Report of the International Criminal Court.
Note by the Secretary-General
The report of the International Criminal Court is submitted herewith to the General Assembly, in accordance with the provisions of article 6 of the Relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (A/58/874, annex).
Report of the International Criminal Court for 2004
The International Criminal Court (hereinafter “the Court”) is an independent, treaty-based, permanent judicial institution with jurisdiction over persons for the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. By punishing individuals who commit these crimes, the Court is intended to contribute to the deterrence of such crimes as well as to international peace and security and respect for international justice. The Court is complementary to national jurisdictions and its Statute and Rules of Procedure and Evidence guarantee fair, public trials consistent with internationally recognized human rights. To be effective in its activities, the Court needs the cooperation of States, international organizations and civil society.
The judges and the Prosecutor of the Court took office in 2003. Two years later, the Court has entered the judicial phase of its operations. Three States parties have referred situations on their territories to the Prosecutor. The Security Council has referred one situation to the Prosecutor. The Prosecutor is investigating three situations: the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Uganda; and Darfur, the Sudan, and is monitoring eight other situations. The Court is conducting field operations and the Pre-Trial Chambers have begun the first judicial proceedings.
While respecting the necessary independence of the organs of the Court under the Rome Statute, the different organs of the Court coordinate their activities on matters of common concern, including strategic planning; external relations, public information, and outreach; and the operation of field presences. The Court is committed to transparency and accountability in its activities, and maintains regular dialogue with States parties, non-State parties, international organizations, in particular the United Nations, and civil society.
The different organs of the Court contribute to the objectives of the Court in accordance with their respective mandates. The Presidency has a wide range of administrative, judicial and external relations responsibilities. The judges have been preparing for the fair and expeditious conduct of proceedings and have begun to conduct the first proceedings at the pre-trial level. The Office of the Prosecutor is responsible for analysing information on possible crimes and conducting investigations and prosecutions; its work in the last two years has focused on establishing the Office, consulting with stakeholders in the development of guiding strategies and launching the first operational activities, including the three current investigations. The Registry provides administrative and operational support to all organs of the Court while carrying out its specific mandates in relation to victims, witnesses, defence and outreach in both headquarters and the field.
Since 2002, the Assembly of States Parties has held three sessions, during which it has adopted a number of instruments, rules, regulations and resolutions which, in accordance with the Rome Statute, constitute the normative framework for the activities of the Court. The Assembly has also established a Committee on Budget and Finance to provide an appropriate mechanism for the budgetary and financial review and monitoring of the resources of the Court. The Bureau of the Assembly established two working groups.
The Court has made substantial progress since the judges and the Prosecutor assumed office. However, the Court cannot succeed alone. The work of the Court is a common endeavour, dependent on the support and cooperation of all States parties, as well as other States, international organizations and civil society.
1. The International Criminal Court (hereinafter “the Court”) was established by the Rome Statute (hereinafter “the Statute”), which was adopted on 17 July 1998 and entered into force on 1 July 2002.  As at 1 July 2005, 99 States had ratified or acceded to the Statute.
2. The Court is an independent, permanent judicial institution with jurisdiction over persons for the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.  The Statute recognizes that States have the primary responsibility for investigating and punishing these crimes. The Court is complementary to the efforts of States to investigate and prosecute international crimes. It may only exercise its jurisdiction over cases where national systems do not conduct proceedings or where they are unwilling or genuinely unable to carry out such proceedings. By helping to ensure that the perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes do not go unpunished, the Court is intended to contribute to the prevention of these serious international crimes.
3. The Court is the centrepiece of an emerging system of international criminal justice which includes national courts, international courts and hybrid tribunals with both national and international components. These institutions of criminal justice are also closely linked to efforts to establish and maintain international peace and security. In his report to the Security Council of August 2004, the Secretary-General of the United Nations observed, “[the United Nations] experience in the past decade has demonstrated clearly that the consolidation of peace in the immediate postconflict period, as well as the maintenance of peace in the long term, cannot be achieved unless the population is confident that redress for grievances can be obtained through legitimate structures for the peaceful settlement of disputes and the fair administration of justice”.  The International Criminal Court is intended to contribute to efforts to restore and maintain international peace and security and guarantee lasting respect for and the enforcement of international justice.
4. As a judicial institution, the Court is designed to conduct fair, impartial and efficient investigations, prosecutions and trials. Its Statute, Rules of Procedure and Evidence  and other supplementary texts include detailed safeguards to ensure the integrity of the Court’s proceedings. At all stages of proceedings, the rights of the accused and other actors are guaranteed through both substantive law and procedural mechanisms. In addition, the Statute contains innovative provisions permitting victims to participate in proceedings and to obtain reparations from the Court.
5. To be effective, the International Criminal Court must work closely with a number of critical partners, including States and international, regional and non-governmental organizations. The Court does not have its own police force capable of implementing its decisions or orders. Instead, the Court requires the cooperation of States in many areas, including evidence collection, the arrest and surrender of persons and the enforcement of sentences. The Statute imposes detailed obligations on States parties to cooperate with the Court. The Court will also need the assistance of other States in a position to assist the Court as well as that of international, regional and non-governmental organizations. Formal agreements between the Court and such actors facilitate cooperation.
6. Effective cooperation with the United Nations is particularly important to the Court. The Statute recognizes specific roles for the United Nations and the Security Council. The Relationship Agreement, concluded on 4 October 2004 by the President of the Court and the Secretary-General of the United Nations on behalf of their respective institutions, affirms the independence of the Court while establishing a framework for cooperation.  The agreement provides for institutional relations between the Court and the United Nations, including the granting to the Court of observer status at the General Assembly. The Relationship Agreement also contains provisions on cooperation and judicial assistance that are crucial to the Court’s operational activities.
7. While the Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002, the Court only truly came into existence with the inauguration of the judges, the Prosecutor and the Registrar in March, June and July 2003 respectively. Since that time, the elected officials and staff of the Court have worked hard to prepare the Court for its judicial operations. The Court has recruited a permanent staff of 323 people from 58 countries, developed its administrative policies and established its infrastructure. The Court places heavy emphasis on the recruitment of highly qualified staff. The Court’s selection of staff in the Professional category is guided in principle by a system of desirable ranges based on that of the United Nations. States may assist the Court in identifying qualified candidates from underrepresented States.
8. The Court is now at the beginning of the judicial phase of its operations. Three States parties — Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic — have referred situations in their respective territories to the Prosecutor. In addition, the Security Council has referred the situation in Darfur, the Sudan, to the Prosecutor. One non-State party, Côte d’Ivoire, has lodged a declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the Court. Having evaluated the information made available to him, the Prosecutor has initiated investigations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Uganda; and Darfur, the Sudan. The Prosecutor has also received over 1,300 communications relating to situations that might fall within the jurisdiction of the Court. In addition to the situations under investigation, the Prosecutor is currently monitoring eight other situations around the world, including in the Central African Republic and Côte d’Ivoire.
9. The Court is establishing its operations in the field in connection with the situations under investigation. The Pre-Trial Chambers have begun the first judicial proceedings and the first trial proceedings are expected to begin in 2006, provided the Court receives sufficient cooperation from States in arresting and surrendering persons.
II. Activities involving the whole Court
10. Guaranteeing a fair trial requires respecting the independence of the Court’s different organs under its Statute, namely the Presidency; the Appeals, Trial and Pre-Trial Divisions; the Office of the Prosecutor; and the Registry. While respecting this independence, the organs must work together as one Court on matters of common concern. The Coordination Council, comprised of the President on behalf of the Presidency, the Prosecutor and the Registrar, leads the Court in ensuring general coordination among the organs on administrative matters of common concern. The Coordination Council also invites the Director of the Secretariat of the Assembly of States Parties to participate in meetings on issues of mutual interest.
11. In order to ensure effective, integrated development, the Court has made a priority of establishing a strategic planning process. The Court is developing a fiveyear strategic plan that will define strategic goals for the Court and a strategy for achieving those goals. Although the plan is still in the early stages, the Court has identified a provisional set of Court goals and substantially developed a “capacity model” that will assist the coordinated planning of the Court’s resource needs. Work done on the strategic plan has already contributed to the structural cohesion of the budget and to the identification and development of common policies on issues such as external relations and field offices.
12. The Court is committed to the sound financial management of its activities. To ensure an effective internal audit mechanism, the Coordination Council has adopted a Charter for Internal Audit. This Charter clarifies and elaborates the legal mandate of the existing Office of Internal Audit. It also establishes an Oversight Committee to advise the Office and ensure management involvement while respecting the independence of the Office.
13. The Court has adopted a common approach to the entirety of its external relations, public information and outreach activities. The Court is concluding a wide range of agreements to facilitate different aspects of its operations. Agreements have been concluded with the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda to facilitate the Court’s operations in connection with the investigations in those countries. As indicated above, the Court concluded the Relationship Agreement with the United Nations in 2004. An agreement with the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) is being negotiated. The Court is in the process of negotiating agreements for cooperation with other international and regional organizations, including the African Union and the European Union. Other agreements have been negotiated or will be negotiated with States on specific issues of necessary cooperation, such as the acceptance of prisoners sentenced by the Court and the relocation of witnesses. It is important that States parties conclude such agreements, which provide for essential cooperation with the Court.
