Longmont’s Tony Lewis was on his way Thursday to collect a bee swarm at a home in Westminster when he was asked the question that has beekeepers buzzing this spring.

Where are all the swarms?

“I got my first swarm call about three days ago, and this is only my third or fourth call of the season,” said Lewis, who does free bee swarm removal through TonysBeeRemoval.com.

“By now I have usually had 50 or 60 calls,” Lewis said. “A couple years ago, I was getting 10 to 15 calls a day.”

Boulder’s record April snowfall of 47.6 inches, followed by another foot of snow and record low of 17 degrees at the start of May — has triggered some seasonal anomalies. Those include a late crop of dandelions, stunted tree bud development and, so far, a near-swarmless spring.

The phenomenon of honey bee swarming, most typically seen in the Boulder County area between April 15 and May 15, is triggered by the bees’ wintering space becoming overcrowded and is a natural step in the bees’ reproductive process. The presiding queen leaves the hive, taking roughly half the hive population of worker bees with her, forging a new colony. The bees remaining behind then create a new queen, in her place.

But if a hive has not thrived to the point where crowding exists, or if the bees know that the sources of nutrition they depend on don’t exist at adequate levels, either factor can affect the timing and level of swarming that will be witnessed.

Symptomatic of a larger pattern

“I have been catching swarms for about 15 years on the Front Range, and what I can say is that they are three weeks late,” said Corwin Bell, founder of BackYardHive.com. He advocates an approach in which backyard beekeepers consider themselves “bee guardians,” and he emphasizes a naturalistic, non-interventional approach to the hobby.

Recent trips Bell has made to Paonia and Carbondale, he said, show a similar pattern around the state. He said the state’s wintry introduction to spring is a clear factor in the bees’ reluctance to swarm.

“If you drive through Boulder, you’ll notice there are no blooming trees,” Bell said. “Everyone is saying they are just late to bloom. But if you look at their buds, they got hit by that last cold spell; they’re not going to bloom.”

Miles McGaughey, president of the Boulder County Beekeepers Association, keeps from 75 to as many as 350 hives of differing varieties at his Longmont property. He has collected only a handful of swarms this year but points out that the phenomenon of bee swarming is “an iffy deal” in the best of times.

“It’s a timing issue with bees,” McGaughey said. “They swarm when conditions are really prime for survival of the swarm that is leaving. They try to do it when there’s lots of resources available, which around here is fruit bloom and dandelions, both of which were significantly delayed this year, and in the case of the fruit blooms, totally annihilated.

“And because of that there is just a high probability that many bee hives will not swarm, and those that do should swarm significantly later than last year.”

Tom Theobald, owner of the Niwot Honey Farm, is in his 38th year as a beekeeper.

“If we’re going to have swarming, it’s likely to commence in the next week or two because we’ve had one of the best dandelion blooms in years, and that’s a major source of nectar and pollen for the bees,” said Theobald, a founder of Boulder County Beekeepers. “We look at that (the dandelion bloom) as the end of winter. The colonies who are better able to respond will now be getting crowded.”

Colony Collapse Disorder

The swarming discussion takes place against the backdrop of the ongoing conversation concerning Colony Collapse Disorder, the mysterious crisis first reported in 2006. That’s when commercial beekeepers started to notice large-scale deaths of honey bee colonies throughout the United States and around the globe.

Mortality rates for commercial beekeepers, according to a report released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have run as high as 33 percent from 2006 to 2011, with some anecdotal reports by beekeepers claiming a 90 percent loss of their managed hives.

The USDA report examined a wide range of factors, including the role of a parasitic mite called Varroa destructor, which has often been found in decimated colonies, as well as the widespread use of pesticides, including neonicotinoids.

However, the report stated, “While a number of potential causes have been championed by a variety of researchers and interest groups, none of them have stood up to detailed scrutiny. Every time a claim is made of finding a ‘smoking gun,’ further investigation has not been able to make the leap from a correlation to cause-and-effect.”

It went on to state, “Researchers have concluded that no one factor is the cause of CCD. Most likely, CCD is caused by multiple factors. It is not possible to know at this time if all CCD incidents are due to the same set of factors, or if the factors follow the same sequence in every case.”

Bell, who estimates recent hive loss in Colorado at between 50 and 60 percent, points to the European Union’s vote late last month to ban the use of three neonicotinoids on crops attractive to bees for a two-year period, starting Dec. 1.

“They need to pass it here,” Bell said. “There are a whole bunch of lawns and gardens that are using those, and the (resulting) large hive loss has added to the less swarming that we’re getting.”

Theobald, among those who unsuccessfully argued before the Boulder County commissioners for a neonicotinoid ban more than a year ago, said, “We are faced with some very serious problems, and the systemic pesticides are at the root of what has been presented as a great mystery.

“But if you look closely at the science,” Theobald said, “most of the problems can trace their origin to the damage being done by these systemic pesticides.

“They are very, very damaging, and until we change the environment in which we’re trying to survive, I don’t see any improvement.”

Contact Camera Staff Writer Charlie Brennan at 303-473-1327 or brennanc@dailycamera.com.

Have a swarm?

Bee swarm hotline: If you find yourself with an unwanted swarm of bees on your property — they usually cluster in the size of a football — you can have the swarm safely removed by calling the Bee Swarm Hotline at 720-443-2331.

Read the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s May 7 report on Colony Collapse Disorder: http://1.usa.gov/uUL8 ___

(c)2013 the Daily Camera (Boulder, Colo.)

