Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

People in our industry have a lot of questions and concerns about bamboo. I've been selling and working with bamboo flooring since 2001, and I have been working directly with Chinese factories since 2004, but I'll be the first to admit that I still haven't figured bamboo out. It's a tricky material, and my experience with it has been a lot like my experience with wood-the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know. But I have had plenty of opportunities to see how things actually play out in the field-the good, the bad and the ugly-when people install different types and brands of bamboo flooring.

To start, I'd like to emphasize three points. First, the most important thing you have to remember about bamboo is that it is not wood. When you're dealing with bamboo, leave all of your wood habits and assumptions at the door. The only things it really has in common with wood are that it grows from the ground, and that it's hygroscopic.

Second, strandwoven bamboo is really not like wood. It looks a little more like wood than traditional bamboo flooring, but the similarity goes only that far. Because it is infused with glue, strandwoven material has unique characteristics that make it even less like wood than traditional bamboo.

And third, not all bamboo is the same. There is a huge range in quality among the many different factories in China, and a huge range in the level of knowledge among the people who run those factories. Unfortunately, most bamboo flooring looks more or less the same out of the box, so buyers are easily tempted by low prices. In general, bamboo flooring is like anything else-you get what you pay for.

Overall, quality has improved in the bamboo flooring industry, and many of the quality problems that we see nowadays are from manufacturers who are cutting corners because of pressure from us, the buyers, to keep costs as low as possible. So, it's not really fair to blame the species for all of these problems, except insofar as it truly is a bit trickier to produce a quality flooring product out of bamboo than it is out of wood. Let's look at why.

Bamboo differs from wood in some of its basic biological structures. Lignins are the natural resins that concentrate in the tissues of wood and bamboo that give them strength and density. In bamboo, those lignins are heavily concentrated in the vascular bundles. The strength of the fibers in these vascular bundles is incredible-it actually rivals steel. But the tissue between the vascular bundles, called the parenchyma, is much weaker than the tissues in most hardwood species.

In bamboo, the strong fibers are clustered more densely at the outer wall of the stalk and get less dense as you move inward. This is very different from wood, where the strong fibers are distributed more evenly throughout the log. In bamboo, the average density of the outer half of the wall may be twice that of the inner half.

To make bamboo flooring, rectangular strips are cut from the wall of the stalk, so each strip has a dense side and a less-dense side. The inner portion of the wall is more stable than the outer portion, so one side of the strip expands and contracts more than the other. So, every strip of bamboo is inherently imbalanced, and this is one of the biggest challenges manufacturers have to overcome.

Bamboo is different from wood in another crucial way: It expands and contracts along its length (longitudinally). In most woods, longitudinal shrinkage doesn't really affect flooring installations, but in bamboo it is 2-3 tenths of a percent-enough to start being noticeable.

Another challenge is that the density and dimensional stability of bamboo change as you move up the stalk. Material taken from the base of the stalk will be less dense and more stable than material taken from higher up.

Now, in case things weren't complicated enough, here's a twist-along the length of the stalk, we have the same type of stability imbalance that we do through the thickness, but it's reversed! The soft inner wall is more stable than the outer wall when it comes to expansion and contraction across the grain, but it is actually less stable than the outer wall in the longitudinal direction. When a strip of bamboo goes into the kiln, it will shrink more across its width on the dense side, while at the same time it shrinks more along its length on the soft side. One side wants to cup while the other side wants to bow in the opposite direction. You can imagine the tension this creates.

With all of these inherent imbalances, one of the keys to making good bamboo flooring is to create uniformity through the plank by orienting the strips in ways that counteract or average out the imbalances.

In vertical-grain flooring, the strips on the left side of the plank are oriented with the denser portion toward the left. Then in the exact center of the plank, they switch directions and are oriented with the denser portion toward the right. If all of the strips were aligned the same way, the tendency of the soft sides to expand or contract more along the length of the plank would cause the planks to crook or "banana." By switching direction halfway across, they get the two sides to pull evenly on each other and cancel themselves out.

Horizontal bamboo is more dimensionally stable than vertical, because laminating the layers bonds the more stable and less stable portions of the strips together and helps cancel some of the movement. In my experience, you see fewer cupping claims on the horizontal material, I think in part because of this horizontal lamination, but also because of the way it is assembled in three layers. They always orient the hard side of the strips toward the surfaces, which creates a pattern that results in having more of the soft, stable material in the bottom half of the plank. So, as the humidity comes up from below and the plank starts to expand, the bottom expands less than it normally would relative to the top, counteracting some of the tendency to cup. In this case, with a wet subfloor, the imbalance of the bamboo actually works in our favor.

Hardness in bamboo is determined by a variety of factors, especially the age of the stalk. The tissues in bamboo harden as they grow older. Typically, horizontal bamboo gets a higher average Janka rating than vertical products because the soft sides of the strips are protected, whereas in the vertical material, they are exposed at the surface.

While age is important, be careful not to give too much credence to claims from some manufacturers that their products are superior because the material is older. Most of the moso bamboo used for flooring is harvested between its 5th and 6th years simply because it makes the most economic sense for the growers. After a point, older is no longer better-if you go much beyond the 6th year, the stalks become more brittle and are prone to cracking.

Other factors that determine hardness include altitude, latitude and soil conditions. Bamboo grown at higher elevations, further north, and in drier conditions tends to be more dense. In my experience, a majority of the bamboo flooring being sold by the premiere brands in the U.S. has material from the prime moso growing region in and around Zhejiang province in East Central China.

Where or when the bamboo was cut only tells a part of the story, because the genetics of the individual plants often play an important role in hardness. You can see fairly large variation in size and density even among stalks cut at the same age from the same farm, and even within the individual stalk there is significant variation in density. The better manufacturers buy only the best portion of the best stalks. This is one of the main reasons cost is a big determinant of quality in bamboo flooring.

For years we have seen bamboo flooring advertised as being harder than oak or maple. This is definitely true for strandwoven bamboo, but manufacturers consistently publish Janka hardness test values for traditional bamboo in the range of 1300-1800, like oak to hickory. Yet we've all heard from disappointed consumers who say that their bamboo floor doesn't hold up nearly as well as their old oak floors. So how can this be?

In some cases it may be inferior or immature raw material, but even quality raw material doesn't seem to hold up as advertised. I believe it goes back to the fact that the material's strength is in its vascular bundles, and the material between them is weak. When we test bamboo using a blunt object like a Janka ball, those strong fibers don't break. But when you hit bamboo with something sharp enough to cut through those fibers, there's little strength to resist the gouging. So, a rock in a shoe can make a much deeper gouge than it would in oak with the same Janka rating.

Another reason consumers sometimes feel misled about the hardness of bamboo is that the marketing often fails to point out that carbonized color is on average 20 percent softer than the natural color, and the published Janka test results are usually results from the natural color. The carbonization process involves cooking the bamboo at very high temperatures, which literally caramelizes the bamboo's sugars. This weakens the material, making it softer and more brittle, and it increases the bamboo's capacity to absorb water, making it less dimensionally stable. This is true for both traditional and strandwoven bamboo.

While traditional bamboo flooring may not be quite as tough as it's cracked up to be, its newer cousin, strand bamboo, is extremely hard and holds up well in high-traffic settings.

Strandwoven bamboo is made of small strands of bamboo that have been soaked in phenolic glue, re-dried, and then compressed into a composite. The result is a product similar to OSB except that the strands of bamboo run the full length of the plank, making it look more like natural wood. As a composite, it is much harder and, in most cases, more dimensionally stable than traditional bamboo flooring.

Some may doubt the statement that strand bamboo is more stable because many people have seen problems with it, but it's important to not confuse dimensional stability with reliability. Dimensional stability tells us how much the material will expand and contract, but it does not necessarily predict how well it will stay flat.

Because of the unique process involved and the glue that binds it together, strand bamboo can be difficult to dry and acclimate properly, can be prone to cracking, and is more susceptible to cupping than traditional bamboo when glued to a slab. And quality matters even more with strand bamboo than it does with traditional bamboo-the process and the glue are critical to its performance and there are many more ways to make mistakes and cut corners.

There are two types of manufacturing for strand bamboo: cold-press and hot-press. Manufacturers of both types claim that theirs is the superior method. Based on my testing and field experience, I'd say the jury is still out and that it really depends on the individual factory.

In my experience, it's much more difficult to make a reliable engineered bamboo than it is to make a reliable engineered hardwood. Since making a bamboo top layer usually involves gluing together smaller strips, there are more opportunities for glue bond failure. However, more often than not, it's the bamboo itself that fails. When that bamboo top layer is locked by a glue bond to a layer of plywood (or other wood) running in the opposite direction, and it's not able to shrink, it has a tendency to tear itself apart more readily than most woods. Again, the weakness of the parenchyma is the problem. Most of the failures that you see with engineered bamboo are in out-of-warranty conditions. Properly made material used according to the manufacturer's guidelines is usually fine. But in my experience, when conditions get extreme, even well-made engineered bamboo is not as reliable as engineered hardwood flooring made with similar care.

