Pouch

Pouch (pronounced pouch)

(1) A bag, sack or similar receptacle, especially one for small articles or quantities and historically closed with a drawstring although in modern use zips and other fasteners are common.

(2) A small, purse-like container, used to carry small quantities of cash.

(3) A bag for carrying mail.

(4) In manchester, as “pillow pouch”, an alternative name for a pillowslip or pillowcase (archaic).

(5) As “diplomatic pouch”, a sealed container (anything from an envelope to a shipping container) notionally containing diplomatic correspondence that is sent free of inspection between a foreign office and its diplomatic or consular posts abroad or between such posts.

(6) As “posing pouch”, a skimpy thong (G-string) worn by male strippers, bodybuilders and such; known also as the “posing strap”; within the relevant fields, now an essential Instagram accessory.

(7) In the industrial production of food, as retort pouch, a food packaging resistant to heat sterilization in a retort, often made from a laminate of flexible plastic and metal foils.

(8) In military use, a container (historically of leather) in the form of either a bag or case), used by soldiers to carry ammunition.

(9) Something shaped like or resembling a bag or pocket.

(10) In physics, as “Faraday pouch”, a container with the properties of a Faraday cage.

(11) A pocket in a garment (originally in Scots English but lade widely used by garment manufacturers).

(12) In nautical design, a bulkhead in the hold of a vessel, to prevent bulk goods (grain, sand etc) from shifting (a specialized form of baffle).

(13) A baggy fold of flesh under the eye (more commonly as “bags under the eyes”).

(14) In zoological anatomy, a bag-like or pocket-like part; a sac or cyst, as the sac beneath the bill of pelicans, the saclike dilation of the cheeks of gophers, or the abdominal receptacle for the young of marsupials.

(15) In pathology, an internal structure with certain qualities (use restricted to those fulfilling some functional purpose): any sac or cyst (usually containing fluid), pocket, bag-like cavity or space in an organ or body part (the types including laryngeal pouch, Morison's pouch, Pavlov pouch & Rathke's pouch).

(16) In botany, a bag-like cavity, a silicle, or short pod, as of the “shepherd's purse”.

(17) In slang, a protuberant belly; a paunch (archaic and probably extinct).

(18) In slang, to pout (archaic and probably extinct).

(19) In slang, to put up with (something or someone) (archaic and probably extinct).

(20) To put into or enclose in a pouch, bag, or pocket; pocket.

(21) To transport a pouch (used especially of a diplomatic pouch).

(22) To arrange in the form of a pouch.

(23) To form a pouch or a cavity resembling a pouch.

(24) In zoology, of a fish or bird, to swallow.

1350–1400: From the Middle English pouche & poche, from the Old Northern French pouche, from the Old French poche & puche (from which French gained poche (the Anglo-Norman variant was poke which spread in Old French as “poque bag”), from the Frankish poka (pouch) (similar forms including the Middle Dutch poke, the Old English pohha & pocca (bag) and the dialectal German Pfoch).  Although documented since only the fourteenth century, parish records confirm the surnames “Pouch” & “Pouche” were in use by at least the late twelfth and because both names (like Poucher (one whose trade is the “making of pouches”)) are regarded by genealogists as “occupational”, it’s at least possible small leather bags were thus describe earlier.  In the 1300s, a pouche was “a bag worn on one's person for carrying things” and late in the century it was used especially of something used to carry money (what would later come to be called a “coin purse” or “purse”).  The use to describe the sac-like cavities in animal bodies began in the domestic science of animal husbandry from circa 1400, the idea adopted unchanged when human anatomy became documented.  The verb use began in the 1560s in the sense of “put in a pouch”, extended by the 1670s to mean “to form a pouch, swell or protrude, both directly from the noun.  The Norman feminine noun pouchette (which existed also as poutchette) was from the Old French pochete (small bag).  Surprisingly, it wasn’t picked up in English (a language which is a shameless adopter of anything useful) but does endure on the Channel Island of Jersey where it means (1) a pocket (in clothing) and (2) in ornithology the Slavonian grebe, horned grebe (Podiceps auritus).  Pouch is a noun & verb, pouchful & poucher are nouns, pounching is a verb, pouchy is an adjective and pouched is a verb & adjective; the noun plural is pouches.  The organic pocket in which a marsupial carries its young is known also as both the marsupium & brood pouch, the latter term also used of the cavity which is some creatures is where eggs develop and hatch.

Diplomatic pencil pouch.

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (UNVCDR; United Nations (UN) Treaty Series, volume 500, p 95) was executed in Vienna on 18 April 1961, entering into force on 24 April 1964.  Although the terminology and rules governing diplomatic relations between sovereign states had evolved over thousands of years, there had been no systematic attempt at codification until the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815), held to formalize the political and dynastic arrangements for post-Napoleonic Europe.  There were also later, ad-hoc meetings which dealt essentially with administrative detail (some necessitated by improvements in communication technology) but it was the 1961 convention which built the framework which continues to underpin the diplomatic element of international relations and is little changed from its original form, making it perhaps the UN’s most successful legal instrument.  With two exceptions, all UN member states have ratified the UNVCDR; the two non-signatories are the republics of Palau and South Sudan.  It’s believed the micro-state of Palau remains outside the framework because it has been independent only since 1994 and constitutionally has an unusual “Compact of Free Association” arrangement with the US which results in it maintaining a limited international diplomatic presence.  The troubled West African state of South Sudan gained independence only in 2011 and has yet to achieve a stable state infrastructure, remaining beset by internal conflict; its immediate priorities therefore remain elsewhere. The two entities with “observer status” at the UN (the State of Palestine and the Holy See) are not parties to the UNVCDR but the Holy See gained in Vienna a diplomatic protocol which functionally is substantially the same as that of a ratification state.  Indeed, the Vatican’s diplomats are actually granted a particular distinction in that states may (at their own election), grant the papal nuncio (the equivalent rank to ambassador or high commissioner) seniority of precedence, thus making him (there’s never been a female nuncio), ex officio, Doyen du Corps Diplomatique (Dean of the Diplomatic Corps).