Visit the Daily Camera (Boulder, Colo.) at www.dailycamera.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

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• List Provided By Zoological Society Of London/ International Union For Conservation Of Nature

  strongScientific Name:/strong emPoecilotheria metallica/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongPeacock Parachute Spider

  strongCategory:/strong Spider

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat loss and degradation as a result of deforestation, firewood collection and civil unrest

• strongScientific Name:/strong emAbies beshanzuensis/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongBaishan Fir

  strongCategory:/strong Conifer

  strongPopulation: /strong5 mature individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Agricultural expansion and fire

• strongScientific Name:/strong emActinote zikani /em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Butterfly

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown, one population remaining

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat degradation due to pressure from human populations

• strongScientific Name:/strong emAipysurus foliosquama/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongLeaf Scaled Sea-Snake

  strongCategory:/strong Sea snake

  strongPopulation: /strong Unknown, two subpopulations remain

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Unknown – likely degradation of coral reef habitat

• strongScientific Name:/strong emAmanipodagrion gilliesi/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongAmani Flatwing

  strongCategory:/strong Damselfly

  strongPopulation: /strong 500 individuals est.

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat degradation due to increasing population pressure and water pollution

• strongScientific Name:/strong emAntilophia bokermanni/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongAraripe Manakin

  strongCategory:/strong bird

  strongPopulation: /strong779 individuals (est 2010)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat destruction due to expansion of agriculture and recreational facilities and water diversion

• strongScientific Name:/strong Antisolabis seychellensis

  strongCommon Name: /strong Seychelles Earwig

  strongCategory:/strong Earwig

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Invasive species and climate change

• strongScientific Name:/strong Aphanius transgrediens

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Freshwater fish

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Competition and predation by Gambusia and road construction

• strongScientific Name:/strong Ardeotis nigriceps

  strongCommon Name: /strong Great Indian Bustard

  strongCategory:/strong Bird

  strongPopulation: /strong 50 -249 mature individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat loss and modification due to agricultural development

• strongScientific Name:/strong Aproteles bulmerae

  strongCommon Name: /strongBulmer’s Fruit Bat

  strongCategory:/strong Bat

  strongPopulation: /strong150 individuals (est)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Hunting and cave disturbance

• strongScientific Name:/strong Ardea insignis

  strongCommon Name: /strongWhite Bellied Heron

  strongCategory:/strong Bird

  strongPopulation: /strong70-400 individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat destruction and degradation due to hydropower development

• strongScientific Name:/strong emAstrochelus yniphora/em

  strongCommon Name: /strong Ploughshare Tortoise / Angonoka

  strongCategory:/strong Tortoise

  strongPopulation: /strong440-770

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Illegal collection for international pet trade

• strongScientific Name:/strong emAtelopus balios/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongRio Pescado Stubfoot Toad

  strongCategory:/strong Toad

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Chytridiomycosis and habitat destruction due to logging and agricultural expansion

• strongScientific Name:/strong emAythya innotata/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongMadagascar Pochard

  strongCategory:/strong Bird

  strongPopulation: /strong Approximately 20 mature individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat degradation due to slash-and-burn agriculture, hunting, and fishing / introduced fish

• strongScientific Name:/strong emAzurina eupalama/em

  strongCommon Name: /strong Galapagos damsel fish

  strongCategory:/strong Pelagic fish

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Climate Change – oceanographic changes associated with the 1982 / 1983 El Nino are presumed to be responsible for the apparent disappearance of this species from the Galapagos

• strongScientific Name:/strong emBahaba taipingensis/em

  strongCommon Name: /strong Giant yellow croaker

  strongCategory:/strong Pelagic fish

  strongPopulation: /strong Unknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Over-fishing, primarily due to value of swim-bladder for traditional medicine – cost per kilogram exceeded that of gold in 2001

• strongScientific Name:/strong emBatagur baska/em

  strongCommon Name: /strong Common Batagur/ Four-toed terrapin

  strongCategory:/strong Turtle

  strongPopulation: /strong Unknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Illegal export and trade from Indonesia to China

• strongScientific Name:/strong Bazzania bhutanica

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Liverwort

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat degradation and destruction due to forest clearance, overgrazing and development

• strongScientific Name:/strong emBeatragus hunteri/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongHirola

  strongCategory:/strong Antelope

  strongPopulation: /strong 1000 individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat loss and degradation, competition with livestock, poaching

• strongScientific Name:/strong emBombus franklinii/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongFranklin’s Bumble Bee

  strongCategory:/strong Bee

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Disease from commercially bred bumblebees and habitat destruction and degradation

• strongScientific Name:/strong Brachyteles hypoxanthus

  strongCommon Name: /strong Northern muriqui

  strongCategory:/strong Primate

  strongPopulation: /strong 1,000 individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat loss and fragmentation due to large-scale deforestation and selective logging

• strongScientific Name:/strong emBradypus pygmaeus/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongPygmy sloth

  strongCategory:/strong Sloth

  strongPopulation: /strong 500 individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat loss due to illegal logging of mangrove forests for firewood and construction and hunting of the sloths

• strongScientific Name:/strong emCallitriche pulchra/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Freshwater plant

  strongPopulation: /strong Unknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Exploitation of the species’ habitat by stock, and modification of the pool by local people

• strongScientific Name:/strong emCalumma tarzan/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongTarzan’s Chameleon

  strongCategory:/strong Chameleon

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat destruction for agriculture

• strongScientific Name:/strong emCavia intermedia/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongSanta Catarina’s Guinea Pig

  strongCategory:/strong Guinea Pig

  strongPopulation: /strong 40-60 individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat disturbance and possible hunting; small population effects

• strongScientific Name:/strong emCercopithecus roloway/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongRoloway Guenon

  strongCategory:/strong Primate

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Hunting for consumption as bushmeat, and habitat loss

• strongScientific Name:/strong emColeura seychellensis/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongSeychelles Sheath-Tailed Bat

  strongCategory:/strong Bat

  strongPopulation: /strong 100 mature individuals (est 2008)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat degradation and predation by invasive species

