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Jan Ijäs’s Waste no. 4 New York, New York travels to Spain and Mexico Jan Ijäs’s Waste no. 4 New York, New York (2020) was selected for Shorts Mexico (World Cinema Showcase) and Bueu International Short Film Festival FICBUEU (Experimental Section). Shorts Mexico is held from September 2–9 in Mexico while FICBUEU will be held from September 11–19 in Spain. The programme of Shorts Mexico includes also Maija Blåfield’s The Fantastic, which was selected for the international documentary competition. Waste no. 4 New York, New York revisits the history of the City in twenty minutes through twelve cemeteries and one landfill. The short documentary is the fourth, independent episode from the ten-part Waste series.  Media artist and film director Jan Ijäs (b. 1975) studied documentary film making at the Department of Film, Television and Scenography at the Aalto University in Helsinki. His work can be described as a blend of avant garde, experimental media art and documentary film making. His films have been screened at more than 200 Finnish and international film festivals and as installations in museums and art galleries. He has won numerous awards, including the Finnish Risto Jarva Prize in 2011 for SWEET MOV(I)E, Raft of the Médusa, film about immigration won Amnesty International Award 2018 at the IndieLisboa film festival in Portugal. Shorts México, September 2–9 2020, Mexico Bueu International Short Film Festival FICBUEU, September 11–19 2020, Spain AV-ARKKI HAS PROMOTED AND DISTRIBUTED FINNISH MEDIA ART SINCE 1989. AV-ARKKI’S PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS HAVE MADE THE ARTISTS’ PARTICIPATION IN THIS EVENT POSSIBLE. Tags: AV-arkki's distribution, International
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Battenkill Books Calendar/Planners Surprise Book Bundles Alcorn Gallery Signed Books & Special Editions Middle Readers and YA Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide (Hardcover) By John Cleese (INSPIRATION/SPIRITUALITY) The legendary comedian, actor, and writer of Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, and A Fish Called Wanda fame shares his key ideas about creativity: that it’s a learnable, improvable skill. “Many people have written about creativity, but although they were very, very clever, they weren't actually creative. I like to think I'm writing about it from the inside.”—John Cleese You might think that creativity is some mysterious, rare gift—one that only a few possess. But you’d be wrong. As John Cleese shows in this short, practical, and often amusing guide, creativity is a skill that anyone can acquire. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, Cleese shares his insights into the nature of creativity and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. What do you need to do to get yourself in the right frame of mind? When do you know that you’ve come up with an idea that might be worth pursuing? What should you do if you think you’ve hit a brick wall? We can all be more creative. John Cleese shows us how. John Cleese was born in Weston-super-Mare in 1939 and educated at Clifton College and at Cambridge. He achieved his first big success in the West End and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. He went on to co-found the legendary Monty Python comedy troupe, writing and performing in the TV series and in films that include Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python’s Life of Brian. In the mid-1970s, Cleese and his first wife, Connie Booth, co-wrote and starred in the now-classic sitcom Fawlty Towers. Later, he wrote and co-starred in A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures. He has appeared in many other films, from James Bond to Harry Potter, and has guest-starred in numerous TV shows. He is also the author of So, Anyway...: A Memoir. “Creativity . . . is . . . [a] meditation on how anyone, whether breaking into TV or leading a corporate giant, can tap into his or her creative gifts.”—The Wall Street Journal “A versatile entertainer shares encouraging advice. . . . His candor is endearing. An upbeat guide to the creative process.”—Kirkus Reviews “[A] humorous and practical guide . . . Whether you’re hoping to write a novel or paint a masterpiece, you’re sure to feel inspired.”—OK! Publisher: Crown Publication Date: September 8th, 2020 Self-help / Creativity Humor / Topic / Language Self-help / Motivational & Inspirational 15 East Main St. Cambridge, NY 12816 info@battenkillbooks.com Please see our COVID response at left for current hours. Looking for audio books? Hours & Directions | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Return Policy | Help Battenkill Books | 15 East Main Street, Cambridge, NY 12816 | 518-677-2515 Copyright © Battenkill Books
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Greater Nusantara / Media Coverage / News Beating a Hundred Participants, BINUS INTERNATIONAL Comes Third Greater Nusantara Congratulations to BINUS INTERNATIONAL’s team for winning the third place in the 3rd Bachelor Journey of Management (BJM) competition held on 17 April at the School of Economics at University of Indonesia (FE UI), in Depok. The team managed to beat more than 100 teams in the paper proposal stage and eight other teams in the final stage. The BINUS team consisted of three students from two different majors. They were Ninda Putri Kiasatina (Accounting 2015), Elizabeth Lesmana Pualam (International Business 2015) and Kelvin Ricky Syahputra (International Business 2015). They were not only in the top three, but also became the only team from a private university to compete up to the final stage and win third place. BJM is an annual competition founded by the Management Research Center (MRC) of FE UI. In the third 3rd BJM, the committee chose case studies with the theme of a central bank. The topic was “The role of the Indonesian central bank (Bank Indonesia) in the era of the Financial Services Authority”. In this year’s BJM, FE UI partnered with Bank Indonesia. For a total of 20 minutes the team gave its best, responding to questions from the jury. In the first 10 minutes the team had to explain the role of Bank Indonesia now that we have OJK, based on their paper. The next 10 minutes was for a question and answer session. The team was confident in responding to the jury’s questions. In that 20-minute period, the team did not face any real problems. They managed to respond well to the jury’s questions. They alternately presented their paper. Under mentorship from Dewi Fitriasari, a lecturer and also the team coach, the three participants managed to face the hurdles coming their way.The university also played a role in the team’s success, helping them reach the final. For administration, the team got strong support from SAGE (Student Alumni Global Employability). Karen Imam, a Faculty Member, chose the team members. “Initially we planned to be trained by a person who really knows banking, especially about Bank Indonesia. That was our own initiative. But, due to time constraint, we had to dismiss the plan. We learned about the banking ourselves. Mostly we learned from the Internet,” said Elizabeth. The team members hope their success will not be short lived, and that it will lead to more successes. They expressed their hope that the university would routinely send its students to events like BJM. “Students of BINUS have a lot of potential. They also have big ambitions. It would be a waste not to participate in events like this if they can use these events to develop their potential,” said Ninda. Kelvin said that participation in events, such as BJM, could expose the name BINUS INTERNATIONAL even more, at national and international levels. “By participating in a competition like this, more people will know our campus. Besides, we get to meet many new friends and contacts. This helps us to socialize and to develop our networking skills,” Kelvin added. (RAW) Source:http://international.binus.ac.id/2014/04/17/beating-a-hundred-participants-binus-international-comes-third/ #GreaterNusantara
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VANCOUVER: Retail Giant Returns National Retail View count: National Retail McArthurGlen has built more outlet retail space across Europe than any company. Now it has 10 outlet mall projects in the pipeline, including its return to North America with a project in Vancouver (and plenty more are on the way, considering Simon Property Group's $485M commitment to co-invest with McArthurGlen on future new builds). CEO Julia Calabrese tells us that nine of the current projects are in Europe, sticking it to the debt crisis there (we can hear Europe’s Monty Python impression now: “I’m not dead yet!”). The company (an outlet mall owner, developer, and operator) will now bring Venice to Vancouver with both the developer’s penchant for pleasing architecture, its relationships with European brands, and its rep for outstanding customer service, she says. Of course, McArthurGlen never really left the Western Hemisphere. Rather, Cheryl McArthur and Alan Glen sold their 28 US outlet malls (many are now in Simon’s portfolio), and Joey Kaempfer bought the right to use the name in Europe, where the company owns 20 outlets across eight countries. The ground-up projects underway in Europe are in Provence, France; Ghent, Belgium; and Remscheid, Germany. Two expansions are in the works in the UK, two in Germany, and one each in Italy (Venice is above) and Austria. The Vancouver project, above, is a JV with the Vancouver Airport Authority and the first part of Simon's commitment. That ground-up development will deliver in May 2015. Julia tells us the unrest around Russia has tempered tourism from that corner of the world, but European economic development agencies are working hard to draw Brazilian, Russian, Chinese, and other Asian tourists; then the operator steers them to its shopping centers. Sales and marketing reps based in each region work to put a visit on their travel itineraries before they even leave home. Related Topics: Monty Python, Vancouver Airport Authority, Western Hemisphere, Julia Calabrese, Joey Kaempfer Also subscribe to Bisnow's Retail Newsletter
