Veronica Gosling and 'inspired' by numerous officious signs and notices – played to a sell-out audience at St Sidwell's Centre on March 22. There were performances from poets Susan Taylor, Simon Williams & Fiona Leishman, songwriter Peter Farrie and compere/comedian Jeff Sleeman. Work by Steven Bramble, James Turner, Laura Baudin, Tim Coles & Dylan Thomas (!) was also presented.
Thank you and your talented team for a fantastic evening. We enjoyed every minute.
The team at St Sidwell's, led by Dave Wright, were brilliant hosts and they made delicious food for the interval. A night to remember!
A successful Sunday at Studio 36!
Our open day on 27th November was a great success, there was fine music from Joe Skivington & Phil Bonser, lots of lively conversation, a café with tasty soup & cakes and much artwork being perused and purchased.


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Welcome to Jess Evans Photography. I am a passionate Photographer specialising in Newborn & Baby Photography, based in Poole, Dorset.
Photographing Newborns and Babies is such a huge blessing. They are only little, for such a short amount of time. Remember those moments. Cherish those smiles. Hold on to those precious memories. Because time goes by so, so fast, and soon you will begin to realise how much your teeny tiny newborn has grown, and sat right in front of you is an independent little person who doesn't need you as much anymore. Hold those memories tight, in your hand as well as in your mind. Hang those pictures proudly on your wall, and smile. Smile because you are the parent to a wonderful child, and you did the most incredible thing in the world.
Its such a big decision, choosing the right photographer. I can assure you that I am fully trained and insured, practicing safe-posing as part of BANPAS, with plenty of experience meaning your little bundles are perfectly safe in my hands. I have a very limited number of sessions available per month, and take bookings months in advance. Please contact us for availability, and we can send you over more session information and answer any questions before you book in with us.
I can't wait to have you and your family in the studio, to capture those precious little memories you will truly cherish.


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Pest Analysis Cully and Sully
They decided to outsource their production to France because of the associated costs of building a factory and tending to a workforce. By previous employment Colm had built up extensive contacts within the Musgrave Group which distribute to SuperValu and Centra in Ireland and through these Cully and Sully gained a foothold in the retail sector.
Cully and Sully look into expanding their product base and they went into the soup industry. Today they deal with the 'convenience' food sector in both meals and soups. Cully and Sully have since gained a major foothold in the market and the brand can be seen on shelves in Dunnes Stores and Tesco along with those of the Musgrave Group. Today they are a huge success, offering a different product from the competitive 'convenience' sector through their emphasis on fresh, organic and wholesome aspects of their products.
A PESTEL Analysis of Cully and Sully.
From a political point of view Cully and Sully have transportation costs to worry about. The price of fuel is heavily rising and the taxes are partially responsible...
Please join StudyMode to read the full document


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Correctional Staff Outreach
Above all else guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23).
Dismas Ministry also remembers the correctional officers and staff across the country who perform a service that is, often, unseen and unappreciated by society. One day, as a prison ministry volunteer was being accompanied by a correctional officer, the officer said: "You know, I've been in here longer than many inmates."
This officer pointed out what many people do not realize. Correctional staff spend a great part of their lives behind bars. They perform a service that society requires as it incarcerates greater numbers of people than ever before.
Currently, there are over 2 million men and women incarcerated in the United States and it is the job of correctional staff to oversee this vast number of people. The emotional, physical and spiritual impact of this service on the staff themselves is great. The daily stress, that becomes pent up, takes a toll on these dedicated public servants. There is trauma associated with this line of work, even if it goes undetected by themselves, their loved ones or society. Despite the firm outward demeanor that correctional staff maintain, they have a basic need for understanding and respect as human beings.
Correctional staff carry a great responsibility. They are crucial to a positive environment behind bars. They can provide a role model for inmates since they are in contact with inmates daily. They can have a tremendous influence on the inmates' rehabilitation. Because of the nature of their job, the service of correctional staff can be taken for granted. They deserve emotional and spiritual support for the work they do for society.
Words of strength & Encouragement
- Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).
- The Lord is faithful. He will strengthen and guard you (2 Thessalonians 3:3).
- The God of Israel will be your rear guard (Isaiah 52:12).
- on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Your every act should be done with love (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).


