The Lloyd House Virtual Salon

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Weekly 12/13/07 - 5

Don’t miss Articles section (in blue): Ginger Lee Frank on “The N Word”; Jeanette Raichyk refutes the “no conspiracy 9/11” argument from last week’s Weekly. Hot stuff! Ellen

Salon Weekly

~ In 4 Color-Coded Sections:

Table Notes
Events & Opportunities
Articles, Letters
Books, Reviews, Films, Magazines
Tri-State Treasures: events compiled by Jim Kesner

NUTRICIDE: DVD presented by Derek
Lecture by Rima Laibow MD

Www.healthfreedomusa.org for more info.
Codex has been looming for 10 years. Health freedom was not upheld in the 109th US congress. I’ve been getting more and more troubled.
    After WWII, Nuremberg trials, crimes against humanity. I.G. Farben CO, produced death gas, munitions, pharmaceuticals. Its president was convicted. He went to jail, then got out and determined to take over food world wide. Created a “trade commission” called “codex alimentarius commission”. In 1962, determined to work towards total global control by 2009. It is now a huge bureaucratic monstrosity. Over 400,000 standards and regulations on everything you put in your mouth except pharmaceuticals. These have no legal weight. So why be threatened?
    In the beginning they were voluntary. Now administered by the World Health Org.
    Now mandatory by any member country of the World Trade Org WTO. The WTO formed ‘94; they accepted Codex rules. All member countries will HARMonize with these standards. So if two countries go into WTO dispute process and only one is codex compliant, that one wins regardless of the merits of the case. For this reason, all countries want to be compliant with Codex.
    But here in the US we have laws that protect our wellbeing. Codex serves not that, but rather big Pharma, Big Business of various kinds.
    On July 4 the vitamin and min. guidelines ratified.
    The guidelines are not totally mandatory until Dec. 1 2009.

    I closed my physician’s practice to work on this issue.
    Under codex, anything not “permitted” is forbidden. Codex declared nutrients as toxins. They use toxicology to find out “risk assessment” of, say, vitamins. Glucosamine, for instance is not on the “permitted” list.
    Currently there are 5 bills to get rid of DSHEA (our laws in the way of Codex compliance).
    So vitamins of various kinds will become illegal.
    Now we can choose organic dairy products without growth hormones; but under Codex it will be mandatory to have ONLY hormones and antibiotic treated cows.
    Also, all food must be irradiated unless grown locally and eaten raw.
    Dangerous industrial chemicals are allowed under Codex in very high levels. Terrifying!
In 2001 176 countries agreed on Persistent Organic Pollutants (pops) should be banned. Nine of them are pesticides. Of these Codex brings back six of these! You then cannot stop importation of foods imported with these substances.

    World Health Org. estimates that 3 billion deaths will be caused through implementation of Codex standards. 2 billion from the preventable diseases of malnutrition.

    What can be done?
    We did not have ratification of the WTO treaty by 2/3 of senate. Clinton fast-tracked us into it due to a law passed...

Once we become Codex compliant, as long as we are members of the WTO it can never be repealed. But my constitutional lawyers are saying that we are NOT really members of the WTO.
    Would we be destroyed economically if we were to leave WTO.?
    Our team of lawyers has studied Codex and has constructed a strategy to take Codex down.

National Assoc. of Nutritional Consultants lecture 2005. Venue where this talk was given.

    The matters of the Codex guidelines must be addressed by the guidelines of the nation’s laws on the same subjects.
At http://www.healthfreedomusa.org there is a “citizens’ petition”. This is a legal challenge to the US government on the Codex issue. We need everyone to sign the petition. Like a law suit suing the gov’t.
    You will hear from suppliers that Codex is not a problem. NNFA, national nutritional foods association includes Pfizer, Merck, Monsanto, Bayer, Basf, ADM, Chemit, Eastman Chemical, etc.... They are in the nutrient business. Which is not as profitable as the pharmaceuticals business... The big Pharma are buying out the nutritional companies in order to kill them. They don’t want us to wake up and revolt. NNFA had a report done which said “everything is fine, no problem with Codex.” But they have conflict of interest.

    Every email fax or phone call is interpreted in Washington as 13,000 constituents! So that is power. So sign up on the web site. Get everyone you know informed.

    We are working on rewriting the guidelines in Codex as good guidelines. Mandates biochemically individually-determined optimal health. We need congress to adopt this.

    Congressmen are not informed about Codex. Write congress and ask for congressional briefing.

DISCUSSION

Gwen: I’d been willing to quit my job to campaign against Codex. ... The push-back against WTO is working world wide. Remember when the TABD came to Cincinnati they were prevented from getting anything done.

Bill What’s wrong with irradiated food and is it like microwave?
Richard both disrupt the molecular structure of food; radiation much more disruptive than microwave. Loss of nutritional value and also makes you more vulnerable to cancer and other diseases.
Destroys enzymes.

Mira I understand the EU doesn’t want this Codex.
... This woman we saw tonight was passionate. She understands the whole thing that is going on. Even though you don’t like what she looks like ... Dennis Kucinich doesn’t look that great... Diane Rhem has a scratchy voice. Look for the deeper truth underneath.

Gwen she seems naïve about how lobbying works. Should get Public Citizen to help her. Global Trade Watch person is Lori Wallach. Www.tradewatch.org a branch of Public Citizen, founded by Ralph Nader.

Audrey We must not be prejudiced because of these little details.
Santa My suggestion is, if you want to watch a movement that is catching fire around the country, it is Ron Paul’s candidacy for president. See his web site.
Last week the OPEC countries have gone off the dollar. So this means inflation will double as the government prints money.
    Geo. Bush now looks different, I think he is a different person.
    We have been warned to expect a world changing event between Christmas and New Years.

ANNOUNCEMENT:
Brooke Audreyal says please call National Democratic Party Office to protest exclusion of Dennis Kucinich from the Debate in Iowa. Call 202 863 8000.

Anonymous: no Republican is listed as a candidate to run against Todd Portune for county commissioner. Could it be because Todd bought a deal from them by espousing the Republican’s Jail Tax position?

~ End of Table Notes~

Hugs to everyone,
Ellen

Section Two: Events & Opportunities

EarthSave Cincinnati Holiday Party

Sunday, December 16th, 2007, 4:30pm

Clifton United Methodist Church
3416 Clifton Avenue

Live music with Lagniappe Cajun Band

Lagniappe is Cincinnati's only traditional cajun band featuring lots of other kinds of music including
two-steps, waltzes and stomps, a little Zydeco, gypsy, blues, and a crazy, spicy musical jambalaya of Johnny Cash, Gershwin, Beatles, Juan Reynosa, and some originals. (Lagniappe derives from New World Spanish la ñapa, “the gift,” and ultimately from Quechua yapay, “to give more.”)

Please bring a vegan dish for 5 to 10 people
(vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, seeds, nuts)
and your own plates, cups, utensils, serving utensils.

513-929-2500
cincinnati@earthsave.org
http://cincinnati.earthsave.org

Everyone welcome!

There is now every Sunday morning an open weekly Tai Chi practice session at the Lloyd House in the third floor zendo at 10:15 am. Everyone welcome.

Coat Drive

Donate 2 or more new or gently used coats and receive your choice of a free Comprehensive Wellness Examination or Nutritional Consultation (value of $150). Coat drive runs until January 4.

Gateways to Healing, Network Chiropractic
Dr's. Julie and Michael Nichols, DC's
821 Delta Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226
513-321-3317
voted 'Best Alternative Health Provider' - CityBeat 06,07
www.GatewaysToHealing.com <http://www.GatewaysToHealing.com>

(See Tri-State Treasures, the compilation of cultural events by Jim Kesner, at the bottom of the entire weekly. It’s juicy! E.)

Section Three: Articles

Contents:

Spicy Interchange on saying “the N word” at the salon table.
Jeanette R.: refuting the refutation of 911 conspiracy!
Collapse of Building 7 explained, not conspiracy...(?)

on 12/11/07 2:33 AM, “ginger lee frank” at wfm@fuse.net wrote:

Ellen,
First let me say that I am sorry I spoke aloud the title of Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Niggers when there was a child at the table (I’d forgotten she was there). But that is the extent of my apology.

There are several conditions under which I believe it is acceptable, even proper, for me (Caucasian American in the 21st century) to utilize the word "nigger,” including when it is part of a title (such as Conrad’s The Nigger of the ‘Narcissus’ or Christie’s discussed work Ten Little Niggers), as a historical quotation (such as passages from Poe, Kipping, Hemmingway, Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird or as spoken aloud in Gone With the Wind), or when discussing the word itself and its usage, as in this instance. I do not believe I have the right to use it when personally referring to a particular person or persons unless that person or group has authorized my doing so, and never in insult.

The word itself dates from the late 18th century and is a dialectical pronunciation of the older Scottish and Northern English “neger” or “neggar” coming from the French “négre” and Spanish “negro” (which still means “black”, as does the original Latin root “Niger”). It was used by English speaking settlers to refer to the dark skinned native people of India, Australia and Polynesia, and came to be applied to African American people as well. Initially is was used (ignorantly) without carrying intended insult (and continued to used so through the 19th century by writers like Dickens and Conrad), but as writers replaced it with “black” and, after the American Civil War, “colored person,”it became increasingly pejorative until it achieved the status for many of the most offensive word in the English language. Still, through the 1800s and beyond it was found in common slang, like “nigger in the wood pile” (an explanation for the unexplainable) and “nigger heaven” (the top gallery of a segregated theater). It remained a non-pejorative in England into the 1950s. The reclamation of the word as a neutral or even quasi-positive term within black culture began in the South and later in the Northern, urban-based Black Power movement . A variant, used mostly among blacks themselves as early as 1925, is “niggah” with the “h” being dropped from the 1970s on. We are not yet at the point of success in reclaiming the word and neutering its pejorative power that we are with a word like “queer”, successfully reclaimed and neutered within the gay pride movement to the point at which it is now sufficiently innocuous to be used on network TV sitcoms.

I basically agree with black activist, comedian and vegetarian Dick Gregory who said that use of “the N-word” instead of “nigger” effectively robs a generation of the full history of black people. As if to emphasize this he titled his autobiography Nigger. Lenny Bruce repeated the word constantly in his act in an attempt to “defang” it (as he did with "kike" and "spic" as well). A book I owned as an art student in San Francisco was Norman Mailer’s The White Negro (but I always thought he wanted to say “The White Nigger”, which is how I sometimes though of myself as a hippie, shunned and feared by much of conservative white society, even likely to be attacked in parts of the South). And a book I wanted publicly discussed at the Public Library after it came out in 2002 is Randall Kennedy’s (an African American law professor at Harvard) treatise nigger: the strange career of a troublesome word. It demonstrates (to me at least) that talking about something difficult is infinitely more useful than banning it. (I just discovered that Kennedy clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall, a hero of mine, and the man who said that the solution to bad speech is not banned speech but increased speech... Now, thinking about it again, I am not so sure that it wasn't Justice Louis Brandeis who said this, although both men were staunch defenders of first amendment protections.)

Finally, a little story:

Until recently, Ken Hardy, a white adjunct professor, taught a class on "interpersonal communications" at Jefferson Community College in Louisville, Kentucky. As a part of that class, he devoted a session to taboo words, and their historical evolution. He asked his class to volunteer taboo words and they suggested the usual suspects: 'faggot', 'bitch', etc.

One of the students proposed the word 'nigger'.

Hardy repeated the word, asking the class to analyze its social and linguistic impact.

One of the students, Julia Pierre, one of nine blacks in the twenty-two student class, took umbrage at Hardy's vocalization of the word.

She complained to college administration.

Although other blacks in the class defended Hardy, saying he was merely discussing the context and impact of the word, by the end of the month, Hardy, a three year veteran of Jefferson, was fired... because he uttered a word in a college classroom.

I’d like to think we can be bigger than that.

Ginger

.......................................................
Hi Ginger,
Thanks thanks thanks for the wonderful essay below. May I print it in the weekly?

However, I want to request that you (and everyone at the Salon) refrain from saying “nigger” out loud. It jars my nervous system in a very unpleasant way. Could you honor that here at the house, just as a courtesy to me?

Love having you on Wednesday nights.
ellen

.......................................................

You may print it if you wish, Ellen.

So I guess we would could have only a partial discussion of this topic at the Salon, as being not permitted to speak it. What was it that made it possible for you to hear or say the word "queer" finally (of course, I'm only assuming this to be the case), if not its being used and reused as something other than an insult and slur? Had people not done that it would still have its power as a defamatory.

What if a black attendee of the Salon wished to say the word as part of a discussion; would you also disallow him or her from saying it? Just wondering.

May as well print this exchange along with the original letter.

Ginger
.......................................................

On December 12, 7:46 Am, Ellen Bierhorst wrote:

I use “queer” withother gay peoplle but would be slightly offended if a straight person did, I think.

I wold not countenance anyone using the N word at the table, regardless of color.

Thanks for permission...
ellen

Re. 9/11 Conspiracy re. demolition of WTO buildings:
Jeanette Raichyk comes out both barrels blasting: Damn right there was a conspiracy, a coverup!

Ellen,
There are a few things that a non-engineer can recognize in the 9-11 events being described in your weekly notes below with bits and pieces of numeric data that diverts everybody from their own ability to recognize the criminals. (my Weekly articles are reprinted below this one. Ellen)

1) The color of the smoke coming from the towers was black, not light as an intensely hot fire at a temperature sufficient to melt/soften metal, would produce. Your self-cleaning oven reaches 1000*F and the towers were built to withstand aircraft, unlike some of our nuke installations. Can you imagine what Osama could have much more easily done with that nuke on Long Island.

2) The callers to 9-1-1 workers were not being scorched in any of their testimony even though they were stuck in the building on the phone for an extended time after the impact

3) The firefighters were ascending the escape stairs in the center of the building at the time that the building came down, quite a ways up. Their expert opinion at that precise moment -- relayed by walkie-talkie to their chief with reporters as witnesses -- was that there would be time to save people from the fire. Then it was over in seconds. No amount of intense heat was a factor where they were either.

