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Towards a safe and efficient SARS-coronavirus vaccine: mechanism and prevention of genetic instability of a live attenuated virus
Published Thursday 29 October 2015 Published Thu 29 Oct 2015
Live attenuated (weakened) viral vaccines are considered safe so long as their "reversal" to a virulent (or disease-causing) virus is prevented. A study published in PLOS Pathogens reports on how to rationally modify an effective live attenuated SARS vaccine to make it genetically stable.
Luis Enjuanes, from the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología in Madrid, Spain, and colleagues had previously introduced a SARS-CoV lacking the envelope (or E) gene as a promising vaccine candidate. The researchers had shown that this vaccine, which they called SARS-CoV- E, was attenuated in different animal models, indicating that the E protein is necessary for the virus' ability to cause disease. They had also demonstrated that vaccination with SARS-CoV- E fully protected mice against challenge with virulent SARS-CoV that is lethal in unvaccinated mice, suggesting that it is an efficient vaccine.
Lung Pathology of Mice Infected With SARS-CoV With or Without E Protein PBM. Representative tissue sections of lungs from non-infected mice, or mice infected with wild-type SARS-CoV (WT), with an engineered SARS-CoV including an E protein with a functional PDZ-Binding-Motif (PBM+) or with E protein PBM motif knocked out (PBM-). Non infected mice and mice infected with a SARS-CoV mutant lacking E protein PBM (PBM-) showed clear airways which were functional, whereas mice infected with viruses with E protein PBM (WT and PBM+) showed collapsed airways with lung edema, which led to lung failure and death. Credit: Enjuanes et al., CC-BY
In this study, the researchers addressed the question of stability of the vaccine candidate. To do this, they propagated the SARS-CoV- E virus for a number of generations in cell lines and in mice and found that - over time - the virus accumulates mutations and reverts to a virulent phenotype.
Studying a collection of mutants, they were able to reveal the molecular basis of the reversion: The E protein contains a motif called a PDZ binding motif or PBM, a protein-protein recognition sequence that modulates cellular pathways important for viral replication, dissemination in the host, and pathogenesis. And all the reverted viruses had incorporated in the genome a functional PBM, apparently to compensate for removal of this motif with deletion of the E protein.
To avoid such compensation and reversal to virulence, instead of deleting the entire gene, the researchers introduced small deletions in the E gene that did not destroy its PBM. Such mutants are still attenuated but appear to no longer select for the incorporation of novel protein domains into the virus genome and so avoid the reversion to virulence.
To create an additional safeguard, the researchers introduced mutations into another SARS-CoV gene called nsp1. Nsp1 was chosen as a second attenuation target because this gene is located at a distant site from that of the E gene in the viral genome, making it very unlikely that a single mutational event can restore both the E gene and the nsp1 gene to their un-attenuated sequences and thereby restore virulence.
The researchers found that small deletions within the nsp1 gene alone resulted in an attenuated virus that was unable to cause disease but protected vaccinated mice against challenge with the virulent parental virus. And when they tested the new vaccine that includes small attenuating mutations in both the E and nsp1 genes, they saw that it maintains its attenuation after prolonged propagation in vitro and in vivo and provided full-protection of mice against the challenge with the virulent original SARS-CoV.
The researchers conclude that "understanding the molecular mechanisms leading to pathogenicity and the in vivo evaluation of vaccine genetic stability contributed to a rational design of a promising SARS-CoV vaccine". They also suggest that "understanding how an attenuated SARS-CoV reverted to virulence could also be useful for vaccine development against other relevant coronaviruses, such as the MERS-CoV".
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Flu / Cold / SARS
Immune System / Vaccines Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses
Identification of the Mechanisms Causing Reversion to Virulence in an Attenuated SARS-CoV for the Design of a Genetically Stable Vaccine, Jimenez-Guardeño JM, Regla-Nava JA, Nieto-Torres JL, DeDiego ML, Castaño-Rodriguez C, Fernandez-Delgado R, et al., PLOS Pathogens, doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1005215, published 29 October 2015.
This work was supported by grants from the government of Spain (BIO2013-42869-R), the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under the project “EMPERIE” EC grant agreement number 223498, and a U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) project (5P01AI060699). JMJG, JARN and JLNT received contracts from NIH. CCR received a contract from Fundacion La Caixa. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Source: PLoS
Visit our Flu / Cold / SARS category page for the latest news on this subject, or sign up to our newsletter to receive the latest updates on Flu / Cold / SARS.
Pathogens, PLOS. "Towards a safe and efficient SARS-coronavirus vaccine: mechanism and prevention of genetic instability of a live attenuated virus." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 29 Oct. 2015. Web.
Pathogens, P. (2015, October 29). "Towards a safe and efficient SARS-coronavirus vaccine: mechanism and prevention of genetic instability of a live attenuated virus." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
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Porsche has added two sporty models to its luxury saloon series – the Panamera GTS and the Panamera GTS Sport Turismo. With a powerful performance from the four-litre V8 biturbo engine (460 hp/338 kW), extra dynamic chassis systems including three-chamber air suspension, and their own unique design elements and equipment, the Panamera GTS and Panamera GTS Sport Turismo harness a one-of-a-kind performance set. The Sport Design package with black exterior elements and large Alcantara surfaces in the interior comes as standard. In addition, Porsche has expanded its portfolio of comfort and assistance systems to include a head-up display with various configuration options for the entire Panamera range.
Emotion and efficiency: V8 engine with 460 hp and sports exhaust system
At the heart of both new GTS models is a four-litre V8 engine with 460 hp (338 kW) of output and maximum torque of 620 Nm, cultivating an emotional sound and driving experience in combination with the standard sports exhaust system. The biturbo engine outperforms its predecessor by 20 hp (15 Kw) and 100 Nm. Acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h is 4.1 seconds (with standard Sport Chrono package). The Panamera GTS has a top speed of 292, while the Panamera GTS Sport Turismo reaches up to 289 km/h. There are no interruptions in tractive force as power is transmitted to the Porsche Traction Management (PTM) all-wheel drive system by the eight-speed PDK dual clutch gearbox. Despite those performance credentials, the Panamera GTS has a fuel consumption of just 10.3 l/100 km (Sport Turismo: 10.6 l/100 km).
Performance and comfort: sports chassis with three-chamber air suspension
Designed to reflect the sporting prowess of the GTS models, the chassis systems have been further enhanced for an even more dynamic drive experience. The adaptive air suspension with three-chamber technology is fitted as standard. A lower sports chassis (-10 millimetres) and a sportier Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) result in outstanding lateral dynamics. Large brakes (390 millimetres in diameter at the front, 365 millimetres at the rear) deliver exceptional deceleration.
That distinctive GTS look: Sport Design package with black highlights
When compared to the predecessor, the new Panamera GTS models’ basic equipment has been significantly upgraded in a number of areas. The Sport Design package, with a new black front end, black trim at the bottom of the rear, and a variety of darker elements, highlights the more athletic appearance. The GTS models are equipped with 20-inch Panamera Design wheels as standard. The interior features elements of black Alcantara and anodised aluminium. The standard package also includes a multifunction sports steering wheel with gearshift paddles and the Connect Plus module for a wide range of digital services.
A first for the Panamera: head-up display with several configuration options
The GTS range offers the same innovations as the second-generation Panamera range. These include the digital Porsche Advanced Cockpit, assist systems such as adaptive cruise control, and optional rear-axle steering. The GTS also features one highlight that is new to the entire Panamera range – the head-up display. The display can be configured by the driver and projects all relevant information in full colour directly in the driver’s field of vision.
Even better for day-to-day driving: the first ever Panamera GTS Sport Turismo
As is tradition at Porsche, GTS stands for Gran Turismo Sport. The first generation of the Panamera GTS was introduced back in 2011, initially available as a sports saloon only. Now, the new Panamera GTS is also available as a Sports Turismo. With a large boot lid, low loading sill, increased luggage compartment volume and 4+1 seating configuration, the new GTS variant meets the highest of standards for everyday driving, while also delivering outstanding performance.
The new GTS models are available for order now. For country specific model information, pricing and market arrival date, please contact the local Porsche Centre.
Tags: Car, gts, panamera, porsche, porsche panamera
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- Any -EventArticleBookDepartment and Research GroupsFeature StoryJob PositionNewsPagePodcastPreprintProjectResearch ReportVideoWebsiteProfile
The Artist-Silkworm Interface: The Agricultural Treatise as Source and Scrutiny for Creating an Artist Book
Several Speakers
Weijing (Vivian) Xu
Dagmar Schäfer
Regine Rapp
Anna Grasskamp
Yubin Shen
This one-day symposium discusses how the lens of contemporary art can engage with the genre of the agricultural treatises and manuals that have long attracted the attention of scholars in the history of science. Interrogating how art situated at the animal-machine interface can contribute to the analysis of knowledge production presented in treatises involving animals of particular utility or value. This workshop raises questions about how to depict and communicate three-dimensional and tactile prototypes and models involving living things into two-dimensional spaces. In this program, workshop participants will discuss how to productively open up the conventions of treatises to new artistic interpretation, while simultaneously analyzing them for what they may indicate about the time and the fabric of their respective societies.
Artist-in-Residence Vivian Xu will discuss her process of reviewing, analyzing, and comparing primary sources in order to develop an artist book that engages with the genre of nongshu（農書), or agricultural treatises in East Asia. Approaching the historical Chinese sericultural treatises from the 14th century, Japanese sericultural textbooks used in the early 20th century, and their European counterparts almost like an archaeologist, Xu responds to this genre by creating a “manual” or “treatise” accounting her own research into sericulture, conducted through her installation art series The Silkworm Project. Her artist book seeks to illuminate both the conflicts of the cultural and historical context in which her series sits, as well as a speculative future of sericulture and the alien-like alternative perspective of the silkworm.
This symposium’s artistic inquiry into agricultural treatises, especially through art created in collaboration with silkworms, facilitates discussion about the various approaches toward the design, compilation, and construction of treatises and artist books across various regional contexts. Agricultural treatises serve various purposes: to signify expertise, to communicate know-how, to record experiential outcomes, to instruct by illustration and text. While they similarly provide some instruction, artist books showcase artistic sophistication, processes, and reflections. Artist books materialize not only the artist’s aesthetic relation to the topic, but connect the artwork to a series of traditions – bibliophile, technical and material traditions. The artist book is an ideal autonomous genre for creating a ‘mobile sculpture’ of the artist’s inner mind while connecting to existing forms of engagement.
Participants will interrogate how well the formats of the agricultural treatise or artist book actually work as technologies of communicating instruction, and how these treatises are deliberately imperfect and thereby serve to hinder the actual fidelity of transmitted knowledge. We anticipate that this discussion will provide a space for reflecting upon the two-dimensional artist book as a means to convey practice, art, and knowledge today.
The format will consist of the artist’s talk in the morning, followed by a roundtable discussion among invited participants who will collectively discuss the historical genre of instructive manuals, treatises, guides, and prospectuses, in art, science, and technology.
Organizer(s)
Lisa Onaga
Related Project(s)
Harnack-Haus, Ihnestr. 16-20, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Mozart Room
Contact and Registration
Please register for this event by emailing event_dept3@mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de before June 27, 2019.
Welcome/Introduction: 10:00–10:30
Artist Talk (Vivian Xu): 10:30–12:00
Lunch Break: 12:00–13:15
Roundtable: 13:15–15:15
Coffee Break: 15:15–15:45
Final Discussion: 15:45–16:15
About Vivian Xu
Vivian Xu is a media artist and researcher from Beijing, currently based in Shanghai. In 2013, she received her MFA in Design and Technology at Parsons the New School for Design. She is an independent artist. Her work explores the boundaries between bio and electronic media in creating new forms of machine logic, life and sensory systems, and often take the form of object, installation and/or wearable. She has shown, lectured, and performed at various institutions in China, the US, Germany, and Australia, including the National Art Museum of China (Beijing), the Central Academy of Fine Art (Beijing), the China Academy of Art (Hangzhou), the Chronus Art Center (Shanghai), the Rockbund Museum (Shanghai), the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (Shanghai), the New York Science Museum (New York), Gallery Ho (New York), Art Laboratory Berlin (Berlin), and SymbioticA at University of Western Australia (Perth). Vivian co-founded Dogma Lab, a trans-disciplinary design lab in Shanghai that is dedicated to creating experimental research at the intersection of design, technology, art and science. As an artist-in-residence at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (May-Aug. 2019), Vivian develops an artist book of her bio machine art series The Silkworm Project. This work will be presented at Art Laboratory Berlin.
Art Laboratory Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) collaborate together through a four-month research stay in Berlin by Vivian Xu. Between May and August 2019, Vivian Xu will pursue her artistic research at MPIWG and ALB. The exhibition and a workshop on sericulture by Vivian Xu will provide the public with insights into this fascinating long-term project.
Silkworm Project Events (May to July 2019)
2019-07-04T10:00:00SAVE IN I-CAL 2019-07-04 10:00:00 2019-07-04 16:30:00 The Artist-Silkworm Interface: The Agricultural Treatise as Source and Scrutiny for Creating an Artist Book This one-day symposium discusses how the lens of contemporary art can engage with the genre of the agricultural treatises and manuals that have long attracted the attention of scholars in the history of science. Interrogating how art situated at the animal-machine interface can contribute to the analysis of knowledge production presented in treatises involving animals of particular utility or value. This workshop raises questions about how to depict and communicate three-dimensional and tactile prototypes and models involving living things into two-dimensional spaces. In this program, workshop participants will discuss how to productively open up the conventions of treatises to new artistic interpretation, while simultaneously analyzing them for what they may indicate about the time and the fabric of their respective societies. Artist-in-Residence Vivian Xu will discuss her process of reviewing, analyzing, and comparing primary sources in order to develop an artist book that engages with the genre of nongshu（農書), or agricultural treatises in East Asia. Approaching the historical Chinese sericultural treatises from the 14th century, Japanese sericultural textbooks used in the early 20th century, and their European counterparts almost like an archaeologist, Xu responds to this genre by creating a “manual” or “treatise” accounting her own research into sericulture, conducted through her installation art series The Silkworm Project. Her artist book seeks to illuminate both the conflicts of the cultural and historical context in which her series sits, as well as a speculative future of sericulture and the alien-like alternative perspective of the silkworm. This symposium’s artistic inquiry into agricultural treatises, especially through art created in collaboration with silkworms, facilitates discussion about the various approaches toward the design, compilation, and construction of treatises and artist books across various regional contexts. Agricultural treatises serve various purposes: to signify expertise, to communicate know-how, to record experiential outcomes, to instruct by illustration and text. While they similarly provide some instruction, artist books showcase artistic sophistication, processes, and reflections. Artist books materialize not only the artist’s aesthetic relation to the topic, but connect the artwork to a series of traditions – bibliophile, technical and material traditions. The artist book is an ideal autonomous genre for creating a ‘mobile sculpture’ of the artist’s inner mind while connecting to existing forms of engagement. Participants will interrogate how well the formats of the agricultural treatise or artist book actually work as technologies of communicating instruction, and how these treatises are deliberately imperfect and thereby serve to hinder the actual fidelity of transmitted knowledge. We anticipate that this discussion will provide a space for reflecting upon the two-dimensional artist book as a means to convey practice, art, and knowledge today. The format will consist of the artist’s talk in the morning, followed by a roundtable discussion among invited participants who will collectively discuss the historical genre of instructive manuals, treatises, guides, and prospectuses, in art, science, and technology. MPIWG Lisa Onaga admin@example.com Europe/Berlin public
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News Stories (menu position rule)
Mentorship Program Improves Access to Emergency Obstetric Care
Rejoice Phiri
Midwife Chirford Semu stands in the labor and delivery room at Bowe Health Center, in Dowa district, Malawi.Photo credit: Rejoice Phiri/MSH
Chirford Semu knows that time is of the essence when complications arise during labor and delivery.
He is a midwife at Bowe Health Center in Dowa district, one of the most remote areas in Malawi. This single health center serves an estimated 42,445 people. Of these, 9,762 are women of childbearing age, and there are approximately 2,100 expected births per year in the district.
Women who develop birth complications at this facility have to travel 96 kilometers on unpaved roads to reach Dowa District Hospital, the district’s referral facility.
Despite being designated as a Basic Emergency Obstetric Newborn Care (BEmONC) facility, Bowe does not have an ambulance to use during an emergency and must rely on a midwife’s personal vehicle or public transport to make a referral to a higher level facility. As a result, Semu and other clinic staff often feel reluctant to perform certain procedures, including assisted vaginal deliveries that require vacuum extraction, for fear of added complexity if the procedure fails.
An obstetric care mentorship program, implemented by the District Health Office with support from the USAID-funded Organized Network of Services for Everyone’s Health (ONSE) Activity, aims to give staff the tools and skills to ensure quality care for all women during labor and delivery. Specifically, ONSE is helping district-based mentors in 11 districts to support obstetric care providers, such as Semu, to better manage obstetric and newborn complications. With ONSE support, mentors visit these health facilities at least every quarter to demonstrate best clinical practices and to coach providers. Thanks to the mentorship he received and the provision of user-friendly vacuum extractors, Semu is providing better quality care for women during labor and delivery. “Mentorship has really helped me. I am now confident; I am able to screen patients for complications, and I know how to use a vacuum extractor. I have not had failed during an extraction,” he explained.
As a result of the mentorship program, staff at Bowe Health Center are now better managing complications during delivery, performing up to five cases of vacuum extraction per month.
“I saved a life of a mother with eclampsia because I used the protocols which ONSE supplied for managing obstetric complications,” Semu recalls proudly. “I have seen the woman and her baby at our family planning clinic, and they are both doing well.” As confidence in the facility’s maternal and newborn care services improve, facility-based deliveries have also increased from 28 to 72 between September 2018 and January 2019. Better quality care at Bowe Health Center means that women can access the life-saving health services closer to home without traveling to the referral hospital, a huge benefit to mothers and families in this community.
Please direct all press inquiries to Jordan Coriza at jcoriza@msh.org or by phone, 617.250.9107.
Organized Network of Services for Everyone's Health Activity
Related to Mentorship Program Improves Access to Emergency Obstetric Care
Pharmaceutical regulators and academia come together in Accra to validate the Regional Centres of Regulatory Excellence’s new M&E tool
MSH’s CEO Will Help Advise WHO on Vaccine Development
Ethiopia Celebrates Impressive Gains in the Fight against TB
From Hot Spots to Holy Places: Group Sales of Health Products Contribute to Women’s Empowerment and Better Health in Mali
The purpose of MTaPS: Releasing 13 brief publications on the program’s objectives and expected outcomes
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MSY Calendar
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Promotion and Retention Criteria (2018-2019)
Junior Secondary Grammar Program (F1-F3)
Section I: Assessment Criteria (academic)
1. Full mark is 100 and the passing mark is 60 %.
2. There are 3 terms within an academic year where the first two terms weigh 30% each and the third term weighs 40%.
3. Marking scheme is as follows: Formative assessment 60% + Summative assessment 40 %.
4. The over-all performance mark is calculated by getting the average of all the marks in all the subjects taken. However, these subjects do not include non-academic subject such as PE, Music and Visual Education
5. Marking scheme for graduates of F3 is as follows: Graduation Exam mark is 40% whereas the 60% is obtainable from the first and second term marks and the third term formative assessment mark.
Note: Students who incurred more than 40 periods of absences in a term will not be allowed to take the term examination.
Section II: Promotion Criteria
1. Conditions for promotion:
1.1. Students must obtain a passing percentage (60%) in each subject in order to graduate or be promoted to the next year level. Otherwise a student will have to take make-up exam.
1.2. Students can be promoted by passing all subjects.
1.3. A student who failed in 5 subjects or more will be retained.
1.4. A student failing to sit for the make-up examination without prior notification to the school and without proofs in order to fulfil the previous criteria shall be retained.
2. Conditions for Make-up examination.
2.1. Student who failed in 4 subjects or less will be allowed to take make-up exam.
2.2. The minimum mark in the failing subject(s) must be at least 40% in order to qualify for the make-up examination.
2.3. There is only ONE make-up examination allowed and must be taken during the allotted time before the graduation day.
Note: For the make-up exam, student will only receive a passing mark of 60 even if his/her actual mark exceeds 60.
Senior Secondary Grammar Program (F4A and F5A)
4. The over-all performance mark is calculated by getting the average of all the marks in all the subjects taken. However, these subjects do not include non-academic subject such as PE, Music and Visual Education.
Senior Secondary Grammar Program (F6A)
4. The over-all performance mark is calculated by getting the average of all the marks in all the subjects taken. However, these subjects do not include non-academic subject such as PE and Music.
5. Marking scheme for graduates of F6A is as follows: Graduation Exam mark is 40% whereas the 60% is obtainable from the first and second term marks and the third term formative assessment mark.
Section III: Special Consideration for F6A Graduating Student
After taking the make-up, if the student fails, the school may allow another make-up examination provided that approval of the school administration is secured and student fulfills the following conditions:
1. Letter of acceptance by university (copy of the letter must be submitted)
2. The overall conduct grade for the whole year is above a C grade.
3. Request letter from the parents.
1. Make-up examination must be taken during the allotted time before the graduation day.
2. The school reserves the right to make the final decision if there is any disagreement.
Senior Secondary: Vocational Program (F4-F6)
2. There are 3 terms within an academic year where the first two terms weigh 30% each and the third term weighs 40%. Students who incurred more than 35 periods of absences in a term will not be allowed to take the term examination.
4. The over-all performance mark is calculated by getting the average of all the marks in all the subjects taken
Section II: Promotion Criteria for (F4 & F5)
1.1. A pass in the average grade for each of the following specified learning areas: The Socio- Cultural Development and the Technical and Practical Development are necessary to be promoted. Otherwise a student will have to take make-up exam.
1.2. Student can be promoted by obtaining passing average grades in the two learning areas mentioned in 1.1 after the make-up examination. Otherwise, the student will be retained.
2.1. When the average of Socio-cultural development is below 60%, and the failing subject(s) grade is not lower than 40%, the student has to sit for the make-up examination of related failing subject(s) in this domain.
2.2. When the average of Technical and Practical development is below 60%, and the failing subject(s) grade is not lower than 40%, the student has to sit for the make-up examination of related failing subject(s) in this domain.
2.3. When the average of Socio-cultural development/Technical and Practical development is below 60%, and the failing subject(s) grade is lower than 40%, the student is not qualified to sit for the make-up examination of related failing subject(s) in the domain.
2.4. There is only ONE make-up examination allowed and must be taken during the allotted time before the graduation day
Section III: Criteria for F6B, F6C & F6D graduates
1.1. The final graduation assessment:
Socio-cultural development/Technical and Practical development subjects:
Marking scheme is as follows: Full mark 100% = Formative assessment 60% + Summative assessment 40 %.
Specialty Practice: 100% as full mark while 60% as passing grade
Specialty Competency: 100% as full mark while 60% as passing grade
Initial assessment = (Socio-cultural development + Technical and Practical development + Specialty Practice) ÷ 3
Final graduation assessment = (initial assessment + Specialty Competency) ÷ 2
1.2. Students will be promoted by obtaining a passing over-all average grade taking into account all the components mentioned in 1.1 before or after the make-up examination. Otherwise, the student will be retained.
1.3. A student fails to sit for the make-up examination without prior notification to the school and without proofs in order to fulfil the previous criteria shall be retained.
2.1. When student fails to pass, he/she needs to participate in the make-up examination provided that the particular subject’s failing grade is not lower than 40%.
2.2. After the make-up examination, a student must attain an over-all average grade of at least 60% in order to graduate.
Section IV: Section III: Special Consideration for F6B, F6C & F6D Graduating Student
1. For the make-up exam, student will only receive a passing mark of 60 even if his/her actual mark exceeds 60.
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Consensus Study Report: Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.
National Research Council; Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences; Board on Army Science and Technology; Committee on Network Science for Future Army Applications
The U.S. Army depends on a broad array of interacting physical, informational, cognitive, and social networks. Nevertheless, fundamental understanding about these networks is primitive. This gap between what is known and what is needed to ensure the smooth operation of complex networks makes the Army’s transformation to a force capable of network-centric operations (NCO) problematic. To help address this problem, the Army asked the National Research Council to find out whether identifying and funding “network science” research could help close this gap. This book presents an assessment of the importance and content of network science as it exists today. The book also provides an analysis of how the Army might advance the transformation to NCO operations by supporting fundamental research on networks. The study finds that networks are indispensable to the defense of the United States. In addition, there is no science today that offers the fundamental knowledge necessary to design large, complex networks in a predictable manner. The study also concluded that current federal funding of network research is focused on specific applications and not on advancing fundamental knowledge.
Computers and Information Technology — Internet and Networking
Conflict and Security Issues — Weapons and Technology
National Research Council. 2005. Network Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/11516.
Import this citation to:
124 pages | 8.5 x 11
ISBNs:
Paperback: 978-0-309-10026-7
Ebook: 978-0-309-13364-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/11516
Search Inside This Book
skim chapter
Front Matter i-xvi
Executive Summary 1-6
1 Introduction 7-10
2 Networks and Network Research in the 21st Century 11-18
3 Networks and the Military 19-25
4 The Definition and Promise of Network Science 26-29
5 The Content of Network Science 30-32
6 Status and Challenges of Network Science 33-38
7 Creating Value from Network Science: Scope of the Opportunity 39-45
8 Conclusions and Recommendations 46-52
Appendix A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members 53-57
Appendix B Committee Meetings and Other Activities 58-59
Appendix C Content of Network Science Courses 60-64
Appendix D Questionnaire Data 65-92
Appendix E Opportunities for Creating Value from Network Science 93-106
Appendix F Recommended Reading List 107-108
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Four people were taken to hospital after a crash involving a military vehicle and a sedan near Trangie on Friday. About 2pm on Friday, emergency services were called to a head-on collision between a Hyundai SUV and a 4WD army vehicle towing a trailer on the Mitchell Highway east of Trangie. Police attached to Orana Mid-Western Police District allege the sedan crossed to the opposite side of the road before colliding with the 4WD. The 4WD containing six occupants has rolled several times as a result. The male and female occupants of the SUV were treated on scene for suspected internal injuries and were taken to Dubbo Hospital. Two passengers in the 4WD sustained minor injuries and were taken to Dubbo Hospital. NSW Fire & Rescue HAZMAT attended the scene to contain spill from a vehicle. READ ALSO:
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/M8KGrediVikQYZqsQGkgs8/5e55d02c-a5bf-4a4d-b3d4-2b95e7a98883.jpeg/r138_0_1699_882_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
July 7 2019 - 8:26PM
Emergency services called to head on collision near Trangie
Four people were taken to hospital after a crash involving a military vehicle and a sedan near Trangie on Friday.
About 2pm on Friday, emergency services were called to a head-on collision between a Hyundai SUV and a 4WD army vehicle towing a trailer on the Mitchell Highway east of Trangie.
Police attached to Orana Mid-Western Police District allege the sedan crossed to the opposite side of the road before colliding with the 4WD.
The 4WD containing six occupants has rolled several times as a result.
The male and female occupants of the SUV were treated on scene for suspected internal injuries and were taken to Dubbo Hospital.
Two passengers in the 4WD sustained minor injuries and were taken to Dubbo Hospital.
NSW Fire & Rescue HAZMAT attended the scene to contain spill from a vehicle.
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Chauffuer
ZH 简体中文
Pick-up Location Select a Location Bangkok - Donmuang AirportBangkok - Donmuang OfficeBangkok - Srinakarin OfficeBangkok - Suvarnabhumi AirportChiangmai AirportChiangrai AirportHat Yai AirportKrabi AirportPattaya DowntownPhuket AirportPhuket PatongSamui AirportSamui OfficeU-Tapao AirportUdon Thani Airport
Pick up Time 00:0000:1500:3000:4501:0001:1501:3001:4502:0002:1502:3002:4503:0003:1503:3003:4504:0004:1504:3004:4505:0005:1505:3005:4506:0006:1506:3006:4507:0007:1507:3007:4508:0008:1508:3008:4509:0009:1509:3009:4510:0010:1510:3010:4511:0011:1511:3011:4512:0012:1512:3012:4513:0013:1513:3013:4514:0014:1514:3014:4515:0015:1515:3015:4516:0016:1516:3016:4517:0017:1517:3017:4518:0018:1518:3018:4519:0019:1519:3019:4520:0020:1520:3020:4521:0021:1521:3021:4522:0022:1522:3022:4523:0023:1523:3023:45
Drop off Time 00:0000:1500:3000:4501:0001:1501:3001:4502:0002:1502:3002:4503:0003:1503:3003:4504:0004:1504:3004:4505:0005:1505:3005:4506:0006:1506:3006:4507:0007:1507:3007:4508:0008:1508:3008:4509:0009:1509:3009:4510:0010:1510:3010:4511:0011:1511:3011:4512:0012:1512:3012:4513:0013:1513:3013:4514:0014:1514:3014:4515:0015:1515:3015:4516:0016:1516:3016:4517:0017:1517:3017:4518:0018:1518:3018:4519:0019:1519:3019:4520:0020:1520:3020:4521:0021:1521:3021:4522:0022:1522:3022:4523:0023:1523:3023:45
Return vehicle to a different location
Same as Pickup Bangkok - Donmuang AirportBangkok - Donmuang OfficeBangkok - Srinakarin OfficeBangkok - Suvarnabhumi AirportChiangmai AirportChiangrai AirportHat Yai AirportKrabi AirportPattaya DowntownPhuket AirportPhuket PatongSamui AirportSamui OfficeU-Tapao AirportUdon Thani Airport
Renter Age 20+
Phuket Airport
Phuket Airport Level 1, Terminal 1, 22/1 Moo 6 Maikhaw, Talang Phuket
National Thailand Car Rental > Locations > Phuket Airport
HKT Airport
Phuket Airport Level 1, Terminal 1, 22/1 Moo 6 Maikhaw, Talang Phuket ,
Talang ,
Thailand 83110
Phuket Car Rental
Visitors to the serene coastal province of Phuket can find the most affordable car rental options by looking to National Car Thailand at Phuket Airport.
Phuket glory is its magnificent coastline and often referred to as the Pearl of the Andaman. They formerly derived its wealth from tin and rubber, and has a rich and colourful history. The island was on one of the major trading routes between India and China. Blessed with nature and the smiling hospitality of its people, Phuket is today one of the world’s premier tropical resorts. Palm-fringed beaches, an island-studded sea, superb accommodation, delicious seafood, numerous sporting and leisure opportunities from sea kayaking, scuba diving, fishing to yachting. These are just a few of what makes it a truly memorable trip. The region’s most popular islands and beaches, including Hat Mai Khao, Hat Rawai, Hat Patong Ko Racha Yai, Ko Nakha.
Location and Geography
Phuket borders the Andaman Sea and is located 867 kilometers south of Bangkok. Phuket Island is the largest island in Thailand which covers an area of 576 square kilometers. The island also has another 32 smaller islands off its coast. The physical geography is mostly mountainous but is dotted with highlands and plains. The city is also comprised of smaller islands which include Ko Lone, Ko Maprao, Ko Naka Yai, Ko Racha Noi, Ko Racha Yai. The Similan Islands lie to the northwest and the Phi Phi Islands to the southeast.
The natural attractions include white sandy beaches, crystal clear water, thriving coral reefs, caves and waterfalls, as well as several small uninhabited islands. The distinguishing feature is the massive limestone karsts at Phang Nga Bay (James Bond Island).
Most activities to be enjoyed in Phuket province take place outdoors. Visitors particularly travel from around the world to scuba dive in the waters of the Andaman Sea. There is much to explore and enjoy in this paradise. Some favorites include:
Old Phuket Town
Bangla Road Nightlife
Wat Chalong and Phuket Temples
Simon Cabaret Show
Phuket FantaSea Show
Phuket Viewpoints
Thai Boxing (Muay Thai)
Phuket International Airport (HKT) is located in the north of Phuket, 32 kms from the centre of town. Thai Airways, Bangkok Airway, Thai Air Asia, Nok Air and Thai Lion Air operate daily direct flights from Bangkok. Emirates, Ethihad and Qatar Airways flies direct to and from Middle East. SilkAir and Jetstar Asia Airways to and from Singapore, and Malaysia Airlines flies direct to and from Kuala Lumpur. The airport has two passenger terminals. Terminal 1 is used for international flights and Terminal 2 for domestic flights. Both terminal consists of arrival and departure lounges, VIP rooms, shops, restaurants, and information office. Numerous transport options are available from the airport to anywhere in the province. It should be noted, however, that unauthorized taxis and public transportation are not allowed within the airport grounds. This limits arriving passengers to renting cars, pre-arranging a pickup, or using an authorized airport transport service.
Car Rental Phuket at the Airport
We operates within the airport facility on both domestic and international terminal. Our agency offers competitive rates and a variety of vehicles to choose from. Guests to Phuket can reserve their car ahead of time or visit our counter upon arrival. Take advantage of our stellar customer service and high quality cars. We also offers special promotions throughout the year.
Vehicle Collection/Return Instructions
Domestic Terminal:
As the airport domestic terminal is currently under renovation our car hire counter has been relocated in front of the terminal. To collect your vehicle, please proceed to the National counter located in front of Gate no.2 at domestic terminal. Here our friendly staff will complete your rental agreement and vehicle pick up process.
To return your vehicle, please contact our counter before arriving and drop of the vehicle at the pick up/drop off outside domestic terminal. Our friendly staff will be waiting to complete the check in process.
International Terminal:
To collect your vehicle, please proceed to the National counter located on the ground floor inside the arrival hall. Here our friendly staff will complete your rental agreement, the pick up process will be done at pick up/drop off area at gate 4 of the international terminal.
After-Hours Return:
Drop box is available at National Car Thailand counters.
Learn more about our options or book your vehicle from National Car Rent Phuket Airport today.
เช่ารถกับ National Car Rental เที่ยวทั่วไทย May 6, 2018
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Freeserve connects using LANmark
Paris, April 22, 2003 - Freeserve, the UK's No.1 internet portal and access provider, has recently completed the installation of a Nexans LANmark structured cabling system in it's new Technical Headquarters in Leeds. The installation was completed by The Telephone Company(TTC), a Nexans Certified System Installer (CSI).
Freeserve is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wanadoo, a leading European online media and services company with France Telecom as it's largest shareholder. It has become the UK's leading access provider and distributes access CD's and PC's preloaded with access software via a chain of over 1100 retail stores owned by the Dixons Group including Dixons, Currys, PC World and The Link.
The new Leeds Technical HQ has brought together several satellite offices which had grown at various locations around Leeds into a single centralised site.
The new premises are housed in an 18th Century listed malthouse formerly owned by Tetley's Brewery. The building has undergone complete refurbishment and the construction and layout presented several problematic issues for the TTC. In addition to the special restrictions imposed by listed status, the physical layout demanded the use of ultra low profile flooring which provided very little space for standard floor box terminations. However, TTC were able to solve the problem using angled snap-in modules from Nexans housed in low profile floor boxes made especially for the project.
Freeserve's Network Manager commented, "the building construction clearly presented some unusual problems but the installation has been completed in a very professional manner and we are confident that we have an infrastructure with the performance and reliability to meet our needs for the foreseeable future"
Freeserve connects using LANmarkFreeserve connects using LANmark(41.4kb)
Freeserve verbindt via LANmarkFreeserve verbindt via LANmark(42.5kb)
Nicolas ARCILLA-BORRAZ Communication Department
nicolas.arcillaborraz@nexans.com
Nexans is the worldwide leader in the cable industry. The Group brings an extensive range of advanced copper and optical fiber cable solutions to the infrastructure, industry and building markets. Nexans cables and cabling systems can be found in every area of people's lives, from telecommunications and energy networks, to aeronautics, aerospace, automobile, railways, building, petrochemical, medical applications, etc. The program is completed by superconducting materials and components, cryoflex transfer systems and special machinery for the cable industry. With an industrial presence in 28 countries and commercial activities in 65 countries, Nexans employs 17,150 people and had sales in 2002 of euros 4.3 billion. Nexans is listed on the Paris stock exchange. More information on http://www.nexans.com
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Magazine Destination Guide
Contributor Log In
All Outdoor Activities
Slackpacking
Rafting & Kayaking
Province & Region
Cape Town & Surrounds
Cape West Coast
Central Karoo
Amathole & Frontier
Friendly N6
Karoo Heartland
Wild Coast
Diamond Fields
Green Kalahari
Namaqualand
Durban & Surrounds
Elephant Coast
Midlands & Kamberg
uKhahlamba Drakensberg
Zululand & the Battlefields
Heartland & Highlands
Panorama & Lowveld
Sekhukhune
Vhembe
Waterberg
Bojanala
Mompati
Lejweleputswa
Motheo & Xhariep
Northern Free State
Thabo Mofutsanyana
Northern Gauteng
Southern Gauteng
West Rand
Tourist Towns
Lazy Lizard
In Prince Albert
Die Hel (Gamkaskloof)
70km from Prince Albert
The Showroom Theatre
Historical Attractions in Matjiesfontein
In Matjiesfontein
The Central Karoo falls within the Western Cape Province and embraces the south-western region of the vast and semi-arid Great Karoo. In keeping with the typical character of the Karoo the area is sparsely populated, with just a few towns scattered across the plains amongst large sheep and game farms.
Beaufort West is the main town of the region, with the nearby Karoo National Park being a big visitor draw card to the area. The region is home to two popular villages - Matjiesfontein, alongside the N1, and Prince Albert, tucked snugly at the base of the Swartberg Mountains.
In the north of the region the landscape has a prehistoric appearance, with conical hills and flat-topped ridges peppering the encircling horizon. A slight surge of the imagination could spark images of smoke and ash and oozing lava, with dinosaurs stomping along the valleys and gorges - a scene, perhaps, from the region eons ago.
Further south the countryside loses altitude rapidly, tumbling more than 1 000m down the slopes of the rugged Nuweveld Mountains. It then levels out onto a vast plain that sweeps towards its southern boundary at the Swartberg Mountains, over 100km away.
Many travellers only pass through the region along the thin line of the N1. The Nuweveld Mountains north of Beaufort West may look interesting, but the plains to the south are more or less featureless. However, this perception should be tempered by the fact that the area contains more species of flora than the entire United Kingdom.
As with much of the Karoo, one has to get out on foot and explore to discover its true appeal. The region has a good choice of guest farms offering a range of Karoo experiences. Beaufort West, the northern ‘gateway’ to the Western Cape, is a busy town and one where many travellers stop in to refuel and have a bite to eat. Recently it has seen an increase in the number and quality of its guesthouses as tourism in South Africa’s platteland catches on.
The Central Karoo is more suited to the explorer than the tourist - to those who enjoy seeking the less obvious joys and novelties, and who enjoy the experience of the journey as much as the destination.
The Karoo National Park- On the outskirts of Beaufort West this 88 000ha park conserves the habitats and wildlife typical of the plains and mountains of the semi-arid Karoo. It is ostensibly a scenic park but there are a number of creatures to look out for during a game drive. Plains game includes gemsbok, springbok, red hartebeest and plains zebra in the low-lying areas, while klipspringer and Cape mountain zebra can be seen in the mountains. Top species to spot are the desert black rhino and the recently introduced pride of lions. For birdwatchers the list of around 200 species is quite impressive for the region. The road network has been upgraded to allow access to some of the mountains as well as the plains, and for the adventurous there are two easy 4x4 trails heading into the western reaches of the park. Day visitors are welcome. Accommodation is in chalets and caravan and camping sites.
Matjiesfontein - On the N1, 240km from Cape Town, there is a unique Victorian village which has changed little since its establishment in the late 19th century. The Lord Milner Hotel and other buildings seem to send one into a time warp. For those who enjoy antiques and Victoriana, the Marie Rawdon Museum is fascinating.
Prince Albert - This charming Karoo village at the base of the Swartberg Mountains has a large following of avid fans. It is situated on the R407, 45km south of the N1.
Meiringspoort - This scenically spectacular road is situated on the N12 as it meanders through the Swartberg Mountains. Once in the poort (narrow pass between precipitous mountains), the serpentine road winds around sheer cliffs of orange rock and across the mostly serene waters of the Groot Rivier (Great River), which it crosses 25 times. It falls within the Swartberg Nature Reserve and there are numerous well-maintained picnic sites along the way, some with braai facilities. It is easy to spend half a day exploring the pass. Make a point of stopping at Waterfall Drift picnic site and taking the short stairway to view the waterfall with its 60m drop.
The Swartberg Pass - This sinuous gravel road climbs and dips between Prince Albert and Matjiesrivier valley near the Cango Caves in the Klein Karoo. It is widely regarded as one of the most spectacular mountain roads in the world.
Attractions in the Central Karoo
- Any -Rock ArtAnimals & BirdsNatural AttractionArt & CraftEntertainmentFood & WineShoppingHistory & CultureMuseumsPlaces of Worship
African Relish CottagesAccommodation
De Bergkant LodgeAccommodation
Die Hel (Gamkaskloof)Natural Attraction
Die Herehuis GuesthouseAccommodation
Historical Attractions in MatjiesfonteinHistory & Culture
Ko-Ka Tsara BushcampAccommodation
Lazy LizardShopping
Lemoenfontein Game LodgeAccommodation
Mai's Guest LodgeAccommodation
Onse RusAccommodation
The Showroom TheatreEntertainment
View all Attractions in the Western Cape
Articles in Central Karoo
It’s a mission to reach Die Hel, but the rewards are rich. The quaint cottages especially will touch your soul...
Chevrolet Captiva in the Karoo
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Karoo Back Roads
On a three-night breakaway to Karoo National Park, you’ll be able to explore its furthest reaches. Game is plentiful, birding is rewarding, but it’s the vastness...
Natural Thrills
A family escape to Anysberg in the Little Karoo is a chance to reconnect with nature and each other...
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Luigi’s Mansion 3 Release Date Delivers A Spooky Treat For Halloween
Tomorrow Corporation Adds Three Games To Nintendo Switch Launch Lineup
Tomorrow Corporation has announced that three of their multi-award winning games have joined the Nintendo Switch launch lineup.
World of Goo, Little Inferno and Human Resource Machine will all be available to buy on March 3rd, and, for the first time ever, they will come bundled with their complete original soundtracks.
Players will be able to listen to music penned by Kyle Gabler in a special Soundtrack Mode, which is only available in the Nintendo Switch version.
“We here at Tomorrow Corporation are some of Nintendo’s biggest fans, so we’re excited to be part of this new adventure alongside players at home, on the road, on the train, on the roof, or wherever it is kids go these days!” the developer shared.
World of Goo, Little Inferno and Human Resource Machine will be available on Nintendo Switch on March 3rd.
Related TopicsNintendo SwitchTomorrow Corporation
Nintendo has announced that Luigi’s Mansion 3 will release for Nintendo Switch just in...
Nintendo Switch Pre-Orders Outpace PS4 Launch In Sweden
First Pokémon Bank Update Details Emerge
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Forex – Brokers
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Standard Chartered Bank fined for poor AML controls
25 Apr 2019 by OneStopBrokers
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Standard Chartered Bank (Standard Chartered) £102,163,200 for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) breaches in two higher risk areas of its business. This is the second largest financial penalty for AML controls failings ever imposed by the FCA.
The announcement follows FCA investigations into two areas of Standard Chartered’s business identified by the bank as higher risk: its UK Wholesale Bank Correspondent Banking business and its branches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The FCA found serious and sustained shortcomings in Standard Chartered’s AML controls relating to customer due diligence and ongoing monitoring. Standard Chartered failed to establish and maintain risk-sensitive policies and procedures, and failed to ensure its UAE branches applied UK equivalent AML and counter-terrorist financing controls.
Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLRs), Standard Chartered was required to establish and maintain appropriate and risk sensitive policies and procedures to reduce the risk it may be used to launder the proceeds of crime, evade financial sanctions or finance terrorism. The MLRs also imposed a duty on Standard Chartered to require its global (non-EEA) branches and subsidiaries to apply policies and procedures in relation to due diligence and ongoing monitoring that are equivalent to those required of Standard Chartered in the UK.
The FCA found significant shortcomings in Standard Chartered’s own internal assessments of the adequacy of its AML controls, its approach towards identifying and mitigating material money laundering risks and its escalation of money laundering risks. These failings exposed Standard Chartered to the risk of breaching sanctions and increased the risk of Standard Chartered receiving and/or laundering the proceeds of crime. Examples include:
opening an account with 3 million UAE Dirham in cash in a suitcase (just over £500,000) with little evidence that the origin of the funds had been investigated;
failing to collect sufficient information on a customer exporting a commercial product which could, potentially, have a military application. This product was exported to over 75 countries, including two jurisdictions where armed conflict was taking place or was likely to be taking place; and
not reviewing due diligence on a customer despite repeated red flags such as a blocked transaction from another bank indicating a link to a sanctioned entity.
Standard Chartered’s failings occurred in its UK Correspondent Banking business during the period from November 2010 to July 2013 and in its UAE branches during the period from November 2009 to December 2014.
Today, US authorities have also taken action against the Standard Chartered group for significant violations of US sanctions laws and regulations.
Mark Steward, Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, said:
‘Standard Chartered’s oversight of its financial crime controls was narrow, slow and reactive. These breaches are especially serious because they occurred against a backdrop of heightened awareness within the broader, global community, as well as within the bank, and after receiving specific attention from the FCA, US agencies and other global bodies about these risks.
‘Standard Chartered is working to improve its AML controls to ensure all issues are fully addressed on a global basis. The FCA has taken into account Standard Chartered’s remediation work and its cooperation in assisting the FCA investigation, without which today’s financial penalty would have been even higher.’
The FCA has worked alongside a number of authorities during this investigation. Acknowledging the international co-operation in this case Mark Steward said:
‘The FCA has worked closely and extensively with a number of UK and overseas agencies including the US Department of Justice, New York County District Attorney, US Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, New York State Department of Financial Services and US Office of Foreign Assets Control. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the UAE Central Bank whose commitment has demonstrated the fight against money laundering is a truly global one, as it needs to be.’
Standard Chartered did not dispute the FCA’s findings and exercised its right, under the FCA’s partly contested case process, to ask the FCA’s Regulatory Decisions Committee to assess the appropriate level of sanction. Standard Chartered’s agreement to accept the FCA’s findings meant it qualified for a 30% discount. Otherwise, the FCA would have imposed a financial penalty of £145,947,500.
Source: FCA
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Feb 15 2010 February 15, 2010 February 15, 2010 17Comments by Administrator
Chief Monk of Malwaththe and few of those towing his line will never be respected by a majority of the Singhalese
Lankaweb – Nimal R Melbourne Australia
Chief monk of Malwaththe chapter Thibbotuwave Sri Sumangala did not utter a word against retired General Sarath Fonseka’s recent statement to the BBC Sinhala Service stating that he was willing to give evidence as a witness at a War Crime Tribunal and he will not defend any one who committed war crimes and would definitely expose all those who have done so. However this chief priest along with few others is now making a huge noise after the arrest of retired General Sarath Fonseka. Isn’t this ludicrous?
As many citizens in Sri Lanka are aware, chief priest Thibbotuwave Sri Sumangala has always been a good supporter of Ranil Wickramasinghe and has never supported any activities in the past to counter separatist LTTE activities or helped the poor Singhalese in the East who used to suffer from atrocities of the LTTE. However after seeing the strong wave of support for the President Mahinda Rajapakse upon defeat of the LTTE in last May’09, he made a statement that Hon Mahinda Rajapakse should rule the country for the rest of his life.
I would like to ask Ven Thibbotuwave Sumangala and few of his colleagues whether a President and his government should act like deaf and dumb when some one who has commanded the armed forces of the country openly makes treacherous statements against the great soldiers who sacrificed their lives and limbs to protect their motherland. Do these monks love their political parties or individuals than their motherland? If so, ordinary laymen who voted the President during the last election are much more superior in their qualities than these monks.
Many Sri Lankans are aware that although these leading monks of the Malwaththe chapter are rich and doing business (Maiwaththe Chief Monk owns a leasing car business too and many who visit Sri Lanka lease cars through him), they have never supported the national cause financially.
When great monks of the Jathika Hela Urumaya were in the forefront with President Mahinda Rajapakse to defeat the LTTE, I doubt whether they at least supported them by words.
People in Sri Lanka who have given a clear mandate to President to Mr Mahinda Rajapakse at the last general election should send a strong a message to this chief monk and the others who tow his line that in this 21^st century, Singhalese people in Sri Lankan cannot be deceived by a few just because they don the yellow robe. As lord Buddha has preached one can be superior only by their actions but not their positions.
17 Responses to Chief Monk of Malwaththe and few of those towing his line will never be respected by a majority of the Singhalese
Shantha Fernando says:
sameera weerakkody says:
Even for Lord Buddha they wiil say same thing
Nick Dias says:
It is unfortunately corrupt monks like these who bring Buddhism a bad name. How can they preach Lord Buddha’s holy dhama to be detached from all desire to attain Nirvana when they of all the people practise the opposite. These corrupt monks kow-tow to corrupt powerful politicians to gain wealth and influence for themselves in return for their support to the corrupt politicians. They are bad role models for the young and old. The laity are easily misled by their bad example. As a result of a few rotten eggs the whole lot is judged as rotten. This is the way of the world and it will need another Lord Buddha to change the world.
IT IS SO SAD LEADERS IN MONKS ACTING POLITICS GAMBLE WITH THE COUNTRY. I AM NOT LIVING IN SRI LANKA BUT BORN IN SRI LANKEN BUDDIST FAMILY. I ALWAYS THINKING MY COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. TIME TO CHANGE LEDEARS IN MONKS. PEOPLE SHOULD THINK ABOUT THE COUNTRY NOT THE BUDDIST LEADERS.
Neth says:
I’m not surprised to hear all these things from the Sri Lankans.. Now they attacking to Mahanayake Thero…Simply because of spilling the truth….I ‘ve been expected this to be happened soon. I’m not a Buddhist person…Anyway they admired the Hela Urumaya Bikku’s action simply because of they are supporting to MR.
I couldn’t understand why the most of people making their comments while wearing political glasses.. It is very clear and evident that the present government is taking a revenge from the SF simply because accusing the government during the presidential election. I’m not agree with some of the statement made by SF, but simply because of this statement (ie. words) we cannot ignore his dedicated task he made during the war. It was an action than words…We cannot ignore that fact..Some of the people twisted their tongues simply because of the dirty politics. It is true for MR, SF and all others. As general public we should have to have a minute observation before commenting something.. That is called the critical analysis
If somebody can answer the following question that would be fine..
(1) Since GR is the defence secretary by law, he is a government servant…Does he able to talk politics according to Sri Lanka Law?
(2) MR son is a Navy officer. Does he able to talk politics while in forces?
(3) Please refer the following link..This is simply enough to indentify the mind setup of monks of JHU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8hu86w6DUo&feature=player_embedded
(4) Who introduces the comic characters like Anarkali , Mervin Silva to SL politics..Mangala is also responsible for that
(5) If MR really wanted to abolish the corruption of the country Why did he introduce Sachin Vass to Sri Lankan politics who was the former chairman of the Mihinair.
(6) Now he tries to introduce actors, sport personal to Sri Lankan politics.. This is the real trajedy we might face in future
(7) What would happen to the country it you spent more than you need to spend. This is what happened to the most of the big projects now..
Suppose you have 10 ruppies on your hand. And you can do a work with 8 ruppies..But If you spend 35 ruppies for the same work who will responsible for 25 ruppies? MR or Ranil or SF or Somawansa? No poor Sri Lankan’s have to pay this money…
(8) How about Karuna amman and Pillayan..Who killed 1000 of civilians and bikkus…So simply because of being a separatist from the LTTE and supporting the government his brutal nature would have been washed out???? If you kill a person you killed it. Simply because of being a separate person you would not be able to wash your hand from this Sin….You have to pay the compensation for that…If president say SL law and order is same for every body why not for Karuna and Pillan…Is there any law in Sri Lanka that if a person made lot of killings and able to get the pardon??????????????? This is true for the lots of ministers as well..Most of the former UNP ministers made lot of corruptions and once they revealed in the cope they MIGRATED to SLFP..Now they are pure characters……
This is the bitter truth behind the politics.
I would never say that UNP or JVP are the best parties.. I strongly agree that MR is the best ever leader we had in Sri lankan politics. As the president of the country, the highest portion of the victory of the war should go to him…No body can argue about it…But the question is whether we support every action of him because of that. The answer is no…Support whatever is good and Reject whatever is wrong!!!!!!! Then this country would be a great place. Anybody think twice before taking an action…As people we should follow up the above theory to make a better country…..Rathey than being Empty vessels who make big noises without knowing the inside stories…..
RESPECT to Religious Leaders…They are more superior than dirty politicians……Do not try to criticise them. If you people do it, it is the end of this country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mohd Nawaz says:
Neth, You are absolutely right and support your thinking…especially your quotes” I strongly agree that MR is the best ever leader…and the Bulk of the Credit goes to this President – support whatever is good and reject whatever is wrong” Hats off to you….
Many have forgotten, why Karuna broke away from the LTTE – and How he had contributed to killing thousands of innocent civilians in the past….
The moment Prabakaran enforced a layer between him and Karuna (by appointing a LTTE Major from Jafna) he felt isolated and realized his wings were broken….He even knew that he didn’t have a future with the LTTE..however,,
The only strong point the LTTE had in the past was their Unity under Prabhakaran…which made them more effective…and ruthless…where as they took advantage of the corrupt politicians, and others in the Capital to work for their own advantages….It was this split we were waiting for decades among the LTTE….
KARUNA’s split was a blessing in disguise…and Lucky we had a President who had guts and determination to finish this war….TODAY THOUGH I DONT SUPPORT ANY PARTY INCLUDING THE RULING PARTY….I SUPPORT THIS PRESIDENT WHATSOEVER FOR GIVING US HOPES ONCE AGAIN….TO LIVE IN PEACE…
I can drive around the City today and go anywhere I want…AND I WILL BLESS THIS ONE PERSON for standing up against all odds to give us a bit of peace….
This one factor for me is enough to give this President another chance to Rule this Country….
NEVERTHELESS, I DONT SUPPORT EVERYTHING THE GOVERNMENT DOES….
ARRESTING SF WAS WRONG…MONKS WERE RIGHT TO PROTEST..
Let us see what development this President brings us in the coming years….
Let us see, wheat incentives he gives to people…
Let us see how he manages to cut taxes enforced on people due to war
Let us see what steps he takes for the development of this Country….
AND LET US SEE……MAY GOD PROTECT MY WONDERFUL COUNTRY…MY MOTHERLAND….
Dutugamunu says:
SF says that he is going to reveal every thing happened in battle field.He says that LTTE carders’ human rights have been violated because Gotabaya ordered to shoot them.When LTTE killed our innocent people,hadn’t they got human rights to line?But LTTE killed most of innocent people.No one was going to report it and LTTE was continuing killing innocent people.But now SF going to stand for LTTE’s human rights.He says many human rights violations had happened in the battle field.According to him killing some LTTE carders by our army is a human right violation.What a joker he is?Is he a hero?
@ Neth,Do you think that it it OK to say by SF that LTTE’S human rights have been violated by shooting them?Do you think that it should be revealed in front of the international?
If SF says he is going to reveal everything to Human Rights Commission, I think he is digging is own grave…if he does that…thats a big mistake….But I doubt he would do that…
Which Country has not violated Human Rights…Can anyone name it..?
The so called powers are the ones who violate by killing innocent civilians (children & Women) by bombing in countries like Afghanistan…Iraq and so on….
Human rights are for Poor Countries….being used by Western Powers as a Blackmailing Tool to Control Poorer Nations for the advantage….
However, I do not wish to undermine Human Rights Commissiions effort in other Countries…and they have genuinely done a good job protecting Civilians…and no one can deny it.
@ Dutugamunu
Have you ever heard any video or interview of Sarath Fonseka which tells that he is going to spill the bean (war crimes)…If so please send me the link…
Next thing is there was a serious allegation to him during presidential election against war crimes (Hope you well aware about it…I think it was based on interview with Daily mirror news paper..If am mistaken please correct)..But in a very public press conference he refused that claim raised by the government.. If a person publicly said that he didnt say it thats it..But for the benefits of election using media, government has given a big publicity for this….
Looking at the recent news articles, am given to understand that the major accusation is not the WAR crimes…Doing Politics while wearing the army suit…Also GR said at least SF should be in the prison for five years..WHo is GR to give such a decison..Is he the person of makes law in this country…So, from all of these incidents it is clear that the reason behind this arrest is not any thing rather political revenge….
If SF had been gone for shopping for the government during its Budget session. when JVP decided to vote against the government, government asked SF to go and talk with JVP and give them a clear deadline for fishing the war..So then the politics is good for him..If he talks with opposition it is wrong…Is this reasonable…..
He had a good opportunity to make a public statement about war crimes when he was in US..But he informed the government that US is going to question about the war…Also he said that until he wear his uniform he will not be talking about politics…
I agree, there were many more incidents going behind the curtain we never knows as Public…
But from all the information sources I have read sofar, I can say the SF has done some mistakes..But this is not the way of handling this…
NOw the latest accusation is that he was planing to kill the president…What a bulshit story is this!!!!! I’m sure no one is beleibving this…
Finally I can say no one is perfect …every one has dirty in their hand more or less…But they exagegerate all these things when they have power to do soo….So the people always look into this forgetting the attention of other corruptions…That is how the things going in Sri Lanka….
What has happened to Sarath N.Silva who helps MR to get into this position
What has happened to Managla and Sripathi
What has happened to prof. Dayan Jayathilake
What has happened to SF????
Finally I have to ask what will happen to our country…..
The answer is country is becoming fully politicized now covering all the sectors…..
Gatu Dumunu says:
Dutugemunu,
SF or anybody else can say what he or she was told by some one else. Also one should not worry about political speeches if they are really not guilty or even guilty. They must not make a big issue out of it but ignore without showing a guilt feeling.
The reason why people are so worried about so called statmenet goes to prove that there is some truth. If so remember Dutugemunu, Sri Lanka Army as a disciplined arm has been corrupted. They should never have done that. If they have done it then it clearly proves that it was an act of a politically bised Army person acting under inexperienced person’s orders. They who have borught disrepute to the Army and the country not SF.
@ Nimal R,
I personally know you! I have no any anger with you..I know that you are doing a dedicated work to SL while staying Australia…It is highly appreciated..But I’m feeling really sad on your article as you sarcastically look at the Mahanayake Thero..Everybody may have their common political view on the current situation of the country..Since you are in Australia, you may not feel the real situation in Sri Lanka right now…
When writing an article, be polite and respect to others..
I’m surprised to hear these things from you as you’ve been lived in Australia for a long time..You know how well the political system is established in Australia..Even the prime minister was fined due to the over speed.. So knowing these facts, why do you look at Sri Lanka in a different vision…These countries are developed because they maintain proper law and order…But in our country we have a jungle law..That’s why people are screaming about the current political situation…
It doesnt matter you agree with the present situation, but do not point finger to Mahanayke theor because they are much much better than Patriotic politicians in our country….You admire about the politics of JHU…Please refer my above link to get to know more about them..I agree that they supported to the government during the war..I’m under impression that they are very racist…Have you ever, experienced these sort of political parties in Australia..Absolutely not…But we can see these kind of racist parties in countries like India, pakistan…And we can see how these countries are proceeding …..
Please identify, every nation should have to have the same right…It should not be confined to words….our leaders are using fake parasitism to grab the vote of Sri Lankans…But I’m not telling that every one is not a fake patriotic person…I mean their personal gains are at the top and patriotism is the second though they show it as it in the top priority…
I never say that Ranil or SF are the best…Truly speaking, if Ranil won the presidential election in 2005, we would not have been able to won this war..Mahinda did it very well…My salute for that…
For me, every leader has a different capabilities..
So again my dear Editor, donot personally attack anyone…Do it in an educated manner..Be crtical when writing an article..Because most of the people reading these articles are not the rural, un eductaed people, but the educated one…
So be bit polite in writing the article…Dont be biased. use the “VIA MEDIA”..Which is the vision of Lord Buddha….
Neth
Nihal says:
Buddhist monks are supposed to do preaching damma to get people out of sinful activities.But unfortunately what most of Sanga including Mahanayak’s are doing is politics and going after politicians.Also, just like politicians they are taking additional privileges from their post and running their own businesses. I too wonder whether how many of these monks could have taken any single peace of cloth for war affected Tamil and Sinhalese .
What they should do at the moment is waiting for the judicial action in the case of Fonseka and avoid taking biased actions. Further, they too, respect to the low and order of the country, should concern harmony of all Buddhist and try to win,maintain, their respect over the entire Sanga.
NIMAL says:
PONSEKA DEN HONDA UPASAKA MATHTHAYEK VELA. ELECTION KALE KOLA VEDDA KANNA KATU DENAWA ADI DEE KEEWA. BAYAVENNA EPA GENARAL JANADIPATHI NUUNATA NORWAY US SALLI WALIN HONDA SEPA GEEVITHAYAK GEVANNA PULUWAN. GREEN CARD THIBENAWANE. ARA JVP HORA HETHTHA THAMAY OBAGE KEERTHI NAMAYA KELESUVE.
@ Nihal,
Mahanayak’s are not doing any politics..A lot of people have been visited to meet them..They have no power to do anything. So what they are doing is to advice ruler’s to be in the correct path…They never credited UNP,JVP or SLFP…This Sanga involvement have been happened as a tradition from the ancient time ..So no harm to have this sort of activity without involving a political party..But seems that the government even does not allow them to hold this sort of a conference….
I think I’m also agree with the government present action towards SF if they followed up the same procedure to Karuna, Pillayan and KP…That is the question raised for the most of unbiased people to the government..Why the government treat to terrorist better than a WAR HERO……The Answer is this is a clear political revenge….
What is the law and order of the country at the moment..Using thugs and attack the unarmed people? Abductions? If you carefully see the country’s present situation MR tries to follow up Premadasa concepts…Let wait and see what will happen next……
@ Nimal
Feel sorry on you as even you dont know how to write the surname of the person whom you are accused…It should be FONSEKA not PONSEKA….before digging into other things please be aware of this 😉
Who are the citizens of US? Basil and GR..General only has the Green card….I’m not going to raise the question about it as GR did a great job during the war time..
True, the dirty politics destroy the reputation of SF all including MR,GR,Rani,Somawana and NOW YOU!!!!!….Whatever SF did we have to respect him as our war hero…It will be not washed out because of any action…..
Nope, Probably you may do not know, the most of the loans are taken from the government not from Libiya or Russia…They are from EU countries and Norway…All of us are owe nearly 75000 rupees /person to these countries..So don’t blame these countries now. Because most of the parts you are eating, wearing and earnings are coming from these countries..you people do not know about it…Feel sorry on that….All most all the presidents, ministers, opposition people’s sons and daughters are having eduction from these countries not from Russia,China, Iran or Libiya…Thats why I said that you people are not mature enough to understand that reality…These people are experiencing the benefits of these countries while showing their parasitism….But truly speaking their personal gains are at top (ie. number 1 and patriotism is number 2…though they show it other way round).
Please respect to people when you are writing..No need to write jungle words..As I said before, lot of educted people reading these articles not the village uneducated people..YOur writing style is not good!!!! follow up ethics,facts,statistics and logic when comment on someone articles.
cv says:
Mahanayake thero has not supported any political party. They can keep silent when democracy of this country in a danger situation and also when opposition supporters ar harressed by the government. They want to have good governace in Sri Lanka. They requested president to release SF because he is war hero who has suppported Mahinda Rajapaksha to win the war.
Don’t blame our Maha Sanga, they always in our history also helped governerce to solve the problem.
I am so much suprise to tell that “If any Sri Lankan supporting to MR they are deshapremin, If any opposition complain or make a statement against MR they are deshadrohi. Very unfortunate situation.
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Do Robots Hint at the Future of the Internet of Things?
Robots might always seem to be a concept that’s way off in the future, or conveyed to us as thrilling ideas we see in the big blockbuster movies, but in 2017, many already exist in our smart homes. Amazon’s ALEXA, and Google Home, which are essentially voice-operated assistants, are early forms of robots, awaiting commands that range from playing specific music, preparing the coffee pot, or finding out the score of the big game. Many of these commands are things we already perform on our own mobile devices. But at CES last week, where the robotics marketplace premiered some of the most advanced and high-tech robots in the world, robots made it very clear that they offer something we can’t quite get from our iPhones, tablets, or voice assistants, and that they are indeed the next step in the evolution of the Internet of Things. In fact, Steve Cousins, a speaker at CES on CNET’s “Robots: Are They Ready to Help” panel, and CEO of Savioke, an autonomous robotics technology company, predicted that twice as many people will interact with robots in 2017 than they did in 2016.
Steve Carlin, vice president of SoftBank Robotics America, said during the panel, “Robotics takes that wall between you and your environment, that cell phone, and gets rid of it.” Carlin explained the progression we’ve seen in technology over the last couple of decades as having gone from desktop to laptop to mobile, and now we see robotics entering the fray as well. “That’s spurred by one of the key consumer trends: The ability to talk to your devices,” he said. We’ve seen it in Siri, as well as the voice search on X1, and it will only become more of a dominant feature in our daily lives as technology catches up to what consumers seek the most: meaningful interactions and conversation. As many of the robots that roamed the showfloor at CES exhibited, people can cut right to the chase and just get to what they want without pulling out their own mobile devices and starting a search of their own — whether it’s a daily chore they want done, locking up the garage door, or checking what the weather will be later that day.
“[Robotics] takes an inanimate object, which is passive, and turns it into a two-way proactive interaction,” elaborated Carlin. Carlin oversees the development of a line of a humanoid robot, called Pepper, designed primarily for commercial businesses but whose abilities to interact with humans could very well one day lead to its place in the home. Right now, the robot is used primarily in SoftBank Mobile stores in Japan where it welcomes customers and answers questions. The goal is for Pepper to help customers in various consumer markets, whether it’s in a store, a car dealership, hotel, or a hospital. Pepper was made to recognize emotions in people and to adapt its behavior accordingly, using gestures and gesticulations.
Harry Kloor, an esteemed scientist in robotics, also spoke on the panel and believes that humanoid robots like Pepper will rapidly develop in the next few years. “It has arms, a face, it’s seeing you. It’s what we as a society want to see, we want to have what we call presence,” said Kloor. The evolution we’ve seen in technology suddenly taking on human-like qualities also has to do with the idea that our world is very unpredictable, added Terry Fong, a director and senior scientist at NASA. Robots can be programmed to better handle this uncertainty through intimate interactions with people. “They’re not made to be something you just turn on or off,” said Fong, like we treat many of the connected-devices we have in the home now. And aside from the idea that robots can make our work and personal lives much more efficient, just as our mobile and home connected-devices have helped us search for answers to just about anything, and to complete daily tasks at a greater speed than ever before, the bigger concept here is that robotics will bring that human touch to help lessen the strain of certain situations or tasks. For example, before an MRI procedure, which can be a stressful experience, Pepper can better explain the procedure to a patient and answer questions than a search on your phone would, or that ALEXA could, simply because of the robot’s presence and ability to detect emotions.
We won’t see fellow Peppers populating our homes quite yet. But look for this trend in our connected devices to continue throughout the year, as innovators in the technology and internet spaces work together to eliminate some of the barriers we experience with technology today — and to bring consumers the greater engagement and personal back and forth conversations they seek with their devices as they go about their daily lives.
This blog also appeared in CTAM Smartbrief. To sign up, click here.
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Police to Use Bloodhounds in Search for Missing Maine Woman
Published Feb 2, 2017 at 9:59 AM | Updated at 9:52 PM EST on Feb 3, 2017
Sanford Police
Kerry Rear
Police in Maine will continue searching for a missing woman who was last seen more than a week ago, and family members are offering a reward for information.
The Portland Press Herald reports that Sanford police say they will use bloodhounds on Thursday to help search for 40-year-old Kerry Rear. Chief Thomas Connolly Jr. says he hopes the bloodhounds will be able to pick up her scent.
The Sanford woman was reported missing on Sunday. Officers and the Maine Warden Service searched wooded areas near Route 4 on Tuesday.
Police say Rear has not been seen or heard from since Jan. 22. She was reportedly last seen at a Sanford convenience store.
Friday, authorities announced that Rear's family had offered a $5,000 cash reward for information leading to her whereabouts.
Copyright Associated Press / NECN
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Google announces Chrome Web Store at I/O dev conference
By Jonathan Downin Neowin @jonathandownin · May 19, 2010 17:28 EDT · Hot! with 17 comments
Google announced at their annual “I/O” dev conference today that they will be launching an app store for both Chrome and Chrome OS: the Chrome Web Store. The store will feature both free and paid apps and a few early prototypes were shown. An interactive version of Sports Illustrated impressed attendees and icons for fan favorites Plants vs. Zombies, Pandora, Lego Star Wars and Bejeweled 2 were seen in slides.
Developers targeting the Chrome Web Store will be able to utilize advanced HTML5 APIs to build robust games and applications. Even 3D-heavy titles such as Lego Star Wars are possible using standard HTML5 code.
While all of the available apps will be using standard web code and APIs, Google has locked-down the marketplace so they will only work in Google Chrome and Chrome OS. It appears that Google has seen the success of Apple’s App Store and is embracing the value of a locked-down, vertically-integrated marketplace. TechCrunch reports that apps will be tethered to your Google account and purchases will probably go through Google Checkout.
With Chrome OS on the horizon, it is a smart move for Google to get the development community involved before its launch. This will allow for an extensive catalog of apps to be available upon release of the new OS, which will be key since it will rely almost solely on web apps for functionality outside of websites.
There is no word on when the Chrome Web Store will go public, but Engadget reports that it will hit the dev channel “soon.” Google also mentions to keep an eye on their developer discussion group and Chromium blog for updates.
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The award-winning Tetris Effect lands on PC next week, exclusive to Epic Games Store
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The lost world of Sand Blue
2014 has been packed full of new elements, yet all we've been doing here on New Elementary is going on about Architecture and The LEGO® Movie sets. Time to redress the balance and one particular category of 2014 elements I was very glad to see on Brickset are the ones in the lovely colour of Sand Blue.
Sand Blue first appeared in 2001 in the Life on Mars theme and the rather terrifying Dinosaurs theme (terrifying not because they were dinosaurs but because of the models with their PooP heads). But the colour fizzled out in 2006, presumably a victim of TLG massively cutting back their element inventory in light of the company’s financial woes. It has only been used for minifig parts since then, with a notable exception in 2011; the Modular set 10218 Pet Shop had four kinds of Sand Blue bricks in impressive quantities (averagely 50 of each). There is another exception from that same year actually; 10223 Kingdoms Joust had 14 1X2 bricks with groove, but that’s it – it’s just been minifig parts – until 2014.
Already, there are 11 non-minifig elements listed in this year’s sets and they appear across three themes, which gives me hope this isn’t just a temporary resurgence for the colour. Sand Blue features in one Maersk set, two Star Wars sets and is the colour of the new Rhino tribe in Legends of Chima.
The behemoth that is 10241 Maersk Line Triple-E is packed with interesting new elements that I'm bound to mention in the coming weeks. Its Sand Blue offering are three very basic and useful 2X4 parts: the brick, the plate and the tile. These are used amongst the massive cargo being carried by the ship; consequently you get good quantities. There are 44 2X4 bricks (Element ID 6052830 | Design ID 3001) which is superb news, as back in 2003-4 this element only came in quantities of one or two in the five sets that it was included in. You get 28 2X4 plates (Element ID 6052827 | Design ID 3020), which came in seven sets from 2002-4 and the best quantity back then was just eight (provided in 4508 Titan XP). As for the 2X4 tile (Element ID 6052832 | Design ID 87079), that’s never been seen in Sand Blue before as the part was only introduced in 2010. This set has 14.
75041 Vulture Droid has just three sloped parts but they’re large, prominent and have never been seen in Sand Blue before. There’s the pair of curved 10X3 wedge bricks so beloved by many spaceship builders (left wedge Element ID 6056667 | Design ID 50955; right wedge Element ID 6056669 | Design ID 50956), of which you get four of each.
There are two of the 6X6 quarter-circle 33⁰ slopes (Element ID 6056672 | Design ID 95188) that first appeared in the Alien Conquest theme in 2011. Admittedly it's not the most useful part but given that regular 33⁰ slopes have been available in Sand Blue since the time of the Dinosaurs, there's potential here - also, there's a 3X3 corner 33⁰ slope available, released in one set (4745 Blue Eagle vs. Snow Crawler) in 2004.
And although they’re not Sand Blue, I can’t resist going off-topic and mentioning these adorable printed 2X2 domes (Element ID 6058942 | Design ID 16378) that also come in the set (as well as in 75044 Droid Tri-Fighter).
Moving on to 75040 General Grievous' Wheel Bike, I'll remain off-topic for a moment because it contains a gorgeous, massive 75mm wheel in Trans-Clear [BL]/Transparent [TLG] (Element ID 6053875 | Design ID 88517). What a gorgeous thing! It looks great in the set and I hope to see some great use of it in MOCs too.
But back onto Sand Blue now, and the exciting news is that you get 16 cheese slopes (Element ID 6062686 | Design ID 54200) which we've never had in Sand Blue before. Cheese is a great part to get in new colours, as it's a detailing part that doesn't always require a whole lot of other bricks in the same colour to look good in a model - for example, these Sand blue ones can be used with a variety of other shades of blue in your models of water. The other Sand Blue part isn't new, having appeared in three sets in 2004-5, but good to see it back: the 3X3 corner wedge plate (Element ID 6051596 | Design ID 2450), of which you get two.
You also get two of those 3X3 corner wedge plates in 70131 Rogon's Rock Flinger , where the Rhino minifigs are Sand Blue. There's four 2X2X2 65° slopes (Element ID 6043736 | Design ID 3678) which is kind of new - this element has appeared with printing in Lord of the Rings 79006 The Council of Elrond, as Arwen's dress.
Another sloped piece included are the two 4X4 triple wedge 18°/45° slopes (Element ID 6051598 | Design ID 48933).
And finally there's an odd part; two curved Technic panels (Element ID 6051594 | Design ID 61069) that look like intake fans. I'm not a huge fan of Technic panels, but this one is quite cool. (Sorry.) These have been around since 2008 and have appeared in 15 other sets in 6 other colours.
So hopefully more Rhino sets are on the way, with yet more Sand Blue for us! But already these new parts, combined with the hundreds released in the 2000s, offer great building opportunities. If you own Pet Shop and the Triple-E, you've got a fantastic amount of basic bricks. You're also fairly rich/good at spending money wisely. The Star Wars and Chima sets add yet more slopes to the existing inventory of 33°, 45° and 75° slopes, and the more unusual Sand Blue shapes in these sets are rousing my inner Benny... "Spaceship!!"
To help rouse your inner Benny, here's a stunning ship built by Daniel García Rodado (AlterEvo) in 2011 with some of the Sand Blue parts available then. It reminds me of an egg, or an artichoke. Click pic for more views.
Affiliate links to Amazon US:
Aanchir 5 Mar 2014, 02:01:00
How dare you slander the Dinosaurs sets! Honestly, I don't see how they are at all worthy of criticism for any reason other than some of the models not looking quite accurate to the dinosaurs they were meant to portray.
The idea that the heads are POOPs is absurd — specially-sculpted head and body molds have been standard for LEGO animals since 1984 when the LEGO horse was introduced, and the dinosaurs' head and body molds are among the least specialized ones there have ever been. In fact, they actually replaced the much more specialized dinosaur designs from the Adventurers Dino Island subtheme.
Oftentimes when I see creatures like the new Dewback in this summer's LEGO Star Wars sets, I miss the days of these LEGO Dinosaurs, which despite their specialization featured some of the most versatile creature-specific molds of all time. Nowadays, it's normal for new molds to be introduced for each and every creature, and that's what it was like before the LEGO Dinosaurs too. But those sets' parts went on to be used for elephants, the dewback from Star Wars, the Basilisk from Harry Potter, and all sorts of more elaborate brick-built creatures, not to mention over a dozen dinosaur designs. These are sets that should be praised, not criticized.
Anyway, I guess despite all my knowledge of LEGO colors, I never really thought of Sand Blue as having disappeared in any capacity. Of course, part of this is that the only time I tend to differentiate between basic building elements and other parts is when I'm looking at a color's overall availability, not its availability in any given year. Now that I realize just how scarce Sand Blue has been for the past several years, it's great to see it back in such variety.
One correction: the General Grievous minifigure doesn't actually include any new molds. All five of the molds were previously used (albeit with different painting/printing) for the Clone Wars version of the character.
Haha, a well-fought defence. True, not technically POOP. I was intending to convey the contrast between the detailed head/limbs and the blocky body in these small sets, which looks so absurd.
Thanks for the Grievous correction. I only cross-checked against IDs; should have checked by name. Have amended.
Nicola 5 Mar 2014, 09:10:00
Am i the only one thinking there are too many shades of blue? Sure it gives lots of choices but it also fragment the bricks, and you're less likely to have enought parts of a specific color to build something. Unless you are rich and have huge quantity of LEGO.
Drocket 5 Mar 2014, 22:08:00
Yeah, that's sort of my opinion as well. I played with Lego a lot as a kid, back when it was pretty much only red, black, white, blue and yellow, with green only being for plates, flower stems and trees. I've gotten back into Lego in the past couple of years, and while I love the assortment of colors, I also find that I can't really build anything, despite having more Legos than I did as a kid.
I certainly don't want to go all the way back to where it was. I feel like Lego needs to focus on a a palette of 12-15 colors. Right now, things are just too split up. I have like 40 colors of bricks.
Håkan S. 6 Mar 2014, 02:00:00
I think that depends on what sets you are buying. "Bricks and More" are mostly standard bricks in standard colors, as well as "Creator". Those sets also often have a smaller price per piece ratio. I'm more annoyed by how supposedly same colors often differ in hue for various reasons.
Aanchir 17 Mar 2014, 02:43:00
I don't think you could have a very complete color palette with any fewer than 16 colors. That's enough to include black, white, red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and violet, plus transparent counterparts for all of the above. If you want a single shade of gray, that makes 17. Silver and gold make 19. And what about other colors Western culture considers "distinct" from the main rainbow colors? Things like brown (a shade of orange), tan (a tone of yellow), or pink (a tint of reddish violet)? That makes 22 colors. Transparent pink? 23. An orangish tint for light-skinned licensed figs so they don't look either spray-tanned or pallid and zombie-like? 24.
So yes, the color palette could be smaller. But make it much smaller than 24 and you'd be left with a selection that is quite visibly incomplete to pretty much any child who owns a 24-pack of crayons or colored pencils (and one that, unlike crayons or colored pencils, doesn't allow any mechanism for "blending" colors to create the ones that are missing). Beyond that, you'd have no tertiary colors except for pink (which is, as I mentioned, a tint of reddish-violet). If you did have tertiary colors like bright yellowish-green, bright bluish-green, and bright reddish-violet instead of just primary and secondary colors, you'd add six more colors to the palette, resulting in a palette that is almost exactly half the size of the current one.
Keep in mind that even way back in the day when LEGO sets included non-brick-built model cars to go with the brick-built structures, there were a wide variety of colors being used for these non-brick-based elements. Part of the reason why certain colors were not widely used for bricks was to exert a sort of ideological control over what kids would build — the LEGO Group worried that if a wide range of grey, green, or tan bricks were available kids would start trying to build military vehicles and models, which was against LEGO's staunchly anti-war values at the time.
To be honest, I really love how today, colors are more widely used across a wider range of themes, instead of certain colors being super-rare and obscure (two years ago, many people mistook Bright Green, a color that's now been around for over two decades, for a new color, and some colors from themes like Fabuland were NEVER used for basic bricks). Of course, I grew up in an era where the color palette was sprawling out of control, with dozens of colors that were used in only a handful of sets within very specific themes. So a palette of about 62 main colors (40 solid, 14 transparent, and about 8 metallic), which are actually used widely enough to be familiar to people, is a godsend for me.
Håkan S. 17 Mar 2014, 22:21:00
Is there any evidence for the statement that green and grey bricks could be used for military vehicles? I've heard the theory before, but it seems far-fetched. To me, it seems more likely that a very basic palette of primary colors - Red, Yellow, Blue, White and Black - would be simple to manufacture, yet distinct enough to construct recognizable models. (One critique against the theory is that there are a lot of non-military colors that also weren't used in production; purple, pink, orange, cyan, lime etc...)
One might claim that green and grey was used by Lego from early on (50's-60's), but just as baseplates, not as bricks, and thus, it was a deliberate choice not to produce bricks in those colors - but there's research showing that Lego experimented with bricks in a multitude of various colors, even by then, so it's not really a valid argument.
More info in the articles here: http://thebrickblogger.com/category/lego-chronicles/lego-colors/
pinioncorp 5 Mar 2014, 12:29:00
Blue is nice and all, but where is the red love? Lets see:
¤ Blue, Dark Blue, Medium blue, Medium azure, Dark Azure, Sand blue, Bright light blue.
¤ Red, Dark red.
Including Nougat or Dark orange in the red spectrum would be wrong, they're oranges, not reds. To do that you'd have to include the purples in the blue spectrum too. They need to bring back sand red or something similar.
Light red would essentially be pink, and there's a few pink/magenta colors.
Anonymous 5 Mar 2014, 13:37:00
Lego missed the opportunity to make Sand Blue minifig hands with the bats in the 2014 Chima sets. It's the only part that's missing to complete a all Sand Blue figure
"a gorgeous, massive 75mm wheel in Trans-Clear [BL]/Transparent [TLG] (Element ID 6053875 | Design ID 88517). What a gorgeous thing! It looks great in the set and I hope to see some great use of it in MOCs too."
Have a look at my friend Dfenz's church where he used the wheel for a round stained glass window:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66136586@N04/12373389333/
Brian D'Agostine 6 Mar 2014, 15:56:00
I appreciate sand blue as it makes a nice transition between light bley and medium blue. Sort of the missing link as it were in color evolution.
Dave(3rdeye88) 14 Mar 2014, 17:34:00
AHHHH That trans clear wheel is glorious. Considering I've used that rim(with tire) on two MOCs I can definitely see some uses for it, tron light cycle inspired MOC perhaps? I always liked the sand colors, wish they'd use them more. Glad to see Sand Blue is making a comeback.
You raise me arch
Super Surma Bros.
The Princesses and the frog
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Ion News and Research
Hinge-like protein may unlock new pathways for cystic fibrosis treatment
In recent decades, treatment options for people with cystic fibrosis have improved dramatically. The newest drugs, known as potentiators, target a protein called cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, which is mutated in people with the disease.
Promising method delivers drug to cancer cells without affecting surrounding cells
RIKEN researchers have developed a promising method to deliver a drug to cancer cells without affecting surrounding tissues, involving a clever combination of an "artificial metalloenzyme" that protects a metal catalyst, and a sugar chain that guides the metalloenzyme to the desired cells.
Nanion launches HTS automated patch clamp platform
The SyncroPatch 384i is a giga-ohm seal HTS automated patch clamp platform designed for flexibility, ease-of-use and reliability. It follows a decade of collaboration between Beckman Coulter Life Science and Nanion Technologies.
From Nanion Technologies 25 Jun 2019
Expedeon AG launches Lightning-Link Metal Labeling Kits to support single cell analysis
Expedeon AG announced today it has introduced Lightning-Link Metal Labeling Kits for use in multiple immunoassay-based applications to support single cell analysis.
From Expedeon 24 Jun 2019
Applying cutting-edge technology to radiotherapy for improving cancer patient outcomes
The impact that cancer has on society cannot be underestimated. Throughout our lives one in two of us will be diagnosed with a form of cancer, with the disease accounting for an estimated 9.6 million deaths worldwide in 2018.
Bruker launches timsTOF fleX with ESI/MALDI capability for SpatialOMx at ASMS 2019
Bruker Daltonics has launched a novel timsTOF fleX mass spectrometer which combines ESI/MALDI capability for SpatialOMx on a single instrument.
From Bruker Daltonics 10 Jun 2019
E-cigarette vaping with nicotine appears to impair mucus clearance
E-cigarette vaping with nicotine appears to hamper mucus clearance from the airways, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Researchers one step closer to unmasking the cause of familial MS
A new study has uncovered mutations in 12 genes that may be responsible for the familial type of multiple sclerosis (MS).
Telomere shortening in adulthood is not caused by smoking, say researchers
A new study suggests that telomere length in adults should be regarded as a static biomarker that does not significantly change during adult life.
Red meat and white meat have equal effects on blood cholesterol levels
Contrary to popular belief, consuming red meat and white meat such as poultry, have equal effects on blood cholesterol levels, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Lugdunin in the human nose has strong antimicrobial properties against S. aureus
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are an increasing health threat, making new antibiotics essential. German researchers have recently had a breakthrough: they discovered lugdunin in the human nose--a new kind of cyclic peptide that comes from the bacterium Staphylococcus lugdunensis and has strong antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus aureus, among others.
Breakthrough method could be useful for proton therapy and other applications
Researchers from Sweden's Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg present a new method which can double the energy of a proton beam produced by laser-based particle accelerators.
New fluorescent sensor can detect migrating cancer cells
A new fluorescent sensor developed by researchers from the University of Adelaide can detect migrating cancer cells and could be used to target medication to stop metastasis in aggressive cancers.
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A new drug that inhibits neonatal seizures in rodent models could open up new avenues for the treatment of epilepsy in human newborns.
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Nerve cells, or neurons -- specifically the "workhorse cells" involved in walking, breathing and chewing -- can adjust to changes in the body, but they never stop working unless there is an fatal injury.
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Biophysicists study structure of KR2 rhodopsin under physiological conditions
A team of biophysicists from Russia, Germany, and France, featuring researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, has discovered and studied the structure of the KR2 rhodopsin under physiological conditions.
Study provides potential new targets for treating epilepsy
A new study provides potential new targets for treating epilepsy and new fundamental insights into the relationship between neurons and their glial "helper" cells.
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Remains found in wooded area identified as missing teenager
Woman found dead in Jacksonville's Woodstock neighborhood
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1-year-old dies after van backed over him in Wisconsin driveway
Witnesses said boy was playing in snow
Posted: 11:58 AM, April 18, 2018 Updated: 12:04 PM, April 18, 2018
Elvis Santana/freeimages.com
A 1-year-old boy died after he was run over by a vehicle in a private driveway Monday in northwestern Wisconsin, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
According to a news release from the sheriff's office, the boy was playing in the snow at a house in Farmington, Wisconsin, when a van that was being moved so that the driveway could be plowed backed over him.
Hart family crash: Body ID'd as 12-year-old Ciera Hart
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The boy, identified by authorities as Abraham Flynn of rural Osceola, was transported to Osceola Medical Center by private vehicle and then transported by air ambulance to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he later died due to injuries suffered in the accident.
The driver of the vehicle, Arthur Elmquist, 54, of Osceola, was moving the large panel van and did not see the child enter the driveway, according to the release.
Witnesses told authorities that Abraham and his siblings were out playing in the snow at the time of the accident.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office is continuing to investigate the incident.
Distributed by LAKANA. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
UGA's Smart: Take time to weigh out future of UF game in Jax
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Mainly clear. Low 68F. Winds light and variable..
Peter Aleshire
Busy Fourth of July for police
by Alexis Bechman roundup editor
It was a busier year for the Payson Police Department on the Fourth of July with seven arrests.
Normally, the department makes just one or two arrests on what has become the busiest event of the year in Payson, said Police Chief Don Engler.
Officers arrested one man on an outstanding warrant. They initially talked to him because he was reportedly discharging fireworks at Green Valley Park, which is illegal, Engler said. They ran his identification and found he had a warrant and arrested him.
Also at the park, three juveniles were arrested for drinking alcohol and a driver, in a separate incident, was arrested for DUI, he said.
Officers also cited a bicyclist for failing to obey their commands.
Just after the show ended and vehicles were streaming out of the park, a man on a bicycle reportedly rode through an intersection near the park even though officers told him to wait, causing an “incident,” Engler said.
No one was injured.
Another driver was cited for DUI, but this time on the Beeline Highway, he said.
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Albert Volk
Albert Nelson Volk, 82, passed away on Saturday, April 27, 2019, in Bloomington.
He was born on Nov. 12, 1936, in Manito to Albert P. and Mildred (Bush) Volk.
He married Sharon Meisinger in Jan. of 1959 in Green Valley.
Surviving are three children, Kelly Mistretta of Arizona, Krystal Call and Brad (Kelly) Volk, both of Pekin; four grandchildren, Angie (Brian) Broyles of Pekin, Dustin (Kerry) Call of Germantown Hills, Shimeha Volk of Florida and Heather Volk of Pekin; three great-grandchildren; a niece, Debbie Ewing Loy of Green Valley and a nephew, Rick (Marcia) Ewing of Pekin.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Laverne Ewing and a nephew, Ray Ewing.
Al worked at Tazewell Machine Works in Pekin. He later worked on the Chicago Northwestern Railroad as a brakeman and an engineer for 40-plus years.
In his early years, he enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping and being with his family and friends. Al didn’t know a stranger and enjoyed talking with everyone about everything. He had a great love of animals.
He was of the Lutheran faith.
There will be no services. A Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
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SS Totenkopf at War (Paperback)
A History of the Division
WWII Photographic Books Colour Books German Forces & Weaponry in WWII Military
By Ian Baxter
Series: Images of War
Published: 3rd October 2017
You'll be £14.99 closer to your next £10.00 credit when you purchase SS Totenkopf at War. What's this?
SS Totenkopf at War Kindle (49.9 MB) Add to Basket £6.00
SS Totenkopf at War ePub (24.6 MB) Add to Basket £6.00
The SS Totenkopf (Death Head) Division even 70 years on retains its formidable and ruthless reputation as a superbly efficient yet murderous formation. It earned this for its actions throughout the Second World War, first in 1940 during the blitzkrieg in Northern France and then on the Eastern Front. The battles at Kharkov and Kurst saw some of the fiercest fighting of that long and terrible campaign. During the long retreat back to the Fatherland the Division fought with customary dogged determination, nay fanaticism.
This superbly illustrated work, drawing on images taken by participants, portrays the SS Totenkopf's history from formation through training to the battles in northern France and in Russia.
As featured by
The Armourer, May 2018
This new addition to the very popular Images of War series follows the established pattern of concise text, captions, extended captions and lavish illustration. Most books in this series use largely images from official archives. In this new book many images come from private albums of members of the Division – Very Highly Recommended.
About Ian Baxter
Ian Baxter has produced a fine selection of highly illustrated books in the Images of War Series mainly covering Axis Forces in WW2. He is a dedicated collector of rare images and an expert in his field. He lives near Chelmsford, Essex.
More titles by Ian Baxter
Other titles in the series...
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Press & EventsFlash NewsAurelia Wave: the five features of perfection
Aurelia Wave: the five features of perfection
What (aspects) does a good barman care about most? Water, ergonomics, digital information, eco-sustainability and above all the espresso’s quality. Nuova Simonelli has been working on these five aspects for many years and several times in the past has offered to the market innovative solutions leading to open up new frontiers to the espresso and cappuccino’s world.
Nuova Simonelli has now raised once again the technology bar and the result achieved is a new coffee machine standing for the future. A future that is already here and that is called AURELIA WAVE. The name inherits the ongoing innovation of the many other Aurelia’s versions made in the last eight years. It also projects bartenders in a new wave that is going to open up a new era in the production of highly professional and advanced technology coffee machine.
Aurelia Wave will debut at Host Milano where all the guests will have the possibility to admire its technological improvements about: Water, Coffee quality, Eco-sustainability, Ergonomics and Digital information.
Other secrets won’t be unveiled so that you will still be wondered at Host Fiera Milano from 20 to 24 October, pav 24- stand B40.
Let’s come and find out Nuova Simonelli’s AURELIA WAVE and you will certainly find in love with it!
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Home MCQ IC Engines I.C Engines Multiple Choice Questions with Answers - Set 02
I.C Engines Multiple Choice Questions with Answers - Set 02
MCQ IC Engines Edit
1. If the temperature of intake air in internal combustion engine increases, then its efficiency will
(A) Remain same
(B) Decrease
(C) Increase
Answer: Option B
2. The operation of forcing additional air under pressure in the engine cylinder is known as
(A) Scavenging
(B) Turbulence
(C) Supercharging
(D) Pre-ignition
3. The ignition quality of petrol is expressed by
(A) Cetane number
(B) Octane number
(C) Calorific value
(D) All of these
4. The mean effective pressure obtained from engine indicator indicates the
(A) Maximum pressure developed
(B) Minimum pressure
(C) Instantaneous pressure at any instant
(D) Average pressure
5. The probability of knocking in diesel engines is increased by
(A) High self ignition temperature
(B) Low volatility
(C) Higher viscosity
6. Pour point of fuel oil is the
(A) Minimum temperature to which oil is heated in order to give off inflammable vapours in sufficient quantity to ignite momentarily when brought in contact with a flame
(B) Temperature at which it solidifies or congeals
(C) It catches fire without external aid
(D) Indicated by 90% distillation temperature i.e., when 90% of sample oil has distilled off
7. In a four stroke cycle petrol engine, the compression
(A) Starts at 40° after bottom dead centre and ends at 30° before top dead centre
(B) Starts at 40° before bottom dead centre and ends at 30° after bottom dead centre
(C) Starts at bottom dead centre and ends at top dead centre
(D) May start and end anywhere
8. The maximum temperature in the I.C. engine cylinder is of the order of
(A) 500-1000°C
(B) 1000-1500°C
(C) 1500-2000°C
(D) 2000-2500°C
9. In compression ignition engines, swirl denotes a
(A) Haphazard motion of the gases in the chamber
(B) Rotary motion of the gases in the chamber
(C) Radial motion of the gases in the chamber
(D) None of the above
10. Supercharging is the process of
(A) Supplying the intake of an engine with air at a density greater than the density of the surrounding atmosphere
(B) Providing forced cooling air
(C) Injecting excess fuel for raising more loads
(D) Supplying compressed air to remove combustion products fully
11. The knocking in spark ignition engines can be reduced by
(A) Retarding the spark
(B) Increasing the engine speed
(C) Both (A) and (B)
12. An engine indicator is used to determine the following
(A) Speed
(B) Temperature
(C) Volume of cylinder
(D) m.e.p. and I.H.P.
13. In a four stroke cycle diesel engine, the exhaust valve
(A) Opens at 30° before bottom dead centre and closes at 10° after top dead centre
(B) Opens at 30° after bottom dead centre and closes at 10° before top dead centre
(C) Opens at bottom dead centre and closes at top dead centre
(D) May open and close anywhere
14. The pressure at the end of compression in the case of diesel engine is of the order of
(A) 6 kg/cm
(B) 12 kg/cm
(C) 20 kg/cm
(D) 35 kg/cm
15. The fuels in order of decreasing knock tendency for spark ignition engines are
(A) Paraffin, aromatic, napthene
(B) Paraffin, napthene, aromatic
(C) Napthene, aromatics, paraffin
(D) Napthene, paraffin, aromatic
(1) Answer: Option B (2) Answer: Option C (3) Answer: Option B (4) Answer: Option D (5) Answer: Option D (6) Answer: Option B (7) Answer: Option A (8) Answer: Option D (9) Answer: Option B (10) Answer: Option A (11) Answer: Option C (12) Answer: Option D (13) Answer: Option A (14) Answer: Option D (15) Answer: Option B
prabhakar shukla 8/23/18, 12:03 PM
Set 2and question 1. If the temperature of intake air in internal combustion engine increases, then its efficiency will
Answer is right decrease because volume matrix effance is decrease so answer is right
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Knowing Our History and Culture Helps Us Build a Sense of Pride
By Eleanor Kelly
The 2nd Roma Pride Summer Camp for young Roma from Central and Eastern Europe at Szentendre Island near Budapest, Hungary. A participant looks at their version of the Romani flag, the international flag of Roma people. The flag was created by the General Union of the Roma of Romania in 1933, and approved by international representatives at the First World Romani Congress in 1971, held in London, United Kingdom. The flag consists of a background of blue and green, representing the heavens and earth. The flag also contains a 16-spoke red chakra, or spoked wheel, in the center, representing movement and progress. © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
Evaluation meeting of the Barvalipe participants and their supervisors. Many participants expressed the desire to share what they had learned at Barvalipe with Roma and non-Roma in their home country: “Now I can disseminate more information about Roma culture and history than before; I can help people to recognize easier the Roma identity without fear and shame.” © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
Three participants discuss their experience at Barvalipe during the evaluation. Reflecting on the journey they had taken since the start of Barvalipe, one participant shared, “I must confess that I had some stereotypes about Roma and sometimes I felt shy to declare myself Roma but now I feel stronger, here I learned to not be ashamed of it. The most important for me was that I met young Roma people who are educated, intelligent and made me proud. I never felt proud of being Roma but now I changed my opinion. For the first time in my life I can say ‘I’m Roma’ and I’m not ashamed for this. Barvalipe has a big influence on me.” © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
A participant reflects on the connections they have made at Barvalipe. For many, the opportunity Barvalipe offers to meet like-minded young Roma, share experiences and build solidarity, is a highlight: “The most powerful aspect of the camp was that I got to know many good people committed to the same purpose from the same region.” © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
For some participants, the challenges they confront at Barvalipe can be difficult: “I had a hard time but at the end I can say that I am more sure about my Roma identity and I really do not struggle so much about it.” © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
Participants relax at the end of their evaluation session. Among suggestions for future additions to Barvalipe, one participant recommended, “I would like to hear more about the future Roma movement in different countries, to discuss more about this idea and to learn from others.” Another reflected, “I wanted to learn more about how we can organize ourself, and we need more time for this session.” © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
Participants working at the identity tent. A crucial part of Barvalipe is allowing participants to explore their Roma identity and build a sense of Roma pride. One participant summed up that after her experience at Barvalipe, “I will be able to go in my community and tell that I am a Roma woman and convince other Roma people to fight for their rights and for a better life.” © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
A group of Roma children from Macedonia rehearsing for their evening surprise performance. While culture and tradition plays an important role in Barvalipe, participants also learn about Roma economics, politics, and community organization—issues often marginalized in the Roma debate. © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
Participants playing their evening performance, Roma Congress. The first World Romani Congress was organized in 1971 in Orpington near London and was attended by 23 representatives from nine nations (Czechoslovakia, Finland, Norway, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Spain, and Yugoslavia) and observers from Belgium, Canada, India, and the United States. At the congress, the green and blue flag from the 1933 conference of the General Association of the Gypsies of Romania, embellished with the red, 16-spoked chakra, was reaffirmed as the national emblem of the Roma people, and the song “Gelem, Gelem” was adopted as the Roma anthem. © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
A group of Roma children from Macedonia performing their surprise evening play for the participants. “To be Roma, it means to be different,” reflected one participant when asked what Roma pride was. “You will be discriminated against but this makes you stronger and do not give up; Roma pride means to accept your identity and to be proud of your culture, history, and unique language.” © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
A group of Roma children from Macedonia performing their surprise evening play for the participants. Many participants were enthusiastic about sharing the knowledge they had gained at Barvalipe: “I will organize a workshop with at least 10 young Roma where I will share the information on Romani language and culture.” © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
Participants celebrating after playing their evening performance Roma Congress. Barvalipe is an opportunity to build close ties between Roma activists and future leaders. “I really felt myself like I was with my family,” one participant summed up. © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
Group photograph of the camp participants at the beginning of the final evening celebration. The majority of participants committed to returning to Barvalipe next year as volunteers to share their knowledge and experience, and help any way they can with 2013’s participants. © Bjoern Steinz/Panos Pictures for the Open Society Foundations
Understanding who we are is maybe one of life’s biggest questions. For young Roma who can face prejudice and stigma, feel shame and inferiority or are unaware of the depth of their culture and history, answering this question is not easy. In July this year, the second ever Barvalipe Roma Summer camp took place in Hungary. Young Roma between the age of 18 and 30 years old from Spain, Romania, Macedonia, Turkey, Hungary, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Albania came to take part.
Barvalipe is about building Roma identity; Barvalipe is encouraging commitment by Roma for Roma; Barvalipe is learning Roma history and language; Barvalipe is forging ties between tomorrow’s Roma leaders; Barvalipe is nurturing civic duty and social responsibility; Barvalipe is discovering Roma achievements and role models. Barvalipe is Roma pride.
In this interview, Albert Memeti, originally from a village near Tetovo in north-western Macedonia and soon beginning a Masters in Economic Policy in Global Markets in the Central European University in Budapest, discusses his experience at Barvalipe.
What did you expect from Barvalipe?
I hoped myself and the other Roma participants could overcome our own stereotypes about ourselves. I’m from Macedonia, and there we have built a strong identity, we declare ourselves openly as Roma, we have good laws, well institutionalized programs for Roma, we identify as Roma. And yet we have our own stereotypes about other Roma; someone who is half Roma for example, or Roma from a different religion.
My motivation in coming here was to show other groups that we have to first get rid of the stereotypes amongst ourselves, to build stronger relations among us. Only then can we educate other non–Roma and show them who the Roma really are, to put forward our own “image” rather than let others speak for us or about us. Every human being is viewed through the prism of stereotypes; Roma are not immune from doing this as well, consciously or subconsciously.
A sense of unity amongst Roma in Europe is so important. At Barvalipe we have Roma people from Albania, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Macedonia and many other countries. Here we are 30 different characters speaking about Roma. Now at the end of Barvalipe we are the same 30 different people but speaking with one voice.
I am proud to be Roma, and I think that each of us now is richer with one new chapter to his or her identity.
What has been your most memorable part of Barvalipe so far?
Our trip to Auschwitz has been the most memorable part so far. I was taught about Auschwitz in history, I read about it, almost like it was a story. But when I was there and I saw it with my eyes, I was conflicted. In the field of history, I was so proud I had learned about the history of Macedonia and world history. But I never had the opportunity to learn about Roma history because in the official history sections, Roma are not mentioned at all.
Coming here to Barvalipe and visiting Auschwitz, I learned a new chapter of Roma history. This chapter might be the most important one because it seems that the history of Roma could be repeated again. Not so many people know about the Roma holocaust during World War II. It’s our responsibility to teach our younger generation and others about Auschwitz.
Going to Auschwitz is not just to know who you are but to feel who you are and what happened to Roma; it’s not about the knowledge, it’s about the feeling and what we must do so that history is not repeated.
Why is it important to know about your history and culture?
One of the most important things is coming here and hearing about our history, our language and our roots; because getting to know yourself means you start to discover new things; you realize who you really are. You realize that Roma have a rich history, rich culture, “barvale” (rich in Romanes) Roma role models who guide us. Knowing our history and culture helps us construct our identity and build a sense of pride around being part of the Roma nation. It gives us an opportunity to speak in one language and to have one vision about our future.
How will you use this experience at Barvalipe in the future?