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Barenbrug in the Community "Helping with Hands"
In 2015 Barenbrug initiated a global volunteering program called "Helping with Hands" designed to encourage Barenbrug employee's to volunteer on company time to give back to their communities. Barenbrug, as a member of the Barenbrug Group, have embraced the concept and been actively involved in a number of community volunteering projects around the country. Here's a sample of our efforts so far!
Puffing Billy Railway - Dandenong Office, May 2016
Over 2 days, 22 staff were re-planting native grasses & trees along the railway corridor & clearing weeds, such as ivy & cocksfoot for future re-vegetation projects along the Puffing Billy Railway.
Howlong Primary School - Howlong Research Team, December 2015
The Howlong Research team assisted their small local school of Howlong Primary, with weeding & mulching garden beds, green waste removal, tree pruning and moving school ground picnic tables.
This was a big help for a school of 208 students with a large and rambling school ground.
Bush Regeneration Day – Adelaide Office, September 2015
10 Barenbrug staff members spent the day helping the bush to heal itself by encouraging natural regeneration and managing environmental weeds as part of the "Bush for Life Program" in Cherry Gardens in the Adelaide Hills.


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The saga of Scoop, the Toronto Star raccoon that captured the hearts and minds of Torontonians (and even got herself a Twitter page) continues.
Last time you saw her, she was in a firefighter's net, but on Friday, the Toronto Wildlife Centre posted a YouTube video with an update.
Text on the screen says Scoop is resting in their care, and that veterinary and rehabilitation staff are investigating why she ended up stuck on a ledge at One Yonge St. and couldn't get herself down.
The footage shows the baby raccoon being cared for by Wildlife Centre staff. The text on the screen explains that she gets daily attention for her minor paw injuries. In the video, Scoop is released into her cage and is seen slowly climbing the enclosure.
Toronto Wildlife Centre executive director Nathalie Karvonen said Scoop was likely malnourished before she ended up on the ledge.
"Even if she had been on that ledge for a week, which she wasn't, she wouldn't have been as thin as she is," Karvonen said. Scoop should have been "pretty chunky, because it's going into fall," she said in an interview on Oct. 14.
Raccoons are good climbers and can even climb on brick, so the textured exterior of the building should have been easy for her to manage. The Toronto Wildlife Centre hoped she would be able to find her own way down, which is why her rescue was delayed several days.
Karvonen says wild animals don't like being inside and get scared because they don't know people are trying to help them, which is why they want to release Scoop as soon as possible.
The Toronto Wildlife Centre did not immediately respond to requests for an interview. It is unknown when Scoop will be released.
With files from Sophie van Bastelaer and Brennan Doherty.


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The best camping grounds just outside Melbourne
Melbourne has an unbeatable mix of sport, food, fashion, culture and, of course, great coffee! But if you take just a short drive outside the city, you'll find that there's so much more to see in the great outdoors beyond the city's limits. So pitch a tent, park your caravan and get ready to enjoy a weekend free from the constant 'bing' of email notifications as we introduce you to the best camping grounds that lie just outside Melbourne
Just 9 km away from Melbourne Central Business District, Melbourne BIG 4 Holiday & Caravan Park is the closest caravan & camping ground to Melbourne itself.
The BIG4 holiday park has two camp kitchens which are fully equipped with all the essentials like an oven, fridge, microwave, table and chairs. You can also enjoy cooking outdoors (the way it should be done) in the BBQ area which has stainless steel sinks, tables, chairs, gas hot plates and plenty of room for a good size family get-together.
This camp ground has a great reputation for both cleanliness and excellent customer service and with both powered and unpowered sites available, it's a great option for campers on any budget.
Discovery Parks – Melbourne Caravan Park
At just half an hour away from Melbourne CBD, the Discovery Parks Melbourne Caravan Park is another good option for those that don't fancy venturing too far outside of the city. This camp park has various features that make Melbourne Caravan park an ideal place for camping. Featuring a playground, swimming pool, free Wi-Fi (no getting away from those work emails) and a fully equipped kitchen, this campground has it all. For getting back to nature in relative ease, this is a sure-fire winner.
Kurth Kiln Picnic & camping ground
East of Melbourne, Kurth Kiln is one of the closest bush camping opportunities to the city for all you urbanites that want to experience a bit of bush life. This 3500-hectare park has plenty of things to keep you busy. Here you can go horse riding, bushwalking and cycling or just lie back and enjoy the fresh country air. No bookings are taken for this campground and camping is on a first-come, first served basis.
There are pretty good toilet facilities and campfires are allowed. Preferably bring your own wood for the campfire though you can pick up whatever is lying around. This campground is also pet-friendly.
Anderson's garden is a well-equipped spacious camping area which is enclosed by beautiful mountain ash and wattle. It's a wonderfully scenic area with all the essential facilities such as toilets, drinking water, hot showers, and a wood BBQ area. The place is superb for walking, has excellent biking trails, and offers some great horse-riding opportunities. Here you'll also find top-notch 4wd drive trails throughout the area. Located near Sunday Creek, this place is hugely popular during the holiday seasons.
Warburton Caravan Park or Warburton Holiday Park
Situated just 1.5 km from the centre of Warburton town, this holiday park is considered the premier camping and caravan destination in Yarra Valley. The campsite provides facilities like self-contained cabins, BBQ areas, and a children's playground among others. There are also walking and biking trails throughout the area. Warburton Holiday park offers acres of campground within a spectacular bush setting. Pets and campfires are allowed.
Now, of course you can hit these camping grounds with nothing more than a tent under your arm but let's face it, you're going to want a decent caravan, right? If you're on the lookout for a new home on wheels then you'll want to learn a little more about caravan finance.
Yes, that's right we said caravan finance. The truth is that you really don't need to clean out your savings just so you can pay cash for that dream camper or caravan. Opting for caravan finance instead of cash buying has quite a few benefits but the biggest is the fact that you can buy the latest model with all the bells and whistles. And once you've got that dream caravan hitched up to your car, there's no stopping you.
As Australia's largest car finance broker, Stratton Finance know a thing or two about loans and finance. With over two decades of experience in the field they are one of the most trusted authorities in the industry.