4) The rate of freefall was too close to the actual time that the tower did take to fall for there to have been any resistance at all being actively producing a repeated pancaking effect. It all collapsed at once. Watch the video coverage.

5) There was a demand for information that a tenant of the building made at the Senate inquiries that was swept aside and is extremely telling. This fellow was in charge of computer operations for the offices of his company and was instructed by Tower security that no one was allowed to be on site -- at all -- on the weekend before 9-11 because of some claimed security systems testing which would require that all power in the building including the power to their uninteruptible-powered computing (as well as other systems) would be shut down. Presumeably this shut down also would disable the building security. This fellow had been in the office at the last minute on Saturday morning -- against orders -- for completion of back up operations and said that he saw quite a few active men in the stairwells doing what he didn't know but he was on his way out. Now he wanted an explanation. Placement of charges at design points along the columns that support the tower is a distinct activity that would fit the facts and would require about a team of substantial size working a full weekend to deploy. The so-called Senate investigation of 9-11 swept this information out of consideration.

6) There was a real estate mogul from NY who bought the towers within the previous 3 months, in spite of the public knowledge that the asbestos abatement program needed was going to require hugely expensive work in the near future. This otherwise astute investment mogul, paid top dollar for the towers, then immediately insured them for 3-times their worth, suspicious particularly considering their inherent liabilities. This individual has strong connections with political backing in power. I believe including Guilianni, who also stood to benefit from the real estate deal though not directly.

7) The 3rd tower to come down had no aircraft impact, no hot fire, was not hit by the falling towers, yet it *pancaked* supposedly, and curiously in exactly the same near free-fall manner.   But the absolutely irrefutable non-tech-requiring fact is that in an ebullient mood during an interview on PBS during the reconstruction early days, that same mogul actually claimed that they had "taken down" the 3rd tower, which terminology is specifically referring to the use of controlled demolition. His cover-up claim was that they were afraid that the damaging collapses would topple the 3rd tower, so they *had* to take it down. But that demolition type operation takes at least a couple weeks for experts to study engineering features and calculate locations for explosives, then a couple days to place and secure those explosives so that such a big building will fall within its footprint, not destroying everything around it.   The 3rd tower's behavior on 'take down' confirms that the other 2 were taken down. I don't know if that interview is still online, but I downloaded a copy in the early brainstorming days.

8) Much as Noam has displayed valuable ideas in the past, I suspect that he fears that the Israeli knowledge of what was happening in the US on 9-11 will be a liability that will damage the Israelis and so he cannot allow himself to open that door. But if we are brave enough -- as Israelis would demand of themselves -- to open all the evidence, the cards will point to Cheney, who was in control of our defenses from his position in charge of the warroom precisely during 9-11 and precisely instructing our own craft to stay down even as the 3rd aircraft approached his position and a junior staffer did query him about scrambling the available defenses at that unbelievable point of the attack, and lastly, precisely Cheney having taken a sudden interest in the warroom operation and devoted the time to developing his skills at manipulating the forces at the disposal of that key spot during the 3 months prior to 9-11.   Dress rehersal time.

9) As for why they needed the aircraft if they had their own sure-fire take-down in place? The totally intensely watched -- unacceptable to criminals -- inquiry that would follow a thoroughly executed take-down would expose them, but to have the opportunity to have a theater effect with ready-made villains parading across the American TV world/brain was too good. It looks like Osama's crew here just opened the door for Bush/Cheney's desire to have a war-president. And that's why the FBI alarms were stifled, to provide the 'towelhead/strawman' coverup that would go unquestioned in the majority of our minds, and would allow them to set up a manipulatable Senate "investigation" that was less watched by the public. With the Senate in charge, the required forensic investigation with its demand to preserve evidence was swept under the rug by Guilianni and the metal columns needing fire-safety research were shipped out of the country post haste.

10) Name a country, they all have operatives here doing their own investigating and whatever, Israel included. Just like we have our operatives everywhere else.

I also will point out that the Chief of Staff under Kennedy suggested to Kennedy that the US military should stage a phony attack on our FL-Gulf coast -- on our own people -- in order to tip us into an excuse to enter Cuba and stop the Russians from making headway there. Kennedy, to his credit, soundly nixed that idea.

We got into Vietnam because the Johnson administration wanted to provoke an attack at Tonkin Bay on our own military and Humphrey had manipulated the absence of Wayne Morse (who was fillibustering alone against our presence in Tonkin Bay) during the debate on the floor and Humphrey immediately called a vote while Morse was out of the room, with the co-operation of the other speakers whose alloted time was ahead of Morse. We were set up for that war.

As for Roosevelt and Churchill... well the Brits didn't want the Germans to know that the Brits had unravelled the Axis code and could read their intent in Hawaii. FDR was struggling with Lindberg's opposition to involvement in another war. Pearl Harbor resulted.

Get Cheney. Bewary of Guilianni.

Jeanette Raichyk

From: Ellen Bierhorst <ellenbierhorst@lloydhouse.com>
Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:18:42 -0500
To: 5 pot luck <ellenbierhorst@lloydhouse.com>
Subject: Weekly 12/6/07 - 5

911 WTO COLLAPSE: IS THERE A CONSPIRACY TO HIDE SABBOTAGE?
(Ellen’s note: It is easy to be persuaded by compelling argument presented well in a movie like zeitgeist (zeitgeistmovie.com). If the argument seems to have a lot of detailed data and all hangs together, we tend to be persuaded. However, it is important to seek out the views of qualified experts. They can, of course, be wrong, however, they are in a much better position to evaluate engineering data, if they are engineers. I trust MIT engineers more than I trust the authors of Zeitgeist. Ellen)

Spencer’s summary: (BTW Spencer is an engineer.)
Short summary of the collapse of the Trade Center
A basic engineering assessment of the design of the World Trade Center dispels many of the myths about its collapse. First, the perimeter tube design of the towers protected them from failing upon impact. The outer columns were engineered to stiffen the towers in heavy wind, and they protected the inner core, which held the gravity load. Removal of some of the outer columns alone could not bring the building down. Furthermore, because of the stiffness of the perimeter design, it was impossible for the aircraft impact to topple the building.

However, the building was not able to withstand the intense heat of the jet fuel fire. While it was impossible for the fuel-rich, diffuse-flame fire to burn at a temperature high enough to melt the steel, its quick ignition and intense heat caused the steel to lose at least half its strength and to deform, causing buckling or crippling. This weakening and deformation caused a few floors to fall, while the weight of the stories above them crushed the floors below, initiating a domino collapse.

Excerpt from online article: WTC Collapse, Analysis found by Spencer
http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0112/Eagar/Eagar-0112.html
..... “Many structural engineers believe that the weak points—the limiting factors on design allowables—were the angle clips that held the floor joists between the columns on the perimeter wall and the core structure (see Figure 5). With a 700 Pa floor design allowable, each floor should have been able to support approximately 1,300 t beyond its own weight. The total weight of each tower was about 500,000 t.

As the joists on one or two of the most heavily burned floors gave way and the outer box columns began to bow outward, the floors above them also fell. The floor below (with its 1,300 t design capacity) could not support the roughly 45,000 t of ten floors (or more) above crashing down on these angle clips. This started the domino effect that caused the buildings to collapse within ten seconds, hitting bottom with an estimated speed of 200 km per hour. If it had been free fall, with no restraint, the collapse would have only taken eight seconds and would have impacted at 300 km/h.1 It has been suggested that it was fortunate that the WTC did not tip over onto other buildings surrounding the area. There are several points that should be made. First, the building is not solid; it is 95 percent air and, hence, can implode onto itself. Second, there is no lateral load, even the impact of a speeding aircraft, which is sufficient to move the center of gravity one hundred feet to the side such that it is not within the base footprint of the structure. Third, given the near free-fall collapse, there was insufficient time for portions to attain significant lateral velocity. To summarize all of these points, a 500,000 t structure has too much inertia to fall in any direction other than nearly straight down.”
... EXCEEDINGLY WELL DOCUMENTED., see below..(ellen)

1. Presentation on WTC Collapse, Civil Engineering Department, MIT, Cambridge, MA (October 3, 2001).
2. D. Drysdale, An Introduction to Fire Dynamics (New York: Wiley Interscience, 1985), pp. 134–140.
3. A.E. Cote, ed., Fire Protection Handbook 17th Edition (Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 1992), pp. 10–67.
4. A.E. Cote, ed., Fire Protection Handbook 17th Edition (Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 1992), pp. 6-62 to 6-70.
5. Steven Ashley, “When the Twin Towers Fell,” Scientific American Online (October 9, 2001); www.sciam.com/explorations/2001/100901wtc/
6. Zdenek P. Bazant and Yong Zhou, “Why Did the World Trade Center Collapse?—Simple Analysis,” J. Engineering Mechanics ASCE, (September 28, 2001), also www.tam.uiuc.edu/news/200109wtc/
7. Timothy Wilkinson, “World Trade Centre–New York—Some Engineering Aspects” (October 25, 2001), Univ. Sydney, Department of Civil Engineering; www.civil.usyd.edu.au/wtc.htm.
8. G. Charles Clifton, “Collapse of the World Trade Centers,” CAD Headlines, tenlinks.com (October 8, 2001); www.tenlinks.com/NEWS/special/wtc/clifton/p1.htm.

Thomas W. Eagar, the Thomas Lord Professor of Materials Engineering and Engineering Systems, and Christopher Musso, graduate research student, are at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For more information, contact T.W. Eagar, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 4-136, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4301; (617) 253-3229; fax (617) 252-1773; e-mail tweagar@mit.edu.

What about the collapse of Building 7 on 9/11? It wasn’t hit by planes.
Spencer, salonista engineer, sends us this, from Wikipedia:

Collapse WTC 7

7 World Trade Center on fire after the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11

As the North Tower collapsed on September 11, 2001, debris hit 7 World Trade Center, causing heavy damage to the south face of the building.[3] The bottom portion of the building's south face was heavily damaged from debris, including: damage to the southwest corner from the 8th to 18th floor, a large vertical gash on the center-bottom extending at least ten floors, and other damage as high as the 18th floor.[3] The building was equipped with a sprinkler system, but had many single-point vulnerabilities for failure. The sprinkler system required manual initiation of the electrical fire pumps, rather than being a fully automatic system. The sprinkler floor level controls had just a single connection to the sprinkler water riser, and the sprinkler system required some power for the fire pump to deliver water. Loss of power to the fire pump or other damage to the structure would have meant no functioning sprinklers. Also, water pressure was low, with little or no water to feed sprinklers.[26][27]

After the north tower collapsed, some firefighters entered 7 World Trade Center to search the building. They attempted to extinguish small pockets of fire, but low water pressure hindered their efforts.[28] A massive fire burned into the afternoon on the 11th and 12th floors of 7 World Trade Center, the flames visible on the east side of the building.[29][30] During the afternoon, fire was also seen on floors 6–10, 13–14, 19–22, and 29–30.[3] At approximately 2:00 p.m., firefighters noticed a bulge in the southwest corner of 7 World Trade Center between the 10th and 13th floors which was a sign that the building was unstable and might collapse.[31] During the afternoon, firefighters also heard creaking sounds coming from the building.[32] Around 3:30 pm, given that 7 World Trade Center was unstable and would possibly collapse, FDNY Chief Daniel Nigro decided to halt rescue operations, surface removal and searches along the surface of the debris near 7 World Trade Center and evacuate the area due to concerns for the safety of personnel.[33][31] At 5:20 p.m. EDT on September 11, 2001, 7 World Trade Center collapsed. The building had been evacuated and there were no casualties associated with the collapse.

In May 2002, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a report on the collapse based on a preliminary investigation conducted jointly with the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers under leadership of Dr. W. Gene Corley, P.E. FEMA made preliminary findings that the collapse was not primarily caused by actual impact damage from the collapse of 1 WTC and 2 WTC but by fires on multiple stories ignited by debris from the other two towers that continued unabated due to lack of water for sprinklers or manual firefighting. Structural elements were exposed to high temperatures for a sufficient period of time to reduce their strength to the point of collapse.[6]

The report did not reach final conclusions about the cause of the collapse, but listed several issues requiring further investigation. FEMA made these findings:

Loss of structural integrity was likely a result of weakening caused by fires on the 5th to 7th floors. The specifics of the fires in WTC 7 and how they caused the building to collapse remain unknown at this time. Although the total diesel fuel on the premises contained massive potential energy, the best hypothesis has only a low probability of occurrence. Further research, investigation, and analyses are needed to resolve this issue. [Ch. 5, p. 31.]

