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Guest Opinion: Man who made $300 billion selling products subsidized by government says government should not subsidize anything anymore -…
Posted: December 23, 2021 at 10:38 pm
Theres a Dutch saying that goes something like: Government forced cars on us. Now we need the government to get rid of cars so then we can get rid of the government. Last week, Elon Musk (who looked a lot like the villian from The Fifth Element) gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal in which he laid out a hypocritical view of the governments role in transportation. The government, he claimed, should not be subsidizing anything. Asked about the Democrats transportation and social bill, he said it would be better if they did not pass.
Mr. Musk can correctly point out that if he hadnt run an electric car company, it would have taken longer for electric cars to be a thing. But he cannot take all the credit. In Norway, electric cars make up 20% of all cars on the road, and accounted for 90% of cars bought last month. Norway stands out in this achievement compared to other countries because they offer massive government subsidies for electric cars. The first and fourth top selling cars in Norway are Teslas.
In the interview, Mr. Musk went on to say that the government shouldnt give any subsidies to anyone for anything, including fossil fuels. The role of the government should only be to referee the market. His argument is that society would move better without the force of the government interfering in the market. In the same interview he also called for double-decker freeways and tunnels to counter extreme traffic.
In so many ways, the costs of cars are passed on to others. A free market does not take this into account.
This got me thinking about what our society would look like if we completely stopped subsidizing cars. From parking mandates that require you build a certain number of car parking spaces, to single-detached zoning which makes everything far away and requires most people to have to own a car to get around, to the social subsidy from a loss of community and isolation. What is the cost of our childrens lost freedom because cars are always threatening them? In so many ways, the costs of cars are passed on to others. A free market does not take this into account.
If we did get to a place where people paid the true cost of cars, I think we would have a much better society. I would also bet that a lot more people would ride bicycles in cities, because they are simply the best way to get around.
By calling attention to government subsidies, Musk is calling attention to all the ways our society pays for driving. Many years ago, I was waiting in line to testify against the original Columbia River Crossing bridge and talking with a self-described libertarian whose entire car was covered in Ron Paul stickers. He could not see that this massive public freeway project he was about to testify in favor of was the government interfering in the market. In the end, I guess most of us are just self-interested and can only reason so far.
In a society as complex as ours, having a representative democracy that can at least try to account for these costs might be the best solution we have. Yes, lets subsidize electric bikes! Yes, lets build double-decker bike lanes! Both have many positive social outcomes that are not accounted for by markets. In the long run, both of these things will make us less reliant on the government and better people too.
There is a better way to move ourselves than only in cars. But it will require a lot more good government to get us there. In the long run, we will build an urban bike utopia because cars, even electric ones, require too many finite resources. Also in the long run we will all be dead from climate change. So, before that happens lets use good government policy to make this world a nicer place to live!
Got an opinion? Email jonathan@bikeportland.org and well consider posting it here.
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All about Eve Babitz: Artists Ed and Paul Ruscha on the late L.A. icon – Yahoo News
Posted: at 10:38 pm
Eve Babitz in Hollywood around 1980. (Los Angeles Times)
The jacket of my 1982 copy of L.A. Woman says, Eve Babitz holds the primal knowledge of what it is to be a woman in what she convinces us is the capital of civilization.
That capital is, of course, Los Angeles, and when Babitz died last week, a part of the city went with her. She embodied the permissive and pleasurable reputation of her native Hollywood, offering a breathy laugh over all of its endemic contradictions and frustrations.
With Colette as role model, her love affairs were material for her stories and, like the French author, she treated them with drollity and affection. She never married but had dozens of boyfriends throughout her life, many of whom remained besotted with her.
For Eve, sexual frankness was an expression of her power. Certainly, that is the case in Julian Wasssers 1963 photograph of her sitting naked at a chessboard with the Dada artist Marcel Duchamp. The photograph was Eves self-styled revenge on her married lover Walter Hopps, then curator of the Pasadena Art Museum, who had organized the show. I always wanted him to remember me that way, she told me. Babitz told me so many of these stories that it led me to construct my 2011 book, "Rebels in Paradise: The Los Angeles Art Scene and the 1960s," as a narrative about that decade.
Though she survived decades of hard partying, Eve was felled by an accident in 1997 when the ash from a cigarillo torched her polyester skirt while she was driving. The fabric seared onto her skin, leaving her with third-degree burns. She was hospitalized for months, and those boyfriends and girlfriends came through with the funds to help her recovery. Harrison Ford: $100,000. Steve Martin: $50,000. A benefit at the Chateau Marmont brought donated art by Ed Ruscha, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Ed Moses, Ron Cooper and other artists, musicians and actors she had befriended. Yet she never fully recovered, and she disappeared socially and creatively afterward. She died Friday at age 78.
Story continues
Artists Ed Ruscha and his brother, Paul Ruscha, were longtime friends of Eves and involved with her off and on for decades. I asked them to share memories of her.
Hunter Drohojowska-Philp: Do you remember your first impressions of Eve?
Ed Ruscha: Oh, it was the early 60s, but she was a great part of my growing up. I know I was with her when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald. I was in bed with Eve and we were watching this on live TV, a little black-and-white set. So you can date me from there anyway and probably earlier.
But anyway, she lived in this house behind her parents house. She kept a sloppy quarters because she had a lot of cats who had their way. Her parents lived up at the front house on Bronson near Franklin. And I knew her parents well. Mae was a beautiful, sweet Texan who was an artist, and she drew pictures of the gingerbread houses on Bunker Hill. And Sol was the musician, violinist. They were very sweet people. So I would see Eve a lot in those early days, but right away I could see that she seemed to have everyone's number. She was real quick to spot hypocrisy in any way.
She could be infuriating, confounding, but at the same time, she was very funny, streetwise and serious. I noticed that people were constantly checking in with her, to get her view on things, and then there was Mirandi, of course, who was the perfect sister. They were able to play off of one another.
HDP: Did you ever double-date when [artist] Joe Goode was dating Mirandi?
