The VonFrederick

Tempus  

April 2006 Volume 3 Issue 4

  Feature Article:

DATE RAPE DRUGS AND YOU

By Dr. Lionel C.M. VonFrederick Rawlins, President & CEO, The VonFrederick Group

A very beautiful and attractive friend of mine went to an upscale bar in Scottsdale, Arizona to have fun with some friends. She met two strangers at the bar and began socializing with them. She left her drink at the bar, as many do, and went to dance. Returning to the bar, she began to sip on her drink. Within 45 seconds, she began to feel dizzy and faint. She ran to her brother and collapsed instantaneously in his arms. Not knowing what happened, her brother took her to the emergency room where it was determined that she was drugged with rohypnol. The strangers disappeared. Luckily for her, she had a brother there; how lucky are you?

For sometime now, “date rape” drugs have infiltrated college campuses, high schools, bars, and nightclubs all across the world. The most common of these drugs are Rohypnol, Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate (GHB), and Ketamine Hydrochloride. These drugs pack a powerful punch, making them highly desirable to sexual predators, and even your very close friends. After all, your friends have more access to you than the total stranger, hence, date rape drugs. These drugs are undetectable, tasteless, odorless and colorless. When ingested, some victims may become completely unconscious while others may become unconscious but responsive with some incoherence. The victim will not have any memory of what was said or what was done. In this situation, the victim is unsure if they were raped, sodomized, or not. She will not know if she spent the time with one, or ten, so called friends. Within 72 hours, all traces of the substance(s) will be eliminated from her body.

Here is how it is done.  

While on a date or social moment with a trusted friend, he goes to get you a drink from the bar. On his way back, he slips rohypnol into your drink. What if we are sitting at the bar, how could he possibly do that without being noticed, you may ask? Very simple; wait until you visit the powder room. Within 20-30 minutes of drinking the substance, you will appear intoxicated and patrons at the establishment will see “that your friend is taking care of his drunk date” as he leaves with you. He takes you home and sexually violates you. You awaken the next morning in a strange bed not knowing what happened. He tells you that you were extremely intoxicated and that he had to bring you home to take care of you. This is RAPE. If friends or other people told you that you were acting uncharacteristically, this is a possible sign of being drugged. If you are feeling unusually hung over, this is another possible sign of having been drugged.

How can you tell if you were sexually violated in your friend’s bed? 

Indications of obvious overnight sexual activities will include: soreness or bruising in genital or anal areas; bruising on the inner/outer thighs, wrists and forearms; scratch marks on the body; used condom(s) close by or in garbage containers (usually in bathrooms); traces of semen or vaginal fluids on clothing, body or bed sheets, or worse yet, the sheer smell of sex. If you suspect that you have been compromised by a friend or acquaintance with a “penchant for chemicals”, go to the emergency room for immediate testing for any one of the three substances. A rape test will determine what substances, if any, are in your system. If positive, a crime has taken place. 

Steps you can take to decrease the risks of becoming a victim. Follow these simple rules:

1. If you have a friend who is overly besotted by you, be very careful when you are alone in his presence. A beguiled admirer can become surprisingly iniquitous.

2. Do not accept open drinks from anyone unless it is your husband, boyfriend, etc, and even then…

3. In bars, always get your drinks from the bartender. Keep your eyes on the bartender as well; there are cases of bartenders and waitresses participating in these sorts of predatory scams. 

4. At parties, only accept drinks in closed containers (bottles, cans, etc).

5. Never leave your drink unattended (to dance, powder your face, etc), or turn your back on your table

6. Always pay attention to what is going on around you and always have a “game plan” for the inevitable.
   Having read this, 10% of you will let your guard down and become a victim of the date rape drug. The more educated and prominent you are, the less likely you are to report the crime. How lucky are you?
   

