#La Porte County

[themichaelbeebe]

Rockets Red Glare

This morning I should be waking up for the day, right around the time of this 9AM posting, with a dehydration headache and a sunburn. It’s become an annual tradition that came to an abrupt end last year. I know, sunburns aren’t healthy and I need to drink more water when I’m in the sun all day, but it’s one day a year so please, cut me some slack. Last night should have been the annual fireworks…

[instaviewpoint]

Bucking the Velvet

It’s always a pleasure to walk outside to the presence of a young buck. During the fall, their antlers are cover in velvet and then shed that velvet to become “hard horned”. We have noticed in the past few years in La Porte County that bucks are grazing close to the does all summer, which is unusual. Bucks are normally reclusive and tend to stay just within sight of a group of does. ~Kimberly…

[fxdltc88]

Michigan's first trails were not made by native Americans but ranging buffalo herds in migration. This was especially true on the St. Joseph trail in Southwest Michigan. The major trails in lower Michigan tended to link Indian settlements of Mackinac, Detroit, Saginaw, and Niles. The area around Saginaw had the most native American settlements in the Great Lakes region.

Noted below are native trails that we travel everyday.

Shore Line Trail - A minor trail starting near Toledo and hugging Lake Erie's shore, the Straits of Detroit. Past Fort Gratiot and Lake Huron to a spot near White Rock. White Rock was considered a solemn spiritual place of offering. Today this route is mirrored by Lakeshore Drive from Detroit to Lexington and M-25 north. This trail continues north along the entire shore to Cheboygan. It was considered a minor trail as travel via canoe was preferred along this route. Michigan chose to utilize much of the original Native American trail along Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay to create M-25. Paving of Michigan's First Scenic Highway was started in 1933 and completed in 1940.

Saginaw Trail - One of the oldest trails, this Sauk trail system, went from the Straits of Detroit to Saginaw. Today this starts at the Detroit River and heads northwest up Woodward Avenue to Pontiac, then continues up Dixie Highway through Flint to Saginaw.

Sand Ridge Indian Trail - An ancient trail from Saginaw to Port Austin in Michigan's Thumb. Used primarily for access to the rich hunting ground of the Thumb. Today, M-25 follows much of the same route. However, the old trail is still evident and marked as Sand Road in Huron County. A major canoe passage across Saginaw Bay occurred at Oak Point via Charity Island to reach the AuSable River.

St. Joseph's Trail - A major east-west system called Route du Sieur de la Salle and the Territorial Road. When the Territorial road was first built from Plymouth to St Joseph, a portion of the road was ‘corduroy.’ which means wood lo

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Bezzle excerpt (Part VI)

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me TONIGHT in LA (Saturday night, with Adam Conover), Seattle (Monday, with Neal Stephenson), then Portland, Phoenix and more!

It's launch-week for my new novel The Bezzle, a high-tech, revenge-soaked crime thriller in which my intrepid forensic accountant Martin Hench must pit his wits against unbelievably evil (and sadly true-to-life) prison-tech grifters:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/14/minnesota-nice/#shitty-technology-adoption-curve

As part of the launch, I'm serializing part of Chapter 14, a side-plot about music royalty theft and the (again, sadly true-to-life) corruption of the LA Sheriffs Deputies, who are organized into criminal gangs that murder, run drugs and intimidate with impunity:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/deputy-gangs-cancer-los-angeles-county-sheriffs-department-scathing-re-rcna73367

Today marks the sixth and final installment of the serial, but you can hear me read more of the book. Just show up at one of the stops on my book tour! Tomorrow (Feb 24) in LA, I'm appearing on Saturday evening with AdamC onover at Vroman's:

https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Cory-Doctorow-discusses-The-Bezzle<

And then on Monday I'll be in Seattle at Third Place Books with Neal Stephenson:

https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow

From there, I'm off to Portland, Phoenix, Tucson and points further:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/narrative-capitalism/#bezzle-tour

Here's part one of the serial:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/17/the-steve-soul-caper/#lead-singer-disease

Part two:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/19/crad-kilodney-was-an-outlier/#copyright-termination

Part three:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/20/fore/#lawyer-up

Part four:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#poacher-turned-keeper

Part five:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/22/self-censorship/#acab

And now, the thrilling conclusion!

Benedetto was outraged by my face and swore he’d sue the Sheriff’s Department on my behalf. He got even angrier when I got stopped again, the following week, as I was leaving my concussion checkup at the Kaiser hospital on Sunset by a sheriff’s deputy who had me pull over in front of the big Scientology building. This deputy was a little bantam rooster of a fellow, with a shiny bald head and mirror shades and no neck. He strutted up to my car, got me out of it, ran my ID, and frisked me. “Do you know why I pulled you over, sir?” he said. He had that cop knack for making “sir” sound like “motherfucker.”

“No, sir,” I said, trying it out myself.

He didn’t like that and leaned in close enough for me to smell his aftershave and the scented sunscreen on his bare scalp.

“I stopped you, sir, because you were using your phone while driving.”

I must have looked surprised.

