Distinguished doctors: Belarus
Plastic Surgeon: Dr. Stebunov Sergey is an outstanding surgeon working at the high European level with a long track records of successful plastic surgeries. Works at Lode, Medical Center in Minsk. Tel: + 375 (8029) 637-30-03, e-mail: StebunovSS@yandex.ru
Orthopedics: Dr. Murzich Eduard is a high standing orthopedist working at the high European level with ample clinical expertise. He is highly referenced doctor capable to tackle the most complex pathological cases. He works at the State center of traumatology and orthopedics. Tel: +375 (8017) 212-32-88, e-mail: mae77@list.ru
Echography: Dr. Lukashevich Nikolai is regarded as one of the best specialists in Belarus focusing on echography. He performs all types of ultrasound diagnostics. Currently he works at the Lode, Medical Center in Minsk. Tel: +375 (8029) 638-30-03, e-mail: nik.luk@list.ru
Psychiatry: Dr. Alena Tserashchuk is a highly skillful psychiatrist and psychotherapist, PhD, associated professor, Jungian analyst, individual member of International Association for analytical Psychology (IAAP), member of the Russian Society for Analytical Psychology (RSAP); associated professor of the department for psychotherapy and clinical psychology of Public Educational Institution “Belarus Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education” (BelMAPE);associate professor of the International Society for Guided Affective Imagery and Mental Techniques in Psychotherapy and Psychology (ISGAI); the first ex-president of Development Group IAAP of Republic of Belarus (Minsk); vice-president of the Belarusian Association of Psychotherapists. Tel: +375296306964, e-mail: alenatsereshchuk@gmail.com
Oncology: Prof. Zhavrid Edward is one of the most distinguished oncologists and represents European excellency specialising in the use of advanced methods of chemotherapy in treating various tumours. He authored and co-authored of over 600 scientific publications in peer reviewed journals. Works at the Oncology and Medical Radiology Center named after Alexandrov. Tel: +375 (17) 389-95-12 e-mail: e.zhavrid@gmail.com
Oncology and diagnostics: Prof. Prokhorova Violetta is one of the most recognized oncologists focusing on the most advanced diagnostic methods in oncology, She gained wide international recognition for her work on tumor markers, factors of conformational modification of transport molecules and cellular structures, growth factors, angiogenesis and intercellular interaction, cytokines, etc. Under her supervision, the Diagnostics Department has become one of the Leading European centers on tumours diagnostics. She works at the Oncology and Medical Radiology Center named after Alexandrov. Tel: +375 (17) 389-95-36, e-mail: vprohorova@mail.ru
Children Surgery: Prof. Averin Vasily is an outstanding (highest professional level) children surgeon. He has an outstanding reputation acquired during his tenure at the most prestigious medical centers in Belarus. He developed an effective method of surgical treatment of children with bladder exstrophy and organ-preserving surgery for spleen injuries in children. Works at the State Medical University, Minsk, Belarus. Tel: +375 29 700-90-70, e-mail: averinvi@mail.ru
Oncology of the chest organs: Prof. Malkevich Victor is a renowned oncologist with a wide range of interests and a long track records on working in this field. His expertise engulfs a wide range of tumors including lung cancer and other lung tumors, pleural mesothelioma, disseminated lung and pleural lesions, mediastinal tumors, chest wall, lymphoproliferative diseases. Currently he is chairman of the Oncological and Thoracic Department of the Oncology and Medical Radiology Center named after Alexandrov. Tel: +375 (17) 265-33-01, e-mail: malkvt@mail.ru.
Cardiology: Prof. is a distinguished cardiologist widely recognized by the international scientific community. He gained excellency in the study of the etiology and pathogenesis of athero- and thrombogenesis, the role of neurohormonal systems in the development of cardiovascular pathology of cardiac and endocrinological diseases, the issues of heart electrophysiology, the pathogenesis of heart rhythm disturbances, the problems of interventional cardiology. He is a recipient of a European gold medal. He works at the Cardiology Center in Minsk, Tel +375 (17) 213-50-53, e-mail: a.g.mrochek@cardio.by.
Obstetrics and gynaecology: Prof. Mozheiko Ludmila is a high standing ginaecologist with ample clinical expertise. She works at the high European level. She holds Ph.D. in medicine. She also holds title «Doctor of the highest professional level.» She is the Department Chairman of the Belarus Medical Uinversity. Tel +7 (495) 933-86-48, e-mail: +375 17 331-69-26, e-mail: ginekolog@bsmu.by


Home Churchil Picket Reports Risk Assessments Strike On Syria; The Day After And Non State Actors
Strike On Syria; The Day After And Non State Actors
Quite a bit of discussion has already taken place on the magnitude and the type of strike to conduct in Syria and the legal justification for it. Moreover, work also continues on forming an alliance and clarifying the US and western objectives for such an intervention. Nonetheless, this debate has opened more potholes than to bring about clarity. This was obvious in the British Parliament today, which voted against interference in Syria.
Irrespective of the ongoing argument, one thing is certain now: action will take place in the next couple of days. The critical question to ponder over is what will happen next, and if there will be a response. The scenarios that can play out range from simple to really complex.
No Reaction
It is quite possible that other than a few rhetorical statements, there is no reaction from Assad in the aftermath of the strike. After all, this has been his posture to the previous Israeli strikes with in Syria. This is especially true in case the missiles are used to target a limited number of military installations and the strike is seen as merely symbolic, as the debate presently suggests.
However, with non-state actors fully involved across the region, this scenario just looks too simplistic to digest. Even if Assad does not want to react, there are plenty of other players that would want to make something out of the opportunity at hand. Moreover, if the attack is seen as a stepping-stone towards a regime change, a response can be expected.
The Non-State Actors
It could come in the form of a chemical weapon attack against Israel, in a fashion similar to the one conducted in Syria last week. Israel has already pointed out it will react forcefully to any provocation of this sort. In the present chaos of Syria, it would be hard to nail down the source if this happened. From an Israeli perspective, the likely culprit would be Hezbollah. And, the reaction from Israel would be against the backer of both Syria and Hezbollah, Iran.
The cat and mouse game on how far Iran is from acquiring nuclear weapons has been raging for a while now. The above context provides ample pretext to tackle this aspect and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, NATO alliance could work on dealing with the Syrian chemical weapons and Al Qaeda linked groups, with the assistance of Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The Regional Angle
As this unfolds, it will be interesting to watch how Hamas and recently disenfranchised Muslim Brotherhood (MB) elements respond; which can create a nightmare for interim government of Egypt and its military. This is perhaps one of the other reasons MB senior leaders are being arrested in Egypt. In all likelihood, the situation of Sinai will worsen further as Syrian situation deteriorates.
Subsequently, with the involvement of Hezbollah, another front could develop against Israel around the Syria-Lebanon-Jordan corridor. If not managed well, the situation can easily turn in to a Shia and Sunni non-state actors going at war with Israel, while they are also fighting each other. The other regional state actors are likely to be caught in the crossfire.
How much time this scenario may take to unravel is difficult to predict at this time. It will depend on the nature of initial strikes on Syria, and what follows. So, an ‘action-reaction’ dynamic is likely to play out. How Russia responds will also be a factor. However, Russian involvement and efforts are likely to be focused towards what emerges from the chaos.
Another variable to consider is the irredentist movement of Kurdistan. If the above scenario plays out, Kurds are likely to join hands with the West and will act to counter the non-state actors. Some of this is already at display in Syria where Kurds have clashed with AQ linked groups near the border with Turkey. Kurds obviously want to correct the mistakes of history.
In essence, there are two forces of change acting in the Middle East: the West and the non-state actors, while the Sunni state actors are striving to maintain the status quo. For all intents and purposes, the West appears to be in the midst of an intitive to reshape the Middle East so it no longer poses any threat to Israel, and at the same time protect its Sunni allies and energy supplies from the region. For this to happen, both Sunni and Shia non-state actors will have to be dealt with. While the West and NATO are aligned strictly with Sunni state actors, Russia and China have maintained ties across the Shia-Sunni divide, which gives them a definitive advantage in the present circumstances.
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Coronavirus, Race Relations, And Upcoming US Elections
Deteriorating Situation Of Afghanistan And The Emerging US-Pakistan Ties


Humanities › Visual Arts
13 White House Facts You May Not Know
TriggerPhoto / Getty Images
An Introduction to Architecture
Famous Houses
Jackie Craven
Art and Architecture Expert
Doctor of Arts, University of Albany, SUNY
M.S., Literacy Education, University of Albany, SUNY
B.A., English, Virginia Commonwealth University
Dr. Jackie Craven has over 20 years of experience writing about architecture and the arts. She is the author of two books on home decor and sustainable design.
Construction of the White House in Washington, D.C., began in 1792. In 1800, President John Adams was the first president to move into the Executive Mansion, and it's been rehabilitated, renovated, and rebuilt multiple times since. The White House is recognized around the world as the home of America's president and a symbol of the American people. But, like the nation it represents, America's first mansion is filled with unexpected surprises.
Torched by the British
During the War of 1812, the United States burned Parliament Buildings in Ontario, Canada. So, in 1814, the British Army retaliated by setting fire to much of Washington, including the White House. The inside of the presidential structure was destroyed and the exterior walls were badly charred. After the fire, President James Madison lived in the Octagon House, which later served as headquarters for the American Institute of Architects (AIA). President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed White House in October 1817.
West Wing Fire
On Christmas Eve 1929, shortly after the United States fell into a deep economic depression, an electrical fire broke out in the West Wing of the White House. The fire gutted the executive offices. Congress approved emergency funds for repairs, and President Herbert Hoover and his staff moved back in on April 14, 1930.
