Defense Articles

Marketing executives agree there is a growing trend toward healthier products. However, many new healthful prepared foods have failed miserably in the marketplace. Why? The answer can be summed up in one very important word: taste.

To elaborate, taste, texture, aroma, mouthfeel and visual appeal all are important when choosing what to eat. Another hedonistic attribute often overlooked is the satiation factor. Satiation does matter, particularly considering healthy desserts. Dessert is a reward you give yourself at the end of a meal. It absolutely must meet all hedonistic expectations. So, how can a company develop a fantastic product that appeals to growing numbers of consumers concerned about health, while building in the hedonistic attributes that ensure success? The answer may be vegan desserts.

Consumers almost unanimously believe that vegan means healthful. And, while manufacturers may cringe at the production of organic products, foods that also possess a similar healthful halo, the formulation and processing of vegan products often is easier and less costly. There are less rigors and expenses when trying to meet federal regulations governing organic foods. More importantly, making vegan items is far less complicated. Many traditional dessert recipes are vegan to begin with! Nabisco’s Oreo cookie is an example of a tasty product that may be a vegan product. However, there has been much discussion on this on Internet forums as of late.

What is Vegan?

Donald Watson coined the word vegan (pronounced VEE-gun) in 1944, in Leicester, England. At the time, the British Vegetarian Society was in a heated debate regarding the definition of the word vegetarian. A proposal was put forward to create an official sub-group of the society that would advocate elimination of dairy products as well as meat from the diet. When the proposal was defeated, Watson led a group of like-minded members in forming a new, more tightly focused organization. The term vegan was created from the first three and the last two letters of the word vegetarian. Watson stated, “Veganism begins with vegetarianism and then carries it to its most logical conclusion.”

The primary concern for a vegan is ethics. The rhetoric found in vegan literature and on websites focuses on ethical and/or environmental issues. By understanding that, many seemingly odd patterns of purchasing behavior become clear.

Vegans do care about the wholesomeness of the foods they eat, and their healthfulness is a secondary concern. Since a vegan diet predominantly contains foods that are innately “good,” such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, high-quality oils and soy products, vegans are not as concerned about healthfulness when eating snacks, sweets and baked goods. Many devout vegans eat what could be considered “junk food” by most nutritionists.

What does this tell us about creating new products that appeal to vegans? It is very possible to create indulgent, hedonistic desserts and snacks that meet all the requirements of vegan philosophy. These foods also can appeal to the vast majority of consumers. The halo of health that makes foods more acceptable will be present, and the “ethical activists” will be on your side!

Making it Vegan

Creating an outstanding and successful new bakery product is a labor of love, or should be. The very best baked products often are created via a team combining bakery scientists, pastry chefs and/or artisan bakers. In developing vegan bakery items, manufacturers may wish to add a practicing vegan to the R&D team.

Remember, the rules followed by vegans are not always scientific or seemingly logical. The majority of vegans follow this diet because of moral concerns for what they believe is needless abuse of animals. For example, a vegan may not eat honey. They believe that taking honey from hardworking insects is exploitative, inflicting stress and even starvation on innocent honeybees. Bees labor endlessly to feed themselves and, in doing so, pollinate the plants we rely on for food. Do bees truly suffer? That is up for discussion; what matters is that vegans believe so. Think of vegan dietary roles as being similar to the rules governing kosher foods. Some of the rules seem quite logical and based in science. Others are simply based on faith, to be followed without question.

Ethics aside, the rules that govern bakery science and cereal chemistry still apply. Every baked good dessert requires a basic cell structure provided by proper formulation and facilitated through a well-engineered process, from mixing to proofing and baking. The product must have a viable leavening system to provide the all-important volume most bakery items need.

Interestingly, gluten, that important element of flour, is a favorite among vegans. This food component is isolated, compressed and often used as a vegan meat substitute as well. (No, it does not taste just like chicken.) “Soy margarine” seems to be a primary ingredient in almost every consumer baked vegan goods recipe. Do not tell them it is shortening; they do not want to know. Vegans happily consume guar, carrageenan, xanthan and cellulose gums. These are considered vegetable gums and are ethically acceptable. In contrast, many vegans will not consume white granulated sugar. The thought is that sometimes animal bones are used during the sugar manufacturing process to whiten the final product, according to Jo Stepaniak on the “Grassroots Veganism” website (see Website Resources).

If you woke up ten New Jersey residents and asked them about the state of health care today, five would utter something unprintable, three would scream about the endless HMO cycle of referrals, one would wish for the good old days of the kindly old family doctor, and the tenth would chase you out of the house with a gun for bothering him or her in the first place with such an odious question. One thing that all ten answers would have in common, however, is emotion. Virtually no one can speak about health care either rationally or coherently today. The subject is too close to us; we’ve all had experiences with the health care system and a sick relative, or our own illness, to supply us with an endless supply of (usually unpleasant) experiences. Even those who are trying to fix the health care problems get emotionally entangled in the issue.

