Agatha Christie Meets Nora Roberts

Killing at the White Swan Inn by Carole Hall.
Melange Books, 2017
Reviewed by Gabriel Constans

If Nora Roberts, Agatha Christie, and Salman Rushdie wrote as a ménage à trois, Killing at the Swan Inn could be the story they birthed. Ms. Hall has written a tale that combines a cozy murder-mystery, with contemporary romance, and cultural differences, which converge in the Berkshires at Margot’s newly acquired inn (The White Swan). 

The characters who inhabit the inn, and who visit, are introduced in quick succession, with readers understanding, and cheerleading, for each to find release from an abusive relationship (Veronica Hewitt), forgiveness and redemption (Charles Allan Whittaker), safety from a vengeful family (Soraya and Omar Sulaman-Mamoud), and love (Isobel, Manager John, Charles, and Detective Adrian Reynolds).

Those who work at the inn, and mourn the loss of long-time owner, Isobel’s mother Claire, run the inn like a family, and try to make the well-known, and famous men and women that visit, a sense of it being their home as well. This sense of caring for one another is evident and visceral throughout, and one of the strongest characteristics of the story. Humanity at its best.

Killing at the White Swan is an enjoyable, and brief visit, with people you’d want to meet in person, let alone spend a weekend at the inn.

Navy Sonar Kills Whales

The Navy said it couldn’t happen again, but now U.S. Navy sonar exercises in Crete have driven whales onto the beaches to die, once again.

This heartbreaking photo shows just two of the whales who were killed by U.S. Navy sonar exercises in April.

Now the autopsy results are in, showing hemorrhaging of internal organs, bleeding from the ears, and other signs of decompression sickness, and the cause of this crime is clear: Navy sonar. OUR Navy.

Enough is enough. The killing must stop. Right now!

As commander in chief, the president has direct command over the Army and the Navy. He is constitutionally charged with taking care that the laws are faithfully executed. The killing of innocent whales and dolphins—whether in domestic or foreign waters—is a flagrant violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other federal laws. The Navy is not above the law. These crimes violate every code of human decency and must be stopped.

With the single stroke of his pen, President Obama can order the Secretary of the Navy to cease sonar trainings in whale and dolphin habitats.

Please join me in demanding that the president sign an executive order halting sonar trainings in marine mammal habitats.

The president has direct authority over the National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency charged with enforcing our marine mammal protection laws. With one phone call, the president can order the head of Fisheries to require the Navy to conduct Environmental Impact Statements on all its training ranges, both domestic and international.

It’s too late to save the whales who died during the U.S. Navy war games in Crete. But if you and I cry out for justice, we can compel the president to act. Together, we have the power to end the U.S. Navy’s war on whales and dolphins.

Click here to add your name to the petition, and then pass it along to your friends who care about whales and our oceans.

With heartfelt thanks,

–Lyndia

This petition was created on MoveOn’s online petition site.

PHOTO CREDIT: L. Aggelopoulos /Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute 2014. Used with permission.

Stop Killing Whales Iceland

Sadly our planet’s whales face more threats today than ever before, including the cruelty of commercial whaling. There is no humane way to kill a whale and little market for whale meat. Despite this, the Icelandic government issued new quotas for hundreds of minke whales and endangered fin whales to be harpooned annually for the next five years.

I’m sure you agree that commercial whaling has no place in the 21st century. Responsible whale watching is a cruelty-free and profitable alternative to the cruelty of whaling.

Please send a message to the Icelandic Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture asking him to cancel these quotas immediately and call an end to whaling in Iceland once and for all.

Because we know that you care about future generations of whales, we have worked alongside Icelandic whale watch operators for many years to promote responsible whale watching. Iceland is one of Europe’s top destinations for whale watching and last year attracted 175,000 whale watchers.

By contrast, recent Gallup polling, that we commissioned, found just 3 percent of Icelanders have bought whale meat six times or more in the last 12 months. The survey also revealed 75 percent of Icelanders never buy the meat, with women and young adults even less likely to buy whale meat.