A problem you may have seen in traditional bamboo floors is grayish, streaky discoloration in some planks. This is fungus that has attacked the bamboo during the first few days after it was harvested. Raw bamboo rots quickly and has to be treated with borate solution within two days of being cut in order to prevent this. If mold has set in before the treatment, it may still be visible in the finished floor even though it has been killed.

Unfortunately, I have seen cases where mold actually spread in the floor after it was installed, even under dry conditions. As a general rule of thumb, if you see this in a plank, it's probably safer not to install it. I have not seen this in carbonized bamboo, probably because of the heat from carbonization and because the darker color masks any mold. I have seen hints of mold in natural strandwoven bamboo, but it is much less visible and does not present the risk of spreading because the glue and curing process should kill any spores.

There are some other common issues people encounter with bamboo on the job site. Most installers are in the habit of leaving expansion space along the sides of the planks but not where the boards end by the wall. With solid hardwood, you generally don't have to worry about it. With bamboo, because of its greater longitudinal instability, you do. You might also see the opposite problem when things get too dry, where the ends will pull away from each other. Gapping at the butt joints can happen with both traditional and strand bamboo.

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The growth in the popularity of strandwoven bamboo has been a big boost to the inspections industry; cupping claims on installations over concrete are a huge problem. Many strand jobs have mystified claims inspectors and glue manufacturers because the slab was within allowable limits and the vapor retarder was properly applied, yet still the floor cupped. It has led people to believe that strand bamboo is highly sensitive to moisture, but from what I've seen, strand bamboo has done just as well as similarly dense species of hardwood when installed over a crawlspace. The problem is that when it is installed on a slab, the density and the resin in strandwoven bamboo make it hard for the vapor to escape, causing moisture to slowly accumulate and condense on the surface of the slab. The strandwoven bamboo is itself a vapor barrier, but one that will absorb water slowly over time. This explains why some of these cupping claims over concrete are very slow to develop. The condensation of water under the strand bamboo also may account for the relatively large number of so-called "glue failures" that we've seen in these installations.

To prevent cupping, the perm rating of the vapor retarder would have to be equal to or lower than the perm rating of the strand bamboo itself, which is apparently extremely low, so you need an excellent vapor retarder. So, with strandwoven bamboo, it's even more important than with other materials to thoroughly test and seal the concrete, and to avoid installations where there is any sign of a moisture problem.

Another problem you may see with strandwoven flooring is a phenomenon I call "rippling," where you get tiny ripples or wrinkles in the face. Many strand installations have this problem, but it's often so subtle that the end-user hasn't noticed it. There are a couple of factors likely contributing to this. First, inconsistent or inadequate drying of raw material means that when the product acclimates at the job site, some strands are lifting or sinking relative to others. Second, there is a rebound effect-strands that have been compressed together have a tendency to want to bounce back against the direction of the press, especially with moisture.

The cracking problems that happen with engineered traditional and strand bamboo also show up with some solid strand products. Like with wood, drier conditions seem to bring this out more, but I've seen cracking develop in samples from lesser-quality manufacturers even at sea level in San Francisco. The causes of these cracks are often related to the same factors that cause the rippling-the rebound effect and inconsistent drying. But cracking can also sometimes be a symptom of a poor quality resin and/or improper curing.

Two other problems that you'll sometimes encounter in strandwoven installations are dimpling and edge crushing, which may look the same but are caused by different things. Dimpling usually occurs when the installer is using cleats that are too thick-strandwoven manufacturers recommend 18-gauge cleats, but many installers are in the habit of using 15.5-gauge cleats. Because this material is so dense, the fasteners will push it up and create a lump at the surface.

Edge crushing is a trickier problem. Strandwoven bamboo is very strong but brittle, and if the installer bangs his nailer too hard, he can create fractures in the side of the plank that may not be visible right away. If the planks later expand and pressure is exerted at that seam, the fractures get worse and can travel up through the face. You should be able to tell the difference between dimpling and edge crushing by the fact that on a dimpled floor, many of the lumps won't have cracks, and they will be visible right away.

The truth is that if bamboo is properly made and installed, it can make a great floor. I have been involved in countless commercial and residential jobs that have gone off without a hitch and left the customer very satisfied. The strand bamboo floor that I put in my kitchen in 2006 still looks brand-new today.

To summarize, remember a few key pieces of advice:

1) Avoid using traditional bamboo in demanding settings where you have high traffic, big dogs, etc. It's really just not as hard as the Janka test results indicate.

2) Be sure to thoroughly acclimate and carefully measure the moisture content of strand bamboo before installation. You might be surprised how long it takes to acclimate properly.

3) If you plan to install strand bamboo on a slab on-grade, do careful testing to make sure there are no moisture issues, use the best vapor retarder possible, and be extra cautious with carbonized material.

4) Whenever possible, buy from a company with a good reputation, preferably one that has been importing bamboo flooring for many years. The quality problems and the corner-cutting some bamboo manufacturers engage in usually can't be seen with the naked eye, so you have to be careful. Like with anything else, be wary of a really good price.

We often hear complaints about huge variability in moisture readings with bamboo flooring. Moisture readings on bamboo have to be taken carefully, and even then it's hard to be sure you're getting accurate data.

The first step is to make sure you are armed with the best information available from your moisture meter manufacturer. Some have done extensive testing and have correction guidelines, but the recommended corrections differ from one manufacturer to the next. In my conversations with meter manufacturers, even those that have done a lot of work on this have been a bit mystified and frustrated by the wide range of results they get. There are several reasons for this, among them variations in age and density among individual strips, variations in density from different strand glues and processes, and possible changes at the cellular level caused by heating, but we don't yet seem to have a clear handle on how important each of these factors might be.

Make sure to verify with the meter manufacturer whether their correction numbers are for traditional or strand bamboo. For traditional bamboo, pin meters work fine, but always insert the pins parallel to the grain and to exactly the same depth. This helps make sure you avoid crossing a glue line, which can throw off the reading. For strandwoven bamboo, my experience suggests that you're best off using a surface meter; the factories in China that work with strandwoven products don't use pin meters at all.

Drying bamboo at the factory is tricky, in part because it's so hard to measure the moisture content. Most of the factories don't dry the bamboo down to a target moisture content as we do with wood. Instead, they rely on a predetermined schedule, because checking the moisture content of individual strips can be misleading due to the density variation.

Even with careful drying, consistent moisture content seems to be a problem for all manufacturers of strand bamboo. I have tested material from well-known brands with moisture content ranging from 6-15% right out of the box. With its extreme density and fibers sheathed in glue, acclimating strandwoven bamboo at the job site can take a long time. I would say as a general rule that strandwoven should be treated with the same caution with which you would treat the densest tropical hardwoods like ip and cumaru. Acclimation times should be thought of in weeks, not days. D.H.

Unfortunately, there currently are no useful quality or grading standards for bamboo flooring. People in our industry who have been frustrated by the problems they've been seeing have asked NWFA to develop standards, and the NWFA has formed a committee, which I'm involved in, but it has proven to be a difficult task to come up with much beyond the HPVA rules that are already in existence for engineered flooring. These rules relate mainly to things like machining tolerances, moisture content, formaldehyde, and glue bond integrity, which are all important, but they don't speak to many of the issues explained here. In bamboo, you have tremendous variation in the quality of the raw material itself, and then there are many early steps in the manufacturing process that allow for human error and corner-cutting. In my opinion, to really create effective standards for bamboo, we would have to monitor the whole process from start to finish.

The information in this article was adapted from a presentation at an NWFA Bamboo/Strand Workshop. For more information on NWFA classes, go to http://www.nwfa.org.

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Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth (AE911Truth) is an American non-profit[1][2] organization of architects and engineers who dispute the results of official investigations into the September 11 attacks, including the 9/11 Commission Report.[3][4]

Founded in 2006, the group demands that the United States Congress pursue "a truly independent investigation" into the September 11 attacks as they believe government agency investigations into the collapse of the World Trade Center have not addressed what it calls "massive evidence for explosive demolition."[5]

Richard Gage, a San Francisco Bay area architect,[6] founded Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth in 2006.[7] Gage, who is a member of the American Institute of Architects,[2] has worked as an architect for 20 years and was involved in the construction of numerous fireproof steel-frame buildings.[8] He became convinced of the need to create an organization that brings together architects and engineers after listening to an independent radio station interview with theologian David Ray Griffin.[7]

The organization continues to collect signatures for a petition that demands an independent investigation with subpoena power of the September 11 attacks, specifically the collapse of the World Trade Center towers and 7 WTC.[2][9] By December 2014, over 2,300 architectural and engineering professionals had signed the petition.[10] According to the organization, the identities and qualifications of all licensed architects and engineers whose names are being published on its website as well as those of other supporters who are listed separately are subjected to verification before acceptance.[11]Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth publishes The Blueprint, a periodic e-mail newsletter.[12]

Gage has given speeches at conferences organized by supporters of the 9/11 Truth movement[13] in various locations in the United States[14] and Canada,[15][16] and has presented his multimedia talk "9/11 Blueprint for Truth The Architecture of Destruction" in 14 countries.[17] His presentations focus on the sequence of events leading to the destruction of the three World Trade Center buildings and include videos of their collapses alongside footage of controlled demolitions.[14] He went on a tour of European countries in 2008[18] and gave speeches in Australia, New Zealand and Japan in 2009.[19] In 2009, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth had a booth at the annual convention of the American Institute of Architects.[20] AE tried to get the AIA to pass a "Building 7 resolution" - "a Position Statement in support of a new investigation into the complete collapse of 7 World Trade Center on September 11, 2001." However, it failed by a vote of 3,892 to 160 - garnering just over 4% support.[21]