Lindsay Lohan in SCRAM bracelet (left), the SCRAM (centre) and Chanel's response from their Spring 2007 collection (right).

A very twenty-first century pouch: Before Lindsay Lohan began her “descent into respectability” (a quote from the equally admirable Mandy Rice-Davies (1944-2004) of MRDA fame), Lindsay Lohan inadvertently became of the internet’s early influencers when she for a time wore a court-ordered ankle monitor (often called “bracelets” which etymologically is dubious but rarely has English been noted for its purity).  At the time, many subject to such orders often concealed them under clothing but Ms Lohan made her SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) a fashion statement, something that compelled the paparazzi to adjust their focal length to ensure her ankle of interest appeared in shots.  The industry responded with its usual alacrity and “ankle monitor” pouches were soon being strutted down the catwalks.

Chanel's boot-mounted ankle pouch in matching quilted black leather.

In one of several examples of this instance of Lohanic influence on design, in their Spring 2007 collection, Chanel included a range of ankle pouches.  Functional to the extent of affording the wearing a hands-free experience and storage for perhaps a lipstick, gloss and credit card (and the modern young spinster should seldom need more), the range was said quickly to "sell-out" although the concept hasn't been seen in subsequent collections so analysts of such things should make of that what they will.  Chanel offered the same idea in a boot, a design actually borrowed from the military although they tended to be more commodious and, being often used by aircrew, easily accessible while in a seated position, the sealable flap on the outer calf, close to the knee.   

The origin of the special status of diplomats dates from Antiquity when such envoys were the only conduit of communication between kings and emperors.  They thus needed to be granted safe passage and be assured of their safety in what could be hostile territory, negotiations (including threats & ultimata) often conducted between warring tribes and states and the preamble to the UNVCDR captures the spirit of these traditions:

THE STATES PARTIES TO THE PRESENT CONVENTION,

RECALLING that peoples of all nations from ancient times have recognized the status of diplomatic agents,

HAVING IN MIND the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations concerning the sovereign equality of States, the maintenance of international peace and security, and the promotion of friendly relations among nations,

BELIEVING that an international convention on diplomatic intercourse, privileges and immunities would contribute to the development of friendly relations among nations, irrespective of their differing constitutional and social systems,

REALIZING that the purpose of such privileges and immunities is not to benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient performance of the functions of diplomatic missions as representing States,

AFFIRMING that the rules of customary international law should continue to govern questions not expressly regulated by the provisions of the present Convention have agreed as follows…

US Department of State diplomatic pouch tag.

The diplomatic pouch (known also, less attractively, as the “diplomatic bag”) is granted essentially the same protection as the diplomat.  Historically, the diplomatic pouch was exactly that: a leather pouch containing an emissary’s documents, carried usually on horseback and in the modern age it may be anything from an envelope to a shipping container.  What distinguishes it from other containers is (1) clear markings asserting status and (2) usually some sort of locking mechanism (the origin of which was an envelope’s wax seal and if appropriately marked, a diplomatic pouch should be exempt from any sort of inspection by the receiving country.  Strictly speaking, the pouch should contain only official documents but there have been many cases of other stuff being “smuggled in” including gold, weapons subsequently used in murders, foreign currency, narcotics, bottles of alcohol and various illicit items including components of this and that subject to UN (or other) sanctions.  For that reason, there are limited circumstances in which a state may intersect or inspect the contents of a diplomatic pouch.  The protocols relating to the diplomatic pouch are listed in Article 27 of the UNVCDR:

(1) The receiving State shall permit and protect free communication on the part of the mission for all official purposes. In communicating with the Government and the other missions and consulates of the sending State, wherever situated, the mission may employ all appropriate means, including diplomatic couriers and messages in code or cipher. However, the mission may install and use a wireless transmitter only with the consent of the receiving State.

(2) The official correspondence of the mission shall be inviolable. Official correspondence means all correspondence relating to the mission and its functions.

(3) The diplomatic bag shall not be opened or detained.

(4) The packages constituting the diplomatic bag must bear visible external marks of their character and may contain only diplomatic documents or articles intended for official use.

(5) The diplomatic courier, who shall be provided with an official document indicating his status and the number of packages constituting the diplomatic bag, shall be protected by the receiving State in the performance of his functions. He shall enjoy person inviolability and shall not be liable to any form of arrest or detention.

(6) The sending State or the mission may designate diplomatic couriers ad hoc. In such cases the provisions of paragraph 5 of this article shall also apply, except that the immunities therein mentioned shall cease to apply when such a courier has delivered to the consignee the diplomatic bag in his charge.

(7) A diplomatic bag may be entrusted to the captain of a commercial aircraft scheduled to land at an authorized port of entry. He shall be provided with an official document indicating the number of packages constituting the bag but he shall not be considered to be a diplomatic courier. The mission may send one of its members to take possession of the diplomatic bag directly and freely from the captain of the aircraft.

Former US Ambassador to Pretoria, Lana Marks.