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The Loyal Whistle-Blower

By Dr. Melissa Kapistrano Luke, Vice President & Group Director, The Von Frederick Group

The whistle-blower is typically a dedicated and committed corporate employee who follows a strong code of ethics and loyalty to an organization. Certainly there are some cases of self-interest, in which a disgruntled employee attempts to defeat another through acts of outrage and a myriad of unprofessional lies, but the majority of these informants simply want to assist in a legal judicial structure. Unfortunately, the consequences of reporting an illegal corporate activity can be substantial or even deadly. In a study reported by MacNamara (1991) on whistle-blowing, approximately 50 percent of the selected sample suffered retaliation after reporting corporate wrongdoing- such as job loss, blacklisting, transfer, harassment, divorce, and even death threats. Organizations must establish a structure to prevent retaliation of these individuals if they are concerned with the well-being of the company itself. 

Organizational framework is the basis of primal life. Our personal lives, relationships, work environments, government structures, and worldly economic procedures are all based on some type of structure. Although each respective situation entails a different cultural basis and identity, the key factor is they all have an independent framework; whether these structures work at an optimal level is key to understanding organizational culture and change. The framework of any organization can be likened to building a house on sand. Initially the house will stand, but in time the house will deteriorate due to the unstable foundation. A house built on concrete will endure all forms of environmental changes, and will last until uncontrollable circumstances prevail. As with a house and the proper foundation for its longevity, an organization needs a solid base to operate for long-term success. Our goal as social scientists in organizational change and culture is to monitor the environments within the organization, and to prevent the storm from destroying the original culture it was built upon. A framework for the identification of fraudulent activity is essential in building a strong organization that will endure any storm. 

Schein (1992) discusses the key factors in describing the levels of an organization’s culture; and examines the artifacts, espoused values and basic underlying assumptions made; which are necessary in identifying the internal operations of an organization. If we were to use a pyramid, as Abraham Maslow does in his hierarchy of needs, the artifacts would be the basic level situated at the bottom of the pyramid. The artifacts need to be discovered before the organization can progress to a higher level of understanding, which in this scenario would be the basic assumptions residing at the top of the hierarchy. In exposing the true artifacts of an organization the company compiles an understanding of the physical environment that is on display, for all to see, in an overly simplistic manner. For example, an outsider driving by a large Bible church could easily identify the artifacts of the church as being successful, with a large following due to its size and prominence. The outsider could also assume the attendees are Christian, from the written statement on the sign describing that it is indeed a Bible church. 

The espoused values reflect the original ideas of the founder and his thoughts in the present (Schein, 1992). The founder will present his thoughts and views on the moral obligations and direction of the church. Obviously this list could be quite extensive, but some generalized thoughts could be the founder beliefs 1.) lecturing from the Bible about the word of God will generate a large calling, 2) by attracting this large calling, funds will be generated through donations to create a larger facility; provide resources to others who are in need; spread the word of God to unknown territories that are not Christian based; and provide a centralized location for individuals who are troubled. With these espoused values in mind a cognitive transformation will eventually occur throughout the congregation, if the founder can indeed convince the individuals and his staff all these transformations will occur for the good of mankind. If his assumptions are correct, this becomes a shared assumption with the founder’s followers. Social validation is established by the founder’s ability to prove the validity of his thoughts by creating minimal anxiety and enabling a shared belief to emerge. For example, if the founder of the church was conducting sermons in pursuit of donations while having illicit sexual relations on the side, the anxiety level and comfort zone of his followers would be negative.

Basic assumptions will prevail on how the organization creates change and the idea and values within the entity could eventually be taken for granted. Defense mechanisms by the basic shared values of the followers could eventually occur, which in essence could slow the growth of the organization (Schein, 1992). For example, if the followers in the church create a shared assumption that if they attend church on Sunday and donate to the congregation, a benefit will transpire in the name of Christianity. This may leave room for distortion in the follower’s concepts of the organizational culture of the church. Perhaps some will create a basic assumption they need not take any further steps to spread Christianity, or that those who do not attend church and donate are not conducting themselves in the proper manner. In summary, the underlying assumptions of the clergy and staff are paramount to the successful operations of the organizational culture. 
In order for change to be successful, people need to desire change and be actively involved in the process. The artifacts, values and assumptions of an organization need to be properly identified. To build a proper framework within an organization against corporate malfeasance and promote whistle-blowing on acts of injustice, corporate executives and the founder need to identify the following questions about the organization: 

1. "What critical results are we expecting to achieve on a regular basis to reduce fraudulent activity within our organization?" 