“I personally saw you tapping at your phone screen. That is a misdemeanor, sir. Reckless driving.”

He stopped as if waiting for me to respond. I made myself go mild. “Sir, I did not use my phone.”

He was waiting for that. He narrowed his eyes and leaned in closer. “Are you telling me I didn’t see what I saw?”

Mild, Marty, mild. “I don’t know what you saw, sir, but I didn’t use my phone.”

He rocked back and tilted his head. Patients went by with crutches and walkers. Nurses and doctors passed in scrubs. Scientologists scurried in and out of their gigantic temple. A fruit cart man labored past us.

“Well, sir, this should be simple enough to resolve.” He reached for his belt and pulled out a generic ruggedized cop-­rectangle of gear, and unspooled a multiheaded cable from its side. He leaned into the rental and retrieved my phone, and squinted at its I/O port, then attached the cable to my phone. The rugged rectangle beeped. “I’m gathering forensics on your mobile device, sir,” he said.

I’d figured that out already. My phone—­like yours and ­everyone else’s—­was a trove of my most intimate information, a record of all the places I’d been and people I’d spoken to and all the things I’d said to them. It was full of photos and passwords and client files and voice memos. It was more information than any judge would have granted a warrant for on a reckless-­driving rap.

The little man smirked as he held my phone and his gadget. I stayed mild as milk. I was running full-­device encryption. I’m no computer security expert, but I spend a lot of time around them, and they’d been insistent on this point, and had made reference to this very scenario in describing why I would bother to dig around my phone’s settings to turn this on.

God, my face hurt. I didn’t know how long the gadget was supposed to take, but from the cop’s increasing impatience, I could tell it was going long.

Beep. The cop shaded the gadget’s little screen from the punishing LA sun with one hand and peered at it.

“Sir, I need you to unlock this device, please.”

My face hurt. Be mild, Marty. “I invoke my right to counsel,” I said.

He pursed his lips. “Sir, if you would please enter your unlock code, we can verify whether your device is in use and we can both be on our way.”

“I invoke my right to remain silent.” I said it straight into his bodycam.

He sighed and looked irritated. I had known Benedetto for so long that I had once had to dial his number from a landline. I’d long ago memorized his office’s number, 1–­800-­LAWER4U. He’d bought it early, back before 800 numbers got expensive, and he’d had plenty of offers for it. He’d kept it.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/23/gazeteer/#fin

[todaysdocument]

Slave Manifest for Sloop Nancy and Sally, 6/27/1817.

After the “Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves” took effect in 1808, documents like this recorded the transportation of enslaved people between American ports.

Series: Slave Manifests, 6/27/1817 - 6/27/1817

Record Group 36: Records of the U.S. Customs Service, 1745 - 1997

Transcription: 

Names                                                           to whom belonged                                      place of residence

Negro Woman Rachel                             William Baden                                                 Baltimore

                               Ellen                                 Mr. McCoy                                                         Baltimore [County]

                               Rosetta                            Mr. McCoy                                                         Baltimore

                               Anna                                 Captain Nisbett                                              Dorchester County

                               Sarrah                                           Do.                                                                      Do.

                               Annie                                Nathan Bell                                                     Accomac County, V.

                               Rachel                              Francis Eric                                                      Dorchester County

                               Maria                                Mr. Ford                                                             Cambridge

                               Leah                                 Jacob Missic                                                     Quantico

                               Venus                               Mr. Tam                                                              Sussex County V

                               Elee

                               Mary                                 Doctor Sullivan                                              New Market

                              Elizabeth                            do             do                                                       do

                              Lillah                                 Mr. Bowten                                                      Smyrna

                              Lynda                                William La Compte                                      New Market

                              Cassa                                Mr. Boyer                                                          Smyrna

                              Susan                                          do                                                                     do

                              Sam                                             do                                                                     do

                              Cassa                                  William McKean                                         New Market

                              Dido                                    William La Compte                                   New Market

                              Maria                                  William McKean                                         New Market

                              Sam                                                do                                                                do

                              Lewis                                              do                                                               do

                              Henry                                             do                                                               do

                              James                                            do                                                                do

                              Phoebe                                Mr. Lilly                                                       Baltimore

                              Alexander                           Jesse Ray                                                   Annapolis

                             Jack                                        Mr. Martindale                                         near Easton

                             John                                       Mr. Talbott                                                 Milford

                             Joseph                                  James Andrews                                       State of Delaware

                             Charles                                 James Ponder                                          Sussex County Delaware

                              Bill                                         James Clark                                              State of Delaware

                              Antoni                                   Thomas Owen Williams                      Prince Georges County

                              Robert                                   James Mitchell                                       Baltimore

                              Peter                                       Henry McCoy                                           Elk Ridge

[geneajournals]

Amos Fuller - Earning a Living

Amos Fuller is my 2nd great-grandfather (Ahnentafel #26).  He  was born in Alabama between 1847 and 1850 of Alabama parentage.

