Justice for our public servants

 

The injustice meted out to so many of our postmasters and postmistresses is back in the news yet again. An enquiry has been taking place into how it happened that several hundred local postmasters in the United Kingdom were convicted, over a period of years, of stealing from the Post Office - although the apparent thefts are now recognised to have been actually a significant and persistent software error. It now seems that many of these people were putting their own money in, as a means of keeping the offices open, and there has still been no restitution. The 555 people who collectively proved in the courts that the computer system was at fault were told that they would be given some real compensation. It has now emerged that the Post Office has proved incapable of organising such compensation, and most people have so far received nothing.

The whole story seems quite incredible. The Post Office, which handles a huge number of transactions on behalf of Royal Mail and also for various government departments, decided to implement a new computer system, known as “Horizon”, despite evidence that it was not working properly. Apparently, during the period of training given to the postmasters, reports of many errors in the system were being passed to higher-ranking officials, but these were just ignored, either by the Post Office or the software company or both. Therefore, when the system was implemented, these errors continued and postmasters and postmistresses were blamed for the discrepancies. They were accused of embezzlement, because money seemed to have disappeared from the accounts. To make things worse, it recently came to light that the resulting process of prosecution was conducted via a system of private prosecutions, which is legally available to the Post Office, and not through the criminal justice system with all its safeguards. The allegations were therefore not independently investigated by the police or by anyone except the Post Office. Surely, this should not be allowed to happen again.

It is reported that literally thousands of people were affected, not just those who appeared before the courts. Presumably, everybody in the relevant departments at the Post Office assumed that because a computer had done the calculations, the evidence was irrefutable. However, another disturbing fact comes in here. Apparently, every person accused of stealing money from the Post Office who suggested that it was the computer system, because they knew that they hadn’t taken the money, was told categorically that they were the only one who claimed that it was the system, and that nobody else had suggested that there was such a problem. This suggests a deliberate policy of finding people guilty, for reasons which can only be guessed at.

Bahá’u’lláh (the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith) said: “The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom... By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others…” It is totally wrong that these people were falsely accused and falsely convicted. The current enquiry has been set up to establish how it could have happened that nobody realised the unlikelihood of so many people suddenly being found to be stealing money from the Post Office; how it could have happened that faults in the system were ignored; and how it could have happened that while the postmasters have suffered greatly for years, losing their livelihoods, their reputations, their homes, their marriages, and even their lives through suicide, no blame has ever been put on any official responsible for the tragedy. Where is the justice in this?

Justice is so central to Bahá’í teachings that when Bahá’u’lláh ordained that an institution should be set up in each city, town or village where there is a Bahá’í community, He said that it should be known as the Local House of Justice. For the whole world He ordained a body entitled the Universal House of Justice. At present, however, the local bodies are termed “Local Spiritual Assemblies”, as they do not yet have the legal status to administer justice. Even with this temporary title, the members should “regard themselves as the representatives of all that dwell on earth” in their dispassionate approach to decision-taking. In the Bahá’í writings, we are urged to, “Be living examples of justice! … Justice is not limited, it is a universal quality… Justice must be sacred, and the rights of all the people must be considered.”

The Bahá’í writings also highlight other, more natural, aspects of justice: “Equality and brotherhood must be established among all members of mankind. This is according to justice. The general rights of mankind must be guarded and preserved.” And again: “There can be no doubt whatever that if the day star of justice, which the clouds of tyranny have obscured, were to shed its light upon men, the face of the earth would be completely transformed.”

In the case of the wrongly-accused postmasters, the tyranny was not political but was administrative and corporate tyranny. If justice had been to the forefront, the company which wrote the software for the Horizon computer system would have made sure it worked properly. If justice had been important to the Post Office, they would not have implemented a system with known faults. And, if justice had been the real goal of the lawyers involved in the prosecution, they would have regarded it as crucial to look with a critical eye into the facts of the case.