Whaling damages Iceland’s reputation, attracting criticism at home and abroad. In summer 2013, both ports and carriers in Europe publicly rejected the whale meat trade when containers opened at ports in Rotterdam and Hamburg were returned to Iceland and met with public protests at the killing of whales for products such as dog food.

Despite this, the latest whaling quotas allow 229 minke whales and 154 fin whales to be slaughtered every year for five years.

Please join me in calling on the Icelandic government to stop supporting the efforts of Iceland’s whaling crusader, businessman Kristjan Loftsson, and a few others, and instead halt this cruel, outdated and uneconomic practice.

Thank you for your support for whales.

Patrick Ramage
IFAW Program Director, Whales

Syrias’ Living Hell

Dear Gabriel,

For millions of women, children and families in Syria, home has become hell.

Last week Amnesty investigators briefed me on the latest developments in that violence-wracked nation.

To say things are dire is an understatement.

Please make an urgent donation to Amnesty so we can continue to shine a light on human rights violations in Syria and around the world.

Our research team reports that:

Government forces have bombed entire neighborhoods, indiscriminately blowing up civilians. Recent attacks with long-range surface-to-surface missiles have targeted residential areas, killing entire families. Investigators in one case found only the severed arm of a child in the rubble — all that remained of one family.

In Aleppo, a seemingly endless procession of murdered men and boys — bound and shot in the head — is pulled from the river nearly every day.

While government forces continue to be overwhelmingly responsible for the death and suffering of civilians, armed opposition groups have escalated their abuses. Researchers in Damascus have identified a mass grave, filled with the bodies of children and others accused of helping the government. Local residents call it “the hole of death.”

More than 2 million Syrians have been displaced inside their own country. They face the threat of a second round of bombing in the new places where they have taken shelter.

Amnesty’s team is working on the ground, at enormous personal risk, to document and report these abuses. We cannot allow the world to avert its eyes from this human catastrophe.

At the global level, we are pressing countries in the European Union to make good on promises to provide emergency refugee assistance, and reminding Syria’s neighbors of their obligations to help refugees under international law. We continue to pressure governments and the United Nations Security Council to hold those responsible for slaughtering civilians accountable.

With every passing hour of indecision by the international community, the death toll in Syria rises. You have to ask, how many more civilians must die before the world takes action?

Please help today.

Sincerely,

Sunjeev Bery
Advocacy Director, Middle East North Africa
Amnesty International USA

Bowling Buddhist Nuns

Bowing Buddhist Nuns Die From Bad Jokes

Our daughter and her family recently went to an event that was a fundraiser for some Buddhist nuns. They attended because of some familial connections to the “comic” who also performed at the fundraiser. In addition to people donating for every line bowled by the nuns and their teams, the stand-up comedienne did his routine for everyone in the “birthday party room” at the bowling ally and MC’d the event. Our daughter said the vibes were very uncomfortable and wicked strange. Here’s why.

It turns out that the comic was actually an ex-marine and a Republican and all his jokes (some racist) were about being in the Marines and killing people. That is bad enough on its own merit, but to have him perform this in front of a group of non-violent peace-seeking Buddhist nuns is like putting Michael Vick in charge of the SPCA. Who knows, perhaps more of the nuns energy was transmitted to the comic than vice-a-verse. After all, you can’t always preach to the choir.

The caption for this event could have had numerous headlines (including the title of this post). Here are some other ideas.

Marine Preaches Benefits of Killing

Buddhist Nuns Go To Boot Camp

The Benefits of Killing for Peace

What do you get when you put an ex-marine making jokes about killing people in a room of 50 Buddhist nuns? An oxymoron.

Nuns Get Ear-full From Veteran

Comedy Relief or Torture?

It’s No Joke.

Buddhists Nuns and the Comedy of War

Killing Them Softly With A Big Stick

Did you hear the one about the ex-Marine telling Buddhist nuns how humorous killing can be?

Marine Bowls Over Buddhist Nuns

Whale Meat for Lunch

Dear Gabriel,

The world is finally getting wise to the serious ethical and environmental problems with consuming whale meat. You’d think with demand dropping, the Japanese would finally let go of their devotion to whaling.

