Newlyweds Anni Hindocha
and Shrien Dewani were
honeymooning in South
Africa when a carjacking
went horribly wrong and cut
short her life on 13
November 2010. Anni was
shot in the neck while
Shrien was thrown out of
the car unscathed.
And the question that is
perplexing most South
African observers is why
Shrien was allowed to walk
away from the hijacking so
easily especially when he
could identify the hijackers
to the police. In most
hijacking cases, the couple
are beaten up badly and
robbed and the woman is
abused in front of the
husband. If fortunate, the
victims are left by the
roadside while the unlucky
victims are killed and their
vehicle set on fire to
eliminate all evidence.
But in the Anni Hindocha
murder case, everything was
done differently.
Fairytale wedding cut short
abruptly
They had married two
weeks earlier in Mumbai,
India in a lavish Hindu
ceremony that was attended
by relatives and close
friends. Anni was to move in
with Shrien when they
returned back to the United
Kingdom from a four-day
safari in the Kruger National
Park and a relaxing stay in
the five-star comforts of the
Cape Grace hotel in Cape
Town.
According to Shrien, on 13
November 2010, Anni and
he wanted to experience
the ‘real South Africa’ and
requested their tax driver to
take them to Gugulethu, a
massive shantytown in the
suburbs of Cape Town.
When their car had stopped
at a traffic light, it was
hijacked by two gunmen
who robbed and dumped
him out of the car and shot
dead his new bride.
The brutal murder of Anni
Hindocha shocked South
Africa and as the news
spread abroad, everyone
expressed sympathy for
Shrien at the tragic loss of
his wife.
However, as the South
African police started their
investigations into the
murder mystery, a different
picture started to emerge.
Taxi driver alleges Shrien
wanted his wife dead
The taxi driver arrested for
the murder, in his Court
testimony, alleged that
Shrien Dewani was the
mastermind behind Anni’s
murder and had paid him
money to arrange it to look
like a robbery gone horribly
wrong.
Denying the allegation,
Shrien said he handed over
his £2,000 Rado watch,
digital camera, £500 in cash,
mobile phone and his wife’s
jewelry that included her
engagement ring to the
hijackers. While trying to
save his sobbing wife, he
was thrown out of the car
along with the driver
uninjured. He adds that he
banged on nearby shanties
to raise an alarm but
nobody came to help him.
When leaving South Africa
for the UK, Shrien said that
the idea of visiting
Gugulethu was his wife’s as
she wanted to see the ‘real
South Africa’ and he had no
idea that a mere visit to the
shantytown would kill his
wife.
South African police
investigations have shown
that the brutal murder
shooting was not just a
random case and it was a
planned hit. The driver has
become a state witness and
the South African authorities
want to question Shrien
about his alleged
involvement in his wife’s
murder. As he has refused
to voluntarily go back to
South Africa, the South
African police have
requested the UK court to
extradite him and help them
solve the murder mystery of
Anni Hindocha.
It remains to be seen if the
Court extradites Shrien to
South Africa and help the
local authorities solve the
murder mystery of Anni and
deliver justice to her
shocked and grieving family
and friends.
An online petition
requesting Shrien’s
extradition has been started,
click here to sign it.
Saturday, 5 November 2011
The Lathes Of Giants -James B. Longacre
As part of a continuing
series to familiarize the
public with great artists of
heroic persona, the men
who designed our national
coinage, I will periodically
feature short biographies of
the creators of our splendid
US coins.
Our first entry is James B.
Longacre (1794-1869);
appointed Fourth Chief
Engraver of the United
States Mint in 1844. Already
an portraitist and designer
of some renown ,
Longacre’s early career is
curiously reminiscent of
another American legend,
Benjamin Franklin. Born
impoverished in rural
Pennsylvania, Longacre, as
did young Franklin, left
home for Philadelphia at the
age of 12, became
apprenticed to an engraver,
and spent the next years
perfecting his skills which
included specie design and
engraving and portraiture,
for which he opened his
own enterprise in 1819. His
self-made-man persona fits
well with the American
character of independence,
self-reliance, ingenuity and
sacrifice. The young artist’s
meticulous attention to
detail, his superb eye for
forms and shapes, his
master craftsmanship and his
work ethic were all honed
by his early apprenticeship,
in a peculiar way as was
Franklin’s.
The young Longacre also
exhibited adroit political
connections. His National
Portrait Gallery of
Distinguished Americans,
established around 1830,
enabled him to meet with
and exploit connections
with the American upper-
crust. Portraits of Daniel
Boone and other well-
known contemporaries
earned the portraitist fame
in the 1830s-40s. Famous
South Carolina Senator John
C. Calhoun was one of
Longacre’s many influential
friends, and it was he who
helped ease the way for his
appointment to the Chief
Engraver’s job, in 1844, on
the death of then-head
Christian Gobrecht.
Longacres’s long tenure at
the mint was marked by
conflict. Entrenched
interests, politically
connected, had long taken
residence there. Political
corruption, illegal side-
vending, graft of all sorts
existed in the office at that
time, and these entrenched
interests worked hard to
minimize the oversight and
supervision role of the Chief
Engraver.
That James B. Longacre
fought these forces arrayed
against him and, in large
part, was able to clean up
the political corruption at
the Mint, and at the same
time produce an array of
some of the most beautiful
US coins, either gold coins
or silver coins, is a
testament both to his
courage and his talent, both
as a designer and as an
administrator. That he was
able to prosper during the
most divisive years of the
American Republic, and
survive through nine (Tyler
Polk Taylor Fillmore Pierce
Buchanan Lincoln Johnson
Grant) presidential
administrations give further
heft to his accomplishments.