• strongScientific Name:/strong emCryptomyces maximus/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Fungus

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Limited availability of habitat

• strongScientific Name:/strong emCryptotis nelsoni/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNelson’s Small-Eared Shrew

  strongCategory:/strong Shrew

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong habitat loss due to logging cattle grazing, fire and agriculture

• strongScientific Name:/strong emCyclura collei/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongJamaican Iguana

  strongCategory:/strong Iguana

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Predation by introduced species and habitat destruction

• strongScientific Name:/strong emDendrophylax fawcettii/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongCayman Islands Ghost Orchid

  strongCategory:/strong Orchid

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat destruction due to infrastructure development

• strongScientific Name:/strong emDiceros sumatrensis/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongSumatran rhino

  strongCategory:/strong Rhino

  strongPopulation: /strong 250 individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Hunting for horn -used in traditional medicine

• strongScientific Name:/strong emDiomedea amsterdamensis/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongAmsterdam Island Albatross

  strongCategory:/strong Bird

  strongPopulation: /strong100 mature individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Disease and incidental capture in long-line fishing operations

• strongScientific Name:/strong emDiospyros katendei/em

  strongCommon Name: /strong None

  strongCategory:/strong Tree

  strongPopulation: /strong20 individuals, one population

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong High pressure from communities for agricultural activity, illegal tree felling, habitat degradation due to alluvial gold digging and small population

• strongScientific Name:/strong emDipterocarpus lamellatus/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Dipterocarp (tree)

  strongPopulation: /strong12 individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat loss and degradation due to logging of lowland forest and creation of industrial plantations

• strongScientific Name:/strong emDiscoglossus nigriventer/em

  strongCommon Name: /strong Hula painted frog

  strongCategory:/strong Frog

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (recent rediscovery in 2011)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Predation by birds and range restriction due to habitat destruction

• strongScientific Name:/strong emDiscorea strydomiana/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongWild Yam

  strongCategory:/strong Yam

  strongPopulation: /strong200 Individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Collection for medicinal use

• strongScientific Name:/strong emDombeya mauritiana/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Flowering plant

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat degradation and destruction due to encroachment by alien invasive plant species and cannabis cultivation

• strongScientific Name:/strong emEleocarpus bojeri/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Flowering plant

  strongPopulation: /strong 10 individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Small population and degraded habitat

• strongScientific Name:/strong emEleutherodactylus glandulifer/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongLa Hotte Glanded Frog

  strongCategory:/strong Frog

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat destruction due to charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture

• strongScientific Name:/strong emEleutherodactylus thorectes/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongMacaya Breast-Spot Frog

  strongCategory:/strong Frog

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat destruction due to charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture

  Credit: a href=”http://www.robindmoore.com”Robin Moore/a

• strongScientific Name:/strong emEriosyce chilensis/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongChilenito

  strongCategory:/strong Cactus

  strongPopulation: /strong 500 individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Collection of flowering individuals

• strongScientific Name:/strong emErythrina schliebenii/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongCoral Tree

  strongCategory:/strong Flowering tree

  strongPopulation: /strong 50 individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Limited habitat and small population size increasing vulnerability to stochastic events

• strongScientific Name:/strong emEuphorbia tanaensis/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Semi-deciduous tree

  strongPopulation: /strong4 mature individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Illegal logging and habitat degradation due to agricultural expansion and infrastructure development

• strongScientific Name:/strong emEurynorhynchus pygmeus/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongSpoon-Billed Sandpiper

  strongCategory:/strong Bird

  strongPopulation: /strong 100 breeding pairs

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Trapping on wintering grounds and land reclamation.

• strongScientific Name:/strong emFicus katendei/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Tree (ficus)

  strongPopulation: /strong 50 mature individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Agricultural activity, illegal tree felling and habitat degradation due to alluvial gold digging

• strongScientific Name:/strong emGeronticus eremita/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNorthern Bald Ibis

  strongCategory:/strong Bird

  strongPopulation: /strong200-249 mature individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat degradation and destruction, and hunting

• strongScientific Name:/strong emGigasiphon macrosiphon/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Flowering tree

  strongPopulation: /strong33 mature individuals

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Timber extraction and habitat degradation due to agricultural encroachment and development, seed predation by wild pigs

• strongScientific Name:/strong emGocea ohridana/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Mollusc

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat degradation due to increasing pollution levels, off-take of water and sedimentation events

• strongScientific Name:/strong emHeleophryne rosei/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongTable Mountain Ghost Frog

  strongCategory:/strong Frog

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat degradation due to invasive plants and water abstraction

• strongScientific Name:/strong emHemicycla paeteliana/em

  strongCommon Name: /strongNone

  strongCategory:/strong Mollusc

  strongPopulation: /strongUnknown (declining)

  strongThreats To Survival:/strong Habitat destruction due to overgrazing and trampling by goats and tourists

Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/19/boulder-county-bees-slow-_n_3301965.html

The Fault in Our Stars
John Green, 2012
Soon to be made into a film starring The Descendants’ Shailene Woodley, TFIOS, as fans call it, has been making waves among young adult (YA) readers ever since it shot to the top of the New York Times best-seller list last year. A poignant, bittersweet tale, it’s the story of Hazel Lancaster, a 16-year-old battling stage-four thyroid cancer. When she falls in love with fellow sufferer, Gus, who she meets at a cancer support group, they decide to take a trip to Amsterdam to meet the author of their favourite book and fulfil Gus’ last wish. What could easily be another bucket-list story is steered close to literary perfection through Green’s exquisite blend of humour and tragedy, with critics endorsing it as an adult read too.