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Sale Price: $219.95
Compared to: $259.95
You Save: $40.00
Product ID : SKU17045
- A PICkit Low Pin Count Demo Board with PIC16F690 chip
- A ICP02** programmer with cable - (Click here to download the Microchip MPLAB IDE v8.30 software)
- A CHIPINO Module
- Vol 2 Upgrade Experiment Component Pack
- Vol 3 Upgrade Experiment Component Pack
- Beginner's Guide to Embedded C Programming Vol 1, 2, and 3
- 1 – Small Breadboard
- 5 – Pair Header Pins
- 2 – 10 Pin Female Header
- 4 – Jumpers
- 1 – Microchip 24LC01B-I/P
- 1 – MCP23S08 SPI I/O Expander
- 4 – 1k Resistor
- 4 – 4 – LED (red)
- 2 – 10k Resistor
- 1 – Momentary Switch
- 1 – 2x16 LCD Module
- 1 – Potentiometer 10k
- 1 – Hobbyist Servo Motor
- 1 – 3 Position AA Battery Holder
- 1 – 840 Point Breadboard
- 1 – Jumper Pack (140 pcs)
Beginner's Guide to Embedded C Programming Vol 1
The C language has been covered in many books but none as dedicated to the embedded microcontroller beginner as the Beginner's Guide to Embedded C Programming. Through his down to earth style of writing Chuck Hellebuyck delivers a step by step introduction to learning how to program microcontrollers with the C language. In addition he uses a powerful C compiler that the reader can download for free in a series of hands on projects with sample code so you can learn right along with him. For the hardware he found the best low cost but effective development starter kit that includes a PIC16F690 microcontroller and everything else the beginner needs to program and develop embedded designs, even beyond the book's projects.
There isn't a better entry level guide to learning embedded C programming than the Beginner's Guide to Embedded C Programming. When you have finished reading this book and completed the projects you'll be ready to take on your own embedded microcontroller projects and designs using the C language.
You will learn about:
- C Language Structure
- C language statements
- Functions
- Linking multiple C files
- How to control outputs
- How to read inputs
- How to read an analog voltage with an analog-to-digital converter
- MPLAB© Integrated Development Environment setup and operation
- PIC16F690 microcontroller register and configuration setup
- And more!
Beginner's Guide to Embedded C Programming Vol 2
In this "Volume 2" Chuck takes the reader to the next level by introducing how to drive displays, how to use interrupts, how to use serial communication, how to use the internal hardware peripherals of the PIC16F690 Microcontroller such as SPI, PWM and Timers. He even introduces how to drive a stepper motor for those looking for electromechanical design help. He tackles these topics with his typical down to earth style of writing that makes the reader comfortable as they learn what some consider very difficult topics for the beginner. In addition he continues to use the very powerful HI-TECH C compiler in its free Lite mode so the reader can program along with little or no expense.
All the projects in the book include the software and the hardware schematics so the reader can reproduce the same projects Chuck creates on their own. This is a great companion to the "Beginner's Guide to Embedded C Programming" but also stands well on its own. If you are looking to learn Embedded C Programming for the Microchip PIC Microcontroller or want to expand your knowledge of using the internal features, then this book needs to be in your library.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 – Getting Started
Chapter 2 – Driving an LED Display
Chapter 3 – Driving an LCD
Chapter 4 – Storing Data
Chapter 5 – External Interrupt
Chapter 6 – Using the Timer 1 Interrupt
Chapter 7 – RS232 Communication
Chapter 8 – SPI Communication
Chapter 9 – Pulse Width Modulation
Chapter 10 – Driving a Stepper Motor
Appendix A – Inside the PIC16F690
Appendix B – Development Board Schematic
Beginner's Guide to Embedded C Programming Vol 3
In "Beginner's Guide to Embedded C Programming — Volume 3" Chuck Hellebuyck takes another leap forward by showing you the steps to create the SimpleC library of functions that make programming in C even easier. This approach shows the reader how they can create their own functions and expand the SimpleC library to make creating microcontroller projects much quicker than writing in raw C code. This book will clearly be the reference for future programmers who want to build electronic gadgets without all the painstaking steps of writing every C statement while producing a working project in less time and with less effort.
The SimpleC library will make the following functions as easy as one command line:
- Controlling Digital Outputs
- Reading Digital Inputs
- Monitoring Analog Voltages
- Driving Liquid Crystal Display Modules
- Driving Digital PWM Signals
- Sending/Receiving via SPI and I2C Communication
- Writing to/Reading from External EEPROM
- Writing to/Reading from External I/O Expanders
- And More!
** Special Note from Chuck
The PICkit 2 Starter Kit is no longer available from Microchip, so I worked with Nuts & Volts magazine to create a replacement.
The PICkit 2 files were open sourced by Microchip so you can find many clones. One of the best clones though is this clone named ICP02 included in this combo. It incorporates the USB connection into the design so you don't need the USB cable. It also connects to the board that is included in the combo.
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…say yes quickly, if you know, if you've known it from before the beginning of the universe." Rumi
and, if the YES! is strong enough… join our Term 4 classes starting this week for some, next week for others. (PS Yes is a very personal notion, for example you wouldn't know at a glance that the young artist who drew this in Turiya's after school class really enjoyed doing this!… or would you?)
Sooooo, on top of ongoing with our new after school classes for young creatives (now all ages on Wednesdays) and all our regular art classes (yes drawing is ON this term!) there will also be a couple of one day workshops on Sundays.
We really hope to see you soon drawing on Monday with Michelle Dawson, experimenting with your paint and Bernadette Curtin on Tuesday, art journaling with Zom Osborne on Wednesday, going with the flow of water(colours) and Harry Westera on Thursday, or mixing all your media on Friday with Turiya Bruce… There are discounts if you join for the term or pay 5 classes at a time, simply go the link and check it all out (go here for more info)