Plan view of collapse progression, with structural failure initiating on lower floors, on the east side of the building and vertical progression up to the east mechanical penthouse

In response to FEMA's concerns, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was authorized to lead a three-year, $16 million investigation into the structural failure and collapse of the World Trade Center twin towers and 7 World Trade Center.[34] The investigation, led by Dr S. Shyam Sunder, drew not only upon in-house technical expertise, but also upon the knowledge of several outside private institutions, including the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (SEI/ASCE), the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY).[35]

Few photos and video clips exist that show the damage sustained to south face of 7 World Trade Center on 9/11. From a news helicopter, ABC News captured footage of the south face of 7 World Trade Center, including a glimpse of a gash, extending approximately 10 stories

NIST has released a video and still-photo analysis of 7 World Trade Center before its collapse that appears to indicate a greater degree of structural damage from falling debris than originally assumed by FEMA. Specifically, NIST's interim report on 7 World Trade Center displays photographs of the southwest façade of the building that show it to have significant damage. The report also highlights a 10-story gash in the center of the south façade, toward the bottom, extending approximately a quarter of the way into the interior.[36][3] A unique aspect of the design of 7 World Trade Center was that each outer structural column was responsible for supporting 2,000 sq ft (186 m²) of floor space, suggesting that the simultaneous removal of a number of columns severely compromised the structure's integrity.[37] Consistent with this theory, news footage shows cracking and bowing of the building's east wall immediately before the collapse, which began at the penthouse floors.[3] In video of the collapse, taken from the north by CBS News and other news media, the first visible sign of collapse is movement in the east penthouse 8.2 seconds before the north wall began to collapse, which took at least another 7 seconds.[3][38]

A progress report was released in June 2004, outlining NIST's working hypothesis.[39][3] The hypothesis, which was reiterated in a June 2007 status update, is that an initial failure in a critical column occurred below the 13th floor, caused by damage from fire and/or debris from the collapse of the two main towers. The collapse progressed vertically up to the east mechanical penthouse. The interior structure was unable to handle the redistributed load, resulting in horizontal progression of the failure across lower floors, particularly the 5th to 7th floors. This resulted in "a disproportionate collapse of the entire structure."[40]

NIST anticipates the release of a draft report of 7 World Trade Center by the end of 2007.[40] The NIST is utilizing ANSYS to model events leading up to collapse initiation and LS-DYNA models to simulate the global response to initiating events.[41] The investigation of 7 World Trade Center has been delayed for a number of reasons, including that NIST staff who had been working on 7 World Trade Center were assigned full-time from June 2004 to September 2005, to work on the investigation of the collapse of the twin towers.[42] In June 2007, he explained, "We are proceeding as quickly as possible while rigorously testing and evaluating a wide range of scenarios to reach the most definitive conclusion possible. The WTC 7 investigation is in some respects just as challenging, if not more so, than the study of the towers. However, the current study does benefit greatly from the significant technological advances achieved and lessons learned from our work on the towers."[40]

BMCC's Fiterman Hall was heavily damaged from the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, and is undergoing deconstruction

Some conspiracy theorists believe the building collapses on September 11, including that of building seven, were the result of controlled demolition.[43][44] NIST has "found no evidence of a blast or controlled demolition event". In its final report on building 7, they would "like to determine the magnitude of hypothetical blast scenarios that could have led to the structural failure of one or more critical elements."[42]

When 7 World Trade Center collapsed, debris caused substantial damage and contamination to the Borough of Manhattan Community College's Fiterman Hall building, located adjacent at 30 West Broadway, to the extent that the building is not salvageable. As of August 2007, Fiterman Hall is undergoing deconstruction.[45] The adjacent Verizon Building, an art deco building constructed in 1926, had extensive damage to its east façade from the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, though was able to be restored at a cost of US$1.4 billion.[46]

The entire article for your review.

7 World Trade Center

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

7 World Trade Center is a building in New York City located across from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. The name 7 World Trade Center has referred to two buildings: the original structure, developed in 1984, and the current structure. The original building was destroyed on September 11, 2001 and replaced with the new 7 World Trade Center, which opened in 2006. Both buildings were developed by Larry Silverstein who holds a ground lease for the site from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The original 7 World Trade Center was 47 stories tall, clad in red exterior masonry, and occupied a trapezoidal footprint. An elevated walkway connected the building to the World Trade Center plaza. The building was situated above a Consolidated Edison power substation which imposed unique structural design constraints. When the building opened in 1987, Silverstein had difficulties attracting tenants. In 1988, Salomon Brothers signed a long-term lease, and became the main tenants of the building. On September 11, 2001, the building was damaged by debris when the adjacent Twin Towers collapsed. Its structural integrity was further compromised by fires which burned throughout the afternoon. The original 7 World Trade Center collapsed at 5:20 p.m. on September 11 due to the combined effect of structural and fire damage.

The new 7 World Trade Center construction began in 2002 and was completed in 2006. It is 52 stories tall and still situated above the aforementioned power substation. Built on a smaller footprint than the original to allow Greenwich Street to be restored from TriBeCa through the World Trade Center site and south to Battery Park, the new building is bounded by Greenwich, Vesey, Washington, and Barclay streets. A small park across Greenwich Street occupies space that was part of the original building's footprint. The current 7 World Trade Center's design placed emphasis on safety, with a reinforced concrete core, wider stairways, and thicker fireproofing of steel columns, and incorporates numerous environmentally friendly features.

The original 7 World Trade Center was a 47-story building, designed by Emery Roth & Sons, with a red granite façade. The building was 610 feet (186 m) tall, with a trapezoidal footprint that was 330 ft (101 m) long and 140 ft (43 m) wide.[1][2] Tishman Realty & Construction managed construction of the building, which began in 1983.[1] In March 1987, the building opened, to become the seventh structure of the World Trade Center.

The building was constructed above a Con Edison substation, which had been on the site since 1967.[3] The substation had a caisson foundation designed to carry the weight of a future building on the site of 25 stories containing 600,000 sq ft (55,700 m²).[4] The final design for 7 World Trade Center was for a much larger building covering a larger footprint than originally planned when the substation was built.[5]

The structural design of 7 World Trade Center included features to allow a larger building than originally planned to be constructed. A system of gravity column transfer trusses and girders was located between floors 5 and 7 to transfer loads to the smaller foundation.[3] Existing caissons installed in 1967 were used, along with new ones, to accommodate the building. The fifth floor functioned as a structural diaphragm, providing lateral stability and distribution of loads between the new and old caissons. Above the seventh floor, the building's structure was a typical tube-frame design, with columns in the core and on the perimeter, and lateral loads resisted by perimeter moment frames.[4]

A shipping/receiving ramp, which served the entire World Trade Center complex, occupied the eastern quarter of the 7 World Trade Center footprint. The building was open below the third floor, providing space for truck clearance on the shipping ramp.[4] The spray-on fireproofing for structural steel elements was gypsum-based Monokote which had a two-hour fire rating for steel beams, girders and truss, and a three-hour rating for columns.[6]

7 World Trade Center, behind and to the left of the Twin Towers

Mechanical equipment was installed on floors four through seven, including 12 transformers on the fifth floor. Several generators in the building were used by the Office of Emergency Management, Salomon Smith Barney and others.[6] Storage tanks contained 24,000 gallons (91,000 L) of diesel fuel to supply the generators.[7] Fuel oil distribution components were located at ground level, up to the ninth floor.[8] After the World Trade Center bombings of February 26, 1993, New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani decided to situate the emergency command center and associated fuel tanks at 7 World Trade Center, possibly adding to the devastation of the September 11 attacks.[9][10][11][12][13][14] The roof of the building included a small west penthouse and a larger east mechanical penthouse.[3]

Each floor had 47,000 sq ft (4,366 m²) of rentable office space which made the building's floor plans considerably larger than most office buildings in the City.[15] In all, 7 World Trade Center had 1,868,000 sq ft (174,000 m²) of office space.[6] Two pedestrian bridges connected the main World Trade Center complex, across Vesey Street, to the third floor of 7 World Trade Center. The lobby of 7 World Trade Center had three murals by artist Al Held: The Third Circle, Pan North XII, and Vorces VII.[16][17] A sculpture by Alexander Calder, called WTC Stabile (also known by other names, The Cockeyed Propeller and Three Wings) was on a plaza in front of the building.[18]

Tenants

The position of Building 7 in relation to the other WTC buildings before September 11, 2001.

In June 1986, before construction was completed, Silverstein signed Drexel Burnham Lambert as a tenant to lease the entire 7 World Trade Center building for $3 billion over a term of 30 years.[19] In December 1986, after the Boesky insider-trading scandal, Drexel Burnham Lambert canceled the lease leaving Silverstein to find other tenants.[20] Spicer & Oppenheim agreed to lease 14 percent of the space but for more than a year, as Black Monday and other factors adversely affected the Lower Manhattan real estate market, Silverstein was unable to find tenants for the remaining space. By April 1988, Silverstein had lowered the rent and made other concessions.[21]

In November 1988, Salomon Brothers withdrew from plans to build a large new complex at Columbus Circle in Midtown and agreed to a 20-year lease for the top 19 floors of 7 World Trade Center.[22] The building was extensively renovated in 1989 to accommodate the needs of Salomon Brothers.[23] Most of three existing floors were removed as tenants continued to occupy other floors, and more than 350 tons (U.S.) of steel were added to construct three double-height trading floors. Nine diesel generators were installed on the 5th floor as part of a backup power station. "Essentially, Salomon is constructing a building within a building - and it's an occupied building, which complicates the situation," said a district manager of Silverstein Properties. The unusual task was possible, said Larry Silverstein, because it was designed to allow for "entire portions of floors to be removed without affecting the building's structural integrity, on the assumption that someone might need double-height floors."[23]

At the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Salomon Smith Barney was by far the largest tenant in 7 World Trade Center, occupying 1,202,900 sq ft (111,750 m²) (64 percent of the building) which included floors 28–45.[24][6] Other major tenants included ITT Hartford Insurance Group (122,590 sq ft/11,400 m²), American Express Bank International (106,117 sq ft/9,900 m²), Standard Chartered Bank (111,398 sq ft/10,350 m²), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (106,117 sq ft/9,850 m²).[24] Smaller tenants included the Internal Revenue Service Regional Council (90,430 sq ft/8,400 m²) and the United States Secret Service (85,343 sq ft/7,900 m²).[24] The smallest tenants included the New York City Office of Emergency Management, NAIC Securities, Federal Home Loan Bank, First State Management Group Inc., Provident Financial Management, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.[24] The Department of Defense (DOD) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) shared the 25th floor with the IRS.[6] Floors 46–47 were mechanical floors, as were the bottom six floors and part of the seventh floor.[6][25]

Collapse

7 World Trade Center on fire after the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11

As the North Tower collapsed on September 11, 2001, debris hit 7 World Trade Center, causing heavy damage to the south face of the building.[3] The bottom portion of the building's south face was heavily damaged from debris, including: damage to the southwest corner from the 8th to 18th floor, a large vertical gash on the center-bottom extending at least ten floors, and other damage as high as the 18th floor.[3] The building was equipped with a sprinkler system, but had many single-point vulnerabilities for failure. The sprinkler system required manual initiation of the electrical fire pumps, rather than being a fully automatic system. The sprinkler floor level controls had just a single connection to the sprinkler water riser, and the sprinkler system required some power for the fire pump to deliver water. Loss of power to the fire pump or other damage to the structure would have meant no functioning sprinklers. Also, water pressure was low, with little or no water to feed sprinklers.[26][27]

After the north tower collapsed, some firefighters entered 7 World Trade Center to search the building. They attempted to extinguish small pockets of fire, but low water pressure hindered their efforts.[28] A massive fire burned into the afternoon on the 11th and 12th floors of 7 World Trade Center, the flames visible on the east side of the building.[29][30] During the afternoon, fire was also seen on floors 6–10, 13–14, 19–22, and 29–30.[3] At approximately 2:00 p.m., firefighters noticed a bulge in the southwest corner of 7 World Trade Center between the 10th and 13th floors which was a sign that the building was unstable and might collapse.[31] During the afternoon, firefighters also heard creaking sounds coming from the building.[32] Around 3:30 pm, given that 7 World Trade Center was unstable and would possibly collapse, FDNY Chief Daniel Nigro decided to halt rescue operations, surface removal and searches along the surface of the debris near 7 World Trade Center and evacuate the area due to concerns for the safety of personnel.[33][31] At 5:20 p.m. EDT on September 11, 2001, 7 World Trade Center collapsed. The building had been evacuated and there were no casualties associated with the collapse.

In May 2002, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a report on the collapse based on a preliminary investigation conducted jointly with the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers under leadership of Dr. W. Gene Corley, P.E. FEMA made preliminary findings that the collapse was not primarily caused by actual impact damage from the collapse of 1 WTC and 2 WTC but by fires on multiple stories ignited by debris from the other two towers that continued unabated due to lack of water for sprinklers or manual firefighting. Structural elements were exposed to high temperatures for a sufficient period of time to reduce their strength to the point of collapse.[6]

The report did not reach final conclusions about the cause of the collapse, but listed several issues requiring further investigation. FEMA made these findings:

Loss of structural integrity was likely a result of weakening caused by fires on the 5th to 7th floors. The specifics of the fires in WTC 7 and how they caused the building to collapse remain unknown at this time. Although the total diesel fuel on the premises contained massive potential energy, the best hypothesis has only a low probability of occurrence. Further research, investigation, and analyses are needed to resolve this issue. [Ch. 5, p. 31.]

Plan view of collapse progression, with structural failure initiating on lower floors, on the east side of the building and vertical progression up to the east mechanical penthouse

In response to FEMA's concerns, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was authorized to lead a three-year, $16 million investigation into the structural failure and collapse of the World Trade Center twin towers and 7 World Trade Center.[34] The investigation, led by Dr S. Shyam Sunder, drew not only upon in-house technical expertise, but also upon the knowledge of several outside private institutions, including the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (SEI/ASCE), the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), and the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY).[35]

Few photos and video clips exist that show the damage sustained to south face of 7 World Trade Center on 9/11. From a news helicopter, ABC News captured footage of the south face of 7 World Trade Center, including a glimpse of a gash, extending approximately 10 stories

NIST has released a video and still-photo analysis of 7 World Trade Center before its collapse that appears to indicate a greater degree of structural damage from falling debris than originally assumed by FEMA. Specifically, NIST's interim report on 7 World Trade Center displays photographs of the southwest façade of the building that show it to have significant damage. The report also highlights a 10-story gash in the center of the south façade, toward the bottom, extending approximately a quarter of the way into the interior.[36][3] A unique aspect of the design of 7 World Trade Center was that each outer structural column was responsible for supporting 2,000 sq ft (186 m²) of floor space, suggesting that the simultaneous removal of a number of columns severely compromised the structure's integrity.[37] Consistent with this theory, news footage shows cracking and bowing of the building's east wall immediately before the collapse, which began at the penthouse floors.[3] In video of the collapse, taken from the north by CBS News and other news media, the first visible sign of collapse is movement in the east penthouse 8.2 seconds before the north wall began to collapse, which took at least another 7 seconds.[3][38]

A progress report was released in June 2004, outlining NIST's working hypothesis.[39][3] The hypothesis, which was reiterated in a June 2007 status update, is that an initial failure in a critical column occurred below the 13th floor, caused by damage from fire and/or debris from the collapse of the two main towers. The collapse progressed vertically up to the east mechanical penthouse. The interior structure was unable to handle the redistributed load, resulting in horizontal progression of the failure across lower floors, particularly the 5th to 7th floors. This resulted in "a disproportionate collapse of the entire structure."[40]