Article source: http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/books/16-coming-of-age-books-every-16-year-old-should-read-1.1185247

Protest and resistance by refugees and solidarity activists in the Netherlands is meeting serious repression. This is now getting media attention, and provoking new protest as well.

Asylum seekers in a detention centre in Rotterdam have revolted in recent days. The revolt was connected to a hunger strike of detained refugees (1) that has been going on since 1 May, first in detention centres in both Schiphol and Rotterdam, currently only in Rotterdam. The resisting refugees are intimidated, some of them put in isolation cells.

Two people on hungerstrike also refused to drink, and brought to a hospital, after one of them explicitly stated that he did NOT want to be fed, given medical tratment or indeed, brought to a hospital. Shortly after that, a judge ordered his release: his detention was deemed unlawful, the man can now await the next phase in the admittance procedure outside a detention centre. A small victory for the refugees struggling and the activists organizing solidarity. That was last week. Also, last week, a number of solidariry activists went on hungersttrike themselves for 48 hours, as a gesture of support (2). Most of them, 13 on the second day, sat near Parliament building, mostly in the puuring rain. One of them stopped drinking as well. A few participated in the hunger strike from other places, their home for instance. I was one of them.

Yesterday,l the news of a revolt inside the Rotterdam detention centre came to the outside, as activists, standing outside the detention center in a support demonstration – these are held daily during the hunger strike, an Occupy Rotterdam initiative – saw refugees gesticulating in front of the windows, pointing to their naked back to bruises and so on. Apparently, refugees revolted and were beaten, nine of them. Refugees were put in isolation. A trusted doctor who wanted to go inside, was hindered by authorities, so it is still hard to say what exactly is happening in the horror chambers of the Rotterdam detention center. National media is beginning to take note.

Recent events are part of a long chain of protests and resistance actios of, and in solidarity wioth, refugees. We’ve seen action camps by asylum seekers in Ter Apel, Den Bosch, The Hague, Amsterdam. Support often comes from remaining Occupy groups and/ or Occupy-related activists. In The Hague, a group of refugees now lives in, basically, a squatted church (now called ‘Vluchthuis’, house of refuge), in Amsterdam a similar group could stay for several months in another church, called ‘Vluchtkerk’ church of refuge’) for the occasion. There have been a number of solidarity demonstrations, one on 23 March that was sizable (about 2500 participants). And now, there are the hunger strikes, and the daily support actions outside the Rotterdam detention centre. Also there are efforts, bot juridical and activists, to stop individual deportations that are happening on an almost daily basis. Sometimes, lawyer’s efforts helped to stop such deportations on the very last moment. Sometimes not.

This week will see another demonstration, hopefully a rather big one. The specific goal is a protest against threatened government law to make illegal stay, uh… illigal, i.e. a criminal offense. There has been protest against that from refugees, but also from members and supporters of the PvdA, the Dutch labour party, who agreed to the measure as part of a deal with the openly right wing VVD liberal party, the other wing of the government. The protest did not achieve its goal of turning the party around. Coalition politics and loyalty to the state itself took precedence above the indignation of part of their support base. That indignation was bought off with nice words about ‘a more humane asylum policy’. The coming demonstration will; target, not the PvdA in particular but the government measure as such. The motto ”Refugee, not criminal!” Hopefully, the anger that the repression of hungerstrikers and other refugees inside jails is proboking, will translate in extra support and militancy on the demo. The action will take place on W ednesday, 22 May, in The Hague (3).

There is more to come in the fight against oppression of migrants/ refugees/ asylum seekers/ people without papers. In August, there will be a No Border Camp in the Netherlands (4). In Rotterdam, of all places. No doubt, new state-infi flicted horrors will then have provoked new actions already. The fight is ongoing, often quite desperate, but not without small and encouraging results.

Notes:
(1) Luther Blisset, “Solidarity with hunger strikers in detention centres in the Netherlands”, on the website “I am un chien Andalusian”, 10 mei 2013, http://iamunchienandalusia.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/solidarity-with-hunger-strikers-in-detention-centres-in-the-netherlands/

(2) Laura Zuffi, “On-going hunger strike uin The Hague to support imprisoned asylumseekers in the Netherlands”, on the website “The Global Oyster”, 17 mei 2013, http://theglobaloyster.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/on-going-hunger-strike-in-the-hague-to-support-imprisoned-asylum-seekers-in-the-netherlands-2/

(3) 22-05-2013: Demonstratie: Vluchteling, geen-crimineel! http://rechtopbestaan.nl/recht-op-bestaan/22-05-2013-demonstratie-vluchteling-geen-crimineel/ (scroll further down to see the English-language call-out.)

(4) website No Border Camp: http://nobordercamp.nl/

More information can be found through websites of groups and networks involved in struggle. The important ones:
No Border Network – http://no-border.nl/
Werkgroep Deportatieverzet – http://deportatieverzet.nl/ , with an English-language section for refugees themselves: http://deportatieverzet.nl/refugees/
Recht op Bestaan – http://rechtopbestaan.nl/
Prime , Participating Refugees in a Multicultural Europe – http://www.prime95.nl/MainW/

Peter Storm

Article source: http://www.libcom.org/blog/refugees-resisting-state-oppression-solidarity-activism-nethelands-hunger-strikes-more-1905

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As technology continues to evolve in the form of the Internet coupled with mobile devices, travel agents — who were once considered to be the workplace equivalent of dinosaurs — are enjoying a Lazarus-like resurrection. At least that’s the thought of a couple of Rome agents.

One of the big reasons travel agents are getting renewed interest is the constantly fluctuating market prices for travel, whether it’s airline fares, cruise prices or hotel deals.

If a traveler is not in a position of having to book a deal immediately, the agent has both the time and wherewithal to search their databases for the best prices that not only vary by the day but, increasingly, change by the hour.