Some of Longacre’s most
famous US coin designs,
renowned even today for
their beauty, craftsmanship
and durability, are the
twenty dollar gold piece
(1849-1907), the Indian
Head cent (1859-1909), the
Flying Eagle cent
(1856-1858 – based on an
original Gobrecht design),
and the Shield Nickel,
1866-1883. Many more
coins, commemoratives,
gold coins, test designs,
silver coins, experimental
dies, patterns and tools, etc.
were the product of his
imagination and tools. In a
1928 retrospective honoring
the 100 Greatest American
Engravers , the prestigious
New York Public Library
included a retrospective of
his work, ensuring that he
would be included in the
pantheon of famous
American designers.
NEXT UP: William Barber –
Boring and Predictable? Or
Strong and Durable?
series to familiarize the
public with great artists of
heroic persona, the men
who designed our national
coinage, I will periodically
feature short biographies of
the creators of our splendid
US coins.
Our first entry is James B.
Longacre (1794-1869);
appointed Fourth Chief
Engraver of the United
States Mint in 1844. Already
an portraitist and designer
of some renown ,
Longacre’s early career is
curiously reminiscent of
another American legend,
Benjamin Franklin. Born
impoverished in rural
Pennsylvania, Longacre, as
did young Franklin, left
home for Philadelphia at the
age of 12, became
apprenticed to an engraver,
and spent the next years
perfecting his skills which
included specie design and
engraving and portraiture,
for which he opened his
own enterprise in 1819. His
self-made-man persona fits
well with the American
character of independence,
self-reliance, ingenuity and
sacrifice. The young artist’s
meticulous attention to
detail, his superb eye for
forms and shapes, his
master craftsmanship and his
work ethic were all honed
by his early apprenticeship,
in a peculiar way as was
Franklin’s.
The young Longacre also
exhibited adroit political
connections. His National
Portrait Gallery of
Distinguished Americans,
established around 1830,
enabled him to meet with
and exploit connections
with the American upper-
crust. Portraits of Daniel
Boone and other well-
known contemporaries
earned the portraitist fame
in the 1830s-40s. Famous
South Carolina Senator John
C. Calhoun was one of
Longacre’s many influential
friends, and it was he who
helped ease the way for his
appointment to the Chief
Engraver’s job, in 1844, on
the death of then-head
Christian Gobrecht.
Longacres’s long tenure at
the mint was marked by
conflict. Entrenched
interests, politically
connected, had long taken
residence there. Political
corruption, illegal side-
vending, graft of all sorts
existed in the office at that
time, and these entrenched
interests worked hard to
minimize the oversight and
supervision role of the Chief
Engraver.
That James B. Longacre
fought these forces arrayed
against him and, in large
part, was able to clean up
the political corruption at
the Mint, and at the same
time produce an array of
some of the most beautiful
US coins, either gold coins
or silver coins, is a
testament both to his
courage and his talent, both
as a designer and as an
administrator. That he was
able to prosper during the
most divisive years of the
American Republic, and
survive through nine (Tyler
Polk Taylor Fillmore Pierce
Buchanan Lincoln Johnson
Grant) presidential
administrations give further
heft to his accomplishments.
Some of Longacre’s most
famous US coin designs,
renowned even today for
their beauty, craftsmanship
and durability, are the
twenty dollar gold piece
(1849-1907), the Indian
Head cent (1859-1909), the
Flying Eagle cent
(1856-1858 – based on an
original Gobrecht design),
and the Shield Nickel,
1866-1883. Many more
coins, commemoratives,
gold coins, test designs,
silver coins, experimental
dies, patterns and tools, etc.
were the product of his
imagination and tools. In a
1928 retrospective honoring
the 100 Greatest American
Engravers , the prestigious
New York Public Library
included a retrospective of
his work, ensuring that he
would be included in the
pantheon of famous
American designers.
NEXT UP: William Barber –
Boring and Predictable? Or
Strong and Durable?
Top Secret
In July, 1947 a UFO crashed
in Roswell, New Mexico, and
the government tried to
cover it up by saying that it
was not a flying saucer but
an experimental high-
altitude surveillance balloon
belonging to a classified
program named, "Mogul."
However, many proponents
of the UFO theory claim that
a crashed alien aircraft and
bodies were recovered and
that the military staged an
elaborate cover-up because
it was a threat to national
security. Now, 64 years
later, the debate is still
going on and the
government is no more
cooperative about revealing
the details than it was then.
Throughout the years, it has
been shown time and again
that information that was
originally classified as
confidential because it was
a threat to national security,
remained classified many
decades later even though
the crisis had long since
passed and no threat
remained. It has also been
seen that anytime the
government needed an
excuse for anything, they
only had to say that the
information was classified.
In the United States we
have run into this kind of
obfuscation time and again
so when President Obama
announced to the world that
we were going to have
transparency in government,
I was overjoyed. It meant
that we were finally going to
see what went on behind
the scenes with Congress. It
meant that we could turn on
C-SPAN and be privy to the
wheeling and dealing of our
legislators as they bargained
for earmarks.
This has had a so-so effect.
Not much has changed.
Enter WikiLeaks. At first I
was thrilled at the prospect
that what I've wanted for
years was finally happening.
