Category Archives: Sealand

By D.G. Martin

Who is responsible for last months jam up in the Suez Canal?

Could it be a North Carolinian?

The damages to the quarter-mile long container ship Ever Given, which ran aground in the canal, are just the beginning. Egypt lost millions in toll revenue from hundreds of ships backed up. Somebody has to pay for the earth moving equipment and tugboats that dislodged the Ever Given from the canals banks where it was stuck for six days. Then there are damages that will accrue to owners of the cargo items for late delivery charges and for the spoilage to time sensitive agricultural products.

Could all this have been caused by a North Carolinian?

Yes, it is easy to argue that Malcom McLean, the son of a sharecropper tobacco farmer in Robeson County shares responsibly.

McLean (1913-2001) is known as the Father of Containerization because he developed the modern intermodal shipping container that revolutionized freight transportation.

Prior to the 1950s most shipping cargos were loaded by longshoremen in a time consuming and costly operation.

McLean began the revolution that led to using strong truck trailer sized containers to load ocean ships.

How dirt farmer McLean came up with the idea and built businesses around it is a great American story of entrepreneurism and determined work.

Malcom, not Malcolm, spelled his name without the extra l.

Though born in Maxton, he finished high school in Winston Salem in 1935. His family did not have enough money to send him to college. They used the little money they could scrape up to buy a used truck. It was the beginning of McLean Trucking Co., which started operations in Red Springs.

In 1937 McLean drove a truck load of cotton to a port in Hoboken, N. J., where, as he remembered,I had to wait most of the day to deliver the bales, sitting there in my truck, watching stevedores load other cargo. It struck me that I was looking at a lot of wasted time and money. I watched them take each crate off the truck and slip it into a sling, which would then lift the crate into the hold of the ship.

He put that thought about wasted time aside for almost 20 years while he built McLean Trucking, then headquartered in Winston Salem, into the largest trucking fleet in the South.

But he saw the possibility of a container sized to fit on a truck bed or railcar, or stacked on a ship. He saw how to eliminate the wasted time he had experienced in Hoboken. He developed and patented a standard steel reinforced container that fit on a truck bed and was stackable on ships. He founded a new company, SeaLand, to exploit the opportunity.

As McLeans first container ship left Newark harbor in 1956, someone asked Freddy Fields, a top official of the International Longshoremens Association, What do you think of that new ship? Fields replied, Id like to sink that sonofabitch. Fields knew that McLeans way of transferring freight would put longshoremen out of work.

The world found out that the new way of loading and transferring freight openeddoors for increased world trade and for more and more container ships, larger and larger ones, carrying more and more containers like those stacked to the sky on the Ever Given.

Malcom McLeans revolution in containerized shipping brought us cheaper products from other parts of the world. It gave us the opportunity to produce and sell our goods internationally without having to pay exorbitant shipping and handling costs.

And it made possible the gigantic Ever Given loaded with 18,300 containers that plowed into the Suez banks.

Give McLean the credit he is due for revolutionizing world trade. And then you can hold him partly accountable for the jam up of the monster container ship in the Suez.

D.G. Martin hosts North Carolina Bookwatch, Sundays at 3:30 p.m. and Tuesdays at 5 p.m. on PBS North Carolina (formerly UNC-TV). The program also airs on the North Carolina Channel Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and other times.

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One on One: A link between a North Carolinian and the Suez Canal back-up? - The Coastland Times - The Coastland Times

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Global Weatherstrip Seal Market Trends, Growth Demand, Opportunities & Forecast to 2026 | Cooper Standard, Toyoda Gosei, Hutchinson, Henniges,...

The wind dominated the Saturday finals at the Rigby Invite as Madison took second behind Highland in the girls meet and, in the boys, meet, Madison fell to Rigby 63-101. With winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour, some of the runners were almost blown over as they ran into the head wind near the finish line.

One of the most exciting races of the day was in the boys 300 hurdles. Madisons Deven Benitez was leading by half a step with 100 meters to go over teammate Ammon Mishke and Hillcrests Noah Whitaker. Mishke edged ahead of Whitaker and Benitez as they cleared the last hurdle winning the race in a personal record, 42.15, as all three broke the 43 second mark.

Madisons only other individual winner was Cameron Porter as he won the 110 hurdles in 15.66 and almost won a second race in the 100 meters, but was out-leaned by Skylines Conner Maloney in a .02 second win.