Once America's Largest House
When architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant drafted the original plans for Washington, D.C., he called for an elaborate and enormous presidential palace. L'Enfant's vision was discarded and architects James Hoban and Benjamin Henry Latrobe designed a much smaller, more humble home. Still, the White House was grand for its time and the biggest by far in the new nation. Larger homes weren't constructed until after the Civil War and the rise of Gilded Age mansions. The largest home in the United States is one from that period, the Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina, completed in 1895.
A Twin in Ireland
The White House cornerstone was laid in 1792, but a house in Ireland may have been the model for its design. The mansion in the new U.S. capital was built using drawings by Irish-born James Hoban, who had studied in Dublin. Historians believe Hoban based his White House design on a local Dublin residence, the Leinster House, the Georgian style home of the Dukes of Leinster. The Leinster House in Ireland is now the seat of the Irish Parliament, but before that it likely inspired the White House.
Another Twin in France
The White House has been remodeled many times. During the early 1800s, President Thomas Jefferson worked with British-born architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe on several additions, including the East and West Wing Colonnades. In 1824, architect James Hoban supervised the addition of a neoclassical "porch" based on plans that Latrobe had drafted. The elliptical south portico appears to mirror the Château de Rastignac, an elegant house constructed in 1817 in Southwest France.
Enslaved People Helped Build It
The land that became Washington, D.C., was acquired from Virginia and Maryland, where enslavement was practiced. Historic payroll reports document that many of the workers who built the White House were African Americans—some free and some enslaved. Working alongside white laborers, the African American workers cut sandstone at the quarry in Aquia, Virginia. They also dug the footings for the White House, built the foundations, and fired bricks for the interior walls.
European Contributions
The White House could not have been completed without European artisans and immigrant laborers. Scottish stoneworkers raised the sandstone walls. Craftsmen from Scotland also carved the rose and garland ornaments above the north entrance and the scalloped patterns beneath the window pediments. Irish and Italian immigrants did brick and plaster work. Later, Italian artisans carved the decorative stonework on the White House porticoes.
Washington Never Lived There
President George Washington selected James Hoban's plan, but he felt it was too small and simple for a president. Under Washington's supervision, Hoban's plan was expanded and the White House was given a grand reception room, elegant pilasters, window hoods, and stone swags of oak leaves and flowers. But Washington never lived in the White House. In 1800, when the White House was almost finished, America's second president, John Adams moved in. Adams' wife Abigail complained about the unfinished state of the presidential home.
FDR Made It Wheelchair Accessible
The original builders of the White House didn't consider the possibility of a president with a disability. The White House didn't become wheelchair accessible until Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office in 1933. President Roosevelt lived with paralysis due to polio, so the White House was remodeled to accommodate his wheelchair. Franklin Roosevelt also added a heated indoor swimming pool to help with his therapy. In 1970, the swimming pool was covered over and used as the press briefing room.
Truman Saved It From Collapse
After 150 years, wooden support beams and exterior load-bearing walls of the White House were weak. Engineers declared the building unsafe and said that it would collapse if not repaired. In 1948, President Truman had the interior rooms gutted so that new steel support beams could be installed. During the reconstruction, the Trumans lived across the street at Blair House.
Additional Monikers
The White House has been called many names. Dolley Madison, the wife of President James Madison, called it the "President's Castle." The White House was also called the "President's Palace," the "President's House," and the "Executive Mansion." The name "White House" didn't become official until 1901, when President Theodore Roosevelt officially adopted it.
Gingerbread Version
Creating an edible White House has become a Christmas tradition and challenge for the official pastry chef and a team of bakers at the White House. In 2002 the theme was "All Creatures Great and Small," and with 80 pounds of gingerbread, 50 pounds of chocolate, and 20 pounds of marzipan the White House was called the best Christmas confection ever.
It Wasn't Always White
The White House is made of gray-colored sandstone from a quarry in Aquia, Virginia. The north and south porticos are constructed with red Seneca sandstone from Maryland. The sandstone walls weren't painted white until the White House was reconstructed after the British fires. It takes 570 gallons of white paint to cover the entire White House. The first covering used was made from rice glue, casein, and lead.
Building the White House in Washington, D.C.
How Ireland Inspired the White House
The Architecture of Washington, DC
Pictures and Trivia About the Presidents of the United States
John Tyler: Significant Facts and Brief Biography
US Presidents Who Were Enslavers
Martha Jefferson
The U.S. Presidents and Their Era
Decade by Decade Timeline of the 1800s
Who Were the Democratic Presidents of the United States?
War Hawks and the War of 1812
Biography of James Monroe, Fifth President of the United States
Presidential Campaigns of the 1800s
Mansions, Manors, and Grand Estates in the United States
The State of the Union Address


Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Monday, 21st September, 2020 7.30 pm
Agenda frontsheet PDF 116 KB
Agenda reports pack PDF 786 KB
Printed minutes PDF 139 KB
Venue: Meeting to be held in accordance with SI 2020/392. Link to live stream will be found at https://www.tendringdc.gov.uk
Contact: Keith Simmons Email: democraticservices@tendringdc.gov.uk or Telephone 01255 686580
Apologies for Absence and Substitutions
The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.
There were no absences or substitutions.
Minutes of the Last Meeting
To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee, held on 3 September 2020.
The Minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on Thursday 3 September 2020 were approved as a correct record and were then signed by the Chairman.
Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Personal Interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.
There were no declarations of interest.
Questions on Notice pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 38
Subject to providing two working days' notice, a Member of the Committee may ask the Chairman of the Committee a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Tendring District and which falls within the terms of reference of the Committee.
On this occasion no Councillor had submitted notice of a question.
Recommendations Monitoring Report PDF 108 KB
To present to the Committee the updated Recommendations Monitoring Report, outlining any recommendations the Committee have sent to Cabinet. The Committee is requested to consider the report and determine whether any further action is required on the recommendations submitted.
The Committee had before it the current Recommendations Monitoring Report. The Committee were aware that this report outlined any recommendations it had made to the Cabinet, the Cabinet’s response and any relevant updates.
After some deliberation it was RESOLVED that an update was required in relation to an item from the Committee meeting from 22 June 2020 (minute 62) regarding the cliff stabilisation survey, clarification is sought to know if his response included a district wide survey.
It was also RESOLVED that the Committee would like to know if its recommendation in relation to a public engagement plan as well as more information to the public in relation to the grants available, and if either of these have started yet, this is in reference to the Committee held on 22 June 2020 (Minute 68 refers) about Housing Issues.
The Committee discussed the maintenance contract discussed at the Committee on the 22 June 2020 (Minute 68 refers) where the Portfolio Holder responded that the contract is a 7 year contract with a review after 1 year, it was RESOLVED that the Committee seeks to be part of that review.
The Committee held on 22 June 2020 (Minute 63 refers) recommended that all funding to NEGC ltd. be suspended, as the company is in the process of being dissolved they RESOLVED that this matter is closed.
Report of Acting Corporate Director (Operational Services) - A.1 - Scrutiny of the Waste and Recycling Collection Service PDF 89 KB
To submit to the Committee the future ambitions for the waste and recycling service including improving recycling levels (as requested by the Committee at its meeting on 17 February 2020).
The report will also address a proposed site visit to a waste and recycling centre.
Item 6 - addendum report 21st September 2020 , item 86. PDF 149 KB
The Committee was informed that prior to the COVID pandemic, invitations for a select number of Councillors were about to be made by the Portfolio holder for site visits to the Veolia plastic sorting and processing plants based in both Rainham and Degenham Essex, along with a site visit to the ECC transfer site located on the A120 at Ardleigh. As COVID restrictions remained in place Veolia were currently not offering site visits to any of their sites, policies were under constant review in line with government guidance and once the authority and Veolia were in a position to offer site visits suitable arrangements would be put in place to resurrect the intended site visits.
Photography and video recording was prohibited at their sites and due to that, live streaming or educational video was not an option.
Future ambitions of the service to further improve the recycling rates:
Members heard the last of the main delivery of approximately 58,000 wheeled bins was completed by the end of August 2019 and as such the wheeled bin service had been in operation for just over a year. The report of the Portfolio Holder for Environment placed before Cabinet on the 16th February 2018 it was anticipated that the fortnightly collection of residual waste from a wheeled bin would reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill by an estimated 16% (4,500 tonnes) whilst increasing recycling by an estimated 3,100 tonnes and increasing the recycling rate by an estimated 8%.
The latest audited data supplied by ECC for the period of April 2019 to March 2020 had reported a reduction of waste sent to landfill by 7363 tonnes, increasing recycling by 2899 tonnes and increasing the recycling rate from the 2018/19 figure of 27.4% to 2019/20 figure of 36.6%; an increase of 9.2%.
Those figures not only meet or exceeded the predicted ambitions of the new service, the new waste service had not become fully operational until the last week in August 2019, this indicated that with the first 5 months data based either fully or partially on the old weekly collection service, that the future performance of the fortnightly collection service would continue to over achieve the initial targets set for the service.
With the introduction of wheeled bins having clearly promoted waste minimisation and increased participation in recycling, that since the roll out of the 58,000 wheeled bins the authority and Veolia have continued to work towards increasing the wheeled bin participation of households within the District. The initial audit of the properties in the district indicated approximately 11,000 properties which should remain on a weekly bag collection service, TDC Officers continued to reassess and where practicably possible, introduce wheeled bins to these 11,000 properties, with numerous blocks of flats and properties in rural locations being transferred over to a fortnightly wheeled bin service. Additionally to those properties, as all new build developments became occupied the residents were automatically provided with not just a wheeled bin but also a full ... view the full minutes text for item 86.