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Regina & Mac Review Jordan Campbell April 16, 2020 Regina and Mac is developed by Diplodocus games and is a 3D platformer that pays homage to platformers of the late 90’s. So if I were to describe the characters to you in this title, Regina is a macaw and Mac is a Tyrannosaurus Rex and the aim of their adventure is to escape a research laboratory which is lifeless and empty. You have to explore and negotiate the levels in order to find golden floppy discs and use them on the computer system in order to find the exit to said level. Now this a very different kind of review, as it is currently on Xbox One under the creators collection. I believe at the time of writing it is also accessible on the Microsoft Store and if you dust off the old Wii U you can find a copy on the Nintendo Store. You’ll have nine levels to tackle and what I like about this is you can play the levels in whichever order you choose. So it isn’t a case of play level one and beat it to unlock the next one. However the premise is that you must collect all of the golden floppy discs and find all of the exits to beat the levels and complete the game, so there is still a real element of challenge. What I found really hard to believe, was by playing this it will really open your eyes on how far games have come in the last three decades. What you’re about to engage with in this experience is the first signs of 3D gaming and I was genuinely interested and intrigued to go back to the era that I grew up with and see if it was still an enjoyable experience after this length of time. Firstly, its imperative that you push graphics aside and focus on the gameplay here. At first I found it really difficult to adapt to the graphics at first and this was mainly due to how far graphics have come in the last few decades. I’d like to go as far as to say that the visuals look early PlayStation One era if you can picture that in your head. It is nowhere near as immersive as say Spyro the Dragon or Banjo Kazooie, but it doesn’t make it a terrible game to play and once you climb the hurdle of the ageing visuals it can actually be very addictive. I found myself taking my time to get used to the controls as there is no indication of the control scheme and it felt difficult using analogue sticks and I reverted to the trusty old d-pad in the end. The addictive nature here is all about finding all of the golden floppy discs, negotiating puzzles, encountering various platforms to try and make the jump to each one. If you enjoy platformers, you’ll enjoy this one for sure. It didn’t take me long to realise that the reason I was struggling with the analogue sticks was down to the invert being switched on. You can easily turn this off in the start menu of the game. Starting off on the first level may confuse you as you try to figure out what you’re actually doing here as I had no clue at first. Sometimes the best part of a platforming title is figuring out what the next step you have to take is. With all this in mind it is difficult to go into great length with this review and if I had to describe it I would call it a dated platformer which still offers some fun to casual gamers. If you want some nostalgia in your life then definitely give it a whirl, you’ll be surprised at how big the levels actually are and how much gameplay a small title like this offers up. I don’t feel that there is much longevity but its worth playing at such a small price point. REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox One code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk. Regina and Mac is like taking a trip down memory road about two or more decades and plunging into a fun platformer which can be a braintease too. Addictive even if a little dated. Great insant nostalgic feel to the game. Bright and colourful. Difficult camera angles at times. The gamer of today may not appreciate this. Tags:3D, Action, Action & Adventure, adventure, Diplodocus Games, General, Platformer, Rating 5/10, Regina & Mac, Regina & Mac Review, Xbox One, Xbox One Review SokoBunny Review City of Brass Review Batman – The Telltale Series Review The Grand Tour Game Review
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lisamwilkinson 5 Critical Steps For Therapists Interested In Government Contracts Like many clinicians, I thought that once I was licensed, I'd easily open up a private practice, and within a year, I would be enjoying lucrative, low stress, practice working for myself. I was wrong. I found myself working for a large community mental health organization, and I was not happy. I left work feeling defeated on most days. But more than just being overworked and underpaid, I felt like I didn't have a voice at the company where I worked. It may sound a bit cliché, but I became a counselor to help people. I didn't feel Iike I was walking in my purpose. I was looking for a way to help others, where I could have more control over my career, my time, and my life in general. It was around this time that I came across Government Contracting. Government Contracting has allowed me the freedom, flexibility, and finances to create the life I want. Here are my 5 things to consider if you're interested in applying for government contracts. Find The Right Contract What's your passion? Consider contracts that are of interest to you, don't accept a contract for the sake of accepting a contract. What skills do you have to meet the needs of the contract? You must be able to meet every aspect of the contract before you agree to take it on. The government, federal, state, and county have specific requirements when it comes to vendor agreements. Only accept a contract award, if you are sure you can meet all the requirements. Size Doesn't Matter At least this is true when it comes to government contracts. Not all contracts go to the largest companies. Most large contracts (over $1 million) offer an incentive for large companies to include small businesses (less than 500 employees) for a portion of the contract. Often priority is given to minority businesses. For example, 51 % of women-owned and ethnic minorities would first receive their contracts. Partnering with a larger company is an excellent way to transition into contracting. Pricing Is A Balancing Act Pricing is delicate in a government contract. Research pricing based on previous awardees of the contract you're applying for and similar contracts. Review your financials to understand your current costs and possible changes in the market that could drive those costs. The initial instinct is to bid on the contract by offering the lowest price. The contract isn't always awarded to the lowest bidder. The company that is showing the most robust response to the contract solicitation may be the one that obtains the contract. It's essential to resist the urge to underbid (or to be priced so high that you're barely considered) since there is rarely an opportunity to request more funds once the contract is awarded. Are You Actually Ready? Ask yourself these three questions to confirm your readiness for government contracts. Are you registered on the appropriate sites so you can accept a contract? Do you know where and how to register? Are you registered with the state? Do you have a DUNS numbers? Review the appropriate government contracting sites to ensure you are correctly registered, and your information is up to date. Be prepared by taking these initial steps. This helps you to apply and accept contracts. Know The Language Every Request for Proposal (RFP) has its own language. Know the language you need to respond appropriately to the proposal. Properly research, the organizations that you're applying to. RFPs can be by county, state, or federal organizations. Look at previous awardees and pay attention to the language in the RFP and in the awardees' responses. Use that language. Most RFPs have a glossary at the end in the appendix. Use that to your advantage. Government Contracts continue to provide me with the lifestyle of my choosing in multiple areas of my life. It is possible to create a work-life balance that supports you and your personal life. Although there are endless tips, these are a perfect starting point for transitioning into government contracting. Remember that self-disciple and diligence are critical tools for success. If you're interested in contracting, do your due diligence and seek support on your journey. This information is provided by Lisa M. Wilkinson, LMFT Founder of Behavioral Health and Wellness Consulting Group, and LMW Therapy Services in partnership with Black Girl Ventures. Behavioral Health and Wellness Consulting Group is a behavioral health consulting firm that assists budding entrepreneurs and existing business owners to increase profits, productivity, and flexibility to run their businesses.
