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$100 “Airmail” – WT?

Just a short rant and observation.

Today I tried to send a letter to the UK what was in the old days called “Air Mail” and is now some kind of express mail. I was quoted $100 by the US Post Office for “3 or 4 day delivery”. The weekend you know… or I could have it take a week for a lot less money. “Only” $60-something. I tried Fed Ex. $68 for 4 day (Monday) or over $100 for faster.

I ended up back at the Post Office where I just “put a stamp on it” (that is $1.15 for international). I asked the clerk how long it might take: “3 Weeks”. Have they resurrected sailing ships or what?

In the ’70s to ’80 “Air Mail” as a choice sort of disappeared. Why? Because airlines were selling bulk cargo so cheap the Post Office sent most stuff by air between major distant locations anyway. We’re not talking a package here. We’re talking a letter of one page in an envelope. $100 for SLOWER than the old Air Mail. What The … heck… is going on? IIRC it was about the equivalent of $5 or so for Air Mail back in the ’60s. IIRC it was a 50 ¢ stamp in the time of nickel stamps for regular mail. Uplift by times 10 for inflation is $5. Double that is still only $10. So where’s the other $90 come from? Eh?

I’d sent a signed “permission” document to a UK Lawyer (some relative died and I’m in the will so they need the OK to get a copy and process it). I did this via email as a color full resolution scan of the original. Turns out that wasn’t good enough and they want a physical copy of the original. OK… so now probate gets to sit for 3 more weeks due to crazy high costs for ‘Air Mail’ and a legal system stuck in the 1900s.

So just when did the US Post Office revert to mail by train and steamer boat? Welcome to the 1800’s fastest mail by rail…

This is just such an incredible back slide in product with exponential increase in prices that it verges on the insane. Really. The better part of a month to move a letter, or the next fastest costs 60 TIMES more? And that still takes a week… In this day and age, it ought to be about 4 days for regular mail and $5 if you want it guaranteed delivery via air direct.

Heck, they had “mail planes” in the age of Lindberg. It was what bootstrapped commercial aviation in the USA.

Perhaps we need a “Regression Index”. Take cost in present $$ and a service metric to rank the percentage of quality of service still present. So this would be about 5/68 = 0.07 on the cost ratio; then about 1/4 on the level of typical service. So a QOS rank of about 0.018 now vs the ’70s. Or a regression of 55 times worse “bang for the buck”. Even if my guesses are way off on the values, that’s still “way sucky”. I don’t think better data can fix that.

If I *tried* I don’t think I could make things decay that fast.

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About E.M.Smith

A technical managerial sort interested in things from Stonehenge to computer science. My present "hot buttons' are the mythology of Climate Change and ancient metrology; but things change...
This entry was posted in Human Interest, World Economics and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

23 Responses to $100 “Airmail” – WT?

  1. Larry Ledwick says:

    If it would not get you in trouble with the TSA, you could drive down to the airport and hand it to some random person flying to UK and ask them to post it when they land. Would be in their system next day.

  2. Power Grab says:

    Pretty bad!

    Last year a friend referred me to play for a student who was going to perform at a district music contest. The friend lives in a town less than 10 miles away. He texted that he had put the music in the mail. I almost said get it back; I will drive down and pick it up from you. I should have done that.

    It took 9 days for that music to reach me from a town less than 10 miles away.

    I needed the music so I could learn to play it and rehearse with the student. I needed it right away. It didn’t come. It didn’t come. Day after day, it didn’t come.

    I finally called all the major music stores in the state and found one an hour and a half away that had the music I needed. So I drove 3 hours round trip to buy my own copy of the music.

    The other music finally arrived days later, after I had begun rehearsals with the student.

  3. Power Grab says:

    Oh…one more thing…I got to play on a lovely grand piano at the district contest.

    The student received a top mark and advanced to the state contest. I ended up playing on a little electric piano at the state level.

  4. Bill in Oz says:

    Very astonishing Cheifio.

    But I remember US Mail was very expensive compared to Oz in 1985 when i lived in Virginia for a while – near Charlottesville. Now Australia Post is also expensive. Been turned into a profit making government enterprise rather than an essential public service.

    By the way, I read that your mum comes from Liverpool. Does that mean you can understand ‘Scouse’ as well as French, Spanish & English ? Both my mum & dad came from Liverpool but I finf the Scouse accent hard to understand.

  5. gallopingcamel says:

    I still send plenty of snail mail to my relatives in good old Blighty. Several of them don’t like computers or smart phones. I provided tablets for both of my sisters but they hardly ever use them. Even though they can Skype me for nothing they prefer to call me on POTS phones that cost $0.30 per minute.

    Recently my snail mail to the UK has been taking 5 days which is impressive. I will be watching for the delivery time to rise.

  6. Steven Fraser says:

    E.M.: Though it may be subject to different laws, a FAX is a physical electronic copy sufficient for signed contracts, at least here in the US. Yes, older tech, but quite usable.

    Beyond that are more recent tech solutions, eg, signed PDFs. If a company can send an invoice by e-mail attachment, this should be solvable.

    FedEx also has international service in 3 tiers, the slowest of which takes 4 days. A pricing modeler is at https://www.fedexfreight.fedex.com/ratingNonSecQuoteList.do

    Good luck!

  7. NOYGDB says:

    ” Larry Ledwick says:
    28 February 2019 at 3:02 am

    If it would not get you in trouble with the TSA, you could drive down to the airport and hand it to some random person flying to UK and ask them to post it when they land. Would be in their system next day.”

    The way Soviet citizens used to do it :) I do feel more like a Soviet citizen these days……

  8. Hifast says:

    At those prices, I’d hang out at SJC for the 7:50 pm British Airways flight to Heathrow and find a nice person to post it when they land. That’s Air Mail!!!

  9. Sera says:

    “In 2016, a new remuneration system was implemented with a focus on e-commerce,[13] but while the 2016 reform balanced the costs to the delivery services, postage costs for shippers are still asymmetric. As of 2018, US companies pay more than twice as much to mail an item from a US plant to a US customer than does a manufacturer in China to mail an item to a US customer.”

  10. E.M.Smith says:

    @Bill In Oz:

    Never had a problem with my relatives. In school I was accused of having something of a British Accent (undoubtedly picked up from Mum). So yeah, I understand “Scouse” fine.

    The word “scouse” is a shortened form of “lobscouse”, whose origin is uncertain.[15] It is related to the Norwegian lapskaus, Swedish lapskojs and Danish labskovs and the Low German Labskaus, and refers to a stew commonly eaten by sailors. In the 19th century, poorer people in Liverpool, Birkenhead, Bootle and Wallasey commonly ate “scouse” as it was a cheap dish, and familiar to the families of seafarers. Outsiders tended to call these people “scousers”.

    That’s my family! Three Generations of sailors in HM Merchant Marine. Scandinavian origin for some of them (lots of blonds, red heads, blue eyes – raised with Norse Legends from Mum, etc.)

    Mum was born in Merseyside.

    I’m no good with Cockney Rhyming Slang though…

    While it is technically a better solution, I’ll not be hanging out at the airport “soliciting” folks. Just not my style… I’m more willing to just drop it in the post and “hope” they didn’t really mean 3 weeks or that is the worst case and 90% of it goes by air anyway…

    The estate has been dragging on for a couple of years anyway, so what’s a couple of more weeks? (Despite everyone being anxious about it and “waiting on me”…) It’s a long story, but after the relative died, the estate went to probate, then that lawyer died after getting about 80% done, then it went to another lawyer, then… and after about 100 weeks I get my first notification… that being that “everyone else is unable to be paid until I send in my approval of the lawyer”… Would have been nice to know I was on the inheritance list 2 years ago… Oh Well.

    Guess I’m just not greedy enough to care that much.

    Good point. I’ll email the lawyer and ask them. We can do international faxes…

  11. View from the Solent says:

    USD100? WTF?
    Last Christmas I sent a card ( <100 grams) from UK to South Korea for less than 2 UK pounds. This was just via regular Post Office air mail.
    Took about a week.