The complete transformation of the face of the earth, which, as mentioned above, is the natural result of justice in the Bahá’í view, should result in courts of law becoming courts which instead administer justice. Those who have suffered at the hands of apparently careless and unscrupulous software companies and careless and unscrupulous officials should now receive justice. As far as possible, those who have survived this ordeal should be both compensated and honoured for the service they were giving.

A Life of Service

 

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for seventy years, and is therefore celebrating her Platinum Jubilee. She is the Head of State for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of fourteen other countries. She is also Head of the Commonwealth of Nations, which has a total membership of 54 countries. The length of her reign is only exceeded by one other monarch in recorded history, King Louis XIV of France, who became king at the age of 4.
Princess Elizabeth became queen when a young mother. She took on the onerous duties of head of state at the age of 25 and has devoted herself to it ever since. As a devout Christian, she takes her coronation vows seriously. Even at the age of 96, she still performs many duties. For this life of service she has earned general respect.

So, what did the Platinum Jubilee consist of? In the United Kingdom, it was celebrated by street parties, church services, concerts, parades and a major pageant in central London, highlighting the diversity of the populations the queen represents.

Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, wrote: “Although a republican form of government profiteth all the peoples of the world, yet the majesty of kingship is one of the signs of God. We do not wish that the countries of the world should remain deprived thereof. If the sagacious combine the two forms into one, great will be their reward in the presence of God.”

During the 1860s, Bahá’u’lláh wrote to a number of emperors, kings, and leaders of republics, urging them to adopt a programme of major reform, which would have led to the abolition of warfare and a more equitable system of economic and social life. One of those to whom He wrote was Queen Victoria, and in His letter He referred to the handing of power to the representatives of the people: “We have also heard that thou hast entrusted the reins of counsel into the hands of the representatives of the people. Thou, indeed, hast done well, for thereby the foundations of the edifice of thine affairs will be strengthened, and the hearts of all that are beneath thy shadow, whether high or low, will be tranquillised.”
Queen Victoria, upon reading this letter, is reported to have said: “If this of God, it will endure. If not, it can do no harm.” She replied to Bahá’u’lláh in very courteous terms – the only monarch to reply at all! It is a notable historical fact that of all the monarchs who received letters from Bahá’u’lláh, Victoria is the only one whose dynasty is still in place!

Another consideration is the benefit of having someone who is non-political in outlook as the person who represents the nation. In a few countries, there is an elected president who represents a particular party or viewpoint. But many countries prefer to have a president who never was at the forefront of politics – a wise, somewhat neutral person who stands for the nation. In a constitutional monarchy, such as exists in the United Kingdom, such a person is bequeathed to the nation.

The reign of Queen Elizabeth is being celebrated with particular enthusiasm because she is recognised as having been a very good queen. Over seventy years, she has earned the respect of the vast majority of the population for her devotion to duty. She has been a symbol of stability through changing times. She is seen as a righteous lady, tolerant and sympathetic. Her life has been that of service: she works for the people, and tries to do things for the benefit of all. The idea of service is a very important one to Bahá’ís, and a life of service is what every Bahá’í aspires to achieve: “Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race.” (Bahá’í Writings)
Our current sovereign has given us a powerful example of a life of service.

It just isn’t fair

 

Peninsular and Orient, known now as P&O, operates ferries from Britain to various countries in Europe. Recently, eight hundred of their experienced and loyal staff were dismissed without notice, so that the company could employ staff from other countries, and pay them at a lower rate. Many other companies have taken similar action – transferring the jobs to other countries, but paying people less. This is a complete travesty of all that seems fair and right. Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, and speaking as the mouthpiece of God, wrote: “The best beloved of all things in My sight is justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me… Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee.” As Bahá’u’lláh tells us that justice is the best-beloved of all things in the sight of God, we need to consider some of the implications of the word. Surely, justice requires fair and compassionate treatment of those whose lives are affected by your actions – chiefly, in this instance, your employees.