Hundreds of thousands of
confidential papers were
being aired publicly. The
bad guys were being
excoriated in the press and
the good guys were going
to win the war of public
opinion and maybe even
bring about some good
governments. But it isn't
turning out that way. There
are no clear-cut winners
and losers and the head of
WikiLeaks has had problems
within his own ranks as well
as being in trouble with the
law of several countries,
ours included.
Understandably, the guys
who have committed the
worst offenses want him out
of the way and everyone is
taking guesses as to how
long he will remain alive
before someone kills him.
The people in OpenLeaks is
doing this a little differently;
they are leaking the
information to the media in
bits and pieces and letting
them take the blame for the
leaks, hence, presumably,
no one's life is on the line
while this classified
information reaches the
public in a safer form of
whistle-blowing.
I'm one of the people who
has been in favor of what
WikiLeaks and OpenLeaks
are trying to do. I'm tired of
all this secrecy and I do
want it to stop. And if that
was all there was to it, I'd
hitch my wagon to it and
ride out the storm of
controversy.
But now it has taken a much
more sinister turn. It is no
longer about public officials
misusing and abusing power
and corrupt and ruthless
governments toppling; now
it has come to the doorstep
of the people; it has come
into the lives of all of us.
Hackers, in their rallying cry
for transparency and no
more secrets, has taken to
hacking into the files of
banks and financial
institutions. Millions of
depositors have had their
personal information, their
identities, and their lives
stolen out from under them.
People who stood behind
the precepts of WikiLeaks
and OpenLeaks are now
their victims. It's still not
clearly understood whether
these hackers are part of
WikiLeaks and OpenLeaks or
are just hanging onto their
coattails and operating on
their own. It doesn't matter
at this point whether they
are independent agents or
working in unison with
WikiLeaks or OpenLeaks. All
that matters is that these
people who have had their
personal information
hijacked, had nothing to do
with the secrecy in
government nor the
corruption that ensued as a
result.
These hackers have taken it
a step too far and it's time
for them to reassess their
objectives and find a better
way to attain them without
causing the rest of the
world to come toppling
down around them . . .
Unless, of course, that is
their intent.
in Roswell, New Mexico, and
the government tried to
cover it up by saying that it
was not a flying saucer but
an experimental high-
altitude surveillance balloon
belonging to a classified
program named, "Mogul."
However, many proponents
of the UFO theory claim that
a crashed alien aircraft and
bodies were recovered and
that the military staged an
elaborate cover-up because
it was a threat to national
security. Now, 64 years
later, the debate is still
going on and the
government is no more
cooperative about revealing
the details than it was then.
Throughout the years, it has
been shown time and again
that information that was
originally classified as
confidential because it was
a threat to national security,
remained classified many
decades later even though
the crisis had long since
passed and no threat
remained. It has also been
seen that anytime the
government needed an
excuse for anything, they
only had to say that the
information was classified.
In the United States we
have run into this kind of
obfuscation time and again
so when President Obama
announced to the world that
we were going to have
transparency in government,
I was overjoyed. It meant
that we were finally going to
see what went on behind
the scenes with Congress. It
meant that we could turn on
C-SPAN and be privy to the
wheeling and dealing of our
legislators as they bargained
for earmarks.
This has had a so-so effect.
Not much has changed.
Enter WikiLeaks. At first I
was thrilled at the prospect
that what I've wanted for
years was finally happening.
Hundreds of thousands of
confidential papers were
being aired publicly. The
bad guys were being
excoriated in the press and
the good guys were going
to win the war of public
opinion and maybe even
bring about some good
governments. But it isn't
turning out that way. There
are no clear-cut winners
and losers and the head of
WikiLeaks has had problems
within his own ranks as well
as being in trouble with the
law of several countries,
ours included.
Understandably, the guys
who have committed the
worst offenses want him out
of the way and everyone is
taking guesses as to how
long he will remain alive
before someone kills him.
The people in OpenLeaks is
doing this a little differently;
they are leaking the
information to the media in
bits and pieces and letting
them take the blame for the
leaks, hence, presumably,
no one's life is on the line
while this classified
information reaches the
public in a safer form of
whistle-blowing.
I'm one of the people who
has been in favor of what
WikiLeaks and OpenLeaks
are trying to do. I'm tired of
all this secrecy and I do
want it to stop. And if that
was all there was to it, I'd
hitch my wagon to it and
ride out the storm of
controversy.
But now it has taken a much
more sinister turn. It is no
longer about public officials
misusing and abusing power
and corrupt and ruthless
governments toppling; now
it has come to the doorstep
of the people; it has come
into the lives of all of us.
Hackers, in their rallying cry
for transparency and no
more secrets, has taken to
hacking into the files of
banks and financial
institutions. Millions of
depositors have had their
personal information, their
identities, and their lives
stolen out from under them.
People who stood behind
the precepts of WikiLeaks
and OpenLeaks are now
their victims. It's still not
clearly understood whether
these hackers are part of
WikiLeaks and OpenLeaks or
are just hanging onto their
coattails and operating on
their own. It doesn't matter
at this point whether they
are independent agents or
working in unison with
WikiLeaks or OpenLeaks. All
that matters is that these
people who have had their
personal information
hijacked, had nothing to do
with the secrecy in
government nor the
corruption that ensued as a
result.
These hackers have taken it
a step too far and it's time
for them to reassess their
objectives and find a better
way to attain them without
causing the rest of the
world to come toppling
down around them . . .
