Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Property owner Nina Adams in front of her Pioneer Street home burnt during the Dunns Road Fire. Clean-up by Laing ORourke began on Wednesday and was expected to be completed in two days.

Nina Adams, who lost her home in Batlow during the Dunns Road Fire in January, was finally able to see the clean-up process begin on Wednesday when contractors with Laing ORourke and Aboriginal Beata Terra began clearing the property. She said that this first step in the recovery and rebuilding process has provided her with a great deal of closure.

Mrs Adams home was first built in the 50sas a butchers, and the building has a rich history in Batlow and could beconsidered quite iconic. The January blaze burnt the home so badly that itunfortunately needed to be completely torn down, cleared and rebuilt.

When the Dunns Road Fire first hit andbegan developing, Mrs Adams said she and her family held off as long as theycould, evacuating only after a town meeting in which they were told everyoneneeded to leave.

We were seeing the glow in the sky andeverything, so we knew that it was time to go, she said.

We packed up and we headed over to Waggaand sat there and listened to the scanner and let it all unfold and waiteduntil we could come back.

Mrs Adams said that upon returning to herhome, she was absolutely horrified.

I didnt expect it to go, she admitted.I think a lot of people were like that, they just didnt expect their housesto burn. Its quite a shock.

Mrs Adams husband was in the army andunfortunately lost all of his memorabilia in the fires.

Despite losing her home, Mrs Adams hasnothing but the utmost of praise for the firefighters who battled the fires inBatlow tirelessly.

The firies were amazing. Once my place wasgoing up and they knew they couldnt save it, they put the water on [myneighbours] house as well, so it was good that they saved her house cause shehas a lot of memories there.

Theyve done an amazing job.

After the fires, Mrs Adams and her familystayed with her mother-in-law, and then with another woman in Batlow for a fewweeks. Eventually they wanted somewhere to call home again, and moved intotheir own place in Adelong.

When the clearing has been completed, MrsAdams plans to have a new house built on the land. She and her husband willremain in Adelong, most likely moving their mother-in-law into the new home.

Well keep the link here. Were still partof the community, she said.

Because of the fires, Mrs Adams lost herjob at the Batlow Hotel. However, she was extremely pleased to be offered a jobwith Laing ORourke in their office.

Im so grateful I got the opportunity todo it, she said.

When Im working in the office and I seeall the properties that were cleaning up and everything you just put itinto place, you know, okay were going to get this done and were going toclean up and rebuild and be our little town again.

James Stephens, a contractor withAboriginal Beata Terra involved with the clean up in Batlow, expressed howeye-opening yet rewarding the process has been, full of mixed emotions.

We were here approximately three weeks agolooking at the various properties, and looking at the damage that was done wasa real eye-opener for us, and were really trying to treat this with the utmostrespect especially for the people that have lost their houses, Mr Stephenssaid.

He said the project has been unlike anyother construction project he has been involved with in the past. Overall, ithas been far more rewarding.

Its rewarding in the fact that we arehere and helping people get on with their lives, he said.

Once their properties [are] cleared, atleast theyve got something to start from again.

With around 25 properties signed up so far,Mr Stephens said they hope to have completed the clean-up by June. There arestill a lot of variables that could affect this, particularly the rain weveexperienced recently, which can slow the process down.

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Clearing the rubble ahead of rebuild - Tumut and Adelong Times

Recently, Indias Environment Secretary CK Mishra sent a letter to the Ministryof Corporate Affairs (MoCA) to urge corporates to invest theirSocial Responsibility (CSR) funds in biodiversity protection in the country.To buttress his point, he cited the consensus among scientists that a rise in zoonotic diseases like Nipah, Avian Influenza, Zika and Coronavirus is linked to the loss of forests and biodiversity.

While reading the above news report, I recalled that the same central government set up a high-level committee of bureaucrats and judges under the chairmanship of former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian on 29 August 2014. The committee was supposed to amend the existing environmental regulations to pave the way for India to achieve rapid economic growth. Subsequently, the National Green Tribunal was reduced to an administrative body and the National Board for Wildlife was reconstituted, the Forest Rights Act was diluted, highways were allowed on forest land, the social impact assessment requirement for new development projects was removed and several green norms and clear rules for the industry were eased.

Ruthlessly silencing NGOs fighting for the environment, the destruction of forests was continued, ostensibly to usher in prosperity. The uncompromising victory march towards high speed development continues even when almost all government offices are shut at the peak of Indias nationwide coronavirus lockdown. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is busy clearing industrial and infrastructure projects. OnApril 7, the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), and on April 15 the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), held meetings through video conferencing, facilitated by Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.

The standing committee of the NBWL considered 31 proposals in all, 16 of which related to highways, transmission lines and railway lines through national parks, sanctuaries and tiger corridors. And all 16 proposals were approved. Several other projects concerning nearly 3,000 acres of land located in eco-sensitive areas were also approved.The ministersubsequently tweetedthat the approvals will help develop tourism, infrastructure, employment and economic growth. Indias environment minister, who is also its industry minister, thus announced his commitment to developing the country, dismantling all roadblocks in the way.

Further, the Union environment ministrys Forest Advisory Committee (FAC)is deliberating granting forest clearance to the Etalin Hydro Project that will involvediversion of 1150.08 hectares of forest landand the devastation of an estimated 270,000 trees in the Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh.

On March 12, the MoEFCC put in the public domain a draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020, which is to replace the EIA notification 2006, and has sought views and comments from all stakeholders on it within 60 days. EIA regulates the environment clearance given by the national government for projects such as dams, mining, thermal power plants, infrastructure projects like highways, ports, airports and big construction projects.