text: Capitol Ministries seeks men who are proven, intentional, deliberate, biblically reliant disciple makers to serve the ministry in their local or state governments, or foreign nations by providing Bible studies, evangelism, and discipleship to political leaders at every level of their career paths. Political leaders are often far from their homes, families, churches, pastors, and spiritual support, and are often subjected to trials, temptations, and situations in which they need the counsel and the support of strong Christians. Capitol Ministries desires leaders who will lead solid, weekly expositional Bible studies, make disciples and evangelize others.


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Published by HarperCollins on October 25th 2011
Genres: Adolescence, Death & Dying, Friendship, Social Issues, Young Adult
Pages: 496
Source: Purchased
Add to your TBR on Goodreads
What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life? Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.
My Thoughts: Some authors have a true gift and Lauren Oliver is one of those writers. Her writing draws the reader in and her words have a magical and lyrical quality when she strings them together. Bullying is such an important issue in our schools and Oliver does a great job of realistically portraying the social strata of high school and how bullies act. As I was reading, I felt transported back to my high school years and life as a teenager.
"It was Lindsay who found out that Juliet wasn't sent a single rose freshman year, and Lindsay's idea to send her a Valogram. It was Lindsay who nicknamed her Psycho, and who, all those years ago, spread the story of Juliet peeing on the Girl Scout camping trip." p. 149
As much as the book is about bullying, it's also about the power of redemption, realizing mistakes and trying to right wrongs. As Sam relives her last day over and over again it helps her see outside her circle of friends and the impact you can have on other people without even knowing.
"I can't stop thinking about how strange life is, about Kent and Juliet and even Alex and Anna and Bridget and Mr. Shaw and Ms. Winters – about how complex and connected everything is, all threaded together like some vast, invisible netting – and how sometimes you can think you're doing the right thing, but it's actually terrible and vice versa." p. 424
How will Sam's act of redemption impact the people around her and more importantly Sam? I had tears in my eyes as I read the final pages. An extremely powerful novel that I highly recommend.