Unless, of course, that is
their intent.
The Lathes of Giants -William Barber
As part of a continuing
series to familiarize the
public with great artists of
heroic persona, the men
who worked the gold and
silver of our national
coinage, I will periodically
feature short biographies of
the creators of our splendid
US coins.
Today’s entry is William
Barber, British by birth,
American by choice, he
came to our shores in 1852,
family in tow. Himself the
son of an engraver, William
(1807-1879) was
apprenticed to his father in
his early years and gained
wide experience in such
varied arts as typesetting for
cards and labels, and fine
silver engraving.
After settling in Boston in
September of 1852, he
continued his craft,
designing a host of patterns
(prototypes for coins for
possible circulation), trade
medals, commemoratives,
etc. His employer of long
standing in Boston, Gorham
& Co, manufactured silver
and gold jewelry, and had a
reputation similar to famous
contemporaries as Tiffany &
Co.
With such long exposure to
and experience in the trades
of gold and silver and
precious metals fabrication,
die making and pattern
design, it is no surprise that
William Barber eventually
came to the attention of US
Mint officials, specifically
James B. Longacre. The
Chief Engraver hired him as
an assistant engraver just as
the civil war was winding
down in 1865. Moving to
Philadelphia, Barber set to
work designing patterns and
medals.
Upon the death of Longacre
in 1869, William Barber was
named Fifth Chief Engraver
of the United States Mint, at
a salary of $3,000 per year.
This position he held until
his death on August 31,
1879. In a sign of the
clichéd patronage at the
Mint that Longacre had tried
to eradicate, Barber
immediately hired his
untested son Charles as an
assistant engraver.
Primarily renowned for his
work in pattern coins,
Barber was also responsible
for production of a variety
of fine medals. The dies and
prototypes for these coins
and medals were repeated,
improved upon, slightly
modified, etc., over many
iterations. Two of the
prototypical examples of
William Barber’s work,,
would be the silver wreath
seated liberty design,
example shown here: http://
uspatterns.com/1870
barberset1.html
and the Amazonian seated
liberty quarter.
Although William Barber’s
body of work has been
considered inconsistent and
uninspired by some, there is
no doubt that he was one
of the most influential and
prolific pattern designers in
the history of the US Mint.
In addition, his fame may
have only been increased
by some of his poorer
productions. For example,
the newly-created twenty-
cent piece Barber designed
(1875-1878) was
immediately unpopular, due
to it’s similarity in design
and size to the Liberty
Seated quarter then in
circulation. After a large run
in the coin’s first year,
production dropped to
practically nothing; only
extremely rare proofs from
the mintage of 1877 and
1878 are extant. In addition,
many of the coins that were
minted were melted down at
the Carson City or
Philadelphia mints due to
the lack of public interest.
This curiosity factor,
combined with the rarity of
this specimen, makes the
Liberty Seated quarter highly
popular among
numismatists, ensuring that
his name and the fine
examples of his work will be
discussed for many years to
come.
NEXT UP: Keeping it in the
Family: Son Charles takes
the reins
series to familiarize the
public with great artists of
heroic persona, the men
who worked the gold and
silver of our national
coinage, I will periodically
feature short biographies of
the creators of our splendid
US coins.
Today’s entry is William
Barber, British by birth,
American by choice, he
came to our shores in 1852,
family in tow. Himself the
son of an engraver, William
(1807-1879) was
apprenticed to his father in
his early years and gained
wide experience in such
varied arts as typesetting for
cards and labels, and fine
silver engraving.
After settling in Boston in
September of 1852, he
continued his craft,
designing a host of patterns
(prototypes for coins for
possible circulation), trade
medals, commemoratives,
etc. His employer of long
standing in Boston, Gorham
& Co, manufactured silver
and gold jewelry, and had a
reputation similar to famous
contemporaries as Tiffany &
Co.
With such long exposure to
and experience in the trades
of gold and silver and
precious metals fabrication,
die making and pattern
design, it is no surprise that
William Barber eventually
came to the attention of US
Mint officials, specifically
James B. Longacre. The
Chief Engraver hired him as
an assistant engraver just as
the civil war was winding
down in 1865. Moving to
Philadelphia, Barber set to
work designing patterns and
medals.
Upon the death of Longacre
in 1869, William Barber was
named Fifth Chief Engraver
of the United States Mint, at
a salary of $3,000 per year.
This position he held until
his death on August 31,
1879. In a sign of the
clichéd patronage at the
Mint that Longacre had tried
to eradicate, Barber
immediately hired his
untested son Charles as an
assistant engraver.
Primarily renowned for his
work in pattern coins,
Barber was also responsible
for production of a variety
of fine medals. The dies and
prototypes for these coins
and medals were repeated,
improved upon, slightly
modified, etc., over many
iterations. Two of the
prototypical examples of
William Barber’s work,,
would be the silver wreath
seated liberty design,
example shown here: http://
uspatterns.com/1870
barberset1.html
and the Amazonian seated
liberty quarter.
Although William Barber’s
body of work has been
considered inconsistent and
uninspired by some, there is
no doubt that he was one
of the most influential and
prolific pattern designers in
the history of the US Mint.
