Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application known affectionately as James or Bill to his friends and family James grew up to be a man of great character and a friendly demeanor that drew people to him James's life was marked by his dedication to his family and his work Lay and had previously shared a life with Claire Mumbrauer of Columbus His legacy includes his cherished daughter who also cared for him at home during his later months Elizabeth (Sean) and William McDonald (Tara) was a proud grandfather to six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren who were the light of his life and with whom he loved spending time James served diligently as a security guard for R&L Carriers where he was respected by his colleagues for his work ethic and integrity His commitment to his role was evident in the way he carried out his responsibilities ensuring the safety and security of those around him James's interests were as varied as they were passionate two pastimes that he followed with enthusiasm His love for Dollywood was well-known among his friends and family and he seized every opportunity to be involved in their lives whether it was attending their sporting events Those who knew James will remember him for his loving nature and his friendly smile that could light up a room He had a way of making each person he met feel valued and heard and his presence will be deeply missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him James leaves behind a legacy of love and friendship All his trucker friends and coworkers and community of friends who were touched by his kindness Jr.'s life was a testament to the power of love and the impact one person can have on the lives of many we celebrate the time we had with him and the memories we will carry forward James's spirit will continue to live on in the hearts of those who loved him and his legacy will be cherished for generations to come A memorial service will be held at Rock Springs Baptist Church in Easley This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors An official website of the United States government as a stock clerk at the Peterson Boat Works in Sturgeon Bay John Moddie signed his name and enlisted in the U.S A decision that changed his life in ways no one could have imagined he was excited to start something new from his life in Wisconsin Moddie spent a few short months learning the ins and outs of the 105 mm howitzer before packing up his gear and heading to war  His first stop was in England to receive trucks and howitzers “The ships that brought us over were civilian transports not naval,” explained the 97-year-old  “We were only there a short time  We were allowed to go to the local pubs at night but had to be careful due to the blackout conditions we were under.  The cars only had small blackout lights on them that were hard to see We had a few close calls on the way back to the base.” Moddie volunteered to be “second gunner,” a targeting duty on the 8-man crew of the howitzer tank (LST) landing crafts on the English Channel  The following morning the small fleet of LSTs crossed the channel to LeHavre and awaited orders to sail up the Seine River “I never knew why we got stuck on the boats for so long and was surprised to find out it was because of the LST’s losing their anchors,” John said.  “It took more than 60 years for me to learn this.” John and his crew of seven others were on their way from France into German territory to take part in what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge took place from Dec and was the second-most deadly American battle in number of Americans killed As John and B Battery made their way into Germany toward Schnee Eifel they were strafed by Nazi fighter planes that where quickly dispatched by a pair of P-47 Thunderbolts John found himself on the front lines late that afternoon and hurried to dig in before dark John and the men were pounded with enemy artillery as V-1 flying bombs soared only about 50 feet above their heads like the putt putt sound of a Model-T Ford engine,” he said but the weather still played havoc with them as they froze at night “One night we took over an abandoned German farmhouse,” John recalled.  “We were actually warm for a night due to all the quilts.” the 590th moved through the night.  At nearly midnight they reached Auw-Bleialf Road and the vehicles dispersed I could see some of the German artillery off in the distance that would fire over our heads,” John said.  “The rounds rained down like shrapnel.” Moddie had been up almost 60 hours and dropped in his tracks.  His rest was short lived as a command post runner alerted him again The two roads back toward Schonberg had fallen into German hands  It was decided the 590th would follow closely with the infantry “That night there was lots of gunfire,” John said.  “That morning we found ourselves in a narrow valley with wooded slopes on both sides and a swampy ground to the front.  A small stream was in front of us with stuck vehicles blocking our path and (American infantry) bodies everywhere.” A and C forward near the stream and B to the rear around a curve in the wood line  John and his crew ended up closest to the wood line they began taking machinegun fire from the ridges and shells began exploding around the vehicles “We fired the howitzer starting out with multiple bags of powder for more distance and slowly we’d reduce the amount as the Germans advanced on our position,” Moddie said  “We only had short breaks in the action once and a while to readjust aim as the forward observers reported in  We fired 200 to 300 rounds a day until we were firing point blank.” Command sent word to the gun positions to destroy in place the howitzers and any other equipment that might be used against them  Little did John know German forces had gotten behind them “The Germans advanced so quickly once the order was given that we barely had time to drop our weapons before they had us on the ground,” he said “I was only able to destroy my rifle by bashing it on the ground.  Some of the others were able to remove small components from the big gun making it unable to target or shoot.” “We were marched by the Germans through the swampy valley.  The water there ran red with blood,” he said.  “When we crossed over the hill out of the valley I could see the devastation the artillery had caused was massive.  There were a lot of Germans and Allied soldiers lying dead in the craters we walked around.” We squeezed close to the walls of the buildings in any town we marched through because of the large German tanks passing by us on the tiny roads He marched for days until he reached a railyard where the Germans confiscated the good cold-weather gear they had then loaded the soldiers onto boxcars where it was standing room only.  More than once Allied planes strafed and bombed the trains not knowing POWs were inside “Some of the boxcars on other tracks were knocked over from the bombs and left behind,” he said John was taken to Stalag 9B in Bad Orb Germany.  He was led into a large unheated building with multiple bunk beds “The beds were so lice infested no one bothered to sleep in them,” he said  “This outraged the Germans and they moved us to another building with no bunks At night I’d try to get to the door of the building without stepping on anybody to go pee but there were no lights,” John added.  He was allowed to write one letter home a month via the Red Cross but the Red Cross packages he requested from home were kept by the German guards the evening meal sometimes came with a small amount of bread “We spent many days hungry and assisting others in picking the lice and ticks off each other,” John said.  “One day they brought us into a field that was surrounded by machine guns because one of the German soldiers was killed  They gave us an ultimatum to turn in the killer by nightfall or they would just kill everyone No one knew who it was that killed the officer but we didn’t have to wait long,” he added.  “The Germans got the bloodhounds out and found the bloody coat of an American soldier who had stashed it in a snowbank and tried to cover it up.  We didn’t know what happened to him after that was liberated from the camp by allied troops.  He woke up that morning to an empty camp and open gates.  The Germans had fled through the night rather than be captured by Allied forces.  John went from 150 pounds prior to be being captured to about 85 pounds at the time of his release He was given coffee and doughnuts from fellow Americans from the Red Cross.  John told his family in a letter that he was freed and should be home soon for some of his mom's home cooking “I told my mom that once I get home I never wanted to leave again,” John said He was held in the camp to build strength for the trip home began his trek back to the United States.  He flew to Camp Lucky Strike in France and was kept there three to four weeks for food and medical treatment.  John likes to tell the story about the trip home on the big ships across the Atlantic the ships rode the waves so hard no one could keep food down.  “I went to the small store on board and bought a box of Hershey bars that got me home without any more bouts of seasickness,” John recalled he was given a two-week furlough in a hotel in Palm Beach with a meal card for the hotel restaurant for three meals per day.  From Florida he went on to Fort McClellan “I really liked being a cigarette salesman with Liggett Myers Cigarettes because they gave me cars and free smokes,” John said.  “I worked building the mill in Quinnesec two of the shopping malls in Iron Mountain and even worked in the maintenance department at the VA.” He enjoys reminiscing about the cars he had “back then.”  His favorite was a 1934 Plymouth that was one of his first cars “I really liked the style of the car and the little button I could pull that let me stay at the same speed,” John said  He gets up every morning and walks the length of the community living center to pick up his newspaper.  He stops for a cup of coffee on his way back “I like to see what’s going on around the area because the news channels don’t do a very good job and get stuck on the same thing for multiple days,” he explained.  