14. Regular contacts with interested partners help to ensure the transparency and accountability of the Court, as well as provide necessary feedback on key policies and decisions. The Court currently holds three regular diplomatic briefings for representatives of States each year, with two briefings being held in The Hague and one in Brussels. The Court and its representatives also meet regularly to exchange information with representatives of individual States or groups of States or with non-governmental organizations both at the seat of the Court and elsewhere. Expert consultations, online public hearings and other forms of communication have been held in the course of developing essential Court documents. For example, the Court held an online public hearing on victims and defence issues in the preparation of the Regulations of the Court.  This hearing allowed wide participation in the process of adopting the Regulations and the Court received responses from all over the world.
15. The Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry have devoted particular attention to working closely together in the field. The Court is operating two field offices — one in Kinshasa and one in Kampala — as well as a field presence in Bunia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Court is also evaluating its needs in connection with the investigation in Darfur. These field operations are joint initiatives of the Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry and carry out the functions described in the sections below on the activities of each organ.
16. In establishing and maintaining field operations, the Court has encountered a number of challenges. Security is often a concern, particularly where the Court is active in situations of ongoing conflict. Establishing reliable logistics can also be difficult. Each situation presents its own challenges in terms of the geographical location as well as the linguistic and cultural composition of the region. To be effective, the Court must make contacts within local communities and find reliable intermediaries for disseminating information and carrying out necessary functions. As a consequence, the success of the Court’s field activities depends to a large extent on the cooperation it receives from the State where the Court operates, as well as other States and international or regional organizations in a position to affect cooperation.
17. The Presidency consists of three judges elected by their peers. They are President Philippe Kirsch (Canada), First Vice-President Akua Kuenyehia (Ghana) and Second Vice-President Elizabeth Odio Benito (Costa Rica). The Presidency’s functions may be grouped into three main areas: administrative, judicial and external relations.
18. The Presidency’s administrative functions include both exercising managerial oversight of the Registry and ensuring the effective delivery of services by the Registry to the judiciary. In its oversight function, the Presidency has provided input into a wide range of administrative policies and issued presidential directives on issues such as the staff regulations, information security and trust funds of the Court.
19. In the exercise of its judicial functions, the Presidency organizes the judicial work of the Chambers and carries out specific judicial functions assigned to the Presidency by the Statute, Rules of Procedure and Evidence and Regulations of the Court. Among its activities, the Presidency has convened six plenary sessions of the judges, constituted Pre-Trial Chambers and assigned the situations referred to the Prosecutor to Pre-Trial Chambers. The Presidency has approved standard forms for victims to apply to participate in proceedings and is considering standard forms for victims to apply for reparations. The Presidency has also contacted States to enquire if they would agree to be placed on a list of States willing to accept persons sentenced to a term of imprisonment by the Court.
20. The Presidency’s external relations activities include the negotiation and conclusion of agreements on behalf of the Court and the promotion of public awareness and understanding of the Court. The President has met with heads of State and Government, government officials, representatives of States, parliamentarians and representatives of international and regional organizations. He has also played a leading role in addressing non-governmental organizations, academics, the media and the public at large about the role and functions of the Court. Such initiatives are intended to enhance understanding of the Court and thereby increase acceptance of the Court.
21. The Chambers consist of 18 judges, including the members of the Presidency, organized in three divisions. The current judges, all of whom took up office in March 2003, are:
(a) Appeals Division: Georghios Pikis (Cyprus), President of the Division; Philippe Kirsch (Canada); Navanethem Pillay (South Africa); Sang-Hyun Song (Republic of Korea); and Erkki Kourula (Finland);
(b) Trial Division: Elizabeth Odio Benito (Costa Rica); Karl T. Hudson- Phillips (Trinidad and Tobago); Maureen Harding Clark (Ireland); René Blattmann (Bolivia); Anita Ušacka (Latvia); and Adrian Fulford (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland);
(c) Pre-Trial Division: Hans-Peter Kaul (Germany), President of the Division; Akua Kuenyehia (Ghana); Claude Jorda (France); Tuiloma Neroni Slade (Samoa); Mauro Politi (Italy); Fatoumata Dembele Diarra (Mali); and Sylvia Steiner (Brazil).
22. Upon assuming office, the judges began preparing to ensure that all proceedings before the Court are fair, independent, impartial and efficient. In May 2004, the judges adopted the Regulations of the Court in accordance with article 52 of the Statute. These Regulations cover the range of the Court’s activities and are necessary to the Court’s routine functioning. The Regulations were considered by the States parties without objection. The judges did receive and consider a few comments on the Regulations and made a few technical revisions of the French version of the Regulations. The Regulations called for the judges to adopt a Code of Judicial Ethics. This Code — an innovation for international criminal tribunals — was adopted by the judges at their plenary session of March 2005.
23. The judges have also been preparing for the technical aspects of proceedings. They meet in chambers, divisions, plenary sessions and other regular meetings to coordinate and discuss matters of joint interest, such as the practical aspects of victims’ participation in proceedings, disclosure of documents, presentation of evidence, translation and interpretation and issues relating to the defence and the accused.
24. The Court has begun its first judicial proceedings at the pre-trial level. The Presidency has constituted three Pre-Trial Chambers  and assigned each situation referred to the Prosecutor as follows:
(a) Pre-Trial Chamber I: Democratic Republic of the Congo; Darfur, the Sudan;
(b) Pre-Trial Chamber II: Uganda;
(c) Pre-Trial Chamber III: Central African Republic.
25. On 17 February 2005, Pre-Trial Chamber I issued the first judicial decision of the chambers in a case, deciding to convene a status conference with the Prosecutor and his representatives on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Since then, Pre-Trial Chamber I has held a number of hearings and issued several decisions in relation to this situation.
V. Office of the Prosecutor
26. The Office of the Prosecutor (hereinafter “the Office”) is responsible for receiving and analysing referrals and information in order to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to investigate; for conducting investigations into genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes; and for conducting prosecutions before the Court of persons responsible for such crimes.
27. The Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo (Argentina), was sworn in on 16 June 2003. In the two years since then, major priorities have been (a) creating the Office and recruiting the Office team; (b) engaging in consultation and dialogue with stakeholders in the development of guiding strategies; and (c) launching the first operational activities, which currently include investigations in three situations: Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur, the Sudan.
28. The Office of the Prosecutor must carry out its activities in contexts of ongoing violence and instability, without the benefit of its own enforcement apparatus, and is expected to do so in a manner that is both exemplary and costeffective. The Office has taken several key strategic decisions to guide its operations, including the following: a collaborative approach with the international community, fostering strong cooperation; a positive approach to complementarity, encouraging genuine national proceedings wherever possible; a policy of targeted prosecution, focusing on the persons who bear the greatest responsibility; efficient investigations and focused charges; and a small and flexible Office relying on external networks of support. In 2004, the Office started investigations in the two gravest situations under its treaty jurisdiction (Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda) and did so with the agreement of the territorial States.
Creating the Office
29. The Office has grown from 7 members when the Prosecutor took office to 91 fixed-term staff in July 2005. The Deputy Prosecutor (Investigations), Serge Brammertz (Belgium), was sworn in on 3 November 2003 and the Deputy Prosecutor (Prosecutions), Fatou Bensouda (the Gambia), was sworn in on 1 November 2004.
30. The Office has critically examined and refined its organization, in order to arrive at a structure that best reflects its functions. A multidisciplinary approach brings together investigators, analysts, trial attorneys, cooperation advisers, victims experts and others in the common goal of conducting focused and effective investigations. An Executive Committee comprised of the heads of divisions and chaired by the Prosecutor provides advice on major decisions, such as the initiation of investigations, and promotes coordination of activities.
31. The Office has also developed legal tools to carry out its work efficiently, including templates and databases for preparing and tracking requests for assistance, as well as four internal protocols to ensure compliance with statutory duties on disclosure, questioning witnesses, the principle of objectivity and unique investigative opportunities. The Office is also developing a case management application (the “case matrix”) and analytical materials on crimes and procedures in the Statute.
Consultation with partners
32. Consistent with the approach of the Court as a whole, the Prosecutor initiated a practice of consultation with stakeholders from the outset of his term, with a public hearing in June 2003 to receive input on general strategy and priority tasks. A draft policy paper was discussed at the public hearing, made available on the website for public comment and finalized in September 2003. In addition, a draft annex to the policy paper, concerning an analysis of referrals and communications, has been posted on the website for comment.
33. The Office also conducted a series of expert consultation processes, involving over 125 criminal justice experts, preparing reports on issues such as length of proceedings, investigations and State cooperation, and complementarity in practice. The reports are on the Court’s website.
34. The Office has continued this practice of consultation, including several meetings with non-governmental organizations between 2003 and 2005, and a first meeting with States parties on 20 June 2005 to discuss strategies and activities of the Office. The Office is currently developing a methodology for assessing the interests of justice (article 53 of the Rome Statute) and is conducting consultations with States parties, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations on this and other issues.
35. As noted above, the Office has initiated investigations into three situations (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Darfur, the Sudan) and is also collecting information on eight other situations of concern.
36. The Office of the Prosecutor is investigating the situation in Uganda, which involves allegations of large-scale abductions, killings, torture and sexual violence. The majority of alleged abductees are children. The investigation in Uganda is at an advanced stage after 10 months of work. The Office has conducted over 50 trips to the field; interviewed crime base witnesses, overview witnesses and others; and collected documents, videos, photographs and other materials. The Office concluded a cooperation agreement with the Government of Uganda and benefits from excellent cooperation from the Government and other cooperation partners. The Office has made several missions to engage with local groups to establish relationships for cooperation and assessing interests of victims and invited community leaders to The Hague to discuss how to coordinate the respective efforts of the Office and community leaders. The Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry have established a field office in Uganda.