Report of Corporate Director (Place and Economy) - A.2 - Leisure Provision by the Council in the District PDF 141 KB
To set out the position concerning the emerging District-wide Leisure Strategy, the refurbishment of Clacton Leisure Centre , the sale of land for use by Clacton County High School at the open space adjacent to the Clacton Leisure Centre and the refurbishment of the Skate Park also adjacent to the Centre.
The Committee was updated on a number of items on the Sport and Leisure work programme. The Assistant Director for Economic Growth and Leisure # provided this background report.
UPDATES ON THE WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE COMMITTEE
a) The emerging district-wide Leisure Strategy as previously reported to it – progress with the development of the Strategy
Members were informed that the Sports Facilities Strategy was due to be presented for consideration by Cabinet earlier in the year. One of the key focusses of that plan was a wholesale review of pricing and recommendations for a change in direction, based on an external review of the local fitness market and an evaluation of the number of the volume and value of pre-paid members. Due to the pandemic, that strategy had been postponed and was likely to be brought forward for consideration early in 2021.
Membership numbers had fluctuated significantly due to the forced closure and phased approach to re-opening. In that state of flux, membership subscriptions had been halved to recognise the reduction in services available to those who pre pay, wither annually or through bank transfer. Further to that, the wider market has been drastically effected by the pandemic and it would not be an appropriate time to make radical decisions, without a clear understanding of when stability will resume.
b) The refurbishment of the Clacton Leisure Centre – to review arrangements for the refurbishment since they were last presented to the Committee.
The Committee heard that in July 2019, Cabinet committed a budget for the refurbishment of the swimming pool changing rooms and health suite areas at Clacton Leisure Centre.
A tender process for those works was postponed earlier in the year due to the forced closure of the Sports Facilities. A full specification had been prepared by a specialist organisation acting on behalf of the Council and was then in a position to be advertised to prospective contractors. This Architectural Design and Contract Administration company would also act on behalf of the Council during the evaluation of tenders and throughout the construction phase.
Followed by the receipt and evaluation of the subsequent submissions, it was anticipated that the work would be undertaken at the end of the year, which was historically the quietest period.
c) The sale of land to Clacton County High School, community access to the pitches on that land, management of that community access and the conditional works on the existing 3G pitches at the Leisure Centre – progress/timescales.
The Committee was informed of the transfer of land to Clacton County High School (CCHS) had yet to be concluded and final agreements were not at that time, in place.
In anticipation of conclusion however, agreement had been reached with the school and Essex County Council (ECC) on arrangements for community use.
The grass pitch which was marked out on the ‘new’ school land, would remain available for community use outside of school hours. That would be booked through the same process as all ... view the full minutes text for item 87.
Scrutiny of Proposed Decisions PDF 57 KB
Pursuant to the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 13, the Committee will review any new and/or amended published forthcoming decisions relevant to its terms of reference and decide whether it wishes to enquire into any such decision before it is taken.
Matters may only be raised on those forthcoming decisions at Committee meetings where the Member has notified the Committee Services Manager in writing (or by personal email) of the question they wish to ask, no later than Midday, two working days before the day of the meeting.
Pursuant to the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 13, the Committee reviewed any new and / or amended published forthcoming decisions relevant to its terms of reference with a view to deciding whether it wished to enquire into any such decision before it was taken. The relevant forthcoming decisions were before the Committee. The Committee was advised that the report referenced the lead Officers rather than the decision maker. The Committee was advised that rather than the officers identified in the report, the decisions would actually be taken by Cabinet in a meeting or by the relevant Portfolio Holder.
The Committee heard the proposed decisions and RESOLVED that they would add the following to their work agenda:
1. Draft Climate Change Action Plan
2. Financial Performance Report - Quarter 1 2020/21
3. Back to Business Initiatives - Covid-19 Recovery
4. Housing Development and Acquisitions Strategy
Review of the Work Programme PDF 110 KB
To present to the Committee a draft detailed Work Programme 2020/21, to consider the detail and ordering of the Work Programme.
The Committee had before it an updated Work Programme 2019/20 that outlined the scrutiny to be undertaken by this Committee in the remainder of that Municipal Year. It had been expanded from that originally approved work plan.
After some deliberation it was RESOLVED that:
1) the Committee meeting for the 16 November 2020 be amended to include Back 2 Business and the Financial Performance Reporting on the agenda.
2) Housing Acquisition/Development Strategy Review – right to buy numbers, values, type and age of housing and impact on risk appetite for Council building. Plus progress with Pension Provider discussions to build and lease back housing be the focus of the meeting scheduled for the 1 February 2021.
3) scrutinises the draft Tourism Strategy as approved by Cabinet on 11 September 2020


Phlogiston
Nov 2, 2020·21 min read
J.J.Becher, father of phlogiston theory, public domain
When Albert King recorded “Born Under a Bad Sign” in 1967, he described a man whose hardships included illiteracy and a penchant for big legged women. If the song’s character had ever met Noel Deign, he would’ve counted his blessings.
Noel was born five years after the recording’s release, but it is impossible to say he was born under a bad sign. Noel was born under no sign. If the astrological charts had been laid out to illuminate the paths and plans for every person on earth, it seemed no divinity took the time or made any effort to slap together such a plan for Noel. Even his name — Noel, which means Christmas, and Deign, which means to do something that one considers beneath one’s dignity — is a nonsensical mashup of traditional festivity and conceit. What does it mean? Nothing, just like Noel Deign.
Noel’s parents met when they were seventeen, and they were married by twenty. They married because they wanted to have sex, and being a devout Catholic, his mother could not fornicate for fear of being roasted on a spit in Hell for eternity. Instead, they gathered all who were dear to them and publicly spoke their vows of faithfulness and love before God and three hundred of their parents’ closest friends, all so Noel’s father, Howard, and Noel’s mother, Virginia, could copulate with the aplomb of those guaranteed entrance into Heaven.
For the honeymoon, Howard chose Harey Haven Resort in the Pocono Mountains, a two-and-a-half-hour drive north of Philadelphia. Upon arrival, the proprietor took them to their suite which featured a heart-shaped bed, white shag carpeting, and a hot tub that sat atop a five-foot-tall sculpture of a champagne glass. The proprietor lingered far longer than Howard or Virginia felt was necessary and spent an inordinate amount of time fixing the thermostat in the closet. Once he left, the Deigns tore each other’s clothes off and collapsed into a flesh-toned heap on the rotating heart-shaped bed. The duration of this first intercourse could be measured by the time it took Howard to position his erect penis at the opening of his wife’s vagina and the microsecond it took Howard to shudder like a man being electrocuted as his ejaculate traversed his urethra and shot through her small opening. Howard never achieved penetration, yet both he and Virginia insist that it was during that first encounter that she became pregnant. Nine months later, Noel was born, so named because he was born on Christmas Day. The coincidence of Noel’s birthday and that of Jesus, combined with what Noel’s father believed was an immaculate conception because he never broke Virginia’s hymen — thereby impregnating her while still a virgin — planted the seed in Howard’s mind that Noel was in fact the second coming of Christ. The universe reinforced the thought five years later when the FBI raided Harey Haven Resort and discovered the proprietor had been filming newlywed couples for more than ten years, covering the time of the Deigns’ honeymoon. Naturally, God would want to document the second immaculate conception, which explained why he allowed them to be filmed. Such thoughts had earned Noel’s father the high school nickname of “Deign the Insane.”
Noel’s childhood was destined to be an unusual one. His father Howard decided to home school him because he thought himself smarter than any teacher public education could offer. As someone who barely made it through high school himself, Howard’s decision to home school Noel seemed an act tantamount to child abuse. But Howard was determined to “learn his boy all the good stuffs”; and while the state would remove a child from a home where he is physically or sexually abused, they could do nothing when faced with a homeschooling dad who thought viruses enter a person’s nose and work their way through the body until they exit from the big toe. That was Noel’s first science lesson.
Science was Howard’s favorite topic to teach, and had been since he was laid off from the vinyl chloride plant just before Noel’s birth. Virginia kept the family insolvent by working three jobs that included cutting hair, cutting nails — and intentionally cutting herself on occasion — and acting as a counselor on a suicide hotline, which usually ended with the caller giving Virginia words of encouragement and advice.
Howard taught Noel the basics. The four elements were earth, water, air, and fire. Earth and water combine to form mud. Earth and air combine to form dirt. Noel asked what happens when water and fire combine, and Howard said that water beats fire, but that fire beats paper and paper beats rock.
Lessons were a model of efficiency as Howard combined science, religion, and creative writing into one course. Howard told young Noel that the things in the Bible were incorrect, that they had all been sold a plastic grocery bag full of lies. There was no God. All the stories in the Bible were misrepresentations of alien visits that occurred in the distant past. There was no Garden of Eden; aliens mixed their own DNA with primate DNA. Elijah was not carried to Heaven in a flaming chariot, that was an alien abduction. Jesus didn’t die for our sins, he was just some guy who owed the Romans back taxes.
Noel was a sponge and took in all Howard’s teachings. When Howard told Noel that iron rusts because water fills it with self-doubt, he took it as fact. When Howard taught Noel that plants do not die from a lack of sunlight or water, but that they commit suicide so their decaying remains will help the roots of a new generation, Noel was amazed by such self-sacrifice. Father and son built a garden on a shady side of the house and never watered it. They were perplexed when nothing grew until Howard realized they had bought heirloom seeds, and as heirs these seeds must’ve been spoiled rotten, resulting in their abject selfishness.
One of Howard’s favorite scientific principles was soft inheritance, an hypothesis debunked in the Middle Ages that states physiological changes acquired over the life of an organism may be passed to its offspring. Howard used this principle to explain why Noel was weak and sickly, because his pregnancy was unplanned and Howard didn’t have time to get buff before the insemination.