  12. Bill in Oz says:

    My mum’s family were also in the Merchant Marine .One grandfather ( a ship’s engineer ) reportedly died in on board ship off the coast of Belgium round 1937 from pneumonia.

    I’ve had relatives come visit here. And it took me a couple of days to tune in to their scouse accent. I still wonder how a small country like England can have such different accents so close to each other like Manchester & Liverpool – 20 miles apart !

  13. u.k.(us) says:

    Umm, might be kinda fun to send a bunch of letters to known acquaintances, you know, in England or South America, South Africa, or into colluding Russia.
    Asking for delivery times :)

  14. Ed Forbes says:

    3 wks for a letter US to Brit?
    I deal with firms in the UK every once in a while and small packages generaly take about 1 week going by regular mail. Been awhile since I have sent something the other way so it may be the US mail does things different than Brit mail.

  15. E.M.Smith says:

    @Ed Forbes:

    I suspect (hope?) it is a worst case estimate. I fear it’s the truth and the letter spends a few days getting “processed” into a bag to make a long slow truck ride from California to New York, then put on a slow boat to England, then…

    Crossing the country I’ve seen more large 18 wheel trucks with US Post on the side of them over the years… I suspect that to pinch a penny they’ve gone away from air freight (even though it is minuscule cost / letter) to their own fleet of slow trucks… Maybe…

    So a week getting batched up with all the other mail “to Europe”, then a week crossing the country by truck, then a week at sea… I could see it if they did things that stupidly.

  16. Kneel says:

    ” I was quoted $100 by the US Post Office for “3 or 4 day delivery”.”

    I got a “mini-PC” (x86_64) from China, which included “free freight”.
    Power supply died – just a “plug pack” 5V/2A jobbie, easily available as a USB charger or “multi-fit” adapter at any electronic gadget supply company.
    It was cheaper to buy another one locally ($40) than send it back to China ($60+).
    And the new one is designed for our 240V, not an “international” one that covers 90-230V – the first one failed in less than a week, local replacement still going after months.

  17. Steve C says:

    I think all “real” mail services are staggering a bit these days, since so much of what used to be their business has disappeared online. About the only thing keeping the Royal Mail alive is distributing junk mail, which doesn’t help their cause much. The “Penny Post” on a letter is about £0.67 now, too, because they, unlike their commercial opposition, have to provide “Universal service” – the same price stamp gets your letter to the far north of Shetland, or to the other side of town, on the same date, for the same price. Even so, a hundred dollars to transport a piece of paper from A to B is eyewatering – for that price they ought to be putting on a special mail coach for it.

    Funnily enough, my last purchase from the States cost me about $100 delivery – although that was for a parcel containing three pounds twelve ounces of prime metalwork (a genuine Vibroplex semi-auto Morse key), so I don’t feel too hard done by. The other thing I learned on that occasion was that the US postal service won’t insure parcels en route to the UK because so much stuff goes missing at “Thiefrow”, so offer up a quiet prayer for the safe arrival of your document!

  18. H.R. says:

    Email and fax killed the USPS as well as postal services worldwide. Handwritten letters and postcards, which were the gravy train in days of yore, are declining while the number of delivery addresses have been increasing.

    And here’s a vicious circle for you; if you raise rates, say to $2.00, for 1st class letters even more people will opt for email. Classic price up/demand down economics where there is a cheaper alternative.

    Oh, and don’t forget digital imaging and social media. There’s no longer any need to send grandma copies of pictures of your darling little rug rats. Images are now an attachment or posted on Farcebook.

    On the bright side, I think there are still a lot of sales of stamps to collectors that are never used for postage. The sale of a stamp is a contract to deliver a piece of mail, but the postal service is off the hook for physically carrying out their side of the contract. Sadly, I think video gaming is replacing old standby hobbies like stamp collecting and fewer kids are growing up with different ways to spend their spare time.

  19. H.R. says:

    Oh! I worked in aerospace and when there was an AOG (Aircraft On Ground) and a spare part was needed ASAP, we’d often buy the spare part an airline ticket. The part had a seat on the flight (not really, the airline could resell the seat) and someone at the other end would ‘greet’ the part at its destination.

  20. cdquarles says:

    What does the USPS (and maybe the others?) live on? Parcels, business mail (mostly marketing), and government mail, it seems. Interestingly enough, out in the sticks between three incorporated areas, where I live; the USPS, UPS and FEDEX all deliver parcels. Only the USPS does so every business day, barring government/bank holidays. UPS and FEDEX will deliver weekends/holidays, but you pay extra for that. So, most, I guess, don’t. The USPS is marginally cheaper (by law, I think), for deliveries it makes. So, on occasion, UPS and FEDEX use the USPS to deliver stuff to me. There is a FEDEX flight that often passes over my head at night. One has to love that! ;p One often still sees the ATL to BMX (or whatever) mail truck. The truck takes about 2 hours (there is a time zone change, too). The airplane, once in the air, takes about 30 minutes. Total transport time isn’t that much less between ATL and BMX, at night when traffic is lower. During rush hours for either city (1.5 million for BMX, 5 million for ATL) good luck. Folk don’t know how to drive.

  21. H.R. says:

    @Sera – LOL!

    Just put the letter in the container and while you’re at it, put the trash in too, to up your green creds. “Zero percent of my trash goes into a US landfill.” ;o)

    Might also be a good way to get rid of feral cats in the neighborhood. “Here kitty-kitty. You’re going to learn to meow with an English accent.” ;o) ;o)

    The downside is that they ship both ways and once the Brits catch on, it will be a wash.

  22. Sera says:

    @ H.R.:

    Great idea. Btw- it only takes about 10-15 days for a container ship to sail from the US to the UK.

Comments are closed.


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In-Home and Group Home Daycare in Selbyville, DE

The Selbyville home daycare options below are dedicated to providing families with quality home childcare in a safe and nurturing environment. Group home daycares are personable alternatives to large centers with hundreds of children. Entrusting your family childcare to a Selbyville home daycare gives children the added security of being cared for in a home environment while still giving parents the peace of mind that comes from knowing their children are under the supervision of licensed professionals. We gathered the information for home childcare centers in Selbyville into one place in order to help simplify your search and make it more enjoyable. Since home daycare information can change often, please help us stay up to date by letting us know if any of the information on our childcare providers is out of date or incorrect. We want to give you the right information every time.

29118 Hickory Court, Selbyville, DE 19975 | (302) 542-9457

Delaware 4-H offers afterschool programs at schools and community centers in each of Delaware’s three counties. These programs target at-risk youth; each individual site has its own specific age ranges, target groups and/or enrollment guidelines.

Lynch Road, Selbyville, DE 19975 | (302) 436-4308

COLLINS, KATHY M. is a Licensed Family Child Care in SELBYVILLE DE, with a maximum capacity of 9 children. The home-based daycare service helps with children in the age range of 6 months through 12 years.. The provider does not participate in a subsidized child care program.

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Wilmington, DE 19805-1121
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Baby Animals

With touches for little hands to feel, this book will engage young imaginations and help to develop early hand-eye coordination! Fun flaps to lift give little ones tiny surprises as they read along with the story!

The simple, rhyming text can be read with an adult and will help to develop an early love of reading!

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Chislett Developments

Training is vital to the success of Chislett Farms.   The Directors have always believed that training ensures a commitment to quality practices in both the farm and the nursery.  Permanent workers are encouraged to undertake Certificate III in Wholesale Nursery or Production Horticulture in order to give them a sound background in vital areas of our operation such as Occupational Health and Safety, Chemical Use, Environmental Practices, Irrigation Management and Plant Propagation, to name a few.  Training not only builds self confidence, but minimises injuries and mistakes.

Jonathan runs in house training for Nursery workers to ensure they are up to date with our latest nursery practices and our procedures, giving these workers the ability to supervise casual workers in the peak season.  Small group training sessions in the Nursery allows all participants to fully understand the correct processes, builds teamwork and gives our workers a sense of pride and involvement in the workplace.

Training is always ongoing, as all of us at Chislett Farms are continually learning through interaction with other growers in Australia, or overseas, through Citrus Forums, International Congresses and overseas visitors coming to Chislett Farms.  There is always something new to learn and it is through our small group training sessions that we pass this knowledge onto our workers.