2. "What results are we actually achieving on a regular basis to reduce fraudulent activity within our organization?

3. "If there are differences between the actual results and the expected results, what are the causes of these differences?" 

Once these areas have been identified, the entire organization should be informed of the company’s proactive results to stop white collar crime within the company. It also helps to inform employees of the False Claims Amendment Act of 1986 which outlines a monetary reward in the form of 15-30 percent of the recovered funds through successful prosecution to the whistle-blower or informant. 

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(Note: this paper quickly brushes an (incomplete) overview of the Muslim world’s complexity and only intends to trigger the need for more research in the reader’s part)

Holy Qur-an

Surate V 92 “Never should a believer kill a believer (…)”

Surate V 93 “If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell (…)”


We have read and heard many times that “Islam” is a religion of peace which has been “hijacked” by bloody terrorists seeking to bring fundamentalism in the Arab world.

These nihilists simplify the “Western world” as an American-led bunch of Christian countries made of crusaders united to annihilate the Muslim faith and fulfill the “Zionist” agenda. In return, we often have a tendency to wrongly simplify Islam as a single religion practiced by the Arab world as a whole. 

We do know that Christians are far from believing in the same things and practicing the same way, Christianity being the only common denominator, the name for a family of closely related beliefs. We are also aware that the Christian branches have sorted out their difference in blood and violence some four centuries ago and that Christians are actually pretty peaceful today. We also know better than to claim that the Western world is united when dealing with the Arab world.

On the other hand, and because of its huge Sunni majority (940 million out of 1 billion Muslims), Islam is often (and wrongly) considered as more united than Christianity and Judaism. But that religion also comes in many denominations, sects, and subdivisions, and more often than none, these groups have a hard time recognizing other groups as fellow Muslims, it is not unusual to see them fighting each other.

To top it up, the Arab world is not only limited to the Middle East and ranges from the former Russian republics to China, via Turkey, Africa, and Asia. Actually, the top ten Muslim countries of the world only include a couple of countries making what is commonly perceived as the Arab world (Turkey- 63,000,000- Iran –61,000,000- Egypt – 54,000,000- Pakistan -136,000,000-). The main Muslim population is mostly spread out in Asia (Indonesia -171,000,000- Bangladesh -106,000,000- India -103,000,000- China -38,000,000), with one big contender in Africa (Nigeria -47,720,000-). 

The subdivisions of Islam: 

• There are three major groups and many different smaller sects following their own versions of Islam

Sunni Islam: They have chosen to follow Abu Bakr, as the successor of Muhammad. They form the majority in Algeria, Kuwait, and Afghanistan and outnumber Shiites in Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Libya and Jordan. Historically, Sunnis are pretty traditional believers and oppose Shiite, the US Nation of Islam, Ahmadiyya, and Ismailis.

Shi'a Islam (Shiites): They have chosen to follow Ali, his closest relative, as the successor of Muhammad. They form the majority in Iraq, Iran and Bahrain and total about 120,000,000. Shiites mainly oppose Sunnis and Ahmadyya.

Ahmadyya Islam: This clearly dissident branch of Islam was created by Mirza Ahmad in India in the nineteenth century, and includes about 170,000,000 followers (most of them in Pakistan). It preaches a peaceful “jihad” and had seceded in two different groups in the early 1900s.

• Two sects that have a lot of influence in the Muslim world challenge these numerous groups:

The Wahhabis: Fundamentalists, they believe that everything that was added to the original religion after the third century is heresy. They only thrive in Saudi Arabia which is well known for using its “petrodollars” to finance Coranic schools and spreading Islam in third world countries plagued by misery, or in other parts of the world hit by religious based conflicts.

The Sufis: They follow another traditional form of mystic Islam which is clearly in conflict with mainstream Islam.

• The other numerous sects split from the main currents of Islam throughout time and over disagreements on the choice of an Imam or the choice of what the right Islamic path should be.

