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whosdavidphillips · 7 years ago

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My Trip to Iraq

2016-May-18

A blog about my travel to Iraq - Written by David Phillips

The journey to;

I flew from Winnipeg to Toronto at 10:45am on Wednesday May 18th, 2016. This is such a great time of the day to fly. You don’t need to wake up early, the airport is never too busy, and I had time to spend with the family in the morning, helping get the kids fed, dressed and ready for daycare. I hugged everyone extra hard. While I was sure I would be safe on my journey and return home in one piece, certainly the risks were higher than an average work trip or day in the field. I looked deep into Chantelle’s eyes. “I love you” I said, “I’ll come home to you, don’t worry”. With that they were off to daycare and work and I rushed back inside the house to get ready. I chose to travel with back packs. A day pack that was crammed with everything I'd need for an overseas flight and a 70L hiking pack, filled to the brim with rolled up shirts. Enough for 11 days. I hopped in a cab and headed to the airport nice and early. Avoiding as much stress on this part of my journey as I could.

The flight to Toronto was uneventful. I chatted with the person beside me who had his cottage roof go up in flames over the weekend. Not from the recent wildfires that were running rampant in Southeast Manitoba and Northwest Ontario, but from a few young, drunk neighbors shooting fireworks off at 1:00 in the morning. None of that seemed to matter. I wanted to be polite, but I didn't care, I was focused on the trip ahead. I was starting to wonder if I'd made the stupidest decision of my life. Feeling like I should maybe back out. Could I back out? I felt like I had no choice at this point. On an airplane, paid for by my company, about to board an intercontinental flight. I was stuck.

In Toronto I picked up my bag and waited for Rene. This gave me a chance to move some items around. Things I realized I didn’t need to take on the plane, and things I had in my checked luggage that I suddenly thought I might want. Rene arrived. He had far less equipment then I thought he would have. But everything was there, all the test instruments and hand tools we needed to test the Bio-safety cabinets. We line up to check in. No automated service with Austrian Air, in Toronto, we had to wait in this huge line. Finally we see the attendant for check in.

“Mr Phillips, you are traveling with Mr. Soetens?”

'Yes”, I reply, “I believe we are sitting together”?

“No, I'm sorry, there's a problem with your seats” the attendant says. I’m worried. What could that mean? Would one of us have to stay back? Would I have to navigate Vienna airport by myself? Rene knows some dutch which I was counting on for getting around.

“You’ve both been upgraded to business class”....

I couldn't keep the smile from jumping off the sides of my face. My dad has flown enough overseas for me to know, this is the only way to go! Priority lines and first class service all the way to Vienna.

We board first, priority service. The seats are amazing. A full cockpit with tables and lamps, plug ins of every kind. The seat is customizable in many ways, lumbar support, head support, full recline, and of course, full recline into a wonderfully comfortable bed. We’re offered a hot cloth and champagne as the rest of the plane boards. People scoff as they get on the plane. So many people. It was a huge plane. I don’t know what type it is. Huge. And Full. While everyone gets seated and the safety movie is showing, a chef, an actual chef, with the white fluffy hat and apron comes to take a few orders. First supper, atlantic salmon with all the trimmings and to compliment, I order a nice glass of white wine. He also takes our breakfast order, the menu is full of options. Eggs bendict, whole wheat pancakes, fruit, yogurts, eggs done any way you want, it goes on and on. I make my order and sit back to relax. It’s late for my body clock, but there are so many good movies to watch! I’m almost too excited to sleep! I finally convert my chair into a full bed and nod off. It feels like I just closed my eyes when I get a gentle rub on my shoulder. “Sir, it’s breakfast time, we’ll be landing in one hour” the attendant tells me. I sit my chair up and breakfast arrives, hot and fresh. This is the life….

We land in Vienna and navigate to the nearest washroom to freshen up. Funny how something as simple as a washroom, is so much different in another country. All the “things” are there, sink, toilet, mirror, ect, but everything is different! I got a good tip from my folks who fly internationally often. Change of socks and underwear, and all the toiletries to freshen up. I meet back up with Rene and I manage to make our way through the dutch signage to our gate for our Erbil flight. Plenty of time to spare. I Look around the boarding area. “So who else is crazy enough to go to Iraq” I wonder? There are several very well dressed business men. Nationals I assume. Several women with small children and babies. Families. All in all, no one looked crazy. The flight is half full. Erbil Iraq is part of the Kurdistan region and we have been informed that it is much more secure and stable than the rest of Iraq. It’s a fairly normal flight, although long, and we are in coach, which takes a bit of adjustment after the flight we had previously been on. We land in Erbil and pick up our bags; for some reason have to put them through a scanner on the way out! Our equipment sets off all kinds of red flags, as usual. The security guard asks “what's in the black case”. It’s one of those Pelican hard cases that’s waterproof and expensive. The kind that you know is holding something fancy. He wants it opened. We comply. He looks inside,

“what is this?” He asks in broken English.

Rene: “it's a photometer”.

Iraqi security guard, “yes, a photometer”.... He looked like he was embarrassed, as if he should have known that. Without further ado he clears the box and we’re off. We meet our security rep who greets and briefs us on a the security situation in Erbil. The trip is planned out very carefully by our hosts from the US. A certain level of security is provided at each location as soon as we enter Iraq.

“Erbil has very very good security” he says in his Iraqi accent, “safe here”. We start driving toward our hotel. The 5-star Divan, Erbil. As we are driving, we notice walls everywhere. Every community is gated and surrounded by walls. Some are sheet metal, some are stone, brick, concrete. There are a lot of buildings in the middle of construction. Cranes hang idle over tall cement structures. The skeletons of the buildings.

“There’s lots of construction here” Rene comments.

“Yes, last year we are building many buildings,” our local national security rep says “this year is stopped. No money. This year is not good year for Kurdistan. We cross our fingers and hope that next year will be better”.

We arrive at the front of our hotel entrance. It's gorgeous from the outside. Beautiful stone, gold trim, fountains, very luxurious looking. But as everything else is, it is surrounded by thick, tall concrete walls. We drive up to the front entrance of the gate. There’s a security shack and many guards. There's a heavy steel wall that comes up from the ground about 3 feet. The wall is above the bumper of our SUV, it’s clearly designed to stop anyone from forcefully driving in, I’d bet it would even stop a tank. The security rep knows the guards. We pull up, “Salam” he says. He speaks to them briefly and we are let through. The metal knee wall is lowered into the ground and we start to drive toward the front doors. Down from the entrance gate is a guard, hiding in bushes, watching us come in. He has a large assault rifle, in hand, ready to be used. He watches us carefully as we pass. As we pull up, vallets help us out and take our luggage. Metal detectors at the front entrance give us a second assurance of security. We check in and view our rooms. They are beautiful. If you ever find yourself in Erbil, I recommend the Divan hotel! We eat at the buffet, $50 American dollars each, but it’s well worth it. We eat and sleep well that night. Heading to Baghdad the next morning. Rene and I make a plan to meet around 10:00 local time. 10:05 rolls around so I knock on his door, he’s still sleeping! 13 hours worth of sleeping for him and he’s caught up and ready to roll!!!