and that's especially true for the inquisitor-in-training who helped Jolenta escape he listened to his conscience and thwarted the schemes of his superiors his own head replaces Jolenta's on the chopping block It's plain to see that this killing has no root in piety or theology this entire episode pits religious beliefs and motivations against personal ones Orb temporarily shifts its focus away from heliocentrism to focus on the Inquisition as a reactionary and self-cannibalizing entity that has nothing to do with God's will this reflection comes from the most surprising place Tricked into believing that Jolenta was executed he spends the first half of the episode in a wordless stupor thinking back on his memories with his daughter The most important thing this scene confirms is that Nowak is a legitimately good dad He spoils her a little but tries to raise her right he immediately reflects on whether it was the right thing to do and he follows it up by talking more with her While we've seen hints of Papa Nowak before we're forced to seriously weigh this side of Nowak against the cruel inquisitor who just tortured and killed two more of Orb's protagonists it would be easier if we saw that violence and sociopathy bleed into his home life Jolenta would be lucky to get away from him Accepting that Nowak could be a monster at work and a doting father at home is much harder It's also far more interesting and truer to life so I'm glad Orb takes this thornier route through Nowak's psyche It's human nature to paint people in extremes We like to believe that a good person can do no wrong and a bad person can do no good We prefer it when people validate our snap judgments of them It makes us feel like our moral compasses are exquisitely calibrated it feels awful to see Nowak break down sobbing over the (alleged) loss of his daughter Him being a good dad doesn't undo the horrible things he's done but it does mean we have to treat him as a human It also transforms Nowak from a detestable figure into a cautionary one If he can keep these facets of himself separate—if he can justify those atrocities for such a sympathetic reason—then what's stopping other people from doing the same The Inquisition is a system built and sustained by ordinary There's no intrinsic psychological immunity to these machines of death and destruction We have to remain constantly vigilant that we're not cranking the gears of one right now the big question is what Nowak will do now His fealty to the Church was rooted in his love for his daughter Nowak could certainly conclude that his redemption could only come through God's mercy and he might double down on being the Lord's butcher and Orb hasn't been shy about exposing that part either He essentially turned Badeni in to the Inquisition but he also feels guilty about that—Christianity features a prominently loathed traitor figure in its mythology he weighs his obligation to a wronged colleague against his obligation to the Church and God This shouldn't be a question at all for a monk but reality is more complicated than dogma I'd say it's healthy to reexamine one's presumptions The things we once thought to be axioms may end up being laughably off the mark is an extension of the thought process and scientific method that led us from geocentrism to heliocentrism It's all about using the brain for betterment The final scene is a big and extremely silly swing I might have rolled my eyes or laughed out loud at the sight of 60-odd beggars shaving their heads so a monk could read the tenets of heliocentrism tattooed on their pates it's further proof that Oczy changed Badeni into a humbler person who put his faith in the uneducated masses he otherwise often derided I also like the Biblical echoes of this act it's the meek who have inherited the solar system Steve is on Bluesky now, and he's okay with that. He is busy pondering the orb. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text it's usually quick work to infect their customers as well making the scale of this campaign “monumental,” in the words of one cybersecurity professional meaning plenty of devices you can purchase right now won't qualify but Microsoft had previously announced that it would end support for Windows 10 in 2025 meaning lots of users have only a few years before being forced to choose between losing security updates altogether and buying a new PC—even if their current one works perfectly well but it's still alarming that they were able to get that level of access at a company as critical as Microsoft A separate set of Russian hackers was caught this week causing trouble as well. Intelligence agencies from the US and UK warned that the notorious Fancy Bear group had been attempting to “brute force” their way into hundreds of target networks The technique is pretty basic; it just means throwing passwords at an account until one of them works That doesn't make it any less concerning especially since the campaign appears to be ongoing Lastly, browser extensions are handy and fun, but they can also present a security risk if you install the wrong one. Here's our guide to figuring out which ones you should keep and which ones you should skip if you've got privacy concerns (which you should have Each week we round up all the security news WIRED didn’t cover in depth Click on the headlines to read the full stories If your big new idea could also serve as the opener to a techno-dystopian thriller Just a thought on the heels of the reveal this week of the Worldcoin project which proposes that a good and rational way to distribute a new cryptocurrency is to sign people up by letting a basketball-sized sphere scan their iris The ultimate goal is to establish some sort of universal basic income and Worldcoin's founders stress that they are scanning eyeballs with a large orb with the utmost care for privacy But given the choice between gazing into the crypto orb and not doing that There's a bit of a mess in Windows world this week after a proof-of-concept exploit known as PrintNightmare leaked effectively providing a piping-hot zero-day vulnerability allowing for remote code execution thanks to a flaw in Windows Print Spooler is the apparent sloppiness that led to its release Microsoft released a patch for what seemed to be this very issue But a Chinese cybersecurity company this week claimed that the problem wasn't fully fixed; soon after two researchers from a separate Chinese company published exploit code on GitHub where it was quickly copied and disseminated While you're waiting for a patch that actually works you can disable Print Spooler—but then you won't be able to print from the server Security researchers warned this week that Chinese hackers were running a sophisticated phishing campaign, posing as the office of Afghanistan's president in an attempt to pass malware to members of the country's National Security Council. The group used a Dropbox account to avoid raising suspicion as it exfiltrated data, and it appears to have targeted other countries in Central Asia. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is changing every aspect of our lives—from culture to business The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking The TECEsolid toilet flush plate is now also available in up-to-date and versatile metal and textured surfaces in addition to the high quality semi-public area the robust classic is now also opening up design-oriented areas of application in which the balanced combination of technical perfection and robust surface variation is crucial At the very latest when customers are looking for a toilet flush plate that stands for quality professionals like to turn to the all-metal TECEsolid flush plate – its purist design language which only builds up 6 mm in front of the wall durable construction skilfully combine resistance and design TECE is now offering the functional classic in four new two further versions with a diamond structure TECE is picking up on a current design theme that is very popular for fittings and bathroom accessories: structured surfaces these surfaces feel very pleasant to the touch and at the same time visually signal their high level of robustness The new textured surfaces perfectly complement the existing core range in stainless steel bright white and matt black; these perfectly show off the well-known high material qualities of TECEsolid while addressing the demand for creative surfaces in interior design architects and bathroom planners can now use the popular TECEsolid even more diversely than before for a wide range of bathroom furnishings and perfect them – from function-oriented restaurant toilets to stylish hotel bathrooms and robust family bathrooms the tried and tested modular principle comes into play: All TECEsolid flush plates fit on all TECE cisterns Find out more! https://spotlight.tece.com TECE develops and produces its domestic engineering solutions across Germany and the world on the basis of long-term customer relationships You are currently viewing a placeholder content from HubSpot Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers THP is a subsidiary of Sleeper Media © 2025 copyright TOPHOTELPROJECTS GmbH – all rights reserved Voting is open for the 2025 CyberScoop 50 awards Successfully tracking Chinese-linked cyber espionage operations is becoming increasingly difficult as Beijing’s hackers shift toward networks of virtual private servers and compromised smart devices to conceal their campaigns, researchers with Google Cloud’s Mandiant said Wednesday.  The tactic also represents the latest way in which Chinese hacking operations are growing increasingly difficult to detect.  The obfuscation networks — known as “operational relay box networks,” or ORBs — are not operated directly by government-controlled hacking units they’re administered by contractors or other administrators within China and are frequently used by multiple Chinese government-linked hacking campaigns as part of espionage or reconnaissance efforts ORB networks are composed of “nodes,” or individual physical or virtual devices that are typically routers or leased virtual private servers with key relay nodes at a major Chinese or Hong Kong-based cloud provider They’re distributed across the world in a way that reduces exposure and limits any one country’s ability to shut them down.  An example ORB tracked by Mandiant as “Spacehop,” which the researchers said is used by multiple Chinese-linked hacking campaigns “maintains a robust volume of nodes in Europe and the United States,” per the report.   meaning that traditional clues and indicators used by defenders to spot and remedy adversarial operations are increasingly less relevant known in the threat intelligence industry as “Indicators of Compromise,” or IOCs have for years been relied upon to detect and block likely malign behavior but the use of ORBs make IOCs a less reliable tool for detecting and blocking hacking operations.   said it used to be that a defender could block one known bad IP address targeting their network “Now you’re protected against that one IP but what if you also knew that this ORB network consisted of somewhere between 200,000- 300,000 IPs and they cycle out those IP addresses between 60 and 90 days?” Raggi said in an email.  The use of such tactics by state-backed hacking groups represents a particularly difficult threat to defend against “You’re dealing with a dedicated entity whose sole job it is to maintain a vast array of different types of compromised routers just for the purpose of renting those out so that someone can try and access your environment with them,” Raggi said.  