In addition, his fame may
have only been increased
by some of his poorer
productions. For example,
the newly-created twenty-
cent piece Barber designed
(1875-1878) was
immediately unpopular, due
to it’s similarity in design
and size to the Liberty
Seated quarter then in
circulation. After a large run
in the coin’s first year,
production dropped to
practically nothing; only
extremely rare proofs from
the mintage of 1877 and
1878 are extant. In addition,
many of the coins that were
minted were melted down at
the Carson City or
Philadelphia mints due to
the lack of public interest.
This curiosity factor,
combined with the rarity of
this specimen, makes the
Liberty Seated quarter highly
popular among
numismatists, ensuring that
his name and the fine
examples of his work will be
discussed for many years to
come.
NEXT UP: Keeping it in the
Family: Son Charles takes
the reins
The Lathes Of Giants -James B. Longacre
As part of a continuing
series to familiarize the
public with great artists of
heroic persona, the men
who designed our national
coinage, I will periodically
feature short biographies of
the creators of our splendid
US coins.
Our first entry is James B.
Longacre (1794-1869);
appointed Fourth Chief
Engraver of the United
States Mint in 1844. Already
an portraitist and designer
of some renown ,
Longacre’s early career is
curiously reminiscent of
another American legend,
Benjamin Franklin. Born
impoverished in rural
Pennsylvania, Longacre, as
did young Franklin, left
home for Philadelphia at the
age of 12, became
apprenticed to an engraver,
and spent the next years
perfecting his skills which
included specie design and
engraving and portraiture,
for which he opened his
own enterprise in 1819. His
self-made-man persona fits
well with the American
character of independence,
self-reliance, ingenuity and
sacrifice. The young artist’s
meticulous attention to
detail, his superb eye for
forms and shapes, his
master craftsmanship and his
work ethic were all honed
by his early apprenticeship,
in a peculiar way as was
Franklin’s.
The young Longacre also
exhibited adroit political
connections. His National
Portrait Gallery of
Distinguished Americans,
established around 1830,
enabled him to meet with
and exploit connections
with the American upper-
crust. Portraits of Daniel
Boone and other well-
known contemporaries
earned the portraitist fame
in the 1830s-40s. Famous
South Carolina Senator John
C. Calhoun was one of
Longacre’s many influential
friends, and it was he who
helped ease the way for his
appointment to the Chief
Engraver’s job, in 1844, on
the death of then-head
Christian Gobrecht.
Longacres’s long tenure at
the mint was marked by
conflict. Entrenched
interests, politically
connected, had long taken
residence there. Political
corruption, illegal side-
vending, graft of all sorts
existed in the office at that
time, and these entrenched
interests worked hard to
minimize the oversight and
supervision role of the Chief
Engraver.
That James B. Longacre
fought these forces arrayed
against him and, in large
part, was able to clean up
the political corruption at
the Mint, and at the same
time produce an array of
some of the most beautiful
US coins, either gold coins
or silver coins, is a
testament both to his
courage and his talent, both
as a designer and as an
administrator. That he was
able to prosper during the
most divisive years of the
American Republic, and
survive through nine (Tyler
Polk Taylor Fillmore Pierce
Buchanan Lincoln Johnson
Grant) presidential
administrations give further
heft to his accomplishments.
Some of Longacre’s most
famous US coin designs,
renowned even today for
their beauty, craftsmanship
and durability, are the
twenty dollar gold piece
(1849-1907), the Indian
Head cent (1859-1909), the
Flying Eagle cent
(1856-1858 – based on an
original Gobrecht design),
and the Shield Nickel,
1866-1883. Many more
coins, commemoratives,
gold coins, test designs,
silver coins, experimental
dies, patterns and tools, etc.
were the product of his
imagination and tools. In a
1928 retrospective honoring
the 100 Greatest American
Engravers , the prestigious
New York Public Library
included a retrospective of
his work, ensuring that he
would be included in the
pantheon of famous
American designers.
NEXT UP: William Barber –
Boring and Predictable? Or
Strong and Durable?
series to familiarize the
public with great artists of
heroic persona, the men
who designed our national
coinage, I will periodically
feature short biographies of
the creators of our splendid
US coins.
Our first entry is James B.
Longacre (1794-1869);
appointed Fourth Chief
Engraver of the United
States Mint in 1844. Already
an portraitist and designer
of some renown ,
Longacre’s early career is
curiously reminiscent of
another American legend,
Benjamin Franklin. Born
impoverished in rural
Pennsylvania, Longacre, as
did young Franklin, left
home for Philadelphia at the
age of 12, became
apprenticed to an engraver,
and spent the next years
perfecting his skills which
included specie design and
engraving and portraiture,
for which he opened his
own enterprise in 1819. His
self-made-man persona fits
well with the American
character of independence,
self-reliance, ingenuity and
sacrifice. The young artist’s
meticulous attention to
detail, his superb eye for
forms and shapes, his
master craftsmanship and his
work ethic were all honed
by his early apprenticeship,
in a peculiar way as was
Franklin’s.
The young Longacre also
exhibited adroit political
connections. His National
Portrait Gallery of
Distinguished Americans,
established around 1830,
enabled him to meet with
and exploit connections
with the American upper-
crust. Portraits of Daniel
Boone and other well-
known contemporaries
earned the portraitist fame
in the 1830s-40s. Famous
South Carolina Senator John
C. Calhoun was one of
Longacre’s many influential
friends, and it was he who
helped ease the way for his
appointment to the Chief
Engraver’s job, in 1844, on
the death of then-head
Christian Gobrecht.