Virginia also contributed to Noel’s education in ways more profound than her husband. One example is how she taught Noel to deal with death. For a child, the death of a pet is often the vehicle by which parents introduce the concept of death and how to handle the accompanying grief; but since Noel was not allowed pets — with the exception of the mixed German Shepherd-Doberman stray he owned for twelve hours before the dog defecated in Howard’s new Lincoln — Virginia’s adventitious opportunity came when Dr. Zhivago aired on network television. In the opening scene of the David Lean classic, a young Yuri Zhivago — a boy the same age as Noel — attends his mother’s funeral. When Virginia looked up from her drink and saw the headstones and dark clothing, she shrieked and pulled Noel’s head into her breast while shouting, “No! Don’t look, Noel! Don’t look at the funeral, oh my God! She’s dead! His mother’s dead!”
When it was time to learn about astronomy, Howard took twelve year-old Noel to the backyard with a junior telescope to look at sunspots. Howard instructed that, similar to humans, sunspots can tell the age of a star. They both stared into the sun through the telescope until their corneas resembled the surface of Mercury. Howard mistook the halos caused by the photokeratitis as angelic visions that shook his faith in the Ancient Aliens theory and drove him back to the Catholic Church, much to the delight of Virginia who by this time was sprinkling crushed valium over her Cheerios. But Noel was devastated by his father’s reversal of faith. How could Howard teach him something for years and then act like it no longer mattered? That indignity provided the gumption Noel needed to embark on his own quest for self-educated truth. He struck out from home one sunny day and did the unthinkable, something that would create a rift between him and his father that would never mend: he filled out a form and became the proud first-time owner of a public library card.
When Noel entered the library during his maiden outing — the first time he stood in any building that contained a lot of books — he was greeted by a large poster of William Faulkner with his much quoted advice, “Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it.” The timing was right for such words to have the maximum effect on Noel and to fill him with feelings of hope and urgency. Noel was at a milestone in his life, a time when he had made the decision to cast off what he had learned and to start anew. It was a feeling anyone who has lost faith in religion would recognize, a feeling of deconstruction riddled with fear and uncertainty, but with an excitement that something profound and ultimately good was happening to them. Unfortunately, Noel could not have known that Faulkner was referring to the reading of fiction — the product of human imagination — and in particular how it should be used to hone a fiction writer’s craft. No one mentioned to Noel that when it came to nonfiction, people should not read everything. When reading historical texts or scientific studies, people should go to great pains to avoid the trash, avoid the garbage, because garbage breeds parasites that infect the human mind and make it a host for their progeny. The power of Faulkner’s words inspired Noel greatly, but they could not fill the epistemological hole Noel’s parents had left in his development as a man capable of critical thought. Noel never learned how to learn. By looking at Noel, one could see that if a man is taught truth and falsehood in equal measure, with equal weight, and by virtue of his ignorance is unable to distinguish one from the other, he will emerge a danger to himself and to all around him.
Noel spent the next several months placating his father by feigning interest in his lessons like “How Heat Flows From Cold to Hot in the Summertime,” and then set out for surreptitious jaunts to the chemistry section of what had become his favorite place on earth. There was something that overwhelmed Noel every time he stood before the rows of bookcases that started at the entrance to the second floor and stretched all the way to the back. He stood before the chemistry books and drew long breaths through his nose to enjoy the sweet smell of old paper. Noel would never learn the names of the chemicals that gave the books their fragrance, the volatile organic compounds produced from acid hydrolysis: the benzaldehyde, ethyl hexanaol, and toluene. As he gazed upon the bound paper that contained Newton’s apple and Galileo’s feathers and irons, Noel felt a warm sensation in his groin followed by a build up of pressure and then a release that made his vision blurry and compromised his balance. He recovered against the bookcase and pondered the cause of such a spontaneous loss of control. Noel guessed it was the scent of knowledge combined with his first taste of freedom, and didn’t realize it had more to do with his thirteen year-old body experiencing the metamorphic beginnings of puberty with its thrilling chemical reactions.
Standing alone and surrounded by books, Noel had no idea where to begin, but remembering Faulkner’s words, he figured it didn’t matter where he started since he was going to read everything. Noel reached into a tightly packed bookshelf and retrieved a book at random. The significance of this event was lost on Noel, but there began a pivotal shift for him. Of the hundreds of books the library contained about chemistry, Noel could have selected any instead of the one he picked. He could have pulled From Caveman to Chemist, by Hugh W. Salzberg, an examination of the evolution of chemistry from its Stone Age beginnings through the development of classical theories of molecules and chemical reactions. Had he picked that book, he would have learned about Phlogiston theory within an historical context, and most importantly how it is no longer considered a viable model of nature. He could have also picked The Overthrow of Phlogiston Theory: The Chemical Revolution of 1775–1789, by James Bryan Conant, which conveniently indicates in the title that Phlogiston theory had been discredited long ago. Instead, Noel picked a book simply titled Phlogiston, by Mowry Dibble, an obscure book published by an even more obscure publisher. The book was the work of a scientific humorist that contained an ironic treatment of Phlogiston as if it had never been discredited and had survived into the modern time. It showed what the world would look like today if humanity had never moved past Phlogiston theory. Dibble’s wit was lost on Noel, who took his exaggerations and the absurdist way in which he presented the fundamentals of the theory as a factual telling. Phlogiston was the first book Noel checked out of the library, having spent months reading in the library to avoid being found out by his father.
It did not take long for Howard to discover the book and demand an explanation. Noel intentionally left the book in plain sight.
“What is this?” Howard yelled, shaking the book at Noel.
“A book.”
“Where did you get it?”
“At the library.”
“What library? There’s no library in this town.”
“Yes there is. It’s a block from our house. It’s been there a long time.”
“Nonsense!” cried his father. “And this book is more nonsense.” Howard read the title aloud, mispronouncing it badly. “Phlogiston? I never heard of it. It’s crap!”
“It’s crap because you haven’t heard of it?”
“It’s just crap.” Howard opened a window and threw the book out of it. He and Noel were on the first floor, so it landed on top of an azalea bush, and Noel easily retrieved it.
Howard did not seem to know or care that his outburst and irrational demands would have the opposite of the intended effect on Noel. He forgot his Frankenstein, not that he ever read it, and how young Victor reacted when his father called Cornelius Agrippa’s work “sad trash.” Like Frankenstein, Noel’s fascination with the taboo science increased with greater warnings against it, and he read about phlogiston more avidly than before.
Noel learned that Phlogiston was a 17th century attempt to explain the process of combustion. Noel knew nothing of combustion, not even that it was the science behind the automobile engine or gas grills, so he would first have to learn the fundamentals of reaction chemistry, which he never did. He learned the history of the Phlogiston Theory, how water, earth, fire, and air — the four known elements of classical theory described by Aristotle and taught by homeschooler Howard Deign — could be re-categorized as moist, dry, hot and cold, which had nothing to do with anything. Rather than understand fire within a modern context, as a complex mixture of ionized carbon particles, water vapor, carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen that emits heat, it was considered one substance, and the process of combustion, or burning, was seen as the decomposition of it.
The theory resonated with Noel who had been wondering why his penis felt so tingly and hot, and always did so just prior to what he could only describe as a great release of pressure. Could his penis contain great quantities of phlogiston? The theory could also explain why the girls in his neighborhood seemed aloof while he couldn’t take his mind off them. Did the female vagina contain low quantities of phlogiston or none whatsoever? If that were the case, what would happen if the high-phlogiston penis and the low-phlogiston vagina came into contact? The thought alone made Noel release large quantities of phlogiston in his underwear at night.
With these observations, Noel began what would become his life’s masterwork, Men Have Phlogiston, Women Don’t.
The tragedy of Noel Deign is that he was not a dumb man. He was born with above average intelligence and an insatiable curiosity about the world. Noel was simply born to the wrong parents, ones who filled him with suspicion, fear, and insecurity, and taught him worse than nothing: they taught him all the wrong things. They taught him the way the world isn’t.
Noel would not publish his work for another thirty years, and it would have been better for everyone had he burned it and released all of its imaginary phlogiston then and there. Noel’s theory, that the complex differences between men and women could be explained by evoking a debunked 17th century theory about chemistry, was garbage in every sense of the word. His thesis was based upon circumstantial evidence he obtained third hand because, as Noel himself would admit, he could write everything he knew about women on one side of a piece of toilet paper. He also created his theory in a vacuum, and did not site any references from chemistry, biology, or psychology published in the last three hundred years. There were times Noel almost stopped writing, as if he could finally see what everyone but the author himself could see; but because he first developed his theory during a time of great personal discovery — his maturation and departure from childhood, not the least of which included the chemical and biological changes taking place within him that caused feelings of intense eroticism — he became bonded to his theory more strongly than the 124 kcal/mol carbon-fluorine bond, not that Noel would ever learn what that means. He associated his pseudoscience with the real magic of adolescence and all of its firsts: the first time he noticed the budding breasts of his female neighbors, his first erection, his first involuntary orgasm, his first all-weekend masturbate-a-thon that left him humping throw pillows in the living room. All his passions were so tightly-coupled that he could never disassociate them from one another or from the mangled mass of faith and reason his father had helped him create. For these reasons, Noel could not see his work objectively, and even when faced with irrefutable evidence that he was totally wrong and that his work was meaningless, he couldn’t let it go.
The Library Book Incident brought an end to any semblance of love that existed in Noel and Howard’s relationship. Noel would always think of Howard as a lowbrow, and Howard would think of Noel as an ungrateful, spoiled child who didn’t know good learning even when he repeatedly beat him over the head with it.