Apart from the loss of income, the role of work in a person’s life should also be taken into consideration. Work is seen by Bahá’ís as a way of dedicating your life to the service of others, and is therefore a form of worship. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Bahá’u’lláh’s son) said: “All effort and exertion put forth by man from the fullness of his heart is worship, if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service to humanity.” The ferry company removed that avenue of service from its employees at a stroke. It was not just their livelihood that was taken from them, it was their whole sense of worth, their role in society. In the Bahá’í view, employees of a company are entitled to a share in the profits of that company. This reinforces the idea that this is an enterprise in which owners, managers and workers share. Success for one is success for all. Unfortunately, this is not always seen to be the case.

Shipping has often been the setting for questionable practices. Every ship is registered in one country or another. But some countries are thought to have lax inspection procedures (or none at all). It suits unscrupulous shipping companies to register their old, rusting vessels in one of these countries, as a “flag of convenience”. They get few (or no) inspections. It is an income for the government of such a country, and a way for the companies to get away with poor (or no) maintenance or safety practices. The situation is then compounded by the complicated way in which the companies themselves are set up, whereby the company named on the shipping register then belongs to another company, in another country, which in turn belongs to another company… Prosecuting those responsible for a shipping disaster can be very difficult.

So we have a situation in which crew members speaking eight different languages are working on a ship docked in Country A, with a flag from Country B, owned by a company registered in Country C, which belongs to another company in Country D… And we are dealing here with people’s lives, and shipments of food and goods between countries. My point is that in the case of shipping, which usually involves visiting ports in different countries and travelling over vast distances of sea which “belong” to nobody, there should be a world body in control, ensuring safety, respect for the marine environment, and fair treatment for everyone. The laws on commerce, financial transactions, safety and employment should be the same everywhere. The shipping industry clearly shows the need for some form of world administration, with the power to enforce basic procedures. 

P&O’s change of crew members has had far-reaching consequences. It has meant that their ships need fresh safety clearance, which has led to some of them being out of service. This, together with other problems, has led to long delays at the port of Dover, not just disrupting people’s Easter holidays, but causing huge backlogs for lorries and their goods. This is not a good outcome for anybody, including P&O.

Respect for the law should be underlying the actions of all the stakeholders. P&O’s Chief Executive Officer admitted to a Parliamentary Committee that he broke the law, treating the workers unfairly by sacking them without any sort of prior consultation with the unions. He knew that they would not agree to his proposals, but he seemed to think that it did not matter. According to the Bahá’í teachings, which urge obedience to the laws of a just government, it does matter. There need to be consequences. Otherwise, it just isn’t fair.

It doesn’t have to be like this…

 

Once again, the prospect of a war between nations in Europe seems possible. In recent years, there have been armed struggles in Eastern Europe and nearby, in the Middle East. But there has been no direct conflict between states in Europe.

In the Bahá’í view, war, as a concept and process, should already have been left behind – consigned to the history books. We should have progressed beyond this. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Bahá’u’lláh’s son) was saddened by the wars which were happening in the early 20^th century and foresaw and warned everyone of the First World War. He asked: “How is it possible for men to fight from morning until evening, killing each other, shedding the blood of their fellow-men: and for what object? To gain possession of a part of the earth! … The highest of created beings fighting to obtain the lowest form of matter, earth! Land belongs not to one people, but to all people. This earth is not man's home, but his tomb.”
Most individuals do not want war. They realise that it only produces suffering. Unfortunately, not all people are able to make their voices heard.

All the human beings on this planet are inter-related, inter-connected. Bahá’u’lláh offered us the vision of re-creating the human race as one family. Love for our fellow-man, love for the world, should be a greater love than for our own country. He said: “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” If we really understood this, there would be no more wars.

In the 1860s, Bahá’u’lláh, writing from a Turkish prison, addressed the most powerful rulers of the time, both collectively and individually, and urged them to organise a universal peace conference. He told them that they should attend in person, or at the very least send their chief ministers. At this conference, they should fix all the boundary disputes, set up rules for behaviour between states, and agree armament levels - sufficient to keep order, but insufficient for aggression. Once these had been agreed upon, the entire world would then have a system designed to prevent any aggression in the future: “Should any king take up arms against another, all should unitedly arise and prevent him. If this be done, the nations of the world will no longer require any armaments, except for the purpose of preserving the security of their realms and of maintaining internal order within their territories.”