Arrival in Baghdad;

The plane from Erbil to Baghdad is only an hour. It's an older plane, no features, just a tray in the seat back. We were given the exit aisle row because “we’re taller”, the booking agent said. The plane was barely half full, I start to wonder… Is it only crazies on this plane? Everyone looks at you with shifty eyes. “Because we are Canadian”? Or because they are wondering just how crazy we are?! Two white guys, one old, one young, heading to Baghdad Iraq. On the plane I review for a third or fourth time the BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) entry document prepared by Garda World . This extremely thorough document describing exactly the process for airport entry off the plane, through immigration and finally through customs. It has photos of the people who will meet us in the airport. The pilot announces that we are starting the decent. We are high in the sky still and start to go into a controlled downward spiral. I start looking out the window, as if I would be able to spot incoming small arms fire, something that has been a problem in the recent past. The Iraqi security force is able to keep a small area surrounding the airport secure, so the idea is the plane flies in at or near cruising altitude, gets inside that small bubble and then spirals downward within the bubble to land. It’s a bit rough, you get a bit disoriented. Looking around, it looks like it was just us who were feeling off, everyone else seemed to be used to this kind of decent. We drop into the airport, hot and heavy. The plane parks on the taxiway and a bus comes out to pick us up. It's crammed. Standing room only. We arrive at the arrivals terminal and debark. As soon as we walk in the door, I see one of the Garda world BIAP workers is there, holding a sign with our name on it. He greets us, in English and leads us to the appropriate immigration line. He explains, “we will go through this line, present our visas and he will meet us on the other side”. When it's our turn, we present our passports. The officer glances through the pages to see where else we’ve been. Mine’s mostly empty, Rene’s is mostly full! They look at both of our visas long and hard. The officer takes my passport into a side office. He's there for a while. I’m nervous and disorented. Is this really happening? I am really trying to get into Baghdad? Finally he comes back, stamps the passport and we are on our way. We meet up with staff from the ministry of Agriculture. They are they to assist in explaining our equipment to customs. We line up and scan the bags and boxes. As usual, the aerosol generator and air compressor box and the photometer box bring the scanning line to a halt. “Sir, open this” one of the customs agents say. “What is this”? He asks.

Rene comments “this is a test instrument”.

“Test instrument?”, the Iraqi agent mumbles to himself, “ok”.

And with that, we were sent on our way! Easy. Rene commented to me that, it was the easiest customs entry he has ever had. It's harder to get out of the Toronto airport flying regionally then it was for us to enter Baghdad Iraq. Our BIAP hosts leads us to a special pick up spot. Most people are not allowed to drive up to the airport. They must take a bus to a “meeting area” outside of the final and most secure BIAP check points. Our security team drives right up to us with a white Toyota Land Cruiser that has been modified to be a certified B6 armored vehicle. A guy with a strong Scottish accent gets out.

“Good day gents” he says right away. “I’m Paul, your expat team leader. If you want to give me your bags and hop into the back of the vehicle, I’ll give you a bit of a security briefing and we’ll be off”. It's hot, bright. The driver opens the doors for us, I immediately notice the two body armor vests on the floor between the seats. We jump in, the air conditioning is powerful! Paul explains right away, “I'm not going to make you wear the body armor gents, but if you’d like, or you feel uncomfortable, you can put it on at any time”. Holy shit, I’m thinking…… What the hell are we doing here…

“Okay gents, what we’re going to do is give you gents a bit of a briefing, then head out of here and go directly into the international zone, the IZ. We’ll take you gents on a bit of a tour of the IZ and then we’ll drop you off at Dojo’s where you’ll meet Sean, my operations manager and he’ll take you from there, okay gents?”. He’s done this before…..

Paul continues, “ Now, basic security briefing here gents. The road from the BIAP to the IZ is pretty safe now. There's quite a lot of checkpoints, you’ll need your passport on you and they may want to search the vehicle. Just listen to my instructions and follow what I say. There's a medical kit in the back and I am a certified field medic. If anything happens, get as low as you can in the car and we’ll drive drive drive. If something happens to this vehicle, either my chariot vehicle at the back or the alpha vehicle at the front will pull alongside. Listen to my instructions on which side to exit, stay low, one foot on the ground and next up into the vehicle ya, and we’ll drive drive drive. If I push this button (he motions to a special button near the dash) that will signal the GW operations room that we need help and they, will send a strike force to our location. Okay gents, any questions? Are ya ready to go?”. We nod, and with that we were off. I’ll admit, there’s a bit of grin on my face that I try to hide…. This is cool….. Really cool….. Who does this kind of stuff?!

On the way to the IZ, Paul explains the road from the BIAP to the IZ, called the Irish road, used to be the most dangerous road in the world. Snipers would set up along the road and shoot cars containing westerners on a regular basis. IEDs along the roadside were commonplace. He says, that's all changed now, now it might be the safest road in the world. We pass our first check stop. A considerable amount of soldiers are milling about, all carrying AK-47’s. There are three or four army hummers with urban camouflage paint and large guns mounted on the top at various positions around the check stop. Our driver, who is a local national, flashes his IZ pass and we get waved on. I notice as we are driving, there are elevated cement turrets all over along the road. Some manned, with guns on tripods sticking out, some empty. We pass a large armored personnel carrier with several guns of varying sizes sticking out from different positions. A large, real deal, army tank sits by the side of the road, poised and ready to blow something big to oblivion. Another check stop. More turrets. And again, another check stop. This time we pull into a bay and turn off the car. An IED sniffing dog makes a pass around our three vehicle convoy. We are cleared to go and head into the IZ. Things feel a little more relaxed in the IZ. It’s basically a large area, probably 20 or 30 square city blocks. It backs against the ancient Euphrates river and has 6 entry points by road. All entry points are highly guarded, typically with at least two different guard stations on the way in. Iraqi security guards as well as Iraqi special forces man multiple stations on the same entry point. They don’t trust each other’s security screening. Very large, thick concrete walls surround the entire IZ upto the river. We pass various palaces, they are beautiful. These are the palaces that Saddam built while he was still in power. He spared no expense. We pass the Iraqi Prime Minister's office, British and Australian embassies. We take a drive past the US embassy. It's massive. Would be at least 4 or 5 city blocks together. It took about 3 or 4 minutes to drive from one end of the embassy to the other. “It's the biggest embassy in the world gents” Paul tells us. There are regular looking buildings in the IZ too. Every building, palace, office is surrounded by yet another fence, sometimes sheet metal, sometimes chain link with barbed wire. We also pass a hospital, “that’s where we’ll take you if you need a doctor gents”, Paul tells us. “it’s a good one, where ever we are, we’ll try to make it back here if you need medical care. You’ll be safe there.” We drive on a bit more, not many people around. Some vehicles, stray dogs, but for the most part, it’s quiet in the IZ. “Alright gents, I’ll take ya to Dojo’s”, Paul says.

