pred_label
stringclasses 2
values | pred_label_prob
float64 0.5
1
| wiki_prob
float64 0.25
1
| text
stringlengths 72
1.01M
| source
stringlengths 37
43
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__cc
| 0.628002
| 0.371998
|
Cohen Blasts Trump and Trump Blasts Back
The hearing had the feel of an underboss for the mob flipping on the boss, with some of the interrogators having little trust in what he said.
Nonetheless, freshly disbarred attorney Michael Cohen, a convicted liar and cheat, took to Capitol Hill on Wednesday and did a major dump on his former boss, President Donald Trump, calling him a con man and a racist, and suggesting he had broken the law. He also indicated that he was assisting the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York in a criminal probe into the president.
The Republican members couldn’t find enough ways to call him a liar who is incapable of telling the truth. The Democrats insisted the Republicans were afraid of him telling the truth.
Meanwhile, in Vietnam, President Trump attacked the testimony.
“It was pretty shameful, I think,” Trump said, according to USA Today. He went on to call it a fake hearing, but was pleased that Cohen did not suggest there was collusion with Russia.
He didn’t lie about one thing: He said no collusion with the Russian hoax,” Trump said.
“I was actually impressed he didn’t say I think there was collusion for this reason or that,” Trump said. “… I was a little impressed by that frankly.”
Posted: February 28th, 2019 under News Story.
Tags: michael cohen, Mob
Fired FBI Supervisor Sues for Sex Discrimination and Retaliation
Jennifer Boughton, a former civilian supervisor at the FBI’s Cincinnati field office, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging sexual discrimination and retaliation after she complained some of the male employees on her team slept on the job, lied about their work and drove FBI cars after drinking alcohol, Fox 19 reports.
Boughton began working for the FBI in October 2003 and was promoted to Supervisory Investigative Specialist in December 2008, according to the lawsuit. She spent most of her time overseeing a mobile surveillance team. She received no discipline and had no performance issues between 2008 and 2014, according to the lawsuit.
In May 2015, she was reassigned to special projects and her pay was reduced and her car privileges were revoked. She was fired in early 2016, the station reports.
Read the lawsuit
Tags: discrimination, FBI, sue
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6244
|
__label__wiki
| 0.634288
| 0.634288
|
Next → 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 ← Previous page
Andy Warhol, American Artist
Andy Warhol was an American artist, director and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertising that flourish...
Hundertwasser, Architect / Painter
Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser was an Austrian painter and architect. Born Friedrich Stowasser in Vienna, he became one of the best-known contemporary Austrian artists, although controversial, by the end of the 20th century...
Roy Lichtenstein, American Pop Artist
Roy Fox Lichtenstein was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. His work defined the premise of pop art through...
Karel Appel, Co-founder Cobra Movement
Karel Appel was born on April 25, 1921, in Amsterdam. From 1940 to 1943 he studied at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. In 1946 his first solo show was held at Het Beerenhuis in Groningen, the Netherlands, and he partici...
Francis Bacon, Painter
Irish-British painter. He lived in Berlin and Paris before settling in London (1929) to begin a career as an interior decorator. With no formal art training, he started painting, drawing, and participating in gallery exhibitions, with littl...
Salvador Dali, Spanish Surrealist
Salvador Dalí was a prominent Spanish surrealist artist of Catalan ethnicity born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain. Dalí was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills ar...
One of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, was born in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1904. Following formal studies in fine and applied art at the Rotterdam Academy, he emigrated to America at age twenty-two. In New York he init...
René Magritte, Belgian Surrealist Artist
René François Ghislain Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging obs...
M.C. Escher, Graphic Artist
M. C. Escher was a Dutch graphic artist who made mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. His work features mathematical objects and operations including impossible objects, explorations of infinity, reflection, sym...
Alexander Calder, Painter, Sculpter
Alexander "Sandy" Calder was an abstract painter and sculptor famous for working in wire and originating the dangling, moving artworks known as mobiles. Alexander Calder grew up in a family of artists, but he began his career by studying me...
Joan Miró, Spanish Surrealist Painter
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Catalan, Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona in 1975, and another, the Fundació Pilar i...
Man Ray, Photographer / Painter
Man Ray's photography would come to play an important role in the Surrealist movement. Although he had first bought a camera in 1915 to document his paintings, he now wanted to become a professional portrait photographer. Some of his very f...
Oskar Schlemmer, Master of Form
Oskar Schlemmer was a German painter, sculptor, designer and choreographer associated with the Bauhaus school. In 1923 he was hired as Master of Form at the Bauhaus theatre workshop, after working some time at the workshop of sculpture. His...
Marc Chagall, Modernist
Marc Chagall was a Russian–French artist, associated with several key art movements and was one of the most successful artists of the 20th century. He created a unique career in virtually every artistic medium, including paintings, book il...
Prev < 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 > Next
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6245
|
__label__wiki
| 0.568189
| 0.568189
|
Several class-action lawsuits have been filed across the country over the advertising of glucosamine supplements, all alleging that the various marketers of the products falsely label them as able to provide numerous joint benefits without having competent scientific evidence to support such marketing claims.
In the spring of 2017, the parties to a class action pending against the marketer of the TripleFlex line of glucosamine supplements reached a proposed settlement agreement that, among other things, would allow the company — Pharmavite — to continue its deceptive labeling (while prohibiting the nationwide class from ever doing anything about it) in exchange for paying a nominal sum to a small percentage of class members and more than $4 million to plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Because the agreement does not eradicate the deception at issue and is therefore unfair to consumers, TINA.org filed a brief in November 2017 as amicus curiae opposing the proposed settlement. However, on December 4, 2017, the Court granted final approval of the settlement. Later that month, a class member who had objected to the fairness of the settlement filed a Notice of Appeal indicating he was appealing the Court’s final approval to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals but the appeal was later voluntarily dismissed.
TripleFlex Glucosamine
Glucosamine Settlement Is A Raw Deal For Consumers
+ Amicus Brief and Related Filings
Pharmavite’s Opposition to TINA.org
TINA.org’s Reply Brief
Settlement Doesn’t Cure Ad Issues
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6246
|
__label__wiki
| 0.981794
| 0.981794
|
By Tim MolloySep 14, 2009 8:44 PM EDT
Patrick Swayze, who seamlessly blended sensitivity and brawn in roles as diverse as a dance instructor in Dirty Dancing and a surfing bank robber in Point Break, has died after playing a role that demanded more of his courage and determination than any other: cancer patient.
The 57-year-old star of Ghost and The Outsiders, who was nominated three times for an acting Golden Globe, endured a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Swayze's publicist said he died Monday with family at his side, according to the Associated Press.
Look back at Swayze's life in pictures
He fought until the end, even performing grueling stunts while filming his A&E drama series, The Beast. Co-star Travis Fimmel said in January that the strain of fighting the disease rarely showed during filming.
"You can hardly tell with the guy," he told TVGuide.com. "He's such a man. The sickest thing about him on set is probably his jokes."
Watch full episodes of The Beast
Swayze's mother, the head of the Houston Jazz Ballet Company, taught him dance at a young age. His love of ballet exposed him to teasing from classmates, and he turned to sports in high school, including gymnastics, swimming and football. He graduated with scholarship offers in football and dance.
The actor and his wife, Lisa Niemi — whom he met when she was a student at his mother's school — trained with the Harkness and Joffrey Ballet companies. He became a principal dancer with the Eliot Feld Ballet Company, but switched to theater when he had to undergo surgery for an old football injury.
He achieved early success on Broadway, and in 1978 won the lead of Danny Zuko in the Broadway production of Grease. He next moved on to film, first in 1979's Skatetown, U.S.A., and later in 1983's The Outsiders, where he appeared alongside Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Emilio Estevez.
See other celebrities who have died this year
He soon established a pattern of switching between romantic roles and grittier action fare.
In the 1984 cult classic, Red Dawn, he starred alongside Jennifer Grey in the violent story of a Soviet invasion in Michigan. But in the 1987 surprise hit Dirty Dancing, he played a dance instructor Johnny Castle who taught Baby Houseman (Grey) about dance and love. The film earned Swayze his first Golden Globe nomination.
Notable 1980s television appearances included the miniseries North and South and its sequel.
In 1990's Ghost, one of his biggest films, he played a murdered man who communicates with his lover (Demi Moore) through a medium (Whoopi Goldberg). The role earned him his second Golden Globe nomination.
Also in 1990, Swayze lampooned his beefcake image by competing with Chris Farley for a job at Chippendale's in one of the best-loved sketches in the history of Saturday Night Live.
In 1991 he returned to action, starring opposite Keanu Reeves in Point Break.
But Swayze became disillusioned with Hollywood, and began spending more time on his ranches in California and New Mexico, raising horses. He also checked into a rehab facility to deal with a growing alcohol problem that began after his father's death in 1982.
Another turning point was the death of his sister, Vicky, in 1994. She died from an overdose of painkillers after a lifelong battle with depression.
Swayze continued to act through the 1990s, earning his third Golden Globe nod for To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, a role in which he dressed in drag. He later took another surprising turn in Donnie Darko, playing a motivational speaker with a kiddie porn dungeon.
Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2008 and began undergoing chemotherapy. He had already been cast in The Beast, but consulted with the producers, who decided he should remain with the show.
Watch Swayze's interview with Barbara Walters
Despite his courage at the time, he told Barbara Walters in an interview this year he was "going through hell."
"I've never been one to run from a challenge," he said.
Patrick Swayze: His Life, His Legacy will air on TV Guide Network at 10/9c Monday and repeat throughout the day Tuesday, including at 8/7c. Also watch a special edition of Hollywood 411 on Swayze at 6/5c Tuesday.
What's New to Stream on Amazon Prime Video in June
Get your Knives Out this summer
The Hunger Games Kicks Off Lionsgate's Digital 'Night at the Movies' Series
Katniss Everdeen is volunteering as tribute to keep you entertained Friday night
The Bachelor Enlists Whoopi Goldberg for Goofy, Ghost-Inspired Oscars Promo
Peter does pottery, with an assist from Whoopi Goldberg
Here's What's Coming to Amazon Prime in September
Find out when to stream your faves
Billy Dee Williams Joins ABC's Dirty Dancing Remake
Lando is heading to the Catskills
Sarah Hyland Joins Dirty Dancing Remake
See who she's playing
Photo Credits: Kevin Winter/Getty Images; NBC; Amazon/Netflix/HBO/FX; Netflix; Anthony Roman; Apple TV+; HBO; Claire Folger/Lionsgate; Murray Close/Lionsgate; ABC/YouTube
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6254
|
__label__wiki
| 0.8805
| 0.8805
|
Current: Student Spotlight: Matthew Caprioli, English
Student Spotlight: Matthew Caprioli, English
by Kathleen McCoy | September 22, 2010
For UAA junior Matthew Caprioli, it's the little things that add up to make a big difference.
This spring, he racked up more than 700 points on the UAA Sustainability Pledge - the highest score by a student - for his commitment to living sustainably. The pledge was designed to track sustainability efforts like carpooling, recycling and energy conservation among UAA students, staff and faculty.
Matthew chooses to live a sustainable lifestyle because it makes sense. To him, sustainability means thinking of creative ways to conserve or extend resources. "I don't do things that are out of the ordinary," he said. "I just do the simple things."
He walks, bikes and uses his WOLFcard student ID to ride the PeopleMover for free. He takes navy showers (meaning turning off the water while lathering up), which conserves a significant amount of water and energy. He also brings his own coffee mug, and once bought his professor a permanent coffee mug because she'd always bring a Starbucks coffee cup to class. He also keeps a brick in his toilet tank at home to reduce water use, a tip he picked up from a magazine.
"The things I do aren't hard at all, so why not? It's a more creative and healthier lifestyle living sustainably."
Matthew grew up in Anchorage and graduated from Dimond High School in 2008. He trekked across the country to attend Clark University in Massachusetts, but when money ran out, he decided it was time to return home. With the help of student loans and scholarships, he enrolled in courses at UAA and is now a junior majoring in English, with minors in French and psychology.
"UAA has really surprised me," said Matthew. "The professors have been amazing; they truly care about you and they're responsive to any effort you make. If you give the effort, you will receive a lot back."
"Student Spotlight: Matthew Caprioli, English" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6256
|
__label__wiki
| 0.877389
| 0.877389
|
Eye Protection is a good idea
Saw this story on the newswire:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/print?id=552076
Man Shoots Eye With Nail Gun, Pulls It Out
Construction Worker Accidentally Shoots Himself in the Eye With Nail
Gun, Then Pulls It Out
Mar. 4, 2005 - A construction worker accidentally shot himself in the
eye with a nail gun and then pulled the 2 1/2-inch nail out of his
face, according to a police report and a co-worker.
Joseluis Franco, 19, was using an air-powered, Hitachi nail gun to
help build a home Wednesday when a nail bounced back and lodged in his
eye, crew leader Rogelio Ocampo said. Franco was nailing a two-by-four
to concrete when the nail ricocheted.
Franco was conscious when police arrived at the scene and was taken to
St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where he was treated and
released. Police said Friday they don't know the condition of Franco's
Originally from a town near Acapulco, Mexico, Franco has been in the
construction business for about three weeks, Ocampo said.
"I don't know what's going to happen to him," Ocampo said. "I don't
know if the insurance is going to cover his bills or anything."
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6259
|
__label__cc
| 0.695913
| 0.304087
|
Mary Lowry Vollema, occupational therapist, works with Justin Youngblood of Pearl, an ASD patient, at the Center for Advancement of Youth.
A $1 million gift to the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Center for Advancement of Youth from Community Bank and Senior Chairman of the Board Thomas W. Colbert Sr. and his wife, Ann, will advance care for Mississippi children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder.
“Ann and I have been so greatly blessed throughout our lives, it is our privilege to give back to the underserved children of Mississippi,” Colbert said. “The Center for Advancement of Youth will not only identify the great need we have for behavioral services throughout the state, but provide these services through their exceptionally designed program.”
Community Bank and the Colberts each donated $500,000 through the University of Mississippi Foundation to support CAY, which offers comprehensive, coordinated care across disciplines for children with behavioral or developmental issues from across the state. The center is located in the Highland Bluff building on Old Canton Road in Northeast Jackson.
Celebrating the $1 million gift from Community Bank and Thomas W. Colbert Sr., senior chairman of the board, and his wife, Ann, to the Center for Advancement of Youth are, from left, Dr. Scott Rodgers, chair of psychiatry and human behavior; Dr. David Elkin, CAY executive director; Chuck Nicholson, Community Bank president and CEO; Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs; Thomas Colbert, Dr. Barbara Saunders, associate professor of child development; Veronnica McDuffey-Taylor, CAY director of operations; Karen Dowling, chief ambulatory/network operations officer; and Guy Giesecke, Children's of Mississippi CEO.
“Community Bank is honored to stand beside the personal contribution of our Senior Chairman, Thomas Colbert and his wife, Ann, to partner with The Center for Advancement of Youth,” said Community Bank President and CEO Chuck Nicholson. “There is a great need for behavioral services in the lives of many Mississippi children. Our hope through this contribution is that CAY will be better equipped to identify and treat the developmental and behavioral disorders throughout our state.”
Dr. David Elkin, CAY executive director and professor of psychiatry at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, thanked Community Bank for the gift and the difference it will make in the lives of children, including those residing in areas without behavioral health care providers.
Mississippi has the third lowest ratio of behavioral health professionals to primary care providers. Of Mississippi’s 82 counties, 45 do not have a single practicing psychiatrist or psychologist.
“This very generous gift will broaden the care available to underserved and underprivileged children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder,” Elkin said. “This donation will prime the pump, allowing CAY the seed money to build up our ASD treatment program.”
ASD is a complex neurobiological disorder that usually appears in early childhood. Children with ASD can struggle with focus, social skills, organization, speech and language skills, emotional control and frustration. About one in every 54 American children are diagnosed with ASD, according to 2016 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Community Bank’s gift will spark the start of an Applied Behavior Analysis program at CAY. A therapy based on the science of learning and behavior, ABA therapists work to increase helpful behaviors with positive reinforcement and decrease behaviors that are harmful or affect learning. ABA is considered an evidence-based best practice treatment for ASD by the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association.
The gift will also help CAY to broaden its telehealth outreach to school districts in the state, as well as reach underserved populations. CAY, through UMMC’s Center for Telehealth, offers behavioral health care programs through schools to reach students while reducing the need for travel.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6262
|
__label__wiki
| 0.565647
| 0.565647
|
Home Reporting on Gender-based Violence in the Syria Crisis: A Journalist's Handbook
Reporting on Gender-based Violence in the Syria Crisis: A Journalist's Handbook
Gender-based violence is a complicated and sensitive subject. Reporting on gender-based violence means discussing issues that are often considered ‘taboo,’ and talking publicly about intimate and distressing matters. This can be particularly challenging in countries where tradition and religion play an important role in everyday life.
Whilst effective reporting on gender-based violence requires a certain amount of extra effort to get it right, doing so involves building upon internationallyrecognised ethical principles which all journalists should be familiar with: accuracy, fairness, as well as respect for and protection of interviewees.
The handbook has been developed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). It sets out to examine some of the terminology,
ethical questions, and practical concerns associated with covering gender-based violence, and to provide an overview of some of the organisations involved in combating gender-based violence and providing support services for survivors.
A companion document, Nine Ethical Principles: Reporting Ethically on Gender-Based Violence in the Syria Crisis, is available here. An updated version of this handbook is available here.
The Inter-Agency Minimum Standards for Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies Programming This resource presents 16 Minimum Standards for the prevention of and response to gender-based violence in emergencies.
UNFPA Assists Pregnant Women and Nursing Mothers Affected by the Drought in the Republic of Moldova
CHISINAU, Moldova — Relief has come for women living in regions suffering from the severe drought of 2007, which has already affected 80 per cent of this country.
United Nations Health Sector Partners Launch Appeal to Meet Health Needs of Iraqis Displaced in...
<p align="left"> <span class="bodytext"> <strong>GENEVA</strong> — Today, United Nations health sector partners, including UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNICEF, World Food Programme (W
The Women's Centres of Darfur Offer an Oasis Away From the Hardship of Camps
SAKALI, South Darfur, Sudan — Awatif was teaching Arabic and the Koran in her classroom in her village when she heard planes overhead and felt the earth tremble as bombs began to drop.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6266
|
__label__wiki
| 0.581808
| 0.581808
|
West Virginia Junior College-Bridgeport
176 Thompson Dr.
Bridgeport WV , 26330
About West Virginia Junior College-Bridgeport
Founded in N/A, West Virginia Junior College-Bridgeport is a 2-4 year college. Located in Bridgeport, which is a city setting in West Virginia, the campus itself is Town. The campus is home to 155 full time undergraduate students, and N/A full time graduate students.
Admissions Requirements for West Virginia Junior College-Bridgeport
Admissions at West Virginia Junior College-Bridgeport are considered N/A, with 100% of all applicants being admitted. In the 2017/2018 school year, of the students who applied to the school, only N/A of those who were admitted eventually ended up enrolling. N/A of incoming freshmen are in the top half of their high school class. N/A were in the top quarter, and N/A were in the top tenth.
The West Virginia Junior College-Bridgeport Academic calendar runs on a semester basis. In the 2017/2018 school year the student to faculty ratio was 17:1. There are 6 full time instructional teachers. Degrees awarded at West Virginia Junior College-Bridgeport include: Bachelor's Degree, Masters Degree, Post-master's certificate, Doctor's degree.
98% of students attending West Virginia Junior College-Bridgeport receive some sort of financial aid. 91% were awarded federal grants. While 95% received federal loans. Many students do also need to apply for additional private student loans.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6267
|
__label__wiki
| 0.800773
| 0.800773
|
Keywords: voyages x
University of California Press (12)
Yale University Press (15)
Latin American Cultural Anthropology (1)
Environmental History (1)
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (19)
World Early Modern History (4)
20th-century Literature and Modernism (20)
Raymond P. Scheindlin
in Song of the Distant Dove: Judah Halevi’s Pilgrimage
Nine poems describe Halevi’s ocean voyage and his mental state during its course. They display his ambivalence between missing his family and longing for his goal; his fear that the Holy Land will ... More
Nine poems describe Halevi’s ocean voyage and his mental state during its course. They display his ambivalence between missing his family and longing for his goal; his fear that the Holy Land will not be a sufficient compensation for his losses; and his resolve to put himself fully into God’s hands. Several poems describe storms at sea, the terror they instill, and the opportunity they afford to put one’s trust of God to the test. The final poem is a hymn of thanksgiving for a safe arrival, probably written not on conclusion of the voyage but in anticipation of its successful conclusion.Less
Nine poems describe Halevi’s ocean voyage and his mental state during its course. They display his ambivalence between missing his family and longing for his goal; his fear that the Holy Land will not be a sufficient compensation for his losses; and his resolve to put himself fully into God’s hands. Several poems describe storms at sea, the terror they instill, and the opportunity they afford to put one’s trust of God to the test. The final poem is a hymn of thanksgiving for a safe arrival, probably written not on conclusion of the voyage but in anticipation of its successful conclusion.
Keywords: Name of God, binding of Isaac, ocean voyage, Holy Land, trust in God, thanksgiviing
in Exploring the West: Three Travel Narratives
History, Indian History
The author narrates his departure from Calcutta. He arrived at Kedjeree and embarked on board a vessel bound to Denmark. He describes the ship as well as the character of the captain and officers. ... More
The author narrates his departure from Calcutta. He arrived at Kedjeree and embarked on board a vessel bound to Denmark. He describes the ship as well as the character of the captain and officers. The ship sailed to the mouth of the river. There was an embargo. An English vessel burned while at anchor — plundered by the Danish captain. The French frigate La Forte was captured by an English frigate, both of which passed up the river. The embargo was eventually taken off. The author proceeded on his voyage.Less
The author narrates his departure from Calcutta. He arrived at Kedjeree and embarked on board a vessel bound to Denmark. He describes the ship as well as the character of the captain and officers. The ship sailed to the mouth of the river. There was an embargo. An English vessel burned while at anchor — plundered by the Danish captain. The French frigate La Forte was captured by an English frigate, both of which passed up the river. The embargo was eventually taken off. The author proceeded on his voyage.
Keywords: Calcutta, Kedjeree, Denmark, embargo, La Forte, frigate, voyage, ship
The author describes his arrival at Nantz, France, and his travel to England. At Nantz, a French town, the poor people who dealt in every commodity approached him and his group and offered different ... More
The author describes his arrival at Nantz, France, and his travel to England. At Nantz, a French town, the poor people who dealt in every commodity approached him and his group and offered different kinds of fruit, bread, and fresh butter for sale. The sailors, who had not seen this fare for six months, were very happy to see their native land. The author remained in Nantz for sixteen days, after which Captain S. and Mr. Peacock set out post in a carriage for England. After a week's voyage, they arrived at Calais and then reached England in one day, at the small sea-port of Dover.Less
The author describes his arrival at Nantz, France, and his travel to England. At Nantz, a French town, the poor people who dealt in every commodity approached him and his group and offered different kinds of fruit, bread, and fresh butter for sale. The sailors, who had not seen this fare for six months, were very happy to see their native land. The author remained in Nantz for sixteen days, after which Captain S. and Mr. Peacock set out post in a carriage for England. After a week's voyage, they arrived at Calais and then reached England in one day, at the small sea-port of Dover.
Keywords: Nantz, France, travel, England, Dover, sea-port, voyage, Calais
Hakluyt's Voyages
in Virginia Woolf and the Literature of the English Renaissance
Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This chapter narrates Virginia Stephen's introduction to Hakluyt's Voyages, Travels, and Discoveries of the English Nation and the subsequent influence the book had on the imagination and writing ... More
This chapter narrates Virginia Stephen's introduction to Hakluyt's Voyages, Travels, and Discoveries of the English Nation and the subsequent influence the book had on the imagination and writing style of Virginia Woolf. What was then confusing to the young Virginia became an object of her admiration, and she often re-read the book throughout her life, which eventually had a dramatic effect upon her creative imagination and writing. She wrote her first critical essay using Hakluyt's Voyages as her subject, and in 1906, the book became an influential framework for her first novel, The Voyage Out. In addition to the tremendous influence of the book on Woolf's writing, the chapter also discusses the Elizabethan age as found in the pages of her Hakluyt's Voyage-inspired writings. Getting inspiration once again from Hakluyt's Voyages, Woolf recounted her heightened social awareness of the inequalities in the status quo of men and women and of rich and poor. In her subsequent critical essays and novels such as Jacob's Room, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, the influence of Hakluyt's Voyages remained dominant, as some of its passages are used in her illustration of the society and the social issues surrounding her essays and novels.Less
This chapter narrates Virginia Stephen's introduction to Hakluyt's Voyages, Travels, and Discoveries of the English Nation and the subsequent influence the book had on the imagination and writing style of Virginia Woolf. What was then confusing to the young Virginia became an object of her admiration, and she often re-read the book throughout her life, which eventually had a dramatic effect upon her creative imagination and writing. She wrote her first critical essay using Hakluyt's Voyages as her subject, and in 1906, the book became an influential framework for her first novel, The Voyage Out. In addition to the tremendous influence of the book on Woolf's writing, the chapter also discusses the Elizabethan age as found in the pages of her Hakluyt's Voyage-inspired writings. Getting inspiration once again from Hakluyt's Voyages, Woolf recounted her heightened social awareness of the inequalities in the status quo of men and women and of rich and poor. In her subsequent critical essays and novels such as Jacob's Room, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, the influence of Hakluyt's Voyages remained dominant, as some of its passages are used in her illustration of the society and the social issues surrounding her essays and novels.
Keywords: Virginia Stephen, Hakluyt's Voyages, Virginia Woolf, The Voyage Out, Elizabethan age, Jacob's Room, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, social awareness
Samuel Johnson’s Discursive Possession and A Voyage to Abyssinia
in Abyssinia's Samuel Johnson: Ethiopian Thought in the Making of an English Author
Literature, 18th-century Literature, World Literature
This chapter describes Johnson’s experience of translating A Voyage to Abyssinia during a period of mental illness, which resulted in his discursive possession. The chapter analyzes how the multiple ... More
This chapter describes Johnson’s experience of translating A Voyage to Abyssinia during a period of mental illness, which resulted in his discursive possession. The chapter analyzes how the multiple conflicting sources of the textwould have contributed to such.Less
This chapter describes Johnson’s experience of translating A Voyage to Abyssinia during a period of mental illness, which resulted in his discursive possession. The chapter analyzes how the multiple conflicting sources of the textwould have contributed to such.
Keywords: Ethiopian discourse, discursive possession, a Voyage to Abyssinia, Voyage historique d'Abissinie, Jerónimo Lobo, Joachim Le Grand
Johnson’s Reading, Beliefs, and Translation of A Voyage to Abyssinia
Johnson was drawn to Voyage historique d'Abissinie, this chapter proposes, by its African Christianity. That is, translating it was a way of thinking about what it meant to be a Christian and how ... More
Johnson was drawn to Voyage historique d'Abissinie, this chapter proposes, by its African Christianity. That is, translating it was a way of thinking about what it meant to be a Christian and how differently Christianity could be imagined. That Johnson’s interest in the text was that of a religious explorer becomes clear when examining his reading, his religious beliefs, and his editing of Voyage historique d'Abissinie.Less
Johnson was drawn to Voyage historique d'Abissinie, this chapter proposes, by its African Christianity. That is, translating it was a way of thinking about what it meant to be a Christian and how differently Christianity could be imagined. That Johnson’s interest in the text was that of a religious explorer becomes clear when examining his reading, his religious beliefs, and his editing of Voyage historique d'Abissinie.
Keywords: Samuel Johnson, Ethiopian discourse, religious beliefs, African Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, a Voyage to Abyssinia, Voyage historique d'Abissinie
Appropriation to Supremacy: Ideas of the ‘Native’ in the Rise of British Imperial Heritage
Sujit Sivasundaram
This chapter studies a particular moment in the emergence of the idea of the ‘native’ in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. By considering the role played by Pacific islanders, ... More
This chapter studies a particular moment in the emergence of the idea of the ‘native’ in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. By considering the role played by Pacific islanders, Asians, and Africans in defining territorial identities, bonds of attachment to rulers, and patterns of settlement prior to contact with colonists, it argues that the ‘native’ emerged partly out of extant traditions. The British empire recontextualized mutating extant senses of culture in global maps of heritage and thus minted a new sense of the ‘native’. Throughout this process, what appears is not an unproblematic concept of the ‘native’ or ‘indigenous’, but a notion of how claims of a separate heritage arose in contexts of hybridity and creolization.Less
Appropriation to Supremacy : Ideas of the ‘Native’ in the Rise of British Imperial Heritage
This chapter studies a particular moment in the emergence of the idea of the ‘native’ in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. By considering the role played by Pacific islanders, Asians, and Africans in defining territorial identities, bonds of attachment to rulers, and patterns of settlement prior to contact with colonists, it argues that the ‘native’ emerged partly out of extant traditions. The British empire recontextualized mutating extant senses of culture in global maps of heritage and thus minted a new sense of the ‘native’. Throughout this process, what appears is not an unproblematic concept of the ‘native’ or ‘indigenous’, but a notion of how claims of a separate heritage arose in contexts of hybridity and creolization.
Keywords: native, voyages of exploration, Orientalism, Pacific, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, South Africa
Zain Abdullah
in Black Mecca: The African Muslims of Harlem
Religion, Islam
Thousands are making a mass exodus from West Africa. Attempting to escape perpetual unemployment in their home countries, many are taking drastic measures to reach Spain or other European nations for ... More
Thousands are making a mass exodus from West Africa. Attempting to escape perpetual unemployment in their home countries, many are taking drastic measures to reach Spain or other European nations for the promise of better economic conditions. Most die in rough seas, as they travel with human traffickers in pateras, small fishing boats ill equipped for the journey. On a catamaran, fourteen Senegalese Muslim men made an unprecedented Atlantic voyage bound for New York, and they made it, but just barely. Within the larger context of West African Muslim immigration, this chapter discusses the perilous odyssey of these Muslim sailors, the push of their familial obligations, and the pull of the American dream.Less
Thousands are making a mass exodus from West Africa. Attempting to escape perpetual unemployment in their home countries, many are taking drastic measures to reach Spain or other European nations for the promise of better economic conditions. Most die in rough seas, as they travel with human traffickers in pateras, small fishing boats ill equipped for the journey. On a catamaran, fourteen Senegalese Muslim men made an unprecedented Atlantic voyage bound for New York, and they made it, but just barely. Within the larger context of West African Muslim immigration, this chapter discusses the perilous odyssey of these Muslim sailors, the push of their familial obligations, and the pull of the American dream.
Keywords: exodus, American dream, Spain, African Muslim, human traffickers, West Africa, Atlantic voyage, unemployment, familial obligation, pateras
Sweden II (1838): Norway, Lapland, and the Northern Star
Wendy S. Mercer
in The Life and Travels of Xavier Marmier (1808-1892): Bringing World Literature to France
The departure of Marmier and Gyldenstolpe from Stockholm to join La Recherche at Trondheim marked the beginning of the 1838 expedition of the Commission du Nord, and Marmier was appointed to write ... More
The departure of Marmier and Gyldenstolpe from Stockholm to join La Recherche at Trondheim marked the beginning of the 1838 expedition of the Commission du Nord, and Marmier was appointed to write the official report. This part of his journey is described in some detail in the Relation du voyage of the official publication, which is full of historical data about the sites described, details of local customs, folklore, climate, population, political organisation, public institutions, statistics, different modes of transport, local curiosities, monuments, and various other information. This chapter notes the apparent ease with which Marmier seems to make the transition from life in presumably fairly luxurious and sophisticated circles at court, or intellectual circles in Uppsala, to contact with some of the least privileged in that society. He seems to have made friends on his travels at all social levels; he recorded those contacts in his official reports.Less
The departure of Marmier and Gyldenstolpe from Stockholm to join La Recherche at Trondheim marked the beginning of the 1838 expedition of the Commission du Nord, and Marmier was appointed to write the official report. This part of his journey is described in some detail in the Relation du voyage of the official publication, which is full of historical data about the sites described, details of local customs, folklore, climate, population, political organisation, public institutions, statistics, different modes of transport, local curiosities, monuments, and various other information. This chapter notes the apparent ease with which Marmier seems to make the transition from life in presumably fairly luxurious and sophisticated circles at court, or intellectual circles in Uppsala, to contact with some of the least privileged in that society. He seems to have made friends on his travels at all social levels; he recorded those contacts in his official reports.
Keywords: Marmier, La Recherche, Relation du voyage, Gyldenstolpe, Commission du Nord
CONCLUSION: Tennyson’s Apotheosis
Cornelia Pearsall
in Tennyson's Rapture: Transformation in the Victorian Dramatic Monologue
The conclusion recounts the 1883 voyage of the Pembroke Castle embarked upon by William Gladstone and Tennyson, as well as Punch’s satirical take on the event. The voyage provided an opportunity for ... More
The conclusion recounts the 1883 voyage of the Pembroke Castle embarked upon by William Gladstone and Tennyson, as well as Punch’s satirical take on the event. The voyage provided an opportunity for both men to reflect on the differing natures of oratory and poetry, as well as on the possibility of their own immortality through everlasting fame, themes addressed in Tennyson’s “Parnassus.” The conclusion also recounts Tennyson’s funeral, the poet’s final performance of rapture.Less
CONCLUSION : Tennyson’s Apotheosis
The conclusion recounts the 1883 voyage of the Pembroke Castle embarked upon by William Gladstone and Tennyson, as well as Punch’s satirical take on the event. The voyage provided an opportunity for both men to reflect on the differing natures of oratory and poetry, as well as on the possibility of their own immortality through everlasting fame, themes addressed in Tennyson’s “Parnassus.” The conclusion also recounts Tennyson’s funeral, the poet’s final performance of rapture.
Keywords: 1883 voyage, Pembroke Castle, William Gladstone, Punch, Parnassus, Tennyson’s funeral
A Journey into Europe
in Paul: His Story
Evangelization of the Celts at Pessinus. Instead of ministering at Troas, Paul crossed to Europe, and in the process experienced his first sea voyage. Paul’s attitude towards women ministers in ... More
Evangelization of the Celts at Pessinus. Instead of ministering at Troas, Paul crossed to Europe, and in the process experienced his first sea voyage. Paul’s attitude towards women ministers in Philippi, where one of them acted as his patron. Lack of patronage in Thessalonica obliged him to adopt a lifestyle based on the workshop, but his preaching filled the void left by the co-option of Cabirus into the official cult of the city.Less
Evangelization of the Celts at Pessinus. Instead of ministering at Troas, Paul crossed to Europe, and in the process experienced his first sea voyage. Paul’s attitude towards women ministers in Philippi, where one of them acted as his patron. Lack of patronage in Thessalonica obliged him to adopt a lifestyle based on the workshop, but his preaching filled the void left by the co-option of Cabirus into the official cult of the city.
Keywords: Cabirus, Celts, Galatians, patronage, Paul, Pessinus, Philippi, Thessalonica, Troas, voyage, women
Far-Fetched Facts
Neil Rennie
in Far-Fetched Facts: The Literature of Travel and the Idea of the South Seas
Literature, American, 18th Century and Early American Literature
In Francois Rabelais's account of the voyage of Pantagruel, grandson of the King of Utopia, to consult the oracle of the Holy Bottle, ‘pres le Catay en Indie superieure’, the voyagers encounter in ... More
In Francois Rabelais's account of the voyage of Pantagruel, grandson of the King of Utopia, to consult the oracle of the Holy Bottle, ‘pres le Catay en Indie superieure’, the voyagers encounter in imaginary Satinland a monstrous old man named Ouy-dire, Hearsay, an authority on all the exotic nations and peoples of the world. He is blind and crippled, but his body is covered with ears and he is talking with seven tongues, each divided into seven parts, to an audience which includes Herodotus, Pliny, Strabo, Marco Polo, and Pietro Martire. One of those named amongst this crowd of ancient and modern authors of travel literature is the French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491–1557), thought by some 20th-century scholars to be the original for Pantagruel's pilot on his voyage, called Jamet Brayer. However, the real Jacques Cartier, like many other Renaissance voyagers, learned to distrust Rabelais's Ouy-dire.Less
In Francois Rabelais's account of the voyage of Pantagruel, grandson of the King of Utopia, to consult the oracle of the Holy Bottle, ‘pres le Catay en Indie superieure’, the voyagers encounter in imaginary Satinland a monstrous old man named Ouy-dire, Hearsay, an authority on all the exotic nations and peoples of the world. He is blind and crippled, but his body is covered with ears and he is talking with seven tongues, each divided into seven parts, to an audience which includes Herodotus, Pliny, Strabo, Marco Polo, and Pietro Martire. One of those named amongst this crowd of ancient and modern authors of travel literature is the French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491–1557), thought by some 20th-century scholars to be the original for Pantagruel's pilot on his voyage, called Jamet Brayer. However, the real Jacques Cartier, like many other Renaissance voyagers, learned to distrust Rabelais's Ouy-dire.
Keywords: Francois Rabelais, Pantagruel, voyage, travel literature, Ouy-dire, Jacques Cartier, Renaissance, facts, travellers' tales
Far-Fetched Facts and Fiction
Madagascar: or, Robert Drury's Journal, during Fifteen Years Captivity on that Island, published in London in 1729, presents what seems like a paradox. Although the journal is ... More
Madagascar: or, Robert Drury's Journal, during Fifteen Years Captivity on that Island, published in London in 1729, presents what seems like a paradox. Although the journal is clearly a work of fiction, expressing many of Daniel Defoe's own interests and observations and written throughout in his own style, it gives one of the most realistic accounts of Madagascar in existence. The case for connecting Defoe with Drury's Journal rests on verbal and narrative parallels of no significance in 18th-century accounts of travel, where ‘old and crazy’ ships or dogs and ‘miserable’ slaveries, for example, are surely not distinctive signs of Defoe's diction or imagination. Such evidence would not seem to constitute proof, but the connection between Defoe and Madagascar: or, Robert Drury's Journal supposedly established by John R. Moore, is generally accepted as satisfactorily proven. The renewed popularity of travel literature reflects increased maritime as well as literary activity, and the most important figure here is the buccaneering writer William Dampier, whose voyages and accounts of voyages inspired a number of other travels and texts.Less
Madagascar: or, Robert Drury's Journal, during Fifteen Years Captivity on that Island, published in London in 1729, presents what seems like a paradox. Although the journal is clearly a work of fiction, expressing many of Daniel Defoe's own interests and observations and written throughout in his own style, it gives one of the most realistic accounts of Madagascar in existence. The case for connecting Defoe with Drury's Journal rests on verbal and narrative parallels of no significance in 18th-century accounts of travel, where ‘old and crazy’ ships or dogs and ‘miserable’ slaveries, for example, are surely not distinctive signs of Defoe's diction or imagination. Such evidence would not seem to constitute proof, but the connection between Defoe and Madagascar: or, Robert Drury's Journal supposedly established by John R. Moore, is generally accepted as satisfactorily proven. The renewed popularity of travel literature reflects increased maritime as well as literary activity, and the most important figure here is the buccaneering writer William Dampier, whose voyages and accounts of voyages inspired a number of other travels and texts.
Keywords: Madagascar, travel, voyages, Daniel Defoe, John R. Moore, travel literature, fiction, William Dampier, Robert Drury
The Observation of Venus
The ‘Terra Australis’ of Joseph Hall's Mundus and of the French 18th-century utopists was, in geographical theory, no fiction. In 1765, Charles de Brosses's Histoire des navigations aux terres ... More
The ‘Terra Australis’ of Joseph Hall's Mundus and of the French 18th-century utopists was, in geographical theory, no fiction. In 1765, Charles de Brosses's Histoire des navigations aux terres australes took the form of a manifesto, with detailed plans for the exploration and colonization of the southern continent, and the next year there appeared the first of the three volumes of John Callander's Terra Australis Cognita (1766–8), pirating de Brosses's work and translating the argument for a French colony into an argument for a British colony — no mere utopia. In 1766, the British Admiralty took up the search for the southern continent officially, sending out Captain Samuel Wallis in what had been Captain John Byron's ship, the Dolphin, accompanied by Philip Carteret in the unseaworthy Swallow, with which Wallis parted company on entering the Pacific Ocean. Wallis sailed from the history of geographical theory into the history of discovery when he reached Tahiti. Louis–Antoine de Bougainville sighted the high volcanic peak of Tahiti on April 2, 1768.Less
The ‘Terra Australis’ of Joseph Hall's Mundus and of the French 18th-century utopists was, in geographical theory, no fiction. In 1765, Charles de Brosses's Histoire des navigations aux terres australes took the form of a manifesto, with detailed plans for the exploration and colonization of the southern continent, and the next year there appeared the first of the three volumes of John Callander's Terra Australis Cognita (1766–8), pirating de Brosses's work and translating the argument for a French colony into an argument for a British colony — no mere utopia. In 1766, the British Admiralty took up the search for the southern continent officially, sending out Captain Samuel Wallis in what had been Captain John Byron's ship, the Dolphin, accompanied by Philip Carteret in the unseaworthy Swallow, with which Wallis parted company on entering the Pacific Ocean. Wallis sailed from the history of geographical theory into the history of discovery when he reached Tahiti. Louis–Antoine de Bougainville sighted the high volcanic peak of Tahiti on April 2, 1768.
Keywords: Charles de Brosses, fiction, exploration, navigation, discovery, Samuel Wallis, Tahiti, Louis–Antoine de Bougainville, voyages
Such a Revolution
Early in 1787, Joseph Banks convinced the British government of the advantages for transplanting breadfruit from Tahiti to the West Indies. He believed that this almost paradisal plant could usefully ... More
Early in 1787, Joseph Banks convinced the British government of the advantages for transplanting breadfruit from Tahiti to the West Indies. He believed that this almost paradisal plant could usefully feed the slaves in the West Indies, who would produce cheaper sugar for the planters and merchants in the West Indies. There would inevitably be more trouble initially, but Banks persuaded British officials of the ultimate benefits of an expedition and in May the government instructed the Admiralty accordingly. The Bounty sailed on December 27, 1787, under the command of Lieutenant William Bligh, and anchored in Matavai Bay, Tahiti, on October 26, 1788. Bligh had found the carpenter ‘insolent’ and the Master ‘troublesome’ on the voyage out, and he had also been frustrated by bad weather at the Horn, which had forced the Bounty to turn back and take the passage to the Pacific via the Cape of Good Hope. On arrival at Matavai Bay, Bligh asked immediately for news of Omai, and heard that Omai was no more.Less
Early in 1787, Joseph Banks convinced the British government of the advantages for transplanting breadfruit from Tahiti to the West Indies. He believed that this almost paradisal plant could usefully feed the slaves in the West Indies, who would produce cheaper sugar for the planters and merchants in the West Indies. There would inevitably be more trouble initially, but Banks persuaded British officials of the ultimate benefits of an expedition and in May the government instructed the Admiralty accordingly. The Bounty sailed on December 27, 1787, under the command of Lieutenant William Bligh, and anchored in Matavai Bay, Tahiti, on October 26, 1788. Bligh had found the carpenter ‘insolent’ and the Master ‘troublesome’ on the voyage out, and he had also been frustrated by bad weather at the Horn, which had forced the Bounty to turn back and take the passage to the Pacific via the Cape of Good Hope. On arrival at Matavai Bay, Bligh asked immediately for news of Omai, and heard that Omai was no more.
Keywords: Joseph Banks, voyage, Tahiti, Omai, slaves, West Indies, breadfruit, expedition, Bounty, William Bligh
This chapter introduces Virginia Woolf, her introduction to reading which led her to voracious reading, her struggles as a writer and a critic, and her continual aspiration to prove her credentials ... More
This chapter introduces Virginia Woolf, her introduction to reading which led her to voracious reading, her struggles as a writer and a critic, and her continual aspiration to prove her credentials despite being a renowned writer and novelist of her time. Also included are the Elizabethan literature and works in which Woolf found inspiration for her work. Of the most notable influences are Hakluyt's Voyages, Shakespeare plays, and lyric poetries of the Renaissance period. In addition to her work, this overview also presents works which Woolf criticised. Apart from introducing her novels, poetry, essays, plays, and criticisms, the chapter also gives quick glimpses of Virginia Woolf's stand on feminism.Less
This chapter introduces Virginia Woolf, her introduction to reading which led her to voracious reading, her struggles as a writer and a critic, and her continual aspiration to prove her credentials despite being a renowned writer and novelist of her time. Also included are the Elizabethan literature and works in which Woolf found inspiration for her work. Of the most notable influences are Hakluyt's Voyages, Shakespeare plays, and lyric poetries of the Renaissance period. In addition to her work, this overview also presents works which Woolf criticised. Apart from introducing her novels, poetry, essays, plays, and criticisms, the chapter also gives quick glimpses of Virginia Woolf's stand on feminism.
Keywords: Virginia Woolf, Elizabethan literature, feminism, Hakluyt's Voyages, Shakespeare, lyric poetries, Renaissance
Elizabeth and the Renaissance
This chapter discusses Virginia Woolf's impression and knowledge of the Renaissance and Elizabethan period. Her writings and novels are analysed within the timelines and the characteristics of the ... More
This chapter discusses Virginia Woolf's impression and knowledge of the Renaissance and Elizabethan period. Her writings and novels are analysed within the timelines and the characteristics of the Renaissance and Elizabethan age. Also included in the chapter are the influences brought about by Drekker to Woolf's novel Orlando, which is an allusion to the Elizabethan age, and the influences of Raleigh on The Voyage Out, which is a representation of the Renaissance and the Elizabethan period. In addition to presenting an analysis of Woolf's reaction to and impression of the literature, writers, and works of the Renaissance and Elizabethan period, the chapter also provides a brief discussion of Woolf's stand on social issues seen in her critical essays and work, in particular those that allude to feminism and gender issues.Less
This chapter discusses Virginia Woolf's impression and knowledge of the Renaissance and Elizabethan period. Her writings and novels are analysed within the timelines and the characteristics of the Renaissance and Elizabethan age. Also included in the chapter are the influences brought about by Drekker to Woolf's novel Orlando, which is an allusion to the Elizabethan age, and the influences of Raleigh on The Voyage Out, which is a representation of the Renaissance and the Elizabethan period. In addition to presenting an analysis of Woolf's reaction to and impression of the literature, writers, and works of the Renaissance and Elizabethan period, the chapter also provides a brief discussion of Woolf's stand on social issues seen in her critical essays and work, in particular those that allude to feminism and gender issues.
Keywords: Virginia Woolf, Renaissance, Elizabethan period, Drekker, Orlando, Voyage Out, feminism
Habesha Discourse in A Voyage to Abyssinia
This chapter details the Habesha discourse that Johnson encountered and forwarded when translating A Voyage to Abyssinia. The first type is argumentative, having to do with claims that the Habesha ... More
This chapter details the Habesha discourse that Johnson encountered and forwarded when translating A Voyage to Abyssinia. The first type is argumentative, having to do with claims that the Habesha made about their religion, ethnic neighbors, and legends. The second type of Habesha discourse is expressive, having to do with the “characters” who appear in the text.Less
This chapter details the Habesha discourse that Johnson encountered and forwarded when translating A Voyage to Abyssinia. The first type is argumentative, having to do with claims that the Habesha made about their religion, ethnic neighbors, and legends. The second type of Habesha discourse is expressive, having to do with the “characters” who appear in the text.
Keywords: Ethiopian discourse, Ethiopian characters, a voyage to abyssinia
Con Coroneos
in Space, Conrad, and Modernity
Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism, European Literature
This chapter discusses Georges Melies' 1904 motion picture The Impossible Voyage in relation to the space of words and things or the connection between language and geography. It suggests that the ... More
This chapter discusses Georges Melies' 1904 motion picture The Impossible Voyage in relation to the space of words and things or the connection between language and geography. It suggests that the film was a satire on the joint-stock enterprise of geography and rational thought in the advance towards universal reason. It contends that this film has also crossed the boundaries of space in modern literature.Less
This chapter discusses Georges Melies' 1904 motion picture The Impossible Voyage in relation to the space of words and things or the connection between language and geography. It suggests that the film was a satire on the joint-stock enterprise of geography and rational thought in the advance towards universal reason. It contends that this film has also crossed the boundaries of space in modern literature.
Keywords: The Impossible Voyage, George Melies, space, language, geography, modern literature
Giles Gunn
in A Historical Guide to Herman Melville
One of the best words to describe Herman Melville's reputation, especially among other American writers, is colossus for he has been able to contribute in no small part to the classic literature of ... More
One of the best words to describe Herman Melville's reputation, especially among other American writers, is colossus for he has been able to contribute in no small part to the classic literature of the nineteenth century. Although he might have been outwritten by other prominent authors such as Mark Twain and Henry James, among others, Herman Melville managed to write some of the most significant and more ambitious stories in both prose and poetry, such as Mardi: And a Voyage Thither, Moby Dick, and Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land to name a few. Aside from taking on a multitude of various themes and issues, Melville's works complied with a common theme that involves consuming and creating, brought about by Melville's belief that art was meant to be perceived as a semireligious assertion that art reflects the most important aspects of life and experience.Less
One of the best words to describe Herman Melville's reputation, especially among other American writers, is colossus for he has been able to contribute in no small part to the classic literature of the nineteenth century. Although he might have been outwritten by other prominent authors such as Mark Twain and Henry James, among others, Herman Melville managed to write some of the most significant and more ambitious stories in both prose and poetry, such as Mardi: And a Voyage Thither, Moby Dick, and Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land to name a few. Aside from taking on a multitude of various themes and issues, Melville's works complied with a common theme that involves consuming and creating, brought about by Melville's belief that art was meant to be perceived as a semireligious assertion that art reflects the most important aspects of life and experience.
Keywords: Herman Melville, classic literature, nineteenth century, Mark Twain, Henry James, Mardi: And a Voyage Thither, Clarel, Moby Dick
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6269
|
__label__wiki
| 0.927739
| 0.927739
|
10 NBA Players Who Changed Their Jersey Numbers
July 30, 2014 - 8:23 pm by Terrence Watson
A week ago, LeBron James took his Instagram to ask fans if he should wear no. 6 or go back to no. 23 this season. Recently, James announced that since he’s with his old team, we’ll be seeing him rock his old 23 again for the Cleveland Cavaliers. But he’s not the first athlete to switch it up once he switches teams. The same way girls change their hairstyles after a big life decision, NBA players change their numbers to signal something new.
The big story here is that right before James left Cleveland to hit South Beach, he said he was going to change his jersey number from 23 to 6 out of respect for Michael Jordan. He even said the NBA should retire MJ’s number league wide. James might be going back on his initial thought but it’s all good with MJ, who said to ESPN’s Chris Broussard “I’m cool with it. I don’t own a number.”
Here’s a list of few NBA players that wore different numbers in their careers.
Dominique Wilkins The human highlight film dominated the sky back in the day, wearing number 21 for the Atlanta Hawks from 1982-1994. After being traded in ’94 to the Clippers, where he put 29 points per game, Wilkins landed with the Boston Celtics in 1995. At the age of 35, Wilkins proved he could still ball while in Boston, but he did so wearing number 12. The current VP of basketball Hawks has his number 21 retired by both the Hawks and his college alma mater, the University of Georgia.
Ray Allen Ray Allen wore number 34 in college at UConn, during his time in both Milwaukee and Seattle and even as Jesus Shuttlesworth himself, in the movie He Got Game. But while playing for Boston, the NBA marksman had to switch his number because then teammate Paul Pierce also wore number 34. But thanks to his time in Miami, he has championships in both number 20 and 34 (which he wore again with the Heat).
Shaq When the Orlando Magic drafted Shaq from LSU, he wore number 32. But the once he hit Tinsel Town, he reinvented himself as the man in 34 (32 was Magic Johnson’s number and no one in L.A. can ever wear that again). Shaq also wore 32 in Miami, 33 with Cleveland and 36 in Boston.
vibe-lebron-number-change-kobe
Kobe Bryant Shaq’s greatest teammate, Kobe Bryant has gone through two phases of his career: No. 8 and No. 24. When he wore 8, he played the Robin role to Shaq, winning three championships. However, after his situation in Colorado, he rebranded himself as the Black Mamba. To change everyone’s perception, he changed his number. Everything with 8 was over. Kobe’s won his sole MVP in no. 24, two titles and scored 81 wearing his current number.
Michael Jordan When Jay-z dropped the line “will I come back like Jordan/wearing the four-five?” on his track Encore, he alluded to possibly coming out retirement the way MJ did. As a new person, a player under his own (new) rules and with a personal, yet greater good benefiting agenda. Just like James, Jordan couldn’t resists returning to the monster in 23 fans loved and players feared. Fun Fact: Jordan also wore number 12 once in a game because someone stole his jersey. Facts only.
Charles Barkley Way back in the day, Charles Barkley rocked number 34 for the Philadelphia 76ers, but switched to 32 to honor Magic Johnson when he revealed he’d have to retire. Most readers will probably remember Barkley wearing 34 in his phoenix days, but he also wore number 4 when he played for the Houston Rockets.
Steve Nash The two-time NBA MVP, Steve Nash wore number 13 in his two stints with the Suns and while teamed with Dirk Nowitzki for the Dallas Mavericks. A product of the famed NBA Draft class of 1996 (along with Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant), Nash played back up point guard to Jason Kidd with the Suns before making his name with the Mavericks. However, the number change (to No.10) came when he signed with the Lakers.
Kevin Garnett Kevin Garnet made the number 21 look menacing throughout the late 90’s and, especially, the early 2000’s. KG turned the then young franchise of the Minnesota Timberwolves into title contenders over time while wearing the number, making the NBA All Star game 10 times while wearing it. However, Garnett's move to Boston, where he wore number 5, is where “The Kid” became the man with an NBA ring.
Allen Iverson The number 3 will forever be synonymous with the one and only Allen Iverson in the NBA. So many iconic images of A.I. exist with wearing No.3 like a badge of honor. Even his most sought after sneakers, the Reebok Questions have a “3” referencing the man who lead the league in scoring four times. But the Hampton, VA native did wear number 1 briefly, when he played for the Detroit Pistons in 2009.
Tracy McGrady Along with Iverson and Kobe Bryant, T-Mac was a face of the NBA for a generation. Current stars had his pictures on their walls as kids, and tried to reenact his 13 points in 33 seconds in their driveway. McGrady’s No.1 jersey was one of the more popular sellers in the NBA but he also wore No. 3 while playing with the Knicks in 2010.
Cleveland Cavaliers,
18 Forever Young Celebs (And Their Anti-Aging Secrets)
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6273
|
__label__wiki
| 0.694748
| 0.694748
|
Home Environmental Studies Faculty Richard L. Wallace
Richard Wallace by RJ Walter
Richard L. Wallace is professor of environmental studies, marine science, and food studies at Ursinus College, and co-director of the college’s Robert and Shurley Knaefler Whittaker Environmental Research Station. He arrived at Ursinus in 2002 as founding chair of the Department of Environmental Studies, where he helped develop the undergraduate program on a foundation of reflective practice steeped in the theory and methods of integrative problem solving. He teaches courses on land stewardship, biodiversity conservation, food and agriculture, and the theory and practice of integrative problem solving.
Wallace received his B.A. from the University of Vermont and a master’s and Ph.D. from Yale University; all three degrees are in interdisciplinary environmental studies. His research is focused in two areas: integrative problem solving in the conservation of species and ecosystems and the history and prospects of interdisciplinary environmental studies in American higher education. His current work is in three areas. In association with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, Wallace is working on a multi-year effort to assess educational programs in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) and develop broadly integrative, problem oriented curricula for multiple audiences in the GYE. As well, for the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, Wallace recently completed a project synthesizing lessons from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster into recommendations for stronger regulation of offshore oil and gas development; the results have been published in the journal BioScience. Finally, for the past decade, Wallace has been writing and publishing about the challenges of teaching and learning interdisciplinary environmental studies in American higher education. His work on education and in the GYE is conducted with his research partner, Dr. Susan Clark of Yale University.
Wallace’s published work has appeared in numerous books and journals and he has been recognized with national and organizational awards for his teaching, research, and applied work. In 2014, he was named Pennsylvania Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. At Ursinus College, in 2012 he received the H. Lloyd Jones Jr. Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising and, in 2007, the Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching. Wallace is a former staff member of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, where he analyzed species and habitat conservation programs and received both the Federal Service Award and Federal Performance Award. In 2003 he was the sole author of a paper on marine mammal conservation in the journal Conservation Biology that received the Society of Policy Scientists’ Harold Lasswell Award for best interdisciplinary analysis of the year. While a doctoral student at Yale, Wallace received two prestigious national awards, the Morris K. Udall Fellowship and the Teresa and H. John Heinz Scholarship.
Wallace currently sits on the board of directors of the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, which he also serves as Educator-in-Residence. He is a co-founder of the Society of Policy Scientists, a founding member of the editorial board of the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, a former associate editor of the journal Policy Sciences, and a current member of the editorial board of the journal Case Studies in the Environment.
Ph.D., Environmental Studies, Yale University
Master of Environmental Studies, Yale University
B.A., Environmental Studies, University of Vermont
ENV 100, Introduction to Environmental Studies
ENV 216, Introduction to Food and Society
ENV-238, Introduction to Natural Resource Policy and Law
Interdisciplinary “synthesis” courses
ENV 272, Marine Mammal Conservation and Management
ENV 340, Community and Sustainable Food Systems
ENV 360, Conserving Biological Diversity
Upper-Level Seminars
ENV 430W, Advanced Critical Thinking in Environmental Studies
ENV 452W, The Land Ethic and Applied Conservation (ENV Capstone)
Wallace, R.L., J. Greenburg*, & S.G. Clark. 2020. Confronting anxiety and existential despair in environmental studies and sciences: A guide for students and faculty. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 10: 148-155.
Wallace, R.L., S. Gilbert, & J.E. Reynolds, III. 2019. Improving the integration of restoration and conservation in marine and coastal ecosystems: Lessons from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. BioScience 69(11): 920-927.
Clark, S.G. & R.L. Wallace. 2018. The integrity problem in higher education:
Description, consequences, and recommendations. Higher Education Review 50(2): 126-151.
Wallace, R.L. & S.G., Clark. 2018. Environmental studies and sciences in a time of chaos: problems, contexts, and recommendations. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 8(1): 110-113.
Wallace, R.L. & S.G. Clark. 2017. Barriers to interdisciplinarity in environmental studies: A case of alarming trends in faculty and programmatic wellbeing. Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies 35: 221-247.
Clark, S.G., F. Palis, G.W. Trompf, T.M. Terway, and R.L. Wallace. 2017. Interdisciplinary problem framing for sustainability: Challenges, a framework, case studies. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 36(5): 516-534.
Proctor, J.D., J. Bernstein, & R.L. Wallace. 2015. Unsettling the ESS curriculum: Introduction to a special section on environmental studies curricula. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 5(2): 195-199.
Clark, S.G. and R.L. Wallace. 2015. Integration and interdisciplinarity: concepts, frameworks, and education. Policy Sciences 48(2): 233-255.
Wallace, R.L. and S.G. Clark. 2014. Convergent evolution in the interests of integrative problem-solving: connecting the policy sciences and interdisciplinary studies. Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies 32: 134-169.
Proctor, J.D., S.G. Clark, K.K. Smith, and R.L. Wallace. 2013. A manifesto for theory in environmental studies and sciences. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 3:331–337.
Clark, S.G. and R.L. Wallace. 2012. Interdisciplinary environmental leadership: learning and teaching integrated problem solving. In D.R. Gallagher, N. Christensen, and R.N.L Andrews, eds. Environmental Leadership: a Reference Handbook. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California.
Clark, S.G., M.M. Steen-Adams, S. Pfirman, and R.L. Wallace. 2011. Professional development of interdisciplinary environmental scholars. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 1:99-113.
Clark, S.G., M.B. Rutherford, M.R. Auer, D.N. Cherney, R.L. Wallace, D.J. Mattson, D.A. Clark, L. Foote, N. Krogman, P. Wilshusen, T. Steelman. 2011. College and university environmental programs as a policy problem (Part 1): integrating knowledge, education, and action for a better world? Environmental Management 47(5): 701-715.
Clark, S.G., M.B. Rutherford, M.R. Auer, D.N. Cherney, R.L. Wallace, D.J. Mattson, D.A. Clark, L. Foote, N. Krogman, P. Wilshusen, T. Steelman. 2011. College and university environmental programs as a policy problem (Part 2): strategies for improvement. Environmental Management 47(5): 716-726.
Wallace, R.L. and K.A. Semmens*. 2010. Social and institutional challenges in species and ecosystem conservation: an appraisal of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission. Policy Sciences 43:203-228.
*Ursinus student author
Years of Service to Ursinus
Pfahler Hall 112F
rwallace@ursinus.edu
Professor Inspired by Film about Wolves
Faculty/Student Research Collaboration on Climate Anxiety Published in Top Journal
The Burning Question: Is Our Relationship with Nature Catastrophic?
Working in Yellowstone to Change the Human-Wildlife Dynamic
PA Professor of the Year: A Scholar who Teaches Problem-Solving
Ursinus Professor Helps Scholars Understand Interdisciplinarity
Ursinus research seeks to inform marine mammal policy
The Future of GMOs is Not (Just) About Science
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6275
|
__label__cc
| 0.503653
| 0.496347
|
U.S. Gold Corp. Releases 2018 Copper King Video
ELKO, Nevada, September 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
U.S. Gold Corp. (NASDAQ: USAU), a gold exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the release of its Copper King Project video. The video is now available on its website at:
https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/usgoldcorp/db/334/1819/video/US+Gold+Corp_+Copper+King+-+Sales+Version.mp4
(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/739215/US_Gold_Corp_Logo.jpg )
U.S Gold Corp.'s Copper King Project is located in the mining friendly State of Wyoming, 20 miles west of Cheyenne. The Copper King Project has been identified as a project of merit in the Company's December 2017 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) from Mine Development Associates, with high-grade mineralization exposed at the surface surrounded by a large, low-grade zone with potential for expanding at least the low-grade resource.
U.S. Gold Corp.'s President and CEO Mr. Edward Karr, stated, "We are pleased to release this video to give our followers a visual overview of the Copper King Project and our current exploration program. The Copper King deposit is a robust resource, recognized by our updated PEA. The PEA indicates a 17-year mine life with a capital requirement of $113.7 million with a 2.5-year payback. Over the project life a total of 182 million pounds of copper and 692,000 ounces of gold are projected to be recovered based on the PEA recovery assumptions. The historic resource shows a pre-tax net present value of $178.5 million at a 5% discount rate and an internal rate of return of 33.1% at $1275 gold and $2.80 copper prices, inclusive of the 5% Wyoming state royalty. We believe that these results indicate a potentially economic project."
Dave Mathewson, Vice President of Exploration for U.S. Gold Corp., states: "Our summer 2018 Phase 1 Copper King drilling program is progressing well. We are on track to complete the phase 1 program in September and we look forward to receiving all of the assay results back. The Copper King deposit is unique in that the consistency of the mineralization is extremely uniform throughout the deposit. This lends well to future mining. However, we are confident our 2018 exploration activities will further expand the overall resource. Our phase 1 program has concentrated on expanding the deposit to the west."
U.S. Gold Corp. is a publicly traded U.S.-focused gold exploration and development company. U.S. Gold Corp. has a portfolio of development and exploration properties. Copper King is located in Southeast Wyoming and has a historical Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), done by Mine Development Associates. Keystone is an exploration property on the Cortez Trend in Nevada, identified and consolidated by Dave Mathewson. For more information about U.S. Gold Corp., please visit http://www.usgoldcorp.gold
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "forecast," "estimated," and "intend," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on U.S. Gold Corp.'s current expectations, and actual results could differ materially. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, risks arising from: changes in the price of gold and mining industry cost inputs, environmental and regulatory risks, risks faced by junior companies generally engaged in exploration activities, and other factors described in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be reviewed at http://www.sec.gov. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations and assumptions about future events. While management considers these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory, and other risks, contingencies, and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control. The Company does not assume any obligations to update any of these forward-looking statements.
*Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Concerning Mineral Resources
Certain terms may be used in our Preliminary Economic Assessment and in this press release, such as "measured," "indicated," or "inferred" mineral resources, which are defined in Canadian Institute of Metallurgy guidelines, the guidelines widely followed to comply with Canadian National Instrument 43‐101‐‐ Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43‐101"). We advise U.S. investors that these terms are not recognized by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The estimation of measured and indicated resources involves greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of proven and probable reserves under the SEC's disclosure rules. Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that measured or indicated mineral resources will be converted into reserves. Inferred mineral resources have a high degree of uncertainty as to their existence and their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally viable. Under Canadian rules, estimates of "inferred mineral resources" may not form the basis of feasibility studies, pre‐feasibility studies or other economic studies, except in prescribed cases, such as in a preliminary economic assessment under certain circumstances. Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. Note that a preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature, and it includes Inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied that would enable them to be classified as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary assessment will be realized.
http://www.usgoldcorp.gold
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6276
|
__label__wiki
| 0.969252
| 0.969252
|
classical music Apr. 14, 2016
The Metropolitan Opera’s James Levine to Retire
The Met Orchestra performing at Carnegie Hall on Sunday afternoon, May 17, 2015.This image:James Levine leading the Met Orchestra in Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantasique.”(Photo by Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images) Photo: Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images
The Metropolitan Opera has been James Levine’s house for so long that it’s hard to know which group is smaller: those who remember the Met before Jimmy, or those who can imagine it without him. He made his debut before Watergate and became music director just as Jimmy Carter was elected. Now, after years of withdrawals, speculations, returns, and successors-in-waiting, the end of an eon is finally here: debilitated by Parkinson’s and a string of back problems, Levine will retire at the end of the current season, which means his adorers will have six more chances to hear him in the pit and two with the Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall before he officially becomes Emeritus. It’s been a long, slow fadeout, which will continue for a while: He’s withdrawn from next season’s new production of Der Rosenkavalier, but he is still scheduled to conduct Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri, Verdi’s Nabucco and Mozart’s Idomeneo in 2016–17.
Davidson: The Disappearing James Levine
Justin Davidson on James Levine’s Triumphant Return to Carnegie Hall
Conductors are a long-lived bunch, but in an era of intercontinental careers and cultural restlessness, none is so closely identified with a major institution, and none has left such a profound artistic impact. (Not, at any rate, since 1980, when Eugene Ormandy ended his 44-year tenure as music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra.) Levine has hired and trained generations of orchestra members, and nurtured young singers who bloomed, plateaued, and retired. He has probably had a hand in the career of just about every major opera star in the world. The Met performed Berg’s Lulu and Debussy’s Pelléas et Melisande because he loved them, and for years ignored Shostakovich and Philip Glass because he didn’t. His influence runs so deep that it’s hard to isolate — even his weaknesses shaped the opera world. He thought of productions as mere vessels for great music, making the Met inhospitable to Europe’s most outlandish directors. He paid scant attention to Russian opera, which in the 1990s left an opening for Valery Gergiev to bring that vast repertoire and a passel of Russian singers to the West. Levine’s tectonic, bass-rich sound and propulsive phrasing became an immovable stylistic fact: Other conductors who visited the Met sounded sort of like Jimmy, or they didn’t.
Some potentates hang on to power through habit, force, or fear; Levine’s was rooted in the clarity of his musical vision. Out of the 2,551 performances that he has conducted so far, no doubt a couple hundred were duds. But even weakened, as he has been in recent years — lately, he’s been conducting from a motorized wheelchair — he retains the ability to send a jolt through the pit and the stage, galvanizing ensembles so they glowed, conjuring thunder and sadness and glee. In Verdi’s Otello, he whipped the opening storm into a surge that spilled into Iago’s fury and Otello’s desperation. In Wagner, he sometimes stretched out slow tempos, magically keeping the music aloft as it approached the limits of stillness. (Occasionally, though, things went slack, turning a performance into a dull slog.) His best Mozart, like the characters themselves, had a buoyant wisdom, a deep, consoling grace.