The earliest record found for Amos Fuller is the 1870 U. S. Census. He is listed as “Ames” Fuller, a twenty-three year old black male, born in Alabama. His occupation is given as “St.Bt.L???.[1] This abbreviation at first glance is rather cryptic. Ancestry transcribed the occupation as “St Bt Land”. Additional research on Amos’ occupations suggest that “St. Bt.” stands for steam boat.

I was able to trace Amos consistently through the Mobile City directories.  He first appears in the directory in 1877 with the occupation of “laborer”.  Amos is also classified as a laborer in the 1879 and 1880 directories. [2] The 1880 U. S. Census gives Amos Fuller’s occupation as stevedore. This is a dock worker who loads and unloads ships in port.[3]

In the 1884 Mobile City directory, Amos Fuller is listed as a steamboat hand.[4] This means that he was employed by a steamboat as part of the crew. Deckhands made up the bulk of the crew. Most of the deckhands were immigrants and freedmen. Their job was to load and unload cargo transported on the steamboat. Deckhands worked almost 24/7, bunked with the cargo and were paid low wages.[5]

Amos Fuller had a change of occupation as noted in the 1885-1886 and 1887 Mobile City directories. He is listed as “fireman Mobile ice Factory.”[6] Contrary to our popular image of a fireman, Amos was not putting out fires, he was stoking up fires. A fireman’s job was to shovel coal or wood into a boiler to keep it running.[7] Ice factories of the late 1880s used steam engine powered pumps which were integral in the process of making ice.[8]

For the next several years, Amos Fuller was listed in the Mobile City directories as a laborer.

In the 1894 Mobile City directory Amos was listed with the occupation of “fireman stbt D. L. Tally.”[9]   Steamboat firemen reported to the engineer.  The fireman’s job was to stoke the boiler to keep the steam engine running. They shoveled coal all day, hour after hour.  Not only was this a strenuous job, it was also dangerous. If a boiler exploded the fireman would be the first to die. [10] 

The steamer D. L. Tally was a packet boat based in Mobile, Alabama. It traveled the Alabama River carrying freight, mail and passengers.

“The Steamer D. L. Tally,” The Monroe Journal (Claiborne, Alabama), 18 October 1894, p. 2, col. 4, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/244603449 : accessed 7 February 2024).

Image: Left to Right: D. L. Tally; sternwheel C. W. Anderson, n.d., black and white photographic print. From the Collection, UW-La Crosse Historic Steamboat Photographs. Used with written permission of Murphy Library Special Collections / ARC, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Image: D. L. Tally (Packet, 1870-1895), n.d., black and white photographic print. From the Collection, UW-La Crosse Historic Steamboat Photographs. Used with written permission of Murphy Library Special Collections / ARC, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

In the 1900 Mobile City Directory, Amos had the following listing: “Fuller Amos, c, stbtmn, res 252 Lipscomb.”[11] This was the last time his occupation was specified as a steamboat man.

Amos Fuller died on 4 September 1909 of pulmonary tuberculosis.[12] One wonders if his exposure to coal dust had any relationship to the tuberculosis.

Sources

1870 U.S. census, Mobile County, Alabama, population schedule, Mobile Ward 8, p. 36, dwelling 257, family 257, Ames Fuller; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6FZ9-M5B : accessed 17 April 2021); microfilm 545530/digital 4257608 > image 673 of 818; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm M593, roll 31.

Henry Farrow & Co's Mobile City Directory For the Year 1877, (Mobile: Henry Farrow & Co., 1876), 76, entry for "Fuller Amos"; also subsequent years with varying titles, specifically (1878) 68 and (1880) 69; imaged in “U.S., City Directories,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 September 2017).

 1880 U.S. census, Mobile County, Alabama, population schedule, Mobile, enumeration district (ED) 140, p. 21 (written), 367A (stamped), dwelling 189, family 190, Amos Fuller household; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYL-HRT : accessed 13 September 2017) microfilm 1254025 / digital 5157243 > image 459 of 791; citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 25.  

George Matzenger’s Mobile Directory For The Year 1884, Volume XX (Mobile: George Matzenger, 1884), 104, entry for ”Fuller Amos”; imaged in “U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 February 2024) > Alabama > Mobile > 1884 > Mobile, Alabama, City Directory, 1884 > image 55 of 215.

“Steamboat Heroine: The Crew of a Western Steamboat,” Oklahoma Historical Society (https://www.okhistory.org/learn/steamboat4 : accessed 7 February 2024).

George Matzenger’s Mobile Directory For 1885-6 (Mobile: George Matzenger, 1885), 100, entry for “Fuller Amos”; also the subsequent year (1887) 113; imaged in “U.S., City Directories,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 September 2017).

Wikipedia contributors, "Fireman (steam engine)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fireman_(steam_engine)&oldid=1187171257 : accessed February 4, 2024).

"When Steam Brought Cold, and Fire Made Ice," blog post, Hometown by Handlebar, posted 14 July 2022 (https://hometownbyhandlebar.com : accessed 4 February 2024).

George Matzenger’s Mobile Directory For 1894, Volume XXIX (Mobile: George Matzenger, 1894), 122, entry for “Fuller Amos”; imaged in "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 February 2024) > Alabama > Mobile > 1894 > Mobile, Alabama, City Directory, 1894 > image 72 of 273.