The controversial two-hour movie 9/11 Blueprint for Truth, popular among members of the 9/11 Truth movement, is based on a presentation given by Richard Gage in Canada.[6] Gage was also interviewed for an episode of the BBC television program The Conspiracy Files,[22][22] an episode of the ZDF's series History,[23] based on a co-production of the BBC and the ZDF,[24] as well as for a documentary produced by the Canadian television news magazine The Fifth Estate.[25][26][27]

The organization is the main constituent of the ReThink911 coalition, which ran an advertising campaign putting up signs and billboards in seven U.S. cities, as well as in Vancouver, Toronto, London, and Sydney in 2013.[28]

Members of the organization argue that the buildings of the World Trade Center could not have collapsed only because of the impact of the planes,[29][30] or as a result of the fires that had been caused by them,[31] and claim to have identified evidence pointing to an explosive demolition of the World Trade Center buildings.[32] The group does not blame any particular individuals or organizations for the September 11 attacks,[33][34] and Gage stated that avoiding speculation on the attacks on the Pentagon or on the involvement of the Bush administration was critical to the mission of the organization.[35] However, Gage also said that if the destruction of the World Trade Center was the result of a controlled demolition, this would mean that part of what happened on September 11, 2001, would have been planned by "some sort of an inside group".[36] According to Gage, an elevator modernization program that had taken place before the attacks would have provided an opportunity to get access to the core areas of the WTC towers without creating suspicion.[37]

The organization has compiled a list of criteria for a controlled demolition that it says the collapse of the World Trade Center meets: the destruction followed the path of greatest resistance, the debris was symmetrically distributed, the rapid onset of the destruction, explosions and flashes reported by witnesses, steel elements were expelled from the building at high speed, the pulverization of the concrete, expanding pyroclastic clouds, lack of pancaked stories in the debris, isolated explosions 20 to 40 stories below the wave of destruction, molten steel and thermite traces found in the debris.[8]

Investigations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have concluded that the buildings collapsed as a result of the impacts of the planes and of the fires that resulted from them.[38][39] In 2005, a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology concluded that the destruction of the World Trade Center towers was the result of progressive collapse initiated by the jet impacts and the resultant fires. A 2008 NIST report described a similar progressive collapse as the cause of the destruction of the third tallest building located at the World Trade Center site, the 7 WTC. Many mainstream scientists choose not to debate proponents of 9/11 conspiracy theories, saying they do not want to lend them unwarranted credibility.[40] The NIST explanation of collapse is universally accepted by the structural engineering, and structural mechanics research communities.[41]

Gage criticized NIST for not having investigated the complete sequence of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers,[42] and claims that "the official explanation of the total destruction of the World Trade Center skyscrapers has explicitly failed to address the massive evidence for explosive demolition."[43] In particular, Gage argues that the buildings of the World Trade Center could not have collapsed at the speed that has been observed without tearing apart several columns of their structures with the help of explosives.[31] To support its position, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth points to the "free fall" acceleration of 7 WTC during part of the collapse,[44] to "lateral ejection of steel," and to "mid-air pulverization of concrete."[29] Richard Gage also said that the absence of "large gradual deformations" associated with the collapse would indicate that the buildings have been destroyed by controlled demolition.[45] That the three buildings of the World Trade Center "fell through what should have been the path of greatest resistance" would, according to the organization, require "precisely timed removal of critical columns, which office fires cannot accomplish".[44] As the mass of the top of the North Tower had been blown outward during the collapse, there was "nothing left to drive this building to the ground," Gage says.[46]

Gage maintains that the "sudden and spontaneous" collapse of the towers would have been impossible without a controlled demolition, that pools of molten iron found in the debris of the buildings were evidence of the existence of thermite,[47] and that researchers had found unignited nano-thermite in the dust produced by the collapse of the World Trade Center.[25][44][46][48] Gage argues that this material "is not made in a cave in Afghanistan".[49] Iron-rich micro-spheres, which, according to the organization, have been found in the dust of the World Trade Center buildings by independent laboratory analyses, would indicate temperatures during the collapses much higher than temperatures that would result from hydrocarbon fires.[44] "We have evidence of high tech explosives found in all of the dust, we have evidence of thermite found in the molten iron samples. This cant happen in normal office fires. They dont have half the temperature required to melt steel, so where did the molten iron come from?" Gage asks.[50] A DVD produced by the group contains eyewitness accounts of explosions and flashes seen in the buildings.[51]

In 2008, Zdenk P. Baant, professor of civil engineering and materials science at Northwestern University, published with three coauthors a paper to examine whether allegations of controlled demolition might be scientifically justifiable. They found that the available video records are not consistent with the free fall hypothesis, that the size of the concrete particles is consistent with comminution caused by impact, and that the high velocity of compressed air explains why material from the towers were ejected to a distance of several hundred meters from the tower. The authors conclude that the allegations of controlled demolition do not have any scientific merit.[52] A spokesman for NIST said that any sightings of molten metal, including metal seen pouring from the South tower, were likely molten aluminum from the airplane, an explanation disputed by Richard Gage who stated that the color of the molten metal rules out aluminum.[5] "Basically, gravity and the utter force of the upper floors forced the towers down," said NIST spokesperson Michael Newman.[46]

According to Richard Gage, 7 World Trade Center (7 WTC), a 47-story high-rise building that was part of the World Trade Center complex and collapsed in the afternoon on September 11, 2001, is the "smoking gun" of September 11,[44][53] providing the most compelling evidence that something was suspect about the building's collapse that had not been told to the public.[54][55] Gage also described 7 WTC as "the most obvious example of controlled demolition."[56] According to Richard Gage, the only way to bring a building down with free-fall acceleration would be to remove its columns, which provide resistance to the force of gravity.[57] Scott Grainger, a fire protection engineer and member of the group, told the BBC that the evidence he had seen indicated the fires in 7 WTC were scattered about on the floors and would have moved on as they would have found no more combustibles. He thus claims that the fires could not have developed enough heat to cause the collapse of the building.[56]

Gage dismisses the explanation of the collapse of 7 World Trade Center given by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), according to which uncontrolled fires and the buckling of a critical support column caused the collapse, and argues that this would not have led to the uniform way the building actually collapsed. "The rest of the columns could not have been destroyed sequentially so fast to bring this building straight down into its own footprint," he says.[25] Richard Gage argues that skyscrapers that have suffered "hotter, longer lasting and larger fires" have not collapsed.[53] "Buildings that fall in natural processes fall to the path of least resistance," says Gage, "they don't go straight down through themselves."[58] Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth also questions the computer models used by NIST, and argues that evidence pointing to the use of explosives had been omitted in its report on the collapse of 7 WTC.[59]

The community of experts in structural mechanics and structural engineering generally supports the explanation of the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings provided by the investigation conducted by NIST.[60] The appearance of a controlled demolition can be explained by an interior failure of the building, which is suggested by the sequence of the collapse of 7 WTC that shows roof elements sinking into the building while the faade remained intact.[61]

Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth has expressed concerns that evidence related to the destruction of the World Trade Center could have been distorted and covered up by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which conducted a building and fire safety investigation, one of the official investigations into the event. According to the group, and NIST themselves who considered it unnecessary, NIST did not look for physical evidence of explosives[25][44] and did not include the eyewitness accounts from first responders and from people who escaped the buildings in their investigation.[5] The organization also alleges that much of the physical evidence, apart from a few selected samples of the steel, would have been destroyed.[44] Gage criticizes that taped eyewitness interviews that were released to the New York Times in August 2005 had been "hidden by the city of New York".[5]

After the publication of the results of NIST's inquiry into the collapse of 7 WTC, Richard Gage called a news conference,[62] and leaders of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth dismissed NIST's investigation as flawed. When told of the claims, Shyam Sunder, lead investigator from NIST, responded: "I am really not a psychologist. Our job was to come up with the best science."[38] A spokesperson for NIST said the agency's computer models were highly reliable in assessing the amount of fireproofing dislodged, a factor that would not be present in other steel buildings cited by Gage.[5]

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Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth - Wikipedia