For a man who exerted such complete control over a world-class institution, Levine projected an affably rumpled air. His hair sprang around him in a corona of fuzz, and he rarely varied his daytime work outfit: polo shirt, track pants, and a towel thrown over his shoulder or around his neck. Off the podium he talked in sentences that looped, swerved, and meandered before coming back to within shouting distance of his original point, a handful of paragraphs later. He understood singers, and knew that they feared and adored him. He loved their voices, too. If music left any room in his life for anything — or anybody — else, he kept it hidden behind a wall of unbreachable privacy.
Ironically, the length of Levine’s tenure has left the Met groping for artistic vision. He let himself be sporadically distracted by other jobs (he was music director of the Munich Philharmonic from 1999 to 2004 and the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 2004 to 2011) and then by a ceaseless parade of health problems that appeared to age him rapidly. (He is 72.) He relinquished the role of artistic director in 2004, and when Fabio Luisi was named principal conductor in 2011, it seemed as though a succession was in the works. But Levine kept coming back in limited and fitful ways, and Luisi’s career moved on. The perpetually temporary situation left general manager Peter Gelb free to plan repertoire, productions, and strategy, all without an equal artistic partner.
That may change — the Met has plans to name a successor in the coming months, and the balance of power may shift. But whoever takes over the opera world’s most exalted podium will have to coexist both with the new music director emeritus and with a legacy of powerful memories. “Not just the end of an era,” New York Philharmonic music director Alan Gilbert tweeted on hearing the news; “it’s the end of THE era.”
The Met Opera’s James Levine to Retire
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6285
|
__label__wiki
| 0.846884
| 0.846884
|
Appeals Court denies post-conviction petition
Carl Brandon argues his attorney didn't do a good job
Carl Brandon
SOURCE: MDOC
The state Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of Carl Brandon's complaint that his attorney didn't do a good job at his trial.Brandon's post-conviction petition, in which he claimed to have new evidence that could win him a new trial, was denied by a judge in 2011.Brandon is serving a 70-year sentence related to a 2006 shooting spree in Claiborne County.Brandon was convicted of shooting into the home of County Administrator James Miller and wounding county employee Loretha Porter. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of county attorney Allen Burrell.Prosecutors said Brandon was angry about losing his county job over a sexual harassment complaint nine years earlier. All his victims were involved in the harassment case, according to the court record.
The state Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of Carl Brandon's complaint that his attorney didn't do a good job at his trial.
Brandon's post-conviction petition, in which he claimed to have new evidence that could win him a new trial, was denied by a judge in 2011.
Brandon is serving a 70-year sentence related to a 2006 shooting spree in Claiborne County.
Brandon was convicted of shooting into the home of County Administrator James Miller and wounding county employee Loretha Porter. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of county attorney Allen Burrell.
Prosecutors said Brandon was angry about losing his county job over a sexual harassment complaint nine years earlier. All his victims were involved in the harassment case, according to the court record.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6287
|
__label__wiki
| 0.719759
| 0.719759
|
Home>D Kevin McNeir>Earth Day Network — Dedicated Warriors Fight for Planet’s Survival
D Kevin McNeirSupplements
Earth Day Network — Dedicated Warriors Fight for Planet’s Survival
D. Kevin McNeir – Senior Editor Follow on Twitter Send an email April 19, 2017
Courtesy of Earth Day Network via Twitter
Leaders, members and supporters of the environmental movement will gather on the National Mall on Saturday, April 22 for Earth Day 2017, joining millions around the globe in their collective efforts to promote climate literacy, mobilize a global citizenry to proclaim the truth about climate change and provide the public with the skills needed to act on behalf of the environment when they return to their own communities.
Earth Day Network (EDN), the global coordinator for Earth Day, has been working with added fervor as the annual day draws near, preparing for activities that will include teach-ins and a March for Science rally that will feature some of the world’s leading scientists and environmental advocates.
And given the stance that President Trump has taken, EDN President Kathleen Rogers says it’s imperative that more people become involved in the international movement who can accurately refute the Administration’s denials about climate change and foster greater awareness of climate change’s unprecedented threat to the planet.
“We’ve already seen the warning signs from the EPA’s budget being slashed by 30 percent to the removal of climate change from government websites — it hits you on the head like a 2 x 4 — all under Trump — and for the life of me I just don’t understand,” Rogers said.
“The handwriting is on the wall. Last year on Earth Day, the U.S. signed the climate [Paris] agreement but now the president has proposed a budget that undermines our credibility if we’re to meet the goals to which we agreed.”
Rogers words do not exist in a vacuum as more than one billion people worldwide make up the environmental movement — a movement whose modern roots can be traced back to the first Earth Day held in 1970. She says what’s needed are “more people who care about people.”
“No one wants dirty water, climate-related diseases and the host of additional environmental problems that continue to rise, but what seems to matter more in this climate of surging populism is the almighty dollar,” she said. “It’s not about the health of the poor or children. It’s not about promoting the U.S. as a world leader. It’s about the flow of money. ”
“The polls show that people want clean air and water but that doesn’t seem to matter to our country’s leaders. Even the new head of the EPA argues that climate change isn’t science based. That’s why Earth Day is so important. It’s more than just discussing the environment — it’s about changing people’s perceptions, educating people and promoting the truth with integrity,” Rogers added.
Rogers says that while it may seem that the steps backward that Trump and others propose will have minimal impact that’s simply not the case.
“We put massive numbers of greenhouse gases into the air — each day is not just 24 hours but more like years of damage,” she said. “The impact of a day without adequate controls is equivalent to months if not years of damage. Adding chemicals that accelerate the process and it becomes even more difficult to remove them and clean up the environment.”
Rogers notes that EDN has other initiatives among its list of priorities, besides the more obvious environmental and climate literacy, including creating green voters and picking up the pace in developing green technologies and jobs.
“We could be the leaders in this and treat it like we did the moon shot or computer technology,” she said. “Consider the Industrial Revolution where some countries dominated for years, including the U.S. We have the same kind of potential now but it will be countries not individuals like Carnegie, Ford or Rockefeller — one or more countries will take the lead in manufacturing a billion-dollar system that creates clean energy practically free. It’ll take a lot of time to do but it will be astounding.”
“The country that gets the green tech industry will have unlimited opportunities. Four hundred million people in India don’t have any power at all. That could be accomplished either with coal or with a distributed solar industry. This fake narrative about how great fossil fuels are is old and washed up. Sure, they’ll be around for a while but then so were the horse and buggy. Going solar is a no brainer — we should be more enlightened. Coal pollutes rivers, cuts lives short and requires us to blow up mountains.”
Rogers points to the importance and need of clean water as a talking point for greater focus on environmental issues.
“Concerns are mounting in California about the state’s ongoing drought crisis. We take clean water and it being easily available for granted in America but in some parts of the world, like several nations in Africa for example, people are suffering and dying. Some experts even predict that the next world war could be about water.”
Rogers says that if Earth Day 2017 accomplishes nothing else, she’s hopeful that more people will realize that “Earth Day is every day.”
“I wonder what will be said two generations into the future about the decisions our country made in terms of protecting the environment and the planet,” she pondered. “I hope they won’t have to say that what we did was barbaric and destructive even though we had the technology to turn the tide.”
2017 Sustainability Supplement Earth Day 2017 Earth Day Network environmental issues environmental sustainability
Prince George's Looks to Clean Itself Up
We Have Only One Planet — We Must Protect Her for Tomorrow
D.C., Maryland, Virginia Plan to Sue EPA
Massive Die-Off of Fish on Nigerian Coastline Linked to Toxic Discharge
Intersectionality of Environmental Racism & Eugenics
Simple Steps You Can Take to Protect Your Family from Lead Hazards
Forging Inclusion and Access in Environmental Protection
Tips for Celebrating & Saving the Planet
Remembering the Flint Water Poisoning on Earth Day
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6289
|
__label__wiki
| 0.90731
| 0.90731
|
Police: Md. Dad Left Kids In Running Vehicle
Daniel Nathan Lilly Charged With Neglect
Investigators said a father left two children in a vehicle for nearly 30 minutes while he was inside a grocery store and that the vehicle's motor was running.Maryland State Police said Daniel Nathan Lilly, 30, of Stevensville, has been charged with two counts of neglect of a minor. One of the children is 5 years old, and the other is less than 1 year old, police said. According to a news release issued Monday, the incident occurred Feb. 4.Police from the Centreville Barrack were called to 300 Thompson Creek Mall in Queen Anne's County after receiving reports of children left inside a running vehicle. The vehicle was locked, police said, and one of the children was in a car seat."A few minutes later, a subject came out of the Food Lion and approached the vehicle with a cart full of groceries," police said in the news release."(The) investigation revealed that Lilly was shopping in the Food Lion with both children being left unattended for approximately 27 minutes," the release said. "Other witnesses stated that the 5-year-old was in the front seat playing with the steering wheel while the vehicle was running and unattended."
QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY, Md. —
Investigators said a father left two children in a vehicle for nearly 30 minutes while he was inside a grocery store and that the vehicle's motor was running.
Maryland State Police said Daniel Nathan Lilly, 30, of Stevensville, has been charged with two counts of neglect of a minor. One of the children is 5 years old, and the other is less than 1 year old, police said.
According to a news release issued Monday, the incident occurred Feb. 4.
Police from the Centreville Barrack were called to 300 Thompson Creek Mall in Queen Anne's County after receiving reports of children left inside a running vehicle. The vehicle was locked, police said, and one of the children was in a car seat.
"A few minutes later, a subject came out of the Food Lion and approached the vehicle with a cart full of groceries," police said in the news release.
"(The) investigation revealed that Lilly was shopping in the Food Lion with both children being left unattended for approximately 27 minutes," the release said. "Other witnesses stated that the 5-year-old was in the front seat playing with the steering wheel while the vehicle was running and unattended."
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6293
|
__label__wiki
| 0.876368
| 0.876368
|
UPS driver forced to hand over money, two packages in Garden District
A UPS driver was held up at gunpoint this week in an area of the Garden District, police say.The New Orleans Police Department is continuing its search for the robber in the incident, which was reported around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 3100 block of Magazine Street.According to the initial police report, the driver, a 55-year-old man, was delivering packages when he was approached by an unknown man armed with a handgun.The NOPD said the robber forced the driver back into his truck and ordered him to hand over money from his pockets. The driver also gave the robber two packages.Officials said the robber left in a gray SUV after the encounter. He was described as a black man in his 20s, 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds. He had a black bandana covering his face during the robbery.Additional information about the incident has not been released.Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111. Article by: Darren Scioneaux - Dillard University
A UPS driver was held up at gunpoint this week in an area of the Garden District, police say.
The New Orleans Police Department is continuing its search for the robber in the incident, which was reported around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 3100 block of Magazine Street.
According to the initial police report, the driver, a 55-year-old man, was delivering packages when he was approached by an unknown man armed with a handgun.
The NOPD said the robber forced the driver back into his truck and ordered him to hand over money from his pockets. The driver also gave the robber two packages.
Officials said the robber left in a gray SUV after the encounter. He was described as a black man in his 20s, 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighing 140 pounds. He had a black bandana covering his face during the robbery.
Additional information about the incident has not been released.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.
Article by: Darren Scioneaux - Dillard University
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6294
|
__label__wiki
| 0.604941
| 0.604941
|
Home Press Releases WPBS-TV RECEIVES NYS BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION AWARD
Press ReleasesRecent AwardsStation News
WPBS-TV RECEIVES NYS BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION AWARD
WPBS-DT, Watertown’s public broadcasting station, were honored Monday, June 22nd with an award from the New York State Broadcasters Association. WPBS-DT won the award for Outstanding Public Affairs Program or Series for the Public Eye Special Edition: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Tracy Duflo, Director of Production and Roque Murray, Producer/Director attended the Tony Malara Awards Dinner for Excellence in Broadcasting in New York City to receive the award.
This award was one of the many received by WPBS-TV this year. WPBS-DT won three Awards of Merit from The Accolade Global Film Competition. The Awards of Merit were won for locally produced Building North Country Innovation, Bringing Caribbean Sounds To The North Country, which was made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program and The Great Cable Carry, sponsored in part by the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation.
WPBS-DT has also been awarded two Communicator Awards; the “Award of Excellence” for the local production The Great Cable Carry, and the “Award of Distinction” for the local production Building North Country Innovation. In addition, WPBS-DT was the Bronze winner in the 36th Annual Telly Awards and the winner of the Bronze Summit International Award in the category of history/biography for their piece entitled The Great Cable Carry. WPBS-DT is honored to have received these awards, and will continually strive for excellence in production and broadcasting.
Each documentary is available for viewing online at watch.wpbstv.org.
WPBS-TV is a non-profit public television station serving approximately 650,000 households throughout Northern New York and Eastern Ontario. WPBS-TV’s mission is to educate, entertain and inform our two-nation audience through superior local and national content and media engagement in order to enhance the lives of those it serves. More information about WPBS is available at www.wpbstv.org, or by following WPBS on Twitter and Facebook.
Previous articleWhy We Made “Blackout”
Next articleBlackout, Chapter 1
WPBS-TV Kicks Off The Holiday Gift Auction
WATERTOWN, NY; December 9, 2020 -- WPBS-TV, the PBS affiliate serving Northern New York and Eastern Ontario with the finest public media content, announced...
WPBS Marks International Day of People With Disabilities with Special Programming
Wednesday, December 3rd is the International Day of People With Disabilities, and it is especially important and meaningful this year. During the COVID-19 pandemic...
WPBS-TV Holiday Programming Guide 2020
It is hard to believe that 2020 - this year unlike any other - is about to come to an end. Many of us...
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6296
|
__label__cc
| 0.590472
| 0.409528
|
Civilization II is the second game in the legendary strategy game series by the legendary game designer Sid Meier. You must guide a small tribe to grow and become a great empire in competition with as many as seven other tribes. You must make decisions that affect exploration, war, diplomacy, city growth, and the discovery of new technologies, the results of which will ultimately define your empire and what it is capable of achieving. Civ2 was designed for Windows from the ground up, and the "original" version is designed for Windows, not DOS.
Pixel based
Windowboxed
Multiplayer Gold Edition
Turn-Based Strategy, 4X
Natively supported. The game runs in a maximized window at your desktop resolution.
If you are using one of the three lower widescreen resolutions, then the "view city" screen is anamorphic.
Anything higher, and it gets pushed to the left with a black bar drawn to its right.
Also, the game has some other sub-screens that are not meant to be windowed, such as the throne room and space ship, and they become windowboxed.
All of these are just beauty shots, and have no meaningful impact to gameplay.
CivII has an extensive GUI, but it doesn't really have a HUD. Nothing in this game stretches. Most of the "sub-screens" you use are rendered in a movable window. Some of the FMVs are windowboxed. Others, mainly the FMVs that show when you complete a major project, or when you consult the high council, are rendered in a movable window.
16:10 Achievement FMV
Submitted by The_cranky_hermit on 18 December, 2007 - 02:49
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6297
|
__label__wiki
| 0.518099
| 0.518099
|
Approaches and Interventions
While every person on the planet needs clean water, dignified sanitation and healthy hygiene practices, there are a variety of approaches and interventions that can be taken to help communities have safe, convenient, reliable and sustainable WASH facilities and services.
Below is a thorough (though by no means exhaustive) list of the types of approaches and interventions World Vision utilises in our WASH programmes. Some are used in every WASH programme (such as social inclusion and monitoring and evaluation). Others are more specific to the context in which we work. When you click an item on the list, it will take you to a brief description of that intervention.
World Vision is developing an integrated approach between WASH; maternal, newborn and child health; nutrition; and early childhood development to promote child well-being in the critical first 1000 days. This approach is based in a growing body of evidence that poor WASH practices have numerous impacts on maternal and child health outcomes, and thus recommends interventions at the household and health facility level.
Learn more about BabyWASH
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MICROFINANCE
The development of local businesses is essential to ensure the sustainability of water, sanitation and hygiene services. Local businesses and entrepreneurs provide key support ensuring necessary supplies are available, providing maintenance of infrastructure, and opening the doors of possibility for locally adapted innovation. Approaches like Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) help harness local resources to invest in WASH businesses, and microfinance is providing jobs and funding for local WASH entrepreneurship. World Vision has also found success using microfinance and business development opportunities in WASH through the construction and maintenance of water points, construction of sanitation facilities, and promotion of household water treatment products, soap and hand washing tools.
Community-led total sanitation (CLTS) is an approach that engages the community in recognising areas where open defecation occurs and taking their own actions to become totally free of open defecation – including the faeces of children under 2. CLTS helps households achieve basic sanitation coverage as quickly as possible. This includes helping households to construct their own latrines and other aspects of environmental sanitation, including integrated solid waste and wastewater management. CLTS can be applied along with another model, sanitation marketing. CLTS helps create demand for sanitation products and services, and sanitation marketing helps strengthen the local sanitation supply chain to meet the demand.
COMMUNITY-LED URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION
Access to improved toilet facilities alone will not solve the world’s sanitation challenge. The suitable collection, transportation, treatment and reuse/disposal of faecal sludge will be critical for future sanitation planning. Community-led urban environmental sanitation suggests that communities, local government, NGOs, research institutions and international actors all have roles to play in urban sanitation planning and management.
Disability inclusive WASH
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 15 per cent of people have some kind of disability, making people with disabilities the largest minority group on the planet. Disability inclusive WASH is water, sanitation and hygiene that is available, affordable, dignified and accessible to people with disabilities. People with disabilities represent some of the most vulnerable in communities because of social stigma, inaccessibility, marginalisation and discrimination. Because World Vision often begins its work in communities with WASH projects, World Vision recognises that WASH projects must be disability inclusive to: achieve the basic human right to water and sanitation, reach the most vulnerable, and set the tone for inclusion in other community-based projects to increase access. Disability inclusive WASH safeguards the inclusion of people with disabilities and frequently paves the way for inclusion in other parts of society as well.
We believe that our WASH work serves as a discernable demonstration of God’s love for both communities and individuals. Most communities where World Vision works are very religious, and we believe that effective faith engagement in these contexts also plays a key part in the success of our WASH programmes. As a faith-based organisation, we are uniquely positioned to effectively engage local faith leaders -- who are often the most influential actors in communities. World Vision works with faith leaders in communities to educate and mobilise communities for WASH. In interfaith contexts, this often means bringing together faith leaders from different faiths to work toward the common goal of healthier communities.
Learn more about faith engagement
HOUSEHOLD WATER QUALITY
World Vision ensures that water provided to communities for domestic uses is safe. For that to occur, every water point is sampled, tested for physico-chemical and bacteriological compliance with country standards or WHO guidelines. Contaminated water is treated using adapted and easy-to-use technologies (such as the MSR SE200 Electrochlorinator) and communities are trained on water treatment techniques.
Even if water supplied is of good quality, research and experience have demonstrated that quality issues are still recurrent if water is collected and stored unsafely. World Vision addresses this issue by not only promoting household water treatment, but water safe transportation and safe storage in the household. This calls for adapted water storage and removal practices. Quality compliance at source and at point of use is key for assuring good health and contributes to the well-being of children and families.
Learn more about household water quality
HYGIENE BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
Increased awareness and knowledge about the importance of hygiene alone will not necessarily result in changed behaviours and practices. Intentional activities leading to behaviour change are required. World Vision utilises two tools to move people from knowledge to practice – the Designing for Behaviour Change Framework and the Barrier Analysis Survey. These tools help identify critical barriers and enabling factors to behaviour change and develop a practical plan to move a priority group toward sustained practice of a desired WASH-related behaviour.
Learn more about hygiene behavior change
Integrated water resources management (IWRM) is a sustainable approach seeking to address the socio-economic needs of all stakeholders in a watershed, preserving the environment and considering the needs of future generations. This is critical to the sustainability and resilience of rural communities.
Menstrual hygiene enables women and girls to reach life's fullest potential and is a vital tool in keeping girls healthy and in school. Adolescent girls often miss school because of their menstrual cycle. Educating girls, boys, mothers, fathers, teachers and school officials is critical to assuring girls are supported during this season of development. School facilities need to be adequate to ensure girls have a clean and private way to take care of their menstrual hygiene needs. Menstrual Hygiene Management is a critical component of World Vision’s WASH in Schools efforts. Learn more about menstrual hygiene.
Learn more about menstrual hygiene
Establishing a robust and regular monitoring system will ensure issues are addressed early rather than towards the end of a project. The system works with stakeholders and the community to help with monitoring and documenting and respond to any changes reported throughout the project cycle, including changes in participation, decision-making, quality of life, capacity, respect and influence. Outputs and outcomes will be measured against standard global indicators and links with sub-national, national, regional and global monitoring systems and evidence captured is documented and shared through knowledge management systems.
The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of infections that put over a billion people at risk around the world. These include soil-transmitted helminths, schistosomiasis, trachoma, lymphatic filariasis, and river blindness. WASH contributes to the prevention and the management of most NTDs through the provision of safe water, the construction of sanitation facilities and hygiene behaviour change. Reducing levels of WASH-preventable NTDs not only improves health and alleviates suffering, but can also leads to improved educational outcomes for children and increased economic progress for communities and nations. Safe water available for personal hygiene and environmental sanitation reduces guinea worm diseases and soil transmitted helminthiasis, schistosomiasis, trachoma, and lymphatic filariasis. Reduced open defecation impacts soil transmitted helminthiasis as well.
Poverty alone is not a comprehensive marker of deprivation. Race, ethnicity, gender, religion, place of residence, disability status, age, HIV/AIDS status, sexual orientation or other stigmatised markers, confer disadvantage that excludes people from a range of processes and opportunities. Under the WASH programme, social inclusion aims to empower people to take advantage of WASH facilities and equal distribution of resources, ensuring people have a voice in decisions which affect their lives and enjoy equal access in society. World Vision has particular focus on disability and gender inclusion in WASH, as women and girls, and people with disabilities, are often on the margins of society and can benefit the most from inclusive WASH programmes.
SUSTAINABILITY AND EXIT PLAN
From the start of a programme, a sustainability and exit plan with local authorities and communities is created to ensure clearly defined roles, responsibilities, ownership and accountability post-project/programme and to ensure the long-term sustainability of the improved WASH services. The critical foundation of sustainability is a functional WASH committee, which World Vision works to establish at the beginning of any WASH project. This committee plays the lead role in planning, implementing and decision making. A functioning WASH committee ensures post project sustainability. Community engagement contributes to the understanding of community priorities and defines the pathway in which the community and World Vision will work collaboratively. This includes clear understanding of the community’s roles and responsibilities as owners, and the facilitation of their physical and financial participation, which is essential for maintenance and sustainability.
The exit plan and post programme development usually includes support from communities, religious leaders, technical services, local administration, municipalities and other partners. These key resources help to ensure the continuity of actions/services after the end of the programme.
While urban water poses a challenge in all urban contexts, it is especially complex in urban and peri-urban slums. Improving the water, sanitation, hygiene, solid waste and drainage of urban communities significantly reduces the burden of disease within a community, results in overall health and nutrition improvements, and increases opportunities for education and economic participation. Playing a brokering and relationship development role between communities and service providers, NGOs bring a significant value addition to the planning, implementation, execution and long-term viability of urban WASH development.
WASH Away from the home
When World Vision works with communities, they consider water uses beyond basic household consumption, working with health care facilities and schools to ensure these critical community structures have easy access to safe, clean water, sanitation facilities and hygiene improvement. According to a recent multi-country review by the World Health Organization from 54 low- and middle-income countries, 38 percent of health care facilities lack access to even rudimentary levels of water, 19 percent lack sanitation and 35 percent do not have water and soap for hand washing. The situation significantly worsens when looking for a higher standard of WASH coverage. Rural health care facilities are much worse off compared to districts and referral hospitals. World Vision is reversing this tendency by providing safe water, sanitation, and hand-hygiene options in health care facilities; building the capacity of health care facilitates stakeholders to operate and maintain long-term safe and sustainable WASH services in health care facilities; and strengthening the enabling environment for sustainability.
World Vision’s WASH work in schools involves the construction of facilities and training community resource people from schools and health institutions who spearhead school sanitation and hygiene programmes. This work helps to improve access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in schools and help reduce diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases among schoolchildren. These students also help as agents of change to reinforce good hygiene and sanitation behaviours at home. Through key partners like Sesame Workshop, World Vision provides fun and educational resources to teachers and students to promote important hygiene behaviours.
Learn more about WASH away from the home
WASH IN EMERGENCIES
No country is immune to disaster, both man-made and natural. In practically every emergency, water, sanitation and hygiene are critical first responses to help protect people from disease outbreaks and other risks that arise from lack of access to clean water and safe sanitation. When World Vision responds to an emergency, one of the first activities is ensuring those affected have clean drinking water and access to sanitation. This is first done by providing stop-gap measures, such as bottled water or water purification packets and hygiene kits. Over time, as those affected become more stabilised in their own communities, temporary dwellings or camps, World Vision works to ensure a more sustainable water supply and sanitation facilities are available and accessible.
Learn more about WASH in emergencies
WASH IN FRAGILE CONTEXTS
Fragile contexts require a different approach to WASH than in more stable contexts. In fragile contexts, government structures are weakened and unreliable, and may lack the capacity or authority to own, monitor and maintain WASH infrastructure. This leaves citizens even more vulnerable to a variety of shocks. World Vision works in fragile contexts to help build up community resilience and community capacity. In WASH, resilience is built in a variety of ways, including access to safe water, promotion of hygiene behaviour, and education on proper household water treatment.
World Vision believes every child deserves clean water. Our goal is to support governments and communities where we work to achieve universal coverage in access to water facilities and services, supporting the establishment of long-lasting water supply systems. A 2010 independent study carried out in Ghana found that eight in ten wells installed by World Vision are still operational up to 20 years after they were built.
Once basic water supply needs are met, World Vision works with communities to bring water closer to households by installing mechanised water pumping systems and networks of pipes. We also work to ensure schools and health care facilities have access to water on site. When feasible, we also construct rain water harvesting systems, protected spring catchment systems, and harnessing surface water from perennial rivers. We work to rehabilitate pre-existing boreholes that have broken down, and we ensure water quality through comprehensive water quality testing. We also promote water treatment technologies, both at the source and in the household.
Learn more about water supply
Learn about how WASH contributes to child well-being, here.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6299
|
__label__wiki
| 0.98061
| 0.98061
|
Organ Transplants Down As Stay-At-Home Rules Reduce Fatal Traffic Collisions
By April Dembosky
Freeways in Oakland, as in much of California, saw much lighter traffic — and fewer fatal traffic collisions — in the early weeks of the pandemic's stay-at-home rules.
On Day 2 of the San Francisco Bay Area's stay-at-home orders in March, Nohemi Jimenez got into her car in San Pablo, Calif., waved goodbye to her 3-year-old son and drove to her regular Wednesday dialysis appointment.
The roads were deserted. No traffic. Jimenez says it is hard to admit what she thought next: No traffic meant no car crashes. And that meant she'd be on the waiting list for a kidney transplant even longer.
"I don't want to be mean, but I was like, 'Oh, my God. Nobody's going to die,'" she says. "I'm not going to get my transplant."
Jimenez, who is now 30 years old, was 20 and pregnant with her first child when doctors discovered she had been born with only one kidney, and that lone kidney was failing. By age 29, doctors told her she needed a new one. It was strange and scary, she says, waiting for someone to die so she could live.
"You're just thinking about it," she says. "It's sitting in your mind. It just can never leave you alone."
Deaths from motor vehicle crashes and fatal injuries are the biggest source of organs for transplant, accounting for 33% of donations, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which manages the nation's organ transplant system.
/ Beth LaBerge/KQED
Nohemi Jimenez at her home in San Pablo, Calif. on April 28. Jimenz received her kidney transplant in the middle of the pandemic, but many others in need are still waiting.
But ever since the coronavirus forced Californians indoors, those accidents have declined. Traffic collisions and fatalities in the state dropped by half in the first three weeks of shelter-in-place restrictions, according to a study by the University of California, Davis. Drowning deaths dropped 80% in California, according to data compiled by the nonprofit .
In April, organ procurement organizations typically see a surge in donations related to outdoor, spring break-related activities and travel, but not this year.
From March 8 to April 11, the number of organ donors who died in traffic collisions was down 23% nationwide compared with the same period last year, while donors who died in all other types of accidents were down 21%, according to data from UNOS.
"Spring break accidents are almost nonexistent because there's no spring break — beach accidents, motorcycle accidents, hunting accidents," says Janice Whaley, CEO of , which manages organ donations for Northern California and Nevada.
Doctors say they've also noticed a decline in emergency room visits overall, not just for accidents, and this may also be limiting the supply of donor organs.
"Where are all the people with heart attacks? Where are all the people with strokes?" says George Rutherford, a professor and infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco. "Are those patients staying away from the ERs for fear of COVID? Clearly, the census is way down in ERs."
At Kaiser Permanente medical centers in Northern California, where 4.4 million patients get care, weekly hospital admissions for heart attacks have dropped almost 50% since the region's first COVID-19 death was reported in early March.
Strokes and heart attacks are the second and third most common sources of organ donations, accounting for 27% and 20% of organs, respectively, according to UNOS.
When people die from a stroke or heart attack at home instead of a hospital, their organs cannot be used for transplant because of lost blood flow. Most organ donations occur after a person suffers a near-fatal event and lifesaving measures do not work. For organs to be viable, people must die or be declared brain-dead while on a ventilator, so blood keeps pumping to the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys.
COVID preparations slow transplant pipeline
A range of other logistical complications have made transplants difficult during the coronavirus pandemic. Hospitals have had to scale back surgeries of all kinds to preserve scarce supplies of personal protective equipment and ventilators. And many haven't had the bandwidth to manage the delicate timing and complexity of organ donation, recovery, transportation and transplantation.
Transplant surgeries across the country plummeted 52% from March 8 to April 11, according to UNOS data.
"There are a lot of things that have to happen perfectly, and now we're in an imperfect situation where we're trying to deal with so many other things," Whaley says.
Earlier in the pandemic, as medical centers braced for a wave of COVID-19 patients, they wanted to free up as many ventilators as possible. In addition to donors needing to die on ventilators to keep their organs viable, doctors often keep them on ventilators for two or three days while transplant teams and recipients are lined up. Then the recipients need to be on ventilators during surgery.
"People were very antsy about having non-COVID-19 patients on ventilators, taking up space," Whaley says. "They wanted to make sure they were ready for that next patient."
Many COVID patients who died had previously signed up to have their organs donated for transplantation upon death; but those organs were declined ,out of concern that recipients could become infected, Whaley says.
Testing shortage meant some organs wasted
And a shortage of coronavirus testing supplies made it difficult for transplant centers to test potential donors who later died of other causes to make sure they were not infected with the virus.
"So there may have been some organ turndowns that we normally wouldn't have seen," says Dr. Chris Freise, a professor and transplant surgeon at UCSF.
As a matter of policy, hospitals canceled virtually all organ transplants from living donors — procedures that involve a family member or someone else donating a kidney or section of their liver.
"That involves bringing two patients into the hospital — the donor and the recipient — and we certainly didn't want to put donors at any significant extra risk," Freise says. "Living-donor kidney transplants ground down to almost a complete halt in most programs across the country."
Some hospitals began doing living donations again in early May, while donations from deceased donors started to increase slowly in mid-April.
That's when Jimenez got her call from Freise's team at UCSF. A condition related to Jimenez's three pregnancies made finding a donor match for her exceptionally difficult, Freise says — "like a needle in a haystack." That also put her at the top of the waiting list in case a match was found.
On April 17, Jimenez's phone rang at 2 a.m. A transplant staffer told her to get to the hospital right away.
"I was excited," Jimenez says. "But then my mind hit me: Somebody died."
All she knows is that the donor was 19 and died in an accident in Los Angeles. Jimenez wrote a letter to the donor's family.
"I told them that I will forever be thinking of them," she says. "I will have him or her in my body for the rest of my life, and I will live for both of us."
Jimenez has six months of recovery ahead of her. She says she's looking forward to going back to work and having more energy to play with her kids.
This story comes from NPR's reporting partnership with KQED and .
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6300
|
__label__wiki
| 0.679454
| 0.679454
|
Is Free College Really Free?
"Free" is a word with a powerful appeal. And in the past year or so it has been tossed around a lot, followed by another word: "college."
Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton spent a lot of time talking about free tuition. And this week, the promise has been taken up by one of the largest public university systems in the country: New York state's.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a proposal that would offer free tuition at state-run colleges for students from families earning less than $125,000 a year. Called the Excelsior Scholarship, his plan — which needs approval by the Legislature — would grant full rides to qualifying students as long as they attend one of the state's public two- or four-year colleges.
Cuomo's proposal, in the lexicon of "free-college" policymaking, is what's called a "last dollar" program.
As NPR Ed explained this summer, that means students who are already eligible for federal Pell Grants must use them to pay for school. After that money is gone, the state pledges to fill in the gap.
This method is the cheapest for the state, since students can draw on federal money first before taking state aid. With this type of plan, a larger share of funds from the new program is likely to go mainly to families who are relatively well off.
As Robert Kelchen, a higher education scholar at Seton Hall University, explains on his blog:
The benefits of the program would go to two groups of students. The first group is fairly obvious: middle-income and upper-middle-income families. In New York, $125,000 falls at roughly the 80th percentile of family income — an income level where families may not be able to pay tuition without borrowing, but college enrollment rates are quite high.
The other group that may benefit, says Kelchen, are lower-income students who are enticed by the clarity of the promise of "free."
But New York's proposal, like others, is likely to be controversial.
In reality there's no free college, just as there's no free lunch. The real policy discussion is about how to best distribute the burden of paying for it — between individual families and the public at large — and, secondly, how to hold down the cost of providing it. All while leveraging the power of "free" responsibly.
Fueling a bubble
For many conservatives, the answer is simple. An education makes individuals richer, and individuals should bear the cost. "The state should not subsidize intellectual curiosity," said Ronald Reagan, back when he was running for governor of California. In recent times, the conservative position is perhaps best expressed by economist Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.
In his books, articles and public appearances, Vedder argues that federal student aid is creating a bubble that allows colleges to raise prices indefinitely, and the only way to stop the cycle is to cut off public funding.
Kevin Carey, now the director of the higher education policy program at the nonpartisan New America Foundation, made pretty much the same argument in the New Republic in 2012. He compared public universities to apple vendors:
You, the apple vendor, look at the situation and say, "Hey, the market price of an apple is still $1. Wouldn't it be great if I could charge $1 for apples, but still get 40 cents from the government for every apple I sell?" ... So you start raising prices by 3, 4, or 5 percent above inflation annually.
In a world with no public subsidy at all for education, the only option left for free tuition would be something like the Starbucks plan — large corporations or wealthy donors footing the bill. And that kind of "free" comes, generally, with a significant catch — like requiring students to work for a certain employer.
The public piggy bank
At the other end of the political spectrum are those who see a large public obligation to pay for the education of citizens, to promote democracy, meritocracy and equal rights, among other things. They just can't agree on how.
Once upon a time, public university in this country actually was free, for the most part. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, from New York to California, states opted to charge no tuition or nominal fees.
Here's the catch. Until World War II, college was also pretty sparsely attended. In 1940, only about 5 percent of the population, most of them white men, had a bachelor's degree. And the U.S. was the most educated nation in the world! The small numbers made tuition relatively cheap to subsidize.
But starting with the GI Bill, the United States moved to a new model of "mass" higher education. The expansion continued through the 1960s, with the Higher Education Act of 1965 establishing federal student-aid programs.
Suddenly, most high school graduates — men, women, black, white, new immigrants — aspired to a college degree. In defiance of the laws of economics, as the supply of college graduates went up, so did the demand for them, year after year. A college degree pretty much always meant you made more money.
Graduates also paid more taxes, so the government got its money back in the long term — $6 for every dollar spent on the GI Bill, by some estimates.
Starting in the 1970s, there was a backlash to all this free money. In the economic slump, federal and state subsidies to higher education tightened. Enrollments declined. Loans, which were cheaper for the government, began to replace grants.
Public universities responded to the decreased state subsidies by raising tuition. They responded to the increased availability of loan financing by raising tuition. They responded to the continued robust demand for higher education by raising tuition. They responded to the pressure to expand, adding new programs and majors and building bigger campuses, by raising tuition. Since 1978, public university tuition has climbed every single year, two or three times faster than inflation. Average student loan debt for a bachelor's degree: $29,400.
Sara Goldrick-Rab of Temple University sums up the results of all this in a paper she wrote for the Lumina Foundation:
Talented students are forgoing college because of the costs, students who start college are unable to complete because they cannot afford to continue, and even students who finish degrees may not realize all of the expected returns because of sizable debt burdens.
The United States is no longer the most educated nation in the world — it's the 12th. Most of the countries ahead of it have lower-cost public university options than the U.S. Perhaps most damning, the high cost of college in this country helps ensure that in too many cases, wealth trumps merit.
The success rate in college for the lowest-achieving but highest-income students is slightly better than the success rate for the highest-achieving, lowest-income students.
Out-of-control college costs are hurting the most vulnerable. There are many different efforts to pacify the giant octopus.
The new proposals bank on the fact that the federal government already spends lots of money on student aid: $47 billion in grants a year, $101 billion in loans (which are repaid), and another $20 billion in tax credits. The total of state, federal and private money going to defray the cost of tuition — that's distinct from state appropriations directly to institutions — is $247 billion per year.
Seems like with that kind of dough, there ought to be ways of buying better access and more equity.
There's substantial evidence that low-income students are less likely to even aspire to college because they think it's too expensive. It affects things like their choice of math classes as early as sixth grade.
That's why so many of these programs have the word "promise" or "hope" in the name. The student-aid bureaucracy is complicated to navigate. "Free college" is a promise everyone can understand.
Redeeming America's Promise calls for offering a full scholarship to a public two- or four-year college to every academically qualified student from families making no more than $160,000 a year. Part of the money, they say, could come from Pell Grants and tax credits, which would no longer be needed. (This math has been challenged).
Goldrick-Rab, a scholar who studies access to higher education, argued in her paper last year for the Lumina Foundation that the federal student-aid budget would and should go to pay for two years of universal free public college for all comers, including books, supplies, even a living stipend for those who need it.
Unfortunately, most attempts to defray the cost of college come with unintended consequences.
For a good example, look no further than Georgia's HOPE Scholarship. This statewide program, dating from 1993, offers high school graduates who meet certain requirements scholarships at a state university. At one time, about a dozen states had created similar models.
According to this early look at the impact of the HOPE program, by Susan Dynarski for the National Bureau of Economic Research, "Georgia's program has likely increased the college attendance rate of all 18- to 19-year-olds by 7.0 to 7.9 percentage points."
Not too shabby. However, "the evidence suggests that Georgia's program has widened the gap in college attendance between blacks and whites and between those from low- and high-income families."
Wait a minute. So a free tuition plan, instead of helping low-income and minority students, actually left them further behind? Yes, and that result has been seen in other states. It happens because these state programs require certain high school GPAs and test scores, and require that students maintain a certain GPA in college. And proportionately more middle-class white kids meet those bars.
Most of the conversations about free college, as we've seen, are really about moving around piles of government money and other funds.
Some folks are starting to talk about whether we can meaningfully lower the cost of delivering a college education, instead of or in addition to paying for it differently. Most of those conversations have something to do with technology.
Some thought Massive Open Online Courses would be the Holy Grail: free, high-quality college for everyone! But in that case, "free" led to lower commitment. Completion rates for MOOCs hover around 5 to 7 percent.
Blended programs, which are self-paced and combine online learning with assistance from real people by phone or in person, seem to be able to hold down costs and get good results at the same time. Like a nonprofit whose teacher-prep program was the National Council of Teacher Quality's first-ranked program in the country in 2014. It manages to charge less than the average public university without taking any public subsidy.
The unique thing about education, and what makes it so hard to control the price, is that it's not just a service or a good. It's a process, and the learner takes an active role in creating its value. A college education may never be free, but for many people it will remain priceless.
A version of this story was published on NPR Ed in June 2014.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6303
|
__label__wiki
| 0.968439
| 0.968439
|
A New Approach To Refugees: Pay Them To Go Home
By Lucy Perkins
For refugees in Austria who choose to voluntarily go back to their countries of origin, a one-way trip to the Vienna International Airport marks the end of their journey in Europe.
Our series, "Take A Number," is exploring problems around the world — and the people who are trying to solve them — through the lens of a single number.
158,000. That's roughly how many refugees are stuck in limbo in Europe right now.
Many of them got to Europe in late 2015, when the refugee crisis reached its peak, and have been waiting since then to see if they'll be formally accepted into the European Union. To cut down on the wait time and economic impact of this massive influx, some countries and nonprofits in Europe have embraced a new idea — pay refugees to go back to the countries they left in the first place.
Mahmoud Abdelwahab is one of the people who has been waiting. He's 25, and originally from Mosul, Iraq. In early 2016, he quit his job as a cook and came to Europe, ending up in Vienna.
"He saw people dying on the trip, like capsizing or falling from the boat into the sea," Philipp Epaid says. Epaid is Abdelwahab's counselor at Caritas, the nonprofit that provides refugee services to people in Austria who are returning home.
Abdelwahab filled out his application to stay in Austria almost two years ago. Since then, nothing.
All he could do — legally — was wait in a refugee camp. This is a big problem a lot of people waiting for asylum have: They aren't allowed to get a job, which means Mahmoud couldn't send money back to his family.
"He wants to work. He wants to learn the language, and if you have no chance to do this, you're stuck and you get tired," Epaid says.
Abdelwahab says he spent two years all alone, feeling like a failure. And that the odds of getting asylum are stacked against him.
He's not wrong — the Austrian courts have been overwhelmed by applications. When the migrant crisis reached its peak back in 2015, the number of people wanting to stay in Austria tripled.
Instead of waiting longer, Mahmoud late last year made a tough decision. He decided to leave Austria and go back to Iraq.
"He saw other Iraqi people receiving the negative decision that they have to go back," Epaid says. "And that's why he decided for himself to back, before he got a negative."
That decision — to voluntarily leave the country — is exactly what the Austrian government wants refugees to do. Last spring, Austria announced that it would give 1,000 euros to the first 1,000 refugees who signed up to leave on their own.
The program was successful, and the government extended the offer to more refugees. It's an incentive that's gaining traction across Europe.
"Either they choose the voluntary option or we have to discuss the forced option," says Karl-Heinz Groendbock, the spokesman for the Austrian Interior Ministry. That's the department that's funding the voluntary program. "Whenever it comes to forced return, we're talking about arresting people. It means we also have detention centers for people waiting for forced return."
Groendbock says it's a lot cheaper to give someone a one-way flight and 1,000 euros than using the country's resources to deport them. And, he adds, when there are more applications, there will be more rejections. So, the government has wanted to encourage more refugees to return home — a decision thousands of refugees made in 2017.
But is paying them really in the best interest of refugees? Philipp Epaid, Abdelwahab's counselor, is not sure. He says it's really important that a refugee makes a life-changing decision like this one on his own.
But this program is exactly why Mahmoud Abdelwahab chose to return home to Iraq — voluntarily.
On a warm Thursday in October, he took a bus to the Vienna airport, ready to board a flight to Baghdad.
He's taking the buyout, he says, to go home and use the money to buy a car and become a cab driver.
"Two years ... [I] was here for nothing," Mahmoud says as Epaid translates. "It didn't make any sense to come here."
NPR has reached out to Abdelwahab, but hasn't heard from him since he flew home to Iraq.
Lucy Perkins
See stories by Lucy Perkins
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6304
|
__label__wiki
| 0.541351
| 0.541351
|
Milford Sound New Zealand Cruise Port Guide
You will not disembark at this location. Passengers who booked on overland tours are tendered ashore to travel to Queenstown, New Zealand’s most famous resort. A 5 hour trip.
Fiordland National Park is in the southwest of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s known for the glacier-carved fiords of Doubtful and Milford sounds. A beech forest trail on the sandy Milford shore offers views of towering Mitre Peak. Nearby, the craggy Earl Mountains are reflected in the glassy surface of Mirror Lakes. On the Cleddau River, the Chasm Walk passes over bridges with views of powerful waterfalls.
For first-time visitors and lifelong natives alike, Milford Sound is one of the most immediately breathtaking places in New Zealand. The 22-km-long fjord is dominated by beautiful Mitre Peak and calmed by gorgeous waters that mirror the sheer peaks surrounding them. Although remote, Milford Sound has visitors come from all over the world to admire its raw, unspoiled beauty and rare marine life.
Cruising the sound affords views of Bowen Falls, Mitre Peak, Anita Bay and both Elephant and Stirling Falls. If there's still film (or memory) left in your camera after that, try to catch a glimpse of the dolphins, seals and penguins that pop to the surface on nice days in these calm waters.
Queenstown is picturesque and known for its outdoor and adventure activities. It is famous for introducing the bungy to the world, and was also the backdrop for much of the filming of the Lord of the Rings. Queenstown and its surrounds are also conducive to producing award-winning Pinot Noirs.
The New Zealand dollar is used in New Zealand. A few traders do accept foreign currency, particularly in tourist destinations. The conversion from US dollars to NZ dollars is approximately US$1=NZD1.30.
Automatic teller machines (ATMs), locally known as 'the hole in the wall', are available in just about every town.
English, Maori and New Zealand Sign Language are the official languages of New Zealand. English is universal, and is written with Commonwealth ("British") spelling.
The emergency telephone number in New Zealand is 111.
Many public libraries have public Internet access. Generally there is a charge.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6305
|
__label__cc
| 0.595066
| 0.404934
|
Mukherjea, Ananya. " 'When You Kiss Me, I Want to Die': Gothic Relationships and Identity on Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Slayage: The Online International Journal of Buffy Studies 7.2 (Spring 2008): n. pag. Web.
Wilcox, Rhonda V., and Tanya R. Cochran, eds. Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2008. Print.
Beadling, Laura L. “The Threat of the ‘Good Wife’: Feminism, Postfeminism, and Third-Wave Feminism in Firefly.” Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier. Eds. Rhonda V. Wilcox and Tanya R. Cochran. New York: I. B. Tauris, 2008.
Cochran, Tanya R. "Complicating the Open Closet: The Visual Rhetoric of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Sapphic Lovers." Televising Queer Women. Ed. Rebecca Beirne. New York: Palgrave, 2008.
Erickson, Gregory. “Humanity in a ‘Place of Nothin’’: Morality, Religion, Atheism, and Possibility inFirefly.” Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier. Eds. Rhonda V. Wilcox and Tanya R. Cochran. New York: I. B. Tauris, 2008.
Jencson, Linda Jean. " 'Aiming to Misbehave': Role Modeling Political-Economic Conditions and Political Action in the Serenityverse." Slayage: The Online International Journal of Buffy Studies 7.1 (Winter 2008): n. pag. Web.
Pateman, Matthew. "Deathly Serious: Mortality, Morality, and the Mise-en-Scene in Firefly and Serenity."Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier. Eds. Rhonda V. Wilcox and Tanya R. Cochran. New York: I. B. Tauris, 2008.
Koontz, Dale K. Faith and Choice in the Works of Joss Whedon. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008. Print.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6306
|
__label__wiki
| 0.87433
| 0.87433
|
Luke Combs Teases Brand New “Forever After All” & It Has HIT Written All Over It
I literally just wrote a little something yesterday detailing all the unreleased songs that he has performed in the past, all the songs that could potentially make Luke’s upcoming deluxe album as one of the 5 new songs.
And then he does this…
Titled “Forever After All,” Luke shared the chorus of the new song on TikTok, revealing that the story falls in line with that of “Beautiful Crazy,” and “Better Together,”
“First came ‘Beautiful Crazy,’ then “Better Together,’ and now ‘Forever After All.”
Undoubtedly written for his new wife Nicole, this has #1 single written all over it.
“They say nothing lasts forever, but they ain’t see us together,
Or the way the moonlight dances in your eyes,
And I know there’ll be that moment, the good Lord calls us one of home and,
One won’t have the other by their side,
But Heaven knows that that won’t last too long,
Maybe some things last forever after all.”
The deluxe version of What You See Is What You Get, titled What You See Ain’t Always What You Get is set for release on October 23rd and hopefully, this one will be one it.
Country MusicFeaturedLuke CombsVideo
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6307
|
__label__cc
| 0.680032
| 0.319968
|
Darby Usey
Born and raised in New Orleans, Darby has always had a passion for music and singing. He first began singing as a tenor in his high school choir and then spent a number of years developing his voice and ability as karaoke singer. In 2008, Darby officially began his singing career as the original lead vocalist of the Houston based variety/cover band Coldshot. It was during his 5 year stint with Coldshot that Darby cultivated his talent as a vocalist, taking on and successfully emulating vocals from artists such as Journey, Guns n’ Roses, Marvin Gaye, Prince, and others. Being a big Zeppelin fan Darby was thrilled at the opportunity to become the front man for Whole Lotta Led and is excited about the chance to pay tribute to Robert Plant, one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time, while helping to bring the music of Led Zeppelin to new audiences in a live format.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6308
|
__label__wiki
| 0.816744
| 0.816744
|
Infestation: Survivor Stories (The War Z) Growing Very Strong
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpHXun3R17Y
Infestation: Survivor Stories, formerly known as The War Z, was fully released late last year and has surprisingly grown to over 1.3 million registered users since the launch, according to publisher OP Productions.
I’m saying “surprisingly” because this open-world zombie survival horror video game was plagued with controversies from the start. You name it, it’s dealt with it. Infestation has been accused of fraud, trademark issues, hacks, and it was even reported that developers bullied customers who complained about the game. The list of issues goes on and on, but it looks like things have changed since the developers at Hammerpoint Interactive listened to community feedback. Any great suggestion or idea customers throw at them will now be considered for add-on content, which is due out this summer.
Regardless of the all the bad that went on, statistics released today prove that Infestation made a nice comeback over the months. There are now 1.3 million registered players who average more than 95 hours in the game, and more than 100,000 play it daily. It’s clear that Infestation is doing something right these days. Good customer support and game tweaking goes a long way, and maybe now is a great time to give this one a try, if you haven’t already done so.
Infestation is currently available for $14.99 at Steam.
Infestation is a Survival Horror MMO that immerses players in a zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic world in which a viral outbreak has decimated the human population leaving, in its wake, a nightmare of epic proportion. Being one of the remaining, uninfected survivors, players must navigate the desolate countryside, exploring cities and scavenging along the way for items that will improve their skills and help them to survive as long as possible. As they explore the terrain, players will not only face flocks of zombies, but also fellow players that may either be friendly or hostile. The decision to trust can be fatal, as other players may pose an even greater threat than the undead hordes that roam the decimated landscape.
Related Items: Infestation: Survivor StoriesZombies
Top 10: Zombies With Killer Character
Top 10: Generic Video Game Bad Guys! Or: Cheaper By The ...
The Zombie Autopsies VR Miniseries In The Works
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6310
|
__label__wiki
| 0.740147
| 0.740147
|
Tina Locurto
After a nine-week shutdown amid the global pandemic, Realtors said they had no idea the York County housing market would rebound as quickly as it did — let alone set new records and usher in a prime seller's market.
This past year, real estate agents sold approximately 6,696 homes, which is a 4% increase from 2019 and a new record for the Realtors Association of York & Adams Counties, said RAYAC President Tina Llorente.
"Home sellers are ecstatic that they're getting the prices that they've wanted," Llorente said. "It's a little tricky for sellers, but the market is a very exciting place right now."
Citing low inventory and interest rates, houses that go up for sale are being bought at record speeds. On average, a house is on the market for just seven days, Llorente added.
To put this into perspective, Llorente said when she was first starting out as a Realtor 20 years ago, the average house was on the market for close to two months.
The boom in the housing market can also be attributed to lifestyle changes, she added.
As the COVID-19 pandemic forced the workforce to shift from office cubicles to home spaces, there has been a shift in how workers utilized the rooms they had.
"We've seen a lot of residential folks turning their dining rooms into offices because that seems to be the trend," Llorente said. "As people are looking for a little more elbow room, they're starting to look a little further abroad, being able to work from home."
This transition to remote working has been a driving force strengthening the York County housing market, she added.
In December, 642 homes were sold in York County — a 23% increase over the same month in 2019, according to statistics provided by RAYAC.
Several school districts, including York City and Northern York, saw significant increases in the number of houses sold in December.
Approximately 66 houses were sold in the York City School District, a 120% increase compared with last December, when 30 houses were sold.
Northern York saw a 58% increase in home sales relative to the same time last year.
Dallastown and Red Lion districts experienced a decline in home sales, reporting decreases of 4% and 18% respectively.
Housing sales are broken down by school district in RAYAC's report.
"2020 absolutely was a phenomenal record year, which we never would have anticipated in the spring," Llorente said. "We're very excited for the (2021) spring market."
— Reach Tina Locurto at tlocurto@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @tina_locurto.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6313
|
__label__cc
| 0.60722
| 0.39278
|
What is a Polystyrene Foam?
Polystyrene Foam Beads
Polystyrene Foam Blocks
Polystyrene Foam Adhesive
Rigid Polystyrene Foam
Expanded Polystyrene Foam
Karyn Maier
Polystyrene foam is a type of plastic produced from styrene. It is a lightweight, moisture-resistant material with exceptional insulation properties. Since it is composed of more than 90 percent air, this foam is also remarkably buoyant. It is this characteristic that prompted the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy to use this foam to make life rafts and preservers since World War II. Consumers are quite familiar with this material too, although it is commonly mistaken for something else entirely.
Polystyrene foam may be used to make insulation wrap for homes.
Styrofoam™ is the trademarked name for extruded polystyrene foam, an invention of the Dow Chemical Company that has been in production for more than 50 years. Nearly anyone who has purchased coffee “to go” has heard the container being referred to as a Styrofoam™ cup. However, this material has never been used to make disposable coffee cups. For that matter, it’s never been used to make portable picnic coolers either, another misconception. These products are actually made from expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) in the form of beads, commonly known as packaging “peanuts.”
Polystyrene foam may be used as an insulation layer under pavement to prevent the formation of road cracks.
Unlike disposable cups and picnic coolers, which are notably white in color, products made from polystyrene foam are typically blue. It is used to make insulation wrap for residential homes, commercial buildings, and plumbing systems. It is also used in road construction as an insulation layer under pavement to deter the formation of cracks and potholes that occur from seasonal freezing and thawing of the soil beneath.
Polystyrene foam is used to make the hulls of some boats and life rafts.
Polystyrene foam is also made into materials used in craft projects. In fact, florists are familiar with the distinctive crackling sound made when cutting Styrofoam™ or inserting floral stems into it. It is also used to fashion architectural models and as backing for framed photographs and prints. While other forms of this foam are blue in color, the foam made for craft purposes is either green or white.
In terms of environmental impact and hazards to human health, polystyrene foam manufacturing is regarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the fifth major producer of hazardous waste. Aside from posing an occupational health risk due to exposure to styrene during processing, there are concerns over polystyrene production contributing to poor air quality. This is due to hydrocarbons escaping during manufacturing and reacting with nitrogen oxides in the air, which forms a pollutant known as tropospheric ozone. In addition, many recycling companies will not accept products made from polystyrene foam left on the curb, presumably because the market for reclaiming this material is limited.
Polystyrene sheets provide excellent insulation properties.
Contributing articles to wiseGEEK is just one of Karyn’s many professional endeavors. She is also a magazine writer and columnist, mainly for health-related publications, as well as the author of four books. Karyn lives in New York’s Catskill Mountain region and specializes in topics about green living and botanical medicine.
What is Craft Foam?
What are Polystyrene Beads?
What is Polystyrene Insulation?
What is Expanded Polystyrene?
What is Polystyrene?
What is Foam Board Insulation?
Can you tell more about PBFC that is used for building houses more, and explain what is good and bad about it?
Can you talk more about the insulation properties of polystyrene?
can you fiber glass over polystyrene foam? 2 in.thick closed cell? is it strong enough to stand on and can i use it for a floor in a boat?
can pillows made up of polystyrene be washed in the washer?
'plastic' is an encompassing term for lots of polymers. polystyrene is a polymer and can be termed 'plastic'. so you could say that it is a plastic foam. foam means that it is porous and contains gas, making it less dense. so 'plastic foam' is just plastic that has had air pumped through it while it is setting.
XX. Ash
Is plastic foam the same as polystyrene foam?
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6314
|
__label__wiki
| 0.707563
| 0.707563
|
27 First News says goodbye to morning anchor Dan Martin
During his 13 years with the station, Dan has told many stories
by: Chelsea Spears, Connor Kick, Alex George
(WKBN) – 27 First News is saying farewell to morning anchor Dan Martin, who is leaving the station after almost 13 years.
Morning anchor Chelsea Spears and meteorologist Alex George spent some time digging up old video clips, taking a trip down memory lane for Dan’s farewell.
“Every day for the past three years, I’ve started my mornings with Dan just like people at home,” Chelsea said. “We just jived from the start… He makes me laugh, he answers my questions, he’s become like an older brother to me.”
“One of my favorite things about Dan is his laugh and if you’ve ever heard it, you know it lights up the entire room,” Alex said. “Dan is also so hard working. When I come in, I know he’s been working hard and is ready to go. He’s a great motivator because when you wake up at 2:30 a.m., you need that extra push and Dan is always there to cheer us on and get us ready for the morning.”
During his 13 years with the station, Dan has told many stories. He started in the field as a video journalist where he did some great, impactful work.
He won first place in the 2013 Ohio Associated Pressed Broadcast Awards Contest for “Best Investigative Reporting” after investigating blatant violations of Ohio’s smoking ban in area bars and restaurants.
In recent years, Dan has spent most of his time on the anchor desk for First News this morning, but he still went out into the field for some big stories. Check out a highlight of some of those stories in the video below.
Dan also went viral while working from home, thanks to Duke the Cat. Duke got quite the following on TV and social media for simply taking a bath like no one was watching.
Dan said Duke has been staying at his best friend’s apartment during the moving process, which is why he hasn’t made a TV appearance in a while.
He said Duke misses everyone and his spotlight on the news.
“He appreciates all the love and support that you guys have been giving him on Facebook and liking all his pictures, and we’re going to all be back together in the same place very soon,” Dan said.
“One of the funniest things about the whole Duke situation is, if you know Duke the Cat… he’s very shy and it takes him a while to warm up to people and groups of people and new people, which is why if he had any idea how many people had seen him or knew about him or were watching him, he would probably run away and hide,” Dan continued.
Aside from journalism, music has played a key role in Dan’s life in Youngstown. His bandmates also wanted to share a few words.
“It’s been so fun getting a chance during this quarantine session to play music with you as well, and all the other guys will echo the same thing, but we’re so proud of you and everything that you’ve done. You’re a great guy, you’re a great dad, you’re a great husband, you’re excellent at your job and from our standpoint, you’re at least an above-average guitar player, a phenomenal singer and a phenomenal friend. The city of Youngstown will miss you,” said bandmate Craig Smylie.
“I know I’ll miss some of the family that I met from your WKBN family. They’re great people and I’ve had the privilege of getting to know them through music that we’ve made together in the area, and I know that we’ll still see each other and we’ll still be playing music and we’ll still get our families together, but I know you’ll be missed back in Youngstown,” said bandmate Brian Adams.
“He works so hard at everything he’s doing and I’ve been impressed with you ever since Craig and I lived with you in college and we met in high school. Really looking forward to seeing what you do next and continuing to play our socially distanced covers and maybe even some original songs over the internet. Yeah, I wish you nothing but the best,” said bandmate Justin Barasky.
“You’re a good friend, a good guy and you’re gonna do well in Columbus and I know who Youngstown is going to miss–you and Duke,” said bandmate Rick Diluciano.
Please join us in wishing the best of luck to Dan in the next chapter of his career.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6317
|
__label__cc
| 0.513657
| 0.486343
|
3 found dead inside Youngstown home
Police were called to a house on W. Delason Avenue to investigate
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Police said three men found dead late Thursday in a south side Youngstown home had been dead for at least an hour before they were found.
Chief of Detectives Capt. Brad Blackburn said Friday that a relative of one of the men had been in contact with them at least an hour before they were found by police.
Police were called to the house around 11:15 p.m. after a person who was there said they could see one of the victims lying on the floor. Police entered the house and found that man and two others scattered throughout the first floor.
The killings give the city four homicides in less than 36 hours and 20 for the year.
All three men were shot to death. Blackburn said one man was found in the living room, one in the kitchen and one near the front door.
“It looks like maybe they were looking for something,” Blackburn said.
Blackburn said detectives are not sure if there was more than one suspect inside the house but he did say police found evidence that two different weapons were used.
It appeared that some things had been moved in the house but detectives are not sure if anything is missing.
Blackburn said police have tentative identities for the men but are waiting for the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office to confirm before releasing them.
The same three-man team of detectives who are investigating the Wednesday shooting death of Lavante Perry, 20, who was found in a Woodcrest Avenue home, are also investigating the triple homicide. Because the team has been working almost nonstop, Blackburn said if there is another major crime that requires detectives, another team may be called out to give those detectives not only rest, but a chance to work their case.
The two homicides are the first time the department has tried a new idea with using three detectives and a supervisor instead of two detectives, Blackburn said.
Another reason for relief is because when working a case with multiple victims, there are multiple family members and witnesses to interview, which can be very time consuming.
Anyone with information can contact police at 330-742-8911.
Last year, the city had 28 homicides. At this point in 2018, Youngstown had 22 homicides.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6318
|
__label__wiki
| 0.682896
| 0.682896
|
From left: Dan Wallrath, Operation FINALLY HOME founder; RustyCarroll, Operation FINALLY HOME executive director; Arin and Ethan LaBerge; Geoff Hart, Beazer Division president, Nashville (Image courtesy of Schmidt Relations)
Grand Ole Opry honors veterans
The Grand Ole Opry dedicated Saturday night’s show to military veterans ahead of the federal holiday on Wednesday. Performers included Opry members John Conlee, Craig Morgan and Jeannie Seely, as well as special guests Suzy Bogguss, Henry Cho, Brantley Gilbert and Justin Moore.
During the show, Morgan, a U.S. Army veteran and Operation FINALLY HOME ambassador, surprised veteran Ethan LaBerge that he would be the recipient of a new home from the organization that provides mortgage-free homes and home modifications for America’s military heroes, first responders and their families. Learn more about Operation FINALLY HOME HERE and see the surprise HERE.
Gilbert, an avid supporter of veterans and the U.S. armed forces, performed his No. 1 single “One Hell of an Amen,” which is also included as an exclusive live version on the EP “Veterans Day Special,” just released Nov. 6 in partnership with CreatiVets, his label Big Machine Label Group and Big Machine Music.
CreatiVets is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide wounded veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury with opportunities to use art, music and creative writing to heal their unseen wounds of war. Their goal is to empower veterans with tools they can use for the rest of their lives and enable them to see their own capacity for success in an arena outside the battlefield. The debut album “Veteran Songs” was released in July.
650 WSM-AM will broadcast the CreatiVets radio special, hosted by WSM’s “Coffee, Country & Cody” host Charlie Mattos, featuring not only the music from the EP “Veteran Day Special” including Gilbert and Love & Theft, but the story of CreatiVets and how it is healing lives of American veterans. The special will air on Veterans Day, at 4 p.m. ET Nov. 11.
Over the weekend, the Opry saw the return of Friday night performances as well as the expansion of both Friday and Saturday night shows. In-venue audiences continued in compliance with operating plans developed in collaboration with the Nashville Public Health Department that include socially distanced seating, mandatory masks for all guests and staff, as well as enhanced cleaning practices.
Tickets for future shows are on sale now at opry.com.
The Grand Ole Opry presents the best in country music live every week from Nashville. It can be heard at opry.com and wsmonline.com, Opry and WSM mobile apps, SiriusXM, and its flagship home, 650 AM-WSM. The Grand Ole Opry is owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties. For more information, visit opry.com.
Brantley Gilbert (second from left), Craig Morgan and Justin Moore (Image courtesy of Schmidt Relations)
On Stage feature
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6319
|
__label__wiki
| 0.990652
| 0.990652
|
Harrington Park House has a long and storied history and now a new family will have their chance to join the legacy of the heritage homestead. The house, originally built in 1817 by Scottish sea captain William Campbell, is now up for sale. The original homestead built by Campbell has been added to throughout the years but has maintained its colonial style. It has been owned by just five families, most notably Sir Warwick and Lady Mary Fairfax. Harrington Estates managing director Terry Goldacre said the Farifaxes owned the property for 75 years. "Sir Warwick purchased the house in 1944," he said. "The property was a hereford cattle stud and farm for a long time and it was a much-loved house by Lady Fairfax. "She had a special attachment to the house and would visit regularly right up until she passed in 2017." Mr Goldacre said the new owners of the house would be buying an important piece of Macarthur history. "The house has such an interesting history - it is really the centrepiece of Harrington Park," he said. "Many families have had children grow up on the property and now it is finally time for a new family to grow up here. "We fully restored the house recently so that it is ready for the new owners. "We don't have a set price we will be taking expressions of interest for this property." The homestead is a three-story, five-bedroom, four-bathroom family home, but in keeping with a historic house of its stature, it also includes an external billiard room, traveller's rooms, extensive cellars, two caretaker cottages, sheds and an external office/yurt built by Sir Warwick. The layout and different architectural styles of the house reflect the eras that the house has seen over its existence. "The Fairfaxes made quite a few changes to the homestead including the addition of two pavilion-style rooms with glass pyramid ceilings that can be opened, built in 1967," Mr Goldacre said. "These rooms served as Sir Warwick and Lady Fairfax's private lounge and bedroom with his and her ensuite bathrooms." Mr Goldacre said the sale of the house represented a rare opportunity for the right buyer. "This is one of very few heritage colonial properties left in Macarthur," he said. "It is very important to us that the new owner respects the history of the house and what it was intended to be. "It's a lovely family home so it's time to bring back that vibrancy and light that left when Lady Fairfax passed. "It's a gorgeous house so we hope the next owner will be just as happy with the house as we are." Lady Fairfax was active in planning Harrington Park and Harrington Grove after her husband died in the 1980s. Harrington Estates is inviting expressions of interest for the sale of Harrington Park Homestead.
/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/XyDK2mdecfTpQsAbSqFiUd/6de60ef7-df75-47b1-b88e-ec95441fa173.jpg/r0_120_2362_1455_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
Historic Harrington Park House on the market | PHOTOS
Harrington Park House has a long and storied history and now a new family will have their chance to join the legacy of the heritage homestead.
The house, originally built in 1817 by Scottish sea captain William Campbell, is now up for sale.
The original homestead built by Campbell has been added to throughout the years but has maintained its colonial style.
It has been owned by just five families, most notably Sir Warwick and Lady Mary Fairfax.
Harrington Estates managing director Terry Goldacre said the Farifaxes owned the property for 75 years.
"Sir Warwick purchased the house in 1944," he said.
"The property was a hereford cattle stud and farm for a long time and it was a much-loved house by Lady Fairfax.
"She had a special attachment to the house and would visit regularly right up until she passed in 2017."
Mr Goldacre said the new owners of the house would be buying an important piece of Macarthur history.
"The house has such an interesting history - it is really the centrepiece of Harrington Park," he said.
"Many families have had children grow up on the property and now it is finally time for a new family to grow up here.
"We fully restored the house recently so that it is ready for the new owners.
"We don't have a set price we will be taking expressions of interest for this property."
The homestead is a three-story, five-bedroom, four-bathroom family home, but in keeping with a historic house of its stature, it also includes an external billiard room, traveller's rooms, extensive cellars, two caretaker cottages, sheds and an external office/yurt built by Sir Warwick.
The layout and different architectural styles of the house reflect the eras that the house has seen over its existence.
"The Fairfaxes made quite a few changes to the homestead including the addition of two pavilion-style rooms with glass pyramid ceilings that can be opened, built in 1967," Mr Goldacre said.
"These rooms served as Sir Warwick and Lady Fairfax's private lounge and bedroom with his and her ensuite bathrooms."
Mr Goldacre said the sale of the house represented a rare opportunity for the right buyer.
"This is one of very few heritage colonial properties left in Macarthur," he said.
"It is very important to us that the new owner respects the history of the house and what it was intended to be.
"It's a lovely family home so it's time to bring back that vibrancy and light that left when Lady Fairfax passed.
"It's a gorgeous house so we hope the next owner will be just as happy with the house as we are."
Lady Fairfax was active in planning Harrington Park and Harrington Grove after her husband died in the 1980s.