Our pickers also undergo training to safeguard against injuries and also to ensure that our citrus returns are not reduced due to poor harvest techniques.  A video showing them how to use picking ladders, how to pluck oranges and clip mandarins is the first stage of their training, with the second stage being undertaken in the field with our Harvest Co-ordinator.  At the end of the day, poor harvest techniques results in poor returns, no matter how good the fruit looks on the tree.  So a little time invested in training goes a long way to ensuring we maximise our returns.

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Chislett Developments

Environmental Practices in the Orchard and Nursery

Accepting that we are but temporary stewards of our land, we go to great lengths to protect the soil and the natural and production environment.

Water is a precious resource and is always used for irrigation in the most efficient way. This is achieved using a wireless Enviroscan soil moisture monitoring system in conjunction with a radio controlled and automated drip irrigation system. These systems afford a high level of control ensuring excess drainage water is not generated which can damage soil, wet lands and streams.

Our highest requirement for energy is for electric power, used principally for pumping irrigation water from the Murray River and delivering it to the trees in the orchard. To do this in the most efficient way, we use variable frequency drives on pump motors to precisely match power supply to demand to reduce energy consumption.

Flora and Fauna:

The spectacular and rare reagent parrot frequents the Kenley area and is often seen on our property along with a myriad of other native bird and animal species. We have a policy of operating our business in harmony with this very attractive natural setting.

To protect the natural flora and fauna on the property, chemical use is always undertaken in a responsible way and is kept to an absolute minimum. A program of integrated pest management is followed to protect native and beneficial insects. This includes the release of millions of aphytis wasps annually for the control of the red scale pest on citrus.

Remnant Vegetation:

Remnant vegetation on the property, which includes areas of valuable grassland and the rare Bosia Walkeri, is protected from farm operations. A program of tree planting to enhance existing green corridors through the property is underway.

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So much time, so difficult to concentrate on being creative

We seem to have been in lockdown for so long and currently little sign, we will get out soon. It makes being constructive quite difficult. I get more visits in my studio than usual – all household members, coming for a chat and to ask where something is.

So last week, I switched to my default activity – screen printing and discharge. I love to decorate fabric and screen printing is fun. Doing it with discharge paste means no soda soaking of fabric beforehand.I have more than one pile of fabric that I am not sure I like the colours of so I have discharge printed some of these. The prints with less discharge will be easier to use. I am considering over dyeing some of the fabric with lots of white as they kind of look dirty!!! May be just vintage.

I have also started to listen to audio books – somehow the radio with its overly cheerful DJs has lost its appeal. Currently I am listening to Becoming Myself: A Psychiatrist’s Memoir by Irvin Yalom. Very New York – I love the accent. But an interesting memoir of another time and world.

Please keep safe and well,

Well, we are living in a very odd world at the moment – the stuff of sci-fi novels of the 60’s. It has, in theory, given us all more time to jobs but it is difficult to focus and most of us are spending more time checking up on friends and relatives.

So it seems a good time to experiment – I do have some deadlines but not for a while so I am playing with reverse applique. This one was okay until I washed it to make the top fabric fray. Wet, it is much more fun. So the next piece will use dyed organdie as the top so that it is transparent and the breakdown cloth shows all over. That is the theory.


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Revel8 is for 11 to 18 year olds and meets on Friday night, between 8pm and 9:30pm. This is an informal and relaxed ‘hang out’ with the occasional structured activity thrown in, (such as craft, cookery and table tennis) and a short devotional time each week.

During the Covid-19 lockdown things are a bit different.

Please contact for more information

Friday 15 May 2020 – Our video this week was about Paralympic gold medallist Jessica Long. Jessica has an incredible story that touches on forgiveness and self acceptance. – find out more about Jessica’s career. – a short interview Jessica gave the BBC last year – you can find everything on the internet. Here are some handy instructions on how to forgive people. – The journey to accepting yourself for who you are can be a very long one. This short video does a good job of introducing some of the basic concepts.

– our Bible verse this week was Colossians 3 verse 13 “Forgive the things you are holding against one another. Forgive just as the Lord forgave you”. But don’t take our word for it, read it for yourself in context here. – learn more about Colossians in this video from the Bible project. – This weeks game was Quiplash 2.

Friday 1 May 2020 – We’ve been sharing stories about unforgettable things that have happened in our lives. But how good is your memory? Try this visual memory test and find out. You could share your results with us. Who has the best memory in Revel8?

This week we heard the story of Shane Kampe whose life was changed forever when he miraculously recovered from a life threatening injury. Shane and his friend Danny were alcoholics and nothing was the same again for either of them after a prayer meeting in a hospital room. – Shane’s video – we watched Danny’s video last week, but here it is again in case you missed it. – Revel8 have been watching White Chair Films, a series of true stories of how Faith in Jesus Christ has impacted real people’s lives. You can find the whole series, get bonus footage and other resources at the I Am Second website. – Go here to read the Message Bible version of Hebrews Chapter 13 to see the verses we used this week in context. – This video based on Hebrews 11 & 12 was animated by Rene Pfitzner, a former Disney cartoonist who now works for a church in Australia. It sums up most of the Bible before Jesus was born and gives examples of people from history whose lives were also changed then they started to make God number 1 in their lives and put themselves second. – You can find out more about the Bible book of Hebrews in this short but thorough cartoon by The Bible Project. They have a brilliant YouTube channel which is perfect for anyone trying to get more into reading the Bible for themselves. – This week we played Civic Doodle together. Visit the Jackbox Games website to find out more.


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Virtual Reality Churches.
No, goggles aren't needed. However livestreaming is needed for the homebound like myself, but church in 3D or that much of a close up no.

Gospel For Food
no. God wants us willingly to follow him, not force up on.

Jesus Breaks The Sabbath
For me I keep the Sabbath as a day of Rest & reflecting in Gods word whether reading scriptures or praying with him, then on Sundays I fellowship with others because as the disciples did when Jesus resurrected, they met on the 1rst day of the week. They also continued to do so after he ascended. Jesus is our rest, we rest in him, but even since the beginning his father rested on the 7th day from everything, so do I.

Thoughts On Facebook
My husband is friends with women from his high-school graduation & their husbands.I have no problem with it because I too associate with my past male friends from high school and see how their family is.Sometimes my husband adds my friends & vise versa & plays words with friends & jokes with me about how they're good at the game.I even have my ex husband on my facebook because of our daughter. So it's also a trust issue. If you two cant trust eachother no point on being on social media.We've been married over 15 yrs now.

Thoughts On Facebook
I love FaceaBook! it keeps me connected with family and friends.However i don't subscribe to many groups out there anymore. you still have to be careful.

Is KJV Inspired By God
The KJV isn't inspired by God. like the NKJV, ASB, ESV etc it is a translation only & a poor one at that. There is at least 30 plus spurious passages in the New Testament & if you have a bible with footnotes it shows some of the verses written weren't in the original Manuscript. How is that inspired if they add to it? its not.If I had to choose I would use the NAB or ESV that corrects the mistakes.

Brands Of Christianity
I left the baptist branch for Church of Christ. finally I left all denominations membership wise & turned to God fully. I do fellowship with true believers from different denominations because we have the foundation through Jesus himself, but the only "membership" I have & need is written in Gods book of life.So leaving the worlds view of church is what i needed & embracing God fully is how I became truly free.

Church of Christ A Good Church
I use to be with the CoC, but left because they said they were the only true church & that in itself is wrong. Do they stick with scripture, depends the location. Some pastors do , some Pastors add with their own opinions & world views. However if you feel God led you there & are being spiritually fed whom am I to say not to go?

What Does Hell Look Like
Depending on the definition given hell is the grave. Our soul is our breath of life. No I'm not a Jehovah's Witness, but they are scriptural correct in this area. God destroys the wicked. Our bodies turn to dust and the unjust/wicked will not get new bodies.the grave/hell will be cast INTO the last hell or lake of fire.Again only God can destroy both body & soul.