We arrive at this battered metal gate with several vehicles out front. I notice what looks like a small guard shack, there's a guard there with an Ak-47. Not slung over his shoulder, but in his hands, ready to use if needed. Sean comes out to greet us. He is the Garda World operations commander. He is the one who calls the shots with our security team. Another British bloke. He has a gentle but serious face. White hair. He's checks us in and shows us around. The dojo’s compound is really nice on the inside, you’d never know it looking at it from the street. Green grass and local vegetation in the front court yard. Several well furnished sitting areas. We pass a nice court yard with a sitting area outside. He shows us the restaurant, it's a few 4 x 4 posts with a 2 x 4 frame and a tin roof. Plexi glass walls. It has nice flooring and several wood tables. There are large air conditioners stationed all over the place. It's hot. Next we cross the road into the remainder of the Dojo's compound, It’s split on both sides of the road we came in on. We see the gym, it’s a typical military type gym, weights, a treadmill, chin up bar and a punching bag. We view the meeting room and finally the pool. The pool area is lovely, wooden and tile deck, 2 lounge chairs, large trees surrounding. Sean takes us back across to the other side and to our rooms. Inside our residence building there's a nice pool table and dartboard. I open my room. It's older, outdated carpet and an older looking twin bed. It's Iraq! This is a 4 star hotel (for real, check trip advisor)! We drop our luggage and the body armor we’ve been given to hold onto. Sean tells us, “let’s meet at half two in the front and I’ll give you a quick security briefing. We drop our bags and stretch a bit. There’s a sense of calm, of safety. Not many people are able to stay in the safe confines of the IZ, let alone at a hotel with an armed guard at the front. We head out to meet Sean. He gives us a general security briefing, detailing extraction procedures should we need to flee dojo’s for safer ground. The Garda World compound is literally a 2 minute drive, at normal speeds from Dojo's. Sean tells us to freshen up and head to the briefing room for 15:45.

The detailed brief we received was from someone called “the RAM”. Risk Assessment Manager. This person knows as much as there is to know about the area and the people. It is his job to review the latest developments and make appropriate recommendations regarding safety, and the risk of tracking to the proposed area. We get a history of Iraq, information about the different religious groups, namely the Shi’a and the Sunni, and we get a lot of details about the breach of the IZ compound which happened on April 30. I’d been reading so much about this breach. It was a really big deal. A “million man march” swarmed the IZ check point gates and forced their way in. Many of these people were related to the guards. What could they do? They certainly wouldn't be shooting family members. The breach caught everyone in the IZ off guard, no one had any idea it was about to take place. These protestors broke into the PMs office and parliament buildings. They were upset at the current government's inability to bring change and their efforts to keep the IZ and themselves safe while the rest of Baghdadian’s and Iraqi’s were dying in terrorist attacks. People literally wandered the IZ with a free pass. We would later hear from one of the semi-permanent residences of Dojo that they just suddenly noticed a large number of people walking past the Dojo’s entrance, with no idea what was going on! The breach and other similar demonstrations/ actions were mostly organized by Moqtada Sadr. The RAM mentioned at the end of this presentation the high unlikelihood of something like that happening again. He chuckled a bit, It was embarrassing to the Iraqi government, showed weakness. The government just wouldn’t allow it…..

18:15…. I’m mostly unpacked, snapping photos of myself wearing body armor and letting my family and friends know I arrived. There’s wifi and I have an international package on my phone, it has good reception. Iraq is on ATZ time, 9 hours ahead of Winnipeg. Someone knocks at the door. It's John, one of the Garda World team leaders, an equal to Paul who led us from the airport. He’s british as well! He has also knocked on Rene’s door, who’s right beside me, and Rene is in the hallway as well.

“Guys, I just want to let you know about a bit of a situation that is developing”, he says in his strong Scottish accent. “A few protesters are starting to gather at one of the check points. It's probably nothing, but if things get worse, we’ll extract you to the Garda world HQ. If you could, please pack a day bag with your personal items and have it ready”.

“A few protesters”, I comment to Rene and John, “that doesn’t sound too bad”.

“Well it's a few hundred”, John shares. But it's far less than it was last time, so we think things will be under control”. With that he's off and we get a few things packed up. About 15 minutes later, Sean arrives at our door to fill us in. He's told us the numbers have increased. Probably a thousand people. But they haven't breached the IZ yet. We are to continue to wait and see how things unfold. I let my wife know what's up via a text. I start to notice some banging noise. It sort of sounds like someone opening and closing the doors over and over again upstairs. I’m relaxed, but things are starting to get a little tense. I’m not going to overreact though. Another knock at the door. It's Rene. “Come outside a moment” he says. We exit the residence building and the noises become clear as day. “BOOM”. “Rat-tat-tat-tat”. “BOOM, BOOM”. It reminds me of a very active thunderstorm with someone shooting off fireworks at the same time. But it's not a thunder storm. It's explosions and the sound of automatic rifles shooting off. I can’t believe my ears. I sit down in the courtyard and listen. It continues with intensity. Non stop explosions (I assumed grenades) and automatic weapons. I call Chantelle. She's panicky before I even say anything. “I called your parents” she says “I could hardly tell them what was happening”.

“See if you can hear this love,” I say and hold the phone up into the air. I hold it there for about 10 seconds as the explosions and guns fire continue. As I am doing this, a semi distressed looking Sean, the ops commander, comes bursting around the corning. “Okay boys, we’re gonna go, get your things, grab your body armor.”

I’m sitting outside still. Up until that moment, I had continued to feel fairly relaxed, that quickly ended. “I gotta go babe, we’re gonna go”. She already knew what that meant. We were being extracted to the ultra secure Garda world compound.

“Okay babe be safe” she says “I love you”.

I frantically grab my body armor and bag, already packed up with everything, and Rene and I quickly make our way to the armored car already running and waiting for us, doors open. We hop in and go. I can’t remember if there was any conversation in the car. I kept looking for signs of the action. We arrive at Garda in what feels like seconds. “Okay boys, follow me” Sean says. We head passed several of the toughest looking guys I’ve ever seen. Some with rifles, some with handguns on their hips. We are taken to the GW operations command room and are seated very comfortably in front of a TV.. Cricket is playing. Rene and I look at each other and laugh a bit. “Hell of a first day” the Ops Commander says. We’re joined by a couple of British fellows who are also there working and under the protection of Garda World. We chat and talk about cricket, eat some supper and watch more TV. Things seem to be calming down outside. The Ops Commander brings out a bottle of gin.

“At times like this, I think a gin and tonic is in order” he says. One of the Brits pours everyone a stiff Gin and tonic. It's nice. Takes the edge off the situation. We are constantly trying to find out whether the IZ had been breached. I’m searching Twitter and Iraqi news. Twitter is full of photos of protectors inside the IZ but with no real way of knowing whether they were current. Around 22:00 we return to dojo’s. “No movements tomorrow guys” Sean says “there's a city wide curfew in effect and the IZ has been completely locked down and sealed”. We’ll reassess tomorrow for movements on Sunday. It's Friday today. That's significant. Friday is the start of the Muslim weekend. They gather for special prayers and often afterwards congregate in public areas. The specific one of interest is Tahrir square, near check point 1 of the IZ. Protestors are easily able to cross a bridge from there and head towards the IZ. Rene and I make a plan to meet for breakfast and call it a night. That's day one in Baghdad.