What will we do after these ten days? We must take responsibility for the next generation who don’t know about Roma history, Roma language, culture; responsibility not just to educate ourselves but to organize ourselves in making our own history and future. This experience here will guide me to the future path of my career and help me lend a hand to others in understanding what Romanipen means to them, in educating them and helping them in their future plans.
In the end, who are you if you don’t know anything about where you come from, about your origins, your family, your language, your own culture? In some cases, when others try to assimilate us or when we “integrate” too much into mainstream society we lose these unique elements. We should be open to learning about these elements of our identity, building on them and ending any shame about being Roma.
I want to spread a message for Roma all around the world. Maybe you are half Roma or 100% or 20% Roma but in the end, it’s not really important; it’s important that you are Roma and you make an individual choice to affirm that. Barvalipe needs to happen around the world, so that people can shout in the streets, “I’m proud to be Roma.”
In the end, who are you if you don’t know anything about where you come from, about your origins, your family, your language, your own culture?
A sense of unity amongst Roma in Europe is so important.
Eleanor Kelly
Eleanor Kelly is the regional head of communications for the Open Society Foundations.
Barvalipe: Building Roma Pride
For ten days this past August in Budapest, young Roma came together to learn about their culture, history, and achievements, and ultimately to build a sense of civic duty and social responsibility.
September 28, 2011 | Violeta Naydenova
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April 08, 2019 | Merziha Idrizi
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You are here: Home / Planned Parenthood / Why Is Planned Parenthood Purging its Baby Parts Traffickers?
Why Is Planned Parenthood Purging its Baby Parts Traffickers?
February 19, 2019 By Operation Rescue Leave a Comment
And what do Rod Rosenstein, Andrew McCabe, and Fusion GPS have to do with it?
An Operation Rescue Special Report
By Cheryl Sullenger
In July 2015, a previously unknown group called the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) launched a series of powerful undercover videos that showed Planned Parenthood executives engaging in extraordinary – and unguarded – discussions about the sale of tissues and organs obtained from aborted babies.
Those videos shocked the nation, prompting a national debate on the morality of profiteering from an underground market in human body parts, the grisly methods involved in aborting babies in the later terms of pregnancy, and why Planned Parenthood continues to receive over a half-billion in federal tax money each year.
Now, three and a half years later, much of the leadership team of Planned Parenthood has since resigned and many of the abortionists who appeared in the CMP videos have left Planned Parenthood.
“Pretty much every one who had anything to do with the trafficking of aborted babies is gone from Planned Parenthood, including their CEO Cecile Richards,” said Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue who also served as a founding board member for the CMP while the undercover investigation took place. “This isn’t something that happened right after the videos came out. Planned Parenthood wields a great deal of political power, which probably helped them think they could withstand the negative press, but now that it is clear that some of that shielding influence is waning. Resignations are still taking place.”
Planned Parenthood Resignat… by on Scribd
Newman suspects that many of the departures may be related to an ongoing FBI investigation. In December 2015, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives both referred the Planned Parenthood Federation of American and six regional affiliates to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation and prosecution for the illegal sale of aborted baby parts and other federal crimes.
“I believe they are running from prosecution,” said Newman. “Planned Parenthood has been in a panic since the first video came out. The best defense is a good offense, and that is why they are suing me and other CMP members in Federal Court.”
But it wasn’t until nearly nine months after newly-elected President Donald J. Trump’s new Attorney General Jeff Sessions assumed control of the Department of Justice, that investigations appeared to show signs life.
Even then, there is information from highly placed sources that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe may have provided cover for Planned Parenthood, delaying the investigation. It is no coincidence that many resignations took place after the firing of McCabe in January 2018.
McCabe and Rosenstein had an interest in killing the Planned Parenthood investigation. Apart from a willingness to cover up wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood, any investigation into the abortion giant would have exposed as fraudulent one of their primary sources in their investigation of Trump.
Fusion GPS was a shadowy political dirty tricks group, which had no expertise in forensic video analysis. It was hired by Planned Parenthood in 2015 to produce a report on the CMP videos that would declare the videos “deceptively edited” fakes.
The Fusion GPS report was an obvious fraud.
A legitimate forensic analysis done by Coalfire Systems, Inc., which actually does have expertise in forensic video analysis, determined that the videos were authentic and were not altered for content.
Fusion GPS was later hired by the Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign to produce a fake dossier that implicated then-candidate Donald J. Trump in a scheme to collude with Russia. That report was never verified and remains unsubstantiated. Nevertheless, McCabe and Rosenstein misrepresented the Fusion GPS fake dossier to a FISC court as a legitimate source in order to obtain permission to spy on American citizens close to Trump.
An honest Planned Parenthood investigation could have discredited Fusion GPS and their manufactured phony reports. That could have derailed the investigation into President Trump that was being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and may have led to the exposure of the attempted coup to unseat Trump, a sitting duly elected president.
It’s no wonder that there has been no progress in the Planned Parenthood criminal investigation. However, now with the confirmation of Attorney General William Barr and the March departure of Rosenstein, that may change.
Any prosecution of Planned Parenthood for violations of federal law for baby parts trafficking for profit would surly aid the pro-life activists who are defending against two Federal lawsuits.
Currently, Newman and other CMP members, including David Daleiden, Albin Rhomberg, and Sandra Merritt, are locked in a legal battle with Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation, their partners in the baby parts scheme. The abortion corporations are fighting to block the release of an estimated 500 hours of undercover video and ultimately punish financially those who exposed their baby body parts business.
That case is now in the midst of the discovery phase.
“During the course of those lawsuits, we have seen irrefutable proof that Planned Parenthood sold aborted baby remains for profit. The evidence is indisputable,” Newman said. “Now that it’s time for depositions, where we get to question Planned Parenthood’s abortionists under oath, I have seen more news of additional resignations as of just a few days or weeks ago. They understand that anything they say in the civil case can be used against them in any future criminal case as well.”
Since Leana Wen took the helm at Planned Parenthood in November 2018, departures have stepped up as she continues to reorganize and replace her senior staff. This has left no place for some of Planned Parenthood’s executives that were involved in the organization during the CMP’s undercover investigation.
In fact, out of 21 executive and senior leaders mentioned in Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report, published after Wen took her new position, 13 are new hires or promotions from within that were previously not included in Cecile Richard’s upper organizational echelons.
However, most of the departures from Planned Parenthood took place before Wen assumed control.
Resignations or disappearances of Planned Parenthood officials are not confined to Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s leadership. Others include CEO’s or other high-ranking leaders – including medical officers — of affiliates such as Planned Parenthood of Northern California, Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, and Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, which all had mentions in the CMP undercover videos.
“Everything is not going Planned Parenthood’s way. I predict now that some road blocks have been removed, the investigation into Planned Parenthood’s alleged criminal acts will intensify,” said Newman. “And who knows what is yet to be learned through discovery in the Planned Parenthood and NAF suits against us?”
Newman, who is represented by the American Center for Law and Justice, is scheduled to be deposed by Planned Parenthood and NAF attorneys in San Francisco, California, on March 13, 2019.
Filed Under: Planned Parenthood, Pro-Life, Special Investigative Reports Tagged With: abortion, abortion corruption
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Nashville Holiday Guide
All of Nashville is "dressed in holiday style," and our guide to Music City's winter attractions and events will get you in the spirit.
By Katie Quine ●Updated September 21, 2018
Christmas at the Ryman Where better to enjoy the season’s carols than in the hallowed wooden pews of the Mother Church? The venerable Amy Grant and Vince Gill will take the stage for 12 nights to perform a medley of traditional hymns and loveable festive tunes.
A Trace Adkins ChristmasAfter enjoying a gourmet dinner prepared by Gaylord Opryland Resort chefs, you’ll be serenaded by Grand Ole Opry member Trace Adkins as the band performs a mixture of classic Christmas songs and chart-topping hits.
"ICE! featuring Dr. Seuss' 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas!'"Your favorite storybook characters and scenes come to life in a series of elaborate hand-carved ice sculptures at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. Grab your parka — the walk-through attraction is kept at a chilly 9 degrees.
Holiday Lights at CheekwoodAll of Cheekwood will be aglow as a million lights illuminate the gardens from November 23 to December 30. Carolers, s’mores, real reindeer, and visits from Santa will add an extra touch of magic to an evening of reverie.
The Ornanments Present A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi A tradition going on its 13th year, The Ornaments — a band that was solely created for this yuletide occasion — perform Vince Guaraldi's jazz soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas. This family-friendly event is a favorite among locals.
Opryland Hotel Christmas LightsFun fact: Decorating crews started in July to get the Gaylord Opryland Resort prepped for Christmas with more than 3 million dazzling lights. Get lost in reverie while admiring the free displays and the hotel’s atrium and conservatory.
Cirque Dreams HolidazeA blend of artful acrobatics, musical theater, and seasonal cheer, Cirque Dreams Holidaze will leave you with visions of sugar plums dancing in your head. It’s this year’s featured holiday stage show at the Grand Ole Opry House, running November 16 to December 28.
Music City WinterfestA free event the whole family can enjoy, Music City Winterfest turns Centennial Park into a wonderland, making it the perfect destination to find one-of-a-kind gifts from local crafters, partake in a holiday onesie brunch, and enjoy a guaranteed snowfall.
A Christmas Story at TPACNot everything about the holiday season comes wrapped in a picture-perfect bow, and Ralphie’s misadventures with a frozen flagpole, leg lamp, and BB gun prove it in this stage adaptation of a cult classic put on by the Nashville Repertory Theatre.
Home Alone in Concert with the Nashville SymphonyIn addition to hosting a number of holiday concerts alongside the likes of Opry members Martina McBride and The Oak Ridge Boys, the Nashville Symphony will perform the iconic musicals scores of Home Alone while the movie is shown on the big screen.
Monell's Victorian Christmas DinnerEnjoy a gourmet five-course holiday meal served on fine china without worrying about washing the dishes later at this Nashville dining institution. Victorian carolers perform throughout the meal and invite guests to sing along with them by candlelight at the end of the meal. Reserve early.
Jack Daniel's Music City MidnightNashville’s biggest New Year’s Eve bash includes a multi-genre concert — Keith Urban will be headlining again this year — and the night’s festivities will culminate with the midnight Music Note Drop and a fireworks show. The event is free, and special VIP packages are available.
Opry at the Ryman Planning a trip to Nashville this holiday season? With eight to twelve country stars shining bright each night, there’s entertainment for everyone at the Grand Ole Opry. In the winter months, the Opry returns to its most famous former home: Ryman Auditorium. Don't miss your chance to see "the show that made country music famous" at the Mother Church!
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Pulse Shooting
Foreman: Jury 'convinced' Noor Salman knew Mateen was plotting attack, but couldn't convict
By Gal Tziperman Lotan
The foreman of the Noor Salman jury contacted the Orlando Sentinel with a statement about what the three days of deliberations were like for the 12 people who acquitted the widow of the Pulse shooter, Omar Mateen. Jurors listened to eight days of testimony and found Salman, 31, not guilty of aiding and abetting Mateen’s providing of material support to a foreign terror organization and of obstruction of justice. The court has kept the names of jurors secret, and went as far as having them meet at a separate location away from the courthouse every day of the trial so U.S. marshals could drive them to the courthouse. The foreman asked to remain anonymous.
Below is his statement in its entirety:
“As foreperson of the jury in the Noor Salman trial I felt it important that I present a juror’s perspective of the verdicts. I am giving you my perspective, and not speaking for the entire jury. My initial inclination was not to communicate with the news media at all, however once I returned home a watched the news coverage of the reactions to the verdicts I felt compelled to at least clarify several misconceptions.
First, I want to express my deepest sympathy to family and friends of the victims of this senseless tragedy. I understand the desire to hold someone accountable for this heinous act of violence. Omar Mateen is dead. He cannot be punished. It is only logical the world would look next to Noor Salman.
These past few days have been very difficult. We listened carefully to opening arguments, testimonies from both prosecution and defense witnesses, viewed many exhibits and heard closing statements. We received many pages of documentation from the court outlining very specific instructions related to the charges and how we should apply the law. We used these detailed instructions, our courtroom notes, and all evidence presented by both sides in our deliberations.
Having said that, I want to make several things very clear. A verdict of not guilty did NOT mean that we thought Noor Salman was unaware of what Omar Mateen was planning to do. On the contrary we were convinced she did know. She may not have known what day, or what location, but she knew. However, we were not tasked with deciding if she was aware of a potential attack. The charges were aiding and abetting and obstruction of justice. I felt the both the prosecution and the defense did an excellent job presenting their case. I wish that the FBI had recorded their interviews with Ms. Salman as there were several significant inconsistencies with the written summaries of her statements. The bottom line is that, based on the letter of the law, and the detailed instructions provided by the court, we were presented with no option but to return a verdict of not guilty.”
You can read more coverage of the verdict on OrlandoSentinel.com
Omar Mateen
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Jacksonville Jaguars News
Jaguars stun Steelers 45-42 to reach AFC championship
By Sam Farmer
Jan 14, 2018 | 4:30 PM
| PITTSBURGH
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throws under pressure from Malik Jackson in the second half of the Steelers' 45-42 loss in the AFC Divisional playoff game at Heinz Field. (KEVIN C. COX/AP)
Rookie Leonard Fournette ran for three touchdowns, and Blake Bortles played well enough to keep the Pittsburgh Steelers at bay, as the Jacksonville Jaguars pulled off a 45-42 upset to secure a spot in their third AFC championship game.
Thanks in part to their smothering defense, the Jaguars got out to an early lead, took the Heinz Field crowd out of the game, and wound up scoring the most points ever by a visitor at Pittsburgh in a postseason game.
The Jaguars also short-circuited a rematch of last season’s AFC title game, and instead they are the team looking to topple Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium next weekend.
Fournette, who had to be taken to the locker room in the first half because of an ankle injury, led all rushers with 109 yards in 25 carries.
Ben Roethlisberger threw five touchdown passes, two to receiver Antonio Brown, who missed much of December with a partially torn calf.
It’s Jacksonville’s third appearance in the conference title game, the first two coming in 1996 (versus New England) and 1999 (vs. Tennessee). The Jaguars were blown out of both of those, both times at home.
Sunday marked the second time this season the Jaguars won at Pittsburgh. The first game came in Week 5, when Jacksonville picked off Roehtlisberger five times in a 30-9 victory.
Before the Steelers scrambled back in the second half, the game was on its way to disintegrating into a similar type of blowout.
[Popular on OrlandoSentinel.com] Jaguars QB Foles credits wife for his return to practice »
Although Pittsburgh never led, it was within a touchdown on four separate occasions – 7-0, 28-21, 35-28 and 42-35 – and cut the score to three by game’s end. But the Steelers could never quite claw their way completely out of the hole.
The first signs of life for Pittsburgh came toward the end of the first half.
The Steelers breathed some life back into the stadium with 1:55 left in the half when, on fourth-and-11, Roethlisberger dropped a 36-yard touchdown pass into the hands of Martavis Bryant. That cut Jacksonville’s lead to 28-14 and gave the stunned home team some semblance of hope heading into the locker room.
To that point, the game had been a thrashing by the Jaguars, who posted a 30-9 victory here earlier this season.
About the only thing to go wrong for Jacksonville was losing Fournette to an ankle injury in the second quarter, although he returned in the third.
On their opening possession, the Jaguars marched 66 yards in eight plays, scoring on a 1-yard dive by Fournette.
Fournette would score again five minutes later with a 17-yard run off right tackle. That one-play drive was set up by a Myles Jack interception deep in Pittsburgh territory.
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Heinz Field was quiet as a library when the Jaguars went up 21-0 on a 4-yard run by T.J. Yeldon early in the second quarter.
But Pittsburgh fans were re-energized on the Steelers possession that followed, when Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
That enthusiasm didn’t last long. With 2:33 left in the half, Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue had a strip-sack of Roethlisberger at midfield. Linebacker Telvin Smith scooped up the ball and ran it back 50 yards for a touchdown, pointing back at a Pittsburgh defender as he ran the final five yards (costing him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty).
Roethlisberger held the ball for ages in the first half, a problem compounded by the fact the Steelers lost starting right tackle Marcus Gilbert to a concussion in the first half.
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Goal-fest possible in first semifinal match
By Boulder Daily Camera | bdc@dfmdev.com |
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Considering the attacking strength of France and Belgium, there’s potential for a goal-fest on Tuesday when the European neighbors meet in the World Cup semifinals.
There was less at stake the last time the teams last went head-to-head at the World Cup, a 4-2 victory for France in the third-place match in 1986. That was the last competitive match between the two countries but there have been eight international friendlies since.
Belgium won two of those, including the last one: an exhibition three years ago at Stade de France when the Belgians took a three-goal lead five minutes into the second half and held on to win 4-3.
With the second-youngest roster at the World Cup, France has shown no fear and advanced to its first World Cup semifinal since 2006 led by 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe and a pair of inexperienced attacking fullbacks in Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez.
“We’re not scared of anyone,” Pavard said. “We’ve been confident from the start and we’re not asking any questions of ourselves.”
Coach Didier Deschamps, who was captain when France won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship, has instilled a steely mentality.
“He motivates the troops with strong words,” Pavard said. “We’re ready to go to war with him.”
Confident coaching
Deschamps made bold decisions to start Pavard on the right and Lucas Hernandez on the left. The pair, both 22, have only 20 international appearances between them but are playing with good composure.
In Belgium, there were doubts about Roberto Martinez’s ability to transfer the country’s individual talent into a collective force. Fans welcomed his arrival in August 2016 with lukewarm enthusiasm because he’d only recently been fired by Everton in the Premier League.
His tenure began with a 2-0 home loss to Spain, but since then Belgium is unbeaten in 23 games and has scored 78 goals — being held scoreless in only one of those games. With former France striker Thierry Henry as an assistant coach, Belgium leads the scoring in Russia with 14 goals in its five World Cup matches.
“He’s given the team the desire to attack,” French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet said of Henry’s influence on the Belgian team. “The forwards go to see him. He’s held in high esteem.”
Martinez’s tactics have stood out, too.
With Belgium trailing Japan 2-0 in the round of 16, Martinez replaced two wide players with two midfielders and they both scored.
Lloris vs. Courtois
Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and France No. 1 Hugo Lloris could be busy.
Lloris has been criticized during the past year after errors for France and Tottenham.
In France’s World Cup opener against Australia, he let a long shot go past him and watched in relief as it hit the crossbar. But Lloris appeared to be at his commanding best in the quarterfinal win over Uruguay, rushing off his line to push away a low cross and later making a superb low save.
Belgium has height and heading ability in defenders Vincent Kompany and Jan Vertonghen and Marouane Fellaini.
Courtois entered the tournament as one of the top goalkeepers and has enhanced reputation with an outstanding quarterfinal performance against Brazil.
French striker Olivier Giroud thinks Lloris has the edge over Courtois, his club teammate at Chelsea.
“They’re both very good on their line, but Hugo is more explosive,” Giroud said. “The best is Hugo. Sorry, Thibaut.”
Meunier out
Belgium must cope without defender Thomas Meunier, whose runs down the flank are a key part of Belgium’s attack.
Meunier is suspended after tripping Brazil star Neymar and earning a second yellow card of the tournament. In Meunier’s absence, Martinez may scrap his 3-5-2 formation with wingbacks, and instead switch to a back four in a more compact defense.
Hazard outlet
Star forward Eden Hazard is known for his attacking prowess, but he also is an outlet for Belgium’s defense. Hazard runs at pace and cuts inside. Because of his quick feet, change of direction and exquisite close control, he is difficult to tackle and this often draws a foul.
Mbappe threat
While Giroud has yet to score at this World Cup, his ability to hold the ball up suits France’s system and allows Mbappe to make runs down the right flank. It also gives Antoine Griezmann space to roam.
“I try to create gaps for my teammates,” Giroud said. “It’s my unselfish side.”
He needs one goal to move ahead of France great Zinedine Zidane. They are tied on fourth overall with 31.
Griezmann has scored two penalty kicks and set up Raphael Varane’s headed goal against Uruguay. But he has not shown the form he did when he led France in scoring en route to the Euro 2016 final, when Les Bleus lost to Portugal.
Belgium struggled against Japan when defending quick and mobile players.
With the whistle
Andres Cunha of Uruguay was assigned to referee the match after working France’s opening 2-1 win over Australia and Spain’s 1-0 victory over Iran in the group stage. He awarded France a penalty kick after a video review of a tackle from behind by Joshua Risdon on Antoine Griezmann, who converted for a 1-0 lead. Cunha disallowed a goal by Iran’s Saeid Ezatolahi after an assistant referee and the video assistant signaled the player was offside.
Boulder Daily Camera
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Tiger: Celebrate the 125th Anniversary But Get Behind the Current U's Too
Join us for our 125th birthday on Saturday - £12.50 tickets still available
Oxford United Chairman Sumrith 'Tiger' Thanakarnjanasuth is urging fans to come and be part of Saturday’s 125th Anniversary Celebrations.
Prices start from just £1.25 with adult tickets £12.50 and with a parade of former stars to add to the occasion, and United playing in a special kit toi mark the day it should be a great afternoon at Grenoble Road.
“It is so important to celebrate the history of this club” Tiger told us “and we will rightly talk about the great matches, goals and players but I also want it to be about the current day Oxford United. It is another massive game and we want as many supporters as possible to come along but also to bring the noise! When the fans get behind the team it is a great place to be, so put on your favourite Oxford shirt and scarf and come and celebrate with us.
“Right now the team is not where we want it to be in the table, but I think there has been a change over the last few games. We look much harder to break down and each game we play becomes another important step forward. We went up one more place with a very spirited draw at Charlton on Tuesday night; the last three games have seen us go up one position each time. Some would say slow progress but three away draws- Southend, Bristol Rovers and Charlton, with a home win against Plymouth in between is a good run and I think you can see progress being made.
“I know we will get it right. We have exciting players, a Manager and coaches who give it their all, backed by fantastic staff. Off the field you can see the direction we are heading with the Academy thriving, the new training ground giving us a fantastic base and a new board who I promise you will do the right things for this football club.
“So on Saturday we want the fans to come and help us celebrate 125 years of history, but also be part of what will be a very exciting match day.”
Fans are reminded that the discounted prices are only available before matchday- visit oufctickets.co.uk or call 01865 337533 to save money while booking your place for Oxford United’s 125th Anniversary.
Oxford United vs Shrewsbury Town on 27 Oct 18
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News Shop Talk Pets Pantry Market Deeping
Shop Talk: Pets Pantry, Market Deeping
Pets Pantry is located in the busy Lincolnshire market town of Market Deeping. Jayne Tattersall bought the shop four years ago, and says she loves every minute of it…
When it comes to location, you could not pick better. Pets Pantry is a long-established pet shop in Market Deeping; one of its windows looks on to the high street, next to a bus-stop, and its main entrance is on a pedestrianised cut-through between this main road and the car park of a Co-op store.
Neighbours include a very popular butcher and a café opposite, run by a pastry chef who is well-known for her pastries and celebration cakes. In summer, the walkway is filled with chairs and tables as customers enjoy their coffess and teas, creating a fantastic ambience, said Pets Pantry owner Jayne Tattersall. “We are very lucky to have this position,” said Jayne, who runs the shop with her husband Roger.
Jayne (left), Roger and Sue
Jayne took over the shop as a going concern four years ago. Roger is a retired golf professional and they had been in the golf trade for 30 years, with Jayne also coming from a background with high-street retailer M&S. The recession hit the leisure trade very hard, and Jayne was looking for something different that would interest them.
“I have always been interested in animals, dogs predominantly, and we were looking for a pet business to buy, and then this one came up,” she said.
Pets Pantry had already been around for about 20 years, and the then-owner was selling as she wanted to concentrate on her other business.
The store itself was well-run and had a good customer base. It was perfect, said Jayne. “It was really only for us to keep up the good work.”
Entrance to shop opens onto cut-through
That may be so, but it was still a bit of a culture shock. She said: “If you work in a big company, chances are you are either in accounts, sales or marketing, but in a small business, you have to do a bit of everything, doing the books, promoting the shop, selling, all things. These four years have been interesting, a really big learning curve. Such as learning about the right things to buy and not to waste money! You can think at the time, what a good idea, but then you realise it’s not!”
The most important thing is to listen to customers and be guided by what they want, she said.
A window into people’s lives
Listen. Listen to what products people want. Listen to the challenges and issues they are having with their pets. Listen as they talk about their families. Listening creates relationships, builds loyalty and fosters community spirit.
Pets Pantry has a reputation for its nutritional expertise
Sue Andrew works at Pets Pantry two days a week when Jayne and Roger are off (the store is open six days a week). She said: “People seem to have a good sense of humour; I don’t know whether it’s because they own pets. We will have a laugh with each other, they are all just nice people.
“Next thing you know, they tell us all about their families, and the pictures come out. People who have animals are genuinely nice people.”
Pets Pantry has a large, loyal customer base, says Jayne, and there is this real community feel. “It is so strong that if somebody does not come in on their usual day, we think, are they all right? It’s really lovely here, we have got to know lots of people.”
Raw was one of her best decisions, says Jayne
Jayne and Roger lost Callum, their Border collie last year. “We had cards and so many flowers, we ran out of vases at home. People were so kind and lovely, the community feel about the place is amazing.”
Pets Pantry sponsors a number of local events including local dog and horticultural shows. Jayne also advertises occasionally in the local magazines. She also has a strong network with other pet services including dog trainers, a hydrotherapy pool and the vets. “We’re constantly referring customers from one to the other,” she said. For example, with some behavioral issues, the trainer will suggest the owner ‘get the food sorted first’, and likewise if an owner comes in looking for a muzzle or harness, she might recommend they go for one-on-one sessions with a trainer first.
Shop actually occupies two units on the high street
The shop is seldom quiet – though it’s not always filled with paying customers because sometimes dogs will bring their owners in as all dogs know they get a treat once inside. And then there’s Bliss, the Tattersall’s 10-year-old Border collie, the self-designated chief ‘meeter and greeter’ who is not at all shy about dropping her stuffed toy crocodile at your feet, expectant that you’re going to throw it for her to catch.
Sue said: “This is such a busy shop, but somehow we always get everything done; we are never bored!”
Jayne added: “Sometimes we think, oh, it’s gone very quiet, and then it’s almost as if a coach has pulled up outside. You envisage this organised, profitable business, and then it all turns to havoc, with people playing with the dog, chatting – but we love it. We go home and think we are very lucky.
Cosy selection of beds
“I like working Saturdays because there is the hustle and bustle , and then if we have had a really busy day, at the end I can say, ‘oh the weekend’s here’ because we have Sunday and Monday off!”
People want advice, says Jayne, especially as they are more aware of the food they eat themselves and of what they are giving their pets. “If they have a healthy diet for themselves, they want to give it to their animals too,” she said. “People like natural, and that’s what we give them.”
Jayne has had a long interest in pet nutrition and has always fed her dogs raw, saying it has ‘never been as easy to feed raw as it is now’. “I was keen to introduce raw when we came in, and it’s one of the best things we have done,” she said. “We also promote natural foods as I do not want to sell products that I would not feed my own animals.
Canagan, Green Pantry and Nutram are good cat sellers
“It is very rewarding, especially when people come in and say what a difference the food has made to their animals, whether it’s their behaviour, skin or coat. We also have a lot of people come here because they have been to the larger multiples and did not get the advice they need.”
A number of customers now come to Jayne for advice about nutrition and certain problems such as itching and scratching before seeing their vet, she says. “People do like to think they will try something else first before going to the vet. We do what we can if it is fairly simple, for example ‘My dog is itching and scratching’. But clearly if it is more serious, we recommend they see the vet.”
Customers like weigh-up wild bird food
She remembers one customer who came in looking for a shampoo and oils for her dog, which had a skin condition. On chatting with her, Jayne encouraged her to try a different food brand, saying the food might clear the condition up without any other intervention. “It worked,” said Jayne, “something as simple as changing the food.”
Needless to say, dog food is a big seller, with brands including Symply, Canagan, Green Dog, Arden Grange and Burns filling her shelves. “I like Green Pantry, Symply and Canagan,” she said. “I like to support those who are supporting us and the independent trade. I do not see the point in stocking items that supermarkets stock; it’s totally pointless.”
Natural goes down a treat!
Cat food sales are dominated by Canagan, Green Pantry and Nutram. Nutram sales have dipped since the manufacturer stopped selling small bags and now its smallest size is 1.8kg.
“Unless someone has a multi-cat household, they won’t buy it now, it’s too big. And cats are more fickle than dogs, people prefer to buy small quantities in case they go off it and so they tend to chop and change brands. With dogs, once they get on something, they tend to stay with it.”
Every inch is used, including floor for display of bowls
Sue’s area of specialty is small animals, and they have grown this section and added a large selection of Rosewood Naturals and use Mr Johnson’s as weigh-up, because of its added Verm-X. “We’re looking at the nutrition for small animals too, and not just cats and dogs,” said Sue.
Small animals are popular in the area. She added: “We have some customers who have a house full of gerbils, so they buy 12.5kg bags of gerbil food. We’ve also had requests for ferret food and treats, which we now carry.”
Demand for small animal food and products has been growing
One of the biggest challenges the team faces is the lack of storage. Everything that arrives pretty much goes straight on to the shelves.
Jayne does not have an EPoS system as they have got stock-taking ‘down to a tee now’ as they generally break the store down into sections and each has their own section. She also does not have a Facebook page or web page. “I like to talk to my customers face to face,” she said. “I like the old-fashioned feel of the business. Maybe one day I will be dragged into the 21st century, but at the moment, I am happy where I am – I would rather talk to my customers face to face. People come in here for advice, as a first port of call.”
Healthcare is popular
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Google Launches The Android eight.1 Developer Preview
by FIX LEO on 19/04/2018 in 4g
The largest technological large, Google has unveiled Android Prompt apps, the newest method of working Android applications without installing them. Android is Google’s cellular working system, launched in September 2008, though its historical past technically began with the release of the Android alpha in November 2007. 87 88 Some carriers offer direct service billing for Google Play software purchases, where the price of the applying is added to the user’s monthly invoice.
Ensure your gadgets are compatible with Skype for Android. Android is popular with know-how firms that require a prepared-made, low-price and customizable working system for high-tech units. Katherine Kuan, previously a Developer Advocate at Google, was a software engineer on the Android Apps staff for Google Hold, Google Play, and the People app.
This sale only applies to Verizon fashions as Finest Buy obviously doesn’t sell the Google Retailer model. Temukan topik yang Anda minati, dan bergabunglah. Android functions (” apps “) might be downloaded from the Google Play store, which features over 2.7 million apps as of February 2017.
Android was built from the ground-up to enable developers to create compelling cellular applications that take full advantage of all a handset has to offer. They’ll swap out the telephone’s homescreen, the fashion of the dialer, or any of the functions. If you are a Java programmer who is curious about mastering the Android platform and building high-rated Android apps, this is this system for you.
With Android, a developer can construct an utility that allows users to view the placement of their buddies and be alerted when they are in the vicinity giving them an opportunity to connect. Those who personal the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) or Galaxy A7 (2017) can obtain Android 7 right now to their devices, but for those who own the Samsung Galaxy A8 or Galaxy A5 (2017) you won’t be capable to get the update but.
Tags:android developer eight1 google launches preview
← Android Version Historical past
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Hire Elvis Tribute Band in Benfleet
Elvis Tribute Band Essex
Elvis Tribute Band Benfleet
Browse Elvis Tributes
You might not be able to get the King of Rock and Roll himself to your event in Benfleet, Essex, but a tribute act could make your event the King of celebrations! Book one of our 10 Elvis Presley Tribute acts today!
Ian Coulson as ELVIS
Available in Benfleet from £295
Recent review: "Wow! Brilliant night ...Ian had everyone up dancing and singing . Went above and beyond, to include those of us that weren’t so able, thank you Ian. We loved your act and would throughly recommend. Our daughter son in law and their guests had a great night!"
Elvis Tribute Gary Graceland
Recent review: Absolutely brilliant, he tailored his act to catch all of my Mum’s favourites. He made her feel special on her 80th Birthday, you won’t be disappointed. Thank you
Antony Myers 'The Voice of Vegas Elvis'
Available in Benfleet from £300.00
Recent review: Antony was absolutely brilliant. We hired him for my mum's 80th and everybody loved him. He can really sing and sounds like Elvis. He really got the party going and everyone got up dancing. I would definitely recommend him!
DaniElviS - Elvis Tribute, Singer & Entertainer
Recent review: Dan was absolutely fantastic. Got all my wedding guest sing and dancing even though it was the hottest day of the year 29th june 2019. Fab time and would highly recommend he again and again. Thank you Dan......thank you very much xx
The Almost Elvis Band
Available in Benfleet from £1000
About: The Almost Elvis Band is a 8 piece rockin’ band, an all-in-one party solution complete with a sound and light crew that brings the spectacle, excitement and humour of an Elvis performance to wherever you are. Did you ever wish you could experience an event where it sounded and felt like Elvis had
Ratpack and Party Singer - Dean Ager
Recent review: Dean was fantastic. I would highly recommend. It was the perfect entertainment for our weddings guests while they enjoyed their meals.
The Elvis Presley Show
Recent review: "5/5 Superb entertainment and what a lovely guy! He went out of his way to ensure the birthday boy had a great time...and by letting the whole family join in Loads of comments about what a great time everyone had, would recommend highly!"
Elvis Ve Va Las Vegas
About: The Elvis Ve Va Las Vegas Experience is an Electrifying High Energy, audience Interactive performance to the King of Rock n' Roll, including incredible Elvis like vocals, together with authentically reproduced Elvis costumes covering early Elvis days, 50's, 68' Special, his film years right up t
Recent review: Wow! We had such an amazing party with Elvis in the building! It was my 50th birthday party and I wasn't sure how to entertain my guests. I needn't have been worried, Elvis was perfect. Dean put me at ease with his professionalism and completely reassured me and was so easy to deal with. A pleas
Elvis In Concert By Andy James
Recent review: "We booked Andy's show as a surprise for our parents diamond wedding anniversary. Andy and Stuart could not have been more accommodating and worked with us in order to keep the secret. The looks on our parents faces when Elvis appeared was priceless. Andy's act is first class he is an absolutely am
Ivan B 1950s Rock-n-Roll Vocalist & Elvis Presley Tribute
Available in Benfleet
Recent review: Ivan provided us with a fantastic afternoons entertainment from start to Finish would definitely be booking him again and would definitely recommend booking him
Lolly & La-La's Entertainments
About: We offer award winning Live singers & Tribute acts. From swing to the king, George Michael, Freddy Mercury & much more. Weddings, birthdays, corporate function, what ever the occasion, we will make you go La-La!!
Elvis 56 Solo Show or with his own band The if I Can Dream Band
Recent review: Elvis(Andy ) was absolutely fantastic. Good communication from start to finish. Good interaction with all the crowd and of course my mum the birthday girl. Excellent voice and one of the best elvis singers my mum has seen. Would definitely recommend him and not forgetting his lovely wife who does th
Jason Dale - The ELVIS Explosion
Recent review: "Absolutely Fantastic The best act we have ever booked. Carol Events Manager - The Royal George Hotel. Birdlip, Gloucester"
Recent review: James gave a fantastic five star performance and had everyone dancing. Couldn’t have got a better show in Las Vegas. Thanks James
Elvis Tribute Andy Jones
Recent review: Brilliant Elvis tribute artist. Really professional, booking and organising songs etc very straightforward. Looks the part and sounds amazing...also very nice guy. Would definitely recommend.
About: 21 Entertainment is a modern, creative and innovative entertainment agency. Our aim is simple. To provide you with the highest standard of entertainment for your next party, event, function or wedding. We do this by working with some of the UK's finest musicians, bands, entertainers and performers a
Community Event - Benfleet
We are doing a Remembrance Day Community Event at Godden Lodge Care Home (57 Hart Road, Thundersley, Benfleet, SS7 3GL). We will be inviting the local community into the home to listen to live music, share memories and have refreshments. It is free to the community to attend. Would love if we could have a band that could do 40's music tribute for the event.
Birthday party (adult) - Essex
I work at a care home for people with learning disability's I am organising a party for a man who loves all types of music from the 60/70 there will be about 20/30 guest there regards Jackie Robinson
Community Event - Essex
Our event is going to be held at the Saffron Hall which can hold up to 600 people. We are holding this event as part of our leisure studies a level course. We are interested in your Beatles tribute band to play at this event.
Wedding - Essex
Indoors. The venue is a barn however the band would be in a hall type venue attached to the barn.
Wedding - Loughton
Looking a general idea of availability and price. My fiancé loves the doors and would ask of you are able to do covers of songs of other bands also?
Wedding reception - Chelmsford
We're getting married on the 17.9.2016 and are hosting our reception at Ariana Gardens Chelmsford. We would like music to be played at the drinks reception and in the afternoon - may be a max of 3 hours - but we are flexible - no definitive plans yet We were wondering if we could get a quote? Of course food and drink will be provided kind regards Tharjan and Steph
Anniversary - Colchester
It's a 50th anniversary party, (garden party at home). Mum and dad got married in 1966 so I would like some 60's music!!
Wedding - Brentwood
We would like a 'mumford and Sons' style band for our wedding in August. It is in a marquee in Brentwood. Do you have any availability and idea of costs. Thanks, Emma
Corporate Function - Barking
Womens Empowerment Launch Event. Would like quotes for female Jazz singers to perform in Barking Essex on the evening of 8th March. Timings to be confirmed but will be between 7:30pm-9pm. The total set length will be 1 hr, however this could potentially be broken up into 2x 30 minute sets.
Wedding reception - Essex
The event is a wedding reception for my son. It is in a hall that has a stage. It doesn't have a theme, however I think an abba type act would make it fun as most people would dance and would sing along.
Anniversary - Woodford Green
It's our 25th wedding anniversary party and am interested in hiring Richie Many thanks
Other Event - Essex
We are hosting an outdoor cinema evening, and are looking for live entertainment before the film starts. Gates open at 7pm and we are looking for an act to perform from 8-9.15pm. Thanks Ben
Birthday party (adult) - Waltham Abbey
40th birthday at lea valley white water rafting centre. Inside area and balcony area.
Birthday party (adult) - Leigh On Sea
Hi, im having an outdoor party and would like a mariachi plan to play for part of the evening to around 50 guests.
Celebration - Chelmsford
Indoors in a stately home and heritage site. When are allowed a pianist / acoustic band / singer but not a full band due to the age of the building.
Other Event - Hornchurch
We are a Harvester branch looking to do a party night for our guests during the festive period
Wedding - Canvey Island
Wedding for evening entertainment can I please have a price also is there somewhere I can come and see use play
Birthday party (adult) - Romford
Happy to go lower on time or number sin the band to get a better price as have max £500
Wedding reception - Colchester
This will be our wedding reception and a steel band is requested four our welcome drinks and as background music to the main wedding breakfast. it will be outside as well
Hi there, We're looking at hosting a Mexican themed evening on Friday 26th August and are looking to hire a lively Mariachi band for an hour or 2 from 7/8pm. We are a bar/restaurant in Great Dunmow, Essex. Can you please give availability and quote for the event? Many thanks, Olivia Cutsforth General Manager The Saracens Head Hotel
Fundraising event - Saffron Walden
We are a charity and want to organise a music night open to all saffron walden the charity is St Thomas more school. We are looking for a talented modern band that can keep everybody entertained for a really fun night.
Local Results for Elvis Tribute Band
Essex, Chelmsford, Colchester, Basildon, Harlow, Grays, Clacton On Sea, Maldon, Witham, Rayleigh, Barking, Benfleet, Billericay, Braintree, Brentwood, Buckhurst Hill, Burnham On Crouch, Canvey Island, Chigwell, Dagenham, Dunmow, Epping, Frinton On Sea, Halstead, Harwich, Hockley, Hornchurch, Ilford, Ingatestone, Leigh On Sea, Loughton, Manningtree, Ongar, Rainham, Rochford, Romford, Saffron Walden, South Ockendon, Stanford Le Hope, Stansted, Tilbury, Upminster, Waltham Abbey, Walton On The Naze, Wickford, Woodford Green, Sible Hedingham, Takeley, Coggeshall, Tiptree, Hatfield Peverel, Theydon Bois, Earls Colne, Danbury, Little Clacton, Thaxted, University of Essex, Thorpe-le-Soken
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Hire Country Band in Woolwich
Country Band
Country Band Greater London
Country Band Woolwich
Browse Country Bands
Are you looking for a Country Band in Woolwich, Greater London? Our catalogue includes 17 acts available for hire in Woolwich.
Aces High!
Available in Woolwich from £900
Recent review: "Absolutely Fantastic! We booked Aces High! for our Wedding and couldn't have been happier with the choice, they put on an absolutely fantastic performance that everyone wholeheartedly enjoyed. Alongside the great show, they're easy to speak to, professional and responsive. Planning a Wedding
Lilac Sheer
Recent review: Lilac was fantastic. We had a full crowd in for her and she was really great. Lovely tone and an excellent set list. Have already rebooked her another show.
Barn With Us
Recent review: Thank you for your lovely performance, the evening was great!!! You were right, the wind & cold brought everyone into the barn to dance, chat & listen to your music!! Compliments from everyone, they loved your music and commented on how good it was to hear a really good live band. The sound was exce
Jasmine and Covervision
About: Lively and enthusiastic 4-piece female-fronted party band with a great range of floor fillers from the 60's to the 00's! Lighting and PL Insurance.
The thumping Tommys
About: The thumping tommys are a collection of talented musicians specialising in old-time music. Having played at many great festival stages, bars and cafes, the thumping tommys play a heady brew of Irish and American folk music performed with a distinctly English style, which has established them as one
Duchas Anam
Recent review: "Great job, thanks! Good selection of traditional songs (which was probably somewhat wasted on the audience). Loved the lights which were unexpected and very much appreciated the music at the end and letting us jump on the mic for a bit of dancing. Would definitely recommend! Thanks Katie."
Thomas McBrien
About: Thomas McBrien is an award winning jazz pianist, band leader, session musician and educator that gained a first class degree from Canterbury Christ Church university in 2013. He has toured throughout Europe and the UK and is resident in South East London. As a performing jazz pianist he regularly p
Kingsfolk
Recent review: What a great night! Kingsfolk made my birthday so special. Pre-event communications with Simon were detailed timely and professional. I had a small venue and Kingsfolk were very accommodating, adapting dances and even visiting the venue beforehand to ensure smooth running on the night. On the night
Black and Gold - Live Band for hire
Recent review: Just fabulous, we loved them as did all of our guests. The lead had an awesome voice & was great at getting the crowd going & the female guitarist was epic.
Lucy Blu
Recent review: Our country themed party was literally MADE by your music! Thank you so so so so so much! We had a great time and loved every song! Definitely would have you back again next year!!!
About: Lunch Special are an international stringband based in London, playing a mix of bluegrass, old-time and gospel originals and treasures. Taking their inspiration from their diverse backgrounds spanning Hong Kong, America, Italy, Norway, Ireland and finally settling in London, the trio play off-kilter
Red River Musicians
About: Red River Musicians is the London based music booking platform providing live music to pubs, restaurants & various functions around the whole of the UK. We can provide solo performers, duos and bands across a wide range of musical styles. So, whether you need some background noise for a relaxed func
Move Over Sandy
About: We specialise in 50s and 60s rock n roll, rhythm and blues and soul hits from that era. We have a website, professional photos and videos. We have a sample set list and a full set list on request. We can do weddings, birthdays and all sorts of function events.
About: My name is Miss Jones, part of the Miss Jones Duo/Trio and we are a London based band that specialises in rock n roll, blues, country and all that jazz! I am the leader of the Miss Jones Trio on vocals, harmonica & guitar. I was recently endorsed by Italian guitar company Lengardo Guitars. Our re
The Two Tones
About: N/A
Available in Woolwich
About: Wonderland is a live duo featuring strong male and female lead vocals, virtuoso electric and acoustic guitar and mandolin, and saxophone. All backed with the best digital backing tracks available, giving you a full-band sound whilst keeping the volume (and your budget!) under control. Wonderland hav
Musicians Inc.
About: "Musicians Inc Music and Entertainment Agency Delivering Musical Experiences for the Corporate and Private Entertainment industries Producing and tailoring entertainment from the most sought-after musicians and entertainers Our musicians have trained to the highest possible level at music colleges
Strawberry Blonde
Recent review: An absolutely brilliant afternoon, you girls made the day. Thankyou so much for singing Crazy, my mum's favourite song. It was beautiful.
The Streamline 55's
Available in Woolwich from £300.00
About: The Streamline 55's are an energetic 5 piece rockabilly band, complete with double bass, based in and around Herts. We do a mix of rare and more well known authentic 50’s covers along with a few originals…Our sound is influenced by country, rhythm and blues, surf music and good old fashioned rock a
Recent review: I am a publican and have been booking entertainment for over 30 years. I booked Strawberry Blonde on the off chance, was lucky. These girls are terrific, the best act I have booked in all my years of being a publican!...Too good for pubs!
Local Results for Country Band
London, Greater London, North Ascot, Acton, Barnes, Battersea, Bermondsey, Bethnal Green, Brixton, Camberwell, Camden Town, Catford, Chelsea, Chingford, Chiswick, Deptford, Ealing, East Ham, Edmonton, Eltham, Finchley, Friern Barnet, Fulham, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith, Hampstead, Hendon, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Leyton, Marylebone, Merton, Paddington, Penge, Putney, Southgate, Stoke Newington, Stratford, Streatham, Tottenham, Walthamstow, Wandsworth, Wanstead, West Ham, Wood Green, Woolwich
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Food Pantry, Closet Now Open
The Kennedy First United Methodist Church Food Pantry and Children’s Clothing Closet serving Falconer School District residents is open the third Tuesday of the month from 6-8 p.m. It is also open the last Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon. The pantry strives to provide each family with two to three days of food, but is limited to type depending on the food donations that have been received. The pantry is stocked through individual and group food and monetary donations. The clothing closet provides children’s clothing birth-teen sizes. For more information, please contact the church office at 267-2645. The church is located at the corner of Church and Second streets in Kennedy across from the Town Hall and Post Office, and is handicap accessible through the lower side door.
Class Of 1959 Planning Reunion
The Frewsburg Central Class of 1959 is planning its 60th reunion to be held on Saturday, June 22, at the Legion in Frewsburg. Anyone with a current address or whereabouts of Phyllis Stewart, Craig Bryant or Martha Bova Dobblowitz, please contact Sandy Pryll at 569-6648.
JCC Recitals To Begin Sunday
Jamestown Community College’s music students and faculty will present recitals in the Scharmann Theatre on the Jamestown Campus. Both recitals begin at 2:30 p.m. The faculty performance, featuring soloists and ensembles, will be held on Sunday, April 28. The music department’s best students will perform works from Bach to Broadway on May 5. The programs, free and open to the public, are presented by JCC’s arts, humanities, and health services division.
Coldspring Town Board Gathers
The Coldspring Town Board met on April 4 for its regular meeting. The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by Supervisor Tina Hyde. Members present were Wendell Craig Anderson, David Chapman and Timothy Plaskett. Minutes were read from the March 14 meeting by the town clerk and approved. Smart Street Lighting NY Program information was received from National Grid’s Outdoor Street Lighting Opt-In Program to replace current with LED at no cost. Board members agreed the town should opt-in.
Church Planning Rummage Sale
SOUTH DAYTON — The South Dayton United Methodist Church will host a rummage sale at 34 Maple St., South Dayton, on Friday, May 3, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, May 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A bake sale will be held both days, and a bag sale will be held Saturday at noon. Proceeds will benefit the church’s Mission Fund.
Fenton To Host Census Speaker
“Census Records: 1850 and Beyond” will be held at the Hall House Research Library at 73 Forest Ave., Jamestown, on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Andrew Kolstee will present on the various Census records, especially the federal Census, from 1850 onward, when all names of household members were listed. Census records are a valuable tool for genealogists and among the most popular and basic records sought after during research. Call 664-6256 to register. The cost is $20 for the general public or $10 for Fenton History Center members.
Patterson Library Book Sale Set WESTFIELD — Patterson Library will hold its annual book sale, “Books-N-More ...
School Board To Meet Today SALAMANCA — The Salamanca City Central School District Board of Education will hold a ...
Cookie Contest Planned Saturday Do you make the best pepparkokar cookies in the area? The traditional Christmas ...
Fenton Offering Research Hours The Fenton History Center is offering evening research hours at the Hall House from ...
Summer Concerts Set For Davis Park Concerts have been announced for the 30th Year of Summer concerts taking place ...
Sheriff Warns Of Phone Scam LITTLE VALLEY — The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to local ...
(9:20 AM) Florida Woman Facing Leandra’s Law Charges
(3:27 PM) Reed ‘Confident’ Trump Is Not A Racist, Opposes House Resolution
(11:45 AM) Names Released In Crash Involving State Trooper, Van
Trap Leagues
Area Baseball Roundup
Page One
Local Commentaries
In Our Opinion
Copyright © Post Journal | https://www.post-journal.com | PO Box 3386, Jamestown, NY 14702 | 716-487-1111 | Ogden Newspapers | The Nutting Company
Focus On Schools
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High school boys basketball: Arguello offers predictions for all divisions
Arguello picks Kimberly, Xavier to reach Kohl Center for WIAA boys basketball state tournament
High school boys basketball: Arguello offers predictions for all divisions Arguello picks Kimberly, Xavier to reach Kohl Center for WIAA boys basketball state tournament Check out this story on postcrescent.com: https://www.postcrescent.com/story/sports/2019/02/25/high-school-boys-basketball-predictions-all-divisions/2981051002/
Ricardo Arguello, Appleton Post-Crescent Published 6:53 p.m. CT Feb. 25, 2019
Kimberly's Jake Buchanan goes for a layup against Oshkosh West on Thursday. (Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)
APPLETON - The WIAA boys basketball tournament begins Tuesday and several area teams have great shots at reaching the state tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Kimberly (20-2) earned a No. 1 seed in Division 1, as did Wrightstown (18-4) in Division 3.
Here's a quick look at each division with predicted state semifinalists and championship matchups. A reminder that teams are seeded at the state tournament.
Top contenders: Madison East (21-1), Kimberly (20-2), Sussex Hamilton (18-4), Brookfield East (18-4), Brookfield Central (17-5), Waukesha West (19-3)
Other area teams: Appleton West (16-6), Neenah (15-7), Appleton East (12-10), Appleton North (7-15)
Ricardo says: Sussex Hamilton and Brookfield East reached the state tournament last season and Kimberly fell just short. Brookfield Central is another team to watch and all three are from the Greater Metro Conference. Patrick Baldwin Jr. averages 18.6 points and 7.7 rebounds for Sussex Hamilton and had a solid tournament last season. Kimberly is led by a top big man, Levi Nienhaus-Borchert (17.8 ppg, 12.0 rpg), and has a great shot at reaching the Kohl Center for the first time under head coach Lucky Wurtz. Neenah's Max Klesmit is averaging 24.1 points and the Rockets could be seen as a darkhorse, as is Appleton West led by point guard Will Mahoney (21.5 ppg).
Championship, semifinal predictions: Kimberly over Waukesha West; Kimberly over Brookfield East; Waukesha West over Madison East
Top contenders: Nicolet (21-1), La Crosse Central (20-2), Westosha Central (21-1), East Troy (20-1), Mount Horeb (19-3), Green Bay Southwest (20-2), Milwaukee Washington (17-5), Milwaukee Bay View (18-2), Kaukauna (17-5)
Other area teams: Seymour (17-5), New London (14-7), Menasha (9-13), Hortonville (9-12), Waupaca (6-16), Fox Valley Lutheran (3-19)
Ricardo says: It's hard to see any scenario where Nicolet isn't the overall favorite in Division 2. The Knights welcomed the off-season transfers of Jalen Johnson (20.3 ppg) and Kobe Johnson (10.1 ppg), and Jamari Sibley also averages 20 points per game. Both Sibley and Johnson are 6-9 and matchup nightmares. Donovan Ivory (20.7 ppg) has had a stellar season as the go-to man for Kaukauna, the defending Division 2 state champs. Westosha Central, La Crosse Central and Milwaukee Washington also made the tournament last season and Washington may be the biggest threat to Nicolet with senior guard Deontay Long (20.5 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 5.0 assists) and Michael Foster Jr. (20 ppg, 11.8 rpg). La Crosse Central's Johnny Davis is UW bound and is averaging 23.3 ppg.
Championship, semifinal predictions: Nicolet over Milwaukee Washington; Nicolet over Westosha Central, Milwaukee Washington over La Crosse Central
Nick Otto of Xavier drives the baseline against Nate Jensen of West De Pere in a Bay Conference game Dec. 21 at Torchy Clark Gym in Appleton. (Photo: USA TODAY Network-Wisconsin)
Top contenders: Waupun (21-1), St. John's Military Academy (21-1), Racine St. Catherine's (19-3), Martin Luther (19-3), Stratford (22-0), Wrightstown (18-4), Freedom (18-4), Denmark (18-4), Xavier (17-4)
Other area teams: Little Chute (14-7), Chilton (12-10), Clintonville (9-13), Winneconne (9-13), Brillion (9-13)
Ricardo says: Waupun and Martin Luther are the probable top overall teams in a very competitive Division 3 field. Waupun's Marcus Domask is one of the state's premier players and averages 27.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists. Martin Luther, which handed Waupun its lone loss of the season, must survive a sectional that includes Racine St. Cats and St. John's Military. The North Eastern Conference had a tri-champion with Wrightstown, Freedom and Denmark. I really like Xavier to come out of that sectional, however, even after losing one of its top players, Henry Egan, to a knee injury late in the season.
Championship, semifinal predictions: Martin Luther over Waupun; Waupun over Stratford, Martin Luther over Xavier
Top contenders: Roncalli (22-0), Lourdes (21-1), Clear Lake (19-1), Iola-Scandinavia (20-1), Darlington (19-2), New Glarus (20-2), Osseo-Fairchild (21-1), Colfax (21-1)
Other area teams: Manawa (16-4), Shiocton (17-5), St. Mary Catholic (9-12), Weyauwega-Fremont (2-19)
Ricardo says: Roncalli, the defending Division 4 champ, is having a spectacular season led by guard Chombi Lambert (21.1 ppg). Logan Mulhern paces Osseo-Fairchild (26.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 5.7 apg). Shiocton may have a modest record, but the Chiefs can certainly challenge Lourdes for the sectional title. Lourdes' Henry Noone is a sharpshooter and averaging 22.6 points and the Knights can fill up the scoreboard and defend. The Knights' head coach, Brad Clark, is a former Associated Press player of the year and led Markesan to the WIAA state title in Division 3 in the mid-90s.
Championship, semifinal predictions: Roncalli over Lourdes Academy; Roncalli over New Glarus; Lourdes Academy over Osseo-Fairchild
Top contenders: Randolph (22-0), Bangor (20-1), Columbus Catholic (20-2), Wauzeka-Steuben (20-1), Sheboygan Area Lutheran (20-2), Blair Taylor (21-1), Hustisford (20-2), Almond-Bancroft (19-3)
Other area teams: Hilbert (16-6), Stockbridge (11-10)
Ricardo says: Bangor is the defending D5 champ and is led by Grant Manke (22.7 ppg, 13.3 rpg). Columbus Catholic boasts four key seniors in Bryce Fuerlinger (17.6 ppg), Jarred Mandel (15.9 ppg), Noah Taylor (16.2 ppg) and Ethan Meece (13.1 ppg). Hilbert is a legit darkhorse but will eventually have to run into Sheboygan Lutheran and its top player Jacob Ognacevic (30.1 points, 15.6 rpg). It'll be interesting to see which team earns the top seed, with that team most likely facing an unranked team from the Northwest Sectional. Rib Lake (13-6) is viewed as a possible state tournament qualifier. The Redmen are coached by Carrie Ewan, one of only three females coaching high school boys varsity basketball in the state.
Championship, semifinal predictions: Sheboygan Lutheran over Columbus Catholic; Sheboygan Lutheran over Rib Lake; Columbus Catholic over Bangor
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Beyond Good & Evil 2 Features Young Jade, After All
Chris Kohler 11th Jun 2018
Jade, the heroine of the original Beyond Good and Evil, will play a major role in the next game, Ubisoft said. Originally, Beyond Good and Evil 2 was said to take place before Jade was born, but instead a “ferocious young Jade” will appear in the game’s storyline.
Read full article
More Beyond Good & Evil 2 News
E3 2018: Beyond Good & Evil 2 Getting Content From Joseph Gordon Levitt's Company
GameSpot11th Jun 2018
Ubisoft partners with the Inception actor for a campaign where anyone can create content for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC game.
Beyond Good and Evil 2 teases the return of Jade
PC Gamer11th Jun 2018
Beyond Good & Evil 2's appearance at E3 2017 came as a surprise. Revealed on stage at the Ubisoft conference, the cinematic teaser ...
E3 2018: Beyond Good & Evil 2 Trailer Reveals Jade And Other Returning Characters
A few familiar faces appear in the game's latest cinematic trailer.
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Clear and Tip Rally
Participants learn about and practise sending and receiving a shuttlecock over a net while working together as a group.
1 badminton net (or markers to simulate a net) per game
1 badminton racquet (or alternate type of racquet) per participant
1 shuttlecock per game
4 pylons per game
Protective eye gear for all participants
Inspect the activity area and eliminate potential hazards. Check that the activity surface provides safe traction. Set boundaries for the activity a safe distance from walls and obstacles. Provide a safe distance between activities. Provide adequate spacing when playing doubles to allow each participant to be able to make an uninterrupted swing of the racquet. Racquets must be inspected regularly and be in safe condition.
Divide participants into pairs. Two pairs form a group.
Set up as many badminton nets (or markers to simulate a net) as possible within the gymnasium. One group sets up on each court (one pair per side).
Pairs position themselves on the end line of their respective side of the court.
Participants set up two pylons in the middle of each side of the activity area to form a line parallel to the net.
Participants send the shuttlecock to the opposing team using a clearing shot, which is a deep shot toward the back of the court. The goal is to send the shuttlecock past the pylons on the other side of the court.
Groups work together to try to sustain a rally using clearing shots until the shuttlecock is shot out of bounds or is dropped.
The leader asks open-ended questions to help participants refine their movement strategies and tactical solutions during the activity. Examples include: How could you hit the shuttlecock so the opposing team has a greater chance to receive the pass successfully? Where should you stand on the court to ensure that you are ready to receive the shuttlecock? What does the ready position look like in this game?
Take away pylons so distance is not an issue.
Substitute a larger and/or lighter object to hit over the net (e.g., balloon, beach ball).
Remove the net or decrease the height of the net.
Play one on one.
Move the pylons farther back.
Increase the height of the net.
Change the type of shot used as participants try to maintain the rally.
Add a physical challenge (e.g., touching the floor, turning around once) after participants strike the shuttlecock and before they get into position to return the next shot.
Throughout the activity, consider highlighting the following skills, concepts, and strategies for effectively sending an object over the net. Note that this list is not exhaustive, and further learning opportunities may arise during the task.
Locomotion and relationship: knowing where to move to be successful at sending and receiving an object over a net (e.g., moving toward the back of the court when the shuttlecock is coming from high in the air)
Manipulation skills and effort awareness: applying controlled force with a racquet to send an object over a net (e.g., being able to control how forcefully you swing your arm when sending an object over a net)
Tactical awareness: developing an understanding of the principles of play (e.g., knowing where and how to send the object over the net to create a successful rally)
Performance: demonstrating appropriate skills, techniques, and tactics to send and receive an object over a net (e.g., clearing the shot high and deep to make it easy for an opponent to receive the shuttlecock)
Demonstrating teamwork by sending the object into an area that makes it easier for opponents to return the object and to create a successful rally.
Communicating with other participants to effectively cover the playing space.
Critical and Creative Thinking Skills
Applying problem-solving skills with other participants to decide where to position each player to create a successful rally.
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We need to be counted. New CDC data help drive transgender visibility.
Having concrete data helps LGBTQ people advocate for ourselves in order to change policies that affect our community.
We need to be counted. New CDC data help drive transgender visibility. Having concrete data helps LGBTQ people advocate for ourselves in order to change policies that affect our community. Check out this story on pnj.com: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/02/04/transgender-trans-cdc-data-census-suicide-self-harm-lgtbq-column/2767945002/
Miranda Rosenblum, Guest columnist Published 11:03 a.m. CT Feb. 4, 2019
According to the U.S. Trans Survey, conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality, a third of trans people have faced discrimination from a health care provider. Sandy Hooper, USA TODAY
I'm a non-binary transgender person. And when I was struggling to come to terms with my identity, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety. But these struggles with my mental health weren't because I was being bullied or because my parents weren’t supportive. It was because I didn’t see any other people like me.
I felt invisible and I felt alone. I didn’t know that I had permission to be who I wanted to be: to cut my hair, to have top surgery, or to wear a button down from the men’s department.
I know many transgender youth across the country feel that same way right now. These youth were the first people I thought of when I saw the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last month saying that nearly two percent of high schoolers in the U.S. are transgender — a higher number than researchers previously estimated.
Read more commentary:
High school could have been hell for my transgender son. Don't make it hell for the next kid.
My high school's transgender bathroom policies violate the privacy of the rest of us
There's a queer purge happening in Chechnya. Is the US going to do anything about it?
Trans folks have been saying for a long time that in order to be seen, we need to be counted. Now, people can look back at their own high schools and see that out of 50 of their classmates — the kids that they played soccer with, the kids that they sat with at lunch, the kids in their algebra class — at least one is trans.
Giving a voice to trans youth
This is doubly important considering that it seems like only yesterday the CDC was banned from using the word "transgender." At a time when trans people feel as though the government is singling us out and further marginalizing us, it's important to be reminded that, on some level, trans voices are being heard and our needs are being articulated.
Trans people struggle with unique obstacles and have unique needs, as the new CDC report went on to demonstrate: 35 percent of trans high schoolers have attempted suicide in the past year alone.
As a volunteer recruiter at a suicide prevention organization, I've witnessed firsthand how imperative it is that trans youth feel comfortable enough to reach out for help. The troubling statistics from the CDC report emphasize the urgent need to address young trans people’s concerns specifically.
Data drives policies
There's a reason trans folks have been advocating for more data on our community's issues and needs. We need data and numbers if we want to drive policies that will improve trans lives. For example, we’re only now starting to fill the data gap for trans people living with HIV. Thanks to a 2015 survey, we now know that trans people live with HIV at nearly five times the rate of the general population, with trans women of color being the most affected. But HIV isn't the only health issue trans people face, and subsequent studies have highlighted even more gaps in data about the health of trans people.
Miranda Rosenblum (Photo: Handout)
As it stands, trans people aren't even counted in the Census, which recently added an option for same-sex couples to be counted, but not unpartnered gay and bisexual people or any trans people. In other words, the vast majority of our community. If we aren't being counted, we can't bring our myriad concerns to policymakers, concerns like employment or housing discrimination, things we know are happening but are still grossly under-researched.
It's true that the CDC findings confirmed what many trans people already knew: that there are more of us than previously thought, that we are neighbors, classmates and friends, that we face disproportionate rates of bullying and that, due to discrimination, we are more likely to struggle with self-harm. But the fact that we now have concrete data we can use to advocate for ourselves is a major step forward.
As a kid, I learned what it meant to feel alone. To feel alone is to feel unseen. I feel more alone in spaces where people don’t see me for who I truly am than I do just being by myself. But we exist, as the numbers show, and we've been here all along. I hope young trans people feel a little less alone as a result, and a little more willing to stand and be counted.
Miranda Rosenblum is the volunteer recruiter for The Trevor Project. You can follow them on Twitter: @m__rosenblum.
2019 political cartoons from the USA TODAY Network
The cartoonist's homepage, pnj.com/opinion Andy Marlette, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal
The cartoonist's homepage, www.usatoday.com/opinion/ Mike Thompson, USA TODAY
The cartoonist's homepage, courier-journal.com/opinion Marc Murphy, (Louisville, Ky.) Courier Journal
The cartoonist's homepage, tallahassee.com/opinion Nathan Archer, Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat
The cartoonist's homepage, citizen-times.com/voices-views David Cohen, Asheville (N.C.) Citizen Times
The cartoonist's homepage, courier-journal.com/opinion - [ ] Marc Murphy, (Louisville, Ky.) Courier Journal
Mike Thompson, USA TODAY The cartoonist's homepage, www.usatoday.com/opinion/
2444264002 Andy Marlette, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal
The cartoonist's homepage, news-press.com/opinion Doug MacGregor, The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press
David Cohen, Asheville (N.C.) Citizen Times The cartoonist's homepage, citizen-times.com/voices-views
The cartoonist's homepage, https://www.usatoday.com/opinion/ Mike Thompson/USA TODAY
Feb. 26, 2019 Mike Thompson/Detroit Free Press
Cartoonist's homepage: www.freep.com/mikethompson Mike Thompson/USA Today
The cartoonist's homepage, www.usatoday.com/opinion/ Mike Thompson/USA Today
The cartoonist's homepage: https://www.news-press.com/opinion/ Doug MacGregor Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press
The cartoonist’s homepage, www.freep.com/mikethompson Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press
Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press The cartoonist’s homepage, www.freep.com/mikethompson
The cartoonist’s homepage, www.freep.com/mikethompson Mike Thompson/Detroit Free Press
The cartoonist's homepage: www.freep.com/mikethompson Mike Thompson/Detroit Free Press
The remarkable life of Rep. John Dingell. Mike Thompson/Detroit Free Press
www.freep.com/mikethompson Mike Thompson/ USA TODAY
The cartoonist's homepage www.freep.com/mikethompson Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press
Trump's "executive time" Mike Thompson/Detroit Free Press
Feb. 6, 2019 Mike Thompson/Detroit Free Press
A familiar face at the Super Bowl Mike Thompson /Detroit Free Press
The cartoonist's homepage, knoxnews.com/opinion/charlie-daniel Charlie Daniel, Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel
The cartoonist's homepage, azcentral.com/opinions/benson Steve Benson, The Arizona Republic
Michigan State University interim President John Engler is shown the door. Mike Thompson/Detroit Free Press
Andy Marlette, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal The cartoonist's homepage, pnj.com/opinion
Michigan' roads are worst in the nation Mike Thompson/Detroit Free Press
Nate Archer, Tallahassee Democrat The cartoonist's homepage: https://www.tallahassee.com/opinion/
The cartoonist's homepage, png.com/opinion Andy Marlette, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal
The cartoonist's homepage, www.freep.com/mikethompson Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press
The cartoonist's homepage, freep.com/opinion/mike-thompso Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press
The cartoonist's homepage, clarionledger.com/opinion Marshall Ramsey
The cartoonist's homepage, freep.com/opinion/mike-thompson Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press
The cartoonist's homepage, courier-journal.com/opinion Marc Murphy, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier Journal
The cartoonist's homepage, indystar.com/opinion/varvel Gary Varvel, The Indianapolis Star
The cartoonist's homepage, citizen-times.com/voices-views David Cohen, Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times
The cartoonist's homepage, courier-journal.com/opinion Marc Murphy, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal
The cartoonist's homepage, news-press.com/opinion Doug MacGregor/The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press/PoliticalCartoons.com
The cartoonist's homepage, clarionledger.com/opinion Marshall Ramsey, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is Senate majority leader. The cartoonist's homepage, courier-journal.com/opinion Marc Murphy, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal
The cartoonist's homepage, clarionledger.com/opinion Marshall Ramsey, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion Ledger
The cartoonist's homepage, tallahassee.com/opinion Nathan Archer, Tallahassee Democrat
A Leon County sheriff's deputy in Florida shoots a family's dog in its own yard while visiting without telling family members to just put him up or on a leash. The cartoonist's homepage, tallahassee.com/opinion Nathan Archer, Tallahassee Democrat
The cartoonist's homepage, courier-journal.com/opinion Marc Murphy, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
The cartoonist's homepage, floridatoday.com/opinions-columns Steve Hall, Florida Today
The farm bill, which included stricter work requirements for receiving food stamps, failed May 18, 2018, in the House of Representatives. The cartoonist's homepage, freep.com/opinion/mike-thompson Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press
Originally published April 19, 2018. The cartoonist's homepage, clarionledger.com/opinion Marshall Ramsey, The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger
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Escambia and Santa Rosa felony and DUI arrests for Wednesday, Feb. 28
The following suspects were charged with felonies and DUIs Wednesday, Feb. 28 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Escambia and Santa Rosa felony and DUI arrests for Wednesday, Feb. 28 The following suspects were charged with felonies and DUIs Wednesday, Feb. 28 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Check out this story on pnj.com: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2018/03/01/escambia-and-santa-rosa-felony-and-dui-arrests-wednesday-feb-28/385794002/
From staff reports, pnj.com Published 2:20 p.m. CT March 1, 2018
Arrests.(Photo: News Journal file photo)
The following suspects were charged with felonies Wednesday at Escambia County Jail. Names, ages and addresses were provided by the individuals.
Calvin Tyrell Blackmon, 27, 100 block of Aquamarine Avenue, weapon possession, burglary, two counts of larceny.
Kelvin O'Neal Blackmon, 48, 2300 block of West Blount Street, battery.
Jeffery Daniel Broadhead, 53, Needham, Alabama, methamphetamine possession, drug equipment possession.
Antwon Demarcus brown, 32, 600 block of North R Street, moving traffic violation.
Noelle Ann Castagneto, 39, Warrior, Alabama, drugs possession, smuggling contraband.
Michael Jerome Chasen, 49, 3700 block of Frontera Circle, moving traffic violation.
Timothy Maurice Click, 44, address unavailable, child cruelty.
Dellante Kiderious Donson, 19, address unavailable, aggravated assault.
Willie James George, 25, 2000 block of Augusta Avenue, larceny.
Gregory Scott Hall, 44, 5300 block of Yellow Bluff Road, drugs possession.
Kentari David Leonard, 35, 2800 block of West Moreno Street, larceny.
Byron Shaun Mason 50, address unavailable, health or safety.
Xavier Dayzwon McShan, 22, 1800 block of West Maxwell Street, battery, larceny, vehicle theft.
Darrius Reams, 31, address unavailable, smuggling contraband.
Maricus Alfred Riley, 31, 100 block of Alba Plena Street, aggravated assault, weapon offense, two counts of weapon possession.
Terry Louis Rudolph, 46, 1900 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Drive, fraud.
Adam Ali Sharifian, 24, 7900 block of Northpointe Boulevard, larceny, dealing in stolen property.
Sheree Monique Simpkins, 32, 900 block of North Kirk Street, two counts of non-moving traffic violation, moving traffic violation.
Romain Ommrio Stephens, 20, 800 block of Fletcher Drive, two counts of fraud, dealing in stolen property, failure to appear.
Phillip Ray Weekley, 31, address unavailable.
Debra Ferrin Weeks, 28, 300 block of Frisco Court, burglary, larceny, loitering, vehicle theft.
Robert James Welch, 40, 1800 block of Loyola Street, damaging property, burglary.
De'Andre Lavonte White, 24, 1200 block of Lowndee Avenue, moving traffic violation, cocaine possession.
Thurston Jermaine Williams, 31, 6800 block of Fields Lane, flee or elude police, resisting an officer.
The following suspects were charged with felonies Wednesday at Santa Rosa County Jail. Names, ages and addresses were provided by the individuals.
Brends Gail Odillon, 58, 3900 block of Diamond Street, Pace, probation violation.
Jennifer Lynn O'Neal, 36, 4900 block of Hurst Street, Milton, two counts of drugs possession, marijuana possession, drug equipment possession.
Erica Ann Parker, 34, 7900 block of Old Hickory Hammock Road, Milton, drugs possession, drug equipment possession.
Nicole Lynn Yager, 36, 1400 block of Bahia Drive, Navarre, two counts of drugs possession, drug equipment possession, violating release conditions, moving traffic violation, drug equipment possession.
No suspects were charged with driving under the influence Wednesday at Escambia County Jail.
The following suspect was charged with driving under the influence Wednesday at Santa Rosa County Jail. The name, age and address was provided by the individual.
John Henry McCurley, 74, 7000 block of Oak Street, Bagdad.
Read or Share this story: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2018/03/01/escambia-and-santa-rosa-felony-and-dui-arrests-wednesday-feb-28/385794002/
School grades are in. How did your school do?
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Home » Web Exclusive: Scanning A Fishy Business
Web Exclusive: Scanning A Fishy Business
Douglas Denison and Brandon Walker
Historic Fishtown in Leland, Mich.
The shores of the Great Lakes were once fringed with commercial fisheries that turned toward the bountiful resources of the lakes for food and a livelihood. Now the once common fish tugs, fishing docks, shanties and net reels--the icons of more than a century of Great Lakes fisheries--have nearly disappeared, taking with them the memories of the extensive role that the commercial fisheries once played in the Great Lakes.
Fishtown, in Leland, Mich, is a rare example of a working waterfront with a cultural fishing heritage that has beaten the odds--it still exists. On the banks of the Leland River, within the Leland Historic District, Fishtown retains much of the character of the commercial fishing village that was settled in the late 1800s. In Fishtown, visitors find historic working fish tugs, fishery shanties and on-going commercial and sport fishing. The Leelanau Tourism Initiative identified Fishtown as the second most-important attraction in the Leelanau Peninsula, so it is clearly essential to the economics of Leland, the county and northwest Lower Michigan.
Preserving Fishtown
Fishtown Preservation Society Inc. recognized the need to address the infrastructure needs of Fishtown. The role of the society is to ensure the preservation of this unique property maintaining its cultural fabric and heritage of the Lake Michigan fishery. The Fishtown Preservation Society engaged the national firms of JJR LLC and HopkinsBurns Design Studio, both located in Ann Arbor, Mich., to complete the “Fishtown Site Study, Design, and Master Plan (2008)” addressing the urgent infrastructure and building improvements.
The project provided planning and design services for ADA-compliant public access, needed utilities, repair and improvement of the wharf and foundations of the historic fishing shanties. Utilizing solid research and state-of-the-art planning tools, the master plan sets forth a comprehensive approach to the preservation, maintenance and operation of Fishtown’s eight major wood-frame buildings and two concrete-block smokehouses and the utilization of the existing wharf for fishing access.
A colored point cloud perspective of Fishtown.
Reeling in the Data
One of the most-important tools utilized by the site designers, architects and engineers was the high-definition survey completed by Midwestern Consulting, also located in Ann Arbor. “Midwestern Consulting provided our client with an accurate 3D wireframe of the buildings and wharf from which the planners, engineers and architects performed detailed investigations on the horizontal and vertical relationship between building mass, site conditions and the river,” said Douglas Denison, JJR’s project manager. “The wireframe allowed exploration of various alternatives of the existing and future spatial relationships.”
These historic fish shanties were hastily constructed and have since deteriorated over time. Rarely do these buildings lie perpendicular, plumb or even parallel to one another. This presented the architects with a nearly impossible task of measuring and locating the exact existing conditions. Traditional means of dimensioning spatial relationships with tape measures or survey equipment would neither be economical nor provide sufficient 3D information. An alternative method would be needed.
Midwestern Consulting, after reviewing the site information and discussing the project objectives with the client, proposed the use of a high-definition laser scanner (Leica HDS 3000) to capture the existing conditions point cloud. The twists and turns of the shanties as well as the ground surface would be collected by the laser scanner. “The high-definition survey was a far more accurate way of documenting the existing buildings than was possible through traditional means and methods, and it was also very cost effective,” said Gene Hopkins, of HopkinsBurns, who is the lead architect in the historic preservation. “It has provided us with precise archival ‘snapshots’ of the buildings, with both 3D and 2D images, which we will use as our bench mark in development of the restoration documents.“
The unique nature of the village presented a few challenges in collecting the data--namely, line of sight and target acquisition. To overcome these challenges, Midwestern Consulting planned for additional setups within the town and also set up across the river on the dock, a historic tugboat and a neighboring hotel. "The on-site data-gathering process drew lots of public interest,” said Amanda Holmes, administrative director of the Fishtown Preservation Society. “People paused and looked at Fishtown in a whole new way, wondering what about Fishtown they may never have noticed before or what they may simply take for granted.”
The point cloud in silouette format with a 3D wireframe drawing dropped over the point cloud.
Delivering the Catch
From the point cloud data, Midwestern Consulting’s task was to provide deliverables to the architect and preservation society that could highlight the current charm and the potential renovation of the town. 3D wireframes of each of the eight fish shanties and two smokehouses were created. They included structural, roof, door and window elements. The 3D building wireframes could be imported directly into Google SketchUp to create the basis of a massing study. Midwestern also provided point cloud snapshots to view different perspectives of the village, scalable .tif images of the building facades and a topographic survey of the property. To accomplish these tasks, Midwestern Consulting utilized Leica GeoSystems Cyclone, Cloudworx Pro and Virtual Surveyor. These deliverables enabled the architects to portray their vision of Fishtown to the Fishtown Preservation Society and local community in a very useful, hands on manner.
In the end, the Fishtown Preservation Society and the architects had a very exact description of Fishtown’s existing conditions. "The 3D laser scans improved our master planning process by giving our planners impeccable data from which to generate maps and drawings,” Holmes said. Because of the laser scans and the skills of the professional team, the Fishtown Preservation Society has a stronger planning tool for the future.
Douglas Denison is a senior scientist at JJR LLC, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Brandon Walker is a professional engineer with Midwestern Consulting LLC, Ann Arbor, Mich. For more information on Fishtown and the Fishtown Preservation Society, visit www.preservingfishtown.org.
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The 2 o'Clock Takeover
Mabel - Mad Love
Kim K shares cute snap of baby Chicago
More from Showbiz News
Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 9:29am
Kim Kardashian West has shared the first selfie with her new baby.
Kim posted the photo of herself and Chicago with a bear-themed photo filter.
She's already made an appearance in Kylie Jenner's birth announcement video for her daughter, Stormi Webster, who was born a few weeks later.
Baby Chicago
A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Feb 26, 2018 at 1:55pm PST
This week Kim has showed off a new pink hairdo.
The American reality star's posted a picture of her latest look on Twitter.
She's tweeted to say "it's real" - claiming she "doesn't really do wigs."
It may not have topped the UK singles chart, but Snow Patrol's ballad Chasing Cars has been named the most-played song of the 21st Century.
Game Of Thrones has received a record-breaking 32 Emmy Award nominations, beating the drama series record set by NYPD Blue in 1994.
British royalty and American royalty graced the red carpet at the European premiere of The Lion King on Sunday night.
You can listen to Pulse 1 wherever you go. Get in touch with the studio and call, message and Tweet us all directly from within the app.
A6177 Rooley Lane - Bradford, West Yorkshire
More from Pulse 1
The 2 o'Clock Takeover playing Mabel - Mad Love
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"'winner'"
A NOVEL BY PATRICK GYSEMBERG
"winner"
Introduction and dates of creation
note one : please forgive me if you see some mistakes (grammar and spelling) because this is only the creative part, without any corrections which will take place lateron
second note : anyone who can help me with my English, with the correction of my writings, and wants to do so, can mail me on patrick.gysemberg@telenet.be)
289 PAGES DIN A4
WRITTEN FROM 5/205 TILL 5/2013
ANY PUBLISHER WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED,
please contact me for publishing arrangements
patrick.gysemberg@telenet.be
or by phone
Summary : the story
all described in the next pages is part of a fiction novel and any possible resemblance with any actual and existing characters are non valid
Catholic raised eldest son of five children, now convinced agnostic, Patrick, changes his career in seeking something better. He is offered an employment at Matrix Systems Belgium, near his home; He takes on the job because it is all about what he can do best : taking care of customers. German customers mostly.
He is not aware of the fact that this decision is going to change his life permanently. For the better or for the worse? Who can tell? You can, when you read this book till the end.
Patrick is confronted with a series of incredible illegal happenings and devious activities of several of his colleagues, including his superior manager, which result in the sudden discharge of mr Dujounrot, general manager of Matrix Systems Belgium, six years later. His assistant, mr Moipatron had obscurely arranged everything to take his place. No one had ever expected this. Patrick is not happy with all these sudden unanticipated changes and decides to inform Matrix Systems USA about his personal point of view on what happened those last months at Matrix Systems Belgium. Mr Moipatron is furious the moment he finds out and starts an offensive to get rid of Patrick the hard way. For some Machiavellian reason mr Moipatron had made an alliance together with Anissa, former aficionado of mr Dujournot and fucked up mistress of many to maintain her powerful position, close to the Money stream of Matrix Belgium... Over the years the Moroccan Anissa had proven her total and complete inability to integrate in the Belgian way of living and demeanor. At the contrary, she continuously had spread a fearful amount of loud and intense hatred and unbelievable personal anger and delinquency amongst her colleagues and everything/everyone who crossed her path of life; all without once being corrected by her even supportive superiors. This lack of real management and persistent unremitting personal profiteer of the ruling executives enhanced the intensity of Anissa’s hatred, pestering and daily verbal aggression between the Matrix office walls.
Patrick is forced to press official charges against both, because of personal harassment and pestering… in order to protect himself.
In this book Patrick is searching for himself, inside himself, outside himself, to find a lot of answers. Because he realizes that his life is at risk, he is forced to change the story, to change the names, to change the circumstances. He needs to do so to provide him and his family full protection. Still, during the creation of this book, Patrick is being attacked by unknown people in different obscure ways. They try to prevent the publishing of this book. At any cost.
As Patrick is writing every single detail down, it provides him at the same time a kind of protection, because, if something would go wrong, one would immediately know who did it.
He his looking back those six years to find out what exactly had gone wrong. And when.
He wants to find the reasons why everything went the way they went. He wants to know why it ended all the way it is going to end.
Because the end of the book is also the end of the whole saga.
Patrick wants a life without Matrix now.
Without Anissa.
He is selling his home, his house.
He is moving back to his roots.
He knows his liberation will become true the very moment the last letter of this book is written down. Including the outcome, the solution.
The apotheoses.
How vindictive that may turn out to be.
Have fun reading this incredible story…
(c) patrick gysemberg April 2006
action painter/writer for a better world
even in fiction : surviving attempts to sabotage these writings
all described in the next pages is part of a fiction novel and any possible resemblance with an actual and existing situation or real physical persons are merely pure coincidental, non valid and thus not existing.
Life is often worse than fiction can ever imagine.
On this pages I have started to work on a revolutionary new book about what I have been going through during the past months of my life. It is going to be one of the most horrible stories of this new millennium. The book is slowly revealing some crucial facts that are contributing to a final event that is going to take place after finishing the book. The book is as it were, a kind of introduction to what the future is going to bring me. To me and my family.
Is it a kind of riddle, a question mark, an open end? Or could it be a very clear information on what is going to happen once this book reaches its final sentences to be published. Who is going to tell...and who is going to tell me? Is life telling me what to do or am I telling life what to do? Is a crime going to be committed? Or is it all a bad joke?A sad joke, or a terrifying warning? Is it a handful of passed cliches of someone who is suffering an emotional crisis? Or is it a honest testimony of a cruel and devastating truth? Is this the announcement of a future massacre? Should anyone be afraid? Do we have to take some precautions? Is this real or is this a fantasy? Do remember that in real life reality often appears to be exceeding the worst possible imagination. You are welcome to read along as my book is growing from zero towards completion. I have no idea how long it will take to complete it, but I am intended to do so, whatever it will take.
thank you for your continuing support.
patrick gysemberg 2006
action painter for a better world
this is a way to conquer the injustice done to my person.
a way to heal from the damage "reverse racism" has inflicted upon me and my family.
a way to find the light again in these dark ages.
a way to stay amongst the living.
a way to let optimism and beauty overcome the hateful and despicable.
a way to deal with life.
a way.
my way.
My book, which is developing every day now, is already
over 299 pages din A4 long
It is a first uncut version, with no corrections, so also typos will be found. I apologize for that.
After finishing up the story
I will correct all typos (writing mistakes) and all text will be corrected by a true English connoisseur.
Then it will be presented to a publisher.
Every single word of this book is being written for a reason. Read along and try to understand the reason why i had to tell you This story.
"this book is purely fiction and each possible resemblance to any possible person or any actual circumstance is purely coincidental and not true nor valid."
a book about pestering in the office, about reverse racism, about discrimination, about brutal unacceptable behaviour, still overwhelmingly present in our society today, maybe even close or next to you, but deliberately negleted by our gouvernemental organisations,
and finally about the weakness of the newly erected specialized Belgian anti-pestering governemental authorities, malfunctioning psychiatric and psychological guidance, worsening professional help to actually do something about this devastating situation, which all will lead to a very specific outcome.
good to know : first things first :
"reverse racism"
"racism" is a bad word. "reverse racism" are two bad words. I did not invent "reverse racism". I do not invent "bad words". I am a nice person. I don't do things like that. May be I invented the combination of those two words as such.As a whole. As a combination. I maybe invented the way to describe this horrible way of human conduct. It emerged in Belgium. It is existing in Belgium, maybe in other countries as wel. It is existing for some time now. It damages people.
"reverse racism" is racism the other way around. Autochtone people being hurt and damaged by those whom they try to protect.
Reverse Racism and racism are words that never ever should exist, only because of its despicable content. The meaning of "racism" is so loaded and wrong, that it should never ever exist in our society. But it does. Because it exists. It exists more than we know. More than we hope. More than we think. And it is shameful. Especially those who cry the loudest about racism and its content, are not always the victim of this behavior but mostly the executor. The aggressor. Crying out loud about "racism" and its complex content is a way to get attention the wrong way round.
I am not a "racist" and never will be one. But i do am a victim of "reverse racism".
I have traveled around the world and lived in various societies, always adapting myself to the needs and wishes of my foster land and my guest land inhabitants. Since I have always had tremendous respect for all men and their different cultural backgrounds. This is what enriches our world and is making it a beautiful and interesting place to be. I have always worked together with foreigners, especially abroad. With Germans, with Russians, with English and American people. With the French and Polish. With Moroccans and Greek. With Sri Lankans and Indonesiaon people. With the Norwegian and the Irish (bonr on St Patrick's day!). And always on any destination, on any occasion, we did well, we got along spledidly, we blendid in as it should.
Sometimes "racism" is used as a word as such, as a verb to indicate and hide own malicious behavior towards others. To conceal own behavior that should not see broad daylight and should be not amongst us. "Racism" has been used against me, against my person, in my own country. By people, ruthless and merciless. In a way I am trying to describe in my book, emerging in the next pages to come.
It has hurt me and damaged me and my family.
The only way to defend myself and my family, is to register all facts and figures; all data involved, so that you, the reader can be the judge. So you can be the witness of this total unjust and impropriate behavior in a country that is host for so many people from all over the world. Political correctness prohibits justification.
It puts a a hypothec on all actions and deeds to a juster world, free of this horrible word and joining attitude of human disgrace.
No one should ever have the power or find the way to practice "racism" or even reverse "racism" towards its fellow man.
I was a definite victim. Now I try to recuperate from the wounds and bloody stains it left on my soul.
It is time that the truth will conquer. The truth has to surpass political correctness and put everything into real perspective. So further harm can be avoided.
Since harm is done, not only to me. "Reverse racism" happens every day. IN Belgium. That is for sure. And that is what I am trying to fight here.
Till it does no longer exist.
Because racism and "reverse racism" can break people down. It kills. It is merciless to the bone of the dead.
But it shall not break me. Because I am an optimistic kinda guy. I will fight back.
The battle has begone.
please join me by just scrolling down on this page : "a new book emerges"
thank you for your kind an continuous support in our mutual battle for a just and nicer world. Because I will always be an artist for a better world to live in.
Thanks for joining.
patrick gysemberg January 2006
chapter minus one : introduction
"winner..." (c) patrick gysemberg
"Was it his devotion for his Italian love that had brought him down, or was it his perverted adoration for Anissa, sealed with her golden shower?", I wondered, thinking of the most flabbergasting opening sentence a book ever had in history of writing. I know a book should have a great opening. I read about the many times some well known and established authors were contemplating about their first sentence and how it inflicted the sales of their book. Now I have to find one for me, my book. I am not just writing a book because I want to write a book, no...Of course not. I am driven to do so. Now, at last, I have to write a book. The circumstances force me to do so. I only hope I get until the end. Because I have a lot to say, indeed I have...So, my opening sentence has to be a unique one, never seen before in man's history. It should blow one's socks of whilst reading (ah, I love this expression!) Come on now, here he comes: (or is it "it comes?):
"Maybe I wasn't born to write a book at all", I thought at the end, insecure, gazing out of the first floor window onto the busy street of my little town. It's crap, isn't it? First class sh*t. Of course, I am not an Englishman, so the quality of my English is at least to say: a bit simple. However, as I was thinking, during the mental preparation of this book-to-write, that in relation to what I have been through and what I have to say in my book, it should be sufficient. The quality of my English, I mean. Furthermore, I could see this as a new challenge in life, some kind of new heroic attempt to reach eternal glory and fame. Sure, right...Stop it, will yea… See now, that is typically me, I have not even yet fully survived my present trauma, or I am already preparing the path towards unknown heights with consecutive depths to fall into and reaching the edge of another depression... Maybe, just maybe, I am mane-depressive, as it were...could be, at least "they" have made me the way I am today. Who are "they"? "They" are "they", all the others, around me, and especially those who know everything better than I do. I always have had, for some unknown reason, the idea that other people (them) knew more than I did.
I had (used to have) a tremendous respect for all elderly man and women, for teachers, for priests, for my father… (Strangely enough, I did not think likewise about my mother, something I am dealing with later on) and all those who actually performed a task in society. They all knew so much…about life and stuff, that is what I thought. Why not? Why should I not have believed that they all knew more than I did (or is it me)? I knew nothing when I came to earth, did you? Others have told everything I know now to me. It has all been lectured to me, it has been forced into me by repetition force, as the Catholics like to practice repeatedly in their churches.
(them)
Furthermore, I was a very shy boy. Someone with unlimited admiration for all "them" and a strongly build in self-destructive consciousness of no self-esteem whatsoever. Imagine the Catholics, every day, day after day, telling me that all the sins of this planet were "my fault"! I was to be blamed! Only me! Me, me, MEEEEE....We used to say always the same lines in church (those days I went to church every day, yes sir, every morning at seven o'clock, I sat in the front row of the chapel of my college.) It was, of course not a matter of choice...I had to go to church every day, no question about that! How could I even imagine saying something about this frequency, and to whom? I had to carry all sins of this world on my shoulders, anyway, so… So I’d better shut the f*ck up. Or they (them) throw some other sins on the never ending heap that was already laying as a huge obstacle on my shoulders.
Whilst proclaiming these repetitive lines, loud and clear, all together in church, we all used to beat ourselves with our fists on our chest : "because of my fault, because of my fault, because of my fault..."
Day after day, week after week, year after year, even before puberty....do you think It had some impact on my state of mind? You bet it did…No wonder I couldn't develop some kind of feeling that even came close to self-esteem. Do you think I need to see a psychiatrist? After you have read this book until the end, if you are brave enough, you will conclude that I absolutely need to see one, I guess…
Because this is only the beginning, the beginning of a journey through life with ups and severe downs, with highlights and incredibly dark ages, an awesome but yet devastating journey that I cannot describe in a few sentences. That is why it is going to turn out to be a book. Because what has happened is too intense to summarize in just a few words…This is just not done. That is why I do hope you all read along with me, as these pages grow by the day until my work is complete and my story has been told. I want to tell you this, because I also believe that what I have been through may never ever happen again, not with any other creature on this mother planet earth. Even if your personal hatred is still amazingly strong and vivid and determinate your behaviour amongst those who love you. And whom you try to love back. As an individual one cannot do much about it, I guess, but writing a book. To get “some” attention. Especially from “them”. Because “they” are all wrong, and not you….me, I mean….
Nature made me the eldest child in a family of five children (and two parents of course). This enhanced the feeling of responsibility in me, next to the lacking self-esteem. A dreadful combination.
I have not introduced myself, soo sorry! My first name is Patrick, “hi There….”, nice to meet you through this virtual way and later on by means of my book with no title yet.
My first name will be the only real one in these sentences, because of the privacy of those mentioned. I try to avoid the harm they did to me. Therefore, I will use other names. So, if I, for instance, as a matter of speaking, would want to say something about an old colleague of mine, living amongst us with the name Livia Goldfield, I will not use this name, no sir...I 'll use a name that is "different", it will not be too difficult to follow my story, because the story itself is in focus here, not the people themselves, they but all play a major role, not the leading one...I would call her " Carla Smekens.....”, get it? Moreover, any resemblance with any living creature on this planet will be purely coincidental. I am not stupid, you know...Therefore, in my book I could now easily state that Carla has a big fat ass and that she grows long black hair on her back. This does not actually mean that the person this name is referring to, has the same deviations or flaws or shortcomings.... No,no.... Well done, Patrick…Well done…Well done , old chap! Probably they will be recognizable by those who are close to the things I have to tell you. But then they can see that all I have to say is the truth. At least from my point of view, anyway. Because truth is subjective. That's what i have learned. And that is about all I have learned in life. Pretty thin, huh.... I am a painter, an action painter. So, i have said it. That is, this is what I am now, after a long, hard, struggling search for values and truth…in this life. I have been many things in my life up until now… But First of all, I have been a child. The oldest of five, as I told you before. In addition to that, I never stopped being a child anyhow. I honestly believe that the words “adult” and “grown-ups” are the ugliest words ever invented by mankind. I do not respond to the fake world of those who call themselves “adult”. They are “them”. Those who know so much about life, about love, about everything. Some of them call themselves teachers. How awful. How awful it must be, thinking about yourself that you are actually capable of teaching something to another person. It only depends on the will and ability of the receiver if the student is indeed willing to learn. So bye bye teacher…. But I have to concentrate on the book and its end result. All the information that is gathered by the reader, by you, yes you…. if there are any, will lead to one final act at the end of this book. It will lead to a super climax inflicting me and my family.So be attentive and see where these facts will lead to. I have to warn you all : the facts in this book will be hard and merciless; as I have been through them…as I have lived them through, leaving horrible scarves on my soul….leaving them as an open end to a healing process to begin…with this book? I don’t know….And I do not want to know. All I know is that is has been inhuman and even beyond beastly behaviour….men at their best, so to speak.It is now time to start with some kind of structure, so you can get a grip on the facts as they pass by and as they might tell you what the final result will be as the ultimate lines of this book will be written down.
all described in the next pages is part of a fiction novel and any possible resemblance with an actual existing situation or any real physical persons are merely pure coincidental, non valid and thus not existing.
chapter one : the opening
I am not sure this is going to work.
Too many repeats. Too many times the same blablabla
not to the point. But, tell me something, a book, is it always to the point? I dont think so!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I grant myself the right to be a little elaborate. Maybe you will like it. Fact is that I have to find my way through all.
Therefore, I left you all alone telling you that I was many things, to start with "being a child". Werent we all? Sure. But many of you turned out to be them. Many of you were programmed to be or to become them. Sometimes I see individuals fulfilling a profession in a such a convincing way that they physically have become their profession. They are really a part of the profession they perform. They have grown into their profession, as being part of. A part you cannot or no longer cut off. It sticks to you like an arm, or a leg. "What's that, sir, hanging out of your jacket?? Oh, that's nothing, that's my profession!"I envy those people. Because they are not aware that what they do, determines their lives so much that they stopped being creative and refrained from any critical thinking whatsoever. However, I may not generalize. There are, thank God (I do not believe in God, but I like the expression anyway) , exceptions
Maybe those people have found their way here on this planet. They stopped searching. Because life is giving them what they expect from it.
In addition, after the long search, through the years, after all I have been through, and what I am going to tell you all about in the next chapters, I do have come to find myself as well, being what I am
"a painter", that is now a complete certainty. I will live my years to come and I will die as a painter, an artist, a visual artist
I do not like the world "artist" that much though, it has of course to do with my being so shy
I do not like to think about myself as an artist
that sounds so self indulgent
By finding at last that I can no longer deny that I am a painter, a creative artist, I did find a certain part of me
not all, no, no
there are still some essential parts missing, drifting around in the insecurity of thought and uncertainty of the unstable mind. I need to look for them, and no way I am sure that I will be able to find them before I die
Sometimes I am really afraid to face the final curtain, realizing that I dont have a damn clue of what I was doing here on earth
.at least I would like some straight and very clear answers on the way to that last point-of-no-return. One part of myself, I have found. It makes me happy. It makes me feel a little more assured that everything would be all right. Do you remember those comforting words of some grown-ups, telling you, after you suffered a nightmare or some kind of accident leading to exuberant tears shed, that they told you :everything is all right, dont cry now, everything will be all right, which , at that time was a pure lie. I knew this already, at that point, that it was a lie. It did not feel right, it did not feel quite honest
at the contrary, and I found it as being the crying child a severe violation of the truth and did not understand why those grown-ups needed a lie to comfort me.
So, a painter, thats what I am. Not a famous one, no, no, a very tiny one, but at least I have something to put my soul into; I can run and hide in my creative ruins of not understood paintings, as abstract they are
I have to try to stick to a certain time line. Otherwise, I will not be able to tell my story. So I told you that I was at first a child. Then I jumped from child to painter. This is from point a to point z. From alpha to Omega.
In between those two states of my mind, I have been many other things. So, now let us try to proceed the right way. I have to admit, as I said before, that being a child, what I was at birth, as you all were, is something I have kept all my life in me. I, for some reason, did never really grow up. In addition, it is quite a burden to carry, you know. You bet it is. For all those who nicely rolled into their puberty and then stumbled out into final full adultery, this may be very hard to understand. However, I will try to explain: some point I missed the connection to being or becoming an adult. I collected my years as every one else did, but in my head, it could not proceed as persistent as the years did.
No, I was not some "slow" kid. I was as swift as the rest of you. But, at the age of four, when every normal kid starts to ask "why" to his mom, about everything it encounters in life, I did the same. Only, in my head this never stopped. This "why" phase of every child is ending some point in time, in my brain it was continuing to work with growing intensity. Because as older I got, the more questions, why questions I had. So now I am on a point of not knowing anything anymore in my life. Why? I don't know!
I wish I would know. . I am mentally undressing for you, so you could understand to the full what is going to happen in later chapters, why I react in certain ways (and not in other) and why I do as I do, why I did as I did.. (why, why, why....why what? why should we all die?) (Why should I cry?)
So let the story begin....why? Dunno... Guess it's time....time to act.
The building looked like a giant shoe box, it still does, because it still exists. You can see the box when you are driving on the E47, direction <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Antwerp, a few miles before exit 22, Deurne, at your left side. No windows. At least not at the side facing the highway. Only a sign at the site stands for the main company that had his residence in this building. Now it says "MIXO". In those days, it said "CONIX". It was a huge storage room. We, the company I worked for, rented some offices, cheap offices, on the second floor, no elevator. (see cheap) MIXO handled our goods. But I am running ahead. Again. Mixing up things. Making things hard for you to follow.
I arrived there, early, as usual, because I am always early on an appointment (see my strong sense of responsibility) because I wanted another job. I was at least 10 minutes early. My job at that time sucked. Very hard. That is why I was on the lookout for another one. I was not afraid from changing jobs. I did this before. Several times. And every time, it worked out fine. Till my time came, my specific point in time, every time again, after about five, six years
that is definitely my time
a very important sign in my life, those periods of five year
.I have no clue whatsoever what it might mean, but I just could nor cannot ignore the fact that every five to six years, I, for some reason or another had to change jobs
which I did. Every time there was a huge reason to do so
every time I had to take care of myself and get myself into safety, I needed to protect myself by leaving the company. Which I did. Over and over again
So I did it again this time:
I had a back that was completely blocked. Stress. Negative stress. All the muscles, and I never knew I had so many on my back, were blocked. Hard as a rock. Caused by an impossible woman. My boss. A fifty year old little bitch, called Meddle, Nicole Meddle. But everyone called her misses Meddle. You could not say Nicole. Never! Ever! Nobody. She had a huge status within this company, in fact it was an organisation of Employers in the metal industry, a kind of very fancy organisation where all those very important people, ceos, directors, general managers, real businessmen and women from the finest sort, all brought in with fancy black limos, met, joined for dinners and lunches, and had early breakfast buffets, came to lectures and informative evenings, organised evenings with our king, the real one, Albert 2 (thank God, this lunch was not virtual, he used to joke around, after his sumptuous, excessive meal every body laughed, because, If the king laughs, you have to laugh too; this is arranged within a special Belgian law to protect the standards of our Royal Family, who are, so to speak, not known for their intellectual brightness) and were being sooo very important and indispensable. This was the highest standard in life one could ever see and meet in Belgium, that is for sure. The ultimate upper class. You actually could see how important all those people were. They all had the same kind of expression on their face. Hard to describe. But the same look. A dont you know who I am? look. Very persistent and threatening. This organisation of the best of Belgian mankind, this association, had its own building. A former hospital. Know for its brain surgery. Till they went out of brains to surge upon. A friend of my father suffered a pin bleeding and went in a coma. He was brought into this hospital and they operated on him. They took of his scull! Ok, it was back in the seventies, but still, it was quite a story for me to hear as a child. My , quite vivid, imagination (as I might say so) had some troubles dealing with this. Of course he died, what do you think, without scull ! In those days
I bet they did some other stuff they shouldnt have done with brains and sculls and all
He only reached the age of forty-nine. The poor bastard
So the hospital was closed down and then bought by this very exquisite club of fine rulers of the Belgian metal industry. They changed the building completely. I must say, they made a hell of a building out of it. Complete renovation. Newest techniques and systems, the future is now. They make our future, yes sir, thats how important they are! You can see that they have a close connection to the financial highlights, the bankers, who were invited constantly in their new, beyond-modern palace, as the final result was at least, more than astonishing, words fail actually.
The chairman, the upper chief of these happy few, had some very special deviations in his behaviour as chairman. I think it is not very easy to be on top of all those top people, each and every one of them in the highest position they can get. A second superman so to speak.
In the huge entrance hall and in the central gangways on the ground floor and on all upper floors, he had two different light systems installed. A blue and a white one.
On even days, day two, four, six etc., we had to illuminate the blue lights. On odd days, we had to lighten up the hall and its gangways with the white lights.
He was very strict in this. You d better never forget, or worse, mix up, the odd, and even days! He had a severe lack of pigments on his skin, so you could perfectly see it coming when he wasnt about to like something he saw. He became red as a tomato. And stayed that way for several hours afterwards. That was not good. No sir! He got some pills from the doctor, because, it still is embarrassing after all, when you have an important meeting you have to lead as chairman, still owning a tomato-head.
And this is one of those moments, where I do not grasp the reality no more
where I lose it
I do not get it
I do not understand, maybe you do, maybe you do, I do hope so
How on earth is it possible that such an upper-class individual, such a unique talent, such a strong representative of real power in society, controlling all those metal orientated companies and factories, is being occupied by this blue and white light thing? Can anyone tell me that this is normal behaviour? Maybe this is the way an adult should behave? The importance of the blue lights in my life! The child in me likes it, but I cannot understand. Why? Again, why?