In a world where airlines in particular are charging travelers to change their reservations, it can be worth the effort to have a travel professional do the shopping.

As the Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the summer travel season, draws nigh, Romans who have not finalized plans for their summer still have ample time to put together anything from an extended weekend trip to the old-fashioned two-week vacation.

Lori Dover, owner of Travel Leaders of Rome at 9 N. Hanks St., said one of the challenges facing travel agents going forward involves the so-called “millenials” demographic.

“They need to be trained on what a travel agent is,” Dover said. “They think they can do everything on the Internet.”

Yes, the Internet can be a valuable tool and one needs to consider that many of the large travel providers — even some of the cruise lines — are no longer publishing catalogue-type books because of it.

But Alice Enloe, a certified travel consultant at Magical Travel Events, said a classic example of problems related to Internet travel brokers is that, “If you go on Expedia, you get one seat cheap. You can’t get six seats cheap.”

In fact, Dover said one of the speakers at the Travel Leaders national conference in Chicago earlier this month compared Internet travel brokers to a glossy online brochure.

“It shows you a picture. Well, guess what? A picture sometimes is taken from a great angle, but the property itself may be on the wrong side of the island,” Enloe said. “That’s what our customers need, and that’s why they’re coming back to travel agencies.”

Dover said the personal travel agent has additional resources he or she can use to find better deals.

“Of course we handle everything for them; take the headaches away from them. It’s the same old thing: they don’t have anybody to go to if they’re doing it online,” Dover said. “If we’re handling it, they have us to come to and we’re fighting their battles for them.”

Dover cited the recent flooding in the upper Midwest as a prime example of how a travel agent helps his or her client. The agency has a local corporate client whose itinerary involves a drive from a location in Illinois to Grand Rapids, Mich.

“They had flooding and the hotel closed so we had to find an alternate hotel that was close by,” Dover said. “Back when 9-11 happened we had people, mostly corporate clients who were out wherever, and we were scrambling around to get rental cars for them.”

Another example: “If somebody is on a cruise and has a family emergency and they need to get back home, they contact us and we can work with them to get them home,” she said.

Also, travelers ought to consider that the Internet broker’s lowest price might not always be the best option. There’s the old rhetorical question about if you ever worried about NASA contracts going to the lowest bidder.

Enloe said one of her colleagues, Jack Money, had somebody who wanted him to book a specific package to Machu Picchu in Peru. Money told the client that he couldn’t be responsible for the trip because he had no knowledge of the vendor.

“When they arrived at Machu Picchu the company had gone broke, and she was greeted with ‘I know you paid your money, but too bad,’” Enloe said. “You don’t want to be booking anybody that you don’t know and trust. That’s the key.”

That’s what travel agents do.

“It’s the product knowledge that we get from our preferred suppliers that better arms us to help you,” Enloe said.

Dover stressed that travel agents are trained and have the experience and are able to use it that experience to help clients get the better deals. “It’s not just the knowledge of where to go, but also what to see,” Dover said. “It’s not just what’s on the surface on the Internet, we’re more than that.”

Travel agents also have the knowledge of specific documentation matters, which travelers might need if they are leaving the shores of the U.S. Which countries require passports or visas? Which countries require specific immunization or medical records?

And the Internet does not always provide all of the information about all of the fees that are being charged in addition to published fares.

“Frontier Airlines has just announced that they are charging for carry-on bags now,” Dover said.

Changes that have occurred in the cruise line industry in particular almost require an agent to get travelers the best deal. Fare deals have become so complex that keeping track of the coding and qualifying options could create a full-time position in some larger travel agencies.

“We’re not ticket-takers, we’re travel consultants,” Enloe said.

Article source: http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/22631134/article-Local-travel-agents-enjoying-comeback-by-offering-advantages-for-vacationers-versus-what-can-be-found-on-the-Internet?instance=home_news_lead_story

If Michael Haneke had a slightly less ironic appreciation of the term “funny games,” he might have cooked up something a little like “Borgman,” a sly, insidious and intermittently hilarious domestic thriller that is likely to remain one of the most daring selections of this year’s Cannes competish. More disquieting than explicit, this eighth feature from Dutch writer-helmer Alex van Warmerdam, who also features memorably in the ensemble, strikes a familiar note in its allegorical punishment of the entitled upper classes, but the execution is sufficiently inventive to mark the pic as a challenge worth accepting for adventurous arthouse distribs.

SEE MORE: Cannes Film Festival

For the sake of descriptive economy, it’s tempting to classify “Borgman” (named for its oddly passive-aggressive chief villain) as another entry in the increasingly popular subgenre of the home-invasion thriller, but that would misrepresent the film’s more complex premise. “Home inveigling” or even “home infection” would be closer to the mark: Many of the most horrific domestic violations in this story occur with the permission of the family under threat, lending a Pinter-esque slant to van Warmerdam’s slow-burning narrative.

A cryptic opening sequence isn’t rendered any less so by later events. As an unidentified man swallows a pickled herring at his kitchen counter (clarifying, if nothing else, that we are most certainly in the Netherlands), a priest-led manhunt is taking place outside. The apparent target, middle-aged, lank-haired Borgman (Jan Bijvoet), is rudely awoken from a nap in his sophisticated underground shelter, and beats a hasty retreat with his similarly concealed cohorts.

Seeking refuge in suburbia, Borgman rings the doorbell of wealthy married couple Marina (Hadewych Minis, excellent) and Richard (Jeroen Perceval) and politely asks to use their shower. When Richard, understandably befuddled, refuses, Borgman’s calm refusal of this refusal aggravates Richard into a violent physical attack, one that crucially puts him on the moral back foot with his wife for the rest of the film.