Day two is spent relaxing, there's nothing else we can do. We are not allowed to travel outside the IZ for work and we are not allowed to leave Dojo’s compound. We hit the pool late morning. It's wonderful. Hot whether +38C, cool water. Rene and I read and chat for a few hours. We head in for lunch and do it all over again in the afternoon. When we’re not at the pool, i’m catching up on work. Rene's watching TV. Sean arrives at some point in the early evening and tells us we will be allowed to go to the CVL (central veterinary lab) tomorrow. This is good news. We prepare our equipment. The CVL houses the majority of our work. I take some time to review the GW reconnaissance info package. GW will not travel anywhere without first sending a reconnaissance team to get a lay of the land and an assessment of both the security measures in place, and the ability of the facility to defend itself. Each night, I had been setting my alarm at 3:00 AM to wake up and video call the kids before they went off to daycare. Rene and I hit the hay in good time. Pick up is at 08:30.

Day three. We load the armored Toyota Land Cruiser with our equipment, and the security team helps us into our body armor. I was a bit surprised that we were going to be wearing body armor while traveling, but maybe I shouldn’t have been. John takes us out on this trip, he's the ex pat and security detail leader. We have three vehicles. An alpha vehicle in the front, us in the middle and the chariot vehicle bringing up the rear. They are all B60 armor Toyota Land Cruisers. We get another briefing. He talks about the potential for another protest to start today. We will only allow 4 hours at this site. We need to be back at Dojo's should any protests start later in the day. We start driving, John explains to us the traffic rules… “There are no rules”, he says. “Everyone does what they want and drives where they want. There is one working traffic light in Baghdad.” I watch as the alpha vehicle skillfully pulls into traffic. He takes command of the road, he angles himself so as to block the flow for us and the chariot vehicle to enter. It's incredible to see. Cars everywhere, no order, no rules. People squeeze 4 cars into 3 painted lanes. Somehow though, we navigate through unscathed. At one point a large van tries to cut us off, I watch John shoot the driver the meanest, dirtiest look I have ever seen. If looks could kill, this car would have exploded. The driver of the van stops and signals us in, as if he had a choice. People stare at us as we drive. I’m sure we draw all kinds of attention. Not sure that's a good thing. I ask John what the locals drive. “Do those who can afford an armor car buy them”?

“No he says, it's actually illegal for nationals to own armored vehicles”.

That seems off. These people, if they had the means to afford it, still couldn't get safe vehicles to travel in? I'm starting to see the bigger picture here. That cause for the protests. They aren't allowed in the ultra safe IZ, they aren't allowed to own armored cars. They have to shop at markets and use cafes which carry the highest risks of bombings.

We arrive at the CVL and are greeted by the director, Basem. He is very happy to have us. He insists on us going into his office. I’ll later learn that this is common and is a sign of mutual respect, an office meeting prior to any work. It's large and very nice, couches and chairs run along each side leading up toward his desk. He offers coffee, tea and cookies. Something I read before coming to Iraq was that you must never refuse an offer outright. Iraqis are very generous people and it would be rude to do so. “You come to my house for dinner tonight” he says.

“Well we’ll see how the day goes, our security team will only let us out for 4 hours today” Rene says. In fact we should get working soon”. The power cuts out. This happens all the time in Iraq. The power grids can't handle the load. Only the IZ is safe from the rolling power outages. No one panics, it's normal! It comes back on about 15 seconds later. With that, we get started. No less than 15 lab staff join us to watch. People are taking pictures of everything we do. I write in my notebook “Scanlaf Mars 1200”, the name of the bio cabinet we are testing. Someone pops in and takes a picture of that! This continues throughout. We continue testing, Rene talks about proper lab techniques and bio cabinet use. We start to push our time there. I can see John is starting to get worried. He’s pacing a bit and getting antsy.

“It's time to go” he sternly tells me in his Scottish accent. I frantically start packing up equipment, not sure what to expect outside of the secure lab compound. We rush. The director wants us to stay for lunch. “What kind of wine do you prefer Mr. David” he asks.

“Well, red I suppose, but Basem, our security force is telling us, we must go, we have to listen to them, they are the boss “. I tell our contact.

Rene and I get back into the body armor and load the vehicle. We get moving quickly. John points out groups of people starting to gather together. “This is the kind of thing we watch for” he says. We get back to Dojo's in good time and go for lunch. It's about 13:30 when we are back. After lunch we realize….. It's hot….. we better head to the pool! What choice do we have really?!!! No protests end up taking place. This is a good thing, it means we'll be allowed out the next day.

Day 4. We return to the CVL and get working right away. Taking the same drive twice in a row, you really start to take notice of the city along this route. There are many beautiful large homes, several large buildings. Ministry building we are told. We pass a market, it’s what you’d expect, things just scattered about everywhere. Old parts salvaged from cars and trucks. A lot of places sell air conditioners. For the most part, the buildings we see are intact, not blown to bits with debris everywhere as you see on the news. But, it’s clear, the people are tired, distressed. Some people move frantically, as if their actions may help guard their life. Some people lazily swagger through the markets, as if they don’t have a worry about what might happen. This is life in Iraq for many. And for many, it’s a great city with many things to offer. The staff at the CVL seem like they are happy. They have a good job in a secure facility. There are men and women working side by side. Everyone is so friendly. One Iraqi lady takes a shine to me. She reminds me of the “large” jolly Nun in Sister Act, but a middle eastern version. At one point in the day she asks if I’m married, I think she’s trying to set me up with her daughter! I chuckle! She wants a picture of us! Rene and I work away hard and fast. Anything that can be done off site is left, such as reporting. We want to maximize our time there and we work efficiently. We split up at one point with the equipment. Are we letting our guard down? We don’t think so. The facility is safe and there are a couple GW guards for each of us. Things go well, we do more than we were assigned to do. Everyone is happy. Basem has a gift for us before we go. A traditional Iraqi scarf. “when you’re fishing you put it on your back “ he says and shows us how to hold the scarf and wear it. He folds it corner to corner and drapes it over Rene’s shoulders like a cape.

“And when it's hot you put it on your head. Very good for keeping your warm in cold Canada.” He takes the “cape” off of Rene’s shoulders and drapes it in the same way over his head. One of the younger lab workers whom I hit it off with helps put my scarf on my head in the way you’d commonly see Middle Eastern headscarves worn wrapped around men’s heads. We’re honoured. We return to Dojo’s around 14:40 and head for lunch. “I guess we better hit the pool again Rene” I say.