The, Zaidis (Imam issue), the Kahrijites (seeking another path), the Ismailis (ex Shiites), Fatimids (ex Ismailis, ruled Egypt for 200 years), the Alawis (ex Ismailis that strayed and are not considered as Islamic anymore), the Nizaris (formerly known as “Assassins” from the Arabic “ashshashsin”, a combination of words meaning “Hashish” and “to slaughter”. The original Crusaders fought that fierce sect known to be KUI- killing under the influence), the Bahais (not regarded as Islamic anymore), and the Druzes (split from mainstream when believing that God can appear in a prophet or Imam. Druzes factions fought hard in Lebanon).

The inter-Arab and inter-Muslim wars:

The Arab world we know has been geographically drawn by the colonial powers of the twentieth century and has been plagued since with wars and rivalries. The presence of the state of Israel has been one of the leading causes of the Middle-Eastern wars and switches of allegiances. So were the two Iraqi invasions.

Politically, Arab regimes can be divided in two specific and competing sorts. On the one hand, “Pan Arab” governments believe they have been brought up by a “revolution”; when on the other, oil producing countries believe that they are in power because of the richness of their soil. The latter is of course afraid to be forced to share its wealth with the former.

In the past decades, Arab countries have fought other Arab countries for many reasons including territorial disputes, expansion or wealth but not directly religion. Furthermore, many political tensions did not end up in wars but have also stressed the great divide between these Arab countries desperately seeking a European-like union. The following confusing list of armed wars and political tensions of the past three decades best describes the complexity of their interactions.

During the Iran-Iraq conflict, Syria sided with Iran, and Egypt with Iraq. Algeria and Morocco are still at odds over the Western Sahara where the Algerian sponsored POLISARIO still fight Morocco’s ruling. Syria took over Lebanon, tried to invade Jordan (Israeli fighter jets saved Jordan form the Syrian armored onslaught), stood against Iraq and Egypt. Iraq and Saudi Arabia had tensions over borders and some war debts. Iraq and Turkey over the Kurds and water rights. Libya invaded Chad (oil). Libya and Syria are still trying to normalize their relationship with Egypt- banned for having supported Israel after the 1967 debacle. Jordan angered Egypt after siding with Iraq over the Arab council’s cooperation funds. Later, Iraq invaded Kuwait (oil), and Muslim countries sided with the UN force led by the US to liberate Kuwait (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, Turkey, United Emirates, Syria, Egypt, Bangladesh). Muslim countries also approved the second US led war in Iraq (Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Uzbekistan).

Muslims and “invaders”; How fundamentalist “foreign fighters” take over liberation struggles:

When Muslim countries are not too busy fighting each other, they stand up for their freedom against foreign invasions by “crusaders” of another faith. One cannot help noticing that in the past decades, these struggles have been mostly hijacked by a nucleus of international fundamentalists dedicated to getting rid of the “invader”, taking over the country, and imposing their radical views of Islam. The “foreign fighters” movement started in Kashmir, a hot spot between Pakistan and India where international Muslim fighters, supported by Pakistan, were fighting Indian troops (and still do it to a lesser extent), taking and executing hostages and detonating bombs. When Russia invaded Afghanistan, the trend greatly amplified and recruits from all over the Muslim world converged to fight the Russians in a holy Jihad. Instead of lining up at the unemployment line after the Russian defeat, these fighters spread out to other hot spots of the world, from Chechnya to Kosovo, Palestine, or Iraq for two consecutive wars.

The following listing illustrates the trend and shows that all the popular (and legitimate?) uprising against a foreign power of another faith has led to a take over of the struggle by radical Islam with a radical agenda.

Radical foreign fighters are fighting India over the independence of Kashmir. The Palestinian struggle against Israel has been hijacked by radical factions resorting to terrorism and backed up by powers such as Iran. For years, in and from Lebanon, radical Muslim terrorist groups have waged a war against Israel and against other Lebanese factions. In Chechnya, foreign fighters infiltrated the Chechen resistance and are now leading the struggle against Russian troops. The same was also tried in Kosovo. In Afghanistan, and twice in Iraq, foreign fighters joined the regular army to fight the US led invasions. In post Gulf War 2 Iraq, radical international fighters are using terror against occupation forces and other Muslims to fulfill their agenda.