Guilt-stricken and oddly aroused by this implacable stranger, Marina ends up secretly sheltering him in one of their large estate’s outhouses; it’s not long, however, before he’s creeping about inside the house and endearing himself to the couple’s three preteen children, who assume he’s a kind of shaman. Which, indeed, he might well be: His next trick is winning an unwitting Richard’s approval by bumping off the family gardener and masquerading as a new one. When his fellow travelers arrive to assist with the re-landscaping, it’s clear some family remodeling is in the cards, too.

It’s at this point that the film, after initially flirting with a more whimsical tone, takes a decisive turn for the macabre and never looks back. The weight of suspense then shifts to the inner-family dynamic, as Borgman’s crew begins subtly playing Marina against her increasingly paranoid husband. Not that the film feels particularly bad for Richard, who is made rather unsubtly to represent everything that’s detestable about the One Percent (or higher Dutch equivalent): Refusing to hire non-white household staff without diplomas, he barks at his wife, “We’re from the West; it’s affluent. That’s not our fault.”

In a sleek technical package, production designer Geert Paredis’ modern, warmly textured but uninvitingly spacious family house reps a significant asset to the drama. Editor Job ter Burg limits the film’s most violent jolts to a handful of brutal dream sequences, but horror-film rhythms and imagery are wisely kept to a minimum elsewhere. Instead, this is the kind of film that finds droll pleasure in the sight of dead heads setting in buckets of cement.

Article source: http://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/cannes-film-review-borgman-1200483793/

Andrew Folpe, left, and Joachim Mertens ride their bikes on an unpaved road Saturday, May 11, 2013, to train for the Almanzo. The race isn’t for just anyone: riders will loop a 100-mile trail, some will ride for 162 miles, and a hearty bunch will pedal for a 380-miles around southeastern Minnesota’s gravel roads. Riders will hail from as far as Amsterdam, Los Angeles and Florida for the casual, yet unforgiving bicycling event. (Photo by Alex Kolyer for MPR)

By Elizabeth Baier

MPR News, 90.1

BYRON — As wind whips over the vast fields and tall red barns nearby, Andrew Folpe prepares his aluminum-framed gravel race bike for an early-morning ride.

With 40 mile-per-hour gusts, his morning training ride will be a test of endurance, a fitting preparation for Saturday’s 100-mile Almanzo road race, which will test more than 1,000 cyclists from around the country and Europe on the winding, backcountry roads just south of Rochester.

One of the nation’s premier gravel road events, the race gets its name from Almanzo Wilder, the husband of “Little House of the Prairie” author Laura Ingalls Wilder. The couple lived for a brief period in Spring Valley, where this weekend’s bike race is based.

“The gravel roads in Minnesota are much hillier than the regular roads,” said Folpe, 46. “They haven’t been graded. So they’re more fun. The best parts of it are when it goes through the valleys and the bluffs.”

On his recent morning ride, Folpe attacks the road with his friend and fellow cyclist Joachim Mertens. Both men work at Mayo Clinic. Folpe is a doctor and professor of laboratory medicine and pathology; Mertens, also a doctor, is a postdoctoral research fellow in gastroenterology.

Maneuvering a bike on gravel is hard work, both physically and mentally, even for the two veteran cyclists. There’s a lot of bouncing. Roads are dusty and can be filled with potholes or covered in tiny, crushed limestone rocks that pop from the ground and wedge themselves into riders’ knees. If it’s wet, roads get slippery and slimy like crunchy peanut butter.

Mertens, 36, said the ride requires constant mental focus.

“Gravel road is really the way to go if you want to avoid cars as good as you can,” he said. “Its landscape is beautiful, and it’s more challenging terrain. You have to be careful when you pull out your bottle and take a sip because you don’t want to do that in the wrong corner. At least I don’t want to.

In its seventh year, the Almanzo will wind through some of southeastern Minnesota’s most remote areas. But it’s not really a competition. There is no entry fee, and the only rule is that riders finish in 12 hours. Riders can use whatever kind of bike they want. And instead of claiming a prize, the winner takes home a Mason jar full of gravel.

“It is a race, but in all honesty I couldn’t tell you who’s ever won,” Folpe said. “The whole thing is very casual. It’s a nice group of people. It’s certainly a lot more low-key than road racing.”

The Almanzo has grown each year, from 12 riders in 2007 to 1,300 this year.

Founder Chris Skogen, 35, who organizes the informal race from the attic of his home in Rochester, is a manager at Trader Joe’s. He spends his nights and weekends personalizing race packets with hand-written notes, promoting the race on social media and collecting postcard registrations from fans around the country. Most participants are men, but women have started to ride in the last couple years.

“I know there’s some people out there that think I’m crazy for allowing so many people in,” Skogen said. “But if you are inviting people over to your home, how do you pick which ones you don’t want to be there, if you really genuinely want to have this experience with all these people? It’s hard to say no to somebody.”

Skogen said the race has become a grassroots alternative to traditional events that emphasize podium ranking. Similar races have emerged in towns and cities across the country.

“Cycling is not at the forefront of people’s minds like basketball or baseball,” he said. “So for me it was important to try to do something a little bit different and shift the focus from the top three to the entire field in the hopes that it would get more people interested.”

If convincing people to enter a 100-mile gravel race wasn’t enough, Skogen upped the stakes, challenging some riders to push their limits even further. This year, about 70 cyclists will ride a 162-mile route and another 30 will tackle a grueling 380-mile loop — all on gravel.

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Article source: http://www.austindailyherald.com/2013/05/19/cyclists-arrive-in-rochester-for-gravel-road-race/

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Article source: http://www.almere.nl/

The Sacramento region is well-populated with retired and active military personnel, who happen to be well-read fans of military-centric literature and fiction.