Day 5 we travel to Al Nahrain medical college. It's located in a mostly Sha’i area of town. While the school is well protected, sha’i areas are very dangerous to be in. We pull up to security and are denied entry. We must wait for some director to come down and let us in. “maybe 5 to 10 minutes” the local national team rep says. Paul turns to us and says “that's half an hour in Iraqi terms”. We wait. And wait. We start to get nervous. We are sitting in a three vehicle, armored convoy on the side of a busy roadway. It's a hospital as well as school so cars are pulling up and dropping people off continually. We start to get really worried, any of these cars could have a UVIED (under vehicle improvised explosive device). Sitting in one place for too long can be very dangerous. Anyone driving by, or who sees us could call someone about “VIP’s in armored cars” on the side of the road. The phone rings for the ops commander, Paul. Just at the same moment, local national team leader, who is our representative to the Iraqis comes to the door of our SUV. The escort is here. We are good to go, we can enter. Thank goodness. We find out a day later that the phone call was the operations Center telling us to get the hell out of there. They track all the vehicles with gps while we are away and they had seen that we were just sitting on the side of the road for too long. They wanted us to evacuate the area immediately. I'm glad we gained entry to the college though. We go through and test the equipment there, total failures. Nothing is working right. We tour the campus, it's beautiful. Life is present. Young adults are everywhere. Kids with stethoscopes, people in lab jackets. Baghdad is not in ruins, it's alive and thriving. At least in this location. We drive home and get lunch. At this point, we are on a roll, it's +44C, time to hit the pool :)

Day 6, if things go well, our last day of work. We travel to the holy city of Karbala. Driving on the highway seemed a bit risky. There are cars and large trucks everywhere. But we sail safely through and into the medical labs. The landscape was beautiful. Sort of a desert tundra. No areas of just sand, the way this area is portrayed on “Three Kings”. There are palm trees and small shrubs everywhere. Lots of people on the side of the road, cleaning and selling Carp. Kids, ahead of every check stop, selling water. At one point we see a small shack/ booth set up on the side of the road with raw meat carcases hanging up for sale. Just sitting there, in the heat of the sun…. We easily gain entry to the hospital. It’s a secure site but it is also a public hospital. We go in through the back entrance and park. We have to head through a very busy lab area. Women in full black and brown Burka’s everywhere. We squeeze through un-scathed. The unit we test there is damaged beyond repair. The staff has used a propane burner inside for sterilizing their inoculation loops, a big no no in a bio cabinet. They have melted the airflow probe, something critical for operation. I do everything I can, but I can‘t pass the unit or even get it working. We pack up and start to head home. We are called into the hospital director's office. Again, we don’t have too much of a choice, we must go. We are served chia, a traditional Iraqi sweet tea. They talk about touring us around Karbala, to some of the Holy sites. We’d love to see this while we were there, but our security team immediately declines on our behalf. They want us to go to another hospital to check another unit. We want to. After all, we are there to help. While we have charged a good amount for this trip, we are there to help, not make money. Our team again, declines. Maybe they are right. Would someone be there to kidnap us? Who knows. Probably not, but best be safe. My neck is killing me. 4 hours of driving wearing body armor will do that to you! On our drive home, we are quiet, looking at the sites of the roadway. Suddenly we hear a very loud BANG. I jump, Rene jumps, the vehicles swerves slightly and we look out the windshield to see whats happening. Our ex pat security lead didn’t jump, he grabbed his rifle and is ready to use it. The driver too, driving with one hand on the wheel and one hand on his rifle which still sits between the center console and his seat. We all look out the window trying to asses what’s happened… The truck driving beside us has blown a tire. The ex pat leader puts his gun down. “That’ll wake you up gents, nothing to worry about”. I’m done…. I’m tired, exhausted. In Iraq, you must always be alert. Always on. You must be watching, listening, thinking at all times, even sleeping is only half relaxing. It’s time to get out of Baghdad. This is the one and only day, I don’t hit the pool. Rene goes. But there is too much work for me to do. Either way, I am happy, we depart Baghdad tomorrow. We get the last two tickets on the plane.

Leaving Baghdad;

We have an early pick up. 06:15. Body armor, 3 cars again. Heavy security check points. We see humvees and tanks everywhere. Soldiers and sandbags, turrets outfitted with guns on tripods. Very heavily armed. Things are at a high alert level after the second breach of the IZ while we were there. At one point we have to leave the vehicles. The doors are left open, trunk and hood are opened also. Dogs come around to check for explosives. We get back in. At the next checkpoint we have to take our bags to an x ray scanner. They go through and we get back in the car. The airport is still a 10 minute drive away but they want to stop anyone dangerous from getting even close to the BIAP. It's smooth sailing after this. We chose to use the vip terminal which has really comfortable seats and breakfast. They take our luggage and put it through. They escort us to the gate and we get to bypass the lines. VIP’s!! It's nice. We board and land in Erbil again, about 60 minutes later. We have a long 5 hour layover. There one shop to sit at. After security, there is again just one cafe to sit down at. The time goes slowly. Finally we board the plane and head for Vienna. 4 hours. Once we arrive we drop our carry on luggage at the airport hotel and Rene and I head to downtown Vienna. We wander the downtown area looking at old buildings. It's wonderful. We are relaxed. We can let our guard down a bit. We have schnitzel and beers outdoors. It's so peaceful and safe in public. While we never felt unsafe in Iraq, there is certain calm about being back in normal civilization. We take the second last train of the night back and hit the hay. The next morning breakfast is incredible. Anything you could want. We board the plane for Toronto. It's a 9 hour flight. We are at the very back of the plane. I guess you can't complain when you switch flights 24 hours before it departs. I'm just happy to get getting home. Period. And two days early at that. After Toronto, 2 and a half more flight hours and i’ll be home. I can’t wait to see the kids! I can wait to hold Chantelle.

What An experience. I almost miss it already. I think I might want to go back….

David Phillips

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pritchardautobody · 10 months ago

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Fountains services winnipeg,Fountains repairs manitoba,Agricultural irrigation manitoba

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jenniferfaye34 · 5 years ago

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#Giveaway + Excerpt ~ Movies, Moonlight, and Magic by January Bain... #books #mystery #amreading

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. January Bain will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Book two in the Manitoba Tea and Tarot Mysteries series Charm McCall can solve a small-town murder, but can she figure out how to stop a man-stealing interloper? A movie production company has come to town…and so has an old family friend of the town’s sexy new Mountie, Ace Collins. His “old pal” turns out to be a scheming long-legged blonde who throws Charm right off her game. Even Auntie T.J. playing the bagpipes down Main Street to drive the trespasser away doesn’t work. Between catering for the world’s hungriest film crew, trying to solve the murder of the unit accountant who hired her and dealing with her new magical gifts, Charm’s a tad busy. But too bad, because she’s soon facing off against a bigger threat when more people become ill with suspected poisoning—and her own sister’s in the crosshairs. Charm’s left wondering if even Agatha Christie could have seen this one coming. But with so much working against them—including the whole town being dead set against them consummating their relationship—do Charm and Ace stand a chance?