Islam and “wars of religion”: 

When fundamentalism takes over, Islam has a hard time cohabitating with another of its branches or another religion. Religious peace and tolerance that had been the norm for decades has been recently broken all over the world, everywhere where new self-proclaimed righteous fighters try to impose by force their retrograde view.

In Africa, Muslim warriors, following a long tradition of hunting for slaves in “black Africa” took over or are actively seeking dominance in civil war torn or peaceful countries. Furthermore, a more global and insidious agenda is fulfilled by the Kingdom of Saud which spreads Coranic schools in poor and remote provinces. The young children are enrolled by force by their parents who want the free food and “education” offered by the schools. Commonly, “studies” last about four years, in chains, the time it takes to learn the Holy Qur-an by heart. 

Sudan had only been peaceful eleven years since its accession to independence in 1955. The perpetual civil war started as a religious war between the Muslim populated north and the Christian south. In the Darfur province of Sudan, and now in eastern Chad, the Janjaweed Muslim militias backed up by the Islamic government of Khartoum, keep on carrying out well documented genocide-like military strikes on the Christian black African population, resorting to looting, raping, and mass killing to chase them away. Sudan is also known to harbor known terrorist groups.

In Ivory Coast, that used to be the “Jewel of Africa” and the example of a post-colonial success, the fabric of the population had been eroded by the influx of refugees from neighboring countries, refugees seeking a piece of the success. The more than 60 ethnic groups that make up the country lived in harmony until they became the “minority” in their own land and recession hit. Interestingly enough, the North of the country that is currently held by three foreign backed dissident groups is also made of a Muslim majority.

In Nigeria, since the 1993 dictatorship of General Abacha; a dictatorship which led to corruption, drug trafficking, and ethnic and religious tensions and clashes in the 36 states that form the country; the Muslims of the north have been diligently oppressing their Christian-animist minorities. In 1999, defying the constitution, eleven northern Muslim states implemented strict Islamic laws, forced Islam or persecuted other religious groups, burned and destroyed other temples or churches, accounting for tens of thousands of deaths and more in displaced populations.

In Somalia, another haven for terrorist groups, the civil war still rages; but if initially it was mostly an ethnic-based ancient conflict pitting together nomads against sedentary people, northern tribes against southern groups, rural communities against urban populations; the new trend is religious and Muslim armed groups fighting to get rid of the moderate Muslims that promote some separation between religion and state.

In Algeria, after having cancelled elections obviously won by the Salvation Islamic Front that had capitalized on the discontent created by the recession of the 1990s, the military dictatorship has basically abandoned whole remote regions of Algeria to the Salvation Islamic Army. Furthermore, another group of fundamentalist, the Armed Islamic Group, tried to force Islam on rural Algerians that were maimed or raped after their villages were looted. In urban areas and neighboring countries; intellectuals, journalists and officials were also executed by the Armed Islamic Group that found its fame in the many nail bombings that it conducted in Paris between 1993 and 1996. This civil war, which still rages today in the name of the war on terror, has already cost thousands of lives. 

Israel is still the standing symbol of a religious war between radical Islam and Zionism.

Turkey is still struggling between a modern and a moderate Islam. As recently as 2002, the country officially protects other religions and minorities and even allows Christian and Jewish organizations to own real estate- that is to say churches and synagogues. Still, fundamental Islam lurks in the background and tries to take over.

As far Iraq is concerned- no comment: Muslims are still killing more Muslims than the coalition force and there is no way anybody would be crazy enough to try to build a church or a Synagogue in today’s Iraq.

In India, foreign Muslim fighters, and also terrorists, are waging a secession war in Kashmir. When in 1947, the Muslim state of Pakistan was created; millions of Hindu Indians moved south while Muslims went north to the new country. That was the direct cause for about 500,000 deaths. At the same time, about to be overtaken by Pakistan, the Indian ruler of Kashmir decided to join the south despite its Muslim majority. Since then, Muslim fighters and/or the Pakistani army have tried many times to “liberate” the province from “infidel” hands.