Enter the Princeton-based Forums Institute for Public Policy (FIPP).

Simply put, the FIPP is the Mr. Spock-like referee in debates about issues such as health care. It holds several forums a year in which they invite people from every side of an issue - elected officials’ state government leaders, and private industry leaders with a stake in the matter. Then, it brings these folks together in a closed (as in no press or public attendance) policy forum so that each can present their findings and the others can listen and ask questions in a non-emotional environment. There are no ideological axes to grind, no constituencies to play up to, and no need to muddy up the waters with rhetoric or partisan posturing. The FIPP hopes that by holding such gatherings in a neutral atmosphere that it will be able to facilitate solutions to some of these issues, like health care, that seem to constantly get hung up in emotional and political wrangling.

“It’s an opportunity to bring people together in a non-threatening forum,” said Linda Mater, President of FIPP. “We provide a venue for people to discuss public policy issues.”

Informed Contemplative Dialogue

The Forums Institute for Public Policy got its start in 1992. That was a time when health care and health care reform was much in the news and was high on the federal government’s agenda. The League of Women Voters got together a non-partisan group of policy-makers from across New Jersey to discuss the anticipated health care reforms and what they might mean for New Jersey.

The meeting was a smashing success, and made people realize that this forum idea was a good one, especially since health care seemed to be an issue that was going to take much more input before answers were found. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation stepped forward with funding, and the FIPP was born.

In 1997, the FIPP was established as a 501 (c) (3) organization to administer New Jersey Policy Forums on Health and Medical Care. Today, the Forums Institute is a National Program Office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is partially funded by the Foundation. However, it continues to seek other funding sources as befits its 501 status, such as from grants and from foundations.

The FIPP is neither a Democratic or Republican think-tank, nor is it a liberal or conservative organization. Rather, think of it as neutral territory in a world of red and blue. As such, it does not seek to push any particular side in any debate, nor lobby for or against a particular bill.

“The goal of the FIPP is not to influence legislation,” said Nancy Cavallo, Communications Director. “Rather, it is to bring people together in an atmosphere of informed contemplative dialogue and use that process to help develop solutions.”

An example of how the FIPP function is the nursing shortage crisis a few years ago. At its height, the nursing shortage had generated a number of “quick-fix” proposed laws from the legislature, However, by highlighting all aspects of the problem in a policy forum devoid of hysteria, the FIPP was able to illustrate other solutions to the crisis that did not involve a quick legislative fix.

Typically, the small-staffed FIPP (about 5 staffers total) holds about six forums a year in New Jersey. Most are held at Thomas Edison State College in Trenton because of its proximity to state government. State officials often attend the forums, and for good reason: frequently state workers from two different departments will be unknowingly working on similar matters. Without meeting and hearing the other person at a forum, they might never know about the other person’s work, and could end up working either at cross-purposes or else duplicating efforts.

“This gives stakeholders (in an issue) the opportunity to network,” said Cavallo. “it might be the only time they get to see each other.”

Recent FIPP forums have focused on such issues as long-term health care and charity care. Possible topics for future forums include the recent Massachusetts law which requires everyone to have health care insurance coverage.

Help Me, FIPP

The FIPP also gets involved in local issues. Here it acts as a consultant of sorts, being hired by a local government or agency to develop and suggest solutions to a particular problem.

If you woke up ten New Jersey residents and asked them about the state of health care today, five would utter something unprintable, three would scream about the endless HMO cycle of referrals, one would wish for the good old days of the kindly old family doctor, and the tenth would chase you out of the house with a gun for bothering him or her in the first place with such an odious question. One thing that all ten answers would have in common, however, is emotion. Virtually no one can speak about health care either rationally or coherently today. The subject is too close to us; we’ve all had experiences with the health care system and a sick relative, or our own illness, to supply us with an endless supply of (usually unpleasant) experiences. Even those who are trying to fix the health care problems get emotionally entangled in the issue.

Enter the Princeton-based Forums Institute for Public Policy (FIPP).

Simply put, the FIPP is the Mr. Spock-like referee in debates about issues such as health care. It holds several forums a year in which they invite people from every side of an issue - elected officials’ state government leaders, and private industry leaders with a stake in the matter. Then, it brings these folks together in a closed (as in no press or public attendance) policy forum so that each can present their findings and the others can listen and ask questions in a non-emotional environment. There are no ideological axes to grind, no constituencies to play up to, and no need to muddy up the waters with rhetoric or partisan posturing. The FIPP hopes that by holding such gatherings in a neutral atmosphere that it will be able to facilitate solutions to some of these issues, like health care, that seem to constantly get hung up in emotional and political wrangling.