The predominant thrust of the draft EIA notification 2020 is completely contrary to the principles of environment protection.It proposes to ease processes for businesses, does away with the need for public hearings for many projects, eases rules for expansion of projects, and so on. Environmentalists and researchers who analysed the draft point out that the draft EIA 2020 legitimises violations by those who start projects without environmental clearance, weakens the public consultation process and gives a lot of discretionary powers to authorities.

While the environment secretary is asking for financial assistance from corporates for biodiversity conservation, his minister is busy clearing projects at the cost of existing forests and biodiversity. But this is just one part of the contradictions that abound. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the 63rd episode of his 'Mann Ki Baat', claimed thatIndia is contributing towards creating a healthier planet.But is it possible to make the planet healthy by replacing our protected areas with industries, dams and roads?

We hear distressing stories of people getting stranded or dying on the streets in their attempt to reach hometowns duringthecoronaviruslockdown.One such is the story of a 12-year-old tribal girl, Jamalo Madkam, who died on April 18 due to electrolyte imbalance and exhaustion having walked over 100 kilometres as she made her way home in Aded in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh from a chilli farm in Telangana. Poor, innocent people in remote corners arehumiliated and beaten up if they step out occasionally to breathe some fresh air.

Villagers, tribals and many other vulnerable groups who scarcely have an opportunity to indulge in life are locked down due to some virus unknown to them. Germ-free air and water are their birthright, but are being destroyed wantonly in the name of development. Knee-jerk reactions and temporary solutions may bring fame for leaders.The prime ministers advice to people to make wearing masks a part of their lifestyle is not an easy option. Provide the country with clean drinking water, fresh air and balanced diet which are the basic requirements for immunity. On a healthy planet, why would people have to wear masks? Far-sighted leaders should strive to unfasten the mask and allow people to breathe in clean airand live on serene earth. Let people take pride in the nations natural wealth. Don't destroy our forests and invite new viruses in the name of development and economic growth.

(The writeris the initiator of Green Army, a student forum for conservation and adventure and the founder-director of Forest Watch, a watchdog for the wilderness of Wayanad)

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A mask wont hide the truth, nor save us from viruses - Deccan Herald

A significant battle is shaping up over a 200MW wind farm proposed for Tasmanias north-west, but its not the prospect of turbines or the renewable energy project, itself that is upsetting locals.

The point of contention for the UPCAAC Renewables Jims Plain project, which late last week got the green light from Tasmanias Environmental Protection Agency, is the new network infrastructure being built to connect the project to the island states main grid.

And the push-back from locals, concerned that major new transmission lines will impact valued landscapes and natural habitats, signals a new frontier for renewables growth in Australia a battle that, largely, will have to be fought by network companies. New links between the countrys state grids are a fundamental plank of the 20-year blueprint from the Australian Energy Market Operator.

In the case of Jims Plain, which UPCAC is developing alongside the 340MW (and potentially 1GW) Robbins Island project to the north, two transmission lines will be required to accommodate the projects on the local grid.

The first line, which is being developred by UPCAC, will link the Robbins Island project to Jims Plain and then extend from Jims Plain to Hampshire (see map below).

From Hampshire, another link needs to be built, due to the existing line from Smithton to Burnie already being overcommitted. That new major line, which is being built by TasNetworks, would link the north-west part of Tasmania to the network hub of Sheffield. And this is where things get a bit more complicated.

While UPCAC needs that second link from Hampshire to Sheffield to enable the energy generated by its wind farms to power Tasmania, this is by no means the sole motivation for the transmission line project.

TasNetworks, the government-owned distribution company, needs it too. The new line is considered an essential grid upgrade to accommodate other major renewable energy projects, as well as the new undersea cable proposed for construction between Tasmania and the mainland, the Marinus Link.

The Marinus Link is the centrepiece of Hydro Tasmanias Battery of the Nation aspirations and numerous proposed wind developments, all of whichsupport the Tasmanian governments recently ratcheted-up target of 200% renewables by 2040.

Of course, people living in the states Loongana Valley community had not bargained on having a 60-90 metre wide easement with 45-60 metre high transmission line towers as part of their view.

Local opposition, including from the Nietta Action Group, last year sent UPCAC back to the drawing board on its originally proposed design for TasNetworks link to Sheffield.

Since then, TasNetworks has essentially taken over that part of the new transmission line and is working hard to engage with the community and take on concerns over the proposed pathway for the link.

Meanwhile, a new action group has formed, this time called SOLVE (Save Our Loongana Valley Environment), with the stated mission of rejecting claims being made by the PR companies hired by TasNetworks to justify the transmission line route and sending the amended proposal back to the drawing board again.

The beautiful north-west Tasmanian Loongana Valley, and the community who live there, are under threat from UPC-TasNetworks proposed transmission line, which will see a 60-90 metre wide easement plough through the valley, and 45-60 metre high towers dominate the iconic views, including Black Bluff and the Leven Canyon, a media statement from the group said last week.

The transmission line will divide the narrow valley, 17 kilometres from Cradle Mountain, and cause widespread damage to critical habitat for threatened species, contaminate water supplies, increase fire risk, and harm local tourism and land values.

SOLVE says it is calling out failures of basic planning and the avoidance of genuine multi-sector consultation on the plan. It also paints a picture of TasNetworks acting on behalf of UPC and of UPC as an offshore renewables company with little interest in doing what is best for Tasmanians.

David Pollington, UPCACs chief operating officer, rejects these notions.

Yes, UPC will get the benefit of that connection and will have to contribute to the cost of the line, he told RenewEconomy in an interview last week. Were not the only one though. TasNetworks is developing this as part of the Marinus Link project, which supports many other wind farms.

UPCAC has investigated many options to connect the Jims Plains and Robbins Island projects to the network, including upgrading or duplicating the existing line from Burnie to Smithton, which is about 50 years old. Upgrading that transmission line route would be unacceptable to a lot of people, affecting high-value agricultural land, towns and cities.