The ORBs themselves should be tracked as their own distinct threats or responsive to block each IP as an indicator of compromise you should be trying to look at the patterns of infrastructure that they’re registering,  what types of routers they are compromising what ports and services do we know that they’re coming from,” Raggi said “This way you have a profile of activity to look for — something to create behavior-based rules with now rather than just rely on indicators of compromise that you’re blocking in one-off.” Two hotels are now being run by the same familiar face General Manager of the IntercityHotel Mainz took on the additional responsibility of heading up the IntercityHotel Frankfurt Airport on 1 April 2022 Sieber-Wagner is following in the footsteps of the previous General Manager Uwe Troll who has now retired after almost 50 years in the hotel business and five years at the helm of the IntercityHotel Frankfurt Airport Uwe Troll began his career at Deutsche Hospitality in 1981 when he obtained a position as sous chef and deputy head chef at the Steigenberger Bad Orb After further stints as a head chef in his own right as an F&B manager and as a director at Steigenberger Gastronomie for the Hanover Expo Troll took on his first leadership role as Hotel Director of the MAXX by Steigenberger Deidesheim in 2000 He moved to IntercityHotel in 2008 to take over as Director of the IntercityHotel Mainz and has been in charge of the IntercityHotel Frankfurt Airport since 2017 Matthias Sieber-Wagner also has long-standing ties with IntercityHotel After joining the brand as a receptionist in 2000 he advanced to become Assistant General Manager at the IntercityHotel Mainz in 2008 Following a year at Head Office of Steigenberger Hotels AG in Frankfurt Sieber-Wagner was appointed General Manager of the IntercityHotel Nuremberg in 2013 He will continue to perform his duties as General Manager of the IntercityHotel Mainz in conjunction with his new duties at the IntercityHotel Frankfurt Airport VA|News Veteran’s memories of Stalag 9B in Bad Orb Health John Moddie signed his name and enlisted in the Army That was a decision that changed his life in ways no one could have imagined The 18-year-old was excited to start something new in life He spent a few months learning the ins and outs of the 105mm howitzer before packing up his gear and heading to England “The ships that brought us over were civilian transports not naval,” explained the 97-year-old Veteran We were allowed to go to the local pubs at night but had to be careful due to the blackout conditions we were under The cars only had small blackout lights on them that were hard to see We had a few close calls on the way back to the base.” Moddie volunteered to be “second gunner,” a targeting duty on the eight-man crew of the howitzer Moddie and the 590th boarded landing crafts on the English Channel “That night a massive storm busted the fleet up bad,” he explained Two ships lost their anchors and spent the next 36 hours floating into the channel and sailing back into the harbor “I never knew why we got stuck on the boats for so long and was surprised to find out it was because of the LSTs losing their anchors It took more than 60 years for me to learn this,” he said Moddie and his crew of seven were on their way to take part in the Battle of the Bulge As B Battery made its way toward Schnee Eifel they were strafed by Nazi fighter planes that were quickly dispatched by a pair of P-47 Thunderbolts Moddie found himself on the front lines late that afternoon and hurried to dig in before dark the men were pounded with enemy artillery as V-1 flying bombs soared only about 50 feet above their heads like the putt-putt sound of a Model-T Ford engine,” he recalled I could see some of the German artillery off in the distance that would fire over our heads It was decided the 590th would follow closely with the infantry That morning we found ourselves in a narrow valley with wooded slopes on both sides and a swampy ground to the front A small stream was in front of us with stuck vehicles blocking our path… and bodies everywhere,” he said starting out with multiple bags of powder for more distance and slowly we’d reduce the amount as the Germans advanced on our position We only had short breaks in the action to readjust aim as the forward observers reported in We fired 200 to 300 rounds a day until we were firing point blank.” Command sent word to the gun positions to destroy in place the howitzers and any other equipment that might be used against them and to surrender “We were marched by the Germans through the swampy valley I could see the devastation the artillery had caused was massive We squeezed close to the walls of the buildings in any town we marched through because of the large German tanks passing by us on the tiny roads,” he said He was led into a large unheated building with multiple bunk beds “The beds were so lice infested no one bothered to sleep in them,” Moddie said and they moved us to another building with no bunks We spent many days hungry and assisting others in picking the lice and ticks off each other One day they brought us into a field that was surrounded by machine guns because one of the German soldiers was killed They gave us an ultimatum to turn in the killer by nightfall or they would just kill everyone The Germans got the bloodhounds out and found the bloody coat of an American soldier stashed in a snowbank He woke up that morning to an empty camp and open gates The Germans had fled through the night rather than be captured by Allied forces Moddie went from 150 pounds prior to be being captured to about 85 pounds at the time of his release He was given coffee and doughnuts from fellow Americans with the Red Cross He told his family in a letter that he was freed and should be home soon for some of his mom’s home cooking He likes to tell the story about the trip home on the big ships across the Atlantic the ships rode the waves so hard no one could keep food down “I went to the small store on board and bought a box of Hershey bars That got me home without any more bouts of seasickness,” he remembered Moddie was given a two-week furlough in a hotel in Palm Beach with a meal card for the hotel restaurant for three meals per day two of the shopping malls in Iron Mountain and even worked in the maintenance department at VA,” he said The POW camp survivor married Betty in 1971 They built a home in Quinnesec and had two sons He enjoys reminiscing about the cars he had “back then.” His favorite was a 1934 Plymouth “I really liked the style of the car and the little button I could pull that let me stay at the same speed,” he said Quick with a joke or advice, Moddie always has a smile on his face. He gets up every morning and walks the length of the Oscar G Johnson VA community living center to pick up his newspaper He stops for a cup of coffee on his way back Army VeteranPrisoner of War The comments section is for opinions and feedback on this particular article; this is not a customer support channel. If you are looking for assistance, please visit Ask VA or call 1-800-698-2411 never put personally identifiable information (SSAN etc.) or protected health information into the form — it will be deleted for your protection It is ILLEGAL to injure or kill an enemy after surrendering and being taken alive into PIW status camp where the personnel had abandoned camp prior to the arrival of Russian troops who liberated the prisoners The Russians were on their way to Berlin for the final showdown from our Brave Fellow Veteran Mr.John Moddie and to all Veterans Today Young and Old to Be Inspirer!!GOD Bless You and Your Family! Great story of perseverance God Bless You my fellow Veteran Who do you appreciate in your life and who appreciates you Social connection is good for your Whole Health and it makes life more enjoyable VA apps can help Veterans who want to kick their smoking habit and improve their health and well-being this Veteran chose to stay in residential treatment longer than she expected Get more resources at VeteransCrisisLine.net An official website of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Looking for U.S. government information and services?  Visit USA.gov Vellkommen til Sommerro Hotel Oslo: an architectural masterpiece in the heart of the vibrant Frogner neighbourhood Where the electricity for the city of Oslo used to be managed the hotel now offers accommodation in Art Deco style Under the direction of the Norwegian architecture firm LPO in close collaboration with the interior design studio GrecoDeco London the building has been carefully renovated and now shines in contemporary splendour the Sommerro Hotel has been welcoming guests and visitors from all over the world and inviting them on an unforgettable journey back in time The Sommerro Hotel is more than just accommodation – it is a true experience: with seven restaurants and bars numerous meeting and event rooms and a generous wellness area of 8000 square metres including the lavishly renovated Vestkantbadet the hotel offers a wide range of options for locals and tourists alike The Sommerro also sees itself as a cultural meeting place for Oslo locals: in addition to immersive programmes in the event rooms pop-up events and performances in its own theatre Built in the first half of the 20th century the building combines neoclassical aesthetics with numerous art deco elements The curated art collection by renowned museum expert Sune Nordgren adds a special touch to the hotel’s atmosphere The collection complements the works by Per Krohg on display in the building including an impressive fresco in the main hall or the impressive mosaic in the sauna area by the pool and gives the hotel a distinctive character sets high-quality accents in the orange tiled bathrooms and harmonises perfectly with the custom-made Etoile washstand it also effortlessly withstands the high demands of individual user groups The TECEnow flush plate in white also creates exciting colour contrasts in the bathrooms the TECE product also impresses with its pleasant operating feel: the rich mechanical feel of the rubber-buffered flush button contributes to the high-quality overall impression both models – TECEloop and TECEnow – are characterised by the proven dual-flush technology The installed TECEprofil toilet modules are optimally adapted to the country-specific features of the technical version This is because the timber construction method commonly used in Scandinavian countries requires a high level of protection against moisture damage the sensitive wooden constructions must therefore be protected by elaborate sealing in front of and behind the cisterns The TECE solution makes things easier: thanks to a safety bag only one sealing layer is required in front of the wall – there is no need for the time-consuming installation of a watertight barrier behind the module Any water that leaks is collected in the safety bag drained into the bathroom in front of the wall and finally drains away in the obligatory floor drain This not only saves money and time during installation but also effectively protects against expensive water damage So nothing stands in the way of a fantastic hotel stay For more product information, please contact us: [email protected] [email protected]www.tece.com With its timeless shape and high quality materials the TECEsquare