 “Steamboat Heroine: The Crew of a Western Steamboat.”

George Matzenger’s Mobile Directory For 1900, Volume XXXV (Mobile: George Matzenger, 1900), 149, entry for “Fuller Amos”; imaged in "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995," Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 February 2024) > Alabama > Mobile > 1900 >Mobile, Alabama, City Directory, 1900 > image 80 of 322.

Alabama Department of Health, death certificate no. 147 (1909), Amos Fuller, d. 4 September 1909, Mobile; digital image,  "Alabama Deaths, 1908-1974," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 16 August 2022). This image is only viewable at a family history center or affiliate library.

[leblogtraveliv]

Bergen, Norway 🇳🇴

(fr) Bergen est une ville du Sud-Ouest de la Norvège, capitale du comté de Vestland. Bergen est la deuxième ville du pays avec 278 121 habitants. C'est également une ville portuaire donnant sur la mer du Nord, une ville universitaire et un évêché.

(en) Bergen is a city in southwest Norway, capital of Vestland county. Bergen is the second largest city in the country with 278,121 habitants. It is also a port city overlooking the North Sea, a university town and a bishopric.

[kickerofelves]

Gawkers at the Belle Gunness Farm pictured lined up outside the cellar full of the dismembered body parts of her victims, 1908 [via]

Sightseers view the holes where several of bodies were found on the Belle Gunness farm in 1908. (La Porte County Historical Society)

[brianmchenry]

 The Intended Voyage of The Girona

Some incomplete notes:

A work in progress based partly on the sinking of the Spanish Galleass ‘La Girona’ off the County Antrim coast in 1588. The Girona was part of the ill-fated Spanish Armada and foundered on the rocks off Lacada Point as it was headed eastward in the hope of finding refuge in Scotland. There were an estimated 1,300 on board The Girona which had been designed for a crew of 300 and among those were slaves from Central and South America and sailors from two other Armada wrecks, ‘La Rata Santa Maria Encoronda‘ and ‘Dunquesa Santa Anna’*. There were nine survivors.

* La Rata Santa Maria Encoronda had run aground in County Mayo and the survivors marched the 25 miles to where they knew the Santa Anna to be anchored. The crew boarded and the Santa Anna set sail only to be wrecked off the coast of Donegal on the 28th September.

Don Alonso Martinez de Leyva (very much) after El Greco. One of the 1,300 onboard the Girona.

The title comes from a ring found on the wreck site made from conquistador gold which says ‘No tengo mas que dar te’ - ‘I have nothing more to give thee’

Further background reading on The Girona can be found here:

https://www.belfastentries.com/stories/true-stories/girona/

Although The Girona actually sank off Lacada Point (Port-na-Spaniagh) the foreground represents Torr Head which is to the east. Torr Head was the sight of a sixth century cashel and in the 1800′s was important for recording the passage of transatlantic shipping for Lloyds of London.

There was a small salmon fishery at Torr and I remember being taken out in an old US army amphibious truck to see the net and a basking shark that had got caught up in it. There was a shed at the back of the slipway that was full of old US Army equipment reputedly left behind when they pulled out from Derry after the Second World War.

[beardedmrbean]

Deputies made a peculiar discovery after a required body scan of an arrestee revealed a foreign object inside his anal cavity. 

Lt. Jeff Holt, assistant jail commander of operations at the La Porte County Jail in Indiana, was assisting deputies on May 17 when one of the people arrested refused to have his body scan taken. 

All arrestees are required to go through a "SecurPASS" Body Scan before being booked into jail, according to a Facebook post from the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office. 

The arrestee finally agreed to get the scan and during a review of the images, Holt saw a foreign object lodged inside the man’s anal cavity. 

Because of his many years of training, Holt was able to recognize that the object was metal and escorted the man to another room for an additional search. 

The arrestee was put through a second body scan and the object moved to a position which made it easier to positively identify as scissors. 

The scissors were removed without incident. 

"The body scanner is an incredible state of the art tool used to ensure the safety and security of all within the La Porte County Jail. Lieutenant Holt is commended for relying upon his training and experience, and successfully preventing a dangerous edged object from making its way fully into the jail," said Captain Derek J. Allen.

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Employers Rethink Need for College Degrees (WSJ) The tight labor market is prompting more employers to eliminate one of the biggest requirements for many higher-paying jobs: a college degree. Companies such as Google, Delta Air Lines and International Business Machines have reduced educational requirements for certain positions and shifted hiring to focus more on skills and experience. Maryland this year cut college-degree requirements for many state jobs—leading to a surge in hiring—and incoming Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro campaigned on a similar initiative. U.S. job postings requiring at least a bachelor’s degree were 41% in November, down from 46% at the start of 2019 ahead of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Burning Glass Institute. The shift comes as demand for workers remains high and unemployment is low. Job postings far outpace the number of unemployed people looking for work—10.7 million openings in September compared with 5.8 million unemployed—creating unusually stiff competition for workers.