The Marinus Link provides a fantastic opportunity for Tasmania to contribute to Australias reduction in emissions, develop new industry and create valuable export income for Tasmania.

Being a developer of large-scale wind projects, Pollington has a better understanding than most about the importance of community engagement.

No one wants a transmission line, and if there was another way to do it, of course wed be doing that. But weve been out to community and weve had very little negative feedback on our transmission line from Robbins through to Hampshire, Pollington told RE.

He says the company has held in excess of 20 community drop-in sessions in Tasmanias north-west about the projects.

We open these drop-in sessions for around three hours and we talk to everyone who wants to come along. along. The sessions are configured to allow people to explore issues briefly or in more detail with the team members developing the project, one on one or in small groups.

In addition to the drop in sessions we have conducted many presentations and information sessions to a wide range of stakeholders such as industry bodies, landowners, interest groups, contractors, councils and politicians. If people have asked to meet then we have happily arranged to meet whether it is at our offices a local caf or their homes, Pollington said.

The constant sniping at us as a multnational company is a little unfair. Robbins Island and Jims Plain are 25 per cent locally owned. This is similar to most of the opertational wind farms in Tasmania, which are majority foreign owned.

The whole UPCAC team is Australia-based and the CEO and myself are Tasmanian-based and proud to have headquartered the company in Tasmania.

For TasNetworks part, it is working to try to minimise the environmental impact of the new line by using mostly corporate forestry land for its route. It is also hoping to minimise the visual impact of the line by keeping all possible native vegetaion intact, and minimising land clearing along the length of the easement.

In an emailed statement to RenewEconomy, the company said that as the Transmission Network Service Provider (TNSP) for the electricity in Tasmania, it was required to respond to proponents, such as UPCAC, seeking to connect to its network.

TasNetworks operates within a range of regulatory frameworks, which requires it to find the most efficient solution for customers, whilst minimising potential impacts on the community and the environment, the statement said.

In its planning, TasNetworks has sought to identify transmission development corridors using robust criteria that cover a range of values and constraints including environmental, social, economic and cultural as well as considering cost and constructability.

TasNetworks is still working through the process to reach a final route for the Hampshire to Staverton section of the proposed North West Tasmanian transmission developments and is committed to going back to communities and landowners with the outcomes of this analysis around the middle of the year.

And it isnt the only Australian energy network company navigating this tricky new terrain. The bid to find the best and most economically feasible solution to accommodate multiple major new renewable energy projects while taking into account competing values and trade-offs will be a major focus on the mainland, too, with links being proposed for construction between the National Electricity Market states, and within them, between designated renewable energy zones.

In Western Australia, the massive Asian Renewable Energy Hub will require four high voltage direct current (HVDC) cables offshore, and onshore overhead and underground transmission line, with up to 50 metre tall pylons spaced every 450 metres along the transmission corridor.

Overseas, Germany has faced similar problems with the planned expansion of its power grid lagging behind the European nations ambitious renewables roll-out due to citizen protests and planning difficulties.

As Clean Energy Wire reported last year, Germany will need another 1,600km of transmission lines and upgrades on a further 2,900km by 2030, according to recommendations by the four transmission grid operators.

At a German grid conference at the beginning of this year, experts warned that power grid expansion would become the German energy transitions next big object of hate if it wasnt handled very carefully.

Christian Schorn of transmission system operator TransnetBW told the conference TSOs were already experiencing opposition from citizens groups at every step of the grid planning process, Clean Energy Wire reports. He said following resistance against the Suedlink power highway, it was decided to use underground cables in a new planning process.

Back in Tasmania, there is still time to learn from others mistakes and make the process as painless and beneficial as possible for all parties.

There are a range of significant renewable energy generation and storage opportunities in the States North West, including wind and pumped hydro projects, TasNetorks told RenewEconomy.

We aim to develop a network that facilitates these future developments, including Battery of the Nation and Marinus Link.

These developments can provide significant local jobs, economic growth and investment attraction opportunities spanning years, and support the NEM to transition for low cost, reliable and clean energy.

RenewEconomy and its sister sites One Step Off The Grid and The Driven will continue to publish throughout the Covid-19 crisis, posting good news about technology and project development, and holding government, regulators and business to account. But as the conference market evaporates, and some advertisers pull in their budgets, readers can help by making a voluntary donation here to help ensure we can continue to offer the service free of charge and to as wide an audience as possible. Thank you for your support.

Continue reading here:
Tangled wires: Are transmission lines the new battle front for renewables? - RenewEconomy

The number of foreign workers living in dormitories who test positive for the coronavirus daily continues to be high in part because of an "active and aggressive testing regime" that sees more workers being tested each day, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.

"We expect to still see these numbers for a few more weeks before they stabilise, but our strategy is working and we are making progress day by day in clearing these dormitories," he told a press conference yesterday.

While the coronavirus situation in larger purpose-built foreign worker dormitories is stabilising, Mr Wong said it will take time to clear other smaller dorms, such as factory-converted ones.

Several cases of Covid-19 were recently detected among healthcare workers and other support staff working in dormitories and community care facilities like the one at Singapore Expo. "We already have precautions in these settings but we are doing more now by also testing the workers who are working in these settings," Mr Wong said.

He added that these workers will be tested not just once but periodically to ensure they can do their work in a safe environment.

The Health Ministry's director of medical services Kenneth Mak said the ministry is very concerned about the number of staff involved in dormitory operations who have been diagnosed with Covid-19.

"We want to make sure that they were properly trained in the use of their personal protective equipment and masks, and that they were obeying and respecting the infection control measures to make sure that they were properly protected," said Associate Professor Mak. "If needed, we will work with the inter-agency task force on refresher training, as well as having staff carry out inspections to watch over each other and make sure that everyone is doing the right thing."