toilet flush plate is the favourite of many architects and bathroom planners innovative metal colours and glass surfaces adopting the latest design trends from the interior and fittings sector Toilet flush plates may not be the focus of bathroom planning but a carefully chosen and well-designed product such as TECEsquare can help a bathroom achieve perfection or lend it a particular accent The design classic is now once again setting strong accents at the toilet with new metal and glass surfaces – all independent interpretations of an “architectural style” that end customers interior designers and bathroom planners are currently looking for Particular eye-catchers in the revised TECEsquare range are the two new metal surfaces “Rusted Steel” and “Brushed Nickel” the matt surface in a noble rust look transforms every wall into a small architectural landscape and references current trends in façade design - rusty surfaces are indispensable for a trendy industrial style The manual finishing of the surface gives each piece a unique character – with the highest quality of workmanship in terms of material and mechanics  The new nickel surface presents itself with an elegant as metallic sheen also remains an important design theme in modern An aesthetic that is also protected from fingerprints by the anti-fingerprint finish; TECE also successfully applies this tried and tested process to the other metal surfaces Signal Grey and Sand Beige also stand for a timeless premium look with their high quality satin finish which gives the tiles an impressive optical depth effect beautiful refractions of light and a light Matching white satin and black satin glass surfaces can now also be found in the TECEdrainline shower channel collection the TECEsquare architectural collection remains timeless while at the same time more up-to-date than ever All existing and new models share the same durable technology and high quality finish and are a component of the TECEsquare modular principle that any TECEsquare flush plate can be combined with any TECE cistern Here you can find more information: https://spotlight.tece.com The luxurious Bulgari Hotel Roma is located in the heart of the lively Campo Marzio neighbourhood directly on Piazza Augusto Imperatore and just a few minutes’ walk from Via del Corso and Piazza di Spagna Known worldwide for its timeless glamour and heritage as a magnificent Roman jeweller the world-renowned luxury hotel brand Bulgari Hotels & Resorts already has hotels in Milan guests have also been warmly welcomed in Rome – Bulgari’s home city which initially served as the headquarters of the Italian security authorities was built between 1936 and 1938 by the renowned architect Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo It was restored with the same attention to detail for its new purpose and now shines in new splendour as the Bulgari Hotel Roma Inspired by the imperial splendour of its surroundings the design of the new luxury hotel combines past and present in a special way As purist as the architecture appears from the outside the interior of the rooms and suites is just as elegant The Italian architecture and interior design firm ACPV which has given all Bulgari Hotels and Resorts properties their perfect form is responsible for this outstanding design customised fabrics inspired by Bulgari’s famous motifs and original Ginori vases from the 1930s by Gio Ponti fill the hotel with life and contribute to the overall aesthetic The Bulgari Hotel Roma is a place where glamour and family ties meet like an old friendship Each of the 114 elegant rooms and suites shines in different shades of white these tones define the character of the individual rooms – even the colour of the marble in the bathrooms is harmoniously matched The Bulgari Spa is the right place for anyone looking to rebalance body The “Temple of Wellbeing” is reminiscent of the atmosphere of ancient Roman baths with marble columns rising out of the swimming pool and coloured glass bathing the room in soft light a visit to the Bulgari Bar is well worthwhile The magnificent black marble bar top is decorated with 110 Murano glass swirls that have been mouth-blown with gold dust by artists from the Italian company Barovier & Toso.These precious works of art diffuse the light and lend a magical glamour to the aperitivo hour and the evening In this special ambience, where luxury is omnipresent, the sanitary equipment also fulfils the highest quality requirements. The high-end products from TECE find their perfect place here. With great care and attention to detail, the TECEdrainline shower drainage channel series which is specially designed for natural stone is used in the hotel’s rooms and suites TECEdrainline shower channels are particularly suitable for floor-level shower solutions and fit seamlessly into the aesthetic design of the Bulgari Hotel Roma as a work of art A special feature of the TECEdrainline shower channels: Thanks to the seamless stainless steel body dirt particles are prevented from settling This makes cleaning particularly easy – a decisive factor for a smooth and hygienic service in the world of luxury The two-stage membrane odour trap minimises the evaporation of sealing water in the siphon while at the same time the membrane odour trap acts as a vermin barrier for maximum hygiene comfort Even if the installation is slightly askew the water drainage is optimised thanks to an internal slope which also minimises deposits in the channel body It is truly in a class of its own – so it is hardly surprising that the Bulgari Hotel Roma is considered the undisputed prime example of luxury in the world of travel it was named the best luxury hotel in the world by the “Luxury Travel Intelligence” community in 2023 For more product information, please contact us: [email protected] [email protected]www.tece.com The North of Ibiza has always attracted freedom-loving people from all over the world who – fascinated by the beauty of the rugged coastal landscape and the natural rhythm of life on the island – find their own personal oasis of spirituality and relaxation on this Spanish gem Those who check into the hotel resort Six Senses on the quiet northern tip of Ibiza leave everyday life and hustle and bustle behind and immerse themselves in a holiday experience of a sensual kind The exclusive Hide Away Resort combines luxurious experience and nature in an authentic way: Gently set into the rugged contours of the coast the hotel complex overlooks the crystal clear waters of the 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the furnishings of the guest accommodations The light-flooded suites and exclusive villas of the resort are dominated by light colours warm earth and sand tones and natural materials such as wood Modern designer furniture and simple lines give the accommodation a timeless Some suites and the two villas have private sun terraces roof gardens or terraces with pools and sea views The refreshingly simple aesthetic is continued in the bathrooms of the Six Senses with modern sanitary products from TECE The TECEdrainline shower channels with their linear design blend almost seamlessly into the shower area and ensure reliable and safe drainage A major advantage of TECEdrainline is that it is particularly easy and time-saving to clean – a decisive factor The channel body is made of stainless steel and can be cleaned of hair and dirt by simply wiping it out Neither corners and cavities nor screws or threaded parts get in the way Environmentally friendly plus: unlike other shower toilets TECEone works purely hydraulically and therefore requires no electricity This also makes expensive maintenance and service contracts a thing of the past The stylish TECEloop actuator plates with angular frame and circular buttons pick up on the geometric shapes of the designer furniture in the rooms of the resort and literally round off the well-thought-out and well-proportioned style concept of the Six Senses perfectly Here you can find more information about TECE: www.tece.com Roddie Edmonds and his men in the Battle of the Bulge Edmonds stood up to POW camp commander at gunpoint soldier honored by Israeli Holocaust museum '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" Kristen shares an Akiri, Line-Slinger / Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder Boros Voltron deck There’s a time and a place for Winter Orb Kristen shares her ethos behind the more “chilling” side of Boros strategy the hurdles are really starting to stack up against more fair midrange combat-focused decks and particularly when you start to enter the Simic or Sultai sphere Grixis—all but the most degenerate strategies are starting to struggle with combating value They’ll not pause to remove your inefficient card draw or ramp options because they know you won’t recover by replacing them easily Wouldn’t you rather use your removal on something that matters too There are many lenses to look at this issue through but today I’d like to look at it from the angle of playing a Voltron deck Voltron has historically been a more fun and casual strategy that can be refined into something reasonably powerful at the 6-8 power range due to the power creep we’re experiencing in Commander many stronger Voltron decks that aimed for this power level are now starting to lag behind—they’ve not been gifted as many new toys that actually increase consistency and so the inherent consistency in many decks that aim for this power level is actually resulting in more of a mismatch than ever before I’d go as far as to say that if you aim to build a “value” deck at the 6-7 range you’ll come out with an 8 a lot of the time due to the inherent synergy that Sultai cards in particular tend to enjoy Other colors usually have to lean far more into synergy and deckbuilding restrictions to come anywhere close to that level or sacrifice synergistic cards to play the limited ramp and draw options that don’t fit into their theme Choosing your first focus point will generally come down to a number of important factors factors that can change priority level based on the wider context of the game: The latter point is a little more nuanced than you’d think It’s often better to soften up the other players by marking them with some early Commander damage before diverting your attention to the Archenemy when the threat becomes more apparent and you can put out more damage if your opponents draw removal heavy hands or you draw particularly poorly; you’ll struggle to close the game you’ll probably want to grab this next It’s a great form of card advantage for colors that struggle for it and it can become a reliable and repeatable tutor to dig you out of most situations it’s only really correct to play it when you’re capable of winning within a few turns This is because you want to keep your friends and not ruin the experience for everyone else Decks with bountiful draw and ramp will always beat you in a longer game and if they’ve parried some of your blows up until now there’s a real danger that you can’t close the game Really, I don’t think a