Some ambassadors have been more prepared than most for handing the diplomatic bag, notably Ms Lana Marks (b 1953), the South African-born US business executive who founded her eponymous company specializing in designer handbags.  In 2018, Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021) nominated Ms Marks as US ambassador to South Africa, a role in which she served between January 2020 and January 2021 when, under the convention observed by political appointees, she resigned her office.  Although Ms Marks had no background in international relations, such appointments are not unusual and certainly not exclusive to US presidents.  Indeed, although professional diplomats may undergo decades of preparation for ambassadorial roles, there are many cases where the host nation greatly has valued a political appointee because of the not unreasonable assumption they’re more likely to have the “ear of the president” than a Foggy Bottom apparatchik who would be restricted to contacting the secretary of state.  That was apparently the case when Robert Nesen (1918–2005), a Californian Cadillac dealer, was appointed US ambassador to Australia (1981-1985), by Ronald Reagan (1911-2004; US president 1981-1989), a reward (if that’s how being sent to live in Canberra can be described) for long service to the Republican Party fundraising rather than a reflection of Mr Reagan’s fondness for Cadillacs (Mr Nesen’s dealership also held other franchises) although it was Mr Reagan who arranged for Cadillac to replace Lincoln as supplier of the White House limousine fleet.  Ms Marks’ connection to the Trump administration’s conduct of foreign policy came through her membership of Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club and golf resort (annual membership fee US $200,000), an institution which also produced the country’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic.  Ms Marks seems to have fitted in well at Mar-a-Lago, telling South Africa's Business Live: “It's the most exclusive part of the US, a small enclave, an island north of Miami.  One-third of the world's wealth passes through Palm Beach in season. The crème de la crème of the world lives there.”  One hopes the people of South Africa were impressed.

The Princess Diana by Lana Marks is sold out in emerald green but remains available in gold, black and chocolate brown.

Response

Response (pronounced ri-spons (U) or ree-spons (non-U))

(1) The act of responding; a reply or reaction; a reaction to a stimulus or provocation.

(2) In the card game bridge, a bid based on an evaluation of one's hand relative to the previous bid of one's partner.

(3) In liturgical use in Christianity, a word, phrase or short sentence recited or sung by the choir or congregation in reply to the priest or officiant at a church service (usually in the plural and used (loosely) also of any versicle or anthem said or sung during or after a lection).

(4) In electronics the ratio of the output to the input level, at a particular frequency, of a transmission line or electrical device.

(5) In pathology, any pattern of glandular, muscular, or electrical reactions induced by stimulation of the nervous system.

(6) In biology, any behavior of a living organism that results from an external or internal stimulus.

(7) In engineering, the reaction of a mechanical device to changes in energy input.

(8) In legal proceedings (and other forms), reply to an objection.

(9) In the calculation of online advertising performance metrics, a measure representing one click-through from an online ad to its destination URL.

1250–1300: From the Latin respōnsum (answer), noun use of the neuter past participle of respondēre (to reply, respond, answer, the construct being re- (in the sense of “again”) + spondere (to pledge), nominal use of the neuter form of respōnsus, the perfect passive participle of respondeō, the construct being from re- + spondeō (promise).  It replaced the Middle English respounse & respons, from the Middle French respons, from the Old French respons, respuns & response (which endures in Modern French as réponse), from the same Latin source.  Response, responsion, responsure & responsiveness are nouns, responsal, responsory & responsorial are nouns & adjectives, responsive is an adjective and responsively is an adverb; the noun plural is resposes.

Depending on context, a response might also be called a feedback, reply or return and in science, medicine and engineering, derived forms such as responseless, counter-response, allergic response, autonomous response, host response etc are coined as required.  In law enforcement and military use, the coinings include armed response, artillery response, naval response etc.  The adjective responsive was an early fifteenth century form meaning “making answer, responding” and was from the Old French responsif and directly from Late Latin responsivus (answering), from the Classical Latin respons-, past-participle stem of respondere.  The use in the sense of “responding readily to influence or action, able or inclined to respond” was documented first in 1762, the adverb responsively & noun responsiveness both appearing within a decade.  In Christianity, the use to mean “a part of the liturgy said or sung by the congregation in reply to the priest” dates from the 1650s.  The transferred sense (adopted in literature, poetry and psychology) of feelings or actions was part of the Romantic movement early in the nineteenth century.  One of the best known “responses” was the adjectival “Pavlovian Response” which dates from 1911 and came from the experimental work of Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936), the best known example of which was the conditioned salivary reflexes of dogs in response to the mental stimulus of the sound of a bell being associated with food.  The term “response time” seems first to have been used in the US in 1958 and was associated with the increasingly precise measurements needed as transistors replaced vacuum tubes in electronics.

Boris Yeltsin, who got a bit of fun out of life.

The phrase “diplomatic response” isn’t really part of the study of international relations.  It’s used in general discourse to describe ways of communicating that are polite, tactful and intended to ensure reasonable relationships are maintained and the self-help sections in bookshops often contain titles which include guides on the topic, their advice on the matter probably usually suggesting the salient points are (1) Politeness (using courteous language to show respect), (2) Neutrality (avoiding taking sides or making definitive statements that might be thought controversial), (3) Constructiveness (focusing on solutions and positive outcomes), (4), Empathy (acknowledging the other person's feelings or perspectives) and (5) Caution (being careful with word choice to avoid misunderstandings or offense).  In diplomacy proper, there are examples such as when Boris Yeltsin (1931–2007; President of Russia 1991-1999) announced he would decline a Japanese offer of help in dealing with a natural disaster because they might use it as leverage in territorial disputes, the Japanese Foreign Ministry responded by saying: “He must have been misquoted”.  Lindsay Lohan in 2017 followed the example when asked about comments made by Donald Trump in 2004 when he said she was: “probably deeply troubled and therefore great in bed. How come the deeply troubled women, you know, deeply, deeply troubled, they're always the best in bed?”  Her response was to say: “I wish him the best. We live in a world of societies that consistently find fault in people. I think it’s a really scary factor. Taking someone else down is never the answer, and I think we all know that.”  It’s not believed Mr Trump responded.

Responses of some who survived political assassination attempts

That photograph.