Longacres’s long tenure at
the mint was marked by
conflict. Entrenched
interests, politically
connected, had long taken
residence there. Political
corruption, illegal side-
vending, graft of all sorts
existed in the office at that
time, and these entrenched
interests worked hard to
minimize the oversight and
supervision role of the Chief
Engraver.
That James B. Longacre
fought these forces arrayed
against him and, in large
part, was able to clean up
the political corruption at
the Mint, and at the same
time produce an array of
some of the most beautiful
US coins, either gold coins
or silver coins, is a
testament both to his
courage and his talent, both
as a designer and as an
administrator. That he was
able to prosper during the
most divisive years of the
American Republic, and
survive through nine (Tyler
Polk Taylor Fillmore Pierce
Buchanan Lincoln Johnson
Grant) presidential
administrations give further
heft to his accomplishments.
Some of Longacre’s most
famous US coin designs,
renowned even today for
their beauty, craftsmanship
and durability, are the
twenty dollar gold piece
(1849-1907), the Indian
Head cent (1859-1909), the
Flying Eagle cent
(1856-1858 – based on an
original Gobrecht design),
and the Shield Nickel,
1866-1883. Many more
coins, commemoratives,
gold coins, test designs,
silver coins, experimental
dies, patterns and tools, etc.
were the product of his
imagination and tools. In a
1928 retrospective honoring
the 100 Greatest American
Engravers , the prestigious
New York Public Library
included a retrospective of
his work, ensuring that he
would be included in the
pantheon of famous
American designers.
NEXT UP: William Barber –
Boring and Predictable? Or
Strong and Durable?
The Bitch and The Big Society!
Well Darlings,
If you scan through the
recent news headlines, you
could easily become
depressed. Wars and civil
disturbances are raging in
many parts of the world,
with other huge areas
battling unrelenting freak
weather conditions, while at
home in the UK massive pay
rises and bonuses for many
of our big bosses are
seeing the rich-poor divide
continue to widen, and
despite its screening efforts,
our health service reports
cases of breast cancer are
increasing alarmingly. And
as if that wasn't enough bad
news, we now hear that in
the bastion of all things
cultural, Liverpool, any
hopes of David Cameron's
'Big Society' have hit the dirt
with a resounding bang.
From those that
volunteered, four local
authorities were chosen to
take part in Big Society pilot
schemes, with the aim of
giving community groups
and volunteers more control
over the local budgets and
services. Picked were:
Liverpool, the Eden Valley in
Cumbria, Windsor and
Maidenhead in Berkshire,
and Sutton and Cheam in
south-west London. A Big
Society Bank, with assets of
£400 million drawn on
dormant bank and building
society accounts, was set up
to help them achieve
David's dream society -
however all does not
appear to be going well.
The way I see it, one man's
dream is many other men's
nightmare! For decades now
councils have striven to take
over and control everything
they could possibly get their
hands on, in an ever-
expanding authoritarian
society. It is what has seen
our councils grow at an
alarming rate, and cost us
an absolute fortune. The
vast 'army' of controllers we
now possess will not give
up their powers (and jobs)
easily. They will fight tooth
and nail to defend their
powerful positions, telling us
they are vital, and we can
expect a lot of muck-
spreading.
In an age when headlines
seem to mean everything, I
have a fear that David
Cameron may not achieve
his Big Society. People are
already shrinking away from
the idea in huge numbers.
Bombarded daily in the
press by job-loss fearing
councils' screams, the public
see and hear of only the
cuts being made, and do
not realise the lack of local
initiative being shown,
where in many cases, for a
fraction of the costs
involved, the affected
services might be
maintained and sometimes
improved.
David's idea of a Big Society
has created a stand-off
where, like so often with the
unions when they have a
grievance, it is the public
that gets hurt. He may need
to think again, and while
what he might come up with
could prove costly in the
short-term, I believe it
would still be worthwhile. If
something like crack teams
with red tape-cutting powers
could be employed to tour
the country, becoming
involved with local
communities and helping
them in setting up workable
schemes, the freedoms the
people would regain and
enjoy would overshadow
any cost imaginable, and
pay off in the longer term.
For decades ordinary
people, and small
businesses, have been
choked by an ever-
tightening noose of red tape
and unnecessary regulation,
as local authorities have
taken control over just
about everything. Cut that
away and we really could
have the community centres
we need and deserve. For a
fraction of the price we pay
today, we could cater for
the old and young, house
the libraries, post offices, tea
rooms, social, OAP, and
youth clubs, and everything
else the people might want,
in many cases all under one
cost-saving roof, and all run
by local people, community
people who really
understand the local needs.
It would take time to rebuild
our communities, but Homo
sapiens is a sociable beast
(it is the one asset we had
over Neanderthal man, and
it saved us from extinction!),
so eventually it would
happen. Do we really need
whole government
departments overseeing
everyone, with untold paid
staff ticking boxes on forms
in offices with expensive
lighting and heating bills,
just to ensure old Bert gets
to his day centre when he,
or his carer, only has to ask
Fred to pick him up? People
look after each other in a
community, in the
overwhelming majority they
care about each other
(unlike today!), so old Bill's
needs would never be
forgotten. I grew up in such
a society, and believe me: I
know it was far better than
the box-ticking, regulatory,
unlistening and uncaring, at
arm's length one we suffer
now.
Admitting society has taken
a wrong turn is hard for
some people, especially
those in unnecessary but
self-important jobs. They will
tell you we shouldn't go
back, it could never be the
same, and that is probably
true. Things are rarely the
same the second time
around, particularly for the
people who remember the
first time, but they could still
be a whole lot better than
what we have now, and I
can't think of a better
starting point from which to
strive for improvement.