A : prep. to as in "go a shop," from Spanish (7) A GO : aux w/v. going to do, as in "Me a go tell him" (7) A DOOR : outdoors. (5) ACCOMPONG : n. name of Maroon warrior, Capt. Accompong, brother of Cudjo; also name of town. From the Twi name for the supreme deity (7) ACKEE : n. African food tree introduced about 1778. From Twiankye or Kru akee (7) AGONY : the sensations felt during sex (6) AKS : ask (28) ALIAS : adj. (urban slang) dangerous, violent (7) AMSHOUSE : poorhouse (29) AN : than (5) ARMAGEDDON : the biblical final battle between the forces of good and evil (1) ASHAM : n. Parched, sweetened, and ground corn. From twiosiam (7) BABYLON : 1. the corrupt establishment, the "system," Church and State 2. the police, a policeman (1) BAD : good, great (2) BAD BWAI : (bad boy) 1. refering to a bold man; a compliment 2. One who has committed a crime. (rude bwai, ruddy, baddy) (31) BADNESS : hooligan behavior, violence for its own sake (1) BAFAN : clumsy; awkward (5) BAFANG : a child who did not learn to walk the 1st 2-7 years. (5) BAG-O-WIRE : a betrayer (1) BAGGY : underpants for a woman or child. (5) BALMYARD : n. place where pocomania rites are held, healing is done, spells cast or lifted (7) BAKRA : white slavemaster, or member of the ruling class in colonial days. Popular etymology: "back raw" (which he bestowed with a whip.) (5) BALD-HEAD : a straight person; one without dreadlocks; one who works for babylon (2) BAMBA YAY : by and by (7) BAMBU : rolling paper (1) BAMMY : a pancake made out of cassava, after it has been grated and squeezed to remove the bitter juice. (5) BANDULU : bandit, criminal, one living by guile (1) a BANDULU BIZNESS is a racket, a swindle. (5) BANGARANG : hubbub, uproar, disorder, disturbance. (5) BANKRA : a big basket, including the type which hangs over the sides of a donkey. (5) BANS : from bands; a whole lot, a great deal, nuff, whole heap. (5) BANTON : a storyteller (50) BASHMENT : party, dance, session (3) BAT : butterfly or moth. English bat, the flying rodent, is a rat-bat. (5) BATTY : bottom; backside; anus. (5) BATTYBWOY : a gay person (6) BEAST : a policeman (1) BEEF : desirable woman (53) BEENIE : little (36) BEX : vex (verb), or vexed (adjective). (5) BHUTTU (BUHTUH) : an uncouth, out of fashion, uncultured person Use: Wey yu a go inna dem deh cloze? Yu fayva buttu (12) BIG BOUT YAH : Large and in charge. Superlative indicating status (power, fame, money, talent, etc) within some social group (12) BISCUIT : a particularly attractive woman (46) BISSY : cola nut. (5) BOOPS/BOOPSIE : Boops is a man, often older, who supports a young woman; boopsie refers to a kept woman (46) BLACK UP : To smoke weed. Like somene would ask "You Black up today?" Meaning did you smoke today? (14) BLACKHEART MAN : a rascal, a hooligan (38) BLOUSE AND SKIRT : common exclamation of surprise. (29) BLY : chance, "must get a bly", "must get a chance". (4) BOASIE : adj. proud, conceited, ostentatious. Combination of English boastful and Yoruba bosi-proud and ostentatious (7) BOASIN TONE : Swollen penis or testicles (13) BOBO : fool. (5) BOBO DREAD : a rastafarian sect based on the teachings of Prince Emanuel Edwards distinguished by turbin-like headdresses, flowing white robes and communal living (50) BODERATION : Boderation comes from the word bother and that's basically what it means. If something is a boderation then it's a bother. (29) BONG BELLY PICKNEY : a greedy child who ate too much. (29) BOONOONOONOUS : Meaning wonderful. (13) BOX : To smack or to hit in the face. (13) BRAA : from BREDDA; brother. (5) BRAATA : a little extra; like the 13th cookie in a baker's dozen; or an extra helping of food. In musical shows it has come to be the encore. (5) BREDREN : one's fellow male Rastas (1) BRINDLE : to be angry (6) BRINKS : title given to a man who is supplying a woman with money (6) BUBU : fool. (5) BUCKY : home-made gun (2) slave (29) BUCKY MASSA : master over the slaves (29) BUD : bird. (14) BUFU-BUFU : fat, swollen, blubbery; too big; clumsy or lumbering.(5) BUGUYAGA : a sloppy, dirty person, like a bum or tramp. (5) BULL BUCKA : a bully (1) BULLA : a comon sugar and flour cookie or small round cake, sold everywhere in Jamaica. (5) BUMBA CLOT, (TO GET) BUN : to have one's spouse or girl/boy-friend cheat on oneself, to be cheated out of something (6) RAS CLOT, BLOOD CLOT : curse words (1) BUCK UP : meet (28) BUMBO : bottom; backside. A common curse word, especially in combination with CLOT (cloth), a reference to the days before toilet paper. (5) BUTOO : a person of no class (53) BUN : burn (29) BUNGO : n. racially pejorative. Crude, black, ignorant, boorish person. From Hausa bunga-bumpkin, nincompoop (7) BUNKS : to knock or bump against, from "to bounce" (5) BUNKS MI RES : catch my rest, take a nap. (5) BWOY : Boy (13) (THE) CAT : a woman's genitals (6) CALLALOU : A spinach stew. (18) CARD : to fool someone (6) CEASE & SEKKLE! : stop everything and relax! (6) CEPES : (n.) - beard (35) CERACE : a ubiquitous vine used for boiling medicinal tea, and for bathing. It is proverbial for its bitterness.(5) CHA! or CHO! : a disdainful expletive (1) pshaw! (2) very common, mild explanation expressing impatience, vexation or disappointment. (5) CHAKA-CHAKA : messy, disorderly, untidy. (5) CHALICE or CHILLUM : a pipe for smoking herb, usually made from coconut shell or CHALEWA : and tubing, used ritually by Rastas (1) CHAMPION : female of sexual prowess (53) CHANT : (v.) - to sing, especially cultural or spiritual songs (35) CHEAP : just as cheap, just as well. (5) CHI CHI MAN : a gay man (6) CHIMMY : chamber pot. (5) CHO : very common, mild explanation expressing impatience, vexation or disappointment. (5) CLAP : hit, break, stride (1) CLOT : 1. cloth, an essential part of most Jamaican bad words, such as bumbo clot, rass clot, blood clot, etc. The essence of Jamaican cursing seems to be nastiness, rather than the blashemy or sexuality which is characteristic of the metropolitan countries. 2. to hit or strike - from the verb "to clout". (5) 3. literally means a used tampon (31) COCO : a potato-like edible root, known elsewhere as the taro or the eddo. It was brought to Jamaica from the South Pacific. This is completely distinct from cocoa, usually called chocolate. (5) COIL : money (6) COLD I UP : humiliate or be-little (29) COME DUNG : come down, get ready (as to prepare to play a tune) (6) COME EEN LIKE : to seem as if; to resemble. (5) CONTROL : to be in charge of, responsible for, to own; to take (1) COO 'PON : v. (origin unclear) Look upon! (7) COO YAH : v. (origin unclear) Look here! (7) pay attention (17) COOL RUNNINGS : usually used at a time of departure on a long journey meaning have a safe trip (31) COOLIE : the traditional Jamaican epithet for East Indians. It is never used It is never used for Chinese Jamaicans. Usually in the form coolie-man or coolie-oman. It is not considered polite today anymore than the term nega, but it is still used widely in rural areas. (5) COLLIE : n. (urban slang) ganja (7) COME YAH (cumyu) : come here. (17) CORK UP : jammed, filled, crowded (2) CORN : 1. marijuana 2. money 3. a bullet (1) COTCH : verb (cotch up), to support something else, as with a forked stick; to balance something or place it temporarily; to beg someone a cotch, can be a place on a crowded bus seat or bench; or it may mean to cotch a while, to stay somewhere temporarily. (5) COTTA : a roll of cloth or vegetation placed on top of the head to cushion the skull from the weight of a head load. (5) CRAB : aside from it's usual meaning, it is a verb meaning to scratch or claw. (5) CRAVEN : greedy (5) CRAVEN CHOKE PUPPY : someone who wants everything but when they get it , they can't manage it. CREATION STEPPER : means you step it in and throughout Babylon without fear - cuttin' edge, livin' on the edge, fear no foe. Lookin justice in the eye and saying, What are you doin ?"!! (29) CRIS : crisp; popularly used for anything brand-new, slick-looking. (5) CRISSARS : crisp, brand-new (2) CROMANTY : adj. from Corromantee, Blacks from the Gold Coast believed to be rebellious (7) CROCUS BAG : a very large sack made of coarse cloth, like burlap (10) CROSSES : problems, vexations, trials; bad luck, misfortunes. (5) CRUCIAL : serious, great, "hard,", "dread" (1) CU : verb, look! (5) CU DEH! : look there! (5) CU PAN : look at. (5) CU YA! : look here! (5) CU YU : To say "Look at you." To the person you are refering to. (14) CUBBITCH : covetous. (5) CUDJO : n. name of famous Maroon warrior; mn born on Monday, from Fante, Twi kudwo (7) CULTURE : reflecting or pertaining to the roots values and traditions highly respected by the Rastas (1) CUSS-CUSS : a quarrel or fracas, with lots of cursing. (5) CUT YAI : to cut your eye at somebody is a very common means of expressing scorn or contempt, for example; one catches the other person's eye, then deliberately turns one's own eyes as an insult. (5) You can also cut your eye at somebody in a friendly way. (29) CUTCHIE : pipe for communal smoking. (5) CYA : 1. to care; "donkya", don't care, careless; "no kya" means no matter, as in "no kya weh im tun", no matter where he turns. 