Baptise Other People
Yes. My husband & I baptized our 3 boys at home. Only Jesus can save them. the worldly denominations might not accept their baptism, but God knows their hearts. the only time i say its not acceptable is if the person isnt a Christian and not baptized themselves.

Saved If Don't Understand
Only God reads the heart & knows the condition of the person mentally whether a child or an adult, this is NOT up to a person. However a person is saved by confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord & that he died & was raised again. Infants do not know right from wrong but children understand as they grow. however God forbid an infant die, I believe God takes care of them because they're innocent in their choices.

Converts To Judaism Saved
Only Jesus saves us. Jesus is the ONLY way, truth, life so if they don't accept Jesus or did & now deny Jesus, unless they repent they aren't saved. No denomination can save us or religion.

Saved By World Religions
As noted ONLY through Jesus is salvation given. Not through membership in ANY denomination or religion .

Do You Own A Bible
Yes I own many versions.Each one helps me dive into Gods word. I have the Restoration KJV bible using "Yahweh" and "Yeshua" also it has the strongs concordence with it, so this is my main study bible.. then I have the KJV with JSM commentary though I am not a pentecostal, I also havev the KJV lds bible & the 2013 Revised NWT bible from Jw's though I'm nto mormon or Jw. I love the NWT because it fits in my purse & God has helped me when reading it. I stay away from the NIV , & the message & paraphrased bibles because it takes away from the main message of Gods word. Hope that helps.

Explain Matthew 24:37
I'll use my commentary bible to give the answer.. Jimmy Swaggert says this about that verse in the comentary:
"The men of Noahs day were insensible to the Prophecies predicting the coming flood,and so will men be blind to these Prophecies announcing the coming of the Son of Man"

Democrat Christian Possible
I stay neutral for the worlds government arent for us. We are to only have Jesus as our authority.Yes we are to obey the laws of the land, but we dont have to be a republican or democrate because what if we support what they do & they go against what God hates? We are then as bad as them.

What Is True Religion
There is no true religion since it's man made. However there is only 1 way to God, through Jesus his son only. No denomination can save you, Jesus can. Being a Chrisitan is part of our life, not a religion.

How Close Is Your Church
I live in my church, my church is my home, outdoors etc. However if you're refering to a building for fellowship its 10min away & yes i get rides.

How To Study The Bible
I have a daily reading plan that doesnt change each year. I read 3 readings a day. 2 old 1 new testament. We go chapter by chapter vs by vs.

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Vote on Duane as a helpful ChristiaNet blogger by clicking this link. Currently Duane has 11 votes. The higher the number of votes the more helpful this blogger is considered by the ChristiaNet community.

Money To TV Preachers
The apostle Paul told Timothy that if we (christians) could/would be content with food and clothing and continue to be/live Godly lives we would have God's approval. Godliness with contentment is great gain. Book of 1 or 2 Timothy I believe.

How Long To Build The Ark
Francis said: Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

i say 120 years

If the bible is written for a third grader reading level, I would take this to mean:
His days are 100
and years is 20

20 Years 100 days

Tithe Or Not To Tithe
No real christian would follow the tithing law.

Is Jesus Always Gentle
No differance at all!
NO, no one talked more about going to hell
for not converting to his doctrine than him!
Samarian woman:called her a Dog...
Mary his mother: Would'nt give her the time of day, when her and her other sons tried to get thru the crowd of people,
and he replied, those that DO the will of my father, the same are my brother,mother & sisters!
How Much longer must i put up with you,
he has told people, Even his own disiples!

Falling Away From God
I, too, fell away from God or "backslid", if you will, for about 5 years. but just recently, i had a spiritual awakening and i'm in the process of a spiritual cleansing. Praise God, He still loves me! i believe that unless you deny and ignore Him completely and never want anything more to do with Him, He still loves you and will take you back. it's Satan (the Father of Lies) who's trying to tell you that God won't accept you!

When Is The Rapture
pre-trib. luke 21: 36-

Who is John Hagee?
Thank you brittney, smart lady..
you new borns better listen,
all of this is being written down in the books and you will be held accountable for what you are saying...
if you are an accuser of the brethern, you are no better than satan.

When Is The Rapture
Do you really think that god will allow his sons bride to be harmed..
read the parable of the 10 virgins,
another good example for us believers,
so be watchful and ready, you faithful servants..

When Is The Rapture
Luke says it best in his 21st chap. 36th verse.
He says to watch and pray always that you
may be worthy to "Escape" all these things that will come to pass...
This was what Jesus said to them just after
he explained the parable of the fig tree to them.

Tribulation Without A Rapture
the book of rev. clearly says blessed are those that partake in the 1st resurrection..
rap/res 1 time then res. 2nd time. ya think

Two Witnesses Real People
they are real people.

Tribulation Without A Rapture
I think Luke says it best in the 21st chapter 36th verse...
Watch ye therfore, and pray always,
that ye "escape" all these things that shall
come to pass, and to stand before the son of man.

Who Is The Antichrist
Daniel & John say he is a man,
a man that shall rise to power thru
peace and will decieve many,
and he will rise from the rebirth of the roman empire,"the E.U", the 10 toes or 10 horns depending on what book your reading.
he will rule for 7 yrs. 3 1/2 yrs. of utter terror!

Do Good People Go To Heaven
1st one would have to assume that a person
could in fact live a life that is pleasing to god, without knowing him!
and then is their anyone that is pass the age of acountability that has'nt heard the name Jesus,yahshua,messiah,christ,ect...
one thing i do know, god is a just god and he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy and will bring wrath upon whom ever he wants to...

Does God Love Those In Hell
unbelieving sinners that have already died are in hell right now, their waiting for the day of judgment and the books to be opened to reveal their ungodly lives then the book of life is opened to see if their name is in it, and if it's not they will be cast into the lake of fire with satan and his angels and everyone else that jesus says too "i never knew you"
its true that god would love for all men/women to come to repentance and seek him and his son.

Are There 11 Commandments
if you love god with all your heart,mind & soul and if you love your neighbor as you do yourself, you have already fulfilled the 10 commandments...
if you love god you won't kill, you won't steal ect. ect. ect. and you won't do things that are shameful in the sight of god...

Copyright© 2017 ChristiaNet®. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Primary Teacher Exchange Opportunity in Australia, July 2020 - June 2021

Nikkie Harper, a grade 1/2 Teacher at Emmaus Christian School in Canberra, Australia, is seeking an exchange to Canada in 2020. This involves exchanging jobs, accommodations, and vehicles in late July for one year.

 All arrangements would be made through the Independent Education Union of Australia who sponsor your visit and assist in organising the relevant paperwork. There are a lot of tax deductions to take advantage of as well.


text:
Why Black Children Need to Read & Write Science Fiction

A few months ago, I had the pleasure – hmm, no, pleasure is not a fitting description – A few months ago, I had the experience (yes, that’s it) of having my son, Oluade (“Ade”, for short – pronounced “aah-DAY”), who is nine years old, as one of my writing students. No matter what assignment I gave the class – an essay; a newspaper article; a short story; a poem – Oluade would find a way to write himself into it – in an epic battle with a horde of zombies or cyborgs with “zombified” (his word) flesh…oh, yeah, and a skateboard with cool insignia painted on it.

I realized that no matter how much I complained about it, Ade was always going to turn his writing into Science Fiction.

Luckily for him, he has a father who is an author – and fan – of Science Fiction (although turning a newspaper article about a young man suing his parents for emancipation into a zombie yarn was, of course unacceptable).

I realized that Oluade is like most Black children – he is driven by a search for the interesting; a desire to twist the mundane and flip it on its head in order to see the ordinary from a different perspective; to explore the boundaries of creativity; and, indeed, to discover or create new boundaries. What these children seek is found within the realms of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Oluade’s teachers in the public school he once attended did not agree. They felt he was being rebellious and a bit…strange.

That is a shame.

And, for many misunderstood – and thus, mislabeled – children, this is a crisis that has devastating, lifelong consequences.

When children use Science Fiction and Fantasy writing techniques and tropes they are often using their writing to explore themselves and their world, without any need for guidance and literal knowledge.