Fentanyl’s scourge plainly visible on streets of Los Angeles (AP) In a filthy alley behind a Los Angeles doughnut shop, Ryan Smith convulsed in the grips of a fentanyl high—lurching from moments of slumber to bouts of violent shivering on a warm summer day. The highly addictive and potentially lethal drug has become a scourge across America and is taking a toll on the growing number of people living on the streets of Los Angeles. Nearly 2,000 homeless people died in the city from April 2020 to March 2021, a 56% increase from the previous year, according to a report released by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Overdose was the leading cause of death, killing more than 700. Because the drug is 50 times more potent than heroin, even a small dose can be fatal. It has quickly become the deadliest drug in the nation, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Two-thirds of the 107,000 overdose deaths in 2021 were attributed to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Antiwar Activists Who Flee Russia Find Detention, Not Freedom, in the U.S. (NYT) When Russia pushed into Ukraine early this year, Mariia Shemiatina and Boris Shevchuk, who had married and become practicing physicians, posted videos of the bloodshed and antiwar messages on social media. “I call on Russians to see the truth, to not believe the lies of the Russian media,” Ms. Shemiatina, 29, wrote on Instagram. Her posts were deleted by the authorities again and again, she said—until her accounts were blocked. The police called her family in search of the couple, who had gone into hiding. Certain that they were on the brink of being conscripted to serve as medics on the front lines, or imprisoned for their political activity, the couple decided to flee. They managed to make it to Mexico in mid-April. Two weeks later, they drove to a U.S. port of entry, handed over their passports and requested asylum, expecting their first taste of true freedom. Instead, their hands were cuffed, their feet shackled and they were flown to remote immigration detention centers in rural Louisiana. It would be six months before they would see each other again. “I thought when we left Russia that our suffering would be over,” Mr. Shevchuk, 28, said in an interview from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Pine Prairie, La. “I feel helpless.” As Vladimir Putin cracks down on dissidents and arrests draft dodgers, growing numbers of Russians are making their way across the U.S. southern border. But contrary to their expectations of asylum and freedom, many of them are being put into immigration detention centers that resemble prisons.

News groups ask for Assange case to be dropped (NYT) The New York Times and four leading European news organizations called on the U.S. Justice Department to drop charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, warning in an open letter that the case could criminalize U.S. journalists’ work exposing government secrets and potential wrongdoing.

As Haiti Unravels, U.S. Officials Push to Send in an Armed Foreign Force (NYT) The assassination of Haiti’s president last year set off a new wave of terror across the Caribbean nation. But conditions in the country have plunged to horrifying new lows in recent months, as gangs carried out such extreme violence that the carnage has been compared to civil war. Now, fearing that the humanitarian crisis engulfing Haiti could spur mass migration to the United States and elsewhere, some top Biden administration officials are pushing to send a multinational armed force to the country, several current and former officials say, after the Haitian government made an appeal for such an intervention last month. But the United States doesn’t want its own troops included in that force, even though officials fear that the tumult in Haiti will send an even bigger wave of migrants to American shores. Already, the number of Haitian migrants intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard has increased more than fourfold since last year, with many setting sail in overcrowded boats known to capsize in rough waters. But the Biden administration is encountering resistance to rallying a multinational force, including from American military leaders who do not want to be drawn into a mission that would require a significant amount of time and resources, the U.S. officials said.

Coal in Poland (Bloomberg) About 37 percent of homes in Poland are heated by coal, with the country accounting for 77 percent of all households in the European Union using coal for heat. Sanctions against Russia have choked off the supply of that coal to Poland, and concerns about energy security in the upcoming winter have some Poles turning to an unlikely source of coal: their own backyards. In parts of the country, coal is as little as a meter underground, and mining was still a viable career in parts of the country until the turn of the century. A four-man team can dig out a ton of coal in an hour and clear 1,000 zloty ($220) for a half-day of work, about 60 percent of the average weekly wage.

The Western weapons shortage (NYT) When the Soviet Union collapsed three decades ago, European nations drastically reduced their armories, thinking that a land war in Europe would never happen again. They were wrong. The war is now chewing up those modest stockpiles of weapons as Europeans, along with the U.S., race to arm Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine are also burning through weaponry and ammunition at their own staggering paces. In Afghanistan, NATO forces might have fired 300 artillery rounds a day and had no real worries about air defense. But Ukraine can fire thousands of rounds daily and remains desperate for air defense against Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones. “A day in Ukraine is a month or more in Afghanistan,” one defense expert said. Last summer in the Donbas region, the Ukrainians were firing 6,000 to 7,000 artillery rounds each day, a senior NATO official said. The Russians were firing 40,000 to 50,000 rounds per day. By comparison, the U.S. produces 15,000 rounds each month. The West is scrambling to find increasingly scarce Soviet-era equipment and ammunition that Ukraine can use now and is sending strong signals to defense industries that longer-term contracts are in the offing. The Russians, too, are having resupply problems of their own. Moscow is also trying to ramp up military production and is reportedly seeking to buy missiles from North Korea and more cheap drones from Iran.