37. The Office of the Prosecutor is investigating the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which involves allegations of thousands of deaths by mass murder and summary execution since 2002, as well as large-scale patterns of rape, torture and use of child soldiers. There are many areas of extreme insecurity and ongoing conflict, with no effective State presence. Numerous armed groups active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are allegedly involved in crimes. Given the scale of the situation, the investigation of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will proceed in sequence. One or two cases, selected on the basis of gravity, are prioritized in 2005, while other cases will be developed subsequently. The first investigations are progressing well. The Office has carried out over 50 trips to the field; collected over 11,000 documents; interviewed over 60 persons; and collected documents, videos, photographs and other materials. The Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry have established a field office in Kinshasa and a field presence in Bunia. The Office has concluded a cooperation agreement with the Government; however, the Government faces great logistical challenges and many areas are not under effective control, so inability to rely on effective cooperation remains a great challenge for the investigation. Cooperation from MONUC will be essential, as will be cooperation from others with relevant information.
38. The Office of the Prosecutor is investigating the situation in Darfur, the Sudan, which involves allegations of the killing of thousands of civilians and the widespread destruction and looting of villages, leading to the displacement of approximately 1.9 million civilians, as well as allegations of a pervasive pattern of rape and sexual violence and persistent targeting and intimidation of humanitarian personnel. Following the referral, the Office collected more than 2,500 items from the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, as well as over 3,000 documents from other sources. The Office was in contact with more than 100 groups and individuals and interviewed more than 50 experts. On 1 June 2005, the Prosecutor initiated an investigation and informed Pre-Trial Chamber I, followed by a public announcement thereafter.
39. The Office has been in contact with authorities from the Sudan, the African Union, the United Nations and other partners to discuss cooperation. The Prosecutor presented a report to the Security Council on 29 June 2005. The Office will identify those individuals who bear the greatest responsibility for the crimes and will assess the admissibility of the selected cases. The Office is planning its investigation and working actively in developing operational support.
40. Cooperation is essential for all investigations. The Office has concluded cooperation agreements under article 54, paragraph 3 (d), of the Rome Statute to facilitate its work, including with Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), as well as some States parties and non-governmental organizations, and participates in the negotiation of Court-wide agreements with essential actors such as the African Union, the European Union and MONUC.
41. The Registry is headed by the Registrar, Bruno Cathala (France), who was elected by the judges on 24 June 2003. The core functions of the Registry are the following: to provide administrative and operational support to the judiciary and to the Office of the Prosecutor, as well as to the Registry’s activities in the areas of defence, victims, communications and security; to ensure the servicing of the Court; and to develop effective mechanisms to assist victims, witnesses and defence with a view to safeguarding their rights in accordance with the Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence. Furthermore, the Registry has a key role to play in ensuring public proceedings. In addition to its activities at headquarters, with the launching of the three investigations by the Office of the Prosecutor, the Registry is establishing and developing field operations.
42. Over the last two years, the Registry has worked to build the operational and administrative support structures for the Court as a whole, while also establishing the necessary mechanisms, policies and regulations to pursue its mandate in the areas of victims’ participation and reparations, witness protection, defence and outreach.
43. As the Court develops, the Registry must ensure that the administrative structures meet the Court’s needs. The Registry has developed mechanisms, relevant policies and procedures to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of high quality services to all organs of the Court. The Registry has, inter alia, prepared the Court’s yearly budget submissions, issued policies and rules such as the staff rules, ensured finalization of the courtrooms, concluded a range of contracts and implemented a procurement plan for the Court. In order to enable the Court to operate efficiently and to work in a web-based environment, the Registry has established a number of information systems. The Registry has also undertaken comparative studies in relation to the establishment of the permanent premises of the Court.
44. The Division of Court Services has developed the necessary structures to guarantee organizational support for courtroom hearings; the receipt, recording and distribution of information; and translation and interpretation services for the whole Court. Interim detention facilities have been identified and the design of permanent facilities will be finalized soon.
45. One of the specific functions of the Registry is to ensure adequate legal representation for victims seeking to participate in proceedings or obtain reparations. An Office of Public Counsel for Victims will offer necessary legal assistance to victims. To assist victims in participating in all stages of the proceedings and to enable them to claim reparations, the Registry has created standard application forms for victims’ participation and reparations. The Presidency has approved the forms for victims’ participation and is considering the application forms for reparations. Aware of the importance of informing affected populations about the Court’s mandate and proceedings, the Victims Participation and Reparation Section has developed outreach campaigns and information materials on the rights of victims. A trust fund for victims has been established and voluntary contributions are welcome.
46. The Registry has developed a legal aid scheme to ensure sufficient means for the defence and due respect for the rights of the accused, while maintaining transparency and accountability in the administration and control of Court resources. The Office of Public Counsel for Defence will support counsel and accused, including through the representation and protection of rights of the accused during the initial stages of an investigation. To execute its mandate on defence issues properly, the Registry has conducted extensive consultations with members of the legal profession, bar associations, and other interested partners. A revised draft code of professional conduct for counsel has been prepared by the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties and will be submitted for the approval of the Assembly at its forthcoming session.
47. The Registry has continued its efforts to raise awareness of the Court and its activities by organizing briefings, seminars and workshops at the seat of the Court for the media, professionals and students from various countries. The Registry has strengthened the Court’s public information capacity in order to support the implementation of outreach services in the countries where the Court is active. A Documentation Centre has also been set up. The Court maintains a website to share information effectively with the media, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, States parties and the public at large.
48. As with the Court as a whole, the Registry recognizes the importance of regular dialogue with partners. The Registrar has conducted consultations with States parties both at the seat of the Court and in New York. The Registry also maintains a constructive dialogue with the host State on various aspects of the work of the Court. The Registrar has held meetings at the seat of the Court with non-governmental organizations on matters falling within the responsibilities of the Registry. Extensive expert and online consultations, as well as seminars, were conducted with a wide range of stakeholders in preparing documents such as the Regulations of the Registry, the draft code of professional conduct for counsel and the standard application forms mentioned above.
49. In the field, the Registry both provides administrative support to the Court’s field operations and pursues its specific mandate in the areas of victims, witnesses, defence and outreach.
50. Support to field activities entails, inter alia, finding safe premises, installing secure equipment to meet information technology and general services needs and obtaining reliable means of transport, including vehicles suited to the terrain. The safety of the Court’s teams working on the ground, as well as that of victims and witnesses, must also be guaranteed. The requirements of logistics and security can vary greatly between situations. In areas where the United Nations has a presence, cooperation between the Court and the United Nations facilitates the Court’s field activities.
51. In pursuing its specific mandate, the Registry fully recognizes the importance of having sound national capacities and strong local networks in place in the countries where the Court is active in the field. The Registry has undertaken a number of training programmes targeting local authorities such as police, media, defence lawyers, magistrates and non-governmental organizations in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The support and cooperation of States parties in relation to strengthening the capacity of local actors and building local networks is crucial.
52. In conducting outreach, the Registry relies on local actors. Identifying reliable intermediaries to be used when reaching affected communities and victims and adequately training these intermediaries are priorities. The Court must ensure such intermediaries provide accurate and timely information on the Court. The Registry has produced information products, action plans and directories of key partners/target groups and has set up channels of communication. The groundwork for the provision of information about trials has also been established. In pursuing its work in the field, the Registry is adapting its working methods to the realities on the ground, keeping mindful of local cultures and customs.
VII. Assembly of States parties
53. After holding its first two sessions at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Assembly of States parties held its third session in The Hague, from 6 to 10 September 2004.  The fourth session will also be held in The Hague, from 28 November to 3 December 2005, while a resumed session is scheduled to take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 26 and 27 January 2006. At the resumed session, the Assembly will proceed with the election of six judges and six members of the Committee on Budget and Finance. The nomination period for both judges and members of the Committee was fixed at 18 July to 9 October 2005.
54. As regards subsidiary bodies, in 2002 the Assembly established the Committee on Budget and Finance. The Committee is responsible for the technical examination of any document submitted to the Assembly that contains financial or budgetary implications, as well as any other matters of a financial, budgetary or administrative nature entrusted to it by the Assembly.  The Committee will hold its fifth session in The Hague from 10 to 14 October 2005, during which it will, inter alia, consider the proposed budget for 2006, performance reports for 2004 and 2005 and proposals regarding permanent premises of the Court.
55. Pursuant to Assembly resolution ICC-ASP/3/Res.8,  on 1 December 2004 the Bureau of the Assembly established two working groups, based in The Hague and New York. The working group in The Hague considered the following issues: the permanent premises of the Court; the draft code of professional conduct for counsel; and issues related to the host State, including the draft headquarters agreement. For its part, the New York working group considered the relationship with the United Nations, in particular the matter of a liaison office for the Court at the United Nations; the arrears of States parties; and the draft regulations of the trust fund for victims. The outcome of these discussions will be considered by the Assembly during its fourth session.
56. The second informal intersessional meeting of the Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression was held from 13 to 15 June 2005 at the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, United States of America.
57. The establishment of the International Criminal Court was a historic development in efforts to hold accountable perpetrators of the most serious international crimes and to deter such crimes. Moreover, the United Nations Highlevel Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change concluded that, with respect to preventing conflicts, “In the area of legal mechanisms, there have been few more important recent developments than the Rome Statute creating the International Criminal Court”.