2. to carry. (5) CYAAN : can't. (5) CYAI : to carry. (5) CYAN : can. (5) D.J. : a person who sings or scats along with dub music, sometimes called "toasting" (2) DAAL : split peas, usually a thick soup, from Indian cuisine, from Hindi. (5) DADA : father (6) DALLY : executive zig-zag movements on wheels (2) or on foot (6) to ride a bicycle or motorbike with a weaving motion, as when ones weaves around potholes. (5) DAN DADA : the highest of DON'S (6) DAN : than (5) DARKERS : sunglasses (6) DASHEEN : a big soft yam-like root, often slightly greyish when cooked. It is related to the coco, but one eats the "head" instead of the tubers. (5) DAWTA : a girl, woman, "sister," girlfriend (1) DEAD HOOD : (the H is silent) = A man that can't perform sexually. Impotent. (14)(29) DEADERS : meat, meat by-products (1) DEESTANT : decent. (5) DEGE or DEGE-DEGE : adjective, little, skimpy, measly, only, as in a two dege-dege banana. (5) DEH : there (place) (6) DEY : v. to be, exist, as in "No yam no dey". From Ewe de or Twi de - to be (7) DEY 'PON : (aux. v.) - to be engaged in action or continuing activity (35) literally "there upon" As in "it dey pon de table". (29) DI : the (6) DILDO MACCA : dangerous macca or thorn that will bore you up (29) DINKI : a kind of traditional dance at funerals or "nine nights" ("set-ups"); now popular among school children. (5) DIS or DIS YA : this (6) DJEW : as a verb, rain a djew; as a noun, djew rain. It means a light rain or drizzle. (5) DOGHEART : a person who is especially cold and cruel (6) DOLLY : executive zig-zag movements on wheels (2) DON : one who is respected, master of a situation (6) DONKYA : from "don't care"; careless, sloppy, lacking ambition, etc. (5) DOONDOOS : an albino. (5) DOWNPRESSOR : preferred term for oppressor (1) DOTI : "Dutty" means dirty, dirt or earth (19)(29) (TO) DRAW CARD : the act of fooling someone (6) DREAD : 1. a person with dreadlocks 2. a serious idea or thing 3. a dangerous situation or person 4. the "dreadful power of the holy" 5. experientially, "awesome, fearful confrontation of a people with a primordial but historically denied racial selfhood" (1) DREADLOCKS : 1. hair that is neither combed nor cut 2. a person with dreadlocks (1) DREADY : a friendly term for a fellow dread (1) DUB : a roots electronic music, created by skillful, artistic re-engineering of recorded tracks (2) DUB PLATE : A pre-release copy of a record, often produced exclusively for a specific sound system (see "sound system"). (46) DUCK-ANTS : white ants, or termites. (5) DUKUNU : sweet corn-meal dumplings boiled in wrapped leaves. (5) DUNDUS : an albino. (5) DUNGLE : n. legendary West Kingston slum surrounding a garbage dump, now cleared. (7) : From English dunghill DUNS,DUNSA : money (1) DUPPY : a ghost (1) DUTCHY : dutch cooking pot, low round-bottomed heavy pot. (5) DUTTY : dirty (17) EASE-UP : to forgive, to lighten up (6) EVERYTING COOK & CURRY : all is well, all is taken care of (6) FALLA FASHIN : Copycat (13) FAS' : to be fast with, meaning to be rude, impertinent, to meddle with sombody's business, to be forward, etc. (5) FASSY : eczema-like scratchy sores on the skin; also a verb meaning to cause oneself to be covered with fassy by scratching. (5) FAASTI (FIESTY) : impertinent, rude, impudent (35) FAYVA : to favour, resemble, or look like; "fayva like" also means "it seems as if". (5) FE (FI) : the infinitive "to" as in "Have fe go" (7) "a fe" Have to (28) "fe dem" their (28) FEEL NO WAY : don't take offense, don't be sorry, don't worry (1) FENKY-FENKY : (from finicky) choosy, proud, stuck-up. (5) FENNEH : v. to feel physical distress, pain. From Twi fene-to vomit; Fante fena-to be troubled; Lumba feno-to faint (7) FI (FE) : possessive. "fi me"-"mine" (7) Can also mean "for" or "to", as in "I ha' fi", I have to. Yu num fi du dat = You are not to do that. (12) Fe is Fi as in fi ar means hers fi im - his fi dem - theirs fi you - yours fi me - mine (29) FIESTY (FAASTI) : impudent, rude, out of order, cheeky. (5) FIRST LIGHT : tomorrow (1) (HIM A) FISH : a gay person (6) FIT : when used of fruits and vegetables, it means ready to pick, full grown, though not necessarily fully ripe. (5) also means in good shape. ("You haffe fit!") (31) FORWARD : 1. to go, move on, set out 2. in the future (1) FRONTA : tobacco leaf used to roll herb (1) FUCKERY : wrong, unfair (6) FULLNESS, TO THE FULLNESS : completely, absolutely, totally (1) FUNDS : Money (6) GAAN A BED : an adverbial phrase; following a verb of liking or loving, it has a superlative meaning; Can be used in any context, such as "I love hafu yam gaan to bed!". (5) means very much as in liking very much (29) GALANG : go along. (23) GANJA : herb, marijuana (1) GANSEY : t-shirt, any knit shirt (2) (TO) GET SALT : to be thwarted, to encounter misfortune (6) GATES : home, yard (1) GENERAL : cool operator (1) GI : give (28) GIG : spinning top. (5) GILL : unit of measure like pint. (42) GINNAL : n. trickster, con-man, an Amnancy figure as in "Sunday Ginnal"-a preacher or clergyman (7) GLAMITY : a woman's genitals (6) GOODAS : female of impeccable reputation (53) GORGON : outstanding dreadlocks (1) a dragon (29) (DON) GORGON : outstanding dreadlocks, a person who is respected (2,6) GRAVALICIOUS : greedy, avaricious. (5) GRINDSMAN : one who displays great prowess in bed(6) GROUNATION : large, island-wide meeting and celebration of Rastas (1) GROUND : home, yard (4) HACKLE : to hassle, bother, worry, trouble. As a noun, hackling. (5) HAFFI : to have to... (6) HAIL : a greeting (1) HARBOUR SHARK : "Mr. Want-All" glutton, greedy, someone who wants it all. (29) HARD : excellent, proficient, skillful, uncompromising (1) tough (29) HARD EARS : stubborn, doesn't listen (37) HEETCH : itch. Many such words could be listed under H, as initial H is added to scores of words at will. (5) HEAD MAN JANCRO : n. albino buzzard (7) HERB : marijuana (1) HIEZ-HAAD : ears-hard, thick skulled, stubborn, unwilling or unable to hear. (5) HIEZ : ears. (5) HIGGLERS : higglers, who are primarly woman who buy and sell goods that they have imported into the country. Some higglers, however, do not make trips out of the country to buy goods, but sell the goods that others import. The connection between higglers and dancehall culture is crucial as they form one of the strongest international links between JA, North America, and the Caribbean. (16) HITEY-TITEY : upper class, high tone, "stoosh". (5) someone who pretends to be better than they are (29) HOMELY : to be relaxed, comfortable, enjoying your home surrounding. (14) HOOD : penis. (5) HORTICAL (DON) : respected, acclaimed (6) HOT-STEPPER : fugitive from jail or gun court (1) I-DREN : (n.)- male Rastafarian (35) I-MAN : I, me, mine (1) I-NEY : a greeting (2) I-REY : 1. a greeting 2. excellent, cool, highest (1) I-SHENCE : herb (1) I-TAL : vital, organic, natural, wholesome; refers to way of cooking and way of life (1) in colors, red, green and gold (2) I-WAH : hour or time (43) I : replaces "me", "you", "my"; replaces the first syllable of seleted words (1) I and I, I&I: I, me, you and me, we (1) Rastafari speech eliminates you, me we, they, etc., as divisive and replaces same with communal I and I. I and I embraces the congregation in unity with the Most I (high) in an endless circle of inity (unity). (3) IEZ-HAAD : ears-hard, thick skulled, stubborn, unwilling or unable to hear. (5) IEZ : ears. (5) ILIE : adj. literally, "highly", valuable, exalted, even sacred (7) IGNORANT : short-tempered, easy to vex, irate. (5) INNA DI MORROWS : tomorrow (6) INNA : In the (4) IRIE : A Greeting. excellent, cool, highest (1) adj. powerful and pleasing (7) IRON BALLON : expression for singer who has not found his/her voice (54) ISES/IZES/ISIS : praises (11) Praises to the almighty given by Rasta when calling on the name of Jah for strength and assistance for achieving progress in life. (30) ISMS and SKISMS : negative term denoting Babylon's classificatory systems (1) ITES : 1. the heights 2. a greeting 3. the color red (1) great (2) 4. another word for irie. Or you use it to mean "OK" as in when someone asks you to do something for you, you would reply, "Ites." (29) IWA : certain time or hour (43) JA, JAM-DOWN : Jamaica (1) JACKASS ROPE : homegrown tobacco, twisted into a rope. (5) JAH KNOW : Lord knows (1) JAH : God; possibly derived as a shortened form of Jahweh or Jehovah (1) Jah Ras Tafari, Haille Selassie, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, conquering Lion of Judah; rastas revere Haile Selassie as the personification of the Almighty (2) JAMDUNG : Jamaica, "Jam" to press down "dung" down. Ironic reference to social and economic conditions of the masses (7) JAMMIN : to be having a good time, to be dancing calypso/soca (6) JANCRO : n. literally John Crow, buzzard (7) JANGA : shrimp, crayfish. (5) JELLY : a young coconut, full of jelly. (5) JON CONNU : n. (John Canoe). Bands of elaborately masked dancers appearing around Christmas. They ressemble the ancestral dancers of West Africa, but the ety. of the word is unclear. (7) JOOK : to pierce or stick, as with a thorn or a long pointed stick. (5) also used in a sexual context (29) JOOKS : hangout, relax (29) JUDGIN' : adjective, everyday or ordinary clothes or shoes worn in the yard or in the bush, as in "judgin' boot". Also as a verb, to judge, with a similar meaning. (5) JUU : as a verb, rain a juu; as a noun, juu rain. It means a light rain or drizzle. (5) KALI; COOLY : marijuana (1) KALLALOO : a dark, green leafy vegetable, very nutritious and cheap. (5) KASS KASS : n. quarrel or contention. From combination of English curse or cuss, and Twi kasa kasa-to dispute verbally (7) KATA : a roll of cloth or vegetation placed on top of the head to cushion the skull from the weight of a head load. (5) KAYA : see ganja (4) KETCH UP : grapple (28) get in a fight (29) KETCHY-CHUBY : It can be a sexual term meaning the man throw it and the woman catch it! It can also mean a game - life's game, how to see through today to meet tomorrowand all the games of life as in "life is just a ketchy-chuby game." (29) KEMPS : a little bit, a tiny piece, from skimps. (5) KIN TEET : "skin teeth" to laugh at someone or give them a plastic smile, sometimes used derogatorily as in "A little kin-teet bwoy." (29) KISS ME NECK! : common exclamation of surprise. (5) KISS TEET : to kiss one's teeth or to suck one's teeth is to make the very common hissing noise of disappoval, dislike, vexation or disappointment. (5) KOUCHIE : bowl of a chalice or chillum pipe (1) KRENG-KRENG : an old-fashioned meat rack, hung up high over the fire to catch the smoke. (5) KUMINA : n. Ecstatic dance for the purpose of communicating with ancestors. From Twi akom-to be possessed and ana-by an ancestor (7) LABA-LABA : to chat, gab; gossip. (5) LABRISH : gossip, chit-chat. (5) LAGGA HEAD : Dumb acts as if you have no common sense. Stupid. "yu dam Lagga head bud" (14) LAMBSBREAD : a form of high-quality marijuana (1) LARGE : respected (6) LET OFF : pay out (28) LEGGO BEAS' : wild, disorderly, like a let-go beast. (5) LICK : To hit (13) LICKY-LICKY : fawning, flattering, obsequious. (5) LIKKLE : little (29) LILLY BIT : little bit, tiny. (5) LION : a righteous Dread (1) a great soul (2) LIKKLE MORE : see you later (2) (TOO) LIKKY-LIKKY : title given to those who like to eat any food they encounter , without discretion (6) MAAMA MAN : a gay person, an effeminate man, a weakling (6) MAAS : n. from master or massa. Now freed from its class origin; a respectful form of address to an older man. (7) chill out, be by ones self for a while (24) MACCA : thorn, prickle. dangerous. (29) MACCA BACK : boney fish used to make fish soup (29) MADDA : mother (6) MAFIA : big-time criminals (1) MAGA DOG : mongrel (4) MAGA : thin (2) (from meagre) (5) MAMPI : Fat or overweight (13) MANACLES : chains (11) MANNERS : under heavy discipline or punishment. for example when Kingston is under "heavy manners", they have a curfew or call out the army. (10) MARINA : a man's undershirt, guernsey; a tank-top style. (5) MAROON : n. free black warrior-communities which successfully resisted British hegemony during eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. From Spanish cimmaron- untamed, wild (7) MASCOT : denoting inferior status (2) MASH IT UP : a huge success (1) MASH UP, MASH DOWN : destroy (1) MASSIVE : respected (6), used with LARGE to add emphasis MATEY : mistress (12) MEK WE : Let Us. (4) MENELIK, RAS : n. Ethiopian nobleman who rallied his troops to resist Italian aggression. Defeated Italians at Adowa 1896 (7) MONKS : amongst. (5) MORE TIME : see you later (1) MR. MENTION : Talk of the town, originally talk of the females signifying someone with many female conquests MR. T : the boss (2) MUS MUS : a rat (4) MY BABY MOTHER/FATHER : the mother/father of my child (1,6) MYAL : n. a form of benign magic oposed to Obeah, hence myalman. From Hursa maye-wizard, person of mystic power. (7) NAGAH : n. pejorative for a black person (7) NAGO : n. Yoruba person, practice or language. From Ewe anago-Yoruba person (7) NAH : adv. will not. Emphatic as in "Me nah do that" (7) NANA : midwife; nanny or nurse. (5) NANNY GOAT : "What sweet nanny goat a go run him belly" is a cautionary Jamaican proverb which translated means: What tastes good to a goat will ruin his belly. In other words - the things that seem good to you now, can hurt you later... (10) NASH : female genatalia (6) NATTY, NATTY DREAD, NATTY CONGO : 1. dreadlocks 2. a person with dreadlocks (1) NAZARITE : Ancient Hebrew meaning to "separate", consecrated, set apart by choice and devotion (1) NICE UP : to promote and foster a positive feeling. to "nice up the dance" means to get the party going (50) NIYABINGHI : 1. "death to all black and white oppressors" 2. East African warriors who resisted colonial domination 3. large Rastafarian meeting and spiritual gathering 4. referring to orthodox, traditional Rastas 5. a variety of drumming (1) NIYAMEN : name for Rastas referring to Niyabinghi warriors of East Africa (1) NO CYA : no matter, as in "no kya weh im tun", no matter where he turns. (5) NOTCH : Don or top ranking badman (33) NUH : interrogative at end of sentence; literally, "Is it not so?" (7) NUH NUTTIN : not a big deal (17) NUH TRUE? : isn't it so? (1) NYAM : to eat. (5) (TOO) NYAMI-NYAMI : title given to those who like to eat any food they encounter, without discretion (6) NYING'I-NYING'I : nagging, whining. (5) O-DOKONO : boiled maize bread. (5) OBEAH : traditional African "science", relating to matters of the spirit and spirits, spells, divinations, omens, extra-sensory knowledge, etc. (5) OHT FI : about to, on the vergeof, as in "it hoht fi rain", it is about to rain, it looks like rain. (5) ONE DROP : A popular type of rhythm pattern used on countless reggae records (46) ONE LOVE : a parting phrase, expression of unity (1) ONE-ONE : adjective, one by one, thus any small amount. (5) ONGLE : only. (5) PAKI : calabash, gourd. (5) PAPAA : pawpaw, or papaya melon. (5) PASSA PASSA : gossip (53) PATTAN : pattern, style and fashion (39) PATU : owl. (5) PAYAKA : heathen (11) craven, want it all (29) PYAKA : tricky or dishonest. (10) PEEL-HEAD : bald-headed, usually certain chickens or vultures. (5) PEENYWALLY : a kind of large fire fly, actually a type of flying beetle. (5) PEER : avocado pear. (5) PHENSIC : JA equivalent to Tylenol, Excedrin, etc. (26) PICKY, PICKY HEAD : brush haircut (3) PICKY-PICKY : 1. finicky or choosy 2. Used of uncombed hair just starting to turn into dreadlocks. (5) PIKNY : pickaninny, child. (5) PINDA : peanut. (5) PIRA : a low wooden stool. (5) PITY-ME-LIKL : a type of very tiny red ant whose bite is so hot and long-lasting it resembles a sting. (5) POCOMANIA, POCO : christian revival, distinct drum rhythm (2) POLYTRICKS : politics (by Peter Tosh) (6) POLYTRICKSTERS : politicians (by Peter Tosh) (6) POPPY-SHOW : from puppet show, it is used in the idiom, tek smadi mek poppy-show, which means to make fun of someone or shame them, making them look ridiculous. (5) PUM-PUM : a woman's genitals (6) PUNAANI or PUNNI : a woman's genitals (6) PUPPALICK : somersalt. (5) PUSSY CLOT : A curse word ref. to a woman's sanitary napkin. (14) PUTTIN' AWAY : a preposition, meaning "except for", or "except". (5) PYAA-PYAA : sickly, weak; feeble, of no account. (5) PYU : from spew; verb used of running sores or anything similarly dripping or oozing. (5) QUASHIE : n. peasant, country bumpkin, coarse and stupid person; racial pejorative generic term for blacks; originally Twi name of a boy born on a Sunday (7) QUIPS : 1. nouns (from squips) a tiny piece or amount. 