Instead, Japan has introduced a host of measures to prop up the whaling industry and force more whale meat onto people’s plates.

Japan’s barely legal whaling industry continues under the auspices of “science.” But the industry has operated at a loss for years, costing the government roughly $60 million every year to sustain. Instead of giving up, Japan is doubling down, loosening regulations on sales and increasing the amount of whale meat in school lunches, even though it would increase kids’ risk of mercury poisoning.

It’s time for Japan to get with the program and realize that the world doesn’t want whale meat.

Tell Japanese officials to stop prolonging the long-awaited abandonment of whaling.

Thank you for taking action,

Emily V.
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team

Powerful Majestic Creatures

Dear Gabriel,

Sperm whales are one of the world’s most powerful, majestic sea creatures – but they’re no match for drift gillnets.

In just one year, an estimated 16 sperm whales were drowned in gillnets off the coast of California. That’s not counting the sharks, turtles, dolphins, and other open ocean animals that are caught in greater numbers.

These nets, which are supposed to catch swordfish, are notorious for killing some of our oceans’ most endangered species. They should be banned—but instead they continue to kill turtles, sharks, whales and more.

That kind of indiscriminate killing of ocean wildlife cannot be allowed to continue, so we are fighting to stop the use of swordfish drift gillnets off the coast of California.

You can help us meet our $40,000 goal if you chip in – and until October 31, every gift you give will be MATCHED for double the impact. Donate just $10 today and join the fight to stop deadly gillnets»

The destructive power of gillnets cannot be underestimated, even for the formidable sperm whale.

Up to 65 feet long and weighing over 50 tons, these deep diving whales can hold their own against nearly anything in the oceans. But sperm whales were prized by whalers in the 18th and 19th centuries for the spermaceti oil contained in their large heads, and were hunted mercilessly.

They grow slowly, taking time to raise their young between births. Without human interference, a sperm whale may live to be 70 years old. But a young whale caught in a net doesn’t just lose those decades of life—it loses its chance to have babies and help replenish a population still struggling from the effects of whaling.

Six weeks ago, we filed our formal intent to sue the federal government for violating the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. This is precisely the kind of action that will force the government to protect endangered ocean wildlife threatened by gillnets.

While they can be expensive, these lawsuits work. A similar lawsuit in 2009 forced the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service to grant protections for the endangered loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles. Our fight against the use of drift gillnets in places where endangered sea creatures reside could save more turtles and whales – but only if we have the resources we need to win.

With your help, we can continue the fight for sperm whales and other ocean creatures around the world. Give $10 today and we’ll DOUBLE your support!»

For the oceans,
Emily Fisher
Oceana

Killing Frenzy In Gambia

Dear Gabriel,

The Gambian President has decided to execute all death row inmates in just a matter of days, despite the serious concerns over whether the inmates received fair trials at all. There’s no time for appeals or questions.

And to prove President Yahya Jammeh means every word — the executions have already begun. This past weekend, nine individuals were dragged from their cells without warning or good-byes and executed. Just like that.

The prisoners were lined up and shot by firing squad. Now 38 others are at extreme risk of meeting the same end.

Don’t let Gambia kill one more prisoner – stop the execution spree!

President Yahya Jammeh has set mid-September 2012 — that’s no more than 3 weeks from now — as a deadline for carrying out this sickening plan. But he’s already proven that he’s not willing to wait long.

The only thing close to an explanation the President has given was during the televised speech in which he announced these plans, claiming that he wants “to rid the country of all criminals”.

This is no way for a justice system, or a President for that matter, to operate. The death penalty in Gambia is often used to punish political dissent, disguised as “treason”. President Jammeh has a history of making these kinds of cruel and outrageous remarks. He’s recently threatened to behead all homosexuals and has urged Gambians to stop buying newspapers so that journalists would starve to death.

The insanity stops here — no more executions in Gambia!

What’s more shocking — the executions Gambia carried out last week were the first in 27 years — effectively ending an unofficial moratorium! Gambia is now the first West African country to execute prisoners in recent history.