The compositional elements of the photograph destined to become one of the classics of US political history are so perfect it would have been assumed to be an AI (artificial intelligence) meme had the moment it captured not been witnessed by so many:  Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021, fist raised in defiance, his blood staining his face, being hustled to safety by his Secret Service detail after an assassin’s bullet was a fraction of an inch to the left; one zephyr during its 125 metre (410 feet) travel and Trump would likely be dead.  The image, taken by AP (Associated Press) photographer Evan Vucci (b 1977) was a an extraordinary piece of serendipity for the Trump campaign, being almost entirely of red, white & blue with the Stars & Stripes flying as a backdrop, the whole thing recalling the famous photograph by AP’s Joe Rosenthal (1911–2006) which captured US Marines planting the flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima.  Quite how the incident will affect the election campaign can’t be assumed but it’s unlikely to be detrimental to the Trump cause and the photograph will help, the strident defiance of the stance exactly what appeals to the base and probably attractive to not a few of the undecided, the contrast with the less dynamic Biden obviously striking.  As a response from someone who has just cheated death, his presence of mind in having the Secret Service delay his evacuation from the stage by a few seconds so he could provide AP their photo-opportunity will guarantee publicity the Republican Party couldn’t buy no matter how many millions they spent.

Senator Marco Rubio (b 1971; senator (Republican) for Florida since 2011 and the "little Marco" of Mr Trump's 2016 nomination campaign) was quick to tweet "God protected" Mr Trump which was noted by those running the betting markets for the 2024 running mate on the Republican ticket.  On his own Truth social platform, Mr Trump said much the same thing and previously, there have been those who made much of being saved from assassination by "providence" and it's not impossible Mr Trump is now persuaded it was indeed "divine intervention".  In the last decade, Mr Trump has done well by pretending to be religious to court the Christian vote: they knew he was lying and he knew that they knew he knew but such was the political symbiosis that all involved ignored the facts and focused on outcomes.  Now, he may start believing his own publicity.          

The footage was viewed world-wide within minutes and almost immdeiately questions were asked including (1) why was a line-of-shot available within 150 m (500 feet) of the target and (2) why were Secret Service agents allocated who were not even tall enough to reach his shoulder (they are as a last resort, human body armor).  The photograph was political gold for the campaign but it should never have been allowed to happen; Mr Trump should have been smothered with Secret Service bodies and immediately taken from the stage.  Some agreed the presence of the shooter was an obvious lapse but that what happened on stage followed protocol and there's never been any policy (or practice) of allocating agents on the basis of their height matching that of the protectee.    

Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt (1903) by John Singer Sargent.

In October 1912, a man shot Theodore Roosevelt (TR, 1858–1919; US president 1901-1909) while he was on the campaign trail for that year’s presidential election.  What saved Roosevelt was the bullet having to pass through a metal spectacles case and, tellingly, a folded, 50 page copy of the speech he was about to deliver on behalf of his Progressive Party.  The enraged crowd were holding and threatening to lynch the shooter but Roosevelt intervened, ensuring he was handed to the safe custody of the Wisconsin police.  Roosevelt had spent much of his life hunting big game and, on the basis he was not coughing up blood, correctly concluded that bullet was lodged in his muscle and had not punctured the lung, the relative lack of external bleeding suggesting no vital artery or vein had been severed.  His response to what would have put most men into a state of shock was to proceed to the hall and deliver his speech as planned.  Lodged too precariously to extract, the bullet remained with him until, peacefully, he died in his sleep at Oyster Bay, New York.

Men in frock coats: The “Big Four” at the Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920), outside the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Quai d'Orsay, Paris.  Left to right: David Lloyd George (1863–1945; UK prime-minister 1916-1922), Vittorio Orlando (1860–1952; Italian prime minister 1917-1919), Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929; French prime minister 1906-1909 & 1917-1920) and Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924; US president 1913-1921).

Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929; Prime Minister of France 1906-1909 & 1917-1920) was a physician who turned to politics via journalism, a not unfamiliar trajectory for many; at a time of national crisis, he undertook his second term as premier, providing the country’s politics with the stiffness needed to endure what was by then World War I (1914-1918); he was nick-named le tigre (the tiger) in honor of his ferociously combative political demeanour.  In February 1919, while travelling from his apartment a meeting associated with the Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920), he was shot several times, his assailant an anarchist carpenter & joiner, Émile Cottin (1896-1937) and two decades on, another leader would learn carpenters can be assassins. Le tigre was lucky, the bullets missing his vital organs although one which passed through the ribcage ending up lodged close to his heart; too close to that vital organ to risk surgery, like Roosevelt, there it remained until his death (from unrelated causes) ten years later.  Cottin’s death sentence was later commuted to a ten year sentence and he would die in battle, serving with the anarchist Durruti Column during the early days of the Spanish Civil War.  The Tiger’s response to his survival was to observe: “We have just won the most terrible war in history, yet here is a Frenchman who misses his target six out of seven times at point-blank range.  Of course this fellow must be punished for the careless use of a dangerous weapon and for poor marksmanship. I suggest that he be locked up for eight years, with intensive training in a shooting gallery.”  In the circumstances, deploring the state of French marksmanship displayed a certain French sang froid.

Although the details of most at the time weren’t known, there were so many plots to kill Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945) that books were written exploring the topic, the most comprehensive of which was Killing Hitler (b 2006) by British historian Roger Moorhouse (b 1968).  For a variety of reasons, none succeeded but the first to come close was in Munich in 1939 when a bomb (it would now be called an IED (improvised explosive device) was fabricated by German carpenter and joiner, Georg Elser (1903–1945) and secreted in a pillar directly behind where Hitler was scheduled to be standing while delivering to his old comrades one of his annual set-piece addresses.  However, on the night, because he wanted to return early to Berlin to resume planning his latest foreign policy adventure, he cut short his speech and the bomb detonated a quarter hour after he and his entourage had left; it killed eight and injured dozens.  Hitler’s response was to say his survival was “…proof to me that Providence wants me to reach my goal.”  Surprisingly, Herr Elser, apprehended almost by chance, wasn’t executed, the fate of many who had done much less, but until 1945 was a “privileged prisoner” in relatively pleasant conditions; Hitler, who for years clung to the idea the man must have had some connection with the British secret service, ordered him hanged only when it was obvious he’d be of no use as a hostage.