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I Don't Want to Go to Mexico This song is considered sensitive and contains lyrics that may be offensive to some people. Please speak to a parent or guardian for further help. No more, more, more. There's a big fat policeman At my door, door, door. He grabbed me by the collar, He made me pay a dollar,. Information About I Don't Want to Go to Mexico I Don't Want to Go to Mexico is a really fun and humorous kids' nursery rhyme. It was first recorded in a Hispanic neighborhood of Chicago in 1987. This shows that nursery rhymes are not just for fun but they reflect on histories past events and people. This song, with the hand clapping game, is fit for kids in kindergarten and up. I Don't Want to Go to Mexico which is also referred to as "Shame, Shame, Shame", is a hand clapping game. All hand clapping games have specific hand movements that go with it to make it even more fun for kids to learn. Like in all games, there must be a winner, so at the end of the rhyme the first person to tap the other player wins. To learn how to do these hand movements, you can watch videos like this one on youtube or just listen to the song on video here. 1238 3.7815 5 1 Momma rock a baby Songs that begin with I
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5 Reasons Women's History Month Is Important By JR Thorpe March is many things — a month when we set back our clocks, a month when we celebrate the return of spring, a month when we consistently find ourselves over or under dressed for the weather, no matter what the actual temperature is — but it is also Women’s History Month! This is the month where we revel in learning about all manner of female history-makers, from the big names to the unsung heroes. It's also a time when we focus on learning more about the female perspective on big movements in human history. If you’re all about egalitarianism, though, you might be wondering why one gender needs a particular month devoted to its contributions to and arguments about history. And the answer’s actually pretty simple: It’s because, when it comes to history, the story of women is largely one of exclusion, silence, absence and bias, and we need a month (at minimum) to redress the balance. Women have made a lot of history, but sometimes, looking at the history books, you wouldn’t exactly know it. We’re doing far better than we once did. Campaigns to recognize female movers and shakers from history are becoming more common; for instance, the pioneering 19th century mathematician Mary Somerville will be featured on the new Scottish £10 note. But the need for us to make an extra effort to learn about women who have played important roles in history continues. For International Women’s Day, IFLoveScience, one of the most feminist science sites on the internet, ran an entire series about #WomenYouShouldHaveHeardOf, featuring an entire line-up of female STEM luminaries that aren’t household names — a great example of how much we all still have to learn. For every influential woman in history you can name, there are many more you, as a woman in history yourself, deserve to know about. With all of that in mind, here are five reasons why Women’s History Month needs to exist — not least of all because it can inspire us to get out there and make our own bit of history. 1. There Are So Many Unacknowledged Women Who Made History Recently, a female scientist made headlines with her innovative response to online sexist trolling: for every misogynist communication she received, she and her team would create a Wikipedia page for a female scientist who didn't have her one yet. This got a lot of attention for being awesome, but it also stuck out for the fact that nobody else is writing these articles. Women are constantly discredited, overlooked, and, in some awful cases, cheated out of their real deserving place in history. (STEM in particular is filled with stories of women whose innovations were co-opted by their male compatriots, who then got all the fame and glory. Jocelyn Bell Burnell or Rosalind Franklin, anybody?) A lot of the stuff I write at Bustle is about awarding recognition where it’s due to awesome women in history. As a historian, I basically have an endless supply of awesome women whose achievements are not well-known to write about — which is great for my job but really bad for my soul. Being a household name was often not the aim of the women who changed the world, but it’s definitely unfair to see them denied the credit they deserve. Legacy matters, guys. For every Marie Curie and Sally Ride, there are thousands of women who deserve to be part of the historical narrative, mentioned in the same breath (or even the one before) as male movers and shakers. 2. Women Weren't Allowed To Create History For A Long, Long Time The importance of Women’s History Month is also about lack and absence. Women are severely outnumbered in many Western histories of “important” things like wars and royalty shifts and religious arguments. Why? Because history was written, overwhelmingly, by dudes, and women were largely left out of the discussion — except when they were phenomenally powerful and influential, in which case they were often seen as exceptions (hi, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Empress Cixi). “Real, capital-H History” was often seen as non-domestic and huge in scale, not intimate or home-based (i.e. women’s territory). We see it differently nowadays, but historically, what’s been written about the past usually wrote women out. We’ve also been denied the opportunity to create big-H history, simply because we’ve been given far less access to power. Women in human civilizations throughout history have been, with a few varied exceptions, denied access to education, voting rights, the ability to stand for election, make their own contraceptive decisions, own property or control businesses. Is it any wonder they haven’t usually been the force making the decision about whether to invade Russia? This isn’t to say there haven’t been woman-positive environments in history, or hugely influential female historical figures who fought atmospheres of huge oppression to achieve great Historical things (Ida B Wells, take a bow). But in the overall picture, women are largely left out — and that matters. 3. Recognition Is Extremely Feminist Know a woman’s name. Know her history. Know what she did, how she did it, and why she did it. That kind of intellectual legacy is immensely powerful and seriously feminist, because it makes her more than just her gender, or a side note in a male collection of Great Ideas. Shining a light on women’s contributions to the annals of human history (and, crucially, that includes both women who did amazing things and women who did e xtremely awful things ) makes us equal humans, equally worthy of being remembered for our deeds. Women’s History Month is also about viewing societal shifts through the lens of women’s perspectives: what did events like World War I, the Spanish invasion of South America or the war between China and Japan mean for women? How did they contribute to it and react to it? Viewing events in this way is hugely feminist, because it makes them equal actors in the flow of time and events, with a valid way of looking at things. Even if the evidence is piecemeal (as it often is) and overlaps with many other things, the female voice and eye need to be a part of how we view human existence in the past. It makes them real. 4. It Busts Myths About What Women "Can't" Do The thing about history is that it’s also a series of precedents. And knowing all about that can come in useful if you’re dealing with any misogynist bullsh*t about women “not being able” to do certain things. Did someone tell you that women can’t code? Tell that to Margaret Hamilton, who wrote the code to send Apollo into space. By hand. Women can’t do mathematics? OK, we’ll just run that by Emmy Noether and Hypatia. Women can’t write serious or influential literature? Sappho, Murasaki Shikibu, Christine de Pizan and many others beg to bloody differ. Women can’t govern? It seems Cleopatra, Queen Theodora and Empress Wu Zetian managed all right. Women can’t be good doctors? Yep, Elizabeth Blackwell absolutely believes that. Women can’t lead military forces? Joan of Arc, Bouddica and Lady Fu Hao would like a word with you. Many of these women are not saints or uncomplicated figures, but neither were men doing similar things in similar eras. They’re human. Context gives us power; if the myth has been busted before, it can be busted again and again. 