These executions are a major blow to the global movement to abolish the death penalty. They violate international and regional human rights standards to which Gambia is a party. We can’t let Gambia take a giant leap backwards for human rights — stop the executions now!

In Solidarity,

Emily Helms
Country Specialist, Gambia
Amnesty International USA

Eyes On Syria

Gabriel,

Amnesty International just completed a mission in Syria, where we met with residents caught in the bitter battle for control of Aleppo – the country’s economic capital and largest city.

Amnesty Crisis Adviser Donatella Rovera shot alarming video footage of families who are living amidst the bombings, executions and other atrocities being committed by government forces and militias working alongside the Syrian military.

We are working to get this damning footage into the hands of journalists around the world. Support our work and help ensure that our first-hand video is seen by influential members of the media.

Government forces are attacking densely populated urban areas where the opposition is believed to be based, conducting air and artillery strikes that have injured and killed many civilians. One man told Donatella that he returned from work to find his home flattened:

“When I went to work, I never thought that it was the last time I would see my family. I lost all that was dearest to me – my children, my wife, my brother, my cousins – everybody.”

The civilian deaths Donatella witnessed are clear violations of international humanitarian law.

Amnesty International goes fearlessly into conflict areas to document abuses and report them to the international community. Help Amnesty International shout “Wake Up, World!” with breaking reports, images and video.

The findings of Donatella’s latest mission build on satellite images Amnesty International released last week showing the extent of likely artillery bombardment near Aleppo. The images, obtained by commercial satellites from July 23-August 1, show more than 600 craters – many near residential areas.

Donatella’s footage captures the faces of the families who took shelter from those bombings.

I know you can sense the urgency with which I write this message. We must keep our eyes on Syria and continue to call on the international community to stop the killing once and for all.

Sincerely,

Sanjeev Bery
Advocacy Director, Middle East North Africa
Amnesty International USA

P.S. Watch clips from Amnesty’s investigations in Syria.

Killing Lions for Profit

Dear Friends,

Hundreds of South African lions are being slaughtered to make bogus sex potions for men. But we can stop this cruel trade by hitting the government where it hurts — the tourism industry.

A global ban on tiger bone sales has traders hunting a new prize — the majestic lions. Lions are farmed under appalling conditions in South Africa for “canned hunting”, where rich tourists pay thousands to shoot them through fences. Now experts say lion bones from these killing farms are being exported to phony ‘medicine’ makers in Asia for record profits. Trade is exploding and experts fear that as prices rise, even wild lions — with only 20,000 left in Africa — will come under poaching attack.

If we can show President Zuma that this brutal trade is hurting South Africa’s image as a tourist destination, he could ban and punish the trade in lion bones. Avaaz is taking out strong ads in airports, tourism websites and magazines, but we urgently need 1 million petition signers to give the ads their force. Sign below to build our numbers fast:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/1_million_to_ban_the_lion_trade_fbb/?bMPbqab&v=15583

‘Tiger bone wine’ and other tiger-part medicines were banned after massive international outrage — now traders have shifted their attention to lions’ bones to make all kinds of bogus remedies. Experts say unless governments act now, lions could be the next in line — after tigers and rhinos — to face extinction.

There is a solution: banning and punishing the trade of lion bones and organs. South Africa is currently the largest exporter of lion trophies, bones and organs — it is also the only African country actively breeding lions in large numbers to supply trophy hunting. But if we can show that allowing this senseless trade can hurt South Africa’s booming tourism industry and make visitors flee, President Zuma could be forced to act.

Let’s build a thunderous global roar for the lions. Avaaz will show the cruelty of the lion bone trade with stinging ads — sign now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/1_million_to_ban_the_lion_trade_fbb/?bMPbqab&v=15583

Avaaz members across the world have come together to demand strong protection for elephants and rhinos, save the world’s bees from poisonous pesticides and achieve huge marine reserves in Chagos and Australia to safeguard vulnerable marine species. Lets come together once again and stand up for Africa’s lions.

With hope, and determination,

Jamie, Alex, Antonia, Mia, Alice, Ricken, Luca, Emily and the entire Avaaz team