Anyway
my boss, Misses Nicole Meddle, former secretary of mr Blue lights (yes, she worked herself up the ladder) was responsible for all the conference rooms.
As my looks do not nor ever did work against me in time, I worked at the reception (hey, handsome! Shall we have dinner later? Sorry madam, I cannot, I have to close down tonight and since there is still a meeting going on, I guess it will be after midnight
ah, my poor boy
ah well next time then
she said, whilst her driver opened the back door of the limo to let her in) and needed to see that everything was all right : answering complaints, about shortages of coffee, papers, pens, see the people could find the right room to conference in, make invoices, make sure the blue lights are on, on even days
or was it the other way around? etc. Boring things actually. But they had to be done. And since I needed the cash to survive in this society, I needed the job. As simple as that. I did not feel myself as being mr receptionist, this was not part of me, this was not me. It seemed as if life passed on, right though me, and I just acted without meaning and importance at any time, as if I did not exist, as if I did not matter at all
I was just some utensil people could use, if they needed to. A object to be neglected.. An object with a back of steel
in fact, I blended in perfectly in this organisation with my back condition
.
Misses Nicole Meddle could not delegate. She was beyond a pain in the *ss. She was in the *ss. She controlled about everything, from everyone. Constantly, all the time
Mornings, when more than ten people stood before me at the reception desk, asking for the right location to attend their meetings, she used to phone me, giving me urgent tasks to be fulfilled immediately. This, she did every day. One should dare to think she did this on purpose. When I made my invoices, she used to lock me up, so I could work better. When I ordered the sandwiches for our meeting executives, I needed her signature on the fax, so she could discuss the amount ordered. I crawled on the floor; my back forced me down, after another attempt of her inappropriate superior executive behaviour. I have tons of stories about this woman
she was a drunk
Every morning she was brought to work by her husband. Often she wore sunglasses, by poring rainfall. Or she forgot about the early morning staff meeting. I had the delightful task to inform her about the forgotten meeting, at her arrival, fifty minutes late
I enjoyed her startled behaviour, a bit like mrs Bucket when she got in a panic situation
the sporadic laughs could not relax my back, though
I needed to see a doctor. A specialist. I knew this was not the place for me to be. This was close to hell on earth.
I deserved better than this. I deserved to be alive. So I quit. But first, I had to make sure I had another job. Because without money, no life. So I went to Matrix Systems Inc. They rented some offices in this huge shoe box i told you about. No elevator. I was ten minute early when I opened the office door on my first interview.
It wasnt my first interview ever, it just was my first interview for Matrix Systems Inc. I have had tons of interviews before, as I had worked in several other companies before. In one of those companies I even had the magical word manager on my company name card. External relations and quality control manager. What a title! The longer the title, the less you had to say within this company. This is all quite irrelevant, so I try keep track . For some reason though, I must admit, some elements of the past and the past places I worked, do play a role in the final outcome. So, when time is appropriate, I ll inform you about those bygone days and their direct input in what is going to take place when the final letters of this book have been put on paper.
Maybe I am no more then a construction aid worker, trying to build my own castle
I thought by myself, entering the Matrix Inc office. Thats exactly how I feel. Totally insecure, always afraid of those, them, who know things better. Who can do things better, who can speak better, who write better English, who are better
at
you name it
I got it
insecure about everything. Quality control manager
where is he now huh, dont see much of him now
external relations
my ass
, those days were as if never existed
Sad huh
, I even felt pity for myself
worse, I started even to make fun of the whole situation. Especially me, I had to go down the drain. I was the failure, the one who got the sack
.pathetic person. Why dont you go crawling in your little corner and weep
weep till you sleep, little baby, thats what you are ,still a baby
a stupid crying baby
.
I know
I know
I should stop this, but still, once again, on the run for my former work, I was a fugitive again, again pleading for myself, trying to sell myself again, to them, in order to save my body, to restore and upgrade my physical condition, to get rid of my back of steel. Those moment of truth were difficult for me. Although I tried to analyze the lot, asking myself why all the time about everything that happened, I did not make my life easy. But I should concentrate on the interview. That would be much better. Because that was important right now. Nothing else. As a worm I had time enough later to crawl from underneath the rock of life to try to see the sun again.
Focus, concentrate. Enter
Would I please enter this bloody office now?
I entered.
I looked around and saw what I expected to see.
Those attacks of insecurity of mind, behaviour and soul came regularly, on unpredictable occasions, making my life miserable...I never had the opportunity, nor found the guts in my life to develop the basic human right to feel a person amongst others. The lethal combination father/catholic church, catholic education (I refuse to use capital letters here, because there are no grounds whatsoever to do so, since capital letters were born and created out of respect for the words they stand for) had left its non-erasable marks on my soul and my mind.
Even now, as I try to enter this office, or try to describe this moment on my pc, these vast lakes of insecurity, these devastating thoughts of total failure, this awareness of the complete uselessness of all these actions, performed by me at this moment in time, make me wonder why I am doing it all..."why", indeed again..."why"...
Anyone wanna tell me? Please?
You cant huh? Or you are all too full of activity, to living up your own very significant lives? Or you just cannot
Or you never even thought about it
For over six years long, the word manager once shined on my business card. I admit, in combination with external relations and quality control, but it did mention manager. Not that I was at that time very proud of this accomplishment. It was just a title to introduce me to the upper leading class, the upper few, the leading ones who for all, stood above others, who thought they had everything under control. Conversations on that level amongst these equals usually ended up by bragging about the amount of people they had underneath them: Well, aaahh,, I have been given a new challenge in my career, and I have now fifty people directly working under me
, rather then the ultimate grade of responsibility they had to represent within the company and towards all staff. Usually till business drops, that is
Then they all start to protect their own jobs rather than looking how to preserve the companies results
I became a manager because there was no one else at that time to do this shitty job. Quality control meant in fact that I had to answer and deal with all possible complaints. In a former life I used to work in the German and Belgian tourism industry, and because I had my share of outdoor problems in different holiday countries as a professional tour guide (five whole years on several holiday locations worldwide), I was the man on the right spot to grab the title of quality control manager. Because the reorganisation of that moment of that specific company had just driven someone into his premature retirement (to get rid of the burden of his high salary), the words external relations were, without extra payment (what did you think), added to my business card. I did not taunt to say anything. At that time. It was, as it was called: a real challenge for me to stand up to. They must have thought very highly of me, to grant me such a title, so suddenly
I could have thought, the thought of a total inexperienced, naïve company individual. Because, before that, as a tour guide I have had my total freedom. I had my customers, my dear holiday seekers, travelling along with me to take good care of; but with my high level of customer awareness and sense of liability, this was not a real task for me, it was the evidence itself. The nature, making me the first of five children, had made a fine tour guide out of me. Very fine indeed. A very fine, exquisite, high standard, fully reliable tour guide. No-one can take credit for that but nature itself. No man, no person made me, nor created this high sense of consciousness and responsibility I carried self-righteous within me, because, yes, I was proud of myself, back then
at that time, alone, in those vanished days of my former life.
Of course, "they" did not think highly of me, back then. I was just in time at the right place to take over the sh*t of others on a payroll that was divided by three, to fulfil a job, formerly executed by two. Sometimes I think I am really stupid. Or I was stupid at that time, at many times, actually. Maybe I am. Maybe I still am. As dumb as a naked pee. Still dim-witted, brainless, a genuine retard
I like to think it was because I am, or I have been so naïve, immature and adolescent all days of my life up til then
because there was no reason whatsoever to create or build up defendable systems within me to protect myself against others, against "them"....
not yet
.
I had no idea whatsoever at that time how malicious and spiteful people could be, how disgusting and repulsive, self orientated and self protective them could respond, pretending they were working together for the same company.
For me, I had only one goal: my customers, my clients. They had to be satisfied, they had to be content. I did everything to please them. And I did a lot to fulfil their needs. Doing this, I had no clue that many of my fellow colleagues were not really very interested in the grade of satisfaction that our mutual customers were experiencing from our efforts to please them. And I did not care about this. As long as I saw my results in the happy faces around me, the nice letters they wrote afterwards, the compliments they gave me, the money they slipped in my hand whilst descending from the bus or plain after another successful roundtrip
that was my goal, an that of the company
Later on I learned that many people really do not care about this at all. When I first found out, I was devastated. I could not believe this. I, again, lost at that time a tiny piece of my innocence.
Over and over again. And every time a piece of the child in me died.
This, my dear friends, is murder. Nothing more, nothing less.
Plain murder.
Chapter two : behind the door of Matrix Inc.
Sometimes I wished I was born and living in the States,
, I was thinking, closing the door of Matrix Inc. behind me. Then I would sue the catholic church for all the harm she caused me and my self esteem
, persecution because of intentional blows and wounds, for all the opportunities I had let go because I was too shy to act appropriate
I would make them pay. My God, yes I would
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
A huge reception counter, with no one behind, stopped me from entering the office.
Matrix Inc. was inside as dull as it looked outside. If you rent a few offices in a shoe box of another company, you cannot expect it to be the newest and most excentric trendy designer office on the market. The office was just an office as you are able to imagine yourself with the least of all efforts; behind the counter, there were three desks formed together as an island, as they use to call this here in Belgium, and some more desks were scattered over the place, one by one, probably for the upper them, some hidden behind the most hideous closets I had ever seen in my life. They must have been very cheap. Everything must have
. It was in fact, one big room, with some dull office furniture in it
The high counter put in front of the entrance door, was strategically placed there to prevent diligent and exaggerated customers or visitors to enter directly into the room, whilst the other side of it was to be used by the insiders as a cupboard. Now they had to wait till some good soul stood up from one of the desks in the room, to proceed forward. No one just goes without consent or admission behind a counter. Not in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Belgium they do not. We all stay at the right side of the desk and we kindly wait till we are being helped. They did not pull a line on the floor to indicate where you should wait, assuming there would be someone before you.
I waited at the counter. No one stood up. At the island, some extremely beautiful girls were talking. To each other. They didnt even notice my coming in.
Behind a high locker, some slightly irritated and mature female voice aroused: can anyone please check if someone came in to the office, please? With a strong emphasis on the please part, the second please, so I knew that this lady definitely was pissed of
Because I could only hear her, she must have been one of them.
The beautiful talking ladies at the island interrupted their vivid conversations and looked both in my direction, as if I cam from outer space.
Hi.., I tried
Hi.., they both replied. The one with the dark long hair stood up and came towards me. Ah, you must be Patrick then. , she said. She reached out for my hand, so I gave her mine. Yes, you are right, how did you know?, I wondered.
We were waiting for you. But you are early.
I know, ten minutes
I said.
Ah well it doesnt matter. Maria, the office manager, she is in, and she is waiting for you, I ll take you to her.
I felt the eyes of the other Island lady hitting my back and undressing me as I was taken to the big chief.
Maria was a good looking woman in her mid forties, sitting behind a hidden desk, in one of the corners of the office. She was playing with her mouse.
Sit down. She urged, after welcoming me with another handshake.
This is my play yard
, she continued, I scroll down in our lists of systems, tracking down which might fail or are failing, and then I order them in the States
, she added, as if I knew what the hell she was talking about. I knew Matrix Inc. was situated in Nevada, Nebraska, with an own home plant, where they made their own brand systems for the automotive market. Automotive means all things that roll from their own.
We, in Belgium, we take care of the European market., Maria continued, all our systems arrive in the port of Antwerp, twice a week. , which seemed logical to me.
Anissa and Inez take care of the customers. They need urgent support for our German market. Then she leaned over to me and whispered: they especially need someone who is more mature in the business towards our costumers, because they are a bit young and they sure lack experience, thats the least I can say about them...; she said, not quite unprejudiced. Our customer Service needs some serious aid from someone who really knows how to handle a customer. Quite often things are now not what they should be
she added mysteriously, obviously not quite satisfied with those two beauties. I had no idea what she was talking about, she did not explain to the full extend. I suggest you go now to our account department, to Tanja, she will tell you a bit more about the company and then you have a talk with your future colleagues
, when you re done, you come back to me, then. She said.
Ok, fine for me. I agreed, wondering how smooth this conversation really went for a first talk on a possible future job, that is
.
I had not seen Tanja before. She also was hiding, in another corner of the office behind some strategically placed cupboards.
My God, she was ugly. Her ugliness struck me like a sledge hammer, I could not speak a word.
I honestly have never ever seen a more hideous women in my entire life, and you bet I have seen quite some women up till now. Tanja was that kind of women where an extreme makeover would absolutely fail because you would not know where to begin first. Teeth, ears, hair, neck, nose, eyes, hands, breasts,
they all had something they should not have had
Her teeth pointed in all directions; her ears she used to fly home with; her neck was double the size of a normal one; her nose almost touched her chin so she could easily pick her nose with her tongue; her eyes were hidden beyond two bottoms of marmalade goblets; her hands were those from a carpenter and her breasts were reduced to two standing nipples in the freezing cold
I did not dare to imagine how the rest of her body would look like
I admit I gave it a thought for a second but I almost had to vomit, so I grabbed her huge hand and took place before her. She must have been a hell of a bookkeeper, why on earth would anyone hire such a person? Hundred years ago such persons travelled around the globe as an attraction in a circus, next to the women with the beard
Is there still justice on this planet?
When she opened her mouth, Tanja maintained the same level of human creepiness
she did not only speak totally droning and tedious but equally slow, what made me want to get rid of her and get out of there as soon as I could
I did not have to say anything. Once Tanja started her discourse about Matrix Inc, it was as if nothing could stop her
she went on and on and on as if she was sent from heaven to introduce me by
telling me the most boring company details I had ever heard in my life
Her unattractiveness quite easily crushed the natural beauty I saw at the island when I came in earlier. My sense of beauty had suffered tremendously by now, so I longed for my next stop at the customer service.
I had no idea how long she kept blabbering, but all of a sudden it was over.
She stopped. I stood up as quick as possible reaching out my hand to her as to make clear that for me the saying goodbye was serious and beyond reasonable doubt.
I hope to see you soon back in this office..; she said. I bet you do, I thought, a bit feeling guilty about judging on a person only because of her appearance, which was, at least to be described as unpleasant to look at, which was the understatement of the year.
I took a seat at what as going to be, or supposed to be my future desk. Right in front of me, my desk made connection with the two desks of the two beauties, Anissa and Inez. Both were foreign origin. No, they were Belgians, but looked foreign. Because of their parents, who came from abroad. Anissa was a clear exemple of a Moroccan type, with big dark eyes, and very explicit hips. Her hair was raven black. She behaved a bit awkward and seemed uncomfortable
towards me.
She was dressed in a very fashionable, clearly western way, not one component would refer to her roots. She wore explicit make-up. Her clothes came from famous design fashion boutiques in the shopping centre, nearby. She looked expensive.
Inez was sheer class from her own. An ode to womanhood. The summum of female elegance. The complete pole of Tanja. On her body every detail was perfect. She was a pleasure to look at. This is, again, an understatement.
The first thing Anissa told me, actually she whispered (the second time that someone whispered to me in this office, a bad sign or what?), was that Maria clearly was the office manager, but that the real manager of matrix Systems Inc. was mr. Poulain Dujournot, a Frenchman. He travels most of his time
., Anissa, added, he also takes care of the French and European customers. I didnt quite understand why she made a difference between French and European? Maybe she did not know that France was part of Europe? Impossible. What a thought.
We never know exactly where he is
, she continued, as he never leaves his agenda
.- Isnt that a bit weird? - I though by myself, because I was not in a position yet to question the people who were on the verge of hiring my services
.and sometimes he shows up
, but only once or twice a month or sometimes even less. But he is coming in next week, especially to see you and to talk to you. She added as if I had anything to do with his absenteeism at the office.
Because we really need some support from someone who knows to speak German.
Last year, Mr. Dujournot has hired a German sales manager for the German and East-European market and thats where you com in
she said. This German sales manager, his name is Wolfgang Hansen, he is a real German. She said, emphasizing the word German, indicating that in her opinion a German is not quite someone you can easily live with, not her
Wolfgang speaks English, but his customers dont., she said almost desperately.
And they call here all the time, the beauty of Inez joined the conversation.
They just refuse to speak English
.even if they know we are an American company. She pointed out to get her truth.
But I refuse to speak German., Anissa said. First of all, I never had any German language training in school, and I know they all understand English, who doesnt these thays? I saw a very determinate, almost fanatic look sparkle in the dark eyes of Anissa as she defended her lack of knowledge. they are not telling me what language I should speak at the phone
as long as they phone to an American company they better should learn how to speak English, thats what I think.
But obviously Wolfgang thinks different about this and the complaints of his customers have forced him and mr Dujounot to rummage around for a German speaking correspondent.
What do they whine about then? I asked, just to try to comprehend the whole picture.
Didnt you hear what I was just telling you?, Anissa smashed in my face? That I refuse to speak German at the phone, of course. There was some wildness in her looks now, I havent seen before.
oh, right
, I said, slightly shocked by her rude answer, making my heart shrink, which is a feeling that I sooo much not like at all
..this feeling of a cold shower internally spreading through all your veins, making you feel paralysed in words and action, freezing up your mind so no justified and appropriate answer could emerge to correct the unjust situation, clearly not in my favour at that time
I could not know, nor predict, at this very moment in time that my heart would go through this process of negativism and internal bleeding for far more times than I could ever have imagined in my whole life.
Nor could I foretell that this freezing internal cold, over and over again inflicted by words and actions of Anissa, would slowly demolish my inner personal warmth and natural kindness I was born with
.
You better go back now to Maria, to make another appointment next week, with mr Dujournot., Anissa said, as sweet as she ever could be.
Ok, I said and went back to the desk of Maria.
I see it works out fine, Maria concluded.
So I ll be seeing you next week Friday, at eleven o clock, for an appointment with our general manager mr Dujournot. When he is in Belgium, he doesnt come in until after ten. Maria explained, he likes to sleep.
-Dont we all? I thought a bit astonished at the least. But I was happy that all went so smoothly and I was about to say goodbye to my dearest mrs I-cannot-delegate-stress -my -back -a -little more Nicole Meddle. One more conversation to go.This was the most important thought and most valuable element in the cause of things for me currently.
The awkward elements that occurred during my conversations at Matrix Systems Inc. did not seem subsequently appropriate nor threatening, in no way they would become eventually by cause of time.
As I thought I was now altering my future for the better, in my crystal-clear benefit, I never could have guessed I was accomplishing the complete opposite and that I was working myself into a situation beyond reason, nor association with whatever could have been
Different signs from different angles were presented to me, on a golden plate, but I did not want to recognize, nor identify them. I felt, something at Matrix Systems Inc. was wrong, completely wrong, but I could not grasp what it was, nor did I see its relevance nor its threat to me as a person. For me, the relief to get rid of awful mrs Meddle had such a high impact on my scale of priorities, that all other anomalies and weird irregularities seemed to be even quite all right.
Here, at Matrix Systems Inc, we like to work with people who are absolute independent and can make decisions of their own. Mistakes, you cannot afford, and if made one, you are the sole responsible to solve the problems you caused yourself., Maria told me. This, of course sounded as music of Neil Diamond in my ears, coming from this controle freak of a women Meddle, who even would sign the sheets of toilet paper before using them, if she could do so.
No, no, this was a great moment in my life, I took some specific action to clear my misery and I made it happen that my life would, at last be upgraded to normal standards
I would be able to be feel happiness again, I would be able to enjoy my life again
Matrix Systems would make it possible for me
Would it?
Mr Dujournot travels all the time. He visits our customers all over Europe. But hes fed up with the Germans, thats why he hired Wolfgang Hanssen.Wolfgang was a warehouse manager in his earlier life. He worked with one of our biggest German customers. Mr Dujournot bought him out, to represent Matrix systems. So hes pretty new here with us, for about one year now. But hes having hard times, believe me, with the lack of direct professional German service here in the office
That ll all change when you come in the picture
, Maria kept telling
.
I see from your résumé that your German is quite all right
, she unjustly tore down the unambiguous superiority of my German acquaintance. We let you do some tests on all major languages, because the candidate we had before you , was such a catastrophe, we did not want to go through such a debacle again
, she explained. Thats why I had to go through some language testing, which I did quite well, thank you, the results were even beyond excellence, especially my German! Working for over ten years unswervingly with Germans, guiding them through half of the world, gave me the prospect of upgrading this lingo to the highest level. If I mastered anything in this life, then it would surely be my knowledge of the German language. It sounds weird, I know, who the fuck studies and controls the German language anyway, when you are not born over there? Right, not one living soul
Especially with the war and stuff
Wold war two isnt that long ago, you know
And half of the current Belgium population still suffers today from a huge guilt feeling because their ancestors collaborated
shame on them! shame on them
mine did not, they fled to France. The cowards
but thats why I had no prejudice whatsoever to study this language. Actually it was a choice I made out of pure sluggishness. To my surroundings I must have seemed to be an idiosyncratic freak.
The German language is just a fixation in my life that keeps on haunting me
Up till today. Til this very moment. Maybe it ll even will have something to do with the outcome of this book
I cant explain actually. As from the first lesson in class, in the fourth grade that was, were I had three hours of German education, it became crystal clear that this was something that I had in me. It just emerged, just like that, as if I had lived a full previous German life. I scored the highest grades and kept on doing so till the end of my studies.
Mr Dujournot is a long sleeper., Maria added. I did not know if she found this repulsive or not. Did she want to criticize him on this abhorrent oriental behaviour by telling me this? What on earth do I care about his sleeping habits? I just want this job, thats all.
He comes in way after ten, checks his mail and mostly leaves again in the early afternoon.. I honestly started to think that Maria wanted to emphasize the importance of her position by deteriorating the whereabouts of the general manager of Matrix Systems in Belgium. So her impact and decisions where those that counted.
I see you next Friday, then
Maria hoisted herself from her chair and reached out her hand to me. It was over, this charade. We both shook hands and we made it to the door again, because Maria accompanied me as if I could or would lose my way in between all this clutter of desks and drawers .
We passed an empty desk.
Here sits Rick., Maria added. He took the day off. He plays with models, modelling boats, that is, she corrected, noticing my astonished look on my face. modelling boats on smaller scales, that actually sail. They compete and today there was a huge competition.
Who is Rick? I asked further, because I could not yet place his desk in the whole of Matrix Systems.
His name is Rick Vijvers, and he is the office engineer. He knows everything about our Matrix systems; so if a customer has any question about this, he is the guy you need
,she said.
He is the only one who smokes in this office., Maria explained. Normally this is a non smoking office, as it is now even forbidden by law. But Rickis soo addicted; he cant do without a cigarette for two minutes. So we installed , we let install of course, a strong filter above his head in the ceiling, so the smoke does not bother the rest of us. Maria told me.
Do you smoke, by the way?, Maria asked me on the verge of leaving
No, madam, I do not, I replied. I did once but I stopped smoking after I concluded that two packages of Marlboro per day could not be that good for your health. I stopped from one day to the other.
Oh, good for you., Maria said, for you and for us. A smoking problem less
then.
Bye then, see you Friday.
Yes, until Friday, then
After closing the office door, I went down the stairs with a mixture of feelings; glad on one hand that it seemed that I got the job, or I should be such an asshole during the conversation with mr Dujournot that he trows me out
; but on the other hand somehow distrustful of what I had seen or did not see during my visit at Matrix Systems.
The near future would tell me more
chapter three : happiness
"Nobody can or will ever feel or understand what I am feeling now as a human being." I was thinking.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
"Nobody ever would know anything about how hard it is to be me...", "to be as I really am..."
I definitely was feeling lonely again with my devastating thoughts and feelings and self pity wasn't far away either.
But it was not about self pity only. It was about a state of mind. I was born with. I am born with, up till now. I had no reason at this time to be in such mood. I was being fairly successful, I might say, although grades of success are always to be taken with pounds of salt as they would say in our region, meaning it is not all as hot as the soup is served
.meaning, ah well, you know best
. but I did have the chance of my life to make a definite change to the physical demoralizing position I was in, with someone a mrs Meddle as chief in charge, causing my debacle.
For the first time since long, I would have the prospect and opportunity to be selected again for my linguistic capacities, My German knowledge would save me, once again. But save me from what? From feeling lonely? Guess not
from feeling less in pain? Guess not
.from feeling lost in performance and words, being seated on a secreted island, where not one single sole in this world would know its existence about? Guess not
.
It would just save me from mere accumulated substantial physical pain and reprieve me from bodily discomfort. I would be able to restore and regenerate the values of my human flesh again. Maybe my mind would pursue these slow steps to improvement of my direct environmental variables
Maybe I would be able to rehabilitate my state of psyche.
I bite my fingernails.
I still bite my fingernails. All of them. And hard. Till the end, cruelly bitten till the end, the ends of anguish.. Till nothing is left. To bite. Till it bleeds. Till I get dismayed by the looks of my fingers. Would I bite my nails if I were cured? I dunno. Maybe, maybe not...
I could not help it. It was, once again, stronger then myself. As many things seem to be stronger then me. Am I soo weak a person then? Biting my nails was only one of the few elements one could easily detect as a token of my inner devastation and chaos. The inner wreckage shown by destroyed fingers. I have been biting my nails since birth so I clearly know that I was not gifted by any possible powerful creator by a authoritative inner defence system. I have been like this all of my life. Insecure about it all. About everything, about everyone. My fingernails are the worst part of my body. The most nauseating thing you 'd ever see. Appalling...still, sometimes in the cause of time they were actually present in my life. I had once real nails. Very nice ones actually...beautifully capturing the ends of my slim line long fingers. Now they wait there to shock people as rude graveyards of daggered out graves. The bastards...why do i have them? Maybe because all this is not over yet? Maybe because I still have to finish what i have started on these pages? I know I have to write quite a lot more to reveal the horrible truth and painful reality towards it all. But I am patient. Therefore I ate and eat my nails. My time will come. That is for sure. Not one fibre in my veins will leave this kind of injustice not judged.
Are you all still there? Are you still with me? I certainly do hope so. Cause I need yall. Very hard! And very much indeed. If you are, you can always inform me by sending me a mail or by leaving your commentary in my guestbook. I can always use some help and support in the construction of a masterpiece as huge as I am creating now with an impact I can only dream of. So let know of you
Maybe you ll get a part in the story as well. On the right side. On the just side.
Did you know that I actually hate, using this word only after starting to work with Matrix inc., people with nails bitten of? I despise them. They are scum. Big losers; that is what I thought indeed. Deep down I know they are not but they are stored in my brain as human trash, as extremely weak persons, with small or no individuality at all. As you see, I like to shred myself into tiny pieces. Nothing I would leave in one piece when it comes down to me and myself and I. But this does not mean I will take all the credit for what is going to appear at the closing stages of this libretto. My obvious functional deficiency is not going to be the foundation or reason of it all. It will merely be functioning as the key to the birth of all final accomplishments, clearing up the dark clouds and misty horizons I live in today. My state of mind is only and merely a hinder and obstruction to a hasty outcome. It allows me to set things straight before ending them. It allows me to explain to you all why it had to end this way as it all will do.
I do not like see myself as a loser. I do not like to see so many deficiencies on me. I wish I knew who I was, who I am, now at this point in my life. Somehow I do need an enclosure to be able to find myself.
I hate mediocrity. I fear mediocrity. Its boring. Its bad. Its sad. And it is making all people who stand above mediocrity, laugh at you. I hate being laughed at. But I am. Still at my age. I am not bringing myself down, no sir. I refuse to do so. However, time has taught me more personal deficiencies and bodily as well as mentally derisory and inadequate functioning than I d ever hoped for.
The funny thing is, that, seated on a life boat of a cruise liner, being brought back from shore to the ship in an exquisite surroundings like the fjord of Geiranger in Norway, one could believe, it all does not matter at all. The tiny air of swift happiness, floating between ones fingers, leaving a thrill in the chest behind, not grasping the full extend of all external fuss, is sooo hard to catch or to hang on to. Its all just a matter of seconds. Seconds that make your day, even your life. Rare they are, these moments of ecstasy. But I had them. Even several times.
Am I thus blessed? Partly yes, I guess so. But I did not yet enter Matrix Inc. for the second time. To see Mr. Dujournot, the general manager of Matrix Inc. The big chief. This was taking place next Friday. At 10 oclock, was it? No silly, he likes to sleep till ten, the appointment is at eleven! Be attentive.
Lets all go to the meeting, to the interview.
Chapter four : supremacy conquers the intellect
Chapter four : supremacy conquers the intellect<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I wanted this job at Matrix Inc. I wanted it so badly, you cannot imagine. My forbearance boundaries had been reached. My back was under medical treatment; weakly shots directly in the cramped muscles should loosen things up and redirect the threat of a cordial dysfunction, since the heart is a muscle too, remember? And I surely did not want any cramp in my heart muscle, thats for sure. Id do anything for this job. It was my hope for a better life, nicer hours, a more regular existence from 9 to 5. The endangered nightly returns home with the local tram, filled with shaggy drunks and stoned nitwits, could soon be belonging to the past. Mrs Meddle was on the threshold to be buried alive in the forgotten margins of my memory.
Of course I wondered what I, a former international why dont you say world tour leader, a ex cruise ship customer care representative, even a former quality control manager, would or could be of any significance in this company, on this echelon, just above nil; a company that manufactures an artefact that I did not even know to position in the scheme of things. I just wanted to get rid of mrs Meddle and all connotations to this atrocious woman. Give me this job, man
ah, come on now
The office looked the same. Same people, same desks. But no Maria. I did not see Maria.
Anissa Hamsa came to me the minute she saw me entering the door. She started to whisper immediately : Maria has been fired
, Anissa hushed in my ear. It was almost erotical. She choose the wrong side
, Anissa tried to explain in a rush, because if anything would be clear, Anissa gave the impression of being placed under severe anxiety and performed like haunted wild meat on stage.
she tried to defend us, here at the office
she added, seemingly at the end of her tether and seeking to finish the whole story before our big chief would appear from behind one of those scattered and dispersed desks.
against mr Dujournot
it was no use
she kept whispering, still close to my ear, so close my trousers started to shrivel up for its content.
she urged to get some sun protection, on the windows, that is, but it appeared to be too expensive. For mr Dujournot, that is
It all ended in a terrible tussle and at the end, she was sent away, just like that!, Anissa hushed again.
Mr Dujournot just said that she choose the wrong side
he actually said this to all of us
Anissa whispered, still. It was obvious I walked into a scene I did not want to be part of. Destiny choose otherwise. She got the sack
I, in fact, could not believe what was really happening here
Could this mean I was to fail my job? This question must have been written all over me, because, without even having spoken one single word, Anissa continued : but this has nothing to do with you
Mr Dujournot is expecting you. He just came in. He was late. He always is late.", she added, kind of hateful. or did it just seem to be like this? Her voice suddenly became sinister and razor-sharp. It shook me up. Out of nowhere or at least from behind one or another cupboard, a small creature materialized behind Anissa. Out of the blue. I did not see him coming. He just stood there. Saying nothing, just observing Anissa Hamsa and me.
Bizarre, wont you say so?
Small creature, I said
and so it was. When I say small, it is small. He was clearly undersized. I have no gain at all by twisting or bending the specifics as they are in real. He had a skeletal visage and his costume appeared too big. I spotted his nose. His nose, my God, did he have a nose! You effortlessly could open any tin can in the world with such nose. Huge and sharp. Sharp as the hateful voice of Anissa and colossal as opposed to his body length.
His hair gave the impression of being very greasy and appeared to be stuck or cemented on his head. It had a very clear shine, not the outcome of the usage of some creams or hair gel, but of clear plain bodily fat.
His suit, although to big for his tallness, was a high quality big label made by Hugo Boss ensemble, probably pure silk, stating his wealthy upper class position within this strange company.
Anissa spotted immediately that I was not giving her any attention anymore because I was busy evaluating this rare human specimen at the back of her and she suddenly turned around, as she probably felt the huge nose on her hirsute back. Mr Dujournot, she shouted, quite unnatural. This is Patrick. Patrick, this is mr Dujournot., she concluded. We both shook hands. Shall we?, mr Dujournot spoke, for the first, and pointed towards a separate room which appeared to be his personal office.
Thank you, Anissa, thank you
, he added towards Anissa Hamsa in a way to tell her that her part in this encounter was to be ended. But she did not seem to feel this and kept smiling and kept observing our first encounter. I ll take over from here., mr Dujournot added, to make clear what he indicated before. We entered the separate office and whilst I took an offered chair, Mr Dujournot closed the door, before taking the outsized seat in buffalo leather at the other side of a massive hand carved mahogany desk. It was an hilarious scene to me. As if he was drowning in his furniture. Like all those shrunk old ladies behind the steering wheels of an American car. But I could not afford to explode into laughter, although the urge to do so, was never so close.
So this is mr Horrible, I thought, whom one should be afraid of. One wrong word and youre out. Thats what happened to Maria actually. For some strange raison d'être, I did not feel anxious, I even felt myself quite relaxing and comfy, opposite a midget with power. Life is a huge lie, can't be otherwise. We all live a lie. Each and every one of us. Some know about this, other do not. This whole society is a gigantic lie. Sometimes, on the most unexpected moments in ones life, certain things happen, things that alter your life or try to change it permanently.
My pc just broke down. First the specialists thought all data were erased, but this seemed not to be the case. They could save the data and thus, now I am working again as I cannot be stopped telling you this story of resentment, hate, human disgrace, pestering and torture.
Many times I have a feeling that I do not even exist. It is a strange feeling, that is the least I can say. Whatever I do or write, or act, no reaction whatsoever comes from no one, not even as to say : hey, you are still alive and kicking
no, nothing. It is as if I live in a parallel universe where people can see me, but the more they see me, the more they seem to ignore me and my whereabouts. These are dangerous thoughts. I could try to cross the road with my eyes closed, see what happens then
would they see me? Would this huge truck driver spot me on the midst of his rushed expedition to a commercial just-in-time triumph? I would never know, I guess
and I value my life at this point too much, so I do not intend to practice these malicious thoughts of mine.
But the harder I think about this matter, the stronger I come to see that most crucial events in my life were completed as a consequence of pure circumstantial luck and not as a result of considerate and proactive performances of mine. I did take some fundamental decisions in life. And they led to drastic changes, but only because of other elements that seemed to join me in my pursuit of human happiness. As a counterbalance to those decisions that caused me to smile more than to weep, I surely had my part of wrong pronouncements that pushed me again and again against the wall of humiliation and despair.
Driven and even obsessed by the urge of gaining money and getting rid of the atrocious and rotten character of my current superior, I was prepared to take on every kind of job I would encounter. The business of mr Dujournot, the self indulging dwarf right in front of me, was as unknown to me as the life of the elderly and stupid. Do not get me wrong here, I did not, at that period in time, any harmful feelings against mr Dujournot, at the contrary.
Because it was he, who in fact decided to talk to me with the potential of hiring my services for his company, that made me feel even positively strong about him and his managerial capacities. He was my knight in shining armour , my saviour, back then. And I always have been very loyal in my life towards those people who had but first-class intentions with my person. Especially those in a higher social ranking than me. Although his body language indicate totally otherwise and his nose looked threatening sharp, pointing towards me as an obvious tool he probably used to emphasize his dreadful commands, mr Dujournot had all in favour, back then, back there.
He did not speak a word, just sat behind his too bigger desk, fondling around in his paperwork. There wasnt much of paperwork on his desk. His desk was as clean and spotless as a surgeons operating table. To me it was clear he did not spend much of his executive time in this air-conditioned and frigid office. Still, he seemed to have lost something, till all of a sudden, he smiled and stated : ah, here it is
, taking my résumé from underneath another pile of a threesome letters in the middle of his colossal working table. He looked at my résumé for about five very long minutes,; till he looked at me and said : you do have a remarkable past of customer care experience, but then I can see it is merely in the holiday business, in the tourism business, that is
, I wonder why you choose now to come to work for us?, he added.
Well, mr Dujournot, the fact that I want another job has merely to do with my health, since I do not have any free own will at my present job, I even have to let sign my ordering sandwiches sheet, so she can start to discuss about anything if she has it in her. , I stated, quite honestly, trying to be as straight forward as I could be, not in the least because it was the truth. furthermore, I do not like the terrible working hours, since most meetings take until late at night, and I have to stay put, till the last man or woman leaves the building. My family life is not all as it should be at the moment, and I like to improve that too. I added.
But what about your customer service, then? How do you see this then? he tried to find a way to bring me out of balance, but did not succeed, with this additional question. I honestly think that customer service is always the same in its essence, that is; no matter what product you deliver to your customer, all customers are the same to you and deserve to be treated equally, not in relation to what or how many they buy from you. The product should be OK, of course, I cannot work for a company with lousy products (I did not know at that time what the quality of the product of Matrix systems Inc was all about, they could be the worst on the market, I did not care back then, my major issue was to get rid of
you know
), the products have to be good. And when the quality is ok, then all your customers have to be treated in an equal way.
I d do anything for my customers., I added, pretty self-confident, because this was one of the certainties in my life. I even crawled for my customers, as long as they were pleased with my service.
I have a very clear vision on customer care, and I have been practicing this during all of my career, until now, with success!, I threw in.
Whether they come to meet in one of our rooms or whether they go on holiday, or whether they buy your product
, they all deserve the best possible care, and that is what I am always trying to accomplish in my work.
Mr Dujournot smiled and put my résumé back on his small pile of papers. Ok, he said, for me its ok. You can start as soon as your term at your other work has finished. I am happy to welcome you to Matrix Systems Inc. He stood up, reaching is skeletal hand towards me, bending a long way over his oversized desk. Of course I was happy, it seemed to me the happiest day in a long time in my life. I think I glowed. For pride and relieve. My God, how I would enjoy my saying goodbye to Nicole Meddle, the bitch.
What about my salary?, I tried to insert into the development of things. Ah, yes, Ill pay you what you earn now, plus Ill multiply it by 13.9, so all extra months and legal requirements are settled, plus do not forget that you are now part of our bonus system, which means that you can earn again one extra months salary on top of this, if the annual results are ok for the States.;, he declared triumphantly as if he had to pay this out of his own pocket. We shook hands and I left the office, followed by mr Dujournot.
Patrick is going to work for us., he shouted into the office, so everybody know at once the current status of our negotiations. I had a smile from ear to ear, feeling as if I could fly in the air, and I guess that is how I got home, because I cannot remember how I did this. I wasnt drunk, I went straight back home, eager to tell the good news to those who would benefit.
Mr Dujournot was a saint. Thats for sure. The ease and decisiveness he hired me (I did not even had to prove my German capacities) proved to me he was one of the few great leaders of this planet. Boy, was I wrong. How could I ever be so wrong in judging a person, just blinded by the fact that he practically saved my life at that moment in time.
I had no clue whatsoever I survived my first encounter with one of the biggest company orientated hard-nosed swindler, opportunistic, ruthless liar and human manipulator I would ever see in my entire life. He most definitely was and still is the biggest master charlatan/con artist I have ever met.
The character, whereabouts and everyday behaviour of mr Dujournot would commence to reveal itself to my observations and turn out to be and to confirm the worst case scenario ever a person could encounter in his life. But I did not know that. How could I? How should I? I was happy, (Just leave me happy for a second, will you?) The encounters of such malicious individuals and twisted characters cause brain damage. At least to me.
They confirm to me that life is a lie. The life we all lead is a pure lie.
Nothing is true and the truth isnt even true. It is false. The truth is only true for those who benefit from it. Money changes the truth. Money manipulates the truth. Power violates the truth. Power turns it into lies. The lies of our lives. Why do I say such things. Am I damaged? Sure, for a part, sure. But I am still clear and lucid enough to see things as they are. I still can put them in perspective, to one another, to me, to the world.
Once each and every one of us is born and put on this planet, we are forced upon with rules and instructions, with guidance and control systems. We are raised by big brother. By big money brother. As long as money and power is involved, as good as anything is allowed. For those who have money and power. They set the rules, they conclude our standards. They call it school. Now they speak about long life studying projects, since school time is not sufficient anymore. We need more time to absorb all guidelines and rules and agreements money and power inflict upon us. And mr Dujournot turned out to be the perfect answer to all these immoral and de motivating, depressing but true thoughts I dared to describes in the lines above. He embodied the ultimate confirmation that all evil odds in life can be true and existing, vivid and non-erasable, strong and present in our lives, if we want this or not. Even if we would oppose to the strongest of our believes and hopes, iniquity is amongst us all; so sad this statement and observation I made, I have to confirm. Since Mr Dujournot confirmed it as well. Through his actions, his thoughts, his behaviour, his manipulative moves, he slowly revealed himself to me, during the months and years to come, as the existence of profound, intentional immorality and premeditated wickedness.
I do not say this just for fun. This is no fun. This is horror. This has been horror. That is why I am writing these pages to you all, to make you a real witness of it all. So you can participate in the wonder of disbelieve and rejection, in the desperate effort of denunciation and unmistakable but slow acceptance, since prove of horror came and nestled itself in my rebellious and ever struggling brain cells to keep this amount of human devastation out of my clean system. So you would believe. Believe my inner destruction, caused by this real evil. So you d see how this works. How these sick individuals practice their ruthless techniques of self enrichment and self glorification. You 'd be surpised!
chapter five : sales
Chapter five sales<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
At times I think it is all in vain. I think life is all in vain. I get the creeps when thoughts start to haunt me that all we do on this planet, is in vain.
I hate these thoughts. Sometimes I do really think and believe, which is even worse, that it all has no reason. No reason at all. If I would have been here or not. If all those brave men, fighting for war in bitter red sands, between scattered houses of disgrace by strangled and raped women, unseen by any authority, passed undiscovered through the eye of the believer, that all ends well, those freedom fighters who are ripped apart by the next self-exploding terrorist who is expecting to get his seventy virgins awaiting at the other end of total emptiness, would believe they were here on a purpose, then I must admit that I do not see the ultimate drive those guys hang on to. I can not be that there is a bigger purpose to it all. We are. Nothing more nothing less. And I am starting to see now that just being here, is a bigger challenge then I ever could have guessed in my early days of my existence, where all those others, were trying soo hard by each and every means they had, to let me believe the other truth of life.
But, since my last technical stop at Matrix systems Inc. They only have become stronger then ever. These thoughts, I mean. Of course, strengthened by the behaviour of super dwarf mr. Dujournot and his disciples. But I should not run ahead of things. I tend to do that. I dunno why. Maybe Id like to see this story to an end. I dunno. As in I do not know. Actually, I do not know much at all. About nothing. All has been said. Lets not repeat the said. Nor the done. Lets move forward, firm and strict, keeping myself to the facts. As fact only will enable you to see. To see the end result of things to come. Focus. I will.
Still, at the time being, I was grateful and happy that mr. Dujournot had hired me to be part of his team. I even had a clear objective. To start so to speak from scratch to build up the German speaking and new eastern European market, together with our guy in the field, our sales, mr Wolfgang Hansen. A real German, of course. No one could be more German than our Wolfgang. But I ll tell you later about him.
This was some improvement for me personally! I came from a surroundings where I couldnt even go to the toilet without the written consent of my direct superior. Now I had it all clear and free for me to handle. Mr Dujournot, being part of his international sales team, was still combining his job as managing director with the sales for <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />France and some scattered European clients, reaching from Island to Northern Africa, to Greece. I bet He like travelling. So he would not be around that much, maybe once, twice a month? Maybe.
For me this sounded like heaven. Freedom at last. Freedom of speech, freedom of handling, freedom of acting. Of course this way of working needed a strong sense of responsibility, but with my background over the years on delivering perfect customer support, even on different levels, I clearly had the odds going for me. At that time. Life was great! It all would turn out fine! At last! Life is a feast! A sumptuous excessive dinner, I only took the wrong doors to get to the opulent banquette, but finally I would have reached my haven of recognition and appreciation of inherent and unmistakable customer care qualities. So maybe, just maybe, there was a God, then. There.
Was there?
Time was back then like walking on roses, thrown on the floor by a bunch of the most splendid and magnificent Sri Lankan beauties, making up your bed and leaving a good night sirback on your pillow, written by freshly picked flower leaves, sooo sweet. The future seemed bright. The sun wasnt strong enough to match my inner glow of intense happiness and firm believe in all mankind.
The first time I met Wolfgang Hanssen, the German part of Matrix sales and my direct battle companion in our war against all others to obtain world leadership, I wasnt surprised at all. Having worked several years with our German friends in all possible countries as a former tour-guide, I only had but excellent references and experiences with the German breed. Although, it is true one cannot generalize in describing or characterizing a people or race, from my personal experience on the field, I may confirm that the broader lines and remarks about the Germans, exist and are conform the clichés build around them.
So one can say, without making a huge blunder, that all Germans are straight forward and do not like to be treated badly without immediate reaction. They act immediately when something is not according to their expectations. If you want me to compare these thought with the Dutch, they are pretty much the same, only they are not so rude as the Germans sometimes appear to be. The Belgians however like to bade into their own mischief and if, if they decide to say something about it, they will do so, long after the actual discrepancy occurred. Or they stay silent and endure their grief and sorrow. But they never, ever com back to you again for the same services. Belgians are so to speak a bit more false, and artificial in their behaviour: they rather gossip about the encountered injustice than to react to set things straight. They do not dare to hit the bull by the horns. They prefer to go by the back and hitting it in the ass by destructive gossip and backstabbing whisper.
But Wolgang was clearly one of the German kind. And I have something with Germans. I do not know what it is but I have something going with those people. If their would be a former live possible, I probably would have lived several lives in the former great German unity. I dunno. What I do know is that I always was able to handle them. I, the small Belgian guide, with utmost basic self esteem, was able to control and handle the brutal Germans. It blended in perfectly. Our actions and words coincided as ying and yang. But do not get me wrong here. I just was an observer of this factum, just as you are now. I could do nothing but acknowledge myself of these facts that would change my life forever. We matched, the Germans and I, a marriage of the better kind.
Wolfgang confirmed all clichés possible by his tongue and deeds. He was a bit younger than I but in no way this would appear a disadvantage to him. His elaborate self esteem combined with his direct handling approach put him miles above me and in a strict hierarchic way of speaking, this would serve him well at the end, since outdoor sales representation is still highly regarded above indoor sales support. Yes it is. No need to argue here.
Wait till I put some figures on it. Like the way Matrix systems Inc remunerated both opposite (in and out) sales sides completely separately and differently. So different it blew my sock off. How did I know? How did I find out, you may wonder, quite correctly. All figures and numbers were to be found in our computer system. There was no reading protection, nor a password protection whatsoever build in our system for those supposing secret data of personal salaries and bonuses. Of course I did not find this out from day one. It took some time to get me familiar with both the inside people and the used system to be able to detect what I came to witness in the months to come. Anissa Hamsa knew this. And told every one. If I would have known this on day one, I wouldnt have started to work for Matrix Systems Inc at the first place. Running ahead again, am I? Yes sir!
Back to Wolfgang. We came along perfectly. Also due to my apparent inherent perfect way to German adaptation. We formed a real unit. Inside and out. Like resilient partners from some daft American police series. Together on the coach, the front seat in a police car. Sticking up for one another. Wolfgang liked me. I Liked him, as a German that is. I did not like him enough to be a friend. Therefore he was too blunt. Too straightforward. So straightforward that the way he acted became even impolite. At times. Many times. This wasnt my stuff. But with my shy attitude, we both matched together as if it was all meant to be. He liked me because he needed me. He needed my support at the office. Boy, did he need me in the office. Wolfgang came on the Matrix train one year before I joined in. He was very happy with my presence and my future customer support he would get. He never had decent support before. This bygone year has been extremely awful for him. There was no one who spoke German at the office. This was at the least a major catastrophe for all German clients and all German speaking clients. So they all called Wolfgang. For trivial and insignificant office matters. They bothered him. He got pissed. He could not behave. So God sent me in. To rescue Wolfgang.
One day I sat next to him in his dark blue Audi A6, a beautiful German car (a true German always tries to drive a German car) on our way to meet some of the most important German customers. I noticed some hard dehydrated stains on the dashboard, right in front of me, in front of the passengers front seat. I was still wondering what this dried out filth could be or how it could have emerged on the dashboard, when all of a sudden the answer was given to me. Wolfgang started to make some real roaring sounds as if he would be a bear, when he spitted some fluids out of his mouth, combined with a direct load out of his nasals, directly into the palm of his right hand, which he cleaned with one straight move on the dashboard in front of me. Excuse me, he said, no handkerchief. And that was it. I became sick.
Great guy, Wolfgang. I mean it. .I liked him. Not his dashboard action, not his blunt behaviour, but his commercial, professional attitude. We worked well. Together we achieved what we were hired for. Wolfgang did not make much out of his first year. He desperately needed back up at the office. Back up that failed last year. Back up that made me come to Matrix Systems Inc.
This all sounds as if I was the great savvier of this German market. None is lesser true. There was practically no German Market. Besides of a few single operating customers in Germany, we had no real market whatsoever. So no market could have been saved by me. You cannot save a market that does not exist. We had to start from zero. This is what I liked. To really build up something from the beginning , knowing that what you did, really had an impact on the whole. My desk was part of an island, together with the desks of Anissa and Inez.
The plan was that those two girls I can speak here of girls, since they both just left school and were in their early twenties would disclose all customer secrets to me. At first, I thought that I was a bit over exaggerated by my new challenge ahead, that I did not seem to get all the information from my two beauties in front of me, the way I should get it; they systematically seemed to ignore me as a person and the necessary information flow never outgrew a premature level of constant asking and splintered updating of my knowledge to become a feasible unit within Matrix Inc. In stead of actually helping me becoming a member of their team, they apparently did everything to obstruct and delay this kind of operation.
They laughed a lot. At each other, with each other. They had a lot of fun. They talked a lot, not about work, in fact, never about work. They both sat right in front of me, facing each other. So the talking worked well, as the ignoring did. They just didnt want to see in my direction when I was in need for some critical information on a German customer. Of course I picked up all phones from German speaking clients from day one onwards, relieving the pressure of failing knowledge from my blabbering twosome in front of me.
This situation was becoming so gross that at the end of week one, mr Dujournot, still in the house, surprisingly suggested that I should present myself on Saturday morning at the office to be able to receive the necessary PC knowledge in order to make invoices and credit notes.
Apparently Anissa went behind my back to complain to mr Dujournot, that, due to my presence in their island council, they lacked the time to do so. I did not know what I heard. So I did not ay anything. I was new. I thought it to be wise to follow the first orders of my new chief. Nevertheless I could not help to perceive that something was incorrect here. Those two ladies did nothing but privately chatting about all what there is to talk about in life during office hours, neglecting most of the incoming lines, since I took them after three ring tones at the latest.
They noticed that. Clever but lazy girls! Quite quickly they observed my customer dedication and acted accordingly, to their benefit. To the benefit of their daily chitchat. What bothered me most was that fact that they did not talk, nor even discuss work and workload with me. They just went straight to the boss to complain about their busy daily schedule. Furthermore I did not like the fact that what they told my boss, our midget chief, was completely wrong, even a huge unmistakable lie. I have never seen two full time occupied woman in an office do so little for the company. They must have known that I saw all this, because I was placed and sitting right in front of them. So how could or would they find or have the nerves to go on telling our superior that they lacked time to train me in my job? Were they not afraid that I would refute and counter their statement? Obviously not at all. But they knew this was a lie and they knew I knew. This was a complete confirmation that my presence was not taken into account for even one second. I clearly did not exist for them. I was dispensable ballast, some dirt to be cleaned away. Although I came to help their drifting department. I came to relieve them from the burden of every day nagging Germans who felt shortened by the absence of any German speaking Matrix employee. Obviously and for me quite incomprehensible, they did not see me this way. At this point, this was for me the first of many incomprehensible attitudes, actions, answers, behaviour, I would have to endure during the upcoming months and years. I was surprised, back then, by these minor but strange office events. Only much later, I realized they all made part of the plan that was being set up to master the individual situation of that moment and of that particular person.
Especially Anissa had something about her I could not immediately place in the right perspective. She was at the least to say a bit hautin, up nose , the early days of my commencement at Matrix Systems Inc. I agree, she was a beauty and still very young and immature. She was aware of her splendour uplifting beauty. But this natural gorgeousness would soon shrivel to insane undersized proportions so that the awful, frightening and most of all rotten face of the hateful and abhorrence would emerge. Beauty is clearly beaten by negativism, hatred, revulsion and fraudulent behaviour. Anissa would become the living prove of this statement. Besides, by total ignoring me as a human being during the day, she already started to see my arrival and me as such as an extra volume of workload, as a substantial change in her life stile, coming up to her and unquestionably disturbing her every day easy life chatting sessions. Should I have said something? About this whole unjust situation? I probably should have. But I did not. I stayed silent and observant, as during the first weeks I always wanted to check things out before judging on them or leave commentary that would be inappropriate. I am a prudent kinda guy. My caution never can be large enough. I always think thoroughly about the consequences of my words and deeds. As if it all would have mattered. Looking back, I now know I should have responded immediately. But regret is not appropriate. It is out of its place here. I did what I did or did not what I did not so things went on as they were all set in the reason of things.
Mr Dujournot came by at the island and just asked me if I could come next Saturday morning to Matrix systems Inc at nine o clock to catch up with the invoicing. Anissa would be present too. Nice of her. So se would be able to explain me the details of the system. Without interruption of possible clients. Saturday normally was a closing day. Never worked on a Saturday. Of course this would be no problem for me. I wasnt the one who was being cross here. I did what I had to do to fulfil my job to the best efforts possible to obtain an as excellent result as it could be. Because I had a mission to accomplish. That is the way I saw my functioning at Matrix Inc.
Wolfgang and I had to conquer the whole German speaking east European market and I was prepared to take all steps possible to meet up to this standard, set at the moment I was inaugurated. Only, I did not expect so soon these somewhat questionable counterfeit manners of my new colleagues, clearly choosing their own personal and private benefit above that of the company. Saturday it was then. Nine a clock sharp. Saturday morning. It was still pretty chilly and half of Belgium still sleeping. I stood before a closed door. A key wasnt yet provided, so I had to wait. I waited. Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes. Nothing, nobody. I started to wonder if I had heard all things right. See, now that is typically me : I always start to look by myself if anything is wrong. It probably would be me, since I had been a distracted professor all of my life. My mother called me as a child always her distracted professor, because I often failed to focus. I was a dreamer, still am. Never could hold attention to the present for more than a few minutes. I had a vivid imagination. A Very vivid one. So that must have been the reason why I stood there, all alone, before closed office buildings, freezing my ass of, since it was only half April and nights and mornings could be very chilly- damned freezing ice cold I d say - still, although the spring was in da house for over two weeks now. The right date was probably next Saturday or the week after? But not this Saturday. No one is more than half an hour late. This would be a token of gross contempt of my person.
I did not have access to the cell phone numbers of any of my new colleagues yet, therefore our contacts and mutual efforts to make things work, were too premature and short notice so that wouldnt help either.
All of a sudden a dark brown Mercedes, an old model back from the nineties, came slowly rolling along an approaching the building I stood for. In stead of parking on the parking facilities, fifty meters further on, the Mercedes stopped right in front of the building and silenced its engine.
Together with five other people, Anissa Hamsa stepped out of the car.
Good morning, she said, as if nothing could ever be wrong. In the mean time it was practically ten oclock. She was an hour late, but did not feel the urge to tell me about it. Not one single world. No reason, no apology, no silly excuse, not even a plain lie. Nothing. Total neglect.
Your are late..;, I tried. What?, she reacted? Late? Why? Its Saturday and normally we dont work on these days, so it does not matter when I arrive, does it?
If you say so
, I responded, as it seemed to her not of any relevance that I stood there for over an hour, just waiting for Godot and her five companions.
Why dont you have a key, yet? she threw in my face. I thought you had a key.
You should have given my one, according to mr Dujornot, that is. He told me so. I tried to counter her attack.
Ah, well yess, I guess I should have done so, but I lost mine, so I now use the spare key I had to give to you. Mr Dujournot does not know I lost it, so I still have to make some doubles to get things sorted out.
So you know I did not have a key., I returned the question.
No , I did not. You could have received one from him as well, couldnt you? she countered, not so pleased with my response.
no, you should have given me one, since you manage the keys, he said., I replied.
ah, so now I am in charge of the keys as well. Fine, what else do I have to do here in this bloody office that I do not know about? Should I start cleaning maybe? Anissa literally bit my nose off.
She turned around and stamped her way into the building, hitting the delicate marble entrance floor like a drill borer with her high heals of disdain and such force, I thought she would be able indeed to break the tantalizing tiles. Her five companions followed her silently but firm as if she was the leader of a gang.
My stomach shrunk to tiny proportions. What was this all about? I was the one who should be angry because I had to wait for over an hour in the morning cold. In stead of an apology, I got an aggressive wind right up my nasals, presented with an such an appalling attitude that I d better shut up (for all times sake) before anything worse should or could happen. I must admit, that I did not have ever seen such behaviour before in my life. But, hey, I thought it must be some day the first day for everything. And I followed her on the stairs towards our mutual office, behind those five buddies she brought along.
I thought I d better be quite for a while now, since this was no way to build up some team spirit.
Once in the office, I became a witness of a spectacle that I 'd never seen in my entire life.
It is about time we are setting some things straight here, Anissa started out of the blue (of course she did not know what out of the blue meant, because the level of her English was soo pitiable and wretched she would end up with a monkey when she would plead for missing public toilet paper), mr Dujournot is mostly NOT in this office. The emphasize on the word NOT was very loud and clearly received by me. He wants us to be present from eight to six for our customers, but we dont do that., Anissa immediately added, referring to her and Inez at that time. Apparently she wanted me to join in this setup hour stealing fraud, as she clearly wanted to explain explicitly how it worked. And for all, how she got away with it. Although this were my first days and foremost elaborate contacts with some of the employees of Matrix Systems Inc, I could not help to notice that the moral standards and labour principles of Anissa and obviously also of Inez, were situated miles underneath mine. A kind of valid ethical behaviour towards her employer seemed to be lacking completely. To me this was shocking. But since I was new and already had my preliminary portion of anger and conflict, I decided to listen to what she had to say on the subject. I did not converse. I observed and listened. Because of my damaged self esteem, I did not want to impose my personal believes and basic human values to those whom probably never heard of such words before in their entire but yet short lives. What bothered me most in this matter, was her age.
chapter six - sales 2
I think my scrotum has enlarged. On the usual scratching session, this evening, before hitting the sack, i realized that I had quite some amount of skin in my hand. My balls have not enlarged though. They have gained some space. Sometimes on the most impossible moments, one is confronted with some unexpected issues. I do not think this is something to worry about. I just have a huge sack. Nothing wrong with that.
Far more worrying was the attitude of Anissa Hamsa. This was not conform her age. My scrotum is, i guess. It develops with the years. It does what it is supposed to do. It expands. This is disgusting, isnt it? Or is it nature?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Anissa Hamsas behavior sure wasnt nature. It was premeditated malice.
I have left you all for some days now, havent I? Ah well, yes, a man has got to do what a man has got to do. I told you I am a painter. That is what I am sure of now. So whilst my memory is trying to recollect the best of both worlds and is assembling all data to make the picture work, I still have to see that I do not starve these days, because this is not exactly bringing me any money. So I had an exposition to take care of. That is why it took some days for me to continue on my script. I do not own a laptop. So I can not write along the way. Nor whilst I am driving my car or guarding my paintings.
The thing is, when I feel bad, I tend to eat too much. So I am gaining some overweight. This is something I do not like at all. It is one of the things that I constantly need to control. Not that I was a fat kid, nooo
I was thin as whatever thin can be. But the hunger is omnipotent and thus I eat
Especially after the brutal intrusion of Anissa and her elaborate explication how things work her devious but very specific way around here at Matrix Systems NV, made me even feel more like some chubby and overweighed swine that did not have a decent meal in days
I felt starving and dreadful and amazed and befuddled and for all very curious
Are you?
let me set some things straight here
, Anissa began. We at customer service, we are the only ones who need to be in the office from eight till six in the evening. All the others come around nine and go home around five oclock. Yes, that is true
, I tried to intervene , it is put that way in my job description.
Job description, Jobs description, to hell with your job description
it is mr Dujournot who wants it that way, but I dont think it is fair
Anissa added.
But you can arrange things between us, can you not?, I tried again.
Now, you listen to me, we have already arranged everything. And you are going to do things our way. Anissa bit straight in my face.
Mr Dujournot never ever is in the office. You hear. You know that. Only once a month or maybe once each two months he is in the office for a day or two. So he does not need to know our little secret arrangement. Even the others dont know. Dont know what??? I wondered?
The way weve arranged things here. Anissa continued.
We come in between eight and nine, just make sure you are here before the others arrive. I am not here at eight each morning. Are you nuts? And in the evening, when every one is gone home, just after five, we just wait five minutes and then we close the place down. Anissa finished her little scam plan.
And what if a customer calls before nine or after five?, I tried to awaken her sense of responsibility. They ll call back. Was her simple but yet powerful answer that did not leave any more room for further discussion.
aha
, I concluded. I learned a lot this Saturday. Not about invoicing or the computer program Matrix systems Inc is working with, no sir. Not a word until now. Anissa was too busy giving her kinfolk all possible drinks out of the fridge and cookies and biscuits out of a big metal box (that were actually provided for possible visitors) as she left me sitting before my mystery screen of my pc, waiting to get some real instructions on my participation at customer service.
Sometimes I wonder, if those kinda people like Anissa, who deliberately without any restrictions or second thoughts obviously was ripping-off her own employer for at least an hour a day, if they do have some kind of conscience. Or not? Or do they think about their deeds? Or about some consequences later on? Could she be that stupid? For sure it was a first indication to me that she was not that bright at all. I know for one thing that, the moment this book will appear public and will be officially presented to the literary press, newspapers and magazines, some will understand the whole swindle that has been going on for years at Matrix Systems Inc and was up till now covered by mutual lies by those responsible. These words are very important words. They are food of the brain. Mental nourishment .They are words of justice. These words are words of healing. They slowly heal my inner self on the way to total justification on all levels. Because this theft of an hour a day by Anissas simple but genius plan, was only the beginning of a series of events and actions which I am going to reveal to you the next chapters. Indeed, the reality is often much worse than any imagination can ever evoke. Because I was new and I had no intention of having a constant fight with Anissa over her behaviour and her counterfeit intentions and first known despicable action, I decided to be silent and to wait for what was yet to come. Of course, I did not agree on her little plan, but what could I do? I could not change the strongly settled habits of this office; I had no authority to do so. Moreover did I not want to loose this job, I needed the money.The only thing I knew for sure was that you would get the sack immediately for this kind of abusive conduct in all the companies I had worked for before in my life. And I must admit, I have indeed worked for some different companies all over the world. F.I. when I was responsible for the weekly roundtrips in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Sri Lanka, our mother company was based in Swiss but we were fully to report and cooperate with our local Sri Lankan tourism company in Colombo for all matters whatsoever. Even in this kind of third world country, which Sri Lanka still is, the moral values and ethical standards of the Sri Lankan were way higher and of the finest form than the lowlife appalling set up action Anissa obviously had running at Matrix Systems inc till now.
She threw a booklet on my desk with booking instructions on Navision, the operations system on our pcs so I could start to learn how to invoice and make credit notes. If you do not understand something, just ask me and I ll help you through the process., Anissa said. But not now. I dont have time for that.
She picked up the phone and started dialling. The next three hours she spoke Arabic. To her relatives in Morocco. I did not understand a word. I only could deviate from the way her voice fluctuate, that many ingredients of the conversation were not based upon friendship, nor love. It even seemed that she had more than one verbal fight, of which she seemed to loose quite some battles.
I pretended to study my booking instructions. At twelve o clock I took them home. Anissa was still on the phone as her other relatives were scattered over the office desks and creating the whole place into a real mini market, leaving cookie crumbles all over the place. That was not my problem. I only had some other instructions in mind this morning when I came here to be briefed upon my daily tasks. Anissa did not even looked up in my direction when I closed the door of Matrix systems inc. She was too busy arguing with her next of kin in Northern Africa. It must have been an urgent call. Sometimes I had the impression it was a matter of life and death. So passionate Anissa spoke.
One illusion poorer. What a waste of my time. Of my free time. Of my Saturday time. Mr. Dujournot had left the office again on Friday on his next sales mission. Where to you might ask yourself? I can assure you that this was a question I asked myself during the coming five years more than I wanted. With no one to turn to, I just went home to enjoy the rest of my weekend. On Monday I would try to talk to Anissa again. Talk I mean, not argue nor fight. Although it was not sure if this could be avoided. From what I had heard on the phone, combined with the harsh and spicy replies I got into my face this day, I was not sure if a normal conversation could even be possible with this woman. Future would tell me. And in what way! The start of some five incredible years at Matrix sytems Inc was given. It was zero-one, in favour of Anissa Hamsa.
The kick-off was set. I was still kinda lost. But I had no intention to loose this match. I prepared myself to win this game. But I miscalculated myself on the integrity of the referee. And some other players on the field.
There is something rotten in the state of Denmark. Was a line I heard when I was a child, back then, very back then. I had no idea what it meant, only I felt it would be something I did not want to be related to. Only the word rotten was already a reason to back down from getting deeper into the meaning of this phrase. Moreover, I was a child and yet I was interested in such lines that I came across in my childhood and stuck to my knowledge for one reason or another. Now, of course, it is all clear, it all makes sense. This is a sentence spoken by grown-ups, for grown-ups about grown-ups and their despicable behaviour. I could feel on my socks that there was something rotten in the state of Matrix systems Inc. This I could sense from far away and even now, in my grown up years I did not want to have to deal with it as much as I rejected it then, in my childhood years. I am set not on this planet for confrontation, agitation, anger, hate nor revenge. Those words are not part of my world. I only had to let them in, into my life, now and here, at Matrix Systems Inc. ,since obviously they were part of the soul of this company, a soul, as rotten as the state of Denmark.
chapter seven : back to the future
I have to take you all to the present for a second. I have to inform you about some activities and developments occurring at this very moment in time, being a result of what I am unfolding to you in this book. Only I have just been started with my résumé, with my exposé, with my story to let you all in the details of this repulsive, sordid but true chronicle. Between the point where I was landed just last chapter ago, at the point where Anissa Hamsa announced her first hoaxing manoeuvres towards the company by clearly stealing obvious working time, and this very moment in time, lie at least five full years. Yes sir! We go back to April 1999. Five years of harassment, of mistreat, of pestering and disgraceful human neglect. As I said before, I have the full intention of unravelling all details to you, so you can be your own independent but true judge. Five long years of humiliation and terrorization, intimidation and threats. Five years of mental instability and mental cruelty. I take you now for an instant to November 2005, because I had some great news coming out of the States. I have to tell you this, I am soo excited. Maybe it is premature, but what the heck, for the first time in all those years I receive a sign of hope, a sign of justice. (I ‘d better not count on it, because the forces I am fighting are incredibly strong and wicked, their ways dark and totally illegal, based upon back up lies and false deception manoeuvres towards even own internal audit members ) Did I tell you that Matrix Systems Inc. is part of, or better : owned by a huge financial share holders corporation called “Stardor”? They own many similar companies all over the world and the sole purpose of this corporation is to collect all the potential and feasible profit that all of these individual companies produce.
So “profit” is indeed the magical word here. The more “profit” we gain, the happier the shareholders are. It is all about money, and power and wealth. But, because “Stardor” is a 100 % American company, they do have some kind of ethical code valid for and applicable to all its employees in all their companies. One day mr Dujournot came with a bunch of papers in the office, a bunch of at least seventy five pages, every single one of them filled by statements about regulating inside terms and conditions and human behaviour guide lines. “Procedures regarding reports of misconduct or alleged misconduct” was the official elaborate but appropriate title of this scripture we all had to sign to.
Of course we could refuse to sign but then it would be noted in one’s archives, which is, at the least to say not very preferable when you aim high in this cluster of companies. So we all signed up, one by one, that we agreed to the content of this. It was a kind of reassurance that we would be protected by this paper, since our high hot shots in the States declared themselves defenders of the truth and well fare and fare trade and honest behaviour within the company structure. They created an actual internal police office so to speak. Word came around today that they started (at last!) an investigation about the current position and the whereabouts of Anissa Hamsa within Matrix Systems Inc. Furthermore I had a phone call from the Belgian foreign ministry of external affairs and immigration department, that they opened a file on Anissa hamsa and her family members located in Belgium. The problem is that those kind of investigations take sometimes ages before they come to a conclusion or a profound action, so I probably will have the occasion to go back in time to explain to you all the rest of this shitty tale, as the content is inevitable to get a proper idea and just conclusion on the subject.
So lets go back in time, to the forth month of the year 1999. As soon as something moves in the present, I will not hesitate to inform you on the outcome, even if the structure of this book is ruined by the development of all elements involved. Sometimes it is more fulfilling to jump on the present development of things than to hang on to these times of yore of cruelty and repugnance. How come this investigation on both levels, internally as well as nationally by our own foreign state department? Anissa really must have pulled off some stupid shit this time. I knew she couldn’t go on like this. I doubt it if she knew. Since she must have had protection. Already in 1999, when I started at Matrix Systems Inc, word was spread during those first days that she had a plain fucking relationship with mr Dujournot. They would be on “screwing terms” with one another. These were more than just rumours.. Fed by the “you – cannot – touch – me” attitude of Anissa. It came especially from the transport company people who treated the storage of our goods on its final way to the customers. They were located in the same building, in our shoe box. I guess some of them must have seen or noticed something, sometimes. In the shoebox or outside. I did not get into this kind of gossip, only it was an clarification for what we endured. This sounds cheap. It is cheap. And I always had my serious doubts about those words of malice but joy for the participants involved. Clearly it could be an rationalization for the astonishing performance and gross and coarse approach Anissa presented herself towards her colleagues during all those miserable years. She could not be that stupid, could she?
Fucking mr Dujornot? The midget ? The dwarf ? I bet he would have had a hell of a time, screwing darkeyed Anissa. Would he have noticed her hairy back too? I guess he did not care for her back. He had other precious holes to fill. Naaaa, my stomach turned by the thought of it only.
I knew that this day would present itself as a start of purification. Only the size of the investigation and its results would define the final actions.
chapter eight : in the name of honour
You aint seen nothing yet!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
It was all on the verge of developing before my wondering eyes. Strict catholic parents have many principles and strict laws of order and care. They imposed these thoughts and values upon their five children. I admit, as the years passed by, they became more flexible as both grand-parents passed away quite rapidly, because of the unknown lethal powers of the wrong and bad high cholesterols values in the blood vein. So my youngest sister did not have to endure the strict catholic nonsense we had to submit ourselves to purify our souls whilst living. Grand-parents are, when alive, still a kind of watchdog over the way the children handle their lives, even if they are close to fifty. They are self regulatory. They are social watchdogs. My grandparents died too young. All of them but one. I barely knew them at all. My grandfather (dad of my father) was 57 when he got struck by a brain damage, which caused his death shortly after. I was only 3 years old back then, still I can see him lying on his deathbed. Even now. Because of my shy character, combined with my extremely low self esteem, I endured these laws and inter human regulations between family members. I had such a huge respect towards about ever one and everything I encountered. When the doctor came on a house call to visit my sick mother, all kids were practically and literary driven in the back room of the house, door closed and locked. Till the visit was over. A doctor was for me in those days some kind of incredible intelligent wonder boy with almost magical powers that he used to heal people. He stood next to God, since any possibility to deny or question this superficial creature was totally out of the question. Of course, when years passed by, this all changed bit by bit. But the basics are still there. The force of this early artificial implementation of unnatural thoughts and irrational believes was of such magnitude that even today some elementary traces still hide beneath a wounded skin of realism.
April 1999. The next Monday I arrived at nine. To guard till six in the evening. When I entered the Matrix office, I immediately sensed something was wrong. When I approached our island, I saw that Anissa Hamsa was crying. Her head hidden behind both of her hands.
Whats wrong? I dared to ask, this early in the morning.
Inez sat right in front of Anissa and she even smiled a bit.
Anissa looked up and I noticed that she really had cried. With real tears and all. Nose all full of shit. Eyes totally wet. She looked at me and made me feel redundant again. Inez is going to leave us., Anissa snubbed.
This was not a big surprize to me. It did not startle me, nor made me sad. I kind of stayed completely immune to the message that hit this Monday morning office start-up. Inez had never really spoken to me directly. Why, I do not know, not even now, six years later.
She never told me. She only spoke to Anissa. My God, did she speak to Anissa. There were days that her blabbermouth never stopped blabbering. But the blabbering only went straight forward towards Anissa, they seemed to be true blabber friends .
I never listened to those conversations, only, at times I could not help it to hear what they said to one another. You know these kind of conversations about all and nothing. Furthermore it was highly hazardous to try to interrupt those waterfall of words Inez produced during the day. Once, our engineer tried to. I was at the time not really aware of what happened, but all of a sudden, I heard Inez voice shouting around the office : No, I wont, you just leave me alone, I am not your secretary, do it yourself!, where she turned again to Anissa, continuing what was seemingly to be tremendously important she had to communicate to her, back then, back there.
So she never spoke to me. No time left. Only Anissa. It appeared to me that it was quite natural that her message of leaving Matrix would be a disaster to Anissa. I wasnt really unhappy that she never spoke to me. She wasnt discussing the job, nor the customers nor the procedures, nothing about all this. Private conversations are inevitable when you are on each others lap the whole day, so I can understand their existence although I never understood the drive and intensity of female personal gossip and common talk. Thats because I am a male, I guess
So we did not have a real office relationship, actually. There was absolutely nothing between us, nothing at all. Inez and I, I even doubt it if she noticed me at all. She, owner of a divine beauty, was constantly struggling with her attractiveness and her relation to men. She shared all of her thoughts with Anissa and both they worked on strategically clever plans of attacking the male species in order to manipulate him to their benefits. I just heard.
So I was kind of relieved that she left. Because at times their blabbering was so intense and had so little to do with that what we were in the office for, that it disgusted me to the top, because I had several problems with my picking and shipping orders that the bloody system would not accept, but I dared not to ask Anissa, who was devotedly listening to her major example in life, Inez, who would never accept an interruption of her discourse since her personal problems clearly outgrew those of Matrix Systems inc. Furthermore I did not want to cause such an outburst of words into my direction as our engineer just suffered from. So I waited. And waited. And waited some more. Till the ladies agreed on something and Inez stopped talking. This was something that happened about twice a day. Then they had to go for a pee to the lo and I sat there, left alone with my struggle of shipping and picking
After the first few days I even started to think that I wanted to leave Matrix Systems again, because of the blabbering position of both ladies, part of my team, but what team?
There was no team. There was them, blabbering them and me.
How stupid can one be? Even if it is clearly stated on different levels at the beginning of this novel, that all is fake, all stories are false, all persons are invented, all circumstances sheer imagination, still some people have the unbelievable impressions that some of the stories told are actually about them
.What a token of self-indulgence . this is sheer decadence and inappropriate self pity of individuals who think way tooo high about themselves..
Honour. A fine word, a fine aim to live up to. But where does one see the element honour in the fact that one is digging into trash bins to search for information on a salary a new colleague has acquainted? Where does one see honour in the fact that one is illegitimately looking in a private booklet of your direct superior that has been stolen from his desk during his absence in order to gain illegitimate information on the salary increases of all of ones direct colleagues? Where does one find honour in the fact that one steals methodically and systematically over a period of several years actual working days from ones employer by deliberately failing to inscribe the holidays taken, into the proper booklet, so they are not counted for, nor taken into consideration by the annual remuneration? The nice thing here is that witnesses indeed are existing about all these elements, it is just a matter of pushing them to the point of telling the truth. Where does one find honour in the bursting into the office each morning ones mood wasnt up right for a laugh or a smile? Where does one find honour in unsuitable accusing colleagues of racism as a cheap way to defend and hide ones gross and foul-mouthed behaviour towards everyone? How much more do I have to endure before this malignant behaviour is forcing me to end my life? Am I a racist when I see all of those things mentioned above and when I react against them because I do not agree with them for the reason that they are against my inner believes and against all I stand for in life? No sir! Am I a racist because I shiver when I hear the word hatred, used on a daily basis by some colleagues to defend a sluggish and lethargic office attitude? No sir! Am I a racist because some colleague only was trying to abort and avoid all possible workload, diverting it onto other colleagues, partly due to improper education and lacking training? No sir! Am I a racist when I find people sleeping during their working hours in the back of a container in stead of unloading it? Am I? No sir! This is a fantasy story about inappropriate human behaviour, not about some skin colour, nor about descendant countries, nor about the origin of some human species. It is a imaginary made-up story about abusive office conduct and misbehaviour towards others, and in no relation to any racial connotation. Racism may not be used here (although this is done so) to defend despicable and shameful deeds amongst colleagues. To accuse one of racism is only a cheap way to try to hide ones own wicked and disgraceful technique of demeanour. It is not at his place here. This is my website, where I write and make my fantasy story come true. If some recognize themselves in what is displayed on these pages, it is very pitiful indeed and maybe it is an indication that one has to alter ones way of daily conduct. Very urgently.
Racism is bad. It is a bad word, it is bad behaviour. Racism kills. Question is : whom does it kill?
I think time has come to inform Stardor. Debriefing is essential here. About the content of these web pages. Since I am only at the beginning of my more than five year stay at Matrix Systems and many essentials still have to be told. I have to protect myself. As soon as Stardor is able to join in on my fairy-tale, I will have protection granted.
I am kind of curious though, how their ethical code will deal with the methodically stealing of working days, with the intrusion of the paperwork of a superior? I 'll keep you informed.
Witnesses keep me strong now. Firm as a rock, in the desert of the truth. The truth of a fairy tail. Indeed, I am only at the start of my magical fable. So many things still left untold. I do have to hurry. Only 50 pages ready, of a book, ending at about 400 pages. What is there still to tell, tons, my dearest, tons of new intrigues and false pretences
and the marvel of it all is : I did not even have to look for them.
They just unrolled before my very eyes. Every day again. At matrix Systems Inc.
The best thing though that could ever happen to me and my fairytale, is an official complaint from one of those who think they recognize themselves in all what has been written so far. Even though it is all fake and ingenious. Can you imagine the press attention I would get? Of course I would immediately evocate and present my secret but confident eye witnesses to back me up. And believe me, I do have a bunch of those! Eagerly waiting to contribute their part of this unbelievable story. Because the sad part of my tale is that many others do experience the same kind of irregularities at their offices. Ort even at the same office. Every day again. Confronted with despicable attitude and beastly behaviour. Can you imagine what grander and splendour triumph I would make when all of this would reach the news papers? I would be instant famous and my book would sell by the millions.
May I have a pleasant dream? May I ??? In these dark days of despair, fraudulent and inappropriate behaviour?
I had no idea how hard it would be to let the truth conquer. It has all been too gross what I have endured these last months. It is in fact quite unbelievable. People with no ethical standards, nor any company loyal attitudes, with no moral codes to live up to, pursuing only their personal gains and individual favours, are being promoted on the back of those who quietly but honestly try to do a normal job. How rude can life be? Does the truth have the strength to beaten this kind of abhorrent attitude? I know my parents always said : Even when you produce a lie with supersonic speed, the truth will catch up with her, yes indeed! So, eventually, the truth will conquer. I still believe that. I must believe that. It keeps me going. It will survive all threats that are used to try to obstruct, hinder and impede the variables that are necessary to reveal the final elements of truth.
Inez was leaving and Anissa was crying. Why? Quite simple. Because : I am going to miss her
Anissa sobbed with a self-pitying grandeur only seen in the big New Yorker theatres. I think she meant it.
Even if this is almost six years ago, I quite clearly remember that our big chief, Mr Dujournot also was quite upset by this notice of resignation of Inez. It was clear to me that he loved beautiful women, and one thing was certain: Inez had a sumptuousness, a dignity and a distinction of the greatest creatures on this planet. She was a woman of the highest standards. The only thing that really disturbed her grandeur was the fact that she was aware of her high class appearance. Mr Dujournot, that Monday morning, where he heard this awful news of her resignation , took Anissa aside on the bench outside the office and asked her : Anissa, what shall we do?, What shall we do now???, Mr Dujournot repeated, with a clear despair in his voice of an abandoned husband who just got notice of the divorce of his wife. I do not know
,Anissa cried, as if she had become a lesbian, seeing her loved one part forever. Two desperate individuals, sitting together on a bench outside Matrix Systems, not knowing what to do. Pretty pathetic and wretched, huh?
Still, this was about the lone time I saw Anissa and even Mr Dujournot in a state like this. Mr Dujournot usually never spoke that much. At the beginning this seemed quite convenient, but after some time it became rather strange and turned out to be just one of his major managerial highly executive American paraphernalia out of his tricks box to keep his top position as sole ruler of the Matrix Gang. Furthermore it was quite obvious that the star of Anissa could not sparkle that intense without the full protection of mr Dujournot. There was no other reason that ever could explain the hoarse and unbelievable foul-mouthed attitude of Anissa towards her fellow colleagues. She was so clever or even shrewd and astute to come up with such delirious hateful stance when no superior was around or about.
As would appear to be numerous times in the years to come, I miscalculated the despair and seemingly indecisiveness of mr Dujournot. He turned out to be a very bad loser. But a firm one. Only moments after the get-together of Anissa and mr Dujournot, he re-entered the office and without looking for a second at our island, he just blustered, firm and ice-cold : Inez, Id like to see you within two minutes in my office. His mouth was pinched down to shape only a solid stripe, lips gone out of high negative pressure. Fire lit up out of his tormented eyes. Anissa came in also. Her eyes still as red as a babys ass.
She remained silent and took her seat at the island. Inez felt quite correctly that it was no time to ask questions en prepared herself to follow mr Dujournot in the office.
Because he was always so many times abroad, or, at least, not physically present at the Belgian office, it was hard for us to really get hold of mr Dujournot. And what he stood for. What his believes were. As he did obviously not belong to the loquacious kind, it took me ages to unravel the complex, but in any case enthralling as captivating personality of our big chief. Almost six years, I would say.
It seemed that he had a soubriquet. In the office every one called him the shrimp, in his absence, of course. Never directly in his face.
Till today I dunno why they picked this name for him. Maybe for the looks? He was small, skinny and had a big sharp nose. He looked quite a lot like mr. Burns from the American super popular cult series : The Simpsons. Surely he was as penny-pinching as mr Burns.
If I had to believe all the stories that were going around about him at the office. Because this is one of the laws of a frequent absent chief : staff will talk about you behind your back any way and the longer your back is turned towards the office, the harsher and more merciless the stories content will be. I noted those stories, never contributed to them. How could I? I had no experience with mr Dujournot going on. Although the short time I had encountered the man, he did leave a definite impression on you, thats for sure.
Even till this very moment parts of the stories that were going around and about mr Dujournot, never ever have been cleared to me; I even now do not know if there is any truth in them. I guess some truth is available, since in every gossip you find elements of accuracy and legitimacy. One of the gossips was that he was divorced. This probably is accurate since we never saw his wife and he had a excessive hunger for the opposite sex, astonishing for someone of his age. Furthermore they told me that his son committed suicide, by jumping in a French river, and drowned. His daughter was married and used by mr Dujournot as a frequent stop on his way from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />France to the Belgian office. Further gossip tells me that he got a huge personal loan from Matrix USA, to overcome the Burden of his divorce.
It was absolutely no gossip that mr Dujournot, who indeed was a true born Frenchman, always stayed in the same shabby tree star motel, outside of Antwerp, when he visited the Belgian office. He had his fixed pre booked room. He was a long sleeper. He liked whiskey. A lot. Sometimes too much. That was no gossip either. He had this typical morning look on his scrawny face from a severe alcoholic. At least every time he was in Belgium. But he was an alcoholic with a certain style. That is probably one of the reasons that he always slept so long. To get at least in the morning hours the final residues of alcohol out of his system. He had a very luxurious cell phone, surely on account of the company. He failed to use all of its functions it captured inside. He always wore fancy suits. Like a great general manager is supposed to wear. Nothing wrong with that.
Nor with his cell phone. It is a gadget that indicates and emphasises the importance of the bearer. As general manager, you can hardly use a Nokia of 85 Euros, it would devaluate ones significance and magnitude on the spot by the first phone call hed make in public, or in a restaurant.
Towards the Americans, Matrix Systems USA, mr Dujournot had a peculiar behaviour. Although they were our direct so called mother company, they did not have much of impact on mr Dujournot. Every time some US phone call, or any phone-call for that matter, came in in his air conditioned Belgian office on days where he actually was in, mr Dujournot always closed his office door. As if he had something to hide from us. During the day, when he was in the office, the same door always stayed open. Till those phones came in.
Now, I am not a suspicious kind a guy. I just thought it to be peculiar. that's all.
Of course he had a company car. No doubt about that. The bigger the company, the bigger the cars for their executives. Mr Dujournot had a European Volvo. The biggest on the market. I think he used a childs seating aid car kit, to help him raise about the steering wheel. No kidding. Volvos are one of the safest cars in Europe. Name an airbag and he was hidden somewhere in this car. Because mr Dujournot was still selling Matrix Systems in a numerous part of European countries, as Norway, Sweden, Spain and Italy, he d surely needed the best car possible.
You do not see me envious here. The only thing that bothered me the most about mr Dujournot, was that he cultivated the mystery of silence around him that much and intense , that no one at the office, even dared to approach him on any of those mentioned themes. There was no social control whatsoever about his whereabouts, nor his company related deeds. He was his own master.
Never ever we at the Belgian office knew where our boss was hanging around when he was abroad. There was no secretary nor any responsible at the office (He had fired Maria on the spot) to keep a diary or an agenda with his scheduled visits through Europe. The only thing we knew, was that he was on the road and that we could contact him on his cell phone, in cases of emergency. No one even dared to ask him where he would be. Never ever I had seen anything similar though in the previous companies I had worked for. And they were pretty big too. Always there was some kind of controlling system on all the employees of the company, even on the managing director. Not with mr Dujournot. He deliberately kept this grey zone around him, this misty, foggy field one was afraid of to enter or to trespass. It enabled him total freedom. Total control. He, surely a part of him, behaved amongst his inferior workmates as a real dictator. All in Belgium started and ended with him, at his cooled office. This was very clear to all of us.
And it became clear to me, the longer I stayed at Matrix, the clearer it became. Because mr Dujournot did everything to cultivate this grey zone around him. All of his actions and deed he performed whilst being in Belgium were intentional and self-protective.
This I can see now. Very clearly. No Amercian who intruded. Mr Dujournot worked in both ways. He was the sole and only buffer between Matrix Belgium and Matrix USA. NO direct contact was desired, nor promoted. At the contrary. In every discussion with mr Dujournot, very often he used the USA as a stick to hit with. They were very often the reason of failure. Every thing we knew about our mother company, we learned through the mouth of mr Dujournot. His stories were at least coloured. This is the understatement of the day.
But we could never verify his stories. We did not dare to do so.
One of the major problems with mr Dujournot and our mother company was that he never saw our mother company as our mother. It was more likely the ultimate enemy. On numerous occasions verbal phone fights were the confirmation that the relation Europe-USA was not that of a mother-son relationship it actually should be.
We assumed that, behind this closed door, his phone conversations were strictly limited to the US or to his clients. Of course this was not so. Even if we could not understand a word he was saying, we could deduct (nor helping to overhear) that the general spirit in which the conversations generally developed was not of the most generous kind. Mr Dujournot was a terrible son. He kinda hated his mother. Afterwards it became again all very apparent that this inappropriate and ungrateful behaviour was only a premeditated set up to conceal his own private playfield.
According to mr Dujournot, our mother-company was only inflicting impossible budgetarian targets upon us, giving us no structural help, nor any marketing tools we urgently needed, even though a marketing manager was not available at our premises (as far as I knew).
It seemed all a bit odd to me and, to be honest to you, hardly to believe. I could not suppress a general feeling of fair disbelief and honest suspicious doubts about the structural negative attitude mr Dujournot displayed towards his company mother, every time he was in the office.
The Americans do not understand the European way of trading, was one of his catchphrases. They have no idea how Europe works.
they lack to see that Europe still consists of highly individual countries with individual needs and diverse characters.
And, of course, mr Dujournot wasnt wrong there. Europe still is not some kind of united states of European countries, all for one and one for all. I only doubted the presumption and belief of mr Dujournot that the Americans indeed saw us as united as that. I kinda felt that mr Dujournot used this cheap hypothesis to his own benefit to cover up up his dictatorial performance towards all and everything. He did not allow the Americans into his personal managerial decision making. Gossip and hearsay told me that he came from another huge company of the same kind as Matrix Systems, and that he was bought out to restructure the European leg of this world player. When you do that, of course, you do have to grant the man some kind of decisive individuality and private honour. But to me, it was more than that. The unremitting battle with the States was a bit much for me. But that is why I was not a manager and mr Dujournot was, at the time being.
I thought it all should be like this, a game to be played by mr Dujournot, and he played it with devotion and conviction. For himself. Not for us.
Not for us.
Another rumour that was still hanging around the building of Matrix Systems Inc, was that mr Dujournot did not want to pay for sun-protection shields at the large windows of the office. As if the money came out of his pocket. He did not want to approve the protections so, every minute the sun had a ball, the office submerged in heavy sunshine and its glow disturbed any normal performance since the pc windows became unreadable. Nevertheless, he did not want to pay. Not a single penny, nor cent. Words came around that Maria had been released for this, since she did stand up for the people at the office.
Now, you have chosen to be at the other side, and that is the wrong side for you. hed said and then he fired her. At once. Immediately. Raus. That is what they said. So no protections shields were placed. We all tried to beat the sun our own way. Changing seating positions, changing pc positions, putting maps up, putting newspapers up to the glass, we did it all. To keep the sunshine out. Out of the office.
Mr Dujournot was not that kind of manager who stood up for his people. If you did not agree on his decisions, youd better shut up or amend and rectify your believes till they were on one line with his. He was some kind of solitary knight, riding his own sad story. He did not belong to the office crew and showed it perceptibly. Hed attack you, standing next to a customer. Hed humiliate you in front of your colleagues or even in front of strangers.. It were all signals of his untouchable power he possessed on his playground called Europe.
Mr Dujournot is one of those managers, as there are so many of them, who, once they made it to the top of the managerial structure of the company they work for, firmly believe they are closer to God than to any other human being. They probably even think they shine, when they speak to their minors. And since they reached the top, they consider as good as everyone to be their minor and for all their inferior. Once they achieved the highest possible managerial position, they start loosing it, the grip to reality. The persistent contempt of mr Dujournot towards the police, or any other authority for that matter, even towards his direct American superiors, was legendary. He had multiple drivers licences. One for France, one for Belgium. Parking restrictions were never intentional to have any direct influence on mr Dujournots parking manners. He parked his car where even an ambulance would never ever dare to park. Because it could endanger others. What others? In the life of mr Dujournot there were very little others on an equal basis. So whats the point of taking them into consideration? Its a burden, that is. On the highway he systematically used the escape way to pass every traffic jam. As small as mr Dujournot physically was, the magnitude of his person in his proper head was of gargantuan proportions. And he showed it. To all of us. To the Americans. To our customers. To our suppliers.
Mr Dujournot was a horror for our suppliers. He never was satisfied with the delivery results. And when he was not satisfied, he did not pay. As simple as that.
As if it came out of his own pocket. At the beginning I even thought it would probably be one of the elementary essential qualities of an excellent manager to consider every penny of the company you run, your own. Only later I discovered that mr Dujournot just was one of the most stingy and penny-pinching characters I d ever seen in my entire life. For the others, that is, not for himself. Mr Dujournot methodically disagreed on all services delivered to Matrix Systems Inc. It was a way of conduct. It was his way of stalling all payments. Sometimes, in fact, many times, it was embarrassing.
Any question towards mr Dujournot where money was involved or expenses were to be defended, you could be sure of a firm no. So why even bother to ask in the first place?
Matrix Systems Inc got a bad name of being a bad payer. What do you think? Matrix Systems Europe had become mr Dujournot and mr Dujournot had become Matrix Systems Europe. We, at the Belgian office, had become his inferior puppets on a string, which he needed to secrete his personal business activities with. No one actually knew what he was doing. All those years. All those voyages. Never ever, we heard any feedback of a customer to relate to a visit of our big chief. Or even a short stop. The moment mr Dujournot passed through the door of Matrix Systems Inc, he seemed to have disappeared from these earthly surroundings. May be he was an alien? He sure looked like one.
chapter nine : phone fighting
Chapter nine : phone fighting<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Can you imagine my astonishment during those early days, almost six years ago? I did not know what to think first.
I had questions. Many questions. But I did have also a salary. I had money. And I did live nearby the office. May be it was better for me to just shut the f*ck up. And to let every thing be. As it is. As it was. Who am I to question everything in this new firm? I did have quite some executive experience in big companies, but no one said to me that this version of management would be the wrong one. It only felt that way. To me at least. And it was hard for me not to act against this. Would you attack the hand that feeds you?
It depends. It depends on how serious the strange and eccentric signals are that you receive from your surrounding variables.
Furthermore was it so that mr Dujournot did not reveal himself all at once. Only bit by bit, day by day, visit by visit at the Belgian office, he exposed slight parts of his personality. Never directly, always in some kind of context where the way he responded or reacted on a certain situation, gave away another part of him. Secrecy has always been part of him. He never gave himself way, just like that. No dictator would do so. Mr Dujournot by no means was an open book. To no one. Rather a heavily guarded fortress, a national bank. <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Fort Knox. The pentagon.
There was no company spirit at Matrix Systems. Total freedom was granted by mr Dujournot, if you handled his own set of personal principles :
*do as much as you possibly can in as little possible time
*leave me alone do not bother me with office chitchat
*certainly do not bother me with any real problems
*it is your responsibility to clear all problems
*do not make any expenses
*make sure all of your clients are happy, so they will not bother me
*be in the office form 8 till 1800 hrs
*do not contact the usa
Quite cool, huh? I felt quite hilarious with this from-a-distance governance of mr Dujournot. I underestimated and miscalculated the effect of those rules on the weaker components of the chain though, as there were quite obvious Anissa and also Tanja.
Tanja never got over the sudden departure of her close office friend Maria, just a few months ago. She missed her buddy. Her companion in command. Now she had no one to ask questions to. No one to place some responsibility upon so she did not have to bear it herself.
Tanja could not do without a present chief. She was clearly lost. She could not decide from her own. She felt miserable. She felt the same way she looked and believe me : that is not a pretty site, nor an aim to live up to. She got depressed. She got pissed. She started to hate mr Dujournot. For letting Maria go. She started to phone to the US. Frequently. To complain. As only women can. She dug her own grave.
Stupid women. Ugly too.
Yesterday I saw a feel good action movie about honour, friendship, courage and honesty : stealth. In one of the scenes the pilot talks to the biggest chief possible, the leader of the ship that carries the planes, after surviving an attack on his life, ordered by his own direct superior, from whom he discovered other severe malfunctioning and says : sir, there are a lot of things that you should know about
.
I now, at this very moment in time and place, after a previous attempt was interrupted by some pc hacker, like to repeat those words to the responsible executives of Stardor, the rightful owner of Matrix Systems Inc. : Sirs, there are a lot of things that you all should know about the former and present leaders of Matrix Systems
Please grant me my dignity, my honesty, my pride, the benefit of the doubt to inform you correctly about what is going on and what is going wrong at Matrix systems Inc. in former and next pages of this book.
Of course, in those early days, mr Dujournot seemed the perfect match for me, leaving me all the office playground for myself. Over the years I had cultivated a very strong customer care sensitivity and build up a real strategy about how to gain and keep and treat customers. I had the intention of implementation of this personal point of view of which I was certain it would work. And it did work. Marvellously, it turned out to be just the way I pictured it. Sales rose, no, they jumped into the sky. Especially my sales rose. The eastern European part gained customers, importance and sales. You bet that our Wolfgang Hanssen, outdoor Eastern sales executive, was in high spirits. He was more than happy. Of course he did a hell of a job on the field with even more intensity and professional conviction, because he knew he had office back-up. At last. Real back up. He knew that some one in Belgium was taking care of his customers and their little problems. Or their big problems. No longer unanswered phones, unanswered questions, unsolved problems.
We both grew. Wolfgang and I. We were a heck of a team. The sales figures confirmed our costumer support. In only just a few months sales doubled, tripled and kept growing. It was phenomenal. Even if I have to say so myself.
By the way, arent you curious what happened to Inez, after she followed mr Dujournot in his office? I bet you are. Well, it did not take long, this conversation. Of course it took place behind closed doors.
So about the content I cannot inform you, since this happened between the two leading players of that moment in time. And Inez surely did not say anything either to me. Nor to anyone else for that matter. After just a few minutes, she came bursting out of his office, totally shook up and her gorgeous face shredded with tears. She tried to cover up her face but could not disguise her crying. I can't believe this....he just throws me out
was the only understandable sentence Inez could produce before taking her coat and left the door of Matrix Systems Inc. Gone, just like that. From one second to another.
Only a few seconds later mr Dujournot came out of his office, with a big smile draping around his face.
He came straight towards our island. If you decide to leave Matrix Systems, its for the best of everyone that you leave immediately., he tried to explain. its no use hanging around any longer. He added.
So I ve sent her away. End of story. She did not longer want to work here, so
finally it was her decision., he said. In a victorious way.
By sending Inez away on the spot, he, the alleged abandoned victim of the previous situation, regained his dignity and control of the situation. Thats what he thought. Sore looser.
Those days were strange to me. It all happened during those first days of my work at Matrix Systems Inc.
But if you think that this was the end of bizarre things happening at this spooky company, you are dead wrong, it was only the beginning. One of those striking peculiar things was the way Anissa used to handle her phone calls. As you can deduct from the title of this chapter, it werent really phone calls actually, it were ordinary heavy phone fights. Now it was quite clear to me from the beginning that Anissa came straight from school to her first job ever at Matrix Systems Inc. Other than Inez and Maria guiding her, she could not have had much of professional backing up till now. And since Maria was fired and Inez just left the building, it did seem indeed that she had a severe lack of professionalism to cope with.
As for the contribution Inez delivered on behalf of the professional augmentation of her blabbering mate Anissa, this could be estimated as extreme meagre. The worst conversations she tuned into real horrendous battle fields of words, spoken as true full automatic non-stop gun fire, were those with a transport company, called Smeulders. They were responsible for all our transport from Antwerp to France.
We had a delivery date of one, two and maximum three days, depending on the location in France. Quite natural. Of course it happened a lot that goods were not delivered on time. Smeulders was about specialized in this kind of failure or late deliveries. One of the reasons of this systematic deficiency of prime time service, was the fact that Smeulders had already gained a huge reputation on the market as the cheapest transport company for France. They were so cheap they had to cut on something. And in the case of Smeulders it was service. They were always late. Always. They gathered goods till the last minute. To cut on the costs. Now I have learned in my years on the field that the cheapest solution in business mostly turns out to be the most expensive one on the long run. Cheap never is good. So proved our cooperation with Smeulders. The way Anissa handled this transport company was not exactly a way to find improvement in the service they offered.
At the contrary, I would say so. Knowing that in my previous Job, I had served our present King Albert 2, discreet, fashionable, just, modest, low level, low profile, perfect service, can you imagine my bewilderment when I first saw and for all overheard this kind of mistreatment on the phone? Ok, I admit, it was with a transport supplier and everyone who even only once has had a contact with this transport world, knows it is a separate, rude world, with own set of laws and ways of conduct. But the way Anissa took care of Smeulders was at least one way the transport sector never ever had practised in their lives before. It certainly was a new form of communication. Anissa shouted, cursed, hated, called bad names, asked for superiors (which she never got to speak, what do you think
), insulted her phone mates at the other end of the wired network, in such a horrific and lowlife way that is wasnt even shameful any longer but straight to the utmost embarrassing for all parties involved. Mostly Smeulders hung up in the middle of Anissas shouting tirade, which led to another consecutive phone call with even more offence, rudeness and calling very very bad names as a consequence. Agreed, no one had ever said to Anissa that may be this was not the better way to solve any problems. Inez sure never said anything alike. She never cared anyway. I slowly but surely started to understand why Maria had hired my services at customers service. Not only to cope with the German part of the Matrix world but also to cope with the left wing of our island, called Anissa. Since Maria was no longer present and Anissa clearly used her permanent absence to strengthen her personal alliance with mr Dujournot till may be a plain f*cking level, I kinda waited to implement my knowledge on the matters described above. I still was in the learning phase of my stay at Matrix Systems. And boy, did I learn a lot those days!
chapter 10 : the original Matrix sales techniques of mr Dujournot an his team
Chapter 10 The original Matrix Sales techniques of mr Dujournot chapter 10<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Belgian newspaper Friday 30 December 2005
Quotation : the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />German State Baden-Wuerttemberg is going to sharpen the rules for the foreign Muslims who want to become German citizens. From 2006 onwards they have to pass through an oral exam about values and moral standards. These values and moral standards are being deposited in a series of law articles of the official German constitution, the FDGO (die Freiheitliche Demokratische Grundordnung). Since 2000 all new german citizens are obliged to swear total faith to the FDGO. The state of Baden Wuerttemberg fears that many Muslims are not serious when they take this oath. That is the reason why they have to perform an loyalty assessment, including a long conversation and an examination. The questions concerned are about equality between man and woman, "freedom of religion", "revenge out of honour", and the 11 November attacks in the US.
Now, this is exactly one point I want to make clear with these writings.
Without any connotation to any believe or religion or conviction, I only want to emphasize that it is totally wrong to close ones eyes for the problems we encounter in our western society by not admitting that there are indeed serious problems of action, conduct, behaviour and attitude by immigrants coming from Northern African countries, even if we try to perform the utmost of our abilities to try to make them feel good in our society. There is nothing wrong with these discrepancies as such. Only we need to recognize those differences, those problems and try to deal with them, not ignore them! They indeed have other values, moral standards and explicit believes that do not match with our western culture. These are plain facts. Ignoring them is an act of cheer stupidity.
The only way to deal with the rude and inappropriate behaviour of Anissa on the phone, can only be explained by her different personal attitude towards individuals. When you personally use the word hate and hatred in every single sentence you fabricate, you can hardly detect any form of respect in the same sentences towards those to whom you produce these sentences to. Anissa was a rude and blunt, cold-hearted character, who thought that she could say it all, anytime at any place, the way she thought it to be. To any one. To any one who was not higher in rank than she was, that is. She was clever enough to understand that her behaviour was not applicable towards a higher in rank. It would do her no good, that she quite clearly understood from her own. When she talked to mr Dujournot, it seemed as if she had transformed into another creature. The way she suck up hiss ass was quite legendary but at the same time always embarrassing to see and hear. Only when she thought of you not to belong to this category of higher staff, youd better beware of her poisoned words of insult and personal threatening attacks. Youd sure become a victim of her verbal devastating violence , the only question to ask was : when would this happen? The occasion to which this could/would occur, could be anything. From the way the coffeepot was reset on the kitchen desk, to the lacking papers in the copier, to the pressure of unexpected workload: any reason was a good enough occasion for her to burst into a tirade of offensive, wounding words towards her fellow man.