5. History Is Inspirational To Future Generations The people we idolize as children, young adults and slightly-less-young adults matter. The knowledge that something is possible is an incredible boost, and knowing that a woman could win two Nobel Prizes (Marie Curie — her daughter also won one, just to keep it in the family), essentially invent computing (Ada Lovelace), be a Supreme Court judge (aw yes, RBG), save hundreds of people on the Underground Railroad (Harriet Tubman), write the foremost impressionist novels of the century (Virginia Woolf) or perhaps just discover the operations of genetics (Barbara McClintock) emphasizes that other girls can do that, too. Being a vocal, important part of history is one of the ways in which women of the past change us: leading by example. And it shouldn’t just be about recent history, either. The fact that women have always been awesome, always been chipping away at the edifices that surround them and trying to make something great, is an important thing to emphasize for every generation of women. Powerful ladies weren’t invented by suffragettes or suddenly born when the Pill turned up. They’ve always been there, influencing human civilizations and the rise and fall of nations. Modernity hasn’t made women great; women made women great. I want girls and women to know that — to have have the names of complicated, fully-realized, centuries-old women on the tips of their tongues. Women’s History Month matters because women’s history needs to matter to us. Images: University of Pennsylvania, Library Of Congress, The National History Of England, The New England Magazine, Hubert Vos, Library Of Congress, Biblioteque Nationale de France
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Credit: Julie Johnson via Unsplash. 10 April 2019 6:30 Analysis: Why children must emit eight times less CO2 than their grandparents Zeke Hausfather 10.04.2019 | 6:30am FeaturesAnalysis: Why children must emit eight times less CO2 than their grandparents Global emissions of CO2 need to decline precipitously over the next few decades, if the world is to meet the Paris Agreement goals of limiting global warming to “well below 2C” and, ideally, below 1.5C. If these goals are to be met, young people would have to live the greater part of their lives without contributing significantly to global emissions. Essentially, they would have fewer “allowable” CO2 emissions during their lifetime, compared with older generations. To determine just how much smaller their personal CO2 limits would be, Carbon Brief has combined historical data on emissions and population with projections for the future. In a world where warming is limited to 1.5C, the average person born today can emit only an eighth of the lifetime emissions of someone born in 1950. The interactive tool, below, shows the size of each person’s “carbon budget” during their lifetime – based on when and where they were born. It looks at two different scenarios: one where the world limits warming to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels by 2100; and one were warming is limited to 1.5C. It also considers two different ways of sharing future allowable emissions: one where each country tracks “optimal” pathways taken from models; and another, focused on equality, where each person can use the same portion of future emissions, no matter where they live. In all cases, younger generations will have to make do with substantially smaller lifetime carbon budgets than older generations, if the Paris limits are to be respected. This is because most of the allowable emissions have already been used up, meaning young people will not have the luxury of unmitigated emissions enjoyed by older generations. The idea for this analysis was first proposed to Carbon Brief by Dr Ben Caldecott at the University of Oxford. The methodology used – and its limitations – are explained in detail at the end of this article. Carbon Brief is now working to further develop the analysis with Dr Caldecott and his colleagues. The global picture Global emissions must peak in the next decade and quickly decline for the world to stay below its Paris Agreement limits, according to the UN. In the scenarios examined in this article (see methodology at the end for details), global emissions peak around 2020, decline around 50% by 2045 and then fall below zero around 2075 in order to hold global warming to below 2C. Emissions have to fall even faster for warming to be kept below 1.5C – falling around 50% by 2030 and to below zero by 2055. In the 1.5C scenarios examined here, large amounts of negative emissions are deployed by the end of the century, removing carbon from the atmosphere equivalent to roughly a third of today’s emissions. These emissions pathways can be divided up into average “lifetime carbon budgets” that depend on an individual’s year of birth. This allocation is based on the changing global population and emissions during each individual’s lifetime. The figure below shows the global average lifetime carbon budget for people born in each year between 1900 and 2017, in scenarios where warming is kept below 1.5C (dark blue) or 2C (light blue). Global average lifetime carbon budgets per-capita by birth year for 1.5C and 2C scenarios, assuming a lifespan of 85 years. Based on historical emissions data from the Global Carbon Project, historical and future projected population from the United Nations and global emission projections from MESSAGE-GLOBIOM. Generation birth years shown at the bottom from the Pew Research Center. See the methodology section for details. Chart by Carbon Brief using Highcharts. As the chart above shows, if warming is limited to well below 2C the global average lifetime carbon budget for someone born in 2017 is 122 tonnes of CO2, only about a third as large as the budget for someone born in 1950. If warming is to be limited to 1.5C, the remaining budget is only 43 tonnes of CO2 and the difference is eight times as large. Current per-capita global emissions are around 4.9 tonnes per person per year. This means that the lifetime carbon budget of someone born today is equal to 25 years of current emissions if warming is limited to well below 2C – and only nine years of current emissions if warming is limited to 1.5C. Divvying up emissions The analysis above uses a global average carbon budget. However, in reality, there is no such thing as a “global average” person and each country’s emissions will follow a slightly different trajectory in “well below” 2C and 1.5C worlds. In general, emission reductions will need to be proportionally larger in developed, wealthier countries, such as the US, where per-capita emissions are very high. Developing nations, such as India, already have much lower per-capita emissions. To put the difference into perspective, the average Indian had emissions of 1.9 tonnes of CO2 in 2017, whereas the figure in the US was 16.9 tonnes of CO2. Moreover, historical emissions vary greatly between countries, with the likes of the US and UK responsible for a far larger share of cumulative emissions since the industrial revolution. This poses an open question as to how the fixed global carbon budgets set by the Paris Agreement should be divided between different countries. Integrated