NIST anticipates the release of a draft report of 7 World Trade Center by the end of 2007.[40] The NIST is utilizing ANSYS to model events leading up to collapse initiation and LS-DYNA models to simulate the global response to initiating events.[41] The investigation of 7 World Trade Center has been delayed for a number of reasons, including that NIST staff who had been working on 7 World Trade Center were assigned full-time from June 2004 to September 2005, to work on the investigation of the collapse of the twin towers.[42] In June 2007, he explained, "We are proceeding as quickly as possible while rigorously testing and evaluating a wide range of scenarios to reach the most definitive conclusion possible. The WTC 7 investigation is in some respects just as challenging, if not more so, than the study of the towers. However, the current study does benefit greatly from the significant technological advances achieved and lessons learned from our work on the towers."[40]

BMCC's Fiterman Hall was heavily damaged from the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, and is undergoing deconstruction

Some conspiracy theorists believe the building collapses on September 11, including that of building seven, were the result of controlled demolition.[43][44] NIST has "found no evidence of a blast or controlled demolition event". In its final report on building 7, they would "like to determine the magnitude of hypothetical blast scenarios that could have led to the structural failure of one or more critical elements."[42]

When 7 World Trade Center collapsed, debris caused substantial damage and contamination to the Borough of Manhattan Community College's Fiterman Hall building, located adjacent at 30 West Broadway, to the extent that the building is not salvageable. As of August 2007, Fiterman Hall is undergoing deconstruction.[45] The adjacent Verizon Building, an art deco building constructed in 1926, had extensive damage to its east façade from the collapse of 7 World Trade Center, though was able to be restored at a cost of US$1.4 billion.[46]

Section Four: Books/Movies/Magazines/Reviews
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Seems to me this section is not being read. If you would like me to continue this section of the Weekly please send me an email... Just put “continue book section” in the subject line. Ellen

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Tri-State Treasures

Tri-State Treasures is a compilation of unique local people, places, and events that may enrich your lives. These treasures have been submitted by you and others who value supporting quality community offerings. Please consider supporting these treasures, and distributing the information for others to enjoy. And please continue to forward your Tri-State Treasures ideas to jkesner@nuvox.net.

Information about Tri-State Treasures and how to submit Tri-State Treasures is at the bottom of this email. Please help me by providing all basic information, and formatting your submissions as described below. Thank you.