Only as individuals with
responsibilities can we ever
truly hope to improve
society, and our lot. It
cannot be done by authority
imposing its will on what it
considers its minions - that
is simply the cart leading the
horse; it is the will of the
people that should matter
the most. It may be hard to
accept, but when harnessed
like that (with apologies to
Acts 9:5) the people will
always kick against the
pricks!
The Bitch!
If you scan through the
recent news headlines, you
could easily become
depressed. Wars and civil
disturbances are raging in
many parts of the world,
with other huge areas
battling unrelenting freak
weather conditions, while at
home in the UK massive pay
rises and bonuses for many
of our big bosses are
seeing the rich-poor divide
continue to widen, and
despite its screening efforts,
our health service reports
cases of breast cancer are
increasing alarmingly. And
as if that wasn't enough bad
news, we now hear that in
the bastion of all things
cultural, Liverpool, any
hopes of David Cameron's
'Big Society' have hit the dirt
with a resounding bang.
From those that
volunteered, four local
authorities were chosen to
take part in Big Society pilot
schemes, with the aim of
giving community groups
and volunteers more control
over the local budgets and
services. Picked were:
Liverpool, the Eden Valley in
Cumbria, Windsor and
Maidenhead in Berkshire,
and Sutton and Cheam in
south-west London. A Big
Society Bank, with assets of
£400 million drawn on
dormant bank and building
society accounts, was set up
to help them achieve
David's dream society -
however all does not
appear to be going well.
The way I see it, one man's
dream is many other men's
nightmare! For decades now
councils have striven to take
over and control everything
they could possibly get their
hands on, in an ever-
expanding authoritarian
society. It is what has seen
our councils grow at an
alarming rate, and cost us
an absolute fortune. The
vast 'army' of controllers we
now possess will not give
up their powers (and jobs)
easily. They will fight tooth
and nail to defend their
powerful positions, telling us
they are vital, and we can
expect a lot of muck-
spreading.
In an age when headlines
seem to mean everything, I
have a fear that David
Cameron may not achieve
his Big Society. People are
already shrinking away from
the idea in huge numbers.
Bombarded daily in the
press by job-loss fearing
councils' screams, the public
see and hear of only the
cuts being made, and do
not realise the lack of local
initiative being shown,
where in many cases, for a
fraction of the costs
involved, the affected
services might be
maintained and sometimes
improved.
David's idea of a Big Society
has created a stand-off
where, like so often with the
unions when they have a
grievance, it is the public
that gets hurt. He may need
to think again, and while
what he might come up with
could prove costly in the
short-term, I believe it
would still be worthwhile. If
something like crack teams
with red tape-cutting powers
could be employed to tour
the country, becoming
involved with local
communities and helping
them in setting up workable
schemes, the freedoms the
people would regain and
enjoy would overshadow
any cost imaginable, and
pay off in the longer term.
For decades ordinary
people, and small
businesses, have been
choked by an ever-
tightening noose of red tape
and unnecessary regulation,
as local authorities have
taken control over just
about everything. Cut that
away and we really could
have the community centres
we need and deserve. For a
fraction of the price we pay
today, we could cater for
the old and young, house
the libraries, post offices, tea
rooms, social, OAP, and
youth clubs, and everything
else the people might want,
in many cases all under one
cost-saving roof, and all run
by local people, community
people who really
understand the local needs.
It would take time to rebuild
our communities, but Homo
sapiens is a sociable beast
(it is the one asset we had
over Neanderthal man, and
it saved us from extinction!),
so eventually it would
happen. Do we really need
whole government
departments overseeing
everyone, with untold paid
staff ticking boxes on forms
in offices with expensive
lighting and heating bills,
just to ensure old Bert gets
to his day centre when he,
or his carer, only has to ask
Fred to pick him up? People
look after each other in a
community, in the
overwhelming majority they
care about each other
(unlike today!), so old Bill's
needs would never be
forgotten. I grew up in such
a society, and believe me: I
know it was far better than
the box-ticking, regulatory,
unlistening and uncaring, at
arm's length one we suffer
now.
Admitting society has taken
a wrong turn is hard for
some people, especially
those in unnecessary but
self-important jobs. They will
tell you we shouldn't go
back, it could never be the
same, and that is probably
true. Things are rarely the
same the second time
around, particularly for the
people who remember the
first time, but they could still
be a whole lot better than
what we have now, and I
can't think of a better
starting point from which to
strive for improvement.
Only as individuals with
responsibilities can we ever
truly hope to improve
society, and our lot. It
cannot be done by authority
imposing its will on what it
considers its minions - that
is simply the cart leading the
horse; it is the will of the
people that should matter
the most. It may be hard to
accept, but when harnessed
like that (with apologies to
Acts 9:5) the people will
always kick against the
pricks!
The Bitch!
Friday, 4 November 2011
Making Government and The Political Class Subservient to Freedom Again
The following is based on a email that has been zipping around the email word recently. The email laid out some interesting changes some Americans would like to see made to the broken political and governmental processes we currently have in this country.
Before getting into the detail's of the proposed changes, consider what can be done when ordinary people get passionate and involved in making a better world. According to the email, the 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only three months eight days to be ratified. This was before email, personal computers, smart phones, Twitter, Facebook, and other modern ways to communicate. Furthermore, according to the email, of the twenty seven amendments to the Constitution, seven took one year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.