Assessment Models: IAMs are computer models that analyse a broad range of data – e.g. physical, economic and social – to produce information that can be used to help decision-making. For climate research, specifically, IAMs are typically used to project future greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts, and the benefits and costs of policy options that could be implemented to tackle them. Integrated Assessment Models: IAMs are computer models that analyse a broad range of data – e.g. physical, economic and social – to produce information that can be used to help decision-making. For climate research, specifically,… Read More There are lots of different ways to allocating future emissions between countries. Integrated assessment models (IAMs) – energy system models that examine what mix of different technologies and choices are needed to meet climate targets – provide one set of budget allocations, reporting future emissions for each region of the world. The figure below is based on the allocations in 1.5C scenarios from IAMs. It shows how lifetime carbon budgets vary based on birth year, for four major countries and regions that are responsible for the bulk of global CO2 emissions. These are the US (light blue line), Europe (dark blue), China (red), and India (yellow). Lifetime carbon budgets by birth year based on historical emissions and future IAM 1.5C scenarios, assuming a lifespan of 85 years. Based on historical emissions data from the Global Carbon Project, historical and future projected population from the United Nations and regional emission projections from MESSAGE-GLOBIOM. Generation birth years shown at the bottom from the Pew Research Center. See the methodology section for details. Chart by Carbon Brief using Highcharts. If the remaining carbon budget is divided up in this way, based on IAM pathways, then national allowable lifetime emissions are much more similar for someone born in 2017 than in 1950 – but there are still large differences between countries. For example, someone born today in the US would still be allocated a lifetime carbon budget some 15 times larger than someone born in India. Their budget would be four times larger than someone born in China and around twice as large as in Europe. The table below shows the lifetime carbon budget in a 1.5C world (2C world) both globally and by major country/region, broken down by generation: Pre-Boomer (pre-1946) Post-Gen Z (post-2012) Global 275 325 (348) 276 (322) 202 (264) 118 (191) 56 (134) US 1494 1464 (1530) 1191 (1342) 846 (1052) 472 (709) 238 (489) Europe 686 698 (733) 582 (668) 398 (521) 218 (363) 105 (259) China 119 255 (291) 256 (334) 220 (326) 151 (279) 71 (213 India 38 64 (71) 61 (74) 52 (69) 23 (54) 18 (39) Lifetime carbon budgets in tonnes of CO2 by birth year based on historical emissions and future IAM 1.5C (and 2C) scenarios. Pre-Boomer generations have identical 1.5C and 2C carbon budgets. Using generation periods from the Pew Research Center and averaging the lifetime budget of all the birth years of each generation. This approach raises obvious questions about equity, as it implies that countries with high historical emissions will also receive a larger share of the proverbial pie in the future. There are lots of different ways to define equity – and little agreement – regarding which approaches would be both possible and “fair” for allocating future emissions. One alternative would be to allocate the remaining budget equally between all people, wherever they live. This might be hard to achieve in practice as, say, per-capita US emissions would need to fall rapidly towards the global average while those in India would immediately rise. But it provides a useful thought experiment that can be contrasted to the lifetime carbon budget allocation set out above. Even this might not be truly equal, is it neglects responsibility for historical emissions. The figure below shows the effect of this allocation on lifetime carbon budgets by birth year for the same four major countries and regions. It is based on historical per-capita emissions and equal per-capita shares of the remaining carbon budget from 2018 onwards, in a scenario where warming is limited to 1.5C. Same as the prior figure, but using global emission projections from MESSAGE-GLOBIOM to calculate future global per person emissions. See the methodology section for details. Chart by Carbon Brief using Highcharts. The chart above shows that lifetime carbon budgets converge much more quickly when future emissions are divided equally, even though historical differences between countries remain. As a result, someone born in 2017 would have a similar lifetime carbon budget no matter where they are born. Some limitations Calculating lifetime carbon budgets is necessarily imperfect and relies on a series of unrealistic assumptions. Every person is different and, in practice, individual emissions will be strongly affected by income, behaviour and other factors. While the average 1.5C lifetime carbon budget of someone, say, born in the US around 1995 might be 696 tonnes of CO2, people in that generation will, in practice, have widely varying individual emissions. The approach taken here – dividing national emissions by population – also glosses over the fact that a sizable portion of emissions for some countries are the result of industrial and commercial activity producing goods for trade that are not consumed at home. These “consumption footprints” can differ significantly from national emission estimates, as Carbon Brief has previously examined. For simplicity, a constant lifespan of 85 years is assumed when calculating lifetime carbon footprints. This is higher than the current average lifespan in most countries, but may be more realistic for younger generations today given expected advances in medical science and access to healthcare. However, in practice, lifespan differences between countries will likely persist into the future and could impact these calculations. Finally, this approach assumes that emissions in a given year can be assigned equally across the population regardless of age. In reality, people are probably responsible for considerably lower emissions when they are children than adults, as they are not, say, driving cars and are often consuming less. That said, this analysis provides a first look at how lifetime carbon budgets vary by age. It suggests that the allowable lifetime emissions for young people today is a fraction of that of previous generations, as the global budget for avoiding warming of 1.5C or 2C has already been mostly used up. Lifetime carbon budgets were calculated by adding the historical and projected future per-capita emissions for each year that an individual is expected to live – assuming a constant lifespan of 85 years since a given birth year for simplicity. This is higher than the current global average lifespan (it is typical of Japan today), but may be more typical for the lifespan of younger people today given continuing medical advances. For example, if someone were born in the year 2000 in India, their lifetime carbon footprint would be the sum of historical per-capita emissions in India from 2000 to 2017, plus forecast per-capita emissions in India between 2018 and 2085. The end of 2017 serves as the demarcation between historical and future emissions because 2018 emission and population values are not yet available for all countries. Carbon budgets were calculated for all possible birth years from 1900 to 2017 for major countries and each of the world regions where UN population projections were available: Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Oceania and Asia. Historical CO2 emission estimates for each country from 1751-2017 were obtained from the Global Carbon Project. Historical population data from 1950-2017 and future population projections from 2018-2100 were obtained for each country from the UN