This trio recently came our way:

? “Trident K9 Warriors” by Mike Ritland (St. Martin’s, $25.99, 288 pages): Impassioned by watching military working dogs in action in Iraq, the former Navy SEAL founded a highly specialized firm that finds, trains and supplies canines to the military. Ritland introduces readers to a world of canine heroics, detailing the exploits of dogs that serve the national interest.

? “Time To Kill” by retired Marine Corps gunnery Sgt. Jack Coughlin, with Donald A. Davis (St. Martin’s, $25.99, 304 pages): The duo continues the series of novels featuring American sniper Kyle Swanson. This time out, Swanson and his Trident team deal with a double agent called the Pharoah, whose goal is to gain control of the Suez Canal and the world’s oil supply.

? “Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World” by James Lacey and Williamson Murray (Bantam, $30, 496 pages): The military historians argue that these 20 battles throughout the ages had the most far-reaching effects on world civilization and history. Included are the battles of Midway and Dien Bien Phu.

Bookmarks and suntans

We’re approaching the summer reading season, and novels by A-list authors are starting to show up.

Consider:

? “Silken Prey” by John Sandford (Putnam, $27.95, 416 pages): Edgy lawman Lucas Davenport is a formidable (and ironic) lawman in Sandford’s 23rd entry in the “Prey” series.

Sociopathic billionaire Taryn Grant is running for office and nothing is going to stand in her way; her hired guns will see to that.

One of the best “Prey” books.

? “The Broken Places” by Ace Atkins (Putnam, $26.95, 368 pages): The reporter-turned-novelist brings out the third title in his Quinn Colson series, filling it with his trademark humor, action and realistic characters. The small-town Mississippi sheriff and former Army Ranger goes up against a paroled killer and his gang. BTW: Atkins writes the continuation of late author Robert B. Parker’s “Spenser” thrillers.

? “Choke Point” by Ridley Pearson (Putnam, $26.95, 416 pages): The veteran author’s bibliography shows 16 titles in three adult-thriller series, 15 titles in four young-adult series, and 10 stand-alone thrillers. Now comes book two in a four-title thriller series starring Chinese national Grace Chu and lethal American agent John Knox.

Their mission: Rescue young girls held hostage as laborers in an Amsterdam sweatshop. Pearson appeared for the Bee Book Club in 2012.

? “And the Mountains Echoed” by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead, $28.95, 416 pages): The Afghan-born American physician and writer knocked the literary world sideways with his best-selling “The Kite Runner,” followed by “A Thousand Splendid Suns.”

This one is also dramatically emotional, taking readers into multigenerational circles of families living around the globe.

? “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves” by Karen Joy Fowler (Marian Wood, $26.95, 320 pages): The Santa Cruz-based author is at her bizarre best in her sixth novel.

As an adult, Rosemary has issues with childhood memories of growing up with a chimpanzee in the household.

Now she faces another problem ? the FBI wants to bust her brother for domestic terrorism.

Fowler wrote “The Jane Austen Book Club” and appeared for the Bee Book Club in 2008.

Nonfiction standouts

Let’s remember that not all good reads are fiction.

This sampling proves it:

? “Superman” by Larry Tye (Random House, $27, 432 pages): Seventy-five years after “America’s most enduring hero” was created ? and, not coincidentally, just before the June 14 release of the movie “Man of Steel” ? comes journalist Tye’s history of the former Kryptonian and the real earthlings who have sustained his fame.

? “Extra Sensory” by Brian Clegg (St. Martin’s, $25.99, 320 pages): Telekinesis, ESP, telepathy, remote viewing ? fact or fraud?

The British physicist separates the two in this well-researched pop-science look at the “other side of the brain.”

? “The Beauty Experiment” by Phoebe Baker Hyde (Da Capo, $16, 248 pages): To prove her theory that women possess inner beauty, the cultural anthropologist conducted an experiment, giving up makeup, jewelry, au courant fashion and trips to the beauty parlor and spa.

Did anyone notice?

? “When Will My Grown-up Kid Grow Up?” by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett and Elizabeth Fishel (Workman, $23.95, 352 pages): The scenario: The nest is empty and retirement is getting close. Suddenly, your 20-something boomerang son/daughter has moved back in and everything changes.

What are boomer parents to do? The experts offer advice.

? “18 in America” by Dylan Dethier (Scribner, $25, 272 pages): The golfing student postponed his first year of college to travel and play a round of golf in every state. Along the way, he discovered America and himself.

Around town

? Davis-based legal-thriller writer John Lescroart recently published his 24th title, “The Ophelia Cut” (Atria, $26.99, 432 pages).

He will give a presentation and sign books at 7 p.m. May 27 at Avid Reader at the Tower, 1600 Broadway, Sacramento; (916) 441-4400.

? Tech whiz Harry Leman will appear at 9 a.m. June 7 for a breakfast sponsored by the Sacramento branch of the California Writers Club, to present the step-by-step how-to “Marketing With a Facebook Business Page.”

Free, but buy your own breakfast at IHOP, 2216 Sunrise Blvd., Rancho Cordova; (916) 213-0798.

LET US KNOW

If you have information on author appearances or other book-related special events, email it to bookmarks@sacbee.com at least two weeks before the event. To read the online calendar, go to www.sacbee.com/books. Questions? Call The Bee’s Allen Pierleoni, (916) 321-1128.

Call The Bee’s Allen Pierleoni, (916) 321-1128.

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Article source: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/19/5427190/between-the-lines-book-titles.html

Rev. David Latimer, of First Derry Presbyterian Church, says this Sunday’s Bright Brand New Day celebrations at Guildhall Square (5 p.m.) are a “once in a lifetime” opportunity for people to “make a real difference”.

He told the ‘Journal’: “This Sunday’s citywide event is for everyone. It is free of charge and there are no tickets. Everyone is invited to turn up and be part of a new story that is being written.”