Hitler again thanked providence when he survived the most celebrated of the attempts, the bomb in July 1944 planted by an army colonel and timed to explode during a military conference.  Hitler on that occasion avoided death because (1) a table’s heavy socle deflected much of the blast, (2) only one of the planned two charged was primed and (3) the conference was moved from an enclosed underground bunker to a building on the surface with walls and windows which were “blown-out” in the explosion, dissipating much energy.  Those details were lost on the Führer who chose again to attribute this life being spared to “providence”.  One of those convince was the visiting Benito Mussolini (1883-1945; Duce (leader) & prime-minister of Italy 1922-1943), by then a much diminished puppet dictator of a puppet statelet sustained by the German military.  Dutifully the vassal Duce responded to Hitler: “Absolutely I agree with you, it’s a sign from providence”.  That decided, Hitler’s response to this “stab in the back” from his own army was savage, some 7000 rounded up, 5000-odd of which would be executed, the leading figures in the conspiracy dying in an especially gruesome manner, a event filmed although there are contradictory reports about whether it was something Hitler ever chose to view.  In the way of Nazi crack-downs, not all those executed were actually connected with this or any other plot, the security services using the operation as a pretext to dispose of those of one of their many lists of “undesirables”.

A prototype Humber Imperial fitted with a 273 cubic inch (4.5 litre) Chrysler LA V8.  By the mid 1960s the Humber Super Snipe (1964-1967) was essentially a mid-1950s US sedan being produced in England, a phenomenon which was emblematic of a malaise afflicting much of the UK's motor industry.  The Imperial was an up-market, better-appointed Super-Snipe and after Chrysler took a stake in the company, perhaps as many as six V8 prototypes were built but the advantages gained were few and the project never proceeded to general production.  When Chrysler in 1967 took over Rootes Group (the corporation of which Humber was a part) the Super Snipe range was discontinued, replaced in the UK market by Australian-produced Chrysler Valiants, chosen in preference to the US-built versions because they were available in right-hand drive configuration and the Commonwealth Preference scheme meant they attracted lower import tariffs.  Although only ever a niche product in the UK market and never approaching the sales volumes achieved by the big Humbers, the Valiants remained available until 1976.      

Arthur Augustus Calwell (1896-1973; Australian Labor Party (ALP) leader of the opposition 1960-1967) was a rare Australian target of an attempted political assassination.  Two years after being knighted by Paul VI (1897-1978; pope 1963-1978) (his Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (KCSG) apparent unrelated to the attempt on his life), Calwell was sitting in the front passenger seat (it’s an Australian tradition) of his official car when 19 year-old student Peter Kocan (b 1947), at point blank range, fired a shell from a sawn-off rifle, aimed directly at his target.  In 1966, the Commonwealth’s car fleet still included their last intake of British-built cars and Calwell was sitting in a Series V Humber Super Snipe (1964-1967), an outdated machine but one which was stately & roomy and thus enjoyed by politicians who found their replacement, the lower Ford Galaxie, less comfortable, especially the ingress and egress.  Fortunately for Calwell, the side glass in the old-fashioned Humber was thick and instead of penetrating the pane, it shattered, absorbing most of the bullet’s energy; it was spent by the time it had travelled those few feet, lodging harmlessly in the lapel of the target’s jacket, Mr Calwell's injuries limited to some minor cuts from the broken glass.  Kocan was found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, sent initially to Sydney's Long Bay Gaol before being transferred to Morriset Psychiatric Hospital for the criminally insane.  There he studied literature and after his release became a prize winning poet and novelist, eventually graduating from the University of Newcastle with a BA (Hons) & MA.  Calwell’s response to the man who tried to kill him was to pay a visit to the hospital and, although a great hater in the ALP tradition, he was also a good Catholic, sending a letter of forgiveness.

Arthur Calwell leaving hospital in his Humber Super Snipe, the presence in numbers of the New South Wales (NSW) Police suggesting they were going to make sure nothing more happened to him before he returned to Victoria.  The police cars are locally assembled Rambler Classics and in Australia, various AMCs were in small volumes assembled and sold under the Rambler name until 1977.

In an example of how difficult it can be for security services to monitor and intercept those who plan to kill political figures, the motive of the man who in March 1981 shot Ronald Reagan (1911-2004; US president 1981-1989) was to impress an actress with whom he’d become obsessed.  That was something even less likely to attract the attention of the authorities than the earlier case when a botched attempt had been made by a member of Charles Manson’s (1934-2017) “Family” cult to assassinate Gerald Ford (1913–2006; US president 1974-1977).  Mr Reagan’s injury was life-threatening and was saved only by surgical intervention.  When greeted by the surgeons who were to perform the operation, his response was to tell them he hoped they “…were all Republicans”.  In an example of good bedside manner they assured him he was in safe political hands although one later confessed to being a lifelong Democrat.  When his wife arrived at the hospital, he delivered the line “Honey, I forgot to duck”, borrowed from boxer Jack Dempsey (1895–1983) who said it to Mrs Dempsey on the night he'd lost a bout to Gene Tunney (1897–1978).

Cybernetic

Cybernetic (pronounced sahy-ber-net-ik)

(1) Of or relating to cybernetics (the theoretical study of communication and control processes in biological, mechanical, and electronic systems, especially the comparison of these processes in biological and artificial systems).

(2) Of or relating to computers and the Internet (largely archaic (ie "so 1990s").