World Population Prospects 2017. The “medium” scenario was chosen for future population projections, as it matches reasonably well with the population assumptions in the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP2) world used for IAM emission scenarios. Future emissions by country for both 1.5C and 2C targets were based on IAM runs from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) MESSAGE-GLOBIOM model using the SSP2 world. SSP2 is a world where current economic and population trends broadly continue and MESSAGE-GLOBIOM was the model chosen to represent SSP2. MESSAGE-GLOBIOM emissions by region – and globally – were taken from the IAMC 1.5C Scenario Explorer. As IAM runs in recent years lack country-specific values, regional emission estimates were used to estimate country-specific trajectories by scaling current country emissions by the percent reduction in regional emissions from the IAM runs. For example, if the IAM runs showed OECD countries reducing emissions by 50% by 2040 in a 1.5C scenario, emissions in each OECD country were estimated to decrease by 50% by 2040. Net future emissions were used for per-capita emission estimates. This means that in many countries future per-capita emissions go negative in the second half of the 21st century, particularly in 1.5C scenarios. The distribution of negative emissions in MESSAGE-GLOBIOM varies regionally, with a particularly high concentration of negative emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Finally, as both emission and population projections are only available through to 2100, but people born after 2015 will still be alive post-2100, per-capita emissions are assumed to remain constant at 2100 values in subsequent years. Two future emission allocation scenarios are provided: one based on the regional MESSAGE-GLOBIOM emission pathways and one where the global MESSAGE-GLOBIOM projected emissions are distributed evenly to every country on a per-capita basis after 2017. The latter shows how a more equitable distribution of remaining emissions would affect lifetime carbon budgets, compared to the allocation in IAMs. The countries featured in the interactive tool are a subset of those with the largest populations. However, major regions are also included, so if there is a country not featured on the list its region should provide a reasonable estimate. The “North America” region is not shown as all member countries appear on the list. Interactive by Rosamund Pearce for Carbon Brief Analysis: Children must emit eight times less CO2 than grandparents under 1.5C limit
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Search by topic / by country Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt Texts & Charters - CADTM International Books, DVD, brochures Read the latest newsletter Puerto Rico: Successful Campaign against Illegitimate Debt 15 December 2018 by Eric Toussaint Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States. Its inhabitants, although they have US citizenship, cannot vote for the president of the United States. Puerto Ricans elect a single representative to the US Congress, but this representative has no voting rights. The inhabitants of Puerto Rico do not have the right to elect anyone to the Senate, only the 50 states do. This is the situation of this “unincorporated territory,” a euphemism that hides its colonial nature. The island of Puerto Rico, located in the Caribbean Sea, has 3.3 million inhabitants. It was acquired by Washington as war booty after the victory of the United States in the war against Spain in 1898. After its victory against Spain, the United States took control of Cuba, without making it an outright colony, and refused to recognize the debt owed by Cuba to the Spanish crown . By contrast, the US annexed Puerto Rico. They also took from Spain the Philippines, for which they paid some money in compensation. While the US did not hesitate to repudiate the debt which Spain claimed Cube owed, it does not hesitate to demand payment for the current debt, which is largely a consequence of the colonial relation of the island with Washington. The Puerto Ricans are very conscious that their country is dominated by Washington. For example, all maritime commerce must take place in US ships. Important flows exist from Puerto Rico to the United States: repayment for the debt; profit Profit The positive gain yielded from a company’s activity. Net profit is profit after tax. Distributable profit is the part of the net profit which can be distributed to the shareholders. repatriation by US corporations established in the Island; emigration of the population towards the United States, where 5.3 million Puerto Ricans live, a population larger than that of the island. In the opposite direction, Puerto Rican families established in the United States send remittances to their relatives who remain in the island. Over the last three years, Pierre Gottiniaux has described very well, in a series of articles, the situation of the island and has shown that Puerto Rico faces a serious debt crisis: Puerto Rico must escape the debt trap Puerto Rico: The audit now in progress has already revealed that the debt is largely illegal Puerto Rico’s Neocolonial Debt The United States has strengthened its resources to impose on the population of the island a belt-tightening to repay the debt, which is held largely by US bankers and other financial corporations of the US. Hundreds of schools have closed. In addition, we should not forget the nefarious role played by Spain’s principal bank, Santander (see this article in Spanish). The situation of the population of the island worsened after the passage of Hurricane Maria in September, 2017. At first, Trump promised to force US creditors, particularly the banks, to do something for the people of Puerto Rico. But nothing was done. Here is what Trump said during his stop in the island after Hurricane Maria. « They owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street and we’re going to have to wipe that out. You’re going to say goodbye to that, I don’t know if it’s Goldman Sachs, but whoever it is you can wave goodbye to that ». In order to fight against the debt, a Citizens’ Front to Audit the Debt was formed in 2016 . It has carried out many activities. It supports a Citizens’ Commission to audit the debt. It gathered 150,000 signatures from people who support its activities. This Front invited to the island delegates from CADTM-Latin America & the Caribbean, who accepted the invitation to hold their annual meeting there in order to take advantage of the occasion to carry out a series of public activities in which I participated actively. Demonstration of the Citizen’s Front to Audit the Debt in front of the Federal Court in Hato Rey From December 2 to 8, many activities unfolded in Puerto Rico within the framework of a program elaborated by the Citizens’ Front to Audit the Puerto Rican Debt, jointly with CADTM-Latin America & the Caribbean (CADTM ABYA YALA Nuestra América) and 9 Puerto Rican associations: The Puerto Rico Citizens Commission for the Complete Audit of the Debt, The Bar Association of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican Association of University Professors (APPU), Junte Gente, Comuna Caribe, VAMOS, the Sindicato Puertorriqueño de Trabajadores, the Colectivo de Profesores Auto-Convocados en Resistencia Solidaria (PAReS), and Hedge Clippers. Summary of Activities I arrived the night of Thursday November 29 to 30, before the rest of the delegates of CADTM, because the Citizens’ Front wanted to use my presence to participate in radio programs in order to promote the list of activities to attract people to them. To that end, I participated in two important radio programs on Friday, November 30. One was in the studios of Radio Isla, which is a private station open to critical reflections which has a broad audience throughout the island, particularly