In Afghanistan, after the departure of their common Russian enemy, the “freedom fighters” split into many warring factions and started a civil war that led to the victory of the Pakistani backed Taliban, opposed by a coalition of moderate Muslims, the Northern coalition led by Commander Massoud. After 9-11 and despite the murdering of Massoud, the US backed the north and successfully routed the Taliban. Moderate Islam is still struggling today in Afghanistan, especially since the return of the Taliban. Pakistan does not really appreciate the “birth” of a sovereign and moderate power at its borders and would rather have it out of sight of the international community in the hands of a Taliban-like regime.

In China, the Muslim western province of Xinjiang, North of Tibet, is one of the only two Chinese provinces where the majority is not held by the Han ethnic group but by Kazakhs, Uzbeks or Mongols, united with a common language and religion. Islam is predominant there and since 1990 Xinjiang Islamists have resorted to violence to voice their aspirations. Like in Tibet, China used the excuse of the post 9-11 global war on terror to increase its repression.

The Philippines suffer from a communist, a military and a Muslim rebellion. The latter resorts to terrorism and is today the most serious threat to the fragile democracy, with the group Abu Sayyaf bragging about its linkage with Bin Laden. Hostage taking is a common tool used by the group which ridiculed the army in 2001 when it captured 200 hostages in a hospital. Since then, the US has been really active along with local military forces in hunting down the terrorists.

Indonesia is the biggest Muslim country of the world and had been artificially united by its military ruler for the past 30 years. It is composed of 13,000 islands occupied by three religious groups: Muslims, Hindus and Christians. Since 1998, the religious war between Muslims and Christians in the Moluccas Islands in the northeast of the archipelago has cost more than 5000 dead and half a million displaced people. 
In Timor, a hilly island whose Dutch part was attached to Indonesia in 1949 (West Timor) while its Portuguese part (Timor East) proclaimed independence in 1975, the population was 90% Catholic. The independent part was invaded by Indonesia in 1975. Islam has been imposed since 1949 on the west part and as of 1975 on the eastern side. The “Islamization” was conducted by “inserting” 250,000 Indonesian in the Island and by starting concentration camps where about 300,000 Catholics were still reported to be held in 1999. Thanks to international and UN pressure, Timor East chose independence again later on. Since then, Muslim militias, backed by the Indonesian army, have already claimed thousands of deaths and the forced internment in West Timor of 250,000 displaced people. UN forces are still present there to monitor the situation and put an end to the civil war.

In former Yugoslavia, Muslim ethnic minorities were the victim of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and UN forces were unable to stop it. As of today, the ethnic and religious cohabitation of what used to be the people of Yugoslavia under Marshal Tito is only guaranteed by a strong and permanent international military presence.

Conclusion: 

Islam, Muslims, the Arab world, moderation, terrorism and fundamentalism… 

This paper did not try to bash on the Muslim faith, but rather to describe what has been happening lately across the world where Islam has been involved. The author did not even try to approach the various Islamic laws as applied differently in different countries, laws that would leave a Westerner shocked and speechless.
Modern Muslims are struggling today with the return of the more fundamental approach of their religion, which has been spreading since the 1979 Iranian revolution. Furthermore, the major Muslim sects and groups have also been fighting each other for the total dominance of the Islamic faith. 

It is up to the vast majority (?) of moderate Muslims to stand up and protect their “religion of peace that has been high jacked by the terrorists!”

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Did You Know? By Michelle Glisan Blevins         

• That even though it was in 1493 that Christopher Columbus first recorded the existence (to Europeans) of the two islands now known as Saint Kitts and Nevis, which he claimed for Spain, the islands were not colonized by Europeans until 1623- and then it was by the British

• That combined the two islands which comprise the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis have only about 155 square miles of land and have a population of just under 40,000 people

• That the pre-Columbian Carib inhabitants called the island of Saint Kitts “Liamuiga”, which means “fertile land”, and the highest point on the island (a dormant volcano) bears the name “Mount Liamuiga”

• That the “Green” or “Vervet” monkeys on St. Kitts, which came over on slave ships from Africa as pets, now like to take tourists’ unwatched, brightly-colored tropical drinks