Other Bobcats placing in the top three places were Eli Backstein was second in the high jump, clearing 6-4; Keagan Martin in the triple jump with a PR of 40-11 and the 4 X 400 team of Carter Miskin, Hinckley Manner, Mishke and Logan Thomas taking third with a time of 3:38.9.

The top five teams in the boys were Rigby (101), Madison (63), Skyline (61), Pocatello (44) and Shelley (43).

The Madison girl throwers dominated the discus with A. J. Dawson winning the event with a 102-09 toss followed by Halle Pope taking second and Karlee Mouser taking sixth. Other placers for the Bobcats in the top three were Savannah Lee, second in the 100 hurdles (16.49); Whitney Wasden, second in the 300 hurdles (49.81) and Mariah Webb, third in the high jump (5-00).

The top five schools were Highland (96.5), Madison (56), Skyline (51), Preston (48) and Pocatello (48).

In the Freshman Meet the Madison girls had two individual winners with Jessica Hales winning the 100 hurdles (18.21) and Salish Carusona winning the long jump (14-01.25). Taylor Stucki took second in the 400 (1:05.74) and third in the 100 meters (13.64). The Bobcat freshman boys had Jacob Fisher take second in the 1600 with and PR of 5:16.09 and the 4 X 100 relay, made up of Austin Cottrell, Jett Summers, Maxwell seal and Carter Thomas, took second with a time of 50.26.

Madisons next scheduled competition is at Thunder Stadium for the Bonneville Invite on Friday.

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Madison takes second in 17 team Rigby Invite | Sports | rexburgstandardjournal.com - Rexburg Standard Journal

People stand in long queues inside a branch of Sonali Bank in Dhaka's Motijheel to settle their various transactions, including cash withdrawal, on Tuesday ahead of the strict lockdown set to be enforced from April 14 to April 21 Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune

All banks will remain closed during the lockdown from Wednesday until April 21

Bank branches and ATM booths in Dhaka have been packed with clients withdrawing money ahead of the strict lockdown, the government is set to enforce from Wednesday until April 21, aiming to choke the spread of Covid-19 infections.

The lenders faced huge cash withdrawal pressure since Tuesday morning as a large number of clients gathered at the bank branches following the announcement of closure of all the scheduled banks from Wednesday.

"Now we are facing a huge rush at almost all of our branches and ATM booths," said an official of Sonali Bank.

Mahbubur Rahman, Trust Bank's Sena Kallyan Bhaban branch manager, said that they are facing huge pressure from clients. Most of them are withdrawing cash ahead of the strict lockdown.

While visiting different bank branches in the capital, it was found that the officials were facing difficulties in handling a good number of clients waiting in long queues in front of the cash counters.

Also Read -Banks to remain closed amid strict lockdown

At places, people were seen standing in queues on the streets outside the bank branches and ATM booths amid sweltering heat.

Struggling for maintaining social distancing in lines, people said they are withdrawing money to meet their urgent needs and in fear of uncertainty.

People stand in long queues inside a branch of Sonali Bank in Dhaka's Motijheel on Tuesday ahead of the strict lockdown set to be enforced from Wednesday | Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka TribuneJahangir Alam, a client of Trust Bank, presumed that the strict lockdown might be extended further and the cash needed to be withdrawn for that purpose.

Rabiul Islam, a client of Bank Asia, said it is a kind of suffering that the banks would remain closed amid the lockdown.

For Tuesday, the banks will remain open till 3pm as the central bank extended the transaction hour by two hours.

Contacted, Brac Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Selim RF Hussain said all of the bank branches faced huge cash withdrawal pressure as people were so panicked owing to the announcement of lockdown.

Also Read -Tuesday's banking hour extended till 3pm

However, the Covid-19 pandemic has boosted the digital banking activities as the increasing number of clients do not want to visit the branches now, he added.

On Monday, the Bangladesh Bank issued a notice saying all the scheduled banks would remain closed amid the strict lockdown.

It said bank branches, sub-branches, and its ATM booths located in the sea, land and airports, as well as customs areas should be opened at all times by consulting with the local administration and customs authorities.

It also asked the lenders to keep adequate cash and internet services at their ATM booths to ensure uninterrupted service to their clients.

Meanwhile, the daily withdrawal limit from ATM booths has been extended to Tk1 lakh during the strict lockdown period.

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Banks, ATM booths face cash withdrawal pressure ahead of lockdown - Dhaka Tribune

The Biohacking Market Analysis to 2027 is a specialized and in-depth study of the healthcare industry with a special focus on the global market trend analysis. The report aims to provide an overview of in biohacking market with detailed market segmentation by product, application, end user and geography. The biohacking market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the leading in biohacking market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.

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A biohacking is the desire to understand the body and mind that you have been given and using everything at an instrument that conducts high-frequency alternating current through a patients body that generates heat energy. Mostly, the devices are classified as monopolar or bipolar, which can be used for fulgurating tissue, cutting, coagulating or desiccating. It is an electrosurgical device. Due to repeated application, high cost, and displacement problems associated with conventional devices these devices are preferred. The electrosurgical device is an electrical controlled, and it also provides safety and efficiency and burn-reduction tracking.

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Biohacking Market Report (2021-2027) | The Demand For The Market Will Drastically Increase In The Future | Apple Inc, Behavioral Tech, Fitbit, Inc.,...

By Blake Carter

UGA Extension agent

Hello, Effingham County! March has come and gone and I cannot believe how fast time is passing.

It is already strawberry season, folks! Strawberries are in season so the time to get those beautiful red gems from local farms or producers is now.

You can always call or check out Georgia Growns Website to see some of the local farms or producers in the area. They include include:

Hodges Strawberry Farm

Website: hodgesstrawberryfarm.com

Address: 8705 Ga. Hwy 21 N

Newington, Ga. 30446

Phone: (912) 754-7257

Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and 1-5 p.m. Sunday*

*Times may change due to availability of fruit so call ahead on Saturday afternoons or Sundays.

Ottawa Farms

Website: ottawafarms.com

Address: 702 Bloomingdale Road

Bloomingdale, Ga. 31302

Phone: (912) 748-3035

Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

So I am promoting in-season strawberries right now, but what about later in the year and I want to still know I am eating a local strawberry or I am still supporting a local farmer? Well, that is a great question that I want to focus on through this article. Storage and preservation of food is key to having a sustainable food supply for households all across the world.

With strawberries there are several options to preserve and store. The main ones I want to discuss are freezing and then turning those strawberries into jams, jellies, preserves, conserves and marmalades.

Freezing is a fantastic method of taking fresh strawberries and keeping them throughout the year to use in cooking or smoothies and so on. The first step in freezing is prepping the berry. Be selective in what strawberries you choose for this. Only use the fully ripe, firmer berry with a deep red color. The immature or defective fruit you may get in a pack can be eaten then but not used for freezing.

Another good tip is the bigger berries are not always the sweetest. Ask your farmer if they grow different varieties because some of them are sweeter than others. They are not always the big ones either!

Once selected, wash and remove the caps of the berries. From there, you have a choice to make. Three main freezing techniques include freezing whole berries in syrup, in sugar, and then finely sliced or crushed.

Freezing berries in syrup and sugar is very similar. For the syrup route, take the berries and put them into containers and cover with cold 50 percent syrup, leaving some headspace.

I am including the link to a syrup guide you can reference to determine the percent of water to sugar to create the syrup you would like. (https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/syrups.html) I used the term headspace and I will be saying that again in the next two methods as well.

I did not truly understand that term the first time I heard it. Headspace is the distance you measure between the top of the liquid (i.e. jam) in the jar and the jar rim.

Now as far as whole berries in sugar, all you have to do there is take three-fourths of a sugar to one quart of berries and mix until most of the sugar is dissolved. Then you just let it sit for 15 minutes, put into containers leaving headspace, seal and freeze.

The final method of freezing would be slicing or crushing the berry. You start by preparing the same way as you would the whole berry methods but, after washing and removing the caps, you slice or crush partially or completely.

Add the same cup sugar to 1 quart of berries. You then stir and let stand for 15 minutes, pack into containers leaving that headspace, seal and freeze. Thats it folks.

Freezing strawberries is super easy. There are non-sugar or unsweetened ways to pack as well and if yall are interested in those please reach out and I can share those with you as well.

Moving from freezing to changing that strawberry into another product is also a way to preserve or store the berries. UGA has a fantastic Bulletin titled So Easy to Preserve that defines the different products you can turn fruit into. I figured defining the type of products would be beneficial in deciding which product you would like to make.

Jellies are usually made by cooking fruit juice with sugar. (Some are made without cooking using special uncooked jelly recipes.) A good product is clear and firm enough to hold its shape when turned out of the container, but quivers when the container is moved. When cut, it should be tender yet retain the angle of the cut. Jelly should have a flavorful, fresh, fruity taste. Jams are thick; sweet spreads made by cooking crushed or chopped fruits with sugar.

Jams tend to hold their shape but are generally less firm than jelly. Preserves are small, whole fruit or uniform size pieces in a clear, slightly gelled syrup. The fruit should be tender and plump.

Conserves are jam-like products that may be made with a combination of fruits. They also contain nuts, raisins or coconut.

Marmalades are soft fruit jellies containing small pieces of fruit or peel evenly suspended in the transparent jelly. They often contain citrus fruit.

After choosing the type of product you would like to make I encourage taking time to research the procedure associated with making that jam or jelly or so on.

I will include at the end, fantastic links to UGA publications that discuss the procedures associated with canning and making these food products safely. I will always be happy to help guide yall to information and share some tips and tricks on food preservation.

Strawberries are too good to just enjoy in their prime season. Using these methods and tips, you can enjoy local strawberries year round! I hope yall find this helpful. I also want to let everyone know I have a blog website and a newsletter subscription sign-up.

If anyone is interested in the newsletter email, please reach out and I can get you on the list! Link to Blog: https://site.extension.uga.edu/effinghamanr/2020/05/helpful-cooking-and-storage-tips-for-strawberries/ Preserving Food Publication: https://secure.caes.uga.edu/extension/publications/files/pdf/FDNS-E-43-08_5.PDF Jams and Jellies: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can7_jam_jelly.html

Joke of the Week: What did one strawberry say to another? If you werent so sweet, we wouldnt be in this JAM!

If you have any questions, suggestions, or want further information, please give me a call at or stop by the Effingham County Extension Office, (912)754-8040, 501 N. Richland Ave., Rincon Ga. 31326.

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How to preserve, store those red gems - Effingham Herald

Gary McDonald Business Editor

13 April, 2021 01:00

CO Down medical devices company TG Eakin and the north coast rival it bought late last year have both filed accounts showing healthy increases in sales and profitability.

Comber-based Eakin, which supplies ostomy and wound care products around the world, acquired Coleraine device manufacturer Armstrong Medical.

Documents filed at Companies House show that in the year to the end of March 2020, Eakin's sales rose by around 1 million to 34.6m, and its retained profit came in at just shy of 13m.

In its last full trading year Armstrong, which manufactures a range of respiratory product, saw its revenues rise by 33 per cent to 18.8m while pre-tax profits soared by 89 per cent from 2.6m to 4.3m.

The unification of the two companies creates a powerful global player in healthcare, with both having a significant focus on export.

Indeed of Eakin's turnover, just over 7 per cent (about 2.6m) is sold within the UK, with 15.3m of sales in Europe and 16.7m in the rest of the world.

For Armstrong, more than half its output (nearly 11m) goes to territories outside the UK.

At the time of the acquisition in December Eakin - which had 85 staff on its books in 2020 and a wages bill of 3.5m (an average salary of 41,000) - said the move represented a major diversification, marking its entry into a new therapeutic area.

Armstrong has a staff of 173, to whom it paid 6,317,064 last year, or an average salary of 36,500.

Tom Eakin founded the the Eakin Healthcare Group in 1974 after encountering patients experiencing problems with disposable ostomy pouches. He went on to design a manufacture his own seal and along with his sons Paul and Jeremy, went on to market their products worldwide.

The company, which exports to more than 30 countries through a network of 40 distributors, is today run by his two sons Jeremy (53) and Paul (58), who have previously featured in the Sunday Times Rich List with a wealth of 300 million.

John Armstrong originally set up his firm in 1984 after recognising a need to develop critical care products, particularly for patients suffering from lung injuries due to the impact of bomb blasts.

It went on to develop a range of acute respiratory care products for critical, perioperative and neonatal care, exporting to more than 60 markets.

Last year it completed a 26,000 sq ft extension to its warehouse and manufacturing facilities at its main site at Wattstown business park in Coleraine.

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Unified healthcare specialists boost their sales and profits - The Irish News

More planning powers should be handed to environmental watchdogs to prevent development in high-risk flood areas, according to a Chester campaign group.

The warning follows the decision this week to allow 142 homes to be built on the former Chester College playing fields on Sealand Road, concluding an eight-year planning saga.

Now, Reg Barritt of Chester Community Voice UK, has called for changes to be made.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: We ask, why are UK developers still planning and being allowed to build more homes in high-risk flood areas when we know that the situation is only going to get worse because of the climate emergency?

Our Government and local planners need to rethink where and how we build homes, [and we need to give] more powers to environmental watchdogs to keep developers in check, and to invest more in preventing flooding from happening.

Damage caused by such storms as Ciara and Dennis is becoming increasingly frequent and is proof of the case against such development, [which] has left many residents counting the cost of that policy and raised concerns over plans to build more.

The Sealand Road decision on Tuesday (April 6) came after Cheshire West and Chester Councils planning committee felt they could not find a planning reason to refuse it but Cllr Gina Lewis said morally, I do not feel I can support this.

Her view was seemingly shared by several other councillors, as five voted to approve the bid, one voted against, and five chose to abstain.

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Call for more powers to be handed to "environmental watchdogs" after eight-year planning saga - Cheshire Live

A nine-year-long Chester planning battle has finally concluded after councillors approved 142 houses on Sealand Road with a heavy heart.

The decision brings to an end a saga which has seen multiple applications and appeals, a public inquiry, and the involvement of government ministers.

However, many councillors felt that their hands had been tied into accepting the bid with one saying she was morally opposed to approving it.

I do not believe we have found that [planning reason for refusal] and we have the duty as a planning committee to act responsibly, Cllr Charles Fifield said at the meeting.

Under those circumstances, I move for approval.

It means developers Anwyl can now build a mixture of one to four-bedroom properties on the former University of Chester playing fields.

Much of the councillors discussions surrounded the flood risk to the site, which has been cited by past planning committees and inspectors as a reason for refusal.

The original application for the site, which was submitted in 2012, was refused in 2013 on those grounds, and an appeal on that bid was also dismissed.

Following that, another application was submitted in 2014, which was recommended for refusal by council planning officers but councillors voted to accept it.

That prompted the Minister for Housing, Communities, and Local Government Eric Pickles MP to call-in the decision in 2015 and following a public inquiry he refused outline planning permission.

However that was then challenged by the applicant in the High Court, leading to the public inquiry reopening which concluded with another government minister, Sajid Javid, judging that the proposal passed the Sequential and Exception tests in terms of flood risk and granted outline planning permission in February 2018.

As such, councillors largely had their hands tied with the application before them, as only issues relating to appearance, landscaping, layout, and scale could be considered.

Ultimately, the committee felt they could not find a planning reason to refuse it but Cllr Gina Lewis said morally, I do not feel I can support this.

Her view was seemingly shared by several other councillors, as five voted to approve the bid, one voted against, and five chose to abstain.

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Nine-year battle ends with 142 homes to be built on Chester flood plain land - Cheshire Live

This spring, the organization responsible for identifying the militarys needs for weapons and prioritizing gaps in capabilities will release its principles for a top-down approach to data, software, 5G and other future data-sharing technologies.

The Information Advantage Strategic Directive will be particularly important for military services and contractors because it will set the mark for what the military needs from 5G technologies and other networking equipment as well as the data and space systems that make them possible.

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten said the Joint Oversight Requirements Council (JROC) is currently working on the document and plans to release it in a couple of months.

We have a new warfighting concept thats being developed and that is critically dependent on the network and critically dependent on the data that is transported across that network, Hyten said Wednesday during an AFCEA event. We are trying to define what those joint requirements will be that all service capabilities and all service platforms have to plug into to effectively operate and share information.

5G is only one aspect of the larger directive. Hyten teased last fall that JROC was working on a document that would involve the ubiquitous use of data and revolutionize JROCs role in the development of weapons.

In the past a service develops a capability, it comes up through the various coordination boards, eventually getting to the JROC, he said last September. We validate a service concept and make sure it meets the joint interoperability requirements.

This new approach will set standards from the top and make sure the services equipment falls into line with those requirements. As such, the requirements will delve into data, software, space systems, precision fires and joint all domain command and control.

If you just think about data from a 5G perspective theres three elements of data that we have to be able to focus on to understand where were going in the future, Hyten said. The first element is: What are our real data requirements we actually need to understand? What the requirements are right now? Its a little bit challenging to try to figure out what the data requirements are, so were going work with services, and were going to use some interesting experimentation thats going on now to define first the data requirements at the tactical edge.

From there the Defense Department and JROC will determine how that data needs to be transported through air, sea, land and space. 5G will be the land element of that.

The third element focuses on the safe storage of the data DoD is using.

Its really easy to say and real hard to do to have a secure cloud environment somewhere where we can access it from wherever we need to, Hyten said. The access will be different depending on where you are.

Getting all three elements together to create a seamless environment where a service member can access mass amounts of data anywhere in the world and in contested environments is still unlikely. However, the JROC strategy is a start for ensuring all systems follow the same requirements to make data sharing easier and faster through technologies like 5G.

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DoD will release document highlighting military needs in 5G, software and data this spring - Federal News Network