Prof Mak also said the Health Ministry decides whether or not to attribute the death of a patient to Covid-19 based on the advice of medical authorities such as a doctor who attended to the patient or a coroner.

"Our approach really is first to ask ourselves, is this directly attributable to Covid-19 infection or complications related to Covid-19 infection? If they are, we will report them as such," he said.

"This comes out in our press statement every day. We are quite transparent in announcing and reporting all the deaths that we have."

He said that if a death is determined not to be due to Covid-19, it will still be reported but not attributed to the virus.

Read the rest here:
Clearing smaller dorms of coronavirus will take time, says Lawrence Wong - The Straits Times

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New Delhi: Now that the Narendra Modi government has begun repatriating Indians stuck abroad, the countrys rich have begun sending in applications to return using private jets, ThePrint has learnt.

According to sources, in the last one month, the Ministry of Home Affairs has received over 20 applications from private charter operators, requesting clearances to fly back to India from various international and domestic locations.

The pending applications include those from Sahara India chief Subrata Roy, Bharti Airtel head Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Essel Group/Zee Media chairman Subhash Chandra. While Roys son is said to be stuck in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a family member of Chandra is stranded in Dubai, sources in the home ministry said.

ThePrint reached the spokespersons of Roy, Mittal and Chandra through calls and messages.

While Mittals spokesperson refused to comment, Chandras and Roys teams did not respond to the query. The report will be updated when they respond.

The Modi government had, in an advisory issued on 16 March, prohibited travel from member countries of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Turkey and the United Kingdom to India, with effect from 18 March. Then, on 22 March, the ban was extended to all countries as the government prohibited all international commercial flights from landing in India.

The rules laid down by the MHA are very strict and are being followed strictly. We cannot allow any chartered flight to land, unless they have permission from MHA, a government official said.

A second government source said the operation of these chartered flights are not allowed because the government is reluctant as people coming from abroad could be carriers. But with international flights now starting to repatriate Indians, the government may reconsider its decision, the source added.

Now we have started the flights to repatriate Indians stuck abroad but that too we are doing with extra caution. The private jets could be allowed in the near future (in phases) once we are ready to deal with the traffic. No decision has, however, been taken till now, he said.

Also read: Why Air Force wont be a part of Indias massive Covid evacuation for now

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also received several requests from private chartered plane operators, but none of them has been cleared until now.

The DGCA is not clearing any such flights at the moment. The applications are scrutinised, and if it is an emergency situation, the MHA gives the approval directly, the second source said.

Private charter operators are constantly enquiring whether it is permitted, this source said, adding: For now, air travel has only been allowed to inter-ministerial teams, doctors, air ambulances and paramedics. No non-essential travel has been allowed.

Last week, an Indian businessman, Rajnish Gupta, chartered a plane from Zambia and reached India with his cook, Suresh Kumar Baheliya. However, they were not allowed to de-board, and were eventually sent back.

They came to India without any clearance or permission, and so were sent back as we are strictly adhering to the guidelines issued by the government, said the first official quoted above.

Also read: India plans to expand repatriation from 15 May to bring back citizens from more countries

The cost of travel by a private jet can be as high as $200,000 (over Rs 1.5 crore), depending on where it is coming from, but that has not deterred those willing to return home.

The ride can cost anywhere between $50,000 (approximately Rs 38 lakh) for a four- to five-hour flight and $200,000 (approximately Rs 1.5 crore) for a longer flight, say from the USA. If someone is coming from London, then it will cost around $1,50,000 (approximately Rs 1 crore), said Kanika Tekriwal, founder of New Delhi based JetSetGo, a private jet operator.

It indeed is expensive, but people are still booking their slots on these planes and sending us requests, the second source quoted above said.

Many of these plane operators are also demanding such high amounts as so many clearances are required, and the demand is only for flying one-way, the source added.

Tekriwal, however, said the rates are constant. Covid or no Cobid, these rates are constant.

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Original post:
Indias super rich ready to pay to return home on private jets, but govt not ready to allow it - ThePrint

By the time the already-fractious Allies had agreed on the form, timing and signing details of Germanys unconditionalsurrender at the end of the World War II, Berlin had been under the complete control of the Soviet Red Army for almost a week.

Adolf Hitler, terrified of the prospect of being captured alive or being held accountable for millions of murders,had married his partner Eva Braun and then the two died by suicide shortlybefore the Battle of Berlin was decided. Their newlywed corpses were burned and the ashes scattered near the so-called Fhrerbunker, Hitlers base of operations later in the war. He didnt even want his corpse to fall into enemy hands.

The Allies eventually agreed that combat would officially cease as of 11:01 p.m., Berlin time, on May 8, 1945. The strangely specific timingwas no accident. It assured that in Moscow, one hour ahead of Berlin, the clocks would have ticked over to May 9, allowing the Soviets their own day on which to recall victory inwhat was known in the USSR as the Great Patriotic War.

Field Marshall Keitel signs the capitulation shortly after midnight local time on May 9

It was the Allied leaders who delivered triumphant speechesto their people. Winston Churchill stood atop the roof of the Health Ministry in London before cheering crowds and proclaimed: This is your victory! It is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land. In all ourlong history, we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone has tried. The exiled former and future French leader, Charles de Gaulle, also spoke of victory in his radio address, noting that Francesmilitary command was present for the signing of the capitulation.

Meanwhile, the man who briefly succeeded Hitler that May, Admiral Karl Dnitz, issued a radio broadcast lasting barely 30 seconds. He alluded to his previous broadcast, onMay 1, when he had announced Hitlers death and saidhis first priority would be to save the lives of German people. To that end, he said, hed asked the armed forces to agree to unconditional surrender.