ER: We went to Musso and Franks. That was Eve's favorite spot and mine too. And we would go to openings, go to Barney's Beanery, places that were hot at the time. In the early 60s, she was always talking about Walter Hopps. She even wrote a rough screenplay on Walter Hopps, and I recall buying the rights from Eve. I read all her books and I found them to be dead on. She was committed to her writing. I've always thought about her as like being carved out of marble. Even her name, Eve, suited her.
HDP: Didnt you do a drawing of her name?
ER: I did, with really soft lines. Very faint. I don't know whatever happened to that. But I think she had to sell almost everything. Shes never really made any wise choices for finances or money. She didn't seem to care about making it, and she was more interested in the daily thinking of just her culture in the world.
HDP: Was yours an exclusive arrangement or loose?
ER: In the 1960s? No, no, it was loose and spotty. I guess that's just the way we lived back then. But always having good feelings about each other, and I never really had a conflict with her.
HDP: Do you think she introduced you to some ideas about old Hollywood glamour that would have been influential for you?
ER: It was an abstract connection that she was able to spin yarns that she found and talk about things. Somehow she just knew a lot of people and had a damn good life. If you ask me, an enviable life.
HDP: Do you think that she had any influence on you in terms of the evolution of your own art?
ER: Oh, I guess I'm influenced by everything. There's nothing that crosses my path that doesn't influence me in some way or other. Even if I reject it, I'm influenced by it. And, so, sure. I mean, she was a strong figure and I think everybody respected her. All the artists respected her, and and we were curious about her because she was a hot number. She did well with it, you know. (laughs)
HDP: How did she come to be Pauls girlfriend?
ER: I passed her on to him. (laughs)
Paul Ruscha: No. (laughs) I came to L.A. in 1973. We met at Jacks Catch All; it was this great thrift store. I was a veteran thrift shopper and so was Danna [Ed Ruschas wife]. She introduced me to Eve, who said, "Id like to have you over for dinner." Danna said, "I think she likes you. Eve knew that Ed and I were friends with [fashion model] Leon Bing. So she called Leon, who told Eve, "Well, no matter what you make for him, be sure that it's loaded with cilantro because he's just crazy about cilantro." Eve put it in the salad and the soup, and I hate cilantro and I couldnt eat it. All I could do is laugh. She called me the next day and she said, "I hope you let me make it up to you because I am a pretty good cook." So then we were just locked into each other.
It was great. I loved her cooking. It was very chuckwagon style, you know, where she tossed the cats off of the stove. If I spent the night with her, shed wake up before I did and then want me to leave. So shed throw coffee into a pot of boiling water and bang on it to make the grounds go down and to wake me up and say, "OK, here's your coffee. Now get out of here." And I'd laugh and then she'd say, "I think I've got something I'd like you to read." Then I'd read whatever she'd written the day before. I gave her my critique, and if she liked it, she let me stay, and if she didn't, she'd throw me out. So that was weird, but it worked for what it was. She loved to talk about her boyfriends. It was always fun and interesting to hear what was going on in their lives.
But we never lived together. After I got my house in the Valley, she would come over and stay with me, but because she was a Taurus I always called her the bull in my china shop. She just couldn't go anywhere without ruining something. She'd knock something over or break something, and the same thing at her house. I remember a couple of fur coats I gave her, and one of them she threw over this little space heater that she had. It caught on fire and it burned up her garage.
HDP: What was her lasting influence on you?
PR: She always did have an incredible way with language when she spoke. She never elaborated. She was just a woman of few words, but they were always words that counted. And I loved that about her.
HDP: I think she would be happy that her friends are sharing these stories and talking to each other.
PR: About her! (laughs)
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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Movies set in the 70s: Getting beyond disco and double knits – The Boston Globe
Posted: at 10:38 pm
Sometimes the idea is to play the decade for laughs, as does Dick (1999), about Richard Nixon, or Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), about, yes, Ron Burgundy. Sometimes its to portray a specific event or set of events that took place in the 70s, rather than evoke the decade itself: Summer of Sam (1999), Munich (2005), Frost/Nixon (2008), Argo (2012).
Whats of more interest here are those movies that dont just use the 70s as a means to an end. Theyre the one for which the decade is an end in itself: the 70s as mood, style, attitude.
A partial list would include Richard Linklaters Dazed and Confused (1993), Ang Lees The Ice Storm(1997); Cameron Crowes Almost Famous (2000); Ridley Scotts American Gangster (that floor-length chinchilla coat Denzel Washington wears ringside at the first Ali-Frazier fight!) and David Finchers Zodiac (both 2007), J.J. Abramss Super 8 (2011); David O. Russells American Hustle (2013), which is so 70s its practically the decade in drag (thats a compliment); Craig Brewers Dolemite Is My Name (2019).
The cinematographer Harris Savides should get a 70s special citation. He shot both American Gangster and Zodiac the 70s from literally A to Z as well as the biopic Milk (2008), about Harvey Milk, the murdered San Francisco city supervisor and gay rights activist.
The appeal of the 70s for those filmmakers has little if anything to do with disco, earth tones, and Ultrasuede. It begins with the decades having been one of the great periods in Hollywood history, American films Silver Age. No one is more aware of that than Anderson. His chief artistic influence is a 70s master, Robert Altman. Boogie Nights and Andersons Magnolia (1999) are in a kind of one-way dialogue with Altmans Shorts Cuts (1993), also set in Southern California. More distantly and even more formative, that dialogue extends to Altmans Nashville (1975).
So focusing on the 70s can be a kind of paying homage. And the homage being paid need not just be to classics like Mean Streets (1973), Chinatown (1974), or the Altman pictures. The ferment in American film that decade very much included blaxploitation, which American Gangster touches on and Dolemite most happily embraces.
The 70s arent thought of as a great decade for music, certainly not as they are for movies. But there was a remarkable aural churn going on. The headlong rush of the 60s (60s movies are a very different subject) was succeeded by the going-in-many-different-directions of the 70s. Its hard to get more different, just to cite the most obvious examples, than disco and punk.