Sincerely, Jim

~~~~~

Ursula Roma Holiday Gift Sale: A local artist of remarkable talent, range, & creativity, Ursula is offering a wide selection of her art for holiday gifts at holiday-blowout, end-of-the-year clearance, rock-bottom, starving-artist prices. See her art & more info @ 513.542.5722, ursularoma@fuse.net, http://ursularomaartforsale.blogspot.com/.

The GLBT Weekly: Want to know what's going on in Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky's gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender communities? The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Cincinnati has an exciting online service to tell you all about it every week. The Weekly is a free email calendar compiled by Bruce Beisner that includes listings of support groups, community organization meetings, social gatherings, political events, art openings, theatre happenings, sports leagues, nightlife, & much more. Whether you're looking for support in your coming out process, opportunities to get involved in advocacy work, or a good drag show on Friday night, The Weekly is for you. Sign up today & receive this free email calendar every Monday night in your inbox; only 1 email a week, no others; the list is completely confidential & you can unsubscribe at anytime. Sign up @ www.glbtcentercincinnati.com/resources/weekly.php. More info @ 513.591.0200, BBeisner@advantext.com, & www.glbtcentercincinnati.com.

Celluloid Fringe Call for Submission [thru January 15th]: The 2008 Cincinnati Fringe Festival is seeking submissions from filmmakers of all types. Film Fringe is a showcase of short digital cinema, typically films less than 30 minutes in length, but projects up to 1 hour will be considered. Films may be experimental or more traditional; they can span any genre. They need not premiere at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, but premieres are always welcome. Documentaries are welcome & encouraged. Presented by Know Theater of Cincinnati. $15 submission fee. At 1120 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info & applications @ 513.651.4171x11, sara@mediabridges.org, & www.cincyfringe.com.

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Classical Drawing Class with Richard Luschek [Saturdays thru 23 February @ 11 AM - 2 PM]: A beginning drawing course where students will not only begin with the very basics of drawing but will begin to learn how to see & study nature. Learn the craft & technique of drawing in a very 'painterly' way of working. Students will draw from the Antique plaster statues which help simplify the problem into light & dark patterns. This is a traditional method, not unlike that taught in the schools of 19th century France. The apprentice's own work is the forum for inculcating this knowledge through verbal instruction, demonstrations & hands-on critiques. And if you are thinking of continuing with painting, these will be very useful techniques. There will be discussions of art history & a field trip or two. No class 22 & 29 December. Supplies for the class will be very minimal. Contact Richard for a full supply list; cost of the class is $200 paid on the first day. In a beautiful north-lit studio, 1033 Monastery Street, Mt. Adams, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.479.3322, richard_luschek@yahoo.com, & www.richardluschek.com.

Lebanon Symphony Orchestra & Chorus presents Handel's Messiah [Friday 14 December @ 8 PM & Sunday 16 December @ 4 PM]: Join the LSOC in the newly refurbished sanctuary of the Lebanon Presbyterian Church for the biennial tradition event that has earned the tri-state reputation as the Messiah performance you don't want to miss. Performed in it's entirety with soloists Marilyn Zelcer (Soprano), Laura Hoevenaar (Alto), Eric DeForest (Tenor), & Brent Turner (Bass). Limited seating; advanced purchase recommended, i.e., will sell out & tix go fast. Advance tix: $22.50 adults / $12 students; at the door: $25 adults / $15 students. At Lebanon Presbyterian Church, 123 North East Street, Lebanon, OH 45036. More info @ 513.228.0346 & www.musicinlebanon.com.

Manifest Art Opening Reception - 2 Exhibits [Friday 14 December @ 6-9 PM]: Trick of the Light: Contemporary Photography, guest curated by Dennis Kiel, Chief Curator, The Light Factory, Charlotte, NC. Artists were invited to submit recent photography-based work for an exhibit to reveal the power of light-based imagery to communicate, express, or evoke as visceral 1st-hand experience as any painting or sculpture exhibit might. Jury selection whittled 414 entries from 120 artists down to 15 works by 11 artists from 6 states & Japan. Funny Men: Illustrations by Ryan Ostrander & Gabriel Utasi. Two successful illustrators together for a tour-de-force exhibit of classic drawing-based illustration. Gabriel Utasi is staff illustrator at the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, AZ; Ryan Ostrander is full-time illustrator & graphic designer for The Cincinnati Post & has received awards from Scripps Howard News Service, AP Ohio, & named "Best Graphic Artist" 3 times by The Society of Professional Journalists. At Manifest Creative Research Gallery & Drawing Center, 2727 Woodburn Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45206. More info @ 513.861.3638, manifest@manifestgallery.org, & www.manifestgallery.org.

French Film Series [Friday 14 December @ 7 PM]: l'Auberge Espagnole is a French film from 2002 by Cédric Klapisch. They came from Paris, Rome, London, & Berlin to... l'Auberge Espagnole... where a year can change a lifetime. A straight laced French student (Roman Duris) moves into an apartment in Barcelona with a cast of 6 other characters from all over Europe. Together they speak the international language of love & friendship. At NKU University Center Room 102 (Budig Auditorium), Nunn Drive, Highland Heights, KY 41099. More info & film synopses @ 513.389.9100, afpostmaster@france-cincinnati.com, & www.france-cincinnati.com.

Redtree Gallery Art Opening [Friday 14 December @ 6 PM - 9 PM]: This show is based on the theme RED, open to each artist's interpretation. Live music, wine, & light refreshments. Exhibit runs from 5 January. At Redtree Gallery & Coffee Shop, 4409 Brazee Street, Oakley, OH 45209. More info @ 513.321.8733, mbusch@redtreegallery.net, & www.redtreegallery.net.

Don Nesbitt Photo Exhibition Opening Reception [Friday 14 December @ 5-8 PM]: Creative photographs of Don Nesbitt. Special musical guests will provide entertainment. Free admission; donations to the Friends of Harriet Beecher Stowe House are appreciated. Sponsored by Friends of Harriet Beecher Stowe. At the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, 2950 Gilbert Avenue @ Martin Luther King Drive, Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, OH 45206. Off street parking available. More info @ 513.221.4586, 513.751.0651, & maloneap@att.net.

Marsapalooza: The Return of the Red Planet [Friday-Saturday 14-15 & 21-22 December @ 8 PM]: A two-weekend viewing extravaganza with nightly classes about Mars, tours of the buildings, & viewing through the historic telescopes (weather permitting). Reservations requires for nightly classes starting @ 8 PM. No reservations required for viewing; drop in between 8-11 PM. $5 per person. At the Cincinnati Observatory Center, 3489 Observatory Place, Cincinnati, OH 45208. More info @ 513.3221.5186, deanobservatory@zoomtown.com, & www.cincinnatiobservatory.org.

Magical Musical Christmas in Loveland [Saturday 15 December @ 4-9 PM]: A small town Christmas event like no other, with live Nativity, torch-lit walkaway across the river, live local carolers all night, a roaming marching band, & chestnuts really roasting on an open fire. And its all a gift from Loveland. Centered in the Loveland Historic District, 127 West Loveland Avenue, Loveland OH 45140. More info @ 513.293.8254, martin@HistoricLoveland.com, & www.HistoricLoveland.com.

Creating Holiday Cards [Saturday 15 December @ 1-4 PM]: Marion Corbin-Mayer will help you. Bring your rubber stamps or use hers to create unique Holiday Cards. $25 supplies included; reservations required. At Creative Catalysts, #231 Essex Studios, 2511 Essex Place, Cincinnati, OH 45206. More info @ 513.368.1994 & www.creativecatalysts.net.

Holiday Jubilee [Saturday 15 December @ 11AM-3:30PM & Sunday 16 December @ Noon-4PM]: Holiday Jubilee returns with holiday music by school choirs, church choirs, orchestras, jazz bands, dance troupes, & ensembles from all over the Greater Cincinnati area. Presented by Pampers. In the Grand Hall, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.333.7500, ETurner@nurfc.org, & www.freedomcenter.org.

Christmas Music - The Irish Way [Sunday 16 December @ 2 PM]: The Riley School of Irish Music celebrates its 11th anniversary with “Peace & Merriment,”a free concert featuring traditional Irish & Celtic holiday music. Students & faculty of the School will perform on harps, fiddles, concertinas, flutes, bódhrans, mandolins, banjos, & guitars. Also participating will be members of local Celtic music groups including Silver Arm, Dark Moll, & Ceol Mhor. Refreshments will be served. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted for this fund-raiser for the school, a local non-profit org dedicated to teaching the art of traditional Irish music. At Columbia Baptist Church, 3718 Eastern Avenue, Columbia-Tusculum, Cincinnati, OH 45226. More info @ 513.871.4527, matyi@fuse.net, & www.RileyIrishMusic.com.

Cincinnati Observatory Holiday Open House & Mt. Lookout Luminaria [Sunday 16 December @ 6-9 PM]: Take in the lights of the heavens while driving thru the luminaria in Mt Lookout. Gaze at stars through the historic telescopes (weather permitting), enjoy tours of the buildings, buy unique gifts at the gift shop, savor coffee & hot chocolate courtesy of Lookout Joe’s. At the Cincinnati Observatory Center, 3489 Observatory Place, Cincinnati, OH 45208. More info @ 513.3221.5186, deanobservatory@zoomtown.com, & www.cincinnatiobservatory.org.

Alliance Française Winter Rendezvous - Ice Skating on Fountain Square [Sunday 16 December @ Noon - 3 PM]: Rescheduled due to last weekend's rain, join Alliance Française for a fun casual family event in downtown Cincinnati; ice skating on the newly renovated Fountain Square ice rink. Open to the public. Alliance Française will have a welcome & info center next to the ice rink. $5 buys skate rental, admission to the rink, Holiday cookies & hot chocolate or coffee. Ask us about info & directions to the nearby Duke Energy Holiday Train Exhibit & the Holiday Windows of the downtown Department Stores. $3 parking all day Sunday in the Parking Garage beneath Fountain Square. At Fountain Square, bordered by 5th, 6th, Walnut, & Vine Streets, Downtown Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.389.9100, afpostmaster@france-cincinnati.com, & www.myfoutainsquare.com/icerink.

GLBT Monday Movie Mania - The Holiday [Monday 17 December @ 7 PM]: Amanda (Cameron Diaz) & Iris (Kate Winslet) find themselves in failed relationships just before Christmas. Amanda decides to take a vacation, surfs the internet, meets Iris online, & they agree to swap homes for the holidays. Amanda lives in LA, Iris lives in the British countryside. Despite the change of scenery, they are both still depressed & lonely. But things change when Iris' brother Graham (Jude Law) drops by the Surrey country house, & when Iris meets film composer Miles (Jack Black). At The Center, 4119 Hamilton Avenue, Northside, Cincinnati, OH 45250. More info @ 513.591.0200, theweekly@glbtcentercincinnati.com, & www.glbtcentercincinnati.com.

Forever [Tuesday-Thursday 18-20 December @ 7 PM]: Heddy Honigmann's film seamlessly wraps several themes into a 94-minute documentary: the importance of love & remembrance; the eternal power & vitality of art; a place where love & death go hand-in-hand & beauty lives on; & the intimate stories of those who visit the famous Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris. The result is a moving experience with a personal dividend. "Forever" will affect everyone differently, depending on your stage in life & cognizance of your mortality. It will have a particularly poignancy for those who have lost loved ones, family members, & friends. Presented by Cincinnati World Cinema. $9 general public; $7 for students & Art Museum members. At Fath Auditorium, Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 859.781.8151, worldcinema@fuse.net, & www.CincyWorldCinema.org.

Short Films by Found-Object Filmmaker PES [Friday 21 December @ 7:30-8:00 PM]: This 2002-2007 PES retrospective will include films, commercials, & making-ofs. Each piece run 30 seconds to a few minutes in length. The short, stop-animation films present viewers with a baroque & comic twist to everyday situations, film genres, & the conventional uses of toys, antiques, & thrift store bric-a-brac. Already popular commercially & in international film festivals, PES films cast a unique vision onto mundane, neglected kitsch & ephemera. Free; reservations taken but not required. At Manifest Gallery, 2727 Woodburn Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45206. More info @ 513.861.3638, news@manifestgallery.org, www.eatpes.com, & www.manifestgallery.org/adf.

Midnight Muse Poetry Contest [entry deadline Saturday 22 December (winter solstice); winners announced Monday 31 December]: Poems must be on a topic reflecting one or more of the Midnight Muse themes: goddesses & muses, gods & green men, faeries, nymphs & nature spirits, mermaids & sirens, angels, animals (real or mythic), witchcraft & magic, trees/plants/flowers, the seasons, night/moon/stars, sacred sites, the ancient world, & mythology & legend. 1st, 2nd & 3rd prize: $300, $100, & $50 gift certificates. Honorable mention prizes may also be awarded, depending on the number of entries. $1 entry fee per poem; no limit to number of poems you can submit. Entry fees go towards prizes. More info about the contest, rules, submissions, etc. @ www.midnight-muse.com/pc.htm.

Ongoing Tri-State Treasures

The Coming of the Light: Grailville’s Crèche Exhibit Opening & Art Project Workshop [thru Thursday 20 December; specific times & dates below]: Mark the 1st Sunday of Advent, Sunday 2 December, with the opening of the 2007 International Crèche Exhibit, Grailville's unique collection of over 50 Nativity scenes from around the world, including those by internationally known sculptor Trina Paulus. The opening celebration will be @ 2-4 PM to include songs, readings, & a family art project. RSVP & materials donation requested. The Advent season continues with Grailville's Crèche Luncheon Series on Tuesday-Friday 11-14 December & Tuesday-Thursday 18-20 December; additional days may be available for groups of 35 or more. A delicious holiday luncheon will be followed by a short presentation on the origin of the Nativity scene & the history & background of many of the Nativity sets in the Grailville International Crèche Collection. The cost for a luncheon is $15 per person; advanced reservations required. The Crèche Exhibit is open to the public at other times by appointment. At Grailville, 932 O'Bannonville Road, Loveland, OH 45140. More info & RSVP @ 513.683.2340, grailville@fuse.net, & www.grailville.org.

A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie [thru December 31]: This is the 1st major traveling exhibit devoted to the transatlantic slave trade, focusing on the Henrietta Marie, the most complete slave ship ever discovered in the western hemisphere & the only one to be fully identified, recorded, archeologically examined & preserved. This exhibit examines the economic & social forces that drove the slave trade & provides insight into its impact on the material life & culture of Europe, Africa & the Americas. This exhibit uses artifacts & the ship’s records as touchstones for the entering the daily lives of the Africans on board, the seamen who manned the ship, & the traders who ran this notorious enterprise. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati OH 45202. More info @ 513.333.7500, ETurner@nurfc.org, & www.freedomcenter.org.

Pure Movement Dance Class: All In One [Mondays @ 6:30-8 PM & Wednesdays @ 9:30-11 AM thru December]: “Motion is Life. Taste It. Feel It. Honor It.” Offering cardio aerobic based movement class supported by personal attention to individual alignment & exploration of authentic expression. All classes have a stretching & strengthening warm up that expands your range of motion. The class achieves a balance between dynamic arousal & meditative peace. Four consecutive classes @ $12 per class. Individual classes @ $20. Free introductory class with Fanchon Shur, Growth In Motion Inc. master teacher. At 4019 Red Bud Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229. More info @ 513.221.3222, fanchon@growthinmotion.org, & www.growthinmotion.org.

Documentary WORKS: Social Activist Documentaries of Barbara Wolf [Monday-Saturdays thru Thursday 24 January]: Films by local documentary filmmaker Barbara Wolf are screening during normal business hours as part of the film@mediabridges series. The films: "The Earth Covenant" describes a covenant being made between the peoples of the earth to take responsibility for the environment in the absence of comprehensive governmental action. "Peace March 2004" presents the Cincinnati protest as part of a larger national demonstration on the 1st anniversary of the US initiating bombing of Iraq. "Degrees Of Shame" examines the situation of adjunct (part-time) faculty teaching in America’s institutions of higher learning, suggesting they are the information economy’s migrant farm workers. "Know Theatre Corpus Christi Protests" documents protests outside the theatre during the play's entire run. "These Old Buildings Raised Our Many Children" was made in 1995 for & with long-term residents of Over-The-Rhine, looking at the effects of massive community redevelopment on their lives. "This Is My House" highlights transitional housing associated with the Drop Inn Center which was threatened by the proposed new SCPA. These films are presented by Media Bridges. Hours: Monday-Thursday: 8AM-9PM, Friday: 8AM-6PM, Saturday: 9AM-5PM. Free. In the At Media Bridges front lobby, 1100 Race Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.651.4171 & sara@mediabridges.org.

Julian's Stanczak Exhibition [thru 3 February 2008]: The exhibit of work by this internationally significant artist coincides with the unveiling of his design for Fifth Third Bank's 6th Street Façade facing the CAC. In addition to the models & preparatory drawings, a collection of Julian Stanczak's work from throughout his career provide a context for his newest monumental project. Polish-born Stanczak trained under Josef Albers & Conrad Marca-Relli at Yale University's School of Art & Architecture. He brought this background to the Art Academy of Cincinnati where he taught from 1957-1964. Stanczak's work is characterized by scientific precision & the illusion of pulsating motion. Using repeated line patterns, his work studies the optical behavior of colors in close proximity to each other. His work earned him the moniker "Father of Op Art." At Contemporary Art Center, 44 East 6th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.345.8400, pr@cacmail.org, & www.contemporaryartscenter.org.