A year later, Virginia tried to help the only way she knew how. She drank half a fifth of Smirnoff and called the first and last Deign Family meeting, to be held at 6:32 pm because those numbers held some significance, she was sure of it. When Howard and Noel walked the ten feet from wherever they had been and into the living room, she gave a short, tearful plea filled with Hallmark platitudes and drunken blubbering, and put a cassette tape into her Sony component stereo system. She hit PLAY and “Father and Son” by Cat Stevens came out of the speakers as Virginia sobbed into her drink. Howard stared out the window watching grass grow while wondering how it was able to do so in direct sunlight, and Noel wrestled down another useless erection. At the end of the song Virginia said, “See?” and then stared at them with her raccoon eyes before rising and staggering to her bedroom where she remained for the rest of the night.
Noel never forgave Howard for his actions, and there was no time for father and son to repair the damage. One month after the delivery of Noel’s SAT scores, Howard found out that he had liver cancer along with twenty other men who used to work in the vinyl chloride plant. Two months after that, Virginia was diagnosed with cirrhosis and liver cancer. Noel’s parents died within a week of each other the following year. Virginia went first, and Howard insisted with his dying breath that he passed on his liver cancer to her during intercourse.
Neither Virginia nor Howard had any life insurance, and the house had been remortgaged so many times the equity left in it had deflated like a balloon put into the freezer. Noel had to leave his parents home at the age of twenty and set out on his own for the first time. He did not spend much time thinking of what might have been. His parents were gone and perhaps that was for the best. He thought back to his father’s theory about plant suicide, the ones that die and decompose onto the roots of the younger plants to ensure their survival. Perhaps that’s what his parents had done, sacrificed themselves so he would not be burdened by them, so they would not impede his development any more than they already had.
AFTER THE DEATH OF his parents, Noel Deign’s first task was to get an apartment, which he found above a newly opened deli on the main street of his home town. A sign over the entrance threshold read:
’Tis moral sin an Onion to devour,
Each clove of garlic hath a sacred power
Above the deli counter hung another sign:
Onion skins very thin,
Mild winter coming in.
Onion skins very tough,
Coming winter very rough.
The deli was owned by an immigrant family of indeterminate ethnicity. The apartment was small and clean, but the smells of fresh paint and new carpeting could not mask the pervasive odors of onions and garlic. They seeped from the walls and invaded Noel’s clothing and thoughts as if they draped his bedroom with their satin skins. In a dream, he viewed the earth from space and it looked like an onion. He held it in his hand. The skin was so thick he could not peel it. He wanted to peel it because he had to expose the fleshy layers to find out what made it sting so much and burn his eyes. Exasperated, he bit into the skin and tore out a chunk. He chewed the onion to bits and swallowed it, but immediately vomited it into empty of space. Noel looked at the world with a large bite out of it and decided he liked it that way. It looked too perfect before. Now it resembled him, broken and incomplete with a large piece missing.
Noel discovered pornography and started on a path to becoming an aficionado. This led to his main order of business: hiring prostitutes to make with the phlogiston exchange. He had grown tired of waiting on these stupid girls who should have jumped at the chance to participate in his phlogiston experiment, at least for the sake of groundbreaking scientific research. Finding a prostitute was remarkably easy — they advertised in the back of a free newspaper that filled the kiosk in front of the deli. With the stealth of an extra from the reject line of Get Smart, he backed up to the kiosk with his hands behind his back and removed a copy. Even before he reached the security of his apartment, the phlogiston ached for release. He spread the paper out on the plywood supported by a milk crate that he used as a coffee table and read the ads out loud. They were written in some kind of code, using symbols he didn’t understand: m4w, w4m, m4t, BiWM, SAF, LTR, Sub, Dom, strap-on, fisting, ABR/ANR, golden shower, bukkake, BDSM, fresh off boat, yellow fever. They all sounded exotic to Noel, so intriguing. In the end he picked one the way he had picked his first and only book about Phlogiston, which was by random.
A woman speaking broken English answered the phone.
“I want someone with a vagina and breasts,” said Noel.
“Vagina and breasts. It’s very important.”
It took some time, but eventually the woman explained that all her girls had both vaginas and breasts.
“Send one, please. It’s for science. Make sure she’s pretty.”
Noel gave her his address and then waited with a growing sense of unease.
An hour later there was a knock on Noel’s door. The sound alone triggered an intense orgasm. A flushed and chagrined Noel barked, “You’ll have to come back another day.” The response was another knock, but softer. “Go away!” he said.
Noel went into his bedroom space — his whole apartment was one room — and changed his pants and underwear while cursing himself with the only banal, G-rated swear words he knew. He sat down on his lawn chair and turned on the 10 inch TV someone gave him for free at a yard sale. As he tried to relax, he heard another knock at the door, so faint he thought it was by a cockroach, of which there were plenty. He rose and unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open. Through the crack he saw a perfectly androgynous East Asian person who must have been standing there for at least a half hour.
He or she had short, cropped black hair and wore an oversized faux-leather jacket, also black, and black jeans that were two sizes too big. He or she stood in Air Jordan sneakers that looked like they had been hanging from a telephone wire until recently, and he or she had a distinctly male gait when he or she moved. His or her face was more feminine: pale skin that was smooth but for ancient acne scars drawn tightly over high cheekbones that tapered into a jaw so sharp it could cut glass. His or her large, almond-shaped eyes reminded Noel of the Grey Aliens his father spoke of during his Ancient Aliens lessons. Had he been thinking clearly, he never would have let him or her in the apartment, but with the end of his quest within reach, he was overcome by the thought of its fulfillment.
He or she reached into his or her pocket and handed Noel a piece of paper on which “$100” was written.
“I didn’t think it’d be that much,” he said.
With no common language, it took some time before Noel came to understand that there was a very large, increasingly agitated man waiting for him or her downstairs in a car with tinted windows.
Noel gave him or her the money, which was all of the disposable income he had, and he or she took his or her clothes off hastily, functionally, like someone getting ready for bed with no enticements, no tease, no hint of sexuality. He or she walked toward Noel and stood in front of him as he or she took off his or her last piece of clothing. He or she forcefully pulled down his or her panties and Noel winced, half-expecting to receive an uppercut to the jaw from a penis, but there was none. Noel was face to face with his first honest to goodness vagina. Standing before him was a real woman with really small breasts, dark areoles, and nipples that looked like they belonged on baby bottles. The smooth skin on her body enticed him to touch it anywhere he wanted. He put his hand on her knee and ran it up her thigh. His hand glided over her body as if she were covered in satin, like an onion skin, but very smooth. The hair on Noel’s arms raised as at the thought that he could do anything he wanted because he had paid for her, but he soon discovered there were rules.
She took out a condom from her pocket and unwrapped it and handed it to Noel, who immediately saw the dire implications. With such a barrier, there could be no phlogiston exchange. Without a phlogiston exchange, there could be no scientific discovery. That would ruin everything.
Noel immediately saw a way around the problem by tearing a small hole in the tip of the condom with is fingernail. He rolled it onto himself with the deft handling of a man who did not possess thumbs. He rolled it halfway down and considered that good enough. The woman walked to Noel’s bed and laid herself down on her back. She spread her legs, put her forearms behind her knees, and pulled them to her chest. In his haste, Noel ran to the bed but tripped and fell before he reached it. She giggled slightly before repainting a stony countenance. Noel artlessly tried to insert his penis into her, but after half a dozen failed attempts, she reached down and did it for him. Wide-eyed with fear, he thrust himself into her twice and then exploded, looking like a man doing the Funky Chicken at a low budget wedding. He then collapsed onto her, panting heavily and putting his full weight onto her chest. She struggled to breathe and to get out from under him, and managed to roll him to one side. Noel lay on his back with an other-worldly stare, like he could see through the ceiling and into the heavens. She rose from the bed and looked down at his deflating penis and noticed that the condom looked empty. Without a word, she removed the condom and held it up. She hastened to the kitchen sink and ran water through it. It poured straight through without the slightest hint of obstruction. The condom slipped through her hand and fell to the floor. She followed it as she knelt on the floor with her face in her hands and her body heaving with sobs. Noel saw Phlogiston drip from her and he smiled.
Hard pounding on the door broke her soft despair and the woman stood up with the haste of the mortally afraid. She dressed quickly and was out the door before Noel could conduct any other experiments, not that he had planned to do anything further.
Noel lay on his bed later that night and smiled to himself. The experiment was a tremendous success and equally thrilling. He mused what a wonderful thing it is to love your work. From that point forward, things would change for twenty-one year-old Noel. As unlucky as his childhood and teenage years had been, a stroke of serendipity lay in store for him at the start of his twenties. It would be centered around something that had been with Noel all of his life, but to which he had never given any thought. Noel had a rich voice that was perfect for radio.
A voice for radio meant a career in radio. A career in radio, meant an audience. An audience meant an audience for his Phlogiston theory. Those who believed his Phlogiston theory believed that women were the cause of men’s problems. Men who believed women were the cause of men’s problems tended to vote conservatively. Men who tended to vote conservatively attracted the attention of conservative politicians. Conservative politicians became grateful for Noel Deign and his Deign Nation radio show. Conservative politicians who were grateful to Noel Deign showed their gratitude by swearing him in as the thirteen Secretary of Education.
Many people looked at Noel Deign, the new Secretary of Education and his lack of basic credentials, and openly wondered how this could happen. This is how it happened. As mentioned before, Noel was not a dumb man. He was not an evil man or an apathetic one. He did not mean to destroy the earth and male and female relations with his Phlogiston theory. The problem with Noel is that he never learned how to learn.