On May 8, at 23:01, the guns will fall silent, Dnitz said. His next major public stage would be the Nuremberg Trials and his conviction for war crimes in 1946. He served just 10 years in prison.

The rubble women

The dominant international view was and remains that the role of Germans in the war was that of the perpetrators, not the victims, after their country set in motion a global war that went on to claim an estimated 60 million lives and its forces exterminated six million Jews in the Holocaust.

On the ground especially after more than a decade of wall-to-wall propaganda from the schoolyard up, distorting the image of Hitlers Germany this reality was not as immediately obvious.

Many German cities lay in rubble, either firebombed by western Allies (most notably Dresden and Hamburg) or overrun by the Soviets (Berlin). Occupying soldiers are estimated to have raped more than one million German women. Rushing into this wasteland was an exodus of as many as 14 million ethnic Germans refugees who either fled or were driven out of territory far to the east of todays borders.

Many young men were either dead, wounded, captured or traumatised, often by war crimes theyd committed themselves or had seen in the field. Meanwhile, the true extent of the Holocausts horror, which did not feature in Josef Goebbels anti-Semitic propaganda, was coming to light. The immediate postwar desolation became known colloquially as Stunde Null: zero hour.

Florian HuberPromise Me Youll Shoot Yourself: The Downfall of Ordinary Germans, 1945Penguin (July 2019)

Florian Huber has written extensively about the misery in defeated Germany in 1945

First of all Germans had to accept the defeat, which in itself was very hard for many of them, the historian Florian Huber told DW. His two most recent books focus on the immediate postwar months and years for ordinary Germans. His look at the wave of suicides in Germany at that time, Promise Me Youll Shoot Yourself, has also enjoyed success in English. For those who kept going, Huber said, simply securing food and income was the top priority.

The biggest problemwas how to get along with daily life when the man was imprisoned in the prisoner of war camps while children and families tried to get along with a situation that was very extreme, Huber said, and nobody could really say when it would end.

This did allow women to take a more active role. Obsessed with preserving traditional gender roles, Hitler had not called on women to volunteer to take up work in factories and other facilities to aid the war effort as the US and UK had; Nazi Germanys wartime economy had been propped up by the labour of enslaved people a mixture of civilian and military prisoners.

In the postwar years, a new German compound noun was coined for the women who took the lead in clearing the debris from city streets. They were venerated as the Trmmerfrauen, or the rubble women.

Also read: Promise me Youll Shoot Yourself: Nazi Germanys Suicide Wave

A divided land

Initially, Germany was divided into four zones, one administered by each of the Allies to whom it had formally surrendered: the UK, the US, the Soviet Union and France. But the tensions between these allies of necessity had been apparent even before Germanys capitulation, and had resurfaced at precisely thePotsdam conferencewhere the countrys ultimate postwar fate was decided.

Nevertheless, in a marked change of strategy after the punitive peace terms following World War I, the Allies opted for a lighter touch, gradually ushering Germany back into the international community. Reparations would still have to be paid, but nothing like to the extent of those demanded at Versailles in 1919.

The broader transition from global conflictto the Cold War would soon lead to a longerdivision of the country with the Soviet-occupied zone becoming East Germany, or the GDR, and the other three areas making up West Germany, or the Federal Republic. Paradoxically, this fresh threat and division might have smoothed the rocky path to democracy for West Germany.

I am quite convinced that the Cold War experience made it easier, especially for West German society, to accept being part of the Western world, Huber said. It also made it easier for them to adopt, voluntarily, a new democratic constitution, which we have to this day.

The Marshall Plan a major investment program launched by the US in 1948 to rebuild Western Europe after the war and prepare it for the long standoff between capitalism and Soviet communism added a financial incentive to welcome a new world order in the face of the familiar perceived threat from perhaps Hitlers fiercest foes: Stalin and the USSR.

East and West

West German foreign policy rapidly strove for outward reconciliation and reparation. A new and purely defensiveBundeswehr was formed, and no foreign military deployments whatsoever were approved until 1990. To this day, any missions abroad require regularly renewed parliamentary approval.

When Germany does participate in overseas operations, it is typically providing logistical support for allies hitting the targets, such as in the coalition against the Islamic State, or performing peacekeeping and defensive operations in territorythat has been secured by NATO or other friendly forces (with Afghanistan being the largest and longest-running example).

West Germany, and later the reunified country, led the push for the formation and then the expansion of what is now the European Union. The government in Berlin also anchored a historical responsibility for the Holocaust and the defence of Israels existence as part of the nations raison detre.

Especially in the early decades after the war, a spectre overshadowed such advances: the number of former senior Nazis still occupying positions of power in governments, courts, newspapers and society as a whole.

It took an extraordinarily long time for West Germany to make any serious attempt to face the Nazi past, said Susan Neiman, a philosopher and American Jewwho has spent much of her career in Germany,writing several books exploring the countrysrelationship to the Holocaust, and is currently with the Einstein Forum in Potsdam.

Its often the case that foreigners dont quite appreciate how true this was, because the iconic picture of postwar Germany was [Chancellor] Willy Brandt on his knees at the Warsaw Ghetto memorial [in 1970]. That is the picture we expected and we wanted to see. What most foreigners dont realise and it took me decades to realize it myself is that many West Germans hated that gesture of Brandts. They thought it was wrong; they attacked Brandt for having left the country during the war. The much more common view in West Germany was not atonement or repentance for having been a perpetrator, but self-pity for having been a victim.

Also read: When Hitler Realised the End of the War Was Upon Him

Real movement came in Germany with the next generation: the youngsters who were university students around the time of Brandts 1969-74 tenure, and who often grew up asking their own parents searching questions about the Nazi era. Both Neiman and Huber point to a speech by Richard von Weizscker in 1985, the 40th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day,when he declared May 8 one of liberation for Germany, not defeat.