1948 (in English): From the Ancient Greek κυβερνητικός (kubernētikós) (good at steering, a good pilot (of a vessel)), from κυβερνητική τέχνη (kubernētikḗ tékhnē) (the pilot’s art), from κυβερνισμός (kubernismós) or κυβέρνησις (kubérnēsis) (steering, pilotage, guiding), from κυβερνάω (kubernáō) (to steer, to drive, to guide, to act as a pilot (and the ultimate source of the Modern English "govern").  Cybernetic & cybernetical are adjectives, cybernetics, cyberneticist & cybernetician are nouns and cybernetically is an adverb; the noun cybernetics is sometimes used as a plural but functions usually as a as singular (used with a singular verb)  

Although it's undocumented, etymologists suspect the first known instance of use in English in 1948 may have been based on the 1830s French cybernétique (the art of governing); that was in a paper by by US mathematician and philosopher Norbert Wiener (1894-1964) who was influenced by the cognate term "governor" (the name of an early control device proposed by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879)), familiar in mechanical devices as a means of limiting (ie "governing") a machine's speed (either to a preferred rate or a determined maximum).  That was obviously somewhat different from the source in the original Greek kubernētēs (steersman) from kubernan (to steer, control) but the idea in both was linked by the notion of "control".  The French word cybernétique had been suggested by French physicist and mathematician André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836), (one of the founders of the science of electromagnetism and after whom is named the SI (International System of Units) unit of measurement of electric current, the ampere (amp)) to, describe the then non-existent study of the control of governments; it never caught on.  From cybernetics came the now ubiquitous back-formation cyber which has, and continues, to coin words, sometimes with some intellectual connection to the original, sometimes not: cybercafé, cybercurrency, cybergirlfriend, cybermania, cybertopia, cyberculture, cyberhack, cybermob, cybernate, cybernation, cyberpet, cyberphobia, cyberpunk, cybersecurity, cybersex, cyberspace, cyberfashion, cybergoth, cyberemo, cyberdelic et al.

Feedback

MIT Professor Norbert Wiener was an American mathematician and philosopher and one of the early thinkers developing the theory that the behaviour of all intelligent species was the result of feedback mechanisms that perhaps could be simulated by machines.  Now best remembered for the word cybernetics, his work remains among the foundations of artificial intelligence (AI).

The feedback loop at its most simple.

Cybernetics was an outgrowth of control theory, at the time something of a backwater in applied mathematics relevant to the control of physical processes and systems.  Although control theory had connections with classical studies in mathematics such as the calculus of variations and differential equations, it became a recognised field only in the late 1950s when the newly available power of big machine computers and databases were applied to problems in economics and engineering.  The results indicated the matters being studied manifested as variants of problems in differential equations and in the calculus of variations.  As the computer models improved, it was recognised the theoretical and industrial problems all had the same mathematical structure and control theory emerged.  The technological determinism induced by computing wasn’t new; the embryonic field had greatly been advanced by the machines of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Cybernetics can be represented as a simple model which is of most use when applied to complex systems.  Essentially, it’s a model in which a monitor compares what is happening with what should be happening, this feedback passed to a controller which accordingly adjusts the system’s behavior.  Wiener defined cybernetics as “the science of control and communications in the animal and machine”, something quite audacious at the time, aligning as it did the working of machines with animal and human physiology, particularly the intricacies of the nervous system and the implication the controller was the human brain and the monitor, vision from the eyes.  While the inherently mechanistic nature of the theory attracted critics, the utility was demonstrated by some success in the work of constructing artificial limbs that could be connected to signals from the brain.  The early theories underpinned much of the early work in artificial intelligence (AI).

Of cyberpunks and cybergoths

A cyberpunk Lindsay Lohan sipping martinis with Johnny Depp and a silver alien by AiJunkie.

The youth subcultures “cyberpunk” and “cybergoth” had common threads in the visual imagery of science fiction (SF) but differ in matters of fashion and political linkages.  Academic studies have suggested elements of cyberpunk can be traced to the dystopian Central & Eastern European fiction of the 1920s which arose in reaction to the industrial and mechanized nature of World War I (1914-1918) but in its recognizably modern form it emerged as a literary genre in the 1980s, characterized by darkness, the effect heightened by the use of stark colors in futuristic, dystopian settings, the cultural theme being the mix of low-life with high-tech.  Although often there was much representation of violence and flashy weaponry, the consistent motifs were advanced technology, artificial intelligence and hacking, the message the evil of corporations and corrupt politicians exploiting technology to control society for their own purposes of profit and power.  Aesthetically, cyberpunk emphasized dark, gritty, urban environments where the dominant visual elements tended to be beyond the human scale, neon colors, strobe lighting and skyscrapers all tending to overwhelm people who often existed in an atmosphere of atonal, repetitive sound.

Cybergoth girls: The lasting legacy of the cybergoth's contribution to the goth aesthetic was designer colors, quite a change to the black & purple uniform.  Debate continues about whether they can be blamed for fluffy leg-warmers.

The cybergoth thing, dating apparently from 1988, thing was less political, focusing mostly on the look although a lifestyle (real and imagined) somewhat removed from mainstream society was implied.  It emerged in the late 1990s as a subculture within the goth scene, and was much influenced by the fashions popularized by cyberpunk and the video content associated with industrial music although unlike cyberpunk, there was never the overt connection with cybernetic themes.  Very much in a symbiotic relationship with Japanese youth culture, the cybergoth aesthetic built on the black & purple base of the classic goths with bright neon colors, industrial materials, and a mix of the futuristic and the industrial is the array of accessories which included props such as LED lights, goggles, gas masks, and synthetic hair extensions.  Unlike the cyberpunks who insisted usually on leather, the cybergoths embraced latex and plastics such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), not to imitate the natural product but as an item while the hairstyles and makeup could be extravagantly elaborate.  Platform boots and clothing often adorned with spikes, studs and chains were common but tattoos, piercings and other body modifications were not an integral component although many who adopted those things also opted to include cybergoth elements. 

Although there was much visual overlap between the two, cyberpunk should be thought of as a dystopian literary and cinematic genre with an emphasis on high-tech while cybergoth was a goth subculture tied to certain variations in look and consumption of pop culture, notably the idea of the “industrial dance” which was an out-growth of the “gravers” (Gothic Ravers), movement, named as goths became a critical mass in the clubs built on industrial music.  While interest in cyberpunk remains strong, strengthened by the adaptability of generative AI to the creation of work in the area, the historic moment of cyberpunk as a force in pop culture has passed, the fate of many subcultures which have suffered the curse of popularity although history does suggest periodic revivals will happen and elements of the look will anyway endure.