in the capital. I responded to the questions of journalist Damaris Suárez accompanied by two Puerto Rican comrades: Luis José Torres, a lawyer and also the Vice-president of the Citizens Commission to Audit the Debt, and university professor Rafael Bernabe, who was the candidate to the governorship of the island twice, in 2012 and in 2016, for the Puerto Rican Workers Party (PPT). See his article One can listen to the broadcast in Spanish on the website of the CADTM. The same day, accompanied by attorney Eva Prado, coordinator of the Citizen’s Front to Audit the Debt, I participated in a radio program called Crossfire (Fuego Cruzado). This is the political radio talk show with the greatest audience in the island. The delegates of CADTM AYNA started to arrive on Friday November 30 and Saturday December 1: Camille Chalmers and Jean-Pierre Ricot of PAPDA Haiti, María Elena Saludas of ATTAC-CADTM Argentina, Joaldo Dominguez, delegate of CADTM Venezuela, Camila Galindo of CADTM Colombia, Nicolas Centurrion of CADTM Uruguay. The program of public activities started on Sunday December 2 in the morning. The organization Beaches for the People (Playas p’al Pueblo) organized an activity in order to celebrate the abolition of slavery and to extend the struggle of those who lost their lives fighting for emancipation, paying special attention to the role of women. The activity took place on a beach which has been the object of attempts at privatization by real estate speculators. The beach has been constantly occupied by those who want it to remain accessible to the public. Camille Chalmers spoke on behalf of CADTM side by side with many Puerto Rican activists (see the photo below). While this activity was taking place, I participated together with Eva Prados in a third radio program, again in Radio Isla. This program was transmitted in duplex with a journalist who was in Uruguay and who asked us questions about the legitimacy of the debt. Afterwards, all the delegates of CADTM and the members of the Citizens’ Front to Audit the Debt gathered at the Bar Association to hold a press conference with one of the main Puerto Rican TV stations (WAPA), with the free daily newspaper Metro and with the Spanish press agency EFE, which published a press release. On Monday, December 3 I attended my fifth meeting with the press. I was invited by the ex-governor of the island Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, who was in office 2005-2009 and who has become a journalist. I accompanied Roberto Pagán Rodríguez, president of the Citizens Commission to Audit the Debt and president of the SPT labor union (Sindicato Puertorriqueño de Trabajadores). Once again we denounced the odious and illegitimate character of the debt claims against Puerto Rico and emphasized the importance of a citizen’s audit of the debt. In the meantime, the last delegates of CADTM AYNA arrived: Jose Menezes and Lujan Miranda, delegates of the citizens’ audit of the debt of Brazil, which is part of the CADTM network, and finally William Gaviria, of the bank employees union, member of CADTM in Colombia. On Monday, December 3 CADTM AYNA began its annual meeting which lasted 3 days with the participation of ten members of the Citizens’ Front to Audit the Debt of Puerto Rico. The meetings occupied 4 sessions of half a day each dedicated to debate and analysis. We began with reports of the work of the joint international secretariat, composed of CADTM-Belgium and ATTAC-CADTM Morocco. This was followed, after some discussion, by a report on the activities of the coordinators of CADTM AYNA, presented by María Elena Saludas of Argentina. During Monday’s closing session, we listened to reports by Luis José Torres and Eva Prados on the debt of Puerto Rico. Oh the evening of Monday, December 3 we went to the other side of the city to meet a score of delegates and members of the Citizens’ Front to Audit the Debt. We had excellent discussions with activists from trade unions, with feminists and with others. It was encouraging to experience the enthusiasm and to feel the energy which flowed during this very constructive and hospitable meeting. The unions explained to us that the next day, there would be a public workers’ protest against the reductions in employer contributions to their medical insurance. This reduction in medical benefits potentially represents a cutback of 100 to 500 Euros monthly, depending on the level of the employees and on their seniority. This attack on their income is taking place in the context the policies of austerity imposed in order to pay the public debt. The CADTM AYNA met all day on Tuesday in the local of the Bar Association to listen to the reports of the delegates from Colombia, Haiti, Brazil and Venezuela. In order to have the richest possible discussion concerning this last country, we had a videoconference with 2 members of CADTM-Venezuela (Oly Milan and Paulino Nunez) who were not able to make it from Caracas to Puerto Rico, due to the restrictions imposed by the Washington authorities, who refuse to grant visas to Venezuelans. On the evening of December 3rd, we participated in a large conference in the Amphitheater of the Law School of Interamerican University in San Juan, on the subject of “Debtocracy and Colonialism: Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.” Among the speakers were: Camille Chalmers (Haiti), Maria Elena Saludas (Argentina), Puerto Rican attorney Efrén Rivera, Puerto Rican attorney Natasha Ora, and myself. The conference was moderated by Eva Prados. Two hundred people were in attendance, which can be considered a great success! This was reported in the press of the island. The video of the conference in Spanish can be seen here (duration : 2:26). On Wednesday, December 5, the delegates of CADTM AYNA resumed their work and discussed the reports on Argentina and Uruguay. Afterwards, they discussed the situation of Nicaragua and then proceeded to make plans for the year 2019. On Thursday, December 6, I went to my sixth meeting with the media, to participate together with Luis José Torres in a radio program entitled “Tell Me the Truth” («Dígame la verdad ») with journalists Milly Méndez and Julio Rivera Saniel, who in addition to his television work for WAPA has a morning radio show from Monday to Friday which has a good following. In the early afternoon 4 delegates of CADTM AYNA were interviewed by the university’s radio station (Radio Universidad). On Thursday December 6, in the Amphitheater of the School of Education of the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, I presented to an audience of 180 people the Spanish edition of the book The Debt System: a History of Sovereign Debts and of their Disavowal (Sistema Deuda: historia de las deudas soberanas y su repudio). This was a tremendous success. The activity was organized by the Puerto Rican Association of University Professors (APPU). The entire stock of books was sold out. We had to order an additional 20 copies from the publisher in Barcelona, ICARIA, to be delivered to those who paid for them in advance. The book attracted great interest Interest An amount paid in remuneration of an investment or received by a lender. Interest is calculated on the amount of the capital invested or borrowed, the duration of the operation and the rate that has been set. . It was presented to the public by Félix Córdova, a Puerto Rican university professor and activist, and by myself. Afterwards in the Ateneo Puertorriqueño in Old San Juan there took place a fantastic concert entitled “Artistic Protest against Illegitimate Debts” (see the poster below). On Friday December 7, 60 delegates and activists from diverse Puerto Rican organizations attended a meeting called by the Citizens’ Front and by other organizations such as Junte Gente, Colectivo de Profesores Auto-convocados en Resistencia Solidaria (PARES) and Hedge Clippers, to discuss strategies to fight against