‘Everything I Know About Sex, I Got from Porn’
Selene Midship, MSW/MEd
Touch Me Here! (Stop Neglecting Important Erogenous Zones.)
Emma London in Sexual Tendencies
My Battle With the ‘Uncleanliness of Masturbation’
Stephen Uba in Sexography
Cast the rod, spoil the child
Kitty StrangeLove in Swish Collective
What the hell is a “Demisexual” and Do We Need it?
Loren A Olson MD in Equality Includes You
Assumed Shame in Self-Sex Practices
Maggie Lupin in Fearless She Wrote
Should You Reconsider Anal Sex?
Tracey Folly in Tracey’s Folly
Women, Us Guys Love the Way You Smell
Joe Duncan in Moments


New Britain, CT – John Fraioli, vice president of field operations, recently celebrated his 40th year with Downes Construction Company. He began his career at the firm in 1980 as a carpenter apprentice. Over the last 40 years he has worked his way up through the ranks serving as project superintendent, general superintendent and, most recently, vice president of field operations.
In this role, Fraioli oversees all projects in construction, and also serves as safety director. He received the 1984 Carpenter of the Year Award and 2017 AGC CT Superintendent of the Year Award.
Additionally, Downes has received the AGC CT Platinum Safety Awards for the last three years (2017-2019).
anniversary construction HPNews leadership Oct'20 safety


Smollett's accusations: 'Slap in face' to victims
The following is the opinion of the writer.
I get thoroughly disgusted by people who lie. I also have little patience for people who claim that they’ve been victimized when they haven’t. No, this isn’t another letter from me about our president. It is about the greedy, selfish and unforgiveable actions by actor and singer Jussie Smollett of Empire fame.
Smollett, who lives in Chicago, is a gay black man. He orchestrated a crime against himself by hiring two people to rough him up, to place a noose around his neck and douse him with bleach. He stated that they yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him, while also reporting that they told him “this is MAGA country”.
But, the fact exists that there are hate crimes in the U.S. and that our country is divided more than it’s been in decades. What the Chicago Police Department found out from the 2 men who Smollett hired, was that the reason for the fake attack was because Smollett was dissatisfied with the salary that he was receiving on the hit show, Empire.
So, in spite of all of the real hardships that gays and men of color actually have to go through in America, and despite the great strides in race relations that have been made over the past 5 decades in the U.S., a man who seemed to have everything going for him, concocted a would be hate crime, which included the use of one of the most symbolic items of racial hatred, a noose, to ensure that his case would receive maximum attention, sympathy for Smollett, and hopefully a nice raise in pay. Wow!
Smollett wasted God knows how many man hours that the CPD put in on his case. He was the recipient of world-wide attention and sympathy, support from President Trump as well support from many 2020 presidential candidates. Granted, some of the information and behavior that Smollett initially reported was a bit hard to believe, but every potential victim should be believed and their case should be pursued.
Just today we learned that a white supremacist has been planning to kill as many people as possible, with his main targets being congressional democrats and journalists from both CNN and MSNBC. Who would have thought that a lieutenant from the U.S. Coast Guard has been reading and studying the manifesto of Norwegian Anders Brevik, who orchestrated the killing of 77 people back in 2011.
Smollett’s orchestrated crime, if true, is a giant slap in the face to anyone who has ever been the victim of a violent crime. After Smollett’s actions, when a hate crime is reported or suspected, this fabricated hate crime will be brought up, putting all purported victims of these crimes on the defensive, or perhaps even causing them to not even report the crime for fear that their character as well as the veracity of their crime will be treated with skepticism. While Smollett’s lies are the exception rather than the rule, future victims of hate crimes will likely be victimized twice, once by the perpetrator(s), and again by people who question the truthfulness of their story.
Greg Thibeaux
Piineville, La.


SMTD Alumna and Renowned Opera Star Jessye Norman dies at 74
Jessye Norman, MM ’68 (voice), Sc.D.Hon ’87, died on September 30, 2019, in New York at the age of 74. Norman was one of the world’s most celebrated performing artists, acclaimed for her performances in a wide range of leading roles with the world’s premier opera companies, in solo recitals, and in concerts of her cherished classical repertoire with preeminent orchestras all over the globe.
Norman was the recipient of many awards and accolades including some 40 honorary doctorate degrees from colleges, universities, and conservatories around the world; five Grammy awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award; the National Medal of the Arts received at the White House from President Obama in 2010; and at the time in 1997, she was the youngest recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. Additionally, she was a recipient of the highest recognition of the NAACP, the Spingarn Award and was a member of the British Royal Academy of Music.
Norman earned her masters of music degree at the University of Michigan in 1968 and then moved to Europe, where she quickly landed a three-year contract with the Berlin Opera, making her debut that year as Elisabeth in Richard Wagner’s Tanhäuser. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1983 and would go on to sing more than 80 performances at the Met.
A bonafide opera star, Norman was often called upon to perform at many of the world’s most important events. She sang at the second inaugurations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton; at Queen Elizabeth’s 60th birthday celebration; at the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta; at the 200th anniversary celebration of the French Revolution; and at a ceremony honoring the victims of 9/11 when two monumental columns of light were unveiled at the site of the former World Trade Center.
Unafraid to venture onto stages beyond opera, Norman explored a wide range of musical expressions–including performances of the sacred music of Duke Ellington–and creative collaborations with artists ranging from choreographers Bill T. Jones and Alvin Ailey to the multimedia show Ask Your Mama, based on Langston Hughes work, with music composed by fellow SMTD alumna Laura Karpman (BM ’80, composition and voice). Norman’s last artistic expansion was with her jazz ensemble and extensive programming of music from American musical theatre, which she entitled American Masters.
At SMTD, two endowment funds, funded by the Charles H. Gershenson Trust, were established in the late 1990s in her honor to benefit the Department of Voice—The Jessye Norman Graduate Fellowship in Voice provides scholarship support and the Jessye Norman Master Class Series brings world-class artists to campus to work with our voice students. Norman also had a long history of returning to campus to mentor the next generation of vocalists and performed for University events on several occasions. In 2018, she was awarded the SMTD Hall of Fame Award during SMTD’s Homecoming Weekend celebration.
“The impact of an artist like Jessye Norman can’t be measured in words. Jessye was a titan of the opera world and her legacy of performance, outreach, and philanthropy will pave the way for generations of performers,” said Dean David Gier. “Her artistry and humanity will continue to be felt by our students through the Jessye Norman Master Class and the Graduate Fellowship in Voice. We extend our deepest sympathies to her family and will continue to celebrate her beautiful life.”
Her community service included trustee board memberships at The New York Public Library, Carnegie Hall, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, and The New York Botanical Gardens.
A passionately involved advocate for arts education, Norman established The Jessye Norman School of the Arts in Augusta, Georgia, that serves as a tangible, living opportunity to address the need for education in the arts for school-age children in Norman’s hometown where Norman’s own studies and training began.
*Our friends at the Interlochen Center for the Arts shared this archival audio of Jessye Norman performing “Allmächt’ge Jungfrau!” from Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser in Kresge Auditorium on Aug. 3, 1968. Norman performed with the University Orchestra as a concerto competition winner. Norman received a two-minute standing ovation at the end of her performance. In 1968, Norman spent her summer at Interlochen Arts Camp as a postgraduate student while pursuing her MM at SMTD.*
Jessye Norman. Legend. ?
Below is a newspaper clipping w/ her at the 1968 @MetOpera National Council Finals, which she competed in while attaining her masters at @umichsmtd in #AnnArbor.
Ms. Norman perfs scattered throughout @WKAR’s Tues. 10/1 playlist starting at 9am. pic.twitter.com/kegb3SsfF1
— Jamie Paisley (@JamiePaisley) September 30, 2019
I had the privilege of meeting Jessye Norman one day on North Camps. @umichsmtd @UMBAGoBlue@JessyeSchool @CelesteHeadlee #RIP #GoBlue
— BlackPhysicists (@BlackPhysicists) September 30, 2019
So many memories of this fabulous, inspiring woman. She earned her MA from @umichsmtd and was so loyal to Michigan and supportive of our students. https://t.co/nLgdyyBY8Z
— Micheline Maynard (@MickiMaynard) September 30, 2019
I’ll never forget seeing Jessye Norman (@umichsmtd grad!) in recital at Hill Auditorium deep in the winter of 1985. The most moving, ecstatic concert I’ve ever seen; perfect for me at that moment. Her voice resounds in my memory. https://t.co/7YLQlwrEu8
— Tim McKay (@TimMcKayUM) October 1, 2019
I remember when she came to the University of Michigan @umichsmtd and a group of us got to sit in the cafe with her and simply talk. She was kind, she was warm, she was a living example of how great artists can also be great and real people. Ever grateful for her gifts. RIP.
— Andrew Lippa (@lippaofficial) October 1, 2019
RIP Jessye Norman. I had the honor of meeting her in 2012 following a performance of Lost in the Stars at The @GOpera She was so generous with her time and we shared @umichsmtd stories. She truly was one of the… https://t.co/4kD4NTNYeK
— Sean Panikkar (@seanpanikkar) October 1, 2019


Pound at 2-Week High Ahead of May-Juncker Brexit Meeting
The British pound was in high demand on Tuesday ahead of an important meeting between British PM Theresa May and EU officials, at which investors are hoping for a Brexit breakthrough.
The pound was by far the best performer on Tuesday; it gained nearly 1.5 cents against the US dollar and now buys US$1.3055—a 2-week high.
Sterling’s gains spread far and wide. Against the euro, it changed hands at €1.15 for the first time in 3 weeks, and against the Australian dollar, it rose back towards last week’s levels in the mid-A$1.82s.