“It’s an opportunity to bring people together in a non-threatening forum,” said Linda Mater, President of FIPP. “We provide a venue for people to discuss public policy issues.”

Informed Contemplative Dialogue

The Forums Institute for Public Policy got its start in 1992. That was a time when health care and health care reform was much in the news and was high on the federal government’s agenda. The League of Women Voters got together a non-partisan group of policy-makers from across New Jersey to discuss the anticipated health care reforms and what they might mean for New Jersey.

The meeting was a smashing success, and made people realize that this forum idea was a good one, especially since health care seemed to be an issue that was going to take much more input before answers were found. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation stepped forward with funding, and the FIPP was born.

In 1997, the FIPP was established as a 501 (c) (3) organization to administer New Jersey Policy Forums on Health and Medical Care. Today, the Forums Institute is a National Program Office of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is partially funded by the Foundation. However, it continues to seek other funding sources as befits its 501 status, such as from grants and from foundations.

The FIPP is neither a Democratic or Republican think-tank, nor is it a liberal or conservative organization. Rather, think of it as neutral territory in a world of red and blue. As such, it does not seek to push any particular side in any debate, nor lobby for or against a particular bill.

“The goal of the FIPP is not to influence legislation,” said Nancy Cavallo, Communications Director. “Rather, it is to bring people together in an atmosphere of informed contemplative dialogue and use that process to help develop solutions.”

An example of how the FIPP function is the nursing shortage crisis a few years ago. At its height, the nursing shortage had generated a number of “quick-fix” proposed laws from the legislature, However, by highlighting all aspects of the problem in a policy forum devoid of hysteria, the FIPP was able to illustrate other solutions to the crisis that did not involve a quick legislative fix.

Typically, the small-staffed FIPP (about 5 staffers total) holds about six forums a year in New Jersey. Most are held at Thomas Edison State College in Trenton because of its proximity to state government. State officials often attend the forums, and for good reason: frequently state workers from two different departments will be unknowingly working on similar matters. Without meeting and hearing the other person at a forum, they might never know about the other person’s work, and could end up working either at cross-purposes or else duplicating efforts.

“This gives stakeholders (in an issue) the opportunity to network,” said Cavallo. “it might be the only time they get to see each other.”

Recent FIPP forums have focused on such issues as long-term health care and charity care. Possible topics for future forums include the recent Massachusetts law which requires everyone to have health care insurance coverage.

Help Me, FIPP

The FIPP also gets involved in local issues. Here it acts as a consultant of sorts, being hired by a local government or agency to develop and suggest solutions to a particular problem.

We have to test the graphics on bad televisions, too, you know,” says a Bungie representative, noting our disappointed looks when we entered the room to check out a new multiplayer demo of Halo 2—on blurry 15-inch sets that must’ve come from some Service Merchandise clearance sale three decades ago. No matter. This is Halo 2 we’re talking about, and within seconds of playing, we’ve forgotten all about our tiny boob tubes.

Working on a cover story and playing an intensely fun multiplayer match at the same time is like simultaneously patting your head, rubbing your stomach, reciting the alphabet backwards, and chewing gum, all while skydiving—it ain’t easy. Who can concentrate on interviewing the developers when the red team’s about to capture your flag? But during the skirmishes, we were able to learn more about the game that practically every Xbox gamer will be playing come November 9.

If you’ve been following Halo 2’s multiplayer coverage over the last year, you already know about dual-wielding guns, playing as Covenant aliens, boarding vehicles, etc. But before you can even get to all of that, you’ll need people to play with. Halo 2 supports system link and four-player splitscreen again, but of course, everyone’s excited about online Xbox Live play, and there, you’ll have a ton of options. “You can have four players on one Xbox [playing online],” says Content Manager Frank O’Connor, “split however you want between individual gamertags [XBL accounts] or guest accounts.” Once online, you can play in public or private unranked matches. If you’re looking for a bit of prestige, however, you can enter ranked games, which are hosted and controlled by Bungie—who will only match up players of similar levels, so there’s no chance of jackasses abusing the ranking system.

Halo 2 will let you organize proper teams, too, with its clan system. “A single clan can have up to 100 members,” says Bungie Multiplayer Lead Max Hoberman. “But each player can only belong to one clan because we want it to be part of your identity.” Your gang of space thugs can challenge other groups to small (three to four players per team) or large matches (up to eight) to increase your clan ranking, which is independent of your personal one. Of course, you can play unranked clan matches, but you’re not going to gain a lot of cyberspace street cred that way.