The nicest chiming of 70s music and 70s movie is Almost Famous, where Philip Seymour Hoffman has a cameo as the legendary rock critic Lester Bangs, and extends to Licorice Pizza, where Hoffmans son Cooper plays the male lead. In addition, the movie takes its title from a fondly remembered Southern California record-store chain that flourished in the 70s.
Other examples of 70s movies, musical division, would be Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), the Freddie Mercury biopic, and Rocketman (2019), the Elton John biopic both of them largely, though not entirely, set in the decade 54 (1998), about that late-70s sanctum sanctorum, Studio 54, and The Runaways (2010). Is there such a thing as band biopics?
The musical churn of the 70s was minor compared to the social churn: the decades cusp quotient. The 60s introduced sex and drugs and rock n roll, so to speak, but it was the 70s that domesticated them. Set in 1973, The Ice Storm quite creepily captures that process going on in upper-middle-class Connecticut. Its simply taken for granted by the high school students in Dazed and Confused, which takes place on the last day of class and through the next morning in 1976 (yes, the year of the Bicentennial, a very 70s event).
If the peak of the Silver Age is the first two Godfather movies (the first of which celebrates its golden anniversary next year), then its only fitting that The Godfather Part III should be set as the 70s were ending, in 1979. The decade really is kind of inescapable, isnt it? As Michael Corleone says in that movies most famous line, Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.
Mark Feeney can be reached at mark.feeney@globe.com.
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McConnell’s message to Thune: ‘The country needs him in the Senate’ – Fox News
Posted: at 10:38 pm
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Longtime Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell is urging Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, one of his top allies in the chamber, to run for reelection next year.
"His party needs him in the Senate and the country needs him in the Senate," McConnell told Fox News when asked about Thune, who's mulling retirement after his current term ends.
"I hope that Sen. Thune will indeed after the holidays announce that he's going to run for reelection," the Senate minority leader and longtime lawmaker from Kentucky said in an interview Wednesday on Fox News' "America Reports."
THUNE CALLS GOP'S 2021 ELECTION VICTORIES REPUDIATION OF DEMOCRATS' POLICIES
Thune, who as Senate minority whip is the number two ranking Republican in the chamber, is up for reelection next year. Thune is one of two GOP senators along with Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin who have yet to announce if he'll run in the 2022 midterm elections for another six-year term.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to reporters, as Sen. John Thune listens, after a Republican strategy meeting at the Capitol on Oct. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
While giving no indication of which way he's leaning, Thune has told reporters on Capitol Hill that he'll make a decision by the end of the year.
But the 60-year-old Thune, who remains very popular in his home state of South Dakota and nears the end of his third-term (after serving six years in the House of Representatives) in the Senate, raised eyebrows earlier this month.
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The senator told a South Dakota reporter that his wife Kimberley wants him to return home.
"She is done with it," Thune said in an interview with the Black Hills Pioneer.
While McConnell's encouragement was public, other Republican senators have been privately urging Thune to stick around.
Republicans need a net gain of just one seat in the 2022 midterms to win back the majority in the chamber they lost when they were swept by the Democrats in the Jan. 5 twin Senate runoff elections in Georgia. And Thune would be one of the top contenders to succeed the 79-year-old McConnell whenever he's ready to step down as Senate GOP leader.
Sen. John Thune asks questions during a Senate Finance Committee meeting on Capitol Hill, May 12, 2021. (Susan Walsh/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Thune earned the ire of former President Donald Trump late last year and early this year, for publicly speaking out against Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to now President Biden.
Trump briefly urged South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a close ally of the former president, to launch a primary challenge against Thune in 2022. But Noem dismissed any bid for Senate and is running next year for reelection as governor in the deeply red state.
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While Trump repeatedly criticizes and ridicules McConnell, he hasn't targeted Thune in months.
If Thune does run for reelection, he would face a primary challenge from first-time candidate Mark Mowry, who last spring launched a long-shot bid for the Senate seat.
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Ron Schenk volunteers every holiday season to ring his bell for the Salvation Army. – Monterey County Weekly
Posted: at 10:38 pm
Ron Schenk cant remember how long its been since he started ringing a bell for the Salvation Army as a volunteer. A couple of decades? Probably in that category, he says. Every year its the same: From the beginning of December until Christmas Eve he works from noon-2pm, three days a week, in front of the Grove Market in Pacific Grove.
Schenk has an advantage in his quest to raise money for the nonprofit, because hes a former city councilmember and longtime volunteer all over town. I know a lot of people and some people feel guilty if they pass and dont put something in, Schenk says with a chuckle.
This year its even harder to pass him by without contributing, now that a pandemic beard of pure white and a red Santa hat gives him a striking resemblance to the Jolly Old Elf himself.
Schenk spent 37 years working for the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, the only company he ever worked for, rising through the ranks from agent to regional vice president for the West Coast. Upon retirement in 1996, he and his wife of 46 years, Carolyn, moved to Americas Last Hometown and got busy helping others.
His volunteer efforts included founding the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop and serving in various capacities at his church, St. Angela Merici.
Other volunteer roles have included: serving as a United Way board member, Point Pinos Lighthouse docent and Bay Net docent on the Rec Trail. He was elected to the P.G. City Council in 2002 and lost a reelection bid in 2006. He also served on the board of the Business Improvement District.
I gravitated to [bell ringing] because I like helping people, Schenk says, as he rings away during a break between storms on a chilly afternoon. A woman he knows walks by. Hey, how are you sweetie? Are you going to put something in my kettle? The longtime friends catch up before Schenk resumes sharing about the ins and outs of his work.
Weekly: When you retired it sounds like you just threw yourself into volunteer work.
Schenk: Im just the type of person who likes to give back, who likes to get involved, thats all. You can give in many waysyour time, your talent, your treasury. I give treasury to this but I also think giving my time to it is important too, especially today when you freeze your tuckus off. (Laughs.)
Are there any other volunteer jobs that youre doing right now?