AVAILABLE ON

KINDLE

Read an Excerpt: He stuck out his hand for a shake and I was blessed with the dampest paw on the planet, accompanied by a zinger of an image. Howard cared about every penny because he was embezzling company funds, meaning there would be less to steal if I made a decent profit. Sometimes I wished Granny Toogood hadn’t banned swearing—I had a few apt descriptors for this weaselly dealer. I also hoped she was feeling better. The doctor had advised a few days of rest and that had me worried. Instead, I narrowed my eyes at him and he slid his hand from mine. Yuck. I dried my palm by rubbing it discreetly down the side of my jeans, half hidden by my Tea & Tarot apron. “Can you start tomorrow?” he asked, his desperation leaking through, making his face shiny with sweat. Probably because the only other quote he most likely got today far exceeded ours. Guaranteed. The Husky Service on the highway did some catering, but they didn’t come cheap. And their bakery goods came out of pre-frozen tubs and boxes. We prided ourselves on everything fresh baked, from scratch—my fingernails were reduced to rubble from constant work. Proof positive. “Tomorrow! So soon?” All the nerves in my body slammed into high gear. There was so much to do to prepare for such a large undertaking. Could it even be done that quickly? “We’d really appreciate it. Might even find you a bit part in the movie.” It wasn’t the incentive he expected—I just shook my head, giving his start date some thought. Sometimes it was best to jump into things, otherwise I’d never do it. I just prayed I could pull it off and do my family and our town proud. “Okay, but minus the movie walk-on.” The relief on his face made me smile, despite his weaselly-ness. The café door opened abruptly and in strode a young man dressed in expensive dark-wash jeans and a tight black T-shirt clothing a wiry, thin body, his face a study in annoyance. “Howard, I need to speak with you right now. Don’t think you can just get up and walk out on me, mister.” His hand on his hip pressed his case. Howard’s face darkened to a dull red. “Chace, this is not the time or the place. Go. I’ll catch up with you later.” The man looked as though he was going to object before he about-faced and left. His one-finger salute, reflected in the front window before he pranced away, was not in the best taste. Hmm. Good thing Granny wasn’t around to cut him down to size. In the nicest, politest way of course—she could make the worst villain tippy-toe around her. Probably ask him if he needs the finger for anything other than being rude. “Please excuse my friend. He’s not himself today.” “Oh, who is he then?” Howard gave me a blank stare. Baby Ling Ling sauntered in, grabbing my attention as she always announced her arrival with a loud greeting, or warning, depending on how her day was going. Our spectacular white Himalayan with her adorable squished-in face and apricot-colored ears, fluffy tail raised high, proceeded to choose her steps with the utmost care across the tiled floor of the café. I’d guess it was in case we’d had the bad manners to add a trap door since yesterday’s saunter. She deigned to notice the new visitor, striding over and giving him a quick sniff. She jumped a couple of feet in the air with a loud howl, her fluffy white fur standing straight on end as though she’d placed her paw on an electrical charge. “Hiss.” She made herself as big as a tiny eight-pound cat could make herself, arched her back and continued the hissing. “Nice cat,” Howard deadpanned. “Careful what you say to her. Ling Ling’s officially multi-lingual since our librarian, Miriam, added Portuguese to her weekly slate of free language lessons.” I just couldn’t resist, not liking his look of disdain. Or his cheapness that was certain to affect our bottom line. His look of confusion was quite satisfying. He gave Ling Ling a wide berth and headed for the door. “Okay, then, we’ll expect you tomorrow? You’ll get paid once a week, just come by my office and I’ll cut you a check. Oh, and the camp’s out by Spirit Springs.” He paused, his hand on the doorknob, obviously needing confirmation. “Yes, I know where the camp is, and the food will be there. You can count on the McCall family. We never go back on our word.” I gave him a level look that he declined to return. A nervous twitch of his nose and he hopped out of the café. “That guy has a blackish aura with streaks of gray,” Tulip said, pursing her lips. “Yeah, no surprise—he’s working under a brain cloud.” I didn’t want to say the words embezzling cocaine addict out loud and sink the project before it started. “And since when did you start seeing auras?” And what was I going to do with the unwanted knowledge that the guy was stealing company funds? A moral dilemma. I shouldn’t think that was business as normal, even for the movie industry. About the Author:

January Bain has wished on every falling star, every blown-out birthday candle, and every coin thrown in a fountain to be a storyteller. To share the tales of high adventure, mysteries, and full blown thrillers she has dreamed of all her life. The story you now have in your hands is the compilation of a lot of things manifesting itself for this special series. Hundreds of hours spent researching the unusual and the mundane have come together to create books that features strong women who live life to the fullest, wild adventures full of twists and unforeseen turns, and hot complicated men who aren’t afraid to take risks. She can only hope her stories will capture your imagination. If you are looking for January Bain, you can find her hard at work every morning without fail in her office with her furry baby, Ling Ling. And, of course, she’s married to the most romantic man! Who once famously remarked to her inquiry about buying fresh flowers for their home every week, “Give me one good reason why not?” Leaving her speechless and knocking her head against the proverbial wall for being so darn foolish. She loves flowers. If you wish to connect in the virtual world she is easily found on Facebook. Oh, and she loves to talk books… Blog: http://januarybainjourney.blogspot.ca/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanuaryBain Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/january.bain Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6437282.January_Bain Totally Bound: https://www.totallybound.com/book/movies-moonlight-and-magic Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Movies-Moonlight-Magic-Manitoba-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07VQ8S65W/ref=sr_1_4 a Rafflecopter giveaway

#Movies Moonlight and Magic #January Bain #cozy mystery #Goddess Fish Promotions #Hearts & Scribbles

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technato · 6 years ago

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Are broadband subsidies ever finite?

A recent CBC story about PEI caught my eye: “Province issues RFP for high-speed internet in rural areas”. The province has launched a new Request for Proposals [RFP pdf, 655KB], seeking “Expansion of Broadband Internet Services across PEI”.

The vision and objective of this RFP is to enhance broadband internet services in underserved areas of the Province. The initiative is intended to address the telecommunication infrastructure gaps that still exist across PEI.

According to the RFP, approximately 31,000 civic addresses are considered to be underserved. The RFP hopes to attract proposals that will improve “access to broadband internet services at speeds up to 50 Mbps for downloads and 10 Mbps for uploads”, clearly aiming at the CRTC’s broadband service objective. It is worth noting that the CBC article incorrectly refers to the CRTC targets as being “mandated”.

How will this new PEI project be paid for?

The funding support models are still under consideration, but will likely involve some award component to build out the delivery network with sufficient capacity, reliability, and scalability to fulfil the RFP objectives… Federal Government funding support has also been explored and may become a component. The [Government of] PEI has advised that the proposed solutions may not move forward without federal funding approvals.

Ten years ago, I wrote a piece (“PEI leads horses”) about the PEI government entering into a contract to make the province the first to have broadband internet service available to 100% of its residents.

At the time, I observed:

Here is the real rub. Despite having some of the highest levels of access to broadband internet, PEI has the lowest adoption of service at only 43%. Well under half the people who could have broadband internet are finding it worth paying for. … Policy makers need to look beyond the raw numbers of people who have access to DSL or cable-based broadband. We need to be concerned about the affordability of service to lower income Canadians regardless of where they live.