On the surface they are writing about zombies, spaceships and vampires, but do not be fooled –they are using these devices in the same way as Octavia Butler, Charles Saunders, Tananarive Due and Walter Mosley – to cloak methods of exploring and explaining – and finding explanations for – their worlds – both internal and external – in a way that straightforward ‘literal’ fiction cannot.

Realism has become a trap for black children and they realize it. According to my young students, who range in age from nine to fifteen, they tire of reading and writing stories that are about “problems” and crave fantastic tales of derring-do with cool, young, Black heroes and heroines.

Science fiction and fantasy offers black children an alternative way of dealing with legacy, tradition, and memory.

Parents and Teachers, our children have a big problem…us

In conversing with other English teachers, I often ask if they teach creative writing in their classes. Most do not. One teacher told me that she tried “that creative writing stuff” with her students, but quickly gave up on it and returned to a more “practical syllabus”. Upon further investigation, I discovered that she believed creative writing – particularly Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy – to be something outsideand, indeed, beneath the instruction of English.

Most educators of English / Language Arts focus on the mechanics of the subject – how to read and write, rules of grammar, use of verbs, adverbs, adjectives, pronouns and nouns and sentence comprehension – without the context of why and how those mechanics are used by students to express themselves.

Yes, we need to teach the mechanics – how to hold a pen; how to read; how words work – but we should not confuse use of a thing with understanding of it. Training in the mechanics of writing produces writing technicians However, it does not make you a writer. So, you know how to spell; you can answer questions on grammar; you can repeat someone else’s literary criticism of a text – you are a technician. You can fix my text as a garage mechanic can fix my car. The garage mechanic can’t design a car. They can’t improve a car. They can’t build one from scratch. They can only ever work on someone else’s car.

This is why we – and our children – need to read and to write Science Fiction and Fantasy – so that our children do not only work on other people’s texts, they create and build their own. So they are not limited to just reading a story written by someone else and providing a report on it – they are out there in the field, experimenting with new stories and questioning old ones…if only for the reason that they can.

We need to teach our children to go out into the world to add to the pantheon of human creation and endeavor, not to dissect the words of long dead men.

In a 1999 New York Times essay about Science Fiction, author Walter Mosley wrote, “The genre speaks most clearly to those who are dissatisfied with the way things are: adolescents, post-adolescents, escapists, dreamers, and those who have been made to feel powerless. And this may explain the appeal that science fiction holds for a great many African-Americans….Science Fiction promises a future full of possibility, alternative lives, and even regret.”

Horror author Tananarive Due revealed that when she started writing, all of her characters were white. “I had to force myself to see myself,” Due said. “It’s not that I don’t write about white characters, because I do, but my protagonists are extensions of my own humanity. I was raised by civil rights activists and I have a keen awareness of racial history—lessons I think Americans of all colors should know—so I would consider it artistic dishonesty to write primarily from an experience that was not black. Does that limit my readership? I’m sure it does. But hopefully, it does less and less all the time.”

7 Science Fiction Writing Projects for Children

To get your children, students and even yourself writing, try tapping into their enjoyment of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Children gravitate towards writing based on magic, space ships, aliens, and peril-filled quests. Ask them to incorporate these themes into their own writing and you will find a fun way to help them sharpen their writing skills at home.

To encourage kids that this isn’t homework, but is, instead, a fun at-home creative activity like painting or doing other crafts, do not spend a lot of time correcting your child’s grammar or spelling; just let the creative juices flow. Writing more is a key to writing better, and knowing they can write without being scrutinized is a key to getting your children to enjoy writing, thus, write more.

A common thing children like to do is to use colorful markers, pens or paper for their writing projects. Let them. This helps signify that what they’re doing is something special, creative and fun. For science fiction-theme writing projects, you might try glow in the dark ink, or stationary from movies like Harry Potter or Star Trek, or whatever your child likes.

Below are seven Science Fiction and Fantasy writing projects that will help you get your child started on his or her Science Fiction or Fantasy writing adventure. I chose seven projects in honor of Oluade, the Zombifying Language Arts Rebel, who is my seventh child (of eight) and my only son.

Writing Project 1: The Time Traveling Machine

Ask your child to pretend he or she has gone into a time-travel machine and ended up in the distant past or far future. What do they see? Who do they meet? This is a good project for encouraging children to compare and contrast in a creative way. Older children can be encouraged further to create a story based in the future or the past.

Writing Project 2: Build-An-Alien!

Ask your child to consider what an alien might look like. Is it tall or short? Friend or foe? Ask your child to consider the sounds and smells associated with the alien, too. They may also want to consider how it walks, communicates and eats; where it comes from; and what it wants.

Writing Project 3: Your New Super Power

Some of the greatest Science Fiction and fantasy stories of all time involve superheroes gaining and using some super power. Ask your child to pick a super-power, be it speed, invisibility, super-human strength, or whatever. If they like, they can choose more than one power, or give other powers to sidekicks like their little brother or a friend. They may also write about the type of costume they wear – if any – and if they fight crime, or just use their powers in everyday situations?

Writing Project 4: A Whole New World

Ask your child to pretend he or she has landed a spacecraft on a new planet or has found a door to an alternate earth. Let us learn about this world from their description of what is seen, heard, smelled, and tasted there. Who, and / or what, resides there? Does it seem like a nice place for you or others to live? Let your child be a space – or dimension – explorer and create a whole new world.

Writing Project 5: The Secret Formula

Ask your child to pretend he or she has been given a drink (or sandwich or cookie, etc.) from a mad or silly scientist or shaman. What’s in that drink? What does it look like, taste and smell like? And if you eat or drink the scientist’s crazy concoction, what will happen to you? Older children can be encouraged to create a story based on what happens after they consume the secret formula.

Writing Project 6: The Griots Academy

What would happen if your child went to school to become the next “Harry Potter”? Ask your child to describe the teachers at the school and to describe what they teach and their personalities. Which teacher is your child’s favorite at the school and why? What is the curriculum? Where is the school located? Children can come up with a large faculty and rich history for their own school of magic.

Writing Project 7: The Shaman’s Assistant

Ask your child to write about working for a renowned wizard or shaman. What is the wizard / shaman’s appearance and personality? What does he or she ask your child to do to assist him or her? Older children may be encouraged to create a whole adventure for the “assistant” and his / her boss.

Science fiction and fantasy theme projects can really help your child’s imagination take flight. Use these fun and creativity-inspiring ideas to help your children enjoy the writing process and realize writing isn’t just for school or homework; it can take them anywhere in the universe – and beyond – that they desire to explore.

Please, join us for the State of Black Science Fiction 2012 Youth Symposium in which authors will teach young students how to write Science Fiction and Fantasy; students will perform original works of Science Fiction and Fantasy; and authors and editors of African descent who write Science Fiction and Fantasy will engage participants in a lively and highly informative panel discussion on the State of Black Science Fiction and Fantasy. After the panel discussion, the authors will meet and greet participants and have their Blacknificent novels, films and artwork on hand.

Until next time…happy writing!

About Balogun

Balogun is the author of the bestselling Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within and screenwriter / producer / director of the films, A Single Link, Rite of Passage: Initiation and Rite of Passage: The Dentist of Westminster. He is one of the leading authorities on Steamfunk – a philosophy or style of writing that combines the African and / or African American culture and approach to life with that of the steampunk philosophy and / or steampunk fiction – and writes about it, the craft of writing, Sword & Soul and Steampunk in general, at https://chroniclesofharriet.com/. He is author of eight novels – the Steamfunk bestseller, MOSES: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman (Books 1 & 2); the Urban Science Fiction saga, Redeemer; the Sword & Soul epic, Once Upon A Time In Afrika; a Fight Fiction, New Pulp novella, Fist of Afrika; the gritty, Urban Superhero series, A Single Link and Wrath of the Siafu; the two-fisted Dieselfunk tale, The Scythe and the “Choose-Your-Own-Destiny”-style Young Adult novel, The Keys. Balogun is also contributing co-editor of two anthologies: Ki: Khanga: The Anthology and Steamfunk. Finally, Balogun is the Director and Fight Choreographer of the Steamfunk feature film, Rite of Passage, which he wrote based on the short story, Rite of Passage, by author Milton Davis and co-author of the award winning screenplay, Ngolo. You can reach him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Afrikan.Martial.Arts; on Twitter @Baba_Balogun and on Tumblr at www.tumblr.com/blog/blackspeculativefiction.