Not anymore. Im active in my church at St. Angelas. Im an usher and a greeter, and Im on the finance committee. I enjoy it.
Why do you volunteer as a bell ringer for the Salvation Army?
They dont discriminate. They help everyone. Especially this time of year, ringing the bell is my way of giving back, because it helps them raise money and it all goes back to our communities. You cant ask for more than that, its a good deal. [A man puts some bills in the bucket.] Sir, God bless you, thank you for helping us help others. Merry Christmas!
What does it take to be a good bell ringer?
To be cheerful, and greet people and thank them and I wish them Merry Christmas. Some people say, Its happy holidays, thats the proper thing. And I say, well theres a reason for the season. I just feel good about this, and I try to smile and try to be friendly to people and I think they appreciate that.
It helps a little bit that Im local rather than a perfect stranger.
Do you think you have an advantage with the Santa look?
I think it doesnt hurt. The pandemic started. My wife wasnt too crazy about [the beard].
Any memorable interactions with the people you meet while youre ringing the bell?
Its just the kindness of people. I had a woman just before you came, and I dont look at how much people put in, but I saw she put a dollar. And she said, I was really down on my luck and the Salvation Army helped me. I dont have much anymore but this is my way of helping.
Some people put in $20, here she gave me a dollar and I thought, God bless her, she appreciates that the Salvation Army helped her years ago when she and her family needed that help. Occasionally you hear those stories.
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Foundations respond to Toy for Joy need – MassLive.com
Posted: at 10:38 pm
SPRINGFIELD As the end of the 99th annual Toy for Joy campaign draws near, foundations that help make their communities better are helping make children happier this Christmas season.
The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts donated gifts totaling $5,000 to the Toy for Joy campaign that provides books, gifts and toys for children in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties.
The Brethren Community Foundation donated $2,000 to assist children and families in need.
For reasons out of their control, these children might not know the joy of Christmas without the generosity of citizens, companies and organizations in the region.
The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts gifts came at the recommendation of an anonymous donor.
The Community Foundation is a collection of over 500 funds, each established by a generous local business, individual or family and pooled together to strengthen our region. Some of these funds have advisors who make specific recommendations for grants, said Katie Allan Zobel, the president and CEO of the organization. In this case, two different families who are advisors to funds recommended that the foundation make grants to the Toy for Joy campaign. We are honored to support their charitable ambitions and help ignite more joy this holiday season.
The Brethren Community Foundation, Inc., of Springfield supports educational and literacy initiatives focused on a multi-sensory approach for low-income youth. This year they donated $2,000 to Toy for Joy.
The Brethren Community Foundation supports educational and literacy initiatives focused on a multisensory approach for low-income youth. It also supports seniors, individuals and nonprofit organizations through philanthropic opportunities.
Each year, the foundation celebrates the annual Juneteenth holiday, which commemorates the arrival of Union soldiers in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to read federal orders that enslaved people were free. The Juneteenth celebration is one of the most popular events to honor this special holiday. This June 2022, the Brethren Community Foundation hosts its 20th consecutive year of what is now a state holiday.
We are proud to provide for families who are in need, resources for the holiday season, said Robert Cee Jackson, president of the Brethren Community Foundation. The brethren is an integral part of the fabric of the Springfield community, and we will continue to seek opportunities that impact youth, seniors and families.
Individuals continue to show their support of area children as well. Many do so to honored loved ones.
A personal donation came from Dianne Doherty, who is affiliated with the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and who is the wife of the late attorney Paul Doherty. She donates in his memory.
I remember Paul coming home one night and saying, I want to make Western Massachusetts the most generous place in the country no, the world, Dianne Doherty recalled fondly. I said, Well, thats not too ambitious, is it?
Since Paul Dohertys passing in 2016, his passion for charitable giving has been continued by his wife, an annual Toy for Joy donor.
I do my year-end giving early. I used to do it anonymously, but now I think it may encourage others to give. I hope so, she said.
I honor Paul through Toy for Joy because of his love of children, Springfield and generosity.
Toy for Joy is now approaching its centennial next year. The campaign is a collaborative effort by the Salvation Army with The Republican, El Pueblo Latino and MassLive, along with media partners at Reminders Publishing and The Westfield News.
Pride Stores and Hampden County Sheriff Nicholas J. Cocchi are among the community partners supporting this years effort. This marks Cocchis third year assisting the holiday drive, while Pride Stores has been rallying its customers to support the effort for many years. Last year, Pride Stores donated $17,000 to the cause.
Pride is asking customers at its stores in Western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut to contribute to Toy for Joy by purchasing $1, $5 or $10 donation cards.
Businesses, school groups and civic organizations are among the annual contributors to the campaign. Donations, which are chronicled daily in The Republican and on MassLive, go directly to cover the costs of toys and books for the children.
Each child will receive a book, a toy and a game or game-type toy. Donations can be mailed with the attached coupon to The Republican, 1860 Main St., Springfield, MA 01103, or made online at SalvationArmyMA.org/ToyForJoyDonation.
Contributions may be mailed with this coupon to The Republican, 1860 Main St., Springfield, MA, 01103.