As part of Sunday’s events, the eldest son of US civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jnr., will be in the city for the unveiling of a peace flame monument – the first of its kind in Ireland.

The event will also feature kids from both traditions coming together to light the peace flame and present a series of “peace pledges” penned by local school children.

Also on a packed bill for Sunday’s event are Derry songwriter Phil Coulter – who, along with schoolkids, will perform his new anthem for the city, ‘Bright Brand New Day’ – The Priests’ singing trio, Best Boy Grip and Ulster Scots Pipes and Drums.

Dr. Latimer, who chairs the Bright Brand New Day peace building initiative, says children are key to the project.

“During the past few months, primary and post-primary school children across the Derry City Council area have been composing peace pledges. Our children and young people, largely untainted by the Troubles, are well placed to offer their words and wisdom as to how we should relate to each other and live better together.

“Words such as forgiveness, friendship, kindness, love, tolerance and respect feature frequently in these peace pledges which will be presented to Martin Luther King III on Sunday.”

David Latimer says the idea for the cross community initiative first occurred to him during his stint as army chaplain in Afghanistan in 2008.

“In Afghanistan, I came face to face with what no human being should ever have to see – war, bombs and bullets, broken bodies. Strangely enough, it was through this carnage that the idea – a dream, if you will – first emerged.”

The idea was further developed in September 2012 when Dr. Latimer travelled to Amsterdam to explore the concept around the World Peace Flame Foundation.

“Inspired by the powerful symbolism of an eternal flame burning in a city emerging from a dark and dreadful past, I embarked on a journey that has culminated in the introduction, not of a world peace flame, but of a peace flame appropriate to the story around the despair that engulfed a city and its people but which is now giving way for hope to be born and friendships nurtured.”

Dr. Latimer says each school’s peace pledge will, eventually, be engraved inot blocks which will form a pathway to the city’s very own peace flame.

In the words of one of the participating school principals, “our children’s peace pledges will guide towards the light.”

It was during a recent visit to Washington DC that Rev. Latimer met with Martin Luther King III, pitching his idea to him and inviting him to visit Derry.

Funnily enough, the men met up in the very hotel where Dr. King put the finishing touches to his famous “I Have A Dream” speech.

Dr. Latimer is in no doubt that securing Mr. King for Sunday’s event is a “major coup.”

“Martin Luther King III tells us that, ‘if we do not find that we have more in common than we do apart, we will crash’. None of us, for the sake of our children ever again want to crash.

“Without delay, we must pledge to leap hurdles, jump fences and penetrate walls so that, together, we can arrive at a destination of hope.”

Dr. Latimer paid tribute to all those who helped make Sunday’s event possible – including DSD, Derry City Council, firums energy, Johnson Press, the Irish government’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland-America Fund, Londonderry Presbytery Mission, Peace III.

He also applauded local architect Shane Birney who has designed the peace flame monument.

“This goodwill has been augmented by the commitment of local businessmen who, over the past few months, have generously donated to this bespoke peace building event,” added Dr. Latimer.

Sunday’s events get underway at 5 p.m.

Article source: http://www.derryjournal.com/lifestyle/entertainment/dream-of-new-days-as-king-visits-1-5105413

Seven months post-Hurricane Sandy, South Street Seaport is a cobblestoned shadow of its former self, with a majority of its shops still shuttered and tourism at a lull. But if you slip down some of the quiet sidewalks sequestered by construction activity, you’ll discover a small, feisty collection of the most charming restaurants, bars and a cafe — all ready to welcome you in for a hot cup of coffee, a dulce de leche, cayenne and sea-salt brownie or even a sumptuous rib-eye-steak-and-lobster dinner. Yes, folks, the Seaport is open for business, and with more upcoming openings and reopenings, the summer food forecast looks sunny — and very, very delicious.

1. Meade’s, 22 Peck Slip, 212-791-1818

On Nov. 2, Meade’s was the first business in the Seaport to reopen — despite not having menus, food or even salt shakers. “As soon as we were legally allowed to open again, we did it,” says owner Lee Holin. “It’s all of our livelihoods. Eight employees, 20 kids.” A dorm-style fridge and hamburger patties were brought in, and the staff started grilling burgers outside on portable barbecues.

Now, the sign out front reads, “What doesn’t kill us makes our drinks stronger,” and the brew selection has expanded to 45 kinds, including Flying Dog Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout ($5). The still-growing menu includes burgers ($9.50), grilled tuna sandwiches ($12.95) and guacamole ($9.95). A few weeks ago, the bartop, which had been destroyed and temporarily replaced by planks of loose plywood, was permanently reinstalled.

2. Pasanella Son Vintners, 115 South St., 212-233-8383

In the final days before Sandy, owner Marco Pasanella prepared for the worst. “I was paranoid,” he says. His shop, located just across the street from the East River, already had a close call the year before with Hurricane Irene. “This time, there was a full moon, the tides, the wind,” recalls Pasanella. After Sandy hit, he started work the next morning and reopened, completely restocked, exactly three weeks after the storm. Aside from events like regional wine tastings, Pasanella hopes he’ll get more foot traffic when the New Amsterdam Market reopens late next month across the street. “People who buy great food also like to buy great wine,” he says.

3. Fresh Salt, 146 Beekman St., 212-962-0053

The 9-year-old eatery was deluged with between six and seven feet of water. “Everything was a mess,” says co-owner Sara Williams. “Windows were broken, all of our equipment was destroyed, the bar had been picked up and moved.” Like other businesses, Williams and her partner didn’t have flood insurance, but some regulars started an online campaign that brought in nearly $15,000. The restaurant reopened at the end of 2012.

Article source: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/food/south_street_re_port_Hht1JAFrkLmXXcn4zfFaYO?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Food