Harrington Estates is inviting expressions of interest for the sale of Harrington Park Homestead.
For more information, visit: harringtonparkhouse.com.au.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6320
|
__label__wiki
| 0.997794
| 0.997794
|
See Bob Barker, Pat Sajak and 8 More Game Show Hosts Then and Now!
By Samantha Faragalli March 22, 2017
Are you a game show junkie?!
Click through the gallery below to see 10 game shows hosts — including Bob Barker, Pat Sajak and more! — from classics like The Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune then and now!
via Closer Weekly
After finding showbiz success as the host of the long-running game show, Truth or Consequences, Bob was tapped to host The Price is Right in 1972. The 92-year-old hosted the beloved game show until his retirement in 2007.
After working at both NBC and ABC, Chuck established his own production company and created a new game show called The Dating Game. He later produced game show classics The Newlywed Game and The Gong Show! Sadly, he died at age 87 on March 21, 2017.
Pat Sajak
Before he was asked to replace Chuck Woolery as host of Wheel of Fortune, Pat worked as a weatherman and radio DJ. The 69-year-old has hosted the popular NBC show since 1982!
Regis Phillbin
From 1999 until 2002, Regis, now 84, hosted the popular quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Thankfully, Meredith Vieira took over the hosting gig when the TV personality left the show to pursue other career opportunities and she starred on the show for 11 seasons before leaving Millionaire in 2013. The show is now hosted by Chris Harrison.
Alex, a former newscaster and sportscaster, hosted his first game show in 1966 when he starred on the popular high school quiz show, Reach for the Top. That gig led to other jobs as host of High Rollers, The Wizard of Odds and Double Dare, before the now 75-year-old landed the coveted host spot on Jeopardy! in 1984!
Vanna, 58, first starred on a game show in 1980 when she appeared as a contestant on The Price is Right. She later replaced Susan Stafford as hostess of Wheel of Fortune in 1982.
Bob Eubanks
In 1966, Bob — who previously worked as a music producer and radio personality — was asked by Chuck Barris to become the host of a new game show called The Newlywed Game. The popular show became an instant success and Bob, 77, went on to host various iterations of the program throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s!
Like many other game show hosts before him, Wink, now 82, began his career as a radio DJ and moved to television in 1964 to host the NBC show What's This Song? Eight years later he was tapped to host Gambit, before he again moved to the Family Channel to produce and star on Trivial Pursuit!
"You are the Weakest Link, goodbye!" Anne, 71, started her career in journalism and worked as the first female editor of The Daily Mirror before moving over to TV to host the BBC game show The Weakest Link from 2000 until 2012.
Before becoming the host of Wheel of Fortune, Love Connection, The Dating Game and Greed, Chuck, now 74, rose to fame as a folk/country artist!
Take a glimpse into her glamorous — and not so glamorous — life.
“I feed my brain with positive things."
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6321
|
__label__cc
| 0.551171
| 0.448829
|
2. Lig Playoff
TurkeyTurkey BTurkey Olymp.Turkey [Wo.]Turkey [U21]Turkey [U20]Turkey [U19]Turkey [U19 (W)]Turkey [U18]Turkey [U17]Turkey [U17 (W)]Turkey [U16]Turkey [U15]
Turkey » SüperLig 2019/2020 » 19. Round
2020/2021 2019/2020 2018/2019 2017/2018 2016/2017 2015/2016 2014/2015 2013/2014 2012/2013 2012 Platzierung 2012 Meisterschaft 2011/2012 2010/2011 2009/2010 2008/2009 2007/2008 2006/2007 2005/2006 2004/2005 2003/2004 2002/2003 2001/2002 2000/2001 1999/2000 1998/1999 1997/1998 1996/1997 1995/1996 1994/1995 1993/1994 1992/1993 1991/1992 1990/1991 1989/1990 1988/1989 1987/1988 1986/1987 1985/1986 1984/1985 1983/1984 1982/1983 1981/1982 1980/1981 1979/1980 1978/1979 1977/1978 1976/1977 1975/1976 1974/1975 1973/1974 1972/1973 1971/1972 1970/1971 1969/1970 1968/1969 1967/1968 1966/1967 1965/1966 1964/1965 1963/1964 1962/1963 Group 2 1962/1963 Group 1 1962/1963 Championship 1961/1962 1960/1961 1959/1960 1959 Playoffs 1959
24/01/2020 17:00 Gençlerbirliği - Gaziantep FK 1:0 (0:0)
25/01/2020 11:00 Kayserispor - MKE Ankaragücü 1:1 (1:0)
14:00 Kasımpaşa SK - Alanyaspor 1:2 (0:1)
17:00 Fenerbahçe - İstanbul Başakşehir 2:0 (0:0)
26/01/2020 10:30 Denizlispor - Antalyaspor 0:3 (0:2)
13:00 Göztepe - Beşiktaş 2:1 (2:1)
16:00 Atiker Konyaspor - Galatasaray 0:3 (0:2)
27/01/2020 17:00 Sivasspor - Çaykur Rizespor 1:1 (0:0)
11/03/2020 17:00 Yeni Malatyaspor - Trabzonspor 1:3 (1:2)
» Tables Home Away First round Second round
1 Sivasspor 19 12 5 2 38:18 20 41
2 Trabzonspor 19 11 5 3 44:20 24 38
3 Fenerbahçe 19 11 4 4 38:21 17 37
4 İstanbul Başakşehir 19 10 6 3 36:20 16 36
5 Alanyaspor 19 10 5 4 38:18 20 35
6 Galatasaray 19 9 6 4 28:16 12 33
7 Beşiktaş 19 9 3 7 29:26 3 30
8 Göztepe 19 8 5 6 24:21 3 29
9 Yeni Malatyaspor 19 6 6 7 34:29 5 24
10 Gaziantep FK 19 6 6 7 26:31 -5 24
11 Çaykur Rizespor 19 7 3 9 20:28 -8 24
12 Denizlispor 19 6 4 9 20:28 -8 22
13 Gençlerbirliği 19 5 6 8 29:34 -5 21
14 Atiker Konyaspor 19 4 6 9 16:27 -11 18
15 Antalyaspor 19 4 5 10 18:36 -18 17
16 Kasımpaşa SK 19 4 3 12 27:42 -15 15
17 MKE Ankaragücü 19 2 7 10 16:36 -20 13
18 Kayserispor 19 2 5 12 18:48 -30 11
Monaco sell Mali's Adama Traore to Turkish outfit Hatayspor
Malian international midfielder Adama Traore has moved to Turkish Super Lig side Hatayspor, Monaco announced on Friday.... more »
Turkey to partially reopen football to fans in October
Turkey's football federation agreed on Tuesday to allow a limited number of fans to attend Super Lig matches starting in October -- but only if everyone wears masks.... more »
Demba Ba urges football to 'stand up' over China's Uighurs
Former Premier League striker Demba Ba has called on football to condemn China's alleged persecution of its mainly Muslim Uighur minority, and accused the sport of putting money before morals.... more »
Turan to return to Galatasaray from Barcelona
Turkish international Arda Turan will return to Galatasaray, the Istanbul giants said on Wednesday, after his contract with Barcelona ended.... more »
Basaksehir crowned Turkish champions for first time
Istanbul side Basaksehir celebrated their first ever Turkish top flight title on Sunday following a defeat for their closest rivals.... more »
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6323
|
__label__wiki
| 0.958432
| 0.958432
|
A Brief History of Status Quo
The Spectres were a London-based beat group which formed in 1967 with Francis “Mike” Rossi (vocals, lead guitar) and Alan Lancaster (bass) their core members. John Coughlan (drummer) joined the line-up which was complete with Roy Lynes (organ). After a trio of unsuccessful singles the band changed its name to Traffic Jam and concentrated on mod psychedelia but their early efforts were no better.
Ricky Harrison (aka Rick Parfit – rhythm guitar and vocals) formerly with the Highlights, joined the group in 1967, and they changed their name to Status Quo. As well as pursuing their solo career Status Quo did backups for many UK acts including Liverpool’s Tommy Quickly. Their debut single "Pictures of Matchstick Men," was written by Francis Rossi and quickly moved up the UK top 20 charts in 1967. The single also sold well in the US. The group were now considered ‘bubblegum,’ and followed up with "Black Veils of Melancholy," which attracted no interest whatsoever, but their next single "Ice in the Sun," (written by Marty Wilde), became a top ten hit in 1968. Sticking with the same successful bubblegum rock formulae the next two releases flopped. Organist, Roy Lynes left the band and the Quo took a new direction into heavier bluesy boogie rock fushion. The single "Down the Dustpipe" again saw the Quo in the charts. The album Ma Kelly’s Greasy Spoon featured the Quo in hard rock mode and although it went almost unnoticed it did landmark the band’s metamorphosis from Mod psychedelia to Rock.
The Quo were never as heavy as Led Zepplin but did present a popular front to the musical genre. Now kitted in jeans and kickers the Quo embarked upon a series of UK college and festival dates which won them a loyal following with their live performances. In 1972 they appeared at the Reading and Great Western festivals and were outstanding. Vertigo Records signed them and their first single "Paper Plane," another Rossi composition was a top ten hit. The album, Piledriver also topped the album charts and their other singles of 1973, Hello and Caroline were hits. You can hear John Coughlan’s drumming on Rossi’s ‘Caroline.’ Andy Bown (formerly Herd and Judas Jump) joined the group as their unofficial keyboard player and the hits kept coming with their formulaic uncomplicated, unpretentious and infectious rock music. The band even became Royal favourites and appeared by Royal Appointment on several occasions for Lady Diana. John Coughlan left the band in 1981 to form his own group, John Coughlan’s Diesel. He was replaced by Pete Kircher (former Original Mirrors). Divisions within the band saw Alan Lancaster resettle to Adelaide, Australia, which made it difficult to have the band together. Alan finally left the band after performing at Live Aid in1985.
The separation was acrimonious but Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt carried on with new group members, John ‘Rhino’ Edwards (bass), and Jeff Rich (drums) with Andy Bown, now officially the group’s keyboard player. The new Quo continued their run of hit singles and albums throughout the eighties playing to packed audiences in the UK and Europe. In 1994, the group had a surprise number one hit in the UK with the football anthem "Come on You Reds" which was recorded with the football champions, Manchester United. Both Rossi and Parfitt contributed to the classical Quo portfolio with many of their hits written by Francis Rossi in collaboration with Bob Young (harp and roadie) and Bernie Frost; Rick Parfitt wrote with Andy Bown and Lynton. Alan Lancaster also made a major contribution to the group’s writing credits. In 1997 Rick had a quadruple bypass followed by a cancer scare but was able to recover suffice the Quo still perform. Between 1968 and 2004 the group scored 61 chart successes.
Francis Rossi
Rick Parfit
The Spectres
Pictures of Matchstick Men
More in this category: « “The Lies, The Truth and The Pain” Nick Drake’s home tapes A Brief History of Bebop »
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6327
|
__label__wiki
| 0.857435
| 0.857435
|
COMRADE CHIKATILO PDF
They acknowledge that they wrote the book very quickly Chikatilo was convicted in ; this book, like Hunting the Devil, came out in ; Chikatilo was executed in , and it is certainly riddled with errors in dates and names that another, slower pass through the manuscript would have caught. The translator, Todd P. Bludeau, did an excellent job. For me as an American reader this book had that weird almost sfnal feel of reporting from a worldview that is in some crucial ways is not like mine. This was a hard book to get through. Especially because the author did not try to make them sound awful.
Author: Kigashicage Arashira
Uploader: Nasida
The family seldom had sufficient food; Chikatilo himself later claimed not to have eaten bread until the age of 12, [8] adding that he and his family often had to eat grass and leaves in an effort to stave off hunger.
He would later be taken prisoner after being wounded in combat. He was a chronic bed wetter , and his mother berated and beat him for each offence. As many Ukrainian women were raped by German soldiers during the war, it has been speculated Tatyana was conceived as a result of a rape committed by a German soldier. Although shy and ardently studious as a child, he was physically weak and regularly attended school in homespun clothing and, by , with his stomach swollen from hunger resulting from the post-war famine which plagued much of the Soviet Union.
At home, Chikatilo and his sister were constantly berated by their mother. Tatyana later recalled that in spite of the hardships endured by her parents, their father was a kind man, whereas their mother was harsh and unforgiving toward her children.
Adolescence[ edit ] By his teens, Chikatilo was both a model student and an ardent communist. An avid reader of communist literature, he was also delegated the task of organizing street marches.
The same year, Chikatilo jumped upon an year-old friend of his younger sister and wrestled her to the ground, ejaculating as the girl struggled in his grasp. Although he passed the entrance examination with good-to-excellent scores, [24] his grades were not deemed good enough for acceptance.
On three separate occasions, the couple attempted intercourse, although on each occasion, Chikatilo was unable to sustain an erection. Army service[ edit ] Upon completion of his two-year vocational training, Chikatilo relocated to the Urals city of Nizhny Tagil [27] to work upon a long-term construction project. While living in Nizhny Tagil, he also undertook correspondence courses in engineering with the Moscow Electrotechnical Institute of Communication.
He worked in the Urals for two years until he was drafted into the Soviet Army in Chikatilo performed his compulsory military service between and , [28] assigned first to serve with border guards in Central Asia , then to a KGB communications unit in Berlin.
Here, his work record was unblemished, and he joined the Communist Party in , shortly before his military service ended. Their three-month relationship ended after several unsuccessful attempts at intercourse, after which the woman innocently asked her friends for advice as to how Chikatilo might overcome his inability to maintain an erection. In a interview regarding this incident, Chikatilo stated: "Girls were going behind my back, whispering that I was impotent.
I was so ashamed. I tried to hang myself. My mother and some young neighbours pulled me out of the noose. Well, I thought no one would want such a shamed man. So I had to run away from there, away from my homeland.
The same year, his younger sister, Tatyana, finished her schooling and moved into his apartment his parents would relocate to the Rostov region shortly thereafter. According to Chikatilo, although he was attracted to Feodosia, his marriage was effectively an arranged one which occurred barely two weeks after they had met and in which the decisive roles were played by his sister and her husband.
Four years later, in , a son named Yuri was born. Shortly before obtaining his degree, Chikatilo obtained a job managing regional sports activities. Chikatilo worked at this school at the time of his first murder [39] Chikatilo was largely ineffective as a teacher; although knowledgeable in the subjects he taught, he was seldom able to maintain discipline in his classes and was regularly subjected to mockery by his students who, he claimed, took advantage of his modest nature.
In this incident, he swam towards a year-old girl and groped her breasts and genitals, ejaculating as the girl struggled against his grasp. Months later, Chikatilo sexually assaulted another teenage girl whom he had locked in his classroom.
Chikatilo left his employment discreetly and found another job as a teacher at another school in Novoshakhtinsk in January He lost this job as a result of staff cutbacks in September , before finding another teaching position in Shakhty , a coal-mining town close to Rostov-on-Don.
Yelena Zakotnova, aged 9. The body of Yelena Zakotnova was found at this location on 24 December In September , Chikatilo moved to Shakhty, where he committed his first documented murder. On 22 December, Chikatilo lured a 9-year-old girl named Yelena Zakotnova to an old house which he had secretly purchased; he attempted to rape her but failed to achieve an erection. When the girl struggled, he choked her and stabbed her three times in the abdomen, ejaculating while stabbing the child.
In an interview after his arrest, Chikatilo later recalled that immediately after stabbing Zakotnova, the girl had "said something very hoarsely ", whereupon he strangled her into unconsciousness before throwing her body into the nearby Grushevka River.
Kravchenko had a watertight alibi for the afternoon of 22 December: he had been at home with his wife and a friend of hers the entire afternoon, and neighbours of the couple were able to verify this.
At his trial, Kravchenko retracted his confession and maintained his innocence, stating his confession had been obtained under extreme duress. Despite his retraction, Kravchenko was convicted of the murder and sentenced to death.
Second murder and subsequent killings[ edit ] On 3 September , Chikatilo encountered a year-old boarding school student, named Larisa Tkachenko, standing at a bus stop as he exited a public library in Rostov city centre. According to his subsequent confession, Chikatilo lured Tkachenko to a forest near the Don River with the pretext of drinking vodka and "relaxing".
Lyubov Biryuk, aged Murdered 12 June Biryuk was the first victim linked to a series of murders known to investigators as the Forest Strip Killings [60] Nine months after the murder of Tkachenko, on 12 June , Chikatilo travelled by bus to the Bagayevsky District of Rostov to purchase vegetables. Having to change buses in the village of Donskoi , he decided to continue his journey on foot. He established a pattern of approaching children, runaways, and young vagrants at bus or railway stations, enticing them to a nearby forest or other secluded area, and killing them, usually by stabbing, slashing and eviscerating the victim with a knife; although some victims, in addition to receiving a multitude of knife wounds, were also strangled or battered to death.
Pathologists concluded these injuries had been caused by a knife, leading investigators to the conclusion the killer had gouged out the eyes of his victims.
Chikatilo would typically attempt intercourse with these victims, but he would usually be unable to achieve or maintain an erection; this would send him into a murderous fury, particularly if the woman mocked his impotence.
He would achieve orgasm only when he stabbed and slashed the victim to death. His child and adolescent victims were of both sexes; Chikatilo would lure these victims to secluded areas using a variety of ruses, usually formed in the initial conversation with the victim, [69] such as promising them assistance or company, or offering to show them a shortcut, [70] a chance to view rare stamps, films or coins, or with an offer of food or candy.
She was last seen by a fellow passenger, who reported that a middle-aged man had led the girl away firmly by the hand. In March, Fetisov assigned a newly appointed specialist forensic analyst , Viktor Burakov, to head the investigation. Burakov was summoned to the crime scene, where he examined the numerous knife wounds and eviscerations conducted upon the child, and the striations on her eye sockets.
The accumulation of bodies found and the similarities between the pattern of wounds inflicted on the victims forced the Soviet authorities to acknowledge that a serial killer was on the loose. On 6 September the public prosecutor of the USSR formally linked six of the murders thus far attributed to the same killer. Much of the police effort concentrated upon the theory that the killer must be mentally ill, homosexual, or a paedophile , and the alibis of all individuals who had either spent time in psychiatric wards or had been convicted of homosexuality or paedophilia were checked [80] and logged in a card filing system.
Registered sex offenders were also investigated and, if their alibi was corroborated , eliminated from the inquiry. Murdered 27 December However, as police obtained confessions from suspects, bodies continued to be discovered, proving that the suspects who had confessed could not be the killer the police were seeking.
On 30 October the eviscerated body of a year-old prostitute, named Vera Shevkun, was found in Shakhty. On 24 March, he lured a year-old boy, named Dmitry Ptashnikov, away from a stamp kiosk in Novoshakhtinsk. While walking with the boy, Chikatilo was seen by several witnesses who were able to give investigators a detailed description of the killer. In the summer of , Chikatilo was fired from his work as a supply clerk for the theft of a roll of linoleum. The accusation had been filed against him the previous February, and he had been asked to resign quietly but had refused to do so, as he had denied the charges.
On 7 August, he lured a year-old girl, Lyudmila Alekseyeva, to the banks of the Don River on the pretense of showing her a shortcut to a bus terminal. Alekseyeva suffered 39 slash wounds to her body before Chikatilo mutilated and disemboweled her: intentionally inflicting wounds he knew would not be immediately fatal.
By the time he had returned to Rostov on 15 August, he had killed an unidentified young woman and a year-old girl. The detectives followed him as he wandered through the city, trying to approach women and committing acts of frotteurism in public places. A search of his belongings revealed a knife with an eight-inch blade, several lengths of rope, and a jar of Vaseline. He did not kill again until 1 August [] when, on a business trip to Moscow, he encountered an year-old woman, named Natalia Pokhlistova, at a railway platform near Domodedovo Airport.
Pokhlistova was lured into a thicket of woods where she was bound, stabbed 38 times, then strangled to death. On this occasion, however, Chikatilo had travelled to Moscow by train and, accordingly, no documentation existed for investigators to research. As had been the case with Pokhlistova, the wounds inflicted upon the victim linked her murder to the hunt for the serial killer. The following month, the militsiya resumed the patrolling of railway stations around Rostov, and plain clothed female officers were ordered to loiter around bus and train stations.
At the request of Viktor Burakov, police also took the step of consulting a psychiatrist , Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky, the first such consultation in a serial killer investigation in the Soviet Union. This individual was of average intelligence, likely to be married and to have fathered children, but also a sadist who suffered from impotence and could achieve sexual arousal only by seeing his victims suffer. The murders themselves were an analogue to the sexual intercourse this individual was incapable of performing, and his knife became a substitute for a penis which failed to function normally.
For almost a year following the August murder of Irina Gulyaeva, no further victims were found in either the Rostov or Moscow Oblasts whose bodies bore the signature mutilations of the unknown murderer.
On 18 August a victim was found buried in a depression of earth in the grounds of a collective farm in the city of Bataysk. The wounds inflicted on this victim bore the trademark mutilations of victims linked to the manhunt killed between and The victim was an year-old secretary named Irina Pogoryelova. As the murderer had made serious efforts to bury the body, [] some investigators theorized that this explained the sudden dearth in the number of victims found.
By the autumn of , investigators in Rostov theorized that the unknown killer may have moved to another part of the Soviet Union and continued killing there. As the three victims killed in the Rostov Oblast in and had died in August, some investigators gave credence to the possibility the perpetrator may have relocated to another part of the Soviet Union, and may only be returning to the Rostov Oblast in summer.
The Rostov police compiled bulletins to be sent to all forces throughout the Soviet Union, describing the pattern of wounds their unknown killer inflicted upon his victims and requesting feedback from any police force who had discovered murder victims with wounds matching those upon the victims found in the Rostov Oblast.
The response was negative. On each occasion the murder took place while he was on a business trip far away from the Rostov Oblast, and none of these murders were linked to the manhunt in Rostov. Makarenkov was lured from the station with the promise of sharing a meal with Chikatilo at his dacha ; he was murdered in woodland close to the station, although his body would remain undiscovered until His first murder victim was lured off a train at Krasny Sulin before Chikatilo bound her hands behind her back and stuffed her mouth with dirt, before severing her nose from her face [] and inflicting numerous knife wounds to her neck.
Chikatilo then bludgeoned her to death with a slab of concrete; her body was found on 6 April. Investigators noted that the knife wounds inflicted upon this victim were similar to those inflicted on the victims linked to the manhunt and killed between and , but as the woman had been killed with a slab of concrete and had not been disemboweled, investigators were unsure whether to link this murder to the investigation.
He dismembered her body and hid the remains in a sewer. As the victim had been dismembered, police did not link her murder to the investigation. Between May and August, Chikatilo killed a further four victims, three of whom were killed in Rostov and Shakhty, [] although only two of these victims were linked to the killer.
Several trains were also fitted with hidden cameras with the intention of filming or photographing a victim in the company of his or her murderer. Kravchenko was lured from the theater on the pretext of being shown imported Western films Chikatilo claimed to have at his residence; his extensively stabbed, emasculated body was found in a secluded section of woodland the following month.
His eviscerated body was found the following day.
IRLML2803 DATASHEET PDF
Vudoshicage I was so ashamed. The book only showed about 5 pictures of victims, meanwhile he was known to have killed 53! Even though he had obviously turned his life around it ckmrade just easier for authorities to pin the murder on hi Andrei Chikatilo was accused and convicted over fifty-three savage and sadistic murders young boy and girls as well as women ages eight to twenty-four throughout Russian territory over a twelve year period beginning chikatiko His strangled body was found 2 September. For me as an American reader this book had that weird almost sfnal feel of reporting from a worldview that is in some crucial ways is not like mine.
LUOHAN GONG PDF
EXTREME ORIGAMI KUNIHIKO KASAHARA PDF
Comrade Chikatilo : the psychopathology of Russia's notorious serial killer
LIZ LERMAN CRITICAL RESPONSE PDF
DYSPLASIES CERVICALES PDF
LIBRO GORDO DE PETETE PDF
ATMASTAKAM SANSKRIT PDF
AIKIDO FOR LIFE GAKU HOMMA PDF
EL DARDO EN LA PALABRA LAZARO CARRETER PDF
JANE SLAYRE PDF
LORD OF THE WOLFYN PDF
E3X-DA51 - N PDF
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6330
|
__label__wiki
| 0.537784
| 0.537784
|
Tell Me Its Not Over – Starsailor/Embrace
Starsailor/Embrace
It felt like a reunion show of sorts, with these lovely bands of the late 90’s and 00’s. Its hard to watch these guys, not just as they age (we all do), but as the gigs change. At one point they were slated to play The Fillmore and then were bumped to Slim’s where it wasnt even a packed house. Seriously – its a pity. But at the same time, as a fan of the band, it meant a much more intimate show.
It felt like a lifetime since I had seen Starsailor – a lifetime quite possibly being September 11, 2006 – a show that will live forever in my mind for the date alone and also seeing it in NYC. Its hard to pull off a show on that date – esp when it was just 5 years to the date. But I also had been lucky enough to see James Walsh perform a solo set, shortly before announcing the band’s hiatus. 5 years is a long time for a band to go away (even moreso now with videos on demand and everything changing in a heartbeat) and I am sure the band didn’t know what to expect on coming back. But here they were, filled with an audience who remembered the band from years prior, a little bit older but loving the band just as much.
James Walsh joked about growing old – getting fatter, losing hair, etc. – but his voice has held up quite beautifully. To this day, there are few artists that I put in his category of the greatest voices ever. Actually, between him and Kelly Jones of The Stereophonics, I am not sure there is a better voice out there. The band came out and jumped into “Poor Misguided Fool” which sounded as beautiful as ever. And wasting no time went directly into “Alcoholic” which was more heartbreaking than I had remembered it. It was quite awesome as the whole crowd sang along.
James wasn’t so talkative (when you compare him to Danny of Embrace), but he was having a really great time and was getting the crowd to sing along. Joking about if we didn’t know the lyrics how easy the part was – and demonstrated it for us (of course, it was just ooooh’s and aaahhhh’s). He introduced his band mates as the show progressed. Also, tried to not engage in a war of sports as a guy in the audience was talking about their football team winning 5 championships – and he wanted a high-5. James was pretty amusing and finally said something like ‘no way – I am not getting into a war about sports at a show – someone always gets mad’. Definitely one way to shut it down; although the guy wouldnt stop for a bit.
I was loving their faster, “harder” edged songs on James’ electric guitar. Their music had never sounded better to me. The show just could not possibly go on long enough and songs like “Fidelity” were just way too short. I loved that Danny had asked James to play “Fever” and so he dedicated the song to Danny and it was quite sweet. And Fever sounded just amazing! So glad it was put on the set. James’ high notes on “Lullaby” couldnt have sounded better. It felt like he should have been playing for a much bigger crowd. I loved that he asked about playing a new song, and if we wanted to hear it, and then he remarked about how he loved people singing along to a song that was just released a couple days before (thank you youtube)! And “Give Up The Ghost” is seriously that good! I am loving this new song and hope it brings new life to the band.
But one of the things Ive always loved about James is how honest he comes across. He remarked that when he started, their label probably would have dropped them if they only had one popular song, so it was a relief when their second song was a hit that they released. (Good Souls? quite possibly). The ending of the show was just insane playing some of their more popular songs. “Tell Me Its Not Over” is one of the most heart-wrenching songs ever and with the tempo of Barry banging on the piano its just soars and makes the song that much more upbeat. The audience was very into it and lots of hand clapping and singing along. Probably one of my favorite songs these days. Plus, its now getting ‘mixed’ and James is adding some other songs into it – such as Taylor Swift’s “Trouble” and I think part of an MGMT song was thrown in. And to end the show with “Four to the Floor” and of course “Silence is Easy” which is sounding as rocking as ever and closing it out with “Good Souls” — wow! Its great that the audience was so into it and he mentioned how we were so much a better crowd than Anaheim the night before and they were having such an amazing time.
Even if this were the last time I saw them (hopefully not!), I will forever have these awesome memories of the band. And of course, it all now lives on forever on youtube.
Embrace co-headlined the show and started off the night. And there were a lot of people in Embrace t-shirts which was pretty awesome. Danny McNamara, lead singer, is *the* ultimate front-man. If you ever wanted a band to be so full of energy and putting their hearts into a set, you couldn’t ask for a better band. The band, having been around since the brit-pop days of the 90s from the UK, seems to have somewhat fallen by the wayside. Steve, bassist, looked cooler than ever coming on stage with big sunglasses and the same floppy hair from the day. Most the band seemed like it never aged with similar hair styles. Like James said, maybe they got a bit older and fatter, but this band was looking awesome.
The band started off with the ever catchy ‘Protection‘ and after performing it asked how many of us even knew who they were from back then. Then obviously commented that we were all too young to remember them. The crowd missed the part of saying that the band was clearly too young to be that old. It was amusing. He asked how many people actually had their other albums and remembered songs from it. And of course, everyone knew their music and was singing along.
Danny worked the stage and kept prompting the crowd to move forward. Edging towards the very front of the stage he kept chastising the back of the room and told them they needed to be part of it; plus the sound stopped at a certain point and they just couldnt possibly hear the loudness from that far back. He was amusing but mostly just loving every minute of it. The band was just so excited to be playing you could see it all on their faces. As Danny would just look at you, his piercing blue eyes just melted you. I felt like I was 18 again crushing on a band.
“Come Back To What You Know” took me back to my 20’s. I dont think I had really listened to The Good Will Out since what seemed a lifetime, but I could still picture their album – the front picture Ive never forgotten. Mickey was just awesome on the keys and in songs like the very dance-y “Quarters” it showed off his playing. And it also led into one of the many San Francisco stories. Mickey has a love of San Francisco and talked about wanting to move here as he so loved it here. Of course, real estate prices here is no ones friends, and Danny suggested he do a swap with someone at the show. Simply brilliant. They also talked about sitting at a pub and an 8-year old boy doing karaoke and singing ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’, but the poor kid had a lisp and couldnt say it. It segued into the band playing ever-catchy ‘Save Me‘ which had the crowd singing along.
One of the highlights was hearing Danny sing “Gravity“. It is one of the most beautiful songs and interestingly enough it wasnt even written by the band. It was written by one Chris Martin and team (aka Coldplay), who gave it to the band. And the song is so suited for them. Afterwards, Richard, guitarist and brother of Danny, sang the band’s new song ‘Refugees‘ which is a bit more electronic but with a rock edge featuring Richard’s falsetto which is nothing short of impressive. There was so much pressure and he joked about how nervous he was, so insisted on tuning his guitar for a bit, for fear of f’ing it up. Just watching Danny watch his younger brother was pretty sweet. It just reminded me of watching a proud family moment. And right after that going onto play one of my favorite songs ‘Ashes’ which people had been screaming out for. And everyone started jumping around with hands in the air singing along. It was one of those moments that you can imagine happening in an arena with everyone sharing that moment. So it wasnt quite like that, but it still had that feel and the band seemed pretty excited even as Danny kept motioning for people to ‘dance and sing’ and mostly to keep coming forward.
It was heartbreaking to hear Danny talk about how it might be the last time they ever play SF and he’d see us in the after-life. The crowd went nuts and so he suggested everyone getting their mates to their gigs so they could keep on doing this. And sure the band sounds like an homage to those other bands – The Charlies – Stone Roses – and any other 90’s band from the same era/area – and theyre all trying to still be here and keep playing. But there was something special about last night, hearing both bands talk so lovingly about the other. Danny commented on watching Starsailor the previous nights and how one show was really great and the other one was as good. The crowd chuckled. Definitely no love lost with these 2 bands.
So hearing these songs live, was really awesome. I still have a fondness for their music and while never was a huge Embrace fan, their live show is just brilliant. I wish I had thought to see them awhile back as I imagine their shows would have been nothing short of incredible. With that being said, their new song is a force to be reckoned with off their latest EP (from 2014) titled Refugees – and perhaps the tides will change and there can be a resurgence for Embrace.
Posted in Adventures in the Big City, Live Music, Random Ramblings, San Francisco | Tagged: 2000's, 90s, britpop, concert, Danny McNamara, Embrace, England, indie, James Walsh, live, music, San Francisco, Slims, Starsailor, UK | Leave a Comment »
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6331
|
__label__wiki
| 0.816043
| 0.816043
|
McDonald’s to remove potentially harmful chemicals in food packaging by 2025
McDonald’s is working on a more sustainably wrapped burger. The fast-food giant said it plans to eliminate all PFAS found in its food packaging after environmental advocacy groups conducted a study last year calling out the chain, and others like Burger King and Wendy’s, in a report titled “Packaged in...
Burger King debuts new logo and packaging for 2021
New look, same king. Everyone knows what to expect when they order some Burger King. Going forward, however, fans of the franchise are going to have to get used to a new look. Burger King recently unveiled a new logo which was inspired by the...
Singapore to look into alleged improprieties in importation and packaging of halal meat
SINGAPORE: Singapore authorities are looking into allegations raised by the public here that the alleged improprieties in the importation and packaging of halal meat in Malaysia could have also been taking place in the republic. In its official Facebook, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis)...
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6332
|
__label__wiki
| 0.592358
| 0.592358
|
| The Yankees rebuild the city
The Yankees rebuild the city
I have many vivid memories from the fall of 2001.
I remember being in the dining hall at Astrocamp, a space camp in Idyllwild, Calif., where my elementary school was on a class trip, and wondering why the radios were all turned to New York stations.
I remember sitting in front of one of Astrocamp’s buildings wearing a wetsuit hysterically crying because I had been told that planes had hit the World Trade Center. I remember thinking, was my maternal aunt, whose office was in the first tower, safe? Could my grandmother have been in the neighborhood?
I remember coming back to school, getting in the car with my mother and her telling me that her sister, my aunt, was okay, but my uncle on the other side of the family, Uncle Alan, was missing.
I remember waiting in my kitchen for a call from my father’s sister, Nancy. I remember crying while getting breakfast at school and another schoolmate, who I always thought hated me, say he heard and was sorry.
I remember sitting in a family friend’s apartment in Los Angeles during a party, crammed with my father and some others in a tiny room, watching the Yankees win a baseball game and springing up in joy.
A lot has been made about the impact baseball had on the country and most specifically New York after the attacks on September 11 — how the Yankees brought the city out of the gloomy haze that had permeated it as the dust settled around Ground Zero. For my mother, my father and me the game was what kept us sane and happy. We set out trailing the Yankees. We drove from our home in California to a playoff game in Oakland and even went to the first game of the World Series in Arizona.
At that first game something magical happened. A moment almost out of “Field of Dreams.” We had just arrived at our seats and batting practice was still underway. The Yankees were out in the field and I ran to the front of our section to get a better look. I was an 11-year-old Yankee fan, decked out in full regalia, in a sea of purple. The Diamondbacks fans did not mock me. Instead they let me slide my way into the front of the throng of people, my tiny glove outstretched. People were calling for the players to hand them old balls that had been hit by some slugger into the outfield. Someone pointed to me and said “just give it to her.” A newbie pitcher, Randy Choate, caught a ball and put it in his pocket. Just as the Yankees were leaving the field he ran over to me and placed it in my glove.
Until recently, I had not thought there was much significance to this moment other than that it was simply one of those great baseball stories, like my father having been at Don Larsen’s perfect game. But reflecting back on that confusing period, the months that would get our country into wars and forever change the landscape of our world, it seems prophetic, emblematic. A young player, not even from New York, picking out a young fan to give a dirty baseball to in solidarity for a city forever changed.
The Yankees would lose the game and eventually the series, but not before they gave hope to a city and a girl in desperate need of some.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6334
|
__label__wiki
| 0.976829
| 0.976829
|
| MEN’S BASKETBALL: Bulldogs shakes up staff
Ashton Wackym
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Bulldogs shakes up staff
Ashton Wackym 2:35 am, Aug 22, 2014
Last season, the Yale men’s basketball team made it to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) championship game and finished with a 19–14 overall record — a vast improvement over the previous season’s 14–17 mark. With the program on the rise, it may come as a surprise that the Bulldogs find themselves replacing one of their assistant coaches.
But after five years at Yale, assistant coach Jamie Snyder-Fair has stepped down from the program, citing various personal sacrifices and the opportunity to coach at the Division-III level as reasons for his departure. In his place will be a relatively young replacement, Anthony Goins, who coached at Dartmouth last season.
“We are sad to see Coach Snyder-Fair leave because he was a mentor and role model to many players on the team,” 2014–’15 captain Greg Kelley ’15 said. “He brought enthusiasm and a certain Western-Mass grit to practice everyday. His unique sense of humor and fashion will be missed by Yale men’s basketball.”
Head coach James Jones said the program wishes Snyder-Fair all the best down the road and added that Snyder-Fair hopes to continue coaching.
With an open position on the Yale coaching staff, Jones moved quickly to get his ducks in a row before the Bulldogs return to campus in the fall.
“Justin Simon ’04, my former player and three-year assistant was moved up,” Jones said.
Simon has been with the Bulldogs coaching staff for three seasons and played for the Elis from 2000–2004. He accrued 243 points in his 82 appearances wearing the blue and white, and he played a prominent role as the Elis’ sixth man in his final two seasons. Additionally, Simon received the Eggie Mies Award as the team’s top free-throw shooter as a junior.
Before rejoining Jones — his former coach — Simon served as an assistant coach and teacher at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, where he brought the program to the Catholic High School Athletic Association Class A final in two consecutive years.
Jones has previously said that Simon brought a valuable and exclusive perspective to the Bulldogs, having gone through the process of being a player under Jones himself and now mentoring players from the other side.
There will also be a new face alongside Jones’s old crew, associate head coach Matt Kingsley and Simon. Goins, who spent last season with the Dartmouth Big Green and the three prior seasons with the Salisbury School in Connecticut, will be Yale’s fresh assistant coach.
“Coach Goins is an excellent addition to the staff,” Assistant Director of Sports Publicity Tim Bennett said. “He understands the nuances of coaching in the Ivy League from his time at Dartmouth and also is aware of the great passion for basketball in the state of Connecticut.”
Goins graduated in 2008 with a degree in Sports Management from St. John’s and last year helped Dartmouth to its best overall record since 2000. He compiled 64 wins and just 18 losses during his time with the Salisbury School between 2010 and 2013.
Snyder-Fair joined the Bulldogs in 2009 as a volunteer assistant coach and was promoted to a full-time assistant coach in 2011. Before joining Yale, he spent a season with the Divsion-III Washington & Lee Generals, helping them make it back to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship game for the first time in 20 years.
Snyder-Fair also coached as an assistant with Vassar and Amherst Colleges prior to his stints at Washington & Lee and Yale.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6336
|
__label__wiki
| 0.569048
| 0.569048
|
| Dick Cavett ‘58: Bringing Yale to America
Rebecca Faust
Dick Cavett ‘58: Bringing Yale to America
Rebecca Faust 4:15 am, Sep 23, 2016
Former television host Dick Cavett ’58 appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television from the 1960s through the early 2000s. Cavett is perhaps best known for his conversational style and the in-depth discussions that he held as the host of The Dick Cavett Show. He has been praised for the intellectual range of the conversations that he conducted as a talk-show host, an ability that he attributes, in significant part, to his Yale education. In addition to highly acclaimed interviews with actors and musicians, including Groucho Marx, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Garland, Marlon Brando, and John Lennon, among others, Cavett is known for often focusing on controversial subjects with controversial people. Indeed, a debate about the Vietnam War so angered former President Richard M. Nixon that the then-President was heard discussing Cavett on the Watergate tapes, saying, “Well, is there any way we can screw him? That’s what I mean. There must be ways.”
Cavett sat down with the News to talk about his career, the formative role that Yale played in shaping his life, and his views on some of the issues facing Yale and the nation today.
Q: You came to Yale on a scholarship. Upon arriving at Yale, which was in many ways a bastion of old money at the time, to what extent did you, a Nebraska boy of modest means, feel that you fit in?
DC: The train left the Lincoln, Nebraska railway station at about midnight, on its way first to Chicago … and then to New York, city of my dreams. I’m told that I said to my parents, “What if I can’t do the work?” And they looked a little startled, but reassured me, on the basis of nothing, of course. And it turns out that I was able to do it. I even made the dean’s list freshman year, which stunned them. I think I was afraid I might have flunked out if I did anything but study during freshman year, but for the following three years, I did every play in sight. And I think my grades went down, not as far as George Bush’s probably, but down anyway. But I did fine — I came out okay. By the way, I had a roommate flunk out from an excess of poker and booze. A good formula if you want to flunk out, although people are skilled enough to do it without either of them.
You may know that I made the subject of Yale versus Nebraska a part of my night-club act. The biggest laugh was that I knew so little about Ivy League wear that I appeared on the campus in brown and white shoes, the problem being that the white one kept getting dirty. That was a big laugh.
I remember being dismayed freshman year when a snooty classmate, with that awful, nasal Connecticut twang, asked me, condescendingly, “Where did you prep?” I replied, “I didn’t prep. I highed.”
Q: To what extent did Yale teach you the art of critical thinking?
DC: Any critical thinking that I got from Yale was in my undergraduate courses, maybe in the true sense of the term, from the great Paul Weiss, Sterling professor of philosophy. Paul Weiss taught his class Socratically, asking to have questions fired at him, and he never failed to take down any five students simultaneously, if he needed to. I later put him on television, on the Jack Paar Tonight Show, and then I had Paul Weiss on my own show, as I did William F. Buckley, [whose] faculty advisor was Paul Weiss.
Q: When you attended Yale in the 1950s, the school was a feeder for certain jobs on Wall Street and Madison Avenue. Why do you think that you ended up working in television if it wasn’t a career path that the school necessarily encouraged?
DC: Without perhaps realizing it fully, I went there knowing I wanted to be in “The Big Time” and “The Great White Way,” in the showbiz world, world of grease paint and crowds. That was always surging in me. I didn’t have any idea how you got there, but it was always fun.
The Shubert Theater was very significant. The fact that I might have, calamitously, spent those years in a town that didn’t have the Shubert Theater is unthinkable. I saw everything that came, going whichever way — toward Broadway or on tour — there for four years. I, in my brash way, bolted into famous stars’ dressing rooms and engaged them in chat, and years later I could remind Judy Garland or someone that, “You’ve met me before.” I did it on the air with Katharine Hepburn. I surprised her that I had been in “The Merchant of Venice” with her years before and had one line. She asked if I remembered it, and I said, “Gentlemen, my master Antonio is at his house and desires to speak with you both.” Her reply: “Is that the way you said it?” I thought the laugh would never end.
Q: When you were on the air, many regarded you as the most intellectual of the talk-show hosts of your day. To what do you attribute your ability to make a connection with a mainstream audience, given your more intellectual approach to interviews?
DC: It would take thumbscrews to cause me to admit that I was an intellectual, because, well let’s say thanks to Yale, I know what a really one looks like, and sounds like, and is like. I got hung with that uncommercial label early on because, as I’ve said, I made the mistake of thinking that you were supposed to read the guest’s books, and so I did and ended up having nine minutes to discuss a 400-page book.
How did you manage to capture an audience’s attention for a 90-minute-long show, especially with only one or two people being interviewed?
DC: It all came from the great Jack Paar’s advice to me that I’ve repeated more than once. He called and said, “Kid, when you start doing these shows, don’t do interviews.” I said, “What do I do, read to the audience, or sing?” He said, “No, no, no. Interviews: that’s Q&A, what’s your favorite this, David Frost and his clipboard while he’s falling asleep from jetlag.” He said, “Make it a conversation.” The next time you see my John Lennon shows, if you do see them again or if you haven’t seen them, there’s a moment that puzzled some people when suddenly John contemptuously said, “Dick, what’s your definition of love?” That was one of David Frost’s patented, ask-every-guest, stupid questions. I think that John would’ve enjoyed another Frost moment in my life. When David Frost died, I was told about it on a live show and said, “Why is it never Dick Cheney?’’ I’ll stand by that as part of my legacy.
What are your feelings about the upcoming presidential election?
DC: My feelings about the current election cannot be contained in mere words. When this bad dream began, I posted somewhere, “Why not Trump? We’ve tried qualified people.” Stronger and nastier postings on Facebook and a column for my New York Times online blog “Trumpo: The Unfunny Marx Brother” have gotten the predictable “Hoorays” and many a “Good-bye forever, Mr Cavit [sic].” My Times piece contained a line I kind of hoped Hillary would adopt for her personal use. I imagined the horror of Trump as president when the Arab World erupts violently. It was, “Wouldn’t you want a president who knows Shiite from Shinola?”
Do you have any other comments to add about your time at Yale?
DC: On my way to lunch from a lecture by the great Vincent Scully, who taught an architecture course in which jaded students were lifted to their feet applauding feverishly, and with that still ringing in my ears and mind, I passed Harkness Tower and the bells rang, and I thought, “Oh God, I’ve only got two more years of this!” And as for the stuff on campus and all that, and the ludicrous nature about which they’re protesting and the intolerance of it, I once said to somebody, “Remember the good old days when the intolerance for the free exchange of ideas came from the Right?” I find shrieking at a professor a bit of a waste of time and energy. Think about what you’re doing and saying. The First Amendment used to be very welcome on campus. Someone should give you a swift kick in the ass. Did I say that?
I heard myself say this once: Somebody said, “Do you miss Yale? Did you like it there? Was it wonderful?” And I said, “Those were the best four years of my life, and I knew it at the time.”
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6340
|
__label__cc
| 0.66448
| 0.33552
|
Alabama Republican Party ‘strongly condemns’ violence on Capitol Hill
Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan on Wednesday issued a statement denouncing developing events on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Capitol Building was breached on Wednesday with both chambers in session considering certification of Electoral College results. Senators and representatives eventually had to be evacuated as rioters attempted to gain access to the chambers.
At least one individual has been shot inside the Capitol, and, as of this writing, the D.C. and Virginia National Guards are deploying forces to gain control of the Capitol Complex. There have been no reports of any members of Congress being injured at this time.
Lathan stated, “The Alabama Republican Party strongly condemns any violence and unlawful actions occurring on Capitol Hill today. We support law enforcement efforts to control and arrest any person who is violating laws and causing harm to property or people. These actions are not American and cannot be tolerated.”
“We strongly support peaceful assembly and protest as guaranteed by the First Amendment. The Electoral College voting process, which is allowed by the Constitution, must be allowed to continue without disruption,” she added. “It is important that citizens contact their representatives to have their voices heard in an orderly and respectful manner.”
For live reporting on this rapidly developing situation, tune into your preferred news channel or click here or here.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6341
|
__label__wiki
| 0.584786
| 0.584786
|
An Open Letter to US President George W Bush
Mr George W Bush
Dear Mr President,
I write in anticipation of your visit to Singapore and on behalf of the members of the Singapore Democratic Party extend to you a very warm welcome.
As with most Singaporeans, I am heartened by the close relationship that Singapore enjoys with the United States. There is, however, a fly in the ointment and that is the deteriorating political situation in my country.
While the Singapore Government tells its international critics that it is slowly improving its dismal human rights record, in reality the opposite is taking place.
Just a few days ago, it announced that it was putting in yet more restrictions on the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. Already, we are banned from gathering in public for political activities. The new legislation will give the Government even greater power to repress the opposition and civil society groups.
The Singapore Government owns and runs all the television and radio stations as well as all the newspapers. Singapore’s media is ranked 146th out of 167 countries in a worldwide press freedom survey conducted by Reporters Without Borders, dropping six positions from last year and below even countries like Sudan and Somalia.
Elections are a meaningless exercise which many international watchdogs have labeled as far from free and fair. Freedom House writes: “Singapore citizens cannot change their Government democratically.”
Two of my associates and I are presently charged for interacting with our voters during the elections in May this year. We have indicated that we are prepared to go to prison as the charge is politically motivated to suppress freedom and democracy in Singapore.
Strangely, the trial proceedings ended last week but the judge has decided not to pass the verdict until next week. This may have something to do with your visit this week.
I have also been sued and made a bankrupt. As a result, the Government has seized my passport effectively placing me under city-arrest.
In your meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, I hope you will impress upon him that democracy and an open society will only help Singapore as it moves forward to an increasingly globalised 21st century.
A democratic and free Singapore will not only benefit the people of this city-state but also contribute to a more stable and prosperous Asia, something which I am sure will the United States values in its fight against terrorism and poverty.
Again, welcome to Singapore and I wish you a pleasant and meaningful stay.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6345
|
__label__cc
| 0.729436
| 0.270564
|
Dr. Kwabena O. Duedu
To investigate the evolution, composition, overlap and relative importance of antibiotic resistance conferring plasmids and their bacterial host ranges in humans, animals and the environment.
Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a public health threat and largely attributed to heavy selective pressures resulting from widespread of antibiotic use coupled with the exchange of genetic resistance genes between microorganisms through plasmids. These plasmids can be specific to a type of host(s) limiting their spread or may be broad range with capabilities of spreading across species. Deciphering the complex interaction exits between humans, animals and the environment that supports the spread and evolution of antibiotic resistance can provide clues to stopping the spread and curing antibiotic resistance. The overall aim of the project is to investigate the evolution, composition, overlap and relative importance of antibiotic resistance conferring plasmids and their bacterial host ranges in humans, animals and the environment. The study employs portable next-generation sequencing technologies and machine learning to understand the role of plasmids in the evolution and spread of resistance. The long-term goal is to aid the development of strategies that can slow the spread of antibiotic resistance by gaining insight into the co-evolutionary processes that allow bacteria to improve the persistence of newly acquired MDR plasmids. This fundamental knowledge will support research into drug therapies based on restricting the horizontal transfer or stable replication of drug resistance or virulence plasmids in human pathogens
Kwabena is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana. He had his undergraduate education in Medical Laboratory Science and masters in Microbiology at the University of Ghana. He pursued a PhD training in Synthetic Biology at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He completed postdoctoral training under the African Partnership for Chronic Disease Research PostDoc Fellowship programme as well as completed the Novartis Global Health Fellowship in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. practiced as a Medical Laboratory Scientist for 4 years in the Ghana Health Service. He worked at the National Public Health and Reference Laboratory (NPHRL) and the Clinical Laboratory Unit (CLU), Korle-Bu. He participated in the organization of Trainer of Trainer workshops on malaria diagnosis as well as undertook supervisory monitoring of the USAID Funded Improving Malaria Diagnostics project implemented by the Medical Care Development International in Collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and Ministry of Health. His current research is focused on understanding the role of microbial communities in the spread and evolution of antibiotic resistance, disease pathogenesis and polymer degradation. Some specific areas of work currently include investigations into horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance determinants within microbial communities in humans, animals and the environment; the causal relationship between the gut microbiome, nutrition, inflammation and obesity; dysbiosis and inflammation as a basis for sickle cell disease crisis; and the role of microbial communities in biomass and plastic degradation. Presently, he is involved in building Africa-led, Africa-focused capabilities involving the use of innovative applications of new technologies that drive innovation in multi-omics research and applications for human health and the environment.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6347
|
__label__cc
| 0.707796
| 0.292204
|
Cup Round 2: Cs Vs Sacred Heart (1B)
Home>Cup Round 2: Cs Vs Sacred Heart (1B)
Result: Whites 2 – 5 Sacred Heart
We were always going to be the underdogs in this game. We saw the return of Stefan this week after a long absence, but with a injury ridden defence and the A’s pinching our on form strikers in Omar and Ismail, it was going to be difficult. In typical Cs fashion, we started on the back foot, conceding 2 inside the first 20 minutes, with Masood picking up an injury, forcing him off. We had no real control of the ball, clearing it out once when we gained possession. We began to switch on, realising our best way to see out the half was to play route one. We began pumping it long to Evan, with his expert one-on-one dribbling, we believed he could beat their slow, and for some reason angry, bald CB. Evan is a man of many talents; he has the dribbling of Messi, the strength of Akinfenwa, the tactical mindset of Fergie, but unfortunately, the finishing of Torres. Evan found himself one-on-one with the keeper and tried to curl the shot to the back stick but failed to convert. We had a few more chances in the half but all seemed to end the same way, with a goal kick. The visitors managed to sneak one before the break, leaving us 3 in the negative as we went to the rooms. Souk had a lot to say, he felt that they were not necessarily better than us, just playing better on the day, believing that is we played with more heart, and keeping more possession, we could win. I made a speech of my own, stating that we needed to keep calm, they think they have the game in the bag now, so we needed to just focus on the basics, and more importantly, quit lashing out at each other after every mistake. We went out confident, aand we played like it too. The Whites were on top for the first 15 mins, keeping possession and creating chances. Mo managed to score a perl of a volley Scholes himself would have been proud of, which swerved into the top corner. According to my notes, Bas then made a diving save, but I find
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6352
|
__label__wiki
| 0.832988
| 0.832988
|
Duke Nukem 3D is a Pop Culture Icon that was, and still is, a great Video Game
In: Media, Video Games
I wrote in a previous post that “Quake,” in its original incarnation was the first person shooter of its day. That still holds true, but it wasn’t the only game in the genre.
“Quake” was first released on June 22, 1996, but the first person shooter that predated it by almost five months was “Duke Nukem 3D,” which was released January 29, 1996.
Box Art for Duke Nukem 3D
“Duke Nukem” and “Quake,” along with “Doom” and “Wolfenstein 3D,” are the forefathers of all first person shooters, but there was something special that set 3D Realms’ “M” Rated hero apart from the rest.
It wasn’t just that “Duke Nukem 3D” was risque and filled with half naked and sometimes even less dressed women. It was that “Duke Nukem” wasn’t just a first person shooter. It was a movie, a cartoon of sorts that was cheesy, gory, humorous and filled with almost 80 lines of dialogue fit for any shoot ’em up, zombie, or Hollywood action blockbuster. In fact, it borrowed plenty from those kind of movies for it’s dialogue.
But before we go down that road, let’s look at the plot. (Yes, there is a plot in “Duke Nukem 3D” that goes beyond randomly shooting pigs and aliens or giving strippers money.)
Go to the “Help” option in the Main Menu and you’ll see the following:
“A babe, a stogie, and a bottle of Jack. That’s what I need right now.”
Duke mused on his recent defeat of the Rigelatins, his voice raspy even in his thoughts. After single-handedly saving Earth–again–he was ready for a long period of lying the hell down.
“And no more freakin’ aliens.”
Just then, a white-hot plasmatic blast punched through the hull of his cruiser. Klaxons flared, warning lights flashed, and static filled his monitors. He flipped on his comm.
“Hey, anybody out there? I got a little probl…” Duke started.
“Mayday! Mayday!” the radio replied. “Los Angeles is under attack! There are aliens everywhere, and they’ve mutated the LAPD. Is anyone there? We need help!–.” The transmission went silent.
“Great,” Duke grumbled as his careening ship missed a skyscraper. “What’s the problem with all these aliens attacking Earth anyway? How many alien races have to get their asses kicked?”
Duke slammed his fist into the waiting eject button.
“I guess one more.”
Select an Episode in Duke Nukem 3D
From there, the first of three or four episodes of the game are started – three in the regular edition and four in the Atomic Edition, which is the one I’ve been playing. Each level contains various weapons, items and Easter eggs. Some of the eggs in this game are so far reaching in scope from pop songs to movie and television references, as well as nods to and comments on pop culture events.
In fact, playing through the game just looking for the Easter eggs, can be just as enjoyable as playing it to slaughter pig cops. To go one step further, the pixelated graphics bring me a sense of nostalgia, but the true elements that hold up, especially for anyone who played it when it came, are those Easter eggs.
The first episode, L.A. Meltdown, picks up from the moment Duke’s feet hit the ground, or more accurately, the roof of a building. The first thing you hear from Duke in this episode is, “Damn, those alien bastards are gonna pay for shooting up my ride,” and with that you’re on your way through the first level, “Hollywood Holocaust.” This level takes place in a movie theatre and it’s pretty basic, but there are numerous Easter eggs available if you take the time to stroll around. There is a big sign saying “Innocent” where someone has graffitied a “?” after to make it read “Innocent?,” there is a pinball game named “Balls of Steel,” and a arcade game cabinet labeled, Duke Nukem II. Also, in the bathroom, above one of the urinals is a very famous phone number – “867-5309.”
For a good time call Jenny, 867-5309 – Duke Nukem 3D
Damn you, Tommy Tutone!
The level “Red Light District” is exactly what you’re thinking. The level is based around a strip club where one of the more risque actions is the ability to go up to the strippers and hand them some money where they will undo their tops and show you their pixelated, tasseled breasts. However, when you kill the strippers, aliens will show up, so it’s best to kill them one at a time. If you’re unlucky enough to kill some in the crossfire of cleaning out the room the first time, you’ll have your hands full. Another Easter egg can be found in the bar, where the televisions are showing a car chasing a white truck, a reference to the O.J. Simpson chase.
The now famous pig cops from these early and subsequent levels are humans from the LAPD that have been mutated and their police uniforms are now emblazoned not with LAPD but with LARD.
The remaining three levels of L.A. Meltdown are “Death Row,” where Duke escapes the Electric chair; “Toxic Dump;” and “The Abyss.” Throughout these levels, earthquakes shake the environment, destroying some of the buildings as Duke learns that the aliens are capturing Earth’s women. Then, it’s on to Episode Two, “Lunar Apocalypse.”
Lunar Apocalypse at Polaris Outpost – Duke Nukem 3D
Lunar Apocalypse, has Duke journey to space, where he finds incubators housing the captured women. This journey is not confined to just space stations orbiting Earth. Eventually Duke reaches the Moon and kills an alien overlord. It is here that Duke inspects a computer to reveal that the plot to capture women was merely to distract Duke from the alien attack on Earth, which has already begun.
The levels are named “Spaceport,” “Incubator,” “Warp Factor,” “Fusion Station,” “Occupied Territory,” “Tiberius Station,” “Lunar Reactor,” “Dark Side,” and “Overlord.” Easter eggs here include a reference to THX-1138 a film by George Lucas; an area that looks like the bridge of the USS Enterprise; Luke Skywalker hung by his legs prompting Duke to say, “Now this is a force to be reckoned with;” and a monolith similar to that in 2001: Space Odyssey. From there, it’s back to Earth and the city of Los Angeles.
Dukai Sushi in Shrapnel City – Duke Nukem 3D
In Episode Three, “Shrapnel City,” a reference to the devastation the aliens have wrought upon the city, are the levels “Raw Meat,” “Bank Roll,” “Flood Zone,” “L.A. Rumble,” “Movie Set,” “Rabid Transit,” “Fahrenheit,” “Hotel Hell,” and “Stadium.” These are what you’d expect – an earthquake, a Hollywood movie set, and a sushi bar. Within these levels, Duke takes on the massive alien infiltration. Here are even more Easter eggs, including another reference to the O.J. Simpson trial; the corpse of Indiana Jones and the Duke quip, “We meet again, Dr. Jones;” a Baby Ruth candy bar on the bottom of the pool as a reference to Caddyshack; and a “Duf Beer” blimp which is a nod to the Simpsons favorite brew, Duff Beer, but two things stand out even more.
First, the Visa and Mastercard logos can clearly be seen at cash registers, prompting be to wonder if they got paid for it. Most likely, they did not as product placement in video games wasn’t a thing any marketing mogul would suggest back in 1995 when the game was in development. But the second and most impressive Easter egg appears in the “L.A. Rumble” level.
East Town Towers was 3D Realms Shot of id Software and Quake in Duke Nukem 3D
The “East Town Towers” is a reference to id Software, makers of Doom and Quake. The building in this level resembles the “Town East Towers” building that housed the office of id Software in Mesquite, Texas.
But that’s not the only dig at their competitor. 3D Realms went much farther, and when Duke triggers the earthquake in this level you can hear him say, “I ain’t afraid of no Quake,” a direct reference to the game that would come out five months later.
In the original version of the game, Episode Three is the end of the game, but the Atomic Edition released in November 1996 had an additional final chapter.
The Birth, Episode Four, is a continuation of the story that reveals that the aliens used one of the captive women to give birth to the Queen. The Easter eggs get magnified in this episode. “It’s Impossible” is an ode to “Mission Impossible,” complete with music, and includes references to “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “Get Smart,” “Steed” from the old British Show, “The Avengers” and James Bond. Duke-Burger is a fast food restaurant using, well, anything but beef; Shop-N-Bag has the mutilated corpse of Snake Plissken from “Escape from L.A.” which opens up the Duke line, “I guess he didn’t escape from L.A.!” Finally, Babe Land is a ripoff of Disneyland complete with a “Babes of the Caribbean” ride.
The XXX-Stacy level in The Birth Episode is the set of a Porno film – Duke Nukem 3D
Pigsty is a police station where there are desks for famous action heroes like John McClane from “Die Hard,” Harry Callahan from “Dirty Harry,” and Judge Dredd and Duke says each of their famous lines as he walks by. Going Postal is a post office and XXX-Stacy is on the set of a porno film, for lack of a better explanation. Critical Mass is a power station where you will come to a control panel that is labelled, Sector 7G, which is Homer Simpson’s sector in the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant in “The Simpsons.” Derelict takes place on a ship called “Valdeez 2,” a reference to the Exxon Valdez. Finally, The Queen, is where you will fight the Queen, who looks like an homage to the alien from Alien.
All of the enemies in the game are snarling, ugly, and well-armed. The Assault Troopers may be the weaklings of the alien invasion, but they are equipped with jetpacks so they can come from anywhere, including above you. The Assault Captains come with a cloaking device, so the Captain you’re shooting at may disappear and start shooting you in the back. Assault Enforcers come equipped with a chaingun cannon, and Assault Commanders can fly and shoot rockets at you. Pig Cops are equipped with shotguns and some of them will fly around in a Recon Patrol Vehicle, which you have to shoot down, before you can deal with the Pig at the controls as they always survive the crash of their vehicle meeting the ground below. There are mini BattleLords and pig cops in tanks, but they aren’t the most annoying enemies in the game.
Protozoid Slimers and Octabrains are the most annoying enemies in Duke Nukem 3D
That title belongs to the Protozoid Slimers and Octabrains. The good news about the Slimers is that if you destroy the eggs they hatch from when you see them, you can kill them before they get the jump on you. The Octabrains always appear to travel in groups and can shoot you with a mental blast attack that is fast. (I looked up the stats on this enemy in the Duke Nukem Wiki and discovered that when Duke is ill-equipped to deal with them, it take 30 shots from a pistol to kill the Octabrains. This would have been helpful information to have when I played through the game as you appear to be shooting at an enemy that just won’t die!)
The game is a straightforward shooter – at least it was intended to be. Now most people remember it more as a pop culture icon than a video game. This could be because of all the dialogue, or the Easter eggs, or the controversy over pixelated, tasselled breasts.
There are a lot of Strippers in Duke Nukem 3D
There is an interesting thought that occurred to me while replaying this game. If the strippers were only in Episode Three or Four and not so widely found within the entire game, the controversy over them may not have been as fervorous as it was. But the strippers and their pixilated nudity wasn’t something just for those who were about to complete the game. It’s present almost immediately, from level two onward, and that’s why it was such a big deal.
Duke’s dialogue throughout the game is famous, or rather infamous. Stolen lines from movies and other famous characters such as,
“Blow it out your ass!” and “It’s time to kick ass and chew bubble gum… and I’m all outta gum.” from They Live.
“Do, or do not, there is no try.” from Star Wars
“Go ahead, make my day.” from Dirty Harry in Sudden Impact
“Hail to the king, baby,” and “Hey, She-bitch, let’s rock!” from Army of Darkness
“I’ll rip your head off and shit down your neck.” from a few movies including Full Metal Jacket
“I’m gonna get medieval on your asses!” a quote from Marsellus Wallace, in Pulp Fiction
“Let God sort ’em out!” Advice given by Arnaud Amalric during the Albigensian Crusade when asked by a Crusader how to distinguish the Cathars from the Catholics
“Mess with the best, you will die like the rest.” from the movie Hackers
“Your face, your ass – what’s the difference?” reference to an Andrew Dice Clay joke
But that’s not to say Duke can’t speak for himself,
Hail to the King, A Lesson in gaming history via Duke Nukem
Damn, I’m good!
Eat shit and die.
Get that crap outta here!
Gonna rip ’em a new one.
Guess again, freakshow. I’m coming back to town, and the last thing that’s gonna go through your mind before you die… is my size 13 boot!
I like a good cigar…and a bad woman…
I should have known those alien maggots booby-trapped this sub.
It’s time to abort your whole freaking species!
My boot, your face; the perfect couple.
Nobody steals our chicks… and lives!
Nuke ’em ’till they glow, then shoot ’em in the dark!
Oh…your ass is grass and I’ve got the weed-whacker.
See you in Hell!
Suck it down!
This really pisses me off!
That’s gonna leave a mark!
What are you? Some bottom-feeding, scum-sucking algae eater?
You’re an inspiration for birth control.
Duke Nukem checks himself out in mirror after killing some aliens – Duke Nukem 3D
All of these borrowed or original lines of dialogue are brought to life by Jon St. John who has been the consistent voice of Duke, including the long anticipated “Duke Nukem Forever.” Jon St. John is Duke Nukem.
But Duke isn’t just about witty dialogue, he’s got plenty of weapons and items at his disposal. His Mighty Boot, pistol, shotgun, chaingun cannon, RPG, pipebombs, shrink ray, Microwave Expander, Devastator, Laser Tripbombs, and Freezethrower back up his wit with an arsenal powerful enough to take out a world power.
This is a first person shooter video game, so he also can use Medkits and armor, the Holoduke, Jetpack, night vision goggles, protective boots, scuba gear and steroids. Locked doors can be unlocked with the appropriate Blue, Yellow or Red Access Card. I must also mention that any plumbing appliance like water fountains, fire hydrants, and toilets can be destroyed, leaving behind running water that the player can drink to regain life. This kind of interactivity was well in front of any of the shooters out at that time.
Duke Nukem is the Ultimate Warrior and there’s a poster to prove it in Duke Nukem 3D
Everything in the game finds a way to prove itself useful or required to make progress at some point or another.
The Easter eggs in this game – and believe it or not, I haven’t mentioned all of them – are something that we now come to expect from our games. Duke was the first to really include them at such a level that they are as much a part of the game as the weapons, dialogue, and enemies.
“Duke Nukem 3D” is now in the public lexicon as a pop culture icon, but because it contained so many pop culture references, it seems that the game itself is a parody of everything and anything.
It’s use of graphics was, well, different. For example, when you look up at a flying monster, the monster remains 2d and appears as just a line. This is a blatant use of technology in spite of technology. Obviously, this is a product of the game mechanics of the early ’90s, but 3D Realms, in true Duke fashion, didn’t let the technology of the day determine what they were going to do. They just did what they wanted.
Duke Nukem Forever the long awaited Sequel to Duke Nukem 3D
As a result the game is edgy, harsh, and very likely the exact game they set out to make. I have played the long awaited sequel “Duke Nukem Forever,” and while I thoroughly enjoyed that game it doesn’t really hold a candle to the original.
Then again, how could anything?
Duke Nukem 3D has been talked about and mentioned in articles and conversations about the most important games of all time and it’s hard to disagree. Next Generation magazine even stated in 1996 that Duke Nukem 3D was, “for many, the game Quake should have been.” While I don’t necessarily agree, Duke 3D was influential in its own important way.
It was developed on a budget of $300,000, which made it a very expensive game back in 1996, but from that investment came a colossus of gaming history. Together with rival Quake, Duke Nukem took first person shooters to a new level and help popularize the genre into what is today a huge industry. There are also the claims that games such as the Grand Theft Auto series would not have been possible without the legacy set forth by Duke Nukem. Anyone arguing that idea may get a boot in their ass.
Duke Nukem 3D was and still is a giant in the gaming world. Even though its sequel was marred by financing and technological whims, Duke Nukem is a pop culture icon and will remain so.
Captured woman at the Alien infested Earth Defence Forces
Duke at the Strip Clun in the Red Light District
Flying Aliens in Duke Nukem 3D
The Grand Opening of Duke Burger
Duke Nukem 3D backstory in the Help Menu
Duke Nukem 3D Title Screen
Tagged: duke nukem, horror, innovation, PC game, video game review
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6353
|
__label__cc
| 0.661532
| 0.338468
|
Testing the Boundaries is an intellectual history of the Lutheran churches in America. It’s most similar to Wrestling the Angel — the Foundations of Mormon Thought: Cosmos, God, and Humanity, as well as The Orthodox Christian Church, by Peter Bouteneff. It is unlikely anyone will be converted to Lutheranism because of Arand’s work. But it is very likely that if you read it, you will understand Lutheranism in America better.
Testing the Boundaries is also parallel to Joseph Ratzinger’s Principles of Catholic Theology. Arand and Ratzinger often described the same events or documents in the same manner. Both Ratzinger and Arand agree that Luther as a man is not particularly relevant to Lutheranism as a faith. Martin Luther was a professor of theology, and Lutherans regard him as a sort of church father. Several times, Arand quotes thinkers who talk of the Church development in the first several centuries, plus the 16th century, with no legitimate development of doctrine in between. Thus, while Lutheran popularizers can emphasize the drama of Luther’s “Ninety-five theses, and Catholics may look suspiciously on Luther’s On the Jews and Their Lies*, neither of these are particularly useful for understanding what the Lutheran Churches actually teach or believe.
While in Lutheran popular imagination Luther can be presented as a type of new Christ, speaking out against the corrupt religious authorities of the day, a better analogy would be Origen. Foundationally important to what was to come. But not a saint, and sometimes uncomfortably close to being a heretic.
The Lutheran Confession(s) of Faith
Church documents often accepted by Lutherans are either the contents of or a subset of, The Book of Concord.
These “Lutheran Confessions” begin with basic texts that are universally accepted by Christians
Athanasian Creed
The Confessions then continue through the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and may continue for several other documents, possibly concluding with the Formula of Concord. But there is no unity here. The Church of Denmark accepts the Augsburg Confession and Luther’s Small Catechism for instance, while some Lutheran communities accept more and others less.
The tone of these additional texts is all over the place. Luther’s Smalcald Articles is generously described as hyperbolic:
It is nothing else than the devil himself, because above and against God he urges [and disseminates] his [papal] falsehoods concerning masses, purgatory, the monastic life, one’s own works and [fictitious] divine worship (for this is the very Papacy [upon each of which the Papacy is altogether founded and is standing]), and condemns, murders and tortures all Christians who do not exalt and honor these abominations [of the Pope] above all things. Therefore, just as little as we can worship the devil himself as Lord and God, we can endure his apostle, the Pope, or Antichrist, in his rule as head or lord. For to lie and to kill, and to destroy body and soul eternally, that is wherein his papal government really consists, as I have very clearly shown in many books.
Martin Luther, Smalcald Articles IV: Of the Papacy, 1537
while the Formula of Concord is scholastic in its tone, in the style of St. Thomas Aquinas:
Since the Law was given to men for three reasons: first, that thereby outward discipline might be maintained against wild, disobedient men [and that wild and intractable men might be restrained, as though by certain bars]; secondly, that men thereby may be led to the knowledge of their sins; thirdly, that after they are regenerate and [much of] the flesh notwithstanding cleaves to them, they might on this account have a fixed rule according to which they are to regulate and direct their whole life, a dissension has occurred between some few theologians concerning the third use of the Law, namely, whether it is to be urged or not upon regenerate Christians. The one side has said, Yea; the other, Nay.
Jakob Andrea et al, Formula of Concord: The Third Use of the Law: The Principle Question in this Controversy, 1576
Neither of these approaches is presently popular in academic theology in either Lutheran or Catholic circles, though both have origins in styles of Catholic apologetics.
Arand’s book outlines four basic theories of the Confessions and applies subsequent developments of the Lutheran church in America to these traditions. At their root, these traditions come from one of two basic assumptions: either the Augsburg Confession was intended to be a reiteration of the Canons of the Second Synod of Orange, and presents no new theology, or that it is the beginning of a long set of documents, and is incompatible with Catholic theology as practiced at the time.
The Augsburg Confession as the Reiteration of the Second Synod of Orange
The first, associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is to focus on the Augsburg Confession as an experiential reiteration of the Second Synod of Orange. That is, the detailed scholastic theology of the Formula of Concord, and the anger in the Smalcald Articles, are both considered “witnesses” to the faith in the Lutheran community at the time. Rather, the Augsburg Confession itself is the actual statement of faith and should be read as the experience of a sinner returning to Christ. This approach, with its emphasis on the Catholic origins of the text, is a natural bridge to both the Catholic Church and other apostolic traditions. Since the writing of Testing the Boundaries, the ELCA and many non-German Lutheran Churches now have full communion with the Anglican Church and also with “Old Catholics“, partially as a consequence of this view.
In this view, the Augsburg Confession itself is largely a reiteration of the Canons of the Second Synod of Orange, which describe beliefs elsewhere labeled as God Alone, Faith Alone, and Grace Alone:
If anyone maintains that God awaits our will to be cleansed from sin, but does not confess that even our will to be cleansed comes to us through the infusion and working of the Holy Spirit, he resists the Holy Spirit himself who says through Solomon, “The will is prepared by the Lord” (Prov. 8:35, LXX), and the salutary word of the Apostle, “For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
If anyone says that not only the increase of faith but also its beginning and the very desire for faith, by which we believe in Him who justifies the ungodly and comes to the regeneration of holy baptism-if anyone says that this belongs to us by nature and not by a gift of grace, that is, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit amending our will and turning it from unbelief to faith and from godlessness to godliness, it is proof that he is opposed to the teaching of the Apostles, for blessed Paul says, “And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). And again, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). For those who state that the faith by which we believe in God is natural make all who are separated from the Church of Christ by definition in some measure believers.
If anyone says that God has mercy upon us when, apart from his grace, we believe, will, desire, strive, labor, pray, watch, study, seek, ask, or knock, but does not confess that it is by the infusion and inspiration of the Holy Spirit within us that we have the faith, the will, or the strength to do all these things as we ought; or if anyone makes the assistance of grace depend on the humility or obedience of man and does not agree that it is a gift of grace itself that we are obedient and humble, he contradicts the Apostle who says, “What have you that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7), and, “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10).
2nd Synod of Orange 4-6
The parallel section of the Augsburg Confession introduces these critical concepts in the same way:
Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4.
That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ’s sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake.
They condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and work
Also they teach that this faith is bound to bring forth good fruits, and that it is necessary to do good works commanded by God, because of God’s will, but that we should not rely on those works to merit justification before God. For remission of sins and justification is apprehended by faith, as also the voice of Christ attests: “When ye shall have done all these things, say: ‘We are unprofitable servants.'” Luke 17, 10. The same is also taught by the Fathers. For Ambrose says: “It is ordained of God that he who believes in Christ is saved, freely receiving remission of sins, without works, by faith alone.”
Augsburg Confession 4-6
Other parts of the Augsburg Confession also agree with Catholic thought, in ways that may surprise some Catholics. For instance, the Lutheran Augsburg Confession holds that naked faith, which is to say mere belief in God, is not what is meant by faith:
Men are also admonished that here the term “faith” does not signify merely the knowledge of the history, such as is in the ungodly and in the devil, but signifies a faith which believes, not merely the history, but also the effect of the history—namely, this article: the forgiveness of sins, to wit, that we have grace, righteousness, and forgiveness of sins through Christ. Now he that knows that he has a Father gracious to him through Christ, truly knows God; he knows also that God cares for him, and calls upon God; in a word, he is not without God, as the heathen. For devils and the ungodly are not able to believe this article: the forgiveness of sins. Hence, they hate God as an enemy, call not upon Him, and expect no good from Him. Augustine also admonishes his readers concerning the word “faith,” and teaches that the term “faith” is accepted in the Scriptures not for knowledge such as is in the ungodly but for confidence which consoles and encourages the terrified mind.
Furthermore, it is taught on our part that it is necessary to do good works, not that we should trust to merit grace by them, but because it is the will of God.
Augsburg Confession 20
Likewise, the Augsburg Confession emphasizes that good works are required. Not for our salvation, but because of God’s will. Catholics will immediately recognize this as Marian receptivity: desiring what God wills, when God wills it, because God wills it — and not because of looked-for personal gain. In the past I’ve been disturbed by the mercenary attitude adopted by some protestant evangelizers, believe so you can get to Heaven, in other words, do some mental work for your personal gain, without helping anyone else in the process. That is not the logic of the Augsburg Confession, at least for those Lutheran traditions that emphasize the Catholic origins of the text.
The Augsburg Confession as the First Part of the Lutheran Confession
A second approach, associated with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS), is to focus on the entirely of the Book of Concord, starting with the Augsburg Confession, and including Luther’s Large and Small Catechisms, Luther’s Smalcald Articles, the Formula of Concord, and a few other documents. These are viewed as Marian “yes”‘s to the faith revealed in the Scripture, the appropriate response of the church to what is given by the Bible — thus they are not themselves scriptural or inspired but are the correct reaction to inspired Scripture. These texts are believed to describe the objective reality of the Divine, and its relationship to our world. They function analogously to accepted and historical Canons in the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, while the Roman Catholic and LCMS views differ much more in substance, they share more common epistemological and methodological assumptions about how one can understand what another truly believes about theology.
In this view, while legitimate sacraments continued to be performed, the practice and beliefs of Christianity were largely replaced by the local traditions of Rome, expressed through an increasingly Roman and decreasingly Christian “Catholic church.” Church documents, even from an early age, are generally unhelpful in understanding what true Christianity is, because of the great filter and censor of Roman church apparatus for more than a millennium. The interpretations of the Book of Concord should, in general, be seen to be in opposition to Catholic teaching, and not to be revised or reworded by subsequent Church councils or subscriptions. They are infallible, not because they are anything new, but because they contain thoughts and theology as old as Scripture.
Arand (himself part of the LCMS) ends his texts on a note looking askance at the chance of reconciliation between the Lutheran and Catholic churches. Regarding the increased Catholic interest in the Augsburg Confession, the author positively describes a scholar who
rejects the hermenutical approach implicit in the methodology of achieving agreement by examining the Augustana [Augsburg Confess] article by article, which, in his view, is a traditional argument with a long history of ecumenical disaster. He points to the Committee of Fourteen, which attempted to reconcile the Confessio Augustana with the [Catholic Augsburg] Confutation, as a “classic” case of this style and its failure. Its Achilles’ heel lay in the treating of theological statements as if they were independence of the doctrine of justification by setting the formula, “justified by faith,” alongside the other articles of faith that divide the two parties and then attempt to ascertain whether or not they could be understood in a manner that is acceptable to all. This leads to the participants to embark upon what Jenson calls “formula negotiation,” in which each party adjusts their formulas for each other. But with sufficient skill, any formula could be understood and interpreted correctly. Charles Arand, Testing the Boundaries, pp. 261-262
That is, reconciling the texts of the Augsburg Confession and contemporaneous Catholic documents would be like reconciling the Nicene Creed with the Qur’anic Rejection of it in The Women. With skill, it might be done. But only with violence to the meaning of both sides.
If the Augsburg Confession is indeed a reiteration of the Second Synod of Orange, the “doctrine of justification” is indeed one of many areas of agreement. A few years after the publication of Testing the Boundaries the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification was jointly signed by Rome’s Pontifical Council of the Promotion of Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation, a body that includes the ELCA but not the LCMS. The statement, subsequently joined by the World Methodist Council and the World Communion of Reformed Churches, effectively interprets the Augsburg Confession along the lines of the Second Orange Synod, with additional space given to mapping subsequent terminological developments between the Protestant and Catholic sides. To the LCMS and others who include the Smalcald Article, the Formula of Concord, and others as church documents, this threatens to cleave the Lutheran church into two.
This leads to a dilemma that Arand uses to close Testing the Boundaries.
The question of Lutheran identity has always been tied to its confessional writings, perhaps more so than any theological tradition that emerged from the 16th-century Reformation. The confessional writings have always supplied the reason d’etre for the continued existence of Lutheranism.
Charles Arand, Testing the Boundaries, pg. 264
The LCMS position is thus this: is the Augsburg Confession is a Catholic document, then Lutheranism would just be Catholicism.
In Principles of Catholic Theology, Joseph Ratzinger noted that Protestant thinkers tend to have a well-developed sense of salvation history, while Catholic thinkers tend to be more fluent in ontology. If that is true, the success of the 1999 Joint Declaration on Justification by Faith is only a half-way mark. It may address the ontological concerns that separate most Lutherans and Catholics, but not the concerns in salvation history. We have been separated for 500 years. There must be a parable in that, waiting for its conclusion.
Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.
← Every book I read in 2020
Qur’an 32: The Prostration →
Catholicism Faith Law
Impressions of “The Trial of Jesus Christ: And the History Behind It,” by David Shaneyfelt
The Academic Papers of Michael Heiser
The Books of the Maccabees
2 thoughts on “Impressions of “Testing the Boundaries: Windows to Lutheran Identity,” by Charles P. Arand”
I am not a member of the LCMS but am an orthodox Lutheran. With all respect I would define our actual position as saying that the Augsburg Confession is a catholic document, as opposed to a Roman Catholic document. Namely, Roman Catholic and catholic are two different and often opposite things.
SN, thank you so much for your comment!
Can you say a little more about the difference? If you could, I would rephrase your response in a way that hopefully, you would agree with. If I am not able to do that, that would reveal a gap in my understanding. 🙂
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6354
|
__label__wiki
| 0.703831
| 0.703831
|
Baldridge-Mayer v. Berryhill
NELLIE A. BALDRIDGE-MAYER PLAINTIFF
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration DEFENDANT
Plaintiff Nellie A. Baldridge-Mayer (âBaldridge-Mayerâ) began this case by filing a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 405(g). In the complaint, she challenged the June 29, 2018, final decision of the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (âCommissionerâ), a decision based upon the February 26, 2018, findings of an Administrative Law Judge (âALJâ).
Baldridge-Mayer maintains that the ALJ's findings are not supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole.[1] Baldridge-Mayer so maintains for three reasons. Baldridge-Mayer maintains, inter alia, that the ALJ erred when he failed to give controlling weight to the medical opinions of her treating physician. Because it is not clear how the ALJ could weigh the opinions as he did, a remand to more fully develop the record is necessary.
Baldridge-Mayer alleged in her application for disability insurance benefits that she became disabled beginning on April 1, 2012. She alleged that she became disabled, in part, because of migraine headaches.
The record contains several hundred pages of evidence that touch in some way on Baldridge-Mayer's impairments and the extent to which they impact her residual functional capacity. She summarized the relevant evidence in her brief, and the Court accepts the summary as a fair summation of the evidence. The summary will not be reproduced in full, except to note several matters germane to the issues raised in the parties' briefs.
The issue in this case centers upon Baldridge-Mayer's migraine headaches and the extent to which they impact her residual functional capacity. She has complained of them for years and sought repeated medical attention for them. For instance, Baldridge-Mayer saw Dr. William Waldrip, M.D., (“Waldrip”) on April 5, 2012, or four days after the alleged onset date, for complaints of blurred vision. See Transcript at 715-717. She reported a long history of headaches. She was taking Zomig for her headaches and doing so approximately fourteen times a month. She was instructed to take it no more than four times a month. He ordered an MRI of Baldridge-Mayer's brain, the results of which were unremarkable. See Transcript at 724.
Waldrip saw Baldridge-Mayer again on April 12, 2012. See Transcript at 712-713. They discussed the possibility that her blurred vision was a manifestation of her migraine headaches, but no conclusion was reached. She was continued on Zomig.
Waldrip saw Baldridge-Mayer next on April 18, 2012. In recording her history of present illness, he noted the following:
... She tells me she is having about 10-15 headaches a month. These are the same type of headache she has always had, accompanied by nausea (and sometimes vomiting), photophobia and phonophobia. No. other neurological symptoms are reported. She has been tried on numerous prophylactic medications in the past without success, including Topamax. She doesn't remember having tried Depakote, however. ...
See Transcript at 709. He prescribed Depakote for her migraine headaches.
On April 23, 2012, Baldridge-Mayer established care with Dr. Tommy Taylor, M.D., (“Taylor”). See Transcript at 733-735. Although Baldridge-Mayer sought care primarily for blurred vision, she reported that she continued to have migraine headaches. A physical examination was unremarkable, and he continued her on Zomig.
On July 18, 2013, Dr. Ralph Mann, M.D., (“Mann”) performed a consultative physical examination of Baldridge-Mayer. See Transcript at 767-772. She reported having migraine headaches fifteen to twenty times a month. He diagnosed headaches but made no findings with respect to the work-related limitations they cause. He simply assessed a moderate limitation in carrying, fingering, and handling.
On August 29, 2013, Baldridge-Mayer saw Dr. Beata Majewski, M.D., (“Majewski”). See Transcript at 784-794. Baldridge-Mayer's history of migraine headaches were noted. As a part of Majewski's notes, he opined the following: “[Baldridge-Mayer] has a cluster of depression, migraine headaches, and sleeplessness and unfortunately is intolerant to medications. ...” See Transcript at 786.
On September 9, 2013, Baldridge-Mayer was seen by Dr. Garrett Sanford, M.D., (“Sanford”). See Transcript at 802-804. Sanford noted that Baldridge-Mayer had kept a daily log of her symptoms and recorded sixteen migraine headaches in August of 2013. He diagnosed, inter alia, migraine headaches.
On October 1, 2013, Baldridge-Mayer saw Dr. Thomas Kovaleski, M.D., (“Kovaleski”). See Transcript at 784-794. Baldridge-Mayer reported having approximately twenty migraine headaches a month. Kovaleski made no significant findings but did note that Baldridge-Mayer had multiple drug intolerances.
Baldridge-Mayer saw Kovaleski again on November 5, 2013. See Transcript at 818-819. Baldridge-Mayer continued to complain of migraine headaches and medication difficulties. Kovaleski observed that Baldridge-Mayer is “going to be a very difficult lady to have any significant impact.” See Transcript at 818.
On May 6, 2015, Taylor signed a To Whom It May Concern letter on behalf of Baldridge-Mayer. See Transcript at 844. In the letter, Taylor represented that Baldrige-Mayer suffers from debilitating migraines that occur up to twenty times a month. It was his opinion that she also had a “low tolerance for medication.” See Transcript at 844.
Baldridge-Mayer appears to have seen Taylor on three occasions between May 6, 2015, and November 10, 2015. See Transcript at 859-860 (05/06/2015), 860-862 (10/28/2015), 862-863 (11/10/2015). Baldridge-Mayer continued to complain of migraine headaches, which she reported having in excess of twenty times a ...
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6356
|
__label__cc
| 0.743247
| 0.256753
|
Judith Brocklehurst
Taking up residence in the Drawing Studio, artist Judith Brocklehurst will lead Family Takeover, our weekly drop-in programme for families, leading creative activities inspired by the exhibition Giorgio Griffa: A Continuous Becoming. Judith’s workshops will draw out key themes, ideas and techniques from the exhibition, including notions of rhythm, order, sequence and possibility. These sessions will focus on the Arte Povera (‘poor art’) philosophy of working with leftover materials and everyday objects.
Judith Brocklehurst is a sculptor, writer and researcher. Her practice is mutable. It changes to interact with the social circumstance she finds herself in. She often takes her lead from the place or situation in which the work is made, who she is making work with, where it will be seen and what materials are used.
The unwritten rules that the site and materials and processes suggest are used set parameters in which something unforeseen might happen. Working in different situations such as Great Ormond Street Hospital, the British Library, with schools and community groups in galleries and higher education, has led to an array of sculptural, working methods which explore areas of interest such as sound, rhythm, place, collaboration. Her practice centres on the performative aspect of making rather than the pursuit of an end result.
Judith has recently completed her practice-related PhD at UCL. As part of this research into contested public urban and virtual places she has presented papers at conferences in Taiwan and Cyprus and written a chapter for ‘The companion to Modern Art’. Read more
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6358
|
__label__wiki
| 0.605843
| 0.605843
|
IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements—Becoming a joint operator through acquisition of additional interests in a joint operation
ProjectsWork plan for IFRSIFRS 11 Joint Arrangements—Becoming a joint operator through acquisition of additional interests in a joint operation
IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements—Remeasurement of previously held interests—loss of control transactions
The Interpretations Committee discussed some transactions involving previously held interests in order to determine whether or not previously held/ retained interests should be remeasured. This page provides further information on whether an entity should remeasure its retained interest in the assets and liabilities of a joint operation when the entity loses control of a business or an asset or group of assets that is not a business.
In the transaction discussed, the entity either retains joint control of a joint operation or is a party to a joint operation (with rights to assets and obligations for liabilities) after the transaction. See section ‘Related Projects’ below for a link to other transactions discussed by the Interpretations Committee as part of this project.
The Interpretations Committee noted that paragraphs B34–B35 of IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements specify that an entity recognises gains or losses on the sale or contribution of assets to a joint operation only to the extent of the other parties’ interests in the joint operation. The requirements in these paragraphs could be viewed as conflicting with the requirements in IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements, which specify that an entity should remeasure any retained interest when it loses control of a subsidiary.
The Interpretations Committee observed that the Board had issued amendments to IFRS 10 and IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures in September 2014 to address the accounting for the sale or contribution of assets to an associate or a joint venture. Those amendments address a similar conflict that exists between the requirements in IFRS 10 and IAS 28. The Board decided to defer the effective date of the amendments to IFRS 10 and IAS 28 and further consider a number of related issues at a later date. The Interpretations Committee observed that the Post-implementation Review of IFRS 10 and IFRS 11 would provide the Board with an opportunity to consider loss of control transactions and a sale or contribution of assets to an associate or a joint venture.
Because of the similarity between the transaction discussed by the Interpretations Committee and a sale or contribution of assets to an associate or a joint venture, the Interpretations Committee concluded that the accounting for the two transactions should be considered concurrently by the Board. Consequently, the Interpretations Committee decided not to add this issue to its agenda but, instead, to recommend that the Board consider the issue at the same time the Board further considers the accounting for the sale or contribution of assets to an associate or a joint venture.
The IASB provided feedback to be shared with the Interpretations Committee
IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements—Remeasurement of previously held interests – Obtaining control or joint control in a joint operation that constitutes a business
IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements—Remeasurement of previously held interests – Obtaining control or joint control in a joint operation that does not constitute a business
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6359
|
__label__wiki
| 0.848565
| 0.848565
|
PIONNIERS ET PRECURSEURS > JOSE VICENTE ASUAR
JOSE VICENTE ASUAR (Chile, 1933-2017)
"Variaciones Espectrales", documentaire, 2013
José Vicente Asuar composer and one of the pioneers in the use of computers for the creation in music, died after a prolific and generous life.
Asuar died at the age of 83 leaving behind him a series of groundbreaking initiatives that inaugurate the creation of electronic music in Chile and South America, influencing a transversal generation of musicians and artists from several fields, always with a mixture of high intelligence and humility, one of his most beloved characteristics.
In 1958 he founds at the Arts Faculty of Universidad de Chile the first Laboratory for Electronic Music in Chile, parallel in time to the huge achievements of masters such as Pierre Boulez, Iannis Xenakis and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
In 1959 he composed "Variaciones Espectrales", one of his most solid masterpieces, composition that also gives the name to the documentary film made to honor his lifetime achievements.
In the Universidad de Chile he shared his knowledge as professor of acoustic and electroacoustic music, founding at the same time the Technology in Sound career.
In 1960 he takes this knowledge to University of Karlsruhe, in Germany, where he found the Electronic Music Lab, and in 1965 he raise the same methodology in Caracas, Venezuela.
With this experience, in 1978 he developed the first computer dedicated for the creation of electronic music in Chile, the COMDASUAR. He declared, in a clear provocation to the dogmatics of the classical and conservative identity of the chilean music scene that "The piano or the violin is as artificial as a computer", making clear his disruptive and irreverent methodologies, condition trespassed to his creations, in a very subtle, poetic and elegant way.
"The Virtuous Computer" from 1973, and " That's how the computer spoke" from 1979, are just two examples of the rigorosity and dedication on the creation of music through experimental instruments that are nowadays massive creation tools, but that in that time, and in a country far away from the international circuit, an epic and huge contribution for the worldwide music and technology history. His thoughts and clarity to defend the creation of experimental music outside the commercial industry, is an inspiration for the chilean and international creative and experimental community.
We will remember his legacy, and put his name in the place that his kind, intelligent and generous humanity deserves.
Respect, maestro.
Chilean Experimental Art and Music Community
Enrique Rivera
© Enrique Rivera & Leonardo/Olats, janvier 2017
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6360
|
__label__wiki
| 0.831116
| 0.831116
|
Ethiopia: Founding TPLF member arrested
Ethiopia on Friday arrested the most senior living member of the outlawed Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
Six other key TPLF operatives were also arrested in an operation conducted by Ethiopian forces on a hideout in the rugged Kola Tembein area in the northnern Tigray region, an official from the East African nation's military was quoted as saying.
The public Ethiopian News Agency quoted Brig. Gen. Tesfaye Ayalew as saying that Sebhat Nega, a founding member of the TPLF, had surrendered during the operation.
Sebhat is considered a magnate within the TPLF and is known for having built a multibillion-dollar business empire in Ethiopia over the 27 years the group was in power.
On Thursday, the army said nine other key TPLF officials had been captured, while four others were neutralized in the ongoing law enforcement operation.
An unspecified number of soldiers were killed last year and a sizable amount of military hardware had been looted by TPLF forces, prompting the government to launch a massive law enforcement operation.
On Nov. 28, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared the operation complete, saying what remained was apprehending the TPLF leadership and their militants, reconstruction and rehabilitation in the restive region, and putting in place the structures of an interim administration for Tigray.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6361
|
__label__wiki
| 0.782371
| 0.782371
|
Manet became a student in the studio of [[Thomas Couture]] from 1850, but grew to dislike his master's Salon style and set up his own studio in 1856. Little of Manet's earliest work survives, and much may have been destroyed by Manet himself. Manet became a student in the studio of [[Thomas Couture]] from 1850, but grew to dislike his master's Salon style and set up his own studio in 1856. Little of Manet's earliest work survives, and much may have been destroyed by Manet himself.
- ''The Absinthe Drinker'' is a full-length portrait of an alcoholic [[rag-picker]] named Collardet who frequented the area around the [[Louvre]] in Paris, painted in mostly brown, grey and black tones. The subject stands wearing a black [[top hat]] and wrapped in a brown [[cloak]], like an aristocrat, leaning on a ledge, with the empty bottle discarded on the floor by his feet. Manet later added a half-full glass of [[absinthe]] on the ledge. Influenced by the [[realism]] of [[Gustave Courbet]], the work shows a mundane subject on a large scale, measuring {{convert|180.5|cm}} high by {{convert|105.6|cm}} wide. Manet may have taken inspiration from the poem ''Le Vin de chiffonniers'' ("The rag-picker's wine") in [[Charles Baudelaire]]'s 1857 collection ''[[Les Fleurs du mal]]'', and also from the paintings of ordinary people by [[Diego Velázquez]], particularly his paintings of ''Aesop'' and ''Menippus'', and [[Watteau]]'s ''L'Indifférent''. + ''The Absinthe Drinker'' is a full-length portrait of an alcoholic [[rag-picker]] named Collardet who frequented the area around the [[Louvre]] in Paris, painted in mostly brown, grey and black tones. The subject stands wearing a black [[top hat]] and wrapped in a brown [[cloak]], like an aristocrat, leaning on a ledge, with the empty bottle discarded on the floor by his feet. Manet later added a half-full glass of [[absinthe]] on the ledge. Influenced by the [[realism]] of [[Gustave Courbet]], the work shows a mundane subject on a large scale,. Manet may have taken inspiration from the poem ''Le Vin de chiffonniers'' ("The rag-picker's wine") in [[Charles Baudelaire]]'s 1857 collection ''[[Les Fleurs du mal]]'', and also from the paintings of ordinary people by [[Diego Velázquez]], particularly his paintings of ''Aesop'' and ''Menippus'', and [[Watteau]]'s ''L'Indifférent''.
Near the completion of the painting, Manet showed the work to his former master. Asked for his opinion, Couture is said to have retorted: "An absinthe drinker! And they paint abominations like that! My poor friend, you are the absinthe drinker. It is you who have lost your moral sense." Near the completion of the painting, Manet showed the work to his former master. Asked for his opinion, Couture is said to have retorted: "An absinthe drinker! And they paint abominations like that! My poor friend, you are the absinthe drinker. It is you who have lost your moral sense."
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6362
|
__label__wiki
| 0.626196
| 0.626196
|
Atlantans Spoke Out at EPA Hearing in Favor of Carbon Emissions Limits
August 21, 2014 COURTNEY HANSON Leave a comment
(APN) ATLANTA — The numbers are in. Atlanta along with Washington, DC, boasted the highest attendance of four national hearings hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in July 2014 to solicit public comments on the historic proposed Clean Power Plan designed to cut carbon emissions.
309 people testified at the Atlanta hearing held at the Omni Hotel and an additional 411 attended but did not speak. The EPA also hosted hearings in Denver, Colorado; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A coalition of environmental and public interest groups organized a full day of events around the hearing on July 29 to highlight the need for climate action. The day started with an an early morning prayer breakfast at Central Presbyterian Church followed by a rally at Woodruff Park with live music, children’s activities, and a lineup of speakers from across the South including faith leaders, coal miners, clean jobs advocates, and local environmental organizers. This culminated in a one thousand person march down Marietta Street to Centennial Olympic Park.
“The coalition of faith leaders, Civil Rights veterans, labor, business leaders, environmentalists, and the environmental justice community, which came together to show support for the Clean Power Plan, demonstrates that there is broad, diverse, and growing movement to demand solutions to climate change that lift all boats,” Seth Gunning, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Organizer, told Atlanta Progressive News.
NUCLEAR RESISTANCE
Many groups praised the EPA for their leadership on carbon reduction. Sections of the rule, however, support the use of nuclear power to comply with carbon reduction goals including providing for taxpayer subsidy of nuclear projects; and allowing cap and trade policies where power from nuclear plants can be sold to offset carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Local advocates spoke out against these provisions, saying nuclear power should not be included as clean energy.
“We are calling for those [nuclear] provisions to be removed from the final rule,” Glenn Carroll, Coordinator of Nuclear Watch South, said.
“Nuclear power is an outmoded, poisonous power source and impacts the environment heavily with steam emissions [steam is a global warming gas] and intensive water use and heating. At its worst, nuclear is capable of accidentally radiating the Northern Hemisphere with radioactive pollution,” she said.
“We are at a critical juncture, not only to save the atmosphere from further ruination from carbon emissions, but to shift into a power base supportive of a long-term future, namely to commit to harness the benign planetary forces of sunlight and wind,” she said.
The nuclear provisions will also have major environmental justice implications, according to Becky Rafter, Executive Director of Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions.
“The South has the nation’s dirtiest energy infrastructure. We also have the highest population of people of color, low-income people, and people who have not graduated from high school. This is no coincidence,” Rafter said.
“Communities lacking adequate political power to protect themselves cannot keep toxic industries out of their neighborhoods. The rule would be a win for communities living near coal plants, but not so much for communities near current or targeted for future nuclear power sites,” she said.
Georgia Power, which is constructing the first two new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in thirty years in Burke County, Georgia, says they want credit for the power generated from the prospective reactors, something that may not happen.
“The guidelines penalize Georgia for taking early action in constructing new nuclear,” Ron Shipman, Vice President of Environmental Affairs at Georgia Power told Creative Loafing Atlanta.
Company representatives say not getting credit for the new units at Vogtle will make it more difficult for Georgia to meet compliance goals.
“My understanding is that when you look at the rule as proposed it’s counting Vogtle 3 and 4 [as preexisting power sources], being that they’re already under construction. In that we were an early starter, it’s going to make our overall goal that much higher because it’s counting Vogtle 3 and 4 as already in the mix, that’s my understanding,” Kevin Green, spokesperson for Georgia Power told APN.
WHAT IT WILL MEAN FOR GEORGIA
With the rule still under consideration, it will be months before the public has a clear idea of the on the ground implications for the plan, but overall benefits are clear.
“In Georgia, the plan will mean less sick-days, asthma attacks, and disease caused by air pollution from existing coal-fired power plants,” Gunning said.
“But, how Georgia makes those changes is in the hands of our state Environmental Protection Division (EPD). If EPD decides to meet the historic standard by encouraging more investment in upgrades to outdated coal technology, development of new nuclear units, or reliance on volatile natural gas, then Georgians are likely to see stagnant economic growth and a continued rise in electricity bills,” he said.
“If, on the other hand, our State officials craft a plan that strengthens the cheapest cost, greatest potential, highest employing energy resources–like solar, and energy efficiency–Georgians can expect to see the creation of thousands of new jobs and a decrease in utility bills,” he said.
EPD says until the rule is finalized, the agency cannot begin looking at exactly how they’ll recommend for the State to comply.
“We really aren’t focusing on what will Georgia’s plan look like. We’re focusing on how is the rule structured and where are we in regard to what the goal is in 2015 then we’ll look at how to we get from where we are now to where EPA wants us to be in 2020 and 2030 and we’ve just begun the process of looking at that,” Karen Hayes, Manager, Policy and Radiation programs in the Air Protection Branch of EPD, told APN.
For now, EPD is soliciting comments from stakeholders through a series of meetings, the first of which was held August 07, 2014, at the EPD offices at 4244 International Parkway. The hearing drew about fifty people including representatives from Southern Company, municipal electric companies, and several environmental groups.
“We were really pleased with the wide range of people. As we get closer and closer once the rule is final, I think the interest will continue to increase,” Hayes said.
The next stakeholder meeting is slated for September 19, 9am, at 4244 International Parkway.
The rule is open to public comment until October 2014, and is slated to be finalized by June 2015. Each state will then have until June 30, 2016 to develop their own compliance plans.
There are provisions for extensions and for regional plans, which are likely there to foster cap and trade programs such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative implemented in nine states in the Northeast U.S..
While the EPD is far from releasing a plan for Georgia, Georgia Power asserts the rule will result in a rise in electricity rates.
“Electricity rates will go up, something acknowledged in EPA’s own estimates. Just how much rates will increase depends on natural gas prices and other unknowns. But make no mistake, this proposal will impact every Georgian’s electricity bill,” Georgia Power said in a company statement.
Public comments on the rule can be submitted to the EPA through October 16 via the web http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-pollution-standards/how-comment-clean-power-plan-proposed-rule
tagged with carbon emissions, City of Atlanta, clean power plan, coal, environment, EPA, nuclear, nuclear watch south, Sierra Club, wand, washington d.c.
Nuclear Watch South
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6372
|
__label__cc
| 0.618257
| 0.381743
|
Intellectual property of open-access publications
Publications with open-access dissemination licenses
It is recommended that documents published in the O2 be subject to open-access dissemination licences. Among this type of licence, the most commonly used are the Creative Commons licenses, which allow changes to be made to the terms and conditions of use of a work to make it available to the public under a more or less open regime. It does not replace copyright but rather uses it as a legal starting point.
At the time of publishing, the author should review the various licenses that can be assigned and select that which best fits the use that it is wished to make of the project.
What types of Creative Commons license are there?
The following are the six combinations developed by Creative Commons:
Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs
Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike
Attribution–NonCommercial
Attribution–ShareAlike
Attribution–NoDerivs
What is copyright (©)?
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6375
|
__label__cc
| 0.502133
| 0.497867
|
mixolydian mode piano
This scale is sometimes referred to as the Dominant 7th Scale. Musical Genres It can take a little time to wrap your head around modes. Blog The mixolydian mode uses the W-W-H-W-W-H-W note counting rule to identify the note positions of 7 natural white notes starting from note G. To count up a W hole tone, count up by two physical piano keys, either white or black. Sam Vesely / Les Grecs connaissaient sept modes musicaux : on distinguait, d’après la hauteur de leur échelle, le mixolydien, le lydien, le phrygien, le dorien, l’hypolydien, l’hypophrygien et l’hypodorien[4]. You may recognize the dominant pattern in the intervals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, b7) if compared to the dominant 7th chord with the chord steps 1, 3, 5, b7. They are similar to major and minor scales, but they each have their own characteristic. It has a really interesting sound – similar to a minor scale but not quite. Can death metal be beautiful? Suppose we want to play C mixolydian. All Rights Reserved. forever. One mode will start on G, another will start on C, etc. [7] The flattened seventh of the scale is a tritone away from the mediant (major-third degree) of the key. If you have questions PLEASE leave them in the comments below, and have fun practicing modes! This step shows the ascending mixolydian mode on the piano, treble clef and bass clef. The invention of the ancient Greek Mixolydian mode was attributed to Sappho, the 7th-century-B.C. So modes become super helpful when you want to improvise, solo and create melodies based on the CHORDS instead of the key signature. Let’s do a quick recap. If you want to think about it in terms of its pattern then it looks like this: Every white or black key could have a flat(b) or sharp(#) accidental name, depending on how that note is used. Learning chords is a great way to improve your piano skills without any music theory. Here is a list of the Mixolydian modes in every key: I play guitar. In contrast, for example, the lydian mode has only one semitone / half-tone separating the 7th and 8th notes, and in this case the Seventh note is called the leading note or leading tone, as the 7th note feels like it wants to resolve and finish at the octave note, when all mode notes are played in sequence. I have just constructed D mixolydian using the parallel approach. Earlier I said that modes begin on different notes of the scale. It is used frequently over dominant 7th chords. Using that mode to create the B minor seventh chord gives us B, D sharp, F sharp, and A. And honestly — it’s not much different here. But in major blues, there's a seven-tone (heptatonic) scale, Mixolydian, that can offer us more colourful, sweeter phrasing options. This can be seen by looking at the Mode table showing all mode names with only white / natural notes used. F is the 5th note of the Bb major scale: If we play the Bb major scale and start on F, we will get F mixolydian: Using the parallel approach, all we need to do is play the F major scale and lower the 7th note by a semitone. For a quick summary of this topic, have a look at Mode. And just like major scales have a pattern, every mode has its own pattern. So we have chords staring on G, C, and F. And wouldn’t you know it — we have MODES starting on each of those notes as well! We won’t go into too much detail in this post about the sound of the mixolydian scale or its practical applications. It's jazz music's biggest cliche and inside joke. A commentary on that treatise, called the Nova expositio, first gave it a new sense as one of a set of eight diatonic species of the octave, or scales. Scale degree names 1,2,3,4,5,6, and 8 below are always the same for all modes (ie. Meanwhile, your right hand will play the G Dorian mode in measure 1, the C Mixolydian mode in measure 2, and the F Ionian mode in measure 3. Since this mode begins with note G, it is certain that notes 1 and 13 will be used in this mode. Can Death Metal Be Beautiful? [1] However, what the ancient Greeks thought of as Mixolydian was very different from the modern interpretation of the mode. When chant theory was first being formulated in the 9th century, these seven names plus an eighth, Hypermixolydian (later changed to Hypomixolydian), were again re-appropriated in the anonymous treatise Alia Musica. It is called the derivative approach because in each example, we ‘derived’ the mode from another major scale. Cool huh . All we need to do is play an F sharp major scale and then lower the 7th note by a semitone. Watch Queue Queue That is, it can be constructed by starting on the fifth scale degree (the dominant) of the major scale. For all modes, the notes names when descending are just the reverse of the ascending names. F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E. And it works in EVERY key signature. Popular music is replete with songs that are either written entirely in the Mixolydian mode or simply contain a characteristic alternation of major chords between tonic and subtonic. These are BIG musical concepts. Il est évoqué par Platon[2] ainsi que par Aristote[3]. In the example above, all the chords and notes are in F major, so it’s very safe. To play a mixolydian scale you can play all the white keys from G to G on a piano. Mode # 3 – The Mixolydian Mode. It contains a lowered (or flat) 7. In my opinion, the easiest way to think about modes when you’re starting out is to look at them in relation to a key signature, and that’s what we’re going to do today. It’s a great question. [5], The modern Mixolydian scale is the fifth mode of the major scale (Ionian mode). The tonic note (shown as *) is the starting point and is always the 1st note in the mode. (Dans les échelle chromatique et échelle enharmonique, chaque tétracorde consiste respectivement en une tierce mineure plus deux demi-tons, et une tierce majeure plus deux quarts de ton)[8]. If you have read the post on guitar modes explained, you might already have a solid understanding of how modes work and may not need the extra theory that is presented in this post. Sam is here to teach us about modes and how to use them to start playing and soloing like a jazz virtuoso! There’s also a D7, which has an F#. Learn how to play "The Lick" on piano. Sam is here with a few tips and tricks to get you playing like the pros! © 2020 Copyright Veler Ltd, All Rights Reserved. The notes are G-A-Bb-C-D-E-F. It’s like we’re playing an F major scale but we’re starting on the 2nd note instead of the 1st. (The Hypomixolydian mode of medieval music, by contrast, has no modern counterpart.). The modes that have a subtonic as the 7th note are dorian mode, phrygian mode, mixolydian mode, aeolian mode and the locrian mode. Here it is written out in the treble clef: Every one of those notes has a mode build on it. So the starting note for this mode (or scale) is C — BUT REMEMBER — we’re still only using the notes of the F Major scale. Improve keyboard familiarity, accuracy, and chording. This 12-bar blues riff will have you sounding like Ray. Let’s use the derivative approach first this time. You can just play anything and say, “Well that’s jazz!”. Klezmer musicians refer to the Mixolydian scale as the Adonai malakh mode. The white keys are named using the alphabetic letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, which is a pattern that repeats up the piano keyboard. I teach guitar. Musical Genres Let’s do one more example. Lisa Witt / Masters like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard brought it to the mainstream and inspired a whole new generation of growing musicians.
Second-hand Dining Table And Chairs Near Me, How To Use Oregano Oil For Mrsa, Vodka Sauce With Meatballs, Do Any Mice Hibernate, Where To Buy Kumquats Near Me,
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6380
|
__label__wiki
| 0.751403
| 0.751403
|
Six Starry-Eyed Valentine’s Day Specials
As the holiday of romance is here, several networks are airing Valentine's movies and animated specials in an effort to celebrate. Here’s a look at a few of them, one o f which could definitely provide the perfect opportunity to canoodle by candlelight with a cared for companion on the couch for an enchanting evening. Don't forget the artisanal chocolates.
The Lost Valentine
Hallmark 4 p.m. EST / 3 p.m CST
Based on the same-named novel by author James Michael Pratt, this 2011 Hallmark production showcases a television reporter investigating the story of an older woman who has been searching for her long-lost husband for more than six decades. After the man, who served in the U.S. Navy, was declared missing-in-action during World War II, she took it upon herself to visit the train station from which he departed every Valentine’s Day, anticipating his return. Actress Betty White received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie nomination for her work.
Hallmark 6 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. CST
In this 2013 Hallmark Channel original film, a widowed firefighter encounters a florist when responding to a conflagration, and the pair soon start getting to know one another. Meanwhile, the man’s son crushes on a fellow peer, and seeks his advice on romance. Together, father-and-son experience the trials and tribulations of love. Actors Billy Baldwin, Christian Maryn and Natalie Brown star.
Monster High: Why Do Ghouls Fall in Love?
Nickelodeon 6 p.m. EST / 5 p.m. CST
The denizens of an all-monster high school attempt to hold a celebratory event in this 2012 special, and two desirable young men try to woo the party’s hostess, Draculaura. The lady vampire is forced to decide between a former love and a brand new suitor before the tidings begin.
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown; A Charlie Brown Valentine
ABC 8 p.m EST / 7 p.m. CST; 8:30 p.m. EST / 7:30 p.m. CST
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
ABC is showing two back-to-back specials featuring the resolute bald boy. 1975’s “Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown” will be broadcast first, and as the child remains hopeful that he will receive a holiday gift from a member of his class, the other students encounter struggles of their own, including Linus, who attempts to curry favor with his teacher.
In 2002’s “A Charlie Brown Valentine,” the hero pursues a chance at romance with his beloved Little Red-Haired Girl, but he doesn’t seem to realize that some of the girls in his class are trying to gain his affections.
Family Guy - Valentine's Day in Quahog
Cartoon Network 11 p.m. EST / 10 p.m. CST
Valentine's Day in Quahog
In the animated comedy series’ 200th episode, the Rhode Island residents all run into various problems. Lois and Peter decide to spend the day together in bed, but it doesn’t work out as planned. Meg embarks upon a date with a boy from the Internet, and his intentions are a bit sinister in nature. Finally, family dog Brian hopes to learn why he’s a failure with women, so Stewie conducts a forum with his former love interests.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6381
|
__label__wiki
| 0.94314
| 0.94314
|
Origin: Cornwall, Ontario
The Ultimate Image were from Cornwall, Ontario, a small city on the northern bank of the St. Lawrence River, where Ontario, Quebec & New York State meet. Thr group came together in 1967 and included three seniors from East end's St. Lawrence High School - drummer & leader Bob Lemire, lead vocalist and guitarist Reg Portieous and rhythm guitarist Rick Rouleau. Rounding out the line-up was bassist George Caron, who attended the hoity-toidy sounding General Vanier Secondary in the city's North end.
Consensus on the band's name was agreed upon from the get-go. The Ultimate Image, they felt, was not only a catchy name, but best described their two goals: musical excellence & hip style. Whether they achieved either is a matter of personal opinion & taste, but one thing's for sure, they ruled the region with their custom renditions of material by the Rolling Stones, The Troggs, The Young Rascals, The Turtles, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
In addition to gigs in the nearby towns of Morrisburg, Alfred and Williamstown, they regularly played at local high school dances. At General Vanier High, they even received standing ovations! In 1968, a cat by the name of Claude Delorme opened "The Book", a teen nite club. This booze-free hang out became the primary spot in Cornwall for swingin' live music. As the story goes, The Ultimate Image became the club's house band. Packing the place to capacity, they dazzled the populace with their hard edged psychedelic sound and lightshow.
One wintery night (probably around New Year's vacation), Trend Records president Merv Buchanan was present. Having been tipped off by a local relative, he headed over to "The Book". The group's performance must have left him impressed, 'cause before the night was over, he was offering the band a recording deal! Although Trend Records was a small operation, it managed to scout out some fairly potent (and now legendary) acts, like Bent Wind, for example. By April, the band had booked time at Merv's studio in order to cut a record. Mr. Rene Brisson, the principle at St. Lawrence High, was so proud of the boys that he granted them time off from class! Now that's cool!
The recording session cost the fellas $160. They split Cornwall in the wee hours of the morning so they'd arrive in Toronto by 9:30 a.m. Trend's studio was located on Sheppard Avenue in West Hill, Ontario (now a part of Scarborough). It was literally a house and barn! As it turns out, recording didn't go as smoothly as planned. It took the group twelve hours to crank out just two numbers, "It's a Hard Life" and "Rains of Autumn".
The single was released during the summer. Local station CJSS agreed to support it, but it was rarely played. Trend even gave them 20 copies for promotional give-aways, but when fans requested "It's a Hard Life", they always claimed they didn't have a copy. Apparently the top disc jockey (Don Beefer) was pals with The Image's rivals, "The Oracle of Zodiac". It wasn't until Dave Mickey, a young replacement from Toronto arrived, that the record started getting some airplay. Unfortunately, the internship was brief.
By the time the new decade rolled in, members were fighting over musician direction. Reg & George wanted to move on to a more underground sound, while Rick & Rob felt more comfortable playing the commercial stuff. As was the case with most bands from this era, high school graduation, full-time jobs, and marriages eventually did them in. The Ultimate Image will go down in history for being Cornwall's collest combo!
-by Ivan Amirault & Alex Taylor
It's a Hard Life b/w Rains of Autumn
The Ultimate Image
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6392
|
__label__wiki
| 0.752125
| 0.752125
|
Home » News/Views » The 5 are back again!
The 5 are back again!
The Miami Five pose for the cameras on their return to Havana.
With all the Miami Five safely home in Cuba, we look at the background to this great victory…
The Miami Five are now all free and back home in Cuba with their families, after being released from US prisons by President Obama last December. To understand them and the relationship between Cuba and the US, we have to go back to the early post revolutionary era.
Following the Cuban revolution’s success on 1 January 1959, a number of people fled to Miami from Cuba. First to go were the most powerful and wealthiest of the deposed Batista regime and the Mafia who had run Havana as a giant casino and brothel. These were followed by the business elite, many of whom already had property in Miami. They assumed that this move would be temporary.
The CIA trained and armed groups of Cuban émigrés in Florida in order to create counter-revolution in Cuba. Known as Brigade 2506, they invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961. It was a disastrous attempt to overthrow the revolutionary government. Although they were armed and transported by the CIA who supplied eight B26 bombers for the invasion, President Kennedy felt unable to give them air cover for fear of revealing US involvement. The revolutionary Cuban forces killed 118 and captured 1,202 of the attackers. Many more Cubans were killed.
Following this debacle, anti-Cuban terrorist organisations sprouted up in and around Miami. Funded and trained by both the CIA and the Mafia, there would be a number of attempts to bomb Cuban embassies and damage the Cuban economy.
There were two key figures among these groups. The first was Orlando Bosch, a CIA veteran and co-founder of the terrorist umbrella organisation CORU. He was behind the 1976 bombing of Cubana Flight 455, killing 73 passengers including the Cuban youth fencing team. As early as 1964 Bosch was arrested in Miami for towing a homemade radio-operated torpedo along a main road in rush hour. Two years later he would be arrested again for making bombs to drop on Cuba. In 1970, he was finally convicted, for firing a bazooka at a Polish ship docked in Miami port.
‘There would be a number of attempts to bomb Cuban embassies and damage the Cuban economy.’
While on parole, Bosch skipped the country because police intended to arrest him for murdering another Cuban exile. On the run Bosch carried out numerous terrorist acts aimed against Cuba in Venezuela and other Central American countries. Questioned in Costa Rica about a plot to kill Henry Kissinger, Bosch claimed that the target was the nephew of deposed Chilean President Salvador Allende.
Bosch was deported to the Dominican Republic where he plotted with Luis Posada, the second key figure. Posada. like Bosch, was a co-founder of CORU and implicated in the Cubana bombing. He was also the self-confessed instigator of the 1997 Havana hotel bombing campaign, which killed an Italian tourist. Posada too eventually went on the run after escaping from prison in Venezuela, where he had been jailed in connection with the Cubana bombing.
Bosch returned to Miami in 1987, where he was temporarily imprisoned for breach of parole. The US Justice Department challenged his petition to be allowed to stay in the country, as he was not a US citizen. The Cuban American National Foundation, (CANF), an umbrella group for all the counter revolutionary Cuban exile bodies in the US, lobbied for his release and right to stay in the US.
CANF was based on the Israeli lobbying body AIPAC in the US, but was considered more effective. President George H Bush was conscious of the need for votes for Republicans in Florida; he now joined the lobbying. Bosch was allowed to stay in July 1990. The Cuban Government, of course, was not amused. “We cannot [accept] the news of the release of Orlando Bosch, who is a terrorist,” explained a spokesperson for the Cuban Interest Section at the Swiss Embassy in Washington. Havana had no intention of waiting quietly for Bosch’s next attack.
On 8 December 1990 René González “stole” a light plane from an airfield on the outskirts of Havana and flew to Key West in the US. He was greeted by immigration officials and the FBI as the latest escapee from Cuba. But González, a veteran of the Angola war against South Africa, was also a Cuban intelligence agent.
Others took different routes to Miami pretending to be defectors. There were more than just five, maybe up to twenty. One of them, Juan Pablo Roque, told Workers in Havana how he had entered the sea in south eastern Cuba, wading and swimming through the mangroves, into the shark-infested waters and on into Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base.
Their target was to infiltrate Miami based terrorist groups in order to warn Cuba of any coming attacks. One main target was Brothers to the Rescue. Cubans also infiltrated CANF, Alpha 66 and a range of other terrorist outfits based in Miami. They were known in Havana as the Wasp Network.
The leader of Brothers to the Rescue was Jose Basulto, trained by the CIA in espionage, cryptography, infiltration, weapons and explosives. After the Bay of Pigs attempted invasion, he was infiltrated into Cuba to bomb an air base. He failed. In 1962, he machine-gunned the north Cuban coastline from a speedboat.
Basulto had acquired a small fleet of aircraft, launches and weapons. Brothers to the Rescue’s public mission was to rescue Cubans floating on rafts from the waters between Cuba and the US. Privately its intentions were somewhat different. Basulto was the pilot for its first mission on 25 May 1991. His co-pilot was none other than René González. Juan Pablo Roque was also recruited as another pilot. Once the US coastguard started to round up rafters and incarcerate them in Guantanamo Bay US base, Brothers to the Rescue no longer had anyone to rescue.
‘Cuba vowed that there would be no relations with the USA until all the Five were freed.’
Nobel prize-winning Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez was due to visit the US in April and May 1998. His itinerary included a meeting with one of his fans, President Bill Clinton. He was asked by his good friend Fidel Castro to take a file to Clinton. It contained all the information including names, dates, weapon stores, plots and terrorist actions carried out by CANF, Alpha 66, Brothers to the Rescue and so on. The file was a compilation of the work of the Wasp Network.
Cuba had previously sent information about the terrorist activities of Alpha 66 to US authorities, but nothing had happened. The Cubans thought that García Márquez’s direct access to Clinton might yield more success in stopping the criminal activities of the Miami groups. Clinton opened a back channel and the FBI sent a delegation to Havana to meet with Cuban State Security in June 1998, an unprecedented move.
Some of the Cuban flags outside the US Interest Section in Havana – there is one flag for every Cuban killed by terrorists. Photo Workers.
The FBI promised to consider and analyse all the information it was given, and respond. There was no reply for three months. Then on 12 September five members of the Wasp Network were arrested. They were René Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino and Fernando González, who became known as the Miami Five. They were held in solitary confinement for seventeen months and then given long sentences ranging from 15 years without parole to double life sentences. René González and Fernando González in April 2013 and February 2014.
Cuba vowed that there would be no relations with the USA until all the Five were freed. President Barack Obama eventually decided that it was time to develop relations with Cuba because the US blockading policy had failed. He held secret discussions with President Raul Castro. It is hardly surprising that the demand for the release of the Miami Five was on the table as a first priority.
On 17 December 2014 the remaining three of the Miami Five were freed, allowing Cuba and the US to talk about the opening of embassies in each country. Cuba is under no illusions about the developing of relations between Cuba and the US. It has specified that the opening of embassies depends on US assurances that their diplomats will cease attempts to overthrow the Cuban government.
Developing further relations is dependent on shutting the Guantanamo US Navy base, returning the occupied land to Cuba and ending the 53-year blockade of the island. Raul Castro has said there is no question of Cuba changing its socialist system. He has also indicated that Cuba requires reparations for the damage caused to the economy of Cuba and the lives of its citizens.
As Cuba enters its 56th year since the revolution, Cuba has good relations with the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean, Canada, Asia, Russia, China, Africa and Europe. So it’s the US that’s isolated and not Cuba.
Fighting Covid-19, Cuba-style
Cuba begins clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccine
Coronavirus: Cuba leads the way [print version]
Coronavirus: Cuba leads the way
cpbml.org.uk/news/5-are-back-again
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6394
|
__label__wiki
| 0.816488
| 0.816488
|
Newsweek's bad streak hits home
First the Quran debacle, then magazine's dubious elevation of a local high school
Michael Isikoff, the Newsweek editor responsible for the now-retracted story that American soldiers desecrated the Quran, really does know how to wait until there's sufficient evidence before running a story. On Jan. 22, 1998, Isikoff was asked on the Today show about rumors that Monica Lewinsky owned a dress stained with President Clinton's DNA. He answered, "I'm not going to report that until I have evidence that it is, in fact, true."
It would be nice if Newsweek had been similarly cautious regarding a story that appeared to confirm anti-American tales that al-Qaida activists have been spreading for years.
Locally, Newsweek's news judgment is also questionable. According to the magazine's May 16 issue, Denver's George Washington High School is the only high school in Colorado in the Top 100 nationally. Newsweek's metric was the percentage of graduates who take the advanced placement or international baccalaureate exams. Yet, as the Rocky Mountain News reported on Monday, only 63 percent of ninth-graders who start at George Washington graduate four years later. (The statistic is adjusted so that students who transfer to another high school are not counted one way or the other.)
Moreover, the percentage of students who take the exams is much less significant than the percentage who achieve adequate scores.
Newsweek, however, isn't the only publication to print "news" stories that aren't true. Consider the May 6 News article looking back at the 1992 state constitutional amendment prohibiting local or state pro-gay legislation. The Associated Press story began: "In 1992, a slim majority of Coloradans voted not to extend protection to gays from being arbitrarily fired from their jobs." What really happened was that by more than 100,000 votes, Coloradans decided to prohibit all forms of state or local laws favoring homosexuals.
The debate was over rolling back (not about extending) anti-discrimination laws which three cities had enacted; these municipal laws covered much more than employment. For example, housing ordinances made it illegal for a person to turn down a prospective roommate because the roommate was homosexual.
The News claimed that the constitutional amendment "never became law." In fact, the amendment went into effect on Dec. 16, 1992, after the secretary of state certified the election results.
The News wrote that Amendment 2 "briefly prompted an attempted boycott of Colorado by gay groups." The "brief" boycott lasted until October 1994, and was supported by many large organizations, such as the National League of Cities and the National Organization for Women.
Then, asserts the News, "The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the measure unconstitutional because it got in the way of home- rule cities' rights to continue their anti-discrimination ordinances." The U.S. Supreme Court ruling had nothing to do with home-rule powers. Rather, the court majority ruled that the state constitutional amendment irrationally discriminated against homosexuals, in violation of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, by making it more difficult for them to push for state or local laws granting them protection against discrimination.
The Denver Post made a serious error by running Associated Press writer Peter Svensson's anti-Microsoft screed on May 9. Reviewing a beta version of the Open Office productivity suite, from Sun Microsystems, Svensson gushed that "The competition is back, and this time it's free." Actually, Sun has been competing with Microsoft by offering a free office productivity suite ever since the late 20th century.
Svensson contrasted Sun with Microsoft by claiming that "Microsoft loathes the idea of free software." In fact, Microsoft has given away many millions of copies of its Internet Explorer program.
But the part of the article that went beyond ignorant, and bordered on the criminal, was Svensson's sentence that "the Office edition for students and teachers costs $149, and no one's checking IDs." The sentence was, in essence, a suggestion that readers could get away with criminal fraud, by obtaining Office at a lower price even if they were not really students or teachers. There are times when newspapers should encourage the violation of unjust laws, but encouraging simple thievery is never appropriate.
Israel recently celebrated its 57th year of independence. The News and the Post (May 16) commemorated the occasion not with a story from Israel, but from the AP's Mohammed Daraghmeh detailing how Palestinians view the creation of Israel as a "black day." The story noted the "uprooting of hundreds of thousands of their [Palestinian] people with the 1948 creation of the state of Israel."
Actually, it wasn't Israel's declaration of statehood that uprooted the Palestinians; it was the war immediately launched by Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia against Israel.
The Arab governments promised that after the Jews were driven into the sea, all the Jews' land and property could be taken. But instead of enjoying plunder, the Arabs who chose to leave Israel ended up in refugee camps. Israeli Independence Day may indeed be a black day for their descendants, but, at the least, the papers should have included the balancing perspective of some people who were glad that the Arab armies in 1948 failed in their effort to complete the job that Adolf Hitler had begun.
Dave Kopel is research director at the Independence Institute, an attorney and author of 10 books.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6395
|
__label__cc
| 0.59941
| 0.40059
|
WE WILL MASH YOU & HARMONIC MIXING
Posted in MASHUPS/PARTY BREAKS
In my music collection there are more songs that sample QUEEN‘s WE WILL ROCK YOU then any other song. This is not because I have a love affair with this song (like It’s A Fine Day). No, it’s because the song gets sampled so often, especially in MASHUPS. I can never resist grabbing songs that sample We Will Rock You, no matter how many I already have. It’s because the song is so incredibly versitile. Lately, however, I’ve found myself groaning when I hear yet another We Will Rock You mashup. It’s a song that pretty much goes with everything, which makes the use of it pretty uncreative most of the time. With that said, here is a VERY creative and complex We Will Rock You mashup…
http://deadkidsgetlively.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/10-03-114-hey-we-will-rock-ya-dj-prince.mp3
DJ Prince – Hey! We Will Rock Ya!! (Queen vs Outkast)
Not only is this mash complex, but it’s also a killer jam! Remember that HEY YA track? I fucking love that tune!!
Now, I’ve gotta tell you about the guy who made this mash, cuz he’s pretty amazing.
DJ PRINCE
DJ Prince is a Norwegian DJ and producer. He has been spinning for over 20 years. In 2009, he was voted Norways best club DJ. His mashups and mixes are renowned as some of the best around. Most impressively of all, he had a top 3 hit single on the Billboard Dance Chart back in 2000. The song was called GOT TO HAVE and was a collab with another Norwegian producer named JUSTIN K. You can check out the 2010 update of the tune HERE.
DJ PRINCE is a major guru of HARMONIC MIXING, which means only mixing songs that are in key with each other. He has an amazing WEBSITE which he uses to push the ideals of Harmonic Mixing. On his site, you can read MIXING TIPS to improve live DJ performances, aswell as aid in the creation of Mashups and Remixes. On the site, you can also find the DJ MIX GENERATOR. This is really cool. You pick a key, bpm, and style of music, and a list of matches is pulled from a large and regularily updated database of tunes. Many Mashup producers use the Generator when they are searching for jams to blend together.
DJs you NEED to check out this site. Everyone should get at it just for fun. It’s pretty dope.
OFCOURSE you can also go to DJ PRINCE’s site to get at all of his MASHUPS & REMIXES. You can also say “wadup” to him on FACEBOOK.
Tags:dj princeharmonic mixingmashupqueen
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6396
|
__label__wiki
| 0.552039
| 0.552039
|
10/12/2013: STATEMENT OF H.E. AMBASSADOR JOSE L. CUISIA, JR. ON IMMIGRATION RELIEF MEASURES FOR TYPHOON VICTIMS
Last month, Supertyphoon Haiyan wrought unprecedented havoc when it rampaged across the Central Philippines, leaving almost 6,000 people dead and more than 27,000 injured. Haiyan also displaced more than 4 million people, affected 12 million others and left hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Experts say it will take several years before the affected areas could fully recover.
The Philippine Embassy greatly appreciates the assistance extended by the United States Government and the American people, including the recent gesture that seeks to provide immigration relief for Filipinos currently in the US who may have been impacted by Haiyan.
The Embassy welcomes the announcement made by the US Customs and Immigration Services on 15 November 2013 that certain immigration relief measures can be extended to Filipinos affected by the typhoon on humanitarian grounds.
The Embassy is also aware of the strong interest of the Filipino Community, supported by members of the US Congress and leaders of the Catholic Church, for the US Government to place the Philippines under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and enable eligible Filipino nationals to support relief and rehabilitation efforts in the Philippines by allowing them to legally stay and work in the US for a certain period.
During the past several weeks, the Embassy has been consulting with US Government authorities on the TPS program and the designation process while coordinating typhoon relief efforts for the Philippines at the same time.
The Embassy has also been actively involved in consultations on this matter with leaders of the Filipino Community and other stakeholders, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and other concerned agencies in Manila.
The consultation process is still ongoing. When the decision on what action to take is finally made, it would be based on what the Philippine Government believes would be best for our country and our people.
JOSE L. CUISIA, JR.
Washington, D.C., 10 December 2013
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6397
|
__label__wiki
| 0.999792
| 0.999792
|
définition - The Whispers
This article is about The Whispers, an R&B vocal group from the U.S.. For the Australian band of this name, see Ray Brown & The Whispers.
Leaveil Degree
Wallace Scott
Marcus Hutson
Gordy Harmon
Jerry McNeil
The Whispers is a R&B-dance vocal group from Los Angeles, California, with a consistent track record of hit records dating back to the late 1960s.
3.1 Studio albums
3.2 Holiday albums
3.3 Live albums
The Whispers formed in 1964 in Watts, California. The original members included the twin brothers, Wallace "Scotty" and Walter Scott, along with Gordy Harmon, Marcus Hutson and Nicholas Caldwell. In 1973, Harmon was replaced by former Friends of Distinction member Leaveil Degree. Scotty Scott's fluid, melodic voice is featured on virtually all of their hits.
The group scored many hits on the R&B and Billboard Hot 100 charts throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and they hit #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1980 with "And the Beat Goes On " (not to be confused with Sonny and Cher's "The Beat Goes On") / "Can You Do the Boogie" / "Out the Box". In 1987, they enjoyed a brief tenure in the Top 40 when "Rock Steady" became their first Top 10 success on the Hot 100 (it reached #7) while also capturing the #1 spot on the R&B chart.
Although they recorded mainly in Philadelphia in the early to mid 70s, most of their studio work has been in Los Angeles. Their most successful period was in the 1980s with Solar Records (Sound Of Los Angeles Records), run by their manager at the time, Dick Griffey. The Whispers later founded their own Black Tie record label.
The group opened Game 2 of the 1989 World Series at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum with their rendition of the National Anthem.
Marcus Hutson left the group in 1992 due to illness. According to the Whispers' website, when Hutson died in 2000 they vowed to never replace him, and now perform as a quartet.
Jerry McNeil resigned his position as keyboardist in the later part of 1993, to spend more time with his family.
Wallace "Scotty" Scott (born September 23, 1943, Fort Worth, Texas)
Walter Scott (born September 23, 1943, Fort Worth, Texas)
Marcus Hutson (born January 8, 1943, St Louis, Missouri, died 2000)
Nicholas Caldwell (born April 5, 1944, Loma Linda, California)
Leaveil Degree (born July 31, 1948, New Orleans, Louisiana)
Grady Wilkins Musical Director, Vocals, Keyboards
Emilio Conesa Guitar
John Valentino Sax
Jamie Brewer Bass
Dewayne Sweet Keyboards
Magic Mendez Keyboards
Reggie Rugley Keys, Programmer
Dante Roberson Drummer
Chart positions[1]
certifications[2]
UK[3]
1972 The Whispers' Love Story 186 34 — — Janus
Life and Breath — 44 — —
1973 Planets of Life — 48 — —
1974 Bingo — 40 — —
1976 One for the Money 189 40 — — Soul Train
1977 Open Up Your Love 65 23 — —
1978 Headlights 77 22 — — SOLAR
1979 Whisper in Your Ear 146 28 — —
1980 The Whispers 6 1 — Platinum
1981 Imagination 23 3 42 Gold
This Kind of Lovin' 100 15 — —
1981 Love Is Where You Find It 35 1 — Gold
1983 Love for Love 37 2 — —
1984 So Good 88 8 — —
1987 Just Gets Better with Time 22 3 63 Platinum
1990 More of the Night 83 8 — Gold Capitol
1995 Toast to the Ladies 92 8 — —
1997 Songbook, Vol. 1: The Songs of Babyface — 27 — — Interscope
2006 For Your Ears Only — 88 — — [[Satin Tie|Kingdom]
2009 Thankful 172 25 — —
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or was not certified
1979 Happy Holidays to You 201 50 SOLAR
1982 Happy Holidays to You (re-release) — 58
1994 Christmas Moments — 42 Capitol
"—" denotes the album failed to chart
2007 Live from Las Vegas — — Satin Tie
1975 Greatest Hits — 48 Janus
1982 The Best of the Whispers 180 — SOLAR
1989 Vintage Whispers — —
1990 In the Mood — —
Greatest Hits — — Unidisc
1994 30th Anniversary Anthology — — Sequel
1996 Greatest Slow Jams, Vol. 1 — 87 SOLAR
1997 Greatest Hits — 89
2000 The Best of the Whispers — — EMI-Capitol
2001 Early Gold & New Spins — — Purple Pyramid
Greatest Slow Jams, Vol. 2 — — SOLAR
2002 Best of the Whispers — — BMG Int'l
2003 Anthology — — The Right Stuff
1970 "Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong" 50 6 — — —
"There's a Love for Everyone" 116 31 — — —
1971 "Your Love Is So Doggone Good" 93 19 — — —
1972 "Can't Help But Love You" 114 35 — — —
"I Only Meant to Wet My Feet" — 27 — — —
"Somebody Loves You" 94 45 — — —
1974 "A Mother for My Children" 92 32 — — —
"Bingo" — 40 — — —
"What More Can a Girl Ask For?" — 60 — — —
"Where There Is Love" — — — 15 —
1975 "In Love Forever" — 40 — — —
1976 "One for the Money (Part 1)" 88 10 — 4 —
"Living Together (In Sin)" 101 21 — — —
1977 "You're Only as Good as You Think You Are" — 91 — — —
"Make It with You" 94 10 — 16 —
"I'm Gonna Make You My Wife" — 54 — — —
1978 "(Let's Go) All the Way" 101 10 — — —
"(Olivia) Lost and Turned Out" — 13 — — —
1979 "Can't Do without Love" — 43 — — —
"Homemade Lovin'" — 66 — — —
"A Song for Donny" — 21 — — —
1980 "And the Beat Goes On" 19 1 — 1 2
"Lady" 28 3 40 — 55
"My Girl" — — — — 26
1981 "It's a Love Thing" 28 2 — 4 9
"I Can Make It Better" 105 40 — 44
"This Kind of Lovin'" — 17 — 20 —
1982 "In the Raw" 103 8 — 8 —
"Emergency" — 22 — — —
1983 "Tonight" 84 4 — 18 —
"Keep on Lovin' Me" — 4 — —
"This Time" 110 32 — — 81
1984 "Contagious" 105 10 — 59 56
1985 "Some Kinda Lover" 106 17 — — 91
"Don't Keep Me Waiting" — 60 — — —
"Hello Stranger" (with Carrie Lucas) — 20 — — —
1987 "And the Beat Goes On" (re-release) — — — — 45
"Rock Steady" 7 1 49 — 38
"Special F/X" — — — — 69
"Just Gets Better with Time" — 12 — — —
"In the Mood" — 16 — — —
1988 "No Pain, No Gain" — 74 — — 81
1990 "Innocent" 55 3 — — —
"My Heart Your Heart" — 4 — — —
1991 "Is It Good to You" — 7 — — —
"I Want 2B the 1 4U" — 58 — — —
1995 "Make Sweet Love to Me" — 41 — — —
"Come on Home" — 60 — — —
1996 "Caravan of Love" (with Russ Freeman & the Rippingtons) — 89 — — —
1997 "My, My, My" — 73 — — —
"—" denotes the single failed to chart
"Can't Help But Love You" was sampled by Mobb Deep on their promotional single Drop a Gem on 'em.
"And the Beat Goes On" would later be sampled on Will Smith's 1998 song, "Miami".
It can also be heard in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City; on the fictional radio station Fever 105; and is available on the game's aside selling merchandise of the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack.
The Rippingtons recorded a version of "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" on their CD album, Brave New World. The recording included samples of both "And the Beat Goes On" and "Rock Steady".
"No Pain, No Gain" would later be sampled on Surkin's 2008 track "Next Of Kin".
"So Good" was sampled by Madlib for Madvillain's "Eye Featuring Stacy Epps"
The Whispers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003.
List of number-one dance hits (United States)
List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
^ a b c "The Whispers US albums chart history". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5813/charts-awards/billboard-albums. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
^ "The Whispers US albums certification history". riaa.com. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=The%20Whispers&format=Album&go=Search&perPage=25. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
^ a b "The Whispers UK chart history". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=3252. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
^ "The Whispers US singles chart history". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p5813/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
allmusic Entry
The Whispers Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
The Whispers at Wenig-LaMonica Associates
The Whispers discography at Discogs
Planets Of Life (1970)
Life & Breath (1972)
Whispers Gettin' Louder (1974)
The Whispers (1976)
Open up Your Love (1977)
Happy Holidays to You (1979)
Whisper in Your Ear (1979)
Imagination (1980)
This Kind of Loving (1981)
Love Is Where You Find It (1981)
Love for Love (1983)
So Good (1984)
Just Gets Better with Time (1987)
Vintage Whispers (1989)
More of the Night (1990)
In The Mood (1990)
Somebody Loves You (1991)
Dr. Love (1993)
"Beat Goes On" (1994)
Christmas Moments (1994)
Toast to the Ladies (1995)
Songbook, Vol. 1: The Songs of Babyface (1997)
For Your Ears Only (2006)
"Best of" albums
The Best of The Whispers (1982) (RCA/SOLAR)
Greatest Hits (1997) (Right Stuff)
The Whispers Live from Las Vegas (2007)
"And The Beat Goes On" (1979)
"I Can Make It Better" (1980)
"It's a Love Thing" (1980)
"In The Raw" (1981)
"This Kind Of Loving" (1981)
"Emergency" (1982)
"Tonight" (1983)
"Some Kinda Lover" (1984)
"Contagious" (1984)
"Rock Steady" (1987)
"Is It Good To You" (1990)
Dick Griffey
Leon Sylvers III
L.A. & Babyface
Don Cornelius (1971–1993) · Mystro Clark (1997–1999) · Shemar Moore (1999–2003) · Dorian Gregory (2003–2006)
Tribune Entertainment · Trifecta Entertainment & Media
Seasons 1–9 · Seasons 10–19 · Seasons 20–29 · Seasons 30–37
Soul Train Records · SOLAR Records · Soul Train Music Awards
"TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" · "Soul Train's a Comin'"
King Curtis and The Rimshots · Gamble and Huff, MFSB and The Three Degrees · The Soul Train Gang · The Whispers · O'Bryan · George Duke · Naughty by Nature and Everette Harp · Dr. Freeze
WCIU-TV · Guests
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Whispers&oldid=501687883"
American rhythm and blues musical groups
American boogie musicians
American soul musical groups
SOLAR Records artists
Toutes les traductions de The Whispers
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6405
|
__label__wiki
| 0.793217
| 0.793217
|
Home-made artisanal food producing shows no sign of slowing down, and we’re all the better for it.
They’re the ingredients thrown into the weekly shopping basket without haste. Jars of juiciness, vac-packed meaty bits and tins of deliciousness. But “how hard could it be…?” is a question most of us have pondered while facing a block of cheese, knob of butter, or a jar of chutney.
The element of getting back to basics, of absorbing knowledge that feels long lost between supermarket aisles and the pre-packaged is unmistakably appealing. They’re the product of our ancestry, made that little bit less romantic once you throw in mass production. But if you’re curious enough about food and have a particular interest, why wouldn’t you want to break down the smoke screen and find out how these techniques work?
For an age, bread was the classic no-go area. It was where off-the-shelf would always do. But the nation’s addiction to baking shows enabled a myth to be dispelled. It dusted off a nation of have-a-go-bakers to get the loaf tins out and flour onto the worktops.
Getting back to basics, absorbing the knowledge that feels long lost between supermarket aisles and the pre-packaged is unmistakably appealing
Then we started getting into it a bit more. It became a thing to start curing your own bacon, smoking your own fish, brewing your own beer and making your own chocolate. All kinds of kits and boxes started coming out, with step-by-step guides and finely-tuned measures and contraptions to get you started.
“A lot of people are turning against the bland of the supermarket,” says Philip Wilton, a cheesemonger based in Tottenham, London. “Everything in a supermarket is made to specification – nobody hates or likes what you’re making. There’s a march towards producing artisanal food that’s local and has ethical value.”
Philip began making cheese in his kitchen around three years ago as a way of exploring a hobby. Though he had a “proper job with a steady income”, it became clearer that it wasn’t what he really wanted. “I started looking around for other hobbies and interests. I took a few courses – bread and cheese.” At first, he made cheese for friends and family. “It started as a hobby. I do like to bake, and make jams and chutneys. It took a while for the penny to drop that actually, just because we live in London doesn’t mean we can’t make cheese. We’d originally dismissed cheese because you immediately imagine rolling hills and cattle. But why can’t I do that? I could take something I enjoy doing and turn it into a business.” And most importantly, Philip is keen to separate the ideas of manufacturers and makers. “I’m never a manufacturer, always a food maker. I have a repertoire and make different types of cheese through the year,” he says.
Upscaling for business meant his hobby outgrew his kitchen. And so out of a space equivalent in size to a double garage, Philip’s business Wildes Cheese produces up to 50kg of cheese a week, his USP being it’s all made in London. “It surprises people that I insist on making it in Tottenham. It was important to me to stay here and be part of its regeneration.”
The back-to-basics idea is also very closely aligned with our increasing concern for keeping our food British, local, and supporting one another. And so it took a shrewd chap to pair his love of the French confit duck leg with the mission to support British produce. Kane Moore, founder of Confit Comme Ça, has satiated his love of a French delicacy that is hard to track down here in the UK and turned it into a business which started in his kitchen. Using British duck leg, Kane is confident his home-spun idea will appeal to fellow artisanal food-lovers and producers alike.
“I used to go to the Midi-Pyrénées in France a lot, and used to bring back tins of confit duck. I happened to be talking to a friend about two years ago about an idea to set up a food website. I’d always had the intention to start a business, even though my background isn’t in food,” he says.
Kane began holding tastings in his flat as he worked through the best and worst of cookbooks, trying to perfect the confit recipe. “I started off in a shared flat cooking about 100 duck legs, which annoyed my flat mates! But now I have my own place in Hackney,” (where he’s been bitten by the bug and is now building a cold smoker).
From kitchen counters to deli counters, there’s a positive perpetual spin occurring with local, artisnal food. The freedom of information, the brimming curiosity and the desire to understand is creating a movement that’s less about being a “foodie”, and more about appreciating and nurturing age-old techniques, which, while there’s never any danger in lost knowledge, there’s no harm in learning – just in case.
artisan producers, business, food security, home, producers
Tupperware, food and feminism
Q&A with Daniel Young of young&foodish
No reservations? I have some.
‘Twas the feast before Christmas
One of the earliest food-orientated pleasures of childhood can be traced back to leaving out snacks for Santa and Rudolph.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6406
|
__label__wiki
| 0.540833
| 0.540833
|
Winter's Reach by Craig Schaefer (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)
Order Winter's Reach HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Craig Schaefer was born in Chicago and wanted to be a writer since a very young age. His writing was inspired by Elmore Leonard, Richard Stark, Clive Barker & H. P. Lovecraft. After reaching his 40th birthday he decided to give in to his passion and since then has released six novels in about fourteen months. He currently lives in Joielt, Illinois and loves visiting museums and libraries for inspiration.
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: Pope Benignus is dying, and the man who takes his throne will hold the reins of an empire. Conspiracies swirl like shadows around Livia, the pope's daughter, who refuses to be anyone's pawn: chasing the whispers of a deadly coup, she vows to expose the truth and save her church from disaster. Livia has secrets of her own, though, and one wrong move could cost her life and her soul.
Felix is the scion of a dying merchant house, a man with just one chance to save his family and the woman he loves. His last hope lies in the snowbound hell of Winter's Reach, a former prison colony turned "free city" under a brutal tyrant's reign.
Livia and Felix have never crossed paths, but they've both been snared in a far greater web than they can imagine. They -- along with a pair of veteran bounty hunters, an exiled politician, and a sadistic coven of witches -- are cogs in one man's apocalyptic plan for revenge. A plan which, if it succeeds, will leave an entire nation in flames.
FORMAT/INFO: Winter’s Reach is 367 pages long divided over fifty-six chapters. Narration is in the third-person, via Felix Rossini, Werner Holst, Lodovico Marchetti, Amadeo Lagorio, Simon Koertig, Livia Benignus, Basilio Grimaldi, Mari Renault, Hedy, Renata, Bear, Dante Uccello and a couple of other minor characters. This is the first volume of The Revanche Cycle.
November 11, 2014 marked the North American paperback and e-book publication of Winter’s Reach and it was self-published by the author. Cover art and design is by James T. Egan of Bookfly Design.
CLASSIFICATION: Featuring a vast character cast, and focusing on political, religious and magical intrigue. The Revanche Cycle is very reminiscent of the works of Jennifer Fallon, Tad Williams and Daniel Abraham.
ANALYSIS: This is the first volume of the Revanche cycle and is set in a world that's very reminiscent of medieval Italy. The story features a multitude of POVs and is an epic fantasy that slowly introduces the world and magic system. One of the first POV characters we come across is Felix Rossini who is the second scion of a house in financial tatters. Felix has plans to rescue his house's worth and fortunes however he has to be taciturn as he has a secret worth protecting. The next POVs are Werner Holst and Mari Renault, a pair of mercenaries who are horrified by their last job, which resulted in the burning of an (alleged) teenage witch.
Lodovico Marchetti is a merchant lord who is planning quite a few things in the city of Mirenze and has things in motion that will unsettle things across the lands. Simon Koertig is his accountant who also doubles up as an assassin who likes to kill in numerous ways. Amadeo Lagorio is a priest who serves as confidant and confessor to the dying Pope Benignus. Lastly there's Livia who is the first born papal child who is forced to abandon her leadership credentials simply because of the patriarchal society.
These are the major POV characters and there are a few more introduced but basically the plot hinges around the actions of the afore-mentioned characters as well as the plot twists that have been set by the author. The primary draw of the story is the strong characterization, beginning with both male and female characters, as well as the antagonists and protagonists. The author absolutely nails down these characters and as each chapter focuses upon a new one we get a very multi-faceted view of the world within. This approach was very reminiscent of George R.R. Martin’s ASOIAF, while Craig Schaefer cannot claim the same high level prose, he does emulate GRRM’s ability to make the reader invested in the POV of the character they are currently reading.
My favorite characters were Mari, Livia, Felix and Simon. Mari is a person suffering from a severe form of PTSD due to her family dying in a horrible manner. Livia bristles against the patriarchal traps set by the society and is forced to watch her father's crown pass own to her drunken sot of a brother. Felix is an honest person forced to take gargantuan risks to save his family, marry the love of his life and possibly make the Rossinni clan a successful one again. Lastly there's also Simon who while being a murderer is very intriguing with his narrow-minded focus and multi-variate ways to kill people. These characters and others truly make the story that much more shining. I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the story wherein we truly get a 360-degree view into the happenings of the story.
The next positive factor is the top-notch plot pace as frequently we end a chapter and the next chapter easily shifts the focus on to a new person thereby amping up the tension as well as intrigue. The overall plot while seemingly predictable has plenty of plot twists to keep readers guessing and ultimately take quite an unorthodox route to the climax. I enjoyed how the author explored the various roles especially vis-a-vis the female characters stuck in a patriarchal society. Both Livia and Mari are quite fierce, capable characters who strive to make the best of their sordid situations. I believe the author has special plans for both of them and I'm very excited to see what arcs they end up taking.
While expecting a medieval epic fantasy, the author certainly undercuts expectations by providing a very fast-paced character driven story that while being fantasy has magic in very small amounts (This was very GRRM-esque). Of course there are hints provided about the true nature of the world, also there's a fantastic sequence over water that features a creature that is sure to provide terrify readers. Also there's a certain sound associated with the creature and I can't wait to read how the author imagines it to be.
The storyline is also not without its flaws, the background history of the world isn’t really explored and only hints are strewn through. The magic system also seems to be a tad confusing and I hope the author shines a light on it in the sequel volumes. Lastly as with any fantasy series, a map is always a plus. This series doesn't have one and as a cartophile, I was disappointed.
CONCLUSION: Overall this story ends on a strong note and leaves almost all characters in certain places because of which readers will be compelled to pick up the second volume The Instruments Of Control. I believe this is book one on a series of four books and I started reading the second book almost immediately after I finished this one. Winter' Reach is the start of a fascinating political fantasy that will be sure to find its fans. Make sure you graba copy and enjoy Craig Schaefer's magnificent skills.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6409
|
__label__wiki
| 0.876448
| 0.876448
|
Sun-safe innovation calls Gold Coast home
Everyone knows to cover up with sunscreen before a long, hot session in the sun, but it won’t last all day. Sunscreen may be tough enough to withstand the sun’s harsh light, but it can’t stand up to an all-day playlist of swimming, running and towelling off.
Imagine if you could know exactly when it’s time to reapply. Not only would you avoid days of painful sunburn, but it might even save your life.
“It’s particularly important in Queensland, which is the skin cancer capital of the world,” says Sam Sheehan, Suncayr’s managing director in Australia and Asia.
“That’s partly why we made the decision to launch on the Gold Coast.”
The brainchild of a team of scientists and engineers committed to fighting cancer, the Suncayr dream began four years ago in Canada, far from the sunny shores of southeast Queensland.
A sticker made of synthetic skin may not seem like fashionable beachwear, but it’s the latest tool in the battle against melanoma.
“SPOTMYUV reacts to the environment in an accurate way,” Sheehan says. “You put it on, apply your sunscreen, then enjoy your day.”
Once your sunscreen wears off, the SPOTMYUV sticker begins to turn purple as it absorbs ultraviolet rays.
“If it’s turned purple, it’s time to put on a new layer of sunscreen,” he says. “Once you do, the sticker will turn clear again.”
Water resistant, unobtrusive, and subject to more than 13 clinical trials, SPOTMYUV is Suncayr’s flagship product and the result of years of research and development.
“When we launched SPOTMYUV last October, we did it on the Gold Coast,” Sheehan says.
The Suncayr team first came to the Gold Coast for the 2018 Investment Trade Show that coincided with the Commonwealth Games.
“I’m from Brisbane, so I knew the Gold Coast as more of a holiday destination,” he says. “I didn’t think it was a viable business hub.”
It was exactly the kind of view the City of Gold Coast Council has been working hard to change. The trade show was a part of Trade 2018, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Trade and Investment Program, which aimed to promote business, trade and investment for Queensland and the Gold Coast in particular, both at home and internationally.
An evaluation report released this week was overwhelmingly positive. A whopping 94 per cent of delegates surveyed indicated a positive experience, and 76 per cent of respondents said Trade 2018 had improved their perspective on the Gold Coast as a viable place to do business.
That was certainly the case for Suncayr: “It showed us there was much more support available from both the Council and the Queensland Government than we expected. Trade 2018 really clinched it for us.”
That support helped Suncayr to establish their Australian HQ on the Gold Coast in September 2018, something Sheehan was very happy about.
“I was a big fan of the move because it fits in so exactly with our mantra,” he says.
“The weather’s great, council and government support is terrific, and everyone’s so aware of skin cancer. We couldn’t have a more perfect home than the Gold Coast.”
Categories: Health, Travel
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6410
|
__label__wiki
| 0.559123
| 0.559123
|
Weekly News on Hottopics(December 4,2020)
The State Council: Encourage to increase the license plate indicator and sell vehicles in rural areas
Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council, presided over the executive meeting of the State Council on November 18, calling for plans to boost the consumption of bulk commodities and promote the release of rural consumption potential and clearly pointing out that it is necessary to stabilize and expand the auto consumption. He encouraged to adjust and optimize the purchase restriction measures and increase the license plate indicator; encouraged qualified areas to subsidize rural residents who meet the relevant conditions; and encouraged to optimize the use environment and facilitate the construction of parking lots, charging piles and other facilities.
Zhengzhou Government plans to obsolete 17,000 China III vehicles and prohibit China IV vehicles from running in urban areas
Zhengzhou Government issued a document to specify the obsoleting target of China III trucks: 17,121 in 2020 and 7,337 in 2021. From November 1, 2020, major bulk material transportation enterprises are prohibited from using China IV diesel-powered trucks or those below this emission standard to transporting materials in the fourth ring road of Zhengzhou City.
The RCEP is reached and new opportunities are provided for Chinese auto companies to "go global".
On November 15, 15 countries, including ten countries of ASEAN, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, formally signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the largest free trade agreement in the world. Southeast Asia has a huge emerging market, which will bring opportunities for Chinese auto companies to "go global".
The growth momentum of the auto market is still strong in November, and the growth in the first half of the month is considerable.
According to the statistics of the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), in the first week of November (1st-8th days), the average daily retail sales of passenger vehicles reached 35,094, up 20% year on year and up 42% compared with that of the first week of October, showing a stable performance. In the second week of November (9th-15th days), the average daily retail sales of passenger vehicles reached 49,854, up 15% year on year but down 13% compared with that of the second week of October. It is important to note that it is normal that the retail sales volume in the second week of November was lower than that in the second week of October. It was mainly due to the centralized receipt of orders in the National Day holiday and the centralized delivery of vehicles in the second week of October, so the performance in the second week of November was slightly worse than that of the same period in October.
Hefei Government issues a document to speed up the development of new energy automobile industry
Hefei Government proposes that, by 2025, key technologies such as NEVs, power batteries, drive motors and on-board operating systems will reach the international advanced level; highly autonomous intelligent connected vehicles will be used in commercial applications in defined areas and specific scenarios, and the development of NEVs will be integrated with that of transportation, energy, information and communication; the scale of the new energy automobile industry will exceed 100 billion, the vehicle production capacity will reach 1 million, the quality and brands will be internationally competitive, and Hefei will become an important new energy automobile industry base in China.
FAW-Volkswagen upgrades its electrification strategy based on MEB platform
On November 19, FAW-Volkswagen held the launching ceremony of upgrading its product electrification strategy. Previously, FAW-Volkswagen released the first ID. series model - ID.CORZZ. MEB's "Smart Factory" has been built in Foshan.
MAXUS: Launch more than ten NEVs within 5 years.
At the 2020 Guangzhou Auto Show, the MAXUS NEW concept truck was officially unveiled. It is designed as a battery electric pickup truck. According to MAXUS, it will launch more than ten NEV models in the next five years and will achieve the goal that the new energy sales will account for more than 30% of the total by 2025.
Lifan Motors will be an "OEM" of Geely and will first mass-produce MAPLE 80V.
Lifan Motors announced at its second extraordinary general meeting in 2020 that, once the reorganization was complete, it would mass-produce Geely's battery-swapping electric MPV - MAPLE 80V. MAPLE was officially released in April this year. The first model is the small battery electric SUV - MAPLE 30X and the second mass-produced model is MAPLE 80V.
Svolt Energy's 24GWH new battery factory will be located in Germany
On November 17, Svolt Energy announced that it planned to invest about EUR 2 billion (about USD 2.4 billion) to build its first European battery factory and battery module and battery pack factory in Saarland, Germany. The battery factory is expected to be put into operation by the end of 2023. The factory will have a production capacity of 24GWh and will provide power for 300,000 to 500,000 electric vehicles per year. The battery module and battery pack factory is expected to be put into operation in mid-2022.
The Mutual Recognition Roadmap of Intelligent Connected Vehicle Tests is officially released
On November 13, the Mutual Recognition Roadmap of Intelligent Connected Vehicle Tests was officially released. It lists the problems affecting mutual recognition of the tests from the aspects of vehicle, scenario, people, network and management, and proposes to advance the objectives, schedules and main tasks of mutual recognition of road test results and test notices of intelligent connected vehicles by stages and regions. It proposes to realize mutual recognition of test results by the end of 2021 and that of test notices in 2022 ~ 2023.
Bosch China Innovation and Software Development Center opens Wuxi.
On November 19, Bosch China Innovation and Software Development Center officially opened in Wuxi. It is the first software development center opened by Bosch Group in China. With an initial investment of over CNY 35 million, the center is committed to further strengthening local innovation and software development capabilities and developing cutting-edge technologies and solutions suitable for the Chinese market.
iFLYTEK releases three core car networking system solutions.
iFLYTEK officially released three core car networking system solutions. The solutions are "Feiyu OS MATE 2021", "Feiyu Smart Assistant MM 2021" and "Feiyu Smart Cloud 1.0". These systems will solve the current interaction problems between people and cars, and strive to provide users with immersive car-machine interaction experience.
PlusAI cooperates with BlackBerry in applying QNX OS for Safety on autonomous heavy trucks
PlusAI announced that it had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with BlackBerry. According to the agreement, PlusAI will use BlackBerry's QNX OS for Safety that has passed ISO 26262 ASIL-D safety certification. It helps to further enhance the safety and reliability of the autonomous driving system on the basis of the underlying system.
Audi cooperates deeply with Alibaba in intelligent driving
On November 19, Alibaba and Audi jointly announced the deepening of strategic cooperation. Audi's next-generation models will customize a navigation system suitable for the habits of Chinese users based on Amap's navigation engine and service capabilities. At the same time, they will be equipped with Tmall Genie's on-board intelligent assistant to upgrade the capabilities like home-car connection to meet the diversified needs of Chinese users. In the future, the cooperation between the two parties will be based on the services of Amap and Tmall Genie, and will be extended to other areas of Alibaba's economy to jointly promote innovation in the automotive industry.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6415
|
__label__cc
| 0.708922
| 0.291078
|
Technology Ventures Funds Blue Planet
HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today announced a Series C investment in San Jose-based Blue Planet Systems Corporation (“Blue Planet”), a startup that manufactures and develops carbonate aggregates and carbon capture technology intended to reduce the carbon intensity of industrial operations.
Chevron Technology Ventures’ ongoing investment in carbon capture and utilization technologies supports Chevron’s focus on a diverse portfolio of lower-carbon solutions. In connection with its investment, Chevron and Blue Planet also executed a letter of intent to collaborate on potential pilot projects and commercial development in key geographies, with the goal of jointly advancing lower-carbon opportunities.
Blue Planet creates carbonate-based building aggregate made from flue gas-captured CO2. Distinct from some other industrial carbon capture and utilization technologies, Blue Planet’s process does not require CO2 purification and enrichment prior to use which can reduce cost and unit energy consumed during capture. Founded in 2013, Blue Planet’s technology potentially enables permanent capture of CO2 in building materials at scale, converting CO2 to a lower-carbon product for sale in the growing global market of aggregates.
“Carbon capture, utilization, and storage, or CCUS, is viewed to be essential to advancing progress toward the global net zero ambition of the Paris Agreement,” said Barbara Burger, VP of innovation and president of Technology Ventures at Chevron. “This investment is made through our Future Energy Fund which focuses on startups with lower-carbon technologies that can scale commercially, and we welcome Blue Planet to this portfolio,” said Burger.
“Chevron is a leader in scouting and identifying innovative and game-changing approaches to lower-carbon intensity,” said Brent Constantz, founder, CEO, and chief scientist at Blue Planet. “The investment may also provide future opportunities to incorporate Blue Planet’s approach into Chevron’s projects.”
About Chevron Technology Ventures
Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) pursues externally developed technologies and new business solutions that have the potential to enhance the way Chevron produces and delivers affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy. CTV leverages innovative companies and technologies to strengthen Chevron’s core operations and identifies new opportunities to shape the future of energy. For more information, visit www.chevron.com/technology/technology-ventures.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS RELEVANT TO FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF “SAFE HARBOR” PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to Chevron’s operations that are based on management’s current expectations, estimates and projections about the petroleum, chemicals, and other energy-related industries. Words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “targets,” “forecasts,” “projects,” “believes,” “seeks,” “schedules,” “estimates,” “positions,” “pursues,” “may,” “can,” “should,” “will,” “budgets,” “outlook,” “trends,” “guidance,” “focus,” “on schedule,” “on track,” “is slated,” “goals,” “objectives,” “strategies,” “opportunities,” “poised,” “potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the company’s control and are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. The reader should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Unless legally required, Chevron undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are: changing crude oil and natural gas prices and demand for our products, and production curtailments due to market conditions; crude oil production quotas or other actions that might be imposed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producing countries; public health crises, such as pandemics (including coronavirus (COVID-19)) and epidemics, and any related government policies and actions; changing economic, regulatory and political environments in the various countries in which the company operates; general domestic and international economic and political conditions; changing refining, marketing and chemicals margins; the company’s ability to realize anticipated cost savings, expenditure reductions and efficiencies associated with enterprise transformation initiatives; actions of competitors or regulators; timing of exploration expenses; timing of crude oil liftings; the competitiveness of alternate-energy sources or product substitutes; technological developments; the results of operations and financial condition of the company’s suppliers, vendors, partners and equity affiliates, particularly during extended periods of low prices for crude oil and natural gas during the COVID-19 pandemic; the inability or failure of the company’s joint-venture partners to fund their share of operations and development activities; the potential failure to achieve expected net production from existing and future crude oil and natural gas development projects; potential delays in the development, construction or start-up of planned projects; the potential disruption or interruption of the company’s operations due to war, accidents, political events, civil unrest, severe weather, cyber threats, terrorist acts, or other natural or human causes beyond the company’s control; the potential liability for remedial actions or assessments under existing or future environmental regulations and litigation; significant operational, investment or product changes required by existing or future environmental statutes and regulations, including international agreements and national or regional legislation and regulatory measures to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions; the potential liability resulting from pending or future litigation; the company’s ability to successfully integrate the operations of Chevron and Noble Energy and achieve the anticipated benefits from the acquisition of Noble Energy; the company’s future acquisitions or dispositions of assets or shares or the delay or failure of such transactions to close based on required closing conditions; the potential for gains and losses from asset dispositions or impairments; government mandated sales, divestitures, recapitalizations, industry-specific taxes, tariffs, sanctions, changes in fiscal terms or restrictions on scope of company operations; foreign currency movements compared with the U.S. dollar; material reductions in corporate liquidity and access to debt markets; the receipt of required Board authorizations to pay future dividends; the effects of changed accounting rules under generally accepted accounting principles promulgated by rule-setting bodies; the company’s ability to identify and mitigate the risks and hazards inherent in operating in the global energy industry; and the factors set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” on pages 18 through 21 of the company’s 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K, as updated by Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in the company’s subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and in other subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Other unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed in this news release could also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements.
Mary Murrin, mmurrin@chevron.com, +1 832-421-6996
Previous 28th Annual Emerald Groundhog Day Investment Forum Goes Virtual as Pandemic Casts a Long Shadow
Next CoolSys Hires Jamie Williams as Chief Information and Technology Officer
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6416
|
__label__wiki
| 0.923875
| 0.923875
|
Argos axes ‘book of dreams’ catalogue after 48 years
“The laminated book of dreams,” was how comedian Bill Bailey jokingly described the plastic-coated Argos catalogue.
But 48 years on from its launch, the catalogue is finally coming to an end.
The encyclopedia-like catalogues, the basis of many a child’s Christmas wishlist, will no longer be regularly printed by the end of the January 2021.
The catalogue was first launched in 1972 and at its peak was Europe’s most widely-printed publication, with only the bible in more homes across the UK.
Comedian Alan Carr famously picked the Argos catalogue as his book choice on Radio 4’s programme Desert Island Discs.
“At least ‘there’s pictures,” he said at the time. “I feel it would help me through.”
But now Argos says that online shopping offers “greater convenience” than flicking through its print catalogue and no further take-home editions of the catalogue will be produced. Instead, its products will be only listed and displayed online.
The catalogue was first launched in 1972
The retailer has produced more than one billion copies of its bi-annual catalogue during its 48-year run.
The catalogue was first launched in 1972 and quickly became synonymous with the brand.
‘Childhood ruined’
During its heyday, its pages featured the likes of Emma Bunton and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
It became so popular that at one stage more than 10 million copies were printed.
However, that dipped to around three million copies when the now-final version was released in January this year.
As word of the catalogue’s demise spread across social media there was an outpouring of grief.
Many declared childhood had been “ruined” by the news and decrying that children will never know the joys of circling potential birthday and Christmas gifts.
‘RIP Argos’ wrote one person, while another said it was another “horror” for 2020.
However, others suggested the catalogue had become outdated in recent years, and said Argos had made the right decision to go digital.
‘Changing tastes’
Mark Given, chief marketing officer at Sainsbury’s – which owns Argos, said the move was in response to a shift in customers’ shopping habits.
“Over the decades the Argos catalogue has charted the nation’s changing tastes and trends in everything from must-have toys to the latest gadgets and devices,” he said.
“Just as our customers’ tastes have changed over the years, so have their shopping habits. We’re seeing an increasing shift towards digital shopping, using our mobile app, website and in-store browsers.”
Customers shopping on smartphones and tablets now account for more than 70% of all Argos online sales.
The retailer said it would still produce a print version of its annual Christmas gift guide.
‘March of technology’
Steve Dresser, director at Grocery Insight, told the BBC that it had only been a matter of time before the retailer made the shift to digital-only.
“Everyone uses the internet for ordering nowadays, and e-commerce is experiencing a stratospheric rise again,” he explained.
“Post-Covid 19 there is even less of a call for a catalogue.
“The reality is the march of technology and progression doesn’t spare anything, not even the beloved Argos catalogue.”
Last year, Argos made all its back catalogues available to browse online, letting consumers reminisce over everything from the 1974 hostess trolley (then priced at £43) to the 1987 personal stereo (£19.95).
Tags:Argos axes book catalogue dreams years
← German economy suffers sharpest decline on record
Coronavirus: US economy sees sharpest contraction in decades →
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6418
|
__label__wiki
| 0.642197
| 0.642197
|
Ashish Kumar Sen
Deputy Director, Editorial, Atlantic Council
From 2003 to 2014, Ashish was an editor and wrote on foreign affairs for The Washington Times, where he most recently served as the State Department Correspondent. He has reported from several countries, including India, Israel, Pakistan, and South Sudan. Ashish has written on a wide range of global developments, including terrorism in South Asia and Africa; the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt, Libya, and Syria; crises on the Korean Peninsula; nuclear talks with Iran; security and human rights in China; and Russian politics and foreign policy. He has covered visits by heads of state and government to Washington as well as United Nations sessions in New York. Ashish has also served as the Washington Correspondent for Outlook magazine and The Tribune, which are based in India.
His articles have been published in other international publications and news websites, including the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Khaleej Times, Gulf News, and Asia Times Online.
Articles by Ashish Kumar Sen
Contributions to NATO More Than Just Budgetary, says Canada’s Defense Minister
NATO member states’ defense expenditure must be measured in much more than just budgetary terms.
Chuck Hagel to Next US President: Talk to Putin
NATO must be careful not to get embroiled in a “Cold War buildup” with Russia, and the next US president must make it a priority to engage directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg Stands Up for the Alliance
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg refused to wade into US domestic politics, but he delivered a forceful defense of the Alliance on April 6 in remarks that may be interpreted as a firm rebuttal to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s criticism of the grouping as “obsolete.”
Poland’s President Seeks Stronger NATO Presence in Europe’s East
Real deterrence means real presence and US presence is vital
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6423
|
__label__wiki
| 0.910956
| 0.910956
|
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Gaming Demo
GamerHub.TV Staff
Published March 23, 2015 12:27 AM
Samsung showcased the gaming capabilities of its new Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone in this exclusive demo from the Samsung Studio at SXSW 2015 in Austin, TX.
Subscribe for daily gaming industry news - http://tinyurl.com/ny4j9k6
Find more daily content on http://shacknews.com
Total War: Warhammer II Skaven Developer Interview
Total War: Warhammer II Skaven Developer Interview. Total War: Warhammer II is an upcoming turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It is part of the Total War video game series and a sequel to 2016's Total War: Warhammer.
Published August 18, 2017 11:25 AM , by
Total War: Warhammer II Skaven Battle Gameplay
Total War: Warhammer II Skaven Battle Gameplay. Total War: Warhammer II is an upcoming turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It is part of the Total War video game series and a sequel to 2016's Total War: Warhammer CONNECT WITH US! FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/shacknews TWITTER: https://twitter.com/shacknews INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/shacknews Total War: Warhammer II Skaven Battle Gameplay. Watch us live at http://www.twitch.tv/shacknews To support the team, visit the site: http://www.shacknews.com
Published August 17, 2017 7:00 AM , by
Total War: Warhammer II Skaven Campaign Map Gameplay
Total War: Warhammer II Skaven Campaign Map Gameplay. Total War: Warhammer II is an upcoming turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It is part of the Total War video game series and a sequel to 2016's Total War: Warhammer. CONNECT WITH US! FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/shacknews TWITTER: https://twitter.com/shacknews INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/shacknews Watch us live at http://www.twitch.tv/shacknews To support the team, visit the site: http://www.shacknews.com
Total War: Warhammer II Skaven Hero Overview
Total War: Warhammer II Skaven Hero Overview. Total War: Warhammer II is an upcoming turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It is part of the Total War video game series and a sequel to 2016's Total War: Warhammer CONNECT WITH US! FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/shacknews TWITTER: https://twitter.com/shacknews INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/shacknews Watch us live at http://www.twitch.tv/shacknews To support the team, visit the site: http://www.shacknews.com
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6424
|
__label__wiki
| 0.583401
| 0.583401
|
Working for one of the biggest names in coffee shops worldwide has opened up a whole new world of opportunities for Waterside men, Stephen O’Hara and Calvin Hume.
Based at Starbucks on Crescent Link, Calvin and Stephen have risen through the ranks from baristas to coffee masters to their current positions of supervisors thanks to apprenticeships through Babcock Training. It’s proved to be the perfect career path for two young men who were undecided about what to do with their lives.
Stephen, now 24, said: “I started a part-time job in Starbucks but I saw an ad for the apprenticeship and my manager told me about the benefits and gains from doing one, as well as the fact that it’s paid, so I thought I might as well. I finished my apprenticeship in Level 3 Hospitality, Supervision and Leadership last year.
“I’ve been here nearly five years and I’ve worked my way up the ladder. I love everything about it, especially the camaraderie, I see the people I work with more than my actual family. I really enjoy the role of supervisor.
“The apprenticeship was great, it was really good having the one-to-one with a tutor, Gillian. She was always there, no matter what, she was only just an email away and she never left me stuck and she was always so patient, she knew how busy we are here. If I was struggling to meet a deadline, she would either extend it or help me meet it. She was always pushing me, the support I got from her was unbelievable.
“Having the qualifications, particularly the Level 3, probably helped me get my job as supervisor, I learned a lot of valuable information. A lot of courses are just about listening and there’s not a lot you can apply in the real world, but everything I learned on the apprenticeship was applicable in this job.
“Gillian would come into work after I finished a shift so it was really handy. We would go over what I had done – I had to keep a really detailed journal – and she would make sure I fully understood what I was talking about. She would also do a voice recording for her records so I could keep track of everything I had achieved.
“The apprenticeship is very well done, the way it’s set out. I have applied and been accepted into university three times – but each time when it comes to it, I just think ‘no’. A degree is a lot of money for something that you don’t know for sure you want to do. I would recommend the apprenticeship path 100 per cent to anyone. It didn’t feel like ‘education’.”
21-year-old Calvin joined Starbucks two years ago after leaving school with no firm idea about what to do next. He said: “I got a part-time job and went on the Starbucks Experience after a couple of months where they mentioned apprenticeships. I came back and said to my manager that I would be interested but she said I had to be with the company longer, but she let the area manager know I was keen and she got back to me and got me signed up with Babcock Training. I’ve now completed Level 2 Food and Beverage and I’ve signed up for level 3 this week!
“Through Babcock, I also got my English while doing level 2, because I had left school without it, so that’s a great benefit.
“The apprenticeship is pencilled into your shift so you can go straight into it, you don’t have to come in on your day off, so it works really easily. The course also gives you so much experience, if I hadn’t done it, I probably would have stayed a coffee master and not moved into a supervisor position.
“It’s also a great way of learning. The tutors are very straight-to-the-point, they help you find the simplest way of doing things. Hugh would explain everything that I had to do in a very clear way so I would know exactly what I had to do for each test or observation.
“Starbucks is a very fast-paced environment, you have to be on your toes, but doing the apprenticeship prepares you for that. I would certainly recommend it to others. I get paid for being an apprentice while getting all the perks of the job too.
“I enjoy doing this work and it’s become even more enjoyable since I became a supervisor. I feel more confident, more mature, you have to be patient and professional. I’ve got all this experience and the qualifications too so I can do so much in the future.”
Andrea Smyth, Manager of Starbucks Crescent Link, said: “There are a lot of advantages to having apprentices. We know they will be more involved in what’s happening on their shift, it gives them a better understanding of why we ask certain things of them from a business point of view and we find apprentices want to learn and want to stay. They get something extra out of the job, not just the basics. I would definitely recommend it to other businesses, it gives your staff encouragement to stay and the opportunity to grow within the company. It also builds a lot of confidence in an individual and that’s something that will never leave them.”
The placements came about through Babcock Training which is contracted by the Department for the Economy to supply level two and level three Apprenticeship programmes in hospitality, retail and customer service to young people aged between 16 and 24.
Maria Clifford from Babcock said: “Babcock Training is a trusted name across the training and apprenticeships market. We have an enviable track record in delivering intelligent and compelling workforce development solutions to local employers. All elements of the Apprenticeship provision is delivered in the workplace by the sector qualified Regional Trainers and Essential skills tutors and we are graded as an ‘outstanding provider’ by the Education Training Inspectorate (ETI).”
Babcock is one of several training organisations working with Derry City and Strabane District Council as part of its Apprenticeship Campaign.
Tina Gillespie, Skills Manager with Derry City and Strabane District Council, wants to highlight the importance of apprenticeship opportunities for young people in the Council area. She said:
“Apprenticeships encourage young people to look at vocational options for training in their chosen profession through on-the-job training, study, an industry-recognised qualification and earning a wage.
“We are delighted at the successes of Stephen and Calvin and hope that they will encourage more young people to look at the many apprenticeship opportunities that exist across many sectors, from engineering and law, to construction and fashion design.”
For further information on Babcock Training and the apprenticeships they offer, contact Maria on 078 9460 4288 or maria.clifford@babcockinternational.com or to find out more about apprenticeships in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area, visit: www.getapprenticeships.me
Budget Energy staff on the road to success with Apprenticeships SME Innovation Award at the NI Apprenticeship Awards
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6427
|
__label__cc
| 0.722662
| 0.277338
|
Andrew Smith III [Parents] was born on 17 Jul 1619 in Farsley, West Riding, Yorkshire, England. He died on 16 May 1671 in Farsley, West Riding, Yorkshire, England. He was buried in Calverley Church, Yorkshire, England. Andrew married Sarah Foster Booke on 17 Apr 1643 in Calverley, Yorkshire, England.
Sarah Foster Booke was born in 1623. She died in Hopewell, Hunterdon, New Jersey. Sarah married Andrew Smith III on 17 Apr 1643 in Calverley, Yorkshire, England.
M i Andrew Smith IV was born about 1645. He died in 1703/1704.
Sarah Smith was born on 15 Sep 1659 in Calverley, Yorkshire, England.
Jeremiah Smith was born on 29 Mar 1662 in Calverley, Yorkshire, England.
F iv
Hannah Smith was born on 28 Dec 1665 in Calverley, Yorkshire, England.
William C Breckenridge Best [Parents] was born on 24 Aug 1860 in Benton City, Daviess, Missouri, USA. He died on 6 May 1934 in Kansas, United States.
He had the following children.
M i Howard S Best was born in Dec 1883.
Howard Boon Best [Parents] was born on 7 Jul 1818 in Kentucky, United States. He died on 22 Feb 1908 in McFall, Gentry, Missouri. He was buried in Best Cemetery, McFall, Daviess, Missouri. Howard married Rebecca Jane Annie McCammon on 16 Sep 1838 in , Howard, Missouri.
He was confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 4 Jun 1999%. He received initiatories on 28 Jul 1999% in VERNA.
Rebecca Jane Annie McCammon was born on 10 Feb 1820 in Laurel, Kentucky, USA. She died on 6 Mar 1898 in Daviess, Missouri, USA. Rebecca married Howard Boon Best on 16 Sep 1838 in , Howard, Missouri.
M i Humphrey Boon Best was born on 4 Aug 1839. He died on 24 Oct 1916.
M ii Silas Best was born on 27 Jan 1844. He died on 13 Jun 1907.
Hannah Best was born in 1848 in , Howard, Missouri, United States. She died in 1868.
M iv David Best was born in Jan 1850. He died in 1906.
M v Louis M Best was born on 17 Jan 1852. He died on 10 Feb 1912.
M vi Alexander Denny Best was born on 13 Nov 1854. He died on 22 Feb 1919.
F vii
Charity Best was born on 21 Feb 1856 in Howard, Missouri, United States. She died on 4 Dec 1930 in Ordway, Crowley, Colorado, United States.
Julia Best was born in Apr 1858 in Howard, Missouri, United States. She died in Apr 1941 in Berlin, Gentry, Missouri, United States.
M ix William C Breckenridge Best was born on 24 Aug 1860. He died on 6 May 1934.
Howard S Best [Parents] was born in Dec 1883. Howard married Mary Agnes Harmon.
Mary Agnes Harmon. Mary married Howard S Best.
M i Howard Best.
Matthias Hitchock [Parents] was born about 1616 in London, Essex, England. He died on 16 Nov 1669 in Wallingsford, New Haven, Connecticut. Matthias married Elizabeth Rogers before 1646.
Elizabeth Rogers was born about 1620. Elizabeth married Matthias Hitchock before 1646.
Andrew J McCrea was born about 1832. Andrew married Margaret Gilliam Parrott on 18 Apr 1854.
Margaret Gilliam Parrott [Parents] was born in 1836 in , Polk, Missouri. She died on 27 Dec 1927 in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri. She was buried in Evergreen Cem, Osborn, De Kalb, Missouri. Margaret married Andrew J McCrea on 18 Apr 1854.
Smith, Thompson Gilliam
Sophronia McCrea was born in 1857 in , , Missouri.
Sophiah Elizabeth McCrae was born in 1860 in , , Missouri.
Irene McCrae was born about 1863.
Philip Knight Sylvester was born on 8 Sep 1874 in Utica, Macomb, Michigan. He died on 8 Oct 1954 in Hannibal, Marion, Missouri. He was buried in Parkview Cem, Farmington, St. Francois, Missouri. Philip married Mary Isabelle Smith on 5 May 1897 in Osborn, De Kalb, Missouri.
Mary Isabelle Smith [Parents] was born on 14 Dec 1873 in Osborn, De Kalb, Missouri. She died on 14 Dec 1951 in Houma, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. She was buried in Parkview Cem, Farmington, St. Francois, Missouri. Mary married Philip Knight Sylvester on 5 May 1897 in Osborn, De Kalb, Missouri.
M i Harry Francis Sylvester was born on 11 Feb 1900. He died on 18 Dec 1974.
F ii Margaret Rosalia Sylvester was born on 19 Nov 1904. She died on 27 Jun 1980.
M iii Philip Myron Sylvester was born on 24 May 1912. He died on 15 Jan 1998.
M iv Seth Ware Sylvester was born on 1 Apr 1914. He died on 31 May 1984.
Thompson Gilliam Smith [Parents] was born on 9 Nov 1830 in Osborn, De Kalb, Missouri. He died in 1878/1880 in , , Missouri. He was buried in Maysville Cem, Maysville, De Kalb, Missouri. Thompson married Margaret Gilliam Parrott about 1868 in , De Kalb, Missouri.
McPherson, Cornelia M
Roberts, Lucy Ann
Margaret Gilliam Parrott [Parents] was born in 1836 in , Polk, Missouri. She died on 27 Dec 1927 in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri. She was buried in Evergreen Cem, Osborn, De Kalb, Missouri. Margaret married Thompson Gilliam Smith about 1868 in , De Kalb, Missouri.
McCrea, Andrew J
F i Hester Ann "Dollie" Smith was born on 14 Jan 1869. She died on 8 Jun 1973.
John Elias Smith was born on 21 Aug 1872 in Osborn, De Kalb, Missouri.
F iii Mary Isabelle Smith was born on 14 Dec 1873. She died on 14 Dec 1951.
Richard Chambers.
Minnie Koch [Parents].
i Jesse Chambers.
Daniel Koch was born in , , Pennsylvania. He died in 1903 in Oakland, Alameda, California. Daniel married Treville Kramm.
Treville Kramm was born in , , Pennsylvania. Treville married Daniel Koch.
F i Alvesta E "Allie" Koch was born on 19 Dec 1862. She died on 13 Mar 1942.
F ii Marietta Koch.
M iii David Koch.
F iv Minnie Koch.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6429
|
__label__cc
| 0.555906
| 0.444094
|
A Mothering Monster
Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Het - Male/Female
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to Harry Potter. Nor am I making any monetary gain from this, this is just for fun, using a series idea in which I have hardly seen!
1-Chapter 1 - The Voice in the Wall 2-Chapter 2 - Chamber of Secrets
Shameless Self Plug; https://discord.gg/kZ8m7wUcjE (My Discord server)
Pre-Story Notes
- Canon has changed massively from this. No two Harry's will be the same when it comes to this little 'series', which helps to diversify the ideas that you can come up with to help with this series throgh reviews. Of course, this had led to some 'Butterfly Effects' taking place because of this.
- This Harry is very different than canon Harry. The emotional abuse and neglect that he had at the Dursley's has changed him. He isn't outgoing, nor does he socialise that well, but once someone gets to know him, the real him, then he will be very loyal to them.
- Hogwarts starts at age of 13 for unawkward pre-teen romance.
- Harry was sorted into Hufflepuff.
Harry sighed to himself as he walked down one of the empty corridors of Hogwarts, it was moments like these that made him reflect on things.
He had been so excited to go to Hogwarts once he was finally able to read his letter that was addressed to him. It had taken many, many attempts to hide one of those letters that seemed to bombard the Dursley's home, and the only way that he could was by keeping the letter down the waistline of his pants. Somehow, uncle Vernon suddenly seemed to have much better eyesight than what he usually did, and Dudley's nose that only smelt the fragrence of food - or the farts that he and his little 'gang' did - somehow managed to wire itself to somehow smell when a Hogwarts letter was nearby.
Aunt Petunia just seemed to totally ignore the flying letters that was sending both Dudley and Vernon mad. It was almost like she simply ignored them, thinking that if she ignored its existence, then surely it wouldn't be real, and it was just a figment of her... less than ideal imagination.
The Dursley's... just thinking of them made him frown in annoyance.
In his honest opinion, even though they were his only family left alive, he considered them to be the most terrible people in all of Britain. He didn't have doubts that even the homeless or even going as far to say that the many drug addicts lurking in the alleys for their next fix would be better parents or parental figures than the Dursley's.
Not only did they ignore his existence most of the time, or they would sometimes 'forget' to feed him a healthy dose of food, they also made his room the most tiniest place in all of the house. The cupboard under the stairs. Despite its small size, Harry had been living in that room long enough that he got used to it.
The worst memory that he could remember from the Dursley's, past all of the neglect and starvation that he recieved, he could vividly remember the one time that he had called Aunt Petunia 'Mom'. It was probably the worst memory that he could think of when it came to the Dursley's, as afterwards as punishment, Petunia had dipped his fingers in a pot of boiling water that had just come off the stove top.
The tips of his fingers still tingled in pain every so often, mainly when he was writing with his quill in class.
At least there wasn't any long-term damage to them, as somehow, they had miraculously healed from the terrible burns that they had within three days of the punishment happening.
"Harry?"
Hearing his name being called out, he snapped himself out his childhood memories and turned to face the person that spoke to him.
"Daphne." He greeted out politely, unable to hold back the smile at seeing his only friend in all of Hogwarts, who he had meant on the Hogwart's Express.
Daphne Greengrass was a very pretty girl and stood a few inches taller than him in height - mostly due to his less than stellar upbringing - and although she was the age of thirteen - although her birthday was in a few days - she was probably the most gorgeous and prettiest of the girls that he has seen during his small tenure at Hogwarts.
She had very silky and luscious light blonde locks that fell just past her shoulder blades, with two smaller bangs that came down just past her eyes to frame her face. Another very prominent feature of hers was in fact her icy-blue eyes that seemed to bore into the person she was looking at. She had a rather cute button nose, along with slightly chubby cheeks - although, they might be gone within a year or two - and she was wearing her Hogwart's robes that were trimmed with dark green with the Slytherin crest proudly on display just above her left breast part of the fabric.
All in all, she had a very aristocratic aura about her, along with her having the grace and sophisticated movements of someone who was brought up in a very high place.
Yes, despite all of the negative connotation that surrounded the Slytherin house of Hogwarts, along with the seemingly endless clashes of personality that she was sure to bring, she was still very friendly and respectful towards Harry, and he was very friendly and respectful towards her in return.
However, it wasn't just the looks or personality that allowed Harry to bond with her. It was for the logical thinking and maturity that she brought to the table. He had also learnt that she was one of the few Slytherin's who didn't care for blood status.
Yet, he couldn't help but remember the very first time that he met her on the Hogwarts Express.
Harry nervously made his way down the rather small corridor of the train, a nice, new suitcase silently following him as he wheeled it around. He wasn't used to being in such crowded areas, and he was starting to feel a little claustrophobic as he continued his little treck to find a compartment to sit in for the journey.
Although, he wasn't having that much luck when it came to finding a compartment that wasn't in full capacity. Even with the doors being closed, he could still see the shadows being casted by the persons inside, and he could even hear them idly chatting away with their friends they were sitting with.
He had swiftly made his way past a rather frizzy-haired bruenette and a rather chubby and nervous looking black-haired male that might've been an inch or two taller than him, aparently they were looking for a... toad? How one lost track of a toad, he wouldn't have the slightest of clues.
Ducking his head down as he continued his journey, he gave a quick check to the compartment on his right, and frowned once again when he noticed the idle chatter coming from within, and from what he could tell, from the five people that seemed to be sitting within the compartment. Two of the voices seemed to be pretty loud, and he could idly see a large, furry appendage make itself known.
As he turned his attention away, he was idly able to hear that the thing that poked out of the shadow was not a piece of magic, but rather it was a pet tarantula that was owned by someone named 'Lee'.
Placing his ear against the doors compartment on the opposite side where the person with the pet tarantula was, he could hear a small tuneless hum greet his ears, and seeing if he had any luck, he tried spotting any telltale signs of multiple people being in the compartment.
Seeing no-one there, Harry politely knocked on the door after placing his trunk down so it wouldn't move.
Waiting a few moments, he eventually heard a quiet, "Enter" come from the other side.
Hearing his permission to enter, he gently slid the door open, and he gazed inside the compartment, which wasn't all that much, just two leather lounges facing opposite of each other, along with a little shelf above each seat that could fit a trunk in the space, and the large pain of glass allowed one to gaze at the moving landscape, with two smaller windows being open to allow a cool draft in the compartment.
Yet his attention was drawn to the girl that was sitting on the far-side of the compartment, her gaze looking at him through the window's reflection. She didn't seem like the one to strike up a conversation either unless it was really necessary.
"Hello." Harry greeted awkwardly to the girl sitting on the far side of the compartment, unused to talking to people, "Uh... may I sit in here?" He questioned, hoping that he would recieve permission to do so.
The girl stopped looking at him through the reflection the glass and faced him, where those icy blue eyes scanned his body up and down, "I guess that is alright." She said, gesturing to the seat opposite her.
"Thank you. It means a lot." Harry replied with a small grin, before he picked up his trunk and entered the compartment, closing the door as he brought his trunk fully inside the compartment.
"So... what's your name?" He asked, trying to make some small conversation to make things less awkward between them as he picked up his trunk and placed it within the alotted area above his head.
Even though he couldn't see it, he could certainly feel her gaze making its way to the back of his head, "Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first?"
"Oh." He murmured out, an embarrassed flush on his cheeks as he turned around to face the girl, "I'm Harry, Harry Potter." He said, trying to replicate what he had heard when it came to the other kids introducing themselves when he went past the open compartments.
The girl seemed to be a little surprised when she had heard his name, and he had expected her to go off on a tangent or act completely differently once she had heard his name - like many others did when they took notice of who he was - but to his relief, she seemed to school her surprised expression and held out her hand with her palm facing downwards, "Daphne, Daphne Greengrass. It's nice to meet you." She introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you too." He said, although he looked at the outstretched hand with a little confusion, before he turned his gaze towards her icy blue eyes.
Without responding verbally, she extended her arm out just a little further, and seemingly spoke with her gaze alone, sending the back of her hand a glance before looking into his eyes.
Harry's eyes widened slightly when he noticed that her lips seemed to pucker up ever so slightly, like she was going to kiss something that wasn't there, "Oh..." He ever so eloquently spoke out, before he grabbed the outstretched hand and placed a rather chaste kiss - at least, he hoped that it was up to standard.
Daphne took her outstretched hand away from Harry, and sent him a rather amused glance - at least, he was hoping that was what it was - and it seemed like something dawned upon her, "You don't know Wizarding Customs, do you?" She questioned.
He blinked a bit at the question, "Uh... no?" He replied, not entirely sure in how he was supposed to respond to that.
The girl seemed to nod to herself in confirmation, "Thought so." She spoke out, "I guess I will teach you the basics, will that be alright?" She said, before quickly adding on just to make it clear that she wasn't doing this to make fun of him, "Trust me, it would come in handy later on."
Sitting down opposite her, he quickly glanced out of the window, watching as the hills zoomed by and the various animal livestock that were grazing away in the lush, green fields quickly passed by as well, "Sure?"
"Alright, let's start off with the basics, what do you know about the Wizarding World?" She asked him, eyeing him and gave him another once-over.
Harry suddenly felt like he was going to have a cracking headache when this was finished. Yet, he couldn't help but smile, this was the first person his age that he had managed to sucsessfully talk to in the Wizarding World.
FLASHBACK END
"You're daydreaming again."
Lightly slapping his cheeks to try and get rid of his silly mind-ramblings, "Sorry." He murmured, flashing a small smile in her direction.
Raising a delicate brow at how he was acting, Daphne gave a quick once over of Harry, seeing as how his Hogwart's robes - that had the Hufflepuff crest of a badger on it - was ruffled, and his skin seemed to have a sheen on sweat on it, she sent him a dry look, "You got lost again, didn't you?" She asked, a small amount of amusement clear in her voice.
"Maybe...?" He answered awkwardly, an embarrassed flush on his cheeks as he rubbed the nape of his neck.
"Honestly." Daphne muttered out with a quick roll of her eyes, unable to believe that he still got lost, even after nearly a month of being in Hogwarts. Who was she to talk, she managed to not get lost on the third day of classes, others were a little more slower than her, but still, he had got to be one of the only ones who still got lost, "Have you thought of asking for help?" She asked, placing a hand upon her hip as she cocked it to her right, with an expectant look on her visage.
"I try... they don't listen to me..." He muttered out rather bitterly, "The only ones who help me are Tonks or the Fat Friar... yet even then I can't find them most of the time." He added on with a small frown on his face.
That was the problem that he had faced, apart from being picked on by Malfoy and his little gang of braindead baboons who followed him around everywhere, he had also been on the recieving end of the infamous Weasley Twin pranks. Sure, they were harmless enough, although annoying, he had still forgiven them for it. Apart from that, it seemed as though people just... forgot about him ever since he entered Hufflepuff.
He still remembered when his name was first called out by Professor McGonagall, he had remembered how the many hushed whispers broke out, along with the seemingly reverent looks on some. Apparently, everyone had expected him to go into Gryffindor, as he was the supposed 'Vanquisher of the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'.
Much to everyone's surprise, he had been sorted into the last house of Hogwarts that people would expect; Hufflepuff.
He was certain that more people believed that he could have been sorted into Slytherin over Hufflepuff. In fact, he was certain that the order that most people came up with was; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and then Hufflepuff.
Yet, when he had the Sorting Hat placed over his head, the Sorting Hat had admitted that he had the main traits of each of the houses. He had courage, but not enough to make him headstrong and reckless, he had wit and a sharp mind, he had cunning and a drive to prove himself, and he had a strong sense of loyalty and justice.
Even with all of that, the Sorting Hat had given him one last remark; 'Hufflepuff would be best, where you can create bonds that will last a lifetime.' eventually sorted him sorted him with a loud shout of; 'HUFFLEPUFF!'
At first, people still pointed at him and gave some hushed whispers during the first few days, yet as the week went on, he noticed that he almost seemed to... disappear off of everyone's radar. Rarely anyone made contact with him, he didn't stand out in class much - although, he was stronger in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and even Charms coming in a close second.
It was almost like he was... just another normal person, being lost to the throngs of students within Hogwarts' walls and classrooms.
Sure, he wasn't the best at socialising, and he tried his hardest to try and create friendships or try and politely enter a conversation between his housemates and even some from the other classes, yet he just couldn't. He ended up making a fool of himself when he got tongue-tied.
He just couldn't connect with anyone in Hogwarts, apart from Daphne and Hagrid - who was a very misunderstood man due to his sheer size and eccentric personality.
Daphne frowned once again when she noticed that Harry had started staring off into nothing. It was almost like she could see what was running through his mind. Quickly checking to the left and right to see if the coast was clear from any onlookers, she had closed the distance between them, and she had placed a hand upon his shoulder, ignoring the rather skittish jump that greeted her from it, "Meet me outside the Great Hall after breakfast tomorrow morning. I will guide you around the quickest pathways to and from your classes, so you don't get lost and possibly lose more House Points for Hufflepuff." She teased gently at the end with a small nudge to his shoulder.
Yes, she had known that Harry had lost 10 House Points for Hufflepuff due to him being late, with the worst offendor being Professor Snape taking away five points from him when he showed up five minutes late, and an extra two points for him rebuting the fact that he was lost.
It was safe to say that Snape didn't like him, nor did his classmates for the rest of day once he lost that many points on the first day of classes.
"Thanks." Harry replied, flashing her a small smile and nod.
"No problem." Daphne said, puffing her chest out in pride at making him smile once again, before she frowned slightly when she looked down at her timetable and noticed that she now had Flying Classes with the Gryffindor's, "I must get going now." She said, before turning on her heel, but looking over her shoulder, "I'll talk to you later." She said, before she left down the corridor, leaving Harry alone.
"See you." He spoke out softly, keeping his eye on Daphne until she was out of sight. Sighing to himself, he leaned against the stone wall, almost contemplating on what to do to pass time. He didn't have a lesson for another hour or so, so he was stuck doing nothing.
"Don't... sad..."
"Huh?!" He yelped out, nearly falling flat on his ass as he slipped away from the walls.
Glancing around him to see what could have made that noise, however, he frowned lightly when he noticed that none of the moving portraits were speaking or in conversation with each other, and there was no one in sight in the corridor, "I'm going crazy." He murmured to himself.
He was fairly certain that hearing a voice within your head was a sign of insanity or delusions. He didn't want that!
"Speaker..."
"There it is again." He murmured out, before he closed his eyes and concentrated really hard.
Snapping his eyes open when he heard something from somewhere, he eventually took a risk and placed his ear against the cold stone wall.
"What the...?" He trailed off, fairly certain that he heard something in the pipes behind the stone walls, yet he wasn't even sure what it was. Standing still for a moment, Harry strained his ears to try and hear the sounds once again, but after a solid minute of standing completely still, he had heard nothing.
Releasing a breath that he didn't know he was holding, he backed away from the wall, "It must be my imagination." He murmured to himself, almost relieved to know that he was hearing things, and that he wasn't going crazy.
It was just his mind playing tricks on him.
"Might as well head to the dormitory to have a shower." He spoke to no-one, giving a slight sniff to his underarm and recoiling slightly when the scent of sweat reached his nose. It definitely wasn't a pleasant smell.
It had been a few days since Harry first heard those noises and the rather chilling voice from within the walls of Hogwarts, yet he had simply played it off as a figment of his imagination and it was simply his mind playing tricks on him for being tired.
Yet, something was telling him that it wasn't a mere figment of his imagination, or something that his tired mind made up on a whim.
However, with it being Daphne's birthday today, he had placed it out of his head, and spent all of yesterday afternoon looking for a gift for her in Diagon Alley.
At first, it had been a small struggle when he asked his Head of House, Professor Sprout for him to go there. Of course, with him being a first year student, she had said that him visiting the alley, as he already has the required equipment and so on.
Yet, as soon as he mentioned that he was looking for a gift for Daphne for her birthday, she had finally relented, however, she seemed rather giddy at the fact that some 'young love' was blossoming with one of her precious students.
Although, the way that Professor Sprout put it did place a rather healthy flush on his cheeks - he wouldn't deny, he did develop a crush on Daphne during the time he has known her, mainly because she treated him with respect, acknowledged him and even helped him with his Potions homework, as Professor Snape seemed to always pick on him or deduct points from him for no apparent reason.
If he sneezed in the class, Snape would take a point away for 'Disturbing the class', he should know, that had already happened to him during the second week of classes.
So, Professor Sprout had given him permission to visit the Alley to find and purchase a gift for his friend, however, he would need to be supervised, so she had to take him during the afternoon when she was free from her classes.
Finding a gift was rather challenging for Harry, as he wasn't exactly sure to get her, but after confiding his trouble to his Head of House, she had simply said; 'A gift doesn't have to be perfect, as long as it comes from the heart, then it will be fine.'
So, with that, he had some renewed confidence when it came to searching for a gift for his only friend in Hogwarts. Once he passed by a rather small jewellery shop that was surrounded by a book store and another robe shop, he had found what he wanted to give her; a bracelet that was adorned with tiny blue gems that sparkeled under the light.
So, once he had purchased the item, along with having a small decorative box to place it in, Harry had decided to ask for it to be covered in wrapping paper.
That only took another few moments, and he and Professor Sprout were out of the shop - with him being 50 Galleons poorer, not that he minded in the least - they had made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry experienced something he wasn't fond of for the second time; Floo travel.
Shaking his head from those thoughts, Harry checked himself over in the large mirrror in the Hufflepuff dormitory.
Quickly adjusting his school robes to look a little more presentable, and fixing his glasses that were a little crooked, he nodded to himself before heading down to the Great Hall, a small, excited smile on his face as he hoped to catch Daphne's reaction to the gift that she sent, she might be a little confused as to who sent her the gift, but hopefully the small note that he wrote along with it that had his initials on it would be enough.
Of course, he wouldn't be using his owl; Hedwig to deliver the gift. He had found out quiet quickly that she was the only snowy owl that resided in Hogwarts, so he had to use one of the school owls that were used for those that didn't have an owl for a pet.
Finding himself in a rather empty Great Hall, Harry switfly made his way towards the side that was closest to the Gryffindor table, as then he would be able to look over towards the Slytherin table without having to twist and turn his body.
Placing himself down at the table, a plate of food suddenly appeared in front of him, which had a few pieces of egg, alongside some rashers of bacon and two pieces of crispy, golden toast on the side.
No matter how many times he saw it, he was always surprised to see the food magically appear in front of someone when they sat down, it was certainly cool.
As he glanced towards the Slytherin table, he could see a small handful of first years that were bundled together, idly chatting to themselves quietly so their conversation wasn't overheard by anyone else. Yet, a few seats away from them, he saw Daphne, sitting on the far-side of the table with a small plate of breakfast in front of her, which she was eating in a proper way and lightly dabbing her lips with a napkin to get rid of the leftover crumbs.
Looking her eyes with his, she gave a small nod of acknowledgement, which he returned with a small smile of his own and mouthed; 'Happy Birthday'. He was sure that she knew what he mouthed, as she flashed the smallest of smiles afterwards before she took another bite from her toast.
Feeling his heart rate speed up a little, Harry's attention was drawn towards the roof of the Great Hall, where a rather plain and common brown owl came through the open windows and started to make its way down towards Daphne, a rather small box-like package that was wrapped in teal wrapping paper nestled safely in its talons.
He watched with rapt attention as the owl made its way down to Daphne's area, where it placed down the package, before quickly nibbled up a small piece of bacon which Daphne had torn off, before it seemed to nod at her before taking flight once more, before leaving the Great Hall after giving one more circle of the air.
Tearing his attention away from where the owl left, he watched as Daphne picked up the box-like package and eyed it curiously.
With no wasted movement, Daphne started to carefully tear through the wrapping paper - making sure that she didn't draw any attention to her whilst doing so - and had eventually tore the wrapping paper away so the box was visible, yet despite that, a small piece of paper fell out in front of her.
She looked down at the piece of paper, her eyes locked onto the writing that was visible before her face showed a hint of surprise as she read what it said, and not moments later, her eyes were once again locked with his.
Harry saw that she had a smile on her face, and she had a small dusting of pink on her cheeks before she ducked her head down and opened the rather exquisite box.
Her eyes widened momentarily as she carefully took out the item within, and once the small blue gems entered the sunlight, they glittered with a supernatural beauty. With their eyes locking once again, Harry flashed her a rather large, and proud smile as he took in her facial expression, which was probably the most surprised that he had ever seen it.
'Thank you!' She mouthed out to him, before she carefully placed the bracelet around her wrist - adjusting it slightly to be a bit more tight around her wrist as she did so.
Harry nodded his head, before he started to eat the breakfast in front of him with gusto.
He was happy that she liked the gift that he brought her. It filled him with happiness to know that he quiet possibly made her morning, and hopefully, it would be her favorite gift that she recieves today.
"That was sweet of you, Harry." Daphne said as she gave a small, chaste kiss to his cheek, a light flush on her cheek as she did so.
Rubbing the back of his head with a small blush on his cheeks for what he just experienced, he chuckled out, "It was nothing... I had to get you a gift for your birthday."
Daphne looked down at her right wrist, in which the bracelet was securely locked on, "It's beautiful, and I love it." She said softly, maneuvering her arm so she could gaze at it from all angles, "What made you get it? The color I mean?" She questioned him.
"Well..." He trailed off, his voice petering out as he tried his best to explain why he chose that color.
"Pardon?" Daphne said, her eyes narrowed in confusion as she couldn't make out what he had said, it was just too soft and quiet.
"I said-" Harry said, taking a deep breath to help him explain why, "-I chose it because of your eyes." He explained, the flush on his cheeks getting just a little darker as he tore his gaze away from her, and looked up towards the ceiling instead.
"My... eyes?" She questioned, before looking down to the bracelet again, where the small blue gems were twinkling under the small rays of sun that shone through the window.
"Yeah... the dark blue gems make your eyes stand out more." He explained awkwardly, gesturing to her, "Light blue-" Harry then gestured towards the gems on her bracelet, "-dark blue gems."
Daphne seemed to be a little flustered at that, judging by the slight tinge of pink on her cheeks, before she turned her gaze towards Harry, "Thank you..." She murmured out, unable to figure out what else to say.
Harry merely flashed another smile at her, before they continued walking in a comfortable silence.
Pausing midstep, Harry's attention zipped around towards the walls once again, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Harry?" Daphne questioned, unsure as to why Harry stopped randomly and was looking around with a scrutinising gaze.
Once again, that voice in which he heard a few days ago was back, and it seemed to be coming from the walls once again! Quickly making his way over towards the wall of the corridor, he placed his ear against it, uncaring of the of cold stone that gave him small chills.
"Come... to... me..."
Stepping away from the wall in slight fear, he suddenly came to a halt when he felt Daphne's hands hold his shoulders to make him stop moving, "Harry, what is wrong?" She questioned.
It took a few moments to answer her, but he gazed towards her, with a near pleading expression on his face, "Please tell me you can hear that." He spoke out.
Tilting her head in confusion, Daphne closed her eyes and listened, however, she frowned when she couldn't hear anything, barring the sound of Harry's rather frantic breathing, "Hear what?" She questioned.
Harry made an odd choking noise once he heard her answer, "The walls! Something is speaking and moving about in the walls!" He explained, roughly pointing in the general area in which he heard the noises.
Unable to contain the curiosity peaking within her, she made her way over towards the area in which he was pointing to, before placing her ear near the wall - not wanting to touch the possibly dirty stone - however, she sent a concerned look to Harry after a few moments of silence, "Harry. Nothing is making noise." She said, "Are you sure that you are hearing noises in the walls, and not possibly from outside?"
"No... use... hear..."
"Wha... huh?!" Harry squawked out in surprise, "That voice just spoke again!" He said, "It said 'No, use, hear'!"
Frowning in concern, Daphne stepped away from the wall, and gently grabbed onto Harry, "Perhaps we need some time outside, some fresh air might do." She said, before leading him towards one of the many exits of Hogwarts to get to the courtyard, 'Maybe I need to take him to Pomfrey... hearing voices is not a good thing.' She thought to herself.
Alright, I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and the start to the Mothering Basilisk story. Hopefully this one could be better than the Hungarian Horntail one, but only time will tell.
As you can see, I have added a pairing to this story, which is Daphne Greengrass. Canon has also been changed, and Butterfly effects have taken place.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6434
|
__label__cc
| 0.687912
| 0.312088
|
Welcome to our website (the “Site”).
This statement governs our privacy policies with respect to those users of the Site (“Visitors”) who visit without transacting business and Visitors who register to transact business on the Site and make use of the various services offered by Go4ProVideo Solutions (collectively, “Services”) (“Authorized Customers”).
“Personally Identifiable Information” refers to any information that identifies or can be used to identify, contact, or locate the person to whom such information pertains, including, but not limited to, name, address, phone number, fax number, email address, financial profiles, social security number, and credit card information. Personally Identifiable Information does not include information that is collected anonymously (that is, without identification of the individual user) or demographic information not connected to an identified individual.
What organizations are collecting the information? In addition to our direct collection of information, our third party service vendors (such as credit card companies, clearinghouses and banks) who may provide such services as credit, insurance, and escrow services may collect this information from our Visitors and authorized Customers. We do not control how these third parties use such information, but we do ask them to disclose how they use personal information provided to them from Visitors and Authorized Customers. Some of these third parties may be intermediaries that act solely as links in the distribution chain, and do not store, retain, or use the information given to them.
With whom may the information may be shared? Personally Identifiable Information about Authorized Customers may be shared with other Authorized Customers who wish to evaluate potential transactions with other Authorized Customers. We may share aggregated information about our Visitors, including the demographics of our Visitors and Authorized Customers, with our affiliated agencies and third party vendors. We also offer the opportunity to “opt out” of receiving information or being contacted by us or by any agency acting on our behalf.
How is Personally Identifiable Information stored? Personally Identifiable Information collected by Go4ProVideo Solutions is securely stored and is not accessible to third parties or employees of Go4ProVideo Solutions except for use as indicated above.
Visitors and Authorized Customers may opt out of receiving unsolicited information from or being contacted by us and/or our vendors and affiliated agencies by responding to emails as instructed.
Are Cookies Used on the Site? Cookies are used for a variety of reasons. We use Cookies to obtain information about the preferences of our Visitors and the services they select. We also use Cookies for security purposes to protect our Authorized Customers. For example, if an Authorized Customer is logged on and the site is unused for more than 10 minutes, we will automatically log the Authorized Customer off.
How does Go4ProVideo Solutions use login information? Go4ProVideo Solutions uses login information, including, but not limited to, IP addresses, ISPs, and browser types, to analyze trends, administer the Site, track a user’s movement and use, and gather broad demographic information.
What partners or service providers have access to Personally Identifiable Information from Visitors and/or Authorized Customers on the Site? Go4ProVideo Solutions has entered into and will continue to enter into partnerships and other affiliations with a number of vendors. Such vendors may have access to certain Personally Identifiable Information on a need to know basis for evaluating Authorized Customers for service eligibility. Our privacy policy does not cover their collection or use of this information.
How does the Site keep Personally Identifiable Information secure? All of our employees are familiar with our security policy and practices. The Personally Identifiable Information of our Visitors and Authorized Customers is only accessible to a limited number of qualified employees who are given a password in order to gain access to the information. We audit our security systems and processes on a regular basis. Sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or social security numbers, is protected by encryption protocols, in place to protect information sent over the Internet. While we take commercially reasonable measures to maintain a secure site, electronic communications and databases are subject to errors, tampering and break-ins, and we cannot guarantee or warrant that such events will not take place and we will not be liable to Visitors or Authorized Customers for any such occurrences.
How can Visitors correct any inaccuracies in Personally Identifiable Information? Visitors and Authorized Customers may contact us to update Personally Identifiable Information about them or to correct any inaccuracies by responding to emails as instructed.
Can a Visitor delete or deactivate Personally Identifiable Information collected by the Site? We provide Visitors and Authorized Customers with a mechanism to delete Personally Identifiable Information from the Site’s database by responding to emails as instructed. However, because of backups and records of deletions, it may be impossible to delete a Visitor’s entry without retaining some residual information. An individual who requests to have Personally Identifiable Information deactivated will have this information functionally deleted, and we will not sell, transfer, or use Personally Identifiable Information relating to that individual in any way moving forward.
Copyright Go4ProVideo Solutions, All rights reserved.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6436
|
__label__cc
| 0.610581
| 0.389419
|
Option A concentrates development within Christchurch City and at larger towns in the surrounding districts. The map indicates areas where development would generally occur.
Future growth would be mostly contained within Christchurch (85% of population growth - 44,310 extra people by 2021) and the larger towns of Rangiora, Pegasus Bay and Rolleston. Development would include both re-development of existing housing (for example, replacing older homes on larger sections with townhouses and apartments) and developing new subdivisions generally adjacent to existing areas. This would require the least amount of land currently being used for farming, to become residential. Around 60% of new housing would be urban renewal, and only 40% would be for new subdivisions, as further restrictions would be placed upon extensive development beyond the existing edge of Christchurch and towns. A green belt of open space and parkland would be established to prevent urban areas, Christchurch , Rangiora, Kaiapoi and Rolleston, spreading into farmland or each other.
Section sizes within the Central City and inner suburbs of Christchurch would be smaller as redevelopment increased and there would be more two to four storey dwellings. Mixed developments of commercial space on lower floors and residential on upper floors would occur. Redevelopment in suburbs such as Spreydon, Linwood, St Albans and Riccarton would increase as multi-storey townhouses, apartments and flats replace older villas and bungalows. There would be more intense development in some locations, in the districts such as Rangiora and Rolleston.
By redeveloping existing suburbs, it should be possible to reuse the existing infrastructure, upgrading where necessary. This is considerably cheaper than the cost of developing new infrastructure for new subdivisions. Infrastructure upgrades of water, sewerage and power would still be required and might cost the community as much as $260 million by 2041 and $430 million by 2041. People not wanting to live in more densely populated areas would still be able to live in homes on larger sections in the outer suburbs, or in the surrounding towns. Though there would be choices of housing type in existing suburbs as more redevelopment takes place, it might not be affordable for all income groups.
The cost of residential development will vary between locations and depend on the quality of the development but land costs for residential development are likely to be higher per unit/lot under this option (because of reduced land being available), which may push up house prices. Affordable housing programmes may need to be developed to ensure all income groups have access to good quality housing.
Concentrating development within and around existing urban areas will make some roads more congested (50% increase in congestion by 2021, 190% by 2041) increasing travel times (commute takes 21% longer by 2021, 45% longer by 2041). For example, a trip to work that takes 30 minutes today would take 36 minutes in 2021 and 44 minutes in 2041.
Some road widening of key arterials may be inevitable and could be costly. With growth of towns such as Rolleston and Rangiora, the roads connecting these towns to Christchurch will also need upgrading to avoid the predicted growth in congestion (road infrastructure improvements and maintenance costs $1.4 billion by 2021 and $1.9 billion by 2041/500,000 population). By 2041 we would be spending over $.5 billion each year on motoring (fuel and the cost of crashes), in addition to the $1.9 billion spent on roading.
Some people may end up living closer to their work places making walking, cycling and public transport practical alternatives to driving their cars. Much greater investment in public transport would occur, making Metro services more attractive.
Community Identity and Facilities
Redevelopment of existing urban areas will change the character of neighbourhoods. Planning and coordinating redevelopment will ensure that many of the existing community social structures and facilities are retained in the transition. Concentrating development within existing urban areas increases the potential for new residents to maintain and enhance community identity through joining existing social, cultural and sporting groups. This should ensure the survival of existing social networks as well as community amenities such as swimming pools, libraries and schools. Without additional residents local communities might not be able to retain these amenities. The increased number of families with school aged children moving into inner suburbs could balance the decline in overall numbers of school aged children, making the best use of existing facilities.
Existing shopping and retail centres are likely to expand and become more commercially viable, offering greater employment opportunities and a wider range of products and services to their local communities .
Large numbers of new residents moving into existing communities could also change the character of communities and the services required. For example, more quality public space would be required to meet the demand from people living in higher density developments with less private outdoor and recreational space. To ensure redevelopment enhances the character of existing communities, councils will need to set clear urban design guidelines and play a leading role, such as facilitating redevelopment where appropriate.
By limiting growth to within and around the existing urban areas, it would be possible to create green zones or parks and open spaces around each urban area. Regional parks will provide habitats for native plants, birds, insects and animals, and provide for recreational activities from team sports to individual pursuits such as walking and hiking. Increasing the number of dwellings in urban areas would increase demand and use of existing local parks.
Focusing redevelopment on older established suburbs would result in older homes, built without insulation and heated with open fires, being renovated to become well-insulated homes heated with gas or electricity. As a result air quality should improve by reducing the overall level of wintertime pollution from home heating.
Vehicle emissions increase 15% by 2021 and 49% by 2041 (carbon monoxide produced will be 140 tonnes/day in 2021 and 180 tonnes/day by 2041). With more people living closer to established amenities such as schools and shops it would be easier and more attractive for people to walk, cycle or use public transport instead of driving their cars.
By reducing overall section sizes and the area of gardens and lawns requiring watering, the volume of water used by households would be reduced. Overall water consumption would reach 2,830 litres per second in 2041, a 35% increase from 2001 consumption.
Responding to natural hazards may improve by concentrating development closer to emergency services such as police, fire and ambulances. Concentrating development in Christchurch's Central City and inner suburbs, however, may present increased risks from some hazards. Central Christchurch is at risk of flooding from the Waimakariri River. The low-lying, soft sandy soils of Christchurch's eastern and inner suburbs are prone to liquefaction during earthquakes and coastal areas of Christchurch and surrounding communities are at risk from tsunami.
By restricting development to within and around existing urban areas, farmland can continue to be used for primary production, and outstanding natural landscapes, such as the Port Hills can be preserved.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6439
|
__label__wiki
| 0.715907
| 0.715907
|
From the "Turkish Menace" to Exoticism and Orientalism: Islam as Antithesis of Europe (1453–1914)?
von by Felix Konrad Original aufOriginal in German, angezeigt aufdisplayed in English
From Turkish Menace
During their often difficult encounters with their Muslim neighbours in North Africa and the Middle East over many centuries, Europeans developed various discourses describing Islam and Muslims as "the other". These discourses of alterity helped to affirm European identity and to spread various prejudices and stereotypes that proved very durable, though they were subject to ongoing change. This survey article analyses the image of Islam from the mid-15th to the early 20th century. It focuses on the perception of Islam that prevailed during the Renaissance and Reformation, which was based on religious differences and was influenced by the perceived threat of the Ottoman Empire. It thematizes the transformation of this image around 1700 as an enthusiasm for the Orient, which emphasized its exoticness, developed and as secular considerations began to take precedence over religious criteria. The article also examines Orientalist discourses of the 19th century that were informed by a European sense of superiority and that defined Europe and Islam as two antithetical civilizations.
In spite of the considerable commonalities that Christianity and Islam have shared and although there have been several periods of cordial relations and cultural exchange, the history of interaction between European Christian societies and their Middle Eastern Islamic counterparts has also been one of conflict and aggression, of polemics and demarcation. The Muslims, who in the early Middle Ages conquered the Syrian and North African provinces of the Byzantine Empire, as well as Spain and Sicily, and in the late Middle Ages extended their rule to the Balkans and Eastern Central Europe, were not only a political and military problem for the states of Europe, but also constituted a religious and cultural challenge to Latin Christians.1
This conflict-laden relationship is one of the reasons why Islam has been perceived and constructed as probably the most important "other" of Europeans and Latin Christians since the Middle Ages. That is to say, Europeans – or Latin Christians – continuously determined, redefined and further developed their own identity in contrast to Islam and Muslims. As a result, different discourses of alterity arose defining the religious, cultural and social dichotomy between Europeans and Muslims. By tracing the patterns in which Islam was perceived and interpreted, this article analyses the construction of "self" and "other" as a discursive process. The analysis focuses on three chronological periods. Firstly, it discusses the "image of the Turk" in the period from the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 to the end of the 16th century which was characterized by fear and religious discourses. Then, the article focuses on the transformation of this image in the period around 1700 and the new patterns of perception in the age of Enlightenment. Thirdly, the perception of Islam and Muslims – or "Orientals" and the "Orient" – in the 19th century, the age of European Imperialism, will be dealt with. Throughout, the central object of enquiry is the construction of difference – cultural, religious, political and social – between Europe and Islam and the conceptualization of Islam and Muslim societies as the "antithesis" of Europe. The primary category in which Muslims and Islam were perceived as the "other" changed over time: Muslims were at times simply referred to as "Turks" and Islam was at times subsumed under the broader category of the "Orient".
The construction of alterities, that is, the construction of "the other", of "the alien" in order to define "the self", "one's own", is not exclusive to Europeans. All larger communities define themselves to some degree in contrast to others. The construction of alterity usually occurs by means of dichotomies, that is, asymmetrical pairs of terms that are organized by means of oppositional structures and binary central terms.2 The construction of an alterity in opposition to "one's own" usually implies a perception of the superiority of the latter. This superiority can be defined in religious, moral, intellectual or technological terms.3 Superiority can also be perceived as existing in a combination of areas.
Alterity – and by extension its opposite, identity – is constructed by discourses, that is, by linguistically (literary/textual material) and/or pictorially (visual/iconographic material) created contexts of meaning and ascriptions of meaning.4 Although discourses are distinguished by a certain stability, they are nevertheless subject to continuous change as they are adapted to changing needs and circumstances. Some discourses can prevail and achieve a hegemonic dominance, while others remain marginal. Discourses of alterity and identity that are characterized by binary central terms carry numerous topoi, stereotypes and clichés. They invariably exhibit great endurance5 and wane slowly. Such discourses of alterity are manifested in very different genres of text: travel literature, the records of diplomatic missions, scientific treatises, literary texts, sermons, etc.
The Image of Islam in the Era of the "Turkish Menace"
The conquest of the Byzantine metropolis Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in May 1453 came as a shock to Christian Europe, especially to Italy.6 Although the Byzantine Empire had not been a great power for some time, the prestige and importance of Byzantium as the "Second Rome" was still great. Reports of the fall of Byzantium spread rapidly and strengthened the negative image of Muslims that had prevailed in Europe since the crusades. These reports contained detailed descriptions of the atrocities committed during the conquest (so-called "Turkish atrocities"), which subsequently entered the discourse on the Ottomans in the form of stereotypes and shaped the perception of a "Turkish menace"7 (Türkengefahr) as well as the "dread of the Turks" (Türkenfurcht) fed by it.8 These reports were very quickly used as propaganda in the call for a new crusade, now understood as a war against the Turks. Already in 1454, Cardinal Enea Silvio Piccolomini (1405–1464), who subsequently became Pope Pius II (1458–1464)[ ], delivered a speech as imperial legate at the Reichstag (Imperial Diet) in Regensburg advocating a war against the Turks.9 As one of the most influential orators of his time, he pointed out the global historical importance of the "Turkish menace", the ecclesiastical, military and strategic significance of Constantinople, all the while appealing to the fundamental moral and political values of the Christian princes. Enea Silvio used this "recyclable speech" in revised form at other imperial diets, and it was widely distributed as a manuscript and as a printed text.10
In the context of the fall of Constantinople and the resulting papal efforts to launch a new crusade against the Turks, Italian humanists conceptualized Europe as an entity with which one could identify.11 Flavio Biondo (1392–1463) was particularly important in this process. Even before the fall of Constantinople, he had revised the history of the crusades, particularly that of the First Crusade during which Jerusalem was conquered in 1099, as well as the appeal by Pope Urban II (1035–1099) in Clermont in 1095 that had led to this crusade. In Biondo's depiction, the First Crusade took on the character of a pan-European project rather than an undertaking of the Franks, as medieval sources described it. He defined Latin Christianity as a European Christianity and drew a connection between the crusades and the war against the Turks, depicting both as an effort to repel a menace that threatened Europe from the outside. The First Crusade was thus re-interpreted as a successful defensive enterprise undertaken by the whole of European Christendom and, in this form, it contributed to the construction of a European identity and the cultural-religious self-reassurance of Europeans.12 In this way, the new interpretation of this enterprise played a specific role "für die Wahrnehmung und Einordnung der osmanischen Expansion, für ihre Apperzeption als eine die gesamte lateinische Christenheit bedrängende Türkengefahr und für die Ausbildung des Deutungsmusters 'Europa und die Türken'."13 The numerous calls for a crusade by pope Pius II against the Ottomans14 also became an important medium that shaped and spread ideas of Turks and Muslims as the enemies of Europe.15 Pius II addressed his calls for a crusade to a united Christendom and ignored, as did Flavio Biondo, the divide between Eastern and Latin Christianity. He argued that Christians had often been attacked by unbelievers in Asia but that they were now beset by the Turks in their very own territory of Europe. Jerusalem, having been the goal and place of expectation of salvation history during the crusades, now declined in significance while the importance of "Europe" grew.16
From the mid-15th century, it became customary to equate Muslims with Turks. When early modern texts speak of someone having "turned Turk", it means that he has converted to Islam. The ethnic category "Turk" was thus synonymous with the religious category "Muslim". This linguistic usage was largely equivalent to the ethnic description of Muslims as "Saracens" in the Middle Ages,17 a term that fell out of use during the Early Modern period. The opposing pair of (European) Christians vs. Turks now replaced the medieval duality of Christians vs. (pagan or heretical) Saracens.18 In the construction of this opposing pair, the question of the origin of the Turks played an important role. Trying to answer this question, the Italian humanists proposed two contradictory hypotheses. One stated that the Turks were descended from the Trojans, a theory derived from the similarity of the terms "Turci" and "Teucri" (for Trojans). This hypothesis was gradually dismissed because it associated the Turks with the Europeans since the ancient Romans also claimed Trojan descent.19 A second hypothesis more suitable for depicting the Turks as strangers and "others" established itself towards the end of the 15th century. This hypothesis proposed a Scythian origin of the Turks. This was well suited to the purpose of presenting the Ottomans as barbarians who had nothing in common with Rome, Christianity and Europe because the ancient tribe of equestrian nomads known as the Scythians were associated with the whole repertoire of barbarism: they were depicted as uncivilized, cruel, licentious and utterly repulsive.20 Again, Flavio Biondo and Pius II played central roles in developing and distributing this theory.21
In the writings and speeches of mid-15th-century Italian humanists, "Europe" was conceptualized as an entity that stood in sharp contrast to the Turks. The tracing of the origin of the Turks back to the Scythian barbarians, the re-interpretation of the First Crusade as a European endeavour that served to defend Europe against the barbarians, and the transfer of the political and moral responsibility to "Europe" as a whole (as a "Fatherland", even) in anti-Turkish war rhetoric22 – all this contributed to a conceptualization of "Europe" as an entity with which Europeans could identify. In this way, in opposition to the Turks, "Europe" was assigned a significance that the term had never had before.
After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the next important event with a decisive impact on the discourse of the Turks was the (unsuccessful) first siege of Vienna by the Ottomans in the autumn of 1529 . The Ottoman attack, which should be viewed in the context of the Ottoman-Habsburg contest for supremacy in Hungary and related border conflicts, was not an important event from the Ottoman perspective. It was, however, an episode in the rivalry between two empires claiming universal rule. Both the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500–1558) and Sultan Süleyman I (ca. 1494–1566)[ ] styled themselves as rulers of the End Times, elevating the Habsburg-Ottoman rivalry to an apocalyptic level.23 Another important context in which the first siege of Vienna should be viewed is that of the split of Latin Christianity during the Reformation.
The first siege of Vienna released a veritable flood of publications on the Turks (so called Türkendrucke, or "Turkish prints" ) in the German-speaking countries and other parts of Europe.24 The spread of the new printing press, which roughly coincided with the Ottoman expansion towards Central Europe, was an important precondition – along with the "Turkish menace" and the "dread of the Turks" – for bringing about the early modern discourse on Islam. The new printing techniques resulted in a densification of communication that permitted the spreading of a particular image of Turks and Muslims within a relatively short period of time over large distances.25 The printing press carried the "dread of the Turks" from the immediate border areas that had already suffered recurring military campaigns and raids since the late-15th century – especially by Ottoman auxiliary troops – into the Holy Roman Empire and beyond.26 Prints on the "Turkish menace" described alleged and actual war atrocities in bright colours; often apocalyptic motives were woven in.27 The Turks appeared as an imminent and great danger to the social, political and religious order, a danger to which all social groups were exposed. In the Habsburg hereditary lands, but also in other parts of the Empire, the "dread of the Turks" and the "Turkish menace" were used in the 16th century by the secular and ecclesiastical authorities for political and propaganda purposes.28 Propaganda in the form of pamphlets and other texts which were imparted by the imperial chancellery was primarily directed at the nobility and clergy as representatives of the estates and was intended to help raise funds for the war against the Ottomans. Through the nobility and the clergy, the peasants were influenced indirectly by this propaganda, in which sermons played a particularly important role.29 The discourse on the "dread of the Turks" could be used for various goals. It could be used to legitimate tax levies ("Turk taxes" and war taxes), to promote obedience towards, and trust in, the authorities, and to control the estates. It could also be used to promote piety and behaviour conforming to the rules of the Church. Seen in this way, the propagandistic and political instrumentalization of the "dread of the Turks" played a major role in stabilising the political and social order.30
The image of the Turks in the 16th century was replete with topoi and stereotypes. Texts that were not religious (or only vaguely religious) in tone disseminated primarily the topos of cruelty. The descriptions of Turkish atrocities (murder, rape, carrying off captured Christians, destruction, arson, plunder, desecration of churches, etc.) were used to engender a willingness to fight the Ottomans.31 These could also be combined with biblical motifs, such as the iconography of the Massacre of the Innocents at Bethlehem.32 The Turks and, therefore, Muslims were thus depicted as the incarnation of evil.33 Such frightening images of the "archenemy of Christianity" not only circulated in the Holy Roman Empire, Italy and other territories bordering the Ottoman Empire, but in the rest of Europe as well. This is due to the fact that the topic of the "Turkish menace" found its way into publications all over Europe in the 16th century.34 Although western Europe was never directly threatened by Ottoman armies, "[wich] die in der französischen Bevölkerung verbreitete Einstellung nicht wesentlich von dem traditionell abendländischen 'Türkenbild' einer totalen Perhorreszierung ab".35 Comparable negative images also circulated in England,36 although there the image of the Turks as enemies of the Christian faith existed beside a more positive view that considered the Ottoman Empire as a potential ally against the Catholic powers and as an example to follow in state policy. The discourse that drew a connection between Protestantism and Islam because of their shared rejection of the worship of images played a role in this regard.37
The political and military discourse of the "Turkish menace" of the 16th century was supplemented, expanded and decisively influenced by the religious or theological discourse on Islam and the Turks. There was no unanimity among theologians on how to interpret Islam as a practice of faith. The interpretation derived from the medieval scholastic tradition that considered Islam a Christian heresy38 prevailed, but it was opposed by a tendency to interpret Islam as a secta or lex in its own right and, therefore, as a pagan rite that had parted ways with Christianity. As a third option, theologians of the 16th century could speak about Islam without addressing the question of "heresy or pagan rite?"39 The religious-theological discourse of alterity that unanimously regarded Islam in a negative light – though for different reasons – and presented it as something diametrically opposed to Christianity could be developed from all three opinions mentioned above. Thomas Kaufmann has shown how German – mostly Protestant – theologians, starting with the basic assumption that Islam was a "diabolically perverted derivative" of their own faith, presented the Islamic religion as the "Church of the Antichrist"40 that turned Christian belief into its opposite and that tried with cunning and hypocrisy to tempt Christians to give in to the devil. Similarities between Islam and Christianity were described as superficial or as perversions of the latter.41 Islam was thus viewed in the context of the coming of the End Times; it was considered a necessity of salvation history, and Christians could rest assured that Islam would perish on Judgement Day. The conversions that took place in the territories conquered by the Ottomans challenged the Christians' concept of themselves and fitted into the "Gesamtbild des Christentums als einer eminent bedrohten Religion",42 but they also seemed to confirm the apocalyptic events. Only those of weak faith, the uneducated and primitive masses, could be easily seduced by the Antichrist, while the faithful few could rest assured of their salvation.43
This belief regarding the role assigned to Islam and the Ottoman Empire in salvation history could not only be used to call for resistance against the Ottomans, but was also as a weapon in the internal disputes among Christians during the Reformation. The opposing confession could be "Turkified" by relating it and its teachings to Islam and presenting them as equally dangerous to one's own belief . Martin Luther (1483–1546)44 equated the pope with "the Turk" by drawing analogies between some elements of Catholic and Islamic dogma. The Reformed Church was also accused by Lutherans of having affinities with Islam. On the other hand, Catholic authors polemicized against Lutherans as the "new Turks" or blamed them for the successes of the Ottomans. Furthermore, individual moral and other shortcomings could be "Turkified".45 The religious-theological discourse of alterity that turned Muslims into the antithesis of European Christianity – or, more accurately, of one's own denominational group – created new images of the self that helped to build and strengthen identity. The image of "the Turk" as the enemy became an integral component of the europäische Abgrenzungsidentität ("European identity of delimitation").46
Thus, Luther was also able to use the "dread of the Turks" to highlight and better define his own teachings.47 In various writings and sermons, Luther repeatedly emphasized the importance of the "Turkish menace" in salvation history. In his apocalyptic view, the Turks were the last enemies of God. But he also saw them as the scourge by which God punished the Christians for their sins. Though Luther was initially of the opinion that any resistance to this instrument of God was futile and that God's wrath could only be appeased by inner repentance, prayer and penance, and by overcoming the internal divisions among Christians, he later developed a theory of defensive war against the Turks.48 In his treatise Vom Krieg wider die Türken [On War Against the Turks] of 1529, however, he also rejected the papal crusading ideology since in his opinion only the secular authorities were permitted to wage war and then only for defensive purposes. In addition, Luther underlined the insurmountable theological differences between Islam and Christianity. Asserting that violence was an inherent characteristic of their religion, Luther stated that Turkish rule lacked any legitimacy. His criticism of polygamy, as permitted in Islamic law, aimed at denouncing the social order of Muslims as unlawful on the family level. In Luther's view, "gehen den Türken also die wahre Religion, die wahre Obrigkeit sowie der wahre Hausstand und damit die tragenden Strukturen der Gesellschaft ab."49
Travel accounts and ethnographic treatises of the 16th century added other aspects to the discourse of alterity on Muslims and Turks and introduced important elements for its further development. Travellers did not so much concentrate on the "Turkish menace" in their publications, rather they wrote about cultural and social phenomena they observed in the Ottoman Empire, focusing naturally on those that differed from the ones at home. "Die Türken erscheinen hier nicht als die heilsgeschichtlichen Erbfeinde, sondern als Objekte des enthnographischen Blicks."50 Although accounts of the manners and customs of Muslims were often employed to confirm and support the circumstances and norms at home,51 the empirical information provided by travelogues expanded European knowledge of Islam and became part of a new ethnographic discourse that dealt with Islam in a more detached and factual manner than religious-theological treatises. Empirical insights and the use of scientific categories of description for Islam laid the foundation for a new understanding of religion, which made it possible to regard Islam as a religion equal to Christianity.52
On occasion, authors of 16th-century travel accounts reported positive aspects of the state and society of the Ottoman Empire that they had observed. Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq (1522–1592), who was in the service of a Habsburg envoy to Istanbul from 1554 to 1562, described the Ottoman Empire as a meritocracy and he contrasted it positively with the privileges of the nobility predominating in his home country . He also had a positive opinion of the order and regularity of the political and social organization of the empire, which he regarded as being exemplary.53 This shows that the situation in the Ottoman Empire could also be used as a foil for criticising one's own society. However, stereotypes persisted in many travel accounts. Thus, the Sultan's rule was often described as a tyranny under which the Christian subjects, in particular, suffered. Furthermore, new stereotypes were also being created, such as the image of the all-powerful sultan and the invincible state system.
The image of Islam in the age of the Renaissance and the Reformation was characterized by the discourse of the "Turkish menace". It carried, on one hand, conventional religious topoi (Islam as heresy, as the forces of the Antichrist) and, on the other, ethnic stereotypes (the Turks as barbarians) that were part of a long tradition. The Turks always appeared as the essential "other" and as an existential threat to the "self". The image of the Turk as the enemy became an integral component of the world-view of many Europeans. It was disseminated and strengthened by sermons, pamphlets and other types of literature. While Islam and "the Turks" were considered the antithesis of the "self", they were not entirely outside the world of central and western Europeans. Rather, they were part of their world and could be used in propaganda against opposing confessions or to mirror the faults of one's own society. However, the image of the Muslim "other" mostly served to strengthen one's own identity, be it as a Protestant or a Catholic Christian, or as a "civilized European".
The Image of Islam in the Discourses of the Enlightenment
The European image of the Turks and Islam that had crystallized in the 15th and 16th centuries was quite stable. Towards the end of the 17th century, however, a change became evident.54 The preconditions for this change were, on the one hand, a more detached view and new knowledge disseminated by travelogues and, on the other, the changed military and political situation. The defeats of the Ottomans in the second siege of Vienna (1683) and in the "Great Turkish War" (1683–1699) against the Holy League55 marked the end of Ottoman expansive power in central Europe. "Triumphalism" and "mockery of the Turks" replaced the "dread of the Turks" and the discourse of the "Turkish menace" in the Habsburg countries, but simultaneously affirmed the negative image of the Turks.56 While the perception of the Turks as enemies endured for a long time among the less-educated lower classes, a change to a more positive image gradually took place among the elite and the educated.
This transformation initially occurred in western Europe.57 In the court society of Louis XIV (1638–1715) "turqueries" were becoming fashionable, gallant Moors and Muslim heroes appeared in French theatre and literature, while Muslim Spain (Al-Andalus) acquired positive connotations .58 Turks, Moors and everything Oriental were considered exotic in elite culture. This enthusiasm for the exotic Orient started in France with an Ottoman embassy to Paris in 1669 and a Moroccan embassy which arrived in the French capital a little later. In literature, the Oriental fashion probably began with Jean Racine's (1639–1699) tragedy Bajazet (1672). It reached a climax shortly after 1700, when Antoine Galland's (1646–1715) translation of the One Thousand and One Nights (1704–1711) provided a standard for the exotic image of the Orient.59 At the same time, travellers sought to correct conventional stereotypes, among them Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) who tried to rectify the image of Ottoman women distorted by harem clichés.60
With the early Enlightenment, a more objective and positive view of Islam as a religion became established in scholarship.61 Richard Simon (1638–1712) rejected the description of Middle Eastern religions as heresies and recognized Islam as a variant of the same monotheistic belief.62 The Bibliothèque orientale by Barthélemy d'Herbelot (1625–1695), which was completed in 1697 by Antoine Galland, was the first encyclopaedia of the Middle East that did not construct an opposition between Islam and Christianity, Orient and Occident, and that did not make generalized statements.63 In 1730, the first objective biography of the prophet Muḥammad (ca. 570–632) was penned by Henri de Boulainvillier (1658–1722).64 Many intellectuals of the age of Enlightenment perceived Islam as a tolerant religion or underlined its rationality and simplicity, contrasting these positively with Christian dogmas, which were so difficult to grasp on a rational level. The historization of Islam and the varied interest shown by representatives of the Enlightenment65 also had downsides, however. Philosophers of the Enlightenment often used Islam and its prophet as an argument in their critique of ecclesiastical authorities and their teachings. In the process, they often reused old stereotypes66 or developed new ones. Thus, Voltaire (1694–1778) in his general critique of religion portrayed the prophet as an impostor and a fanatic, and as such used him as a mirror of that which he criticized in the Catholic Church. Denis Diderot (1713–1784) and others drew a link between Islam and fanaticism, or used accusations against Islam as indirect attacks against the Catholic Church.67
"Fanaticism" was a new term that entered the discourse on Islam via the Enlightenment's critique of religion.68 It took the place of older judgmental terms such as falseness, heresy, sham and lawlessness, with which Islam and Muslims had previously been associated, that is, those stereotypes that Boulainvilliers had tried to refute with his biography of Muḥammad.69 He and other philosophers of the Enlightenment, such as Voltaire and Simon Ockley (1678–1720), appreciated the virtues of the Arabs and Muslims of the Middle Ages and praised their contributions to philosophy, medicine and other sciences.70 But, at the same time, they bemoaned the devastation that Muslim fanaticism had supposedly caused in the Middle East. This perspective on the Muslim past was accentuated by the perceived political, military and economic decline of the Ottoman Empire since its defeat at the gates of Vienna. The contrast between a glorious past and a grim present constructed a new alterity. It could now be argued that Muslims were backward because they were not participating in the progress that Europe was achieving via the Enlightenment. Islam was often seen as the reason for the allegedly desolate condition of Middle Eastern countries because it was regarded as being hostile to science and preventing Enlightenment and progress.71 This created the context for a new image, that of the fanatical, ignorant, obscurantist and backward Muslim as the opposite of the enlightened and progressive European.
Apart from fanaticism and hostility to the sciences, another important prejudice was established by the Enlightenment, namely that of despotism. The use of the terms "despotism" and "Oriental despotism" to characterize political and social systems in Asia, especially in the Middle East, became customary in the mid-18th century.72 However, it was already noticeable towards the end of the 16th century that the peculiarities of the Ottoman Empire's socio-political structure that had formerly been judged in a positive or neutral way were now regarded negatively. Until about 1575, reports by Venetian diplomats presented the Ottoman Empire as a legitimate, even normal system of governance. They spoke with a certain fascination and admiration of the Sultan's realm, though this fascination was always paired with aversion. The centralized Ottoman state and the Sultan were considered to be powerful; the submissiveness and obedience of the people were praised as exemplary, and it was recognized that the (religious) law sufficiently prevented abuse of power.73 Before 1575, only isolated comments on tyranny in the Ottoman Empire can be found in the Venetian diplomatic reports. This, however, changed radically after 1575, as Venetian envoys more strongly emphasized the otherness of the political and social organization of the Ottomans and labelled it with derogative adjectives. Thus, the Ottomans were characterized as the opposite of the "self" and their empire as "the largest tyranny in history".74 This transformation of the Venetian perception is primarily linked to the new political image that the Venetian elites had of themselves: they regarded themselves as members of a free republic. The European debates about legitimate forms of government also played an important role in this change of the image of the Ottoman Empire.75
Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755)[ ] created in his work De l'esprit des lois (1747) a comprehensive theory and ideal type of despotism. Montesquieu characterized despotism not only as a form of political rule but also as a form of society, since despotic rule could pervade the entire community. In Montesquieu's ideal type, societies characterized by despotism have the following characteristics: the ruler (despot) stands above the law and his will is the law; there are no forces such as a nobility or a hereditary aristocracy that limit his rule; therefore, the despot can rule by means of a completely dependent administrative elite; the latter, as well as the subjects, have a slave mentality; in the relationship between the ruler and the subjects, as well as among the subjects, fear reigns, so that despotism also predominates in the household and family; furthermore, in a community characterized by despotism, there is no private ownership of land (everything belongs to the despot); and, finally, despotic rule results in the unbridled exploitation of nature.76 According to Montesquieu, order in societies characterized by despotism is maintained by fear and blind obedience; he saw no possibility for political change.77 He also presented despotism as the form of government characteristic of Asia, explaining this with the vastness of the land that favoured large empires and the hot climate prevalent in Asia. He held the view (as Aristotle [384–322 BC] did long before him) that hot climates soften people and thereby turn them into slaves, while people in moderate climatic zones (i.e. Europe) tend towards bravery and, consequently, were in a position to maintain and defend their freedom.78 Therefore, in the great expanses and heat of Asia, the despotic form of government prevailed, while in Europe the moderate regimes of monarchy and republic were the rule. According to Montesquieu, therefore, despotism emerges in Asia as if by a law of nature. By situating despotism in Asia, and especially in the Muslim empires of the Ottomans, Safavids and Moguls, to which Montesquieu continuously refers in his analysis,79 he – and others who elaborated on his theories – constructed an unbridgeable difference between East and West, between Muslim and European societies. Thus, the Oriental society with its despotic style of governance, its slave mentality and its all-pervading fear was constructed as the antithesis of the free European society in which law reigns, and virtue (in the republics) or honour (in the monarchies) determine political culture.
Montesquieu used late-17th-century European travel accounts as sources for his analysis of Asian political systems.80 His assessment of the Ottoman Empire was based mainly on Sir Paul Rycaut's (1626–1700) Present State of the Ottoman Empire (1668).81 Rycaut, who was the English consul in Smyrna (İzmir) from 1667 to 1678 and whose book achieved "canonical" status in the 18th century, included arbitrary and brutal rule, the absence of a nobility or an aristocracy, severe punishment, and blind obedience of the subjects among the Ottoman maxims of state. He considered tyrannical rule to be the source of the empire's might and greatness.82 Montesquieu took his information on the Mogul Empire in India from the writings of François Berniers (1620–1688), who compared the situation there with that in France and painted a picture of two different cultures, of which one – Muslim and Oriental – was in decline due to a despotic regime that promoted exploitation and corruption, while the other – French – was prospering due to a hereditary nobility, private property rights, economically independent towns and the protection of all estates by the law.83 Montesquieu's assessment of the situation in Persia was based on the writings of Jean Chardin (1643–1713).84 However, in the process of formulating his theory, Montesquieu ignored the many distinctions Chardin drew regarding the Safavid Empire, especially Chardin's assertions that there was indeed private landownership in Persia, and that the despotism prevalent at court did not affect the masses of the subjects, who were not the king's slaves.85 Montesquieu used his sources very selectively; he used information that supported his theory, but omitted what contradicted it,86 and thereby condensed his theory into an asymmetrical typology of East and West.87 While Montesquieu's primary motivation was not hostility to Islam, he nevertheless disseminated stereotypes of Islam and drew a connection between Islam and despotism: according to Montesquieu, Islam favoured arbitrary and cruel punishment and made people worship their ruler, and Muslims tended towards laziness and fatalism because of their belief in predestination.88 He thus created a deterministic dichotomy and accepted as self-evident the concept of a vast difference between Europe and the Orient. In this way, despotism became "the axis around which the image of the Other would revolve".89
Montesquieu's political theory must in the first place be understood as a critique of absolutist tendencies in France. His descriptions of despotism, which appear "like a caricature of the worst moments of Iranian or Turkish history"90, formed an image of terror that was intended to show the French what unrestrained royal rule could lead to. Here, the polyvalence of debates conducted in the age of Enlightenment is evident. The discussion about despotism could, on the one hand, be used to criticize developments and conditions in Europe and, on the other hand, it offered an interpretative framework for the situation in Asian societies. This applies in a similar manner to the topoi of fanaticism and hostility to the sciences. They not only served the analysis of alleged conditions in Muslim societies but could also be used at home in the battle against the power of the Church.
Montesquieu's theory of despotism was by no means undisputed. Voltaire criticized the climatic determinism on which it was constructed and drew attention to the untenability of many of its generalizations.91 Montesquieu's assertions did not withstand the test of empiricism either. Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron (1731–1805) and Charles William Boughton Rouse (1747–1821), who disproved Montesquieu's generalizations point by point – the former for the Ottoman Empire, Persia and India, and the latter for Bengal – were, however, not able to overcome the prevailing acceptance of the thesis of Oriental despotism.92 The same applies to the British ambassador in Istanbul, Sir James Porter (1710–1786), who attempted to prove that the Ottoman Empire was a limited monarchy in which scholars of law and religion ('ulamā') scrutinized the ruler and restricted his power.93
Montesquieu's theory could be used to denigrate the non-European world as the seedbed of despotism. As a consequence, many travel writers sought evidence in the Middle East for their preconceived opinions of Oriental despotism and for Montesquieu's thesis – and they found it. François de Tott (1733–1793) encountered despotism everywhere in the Ottoman Empire because he believed it to be a fundamental characteristic of Ottoman society and that despotism and slave mentality, which he thought was rooted in the Muslim belief of predestination, were character traits of the Turks.94 Lesser known authors such as William Eton also sought and found despotism in the Ottoman Empire. For Eton, the Sultan's despotism was closely related to the people's "superstition" and "prejudices", the foundations of which he identified in Islam, which he considered to be "absurd". He presented the despotism of the Ottomans as the antithesis of England's form of governance, which was embedded in laws and rules.95
Very often, a connection was also drawn between polygamy, which was permitted by Islamic law, and despotism; indeed, Montesquieu had described the harem as despotism en miniature.96 According to Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren (1760–1842), despotism was built on polygamy. Polygamy led to "family despotism" because it made the woman the slave of the man, who – as a result – became a despot. Despotism, therefore, came from below, from the family; and not from above, from the ruler. Thus, it was impossible for domestic virtues to develop in Muslim societies and, in consequence, there could be no civic society either.97 A much older set of arguments re-emerged here. Luther had described the social order of Muslims as illegitimate because of polygamy. Polygamy, the lack of freedom for women and their isolation in the harem, were generally considered "deficiencies of Islam" to which the morally superior monogamy in Europe was juxtaposed.98
Towards the end of the 18th century, the theory of despotism was used to deny the legitimacy of Middle Eastern regimes. Constantin-François Chassebœuf de Volney (1757–1820) is one example. According to Volney, the Ottoman Empire was an illegitimate state that exploited its subjects.99 He held that the entire population was exposed to the arbitrariness and predatory despotism of the military elites and that despotism and exploitation had resulted in the countries of the Middle East being entirely desolate, a topos that not only circulated in the age of Enlightenment but already in travel accounts of the 16th century. Volney drew a close connection between despotism and Islam, since both "cast humans into the chains of ignorance".100 To him, Islam was an obstacle to progress, the Koran predominantly a "tissue of vague phrases, empty of meaning", a "collection of puerile stories, of ridiculous fables", in which the spirit of fanaticism was evident and which in turn produced the "most absolute of despotism".101 Unlike Montesquieu, Volney did not consider despotism to be an irreversible phenomenon caused by the Asian climate, but a political phenomenon which was, therefore, subject to change. Based on the concept of despotism, Volney constructed a dichotomy between progress and secular rationality in Europe, on the one hand, and backwardness, ignorance and religious and political irrationality in the Middle East, on the other. His argumentation was heavily tinged by a discourse of superiority. By demonising despotism, he denied legitimacy to Ottoman rule. This discourse of superiority provided justification for prospective "well-intentioned" European interventions in the Middle East, since the introduction of European sciences was thought to be necessary in order to fight despotism and remedy the desolate conditions.102
In this way, the 18th century provided a new discourse of alterity. Islam and societies influenced by Islam were no longer defined as the "other" in terms of religious criteria, but in terms of secular criteria. The old discourse of alterity that had arisen from a feeling of being militarily threatened and inferior gave way to a new discourse of superiority. This discourse was based on a set of stereotypes that consisted of the cultural prejudices of despotism, fanaticism, hostility to the sciences, and backwardness, which were deployed to draw a distinction between the Muslim Orient and Europe. During the 19th century, this discourse became even more prevalent with the thesis that Islam and modernity, Islam and Europe were incompatible.103 In the context of the development of European hegemony in the late-18th century, Europeans began to regard "the Orient" and "the Occident" as two irreconcilable and contrary civilizations.104 They did so despite the fact that, up to the mid-18th century, there was no consensus whatsoever on where the geographical borders of Europe should be drawn, let alone the cultural ones. However, the Ottoman Empire was increasingly being excluded from Europe. The idea of Europe as an exclusive community of values was born; it was based on the assumption that, since the time of the ancient Greeks, an essential cultural continuity and coherence had existed through time and space, an assumption that implied that influences from the "outside" were negated or ignored.105 In this way, Europeans always defined themselves in relation to others, in contrast to the non-European world. Europe became the home of freedom, law, rationality, science, progress, intellectual curiosity, entrepreneurship and invention, all core values of Europeans that were traced back to the ancient Greeks, and that set them apart from the Orient, from Islam.
The Image of Islam in Imperialism and Orientalism
In the summer of 1798, French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) invaded Egypt. Although the occupation barely lasted three years, it was a watershed in the European perception of the Middle East and Islam. For the first time since the Crusades, Europeans seized power in one of the Muslim heartlands. The Enlightenment discourse resonated in the rhetoric used by Revolutionary France to justify its colonial enterprise. The French claimed to be liberating Egypt from the yoke of Mamluk and Ottoman "despots" and to be carrying the light of Enlightenment and Freedom to the Orient.106 Volney's interpretation of the conditions in Egypt and the Levant gained direct political relevance because the leaders of the Armée d'Egypte understood his Voyage en Syrie et en Egypte of 1787 as a kind of "guidebook" for the expedition.107
At the same time, the paradigm of the superiority of European civilization became dominant. Academics constructed the master narrative of the rise of Europe, and Europe was soon considered the universally valid model. The Islamic Middle East and the Ottoman Empire were excluded from this narrative. In the 1780s, Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803) described the Ottomans as strangers who did not belong to Europe because they were not only unwilling, but also incapable, of adapting to European culture.108 Around three and a half decades later, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) in his Vorlesungen über die Philosophie der Weltgeschichte [Lectures on the Philosophy of World History] (1822–1823) described world history as a history of reason that realizes itself in time, with the course of history moving from East to West. Associating the Orient with stagnation and immobility, he considered the history of Islam relevant only in so far as Muslims had inspired the European peoples with ideas and principles when Muslim civilization had been at its height a long time ago. But only through their acquisition by Europeans could these ideas and principles be developed and gain potency. Thus, the remainder of Islamic history appears as decline and Islam is portrayed as irrelevant to modern history.109 This marginalization and removal of Islamic history from world history, which was increasingly seen as a European history, was also reflected in the growing specialization of the humanities. The global field of reference that had prevailed in Enlightenment scholarship was divided up, and regionally defined sub-disciplines for the studies of the history, culture and religion of societies in Asia were established.110
On the political and economic level, the first decades of the 19th century were characterized by the consolidation of European hegemony over non-European societies and the strengthening of the colonial empires, especially the British Empire. At the margin of Europe, the "Oriental question" became increasingly important, that is, the question of how much of the Ottoman Empire – which now became known as the "Sick man of Europe" – was to be preserved and which European powers were to have influence (and how much influence) in the lands of the Sultans without jeopardizing the European balance of power. During the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), which triggered a wave of anti-Ottoman propaganda and enthusiasm for the cause of the Greeks (Philhellenism) in Europe, the image of the Turks deteriorated. As had already occurred in the 15th and 16th centuries and reflecting also the exclusion of the Ottomans from European history in academic discourse, the Ottomans were depicted as un-European barbarians.111 The situation of Christian minorities which – under the influence of nationalist ideas – strove for self-determination offered the European powers many opportunities for intervention. Uprisings and ethnic conflicts in the last quarter of the century (Bosnia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, East Anatolia) and the acts of violence committed there – by all parties – played their part in further darkening the image of the Ottomans. The European public merely perceived the violence of the Muslim/Ottoman side. Sultan Abdülhamid II (1842–1918) became the "Red Sultan" whose hands were dripping with the blood of his victims ; the Ottomans became the "Ugly Turks".112 Furthermore, during the last two decades of the 19th century and the first two of the 20th, almost every Muslim country was subjected to European colonial rule.113 Those states that were able to maintain their political independence (the Ottoman Empire, Persia, Afghanistan) were frequently in a state of semi-colonial subordination to one or several European powers.
In the 19th century, numerous stereotypes circulated that to a degree continue to shape the image of Islam and Muslims to this day. It was alleged that Islam does not know a separation of state and religion, that Muslims cannot conceive of a secular social and state order, that knowledge stagnates in Muslim societies and can only be developed through the adoption of European ideas and standards (Europeanization/Westernization is required), that Islam oppresses women and that Islam is anti-modern. Particularly widespread was the stereotype that Islam is the obstacle to modernization, enlightenment and progress in the Muslim Orient, and that Islam is the reason why it was inferior in political, military, economic and, ultimately, cultural terms.
These negative perceptions of the Orient, however, stood in contrast to positive ones. There was, for example, the idea of a poetic Orient as the unspoiled source of mysticism and spirituality for which many Europeans longed.114 In the image of the Orient, therefore, positive stereotypes, clichés and topoi competed with negative ones; it was an image that fluctuated between idealization and demonization. The Orient became the surface on which desires and fears were simultaneously projected. It is probably this Janus-headed quality that best describes the image of the Orient throughout the entire 19th century.115 When Europeans travelled to the Middle East in search of the poetic Orient (one can speak of tourism from the second quarter of the 19th century),116 the encounter with the real Orient resulted time and again in disappointments. No fairytale palaces could be found. There weren't even any "true" Oriental cafés in Cairo, as Gérard de Nerval (1808–1855) bemoaned. Oriental cafés that lived up to his ideas of the exotic and opulent could only be found in Paris!117 Another example is the French journalist and writer Louise Colet (1810–1876), who stayed at the court of the Khedive of Egypt in 1869 during the festivities for the opening of the Suez Canal. She was disappointed beyond measure that she was offered theatre and opera performances alla franca there. The Orient she would have expected looked quite different. She longed for sabre-wearing Orientals in flowing robes, caftans, fur and slippers who sat on Persian rugs and richly embroidered pillows and smoked pipes while being entertained by Nubian singers and dancers under "Babylonian illuminations".118
This disillusionment promoted the use of the Orient as a surface on which to project everything negative, and it was easy to hold Islam responsible for the negative features of the Orient.119 Conventional images of "the enemy" were revived. As early as the 1820s, the image of the Orient in German popular literature was dominated by negative stereotypes containing partially religious connotations and which postulated the moral superiority of Christianity and Europe. These stereotypes included cruelty and despotism, religious militancy and fanaticism, idleness and disorder, lustfulness and sensuality (embodied by the harem and polygamy) .120 Stereotypical images of this type served to stabilize European identity and culture – by showing how different and superior European culture was.121
The European ideas of Islam and of Muslims were characterized in the 19th century by a distinctive essentialism. An eternal and immutable nature was ascribed to Islam and the Orient, an essence that distinguished them fundamentally from Europe. To an even greater degree than in Volney's writings, academic knowledge was used in the age of European Imperialism to legitimize European rule over Muslim societies. In the late-19th and early-20th centuries, fantastical racist theories were added to the stereotypes of Islam that harked back to the age of Enlightenment (fanaticism, hostility to science, despotism, stagnation and backwardness), theories which were also used to prove the superiority of Europe. This discourse of alterity regarding Islam was repeated and defended by academic, literary and political authorities.122 Since the publication of Edward W. Said's (1935–2003) book Orientalism in 1978,123 this line of thought has commonly been called "Orientalism". In this widely received and much discussed polemic, Said described British and French Oriental studies of the 19th century as having established a hegemonic discourse on the Orient and thereby supported western rule in the Middle East.124 These 19th-century Orientalist structures of thought will be illustrated by the following two examples.
Ernest Renan (1823–1892) was a renowned professor, philologist and scholar of religion, who can be considered one of the outstanding French intellectuals of his time. Renan's views of Islam can be found in his L'islamisme et la science, a paper he read at the Sorbonne in 1883 and which reflects ideas that were commonly held in Europe.125 For Renan, Islam was essentially hostile to the sciences. He considered "the Muslim" incapable of learning and of thinking for himself. Rather, the Muslim is seen as fanatical, not accepting new ideas and despising other religions as well as the sciences and the teachings that constitute the "European spirit".126 In his lecture, Renan posed the question as to what contributions the Arabic-Islamic civilization had made to the sciences and philosophy. He arrived at the conclusion that it at best contributed something to the knowledge of humanity only between the late-8th and the 12th centuries, and that this contribution did not come about because of Islam, but in spite of Islam and in opposition to Islam. Furthermore, the contributed knowledge was neither Arabic nor Muslim. Firstly, he regarded all knowledge that the Muslims had at that time to be an adaptation of Greek and Persian knowledge, rather than created by themselves. Secondly, the scientists and philosophers of that time (with one exception) were not Arabs, but Persians, Central Asians or Spaniards. Thirdly, these scholars were not Muslims, but Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and others, or, if they were Muslims, they had "internally rebelled against their religion".127 Indeed, Renan continued, Islam and Muslims had always fought rational thought and had finally "suffocated" science and philosophy in the 13th century.128 It was at that point in history, according to Renan, as scientific curiosity was in decline in the Islamic world, which had come under the rule of a "Turkish race" or "Tartaric and Berber race" which was averse to all science, that the Greek knowledge transmitted in Arabic was adopted by the Europeans.129 What followed in the Middle East and North Africa was stagnation, religious intolerance and suppression – decline.
Renan's image of Islam stands in the tradition of the Enlightenment, but also deviates from it. As with the representatives of the Enlightenment, Renan's critique of Islam is part of a general critique of religion that also accuses the Catholic Church of animosity to rational knowledge.130 The philosophers of the Enlightenment, however, while assessing the Islam of their times as fanatical, backward and hostile to science, were simultaneously able to appreciate the works of medieval Arabic and Islamic scholars. By contrast, Renan is almost incapable of this appreciation.131
In addition, racist ideas entered Renan's argument. When the Muslim scholar Ǧamāladdīn al-Afġānī (1838/39–1897) reacted to Renan's criticism and answered him that Muslims had to struggle with the same problems as Christians on their road to a free, rational interpretation of the world, that is, with rigid dogmas and religious hierarchies that must be overcome, Renan answered in racist categories:
Sheikh Ǧamāladdīn is an Afghan who has rid himself completely of the prejudices of Islam. He belongs to those energetic races of Upper Iran in the proximity of India, in which under the superficial garb of official Islam the Arian spirit is still strongly alive. He is the best proof of the great axiom, which we have so often proclaimed, that religions only count as much as the races that profess them.132
As a philologist, Renan was of the opinion that the "spirit" of a people can be deduced from its language and texts and he defended the concept of a hierarchy of peoples, languages and civilizations. The "Semitic spirit" had produced monotheism, but everything else was a creation of the "Arian spirit".133 Since Arabic was a Semitic language, the Arabic-Islamic civilization was below that of the "Arian" Greeks, Persians and Europeans. Although Renan was convinced that he himself and Europeans in general were superior to Muslims, his image of Islam also appears to have been shaped by fear. But he believed that scientific and technological progress could banish the danger: "If Omar [the second Caliph], if Genghis Khan had come up against a good artillery, they would not have been able to cross the boundaries of their deserts".134 Renan's concepts did not go undisputed,135 but comparable views of European superiority over Muslims were popular in the 19th century.136
Evelyn Baring, the First Earl of Cromer (1841–1917)[ ] is an example of a political figure who supported and contributed to the European discourse on Islam. Cromer held office from 1883 to 1907 as the British Consul-General in Cairo and "advised" in this capacity the Khedive of Egypt, whose country was occupied by Britain in 1882. In fact, Cromer governed the country or, rather, governed the government of Egypt.137 Despite his decades of activity in Egypt, Cromer did not deign to learn Arabic.138 Nevertheless, he believed he knew precisely what made the essence of an Egyptian or an Oriental. "The Oriental"/"the Egyptian" was to him in every way the complete opposite of "the European"/"the Englishman": "… the Oriental generally acts, speaks, and thinks in a manner exactly opposite to the European."139 In contrast to the European, he considered the Oriental to be entirely irrational, a perception that was widely accepted at the time:140
For Cromer, the differences in thought, customs, religion and political ideas created insurmountable barriers between Egyptians and Englishmen, so that mutual understanding was as good as impossible.142 According to Cromer, these differences were due to race:
Apart from race, Cromer identified Islam as the reason why Egyptians were fundamentally different and backward. Cromer writes that "as a social system, it [Islam] is a complete failure".144 The reasons were the following: the subordinate position of women, polygamy and the separation of the spheres of men and women, which had devastating consequences not only for women, but – morally – also for men; the rigidity and irrationality of the religious and legal traditions that permitted no separation of state and religion, obstructed the development of capitalism and brutalized people by issuing severe sentences; slavery, which is immoral but permitted in Islamic law; and, finally, intolerance, which is inherent to the Islamic religion. For Cromer, Islam was not compatible with modern civilization in the European-Christian sense, nor could it be reformed because a reformed Islam would no longer be Islam. In general, Orientals were lethargic and conservative to such a degree that they resisted any innovation.145 Nevertheless, the English – an "imperial race" with "sterling national qualities", driven by selfless Christian morality – had a mission in Egypt: to bring order to chaos, to educate the immature Egyptians, who were not capable of governing themselves, and to elevate them morally and materially to a higher level, and to fight corruption.146 In other words, the English were the doctors of a sick society; their rule over the Egyptians, who were inferior due to race and religion, was not only legitimate, but even necessary.
Cromer's view of Egyptians, Muslims and Orientals exemplifies the close intertwining of Orientalist knowledge and colonial power. The separation of Orient and Occident suggested by Cromer, Renan and other authors of the 19th century established a rigid dichotomy between Islam and Europe that was structured by binary pairs of opposites that always implied European superiority: order vs. chaos, rationality vs. irrationality, progress vs. stagnation, enlightenment vs. ignorance, democracy vs. despotism, human vs. inhuman. In this way, a specific essence was ascribed to Islam, to the Orient that differentiated them from Europe. Geographical, social and historical differences within the Islamic world were ignored. The Orient became an eternal entity; Islam and Muslims were conceived as being immutable in their essence and as being the same everywhere.
Stereotypes and clichés of Islam have proved to be durable, but have also been subject to change over time and space. However, the process of assuring the "self" by marking Islam off as a danger to the "self" has been a constant that has influenced the construction and shaping of European identity. The discourse of alterity on Islam has always been organized in dichotomies and has implied varying concepts of the greater worth and superiority of one's own culture and society. The idea of a distinctive European identity was based on Christian foundations which were secularized in the age of Enlightenment. The pairs of opposites Christians/pagans and Christians/heretics receded into the background. Another pair of opposites, which was informed by ideas from ancient times, that of Europeans/barbarians, also temporarily lost significance. At the same time, other dichotomies that were connected to the idea of a distinctive European civilization established themselves: rationality/irrationality, rule of law/despotism, progress/stagnation, order/chaos. Finally, in the 19th century, racist ideas were added to justify European superiority. Stereotypes depicting a violent, irrational, fanatical and intolerant Islam, as well as a widespread "Islamophobia"147 are still being politically exploited today. Examples can be named almost at will, be it the "War on Terror" or the Swiss referendum on banning the construction of new minarets . The perception of the Muslim as the "other" of the European, of Islam as the antithesis of Europe and the "West", which is supported by pseudoscientific writings such as Samuel P. Huntington's (1927–2008) Clash of Civilizations, also stands in the way of the integration of people of Muslim faith into the societies of Europe.148
Bernier, François: Travels in the Moghul Empire A.D. 1656–1668, ed. by Vincent A. Smith, London 1914 [Original French edition 1670–1671].
Cromer, Evelyn Baring, Earl of: Modern Egypt, London 1908, vol. 1–2 [Reprint London et al. 2000–2002].
Geldner, Ferdinand (ed.): Der Türkenkalender: "Ein manung der christenheit widder die durcken": Mainz 1454: Das älteste vollständig erhaltene gedruckte Buch: Faksimile und Kommentarband, Wiesbaden 1975.
Renan, Ernest: L'islamisme et la science: Conférence faite à la Sorbonne, le 29 mars 1883, in: Ernest Renan: Œuvres complètes, ed. by Henriette Psichari, Paris 1947, vol. 1, pp. 944–964.
Ágoston, Gábor: Ideologie, Propaganda und politischer Pragmatismus: Die Auseinandersetzungen der osmanischen und habsburgischen Großmächte und die mitteleuropäische Konfrontation, in: Martina Fuchs et al. (eds.): Kaiser Ferdinand I.: Ein mitteleuropäischer Herrscher, Münster 2005, pp. 207–233.
Asad, Talal: Muslims and European Identity: Can Europe Represent Islam?, in: Anthony Pagden (ed.): The Idea of Europe: From Antiquity to the European Union, Washington 2002, pp. 209–227.
Benz, Wolfgang (ed.): Islambilder vom Mittelalter bis zum Ersten Weltkrieg: Traditionen der Abwehr, Romantisierung, Exotisierung, in: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft 58 (2010), pp. 586–680.
Bobzin, Hartmut: Martin Luthers Beitrag zur Kenntnis und Kritik des Islam, in: Neue Zeitschrift für systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie 27 (1985), pp. 262–289.
Bousquet, G. H.: Voltaire et l'Islâm, in: Studia Islamica 28 (1968), pp. 109–126.
Braude, Benjamin: The Sons of Noah and the Construction of Ethnic and Geographical Identities in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods, in: William and Mary Quarterly 54 (1997), pp. 105–142.
Brecht, Martin: Luther und die Türken, in: Bodo Gutmüller et al. (eds.): Europa und die Türken in der Renaissance, Tübingen 2000 (Frühe Neuzeit 54), pp. 11–27.
Buchmann, Bertrand Michael: Türkenlieder zu den Türkenkriegen und besonders zur zweiten Wiener Türkenbelagerung, Vienna et al. 1983.
Cardini, Franco: Europa und der Islam: Geschichte eines Mißverständnisses, transl. by Rita Seuß, Munich 2000 [Original Italian edition: Europa e Islam: Storia di un Malintenso, Rome et al. 1999].
Çırakman, Aslı: From the "Terror of the World" to the "Sick Man of Europe": European Images of Ottoman Empire and Society from the Sixteenth Century to the Nineteenth, New York et al. 2002 (Studies in Modern European History 43).
Çırakman, Aslı: From Tyranny to Despotism: The Enlightenment's Unenlightened Image of the Turks, in: International Journal of Middle East Studies 33 (2001), pp. 49–68.
Colpe, Carsten: Historische und theologische Gründe für die abendländische Angst vor dem Islam, in: Carsten Colpe (ed.): Problem Islam, Frankfurt am Main 1989, pp. 11–38.
Curtis, Michael: The Oriental Despotic Universe of Montesquieu, in: Princeton Papers in Near Eastern Studies 3 (1994), pp. 1–38.
Daniel, Norman: The Arabs and Medieval Europe, London et al. 1975.
Duprat, Anne: Muslim Heroes in Early Modern French Literature: Inventing History, in: Gabriele Haug-Moritz et al. (eds.): Repräsentationen der islamischen Welt im Europa der Frühen Neuzeit, Münster 2010, pp. 221–235.
Ehmann, Johannes: Luther, Türken und Islam: Eine Untersuchung zum Türken- und Islambild Martin Luthers (1515–1546), Gütersloh et al. 2008 (Quellen und Forschungen zur Reformationsgeschichte 80).
Eibach, Joachim: Annäherung – Abgrenzung – Exotisierung: Typen der Wahrnehmung 'des Anderen' in Europa am Beispiel der Türken, Chinas und der Schweiz (16. bis frühes 19. Jahrhundert), in: Joachim Eibach et al. (eds.): Europäische Wahrnehmung 1650–1850: Interkulturelle Kommunikation und Medienereignisse, Hannover 2008 (The Formation of Europe – Historische Formationen Europas 3), pp. 13–73.
Eke, Norbert Otto: Orient und Okzident: Mohammed, der Islam und das Christentum: Zur Darstellung kultureller Alterität um 1800 (mit einem Seitenblick auf die Bestände der Fürstlichen Bibliothek Corvey), in: Charis Goer et al. (eds.): Der Deutschen Morgenland: Bilder des Orients in der deutschen Literatur und Kultur von 1770 bis 1850, Munich 2008, pp. 85–102.
Fleet, Kate: Italian Perceptions of the Turks in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, in: Journal of Mediterranean Studies 5 (1995), pp. 159–172.
Göllner, Carl: Turcica: Die europäischen Türkendrucke des XVI. Jahrhunderts, Bucharest et al. 1961–1978, vol. 1–3.
Grandits, Hannes: "Europäisierung" im spätosmanischen Südosteuropa im 19. Jahrhundert: Von einer romantischen Idee zu rücksichtsloser Realpolitik, online: http://www.europa.clio-online.de/2010/Article=438 [20/11/2012].
Grothaus, Maximilian: Zum Türkenbild in der Kultur der Habsburgermonarchie zwischen dem 15. und 18. Jahrhundert, in: Andreas Tietze (ed.): Habsburgisch-osmanische Beziehungen, Vienna 1985 (Beiheft zur Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 13), pp. 67–89.
Gunny, Ahmad: Diderot, the Encyclopédie and Islam, in: R.J. Howells et al. (eds.): Voltaire and his World: Studies Presented to William H. Barber, Oxford 1985, pp. 261–271.
Haag, Norbert: "Erbfeind der Christenheit": Türkenpredigten im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, in: Gabriele Haug-Moritz et al. (eds.): Repräsentationen der islamischen Welt im Europa der Frühen Neuzeit, Münster 2010, pp. 127–149.
Harbsmeier, Michael: Images of Despotism: Ottoman and Muscovite in German 16th and Early 17th Century Travel Accounts, in: Peter Ulf Møller (ed.): Reciprocal Images: Russian Culture in the Mirror of Traveller's Accounts: Based on the Kollekolle Conference, Copenhagen, 2.–5. December 1994, Copenhagen 1997 (Culture & History 14), pp. 37–47.
Heine, Peter: Konflikt der Kulturen oder Feindbild Islam: Alte Vorurteile, neue Klischees, reale Gefahren, Freiburg im Breisgau et al. 2002.
Helmrath, Johannes: Pius II. und die Türken, in: Bodo Gutmüller et al. (eds.): Europa und die Türken in der Renaissance, Tübingen 2000 (Frühe Neuzeit 54), pp. 79–138.
Hentsch, Thierry: Imagining the Middle East, transl. by Fred A. Reed, Montreal et al. 1992 [Original French edition: L'Orient imaginaire: Vision politique de l'Est méditerranéen, Paris 1988].
Höfert, Almut: Alteritätsdiskurse: Analyseparameter historischer Antagonismusnarrative und ihre historiographischen Folgen, in: Gabriele Haug-Moritz et al. (eds.): Repräsentationen der islamischen Welt im Europa der Frühen Neuzeit, Münster 2010, pp. 21–40.
Höfert, Almut: Die "Türkengefahr" in der Frühen Neuzeit: Apokalyptischer Feind und Objekt des ethnographischen Blicks, in: Thorsten Gerald Schneiders (ed.): Islamfeindlichkeit: Wenn die Grenzen der Kritik verschwimmen, 2nd edition, Wiesbaden 2010 [1st edition 2009], pp. 61–70.
Hourani, Albert: Islam in European Thought, Cambridge et al. 1991 [German edition: Der Islam im europäischen Denken: Essays, ed. and transl. by Gennaro Ghirardelli, Frankfurt am Main 1994].
Joubin, Rebecca: Islam and Arabs through the Eyes of the Encyclopédie: The "Other" as a Case of French Cultural Self-Criticism, in: International Journal of Middle East Studies 32 (2000), pp. 197–217.
Kaufmann, Thomas: Aspekte der Wahrnehmung der "türkischen Religion" bei christlichen Autoren des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts, in: Dietrich Klein et al. (eds.): Wahrnehmung des Islam zwischen Reformation und Aufklärung, Paderborn 2008, pp. 9–26.
Kuran-Burçoğlu, Nedret: Die Wandlung des Türkenbildes in Europa: Vom 11. Jahrhundert bis zur heutigen Zeit: Eine kritische Perspektive, Zurich 2005.
Lévi-Provençal, Évariste / Donzel, Emeri van: Art. "Moors", in: The Encyclopaedia of Islam2 7 (1993), p. 235.
Lockman, Zachary: Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism, Cambridge et al. 2004 (The Contemporary Middle East 3).
MacLean, Gerald: Looking East: English Writing and the Ottoman Empire before 1800, Basingstoke et al. 2007.
Malettke, Klaus: Die Vorstöße der Osmanen im 16. Jahrhundert aus französischer Sicht, in: Bodo Gutmüller et al. (eds.): Europa und die Türken in der Renaissance, Tübingen 2000 (Frühe Neuzeit 54), pp. 373–394.
Matar, Nabil: Islam in Britain 1558–1685, Cambridge et al. 1998.
Mertens, Dieter: Claromontani passagii exemplum: Papst Urban II. und der erste Kreuzzug in der Türkenkriegspropaganda des Renaissance-Humanismus, in: Bodo Gutmüller et al. (eds.): Europa und die Türken in der Renaissance, Tübingen 2000 (Frühe Neuzeit 54), pp. 65–78.
Mertens, Dieter: "Europa, id est patria, domus propria, sedes nostra ...": Zu Funktionen und Überlieferung lateinischer Türkenreden im 15. Jahrhundert, in: Franz-Reiner Erkens (ed.): Europa und die osmanische Expansion im ausgehenden Mittelalter, Berlin 1997 (Zeitschrift für historische Forschung Beiheft 20), pp. 39–57.
Meserve, Margaret: Medieval Sources of Renaissance Theories on the Origins of the Ottoman Turks, in: Bodo Gutmüller et al. (eds.): Europa und die Türken in der Renaissance, Tübingen 2000 (Frühe Neuzeit 54), pp. 409–436.
Naumann, Thomas: Feindbild Islam: Historische und theologische Gründe einer europäischen Angst, in: Thorsten Gerald Schneiders (ed.): Islamfeindlichkeit: Wenn die Grenzen der Kritik verschwimmen, 2nd edition, Wiesbaden 2010 [1st edition 2009], pp. 20–36.
Neuber, Wolfgang: Grade der Fremdheit: Alteritätskonstruktion und experientia-Argumentation in deutschen Turcica der Renaissance, in: Bodo Gutmüller et al. (eds.): Europa und die Türken in der Renaissance, Tübingen 2000 (Frühe Neuzeit 54), pp. 249–265.
Neuwirth, Angelika et al. (eds.): Europa im Nahen Osten – Der Nahe Osten in Europa, Berlin 2010.
Osterhammel, Jürgen: Die Entzauberung Asiens: Europa und die asiatischen Reiche im 18. Jahrhundert, Munich 1998.
Osterhammel, Jürgen: Wissen als Macht: Deutungen interkulturellen Nichtverstehens bei Tzvetan Todorov und Edward Said, in: Jürgen Osterhammel: Geschichtswissenschaft jenseits des Nationalstaats: Studien zur Beziehungsgeschichte und Zivilisationsvergleich, Göttingen 2001 (Kritische Studien zur Geschichtswissenschaft 147), pp. 240–265.
Paret, Rudi: Art. "Ismā'īl", in: The Encyclopaedia of Islam2 6 (1978), p. 184.
Pocock, John G.A.: What Do We Mean by Europe?, in: The Wilson Quarterly 21 (1997), pp. 12–29.
Pocock, John G.A.: Some Europes in Their Histories, in: Anthony Pagden (ed.): The Idea of Europe: From Antiquity to the European Union, Washington 2002, pp. 55–71.
Rippin, A. / Heinrichs, W.P.: Art. "Sām", in: The Encyclopaedia of Islam2 8 (1995), p. 1007.
Rodinson, Maxime: La fascination de l'Islam: Les étapes du regard occidental sur le monde musulman: Les études arabes et islamiques en Europe, Paris 1981 [German edition: Die Faszination des Islam, transl. by Irene Riesen, Munich 1985].
Rubiés, Joan-Pau: Oriental Despotism and European Orientalism: Botero to Montesquieu, in: Journal of Early Modern History 9 (2005), pp. 109–180.
Said, Edward W.: Orientalism, 2nd edition, New York 1994 [1st edition London 1978; German edition: Orientalismus, transl. by Hans Günter Holl, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2009).
Schmeisser, Martin: "Mohammed, der Erzbetrüger": Negative Darstellungen des Propheten in den religionskritischen Produktionen des Libertinismus und der Radikalaufklärung, in: Dietrich Klein (ed.): Wahrnehmung des Islam zwischen Reformation und Aufklärung, Paderborn 2008, pp. 77–108.
Schulze, Reinhard: Alte und neue Feindbilder: Das Bild der arabischen Welt und des Islams im Westen, in: Georg Stein (ed.): Nachgedanken zum Golfkrieg, Heidelberg 1991, pp. 244–259.
Schulze, Reinhard: Die Schlacht bei den Pyramiden oder der Mythos von der Brücke zum Jetzt, in: Gerd Krumeich et al. (eds.): Schlachtenmythen: Ereignis – Erzählung – Erinnerung, Cologne 2003, pp. 91–113.
Schulze, Winfried: Reich und Türkengefahr im späten 16. Jahrhundert: Studien zu den politischen und gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen einer äußeren Bedrohung, Munich 1978.
Shahîd, Irfan / Bosworth, Clifford E.: Art. "Saracens", in: The Encyclopaedia of Islam2 9 (1997), p. 27.
Southern, Richard W.: Western Views of Islam in the Middle Ages, Cambridge 1962 [German edition: Das Islambild des Mittelalters, Stuttgart et al. 1981].
Stockinger, Hermann E.: Die Apostasie des Pascha-Grafen Alexander von Bonneval (1675–1747) und europäische Stimmen zum "Fall" Bonneval, in: Dietrich Klein et al. (eds.): Wahrnehmung des Islam zwischen Reformation und Aufklärung, Paderborn 2008, pp. 109–137.
Teply, Karl: Türkentaufen in Wien während des Großen Türkenkrieges 1683–1699: Wesen und Bedeutung der Türkentaufen, in: Jahrbuch des Vereins für die Geschichte des Stadt Wien 27 (1971), pp. 57–87.
Valensi, Lucette: The Making of a Political Paradigm: The Ottoman State and Oriental Despotism, in: Anthony Grafton et al. (eds.): The Transmission of Culture in Early Modern Europe, Philadelphia 1990, pp. 173–203.
Valensi, Lucette: Venise et la Sublime Porte: La naissance du despote, 2nd edition, Paris 2005 [1st edition 1987].
Varisco, Martin Daniel: Reading Orientalism: Said and the Unsaid, Seattle et al. 2007.
Vocelka, Karl: Erblande gegen Erbfeinde: Die österreichischen Länder und das Osmanische Reich in der Frühen Neuzeit, in: Gabriele Haug-Moritz et al. (eds.): Repräsentationen der islamischen Welt im Europa der Frühen Neuzeit, Münster 2010, pp. 41–54.
Wheatcroft, Andrew: The Ottomans: Dissolving Images, London et al. 1993.
Young, David: Montesquieu's View of Despotism and his Use of Travel Literature, in: Review of Politics 40 (1978), pp. 392–405.
^ Literature regarding the problematic history of relations between Europe and the Islamic world is abundant. The following works provide a detailed overview: Rodinson, La fascination 1981; Hentsch, L'Orient imaginaire 1988; Cardini, Europa e Islam 1999; Heine, Konflikt der Kulturen 2002; Lockman, Contending Visions 2004. The following are suitable as brief orientations and introductions: Colpe, Historische und theologische Gründe 1989; Naumann, Feindbild Islam 2010. Regarding the treatment of Islam in European scholarship, see especially Hourani, Islam in European Thought 1991. Regarding the relationship between European Christianity and Islam in the Middle Ages, which is only discussed very briefly in my article, see: Daniel, Islam and the West 1960; Daniel, The Arabs and Medieval Europe 1975; Southern, Western Views of Islam 1962; Tolan, Saracens 2002. The following publications appeared too late to be used in this paper: Benz, Islambilder 2010, and Neuwirth et al., Europa im Nahen Osten 2010.
^ See Neuber, Grade der Fremdheit 2000, p. 250, and Höfert, Alteritätsdiskurse 2010, pp. 24f., based on Reinhardt Koselleck: Zur historisch-politischen Semantik asymmetrischer Gegenbegriffe, in: Koselleck, Vergangene Zukunft: Zur Semantik geschichtlicher Zeiten, Frankfurt am Main 1979 (reprint 1989), pp. 211–259. Cf. Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 28f., who notes that thought in binary opposites cannot really grasp subtle distinctions in the perception of differences, since gradual differences of a perceived otherness fade into the background as a result. For a typology of perceptions of otherness, cf. also Eibach, Annäherung – Abgrenzung – Exotisierung 2008, pp. 14–25.
^ Cf. Neuber, Grade der Fremdheit 2000, pp. 250f.
^ Neuber, Grade der Fremdheit 2000, p. 250.
^ Tolan, Saracens 2002, p. xix; Kaufmann, Aspekte der Wahrnehmung 2008, p. 9.
^ For an overview of the image of Turks in Italy during the 14th and 15th centuries, see Fleet, Italian Perceptions of the Turks 1995.
^ As a survey of the perception and interpretation of the "Turkish menace", the following is suitable: Höfert, "Türkengefahr" in der Frühen Neuzeit 2009. Kuran-Burçoğlu, Wandlung des Türkenbildes 2005, provides an overview of the European image of the Turks from the 11th to 20th century.
^ Helmrath, Pius II. 2000, p. 105.
^ For excerpts from the speech, cf. http://www.europa.clio-online.de/site/lang__de/ItemID__96/mid__11373/40208215/default.aspx#_ftnref1 [08.03.2011].
^ Mertens, Europa, id est patria 1997, p. 51.
^ Mertens, Europa, id est patria 1997; Mertens, Claromontani passagii exemplum 2000; Helmrath, Pius II. 2000; cf. Höfert, Den Feind beschreiben 2003, pp. 62–68.
^ Mertens, Claromontani passagii exemplum 2000, p. 78.
^ ibid. ("in the perception and classification of the Ottoman expansion, in its apperception as a 'Turkish menace' besetting all of Latin Christianity and in the formation of the interpretive pattern 'Europe and the Turks'", transl. by M.O.)
^ A digitized version of the Bulla cruciata contra Turcos of Pius II is available at the Wolfenbüttel Digital Library: http://diglib.hab.de/wdb.php?dir=inkunabeln/li-4f-413-1-1 [08.03.2011].
^ Helmrath, Pius II. 2000, pp. 82f.
^ Tolan, Saracens 2002, p. 5; cf. also Shahîd / Bosworth, Art. "Saracens" 1997. Another term for Muslims, especially in the Iberian Peninsula and in North Africa, was "Moors". See Lévi-Provençal / Donzel, Art. "Moors" 1993.
^ Höfert, Alteritätsdiskurse 2010, p. 28.
^ Helmrath, Pius II. 2000, pp. 106f., 110f. Furthermore, medieval sources also have the Franks originating from the Trojans: Meserve, Medieval Sources 2000, p. 410.
^ The thesis that the Turks were of Scythian origin was based on a highly selective use of medieval sources and ancient legends; newer sources that proved that the origins of the Turks lay actually in Central Asia were omitted. Furthermore, medieval sources also placed the Scythians in an apocalyptic context by associating them with Gog and Magog.
^ Meserve, Medieval Sources 2000; Helmrath, Pius II. 2000, pp. 107–109.
^ Mertens, Europa, id est patria 1997, pp. 54f.
^ Kaufmann, Aspekte der Wahrnehmung 2008, p. 9; regarding European Turkish pamphlets in the 16th century, see Göllner, Turcica 1961–1978.
^ Thus, the first multi-page print was a Türkenkalender (Calendar of the Turks) and not the Bible (Geldner, Türkenkalender 1975; Mertens, Europa, id est patria 1997, p. 42). Regarding the connection between printing technology and the "Turkish menace", cf. Höfert, Alteritätsdiskurse 2010, p. 28; Höfert, Den Feind beschreiben 2003, p. 62; Höfert, "Türkengefahr" in der Frühen Neuzeit 2009, p. 61; Kaufmann, Aspekte der Wahrnehmung 2008, p. 9.
^ Vocelka, Erblande gegen Erbfeinde 2010, pp. 41f.
^ Höfert, Alteritätsdiskurse 2010, pp. 30f.
^ Vocelka, Erblande gegen Erbfeinde 2010, pp. 49f.; on German sermons against the Turks, see Haag, "Erbfeind der Christenheit" 2010.
^ Höfert, Den Feind beschreiben 2003, p. 76.
^ Vocelka, Erblande gegen Erbfeinde 2010, p. 50.
^ It should be noted here that all parties committed horrible atrocities and wreaked devastation during the wars of the Early Modern period. The image of the Swedes and French formed in Germany during the Thirty Years' War barely differed from that of the Turks. (Cf. Grothaus, Türkenbild 1985, p. 68.)
^ Between 1501 and 1550, about 1,000 Turkish prints were published in Europe, between 1551 and 1600 about 250 (Malettke, Vorstöße der Osmanen 2000, p. 388).
^ ("the attitude present in the French population did not significantly deviate from the traditional occidental 'image of the Turks' as complete demons", transl. by M.O.) Unlike in the Holy Roman Empire, the negative image was not promoted and spread by the authorities in France, but largely arose independently, since the French kings were at times in an anti-Habsburg alliance with the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century (see Malettke, Vorstöße der Osmanen 2000, pp. 387, 393f.).
^ See Matar, Turks, Moors, and Englishmen 1999, pp. 12–18; MacLean, Looking East 2007, pp. 2–12, 57.
^ Matar, Islam in Britain 1998, pp. 105f., 121–128; MacLean, Looking East 2007, pp. 44–47, 52–61.
^ The interpretation of Islam as a Christian heresy was formed in the 8th century by John of Damascus, a Melkite monk and theologian (Yuḥannā b. Manṣūr b. Sarǧūn, ca. 676–ca. 749). It was supplemented by his student, the Melkite bishop Theodore Abū Qurra (ca. 750–ca. 820), who not only spoke out against Muḥammad, whom he called a false prophet, but also against Islam, which, according to Abū Qurra, tolerated violence and promised sensual pleasures in the afterlife. (Tolan, Saracens 2002, pp. 50–55, 58f.; Höfert, Alteritätsdiskurse 2010, p. 26; Kaufmann, Aspekte der Wahrnehmung 2008, p. 9; on the polemics conducted by John of Damascus against Muḥammad, see also Schmeisser, "Mohammed, der Erzbetrüger" 2008, pp. 78f.)
^ Kaufmann, Aspekte der Wahrnehmung 2008, pp. 10f.
^ Like the heresy topos, the motif of Muslims as forces of the Antichrist originated in the Middle Ages. It linked Muslims to the apocalyptic tradition and placed them (as the satanic opponents of God) in the context of salvation history. As the Saracens had been in the Middle Ages, so the Turks were viewed in the Early Modern Period as the enemies of God in an apocalyptic conflict from which the true Christians would emerge victorious (Höfert, Alteritätsdiskurse 2010, p. 25). Apart from the topoi of Muslims as the forces of the Antichrist and as heretics, a third topos handed down from the Middle Ages circulated in the Early Modern Period – the idea that there was a genealogical link between Muslims and Biblical figures with negative connotations. In one of these genealogical constructs, Muslims, or rather the Arabs, were seen as the descendents of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and his servant Hagar. (Gen. 16:15. Hagar was a slave of Abraham's wife Sarah; she was expelled from Abraham's household together with Ishmael after Sarah gave birth to her son Isaac. On the Muslim tradition regarding Ishmael, see Paret, Art. "Ismā'īl" 1978.) Ishmael was credited with having introduced idolatry, which made it plausible to see Muslims as pagan idol worshippers. The terms "Ishmaelites" and "Hagarenes" for Muslims, which were often used alongside the term "Saracens", are derived from this genealogy. (Höfert, Alteritätsdiskurse 2010, p. 24; Tolan, Saracens 2002, p. xix.). Also, the origin of the "Saracens" was often associated with the Biblical tale of Noah's sons. They were either traced back to Shem or Ham, with Shem being made responsible for the introduction of idolatry. (Höfert, Alteritätsdiskurse 2010, pp. 24f.) According to the Biblical tradition, Ham mocked his father whereupon the latter cursed Ham's descendants: they were to serve the descendents of Ham's brothers Shem and Japheth as slaves. For another misdemeanour, Ham was also punished with a dark skin. In the Early Modern period, in a very simplified interpretation of the Biblical tradition, the descendants of Shem came more and more to be seen as living in Asia (Semites), those of Ham in Africa (Hamites) and those of Japheth in Europe. The trend of associating Ham's descendants with infidels and slaves and Shem's with the Jews, Saracens and Muslims laid the basis for later racist discourses and the justification of the enslavement of Sub-Saharan Africans. (See Braude, Sons of Noah 1997. Cf. also Rippin / Heinrichs, Art. "Sām" 1995.)
^ Kaufmann, Aspekte der Wahrnehmung 2008, pp. 11–14, quotes from p. 12; for further discussions, see Kaufmann, "Türckenbüchlein" 2008.
^ ("overall picture of Christianity as a religion under imminent threat", transl. by M.O.) Kaufmann, Aspekte der Wahrnehmung 2008, p. 18.
^ ibid., p. 17–19.
^ On the topic of Luther and Islam, see Brecht, Luther und die Türken 2000; Bobzin, Luthers Beitrag 1985; and Ehmann, Luther, Türken und Islam 2008.
^ Kaufmann, Aspekte der Wahrnehmung 2008, pp. 19–23.
^ Kaufmann, Aspekte der Wahrnehmung 2008, pp. 24f., quote p. 25.
^ Brecht, Luther und die Türken 2000, pp. 10–18.
^ ibid., p. 15, "the Turks, therefore, lacked true religion, true government and true family and, consequently, the basic structures of society." (transl. by M.O.). Cf. Bobzin, Luthers Beitrag 1985, p. 282.
^ Höfert, Alteritätsdiskurse 2010, p. 32, "Here, the Turks did not appear as the archenemies of salvation history, but as objects of the ethnographic gaze." (transl. by M.O.)
^ Höfert, Alteritätsdiskurse 2010, pp. 32–34.
^ Lockman, Contending Visions 2004, p. 43; Çırakman, From Tyranny to Despotism 2001, p. 52.
^ Joachim Eibach identified the period around 1700 as a so-called "Sattelzeit" (transition period) in which patterns of European perception of otherness profoundly changed (see Eibach, Annäherung – Abgrenzung – Exotisierung 2008, pp. 70–73).
^ The Holy League was an alliance between Habsburg Austria, Poland-Lithuania, the Papal State, Venice and Russia.
^ Songs mocking the Ottomans arose in association with their defeat outside Vienna; for examples, see Buchmann, Türkenlieder 1983. Expressions of the triumph over the Turks are found in Baroque representational architecture of the period, but also in the baptism of Muslims ("Turkish baptisms"); see Teply, Türkentaufen in Wien 1971. See also Grothaus, Türkenbild 1985, pp. 80–82.
^ This tendency, which had already begun to emerge in the 17th century, must be seen against the background of French experiences in the Wars of Religion: Al-Andalus could serve as a positive example for a multi-confessional society (Duprat, Muslim Heroes 2010).
^ ibid., p. 229; Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, p. 32. Cf. Cardini, Europa und der Islam 2000, pp. 249f.
^ Cf. Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, p. 355.
^ This section is based on Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 101; Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 56f., 355. On d'Herbelot cf. Said, Orientalism 1994, pp. 63–67.
^ D'Herbelot, Bibliothèque orientale 1697. However, also d'Herbelot portrayed Muḥammad as an impostor; see Said, Orientalism 1994, pp. 65f.
^ Boulainvilliers, La vie de Mahomed 1730 (and further editions; several translations into German and English).
^ Cf. the catalogue of topics regarding Islam and the Orient that were of interest to the Enlightenment thinkers in Stockinger, Apostasie des Pascha-Grafen Bonneval 2008, pp. 128–130.
^ Joubin, Islam and Arabs 2000, p. 200.
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, pp. 101, 104–106; Bousquet, Voltaire et l'Islâm 1968; Gunny, Diderot, the Encyclopédie and Islam 1985; Joubin, Islam and Arabs 2000. For negative portrayals of Muḥammad in critical discourses on religion of the Radical Enlightenment, see Schmeisser, "Mohammed, der Erzbetrüger" 2008.
^ Voltaire's tragedy Le fanatisme, ou Mahomet le prophète (1741) must be interpreted in this context. Here, Voltaire resorted to widespread stereotypes and portrayed Muḥammad as a despicable, violent and treacherous man. (Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, pp. 104f.; for an analysis of this tragedy, see Badir, Voltaire et l'Islam 1974, pp. 71–146.)
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, pp. 102–107.
^ Cf. also Joubin, Islam and Arabs 2000, pp. 207–210.
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, pp. 103f., 106.
^ Valensi, Making of a Political Paradigm 1990, p. 174. The noun "despotisme" was coined about 1690 by Pierre Bayle (1647–1706) (Rubiés, Oriental Despotism 2005, p. 100). The term "Oriental despotism" is first found in Claude Adrien Helvétius's (1715–1771), De l'esprit (Paris 1758) and came into general use after the publication of Nicolas Antoine Boulanger's (1722–1759) Recherches sur l'origine du despotisme oriental ([Geneva] 1761) (Harbsmeier, Images of Despotism 1997, p. 38).
^ Valensi, Making of a Political Paradigm 1990, pp. 178–181; for more detailed discussions, see Valensi, Venise et la Sublime Porte 1987.
^ Valensi, Making of a Political Paradigm 1990, pp. 187–192, quote on p. 191.
^ Valensi, Making of a Political Paradigm 1990, pp. 192–199. Jean Bodin (1529/30–1596) and Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) had both described the Ottoman sultan as a ruler of the greatest power, yet had not characterized him as a despot or a tyrant. Only Giovanni Botero (ca. 1544–1617) defined the sultan as a despot. Other authors, who had also identified tyrannical traits in Ottoman rule, had not concluded from this that Ottoman rule was illegitimate. This changed during the 18th century (ibid.; cf. Rubiés, Oriental Despotism 2005. Regarding the shift from the category "tyranny" to the category "despotism" for a description of the Ottoman polity, see Çırakman, From Tyranny to Despotism 2001; Çırakman, Terror of the World 2002).
^ Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, p. 277; cf. Young, Montesquieu's View of Despotism 1978, pp. 396–400; and Curtis, Oriental Despotic Universe 1994, pp. 19–31.
^ Çırakman, From Tyranny to Despotism 2001, p. 57; Curtis, Oriental Despotic Universe 1994, pp. 27, 32f.
^ Çırakman, From Tyranny to Despotism 2001, p. 57; Curtis, Oriental Despotic Universe 1994, pp. 12–16.
^ ibid., pp. 31f.; Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 108.
^ On Montesquieu's sources, see Çırakman, From Tyranny to Despotism 2001; Young, Montesquieu's View of Despotism 1978; Rubiés, Oriental Despotism 2005, pp. 165–167; Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 275–284, 293.
^ Ricaut, History of the Present State of the Ottoman Empire 1682; numerous other editions and translations. Montesquieu also used the accounts of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1600–1689) and Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708) on the Ottoman Empire (Young, Montesquieu's View of Despotism 1978, pp. 395f.).
^ Çırakman, From Tyranny to Despotism 2001, pp. 51–53; Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, p. 293.
^ Bernier, Travels in the Moghul Empire 1914 (Rubiés, Oriental Despotism 2005, pp. 136–154). Cf. Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 280f.
^ Chardin, Voyages 1711 and other editions; Chardin, Journal de Voyage 1686. (Young, Montesquieu's View of Despotism 1978, pp. 395f.; Rubiés, Oriental Despotism 2005, pp. 154–158; Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 275–284).
^ ibid.
^ Rubiés, Oriental Despotism 2005, p. 165; Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 282, 293; Young, Montesquieu's View of Despotism 1978, p. 403.
^ Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, p. 283; Çırakman, From Tyranny to Despotism 2001, p. 58.
^ Curtis, Oriental Despotic Universe 1994, pp. 16f., 32.
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 108; cf. Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, p. 283.
^ Young, Montesquieu's View of Despotism 1978, p. 401.
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 111; Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 292f.; Rubiés, Oriental Despotism 2005, p. 162; Çırakman, From Tyranny to Despotism 2001, p. 58.
^ Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 293–297, 308; Rubiés, Oriental Despotism 2005, p. 162; Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, pp. 111–113.
^ Çırakman, From Tyranny to Despotism 2001, pp. 61f.
^ According to De Tott, all victims of despotism would like to be despots themselves and became such whenever the opportunity presented itself. The desire to be at least a petty despot was allegedly central to the political system of the Ottoman Empire. See Çırakman, From Tyranny to Despotism 2001, pp. 60, 62.
^ ibid., pp. 60f.
^ This connection is especially obvious in the Lettres persanes (1721); see Curtis, Oriental Despotic Universe 1994, pp. 13f.
^ Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 364f.
^ ibid., p. 359.
^ The following is based on ibid., pp. 289f., 305f., and Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, pp. 121–130.
^ Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, p. 289 (transl. by M.O.).
^ Volney, Voyage en Syrie et en Egypte 1787, vol. 2, pp. 362f. (transl. according to Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 125).
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 129; Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, p. 289.
^ ibid., p. 55.
^ Cf. Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 104; Lockman, Contending Visions 2004, pp. 56f.
^ Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 41–51; Pocock, What Do We Mean by Europe? 1997; Pocock, Some Europes 2002.
^ In historiography, a comparable view prevailed for a long time too, as the Egyptian Expedition was styled as the start of the Modern Period in the Middle East. Regarding these historical myths, cf. Schulze, Schlacht bei den Pyramiden 2003.
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 121; cf. Said, Orientalism, 1994, pp. 81f.
^ Herder, Johann Gottfried: Ideen zur Philosophie der Geschichte der Menschheit, Frankfurt am Main 1989 (first 1784–1791), p. 702, quoted according to Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, p. 48. Cf. Hourani, Islam in European Thought 1991, pp. 25f.
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, pp. 139–145. Cf. Hourani, Islam in European Thought 1991, pp. 26f.
^ Cf. Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 20f., 36, and Lockman, Contending Visions 2004, pp. 67f.
^ Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 50f.
^ For more details on the deterioration of the image of the Ottomans, see Wheatcroft, The Ottomans 1993, pp. 208–247.
^ Some key dates of the European expansion into the countries of the Middle East and North Africa are: 1830: beginning of the French conquest of Algeria; 1881: French occupation of Tunisia; 1882: British occupation of Egypt; 1898/1899: British conquest of the Sudan; 1907: demarcation of British and Russian interest spheres in Persia; 1911: start of the Italian conquest of Libya; 1912: establishment of the French and Spanish protectorates in Morocco; 1918: military collapse of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War and partition of the Arab provinces as League of Nations mandates (1920) among the victors Britain (Iraq, Palestine, Transjordan) and France (Syria, Lebanon).
^ Eke, Orient und Okzident 2008, pp. 85, 87.
^ Cf. Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, p. 37.
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 150; on Nerval's disappointment with the Orient in general and Egypt in particular, cf. Said, Orientalism 1994, pp. 100f.
^ Colet, Pays lumineux 1879, pp. 127–156.
^ Schulze, Alte und neue Feindbilder 1991, pp. 254–256.
^ Eke, Orient und Okzident 2008, pp. 96–102.
^ Cf. ibid., p. 101; Schulze, Alte und neue Feindbilder 1991, p. 256.
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 132.
^ For critical evaluations of Said, see for example, Irwin, For the Lust of Knowing 2006; Varisco, Reading Orientalism 2007; Osterhammel, Wissen als Macht 2001; Osterhammel, Entzauberung Asiens 1998, pp. 21–24.
^ Lockman, Contending Visions 2004, pp. 78f. Regarding the following explanations on Renan, cf. ibid., pp. 78–83; Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, pp. 131f.; Hourani, Islam in European Thought 1991, pp. 28–30; Said, Orientalism 1994, pp. 139–148, 231–234 and passim; for a critique of Said's interpretation of Renan's thought, see Varisco, Reading Orientalism 2007, pp. 111–115. For an English translation of Renan's paper cf. Renan, Ernest: Islamism and Science, in: Bryan S. Turner (ed.): Orientalism: Early Sources, London 2000, vol. 1: Readings in Orientalism, pp. 199–217.
^ Renan, L'islamisme et la science 1947, p. 946: the devout Muslim allegedly was "... incapable de rien apprendre ni de s'ouvrir à aucune idée nouvelle. A partir de son initiation religieuse, vers l'âge de dix ou douze ans, l'enfant musulman, jusque-là quelquefois assez éveillé, devint tout à coup fanatique, ... son culte lui inspire un mépris peu justifié pour les autres religions. ... [L]e musulman a le plus profond mépris pour l'instruction, pour la science, pour tout ce qui constitue l'esprit européen." Cf. Lockman, Contending Visions 2004, p. 79.
^ Renan, L'islamisme et la science 1947, pp. 947–955, quote p. 955.
^ ibid., p. 955. "L'islamisme, en réalité, a toujours persécute la science et la philosophie. Il a fini par les étouffer."
^ ibid., pp. 952–955, quote pp. 953, 954.
^ ibid., pp. 956, 962f.
^ Elsewhere, he allows a certain originality to Arabic philosophy in the 11th and 12th centuries (Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, p. 131).
^ Renan, L'islamisme et la science 1947, p. 961: "Le cheik Gemmal-Eddine est un Afghan entièrement dégagé des préjugés de l'islam; il appartient à ces races énergiques du haut Iran, voisin de l'Inde, où l'esprit aryen vit encore si énergique sous la couche superficielle de l'islamisme officiel. Il est la meilleure preuve de ce grand axiome que nous avons souvent proclamé, savoir que les religions valent ce que valent les races qui les professent." (transl. by M.O.). Cf. Lockman, Contending Visions 2004, p. 82.
^ Hourani, Islam in European Thought 1991, pp. 28–30.
^ Renan, L'islamisme et la science 1947, p. 960: "Si Omar, si Gengis Khan avaient rencontré devant eux une bonne artillerie, ils n'eussent pas dépassé les limites de leur désert." (transl. by M.O.).
^ For contemporary criticism of Renan's image of Islam by Ignaz Goldziher (1850–1921), Wilfried Scawen Blunt (1840–1922) and others, see Hourani, Islam in European Thought 1991, pp. 30–32, and Lockman, Contending Visions 2004, pp. 81f.
^ Hentsch, Imagining the Middle East 1992, pp. 132f.
^ Regarding the following, cf. Lockman, Contending Visions 2004, pp. 93–95, and Said, Orientalism 1994, pp. 36–40, 44f.
^ Apparently, he did speak some Turkish; Lockman, Contending Visions 2004, p. 93.
^ Cromer, Modern Egypt 1908, vol. 2, p. 164.
^ Lockman, Contending Visions 2004, p. 94.
^ Cromer, Modern Egypt 1908, vol. 2, pp. 146–148.
^ ibid., p. 134 (here Cromer quotes the British Orientalist and archaeologist Stanley Lane-Poole [1854–1931]).
^ ibid., pp. 134–140, 155–163.
^ ibid., p. 126, 130, 420–425, 525.
Übersetzt von:Translated by: Michael Osmann
Fachherausgeber:Editor: Mariano Delgado with Lutz Berger
→ From the "Turkish Menace" to Orientalism
Konrad, Felix: From the "Turkish Menace" to Exoticism and Orientalism: Islam as Antithesis of Europe (1453–1914)?, in: Europäische Geschichte Online (EGO), hg. vom Leibniz-Institut für Europäische Geschichte (IEG), Mainz European History Online (EGO), published by the Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG), Mainz 2011-03-14. URL: http://www.ieg-ego.eu/konradf-2010-en URN: urn:nbn:de:0159-2011020147 [JJJJ-MM-TT][YYYY-MM-DD].
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6440
|
__label__cc
| 0.707276
| 0.292724
|
Least Competent Criminals; It's Good to Be a Dog in the First World
• Shaun Paneral was questioned by police in Carlsbad, N.M., in May, on a loud-music complaint and, concerned that he already had an outstanding arrest warrant, gave his name as "Shaun Paul." Paneral thus became the most recent perp to choose his alias badly. "Shaun Paul," whoever he is, is also wanted by police in New Mexico, and Paneral was arrested for the false ID. [Carlsbad Current Argus, 5-17-2013]
• The British company Paw Seasons has created a holiday for dogs (surely to appeal to guilt-ridden owners who leave them behind on their own holidays) priced at the equivalent of $73,000, consisting of a private suite for two weeks, with dog-friendly Hollywood movies, trips to the beach, surfing "lessons," spa and grooming treatment (including pedicure) by Harrod's, outfits from Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, and Mulberry, and the piece de resistance -- a personal dog house created in the image of the owner's own house. [Daily Telegraph, 6-17-2013]
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6445
|
__label__cc
| 0.679205
| 0.320795
|
What ordinary Turkmens have long understood is that in times of trouble, they are by and large on their own.
Every new year in Turkmenistan is ushered in with a motto. In 2021, it is “Turkmenistan: Land of Peace and Trust.”
For good measure, the government held a conference on January 4 to explain to lawmakers, officials and local media what that slogan is meant to signify. This year will be devoted, speakers at the event said, to “popularizing the achievements of the fatherland,” pressing onward with sweeping economic reforms and maintaining stability.
Some of the government’s achievements in 2020 include trying to cover up a significant COVID-19 outbreak, enabling continued food shortages, and ignoring a natural disaster that left countless people homeless. But that may not be the sort of thing they were thinking about.
Indeed, while acknowledging that this has been a tough year for the country, officials persist in trotting out rosy data that will reliably be taken as gospel by the likes of the International Monetary Fund. Moscow-based website CentralAsia.news cited data showing that gross domestic product had grown by 5.8 percent in the first 11 months of 2020. Retail trade, it said, had expanded by 18 percent. The website also reported, albeit without indicating the source of its information, that the export of natural gas and petrochemical products had generated $4.1 billion in revenues.
In an explainer of sorts, Ashgabat-based news website Orient, attributed growth at a time of pandemic to the opening in 2018 of three important industrial facilities: the Kiyanly petrochemical plant, the Garabogaz ammonia fertilizer plant, and a combined-cycle power plant in the Mary province. These are nearing peak output and are thereby boosting the volume of exports, the website surmised.
Determining the reliability of upbeat accounts about how those enterprises are faring is all but impossible. Oil trading is slightly less opaque. Ashgabat-based website Arzuw reported on January 4 on how Azerbaijan’s Socar Trading, a marketing subsidiary of the Baku-based state-owned oil and gas company, will take delivery of 2 million tons of oil from Turkmenistan over the coming two years. That oil is being sourced from Petronas and Eni, which are both developing projects in Turkmenistan, and will be fed into the westward-bound Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
The narrative on the food front is scrambled too. While shoppers reliant on state stores are compelled to wait in lines for hours to buy basic staples like cooking oil, flour and sugar, state-aligned media boasts of bounties.
Orient news website cited the State Statistics Committee as saying that the production of “basic varieties of crops” had increased by the very round figure of 10 percent year-on-year in the period from January to November 2020.
Certain growers are apparently even training their eye on the export market. The Turkmen government website quoted one agro-entrepreneur in the western city of Balkanabat as saying that he has sent 50 tons of his 64-ton yield of greenhouse-grown tomatoes to buyers in Russia.
The goal of reorienting crop growth to smaller farmsteads is a recurrent theme. One item on the government website on January 3 noted how the “number of people wishing to do horticulture is growing every year.” For example, in the Dashoguz district of Gurbansoltan Eje, the website says, 1,550 hectares have been given out on long-term leases to 299 residents for growing fruit and vegetables. Even that report cannot quite bring itself to omit the catch, however. Cultivating that arid land, notwithstanding purported reclamation efforts, is hardscrabble business. Doling out plots of dry soil to hard-up rural folk is part of a longer-term strategy to inculcate self-reliance – what the government euphemistically describes as the transition to market economics.
RFE/RL’s Turkmen service, Radio Azatlyk, reported on January 4 on a new, mysterious die-off of cattle in the Lebap province. Of the cows infected by this strange illness, whose symptoms include the appearance of sores on the animal’s mouth, an average 30 percent die. State veterinarians are reportedly of little use, although some suggest rustling up a brew made with yuzarlik (Peganum harmala), the desert herb that President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has suggested could be used to ward off COVID-19.
Livestock breeders cited by Azatlyk put the regular outbreak of infections among their animals down to the state’s failure to allocate funds for vaccinations over the past three years. Veterinary services are also woefully underfunded, leaving farmers to pick up the bill.
It is probably naïve of farmers to imagine cows could get medical attention when even human beings struggle to get basic modern treatments. Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper crowed in its January 2 edition about how the Saglyk state program has for 25 years been “increasing the efficiency, accessibility and quality of preventative medical services.” This is a nonsensical brag at the best of times, but for it to appear in a lengthy article singing the praises of licorice roots is particularly grievous.
Licorice has become the curative plant of the day, ever since Berdymukhamedov strongly hinted at a December 25 Cabinet meeting that it could be used to treat the symptoms of coronavirus. He alluded only to its potential to mitigate unspecified coughs and respiratory diseases, however, since the government refuses to admit it has recorded any cases of COVID-19.
And despite being coronavirus-free, Turkmenistan has yet again extended its suspension of train services, this time until February 1.
Contact among members of the public will be reduced by means of another expedient, although this one has not been occasioned by the COVID-19 situation. Azatlyk reported on December 30 that a large quantity of ATM machines are being dismantled across the regions. In the Lebap province, ATMs have halved in number in recent months. The reported reason is cash shortages. Large and often testy lines form in front of the cash machines, so authorities have adopted the radical solution of simply removing them altogether.
The cardholder-to-ATM machine ratio was already poor. Even as the number of bank cards in circulation rises, to about 4.3 million at last count, the number of cash machines keeps falling. As things stand, there is one machine for every 2,000 cardholders.
The intent is evidently to stamp out the informal economy, which remains strong despite the state’s omnipresence. Forcing people to use their cards to make payments should in the long-term drive people from the bazaars into modern stores. Never mind that payment terminals often do not work and that it is at markets where bargains are to be found.
The trust aspect of the 2021 motto is not being extended to people’s use of the internet.
In its report on how authorities clamped down on people trying to celebrate the arrival of the new year, Azatlyk reported on the fact that the functioning of VPN services have become patchier, indicating that the authorities are improving their ability to enforce censorship.
Akhal-Teke is a weekly Eurasianet column compiling news and analysis from Turkmenistan.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6448
|
__label__wiki
| 0.549451
| 0.549451
|
Creation of new dists and economic blockade Highly polarised election
It will be a highly polarised election. No that the hills and the valley areas have always voted along the same line or say the same issue, but this time, the divide is too loud not to be missed. And it is this point which The Sangai Express has been trying to drill into the sense of all sensible people. In a way it all boils down to the question of which political leader or which political party can play the divide and rule game which has been dictating the outcome of the election ever since the Greater Lim demand put forth by the NSCN (IM) reared its head in all its ugliness. If the June 18 uprising of 2001 was the explosion of the people’s angst and suspicion against the design of the Government of India and the NSCN (IM) to toy around with the territorial integrity of Manipur, then it may be said that the people’s consciousness over the threat perception to the integrity of the State was raised as early as the massive public rally of August 4, 1997 organised by the All Manipur United Clubs’ Organisation (AMUCO). After the June 18 uprising of 2001, there have been a number of other instances which have only further divided the hills and the valley and this came out in all its ugliness when the State Government barred the entry of Th Muivah to his birthplace in 2010. After this came the Naga People’s Consultative meet at Senapati when the decision to sever all political ties with the Government of Manipur was taken. Needless to say the Senapati decision led to the boycott of the Congress party in the Naga dominated hill districts and the divide between the hills and the valley has been getting deeper and deeper down the years.
The creation of the seven new districts and the ongoing economic blockade are just a manifestation of how deep the divide is between the hills and the valley. This came out in all its ugliness on December 18 last year when passenger vehicles were targeted in the counter blockade movement launched in some pockets of the valley area. It is against this backdrop that the State will go to polls and while New Delhi, Imphal and the UNC have sat down together to discuss the ongoing blockade, no political party and no political leader has deemed it fit to study and try to understand how such a divide has become the order of the day. It is then the seven new districts and the ongoing economic blockade that will dominate over other issues when the State goes to polls on March 4 and March 8. The creation of the seven new districts as well as the economic blockade have all been viewed along community divide and in such a situation, it is some unscrupulous political leaders and political parties which stand to gain. Ironic it is but the people have always been falling prey to the machinations of the political parties and some politicians and it is disheartening to see that apart from some initiatives taken up by civil society organisations to bridge the gap, no one has deemed it fit to address this issue. No wonder, no political party has made this issue a plank to woo the voters.
Greater Lim
NSCN (IM)
TSE editorial
United Naga Council
Previous articleMNDF flays re-engagement practice, to approach ECI
Next articleCosmic love affair
NSCN-IM observes Naga Army Day
Investing in peace
Miss manipur rehearsal at Classic hotel
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6451
|
__label__wiki
| 0.553846
| 0.553846
|
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!
Select ratingGive Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! 1/10Give Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! 2/10Give Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! 3/10Give Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! 4/10Give Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! 5/10Give Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! 6/10Give Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! 7/10Give Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! 8/10Give Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! 9/10Give Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! 10/10
A human wakes up one day to discover that he has become a Squirtle in a world filled with natural disasters, where he meets Charmander and Chikorita of Team Go-Getters, a Pokemon rescue team. Squirtle joins Team Go-Getters for the task of saving Pichu's Brother Pikachu from Skarmory, however Gengar and his Team Meanies decide to interfere.
Aired: Sep 8, 2006
Producers: Nintendo of America, The Pokemon Company International
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! Episodes
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6453
|
__label__cc
| 0.584492
| 0.415508
|
How legalizing contraception in 1965 is leading to the destruction of America.
The 1965 Supreme Court decision of Griswold vs. Connecticut legalized contraception for the first time in American history. As with the 1969 legalization of porn, the 1973 legalization of abortion, the 2003 legalization of homosexuality, and the 2015 legalization of homosexual marriage, this SCOTUS decision was a massive judicial overreach. So, we will examine factors that led up to it, what it’s effects have been, and what do we do about it.
The 1948 Kinsey Report unleashed a Pandora’s Box opening on America, and it has been progressively (no pun intended) growing worse for America. Dr. Judith Reisman wrote capably about the devastation. We went from an illegitimacy rate of 3.6% in 1947, to the current chaos of 39.8% in 2017. Liberals, with their fantasies of a Big Government utopia, are exhilarated by this. They absolutely love the power of making something new, though they always ruin it, as our past 100 years experience and 100 million murdered has taught the wise. Also, soldiers returning from World War 2 had not only been exposed to the devastation of war, but many had not been totally abstinent while overseas, and since many were quite young, and very impressionable, they longed for the brothels they had overseas, right here in America. They didn’t reason enough to figure out the reason why we went overseas to fight in wars for nations too weak to defend themselves, was precisely because of their lax moral habits. France was as hedonistic as it comes, and that’s why they got the worst of it in both World Wars. Germany was quite corrupt before Hitler took over, and it’s debauchery made them vulnerable to his dictatorship. A moral people would have never consented to his tyranny. Communism was, and is, very degenerate, and so Russia was very weak from it’s godless government as well.
Also, Margaret Sanger, the Killer Angel, was a huge fan of abortion and birth control, particularly in the black community. When white Democrats realized slavery and segregation weren’t options, they jumped at welfare, contraception, and abortion to control and eliminate the black population. They are still playing this game today, while constantly shouting about ‘muh racism’, and ‘peach Foty Fi’ today. In the Contraception decision, it was stated that there was a right to privacy in the Constitution. That’s completely absurd, because the Founders were a moral and a religious people, and they created the Constitution for a moral and a religious people. It’s very sad that we have many today who love the Constitution and what it says, but they refuse to live as the Founders lived, and to revere the ideals they used to form the Constitution. Read a fantastic book on the power to individuals and nations that comes from containing sex in marriage by an Israeli Jew.
The effect of contraception was horrifying. Simply look at every major crime statistic other than murder. They have all officially astronomically increased since 1960, and it’s even worse unofficially!! The actual rates are much higher, since police cook the books, and other factors. For instance, when we look at rape, it has gone from about 9.6 per 100,000, to 41.7 per 100,000, and it’s probably closer to 100 per 100,000 due to the book tampering mentioned already, and due to men who use porn won’t believe women reporting rape, and there is a huge backlash often. Ever view the comments section when a woman claims she has been raped by a celebrity? You see hundreds of men saying she’s lying. In most every case, they are porn users, and often, a good deal worse. In their minds, women are there for their pleasure. With contraception, the woman no longer needed to stay home and raise her family, now she could have sex, and not have any ‘accidents’. Children now became an impairment to women’s pleasure and prosperity. And, so young women, like Hillary Clinton, took full advantage and began screeching about ‘women’s rights’. Our nation is now full of termagants who grew up in the 1960’s, practiced birth control, and are now older than 60, with few to no children or grandchildren. These women are now quite miserable. They normally vote Democrat, overwhelmingly, and many of them make up a sizeable proportion of the 80% of the women who initiate divorce. We forgot that the entire purpose of the sex drive was for marriage and children. To justify their consciences, the hedonistic came up with fairy tales like Climate Change and overpopulation. America’s dominance in morality and intellect has severely eroded, and while many will claim that it’s not due to contraception, they are willfully ignoring the data and it’s connections.
In 1955-1960, the average woman had 3.7 children. In 2017, the average woman had 1.7. Replacement is 2.1, and Muslim women are having 3.1. Also, women who marry young, don’t desire sex that much, but their drive increases a lot beginning in their 30’s and 40’s. So, the wise young woman who married and had lots of children, now has a husband to rely upon for those desires. The woman who is in her 40’s and 50’s, and no longer looks as she did at 20, and is now single (not talking about the women who stay celibate, the women who are widowed, or those whose husbands abused them physically or abused drugs, alcohol, and who had to divorce, etc.) , and remembering all the physical intimacy she once enjoyed, will have a hard time of it, because men no longer desire her as they once did.
What do we do, friends? Well, we understand contraception is still illegal, and so are porn, abortion, homosexuality, and homosexual marriage. We begin containing sex in marriage again, and we begin having as many children as we can. Many on here are beyond the years of having children, and for you, repentance is in order. You can salvage all the years you did not have children by publicly acknowledging your past errors, and even how it has harmed you. You can encourage the young to avoid your mistakes. By doing this, you can remove the stain of your past sins, redeem your destiny, and return America to the moral virtue and wisdom she once had before this curse of contraception was legalized.
Biggest political scandal in American history: Russian Collusion
Robert Mueller just concluded his bogus investigation, and the time has now come for justice. It’s incredible 39 year old high school drop outs like me, who have never been to Washington D.C. can figure out the truth without a dime of taxpayer money, and we have former FBI directors, in the case of Mueller, who take millions of taxpayer dollars and 2 years to figure it out.
The facts are, there was no collusion. The owner of the Washington Free Beacon, a former Marco Rubio supporter, wanted to get incriminating information on Trump. So, he financed the bogus Fusion GPS dossier. When Rubio lost his home state of Florida to Trump in the Republican primary, it became apparent that he hadn’t a prayer of winning the RNC presidential nomination, and so Paul Singer, the owner of the Washington Free Beacon, put the Dossier up for sale. Guess who bought it?! You got it, Hillary Rodham Clinton and the DNC. They speedily fed this bogus information to the media and to the FISA court, to weaponize our intelligence agencies on Trump.
Meanwhile half of America was duped by the lamestream media to think Russian collusion was a thing. Half probably still believe in it. The investigation dragged on and on, and it hindered Trump’s presidency. This is what the Democrats wanted all along. They loved having this investigation in their pocket, to torment and terrorize Trump with. This is the only time in American history where our own intelligence agencies were hi-jacked and used against the President of America. The corrupt Democrats, and their lamestream media are still lying, and will never admit their fault. They deliberately did this, in an attempt to steal an election they rightfully lost. This is a massive attack on the Constitution and our Republic, and it cannot go unpunished. Every single media figure, member of the DOJ, member of the FBI, members of Hillary’s and Obama’s administrations, and tech giants who coordinated this coup attempt must be punished. These people are not sorry in the least, they are probably plotting how to maneuver their next corrupt shenanigan.
It is time the people of America learn the whole truth, and it is time that the evil and corrupt Democrat party, full of the naive, gullible, and wicked types, is destroyed for once and for all.
Judge for yourself if sedition occurred. No sane person can conclude it did not.
If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or …
18 U.S. Code § 2384 – Seditious conspiracy | U.S. Code | US Law | LII …
Rebellion to tyranny is obedience to God
It’s quite interesting studying the Revolutionary War. The Founders would not accept tyranny.
Learning The Lesson: Where Our Forefathers Drew The Line!
First Visit to UC Berkeley Campus, Woman’s day is Marxist, Putin understands God’s role for women better than any Democrat, the Marxist takeover of our schools, Possible Civil War.
A friend of mine called me last night, as a concerned Citizen from the East Coast paid around $20,000 to buy 400 Founders Bibles, written by David Barton. It’s the Bible the Founders of America read and what led them to create the greatest and most powerful nation in world history.
She asked me to reconnoiter to Berkeley, to arrange with local churches to pass them out on Campus. So, I went to a church in Berkeley last night. It was a fantastic building. Sure enough, it was built in 1871, with beautiful architecture. I’m supposed to meet a young woman named Lauren. So, I step inside, and it looks like Jerry Garcia is on stage playing his guitar. I’m pretty used to this kind of Christianity, so I greet an older man named Russ, politely exchange pleasantries, and say I’m looking for Lauren, who my friend had told me to meet up with. He says he doesn’t know of her, but invites me to join in. I looked to my left, and there was a stocky bearded man, arms upraised, shirt dangerously raised, in rapture. There were a number of very well built men, who were lost in raptures at the guitar music, and who were rhythmically swaying. In retrospect, I could have been at a Pagan ceremony, a rock concert, an Incan Human sacrifice, or a rap concert just as easily, and the actions of those present wouldn’t have varied at all. There were young college students there as well. On stage the Jerry Garcia guitarist was really into his music, and next to him was a gracious looking woman full of joie de vivre, and she was absolutely ecstatic. I mean, she was hopping up and down like a cross between a Mexican Jumping bean and a pogo stick, it was truly amazing to watch. Yours truly posted in the back, on a wooden pew, and tried to fit in. I was determined to gird up my loins and not join in the revelry. I know people look at me like I’m odd, but the feeling is mutual.
This went on for 20 minutes, and I’m earnestly examining the architecture of the building, trying to learn something in my time here. It was a very well built building. Finally, Russ comes back and tells me Lauren is here after all. So, I go back and introduce myself to her. She has been behind me the whole time and has no doubt observed my wondering observations of all the going on’s. If she is evaluating my spirituality on how much swaying and jumping up and down I’ve been doing, I must appear to her to be a heathen, pagan, and very carnal, I must confess. So, I begin telling her about the Founders Bibles, and how great this would be for Berkeley. I’d like to say she was entranced with what I was saying, but in a church where feelings are truth, I’m afraid I can’t, though countenance, expression, and tone are not always indicators of how one is feeling. She took my words, promised to get in touch with my friend to coordinate this. I then girded up my loins and fled this pagan festival…errrr…Jesus revival.
I considered staying, but it appeared I fit in as well as Batman at a meeting of the GodFathers of New York. So, yours truly then headed out for Berkeley Campus, a place our nation has come to associate with debauchery and communism, and rightly so. Talked with a receptive man for 20 minutes. He actually knew who Ben Shapiro was. Couldn’t name 7 conservative websites, and this isn’t a surprise because the mindless drones at Berkeley who vote and follow the Democrat party are grossly ignorant of the other sides viewpoints. Pretty shocking for a campus that prides itself on intellectual inquiry. Was quite happy when I walked in Bancroft Library, the main library out of 28 on campus, and there was a picture of George Washington leading the troops at Monmouth in the Revolutionary War. To have a picture like that at Berkeley is great!! It was the biggest picture in the library too. Unfortunately, the campus craziness of the 60’s was also featured when I walked in. Police are called pigs; Communism, drugs, and sex worshiped. Total chaos. And they celebrate this dysfunction to this day. Mario Savio, the Black Panthers, and the rest of the malcontents stirred up by Soviet KGB agents, Unwitting dupes of a plot to subvert America. As I’m walking, it’s freezing cold, and there are people, lots of them, men and women, walking around in shorts and short sleeves. Apparently, Berkeley even has students from the Arctic. And, the smell of marijuana wafts through the air, since the crazy ideas have to be supported by psychotropic drugs to keep the consciences of people intact. Without drugs, many people would collapse, and would be incapable of functioning.
Berkeley is full of zombies.
Went into Moe’s Books on Telegraph Avenue. Read a book on the purveyor, who was arrested in 1969 for selling smut. ‘Ah, the good old days’, thought I, ‘when the police actually cracked down on real crimes, and weren’t busy escorting me out of City Hall for criticizing homosexuality, which is a crime against nature’.
Finally left, late in the evening. However, education, the media, and the church are in serious trouble.
Women’s day was begun by Marxists in Russia.
Great book on Communism
Note: The reader is warned not to use Jeff Bezos’s Amazon anymore. Not only is the man a corrupt adulterer, who has no intention of changing and doesn’t apologize for anything he’s done, but he owns the Washington Compost, which stupidly lies daily saying ‘Democracy dies in Darkness’, when it is that very darkness, constantly obscuring truth and pushing the most devilish lies. Further, Amazon just banned the book by Tommy Robinson about Muhammad’s Quran, detailing the evil that the Quran and Muhammad were full of. That was the last straw for me. After ordering over 2,000 books on Amazon, and having given away thousands as well, on top of my own collection, I deleted my Amazon account. Will never buy another book from Amazon. Things are getting really bad when the largest book seller in the world is banning books that tell the truth about the evil religion of Islam.
This woman’s day celebration was the beginning of Marxism in Russia, and Marxism, under Lenin and Stalin, murdered at least 40 million.
Please learn your history before following along with common culture, or it’s likely you’ll be headed off a cliff.
Also, it’s wise to avoid modern art, music, television, and movies, as they are full of Marxist themes that are at war with Christianity.
Putin pushes Biblical womanhood!
While Women’s day is a huge hoax, yet, Vladimir Putin was totally right for thanking Russian women for staying beautiful, and taking care of the home.
A lesson many can profit from. I understand health issues come up, but women sitting around and neglecting exercise is inexcusable in a marriage, as it is with men. These women who won’t take care of exercise or their home, are often all up into other people’s business and affairs.
Sad that Russia is far more Christian than America today. How did we get here? Just 30 years ago, Russia was still Communist and Godless, and Vlad Putin was a KGB agent.
Marxist infiltration of our schools
Further, the reason why we have Marxist thinkers infecting the Democrat party, and all over America with Feminism, lies, and no knowledge of history, is because our school systems, particularly our colleges, are full of Marxist thought.
Close to a Civil War in America.
We are very close to a full blown Civil War, though the media, which influences nearly all of our family and friends, has kept that hush hush.
The time period we are in is very similar to Germany before Hitler, Russia before Lenin, China before Mao, and France before the French Revolution. It’s alarming, because mass horrors followed soon after.
Of course, with God, we can do anything, but he never told us to be foolish and unwitting.
Know thine enemies.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6463
|
__label__wiki
| 0.586264
| 0.586264
|
HomeEditors' ChoicePresident Obama: “I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days”
President Obama: “I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days”
January 12, 2017 JanF Editors' Choice, From the White House 3
On Tuesday night, President Barack Obama delivered his farewell speech, marking the end of his time in the Oval Office. He will, however, always be Our President.
President Obama:
My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won’t stop. In fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you’re young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I’m asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.
I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written: Yes, we can.
Yes, we did. Yes, we can.
Transcript: Remarks by the President in Farewell Address
McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Chicago! (Applause.) It’s good to be home! (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. (Applause.) All right, everybody sit down. (Applause.) We’re on live TV here. I’ve got to move. (Applause.) You can tell that I’m a lame duck because nobody is following instructions. (Laughter.) Everybody have a seat. (Applause.)
My fellow Americans — (applause) — Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well wishes that we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight, it’s my turn to say thanks. (Applause.) Whether we have seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people, in living rooms and in schools, at farms, on factory floors, at diners and on distant military outposts -– those conversations are what have kept me honest, and kept me inspired, and kept me going. And every day, I have learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man. (Applause.)
So I first came to Chicago when I was in my early 20s. And I was still trying to figure out who I was, still searching for a purpose in my life. And it was a neighborhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss.
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE PRESIDENT: I can’t do that.
THE PRESIDENT: This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it.
After eight years as your President, I still believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea –- our bold experiment in self-government. It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that We, the People, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union.
What a radical idea. A great gift that our Founders gave to us: The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat and toil and imagination, and the imperative to strive together, as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good.
For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It’s what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom. It’s what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande. (Applause.) It’s what pushed women to reach for the ballot. It’s what powered workers to organize. It’s why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima, Iraq and Afghanistan. And why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs, as well. (Applause.)
So that’s what we mean when we say America is exceptional — not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change and make life better for those who follow. Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It’s always been contentious. Sometimes it’s been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all and not just some. (Applause.)
If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history — (applause) — if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9/11 — (applause) — if I had told you that we would win marriage equality, and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens –- (applause) — if I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high. But that’s what we did. (Applause.) That’s what you did.
You were the change. You answered people’s hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started. (Applause.)
In 10 days, the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy.
AUDIENCE: Nooo —
THE PRESIDENT: No, no, no, no, no — the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected President to the next. (Applause.) I committed to President-elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me. (Applause.) Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face.
We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on Earth. Our youth, our drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours. But that potential will only be realized if our democracy works. Only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. (Applause.) Only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests, help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.
That’s what I want to focus on tonight: The state of our democracy. Understand, democracy does not require uniformity. Our founders argued. They quarreled. Eventually they compromised. They expected us to do the same. But they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity -– the idea that for all our outward differences, we’re all in this together; that we rise or fall as one. (Applause.)
There have been moments throughout our history that threatens that solidarity. And the beginning of this century has been one of those times. A shrinking world, growing inequality; demographic change and the specter of terrorism -– these forces haven’t just tested our security and our prosperity, but are testing our democracy, as well. And how we meet these challenges to our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids, and create good jobs, and protect our homeland. In other words, it will determine our future.
To begin with, our democracy won’t work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity. And the good news is that today the economy is growing again. Wages, incomes, home values, and retirement accounts are all rising again. Poverty is falling again. (Applause.) The wealthy are paying a fairer share of taxes even as the stock market shatters records. The unemployment rate is near a 10-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower. (Applause.) Health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years. And I’ve said and I mean it — if anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we’ve made to our health care system and that covers as many people at less cost, I will publicly support it. (Applause.)
Because that, after all, is why we serve. Not to score points or take credit, but to make people’s lives better. (Applause.)
But for all the real progress that we’ve made, we know it’s not enough. Our economy doesn’t work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class and ladders for folks who want to get into the middle class. (Applause.) That’s the economic argument. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic ideal. While the top one percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many families, in inner cities and in rural counties, have been left behind — the laid-off factory worker; the waitress or health care worker who’s just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills — convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful — that’s a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics.
But there are no quick fixes to this long-term trend. I agree, our trade should be fair and not just free. But the next wave of economic dislocations won’t come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good, middle-class jobs obsolete.
And so we’re going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need — (applause) — to give workers the power to unionize for better wages; to update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now, and make more reforms to the tax code so corporations and individuals who reap the most from this new economy don’t avoid their obligations to the country that’s made their very success possible. (Applause.)
We can argue about how to best achieve these goals. But we can’t be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we don’t create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come.
There’s a second threat to our democracy — and this one is as old as our nation itself. After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. And such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society. Now, I’ve lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10, or 20, or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say. (Applause.) You can see it not just in statistics, you see it in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum.
But we’re not where we need to be. And all of us have more work to do. (Applause.) If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves. (Applause.) If we’re unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America’s workforce. (Applause.) And we have shown that our economy doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, incomes rose for all races, all age groups, for men and for women.
So if we’re going to be serious about race going forward, we need to uphold laws against discrimination — in hiring, and in housing, and in education, and in the criminal justice system. (Applause.) That is what our Constitution and our highest ideals require. (Applause.)
But laws alone won’t be enough. Hearts must change. It won’t change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. But if our democracy is to work in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction — Atticus Finch — (applause) — who said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
For blacks and other minority groups, it means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face — not only the refugee, or the immigrant, or the rural poor, or the transgender American, but also the middle-aged white guy who, from the outside, may seem like he’s got advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change. We have to pay attention, and listen. (Applause.)
For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ‘60s — (applause) — that when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness. When they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment but the equal treatment that our Founders promised. (Applause.)
For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish, and Italians, and Poles — who it was said we’re going to destroy the fundamental character of America. And as it turned out, America wasn’t weakened by the presence of these newcomers; these newcomers embraced this nation’s creed, and this nation was strengthened. (Applause.)
So regardless of the station that we occupy, we all have to try harder. We all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family just like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own. (Applause.)
And that’s not easy to do. For too many of us, it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighborhoods or on college campuses, or places of worship, or especially our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. The rise of naked partisanship, and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste — all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable. And increasingly, we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it’s true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there. (Applause.)
And this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. But politics is a battle of ideas. That’s how our democracy was designed. In the course of a healthy debate, we prioritize different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information, and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason matter — (applause) — then we’re going to keep talking past each other, and we’ll make common ground and compromise impossible. (Applause.)
And isn’t that part of what so often makes politics dispiriting? How can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on preschool for kids, but not when we’re cutting taxes for corporations? (Applause.) How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but pounce when the other party does the same thing? It’s not just dishonest, this selective sorting of the facts; it’s self-defeating. Because, as my mother used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you. (Applause.)
Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years, we’ve halved our dependence on foreign oil; we’ve doubled our renewable energy; we’ve led the world to an agreement that has the promise to save this planet. (Applause.) But without bolder action, our children won’t have time to debate the existence of climate change. They’ll be busy dealing with its effects: more environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary.
Now, we can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem. But to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country — the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our Founders. (Applause.)
It is that spirit, born of the Enlightenment, that made us an economic powerhouse — the spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral; the spirit that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket.
It’s that spirit — a faith in reason, and enterprise, and the primacy of right over might — that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression; that allowed us to build a post-World War II order with other democracies, an order based not just on military power or national affiliations but built on principles — the rule of law, human rights, freedom of religion, and speech, and assembly, and an independent press. (Applause.)
That order is now being challenged — first by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam; more recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who see free markets and open democracies and and civil society itself as a threat to their power. The peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. It represents the fear of change; the fear of people who look or speak or pray differently; a contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable; an intolerance of dissent and free thought; a belief that the sword or the gun or the bomb or the propaganda machine is the ultimate arbiter of what’s true and what’s right.
Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform, because of our intelligence officers, and law enforcement, and diplomats who support our troops — (applause)
— no foreign terrorist organization has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years. (Applause.) And although Boston and Orlando and San Bernardino and Fort Hood remind us of how dangerous radicalization can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. We have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists — including bin Laden. (Applause.) The global coalition we’re leading against ISIL has taken out their leaders, and taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be destroyed, and no one who threatens America will ever be safe. (Applause.)
And to all who serve or have served, it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your Commander-in-Chief. And we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude. (Applause.)
But protecting our way of life, that’s not just the job of our military. Democracy can buckle when we give in to fear. So, just as we, as citizens, must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are. (Applause.)
And that’s why, for the past eight years, I’ve worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firmer legal footing. That’s why we’ve ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, reformed our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties. (Applause.) That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans, who are just as patriotic as we are. (Applause.)
That’s why we cannot withdraw from big global fights — to expand democracy, and human rights, and women’s rights, and LGBT rights. No matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that’s part of defending America. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism and chauvinism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression. If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases, and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened.
So let’s be vigilant, but not afraid. (Applause.) ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But they cannot defeat America unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight. (Applause.) Rivals like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world — unless we give up what we stand for — (applause) — and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbors.
Which brings me to my final point: Our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted. (Applause.) All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions. (Applause.) When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote. (Applause.) When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. (Applause.) When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our congressional districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes. (Applause.)
But remember, none of this happens on its own. All of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging.
Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power. (Applause.) We, the people, give it meaning. With our participation, and with the choices that we make, and the alliances that we forge. (Applause.) Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms. Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. That’s up to us. America is no fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured.
In his own farewell address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but “from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken…to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.” And so we have to preserve this truth with “jealous anxiety;” that we should reject “the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties” that make us one. (Applause.)
America, we weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character aren’t even willing to enter into public service; so coarse with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are seen not just as misguided but as malevolent. We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others; when we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt, and when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them. (Applause.)
It falls to each of us to be those those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy; to embrace the joyous task we’ve been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours. Because for all our outward differences, we, in fact, all share the same proud title, the most important office in a democracy: Citizen. (Applause.) Citizen.
So, you see, that’s what our democracy demands. It needs you. Not just when there’s an election, not just when your own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the Internet, try talking with one of them in real life. (Applause.) If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing. (Applause.) If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. (Applause.) Show up. Dive in. Stay at it.
Sometimes you’ll win. Sometimes you’ll lose. Presuming a reservoir of goodness in other people, that can be a risk, and there will be times when the process will disappoint you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been a part of this work, and to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energize and inspire. And more often than not, your faith in America — and in Americans — will be confirmed. (Applause.)
Mine sure has been. Over the course of these eight years, I’ve seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our newest military officers. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers, and found grace in a Charleston church. I’ve seen our scientists help a paralyzed man regain his sense of touch. I’ve seen wounded warriors who at points were given up for dead walk again. I’ve seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. I’ve seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees, or work for peace, and, above all, to look out for each other. (Applause.)