Europe accuses US of profiting from war (Politico) Nine months after invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is beginning to fracture the West. Top European officials are furious with Joe Biden’s administration and now accuse the Americans of making a fortune from the war, while EU countries suffer. “The fact is, if you look at it soberly, the country that is most profiting from this war is the U.S. because they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they are selling more weapons,” one senior official told POLITICO. The explosive comments—backed in public and private by officials, diplomats and ministers elsewhere—follow mounting anger in Europe over American subsidies that threaten to wreck European industry. “We are really at a historic juncture,” the senior EU official said, arguing that the double hit of trade disruption from U.S. subsidies and high energy prices risks turning public opinion against both the war effort and the transatlantic alliance. “America needs to realize that public opinion is shifting in many EU countries.” Another top official, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell, called on Washington to respond to European concerns. “Americans—our friends—take decisions which have an economic impact on us,” he said in an interview with POLITICO.

For Afghans who fought against the Taliban, life is fraught under their rule (NPR) When Mohammad Hashim enlisted in the Afghan National Army, he never imagined his career would land him in an apple orchard. Just a couple of years ago, the former army officer was in charge of setting up military checkpoints in Helmand Province, where some of the fiercest fighting between Taliban insurgents and Afghan forces took place. Now, he picks apples for a living. “There’s no work for those of us who served in the military,” says Hashim. When the Afghan republic collapsed last year, so too did its U.S.-backed military. Overnight, tens of thousands of Afghan soldiers lost their jobs and suddenly found themselves living under the thumb of those they spent two decades fighting. Ever since, life has radically changed for them. Those who once drove tanks now drive taxis. The soldiers who once stood in formation now stand in line for food aid. Some former soldiers who served during the old republic tell NPR they live in fear of being detained and disappeared.

China’s protests: Blank paper becomes the symbol of rare demonstrations (BBC) As dusk fell on Shanghai on Sunday evening, some of those who gathered at a vigil to remember the victims of a fire that catalysed the demonstrations came clutching sheets of paper. So did protesters in other cities. The trend has its roots in the 2020 Hong Kong demonstrations, where locals held blank pieces of paper to protest against the city’s draconian new national security laws. Activists held the blank paper aloft after authorities banned slogans and phrases associated with the mass protest movement of 2019 that saw the city grind to a halt and officials violently clamp down on demonstrators. Johnny, a 26-year old demonstrator in Beijing, told the Reuters news agency that the paper had come to “represent everything we want to say but cannot say”. Kerry Allen, the BBC’s China media analyst, observed that Chinese censorship officials have gone into overdrive on the country’s social media platforms. “Tens of millions of posts have been filtered from search results,” she said. Meanwhile, paper maker Shanghai M&G Stationary was forced to deny rumours that it had taken all A4 paper off shelves for national security reasons.

3 Weeks After Hack, This Country’s Government Is Still Off-line (NYT) The government of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu has essentially been off-line for three weeks because of a cyberattack, leaving people struggling to get access to services and forcing some civil servants to use pen and paper to conduct business. The government’s network, official sites and online services were “compromised” on Nov. 6, officials told local news media a few days later. Since then, the government has been closed-mouthed about the attack and its attempts to restore the system, leading to criticism from some. One news outlet called the hack “our worst kept secret.” The attack—which took place the day after a new government, led by Prime Minister Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau, was sworn in—has caused significant inconveniences for many of Vanuatu’s 320,000 residents, who live on dozens of islands. “Everything runs on email here, so the email outages are causing a lot of issues,” said Glen Craig, the managing partner of Pacific Advisory, a consulting firm that works with businesses and governments in the Pacific, including Vanuatu’s government. “If you’ve got things in process like building permits or residency applications or work permits—all those services have been held up.”

[instaviewpoint]

Fields of Gold

October 12 2023 Bean fields are plentiful throughout the Midwest. Just yesterday, the unharvested fields of gold were lined with delivery trucks awaiting their payload as the combine gathered the crop that pays for the farmer to live throughout the winter. Here in Laporte County, not to be confused with the city of Laporte, we are accustomed to pulling to the side of the road as the 14 foot…

[asitrita]