When I heard her screaming through the office, my stomach always turned upside down and I got cold inside, feeling off-colour and utmost upset about this kind of behaviour, I never encountered in my entire life, not even in Morocco, during those days where I worked over there as a tour guide for German tourists.
It became clear to me that the verbal abusive manners of Anissa had some resemblances with the general attitude I encountered in Northern Africa. The have a culture of totally open debate which means that they discuss about anything everywhere, mostly on the street at any time possible. Although I never ever encountered any personal problems during my stay for more than a year over there. At the contrary, I loved this extra-ordinary country and its inhabitants and they all treated me with respect and all regards possible. Later on I realized, naïve as I always am, they were that courteous to me because every week again, and again for more than a year, I brought a bunch (mostly over 40 ) of loaded German tourists along with me who had the firm intention of spending some of their hard German Marks on carpets, brass souvenirs, leather outfits, perfumes and all possible stuff a fine Moroccan souk till this day offers to their visitors. May be, I deserved some recognition by my Moroccan tour guides because I was adjusting myself to the standards of my host country and I did not try to intervene in their chaotically organised lives. I had a absolute great time, back then. By the way, if you should have the opportunity to visit the fine country of Morocco, you should absolutely do so. Do not leave the city of Marrakech out of your schedule, since this city is one of the most remarkable and beautiful cities of whole Northern Africa, situated at the bottom of the Atlas, an exquisite chain of spectacular high mountains with an altitude of over 13.123,36 feet and always covered with snow. If you spot those snow covered mountains from a jeep, situated in plain desert, bathing in a temperature of over 45° degrees Celsius, it even enhances the feel of the extraordinary position you are actually in.
Now, this is of course only one option. Only one point of view, only one way to understand all circumstances. I am just trying to comprehend why Anissa behaved as she did at Matrix Systems.
I am not telling you that the verbal abnormalities of Annissa were a direct result of her culture of origin, no, no, this would be a direct insult to all Moroccan woman. The base of having an open debate could, however explain the speed with which Anissa jumped into her defensive but attacking approach with slaughtering verbal waste.
As I still an a weak-hearted person, I could not stand this up roaring attitude of Anissa and I felt flabbergasted. Every time again. Especially when she used the word "hate". Which she did all the time.
Besides her verbal violence, Anissa had some other tools she used to intimidate her equals or in her eyes possibly minors at the Matrix office.
You will find out about them as time passes by.
Can you imagine we are still in the year of 1999? Still five full years ahead of me. In this chapter I had the intention of telling you all about the remarkable sales methods used by those in charge of Matrix Systems Inc. Before I can do that, I do need to follow the chronological development of things. As Inez was kicked out as quick as she came in, she needed to be replaced because it was unthinkable that customer service would be able to cope with its clients with one person less. That is why I came as an enforcement, at the first place. So she needed to be replaced at once. Even if Anissa had a very hard time with the sudden disappearance of her friend.
In such drastic situations, where people were fired and hired, mr Dujournot was around the office, of course. I did not say he was physically in the office, no, he was around the office. In the mornings, not one of them he came in earlier as 10 o clock. Often it was almost noon. He phoned on his way to the office for his lunch sandwiches, which he ordered always late, so several phone calls had to correct the amount previously ordered for all Matrix staff. Those sandwiches were paid for out of everyones own pocket, what do you think? Nothing on the account of Matrix Systems. More than often we prepaid mr Dujournots sandwiches and had to insist on getting the money back from him because he tended to forget in his advantage.
The week following the resignation of Inez, mr Dujournot was present. In Belgium, that is. Do not ask me how he did it, but he managed to replace beautiful Inez by an even more beautiful species of the female breed. No one knew where he saw these girls, nor where he found them. They just appeared at the office. And so did Siglunde.
What a name for what a girl. She indeed was still a girl. 21 Years old, fresh from school. The beauty of the innocent. The purity of the unspoiled youth. She was tall, even taller than Inez ever has been. At least 72,83 in. Thin, short hair, lagune-blue eyes, extremely long fine shaped legs, no table legs. What a catch! Congrats mr Dujournot, you did it again!
In no time Siglunde was able to make forget that Inez ever worked at the office. One could suspect Anissa of severe lesbian behaviour. The way she initially flirted with Siglunde was out of this world.
It made me feel uncomfortable, because I had to witness this grotesque interaction between two childlike women, searching for their mutual weaker spot to be touched. It all ended in a fight. Why? I do not know. Possibly because Anissa concluded after days of deeper personal investigation that Siglunde could not really contribute to her private benefit and thus needed to be crushed by her spiteful words.
This beautiful but sad story however ended quicker than any one ever could have expected. Siglunde had been a model and was even now still trying to achieve a breakthrough in the world of fashion and catwalks.
Furthermore she had no endurance whatsoever to work with our computer system Navision. If you add the crummy way Anissa was training me before to the fact that Siglunde suffered a nervous brakedown and consequently crashed every time she had to make an invoice, you could feel from here to Tokyo that she was not born for this kind of work. After only one week, Siglunde announced her departure from Matrix Systems, because she had found a better alternative. It was a governmental position, she found, where she had more time to focus on her modelling career, besides this computer programme did not seem to match to her anyway. Bye Bye Siglunde. Lucky Siglunde.
Lucky Siglunde.
This was, of course another setback in the planning of mr Dujournot who saw his obligatory stay in Belgium being prolonged to unknown duration since his initial attempt to replace Inez failed almost instantly.
As bizarre and obscure he acted by the first attempt to replace Inez, the more open he seemed this time, since he asked us, at customer service (only Anissa and me left, actually) to participate in the search. He told us he had placed an announcement in the weekend edition of the most important Belgian newspapers of the upcoming weekend and he asked us to be in the office the whole of next week, when he would screen the first candidates. Hed send them over to us and then, we could ventilate our opinion on them. In reality he was fed up with this failure of his own endeavour and was now counting on us, so he could lay the responsibility on us when things would get wrong a second time. Two beautiful species of the female gender had left him in less than a week time and he clearly was not up to a third personal disappointment. Of course, Siglunde left the minute she pronounced her finding another job to mr Dujournot. Seldom seen someone leave the office that quick.
I wonder what he actually said to her. Probably he had insulted her.
It was quite easy, actually, the choice we had to make. In what came bye that week, no one seemed appropriate, nor had the right credentials
there was only one woman though, and she looked good, so
.In fact , even if she might have been elder than the others, she was the better selection. It concerned an enthralling woman in her mid forties, with exquisite raven black long hair, however an elderly type, still looking younger than her actual age though, with the general looks of a true Spanish gipsy, if dressed that way.
She was pretty small, had a appealing face, a positive attitude, and she was divorced. This new piece of information was quite interesting for mr Dujounrot. Now he had finally found someone who was in an absolute economical underdog position, who needed the job and its cash as bad as I did.
She would not run as fast as the others did before! Those stupid ignorant and for all ungrateful adolescents! Besides her looks, she had to offer indeed the right maturity combined with the necessary qualifications of a true customer care supportive person we were all looking for. We all agreed pretty fast on this female candidate. Her name was Veronique.
Veronique Claessens.
Welcome Veronique.
Welcome to the team.
Because she really did look at least as nice as both vanished youngsters, despite of her age, mr Dujournot enjoyed this late triumph of human selection. When you are in your mid forties and you do look good, you do have only one problem in life : you recognize that you have great looks and you abuse them. Veronique surely used hers to get what she wanted. I bet she immediately sensed the exuberant weakness of mr Dujournot for female splendour. He fell for her in less than one minute, that is certain. I could live with that, since Veronique not only brought her looks into the office, she seemed to be an intelligent creature as well.
She would truly be a authentic support on our island and make things work for the better. That I was sure of. For the first time since my arrival at Matrix systems, I had a feeling of gratitude and contentment. May be all would turn out the right way.
Just may be.
At that time, it seemed right and good. And I felt good. As did mr Dujournot. Between his legs.
Veronique spoke three languages in such a faultless way Anissa only could dream of and she had the intention of picking up a fourth one through evening classes. She was absolutely fluent in Dutch, English, had a supreme French control over her Roman brain particles, and wanted to tackle the Italian idiom also. I had a slight inkling she used this multiple language control as a enticement for mr Dujournot since he, being a real Frenchman, did not master any other foreign language, beside the English one. Now, I do know that in general, all Frenchmen do not ever in their entire lives speak any other language but their own, surely not the English one, and this is an historically grown major fact you cannot refute. So the fact that our genuine Frenchman mr Dujournot spoke English, was at least that much of an achievement of higher international linguistic intellect, that he made it to the position of general manager of Matrix Systems Inc.
You can easily compare a Frenchman with the Germans for that matter. Neither do they speak any other language than their own strong German idiom. Wolfgang Hanssen, our German sales, did not only speak German, but handled the English as well as if it was his own invention. That is why he worked at matrix Systems Inc. He was one of the very few Germans who were able to combine two leading languages of this world in one brain.
Both French and Germans strongly believe that their own language is the only possible way to really make it in this hard international business world. They consequently deny the strength of any other language for that matter. Would you believe that, when we arrived at Sudan, one of the poorest northern African countries in the world, where I had to guide the overweight German cruise customers towards dirty open rebuild trucks with only bare benches to sit upon in the heat of about 53 ° noon temperature, they expected the locals to speak German? No kidding. Swear to God. Even if I do not believe in him.
Every time a cruise ship enters a foreign port, it is in most cases welcomed by local dancers or other artistic local citizens to make the cruise participants feel welcome and at home. You cant expect them to speak the language of every visiting cruise liner. No, you cannot. Only the Germans do so. Till today. Yes sir, indeed. This is no joke.
I was on the verge of telling you about the scheming way the Matrix Systems general manager acts to promote his sales activities. Due to the demanding occurrence of multiple events and frequent personnel alteration during those early days of my presence at this utmost peculiar and questionable company , I will be forced to tell you about this next and again uncommon component of the European part of matrix Systems Inc. in the next chapter.
Chapter eleven : sales promotion techniques part 2 second attempt
So we had our first part of shifting populace in those early days, together with some irregular events I had never occurred before in my professional life. Before continuing this charade of the uncommon, I will present you with a short abridgment, in order to keep track.
Directly form the start at matrix Systems, I was confronted with some very unusual creatures and their individual behaviour.
I was supposed to work as a customer service representative for the Eastern European market. My fellow mates were Anissa, responsible for the French and a few big international and even Belgian clients. Furthermore there was Inez, taking care of the Italians and some other international customers. The three of us were called : customer service. Inez was replaced by Siglunde and Siglunde was replaced by Veronique. They were all very exquisite woman. They all looked gorgeous, they were young and tempting. Only Veronique was slightly older but gained by this fact on maturity and dignity. However, Anissas thin layer of alleged beauty diminished by each day I saw her because of her unbelievable rude attitude and foul mouth. She turned into a regular horrendous monster.
She did grow some black long hair on her back. (I saw this myself when she bended over once just before my eyes to pick something up from the floor) Maybe at night she turned into a werewolf and ate her own children.
As you already know, my partner in crime was our outdoor sales and marketing manager for the east European market mr Wolfang Hanssen. He was my direct mate in our daily battle of convincing the customers to choose Matrix Systems products. As mr Dujournot, he was always on the road. But, opposed to mr Dujournot, I always knew exactly Wolfgangs plans, whereabouts or where in Europe he was about to perform one of his very thriving sales talks. I needed to work close together with Wolfgang. We did this fine. We had exactly the same professional notion on customer care. This was sheer luxury. We both knew, without even talking about it, what our common customers needed to be satisfied. I never encountered, besides myself, any other person in my life with the same customer care drive than Wolfgang. Even mr Dujournot never ever showed, nor shared the same "customer care" interests as did Wolfgang and I. I guess a "general manager" has other "interests" and personal goals to aim for than "customer satisfaction." But our combination worked. We, Wolfgang and I, were indeed a real team. Even if it only consisted out of two individuals performing separate, till complementary and harmonizing tasks. This team realized amazing results. Which proves that real constructive teamwork leads to results. Positive results. It was a blessing working with Wolfgang. I never had to explain why I did some things as I did, to make our customers happy. He was able to see and comprehend the broader picture and the end result of why I performed my customer care tasks with such intensity and professional care. Those kind of people are rare on the market. But I have always had a splendid relationship with all my German contacts, as strange as this may sound. And even now, at matrix Systems, my successful German association that kept following me throughout my entire life, continued with Wolfgang.
Partly because of Wolfgang and the astounding sales results we both as a team achieved, I stayed as long as almost six full years in this atypical company of which I have not even told you a tenth of what is there to be told.
Rick Vijvers wasnt really a guy of many words. Our in-house technical support engineer did not waste time nor energy in the art of speaking.
You remember Rick, dont you? He appeared shortly in chapter two where Maria introduced him to me. Rick Vijvers energy went straight into his fondling with small boats. Miniature boats. He liked to play with in his free time. At the office he was not really part of the team. Actually he wasnt part of anything, sitting at his smoky desk behind tons of professional literature about our assorted systems. He, the only one who smoked at the office, although it was already forbidden by law, smoked if hed be glad to have lung cancer the next morning. He was a very bitter man. He looked bland and extremely malcontent (which he was, by the way). All the time. He had been with the company for many years now and was the elder one at the office.
I did not know why he was that astringent. He did not tell us. He did not help us either. He just took care of his own small telephone business. He smoked and phoned all day long. It was clear that he was being avoided by the others. No one dared to interrupt his smoking nor telephone habits, even if it were problems concerning his intervention.
He was so harsh and inconsiderate to any one of his office mates, that he was being neglected for the better. No one knew the exact reason of this behaviour. I did not like Rick at all. He did not seem to care for anything at all, at the office that is. Probably he went to bed with his small boats and fucked all openings they presented to him, but at the Matrix office he displayed such a tremendous aura of utter indifference that it begrudged me. He wasnt best mates with mr Dujournot either.
It was clear they could not stand each others guts. They hated one another profoundly. At the beginning, I just was able to take note of this peculiar relationship and office attitude of again another member of this extraordinary Matrix team, because I did not know anything about their context, nor any other surrounding variables for that matter. It is so wrong to use the word team here. I better use the word bunch of tortured individuals.
Only later it became very obvious to me that Rick Vijvers, being the elder Matrix employee, had become totally frustrated over the way things evolved at this peculiar company and the role he was supposed to play in this part. He had become a strong opponent of mr Dujournot, because he had known him for four years already and knew definitely more than any one else in the office about his devious whereabouts. He knew the truth about mr Dujournot. That is for sure. And, judged by his repulsive behaviour, it did not seem to be a fine truth to know. No sir. Only, I did not know anything, back then, in the year 1999. I just had soo many weird things to observe and register. So I favoured the man who hired and fed me, mr Dujournot. And I tried to avoid Rick Vijvers as much as I possibly could, as all the others did. On the occasion where mr Dujournot was at the Belgian office, they never spoke to one another. They avoided each other the same way as we all tried to evade Rick, performing our daily tasks. We did not have to avoid Rick for a long time, though.
Rick Vijvers was the next in line to leave Matrix Systems, still back in the year 1999. Rick took the honour and he resigned himself. Only days before his resignation, Rick had been very furious towards mr Dujournot, even if he wasnt in the office. Mr Dujournot had gone on one of his European mystery tours.
Nevertheless, he wanted to leave a message to all of us at the office. Sales werent that good at the time. We hardly achieved about 15 million Belgian franks those days. (only in the year 2002 they were replaced by the Euro) Each month.
He had put an office chair on the central table in our office and pinned a paper sign on the back of the chair, saying : if you all try harder, you will be able to raise our sales and we will achieve the 20 million franks a month.
Now, if you should try to avoid one thing, than you better avoid pissing off Rick Vijvers. When he came in that Monday morning and saw the sign by mr Dujournot, he went totally berserk. He started to fulminate in the open and by those aggravated sentences I learned some more about the reasons of disappointment and frustration Rick had encountered during all those bygone Matrix years.
According to Rick, it was the responsibility of mr Dujournot to rise sales. He wasnt only the general manager of Matrix <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Belgium, but also the sole accountable sales manager for a superior part of Europe. For the French region mr Dujournot had hired three supplementary sales managers, the same time he hired Wolfgang Hanssen. Only, they did not have the same internal power, nor responsibility in the Matrix power scheme, as Wolfgang had. Wolfgang had obtained total freedom in his attempt to conquer the eastern European market. The French threesome only had to re-conquer all lost sales of an existing French market. This was a huge difference of accountability.
To Rick Vijvers it was all very clear : mr Dujournot and his French threesome together with mr Wolfgang Hanssen, were the sole persons within Matrix Belgium accountable for the sales. Not the people at the office. Even if I did not dare to speak at the time, I could not but agree on this elementary vision. Of course Rick was right. What was mr Dujournot thinking when he put up this sign? Did he forget about his own task as sales manager? Or, was he not able to combine those two titles at the same time? Where was he anyway? Did any one know? No. No one knew where he was.
Abroad. This we had to say to any one who would ask about the location of mr Dujournot. No details, just abroad . Thats it.
How on earth could we raise sales?
There are ways. Not obvious ones, but there are.
Rick had a point where he concluded that this sign of mr Dujournot was nothing less than solid criticism about the working of the office employees. He clearly said : if you try harder
. Which meant that he thought we did not try hard enough
we could do more
. I did not really consider this message as a message to me personally, since I just started here. I just couldnt be more amused by all the reactions these few written words on a note by the boss had evoked by those who thought to be involved in the matter of lesser or more work. Rick Vijvers was one of them. Rick Vijvers clearly thought he was about personally attacked and fully hit by this public placed comment of mr Dujournot.
In his openly displayed verbal defence Rick counterattacked mr Dujournots way of mystery travelling, his frequent office absence and the crummy way he represented his task as sales manager. According to Rick mr Dujournot never ever visited his clients, he even neglected them very defectively. Rick felt that mr Dujournot was ventilating his own personal sales deficiency on the back of the office workers. He did not deliver any proof of what he said, but you could sense that there was a serious foundation of truth in the things Rick revealed about mr Dujournot. He knew him the longest of us all. That was a fact. Rick was soo frustrated about this remark on the chair on the table that it made him sick and he resigned the next day. Next morning there was no longer Rick Vijvers. Only his letter came by mail.
I wasnt really feeling sorry for Rick, in fact, I kinda felt quite relieved about his departure since Rick had been a very negative person. He carried a lot of negative vibes around him. He even spread those vibes constantly. The same way as he had been spreading his smoke all those years. Now for once, my clothes would no longer smell like ten overfilled ashtrays which consequently turned my home into the stinking odour of some vulgar misty pub, every evening again. Rick had left the Matrix team. For good. Rick Vijvers had left a team that never ever even was one at the first place. Nevertheless I was always looking in those beginning days for elements that could indicate the presence of a decent Matrix team. I did not find any.
And now Rick was gone. Hurray!
To me it was as if an obstacle had taken care of itself. The daily smoking obstruction had finally exterminated itself. And I was happy for that.
Thanks mr Dujournot, your words do have impact.
chapter 12 : momentum of reflection
Maria, Inez, Rick and Siglunde. They all had one thing in common. They left in the first weeks after my arrival at Matrix Systems Inc. Do you think the unexpected exodus stopped after Rick had left the building? No sir!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
More were to go. What I did not even know at that time, was that Inez and Anissa were pretty new to begin with at the matrix office and that they had also been replacing others, only moments before my arrival. I do not even remember their names, because I never got to know them at the first place. So it seemed that mr Dujournot was swapping teams in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Belgium. Tabula rasa. His relentless cleaning operation. His customer service team was completely renewed in comparison to some months earlier. Now on top of that, Rick was gone too. Our engineer, who hated to be called technical support by our customers, but in fact was, had started another life. Another setback for mr Dujournot.
Every time a person left Matrix Systems, mr Dujournot was obliged to return to the Belgian office from what ever he was doing somewhere in outer Europe. He did not like that. He was consequently very pissed about it and you could tell on his face, mornings where he stumbled into the office with features of a drunken old bastard. He always behaved gentlemanlike, but had the tormented facial expression he could not hide and attitude of a delirious alcoholic. He did not even invest much in efforts to keep up the appearances. One day his alcohol abuse, mostly black labelled whiskeys he consumed on behalf of the company, became that worse that he got the typical limping disease, where one of both legs isnt really cooperative any more to brain instructions. So he limped a lot. Mr Dujournot limped practically always I saw him. He had become an all time shuffler. All those six years. Sometimes it was a bit better, but the next morning, he crawled into the office again, thinking he had gotten away with it, underestimating the power the golden 12 year old Scottish booze. He did not drink during the day. Normally he did not. He had a bar in his airco office. Because he usually came out of his bed only when the day had already passed half of its time, he had intentionally reduced his alcohol free daily period to the least possible. Whenever some clients appeared at the office on one of his prearranged dates, they habitually started their encounters with sharing a bottle of wine or half filled crystal glasses of whiskey, the bottle icily stored in his pesonal office fridge. Then they prolonged the obnoxious alcohol intake at the nearest restaurant, crudely chosen to shun drunk driving as much as possible, where they loudly discussed business matters of the highest importance consuming their accustomed three course business meal, accompanied with the necessary and obligatory highly intoxicating drinks. Pousse cafés were never denied nor left out of this managerial performance of the highest finesse.
The rare times mr Dujournot was physically at the Belgian office, he always seemed to have arranged a special rendez-vous, a gathering with one of his better clients. Mostly they were always the same guys. Mr Dujournot had an intense relationship with only a very few of his clients. He had hundreds of them, really, nicely scattered around Europe, to rectify his intense travelling, but only saw a handful of them. In Belgium. Normally we, at the office, would have thought that mr Dujournot was on the road to visit them, at their home country, in their offices. But he did not do so. He frequently invited his friend/clients to come over to Belgium. Their Belgian encounters were always so forceful that, in fact, it always seemed to be a true friendship that had to be sealed by both parties with a state of total drunkenness.
Customer care of the deepest concentration, till the booze knocks us out. Some of those clients came all the way from their country to join mr Dujournot on his excessive booze trip. Of course he did not pay for these customer care enticements out of his own pocket. Every company with any respect for his internal high levelled functioning had separate funds for those kinds of customer care special treats. The monthly expense notes that mr Dujournot presented the mother company were thus quite opulent and every time a clear multiple number of my salary. How did I know all that? Did I have to sneak around to get this kind of information? No Sir! There were no secrets whatsoever at this bizarre office. Annissa made sure that even the most secret accountable details were fully exposed on any possible occasion. Sometimes, more than once, even the salary note of mr Dujournot was left unattended on the copier for several hours so anyone could see how fervent the US responsible of Matrix Inc USA were remunerating our little chef. Probably they were very happy with is achievements at this side of the ocean. Otherwise they would not pay him that kind of money. The Americans are known for their extreme high managerial wages. But to see this, with your own eyes, printed black on white, makes one miserable for a second, as my salary was only a infinitesimal fraction of the amount mr Dujournot was entitled to each month. It made me feel small and insignificant. Judged by his huge salary, mr Dujounrot must have been a wonder boy of some kind, one of a kind. I only wondered why so many people had left the office. Some thing was not right here. Some things were to be considered even wrong. Very wrong indeed. But who am I? Deducted from the height of my salary, not a real big shot! Not someone who would consider his career uplifting or on rising as a shooting star. I guess if there were not to exist a minimum scale for remuneration in the automotive industry, mr Dujounrot certainly would have dared to pay me even less.
But, at the time being, I did not complain. I was even happy, yes, happy indeed I was, that I even had a salary. Thats who I am. Modest that it hurts myself. I must admit that was and I am not very good at negotiating salaries. I am too shy for that. I should have stood up more for myself. But I cannot. I could not.
Of course you cannot compare the amount of responsibility of our general manager with the impact of a trivial customer care department. It all has its price. I know that. I am not that stupid. Still, it is kind of rude and personally insulting to see those slamming differences. A normal, well functioning mind cannot ever defend the astronomical discrepancies between both salaries. Furthermore did I not have a free card, nor a blanc check for all my expenses. I had to pay them from my earnings. And when I saw how mr Dujournot in fact was spending his unlimited company expense amount, I was reassured that you indeed had to posses unique hideaway managerial qualities I indeed was not able to detect on mr Dujournrot, not the way he behaved. This was not a one-time achievement of mr Dujournot. His regular intense customer care boozing dinners were legendary.
I only tried to figure out how mr Dujournot possibly could have convinced the US hot shots about this unlimited expense thing.
He surely had sold himself and the overall impression of his executive capacities matching the highest thinkable limits, towards the US mother company.
Maybe I had missed something until now. Maybe I did not see things as they were presenting themselves before my very eyes, those fist weeks , back in the year 1999. Maybe he had saved Matrix Systems. Maybe he really was a super managing director. Or was it general Manager? Or sales manager? Or Booze and liquor manager?
Annissa, the poor child, had no idea, not a single clue what she had done by leaving the salary note of mr Dujournot behind on the copier for every one to see. Let me put it even worse, but true as it was: she did not give a sh*t. She could not care less. But I am running ahead again.
Stall. Recapitulate. Organize. Chronolize.
chapter 13 : "Next, please!"
Chapter 13 : Next, please!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Who do you think was the next one to leave Matrix Systems Inc?
Because it did not stop with Rick Vijvers, as I told you before.
Tanja hadnt felt well since Maria had left the Matrix family.
Ugly Tanja leading as a sole employer our account department, considered herself quite lost and alone, since Maria left. Tanja had been best mates with Maria. Since Maria was the previous office manager, it seemed very clearly that Tanja used her as a back up for all her accountable decisions to be made. Tanja could not function alone. She could not make any decisions from her own. She needed this feedback from a superior as her oxygen to breathe. To be reassured that everything would be ok. Tanja was quite uncertain. With those looks of her, any one would feel uncertain. Tanja was now one of the elder almost totally vanished team. Now Rick was gone too. Tanja was the only one to keep the fortress standing. But she felt she could not do so. Tanja felt abandoned. She kept on wining about this all the time. We, the new crew however, were kind of happy that there was no supervisor around the house. We all had our little private reasons. Because of my past and my experience I did not really need someone to hold my hand performing my job. It was for me a new challenge to hit with Wolfgang those new markets. I had a very specific goal set in those beginning days. I had my own private motivation and my own reasons of how to tackle this new assessment. I did not need a nany to guide me. I new exactly what I was doing, where I was heading at. Obviously Tanja did not. Not any longer.
Tanja wasnt best mates with mr Dujournot. She never was. She never had been. Her profound repulsiveness was the main reason for this hamper in their relationship. Mr Dujournot adored beautiful women. His dick did too. But sometimes he had to choose for brain content instead of breast content and a pretty face. As they say: real beauty is to be found inside. With Tanja this beauty must have been hiding very, very deep inside, indeed, considering her thick layers of ugliness at the outside.
I for one thing and for sure, never found any evidence of beauty on Tanja.
Furthermore, Tanja had a very peculiar private lifestyle, she kept us telling about at the office. It was so unbelievable that it had to be true.
Tanja talked a lot. Not about work, she never talked about work towards us, the newbees, she kept all her accountable stuff strictly for her own as some kind of treasure she sat upon. Now, some elements and figures and data need to be kept and treated confidentially, so I wasnt feeling unhappy with her reluctant behaviour to keep her work as secret as she did. What I did not knew, I did not have to consider neither. But Tanja had a gossip nature. She could not resist telling us all kind of stories about the company, about mr Dujournot, since he was never there. He was an easy target. The fact that they both did not match up as real friends, enhanced the urge to gossip even more about mr Dujournot, his past and his whereabouts.
She told us about the painful divorce of mr Dujournot, about his shabby hotel choice, about his deceased son who threw himself in a French river and drowned, about the fact that mr Dujournot never ever talked about this sad fact, never talked about his personal life in general, about a big rent less loan mr Dujournot would have gotten from Matrix USA to help him overcome his divorcing difficulties, about his crappy attitude towards the Matrix employees
she did not leave an occasion unused to smother mr Dujournots reputation.
Till the day of today I do not even know if all the stories she told were ever true. About the loan, his drowned son, I never ever got any confirmation that these stories actually were reflections of real life or just wisely chosen elements to deliberately damage mr Dujournots standing.
The anecdotes Tanja told us about her personal life, were not exactly of such impact that they would have enriched her personal status. She told us about her beloved husband, some grouchy bear type of guy, who liked to dress up like a real baby with real diapers and all, and that they both went to certain meetings where they met similar couples with the same spooky but in her eyes fascinating mental deviations. There they pampered and comforted the as baby dressed grown ups, as they really attentively and loudly cried like authentic babies do, till they get what they want. The bear knocked her up and because she was pregnant, they did not attend those meetings any longer. I could not help it to consider all this quite sickening.
Kind of creepy, at least weird, dont you think? I know that in this world there exist all kinds of people, but it seemed that they had gathered all together at Matrix Systems. What on earth was I doing here in the midst of these peculiar abnormalities? So the next one to go was Tanja.
All of a sudden, her pregnant tummy sticking fiercely in front of her, she triumphantly announced her departure. So we would not be able to see what eventually was coming out of her blown up belly, were we? I was happy for that. I did not want to know what kind of creature was to be born out of the seeds of a diapered bear and the womb of a female humanized Dumbo. Tanja did not leave us at once. Because she was in charge of the whole account department, she could not. She needed time to sort things out. She needed a successor to take over all the files. Rick Vijvers had just left his files on his desk, unattended, because there was no successor, yet. Technical advice did not seem that kind of priority to mr Dujournot. The account department however needed continuity.
Now, as I previously told you about the phone fighting of Anissa, this wasnt really the way to handle things. Everyone knew that, every body at the office saw and understood this, but Anissa herself. As a direct result of her exaggerated theatrical performances on the phone, the transport company Smeulders did no longer want to perform the deliveries to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />France. So we had a serious problem. Mr Dujournot had to be informed about this. He had to accept the rates of a more expensive transport company, since no one was cheaper than Smeulders. We had expected that he would be quite upset about this change, but, at the contrary, he reacted utmost calm and even compassionate towards Anissa, who had been having very hard times with this unreliable company lately. The poor child. He reacted as a lover boy who would do anything to protect his beloved one. It was at least an apparent indication that something was going on here, between the two love birds. Moreover, it was as clear as a cup of fine orange blossom Sri Lankan finest tea to all of us that Anissa lacked every form of possible natural sagacity -Fingerspizengefuehl - for the sacred art of comforting a customer.
I have no idea who came to the initiative of transferring Anissa to the account department, but, in relation to the actual state of emergency at that time, this seemed a reasonable internal solution for all protagonists involved. Anissa could have been fired, I totally agree on that one, for consistently demonstrating her observable ineptitude on her present job as customer non-care representative, but since we all knew that between the reigning dwarf and Anissa something beautiful was emerging, this option quickly was erased as non applicable. In fact, this never even has been an option. Anissa even thought that she was handling things as they should have been handled and that she had obtained some kind of promotion. Which was partly true indeed.
I had no idea whatsoever that with this move, all trouble and misery to come had found its fundamental grounds to grow upon.
Anissa was happy. Not even one year at Matrix Systems and she got a hold on some essential career move. A specific accountable education Anissa never had. In school she had learned the absolute basic knowledge between debit and credit and about how to compose an invoice. She never had been aware of the implications, nor essential values of a credit note. But mr Dujournot saw no problem, he believed in some capacities of Anissa. I am even now not sure which capacities he ment. I think she swallowed. Must be.
It was the hard but enforced ultimate task of pregnant Tanja to instruct Anissa and lead her into the secrets of modern accountability. The three months to come were very hard. Both for Tanja as for Anissa as well. Many times Anissa left her desk with tears of pure rage in her eyes and went outside the office, slamming each door behind her. After ten minutes wining and screaming she re-entered and went on, together with an almost desperate Tanja to master the undisclosed matters of her department. Although Tanja had major reservations about the appropriate competences of Anissa, since she lacked the matching education, not once the newly acquainted position of Anissa had been questioned by mr Dujournot. At the contrary, he believed that she would be doing "real fine".
For some devious reason Tanja did not want to inform mr Dujournot about her struggle to educate and inform Anissa of all due accountable tasks.
I think it was part of her revenge scheme, to use this way as a manner to get even with mr Dujournot who had been a real pain in the ass towards Tanja all those years.
So everything seemed ok. At first sight. When mr Dujournot was around in the office.
Then Anissa behaved and she played the perfect student. As soon as he turned his back and went on one of his mystery tours, she changed into this unrecognizable creature with her beautiful dark eyes filled with hatred and her mouth full of spiteful language. Especially when she had to do something, it seemed hard for her to accept the orders given by Tanja who could not care less about the way Anissa refused to learn all essentials.
Now Anissa was careless and lazy and this is an understatement of the century. She grumbled and shouted and swore and cursed every time she actually had to be doing something in concrete. As long as Tanja was still in the house, it was Tanja who did the job. All of it. The moment Tanja asked her to participate or asked her on helping her, this charade of the furious untamed Amazon emerged out of the blue. Tanja longed for her departure.
She was fed up with Anissa.
Poor mr Dujournot. He did solve the exit of Tanja quite elegantly but now he had to look for replacement not only for Rick Vijvers, but, again, for another customer care representative since Anissa had left our island.
So many changes, so many exits.
For one reason or another mr Dujournot did not seem happy with the way we were treated by our handling agent, the owner of the gigantic shoe box store room where we rented our offices. During her time as customer care representative, Anissa had arranged verbal fights with about every possible human creature that came in contact with her. She even had a terrible fight (one of her many fights) with the general manager of MIXO, our handling agent.
She accused him of being a racist. Anissa often accused people of being a racist. It is some defend mechanism she uses. Against any remark she gets, from whomever it may be. Because Anissa did not seem afraid of anything. Of any one. Could it be because she swallowed? The real reasons behind some questionable incidents are often the simplest ones.
Of course did the general manager of MIXO not accept this kind of behaviour of Anissa and wanted to talk to mr Dujournot about this.
Again mr Dujournot protected Anissa on this occasion so fierce, that he concluded that whatever MIXO did for us, we even could do better on our own. We would be starting our own warehouse and dispatching centre. He said these things in the heat of the discussion. We would show them how things were done around here! Bloody racist!
Besides swallowing, Anissa must have been presenting each opening of her body to mr Dujournot, free to use, the unlimited edition.
So, suddely, out of the blue, we were to be heading towards a whole new future with Matrix Systems, running our own warehouse and stuff.
How did mr Dujournot saw this to be happening? Right, by hiring some more people. Since he was suffering already an office indigestion, by looking for replacement for Rick and Anissa, he could, at the same time look for the right individuals to orchestrate the final move towards total independency.
Before that, we were not only dependable from the transport companies who brought our goods to the customers, but we were also dependable on the service MIXO offered us in handling and storing our incoming and outgoing Matrix Systems goods. It was obvious that mr Dujournot really was not that eager to actually perform or do things by himself. He liked to delegate. Everything. They say that the best general manager is surrounded by excellent people. May be mr Dujournot was an excellent manager. Time would tell us all.
Both Anissa and mr Dujournot had the same basic attitude towards real work : avoid it as much as you can.
So mr Dujournot announced the vacancy of a new office manager. His primordial task was to fully orchestrate our sudden move towards independency. He, the poor bastard, was being held responsible for about everything to happen in the near future. He had to look for a new warehouse, for fresh warehouse people, for new, or even better, used warehouse trucks, for the cheapest warehouse installations, for second hand pickup trucks, for third hand picking machines, for a liaison responsible between warehouse and office, for new offices (since we would leave MIXO which meant we would loose our present offices as well which we rented from them).
I had no idea who this person was going to be, no one did, actually, as all conclusions in this matter ware taken so unexpectedly, immediately after Anissas verbal fight with the MIXO chief; but one thing I knew for sure : I already felt a tremendous compassion for this man or woman who wasnt even there but who had to carry all responsibility towards the near future of Matrix Systems Inc.
chapter 14 : Introducing Tessy Jolane and Malvine Jumpers
Chapter 14 : Tessy Jolane and Malvine Jumpers<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I am sure mr Dujournot wasnt really aware of the major problems he was bringing us all into. You can say things in the heat of a fight but afterwards you can correct them. Or deny them. Or ignore them. Not mr Dujournot. His argument with the chief of MIXO had turned into a regular clash of the titans and not one of both participants would ever take back even a syllable of what had been said to one another. This was managerial honour we were talking about. I guess this meant doggy style tonight for Anissa. At least her honour was saved.
I had just accepted my job at Matrix Systems, partly on location grounds, since the office was only a quarter mile from home, so during summer I could easily go to work with my bike. Goodbye bike.
Anissa had some good news. Good news for mr Dujournot. Her girlfriend was eagerly looking for a job and she thought that customer care was something that corresponded perfectly with her. I just wondered how a person like Anissa, who had no clue at all what real customer care really is all about, could be able to judge upon the capacities of another person, whether it might be her girlfriend or not. But strangely enough mr Dujournot immediately agreed upon this constructive proposal of Anissa and he instantaneously wanted to meet this girl, especially when he got to know her age. Anissa was as clever as to bring a picture of her as well.
Malvine Jumpers was a very beautiful creature. This, mr Dujournot had noticed at once, the moment he had laid eyes on the picture Anissa had shown to him. Anissa was quite eager to get Malvine into the Matrix team.
This way she would be able to enforce her position. About the real capacities of Malvine Jumpers nothing much was being said. She was invited into the office of mr Dujournot without any delay and 10 minutes later her contract had been signed. Malvine Jumpers was not a born Belgian lady. About 10 years ago her family came to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Belgium, probably running away from their political instable country of former Moldavia. Only a few years ago she definitely choose for the Belgian nationality. Welcome Malvine Jumpers! Each country who is able to add such kind of extraordinary pair of hooters to their patrimonial, should be very happy indeed. Just kidding! But, as you could detect from the speed of contract signing, Malvine was indeed an extremely beautiful sampling of the human race. She had a supreme pair of exquisite thick lips and a pair of fantastic titties you only see in the movies. I think Anissa had presented herself with some strong competition.
In any case, mr Dujournot had done it again, now with help from his most faithful companion, Anissa Hamsa. He had replaced worlds ugliest woman by a variety of the best kind. At this point he almost started slobbering, thinking of the potential he had left, replacing Rick and searching for the liaison employee yet to come! I bet he had come to the point where he dreamed of a whole team of mannequin like women, all willing an eager to just fulfilling his personal needs and desires. He even forgot about the office manager, may be this could be a woman too. Maria had been a women with equal function. Only she possessed more male hormones than an average body builder. And this was something mr Dujournot did not like. He was right about this. Who would like such kind of overdeveloped female that brings you but fear? Who would not function any better in a place filled with exquisite breasts all around you? You could call it breastville if you wanted too. The only thing that could happen with an office filled with Malvine like characters, was that mr Dujournot would not go on tour again. He would gladly stay amidst the breasts he had chosen himself to permanently surround him.
Only, Anissa lacked those breasts. She only had an undersized handful of those, twice. But therefore she had some hips, a horse could ride upon. J.LO could have learned from the hips of Anissa.
I really hoped some intellectual qualities were attracted too into this office besides the glamour and pleasure of having daily eye contact with fine bodily curves, dressed with outstanding nipples of the premium sort.
Only, replacing Rick just was not that easy. An engineering trained brain mostly does not fit in the head of a corps where exquisite physical advantages are to be found in both upper and lower bodily regions.
Thus, It took some time to find replacement for Rick.
At the same time, mr Dujournot had to search for this liaison manager who would be the direct contact person between our office and our new warehouse. Up till now MIXO delivered those services, but as you all well know, mr Dujournot was not quite happy any more with the service they provided.
Tessy Jolane presented herself. She had been working at MIXOs for six months now and her contract was, after this probation period, not to be continued for one reason or another. Since rumours travel quickly and follow mysterious ways, Tessy had heard about the managerial fight and the sudden outcome of our abrupt and quite unexpected company departure.
So there she stood, shy and quite wordless at the office door, behind the counter, a bit the same as I must have been standing there, now some weeks before. Tessy was not the skinny type of female. She had consequently appropriate fine hooters. She was legally blond and had a pretty and open face with sparkling eyes. She smiled. I knew at first sight that she would not have a hard time at the office of mr Dujournot. His big booby troopers were to be reinforced by another fine species. I was right. Tessy got the job. Easily. Immediately. My God, mr Dujournot had become quite predictable, had he not?.
Tessy was also very young, about the same age as Malvine and Anissa. After some weeks I found out that the three of them had been in the same educational classes and knew each other from school, before working at Matrix Systems.
But there were some fundamental differences between those three. As Anissa had introduced Malvine, they were really close friends. Something told me in every move, every word Anissa spoke, after Tessy had presented herself, that this kind of friendship was not present between Anissa and Tessy. They knew each other and that was about it. Anissa had not introduced Tessy at Matrix systems. If she were to be real friends with Tessy, she probably would have done so.
But opposite to the despicable personality discrepancies of Anissa, Tessy appeared to be a really sweet girl. Her open face told me more than a thousand words. She had her heart at the right place and at the top of her tongue. She said it as it was. She spoke as she thought it should have been said. Sometimes this led to quite vivid conversations, but never there was any animosity in those words of her. She wanted to learn. She really wanted to be part of the Matrix team. She did not realize at first that there was no real Matrix team. But she learned quite quickly. And she understood that a team was missing at Matrix Systems. Therefore the presence and visual weight of Anissa was too prominent in sight. It seemed, as if she had been crowned queen of the proms. She behaved as if she owned the place. If he, mr Dujournot wasnt in. This could only be the obvious result of the close intimate, probably deep sexual relationship she cherished with mr Dujournot, our dwarf in command. She acted as if nothing could harm her. She seemed untouchable. Maybe the small brain content she clearly possessed in combination with the recent unexpected promotion to the account department could have made her fly like an eagle. She at least had the same deadly sharpness of the eagles claws and jaws, whenever she opened her mouth. Unless mr Dujournot had filled it with his rocking standing and throbbing dick, ready to leave his next load of sticky cum behind. Then she had to swallow. I bet this was the only thing Anissa ever swallowed.
As reluctant Anissa was to learn on the content of her new position (which drove Tanja insane by the way, as she was terrified that this new knowledge would probably lead to actual work) so enthusiastic and keen Tessy proved herself to be in preparing herself to be the first new Matrix Systems Warehouse manager. Welcome Tessy!
And we did not even have our new office manager.
I wasnt very keen on the fact that mr Dujournrot insisted on having a new office manager, since the office worked fine without Maria.
I could do without. I was big enough, I was mature enough.
Only, with this new challenge ahead, mr Dujounrot was probably right to go and look for a poor innocent creature to be victimized and to be blamed for all the things that could go possibly wrong in what was about to take place the coming months, our final office move towards total freedom.
The abhorrence of Anissa towards any kind of intellectual of physical effort was beyond possible measurement. Tanja was about to found out due to her daily training sessions where Anissa needed to take over the account department. She had been by far the laziest person I had ever encountered on this planet. In order to maintain such deviant human quality, one needs sometimes to follow mysterious ways and act peculiarly. It drove Tanja insane.
Tessy, however, was about everything Anissa was not. And vice versa.
Tessy was eager to learn on her new career and did everything to make things really work. Anissa only had been obstructive until now against any one who came across her. Even Tanja, who had the only intention of passing on her specified knowledge so she could quit the office asap.
One day in the past, Tanja, who was the main supplier of all possible gossip, had found some discrepancies and irregularities on the expense report of mr Dujournot. In stead of discussing this with the man himself, Tanja fount it to be more appropriate to inform directly her contacts in the US about this. She made up an irregularity report (against her own boss) which was sent to the responsible at Matrix USA but which came back as quick as it had gotten over the ocean. They just had reversed the report to mr Dujournot, to take care of his personal office and staff problems. So Tanja knew from that moment on where she stood in the Matrix world: exactly, nowhere. You can imagine that the relationship between those two never had been worse from that point in time onwards. Her unattractiveness just was a confirmation for mr Dujoujrnot to keep the right remoteness from her. Her proven total unreliability towards him was additionally a verification and certitude that he needed some new dependable blood in this section of Matrix Belgium. Anissa fitted splendidly in this new future office picture of him.
At the beginning, we still counted on the services of MIXO, so Tessy just marvellously helped us out at customer service and really added some sunshine into the office variables. Only after our move to total independency, Tessy would be able to execute her new task as liaison manager. In the mean time she perfectly learned how our new office worked. But we still needed an office manager and some handful of warehouse handling people too. Even our new engineer was yet to be installed. As this was the task of mr Dujounrot, it took ages to replace our engineer. The introduction of Malvine into the Matrix office by Anissa was a well-considered premeditated move. Of course Anissa knew that the overall East European attractiveness of Malvine, would help her in acquainting the job at the first place, she had other more personal intentions with the installation of Malvine within the Matrix ensemble. Driven by her sickening languor, Anissa had prearranged the content of Malvines initial workload, long before we, at customer care, even could intervene. Of course Anissa stood much closer to mr Dujournot then the rest of us and, to be honest, I had no urge, nor aspiration to obtain the same grade of intimacy with our little chief as Anissa had. Although Malvine initially came on board as to replace Anissa at customer care, Anissa had made pre arrangements with mr Dujournot that Malvine would be part time working for the account department as well. The moment Tanja had left, (those were the longest three months Tanja had ever need to live trough in her entire life), Anissa would receive daily support from Malvine. There was no discussion about that. It was for the best. As it concerned real workload, Anissa could step into overacting as if she was to win an Oscar as life achievement award. For one way or another mr Dujournot always believed the things Anissa said, even if it was so noticeable that she had plainly lied or forcefully exaggerated.
And Anissa did lie a lot. Honesty was not one of her real virtues. The truth only really mattered as it could contribute to her personal benefit. I am sure that mr Dujournot was aware of that. He wasnt a retard. But for some conspicuous reason he did not seem to care. From what I had seen from Anissa, the way she embraced treachery and lies those few weeks, in stealing working hours for instance, no way I would ever have installed her as a responsible for the account department. Still mr Dujournot did not see any problems. On your knees., Anissa! Or : Knees behind your ears, Anissa!
Malvine was very loyal to Anissa too. They had known each other for many years, it seamed. They were best mates at school. Probably Anissa would have told her all about Matrix, mr Dujournot, his uncontrollable weakness for the female splendour and her sudden but right-on-time promotion to the account department
Malvine kind of looked up against Anissa. Maybe because she had overstated a bit. Just a bit. Or maybe because all stories were but just true. As reality often beats the wildest fantasy. She did every thing Anissa told her to do. Or asked her to do. Or commanded her to do.
The cheap, obvious trick to gain working hours by entering late into the and leaving early, Malvine just took over from Anissa.
The moment Veronique had come on board, I took the initiative to secure our office hours towards our customers. As mr Dujournot had clearly stated he wanted to office open from 08.00hrss till 18.00 hrs, no matter hwo you do it
, I clearly saw this as an indication that he did not want go get involved in such trivial office details. He just left it up to us, his highly qualified and motivated employees. We made up a real fixed arrangement for Anissa, Veronique, Malvine and myself. It was just easily based upon rotation so we would be open at eight and closed not before 18.00 Hrs.
The system was apparent and very simple : one week you started at eight and you left at five, the other week you started at nine and closed at six. That was it. Anissa did not say much about my plan to get some discipline and correctness in our mutual daily office presence manners. In fact, she did not follow this rule I made at all, which led to the simple conclusion that the only ones who really took responsibility towards Matrix Systems Inc and its customers were Veronique and myself. Both Anissa and Malvinde always said that they would act according the set scheme, but never did. Both Veronique as myself found out that every time indeed, when they had to open the office at eight, they just did not do so. They always arrived about eight thirty-five or even later. They said that they had been in the office at eight, although this was a plain and apparent lie. But since they both believed their own lies, it was hard for us to pull this through. In the evening, when they had to close the office at six and the rest of us could leave around five oclock, they just waited till every one was gone and left then as well. Exactly the same as she had been praticing before. Anissa just kept on doing what she had been doing all the time, now together with Malvine. I bet she felt strengthened by the presence of Malvine. They both came and went. Like Siamese twins they conducted their daily scam of stealing working hours.
Both Veronique and I were fed up with this unprofessional attitude towards the customers and ourselves, so we quickly decided to leave both girls out of the system. We divided the working time between ourselves. We did not care any longer when those two ladies came in or left the building. It had no use arguing about this, since they both covered each other up with their lies. Even to Mr Dujournot they lied. One morning, where Anissa and Malvine had to open the office at eight, which they hadnt by the way , as I had come in at eight and found myself completely alone till they finally showed up at eight forty-five, he, mr Dujounrot came in the office, quite upset since he had gotten a phone call from one of his customers complaining about the fact that our office still was closed when he phoned at eight fifteen. I could not believe my ears, nor my visual annotations which told me that both Anissa and Malvine bluntly stated, with the candid pokerfaced look of a die hard, that they had both been in the office at the time the alleged client phoned, even before eight oclock. And that there was something wrong with the phone connection. Anissa was so self-assured about herself and her dominant role in the office that she even lied knowing that I was aware of this lie. She must have thought that I was a pussy. Which I was, essentially, since I did not say one single word at that time. To no one. I left the lie being a lie. Because I was afraid of the repercussions, it might have evoked if I did have said something. Case closed.
This meant only that we, Veronique and I, equally had to shift our times double as quickly as we used to; but to us, this was no problem, because it enhanced immediately the quality of customer care we wanted to provide to our clients. And they were happy as well.
Malvine must have been quite happy that she got this job. It was quite understandable if you knew her background as a former fugitive. Driven away from their own country. Times must have been hard for her once. But now everything seemed to fall into places. Partly thanks to Anissa.
That was how mr Dujournot saw things happening and altering at Matrix Belgium NV as well.
It is all quite easy actually. The new rules that I implemented were very simple and understandable and only created to augment our service to our customers. Nothing more, nothing less. When I started at Matrix, I really had a goal, a challenge, a purpose, a drive that kept me going and made me do the things I did. We, Wolfgang and I had a huge market to conquer and I had the liberty and the power and the knowledge and the experience to do so. I had my strategy in mind how to tackle those new markets, how to boost our customer satisfaction grade, because at the moment of my arrival it was noticeable that the level of contentment of the Matrix clients was not that bright nor very highly positioned, at the contrary, I would say so
What was important at that time, was the liberty and the possibility I obtained from mr Dujournot, to act accordingly to my believes. Lateron I understood that he gave me this freedom of action to secure himself of a quiet and uncomplicated way of life, where all the daily office nuisance and customer problems were being taken care off, long before they ever would be reaching him personally. Mr Dujournot was not bothered at all about these problems. He did not care how they were created at the first place, nor how they were being solved afterwards. Mr Dujounrot sure wasnt a problemsolver. He got irritated as hell when occasionally but yet very seldom a real problem got through to him and when he noticed that one of his disciples had not been able to tackle the sticky situation before reaching him.
He always started to shout and calling names when this happened and always attacked the people at the office, even before analyzing the problem or the reason why it had not been solved yet. He did not want to have anything to do with any setback at all. To him they never ever should have existed at the first place. So, again, problem closed. It was our duty to keep him problem free. This gave us of course a great freedom of action, as long as the right purpose was met. When he ever got hold of any quandary, or even a smaller kind of minor issue that could be a cause for discussion or debate, he just always made such a atrocious fuss about it, that you d wish yourself hed never ever had heard of it at the first place. He was the perfect guy to make the famous elephant out of a mosquito. This was only his way, I learned afterwards, to deliberately drive us towards keeping him trouble free on a permanent basis.
We were his team of personal problem solvers .
Life is free of problems. And full of titties. And full of booze. His life anyway.
Only Anissa and Malvine did not participate in this point of view. Since this meant work. They both lied their way through all possible inconvenience they encountered. So they were never personally involved.
Anyway, this time issue was cleared by my new set schedule, service was improved, only Anissa and Malvine clearly did not want to be part of it. They did not say so, they just acted consequently and continued doing what they were always had been doing: pilfering company time to their personal benefit. And this would not be the last they ever stole from Matrix Systems Inc.
Now, I dont make a fuss about coming in late, nor gaining some office minutes. But those two deliberately took each morning and each evening more than half an hour, so together more than one hour working time a day. Thats more than five hours each week.
This still is a lot to me. What bothered me most was the way they did this. They did it absolute in the open, as if they wanted to make a statement : See what we can do! You cannot stop us, because we both swallow! Is there something wrong anyway? Is there something you want to tell to us? They were both more than provocative. Thats for sure. They had a huge amount of pleasure in showing us how they both couldnt care less about the official opening hours of Matrix Systems Inc and my little new scheme to improve this element of service towards our clients. They just laughed at us.
Malvine was the queen of late coming in the morning. The days she came in after ten oclock were more common than exceptional.
Now I want to clear one thing, once more : I am not the kind of guy who starts wining about some time differences in working hours. I have a extreme flexible mind and ditto attitude. But is was soo unfair towards the others in the office. It was office behaviour I could not bear, it was very selfish and bad.
Tessy, the poor child, had seen all of this coming on her first days of employment and surprisingly volunteered to step into the scheme. This was of course quite redundant, since she had to deal shortly with her own warehouse staff and had to orchestrate her own attendance schedule at due time, somewhere in the very near future. It had no use to count her in, as in a few weeks she had to be left out again. But it proved her basic attitude of the intentional truthful team spirit and willing open mind to participate in any kind of dilemma to be solved.
chapter fifteen the office manager
chapter fifteen
The weeks of the introduction of Anissa into the secrets of our account department, it became evident for all of us that she was leaving Customer care behind with no feelings of regret whatsoever. At the contrary. She had not for once participated in the new office hours arrangement, she visibly turned against those and made clear that this was no longer her cup of tea. Ok, so what? Only the fact that she drag Malvine along in her daily little theft programme, messing up our format, did not seem to bother her one single bit.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I think Anissa had known all the time that Customer care never had been her preferred activity. I recall a scene from those days where Anissa had to hand over a part of her customers to Veronique. She handed over a map filled with documents.
What are those?, Veronique politely requested?
-This is the whole file from our Italian Customer Tia Tipolinni, a very complicated customer, Anissa added, a bit strange.
Veronique looked into the file and found but faxes, sent from Tia Tipollinni to Matrix Systems. Veronique started to look into them, one by one and got more flabbergasted by each page she turned aside.
But these are all complaints!, Veronique tried to utter her disbelief in what she just encountered and received from Anissa.
Anissa looked up and barked : I told you it was a complicated customer
He is never satisfied and has always remarks on his shipments
, she added and thus completed her first belling towards Veronique.
And where are the answers?, Veronique asked?
What answers?, Anissa replied, clearly not willing to go any further in this throbbing conversation.
You are not telling me that you never wrote any answer back, do you?, Veronique uttered quite beyond belief of what occurred .
There are faxes in the file that are more than six months old!, Veronique tried to poke Anissas guilt feel.
They must have been from my predecessor then
,Anissa answered, thinking she had found a way out of this mess. I am only just half a year with Matrix Systems
, now leave me alone, will you
this is your client now, not mine!, she started to snarl again.
But
., But
, Veronique stumbled against such grotesque performance of Anissa, most of the faxes are more recent than that, they date from only a few months ago; I even found one from yesterday!, Veronique tried to hold on.
I did not know what to tell them
, they are soo thorny
, oooh, I hate them, Anissa concluded her defence.
If I would not get any answer on my faxes for over six months, I would be pissed too!, Veronique said in vain, because Anissa clearly was not listening any more and had gone up to join the account department for further introduction. She could not care less.
Only later it became very clear for us, Veronique and myself, that Anissa had not been able to answer those faxes at all, because of her significant related lack of knowledge of the English language. Now our Italian customer Tia Tipollini wasnt much of an English student neither, because their faxes were filled with common mistakes, but nevertheless, Anissa did not dare to answer them as she never had any training, nor guidance in answering complaints, nor in mastering the English language for such purposes. And she obviously surely never did ask Maria about this, when she had the opportunity or when she still was in the office, since it would immediately demonstrated her total inability to function at Customer Care at the first place. Talking and writing English is still quite different. Anissa knew this.
I think she was even relieved to be able to pass on to the account department. In any normal company you would have been sacked for such a heap of apparent failure and mistakes as a result of lack of proper education. Not at matrix Systems. Here they get you promoted.This, at least, was how Anissa saw the changes ahead of her.
It took Veronique more than a year of extremely hard work and very intense care to regain trust and re-establish a normal customer relationship with Tia Tipollini. But she did it!
Bravo Veronique!
What were those complaints all about, you may wonder, as this is your excellent right as a critical and significant reader, because I, as a writer with full liberty and vivid imagination, I can write and exaggerate here as much as I want, which I definitely do not, ask the persons involved. Tia Tipollini wrote faxes to us about wrong shipments, about missing goods, about late shipments, about deficient pickings and terrible packing, about defect systems, about defective systems, about anything really,
Tia Tipollini was apparently a very good and for all regular customer of Matrix Systems, which needed all the consideration and exhaustive service we ever would be able to provide to keep things even only as much as going on
regarding their present state of highly irritation about the non customer care Anissa had been providing out of sheer ignorance and professional failure.
But slowly and efficiently and with much dedication and professional courtesy, Veronique used all her female advantages to restore their believe and faith and trust in Matrix Systems. Believe me or not but Tia Tipollini was not the sole case or victim of customer neglect we received as a bitter and poisoned gift from Anissa as she moved to the account department.
You know that mr Dujournot till was looking for our new engineer. Our technical supportive unit. Stinky, smoky boy Rick Vijvers had finally left and left quite nothing to be filled or replaced
.there were no massive phone calls from desperate customers asking for technical support or unsolved issues
.as mr Dujournot assumed there were.
Now before mr Dujournot found the real replacement for this practical non-job, he had discovered another one, also a fully qualified engineer, mr Robert. He was such a short moment in time in our office that I even do not recall his full name. He was as hollow as the invisible man. He had no bones, he had no structure. When he was in the office, you never knew he was in. You could not see nor hear him. He did not smoke, otherwise you might have spotted his smoke. He was as taciturn and completely silent as a mute person can be. He was not a so called added-value. He was pretty pretentious though. Pretentious? Who? Moi?... The minute he learned that mr Dujournot was going to look for a real office manager, he had assumed he would be the excellent candidate and the minute he learned that mr Dujournot did not agree on that one, for obvious reasons, he quit.
Besides, an office manager is not a technical support manager. And when mr Dujournot was again to replace the one vacancy by the other, he had to start all over again which was absolutely out of the question, seen the past complications he encountered in selecting and hiring the right man on the right job.
So mr Robert has no real leading role in this play, right here. His hard-to-find successor however will play a crucial part in this story. But he had not been found yet by mr Dujournot. It would take some time.
Engineers often are very up nosy people. They usually have a huge self-confidence. I guess this is because they master a small technical part of our universe and think they are therefore some kind of special.
Mostly engineers acquire an extreme amount of knowledge about a very specific detailed and complex element of our society; That makes them specialists. It, of course creates of feeling of superiority towards the rest of mankind. But at the same time, engineers mostly lack other basic human qualities since they have been neglecting systematically everything but their own studies to become an engineer. Mr Dujournot was an engineer as well. I could have guessed !!!!. He displayed always an overall superior attitude. Maybe the sole exception could be when he is alone with Anissa in the punish room, and they both are dressed up all in black shiny leather, with a black tight cape over his head, two holes to give him sight and a zipper over his mouth to let him shut up? Anissa standing firm, with both her legs widely spread open, leaving a hole in the middle of her leather pants quite open as well, and a full leather whip in her hand, punishing him for letting her sit in doggy style more than she ever wanted
this could indeed be the sole case where he acts inferior.
They say that small man have a huge urge to perform and to demonstrate themselves, look at the various actors and other celebrities, like Prince, and Tom Cruise for instance
I think there is plenty of truth in these observations.
I told you Matrix Systems was a real challenge! The challenge grew on us each minute we survived over there.
Now I understand as well that you are starting to wonder about the gross and quite unbelievable attitude Anissa displayed those days towards her fellow office co-workers. I could not help it but just register this at the same time. It was something I had never seen in my entire life. Nowhere. It was, at one hand, quite fascinating, I must admit, because of the exclusiveness of this process we all lived through, but the pain and trouble we endured because of her Machiavellian and mostly vulgar and totally bad-mannered attitude was not worth it. I, at first, would not believe what I heard and saw neither. Anissa acted, reacted, demonstrated herself as if she was the dictators wife, playing the leading role in a bad US B movie, with dilapidated actors who once worked in the porno industry and now finally thought and really believed they had made a fantastic breakthrough on the white screen.
At the beginning I really thought Anissa was pulling off an act. You cant be that horrified in action and words, can you now???! It is always as one says : you have to see it with your own eyes before you believe it.
Now, I still have some years to cover up here, so with the amount of gathered proof and anecdotes and real stories and gruesome rudiments, I will be painting the total portrait of a monstrous woman called Anissa and her role in this stomach-churning play we all call life.
As it takes its time to cover up all yarn to be told, I have forced myself to speed up the creation of the lines of content and to make sure that every single detail will be displayed on these pages as they occurred during the last six years of my life at Matrix Systems. As a hallowed token of horrifying truth, according to the principles of a tremendously well told fairy tale, uttered word for word by grandpa, sitting beside the bed, whilst you are listening from underneath your freshly ironed silk blanquettes your mom just had replaced, bathing in the smell of French lavender fields.
Those early days indeed were days of intense sensations. Lots of people coming and going. Leaving and staying. Dreaming and working, cursing and flattering.
Some of the people were of no importance whatsoever for the story I am to reveal here. They just came into the picture of Matrix Systems Inc as quickly as they went out.
Our new office manager was a small guy. Fat and small.
Now I can hear my opponents think that I am digging my own grave by exaggerating or putting some elements out of its real proportion. For one thing I know for sure is that you never ever can nor may underestimate your reader. This kills you. Of course they can perfectly tell where some consideration or reservation has to be made towards the value of the accuracy. But they will be able to get the overall picture and they will be able to see, feel and believe the horrendous story here in construction.
And to be really honest with you guys, I have not exaggerated one single bit in everything I have been writing to you. That is what makes it to incredible, does it not? And I have only just begun! Poor me! I even forgot to tell you that Anissa's black leather pants had a second hole at the location of her hairy arse. But I am so polite I leave those details out. Because they are not quite relevant, are they?
Now, I am not a looser! I know that society does not like losers. It reacts like actorJim Carey, shouting with all of his mouth in action, showing his horse white teeth to the utmost : loooooooséééééérrrrr!
I am just telling you the elements that have brought me down, before my resurrection made me triumph. This, of course is reserved till the end of this book. I will slowly lead you towards the final outcome, the apocalypse, the grand finale, where I shall be victorious as I have never been victorious in whole of my life. I will let you taste from the bitter sensations I had to endure during those past six years, but I will not leave you behind without the final action, the finishing touch of it all. It all has just begun.
His name was Marcel Van Deuren. He was not a real office manager. He had studied IT. He was a computer geek. A PC nerd. That is how he looked. And that is how he behaved. But he was a nice guy. Not from the beginning.
So he had the looks not speaking for himself. Obviously mr Dujournot had not been able to locate a female to do the job.
Mr Van Deuren was ambitious. He had made a small career in his previous job from IT support to department manager. Now he would run our office. And its people inside. That is what he thought. That is how mr Dujournot had presented him the job. Only emphasizing the benefits. The nice things, the pleasant stuff.
Company car, cell phone, portable laptop/pc, that was about it, besides a special bonus system for the managerial selective species, delivering a multiple of what we got if the odds and the Gods were favourable towards us at the years end.
But mr Dujournot definitely did not talk about the big move we were all facing in the near future. Nor did he tell mr Van Deuren his share of responsibility in this action-to-come; which was nothing less than 200 %, he did not want to frighten him from the start.
So mr Van Deuren, who really believed he had hit the jackpot, he had moved up towards the club of the select executive leaders of our planet, even if his domain was basically restricted to the surface of some square meters where only a handful people were trying to work together, mostly not even in harmony.
You know that, as from a certain level, the executives, the fine rulers of mankind, start to use a different kind of managerial idiom. They just use other very specific words for the same things as we do, but to separate themselves distinctively from the plebs.
Mr Van Deuren tried to do the same. His first sentence, I ever heard being pronounced from this guy, speaking to mr Dujournot, even before he was introduced to the rest of the office, was : Are those year to - date or are those a fiscal year related figures?
Now, of course, every level has its own difficulty and problematic issues to handle but this does not mean you openly show off with your inside knowledge as to prove yourself towards your superior. This is exactly what small mr Van Deuren did. He wanted to show off. He wanted to demonstrate that he had already a decent professional history on this kind of white-collar level. So he openly talked to us as if he was to analyze, rectify and modify all our sales and figures as he spoke. We had not a clue what he was trying to say to us, in fact he did not want to tell us anything. He just wanted to blow his own trumpet.
Only he lacked one elementary thing : natural leadership.
When you saw this small fat IT brain, you could not but feel sorry for him. When we later on learned that he had married a Philippine woman, the last shred of feasible respect was vanished even before it was build up. He was one of those pathetic looser types who, because of lacking the nerve or drift to hit on a home town woman, partly due to his phenomenal nerdy appearance, went to the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Philippines to buy some poor girls love and affection with western wealth and material comfort. I never had met such persons, I only had seen them on television where a special human interest programme, always reporting about the loosing kind of elements (thieves, homeless people, drunks, violent people, in our society ) , had shown us all how those things worked. It was a sad story.
And now we had someone like those lowlife nitwits in our own company. Fine! Nice! And this person would show us how to handle things! He could not even handle his own wife! You could see by the way he answered the phone, that he was afraid of her. He honeyponned her like no one ever had done before!
Yes, honeyponne, no honypponne, I wont honeyponne
sure, honeyponne
Our office at MIXOs was not really big. Every possible inch was taken by furniture.
We had thought that mr Van Deuren would have just taken the place and space of Maria, since her desk was left untouched as from they minute she had left the building.
He immediately started to order a much larger office desk, about the largest I ever had seen, yes, even bigger then the one of mr Dujournot, and some high, ceiling touching cupboard, as to create his own personal wall with. By doing so he deliberately took some important space form the office so we all had lesser room to move around in. But so what? We were going to move anyway. Exactly. Did he already know that? Why could he not wait till we were moved towards our new offices? It was quite obvious that mr Van Deuren cherished these little external tokens of power and status. A larger desk, sitting separately, hiding behind a closet, it was all part of a plan to make us believe he would actually be our superior. He only forgot that his undersized ugly overweighed body which was finished of by a blown-up head of a super geek, in fact told us the complete opposite.
So those first days of his inauguration and settlement into our offices, we all just observed. Till one day he called us all to come and sit in one row before his new elaborated desk. It was very funny, in fact, to see us all sit as little children all in one row at the other end of his bureau.
His opening words were so painful and shameful that it would hurt to repeat them here. We all could hardly suppress our laughter and even before he had said all, Anissa had already left the row and went back, hiding at her desk, calling mr Dujournot, who was not in, of course, to inform him about this silly game mr Van Deuren tried to play with us.
It seemed that mr Van Deuren never had learned that you have to earn respect; you cannot force it upon you, still that was exactly what he was trying to do. Even though mr Van Deuren probably was a very clever boy concerning IT and computer solutions, as from inter human relations and human recourses he had not eaten much cheese at all. This was, to round up a little, a very clear example of attempted power abuse. Especially Anissa was not exactly the kind of woman you could say to what you wanted. Mr Van Deuren got to know this piece of inside information quite quickly. Only few moments later, he got a call from mr Dujournot, whilst we were all but Anissa still sitting in front of him, trying to assemble our forced upon respect for him by the stories he had told us so far and which I am not going to repeat here as it all would become too embarrassing. His fat head got even fatter when he spoke with mr Dujournot at the phone. He silently whispered yes sir, no sir, yes, sir
I understand sir
and then he hung up. Good for him, and just in time, otherwise hed blown up, thats for sure. His head shredded in tiny pieces. His brain scattered all over the place, dripping form his new cupboard, whilst his greasy body trembled because of the missing head. His eyes rolling over his brand-new desk.
Euhh, well, that was mr Dujournot at the phone. He said, as if we did not know, nor understood.
Mr Dujournot does not think this little meeting is a good idea., he tried to explain.
You can all go back to your desks and continue your work then; he tried to conclude.
We will all have a meeting later
when mr Dujournot is back in the office.
His head had turned purple. He had breathing problems and took an puffer to keep him alive. Poor silly fat man. His first attempt to gain power and respect had turned into a gigantic fiasco. The only thing left for him to do was to hide behind his new cupboard. We didnt see nor heard him again that day, but for once. When he got a call form his wife :Yes, honeyponne, I wont forget honeyponne, see you later honeyponne
Matrix Systems Inc, Belgian division was in good hands now. Big, fat hands with sausage like fingers. Wiener Wuerstchen from the finest sort.
Mr Van Deuren was an overall pathetic figure, essentially, deliberately chosen by mr Dujournot for all the wrong reasons. Only, he was not aware of this. He only still had to find out. To his own shame and disadvantage.
How do I know? I have the advantage or diadavantage, for that matter, that I was there and that I saw this all happen before my eyes.
Often my eyes could not believe what they say and my ears could not believe what they heard at Matrix Systems Inc. So many irregularities in such a short amount of time. Any other sane person would have fled such place of discomfort, lies and personal preference decisions. It was clear that mr Dujournot did not make the choice of an office manager out of concern for Matrix Systems. His own well being was here at stake. His own facon the vivre/way of life needed to be secured by some unaware naïve power chasing dude to take over all responsibilities of our move-to-come.
MR Dujournot, who in fact had been really good friends with the manager of MIXO, had a terrible verbal fight over Anissa and because mr Dujounrot had lost his temper and had said some crucial things in the heat of the fight he could not take back because of his personal honour, we now all needed to move towards other locations, still to be selected. But this piece of information was wisely left out of the presentation of the job as office manager. Mr Dujournot would inform him whne the tyime would be appropriate. Had Tanja not been asking for a new office manager since Maria left? Mr Dujournot only forgot one thing: he had hired practically a whole new staff in his Belgian office and they possessed all a pretty individual and tough character , no need of any a parental guidance required. Tanja was leaving us anyway. So where is all the fuss? I partly had been selected for my job to elaborate the Eastern European market, together with Wolfgang Hanssen because I really wanted a job with free space to develop my already strong abilities of customer care even further, beyond a point of absolute professionalism. It was my mission and I had very strict and concrete plans to develop. I was not waiting for no office watchdog. Nobody was. Anissa neither. She used every vessel of her body to express this feeling of personal resentment. Not directly towards mr Van Deuren.
I was proven right by time. I know what happened to mr Van Deuren. Eventually. You do not. That is why I am now trying to present you with all detailed information so you all will understand what is about to come.
Poor silly mr Van Deuren. He was not a bad person. He just was a nerd who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. He had the bad luck to encounter the personal drift of regulating mr Dujournot.
You are all to be witness of the most cruel attack on ones integrity. I am therefore creating this piece of writings, a first draft. Of course there has not been any correction up till now, nor adaptation, nor adjustment to a better version. You all are reading here the bare edition, the naked essence of it all. I think I am sometimes repeating myself and therefore I ask you to forgive me. These repetitions will be corrected later on when all those writings are going to be prepared to be edited in a real book that is going to be published. I just consider it as an honour that You are amongst those first readers of my work. Right now, right here. So you have to endure the repetitions, the mistakes the grammatical uncertainties that will be straightened out later by a genuine English connoisseur.
Mr Van Deuren was a softy, who had an erroneous constrain towards shallow power. Power he never got. Not from mr Dujounrot, whos pleasure it was to humiliate mr Van Deuren on a regular basis, since he was to be held responsible for anything that could go wrong at the office.
In fact, it was quite easy at that time, we had a buffer, a lipid cushion now between ourselves and mr Dujournot. We did not allow mr Van Deuren to have any power neither. His first attempt had been beaten immediately by the phone call of Anissa even the moment mr Van Deuren was in his first move to acquaint some forced upon authority. After this single attempt which never was to be repeated, mr Van Deuren behaved as a severe beaten dog. He had turned into a weakened lamb, that had lost a lot of powerful blood, ready to be presented with chopped off head on the altar by mr Dujournot.
Mr Dujounrot had not hired mr Van Deuren because he (and with him his specialized knowledge) had been an improvement nor enrichment for Matrix Systems Inc. He had hired him as a play toy, a gimmick, a fat toy boy, a tool to get passed the period of disorder and chaos we all would be going through, due to our sudden move towards total independency.
The one thing mr Dujounrot hated the most, must have been disorder and chaos. He could not stand it. I think he was even a bit (much) autistic in these matters. The way his desk stayed clean, even in the middle of a working day, the way his car always looked as brand-new, his impeccable way of dressing and behaving, even if he was very inebriated after one of his traditional business lunches. He had some style, that you could not deny. The decisions he made were never in the advantage of Matrix Systems Inc. They had only one purpose : to serve his master, always and everywhere and to secure his way of conduct, his liberty of movement, his freedom of management. Every one who dared to come too near to his personal way of life and could endanger his strictly set and gained and fully protected personal managerial freedom, was to be slaughtered immediately. He did everything to ensure his present status. He did a hell of a job. He had a fabulous life, back then. Mr Van Deuren had to play along to guide this structure, not to break it. He had to play his part, or get the hell out of here. Mr Dujounrot did not leave any options open about such an important matter. Mr Van Deuren was clever enough to understand the situation, especially when he was finally told we were to move the office to unknown places. He decided to play along. He had no other choice.
We had already one dictatorial ruler above us, so no need for a second one. This uncontrollable yearning after power of mr Van Deuren was quickly resolved into tiny pieces and sent as a bombing package to nowhere land. One-way ticket.
Chapter 16 : presenting to you mr Gerard Moipatron
Chapter 16 : the new technical manager, our technician, our dearest engineer<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Excuse me! I had a mission to accomplish. In fact, I had not much time to get involved in all those personal chitchats between those who at times surrounded me in my work.
Of course it is quite comforting to realize that you have your troops who are willing to fight every battle for you whilst you lie on some Italian beach, having your back scratched by some exotic Sicilian bobo.
Now we had a major battle coming up and our technical support unit wasnt even replaced yet. All technical questions and issuers were directly forwarded to our American unit who took care of this service part with the utmost precision and speed, even if there was a timeline difference of about 10 hours between the two working places. We took care of this internal discrepancy with the best of our abilities. Nevertheless mr Dujournot was convinced that we should have our own European sized technical support unit. According to him we should not ever be dependable upon the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />united States and he thought of this as a very hard to bear but necessary temporary solution. He hated everything that ever could be connected to the USA. Sometimes I wondered why he had such obvious aversion against those who had put him up this comfortable luxurious position of general manager in the first place. Anyway, he considered Matrix Systems USA as our enemy and we could not do else but silently let him believe it was true.
Gerard Moipatron was French. The same nationality as mr Dujournot.
He came from the failed competition. Bankruptcy, or something like that. Not quite promising. Matrix Systems had worked together with them in the early days, but only for France. Gerard Moipatron was a small guy. Again not a woman. Those were hard days for mr Dujournot. I guess the minute mr Dujournot wanted some brainy quality in his employees, he immediately ruled out womanhood, the sexist. I dont think he matches those two up. Knowledge and being a woman. But he estimates the other womanhood qualities to the utmost. Boobies scored very high. The bigger they were, the more credibility he awarded you with. Upstanding nipples were cause for a raise in pay. A nice slim lined figure stood also high in his ranking. A pretty face was the ultimate selection criteria and the compliance to go along with his in-depth flirting made him finally decide to take you on board or not. So the woman working next to me knew all something about the art of seduction. That I can tell you. Wolgang Hanssen knew this as well. When he was in the office, once every three months, he gladly joined in. Why should he not? He is still a healthy man, is he not? Can you deny a man such fragile and breathtaking pleasures at work? Not mr Dujournot. But he thus did not find a female engineer to take care of our European technical department. It was a department, even if it only consisted out of one person. Mr Dujournot clearly played it big. Big to the outside. That made his personal prominence rise and shine. It radiated as the finest enriched plutonium and was inflated by each new employee who was added to the new team. Because you cannot any longer speak of the old team. Practically every one was replaced in a few weeks time. Really odd, is it not? I did not ask myself many questions, back then, I just observed. Now I know why I did this. So now I can note everything down to make it part of the chronicle I am telling you folks.
The many changes in personnel proved one thing to me : mr Dujournot had all power and confidence from the USA and trust to do so. He had a Blanco cheque. He was the ultimate dictator. No one would ever stop him. Not even the USA. They must have had questions as well when they heard that all staff had been replaced. I do not believe it is part of an sales nor marketing education that says you have to replace all of your staff at once on a regular basis to improve your business. There had to be some hidden reason, to us totally unknown, why these replacements were made. The only person left who knew some scummy details about mr Dujouirnot, about his whereabouts, about his private life and about his history at the company, was Tanja. But now she was gone too.
We knew nothing about him. We had heard a few stories that Tanja told us, but they were never ever confirmed by the master himself. Only the way he conducted, we could indeed conclude that the truth in what had been proclaimed was pretty to the point. It was not a very happy truth. Some of the stories you have already heard.
In the total picture, it would confirm the way he acted on his daily scene and nothing had been denied up till today.
Lets go back to mr Gerard Moipatron. A small French fellow with restricted English knowledge.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN / A SMELLY FART IN A BOTTLE
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN A SMELLY FART IN A BOTTLE
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Gerard Moipatron. A name to remember. Even if his English knowledge was to be described as rather reduced. Nevertheless
We had to screen him on his knowledge of English. Orders from mr Dujournot. Gerard did not seem a dumb person. Not at first sight anyway. Again, he was small. Just like mr Dujournot and mr Van Deuren; I was surrounded by three dwarfs.
Gerard was not slim either. but note so chubby as mr Van Deuren. His English was poor indeed. But he seemed willing to learn. He was still young, in his early thirties, I guess.
He was even eager to move with all of his family from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />France to Belgium. Again, mr Dujournot must have been selling this job as an opportunity you could not refuse with appropriate remuneration he only could dream of when he would stay in France.
Even if his knowledge of English was meagre at the time being, we had little choice but to accept Gerard to the team. he spoke English, at least, he tried and what he said was understandable. A Frenchman who speaks English is about one of worlds leading comic situations, utilized in many movies and funny series like allo,allo as a guarantee for laughter. Gerard was no exception to this. So why would we be opposed to his accepting such a golden opportunity? We did not. We accepted him as our new colleague. Our technical unit was operating again. we, Veronique, Tessy and myself were even committed on helping him enriching his English knowledge, so he would be reaching an acceptable level in a matter of months to come.
Life is nothing more than a fart in a bottle. When you open it, it smells and it is gone in just a few seconds.
What is the bloody point of it all anyway? Can anyone explain this to me? I have tried to understand behaviour of man. I have observed. I have seen incredible things. I could not understand.
Do you know what is going to happen after death? I do not. If I knew I would tell you. Do you realize that, when your body gives up its functioning, you want be able to hear the sea anymore? You will not be able to see the seagulls floating in the wind behind the decks of a cruise liner. You will not be able to touch the soft skin of the one you cherish with all of your heart that has stopped beating. .. You wont be able to smell the fresh cut grass anymore, nor the cow shit on the fields each spring. When your dead everything around you will be black. Lights out. Only, you will not be aware of it. Since your brain cells stopped functioning. My mom got very sick a few weeks ago. She was already pretty sick with the disease of Parkinson in combination with the disease of, whats it called, Alzheimer. She got heavy prescript medication. She was partly intoxicated by her pills. .. She took about seventeen of them each morning, noon and evening. New years day she hardly noticed her children and grandchildren around her. She barely could speak. She saw as white as a fresh ironed bed sheet. She could not stand up any longer. She could not walk. She just sat there and let the world go by. Her blood values were extremely deteriorated by the amount and combination of pills she needed to take from the doctor. The medicine was fine, individually. In combination with each other they were lethal. That is why she got a stroke. A huge protuberance of blood had blocked her lunges and she was to suffocate. THANK God (even if I do not believe in this guy) she was already taken into the hospital. The doctor at charge saw immediately the problem and gave her the only solution left ; a huge insertion of a special blood lump resolving liquid that could cause other deficiencies such as brain damage but there was no choice left. It was this or die. It took ages, because the fluid went in by a baxter. Her kidneys had already stopped functioning. Both of them. She turned yellow. The kind of colour one gets just before you die. I had seen this colour before. On patients with terminal cancer.
Her blood pressure was down, way down, seven over five. And it went down even further. Then it stopped. They took her to intensive care. Her eyes were both wide open and gazed in all directions. She did not respond to our calls. Her hands were both wet and cold. She did not move them. She did not pinch back.
Then all of a sudden, slowly her blood values went up again. The liquid was doing his job. The blood bulge was scattered in tiny pieces. Her blood circulated again. Gradually she started to breath normally again. She received new and fresh air into her suffocating lungs. She made it.
She spent one more week at intensive care till all her bodily functions were at an acceptable level again. Her kidneys started to work again. From their own. The doctors cut heavily on the drugs. Now she needs to take only a handful each morning, noon and evening. Not seventeen anymore. The doses were reduced as well. Now she recognizes her children again. She starts to talk again. She smiles again, she even laughs again. She does not know what actually happened in the hospital. She knows nothing from those moments of transcendence. She almost stepped out of this life into the next. This moment is not existing for her. The Catholics would say that she had been standing before the big gate of heaven. But Saint Peter had to send her back . It wasnt her time yet. He could not let her in. First of all she was not even noted in the holy book of free entrance. God was not ready to receive her.
I am no Catholic, nor Christian. Nice, when you can believe such childish stories. It may comfort you. The whole rescue of my mother proved to me that death is pretty final. Doctors cannot be God, even if they try so. They even had almost murdered my mother with this lethal combination of tablets. Her body and brain is save now for some weeks, may be months to come. May be she lives another year. Her blood needs to be kept pretty thin. To avoid further lumps.
chapter eightteen : the afterlife of mr Gerard Moipatron
My mother did not see a fancy white light that drew her attention and made her choose for the afterlife. There is no hereafter. My mom did not find it. She did not see it. She missed the entrance.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
When you are dead, you cannot miss your loved ones. You do not even know you had some. You can no longer be afraid, nor be happy. You cannot fuck a Muslim virgin, because they are not over there. They are not awaiting over there to comfort all those silly bastards who had blown up themselves and were expecting about seventy of them to play with. Be honest with yourself : where would they all come from? Where the virgins all alive once? Where did they live then? In Virgin town? You cant even feel aroused. Your Willy will not get up because you do not have a Willy any longer. But do not worry, there is nothing left that would remind you of this lack of material. You leave everything behind here on earth. To be burned up. Or put under the ground. Or when youre blown up, to be eaten away by the starving wild dogs and rats and cats. You are not telling me that, once you have crossed the line, you are regaining your earthly body so you can start fucking like animals again? If your intention is to master seventy virgins, your fucking behaviour is quite similar to that of a horny animal. It is known about a lion that he can fuck about 50 times a day. Of course, his play only takes only some minutes each time. The same attitude is to be mastered if you want to please your seventy virgins on a regular basis.
You do not believe all this, do you? Come on, be serious. I could go along if you would tell me that there is a deeper meaning behind this all. But, from what I hear and see on an almost daily basis on TV, those suicide bombers really are ready for the big transcendental fucking game. How stupid can you be? This has nothing to do anymore with religion, nor with Mohammed, nor with Allah. It has all to do with earthly powers of those in charge. And preserving them. By sending others into death. Catholics are excellent fairy tales tellers, but Muslims are not bad either. They, for all, have a horny imagination, where as for Catholics all sex is bad, wrong and to be avoided, except if you do it in the dark, under the sheets, or with innocent children, then it is all right.
My mother tries now, in the hours, days and maybe months left to her, to enjoy our presence as much as she can. Of course, she is confused. Often she changes and mixes up our names. But you can see and feel her motherly love towards us. That she could not do when she was over there. In the next world she lacked all tools to be anyone. To do anything. To feel anything. She had no pain. She was just nothing over there. There was nothing she had taken from the worldly life she just had left. Good for her, because her body was quite dysfunctional at the moment. She had been dead for some time. But now she is back. A miracle.
So if any one now please can inform me why we are all behaving as real jerks down here? Is it really worth it? Do we need to do so? I guess so. We are all born with quite some deficiencies in our functioning.
We all have needs we do not need. We all have desires we do not want.
Some of us have many, others few. But we do have them. We are stuck with them. We have to deal with them. Only when we are able to handle our deficiency we will be able to attain happiness. This should be our goal of living. Right here, right now. In this life we lead now; Not waiting for some virgin to comfort you when your are blown up in tiny pieces. When your brain is scattered all over the place. No one will ever put you together again. No one has ever come back to tell us about the great time he had afterwards with his seventy virgins. In what condition, may I ask?
There is nothing left to tell us. Once you have died, you are dead my friend. Vanished. Gone for good. No memories, no recollections, no spirit to float around. And when you are so desperate that you have to blow up your lively ingeniously functioning body, there isnt much left of whom you once were.
Catholicism always has been nothing else but a brutal technique to obtain and behold power. It has manipulated people, abused them, suppressed them, murdered them to keep all powers centred to the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Vatican and its clownish representatives, mostly dressed up with long dark brown dresses to hide little boys underneath who were sucking up their genitals for the sake of God himself. Let all the children come to me, Jesus did say, once on his mission to make some essential changes.
Mr Moipatron was small and almost pathetically in search of power as well. But not so in those early days. He did not say much In the beginning. Partly because his English was still under construction. He had a shy first impression. First impressions often are the right ones but they also can deceive you. He spoke French with mr Dujournot, which was quite obvious since they were both fellow countryman and he spoke French with Veronique. Veronique mastered the language of Moliere as if it was her own. She flirted in every language. She had taken over France from Anissa and thus committed herself to speak only French with Gerard Moipatron. I spoke English with him. I had the intention to educate him towards a higher level of the English idiom. He needed this, since he had to establish contacts with our American colleagues and with the other non-French customers with technical inconveniences to be straightened out or solved. That was going to be his job. In a way it would relief our job at customer care, since now we were doing it all by ourselves in connection with the USA. But is was a part of superfluous workload to us at the moment we could all miss like bleeding toothaches. We were glad Gerard Moipatron took over.
Welcome Gerard Moipatron.
Gerard Moipatron had a pre-life, a midlife and an afterlife at Matrix Systems. He had it all well planned. I have seen all three stages develop. The nicest he was in his pre-life. Still searching for his values, his capacities, his energy, his adaptation to Matrix Systems and the whole new crew, actually. He was sitting behind me, at the desk of former boat player and predecessor Guy Vijvers. Gerard was not the kind of person who would immediately start to change everything. He just took the desk as it was situated. He did not move anything as our new office manager was trying to enhance the weight of his position by creating some separate space within the open office. The overweight of his body was clearly not enough to impress us all. The manner mr Van Deuren estimated himself in the whole picture of Matrix and his job fulfilment was way higher than all of us did together. Mr Dujournot must have prepared him mentally to be able to take over on any occasion, not telling him he would be the joker in the play. Initially, due to the pep talk of mr Dujournot, Mr Van Deuren saw it big. Not only his bodily lipid surroundings with the highest bad cholesterol rates, but also the values he stood for in our office. We did not know what he was standing for really, it sure wasnt a lot.
After his first meeting debacle, his self esteem had shrunk to normal proportions. His body stayed the same. To me he wasn't much more than some waste of moved air. I could do without him.
So could Gerard Moipatron. But we did not know this, back then. Gerard did not show his cards.
The first contact between my mate in combat mr Wolfang Hanssen and Gerard Moipatron was not what you could call from the heart.
Gerard started to work immediately. Even if his English was still under construction, he was not afraid to pick up the phone and deal with the problems, even if it took him a lot of sweat and tears to get through his first full English sentences, saying more than yes sir, no sir, I understand,sir
Gerard Moipatron was a man of planning. Long-term. He was one of the few people in knew who actually could think ahead for more than a week. I have a too long forward vision. I look till my death.
chapter nineteen : mr smithers
Chapter nineteen : mr Burns and mr Smithers <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
He saw as white as my mom when she stood before the gate of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />St peters.
Whats wrong?, I dared to ask.
Gerard still had the horn of his phone in his left hand. He was paralyzed and gazed in the wide-open space before him. Even if there was no wide-open space, he sure saw one, his eyes told him so.
It was Wolfgang on the phone, Wolfgang Hanssen., he stumbled.
So?, I tried to keep him going
What did he say?, I urged.
He just told me that my answer could have been given by a four year old child. His four year old son could have done better than me, he said..;, Gerard concluded. It was obvious that Gerard wasnt used to receive any form of criticism. He sure did not know how to deal with it.
Now I must admit that this answer of Wolfgang wasnt very friendly towards a new colleague. He could have told him other things. He could have encouraged him instead of attacking him on his first technical inquiry. Maybe Wolfgang had seen some competition in the position of Gerard. I think it was a kind of test to see how strong Gerard really was in his engineering technical abilities. Wolfgang was a salesman. He was capable of defending and even promoting himself to anyone. But he had no large technical background, nor inside product knowledge. So he had expected from Gerard a profound technical supportive answer. Which he did not get, that first time. That is why he reacted that way. He was disappointed. And when Germans are disappointed they let you know immediately. They tell you at once. So you can share their grief of feeling upset and thwarted.
As much as mr Dujournot physically resembled to mr Burns, a character out of the popular world-known TV show the simpsons, the same identical and thus scary physical similarities one could detect between Gerard Moipatron and mr Smithers. Gerard was still young, in his early thirties. He wore glasses and had little overweight. He was as shy and subordinate as Smithers acted towards mr Burns.
They both had other motivations to do so. In the beginning I thought it was just a nice part of his character as I generally feel more comfortable with people who are not that self-indulgent. I am pretty shy as well, remember. Always have been. Till now, till today.
The word shy is at least one word out of many, Anissa never ever had heard of. In her character, the component of shyness had been completely replaced by the word hatred. When you hated things in life as intensely as Anissa did, and said all the time, other essentials out of her character had to be erased to provide enough hatred space. I think Gerard had about ten times more brain power than Anissa. Where Anissa had the brain of a shrunken dried pee, Gerard clearly possessed a perfectly trained intellect, which was once measured to be a powerful hundred and thirty nine. The only thing Anissas microscopic brain ever had been trained in , was deception and erotic seduction. But since that last quality is clearly part of the raw instinctive dimension, her nitwit brain capacity could focus fully on her major master plan to betray Matrix Systems on all levels possible. Mr Dujournot she had already convinced and in her pocket; do not tempt me to ask me how she did this. I guess you all know by now. As a new, sole player in the account department, Anissa did get hold of more elaborate and intense potential to abuse and exploit her newly acquainted powers for her own benefit only. That is the person Anissa was. There was no room left in her mind for other nicer qualities. Part of her strategy she shared with Malvine. So she could use her too.
Gerard was, because of his higher intellect, not quite an open book to read. His intentions were a well-kept secret to all of us. I did not bother about his intentions. As long as the work was done, I did not give a damn. Gerard took car of his part of the job. He handled all technical aspects of our sales in Europe. He hated it when people called him technical support. He did not see himself as a technician. He had the proud attitude of an engineer. I am repeating myself.
chapter twenty : the power of denial
Chapter twenty (keep them short and clear) the power of systematic denial
Yesterday I saw a movie about a couple who had murdered their own child. I aw how difficult it turned out to be for the prosecutor, who had severe suspicion about the parents who committed the crime, to prove his conclusion. Of course both parents systematically denied every involvement in the crime scene and action.
The same here. The scary element that you get as a little bonus on top of the disbelief you get, is the fact that the one who accuses, is mostly turned into a pathetic looser with vivid imagination or at least instable mental deficiencies because he sees things that are not there. Till, at last, finally one clear element hops out of the blue and wakes up one or two neutral outsiders who can confirm the findings and bring the truth at the surface to be recognized by those who initially disbelieved. I do hope this will occur also in my case. In do not intend to go down as a mentally deranged person with an unstable emotional attitude. My story is therefore still in its originating findings, with a whole lot more to be revealed. At one point those who have been reading carefully along, will be lead to the only just and appropriate finale. The conclusion of justice.
My mom always said that I had a too bigger feeling for justice and integrity. My sense of fairness had been over developed, in her eyes.
But? Indeed, if you consequently deny all accusations on something you might have done wrong, it is practically impossible to prove otherwise. I did not have any cameras installed in the office to register the unacceptable way Anissa tended to behave. I had not installed any recorders to tape the malicious words she spoke, nor to register the devious ways mr Dujournot often surprised us with. Even witnesses are hard to follow, difficult to believe and mostly every one crawls back in their own corner of self-defence, to protect what has become theirs. Statements of witnesses often are not accepted as valid because one suspects other motivations behind the things that are being said.
So where do I stand? In the middle of providing you all with a registration, a duplication, an impression of what has occurred in those offices between all those involved. I am not an investigator. I was a victim. My only power lies in the art of telling the story to you. To as many people possible, hoping some of you will have the decency to chose my side. Because it is the only correct side to choose for. Because it is only just that this kind of behaviour is stopped for good. Because it is only just that such kind of attitude is no longer accepted in our society. Because it is only just that crime is being punished. Even if it takes me ages to accomplish the impossible.
This universe, with all its elements, its novas, its intergalactic solar systems, is heading full speed in one direction. That is a fact. Scientists say that the universe is endless. That it is infinite. That it has no borders. That it is eternal. How on earth do they know? Why do they say something like that? Did they explore the boundaries of our universe on a spaceship? Of course not. May be they say this to comfort us. So, What if they are wrong?
Suppose their is a gigantic wall ahead of us. And we will crush against this wall in about a thousand years from now to come. Or in about a hundred years from now. The end of the universe. Even if there is no wall…should we all, here on earth, not be and act more modestly? Towards each other, towards everything that surrounds us? Should we not redefine our place in the whole picture? Should we not stop deceiving each other? Should we not end all lies? Should we not honour the truth as ultimate goal to live by?
I guess there are more people out there who are actually fully integrated in a fake set up life, filled with scam, lies and cheat, promoting own personal wellbeing on the back of others, as those others are weak characters. They deserve to be mislead, to be used and abused, to be sacrificed for the purpose of own gain and profit. Anissa had a fake life. Mr Dujournot had a fake life. Mr Moipatron was building up a fake life. At Matrix Systems INC I was not only surrounded with a bunch of dwarfs, I was enclosed by ruthless individuals with only one goal ahead : the ultimate private enrichment of their own well being at any cost possible. The truth had only one right of existence as it would contribute to their sickening strategy of pure hedonism. In all other cases the truth would be smothered to a crushed leftover and sole utility of the weak. In a major fraud, the truth has no significance. It is reduced to microscopical proportions. All is done and maintained to keep the scam going. Lies are transformed into truth. Deceiving actions are set up as reality surroundings to create an environment where the swindle can flourish and personal gain can be harvested.
Because real internal control and check up from our mother company in the USA was as seldom as the existence of the ultimate wall of the universe would ever be, and the trust in the functioning of mr Dujournot was as always heavily supported by his direct supervisors, honesty and overall integrity had no assessment whatsoever in the offices of Matrix Systems Inc. in Belgium. It was a handicap. It was my handicap.
Mr Dujournot always was very itchy when the “honesty” issue erupted in a discussion. He always took great care that his status as a general manager never would be intoxicated by the virus of dishonesty. As fake as his life really was, the same false make believe settings he tried to create around him and his whereabouts. He thought, that with methodically abstaining all individual talks and withholding all possible private information, he could maintain his integrity towards those who were in daily combat to keep this office going.
He underestimated the power of gossip. This will become absolutely clear to you all when the actual fundamentals expand into their advanced perspective. Now our queen of gossip had left Matrix Systems Inc. Tanja had gone. But we were not aware of the fact that the queen of gossip had been replaced by the king of hearsay. Mr Moipatron would demonstrate and reveal himself in the years to come as king of idle talk and word of mouth. By this means and his blabbering efforts we all at the office kept informed about the magical and wondrous world mr Dujournot tend to live in.
The one major mistake mr Dujournot made, amongst others, was his obvious contempt towards all inferior employees. He underestimated us. As all dictators do. See Saddam Hussein, he even now is still shouting and performing without regret, filled with hatred and despise against those who captured him. He cannot see for himself that he is in no position any longer to keep up such attitude. The long and lonely position at the top of Matrix Systems Inc had made of mr Dujournot a similar sole ruler, losing all sense of sagacity, since there was no one on his level to contradict him, nor to tell him he was wrong on certain issues. Because he thought of his employees as lowlife workers to keep the joint going, he surely did not discuss any managerial matters with us. They were all talked about behind closed doors in his airco office. Even then, he just did what he himself thought to be the best for his own sake. Europe was his playground and no American ever intruded. The ones who tried were the happy few who got to know mr Dujournot slightly differently during one of his world famous phone calls. Who would be available to say the opposite to him anyway? Our new office manager? What a joke! You know what he was hired for! And he did not even know this up till now. He was still to be informed. All at its appropriate time. There is a timing for everything.
chapter twenty one finally first circomstantial evidence
Chapter twenty one : circumstantial evidence
As time went by and we all started to get settled into our jobs, after tasting from each others deficiencies and shortcomings, after installing adapting and ignoring strategies to warrant sole functioning in this group of strong individuals, it became clear that mr Van Deuren was the one to pity. As a newbie, a motivated team leader, he wanted to make something out of his challenge as an office manager. Not only did he not have a team to master or guide but a bunch of individual players who had other concerns than to please the company, he did not have a direct chief around him either, to whom he could introduce his master plan or his changes he was going to implement to make things work for the better. Mr Dujournot systematically turned every single proposal mr Van Deuren came up with, down. Of course he got frustrated as hell. Day by day he got more and more tentative and faltering about his mission at Matrix Systems. The more proposals got turned down, the more he found him self desperate and disillusioned. He waited, as a good office manager, till the day came that mr Dujournot would appear again in the office to discuss his optional changes for the better. He knew he did not stand a chance at the phone so he waited carefully and patiently till he could have a personal conversation with mr Dujournot. As you all remember, mr Dujournot was not much around in the office. So it took mr Van Deuren ages to try to get a consensus to accomplish anything. Since his last debacle trying to set up a meeting, he did not dare to do anything anymore without the consent of mr Dujournot. Mr Van Deuren was intentionally a good person with his heart at the right place and his mind focussed upon Matrix Systems, rather than upon his own personal gain. (which you could not say about some others amongst us) The rare days that mr Dujournot pleased all of us with his presence, mr Dujournot rather talked to the few plants that managed to keep alive in these hostile surroundings, than to mr Van Deuren, letting him clearly feel his almost redundant place in the whole picture. Till the day came that mr Dujournot thought it would be interesting to tell him about the great move we all were to encounter. The moment mr Van Deuren had all information, he came back to life again. He saw again some lights at the end of the tunnel, only did he not know that he had better stayed away from those devious lights. He wanted to be the office manager, so he had to take the responsibility for it. No pity, nor shame.
Mr Van Deuren wanted to make up for his fiasco meeting. He wanted to prove himself a valid office manager. He had found out that our salaries wer not exactly the kind of payment methods you keep your team with. One day or another they would be gone off to another job with higher remuneration. That would be a real pity for him. Then he had to start all over again. So he wanted to make this the next issue with mr Dujournot. He wanted to convice him that it is better to invest in your personell, that they are part of the whole organisation you run. The way mr Dujournot had been replacing his former staff, did not provide me with any confidence that his plan would be a successful one. Now, I have to tell you as it is, as it has been, mr Van Deuren got us all a raise in pay. Not a tremendous one, but in any case, a raise it was. For everyone. He gained also some more credibility in his actions and office behaviour. Thank you mr Van Deuren. Possibly mr Dujournot had this raise planned before, because it was executable at the years’ end. 5000 old Belgian franks it were. About a whole 125 Euros or a 100 USD each month. Better than nothing. That’s what I say. Always be grateful, my mom would say. But in comparison to the rest, to the salary mr Dujounrot earned, and not to forget, my good friend Wolfgang Hanssen, it was peanuts. I refused to see it as a scanty gift. We had not proven anything yet. Sales were rising, but not to that extend that we all could cry “victory”. I had no idea at that time, that my sales, realized together with Wolfgang Hanssen, would be on its way to triple itself in the shortest way possible the following months to come. No one could foresee that my strategy would work that effectively.
Now mr Van Deuren had written all raises down in his black office manual. A black leather agenda which he used for all detailed information on what he was up to the next month. We all knew that, but I did not care. It was his working tool. Not mine. I had enough to do with my rapidly growing sales. All goods had to leave MIXO. Every week again. Anissa knew this likewise. Shortly after mr Van Deuren triumphantly had announced the breakthrough he accomplished about our raise in pay, without giving us the full details yet, Anissa called upon Tessy and Veronique to come to her. Malvine stood already beside her. It was noon and mr Van Deuren had gone out for a bite.
She had the black leather agenda of mr Van Deuren in her hands and opened it.
“What are you doing?”; I asked her, not believing what I saw happening before my eyes.
“Don”t you want to know what salary raise you will get?”, she smashed in my face?
“You can’t do that!”, I said again. “That is the agenda of mr Van Deuren;”
“So?”, was the only reply I got, whilst she was urgently looking into the agenda to find the figures she wanted to see.
“If you want to know your salary raise, why don’t you ask him in stead of sneaking into his personal agenda?”, I tried again.
“I want to know everything!”, Anissa answered.
“I want to know how much you all are going to get. “
I was not hearing right. This was sooo wrong. It was a clear illegal intrusion into the personal working papers of her direct superior. You cannot do such things. Anissa could. No problem. She was as clever as to get Veronique and Tanja and Malvine involved in this. They all stood next to her and were as it were, by doing so, first hand silent accomplices in the crime to be committed.
Mr Van Deuren had been lucky.. He had arranged, together with mr Dujournot a increase in pay that was equal to all of us. So no grounds for envy nor any protest. I stayed at my desk, doing what I was doing and tried to forget what I had been witnessing all along.
After her hunger for information was settled, she deposited the agenda where she took it. Nothing happened. Anissa was very certain that I would tell no one what I had seen. Why could she be so sure? Had she seen the word “pussy” again, written all over my forehead?
She was right. I had no intention on telling anyone. Although you do not do such things Anissa just pulled through, mr Van Deuren should not leave his agenda with personal and confidential office information lying around on his desk. You lock this up. With a key or a locker.
Now, by being transferred to the account department, Anissa was receiving more and more confidential company information about Matrix Systems as well. Any one in such position should handle and deal with this kind of confident information with supreme care and precision and utmost discretion towards all others. Not Anissa. This was surely not one of her qualms.