PEI doesn’t have as much of a problem with broadband access as it has with broadband adoption.

Since that time, broadband service adoption has nearly doubled, reported to be 83% in 2016, according to last year’s CRTC Communications Monitoring Report, moving the province into the middle of the pack, ahead of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Ten years ago, I suggested “PEI may end up being a great case study of how our current approach to broadband access is leading citizens to the fountain without helping them find it worth taking a drink.”

The latest RFP might provide inspiration for development of another study: How many times will governments be called upon to subsidize broadband access projects for the same region?

Are broadband subsidies ever finite?

Are broadband subsidies ever finite? syndicated from https://jiohowweb.blogspot.com

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legalroll · 7 years ago

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Meaningful Disclosure of Video Evidence: A 1L Student Perspective

“Your Honour, we requested The Lion King, and were sent a VHS tape and something labelled 'Blu-Ray'. I only have a VHS player and didn't know what the circular thing with a hole was, so the store failed to meaningfully deliver the movie.”

This is a pretty ridiculous assertion – but is a disturbingly close analogy to arguments made about technology in Canadian courtrooms. In January 2018, several Robson Hall students sat in and watched an appeal filed against a conviction in the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench. The grounds for appeal? A surveillance video from Stony Mountain Penitentiary. According to defence counsel, “meaningful disclosure” had not been made by the Crown – a CD had been sent with two files. One was a low resolution .asf file, which, when double clicked, was played by Windows Media Player. The other was called “Document”, and when double-clicked on, nothing happened. Eventually, they discovered it was a higher resolution copy of the same video, in a proprietary format called “.g64”. Defence counsel argued that as the one file had opened on their computer, the other had not, and because nobody had told them what the unopenable file was, they had been denied access to evidence. Apparently, the lower resolution video used at the trial had made it harder to see events, and contributed to the judge's decision that there was no “air of reality” to a defence invoked.

When I got home, in amazement, I sat down at my computer. Google provided the answer I'd suspected. Searching for nothing but “.g64” gave me “About 9,460 results (0.51 seconds)”.i The top result was entitled “G64 File Extension – What is a .g64 file and how do I open it?”.

From that page, it was a total of three mouse clicks and under two minutes to have the free Genetic video viewing software on my computer which would open the higher definition copy. According to arguments presented at the Court of Appeal, there should instead be a fresh trial, and perhaps the Crown should widely adopt the policy of bringing together Crown, Defence, and Correctional Service employees, so they could all open and watch video files together.

In terms of technological competence, what do we expect from lawyers? I was so disturbed by what I'd seen that I spoke to law school colleagues, family, and friends, and the divide was clear. People who have been building hardware and software since they were children, people who like to explore technology, people who were early adopters and enthusiastically sought out 'toys' couldn't conceive of Counsel not looking for and finding software if presented with a file they couldn't open. Others, who ask friends to fix their computers when it slows down due to bloatware and viruses, couldn't conceive of how they would go about that or why they would be expected to.

There are Public Prosecution Service guidelines on how to deal with, and disclose video evidence:

3.8. Documentary and other evidence

“Where reasonably capable of reproduction, copies of (or access to) all documents, photographs, audio or video recordings of anything other than a statement of a person, should be provided whether or not they are intended to be relied upon by the Crown” (ii).

Had the video been provided? Both sides agreed, yes. Two copies had been provided: one more likely to be opened, and one with better quality. Perhaps there's an argument that providing the lower quality version was actually a distraction – without that, counsel would have known they didn't have the video they needed, and would have asked for it. But there was no suggestion that the Crown asked what operating system defence were running. The .asf format belongs to Microsoft,iii and if they had been using Linux, the .asf video would have been just as immediately inaccessible as the .g64. It seems very unlikely that the provision of the guaranteed Windows-compatible video was anything but a courtesy.

What if a monolingually English speaking lawyer were sent untranslated original evidence in French, Canada's other official language? What if it were in Cree, an ancient Canadian language, but unofficial? Or Tagalog, one of the most widely spoken immigrant languages? We would surely in all cases expect them to know they needed it to be translated, and have an idea how they could find someone to do it. It would be valid to complain that the document they'd been sent required work, but it would be untrue to claim it couldn't be read. Being presented with a file that cannot immediately be opened doesn't mean you haven't been sent it. If the file is somehow encrypted, scrambled, or doesn't fit in whole on a disc, these are all very different situations than if you simply don't, at the moment the file arrives, possess the free software needed to open it. In this instance, reading the file would have needed nothing more than the ability to go online, and type in the name of the thing they were looking at.

Lawyers are not, and should not be required to have degrees in computer engineering before they represent a client using anything more than a fountain pen. But they should be expected to understand the world they live in. It is not unreasonable to expect someone who cannot open a file to identify that there could be a way to open that file. If current lawyers and law students do not know how to do it themselves, they can and should be expected to ask for help. We expect this of them in any other area where they encounter a problem they cannot solve themselves – why would computers be any different? Rejecting this would lead to one of two paths: the development of specializations based on whether or not a lawyer was comfortable with anything higher tech than plain paper, or the refusal to admit any evidence from technological sources. Neither of these is reasonable. The knowledge of the world is available online for people who ask – including how to open a video file.

Endnotes

i Google Search result for “.g64” in incognito mode, January 10th 2018 online: <https://www.google.ca/search?dcr=0&source=hp&ei=fL1jWpLpIZSWjQP816f4Cw&q=.g64&oq=.g64&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l2j0i30k1l8.1036.1832.0.2040.4.4.0.0.0.0.127.436.0j4.4.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.4.434....0.Nd24JZdFWTk>.

ii Public Prosecution Service of Canada Deskbook, Guideline of the Director Issued under Section 3(3)(c) of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, March 1, 2014 at 3.8 online: <www.ppsc-sppc.gc.ca/eng/pub/fpsd-sfpg/fps-sfp/tpd/p2/ch05.html>.

iii Overview of the ASF Format, Microsoft, online: <https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd757562(v=vs.85).aspx>.

Meaningful Disclosure of Video Evidence: A 1L Student Perspective published first on https://medium.com/@SanAntonioAttorney

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legalseat · 7 years ago

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Meaningful Disclosure of Video Evidence: A 1L Student Perspective

There are Public Prosecution Service guidelines on how to deal with, and disclose video evidence:

3.8. Documentary and other evidence

Endnotes

iii Overview of the ASF Format, Microsoft, online: <https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd757562(v=vs.85).aspx>.

Meaningful Disclosure of Video Evidence: A 1L Student Perspective published first on https://divorcelawyermumbai.tumblr.com/

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columbusartsfest · 8 years ago

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Columbus Artists Selected for Columbus Arts Festival Lighting Installation

4/12/17

Christabel and Samuel Wagner were selected from 17 applicants to create their sculptural lighting installation titled Structural Circumstances E.G. 2 for the Columbus Arts Festival, powered by American Electric Power, June 9-11.