58. Two years after the judges, Prosecutor and Registrar assumed office, the Court is making substantial progress in developing its capacity and exercising its core functions. However, the Court cannot succeed alone. The work of the Court is a common endeavour, dependent on the support and cooperation of all States parties, as well as other States, international organizations and civil society.
 Official Records of the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court Rome, 15 June-17 July 1998, vol. I; Final documents (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.I.5), sect. A.[Volver]
 Additional information about the Court and its activities is available on the website of the Court (http://www.icc-cpi.int). The website includes press releases and information on each of the organs of the Court and the Assembly of States Parties. Documents available on the website include decisions of the chambers that are not of a confidential nature, the Official Journal of the Court and the Official Records of the Assembly of States Parties.[Volver]
 S/2004/616, para. 2.[Volver]
 Official Records of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, first session, New York, 3-10 September 2002 (ICC-ASP/1/3) part II, sect. A.[Volver]
 Ibid., third session, The Hague, 6-10 September 2004 (ICC-ASP/3/25) part II, resolution ICC-ASP/3/Res.1, annex; United Nations document A/58/874, annex. Approved by the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute on 7 September 2004 and by the General Assembly in its resolution 58/318 of 13 September 2004.[Volver]
 Regulations of the Court, adopted 26 May 2004; Official Journal of the International Criminal Court (document ICC-BD/01-01-04).[Volver]
 Code of Judicial Ethics, adopted 9 March 2005; Official Journal of the International Criminal Court (document ICC-BD/02-01-05).[Volver]
 The membership of the three Pre-Trial Chambers is:
Pre-Trial Chamber I: Judges C. Jorda (presiding), A. Kuenyehia and S. Steiner;[Volver]
Pre-Trial Chamber II: Judges T. N. Slade (presiding), M. Politi and F. Diarra;
Pre-Trial Chamber III: Judges S. Steiner (presiding), T. N. Slade and H-P. Kaul.
 Pre-Trial Chamber I decision ICC No. 01-04-9 of 17 February 2005, “Decision to convene a status conference”, concerning the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[Volver]
 Decisions issued by the Chambers that are not of a confidential nature are available on the website of the Court; see note 2, above.[Volver]
 See note 2, above.[Volver]
 Official Records of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, third session, The Hague, 6-10 September 2004 (ICC-ASP/3/25).[Volver]
 Ibid., first session, New York, 3-10 September 2002 (ICC-ASP/1/3) part IV, resolution ICC-ASP/1/Res.4.[Volver]
 Ibid., third session, The Hague, 6-10 September 2004 (ICC-ASP/3/25) part III.[Volver]
 See document ICC-ASP/4/SWGCA/INF.1.[Volver]
 A/59/565, para. 90.[Volver]
International Criminal Court
|This document has been published on 18nov05 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.|


The Apprentice House garden
Surrounding the Apprentice House was a small kitchen garden, overseen by a head gardener and tended by the apprentices in the little spare time they had when not working at the Mill.
Such activity was seen as wholesome and preventing the children from becoming idle. The garden produced vegetables, fruits and herbs to feed the apprentices and the Greg family. With the introduction of legislation later in the 19th century which restricted and eventually forbade the use of child labour, the need for the Apprentice House and its garden at Quarry Bank declined and it was afterwards converted into at least two private dwellings.
The use of herbs was far more widespread in past centuries than today. They were grown for all manner of purposes, both medicinal and culinary. The apprentices were fortunate in having the services of Doctor Peter Holland, who looked after their major illnesses. For minor ailments the superintendent at the Apprentice House concocted varies herbal remedies. Some of the most common herbs grown were probably borage, camomile, chives, fennel, rosemary, rue, sage, tarragon, thyme and yarrow.
Growing vegetables in 18th and 19th-century gardens was not a hobby, as it mostly is now, but in many cases a necessity to supplement the often meagre diets of the working class. At Quarry Bank Mill the vegetables grown were of the more basic kind, such as potatoes, cabbages, peas, beans, carrots, turnips and leeks: simple, wholesome crops that gave good yields.
The garden today
As part of its continuing programme to restore Quarry Bank, the Trust has recreated the garden as it probably was in about 1830. A great deal of research has been carried out to establish authentic plants that might have been grown by studying contemporary seed catalogues. No plans of the original garden layout have survived, but the present design is thought to be accurate and typical of the period.


|Railroad Whistle Talk|
Believe it or not, railroad engineers don't blow the locomotive whistles
just for the fun of it. Every toot has a distinct meaning and helps to
keep the wheels rolling.|
Some of the "Whistle Talk" used by our engineers is given below, so that you may know what the engine is saying the next time you hear the whistle echoing over the countryside.
Each "o" means a Short Toot. Each "_" means a Long Toot.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
Apply Brakes. Stop.|
Release Brakes. Proceed.
Flagman go back and protect rear of train.
Flagman return from West or South.
Flagman return from East or North.
Protect front of train.
Answer to any signal not otherwise provided for.
When Standing, to back up. When running, to to stop at next passenger station.
Call for signals.
Approaching highway crossing at grade.
Approaching stations, junctions and railroad crossings.
Approaching meeting or waiting, points of trains.
A number of short toots is an alarm for persons or livestock on the track.


We’re pretty sure that all seven are rocky worlds, like the Solar System’s inner planets.
Three are in the star’s habitable zone. The inner two definitely do not have one sort of atmosphere that would make life as we know it impossible.
Even if we don’t find life there, we’ll learn a great deal while looking.
- Size, Comparisons, and a Little Math
- Alien Life, Tourists, and Robots
- Voyage to a Distant Star
- Beyond Setting Records
TRAPPIST-1 is a small, very dim, very cool, star. Its diameter is about 158,600 kilometers, bigger than Jupiter’s 142,900, but not by much. TRAPPIST-1 b through h orbit very close to their sun.1
We know how big the TRAPPIST-1 planets are, but not what they look like.
Like I said, we don’t know if there’s life on any of them; or even if it’s possible.
Truth cannot contradict truth, being curious is a good idea, and scientific discoveries are opportunities for greater admiration of God’s creation. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 159, 214–217, 283, 294, 341)
I’ve been over that before, too. Quite often, actually:
- “Epiphany Sunday”
(January 8, 2017)
- “Making a Universe: Why Bother?”
(January 29, 2017)
- “Right-Handedness and Evolving Jaws”
(October 28, 2016)
- “Alchemy, Science, Life, and Health”
(October 16, 2016)
“…TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) is a project led by the Department of Astrophysics, Geophysics and Oceanography (AGO) of the University of Liège (Belgium), in close collaboration with the Observatory of Geneva (Switzerland). TRAPPIST is mostly funded by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) with the participation of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF).
“The team is composed of Emmanuël Jehin, Michaël Gillon, Pierre Magain, Virginie Chantry, Jean Manfroid, and Damien Hutsemékers (University of Liège, Belgium) and Didier Queloz and Stéphane Udry (Observatory of Geneva, Switzerland).
“The name TRAPPIST was given to the telescope to underline the Belgian origin of the project. Trappist beers are famous all around the world and most of them are Belgian. Moreover, the team members really appreciate them!”
(eso1023 — Organisation Release (June 8, 2010))
“Trappists” is what folks call monks in the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance. If you’re into Latin acronyms, that’s O.C.S.O.: Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae. They’re contemplative monks and nuns, part of the Benedictine family. (August 14, 2016)
“What Would Life Be Like on the TRAPPIST-1 Planets?”
Calla Cofield, Space.com (February 24, 2017)
“The TRAPPIST-1 system is home to seven planets that are about the size of Earth and potentially just the right temperature to support life. So how would life on these alien worlds be different than life on Earth? Here are some of the major differences.
“Amazing night-sky views
“Perhaps one of the most dramatic things that visitors to the TRAPPIST-1 system would notice is the view of the other six planets in the sky. In some cases, a neighboring planet might appear twice as large as the full moon seen from Earth. [Images: The 7 Earth-Size Worlds of TRAPPIST-1]
“‘If you were on the surface of one of these planets you would have a wonderful view of the other planets,’ Michaël Gillon, an astronomer at the University of Liège in Belgium and an author on the new paper, said in describing the discovery. ‘You wouldn’t see them like we see Venus or Mars, like dots of light. You would see them really as we see the moon. … You would see the structures on these worlds.’…”
Even so, a half-dozen ‘moons’ in the sky would make landscapes on TRAPPIST-1’s planets resemble (very slightly) Golden Age of Science Fiction magazine covers.
How big each of the other planets would look would depend on where they were in their orbits. Those closer to TRAPPIST-1 than the observer would go through phases, like we see on our moon.
I like to check assertions I read, so I looked up the TRAPPIST-1 system’s orbits.
The semimajor axis for TRAPPIST-1b, the first planet out from its star, is 1,660,000 kilometers. In other words, the planet’s center is 1,660,000 kilometers from the star’s center, on average.
TRAPPIST-1c’s semimajor axis is 2,280,000 kilometers. The distance between the two orbits is around 620,000 kilometers.
Comparison time. The semimajor axis for our moon’s orbit is about 384,400 kilometers. The distance between the orbits of TRAPPIST-1b and c is only about 1.6 time the distance to our moon.
Each planet is about the size of Earth, so when they’re close, the other world would look a lot larger than our moon does from Earth.
If any have water and support life, that’s a big “if,” I suspect poets will eventually wax eloquent about crescent worlds over the sparkling waters of distant lands.