I did not know if she was too stupid to understand the importance of this discrete handling concerning certain private classified company information or that she was too lazy to give it a thought or any consideration. I am afraid it was both.
chapter twenty two : gathering more evidence
This was not the first time Anissa did something irregular in the office of Matrix Systems. The peculiar thing was, that she did this in public, with all of us to witness. Not all of us. Mr Dujournot never ever was in the office when she coloured outside the lines. Nor was mr Moipatron. Nor mr Van Deuren. Customer care was some lowlife department she got rid of and the way she behaved clearly showed her reluctance and contempt towards us. Towards the other players she still had some reserves in her action. Only a few weeks earliers, when Tessy Jolé was negotiating with mr Dujournot about her salary and got installed in her function, Anissa had been deliberately running in and out of the office of mr Dujournot to catch up some private words or to notice some concealed elements. It had been so apparent that as a result, mr Dujounrot even got nervous. : “Anissa will you now please close the door behind you and stay out of my office for the next ten minutes, since I am negotiating with Tessy?” he urged her. “Thank you!”, he added
Somewhere in the emptiness of her hollow brain, Anissa must have thought that she had to be around when the next colleagues were hired to take part of the non-team. Mr Dujournot clearly thought differently.
But it was too late. Anissa had seen a loose sheet of paper mr Dujounrot used in front of him to doodle upon whilst having his installation conversation. As she remembered from the time she got into Matrix, mr Dujounrot always wrote this salary proposition on this note. Also this time, she had already seen some figures on that sheet of paper. So she recognized that Tessy, whom she knew from school but wasn’t a really good friend of her, at the contrary, would appear later on, was on the edge of entering Matrix Systems. Which she did. Mr Dujournot confirmed this only minutes after Anissa had left the air co office.
Because they both had the same educational background, and thus partly shared troubled teen years, Anissa wanted to know absolutely, at any cost possible, what Tessy would have received as a salary proposal. This could never ever be as much or as little as she had now; out of the question. She had made a promotion, she was now head of the account department, whilst Tessy would be head of a department that even did not exist at that time, since we didn’t have a warehouse yet. Anissa could burst of curiosity. If she could, she would burst into his office and rip this paper out of mr Dujournots hands; but she did not do so. She waited, impatiently till mr Dujournot went out of the office for a bite or two and a drink of seven, before diving into his office again. She made sure mr Moipatron and mr Van Deuren were out as well. She submerged straight into the paper bin since his desk had been cleaned like a virgin.
Triumphantly she came back into the general office space, where we all were trying to do what we had to do, taking care of the needs of our customers. In her hands she held a wrinkled piece of paper.
“seventy-five thousand!”, she screamed out loud. “she is getting seventy-five thousand!”, she repeated unmistakably indicating she did not like what she saw.
“do you know how much I had, when I started?”, she fulminated, forgetting that she just had fulfilled her six months trial period and already had gotten a fierce raise for her nomination as account responsible? I did not know how much she earned and I did not want to know. I had accepted my salary proposal for reasons of my own and of course, because I am not that good negotiator this salary was not exactly a hit! But this had been my problem and not that of others. Anissa tried to get all others in the office involved in her discovery, again, because what she had done, stealing confident information out of a bin, was not exactly an act of faith for someone who would be handling private company information in the very near future. She was looking for accomplices again.
We all looked at her, a nearly hysterical girl of about twenty-two years old, with an aggressive theatrical attitude of a deceived wife who just got to the knowledge that she had been betrayed for many years by her beloved husband.
“sixty two thousand”, she screamed in the open. “sixty two thousand”, she repeated as if we did not hear her first outburst of discontentment. The moment mr Dujournot had set one of his intoxicated feet again in the office, that afternoon, Anissa jumped right at him. “We need to talk urgently”, she sneered at him. Mr Dujournot, expecting a quiet de-intoxicating afternoon at his office, enjoying his latest realisations of team expansion, did not know what really happened to him and thus they both went straight into his office, closing the door behind them.
As short as it had taken to install Tessy in her new job, the longer took this private reunion between mr Dujournot and Anissa.
Whne he would not have been that drunk, I am sure he would have showed her every angle of his office and his magnificent mahogany wooden virgin cleaned desk. But he had decanted one too many in his gullet to be able to serve his stiffmeister. I bet he was very angry with himself letting such an occasion pass the day. So they met at night, after office. Anissa exultantly left the office. She smiled like having had three penises in her mouth, at the same time, and looked very happy. She actually did arrange a second raise in pay, that is for sure. In just a few weeks she had been able to lift her salary level to unknown heights. At least for someone of her age. What she did to achieve this, I can only guess. Anissa showed us all that she had gained what she was after. She did not tell us what she got, but couldn’t suppress her contentment about it, even if she had to bent her knees behind her ears again. Maybe for the first time, back then.
chapter twenty three leaving MIXO
Chapter twenty three : leaving MIXO<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Because of a silly fight between two general managers, we had to move. Mr Dujournot was convinced we would do a far better job on our own than MiXO had done for years: collecting our incoming goods from the States and storing them properly in their gigantic shoebox-warehouse along the highway.
Now he had hired mr Van Deuren and meanwhile he had informed him about what was to come. Of course this was a challenge to mr Van Deuren. But you could feel on your nostrils that it would be a complete mission impossible. Nevertheless, mr Van deuren had been quite pleased with this new element in his job description, since in running the present office, he had not much of instant success for the time being, at the contrary I would say so.
He had arranged a slight increase in pay, but, as I am very supicioius inthose things, I think mr Dujounrot had foreseen this raise anyway, at the end of the year. But by giving mr Van Deuren the impression that it was he who had accomplished this raise, mr Dujournot had found a cheap way of keeping everyone pleased, but one, Anissa. After she got her second raise in a row, in a time period of no less than six months, she too seemed to have found some inner peace in the nothingness of her mind.
And so Mr Van Deuren went out to search for an appropriate warehouse location that would please us all.
Now I cannot say that mr Dujournot did not consider our wishes when we discussed the location possibilities.
He was as clever as that he would do everything to keep his new selected team on the job, even in the new location, since he could not afford to change teams again. May be the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />USA would wake up one day. Mr Dujournot had all freedom possible one only could dream of, as a general manager, but you should not exaggerate those things and certainly not evoke your fate. He did not do so.
He asked everyone individually how far we all would be able to travel towards our new location. What a nice gesture that was! Now tell me again that mr Dujournot was a selfish bastard. No one wanted it farther than 6,21 miles from the place we were actually working up till now. This did not make it any easier on the searching job for mr Van Deuren. He came from the city of Ghent and wasnt really acquainted with the harbour city that Antwerp really was. But this was his luck at the same time. Antwerp had storage rooms for everyone. From small individual lockers till gigantic storehouses and oversized depots, the harbour site offered it all. It was only a matter of selection really. The choice was quickly made. It strengthened the self esteem that mr Van Deuren had practically completely lost on his first general meeting attempt. He could not ever imagine at this moment, that at the end he would be finally sacrificed and executed by mr Dujournot.
Chapter twenty four : on the move
I wouldn’t wish my worst enemy even a brief encounter with Anissa Hamsa, by far the most Machiavellian, wicked person in this writings, unless you would have a higher social position than she has, so she thinks she could gain something out of the encounter to her benefit. But if you are not able to create the impression that you would be able to contribute to the wellbeing of her lifestyle, I would advice you only one thing : “run baby, run!!!!” If the devil himself would exist and he would be wandering around on this planet, make sure he has hidden inside the package of Anissa Hamsa. You should meet her to believe it. Or, if your’ lucky, you should experience her slimy, sticky submissive and obedient way of how she handles her superiors, crawling up ones ass with conviction and persistence :” haaaaaai Gerard, how aaaare you this morning?????”, deliberately leaving all other inferior staff out of her worldly life because they werent’ but just a waste of air. Sometimes, mornings, when she hadn’t slept well for some reason or another, you could hear her stamping her feet from far, as if she was trying to break with her heals of anger the two levelled staircase to our now offices in Merksem. At these moments, she did not speak at all, not even to those who could produce a benefit in her little fake world. She had a morning issue, a morning temper, if she woke up, you had to leave her alone for at least two hours. Since she mostly did not turn up before ten o’clock, you could hardly say it was still morning. For her it was. As she felt promoted to the account department, of course, she did not participate any longer in our attempt to make everything easier for our customers, by just being on time in the office, for one thing. She came and left as she pleased, always looking triumphantly into uour direction, where we, at customer care were urgently preparing all orders to enter and leave on time.
I did not care any longer. It had no use to get upset about this. Only, Anissa acted as a little child. She took, and when she noticed it worked, she took some more. You all know the expression of giving a finger and taking an arm, do you not? At the end she just made all her private appointments in the middle of the day, during working hours, without compensating one single minute for them. All her dentist appointments were situated in the middle of the afternoon, mostly two o’clock. It learned form the frequency of those scheduled dental arrangements that women from Northern Africa must have been born with much more teeth in their mouth than people from Europe. Her hairdresser could only cut between two and four in the afternoon. No one of her superiors said anything. Mr Van Deuren had too much on his mind because of the move we were all in the middle of. This move caused a lot of trouble. Not to Anissa. She was having her dentals whitened, a tooth repaired, undergoing a second bleaching round, or having her hair cut, repaired, fixed, dyed, having hair extensions placed, having extensions removed, or was enjoying the afternoon sunshine on one of the nice open air terraces of the near city of Antwerp. Or she just went shopping in the “Wijnegem Shopping Centre”, the biggest shopping arcade from Belgium. I don’t know if this was pure luck, but the new offices were only a farts smell away from all these lucrative ways to spend ones afternoon. During working hours of Matrix Systems I mean.
Malvine was integrated in the accountdepartment and had only part time left to help us deal with our rapidly growing order increase. Malvine did all the real work at the account department. In the beginning Malvine was a quiet person. She did not say much. In fact she did not speak at all; she had her hooters that spoke for her.
The initial stealing half an hours in the morning and another half an hour in the evening had swiftly expanded, as her salary had, to whole afternoons, she had to spend on one or the other programme to keep her bodily functions going and kicking. Teeth, hair, nails, feet, massage, you name it, and Anissa had some programme running to keep her in the best shape ever. Her hips she could not make look any slimmer and her small breasts she hadn’t enlarged yet. Maybe she still intended to do so.
Of course she planned her afternoons of bodily maintenance never when mr Dujournot was in. But since he hardly ever was around, she had plenty of time to arrange her private excursions outside the Matrix office.
When she occasionally did stay in the office, she had her MSN connection constantly opened on her screen. I did not spy on her. Where I was located in the new offices, I could spot directly into her screen. It was a pity that it was only too far away to actually see what she was writing all the time and to whom. You all know that MSN delivers a sign each time a message drops in your mailbox, or when someone tries to get in touch with you. Anissa did not find it necessary to turn this sound of, so we were easily informed each time she was interactive with private persons around the globe, and you may be sure of one thing; they were not talking about Matrix Systems, nor about the financial situation, nor about our future projects or the whereabouts of mr Dujournot. The arrogance of Anissa was peaking back then. She did what she thought to be done: nothing.
Where did she find this self-assuredness? This haughtiness, her way of deliberately abusing all possible office conduct; always clearly demonstrating a “you can’t do me anything”-attitude.
She felt protected, that is one thing. And that I for sure. Otherwise you cannot behave as Anissa did. All the time. Not only once. Constantly. Week after week, day after day.
It were busy days, back then, the days of our move. Mr Van Deuren had found a nice location. In Merksem, as you all still know.
The biggest shopping mall of Belgium only a heartbeat away. Fantastic. The only thing mr Dujounrot ever asked us was the distance we would be willing to travel to our new offices. The other issues he only and exclusively discussed with mr Van Deuren, his second in command. Mostly by phone. Distant phone. Because mr Van Deuren had to arrange everything. As from the moment it was decided that we were going to move and leave MIXO, mr Dujournot left Belgium and only returned three whole weeks after we were already packed and moved towards our new offices. This is hard to believe, I know. Still, ask around, it is exactly how it went. Mr Dujounrot could not stand disorder and chaos. He could not endure irregularities and problems. Even if they are inevitable and rational when you move. To him, they all should have been solved the moment he returned towards the new premises. That is exactly why he waited so long to return to Belgium. He had hoped everything to be cleared by then. He had calculated three more weeks after the final days of our move to make his grand re-entries into the new offices. We were all settled by then. Our offices were installed. We could work. That was about all we could do. But not without any problems. Not all problems were already solved, at the contrary. Some of the problems were still accumulating and growing, day by day. It seemed that every new day in our new offices a new setback emerged. So many things had gone wrong during our move from one location to the other that it is almost too embarrassing to make a list of what went wrong. You name it, and it was a predicament that had occurred. Now, most of those issues were not solved yet, as mentioned before. Mr Van Deuren had clearly underestimated a lot of the side effects of this move. He had also without any doubt overrated his managerial qualities. He had as good as none. That he proved back there and then. We all were silent witnesses, because it all appeared to be too painful to him. His fat body started to hyperventilate as the first phone call came in, reporting a new hitch. I will only mention the most intriguing ones. So did he order too little trucks to move all our Matrix System goods from one warehouse to the other. So did he order too little storage room, too little racks, in the new warehouse to store the incoming goods. So did he not anticipated enough time to unpack it all and place it in order to pick and ship things again from our new location. So did he not hire enough people to do so. Which led directly to unforeseen delays in shipments. So did he order a complete new software package to deal with this new picking and shipping methods we all had to learn. MIXO did all this before, remember? Now we had to do things our own. When MIXO was handling our goods, we only had to check upon the goods. We “plok”ed : particle on location OK. We would all be doing this far better now by ourselves, would we not mr Dujournot? Our new software however, was not properly adjusted to the scattered content of our new warehouse. As a result, all our new orders that left from our new location, were wrong. Too many goods left, too little goods left. Systems were broken, during the move, others were lacking because they had fallen out of their boxes. The packing was horribly done, the pallets knocked out, they broke down because of improper packing foam and film. Not one of those first shipments in the first days after our move, was identical with that what our customers ordered. There were discrepancies, overstock, broken goods, lacking goods and, most of all, delay in delivery because no one knew what to do first. Only Anissa. She kept up with her bodily appointments, every single afternoon, she had the opportunity to do so. The only great thing about this was that she did not run in someone’s way because she was out. I guess she could not stand disorder neither. The times she had not an appointment to attend, she left at noon around one thirty, and returned after three o clock, so her afternoon was broken, and five a clock was approaching rapidly.
Veronique and I and partly also Malvine had a terrible time, those early days in Merksem. It was just horrendous. We tried to do everything we could and what we had within our means to comfort our customers. Of course, they were upset. We, Veronique, Malvine and I had been able to augment our level of customer care to an excellent standard, those first few months where MIXO still was doing the storage and now all we had build up was being erased as it never ever had existed in the first place. Not one phone call came from a happy client. They all had something to complain about.
Tessy was extremely busy putting her warehouse team together and getting them to do what had to be done. But when it is the first time that something is done, it is just not that easy to arrange things. Especially if the material you have to deal with to accomplish your task, is lacking, or broken, or inconvenient to do so. Of course mr Van Deuren had no authority to buy new picking and packing material. He had to look for the cheapest trucks possible on the market. No wonder they arrived broken at our new location. He had bought them in a broken condition; only he was not informed about it. Then, oil failed. Antiseptic sterilized water failed. To get those bloody machines running. They werent’ plugged into the electricity long enough on delivery date so they had to be left unused for the next twenty-four hours to get the batteries charged. Electricity cables were not long enough. The weren’t strong enough. They made the whole electricity chain brake down. Another setback in time. Large parts of the Matrix goods weren’t even stored yet, they stood in large numbers packed on pallets, even outside our warehouse, as the racks weren’t even finished and the warehouse people started to locate and assemble their first orders to be shipped. What do you think? That it all turned out to be OK? Forget it. Where did they have to look? On the still unpacked pallets outside? On the false locations inside? It took us weeks to get over this mess and to let things work as they should have worked in the first place.
Then it started to rain. Rain poured out of the darkened sky. Upon the unprotected pallets. Mr Van Deuren started to hyperventilate again. I bet at that time he wished himself on another location.Or on the moon for that matter. I bet he would have given a lot of money to be able to sit at his dentists chair. Having his teeth bleached. Anissa’ s teeth glowed in the dark. As if made fluorescent. Now he had to mobilize every warehouse worker to get those bloody pallets inside. They were put where an inch of free space was left unused. So you could not enter nor leave our precious new warehouse any longer. Trucks that came to collect the goods to be sent to our eagerly awaiting customers all over Europe, could not load because of the chaos inside of our warehouse. Not one single pick up truck could even move. Nor could we. Total chaos. Mr van Deuren went home. Without saying one word. He had spoken enough. He had shouted enough. It all did not help. It could not rectify what he had done wrong in the first place. I knew this would end wrong. He knew this too. Even if mr Dujournot had not been on the new premises for one single minute yet.
On his way home mr Van Deuren started to see what mr Dujournot had been doing with him so far. He had undoubtedly abused him. He had not received one single word of help nor support of mr Dujounrot. At the contrary. Mr Van Deuren had learned as well that he should not present any problems to mr Dujournot but solutions. Either mr Dujounrot accepted the presented solution and turned it to be one of his own, or he rejected the propositions mr Van Deuren made to solve one of the many inconveniences. Mr Dujounrot had been far from constructive. He had been obstructive, mostly. He had been acting like a spoiled child, not getting what he wanted. Mr Dujournot had given mr Van Deuren a very hard time. He did not agree on any money-consuming proposition. So mr Van Deuren had to go and look for some discarding material. He was fed up with it all.
.Not once mr Dujournot had taken his responsibility as general manager. Het had left mr Van Deuren totally on his own, being submerged in his pool of failure and lack of professionalism. He had let him drown. He had nothing done to rescue him, nor the devastating circumstances Matrix Systems was evolving to. He wasn’t even in Belgium. Not even once he had come over to see how things were going. Of course mr Van Deuren kept the bad news as long as possible away from mr Dujournot. He had tried to solve things. He had failed. The only way both gentlemen spoke, was on the phone. Nobody ever knew where mr Dujournot was. Sure he wasn’t in Belgium. Neither did he visit any Matrix customer. This we would have known. Ah, yes, we would have known that. Not one single Matrix customer had been visited by mr Dujournot in those days. Where did he go then.? What did he do then? Nobody knew. Nobody asked. We had our own problems to cope with. Rather than to wonder where our boss might be. It seemed that the USA did not care neither. They did not wonder either. What a token of conficence they had in the capacities of mr Dujournot.
This was not what mr Van Deuren had expected from his job as office manager. He seemed to be the manager of total chaos and destruction. The worst of it all, nevertheless, were the enduring phone calls of our disgruntled customers. As long as the problems were not solved, the phone calls would not diminish. But they were right. That was the hard part. Mr Van Deuren could not live with the fact that he, as a former IT specialist, a PC wizard so to speak, had not been able to install a perfectly functioning software system to deal with the new tasks we had to perform additionally because of the childish row both managers had about Anissa. She did not care. She did not have to work with this new system. Not yet. She flashed her newly polished teeth into her screen. She laughed. She had a good time. Life was good for her.
Chapter twenty five : DAMMAGE CONTROL
We were all, but two (Anissa and mr Dujournot), trying to keep the boat floating, the weeks after we moved to our new premises. The new warehouse, located beside a busy canal, looked great. It was to be found in the middle of a new park of young industries, with all facilities present : quality roads, nice signs, four loading docks, comfortable offices above the warehouse. Mr Van Deuren had made a nice choice. Sadly enough for him, that was about it. He had proposed the selection to mr Dujounrot and even Wolgang Hanssen came especially from Germany to inspect the new location. The price must have been acceptable or even cheap, as it was decided immediately to take on this property. After the selection about everything else went wrong. We prevented the ship from being sunk. The captain was not on board. His first lieutenant went berserk. He had lost all marbles. We were trying to limit the damage and to rescue what could be rescued. Never ever have Veronique and I so persistently been insulted by our customers. All day long, day after day. Week after week. We both were lucky to have had some experience in customer care so we could place it all in a wider perspective. Not one of them was satisfied. Also Malvine had her share of the poisoned cake. Tessy tried to help us too, but as the insults and true allegations about mismanagement could no longer be denied, she focussed on getting her man trained and optimized in picking the right things. If they were placed on the right spot that is. If our software indicated the right location. It all came together and it all was connected with each other. It was as if the chain wasn’t coupled properly. There were too many knots in it, yet. Still. Mr Van Deuren was desperately trying to unfold the knots he had found. The only thing left for him to do, was to detect the failure he had created and step by step, unravel the obstructing elements to keep things running. Every week, we created at least another week of delivery delay. We could not unpack our containers, since the trucks of the move had not been unpacked yet. It was pretty amazing how we managed to survivce this period of total madness.
Of course even Wolfgang Hanssen had received telephone calls from disillusioned customers who complained about totally erroneous shipments, delivered even way too late on top of the whole story.
This was all pretty bad for Matrix Systems. And for us. We were all pretty mad at mr Dujournot. Every one felt that he had abandoned not only mr Van Deuren, but the whole company. No one dared to say this out loud.
The new offices were larger than we had before and now mr Van Deuren had the possibility to create his own separate office. Even our technical support, our engineer got a separate angle of the working space. Now, when Anissa saw this, she also required for her account department a detached working space. There was only one problem: we did not have that many walls. So mr Van Deuren, in a desperate attempt to keep everyone his friend in times of total war, did everything he could to segregate the office in another disconnected corner for the account department. Anissa loved it what was happening. She saw the desperation of mr Van Deuren growing by the day and enjoyed every single minute of it. She literally kicked on the misery of mr Van Deuren. He was at the verge of killing himself. He had obtained this wild irrational look in his eyes.
As if he could not care less what had happened. I think to one point he had given up. He knew he was to be slaughtered. His death screams hadn’t worked. No one had responded, nor helped him. We all did our part to keep things going, but the real help he needed from mr Dujournot. Who had been vanished from earth. In stead of help, he got supplementary negative pressure. The only way ever to reach mr Dujournot was by his cell phne. Mostly he was not connected so you had to say a message into his mailbox. If it fitted him, he’d call you back. If he did not kike the caller, he ignored the call. That is an effective way to separate you into a save cocoon of regulating order and self-care. Mr Dujournot liked I that way. He was the one that decided whether a phone call was made or a call was returned. Not you! Nor the USA. Because of the time differences, he had no fears. They woke up about 1400 hrs GMT. By that time mr Dujournot had started to drink again and so he could function again as a normal dictator. Even the customers avoided mr Dujournot. Especially since Veronique and I and partly also Malvine had been delivering quite some good work and they had no reason whatsoever to get him on the phone. Till those dramatic days of chaos and disaster. They called us all day long at the office to get things right, to make new appointments, new arrangements, to get broken systems repaired, to get false delivered pallets removed, to get missing elements sent after; all with the necessary grumbling and protest. Some of them were so fed up with the disappearing good service they had gotten used to, that they started to call mr Dujounrot and intruded his selective cocoon of wellbeing, somewhere around Europe. Mr Dujournot was furious. He had his reasons. Rather personal ones though.
Mr Dujournot let mr Van Deuren bake in his own fat ass. In stead of talking to him, discussing the next steps to be made to get out of this mess. The only thing mr Dujournot came up with was a gigantic general meeting, with all staff, all new warehouse workers, all representatives, the French ones and Wolfgang, to discuss what went wrong and how to solve it. So many people all together cannot work out a rescue plan. It was clear to me and to mr Van Deuren why mr Dujournot acted this way : he had orchestrated an official ceremony, where mr Van Deuren would be slaughtered and sacrificed. All elements would point in the direction of mr Van Deuren, every one knew this. So what is the point of a time wasting meeting where no solutions would be served anyway? It was the only way mr Dujournot could restore his diminishing influence (caused by his persistant absence and enhanced by the failure of thorough functioning of mr Van Deuren since he had to represent mr Dujournot, only, because of the many unforeseen difficulties, it looked that mr Dujounrot was to blame at the end) , his power, his dictatorship over the company, all at once, he would lead Matrix towards a new healing process again, what a saviour he was! And he would accuse mr Van Deuren of obvious and clear mistakes that would make his functioning impossible so he would have to quit.. Mr Dujounrot himself had no idea whatsoever how to solve those problems we were all coping with. In the first place, he did not even want to know the trouble at all. It was enough for him that there were even inconveniences around the office.
If you ask me, it was only a matter of time and timing. Mr Van Deuren had done too many things at the same time and had not foreseen an incubation time where all should fall into place again in the new offices. But panic was raised and mr Dujounrot would demonstrate his divine managerial capacities once more.
You cannot move a whole organisation and start up at the same time a part of a new working process in a matter of hours and expect it to work without any birth diseases. That is naïve. Mr Van Deuren was naïve. He, for all, should have known also that a brand new computer program needs some time to inaugurate itself and needs a period of adjustments and corrections until it is fitted in. Even Bill Gates knows that. We had the honour of working as the World premiere with our newly written picking and packing ordering programme. Guess what happened. Exactly. Not one picking form was correct. Not one picking location in the warehouse was correctly filled. What would you expect?
There was no sun protection in our new offices. This had been the same as before. But now even the air conditioning in the office of mr Dujournot lacked. He did not know this yet, since he had never set foot on these new premises. Only once he had been here, together with Wolfgang Hanssen and mr Van Deuren ,the time they decided they would take it. Since that time he had not been in Belgium again. Now he would reappear, three whole weeks after we all had already moved. Actually it was in the forth week, after his departure that he would visit us again on the new premises. It would be for the first time he saw his new office because mr Van Deuren had some extra walls replaced and installed to make it acceptable for every department to work in. He had been taken into account every consideration possible made by any of us. But this would not matter later on during the general meeting where he was supposed to be sacrificed. And it did not matter. And he was sacrificed. Poor mr Van Deuren. Never seen a man with so little self-esteem left as he had, when he stood before us all, being accused of all wrongdoings in this world. And if someone knows anything about self-esteem, then it should be me, since I had to do without it a great deal of my life. But lets not run ahead again, mr Dujournot still had to arrive, yet. In his shiny, newly waxed black Audi A6 filled with the finest white leather furniture. This shallow car description is written without any feeling of jealousy, I swear, I just had to describe you the way he rolled in, that rainy morning in May, at ten fifty five sharp. Anissa had received a phone call some minutes earlier from him to order his sandwich.
“He’s on his way!”, she shouted, thrilled as a little child who had missed one of her parents on an overseas holiday. “aaaah, He is going to be here in a few minutes!”, she précised her enthusiastic outburst. At that exact moment, mr Dujournot stopped his car in front of his new Matrix Systems cathedral. He stayed in his car. He was on the phone. For at least another half an hour. To whom he talked to, we never knew. We would never know. He always had his car waxed when he came in the office.
Chapter twenty six : wet underpants and other underwear issues
Anissa was watching mr Dujournot from the huge uncovered window on the second floor, above our new warehouse. She just had to turn her seat of her desk and so she could glimpse all over the wide open space, next to the water canal, laying before our new office annex warehouse. Nonetheless, she went close to the edge of the window and stood aside it, as if she liked to hide and cover up her spying activities, which was impossible, since the lacking of any sun protection shields. There was nothing at all to cover up those windows. Mr Dujounrot parked always right in front of the warehouse, at the main loading entrance, where a separate door uncovered the two storey high staircase towards our offices. He never parked aside, on the proper parking space. He used to do this at MIXO’s place, and he did it here. Now, knowing about his leg problems, his limping history and his boozing attitude, it was absolutely normal, even wise to park the nearest place possible towards the entrance of the building he had to enter. That he often blocked with is black shiny Audi the main gate and obstructed the workers activities, never occurred to him. Of course, they never ever once had said anything about this unruly way of installing his car in front of the building. They were all afraid of the absent monarch of Matrix. For them, he had become a kind of “Big Brother”, u know, from the novel of George Orwell , invisible, never seen but always around by eyes of the voice whom you’d only could guess. Tessy took care of the warehouse people. Even if she had only just been twenty two, she handled those partly rough fellows, as if she had never been doing anything else in her entire life (which had been short, but this she did not know). She had been born for this job. The name of Mr Dujournot only appeared in wild narratives and sticky rumours about drowned sons and all. A spooky person. To everyone. Not in the least for mr Van Deuren. He did not see mr Dujournot coming with a smile on his face. Only Anissa seemed exited.
Too exited actually. She had wet her pants. Like a dog would do that is happy to see his master again, he starts pissing around. Anissa did the same. But not around, just in her pants. It had been a kind of uncontrollable reflex. She had not felt it coming. “Go and see a doctor!”, mr Dujournot would tell her later, in the privacy of his new office. She cried, but smiled at the same time. “it will never ever happen again, I swear to Allah!”, she swore to Allah. The fantasy of mr Dujournot had just revealed some unknown potential in his relation to Anissa. “Golden shower” wasn’t just a flower from that day onwards between those two lovebirds.
(you could even detect some indication of revitalizing hair growth on the thinning cranium of mr Dujournot.)
The new guys working in our chaotically structured warehouse, were indeed from a breed you ‘d better not encounter after dark. How did this happen? Why were they hired in the first place? Tessy was not that kind of girl that would be afraid of the male species. She herself, had a pretty tough childhood and knew how to stand up for herself and her values. It did not matter to her if you were a man of a woman. Justice was important to her. As it was to me. The real problem was the salary, mr Dujournot was prepared to spend on his picking and packing people. As from the amount he set free for them, not much of respect could be detected. He paid the lowest possible fee. If there were not set any downward limitations on those paycheques, mr Dujournot would have gone even lower. So, the kind of people you attract to do this kind of work, evaluated as little as it paid, were criminals free on parole, or criminals searching fro a hideout, or criminals intending to perform a major bank robbery, or plain retards. They were not supposed to have any human value, nor quality. If they could count to ten, that would do fine, thank you so much!
Strangely enough, Tessy had them fiercely under control. All of them. Well done Tessy!
She set up time tables, held small individual and group meetings with her warehouse staff, she managed them perfectly. Till one of them had bleeding haemorrhoids and thought he was going to die. He left with his pants full of blood and we never saw him back. He was replaced by the brother of Anissa. Big mistaka to maka!
Mr Dujournot was pretty satisfied with the way Tessy handled her job, which was, at the least to say, not that easy, seen the devastating working circumstances mr Van Deuren had created at the first place. But he had been the lieutenant in command, for the duration of the absence of the captain. It was a captain of a ships wreck, finally, who came and visited us that rainy day in May, at ten fifty five. And it did not rain but water that day.
Chapter twenty seven : looser
Are we not all losers at the end? At the very final termination of life? What is the point of gathering as much as we possibly can of earthly goods, money and wealth and even power, if we know from the beginning that we all going to end without any of those? Why are we raised with the fake presumption of a “never-ending life?” I agree we can't just laugh at newborns, telling them they are going to die at some point in the future. But may it not be a better idea to focus on other things than those we cherish now so passionately. The ending of our worldly life is never been a popular subject to talk about. Only, it is part of our lives. If we want it or not. Now, I think most of us are just pretending that they will never ever pass the corner of this temporary circus we were all born into, because deep inside they are afraid. Or they know there won’t be a dozen or more virgins waiting at the other end. Could anyone by the way tell me how a spirit can f*ck? Does he have a dick? Can he get a hard on? Does he still have eyes to see what he is doing?
Do you know already now, since I came up with this questions some chapters ago?
The stories told to us by those who are desperately seeking power and trying to preserve it, are pathetic, false and intentional wrong.
For ages and centuries the Catholics have adjusted and invented lies and make believe stories. Any reasonable human being with any shred of sanity between his eyes, must admit that we, humans are far too infinite, too miniscule to ever know or understand anything about what is going on around us. Even now, even in the 21 century. What we know for sure, but what we all so desperately and pathetically try to ignore, by believing every shit that is ever told to us by some dominant power seeking ancestors, is that we indeed, at the end, are all the same, losers. Why do we always want more? Do you think it dies better when you know you leave a lot behind?
Mr Dujounrot thought he was immortal to. His defective bodily functions told him another story though. But some sickening particles in his brain, ignored those impulses and he kept on destroying the essence of life : the quality of his blood. I have seen how the slightest diminishing of the quality of blood directly leads to malfunctioning of the body. Nevertheless mr Dujounrot must even have thought that his 12 year old whiskey from the Scottish Highlands was a blessing for his fleshly package. He forgot that the blessing ends at the third glass. Usually. With mr Dujounrot it ended at the second glass, considering the content, filled right up to two third of the crystal glass. After refill, he ‘d used to drink immediately a fierce slurp out of his glass, so it would even appear just filled as it should. May be he could not handle the fact that his life was end able. That he could not take his freshly polished car with him. Nor his cell phone with fax and e-mail function. He had a son dead, still he did not care much for this little bastard who takes away lives. There always would be auctioneers. And when they die, they are replaced by others. Is as simple as that. Unless we hit that wall we are all flying to. Unforeseen. Unpredicted. In the middle of having a great steaming dump. What a finale!
Mr Van Deuren felt not really well. He felt kinda like a loser does. He knew what being a loser feels like. Mr Dujounrot never ever had felt that way. Not even when his son drowned.
Only moments before mr Dujournot, who was still on his pone in his car downstairs, came crawling up the staircase, mr Van Deuren had started his latest offensive to rescue him self before brutal butchery. He came towards all of us individually, with heavy respiratory sounds, asking if we still had any personal confidence in mr Dujounrot. As you all know, I did have my doubts and I did find some striking irregularities in my past efforts of trying to integrate at Matrix Systems, but I could not, now, only minutes before Big Brother would reappear, invent a strategy of definite attack on his power skills. He, mr Van Deuren, should have come up with this much earlier in the comfort of a secret meeting, as there even had been some to slaughter Ceasar at the time. It represented clearly who mr Van Deuren really was : not the true manager we needed most urgently right now since everything went berserk because of his chain of false decisions. He acted like a fish, just gotten out of his bowl. He moved in any possible direction, without any result. He ran out of water.
He was desperate and lost. The meeting was planned at two o’ clock. Mr Van Deuren had no luck on his loyalty question. Nobody answered directly. He felt abandoned. Alone against Big Brother.
You cannot turn an IT specialist into a manager. If you want to be a real manager than you have to possess real managerial qualities. Like most women have from birth. You cannot study to have those.
You have them or you do not. Mr Dujournot had some managerial qualities, only they seemed a bit odd to me. He had a certain way with people. A strange way. A haunting kind of way. A dominant way. A patronizing way. A squalid and for all, purely dictatorial kind a way.. he had his age giving him experiential credentials.
He had his career at the competition, supporting his current pole position at Matrix Systems. He had his character, his rudeness, his self defence toward opponents, colleagues and USA superiors, based upon verbal devastation and combat, similar to the language Anissa used. Only Anissa was clearly more drawn to the word “hatred” as such, and everything that had to do with this kind of destructive feeling as well as pure sentimental disgust. May be that is why they both got along so well. Besides the golden showers of course.
Of course mr Van Deuren got the sack. He got canned. He was fired. Thrown out. He could hold on to his cell phone and his laptop pc. As a kind of losers price. Mr Dujournot had no other choice. He had to blame the only one to blame. He had to save his own absent ass by diverting all attention to the sorry ass of mr Van Deuren. It worked. Mr Dujournot was a hell of a raconteur. Especially if it involved covering up his own surreptitious life.
Writing pc programmes still is something different than moving a whole warehouse. Even with figures that are “year to date”. That was about the lesson mr Van Deuren had learned in those few months he thought he was the office manager at Matrix Systems Belgium.
Chapter twenty eight : self protection
Shorter chapters lead to better protection. Against intrusion. Against manipulation. Against hacking, against stalking. Believe me, I have had it all.
The staircase to the offices of our new location were two storeys high. There was no elevator. There was, again, no window sun protection shields, there was no air conditioning. There was no heating in the warehouse. We rented those offices and mr Dujournot had, once again set the standards. He could not care less about the overall quality. He was never in anyway. The office space was bigger though. That was about the only advantage we had in comparison to the old MIXO offices.
Because of the height, the lacking of any utensil to get up and the deteriorating physical condition of little old drunk mr Dujournot, he had to crawl up the stairs. It took him ages. Mostly, after arrival, he held some more phone conversations in the secrecy of his car. Then, when he got out, we knew it would take some half an hour to get up those fucking stairs. He rested every five stairs. He needed to . His heart told him to and his legs refused to go along, so they made him stop. He hated it. He hated it when he was accompanied by anyone. Usually he’d say : “you just go on up to the office, I ll be right after you, I have to check something in the warehouse.” Mostly this worked. It provided him an alibi to stay downstairs for some extra minutes and climb those stair by himself without the curious looks of the physically stable ones. Mr Dujournot was like this kind of Australian bird, sticking his head in the ground each and every time he was confronted with a severe problem. Even when it concerned his own health. May be he is already dead now at the time I try to finish up this book. But there is still so much to write about, in order make the picture complete for you guys. You have to know how it all developed. How it all will end. You are entitled to this. Because it is getting worse indeed. Not only the performance of Anissa worsened and got even more intensified criminal proportions at the detriment of Matrix Systems but also the dubious deeds of mr Dujournot would lead him to finally self-destruction and even mr Moipatron would start to strive to control the path of self glorification in the name of gaining sickening supremacy in a fake competition with his own brother.
At that moment, mr Dujounrot tried to get up those stairs. When he entered the office, he saw as white as a ghosts Blanquette and inhaled as and old filled up squeaking and squealing chimney.
“How are you all doing?”, were his first words after four weeks of absence. The most crucial period of Matrix Systems Belgium, the captain had not been on board. He had left full control to mr Van Deuren, but now, seen the due circumstances, he would have to fire him. After the meeting. The meeting that would prove him right. The meeting that would reinstall him in all his glory as captain of this ships wreck, once again. He would be the rescuer of Matrix. What a man! What a strategy! What a managerial qualities we were able to witness here!
The meeting was horrible. I am not repeating one single word there had been said by most of the participants. It was understandable that all of us were a bit itchy and focussed on those responsible. So it did not take long before the first allegations were made. Mr Dujournot clearly pointed out mr Van Deuren as sole responsible, since he had been hired to orchestrate this move as one of the first acts to prove his kills as office manager. He had proven not to have those skills.
In a very demonstrative way. Meanwhile of course, we had moved from one place to the other. We had received new working spaces, new desks, new pc’s , now software and even an individual internet connection. All our stored goods were transferred in the mean time as well from point MIXO to point MATRIX in Merksem. Only the way they were stored was not exactly as it should be. And the software was not able to locate anything either. In the harbour of Antwerp some ten ish container were still waiting to be pulled in and collected from the States. But beside these slight discrepancies, we did have contact with our clients again, and the orders kept coming in. Despite of the mistakes that were cumulated till reaching unknown heights ever before.
I (and I mean, really I) knew it all would be a matter of time, not skills , to settle things around here. I suspect mr Dujuonrot to know the same. But he had used mr Van Deuren to replace him during the move and now it was time to kick his ass. Which he did. He had no longer use for him; he could perfectly do without him. Mr Van Deuren had too many own ideas he wanted to pull through. He had not been able to work those out, because he had been having his hands full with his changing locations. Mr Van Deuren had wanted to do too many things at the same time. Even a baby needs also nine months of incubation before breaking out. So mr Dujounrot had laid artificially high pressure upon the shoulders of mr Van Deuren in order to let him fail deliberately. His master plan had worked. Till now. Mr Moipatron stayed low profile. He knew why. Only he did. He was protecting himself, his plan, his wife and his children. He had moved to Brussels by now. He had become a Belgian Frenchman. He had a brother in France. All of his family lived in France actually. He had lived there before his move to Matrix Systems. Till mr Dujounrot had convinced him to come over. Because in Belgium you would have severe tax advantaged; that is what he believed, and why he finally came over. He had hesitated quite some time. He had his reasons to hesitate. His family was one of those reasons. He had a wife at home and four kids. I bet his wife is now pregnant again, knocked up for the fifth time, now as we speak. No need to deny it. His wife was not working. How could she? She was one of those really old fashioned housewives. Guided and protected by the male species. Wife cooking, man bringing in the money. Mr Moipatron was driven by some very conservative thoughts. Although he had just turned thirty. Some human species are born with aged genes in their body. Mr Moipatron was one of them. He’d die if he would allow his wife go working some place. He’d die of exaggerated protectiveness and jealousy. If he had not have a fireplace at home, he’d sure construct one. To put his wife in front of it. There. That’s the place she belonged! And in bed, with her knees behind her ears. Although he preferred doggy style though. Then he had not to look upon her face all the time. He could not stand the thought that she could see the face he had on him when he erupted into her. He might have been conservative, a vivid imagination he did possess. I guess all French natives do prefer the back attack style. Thirty something and already four kids. So he created the perfect excuse to keep her behind the comforting walls of his protective place called “home”.
And the hard cash. That too. He needed those badly. Of course. Who does not?
Let’s not forget about the life-time achievement competition he had running with his brother. A hard one. Brothers honour at stake here. At the moment mr Moipatron was not leading this brotherly game, at the contrary, he was severely behind the professional status of his younger brother. Damned. This situation was not one he could hold much longer. His personal reputation was at stake. His brother had already been promoted to some head of a bank office. Here in Belgium, this means nothing, only that you have to obey even more to the great money licking assholes in Brussels. But mr Moipatron had only just started as a technical support unit. He hated that. Of course, the fact that he now worked abroad enhanced quite a bit the overall external impression of his actual job. And he did never ever mention the words “technical aid” when he would be in France, visiting his next of kin. He was at least the technical engineer, responsible of a whole department. At home they could not know that only he himself was the sole supporter of this entire Matrix division.
Meanwhile mr Dujournot had gotten rid of his first lieutenant.
He took care of his own protection.
Time to commence a new chapter.
To protect myself.
Chapter twenty nine : inbound burglary opera called “Anissa”
Mr Lloyd called me yesterday. On a Sunday. Mr Lloyd from the undercover investigation cell of Stardor USA. The mother of all mother companies. Seemed they were on to something. Something big now. They were on to a lead towards Italy. It had to do with irregular account transfers or something like that. He could not tell much in order to keep the investigation going. Top secret. But he wanted me to know they were right at it. Someone in Italy should be getting quite agitated and feeling uncomfortable by now. The Italian connection led directly to Matrix Systems Inc. in Belgium. Some “Isabelle” was involved too. But I had no idea what he was talking about, since I never knew a girl called “Isabelle” who worked at our office in Belgium. And he talked about a fax machine that was bought in Belgium by Matrix but ultimately registered in Italy. And had been working in Italy. They were unravelling a bunch of severe knots of so called “areas of conflict of interest” between some Italian company where this fax had been found and Matrix Systems Belgium. It would be clear to them (Stardor) that those devious connections were supported in both countries till today. More I cannot say, since I still have to enclose myself more details to you all about those past years after the move, where mr Van Deuren had got the sack. I even cannot tell you about whom mr Lloyd was talking about. I did not know actually, I could only guess. I knew the person in Italy, but I could not possibly know who was still supporting this illegal connection from Matrix Belgium for reasons I cannot reveal to you at this moment. But it will all fall in its place at the end. But I have told you all quite enough for the moment. You all know that the ITALIAN link is illegal. Or has become illegal. Why? Which connection? I will come to that. First Anissa had to do some more stealing from Matrix Systems.
Why do I say such things? May be because they are true? Her thirst for more seemed out of control. Especially now where she got acquainted with the inner secrets of the account department and she got to see all those six-packs of numbers. They danced before her eyes as golden signs of unknown wealth and luxury. Also the monthly wages, paid to each and every one of us, were now revealed to her knowledge, since she had to book them each month on the appropriate spot, under the right account number. She could not handle all this secret information. As soon as Anissa had seen some salaries, that were higher as hers, she called mr Dujournot to appear in his office and arranged another personal raise. She did this several times. I think Anissa had been able to realize the most raises possible a single person ever could have gotten in the smallest period of time. Kind of issue you would publish in the Guinness book of records , chapter : “strange records”. She used the restricted and classified information she now got hold of purely for her own benefit. The confidentiality that mr Dujournot would expect from someone in this position, Anissa lacked completely. No one told her to adapt her behaviour to a classified level. Partly due to the fact that she even did not have a single clue that this was expected from her. She simply did not know. She was not educated to know this. At the contrary, she started to throw some salaries around in the open. Why would she do that? To cause but envy and “hatred”, something she worshiped as if she were the devil herself. Immediately I got to know from Anissa that Wolfgang Hanssen, as a sales, had about four times as much as I did. As I started even beneath the 2000 Euros brutto each month, Wolfgang earned an easy 8000 euros brutto each month. Now I am the kind of guy that does not question this kind of discrepancies, I do understand that there is a difference in workload, responsibility and power and that wages are dissimilar to cope with these kind of differentiations. But still, it hurt. It did hurt to see and hear this. I did not fell for this kind of entrapment, set out by Anissa. To me the height of Wolfgang’s salary was just a mere indication that there were still opportunities towards the future for me to enhance my salary. I had seen the upper limits. And I liked those! YES SIR! I understood as well that the part of Wolfgang in the sales story of Matrix Belgium, was much more intense on his side than on mine. I was only attracted by Matrix Systems to function as a “support”. I was part of a “back office”. The backbencher. Wolfgang was playing the first violin here. I could live with that. It was a matter of responsibilities and priorities. This was not a problem for me. More it seemed to be a problem for Anissa, which had gotten again unbearable to her when she learned about the salary her ancestor had gotten. Again a reason to call mr Dujournot to return to his Belgium office for another shower and raise. Of course I had wished that my salary was higher than it appeared. It told me more about the way mr Dujounrot thought (not) about the functioning of Matrix Systems and his people. I knew exactly where I stood, when I heard those numbers from Anissa. She even showed me how to look them up in the computer system. I did not ask her to do that. But she did. Driven by her daily search for conflict and anger. They seemed to be unprotected by any pass word. Easy for all. And interesting. So we all learned also that the French representatives only gained one third of Wolfgang’s earnings. Quite remarkable though. The same function, but severely different salaries. As ever, I always tried to look for answers and explanations. I did not find any. Furthermore, Wolfgang had unlimited expenses each month. The French sales though, had to beg and account for every single penny they had spent and booked on their expense account. Mostly mr Dujournot turned those French requests down. Expenses refused! Return to sender! Wolfgang’s expense notes were only to be signed by mr Dujournot, as he signed his own equally, before sending them to the USA to be acknowledged. They were always accepted since it was in their contract stipulated that all expenses were “on the house”, as far as it was Matrix related. The French representatives clearly stood one huge step behind Wolfgang in the scale of importance, company relevance and money distribution. My respect and professional devotion to Wolfgang grew with each minute I got to know this remarkable German sales person. Of course I talked to him on this salary issue. I remember that he was not happy that we all knew the amount of his salary and he even tried to look for excuses why he earned this much.
Eventually he thought that it was ones individual quality to take care of ones own salary. To one extend he was right. But at the other hand, not all professions can be rewarded equally since there still is a difference in responsibility and priority in the whole scheme of things. Besides that, I thought that a difference in salary may never depend on the difference in someone’s ability to negotiate. Wolfgang agreed on that one. We agreed upon everything professional for that matter. That is why we got along so well. We did have the same customer care views, as I have told you. We never ever discussed about our customers, they were all saints to both of us. Our mutual attitude towards our customers was the primary foundation of our spectacular growth that first year of our cooperation 1999/ 2000.
Anissa felt she had to prove and demonstrate her incompetence in case of professional reluctance and discretion on classified company information. I bet she even did not know the word, nor its content, nor its connotations, nor its implications when wrongly used or abused. I bet she even now would have to ask for further explanations on the value and meaning of this sentence, once she would get to read it.
One day I saw her brother, who was working as a warehouse employee, packing and unpacking matrix system goods, storing them, now sitting on an emptied desk in our office. Before him was a pile of sheets. In fact several piles were formed, one pile per external sales and one for mr Dujounrot. It were filled in expense notes from our sales people and mr Dujournot that had to be classified and filed. Of course Anissa had not found time to do this. For more than a year. She had too much work, chatting all day long with her overseas Moroccan friends and family on MSN. So she came up with the brilliant idea to let her brother file those sheets. Sometimes the expense notes had amounts on them that were a multiple figure of my salary. Especially those of mr Dujournot and of Wolfgang. Of course they both had a lot of travelling to do. In the case of Wolfgang I knew he was visiting his clients all over Germany and Eastern Europe because I always had immediate feedback, even most of the time when he was still over there. He did not stalk me, but it came close. (friendly joke) Mr Dujounrot, we never ever heard on the phone. So the filled in expenses (flights, dinners, more flights, more dinners, car fuel, more car fuel, more dinners, more flights), we saw, there was plenty occasion to see those, but any relation to his actual sales work was not ever detected by any one of us, back in the Belgian office. It was not our task of course to look for any connection, but when one is confronted with such irregularities, one starts to wonder. Don’t you think? Peculiar. Is it not? Or was it the intention of Anissa to get us all wondering? Her ways were out of the ordinary.
Still, the huge numbers of hard cash, booked as expenses were there and a warehouse worker saw them too. Month after month. With his salary he could not even book one single flight ticket. At those rates. What was he to think? Must have been soo frustrating. On that one occasion I could no longer stand this kind of unprofessional behaviour of Anissa and called mr Dujounrot to inform him. Two minutes later Anissa's phone rang. After a short one way conversation she came by with a glowing red head (I thought she had peed in her pants again) and sent her brother back downstairs, taking him of this inappropriate time bound job. She stamped like a wild horse. If she could she would have barked too. Like a mule that had been SEVERELY hit on his behind on an early morning Moroccan market. She had been at least as dumb as a mule ever could be. But I doubt she even realized that.
chapter thirty : upcoming theft still under construction
You want more prove of Anissa’s unprofessional indiscrete attitude? Right on! Coming right up. First this : the more stupidity Anissa demonstrated in her job, the harder both Anissa and mr Dujournot stuck together. He stood up for her. Not out of compassion. I don’t think so. Mr Dujounrot even knew from Anissa’s afternoon recovery trips and wellness corrections, including her numerous bleaching sessions and tooth repairing appointments.
(when she opened her mouth, aliens were attracted to earth).
I think her teeth had more electric and even atomic radiant power than an average plant in Iraq could ever evoke to harass Bush. In an undercover effort to keep her as long in the office as possible to ovoid inner conflicts with the rest of the loyal working crew he had, he used to phone to Anissa every single day. At about a quarter to five. PM. The phone call ended five a clock sharp so she could leave for home on time. But then he had the assurance she had been at least at that time in the office. He did not care that she had just came in at four thirty pm. That was irrelevant. But by phoning, he had made sure that she did return to the office, for at least that period of time. He never said anything about Anissa’s afternoon efforts to enhance her beauty. Not to her, not to us. He just kept phoning at four forty five pm. I bet he did not like her hairy back either. I wonder though.
Because of the unbelievable content of the previous pages, I really started to wonder who ever had been responsible for installing mr Dujournot as head of Matrix Belgium. To some extend you could consider it as a compliment that I never had encountered in my entire professional life someone like mr Dujounrot. His actions were at least unpredictable, incomprehensible, often weird, and his way of life was not exactly accessible nor logical. As I said before, I always tried to understand the decisions that were made. Mostly they did not make any sense and surely were never to benefit Matrix Systems Belgium. Although I thought it to be quite interesting to see it all happen, deep inside I knew this could not go on like this, because too many irregularities were created in too short of time. Mr Dujounrot made us believe that he cared very intensely for Matrix Belgium and that he therefore had been at war with the Americans, kind of protection strategy. As I told you before.
I did not buy this shit. It was pure crap. Never heard such nonsense in my life. But I guess he even believed his own lies. For sure he was constantly protecting his own position as great European dictator, with all remuneration included to this position. He did not like, nor allowed any intrusion. He could be quite ruthless. Especially when he felt endangered. I slowly but surely began to comprehend that all actions of mr Dujournot were made in his own selfish personal interest. He had build up a totally fake façade toward the office people and the controlling supervisors in the USA and did anything to uphold this wall of deceit and deception. I never ever had encountered someone who had done as little as mr Dujournot for his company, although he pretended to be the general manager of Europe. Although he was as stinky as someone even can be, he even agreed on exuberant salaries if they were necessary to uphold his own fortress. I felt very extremely disappointed. My initial believe in mr Dujournot shrunk every minute I stayed any longer at Matrix Systems Belgium. And if it was not for Veronique, with whom I made a hell of a customer care team, and for Wolfgang, who really had hit the market and brought in some incredible new customers, and for the devotion mr Moipatron was establishing himself, I would have left. But I did not. I stayed. I had a mission to accomplish. I had a dream. I believed in this dream. The sales figures proved my dream to come true. Others were sucking my dream to tiny pieces, but I tried to ignore those malignant signals. Which was not always possible. Once I had seen through the crappy facade of mr Dujournot, it all became so obvious and clear to me that it even turn out to be painful. Had they been blind in the USA? Or did they really buy anything mr Dujournot told them?
Sure for some part, they had been afraid of him. Mr Dujounrot was to be avoided at any cost. Mr Dujournot liked that. He liked to be left alone. To be ignored. So he could act as he pleased himself to do so. Mr Dujounrot had real problems with authority. Above him. He saw himself as the ultimate authority possible. Any further way of regulating cells and departments were a plain waste of time and energy. He, and only he, had hired Anissa and he would take care of her. No matter what the others would say or do. He would divide and rule. If you talked about Anissa to him, he would only look at you and say nothing. Nothing at all. He would not answer you. He would shut up. If you raised an issue or a problem on the rare occasions he had been in the Belgian office, and he did not answer you on the subject, and just stared or glanced at you, without speaking one single word, you knew he had no intention to consider your spoken words as valid or registered. You had no choice but taking care of this issue by yourself or together with the colleagues involved. When it was Anissa, you always knew that the problem would never be solved. She was too fucking lazy anyway.
To solve anything; for that matter.
Anissa took care of or salary reports at the end of the month. Mr Dujounrot had not arranged an automatic salary payment by SR SOCIAL REGULATIONS, our social security payment office, responsible for all salary calculations and legal arrangements; he needed to give his blessing, his authority on the execution of the payment of our salaries, every month again, month after month. Anissa had to prepare the official forms, and he had to sign for the final blessing. Even when he was abroad, which was about all the time, he had to give his consent to SR in order to pay us. He needed this to feel the power. The immediate power of a possible withdrawal of salary payment. He could do that. Since he had to agree by writing every month. And so every month again, Anissa had to make a list of all holidays taken. Of every day that you had been absent because of sickness or due to urgent reasons. She had bought a little black notebook to keep those dates in. She had seen how mr Van Deuren had tried to do this and now she did it the same way. The only thing she mostly and regularly forgot to fill in, in the little black notebook, were her own holidays and days of absence. Did she do this deliberately? What do you think? Duuuuuuuhhhh!!!!! How do I know? One day, Malvine, who had to do all the real work at the account department, had been so fed up with the continuous absence of Anissa because of her maintenance activities, and her additional full day holidays, that she checked upon the notes in the little black book. Not one single absence had been noted down when it concerned her person.
So Anissa was not only stealing daily time from Matrix, she deliberately stole whole working days and afternoons, which she compensated as holidays she never had been entitled to. By the end of the year Anissa still had most of her holidays still open, so she could ask for a payment of those unused days at the end of the year. Double jackpot and bonanza. Let the money roll! Mr Dujounrot had full trust in the functioning of Anissa at Matrix. Of course, they thought alike.
They were soulmates. He did the same. But on an even much larger scale. That would become clear at the end. Partners in crime. That’s what they were.
Plain fucking time and money stealing criminals. Obstructing those who wanted the best for Matrix Systems. Who believed in their project. In their dreams. In their methods to achieve major sales growth. And who did it. But not without being hurt by those two. Not without being damaged by the leading scum fraud team. Linked together by a golden shower. And lots of free time.
Chapter thirty one : who cares?
Mr Dujournot saw himself as the standard of Matrix Systems, since he was mr Europe himself. He had his own set of regulations and rules he implemented on all of us, independent from those from the States. We had nothing to do with the States. They were evil.
He expected full loyalty from his staff. And no problems at all. Tessy was a fine soldier to mr Dujounrot. She arranged everything fine and solved practically every issue even before it became one. Mr Dujournot was happy with her. It gave him his freedom the same way we at customer care did. Because both Veronique and I had a strong basic experience on the matter so he could count on us with his eyes closed. Which he did. We, at customer care, never had long conversations with mr Dujournot. We did not talk about anything. Mostly because he was not around. It looks pretty stupid to talk to a superior who isn’t even there. We could pretend that he was in, but we had too much work. Work grew on us like a cloned mushroom. Since mr Dujournot had revealed himself over the past months as a person who cannot deal with any nuisance or tricky issues, we clearly tried to avoid every conversation about the daily shit we had to deal with. We solved it on our own. We looked and found ways to get our work done and made our customers happy since they were still the driving force that kept us going. Not mr Dujournot , nor his peculiar behaviour that raised more questions than it delivered us with some answers. Mr Van Deuren had put us in a messy situation. But we needed to pull through. For the customers sake. Veronique and I, we both fought for every order there had to be made, to see to it that it became a correct one. We started to check upon everything we did. We were our own most thorough checker. From content to package to transport, to delivery date, we checked it all ourselves till, after some time, the other departments got the hang of it and started to work correctly.
It took time and sweat and tears and insults from our clients. But we did it. Our way. With the help of Wolfgang on the field. And from Tessy in our warehouse. Mr Moipatron analyzed the new computer system and threw out all mistakes. Not at once, it took weeks before this device really started to be a helping aid in stead of a menace. Without any complements though, we al pulled through, without any notice. From anyone. Only after some time, the clients themselves started to see that we had managed our move and our shipments. Slowly but surely the complaints vanished as it would appear to be spring time. Life and nature started to look beautiful again.
It had cost the head of mr Van Deuren. That was the prize mr Dujournot validated to rescue his own ass. Mr Van Deuren had to deliver his company car in. Right away. A Peugeot 407 station wagon. Light blue metallic. Mr Moipatron took it. He was at least an engineer and had to do by far the most miles per day from all of us. He had moved to the suburbs of Brussels where the population still speak French. To make things easier on his wife, who stayed at home and did not master another idiom.
It was a logical and acceptable decision. Mr Moipatron saw the professional discrepancy between himself and his brother diminish. Since his brother had not obtained a company car. Yet. Bank directors of some local French bank office mostly stay put. In the office. they do not need cars. They need flat screens. And strong pc’s. And mahogany wooden desks. To encounter their clients.
There was still some work to be done by mr Moipatron to get on an equal level as his brother...With the departure of mr Van Deuren new opportunities were presented and fresh potentials were created.
The final defeat of mr Dujournot had started with his own underestimation of the capacities of his staff. His intellectual blindness he obtained through ihis managerial top position, which let him feel like the ultimate dictator, made him immune for the remarks and other fine capacities of his employees. He felt himself miles above the human value we represented, executing the daily treatment of Matrix System orders. He assumed no one ever, besides wolfgang Hanssen, would understand the international relationship Matrix Belgium had with he US. That is why he wanted us to keep as far as possible away from those US monkeys. He did this to protect himself. To make him the sole liaison with the States.
Our saviour. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Al hamdulliliah msef. Allah ou ackbar. Thank God, we had mr Dujounrot. Freaky counterfeit bastard.
He could not prevent mr Moipatron from calling the States though; it was intrinsic on his job. He had to be in connection with the US about all technical issues, changes and novelties that were presented to the world. Mr Moipatron had his contacts over there. He had more contacts than any of us knew. Because mr Moipatron was a silent guy. He was highly intellectual and did not say much, not to us in the office. We thought at first that he was only doing his daily job. We were wrong. Dead wrong. Sometimes he had some trivial would-be discussions on every day life with Veronique. About beauty standards for instance. Or about the English people. As a true Frenchman he did not like the English. As the French don’t since ages now. It is historically grown and cannot ever be erased again. It never ever will turn out well between the French and the English.
Chapter thirty two : a peculiar intense French-English connection
Suppose you have been, out of the blue, for no reason at all, run over by a BMW cabrio, three series, darkgreen metallic, or by an Audi 4, company car, on the “Boterlaarbaan” Deurne or on the “Bischoppenhoflaan” and that you have been taken to a nearby hospital. You are lying on intensive care. The one responsible for running you down, had committed a hit and run, a clear flight criminal offence. He or she is completely trackless. The police is all over the place but cannot find the perpetrator. You are hanging on a dozen wires and needles to keep you alive. The doctor comes in and tells you that you are on your last voyage home. It is only a matter of minutes. He is asking you whom you’d like to see in those last minutes and what you would want to say to them. There is not much time left.
Do you never think of such situations? I do. I really am wondering for myself what I would say to those I loved and would have to leave behind. I would say :
“ I have not understood one single thing of what has been going on around here and what I have been doing in it. My life had been a complete mystery to me, it still is and it sucked anyway, till the end…I guess it all had to do about love and I did not show it to you enough how much I really loved you...I am sorry...”
And if I have some time left I would add :
“I think I messed it all up…, now don’t you make the same mistake as I did and enjoy life as much as you possibly can…it is way too short...”
Then I would gently kiss my loved ones goodbye on their forehead, holding tenderly the heads in both of my shaking hands, that are clearly turning rapidly now into a kind of dark yellowish colour, the colour of death, the kidneys had stopped functioning, and then I would close my eyes, waiting for someone to turn out the lights of life and giving me back the inner peace I had before birth.
Normally you would believe mr Trend Straw, a big, strong, courteous, always smiling American dude, who was responsible for all International Matrix sales headquarters all over the world, as we had in South Africa, India, New Zealand, England, Hong Kong, Russia, Europe (we), Australia, Argentina and Chilé, to be the only and legitimate boss of mr Dujournot. Big mistake. Mr Trend Straw was in his early thirties and it was more than clear that mr Dujournot who already had been visited by Abraham and thus knew where to find the mustard (Belgian proverb to indicate that one has already celebrated their 50th birthday) (passed 50), was not accepting such a youngster to be his superior; no fucking way.
Mr Dujounrot had been bought away from the competition and this was done by mr Don Martin, a tainted sophisticated English executive of Stardor. As Stordor was to be situated above Matrix in their daughter/mother relationship, it was clear that only Ron Martin would have anything with impact to say to mr Dujounrot, knowing the resentment mr Dujounrot had cultivated towards any USA intervention in his (non-) European activities. No one ever explained this strange inter company relationship between mr Dujournot and mr Ron Martin. Ron martin was even a bit older than mr Dujournot. He appeared in our Matrix offices, always unexpectedly since mr Dujounrot never found it appropriate to announce anything towards us. He just appeared in the office, always together and accompanied by mr Dujournot. They behaved as Siamese twins. Ron Martin was very friendly, but in a scheming way. He was too friendly. Like John Cleese toward his dominant wife. “Yes dear…”. Ron martin had made it to the top. He was now responsible for all Stardor activities in Europe and a kind of coordination was expected from him. He travelled a lot. Throughout Europe. As did mr Dujournot. They were never together though. When they saw each other, they met in Belgium, in our offices. Occasionally. When something urgent had come up. Like signing the rental papers of our new warehouse. Or witnessing the execution of mr Van Deuren. I had the impression, mr Dujounrot used mr Ron Martin to his personal benefit as he did with all of us. He used him to underline his own omnipotence. As he kept mr Trend Straw on an acceptable distance from his devious self enrichment activities. By barking at him, on the phone. By insulting him, on the phone. By disagreeing on every USA proposal. Mr Dujounrot had his tricks and he knew by now that they worked.
Since mr Ron Martin had reached a superior high levelled managerial top position, no one of Matrix USA ever openly thought anything could possibly been wrong in Europe with the way mr Dujounrot functioned. He had it all well covered up.
Logically mr Trend Straw would have all legal powers over mr Dujournot since he had them over all the other foreign Matrix agencies. For some inexplicable reason England did not belong to Europe in the constellation of Matrix Systems. Do you think mr Dujounrot tried to explain this to us? Duuuuuhhh! We knew that Matrix England was something “special”, since it was immediately connected to Stardor and another English company they just took over. So mr Ron martin was in charge of all and took Europe also under his wings. Strangely enough Matrix England did not sell but in England. As we (Europe) sold everywhere else in Europe. Matrix England was historically grown and for some unspoken reason, could not ever possibly be added to Matrix Europe. As one of his major combat tasks against the USA and against England, mr Dujournot had set himself as major target to protect and defend at any cost the territory of Europe for his and our sales. If mr Dujournot used any energy in favour of Matrix Systems Europe, then it would have been for this purpose. As more managers do so in Europe, they all believe strongly in a kind of war-game they are playing against each other. To conquer “the market”. To get to be the “nr one” in the “market”. They all want to be or are already “leader” in their specific trade, to which they hold on to in a kind of pathetic way. Of course England was an enemy of Matrix Europe too. Only when the two leaders would meet, you could not tell as they seemed to be very close friends indeed. Mr Ron martin was a true Englishman. He had the right accent and the right dandy upperclass manners. Only because mr Ron Martin was the direct supervisor (without any supervision) and superior in command above mr Dujournot, mr Dujournot behaved as we never knew or had seen him behave before. We never knew what both “leaders” were talking about, but they always conducted themselves as if it were the upcoming destruction of a nuclear plant in Iraq they were talking about. Thank God Ron Martin had such a strong lieutenant as there existed mr Dujounrot, to guide with his devine skills over sales Europe, so he could concentrate on other even more important “take-over opportunities” to add to the smaller and thus weaker England leg of Matrix Systems.
Now, it is quite normal that both Ron Martin and the USA were having a close eye on the figures of Matrix Europe. We had no clue that we all came out of a kind of “total loss” situation a few months ago. Since sales figures were only growing, since the day I came on board (I did not say I was responsible for the hoist, but it could indicate that I helped the increase a bit anyway the same way as did Veronique and Malvine also in their own specific approach), year after year, on a spectacular basis, Eastern Europe and Germany kind of exploding really, they left us completely alone. They did not bother at all about anything around here. They hardly knew about our existence and our inbound problems we were coping with at that time. As long as the sales figures are increasing, you will not easily arouse an American for that matter. Nor mr Dujournot. And they were, spectacularly. Just go back and look at those sales rates! Impressive huh!
As for the results, one could indeed conclude that mr Dujournot was a hell of a general manager and Ron Martin should have been proud to have such managerial miracle worker as one of his associates.
To give mr Dujounrot all the credit for his sudden explosive increase in sales, as we did took in, the early days of the year 2000 and 2001, would be easy. The Americans like it easy and do not tend to look any further. It suited mr Dujournot well. Very well indeed. As we never knew anything on this, you could be sure he had sold himself again to be the final one and only true liberator of Matrix Europe. It had been at least his idea to move the whole damn place away from costly MIXO handling and put it autonomously elsewhere in the first place. Don’t you ever forget that! The connected problems he had already erased out of his system. We took care of those. The hard way. As all inconveniences and trouble of our move were attacked systematically by all of us, but Anissa, since we all were very conscientious in our work and we also liked the fine results, mr Dujounrot started very quickly to see new opportunities for his private unknown activities. He stayed only a few more days after the meeting of crucifixion of mr Van Deuren. All of a sudden, he announced quite officially that he was going to leave us because he was taking on a major European roundtrip to inform our clients about the move we all made. A bit late, but nevertheless, it could help a bit. This meant of course, that he would be away for at least two months. We did not care. We were happy really, that he wasn’t in. He did nothing but annoying us anyway. Because, when he was in, he kicked on “playing the boss”. He started to ask all possible silly non relevant questions, so he could impose superfluous new little rules, he could declare strange individual conclusions we all had to follow, since he was our dictator, after all. It was sickening. When he was out, we never ever heard anything of him nor his whereabouts. When he was in, he always annoyed anyone, intensely, but Anissa. So, yes, we were all happy when he left Matrix for one of his mystery tours. We all knew that he lied. He would not see a single customer, those upcoming weeks. We would know, because we spoke our customers on a daily basis.
We were not stupid you know. But The sovereignty of mr Dujounrot had taken such proportions, he truly had lost all connections to everyday life. Maybe, just maybe he had fallen in love again.
That would explain a lot. Indeed. We did not know anything about his private life. And since Tanja had left us, this gossip content, had to be filled in by a successor. Not Anissa took over this important self-regulating task, it was mr Moipatron. The silent one. He started to talk. Not abundantly, but bit by bit. As Tanja had been an express train on her hearsay mission, mr Moipatron surely was a train that stopped in every small town. He did not say much, but when he spoke, every single detail was released and you knew with your eyes closed, it all was as true as the content of the holy bible. Even mr Moipatron did not ever know where mr Dujournot would be when he was on one of his European visiting trips. Of course he always tried to find out. Once, he even directly fired the query into the face to mr Dujournot. As usual, when you asked him that kind of questions, he did not like to hear nor answer, he always did as if he had not heard you at all. He looked at mr Moipatron as if he came straight from hell and did not speak a word. Painful silence. You ‘d better not repeat that question though.
After the introduction of Don martin in our Belgian premises, we knew they both stuck together like instant glue to cover up for each other towards the USA. The English and the French in a unique bond, especially melted together to conquer the USA. Probably both had a lot to hide from the US. This was the first commitment ever made between an Englishman and a Frenchman in the history of Matrix Systems. Don Martin liked the way mr Dujounrot handled the USA responsible dudes. It liberated himself at the same time, since Europe is one piece of land, to the US. It made him feel stronger, being in charge of the European leg of Matrix. It promoted him to be responsible for all Stardor European acquisitions. He liked that. He liked the support of mr Dujounrot. “Well done, old chap!...well done indeed!” He needed his support. As much as mr Dujounrot needed the support of Don. By playing this game double, they had an even more profound backbone against the threat of interference and unnecessary meddling fro
the part of the USA.
Chapter thirty three : the raise of mr Moipatron
Although MATRIX Systems was a hundred percent American company, we had a 200 % Frenchman as our general manager. I tell you even more : the French were in clear majority as it came down to comparison of Nationality. We had mr Dujounrot, general manager, French, we had mr Moipatron, technical support manager, French, we had our four salesman, three of them were French. That makes a grand total of four. Malvine had two nationalities, she was Moldavian and had a Belgian passport since a decade now. Belgium is one of the few countries where you can have two nationalities. That is because Belgians are weird people who cannot make up their minds. They also always choose the easiest solution when having problems. So if you cannot choose which country is yours as a native country, why not take both? It’s all so easy! Anissa was born in Belgium, but kept her Moroccon nationality from her parents. Veronique, Tessy and I were the only true Belgians. We were multicultural. The only pain in the ass in the whole constellation up till now, was undoubtedly mr Dujounrot. Mr Moipatron presented himself in the beginning more like a colleague. The same did the sales reps. Two of those were quite old, actually, mid fifties, Eugéne and Joseph, and one youngster, named Carl. Now, as I told you, those French reps were not exactly of the same competence as mr Dujounrot, nor mr Wolfgang Hanssen, for that matter. Wolfgang Hanssen was the only German on board. He did not bother. He spoke fluently English and got along with all of us. He was not much in the Belgian office either. I was there and that was enough. He was on the field. The battle fields of a sales war. We all were hired for our independent behaviour and inbound responsible attitude towards our mission, our goals, our targets. And we all made it work. Even when things went wrong. Even when things went tough to handle. Our mutual believe in our mission kept us going. The sales figures proved us right. Again and again, as I told you already. Am I getting old and repetitive? Tell me if I am. What do I want to say here, really? That things were not so bad after all, those early years in 2000/2001. Besides the regular unacceptable office behaviour and cruel stupidity of Anissa, we did have occasionally some great times those years. Sales were more than promising, they were good, they became excellent, mr Dujournot had become a full time happy traveller in the mystery of nowhere land; he left us alone and he let us do our job as we thought it to be best. The sales results made him, again, towards the US and towards Ron Martin, the top manager, he though he really was himself. His personal ratio input/output was at least spectacular. If he could, he’d fly, only, he limped. Still. He kept on drinking too much, the drunken poor old sod. He wasn’t poor in reality.
We all assumed he ‘d be loaded.
Where smoke there is fire.
Gossip can have a positive influence on the relationship between human species. Mr Dujounrot dressed himself with a coat of total silence, he moved around in a world of complete mystery and never ever informed us at the office of his intentions, neither professional, nor private. The private part I can understand. The professional part is a harder nut to crack. You could always reach him on his mobile. When he had not turned his voice mail on. As he always did before noon.
When you act as mr Dujournot did, you enhance gossip. You feed hearsay. You nourish unfounded information.
I am not gossiping here. I am telling you all the reasons why things will turn out the way they well do at the end of this book. Because all of this is only the beginning of what is going to happen next. It is the “entrée”, the “aperitif” of a five course high class meal in a fancy French restaurant at the Cote d’ Azure.
If people lack information, they start guessing. They try to analyze the signals they get. They are looking for signs, remarks, mistakes, made by the one who is trying to conceal something. Because, if you are that silent as mr Dujournot persistantly was, you knew there had to be something he was hiding. From us. From mr Ron Martin, from the USA. He also talked too much about “honesty” to be acceptable.
You can be sure that those who constantly talk to you about the importance of “honesty” in a relationship or in business, are the first to taste from the tempting cake of deceit and treachery. By his few words spoken, the clear inscrutability of his insignificant actions and obscure but rare public deeds, Mr Dujournot unmistakably had moved himself in this category of human trash.
Only, he did not realize this himself.
Hours Tanja used to talk on the phone with Trend Straw.
About the time she lacked to do her work properly. About Maria who had left and now she had no one to turn to in case she had a decision to make. About mr DujounroT who did not seem to care at all. About mr Dujournot who was all the time complaining to her that she had not finished her job, but would not help her to solve the problem. About the exuberant expense notes of mr Dujournot. About anything really….Tnaja had been a professional nit-picker and whiner. She had at least the face to be that kind of woman. Everything that should have looked stretched on her face, hung down. Attracted to earth by its gravity. Like her moral. Now she was pregnant, it was high time to get out of here.
Even if he knew he had no influence what so ever, nor any power on this European leg of Matrix Systems, he still tried to seek his way in. He had found a full-time complaining companion in the person of Tanja. But since Tanja had left, she had to be replaced; mr Moipatron fitted in nicely.
Of course the overall attitude of mr Dujounrot evoked disgust and resentment amongst all of us. At the one hand we were all happy that he was not around the office since he ‘d be a pain in the ass anyway, so we choose the better solution for our sake and were content with his structural absence. The lack of knowledge about his person, about his strategy, about his commitment towards Matrix, fed the gossip as an eternal everlasting fountain in the Ardennes forest. Soon we all started to laugh about mr Dujournot. He started to turn into the fool of the village. We did not take him serious any longer. We solved our own problems. He ruled himself out. If one of us dared to present him with a nuisance or a dilemma, you’d be sure, you ‘d be occupied with this issue till the end of the week, till his departure. He did never decide at once. He’d started to analyze first. He’d let you wait. He would discuss but he would not listen. And finally he’d decide just the opposite of what you would do. Conclusion : no one ever presented him another problem. Never Again. Unless they reached him first, through customers for instance. Then he usually would start to create some absurd rules that would help to solve the issue. In his mind. In practice his solution would only stall everything for the worse. He was sooooo slow on everything. His limping had reduced of course his speeding mileage.
He had time. As all Matrix issues were taken care of for him. We all contributed to this level. But he did not reveal anything. So the gossiping continued through mr Moipatron. And Trend straw. And the other French sales reps. Of course they stuck together. Quite natural I would say so. So mr Moipatron spent a lot of time on the phone, creating hearsay stories and “would you believe narratives .” the quality of mr Moipatrons chitchat was high. Mostly he was right. He had noticed something irregular and drew the right conclusions. He had heard some sentences and knew what was going on immediately. He had an IQ of 139. Pretty impressive and thus capable of turning the chitchat into real bedtime stories.
Moreover, mr Moipatron would not let go. He was so grossed by the behaviour and attitude of our general, that he kept insisting on information to be given by mr Dujournot. He did not get any.
But false. Mr Dujounrot was as stubborn as a mountain goat. So he started to lie about his location. That was the easy part to find out. Still, we never knew where he really was.
Because of his long overseas conversations with mr trend Straw, mr Moipatron knew what was going on in the word of Matrix spare parts. He also knew the gossip linked to the parts. It was a valid source of information on the undisclosed life and love of our upper chief. Meagre but valid. Also the way he behaved, his body language, his appointments, his quotes and especially his dinners and late nite escapades on the big international trade fairs of Paris, Munich, and Frankfort, where the world top was present and shining as usual, gave partly away some useful personal and secret data to our seeking French reps. Together with mr Moipatron, they had made it into a kind of sport to be on the search for the truth about the well kept life of mr Dujounrot. An investigation that finally would lead to disastrous results.
When he would be around in his Belgian office, limping around exasperating everyone, upstairs and downstairs in our warehouse, he used to appear about Wednesday, at noon. He would usually leave for the weekend at Thursday afternoon, about two till four pm. On those two days, he would have spend around four to six hours in the office. In total. It appeared to be sufficient. For the next two till three months. In fact it was a huge compliment to all of us. We managed without our manager. We all contributed to this independent state we were forced into by circumstances beyond our own free will. If you have your own qualities, you are sufficiently skilled of the job you need to practice and if you have the necessary experience to cope with some unforeseen events, then you do not need a supervisor, nor chief, nor general, nor dictator around you to tell you how to do your job. But not all of us were that skilled or educated for that matter; Anissa lacked about everything she needed to perform her newly acquainted job. But she appeared to be shrewd. As we were not to be called best mates, she decided to include mr Moipatron in her scheme of things she could not handle. For one reason or another mr Moipatron did not seem to mind. To be abused as think-tank for the account department, since Anissa’s tank seemed to be empty. It never had been filled up. As hollow as the mind of Homer Simpson.
chapter thirty four : mr moipatron takes his chance
Tittle-tattle had been one way of finding elements to compose the surreptitious life of mr Dujounrot. His mystery was his insurance of living a quiet and undisturbed day in Southern Europe. During office hours. In stead of visiting his clients, as he told us. As he repeatedly said to us. That far they had gotten already. Inspector Clouseau is French too. That would explain a lot. Maybe they have a natural flair of wanting to unfold the uncovered. I did not care, I must admit, how and why and when mr Dujournot lived as he lived his actual life. As long as he left me alone, I would be fine, thank you!
Mr Moipatron had more difficulties about this strange way of consuming time and leading an obscure life as a general manager of Matrix Systems. He wanted to know it all. He wanted to understand it all. I do too, like the aspect of understanding. But what I have been witnessing the last few months, since my start here at Matrix, forced me wisely in the direction of putting a hold on all thoughts concerning this topic. I just did what I had to do, my job and I did it well. Together with mr Hanssen.
Mr Moipatron spent a lot of time on his investigations. He was on the phone all day, occasionally he talked to a customer. Mostly he talked to his French sales reps or to Trend Straw. Often mr Moipatron could not hold back his personal contempt towards it all and you could here him swear on mr Dujournot and his “façon de vivre”.
“Gerard, could you come over to my desk for a second?”, Anissa asked about ten times a day. She got stuck again in one of her mails, could not find the right word or translation, or the way to write it down. Name it and she could not do it. Total incompetence. Mr Moipatron came every time she called him. Without any hesitation. Weird. Strange. Bizarre. He really took good care of her. You would not suppose that he….and Anissa….noooo, no way. He was a devoted father of four children and his wife carried number five in her womb. He could not have been tempted by this heap of evil....could he? He could, of course, but then I do not want to know about it…it would make me vomit. Mr Moipatron had some integrity in my eyes. He had been a fine guy up till now. And he kept on helping Anissa where he could. He developed schedules and rosters, made charts in Excel, all to make things work for Anissa. Anissa had been completely lost after the departure of Tanja. In the beginning, she did not dare to say anything, but as time passed by, even in the account department it is convenient that you present some figures from time to time. Which she could not do, since she did not know how to do it. Mr Moipatron was a gift of Allah to her. He surely would get his seventy virgins if he’d only would believe in Allah in stead of God. At the end of each month, the closure was done by “Schellekens”, an external financial account company, responsible for the yearly fiscal control. What Tanja used to do, now was taken over by “Schellekens”. The only thing Anissa had to do was to book a series of numbers, entering the right numbers under the right account numbers. Which was not always easy, since even here she failed to do this correctly. The actual bookings were mostly done by Malvine. Since she worked part time for the account department. For Anissa that is. Malvine also opened the morning mail. Malvine entered the incoming cash into their appropriate accounts. Malvine checked upon the daily payments. Malvine did about anything that had to be done.
Anissa was busy. She had to maintain the verbal alliance with Morocco. Or with her shopping friends. Who had bought 100 ml of Chanel nr 5 for only 10 Euros.
“What??? Where???? Did you buy a bottle for me too? Why not??? Selfish bitch….” They met on MSN. About all day long.
Why would mr Moipatron be such a supportive and compassionate colleague to Anissa? I kept wondering. He too, had seen the numerous outbursts of anger, every time she did not agree on a job to be done (mostly it was the pressure of actually doing something, that made her explode like a popcorn, since she was about the laziest bitch on this planet). Still mr Moipatron kept silent and helped Anissa where he possibly could.
Anissa had become a living legend at Matrix Systems Belgium. We all managed one way or another to live with this kind of human peculiarity. We had to. Because of her protection, gracely delivered by our absent head of state. He kept phoning every day. At four forty five pm. Only to Anissa. That was one way of demonstrating that he stood behind her. (with his willy in his hand)
You could clearly hear when she talked to mr Dujournot on the phone, apart from the regular hour. She raised her voice to a level the whole office could listen into. She thought these calls gave her a certain standard. A high levelled position. Because she talked to the boss. She alone. Brainless.
Anissa had her fight with about anyone. Name one person she had not have a fight with. Impossible. She loved to fight. With words. I bet that in the security of her home, she even used her fists occasionally or even other bodily utensils to strengthen her words. As graceful as she sometimes appeared, the stronger raw beast was hiding underneath.
Anissa, the chosen one. To do nothing. Literally. We had made up a plan to maintain the cleanness of the office kitchen. Each of us would take care of our mutual kitchen for one week, five days in a row. Easy job. Not for Anissa. She systematically refused to keep her part of the job. Or she forgot. Or she was too busy (her words). The kitchen always was a complete mess when Anissa’s turn had passed. As if a bomb had exploded. I often wished she had blown herself up. She never did though. Too much trouble.
“Gerard, could you come over to my desk for a second?”, The sweater she said it, the huger problem she had to be solved.
One morning, it all became clear why mr Moipatron had been the good Samaritan for the last few weeks. He had some bottles of real French champagne with him. To celibrate his promotion.
What is the matter with those French guys? Are they all backstabbers? Are they all operating in the dark? Are they all direct descendants from Napoleon? What about openness and sincerity? Maybe he thought that the behaviour of mr Dujournot had to be taken as the standard around here.
We had not seen this coming. He had prepared his promotion in utmost secrecy. He handed over a letter to everyone personally. It was from mr Dujounrot. How nice. Our boss talked to us through mail, through a letter. It all looked official. It damned was! He became the first “assistant to the general manager” of Matrix Systems Belgium. Of course, he was not in to announce this promotion. He probably had other important things to take care of, like removing the fifth peach tasting condom from his shiny shrinking dick, whilst heavily breathing, since he was not that young anymore. However, she still was. She was in her early thirties. In addition, she demanded a lot of him, even if he limped. When he was in her companionship, he did about anything to disguise his limping leg. He had invented a story in which he told that he had hurt his leg in a warehouse accident where a pickup truck had driven against it. The stupid bastard! He had noticed that the function of “office manager” had not worked and he surely did not want to end up the same way. Meanwhile they had moved to Brussels, his wife and kids included. So much at stake here. Who was she? Anissa had no clue. But she sensed there was someone else in the life of mr Dujournot. We would all soon find out. Not trough mr Dujounrot though. He kept silent, as usual. As always. What did you think. Officially he even was still married. After his son never came to the surface of the Loire again, he had left his wife. That is what had been told, gossipwise. How else should we know?
One thing was absolutely sure about mr Dujounrot; He was not gay. No sir! Just ask Anissa. Or Malvine for that topic. Her hooters had always more attention then anything else when he was in the Belgian office. He could not get his eyes from them. As if they were silently calling his name : “mr Dujounrot, mr Dujournot…”
Malvine liked that. If she knew that mr Dujounrot would be visiting us, she always set them free. Like an open invitation to park your bycicle in between. Or even a motorbike. They were firm enough to hold a bike.
“Assistant to the general manager”. What a title indeed. In fact, it was nothing less or more than the indication that mr Moipatron would be the new right hand of mr Dujournot. Do you know what he does with his right hand? Not only handshaking! Bwaaarrk. I feel sick. Just kidding. But it indicated that both gentleman made some sort of gentleman agreement. Mr Moipatron had turned the excessive absence of mr Dujournot into a clear advantage for his personal career. Well done old chap!
By appointing mr Moipatron as direct assistant to his managerial function, he had created again, only one person to shit upon, when something irregular should happen at the office. Always handy when you are that often far away from the home office. This move clearly enhanced the responsibility of mr Moipatron towards the big boss. He would now be responsible for all daily crap. However, he got an impressive title and a raise in stead. I was not jealous. I never was. Everything functioned as it did before without mr Dujournot. I did not see why things should change now that mr Moipatron had obtained a larger scale of responability towards it all. He had become “assistant to the general manager”, not assistant to me. He had to help and assist mr Dujounrot where he needed him most. He had intensified their relationship. I new this was not going to work. Now, of course, we never ever saw mr Dujounrot again in the office, since he had installed another pair of blabbering eyes for his sake. He was promoted by mr Dujounrot to be the gossiper of the day, and one of his new tasks was the information flow at the end of the day. Mr Moipatron got the evening calls Anissa used to get. Now he asked mr Moipatron if Anissa was still in the office. He used the ranking he had installed himself. “Ordnung muss sein!” Sometimes he still called Anissa first. To comfort her. Anissa knew he had a new love of his life. Women feel that.
Mr Moipatron was on his way up. There was no elevator though.
It was time for mr Moipatron to develop his doubled face.
Chapter thirty five : reinforcement for customer care
Of course I could completely understand the personal move mr Moipatron had made. He was still young and ambitious and saw a bit further than his own nose. Why blaim him? At the contrary.
Congrats were on its place here.
We enjoyed the real French Champagne, without mr Dujournot. Anissa and Malvine did not drink because of their religion. They were Muslims and for some obscure reason they may not drink alcohol. It is forbidden by the Koran, their holy bible. Nevertheless, I do know several Muslims, especially men, who drink, alcohol, when it suits them. They mostly hide it by drinking f.i. whiskey cola, so the drink looks like a regular plain coke.
The only thing I did not like about his promotion was the way he had obtained it. We were a small team. Even if you could not speak of a real team, we were a handful of strong individuals with our own qualities and shortcomings. We had survived the move of our offices and warehouse. Mr Van Deuren had not been that lucky. We all had our individual strengths. We had pulled through and we had made out of Matrix Belgium a fine working and oiled machinery. We did this without the help nor guidance of our chief. Nor sous-chief. Therefore, this change in the office ranking was a bit peculiar.
Neither mr Moipatron, nor mr Dujounrot had previously asked any of us if we would agree on this promotion. I bet both knew there would be difficulties with some of us if they had done so. I know for sure that Veronique would have disagreed. Me, myself, honestly, I would have disagreed as well, since I did not see any advantage for Matrix Belgium in this promotion. Again, this promotion was forced for the benefit of mr Moipatron himself, because he got a raise and another title. However, he still had to provide us and our clients with technical support. Of course, this promotion was also to the total advantage of mr Dujournot personally. He got himself another fine first lieutenant. To protect the home fortress. To represent him when he was away on those Italian killing fields. Now his absence from his home office became legitimate. That is what he thought. That is what he had expected from mr Moipatron. To stand firm as assistant chief guardian of the home bastion. I am sure that is also exactly what mr Moipatron promised he would do.
I had not much time to think about the consequences or change that might occur by these office-ranking alterations.
We, at customer care, had both our hands full with the rapidly growing orders of our European consumers. In fact, we could not cope any longer at that level. We needed support. Because of the internal changes, mr Moipatron agreed swiftly on an additional extra help. Part-time that was, since mr Dujounrot kept his hand firmly on the wallet. To keep it closed. It only opened for his own support.
Karine entered the house of Matrix. My God! What was that?
I could not believe my eyes. She had grown a real poodle dog on her head. She was as ugly as hell. And she smoked. Three times “bingo”. Mr Dujournot had instructed Veronique to do the screening since he was not around the office for some time in the near future. (who would have guessed???). So Veronique had seen and screened some people. Karine appeared to be the better one. For the job she had to perform, no specific skills really were necessary, only a little accuracy and international language mastership would do perfectly, thank you. Karine had said on the screening interview that she mastered French, German and English. So where is the problem?
Apart from her strange deeds, her numerous anxiety ticks, and the poodle on her head, she seemed pretty normal.
Now I know I am the master in confusion, I am the complete chaotic person, I have always the greatest disorder there possibly can be on an office desk, but I do always find my things. I have a strict order in my disorder.
Karine only had “order”. She had it in a fanatic kind of way. Every morning she placed her package of cigarettes on the same spot. Her lighter on top, in the same direction towards the window. She shook her shoulders several times before she even switched on her computer. She coughed, like a poodle. At ten o ‘clock sharp she always stopped working and used the same words: “I think I am going to have a smoke.” She said it to no one in particular, just in the open. Then she stood up and left for the warehouse, below. To have her smoke. A double one. She was a woman of forty but looked fifty-five. Her skin was wrinkled, wrecked, and dried up by the tons of cigarettes she had already consumed.
As time went by, Karine appeared to be even dumber than Anissa, but that was technically not possible.
If you take her intellectual capacities into consideration, it isn’t even worth mentioning the existence and impact of this woman in the format of things. Her added value was zero, “nada”, nothing at all, noppes, rien, null, even below zero.
She helped us, that is all. She appeared to be so shy she could not even answer the phone properly. A woman of forty years old!
We made her classify our files, we made her pack the small shipments, and we made her do the simplest things possible that had to be done anyway. This gave us the little room and support Veronique and I desperately needed in treating our customers to the high level we choose for ourselves. She could do the bookings, entering numbers in a specific prefixed field. Any deviations on this, she had to report to me or Veronique, so we could avoid major problems and initial mistakes she surely would have made. We had to keep a close look on her and so she functioned fine. For now. Like a guided poodle.
Would you believe if I told you that Karine was married? Twice for heavens sake! To a professional photographer. He photogrephed new cars. Not models. I bet she never had been a model. Nor his model. She even had a daughter from her first marriage, about 18 years old. The most well kept Virgin of Schoten.
Every time our conversation on the island of customer care was sexualliy related (pretty often , I must say so) , she started to cough and began shaking and twisting her shoulder. She could not stand any word related to the word “sex”. I think she was the first real replica of the holy mother Mary and had gotten pregnant too through virtual insemination by some holy spirit. She was absolutely untouchable, frigid like a five star A-rated freezer of Media Mart, not that I ever had any intention about touching her anywhere. No one at the office had ever this urge. She had hair snow. Head snow. Skull particles hanging loose. She lost her head skin intensely. In tiny white pieces. It fell on her shoulders, on her desk. On her cigarettes. She even had it behind her ears. On her arms and on places I did not even want to hear about. “Psoriasis”, they call it. The nervous disease of these times. Caused by stress. Negative stress… She had I already before she started to work for us. That was promising! Probably in a few months, she would be starting to fall apart. Mornings, when she had arrived and before taking her seat, she shook her hair like a wet poodle does and all of the white skull snow fell down all over the place. I sat at the desk right next to her. Nice.
Now Karine was stupid and Anissa was stupid. The real difference between them is to be found in the fact that thanks to Karine and her intense foolhardiness, we had our daily portion of incredible laughs. I know this was not nice of us. But it was unavoidable. She became the motor of all humour in our office. Thank you Karine, for making my office life a bit more cheerful.
We needed this.
Now I can hear you all wondering why I spend so many words to someone of such little overall importance in the total picture. Now, her individual strength and positive addition to the benefit of our group was nihil. However, her being as such was of crucial importance in the further development of this story. She had been added to customer care as an extra aid. Because we could no longer cope with the workload which was still growing each and every day. So we exploied her any way we possibly could. She had not many ways to be used in our advantage. Because she lacked almost any possible quality. So we, Veronique and I, carefully, searched for any possible way to make her profitable for the customer care department. As said, the easiest jobs she took out of our hands. Which forced us to control on her. She could not possibly work without failure, without mistakes. But she was in now and this way, unchanged, she stayed with for us several years to come. In addition to all those things she had not, she was also incredibly slow. But, since this was one of the major qualities of mr Dujournot, she blended in one way or another. We had to do with her. Don’t you think now that she might have improved with those years of training and practicing, no sir! That would be to much of positivism we ever could handle. Of course we both hoped that she would learn by doing the things she did. But her empty chambers hidden underneath her poodle stayed emty. As a drained and complete unfilled Olympic swimming pool. Minutes before she had dived in, no water. Damn. The scars and damages she encountered were hers for the rest of her life.
How much more misery can a human being cope with? I do not know. At Matrix, at least it was not finished yet. It all had to start. Still. I do think it all is a bad dream I am about to wake up from.
It cannot possibly be true to be surrounded by such a bunch of unbalanced people as at that time at Matrix Systems Belgium. If, out there, is to be found any other such person in a similar position as I was back then, please, contact me immediately because I think I need to start with a talking group where we can share each others experiences to keep us upright in this environs of total lunacy and big boobies. Karine was the “cherry on the pie”, as it is said in Belgium, meaning : she was the ultimate lunatic of all. She became our mascotte. She already had the right equipment on her head. She looked like the chain smoking twin sisters Patty and Selma (hair included) of “the simpsons”. My God, I had been projected in one of the “Simpsons” episodes and I was not aware of it. I had already found mr Burns (mr Dujounrot), mr Smithers (mr Moipatron) and now Karine was a duplicate of those twin sisters. Karine was alone, she had no sister. (>Thank God for that! Alhamdoulilah!!! Msef – or msev) See, I had to be dreaming all along. Wake me up please! Hit me on my head, pinch me in my arm, but wake me up. When I first started at matrix Systems, I could never ever have guessed to enter such a community of total weirdness and insanity. Maybe I am becoming insane. Help meeee!!!!
Take it easy now. Relax. Breathe, slowly, in and out…that is better… But would you ever believe this? Not one single saine sole on this planet would ever believe this story...it is too incredible to be acceptable. Still it is true. How can I ever prove this to you? May be by just adding the elements that came, one after the other, towards me (in my dream or in reality???), so you can all be witnesses of a heap of pitiless circumstances you would not ever consider to be valid, in the first place. The sheer existence of someone like Karine is nothing more or less than a living cruelty.
Where did all normal people go to? They surely never did apply for a job at Matrix Belgium. I may possibly belonged to the insane class too! May be this was hell an I am already in it. Mr Dujounrot must have been in the hooters heaven , then.
Who would I be, which character would I represent in “the simpsons”? I would not know; REALLY….
Karine was in and that was that! We had to cope with her for the next three years. Dreams or reality, who the fuck cares?
chapter thirty six : customer payment control
“No one cares for losers”. That is a fact. That is the truth.
Therefore, I Have no intention whatsoever to end this story as a loser. No sir.
I will be victorious.
Creative people are no good bosses. See for yourself.
Check upon your company you are working for. All people in charge, on the ultimate top, are all close by dictators, with huge, tremendous egos. On their way up, they have eliminated all competition and are mostly surrounded by bunches of ass licking wannabe’s.
Those egos in charge only allow approach if you are any use to them. If they feel, get or expect immediate advantage for their personal well being. They are all only trying to establish their own royalty world of private luxury and human individual supremacy.
Artists are not involved in that kind of trivial earthly stuff of gaining power and wealth and more command and more capital. They are looking for answers they will never find. They know that. Still they go on looking. They are mostly stubborn. They are creating objects, paintings, beauty, and immortality without a price but also without an answer. They work in poverty since at the time of creation no one believes in those silly poor bastards. Only later on, after centuries, their work gets value and meaning. But then they are all dead. They die poor. This has to be this way.
Because they know, power is something totally unsubstantial and empty. It is temporary. Artists seek eternity. Bosses too, but they are soo overwhelmingly occupied with their status of accumulative worldly assets and power that they forget about eternity and the fact that it surely is not something human. They die too. Without any shred of power and possessions. They have to leave it all behind. Hidden away in fortresses or well guarded bank safes. How sad. How bad. What a waste of time and energy. Artists have made pieces to overcome eternity. They should be sponsored by the state.
Mr Dujounrot had been away for a while.
Sales had been growing like hell. We were all finghting time and accuracy. The well oiled machinery was on its way up.
Until all of a sudden, mr Dujounrot called the office, as he usually did around four fifty pm. each night. To flirt with Anissa, or to shit upon mr Moipatron. Now he had asked an important question. A question that involved work. Work for Anissa. Which she rejected immediately. Since , by accepting it, she would have admitted that it was her fault that she - all the time - had forgotten to do what had to be done. To check upon the incoming money.
Ah,well, Tanja had mentioned something about this, but since she herself had too much work (talking, gossiping and complaining to Trend Straw f.I.), which she clearly had mentioned towards mr Dujounrot at the time, she had dropped this part of her work as “less important” and put it aside. Anissa never had picked it up again, which meant that the day since Tanya left, and even before, no one actually had checked upon the incoming money from our customers. The incomings were booked, that is all. No one checked if it was ok, if the payments were sufficient, if they were correct and surely, no one checked the payments that were not made on time. What was unpaid, stayed unpaid, for a long time. Too long actually.
The gap between what had been sold lately and the money coming in, was growing soo intensely and became soo spacious that it even came to the attention of mr Dujournot. He woke up Anissa. For months she had not been sending any payment reminders. (huh???what's that?) To no one. Tanja never did, why should she have done so? In fact, Anissa never ever had sent any reminder at all.
In those days Anissa was pissed as hell.
She did about everything to get out of this extra workload. She must have gone pretty deep with mr Dujounrot since she tried to convice him that this would be a job for “customer service”, and the silly part of it all is that he followed her in that idea. Do not ask me why. Do not present me with ideas what those two lovebirds must have done to come to this unisono conclusion.
Now, I have had my share of experience in customer service and customer care. I had been working in several companies, always in relation to customer attendance and guidance in one way or another, on different levels, even managerial ones.
It has always been the task of any customer care department, to make sure the relationship with the customer was optimized in any aspect of the relationship. Customer care had to make deals, had to make special arrangements, to keep the customer happy. Customer care had to look for solutions on delivery problems, on deficiencies, on broken elements to be replaced without any cost. This was and is the task of any customer care department. To help the customer on all possible issues.
In this game of seeking mutual respect and internal agreements to work upon and with each other, there is the account department as third party, who issues the invoices and credit notes and check upon incoming payments of the goods. The account department as a kind of watchdog over all correct proceedings. That is how it all should have been.
If the payments would fail, they needed to issue reminders. With possible payment problems, again, the customer care department, together with the sales department, would intervene to make a payment deal or commercial agreement. To ensure payment after all. Since customer care, together with the oudoor sales, had the better contact with the customer, would you not agree? In the game of “making the customer pay”, the account department would be the bad guy, who inforces payment, and “customer care/sales”, would be the good guy, seeking a solution to get the payment anyway, using his excellent relationship with his client to get the most out of it. Logical? That is the normal game in any respectable company. Normally, it is as simple as that. This formula offers the best way towards success. Not with Matrix it was not. No sir!
Anissa, together now with mr Dujounrot, concluded that is would be the task of customer care as well. Being the good and bad guy at the same time. For her, It was just a matter of getting rid of this workload. Nothing else. I refused to play this game. It had been one game too many Anissa played this time.
Moreover, we, at the customer care, could not possibly take on this extra work, even if we were forced to. First, it would have been a very bad idea to make us do everything, and secondly, how on earth could we possibly build up our relationship with our clients, if this would be constantly jeopardized by unpaid bills?
Anissa did not understand. How convenient. How easy that was.
Did I tell you that we, at customer care, made all invoices and credit notes too? Not the account department, uhuh! They did not do so. What did they do, you might ask yourself. Exactly : nothing. Malvine booked the numbers under some other numbers and that’s it. Anissa fucked mr Dujounrot and some others to keep her job and that’s it.
Because of my refutation to take on the reminder issue, you can imagine that the relationship between the account department and customer care developed in a quite negative way, so to speak. This was the least you could say. I had awoken the beast. Evil itself had stood up.
God and Allah were already hiding somewhere.
Now, I never had an excellent understanding with Anissa. She was too damn dumb to talk to anyway. But what resented me the most was her way of demonstrating her superior slothfulness.
“Look at me y’all , I am not doing anything, but chatting on the internet, and no one can do anything about it, can you now????”
That sort of stuff. Whilst we all had our hands full of increasing orders, adjusting mistakes, making corrections, making credit notes, making invoices, ordering containers, unloading containers, controlling warehouse people, answering persistent phone calls, dealing with all kinds of human exertion, since, at least we were human after all. Anissa only seemed to be a gathering of poisoned lethargy.
“ Gerard, can you come to my desk for a second, please??? She called mr Moipatron, once again : “ What does the word “lethargy” mean????”, she whispered, hoping the others would not notice her total stupidity.
Anissa’s view on how “heaven on earth” would look like, resembled a days shopping at the Wijnegem shopping centre. I had to cope with her, as good and as bad as it was. In addition, it became worse. I told you so.
The intensity of the discrepancy between work avoiding Anissa and the rest of the crew became frightening huge. To Anissa it seemed like coming to the office resembled some chatting session, both on line as off line with the rest of the female species. Especially Malvine had to endure the blabbering of Anissa and occasionally Veronique too, was thrown in the bath trivial chitchat. For both of them, they combined hard labour with their talks to Anissa, since workload would not diminish from its own. At the contrary.
These talks were innoncent and part of every day life at Matrix.
To Anissa it was a confirmation she was still part of the play, although she had not a role in it. Because of the swelling pressure on all our jobs, the accompanied extending stress and the incredible stable lightness of being Anissa, at certain times it came to enormous outbursts of emotion. Mostly the inflicting reason was as trivial as a dirty cup of tea.
The moods of Anissa had not ameliorated a bit. They had gotten even worse. Must have been that she had noticed something about the Italian connection of Mr Dujournot. If Malvine, or Veronique talked to her about the possible relationship she might have had with mr Dujounrot, she did not answer neither. She had taken over the efficient way of keeping things secret by mr Dujounrot. “Act as if you did not hear the question.” However, she could not suppress a smile anyway. A smile of recognition. It served us as plain prove. She was even proud to have a fucking relationship with the big boss. May be that had been her goal anyway. But then this Italian connection was something she had not taken into account. It crossed her path and she did not like it. Damn.
Chapter thirty seven: 9/11 serious warning
Chapter thirty seven : 9/11 serious warning
Neither Matrix Systems Belgium, nor matrix Systems USA, nor Stardor had any idea what kind of low life crap Anissa really was. They had no idea whatsoever what kind of filth she represented.
Now I am to tell you no gossip, I am going to tell you no hear say, nor chitchat but something I learned directly out of the mouth of Anissa. I bet that she is now about to curse herself to hell because she had said this.
You all know by now that she descends from a Muslim family. Nothing wrong with that. She lives in Belgium. Nothing wrong with that. But, at the moment the plains were seeking their way into the twin towers, she said in the Matrix office :
“The third world war has started, against America.”
“My brother cannot wait to enlist to fight the Americans.”
She added with a mysterious smile. THIS SMILE FRIGHTENED ME; it seemed as if she was proud of her brother that he was willing to do so.”
Now you all know that Anissa takes care of the account department of Matrix Systems Belgium, part of Matrix Systems USA. How stupid can you be to let someone like her control (if she understands that word) your overseas finances?
“My brother wants to enlist too”.
Malvine added.
I said nothing at that time because I was far too shocked about what just had happened.
Even now, I am not going to add any comment to these incredible words, spoken by someone who is still in full control of Matrix financial overseas movements. Even right now, as we speak...
I would check it up, if I were Stardor….
I did not bring “Al Qaida” into this story. Anissa did. How absurd and unbelievable it seemed. But she did. She thought to be someone special by saying these things. May be she is some one specia. To mr Dujounrot she sure was. To some extend. Otherwise he would not have betrayed her with his italian connection.
Chapter thirty eight : customer payment control / 2
Chapter thirty eight : customer payment control
Recapitulate for those who are in need of factual refreshment.
Facts: Tanja, who had left Matrix, had a programme to follow up the payments of the clients. Only, she lacked time and had not been doing so for some months now. Anissa took over and left this important cash-generating tool unused, as Tanja had not used it either. Therefore, it would not be that important, probably. That is what Anissa had thought. For some conspicuous reason, mr Dujournot had found out about this. Now, all of a sudden he came up with the idea to let customer care take care of this unpleasant extra workload Anisa tried to avoid with al her means possible. I refused.
Since generating cash from slow paying customer’s demands, an other attitude towards them then “customer care” delivers. We create “trust” and “respect” and “mutual understanding”. We, at customer care, arrange the optimal surroundings to do real business in an atmosphere of companionship and confidence.
The better “customer care” works, the lesser work the money-retrieving department has. Because good and satisfied customers pay on time. No need to go and search for neither cash nor stalled payments. The worst thing you could do is bringing those two elements together; You cannot be the good and bad guy at the same time. It is like a game. We all have our roles to play.
Anissa did not understand. When it concerned workload, Anissa refused to understand it all.
So I clearly refused to go along in this one. Anissa was pissed of. Mr Dujournot too, since he could not get things done the way he wanted it.
Do you really want to know how Anissa finally checked upon the unpaid bills? You do not want to know. You can guess from hundred mils from here how she did this.
It all is sooo mind-boggling but it did happen, really, one thing after the other. It did not stop. For six years it continued. One thing grosser than the other. One thing more disgusting than the other. In addition, it even goes on until now. Until today.
The new programm we had installed by our IT specialist, but fired mr Van Deuren, had a location where you could enter the amount a customer was allowed to go below zero. His “credit limit” so to speak. Because neither Tanya, nor Anissa had ever used this programme to its full extend, not one single customer had an appropriate number filled into this space. So, with every order, they were immediately considered as ‘ extremely dangerous clients’ who had passed their credit limit and therefore were to be considered as “the ultimate enemy”. That is how Anissa interpreted this procedure. Without any adjustment, nor any check up on any customer, she just printed out the lists of all the “overdue” customers (about all) and sent those reminders by fax directly to them. She had not even glanced at them. She had not even considered that something could have been wrong. You can, of course imagine the number of phone calls we, at customer care received and what they all were about….
After the move, we had to start again from scratch…all build up goodwill had been vanished again by one fax. Sure, we soon found out what the real problem was, and adjustments were made. The “credit limits” were filled in. Mostly they were wrong, too low, not adapted to the importance of the concerned customer, but they were filled in. At last. It had been one step in the right direction. But Anissa refused to look at her reminders, she persistently ignored them.
Because she was that pissed about this extra workload, she found it appropriate to start to harass me. Personally. She started to “block” the clients that she assumed to be “overdue”. Therefore, I could not ship any longer.
She had not talked to me, she had not checked upon the validation of her wrongful actions, she just blocked a customer just to personally upset me and I bet she even thought it to be a nice thing to do as in her eyes it still was the enemy she was fighting against..
Mostly our customers had already paid and those payments were not yet booked by her or Malvine.
Underneath I ll show you an e-mail I had sent to mr Dujounrot concerning this point since her professional attitude truly worsened by the day.
-----original message----
From : patrick gysemberg
Sent : Thursday june 12 2001
To : poulain dujournot
Cc: gerard maipatron (E-mail); Tessy Jolé (E-mail);Wolfgang Hanssen (E-mail);Veronique Claessens (E-mail)
Mr Dujounrot,
Anissa has blocked meanwhile several clients without even telling me, without any information, without any notice.
This is what I am always talking about, this is TERROR
I am in the middle of invoicing our customers and now I cannot work any further – I cannot even invoice.
So I see that even our ustomer Tramaco is blocked and I had the explicite agreement of Wolfgang to provide this customer wirth his shipment, a nice order over 5000 euros which I cannot invoice because of the action of Anissa, of which I do not even know the intend and I have no intention of asking her again. So can you please ask Anissa :
1 to stop this childish disgusting TERROR behaviour right away
2 to unblock the clients she blocked
Yesterday I checked upon the clients where the so called “credit limit" was passed and I have found over 70 clients (including major clients of all reps) at first sight. This is just to prove that this “credit limit” has no value whatsoever as long there is no proper working system and clear agreements and cooperation. As soon as Anissa got to know this (because I believe Gerard told her), she undertook some action, of course I do not know what she did, I only can see that she all of a sudden blocked many clients I cannot deblock myself.
THIS IS NO LONGER A WAY TO WORK
I am not sending any mails to her again to avoid further terror attacks from her and this is NO JOKE!!!!
THIS UNPROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOUR MUST BE STOPPED:
Anissa clearly made two obvious mistakes here that gave her malicious intentions away.
First of all, many clients were not even adjusted to the system and a real “credit limit” failed in the customer card of at least 70 clients. Never there had been previous talks, nor meetings, nor discussions about the height of those numbers to secure the proper working of this new system; she had only discovered her power to block the customer and she used it at her own free personal belief to obstruct my service. Her intention thus was only to harass me instead of executing a professional action to secure payments. Because she knew I had a tremendous customer care responsibility and equal sensitive executive power, she loved to interrupt everything that would ensure a perfect customer care performance. Blocking customers and letting ordered goods miss the deadline of delivery, would fit perfectly in her devious scheme of setting me up and letting my intentions fail. That she would harm the company as such and Matrix Systems as a whole , she could not care less…
Of course, this system requires also mutual understanding and for all negotiation, consent, and agreements of all involved to let it work properly as it was or had been intended when the IT constructors designed it. Anissa never talked to me about any of those actions, nor her intentions, nor her reasons why she blocked all those clients. She just blocked them because the system said or indicated that they had to be blocked. She was too stupid to realize that the “credit limit” failed in most cases and thus all requested blockages by the new system were illegal, or at least inappropriate, since they were based upon wrong (read : lacking) basic system information. Only when I made the necessary remarks about this, she started to fill in the missing data, but again, even without any discussion, nor shared consideration of all parties involved, clearly to secure her deceitful manipulative actions. Why would she act the way she did? Because she was so pissed off about the fact that she herself had to follow up on the payments of the clients and not the customer care department, since I had refused to do so. That is why. Because she had to actually “do” something on the office. Even mr Dujounrot could not estimate that her related actions would be restricted to the mere printing of the computer generated lists of overdue invoices.
Secondly, she changed the system in such way that I could not unblock my clients if I they were blocked for the wrong reason or on wrong presumptions, which they mostly were, since Anissa did not care less about the essentials of this system. To her it was not a “money retrieving” aid, it was a clear item to go to war with. A tool, a war untensil. She used it to make war, not peace. By doing so she did not care less that she caused even more harm than she could ever have imagined, because she had not for once understood the real meaning of it all. I bet she was even delighted to have found an apparatus to be used to hurt me personally.
Which she actually did, because all the work I invested in my intensive customer care was being severely damaged again by some embryonic nitwit, driven by pure and frightening personal hatred.
chapter thirty nine : a cry in the dark
Chapter thirty nine : a cry in the dark<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
--------------original message-----------------
From : patrick (pgysemberg@matrixsystems.be)
Sent : <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Thursday 18 october 2001
To ; whanssen@matrixsystems.be;pdujounrot@matrixsystems.be
Subject : personal mail - confidential
Mr Dujournot, mr Hanssen,
As I have already more than 20 years of experience with customer care in different international companies, I know what I am talking about. The real problem about Anissa is that she is not willing to accept any advice from you, Wolfgang, nor me, and I do not know why
she really does not understand that she is harming the customers with the way she acts. (it is not what she does, but how she handles things) She really thinks the customer is the enemy who is deliberately not willing to pay. I cannot communicate with Anissa, as she neither does accept nor understands what I am trying to tell her; I have done so gain, this morning, but I see it has no use since she even does not listen to what I am saying in the first place. I do not any longer have to take this kind of attitude. (Do I really have to grow old and grey before someone will listen to me?) The major problem with Anissa is that she shows a total lack of respect towards every body (customers, colleagues, she fights with everyone and everyone ha to accept this, now for more than two years already
the only person she is not rude to is her boss Poulian Dujounrot and Mayne
(She does not care if my experience tells me that she handles the customers the wrong way
as the same experience is telling me that Wolfgang has the absolute right attitude towards a customer, which is the reason for our good results and the reason why our team works as it does
)
As I am working on customer service, I will try to do my job as good as this is possible in these conditions. I really hope that one of you is able to talk to Anissa in a decent manor to settle things in a civilized way.
I hope the near future will be a better one
Greetings in paris
No answer, nor any reaction came from mr Dujounrot.
As if I had never written this mail of despair.
As if I never had existed.
chapter fourty : about mohammed, jesus and siddharta buddha
Chapter fourty : Mohammed, Jezus and Siddharta Buddha
I am feeling tired lately. Extremely tired. My heart is aching. It really hurts. I think it has become dysfunctional. Could it be that my heart is really suffering from this daily confrontation with pure hatred and human demolition? I surely am not used to it.
It is eating my system. It is eating my brains out. It is destructing me. However, I try to hang on. To hang in there. I try to finish this road to purification of my soul. By destroying the devil himself. By conquering evil in the flesh. On this planet formed together as hairy Anissa. I bet she has a long furry tail to hide. I hope I make it. Because I feel life floating away out of my system. I hope the doctor finds a cure. I have to regain my strength to pull myself through this horrible story. I have to make it until the end. To reach purification. To end it in style and full of grace.
I really hope no one on earth would live to encounter a character such as Anissa. Nor as mr Dujounrot, for that matter. Destructive Selfishness, driven by hatred and destruction. Focussed on harm and evil in its most tainted form. No one deserves this kind of personal annihilation.
Wolfgang says these words of mine are hard. He does not have a clue how hard the words of Anissa and the consecutive silence of mr Dujournot were, the moment she attacked me. He does not understand how hard it was to receive no aid whatsoever from those I had expected it. The silence at the time was deafening.
And confronting. And frightening. I am blaming no one. I perfectly understand the self-protective human impulses one subconsiencly puts into action in times of peril and insecurity. The way I responded to the unfairness of Anissa’s obscure and murky handling, was my way, my choice. I could not stand by and be silent. I had to react. I had to respond. Because I felt personally involved in those matters. Because Anissa attacked me personally. She harassed me personally. She challenged me, she dared me and I fell for it. There were too many things she did, which were in direct conflict with everything I ever believed in. Moreover, I could have been her father. Not physically, but age wise, it belonged to the possibilities and were another strong indication of total lack of respect from her side for one of the traditional worldwide human values. The way she acted towards me, was not done.
As this heap of evil and peril, called Anissa, is still alive and kicking some ones ass, I can imagine that, by reading these words, she now has changed her overall attitude, sole to protect herself. So she can demonstrate that all I am saying are lies. Nothing but lies. To underline her soft and sweet character she was born with.
Don’t you let yourselves being fooled, you hear!
I bet, at times, she cannot suppress her evilly performance and low life pathetic animal like manners and outbursts of evil towards those who are the closest to her. I bet she has been divorced already. Yes, she was married. After she had found out that mr Dujounrot was playing around Europe with bigger boobies than she ever could have, the next thing we knew that she was engaged. To a man with a wandering eye. His left eye was truly on the road. It went to see all directions. Was she blind? I bet it was a pure deed of counterattack on the amorous actions her lover general manager.
Within weeks she had been married. I was not invited to the wedding.
He was Morrocan. He did “something with cars”. Anissa told us. Selling them perhaps? Or preparing them to look as good as new, fixing the miles meter in order to betray the possible buyer? In any case, every week, he had another car….or at least ; he drove another car, in which he dropped Anissa at the office. Those days Anissa had just ordered her brandnew Volkswagen with shiny leather interior and full option. She had to wait some months for the car to be delivered.
She married as Moroccan tradition prescribed it. She followed the Moroccan rules and traditions. The day after the wedding night, she showed her blooded sheets to the newly related family-in-law. To prove her virginity. To gain her wedding gift. For years now, this tradition is kept alive and lays a burden upon the westerly focussed Muslim women, as Anissa was one of those.
Anissa had lost her virginity long ago. The blood she used was the blood of a chicken. Freshly slaughtered the day after the wedding. In her bedroom.
So, already divorced, huh?
They had made a child though. Wandering eye, who always spoke French when he phoned to the office asking for Anissa, had found the hairy hole of pleasure of Anissa.
She hated making love to him. This had been one of the things she hated the most, amongst all those other things she hated in life. She always thought of mr Dujounrot when wandering eye was pumping his heart out on top of her. She always laid on her back. Never “doggy style” with Wandering eye! She turned her face away when he tried to kiss her after shooting his load into her throbbing, tight and dry cylinder. This was not love. No sir! Never has been. You could detect this, standing on the moon. This had been all arranged. A typical arranged Moroccan marriage.
Of course, they had been divorced by now. The times I saw them together, they were always fighting. Not arguing, no, no, fighting.
Often he left the office with weeping tires, leaving parts of smelly-burned rubber on the heated tarmac. Fuming about what she had said, being spiteful as usual, once again. Or he slammed the door, a utensil she also knew to abuse to the utmost to harass her companions. Or they were fighting over the phone, for hours, talking French, then Dutch, then Moroccan, a sort of Arabic, southern Atlas variety with Barbarian roots……where Anissa even forgot she had been in the office. She just did not care at all. But this we already knew. We were not surprised any more. We did not even notice her outbursts any longer as far as they were not directly related to work.
Tomorrow night at five pm, I will know the results of my blood analysis.
I hope the cause of my fatigue will not be too harsh or terminal. And for all: curable.
The marriage of Anissa described in two lines. It does not deserve more attention, since it had been a fake marriage, doomed to fail. It only proved once again, to me the wicked core of Anissa’s empty mind. It had been a very short marriage. I did not see the highlights. Only the fights, indicating a soon end. The western part of Anissa made her dress according to Western fashion; she partly even looked like a plain whore. She never ever thought of wearing a cap; do not even mention a burkha or a traditional Moroccan caftan. She was liberated, on all levels. She behaved unconventional. Only the forced internal Moroccan wedding she had not been able to avoid. To please her family. But her twisted western mind told her that this was not her world. Only when she could benefit from it; Then it became her world. Definitely. This marriage was nothing for her. It brought her a child. That is all. My God, Anissa as a mother. What a disaster for that child. I should notify childcare. To prevent Anissa from dumping the child with the garbage outside her apartment, during a freezing winter night.
Anissa used the Koran and her Muslim believes as it suited her intentions. Only in her benefit. During the Ramadan, for instance, she came in late, later even as usual, because she had to eat before sunrise and she left even more early around four, after sunset, to eat their evening meal. She did not pray five times a day, direction Mecca. No, she did not. She never prayed. It did not bring her anything. In addition, she was a western lady, -you hear! Anissa always changed reality towards her personal needs. She always had her fucking bloody periods for more than ten days, during the Ramadan, so she still could eat and drink during the sunny hours of the day. She still came in late and went home early. To join the family. Or she felt sick. Sooo sick. The sick and elderly may eat and drink also. So she could do this as well. She was a real master in creating backdoors, Trojan horses and other malicious solutions. For herself only. Such a fundamental dishonest person is still taking care of all the finances of Matrix Systems Inc. An American company controlled by a fake Muslim woman. Miracles do exist, even today. No wonder an investigation is secretly started up by Stardor. Have not heard of them quite some time now. I know they are too, reading along, and may be in a short period of time, I will be informed about their progresses in this internal fraud investigation. The basics of this fraud are to be found with mr Dujounrot, though. Anissa only had been the manipulative dumb tool he used. But this part of the story, I will tell you later on. To make it all complete. First of all, I need to finish up the description of Anissa’s character. I do not think I will be ever finding a way to finish this up. Her wickedness is infinite, as our universe is. She has no boundaries. May be there is a wall we ll all crash up against. May be Anissa has a build in wall as well. I doubt it.
Anissa had been a perfect tool in the hands of mr Dujounrot. She booked everything nicely as he told her to. His instructions were definite and non-discussable. She shifted sums and numbers as mr Dujounrot believed they would be on the best possible position to be. She did not ask questions. She did not even know what question there would be to ask about some by mr Dujounrot instructed shifting numbers transaction in her accounts. She had no idea what these numbers stood for. Mr Dujounrot knew it for the best. He, for all, was still the general manager. Of Europe! Matrix Systems Europe! He had the power to put all those numbers where he wanted them to be. It were all but a bunch of fucking numbers, that brought her nothing but anger and for all: work.
Sometimes “Schellekens” did not agree on the shifting. Then she had to contact mr Dujournot again. (since he was always abroad)
To seek a compromise. Or to cover up the obvious hoax.
She felt used. By mr Dujounrot. She knew, deep down, that he used her ignorance on the account matters to abuse the system. In his own favour. Against the Americans. They were the enemy. His enemy. That is what he was convinced about. When he lay on his back on some fancy Italian beach, sipping from his 12-year-old Scotch on the rocks, his aching back being squeezed by the sausage fingered hands of his slightly obese Italian female lover with appropriate big boobies.
Now, sit back and listen carefully : I will say this only once :
The tricky part of it all is not the lover-thing, going on between Anissa and mr Dujounrot and his Italian bobo. The tricky thing behind this all is the fact that this slightly inflated lady with the gigantic hooters, was the sole AND private owner of a similar European company as Matrix Systems Europe tried to be on ancient grounds. They made the same articles as Matrix Systems Europe was distributing all over the European continent. They produced their items for the Italian market and other markets, we were not quite aware of. The company’s name was: JayBaySay Italy... (speak : Jay Bay Say) Jesus, Maria, Joseph…I know, I know…
Somewhat tricky, huh? How did we get to know all this?
With tons of patience and with the help of all our outdoor sales friends. Especially the French division of our sales team had been quite intensely occupied analyzing the whereabouts of our little big chief, the last couple of months. Especially his conduct during the many international trade fairs, gave him away. Finally...Although he tried with a pitiable effort, he was not able to hide any longer his profound love for the Italian extravagant hooters with always taut nipples. He even limped less when she was in his neighbourhood, which was about all the time during such an international trade fair. Matrix Systems Europe participated in France, Paris, and in Munich, Germany. Even in Frankfort, Germany, we were present, as was JayBaySay Italy. They were present where we were present. As the trade fairs passed by, they even got nearer to our fair box location every time, until one trade fair we were finally and actually side by side. Matrix Systems Europe next to JayBaySay Italy. At that point, he could no longer hide anything any longer. However, he did. As if we were all blind and deaf. We were not supposed to see. Nor hear, nor understand what had been going on in recent times.
I do know Jesus has actually lived on this planet.
Some two thousand and six years ago.
So did Mohammed. I do not know when he lived.
Must have been about six hundred years ago. Or more. I do not know and I do not care. But he lived indeed and that is what mattered. As Buddha lived too! Some five thousand years ago. Siddhartha Buddha was a fine man. A prince, he was, married and had a son. He left his family to find the enlightening. He wondered what this life was all about. He had been kept free from all suffering, pain, and disaster by his protective royal family. Until one day, he discovered that life was not that kind to otherS. Therefore, he decided to leave all of his royal wealth and protection in order to seek the truth about life. He sat under a “bodi tree” for years, contemplating about life, until, one day, at the age of eighty something he got enlightened. He had found the answers…
I am searching as well. I have not found any answers. I wish I had.
Those tree characters, Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha, were special. Very special. They had something to tell to humanity. About their lives. But no one would listen. At that time. Now they are being worshipped as if they were some sort of God. They were not. They were humans. Humans with a message. We only listen to others when it is too late. History repeats itself. Over and over again.
Mr Dujounrot does not give a shit about them. Or what they were.
CHAPTER FOURTY ONE / HOSPITAL JAYBAYSAY AND OTHER STUFF
Chapter fourty one : hospital, JaBaySay and other stuff
The doctor called.
Earlier than expected. That is not good. No sir. He asked me to come over to his doctor’s office, ASAP.
He had received the blood results by fax and they were no good. In fact, they even were alarming. I had lost half of my total blood amount. What do you mean: lost???? I had neither had any accident, nor a broken bloodvessel, nor a bleeding artery.
How could I ever loose two litres of my blood without even knowing it? That is what they are going to find out in the hospital. I need to check in first thing tomorrow.
I need to stay there. My first time ever. In a hospital. Gosh, I hope it will be my poor stomach. I ll keep you posted. If I do not loose the other half of my blood, left in my body. Then I probably will be dead. Then you have to look at my will, the first page of my website.
Nevertheless, at first sight, there was nothing wrong with a firm like JayBaySay.
They even were our clients. All very officially. They ordered at Matrix Systems, those systems they did not produce by their own. Nothing wrong with that. They had been customers of Matrix for years now.
When the time came for the old man, father of the owner of the tempting Italian hooters, to pass on the leading role in the company JayBaySay together with his package of company chares to his one and only daughter, she came prominent in the picture and had gotten the attention of mr Dujournot. Probably because of her standing titties with the determined upright nipples.
As time went by, we all realized that his initial restricted attention for this breastly part of her body changed in overall love. For her, for Carola and for her company JayBaySay. Her name was Carola. Carola Spinazzola. She was short. She was small. And she had it all. This being small was not a disadvantage for mr Dujounrot as he belonged to the dwarf community on this planet as well. As you already know, she was a little inflated, because of her newly acquainted position as top manager and sole owner of JayBaySay Italy, and thus formed a perfect match to the megalomaniacal drive of mr Dujournot. They both were on the verge of conquering the world. First, they had to beat those silly and stupid Americans. Mr Dujournat already had a plan. His plan. The plan of a genius. Carola agreed on that one. She already knew the plan. You will too. Later. PROMISE…
Carola Spinazolla was much younger than mr Dujounrot. She must have been in her early thirties. She used a lot of make up. Like a real whore does. One more.
Veronique did not use much make up on her pretty face. She did not do this as to make a statement, but to preserve her face for damaging. It made her shine above all those painted clowns. Carola, at the contrary, was fully painted indeed, finger and toenail included. She looked like a Christmas tree, at times. Only the flickering flashlights failed. Fully equipped with no doubt exclusive and very expensive jewellery of the finest sort. She was a lady of this world. She had money and she liked to show it to the same stupid and poor world. Thank God for her, she had found a gentleman with money and brains as mr Dujounrot liked to present himself. His limping leg he tried to hide. In vain of course, since he poured Scotch into his body if he were a bottomless barrel.
Now I am off, to the hospital. Wish me luck. I will need it.
chapter forty two : the return
Chapter fourty two : the return and frotal attack
I am back. Bad luck for you, dear! Moreover, I will continue my unbelievable story. I will continue to use every single detail I need to prove my point. To fight injustice and unfairness...To heal my grievance. Because what I lived through at Matrix Systems is beyond believe. That is why I prefer to call it fiction. Since no living soul would ever deem this. The general manager ripping of his own company. He thought it was his own company. He never cared for those ignorant Americans across the ocean, who were actually the real owners of Matrix. Nor for the people working at Matrix Europe. Except for Anissa Hamsa. And mr Moipatron; Since he needed them both to execute his Italian swindle operations. He acted as if Matrix Europe was his private playground, his own personal company. To be used for his own enrichment. Together with his Italian Carola. Do not forget that ltalians had been worldwide known for their scam abilities. They have an international strong reputation to defend. For centuries now. They did not invent nor created the Mafia for no reason.
At the hospital, I got a total check up. A full interior control. In addition, they filled me up with the absent blood again. As like a petrol station where you fill up your car with the necessary fuel. Four barrels of blood, type B +, they poured in me. That is what they did to me. I just had a refill. Investigations on the leakage are still in progress. The results are considered pretty private. Still, if you are nice to me, I will tell you all about it when they tell me the outcome. I stayed in the hospital for three days.
So JayBaySay Italy had been a competitor and a client at the same time. Pretty awkward but not quite unusual in the sector of the products of Matrix Systems. Missing items were often ordered at the competition. To enhance one’s own range of products. Nothing wrong with that. But somewhat strange in certain rivalry environments anyway. Often competition is like the enemy. It always has been this way. You do not sleep with the enemy. Only mr Dujounrot did. He fucked her brains out, since his willy was the only perfect working tool left of his deteriorating body. When he was not too drunk, anyway. Whiskey spoiled often his intentions. His wealth compensated his actions. Or intent.
What was really erroneous, was the way mr Dujounrot and Carola Spinazzola were handling their inter-company relationship. I need more than one chapter to explain to you how he or they both did this. But I will tell you. He, of course, had no idea (if only he knew....) that every one in the Belgian office had been aware of this relationship and of how obscure their way of doing business with JayBaySay had been evolving since he fucked this Italian lady. His greed would bring him down. Eventually.
chapter forty three : france deceiving the usa with moroccan aid
Initially our technical support manager, mr Moipatron, had been responsible for all technical customer support. He had the USA team to back him up. But he had been much more than that.
Mr Dujounrot had made him “product manager” too. Mr Moipatron had received from mr Dujournot the direct order to investigate the European market on missing of failing European products, Matrix USA was not producing. Of course, this was a fine and delicate task, connected to a huge amount of consideration and professionalism and for all, collaboration with the USA production department. The “fake” items, bought in Europe, where to be sold under Matrix label and were placed in Matrix boxes.
In fact, Matrix USA did not like very much the idea that in Europe there was a bobo playing solitary, called mr Moipatron, who, completely on his own, could buy elsewhere some products that they would sell later on as authentically Matrix items. But as mr Dujounrot did not care at all what the USA thought about the matter, he persistently urged mr Moipatron to go on seeking items at the competition to make them our own. All products to be named “Matrix” had to be send to the USA first, to be tested and controlled by the proper authorities before they took it into consideration to sell them as originated Matrix items. Quite normal, I would say so. Quite acceptable too. Not for mr Dujounrot. He hardly ever let mr Moipatron send particles or samples to the USA to be tested, he just agreed himself upon the quality by sight or by his own professional feeling on the matter, since he had been an engineer all the time as well. Mr Dujounrot had no intentions to loose time and money by those silly procedures, set up by some burocratical American controllers to interfere in his decisive powers.
So, for years mr Moipatrion had selected some produces of Matrix alike particles to buy those products for European use only. To enhance the power of Matrix Europe on the market, to strengthen the power of a elaborated range of products. Nothing wrong with that. Only, the game was not played by the book. And certainly not by the American book of proper company behaviour.
Most of the time, and here I even am very flexible and tolerant, the quality of the non Matrix items were of far worse quality than the original products of our American mother company. The USA delivered first class quality products as the European competition mostly produced second hand, and much cheaper copies. Mr Moipatron knew this and tried to be as cautious as he ever could be whith what he really bought directly in Europe. He knew the Americans would fire him when he would produce crap. Or buy the worst possible remakes. But mr Dujounrot was not really influenced by these professional thoughts that you could expect from someone in his position.
Matrix stood for quality. First class material. Certified and approved by all major using companies.
Knowing that the Italians were master in crime and deceit, you could expect that the quality of their products was not by far to match up with those of the Americans. If any of the samples had sent to the States, as internal regulations required, not one single one of them would ever have passed the eminence test of individual first class performances and endurance. They would have flunked hilariously. So no samples were ever sent. Or very rarely one, to fool the Americans. That he was playing the game by the rules. However all Italian products were definite inferior to the USA particles, and thus unacceptable as Matrix items, they were bought.
Since mr Dujournot penetrated miss Carola on a regular basis in her lower hairy and dark reddish roast beef alike fissure of delight, his orders of products, placed at JayBaySay, grew exponentially. Mr Moipatron knew he was being used and abused by mr Dujounrot, the same way Anissa felt this abusive power of our beloved general manager. Mr Moipatron had his reasons to do exactly as he was told by mr Dujounrot. Anissa had her reasons too.
Mr Moipatron did exactly as mr Dujounrot ordered him to do. In case of JayBaySay, he accurately followed all instructions given by mr Dujounrot on the buying subject matter. Therefore, as a kind of compensation, mr Dujounrot left all other wholesale decisions to the account of mr Moipatron, so he could build up some kind of professional self-esteem.
Chapter forty four : voracity, personal enrichment and conflict of interest
“Gerard, can you come to my place, for a second, pleaaaaaaassssse….” Anissa howled once more, as she read the title of this chapter. She did not understand. And her “free translation” website she used most of the time, since her English vocabulary was incredibly limited to the level of an English fly, did not translate this word either.
So, “allrighty, then….” the first scam mr Dujounrot pulled through, since he had sexual penetration on Italian grounds and insertion in moist southern roast beef caves of pleasure, was the most obvious one : forcing mr Moipatron to buy enhanced lacking Matrix models at JayBaySay’s, without informing the USA. Furthermore, mr Dujounrot secretly replaced original Matrix products by products, bought at JayBaySay’s, initially to be able to lower the buying price, (because JabyBaySay produced them on a cheaper rate as they were obviously of an inferior quality), so he would gain more profit on selling those articles on the European market. No one knew where the extra money, raised by these transactions, went. May be some one (Stardors investigation team perhaps????) should ask Anissa...
Or mysterious Isabel, for that matter, since she seemed to be ivolved as well.
Although mr Dujounrot was clearly conscious about the overall poor quality of the products of JayBaySay in comparison against Matrix Systems (as if you would compare the car brand “Skoda” with “BMW”), her persistently forced mr Moipatron to strengthen the intercompany relationship with JayBaySay, for obvious reasons we all were aware of.
In fact, mr Dujounrot did nothing more or less than creating a parallel circuit of goods, next to the existing original, but more expensive Matrix systems items. Next step he took, since his greed only just had started to swell, was putting further pressure on mr Moipatron to seek other appropriate items of Matrix Systems to replace by fake ones, copied and reproduced by JayBaySay Italia, even if on certain items their existed a copy protection agreement. Which mr Dujounrot neglected as he had been neglecting all of my cries for help over the years. I am slowly beginning to grasp why he needed Anissa that much. Why he protected her that much and that intense. He needed her to book his scam the way he wanted it, with numbers written under some other numbers as he chose them to be, without any questions being asked. She would not know what to ask, anyhow, as I told you before. (Alzheimer????) And mr Moipatron.
“You too, Brutus? You too?” “ Did you betray me too?””aaah, so you stabbed me with the knife….”
History repeating itself.
As “assitent to the general manager”, mr Moipatron acted as was expected from him. He did as he was told to do. He had gotten his raise in pay and elaborate new managerial title not for his blue eyes. Absolute loyalty was expected. But he could not be silent. Mr Moipatron was worse than any woman on the market selling fish. Although mr Moipatron had been fysically and mentally disgusted by the fraud mr Dujounrot pulled through thanks to his aid and that of Anissa, he carried out as ordered by the big chief. But he had to ventilate his disgust with his fellow countryman. For hours he had been on the phone with the French representatives. Two of them getting fired lateron because of lacking sales. So they all knew as well.
Mr Dujounrot then, as a next step in his everlasting greed and hunger for worldly powers, he forced mr Moipatron to deliver the fake items to most of the other Matrix Systems customers. So, what he was doing was very easy but still ingenious in its simplicity: he sold JayBaySay Italia items through the dealer net of Matrix Systems, without anyone knowing this. He simply used our full European database, unprotected, unpaid for, to sell Jaybaysay made items. Carola loved her French devotee. Our clients thought they had bought Matrix Systems quality and Matrix Systems original items, but they got the counterfeit crap from Jaybaysay Italia, nicely wrapped in Matrix Systems boxes. America did not have a single clue.
In his arrogance and often pathetic egotism, mr Dujounrot had been convinced, that by not explaining anything ever about his actions, his voyages, his travels, his deeds, his connections, we would never find out what he had been up to. Mr Moipatron knew. That is why he had been appointed him “assistant to the general manager”. To make him accomplice to his deceiving actions. . That was a huge mistake he made. In several ways.
Mr Dujournot acted towards mr Moipatron as if what he did, seemed completely legal and in total interest and favourable for Matrix Systems Europe. Not for himself, not for his personal profit, no sir! Mr Dujounrot was a real company man, with his heart at the right place. He only did not like the Americans that much!
Duuuuhhhh!!!!
Because of this concealed sales construction, JayBaySay sold a lot more to Matrix than they ever did before. Thanks to mr Dujounrot and his higly professional, deeply penetrating relationship with the female owner of some gigantic boobs and sole owner of JayBaySay. Well done old chap, well done!
The other way around though, sales figures did not rise. What for?
Now be serious for once : What else than deceptive and malicious intent to obtain personal enrichment could be the real reason for this enhanced exchange of original Matrix Systems items by JayBaySay made lousy copies? Exactly….
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE nothing but a plain crook
Chapter forty five : nothing but a plain crook
Somebody at Wall Street once said to me: “If you have a crook at the top of the company, every body is in the shit.”
Never there had been one signal from the rest of us towards the States. We all knew, and we all were silent. We all were disgusted but we kept being silent. Because we were not supposed to know anything. Since he, the big offender, never told anyone and assumed that we did not know. He thought us all to be as dim-witted and retarded as Anissa. Creating a parallel circuit, next to the one of Matrix to be used to sell JayBaySay items, concealed as Matrix Originals, was one of his scam practices. He did not stop there. He wanted more. Getting rich by doing nothing. Just using and abusing the ones working for you. Fucking your first luitenants. In the arse. Till it bleeds. With no protection. Full throttle. That is what he did. For years and years. That is why he protected Anissa the way he did. No matter what she ever said and did towards her ignorant colleagues.
JayBaySay Italia was eating along from the expanding cake we all baked in our new offices in Belgium. It seemed at times to be a space cake. Sales were spectacular.
Except for France. Wolfgang generated more than triple sales than France did.
In total. On his own. In France we had three sales reps.
Something had to be done. Mr Dujournot had to act as a manager again, laying his crookedness aside of a moment. Because the US started to ask questions about the effectivnesss of those three involved. The failing French connection. They would rather choose for three Wolfgangs in France; could you imangine the impact that would evoke? But they forgot that there was only one real Wolfgang Hanssen in the world. They just made only one of those, no copies possible. Full copied protected. But the US, and of course even mr Dujounrot, noticed the missing markets in France and the amount we would have been able to collect if three Wolgang Hanssen alike sales representatives would have been active over there. In their greed they decided to dismiss two out of three French reps and replace them by one big major sales creator of another, much higher level, matching the profile of Wolfgang. Mr Dujounrot decided to pay the guy with the difficult future French project the same amount he paid Wolfgang. Annual salary 100.000 euros, plus fully deductible monthly expense notes, plus the latest most expensive Nokia cell phone on the market, plus portable pc, plus company care or appropriate mileage compensation. Plus annual bonus of three months of his salary when targets are met at years end. They all were, of course, of another human dimension. Nice. They were worth every penny of their wages. The only one, who could really say this, without losing any credibility, had been Wolfgang Hanssen, since he actually had done what he was hired for.
To make a long, non related story, short :
The chosen one, lucky bastard, was half Spanish, half French. Antonio Sanchez. I think even his name was a fake one. He was as con as mr Dujounrot. He acted for over a year exactly the same way mr Dujounrot had done all the time. Making hollow promises, using shallow high definition words and remarkable unfilled marketing phrases you could easily trace in the latest professional editions of fashionable marketing books on general meetings, to impress those stupid knit wits, they all thought us to be, including mr Dujounrot. It took mr Dujournot for over a year of wondering, hesitating, contemplating, talking to mr Moipatron, the only real “assistant to the general manager”, to get convinced he had captured the wrong fish in the bowl of Matrix. Equal minds attract each other. This is what had really happened. Mr Dujounrot hated it to admit his mistake he had made by hiring this master of sales and brother in treachery. I know it is hard to believe but : Antonio had not been able to present one single new client. He always had many projects “in the pipeline”, but no one actually knew where this pipeline was running to. Certainly not to Matrix Europe.
Mr Moipatron had an extremely tough year behind him. He had been able to be annoyed by the malicious attitude, not only of mr Dujounrot but now also of mr Sanchez, Two sales wonders he had to “assist” in their conniving ways of personal enrichment. Mr Sanchez had chosen a 4x4 multiple purpose vehicle, as a company car. Mr Dujounrot had not found the guts to deny this awkward and petrol consuming way of expansive transport for someone who had to travel most of his miles along the smooth French highways.
Exit Antonio Sanchez. Another great prove of the excellent, outstanding managerial skills mr Dujouhrot had been born with.
Pretending you are a real manager, has its limitations. One day you fall through. As mr Dujounrot did all of the time. That is why we never saw nor hear him that much. He was a master in hiding himself. We knew where he was hiding. Only, he never ever admitted his Italian connection. He knew why.
I strongly believe all con people have a huge feeling of superiority. Because they firmly believe, they can con everyone and everything. Without being caught. That is for sure! Because they are the only gifted masters of it all. Honest people are low life suckers anyway. Real Losers! In any case, no one cares for losers! Believing in this cheap honest customer service shit and all….Working for a total insignificant salary for the rest of their pathetic honest lives…while he, the big master in deceit, could not even get track of all those extra millions he had created by his ingenious parallel selling system the USA was not even aware of. He had it made, the big Dujounrot. He even had included in his con package one pair of exquisite hooters he was soo proud of. They were his. With firmly standing nipples, as hard as the ever standing stones of “Stenness” of the Orkney Islands, Scotland. He would love to jostle his willy between those magnificent pair of firm titties but she refuses. Damn! She hates having his dagger so close to her face. But that is what he liked about her. This Italian decisiveness of hers. What a woman! Even thinking about her would cause premature ejaculation, when he had not been intoxicated with alcohol, that is. He felt young again. Only, his body did not fully agree on those youthful thoughts. He kept limping.
CHAPTER FORTY SIX THE TRUTH IS WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE
Chapter forty six : the truth is what you believe is true
How do you find out about the truth? To ask the right questions to the right people. If you ask a professional jailbird about the truth, he will tell you more lies.
Mr Moipatron and mr Dujournot had some peculiar things in common. They were both French, for instance. And they were both wretched and for all : persevere recidivist lyers. But they had both different reasons to lie.
The malicious intentions of mr Moipatron were not that forceful as those of mr Dujounrot, though. He had only this odd competition with his brother going on. Which he was winning, actually, at the moment.
As soon he had become “assistant to the general manager”, he had bought himself a 17 inch flatscreen for his office pc. His brother had one in his bank office, so he could not stay behind!
“Unterschied muss sein!”
I think, besides of his drive to win this awkward competition, mr Moipatron, had basic honest principles and ideas. That is why he had been so disgusted with the way of managing of our mutual big boss. About his constant absenteeism. About his Italian relationship. About the forced purchases he had to perform at JayBaySay’s. About the continuous abuse of his powers as general manager to turn everything in his personal advantage. About the phony meals and spurious dinners and other everyday living expenses he submitted to the States to be paid at once, every month again and again. About his sickening persisant obstruction on everything there was to let the company prosper on the wings of the incredible sales results lately. About the way mr Dujounrot turned all results on to his personal account;, selling is own enhanced profile to the States, reducing all efforts made in our Belgian offices. (When we had a top selling month, he used to decrease the score by reffering to some major accounts that had ordered some bulk goods which influenced sales, of course) About the way, he irrationally blocked all marketing support, offered by the States, because he had been afraid to lose control. About the fanatic and even sickening way he hated the Americans. About the way, he mistreated them and even boycotted them. About the lies concerning visiting customers, which he never ever did. Except for one. An Italian customer, which he visited with all of his utensils and bodily expansions. Aaaah, the wonderful Italian potholes of pleasure. Mr Moipatron had been physically appalled about his fellow compatriot.
Only, mr Moipatron used the wrong tools to fulfil those personal honest dreams and objectives of his. He lied. Too. With the same intensity as mr Dujounrot did. Constantly. I bet he did not even had been aware when he lied and when he told the truth.
Why, for heavens sake, would he lie?
Since he had become “assistant to the general manager”, he felt responsible for every shit that happened in the Belgian office. Not a bad quality as such. And shit happened. Of course. Why not? No one is “shit-free.” Especially when you have a “shit causer” like Anissa around.
Sometimes I thought I attracted the most shit, though.
“I think I am born with a sign on my forehead, saying: “shit here”, I used to say, when once more a load of unexpected shit came floating towards customer care, one way, no stopping allowed.
But then he started to lie. “You too, Brutus, you too?”
Extreme-wise. About almost everything. To every one.
To cover up delays. To cover up wrong shipments, to cover up missing items… To cover up delays of containers in the harbour. To cover up a container, filled with old shoes, he had sent to Africa and which had been blocked by the customs authorities. To conceal a container that had been sent to Africa but had been mixed with one for the States. To cover up for all those extra costs. (He would talk to Anissa later, in which way he could let those unneccecary costs disappear in the account stats)I had been sitting next to him on my customer care desk for over three years, I guess (yes, it must have been more than three years); listening to all those lies and fake stories to cover up anfy form of mischief and tomfoolery.
Mr Moipatron handled customer care complaints as well. His job, as a product manager, which he kept, even as an assistant to the general manager, was to examine the returned elements on their failure and send it to the USA for full professional investigation when huge amounts of money were involved. This often had been the case, since the lousy quality of the fake goods produced by JayBaySay. In that case Mr Moipatron could not send the unsuccessful particle to the States because then, he would have given away the scam of mr Dujounrot, in winch he had been an active accomplice, if he wanted it or not. He had no way out. Unless he told the USA. Which he did. Eventually.
Matrix Systems offered the customers a quality charter and a full prove guarantee. If the Matrix item caused any damage to any other tool, Matrix would refund all damage made. Nice! This led to sometimes-huge returns of money. Thank God the overall general quality of original Matrix goods were OK. Only, the quality of the fake goods was not OK. With the known results.
One day, I remembered a return sample of Kunzzel und Bunzzel. A German client. He returned a leaking particle. And an invoice of all the damage it had caused. It had been an original Matrix particle, made in the USA. Instead of sending it back for investigation, mr Moipatron left the box with the leaking item, together with the original invoice, standing next to his office desk for months. And months. I bet it is still standing there right now and the moment he reads this, he will see to it that this piece of evidence will be cleared. Right a way. On the spot.
I saw this. I had seen this. I had to follow up the handling of this complaint, since this had been a task for customer care. (An I was the only one around who spoke German) “Schweinerei!” Only the investigation part and the decisive part on the amount to be returned to the customer depended on the investigations made by the USA. Of course, mr Moipatron could decide on those items too. He had the powers to do so. He could agree on the USA findings or disagree and implement his own conclusions.
The problem was: he never had any conclusions. Only when the customer had gotten too impatient about the outcome, since, again, a few months had passed without any results, he started to harass Wolfgang Hanssen about it, mr Moipatron understood it had been time for action. To launch another of his lies. To stall the process. Again. And again. And again.
Over the years, It became very clear to me that at Matrix Europe, I had been surrounded by a bunch of individuals who did not really care for the truth at all. Or for one shred of honesty.
They were all firmly convinced that honesty did not serve you. At all. In addition, considering the outcome, up until now, they had been right all the time. Truth is for pussies. And losers. And no one cares for losers, anyway.
Crime pays. All the way.
Is this the lesson I have to learn from all this? No fucking way!
If crime pays, I will pay them back with crime itself. But first I have a story to tell. My story.
Actually “Assistant to the general manager” meant no more or less exactly the same as “full accomplice in crime action”. Or “sole executer of wicked Dujounrot’s personal enrichment strategy”.
Mr Moipatron could not keep silent about it. He had to tell. Not only did he tell his French sales buddies, but he told some one over there. Someone from Matrix Systems USA. He told Trend Straw. And he told Wolgang Hanssen. About his disgust. His continuous feel of vomit erupting out of his mouth... when he thought about mr Dujounrot and his sting.
Mr Moipatron had gone on a mission. A mission to conquer mr Dujounrot. He fought him, stabbing in his back. “You too, Brutus,you too my son?”
Because mr Dujounrot never ever had been around. He had been too busy licking some steaming Italian pussy. Because he had been too drunk to get his willy up. So he drank some more. The finest Scotch was hardly good enough. He had to be in heaven. Heaven on earth. He felt bad about his STUPID legs. He was REALLY PISSED OFF over his legs. Stupid bastards. If it weren’t for those legs, he would have had it all. What a life! What a construction, what a manager he had become! Retarded Americans! So he poured him another drink. Till he started to see two caverns and four hooters. He started to believe the world had turned into an amusement park filled with hooters and strictly upright nipples. As tight as Britisch guardians who guard the Tower bridge. Then he stopped sipping, licking and drinking, he rolled over and fell asleep.
Thousand miles up north mr Moipatron had commenced the sneaky battle.
He had sharpened his knifes. He had been continuously undermining the moral authority of mr Dujounrot. At the end, they even talked on a daily basis. Over the phone, that is. Mr Moipatron and mr Hanssen. Mr Moipatron and Trend Straw. Mr Moipatron and his sole leftover French sales buddy. For hours and hours. Mr Moipatron had beaten long-gone Tanja and had set a new phoning record to the States, with Trend Straw at the other end, listening, with his mouth wide open. First out of disbelief, later out of sheer repugnance.
Mr Moipatron never ever talked to Antonio Sanchez. Nobody did. We all assumed he talked directly to mr Dujounrot. Because they were made of another kind of texture. They stood above the common man. They were managerial highlights. That is what they both truly believed about themselves. That is why they both kept this distance from our Belgian office.
Not to conceal their actual whereabouts, nor to hide their present non-activities. Nooooo SIR! “Unterschied muss sein!”
Do you think this book would gain on importance when I kill myself?
Sure it would. It would draw attention. But is it worth it? Guess not.
Still…..You never know. Death has mysterious ways to present itself.
Do you believe me when I tell you that I felt lonely at Matrix Systems?
You bet I was. At the beginning, I had quite a splendid professional relationschip with Veronique, and Malvine, for that matter. But Malvine had hre desk behind a closet and was too much connected to the (non-)handlings of Anissa. So we had our distances to avoid Anissa. Considering her splendour and youth, sealed with two magnificent boobies, that was a real shame, really. Anissa envied her. She was as flat as a woman can be. Even after having her baby, she had no tits you could actually speak about. She could not breastfeed her. Only at the beginning, the first few days. Then they fell flat. Two empty teabags. with sucked up wrinkled nipples.
Veronique and I kept ourselves upright and we survived many storms.
Veronique fought with Anissa too. Anissa fought with anyone, to be more specific. As I told you before. But as the years passed by, the attitude of Veronique changed. Not harshly, no, no, but vaguely it changed into respectful superficiality. She kept a kind of shallowness around her towards me, as if she wanted more distance. I did not understand. At first. Not that we ever were that close. But as a real team we had build up customer care to the instrument it had become today. We were known. Know by our customers; know for our excellent service and friendliness. We both had knocked to accomplish this status. For years and years. Against all odds. We really had become a team. That is what I thought. That is how I felt the relationship we had going and how it mattered to me. I had been soo wrong. Since she betrayed me. The moment she had learned that Mr Moipatron was working on the exit mf mr Dujounrot. Only she and Anissa knew about his power increasing intentions. And Wolfgang Hanssen. He liked to be kept informed. For obvious reasons. I had no idea. I only could see mr Moipatron on his daily phone sessions with the USA and with Wolgang Hanssen. He whispered a lot. In fact, he whispered almost all the time. Which was quite irritating, sitting right next to him. Only hearing undertone sounds of a French non-smoker voice. Now I know why he whispered. I had no future in the obscure plan he was executing. With the help of Trend Straw. And with the help of Wolfgang Hanssen.
Due to his personal important near-future attack on mr Dujounrot, which he had been preparing for months and months now, the actual work had become of lesser importance to mr Moipatron.
That may have been the reason why he had to lie to cover up other lies. He had become one big fake technical service.
“Pas de sousis”, was one of his expressions, to indicate that nothing was ever wrong. “No problem!”,as it were. He never had any problems. The real problems were connected to another one of his lies and thus technically neutralized. “Ne ‘t inquite pas!.” (do not worry) had been another phrase he used to stall all worries about the mischief that happened because of his lack of time. To handle his things as they should have been handled.
I did not like this mendacious attitude of mr Moipatron. He did lie to my customers! And I had no intentions whatsoever to go along with this kind of fake reality in which things were never as they really were. I have always been in favour of telling them the truth, how bad it may seem at the time. They reward you on a later occasion. When they find out that you had been fair and honest to them. That is a way to build up a customer care relationship. Mr Moipatrion thought differently. For obvious reasons. For personal reasons. He had to win this race with his brother. At any cost. But the main cause for his persistant lying, had deeper grounds. Much deeper. He had been born that way. At the beginning he used his lies as a way to promote himself to his direct environment. When he realized that this worked and turned out fine and that he could actually gain from such an attitude, he started to lie systematically. About anything. When it brought him professional progress and personal prosperity. The truth has no value when it hirts you. Then you should avoid it. In his eyes. That is how mr Moipatron thought about this essential human quality or ability.
Do I have to believe now that all French are that way? That all French are not that keen on telling the truth? F.i. when you see the French president, mr Chirac, we have found already third French person in a row, who is not that dedicated on telling the truth when it comes down to it. Or is it the search for power that distort man to act maliciously?
Mr Moipatron had been such a successful lyer over the years that he had become really proud of himself and his accomplishments on these issues. He even spoke out loudly in the office, for everyone to hear, after he had pulled through another of his lies : “Oh, my God, I am such a terrific lyer!”.
“Oh, Gerard, I know, I know…”, Anissa used to cheer along, butt sucking to its limits. Her head halfway up to his tight arse.
CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN VALUE OF TRUTH
Chapter forty seven : value of truth
Whom should you ask?
OK, let me help you: ask Wolfgang Hanssen.
It had been for the never-ending enthusiasm and daily efforts and quite extraordinary sales results, which kept me going at the Matrix office. Next to Veronique, Wolfgang had been the driving engine of my survival, all those Matrix years. At least one person from this bunch of irregular and even crooked people who actually knew what he was doing, with fine results! Just check on the figures, back then in 1999 and see how they multiplied themselves the following years. Quite impressive, huh?
We did get the train rolling, and I bet now, there is no stopping it any more….”thank you Patrick.” “As a fine remuneration for those magnificent results, we want you to leave the office without any payments…without any token of gratitude; “, at the contrary,…on top of that, they were so blunt and stupid to accuse me of racism. They do not even know what this word really means….I feel sorry for them. My time will come…sooner than anyone will ever expect. Matrix is big. Thank God for that. Moreover, Stardor has its pride too and they see to it that irregularities are corrected and punished. One day. Soon. I am running ahead again. As usual. This makes it hard for you to follow. I am sorry. I will pick up the track where I left it.
Ask Veronique, if she feels the power and strength and audacity to tell you the truth. As, I guess, she has too, cultivated her own truth. To survive together with Anissa and mr Moipatron. That is why she betrayed me. She wanted to stay on board. I understand that. She had been without a supportive husband (or without any for that matter) for quite some time now and had to arrange her financial life all on her own. Hard to bear. But she did it. Even if she had to lie for it; After her marriage had broken up, she had found a new love in her life as she was the kind of women who needed love in her life. She could not do without love. The new man of her dreams had been a priest in a previous life. Now he still helped the Catholic priests in their tasks, even if no one came to the churches any more. Together they kept up the appearances. He had not been rich. Catholics do not tend to pay that much. They like to think in terms of “charity” and “sacrifice”. (and not to forget : child abuse) So any money Veronique did not have to expect from him. Only love. Lots of love. That would do for her. For the moment. She knew that some day one of his preaches would be one to many.
You definitely can ask Tessy. Tessy had become a victim as well. Tessy is gone, by now; but I still have her phone number. And private mailaddress. That is why my next chapter will be dealing with the swansong of Tessy. (Anissa : “the what????”) Complete victim of harassment and daily pestering by Anissa herself. Pestering between women. Till death do them part. That is fun to watch! You have no idea! They would scrape each other’s eyes out, if they could….
It is like a game of mud catch. With deadly intentions. Anissa with both her empty teabags sticking to her polluted body. Falling down in the mud, on her broadened obese hips. Tessy, sitting on top of her, her knees both controlling both arms of Anissa, preventing them to strike back, pulling her ravenblack hair, till she bleeds. What a scene. Sickening, is it not? I think it is.
You can ask Auxikleka, our Belgian customer, situated in Deurne. The contact person Fanny is not quite close friends with Anissa. Any idea why, perhaps? Fanny is a stron woman. Once, she even made Anissa cry. Pretty Incredible huh? That is when I got to handle this client. Transfert from Anissa to me. In those days, Anissa still handled our customers. “ Mistreated” is a better word. Orders from mr Dujounrot.
The product manager of Auxickleka though, always running after his dick, had several times tried to penetrate Anissa’s bodily openings. He had tried all angles. I have no idea if he had been successful. The way Anissa often entered the office the last few weeks I had been still on board, spoke for itself. She left a real track of feminine slime and gunk behind her, as a snail does on dry soil. No tampax could hold this up.
Of course, I am pissed. I still am. Even after all these months. Because of what had happened to me, back there and then, at Matrix Systems Belgium. I am still in the process of writing it down. Every single detail of it. I will not forgive. Nor forget. I will strike back. Hard. I have many documents to be used. Especially the fact that it had been very unfair what happened to me, is what makes me fuming. You do not know half of it yet. I cannot let crime get away with itself. Someone will some day understand that rehabilitation is the only way out. And that corrections need to be made about some present foul and stinking situation.
Consider this to be a small “interlude”. We are halfway. Get your coke or get your beer out of the fridge, go to the bathroom for a dump or a pee, and then join me for the second half on this ride of resentment and human disgrace.
CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT OVERWEIGHT THOUGHTS AND MORE LIES
Chapter forty eight : thoughts, lies and overweight<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I have ordered my shoes. They are professional ones. It was hard to get a forty seven, Belgian or even European size. I live on big feet. You cannot tell, nor see from the outside that those shoes are fortified. Made of solid steel. The tips, I mean. But they are covered by the finest leather. I have very delicate feet. I do not want to harm them in my action. You can only obtain that kind of professional shoes in a shop of specialized clothing of the builders and construction workers. They were expensive! My God! I sure hope they pay off what I bought them for.
I cannot eat for two days. Damn. I am hungry right now. But they are going to scan me tomorrow. At <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />three fifteen pm. In a hospital nearby, called Saint Augustamos. In Hoboken. To make sure I am cancerfree.
With the usual tubes and wires, they could not find anything. Therefore, they are going to use the big stuff; highly trained staff and extremely sophisticated material.
Mr Moipatron honestly believed that he could handle his job as assistant to the general manager. Every time he got stuck somewhere, he used one of his proved lies to help him out. He got used to do this all the time. At the end it got irritating to the customers. Because he covered up lie with another lie. They saw through this, because customers are never stupid. You should never ever underestimate a customer. Mr Moipatron did. Anissa did too. They started to cover up for each other. It had gotten irritating to me as well. Even Veronique got highly frustrated with another attempt of mr Moipatron to stall or even avoid one of his promises he had made earlier and had not found the time to fulfil it, yet. He kept running after himself and his promises. He thought he was doing well. But he was drowning in his own chaotic master play.
Essentially, I do not think he meant to do or cause any harm. Nevertheless, using so many lies and unfulfilled promises in order to maintain his present working status, harmed him more than he could imagine.
Customer care was overloaded again with phone calls of customers waiting for an answer of the technical support cell. Promised answers that never came through. promised faxes that never had been sent. Or had been made, for that matter. Very often, the fax machine seemed to be broken or overloaded. How convenient.
Tessy worked quite differently. She had a natural born domination on the men working in our warehouse. She controlled them with her natural flair of governance. Her authority had been build up as soon as she had started on the job. She had been quite confident about herself and this job from day one. Even if she had only reached the age of 23. Thank God there had been at least one woman on board who knew what she was doing. Only, things did not turn out, the way Tessy had seen her future at Matrix Systems. Although mr Dujounrot had the highest respects for young Tessy and the way, she handled all warehouse problems, which of course actually meant that he could stay out of this clutter and focus on some Italian masterplan, he could not prevent Tessy from being another victim of harassment and pestering by Anissa. In spite of this highy managerial praise and personal approval of mr Dujounrot on her daily efforts to keep things running the way she wanted it, Tessy had to fight back on an equal daily basis the envy, stupidity and gross, uncivilized (since she lacked any decent education) personal attacks of Anissa. Both had been in the same school before entering the Matrix community. May be that could have been a possible reason or explanation for the hostility and female physical resentment that existed between those two lovebirds. They both hated each others guts, which had been as obvious as the fluidity of water. They had not been best friends for years. At the contrary.
The same way I had my problems with Anissa on handling my customers and their payments, Tessy had her daily unsolvable issues too, because of the persistent foulness and slothfulness Anissa displayed every single day at the office. Tessy had to find her way out on incoming invoices that were not suppose to be on her desk, needing urgent accountable treatment, but, for conniving reasons, Anissa refused to handle. Anissa had been a master in diverting her proper workloads to those who had actually nothing to do with it. As she got stuck in executing her derivation program, she turned like a crying baby to mr Dujounrot, who, for questionable reasons, always defended the way Anissa presented her exertion. So Tessy had to prepare, control and handle all incoming invoices concerning transportation, so Anissa only had to book and file them, which she never did because of lack of time
But there was more
.Anissa was harsh, rude, brutal, inhuman towards Tessy. Almost daily. What for? No idea. Envy perhaps? Because mr Dujounrot appreciated the way, Tessy handled things?
Did she see her as a kind of competition? Must have
.for sure. Since Anissa had constant overweight problems herself, being the proud owner of those exquisite broad hips of hers where you could place a pint of beer upon, she started to harass Tessy on her weight too. Tessy had a strong bone structure and thus did not really match those coke-sniffing models you detect on catwalks nowadays. Down deep inside her, tessy dreamed of a figure, much slimmer than she actually had, but she knew she had no real persistence to deny all that tempting food. Weight watchers kept her body to restricted areas. At times, this went all right, other times you could really see Tessy had enjoyed her latest meals. For Anissa, this had been the ultimate weapon to hit upon Tessys confidence. Especially when Tessy was having her baby and during those tantalizing months of pregnancy, Anissa systematically fraught Tessy on her weight issues. I will not repeat the disgusting things Anissa vomited out of her mouth towards poor Tessy; you can ask Anissa directly if she would be willing to repeat those conflicting, deeply hurting remarks and questions, she used to shatter Tessy. At the end.
Because of the fine and direct way Tessy handled her job, neither mr Moipatron, nor Anissa had anything to say about what went on in and around the warehouse. This had been a situation that had to be cleared. At once. For Both of them. Mr Moipatron did not like to lack this control of his warehouse, since he had been assistant to the general manager for quite some time now.
Neiterh did Anissa like the noticeable power Tessy had growing because she did her job well, something you really could not say about Anissa.
So, together with Anissa, mr Moipatron started to destabilize the logical, natural presence and powerful influence Tessy had cultivated during those first few years at Matrix systems. She had been really proud about what she had achieved. She had a right to be proud. She could not ever understand why those two wanted her out. I hope now she will understand. And let her mind come to terms with herself. And her future.
Both Anissa and mr Moipatron had to choose for the long run, by hitting her systematically on her weakest spot, her stretchy, fluxuous weight syndrome, since she still had the approval of our big boss, the ultimate general manager, located somewhere on an Italian beach (not again!!!), sipping of his fifth Scotch on the rocks, seeing four firm titties and two bushes of the finest curly hair before his troubled eyes. Since he stopped smoking, he could drink more, though. Good for him, bad for his legs.
Real good warehouse workers are hard to find. Tessy knew this.
Good-hearted as she was, she had allowed both one brother of Anissa and one of Malvine to work in our warehouse. Dead wrong decision! Never let your heart decide over reason. This is always a bad decision. Tessy knows now. Too fucking late! What a disaster this selection had been. Both brothers were equally shocking in their ways of approaching the job to be done... The brother of Anissa, Boujmahl, knew that her sister was working on her horizontal career up in the offices and thought himself to be untouchable. He actually and really slept through most of the working hours, hidden behind strategically placed pallets filled with Matrix goods, deep inside the containers he had to disembark and unload... (just ask any one
) Boujmahl had beaten his sister on the scale of sluggishness. It took him even some trouble to open his eyes. During daytime. During working hours. Say nothing
say nothing. Just do not say anything!
You could never understand the value of unreliability of those two, if you had not seen them in action. Or in non-action, that is.
Megast, the brother of Malvine, and friend of Boujmahl, refused to check upon all boxes he picked and put together for each shipment. The checklists he got, he methodically filled in before he had done one single picking
with the evident results that every single shipment he had prepared, had been wrong the moment he took the first box into his hands. Megast had been a friendly guy, but he had his principles. He never changed his habbits. Ever.
Boujmahl never had been friendly, to no one. Why should he ever be? His sister, up there, had everything under control. She controlled the joysticks of power and management, so he could sleep. Because he only had been so sleepy. Soo sleepy indeed. What a sister!
This cruel mistake, Tessy had to bear for years, since it took her that long to get rid of those two. For again unknown underhand raisons d'être, mr Dujounrot had protected those two against all remarks and legitimate complaints that were growing every single day. Until the day came, he could no longer stick his head in the Italian beach sand. It was time to sip again from his iced Scotch. Tonight he would invite Carola Spinazzola to a sumptuous dinner, since she liked to dine and wine. That you could see. On her sausage fingers. And her pair of oversized hooters of course.
chapter forty nine some changes
Chapter forty nine : proverbs and some change <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Mentez, mentez, il en reste toujours quelque chose.©Voltaire.
Must have been the life supporting axiom of mr Moipatron. And of Anissa. Her life had been a lie all the way down.
You must be the change, you wish to see in the world.
©Mahatma Ghandi.
And so I am working on it. I do not have the pretention that I can change the world. But I can persevere in fighting the element of injustice and human dishonesty. Which I am doing now. Till justice sets everything straight again.
They still think that crime pays
poor bastards.
At the end they are the losers, sore losers
I truly do not understand how you can live your life lying like that. About almost anything. Your life is a fake. Your marriage is a fake. Your business title, your company position is a fake. Your social position is a fake. Anyone can see that.
Anissa tried soo hard to be a Belgian, it became pathetic. Any one could see that she had to be a genuine Moroccan. Nice country. Beautiful country! Nice people, over there. Not over here. Here it seemed as if she always had to defend herself. Against all. Against everyone. Against non existing allegations. Against non existing accusations. Against non existing racial attacks. It had to be situated all between her ears. Paranoia, she was. Delusional. Anissa hated sex. She had an aversion of the hard-on drumstick. Only mr Dujounrot could set her at ease. And enter her hardly ever sipping cave of tight pressure. Next to the product manager of Auxickleka, he had been the only one who had been able to set flames in the dried up, rarely flowering shrub.
Anissa hated every single time her legal husband, wandering eye, for the time he actually had been her husband, demanded his matrimonial rights to be fulfilled. With his circumcised rod, resembling a mushroom. A small one. Sometimes it had white dots on it. Containing moist fluids. Then she knew he had been elsewhere again. She hated mushrooms. Especially the one between the legs of wandering eye. The one of mr Dujounrot had been wrapped up, at least. A nice package she could unroll every time when he wanted a blowjob done. This she begrudged as well. But, because of major possible complications and future consequences of not doing it, of rejection and possible humiliation, she had put the throbbing pole into her mouth. She even swallowed. The very first time it happened soo quickly that she had not been aware what kind of load she just had gotten down in her throat. That is when she had started to like it. Moreover, the capacity of his pleasure load had been severely reduced over the years. With just one single swallow, she could get it down. Each time. Mr Dujounrot never had been happier, though. Till he had met his Italian bobo. Because she had been loaded. With boobies and hard cash. And her own company. Anissa had nothing but many brothers and sisters. And a desiccated cave with roast beef lips. Her crummy salary at Matrix had been the first real income this deranged family had seen in years.
Every book needs a certain amount of pornographic material. Absolutely. Otherwise it would all be kind of boring. Telling you only about the crooked ways some behaved around Matrix Systems. Thank God Anissa had done what she needed to do, according to her drives and believes, so I could mention it here. Juicing up the story a bit. With bodily fluids and, in case of Anissa, local dehydrated areas.
Chapter forty nine bis : mr Dujounrot cant get enough, MORE!!!!
If you think mr Dujounrot had found peace within himself with the lubricant and lucrative scam he had pulled together with the love of his life Carola, you are dead wrong! He had been successful and he wanted more!
He needed more. And more did he get. Now, all you guys of Stardor, pay attention, it may help you in the search of what you are after.
Word got around that mr Dujounrot even had his own office within the building of JayBaySay from where he organised his orchestrated drainage of Matrix Systems.
We had found out, that the few times mr Dujounrot actually saw a client of Matrix; he only promoted his liaison to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Italy instead of our products. I think you should all see and comprehend this betrayal of mr Dujounrot to his origin, as a way of a proud cock, making efforts to conquer his chicken. See what I can do
.
I, for instance, had gotten worried calls from a Spanish client, who had been a smaller client of JayBaySay too, who had been severely under pressure after one of mr Dujounrots rare visits to switch on several items from Matrix to Jaybaysay.
I do not want this cheap Italian shit.
I can still hear him shouting out of plain anger.
I want Matrix items, not those of JaybaySays!
To me, this had been a clear case of conflict of interest; cases of which Moipatron also had been aware of. He never ever talked about it to us, since he was secretly working on his elimination scheme to launch mr Dujounrot to the moon or even further and had been gathering loads of circumstantial evidence for that matter, all along. So be it. Just ask the man. He knows exactly what mr Dujounrot had pulled through. He Had been a forced accomplice all along. He had been sitting on the frontal seats of this personal cabaret mr Dujounrot made of it. And it had been worse than he had admitted first. The found evidence had been soo inflicting and contaminating that it seemed impossible for mr Dujounrot to stay on board as general manager. Only, we did not know about this all, at that time. I mean, I did not know. I guess, considering the changing attitude of Veronique lately, that she knew. She must have been aware of the major changes mr Moipatron had been secretly arranging for the near future to come. As did Anissa. Anissa knew all along. As she sat at the source of all con bookings; together with Isabel, whomever that might have been.
It all had to do with the secret whispering on the phone for hours and hours, mr Moipatron practiced the last few months, neglecting his own work to be covered up with one of his patented lies.
Mr Dujounrot had become sales for JayBaySay. But he did not play it fair. He tried to replace Matrix items by those made by Jaybaysay by offering them at a lower price. He had been convinced the quality had been the same, which had been a profound lie. Mr Dujounrot knew this. Nevertheless, he pushed our clients to buy at JayBaySay, more than they could or would like to handle. So our sales dropped. Strange huh???? Mr Dujounrot used all of his knowledge, his managerial contacts and his executive power to draw sales from Matrix to JayBaySay. Some clients accepted the change, others were loyal to Matrix. Of course mr Dujounrot had been that brainy that he left Matrix with some orders to be delivered, he only partly switched items so that it did not became too obvious for the States to notice, since they seemed to be the only ones who were not informed yet about this fiddle. Till mr Moipatron spoke to Trend Straw. Indepth, they call this kind of conversations.
Anissa, who had been pulled along because of her incredible stupidity and ignorance by, at one hand, mr Dujournot and at the other hand, mr Moipatron, as he needed her too for his further betrayal and power putsch, had gotten the impression nothing could ever be going wrong for her. And do you know what the sad part is of this contemplation? She had been damn right, all along, that woman. Even if she had not been aware of it. In her total inanity, she had learned to validate her idiocy and she had brought it to a point where she had been quite useful for those who thought to have it all under control.
This made her behave even more sickening and out of control towards us, poor secondary bastards who had to do all the real work, cleaning up the daily mess mr Moipatron had left again due to his freezing defamation.
Of course I can give you some exemple. I do can hear you think, you know. This is a first book in the history of all books throughout the centuries of literature that actually communicates directly to its readers. This no diary, no, this is a true book.
I have had one publisher calling on me already, waiting for me to arrive at my final and ultimate chapter which I am publishing through the book, of course, not over the internet, to keep the tension intact and to urge peope to buy my book. Clever huh?
You did not think I would be able to find a publisher, did you now? With such an explosive content, many are waiting to indulge themselves in the horror others have been trhough in their lives...
Think of the disgrace and ignominy that will nestle itself as a deadly virus deep inside the unbearable damaged credibility of Matrix Systems. Be aware of the disappointments and resentment, people are going to feel when they were confronted with the lethargic initial negligence of Matrix Systems USA. Do not forget the amazing looks of pure astonishment they will produce on their faces when they learn how easy mr Dujournot could perform his fraud, only promoting his personal profit for years and years
And, for all, do not forget that the audience isnt a fool. They cannot be fooled or misguided, or disrespected. They will clearly see and detect the inflamed sick elements out of this story. The bad people will be condemned. Matrix Systems will be hurt severely. May be it will obtain a lethal injection.
I have produced about 240 din a4 pages up till now, and with the final conclusive story, yet to be unravelled, I estimate, I will make it to at least 350 pages. Or a bit less. Or a bit more. So you do have some time left. To draw you own conclusions. To act and react on all those insightful allegations. To straighten up things. Finally. Because this book is going to be materialized. You can bet on it. Thousands of copies will be spread. Around every possible bookshop all over the world. With magisterial journalist encouragement and full press support. Probably I will have to hold many separate international press conferences. I will be hosted on famous international talk shows. I have the personal e-mail address of Ophrah. Yes, thé Ophrah. She loves this kind of human shit. The tonight show, is interested too. They have confirmed to see me, when my last letters are written down. When my book comes to an end. The ultimate end. I have to do Letterman one week. Tony Danza the next. Conan Obrien the week after that. And Regis and Kelly the week after that. The New York and LA times are waiting for my round up story. I have promised to deliver this as soon as my book will be finished. I had to keep the title as it is now.
no one cares for losers
This had been one of the conditions. It had been part of the deal. Because it is all written down in English, corrected by a true English connoisseur, I can make this being spread worldwide. The global approach. You should not underestimate my worldly social connections. Fiercely enhanced by my being an artist. Artists maybe poor, but they are being listened too by the press if they have to say something worthwhile. And you bet, this is at least worth while.
You have done this once. The second time, it is going to cost you your head. Chopped off by a sword as sharp and deadly effective as the one of Bill. Only I will not need two movies to obtain the same results. The sword I had bought in Sudan. The poorest area of our entire planet. I bought it from those poor souls because I want to support them. It is protected by a fine fully leathered shaft. With iron tip, to protect the sharpness. It is as sharp as a razor blade. Used by Beckham.
This book is a one-way blether directly to you.
Yes, you! And you too!
Need to pee? Come on, I have not gotten all day. Go on then
This book talks to all the protagonists and even antagonists involved. This book even talks to its readers. This book is a kind of moral standard for all participating brains, reading along on a daily basis. Yes, I converse with you too, Anissa! And you, drunken old sod! (mr Dujounrot) And you mr Moipatron; we havent finished talking yet. Not yet, because I still have a lot to say! And this book chats with Trend Straw as well.
And with all the investigators of Stardor.
Our Minister of culture, mr Bert Anciaux, said today in the newspaper about a fraud case in his department:
when I get hold of an anonymous letter, that says to me that someone, some place, somewhere, resorting under my responsibility as a minister, is cheating on me or is involved in some scam I am not aware of, I hand over this letter immediately to the justice department to start an official investigation. It is my right and even my duty to do so towards all those honest hard working people who are performing a hell of a job on my department.
I do not send anonymous letters. I write a book about it. A book on the net. The world wide net. A book to be published. With explosive content. How explosive, the future will resolve.
In her daily constrain to make Tessys life as miserable as she possibly could get it, one day, after Tessy being sick at home, she did the following, way out of line, again.
As you may be know, in Belgium, and I strongly believe elsewhere too, doctors have all made a solemn pledge to keep secrecy about their patients and their physical state of being. The are expected to keep silent about the intimate parts of every physical investigation they perform. Only the patient has a right to know. No one has ever a right to intrude in this relationship doctor/patient.
Of course, when you had as little education and parental guidance as Anissa had gotten in her whole life, you could not possibly know this.
So, when Tessy returned to the office, she delivered the obligatory doctors note that excused her for not being at work due to illness, to Anissa. Anissa had become the one to keep all records on admitted leaves, short absences and longer holidays, since she had to gather this kind of information to enable our salaries to be paid correctly and, for all, on time, at the end of each and every month. As you know, and as I told you before, Anissa permanently abused this information in relation to herself, since she had been at the source of it all. The holidays she had taken and the holidays that had been officially reporting were as dissimilar as a mouse is to an elephant.
Now, as for Tessy was concerned, she also had thought that she did not only have to gather all this kind of information, she started to believe she had to control her on this information too.
You always see the world from your own point of view, so, when you have a totally sick and crooked mind, driven by revulsion and hatred towards others, you immediately think all others are jagged in their performances as well.
Because The doctor had made a mistake by noting down Tessys name, and had scratched and corrected his mistake on the same note, Anissa immediately had concluded this doctors note had been a genuine forgery. So what did she do? Exactly. Instead of asking Tessy about it, to be able to evaluate her reaction on this possible accusation she had in mind, she telephoned to this doctor. Directly. Into his cabinet.
Bad-mannered and completely ignorant as she was, she demanded to know if Tessy had been there. Now, not one single doctor in Belgium needs to give you this information. And certainly not over the phone, to any possible stranger without any form of legal indentification. In her stupidity, she even started to threaten the doctor, who kept his pledge and did not say a thing to this foulmouthed creature on the other end of his phone.
When you are a witness to this kind of highly incompetent conduct, it became, once again, painfully clear how wrongly Anissa had been placed on a position she could not handle at all because of her total lack of general knowledge. Strangely enough this did not matter at all
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Kent County Prison Records
Search for Kent County MD prison records. Prison records include prior incarcerations, arrests, convictions, criminal history, inmate records, inmate identification numbers, prison sentences, and background check information.
Kent County Jails and Prisons house convicted criminals as well as people awaiting trial in Kent County Maryland. They operate at the federal, state, and local level. Jails and Prisons maintain detailed records for their inmates, which are known as prison records. Kent County prison records contain an inmate's criminal history, including personal information, arrests or convictions for misdemeanors and felonies, court sentences, and all current and prior incarcerations. The personal information in prison records can include aliases, mug shots, and known associates. These Kent County public records are an important part of conducting a thorough background check, and they can also be used to locate an inmate. Jails and Prisons often provide a searchable online database for accessing Kent County prison records.
Chestertown Prison Chestertown MD 208 High Street 21620 410-778-4171
J Deweese Carter Center Chestertown MD PO Box 229 21620 410-778-6444
Kent County Jail & Detention Center Chestertown MD 104 Vickers Drive 21620 410-778-2279
Kent County Police Departments are responsible for stopping crimes and conducting investigations in order to maintain public safety in Kent County Maryland. As part of their job, Police Departments also maintain records on current and former inmates. These prison records include information such as the individual's name, date of birth, mug shots, the length of all prison sentences, and the offenses which led to Kent County jail time. Kent County prison records give a picture of the individual's criminal history by providing information on all current and prior incarcerations as well as all arrests and convictions for misdemeanors or felonies. These records can play an important role in conducting a thorough background check. Police Departments may provide online access to Kent County prison records.
Chestertown Police Department Chestertown MD 333 South Cross Street 21620 410-778-1800
Rock Hall Police Department Rock Hall MD 21292 Civic Center Road 21661 410-639-7222
Kent County Sheriff's Departments help maintain safety and order by stopping crimes and conducting investigations in Kent County Maryland. As part of their responsibilities, Kent County Sheriff's Departments maintain records on current and former inmates. These prison records include information like the individual's name, date of birth, mug shots, the length of all prison sentences, and the offenses which led to jail time. Prison records are a central part of a person's criminal history, and they provide information on all current and prior Kent County incarcerations as well as all arrests and convictions for misdemeanors or felonies. Checking prison records is an important part of conducting a thorough background check. Sheriff's Departments may provide online access to Kent County prison records.
Kent County Sheriff's Office Chestertown MD 104 Vickers Drive 21620 410-778-2279
Prison Records near Kent County
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Talbot County
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* Joshua S Heart Foundation
* Unilever-Share A Meal
* Commissioner Monestime
* Miami
Joshua Williams and Unilever Share-A-Meal invite Commissioner Monestime to serve up Holiday cheer
Holidays are always a challenging time for families in need. For a happy time of year, there are a multitude of families that feel tired and depressed during the holidays. Joshua’s Heart works tirelessly every year to relieve holiday anxiety.
By: Joshua's Heart Foundation
Murray (Walgreen's)-Joshua-Thomas L (Walgreen's)-Comm. Monestime
• Joshua S Heart Foundation
• Unilever-Share A Meal
• Commissioner Monestime
• Non-profit
• Miami - Florida - US
MIAMI - Dec. 23, 2015 - PRLog -- With elves in tow and volunteers on tap, Joshua Williams, founder of Joshua’s Heart Foundation (JHF) along with Unilever – Share-a-Meal threw a holiday party for hundreds in Commissioner Jean Monestime’s district for the second year in a row. On, Saturday, December 19th, the young man renown for living his passion and fulfilling his purpose to Stomp Out World Hunger, again took to task of making sure some of Miami-Dade’s most needy were treated to a holiday experience they won’t soon forget. With the assistance from the commissioner’s office and the support of sponsors, Unilever, Generation On, Hasbro, Walgreen’s, Spark Social Florals and Cupcakes by Carlotta, the JHF team was able to provide a family day of love and support for these deserving families. Additionally, Page by Page Project led by JHF team member Suria collected and distributed 300 books to all the children in attendance.
With a 100 families scheduled to attend, the district 2 team brought their workers in to assist the JHF team with set up and execution of the event which was held at the Arcola Lakes Park Community Center. Families were treated to a 3 course meal which included the following:
Water & Juices
Green Salad – Romaine Lettuce, Mixed Greens, Cucumber, Tomatoes
Herb Roasted Chicken and Honey Baked Ham served with garlic mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, candied yams and a vegetable medley
… “All of the delectable eats were prepared with love through the undying commitment of Chef David Stample. Chef David and his volunteers, worked tirelessly to prep the meal on Friday evening and rose early Saturday morning to ensure the meal was delivered on time and ready to tickle the palate of all the guests”, said Joshua Williams.
Food preparation was made possible from the in-kind donation of commercial kitchen space by Chef Dea and Chef Jorge of Gourmet Research & Commissary Support in Dania Beach. Toys for all the children were donated by Generation On Joy Maker in conjunction with Hasbro Toys, Joshua’s Heart Foundation, Walgreen’s Pharmacy and the Office of Commissioner Monestime. “We appreciate the efforts and donations of all our sponsors in order to make this event possible”, added Joshua. He continued, “The commitment to Joshua’s Heart on the part of Unilever is unprecedented; it is a value I cannot put a price on. This would not be possible without their support and partnership. Additionally, we are very grateful for Commissioner Monestine’s commitment to community betterment, it is a commendable show of responsible governing from a member of our elected officials”.
With another successful event under their belt the partners of are looking to 2016 to see how they can make this event, bigger and better in order to serve South Florida’s needed in the most deserving and honorable way possible. To learn more about Joshua’s Heart Foundation and how you can make a difference in the lives of others please visit: www.joshuasheart.org.
Joshua’s Heart Foundation (JHF) food recovery and distribution programs provides commodity foods to low-income children, youth, seniors and families residing in South Florida and Jamaica West Indies at community-based sites and schools. JHF has created the following programs to facilitate their cause: the Backpack Distribution Program, the Gardening program, and the Chapter affiliation program. These programs are designed to address the issue of stomping out childhood hunger by leaving no student hungry and to educate other children and youth on how to take action against hunger. For more information visit http://www.joshuasheart.org
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Refreshments, Home and Personal Care products with sales in more than 190 countries. In the United States, the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Fruttare, Good Humor, Hellmann’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Magnum, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond’s, Popsicle, Promise, Q-tips, Simple, St. Ives, Suave, Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, TIGI, TONI&GUY Hair Meet Wardrobe, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Unilever employs approximately 8,000 people in the United States – generating approximately $8.5 billion in sales in 2014.The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) aims to double the size of Unilever’s business, while reducing its overall environmental footprint and increasing positive social impact. The USLP is a strategic response to the challenges businesses face operating in an uncertain and volatile world. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/. Unilever ranked number one in its sector on the 2015 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The entire Unilever global factory network, as well as its U.S. non-manufacturing facilities, have achieved zero non-hazardous waste to landfill status. For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit:www.unileverusa.comTo connect with Unilever U.S. via Facebook visit: www.facebook.com/unileverusa To connect with Unilever U.S. via Twitter follow: @unileverusa (https://twitter.com/unileverusa)
A Better Concept PR
***@abetterconcept.com
: ***@abetterconcept.com
: Joshua S Heart Foundation, Unilever-Share A Meal, Commissioner Monestime
: Non-profit
: Miami - Florida - United States
Page Updated Last on: Dec 24, 2015
A Better Concept PR PRs
Local Student, 15-Year old Colin Wanless Receives Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation Youth Grant to Fight Childhood Hunger on Global Youth Service Day 2019
Turbulent Times for Venezuela Deepens Teen Advocacy in 3rd Year of Support for Her Homeland
Ending Hunger and Poverty Through Random Acts of Kindness A Joshua's Heart Foundation Thanksgiving Tradition
Association of Fundraising Professionals Honor Joshua Williams as Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy
Miami Resident Recognized with Daily Point of Light Award for Work with Joshua's Heart Foundation
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Unpopular opinions thread?
This comment was posted to reddit on Apr 02, 2017 at 10:09 am and was deleted within 11 hour(s) and 42 minutes.
Anyone who thinks "but hand checking!" is a real argument is extremely mistaken. Late 90s/ealry 00s basketball was basically just slow boring ISO ball and teams were just not smart enough to play the right way yet.
This is ridiculous. The NBA literally changed the rules with the intentions of opening up offensive opportunities for players. If you watched games from the 90s and watch a game from today, you would see how easier it is for a guard to play offense in this era. The physicality has been nearly completely taken out of the game. Guards today can drive with ease to the basket and are guaranteed either a basket or a foul because of the rule changes. The defensive three-second violation is a prime example of this. It literally prohibits teams from playing the defense they want to by not allowing a defender to protect the rim for more than three seconds at a time. More space and opportunities has been created for guards in the last 10-15 years. Do you honestly think it's just a coincidence that the league has become so guard-heavy in the last few years? You just said yourself:
The only reason there were ever dominant post up bigs in the 90s was because the rules disadvantaged defense and artificially made post ups an efficient shot.
In the same vein, replace dominant post up bigs with small, skilled guards in the 10s and you have the same result...
And if you don't think hand-checking isn't real, I mean...I don't know what to say lol. Just watch Scottie Pippen videos. The way he played defense, you literally can't play defense like that anymore today. Physical, aggressive defense where you're essentially bodying the ball-handler.
And this isn't even just my opinion, this has literally been said by NBA coaches and players for years now. Steve Kerr himself said this about Curry and why he's been able to be so successful
/r/nba Thread Parent
Recently removed from /r/nba
What exactly do Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell do that makes them significantly better than Zach LaVine? Game Threads Index + Daily Discussion (July 15, 2019) Larry Bird and Kareem are underrated by today's youth [Feigen] Rockets land Tyson Chandler to be their backup center, with Chandler agreeing to a one-year, minimum deal. They felt good about getting him, but he wanted a bit of time to consider whether to play a 19th NBA season, source said. [Wojnarowski] The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to trade Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul, first-round picks in 2024 and 2026, pick swaps in 2021 and 2025, league sources tell ESPN. [Wojnarowski] Thunder are playing a long-game unseen in recent NBA history: Seven additional first-round picks lined up through 2026 -- plus four pick swaps -- via deals for Paul George and Chris Paul. Zach Lowe criticizes Russell Westbrook: wouldn't give up a single asset for Russ trade, says Russ never and won't ever attract stars, says he refused to change despite OKC trying to improve the offense. Would only trade Russ straight-up for a player of Luke Kennard's caliber Is a DLO-Curry backcourt better than Harden-Cp3 backcourt? The narrative that Kawhi hasn't been tampered with, that he's pure from it all, seems untrue While we wait for his choice. How would you recruit Kawhi to your own team? I think Kawhi is kinda being an asshole [CARTER] Kawhi has not made a decision The reason Kawhi will never go to the Clippers [Kobe] Shoot? Just get the pass [Kobe] Shoot? Just get the pass
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Afghan Rise In Press-Freedom Index
Afghanistan has climbed 22 places in this year's Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders "thanks to the fact that no journalists are in prison" there.
Explainer: How Would Possible British Exit Affect EU Foreign Policy?
RFE/RL's Brussels correspondent, Rikard Jozwiak, looks at how a possible "Brexit" -- or even a looser relationship between Britain and the EU -- might affect the bloc's enlargement and foreign policy.
Albanians Protest Monument Removal
At least 2,000 ethnic Albanians have rallied in the southern Serbian town of Presevo to protest against the removal of a memorial to fallen Albanian guerrillas.
Serbia Removes Ethnic Albanian Memorial
Serbian police have removed a controversial memorial to ethnic Albanian rebels who fought against Serbia in the Kosovo war.
Van Rompuy Likes Serbia-Kosovo Talks
European Council President Herman van Rompuy says Serbia has made enough progress in normalizing relations with Kosovo for the EU to look at the possibility of opening accession talks with Belgrade.
Serb, Kosovar Prime Ministers To Meet
The prime ministers of Kosovo and Serbia are due to meet on January 17 in Brussels in talks mediated by the European Union.
Serbia Could Ease Hold On Kosovo
Serbia says it is ready to loosen its control over Serb-populated areas of northern Kosovo in what could mark a major concession by Belgrade as it pushes for talks on joining the European Union.
Orthodox Christians Celebrate Christmas
Orthodox Christians around Europe and Russia celebrated Christmas on January 6 and 7 with liturgies, processions, and an array of local traditions to mark the holiday.
Pristina Bans Serb President's Visit
Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci says Pristina has banned Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic from visiting ethnic Serbs in Kosovo for Orthodox Christmas.
Russia Slams Former Yugoslavia Tribunal
Russia has criticized the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Transparency: Two-Thirds Of Countries Perceived To Be 'Highly Corrupt'
According to the anticorruption group Transparency International (TI), high levels of bribery, abuse of power, and secret dealings continue to “ravage” societies around the world, despite a growing public outcry over corrupt governments.
Interview: Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj
During a visit to Prague on December 3, Kosovar Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj sat down with RFE/RL correspondent Ron Synovitz to talk about Pristina's concerns, aspirations, and accomplishments since unilaterally declaring independence from Serbia in 2008.
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Value and Ethos Statement
Fundamental British Values
Go4Schools Data Guide for Parents/Carers
Lettings and Facilities
Term Holidays
School Expansion
Google Chromebooks
Key Stage 4 Awards
Committed to Success for All
Year 7 Subject Guide
Year 10 Subject Guide
Home Learning Timetable
Current Qualifications and Courses
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural
HPA (High Achieving Student)
The Food Investigate, Improve, Inform Team (FIIIT)
Student Matters
Uniform Code
Senior Management and Whole School Commitment
Evaluation of Programmes
Thinking School Status and Cognitive Education
Redden Court School is proud to be recognised as a centre for best practice in the field of Cognitive Education. We achieved accreditation as a Thinking School by the University of Exeter in April 2013 and were just one of twenty secondary schools to be so designated at this time. We are currently working towards our re-accreditation and are developing our website so that all information can be made available to everybody in our school community.
A Thinking School – One Definition
A Thinking School is ‘an educational community in which all members share a common commitment to giving regular careful thought to everything that takes place. This will involve both students and staff learning how to think reflectively, critically and creatively, and to employing these skills and techniques in the co-construction of a meaningful curriculum and associated activities. Successful outcomes will be reflected in students across a wide range of abilities demonstrating independent and co-operative learning skills, high levels of achievement and both enjoyment and satisfaction in learning. Benefits will be shown in ways in which all members of the community interact with and show consideration for each other and in the positive psychological well-being of both students and staff.’ (Burden, 2006)
Outreach and Support
Redden Court School values the importance of making strong links with other schools. Primary liaison has played an important role in the way that we promote thinking skills within the community. This year, we have been sharing good practice with other Secondary Schools in the borough. For more information contact the Director of Cognitive Education, Mrs G Aukett.
Cognitive Education at Redden Court
Thinking Skills - Form Time
We believe form time is an extremely valuable part of the school day and should be used to assist students with their learning. Form timetables have now been introduced for each year group that include a day dedicated to developing cognition. Form Tutors are provided with various materials that allow students to develop their thinking skills during form time. In the first term, we focused on ‘P4C’ (Philosophy for Children) where students had the opportunity to explore a starting point through questioning and purposeful discussion.
We now offer ‘Brain Tech’ lessons on the Key Stage 3 Curriculum. Brain Tech allows students to develop metacognition and develop an appreciation and understanding of themselves as learners. In Year 7, students focus on what it takes to become an effective learner, the multiple intelligences and creative thinking. In Year 8, students focus on Edward DeBono’s ‘Thinking Hats’, emotional intelligence and the development of problem solving and revision skills. All students participate in a ‘P4C’ unit of work that allows them to develop their thinking and questioning skills as well as encouraging them to develop their own opinions and responses towards a topic. Developing a growth mindset is a core principle of both the subject and the teaching and learning culture at Redden Court School. Even though Brain Tech is only taught in Years 7 and 8, the key principles of metacognition are promoted and embraced by both staff and students (across all years) at the school.
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Park View, Hinckley
Coventry Road, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 0NU
Coventry Road,Hinckley,Leicestershire,LE10 0NU Map
Park View, Hinckley, certainly lives up to its name, overlooking the open fields and sports pitches of Clarendon Park in the heart of this popular Leicestershire town. Close to the town centre, yet equally convenient for road and rail links, as well as local schools, Park View couldn't be better placed for you and your family.
Which makes it an ideal location for Redrow's award winning Heritage Collection homes, which are just as well suited to family life. With attractive Arts and Crafts inspired exteriors and open plan, family friendly interiors, the Heritage Collection is designed around the way you and your family live today.
Interactive Siteplan
Park View Coventry Road, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 0NU
There is a small group of local shops close to the development on Rugby Road, with a Tesco store next to Hinckley Station. The facilities of the town centre are also close by. For doctors, register at Maples Family Medical Practice on Hill Street (Sat Nav LE10 1DS call 01455 234576) or for dentists, try Station Road Dental Practice (Sat Nav LE10 1AP call 01455 637141)
Maples Family Medical Practice
35 Hill Street, Hinckley, LE10 1DS
Station Road Dental Practice
34 Station Road, Hinckley, LE10 1AP
Hinckley has a great selection of restaurants both within the town and in the surrounding countryside. Checkout the highly rated Ponchinellos and Rossini, or Barnacles, Hinckley Knight and the Windsor Tiffin. There are also a number of friendly gastro pubs in the area, including The Baron, Chequers Inn and the Sharnford Arms.
Rossini Italiano
38 Coventry Road, Hinckley, LE10 0JT
The Windsor Tiffin
47 Windsor Street, Burbage, Hicnkley, LE10 2EE
Barnacles Restaurant
Watling Street, Hinckley, LE10 3JA
The Baron of Hinckley
5-7 Regent Street, Hinckley, LE10 0AZ
HInckley Knight Flaming Grill
Watling Street, Burbage, Hinckley, LE10 2JQ
Westfield Infants and Westfield Juniors are both within easy walking distance of the development, so you don’t need a car for the school run. Alternatively, there are several other local primary schools to choose from, including St Peter’s Catholic Primary and St Mary’s CofE Primary. Older children can choose between Hastings High and Mount Grace High, both of which feed John Cleveland College, North Warwickshire and Hinkley College and The Midland Studio College
London Road, Hinckley, LE10 1HJ
St Mary's C of E Primary School
Statiion Road, Hinckley, LE10 1AW
Mount Grace High School
Hinckley, LE10 1LP
North Warwickshire & Hinckley College
Lower Bond Street, Hinckley, LE10 1QU
The Midland Studio College
4 Spa Lane, Hinckley, LE10 1HJ
University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH
There’s plenty to do in and around Hinckley, from the sports of Hinckley Leisure Centre and Hinckley Golf Course, to the quiet of a stroll or cruise along the Ashby de la Zouch Canal. Twycross Zoo and Desford Tropical Birdland are both within easy reach for wildlife fans. For evening entertainment, check out the Concordia Theatre in Hinckley, or the multi screen Odeon cinema in nearby Nuneaton.
Hinckley Leisure Centre
Coventry Road, Hinckley, LE10 0JR
Hinckley Island Hotel
Odeon Nuneaton
Bermuda Park, St David's Way, Nuneaton, CV10 7SD
Concordia Theatre
Stockwell Head, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 1RE
Hinckley has a good selection of shops in its pedestrianised centre, along with the modern mall of the Britannia Shopping Centre. Hinckley Market dates back to 1311, and the town still holds regular markets on Monday, Friday and Saturday, in addition to a monthly Farmers’ market held every third Thursday of the month. The town also hosts all the major supermarket chains, including Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons. For a wider range of shops try nearby Nuneaton, or head to Leicester or Birmingham for that big city shopping experience.
Asda Hinckley Superstore
Barwell Lane, Hinckley, LE10 1SS
Sainsbury's Local
Clifton Way, Hinckley, LE10 0XN
Normandy Way, Hinckley, LE10 1YA
Britannia Shopping Centre
Britannia Centre, Hinckley, LE10 1RU
Hinckley Station is just a few minutes away from the development, with regular trains linking to Leicester in just 20 minutes, Birmingham in 35 minutes or London, via Nuneaton, in just an hour and twenty minutes. The development is also within easy reach of the A5 and M69, linking to both the M1 and M6, making access right across the region quick and easy. Nuneaton is just over 4 miles, Leicester 16 miles, Coventry 18 miles and Birmingham around 30 miles. Both Birmingham International Airport, at 26 miles, and East Midlands Airport, at 30 miles, are easily accessible.
The Battlefield Line Railway
The Shackerstone Railway Society Ltd, Shackerstone, CV13 6NW
Birmingham International Airport
Birmingham, B26 3QJ
East Midland Airport
Castle Donington, Derby De74 2SA
The development location is Coventry Road,Hinckley,Leicestershire,LE10 0NU
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#reggioemilia
We believe in our fans faith, loyalty and sportsmanship. We condemn any form of violence
Ac Reggiana 1919 SpA, once again, strongly condemns any for of violence as well as the episodes that happened during the last weeks inside and outside the stadium. They tarnish our identity and our philosophy of sportsmanship and don’t represent the spirit and identity of the club’s fanbase. Ac Reggiana 1919 SpA during all these…
#calcio
Happy Birthday, “Sabo”!
Happy birthday to Minel Sabotic. The Ac Reggiana’s central defender was born on the 20th of January 1994 hence, today, celebrates his 23rd birthday. To “Sabo”, all the best from the whole granata family in this special day.
Today’s practice: gym and fitness training
Just one practice today for the lads. Because of the poor pitch conditions – the grass was freezing cold – the Ac Reggiana’s players worked only on their fitness and stamina. The first part of the session was focused on players’ strength, with work in the gym. Thet then moved onto the pitch and ran…
Gael Genevier is the new Ac Reggiana’s addition in midfield
Ac Reggiana 1919 SpA is happy to announce to have acquired from Ac Lumezzante the French midfielder, Gael Genevier. Genevier was born in Sain Martin d’Hères on the 26th of June 1982. He grew up in the Olympique Lyon Academy, the club where he first played at professional level too. On 2003 he moved to…
Happy Birthday, coach Colucci!
Happy Birthday to coach Leonardo Colucci. The Ac Reggiana gaffer, in fact, was born on the 29th of December 1972 and he is celebrating his 44th birthday. To Leo, best wishes from the entire granata family in this special day.
Stampatre and Ac Reggiana side by side for another year
Stampatre Litografia&Digitale, a reliable and accountable communication reality in the Reggio Emilia community, will still be part of the Pool Granata for the 2016/2017 season. It will be its third consecutive one. The renewal of the commercial partnership with the club has been sealed in these days and Ac Reggiana 1919 SpA is proud to…
Today’s practices: work in the gym, team tactics, ball possession and pick up games
The Ac Reggiana players practiced twice today. In the morning they worked in the gym with the physical trainers Raffaele Gagliardo and Cristian Freghieri. They then moved on the pitch where they worked on team tactics. After lunch, the coaching staff did a video session before going back at it on the pitch. The lads…
Ac Reggiana Berretti keeps rolling, Under 16 upsets the undefeated Renate
The Ac Reggiana Berretti keeps rolling and by winning against Santarcangelo for 3-1 keeps its winning streak alive and stays at the top of the table. Allievi Under 17 draws in fantastic fashion against Padova, while the Under 15 stumbles against the Padova team of the same class of age. Great upset by the Allievi…
League Cup call ups
Ac Reggiana’s coach, Leonardo Colucci, called 18 players for the League Cup match against Venezia. Here they are GOALKEEPERS 12. Davide Narduzzo, 22 Armand Demalija FULLBACKS 13. Maxime Giron, 15. Paolo Rozzio, 20. Minel Sabotic, 23. Erik Panizzi, 31. Gabriele Masini, 33. Aslem Zito MIDFIELDERS 8. Dario Maltese, 18. Bryan Mecca, 19. Mattia Lombardo, 26….
Today’s practice: warm up, team tactics and 10 a side
One practice before the League Cup match in Venezia for the lads. The Ac Reggiana players practiced this afternoon. They started with a technical and athletic warm up that was made by the whole squad. Then, the ones that will play tomorrow worked on the team tactics for tomorrow and then played a ten a…
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Fremont County Registry of Deeds
Search for Fremont County CO Registry of Deeds. Land registries include information on deed lookups, recording deeds, registering land, transferring a title, checking title information, and identifying unregistered lands.
Fremont County Recorders of Deeds collect records of a jurisdiction's deeds and make them available to the public in CO. These documents are primarily related to Fremont County property deeds. The Office of the Deeds Registrar maintains records on land and property transactions within its jurisdiction, including deeds, mortgages, easements, and tax liens. The office also has land registry information, including titles, property and parcel surveys, and maps of property lines and unregistered properties. The Fremont County Registrar of Deeds maintains online databases for the public to access land and property deed registry records.
Fremont County Recorder of Deeds Cañon CO 615 Macon Avenue 81212 719-276-7330
Fremont County Town Halls and City Halls are the chief administrative office that runs a town or city in Colorado. The Town or City Hall maintains property records related to Fremont County, including property and land deed records. These records include titles, land transactions, and property sales and transfers. Town and City Halls also maintain records on municipal and zoning boundaries, including any unregistered lands within the municipality. Fremont County Town and City Halls provide online databases to access deed registry records.
Canon City City Hall Cañon CO 128 Main Street 81212 719-269-9011
Florence City Hall Florence CO 600 West 3rd Street 81226 719-784-4848
Rockvale Town Hall Rockvale CO 510 Railroad Street 81244 719-784-4125
Williamsburg Town Hall Florence CO 1 John Street 81226 719-784-4511
Fremont County Assessors evaluate the value of properties and parcels in order to determine property taxes in CO. The Assessor's Office maintains current data on every parcel in the district, including ownership information, inventories of parcels and structures, and the value of all the property in Fremont County. They also have land, property and deed registry records such as value assessments on registered properties, maps of property lines, and lists of unregistered land. Tax Assessors make their Fremont County deed records available to the public online.
Fremont County Assessor's Office Cañon CO 615 Macon Avenue 81212 719-276-7310
Fremont County Clerks file documents and preserve property records in order to maintain an archive for their municipality in Colorado. These records are open to the public. The Clerk's Office contains a number of Fremont County deed registry records, including documents on registered and unregistered lands, titles, and property transactions. They also keep Fremont County registries of deeds, mortgages, liens, and real estate excise taxes. Clerk's Offices provide online access to their Fremont County deed and title records.
Fremont County Clerk Cañon CO 615 Macon Avenue 81212 719-276-7330
Registry of Deeds near Fremont County
Custer County
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(AP/Mark Humphrey)
"Squeeze all the juice out of the orange": Chris Christie's shameless love for freeloading
New report details New Jersey governor's opulent lifestyle -- at others' expense
Check out this article! https://www.salon.com/2015/02/03/squeeze_all_the_juice_out_of_the_orange_chris_christies_shameless_love_for_freeloading/
Luke Brinker
February 3, 2015 8:39PM (UTC)
One month after being sworn in as New Jersey governor in 2010, Chris Christie, proclaiming a fiscal "state of emergency," exhorted New Jerseyans that it was time to tighten the state's belt. "Like any family, and like forty two other states with constitutionally required balanced budgets, we must live within our means," Christie declared.
But the potential Republican presidential contender isn't so keen on applying that same principle to himself, as the New York Times' Kate Zernike and Michael Barbaro lay bare today. The governor has a particular fondness for luxurious hotel suites and private plane trips paid for at others' expense, Zernike and Barbaro report, writing that Christie's acceptance of such gifts "has put him in ethically questionable situations."
Christie makes no bones about his tendency to freeload, having told the Times last year, “I relish these experiences and exposures, especially for my kids. I try to squeeze all the juice out of the orange that I can.”