Virtual

Virtual (pronounced vur-choo-uhl)

(1) Being as specified in power, force, or effect, though not actually or expressly such; having the essence or effect but not the appearance or form.

(2) In optics, of an image (such as one in a looking glass), formed by the apparent convergence of rays that are prolonged geometrically, but not actually (as opposed to a real image).

(3) Being a focus of a system forming such images.

(4) In mechanics, pertaining to a theoretical infinitesimal velocity in a mechanical system that does not violate the system's constraints (applied also to other physical quantities); resulting from such a velocity.

(5) In physics, pertaining to a theoretical quality of something which would produce an observable effect if counteracting factors such as friction are disregarded (used often of the behavior of water if a factor such as friction were to be disregarded.

(6) In physics, designating or relating to a particle exchanged between other particles that are interacting by a field of force (such as a “virtual photon” and used also in the context of an “exchange force”).

(7) In digital technology, real, but existing, seen, or happening online or on a digital screen, rather than in person or in the physical world (actually an adaptation of an earlier use referring to political representation).

(8) In particle physics, pertaining to particles in temporary existence due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

(9) In quantum mechanics, of a quantum state: having an intermediate, short-lived, and unobservable nature.

(10) In computing (of data storage media, operating systems, et al) simulated or extended by software, sometimes temporarily, in such a way as to function and appear to the user as a physical entity.

(11) In computing, of a class member (in object-oriented programming), capable of being overridden with a different implementation in a subclass.

(12) Relating or belonging to virtual reality (once often used as “the virtual environment” and now sometimes clipped to “the virtual”) in which with the use of headsets or masks, experiences to some degree emulating perceptions of reality can be produced with users sometimes able to interact with and change the environment.

(13) Capable of producing an effect through inherent power or virtue (archaic and now rare, even as a poetic device).

(14) Virtuous (obsolete).

(15) In botany, (literally, also figuratively), of a plant or other thing: having strong healing powers; a plant with virtuous qualities (obsolete).

(16) Having efficacy or power due to some natural qualities; having the power of acting without the agency of some material or measurable thing; possessing invisible efficacy; producing, or able to produce, some result; effective, efficacious.

1350–1400: From the Middle English virtual & virtual (there were other spellings, many seemingly ad hoc, something far from unusual), from the Old French virtual & vertüelle (persisting in Modern French as virtuel), from their etymon Medieval Latin virtuālis, the construct being the Classical Latin virtū(s) (of or pertaining to potency or power; having power to produce an effect, potent; morally virtuous (and ultimately the source of the modern English “virtue” from the Latin virtūs (virtue)) + -ālis.  The Latin virtūs was from vir (adult male, man), ultimately from the primitive Indo-European wihrós (man) (the construct of which may have been weyh- (to chase, hunt, pursue) + -tūs (the suffix forming collective or abstract nouns)).  The –alis suffix was from the primitive Indo-European -li-, which later dissimilated into an early version of –āris and there may be some relationship with hel- (to grow); -ālis (neuter -āle) was the third-declension two-termination suffix and was suffixed to (1) nouns or numerals creating adjectives of relationship and (2) adjectives creating adjectives with an intensified meaning.  The suffix -ālis was added (usually, but not exclusively) to a noun or numeral to form an adjective of relationship to that noun. When suffixed to an existing adjective, the effect was to intensify the adjectival meaning, and often to narrow the semantic field.  If the root word ends in -l or -lis, -āris is generally used instead although because of parallel or subsequent evolutions, both have sometimes been applied (eg līneālis & līneāris).  The alternative spellings vertual, virtuall and vertuall are all obsolete.  Virtual is a noun & adjective, virtualism, virtualist, virtualism, virtualness, virtualization (also as virtualisation) & virtuality are nouns, virtualize (also as virtualise) is a verb and virtually is an adverb; the noun plural is virtuals.  The non virtualosity is non-standard.

The special use in physics (pertaining to a theoretical infinitesimal velocity in a mechanical system that does not violate the system’s constraints) came into English directly from the French.  The noun use is derived from the original adjective.  Virtual is commonly used in the sense of being synonymous with “de facto”, something which can now be misleading because “virtue” has become so associated with the modern use related to computing.  In the military matters it has been used as “a virtual victory” to refer to what would by conventional analysis be thought a defeat, the rationale being the political or economic costs imposed on the “winner” were such that the victory was effectively pyrrhic.  It was an alternative to the concept of “tactical defeat; strategic victory” which probably was a little too abstract for some.

"Virtual art galleries" range from portals which enable works to be viewed on any connected device to actual galleries where physical works are displayed on screens or in some 3D form, either as copies or with a real-time connection to the original.   

In computing, although “virtual reality” is the best known use, the word has for some time been used variously.  “Virtual memory” (which nerds insist should be called “virtual addressing” is a software implementation which enables an application to use more physical memory than actually exists.  The idea dates from the days of the early mainframes when the distinction between memory and storage space often wasn’t as explicit as it would later become and it became popular in smaller systems (most obviously PCs) where at a time when the unit cost of RAM (random access memory) hardware was significantly higher than the default storage media of the HDD (hard disk drive).  Behaving as static electricity does, RAM was many orders of magnitude faster than the I/O (input/output) possible on hard disks but allocating a portion of free disk space to emulate RAM (hence the idea “virtual memory”) did make possible many things which would not run were a system able to work only with the installed physical RAM and rapidly it became a mainstream technique.