20 responses »

  1. I was immediately fascinated by this post, and I must say it grasped me entirely. I remember as a child growing up and writing sci-fi and fantasy novels and my parents and teachers associating the writing with fanciful dream association and that my writing wasn’t exactly practical – so I definitely see what you mean by parents and teachers feeling the need for a persistent medium of English study. I was fortunate enough that within my high school and college years I found teachers who embraced my oddities and my creative personas and thus allowed me to just be me. I thoroughly endorse your ideas and I agree, we need to give kids the opportunities to create and advance their minds even if it’s by exploration.

    I’m a practicing student of game design and we’re taught every day to do exactly that. Expand our horizons and explore all possible scenarios that would come about to make a visceral meaningful experience to the player. If you don’t mind I would actually love to borrow your writing prompts as a writing/design exercise for myself. I realize that you had planned them for children, but I feel that it could really lend a wonderful hand to some days when I feel stuck or out of ideas to draw up a writing prompt and just see what ideas come to fruition.

    Thank you so much for this insightful post and wonderful prompts to build from!

    • Balogun says:

      Thank you for your comment! Please, feel free to use the prompts and please, tell me what results come about. I wish you much success in your studies and in the creation of your games!

  2. “Realism has become a trap for black children and they realize it. According to my young students, who range in age from nine to fifteen, they tire of reading and writing stories that are about “problems” and crave fantastic tales of derring-do with cool, young, Black heroes and heroines”.

    This is something that I have always believed, though I did not have anecdotal evidence for it–just my own impressions and experiences. I do think that children want to read more than “Little Johnny/Janie in the hood” stories (though I feel something of the pressure of expectation to write those kinds of stories). Part of the problem is the presumption, implicit in the publishing industry, that all black children relate inherently to those kinds of tales. It almost becomes another way of pathologizing black experience–by suggesting that it be so narrowly defined and represented. This is not to say that those experiences don’t need to be written, it is just to say that black children can read and write about more than just those things.

    Here is a blog about an essay that I wrote as a youth that meshes quite well with your observations. http://shiftersseries.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=405&action=edit

    Good blog. I always feel the need to write essays to respond to your blogs. They are thought-provoking. 🙂

    • Balogun says:

      Thank you, so much, L.M., for your comment. I am going to read the blog about your essay and give you feedback.
      I always appreciate your comments and I learn a lot from you. Thanks, again!

  3. […] a brighter future – they must read science fiction and fantasy. For more on this, please read https://chroniclesofharriet.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/why-black-children-need-to-read-write-science-fi… and […]

  4. […] recent post on Chronicles of Harriett explored how black children can gain from writing and reading science […]

  5. MsTBennett says:

    “Science fiction and fantasy offers black children an alternative way of dealing with legacy, tradition, and memory.”

    It’s amazing how much this post touched on my life. When I was little I nearly lived at the library, near the Science Fiction section. I would read all of the books, shelf by shelf. I was teased by my peers, of course, for reading so much, but I didn’t care. My fascination with the possibilities drove me to keep reading. Till this day I can’t remember reading ONE book that had African American characters. In fact, I distinctly remember asking my mother why none of the characters seemed to “look like me.” My imagination breathes and lives in sci-fi and fantasy – I love the supernatural and the seemingly impossible. Though I have started reading Octavia Butler’s “Kindred,” I lean towards romantic sci-fi for escapism and fun. It’s a question I’ve pondered many a time – I’ve even wished that I could write my own book, just to see these amazing African american characters on the page.

    It’s nice to see someone else that cares about this, and that your son’s imagination is not being stifled. My bond with my mother and her similar love to sci-fi and fantasy created a friendship that we both cherish (not just mother/daughter relationship).

    • Balogun says:

      Thank you, so much, for your reply. It is my mission – and the mission of a group of writers of which i am a part called ‘The State of Black Science Fiction’ – to educate our youth and adults about Black Speculative Fiction and to create great stories with protagonists of African descent.

  6. Just read this from a Facebook shared link. Inspiring and great idea generation tips for writing. Just as valuable to us adults as for kids.

    This is definitely how we groom our next generation of indie Black comic book and graphic novel writers, illustrators and animators.

  7. Very inspiring. And great idea generation writing tips for adult and child alike.

    This is definitely how we groom our next generation of indie Black comic book and graphic novel writers, illustrators and animators.

  8. Oh wow! This is an excellent post. When I was teaching (I taught social studies), my students were so caught up with the hardships of their own lives that it affected their disposition, how they related to other people, and education in general. They need that science fiction outlet and you described the reason so eloquently. They need to escape, if from nothing else, their own lives. The problem with my students was that they couldn’t read well by the time they got to high school. I think introducing them to science fiction would be a good way to entice them to learn to read better. I’m also going to try those exercises you wrote in your post with my own son to stimulate his imagination and get his head out of the computer for a while.

  9. […] 1. Why Black Children Need to Read & Write Science Fiction ….chroniclesofharriet.com […]

  10. […] However, if – through Fantasy and Science Fiction written with Black characters as the heroes – our youth begin to perceive themselves as heroic…as hard working…as good…they will begin to act in accord with how they perceive themselves. […]

  11. […] 1. Why Black Children Need to Read & Write Science Fiction ….chroniclesofharriet.com […]

  12. […] about why Black children should read and write Science Fiction and Fantasy. I also wrote about it here. Now I would like to provide you with a list of books for young adults, teens and tweens. A list of […]

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Document Alert: A Ten-Year Prioritization of Infrastructure Needs in the U.S. Arctic

There is a new report, “A Ten-Year Prioritization of Infrastructure Needs in the U.S. Arctic,” prepared by The U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System Arctic Marine Transportation Integrated Action Team for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

I have quoted a portion of the Executive Summary below”

“This document, “A Ten-Year Prioritization of Infrastructure Needs in the U.S. Arctic” (Prioritization Framework), presents a framework to address Arctic infrastructure gaps by identifying needs that are considered to be critical requirements for a safe and secure U.S. Arctic Marine Transportation System (MTS) over the next decade.

“This report by the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) fulfills directive 1.1.2 under the White House National Strategy for the Arctic Region (NSAR) 2014 Implementation Plan objective to “Prepare for Increased Activity in the Maritime Domain.” The deliverable for 1.1.2 is to “Deliver a 10-year prioritization framework to coordinate the phased development of Federal infrastructure through Department and Agency validated needs assessment by the end of 2016.” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx tasked this action to the CMTS in a May 2014 memorandum.

“Using the CMTS 2013 report U.S. Arctic Marine Transportation System: Overview and Priorities for Action (CMTS 2013 Arctic Report) definitions, this Prioritization Framework organizes the U.S. Arctic MTS into five core components:

  • Navigable Waterways
  • Physical Infrastructure
  • Information Infrastructure
  • Response Services
  • Vessels

“The recommendations set forth for consideration in this report are grouped into three categories under each of the five primary components: (1) infrastructure considerations that require both near-term planning and implementation; (2) infrastructure considerations requiring near term planning for mid- to long-term implementation; and (3) infrastructure considerations requiring long-term planning and implementation. This categorization facilitates the discussion of many coordinated infrastructure needs while acknowledging planning and funding requirements and limitations.

“Over the past five years, with the continuing trend in diminishing Arctic sea ice, discussions and projections for the Arctic as a new international trade route have increased. Some vessels, particularly smaller recreational vessels, currently operating in the Arctic are neither designed nor equipped for hazardous Arctic conditions. 2 As sea ice retreats, the lack of U.S. Arctic infrastructure to support increased maritime activity grows more apparent. Limited nautical charts, aids to navigation, communication, emergency response, and rescue capabilities make operations difficult and potentially dangerous. Other elements contributing to accident risks in the Arctic include inadequate maritime infrastructure and environmental and economic uncertainties, all major challenges identified in the CMTS 2013 Arctic Report.