Unfortunately, those rulers took no notice, many wars resulted and they still continue to be fought. At the present time, the world is grappling with a disease pandemic. At the same time, problems such as climate change and loss of biodiversity seem to be getting more urgent. This is a time when we really should be working together as a species, not bringing about destruction. Although most of us are unable to directly affect the immediate political crisis, we can all play a part in improving the world through the way we treat other people - our individual actions, the things we say, our example and the things we write. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: “Peace must first be established among individuals, until it leadeth in the end to peace among nations.” There is no need for the world to stay as it is: it is up to us to help move the world forward.

A hundred years since he passed away

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was a kindly man. He was generous, loving and caring, like his Father. He lived a life of service to mankind, visiting the sick, feeding the poor and encouraging the downtrodden, just as His Father had done. His Father was Bahá’u’lláh, Whom Bahá’ís believe was the Messenger of God for this age. Bahá’u’lláh Himself suffered imprisonment, torture and exile for forty years, in order to proclaim His message - that all religions are from God, that all human beings are one family and that all mankind should be in unity. From an early age, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá shared many of his Father’s sufferings. Bahá’u’lláh designated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the one who, after His own passing, would be the point of unity for all the Bahá’ís, the Interpreter of His teachings and as the Example of how a Bahá’í should live.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was living in Haifa when he passed away. One little story will suffice to show how the poor people of Palestine regarded ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. In the early years of the twentieth century, some Bahá’í pilgrims were on their way to visit him. Their carriage was stopped by a gang of robbers, who demanded that the pilgrims hand over whatever money they had. They were carrying a bag of money which was to be given to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, so they, very sadly, handed it over. But when one of the pilgrims said, “That money is for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá”, the robbers stopped, stated that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had helped them and their families, and handed the bag of money back!

Between 1911 and 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was able to leave Palestine, and he visited Europe, Britain and North America. He was already well into his sixties, and not in good health, due to the conditions which he had endured for much of his life. He had never given a public talk in his life, but suddenly he was being invited to speak to large audiences in churches, synagogues and universities, as well as talking to smaller groups of people who came to hear him in the houses where he stayed. His visits attracted a great deal of interest, with extensive newspaper coverage at the time. He explained his Father’s message that all religions and all people were from the same one God, and stressed the things which should be done in order to bring about oneness. Those who heard him were urged to promote the unity of the races and the equality of the sexes and to work towards peace. He also warned of an impending war, and when the First World War broke out, the resulting conditions prevented him from travelling abroad again.

During this war, the British Army was advancing through Palestine, and pushing back the Turkish forces. The Turkish commander in Haifa announced that if he had to retreat from Haifa, he would have ‘Abdu’l-Bahá crucified, as his last act in charge. Special instructions came to the British Army from London, telling them to make sure that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was safe. General Allenby despatched some Indian cavalry with orders to do exactly that. They galloped straight into Haifa, found out where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was living, and then mounted guard around his house. Later, the General’s telegram to London read, “Have today taken Palestine. Notify the world that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is safe.” General Allenby then made a point of visiting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in person, and was amazed to find that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had arranged for enough food to be stockpiled to feed everyone in Haifa and also had enough to feed the British troops! For his humanitarian work during the war, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was knighted by the British government.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away on 28^th November, 1921, leaving behind clear instructions as to how to keep the Bahá’í Faith united. It is estimated that ten thousand people were present at his funeral (shown above, as it left his house) – Muslims, Jews, Christians, Druze and Bahá’ís. A century later, Bahá’ís around the world have been commemorating his passing in various ways – both among themselves and with the public at large. This commemoration has included special acts of service in his name. In fact, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s work can be summarised as service to humanity, and Bahá’ís continue to try to follow his example. One aspect of this service was that of bringing Bahá’u’lláh’s message of peace, oneness and unity to all of mankind. That task is carried on by the Bahá’ís of today, one hundred years after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá himself passed away. 