So that faith that I placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change — that faith has been rewarded in ways I could not have possibly imagined. And I hope your faith has, too. Some of you here tonight or watching at home, you were there with us in 2004, in 2008, 2012 — (applause) — maybe you still can’t believe we pulled this whole thing off. Let me tell you, you’re not the only ones. (Laughter.)
Michelle — (applause) — Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, girl of the South Side — (applause) — for the past 25 years, you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend. (Applause.) You took on a role you didn’t ask for and you made it your own, with grace and with grit and with style and good humor. (Applause.) You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. (Applause.) And the new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. (Applause.) So you have made me proud. And you have made the country proud. (Applause.)
Malia and Sasha, under the strangest of circumstances, you have become two amazing young women. You are smart and you are beautiful, but more importantly, you are kind and you are thoughtful and you are full of passion. (Applause.) You wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I’ve done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad. (Applause.)
To Joe Biden — (applause) — the scrappy kid from Scranton who became Delaware’s favorite son — you were the first decision I made as a nominee, and it was the best. (Applause.) Not just because you have been a great Vice President, but because in the bargain, I gained a brother. And we love you and Jill like family, and your friendship has been one of the great joys of our lives. (Applause.)
To my remarkable staff: For eight years — and for some of you, a whole lot more — I have drawn from your energy, and every day I tried to reflect back what you displayed — heart, and character, and idealism. I’ve watched you grow up, get married, have kids, start incredible new journeys of your own. Even when times got tough and frustrating, you never let Washington get the better of you. You guarded against cynicism. And the only thing that makes me prouder than all the good that we’ve done is the thought of all the amazing things that you’re going to achieve from here. (Applause.)
And to all of you out there — every organizer who moved to an unfamiliar town, every kind family who welcomed them in, every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change — you are the best supporters and organizers anybody could ever hope for, and I will be forever grateful. (Applause.) Because you did change the world. (Applause.) You did.
And that’s why I leave this stage tonight even more optimistic about this country than when we started. Because I know our work has not only helped so many Americans, it has inspired so many Americans — especially so many young people out there — to believe that you can make a difference — (applause) — to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves.
Let me tell you, this generation coming up — unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic — I’ve seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair, and just, and inclusive America. (Applause.) You know that constant change has been America’s hallmark; that it’s not something to fear but something to embrace. You are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber all of us, and I believe as a result the future is in good hands. (Applause.)
My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. (Applause.) I won’t stop. In fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you’re young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I’m asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.
I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written: Yes, we can. (Applause.)
Yes, we did. Yes, we can. (Applause.)
Thank you. God bless you. May God continue to bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
For my 53rd birthday, I’d like donations to the Hill Country Ride For AIDS
Final Weekly Address of President Obama – The Honor of Serving You as President
Our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted. All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions. When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote. (Applause.) When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our congressional districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.
Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power. We, the people, give it meaning. With our participation, and with the choices that we make, and the alliances that we forge. Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms. Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. That’s up to us.
Thank you for posting the transcript Jan – am bookmarking to save and savor.
I have no idea what happens to links at WhiteHouse.gov but I am glad that I got in the habit of posting full transcripts.
A lot of the cabinet members are saying their goodbyes this week and I am going to gather some of their speeches up and preserve them here.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6465
|
__label__wiki
| 0.904874
| 0.904874
|
This session (oipl1s2p42bo4clbknapqfa4j2) started 2021-01-15 15:43:22
— Released 22nd October 2019
Iconic Swedish four-piece Little Dragon invite you to engage in some "tongue kissing with life” on their new single ‘Tongue Kissing’, released on Ninja Tune.
Picking up where ‘Lover Chanting’ (“a song for all the lovers out there”) left off, ‘Tongue Kissing’ is four minutes of glittering, off-kilter pop, which sees front-woman Yukimi Nagano muse on embracing life's challenges head-on. “The song is very much about taking brave steps,” explains the band. “Fac...
Picking up where ‘Lover Chanting’ (“a song for all the lovers out there”) left off, ‘Tongue Kissing’ is four minutes of glittering, off-kilter pop, which sees front-woman Yukimi Nagano muse on embracing life's challenges head-on. “The song is very much about taking brave steps,” explains the band. “Facing your own demons and tongue kissing with life, not holding back but going all in with all that it entails, every moment in your face”
One year on from their “Lover Chanting” EP, ‘Tongue Kissing’ once more finds Little Dragon at their pioneering best. A singular band who are never content to rest on their laurels, it follows a career of forward-thinking albums—including breakout “Ritual Union” and the GRAMMY-nominated “Nabuma Rubberband”—as well as an impressive, diverse list of collaborations with equally groundbreaking artists like BADBADNOTGOOD, Gorillaz, SBTRKT, Flume, Kaytranada, De La Soul, DJ Shadow, Tinashe, Mac Miller, Big Boi, Faith Evans, and more.
Artwork for the release comes from Mačka (Lena Mačka) and continues the band’s long history of working with some of the most exciting creatives across the worlds of art and design, including with IB Kamara (i-D, Dazed, Vogue) and David Uzochukwu (Dior, FKA Twigs, Nike) on previous album “Season High”, and Vicki King on their latest EP.
Critical support for the band has come from the likes of Pitchfork, The Guardian, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Washington Post, Resident Advisor, Crack, FADER, i-D, DAZED, Mixmag, Stereogum, FACT, NPR, and many more. With tracks played across BBC Radio 1, BBC 1Xtra, BBC 6 Music, Capital Xtra, Beats 1, Reprezent, Rinse FM, KCRW, KEXP, Sirius XMU, and Triple J, and praise from the likes of Zane Lowe, Annie Mac, Benji B, MistaJam, Jason Bentley, Jamz Supernova, Lauren Laverne, Gilles Peterson, Huw Stephens, Phil Taggart and Danny Howard amongst others.
Tongue Kissing (Edit)
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6471
|
__label__cc
| 0.530688
| 0.469312
|
Photo: Dana Wright
Shambhala Music Festival Recap + Exclusive Interview with Britz Robins
“Welcome Home” is a greeting you hear often at Shambhala Music Festival, a sacred place known as an adult summer camp. The festival is held yearly at Salmo River Ranch, buried deep in the Canadian forest. Generally, attendees flood through the gate (running even) as early as Tuesday, while the music starts to blast off on Thursday-Sunday morning. But don’t think I mean the music ends at 3 a.m.; music generally fills the air until around 7 or 8 a.m., or really whenever the DJ has finished their set. The only rule here is the respect the land and one another, and to always have a smile on your face.
Shambhala Music Festival brags 6 unique stages, each with extremely complex designs that encourage attendees to “play” and become friends.
The Pagoda, or mainstage, has a three-story design. From the crowd, individuals can play, roam, and climb on amazing structures to see each of their favorite artists. The Village, most commonly referred to the bass stage, is designed to mimic the Ewok Forest. (Yes, Star Wars). The Village is basically a strand of tree houses, and dance floors. Journey down to The Living Room during the day, or the night, to party on the beach of Salmo River, one of Canada’s most pristine and beautiful rivers. Crowds get funky, and the music can be heard far down the river, even if you can’t see the stage. The Ampitheatre often becomes the place to meet friends, located near food and shops. The stage has giant red and white tent like features, and a sunken dance floor. The Grove is a journey itself, with bright lights and stunning visuals. The Fractal Forest is a creature of its own, it’s mystic and draw known to only those who have attended.
The AMPhitheatre bragged a tent-like structure full of new friends happily swaying to the music. Bryx started the afternoon off with melodic highs and lows. Bleep Bloop murdered from 10:30-12, mixing funky tones into his set, a self proclaimed “outspace bass” artist. G-Jones followed up Bleep Bloop.
The Living Room shined with similar brillance as Shasta, Dubconcious, Vinyl Ritchie, and many more as the sun set on the crowd. On Friday the music was even nastier, with sets from Sugarbear, Dakini, Justin Hale, Cause & Effect, Kill Frenzy, Ekali, and many more. The Village saw acts such as Canadian-native Stylus Beats, followed by Datsik. Datsik’s set oozed love for his home, as well as nasty beats. Next, the one and only Skrillex played to a shoulder to shoulder crowd. Downlink murdered the stage, but one found themselves running to the Grove to catch Liquid Stranger.
The music doesn’t stop until sunrise (or often well after). Saturday afternoon, attendees were immersed in the hip-hop showcase, which was a break from EDM to a funky, hip-hop afternoon. Etc! Etc!, Terravita, and Excision handled the Village at night; the Pagoda (mainstage) vibrated with music by Griz, Each stage offered music by amazing musicians. Sunday screamed with musical brillance, with headliners such as Thomas Jack, Kygo, Jauz, Jack Beats, Camo & Crooked, Zomboy, Big Gigantic, AC Slater, Biome, heRobust, and Pretty Lights.
Conducted by Chelsea King and Dana Wright
We had the opportunity to sit down with Britz Robins, part of the Shambhala Music Festival family to talk about the festival. Britz is a Canadian native who grew up in Canada. She started working with the festival in 2007, and became the first full-time employee for the group in 2008. Since her start the festival has transformed and is reborn every year, bringing a magical experience to its attendees. We asked her some hard questions, and she responded with the enthusiasm and love that Shambhala veterans all seem to share.
CK: Good morning, Britz! It looks like you’re already out on the Ranch, working hard!
Britz: Good morning! Yes, I’ve actually just settled in a few days ago.
CK: What makes the Ranch the best location to host Shambhala year after year?
Britz: There’s something about this property that’s just so snuggly. When you’re on the property, you feel like you are so removed from the world. There’s something magical about it. The property is owned by the “parents” of Shambhala, so we are able to make permanent and semi-permanent structures. It’s so different from other festivals in that sense. We are able to build on every structure year after year. A lot of people that attend the festival say that the reason they come back every year is the land itself. We have the river flowing through, it’s just beautiful.
CK: Many of the artists that I’ve spoken to have said that over the years, Shambhala is their favorite festival to play. I won’t name names, but why do you think that this is? What creates the magic artists feel when playing on a Shambhala stage?
Britz: It’s beyond the stages. The reason it’s such a special place for artists. Artists come and they all stay in tents and camp out. A lot of artists will come for one day, and decide that they don’t want to leave and end up staying the whole weekend. It’s a magical experience for a lot of the artists, almost like summer camp. Artists have a different level of collaboration here, a lot of spontaneity happens here. You’ll have surprise appearances, surprise remixes, etc.
DW: Can you tell me about the concepts and inspirations behind each stage design? They are always so intricate!
Britz: We have six different stage designers for each stage, so they all have different visions. For example, The Village actually started out to represent the Ewok Village. It has been that way since 2003, and prior to that it was called the Avalon Forest. The Ewok Village concept has grown over the years and continues to get bigger and bigger. The Pagoda is our “main stage,” and it was the first and only scaffolding stage we had in 2003. Back then, that was something to write home about. It’s since grown, with the addition of a new stage director. He created a “Temple of Dance” feeling at the Pagoda, where we go to celebrate ourselves and creativity.
DW: Every stage is extremely visually pleasing to the crowds.
Britz: And if you think about it, video mapping is a very new technology. I believe that The Pagoda was one of the first stages to adopt the technology. Video mapping has really transformed our stages. I think that the Village is the only stage where we don’t use video mapping.
CK: The Village also using PK Sound to fuel their music. Can you tell me about that?
Britz: PK Sounds has a very unique history here. PK Sound was actually born at Shambhala. Jeremy was known for creating really loud sound systems for car audio. He would compete in competitions, and he had won awards. From there, he decided branch out and began building speakers, and PK Sound was born.
DW: That’s amazing! PK Sound has definitely grown over the years. What surprises can we expect in the art department this year as far as installations?
Britz: Well, for one, our Tiki Lounge that is normally down by the river has transformed. Now, it’s a Coconut Lounge! They will have some fresh and delicious coconuts there, so come check it out!
CK: Mmm, sounds delicious! What is the most important thing for you when throwing a festival of this size?
Britz: Without contest, safety. The healthy and safety of over 10,000 people is extremely important to us. We work closely with our local emergency services, firefighters, etc. We want everyone to be safe, and have a good time. Everyone in our community really works to make sure everyone is safe. You can’t lie down to have a nap without someone waking you up to make sure you’re okay. It’s a really comforting feeling, and portrays our small town vibe. It’s a very special thing.
DW: What are you most excited for this year?
Britz: I’m excited for everything this year. It’s going to be an amazing time. The Fractal is going to look different, but that’s all the information I can give you on that now.
CK & DW: Thank you so much! We look forward to the festival!
Britz: Thank you guys! Can’t wait to see everyone at Salmo River Ranch!
Be sure to Check out the 2015 Showtime Compilation below:
Start planning now for next year; the magic will be back!
News festivals chelsea king dana wright exclusive britz robins interview Shambhala Music Festival
Countdown NYE Festival [Event Review]
We Were Wrong: Porter Robinson Is Serious About Those 11 Songs
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6472
|
__label__cc
| 0.632829
| 0.367171
|
Flood Claims Deadline Approaches, Three Ways to Know Your Rights
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Sept. 9, 2014)
Residents impacted by the flood of Aug. 11, 2014 have 45 days to file a claim for damages against any government entity that may have been responsible. With a Sept. 25 deadline many people are wondering what they should do. Most cities say that the chances of a claim being covered are low, but that people should file the claim anyhow.
Below are three options, and it is possible to do all three:
1. Every city affected by the flood has forms that residents can fill out. Most cities have them online and in the city clerk’s office.
2. Sign up with Macuga, Liddle and Dubin, P.C. for having them file on your behalf, and potentially include you in a class action suit. They are a law firm that specializes in class action lawsuits, including flooding. Steven Liddle explained “We are still looking into what happened and if a lawsuit would be appropriate. But the 45 day window is important because anyone that could be part of a claim or a suit needs to fill out their form by then. Most people will file with their city, but what we will do is file the forms on their behalf with governmental agencies they may not even think of, like the County, the State, surrounding cities, anybody who may be connected so that if there is a possible claim the homeowner can be part of it.”
Filling out the form does not obligate anyone to take part in any lawsuit, and there is no charge for using their service. It does mean that if there are any class action suits, the people who filed a claim form will be notified and could have the option of getting involved. One example where this could be useful is if you file a claim with the City of Royal Oak, but it turns out that MDOT was at fault, you would not be eligible for compensation, unless you had also filed the claim with MDOT as well.
A history of their cases can be found on their website, including a 2000 case where they recovered millions of dollars on behalf of residents of numerous metro Detroit communities arising from flooding that occurred in 1998. These communities included Dearborn Heights, Inkster, Taylor, Redford Township, Garden City, Warren, Clinton Township, Mount Clemens, Birmingham and Beverly Hills. In 2002 they lobbied the state to allow residents to seek damages in cases of sewer backups, and in 2004 they won the first case litigated under the new law. Numerous other cases are listed at http://mldclassaction.com/history-of-our-firm/#sthash.uEITZVlu.dpbs.
To fill out the form to have your claims submitted by Macuga, Liddle and Dubin, P.C. go to http://mldclassaction.com/classaction/august-11-2014-basement-flooding-information/#sthash.swoWvn73.dpbs.
3. Attend the Protecting Your Flood Rights Claim for Compensation class being presented by the Oakland County Bar Association. The free class is Wed., Sept. 17 at 7:30pm Ferndlae Public Library 222 E 9 Mile Road. Attorney Justin Smith from the Law Offices of Justin L. Smith will do a short presentation of what you need to do to protect your flood rights claim for compensation.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6475
|
__label__cc
| 0.670722
| 0.329278
|
In fact, while I already stated that in this hypothetical scenario the AI would fully understand the spirit of our question and will exclude imprisoning or killing all of us to achieve equal rights, lets add freedom to the request.
So we ask this AI how we can have equal rights and freedom for all.
It is our assertion that the ONLY answer this AI would or could possibly give us is the precise answer that the Nations Of Sanity is presenting - establish the NAP (Non Aggression Principle) as the law, through our 3 part peace agreement.
The NAP is a principle that defines crime by whether or not you are causing harm or loss to another, or threatening or attempting to.
It is not a pacifist principle and allows for the use of force for both self defence and the defence of others. It is only the initiation of force against peaceful people that is prohibited.
That principle and that principle alone can be established as law and applied 100% universally. Nothing else can be.
As soon as you step outside of the NAP with regards to law, you violate it and equal rights becomes mathematically impossible under this corrupted self violating mess, which is law today.
We can make all sorts of claims about how this is better for society, more efficient, more just, preferable, or, as our name asserts, simply the sanest answer we could offer. But when it comes to the question of how to achieve equal rights and freedom for all, the answer we offer is (in the most literal sense) the ONLY answer.
It is not even an opinion, it is an objective fact. A mathematical certainty.
As a matter of mathematical certainty, the only way we can have truly equal rights and freedom for all is to establish the NAP as the law through a peace agreement that applies equally to all. Our universal peace agreement. The law for all lands.
Such an agreement must be made up of 3 basic parts.
Part 1 would be the basic agreement itself, to establish the NAP, and only the NAP, as the universal law or terms of peace between all people.
Part 2 would be the "lines in the sand" where the parameters are set which mark the limits of tolerance over differing interpretations (defining and separating the grey areas from the black and white) and part 3 would establish rightful ownership.
It's an equation for world peace and quite literally the only answer to the question of how we can have 100% equal rights and freedom for all.
The peace agreement would need to have these 3 basic dimensions to it.
The basic answer, to establish the NAP as the law/the terms of peace, and agreeing to that is encapsulated by part 1. But 2 and 3 are necessary for practical application in the real world, where consensus over interpretations on various parameters and definitions will only be achievable through a "lines in the sand" kind of agreement. Setting limits of tolerance and allowing voluntary means of association to deal with the finer ideals and preferences that exist within those limits (separating the black and white from the grey).
Law is about force. Enforcing the NAP is by definition an act of defence, not an initiation of force.
The NAP can be enforced as law without requiring of special rights/powers. No one needs to rule, in fact no one is allowed to rule, the NAP is the only rule and while certain parameters that mark the limits of tolerance will need to be negotiated (primarily through part 2 of our agreement) the principle itself represents the mathematical solution to the issue of equal rights and freedom. While part 2 and 3 represents the additional requirements to the equation that deals with the additional variables of real world application.
Whether we can ever achieve this is a very different question. Whether enough people will recognise the wisdom of using such a basic and objectively universal standard of morality as the basis for law for these terms of peace to be properly established is a massively debatable question.
Even our claims that this is the solution that strikes at the root of the insanity and criminality that plague and rule us can be debated and argued (we invite all to do so).
But there can be no debate when it comes to objective fact and mathematical certainties (though invitations remain open). And our claim, that this is the only way, even theoretically, that we can have equal rights, is a claim of objective truth. A mathematical fact.
2 plus 2 equals 4. It is equally true that 2,846 multiplied by 16 equals 45,536. These are both simple facts and are equally true but the latter is not so immediately obvious and requires more thought (or a calculator) to recognise as a mathematical truth.
It is equally true to say that establishing the Non Aggression Principle as the law/terms of peace, through our 3 part peace agreement, is the ONLY way we can have 100% equal rights and freedom for all. Literally the only way, even theoretically.
That is a mathematical certainty, just as it is that 2 plus 2 does and will always equal 4. It may not be as immediately obvious but it does not require a calculator either. Just a moment of pause and consideration.
The objective truth of this may not be instantly obvious, but any thoughtful consideration of this does reveal the undeniable nature of this claim.
The only law, the only terms of peace, that can be applied 100% equally, in a manner that grants all people 100% equal rights to 100% of the population is that of the Non Aggression Principle, and the only way to deal with the grey areas that could undermine the principle as universal law is by setting limits of tolerance that separate the grey areas from the black and white.
The only demand we can make of others is that they do not do harm to others, or threaten to do so. That is a demand that does not violate freedom (unless you contend that freedom includes the right to harm others) and, as we are trying to emphasise here, can be applied 100% equally.
That is not the end of the story.
Establishing the NAP as the law will give us the sane society we promise but that doesn't mean we should not work for better than simple sanity and the Nations Of Sanity recognises and addresses the need for additional innovations in this regard. But the basis for everything must be this simple and universally moral principle that defines the law that sets the terms of peace between us all equally.
Our other ideas can be improved upon and the wisdom they employ is subjective in many ways, but our answer to the question of how we can have equal rights and freedom for all is not subjective and cannot be improved upon. It is an objective truth. A mathematical fact.
When we say this is the only way to have equal rights and freedom for all, we mean it. This is literally the ONLY way.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6476
|
__label__cc
| 0.598415
| 0.401585
|
Pedleys Solar Offers Low-Income Family Households Extra Solar Rebate in Addition to STC Incentives.
Family-owned business Pedleys Solar was established in 1978 as a local electrical services company and moved towards solar energy to minimize operational costs because their experts and decades of experience realized that by generating electricity from a clean energy source, people could save thousands of dollars of bills each year and reduce their carbon footprint.
Solar power is the key to a clean energy future since the sun gives off far more energy than we need to power everything on earth. Some key benefits of solar energy are that it is renewable, CO2 free, and has low operating costs. Solar panels produce electricity by transforming the continuous flow of energy from the sun to electricity, and there are also no harmful emissions that are released into the air when electricity is produced. The photovoltaic process does not require any fuel and has no variable costs. For all those reasons, it is obvious why people should move towards solar energy and why Pedleys Solar focuses on all forms of solar power services: solar power battery storage, solar panel design and build, solar electrical services, and energy efficiency audits, and more.
Pedleys Solar has always been committed to its clients and employees. Still, recently they have begun offering low-income family households an extra solar rebate of $1888 plus a further $1888 interest-free loan and the federal government STC incentives of $3500 the households already receive.
Through solar power, households save on average $890 per year on their power bills, and with that knowledge, Pedleys Solar wanted to extend this possibility to households of different income levels. From solar panel design and installation to repairs and maintenance, Pedleys Solar has the ability and expertise to design a solar power system that maximizes a property’s solar opportunities. Their design service also assesses a household’s electrical usage to ensure that the solar panels can generate sufficient power for the household or business.
They plan to provide their solar installations rebate for ten eligible households for the next 12 months, with the rebates expiring in January 2022. For households to be eligible to receive the Pedleys Solar Homes rebate, they need to have a combined household income of less than $180,000 per annum before tax, be an owner-occupier of a home valued at under $3,000,000, choose a Clean Energy Council (CEC) Approved Product and uses a CEC Accredited Installer, among a few others.
With so many rave reviews from their competitive pricing, great workmanship, and helpful installers, Pedley Solar has proven to be a expert in their field with happy customers stating that they had gone to other companies but decided to go with Pedleys because they were able to have solar energy at a lower price with a great warranty.
For more information about getting started and whether they are eligible, applicants can head to www.pedleys.com.au or get in touch with Pedleys Solar directly.
About Pedleys Solar
Pedleys Solar was established in 1978 as a local electrical services company committed to providing communities with exceptional craftsmanship in locations all over Queensland, New South Wales & Victoria. They are passionate about helping Australian families, and businesses save thousands of dollars on their power bills by delivering cutting edge solar power solutions and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Company Name: Pedleys Solar
Contact Person: Aaron
Website: http://www.pedleys.com.au/
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6478
|
__label__wiki
| 0.71319
| 0.71319
|
MANILA, Philippines – Prime Infra recently signed an agreement with Solar Philippines to invest Php 1.5 billion for 50% of Solar Philippines Tarlac Corporation (SPTC), the owner of the largest solar farm in the Philippines.
This agreement enables SPTC to expand the Concepcion Solar Farm, which has been operating since 2019, to up to 200 MW. In addition, Prime Infra will jointly develop with Solar Philippines two other solar projects serving the Luzon and Visayas grids. The total of up to 800 MW in advanced stages of development represents the largest solar project joint venture established in the country.
Prime Infra Chairman, Enrique K. Razon, said “We are pleased to join forces with one of the leading solar power developers in the country. Renewables as a stand-alone power source or combined with other forms of power generation and storage are the future of power generation both in terms of reliability and cost.” This transaction is the first step towards Prime Infra building its power generation portfolio in the Philippines, adding to its strategic gas fired asset in Iraq operating since February 2020.
Solar Philippines President Leandro Leviste said, “We believe that partnerships are key to be competitive in the power business. We are honored to partner with the most entrepreneurial infrastructure conglomerate in the Philippines and look forward to building value together for many years to come.”
The Concepcion Solar Farm represents the largest greenfield power plant of any kind to begin construction and achieve commercial operations all during the term of this administration and supports the Department of Energy’s push to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy in the Philippines. This project also does not avail of any Feed-in-Tariff subsidy and so reduces the generation costs of Filipino consumers.
Prime Metroline Infrastructure Holdings Corp (Prime Infra) is Enrique Razon’s infrastructure arm with activities and businesses in the construction, water and power segments. Prime Infra was incorporated in 2017 to focus on the development of strategic assets in emerging markets. We are committed in localizing all our assets as we focus on contributing to the communities we work in.
Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. (Solar Philippines) is one of the leading solar power developers in the Philippines.
PrevPreviousPower is On: Umm Qasr Power Plant Begins its Commercial Operation in Basra, Iraq
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6480
|
__label__wiki
| 0.963158
| 0.963158
|
Tim Jones Band
Tim Jones grew up surrounded by bands like John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack and touring American artists like Freddie King, BB King, Albert King and Howlin’ Wolf. In the 1980s he worked with a number of his earlier heroes when he was asked to join Mainsqueeze. In this band he toured Europe and Scandinavia alongside Victor Brox, Dick Heckstall-Smith, John O’Leary, Dave Moore, Keith Tillman and Stretch. A few years later he was called to be part of Bo Diddley’s band on tour in England, Europe and Scandinavia.
After ten years out of the country Tim Jones is back with an album of new songs written in Córdoba, Spain. He returned to England in the summer of 2014 to search for suitable musicians to record “Home Again”. He found drummer Sam Kelly and Andy Hodge for bass available and the Tim Jones Band was born.
Sam Kelly’s playing career started in the early 1970’s with Cymande, an 8-piece ‘Nyah Rock’/British funk band which achieved most of its success in the USA between 1971-1974. Sam’s self-taught style of drumming has placed him in the drumseat with Cymande, Dr. John, Chaka Khan, Eddie Floyd, Robert Plant, Michelle Shocked and the late, great Gary Moore. Sam played drums on Gary’s last R&B album, “Bad for you Baby”. Besides running his own bands, Sam is also very much a part of Mick Ralphs Blues Band. With a delicate sensitivity to rhythm and a great understanding of dynamics in music, he has earned the respected position of Musical Director for Soul Britannia. Sam has also been honoured in Blues in Britain’s “Gallery of Greats” after winning ‘UK Drummer of the Year’ for five years running.
Andy Hodge is undoubtedly one of the most versatile bass players in the UK and has been playing bass for over 25 years. He has been found playing in Delta Groove, Wonderbrass and Raw Glory to mention a few. Andy can often be seen lending his bass sounds to many Blues Jam nights around the Capital. His theatre show credits include Joseph, Home & Away, Fame and more than three years with Blood Brothers. Currently he can be found in the wings of the London West End Dominion Theatre “We Will Rock You” show, as he is now a dep for bass player Neil Murray (Whitesnake), and in a new fusion band with Russell Gilbrook (Uriah Heep) Jamie Humphries (The Brian May Band and We will Rock You) as well. Other tours include work with Lorna Luft, Dave Willetts, James D Ingram and Wayne Sleep.
First single ‘Small Town’ is charted in the Hit-Tracks Top 100.
Since the release of “Home Again”, on May 22, the line-up has been augmented by Dave ‘Munch’ Moore on keyboards, an old associate of Tim’s from the Mainsqueeze days. His contribution is making the band a phenomenal live act!
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6481
|
__label__wiki
| 0.824156
| 0.824156
|
Watch Tenet (2020) Full Movie Streaming
Tenet tell story about "Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time..".
Cast : John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Dimple Kapadia, Himesh Patel, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Caine, Clémence Poésy, Martin Donovan, Andrew Howard, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Mark Krenik, Anthony Molinari, Rich Ceraulo Ko, Denzil Smith, Jonathan Camp, Julia-Maria Arnolds, Laurie Shepherd, Wes Chatham, Fiona Dourif, Kenneth Wolf Andersen Haugen, Marcel Sabat, Marek Angelstok, Klaus Peeter Rüütli, Daniel Olesk, Bern Collaço, Ingrid Margus, Carina Velva, Glenn Lawrence, Katie McCabe, Ronald Pelin, Schezaad Ausman, Anterro Ahonen, Aleksei Podlesnov, Lisa Marie, Trent Buxton, Martin Tõnumaa, Jess Weber, Jeremy Theobald, Jefferson Hall, Tom Nolan, Adam Cropper, Josh Stewart, Juhan Ulfsak
Genre : Action Thriller Science Fiction
Production : Syncopy Warner Bros. Pictures
Release : August 22, 2020
Countries : United Kingdom
9 day ago - I fully understand that Christopher Nolan is trying to play with time, as that what's the movie's about - and yes, he is known for confusing movies - but here, Nolan has made something uninteresting. The idea of things going backwards is cool, but the rules are unclear. We never know what the basic goal is - I could understand secrets, but the film has to be interesting and 'Tenet' simply isn't. Nothing here makes me want to work things out; it's forgettable. Sure, you can say this has to be seen on the big screen, but the long runtime makes it unappealing to most mainstream audiences. Unfortunately, 'Tenet' is not here to save the 2020 box office. I work at a cinema, and to say it underperformed well would be correct. We are going to see more 'Tenet' hot-take YouTube videos than thinkpiece/what you missed ones. Christopher Nolan has made his most forgettable film to date - it's not a bad movie and I'm sure his diehard fans will adore this one, but for everyone else, there isn't much here. 'Tenet' won't be remembered as another “groundbreaking visual spectacle“ from Nolan or for “saving cinema“. It will be remembered for its weird release schedule and having been shown during a global pandemic, and that's unfortunate. Like the rest of the year, 'Tenet' is a write-off. Read Chris' full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-tenet-time-runs-up-like-my-enjoyment-of-nolans-latest-film
6 day ago - If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com Christopher Nolan has delivered some of my favorite movies of the century. All the way from Memento to the most recent Dunkirk, I've yet to dislike one of his films, so expectations are always high with him. The current global pandemic closed movie theaters worldwide, but fortunately, some countries already opened them, including my own. My IMAX screening of Tenet was my first trip to a theater since February! As a firm believer and strong advocate of the so-called "cinematic experience", I would always remember fondly the day I returned to a place I hold very close to my heart independently of my opinion about the film. Nevertheless, it became an even more special day once I left that enormous screen behind with a happy face. Nowadays, people complain about everything, especially on social media. So, I'm not surprised that the "savior of cinema" marketing tagline triggered so many souls. If Nolan didn't have enough haters, it surely got a few more after this campaign. Me? I look at it like any other marketing scheme: it's intended to hype its own movie, so I don't really understand why this specific publicity caused so much controversy. Obviously, "savior of cinema" doesn't mean Nolan is going to save theaters from dying. It's just a tagline trying to hype the first major blockbuster in several months! It's a marketing strategy to try and convince people to give Tenet a go. If there's a film meant to be seen at the biggest screen possible, this is the one. I'll get the outstanding technical achievements out of the way. Inception and Interstellar boast impressive visuals that are hard to compete with, but Tenet is up to the challenge. With uniquely complex, stunning, grand set pieces, Nolan delivers riveting action based on a mind-blowing temporal concept that will make every single viewer scratch their heads. I lost count to the number of times I tried to open my eyes more so I could see (and understand) everything that was going on. Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography is handheld for a lot of action sequences, and he has such control over his craft that he was able to capture some of the most jaw-dropping action moments of the last few years through gorgeous angles and a firm grip. Nolan said that Tenet would be "the hardest movie to cut" for any editor. Jennifer Lame's editing plays a vital role in the time inversion sequences. It's relatively easy to imagine how brutal of a task she must have had. She's incredibly consistent throughout the runtime with perfectly timed cuts that elevate even the simplest of scenes. I wish I could be more specific, but in order to avoid spoilers, I'll just write this: she has a bunch of nominations coming her way, including an Academy Award. Ludwig Göransson's score is tremendously powerful, and it definitely adds to the magnificent action set pieces, especially in the third act. Finally, Nathan Crowley (production designer) creates such a realistic look that it almost made me believe this could actually occur in the real world. CGI has come a long way, and it's indisputably a tool that can completely transform films into something fascinating when used correctly. However, practical effects will always offer a feeling impossible to replicate through computerized images. It's probably the aspect I appreciate the most about this movie: its massive application of practical effects and real stunts. It surrounds the physics-defying premise within a bubble of realism, and that's only achieved with talented people in the right technical departments. Story-wise... this is where it gets tricky. I have to be honest about my experience: I found it surprisingly okay to follow and not that challenging to understand. This doesn't mean that it isn't a remarkably complex, layered narrative with ideas that will be incredibly hard for some people to comprehend. I'm not trying to patronize anyone, far from that, but some viewers will inevitably leave the theater without completely understanding what they just saw, simply because it's a two-hour-and-a-half movie packed with heavy exposition about a fictional quantum physics concept. For example, in the same way that some people genuinely can't have a 3D perspective, other people will also have visual difficulties in distinguishing the inverted sequences. The need to be vague about plot details doesn't let me explain a lot, but the unique concept Nolan develops in Tenet is undoubtedly an exceptionally intriguing idea. As crazy as it might sound, I found the visuals more confusing than the actual scientific explanations that they go with. Unfortunately, that's one of my main issues with the film. Throughout the entire runtime, there's an excessive load of exposition about the time shenanigans. It's a massive amount of information for anyone to be able to remember every single detail. Even worse, some dialogue sequences feel so incredibly forced that it's almost like the movie stops for quick breaks where the characters explain something directly to the audience. This last point leads me to another problem. John David Washington gets better and better as time goes by, but he feels like a mediator between the film and the audience for the first half of the movie. His dialogue revolves around asking questions about what's happening and how the time inversion works, which is obviously understandable given the character's circumstances, but the execution of these conversations lacks that spontaneous vibe. It really feels like someone yelled "Action!", the actors did their lines, and that same someone yelled "Cut!". Washington isn't exactly a worldwide, well-known actor (Ballers, BlackKklansman), and this is his first big blockbuster appearance, so his inexperience didn't help him through these moments. However, he ends up being a fine protagonist (no pun intended). Robert Pattinson is charming and quite funny, actually. I couldn't avoid the "humorless" review headlines, and being totally honest, it's surprisingly a lot funnier than I thought it would (not) be. His character has a vital role in the whole story, and it's through him that most of the knowledge about the intricate concept at hand is developed. Elizabeth Debicki is probably the spotlight stealer, though. With a remarkable performance, she represents the emotional arc of the film, and she delivers one of her best interpretations ever. I was afraid that her storyline would turn into a forced romance, but fortunately, it only helped build Washington's character traits. On the other hand, Kenneth Branagh plays a cliche Russian bad guy with generic motivations who feels way too formulaic for such a ground-breaking movie. But ultimately, that's what Nolan presents. His astonishingly talented methods as a director and his obsession with detail as a writer make Tenet a certainly flawed yet phenomenal film with a concept that might be the hardest he's ever had to pull off. As long as people can remove themselves from the real world and enter a whole new one with entirely different mechanisms and rules, it will be the so-called "blockbuster of the summer" that everyone deserves this year. All in all, Tenet undoubtedly boasts an incredibly complex narrative with a unique temporal concept impressively demonstrated through spectacular, loud, jaw-dropping, practical action set pieces. Christopher Nolan is a masterful director and a fascinating writer, but he has to thank its technical crew for creating such a visually stunning blockbuster. From Hoyte van Hoytema's riveting camera work to Jennifer Lame's seamless editing, passing through Ludwig Göransson's powerful score and Nathan Crowley's beautiful production design, Tenet is one of the most technically mind-blowing movies of the last few years. With the help of a remarkable cast (especially Debicki and Pattinson), the definitely intriguing story makes the epic runtime feel a bit shorter, despite some scenes being unnecessary. The heavy and forced exposition throughout the entire film transforms an otherwise entertaining flick into a fictional physics class that will confuse thousands of viewers. It also doesn't help to have a generic MacGuffin and a formulaic villain at the core of such an unconventional movie. In the end, Nolan isn't the "savior of cinema" (no one will be), but he certainly delivers the blockbuster everyone's been waiting for since the beginning of the year. As long as people are able to accept and enter his new world, Tenet will be received as one of the best films of 2020. Rating: A-
Simon Massey
2 day ago - There is a moment midway through this film where you can suddenly feel everything clicking into place. Up until this point, the film has been entertaining, with some great set pieces and a scope that is trademark Nolan, but the central hook of the film - “time inversion” - has felt almost superfluous to the plot, albeit a clever visual conceit that gives the film a different vibe to your average spy thriller. But then comes the “moment” - a simple act of crossing a threshold - where suddenly you realise how the visual conceit is going to figure into the rest of the film and also how most of the first hour has been pure setup for what is to follow. It’s the kind of twist that isn’t really a twist at all as it is a visual explanation that the film has really been waiting for. Nolan has taken quite a gamble in delaying this “moment” for so long and there is always the feeling the film is hiding elements of the plot in the first half. This means the explanation may have come too late for some to invest in the film fully, but if you are still with it, there is a sudden feeling of exhilaration of knowing to an extent some of what is about to follow and the film lets loose with some fantastic set pieces that are hugely satisfying if you have been paying attention. Performances are great, with Branagh in full scenery chewing mode and the score is suitably Zimmeresque and loud. It doesn’t quite hit the highs of its closest cousin - Inception - but it’s scope is similarly impressive and it’s going to lead to plenty of theories and explanations in order to follow each major character’s journey through the film. Great stuff in the end, but it was touch and go there for a while.
9 day ago - I was recently asked if this was better or worse than Inception. Personally, I don’t think you can compare any of his films outside the fact that he made them. Like those made by Tarantino, each film is its own living masterpiece ... If you are a fan of Nolan, this is a must see!
4 day ago - **_An aesthetic showcase that's completely uninterested in human beings (and for the love of God, what does Christopher Nolan have against decent sound mixing?)_** > S A T O R > > A R E P O > > T E N E T > > O P E R A > > R O T A S - Sator square (date unknown) >_The laws of science do not distinguish between the past and the future. More precisely, the laws of science are unchanged under the combination of operations (or symmetries) known as C, P, and T (C means changing particles for antiparticles. P means taking the mirror image, so left and right are interchanged. And T means reversing the direction of motion of all particles: in effect, running the motion backward). The laws of science that govern the behaviour of matter under all normal situations are unchanged under the combination of the two operations C and P on their own. In other words, life would be just the same for the inhabitants of another planet who were both mirror images of us and who were made of antimatter, rather than matter._ >_If the laws of science are unchanged by the combination of operations C and P, and also by the combination C, P, and T, they must also be unchanged under the operation T alone. Yet there is a big difference between the forward and backward directions of real time in ordinary life. Imagine a cup of water falling off a table and breaking into pieces on the floor. If you take a film of this, you can easily tell whether it is being run forward or backward. If you run it backward you will see the pieces suddenly gather themselves together off the floor and jump back to form a whole cup on the table. You can tell that the film is being run backward because this kind of behaviour is never observed in ordinary life._ >_The explanation that is usually given as to why we don't see broken cups gathering themselves together off the floor and jumping back onto the table is that it is forbidden by the second law of thermodynamics. This says that in any closed system, disorder, or entropy, always increases with time. In other words, it is a form of Murphy's law: things always tend to go wrong! An intact cup on the table is a state of high order, but a broken cup on the floor is a disordered state. One can go readily from the cup on the table in the past to the broken cup on the floor in the future, but not the other way round._ - Stephen Hawking; _A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes_ (1988) > _Imagine you and a friend decide to go to Pisa, with one of you standing atop the famous leaning tower and the other located down at the bottom. From the top, whoever throws a ball off the edge can easily predict where it will land down on the bottom. Yet if the person at the bottom were to throw the ball upwards with an equal-and-opposite velocity to the ball that just landed, it would arrive exactly at the location where the person at the top threw their ball from._ > _This is a situation where time-reversal invariance holds: where the T-symmetry is unbroken. Time reversal can be thought of the same way as motion reversal: if the rules are the same whether you run the clock forwards or backwards, there's true T-symmetry. But if the rules are different when the clock runs backwards from when the clock runs forwards, the T-symmetry must be broken._ - Ethan Siegel; "No, The Laws Of Physics Are Not The Same Forwards And Backwards In Time"; _Forbes_ (July 5, 2019) Watching _Tenet_, the latest film from writer/producer/director Christopher Nolan (_Memento_; _Inception_; _Interstellar_), I was reminded of an apocryphal story about NASA – during the space race, in an attempt to tackle the problem of how to write in zero gravity, NASA poured millions into developing the Fisher Space Pen, whereas the Russians simply gave their cosmonauts pencils. And it seems to me watching this overblown mess of a film that Nolan has become so fixated on the grandiosity of the pen that he has completely overlooked the humble pencil. More so than any of his previous work, _Tenet_ is focused on mixing philosophy and real(ish) science with over-the-top mainstream entertainment to such an extent that he ignores such basic narrative principles as character arcs, empathy, motivation, and interiority. Now, don't get me wrong, I love filmic experimentation (two of my favourite directors are Terrence Malick and David Lynch), but _Tenet_ isn't an especially experimental film – it's a humourless and badly written shambles, convinced of its own portentousness, and created by a man who has achieved such popularity that it seems no one in his circle is willing to tell him when something is a bad idea. Spending almost ten years working on the story, and five writing the script, in Tenet, Nolan is yet again examining the vagaries of time. It's a theme that's front and centre in _Memento_ (2000), _Inception_ (2010), _Interstellar_ (2014), and _Dunkirk_ (2017), and to a lesser extent in _Following_ (1998) and _The Prestige_ (2006) (I haven't seen any of his _Dark Knight_ trilogy so I can't attest to their thematic concerns, and we shall not speak of his remake of _Insomnia_). It's undeniably fascinating to see a tent pole Hollywood production engaging with issues such as entropy, thermodynamics, reversibility and irreversibility, time's arrow, the grandfather paradox, and T-symmetry, all the while keeping proceedings housed firmly within the spy genre (it's a Bond movie in all but name). Indeed, one of the film's central questions is especially noteworthy – if what and who we remember from our past defines who we are in our present, do things that haven't happened to us yet also speak to our identity? Do our future actions determine who we are as much as our past actions? It's a fascinating question. And one with which Nolan does precisely nothing. However, the film's main problems aren't related to the squandered existential potential, the much-ballyhooed complexity, the puzzle-like structure, the philosophical musing, or the thematic similarity to Nolan's previous work. Rather, they are more fundamental, existing almost entirely at a structural level (although some of the performances don't help matters, nor does the abysmal sound mixing). The film looks incredible, the practical effects in the action scenes are extraordinarily mounted, the cinematography is stunning, and the editing is superb, but there simply isn't anything of note under the shiny veneer. It's a film with virtually no interest in human beings. The premise of _Tenet_ is straightforward in outline. The film opens as a CIA operative known only as The Protagonist (John David Washington) infiltrates a team of bad guys looking to find a spy at the Kiev Opera House. He finds the man before they do, but during their escape, he sees something which should be impossible – a bullet seems to travel backwards in space and a bullet hole is "un-shot", as if time is reversed for that bullet, even though everything else is moving normally. The Protagonist is able to smuggle the spy outside, but their escape goes awry, and to avoid being captured, he swallows a cyanide tablet. Rather than dying, however, he awakens to be told that he has passed the test to join an ultra-secret international espionage squad known as Tenet. His mission is fairly simply – at some point in the future, someone has figured out how to reverse the entropy of objects, effectively being able to send them back along the timeline without having to reverse time itself. The implications of this are catastrophic and have set humanity on course for World War III, and probable extinction, unless The Protagonist can figure out who is doing it and put a stop to their machinations. Along the way, he makes the acquaintance of Neil (Robert Pattinson), his infinitely better-informed handler; Andrei Sator (a spectacularly miscast Kenneth Branagh giving new meaning to clichéd villainy), a dangerous Russian oligarch; Kat Barton (Elizabeth Debicki), Andrei's oppressed and deeply unhappy trophy wife; Priya (Dimple Kapadia), an arms dealer; Ives (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a Tenet soldier; Michael Crosby (Michael Caine), a British intelligence bigwig; and Barbara (Clémence Poésy), a scientist specialising in all things temporal. _Tenet_ is an event movie in every way; this 150-minute, $200m+ original idea (when was the last time a non-franchise, non-comic book original movie got that kind of budget) is a massive studio tent pole written and directed by the most popular filmmaker alive. And I will say this. The budget is on the screen. Oftentimes, you'll see a movie that's cost a ridiculous amount and you'll sit there thinking, "they must have spent a lot on catering." With _Tenet_, however, it's all there, front and centre. No small amount of that money, of course, must have gone on the practical effects (incredibly, the film has only 280 vfx shots) – whether it be our heroes bungie-jumping onto the side of a building, a close-quarters fight where one of the combatants moves in reverse, a Boeing 747 jet crashing into a building (which was shot for real), a highway chase where some of the cars are going forward in time and others are going backwards, or an all-out battle scene where, again, some of the soldiers travel forward whilst others move in reverse. Even Ludwig Göransson's score gets in on the act, employing only melodies which sound the same whether played backwards or forwards. As cinematic spectacle goes (on a purely visual level), I've never quite seen anything like it. It's one of those films where you'll genuinely be asking yourself, "how the hell did they do that?"; a question that's become increasingly rare in our CGI-reliant times. Tenet looks like it was an exceptionally difficult movie to make. Along the same lines, the cinematography by the great Hoyte van Hoytema (_The Fighter_; _Spectre_; _Ad Astra_) is stunning, with van Hoytema mixing 15-perf 70mm IMAX film (shot at 1.43:1; projected at 1.90:1) with traditional 70mm stock (2.20:1) and a few 35mm sequences in a manner where the shifts in aspect ratio are barely noticeable (although I saw it on an IMAX screen; aspects shifts would be more obvious on a smaller screen). It's the kind of film that could only exist in the medium of cinema – no other artform could even begin to approximate its aesthetic design and splendour, and I admire that a great deal. A celluloid purist, Nolan has always made a big stink about the artistic importance of cinema, and _Tenet_ finds him pushing the aesthetic boundaries of what the artform can accomplish, foregrounding innovation in ways that big budget mainstream studio productions simply don't, and celebrating the possibilities it affords those with sufficient enough imagination. Unfortunately, no matter how visually unique or aesthetically impressive it may be, no amount of gloss can hide the fact that the screenplay is a turgid mess and suffers from some fundamental problems – most notably, it's bereft of emotion and populated with cardboard cut-outs that are supposed to be characters. The problems start early when The Protagonist is told that the future of humanity depends on his mission. This is precisely when I started to tune out. Any film that declares its story is none-other than saving humanity has gone so big as to render the people who populate its narrative as insignificant. It's also a cliché, it's dull as dishwater, and we've seen it done a million-and-one-times. The idea of saving all mankind simply doesn't pack any kind of emotional punch any more, far better to stay smaller and focus on character. Which brings me to those characters. Good lord, they're badly written. The Protagonist isn't a person with an interiority; he's a cipher, the audience's surrogate so that Nolan can explain the plot to us. But there's nothing more to him – he's utterly emotionless, seemingly void of any kind of relatable motivation, has no psychological through line, and nothing even resembling a character arc. I'm not a huge fan of Washington in general, who I feel has played every part in the same sombre, disinterested manner, so there could be some prejudice at work, but I am a huge fan of Branagh, and he's even worse. Think of the most clichéd Russian villain you've ever seen. Now square that and you'll be some way towards imagining how ludicrous Sator is. He isn't a person – he's a collection of near-satirical tics, clichés, and elements from other, better films. Maybe with a more menacing actor in the role it might have worked, but all I could think whenever he was on screen was "that accent is hilarious." Pattinson's Neil and Debicki's Kat fair better, but neither set the screen alight. Along the same lines, much of the second half of the film hinges on the fact that The Protagonist and Kat find themselves drawn to one another, yet Washington and Debicki have zero chemistry. At a human level, there's nothing to take a hold of the audience, nothing to make us care about any of these people; they're gears in the machinery of Nolan's plot. Speaking of Kat, a common criticism of Nolan's filmography as a whole is that his female characters tend to be victims whose deaths motivate men or who need saving by men, and/or women who define themselves almost entirely in terms of their relationship to men. Now, I'm not saying that Nolan is _obliged_ to write more rounded female characters. He isn't. Much like one of his favourite filmmakers, Michael Mann, Nolan's films are androcentric. And there's nothing wrong with that. However, in Mann, there are to be found strong female characters with considerable agency, whereas in _Tenet_, Kat is nothing more than a pawn in a game played by powerful men who effortlessly control her. She defines herself almost entirely in terms of her role as a self-sacrificing mother, and whilst this is an interesting trait the first couple of times it comes up, by the time Nolan is reminding us of how much she has sacrificed for the 237th time, it had become obvious that this was going to be the extent of her characterisation. At one point early in the film, Barbara tells The Protagonist, "_don't try to understand it, just feel it_", which is advice that Nolan is also offering to his audience. The problem is that there's nothing to feel. _Tenet_ is a puzzle, the impenetrability of which will depend on each individual viewer (and how much of the appallingly poorly-mixed dialogue you can make out), but unlike _Memento_ (which remains Nolan's best by a long way), which packed a seriously emotional gut-punch when we finally learn what was at the heart of the puzzle, _Tenet_ offers us nothing more than the task of deciphering it for its own sake. There's a twist towards the end that I literally saw coming from about 10 minutes in, but aside from that, there's no payoff. There's nothing to make us want to penetrate a story that seems more intent on reminding us how clever it is instead of trying to depict real people or establish real emotional stakes; it's a film more enamoured by the complexity of its own design than by any of the people contained within. It's an emotional void – all technical virtuosity and surface sheen with next to nothing at its core.
10 day ago - I believe Tenet is very underrated. This movie is just too good! The soundtrack, the action, the plot, the acting, the cinematography, and the fact that CGI wasn't really involved much! Yet it was indeed challenging to understand. However, after watching Dark, I didn't face much difficulty in understanding the plot, as both have a lot in common. Nolan's movies aren't there to satisfy you, they are more of something to be felt. I loved Tenet as much as I loved his other movies...
10 day ago - Been a fan of Christopher Nolan's films but this one didn't quite do it for me. One, confusing story that was hard to follow at times (I got the gist), but beyond that, wasn't terribly entertained. Acting was shaky, Pattison was fine but really disappointed with John David Washington, though he's not helped by cliched dialogue. IDK, didn't hate it at all and maybe will revisit it one day, but this is easily Nolan's weakest film to date. **3.0/5**
vincesalerno75
6 day ago - I’m a bit annoyed I couldn’t understand the first twenty minutes because of the bombastic bass and a bit underwhelmed by the lack of an emotional arc, but all things considered, Tenet is an epic, mind-blowing James Bond film masquerading as a Christopher Nolan film.
Arshia Borjali
9 day ago - Nolan's latest movie is one of his worst. An exaggerated film whose only purpose is to complicate the viewer, but I wish he could do it with cinema. These ambiguities are created only by the chaotic and crowded montage and a series of theoretical dialogues, and no cinema is seen in it. Also, we do not see any coherent story during the film and the events of the film do not form a script at all. There is no characterization in the film, the protagonist character is not made at all and is not believable, also the other characters are completely caricatured and extra, also during the film and its artificial communication, not a bit of feeling is created. Aside from the fact that the film does not even come close to form, it is also very beginner in terms of technique, excessive cuts, and sometimes weird and inappropriate! The opening and closing sequences of the film are highly artificial, and the final sequence is saturated with a large number of cuts, aerial shots and rudimentary special effects. The only slight positive aspect of the film is its acting, and the acting of the antagonist character is defensible. In general, the film is considered to be a very bad and weak film, which is like a puzzle without a pattern, meaning that after putting the white pieces together, which is not a difficult task, it has nothing to offer.
yahyaharyantoo
5 day ago - man, oooh maaann
everything bumps into each other.
F*ck. yes, another time sh*t by Nolan. people seem to hate or despute it, but I am enjoyed the film. the inverted fight, so much to hit my brain. u might call me Nolan's b*tch but i am. idc. this shit is liiiitttttt 🔥🔥🔥. Also: Washington, Pattinson, and Debicki are sexy af. Goransson is good. He did an amazing job. After what he did for The Mandalorian, I'm excited what a sound he would build. What a tone is it. But I wished Zimmer would do that. But yeah there are some other things that failed. The dialogues is hard to hear because of the massive soundtracks. How this film has no emotional core. Yes it's just big spectacle to aroused the hornyness for the (time) plot. Understandable. I loved it (for the sake of new "time" plot from Nolan). Cheers mate 🍻 ✌🏽
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6484
|
__label__cc
| 0.694586
| 0.305414
|
INTERVIEW: Jeffrey Prather lays out how Trump, the DoD and Chris Miller DEFEAT the deep state traitors and save America
by: Mike Adams
Jeffrey Prather (JeffreyPrather.com) is a former DIA intelligence analyst, former DEA investigations officer, served on the B Team of special operations forces, and is now an intelligence analyst working to save America from its enemies, both foreign and domestic. Since the rigged election took place, Prather has been publishing podcasts that offer analysis of what’s happening behind the scenes in Washington D.C., covering deep state operators, the Dept. of Defense, SOCOM, JSOC, SOF-dark and also looking closely at Trump’s strategy for defeating the deep state.
Like many patriots, Prather has also been targeted for destruction by the deep state, but he survived the attempts and is serving his country now as a civilian analyst with decades of experience of how the system really works.
This entry was posted on Friday, November 27th, 2020 at 9:42 pm and is filed under Civil War II, Communists, Conspiracy, Corruption, Government Evil, New World Order. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6488
|
__label__wiki
| 0.86042
| 0.86042
|
VINNY APPICE On LAST IN LINE: 'We Are Looking Forward To Doing A Lot Of Touring'
Mark Dean of MyGlobalMind webzine recently conducted an interview with former DIO and current LAST IN LINE members Vinny Appice (drums) and Jimmy Bain (bass). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
MyGlobalMind: How did it feel to be performing [the early DIO] songs live again [with LAST IN LINE] on a stage after so many years?
Jimmy: It was great. It was a real buzz.
Vinny: It's kind of like there is a magic there; that's a word that Ronnie [James Dio] always used. I have played some of these songs with other bands, and different projects and stuff. There is nothing like playing them with Jimmy and Viv [Vivian Campbell, guitar] and Claude [Schnell, keyboards]. There is just a flow to it. It was pretty intense playing them, but fun, you know. The sound was, like, monstrous. It was great.
MyGlobalMind: Vinny, let's discuss [BLACK SABBATH's] "Mob Rules" [album].
Vinny: Well, the interesting thing about "Mob Rules" is that we were on tour, I had joined the band as Bill Ward had left. It wasn't like a permanent thing; it was just until Bill comes back. As it went along, we were really getting close together. During the "Heaven And Hell" tour, Warner Brothers asked us to do a song for the "Heavy Metal" movie. We had a couple of days off so we went into Ascot, John Lennon's house, and Ringo's [Starr] house, and we recorded and wrote [the song] "The Mob Rules" in there. We recorded it and put it together and it came out amazing. We were, like, "Wow, this is going to work." When we wound up the tour, we ended up in L.A. and we re-recorded it on our album. There are two different versions of "The Mob Rules" and a lot of people don't know that. It was cool, though, because we were in the house. We set the drums up in the hall; it was like a band taking over a house but it was BLACK SABBATH. It was a lot of fun and a good vibe.
MyGlobalMind: Returning to the reason that we are chatting, what are the future plans for LAST IN LINE? I chatted to Viv last week, and he had hinted at something more than just a run of a few shows. Will the band work on some new material, perhaps you already have?
Vinny: We haven't really talked about anything — recordings or anything. It's funny — it started off as a jam: "Hey, do you want to get together?" "Yeah." And we had so much fun and it sounded great, and, "Hey, let's play again." Viv said that he wanted to do some gigs, and we said, "Let's do it," that this would be great. It would be great to play these songs correctly [laughs] after all these years. We are looking forward to doing a lot of touring, not just a side project for a couple of weeks.
MyGlobalMind: What's the biggest lesson that the rock and roll business has taught you?
Vinny: Probably [that] musicians are not taught much about the music [business], because you feel that you are a musician, and you write the songs, and that is all within you. What it will teach you whether it is easy or hard is the actual fucking [music] business… Where the money is and how to survive, who's ripping you off and what's going on. You have got to be in control of all that shit and keep a finger on the pulse; otherwise, you don't survive. There is always somebody out there with a hand out. It teaches musicians more about the business, I think, and how things work.
MyGlobalMind: With the significant changes in recent years, is it harder for musicians to make a living these days?
Vinny: When we started in the Eighties, it was pretty much a formula. You get a band, you get a record deal, and the money was big. Especially if you had names in the band, you got the money. You had the money to make an album, to tour, through merchandising. Everything was bigger, and people sold a lot of records. If you didn't sell 300,000 [copies of an album], people were not happy. You had to sell 500,000 for gold and platinum; that was big. Now, if you sell 30,000 records, you are doing good; it's a whole different thing. It was more of a formula then; now it is like more unknown. You ask, "How do we get this going?" I have got a band, KILL DEVIL HILL, with Rex Brown [PANTERA] in the band and we have got a second album. We got off one label because they didn't do anything. We are going with another label, for less money but the money is so small.
Read the entire interview at MyGlobalMind.
LAST IN LINE performance footage:
Tags: vinny appice, last in line, dio, jimmy bain
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6491
|
__label__cc
| 0.508016
| 0.491984
|
In 1516, Sir Thomas Moore coined the term, Utopia, for the title of his best-known work. It was the blueprint for an ideal society that eliminated war, crime, and poverty among its inhabitants. Utopia was a fictional island republic that fostered peace and tranquility with the political reforms that are much needed today.
A Dystopian society is the antonym of Utopia and appears in many works generally set in the future. Some of the most famous examples are George Orwell 's Nineteen Eighty-Four, Aldous Huxley 's Brave New World, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Isaac Asimov’s I Robot, and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Each of these authors has attempted to describe actual events.
George Orwell was describing Stalin’s reign of terror during the age of Communism.
Aldous Huxley was describing behavioral conditioning and genetic modification aimed at establishing a class-based society that eliminates free-thinking. Although this novel was published in 1931, it could very well have described Hitler’s Germany, where propaganda was broadcast over a new device called the radio to foster hero worship of the leader as a way of conditioning the people of Germany. The Aryan race sought purification by eliminating Jews, Gypsies. and other races regarded as inferior.
Ray Bradbury was showing how a society could gain control by simply banning books. A society that doesn’t read or remember its history is much easier to control. We recall the burning of ‘undesirable’ books throughout history.
Issac Asimov was concerned with the technological progress of Artificial Intelligence (AI), where computers could one day surpass the human mind in making decisions concerning human fallibility, with the result that robots would some day replace their masters. He therefore inserted into every robot brain the three laws of robotics:
First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
Margaret Atwood was showing how a patriarchal society could gain total control over women. A clique of Christian fundamentalists has overthrown the United States government and replaced it with the patriarchal Republic of Gilead. One can go back to the Old Testament and Genesis to see how men have regarded the role of women. Isn’t God a man? Today we see how religious fundamentalists attempt to control a woman’s personal choice over reproduction by opposing birth control. Alabama recently passed a law punishing doctors performing abortions with up to 99 years in jail. Many societies dictate that the woman’s role is in the home raising children and being subservient to her husband. A woman doesn’t even have the right to choose her partner in countries with arranged marriages.
Where do we stand today? Let’s examine a crucial example of a possible dystopian future with a terrible ending for the human race. Let’s use a realistic situation in discussing this possible outcome. I’m referring to the Middle East because it is the most volatile region on the planet. Many leaders wish to stifle freedom of choice for the people who wish to live an ordinary life – Israel, which presently favors expansion and control over the West Bank under Netanyahu, along with his desire to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, Turkey’s suppression of free speech and its cooperation with Russia to obtain military aid, the battle of the Saudi Arabian kingdom with American support against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, resulting in many civilian deaths and mass starvation, Iraq’s state of near anarchy, the civil war in Syria and its battle with ISIS, the theocratic rule of Iran, and its support of the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Then there is the threat by Iran to develop nuclear weapons if the United States doesn’t drop its sanctions against Iran. In the foreground of this Middle Eastern morass is the battle between Shiites and Sunnis for complete religious domination in the region.
All it takes to ignite this tinderbox is a lit match. This week, the match included a number of drones launched against the oil fields in Saudi Arabia, cutting its oil production in half. Our ‘Lock and Load’ president issued a number of conflicting statements – starting with the statement that the United States had no preexisting conditions for engaging in talks with Iran. Later he denied that immediate talks were possible. Everyone was waiting to find out whether the drones were launched from Iran or if the perpetrator was Yemen. Trump issued another statement that he was waiting to hear from Saudi Arabia with regard to the source of the drones. Why didn’t he ask his own intelligence services, who most assuredly know the answer?
How Saudi Arabia or even the United States is going to react is still in question. The Middle East has always been a hotbed, and the Doomsday Clock is only 2 minutes before midnight. The minute hand must now take into account the introduction of drones - unmanned guided missiles that can be directed from launch control platforms halfway around the world. The twenty-first century comes with advanced technology consisting of computers that control weapons with artificial intelligence. (see Isaac Asimov’s I Robot). In other words, today’s modern weapons are so sophisticated that a single misstep can cause an escalation leading to all-out nuclear war. Assuming that we avoid this dystopian future, there are always the consequences of global warming, where the increasing population of the world combined with mass starvation, more powerful storms, rising sea levels, and the extinction of a million plant and animal species could still trigger a cataclysmic ending.
We humans have the ability to control the ecological outcome of the world, including our own existence. Those who lead nations and make critical decisions should possess both the intelligence and compassion needed to prevent these dystopian futures. How do we guarantee that a democratic process will elect such a person? If Donald Trump is an example of selecting the right leader, we are already doomed. Only if we establish a process that elects the right leader can we turn away from confrontation and negotiate a lasting peace. This can be achieved through the reduction of nuclear weapons and by placing our trust in the United Nations in settling international disputes. We need to stop pursuing global dominance and reduce arms sales to other countries. Global warming can be reversed if we replace fossil fuels and fracking with green technologies and plant new forest growth. These new policies would be an important start in trying to reach Utopia.
Failed Society
More in this category: « Killers of the Flower Moon Science Fiction or Fact »
You are here: Home Articles A Dystopian Future?
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6501
|
__label__cc
| 0.74312
| 0.25688
|
← Marc Lopez
Bojana Jovanovski →
Name: Vania King
Wikipedia Page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vania_King
Vania King comes from United States of America the same as 59 other players in the 2013 Australian Open and the 2nd most represented country. Vania King’s place of birth is Monterey Park, CA, USA.
Vania King was born in 1989 on the 3rd February the same year as 37 other players and also a younger player, with the average year of birth being 1987. Of the 599 players we assessed here, Vania King being born in February represents 8.85% of the 599 players, the highest birth month being May which represents a 11.69%.
We have a recorded height of 1.65 metres for Vania King, when compared with other players the tallest player in the competition is 2.08 metres and the shortest is 1.55 metres, with the average being 1.81 metres, this makes Vania King 0.16 metres shorter than the average player.
Vania King weighs in at 59.1 kilos the heaviest player weighed in at 104.5 and the lightest at 45 kilos, the average player weight is 73.73 and therefore makes Vania King 14.64 kilos lighter than the average.
Vania King is recorded as a Right hand player, the same as 356 other players in the competition, of the 419 players we analysed for this statistic, 84.9% play right handed and 15.1% play left handed.
Vania King has a current singles ranking of 104 and a doubles ranking of 28. We have Vania King as having played a total of 7 Australian Opens.
For the 2013 Australian Open Vania King entered the Women’s Singles and Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
Vania King’s best singles result was the 3rd Round in 2012. Vania King’s best doubles result was the Quarter Finalist in 2012.
Vania King turned professional in 2006 the same as 22 other players in the Australian Open. Since then Vania King has won 93 career matches and lost 120.
This entry was posted in Tennis and tagged Luke Capewell, Tennis, Vania King. Bookmark the permalink.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6503
|
__label__cc
| 0.745586
| 0.254414
|
A film by Eduardo Williams
One of the year’s most bracingly original debuts, Eduardo Williams The Human Surge is global journey that jumps without warning from Argentina to the Philippines to Mozambique; a road movie that fuses fiction and documentary for a portrait of today’s youth at a time of economic uncertainty and illusory hyper-connection.
Buenos Aires. Exe, 25 years old, has just lost his job and is not looking for another one. His neighbors and friends seem as odd to him as they always do. Online, he meets Alf, a boy from Mozambique who is also bored with his job and who is about to follow Archie, another boy who has run away into the jungle. Through the dense vegetation of the forest, Archie tracks ants back to their nest. One of them wanders off course and comes across Canh, a Filipino, sitting on top of a giant heap of earth and who is about to go back to his strange, beautiful home town and his mundane job.
Winner, Special Jury Prize, Locarno Film Festival
“Singular and unclassifiable.” – Sight & Sound
The most ambitious debut of the year. A shrewd commentary on the dissonance of technological connectivity and personal communication.” – Indiewire
“Visually thrilling.” – Frieze Magazine
“I had an acute sense of seeing things that I’d actually never seen before in a movie.” – Artforum
"A staggeringly accomplished first feature seems to indicate the arrival of a prodigious new talent in international cinema." – Filmmaker Magazine
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6505
|
__label__cc
| 0.725132
| 0.274868
|
New Store Coming Soon!!!
African Traditions and Fashions is a company that makes and sells
different types of items made in Africa by Africans and works with
unemployed youth, abandoned pregnant teenagers, and widows to uplift
their lives from poverty cycle using their talents.
Subscribe to The Dream Foundation
When you Subscribe you will receive updates on the new store as well as news about the Foundation!
Building a school
A school built in a community is an ingredient to the community for development.
The Dream Foundation of Uganda’s schools are to see that the helped communities become educated, to combat the predators of HIV/AIDS, poverty, illiteracy, and corruption as they use their attained knowledge to be self reliant. TDF will continue having schools in East Africa financed by donations.
You can change a community and save lives by helping us build a school in any of ways bellow.
Checkout the categories below and select what suits your interest as an individual or a group.
You will have your name put on the building you donated for.
Welcome to The Dream Foundation official site
Welcome to The Dream Foundation
by Kimuli Isaac CEO/Founder
The Dream Foundation of Uganda was founded by Mr. Kimuli Isaac in 2009 as an effort towards a free community from HIV/AIDS, poverty, illiteracy, corruption, and their effects, it has been up to now only a dream, but can be realized. Isaac has a passion for children and his work with them brought him to the realization that although children are the most affected by the above mentioned problems, they can be instruments in fighting them. Many people die with unrealized dreams due to hindrances in the form social evils. Once these are fought, many can reach their dreams.
Since 2009, the organization has been involved in HIV/AIDS Awareness and Sensitization programmes, poverty alleviation programmes, education programmes, and orphanage care activities. The organization has acquired many volunteers from different communities.
These have disseminated information and offered counseling services to Children of different communities and have offered referral where possible.
The Dream Foundation of Uganda is a non-profit children development organization
Established with mandate of involving children in the fight against HIV/AIDS, illiteracy, corruption and poverty through participatory and advocacy activities. Our aim and steering goal is to promote education, promote the health of children and their overall welfare, reduce corruption and the effects of HIV/AIDS. We help children discover; develop their talents and special abilities, and empower them to utilize the same in the fight against HIV/AIDS, poverty, illiteracy, and corruption.
The NGO offers orphanage care services, foster care services, counseling, improving livelihoods of orphans and vulnerable children through participatory and advocacy activities in the areas of agriculture, information and research and other community empowerment activities to enable vulnerable groups enhance their Godly given skills and potentials.
Society is facing acute challenges caused by the predators of Poverty, Illiteracy, corruption and HIV/AIDS. Children who are the most affected can be equipped in the struggle against them.
THE DREAM FOUNDATION OF UGANDA.
|
cc/2021-04/en_head_0000.json.gz/line6515
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.