Halo 2 clans have an internal hierarchy, similar to the system used in Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow. The overlord is the founder, and he can recruit staff, members, or peons (all tentative names). Different titles allow different privileges, like the ability to challenge other clans, send voice or text messages to the group, recruit new members, or boot out troublemakers and/or not-so-sharp-shooters who aren’t contributing to the bottom line (that is, the team score). The best part is, you can keep track of clan activities on Bungie.net. “Every clan gets a private homepage, private forums, all sorts of fun stuff,” says Hoberman. “All clan stats will be listed right there.” In-game, members can all wear the same emblem, but forget about designing your own. “We [tried letting users] create their own emblems,” says O’Connor, “but even the people here started drawing penises. The user experience may turn porno online. [Laughs]”

Not that you’ll need any more reasons (X-rated or not) to play multiplayer Halo 2 this November. The new modes, features, maps, and massive number of options will keep you busy for months…possibly years. Even if you are playing on a 1970 SpectraVISION Picturebox.

Up Yours

This ugly motherf***er is looking to skewer some multiplayer Spartan meat with his energy sword, which does massive damage, or if locked on to a victim, a lunging one-hit kill. Your only choice here is to jump out of the way—and pray.

On top of returning modes like oddball (seen here on the new Burial Mounds stage), king of the hill, and several deathmatch and capture-the-flag variants, you’ll get a few new ones, like assault (make the enemy base go boom by planting a bomb in it) and territories (“…multiple hills in king of the hill—it’s really crazy,” says Bungie’s Frank O’Connor). All come with a multitude of customization options.

Boarding Action

This mountaintop level’s called Ascension. It’s full of catwalks, narrow paths, sniping positions, and several spots for jumpy players to fall to their embarrassing dooms. If you find the Banshee aircraft seen here, you can cause a lot of havoc from above with lasers and plasma mortars (you can barrel roll and loop-de-loop in it as well). But as with other vehicles in Halo 2, some green-with-envy (or just plain green) players are bound to hop on board, kick you off, and steal your ride.

I thought about sending a note applauding Charles Petty’s assessment of the S&W lock “issue” (i.e., non-issue) when the article first appeared. Sloth and indolence once again overwhelmed my good intentions then, but now, given the ongoing controversy, let me ask–what’s the big deal? In response to Handgunner’s “Buy A Gun” campaign, I bought a S&W 617 equipped with the integral lock. Several thousand rounds later, no problems. After upwards of almost 1,000 rounds of full-power loads through a 4″ S&W 629 with the lock, various parts have needed tightening and a dab of LocTite, but the lock has caused no problems. On the other hand, the ability to disable the guns when unattended is a very desirable feature–beats carrying a lockable case or cable lock. Here in Mesa, Arizona, there’s a huge gun community. If these S&W integral locks were any sort of problem, word would spread immediately, and it hasn’t. This issue is a tempest in a teapot, and should die an ignominious death.

The babble on S&Ws safety lock system calls out a couple of faults we shooters have. First, we are narrowly intolerant of the accommodations our suppliers must make to stay in business. Ruger’s Brady-compliant magazines and locks mandated by states, that make a product legally salable are an example. All of these are extra-cost for the manufacturer. These burdens are not sought out by those who supply our sport. Second, what a sadly vindictive lot we are. Statements like “I will never buy their product again,” “I hope they go broke,” and “It will cause jams or breaks” are too common. I own, and prefer, S&W revolvers, some with the lock. I have carried and shot the lock guns for over three years now. Words that describe my experiences with these pistols and their locks are “ingenious, unobtrusive and trouble-free.” We have become a group very difficult to serve -and impossible to please. Who will make our firearms in the future once our vindictiveness has destroyed the firms that now serve us? I have been a reader for over 29 years but I missed the first issue. Keep up the good work and disregard the hurtful naysayer.

Mike, your comments about how many of today’s shooters are a “sadly vindictive lot” and are “impossible to please” are spot-on. You only have to log in to many Internet forums to see it in action on a regular basis. And it’s a damn shame. If the prior hysteria over S & W had worked in another direction and they had folded, where would the .500 be today? Or the wonderful Scandium models, or the innovative 8-shot L-frame? And frankly, we’re still “doing it” to gun companies on a regular basis when shooters who screw-up, and then sue those same companies, causing money better spent on quality, engineering and new models being spent instead on attorney’s fees. I’m embarrassed by the conduct of many of my peers, and your letter says it better than I ever could. Having said that, I’m also very, very proud and have a tendency to gloat over the conduct of the vast majority of shooters. Thanks for writing. Editor.

Republican hopes that socially conservative churchgoing Catholics would help forestall an electoral catastrophe in the 2006 midterm elections were not simply dashed. They were obliterated, a real thumping.

In 2004, George W. Bush–with a carefully refined strategy targeting frequent churchgoers–carried a majority of the Catholic vote against Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and nearly 60 percent of the vote from Catholics who attend Mass weekly. Combined with support from evangelicals and other social conservatives, Republican strategists hoped the so-called God gap would continue to work in their favor.

But this year, according/to exit polls of House races, 55 percent of Catholics voted Democratic, while 46 percent of weekly churchgoers of all denominations supported House Democratic candidates. Catholics made up approximately one-quarter of the electorate.

“This represents a dramatic change,” said John Green, senior fellow in religion and American politics at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Even more telling, said Green, is that white Catholics–considered the most swinging of swing voters–gave a majority (50 percent) of their vote to Democratic candidates.

And while the war in Iraq dominated voter thinking, Catholics had other issues on their minds, according to analysts and activists who study religion’s impact on voting.

Among the top issues: congressional corruption and malfeasance (think Florida Rep. Mark Foley and convicted California Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham), managerial incompetence (exemplified by the handling of Hurricane Katrina and the war), and increasing angst in the electorate focused on economic inequality. Add to the mix a new Democratic desire to engage religiously motivated voters and the result is the party’s first Capitol Hill majority in 12 years.

“If you look at both the individuals who were elected, both Republicans and Democrats, and the exit poll data and the various initiatives adopted around the country, you can safely say that this was an election more about issues of corruption and competence then about philosophy and ideology,” said Leonard Leo, cochair of the Republican National Committee’s Catholic Outreach effort. “People were disappointed that Republicans were not showing the kind of fidelity to values and morals and discipline that they came to expect,” he said.

“One would expect people of faith to be upset over political leaders who lack discipline and integrity and a sense of obligation to punish wrongdoing,” continued Leo. And the perception that “leaders of the Republican Party were getting fat and happy” didn’t help, he said.

In Ohio, where Republican Gov. Bob Taft pleaded guilty to corruption charges and former Rep. Bob Ney faces prison for his dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, corruption was a key contributor to Republican losses. “Catholics care more about right and wrong than right and left,” said Alexia Kelly, executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. The group sponsored 10 voter forums in the Buckeye state and distributed more than 50,000 of its voter guides in Ohio parishes.

Traditional social issues like abortion did not play this year in Ohio, said Eric McFadden, the alliance’s Ohio field director. “I expected [Ohio Republican Sen. Mike] DeWine to roll out his credentials as a Catholic, and he certainly has good ones, but he never made it an issue,” said McFadden. DeWine lost to Democrat Sherrod Brown by more than 10 points, and lost the Catholic vote by 8 percentage points.

John McGreevy, a University of Notre Dame historian, said various state ballot measures provide insights into voter thinking.

Though passed in seven (Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin) of the eight states where they were on the ballot, antigay marriage constitutional amendments didn’t energize the Republican faithful like they did in 2004.

Instead, referendums in six states (Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, Ohio and Colorado) to raise the minimum wage passed by large-to-over-whelming margins and appeared to contribute to Democratic victories in closely contested Senate races in Montana and Missouri. In South Dakota, voters rejected a measure that would have outlawed all abortions in the state except those necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, while a hotly contested measure allowing for embryonic stem cell research passed in Missouri by a small margin, despite strong opposition from the state’s Catholic bishops.

Voters, said McGreevy, “were kind of cautious on stem cell research, not enthusiastic about gay marriage, and also cautious, not radical in the sense that they wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade immediately, on abortion.” A more narrowly crafted antiabortion measure is likely to have passed in South Dakota, said McGreevy.

Alternative magazines aren’t necessarily the fly-by-night operations that some magazine observers seem to think. Consider the 60,000-circulation Ray Gun. The one-year-old Santa Monica, California-based title has caught the attention of some pretty major publishing talent, including Esquire editor in chief Terry McDonell. The monthly, with its quirky design and offbeat editorial approach, has been spotted not only on some East Coast magazine racks, but also at some hip New York restaurants. Word One spoke to its founding publisher and editor, Marvin Scott Jarrett, about the secret of its appeal.

Word One: Why did you launch Ray Gun?

Jarrett: I’ve been a musician since I was 16. But I didn’t want to be a starving musician. I always liked the blend of marketing and music. I wanted to do a magazine dealing with alternative music and pop culture that had an underground feel to it. I wanted to take advantage of this niche.

Word One: Who reads your magazine?

Jarrett: We have a couple of distinct audiences. The music lovers in college, people in their early twenties, and we have a strong design following because of |design consultant~ David Carson. They like the contributors and the art and the magazine’s freeform feeling.

Word One: What makes Ray Gun different from other publications?

Jarrett: It takes a radical approach. There is no grid format. It’s not your typical GQ or Entertainment Weekly. We change the logo in every issue. Our readers are trendsetters and they love that attitude of the magazine.

Word One: Which magazines inspire you?

Jarrett: I’m into foreign magazines like Face and Max out of Italy, Pop Gear and Pump out of Japan. I even like Japanese hobby catalogs. They’re so cool.

Susan Sontag died in New York City on December 28, 2004 from cancer, a disease she had been battling for years. Born in New York City on January 16, 1933, Sontag spent her childhood in Arizona and her adolescent years in Los Angeles. At age 15, she entered the University of California at Berkeley, transferring to the University of Chicago a year later. She studied literature, philosophy and theology at the universities of Chicago, Harvard, Paris and Oxford (England). By the late 1960s she had acquired a strong reputation as an essayist and a novelist. In the following years she would extend it to being a playwright and a film and theater director as well as a social, cultural and political critic. She served as the president of the international writers’ organization PEN from 1987 to 1989. She was also a long-time human rights activist. Her voice in American cultural and intellectual life asserted itself through her contributions to various periodicals such as The Partisan Review, Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, Harpers’. The New Yorker, The New York Times and The New York Review of Books. It was for this last publication that she started what was intended to be a two-part essay on photography and ultimately expanded into a collection of six essays that were published in 1977 as the book On Photography.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

A multi-talented writer and brilliant essayist, Sontag expressed herself on a variety of topics: literature, the visual arts, politics, human rights, ethics, AIDS, popular culture, war, pain, memory, disease–the human condition at large. Upon accepting the Jerusalem Prize in 2001, she stated:

The writer’s first job is not to have opinions but to tell the
truth … and refuse to be an accomplice of lies or misinformation.
Literature is the expression of nuance and contrariness against the
voices of simplification. The job of the writer is to make it harder to
believe the mental despoilers. The job of the writer is to help make us
see the world as it is, which is to say, full of many different claims
and parts and experiences. […] I believe that the doctrine of
collective responsibility, as a rationale for collective punishment, is
never justified, militarily or ethically.

Faithful to the philosophy of famous essayists such as George Orwell, Edward Said, Albert Camus, as well as Walter Benjamin and Jean-Paul Sartre (on both of whom she wrote), Sontag believed that there should not be a gap between intellectual activity, society and life at large. She applied her intellect to everything she encountered and for which she cared. All issues had to be analyzed and assessed in the light of ethics and politics. She denounced any disconnection between the two.

On Photography brought Sontag instant recognition in the visual art world as an astute, witty, insightful, critical, abrasive and even confrontational essayist. People in the field either loved the essays and book, or hated them. She left almost no stone unturned and carefully scrutinized and criticized every one that she picked up. Oscillating between revelations and caricatures, Sontag’s text drew a multitude of comments and rapidly became a bestseller in the visual arts. Sontag noted, analyzed and commented on the vast impact of photography on our culture–from the years following its invention until very recently–and the way we view and interpret the world. “In teaching us a new visual code, photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have a right to observe. They are a grammar and, even more importantly, an ethics of seeing.” Her loud assertions either drew applause for the sensation they were creating or outrage for the caricature they seemed to establish. Being an outsider made observations and caricatures easier for Sontag; it also denied the analyst some access to an area of knowledge that would have made some of her criticisms broader, more discriminate and relevant. “To photograph is to appropriate the thing photographed. It means putting oneself in a certain relation to the world that feels like knowledge–and, therefore, like power.” To write such a statement is to deny photography, and the arts in general, what can be considered as their first goal–investigation–a path to knowing oneself and one’s relationship to knowledge and the world at large, a path whose destination is never clear and never permanently reached. Sontag not only freely associated photography with “a tool of power,” “voyeurism,” “interference,” “defense against anxiety,” “possession of space,” but also with “social rite” and “imaginary possession of the past.” She opened her readers’ eyes to the fact that “travels become a strategy for accumulating photographs,” not only limiting the experience of the traveler but replacing it with an appearance of participation. According to her, the camera had become “a ray-gun,” “a predatory weapon,” pushing the phallic symbolism sometimes attached to it, a sexual simulacrum: “To photograph people,” she said, “is to violate them.”

Shop till you drop may not be the best description for the act of acquiring surplus firearms, but it’s close to the truth. When various surplus models come on the market that look attractive, don’t tarry, buy them today while importer and dealer inventories are full and prices are low.

Bargains are where you find them so be opportunistic. I have found good bargains at gun shows, dealers, garage sales, auction houses, swap meets, antique stores, pawn shops, on a variety of Web sites, in local newspaper ads and in any number of firearm periodicals.
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Besides our own GUNS Magazine, Shotgun News and to a lesser extent, Gun List and Small Arms Review are excellent resources when shopping for the latest surplus offerings. Shotgun News covers the surplus waterfront with classified ads on recent imports, want ads, and editorial features. With ads organized by firearm make or classification, Gun List is useful if you know what you’re searching for and want to analyze a range of prices. Small Arms Review is heavily inclined toward fully automatic firearms and black guns, but it carries articles and ads for military esoterica that appear no where else.

The Web is a surplus gold mine for availability, sources of supply and collector comments. There’s a discussion forum for every make and model of surplus arm you can imagine. It’s fun to cruise the forums from time to time just to see if you’ve missed any hot, new import or to read the comments and experiences of other collectors who have acquired a particular or unusual piece. The forums are also an excellent resource for locating a difficult to find part or accessory, and they’re friendly. No flaming permitted!
Shop till you drop may not be the best description for the act of acquiring surplus firearms, but it’s close to the truth. When various surplus models come on the market that look attractive, don’t tarry, buy them today while importer and dealer inventories are full and prices are low.

Bargains are where you find them so be opportunistic. I have found good bargains at gun shows, dealers, garage sales, auction houses, swap meets, antique stores, pawn shops, on a variety of Web sites, in local newspaper ads and in any number of firearm periodicals.

Besides our own GUNS Magazine, Shotgun News and to a lesser extent, Gun List and Small Arms Review are excellent resources when shopping for the latest surplus offerings. Shotgun News covers the surplus waterfront with classified ads on recent imports, want ads, and editorial features. With ads organized by firearm make or classification, Gun List is useful if you know what you’re searching for and want to analyze a range of prices. Small Arms Review is heavily inclined toward fully automatic firearms and black guns, but it carries articles and ads for military esoterica that appear no where else.

The Web is a surplus gold mine for availability, sources of supply and collector comments. There’s a discussion forum for every make and model of surplus arm you can imagine. It’s fun to cruise the forums from time to time just to see if you’ve missed any hot, new import or to read the comments and experiences of other collectors who have acquired a particular or unusual piece. The forums are also an excellent resource for locating a difficult to find part or accessory, and they’re friendly. No flaming permitted!
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The best place for a variety of surplus forums is www.gunboards.com/forums/. You don’t have to sign up at the forum to scroll through and read the discussions, but you do if want to participate.

The Web is also a great shopping place for military firearms. General auction sites like www.gunbroker.com and www.auctionarms.com are a virtual feast and a test of your bargaining power. I have found many models through the Web that simply could not be located otherwise. If you do buy over the Web, look at the buyer ratings of the seller based on buyer experience with past transactions. Did the seller describe the firearm accurately? Did he communicate well? Did he pack and ship the firearm promptly? Most importantly, does he extend to his buyers a 3day inspection period? Don’t buy anything without a 3-day inspection period. That’s personal experience talking! Frankly, I would much rather buy a milsurp from a local dealer or gun show so that I could evaluate the firearm right up front.

I have one caveat about the Web. Be very critical of the information plastered on the e-waves. There are a lot of poorly informed amateur collectors on the Web as well as some very well-informed experts. You’ll quickly learn to sort the wheat from chaff. The one area I urge you to look at with a particularly jaundiced eye is all handloading recommendations and data for military cartridges. Some of the data I’ve seen on the Web makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Always consult a professionally prepared reloading manual before using any data picked up off the e-waves. You’ll live longer and happier.

The third most enjoyable part about collecting surplus arms (owning one is first–shooting it is second) is researching them. We are blessed today with a library of meticulously researched reference books on every conceivable surplus arm and variation thereof, and new reference books seem to appear weekly. The more you know about a particular surplus model, its variations, rarity, and historical significance, the better you will be able to determine its market value and appreciate its place in human history. When I need an in-or-out-of-print reference book, I turn to the bigger, general arms book dealers such as Ray Riling Arms Book Co. and A&J Arms Booksellers as well as scanning book dealer tables at gun shows. For a particularly difficult out-of-print search, I recommend www.abebooks.com that searches the whole world.

Value? What keeps prices reasonable is the sheer number of milsurps on the market.

Unless you’re dealing with a particularly rare model or variation, condition establishes value more than any other factor–the nicer the condition–the higher the price. I consider the overall finish of the metal and wood, whether the piece has been refinished, whether or not the piece has matching serial numbers and, since I’m a shooter, bore condition.

Be cautious about refinished arms, particularly the current crop of Mosin-Nagants. Most of the Nagants have been arsenal refinished and look almost un-issued on the outside. Check their bores carefully–many are rusted or shot out. And speaking of bores, I carry a little bore mirror and bore light with me to shows and have a cleaning rod and patches in the car to call upon if a bore is full of grease or dirt. Don’t be too picky about bore condition though or you’ll loose some valuable historical pieces. If the rifling looks sharp, the piece will still shoot accurately but will take a bit longer to clean.

The best place for a variety of surplus forums is www.gunboards.com/forums/. You don’t have to sign up at the forum to scroll through and read the discussions, but you do if want to participate.

The Web is also a great shopping place for military firearms. General auction sites like www.gunbroker.com and www.auctionarms.com are a virtual feast and a test of your bargaining power. I have found many models through the Web that simply could not be located otherwise. If you do buy over the Web, look at the buyer ratings of the seller based on buyer experience with past transactions. Did the seller describe the firearm accurately? Did he communicate well? Did he pack and ship the firearm promptly? Most importantly, does he extend to his buyers a 3day inspection period? Don’t buy anything without a 3-day inspection period. That’s personal experience talking! Frankly, I would much rather buy a milsurp from a local dealer or gun show so that I could evaluate the firearm right up front.

I have one caveat about the Web. Be very critical of the information plastered on the e-waves. There are a lot of poorly informed amateur collectors on the Web as well as some very well-informed experts. You’ll quickly learn to sort the wheat from chaff. The one area I urge you to look at with a particularly jaundiced eye is all handloading recommendations and data for military cartridges. Some of the data I’ve seen on the Web makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Always consult a professionally prepared reloading manual before using any data picked up off the e-waves. You’ll live longer and happier.

The third most enjoyable part about collecting surplus arms (owning one is first–shooting it is second) is researching them. We are blessed today with a library of meticulously researched reference books on every conceivable surplus arm and variation thereof, and new reference books seem to appear weekly. The more you know about a particular surplus model, its variations, rarity, and historical significance, the better you will be able to determine its market value and appreciate its place in human history. When I need an in-or-out-of-print reference book, I turn to the bigger, general arms book dealers such as Ray Riling Arms Book Co. and A&J Arms Booksellers as well as scanning book dealer tables at gun shows. For a particularly difficult out-of-print search, I recommend www.abebooks.com that searches the whole world.

Value? What keeps prices reasonable is the sheer number of milsurps on the market.

Unless you’re dealing with a particularly rare model or variation, condition establishes value more than any other factor–the nicer the condition–the higher the price. I consider the overall finish of the metal and wood, whether the piece has been refinished, whether or not the piece has matching serial numbers and, since I’m a shooter, bore condition.

Be cautious about refinished arms, particularly the current crop of Mosin-Nagants. Most of the Nagants have been arsenal refinished and look almost un-issued on the outside. Check their bores carefully–many are rusted or shot out. And speaking of bores, I carry a little bore mirror and bore light with me to shows and have a cleaning rod and patches in the car to call upon if a bore is full of grease or dirt. Don’t be too picky about bore condition though or you’ll loose some valuable historical pieces. If the rifling looks sharp, the piece will still shoot accurately but will take a bit longer to clean.

Summer’s gone by and you haven’t taken that special getaway? Maybe that’s because some high-living chief executive officer is lolling on his yacht in the Mediterranean with loot from what you thought was your investment portfolio.

But let’s look on the sunny side and assume you’re just a stay-at-home who lacks a few bright ideas for destinations. To the rescue comes Men’s Magazine, an electronic publication, providing a list of the top-10 vacation spots for those who want to come back with some weird or unusual things to talk about. We would pass along the Web address but, though only moderately libidinous by modern standards, it’s not a site that gets the Briefs Bunker seal of approval for general browsing.

Still, the list is a hoot. Fasten your seat belts, please:

10) The Campground Haunted Massacre Attraction, Fort Mill, S.C. What happens when you mix a campground with the set of one of those spooky cult horror movies? Check it out.

9) Moscow’s Underground. Tour guides will lead you through an underground-tunnel network in Russia’s capital established during the last 900 years, including bunkers, vaults, hideouts and even a torture chamber.

Brissac Castle, Loire Valley, France. This tourist site features more than 200 rooms on seven floors, complete with ghosts.

7) Dragsholm Slot, Horve in Sealand, Denmark. Another castle, more ghosts.

6) Hacker House, Winston-Salem, N.C. Built on ground said by the Cherokees to be cursed, it was the site of a gun battle between Continental Army soldiers and, according to sworn affidavits, the “undead.”
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5) Pollepel Island, Hudson River, N.Y. Also known as Bannerman’s Island for the Scotsman who established a famous military salvage yard there, it is said to be home to a fiend and goblins. Other occupants departed after some of Bannerman’s cache of powder and shells blew up many years ago.

4) Winchester Mystery House, San Jose, Calif. A rambling pile created by the widow of the maker of the Winchester rifle. She constantly added new rooms to the place for more than 30 years, an exercise somehow connected to her fear of the spirits of those killed by her husband’s rifles.

3) Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland. Chock full of ghosties, not the least among them a headless drummer.

2) Alcatraz, San Francisco, Calif. Experience “The Rock.”

1) Bran Castle, Transylvania, Romania. Not to be missed, of course; the once-upon-a-time home of Count Dracula, affectionately remembered as Vlad the Impaler.