So, let's call this movement the "Congressional Reform Act of 2011," an act that would include the following components:
1. Term Limits. This is consistent with the old adage: "If you are not part of the solution then you must be part of the problem." Many, many of our politicians have been around for decades. If they have not solved any of our major problems in that time, there is no reason to keep them around in the vain hope that they might eventually figure things out.
2. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
3. Congress (past, present and future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do. Most Americans no longer have any chance of receiving a traditional pension. Politicians, whose pensions are paid by the very people who no longer can get a pension, should not be entitled to something most Americans can not receive.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3% but only if the voters agree that they are doing a good job. This approach requires that the political class actually be successful in their job before getting rewarded, much like the plight of most working Americans.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. No argument on this one.
7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. No argument here either.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressional members are void effective 1/1/11. In agreement but there might be some legal issues here, i.e. can you renege on past agreements? If you can, then great. If not, then at least start with future generations of politicians.
9. Allow only individual Americans to contribute to election campaigns. No corporate donations, no PAC donations, no union donations, no fancy sounding front group donations, just individual Americans exercising their freedom of expression by sending directly to a politician's campaign fund.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressional members. They made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
Before closing, lets go back to term limits one more time. It is any easy concept to grasp but when you start thinking about what this would actually look like, the permutations can make you crazy. Thus, we would like you to vote on one of the four options when it comes to term limits:
- Option A - Senators get a maximum of twelve years via two six year terms and House members get a maximum of twelve years via six two year terms. Presidents get a maximum of eight years via two four year terms.
- Option B - Senators get a maximum one six year term and House members get a maximum of six years via three two year terms. Presidents get a maximum of eight years via two four year terms.
- Option C - Senators get a maximum of one five year term and House members get a maximum of three years via one three year term. The President gets a maximum of six years via one six year term.
- Option D - term limits are not a good idea, no changes.
It should be pointed out there is a huge benefit of Option C. It is my belief that much of the perversions of the political process occurs when incumbents sell their souls for votes and campaign donations, subjugating the best interest of the country for the best interests of their political careers. If a politician has no chance at re-election, a lot of this problem goes away and they are free to make the right decisions for the country and are not burdened with the need to raise re-election funds. Just a thought.
To vote, please drop a short email with your choice of option A, B, C, or D as your preferred approach along with your home state to the email address listed in the Author's box below.
The need to be subservient to the political class does not have to be. According to the original email, if each person reading this contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. I do not know if the math is right but the concept of reforming Congress is right. Maybe it is time...
Before getting into the detail's of the proposed changes, consider what can be done when ordinary people get passionate and involved in making a better world. According to the email, the 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only three months eight days to be ratified. This was before email, personal computers, smart phones, Twitter, Facebook, and other modern ways to communicate. Furthermore, according to the email, of the twenty seven amendments to the Constitution, seven took one year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.
So, let's call this movement the "Congressional Reform Act of 2011," an act that would include the following components:
1. Term Limits. This is consistent with the old adage: "If you are not part of the solution then you must be part of the problem." Many, many of our politicians have been around for decades. If they have not solved any of our major problems in that time, there is no reason to keep them around in the vain hope that they might eventually figure things out.
2. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
3. Congress (past, present and future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do. Most Americans no longer have any chance of receiving a traditional pension. Politicians, whose pensions are paid by the very people who no longer can get a pension, should not be entitled to something most Americans can not receive.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3% but only if the voters agree that they are doing a good job. This approach requires that the political class actually be successful in their job before getting rewarded, much like the plight of most working Americans.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. No argument on this one.
7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. No argument here either.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressional members are void effective 1/1/11. In agreement but there might be some legal issues here, i.e. can you renege on past agreements? If you can, then great. If not, then at least start with future generations of politicians.
9. Allow only individual Americans to contribute to election campaigns. No corporate donations, no PAC donations, no union donations, no fancy sounding front group donations, just individual Americans exercising their freedom of expression by sending directly to a politician's campaign fund.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressional members. They made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
Before closing, lets go back to term limits one more time. It is any easy concept to grasp but when you start thinking about what this would actually look like, the permutations can make you crazy. Thus, we would like you to vote on one of the four options when it comes to term limits:
- Option A - Senators get a maximum of twelve years via two six year terms and House members get a maximum of twelve years via six two year terms. Presidents get a maximum of eight years via two four year terms.
- Option B - Senators get a maximum one six year term and House members get a maximum of six years via three two year terms. Presidents get a maximum of eight years via two four year terms.
- Option C - Senators get a maximum of one five year term and House members get a maximum of three years via one three year term. The President gets a maximum of six years via one six year term.
- Option D - term limits are not a good idea, no changes.
It should be pointed out there is a huge benefit of Option C. It is my belief that much of the perversions of the political process occurs when incumbents sell their souls for votes and campaign donations, subjugating the best interest of the country for the best interests of their political careers. If a politician has no chance at re-election, a lot of this problem goes away and they are free to make the right decisions for the country and are not burdened with the need to raise re-election funds. Just a thought.
To vote, please drop a short email with your choice of option A, B, C, or D as your preferred approach along with your home state to the email address listed in the Author's box below.
The need to be subservient to the political class does not have to be. According to the original email, if each person reading this contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. I do not know if the math is right but the concept of reforming Congress is right. Maybe it is time...
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