Their “sun” would look much larger than ours, too, but TRAPPIST-1 is much smaller than our star.
That may be why its planets orbit so closely: or not. We’ve learned quite a bit about how stars and planets form, and there’s a great deal left to learn.
“Trappist-1 Planet Discovery Ignites Enthusiasm In Search For Alien Life”
Marcelo Gleiser, Op-ed, NPR (February 23, 2017)
“A group of astronomers announced Wednesday that seven Earth-size planets orbit a small, red, dwarf star 40 light-years away.
“The findings were published in the journal Nature. Observations indicate that at least three of the planets may be at temperate zones where liquid water may exist.
“The extraordinary finding — discovered by astronomers from an international collaboration led by Michaël Gillon from the University of Liège in Belgium, places the search for Earth-like planets and, more spectacularly, the search for alien life, under a brand-new lens. NASA released a fun poster about the findings….”
That poster is from NASA’s strictly-for-fun “Exoplanet Travel Bureau.”
Elon Musk says his SpaceX company will fly tourists around Earth’s moon in late 2018. (BBC News (February 28, 2017))
Sending human explorers to Mars may happen in the 2030s. Reaching the stars — I’ll get back to that.
Finding alien life depends, basically, on two things: extraterrestrial life existing; and knowing what to look for.
There’s a lively debate going on about how, exactly, to define “life” in the physical sense. Searching for alien life depends on knowing what we should look for.
Defining “life” seems simple enough. A Wikipedia page says “Life is a characteristic distinguishing physical entities having biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes….”
Another Wikipedia page says biological process are “processes vital for a living organism to live…” That definition brings us back to defining “life,” both of which are not particularly helpful, so far.
If “signalling and self-sustaining processes” are what makes something “alive,” then rovers like Curiosity are close to being “alive.” That definition isn’t particularly useful, assuming that most folks don’t think robots are “alive.”
Living critters on Earth are “organic” in the sense that we’re made of organic compounds.
“Organic” in that sense means that the compound contains carbon. The term goes back to when vitalism still made sense, and that’s yet another topic.
We’ve downgraded hopes for Mars from finding Martian people to finding Martian microbes. (December 16, 2016)
We’re also learning a great deal about how to look for extraterrestrial life.
Oxygen in a planet’s atmosphere seemed like an obvious biomarker. Then the National Institutes of Natural Sciences’ Norio Narita and Shigeyuki Masaoka showed how non-biological processes could oxygenate a planet’s atmosphere.2
Making the search more interesting, some critters don’t need oxygen. Or sunlight, for that matter.
Definitions of life-as-we-know-it got stretched in 1977. That’s when researchers found critters living around hydrothermal vents in the Galápagos Rift.
Up to that point, assuming that all life needed sunlight seemed reasonable. After all, plants photosynthesize using sunlight, which provides food for other critters.
Since then, we’ve found extremophiles, critters living in “extreme” places, in quite a few ‘uninhabitable’ spots.
No matter where they live, though, all living critters need water.
It’s where a planet like Earth is far enough from its star for water to be liquid, but not so far that it freezes. But they’re not the only places where we can look for life.
We’ve learned that liquid water can, and almost certainly does, exist in the outer Solar System. Subsurface oceans of Europa and Enceladus, moons of Jupiter and Saturn, may support life. (September 30, 2016)
That may be the only way “life” can work. Properties of the elements and compounds in our bodies seem ideally suited for life’s complex chemistry.
Carbon can bond with a great many other elements, and will form extremely complex molecules.
Water is a really good solvent, and stays liquid over a wide temperature range. It doesn’t get hotter or colder easily, and has other properties that make it an obvious choice for life’s working fluid.
Maybe it’s the only possible choice. Then again, maybe not.
In the ’60s, a former professor at Boston University suggested more-or-less-plausible life chemistries for temperatures ranging from near red-hot to near absolute zero.
We’re third down, nucleic acid/protein (O) in water:
- Fluorosilicone in fluorosilicone
- Fluorocarbon in sulfur
- Nucleic acid/protein (O) in water
- Nucleic acid/protein (N) in ammonia
- Lipid in methane
- Lipid in hydrogen
(“View from a Height” Isaac Asimov (1963), Lancer Books (p. 63))
Isaac Asimov’s grasp of ecology and physics was a trifle shaky in his fiction: but this time he was speculating in his professional field, chemistry.
Since then, quite a few scientists have started taking non-organic life chemistries seriously.3
“TRAPPIST-1: How Long Would It Take to Fly to 7-Planet System?”
Hanneke Weitering, Space.com (February 23, 2017)
“The discovery of seven Earth-size planets around a nearby star, TRAPPIST-1, is certainly exciting news. But what would it take to visit one of these potentially Earth-like alien worlds?
“TRAPPIST-1 is 39 light-years away from Earth, or about 229 trillion miles (369 trillion kilometers). It would take 39 years to get to its current location traveling at the speed of light. But no spacecraft ever built can travel anywhere near that fast.
“That said, people have sent some pretty fast vehicles into outer space. With today’s technology, how long would it take to get to TRAPPIST-1?…”
We’ll have to be patient. Light from TRAPPIST-1 takes about 39 years to get here, and today’s spacecraft are a whole lot slower.
New Horizons would make the trip in 817,000 years. Voyager 1 is faster, and would cover the distance in 685,000 years.
Stephen Hawking’s Breakthrough Starshot initiative microprobes would be much faster, once folks develop the technology. They’d go 39 light-years in roughly 200 years.
Something like Hawking’s Breakthrough Starshot is probably our best option for interstellar probes using technology that’s not too far from off-the-shelf hardware.
Instead of building a single probe, Hawking’s Starshot would be a fleet of 1,000 StarChip mini-probes.
Each StarChip would be a light sail, like NASA’s NanoSail-D: only smaller. A lot smaller. Each mini-probe would be a centimeter across, equipped with a tiny camera, electronics, and a transmitter.
Once in space, several gigawatt lasers — this is tech we don’t quite have yet — would push them up to about 20% speed of light.
They could reach Proxima Centauri in about two decades. A quarter-century after launch, pictures taken by the probes and transmitted back to Earth would give us the first close(ish) pictures of Proxima Centauri b.
We’ve made lasers, like the Argus, handling gigawatt-level emissions.
Getting the things to last more than a few moments, and focusing the beam, is another matter. Besides, I’m not sure how national leaders would take the idea of someone building what amounts to a laser cannon.
“Star’s seven Earth-sized worlds set record”
Paul Rincon, BBC News (February 22, 2017)
“Astronomers have detected a record seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a single star.
“The researchers say that all seven could potentially support liquid water on the surface, depending on the other properties of those planets.
“But only three are within the conventional ‘habitable’ zone where life is considered a possibility.
“The compact system of exoplanets orbits Trappist-1, a low-mass, cool star located 40 light-years away from Earth.
“The planets, detected using Nasa’s Spitzer Space Telescope and several ground-based observatories, are described in the journal Nature….”
Folks at SETI checked the TRAPPIST-1 system for radio signals last year, using the Allen Telescope Array. They ‘heard’ no obviously-artificial signal, but will try again.4
That could mean there’s nobody there.
Or maybe radio isn’t the only long-range communication technology. We started using wavelengths between 1 millimeter and 100 kilometers about a century back. I’ve talked about tech, time, and SETI, before. (December 16, 2016; September 16, 2016)
Finding life, intelligent or otherwise, would be enormously exciting. But that’s not the only reason scientists study TRAPPIST-1 and its planets.
Because the star is so dim, and fairly close, studying its planets will be comparatively easy. As BBC Science Editor David Shukman said, “telescopes studying the planets are not dazzled as they would be when aiming at far brighter stars.” (BBC News)
Besides being much closer than most of our galaxy’s stars, TRAPPIST-1’s planets pass between their star and ours once each of their years. That lets scientists study light that passes through their atmosphere. Assuming they have atmospheres.
(From NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, used w/o permission.)
(“To determine what’s in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, astronomers watch the planet pass in front of its host star and look at which wavelengths of light are transmitted and which are partially absorbed.”
J. de Wit’s artwork shows TRAPPIST-1 and two of its planets. It’s a good illustration, but includes details that are educated guesses: not facts.
Scientists got a picture of TRAPPIST-1 last year, but they were looking for a companion star or brown dwarf. Those images were very low-resolution, too; and confirmed that TRAPPIST-1 is a single star.5 The pictures didn’t show planets, and weren’t intended to.
We use something like transmission and absorption spectroscopy each time we look at something and notice what color it is. Different materials reflect, transmit, and absorb, light in distinct ways.
I could explain that by saying “energy associated with the quantum mechanical change primarily determines the frequency of the absorption line.” If you’re interested, I put a few links to geek-speak resources near the end of this post.6
You can blame Isaac Newton for spectroscopy. He called the colors we get when light passes through a prism a spectrum. William Hyde Wollaston noticed dark absorption lines in our star’s spectrum in 1802.
Anyway, each element emits a particular set of wavelengths if it’s heated enough; and absorbs those wavelengths if it’s not. I’m over-simplifying it: a lot.
Wondering why elements act that way helped scientists develop quantum mechanics, and that’s yet again another topic.
Scientists got a ‘look’ at the atmospheres of TRAPPIST-1 b and c last year. (July 29, 2016)
They found a “featureless spectrum,” which rules out a puffy atmosphere of mostly hydrogen.
We’re still not sure what their atmospheres are like, but we know their masses and diameters. Scientists think the odds are good that each of the seven planets found so far are rocky, like the Solar System’s inner worlds.