Here is the list of the most recent contributions:
Merry Christmas from Frank, Peter, Marc, Bill, Lisa, Carol and Nancy, The Colvest Group $2,500
Merry Christmas from Alyssa, Aidan, Olivia, Brenson and Meghan $25
Merry Christmas from Eleanor $50
In loving memory of Mike and Gerry Garrity $25
Amy $50
In memory of Charles and Joyce Peetz from Melanie $25
I remember when $50
Happy holidays from Bruce $200
In loving memory of my wife Ellie from Tony $50
Craig and Barbara $40
Wishing all children a happy holiday season. Love, E and L $40
In memory of my mother Eva who loved Toy for Joy $25
Edie $50
In loving memory of my father, Robert Skorka, sister, Laurie, and brother, Rob. Love, Doreen $20
Maintain $100
In memory of Diane Donahue $25
Edith $1,000
In memory of Dad, Barb and Joseph $50
In memory of the Struziak, Chrzan, Tarozzi and Kozak families $50
In memory of Onyx $10
In memory of Dave and Bridie $100
In loving memory of our parents Glenrose and Francis Red Rollet and Doris and Henry Lamoureux from Sharon and Henry $25
In memory of my husband Ron Douville $100
In memory of all my guardian angels in heaven from Sue $1,000
In loving memory of my handsome grandson Niko. Miss you $40
Happy holidays from Jane and Dan $100
In loving memory of my husband Ken OConnor Sr. Love, Helen $15
In loving memory of my husband Charlie $100
Chester $50
Anonymous $50
In memory of my husband Rich. It was heaven here with you. Love forever, Maureen $200
In memory of Pierre, Finnegan, Kelsey, Melvin, Milton and, especially, Moses. Love, Fawn, Monkey and Starr $200
Anonymous $10
In memory of Zin Zin George, Papou George, Grandma Babineau, Grandpa Babineau, Auntie MaryAnne, Uncle JB, Uncle Mark, Uncle Billy and Moe Wischerth. Love, Stephanie and Michelle Pirroni $75
Merry Christmas from Ron A. $100
In loving memory of William Manegre, who passed away in 1974, and Catherine Manegre, who passed away in 2019. Sadly missed by daughter JoAnne, son-in-law Walter, grandson Robert and granddaughter Staunzy $10
In loving memory of John and Mary Ganley. Sadly missed by granddaughter JoAnne Gould $10
In memory of Basil and Eleanor Gould from Walter and Joanne Gould $3
In memory of Grandpa and Grandma Gould from Robert Gould $3
In memory of Walter and Bertha Edwards from grandson Walter Gould $3
In memory of Charles and Helen Edwards from nephew Walter Gould and family $3
In memory of Joe and Mary Dillon from nephew Walter Gould and family $3
In memory of Richard (Water Wheel) Savoy from the Gould family $3
In memory of Robin Fleming from the Gould family $3
In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Fleming from the Gould family $3
In memory of Ken Fleming from the Gould family $3
In memory of our dogs, Buddy, Princess, Toby and Sandy girl from the Gould family $3
In memory of Benny and Peggy Bonavita from Walter Gould and family $3
In memory of our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. H. Hawley from the Gould family $3
In memory of our neighbor Stan, from the Gould family $3
In memory of our neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Kwist from the Gould family $3
In memory of Mr. and Mrs. George Pelletier from the Gould family $3
In memory of my pal, Josie from Robert Gould $3
In memory of Mary and Jerry Langone from the Gould family $3
In memory of Jay (Langone) and Randy Rewis from the Gould family $3
In memory of Jim Maher from Walter Gould $3
In memory of Harry Gallerani from the Gould family $3
In memory of Mr. and Mrs. ODiorne from the Gould family $3
In memory of Grandpa Larosa from Robert Gould $3
In memory of our friend, Anthony Larosa from Joanne and Walter Gould $3
In memory of our neighbor, Fred Kelleher from the Gould family $3
In memory of Aunt Gerry and Uncle Paul, Uncle John and Aunt June and Aunt Ruth from Joanne Gould and family $3
In memory of Ciro Langone and brother Jimmy Langone from the Gould family $3
Happy Holidays to all our friends from the Gould family $3
To the staff at Tonys Barber shop in Springfields South End, Merry Christmas from Walter and Robert Gould $3
In memory of Brian ODiorne, from the Gould family $3
In memory of retired Springfield police officer Mike J. Ristaino and Irene Ristaino from the Gould family $3
To my 13th Christmas as a Gould family member, Preston $3
In memory of Josephine Szczepanek and son Matt from the Gould family $3
In memory of Antonette Pepe from the Gould family $3
Thank you Eastfield Hospital for animals from Preston Gould and family $3
In memory of Bill Lapardo from Walter Gould and family $3
In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Stenta from the Gould family $3
In memory of Shirley Nichols from Walter Gould and family $3
In memory of Mike and George Pelletier from Walter Gould and family $3
In memory of Jason Kenyon and his father Mark Kenyon from Walter Gould and family $3
To our grand dog Cooper from Grandma and Grandpa Gould $3
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Death of engineer and Ipswich company boss Ron Gosling – Ipswich Star
Posted: at 10:38 pm
Published:7:30 AM December 19, 2021
Ipswich businessman Ron Gosling has died at the age of 74 after four years of treatment for cancer.
Mr Gosling was chairman of the Christy Turner group of companies that produces milling equipment that is exported around the world. He was passionate about engineering and business, and was President of the Ipswich Engineering Society twice, including the societys centenary year.
He was also a director of the New Wolsey Theatre.
Ron Gosling was a non-executive director of the New Wolsey Theatre. He is pictured between chief executive Sarah Holmes and fellow director Peter Purves.- Credit: Warren Page
Mr Gosling joined local engineering business W G Gosling in 1969 after an apprenticeship at Reavells in Ipswich. In 1982 he became Managing Director of Gosling Group and E, R & F Turner.
Acquiring the Miracle Mills business in 1986 and adding the Christy Hunt business to the group in 2004, the multiple brands of W G Gosling, Christy & Norris, E, R & F Turner and Miracle Mills combined under the new Christy Turner brand.
In 2013, Mr Goslingbecame Chairman of the group of companies, and at a time when many Ipswich engineering firms were failing, hemanaged to drive the historic company into international success with timely innovation and development.
From introducing the first flaking mills with computerised roll-gap control, to developing a 600 ml roller mill that is sold worldwide to produce Cornflakes, Mr Goslingwas proud to have succeeded in being at the heart of a thriving engineering business making machines that last.
HissonTonywill be taking on the role of chairman. He said: Dad prided himself on having a family feel to the business with high standards of engineering, craftmanship and honesty and care for staff. He was hard working, always busy. Dad has been my role model all my life and I will follow his example.
Ron Gosling was also a director of the New Wolsey theatre in the early years of this century and was a keen amateur golfer - he was Captain of the Ipswich Golf Club in 2004.
Ron Gosling was Captain of Ipswich Golf Club in 2004.- Credit: Simon Parker
He is survived by wife Pam, children Tony andSusie, daughter-in-law Huma and son-in-law Michael and grandchildren Rosie, Minnie, Lara andElla.
His funeral service is at StMargarets Church, Ipswich on Thursday, December 23, at noon followed by a private burial at the Ipswich Millennium Cemetery.
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China’s Tiangong space station | Space
Posted: at 10:23 pm
Tiangong is a space station that the Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMSA) is building in low Earth orbit. In May 2021, China launched Tianhe, the first of the orbiting space station's three modules, and the country aims to finish building the station by the end of 2022. CMSA hopes to keep Tiangong inhabited continuously by three astronauts for at least a decade. The space station will host many experiments from both China and other countries.
Related: China's space station will be open to science from all UN nations
Tiangong, which means "Heavenly Palace," will consist of Tianhe, the main habitat for astronauts, and two modules dedicated to hosting experiments, Mengtian and Wentian, both of which are due to launch in 2022. Shenzhou spacecraft, launching from Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert, will send crews of three astronauts to the space station, while Tianzhou cargo spacecraft will launch from Wenchang on the Chinese island of Hainan to deliver supplies and fuel to the station.
Tiangong will be much smaller than the International Space Station (ISS), with only three modules compared with 16 modules on the ISS. Tiangong will also be lighter than the ISS, which weighs about 400 tons (450 metric tons) following the recent addition of Russia's Nauka module.
The 54-foot-long (16.6 meter) Tianhe module launched with a docking hub that allows it to receive Shenzhou and Tianzhou spacecraft, as well as welcome the two later experiment modules. A large robotic arm will help position the Mengtian and Wentian modules and assist astronauts during spacewalks.
Tianhe is much larger than the Tiangong 1 and 2 test space labs China launched in the last decade and nearly three times heavier, at 24 tons (22 metric tons). The new Tiangong, visiting spacecraft and cargo spacecraft will expand the usable space for the astronauts; so much that they'll feel as though "they will be living in a villa," compared with how little space was available on previous Chinese space labs, Bai Linhou, deputy chief designer of the space station, told CCTV.
Tianhe features regenerative life support, including a way to recycle urine, to allow astronauts to stay in orbit for long periods. It is the main habitat for the astronauts and also houses the propulsion systems to keep the space station in orbit.
China has said it will take 11 launches to finish Tiangong: three module launches, four crewed missions and four Tianzhou spacecraft to supply cargo and fuel. The first three launches Tianhe, Tianzhou 2 and Shenzhou 12 have gone smoothly.
Once completed, Tiangong will be joined by a huge, Hubble-like space telescope, which will share the space station's orbit and be able to dock for repairs, maintenance and possibly upgrades. Named Xuntian, which translates to "survey the heavens," the telescope will have a 6.6-foot (2 m) diameter mirror like Hubble but will have a field of view 300 times greater. Xuntian will aim to survey 40% of the sky over 10 years using its huge, 2.5-billion-pixel camera.
The space station could potentially be expanded to six modules, if everything goes according to plan. "We can further expand our current three-module space station combination into a four-module, cross-shaped combination in the future," Bai told CCTV. The second Tianhe core module could then allow two more modules to join the orbital outpost.
China embarked on a long journey to reach the point of building its space station. The project was first approved in 1992, after which the country set about developing the Shenzhou crew spacecraft and the Long March 2F rocket to send astronauts into space. Yang Liwei became China's first astronaut in space in October 2003 and made China the third country in the world to independently send humans into orbit.
China expressed interest in joining the International Space Station partners, but the possibility was ended by a 2011 decree passed by U.S. lawmakers effectively banning NASA from coordinating directly with China or any Chinese-owned company. This means direct collaboration between NASA and Chinese space stations is strictly prohibited, making the prospect of sending U.S. astronauts to Tiangong (or Chinese astronauts to the ISS) impossible.
To be able to build and operate a crewed space station, China first needed to test out crucial space station systems, including life support and technologies for rendezvous and docking of spacecraft in orbit while traveling 17,448 mph (28,080 km/h). To accomplish this, China launched the 9-ton (8.2 metric tons) Tiangong-1 space lab in 2011, and subsequently sent the uncrewed Shenzhou 8 and the crewed Shenzhou 9 and 10 to join Tiangong-1 in orbit.
The upgraded but similarly sized Tiangong-2 launched in 2016 and hosted the two-astronaut crew of Shenzhou 11 for just over a month, setting a new national record for human spaceflight mission duration.
As the China Manned Space Agency checked off these initial milestones, the agency was also focused on developing new, larger Long March heavy-lift rockets to make a space station possible. The Long March 5B was designed specifically to launch the huge space station modules into low Earth orbit. The same rocket was the source of one of the largest uncontrolled reentries in recent decades following the launch of Tianhe in late April 2021.
In 2014 China completed its new, coastal spaceport at Wenchang, specifically to launch these larger-diameter rockets, which need to be delivered by sea.
The first crewed missions Shenzhou 12, 13 and 14 will be for space station construction. A series of operational phase missions lasting six months each will begin in 2023. Crews will carry out experiments in areas such as astronomy, space medicine and life sciences, biotechnology, microgravity combustion and fluid physics and space technologies. Tiangong will also temporarily host six astronauts during crew changeovers, Space.com previously reported.
Related: China selects 18 new astronauts in preparation for space station launch
Tiangong is also likely to host international astronauts in the future. European Space Agency astronauts Samantha Cristoforetti and Matthias Maurer trained with their Chinese counterparts in 2017 in a small step toward a possible future visit to the Chinese space station, the European Space Agency reported. Astronauts from other countries, particularly those involved in China's Belt and Road initiative, may travel to Tiangong as well; Russia is also considering sending its cosmonauts.
China is looking to develop alternatives for keeping Tiangong supplied, SpaceNews reported. In January 2021, the China Manned Space Agency put out a call for proposals for low-cost, reliable cargo missions to Tiangong. The call was open to commercial companies, echoing NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contracts that provided opportunities to SpaceX.
It will be possible to spot Tiangong from Earth, just as it sometimes is with the ISS. Tiangong will orbit at an altitude of between 211 and 280 miles (340 to 450 kilometers) above Earth and between 43 degrees north and south, and the space station should be a fixture in the sky for at least a decade.
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Pair of Small but Mighty Weather Instruments en Route to Space Station 5 Things To Know – SciTechDaily
Posted: at 10:23 pm
The COWVR and TEMPEST instruments are in the trunk of a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft for the December 2021 commercial resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX
Launched Tuesday to the space station, the COWVR and TEMPEST two instruments could lead the way to big improvements in gathering key information for weather forecasting.
The Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer (COWVR) is no bigger than a minifridge. The Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems (TEMPEST) is even smaller about the size of a cereal box. Yet these two compact science instruments are designed to do a big job: to make the same high-quality atmospheric observations as weather satellites many times their size and at a fraction of the cost.
Built by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the two radiometers are part of the U.S. Air Forces Space Test Program-Houston 8 (STP-H8) and are headed to the International Space Station Tuesday as part of SpaceXs 24th commercial resupply mission for the agency. Theyre considered technology demonstrations, and if they perform as planned, weather forecasting could be in for a technological boost.
The COWVR instrument, which is headed to the International Space Station in December 2021, during a thermal test in 2015. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Here are five things to know about COWVR and TEMPEST:
Together, COWVR and TEMPEST will provide many of the data points that scientists use to produce weather and climate forecasts: Theyll measure not only the speed and direction of winds blowing over the ocean surface, but also precipitation, atmospheric moisture, how that moisture is distributed vertically, and other conditions at the ocean surface and in the atmosphere.
From 2003 to 2020, these types of measurements were acquired by the 990-pound (450-kilogram) Windsat instrument aboard the U.S. Department of Defenses Coriolis satellite. Windsat lasted well beyond its anticipated lifespan. If COWVR and TEMPEST prove theyre up to the task, they (and small instruments like them) will be able to take the place of larger, aging satellites without compromising on data quality.
COWVR and TEMPEST will be attached to the space station, which circles our planet in low-Earth orbit from west to east about 16 times per day. Because of the stations unique orbit, the two instruments will spend most of their time over the mid-latitudes and tropics areas prone to storms and revisit them more frequently than sensors in other orbits. The additional data will help scientists better understand storm formation and better track developing storm systems.
COWVR and TEMPEST will also be able to send the data back to Earth faster than some other instruments currently in use, enabling scientists and forecasters to monitor the rapid intensification many storms undergo in near real time. Most satellites communicate with just a few ground stations around the world, and that takes time, said Shannon Brown, principal investigator for COWVR based at JPL. The data could be a couple of hours old before its even on the ground, and then it still needs to be processed.
COWVR and TEMPEST will instead send their data back to Earth via NASAs tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) constellation. TDRS essentially provides a direct data stream. So, once the sensors pass over a big hurricane or cyclone, youre going to get that data instantly, Brown said. Itll be up-to-the-minute observations, which is something not usually available with the traditional approach and something that could save lives.
The frequency with which COWVR and TEMPEST will take measurements over areas within their orbit will allow them to collect more comprehensive data than other instruments data that is expected to reduce uncertainties in weather and climate models.
The current satellite sensors that measure wind speed and direction at the ocean surface are in Sun-synchronous orbits, meaning that they provide measurements at a given location only in the morning and in the evening, leaving gaps in between, said JPLs Tony Lee, co-lead of the missions science working group. The space stations orbit will allow COWVR and TEMPEST to take measurements across different times of day, reducing those gaps.
Weather and climate models use this type of data to make predictions. The more data that is available, the more accurate the models and the predictions based on them will be.
The amount of heat and moisture released by the ocean influences atmospheric conditions; likewise, atmospheric conditions, such as wind, influence ocean currents and heat distribution. The more scientists learn about these interactions, the better theyll understand how they affect weather in the short term and climate in the long term.
Getting suitable data to study these interactions can be tricky, though.
The traditional way to study these interactions is by combining measurements from different satellites that have different sampling times of the ocean and the atmosphere, Lee said. This mismatch makes it more difficult for scientists to understand these interactions because we may be looking at wind in one part of the day and looking at rain and atmospheric water vapor at a different time of day.
If successful, COWVR and TEMPEST could change that. COWVRs main purpose is to measure the speed and direction of wind at the ocean surface, and TEMPESTs is to provide the atmospheric water vapor measurements. Since theyre flying together and taking measurements over the same areas, theyll be able to acquire this complementary data at the same time.
Simultaneous measurements of the different variables alleviate the difficulty associated with sampling time differences that come from mixing measurements from different satellites at different times, Lee said. It will also enable them to account for interactions that happen at shorter time scales wind gusts stirring up the ocean and causing it to lose heat to the atmosphere, for example.
If COWVR and TEMPEST perform well, theyll prove that comprehensive data vital to weather forecasting and a better understanding of climate can be obtained in a much smaller package with a much smaller price tag than previously thought.
Because the instruments are smaller and cheaper, organizations could launch three or four small satellites for the same cost as one of the larger variations. A constellation of these small satellites would be able to take measurements of a given area such as over a developing storm far more frequently than a corresponding single satellite could, resulting in even further refinement of weather models and forecasts.
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SpaceX Dragon cargo ship delivers Christmas presents (and supplies) to space station – Space.com
Posted: at 10:23 pm
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A SpaceX Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station early Wednesday (Dec. 22), carrying with it a holiday haul of science gear and Christmas treats for the astronauts living on the orbital outpost.
The autonomous Dragon resupply ship docked itself at the orbital outpost at 3:41 a.m. EST (0841 GMT), ahead of its planned 4:30 a.m. docking time. It parked itself at the space-facing port on the station's Harmony module, with NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Tom Marshburn monitoring the docking from inside the station.
The Dragon capsule blasted off on its cargo mission for NASA, called CRS-24, early Tuesday (Dec. 21) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It delivered 6,500 pounds (2,949 kilograms) of research experiments and supplies for the crew. With Christmas just days away, NASA did pack a special dinner for the seven astronauts on the space station.
"I won't get in front of Santa Claus and tell you what's going to be sent up, but we are going to have some gifts for the crew," said Joel Montalbano, NASA's space station program manager, before the Dragon launched. "We're also going to fly some special foods for Christmas dinner. So you can imagine turkey, green beans, we have some fish and some seafood that's smoked. We also have everybody's favorite, fruitcake."
The research gear tucked inside will support a variety of experiments in the life sciences, pharmaceuticals, and many other fields.
NASA's upcoming Artemis moon missions will send crews back to the moon for the first time in decades, but it will also serve as a stepping stone to Mars. To that end, NASA is trying to figure out how it will feed, clothe, and protect its astronauts on extremely long-duration missions.
One investigation flying on CRS-24 will help them do just that. Together with Proctor and Gamble, the makers of Tide detergent, NASA is looking at how to wash clothes in space. This initial step will test how well the actual detergent holds up to the stresses of microgravity.
The agency estimates that it will need approximately 500 pounds of clothing per astronaut for a three-year trip to Mars. That amount can be decreased by providing the crews with the capability of washing clothes in orbit. (Currently, astronauts wear their clothes many times before tossing them out and grabbing a new set.)
"Once you start having extended trips out in space, laundry is a must-have," Mark Sivik, senior director and research fellow at Proctor and Gamble told Space.com. "We looked at what it would take for a crew of four to do laundry and we minimized that."
"What we've developed here is fully degradable and designed to work within the space station's closed-loop system," he added.
The Tide experiment will help put NASA on a path that leads to laundry in space. For this first iteration, researchers will be looking at how the specially designed detergent performs in space. Tide is also sending up a follow-on experiment next year that will look at how effective the detergent is at fighting stains while in space.
The detergent used will be a scaled-back version of the detergent we use at home, that is designed specifically for performance apparel. Since the astronauts work out multiple times per day, and wear more performance-active clothing, this is what the detergent will target.
It will run for about six months, coming back to Earth sometime during the summer. The research will not only provide future space travelers with a means of freshening their clothes but could prove effective for people in areas that don't have immense water supplies. That's because the detergent is designed to be used with less water while also performing as you would expect.
Protein crystal growth experiments are commonly sent to the space station because microgravity is an excellent platform to grow perfect, uniform crystals.
The crystals can then be used to test a variety of different drugs to treat ailments from arthritis to cancer.
Inspiration for one such treatment came from the body's own immune system. Monoclonal antibodies (MAB) attack a specific target by triggering the bodys immune response.
Given via transfusion, monoclonal antibodies can be made to lock onto specific targets inside a cell (or on its surface) and have fewer side effects compared to other treatments. However, in order to be an effective form of treatment, the MABs need to be administered in large doses intravenously. By sending this experiment into space, the pharmaceutical company Merck Research Labs is hoping it can make higher concentrations of high-quality antibodies.
It's also hoping that other companies will see the simplicity of its experiment and be inspired to do their own space-based research. Paul Reichert of Merck told Space.com that the idea for this experiment came in 2016 after he saw a video of NASA astronaut Kate Rubins using a pipette as part of another investigation.
Reichert realized that experiments didn't have to be incredibly complex to get the same results. The design of this experiment is simplistic, comprised of a few syringes affixed to a board. Reichert said that he hopes to be able to grow many small, perfectly-shaped protein crystals that the company can then use to improve its cancer treatment therapies.
Students from two different universities are sending experiments into space as part of NASA's Student Payload Opportunity with Citizen Science (SPOCS). The teams partnered with students in grades K-12, which acted as citizen scientists, as a means of doing real-world research.
Engineering students at the University of Idaho developed a payload to look at how microgravity affects bacteria-resistant polymers. Studies conducted on the station have revealed that bacteria are present on surfaces around the space station, and this experiment hopes to determine which coatings (polymers) have the best bacteria-resistant properties.
"The goal of our project is to help further space travel by reducing bacteria growth and disease on the International Space Station," Adriana Bryant, the team leader, told Space.com.
The team worked with a class of third graders from Moscow, Idaho to select two bacteria-resistant polymers that were sent into space. The experiment will run for roughly 30 days and is designed to be fully autonomous once it's plugged into the space station's power.
Teams will analyze the data collected when it comes back to have an idea on which of its polymers are the most resistant to bacteria in space.
Another team from Columbia University will look at antibiotic resistance in microgravity. The team is sending two different types of bacteria into space, which are known to interact here on Earth. The experiment will run for approximately 14 days and once its data is received back on Earth, the Columbia team are hoping to determine how each bacteria behaves individually when treated with certain antibiotics and how they behave together in space and how effective treatments are for it.
The Turbine Superalloy Casting module (SCM) is a commercial manufacturing device that processes heat-resistant alloys in microgravity. Alloys are materials that are made of at least two different chemical elements, one of which is a metal.
The experiment is designed by Redwire Space, which has already sent numerous payloads into orbit, including the first 3D-printer in space by Made In Space, which Redwire acquired in 2020.. By trying to print alloys in space, the company is hoping to look to the future when humanity will need to build things on other worlds as well as improve products here on Earth.
The team is expecting to see more uniform structures in the space-based prints versus the ones done terrestrially, which could help produce improved materials here on Earth, like turbine engines. These types of engines are used not only in the aerospace industry but also as a means of generating power.
The Dragon capsule is on its second trip to the International Space Station (it first flew in June of this year) and will remain docked to the orbital outpost for roughly 30 days. It will return to Earth in January.
Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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SpaceX Dragon cargo ship delivers Christmas presents (and supplies) to space station - Space.com
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