Here's what squeezing the juice out has entailed: After Christie and his family traveled to Israel on a private flight paid for by GOP megadonor and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson in 2012 -- a trip billed as a "trade mission" -- the Christies proceeded on to Jordan, where King Abdullah treated them to two parties at his private residence, a desert champagne reception, and Kempinski hotel rooms costing approximately $30,000. According to the Times, Christie aides worried "what would happen if that became public."
At the time of the Adelson-financed trip, the billionaire was lobbying against a New Jersey measure that would have legalized online gambling, the Times notes. Though Christie's administration insists the governor wasn't lobbied by Adelson on the issue, the governor subsequently vetoed the measure, raising questions about the link between personal favors and Christie's political deeds. Christie's trips to Dallas Cowboys games on owner Jerry Jones' plane highlight similar concerns; the International Business Times has exposed how Christie pushed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to award a contract to a firm partly owned by Jones.
Christie's junkets haven't only been paid for by wealthy pals; taxpayers have also picked up the tab for Christie's travels, including his trip to the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans. Airfare for the trip, which included Christie, his wife, and two aides, was $8,146, while hotel bills ran to $3,371 for three nights.
The Times' report comes two weeks after Christie's office refused to release nearly $800,000 in credit card records stemming from the governor's travel with his security detail. The administration's bid to keep those records hidden fits a pattern of secrecy. Zernike and Barbaro note that Christie's Super Bowl expenses came to light only after a judge ordered them released in a lawsuit filed by a New Jersey newspaper.
Read the Times' full report here.
MORE FROM Luke Brinker • FOLLOW LukeBrinker
Chris Christie Conspicuous Consumption Gifts Kate Zernike King Abdullah Of Jordan Michael Barbaro New Jersey Sheldon Adelson The New York Times
The cruel aftermath of Bridgegate
New Jersey probes Trump's inauguration
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"Three Women" get honest about sex
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California’s legislature has fewer women than a decade ago
Some state legislatures losing women
As Democrats launch Hillary Clinton as the party’s official presidential nominee, fourteen states have fewer women in their state legislatures than they did in 2005, according to data from Rutgers’ Center for American Women and Politics. DataWatch counts down to the state that has lost the most, by percentage.
(The Associated Press)
Oklahoma: 0.7%
Oklahoma’s state legislature changed from 14.8 percent women to 14.1 percent. Six senators and 15 representatives are women. The house speaker pro tempore is a woman, Representative Lee Denney. Oklahoma also has a female governor, Mary Fallin (above).
(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
West Virginia: 0.8%
West Virginia’s state legislature changed from 15.7 percent women to 14.9 percent. Two senators and 18 representatives are women. West Virginia also has a woman as secretary of state, Natalie Tennant.
( / Associated Press)
Connecticut: 1.1%
Connecticut’s state legislature changed from 29.4 percent women to 28.3 percent. Nine senators and 44 representatives are women. Connecticut also has a female lieutenant governor, Nancy Wyman.
(Jessica Hill / Associated Press)
Wyoming: 1.1%
Wyoming’s state legislature changed from 14.4 percent women to 13.3 percent. One senator and 11 representatives are women. Wyoming also has a woman as superintendent of public instruction, Jillian Balow.
(Miranda Grubbs / AP Photo/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
Hawaii: 1.4%
Hawaii’s state legislature changed from 30.3 percent women to 28.9 percent. Eight senators and 14 representatives are women. The house majority floor leader is a woman, Cindy Evans.
(Cathy Bussewitz / Associated Press)
New Hampshire: 1.6%
New Hampshire’s state legislature changed from 30.4 percent women to 28.8 percent. Eight senators and 114 representatives are women. The senate president pro tem is a woman, Sharon Carson (above). New Hampshire also has a woman as governor, Maggie Hassan.
Nebraska: 2.1%
Nebraska’s state legislature changed from 24.5 percent women to 22.4 percent. Eleven senators in the unicameral legislature are women.
Louisiana: 2.8%
Louisiana’s state legislature changed from 17.4 percent women to 14.6 percent. Five senators and 16 representatives are women.
Maryland: 3.7%
Maryland’s state legislature changed from 35.6 percent women to 31.9 percent. Twelve senators and 48 representatives are women. The state senate majority floor leader is a woman, Catherine Pugh.
( / AP)
New Mexico: 4.5%
New Mexico’s state legislature changed from 31.3 percent women to 26.8 percent. Seven senators and 23 representatives are women. The state senate president pro tem is a woman, Mary Kay Papen. New Mexico also has a woman as governor, Susana Martinez.
(Clyde Mueller / Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)
Utah: 4.8%
Utah’s state legislature changed from 20.2 percent women to 15.4 percent. Six senators and 10 representatives are women. The state senate minority whip is a woman, Karen Mayne.
California: 5.0%
California’s state legislature changed from 30.8 percent women to 25.8 percent. Twelve senators and 19 representatives are women. The state minority floor leader is a woman, Jean Fuller. California’s state controller, Betty Yee, and attorney general, Kamala Harris, are both women.
(Misael Virgen)
Kansas: 8.5%
Kansas’ state legislature changed from 32.7 percent women to 24.2 percent. Thirteen senators and 27 representatives are women. The president of the senate is a woman, Susan Wagle.
(Chris Neal / The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)
Delaware: 9.7%
Delaware’s state legislature changed from 33.9 percent women to 24.2 percent. Six senators and 9 representatives are women. The senate president pro tem is a woman, Patricia Blevins. Delaware’s insurance commissioner is also a woman, Karen Weldin Stewart.
(Jason Minto / Associated Press)
Methodology and More
Data came from the Rutgers’ Center for American Women and Politics.
Closing the gender gap could boost economy
Little progress seen for women on corporate boards
Show Slide Information
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— Grand Canyon
— Colorado Plateau I
— Colorado Plateau II
— Unmatted Watercolors
Cards, Calendar & Books
— Notecards
— Notecard Sets
— Postcards
— Print Order Form
— Fine Art Prints
— Giclée Prints
— Woodcut Blockprints
— Print Info
About Serena
— Fun Stuff
Contact Serena
Sold Paintings
— Oil Paintings (sold)
— Watercolors (sold)
GRAND CANYON CALLING
An Artist's Relationship with the Grand Canyon
Drawings and paintings of the Grand Canyon
An 11” x 8 1/2” book with 112 pages
56 drawings and paintings with comments by Serena
Softbound books are priced at $35.00 ($40.00 with shipping).
Orders of 6 or more qualify for a quantity discount.
Serena's newest book, published in November 2016, features drawings and paintings from 2006-2015.
There are four separate chapters:
1. Hangin' on the Rim
2. Love a River Trip
3. Trail Travel
4. Phantom Ranch
This book represents several years of Serena's life which she spent in the Grand Canyon. Through her work Serena seeks to capture the eye, excite the mind, stir memory, and feed the heart; displaying a deep relationship with the canyon.
Hardbound limited edition of 250, signed and numbered $125
Serena's art booklet titled “BRIDGING NATURALLY ”, originated in 2014, while she was Community Artist in Arches, Canyonlands, Hovenweep, and Natural Bridges.
6" x 9" 32 pages $12.95
INNER GORGE METAPHORS (out of print)
An Artist's Perspective of the Grand Canyon
This book is a collection of 52 color plates of Supplee's 2003-2005 watercolor and oil paintings from the perspective of the Grand Canyon's Inner Gorge. Each work is an expanded expression through the poems she wrote to go with the paintings, taking us on a journey with the use of brushstrokes and words.
The Colorado River, as the lifeblood of the Grand Canyon, is a personal metaphor for Serena Supplee's life path. Her dazzlingly colorful and energetic paintings illustrate her journey, and perhaps yours – floating through the canyons, encountering obstacles and challenges, experiencing joy and confronting fear, and finding surprises around each bend of the twisting, fluid river of nature and life.
52 paintings and poems
112 pages 11" x8.5"
© 2019 Serena Supplee. All rights reserved.
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Sid Richardson Museum Blog
Creative Connections
Curator’s Corner
Young Masters
Hide & Horn
Curator's Corner | January 5, 2017 by Leslie Thompson.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the legendary Chisholm Trail. Named after the Scot-Cherokee trader, Jesse Chisholm, the trail was a major route for Texas livestock. In its brief existence, the cattle drive era amounted to the greatest migration of livestock in world history, with more than 5 million cattle and 5 million mustangs moving from Texas ranches to northern markets. As waypoint along the trail, Fort Worth experienced economic growth and developed a unique Western heritage as a result.
The Best and Shortest Cattle Trail from Texas, Kansas Pacific Railway Company, St. Louis, MO: Levison & Blythe, 1873, Rees-Jones Collection
The Sid will join the three-state (Texas, Oklahoma & Kansas) 2017 celebration of the Chisholm Trail with a cattle trail-era focus exhibition, Hide & Horn on the Chisholm Trail. The exhibit will feature collectors’ items about the greatest migration of livestock in world history. On loan from the Rees-Jones Collection in Dallas, visitors will view an 1873 trail map and guidebook for drovers, one of the four most important books on the cattle industry, and one of the best books about the Texas Longhorn cattle breed during the 19th century.
Guide Map of the Great Texas Cattle Trail, from Red River Crossing to the Old Reliable Kansas Pacific Railway, Kansas Pacific Railway Company, St. Louis, MO: Levison & Blythe, 1873, Rees-Jones Collection
Historical and Biographical Record of the Cattle Industry and the Cattlemen of Texas and Adjacent Territory, James Cox (1851-1901), St. Louis, MO: Woodward & Tiernan Printing Co., 1895, Rees-Jones Collection
The Longhorns, J. Frank Dobie (1888-1964), Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1941, Inscription by J. Frank Dobie to Sid Richardson, March 12, 1942, Sid Richardson Museum
Hide and Horn on the Chisholm Trail opens Friday, January 6.
← Celebrate Good Times, Come On! Keep Calm and Trail Drive On →
Remington’s Fortress of Rest
The Yale Alumnus
For the Love of Birch Bark
A Turbulent Painting
Remington’s Personal Art Collection
Tweets by @SidRichardson
© COPYRIGHT, SID RICHARDSON MUSEUM, 2019 | 309 MAIN ST., FORT WORTH, TX 76102 | INFO@SIDRICHARDSONMUSEUM.ORG | HISTORIC SUNDANCE SQUARE
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Review: Wish Upon
Almost none of the deaths in Wish Upon have any thematic connection to the main character’s wishes.
Eric Henderson
Photo: Broad Green Pictures
Feeling every bit rushed into theaters to capitalize on the presence of both Twin Peaks’s Sherilyn Fenn and Stranger Things’s meme-machine Shannon Purser (a.k.a. Barb), John R. Leonetti’s Wish Upon actually feels of a piece with the latter show’s universe. In that Netflix Gen-X crowd-pleaser, the world humankind inhabits is mirrored by an alternate plane of existence: the “upside down.” And the longer Wish Upon labors on with its thin premise, the more it seems like the grim, upside-down version of genuinely inspired genre exercises, most specifically Drag Me to Hell and the Final Destination series.
Clare Shannon (Joey King) is a high school outcast who suffers the memory of her mother, who committed suicide when Clare was a preschooler, and really suffers the daily reality of her dumpster-diver father Jonathan (Ryan Phillipe, remaining fully shirted throughout). Frequently targeted by a generic pack of mean girls—and one mean boy, because 2017—and woefully smitten with the school’s 100 percent prime Instahunk (Mitchell Slaggert), Clare is in a perpetual post-pubescent rut. But then her dad brings her an ancient Chinese puzzle box he found in a trash can, and neither he nor Clare notice that the damned thing is shaped like a stop sign. Clare blithely wishes ill upon her chief tormentor and, lo and behold, said bully comes down with a nasty case of Eli Roth-style cabin fever. Oh, and then Clare’s dog turns up dead.
Barbara Marshall’s screenplay for Wish Upon is yet another riff on the “monkey’s paw” archetype, though without any poetic justice behind any of the ill-begotten wishes and their grim consequences. Quite the opposite. As frustratingly self-interested as the film’s heroine is throughout, you can’t exactly lay blame at her feet for not noticing, until it’s too late, that her wishes are all being paid for in other people’s blood. That’s because almost none of the deaths have any thematic connection to Clare’s wishes, almost all of which boil down to reaching higher social ground among her peers. How could she notice the price being paid when it’s all randomly tangential?
Contrast that to the deliriously unfair Drag Me to Hell, in which Alison Lohman’s doomed heroine is punished for one minor transgression in ludicrously outsized fashion, in a ludicrous parody of the EC-style “just desserts” paradigm. Inversely, Wish Upon repeatedly rewards its venal protagonist while punishing virtually everyone else. Perhaps a filmmaker with Sam Raimi’s flair for broad satire could mine this premise for hidden ironies, but Leonetti falls back on increasingly elaborate PG-13 death sequences, jettisoning any spiritual associations in favor of shallow “which of these two supporting characters is going to bite it?” cross-cutting. With no moral weight in any of Clare’s actions, the only wish that ends up satisfyingly granted is, in the final and utterly predictable tableau, the audience’s.
Cast: Joey King, Ryan Phillippe, Ki Hong Lee, Mitchell Slaggert, Shannon Purser, Sydney Park, Alice Lee, Kevin Hanchard, Sherilyn Fenn Director: John R. Leonetti Screenwriter: Barbara Marshall Distributor: Broad Green Pictures Running Time: 90 min Rating: PG-13 Year: 2017 Buy: Video
Review: Farrebique
Interview: Andrew Rossi on Bronx Gothic and Okwui Okpokwasili
Review: David Lynch’s Wild at Heart on Shout! Factory Blu-ray
Review: Moss
Review: Maze Runner: The Death Cure
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Home > Computer Science > Latest News
Computer Science Home
arrowDepartment of Computer Science
Results 1 to 15 of 21 from 2018.
By year: All years 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 By keywords:
Can new drugs be tested with computers? EU-funded team explores the future of tuberculosis drugs testing
Researchers from the University of Sheffield’s Departments of Computer Science, and Maths are part of a consortium which is investigating how advanced computer modelling and simulation can be used to reduce the costs of the clinical trials required to test the efficacy of new therapies for tuberculosis.
Dr Achim Brucker joins panel of experts at the Sheffield City Regional QER
Dr Achim Brucker was part of a panel of experts at the recent Sheffield City Regional Quarterly Economic Review (QER) breakfast.
Our MSc in Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence has been mentioned by the Financial Times as leading a new era is cybersecurity training.
Augmented reality experience brings Sheffield’s lost medieval castle to life
One of the most powerful castles in medieval northern England can now be viewed for the first time since it was erased from the face of its city hundreds of years ago. Developed in collaboration with Sheffield-based creative agency Human and a team of computer scientists at the University led by Dr Steve Maddock, the AR experience is based on research by University of Sheffield archaeologists on material uncovered from excavations at the castle in the 1920s and 1950s that is currently curated by Museums Sheffield.
This article is located in a different section of the University of Sheffield website.
MP Twitter abuse increased between 2015 and 2017 general elections
Abuse of politicians online increased substantially in the snap 2017 general election compared to the 2015 general election, according to new research by the University of Sheffield.
The Department of Computer Science joins Amazon’s Alexa Fellowship
Amazon today (22 August 2018) announced the Alexa Graduate Fellowship, designed to foster research and education by supporting PhD and post-doctoral students specializing in conversational AI. The University of Sheffield is among the first universities outside the US to participate in the program
Students win internship at Rolls-Royce
MSc Data Analytics students Rawaida Kamarudin and Weijiang Lin have been announced as runners up at the Data Storytelling Challenge Competition. As finalists they were rewarded with a 10 week internship at Rolls-Royce
New report highlights how drones can be used for good of society
A new report demonstrating how drones can come to the rescue in natural disasters, help starving people in conflict and provide emergency medicine has been published today (7 June 2018) by one of the UK’s leading robotics experts, Professor Noel Sharkey, Emeritus Professor of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in the Department.
New Centre for Speech & Language Technology
The University of Sheffield partners with VoiceBase to launch the Centre for Speech & Language Technology
Large-Scale Fact Extraction and Verification Dataset Publicly Available
Amazon and University of Sheffield Researchers Make Large-Scale Fact Extraction and Verification Dataset Publicly Available
University of Sheffield forges prestigious new partnerships with China
The University of Sheffield has Today (26 April 2018) signed a collaboration agreement with China’s leading Tsinghua University to work with its groundbreaking Future Lab.
BCSWomen Lovelace Colloquium
This year the Department of Computer Science hosted the annual BCSWomen Lovelace Colloquium.
University of Sheffield wins bid to enhance collaboration on the Internet of Things
The University of Sheffield has won a bid which will fund a new project, in collaboration with the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Newcastle, to drive forward collaboration concerned with the Internet of Things.
Honeybees may unlock the secrets of how the human brain works
Researchers from the University of Sheffield have discovered that looking at honeybees in a colony in the same way as neurons in a brain could help us better understand the basic mechanisms of human behaviour.
Giving something back...
Graduate John Wright talks about coming back and working with the Department of Computer Science.
You are viewing 1 to 15 of 21 results.
Previous news stories
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The Brick Theater, Inc is a not-for-profit theater company dedicated to nurturing the work of experimental emerging and established artists at its performance space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn—The Brick.
The Brick presents world premieres, monthly performance series, and seasonal festivals, expanding Williamsburg’s profile as a destination for cutting-edge art and entertainment.
The Brick continues to seek new artists and projects, to provide them with a creative home, and to serve as Williamsburg’s primary incubator of innovative non-traditional theater arts.
Productions (23)
Turtle Plays
Nov 2018 — Nov 2018
The Testament of Josh: A Flesh & Blood Musical
Letters In The Dirt
Apr 2018 — Apr 2018
Harakiri Kane (aka Die! Die, Again!)
Call Me Fury: An Anti-Western
Oct 2017 — Oct 2017
This Is Not Normal: An Arts & Activism Festival
Jun 2017 — Jul 2017
Pluto (No Longer a Play)
May 2017 — Jun 2017
Three Sisters (Obvious Volcano)
Mar 2017 — Apr 2017
Mar 2017 — Mar 2017
Zamboni Godot
Jan 2017 — Jan 2017
The Taming of Cats
Permanent Caterpillar
May 2016 — May 2016
The Golfer
Rhinbecca
Due To Events
Feb 2016 — Feb 2016
How to Get Into Buildings
Dec 2015 — Dec 2015
Fawnbook
Reread Another
Sep 2015 — Oct 2015
Never Odd or Even
Sep 2015 — Sep 2015
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What enhancements will we choose to become better humans? What happens when we live side by side with our robotic companions? How can we author our genetic futures?
This major international exhibition, a co-production with CCCB, draws together a range of installations ranging from a euthanasia roller coaster that will enable your suicide to be euphoric and happy, to how babies can be modified to improve their development. From conception to death our human lives are shaped and directed by our tools and technologies. Where will these things push what it means to be human in five, ten, or one hundred years? HUMAN+ paints a somewhat ambiguous picture of the future of our species. What enhancements will we choose to become better humans? What happens when we live side by side with our robotic companions? How can we author our genetic futures? Find out at HUMAN+: THE FUTURE OF OUR SPECIES.
Cyborgs, superhumans and clones are alive amongst us today. What does it mean to be human now? What will it feel like to be a human a hundred years from now? Should we continue to embrace modifications to our minds, bodies and daily lives, or are there boundaries we shouldn’t overstep? Showcasing works by international artists, scientists, technologists and designers, HUMAN+ presents a future world where the lines between fiction and reality are blurred and shows how our perception of humanity is being transformed by science and technology.
THEMES EXPLORED
Structurally HUMAN+ is divided broadly into four themed areas. Each theme looks into and presents a different angle on the future of our species: authoring evolution, augmented abilities, extended ecologies, and non-human encounters.
Scroll around the 360° tour of HUMAN+ below, shot when it was exhibited at CCCB in Barcelona, Spain.
The Science Gallery Dublin HUMAN+ microsite has information from the Dublin showing, while CCCB's website has further information about the show's run in Barcelona, and the ArtScience Museum website has information about the show's run in Singapore.
CURATED BY AN EXPERT MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM
A curatorial team consisting of artists, neuroscientists and researchers selected 27 projects from the open call submissions which best fit with the overall vision of HUMAN+ and the key concepts we wished to explore. The curators and advisors included:
Cathrine Kramer, artist, curator and co-founder of the Center for Genomic Gastronomy, and CoClimate
Richard Reilly, Professor of Neural Engineering and Ageing, Trinity College Dublin
Aoife McLysaght, Professor of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin
Rachel Armstong, medical doctor, Co-director of Advanced Virtual and Technological Architectural Research in Architecture and Synthetic Biology at The School of Architecture and Construction at University of Greenwich, London, and 2010 Senior TED Fellow
Ross McManus, Head of Genomic Research Laboratory, Trinity College Dublin
Juliana Adelman, Humanities researcher, Trinity College Dublin
Charles Spillane, Head of Genetics and Biotechnology, National University of Ireland Galway
Ricard Solé, Head of Complex Systems Laboratory, Pompeu Fabra University, Spain
Footprint: ~850-1000 sqm.
Ceiling height: Minimum 3m.
Environment: 65-68°f / 18-20°c
Dwell time: Approximately 1 hour
Power needs: c.30 amps
Set up time: ~14 days
Take down time: ~9 days
Delivery / pick up time: ~2 hours
Science Gallery team supplied: 3 x techs, 2 x art handlers/assistants
Venue needs for set up/take down: 2 x techs/riggers, 2 x assistants, access to wood and/or metal shop
Equipment: Fork lift, pallet jacks, wheel boards
Gallery: Lighting and rig
Get in touch with Sarah Durcan, who is happy to help you with your enquiry or supply you with more details about any of our exhibitions. Talk to Sarah at sarah.durcan@sciencegallery.com or +353 87 221 322.
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Wildlife Biology 101
AC Report Extracts
But I want to be an urban farmer!
Action Page
About Bordalo's Visit
Wildlife Survey
Scrap the Trap! One year on… Where are we?
A little over a year ago, we organized our first “official” action, with hundreds of people attending our launch event at a wildlife-themed art show at Black Forge Coffee House. Since then, we have organized and taken part in many events, talked to hundreds of residents, welcomed Portuguese street artist Bordalo II who created a “trash raccoon” structure just for Scrap the Trap at Construction Junction, and have met several times with City of Pittsburgh officials.
The trapping situation during that time? If anything it has gotten worse, with social media misinformation exacerbating the problem. Time to review the situation and recap the strategy we have been proposing.
What we heave learned:
From our various meetings with City of Pittsburgh officials, it seems that the City does acknowledge that it has a wildlife trapping problem. Decades of relying on trapping as the solution to every wildlife-related call from residents has resulted in two things:
A probable boost in the wildlife populations concerned, because that’s the way the biology works.
Residents who now think that it’s the City’s responsibility to deal with any (perceived or real) wildlife issue they come across, a phenomenon magnified by increased use of social media like Facebook or NextDoor, with residents encouraging other residents to “just call Animal Control" and people loaning each other traps. Remember that Animal Control not only loans out traps but also picks up resident-owned traps and returns them with no justification required that the animal actually caused a “problem."
There seems to be broad acknowledgement that:
The current system isn’t providing any kind of long-term solution
It’s an unjustifiable expense supported by taxpayers (est. $55 per trip by Animal Control)
It’s an inhumane response to wildlife conflict issues, unworthy of a “progressive” city.
What there doesn’t seem to be agreement on is the need for other measures to be taken if and when trapping is to be eliminated, to make sure that a trapping-free Pittsburgh remains that way. Much as we want to see trapping stopped ASAP, attempting to pass legislation without taking adequate measures first to replace trapping, as some have proposed, would be an exercise in futility.
So what should the ideal response be?
First off, let’s look at the situations for which people call Animal Control:
1. People who are unwilling to take measures to resolve a problem themselves, or don’t know what measures to take, even though they are potentially able to implement those measures. For example, they haven’t fenced in a vegetable garden, fixed a gap under a porch, don’t store trash correctly, don’t bring in pet food at night… In these cases, it’s time to learn some best practices. Those residents require proactive education on what to do and on why trapping ultimately won’t help them. And in the case of steadfast refusals to keep trash stored away responsibly, for example, then fines should start to be issued. Bad trash habits are a big part of wildlife conflict in Pittsburgh.
2. “Serial trappers.” These are residents who repeatedly trap animals and are well-known to Animal Control. Some of them even set traps in woods and parks, off their own property, although proving that can be difficult. The City should not be pandering to these individuals. We understand concerns that they will “dispose” of the animals themselves if they can’t rely on the City, but taking the wrong action to prevent a worse one isn’t a viable solution in the long-term and only feeds into that practice. Trapping wildlife without a permit, when there is no “nuisance” issue for the resident, is an issue for the Game Commission to handle.
3. Then there is another group: residents who are experiencing wildlife conflict situations beyond their control. It may be because a neighbor is leaving open trash out every day, or due to abandoned houses in the area that haven’t been boarded up, or it may be that they can’t cover the cost of repairs to multiple access points in the exterior of their homes. There are houses in Pittsburgh that are like “Swiss cheeses” for wildlife, with residents endlessly trapping animals without ever resolving the problem, while increasing the disease or injury risk in the process. In this case, we would like to see the City get creative in using some of the funds it would save on widespread trapping to really address the issues in some of the city’s “wildlife hotspots”: Deal with the trash problems; assist residents on low incomes with vegetable plot fence construction (simple and relatively cheap); and also seek federal housing grants, for example, or other measures, to assist residents with vital home repairs that they cannot otherwise afford.
This groundhog was living in the siding of a North Side home. The repairs will be expensive, but in the meantime, Scrap the Trap helped this resident evict the groundhog from the walls and sealed off the entrance until permanent repairs could be made.
A City Wildlife Panel?
Scrap the Trap believes that the City should consult with advocacy groups in the fields of housing and urban agriculture in particular, to find out what measures, in addition to a high-profile communications and education campaign, would be most helpful to residents in keeping wildlife conflict to a minimum. We have suggested that the City create a “wildlife panel” with local wildlife experts and representatives from citizen advocacy groups, to work on these issues in an effective way.
In other words, we’re proposing that the City of Pittsburgh engage actively in setting up an infrastructure to efficiently support a phase-out of city-funded wildlife trapping, ultimately reserving the use of city traps strictly for true emergencies (animal in living area of home, animal injured or sick).
One year on, another breeding season just starting, hundreds of thousands of city dollars about to be wasted yet again in an inefficient, outdated trapping program. It’s time to start turning the talk into action to the benefit of all residents of the Steel City, both human and wild.
Scrap the Trap 2017 | Contact Us
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Home > Gaming > Microsoft >
New Xbox One Games With Gold Now Available
We're midway through January, which means the second half of this month's free Games with Gold are now available. Through the end of the month,...
By RSS Feed · Jan 15, 2019
We're midway through January, which means the second half of this month's free Games with Gold are now available. Through the end of the month, Xbox Live Gold subscribers can grab another pair of titles at no charge on Xbox One and Xbox 360, and they'll be yours to keep and play so long as you have an active subscription.
On the Xbox One side, the off-road racer WRC 6 FIA World Rally Championship is free to download from now until February 15. Xbox 360's free game, meanwhile, is Far Cry 2, which is still regarded as one of the best entries in the open-world shooter series. It's up for grabs until January 31, and thanks to backwards compatibility, it's also playable on Xbox One.
On top of those two titles, Gold subscribers still have a little more time to download the poignant 2D platformer Celeste, which is free throughout the entire month of January. Regarded as one of 2018's best games thanks to its challenging gameplay and touching story, Celeste follows a young woman's struggle to reach the top of a mountain. Developer Matt Makes Games also has a free DLC expansion on the horizon for it, making this a good opportunity to experience the game if you haven't yet.
Gold members still have a few more hours to grab January's other freebies, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Never Alone, before they go back to their full price. You can find the full list of this month's free Games with Gold below.
In addition to the new freebies, a new sale is now underway in the Microsoft Store, offering deals on a variety of Xbox One and 360 games for Gold and non-Gold members alike. The sale runs through January 21 and includes nearly the entire Far Cry series, as well as Halo 5: Guardians, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, and SteamWorld Dig 2.
Games With Gold January 2019
Celeste (Jan. 1-31)
WRC 6 FIA World Rally Championship (Jan. 16-Feb. 15)
Never Alone (Dec. 16 - Jan. 15)
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (Jan. 1-15)
Far Cry 2 (Jan. 16-31)
Source: GameSpot
New Xbox One Games With Gold Now Available, 0 votes
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Home Technology The 2019 IPOs will have a correction ‘sooner or later,’ Jim Cramer...
The 2019 IPOs will have a correction ‘sooner or later,’ Jim Cramer warns
Disciplined investors may feel like they missed out on some of the companies that debut on the market this year.
More than half of 2019’s newly-public stocks are up about 9% from their IPO price, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Wednesday. Still, the “Mad Money” host, who has spent months recommending caution on the IPO cycle, pointed out that much of the group is now trading below their opening trade prices.
The biggest winners include Beyond Meat, Zoom Video and Revolve Group. Yet, Cramer said there’s one thing traders should be alert of.
“You need to realize that sooner or later there will be a correction in the class of 2019, and when that happens,” Cramer said, “I want you to keep your composure, focus on your favorite names and be selective, so you can view the sell-off as a buying opportunity, not a calamity.”
Cramer offered the following recommendations on the newly-public companies:
Levi Strauss kicked off the IPO cycle in March. Back then, Cramer said the stock was too expensive and that he would buy it on a pullback to $20. The stock has fallen almost $3 since reporting a disappointing quarter Tuesday, he said.
“Honestly, even under $20, I’m not even sure if I want to buy it after we heard from management last night,” Cramer said.
Lyft peaked north of $88 the first day it went public in March. The stock tanked to $47 in May and has recovered some of those losses by Wednesday’s close at $62.30. Cramer said he would buy shares below $75, but there was less demand on the market than he projected.
“As [Winston] Churchill might say, ‘Not my finest hour.’ In retrospect, I have a lot of concerns about the sustainability of the business and Lyft’s slowing growth,” Cramer said. “There are better places to put your money.”
Tradeweb Markets
Tradeweb Markets, which is a play on digital trading, went public in April and has seen a 31% gain, Cramer said. The stock finished Wednesday’s session below $48.
Cramer suggested now is a good time to trim some holdings of Tradeweb, but “let the rest ride.”
Cramer admitted that he gave conservative advice on Pinterest, which hit the market in mid-April. He recommended only buying it on the actual IPO deal, but likes the story that CEO Ben Silbermann told in a recent “Mad Money” interview.
The stock closed Wednesday at $26.58, nearly $3 above its opening trade price.
“I think it’s worth owning, although I’d like it a lot more, of course, on a pullback,” Cramer said.
Zoom Video
Zoom Video, Cramer said, turned out to be “one of the hottest deals of the year.” Shares opened at about $65 and hit $107 in June.
The stock has cooled of and finished Wednesday’s session below $93.
“I was very worried about valuation here from the get-go, which in retrospect was a big mistake,” Cramer said. “Still, Zoom sells for 33-times next year’s sales, not earnings. I can’t get behind anything that expensive. I’m afraid you’ll get hurt.”
Beyond Meat
“I know I’ve been too cautious about [Beyond Meat], but discipline should always trump conviction in this business, and my discipline tells me that Beyond Meat is a cult stock. … That’s way, way too hot for us to touch. “
Shares of Uber, the second major ridesharing service to go public in 2019, have climbed 21% from the lows it set in May.
“Unlike Lyft, Uber actually reported a solid quarter right out of the gate. I’m warming up to this one, but I want to see another good quarter before I’m ready to really say, you know what, ‘Uber is for real.'”
Out of the rest of the class, Cramer recommended buying Revolve Group, Chewy and The RealReal on a pullback. Slack is a good stock pick under $40, he added.
As for Luckin Coffee and CrowdStrike, Cramer isn’t buying it here.
WATCH: Cramer reviews the 2019 class of IPOs
Questions for Cramer?
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Want to take a deep dive into Cramer’s world? Hit him up!
– Jim Cramer Twitter – Facebook – Instagram
Questions, comments, suggestions for the “Mad Money” website? [email protected]
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The Authentic You
By Jeff Schubert
Rated 5.00/5 based on 2 reviews
People have questions, prayers, & cynicism about life. “The Authentic You” is designed to help you find answers to the “whys” and the “hows” of who you are, how you got to be where you are, and how to get to where you want. This is done by lifting the veil that the subconscious can use to inhibit you from seeing, and bringing into conscious awareness that which may be holding you back. More
People have questions, prayers, and cynicism about life. “The Authentic You” is designed to help people find answers to the “whys” and the “hows” of who they are, how they got to be where they are, and how to get to where they want to go. This is done by lifting the veil that the subconscious uses to inhibit the reader from seeing and bringing into conscious awareness that which is holding them back. Call them karmic or subconscious ghosts from the past, unresolved conflicts, or patterns both in and out of conscious awareness that have led us down the wrong or incomplete path. By uncovering and exploring the core four drives of human needs and behavior, The Authentic You crystallizes how we get off course and inspires us to get back on. Armed with clarity of meaning and purpose the reader is invited on an esoteric and grounded journey. To start, or continue, on the path to authenticity.
Available ebook formats: epub mobi pdf rtf lrf pdb txt html
First 15% Sample: epub mobi (Kindle) lrf more Online Reader
Category: Nonfiction » Self-improvement » Emotional healing
Tags: forgiveness new age psychology religion faith law of attraction michael jordan free will soul the secret hypnosis letting go astrology attachment defense mechanisms tom cruise filmnut elizabeth kubler ross stages of dying
About Jeff Schubert
From an early age Jeff Schubert has had a knack and an instinct to help inspire those around him. Born and raised in New York City, he has an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Denver and received his certification in hypnosis from The Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Tarzana, CA. Believing in the mind/ body connection Jeff is also a certified massage therapist, receiving his training at the Institute of Psychostructual Balancing in Culver City, CA. Jeff currently resides in Los Angeles, CA and hosts an internet show called Filmnut, about the making, marketing, and distribution of film, television and new media on thestream.tv/filmnut.
Learn more about Jeff Schubert
Nonfiction > Inspiration > General self-help
Nonfiction > Inspiration > Daily affirmations
Nonfiction > Self-improvement > Confidence & self-esteem
Nonfiction > Self-improvement > Motivation & inspiration
Nonfiction > Self-improvement > Personal Growth / General
Nikki Rox reviewed on on Aug. 1, 2011
The author has a wonderful way of understanding, analyzing, and referencing and referring to situations in a way that it feels very personalized. Great book for a great price!!
(reviewed the day of purchase)
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US Air Marshal in Quarantine After Suspected Ebola Needlestick Injury
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Safety On Point
Risks & Prevention
Safety Legislation
French Deutsch Espanol
An American federal air marshal has been placed in quarantine in Houston, Texas, after it was suspected that he was injured with a syringe. The incident happened in Lagos airport, Nigeria, where the current Ebola epidemic is sweeping Africa.
ABC reports that the marshal was able to board his flight to Houston and was met by FBI agents, as well as health workers from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The man was in Nigeria as part of a team of marshals, and people remain concerned that the needlestick injury could have infected him with the Ebola virus, though this is yet unknown.
An FBI spokesperson said, "The victim did not exhibit any signs of illness during the flight and was transported to a hospital upon landing for further testing. None of the testing conducted has indicated a danger to other passengers."
The Ebola virus does not immediately present itself, making the air marshal safe to be around other passengers in the few hours after his needlestick injury. The syringe itself was secured and also flown back to the US to be tested.
Although incidents like these are rare, it highlights how important measures to prevent needlestick injuries in the workplace are, and how quickly a bloodborne pathogen can be spread.
The Ebola virus is not unique, although the latest African epidemic is at the focus of media right now. Many viruses, such as HIV, can be spread as easily as Ebola if the right precautions are not taken and all diseases that come from bloodborne pathogens should be taken as seriously at all times.
That is why it is important for all medical settings around the world to have the right safety devices in place. These, along with other preventative measures, can reduce the risk of employees suffering percutaneous injuries in the workplace, and will ultimately eliminate the danger of bloodborne diseases spreading.
Related Legislation and Guidelines:
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February 24, 2016 , 01:40 PM
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Doctors raise safety concerns following controversial government contract ruling
Medical staff are warning that the government's decision to force through a new contract for junior doctors will have a negative impact on safety.
NHS agency nursing crackdown 'could undermine safety'
January 29, 2016 , 03:55 PM
The government has been warned that its crackdown on the hiring of agency nurses will have a negative impact on safety.
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Mets vs. Braves, Saturday at 4:10 p.m. on SNY
Jun 29 | 2:04PM
Steven Matz looks to right ship for Mets against Braves, Saturday at 4:10 p.m. on SNY
Mets look to snap six-game losing streak
The Mets (37-45, 11.0 GB in NL East) return to Citi Field for a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves (48-34, 4.5 GA in NL East) on Friday night at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.
The Mets have dropped five straight games, matching their season-low. ... The Mets have homered in 23 of their 25 games in the month of June, hitting a total of 45 home runs in the month. Atlanta leads the Major Leagues with 52 home runs in June. ... Michael Conforto has reached base in 26 straight home games.
Ronald Acuna Jr., CF Jeff McNeil, RF
Dansby Swanson, SS Pete Alonso, 1B
Freddie Freeman, 1B Robinson Cano, 2B
Josh Donaldson, 3B Michael Conforto, CF
Ozzie Albies, 2B Todd Frazier, 3B
Austin Riley, LF Dominic Smith, LF
Johan Camargo, RF Wilson Ramos, C
Tyler Flowers, C Amed Rosario, SS
Julio Teheran, P Steven Matz, P
Watch the Mets all season long on fuboTV - Try for free!
Who is starting for the Mets?
LHP Steven Matz (5-6, 4.85 ERA), who has struggled in his last two starts, allowing 12 runs over 9.1 innings, sending his ERA up nearly a whole run. One of those starts came against the Braves, where he allowed five runs on six hits and four walks over five innings of work. ... Matz is a much better pitcher at home, though, where he is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA.
Who is starting for the Braves?
RHP Julio Teheran (5-6, 3.94 ERA), who is also struggling. He has allowed 13 runs over his last two starts, including a loss against the Mets in which he allowed six runs on eight hits and three walks.
The Mets finish their series with the Braves at Citi Field with RHP Noah Syndergaard returning to the mound while the Braves will have RHP Max Fried take the rubber on Sunday at 7:10 p.m.
RELATED: Mets drop series opener to Braves >> Read More
RELATED: Third-round pick Matt Allan signs with Mets >> Read More
RELATED: Anthony Kay will represent Mets at All-Star Futures Game >> Read More
Tags: Atlanta Braves, Pete Alonso, Steven Matz, Todd Frazier
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Bradley assists on late Roma equalizer
by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Aug 26, 2012
[AMERICANS ABROAD] Michael Bradley's delicate chip over the Catania defense freed Nicolas Lopez for the tying goal in stoppage time to earn Roma a 2-2 tie with Catania in Bradley's debut with the Giallorossi. Geoff Cameron made his English Premier League debut with Stoke City in its 0-0 tie with Arsenal. Josh Gatt's goal in the third minute, his sixth goal of the season, was the winning goal in Molde's 2-0 win over Chad Barrett's Valerenga in Norway. Edgar Castillo and Joe Corona returned to Mexico City's Azteca Stadium, site of the USA's 1-0 win over Mexico in their recent international friendly, and were on the winning side of another big upset. Both started in Tijuana's 1-0 win over Club America that put the Xolos in second place in the Liga MX.
Austria (Bundesliga)
Terrence Boyd (90 minutes), Rapid Vienna, 0-1 at Wolfsberger AC
Belgium (Jupiler League)
Sacha Kljestan (90 minutes), Anderlecht, 1-1 at Oud-Heverlee Louvain
Denmark (Superligaen)
Charlie Davies (1 minute), FC Randers, 2-3 vs. FC Copenhagen
Clarence Goodson (90 minutes, 1 yellow card), Brondby, 1-1 vs. Esbjerg
Conor O'Brien (90 minutes), Sonderjyske, 1-4 at FC Nordsjaelland
Michael Parkhurst (90 minutes), FC Nordsjaelland, 4-1 vs. Sonderjyske
England (Premier League)
Geoff Cameron (90 minutes), Stoke City, 0-0 vs. Arsenal
Brad Friedel (90 minutes), Tottenham, 1-1 vs. West Bromwich Albion
Tim Howard (90 minutes), Everton, 3-1 at Aston Villa
Eric Lichaj (sub: 31 minutes), Aston Villa, 1-3 vs. Everton
England (League Championship)
Jonathan Spector (90 minutes), Birmingham City, 0-2 at Watford
Finland (Veikkausliiga)
Frank Jonke (90 minutes), FF Jaro, 1-3 at Inter Turku
Riley O’Neill (90 minutes, 1 yellow card), MyPa, 1-1 vs. Turku PS
Mason Trafford (90 minutes), Mariehamn, 1-5 at HJK
Germany (Bundesliga 1)
Timmy Chandler(90 minutes),Nuremberg, 1-0 at Hamburg
Steven Cherundolo (90 minutes), Hannover 96, 2-2 vs. Schalke 04
Fabian Johnson(90 minutes), Hoffenheim, 1-2 at Bor. M'Gladbach
Jermaine Jones (90 minutes, 1 assist, 1 yellow card), Schalke 04, 2-2 at Hannover 96
Italy (Serie A)
Michael Bradley (90 minutes, 1 assist, 1 yellow card), Roma, 2-2 vs. Catania
Roma-Catania highlights (Bradley assist @ 2:00):
Mexico (Liga MX, Apertura)
DaMarcus Beasley (90 minutes, 1 yellow card), Puebla, 1-0 vs. San Luis
Edgar Castillo (90 minutes, 1 yellow card), Tijuana, 1-0 at Club America
Joe Benny Corona (79 minutes), Tijuana, 1-0 at Club America
Michael Orozco Fiscal (90 minutes), San Luis, 0-1 at Puebla
Jose Francisco Torres (90 minutes), Pachuca, 0-0 vs. Toluca
Netherlands (Eredivisie)
Jozy Altidore (80 minutes), AZ, 0-0 vs. Heerenveen
Norway (Tippeligaen)
Chad Barrett (63 minutes), Valerenga, 0-2 at Molde
Steve Clark (90 minutes), Honefoss, 0-1 vs. Tromso
Mikkel Diskerud (90 minutes), Rosenborg, 1-1 vs. Viking
Josh Gatt (61 minutes, 1 goal), Molde, 2-0 vs. Valerenga
Portugal (Liga Zon Sagres)
Caleb Patterson-Sewell (90 minutes), Vitoria Setubal, 0-5 vs. Benfica
Tony Taylor (sub: 45 minutes), Estoril, 1-1 vs. Pacos de Ferreira
Scotland (Third Division)
Carlos Bocanegra (90 minutes, 1 yellow card), Rangers, 1-1 at Berwick Rangers
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Arthur Gouillart
Un_Becoming
from: 23.10.2018 to: 03.11.2018
A participant in SomoS’ current group exhibition Un_Becoming, innovation design engineer Arthur Gouillart’s work focuses on the materialization of emotions into objects, by tracing their residual presence and proposing new means for emotional projection.
This interest has led him to investigate rituals as interactions, including surviving symbols today, in order to question material culture. In this exploratory phase of his work, he uses a range of technological approaches to the body as a medium, from material research to custom-made electronics, that has culminated in an exhibition at the London Victoria & Albert Museum called Friday Late early 2018.
Gouillart has developed a product and process called “Emotion Capture” in 2016 during his studies at the Royal College of Art, London. Its goal was to investigate our representation of love, and question the survivance of archaic, generic and normative symbols like the simplified, sylphium-inspired heart shape. The project captures intimate motions during lovers caress and embodies it in abstract sculptural artifacts, representing it beyond social norms. It celebrates love the way it is lived, through amorous practices.
The latest incarnations of Gouillart’s project, a video/sculpture installation titled Unbodiment is presented as part of the Un_Becoming group exhibition at SomoS, October 23 – November 3, 2018.
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SOUTHBANK CENTRE AERIAL VIEWS BY INDIA ROPER-EVANS84
Aerial Views at the Southbank Centre Credit India Roper-Evans
Find out what's on at Royal Festival Hall, London's leading music venue located on the banks of the River Thames at the heart of Southbank Centre, plus all the best places to eat, drink and shop while you're here.
As well as a 2,700 capacity auditorium, the Royal Festival Hall is also where you'll find The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Southbank Centre Shop, Riverside Terrace Cafe, Central Bar and Skylon restaurant.
Opened in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain, the Grade I listed Hall is one of the world’s leading performance venues.
discover the history of Royal Festival Hall
10am – 11pm every day
To find out first about what's coming up and for your best chance to secure tickets to events, join now as a Member.
clear all national poetry library talks & debates
Stranger Things logo
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein Perform the Music of Stranger Things
Hear the dreamy score from the Netflix series and pop culture phenomenon Stranger Things performed live
Peter Grimes
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra: Peter Grimes
Fall under the spell of a landmark British opera and hear Stuart Skelton’s definitive performance
Planning a visit to our iconic Royal Festival Hall? Here’s some useful information.
Royal Festival Hall is open 10am – 11pm every day*.
Auditorium doors open 30 minutes before the start time of an event.
Entry to our foyers is free although sometimes it is restricted to provide space for audiences as they arrive for performances – please look out for signs and listen to announcements.
*Occasionally Royal Festival Hall is closed to the public due to private hire. We publicise these times across the site and online, so please check before visiting.
facilities & access
At Southbank Centre we welcome everyone and want our site to be available to all. We are working hard to remove barriers so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
Tickets to all of our events and exhibitions can be booked online, by telephone in person. Find out all you need to know about tickets, including collection, concessions, group bookings and more on the link below.
tickets & concessions faqs
We're easily accessible by public transport on road, rail and even river. Find information on the best ways to get to us on the link below.
You certainly won’t go hungry at Southbank Centre. Find out more about the wide range of food and drink options available here on site on the link below.
cafes, restaurants and bars
There are bars on Levels 2, 4 and 5 of the building open to the public. The Members' Cafe-Bar, located on Level 6 with panoramic views over the river, is open to Southbank Centre Members. If you fancy some alfresco dining, the Riverside Cafe is located on Level 2.
Royal Festival Hall has the acclaimed Skylon restaurant with contemporary food, original cocktails and stunning views over the river.
There's something for all tastes, occasions and ages.
Members' Cafe-Bar
All restaurants, bars and cafes
Weimar Berlin: Bittersweet Metropolis
The Philharmonia and Esa-Pekka Salonen explore the music of the Weimar Republic
19 Dec - Sun 05 Jan 2020
Roll up, roll up for the daredevil entertainment and sensational animal puppetry of this circus
Jurowski's Tchaikovsky
Encounter the composer’s final symphony with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Marvel at Mendelssohn’s choral masterpiece performed by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Southbank Centre Archive Studio
Our extensive archive of information accessible for the first time
Find the most comprehensive collection of poetry from 1912 in Britain on Level 5 of Royal Festival Hall
Hayward Gallery Art Library
Visit the Hayward Gallery Art Library at Royal Festival Hall
venue & wedding hire
Hire Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall Auditorium is available to hire for very, very special occasions
Weddings & civil partnerships
Have your dream wedding in the heart of London at one of its most treasured cultural venues.
Hire Southbank Centre venues
A stunning selection of world-class concert halls, rooms and spaces for a wide range of events
Cosette Half Moon Earrings
Optic Black Table Tiles
Embrace Print
Amuseable Lemon
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Big Weekend Could Change...
Big Weekend Could Change the Course of Gloucester Catholic’s Baseball Season
Early in the South Jersey spring season, there were several questions about Gloucester Catholic’s baseball team.
The Rams have long set a standard when it comes to baseball not only in South Jersey, but statewide and even beyond.
This is a program where every year the goal is to win a state championship and anything less is looked on as a disappointment.
That might seem harsh, but the program has set the bar incredibly high and the players and coaches wouldn’t want it any other way.
Since the advent of NJSIAA playoffs in 1971, Gloucester Catholic has won 18 state championships, 14 in Non-Public B and four in Non-Public A.
To put in perspective how impressive that total is, the next highest number titles is eight, won by Audubon, Bishop Eustace and Seton Hall Prep.
So Gloucester Catholic has 10 more titles than any other school.
Last year the Rams won No. 18 by beating Newark Academy, 15-5 in six innings during the Non-Public B state final.
Fast forward to this season and Gloucester Catholic struggled mightily in the early going, at least by its standards.
The Rams compete in the Tri-County Conference and usually rule the competition. Not so in the first month of the season. The Rams lost to three Trico teams, Schalick, 5-4; Clearview, 18-16 and Glassboro, 14-13.
Right after the Glassboro game, Gloucester Catholic had a weekend to remember and the Rams can only hope to build off the success.
First off, Gloucester Catholic beat perennial Central Jersey power Steinert, 17-7. Then on Sunday the Rams defeated two-time defending South Jersey Non-Public A champ St. Augustine, 5-2.
Lefthander Andrew Vail, a University of Maryland commit, earned the win over St. Augustine, allowing five hits but striking out 12.
He went a season-high seven innings. Vail likes to pitch in big games and none was bigger this year than the one against St. Augustine.
Vail likes to pitch in big games and none was bigger this year than the one against St. Augustine. And even last year, Vail saved his best for last. He came in relief and allowed just one run in four innings to earn the win in last year’s state championship game.
For Gloucester Catholic that was significant because the Rams hadn’t won a state title since 2013, an eternity for this school. Last year was the final chance for that senior class to earn a title and they did so in convincing fashion.
Back to this year.
The win over St. Augustine increased Gloucester Catholic’s record to 9-4. The Rams will have plenty of chances to keep moving up the South Jersey rankings and could still earn the opportunity to be No. 1.
There is still the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic and the Rams are expected to be among the top 16 teams in South Jersey to earn a berth.
Between the Diamond and state tournament, Gloucester Catholic will have plenty of chance to move up in the polls.
For more Local Sports features, visit our South Jersey Sports page.
Author: Marc Narducci
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The Stalking Risk Profile (SRP) is the definitive structured professional judgement tool for assessing and managing risk in stalking cases. Developed in response to the limitations of other tools when assessing the multifaceted nature of stalking, the SRP adopts an innovative approach to risk assessment that enables the assessor to determine not only the risk of violence, but also the separate risk domains of persistence, recurrence and psychosocial damage according to the stalker’s motivation. In doing so, it is structured to take into account the differences that motivation brings to risk within each domain. The SRP is authored by leaders in the field of stalking and risk assessment. It is based on 20 years experience working with stalkers and their victims, and incorporates the latest stalking research. To purchase the Stalking Risk Profile, click here.
Comprehensive in scope and unique in approach, the Stalking Risk Profile provides structured guidelines to assist professionals to make considered judgements regarding all of the risks inherent in stalking situations based on clinical, behavioural and contextual perspectives. In addition to enabling the professional to develop appropriate management and treatment plans, the SRP also serves as an outcome measure which meets the demands of most organisations for evidence of treatment efficacy.
The Stalking Risk Profile includes an introduction to structured risk assessment in stalking situations, guidance on applying the stalker motivational typology and instructions for using and scoring the tool. There are separate sections for assessing each domain of risk and discussion of how ratings translate to management and treatment approaches. The manual provides suggestions for interventions that can be applied when treating stalkers. The SRP also includes additional guidelines for application when the victim of stalking is a public figure, specifically the additional risk domains of escalation and disruption. Finally, the SRP has a detailed reference list and glossary, and reproducible scoring sheets.
As the most comprehensive instrument regarding stalking assessment and management, the Stalking Risk Profile has rapidly become the tool of choice for clinicians involved in all aspects of stalking, including assessing stalking risks, defining management, intervention and treatment strategies, writing authoritative court reports and advising victims.
“The SRP provides structure and consistency to risk categorisation, and assists clinicians to prioritise treatment goals for stalkers. Our clinic has had great feedback from staff, who appreciate the methodical and evidence-based framework of the SRP.”
Dr Danny Sullivan
Assistant Clinical Director
Consultant Psychiatrist
Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health
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https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Labor-s-uneasy-dance-with-Dan-Malloy-2390724.php
Labor's uneasy dance with Dan Malloy
Ted Mann, Special Correspondent
Updated 1:30 am EDT, Sunday, June 3, 2012
Gov. Dan Malloy finds some privacy during a tour of the future trading floor of Louis Dreyfuss Highbridge at the Harbor Point redevelopment in the South End of Stamford, Conn. on Wednesday May 11, 2011.
Photo: Kathleen O'Rourke
HARTFORD -- They joke on the eve of Mark Ojakian's first meeting with the unions. He is off to meet the representatives of more than 45,000 state workers, many of whom had helped to push Dan Malloy into office in the first place. Now Malloy is management, and they are bound to clash.
"I rehearsed all night, as the snow was falling," Ojakian says wryly one day, as the advisers gather on chairs and couches in Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman's third-floor office. Outside, snow has indeed been falling since midnight and lies a few inches deep across the grassy grounds of the Capitol. The prospect of O.J. visiting SEBAC, the union coalition, brings "The Godfather" to mind.
"Are you going to a small Italian place in Jersey?" senior adviser Roy Occhiogrosso asks.
"See if the troopers have any Kevlar," says Andrew McDonald, the governor's legal counsel.
"Sit with your back to the wall!" Wyman calls.
Budget director Ben Barnes focuses on what O.J. already knows. Amid the pleasantries, this was the moment for an opening bid, a strong first bet that would dictate how their negotiations would unspool over the next half-year.
You can "put a number on the table," Barnes tells him, "an aspirational number." But, he adds quickly, "Don't call it that."
Ojakian did throw out a number -- $1 billion per year in givebacks -- not that it seemed to sink in. As spring slid onward and the focus of the administration turned to the legislative calendar, O.J. would return, in meeting after meeting, to give updates on the talks with unions.
Yes, he and Linda Yelmini, the state's veteran labor issues attorney, were sitting patiently through presentations on the unions' suggestions for improving efficiency and cutting spending. (First step, usually: Fire some managers.)
Yes, they were pushing the unions to accept that their billion-dollar ask was real.
And they were hearing all the same rumors. Despite Malloy's unequivocal public denials, some workers thought he'd offer a buyout to workers near retirement, as Jodi Rell and John Rowland had. Some unions were simply too frosted by what they viewed as the bad deals of the past to even consider concessions now, especially the state police, who gave in to Rell's wage concessions two years earlier, only to watch corrections officers flaunt the pay freeze and not suffer any layoffs as a consequence.
Now, having helped elect Malloy, the candidate many of those unions had worked successfully to defeat in a 2006 gubernatorial primary -- in part because of doubts about his commitment to labor -- some complained of a double-switch. They'd conceded in the past. They would concede no more.
And yet here was Dan Malloy, on MSNBC in February, scolding host Joe Scarborough for "demonizing unions." The same "Corporate Dan" -- who liberal and labor antagonists grumbled about -- would side with the building trades on major spending projects, like the proposed busway connecting Hartford, West Hartford and New Britain.
How to reconcile the two? The first Democratic governor in Connecticut in a generation would be the one to issue more layoff notices to unionized state workers than any governor in memory. He would also be the first, as Malloy proudly notes at every opportunity, to pay the full, recommended amount from the state's treasury into the pension funds for active and retired workers. And he and his staff would say, as their first year wound to a close, that they had taken the initial step in a journey to make government and its missions sustainable and permanent.
But first they would have to clash, bitterly if privately, over the meaning of being pro-labor and the true definition of a Democrat.
The two Dan Malloys
"Does he remember that I'm the f-----g governor?!"
Dan Malloy hisses this to Roy Occhiogrosso in his office, after playing his adviser the voicemail from Ray Soucy. Soucy is a gruff officer of one of the correction officers unions, easily affronted, and the little wave and smile that his table received from Malloy at the Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner is not sitting well with him. Too good to come over and visit them? That was not good, Soucy informs the governor. That will not be helpful when it comes to ratifying any labor deals. You do not, as it were, put the corrections officers in a corner.
This stuff makes Malloy want to spit. The presumed security of the status quo, Soucy's damned certainty that he can play his hand just as strong against Dan Malloy as he did against Rell, or Rowland. It hints at a fallibility Malloy can't abide. It suggests he doesn't hold all the trump cards, when that has been the point, the whole time. Getting to hold the trumps.
From the start, some of the problem is personality. What do you expect? The man's a mayor. He's a Democrat on Tuesday, but all week long he's management. Malloy's been on labor's side, in campaigns and on pickets, but he's been the boss, too, the one who wouldn't let them wrap OT into their pension calculations in Stamford, who turned back any number of attempts to squeeze an extra dollar from the city.
That was part of the problem in 2006. The unions didn't just line up with (New Haven Mayor John) DeStefano in the primary; they kicked the hell out of Dan Malloy. (Do you think he's forgotten this? Do you think he doesn't remember this at every moment, even when he's the governor at last, riding in an elevator on the way up to the ballroom of the Hartford Hilton for the UAW's annual Civil Rights Dinner? That one of the evening's hosts is the same Phil Wheeler who told the Hartford Courant four years earlier that Malloy was an enemy of the working man? He has not forgotten.)
Through the spring, defending his budget, he tries to hit the unions, but fairly, within the rules of their contest. They slam him in the town halls for not raising taxes, and he gives it right back: The rich saw their taxes go up under Rell, just a year ago. They want to solve the problem with a moon shot at the upper class, but he wants sacrifice to be shared. It grinds away at the people who think he's perpetuating unfairness, but Malloy aides believe it helps with the very voters -- those flinty independents -- most skeptical of Malloy, and of the Democrats.
All the while, tooth by groaningly pulled tooth, O.J. is getting closer to a deal.
The rest of the Malloy team joke every time O.J. enters an update meeting, checking him for bullet holes, evaluating the relative exhaustion lined across his face. Ojakian is never less than pulled together: pinstriped suits, French cuffs, bright ties knotted in full Windsors, suit jacket buttoned until the moment he releases it in the same motion in which he sets down his folio and papers with a dramatic sigh. You would not believe what he has been putting up with over there.
But he's getting closer. It started in January, hearing out the early rounds of union suggestions for cost-savings, urging Dan Livingston, the unions' chief negotiator, to take the administration's concessions target seriously, and occasionally teetering along the edge of dissolution.
Once, in April, the group resolves to blow it up. The governor, O.J., Nancy, Andrew. Go in there and just tell them to take it or leave it, that's it. But the order to fire that missile is never given, and at last they pull back. The talks can be saved. They're getting there. Slowly it forms: the creation of a new tier of state workers, the new hires who will pay a percentage of their future pension costs, a new program for the unions to get workers into preventive health plans, and, in exchange, a no-layoff guarantee for four years.
`scared to death'
The governor has an edge today. It is May 11, a Wednesday.
Malloy is in the South End of Stamford when Barnes calls, walking amid just-laid carpeting and skeletal metal beams in what will be the trading floor of Louis Dreyfus Highbridge, an energy firm. As the project's developer, Carl Keuhner, waits, Malloy moves off into the distance, out of earshot. He paces, framed in the refracted light of dusty windows looking out across the railroad embankment, toward his city. Back in the car, he calls Cathy. "I think we might finally be close to a deal."
Just after 9 p.m. in Hartford, Tim Bannon and Nancy Wyman sign the visitors' log at the back entrance of the Office of Policy and Management on Capitol Avenue.
Up on the fifth floor, they take seats around the small circular table in Ben Barnes' office to await news. Scattered in front of them on the table are estimates from the actuaries about what their prospective deal might be worth: $1.66 billion over two years, enough to disarm critics who will charge they didn't drive a hard enough bargain, and $22.6 billion over 20 years, enough to claim a permanent change in the escalating imbalance of the state's resources versus its debts.
Barnes, a Dixie cup with a small slosh of bourbon in front of him, gently bemoans that employees outside the direct control of the executive branch will still be able to take home longevity payments, the bonuses workers get for staying in their jobs.
"At some point, I said something about it, and Dan said, `Get real.' "
They're after a deal, not perfection.
All day, the budget chief has "stayed the hell out of the Capitol," and yet rumors abound of an agreement.
Occhiogrosso arrives. "It feels like election night," he exclaims. Unions are "running around telling people there's a deal."
"Then they better f-----g agree!" Barnes replies.
As 10 p.m. approaches, Barnes and Bannon run down the list of where they've given in: extending the existing contract four years, a no-layoff clause, agreed-on future raises.
"These guys are not closers," Barnes says, checking his watch.
"They're also scared to death to take this to their members," Wyman says, with a roll of the eyes.
Malloy calls Occhiogrosso, who reports, putting the phone down again, that the governor is "like a cobra ready to spring."
"He should be here," Wyman says. "He shouldn't be alone."
"Will you think selfishly for once?" Occhiogrosso replies. "Can you imagine if he were here now?"
The governor is not alone. He is heating a frozen pizza in the kitchen at the official residence, with Cathy and Arielle Reich, dishing about Stamford restaurants.
The governor opens a beer just after 10 p.m. when the intercom beeps and a trooper from the bunker downstairs announces, "Tim Bannon on the line for you." He snaps his fingers for the remote to silence MSNBC as he takes the phone with a crust between his fingers.
"OK, so not tonight," Malloy says, facing out the window, next to the stacked crates of cherry tomatoes by the sink, his green tie tucked, protected against pizza, inside his shirt.
"Oh," Cathy exclaims softly.
But his spirits are not crushed. "You know what we can't do, and you've just got to talk 'em off the ledge," he says into the phone, before hanging up.
To his wife and his closest aide, he offers a laugh. O.J. has "the patience of Job," Dan Malloy says. "I would not make a good negotiator."
It's time to sleep.
`flowing backwardS'
"I think they tried the bum's rush yesterday, and we didn't bite."
Malloy has had a night to think on it. His negotiator has held firm. They have the upper hand, and will wait to see if the unions can come around or not. The governor is standing in Occhiogrosso's office, too full of energy to sit in one of the chairs by the window. Roy agrees.
"They gambled that they could take their last shovelful of stuff they wanted to do, and we'd say, `F---k it, let's do a deal.' "
O.J. is tired and annoyed, having been accused of trying to "move the goal posts," despite what the administration's members all believe was a final offer that moved toward the union position, with an additional, fourth year of protection from layoffs.
"I moved in their direction and suddenly they can't get a deal done," Malloy says in exasperation, back at his desk, as the group gathers for a budget meeting.
"It's like the Yazoo River," Barnes says, shaking his head. "At some point, it just starts flowing backwards."
They kick around ideas, rejecting each one. No fifth year of the contract extension ("I'm not 25 percent as bad as John Rowland!"), no fourth year of 3 percent raises for workers.
Instead, they send O.J. back to the fray. "Today's the day to get this done," Malloy says.
By late morning on Friday, negotiators are in the "typo phase," hammering out the very last of the agreement, and the governor is on the road. He stops for a business visit to Praxair in North Haven, then joins Wyman for an appearance at an awards ceremony at the State Police Academy in Meriden. The families of the troopers and local police to be honored watch quietly as the notables speak and then leave, working their way out of the hall and through the linoleum hallway, where the officers awaiting their awards wait in a long, single file. Malloy greets them as he moves past, grabbing the hand of Trooper Will Ortiz, a member of his detail, with both of his.
As Malloy and Wyman move past, one trooper stage whispers to his neighbor, "I thanked him for the pink slip."
It's loud enough that Arielle Reich, the governor's aide, hears it and blushes.
"He's going to feel bad later on," she mutters, and smiles.
In the car, zipping back up to Hartford, Malloy attends to other business. He calls Nancy DiNardo, the Democratic Party chairwoman, with a request about seating at the Jefferson-Jackson-Bailey dinner; they've sold 12 more tables for the dinner this year than they did last year, he says brightly. They have just reached the office, at 2:04 p.m., when Bannon walks in, and shakes the governor's hand.
"Congratulations," he says. They have a deal.
As Malloy's aides swarm in, they urge him to stick to the script of their statement. They've abided by the unions' plea to let them explain the terms to the membership, to not let Malloy beat his chest about the concessions he's won.
"Stick to the statement," McDonald says.
"I don't like to read things," Malloy says, grinning, but he does.
All they need now is for the workers to vote yes.
Tomorrow: The unions place Malloy in a vulnerable position.
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Stapleton Awards
Award Winning Community
Forest City (now Brookfield Properties) named USGBC’s Outstanding LEED Homes Multi-family Developer of the Year
The USGBC was established in 1993 to transform the way buildings are designed, constructed and operated through LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, the most widely used third-party verification for green buildings. The LEED Homes Awards recognize architects, developers, home builders and projects that have demonstrated leadership in the residential green building marketplace. Read more about this award.
Stapleton receives Energy Star Certified homes Maket Leader Award
Brookfield Properties (formerly Forest City) Stapleton has receieved an ENERGY STAR Certified Homes Market Leader Award. This award recognizes the important contribution Stapleton has made to energy-effcient constructions and enviromental protection by being a community with 503 ENERGY STAR certified homes in 2014. Stapleton also received this award for building 403 ENERGY STAR certified homes in 2013. Get more information about the award here.
Forest City (now Brookfield Properties) Stapleton recognized by EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Robert E. Roberts today presented representatives from Forest City Enterprises, Inc., with an Environmental Achievement Award for vision, superior leadership and skill in redeveloping the former Stapleton International Airport site in Denver into a environmentally friendly, mixed-use development.
Stapleton wins “Best Sustainable Neighborhood” from Pacific Coast Builders
Stapleton, the groundbreaking project to transform a shuttered airport into new urban neighborhoods, has won a Grand Award for Best Sustainable Residential Neighborhood through the prestigious Gold Nuggets Award of the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC). Read more.
Stapleton named to ULI’s 2006 Awards for Excellence
Stapleton was recognized as one of 10 winners of the Urban Land Institute’s 2006 Awards for Excellence. Established in 1979, the competition is based on ULI’s guiding principle that the achievement of excellence in land use practice should be recognized and rewarded. ULI’s Awards for Excellence recognize the full development process of a project, not just its architecture or design. The criteria for the awards include leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public/private partnership, environmental protection and enhancement, response to societal needs, and financial success.
2005 DRCOG Metro Vision Award
Forest City (now Brookfield Properties) Stapleton, Inc. was awarded the 2005 Metro Vision Award by the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG). Metro Vision awards recognize outstanding projects and activities that move the region’s growth and development plan, Metro Vision, to reality. Metro Vision describes goals and policies in the area of growth and development, the transportation system and the environment that will bring about the quality of life the region wants in the years leading up to 2030.
Stapleton Receives “Best-in-American-Living” Award
Stapleton was awarded the 2004 Best in American Living Award for Smart Growth (in the category of 151 residential units and over). The award was given based on Stapleton’s commitment to protect and provide access to the natural environment, incorporate a mix of land use, use land in an efficient and innovative manner, encourage multiple transportation options, provide housing choices, respect local tradition and take advantage of infill opportunities. The award is a reflection of the dedication the Stapleton project has to Smart Growth.
The Best in American Living Awards are open to builders, architects, designers, developers, land planners and interior designers nationwide.
Forest City Stapleton, Inc. (now Brookfield Properties) Honored with Environmental Achievement Award
Forest City Stapleton, Inc. (now Brookfield Properties) has been nominated for and awarded, a Silver Level Environmental Achievement Award for 2004 from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The Environmental Achievement Award recognizes the voluntary and significant environmental achievements of Colorado businesses and organizations. Nominated by Pat Marinek of the Department’s hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division nominated Forest City Stapleton, Inc. for its design and implementation of sustainability concepts in the mixed-use urban redevelopment at the 4,700-acre former Stapleton International Airport property. We are honored by this award and appreciate the recognition from the State of Colorado.
U.S. Conference of Mayors Award for Excellence from the Mayors Business Council 2002 Public-Private Partnerships Award
The Mayors Business Council established the awards to encourage businesses and cities to work together as city resources become stretched and the need for local community improvements increases. The 2002 recipients were chosen by the Business Council for demonstrating civic responsibility and corporate commitment to economic development; urban revitalization; workforce development; affordable housing; education reform and water conservation.
Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities Award
Stapleton received the prestigious Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities Award from the King of Sweden, in recognition of the project’s commitment to sustainable development, community-building and environmental stewardship.
James C. Howland Urban Enrichment Silver Award
Stapleton has received the James C. Howland Urban Enrichment Silver Award from the National League of Cities for its contributions to the enrichment of the urban environment.
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About SCCMCurrently selected
JoinCurrently selected
SCCM > About SCCM > Join
SCCM membership offers an array of options to help you attain your personal and professional goals. Membership provides opportunities to volunteer for committees, join a local chapter and specialty sections, and more. Take these opportunities to network and make a bigger impact in critical care.
SCCM is now offering a new membership structure with membership types designed to meet individual member needs, regardless of your role in critical care. Learn more about the new levels of membership available to those dedicated to the practice of critical care,
Become a member today using one of the following simple methods:
Join online
Submit the Membership Application via mail or fax
Call SCCM Customer Service at +1 847 827-6888
If you have any questions about membership, the status of your application or renewal, please contact the Customer Service Team at +1 847 827-6888 or email. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Central Time.
Need to renew your membership? Renew Now
To gain more benefits, members can upgrade their membership at any time. Upgrade Now
This membership type provides the most basic benefits to SCCM members, which include:
Discounts of up to 25% on SCCM educational programs and resources
Subscription to Critical Connections, the only newsmagazine focused on critical care
Online collaboration with other members through SCCM Connect and its knowledge education groups
Membership in up to 3 specialty sections and ability to join a local chapter
Free abstract submissions for Critical Care Congress®
Access to member-only benefits in LearnICU, SCCM’s virtual library of critical care knowledge and resources
Physicians $90
Healthcare Professionals $60
An enhanced membership type that includes all benefits of the Associate Membership, plus the following additional benefits:
Subscription to Critical Care Medicine*, the #1 critical care subspecialty journal, as well as full online access to the archives. (Pediatric Critical Care Medicine journal available with membership in Pediatrics Section)
Volunteer opportunities on committees in the Creative Community in Critical Care
Eligibility to make motions, vote, and hold office
Waived application fee to American College of Critical Care Medicine (ACCM), which honors those who have made outstanding contributions to critical care
Eligibility to apply for grants and receive preferred awards
* Sponsored fellows will not receive Critical Care Medicine
Physicians $405
Healthcare Professionals $178
(Hidden) Membership Types
All membership categories, except the International Associate and Senior categories, include a subscription to Critical Care Medicine. If you have an existing subscription to Critical Care Medicine directly with the publisher, you must write to cancel that subscription. Please send a letter of cancellation to Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Attn. Periodical Publishing, 351 West Camden Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-2436.
Physician $400
Provides full privileges of membership.
International Physician $266
Available to physicians residing outside of the 50 United States. Provides all privileges of membership, except the right to make motions, vote or hold office.
Young Physician $209
Available to individuals who have completed their fellowship training programs within the last three years. Membership may be renewed annually at this rate until three years after the physician completes the fellowship program. Documentation verifying the fellowship program completion date is required. Provides full privileges of membership.
Healthcare Professional $173
Available to all healthcare professionals, except physicians, including: advanced practice nurses, registered nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, pharmacologists, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, scientists and others. Provides full privileges of membership.
In-Training $90
Available to fellows, residents and students in specialty training programs or pursuing education in healthcare and related fields. Provides all privileges of membership, except the right to make motions, vote or hold office. Membership may be renewed annually at the in-training rate until the year the member completes the training program. In-training applicants must submit documentation verifying training status, including program director’s name, date(s) of training and the name of the institution.
International Associate $60
Available to all healthcare professionals residing outside the 50 United States. Provides all privileges of membership, except the right to vote, make motions, hold office; receive Critical Care Medicine; or apply for fellowship in the American College of Critical Care Medicine.
Available to individuals holding full membership the calendar year of retirement. Provides all privileges of membership, except the right to hold office or receive Critical Care Medicine. Membership dues are waived for senior members. Critical Care Medicine and any other SCCM publications may be purchased at the special membership rate. Requests for senior membership will be granted automatically to a full member in good standing. Please contact the Customer Service Team at +1 847 827-6888 or email support@sccm.org to update your membership status.
Select Membership
The most enhanced membership type which includes benefits of the Associate and Professional Memberships, plus the following additional benefits:
Access to early registration and hotel reservations for SCCM events
Entry to private lounge and invitation to exclusive events at annual Critical Care Congress
Complimentary fellowship in ACCM for those who hold FCCM designation
Complimentary access to all SCCM On Demand products and select ePublications
Subscription to an eNewsletter providing information on exclusive topics
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Bill Cash
Staffordshire MP demands inquiry after firm linked with listeria outbreak collapses
‘Serious questions’ raised as 125 jobs go
Matt JacksonSenior Live News Reporter
Sir Bill Cash has called for an inquiry after the Good Food Chain collapsed.
Staffordshire MP Bill Cash has called for an inquiry into the collapse of a food firm which went into liquidation with the loss of 125 jobs.
Work at the Good Food Chain in Stone was suspended on June 5 after a listeria outbreak linked to the death of five people.
The Food Standards Agency confirmed last Wednesday – 19 days later – that the company was not the source of the outbreak and was free to restart production.
However, the Good Food Chain was then put into liquidation within 24 hours as the clearance had come ‘too late’.
Student paramedic dies after accident on Staffordshire road
Mr Cash, the MP for Stone, inset, said there were ‘serious questions about the accuracy of the information told to authorities by another body’.
He said: “The deaths are tragic and lessons must be learned so that it never happens again.
“It is of great regret to me that the Good Food Chain has gone into liquidation, despite the fact that it has been cleared by an investigation, with The Food Standards Agency stating that the company was not the source of the outbreak.
“The Good Food Chain Ltd is no longer part of the ongoing investigation but sadly this is no comfort for the people who have lost their jobs at the 23-year-old company.
“There are very serious questions about the accuracy of the information that was supplied to the authorities by another body, which resulted in the forced voluntary closure of the firm – which has been going since 1996.
“The other day I pressed the Health Secretary in the House of Commons on this point and said how unfair it was for companies to be caught up in something when it was not their fault.
“As a result of the closure, I am demanding a full investigation.
“What has happened has let confidence in a good business be undermined beyond what was necessary.”
The Good Food Chain have voluntarily stopped production in Stone (Image: Google)
Good Food Chain owner and founder Martyn Corfield welcomed the news the firm was not the source of the outbreak but says it ‘came too late’ for the business.
He said: “I was absolutely devastated to hear that people had died after contracting listeriosis and have been thinking constantly about all those affected and their families over the last few weeks.
“We have been co-operating very closely with the investigating authorities, and while Wednesday’s confirmation that the Good Food Chain was not the source of the outbreak was welcome, it ultimately came too late in the day for us to get the business back on to a sustainable footing.
“I feel desperately sorry for our brilliant and hard-working staff who, through no fault of their own, now find themselves out of work. I would like to thank them for everything they have done for the Good Food Chain, and particularly for their loyalty and patience over the last few weeks.”
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ST reports on multiple platforms
A woman poses with the Olympic Rings ahead 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 21. PHOTO: REUTERS
http://str.sg/4SJa
Jonathan Wong
Assistant Sports Editor
jonwong@sph.com.sg
Can swimmer Joseph Schooling win Singapore's first Olympic medal in swimming? Will American swimming sensation Michael Phelps add to his record 22 medals?
Whether it is tracking Team Singapore or the planet's greatest athletes, The Straits Times will keep you up to date on the latest happenings during the entire Aug 5-21 competition, with exclusive reports across multiple platforms.
Singapore is sending a 25-man contingent - the joint-largest since independence - across seven sports. This time, the Republic boasts world-class athletes in a wider range of sports. Besides the women's table tennis team, swimmer Joseph Schooling and shooters Jasmine Ser and Teo Shun Xie are credible medal prospects.
'Bailout' unlikely for Olympics 'live' telecast in Singapore: Govt
ST's team in Brazil comprises senior correspondent Rohit Brijnath, 53, correspondents May Chen, 29, and Jonathan Wong, 31, and executive photojournalist Kevin Lim, 34. Mr Brijnath, who has covered the 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2012 editions, will helm the team.
Live coverage of Olympics: Lessons to learn for 2020
ONLINE http://str.sg/olympics2016
ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/thestraitstimes
ON TWITTER twitter.com/STsportsdesk
Besides extensive print coverage, there will also be regular updates on social media and on a newly- launched dedicated microsite. There is also an interactive game to test ST readers' knowledge at olympianbuilder.straitstimes.com.
With 12 days to go, the paper's build-up coverage of the 28th Olympics begins today.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 24, 2016, with the headline 'ST reports on multiple platforms'. Print Edition | Subscribe
TEAM SG
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History (BA)
Student website
Study & studying
To arrange before departure
To arrange upon your return
Going abroad independently
Internships, research and fieldwork
Entire masters programme
Exchange programmes offer an easy way to study abroad. You’ll study at a university that has an agreement with Leiden University and, in return, a student from that university will come to study here.
Characteristics of exchange programmes
You will apply via Leiden University and must meet certain eligibility criteria.
There are limited spaces available, so you are not guaranteed a place on an exchange programme. Leiden University selects students on the basis of their grades and motivation.
Exchange programmes are inexpensive. You will remain registered as a student of Leiden University and won’t need to pay additional tuition fees to your host university.
If you get advance permission from your Board of Examiners, the credits you earn can be counted towards your study programme at Leiden University.
Two types of exchange
There are two types of exchange programme:
University-wide
Via a faculty or study programme
Characteristics of university-wide exchange
As a rule, for students of all disciplines. Conditions may apply.
At your host university, you can generally follow courses offered by any programme or faculty.
All destinations are outside Europe.
The programme is organised by the international exchange coordinator for university-wide exchange, whom you can contact with any questions.
Characteristics of exchange via a faculty or study programme
Only for students from specific study programmes or faculties.
You may only follow courses offered by specific study programmes or faculties at your host university.
Destinations are both within Europe (Erasmus+) and outside Europe.
The programme is organised by the international exchange coordinator at your faculty or programme, whom you can contact with any questions.
Exchange in South Korea. (Photo: Anna Hommel)
International exchange coordinators (university-wide)
Rianne de Bree
Gaye Eksen
studyabroad@sea.leidenuniv.nl
Plexus Student Centre
Open consultation hour
No consultation hours between 6 July and 2 September. We are available for questions via email and telephone.
13:00 - 17:00 hour
Make an appointment in Leiden
Please note: appointments in Leiden take place at Gravensteen (Pieterskerkhof 6).
2511 DP The Hague
Make an appointment in The Hague
Launch your international adventure!
Contact your study programme
Education administration offices
Student Affairs Front Office
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Current: Swift Talk Welcomes 5000th Member
Swift Talk Welcomes 5000th Member
Swift Group Limited, the UK’s leading manufacturer of caravans, motorhomes and holiday homes, was the first in the industry to launch a social networking website – Swift Talk. Swift Talk was instantly a runaway success and now, a little over a year later, has recently welcomed its 5000th member, Mr John Burt from Yardley Wood, Birmingham.
In recognition of this achievement Swift has awarded Mr Burt a pair of free tickets to the Motorhome and Caravan Show at the NEC, Birmingham which takes place in October plus a £50 voucher to spend at his local Swift dealership, Broad Lane Leisure in Alcester.
Swift Talk has grown from strength to strength and has built up a community which is united in their interests of caravanning, motorhomes, holiday homes and touring in general. Swift Talk is a place where members can share their experiences, meet new friends and find information on how to enhance their touring lifestyle. In addition it is the first place to find out about new Swift product launches and latest news.
Packed full of features members are actively encouraged to not only to liaise with the Swift Group via the forums, but also interact with each other through publishing their own content, uploading and sharing photos and videos, creating their own groups and even posting blogs for other members to follow.
Swift Group victorious at prestigious UK Private Business Awards
Swift Group recognises outstanding success within their dealer network at night of awards
calendar 12 June 2017
Swift Group recognised for third year running in Fast Track International 200
Swift Group strengthens its Customer service and Commercial teams with key appointments
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Arabic (ar)لماذا نحتاج إلى الميثاق العالمي بشأن الهجرة؟
German (de)Warum ist der globale Migrationspakt nötig?
Spanish (es)¿Por qué el Pacto Mundial sobre Migración es necesario?
French (fr)Un Pacte mondial pour les migrations, ça va servir à quoi?
Italian (it)Perché c'è bisogno di un Patto globale sulla migrazione?
Japanese (ja)なぜいま国連移民協定が必要なのか？
Portuguese (pt)Por que precisamos do Pacto Global para Migração?
Russian (ru)Нужен ли нам Миграционный Пакт ООН?
Chinese (zh)为什么我们需要《全球移民契约》？
Explainer Why do we need the Global Compact for Migration?
By Simon Bradley
This content was published on December 11, 2018 2:09 PM Dec 11, 2018 - 14:09
A Honduran child cries while her mother is searched in McAllen, Texas, near the US-Mexico border on June 12, 2018; they were part of a group of immigrants who had rafted across the Rio Grande River from Mexico.
(John Moore/Getty Images/AFP)
Over 160 United Nations member states have formally adopted an international agreement in Morocco that promises a better, more coordinated approach to migration. Why is such a pact needed? Why is it so controversial, and why is Switzerland, which helped shape the accord, not attending?
On Monday, heads of state and government ministers from 164 countries publicly confirmed in Marrakech their commitment to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migrationexternal link, a multilateral accordexternal link which was concluded under UN auspices earlier this year.
The final 31-page document, intergovernmental conferenceexternal link on December 10-11, and endorsement ceremony are the culmination of almost two years’ intensive negotiations, involving states, members of civil society and the private sector, and facilitated by the Mexican and Swiss ambassadors, Juan José Gomez Camacho and Jürg Lauber.
Why do we need a global migration pact?
According to the UN, there are around 258 million migrants in the world todayexternal link. This figure is expected to grow due to globalization, easier communications, transport and trade, as well as rising inequality, demographic imbalances and climate change. Migrationexternal link, the UN says, provides huge opportunities and benefits for the migrants, host communities and communities of origin. But when migration is poorly organised, it can create major headaches and therefore needs to be safer, more orderly and regulated.
The pact gained momentum after the migration crisis in Europe in 2015, which saw the biggest influx of refugees and migrants since World War Two. It is the fruit of earlier human rights and development treaties and initiatives like the Global Forum on Migration and Developmentexternal link, and stems from a political commitment known as the “New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrantsexternal link”, adopted unanimously in 2016 by the 193-member UN General Assembly.
The graph below shows the number of international migrants by major area of destination and major area of origin (2017 figuresexternal link). [Flows have the same colour as their major area of origin. A small gap between flow and major area indicates the flow’s origin, a large gap indicates its destination.]
Number of international migrants in 2017 by major area of destination and major area of origin
(UN Desa)
What does the pact aim to do?
Migration and Switzerland
Around one quarter of Switzerland's 8.4 million residents have foreign passports, the majority from Europe. The percentage of Swiss people who have foreign roots increased slightly last year to 37.2%. This refers to anyone – foreign nationals, naturalised Swiss citizens, as well as Swiss citizens at birth – whose parents were both born abroad.
Last year, net immigration to Switzerland from the European Union was around 34,000, below record years like 2013 when 66,000 more people came from the EU than left. For 2018, net EU immigration through October was 26,809. Meanwhile, over 750,000 Swiss citizens live abroad.
end of infobox
States are not ratifying a binding global treaty. The compact is a non-binding multilateral instrument of cooperation that aims to set common principles and guidelines for orderly migration, thereby reducing irregular flows. The document was created after a lengthy review of migration data and a detailed consultation process.
It contains ten guiding principles and 23 objectivesexternal link. For each there is a long list of possible voluntary actions, which states can choose from. These include prevention measures to address the drivers of migration, fight human trafficking, manage borders and facilitate returns. It also focuses on solutions and best practices to facilitate regular migration.
“The strength of the compact is that it’s a very comprehensive and balanced document that takes into account both the serious legitimate concerns of those wanting to control borders and the rights of migrants,” Walter Kälin, a professor of international law at the University of Bern, told swissinfo.ch.
For Vincent Chetail, director of the Global Migration Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, the compact does not create new rules but reformulates existing ones. And although the compact is voluntary, he believes it can make a difference.
“A follow-up and review process will be established to assess the implementation of the compact,” said Chetail. “Even if it's not legally binding, the UN General Assembly will meet every four years to assess implementation. There is a strong presumption on paper that these commitments will be taken seriously by states and implemented.”
Visual data
Migration series (Part 5) Switzerland, land of European immigration
On International Migrants' Day, we look back at 166 years of immigration to Switzerland.
By Duc-Quang Nguyen
Arabic (ar)هجرة الأوروبيين إلى سويسرا عبر قرن ونصف من الزمن
German (de)Einwanderungsland Schweiz
Spanish (es)Suiza, tierra de inmigración europea
French (fr)La Suisse, terre d'immigration européenne
Italian (it)Svizzera, terra di immigrazione europea
Japanese (ja)欧州の移民が集まる国、スイス
Portuguese (pt)Suíça, terra de imigração europeia
Russian (ru)Швейцария — классическая страна иммиграции
Chinese (zh)瑞士是移民国
Who’s for it and who’s against?
The document was approved in July by 192 member nations at the UN General Assemblyexternal link including Switzerland but not the United States, which backed out last year saying the issue was “simply not compatible with US sovereignty”.
Since then, several other nations have rejected the compact ahead of the conference and others are hesitating. They include Israel, Australia, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Dominican Republic. The Austrian government, for example, is concerned that signing up could eventually help lead to the recognition of a “human right to migration”. Italy, whose government has made headlines for its crackdown on migration, will decide whether to support the deal after its parliament considers it.
UN Special Representative for International Migration Louise Arbourexternal link and other supporters of the pact remain confident despite the withdrawals. She has called moves to reject the accord “regrettable” and “mistaken”. She says the compact does not affect states' rights to manage their borders, but simply seeks to instil order into cross-border movements.
“It is in no possible sense of the word an infringement on state sovereignty - it is not legally binding, it’s a framework for cooperation,” said Arbour, comparing it to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
Former Swiss Secretary of State, Peter Maurer, the current president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), calls the pact a good compromise.
What’s the official Swiss position?
Ironically, the document that Swiss diplomats helped shape has turned into a political hot potato back home.
At the UN General Assembly in September, Swiss President Alain Berset gave the pact his personal blessing. On October 10, the Federal Council followed suit by giving its greenlight for the accord, whose “guiding principles and objectives correspond fully with Switzerland’s policy on migration”.
But against mounting resistance from politicians from centre and rightwing parties in Switzerland, the executive body has been reluctant to throw its full support behind the deal. Led by the wavering Foreign Affairs Minister Ignazio Cassis, cabinet decided to consult parliament on the document.
Then, one month after its go-ahead, the government announced it would not attend the Marrakech meeting as it had decided to delay adoption until the Swiss parliament had properly debated the issue.
On November 29, Swiss senators voted to give parliament the final word on the pact. The lower chamber - the House of Representatives - followed suit on December 11.
External Content
Annual asylum requests in Switzerland
What are the views among Swiss political parties?
Politicians on the right and centre-right fear that the pact could blur the line between legal and illegal migration and undermine countries' sovereignty. The conservative right Swiss People’s Party led the charge from September saying the pact is “incompatible with an independent management of immigration”. It warned that it could eventually take precedence over Swiss law and urged the government to reject it. In November, the conservative Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland group handed in a petition against the pact signed by 15,000 citizens.
The centre-right Radical-Liberal Party argues that the pact may be non-binding but as a soft law it has “political implications requiring extreme caution”. The centre-right Christian Democratic Party, which has several doubts, and the Conservative Democratic Party both want parliament to have its word on the issue.
Meanwhile, Christian Levrat, president of the centre-left Social Democratic Party, said Switzerland’s delay in signing the pact was a “political mistake”, both in foreign policy terms by aligning itself with countries like Hungary and the US, and nationally, as it was “bowing down to the People’s Party and the pressures it has exerted”.
For its part, the Federal Commission on Migration (FCM), a 30-member extra-parliamentary group that advises the government on migration issues, has said Swiss adoption of the compact is not only desirable, but “necessary”.
At this stage, the Federal Council continues to insist that the pact is in Switzerland’s interest and that it is not a treaty and thus the executive body should have the last word – not parliament. For now, the government has not ruled out a Swiss adoption, which could come later, according to the Swiss foreign minister.
International Geneva
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Why do we need the Global Compact for Migration? Simon Bradley Dec 11, 2018 - 14:09 Over 160 United Nations member states have formally adopted an international agreement in Morocco that promises a better, more coordinated approach to migration. Why is such a pact needed? Why is it so controversial, and why is Switzerland, which helped shape the accord, not attending? On Monday, heads of state and government ministers from 164 countries publicly confirmed in Marrakech their commitment to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, a multilateral accord which was concluded under UN auspices earlier this year. The final 31-page document, intergovernmental conference on December 10-11, and endorsement ceremony are the culmination of almost two years’ intensive negotiations, involving states, members of civil society and the private sector, and facilitated by the Mexican and Swiss ambassadors, Juan José Gomez Camacho and Jürg Lauber. Why do we need a global migration pact? According to the UN, there are around 258 million migrants in the world today. This figure is expected to grow due to globalization, easier communications, transport and trade, as well as rising inequality, demographic imbalances and climate change. Migration, the UN says, provides huge opportunities and benefits for the migrants, host communities and communities of origin. But when migration is poorly organised, it can create major headaches and therefore needs to be safer, more orderly and regulated. The pact gained momentum after the migration crisis in Europe in 2015, which saw the biggest influx of refugees and migrants since World War Two. It is the fruit of earlier human rights and development treaties and initiatives like the Global Forum on Migration and Development, and stems from a political commitment known as the “New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants”, adopted unanimously in 2016 by the 193-member UN General Assembly. The graph below shows the number of international migrants by major area of destination and major area of origin (2017 figures). [Flows have the same colour as their major area of origin. A small gap between flow and major area indicates the flow’s origin, a large gap indicates its destination.] What does the pact aim to do? Migration and Switzerland Around one quarter of Switzerland's 8.4 million residents have foreign passports, the majority from Europe. The percentage of Swiss people who have foreign roots increased slightly last year to 37.2%. This refers to anyone – foreign nationals, naturalised Swiss citizens, as well as Swiss citizens at birth – whose parents were both born abroad. Last year, net immigration to Switzerland from the European Union was around 34,000, below record years like 2013 when 66,000 more people came from the EU than left. For 2018, net EU immigration through October was 26,809. Meanwhile, over 750,000 Swiss citizens live abroad. States are not ratifying a binding global treaty. The compact is a non-binding multilateral instrument of cooperation that aims to set common principles and guidelines for orderly migration, thereby reducing irregular flows. The document was created after a lengthy review of migration data and a detailed consultation process. It contains ten guiding principles and 23 objectives. For each there is a long list of possible voluntary actions, which states can choose from. These include prevention measures to address the drivers of migration, fight human trafficking, manage borders and facilitate returns. It also focuses on solutions and best practices to facilitate regular migration. “The strength of the compact is that it’s a very comprehensive and balanced document that takes into account both the serious legitimate concerns of those wanting to control borders and the rights of migrants,” Walter Kälin, a professor of international law at the University of Bern, told swissinfo.ch. For Vincent Chetail, director of the Global Migration Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, the compact does not create new rules but reformulates existing ones. And although the compact is voluntary, he believes it can make a difference. “A follow-up and review process will be established to assess the implementation of the compact,” said Chetail. “Even if it's not legally binding, the UN General Assembly will meet every four years to assess implementation. There is a strong presumption on paper that these commitments will be taken seriously by states and implemented.” Who’s for it and who’s against? The document was approved in July by 192 member nations at the UN General Assembly including Switzerland but not the United States, which backed out last year saying the issue was “simply not compatible with US sovereignty”. Since then, several other nations have rejected the compact ahead of the conference and others are hesitating. They include Israel, Australia, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Dominican Republic. The Austrian government, for example, is concerned that signing up could eventually help lead to the recognition of a “human right to migration”. Italy, whose government has made headlines for its crackdown on migration, will decide whether to support the deal after its parliament considers it. UN Special Representative for International Migration Louise Arbour and other supporters of the pact remain confident despite the withdrawals. She has called moves to reject the accord “regrettable” and “mistaken”. She says the compact does not affect states' rights to manage their borders, but simply seeks to instil order into cross-border movements. “It is in no possible sense of the word an infringement on state sovereignty - it is not legally binding, it’s a framework for cooperation,” said Arbour, comparing it to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Former Swiss Secretary of State, Peter Maurer, the current president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), calls the pact a good compromise. What’s the official Swiss position? Ironically, the document that Swiss diplomats helped shape has turned into a political hot potato back home. At the UN General Assembly in September, Swiss President Alain Berset gave the pact his personal blessing. On October 10, the Federal Council followed suit by giving its greenlight for the accord, whose “guiding principles and objectives correspond fully with Switzerland’s policy on migration”. But against mounting resistance from politicians from centre and rightwing parties in Switzerland, the executive body has been reluctant to throw its full support behind the deal. Led by the wavering Foreign Affairs Minister Ignazio Cassis, cabinet decided to consult parliament on the document. Then, one month after its go-ahead, the government announced it would not attend the Marrakech meeting as it had decided to delay adoption until the Swiss parliament had properly debated the issue. On November 29, Swiss senators voted to give parliament the final word on the pact. The lower chamber - the House of Representatives - followed suit on December 11. What are the views among Swiss political parties? Politicians on the right and centre-right fear that the pact could blur the line between legal and illegal migration and undermine countries' sovereignty. The conservative right Swiss People’s Party led the charge from September saying the pact is “incompatible with an independent management of immigration”. It warned that it could eventually take precedence over Swiss law and urged the government to reject it. In November, the conservative Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland group handed in a petition against the pact signed by 15,000 citizens. The centre-right Radical-Liberal Party argues that the pact may be non-binding but as a soft law it has “political implications requiring extreme caution”. The centre-right Christian Democratic Party, which has several doubts, and the Conservative Democratic Party both want parliament to have its word on the issue. Meanwhile, Christian Levrat, president of the centre-left Social Democratic Party, said Switzerland’s delay in signing the pact was a “political mistake”, both in foreign policy terms by aligning itself with countries like Hungary and the US, and nationally, as it was “bowing down to the People’s Party and the pressures it has exerted”. For its part, the Federal Commission on Migration (FCM), a 30-member extra-parliamentary group that advises the government on migration issues, has said Swiss adoption of the compact is not only desirable, but “necessary”. At this stage, the Federal Council continues to insist that the pact is in Switzerland’s interest and that it is not a treaty and thus the executive body should have the last word – not parliament. For now, the government has not ruled out a Swiss adoption, which could come later, according to the Swiss foreign minister.
Wait and see Swiss delay decision on UN migration pact
The Swiss government has decided it won’t attend an international conference next month to sign a UN-backed agreement on migration.
This content was published on November 21, 2018 2:40 PM Nov 21, 2018 - 14:40
Arabic (ar)سويسرا تؤجّل قرارها بشأن اتفاقية الهجرة المدعومة من الأمم المتحدة
Spanish (es)Berna posterga decisión sobre pacto migratorio
Russian (ru)Швейцария откладывает подписание Миграционного пакта
International agreement Swiss ambassador defends UN migration pact
Swiss Ambassador Pietro Mona has defended the UN migration pact despite fierce criticism from parliament.
This content was published on November 12, 2018 9:50 AM Nov 12, 2018 - 09:50
See in another language: 1 See in another language: 1 Languages: 1
Spanish (es)El embajador suizo defiende el pacto migratorio de la ONU
Demography Almost 40% of Swiss residents have a migration background
The percentage of people in Switzerland who have foreign roots increased slightly last year to 37.2% – much lower than previous annual increases.
This content was published on October 12, 2018 11:25 AM Oct 12, 2018 - 11:25
Spanish (es)Casi el 40% de los residentes procede de la migración
Chinese (zh)近40％的瑞士居民有移民背景
Labour market Migration of highly skilled workers booms
Since the turn of the century, the composition of migration flows to Switzerland has changed significantly.
This content was published on October 25, 2018 2:50 PM Oct 25, 2018 - 14:50
Arabic (ar)طفرة في عدد المهاجرين من أصحاب المهارات العالية
Spanish (es)‘Boom’ de la migración altamente cualificada
14% decrease Asylum requests drop in first half of 2018
The number of asylum requests filed in Switzerland was 7,820 in the first half of 2018, down 14.3% on the previous year.
This content was published on July 27, 2018 2:28 PM Jul 27, 2018 - 14:28
1 There is one comment on this article.
Multinational principles Swiss government gives green light for UN migration accord
UN global migration guidelines have won the approval of the Swiss government despite opposition by rightwing parties.
This content was published on October 10, 2018 12:27 PM Oct 10, 2018 - 12:27
Arabic (ar)الحكومة السويسرية تقرّ مبدئيا مسودة الاتفاق العالمي للهجرة
Russian (ru)Швейцария одобрила Всемирный пакт ООН о миграции
Migration Series (Part 1) Defining the 25% foreign population in Switzerland
For the first time, Switzerland has 2 million foreigners living in its midst. But just who exactly are they? These graphics offer an explanation.
Arabic (ar)من هم هؤلاء الأجانب الذين يمثلون 25% من سكان سويسرا؟
German (de)Wer sind die 2 Millionen Ausländerinnen und Ausländer in der Schweiz?
Spanish (es)Dos millones de extranjeros en Suiza, ¿quiénes son?
French (fr)Qui sont ces 25% d'étrangers en Suisse?
Italian (it)Due milioni di stranieri in Svizzera, ma chi sono?
Japanese (ja)スイス人口の２５％を占める外国人 その内訳は？
Portuguese (pt)Quem são os 25% de estrangeiros da Suíça?
Russian (ru)Два миллиона иностранцев в Швейцарии: кто эти люди?
Chinese (zh)瑞士25%的外国人来自何方？
25 There are 25 comments on this article.
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The Swiss community around the globe
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Cerro Torre
Standing close to Cerro Fitz Roy, on the edge of the South Patagonian Ice Field, Cerro Torre stands at 3,102 metres. This is one of the highest peaks in the region, and it is a very challenging one to climb. Shrouded in controversial claims of ascent, the first undisputed ascent was in 1974.
Cerro Torre stands amid the peaks, glaciers, rivers and lagoons of Los Glaciares (The Glaciers) National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Close to the Patagonian mountain village of El Chalten, and 4 hours by bus from the airport of El Calafate
How to see it:
Many of the treks from El Chalten take you to view-points of Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy, including several day-hikes, as well longer routes, such as the Huemul Circuit
Staying in the nearby town of El Chalten, there are many day-hikes which give you great views of Cerro Torre
There is a much more challenging route which takes you up onto the Ice Cap to get much closer to the mountain and see it from a different angle, as part of a demanding expedition
You could also make it part of a trekking tour, combining the peaks and glaciers of Los Glaciares with the equally stunning landscapes of Torres del Paine National Park in Chile
Photos of Cerro Torre
Cerro Torre, Los Glaciares NP
Map of Cerro Torre
Trips that visit Cerro Torre
Classic El Calafate and El Chalten
Marvel at the enormous electric blue Perito Moreno Glacier. hike the iconic trails of the Fitz Roy Range for stunning views then relax and enjoy the chocolate shops and craft beer in the charming mountain town of El Chalten. This…
Argentina’s Glaciers, Wildlife & Jungle
Combine four of Argentina’s most contrasting landscapes: the bustling capital of Buenos Aires, the famous peaks and glaciers of Los Glaciares National Park, the captivating whales, penguins and elephant seals of Peninsula Valdes, and the lush rainforest and crashing falls…
Patagonia’s Cities, Peaks & Glaciers
Enjoy Patagonia’s most famous hiking trails, iconic peaks, glistening glaciers and striking blue lakes in Torres del Paine and Los Glaciares National Parks. Spend a few nights based from a quirky luxury yurt camp, and dip into the vibrant capitals…
Southern Patagonia Highlights
Enjoy the best of Southern Patagonia in just nine days, combining the iconic Torres del Paine and Los Glaciares National Parks. This is the perfect trip for those wanting to hike in Patagonia and see spectacular glaciers with a small…
Ultimate Chalten Trek
The complete El Chalten trekking experience - combine the highlight trails around Mount Fitzroy and Cerro Torre with the challenging Huemul Circuit in the south of the Park. Enjoy dramatic mountain views, hanging glaciers, peaceful forests and windy mountain passes…
Fitz Roy Camping Adventure
Hike the 3 main trails in El Chalten in Winter. With far less crowds than summer, you can enjoy the peacefulness and tranquility of the mountains all for yourself. Prepare to hike in snowy conditions, possibly with snow…
Patagonia’s Peaks, Fjords & Glaciers
Combine the iconic peaks and, glaciers of Patagonia’s most famous National Parks: Torres del Paine and Los Glaciares, with the contrasting scenery of the Chilean Fjords, and the vibrant capitals of Buenos Aires and Santiago. Get up close to pottering…
Fitz Roy and Paine Explorer
An action packed group tour combining the best hikes in Torres del Paine and Los Glaciares National Parks. Travel into the heart of Torres del Paine on a unique and dramatic Zodiac boat ride. Celebrate your final night in an…
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Mars: Inside SpaceX
Author Topic: Mars: Inside SpaceX (Read 4283 times)
Re: Mars: Inside SpaceX
>I have an alternative theory: Perhaps the darker image that appeared in the magazine cover was slightly edited for more dramatic effect. Publications want to sell right ?
That's a new one. By that theory there should be a paper trail of cover photos that are darker than the originals.
Anyway, you can move onto level 2. The high angle. The cameras were fixed to the actors chests. So how has this photo got a view of the top the actors helmet? The hasleblad cameras had crosses on them, with a big central cross in the middle. The middle cross is at the actors lower leg, indicating that the camera was pointing down, from a height of about 7 feet.
>So the photographer was in mid jump!
...is one I've heard b4. Except the photographer seems to appear in the helmet reflection, and he's stood on the ground.
>So the photographer was stood on higher ground!
Good luck trying to find the higher ground near the alleged 1969 landing site. No-ones found it yet.
Flanker
Quote from: meems on January 08, 2019, 09:49:24 PM
Astronauts were leaning forward to counter-balance the weight of their portable life support system (PLSS). It weights around 38kg on Earth, that's only 6.4kg on the Moon but as the astronauts are lighter too on the Moon, the weight distribution stays the same and they had to lean forward not to fall.
I have two questions for you then :
- Landing men on the Moon requires hundreds if not thousands of people working together (and billions of dollars). Are they part of the hoax or did "they" (who ?) fooled them ? Where is the money ?
- Why didn't the soviets reveal the hoax ? They probably had enough space tech to know wether the USA landed on the Moon or not because they were trying to get there first. It would have been perfect for their propaganda to prove that USA faked the Moon landing...