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption Concert Series [Intermittent Sundays thru 9 March 2008 @ 3 PM]: The Series presents instrumental & choral music from the rich traditions of western liturgy & inspired classical music, presented in a suitable visual & acoustic environment. Donations support all series expenses & costs to preserve the Historic Matthias Schwab Organ (1859). In other words, the Cathedral Concert Series combines music of extraordinary range & quality in arguably the region's most magnificent space. Concerts include Musica Sacra Chorus & Orchestra, Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, Advent Festival of Lessons & Carols, An Epiphany Epilogue, Concert in Memory of Dr. Louis Schwab, & JS Bach's 323rd Birthday. At St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, 1140 Madison Avenue, Covington, KY 41011. More info @ 859-431-2060, timbrel@fuse.net, & www.cathedralconcertseries.org.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tri-State Treasures is compiled by James Kesner.

— Submit Tri-State Treasures, or request your email address to be added or removed from the list by sending an email to jkesner@nuvox.net; specify "Tri-State Treasures."

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— Please help me by submitting your Tri-State Treasure in the following format:
Brief Title of the Treasure [date @ time]: Brief description of the treasure; what is it; why is it wonderful & unique. Cost. Sponsor. Location including address & zip code. More info @ telephone, email, & website.
A Fictitious Example:
Fabulous Film Festival [Friday 3 May @ 8 PM]: The first & best fabulous film festival in the city of Cincinnati will present live-action, documentary, & short films. Blah, blah, blah. Presented by Flicks R Us. Tickets are $8. At The Theatre, 111 Main Street, Cincinnati, OH 45200. More info @ 513.111.2222, info@filmfestival.com, & www.filmfestival.com.

The Lloyd House Salon (usually about 12 people) Meets on WEDNESDAYS at 5:45,
EVERY Wednesday, 52 WEEKS/YEAR come hell or high water, as my mother used to say.

We of the Lloyd House Salon gather in a spirit of
respect, sympathy and compassion for one another
in order to exchange ideas for our mutual pleasure and enlightenment.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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  Also, we have an Interactive Yahoo Salon group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LloydHouseSalon

For Pot Luck procedures including food suggestions, mission and history visit
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> To unsubscribe from the Lloyd House Potluck Salon list, send a REPLY message
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> delete it. Thanks! ellen bierhorst

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Weekly 12/6/07 - 5

Next Wednesday we plan to show “Nutricide”, the 90 min. movie about the codex alimentarius, a WTO scam to crush free food choices etc. Very important. Come. Ellen

Salon Weekly

~ In 4 Color-Coded Sections:

Table Notes
Events & Opportunities
Articles, Letters
Books, Reviews, Films, Magazines
Tri-State Treasures: events compiled by Jim Kesner

A Weekly Email Publication of The Lloyd House: Circulation: 613. Growing out
of the Wednesday Night Salon . For info about the Salon, see the bottom of
this email. Join us at the Lloyd House every week of the year at 5:45 for pot
luck and discussion. 3901 Clifton Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio. To Submit events
for the Weekly, send (not attachment) me email, subject line
"Weekly-Events:(description)", in Times New Roman font, Maroon color. FOR ARTICLES, send me, in Times New Roman, Navy color. to ELLENBIERHORST@LLOYDHOUSE.COM,. Saves me a
lot of work that way. Send submissions by Wednesday evening.

To: Friends on our Pot Luck Salon list (c. 600)... Now in our
seventh year),

(to unsubscribe see below, bottom of page).
................................................... Section One: Table Notes ............................................................................ (Note: these notes were taken at the table and have NOT been approved or corrected by the speakers. Reader beware of inevitable misunderstandings and misrepresentations. E.B.)
At the table Wednesday 12/5/07
Santa, Dallas Fish, Derek Lester, Shari Able, Spencer Konicov, Steve Sunderland, Judy Cirillo, Ellen Bierhorst, Mira Rodwan, Ginger Lee Frank, Gwen Marshall, Bob Witanowski, Audrey Borisy, Julia Yarden, Sophia Yarden, Badger Johnson
Carolyn Aufderhaar, Bill Limbacher. Brooke Audreyal. (Welcome Audrey and Badger!)

ANNOUNCEMENTS AT TABLE

Derek: grizley bear story. 80 rounds of a moose rifle to kill.
Steve: a charging bear is terrifying. Story of three people ripped up in Glacier Nat’l Park.
Ellen Second night of Hanukkah. (lighting of hanukkiahs.)
... I am reading Team of Rivals about Ab. Lincoln...
Steve My Face is Black by mary Frances Barry, answers the question Why did the blacks after the civil war not achieve economic success... What about the ex slave soldier veterans not getting pensions ... Consistent efforts of all branches of government...
From 1865 to 1930 there was a movement to provide pensions to Black veterans and heros ... Including Harriet Tubman.

Derek “Nutricide” film, to be screened next Wed on the Codex Alimentarius, Int’l trade law already passed not yet implemented. Governs food we are allowed to eat...declared toxic many foods we want to eat. Extremely important. Christine Bauchman (sp?). This is a World Trade Organization thing... Requires all food not from local producers to be irradiated. Antibiotics manditory for all cattle.

Ginger ... About the FDA. 1/5 the annual budget, $400 million comes directly to pharmaceutical companies paying to have a rush approval for a drug. Also 20% of drugs approved are subsequently found dangerous and withdrawn from the market. Conflict of inerest.

Barrie: Ground swell of support for Ron Paul. Amazing. ON Dec 16, the anniversary. Of the Boston Tea Party, 100,000+ people will each donate $100.

Steve This Saturday at 4 pm in West Chester at Lakota East school admin buildg. A discussion of the play censored, “And then there were none” or “Ten little indians”. No racial content. Originally published in the thirties “Ten little N....rs” there has been tremendous discussion, ... See today’s Enquirer. If you want to come, I will send the address and it will be in the Weekly (see below).

Mira Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, by Leary, a sociologist. Brilliant work. Understanding the effects of slavery. Is at the library.
Considering going to hear Joanna Macy lecture? I know where the lecture is, free, Friday. Schmidt Hall, second floor, Conaton Board Room.

Bill : I need a ride afterwards.
Carolyn I have a host of spider plants which detox. The air.

TOPICS NOMINATED
Ron Paul... Libertarianism
Censorship
Iran ... They no longer are a nuclear threat nor have been since 2004 ... The intelligence services have made this public. Steve We don’t know... What is really going on.

IRAN, INTELLIGENCE ANNOUNCEMENT ETC.

Badger: we have a giant war machine that needs to keep going or else it rusts. I think we should stop it. The economic powers want it to keep growing.
Gwen the US has a weird economic thing going...we aren’t manufacturing anything yet they still want our dollars. Must be because of the economic dependency on the war machine. Jacks up our standard of living. Only thing we make that others want to buy.

Shari interesting part is that someone let the information out. ...we went into Iraq for WMD that weren’t there. Same story about Iran.

Ginger: my sense is that the intelligence agencies were so pissed off that their info. Was misused for Iraq. ... Unusual to see the intelligence services go counter to the presidential direction.
Steve: Start back with 9/11/01. We were attacked; thousands died. Still in that shadow. A dangerous world. Right to have an intelligence agency speaking truth to government. Scares me about his late disclosure is that it was known for 3 years (no WMD in Iran) and yet we have been sabre rattling for 3 years. Disconnect between executive and the intelligence, at least on the surface. Is there a threat in Iran to the US? Or have we created a bugaboo.

Santa our biggest threat is sitting in the White House. He will be removed. A series of leaks will crescendo and result in his removal. And troops will be removed asap as well.

Audrey Cheney would be worse!
Barrie: the plan in flux is to put Gore in.

Ginger we have seen the executive branch taking over all the roles of the government, e.g. Having its own intelligence service. Chenny,Wolfowitz et al. It is a consolidation of power on a scale we have never before seen.

Spencer ... War Powers? I don’t think we are at war. The more we fight the more enemies we create. Exactly like Orwell’s 1984. Always a war. ... No other country attacked us. Should not be a war. ... We’ve been buying.

Ginger Guilliani is still doing best in polls of Republicans because he is seen as tough on terror.
Many are saying we should impeach Chenny and then Bush.

Steve We are so paralyzed with fear about what is doing that someone as preposterous as Ron Paul is gaining support. When we are threatened, we look to preposterous solutions. If we instantly withdrawn from Iraq, ther ewill be terrible repercussions elsewhere in the world.
How recover from the fear of 9/11.
Brooke We need to focus on what we do want rather than on what we fear. What we attend to grows.
Bill Tactics: tell Musharif “We are going to get Osama bin Laden”. Bring him back here for trial. Have a world wide fair trial. Will help us recover from our fear from 911. Begin the healing process.

Audrey would it create more problems?
Ginger Kucinich says we should rename the Pentagon The Dept of Peace.

Judy this tremendous fear. It was created because the administration wanted war. The Cole was attacked, but we didn’t go to war and get hysterical. Consider the numbers who died in Iraq vs. the people killed at 9/11. The administration just fans our fear.

CONSPIRACY THEORY ABOUT 9/11

Derek there is a good argument that two airliners could not have toppled the World Trade Center. Jet fuel is not hot enough to melt those steel...
HI rise buildings have all been designed to withstand airplane impact.
In Zeitgeistmovie.com

Ellen Noam Chomsky has said not to go with conspiracy theories about 9/11.
Steve: what would be the impact of believing in conspiracy?

Derek: it caused justification for the war; enlistments went up; huge amounts of gold in the cellar went missing. Just before 9/11 enlistments were at all time low.

Julia ten years of FBI investigation, evidence that CIA was laundering drug money through the Int’l Monetary Fund with assistance of World Bank,

Ginger Arab countries believe that the Israelis engineered 9/11 to get US army involved in the middle east.

Gwen interview with the janitor... Ws going up steps opening fire doors for firefighters. Saw that the front door had been blown out by explosion. ...something very bad happened that day. ... Osama was created by us. We said he was the villain.

Derek no matter what you do you cannot get jet fuel to burn hot enough to melt iron. ... I will try to pout together to a couple pages of verified facts for two weeks hence.

Mira there was a big report on PBS station about the construction of the WTO... Suction of the fire down the central core.

Dallas why bring in the jets if they did explosives? All that trouble?
Derek how do you get that many explosives in the building unless it is the government.

Steve in 1964 I was in National Student Association, and discovered that the CIA was totally infiltrating our organization. At first we thought the announcement was bogus. ... We came to believe it. Was it preposterous or true? That one was true.

Ginger it is like the Pearl Harbor thing... Did FDR engineer Pearl Harbor in order to get us into the war.

Badger Dallas ?
Dallas if all that was needed was explosives in the basement, why go to all the trouble to have planes?

Badger the answer is that our brains are wired for storytelling. War machine wants us to circulate fear stories.

Ginger ...seeing is believing. Planes, we saw it, track down.

Spencer (Spencer left the table and went online to research the collapse. Found an authoritative engineering article... See below in blue Articles section for an excerpt and the link. Ellen) WTO was steel columns in center, not concrete. All we have to do is to heat steel and make it pliable. ...90,000 gal. of jet fuels not unusually hot fire. Not capable of melting steel. ...in a jet engine, cinqtrometric (?) pressure... Combustion... Fuel/oxidant... Diffused flames low intensity of heat. So the steel didn’t melt. Max temp 1,000 C degrees, insufficient to melt steel.

Brooke so negative, wallowing in fear. Even before Bush was inaugurated he said he wanted War in Iraq. ... Let’s move ahead.
Derek yes... Can’t ignore it either.

Spencer enough temp. to get steel to bend. Outer rack bent in one place, fell onto next lower floor ...
Ginger: egg crate construction. Lightweight perimeter tube design. Lightweight steel structure, vulnerable to pancakeing.

Ellen I can’t evaluate engineering issues. Have to trust experts. I trust Noam Chomsky to have evaluated these data.

~ End of Table Notes~

Hugs to everyone,
Ellen

Section Two: Events & Opportunities

Yoga Free at the Lloyd House

Weekly yoga practice session Wednesday mornings.
9:15 meditation
9:30-10:30 yoga exercises with Nina Tolley. However, Caveat! Nina insists I tell you that she is not a yoga teacher, only a student (though one with long experience) and cannot correct your postures or prevent injuring yourself.

In the third floor meditation room, “the Zendo”. Bring yoga mat; cushion or whatever for meditating.

Starting this Sunday there will be an open weekly Tai Chi practice session at the Lloyd House in the third floor zendo at 10:15 am. Everyone welcome.

Advertisement:


Beautiful and Charming, spacious first floor office space at the Lloyd House, fully furnished including bodywork table, chairs, love seat, rugs, armchairs, wood burning (gas ignited ) fireplace. Rookwood even. Available by the hour. Share waiting room. Powder room. Outside entry. Terms: contribute 20% of gross to the house. Call Ellen 221 1290

Ellen,

Here is the URL of an excellent, absolutely excellent, Folk radio station on the Internet, WUMB in Boston:
http://www.wumb.org/home/index.php <http://www.wumb.org/home/index.php>

I hope you like it enough to share, Howard Konicov

(See Tri-State Treasures, the compilation of cultural events by Jim Kesner, at the bottom of the entire weekly. It’s juicy! E.)

Section Three: Articles

Contents:

Call Senators to protest “Protect America Act”
Conspiracy to cover up 9/11 conspiracy? Scientific evidence re. WTO colllapse

(Fascinating dialog about the Protect America Act, S. 1959 since my call in last week’s Weekly. Some readers questioned whether this was a case of “crying wolf”, but I was persuaded in the end that it is a very real wolf, with sharp fangs and claws. Please check it out and call senators. Senators’ phone numbers available online. Or go to League of Women Voters webpage and send a canned email letter, or pen one yourself. Mine is below. Ellen)

From Jenefer Ellingston (our Green activist in D.C.):
Dear Ellen,
A note to say I saw the notice about H.R. 1955 (fascism unveiled) and it is now in the Senate as S. 1959.
The notice begs everyone to call/write their senators to kill this bill., so, I'm sure your group will do their share.
If the Senate refuses to kill the bill, then it's all over. I mean there is motive left to petition for or protest ...etc.
Otherwise, I hope life in the Salon and on the domestic level is still a stimulating, rewarding adventure.
I have lost the will to fight - no more protesting, lobbying, petitioning .... until next year.
Love,
Jenefer

From Shirley Reischman:
Hi Ellen,

It takes about three minutes to call the two senators. As soon as they answer, when you say you want them to vote against the bill, the ask for your zip code and that’s it. Whether you want to do it or not is up to you. I want to tell you a bit more about my reasoning.

If you care more for safety than for liberty, then you would consider this a good bill. For myself, I care more for liberty. I care a LOT about the bill of rights. Currently, raw milk has been made virtually illegal in California. In Maryland, parents were jailed for refusing to vaccinate their child. There are common homeopathic remedies, used world wide, that are now illegal to possess in the US. It is illegal in some states to treat cancer with anything other than surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. Parents of vaccine damaged children can no longer bring suit. Slowly but inexorably, our rights are being taken away from us. And we begin to think that this is normal. The deterioration has progressed at a much faster pace during the Bush administration than in prior administrations and particularly since 9/11. I studied what happened in Germany between WWI & WWII, the rise of Hitler, the loss of rights for Jews and other minorities. It didn’t happen all at once. It was a slow process. The people wanted to be safer, they wanted their jobs to be safer, they wanted someone else to blame their problems on. So we want to blame our problems on terrorists and be safe at the expense of our rights. I think it has to stop.

Yours,

Shirley
From shirley again: Hi Ellen,

Below is my concern with the bill.

Yours,

Shirley

-----Original Message-----
From: Shirley Reischman [mailto:jereisch@fuse.net]
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 12:16 AM
To: Clark Echols
Subject: RE: Urgent Action Required!!! S. 1959 - Free Speech - Terrorism and the U.S. Constitution.

I don’t trust their definition of violence. In fact they haven’t defined it at all. When a group meets to protest something, will they call that violence because they don’t like it and because, yes, sometimes groups do get unruly? Will people crossing picket lines be considered violent? Will an act of defiance be considered violent, like when we had to pass the sheriffs to get our raw milk last year when they were trying to stop the Schmitmeyer’s from packaging it?

Yours,

Shirley
on 12/5/07 4:27 PM, Shirley Reischman at jereisch@fuse.net wrote:

If you still had any doubts about the erosion of our liberty, this e-mail from the League of Women Voters, a non-partisan group, should be enough to convince anyone.

Yours,

Shirley

-----Original Message-----
From: League of Women Voters of the United States [mailto:lobbying@lwv.capwiz.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 2:29 PM
To: Shirley Reischman
Subject: ACTION ALERT: We Must Restore Civil Liberties

ACTION ALERT: We Must Restore Civil Liberties Earlier this year, Congress gave sweeping new surveillance powers to the Executive Branch, including widespread warrantless wiretapping of American citizens, in the so-called Protect America Act. Now, the Senate is poised to reconsider the Protect America Act. We must make sure that this legislation reinstates protections for civil liberties and reestablishes checks and balances in government. We need you to contact your Senators to insist that they vote to repeal the Protect America Act and to limit the ability of government agencies to obtain information about American citizens without the appropriate judicial constraints. Take action today to protect Americans against government spying programs! <http://capwiz.com/lwv/utr/1/DTKUHXSDVC/BHRPHXSSYJ/1595807696> The Protect America Act was rushed through Congress earlier this year with little public debate. It is critical that the Senate pass legislation that reinstates needed checks and balances. This legislation must ensure that government agencies obtain individual warrants before wiretapping the communications of American citizens and not provide retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that have provided government agencies with information on their customer's records. Send a message to your Senators to urge them to vote to repeal the Protect America Act. <http://capwiz.com/lwv/utr/1/DTKUHXSDVC/IZVVHXSSYK/1595807696> TAKE ACTION <http://capwiz.com/lwv/utr/1/DTKUHXSDVC/GDIKHXSSYL/1595807696> 1. Contact your Senators now <http://capwiz.com/lwv/utr/1/DTKUHXSDVC/FAXHHXSSYM/1595807696> , by phone or by email, and tell them to repeal the Protect America Act. Tell them that widespread warrantless wiretapping of Americans is unacceptable in a democracy and any legislation to reform the Protect America Act must clearly state that the government must obtain an individual warrant when it wiretaps the communications of American citizens. Tell your Senators that Congress must also guard against providing retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that have provided government agencies with information on their customer's records. 2. Send this alert to other concerned citizens in your state - your grassroots network, your friends and coworkers. Encourage them to contact their Senators today! BACKGROUND Learn more <http://capwiz.com/lwv/utr/1/DTKUHXSDVC/LKMJHXSSYN/1595807696> about what the League has done to protect civil liberties. Sign up to receive <http://capwiz.com/lwv/utr/1/DTKUHXSDVC/KAJVHXSSYO/1595807696> Action Alerts directly by email. Don't miss an opportunity to take action! It's easy to sign up and the League will never share your email with others: http://takeaction.lwv.org/lwv/mlm/signup/ <http://capwiz.com/lwv/utr/1/DTKUHXSDVC/IBRIHXSSYP/1595807696> . For additional information, please contact LWVUS Grassroots Lobbyist Christina Vamvas at lobbying@lwv.org.

League of Women Voters

My letter emailed to Senators V. and B. today:
I am alarmed at the erosion of our civil liberties in the Protect America Act. Please vote to repeal the Protect America Act. We should have no wiretapping without individual warrants. Doesn't this remind everyone of "1984"? We must not become a police state out of fear of terrorists. Sincerely, Ellen Bierhorst

Senator Brown’s reply:
Dear Ms. Bierhorst:

Thank you for expressing your views on the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program.

In December of 2005 it was first reported that President Bush had authorized the NSA to monitor communication between U.S. citizens and terrorist suspects outside the United States without first obtaining a warrant. Serious questions arose about the legality of this program and its compliance with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA).

Congress recently passed revisions to FISA expanding the authority of the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence to conduct surveillance of foreign targets. Under this legislation, which I opposed, the administration is permitted to conduct surveillance on individuals overseas, including American citizens, without a warrant. Upon initiation of surveillance, the administration has 120 days to submit information to the FISA court on measures used to select targets; however, the court’s review is limited to determining whether the government followed its own procedures. This legislation expires in 180 days, at which point it would require congressional reauthorization.

While I agree that developments in technology require some modifications in our intelligence laws, this legislation overreaches and infringes dangerously on the basic rights of American citizens. The United States needs to ensure that its citizens are safe and secure, but the administration has provided little evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of the surveillance program and the necessity for such an assault on our civil liberties. As congress considers further revisions to FISA, I will certainly keep your views in mind.

Thank you again for contacting me.

Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown

911 WTO COLLAPSE: IS THERE A CONSPIRACY TO HIDE SABBOTAGE?
(Ellen’s note: It is easy to be persuaded by compelling argument presented well in a movie like zeitgeist (zeitgeistmovie.com). If the argument seems to have a lot of detailed data and all hangs together, we tend to be persuaded. However, it is important to seek out the views of qualified experts. They can, of course, be wrong, however, they are in a much better position to evaluate engineering data, if they are engineers. I trust MIT engineers more than I trust the authors of Zeitgeist. Ellen)

Spencer’s summary: (BTW Spencer is an engineer.)
Short summary of the collapse of the Trade Center

A basic engineering assessment of the design of the World Trade Center dispels many of the myths about its collapse. First, the perimeter tube design of the towers protected them from failing upon impact. The outer columns were engineered to stiffen the towers in heavy wind, and they protected the inner core, which held the gravity load. Removal of some of the outer columns alone could not bring the building down. Furthermore, because of the stiffness of the perimeter design, it was impossible for the aircraft impact to topple the building.

However, the building was not able to withstand the intense heat of the jet fuel fire. While it was impossible for the fuel-rich, diffuse-flame fire to burn at a temperature high enough to melt the steel, its quick ignition and intense heat caused the steel to lose at least half its strength and to deform, causing buckling or crippling. This weakening and deformation caused a few floors to fall, while the weight of the stories above them crushed the floors below, initiating a domino collapse.

Excerpt from online article: WTC Collapse, Analysis found by Spencer
http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/0112/Eagar/Eagar-0112.html

..... “Many structural engineers believe that the weak points—the limiting factors on design allowables—were the angle clips that held the floor joists between the columns on the perimeter wall and the core structure (see Figure 5). With a 700 Pa floor design allowable, each floor should have been able to support approximately 1,300 t beyond its own weight. The total weight of each tower was about 500,000 t.

As the joists on one or two of the most heavily burned floors gave way and the outer box columns began to bow outward, the floors above them also fell. The floor below (with its 1,300 t design capacity) could not support the roughly 45,000 t of ten floors (or more) above crashing down on these angle clips. This started the domino effect that caused the buildings to collapse within ten seconds, hitting bottom with an estimated speed of 200 km per hour. If it had been free fall, with no restraint, the collapse would have only taken eight seconds and would have impacted at 300 km/h.1 It has been suggested that it was fortunate that the WTC did not tip over onto other buildings surrounding the area. There are several points that should be made. First, the building is not solid; it is 95 percent air and, hence, can implode onto itself. Second, there is no lateral load, even the impact of a speeding aircraft, which is sufficient to move the center of gravity one hundred feet to the side such that it is not within the base footprint of the structure. Third, given the near free-fall collapse, there was insufficient time for portions to attain significant lateral velocity. To summarize all of these points, a 500,000 t structure has too much inertia to fall in any direction other than nearly straight down.”

... EXCEEDINGLY WELL DOCUMENTED., see below..(ellen)
1. Presentation on WTC Collapse, Civil Engineering Department, MIT, Cambridge, MA (October 3, 2001).
2. D. Drysdale, An Introduction to Fire Dynamics (New York: Wiley Interscience, 1985), pp. 134–140.
3. A.E. Cote, ed., Fire Protection Handbook 17th Edition (Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 1992), pp. 10–67.
4. A.E. Cote, ed., Fire Protection Handbook 17th Edition (Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association, 1992), pp. 6-62 to 6-70.
5. Steven Ashley, “When the Twin Towers Fell,” Scientific American Online (October 9, 2001); www.sciam.com/explorations/2001/100901wtc/
6. Zdenek P. Bazant and Yong Zhou, “Why Did the World Trade Center Collapse?—Simple Analysis,” J. Engineering Mechanics ASCE, (September 28, 2001), also www.tam.uiuc.edu/news/200109wtc/
7. Timothy Wilkinson, “World Trade Centre–New York—Some Engineering Aspects” (October 25, 2001), Univ. Sydney, Department of Civil Engineering; www.civil.usyd.edu.au/wtc.htm.
8. G. Charles Clifton, “Collapse of the World Trade Centers,” CAD Headlines, tenlinks.com (October 8, 2001); www.tenlinks.com/NEWS/special/wtc/clifton/p1.htm.

Thomas W. Eagar, the Thomas Lord Professor of Materials Engineering and Engineering Systems, and Christopher Musso, graduate research student, are at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For more information, contact T.W. Eagar, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 4-136, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4301; (617) 253-3229; fax (617) 252-1773; e-mail tweagar@mit.edu.

Section Four: Books/Movies/Magazines/Reviews
...................................

Come on... send me names of books and stuff you are enjoying. ellen
Terry Pratchett has a new one! “Making Money”, staring Moist VonLipwig. Hillarious and also trenchant social commentary, this time about our banking and monetary system.
Ellen

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Tri-State Treasures

Tri-State Treasures is a compilation of unique local people, places, and events that may enrich your lives. These treasures have been submitted by you and others who value supporting quality community offerings. Please consider supporting these treasures, and distributing the information for others to enjoy. And please continue to forward your Tri-State Treasures ideas to jkesner@nuvox.net.

Information about Tri-State Treasures and how to submit Tri-State Treasures is at the bottom of this email. Please help me by providing all basic information, and formatting your submissions as described below. Thank you.

Sincerely, Jim

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Seeking Dynamic Nonagenarians: Are you an active person in your 90s? Connie Springer is a writer/photographer who has received a Cincinnati Individual Artist's grant to chronicle the experiences of active nonagenarians in narrative & photos. The project will be exhibited in 2008 & hopefully published as a book. She is especially seeking people of color to interview. You will receive free photographs of yourself & will have total editorial control over what is published. Contact Connie Springer @ 513.871.1677 & larkspur@fuse.net.

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Revered Buddhist Teacher Visits Local Monasteries [thru Sunday 16 December]: Experience the dharma festival during the Tsongkhapa day month with teachings from Kyabje Yongyal Rinpoche, a revered Gaden lineage teacher. All teachings are free; donations are appreciated. Kyabje Yongyal Rinpoche was born in Tibet in 1948 & is recognized as the 4th reincarnation of Kyabje Yongyal Rinpoche. He has studied the 5 major sciences (Buddhist philosophical studies) & received his Geshe Lharampa degree (doctorate of divinity). Rinpoche has completed all his tantric studies, retreats, & is a living treasure vase of the wisdom of the Ganden Oral Transmission Lineage. He has shared his teachings around the world. Teachings: Dependant Origination by Je Tsongkhapa [Fri 30 Nov @ 7 PM @ Cincinnati GSL]; Vajrasattva Empowerment [Sat 1 Dec @ 2 PM @ Cincinnati GSL]; Teachings on Vajrasattva Meditation Practice [Sun 2 Dec @ 10 AM - 4:30 PM @ Cincinnati GSL]; Tsongkhapa Day (Tsog & Offering of Light) [Tue 4 Dec @ 7 PM @ Bloomington DGTL]; Mind Training in 7 Points [Fri 7 Dec @ 7 PM @ Bloomington DGTL]; Grand Initiation of Secret Hayagriva: Actual Initiation [Sun 9 Dec @ 2 PM @ Bloomington DGTL]; Longlife Offering (Tenshug) to Kyabje Yongyal Rinpoche [Sun 16 Dec @ 9 AM @ Bloomington DGTL]. At GSL Buddhist Monastery, 3046 Pavlova Drive, Cincinnati OH 45251 & DGTL Buddhist Monastery, 102 Clubhouse Drive, Bloomington IN 47404. More info @ 513.385.7116, 812.339.0857, gsl@ganden.org, www.ganden.org, & www.gadenusa.org.

The Coming of the Light: Grailville’s Crèche Exhibit Opening & Art Project Workshop [thru Thursday 20 December; specific times & dates below]: Mark the 1st Sunday of Advent, Sunday 2 December, with the opening of the 2007 International Crèche Exhibit, Grailville's unique collection of over 50 Nativity scenes from around the world, including those by internationally known sculptor Trina Paulus. The opening celebration will be @ 2-4 PM to include songs, readings, & a family art project. RSVP & materials donation requested. The Advent season continues with Grailville's Crèche Luncheon Series on Tuesday-Friday 11-14 December & Tuesday-Thursday 18-20 December; additional days may be available for groups of 35 or more. A delicious holiday luncheon will be followed by a short presentation on the origin of the Nativity scene & the history & background of many of the Nativity sets in the Grailville International Crèche Collection. The cost for a luncheon is $15 per person; advanced reservations required. The Crèche Exhibit is open to the public at other times by appointment. At Grailville, 932 O'Bannonville Road, Loveland, OH 45140. More info & RSVP @ 513.683.2340, grailville@fuse.net, & www.grailville.org.

A Treasure in Auschwitz - Film & Discussion [Thursday 6 December @ 7 PM]: Young Israeli Yariv Nornberg discovers the lively Jewish community that once existed in the town of Oscweicim, located outside of Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Yariv travels to Poland in search of treasure buried in the town, but ends up excavating much more about the town & his people's vibrant heritage. A poetic documentation of the importance of remembrance & discovery. After the film, teens from Netanya & Cincinnati, who traveled together on the Partnership 2000 Jewish Experience in Israel & Poland this past summer, will reflect on their journey of remembrance & discovery, sharing the emotions, insights, & connections they made to each other, their Jewish heritage, & the State of Israel. Free. Filmed in Israel & Poland; 55 minutes; produced in Israel; in English, Hebrew, & Polish, with English subtitles. In partnership with the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Israeli Film Festival & The Center for Holocaust & Humanity Education. In Mayerson Hall, Hebrew Union College, 3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45220. More info @ 513.487.3055, chhe@huc.edu, & www.holocaustandhumanity.org/chhe_calendar.html.

Cincinnati Metropolitan Orchestra Holiday Concert [Thursday 6 December @ 7 PM]: The Cincinnati Metropolitan Orchestra partners with the CMO vocal ensemble to perform a variety of Holiday Music, popular, traditional, & unusual. Admission is free. Seton Performance Hall, 3901 Glenway Avenue, Price Hill, Cincinnati, OH 45205. Well lit parking garage & lots attached. More info @ 513.941.8956, ndawley@msn.com, & www.GOCMO.org.

Tracy Walker, Alexis Antes & Chris Collier in Concert [Thursday 6 December @ 8 PM]: Catch these 3 fabulous singer/songwriters performing their in-the-round concert as they share their songs, stories, & have fun with each other on stage. Presented by Womens Way. At Molly Malones, 112 East 4th Street, Covington, KY 41011. More info @ 859.491.6659, womensway@fuse.net, & www.mollymalonesirishpub.com.

Holiday ART Market & Covington 1st Friday Gallery Hop [Friday 7 December @ 6-10 PM]: Get into the holiday spirit; shop for unique, unusual gifts of original art by 26 artists offering decorative artwork, pottery, handcrafted jewelry, glass sculpture, handmade cards, homemade soaps & lotions, photography, & more. Featuring live music by Mark & Teresa Turpin & a Holiday Wine Bar & hors d’oeurves. Also, take a complimentary carriage ride or the Magic Bus to the Covington First Friday Gallery Hop in MainStrasse Village. Park on the street or in the City Garage at 7th Street below Madison Avenue. In the Passionate Arts Center, 31-33 West Pike Street (between Washington & Madison Avenues), Downtown Covington, KY. More info @ mburke@fuse.net & www.covingtonartmerchants.com.

Black Nativity [Friday-Sunday 7-9 December @ 7:30 PM (Fri), 2 & 7:30 PM (Sat), & 4 PM (Sun)]: From the poetry of Langston Hughes & one of his most spiritual pieces, this musical is a legendary Christmas event to the world. Enjoy vibrant new costuming, beautiful pageantry, exhilarating choreographed numbers, heart touching & soulful singing, new dramatic scenes, & much more. A message of hope to all. Presented by Cincinnati Black Theatre Company, directed by Don Sherman. Tickets: $20; group rates available. At College of Mount Saint Joseph, 5701 Delhi Road, Cincinnati, OH 45233. More info @ 513.241.6060, dsherman@cincyblacktheatre.com, & www.cincyblacktheatre.com.

The Wild & Wacky World of Singing & Performing [Saturday 8 December @ 10 AM]: Opera singers never use microphones, have to sing over full orchestras, & still fill opera houses & music halls with music night after night. Ever wondered how they do it? Jill Dew will talk about this & more, dispelling myths & misconceptions about singing. (How do you sing from the diaphragm, anyway?) Peppered with interesting anecdotes about performing & maybe even a small presentation to boot. Jill has a Bachelor of Music & Bachelor of Arts from U. of Tennessee, & a Master of Music in Opera from UC-CCM. She apprenticed with the Michigan Opera Theatre & has sung in Eastern Europe with the Cincinnati Camerata & Cincinnati International Chorus. She has performed with the Cincinnati Opera Company, the Louisville International Choral & the Chattanooga Opera. She has given numerous recitals on stage & television, & has taught voice for 18 years including 7 years at UC-CCM Preparatory Department. Free. Presented by Association for Rational Thought. Molly Malone’s Restaurant, 6111 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, OH 45213. More info @ rrdavis@fuse.net & www.cincinnatiskeptics.org.

Fantastic Picture Frame Holiday Sale [Saturday 8 December @ 10 AM – 3 PM]: A special treasure for artists & picture-framing enthusiasts: museum-quality picture frame 2nds at low prices from the Castner Picture Frame Company in Cincinnati, the 2nd oldest picture frame company in America - since 1882. The frames are unique & all sizes. Hundreds of classic Castner frame designs. Gold & silver leaf (1940-2006). Mostly frame 2nds; unique & beautiful. Over 400 wooden picture frames, cut & joined in standard sizes, ready for an artist unique finishing. Prices from $10-$100. You'll be amazed. Dress in comfortable attire; please pardon their dust; gloves will be provided. One day only or by appointment; cash & carry only, please. At Castner Picture Frame Company, 2135 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45214 (The Mohawk Brighton Bldg @ Central Parkway & Linn Street). More info @ 513.235.8316, lmc1882@aol.com, & www.Castner1882.com.

Holiday Open House at Highlands Nature Sanctuary [Saturday 8 December @ 1-4 PM]: Travel over the river & through the woods to the enchanting forest destination of the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, about 17 miles east of Hillsboro, OH, off U.S. Route 50. Walk the wintry landscape of the Etawah Woods Trail; explore the Appalachian Forest Museum; view the cedar-clad cliffs of the Rocky Fork Canyon; watch a short nature slide essay & enjoy the sounds of live flute music by Janice Trytten; children are invited to craft their own natural holiday ornament; tour the sanctuary's 3 overnight lodges for refreshments & children's holiday activities. More info & directions @ 937.365.1935, arc.of.appalachia@sbcglobal.net, & www.highlandssanctuary.org.

Holiday Jubilee [Saturdays 8 & 15 December @ 11AM-3:30PM & Sunday 16 December @ Noon-4PM]: Holiday Jubilee returns with holiday music by school choirs, church choirs, orchestras, jazz bands, dance troupes, & ensembles from all over the Greater Cincinnati area. Presented by Pampers. In the Grand Hall, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.333.7500, ETurner@nurfc.org, & www.freedomcenter.org.

32nd Annual Memorial Hall Holiday Sale [Sunday 9 December @ Noon - 4 PM]: Nine nationally known artists will be selling ceramics, 18k loom-woven jewelry, batiks, hand-dyed silk clothing, wood-turned items, & handmade paper art & notecards.The show features pottery by Allan Nairn, Greg Seigel, Joyce Clancy & Mike Frasca who created the waterfall of ceramic books outside the main library. Also, batik art work & scarves by Arnelle Dow, wood-turned vases & sculptures by Bob Winland, loom-woven 18k gold jewelry by Stuart Golder who has work in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, hand-made paper art works by Margaret Rhein of Terrapin Paper Mill, & hand-painted silk clothing by Kymber Henson. Free admission, live music & refreshments. At Memorial Hall (next to Music Hall), 1225 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.662.9382.

Amahl & the Night Visitors [Sunday 9 December @ 7 PM]: One-act opera by Gian-Carlo Menotti. Directed by Dr. Eric DeForest & conducted by Dr. Patrick Coyle. Featuring Lauren Stieritz as Amahl & Laura Hoevenaar as The Mother. The 1st opera commissioned specifically for television, premiered on NBC Christmas Eve, 1951. Read more about the opera @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amahl_and_the_Night_Visitors. Free admission with a Free Will Offering to support the St. Paul Presents program. At St. Paul Community United Methodist Church, 8221 Miami Road, Cincinnati, OH 45243. More info @ PatrCoyle@aol.com.

Holiday Cookie Cook-Off & Tea Tasting [Sunday 9 December @ 3:30-5:30 PM]: Cookies & tea, what could be better? Share your holiday spirit in a festive, relaxed setting & help support a great cause. An esteemed panel of judges will crown one lucky cookie cooker as Cookie King/Queen at this cookie cook-off while everyone else drinks & eats the best of the best teas & cookies in town with friends, old & new. The winner will bask in the glory of Cookie King/Queen & win a $50 gift certificate to Essencha. Two runners-up will receive glass teapots & cups from Essencha. Essencha will donate half the proceeds of this event to ProKids (www.prokids.com), who train volunteers to become Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) to be assigned to a foster child to help the child's needs including to move into a safe, permanent, nurturing home. Cost is $20/person. Presented by & at Essencha Tea House & Fine Teas, 3212 Madison Road, Oakley, Cincinnati, OH 45209. More info & reservation @ 513.533.4832, tea@essencha.com, & www.essencha.com.

Christmas in America [Tuesday 11 December @ 7 PM]: Free Inquiry Group (FIG) presents Conrad Goeringer, who has researched the rise of Christmas in America. In the early years of the Colonies & the Founding Fathers, Christmas was generally ignored & not celebrated. Conrad will present a fact-based, Humanist perspective about the growing prominence of Christmas as a religious, civic, & commercial holiday. Free admission, free parking at The Manor. At the Vernon Manor Hotel, 400 Oak Street, Cincinnati, OH 45219. More info @ fignote@gofigger.org, www.gofigger.org, & www.vernonmanorhotel.com.

Book Signing at the Cincinnati Observatory [Tuesday 11 December @ 6-8 PM]: Renowned Cincinnati photographer Robert Flischel will offer & sign copies of his latest book “The University of Cincinnati | Architectural Transformation: Tradition & Innovation.” This gorgeous coffee-table book features 192 pages of photographs by Flischel showcasing the architectural history of the UC campuses including the Cincinnati Observatory. The Observatory will be open for tours, Q&A, & stargazing (weather permitting). Admission is free. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Observatory Center. The Cincinnati Observatory Center, 3489 Observatory Place, Cincinnati, OH 45208. More info @ 513.321.5186, Observatory@fuse.net, www.uc.edu/news/NR.asp?id=7433, & www.cincinnatiobservatory.org.

An Introduction to Homeopathy [Tuesday 11 December @ 6:30 PM]: Have you ever wondered “What is homeopathy & how does it work?” Now you can learn how to help your family & yourself with safe, natural & effective remedies in this fun & informative class. Presented by Shirley Reischman of the Center for Advanced Medicine. Love offering, & you must preregister. At Angelic Whispers Holistic Center, 11465 Springfield Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45246. More info & register @ 513.782.0101 & jereisch@fuse.net.

Essentials of Healthy Homes Practitioner Course [Tuesday-Wednesday 11-12 December @ 8 AM - 4:30 PM]: This training was developed to help you understand the connection between health & housing, & how to take a holistic approach to identify problems that threaten the health & well-being of residents. Course is free & lunch is provided both days. CEU's available in some disciplines. Sponsored by University of Cincinnati & the National Center for Healthy Housing. Location near downtown Cincinnati; address provided upon registration. More info @ 513.681.4995 & barbaraboylan@gmail.com, & www.healthyhomestraining.org.

Grace Episcopal Church Healing Service [Wednesday 12 December @ 6:30 PM]: The Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky community is invited to attend a Healing Service that uses African Drumming, Reiki, & traditional laying-on of hands. Healing Services will be held on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. At Grace Church, 5501 Hamilton Avenue, College Hill, Cincinnati, OH 45224. More info @ 513.541.2415, outreach@gracecollegehill.org, & http://gracecollegehill.org/.

Lebanon Symphony Orchestra & Chorus presents Handel's Messiah [Friday 14 December @ 8 PM & Sunday 16 December @ 4 PM]: Join the LSOC in the newly refurbished sanctuary of the Lebanon Presbyterian Church for the biennial tradition event that has earned the tri-state reputation as the Messiah performance you don't want to miss. Performed in it's entirety with soloists Marilyn Zelcer (Soprano), Laura Hoevenaar (Alto), Eric DeForest (Tenor), & Brent Turner (Bass). Limited seating; advanced purchase recommended, i.e., will sell out & tix go fast. Advance tix: $22.50 adults / $12 students; at the door: $25 adults / $15 students. At Lebanon Presbyterian Church, 123 North East Street, Lebanon, OH 45036. More info @ 513.228.0346 & www.musicinlebanon.com.

Manifest Art Opening Reception - 2 Exhibits [Friday 14 December @ 6-9 PM]: Trick of the Light: Contemporary Photography, guest curated by Dennis Kiel, Chief Curator, The Light Factory, Charlotte, NC. Artists were invited to submit recent photography-based work for an exhibit to reveal the power of light-based imagery to communicate, express, or evoke as visceral 1st-hand experience as any painting or sculpture exhibit might. Jury selection whittled 414 entries from 120 artists down to 15 works by 11 artists from 6 states & Japan. Funny Men: Illustrations by Ryan Ostrander & Gabriel Utasi. Two successful illustrators together for a tour-de-force exhibit of classic drawing-based illustration. Gabriel Utasi is staff illustrator at the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, AZ; Ryan Ostrander is full-time illustrator & graphic designer for The Cincinnati Post & has received awards from Scripps Howard News Service, AP Ohio, & named "Best Graphic Artist" 3 times by The Society of Professional Journalists. At Manifest Creative Research Gallery & Drawing Center, 2727 Woodburn Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45206. More info @ 513.861.3638, manifest@manifestgallery.org, & www.manifestgallery.org.

Redtree Gallery Art Opening [Friday 14 December @ 6 PM - 9 PM]: This show is based on the theme RED, open to each artist's interpretation. Live music, wine, & light refreshments. Exhibit runs from 5 January. At Redtree Gallery & Coffee Shop, 4409 Brazee Street, Oakley, OH 45209. More info @ 513.321.8733, mbusch@redtreegallery.net, & www.redtreegallery.net.

Marsapalooza: The Return of the Red Planet [Friday-Saturday 14-15 & 21-22 December @ 8 PM]: A two-weekend viewing extravaganza with nightly classes about Mars, tours of the buildings, & viewing through the historic telescopes (weather permitting). Reservations requires for nightly classes starting @ 8 PM. No reservations required for viewing; drop in between 8-11 PM. $5 per person. At the Cincinnati Observatory Center, 3489 Observatory Place, Cincinnati, OH 45208. More info @ 513.3221.5186, deanobservatory@zoomtown.com, & www.cincinnatiobservatory.org.

Christmas Music - The Irish Way [Sunday 16 December @ 2 PM]: The Riley School of Irish Music celebrates its 11th anniversary with “Peace & Merriment,”a free concert featuring traditional Irish & Celtic holiday music. Students & faculty of the School will perform on harps, fiddles, concertinas, flutes, bódhrans, mandolins, banjos, & guitars. Also participating will be members of local Celtic music groups including Silver Arm, Dark Moll, & Ceol Mhor. Refreshments will be served. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted for this fund-raiser for the school, a local non-profit org dedicated to teaching the art of traditional Irish music. At Columbia Baptist Church, 3718 Eastern Avenue, Columbia-Tusculum, Cincinnati, OH 45226. More info @ 513.871.4527, matyi@fuse.net, & www.RileyIrishMusic.com.

Cincinnati Observatory Holiday Open House & Mt. Lookout Luminaria [Sunday 16 December @ 6-9 PM]: Take in the lights of the heavens while driving thru the luminaria in Mt Lookout. Gaze at stars through the historic telescopes (weather permitting), enjoy tours of the buildings, buy unique gifts at the gift shop, savor coffee & hot chocolate courtesy of Lookout Joe’s. At the Cincinnati Observatory Center, 3489 Observatory Place, Cincinnati, OH 45208. More info @ 513.3221.5186, deanobservatory@zoomtown.com, & www.cincinnatiobservatory.org.

Ongoing Tri-State Treasures

A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie [thru December 31]: This is the 1st major traveling exhibit devoted to the transatlantic slave trade, focusing on the Henrietta Marie, the most complete slave ship ever discovered in the western hemisphere & the only one to be fully identified, recorded, archeologically examined & preserved. This exhibit examines the economic & social forces that drove the slave trade & provides insight into its impact on the material life & culture of Europe, Africa & the Americas. This exhibit uses artifacts & the ship’s records as touchstones for the entering the daily lives of the Africans on board, the seamen who manned the ship, & the traders who ran this notorious enterprise. National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati OH 45202. More info @ 513.333.7500, ETurner@nurfc.org, & www.freedomcenter.org.

Pure Movement Dance Class: All In One [Mondays @ 6:30-8 PM & Wednesdays @ 9:30-11 AM thru December]: “Motion is Life. Taste It. Feel It. Honor It.” Offering cardio aerobic based movement class supported by personal attention to individual alignment & exploration of authentic expression. All classes have a stretching & strengthening warm up that expands your range of motion. The class achieves a balance between dynamic arousal & meditative peace. Four consecutive classes @ $12 per class. Individual classes @ $20. Free introductory class with Fanchon Shur, Growth In Motion Inc. master teacher. At 4019 Red Bud Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229. More info @ 513.221.3222, fanchon@growthinmotion.org, & www.growthinmotion.org.

Documentary WORKS: Social Activist Documentaries of Barbara Wolf [Monday-Saturdays thru Thursday 24 January]: Films by local documentary filmmaker Barbara Wolf are screening during normal business hours as part of the film@mediabridges series. The films: "The Earth Covenant" describes a covenant being made between the peoples of the earth to take responsibility for the environment in the absence of comprehensive governmental action. "Peace March 2004" presents the Cincinnati protest as part of a larger national demonstration on the 1st anniversary of the US initiating bombing of Iraq. "Degrees Of Shame" examines the situation of adjunct (part-time) faculty teaching in America’s institutions of higher learning, suggesting they are the information economy’s migrant farm workers. "Know Theatre Corpus Christi Protests" documents protests outside the theatre during the play's entire run. "These Old Buildings Raised Our Many Children" was made in 1995 for & with long-term residents of Over-The-Rhine, looking at the effects of massive community redevelopment on their lives. "This Is My House" highlights transitional housing associated with the Drop Inn Center which was threatened by the proposed new SCPA. These films are presented by Media Bridges. Hours: Monday-Thursday: 8AM-9PM, Friday: 8AM-6PM, Saturday: 9AM-5PM. Free. In the At Media Bridges front lobby, 1100 Race Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.651.4171 & sara@mediabridges.org.

Julian's Stanczak Exhibition [thru 3 February 2008]: The exhibit of work by this internationally significant artist coincides with the unveiling of his design for Fifth Third Bank's 6th Street Façade facing the CAC. In addition to the models & preparatory drawings, a collection of Julian Stanczak's work from throughout his career provide a context for his newest monumental project. Polish-born Stanczak trained under Josef Albers & Conrad Marca-Relli at Yale University's School of Art & Architecture. He brought this background to the Art Academy of Cincinnati where he taught from 1957-1964. Stanczak's work is characterized by scientific precision & the illusion of pulsating motion. Using repeated line patterns, his work studies the optical behavior of colors in close proximity to each other. His work earned him the moniker "Father of Op Art." At Contemporary Art Center, 44 East 6th Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. More info @ 513.345.8400, pr@cacmail.org, & www.contemporaryartscenter.org.

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption Concert Series [Intermittent Sundays thru 9 March 2008 @ 3 PM]: The Series presents instrumental & choral music from the rich traditions of western liturgy & inspired classical music, presented in a suitable visual & acoustic environment. Donations support all series expenses & costs to preserve the Historic Matthias Schwab Organ (1859). In other words, the Cathedral Concert Series combines music of extraordinary range & quality in arguably the region's most magnificent space. Concerts include Musica Sacra Chorus & Orchestra, Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, Advent Festival of Lessons & Carols, An Epiphany Epilogue, Concert in Memory of Dr. Louis Schwab, & JS Bach's 323rd Birthday. At St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, 1140 Madison Avenue, Covington, KY 41011. More info @ 859-431-2060, timbrel@fuse.net, & www.cathedralconcertseries.org.

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Tri-State Treasures is compiled by James Kesner.

— Submit Tri-State Treasures, or request your email address to be added or removed from the list by sending an email to jkesner@nuvox.net; specify "Tri-State Treasures."

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— Please help me by submitting your Tri-State Treasure in the following format:
Brief Title of the Treasure [date @ time]: Brief description of the treasure; what is it; why is it wonderful & unique. Cost. Sponsor. Location including address & zip code. More info @ telephone, email, & website.
A Fictitious Example:
Fabulous Film Festival [Friday 3 May @ 8 PM]: The first & best fabulous film festival in the city of Cincinnati will present live-action, documentary, & short films. Blah, blah, blah. Presented by Flicks R Us. Tickets are $8. At The Theatre, 111 Main Street, Cincinnati, OH 45200. More info @ 513.111.2222, info@filmfestival.com, & www.filmfestival.com.