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A 55-minute film, “Exemplar”, has recently been released, designed to present ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His life to the public. It can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXc0cOhrcW4

 

Hope for the future

Recently, the COP26 conference was held in Glasgow, Scotland. The goal was to agree changes in human activity which would restrict the global temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C. (At present, the world is about 1.2°C warmer than it was before industrialisation.) The power to decide what to do resides in the sovereign states - in other words, the individual governments - as we do not yet have one government for the whole world. The ordinary citizen, the concerned activist, the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), can all try to influence governments, but none of them has any power to actually make the decisions which are necessary.

The Bahá’ís of the world, like every other community on the planet, have no control over the COP26 process. But the Bahá’ís collectively are represented at such conferences by an NGO called the “Bahá’í International Community” (BIC) which is accredited to the United Nations. The BIC send a Bahá’í team to each event, usually including individuals with specialist knowledge. At Glasgow, the BIC delegation included a team of young Bahá’ís from Kazakhstan, Kenya and the Netherlands. Their aim was to exchange positive ideas for the betterment of the climate situation with the other bodies present. (A link to one of their news reports can be found at the end of this blog.)

The local Bahá’í community in the area, led by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Glasgow, was also very active during COP26. The Local Spiritual Assembly, working with a small number of partner organisations, set out to support the goals of the conference. Together they organised a period of intense activity during the period of COP26, including devotional meetings (prayers and readings) every morning and evening, panel discussions, prayer vigils, talks, public discussions, online presentations, musical events and children’s classes. They also produced a helpful and widely-publicised pledge for individuals to investigate how they could modify their lives in order to help reduce global warming (see link at the end of this blog). Bahá’ís also offered accommodation in their homes to visitors from elsewhere.

One of the Bahá’ís living in Glasgow also happens to be the Director of InterFaith Scotland. Among other things, InterFaith Scotland organised a march to show that religious leaders support the effort to rein in global warming (pictured above).

There were a number of other Bahá’ís present at the conference, apart from the BIC representatives previously mentioned. My own brother is chair of the Trustees of the International Tree Foundation (ITF), and was part of a delegation from that body. They were involved in negotiations and co-operation with other NGOs alongside the main conference. ITF was also involved in various tree-planting initiatives, including the Clyde Climate Forest, and agreed an arrangement with Glasgow Clyde College to begin planting trees on all properties owned by them. The photos below show some ITF members planting trees in the Clyde Forest and my brother planting the first tree at the college, alongside the Principal of the College.

A number of the Bahá’ís who were present at the conference are members of the Bahá’í-inspired International Environment Forum, which co-operates with and spreads ideas from a wide variety of other bodies. Down To Earth Carbon Ltd was also represented. This organisation is dedicated to helping smallholder farmers and indigenous communities to find more sustainable ways to grow crops. Forest Trends is another Bahá’í-inspired body which sent representatives. Each of these bodies concentrates on one particular aspect of the current situation, and they work co-operatively to achieve the best they can for the planet and for the whole of mankind.

Meanwhile, in the main conference hall, an agreement was reached – at the last minute, as usually happens. Significant goals were set and commitments made by many countries. The governments at the conference, however, still did not succeed in making sufficient pledges to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees. This was particularly disappointing to the small island states, some of which are only a few feet above present sea level, and are therefore at severe risk of being flooded due to sea level rises caused by the melting of glaciers and the polar ice caps. Interestingly, the Bahá’í Faith is well established in many of these island nations. The first Bahá’í House of Worship in the Pacific was built in Western Samoa. By chance, the lady who is the director of InterFaith Scotland was at one time a Bahá’í pioneer in the Pacific, and was involved in activities at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Samoa.

Also co-incidentally, just as the conference was coming to a close, a local Bahá’í House of Worship for the island of Tanna, in Vanuatu, was being officially opened. This is the first local House of Worship in the Pacific region. About three thousand people from across Vanuatu attended the ceremony. These Houses of Worship are open for use by people of all religions or none, and serve to bring the local community together in many ways.