There’s also the VPN (virtual private network), a technology which creates a secure and encrypted connection over a public network (typically the Internet) and use is common to provide remote access to a private network or to establish a secure tunnel between two networks using the internet for transport.  The advantage of VPNs is they should ensure data integrity and confidentiality, the two (or multi) node authentication requirement making security breaches not impossible but less likely.  Widely used by corporations, VPNs are best known as the way traditionally used to evade surveillance and censorship in certain jurisdictions as diverse as the PRC (People’s Republic of China), the Islamic Republic of Iran and the UK although this is something of an arms race, the authorities with varying degrees of enthusiasm working out way to defeat the work-arounds.  VPNs often use an IP tunnel which is a related concepts but the IP tunnel is a technique used to encapsulate one type of network packet within another type of network packet to transport it over a network that wouldn't normally support the type of packet being transported.  IP tunnels are particularly useful in connecting networks using different protocols and (despite the name), the utility lies in them being able to transport just about any type of network traffic (not just IP).  A modular technology, not all IP tunnels natively provide authentication & encryption but most support “bolt-ons” which can add either or both.  So, while all VPNs use some form of tunnelling (however abstracted), not all tunnels are VPNs.

Microsoft really wanted you to keep their Java Virtual Machine.

Then there are “virtual machines”.  In personal computing, the machine came quickly to be thought of as a box to which a monitor and keyboard was attached and originally it did one thing at a time; it might be able to do many things but not simultaneously.  That situation didn’t long last but the idea of the connection between one function and one machine was carried over to the notion of the “virtual machine” which was software existing on one machine but behaving functionally like another.  This could include even a full-blown installation of the operating systems of several servers running on specialized software (sometimes in conjunction with hardware components) on a singles server.  What made this approach practical was that it is not unusual for a server to be under-utilized for most of its life (critically components often recording 2-3% utilization for extended periods, thus the attraction of using one physical server rather than several.  Obviously, the economic case was also compelling, the cost savings of having one server rather than a number multiplied by reductions in electricity use, cooling needs, insurance premiums and the rent of space.  There was also trickery, Microsoft’s JVM (Java Virtual Machine) an attempt to avoid having to pay licensing fees to Sun Microsystems (later absorbed by Oracle) for the use of a Java implementation.  The users mostly indifferent but while the hardware was fooled, the judges were not and the JVM was eventually declared an outlaw.

Operating a computer remotely (there are few ways to do this) rather than physically being present is sometimes called “virtual” although “remote” seems to have been become more fashionable (the form “telecommuting” used as early as 1968 is as archaic as the copper-pair analogue telephone lines over which it was implemented although “telemedicine” seems to have survived, possibly because in many places voice using an actual telephone remains a part).  In modern use (and the idea of virtual as “not physically existing but made to appear by software” was used as early as 1959), there are all sorts of “virtuals” (virtual personal trainers, virtual assistants et al), the idea in each case is that the functionality offered by the “real version” of whatever is, in whole or in part, emulated but the “virtual version”, the latter at one time also referred to as a “cyberreal”, another word from the industry which never came into vogue.  “Virtual keyboards” are probably the most common virtual device used around the world, now the smartphone standard, the demise of the earlier physical devices apparently regretted only by those with warm memories of their Blackberries.  Virtual keyboards do appear elsewhere and they work, although obviously offer nothing like the tactile pleasure of an IBM Model M (available from ClickyKeyboards.com).  The idea of “a virtual presence” is probably thought something very modern and associated with the arrival of computing but it has history.  In 1766, in the midst of the fractious arguments about the UK’s reaction to the increasing objections heard from the American colonies about “taxation without representation” and related matters (such as the soon to be infamous Stamp Act), William Pitt (1708-1778 (Pitt the Elder and later Lord Chatham); UK prime-minister 1766-1768) delivered a speech in the House of Commons.  Aware his country’s government was conducting a policy as inept as that the US would 200 years on enact in Indochina, his words were prescient but ignored.  Included was his assertion the idea of “…virtual representation of America in this house is the most contemptible idea that ever entered into the head of man and it does not deserve serious refutation.”  However, refute quite seriously just about everything his government was doing he did.  Pitt’s use of the word in this adjectival sense was no outlier, the meaning “being something in essence or effect, though not actually or in fact” dating from the mid-fifteenth century, an evolution of the sense of a few decades earlier when it was used to mean “capable of producing a certain effect”.  The adverb virtually was also an early fifteenth century form in the sense of “as far as essential qualities or facts are concerned while the meaning “in effect, as good as” emerged by the early seventeenth.

Lindsay Lohan's 2021 predictions of the US$ value of Bitcoin (BTC) & Ethereum (ETH).  By April 2024 the trend was still upward so the US$100,000 BTC may happen.  

In general use, the terms “cybercurrency”, “cryptocurrency” & “virtual currency” tend to be used interchangeably and probably that has no practical consequences, all describing electronic (digital) “currencies” which typically are decentralized, the main point of differentiation being that cryptocurrencies claim to be based on cryptographic principles and usually limited in the volume of their issue (although the decimal point makes this later point of little practical significance)  Whether they should be regarded as currencies is a sterile argument because simultaneously they are more and less, being essentially a form of gambling but for certain transactions (such as illicit drugs traded on various platforms), they are the preferred currency and in many jurisdictions they remain fully convertible and it’s telling the values are expressed almost always in US$, “cross-rates” (ie against other cryptocurrencies) rarely quoted.  However, to be pedantic, a “virtual currency” is really any not issued by a central government or authority (in the last one or two centuries-odd usually a national or central bank) and they can include in-game currencies, reward points and, of course, crybercurrencies.  The distinguishing feature of a cryptocurrency is the cryptotography.

Although the term is not widely used, in Christianity, "virtuality" was the view that contrary to the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, the bread & wine central to Holy Communion do not literally transform into flesh and blood but are the medium or mechanism through which the spiritual or immaterial essence of the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ are received.  Within the Church, those who espoused or adhered to the heresy of virtuality were condemned as "virtualists.  In philosophy, the concept of virtuality probably sounds something simple to students but of course academic philosophy has a “marginal propensity to confuse”, the important distinction being “virtual” is not opposed to “real” but instead to “actual”, “real” being opposed to “possible”.