East Germany was rather different, Neiman said.East Germany was anti-fascist from the start because the first victims of Nazis were not Jews, they were Communists and Social Democrats. So the leaders of East Germany were mostly in exile or concentration campsand they were genuinely opposed to the Nazis. Did they abuse their anti-fascist stance ideologically? Of course they did! But was it clear in one side of Germany that the Nazis were evil, and that defeating them was good? Yes.

The GDRs anti-fascism was very much top-down, as Neiman puts it: It was state ideology. So, though the GDRs political class could accurately claim to have never harboured any support for Nazism, this was rather less true for ordinary citizens many of whom would spend decades listening to fresh propaganda that reassured them that Nazism and capitalism went hand in glove and any responsibility for World War II lay west of the Berlin Wall.

Neimans 2019 book, Learning From the Germans, is an exploration of what lessons the US South could take from the progress made in Germany from examining the nationalpast. It was recently published in German.

When I told German friends and colleagues about the book, they either laughed at me or shouted at me because its part of being a good German that you dont believe Germany has any lessons to teach anyone else [on such matters], Neiman said. And my answer was always: Thats an admirable attitude to hold, but its also rather provincial. If you look at other national histories, I think you have to acknowledge that Germany as a whole has gone further in changingits view of itself from a victim to a perpetrator than any other country with remotely comparable history.

A new front

Could the progress made be at risk as the number of survivors of World War II dwindles? Young Germans, in particular, score increasingly poorly in surveys exploring their knowledge of the Nazi era.

By the numbers, the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) isone of the least successful populist far-right movements in Europe, yet it has still established what many analysts deemed impossible for years: a viable political party clearly to the right of the Christian Democrats with seats in the Bundestag and all stateparliaments.

The AfDs heavy hitters and more controversial figures dont tend to talk that much about World War II or the Nazis, although when they do, they will often breach postwar taboos, especially by questioning the culture of remembrance. Alexander Gauland, who weighed in this week arguing against making May 8 a public holiday in Germany, once described Hitler and the Nazi regime as a speck of bird sh*t on over 1,000 successful years of German history.

The partys chairman in the state of Thuringia, Bjrn Hcke, described Berlins Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe as a memorial of shame in January 2017.

Also read: The Beer Hall Putsch of November 9, 1923 Germanys Own 9/11

I think we must be aware that the AfD doesrepresent a considerable part of German society today, Huber said. So, yes, they are here to stay. And we certainly will witness a hard and long fight between those who still insist on keeping alive our lessons from the past and those who want to close this chapter of our history, once and for all.

This doesnt seem to have escaped Chancellor Angela Merkel either. In December last year, having already made it clear her time in office was winding down, she visited Auschwitz for the first time on the 75th anniversary of its liberation.We can never forget, Merkel said at the concentration camp, which was built in Nazi-occupied Poland and is arguably the site most symbolic of the Holocaust on the planet. We can never draw a line under this or seek to relativize it.

According to surveys, the vast majority of Germans agree and feel a moral responsibility for the darkest chapter of their countrys history.

The article was originally published onDW.You can read ithere.

More:
May 8, 1945: Germany's 'Zero Hour' - The Wire

Shattered windows at HOPE for NH Recovery. Courtesy Photo

Over the course of the past eight days, someone has broken five different windows at Hope. Someone threw one rock through one window last Monday evening. Someone (or someones) threw three rocks through three windows last Thursday night. Someone threw a rock through a window last night. Three nights. Five windows. No explanation. No rhyme. No reason.

I am heartbroken and pissedoff, a dangerous combination for me and those around me. Many of you have heard me speak of Hope as holy ground, a space where the miracle of recovery can take place. Hope, like a church, is not made out of a different physical substance than the rest of creation. Throw a big rock with enough force and the window will shatter. But so will dreams that this place is different, that this window lets sunshine into a mystical and magical area, that somehow weve got protection against ugly violence.

Thats the heartbreak, but the anger is right behind it. When the person who did this is caught, and he or she will be caught, Id like to be given five minutes alone with them, not to physically punish them although thats certainly appealing but to make them feel shame, true moral shame. While most of you know me as an upbeat, hopeful man who tries to spread joy, I do have a powerful dark side that can find joy in making folks suffer, twist in the wind, and suffer more, simply by holding their behavior in front of them. This is not a side I particularly like, but it is a power Ive used effectively.

Each window replacement costs more than a thousand dollars, and all of us can think of better things to do with $5,000 than replace broken windows. Money is important, but its not the most important issue here. Money can be raised or found somehow. Trust, though, trust in our neighbors, trust in our members, trust in Hopes value, cant simply be raised or found, and once its gone, rebuilding it takes way more energy than its destruction did.

I choose to believe these broken windows are the result of random vandalism, some 14-year-old kid discovering destructive power and the mesmerizing sound of breaking glass. At one point, I was that kid, using a pellet gun to wage commando raids on streetlights throughout my town. I believe the statute of limitations has long since passed, so I will confess I enjoyed shooting out those lights with no thought about any consequences from my destruction. I was wrong and Im sorry. If Im right that this vandalism is random teenage destruction, I hope the vandal will be caught and held accountable.

Im not nave, though. These five windows could have been broken by a friend or associate of someone who lives in our building or even by a disgruntled Hope member. If its the latter, someone who feels Hope or I have somehow betrayed them or done them wrong, please ask them to stop and instead reach out to me to let me know their concerns.

To Hope Nation as a whole: Please, please, please help us stop this madness. If you hear anything, please let us know. If you see anything, please let us know. If you know anything, please let us know. Right now, we know nothing, and that really stinks.