About my previous post, I must add my Hetalianish take on it (really historical Spaport film in my head u.u). There’s this version of the song from a folk group from León that sings it while accompanying it with rithmic claps and beats on the table, and it kinda sounds like a drum, maybe a war drum? So I had this scene in my head of Toni and Port (I have not decided his name yet u.u) in their very early teens in the case of Port and late childhood in the case of Toni (still a naive baby u.u), at the time of the revolt of the County of Portugal, which ended with Portugal becoming its own kingdom, independent from the Kingdom of León. It was actually kind of a mother/son family conflict (no surprises, all in this damn world revolves around family dramas XD), so I imagine Port and Toni worried about the family conflict (yet another one) and tensed about the war, but not really registering all the implications this historical event will eventually have. Of course, this links to my hc of them being kind of "one and the same” prior Portugal’s independence as a kingdom, and even after that, I do not imagine them being apart or actually “different” till the begining of the Portuguese Thalassocracy, when Port takes over the Portuguese Empire. So, thing is, they sense the conflict, of course they are worried about their people fighting and their noble and royal families horrible dynamics, but they are yet not aware of the actual consequences and impact this event will have in history, in their future (Port eventually leaving and never reuniting ever again with the rest of the kingdoms except for that one time that didn’t end well either coughthanksfrancedamnyouandrichelieucough and old Spain being Spain no more). Just another quarrel between their kingdoms and counties. I particularly enjoy how this version, sung solely by women, almost sounds like a war march, yet it clearly is a love song. The verses “I call for Justice to imprison you with the chains of my love” sound so much like something Toni may feel towards Portugal (and the other way aorund, but maybe less so, at least not in this case in which the County of Portugal is trying to break away from the Kingdom of León, while León is trying to keep its kingdom together, lol). But it also sounds like a song children could sing while playing due to the simple and repetitive melody and rythm. I enjoy the idea of them being obliviously and playfully (mostly Toni) listening to a love childish-like song while the war that would shape their destinies and break them apart breaks out :) I'm such a sadist.

I don’t know, it just really reminds me of them, but trully, lately almost anything reminds me of either Spaport or Frain, so not big deal, I guess XD

Also, I almost forget, but this versión has this extra stanza:

En medio la plaza calló la luna / se hizo siete pedazos y tu eres una. The moon fell in the middle of the square / it broke into seven pieces and you’re one of them.

Here’s the version from this folk group (a really good one, by the way) from León I’m talking about:

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[steliosagapitos]

                      ��  “The Nasturtiums” No 2, 1861-1897 of Chromolithograph in Boston Public Library, by Thaddeus Welch (American landscape painter. Born in Missouri and reared in Oregon, he was trained at the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany. His paintings of Marin County, California became popular among members of the Bohemian Club in the 1890s; Born: July 14, 1844, La Porte, Indiana, United States - Died: December 19, 1919, Santa Barbara, California, United States).

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Monday 20 August 1838

4 50

9

fine morning F66° now at 5 ¾ am breakfast – A- had had her bath – off at 7 5 our 2 guides on foot – at Gèdre at the douane at 9 ¼ - detained getting an acquit à caution for the horses to go into Spain – not certain whether it would be wanted now or not – sat sometime at the douane signed my name as usual A. Lister in the book – gave my name Anne Lister de Shibden hall in the county of York which address the receveur copied – the horses were toisés measured and described – Mr. Palesset and Charles our cautions (bordersmen) for the amount = 1200fr. if the horses should not return within 25 days – fine (amende) 500/. each and value 100fr. each horses = 1200/. we latterly left to the douane and went and sat at the auberge – this acquit à caution business takes from ¾ hour to an hour every time – off from the auberge (Gèdre) at 10 5 along the Gavarnie road till 11 12 when leaves this road cross the game by the fenceless wooden bridge of Barilyas near the little hamlet of the same name, ascend the hill and at 11 25 stop a minute or 2 at excellent point de vue of Gavarnie and its pretty green basin, and the cirque and cascade and Marboré just opposite to us – excellent station for a picture – at 11 35 a little higher up the hill stopt five minutes for Charles to drink petit lait at what he called the best in Gavarnie (i.e. the little district) le maison d’Yarré – view from here of Mt. Ferrat d’Ossoue (Ossoo, Charpentier spells it Ossōnne) i.e. of one pic of this mountain – then snow, and then Vignemale – off from la maison d’Yarré at 11 40 – at 12 ¾ good point de vue of Vignemale – just catch its over four pics and below these 3 summits reaching down to Mt. Ferrat – at 12 48 pass (right, on the other side the gave) the 1st cabane – cabane and wood bridge d’Artǐgolĕ – at 1 5 alight at the cabane de Saoussats Dabats – fine narrow savage valley – glad to see it again and clear – shut in east by the Piméné – west by the Vignemale – en face de la cabane (to the north) the tower like pic blanc -  I question that (had we gone as intended yesterday to the top of it (Charles did not know of my altered plan till at Gèdre this morning) it would have served us for a good point de vue of Vignemale – there is a high point, and high rock still beyond that, on the same line of crête, that might obstruct our view? Charles agreed that our labour would have been lost – bright, lovely day – the glacier of V- fine from here (standing at the cabane-door) – but I am strange to this side of the mountain – late and brouillard both evenings of our arriving at the cabane, and on the day of ascent out daylight spent on the Spanish side – here (at the cabane door) valley closed east by the top morsel of the pic de Piméné and its crête down to the summit of the Coumélie – and west by one point of Mt. Ferrat, then the snow – then 2 summits with spots of snow between – a crête and larger rounder summit – then the glacier reaching to the 3 visible pics of Vignemale – and one round lower summit stretching down till it closes our vale d’Ossōnne – on arriving A- ate one wind and the breast of an cold fowl then sketched Vignemale from the cabane door in her little note rough book –