“To address some of these risks, a number of studies have examined the gaps and potential infrastructure needs of the U.S. Arctic MTS. These needs include not only physical infrastructure such as ports, support vessels, and communication networks, but also the informational infrastructure enabling mariners to operate safely, such as nautical charts and electronic aids to navigation. The NSAR Implementation Plan (IP) identifies separate actions related to Arctic communications and aviation infrastructure [Objectives 1.2 Sustain and Support Evolving Aviation Requirements; and 1.3 Develop Communication Infrastructure in the Arctic]. This report synthesizes existing information on Arctic MTS infrastructure and gaps in order to distill requirements for future infrastructure needs over the next decade.

“There are 43 recommendations put forward in this report for necessary elements of a comprehensive Arctic MTS. This framework necessarily involves elements of the traditional definition of infrastructure, but also includes communication, planning, management, environmental policies, regulatory implementation, and the human element, all of which are required for safe, secure, and successful maritime transportation.

“Of the total list of recommendations, 25 are near-term recommendations to address the current gaps in U.S. Arctic infrastructure.

Presumably there will be interest in what they say about icebreakers. There are mentions elsewhere in the document, but this is a quote of the specific icebreaker section.

“The current Federal fleet of Polar icebreakers consists of one medium icebreaker (USCGC Healy) and one heavy icebreaker (USCGC Polar Star). The Polar Star is the only active heavy icebreaker and is primarily used in the Antarctic. The Healy is used primarily to support science missions in the Arctic, but may also be used to support other Coast Guard statutory missions such as search and rescue or provide persistent command and control capability, as required.

“It is important to note that capabilities of Coast Guard icebreakers often far exceed minimum international standards for icebreaking vessels, such as International Association for Classing Societies. These standards identify minimum power and structural survivability requirements of a single purpose vessel operating in ice infested waters. Unlike commercial vessels that are built to perform single missions with minimal crews, Coast Guard assets are multi-purpose vessels that incorporate aviation support, command and control, and additional power and endurance requirements necessary to perform all missions. The Coast Guard has assessed all available commercial icebreakers and has determined no currently operating vessel meets these critical mission and performance requirements for either a heavy or medium icebreaker. As a result, acquisition of new assets is the only viable option for obtaining additional icebreaking capacity.

“The Coast Guard currently has an acquisition program that will replace the capabilities of the Polar Star when complete. Due to lengthy design and production and anticipated decommissioning of the Polar Star, the Coast Guard will not provide additional capacity within the 10-year horizon. While Coast Guard icebreaking support has been used to facilitate commerce in emergency situations, such as the 2014 fuel resupply in Nome, the Coast Guard does not intend to use these vessels to facilitate routine commercial maritime traffic or to support commercial drilling operations.”

So does not look like we will even be considering vessels like the AIVIQ or the icebreakers that had been being built for Shell Oil construction of which has been suspended.

In addition to icebreakers, it looks like this will have implications for SAR, AtoN, Communications, and Marine Environmental Protection.

5 thoughts on “Document Alert: A Ten-Year Prioritization of Infrastructure Needs in the U.S. Arctic

  1. See near term recommendations under “Vessel Operations” heading.
    It states “Expand U.S. icebreaking capacity to adequately meet mission demands in the high latitudes.”
    I interpret the comment you reference to mean the USCG has no current plan that will fill this gap within the 10yr timeframe.
    My question is “what is near term” – I don’t see any definition of timeframes but one would assume it’s less than 10 years.

  2. The U.S.Senate identified an annual USD 100 billion shortfall in public investment in infrastructure. I doubt arctic “infrastructure” will (or deserves to) make it high enough on the list of actual investments.

    • Remember Alaska may have very few people, but they have two senators just like every other state, and so they have a disproportionate amount of clout. That is how they got a bridge to nowhere.

      • Don’t forget all the people in the lower 48 that work in Alaska during the Fishing season etc….. They bring the money back to their home state.

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Israel’s Future Salvation – Romans Study 71

Cary Cox, from Romans 11:25-27. Paul explains a mystery that has been revealed through the gospel, which helps us understand God’s plan in history, in the present, and even in the future! The fullness of Gentiles will come into the people of God, and then God will bring salvation to many in the nation of Israel.


text:
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Features of the Excellent Vacation Rentals and Destinations

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Man who went missing after wife’s murder found hanged in Durban hotel

Man who went missing after wife’s murder found hanged in Durban hotel

Verusha Padayachee, who was bludgeoned to death, with her husband Roland Pillay, who was recently found hanged from a Durban hotel's burglar bars. Image: Facebook

Police who tracked down Roland Pillay say they would have preferred to have arrested him and brought him before a court of law.

Since the murder of businesswoman Verusha Padayachee last Monday, her husband Roland Pillay seemingly vanished into thin air.

After the murder, police launched an intensive manhunt that covered hundreds of square kilometres and met many dead ends as the task team, headed by Alexandra Road detective Warrant Officer R Naidoo and Crime Intelligence’s Captain Rumen Maistry, followed up on all available information, reports Maritzburg Sun.

Public Eye reported last week that SAPS officers, detectives and a dog unit found a car belonging to Verusha on a farm in Hilton, Pietermaritzburg early on Friday morning.

Police found a reel of hosepipe, electrical cable, and a knife in a white VW Polo, which appeared to have been switched off after the car suffered damage.

New information also recently came to light that witnesses who met Roland in the period shortly after his wife’s murder reported that he had bruises and scratch marks on his face. He was also seen at a local pharmacy where he purchased painkillers and plasters.

ALSO READ: Manhunt for ‘missing’ husband of murdered Maritzburg gym owner intensifies

On Wednesday, the task team finally pinpointed Pillay’s location to a motel in the Durban CBD. As the detectives headed to Durban, hoping to make an arrest, news arrived that Pillay was found dead in his room at Metro Lodge. He was found hanging from the room’s burglar guards.

A suicide note was found at the scene, but there were no details in the note about his wife’s murder, leaving many unanswered questions.

“Since the murder, we worked round the clock to trace Pillay to shed light on what exactly happened last week. We wanted whoever was responsible for Verusha’s murder to answer in a court of law so that we could ensure justice was done.

“However, the recent developments have now brought closure to this investigation and we hope that both families can start the process of finding closure to this traumatic episode. Gender violence is a national priority and the SAPS will work tirelessly to ensure that those culpable of such crimes are brought to justice,” said Captain Maistry.

Staff at Metro Lodge, who were at the scene when Pillay’s body was recovered, described the room as being in a “terrible state”.

“The room was untidy and there were lots of fast food packets and containers everywhere. We also saw packets and bottles of medication,” said a staff member.

Maritzburg Sun can also disclose that among the items found at the Metro Lodge, police took into evidence the clothing believed to have been worn by Pillay last Monday and that contained traces of bloodstains.

It is believed that Pillay checked into the West Street bed and breakfast and had been holed up there for several days before his death.

The city was left reeling last week from the brutal murder of Verusha, who was bludgeoned to death at her Lincoln Meade home on Monday afternoon. Padayachee, the owner of Reshape Gym, was found by distraught family members who went in search for her after she didn’t arrive to pick up her four-year-old daughter from her in-laws’ home.

The ANC’s Rachel Soobiah commended the police for their efforts in tracking down Pillay.

“It is unfortunate that he was not found alive and will not face the full might of the law. There is hope that the family will find closure at this moment, and our thoughts and prayers are with the child who has lost both a mother and a father. Men must protect women of our society; every women and child must know that they will be safe. On Friday, we will hold a vigil for Verusha outside the Reshape Gym at 6pm,” said Soobiah.

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As part of our expanded online presence and making our work more accessible, Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) will be posting occasional updates to our various programs. Our US program is helmed by US Program Director, Daniel R. Mahanty. We hope you find it useful as a snapshot of our work around the world to protect civilians trapped in conflict.

After launching an offensive last week, Iraqi forces, back by Coalition airstrikes, captured the town of Rawa on Friday. Rawa was the last Iraqi town still held by the Islamic State in Iraq, though pockets of resistance remain and IS still controls some territory in the deserts of western Iraq. The International Rescue Committee has warned the international community that the end of the Islamic State’s territorial control does not mean the end to civilian needs, as more than 11 million Iraqis remain in need of humanitarian assistance.