well-timed Winter Orb is any more oppressive than being able to recur counterspells or other interaction that grinds the game out, and nobody really has a problem with those. People play Collector Ouphe all the time and it shuts off non-green ramp completely Let’s look at a deck set up to do so Akiri & Bruse is a Voltron deck that aims to play cheap and impactful cards in the early game to reach a high velocity as quickly as possible and so are the supporting artifacts that power up our Commander Generally the aim is to strap up Akiri early on and then use Bruse Tarl’s enter the battlefield effect to great effect often times meaning a player needs to take only two to three hits to crumble under the sheer damage output available to us Bruse for the most part is a combat trick in the Command Zone a “signature spell” if you like He can act as a good backup if Akiri is removed a few too many times Welder and Engineer are both great cards in their own right too offering us some much needed ways to buy back equipment and Aurelia is everything the deck wants to be doing two slightly riskier wraths that our deck is happy to play a little loose with—our potency and potential for removing players if we’re free to attack means we won’t care about ramping our opponents if they’re going to die anyways and the ability to turn those equipment off the top into card draw means we can potentially draw past the cards we can’t cast that are inbetween Don’t forget that you can always exile a card using Mystic Forge while the trigger to draw is on the stack Finally, I’d like to highlight how we can give our opponents a “deal with the devil” through cards like Infiltration Lens and Kusari-Gama Taking Commander damage is something they really won’t want to do so if we can get something out of them blocking Infiltration Lens draw us two cards when Akiri becomes blocked; and Kusari-Gama more than just letting us “firebreathe,” can actually wipe an opponent’s board I guarantee they’ll have to read this one multiple times Just make sure to play it to close a game so y’all can go grab ice cream—giving your opponents brain freeze as soon as they sit down is never a good idea Kristen is a lover of both Limited and Commander and can most often be found championing the Boros Legion when called upon to sit down and shuffle up RSS Feed who spent nearly four months in a German prisoner of war camp following his capture during the World War II Battle of the Bulge McCall's story was featured in The Ledger on Tuesday to honor Veterans Day he was on the Western Front when he and his comrades were taken prisoner just before Christmas one of Germany's worst prisoner of war camps where he struggled to survive on rotten food McCall returned to Florida after his camp was liberated and embarked on a career as a maintenance supervisor with the Florida Department of Transportation in Bartow that would span 40 years caring man who loved his family and made friends everywhere he went "I can't tell you how many different ways I remember him," he said he loved his church and he loved this town," his son said When McCall was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer this summer He said he was going to whip this and he was going to give it his all Longtime friend Keith Miller said McCall was selfless through his life "He not only gave of himself during his military service He gave to his church and to his community but he never resented the Germans," Miller said "He was so m orally upstanding and so straightforward about things He exuded high standards in what was right and what was wrong." David Spiker said his father-in-law enjoyed stepping out and loved to get dressed up "He was dapper in his vest and hat," he said and he's going to be missed for so many reasons Tuesday at the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church The family will receive visitors from 6 to 8 p.m and certainly not one aimed at equality or fairness Worldcoin — a new financial system connected to sensitive biometric information, mostly harvested from poor people — sure sounds like a terrible idea Worldcoin will need to assemble a vast database of iris data But not everyone is eager to gaze into an Orb And so Worldcoin turned to the global south — home to the cheapest eyeballs — and played a dark game of ‘what will people do for money?’ Connecting real people to digital identities is a thorny puzzle since nothing in the design can stop professional sybil attackers farming eyeballs on the ground level through nefarious means we are collecting and securely storing more data than we will upon its completion… We will delete all the biometric data we have collected during field testing once our algorithms are fully-trained.” “We’ll totally delete the eyeball database.” Sometimes Worldcoin’s privacy promises are conjoined with dazzling technical details and allow users to prove humanity without connecting any particular financial activity to a World ID or other associated transactions Subscribe to Blockworks Daily There’s a grain of truth here. Zero-knowledge proofs can generate impressive privacy guarantees. But in the case of Worldcoin marketing, they’re more theater than substance. Taking off your shoes at the airport makes it look like important precautions are being taken (but doesn’t actually make you any safer); and long blog posts about zero-knowledge proofs distract from the problem of Worldcoin asking for users’ trust Linking immutable biometric traits to money could have dystopian consequences Imagine that your digital identity has been lost in some way — shut down by authorities for non-compliance With traditional cash — and other cryptocurrencies — you can always make a new wallet and stash some fresh coins in it and you can’t get a new iris from your neighborhood surgeon When your immutable digital identity is locked — imagine merchants who won’t take your coins from you without a digital signature announcing your World ID — it’s over for you one could prove that a given transaction is associated with a valid World ID without disclosing which World ID that is — thus reducing the risk of total identity blockade Zero-knowledge proofs could be used in benign ways or to preserve user privacy Or authorities could demand more; they could demand that users reveal all Setting up a system and simply hoping its full powers of surveillance and control won’t be used is naive Worldcoin is billed as a network “owned by everyone.” Early promotional materials claim giving “every person on the planet an equal share of a new cryptocurrency” as a premise of the project But a glance at the actual plan for distributing tokens casts doubt on whether equal distribution is an aim of the project at all Early documentation put that insider number at twenty percent; it’s now slated to be at least twenty-five Such self-dealing is not the plan one would expect from an operation with genuine egalitarian ambitions Read more from our opinion section: Worldcoin hackable by cutting off someone’s face, draping it over your own we know a bit more about how token distribution will work There’s a well-known crypto trick; they call it a “Sam Coin” (yes, after that Sam) The idea is to release into circulation a very small percentage of all the tokens that will ever exist some eye-popping fully diluted market cap numbers can result which make for great marketing and creative accounting Worldcoin — much like MAPS, a notorious crypto dud — is a Sam Coin About one percent of the ten billion Worldcoin tokens that will ever exist are in circulation, mostly in the hands of market makers partnered with Worldcoin Worldcoin is no radical new financial system Nick Almond (@DrNickA) is Founder and Architect of FactoryDAO a next generation modular DAO creation protocol Bailey is Associate Professor at Yale-NUS College in Singapore and a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute Blockworks Daily Digital Asset Summit 2025 Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad Permissionless IV Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto Permissionless IV Hackathon Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […] Union’s improvements upon Tendermint consensus through CometBLS and low latency IBC implementation that is feasibly scalable across every existing blockchain The implementation offers modular crosschain interoperability without the need for trusted intermediaries by Luke Leasure Breaking headlines across our core coverage categories. As Schwab plots crypto trading upon “more clarity in the regulatory environment,” Morgan Stanley is reportedly interested too The DropWeb3 including 8 of the 10 largest gaming markets aren’t allowed to access the upcoming crypto game 0xResearch NewsletterBusiness DeFiEmpire Newsletter Kraken’s chief security officer Nick Percoco said the exchange turned the tables on a North Korean hacker The Breakdown Or is it approximately the least cypherpunk thing we could do BusinessLightspeed Newsletter Over 20% of SOL-USD swap volume goes through SolFi Get the daily newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand the markets Unlock crypto's most powerful research platform Our research packs a punch and gives you actionable takeaways for each topic This is part of a four-hour set I played in January at Ministerium, a beautiful mid-sized club in Lisbon that’s situated in a building previously occupied by Portugal’s Ministry of Finance and I felt the audience was open-minded to more subtle grooves By loading the video, you agree to YouTube's privacy policy.Learn more Load video “Bad Orb” by Youandewan has this lovely round and warm groove and I just wanted to let it ride for a while The crowd seemed to understand my intention and got lost in the great simplicity of it I looking for the part where the pure beat of “Al Capote” is running Then I slam the new track in with the EQ flat whilst simultaneously cutting the bass of “Bad Orb” with the cut-up vocals slowly blending into the mix With “Al Capote” by French producer Seuil I wanted to change up the groove slightly It has this irresistible swing to it that immediately moves all the hips in the club I can see the dancers’ movements subtly change as they feel the new rhythm The next track is rather smoothly mixed in I blend the two tracks until the main chord and the hi-hats of “Petit” take over and for a while I enjoy how it sounds mixed in with the groove of the previous track The kicking beat and the hi-hat are the driving key elements Makes you wanna dance with your eyes closed as the toolish character of “Liksom” is quite inviting in that respect I kick the track in a few times with the bass cut and later on I quickly switch between the lows of the old and new tracks “Liksom” is an amazing beat tool by the extremely talented Dorisburg from Sweden The drums destroy the dance floor each time I play it A long and smooth transition makes sense here so I can let the dreamy melody slowly take over The electro beat punches the dance floor. I wanted to continue with a heavier beat, but get back to the dreamier mood I created earlier with the Culture Hub track. The melancholic melody reminds me a little of Aphex Twin Such a gorgeous track by Montreal-based act Solitary Dancer Hear Eli Verveine in the mix via Electronic Beats Radio and read more Played Out columns here By loading the content from Mixcloud, you agree to Mixcloud's privacy policy.Learn more Load content retargeting and for playing out personalized content and advertising on Telekom sites and third-party sites including information on data processing by third-party providers and the possibility of revocation can be found in the settings and in our privacy information Here you can continue only with the necessary tools Accept all Continue with necessary Detailed privacy preferences You can give your consent to categories or display further information and select specific cookies We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Donald W. Becker of San Antonio, Texas, passed away on March 9, 2010, at the age of 85. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri on Dec. 22, 1924 to Lester S. and Marion Becker. He was preceded in death last year by his loving wife of 62 years, Joetta,... View Obituary & Service Information Becker created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories © 2025 Mission Park Funeral Chapels & Cemeteries Made with love by funeralOne A letter written by an American soldier in Germany in 1945 was finally delivered to his family in Woburn in December Army Sergeant John Gonsalves wrote the letter to his mother on Dec Gonsalves used a 6-cent air mail stamp to send the letter off from Bad Orb but it never made it to its intended recipient said his mother was overjoyed to receive the long lost letter and the handwriting of her husband and then to Germany,” Gonsalves said in a phone interview “He wrote this to his mother a few months after the war ended and somehow this particular letter never got to her.” Gonsalves said the letter was discovered in a US Postal Service facility in Pittsburgh last fall and the postal service did some research and was able to track down his 89-year-old mother “We have no idea where it was for 76 years from when my dad mailed it to when it was found at the postal facility in Pittsburgh,” he said “Imagine that! Seventy-six years!” she said in an interview with Boston 25 News And then just his handwriting and everything Gonsalves talks about the weather and the quality of the food that he’d been eating Received another letter from you today and was happy to hear that everything is okay,” he wrote I guess it’s because of the strike they had back there in the States if you are thinking of sending any packages as I think I won’t be here to receive them It looks like it won’t be very long before I return to the States I’m almost positive to be home sometime in the last two weeks of January or the first week of February.” the sun hasn’t been out but just for a half-day in about a month It was raining and snowing again this morning but it stopped inside of an hour Give my love to the family and regards to all Gonsalves said getting to see the letter that his father mailed so long ago brightened the holiday season for his family “Opening it and reading that letter made it feel like he came back to us for the holiday season,” he said Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22. Home Delivery Gift Subscriptions Log In Manage My Account Customer Service Delivery Issues Feedback News Tips Help & FAQs Staff List Advertise Newsletters View the ePaper Order Back Issues News in Education Search the Archives Privacy Policy Terms of Service Terms of Purchase Work at Boston Globe Media Internship Program Co-op Program Do Not Sell My Personal Information BARTOW | For nearly four months in early 1945 "Mac" McCall of Bartow wasted away in one of Germany's worst prisoner of war camps as the closing days of World War II played out around him just days into the pivotal Battle of the Bulge he forced down rotten potato soup and bread laced with sawdust just to stay alive and he mourned as more and more comrades succumbed to malnutrition and disease He shivered in freezing temperatures with only his increasingly threadbare Army-issued uniform to ward off the bitter cold he slept on a scattering of dirty straw on a wooden bunk "There never was a time I wasn't scared," he said recently as today's Veterans Day remembrance drew near McCall's ordeal began in a marshy area along the Western Front "We were advancing across it when the Germans surrounded us," he recalled Europe was experiencing one of the coldest winters on record with temperatures plunging well below zero many of the Allied troops along the Western Front had little battle experience a history professor and director of the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience at Florida State University The Germans initially surprised the Allies in the Battle of the Bulge and crushed through their inadequate lines but the Allies eventually sent in reinforcements and pushed the German troops back "The Battle of the Bulge turned out to be the last major German offensive in World War II," he said McCall witnessed four days of that battle before he was taken prisoner "They took us down to Frankfurt and loaded us in boxcars on Christmas Day and they were supposed to put a red cross on the top of them "That's when I was the most scared — lying on the bottom of that boxcar and wondering if I was going to come out of there alive One guy died in the car I was in," he said a prison camp outside a German town of the same name By the time the 106th Infantry and other captured units arrived at the prison camps in 1945 the once well-stocked camps of the war's early days had become overcrowded and were lacking in basic food and hygiene supplies inspectors condemned the conditions at Bad Orb stating circumstances were critical and saying that without nourishment and a means to bathe the estimated 5,300 prisoners were in grave danger of epidemics "Everything about it was horrible," McCall said guards fed the prisoners moldy cheese and bread laced with sawdust "and the cheese wasn't just a little moldy prisoners got soup made with rotten potatoes and more moldy cheese McCall plucked sprigs of grass along a narrow stream that trickled through the camp "We did what we had to do to stay alive," he said McCall carried about 145 pounds on his lanky frame when he shipped out for Europe in the fall of 1944 he and his comrades had little more than thin blankets and a stove to stave off the subfreezing temperatures in their barracks my hands and feet stay cold all the time," said McCall We huddled around the fire as much as we could." "We didn't know what was going on on the outside," he said We just kept trying to get through one day at a time his German guards displayed more compassion than brutality and many of them didn't agree with what Hitler was doing Nearly four months after McCall was captured George Patton's tanks liberated Bad Orb in April 1945 "We knew Patton was on his way because we could hear the tanks coming," McCall said The camp's officers ordered the prisoners to line up and when the American troops stormed the camp shortly after that "I think it was in the early morning," he said He came home in late 1945 and joined the Florida Department of Transportation's Bartow office where he supervised maintenance operations for 40 years and he recently celebrated 22 years of marriage with his second wife McCall is fighting a different kind of war Diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer during the summer representatives with Good Shepherd Hospice honored him for his service with a bedside ceremony "This is a way for our staff to thank the veterans personally," said Walt Godwin "We are losing these World War II vets every day and we need to take the time to say 'Thank you.'" [ Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached at suzie.schottelkotte@theledger.com or 863-533-9070 The TimesA letter sent by an American soldier stationed in Germany to his mother in Massachusetts months after the end of the Second World War has finally been delivered more than seven decades late Sergeant John Gonsalves was 22 when he wrote home on December 6 in the town of Bad Orb in the central state of Hesse Until last month his letter lay unopened in a US Postal Service distribution facility in Pittsburgh who handed her the little piece of history But Edmonds did not know others felt the same way On Tuesday the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR) in partnership with the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Middlesex County and the Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey will host Edmonds at an event honoring Jewish war veterans at the JCC Edmonds will share not only the story of his father’s heroism but his dad's life after the war and his own discovery of the truth years after the elder Edmonds' death in 1985 Roderick "Roddie" Edmonds was a good man who saw right and wrong in black and white Born after his father's military service in both WWII and the Korean War Edmonds grew up with the knowledge that Roddie Edmonds served as a member of the 106th Infantry Division and was a POW after the Battle of the Bulge Roddie Edmonds would say it was "something he'd rather not talk about." This was respected Edmonds wishes he pushed his father to open up "We just knew the broad strokes − that he had been in WWII and fought the Battle of the Bulge and then was captured and came home," Edmonds said "He was a great dad and very involved in everything we did Dads can either be heroes or zeros − and Dad Roddie Edmonds hailed from South Knoxville A member in his high school's Junior ROTC program served in the Korean War and was discharged after nine years of military service Roddie Edmonds was as a soft-spoken man − a coach of his sons' baseball teams and a Cub Scout leader Described by his son as "laidback," Roddie Edmonds was an "older father" known to be "cool as a cucumber and just one who loved on people − he worked hard and lived good." But nearly three decades after his father's death His daughters' school history project allowed the family to delve deeper into who Roddie Edmonds was and his WWII service There were journals that were read and re-read and later three pages of handwritten notes were remembered and unearthed Also see:'I was frightened to death': WWII veteran's war tales grip students Edmonds typed his father's name into a search engine on the internet − and it delivered a New York Times article from 2008 Lester Tanner (Tannenbaum) spoke about the bravery of his Master Sgt He said Roddie Edmonds saved Tanner's life and the life of 200 other Jewish soldiers when he defied the Germans at the POW camp That one sentence became a thread that when pulled unraveled a story of courage and bravery − and a "righteous man." Roddie Edmonds was captured by the German Army on Dec Edmonds endured a grueling march to Gerolstein Germany and an almost week-long train ride in box cars − 60 to 70 men per car with no food or water − to Bad Orb a group of more than 1,000 NCOs (non-commissioned officers) − 200 Jews among them − were taken to Stalag IXA POW camp in Ziegenhain Edmonds was responsible for the camp's American POWs ordered Roddie Edmonds to identify the Jewish soldiers − to separate them from the other prisoners Roddie Edmonds ordered the more than 1,000 POWs to stand in formation outside their barracks with Jewish soldiers Tanner and Paul Stern on either side of him When Seigmann saw all the men standing in formation The commandant then placed his pistol against Edmonds' head and demanded he identify the Jewish soldiers Edmonds told the commandant the Germans would soon lose the war you will be tried for war crimes," he said Roddie Edmonds had saved the lives of the 200 Jewish soldiers Roddie Edmonds was a man who lived by "right is right and wrong is wrong − and you should know the difference," said his son "We were a family that lived by 'there's a right way to treat people and a wrong way And we're not a family that does it the wrong way'," he said It's almost like he had a gift to be able to know people's hearts − where they were at I think that helped him tremendously when he was confronted with the situation in the POW camp Roddie Edmonds later helped lead a revolt at the camp He instructed his men to refuse to leave with the retreating Germans They were liberated shortly after − on the second day of Passover Roddie Edmonds wrote of the new friends he made the hope "his boys" would survive and that the experience "all seemed like a bad dream." "He comes back and never spoke a word about it − kind of aggravated about that," said Edmonds with a laugh people that we understand and truly revere as heroes − they don't 'I'm nobody − the heroes are the ones who are buried over there.'" who told Edmonds the story of his father's bravery calling it the "defining experience of my life," at the Harvard Club in New York in March 2013 − 68 years later I was transported to where they were," said Edmonds who now calls these men in their 90s − his father's "boys" − his friends and he's so into it − because it's his life that was on the line There were lots of tears − it was like I went back over there with him − and he helped me see and feel all the things that they were experiencing that first time that I heard the story." Edmonds also acknowledges all the men in that POW camp Anyone of them could have broken ranks and given up another soldier as a Jew "When it came to matters of life and death they stood together and I think that's a credit to their humanity," Edmonds said "And I think that's the one of the main reasons that they survived not only that particular experience but really the entire time they were prisoners − because they were together And what gets to Roddie Edmonds' son the most are the thousands − about 13,000 − of descendants of those 200 Jewish soldiers who are alive today because of his father's bravery "Our lives multiply," Tanner said in the film "You can see how important that decision has been." "That's the biggest joy for me," Edmonds said "To see the real people − the lives − that have been touched and changed." serviceman and fifth American who’s been recognized by Yad Vashem he was conferred posthumously with the designation of "Righteous Among the Nations" in a ceremony for his heroism in saving the lives of 200 American Jewish POWs Roddie Edmonds also received the JFR's Yehi Or (Let There Be Light) Award in 2018 and a historical marker placed in Knoxville in 2020 donated by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation with support from the Knoxville Jewish Alliance His acts of heroism have been marked with a book "No Surrender," by Edmonds as well as a short JFR documentary "Following the Footsteps of My Father" in 2016 and the award-winning longer version "Footsteps of My Father" in 2018 The shorter version will show Tuesday at the event on the JCC campus at 1775 Oak Tree Road in Edison The father of three daughters and grandfather of 10 in his home state of Tennessee and works to foster the legacy of his father The former senior pastor of Piney Grove Baptist Church in Maryville created to promote the motto of "choose love and do the right thing." e works − the kind we'd like to see go from dreams to reality," Edmonds said The event is free and open to the community. Advance registration is requested at www.jccmc.org/veterans or call the JCC at 732-494-3232 Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin please subscribe or activate your digital account today By I’m a little late in responding (but still first) I preferred Stonewielder to Orb Sceptre Throne (a title sorely in need of some punctuation) more for story reasons than any stylistic issues As you point out the Tyrant is a bit of a weak antagonist by Malazan standards The whole ‘Spawns’ sideplot was also a bit lame (and incidentally showed Moon’s Spawn to be vastly larger than I’d imagined) A big clanger for me was the Malazan’s horror at the Moranth bombing the Seguleh with munitions Using vast amounts of sorcery to wipe out the enemy is all fine and dandy but dropping munitions from above is beyond the pale if not quite in the same class as the best of the series I was stunned and disappointed when Tayschrenn But perhaps we can find it within us to pity them.” one of the themes found throughout these books (at least Mr Compassion is something that needs to found within In a scene following Tayschrenn’s literal transformation in a conversation intended to show his accompanying spiritual transformation It just seems to miss a major point from the entire series of books I know from the re-read that you are always carefully paying attention for mentions and instances of compassion so I wanted to see if it struck you the same way Thanks for the review and the great work with the re-read I’m a frequent lurker and infrequent commenter The Reactor newsletter is the best way to catch up on the world of science fiction “You want stories?" Thom Merrilin declaimed I will make them come alive before your eyes.” For compliance with applicable privacy laws: Be careful about what you see in the Seeing Stones **WARNING: Contains spoilers for The Rings of Power episode 4** The future’s looking bleak for the inhabitants of Middle-earth. Sauron is returning and the people of Númenor seem to be facing a slight flooding issue All of this was predicted in the latest episode of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime Video. The fourth part ended with Queen Regent Míriel of Númenor (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) deciding to follow Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and lead her people to help the Southlands all in the hopes of undoing the island’s disastrous fate which she had foreseen in an object called a palantír The palantíri are very ominous items that crop up throughout the Tolkien universe and as there are seven of these mysterious things the palantíri are essentially crystal balls that can be used for so much more than fortune telling The spheres can be used to communicate with each other and allow the user to see any part of the world where another stone sits show visions and key pieces of information The palantíri were created by ancient Elves known as the Ñoldor and given to the Númenóreans as a gift for their help in the wars against Morgoth After the fall of Númenor, which could be what the Queen Regent sees in her visions, the seven stones were rescued and brought to Middle-earth by Elendil (Lloyd Owen) The spheres were placed in guarded towers throughout the land and used by the realms of men to communicate In the millennia between the Second Age of Middle-earth and the events of the Lord of the Rings the Ithil-stone was taken by Sauron and the Orthanc-stone was used by Saruman As the heirs of Elendil and the Númenóreans were the only ones meant to use the palantíri many Tolkien fans believe this is why it was so easy for Sauron to manipulate and overcome Saruman with evil After the fall of Isengard in The Two Towers But the ever-bumbling hobbit Peregrin 'Pippin' Took sneaks a look at the orb and becomes a target of Sauron Denethor the steward of Gondor uses the Anor-stone Sauron manages to convince him that there is no point in fighting him he uses the Anor-stone to communicate with Sauron This allows him to distract the great eye long enough for Frodo to destroy the ring certainly play a part in the dark dangers of Middle-earth Who knows what they’ll show in the episodes to come.. If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Fantasy hub What is a palantír in Lord of the Rings The vision orb explainedBe careful about what you see in the Seeing Stones All of this was predicted in the latest episode of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime Video. The fourth part ended with Queen Regent Míriel of Númenor (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) deciding to follow Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and lead her people to help the Southlands The best sci-fi news and features this side of the Outer Rim By entering your details you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Queen Regent Míriel in The Rings of Power Lloyd Owen as Elendil in The Rings of Power. Amazon StudiosAfter the fall of Númenor, which could be what the Queen Regent sees in her visions, the seven stones were rescued and brought to Middle-earth by Elendil (Lloyd Owen) But the ever-bumbling hobbit Peregrin 'Pippin' Took sneaks a look at the orb and becomes a target of Sauron Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Fantasy hub you are agreeing to site title privacy policy This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Subscribe to RT!Subscribe to Radio Times magazine and get £10 issues for £10! Could your home unlock your dreams?Releasing equity from your home could help give you the retirement you've been dreaming of? Holiday brochuresNeed inspiration of where to go next Request a free brochure and start your journey BARTOW | Veterans at American Legion Post 3 will stand together and reflect Monday They'll call out the names of the nine in their fold who have died since their last Memorial Day gathering a tradition this group has observed for decades said he'll recall the four months he spent in a German prison camp in 1945 after he was taken captive in the early days of World War II's Battle of the Bulge "I'll think about all of those who didn't come home," he said "That's what this day is about," said Ben Jackson Jr. "It's about remembering those who died for this country and honoring those who served Legion veterans have been doing it for 95 years this month making it one of the two oldest posts in the state It shares its founding date with Post 11 in Arcadia according to records at the Florida office of the American Legion and Post 8 in Winter Haven was founded two days after that they represent an organization with nearly a century-old history of helping veterans serving the community and providing camaraderie to service men and women Many Polk County veterans were among those who formed the bedrock