Please dont let this sad news have an impact on your recovery. Soon we will gather up to six feet together, share the power of recovery and a few laughs.

After all,You matter. I matter. We matter.

Keith

Keith Howard is Executive Director of HOPE for NH Recovery in Manchester. Read more at tinywhitebox.com

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Missives from Hope: Broken Glass Everywhere. Close to the Edge - Manchester Ink Link

Back in 2010, Apple surprised us all when it killed the Xserve. Although it wasnt near as popular as Linux and Window Servers, it still had its place among macOS heavy enterprises. OS X Server (now macOS Server) provided several useful features that dont really exist in todays enterprise market. Why did Apple kill the Xserve and begin stripping features from macOS Server?

About Apple @ Work:Bradley Chambers has been managing an enterprise IT network since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing firewalls, switches, a mobile device management system, enterprise grade Wi-Fi, 100s of Macs, and 100s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple IT managers deploy Apple devices, build networks to support them, train users, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for IT departments.

One of the critical reasons that Apple likely killed the Xserve is they foresaw the shift to the cloud in the enterprise, and there would be even less demand for Apple server hardware.

Also, in 2010, the writing was on the wall. Solutions like Google Apps for your Domain (now G Suite) were starting to become more popular in smaller businesses on its way to enterprise domination. Mobility was forcing enterprises to rethink their network setups as employees moved from desktop workstations to slim laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Services like Amazon Web Services were also starting to take off as real alternatives to building a data center.

The timing around the death of the Xserve is around the same time that Snow Leopard was released. One of the critical features of Snow Leopard was built-in support for Microsoft Exchange. Looking back, Apple was going with a we arent going to win the data center, lets when the end-user approach.

They were never going to replace Windows and Linux Servers, and they didnt need to win in the enterprise. OS Xs Mail Server was never going to replace Microsoft Exchange, so they made OS X work with Exchange instead. Theyd be better off selling a few thousand MacBook Airs instead of five Xserves. They needed to make the Mac easier to integrate into the existing enterprise environment, and that is precisely what they proceeded to do in the years since. They were never going to convince the IT department to deploy Macs, but, as users started demanding them, they needed to make sure it was as easy as possible for the devices to integrate.

Looking back over the past ten years, Apples enterprise strategy has worked perfectly. The rise of cloud services meant that it was easier than ever to deploy Macs without worrying about software compatibility. Apples dominance in mobility (iPhone and iPad) in the enterprise made it easier for the IT department to be sold on Macs for average users (not just video editors and graphic designers). At the time, killing the Xserve looked like Apple was giving up on the enterprise. In reality, it was step one in Apples plan to dominate the enterprise.

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Apple @ Work: Killing the Xserve was step one in Apples plan to dominate the enterprise - 9to5Mac

Microsoft's Chief Product Officer of Windows and devices Panos Panay had some important things to say recently. Of course, because the world is stuck at home those things were shared via a blog post instead of what would have been something with a little more pizzazz with people at hand, but the message still came through loud and clear: Microsoft is trying (again) to take the fight to Chromebooks.

Third time's the charm.

The gist of it all is that even though Windows RT was bad, Windows 10S was a failure, and while people actually are excited about Windows 10X and dual-display devices, Chromebook sales hurt the bottom line hard enough that everything is being shifted to make the future of Windows more like Chrome OS. Single screen clamshells are now the focus instead of dual-display hardware, and there appears to be a major shift to the cloud to make it all better. Somehow. From Panay's announcement:

The world is a very different place than it was last October when we shared our vision for a new category of dual-screen Windows devices. As we continue to put customers' needs at the forefront, we need to focus on meeting customers where they are now. Our customers are leveraging the power of the cloud more than ever, and we believe the time is right to lean into this acceleration in a different way.

With Windows 10X, we designed for flexibility, and that flexibility has enabled us to pivot our focus toward single-screen Windows 10X devices that leverage the power of the cloud to help our customers work, learn and play in new ways. These single-screen devices will be the first expression of Windows 10X that we deliver to our customers, and we will continue to look for the right moment, in conjunction with our OEM partners, to bring dual-screen devices to market.

Panay and his team are right in most ways. With everyone at home, things are very different than they were last October. The cloud has replaced the company server for a lot of things, and people need a simple, affordable, and dependable way to work and play. But that landscape will change again and again, and Microsoft has to learn to be proactive instead of reactive if it wants to find that one big thing that makes everyone want to rush out and buy a Windows laptop again.

More: Folding displays vs. dual screens: Comparing pros and cons for PCs and phones

I think a big reason why people buy Chromebooks is being overlooked here: simple and easy services integration. Schools and businesses aren't buying Chromebooks because of the form factor or even the lower prices Chromebooks are bought because of how easy everything is to set up and administrate, and how simple they are to use. This is where Microsoft needs to innovate and try to surpass Google: at the services level, not the hardware level.

Windows 10X doesn't look like a failure. It's streamlined and more like a mobile operating system, with a focus on software containers and simplicity. That sounds a lot like a Chromebook, but is that what people in the market for an inexpensive laptop to use are looking for? By doing this Windows isn't playing to its existing strengths locally operated software that can be plenty powerful on even anemic hardware.

If I want a cloud-computer I already know how well a Chromebook can do the things I want it to do. I also know how well a Windows computer can do what I want it to do. Just like I wouldn't buy a Chromebook to run Adobe Photoshop, I won't be buying a Windows 10X machine to use an online office suite. A new operating system that integrates your cloud as local storage and makes everything just work can be a cool thing, but we already have that in Chrome. Microsoft shifting away from a new form factor to something more mundane doesn't make me want it more than I used to, and I'll bet I'm not alone.