TRAPPIST-1 is upwards of 500,000,000 years old. How much older is hard to say, since low-mass stars change very slowly after settling on to the main sequence. A star like TRAPPIST-1 could last a hundred billion years.
That could mean that habitable planets in such systems stay habitable for a very long time.
On the other hand, last year scientists measured x-rays from TRAPPIST-1. That’s nothing unusual. Our star produces about as much x-ray radiation during its quiet phase.
TRAPPIST-1’s planets are so close, though, that these x-rays could do a lot more than the ones hitting Earth. That may affect the TRAPPIST-1 planetary atmospheres, or not.7
The planets are almost certainly either tidally locked, with one side always facing their sun, or in a spin-orbit resonance like Mercury. Either way, life on such worlds wouldn’t be entirely like its terrestrial analog.8
That could mean that life on the TRAPPIST-1 planets is impossible — or that this amazing puzzle collection we call the universe has more surprises for us.
More about how I see life, science, and the Fermi paradox:
- “SETI: What If?”
(December 23, 2016)
- “Mars, Aliens, and SETI”
(December 16, 2016)
- “Europa, Mars, and Someday the Stars”
(September 30, 2016)
- “Proxima Centauri b, Looking for Life”
(September 2, 2016)
- “Studying Thousands of New Worlds”
(July 29, 2016)
- “Ultracool Dwarf and the Seven Planets”
eso1706 — Science Release (February 22, 2017)
- “TRAPPIST-1 Comparison to Solar System and Jovian Moons”
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (February 22, 2017)
- “The TRAPPIST-1 Habitable Zone”
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (February 22, 2017)
- “NASA’s Hubble Telescope Makes First Atmospheric Study of Earth-Sized Exoplanets”
NASA press release (July 20, 2016)
- “Oxygen Is Not Definitive Evidence of Life on Extrasolar Planets”
NAOJ, Astrobiology (September 10, 2015)
- “Titania may produce abiotic oxygen atmospheres on habitable exoplanets”
Norio Narita, Takafumi Enomoto, Shigeyuki Masaoka, Nobuhiko Kusakabe; Scientific Reports (Received March 31, 2015; Accepted August 12, 2015; Published online September 10, 2015)
- “This Weird Planetary System Seems Like Something From Science Fiction”
Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer, SETI; NBC News (February 22, 2017)
- “7 Earth-Size Planets Orbit Dwarf Star, NASA and European Astronomers Say”
Kenneth Chang, The New York Times (February 22, 2017)
- “Speckle Imaging Excludes Low-Mass Companions Orbiting the Exoplanet Host Star TRAPPIST-1”
Steve B. Howell, Mark E. Everett, Elliott P. Horch, Nicholas Jon Scott; researchgate.net (September 2016)
- “Strong XUV irradiation of the Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting the ultracool dwarf TRAPPIST-1”
Peter J. Wheatley, Tom Louden, Vincent Bourrier, David Ehrenreich, Michaël Gillon; Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (October 8, 2016)


Writing: An Unexamined Gatekeeper
“Kids just aren’t learning like they used to. Have you seen those test results?” I hear this sentiment expressed by people everywhere, and often feel compelled to respond, “But tests are far more difficult now. They’re not just multiple-choice anymore. Today, they include writing.”
Everyone seems surprised to learn that our high-stakes assessments now include writing. Most say that multiple-choice tests are easier than written-response ones. They’d rather select a response than construct one.
Yet some states now include written-response items on every test—in reading, science, even math. And some of the writing tasks are lengthy and complex. This inclusion may present a significant variable, one that influences student performance and test scores. That’s how writing has become a gatekeeper for student promotion and graduation, as well as for schools’ “adequate yearly progress” and federal funding.
Researchers have reported many testing discrepancies in the past, but has anyone investigated how written response affects test results? After results for the 2006 SAT showed the largest drop off in scores in 31 years, administrators of the test took a close look—and blamed the exam’s new writing section. How did writing influence that drop in scores? Does it influence state tests the same way?
Right now, we don’t know how performance is affected when the writing variable is added. This means we cannot use current state-test comparison data until we first investigate all between-state assessment variables and their effects on performance.
Some of the between-state differences that may be significant include test formatting, writing tasks, types of writing and instruction, scoring and rubrics, and the accessibility to instructional supports.
A change in test formatting on that 2006 SAT produced significantly different results. So when states add written-response tasks to tests that previously contained only multiple-choice items, will their students experience a similar toll-taking challenge? Students in the nation’s capital encountered such a challenge last year, and only 28 out of 146 District of Columbia schools reached the 2006 benchmark. Did the addition of writing influence those scores? If so, how?
When comparing written-response and multiple-choice tests, we must also study how test length, difficulty level, and guessing affect results. Such differences currently invalidate comparisons of reading data between California and New York state, for example, or between Oregon and Washington state, because New York and Washington use written-response on their reading tests, while California and Oregon use only multiple-choice. What’s more, New York students construct written responses on all assessments (math, science, social studies), while states such as California require students to use writing only for the writing section.
Think about it. In every subject but one, students in California or Oregon read a prompt, followed by a question, and then “bubble in” their answer. Multiple-choice allows “bubblers” to guess, which gives them some chance of correctly selecting the one right answer.
On the other hand, in Washington, New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Delaware, and other written-response states, guessing is less of an option. Instead, responders must analyze a multifaceted prompt, then organize right-answer facts from which they construct a single- or multiple-paragraph response—a far cry from coloring in circles on a Scantron sheet.
We also need to investigate how the tasks on written-response tests differ between states and between subject areas. Tasks currently vary in quantity, length, type, and, thus, difficulty. Answers range from mere one-word completion responses to multiple-page essays.
The variety of written-response-test prompts boggles the mind. Take a brief, cross-state cyber trip. Click on “released items.” You’ll notice that some prompts evoke self-based responses, while others require text-based answers.
English writing prompts generally call for the self-based type and welcome creativity, such as this one from Nevada’s 2000 writing test: “Discuss an event or situation that taught you a lesson or created a change in your life.”
But when states use writing to assess subject areas, such as reading, prompts usually require text-based responses. Thus, after reading the article titled “Porcupines,” Vermont students use text facts to answer this prompt: “Explain why porcupines do not have to fight. Use information from the article to support your answer.”
Some tests complicate matters by combining self-based and text-based response within the same task, as this one from Illinois does: “Would a person like Doc Marlowe best be described as someone to be admired or not admired? Explain why. Use information from the story and your own observations to support your answer.”
Whether written responses are brief or extended, machine-scored or human-scored, text-based or self-based, writing is elevated to the status of gatekeeper for those subjects. Might we conceivably predict, then, that students who have trouble with writing will have difficulty in every subject that’s tested through writing?
But what if the student knows the subject well—even knows the right answers—but does not write well? What if he can’t spell? What if his handwriting resembles that on the last prescription you took to the pharmacy? What if the student is from another country and confuses syntax? Should this person be encouraged to move out of New York, Washington, Ohio, Kentucky, Connecticut, and other written-response states and into a state like California? After all, his graduation could depend on it. But so might his career.
In 2004, the National Commission on Writing declared that students must learn to write well “in all subjects.” The panel called writing a “ ‘threshold skill’ for both employment and promotion, particularly for salaried employees.” Writing, it said, “could be your ticket in … or it could be your ticket out.”
There’s little doubt that students need instruction in all forms of writing. But here’s the catch: Who’s teaching written-response? English teachers, who have always been in charge of the writing realm, do not usually focus on just-the-facts responses, but rather on writing characterized by strong voice, enticing leads, clever metaphors, and creative description. Yet it is right-answer writing that is needed to construct a correct answer to many test prompts, such as this one on Washington state’s science test:
“A scientist at Acme Chemical found an unlabeled container. He knew the contents were either HCl, NaOH, or NaCl. Using Chart A on page 2 of the Direction and Scenario Booklet:
• Describe four tests that can be used to determine which chemical was in the container.
• For each test, tell how it would help him determine which chemical is in the container.”
Unfortunately, too many students labor long and hard composing a creative response to one of these right-answer prompts, thus making the task more difficult than it needs to be. What’s more, in the working world, will employers care about leads and voice? They’ll probably want creative thinking and just-the-facts writing.
Should we then throw creative writing out the window? Indeed not. But let’s acknowledge the influential scoring idiosyncrasies between creative writing and the right-answer writing needed to produce a test response.
Writing tests are scored holistically using rubric scales, which allow for shades of correctness. Most of these stretch to accommodate an infinite number of responses, so debates over scoring arise. That’s why states such as Nevada offer a writing-scores appeals process to those who disagree with their scoring.
Conversely, right-answer writing, because of its tight, text-based boundaries, makes scoring less debatable. Is that why some states are moving away from creative writing tasks or excluding the writing section of their tests from accountability calculations?
Moreover, expense and training related to correcting tests vary. Some written responses are machine-scored, but most are hand-scored, sometimes by educators, other times by noneducators. Is the added expense of training and correcting why states like Texas choose to use written-response only on their high school assessment?
And what about differences in accessibility to instructional-support systems? Staff development varies significantly between states, as do procedures related to released items and sample responses. Some states keep tests under tight wraps. Such “secure” tests make it almost impossible for anyone to view a particular student’s actual assessment to locate that student’s individual needs.
Scores are returned to schools when tests are not, but a few states quickly return scores and tests to schools. Some reuse tests. Others do not. These differences create between-state accessibility discrepancies, but do they also affect between-state results? If so, how much?