Traders are seemingly hopeful that Wednesday’s meeting in Brussels between British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will bear fruit in the form of a breakthrough on the contentious Irish backstop. The meeting has been described as “significant” by a No 10 spokesperson, though Juncker has said he is not expecting a “concrete outcome.”
With a 12 percent loss against both the dollar and euro since the UK’s referendum on EU membership in June 2016, sterling bulls desperately need a deal; in the absence of one, the currency might lose 15-25 percent of its value, per the Bank of England.
Currency analysts at HSBC said earlier this month that sterling would be valued at levels near US$1.10 in the event of no-deal, near US$1.45 with a deal and at US$1.55 should Article 50 be revoked and Brexit cancelled entirely.
Fears for the UK’s economic future are being stoked on a daily basis—Honda confirmed on Thursday that is was axing 3,500 jobs in Swindon—and so a non-event of a meeting on Wednesday will likely see a sharp reversal in the pound’s trajectory.
Tuesday also brought with it the release of hard economic data. Although the ONS announced another record high in the number of Brits employed, the data was seen as backward-looking by traders and was ignored. There are clearly bigger (Brexit) fish to fry.


Iranian Divorce In USA
For consultation call 609-915-2237
Parental Abduction of Children in Saudi Arabia
By Professor Gabriel Sawma
Saudi Arabia is one of the most influential countries in the Islamic world; it is the world’s largest exporter of petroleum and oil products and is one of the richest countries in the in its oil reserve. Saudi Arabia is also the custodian of the two holy cities of Meccah and Madinah. The Prophet Muhammad was born in Meccah in 570 A.D., and moved at a later age to Madinah, in which he established the Islamic faith. The main sources of Islam are the Qur’an, which is composed of the revelations that descended on the Prophet during his ministry, and the Hadeeth or Sunnah, which contain the sayings and deeds of the Prophet. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy headed by the Al Saudi royal family, with a council of ministers.
SOURCE OF FMILY LAW IN SAUDI ARABIA
The most important constitutional document is Saudi Arabia is known as The Basic System (or Basic Law) which took effect in 1992. It specifically states that the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad are the Kingdom’s constitution. Article 7 of the Basic System reaffirms Islamic Shari’ah (i.e., Islamic Religious Law) as the foundation of the Kingdom, stating that the government draws its authority from the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and that these two sources govern all administrative regulations of the state. It emphasizes that the role of the state and objectives is to protect the principles of Islam and to enforce its Shari’a. Th Basic System is guided by Islamic law when defining the nature, the objectives, and the responsibilities of the State.
Being the center of Islam, Saudi Arabia embraces the legal, economic, and social percepts of Islam, which acts as a major force in determining the institutional norms, patterns and structures of Saudi society. As such, Islamic faith is not only a religious ideology, but a whole comprehensive social system embracing detailed prescriptions for the entire way of life, and provides guidance to Muslims in all social, political, commercial and economic affairs. It also governs the law of family relations including marriage, divorce, and custody of the children.
Article 1 of the Basic System reads the following: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic State. Its religion is Islam. Its constitution is Almighty God’s Book, The Holy Qur’an, and the Sunna (Traditions) of the Prophet (PBUH). Arabic is the language of the Kingdom. The City of Riyadh is the capital.”
This means laws relating to marriage, divorce, custody of the children and inheritance are not codified; they are governed by Islamic law (shari’a law). Thus, polygamy is permitted for men limited to four wives at any one time. There is no minimum age for marriage and the Grand Mufti reportedly said in 2009 that “girls of the age of 10 or 12 were marriageable.” Saudi mufti okays marriage for 10 year old girls (alarabiya.net)
Men have unilateral right to divorce their wives (Arabic talaq) without judicial interference. The divorce takes effect from the time a husband pronounces the divorce. A woman can only obtain divorce with the consent of the husband or obtain a judicial divorce through Shari’a court.
When divorce occurs, the father has custody of his sons at the age of nine and daughter at the age of seven. The right of a husband to marry up to four wives, combined with his ability to divorce his wife at anytime without cause, can translate to unlimited polygamy.
SAUDI ARABIA IS NOT PARTY TO THE HAGUE CONVENTION
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, nor any international or bilateral treaties in force between Saudi Arabia and the United States dealing with international parental child abduction. The Hague Convention treaty puts into place general guidelines regarding how to handle international child abduction and international custody disputes. Accordingly, there are no legal standards governing the return of kidnapped children from Saudi Arabia. American women marrying Saudi nationals should bear in mind that the children born out of the marriage are considered Saudi citizens by Saudi Arabia, not U.S. citizens. This means the Shari’a court in Saudi Arabia will grant custody of the children to the father in the event of divorce.
American women married to Saudi citizens planning to travel with their children to Saudi Arabia should bear in mind that the husband may not allow the return of the children to USA.
The Saudi husband ask his wife to allow the children to travel to Saudi Arabia for a short vacation. After the children arrived, the father refused to return the children to the U.S. The wife may lose contact with the children after that. The father may refuse all requests from U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia for welfare and whereabouts visits.
SAUDI COURTS GENERALLY DO NOT AWARD CUSTODY OF CHILDREN TO NON-SAUDI WOMEN
An American woman married to a Saudi citizen will not be able to obtain a Saudi court judgment of custody of her children unless she resides in Saudi Arabia, or the father is not Muslim. All Saudi citizens are considered to be Muslims.
This author represented numerous clients of various Middle East nationalities including Saudi Arabia. In 2015, I testified in a court in Pennsylvania on behalf of two girls born of an American mother and Saudi father. The court agreed with our testimony and allowed the girls to stay with their mother in the U.S.
In 2016, a desperate American mother of three children, who were residing with their father in Saudi Arabia, were ordered by a court in New Jersey to send the children to USA after my testimony was heard before the judge.
In 2012, I wrote an affidavit to the Supreme Court of Westchester County in New York for recognition of a divorce and custody order from Abu Dhabi. The Judge recognized the foreign court order and granted custody of the children to the mother.
In all the cases that I was privileged to testify before the court, the credit goes to the left behind parent who never abandoned the fight to regain their children no matter what the odds were.
DISCLAIMER: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
Gabriel Sawma is a lawyer with Middle East Background, and a recognized authority on Islamic law of marriage, divorce, and custody of children, Professor of Middle East Constitutional Law and Islamic Sharia (law), and Expert Consultant on Islamic divorce in U.S. Courts. Admitted to the Lebanese Bar Association. Former Associate Member of the New York State Bar Association, and former Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
Professor Sawma lectured at the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in New York State and universities in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. He wrote Affidavits and legal opinions to State Courts, Immigration authorities throughout the United States.
Travelled extensively to Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Gulf region, and other countries in the Middle East, and wrote numerous articles on Islamic divorce in USA and abroad.
Prof. Sawma speaks, reads and writes, Arabic, English, French and a few other Semitic languages spoken in the Middle East.
Interviewed by the following news organizations;
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8608878.stm
CNN:http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/11/11/egypt.divorce/index.html
CBN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdwReohaIcs
Professor of Islamic Finance at the University of Liverpool (2012)
Author gabrielPosted on November 30, 2020 November 30, 2020 Categories Uncategorized
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Hotham History Project
St James Old Cathedral – Pioneer Service
The attached sermon focusing on the life and service of Canon Michael Henry Becher (1819-1883) was delivered by the current incumbent, Canon Matt Williams, at the Annual Pioneer Service at St. James Old Cathedral on Sunday, 3rd November, 2019, a service attended amongst others by the descendants of many pioneer families with historic connections to this parish. The fact that Canon Becher preached from the same pulpit from1861 to the end of his life in 1883 using texts reiterated in Matt’s homily vividly brought home the continuity of ministry.
As a member of the congregation and a committee member of the Hotham History project, I found the well-researched content and insights into the life of a minister in colonial times to be both inspiring and touching. Canon Becher faced many trials and tribulations during his ministry and he was much loved and revered by his congregation for his incredible dedication during his long tenure.
Sermon 3rd November 2019, Pioneer Service – Michael Henry Becher (1819-1883)
“I have determined to know nothing amongst you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
In 1861 Michael Henry Becher took up his appointment at St James’ Cathedral, Melbourne.
He stepped up into this pulpit, where I am standing, and taking 1 Corinthians 2 as his text he declared to the congregation, that like the apostle Paul, he was determined to know nothing amongst them save Jesus Christ and him crucified.
The forty-two year old would give this Cathedral church the rest of his life, twenty-two years, and never lost that determination, that clarity and simplicity of faith. He knew nothing amongst them save Jesus Christ and him crucified.
It was not a recipe for an easy life.
When he finally died from Tuberculosis, at sixty-four years old, The Dean of Melbourne, Hussey Burgh Macartney preached at his funeral, again, from this pulpit.
The Dean was himself eighty-four. He reminded the congregation of that first sermon, and how truly Becher had lived it out.
He couldn’t have spoken more highly of his colleague.
Michael Becher was his ideal of what a Christian minister should be, unsurpassed in his long experience.
“I never knew any one who combined all the powers which should grace a minister of Christ in such a degree as they were combined in him.”
The congregation loved him so dearly that they commissioned a huge marble tablet – an honour they would only repeat for the Dean himself and his wife Jane – and on that tablet they summed him up using other words from Paul in Acts chapter 20:
Ye know from the first day that I came, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons: serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations.
They erected the tablet, they wrote, in loving remembrance of his long and arduous labours in their midst.
It can be telling, when people have to sum you up in a few words, which words they choose.