Despite the difficulties currently being brought by man-made climate change, the Bahá’ís are not despairing. We still have time to make a difference, especially if humanity can learn to work together as one. Bahá’ís are building up communities because they have hope for the future.

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A link to the Eco Pledge can be found here:

http://www.glasgowbahais.org.uk/Cop26

A link to one of the BIC reports can be found here:

https://www.bic.org/news/bic-delegation-joins-climate-discussions-cop-26-0

[Photo credits:
IFS march: Sean Miller for Digital Chameleon Studios
Tree-planting: Esther Spencer (International Tree Foundation)
Tanna House of Worship: Bahá'í World News Service]

  

COP26: It’s Time to Play Our Part

 

(this is a guest blog by my wife, Ann)

The COP26 conference in Glasgow starts at the end of this month. At present, the hopes of the world rest on this conference, where the leaders of the world should be making commitments in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

Just recently, the Environment Agency in England published a report giving dire warnings about the dangers of floods and droughts in this country, plus a rise in sea levels around the coast (and Britain has a lot of coast!). The report said that we need to do more as individuals to protect ourselves and our property, playing our own part, while at the same time the government agencies will restore areas to their natural state to better hold back water, for instance. Governments and individuals both need to act, one can’t solve the global warming problem without the other.

We each have our own part to play in a more general way too. Bahá’u’lláh (the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith) said about 150 years ago, “Take from this world only to the measure of your needs, and forego that which exceedeth them.” Unfortunately, many of us in the developed world have been taking more than we need. More than our fair share, in fact. Sadly, it seems that many people do not realise that we are spiritual beings living in a  material world, and that it is our spiritual development which matters, not accumulating material things. In the Bahá’í Writings it says, “Man is in reality a spiritual being and only when he lives in the spirit is he truly happy.” Everything in the world can be lost, but spiritual happiness is eternal. All of the religions have taught us to concentrate on improving our spiritual life – loving and serving others, for example. None of them has told us to be greedy! If we really care for one another we will not take everything for ourselves. In any case, common sense should tell us that the good of the individual is found in the good of the whole.

So what can we do to ensure that there is enough of everything for everybody, now and in the future? How can we avoid climate change bringing disaster to us all? I’m sure we all know many ways we can make a difference. A “make do and mend” approach is a good start, not buying things we don’t really need. There are many changes which don’t cost anything – like planning meals ahead so as not to waste food, eating less meat, switching off unnecessary lights, using low-energy bulbs, walking or cycling instead of driving. Other things are more expensive, like insulation, electric or hybrid cars, or heat pumps. We need to do whatever we can to play our part.

The Bahá’í Writings say that the inner life of each person must change, as well as the outward environment, if we are to save humanity. If we concentrate on the spiritual aspects of life – on kindness, empathy, honesty, generosity – we will not be wishing for material things. It is only by a change of heart that we can avoid the disaster of overwhelming climate change.

On a personal note, I tend to do a check every 6 to 12 months to see where else I could use less, save energy or reduce my carbon footprint. These small changes add up over time.

Maybe, with COP26 coming up, it is time for us all to look again at our lifestyles and see what is really necessary and how we could make a difference to the future of the world.

And if we can change the world for the better, on both a spiritual and a physical level, the sum total of human happiness will be so much greater.

 

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Paddy and I have recently edited a book on climate change for a Buddhist friend. It is called “The Climate Emergency and Green Spirituality Activism – a last chance to change our values?” It has just been published and is available on Amazon as a paperback or e-book. The views expressed in the book are not necessarily the same as ours, but it has lots of information on how climate change is affecting us now and on how it will do so in the future. It also has collections of inspiring quotations from all major faith traditions (including Bahá’í) on the subject of looking after the earth, maintaining a balance and avoiding greed and materialism. The third part of the book suggests ways in which we can help reduce climate change by our own actions - in our own personal lives or by supporting various groups. At 300 pages it is an interesting read!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=the+climate+emergency+and+green+spirituality+activism&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss