CAUSE OF TIGER WOODS’ CRASH LIKELY SOLVED
The cause of Tiger Woods’ car crash may have been identified. Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced Wednesday that Woods was traveling 82 mph in a 45 mph zone at the time of the crash that left Woods with multiple injuries. Because of the absence of any evidence of breaking at the scene of the accident it is also uncertain whether Woods was even awake at the time of the accident. Fortunately, the crash was a single-vehicle one, and no one other than Woods was hurt. The accident, however, is not the first in Woods’ troubled driving history. In 2009, Woods was involved in a motor vehicle collision with his 1997 Escalade where he crashed into a fire hydrant at 2:30 am. The crash came two days after the National Enquirer published a story about an affair Woods was having with a New York night club hostess. According to Villanueva, Woods will not be given a citation, nor was blood sample obtained for drug testing at the scene. Woods is 44 years old.
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Yellen Advocates for A Uniform Global Corporate Tax Rate
by Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D. In one of its most open embraces of globalism, the Biden Pseudo-Administration advocated, through its Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, for a global minimum corporate tax rate. The suggestion is among the most offensive, arrogant expressions of elitism and superiority by the new administration and should be scornfully received by all nations. By what authority, one may ask, does the United States believe it may dictate what another independent sovereign ought to be forcing its corporations to pay? The answer is by none, really, other than a falsely vested self-imposed authority to bully other countries. In reality, Yellen's comments are not some altruistic, sacrificial recommendation meant to elevate the state of humanity. Quite the contrary. What Yellen wishes to avoid, in her words, is the "race to the bottom." Stated differently, the only thing in which Yellen is interested is implementing some buffer to the dire consequences of a power hungry country like a United States run by the Democrat Party raising its corporate tax rate above those of other nations. In the world of Biden, there is a great impetus to increase America's corporate tax rates, despite knowing that doing so could lead to a productivity efflux. If the United States could obnoxiously place a minimum tax rate on other nations, then those corporations considering leaving America in response to Biden's draconian actions would have nowhere to run. The result would be more power for the federal government and less economic freedoms for citizens throughout the globe. On her behalf, Yellen entices her listeners by euphemistically saying, "Together we can use a global minimum tax to make sure the global economy thrives based on a more level playing field in the taxation of multinational corporations, and spurs innovation, growth, and prosperity," Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. In point of fact, few things are more destructive to the innovative spirit than the syphoning of wealth from those motivated to pursue it. On the flip side, other nations would be foolhardy to accept such a proposal. Why would Ireland, Australia, Israel, and others feel motivated to discontinue their greatest leverage against the great American behemoth? Yellen is fooling no one with her self-centered, expansive attempts at manipulating world governments. Those who oppose her see her as the money-hoarding zealot she is. Those that don't merely wish to join her in her quest to increase government authority and limit individual freedom, all of which seems to be a very heavy price to pay merely to succumb to the false promise of building an extra bridge. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com. ![]() The Shroud of Turin. by Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D. In 1899, a photographer named Secondo Pia stood before a long strip of linen cloth in Turin. It was the first time anyone had been allowed to take a photograph of what tradition held was the Shroud in which Jesus was buried. Both the family and the Church were rightfully protective of the cloth. It had a continuous history dating back to 1353 when it appeared in Liery, France. Since then, the cloth had been through some challenges, having survived a fire in 1532 and being bartered. Now, at the cusps of the arrival of the twentieth century, Pia was about to cover his head in his own dark cloth, stand behind a wooden box, and squeeze a trigger. The Shroud's Long and Incompletely Resolved History The moment was no less significant for the Shroud, for it would forever change the way it was perceived. Moreover, the arrival of advanced scientific techniques would send it into a new level of interaction with human culture. The year 1898 happened to also be the 400th anniversary of the Turin Cathedral. In celebration, King Umberto I of Italy arranged for the public viewing of the House of Savoy's mysterious shroud. Pia was not only an amateur photographer, but he was also a lawyer and a member of Turin's city council. On May 25, 1898, he snapped the first picture in one of the first occasions when an electric light bulb was used in taking a photograph. He even returned three days later to take more. But it wasn't until he worked on developing the plates that everything changed. The image on the Shroud was actually a negative!! As it turns out when the film was developed, the negative turned out to be a positive image of a bearded man, with a harrowing number of penetrating injuries. The understanding and perception of our Lord Jesus Christ and what he went through, while dying, instantly morphed while the forces of cynicism and doubt rallied to destroy what was now, for the first time, being recognized. The documentation of the Shroud dates back to the Gospels of Luke and John who describe its presence in Jesus's abandoned tomb on Easter Sunday. All the gospels agree that the Shroud was obtained by Joseph of Arimathea, the Jewish city councilman and secret follower of Jesus, who convinced Pontius Pilate to allow him to take possession of Jesus's body after he died on the cross. All four Gospels also agree that Joseph took the body to the tomb and wrapped it in a linen cloth. According to Mark, the linen cloth was one that Joseph himself had purchased. The synoptic gospels tell that Jesus's body was never properly prepared with oils and spices as was the Jewish burial custom due to the absence of time. Instead, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went home on Friday afternoon to prepare the oils for application on Sunday since Saturday was a day of rest. John's version differs in two significant details. First, in John's Gospel, Joseph takes Jesus's body to the tomb with the Centurion Nicodemus where they actually apply the oils and spices in accordance with Jewish traditions. Also, although John does not specifically say that Joseph applied a cloth to cover the head, his is the only gospel that reports the presence of the cloth that covered the head "rolled up in a separate place." Jn. 20:7. As we have touched upon previously, shortly after Jesus's death and resurrection, the Jews suffered a colossal torment at the hands of the Romans when they rebelled against the Roman Empire. The Christian population, having been forewarned by Jesus himself, fled Jerusalem, sparing the young faith. The Christians took with them many of the early relics. It is likely the Shroud was amongst these. The Shroud's next possible appearance is in Edessa where it may have been taken by Thaddeus to Abgar, the king, to treat his leprosy. According to the accounts by Eusebius, Abgar (also "Apgarus") was overwhelmed by a vision of a face. The language used by Eusebius and in the Acts of Thaddeus is less than definitive, but it should be noted that the Eastern tradition maintains that Apgar used the likeness of Jesus to wipe himself and be cured.
It appears that the Shroud was displayed in Edessa (500 A.D.) and Constantinople in 1092 A.D. before being venerated by King Louis VII in Constantinople in 1147. The Shroud next appears in Lirey, France, brought there by the French knight, Geoffroi de Charny. There is no information on how he got it or from where he got it, but by 1357, we have the first public exposition of the Shroud, likely at the Cathedral of Lirey. In 1453, Sir Charny's granddaughter, Margaret de Charny, sold the Shroud to the royal House of Savoy for two castles. She was excommunicated for her act. The House of Savoy placed the shroud in the Sainte-Chapelle in Chambéry in 1502 where thirty years later a fire broke out such that it melted the silver reliquary where the Shroud was kept. The Shroud still keeps its watermarks from the efforts at putting out the fire and the patches that were subsequently installed by a group of nuns. In 1578, it was moved to St. John the Baptist Church in Turin where it has remained ever since and where it rested at the Church’s 400 year anniversary in 1898 when it was first photographed by Pia.
The world's curiosity was instantly piqued. Was this the actual image of Jesus Christ, post-crucifixion? The VP-8 images are what stirred up the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) in 1977 from which samples were obtained and further examinations performed.
Then, in 1988, scientific disaster struck. A small fragment of the cloth was sent to the University of Oxford, the University of Zurich and the University Arizona at Tucson where scientists at each facility carbon dated some of the fibers taken from one of the corners of the Shroud. Each institution used some of the material for carbon dating and kept the excess. Each center arrived at a similar conclusion. The Shroud of Turin, in their estimation, was a medieval forgery, as they dated the Shroud at 691 ± 31 years, correlating to an origination date span of 1273 - 1288 AD with 68% confidence, or 1262-1384 A.D. with 95% confidence. The announcement was a devastating blow not only to the belief in the authenticity of the Shroud, but also to the momentum that had been gained in advancing its studies. Despite the setback a pair of non-scientists, Joe Marino, a librarian, and Sue Benson demonstrated that the area used for the carbon-14 dating was actually one where a repair had been performed using a method known as invisible reweaving in the 1500s. Ray Rogers, one of the original members of STURP was in an excellent position to demonstrate whether the Marino's and Benson's findings were correct as he was in possession of threads from a nearby section of the Shroud. Amazingly, he found that the sample he had was composed of both linen fibers (the original) and cotton (medieval repair material). He immediately called the laboratory in Tucson where he found that their fibers also were composed of intermingled material that had also been dyed to match the color of the original cloth. According to Rogers, the fibers were taken "from the worst possible place you could had sampled." The carbon dating was wrong because it measured material from the first century A.D. along with material from the sixteenth century! The result was an answer that incorrectly placed the Shroud as a medieval product, when in fact it was not. Since then other age analysis tests have been performed. FT-IR/ATR Raman spectroscopy place the shroud at 300 B.C. +/- 400 years with a 60% confidence and 200 B.C. +/- 500 years with a confidence level of 95%. Further, mechanical analysis based on calibrations with similar samples of known ages places the Shroud at 400 A.D. +/- 400 years. Additionally, mass spectrometry proves that the carbon dating sample was not part of the main shroud. Further, tests performed by Ray Rogers relying on the slow conversion of vanillin from lignin place it at 1300 to 3000 years of age. More specifically, if the Shroud had been manufactured in the Middle Ages, there would have been vanillin in the samples, but in this shroud, there was none. The Shroud had to be older than the Middle Ages in contradiction to the carbon 14 findings. Christ's Passion. Thus far, we have only reviewed the material and historical characteristics of the Shroud. However, to link its substantive, forensic findings to the events surrounding Jesus's death and resurrection, we must first take into account what we know about the manner in which Christ died and the injuries he sustained. For this, we must look to the Bible. According to the Gospels, in around 33 A.D., during Passover, Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, was taken prisoner by the Jewish high priest, Caiaphas. All four Gospels agree that Jesus was treated harshly and violently. At one point, while still before Caiaphas, Jesus was struck in the face. Jesus is then taken to the Sanhedrin, which decides that he should be taken to Pontius Pilate for execution, since the Jews did not have the authority to kill a Jew. Pontius Pilate, who was not a Jew but a Roman Governor, tried Jesus, and despite his hesitation at executing the young man, capitulated and released him to be crucified. Interestingly the charge was changed before Pilate from the original one of blasphemy, which would not have merited crucifixion, to claiming to be king, which would. Also, as he appeared before Pilate, Jesus was forced to kneel and mocked. Matt 27:29. It was here that he was also struck repeatedly on the head with a reed. Matt 27:30. As was the standard procedure, Pilate had Jesus scourged prior to being crucified. Matt 27:26. The scourging was done not to kill him, but to weaken him. Under Roman custom, Jesus would have been scourged 40 times with two whips handled by two men. Each whip had three balls with spikes, thus creating three wounds per whipping for a total of 120 marks. After being scourged, the Roman soldiers placed a crown of thorns upon Jesus's head that they had weaved. It is likely that the bush they used was Gundelia tournefortii. Moreover, this is the only example in history where a person of the time was crowned with thorns. Jesus was then forced to carry his cross, at least part of the way to the place he was to be crucified, Golgotha, The Place of the Skulls. At the time, the vertical beams for the crucifixes were permanent fixtures on the ground. It was the crossbeam, weighing between 50 and 100 pounds, that the victim would have to carry to his death. The beam was tied to the person's hands, and if more than one person was being led to Golgotha, their ankles were secured to each other so that they could not get away. Jesus likely was thus attached to the two criminals that died with him that day. When the crucified person was nailed to the cross, the upper extremity nails did not go through the palm. They went through the space between the radius and the ulna, severing the median nerve and forcing the thumb into flexion. The Bible does indeed state that Jesus was crucified through the hand, but in reality, the word at the time for hand was not as specific as the term we use today and would have included the hand, wrist, and distal forearm. We also know that in Jesus's case, the executioners wanted the crucified men dead by sundown since it was Passover. In order to accomplish this, a request was made to break the men's legs. Breaking the legs would make it impossible for the victim to push up to prevent from suffocating, and he would die faster. This indeed happened in the cases of the two criminals that were crucified along with Jesus. However, when the soldiers came to break Jesus's legs, they found that he was already dead. Consequently, Jesus's legs were not broken. Jn. 19:32-33. Instead, in order to make sure that he was dead, one soldier thrust his lance into Jesus's side from which spilled water and blood. Jn. 19:34. The Findings in the Shroud The forensic evaluation is remarkably consistent with the historical and biblical understanding of the events. First, the shroud is 14 x 3.5 feet in size, dimensions that are multiples of cubits, the units that would have been used in selling the linen in Jerusalem. The weave is a herringbone pattern typical of that employed in Jerusalem at the time, with a Z-twist. If the Shroud had been made in the middle ages, the weaving would have been done on a wheel producing a different pattern. Additionally, there is no paint, dye, or powder that produce the images. In fact, there is nothing that penetrates the fabric like one would see with a dye or paint. In contrast, the blood on the Shroud has soaked the fibers as would have been expected with a dye or paint. The colorations on the Shroud are best described as scorch marks so superficial and delicate that the taint does not even cross the portions of the threads that pass behind the more superficial threads. The color resides on each thread's surface to a thickness of about 0.2 mm. Significantly, the scorch marks are not present where there is a blood mark, meaning that the image had to have been created after the bloodstains. On the cloth, there are 24 samples of pollen from Jerusalem, Jordan, and the Sinai desert, the most of any region. There is a high density of the pollen from Gundelia tournefortii, which are the thorn bushes from which the crown of thorns is thought to be made. The thorns in the crown of thorns are three to four inches long, and shaped more like a cap. Amazingly, the same pollen is found in the Sudarium at Oviedo, the facial linen of Jesus. The shroud also has pollen from European and Turkish flora; areas where the Shroud is thought to have been. Also, like in the Sudarium, the blood on the Shroud has been found to be AB positive, XY chromosome, human blood. Also of interests, and somewhat more controversial, there appear to be coins in the eyes of the man. This is in keeping with the custom practiced by the Jews of placing coins in the eyelids of the dead in order to keep them closed. The coins appear to be Roman from around 29 and 30 A.D. In addition to the 120 whip marks correlating with 40 lashes Jesus would have received, there are large bloodstains on the feet with the left foot placed over the right, correlating to the manner in which the Romans would have nailed the person to the cross. As depicted in the Bible, Jesus's legs are not broken, but there is a large wound on the right side correlating with the point of penetration by the soldier's lance between the fourth and fifth rib. There are also abrasions at the ankles consistent with having been tied to other prisoners, and there are large abrasions at the knee consistent with a fall. Additionally, the face is swollen, and the nose appears to be broken, consistent with the blows Jesus received to his face and perhaps to injuries sustained during one of his falls. As predicted, Jesus's thumbs are adducted and disappear under the palm. And a couple more points. There are no smudge marks in the Shroud, as would be expected if someone handled the Shroud as the image was being formed, and there is no evidence of biological decay indicating the body was fresh while it was in the Shroud . How Was The Image Made? The mystery of the image of the Shroud includes not its historical whereabouts, but the manner in which it was made. Indeed, there is no man-made process, medieval or modern, by which the image in the Shroud could have been made. About the only reasonable explanation that could be espoused is that the image was the result of a radiation emission similar to those used in nuclear medicine scans and that the shroud was the equivalent of a radiation-imaging/detection device. Moreover, the three-dimensionality of the image could only have been produced if the Shroud were perfectly straight at the moment of the imaging and if it had actually gone through the energy source. Adding to this concept is the fact that there is no compression on the tissues in the back of the person, as if the image had been taken when the body was floating, or hovering, above a surface. The reality is that such an intricate image could not have possibly been made by any artisan, modern or medieval. The Shroud's image was likely the footprint of a sudden, intense, energy outburst. Nevertheless, to this day, the Church has neither acknowledged nor dismissed the authenticity of the Shroud's image. The fact is that neither Christianity nor a belief in Jesus Christ is dependent on the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. If it truly is the product of Christ's resurrection, then it is a wonderful addition to a beautiful faith and an object that perhaps like no other, brings one closer to the humiliation and pain voluntarily suffered by God to save us from our sins and to gift to us the opportunity for our salvation. For the scientist, it will continue to serve as a scaffold from which to understand the physics and history behind the greatest miracle in history. More importantly, if the Shroud is an authentic imprint of Jesus's resurrection, then it is obviously a palpable reminder sent to us by God as a gift that would transcend time to silently remind us of the days when the word became flesh and dwelt among us simply so that we may be saved. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Click here to visit The Federalist Pages News. Second Doctor Appears in a Public Venue From the Operating Room
by Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D. In what is starting to be a trend amongst plastic surgeons, a second doctor appeared in a public venue via Zoom from the operating room. This time the incident took place twice in Maryland, involving the same plastic surgeon, who was also a state legislator. Earlier this month, The Federalist Pages reported on a plastic surgeon in California who appeared in traffic court to respond to his traffic ticket violation while in the operating room via Zoom. On that occasion, the surgeon's appearance was particularly striking since he raised his blood-covered, gloved hand as he was being sworn in. The judge terminated the hearing upon realizing the situation under which the surgeon was participating. This latest case involves Dr. Terri Hill, a plastic surgeon and member of the Maryland House of Delegates, who Zoomed into a legislative committee meeting on two separate occasions. Her actions triggered a complaint from Dr. Alan L. Robin a retired ophthalmologist and Executive Vice President of the American Glaucoma Society who stated he was "outraged and appalled" by Dr. Hill's conduct. Although the appearance may look outrageous at first glance, the issue is not as clear cut as it might seem at first blush, as explained previously by this outlet. In the California case, the surgeon was scrubbed in with his fellow, who was also a licensed surgeon. When he stepped away from the operating room table, he left the patient in his fellow's capable hands. From a medical regulatory standpoint, it would be difficult to see how the plastic surgeon's Board would punish him without being forced to punish all other attending surgeons who commonly and routinely leave their patients' care in the hands of their fellows or residents. In fact, in the California case, the judge has much greater standing for reprimanding the physician due to his conduct before the judge than the Board has for breaching some medical ethics rule. Dr. Hill's case is different in that there is no information regarding the other personnel in the room. Whether or not there was a fellow, resident, or appropriately trained personnel is lacking in the information uncovered by The Federalist Pages. Additionally, being that Dr. Hill is a legislator, the political motivations of the complainant, if any, must also be addressed. Once again, it may be more likely that the doctor erred more in her duties to the legislature than she did to her patient depending on the assets she had available at the time. Regardless, there is one thing that is becoming recurrently clear amidst the trickle of cases that are materializing involving Zoom habits. Appearing before a public meeting when one is in the operating room is a stupid idea. Whether one, as a surgeon, has all bases covered and there is absolutely no negative consequence to the patient is completely irrelevant. Take my advice: Just say no to Zooming from the operating room! Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Click Here to Go to thefederalistpages/news and View More Articles. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com. ![]() Nike: "Just Stop the Satan Shoe" by Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D. To be clear, I stopped buying Nike years ago. Their promotion of offensive campaigns encouraging kneeling during The National Anthem, their hiring of Colin Kaepernick to serve as the face of one of its campaigns, their compliance with Kaepernick's demands that the Betsy Ross tennis shoe be pulled honoring one of the nation's great female figures, and their continued association with China while hypocritically claiming to care about human rights injustices have been so offensive that I really don't want anything to do with the company. But when the record needs to be set straight. . . On Monday, Nike sued MSCHF, Inc., a company that has undertaken the design, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of exactly 666 pairs of "Satan Shoes." The shoes are modified Nike Air Max 97s. According to the complaint, the shoes were modified to include "60CC INK and 1 DROP HUMAN BLOOD." Nike further claims that the changes were undertaken without its consent or participation. Nike claims that the actions by MSCHF, which it undertook in partnership with Lil San X, have caused damage to its brand (presumably beyond the damage Nike caused itself by engaging in the previously described offensive campaigns). The case, unique in its distastefulness, appears to be a fairly straightforward one of patent infringement and wickedness on the part of MSCHF and Lil San X, except for the issue of football. Yes, football. It appears that Nike seems to be quite concerned when someone like MSCHF and Lil San X works to defile its brand, but Nike cared very little when its own efforts corrupted the brand of another. Yes, Nike did not engage in patent infringement against the NFL, but the actions it took in support of NFL players while they promoted kneeling before the flag during the playing of the National Anthem was every much an intrusion on the NFL's brand; just like MSCHF's actions were against Nike. The misplaced political activism on the part of the players cost the NFL millions of viewers and at least $30 million in 2017 alone, an assault from which the NFL has not yet recovered. The case of Nike v. MSCHF demonstrates a number of things. Patent infringement. Moral apathy. The disregard of, and disdain towards, human life the Left inherently harbors. . . Oh yes, and one more thing: It's interesting how one reacts when forced to walk in another's shoes. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com. ![]() Boulder Colorado Gunman Purchased His Gun Legally by Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D. Al Aliwi Alissa, the Boulder Colorado gunman bought his gun legally after passing a background check said the owner of the Eagles Nest Armory, where the Syrian born gunman purchased the weapon. The 21-year-old apparently purchased an AR-556 pistol, "which resembles an AR-15 rifle," (emphasis added) The Denver Post is reporting. Alissa also carried a 9 mm handgun that he apparently did not use. The Denver Post also reports that Alissi had a criminal record consisting of a misdemeanor assault, which does not disqualify him from purchasing a weapon in Colorado. Alissa is facing ten counts of first-degree murder. The findings punch a hole on the Left's emphasis on gun control laws to prevent mass shootings. It also weakens their contention that AR-15s need to be outlawed in the United States. Taken to its logical conclusion, the Left's position would have to include outlawing gun sales to individuals with misdemeanor convictions. By that argument, in Florida, misdemeanants, no matter how distant, of such crimes as petit theft (<$300.00), driving without a driver's license, and a second offense of driving with a tag that is more than 6 months past overdue would be disqualified from ever purchasing a weapon. Additionally, for a statute to capture the Ruger 556, it would have to include not only AR-15s themselves, but those that "resemble" AR-15s. Incidentally, the acronym "AR" in "AR-15" does not stand for "assault rifle" but for "ArmaLite Rifle," the name of the original manufacturer, ArmaLite, Inc. Investigators have also revealed that Alissi employed a 30-round magazine. Such high-capacity magazines may not be legally sold in Colorado, The Wall Street Journal reports. Whether Alissi purchased it legally and whether it was also purchased at the Eagle's Nest Armory is still under investigation. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com.
Article Published in collaboration with The Conversation.
Suez Canal blockage: what it takes to unwedge a megaship![]() One of the world’s largest container ships, named Ever Given, has been wedged across the Suez Canal since it was blown off course by high winds in the early hours of March 23, blocking one of the busiest maritime trade corridors in the world. The incident has created a logjam of hundreds of tankers, the operators of which are now weighing up whether to wait for the stranded container ship to be cleared, or whether rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope, at the southernmost point of Africa, will hasten their arrival at port. Read more: Suez Canal container ship accident is a worst-case scenario for global trade That decision hinges upon how long it’ll take to refloat the Ever Given, tugging it away from the banks of the canal and back into operation. Several maritime salvage firms, with experience rescuing stricken vessels, are already in attendance at the scene – but it’s unclear how much time they’ll need to dislodge the ship. The methods they’ll use to do so, however, will be the roughly the same as past examples. A grounded ship of any size requires additional buoyancy to help salvage crews ease it from where it’s stuck. And, in the case of the Ever Given, horizontal force – applied by tug boats – will be required to heave the ship from both banks of the Suez Canal. How it happenedThe Ever Given is 400 metres in length and has the capacity to carry over 20,000 20-foot containers. It was these containers, stacked high on the deck, that are suspected to have caught the gust of wind, like a sailboat’s sail, that ultimately blew the ship off course. It appears that the Ever Given lost control while heading northbound along the Suez Canal, diverting its course in such a way that one end struck one of the canal’s banks. The momentum of the massive vessel will then have pulled it round until the other end struck the other bank – slowly, perhaps, but with a huge amount of force. The precise way in which the Ever Given struck ground will be important for salvage teams to understand because, when refloating a grounded ship, it’s usually easiest to extract it the way it went in – as with a splinter. Salvaging shipsSalvaging has always been an important part of maritime operations, with specialist companies called in when large container ships or tankers run aground. The process of freeing grounded vessels is often referred to as refloating. In 2016, a ship of similar size to the Ever Given, called the CSCL Indian Ocean, took six days to refloat after grounding on the bank of the Elbe River in Germany. The same salvage techniques used then will be used this time around – albeit in the more restrictive environment of a narrow canal. There are two basic approaches to extracting a grounded ship. First, salvage crews will work to increase the vessel’s vertical buoyancy force, which means the whole boat floats higher in the water. Second, tug boats will apply sufficient horizontal force to overcome the static friction generated by whatever material the boat is resting upon. The larger and heavier the vessel, the more force required by the tug boats to refloat the ship. Fleets of tugsSwiftest to mobilise are a fleet of tugs, eight of which are already in position at the site of the stranded ship. But reports from the scene suggest that tugs have already attempted an unsuccessful operation to unwedge the ship. That means the first priority of salvage teams will instead be to make the Ever Given float higher in the water – by dredging near the sections of the bank upon which the ship is stranded, and by increasing the ship’s buoyancy. ![]() In previous salvage operations, buoyancy air bags have been attached to the underwater section of the hull to encourage it to float. But in the case of the Ever Given, this will need to happen alongside the unloading of the ship’s cargo, the removing of all on-board ballast water, and the draining of the ship’s fuel, all in an effort to make the vessel lighter and more buoyant before the tugs attempt another horizontal pull. The removal of cargo will be particularly challenging in this case. Seeing as land access will be difficult due to the Suez Canal’s sandy surrounds, a floating crane may be required, which will take time to transport to the ship and which will only be able to remove one container at a time. It might prove quicker to pump the fuel off the vessel instead of removing containers, which would require a small refuelling vessel to pull alongside to take on the fuel. Those overseeing the salvage will have access to computer models of the vessel to tell exactly which load-lightening strategy will be most effective. High tideDespite all these measures, increasing buoyancy during salvage usually relies on a rising tide, which provides an extra boost in sea level for the ship to potentially refloat upon. Unfortunately, the tidal range within the Suez Canal is limited compared to coastal waters, which will hamper refloating attempts – though a promising “spring tide”, which is higher than the usual high tide, is due over the weekend. It’s difficult to predict the rapidity with which the various components of the salvage puzzle can be brought to bear in the Suez Canal. This is not a standard salvage operation: the time pressure, with ships queuing at either end of the strait, will be weighing on everyone’s minds. Read more: Suez Canal container ship accident is a worst-case scenario for global trade But with expert salvage crews now on hand, and tried-and-tested refloating methods being put in place around the Ever Given, it’s likely to be only a matter of days – rather than weeks – before the ship is unwedged from the Suez Canal. Stephen Turnock, Professor of Maritime Fluid Dynamics, University of Southampton This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Georgia has a new slate of voting laws after Gov. Brian Kemp signed SB 202, a 98-page omnibus bill, on Thursday. The "Election Integrity Act of 2021" was passed out of the legislature on a party-line vote and makes a number of controversial changes to how elections are run in the state, but also many adjustments welcomed by local elections officials who were overwhelmed by record turnout and an unprecedented shift towards mail-in voting because of the coronavirus pandemic. Because it is such a massive piece of legislation, proponents and opponents of the bill are focusing on different sections of the law — but there are many that voters might have missed. Ultimately, Georgia voters will be impacted by most every change that is now in effect, so here is an extensive breakdown of how voters will be affected. READ GEORGIA'S NEW ELECTION LAW Changes to absentee votingMail-in absentee voting will look the most different for voters, especially after 1.3 million people used that method in the November general election. Voters over 65, with a disability, in the military or who live overseas will still be able to apply once for a ballot and automatically receive one the rest of an election cycle. But the earliest voters can request a mail-in ballot will be 11 weeks before an election instead of 180 days — less than half as much time. The final deadline to complete an application is moved earlier, too. Instead of returning an application by the Friday before election day, SB 202 now backs it up to two Fridays before. Republican sponsors of the bill and local elections officials say this will cut down on the number of ballots rejected for coming in late because of the tight turnaround. Counties will also begin mailing out absentee ballots about three weeks later than before, starting four weeks before the election. Requesting and returning a ballot will also require new ID rules: either your driver's license number, state ID number or, if you don't have those, a copy of acceptable voter ID. The law also allows for applications to be returned online, after the Secretary of State's office launched an online request portal using your driver's license number or state ID number ahead of November's general election. Poll workers will use that information, plus your name, date of birth and address, to verify your identity, and you will sign an oath swearing that everything is correct. This is a change from recent procedure that would check your signature on the application with those on file. State and local governments are no longer allowed to send unsolicited applications, and third-party groups that send applications have new rules to follow, too. Their applications must be clearly marked as being "NOT an official government publication" that it is "NOT a ballot," and must clearly state which group is sending the blank request. Plus, third-party groups are only allowed to send applications to voters who have not already requested or voted an absentee ballot. The groups potentially face a penalty for each duplicate sent. The actual absentee ballot and envelopes will look different, as well. SB 202 requires absentee ballots to be printed on special security paper, and your precinct name will now be included along with precinct ID printed at the top. Once you fill out your choices by filling in the circles for your choices, you will place it in an envelope that will have your name, signature, driver's license or state ID number (or last four digits of your Social Security number) and date of birth. The envelope will be designed so that sensitive personal information will be hidden once it is sealed. Military and overseas voters will have an additional set of absentee ballots mailed to them with their regular ballots — ranked choice instant-runoff ballots. Georgia's runoffs will now be four weeks long instead of nine weeks, but federal law requires ballots to those voters be sent out by 45 days before a federal election. So now, those voters will be given these ranked choice ballots, where they rank their choices for certain races in the event they head to a runoff, and send them back with their primary or general election ballots. Secure absentee ballot drop boxes — which did not exist a year ago — are now officially part of state law, but not without some new changes. The law now requires all 159 counties to have at least one drop box, caps the number of boxes at one per 100,000 active voters or one for every early voting site (whichever is smaller) and moves them inside early voting sites instead of outside on government property. Additionally, the drop boxes will only be accessible during early voting days and hours instead of 24/7. The State Election Board authorized drop boxes using the emergency rule process because of the coronavirus pandemic, and even that process is now being tweaked. The board must provide more notice of proposed emergency rules and has a much more limited scope in which it can enact those rules.
Changes to early votingOne of the biggest changes in the bill would expand early voting access for most counties, adding an additional mandatory Saturday and formally codifying Sunday voting hours as optional. Counties can have early voting open as long as 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at minimum. If you live in a larger metropolitan county, you might not notice a change. For most other counties, you will have an extra weekend day, and your weekday early voting hours will likely be longer. If you live in Fulton County, you'll no longer be able to use one of two mobile voting buses the county purchased last year to help with long lines. While a 2019 omnibus allowed early voting sites to be more locations, including places that are normally election day polls, the Republican-led legislature has now written laws that expressly prohibits a mobile poll except during an emergency declared by the governor. For polling place changes or closures, the law now requires better notice of those changes, including a 4-by-4-foot sign that shows where the new location is. Another new rule that affects both in-person early voting and election day voting would prohibit anyone except poll workers from handing out water to voters in line, and outlaw passing out food and water to voters within 150 feet of the building that serves as a poll, inside a polling place or within 25 feet of any voter standing in line. Depending on the location, it is still possible for third-party groups to have food and water available — and it is possible for the lines to extend beyond 150 feet. During early voting, counties must publicly report daily how many people have voted in person, how many absentee ballots have been issued, returned, accepted and rejected. Early voting sites and times must be published publicly ahead of time. For runoffs, things would be tighter: the law says early voting should start "as soon as possible" after a primary or general election, and requires in-person early voting the Monday through Friday before the election. This means counties may not be able to offer weekend early voting depending on how quickly it takes them to finish the first election and prepare for the second. Changes to vote countingAmong complaints about the 2020 election was how long it took for some counties to release their final vote totals, how others missed batches of ballots the first time and general confusion about why the process is not over on election night. A change local officials embrace is a section that allows them to begin processing, but not tabulating, absentee ballots starting two weeks before the election. There's extra incentive to do so, by way of a new requirement that counties count all of the ballots nonstop as soon as polls close and finish by 5 p.m. the next day or potentially face investigation. Plus, local officials are required to post and report the total number of ballots cast on election day, during early voting, via absentee voting and provisional ballots, all by 10:00 p.m. on election night, essentially providing the public with a denominator to understand the total possible votes out there as results trickle in. Speaking of provisional ballots, out-of-precinct provisionals will not count anymore unless cast after 5 p.m. and a voter signs a statement saying they could not make it to their home precinct in time. Now that counties must finish tabulating all the votes by 5 p.m. the day after the election, lawmakers moved up their election certification deadline to six days after polls close instead of 10. Absentee ballots will be checked using the ID information voters write on the outside envelopes instead of their signatures, another departure from previous policy.
Changes affecting local elections officesOne change buried in the bill would give county elections officials greater flexibility with voting equipment for smaller, lower-turnout races. Previous law requires one ballot-marking device per every 250 active voters. Statewide general elections would still require that ratio, but any other election would be subject to the local elections officials' discretion, based on expected turnout, the type of election, number of people that have already voted and more. Counties will also have to provide better notice of public logic and accuracy testing of voting machines and equipment, where officials calibrate every piece of technology used in the election. The dates and times should be on the county's website, if they have one, a local newspaper and in a prominent place within the county. Plus, the secretary of state's office must keep a master list and make it public. In the 2020 election, many rural and urban counties received grant funding from philanthropic outlets such as the Center for Tech and Civic Life and the Schwarzenegger Institute. Under the new law, those elections offices could no longer directly receive funding. But the State Election Board is slated to propose a method to receive donations and distribute them equitably by October 2021. Another change that was proposed last year and is now law would require large polling places with long lines to take action if wait times surpass an hour at certain times during the day. Those massive polls with more than 2,000 voters and wait times longer than an hour would have to hire more staff, add more workers or split up the precinct after that election. More than 1,500 of Georgia's precincts have over 2,000 voters. After the 2020 election cycle saw an influx of partisan poll watchers who sometimes interfered with vote counting, the GOP-backed bill requires poll watchers be trained before allowing them to work, and gives local officials the authority to set where those watchers can observe from. Poll workers, in short supply for the June 2020 primary because of the pandemic, may now serve in adjoining counties. Scanned ballot images will now be subject to public records disclosures, and the secretary of state's office shall create a pilot program for posting those images online as well.
Changes affecting the State Election BoardWhile most Georgians don't directly interact with the State Election Board, several changes made by the Republican legislature could have an impact on local elections offices. The secretary of state will no longer chair the State Election Board, becoming instead a non-voting ex-officio member. The new chair would be nonpartisan but appointed by a majority of the state House and Senate. The chair would not be allowed to have been a candidate, participate in a political party organization or campaign or made campaign contributions for two years prior to being appointed. The law also says the governor should appoint someone if the position becomes vacant when lawmakers are not in session. Other changes to the State Election Board's powers would give the board — and by extension, the legislature — more power to intervene in county elections boards that are deemed underperforming. In addition to the legislature-appointed chair, the five-member board is made up of one member appointed by the House, one appointed by the Senate and one each picked by the Democratic and Republican state parties. The State Election Board, county commissions or a certain number of state House and Senate members that represent a county could request an independent group to conduct a performance review of their appointed elections board or probate judge that supervises elections, defined in Georgia law as the "superintendent." SB 202 would allow the State Election Board to suspend the multi-person elections board or probate judge and replace them with a single individual for at least nine months. The election superintendent is responsible for everything from certifying results, handling polling place changes and hearing challenges to voters' eligibilities — something that SB 202 clarifies that must be heard in a timely manner after being filed and can include an unlimited number of challenges. The board could only temporarily suspend up to four election superintendents at a time. Other changesThere are other more intangible changes that will not directly impact how you vote. For example, the law says the Attorney General's office shall have the authority to set up a hotline for people to file complaints about voter intimidation and "illegal election activities," including anonymous tips. That section also says the AG's office shall have the authority to review the complaints within three business days (or as "expeditiously as possible") and determine if the complaint should be investigated. The State Election Board and secretary of state's office would not be allowed to enter into any settlement agreements for election lawsuits without notifying lawmakers first. New language for certain judicial vacancies or candidates who die before election day has been added and the legislature has reiterated the state should be part of a multi-state voter registration database. In addition to the shortening of the runoff period, SB 202 would end so-called "jungle primary" special elections, requiring a special primary before a special election. Because of the delays in the 2020 census, the law also allows some of the municipal boundary line redrawing to wait until after upcoming elections.
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Ruthless Boulder Killer's Identity Released
A mass shooting in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, has taken the lives of at least ten people. The tragic events come at the heels of another deadly shooting that took the lives of eight people in Atlanta, Georgia. Police have released the identity of the mass shooter as 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa. He has been charged with ten counts of first-degree murder, although a motive has not been identified. Alissa's brother, Ali Aliwi Alissa told The Daily Beast that the shooter was "paranoid" and "very anti-social." In his opinion, his brother's actions, despite some anti-islamophobic comments discovered in the shooter's now-deleted social media account, was not about politics, describing him as mentally ill. The names of the ten victims have also been released. They are: Denny Strong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62, Jody Waters, 65. This is a breaking story. Please check in frequently for updates. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com. Mass Shooting in Boulder Takes the Lives of at Least Six
Updated March 23, 2021; 0749 eastern. A mass shooting in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, has taken the lives of ten people. The tragic events come at the heels of another deadly shooting that took the lives of eight people in Atlanta, Georgia. Although it is still too early to report on the details of the shooting and how it fits into the overall gun violence debate playing out across the nation, it appears that the shooting was perpetrated by a white male with the use of a semi-automatic rifle. A bloodied person of interest was taken into custody by Boulder police. Among the ten victims was a Boulder city police officer who has been identified as Eric Talley, 51, the father of seven children. Mr. Talley was the first at the scene, rushing in to provide assistance. The detainee, a person the police is calling a person of interest is injured and is being treated at a local hospital. This is a breaking story. Please check in frequently for updates. Please support our ability to cover the events most important to you. Click here to join The Founding Fathers Club or donate to The Federalist Pages. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives. He is the author of numerous books including The Federalist Pages, The Case for Free Market Healthcare, and Coronalessons. He is available for appearances and book signings, and can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com. |
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