His father ministered at Kilshannig in Ireland for 47 years, well liked, socialising with the gentleman class, arranging fox hunts for them and so on, and the congregation there also put up a marble tablet, in testimony of their affection and respect of their valued pastor and kind friend.
Those words speak volumes too.
But very different words were chosen for his son.
Loving remembrance. Long and arduous labours. Humility of mind, many tears and temptations. Knowing nothing but Christ, and him crucified.
It was not an easy life, and the congregation could see that. His father’s path was valid. His own path was harder.
In some ways it was a difficult life because of griefs beyond his control.
His first two sons had died in England.
The third died on the journey to Australia, of complications from measles.
The fourth son, Albert, died at six years old from Scarlet Fever, in 1867, which he only discovered after he recovered from a life-threatening illness himself.
Altogether he buried seven of his sixteen children.
At the same time he himself had major episodes with illness and never returned to full strength after the illness at the time of Albert’s death.
In 1875 he was stood down for three months by his doctors.
In 1881 the parishioners appointed him a curate specifically and publicly because they were anxious for his health.
He finally died of Tuberculosis, age 64, in the long, painful way that disease has.
So it was a difficult life, in the way that many lives then were difficult.
But it was also a difficult life because he chose to spend it knowing nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified.
This wasn’t just about of the subject of his preaching.
It was the manner of his living, the dangers he took on unnecessarily, that he might make sure Jesus was known in the smallest corners of Victoria.
He was determined to spend and be spent for his crucified Lord.
Like Paul, he took on unnecessary sufferings and perilous journeys he didn’t shrink from arduous labours he took up his own cross and followed Jesus.
The story of those labours in Australia actually starts before his arrival in 1861.
He was born into a comfortable clergy family in Cork, being raised in Kilshannig.
At the age of sixteen he was sent for private tutoring in Bath which prepared him to go up to Cambridge, where he graduated with honours in Mathematics.
The Bishop of Cork ordained him, and two years later his family connections got him a comfortable rectors appointment with two hundred pounds a year at Barnoldby-le-beck in a very pretty part of Lincolnshire.
He had a lovely 13th Century church, recently renovated, a pretty Georgian rectory and only 269 people living in his whole parish, which made for a manageable workload.
He was the rector there for fifteen years.
It could have been a very pleasant life.
But he was determined to know nothing other than Jesus Christ and him crucified.
He was a bible man, when all was said and done.
He had his views about what the bible meant, certainly, but he wasn’t a sectarian,
he wasn’t obsessed with denominations, he was a bible man willing to work with other bible people wherever he found them.
He had a deep belief that the most good he could do was to put the bible in people’s hands so they could read it for themselves and by reading it come to know Jesus Christ crucified.
And because of this belief he threw himself into the work of the British and Foreign Bible Society.
The Bible Society was founded in 1803 by a group of evangelicals including William Wilberforce.
It’s sole aim was to get bibles everywhere they could.
In 1853 they celebrated a Jubilee Year and resolved to redouble their efforts in the colonies.
Becher volunteered for a two-year round trip to Australia, and they sent him off with their blessing.
He was granted a leave of absence from his parish and boarded a ship in October 1854.
His journals and letters from that trip are in the Cambridge University Library and I’ve been able to read copies of them.
I have to say, they’re kind of breathtaking.
He travelled throughout Tasmania, then NSW, then Victoria and South Australia, going from cities to regional towns to hamlets and farming districts, and everywhere he goes he is inventing ways to further the aims of the bible society.
In one place he will speak to crowds of hundreds, establish a new branch or auxiliary of the society and inspire gifts equal to $20K in one night; and then in the next place he will chat to a local store owner to arrange a depot where scriptures can be obtained.
In some towns, like Benalla, he was unwelcome or treated with suspicion, in other towns he received the most liberal hospitality.
He made his way to places so remote that they hadn’t had a minister pass through in years, and so he door knocked every house and invited them to a church service and ran it on the Sunday.
He never stood on his dignity, he always just mucked in and did what was needed whether it was basic scripture distribution or inspiring crowds of wealthy gentleman to support the cause.
In the course of his visit he took the Australian Bible Societies from having 11 branches to 99; mapped out strategies for their continued work to the regions, and raised 2150 pounds in collections, the equivalent of about four hundred thousand dollars today.
Bishop Perry was the chair of the Branch in Melbourne, and he was so impressed with Becher’s report that he assured him there would be a job for him in Melbourne should he ever wish to return to the colony.
And it wasn’t an idle wish, for in what seems to have been a prior arrangement Becher’s arrival in Melbourne saw him go straight from the ship to stay at the house of a solicitor, Mr Jennings, who had a 21 year old daughter.
Six weeks later Becher married Philippa Jennings at St Kilda, and took her for a week’s honeymoon in Heidelberg before continuing his travels throughout Victoria and South Australia and taking her back with him to Barnoldby-le-beck.
So although Hussey Macartney was the Dean of Melbourne, he had many diocese-wide duties helping Bishop Perry and the day-to-day incumbency of St James’ was too much for him along with everything else.
The role was offered to the industrious Becher, and he brought his wife back near her family to take up the incumbency of St James.
photos taken by: Stephen Hatcher, 2010
He lived in the Deanery on site, which you can see sketched in a picture at the back of the church, and from then on he was the secretary of the Victorian Branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Becher was also thinking strategically about less accessible places than Australia.
He was particularly interested in the forty-thousand Chinese men he found scattered around the gold fields.
He saw this is a great opportunity, and ordered 4500 bibles in Chinese for immediate distribution amongst them.
Back in England, He argued that it was an especially good investment to make sure the Chinese men heard the gospel and received the scriptures while they were in Australia and free to do so, unhindered by their local religious leaders or despotic governments.
It was strategic because they weren’t planning to stay, they had wives and children back in China, and then they would take the message of Christ with them back into the deepest reaches of the Chinese empire.
This happens to be the same missionary strategy we have today at St James’, not just for China but for countries all over the world.
I think Becher would be pleased.
Each Wednesday afternoon volunteers assemble next door to offer free English Conversation Classes, to anyone who wants them.
Refugees, International Students, people seeking to stay, people planning to go home, in a ministry now overseen by our curate, Jess.
A bible story is taught, often by Sarah Raiter or Reverend Jess.
Students are invited for dinner and bible study afterwards, and a team of people from St James’ join them, including Dan and Rachelle and Sarah and Lisa.
We have bibles in simple English and in a variety of other languages to give anyone who comes to the classes.
I used to buy those bibles – literally hundreds of them each year – but then we found out that there was this organization that was quite willing to give them to us to give away.
Guess what that organisation is?
It’s the Bible Society of Australia, still going strong, still doing the same thing 160 years later.
It would have been Becher’s 200th Birthday this year, and it’s been a joy to read his journals and discover how much of him has found a renewed expression in our ministry.
We honour his legacy today by being bible people: people who give away bibles, people who read bibles with people before they return to the far reaches of the globe, having learned to know nothing save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Annual Pioneer Service: Canon Michael Henry BecherDownload
Preface by Jenny Cook, a member of the Hotham History Project. Story by Canon Matt Williams. Address given in November 2019. Republished with permission.
Do you know more about St James Old Cathedral’s history? Email: info@hothamhistory.org.au
You are invited to join the Hotham History Project. You will receive notice of meetings and activities, which have included history walks, informative talks and information sessions at the North Melbourne Library, showing of old films, an historical enactment and the laying of a plaque to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first building in North Melbourne.
The Hotham History Project is an incorporated body run by the community.
HHP records
Hotham History Project Inc
C/o North Melbourne Library
66 Errol Street
(c) Hotham History Project Inc


Employee / workerEmployerSafety and health representative
This page contains frequently asked questions on first aid. First aid is the immediate treatment or care given to someone suffering from an injury or illness. The initial treatment a person receives directly after an injury, accident or when a person becomes ill at work is extremely important in achieving the aims of first aid.
What first aid training do I require?
First aid may be administered by the first person 'on the spot'. It is generally recognised, however, that a first aider is a person who has had some level of formal training. First aiders may have skills that range from basic expired air resuscitation (EAR) or cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to being able to provide more complex treatment.
Selection and training of first aid personnel is most important. First aiders should be familiar with the specific conditions and hazards at the workplace and the types of injuries likely to require treatment. The level of training that is needed should be determined according to the hazards identified at the workplace and the assessed risks.
How many first aiders are required at my workplace?
In selecting and determining the number of first aiders needed at a workplace, consideration should be given to:
the hazards identified at the workplace;
an assessment of the risks associated with the hazards;
the size and layout of the workplace;
the location of the workplace including whether it is an isolated or remote workplace;
the distance from the workplace to the nearest occupational health or medical service, or ambulance service; and
the number and distribution of employees including those employees working shiftwork.
What should I include in my first aid kit?
The first aid box should contain basic requirements and additional items appropriate to the workplace. The Code of practice: First aid, workplace amenities and P.P.E provides a guide for determining the contents and quantities for a basic first aid box. Individual items and quantities may vary according to the identified hazards and level of risk.
Can I keep paracetamol in my first aid kit?
It is not illegal for a workplace to keep paracetamol in the first aid kit, however If a workplace chooses not to supply paracetamol, that is their prerogative. A workplace cannot supply any other analgesics or medication unless someone qualified to dispense it available, i.e. a doctor or nurse.
Each workplace should develop a policy on what is to be provided in first aid kits. The policy may include procedures whereby employees sign for the receipt of paracetamol from first aiders. If this is the case, the first aider should not be held responsible for dispensing the paracetamol, only keeping it in the first aid kit. The policy should also advise workers that if they suffer from pain or a medical condition, they should keep a supply of their preferred medication with them.
Last modified: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 - 16:42
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