Everyone knew it was impossible, until someone who didn't know made it.
>Astronauts were leaning forward to counter-balance the weight of their portable life support system (PLSS).
Good, well without quantitative analysis, I don't see a way to refute your explanation. Just seems odd to take a portrait photo by pointing chest height camera at lower leg.
>- Landing men on the Moon requires hundreds if not thousands of people working together (and billions of dollars). Are they part of the hoax or did "they" (who ?) fooled them ?
That old chestnut. Global Warming alarmists say the same thing. How can all these people conspire - like as soon as they're out of public view they start grinning conspiratorially and chuckling to each other about how they've fooled the public one more day. The reality is, individuals working for the system could not see the whole, so could not assess it. They were given a niche job and agreed to keep quiet and not ask questions ( apollo was confidential \ non-disclosure ). There were lots of drills, some of which the workers didn't know were drills until after the event. The computer operators didn't know if the data they were receiving was from space or from a rehearsal, and after 100 drills they wouldn't even be trying to discern.
The people making the models thought they were doing it so the actors could practice for the real thing. They were told the real thing was being made elsewhere at a secret location.
People often have a naive view of conspiracies. They seem to think that anyone involved in a conspiracy knows exactly what they are doing, looks like a criminal, and at any moment is trying not to laugh like a evil mastermind or looks guilty as sin. The reality is most people haven't a clue they are involved in one. Only a very few people at the top know whats going on. Whistleblowers are dismissed as nutters and are ignored, they also lose their well paid jobs. - This tends to influence the others with families and mortgages to not ask questions, and instead just get on with the work they've been given.
>Where is the money ?
In the pockets of the US industry base. Apollo was taxpayer funded. These days the apollo hoax still pays dividends : when a rich group e.g. saudis want a satellite they hand a quarter of a billion over to western companies.
- Why didn't the soviets reveal the hoax ?
I can see this the 1st time you've thought about this. We get these questions all the time. The idea that the soviets held a magic card, like all it took was one soviet to stand up and say " i think apollo is a hoax, here's a piece of paper with some writing on that says i'm right " at which point the entire western media and public rally behind this call, and the apollo people hold up their arms in a surrender and say " you're right, well we fooled you up till now, but its all over " and didn't go back to work the next day, is naive.
The cold war era soviets always decried what the US was doing. The western media didn't listen. It was constant, just like the UK parliament, one side has an idea, the other side opposes it and says its money purposely flushed away which amounts to a conspiracy against the taxpayer. Instead spending a decade of decrying and being ignored, they decided to fake it too.
Kryzon
> when a rich group e.g. saudis want a satellite
So you don't trust any evidence that the moon landing was real (photos, videos, depositions), but you do trust that such a thing as a satellite (an electronic device floating around the earth) does exist, when nobody cared to gather evidence that satellites are indeed real.
Got it. So the next time someone goes to the moon, all they have to do is not show any evidence, otherwise your contrarian feelings will kick in and you'll start going "hmm, you're trying too hard to make me believe you, therefore I will not".
I'm one of the poor people who graduated in physics, and have kept it going as a hobby all my life. It gives a better idea of what is achievable.
>an electronic device floating around the earth
Its really not that hard to float around the Earth. The moon does it without even trying.
>trust
Why resort to that? Why not discern truth from fiction using your intellect?
If someone's got a good reason for satellites being fiction then let me know.
>Satellites.
While they exist and are modestly useful, they, or the public image of them are often used as a big con. Remember sky1 the TV channel? In the 1980s and 1990s the dumb public believed they were receiving TV signals from a satellite. Complete nonsense, but it sure sold a lot of SkyTV licenses, people who believed crap about TV signals were paying to watch crap TV signals.
therevills
Quote from: meems on January 09, 2019, 07:22:06 AM
We get these questions all the time.
LOL! We?!?
Lot's of people study and graduated in physics, including myself... and doing it for a hobby really doesn't mean you know everything...
In the 1980s and 1990s the dumb public believed they were receiving TV signals from a satellite.
What do you think they were using then?! From my knowledge they were using the Astra satellites...
> doing it for a hobby really doesn't mean you know everything...
>know everything...
> have a opinion different to normal people
Can u spot the difference here?
>What do you think they were using then?
Same thing we use today : good old fashioned ground based radio broadcast transmitters. Some people still fancy those mock radar dishes and a picture of a satellite in space on a cardboard box that the radio receiver comes in, so the satellite TV myth endures to this day.
> have a opinion different to normal people[/i]
Well we can confirm you are far from normal
so the satellite TV myth endures to this day.
Madjack
Global Warming alarmists say the same thing.
And of course he's a climate change denier as well.
Can we go for the trifecta meems?
Is the earth round or flat?
>so the satellite TV myth endures to this day.
>proof?
>Is the earth round or flat?
Round of course. Confess your sins, what else beside wasting electricity on this net forum have you done to contribute to the day when the air sets on fire due to AGW and becomes another Venus?
I think we're all experts on this now - time to get your tin foil hats out and move on to the next conspiracy.
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First Entry
An extra-terrestrial short story by the members of Reptaliens.
By Reptaliens | May 7, 2019
When Bambi and Cole Browning started writing the songs that would be become Reptaliens’ 2017 debut LP, FM-2030, they had no intention of starting a band. Focusing at first on creating music and art on a purely personal level, the project soon took off when the duo brought on Julian Kowalski (guitar) and Tyler Verigin (drums) to form a live band. The four-piece swiftly delved into songwriting inspired by sci-fi art and literature, cult mentalities, and deep connections. The result was the band’s self-defined genre of “dreamwave,” which connected musical influences ranging from Gary Wilson-inspired jazzy lounge music, the warmth of Broadcast’s recording production, to Todd Rundgren’s outer space synth sounds.
After touring throughout most of 2017 and 2018 with STRFKR, Cults, and Of Montreal, the band returned home and went straight into renowned Portland studio Jackpot to record their sophomore LP, VALIS. Titled after the 1981 Philip K. Dick novel, VALIS was released via Captured Tracks in April 2019.
(Photo Credit: Eirrin Gragson)
Not too far from Earth exists a small lonely planet with no known inhabitants — except for a little guy known only as First Entry. He is short in stature, blob-ish in his bodily proportion, and generally happy in his demeanor. The round, oblong body of First Entry is framed by large thumbs that protrude from what would be his hips if he were shaped like a human; these thumbs have well-manicured, cleanly trimmed nails which he uses to crawl through the dusty ground of his home planet. His head, rather toe-shaped, houses his simple face which consists of his two longing eyes, one short nose, and a small simple mouth. With only his two large thumbs as a means of transportation, he slowly traverses the planet that he alone inhabits. With lonely eyes, he scans his surroundings, forever searching for friends.
The planet that First Entry lives on is something like the planet known by Earthlings as “Mars.” It is orange and dusty; sandy and full of rocks. Short mountains jut out from the ground up and create trails for First Entry to meander through. The sky at night, though cold, is full of stars and provides a view of planets that seem so close, yet so far away. The days on this planet are hot and dry.
One day, while climbing through a particularly unique patch of rocks, First Entry found a small round hole, bored through the thick rock from some unknown source. Having nothing else to do, and curious about this rock formation, he scooted his soft pudgy body closer towards the hole in the rock, he lowered his head and pressed his orbital against the rock. What he saw brought a smile to his thin pursed lips: an unfamiliar feeling to the secluded First Entry.
Inside this hole were many unfamiliar characters. There was a large, pudgy faced fellow wearing an ear-to-ear smile which seemed almost to stretch to the five eyes mounted below his forehead. There was a young creature whose body was only a giant fist. Connected to this fist by a strong muscular neck was a head with wild, untamed hair and a boyish grin. Moving his gaze from left to right, First Entry was met with another new being: a big momma adorned in leather motorcycle jacket, dark sunglasses, and short wind-whipped, grey streaked hair. First Entry was elated.
With no time to question where these new friends came from, nor a moment to manifest any feelings of fear from the new appearance of beings on what had forever been thought of as a lonely planet, First Entry was filled with the joy of knowing he wasn’t alone anymore. Though his awkward little thumbs would never be able to claw through the rock to reach these strange creatures more directly than by the scrutiny of his strained eye, merely knowing of their existence was enough for First Entry. First Entry was no longer alone.
First Entry had been alone his entire life. He had no family and had never been presented with an explanation of where he came from. There seemed to be no beginning, ending, or reason to his existence. Fated to wander the deserted planet, he was offered no companionship or help through his tireless journey. He had never known a home or a permanent location. He had never seen another being. Until now.
It took a long while before First Entry could build the courage to remove his eye from the view of his new world. He was afraid these characters would disappear when he looked away. He was afraid he would never find them again. After what felt like weeks of observation through the hole in the rock, he finally removed his eye to once again look upon his lonely Martian surroundings. All was still the same. Excited and somewhat filled with shock, he immediately forced his eyeball against the soft rock in order to look through the hole again. His friends were still there. It did not seem that they were going anywhere. Realizing that he was never going to be alone again, his blobby body jiggled in a small happy dance. The smile on his face widened and his eyebrows raised to see more with every happy glance.
First Entry was home. He no longer needed to walk across harsh jagged mountain tops, vast orange deserts, or large difficult boulders. There was no need to wander anymore; no need to search. Whenever he felt alone, he could look upon his friends and know that he had companions. First Entry had found an escape from his planet. He had never known what he was searching for or known why he felt compelled to continuously travel across his planet; only through stumbling upon this small random hole in the rock, he had found the answer to questions he never knew he had. First Entry had found his friends.
(Photo Credit: featured left, Eirrin Gragson; illustrations, Bambi Browning)
Matt Braunger Loves Game Of Thrones, But Not As Much As You Do: Episode 4
Introducing: Gemma’s “‘Til We Lose The Feeling”
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The Endless Scientific Possibilities of Music, and Musical Possibilities of Science
How I Wrote Arrival (and What I Learned Doing It)
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Why singer Avril Lavigne is the most dangerous celebrity on the internet
ComputersInternet
Musician Avril Lavigne has been ranked as the most dangerous celebrity to search for on the internet because it could expose you to malicious websites and malware, according to the latest research by McAfee.
Shrewd cyber criminals use our interest in celebrities to drive people to sites that are designed to install malware and steal personal information and passwords.
This is the eleventh year McAfee has conducted this study and it highlights the dangers of clicking on links while searching for content about celebrities.
Singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne takes over from comedian Amy Schumer as the most dangerous celebrity to search for online.
“In today’s digital world, we want the latest hit albums, videos, movies and more, immediately available on our devices,” said Ian Yip, chief technology officer at McAfee.
“Consumers often prioritise their convenience over security by engaging in risky behavior like clicking on suspicious links that promise the latest content from celebrities.
“It’s imperative that they slow down and consider the risks associated with searching for downloadable content. Thinking before clicking goes a long way to stay safe online.”
This year singer Bruno Mars has made his debut in second place closely followed by another singer Carly Rae Jepson.
The list was rounded out by Zayn Malik (No 4), Celine Dion (No 5), Calvin Harris (No 6), Justin Bieber (No 7), Diddy (No 8), Katy Perry (No 9) and Beyoncé (No 10).
If one was to search for “Avril Lavigne free MP3” you have a 22 per cent chance of landing on a malicious website.
And with music being so popular and the global music market growing by nearly 6 per cent, it’s no wonder the list of the top 10 celebrities is made up entirely of musicians.
Outside the top 10 other celebrities outside the music industry made the list including Anna Kendrick (No 13), Jennifer Lopez (No 20), Hailee Steinfeld (No 23), Will Smith (No 34) and Jackie Chan (No 38).
This study highlights the dangers of online searches and McAfee has some tips on how to stay safe.
Be careful what you click on. Some websites offering information or free content may contain malware.
Be careful of free offers. The word free is often used to attract visitors to a site and is used on the highest number of risky websites.
Browse with security. McAfee WebAdvisor is a tool that can help keep you safe by identifying malicious sites and warning users before they click. You can download it for free here will https://mcafee.com/mcafeewebadvisor.
Use cross device protection. We don’t just search with our computers, we’re more likely to be searching from a mobile device. McAfee Total Protection can protect users across all their devices.
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State-Sponsored DNS Hijacking Campaigns Are Targeting North Africa and the Middle East
Bill Toulas
Highly advanced malicious actors are targeting critical organizations including ministries, energy companies, national security agencies, and more.
The campaign is called “Sea Turtle” and it’s based on the manipulation of DNS records.
Stopping the effectiveness of these methods immediately is crucial before it goes global.
Cisco Talos is warning the world of a malicious campaign that they call “Sea Turtle”, and which has been going on since January 2017. According to the researchers, the campaign has targeted at least 40 national security and other critical organizations in 13 countries located in North Africa and the Middle East. According to the researchers, the kind of DNS hijacking that was employed in the context of this campaign indicates that the actors behind it are state-sponsored and knowledgeable experts who want to establish persistent access to highly-valuable networks.
image source: blog.talosintelligence.com
The primary victims of the “Sea Turtle” campaign are ministries, energy companies, telecommunication infrastructure organizations, and national security agencies. The malicious actors target various DNS registrars and registries – and successfully compromise them. The methodology of the attackers includes the establishment of the control of the target’s DNS records, the modification of those records to point the victims to malicious servers, and the capturing of their credentials through a form of advanced phishing. As this goes on at such a fundamental level, even VPN applications are not safe from MitM (man in the middle) attacks, which are intercepting sensitive data and gaining remote access.
Having hijacked the DNS registries and registrars, the actors employ self-signed certificates from Sectigo, Comodo, and Let’s Encrypts, gathering the organizations’ SSL certificates through MitM. This takes them to the next step, which is the seamless access to the targeted networks as the SSL certificates are used on the malicious servers. Cisco researchers share multiple examples that point to this methodology, from the deployment of their own ASA (Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance) certificate to steal VPN credentials, to a NetNod compromise through DNS records manipulation and a recent targeting of the Cafax consulting firm.
Besides the fact that the actors seem to be state-sponsored, and aside from the fact that the targeted organizations are neuralgic to the operation of their respective countries, the “Sea Turtle” campaign is very important because it threatens to blow up the very trust that users have on the global DNS system, and by extension, the internet. While the campaign was limited to North Africa and the Middle East, the actors could extend their scope and render the internet an untrustworthy communications platform, pulling the rug from under the feet of the global economy.
Cisco urges companies, agencies, and organizations to use a registry lock service so as to prevent DNS record manipulation, or to implement multi-factor authentication for accessing the DNS records. Also, applying patches, conducting frequent network-wide password resets, and monitoring DNS records on key network domains will be crucial in the effort to stop the Sea Turtle actors. If they face such obstacles right now, the chances of having the campaign go global will be reduced.
Care to share your views on the above? Do so in the comments section beneath, and don’t forget to help us spread the word by sharing this post through our socials, on Facebook and Twitter.
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PUBG suffers from "horrendous" performance issues on the Xbox One consoles
Still fun, but not exactly a smooth experience
By Rob Thubron on December 14, 2017, 10:33 11 comments
‘Poor console port’ is a term us PC gamers are familiar with. Games like Batman: Arkham Knight and the original Watch Dogs suffered from a multitude of problems on the PC, but it doesn’t often happen the other way around. With PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, however, it seems the recent Xbox One and Xbox One X versions are a bit of a disaster.
The fact it’s not set to come out of Steam Early Access until December 20 could explain some of PUBG’s problems on Microsoft’s consoles. But the breakdown done by Digital Foundry shows it suffering from numerous issues, including “low-resolution textures that seem to be failing to stream in properly.”
PUBG isn't exactly a smooth experience on the PC, admittedly, even when played on some high-end rigs, but it often appears to struggle terribly on both the Xbox One and the more powerful Xbox One X. While the 4K-capable console does introduce upgrades over the base Xbox One through improved texture details, resolutions, and foliage draw distances, it still suffers from texture pop-in and disappointing performance.
Both platform struggle to maintain the 30 fps cap—the Xbox One’s average frame rate is 25.6fps, while the Xbox One X manages 27.6.
“In terms of first impressions, PUBG is borderline horrendous — an assault of low quality artwork, jarring pop-in and disappointing performance,” writes Richard Leadbetter.
Digital Foundry does add that the game remains fun to play on the consoles, despite the many issues. No doubt the developer will continue to update the game and address some of these problems as time progresses. Still, Xbox One and Xbox One X fans are likely to be disappointed by the findings.
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Tom Felton Thought Harry Potter Was "Clearly" in Love With Draco Malfoy
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J.K. Rowling Confirms Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Will Make You Cry
Get those tissues out now!
The eighth Harry Potter book is almost here and Potterheads can hardly contain their excitement. Though it's already been revealed that the story will follow Harry's son, Albus, there are still so many unanswered questions about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. And who better to ask than the mastermind behind the entire series?
Fans may not have gotten face time with her, but J.K. Rowling responded to tweets about the new book and dropped major details about how the upcoming storyline will make you feel.
https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/736099985935106048
Having the word cursed in the title doesn't exactly have a positive ring to it and Rowling did make a solid point about what drives a good story. Her series have been able to make such a strong impact because the books allowed readers to feel a huge range of emotions. That connection is special, so don't be ashamed about letting out a good cry. So whether you're binge-reading The Cursed Child in your bed or watching the play, make sure to have your tissues handy!
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Tharjini Sivalingam: The 40-year-old tallest netballer in the world who almost never misses
Tharjini Sivalingam is 6'10", making her the world's tallest netballer Credit: Paul Cooper
Ben Bloom, in Liverpool
12 July 2019 • 5:13pm
Ben Bloom
There is a natural stoop when Tharjini Sivalingam goes to shake someone’s hand. It is something she has grown accustomed to doing whenever she lowers her 6-foot 10-inch frame to that of a more conventional stature.
Sivalingam’s extraordinary height has shaped almost everything in her life. It prompted children to point and laugh in her youth, it gave her a reason to expand her horizons far beyond Sri Lanka’s remote Jaffna Peninsula, and it now allows her to travel the world. It has also earned her the title of tallest netballer on the planet.
For Sivalingam, her height is everything and for Sri Lanka, Sivalingam is everything. In their opening World Cup match on Friday morning, she scored a phenomenal 44 of 45 shots attempted. Her fellow goal attack did not even try her luck until the second half. Why bother when the woman standing under the post almost never misses?
Yet most astonishing of all is how she came to be here; how the woman who stands a strong chance of being crowned the most successful shooter at the World Cup – just as she was in 2011 – is a 40-year-old who never even picked up a netball until her twenties.
The path to this point begins on a vegetable farm in the furthest northern tip of Sri Lanka, although it does not remain there for long. Born into a Tamil family, Sivalingam’s life was quickly turned upside down as a young girl when she was caught up in the civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government.
Sivalingam shoots during Sri Lanka's opening World Cup match with Zimbabwe Credit: PA
Their home destroyed, the family learned to survive as best they could without electricity or running water. “I was very poor and we were moving, moving, moving,” she tells Telegraph Sport in broken English. “It was a very difficult time.”
Although her height – which comes from a hormonal imbalance that caused her to continue growing into her twenties – was immediately apparent, her sporting experience was limited to launching a shot put as far as she could.
Faced with people staring and making cruel taunts, she shrunk into herself. It is still evident in her demeanour today – her cheery, kind face belying her introverted nature.
Only when she moved to study economics at university on Sri Lanka’s east coast did she step onto a netball court for the first time. Within months she was brought into the national set-up and relocated to Colombo, where she was tasked with learning Sinhalese to converse with her new team-mates.
Sivalingam alongside her coach Thikala Jindasa Credit: Paul Cooper
It was in her new job at Seylan Bank in the capital that she met Thilaka Jinadasa, who is now in her second stint as Sri Lanka’s head coach.
“When she first came to Colombo she didn’t speak Sinhalese,” said Jinadasa. “Just imagine how hard it must have been for her.
“She was very shy and didn’t want to do any strength work because she had this extraordinary height so she didn’t think she could fit into any of the machines.
“I told her I could organise it for her, so she started believing in me and following me.
“When she came to the 2005 Asian Championships she was on the bench because she was very slow. I intended to give her confidence, to show her she just needs intelligence on the court.”
Sivalingam with the rest of the Sri Lanka squad Credit: Paul Cooper
It sounds a simple enough undertaking, but Sivalingam was being asked to learn the type of netball basics that most girls are taught at school: how to move, where to stand, how to land correctly.
“She had never played netball so she didn’t have that skill,” says Jinadasa. “Sometimes she still makes basic fundamental errors because of that.”
Her physical advantages were enough to overcome her lack of experience. At the 2011 World Cup she scored 290 of her 296 shots – a frankly ludicrous 98 per cent shooting accuracy.
Yet by the following edition in 2015 a new coaching regime had bizarrely cast her aside. “Administration problems,” says Sivalingam, by way of simple explanation. Sri Lanka finished last in her absence.
Unwanted by her national side, she became her country’s first professional player when offered a contract to play in Australia’s state netball league – the third tier of the sport – for City West Falcons, Victoria’s most successful team. She has now spent three years there, boarding with her coach and former Commonwealth Games champion Nicole Richardson, while developing her game into her late 30s and early 40s.
Sivalingam battles for the ball with Felisitus Kwangwa of Zimbabwe Credit: Getty Images
When Jinadasa was reappointed at the Sri Lankan helm last year she had no hesitation in bringing her star shooter back into the fold, no matter that she was twice the age of some of her team-mates.
Her worth was instant. She was crowned player of the tournament in Sri Lanka’s successful Asian Championships campaign in September, although she was powerless to prevent her side slipping to a 79-49 defeat against World Cup newcomers Zimbabwe in Liverpool on Friday.
Her ambitions in what she confirms will be her last World Cup remain as lofty as ever: “I want to be the best shooter in the world again.”
Is she really capable of doing so, aged 40? “Yeah,” she says, meekly with a smile. “I can.”
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US Election
John Kasich blows race to be Republican establishment candidate wide open
Ohio governor takes second place, followed by Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie, as the contest to be the “stop Trump” candidate is plunged into disarray
John Kasich waves to the crowd upon placing second place in the New Hampshire republican primary in Concord Photo: Getty Images
By David Millward, US Correspondent, Manchester, New Hampshire
Ohio Governor John Kasich, emerged as serious contender to be the Republican establishment’s standard bearer, as the fight to be the “Stop Trump” candidate was left mired in confusion after the New Hampshire primary.
“We are at the beginning, if you don’t have a seat belt, get one,” a jubilant Mr Kasich said.
But underpinning his strong performance is an increasingly bitter battle to be the main challenger to Donald Trump with much anger being directed at Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor, for his savage attack on Marco Rubio during Saturday’s Republican debate.
It left both men trailing in the wake of Mr Kasich, who has already come under fire from the conservative wing of the party, dubbing him an “Obama’s Republican”.
Unashamedly on the moderate wing of the Republican party, the Ohio governor made more than 100 campaign stops in New Hampshire.
His style could not have been more different than Donald Trump. Eschewing big rallies, he preferred town hall meetings and a succession of small gatherings.
“If I ramble a little bit, forgive me. This is my last town hall,” he told supporters in Manchester as he fought off a cold.
He is standing on his record as Ohio’s governor and as a member of the House of Representatives.
Whether New Hampshire is a false dawn remains to be seen, experts believe he could struggle in the South where he is less well known and is likely to be face stiffer competition from opponents with stronger religious and conservative credentials.
What a incredible ride it's been, New Hampshire. We're humbled and thrilled by your support. #Kasich4Us pic.twitter.com/j7GXTrTZP9
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) February 10, 2016
A few months ago his campaign was on life support. At one campaign stop in Portsmouth last year, the former Florida governor did his best to convince doubtful journalists that he would last the distance.
His message at the time was, quite bluntly, that he had more money and better organisation than his rivals and he was there for the duration.
After performing poorly in early debates, he has more recently showed some authority.
Enlisting the support of his mother Barbara Bush – popular matriarch of the dynasty – is now looking like a master stroke.
It was a reasonably encouraging showing for Mr Bush, enabling him to live to fight another day.
But at the same time, Mr Bush and his Super PAC have been responsible for some of the most virulent attack ads on both Mr Kasich and his protégé, Marco Rubio.
Don't use until result in - New Hampshire primary result
The Florida senator was arguably the big loser of New Hampshire. A strong showing would have given him a major boost ahead of South Carolina and Nevada and perhaps could have seen him emerge as the man to stop Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
Marco Rubio was arguably the big loser of New Hampshire Photo: Getty Images
Mr Rubio did not shrink from accepting responsibility for his poor performance in New Hampshire, which most observers put down to his being mauled by Chris Christie over his inability to stray from his carefully prepared script.
Privately the Rubio camp believes that New Hampshire was a set back, but not a terminal one.
You will see us again because we're coming back in November to win the general election.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 10, 2016
But there is little love lost for Mr Christie who, Mr Rubio’s supporters argue, damaged their campaign without doing anything to boost his own credentials.
The New Jersey governor is looking like the real loser of the night.
According to the latest reports he is returning to his home state to consider his next move rather than heading to South Carolina.
Not only did he fare badly in New Hampshire, but the reaction to his demolition job on Marco Rubio on social media has been remarkably hostile.
Democrats very grateful tonight for Christie’s murder-suicide play against Rubio.
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) February 10, 2016
He now stands accused of wrecking the chances of Mr Rubio, who many saw as the party’s best hope to defeat not only Donald Trump, but Hillary Clinton in November.
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News > Venezuela
Live Updates: Venezuelan Govt Says Guaido Coup Failed, Lopez Hides in Chile's Embassy
| Photo: teleSUR
The Venezuelan opposition lawmaker has once again called on the military to overthrow the legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Juan Guaido, the opposition lawmaker who illegally proclaimed himself "interim president" of Venezuela Tuesday morning made a call on social media asking the military and people to begin an uprising against the legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Guaido Takes Credit for Humanitarian Aid Delivery to Venezuela
Senior government officials have rejected the attempted coup and called on the country's population to do the same and march towards the Miraflores presidential palace to protect the country from the far-right, U.S.-backed coup.
Thousands of citizens have accepted the call and marched Tuesday to the palace to attend a rally led by the head of the National Consistent Assembly Diosdado.
UPDATE 8:00 pm (local time)
Chile's Foreign Affairs Minister, Roberto Ampuero, tweeted that opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez and his family are now moving to the Spanish Embassy.
Quiero actualizar información: Lilian Tintori y Leopoldo López -de ascendencia española- se trasladaron a embajada de España. Se trata de una decisión personal, considerando que nuestra embajada ya tenía huéspedes.
— Roberto Ampuero (@robertoampuero) April 30, 2019
"I want to update the information: Lilian Tintori and Leopoldo Lopez -of Spanish descent- moved to the embassy of Spain. It is a personal decision, considering that our embassy already had guests."
Caricom leadership has issued a statement appealing "for calm and peace,” while reiterating a pledge that CARICOM will continue to make every effort to help bring a peaceful resolution to Venezuela’s political situation.
Chairman Reaffirms CARICOM’S Commitment to Bringing a Peaceful Resolution to Venezuela’s Political Crisis @caricomorg https://t.co/mrUtmncKtz#Venezuela #caricom #venezuelacrisis
— CARICOM (@CARICOMorg) April 30, 2019
Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza has categorically called U.S. allegations regarding President Maduro and high ranking officials as "fake news."
Making up fake news is a very sad way to accept that the coup you backed has failed... once again. Diplomacy has to be restored in the US Government. #TrumpHandsOffVenezuela https://t.co/tqMdfoURjo
— Jorge Arreaza M (@jaarreaza) April 30, 2019
The National Liberation Farabundo Marti Front (FMLN) from El Salvador has released a statement condemning emphatically the coup attempt and reject all attempts to gain power through violence.
"We pronounce ourselves in defense to the respect of sovereignty and self-determination of the Latin American people and the world in its social and revolutionary transformation projects."
UPDATE: 5:20 pm (local time)
President Donald Trump threatens Cuba with a "full embargo" if they do not stop their support for Venezuela.
....embargo, together with highest-level sanctions, will be placed on the island of Cuba. Hopefully, all Cuban soldiers will promptly and peacefully return to their island!
A teleSUR correspondent in Brazil has received confirmation from the Foreign Ministry of Brazil that 25 soldiers that have asked for protection in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas.
UPDATE: 4:04 pm
Russia's Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that "if Washington does not stop interfering in the affairs of Venezuela, it will lead to the collapse of the situation."
She commented also that some Washington politicians cannot appreciate how destructive that path can be "which is strange because everyone else already sees it".
Zakharova made these statements after U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton requested a "regime change" in Venezuela.
During a press conference from New York, the Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations Samuel Moncada said that Tuesday’s “coup attempt seeks to promote a puppet government, but failed because most of our people want to live in peace and with the right to self-determination."
The Venezuelan official also called on the international community to reject the far-right violent attempt, for it “violates every U.N Charter and undermines peace."
The diplomat pointed out that the U.S. government has openly admitted that it has participated in today's new conspiracy act and commented that “it's a psychopathic, warlike elite that is using all media with a bombard of fake news."
Regarding Venezuela opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez asylum request at the Chilean embassy, Moncada said that “those gentlemen have been defeated, but that defeat will have consequences in many parts of that fictitious government."
Chile’s Foreign Affairs Minister Roberto Ampuero confirmed that Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez and his family requested asylum at the Chilean embassy in Caracas.
"Lilian Tintori and her daughter entered as guests of our diplomatic mission in Caracas. A few minutes ago her spouse, Leopoldo Lopez, joined his family in that place. Chile reaffirms commitment with Venezuelan democrats," Minister Ampuero tweeted.
Jill Stein, a medical doctor and former Green Party candidate in the U.S. presidential elections in 2012 and 2016, rejected the Trump administration's attempt to destabilize Venezuela in order to grab its oil resources.
The people of #Venezuela shouldn't be made to suffer a bloody civil war to satisfy the greed of foreign investors. Bolton & Trump have said outright: WE WANT THEIR OIL. US desperately needs a true opposition party & independent media that won’t just rubber-stamp war for profit.
— Dr. Jill Stein�� (@DrJillStein) 30 de abril de 2019
The Communist Party of Kenya (CPK) condemned in the strongest terms the U.S.-backed coup attempt and called to “abash imperialism”.
“The CPK congratulates the Venezuelan military and the Venezuelan masses for crushing the U.S backed coup. We call upon the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan Government to move with speed, arrest the coup plotters and subject them to the Venezuelan criminal justice system. Abash US Imperialism abash!”
The Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG) issued a statement rejecting the coup attempt and standing with the Venezuelan constitutional government.
“The SFG unreservedly condemns the attempted coup in Venezuela instigated by the U.S and other reactionary centers. We salute the revolutionary armed forces of Venezuela for their dignity and commitment to the constitutional order. The SFG expresses its full solidarity with the Government and people of Venezuela resisting imperialist aggression.”
Facing a new failed coup attempt in Venezuela, the U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton tried again to threaten and bribe Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, Presidential Guard commander Ivan Hernandez, and Supreme Justice president Maikel Moreno by promising them special favors in exchange for supporting the opposition politician Guaido.
“Your time is up. This is your last chance. Accept Interim President Guaido’s amnesty, protect the Constitution, and remove Maduro, and we will take you off our sanctions list. Stay with Maduro, and go down with the ship,” said Bolton.
Dream on @AmbJohnBolton ... Not today! #TrumpHandsOffVenezuela https://t.co/vCD0hIgMgR
— Jorge Arreaza M (@jaarreaza) 30 de abril de 2019
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attempted coup led by Venezuelan opposition politicians Juan Guaido and Leopoldo Lopez.
"Those who make efforts to appoint a colonial governor in Venezuela should know that you can only decide how to govern a country through democratic elections," said Erdogan, referring to the countries which have expressed their support for the Venezuelan opposition.
U.S. President Donald Trump broke his silence to tacitly support the coup attempt which Guaido initiated Tuesday morning in Venezuela.
“I am monitoring the situation in Venezuela very closely. The United States stands with the People of Venezuela and their Freedom!”
Mexico's Communist Party spoke in favor of the self-determination of the Venezuelan people who are currently resisting a new U.S.-backed attack.
"Solidarity with the Venezuelan people in the face of this U.S. Trump administration-promoted coup d’etat. They are the ones who have to decide their destiny, without imperialist interference or intervention."
UPDATE: 2:17 am
Chile's Communist Party expressed its solidarity with the Venezuelan people and rejected the U.S.-backed coup attempt.
“There is no place to ‘half-way measures’ anymore: NO to the coup d'etat in Venezuela. We condemn and reject the Venezuelan right-wing triggered violence, which is headed by Guaido, supported by the Lima Group and the United States. Once again, they will not pass!”
Jean-Luc Melenchon, a French socialist politician and congressman, tweeted that "an ultra tiny, minority military quadroon is attempting, along with the self-proclaimed president Guaido -the puppet- a coup in Venezuela. The Colombian right-wing calls in vain for the secession of the [Bolivarian] Army. Does [French President] Macron approve the military coup attempt?"
un quarteron de militaires ultra-minoritaire tente un coup d'État au #Venezuela avec la marionnette #Guaido, président autoproclamé. La #Colombie d'extrême droite appelle en vain à la sécession de l'armée. #Macron approuve la tentative de putsch militaire ????
— Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) April 30, 2019
"I was in La Carlota [Air Base] when we heard shots coming from the distributor Altamira taken by a group of military traitors and this was just the moment when they fire. Watch closely, even the civilians who were there they also take out their weapons."
1. me encontraba en #LaCarlota cuando escuchamos una ráfaga de tiros que provenía del Distribuidor #Altamira tomado por un grupo de militares traidores y este fue justo el momento cuando disparan observen con atención, hasta los civiles que estaban allí también sacan sus armas pic.twitter.com/m9evaaKCQl
— Madelein Garcia (@madeleintlSUR) 30 de abril de 2019
"And this is how we lived the moment inside La Carlota when they [the opposition members] shot from the Altamira highway distributor. We heard the blast of shots and then silence."
The State of Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the coup attempt against Venezuelan constitutional President Nicolas Maduro.
"The Ministry expresses its full solidarity with the Venezuelan brave people which rejects foreign hegemony and domination ... On behalf of the Palestinian State and its people, the Ministry also declares its solidarity with the elected and legitimate leadership of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which is represented by President Nicolas Maduro."
The Palestinian Authority also disapproved any form of foreign intervention in Venezuela, either through military actions or economic sanctions. The Ministry expressed its position in favor of dialogue as a way to resolve any conflict among Venezuelan political forces.
Venezuela's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino denounced that a Bolivarian army’s colonel was bullet wounded on the Francisco Fajardo highway, where Guaido-led opposition forces have been demonstrating in Caracas.
"I denounce violent aggression against Col. Yerzon Jimenez Baez, the CZGNB-43 Operations chief, who was shot in his neck on the Francisco Fajardo highway. He is entering the operating room right now. I hold the political opposition leadership responsible."
Soldiers reveal to teleSUR reporters about how they were tricked into joining the attempted coup by Juan Guaido and his right-wing allies in the country.
#Venezuela | "They are looking to make soldiers fight other soldiers."#HandsOffVenezuela #NotToday pic.twitter.com/jxNxybyyNB
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) April 30, 2019
#Venezuelan soldiers got tricked by the opposition. #HandsOffVenezuela pic.twitter.com/MdZvzI3K0a
Barbados Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration Secretary General, David Denny, rejected Tuesday the right-wing coup attempt against Venezuela's constitutional government and stressed that this violent action is backed by the U.S. government and its regional allies.
“Our movement calls on the Caribbean governments, trade union leader, youth leaders and women organisations leaders to condemn Juan Guaido's coup attempt, which is supported by the U.S., against the Venezuelan peaceful government and people... Long live the Bolivarian people’s revolution”, Denny said.
UPDATE: 12:52 pm
According to the Russian news agency Tass, President Vladimir Putin met the National Security Council to discuss Tuesday's situation in Venezuela.
"The meeting’s participants paid much attention to the situation in Venezuela in light of the news about an attempted coup," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted.
“We stand on principles supporting political and civilized ways to resolve domestic differences among Venezuelan citizens. We call on all international community members, including [Venezuela’s] closest neighbors, to reaffirm their adherence to the UN Charter and the international law norms and principles, and to support the return of Venezuela to a stable and progressive development path through the dialogue of all the country’s responsible political forces.”
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked for “maximum restraint” in Venezuela to avoid violence, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told international media.
"The Secretary-General urges all sides to exercise maximum restraint and he appeals to all stakeholders to avoid any violence and take immediate steps to restore calm," Dujarric said and added that Guterres was available to mediate if required.
Uruguay's Communist Party expressed its solidarity with President Nicolas Maduro and requested that the Montevideo Mechanism countries -which include Uruguay, Bolivia and Mexico- act immediately to prevent any further attack to Venezuela.
"In several countries, there have been tests of coup attempts. Once the alignment of the forces is verified, those tests have materialized. Therefore, we call on all democratic and peace supporting forces... to remain alert and firm in solidarity."
The Russian Foreign Ministry, which issued Tuesday a press released commenting on Venezuela’s situation, stated that the Guaido-led opposition is provoking public disorder.
“Venezuela's radical opposition has once again turned to power methods of confrontation. Instead of a peaceful settlement of political contradictions, the course was taken to incite conflict,” the text says, as reported by RT.
Russian diplomats called on protesters to avoid unrest and bloodshed, for “any action should be taken exclusively within the framework of the law."
The Russian Foreign Ministry also asked mainstream media not to spread “fake news” or become "political forces’ obedient tools.”
Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino gave a press conference to narrate how today's attempted coup in Venezuela had occurred.
"This is a cowardly, terrorist act and an attempted coup d'état of a very small magnitude," he said and stressed that Guaido's far-right forces "have tricked a group of men with hijacked vehicles of our national guard to commit a terrorist act."
Minister Padrino also mentioned that the Bolivarian militia reacted immediately to the coup attempt and "their commanders put themselves at the head of their troops to reject a cowardly act."
UPDATE: 11:50 am
Zambia’s Socialist Party condemned the coup attempt against the Bolivarian Revolution and reaffirmed its support to President Maduro's redistributive policies.
“Having failed over the years to kill the leadership and destroy the gains of the Bolivarian Revolution, the U.S. is now desperately turning to rogues in the army to do their dirty job. As it is to be expected, the greatest majority of the troops and all commanders are loyal to the people, the Constitution and their homeland. Commandant Nicolas Maduro is the undisputed constitutional President of Venezuela.”
The African party also pointed out the real reasons behind the so-called “Operation Liberty”, namely, the "imperial" desire to plunder Venezuelan natural resources.
“The U.S. and European imperialist powers, plus their representatives in Venezuela, have plundered that country for centuries. The Bolivarian Revolution reversed that plunder and redistributed the wealth to its people. This is against the logic of capitalist plunder. This is the reason why today a coup is underway – to deny the Venezuelan masses their regained sovereignty and dignity.”
UPDATE: 11: 30 am
During an interview with RT, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said that "the U.S. has been behind all the coup attempts in Venezuela since 2001." This time, however, the U.S. is not "behind" but rather "in front of" the attempted coup.
"It has been demonstrated that the craft of this coup is from the U.S. and that it is they who are financing and promoting the coup", he said and further explained, speaking more accurately, that the new coup attempt began on Jan. 23, when the opposition congressman Juan Guaido illegally self-proclaimed Venezuela's "interim president" and the U.S. government supported such claim.
Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrad presented through twitter his country's stance regarding the coup d'etat which opposition Juan Guaido tried to carry out this Tuesday morning.
"The Mexican government is following closely the Venezuelan ongoing situation and is concerned about a possible escalation of violence. Mexico reiterates its commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the crisis... Through the Foreign Affairs Ministry, consultations are being held with the other sixteen Montevideo Mechanism countries in order to find a common route."
UPDATE 11:20 am
teleSUR's correspondents spoke to the Chavistas gathering at the Miraflores palace in support of President Maduro and in rejection of the coup.
#Venezuelans defend constitutional President @NicolasMaduro #HandsOffVenezuela pic.twitter.com/7LmZEbDfN3
Jose Arnelas, the Chief of the Operational Strategic Command (CEOFAN), which is the highest command organ of the National Armed Forces, confirmed his support of the constitutional government and the Chavista revolutionary legacy.
"As a soldier of this country who remains attached to my supreme commander Hugo Chavez’ legacy, I reaffirm my absolute loyalty to my Chief commander Nicolas Maduro. Today, more than ever, we, the National Bolivarian Armed Forces will defeat those who seek to break the Republic's peace. Overcome."
As a Soldier of this Homeland, I REAFFIRM my #AbsoluteLoyalty to my General Commander @NicolasMaduro and also to the legacy of my Supreme Commander #HugoChavez . Today more than ever in the FANB we will OVERCOME against those who seek to break the Peace of the Republic. SUCCEED. https://t.co/6irjpnf1af
Venezuela’s President of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) Diosdado Cabello joined the Bolivarian people who were supporting President Nicolas Maduro outside the ANC building.
"We are a conscious, warrior and revolutionary people. Imperialism can understand it however it wants, but to the Palace of Miraflores they will never return," he said.
#HandsOffVenezuela | President of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) of Venezuela @dcabellor: "We are a conscious, warrior and revolutionary people. Imperialism can understand it however it wants, but to the Palace of Miraflores they will never return. 10:30am Local time. pic.twitter.com/j3zUNjUVsO
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) 30 de abril de 2019
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza responded to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's tweet by showing that he is assuming a "leadership role of the coup attempt. In the name of God, he calls for violence, destruction and death. Is that being a good Christian? The People of Venezuela and their Bolivarian Armed Forces are a guarantee of peace and respect for the Constitution."
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) countries strongly rejected attempts to violate the constitutional order in Venezuela and pointed out that the events are "clearly a coup attempt sponsored and prompted by the Venezuelan far-right radical forces acting in complicity with the historical enemies of Latin American countries' independence and sovereignty."
The ALBA countries called on the Latin American peoples to defend their independence and sovereignty.
Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's claims supporting "Operation Freedom," which is the code name used to disguising the U.S. backed military action in the Latin American country.
"The puppet chosen by the empire and its ally governments only serve to ridiculously be the image in beauty covers but with its devilish face! The brave people of Bolívar and Chávez are with the constitutional Venezuelan President @NicolasMaduro we will overcome!"
Vice President Rodriguez also pointed out "in a shameless and immoral way, the U.S. government recognizes its authorship in this criminal coup attempt against Venezuela! They're showing the world their desire to destroy our Homeland! The Venezuelan people will continue defeating the imperial aggressions in peace! "
The puppet chosen by the empire and its ally governments only serve to ridiculously be the image in beauty covers but with its devilish face! The brave people of Bolívar and Chávez are with the constitutional Venezuelan President @NicolasMaduro we will overcome! https://t.co/wY2VhXyg7u
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro informed the people that the leaders of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela remain loyal to the revolutionary process.
"Nerves of steel! I have spoken with the Commanders of all the country's regions and zones of comprehensive military defense. They have manifested their full loyalty to the people, the Constitution and the Homeland. I summon the people’s supreme mobilization to ensure the victory of peace. We will win!" he twitted.
Nerves of steel! I have talked with the Commanders of all the REDI and ZODI of the Country, who have manifested their total loyalty to the People, to the Constitution and to the Homeland. I call on a maximum popular mobilization to ensure a Peace victory. We shall overcome! https://t.co/aPY9duXOuT
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro called a ministerial emergency meeting to analyze the Venezuelan situation, according to Vice President Hamilton Mourao.
Regarding the coup attempt by opposition congressman Guaido, the Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo said he "expects the Venezuelan military to be part of the democratic transition process... we have to see the dimension of this. Brazil supports the democratic transition process."
teleSUR's correspondent in Venezuela delivers an update on what happens on Caracas streets. Venezuelan Mayor General denies takeover of La Carlota Air Base.
#HandsOffVenezeula | Venezuelan major general denies takeover of La Carlota Air Base. Follow @madeleintlSUR for more live updates. pic.twitter.com/aj3LuVMGYE
Peru's Foreign Minister reported that President Martin Vizcarra administration supports the Guaido-led coup attempt in Venezuela and is calling an emergency meeting of The Lima Group.
"We fully support interim president Juan Guaido in his struggle to recover democracy in Venezuela. The Maduro’s usurping, dictatorial regime must come to an end ... Peru and the Lima Group are closely following the situation in Venezuela with a view to summon an emergency meeting."
Chile's President Sebastian Piñera supports the coup attempt which is led by opposition congressman Juan Guaido.
"We reiterate our full support for President Guaido and democracy in Venezuela. The Maduro dictatorship must end with the Venezuelan people's peaceful force and within the constitutional frame. This will restore liberties, democracy, human rights and progress in Venezuela."
UPDATE 9:35 am
Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General Luis Almagro welcomed the "military’s adhesion" to the coup attempt in Venezuela, led by Juan Guaido.
"We welcome the adhesion of the military to the Constitution and the President in charge of Venezuela Juan Guaido. It is necessary to fully support the process of democratic transition in a peaceful way, "Almagro said.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza delivered a response to Almagro:
The GENERAL HITMAN sponsors and promotes the attempted coup in Venezuela. The OAS has always opted for violence and coups, ignoring and violating the fundamental principles of International Law and the Charter of the #OAS https://t.co/FzV6ihcUjz
The United States government has come out in support of the coup in Venezuela.
.@SecPompeo hace un alarde de diplomacia, al promover y financiar un golpe de Estado violento en Venezuela. La obsesión de Washington por controlar la riqueza petrolera venezolana, los lleva de torpeza en torpeza. Subestiman al Pueblo de Simón Bolívar. #TrumpHandsOffVenezuela https://t.co/IzwG01W2s4
Today interim President Juan Guaido announced start of Operación Libertad. The U.S. Government fully supports the Venezuelan people in their quest for freedom and democracy. Democracy cannot be defeated. #EstamosUnidosVE
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) April 30, 2019
The Mexican government has issued a statement saying it was worried about the escalation of Violence in Venezuela and a possibility of bloodshed. It also called for resuming peace dialogue efforts that were agreed on in Montevideo.
Bolivian President Evo Morales and Cuban President Diaz-Canel issued statements rejecting the military coup attempt in Venezuela.
We strongly condemn the attempted coup in #Venezuela, by the right wing that is submissive to foreign interests. Sure that the courageous Bolivarian Revolution at the head of the brother @NicolasMaduro, will be imposed on this new attack of the empire. https://t.co/m57KYHxoU2
We reject this coup which pretends to fill the country with violence. The traitors who have placed themselves at the forefront of this subversive movement have used troops and police with war weapons on a public road in the city to create anxiety and terror. #HandsOffVenezuela https://t.co/rSRJyhfwJZ
Country's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino rejected the coup attempt and said that the country's legitimate military forces would respond to any attempt to overthrow the government of Nicolas Maduro.
"We reject this coup movement that aims to fill the country with violence. The pseudo-political leaders who have placed themselves at the forefront of this subversive movement have used troops and police with weapons of war on a public road in the city to create anxiety and terror."
The FANB stands firm in defense of the National Constitution and its legitimate authorities. All the military units deployed in the eight Integral Defense Regions report normalcy in their barracks and military bases, under the command of their natural commanders. https://t.co/jidvJkLwmF
Following Guaido's plea, the Venezuelan Vice President of Communications, Jorge Rodriguez, tweeted that the military is confronting a group of traitors seeking to promote a coup d'Etat.
"We inform to Venezuelan people that we are currently confronting and deactivating a small group of traitors in our military personnel who positioned themselves in the Altamira Distributor to promote a Coup d'Etat against the Constitution and the peace of the Republic."
Informamos al pueblo de Venezuela que en estos momentos estamos enfrentando y desactivando a un reducido grupo de efectivos militares traidores que se posicionaron en el Distribuidor Altamira para promover un Golpe de Estado contra la Constitución y la paz de la República... 1/2
— Jorge Rodríguez (@jorgerpsuv) April 30, 2019
President of the National Constituent Assembly of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, denied the capture of the Carlota Air Base, after a small group of soldiers appeared to be supporting the Guaido coup.
"No military installation has been violated in the country, they are on the street in the Altamira Distributor and we are directing operations from the Carlota Air Base," he explained. Likewise, the national government has called on the Venezuelan people to move to Miraflores to reject the coup attempt.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza rejected the statements of the OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro, whom he accused of sponsoring and promoting the coup d'état against President Nicolas Maduro.
"The OAS Hitman-General sponsors and promotes coup attempt in Venezuela. The OAS has always opted for violence and coups, ignoring and violating the fundamental principles of International Law and the OAS Charter" said Arreaza, after Almagro backed the uprising attempt which has been undertaken by the opposition deputy Juan Guaido.
Venezuela Guaido Coup in Venezuela Guaido coup in Venezuela Defense Minister rejects coup
teleSUR-Tass-VTV-Reuters
by teleSUR/LA-MH-jc/EF
Venezuela Slams Latest 'False Flag' Attempt by Duque Gov't
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Russian Intel: West 'Tearing Apart' Venezuela Like Syria, Libya
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This undated photo provided by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Cincinnati shows Brian Rini. A day of false hope has given way to questions about why Rini would claim to be an Illinois boy who disappeared eight years ago. The FBI declared Rini’s story a hoax Thursday, April 4, 2019, one day after he identified himself to authorities as Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in 2011 at age 6. (Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Trial date set for man accused of impersonating long lost U.S. boy
Police in Newport, Kentucky, say Rini claimed April 3 to be Timmothy Pitzen, who would now be 14
A federal judge has set a June 24 trial date for the 23-year-old man charged with impersonating a long-missing child.
U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati scheduled pretrial conferences May 14 and June 13 in the case of Brian Michael Rini of Medina, Ohio.
Rini pleaded not guilty Friday to two counts of lying to federal agents and one of aggravated identity theft. The false statements charges carry possible sentences of up to eight years in prison and the ID theft would mean at least two years with conviction. Rini is being held without bond.
Police in Newport, Kentucky, say Rini claimed April 3 to be Timmothy Pitzen, who would now be 14, and that he escaped captors who sexually abused him. The Aurora, Illinois, boy disappeared in 2011.
READ MORE: Police confirm teen is not a Cincinnati boy missing since 2011
READ MORE: Cincinnati man’s claim gives false hope in years-long missing boy case
READ MORE: Man who claimed to be missing Illinois boy has twice made similar claims: FBI
Canadian killed in Mexico, consular officials assisting family: Global Affairs
Bodies of 3 mountain climbers recovered after last week’s Banff avalanche
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Question of the Week | May 9
Are you satisfied with the school district’s response to the shuffle of school administrators?
Quinn Bender
Suwilaawks Community School parents want to know why its principal of eight years is getting moved back to the classroom this fall.
Pam Kawinsky is one of three administrators in Terrace moving back to a teaching position but a school district release posted on its website gave no detail as to the reasons why.
In an emailed statement, the district said superintendent Katherine McIntosh understands parents and students are disappointed with the staffing changes, but they are common to all school districts for a variety of reasons.
“Staffing changes result from a careful consideration of many factors and circumstances which require that the confidentiality and privacy of all staff involved or impacted be respected,” reads the statement.
“You can be assured that the best interests of our students and the school district as a whole guides staffing decisions that are made from time to time.”
FULL STORY: ‘It shocked everyone’: Suwilaawks parents angry over district’s principal change-up
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ELT in Greece: What has actually changed? - Report on Dr. Marina Mattheoudakis's Plenary Talk
On the second full day of the 24th Annual TESOL Macedonia Thrace Convention, Dr. Marina Mattheoudakis delivered a highly energizing Plenary Talk to a full house in the Bissell Library, American College of Thessaloniki. Dr. Mattheoudakis’ warm and dynamic speaking style immediately engaged her audience, and her highly informative presentation kept us all engaged throughout her talk.
photo by Vassiliki Mandalou
Dr. Mattheoudakis began by explaining that foreign language instruction in Greek state schools is conceptualized within a more encompassing E.U. language policy, which advocates pluralingualism through foreign language education. The E.U. initiative aims to promote lifelong learning, to strengthen creativity and to encourage entrepreneurialism in Europe through a program of high quality foreign language instruction. Despite these worthy goals, however, recent legislation in the Greek Parliament seems to undermine their long-term viability. As a response to this dilemma, Dr. Mattheoudakis suggested the possibility of classroom-based educational change which recognizes the crucial role of teachers as agents of change in a bottom-up grassroots reform movement.
Dr. Mattheoudakis then provided a historical overview of foreign language instruction in Greece, and the special role of English as a foreign language within this scenario. Although Greek public policy of 1832 required foreign language instruction in all public schools, it wasn’t until 1945 that EFL was adopted as part of the secondary school curriculum. Beginning in the 1960’s, several academics, such as Professors Efstathiadis and Tokatlidou in Thessaloniki, and Professor Dendrinos in Athens, lobbied for improved foreign language instruction in Greek state schools. As a result of such efforts, by the 1990’s the number of contact hours was increased in all state foreign language classrooms, and high quality classroom instruction was prioritized.
Continuing this innovative agenda, the National Curriculum for Foreign Languages of 2011 required that all foreign languages must be taught with analogous approaches, and the number of contact hours was increased from three to four hours per week. However, the National Curriculum was never fully implemented, and in fact, recent years have seen a reduction of contact hours in foreign language classrooms in Greece. Dr. Mattheoudakis then summarized recent legislation in the Greek parliament from 2016-2017 which seems to undermine the ability of teachers to deliver quality foreign language instruction. She also reported that not surprisingly, the vast majority of learners do not trust the state educational system and thus seek instruction outside of the state system.
photo Vassiliki Mandalou
As a response to this disjunction, Dr. Mattheoudakis suggested a more pro-active approach which foregrounds the crucial role of classroom teachers in bringing about change. By working more closely with the parents of their students, teachers can help to counter the negative effects of recent legislation on student learning. For example, teachers can help parents understand that a heavy emphasis on exam scores rather than innovative instruction negatively affects students’ ability to develop genuine language proficiency. Students should be encouraged to develop fluency, rather than accuracy, and parents should support their children’s efforts to develop fluency and communicative competence in foreign languages.
Teachers in public schools can also work to upgrade their teaching in a number of ways. For example, teachers can find ways to use social media and other technologies more regularly in their teaching. Teachers can also make learning more relevant to students by connecting their learning objectives to students’ lives and priorities outside of the school context. By making instruction appealing to students, teachers can create more meaningful learning experiences for their students. In this way, teachers become active agents of change, rather than passive consumers of a state-generated curriculum which foregrounds test results at the expense of active learning.
Dr. Mattheoudakis ended her talk by reminding teachers that ultimately, each one of us has the power to shape what happens in our respective classrooms. In particular, teachers can counter the trickle-down effects of a weakened economy by introducing educational innovation to upgrade their teaching practice, wherever and whenever possible. As Dr. Mattheoudakis reminded us in her closing statement, “If you want changes in public education, you must be the agent of change.”
Report by Linda Manney
Interview with Marina Mattheoudakis by Linda Manney
24th TESOL Macedonia Thrace Convention Report by E...
ELT in Greece: What has actually changed? - Report...
Trendy terms, tantalizing techniques and talented ...
The Importance of Being (an) Earnest (Peer-Assesso...
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The Stuff of Life: Jasper Conran Porcelain and Other Amazon Finds
I am constantly amazed at the useful and stylish stuff that is available on Amazon—way beyond books, music, and electronics. There are obvious design treasures like the fine bone china pitcher by Jasper Conran (a perfect wedding gift) or a cowhide rug (below) seen in so many chic interiors these days. But what we love most is to see what we can find on the unexpected sectors of the site, like "Scientific and Industrial," where we find all sorts of things that we use in ways they weren't intended for...
...like oddly-shaped glass laboratory vessels that we uses as flower vases. These Pyrex long-neck flasks come in sizes ranging from a tiny 50 milliliters to 1000 milliliters and higher:
I use glass beakers for flowers, mixing drinks, and storing food. This starter set is a steal at $26.37:
When I worked in restaurants, I made big batches of aioli by hand in a big porcelain "labware" mortar and pestle like this one, that holds 1000 milliliters, about four cups. (The inside is rough to help the process of crushing and pureeing.)
The "Metals" section of "Scientific and Industrial" always gets my imagination going (check out the Metal Finder at the top of the page to get an idea of possibilities).
I wonder how four-by-four-inch squares of aluminum or copper (left beautifully tarnished) would work as coasters....
...or what I could do with a roll of stainless steel foil that can be "cut, folded, and crease-sealed with ease":
I discovered that there's such a thing as a 10 X 8 X 6 Open Angle Plate (used by machinists and auto hobbyists) that would make a wonderful modern bookend or doorstop, or could work as vertical struts for make shift bookshelves. (They could probably be found second-hand.)
And then there's that rug, which you can buy here.
More Stuff of Life:
Please use a JavaScript-enabled device to view this slideshow
Images: Amazon
Sally Schneider writes The Improvised Life, a lifestyle blog about improvising as a daily practice. Her cookbook The Improvisational Cook is now out in paperback.
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GO-AHEAD GIVEN
First ‘three-parent babies’ could be born in UK this year as docs secure licence to perform controversial IVF
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has granted a licence to the University of Newcastle, allowing doctors there to perform mitochondrial donation
By Lizzie Parry, Digital Health Editor
Updated: 16 Mar 2017, 14:28
THE first "three-parent" babies could be born in the UK this year after doctors were given the go-ahead to start performing controversial new IVF therapy.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has granted a licence to a team at the University of Newcastle, who have pioneered the new treatment.
The first 'three-parent- babies could be born in the UK as early as next year, after experts approved a new IVF treatment to eliminate inherited diseasesCredit: Getty Images
Last year American doctors, led by Dr John Zhang, delivered the world's first "three-parent" baby in Mexico. The little boy was born free from the inherited disease his mum carried
HFEA chair Sally Cheshire announced the development in her opening speech at the authority's annual conference this morning.
She said: "This significant decision represents the culmination of many years of hard work by researchers, clinical experts, and regulators, who collectively paved the way for Parliament to change the law in 2015, to permit the use of such techniques.
"Patients will now be able to apply individually to the HFEA to undergo mitochondrial donation treatment at Newcastle, which will be life-changing for them, as they seek to avoid passing on serious genetic diseases to future generations."
The treatment has the potential to allow couples who carry, and therefore risk passing on, deadly genetic diseases to conceive healthy babies.
Though it is dubbed a "three-parent" treatment, babies born as a result of the therapy would only inherit personality traits, those that affect appearance and other features that make a person unique, from their mum and dad - not the donor.
The move comes after the HFEA gave the therapy, called mitochondrial donation, the green light in December last year.
Speaking after that historical decision, Mrs Cheshire said: "This is life-changing for those families."
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But critics have warned it marks the first step towards so-called "designer babies".
The NHS is now poised to spend £8million offering the IVF to 25 couples.
The licence is the first stage of the process, and gives the Newcastle clinic the green light to perform the procedure.
The second stage requires each patient application to be individually approved by the HFEA, they confirmed.
Earlier this year the first baby to be born using the technique was welcomed into the world by his parents in Mexico.
The baby boy was born in April after his parents, who are from Jordan, were treated by a team of American specialists in the country.
Scientists at the University of Newcastle, which has been at the forefront of pioneering the treatment, have already lined up women to have the therapy, known as mitochondrial replacement therapy.
The team hopes to treat up to 25 women a year with NHS funding.
Prof Sir Doug Turnbull, who has led the team at Newcastle in developing the new IVF therapy, said he is "delighted for patients".
"This will allow women with mitochondria DNA mutations the opportunity for more reproductive choice," he said.
"Mitochondria diseases can be devastating for families affected and this is a momentous day for patients who have tirelessly campaigned for this decision."
He said in December, his team will aim to treat up to 25 "carefully selected" patients each year, and would offer follow-up care for any children born.
Scientists at the University of Newcastle, which has been at the forefront of pioneering the treatment, hope to treat up to 25 women a year (file image)Credit: Getty Images
Fertility experts across the UK also welcomed the development.
Professor Adam Balen, chair of the British Fertility Society, said the granting of a licence to the Newcastle centre "marks a historical step towards eradicating genetic diseases".
The decision is the latest step in a 10-year process from the first proof of concept studies.
Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, who funds the centre for mitochondrial research at Newcastle said: "Affected couples in the UK who have dreamt of having a baby free of mitochondrial disease will have an option open to them for the first time," he said.
"Now we must give the first patients and their doctors the time and space to discuss the next steps with the patience, sensitivity and scientific rigour that they have displayed throughout."
Fertility clinics in the UK will not automatically be given the right to offer the treatment.
Rather, each clinic will have to apply to the HFEA for permission to do so.
Credit: The Sun
Prof Balen said given their pivotal role in developing the treatment the Centre for Life at Newcastle University is likely to be the only centre approved to offer the therapy.
The pioneering therapy aims to prevent potentially fatal diseases being passed from parents to their offspring.
Babies receiving mitochondrial replacement therapy would receive a tiny amount of DNA from a third person besides their mother and father.
Fertility specialists carrying out the treatment will aim to replace abnormal genes in the mitochondria - small structures that are found in every human cell.
HOW DOES THIS NEW TREATMENT WORK?
Mitochondria are small structures found in our cells.
They generate energy that is used to power every part of our body.
Mitochondria have their own DNA, which only controls mitochondrial function and energy production, according to the Wellcome Trust.
This is completely separate from our nuclear DNA, which is what makes us who we are, governing our appearance and personality.
Mitochondrial disease can be fatal, affecting multiple organs.
It includes diabetes, heart problems, epilepsy and stroke-like incidents, and in serious cases death.
Mitochondrial DNA disease is passed from mother to baby.
The new mitochondrial donation technique, uses DNA from the mitochondria of a healthy donor, the nucleus of a mother's egg and a father's sperm to create an embryo.
The technique allows for those women who carry potentially fatal genetic mutations to have healthy babies.
As the nuclear DNA is not altered, mitochondrial donation will not affect a child's appearance or personality or any other features that make a person unique.
It simply allows for a child to be free of mitochondrial disease.
Source: The Wellcome Trust
To do so involves taking the DNA from the mother's egg that bears the faulty genes, and transferring it into a donor egg, with healthy mitochondria.
Because the nucleus from the mother's egg is used the technique does not affect the baby's appearance, personality, or other traits that make a person unique.
It simply allows the mitochondria - which only controls a cell's energy production - to function normally, allowing a child to be born free of mitochondrial disease, which can prove fatal.
Mitochondria only hold around 0.1 per cent of a person's DNA, which is always inherited from the mother and has no influence over individual characteristics.
The new treatment was pioneered by experts at Newcastle University's Centre for LifeCredit: Alamy
But faulty mitochondrial DNA can lead to a wide range of potentially fatal conditions affecting vital organs, muscles, vision, growth and mental ability.
In theory, mitochondrial replacement can not only prevent a child developing inherited diseases, but also protect future generations.
Last year, the UK became the first country in the world to legalise mitochondrial replacement after MPs and peers voted in favour of allowing it.
Critics say the technique is not fool-proof and small numbers of faulty mitochondria may still be "carried over" into the child.
They also argue that unforeseen problems might occur once the procedure is used to create human babies.
For instance, replacing the DNA might have more of an impact on personal traits than has been envisaged.
Dr David King, from the watchdog group Human Genetics Alert, said the HFEA had approved "experiments on babies" using the technology that was "dangerous and medically unnecessary".
He accused experts backing the treatments of "shameless emotional blackmail and scientific misrepresentations".
Dr King added: "This decision opens the door to the world of GM (genetically modified) designer babies."
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Najib files application to stay trial scheduled on Tuesday
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak was re-charged on three counts involving money laundering amounting to RM47m at the sessions court on Feb 8, 2019. — Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak filed an application to stay his trial relating to charges over SRC International Sdn Bhd funds, which is scheduled to commence on Tuesday (Feb 12).
His lawyer, Harvinderjit Singh, told reporters that the stay application was filed at the Court of Appeal registry today together with a certificate of urgency.
Najib sought to stay the trial relating to his seven corruption charges over funds amounting to RM42 million belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd, pending the outcome of the appellate court’s decision of his appeal relating to the withdrawal of a certificate of transfer by the public prosecutor.
High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali yesterday allowed an application by Attorney-General Tommy Thomas to withdraw the certificate to transfer the seven charges against Najib from the sessions court to the High Court.
Najib subsequently filed the appeal to the Court of Appeal yesterday in a bid to set aside the High Court ruling granting the public prosecutor to withdraw the certificate of transfer.
On July 4 last year, the 66-year old Pekan MP was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one charge of abusing his position over SRC International funds amounting to RM42 million.
On Aug 8 last year, he was charged with three counts of money laundering involving the same amount of money. — Bernama
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Filepix taken on June 26 shows MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya (center) — BBXpress
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Picture used for representational purposes only. - Reuters
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Picture used for representational purposes only. - BBX
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Perak to build houses costing as low as RM20,000 each
Picture used for representative purposes only. — Bernama
SERI ISKANDAR: The Perak government will provide affordable homes for as low as RM20,000 for low-income households (B40) to enable them to own their own homes through a new housing policy to be implemented soon.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said under the new policy the state government, through the Perak Housing and Property Board, would finance the construction of affordable housing from development costs imposed on housing developers following pre-defined terms.
“We really want to help the B40 group especially Bumiputera have their own home although it is a bit of a bold decision made by the state government.
“This policy also needs to be implemented too to address the problem of housing developers who are forced to suffer losses due to the unsold Bumiputera quota housing units in housing projects,“ he said.
He was speaking to reporters after officiating the Iskandar University Square (IUS) @ Seri Iskandar Sustainable and Integrated Development Project developed by Team Keris Berhad, here today.
Earlier, Ahmad Faizal, in his speech at the event, said the issue of a widening income gap among the people under the previous government was a factor in the inability of the people in the state to own homes.
“We are not talking about the income gap between one race and another, but among Bumiputera themselves. The issue of affordable housing has become so complex and it requires the correction of various policies.”
Ahmad Faizal said within seven months since Pakatan Harapan took over the government, the state government had identified the locations and approved the construction of 30,000 low-cost houses, affordable homes and owner-friendly homes. — Bernama
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The Times & The Sunday Times Homepage
Wednesday July 17 2019 MIDDAY UPDATE
The ups and downs of Downing Street
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red box | matt chorley
The state of politics? Here’s what you need to know, prime minister
OK so politics is in a state. Lots of people have tried to explain why. Some people have gone as far as booking out regional theatres in an attempt to offer an explanation. But who is this coming into view? It is Theresa May...OK so politics is in a state. Lots of people have tried to explain why. Some people have gone as far as booking out regional theatres in an attempt to offer an explanation. But who is this coming into view? It is Theresa May...OK so politics is in a state. Lots of people have tried to explain why. Some people have gone as far as booking out...
RED BOX | Natalia Galibarenko and Dr Andrew Foxall
Five years after MH17 was shot down, Russian aggression continues
Five years ago today, Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was destroyed over eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board were killed. The downing of MH17 took place in the early stages of Russia’s proxy war in Ukraine, which rages to...Five years ago today, Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was destroyed over eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board were killed. The downing of MH17 took place in the early stages of Russia’s proxy war in Ukraine, which rages to...Five years ago today, Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was destroyed over eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board were...
RED BOX | ROS ALTMANN
Suspending parliament would be the act of a despot — we must fight back
RED BOX | EIGHT TORY MPS
As former Remainers, we want to see Brexit by the end of October
The Red Box podcast
What did Theresa May ever do for us?
RED BOX | ADAM MCDONNELL
Brexit Party voters think they’ll win an election. Lib Dems don’t
RED BOX | JAMES KIRKUP
It’s a good thing we’re living longer but we need to be prepared
Rising rents risk forcing pensioners out of homes
Returning to work may help mothers beat memory loss
Closing private schools will cost millions, Labour is told
Private schools are writing to Labour councils setting out the millions of pounds that it would cost taxpayers if they were closed. The fightback is in response to a campaign, Labour Against Private Schools (Laps), that uses...Private schools are writing to Labour councils setting out the millions of pounds that it would cost taxpayers if they were closed. The fightback is in response to a campaign, Labour Against Private Schools (Laps), that uses...Private schools are writing to Labour councils setting out the millions of pounds that it would cost taxpayers if...
Warning over decline of village primaries
Small village primaries are dying out as the number of supersize schools with more than 600 pupils rises, data shows. In 1980 there were 11,464 primaries in England with 200 or fewer pupils but by last year the figure was 5,406.Small village primaries are dying out as the number of supersize schools with more than 600 pupils rises, data shows. In 1980 there were 11,464 primaries in England with 200 or fewer pupils but by last year the figure was 5,406.Small village primaries are dying out as the number of supersize schools with more than 600 pupils rises, data shows.
Beachgoer crushed to death by falling rocks
Mother of soldier drowned on kayak exercise awarded £½m
British storks set for return to wild
In pictures: Lundy island
Cooped-up border collies take to the therapy sofa
Trans man who gave birth loses fight for anonymity
Undercover Bobby spied on Stephen Lawrence campaign
Night rapist preys on waitresses and bar workers returning home
Fears about sex crime treatment were ignored
Small cash incentive helps smokers to quit
Rail firm facing £1m fine for man killed leaning out
Fat Controller required to stop political meddling
‘Thousands miss out on life‑saving stroke care’
Netflix suicide scene cut after deaths surge
Carol Midgley
Kate Winslet is the very definition of middle class
TIMES2
Anna Murphy
Why I’m packing long and loose for my summer holiday
Meet the ex-Vogue editor changing how the wealthy shop
Theatres of dreams
The venues with 2,000 seats that can be put up anywhere
Times Daily Quiz
Fifteen questions to get you thinking. Tell us how you did
We’re cheering you on, singer tells Sussexes
British Museum trustee quits with attack on BP sponsorship
How movie night helps chimps (and humans) bond
Sometimes the simplest socialising is best: gather round the TV, sit in companionable silence and watch a film. Well...Sometimes the simplest socialising is best: gather round the TV, sit in companionable silence and...Sometimes the simplest socialising is best: gather round the TV, sit in companionable silence and...
the times diary
Lord’s but no ladies for India
Good news for Indian cricket fans disappointed by Sunday’s result: their captain will lift the World Cup at Lord’s...
Good news for Indian cricket fans disappointed by Sunday’s result: their captain will lift the...
For more pictures from The Times, follow us on InstagramFor more pictures from The Times, follow us on InstagramFor more pictures from The Times, follow us on Instagram
Moon mission put a rocket under the West
Daniel Finkelstein
Proving the West’s superiority over the USSR justified the lunar landings far more than scientific or military gains
In the next war, we’ll need the Royal Marines
ALICE THOMSON
Compromise is a strength, not a weakness
MATTHEW PARRIS
The real fun starts before the festival even begins
SARA TOR
At last, a shoebox fit for the young
Neil O’Brien
Shutting small schools is bad for our children
Small schools are an endangered species. In 1980 there were 11,464 English primary schools with 200 or fewer pupils. By 2018 that had shrunk to only 5,406. Over the same period, the number of primaries with more than 600 pupils increased from 49...Small schools are an endangered species. In 1980 there were 11,464 English primary schools with...Small schools are an endangered species. In 1980 there were 11,464 English primary schools with...
Leading Articles
Election Fever
The Tory leadership contenders have hardened their position on Brexit, making no-deal more likely and increasing the risk of an early general election
Silent Killer
Michael Gove’s pledge on the right to clean air is welcome. But will it stick?
Welcome, Storks
The big birds are to be reintroduced in Britain, after half a millennium’s absence
Tackling dementia with research and the arts
Sir, I read with empathetic frustration your articles on dementia (“Wearing a hearing aid can help elderly stave off dementia”, and “Delaying Dementia”, leading article, Jul 16) and agree that people deserve more breakthroughs and better treatments.Sir, I read with empathetic frustration your articles on dementia (“Wearing a hearing aid can...Sir, I read with empathetic frustration your articles on dementia (“Wearing a hearing aid can...
Readers’ poll
Should the recreational use of cannabis be legalised?
Daily Universal Register
UK: The Conservative Party holds a final hustings event in London in the contest to succeed Theresa May as prime minister.
US: Donald Trump, the US president, and Mike Pence, the vice-president, hold a Keep America Great campaign rally in North Carolina.
In 709BC the oldest-surviving record of a solar eclipse observation was made in China; in 1918 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family were murdered by Bolshevik revolutionaries; in 1936 the Spanish generals Francisco Franco and Emilio Mola led the right-wing uprising that led to civil war; in 1945 British prime minister Winston Churchill, US president Truman and Soviet leader Stalin convened the Potsdam Conference to negotiate terms for the end of the Second World War; in 1975 Apollo and the Soviet Union’s Soyuz 19 linked up 140 miles above Earth and commanders Tom Stafford and Alexei Leonov shook hands through the hatches of their spacecraft; in 1959 the first skull of early hominid Australopithecus boisei was discovered by Mary Leakey in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania, east Africa; in 1979 the first session of a directly elected European parliament started in Strasbourg, electing Simone Veil as its first president (obituary, July 1, 2017).
Bulrushes are now in flower at the edges of lakes and rivers, or scattered about among the reeds in reedbeds. The botanical name for them is great reedmace, and their female flower is the well-known, dark brown, sausage-shaped club, or mace, at the top of the tall stalk. Less often noticed is the male flower, a little yellow spike to be found at present on the top of the club. It soon dies away, but the velvety club remains until it breaks up into fluffy white seeds in spring. Beside shady ponds and streams, and also along damp woodland rides, is a tall rush-like plant called the great pendulous sedge. It grows in clumps, with broad, strap-shaped leaves. It has long, brownish-green flower spikes hanging from it, up to 6in long, and these sway elegantly in the breeze.
Derwent May
Baroness (Joyce) Anelay of St Johns, Exiting the European Union minister (2017), 72; Alun Armstrong, actor, New Tricks (2003-13), Year of the Rabbit, 73; Fern Britton, presenter, ITV’s This Morning (1999-2009), and author, Coming Home (2018), 62; Tim Brooke-Taylor, co-creator, The Goodies (1970-82) and panellist, I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, 79; Mark Burnett, TV producer, head of MGM Television, creator of The Apprentice, 59; Diahann Carroll, actress, Claudine (1974), and singer, 84; Duchess of Cornwall, 72; Spencer Davis, singer-songwriter, founder of the 1960s rock band the Spencer Davis Group, 80; Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, first minister of Northern Ireland (2016-17), 49; Baroness (Trixie) Gardner of Parkes, dentist and Conservative politician, 92; David Hasselhoff, actor, Knight Rider (1982-86), Baywatch (1989-2000, 2017), 67; John Hemingway, DFC, Ireland’s last-surviving Battle of Britain pilot, 85 Squadron Hurricanes, 100; Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, cellist, a surviving member of the Women’s Orchestra in Auschwitz, 94; Peter Manning, conductor, 63; Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, chairwoman, Christian Democratic Union (2000-18), 65; Charles Owen, concert pianist, co-founder of the London Piano Festival, 48; Lord (John) Patten, Conservative MP (1979-97), education secretary (1992-94), 74; Lord (Andrew) Robathan, Conservative MP (1992-2015), Northern Ireland minister (2013-14), 68; Craig Sams, co-founder of Green & Black’s chocolate, 75; Peter Sissons, former ITN, Channel 4 and BBC news presenter, 77; Wayne Sleep, principal dancer with the Royal Ballet (1973-83), choreographer and TV presenter, 71; Donald Sutherland, actor, M*A*S*H (1970), The Hunger Games film series (2013-15), 84; Bob Taylor, cricketer, England (1971-84), 78; Baroness (Pola) Uddin, community activist, 60.
Biden bids to stop Trump demonising Democrats
Joe Biden, who is leading polls to contest the presidential election next year, has suggested that the four congresswomen targeted by President Trump this week are fringe Democrats as he fought against attempts to portray his party as in thrall to the radical left. The former vice-president...Joe Biden, who is leading polls to contest the presidential election next year, has suggested that the four congresswomen targeted by President Trump this week are fringe Democrats as he fought against attempts to portray his party as in thrall to the radical left. The former vice-president...Joe Biden, who is leading polls to contest the presidential election next year, has suggested that the four congresswomen...
Unity won’t last in the face of this attack
President Trump’s extended Twitter attacks this week have succeeded where Nancy Pelosi failed — uniting the fractious Democratic Party in Congress. Generational splits over policy, personality and the urgency of starting impeachment proceedings were becoming deeper, with claims of racism thrown at Ms Pelosi last week by Alexandria...President Trump’s extended Twitter attacks this week have succeeded where Nancy Pelosi failed — uniting the fractious Democratic Party in Congress. Generational splits over policy, personality and the urgency of starting impeachment proceedings were becoming deeper, with claims of racism thrown at Ms Pelosi last week by Alexandria...President Trump’s extended Twitter attacks this week have succeeded where Nancy Pelosi failed — uniting the fractious...
Merkel’s heir takes defence job to rebuild support
The woman widely expected to be the next German chancellor was today made defence minister in an attempt to restore her credibility after a series of gaffes. The appointment of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer took Berlin by surprise because she had insisted that she wanted to stay out of government. She had planned to...The woman widely expected to be the next German chancellor was today made defence minister in an...The woman widely expected to be the next German chancellor was today made defence minister in an...
Gun shop that sold mass killer weapons opens ‘megastore’
US in talks with Russia on new nuclear arms deal
The United States and Russia will meet today to discuss the possibility of a three-way nuclear arms treaty, including China for the first time. The Trump administration has wavered at seeking an extension to New Start, the last...The United States and Russia will meet today to discuss the possibility of a three-way nuclear arms treaty, including China for the first time. The Trump administration has wavered at seeking an extension to New Start, the last...The United States and Russia will meet today to discuss the possibility of a three-way nuclear arms treaty, including...
Burma army chiefs face sanctions over Rohingya abuses
The US has imposed sanctions on a number of Burma’s army chiefs, which it says are responsible for the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in the country’s western Rakhine state. The sanctions, which affect the military’s...The US has imposed sanctions on a number of Burma’s army chiefs, which it says are responsible for the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in the country’s western Rakhine state. The sanctions, which affect the military’s...The US has imposed sanctions on a number of Burma’s army chiefs, which it says are responsible for the persecution of...
Turkey defies EU sanctions by sending fourth ship to hunt for gas off Cyprus
Busted: builders arrested for theft of Hadrian’s head
Greek shepherd ‘blamed porn for rape and murder of US scientist’
German population hits record 83m
Senior French minister quits over lobster dinner scandal
Notre Dame rebuild given official blessing
WORLD AT FIVE
French resistance foils Parisian plan for tallest towers in Europe
The tenants in the semi-derelict block are far outnumbered by invading squatters and rats. The 1970s building feels ghostly. Yet here, in the shadow of Paris’s glitzy La Défense business district, a handful of determined residents has taken on the...The tenants in the semi-derelict block are far outnumbered by invading squatters and rats. The...The tenants in the semi-derelict block are far outnumbered by invading squatters and rats. The...
Beijing ups its game on social media
Chinese diplomats have begun fighting fire with fire on social media to counter the dominance of the Trump administration and to broadcast Beijing’s policies to the West. Tweets from the ambassador to the United States, Cui...Chinese diplomats have begun fighting fire with fire on social media to counter the dominance of the Trump administration and to broadcast Beijing’s policies to the West. Tweets from the ambassador to the United States, Cui...Chinese diplomats have begun fighting fire with fire on social media to counter the dominance of the Trump...
Iran waives visas to lure Chinese tourists
Iran has become one of few countries to waive visa restrictions for the Chinese as Tehran seeks to shore up its sanctions-hit economy by luring a million new tourists. The move, which becomes official this month, is seen as a...Iran has become one of few countries to waive visa restrictions for the Chinese as Tehran seeks to shore up its sanctions-hit economy by luring a million new tourists. The move, which becomes official this month, is seen as a...Iran has become one of few countries to waive visa restrictions for the Chinese as Tehran seeks to shore up its...
Macron seeks answers after Tehran holds academic
Pyongyang nuclear test threat over US exercises
Great white shark drags fishermen for miles round Alcatraz
Russia linked to huge hack on tax agency
Penguins slip out for dinner at sushi bar
Dumped drugs risk creating ‘meth-gators’
Inflation pressures ease just as wages hit 11‑year high
Underlying inflation pressures are easing just as wage growth has hit an 11-year high, helping to raise household living standards, official figures show. The annual consumer prices index of inflation for June was unchanged at 2 per cent, with higher prices for clothing and food offset by lower...Underlying inflation pressures are easing just as wage growth has hit an 11-year high, helping to raise household living standards, official figures show. The annual consumer prices index of inflation for June was unchanged at 2 per cent, with higher prices for clothing and food offset by lower...Underlying inflation pressures are easing just as wage growth has hit an 11-year high, helping to raise household living...
Investors lose millions in Lendy collapse
Thousands of investors are facing losses of close to half the £152 million they put into a failed peer-to-peer lender that is being investigated for moving assets to related parties before its collapse. In the latest scandal to hit the “shadow savings” industry, administrators of Lendy, which went under in May, have warned investors that...Thousands of investors are facing losses of close to half the £152 million they put into a failed peer-to-peer lender that is being investigated for moving assets to related parties before its collapse. In the latest scandal to hit the “shadow savings” industry, administrators of Lendy, which went under in May, have warned investors that...Thousands of investors are facing losses of close to half the £152 million they put into a failed peer-to-peer lender that is...
London house prices fall 4.4%
House prices in London fell by 4.4 per cent in May — their sharpest fall in a decade. It was the 11th successive annual decline and the sharpest since August 2009. Across the country, average prices rose by 1.2 per cent in the year to May, down from 1.5 per cent in April, according to the Office for National...House prices in London fell by 4.4 per cent in May — their sharpest fall in a decade. It was the...House prices in London fell by 4.4 per cent in May — their sharpest fall in a decade. It was the...
GVC upbeat despite changes to gambling rules
Call for inquiry into Astrazeneca sale
Bribery acquittals deal fresh blow to Serious Fraud Office
business commentary
Winters feels heat but doesn’t get it
Bill Winters is brave to start slagging off his own shareholders. The Standard Chartered chief executive has been...Bill Winters is brave to start slagging off his own shareholders. The Standard Chartered chief...Bill Winters is brave to start slagging off his own shareholders. The Standard Chartered chief...
China will be top dog in a decade or so — but in a very divided world
The most important bit of economic news so far this week is that China’s growth rate was 6.2 per cent in the second...The most important bit of economic news so far this week is that China’s growth rate was 6.2 per...The most important bit of economic news so far this week is that China’s growth rate was 6.2 per...
Tesla staff ‘cut corners to meet targets’
Wall Street giants beat expectations
Oil giants fall as storm warning blows over
midweek money
Young adults fear they will be 40 before they buy first home
Novice investors believed Lendy was safe as houses
Property prices go down as well as up. Even a self-confessed novice investor like Jake Turnbull knows that. However, since a nationwide collapse in prices of more than 30 per cent seemed unlikely to the public sector worker, about four years ago...Property prices go down as well as up. Even a self-confessed novice investor like Jake Turnbull...Property prices go down as well as up. Even a self-confessed novice investor like Jake Turnbull...
Arcadia faces new court battle over restructuring
Albert Technologies to delist from Aim
Watches of Switzerland triples its profits
Property fund shuts door on investors wanting cash
Sterling tumbles to two-year low as fears of no-deal Brexit grow
Rio Tinto shaken by $1.9bn of ‘stability risks’ at copper mine
Astrazeneca chief should dig deep and pay former workers’ £12m redundancy
If Pascal Soriot, boss of Astrazeneca, is wondering what to do with the £11.4 million he was paid in 2018, here is an...If Pascal Soriot, boss of Astrazeneca, is wondering what to do with the £11.4 million he was paid...If Pascal Soriot, boss of Astrazeneca, is wondering what to do with the £11.4 million he was paid...
Your three-minute digest of top business stories
1 Wages grew at their fastest pace in more than a decade and the jobs market is still robust, according to figures...1 Wages grew at their fastest pace in more than a decade and the jobs market is still robust...1 Wages grew at their fastest pace in more than a decade and the jobs market is still robust...
Rate change is one in the eye for Hastings
Inmarsat deal on watchdog’s radar
Burberry is back by design
Burberry’s grand designs offer signs of promise
Ryanair will keep Max warnings to a minimum despite crashes
Vale agrees payouts to support dam victims
Aston Martin given some oomph by new model
The prospect of Aston Martin Lagonda’s first luxury SUV providing a boost to sales thrilled investors and triggered a...The prospect of Aston Martin Lagonda’s first luxury SUV providing a boost to sales thrilled...The prospect of Aston Martin Lagonda’s first luxury SUV providing a boost to sales thrilled...
Making jokes at your guests’ expense just isn’t cricket
The Department for International Trade pulled out all the stops for its delegates at yesterday’s India Day trade event.The Department for International Trade pulled out all the stops for its delegates at yesterday’s...The Department for International Trade pulled out all the stops for its delegates at yesterday’s...
Activist investor demands De La Rue chairman’s exit
AG Barr steels itself for slide in profits
Bitcoin falls after senators call Facebook delusional over libra
Analysts feel the love at ITV
The Open | Pete Cowen interview
‘Ban Matt Wallace, get rid of bunkers, make putts half a shot’
Pete Cowen flicks through his phone and reads the text that he sent to Gary Woodland after his first round since his US Open victory last month. “This sport will soon bring you down to earth and you’re only as good as your last game,” he says in his broad Yorkshire accent. “So you’d better get your finger out.” It is this brusque mastery of home truths that has helped...Pete Cowen flicks through his phone and reads the text that he sent to Gary Woodland after his...Pete Cowen flicks through his phone and reads the text that he sent to Gary Woodland after his...
Woods: Golf has never been the most important thing in my life
In case you had not noticed, we are not seeing as much of Tiger Woods as we used to. If you have not seen the world’s...In case you had not noticed, we are not seeing as much of Tiger Woods as we used to. If you have not seen the world’s most famous golfer in the flesh, then you had better hurry up and do so. Look for that fierce concentration. Look for that red shirt on a Sunday. Look for those characteristic body actions. Look for...In case you had not noticed, we are not seeing as much of Tiger Woods as we used to. If you have not seen the world’s most...
tour de france | David Walsh
‘Life isn’t much fun when you lie awake every night thinking you’re a failure’
Danger of winners losing focus, says emotional Strauss
Cricket World Cup | Matthew Syed
The diversity driving England’s World Cup success
Diversity. That is the word that jumps out when looking at England’s World Cup-winning cricket team. An Irish captain.Diversity. That is the word that jumps out when looking at England’s World Cup-winning cricket team.Diversity. That is the word that jumps out when looking at England’s World Cup-winning cricket team.
The fielding tweak that helped England land the World Cup
“Oh, thank God,” said Nathan Leamon when New Zealand won the toss in the World Cup final. It is, you might think, an...“Oh, thank God,” said Nathan Leamon when New Zealand won the toss in the World Cup final. It is...“Oh, thank God,” said Nathan Leamon when New Zealand won the toss in the World Cup final. It is...
The professional’s guide to playing the key holes at Portrush
Hole 5 White Rocks
382 yards, par 4
This is one of the most scenic holes on the course. A short par 4, the downhill tee shot makes it play even shorter and many players will be tempted to go for the green. However, there is out-of-bounds just...Hole 5 White Rocks
This is one of the most scenic holes on the course. A short...Hole 5 White Rocks
This is one of the most scenic holes on the course. A short...
Strauss warns Stokes over fame ‘burden’
Roy likely to make Test debut next week
Trippier set for £20m move to Atletico
How Wilma Erskine rescued Portrush
How world No 353 won a spot in Open after tragedy
My local-born caddie can be huge asset, says Koepka
Mickelson a model of consistency
McIlroy’s round is a surprise for fans
Condensed schedule hurts Open, says Rose
The Open | Nick Faldo interview
‘If Rory’s in front he loves it, but if he twangs a couple you’re not so sure’
the open | graeme mcdowell interview
‘Mortality was staring me in the eyes – I thought my career was finished’
What does future hold for England’s World Cup stars?
Premier League | Paul Joyce
How Liverpool will evolve in pursuit of more glory
“It is not like we are running around 24-hours a day saying, ‘We’re Champions League winners’. During the season we have to go for winning something new and not look back.” — Jürgen Klopp Liverpool will step up their pre-season preparations by...“It is not like we are running around 24-hours a day saying, ‘We’re Champions League winners’....“It is not like we are running around 24-hours a day saying, ‘We’re Champions League winners’....
Lingard feels Solskjaer fury over controversial video
The all-rounder with aerial threat: why West Ham are set to break bank for Haller
football | paul hirst
United’s lack of quality centre halves is symptom of poor recruitment
Behind the smile, an assassin still lurks. Once in a while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer likes to bare his teeth, and he did...Behind the smile, an assassin still lurks. Once in a while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer likes to bare his...Behind the smile, an assassin still lurks. Once in a while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer likes to bare his...
Solskjaer advocating fitness and realism to close gap
It would be an understatement to say that this pre-season campaign, the eighth of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s managerial...It would be an understatement to say that this pre-season campaign, the eighth of Ole Gunnar...It would be an understatement to say that this pre-season campaign, the eighth of Ole Gunnar...
lifetimes podcast
Jonathan Trott on mental health and playing for England
Jonathan Trott has revealed the cost on his mental health of England’s rise to No 1 Test team in the world, and the danger of sport becoming “life or death” in an athlete’s mind. The former England batsman opened up for the latest LifeTimes...Jonathan Trott has revealed the cost on his mental health of England’s rise to No 1 Test team in...Jonathan Trott has revealed the cost on his mental health of England’s rise to No 1 Test team in...
Counties set up new independent board in fight for more control
Barton charged with ABH over alleged incident at Barnsley
Thomas: I’ve started well
Geraint Thomas spent the first rest day of the Tour de France 72 seconds behind the yellow jersey worn by Julian...Geraint Thomas spent the first rest day of the Tour de France 72 seconds behind the yellow jersey...Geraint Thomas spent the first rest day of the Tour de France 72 seconds behind the yellow jersey...
British judo world champion Fallon dies aged 36
Tributes have been paid to one of Britain’s most successful judo champions, Craig Fallon, whose body was found at a...Tributes have been paid to one of Britain’s most successful judo champions, Craig Fallon, whose...Tributes have been paid to one of Britain’s most successful judo champions, Craig Fallon, whose...
Vunipola: We want to unite country like cricket
When the England cricket team were creating history with their epic victory at Lord’s on Sunday, one of their many achievements was to sharpen the motivation of their rugby cousins, whose own World Cup in Japan is only two months away. “It...When the England cricket team were creating history with their epic victory at Lord’s on Sunday...When the England cricket team were creating history with their epic victory at Lord’s on Sunday...
LifeTimes with Jonathan Trott
In the latest podcast, the former cricketer talks mental health and playing for England
Harmer takes Essex to top spot
Dent reaches another century but Smith falls short
Bavuma helps Northamptonshire’s sudden push for promotion
Thunderer’s racing tips
Cricket World Cup | Marc Aspland
World Cup Unseen gallery special: Marc Aspland at Lord’s
Marc says: This was a pivotal moment as England required 15 from the last over of the regulation 50 overs. Ben Stokes benefited when, as he ran to try to make two runs, a throw from the deep by Martin Guptil struck his bat as he dived desperately...Marc says: This was a pivotal moment as England required 15 from the last over of the regulation...Marc says: This was a pivotal moment as England required 15 from the last over of the regulation...
Track what your team is doing in the market this summer
Rod Richards
Colourful Welsh Tory MP and minister known as ‘Randy Rod’ who did much to undermine John Major’s ‘back to basics’ campaign
Many Conservative MPs seemed resolved to undermine Sir John Major’s “back to basics” campaign in the 1990s. Rod Richards, who was burdened by occasional irregularities in his private life and apparently revelled in being known as “the most hated man in Wales”, appeared determined to outclass them all in word and deed. “Rottweiler Rod”, as he was known, accused the Welsh...Many Conservative MPs seemed resolved to undermine Sir John Major’s “back to basics” campaign in...Many Conservative MPs seemed resolved to undermine Sir John Major’s “back to basics” campaign in...
Rabbi David Goldberg
Rabbi David Goldberg envied his friend the Rev John Slater only two things: that the vicar would bless the horses of...Rabbi David Goldberg envied his friend the Rev John Slater only two things: that the vicar would bless the horses of the Household Cavalry each year, and that Slater annually imparted a benediction on the ground at Lord’s. The only rabbi to write an article published in the Wisden almanac, Goldberg would have been...Rabbi David Goldberg envied his friend the Rev John Slater only two things: that the vicar would bless the horses of the...
Colonel Geoffrey Dockerill
weather eye
Weather forecasts for the summer holidays
Ken Wood in the market
court circular
obituary | from the archive
The only civilian in the Apollo 11 team which made man’s first voyage to the moon, Neil Armstrong made history at 02.56 Universal Time (GMT) on July 21, 1969, when he became the first human being to step onto the lunar surface. His words, “That’s...The only civilian in the Apollo 11 team which made man’s first voyage to the moon, Neil Armstrong...The only civilian in the Apollo 11 team which made man’s first voyage to the moon, Neil Armstrong...
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Time to rock kaftan cool
The cover-up has had an upgrade — you can even wear it at home
The ex-Vogue editor who is changing how the wealthy shop
Lauren Santo Domingo bet that well-off women would order what they had just seen on the catwalk then wait for it. She was right
Anna Murphy: What I’m packing for my summer holiday
I want cotton, I want long, I want loose
The best travel pouches
He said: ‘Mum, I’ve just climbed the Shard’
At 12, he climbed the roof of the house. Next came cranes. Then last week Hilary King-Thompson’s son called with news that shocked even her
The men who are building the theatres of dreams
THE WEDNESDAY COLUMN
Carol Midgley: Kate, you’re not working class until you drink tea out of a big Sports Direct mug
The Times Daily Quiz
Litter-picking dachshunds
Which Prom is made for you?
Our quiz will help you to decide
saturday review
FIRST NIGHT | VISUAL ART
Helene Schjerfbeck — an utterly riveting view of the Finnish Munch
Why haven’t we heard of Helene Schjerfbeck? She is so very famous in her native Finland. Fans flock round her paintings in Helsinki’s national collection. She is widely fêted as the Finnish Munch. Meanwhile, in the coastal town of...★★★★☆
Why haven’t we heard of Helene Schjerfbeck? She is so very famous in her native...★★★★☆
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About Thirunelveli(Nellai)
Thirunelveli(Nellai)
Historically known as Tinnevelly, Tirunelveli is a city in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It is popular for the historical monuments and educational institutions. Agriculture, banking and tourism are the areas where Tirunelveli has shown amazing growth. Cement and tobacco factories, cotton and steel mills and hand-woven clothes form the mainstay of economy here. There are plenty of religious, cultural and entertainment avenues such as temples, cinemas, sports venues, and Christian missionary schools. Well-connected by road, air and rail, Tirunelveli has a respectable transport network.
Budget Hotels in Thirunelveli(Nellai)
There are good budget hotels in Tirunelveli. Some of them are Sri Bharani Hotel (Tariff – Rs. 750), Sri Janakiram Hotel (Tariff – Rs. 650 to Rs. 1100), Nainar Hotel (Tariff – Rs. 600 to Rs. 1000) and Blue Star Hotel (Tariff – Rs. 550 to Rs. 900).
The official language of Tirunelveli is Tamil. The other language spoken here is English.
Events in Thirunelveli(Nellai)
The important events of Tirunelveli are Pongal held in mid-January and Utsavam celebrated in February-March.
Places to See in Thirunelveli(Nellai)
There are several places of tourist attraction in Tirunelveli. Some of the places include Ariyakulam Bird Sanctuary(13 km), and Kalakkad (36.7 km).
The closest airport to Tirunelveli is Tuticorin Airport which is situated approximately 22 km away.
Rail:
Tirunelveli Junction railway station is the main railway station. It is also one of the oldest railway stations in India.
Travellers can use bus services from Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Tanjore, Bangalore, Pondicherry and other cities to reach Tirunelveli. Kallada Travels, Kesineni Travels and KMP Travels are just some of the bus operators available. If you wish to get the cheapest bus tickets for your journey, book through Ticketgoose.com.
About Chikkaballapur Bypass
Chikkaballapur is the headquarter of the Chikkaballapur district in Karnataka. It is the agricultural land of the state and has major cultivations such as grape, grain, and silk.
Some of the budget hotels here are Mount Palazzo, Silver Oak Farm, Auro Foothills and much more.
The official language of Chikkaballapur is Kanada.
The important festivals celebrated in this region are Nandi Shivaratri and Chitravathi.
Nandi Hills, Avalabetta, Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Kandavara Lake and Discovery Village are the few places to visit in Chikkaballapur.
The nearest airport is Bangalore airport which at a distance of 48 km from the town.
Chikkaballapur has its own railway station. There are frequent trains available from Bangalore station to this destination.
Chikkaballapur has well-maintained roads connected to various cities of the country. Many private players are operating in this region to provide the valuable services to the passengers. Book your online bus tickets here.
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The Mad Gods’ Last Lament: Lord of Slaughter by M. D. Lachlan
Niall Alexander
Mon Jul 9, 2012 10:00am 2 comments 1 Favorite [+]
How to start talking about Lord of Slaughter?
Well, we’ve been here before, of course: this savage, century-spanning saga—of mad gods tormenting mortal men—has played out again and again through the ages. It started, nominally, with Wolfsangel, and continued last year, in Fenrir. Lord of Slaughter, then, is the concluding volume of The Claw, and readers of the series will be relieved to hear it ends as brilliantly—and as blackly—as it began.
“Under a dead moon, on a field of the dead, a wolf moved unseen beneath the rain’s great shadow. The downpour had started with nightfall as the battle ended. There was too much blood for Christ to bear, said the victorious Greeks, and he had decided to wash it away.”
With these words, M. D. Lachlan—a pen-name for British author Mark Barrowcliffe—portends much of what sets Lord of Slaughter apart from its predecessors. In the first, its era and setting, which is to say 10th century Constantinople, make for a moderately more focused and relatable tale that those thus far chronicled in The Claw.
Of late, this great Christian city has been plagued by hellish weather; by cantankerous clouds and gathering thunderheads that the heathen believe the deities of yesterday are responsible for. Amongst themselves they whisper—because to discuss such subjects in public would be an invitation to lifelong imprisonment in the world city’s stinking cellar—they whisper, then, of Fimbulwinter, “the barren and frozen time before Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods. The end of the gods is happening here, so the men say, and the city will fall when it does.”
The Emperor is too busy playing butcher on the battlefield to pay any attention to the malcontents of Constantinople, so his chamberlain Karas takes on the task. He, in turn, solicits the services of an impoverished scholar, Loys, who has only recently arrived in the imperial capital, with an assassin dispatched by his runaway wife’s angered father hot on his heels. Thus, though he fears for his soul, Loys cannot afford to refuse the offer of a protected and elevated place in the palace while he investigates the supposed sorcery plaguing the people—particularly given that he and Beatrice have a baby on the way.
Meanwhile, in the tent of the Emperor, a man wearing a wolf—or a wolf wearing a man, perhaps—appears before Constantinople’s foremost figure. Ragged and ruined, Elifr, or the creature that had been he, presents no threat as yet. The wolfman’s only demand of the Emperor is his own death. Somehow he has become cognisant of the perverse part the fates would have him play in the latest round of the mad gods’ games, and Elifr has no desire to see the show through.
Instead, he’s after an end to it, once and for all eternity: an end to his life, as well as the sickening cycle of heartrending love and awful loss it is intertwined with. However, not one to grand the wishes of unwelcome intruders, be they sent from heaven or the depths of hell, the Emperor has Elifr cast into the lowest level of his city’s subterranean prison to rot… or not.
Last but not least, Lachlan gives us a boy who wishes he were a man—though he is destined to become so much more. As the only witness to the unlikely turn of events that occur in the Emperor’s tent, Snake in the Eye has his overlord’s ear, so when in the pursuit of puberty he commits an offense usually punishable by death, he is only exiled. Later, in Constantinople, Snake in the Eye comes into his own whilst in the employ of a monkish mercenary, who is searching the city for a certain scholar.
Already you can see how Lord of Slaughter‘s expansive cast of characters are poised to come together. And when they do? Why the heavens themselves could not compete with the apocalyptic electricity generated.
“This is the time. This is the needful time. The time of endings. […] Listen, the black dogs are barking. The wolf is near. Can you not hear her call?”
Some of our protagonists are predators, others amongst them their prey, and you will not be able to tell which is which until all is revealed—albeit obliquely—in Lord of Slaughter‘s ghastly last act, when we come face to face, finally, with “King Kill. The back-stabbing, front-stabbing, anywhere-you-like-and-plenty-of-places-you-don’t-stabbing murder god. Odin, one-eyed corpse lord, corrosive and malignant in his schemes and his stratagems. But of course you know all this, you’ve met him before.”
If not, know this: you surely should have done. I fear readers unfamiliar with Wolfsangel and Fenrir are apt to find Lord of Slaughter essentially impenetrable. Newcomers need not apply, unless they’re prepared to go back to where this grimdark Viking saga started.
That said, the brooding books of The Claw have never had a clearer narrative throughline than that offered by the chamberlain’s pet scholar Loys in Lord of Slaughter. As a newcomer to Constantinople, and an investigator whose business it is to unearth an explanation for all the ungodly goings-on that have stilled this thriving Christian city, his perspective soothes like ointment on an injury, or a salve for the soul.
In a sense, then, this ultimate installment is both the least and the most accessible of the three volumes of The Claw. But do not mistake me: Lord of Slaughter is far from light or easy reading. You have to be intimately engaged with the fiction, on every level, to follow along without incident. As per the series’ standard, Lachlan’s prose is awfully involved—dense and intense, on the sentence level it straddles the poetic and the prosaic, demanding and rewarding in equal measure.
In the interim, the medieval metropolis of Constantinople is a pitch-perfect backdrop for this last lament of Loki and Odin; in terms of faith and society and civilisation, it represents a crossroads of sorts, where what was shares a space with what will be, when dark magic is no less likely a factor than science. And that is this book to a T. In this perilous place, at this tumultuous time, one imagines that almost anything is possible.
Lord of Slaughter is in sum as forbidding and ferocious a novel as its darkly ambitious predecessors, and though the barrier for entry is high—thus it is unlikely to earn M. D. Lachlan very many new admirers—it satisfies, and then some, those of us who have followed The Claw from its first fresh yet fetid flush.
And thank the mad gods for that!
Niall Alexander reads and writes about all things weird and wonderful for Tor.com, Strange Horizons and The Science Fiction Foundation. His blog is The Speculative Scotsman, and sometimes he tweets about books, too.
book reviewsDark FantasyFenrirHistorical FantasyLord of SlaughterM.D. LachlanNorse mythologyThe ClawVikingsWolfsangelwolves
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