for the American Legion "We always knew we were among the first," said Barney Snyder A lot of people think we're just a bunch of drunks hanging out at a bar but we do a lot for the veterans and the community." Post 4's estimated 650 veterans returned about $50,000 to the Lakeland community through school awards programs and civic contributions the 197 veterans there funneled about $100,000 back into their community in the last four years through contributions to the Women's Care Center the Bartow Citizens Police Academy and funding the purchase of K-9 dogs for law enforcement Revenue from the lounges at American Legions allows the veterans to offer that assistance to community groups and Air Force veteran and commander of Bartow's Post 3 "I prefer to call this our social quarters," he said "because this is where we gather to share stories and socialize We can sit down and talk about like experiences because we've all been through it But our organization is so much more than just that said that post's ranks have swelled to 2,000 members since those early days in 1919 are concerned about the way the organization is perceived there always will be that misunderstanding that it's just a bunch of old guys sitting around drinking beer and tell war stories," he said "That's just not the true perspective of what the American Legion is all about." Post 8 provides financial support to Boy Scouts school awards and veterans needing help navigating the system to get their benefits the post is sending 14 young men to participate in the annual Boys State government program in Tallahassee "We do everything we can do to support our veterans their families and the community," Anthony said "We work with other posts to get the job done they will remember 23 from their ranks who have died since last Memorial Day a Vietnam veteran who spent nine months in the hospital after he was wounded in combat "I'm just glad there are people like my brother who are able and willing to serve said he weighed a mere 90 pounds when his prison camp near Bad Orb he'll remember those months when he had only stale bread moldy cheese and rotten potato soup to stay alive He secretly plucked green sprouts along the edge of a trickle of water flowing through his prison camp and hid them in his helmet until later who served in Germany during the Korean War but never saw conflict and those who lost their lives while serving their country are the true reasons to honor Memorial Day "He's the reason we must always remember what all veterans have done for us," Jackson said Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Another piece of the plan falls into place the former Nicky Doodles building on North Genesee Street — in the shadow of Harbor Point — sat vacant since closing in 2017 runs the concessions and food services at the Adirondack Bank Center will open a restaurant at the North Utica site He’s not saying yet what kind of restaurant it’ll be but Stone says they have an idea for the name and menu items ORB also operates 72 Tavern & Grill at the Aud and Babe’s at Harbor Point Stone previously ran Babe’s from 1997 to 2015 before leaving to work full time at the Adirondack Bank Center He says specifics on the new restaurant will be announced this spring Indiana teen’s project pays a huge dividend Hunter Wart worked his tail off and it all paid off The teenager spent spent more than a year mowing lawns and scrapping metal to raise the $10,000 — then used the money to purchase a Safe Haven Baby Box for the Seymour (Indiana) Fire Department began the initiative in 2016 to give distressed mothers a safe place to drop off newborns while remaining anonymous The Seymour box was installed last June and is one of 24 installed in several states firefighters found a healthy baby girl inside Fire Chief Brad Lucas told CNN the baby was only about an hour old Wart was a junior at Columbus North High School when he decided to raise the funds as part of his senior project "It was a lot of hard work," his mom Julia Kwasniewski told CNN She said her son spent a lot of time collecting metal and she helped him shuttle it to a scrap yard Firefighters provided care for the otherwise healthy baby until an ambulance transported her to a hospital the little girl will be in custody of state child services workers "We are ecstatic that the system was used," Lucas told CNN founder of Safe Haven and abandoned as an infant herself said around two to three abandoned babies died every year in Indiana before the initiative was launched "These babies were left in trash cans and dumpsters That baby had frozen to death before he was found," Kelsey told CNN "But this little girl is going to grow up knowing how much her birth mom loved her just like I did." On the cusp of pro football’s biggest game of the year the NFL announced last week that the number of concussions players suffered increased slightly this season over 2018 The league said there were 224 reported concussions But those totals are way down from the 281 in 2017 The total includes concussions from practices and games in both the preseason and regular season “We want to see head contact reduced,” said Dr Helmet technology has provided more protection and hopefully that will continue to improve The league said “lower extremity” injuries make up more than 60 percent of player injuries The number of torn ACLs dropped by 10 to 47 from the 2018 season and was the lowest since at least 2012 And MCL tears went from 132 in 2018 to 109 this season .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By From AL.com and the Press-RegisterView full sizeWillie 'Buddy' AlphonseWillie "Buddy" Alphonse and was captured at the Battle of the Bulge on December 16 Bad Orb and Germany until being liberated on April 2 Alphonse is survived by his wife; six children; 12 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.  His niece, Dr. Regina Benjamin Read Alphonse's complete obituary and sign his guest book, and see links to all of today's Press-Register obituaries below Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices The match three genre isn’t a place where there are revolutionary changes in gameplay The good ones can be downright addictive as you try to make things disappear as you launch an orb at similar orbs which can lead to a huge chain of things vanishing or trapping you as the targets shift into more difficult combinations Sparkle 2 doesn’t bring anything essentially new to the genre but it’s a decent game in its own right Sparkle does have one difference though and that is the inclusion of a story one which serves as more of a way to advance through levels than anything else The plot concerns itself with five keys spread across a map which you must acquire by beating the levels There’s some narration that makes itself known when you reach a place where a key is supposed to be as if the actor himself were a bit bored of the script There are 92 levels to complete in this quest for keys though many stages do repeat themselves with different parameters introduced such as a new colour being introduced or the orbs moving faster which in turn steadily makes Sparkle 2 more of a challenge To help with the rising difficulty you’ll be awarded different enchantments to improve the launcher as well as other advantages in the game such as making the orbs move slower with up to four enchantments being allowed to be equipped though once you find the combination you’re comfortable with you’ll probably stick with it The time it takes to complete a level can vary from around a minute to up to seven and you’ll lose quite a lot due to how frantically quick new orbs get introduced the further you advance through the game The aim is to stop the orbs falling down a hole though some levels have two or three of them which means you have to keep an eye on different orb threads as they snake themselves around the paths Outside of the main quest there are also the Challenge and Survival modes The first offers different objectives for you to complete though it doesn’t really differ from the main game Survival mode is a mode where you have to survive for as long as possible as there is no end to the line of orbs heading straight to the black hole It’s a decent challenge that gets harder as you progress On the PS4 you can control how you fire the orbs by either using the left analog to aim and R2 to fire In Sparkle 2 you can switch the orbs in your launcher around by pressing circle However when aiming and firing the orbs would sometimes switch when I wanted to fire It would have been better to keep that action keyed to just one button On the Vita though the touch controls are perfectly fine Visually both versions look really nice and the animations are smooth from the firing of orbs to the various power ups you can acquire in the game These power ups can be things like slowing down the action for a few seconds to firing explosives to destroy a chunk of the orbs The music is also good but there are only a few tracks that repeat over and over The PS4 LED also changes colour depending on which orb is present in the launcher Sparkle 2 doesn’t set the world on fire when it comes to the match 3 genre but it is a fun title to play through and 10tons have done a good job with the game Sure the story seems a bit of a pointless addition but it adds something a little different even if the narrator doesn’t feel quite as to into it The only real problem is the sensitivity of the touch pad on PS4 It’s a game that is enjoyable in short bursts compared to a long slog I do like this type of game but I can only play the ones with shapes or patterns being colour blind makes it really difficult to distinguish some of the colours Forgot to mention there is colour blind assist in Sparkle 2 I think it was the FA Cup final last weekend when they decided to use a pink/orange ball Against the green turf it made it extremely difficult for me to track the ball It makes me wonder whether these organizations actually consult with colour blind people as a simple black and white ball would be a perfect solution… Moan over Was missing this type of game on my Vita since I played it quite a bit on PSP Also asked before but will try asking again: Any chance of a BL2 Vita review soon I’d like to get TSA’s opinion on the frame rate and online play don’t think the touch pad controls on ps4 would be too good as mentioned in the review although I’ll play it on PS4 it looks more suited to Vita We do not license content or design to any other site No element of this site can be used without written permission Article posters are the individual owner of the article content We are not affiliated with any third party Use of this website is subject to 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Staff / Contact Us | Review Policy | Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy – Manage Cookie Settings Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Google denied the charge.) “Our company was founded in Silicon Valley,” wrote Karp “We seem to share fewer and fewer of the technology sector’s values and commitments.”