These are only some of the unexamined variables related to state assessments. But they bear witness to the fact that researchers must stop comparing apples to pot roast. Comparisons that use state assessments currently are unreliable and invalid because of potentially influential, unexamined differences. In light of the testing craze inspired by the No Child Left Behind Act, it seems unconscionable that writing’s gatekeeper status has gone unrecognized.
Regardless of federal or state mandates, however, one thing remains obvious: We need to help all students develop skills in both creative and right-answer writing, using authentic experiences that demonstrate the diversity and the importance of writing. It is, after all, increasingly the ticket the gatekeeper will require.
Vol. 26, Issue 25, Pages 31-33


Your social security number is now a part of almost every form, including health insurance paperwork and the application for your library card. In fact, researchers reporting in this week's issue of the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences used public data (hello, Facebook) to predict the first five digits of a person's social security number. And they got it right, on the first try, 44 percent of the time. With more on the dangers of our less-than-private individual identification system, The Takeaway is joined by privacy expert Peter Swire.
You can read more about the PNAS study by heading to the web site of our partners, The New York Times, and checking out today's article, Social Security Numbering System Vulnerable to Fraud, Experts Say.
"We have a known system that's leading to a lot of identity theft and will lead to a lot more identity theft. We probably have to suck it up as a society and get to a new system."
—Ohio State University professor Peter Swire


30th anniversary of Convention on the Right of the Child
On 20th November 1989, world leaders made a historic decision. As part of the United Nation, leaders signed a treaty to protect children and fulfil their rights. The most widely ratified human rights treaty clearly separates kids until 18 are not part of adulthood. So all kids up to 18 are protected under this treaty.
November 20, 2019, marks the 30th anniversary of this convention. The world children’s day paved the way to protect kids all over the world. All those countries who signed the treaty committed to adopting an international framework to protect children in their individual countries.
After 30 years, once again the world leaders reassured their commitment to children. Even though we have a lot more to do, the committee gives us hope. Let us keep in mind, even children have their own rights and as a responsible adult, we have to protect it.


How to Create a Signature in Outlook 2007
Open the Signatures and Stationery window. This will allow you to edit and assign signatures. It is accessed in different ways depending on the version of Outlook you use:
- Outlook 2010/2013 – Click the File menu. Select Options from the File menu. Open the Mail menu. Scroll down until you find the “Signatures…” button. Click it to open the Signatures and Stationery window.
- Outlook 2007 – Click the Tools menu and select Options. Click the Mail Format tab, and then click the “Signatures…” button to open the Signatures and Stationery window.
- Outlook 2003 – Click the Tools menu and select Options. Click the Mail Format tab and then click the “Signatures…” button. This will open the Create Signature window.
Select your email account. Before you create a new signature, make sure that the correct email account is selected in the right side of the window.
- In Outlook 2003, you select your email account in the Mail Format tab of the Options menu.
Click “New” to create a new signature. Give it a name that will help you recognize it. You can create multiple signatures, so having unique names for them will help you choose the appropriate one when you are sending a message.
Write your signature in the “Edit signature” field. You can format your text with different fonts, colors, and sizes, as well as add images or virtual business cards. You can include links to a webpage too. This signature will be attached to the end of your emails.
Assign the signature. Once you’ve created your signature, you can choose to enable it for new messages and/or replies and forwards. If you create multiple signatures, you can assign different ones for different tasks.
Insert signatures manually. If you’d rather not automatically apply the signature to every message you send, you can insert it at your discretion. When you have an email open, click the Message tab, and then click the Signature button. A list will appear of available signature, allowing you to pick the one you want.
- In Office 2003, click Insert, select Signature, and then select the signature that you want to use.
Delete a signature. If you decide you don’t want to use the signature in your message, select it at the bottom of the message and press the Delete key.


The Excel Yearfrac function returns the fraction of a year that is represented by the number of whole days between two supplied dates.
The syntax of the function is:
Where the arguments are as follows:
|start_date||-||The start of the period (this date is included in the calculation).|
|end_date||-||The end of the period (this date is included in the calculation).|
|The financial day count basis rules are explained in detail on the Wikipedia Day Count Convention page|
Note that Microsoft advises that you do not type dates directly into functions, as Excel may interpret text representations of dates differently, depending on the date interpretation settings on your computer. Therefore the start_date and end_date arguments for the Yearfrac function should be input as either:
The spreadsheet below shows five examples of the Excel Yearfrac function. In each case, the function is used to calculate the year fraction between 1st January 2015 and 31st March 2015. However, each case uses a different Day Count Basis.
See the Microsoft Office website for further examples of the Excel Yearfrac function.
If you get an error from the Excel Yearfrac function, this is likely to be one of the following:
|#NUM!||-||Occurs if the value of the supplied [basis] argument is less than 0 or greater than 4.|


30 November, 2006
It has been pointed out by many people, including on this blog by Sacha (quoting James Lovecock), that nuclear is much safer than pretty much any source of power for electricity. The relevant comparison was that per Terawatt-year of electricity generated there are 342 deaths for coal, 885 deaths for Hydro, 85 deaths from Natural Gas and only 8 for Nuclear. This comparison appears to be using a low figure for the Chernobyl accident as the WHO finds around double that number of deaths directly to the Chernobyl accident, but even so that brings the total to 16 per TWy, still well less than the next most safe method, Natural Gas. Hydro rates poorly due to some severe accidents with dams bursting in India that have killed in the thousands each.
Death of course is not the only risk associated with nuclear. Thousands more have had thyroid cancer directly as a result of Chernobyl although most have been treated and over 99% have recovered it is still a cost to bear. Then there is the contamination of land and the wholesale abandonment of the surrounding area. Also this is not to mention that we don’t really have much historical data to base our estimate of how bad or how frequent a meltdown can be. Still if we look at the total historical human costs and average over all the power that has successfully been generated by nuclear the human cost still comes out as being low, certainly lower than coal power.
If that is the case then isn’t it rational that we should adopt nuclear on the basis of safety? What that kind of comparison misses out is that people regard riskier situations as different to less risky situations for similar expectations. Thus although most nuclear power plants will sit there quite happily not hurting anyone, the rare one that does is potentially extremely hazardous. It is reasonable to treat this volatile outcome as much more serious than the equivalent. We do after all routinely pay away money to insurance companies when we would be better, on an expected outcome basis, to save the money ourselves.
If we believe that nuclear is not just a bit safer (in terms of deaths) than other forms of electricity but significantly safer, then surely this is enough to outweigh our risk aversion? I would say yes, but I could quite easily understand others coming to the no conclusion as well even if they were fairly well informed of the facts and the true risks.
That said I believe it is clear that many people over estimate the risk of nuclear compared with other risks that they don’t even consider or take for granted. On the other hand its also seductively easy to look at nuclear power’s track record in the west and do the reverse. It’s easy to believe there are no black swans if you’ve never seen one. We know catastrophic accidents are rare, but have we been lucky or unlucky seeing as few as we have seen?
21 November, 2006
The key sticking factor in developing a nuclear industry would seem to be the political risk. Would any company take on the risk of building a nuclear power plant while the likely alternate government is opposed to the plan?
With a construction lead time of 10-15 years, this is likely to encompass at least one change of government, and a likely 2 full rotations of the senate. Without significant financial guarantees it is difficult to see why any company would take on the risk of having a billion dollar venture, with a high likelihood of crashing down on change of government. As the report summary states on page 10:
An efficient and predictable regulatory process is an essential prerequisite for a nuclear power
industry. With its high capital costs, nuclear power is very sensitive to delays and uncertainty in obtaining approvals.
While this is mostly talking about governments altering the requirements, an opposition hostile to the very idea would seem to pose an even greater risk. This means the government initiating the deal would essentially need to tie some sort of financial guarantee into the project. While a policy reversal for the ALP once construction has begun would not be out of the question, the chance that they may decide to roll back these changes as well makes it a very risky regulatory environment.
Personally I think this is a shame, as we should have all options on the table to reduce CO2 emissions and nuclear is still one of the few viable base load power sources.
Update: Of course the political risk is not only federal but also regional, with several States already coming out and saying they would fight it in the courts, although given the recent WorkChoices decision it appears unlikley they would win according to this report.
21 November, 2006
The draft report of the Uranium Mining, Processing and Nuclear Energy Review has been released and is available in whole and parts here. I haven’t yet been able to read the documents, but from the summaries appearing in the news they aren’t telling us anything that wasn’t already known. In short that nuclear is more expensive than coal in Australia, and only becomes cost effective if we put a price on carbon emissions. With regards safety, it finds it to be safer than other energy industries, and poses no additional nuclear proliferation risk.
I’ll try to comment when I actually read more of the report.
14 November, 2006
If nothing is certain except death and taxes, why not get them out of the way at the same time? I’ve often wondered why an estate or inheritance tax is not used in Australia. To me it seems a logical and comparatively fair way of performing the burden of taxation. Income taxes make generating wealth more difficult, so why not shift the burden off those actually generating new wealth and place it increasingly on to those who are getting it merely due to chance of birth?
Surely raising taxes this way is more efficient? Taking it off those who have windfall gains rather than those who are actually generating the most must be more efficient. In principle I can’t see any arguments against it that don’t also apply to income tax. I can understand there may be considerable practical difficulties in actually doing this, but this does not seem to be the reason people are against it.
So can anyone give me a good reasons for not having an inheritance tax in exchange for lower income tax? Or is it just a fantastic idea that we should go back to?