Azmat Khan and Anand Gopal from the New York Times published the first systematic, ground-based investigation of the civilian death toll from Coalition airstrikes in Iraq since the anti-ISIS campaign began in August 2014. Khan and Gopal visited the sites of nearly 150 airstrikes between April 2016 and June 2017 in areas recently liberated from the Islamic State, where they interviewed witnesses, survivors, family members, intelligence informants, and local officials. They also interviewed senior commanders, legal advisors, and civilian-casualty assessment experts at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Their reporting shows that the Coalition’s air campaign is killing significantly more civilians than it has acknowledged. Khan and Gopal found that one in five Coalition strikes resulted in civilian death – a rate 31x higher than publicly acknowledged.

Khan and Gopal’s reporting details the Coalition’s failure to properly investigate claims of civilian harm or keep records in order to investigate claims. Central to the Coalition’s investigation process is matching civilian casualty accusations against its own airstrike logs, yet Khan and Gopal found many discrepancies between the dates and locations of strikes and those recorded in the Coalition’s records. The report also addresses the Coalition’s failure to compensate those injured or killed in US operations. In the course of their reporting, Khan and Gopal found that the Coalition had not yet offered a condolence payment for a civilian death since the war began in 2014.

SEE: Protection of Civilians in Mosul: Identifying Lessons for Contingency Planning

MOST RECENT OIR CIVCAS REPORT (October 27): In the month of September, CJTF-OIR carried more than 344 open reports of possible civilian casualties from previous months and received 302 new reports resulting from Coalition strikes (artillery or air) in support of partner force operations to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. During this period, the Coalition completed the assessment of 127 reports: 105 were assessed to be non-credible, six were assessed to be duplicates of previous reports, and 16 were assessed to be credible, resulting in 51 unintentional civilian deaths. To date, based on information available, CJTF-OIR assesses at least 786 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve. A total of 519 reports are still open and being assessed at the end of the month.

November 20: Wilson Center – Narrowing the Gap between International and Local Actors in Peacebuilding Efforts in South Sudan

November 29: USIP – Raqqa After the Islamic State: Governance Challenges in Post-ISIS Syria

December 4: Atlantic Council – Rebuilding Syria: A Localized Revitalization Strategy

December 5: USIP – Turmoil Across the Middle East: What Does It Mean?

Bureau of Investigative Journalism (Total Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen)

Civilians Killed: 753 – 1,488

Children Killed: 262 – 331

Total Killed: 6,826 – 9,930

Minimum Confirmed Strikes: 4,413

Airwars (Total Iraq and Syria)

Minimum Civilians Killed: 5,961

Coalition Strikes: 28,380

Bombs & Missiles Dropped: 102,082

Senate Sends NDAA to President’s Desk: The Senate summarily approved the redrafted 2018 NDAA in a voice vote on Thursday, sending the $700 billion defense authorization bill to President Trump’s desk for approval. The House had passed the legislation two days prior with a vote of 356-70; House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) along with his Senate counterpart John McCain (R-AZ) are now preparing to lobby budget officials for the necessary appropriation. These budget negotiations will be crucial if defense hawks want to guarantee that the NDAA is fully funded, since current budget caps would automatically cut over $100 billion of the bill’s spending. McCain stood by the funding request after the vote on Thursday: “I call upon the president to sign this important legislation into law — and in doing so acknowledge that this is the level of defense spending necessary to meet current threats, prepare for the challenges of an increasingly dangerous world and keep faith with our men and women in uniform.” President Trump has long campaigned on promises to dramatically increase investment in the military, and is expected to support this most recent call for defense spending boosts. While spending increases may signal Congressional intent to expand the United States’ involvement in foreign conflicts, the new NDAA contains many valuable new reporting requirements that will provide information on civilian protection capacity of U.S. allies (1, 2, 3) and casualties resulting from U.S. strikes.

House: War in Yemen Not Authorized: After the House legislation to prohibit the United States from contributing troops or funds to the Saudi anti-Houthi campaign in Yemen was stripped from the NDAA, House leaders proposed and passed a new, non-binding resolution declaring any such efforts unauthorized by Congress. Members were told in NDAA negotiations that the President should have flexibility to use force in Yemen if necessary and are now asserting that “Congress has not enacted specific legislation authorizing the use of military force against parties participating in the Yemeni civil war that are not otherwise subject to the [2001] Authorization of Use of Military Force or the [2003] Authorization of Use of Military Force in Iraq.” Debate over the President’s authorization to use force abroad has been ongoing in the House and Senate, and this legislation may inspire new momentum in Congress to provide updated definitions for where the President is and is not authorized to conduct military campaigns.

There are no upcoming Congressional hearings on civilians in conflict or human rights at this time.

Afghanistan: A US drone strike reported on November 13 killed at least four IS-K fighters in Nangarhar province. On November 14, a US strike killed six Taliban fighters in Helmand province.

Operation Inherent Resolve: Coalition airstrikes killed four senior Islamic State leaders in the past three weeks, including an a media official and an external operations coordinator near al-Qaim in Iraq and a weapons facilitator and external operations plotter in Syria.

Somalia: Between November 9 and November 14, the US carried out seven strikes in Somalia against both Islamic State and al Shabaab targets, killing more than 45 militants. On November 9, U.S. forces carried out an airstrike against al-Shabaab in the Bay Region of Somalia. On November 10, the US conducted an airstrike twenty miles north of Mogadishu against al-Shabaab. On November 11, the US carried out a strike against al Shabaab near Gaduud. On November 12, the US conducted two strikes, killing “several” fighters. The first strike targeted al Shabaab in the Lower Shabelle region; the second targeted the Islamic State in the Puntland region. On November 13, a US strike targeted al Shabaab fighters near Gaduud; according to an AFRICOM spokesman, “A group of al Shabaab terrorists posed an imminent threat to Somali-led and US forces” during a Somali-led counterterrorism operation and that the US conducted a “self-defense strike” in response. On November 14, a US strike killed “several” al Shabaab militants in the Idow Jalad village in the Lower Shabelle. The November 14 strike marked the twenty-eighth US strike in Somalia this year.

Yemen: Between November 10 and 12, the US conducted three drone strikes in al Bayda governorate. The first, on November 10, killed two Islamic State fighters; the second, on November 11, killed one IS fighter; the final strike, on November 12, killed two IS fighters.

The Long War Journal details the intensifying US air campaign in Yemen against Islamic State militants. The first US strike against the Islamic State in Yemen took place on October 16, followed by two more strikes in al Bayda at the end of October. Since the beginning of the year, the US has launched more than 100 strikes in Yemen against AQAP and six against the Islamic State.

Norway: The State Department approved the possible sale to Norway of sixty AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-AIr Missiles (AMRAAM), worth an estimated $170 million.

Peacekeeping: On Wednesday, Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said that the US will reduce its contributions to UN peacekeeping missions. The US currently pays 28 percent of the roughly $8 billion in annual peacekeeping costs, but will reduce its contributions to 25 percent. Shanahan said that the US will continue to provide training and equipment to UN peacekeeping missions.

Poland: The State Department approved the potential $10.5 billion sale to Poland of a Raytheon Patriot missile defense system.

Sudan: On Thursday, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said that the US would consider removing Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, contingent on Sudan’s progress on counterterrorism cooperation and human rights. Last month, the Trump administration formally lifted sanctions against Sudan.

Just Security: Last week, as states gathered at the UN to discuss lethal autonomous weapons, Paul Scharre wrote about the rapid pace of development in artificial intelligence and automation which has made setting effective policy difficult. In the second part of his post, Scharre argues that policymakers can address this issue by shifting the focus from technology back to the human. He writes that states must consider what role humans should play in lethal force decisions, including which decisions require uniquely human judgment.

Lawfare: Dave Blair and Karen House unravel the myth of drone warfare as remote-control fighting, detailing the “intensely personal experience” of remote killing and the costs it bears on operators.

Image courtesy of U.S. Army photo by Spc. Dana Clarke
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