The installation commission, which comes with a $25,000 award, is a first for the Arts Festival and made possible with the support of American Electric Power.

Structural Circumstances E.G. 2 will be a 24’ x 8’ replica of a mobile home made from multicolored, transparent plexiglass built just south of the fountains on the east side of Bicentennial Park. During the day the sunshine will project the vibrant, almost stained-glass like image of the structure onto the ground and viewer. At night it will glow outward, lit from within.

The husband and wife team, Christabel and Samuel Wagner both received their masters of fine arts degrees from Chelsea College of Art & Design in London. Christabel earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba and Samuel attained his bachelor’s from Columbus College of Art & Design. Individually, they have exhibited in London and Canada and across the United States. Most recently they have focused on large-scale public installations in the Midwest. A recent work involved constructing large piñatas that were attached to the end of military tanks in public parks, which were then broken open by local residents.

Samuel comes from Vincent, Ohio, a small town in the rural southeastern part of the state near Marietta. Mobile homes are an ever-present sight in that part of the state and meaningful to him personally, both for the people and locations they represent. Christabel was raised in Hong Kong and New Zealand, and provides an objective view of the rural experience.

Christabel and Samuel recognized the frustrations of friends and family and other rural populations about their lack of positive representation and the negative stereotypes often shown in the media. With Structural Circumstances E.G. 2 the Wagners hope to create a feedback loop that encourages a dialogue in Columbus, and nationally, as well as a deeper understanding between different socioeconomic sectors of our communities.

“Bringing cultural symbols of a neglected people in contact with the highbrow art world enables us to have a conversation about beauty, faith and principles with a wider audience,” said Samuel. “We hope that this mobile home, as a symbol of rural poverty, lets those from small communities see their culture through new eyes, as potentially beautiful, even spiritual.”

Festival Hours: Friday, June 9 from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Saturday, June 10 from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Please note: on Friday and Saturday artist booths close at 9 p.m.)

To volunteer at the Columbus Arts Festival, please go to columbusartsfestival.org/get-involved/volunteer.

For more information on the Columbus Arts Festival, call (614) 221-8625 or visit columbusartsfestival.org.

The Columbus Arts Festival is produced by the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

The 2017 Columbus Arts Festival is powered by American Electric Power. Additional sponsors include AT&T, Blue Moon, Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, Columbus Recreation & Parks, COTA, CoverMyMeds, DLZ, G&J Pepsi-Cola, Graeter’s Ice Cream, Grange Insurance, Hotel LeVeque, Huntington, Kroger, LAZ Parking, LBrands Foundation, Nationwide, Oakland Nursery, The Ohio State University, PNC, Svedka, Toyota, The Westin Columbus and White Castle. Media sponsors include ABC6/WSYX and FOX28, CD102.5, Dispatch Media Group, Lamar Outdoor, Ohio Magazine, Orange Barrel Media, RBX, RSVP, WCBE 90.5 and WOSU Public Media.

About the Greater Columbus Arts Council: Through vision and leadership, advocacy and collaboration, the Greater Columbus Arts Council supports art and advances the culture of the region. A catalyst for excellence and innovation, the Arts Council funds exemplary artists and arts organizations and provides programs, events and services of public value that educate and engage all audiences in our community. The Arts Council thanks the City of Columbus and the Ohio Arts Council for their continued support. www.gcac.org

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sujathaks · 11 months ago

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#Fountain & Irrigation Services Experts in Winnipeg & Manitoba | Ful-Flo Industries Ltd #Ful-Flo specializes in fountain services #spray parks #agricultural & golf irrigation. We cover residential & commercial areas in Winnipeg & Manitoba.#Fountains services winnipeg #Fountains repairs manitoba #Agricultural irrigation manitoba #water treatment plants winnipeg #Ful-Flo Industries Ltd. was first incorporated in 1976. Providing irrigation and concrete splash or spray pads in Winnipeg #Manitoba and NW Ontario #Ful-Flo Industries is located on the outskirts of Winnipeg on the north Perimeter Highway just a ½ mile west of Highway #7 #keywords:#Golf irrigation winnipeg #Spray pads winnipeg #Article:#Ful-Flo Industries Ltd. offers a warehouse of possibilities regarding the residential/do-it-yourself markets for irrigation in Manitoba. If #Read more #GOLF IRRIGATION #Ful-Flo Industries Ltd. is proud to support the golf course industry with the best product #people and equipment available. From our parts and service counter that will support #Agricultural irrigation winnipeg #AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION #From its earliest days #Ful-Flo Industries Ltd. has left its mark in the agriculture industry. One of Ful-Flo Industries Ltd.'s major markets is the Manitoba Potat #fountains services manitoba #FOUNTAINS #A fountain conveys elegance and relaxation #while drawing attention to your area of interest It is human nature to be drawn to the beautiful fountain on your area #Spray pads manitoba

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ful-flo · 10 months ago

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Fountain & Irrigation Services Experts in Winnipeg & Manitoba | Ful-Flo Industries Ltd

Ful-Flo specializes in fountain services, spray parks, agricultural & golf irrigation. We cover residential & commercial areas in Winnipeg & Manitoba. Fountains services winnipeg,Fountains repairs manitoba,Agricultural irrigation manitoba,water treatment plants winnipeg Ful-Flo Industries Ltd. was first incorporated in 1976. Providing irrigation and concrete splash or spray pads in Winnipeg, Manitoba and NW Ontario, Ful-Flo Industries is located on the outskirts of Winnipeg on the north Perimeter Highway just a ½ mile west of Highway #7

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Article: Ful-Flo Industries Ltd. offers a warehouse of possibilities regarding the residential/do-it-yourself markets for irrigation in Manitoba. If you are interested in commercial grade

Read more Golf irrigation winnipeg GOLF IRRIGATION Ful-Flo Industries Ltd. is proud to support the golf course industry with the best product, people and equipment available. From our parts and service counter that will support

Read more Agricultural irrigation winnipeg AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION From its earliest days, Ful-Flo Industries Ltd. has left its mark in the agriculture industry. One of Ful-Flo Industries Ltd.'s major markets is the Manitoba Potato Industry.

Read more fountains services manitoba FOUNTAINS A fountain conveys elegance and relaxation, while drawing attention to your area of interest It is human nature to be drawn to the beautiful fountain on your area

Read more Spray pads manitoba SPRAY PARKS Spray Parks are a part of our core business. Ful-Flo Industries provides turnkey solutions for Spray Parks, providing planning, development, and installation services.

Read more Mechanical water treatment plants winnipeg MECHANICAL SERVICES Ful-Flo Industries Ltd.'s diversity of services is no more evident than what is provided through its mechanical division. Ful-Flo Industries Ltd.'s continues to expand this market sector

#Ful-Flo Industries Ltd. was first incorporated in 1976. Providing irrigation and concrete splash or spray pads in Winnipeg #Manitoba and NW Ontario #Ful-Flo Industries is located on the outskirts of Winnipeg on the north Perimeter

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moonqzyb · 8 years ago

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