2. verb, the Jamaican art of washing clothes making a "squips-squips" sound. (5) RAATID! : a common mild expletive of surprise or vexation, as in "to raatid!". It is likely a polite permutation of "ras", a la "gosh" or "heck". (5) RAGGA : A style of reggae that uses digital rhythms exclusively. A term sometimes used interchangably with dancehall, since the latter music has become heavily digitized as well. (46) RAGGAMUFFIN : jamaican ghetto dweller (46) RAM : full up (28) RAM GOAT : slang for someone who deals with nuff ladies (17) RANKING : highly respected (1) RAS or RASS : backside, rump; a common curse is to rass! or rass clot!a title used by Rastafarians meaning "lord" or "head". (5) (TO) RAAS : "really?", "damn!"(6) RASTA, RASTAFARIAN : a follower of Marcus Garvey who worships the Almighty in the person of haile Selassie RAT-BAT : bat, the night-flying rodent. (5) RATCHET : a switchblade knife popular in Jamaica (1) RAW : unbearably hungry (53) RED : 1. very high on herb 2. mulatto color (1) RED EYE : to want another persons belonging, envious. "You too red eye", meaning, you're too envious. (14) RAHTID : expression of surprise, or to be enraged. From biblical"wrothed" (7) RENK : 1. foul-smelling, raw-smelling. 2. out of order, impudent, as in a rank-imposter. "Yu too renk!". (5) fiesty (29) RHAATID : a curse-exclamation, similar to "what the hell" (6) To rahtid ---> Exclamination!!, i.e Wow! a milder form to Rass...excitement!! (40) RHYGIN : adj. spirited, vigorous, lively, passionate with great vitality and force; also sexually provocative and aggressive. Probably a form of English raging. (7) Inspired by the character played by Jimmy Cliff in the Perry Henzel Jamaican classic movie "The Harder They Come" 1972 (57) RIZZLA : brand of rolling paper. (3) ROCKERS : reggae music (1) reggae music as it is played today,the latest sound (2) ROOTS : 1. derived from the experience of the common people, natural indigenous 2. a greeting 3. name for a fellow Rasta (1) ROTI : flat Indian pan breads. (5) ROYAL, (RIAL) : n. offspring of some other race and black, ass in "Chiney-Rial," "coolie-rial"; humorous as in "monkey-rial" (7) RUDE BOY : a criminal, a hard hearted person, a tough guy (6) RUN-DUNG : food cooked in coconut juice, obtained after grating the dry coconut meat and squeezing it in water, thus extracting the coconut cream. (5) RUNNING BELLY : diarrhea (12) RYAL : royal. (5) SAL'TING : 1. dishes cooked with saltfish or meat. 2. that part of the meal which is served with the "food" (starchy food, ground food). 3. by some strange extension, the female organ, often simply called "sal". (5) the food that goes with the rice, potatoes or starchy food; like calalloo, fish and sauce, sauces or gravy (29) SALT : adjective, broke, empty-handed, low on funds or food, as in "tings salt" or "i' salt". (5) SAMBO : the colour between brown and black; someone who is a cross between a mullatto (brown) and a black. (5) SAMFAI MAN : trickster, conman. (5) SHAMPATA : n. sandal of wood or tire rubber. Span. zapato (7) SANFI : A manipulator - dishonest person. A person that will sweet talk you out of love and money. "Dam Sanfi Bitch". (14) SANKEY : n. religious song of a paticularly lugubrious tone, sung in the long or common meter. From Ira David Sankey, evangelist and hymnalist (7) SAPS : a weakling, loser (53) SATA : to rejoice, to meditate, to give thanks and praise. (5) SATTA : sit, rest, meditate (1) relax (6) (GO) SATTA : claim how spiritual you are (11) SCIENCE : obeah, witchcraft (1) SCIENTIST : occult practitioner (2) SCOUT : denoting inferior status (6) SCREECHIE : to sneak by (6) SCREW : to scowl, to be angry (1) SEEN : I understand, I agree (1) SEEN? : Do you understand? (6) SHAG : home-cured tobacco, straight from the field. (5) SHAKE OUT : leave without haste, casually (2) SHEG (UP) : verb, to bother, as in "all sheg up", all hot and bothered, or or spoiled up (as of work). (5) SHEG-UP : to be messed up, ruined (6) SHEPHERD : n. leader of revivalist cult; also proprietor of balmyard, healer and prophet (7) SHOOB : to shove. (5) SIDUNG : sit down (6) SIGHT? : do you understand? (1) SINKL-BIBLE : the aloevera plant. (5) SINSEMILLA, SENSIE : popular, potent, seedless, unpollinated female strain of marijuana (1) SINTING : something. (5) SIPPLE : slippery; slimy. (5) SISTER, SISTREN : a woman, a friend, woman Rastafarians (1) SITTIN' : something. (5) SKANK : to dance to reggae music (1) to move with cunning, ulterior motives (2) SKIL : kiln, as in "limeskil". (5) SKIN : rolling paper (1) SKIN YOUR TEETH : smile (1) plastic smile (29) SLABBA-SLABBA : big and fat, slobby, droopy. (5) SLACKNESS : lewd, vulgar lyrics popular in DJ singing (4) SLACKY TIDY : unkept or messy (29) SLAP WEH : awesome, or great. (55) SMADI : somebody. (5) SO-SO : only, solely, unaccompanied. (5) weak, pallid (6) SOFT : not well done, amateurish; unable to cope (1) broke, no money (2) SOUNDBWOY : usually a derogatory way to refer to the selecter or other personality in another sound system. This term is most often employed in clashes, on dub plates built for clashes, and so on. Sometimes it is not used in such a negative manner, but most of the time one refers to the someone in the crew as a soundman, not a boy. (17) SOUND SYSTEM : Huge mobile stereo setups manned by DJs, who became celebrities as they traveled Jamaica to host open-air dances (46) SPLIFF : large, cone-shaped marijuana cigarette (1) SPRING : to sprout, as of yams or cocos, making them inedible. (5) STAR : common term of affection, camaraderie (1) STEP : to leave, to depart (1) briskly, quickly (2) STOOSH/STOSHUS : upper class, high tone, "hitey-titey". (5) STRING UP : a muscial rehearsal (2) STRUCTURE : body, health (1) SU-SU : gossip, the sound of wispering. (5) SUFFERER : a poor person stuggling to survive (2) SUPM, SINTING : something (6) TACK : bullet (2) TACUMAH : n. character in Anancy tales. Said to be the son of Anancy. Twin'ticuma (7) TAKARI/TANKARI : stewed spicy pumpkin. (5) TALL : long (1) TALLOWAH : adj. sturdy, strong, fearless, physically capable. From Ewe talala (7) TAM : deep woolen hat, used by Dreads to cover their locks (1,6) TAMBRAN SWITCH : n. a flail made from the wiry branches of the Tamarind tree, braided and oiled. Effective and much feared in the hands of Babylon. (7) TAN' : to stand; usually used in the sense of "to be". "A so im tan", "that is what he is like"; "tan deh!" or "yu tan deh!" means "just you wait!". "Tan tedy", stand steady, means "hold still". (5) TARRA-WARRA : a polite way of expressing omitted bad words, a verbal asterisk. (5) TATA : n. father. Affectionate and respectful title for an old man. Fram many african languages. Ewe, Ge, N'gombe (7) TATU : a little thatched hut, often made of bamboo. (5) TEETH : bullets (2) TEIF : a theif, to steal (6) THE I : (pron.) -you, yourself, yours (35) THRU' : because (28) TOAST : (v.) - to rap or sing spontaneously over a dub track (35) TOTO : coconut cake. (5) TOPANORIS : uptown snobby person. (10) wealthy but mean behind it (29) TRACE : to curse or speak abusively to someone. (5) TRANSPORT : vehicle (1) TUMPA : from stump, as in "tumpa-foot man", a one-foot man. (5) TUNTI : female organ. (5) UNO/UNU : you-all. (5) pron. you, plural. In usage close to Afro-American y'awl. From Ibo unu, same meaning (7) UPFUL : postitive, encouraging (2) UPHILL : positive, righteous (1) UPTOWN : the upper classes (1) VANK : (v.) - to vanquish, conquer (35) VEX : to get angry (1) WA DAY : adverbial phrase, the other day. (5) WA MEK? : why? WHAFEDOO : we'll have to (make) do or we'll have to deal with it (37) WAKL : wattle, a kind of woven bamboo work used to make house walls. (5) WAGGONIST : someone who jumps on a cause but is not fundamentally committed. Just on for the ride. (19) WANGA-GUT : hungry-belly. (5) WARRA-WARRA : politely omitted bad words, same as "tarra-warra". (5) WENCHMAN : a kind of fish, "hail brother john, have you any wenchman?" (from "Row Fisherman Row"). (10) WH'APPEN? : what's happening? (4) WHATLEF : What's left over (7) WHEELS : vehicle (6) WHOLE HEAP : a lot (1) WINE : "wine" appears in every West Indian dialect, and is literally a corruption of "wind." It means to dance, sometimes seductively. (17) WINJY : thin and sickly looking. (5) WIS : vine, liana, from withe. (5) WOLF : a non-rasta deadlocks (2) WOOD : penis. (5) YA NUH SEE? : you know? (1) YA : hear, or here. (5) YABBA : a big clay pot. (5) YAGA YAGA : Dancehall slang. a way to big up a brethren; to express a greeting or attract attention, i.e. yo! or yush! true friend; bonafide; brethren. (9) YAHSO : here (place) (6) YAI : eye. (5) YARD : home, one's gates (1) tenement (2) YOUTH : a child, a young man, an immature man (1) YUSH : Yush talk is bad boy talk. Or it can be a way of saying "YO". In other words it is a way for rude boys to hail each other up. (27) ZION : Ethiopia, Africa, the Rastafarian holy land (1) ZUNGU PAN : zinc pan. (5)