• That the name Nevis is taken from the Spanish word for snow- nieves. It was once known as “Santa Maria de las Nieves” because the clouds on top of the mountains looked like snow

The flag of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis is divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band, trimmed in yellow, bearing two white, five-pointed stars. The upper left triangle is green and the lower right triangle is red. The colors represent: black- for African heritage; yellow- for the year-round sunshine; green- fertile land; red- struggle from slavery to independence. The two stars are symbols of hope and liberty  

C. A. PAUL SOUTHWELL

Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell

1913 – 1979

C. A. Paul Southwell was born on the island of the Commonwealth of Dominica in the Caribbean, and is known as one of the Founding Fathers of Saint Kitts and Nevis as he was a leader in the struggle for independence from British colonization. At the young age of 13 Southwell become a teacher and later he was a Leeward Island police officer, serving on several islands. Finally settling in St. Kitts, Southwell was elected to the Legislative Council for St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla in 1952. After serving in several elected offices he was appointed the First Chief Minister in 1960. Seven years later he was appointed Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Trade, Development, Industry and Tourism and became full Premier upon the death of the former office holder and fellow Founding Father, Robert Bradshaw, in 1978- only to die just one year later. C. A. Paul Southwell was a giant of a man, not only to the people of Saint Kitts and Nevis, but to the entire Caribbean. His legacy lives on forever.  

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How To Survive An Avalanche 

1) Struggle to stay on top of the snow by using a freestyle swimming motion.

2) If you are buried, your best chance of survival is if someone saw you get covered

The snow in an avalanche is like a wet snowball: it is not light and powdery, and once you are buried, it is very difficult to dig your way out.

3) If you are partially buried, you can dig your out with your hands or by kicking at the snow.

If you still have a ski pole, poke through the snow in several directions until you see or feel open air, then dig in that direction.

4) If you are completely buried, chances are you will be too injured to help yourself.

However, if you are able, dig a small hole around you and spit in it. The saliva should head downhill, giving you a good idea of which direction is up. Dig up, and do it quickly.

Be Aware

• Never go hiking or skiing alone in avalanche territory.

• Carry an avalanche probe- a sturdy, sectional aluminum pole that fits together to create a probe six to eight feet in length. Some ski poles are threaded and can be screwed together to form avalanche probes.

• Know where and when avalanches are likely to occur.

• Avalanches occur in areas with new snow; on the leeward side of mountains (the side facing away from the wind); and in the  afternoons of sunny days, when the morning sun may have loosened the snowpack. They occur most often on mountainsides  with angles of thirty to forty-five degrees- these are often the most popular slopes for skiing.

• Avalanches can be triggered by numerous factors, including recent snowfall, wind, and sunlight. As new snow accumulates with successive storms, the layers may be of different consistencies and not bond to one another, making the snow highly unstable.

• Loud noises do not cause avalanches except if they cause significant vibrations in the ground or snow. 

• The activity with the highest avalanche risk is now snowmobiling. Snowmobiles- sometimes called mountain sleds- are  powerful and light, and can get high into mountainous terrain, where avalanches occur.

• Carry a beacon. The beacon broadcasts your position by setting up a magnetic field that can be picked up by the other beacons in your group. If skiing on a dangerous slope, go down one at a time, not as a group, in case a slide occurs.

HOW TO RESCUE OTHERS

If you have witnessed others being buried by an avalanche, contact the ski patrol as soon as possible. Then search first by trees and benches- the places where people are most commonly buried. All searchers should have small, collapsible shovels to help them dig quickly if they find someone.

(Piven and Borgenicht)

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The VonFrederick Group

Phone: (877) 207-1300
Fax:     (916) 488-7531
Email:

Dr. Lionel C.M. VonFrederick Rawlins
Lionel@VonFrederick.com

Dr. Melissa Kapistrano Luke
Melissa@VonFrederick.com

George A. Torres, MBA
George@VonFrederick.com

Eric Chevreuil
Eric@VonFrederick.com

Pat McLane
Pat@VonFrederick.com

Albert Globus, MD
Al@VonFrederick.com

General Clifford L. Stanely, Ph.D.
Cliff@VonFrederick.com

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