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Leaving a Legacy
Minimizing taxes, protecting your assets.
If you're looking for an Estate Planning Attorney in Kansas City, look no further. At Barber Financial Group, we know that each family is unique and has their own set of circumstances. Our in-house Estate Planning Attorneys work with our entire team of financial experts to develop strategies that help minimize estate taxes and protect your assets. It doesn't end there; once this estate plan is established, we will review it on a regular basis to make sure it continues to meet your objectives.
Estate Planning Meeting Request
Talk to a professional!
If you're ready to start a discussing about protecting your family and the assets you've worked hard for your whole life, fill out the form to request an estate planning meeting with one of our advisors and attorneys.
Family and Asset
Avoid the mess of legal fees.
While it's unpleasant to think about, if you don't have an estate plan, everything you ever worked for could be tied up in the courts for a year, or longer. It could cost your family money in probate, legal fees, and emotional turmoil. Additionally, your estate could potentially get double-taxed by the government and could be a real mess for your family.
Five Professionals Under One Roof
At Barber Financial Group, our integrated wealth management services are working together for you.
Typically, one would hire 5 different companies: 1. Financial Planner 2. Accountant 3. Insurance Agent 4. Estate Attorney 5. Social Security Consultant.
At Barber Financial, you can replace 5 relationships with 1.
Our integrated team of professionals saves you time, energy, and hassle by working together to meet your most significant and most important financial challenges — no need to manage 5 different relationships. We've got you covered.
Do I need an
estate plan?
Your family will be taken care of.
The truth is, everyone needs a legal plan, no matter the size of your estate so you can be confident that your wishes will be carried out without burdening your loved ones. At the end of the day, can you put a price on the knowledge that your family and friends will be taken care of after you pass away?
Are your assets working for you?
Retirement means different things to different people, and this is why Barber Financial Group doesn't have one set plan, one fixed path, or one set of investments to get you to your destination.
Meet our attorneys
Jason Salinardi & Garrett Griffin
BFG Legal Services' attorneys, Jason Salinardi and Garrett Griffin, are some of the most excellent estate planning attorneys in Kansas City. With over 30 years of combined experience, they have expert knowledge in counseling our clients on transition & succession planning, estate freezing techniques, and gifting strategies.
Regardless if it's a basic Revocable Trust or a complicated Irrevocable Trust, a simple will, or Limited Family Partnerships, BFG Legal Services will design an estate plan that protects your assets to pass them down to the people you love. Additionally, our estate attorneys are not working in isolated silos, but alongside the rest of your Barber Financial Group team to help ensure your retirement plan is carried out beginning to end.
Frequently asked questions.
Because of their many advantages, revocable trusts are popular estate planning tools. Depending on your particular circumstances, a revocable trust may be beneficial in planning your estate. Revocable trusts are very flexible. You can make changes to the trust or revoke the trust at any time for any reason, as long as you are mentally competent. Further, there are few restrictions on the choice of trustees and beneficiaries. Finally, when drafting a revocable trust, you have many options regarding the management and distribution of your assets to your heirs upon your death.
Probate is the process of collecting your assets, paying your debts and taxes, and transferring the property owned by you, at your death, to your heirs.
Estate Planning Meeting Request
Talk to a professional!
If you're ready to start a discussing about protecting your family and the assets you've worked hard for your whole life, fill out the form to request an estate planning meeting with one of our advisors and attorneys.
BFG Legal Services is a fictitious name of Sandberg Phoenix von Gontard, P.C., a Missouri corporation and Legacy Legal, LLC, a Missouri limited liability company. Use of this website does not constitute legal advice and does not form an attorney/client relationship. Meetings with BFG Legal Services at offices of Barber Financial Group will be by appointment only.