14 November, 2006
First it was Rupert Murdoch “The planet deserves the benefit of the doubt.”, then Peter Costello on insiders
I think the ground is changing. I think it is important that we bring new countries into this discussion. And I think, from Australia’s point of view, if the world starts moving towards a carbon trading system, we can’t be left out of that, that Australia has a role…
and now John Howard
JOHN HOWARD has yielded to pressure to consider a global carbon trading scheme, and business leaders say they are ready to take action against global warming.
As Brian has noted at LP, the release of the Stern review has coincided with a sudden shift in the political direction with respect to AGW policy. Previously the Australian government position has been completely intransigent on being involved with carbon trading, but with Peter Costello’s interview on insiders and now this announcement it seems there has been a large shift in government opinion. Even if this is not a complete reversal it is a serious concession that Australia and the rest of the world needs to do more.
Earlier in the year the government used a review of the tax system as a stepping stone on the way to reversing its previously stated opposition to cutting top tax rates. Here’s hoping this review is the same, a facing saving exercise before a policy reversal and not just more hot air.
9 November, 2006
Tucked away at the bottom of this article about Australia taking up nuclear power is this bizarre statement about water trading which kind of demonstrates why people should think carefully before commenting outside their area of expertise.
Water and irrigation experts remain unsure about whether any of the measures decided on at Tuesday’s meeting of state and Commonwealth leaders would free extra water.
Peter Schwerdtfeger, emeritus professor of meteorology at Flinders University’s Airborne Research Centre, said he agreed that overallocation of water needed to be stopped, but with “precious little else” that the meeting decided on.
“Water trading as it stands now is an evil nonsense. It has allowed the fallacious belief to develop that water can be sold either upstream or downstream without any consequences.
“Water that is sold to NSW will not flow downstream and the bed of the Murray may dry out. It is not environmentally or economically viable.
“Water trading only works if you have a surplus of water … why don’t we encourage people to use water more efficiently?”
It could be that Prof. Schwerdtfeger has been taken out of context or misquoted, but it seems more likely that he doesn’t understand the basic point that trade, by putting a market price on water it implicitly results in it being put to
the most more efficient uses.
I don’t think that anyone is under the illusion that water is a commodity that can be traded “without any consequences”. Environmental flows must be maintained, losses when trades occur over long distances and such are all issues, but hardly irreconcilable ones. Most importantly is trading is more important when there is scarcity, its barely necessary if you have surplus. Prof. Schwerdtfeger may be an expert in climatology, but when he’s talking about trading, I don’t think he has a clue.
8 November, 2006
Hypocrisy is a poorly regarded activity as Ted Haggard, a US pastor who has admitted to having gay sex could tell you. Criticism and focus of most stories about this case has concentrated mostly on his anti-gay views and the inherent hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy is defined as “a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion”. While it’s clear that Haggard hasn’t met the virtuous standards he has espoused it’s also not clear that he is feigning his belief in those standards. People following their instincts rather than doing what they believe is right is not uncommon.
A passage in Neal Stephenson’s SF book The Diamond Age, has an interesting take on hypocrisy espoused by one of characters, one of the leaders of a group known as “Neo-Victorians”.
You know, when I was a young man, hypocrisy was deemed the worst of vices,” Finkle-McGraw said. “It was all because of moral relativism. You see, in that sort of a climate, you are not allowed to criticise others-after all, if there is no absolute right and wrong, then what grounds is there for criticism? … Now, this led to a good deal of general frustration, for people are naturally censorious and love nothing better than to criticise others’ shortcomings. And so it was that they seized on hypocrisy and elevated it from a ubiquitous peccadillo into the monarch of all vices. For, you see, even if there is no right and wrong, you can find grounds to criticise another person by contrasting what he has espoused with what he has actually done. In this case, you are not making any judgment whatsoever as to the correctness of his views or the morality of his behaviour-you are merely pointing out that he has said one thing and done another. Virtually all political discourse in the days of my youth was devoted to the ferreting out of hypocrisy. Read the rest of this entry »


I recently created a wiki with another teacher on the topic of using blogs for reflective learning. It was a interesting and rewarding process. The biggest difficulty was getting started- determining our topic, content of the topic, and what sections to write about as a part of the overall topic. I was not very familiar with the topic initially, though I did have some of my own ideas on how to use blogs for reflective learning. Once I researched the topic and found some websites that explained it, the topic was very easy to write about in our wiki. I learned a few things from this project- namely, the actual topic of how to use blogs for reflective learning. I gained some new, great ideas on how to incorporate this into my classroom. I also learned the ins and outs of wiki creation. I have previously contributed to a wiki but it was a simple typing in of some info, not as in-depth of using and making a wiki.
My opinion of Wikipedia has changed some this week. While it is more reliable now than maybe several years ago when misinformation was not updated quickly like it is now, it is still not a resource that I would want my students to use for a formal, research paper or project. But it is a great source to look up quick information.
I so far am not encountering resistance to using wikis in my classroom. I think students would enjoy using wikis, once they were taught the ground rules from me for their appropriate use. I will need to determine how to best incorporate wikis in my online classes.


Since the first films jerked their way across the screens at the very end of the nineteenth century it has been obvious that they were a new and powerful medium for the communication of ideas. Certainly all dictatorships have thought so and their political content has been the subject of furious debate and even rioting.
The highly visual nature of the medium has meant that some ideas have been easier than others to articulate on screen. More particularly the very dispersed nature of of the benefits that accrue to market economies have made them difficult to display in the medium. It is easy to show the job that was created by government activity but impossible to show the job which was not created because of the high taxation to fund the job created by government or the job destroyed by excessive regulation. on the other hand film is good at capturing the value of small local institutions which leads us directly to:
Étre et Avoir by the French documentary film maker Nicholas Philibert. This is an astonishingly, beautiful and heart breaking film about a school in rural France. Although the director explicitly disavows interest in big ideas the film makes the Burkean point in a low key way.
Along the same lines is the documentary about a small community in the far west of Wales Sleeping Furiously; here the focus is broader, including for example the role of religion, hence the impact is less. But it can compared properly with Philibert’s classic on which it is, to some extent, based.
The Glory of My Father and its sequel My Mother’s Castleonce again we have here French film making at its best. These autobiographical films deal with the childhood of a French scientist, his relationship with his parents and his peers of both sexes. The importance of family can never have been more beautifully celebrated and both films deal sensitively with the clash between free thought and Catholicism in early twentieth century France. Also well worth seeing is Choir, set in a French school just after the war in 1945, which is concerned with the sometimes agonizing process of coming to terms with reality.
A wonderful film that celebrates the value of filial affection is The Straight Story. When WW Straight, who did not have a driving license, heard his estranged brother was dying he set out across the American Mid-West, to see him, on a mowing machine.
Another film concerned with the value of the small community , in this case the Amish of Pennsylvania, is Witness starring Harrison Ford. Michael Medved says “The portrayal of the Amish and their uncompromising rejection of modernity is not only sympathetic, it is idealised.” The house raising scene in which a group of neighbours pull the wooden frame of a house into place is an unforgettable piece of cinema
C.S. lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein were close friends and colleagues at Oxford. Both were blessed with vivid imaginations which were informed by the shared Christian faith. No one should miss the Three films , directed by peter Jackson, which make up the Lord of The Rings trilogy based on the books by Tolkein and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe based on the book by Lewis.
Staying with the Oxford theme Chariots of Fire celebrates both the aristocratic values of a now vanished world and those of “muscular” Christianity.
- The conflicts between the old and the new have been a problem for conservatives since Burke. Consequently they are likely will be interested by Gone With The Wind and by The Leopard, both of which are sympathetic, perhaps too sympathetic, to the old order in respectively the Southern States of America and Sicily after its absorption by the new Kingdom of Italy.


PARC: Additional Therapies
Tai Chi Class
Kinesthetic (carrying out a physical activity, rather than listening to a lecture or merely watching a demonstration) movement and imagery strategies that address and work on:
- Maintaining/improving balance
- Weight shifting in sitting and standing
- Dynamic standing balance
- Body awareness through movement
- Side to side movement
- Cognition- Ability to think and problem solve
Animal Assisted Therapy
Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a goal-directed intervention in which a volunteer trainer and dog certified by the Delta Society assist in therapy as an important part of the treatment process. AAT is directed by a therapist, while working within their scope of practice. AAT is designed to promote improvement in physical, social, emotional, and or cognitive (thinking and problem-solving) function.
Acupuncture therapy is the practice of inserting fine needles through the skin to stimulate healing and ease pain. This therapeutic technique is used as a complementary treatment for ALS and a variety of health conditions.


Meet our continent’s only aquatic songbird. The American dipper is named for the dipping movement it makes as it moves along fast-flowing streams and rivers searching for prey. It is capable of “flying” underwater and walking on the bottom of the stream as it snags aquatic insects and larvae.
How you can support this project
My goal with this project is to create a collection of powerful storytelling images of the watershed sentinels of the Oregon Coast, which can become a traveling educational exhibit, a visual presentation for a lecture series, and other tools useful to inform and empower residents to protect and conserve their local watershed habitats and the species that rely upon them.
This work is funded primarily through grants and donations. If you would like to support Watershed Sentinels, please consider making a donation via PayPal.
All donations received go directly to field work specific to Watershed Sentinels, including travel costs, printing, outreach, specialized equipment, and other needs. Please note that donations are not tax-deductible.