SH:7/ML/E/21/0172

all the bergers away on our arrival – but we had taken some of their milk (always kept in a sort of drain made exprès with a stream running thro’ it) and had just wrapt up a franc in a written paper to be left in the compartment of drain we had taken the milk from when a berger came broche to to one of the bergers here before, and who went with us as guide – Charles measured the cabane inside – 2 umbrellas long and two + 4 pouces broad – not much space for ten of us to sleep in – En route again at 2 35 – the vale d’Ossōnne running east and west not far from its origin west, throws off 2 branches, southwards – the cannau de Lourdes leading to the Port de Plat d’[aow] (Plāh d’aow) which we passed on the 7th going to the V-      and the Plāne à combe ([coorn]) the easternmost of the 2, and leading to the Lac de la Bernatoire – the range of mountain forming the north side of the vale d’Ossonne, and on which rises about mid length the pic blanc is called on its south side towards the vale d’Ossonne, the mountain d’Ossonne or as Charles pronounced it Mountain d’Ossonne, and on its other north side Sowgué (Sowgay) – off from the cabane de Saoussa[t]s dabats at 2 35 – turned by and by (left) up the Plāne à coone [combe] – passed the cabane of the Spanish berger who carried our baggage on the 7th, and at the top looking down upon the very pretty little lac de Bernatoire at 4 35 as according to A-‘s watch, my watch would have indicated – but I had sometime before discovered that it had stood since 2 35 – very pretty little round deep lake exactly filling the bottom of a crater-like contorted rock basin between the two crêtes of rock forming the port or brêche perhaps about a couple of hundred feet high north and south, and rising into a high rock range west, and a high pic close over the lake east and its rock range stretching out towards the port de Bouchero – the crête of the whole of this rock-range separates France and Spain .:. ½ the lake is in French ½ in Spain – too cold for trout – no visible outlet for the water – the rock-basin hoary and bare of vegetation except a little on the west side along the talus of debris along the bottom of which (having descended to the waters’ edge on the north side)   we wound ½ round the lake to the south side up which we went by a little narrow zigzag scarcely visible track to the top having made this little trajet (from 1 side of the lake to the other) in ¼ hour – fine look down upon masses of rock Spain and the Port de Bouchero road en face, the fine rocks above which we had not been to see when just under them in passing from Gavarnie – coldish strongish south wind at the top of the port – it was 4 55 when we paid off our berger whom we had had since 2 35 and began the descent upon Bouchero – A- walked till 6 from which time she rode almost all the rest of the way – I walked till 6 ½ - then mounted for ¼ hour then walked all the rest of the way – very fine day – at Bouchero at 7 10 .:. from the cabane to the port 2 35 to 4 35 = 2 hours rounding the lake and stopping 20 minutes Descent from 4 55 to 7 10 = 2 ¾ hours so that we had taken in all 5 5 hours from the cabane de Saoussa[t]s dabats to the hospice at Bouchero – walked about the house out a little till about 8 – then supper – soup but made with too much oil, that we could not touch it – 4 or 5 eggs fried with a little fat bacon – we could have eaten more but unluckily no more to be had – good bread of which we both ate pretty well and Eaux-bonnes cheese of which A- ate a little – the water excellent – I had a [joram] of boiled milk of which I daresay I drank about a quart and left the rest for Charles who had a little colique this evening – I had felt my stomach far from well – it has been more or less derangé these 3 weeks – our room much better than we expected – largeish – one window about 2ft. 6in. high by 3ft. wide – 2 doors – nor glass nor frame – the woman brought at 1st lighted splinter of fir-wood, and on our asking for a candle brought  a little lamp which hung up against the wall – and as it must be hung up (would not stand) and we could only find one nail near the winds’ [edge] head of my bed, we were obliged to place our table accordingly – we had 2 beds each having a mattress over the pailasse, and sheets, coarse linen but clean – of course, nor baldaquin nor curtain – the great store seemed a large old kist forming also a high seat or table, in our room from which our good but dirty-looking landlady took sheets, cheese and all – all ready and room cleared at 8 ¾ - lay down with our things on A- taking off only her habit and shoes and stockings and I taking off my shoes and gaiters and cincture – very fine day

[quatregats]

🎶✨when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite accs (positivity is cool)🎶✨

Oh god I've gotten like 10 of these on my main but I didn't want to answer them until I made an actual proper post there 😔 my most sincere apologies to everyone who sent me one, I'll get to them once I stop being a lazy bastard

Here are some current favs:

Pony Pisador - Carta de navegar (it's so pretty and then you hear the lyrics and it's just about cannabalism shdfhsdjf)

Lildami - Supermercat (yes I'm late but dare I say...Cançó de l'estiu)

La Gavina (he posat la versió de Marina Rossell però també havia estat escoltant la de Port Bo, cadascuna té els seus mèrits i no volia triar)

Sinead O'Connor & the Chieftains - The Foggy Dew (fun fact! You can swap lyrics/melodies with this and "The Star of the County Down" and it works perfectly and sounds really fucked up)

Auxili - Parèntesi (I am cradling this song gently in my hands. Also this whole album in general)

Thank you for the ask <333333