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Rasta/Patois Dictionary - JAMMIN REGGAE ARCHIVES

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Washington's Farewell Address 1796

Friends and Citizens:

The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the person who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that I should now apprise you of the resolution I have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a choice is to be made.

I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be assured that this resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country; and that in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest, no deficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness, but am supported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both.

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which your suffrages have twice called me have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty and to a deference for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped that it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last election, had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea.

I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety, and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that, in the present circumstances of our country, you will not disapprove my determination to retire.

The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will only say that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the government the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious in the outset of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence of myself; and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to believe that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.

In looking forward to the moment which is intended to terminate the career of my public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has conferred upon me; still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me; and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If benefits have resulted to our country from these services, let it always be remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, that under circumstances in which the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mislead, amidst appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging, in situations in which not unfrequently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism, the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion.

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.

The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.

For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.

But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole.

The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds in the productions of the latter great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated; and, while it contributes, in different ways, to nourish and increase the general mass of the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itself is unequally adapted. The East, in a like intercourse with the West, already finds, and in the progressive improvement of interior communications by land and water, will more and more find a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its growth and comfort, and, what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its own productions to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the West can hold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural connection with any foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious.

While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighboring countries not tied together by the same governments, which their own rival ships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. In this sense it is that your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other.

These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic desire. Is there a doubt whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere? Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such a case were criminal. We are authorized to hope that a proper organization of the whole with the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With such powerful and obvious motives to union, affecting all parts of our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands.

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for characterizing parties by geographical discriminations, Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western; whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our Western country have lately had a useful lesson on this head; they have seen, in the negotiation by the Executive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, and in the universal satisfaction at that event, throughout the United States, a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the General Government and in the Atlantic States unfriendly to their interests in regard to the Mississippi; they have been witnesses to the formation of two treaties, that with Great Britain, and that with Spain, which secure to them everything they could desire, in respect to our foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the Union by which they were procured ? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from their brethren and connect them with aliens?

To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a government for the whole is indispensable. No alliance, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a constitution of government better calculated than your former for an intimate union, and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. This government, the offspring of our own choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Respect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established government.

All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.

However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country; that facility in changes, upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion; and remember, especially, that for the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine each member of the society within the limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and property.

I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.

This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.

It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within certain limits is probably true; and in governments of a monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.

It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and proneness to abuse it, which predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different depositaries, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern; some of them in our country and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit, which the use can at any time yield.

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric?

Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.

As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it, avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertion in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your representatives, but it is necessary that public opinion should co-operate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind that towards the payment of debts there must be revenue; that to have revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant; that the intrinsic embarrassment, inseparable from the selection of the proper objects (which is always a choice of difficulties), ought to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue, which the public exigencies may at any time dictate.

Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it - It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and at no distant period, a great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages which might be lost by a steady adherence to it ? Can it be that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue ? The experiment, at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?

In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence, frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. The nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of nations, has been the victim.

So likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation), facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. How many opportunities do they afford to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public councils. Such an attachment of a small or weak towards a great and powerful nation dooms the former to be the satellite of the latter.

Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy to be useful must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.

The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none; or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people under an efficient government. the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel.

Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or caprice?

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them.

Taking care always to keep ourselves by suitable establishments on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.

Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing (with powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them) conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character; that, by such acceptance, it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion, which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.

In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated.

How far in the discharge of my official duties I have been guided by the principles which have been delineated, the public records and other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least believed myself to be guided by them.

In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation of the twenty-second of April, I793, is the index of my plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and by that of your representatives in both houses of Congress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me from it.

After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it, with moderation, perseverance, and firmness.

The considerations which respect the right to hold this conduct, it is not necessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe that, according to my understanding of the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually admitted by all.

The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without anything more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards other nations.

The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will best be referred to your own reflections and experience. With me a predominant motive has been to endeavor to gain time to our country to settle and mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress without interruption to that degree of strength and consistency which is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own fortunes.

Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.

Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent love towards it, which is so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations, I anticipate with pleasing expectation that retreat in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free government, the ever-favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers.

Geo. Washington.

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Avalon Project - Washington's Farewell Address 1796

Home Products Hardwood Floor Installation, Refinishing - General Labor Costs

Hardwood Floor Installation, Refinishing - General Labor Costs

Labor costs for installation, refinishing and related projects shown below are ballpark guesstimates as the hardwood floor industry is widely segmented. This can be noticeable from one end of your town to another or one geographical region to another. Some areas may have a concentration of higher labor costs that correspond with the general cost of living, while others may have stiff competition from immigrants, forcing labor pricing down.

The figures below represent independent contractor pricing only, or those that do not own brick and mortar retail outlets. Retails costs can vary upwards of twice what is shown, or even 50% less than what is shown.

S/F- Square foot L/F- Lineal foot Individual strip or plank, not special designs. Calculated by the running lineal foot. Will vary significantly, includes finishing coats. Zub zeros not included

Repair - prices are often calculated by time and material. In other words, total expense of materials used and going labor rate.

Waste Removal & Disposal - Will vary significantly. Often they are not quoted as an individual cost but figured into other expenses.

Electrical, and Gas - Work is not considered within the scope of a hardwood professional.

Other Notes: Depending on what is common in your region, or who is quoting the rates, some labor rates shown may or may not include accessory materials such as adhesives or finishes. Refinishing expenses may be higher depending on whether or not dust control systems are used.

Other Floor Covering Removal

From Our Readers:

Subject: Quote Too High. Manhattan, NY

Question: I have a quote for 1,124 square feet of wood flooring to be installed in a condominium in Manhattan. I'm shell shocked with the number. They want $18,000 for the work. My sister had the same floor installed in her home two months ago at a price of $ 12,000 and she only lives 20 miles away. Why is this so expensive?

Reply: I think the word Manhattan can probably add a premium to the cost. Other items that can substantially increase the cost in condos or apartments in urban areas would be sound control. Your contractor may be charging you as much as $ 4.00 for adding a sound control system before the actual hardwood floor is installed. Also if you're installing solid hardwood many applications call for adding a plywood subfloor. That can add to the rate as well.

Subject: Removing Floating Floors

Question: Our installer looked at your quote on removing floating floors and laughed. He said he wouldn't get out of bed for that amount. He wants $ 2.50 a square foot that includes dump fees.

Reply: As shown above some pricing does not reflect waste removal. You could just as easily hire a handyman to take care of the floor. Removing floating floors are very easy but does require some care when actually pulling them up. For instance you don't want the guy destroying your door jambs when they pull the floor out. I've seen that happen far too many times.

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Hardwood Floor Installation, Refinishing - General Labor Costs

SDM Architects is an experienced firm of architects in Mumbai, India. Our two principal architects have a combined experience of over 20 years in architectural design. We believe in doing work of the highest possible quality, and lavish care on both fundamental design ideas as well as minute details.

SDM Architects works in the areas of sustainable design, office building design, institutional building design, industrial architecture, residential building design, master planning, affordable housing, hospital design, aircraft hangar design,urban design, and related areas.

SDM Architects has to its credit cutting-edge architectural projects such as the BMW Guggenheim Lab, a travelling laboratory of urban thought, and many other projects. Take a look at our blog on building construction.

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SDMA offers the following services:

Our team has been working upon few interesting Master Planning projects ranging from prestigious Qutub Minar Complex in Delhi to residential complexes in India. Our work involves an intrinsic study and understanding of large scale master planning sites and design development for the same. Our services include, Site assessment, Feasibility Reports, Urban Design & Development, Community Living Design and Execution.

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When you want a game room addition that not only provides endless fun for your family and friends, but also integrates seamlessly into the rest of your home, Servant Remodeling is the contractor you want. Dallas-area homeowners have sought the expertise of our designers and contractors for more than 25 years when they want to add a game room their distinct Dallas homes.

A game room addition is ideal for families and can accommodate children of all ages. It can even help bring out the kid in the grown-ups. When adding a game room, you can easily design it to feature areas for different ages and interests.

The best game room:

Servant Remodeling can work with you to understand the needs of your whole family now and in years to come to create a game room addition that makes a statement and delivers the fun every member of the family wants.

As you consider adding a game room, let yourself be creative. Perhaps you want to consider an overall dcor theme such as sports or a certain retro era. A pool table is often a standard component in a game room but do not be restricted to that. Foosball, air hockey, casino and other game tables can add to the fun as well as pinball machines, jukeboxes, dart boards and more. Refreshments are always a must in a game room addition and Servant Remodeling can help you create the ideal bar area.

Servant Remodeling will help you unleash your creativity to design and build the game room addition of your dreams. Contact us today by calling 214-343-1161 or sending in an online form.

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Game Room Additions Dallas | Servant Remodeling