Microsoft has been building Windows for a long time and I am going to assume they have plenty of metrics of how people use Windows devices. It just seems that by chasing Chromebooks, the company is ruining its chance to leap ahead in the race.

More:
Microsoft will lose the fight with Google if it makes Windows 10X more like Chrome OS - Android Central

Even my daughter had to stay home, Jordyn Astorino said. I cry just thinking about it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we work, shop, eat and interact with friends and family.

Empty restaurant dining rooms on Mothers Day are just one example of how the coronavirus has disrupted our lives, at least for now.

Perhaps more important than a Sunday brunch that had to be canceled, the following accounts offer a glimpse at how life has changed for mothers and their families.

A Mothers Day to celebrate

When Jordyn Astorino gave birth to her daughter, Rory, two years ago, family members gathered in the Millcreek Township womans Saint Vincent Hospital room to celebrate.

It was much different March 23 after Astorino, 30, gave birth to her son, Brooks.

COVID-19 pandemic restrictions prevented everyone except her husband, Drew Astorino, from being in Astorinos hospital room. And he wasnt allowed to leave the room unless he was going home for the day.

Even my daughter had to stay home, Jordyn Astorino said. I cry just thinking about it.

As a physician assistant at Saint Vincents Westminster Family Medicine, Jordyn Astorino was fully aware of the threat COVID-19 posed as her due date approached.

She took a medical leave 10 days before Brooks birth to reduce the risk she would get COVID-19 or the flu.

When I went into labor, I had to go through the big, yellow tent at Saint Vincent when I arrived, Astorino said, referring to the COVID-19 triage tent the hospital had set up.

It didnt even feel like real life, she added. But the nurses were wonderful and really reassuring.

After Astorino delivered her 8-pound, 2-ounce baby boy, Astorino and her husband were able to use FaceTime to have video calls with family members.

It was only after mom and baby were discharged that the grandparents could see Brooks in person.

But they still had to keep their distance and not kiss the baby, Jordyn Astorino said. But at least they got to meet him.

Everyone else will meet Brooks on Sunday, when the Astorinos host a Mothers Day gathering.

Then we hope to take Brooks to see my grandmother, who is 93, lives at home and hasnt met the baby yet, Astorino said. "Well have see her through the glass, but thats OK.

Meeting at the window

Annette Sherrange, a 70-year-old former teacher and school administrator, moved back to Erie a dozen years ago.

She moved in with her mother, Gilda Carr, to help care for Sherranges father, who was in failing health.

Mother and daughter lived together until November when Carr, now 92, went to live at Manchester Commons after taking a fall.

The routine between mother and daughter has changed since then. Instead of a shared home on West 30th Street, they spent time together at the nursing home and chatted on the phone several times a day.

If she thinks of something, she will give me a call, Sherrange said. If I think of something, I will give her a call.

But calls arent always enough.

Sherrange brought her mom home for a visit at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas. She had planned to bring her home on Mothers Day for dinner with a relative.

With nursing homes in lockdown, that won happen.

Sherrange, who has three children and three grandchildren back in Connecticut, will instead do on Sunday what shes been doing in recent weeks. She will stand outside her mothers window and they will wave and share a smile.

The visit will be brief. Her mother has arthritis and it is hard for her to stand for long.

Two-hour visits, twice a week, have been replaced by these silent meetings at the window, daily calls and use of a video chat device.

But Mothers Day will be different this year. There will be no shared meal, no laughter around the table.

It different, but its doable, Sherrange said. Its been very aggravating not to get there, but what is very fortunate is that shes in a safe place. The care there is very good.

She worries, though.

You have to be accepting of what the situation is, but there is always that worry there, she said.

A visit with her mother isnt the only thing Sherrange is looking forward to. Shes a mother herself and is overdue for a visit with her own children and grandchildren in Connecticut.

Sherrange, who has asthma, said her children worry about her health. She wont go to see them just yet.

But she doesnt want to wait forever. She hopes to make the trip by the end of summer.

As soon as my children feel its safe, I will go on out, she said.

Separated at birth

Loren Cicero was hoping the COVID-19 pandemic would be finished or at least under control when her son, Roman, was due in mid-June.

Roman had other ideas, however. The baby was born at Magee-Womens, UPMC Hamot about seven weeks premature.

I went to my doctor on April 15 and they said I needed to go to the hospital, I was going into labor early, said Cicero, a 35-year-old Edinboro resident.

Doctors at Magee-Womens tried to stop her labor but Roman was born April 21, weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces.

For the past three weeks, Cicero and her husband, Anthony, have been making daily trips to the hospitals neonatal intensive care unit to spend time with Roman.

Each time Cicero arrives at the hospital, she must go through a gauntlet of procedures designed to protect the countys youngest residents from COVID-19.

Right after I walk through the door, they ask me questions about COVID, take my temperature and have me put on a face mask, Loren Cicero said. This last time, they also had me use hand sanitizer.

Ciceros husband is the only other family member permitted in the NICU. Everyone else must make do with short videos and photos of Roman.

COVID-19 guidelines have made it difficult for Loren Cicero to bond with other NICU parents, even though she spends eight hours a day in the unit.

The parent lounge is currently limited to one family at a time, and its tough to share a smile when everyone is wearing a face mask, she said.

The nurses do a really good job at creating a sense of community, Loren Cicero said.

Friends and family celebrated Romans birth with a drive-through baby shower last weekend. Seeing people, even from 6 feet away, helped boost the couples spirits.

Roman is progressing well and could be discharged in a couple of weeks, Loren Cicero said. Hopefully, COVID-19 restrictions will continue to be reduced and the family can all gather to celebrate his birth.

My husband jokes that by the time Roman is walking, we can have everyone visit, Cicero said.

Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBRUCE.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNMartin.

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The joys of motherhood interrupted by pandemic - News - GoErie.com