illegitimate debts. The meeting took place in the union local of the aqueduct workers (Unión Independiente de Acueductos). During the meeting, I gave my 7th interview on radio WPAB of the city of Ponce in the south of the island. The director of the station, José Elías, interviewed me. The assembly was very productive and was followed by a discussion of a series of guides to action in the following months. On Saturday, December 8, approximately 40 activists met during 5 hours in the Law School of Interamerican University for a workshop on how to perform a citizen’s audit. At the end of this workshop, I was interviewed a 9th time for a video which will be released in the coming weeks. Beginning Saturday afternoon, the delegates of CATDTM AYNA began to depart to their respective countries one after the other. Joaldo Dominguez and myself remained for four days in order to deepen our contacts with island activists. The program of activities developed by the Citizens’ Front to Audit the Debt and the local organizations associated with it was a great success. We were able to establish contact with numerous activists and members of local organizations which are very active on the issue of the illegitimate indebtedness of Puerto Rico, which is responsible for a social and economic situation which places the population in a critical condition, especially after the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria. The CADTM will provide all possible support to the cause of auditing the debt of Puerto Rico. Translated by Cesar Ayala is a historian and political scientist who completed his Ph.D. at the universities of Paris VIII and Liège, is the spokesperson of the CADTM International, and sits on the Scientific Council of ATTAC France. He is the author of Debt System (Haymarket books, Chicago, 2019), Bankocracy (2015); The Life and Crimes of an Exemplary Man (2014); Glance in the Rear View Mirror. Neoliberal Ideology From its Origins to the Present, Haymarket books, Chicago, 2012 (see here), etc. See his bibliography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89ric_Toussaint He co-authored World debt figures 2015 with Pierre Gottiniaux, Daniel Munevar and Antonio Sanabria (2015); and with Damien Millet Debt, the IMF, and the World Bank: Sixty Questions, Sixty Answers, Monthly Review Books, New York, 2010. He was the scientific coordinator of the Greek Truth Commission on Public Debt from April 2015 to November 2015. Other articles in English by Eric Toussaint (544) Version 2.0: The North’s New Debt Trap for the South 19 January, by Eric Toussaint , Milan Rivié In memory of Patrice Lumumba, assassinated on 17 January 1961 17 January, by Eric Toussaint “Exceptional circumstances can help indebted States” 11 questions / 11 answers about the new global debt crisis and how it can be radically reduced 29 December 2020, by Eric Toussaint , Olivier Bonfond , Mats Lucia Bayer Climate and environmental crisis: Sorcerer’s apprentices at the World Bank and the IMF 23 December 2020, by Eric Toussaint A new trap of indebtedness of the South to the North - Part 3 Developing Countries caught in the vice-like grip of indebtedness 1 December 2020, by Eric Toussaint , Milan Rivié Report on the International Situation and the activities of CADTM International since May 2020 1 December 2020, by Eric Toussaint , CADTM International , Jean Nanga , Christine Vanden Daelen , Sushovan Dhar , Maria Elena Saludas , Omar Aziki , Rémi Vilain Threats over the external debt of Developing Countries 27 November 2020, by Eric Toussaint , Milan Rivié A country is entitled to refuse to repay a debt 26 November 2020, by Eric Toussaint , Revista Mugica Europe and the Pandemic 9 November 2020, by Eric Toussaint , Manoel Barbeitos Translation(s) (Video) Fattorelli : “The solution will come from grassroots, conscious, mobilized and united” 19 October 2020 - Maria Lucia Fattorelli What is the Citizen Debt Audit ? 28 February 2020 - Jawad Moustakbal Debt & Democracy in Newham: A Citizen audit of LOBO loans 4 December 2018 - Research For Action Summary of The Debt System A History of Sovereign Debts and their Repudiation 10 October 2018 - Víctor Manuel Isidro Luna Proposed Solutions by the Dialogue Reference Group on Ballooning Kenyan Debts are False and Flawed 25 September 2018 - David Calleb Otieno Illegitimate debt 29 December 2020 - Eric Toussaint, Olivier Bonfond, Mats Lucia Bayer CADTM - 30 years of struggle against debt 16 November 2020 - CADTM, Chris Den Hond Unleashing the power of pension funds and debt cancellation to finance a just energy transition 25 August 2020 - Dominic Brown Time For A Renewed Anti-Debt Movement 1 June 2020 - Eric Toussaint, Beverly Keene, Lidy B. Nacpil, Dorothy Guerrero A Feminist Strike against Debt 18 May 2020 - Verónica Gago, Luci Cavallero Puerto Rico Faces Crises: Covid, Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Drought 20 July 2020 - Dan La Botz Puerto Rico rises... 24 July 2019 - CADTM AYNA Puerto Rico: people are in the streets against sexism, homophobia, austerity and corruption 21 July 2019 - Pierre Gottiniaux Debt Island: Wall Street Closes in on 40 Years of Profit at Puerto Rico’s Expense 30 January 2019 - Abner Dennis, Kevin Connor Puerto Rico: Economic reconstruction, debt cancellation, and self-determination 13 December 2018 - Rafael Bernabe Subscribing to newsletter-en
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Cheap flight offers from Zagreb to Rio De Janeiro from Zagreb to Rio De Janeiro from Thursday, April 1, 2021 to Wednesday, April 7, 2021 Brazil flights Flights Zagreb - Rio De Janeiro Cheap flights to Rio De Janeiro in February Zagreb - Rio De Janeiro Santos Dum. Zagreb - Rio De Janeiro Int. Airline tickets to Rio De Janeiro for next weekend Cost of living in Zagreb compared with Rio De Janeiro Beer (0.5 liter) 1.03 € 1.11 € +8% Meal at McDonald's 5.40 € 5.52 € +2% Water (0.33 liter) 1.32 € 0.73 € -45% Monthly pass 48.64 € 41.13 € -15% Average monthly disposable salary (net) 886.59 € 479.30 € -46% Cheap flights from outside of United Kingdom to Rio De Janeiro Cheap flights Belo Horizonte - Rio De Janeiro Cheap flights Bogota - Rio De Janeiro Cheap flights Brasilia - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Friday, April 16, 2021 and returning on Monday, April 19, 2021 Cheap flights Buenos Aires - Rio De Janeiro Cheap flights Cuiaba - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 and returning on Friday, March 26, 2021 Cheap flights Curitiba - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Thursday, March 25, 2021 and returning on Monday, March 29, 2021 Cheap flights Cuzco - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 and returning on Sunday, April 4, 2021 Cheap flights Florianopolis - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 and returning on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 Cheap flights Fortaleza - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Thursday, February 11, 2021 and returning on Friday, February 19, 2021 Cheap flights Foz do Iguaçu - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 and returning on Monday, April 26, 2021 Cheap flights La Paz - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Saturday, February 27, 2021 and returning on Saturday, March 6, 2021 Cheap flights Lima - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 and returning on Monday, April 5, 2021 Cheap flights Manaus - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 and returning on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 Cheap flights Miami - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 and returning on Monday, April 19, 2021 Cheap flights Natal - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 and returning on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 Cheap flights Recife - Rio De Janeiro Cheap flights Salvador - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Friday, April 2, 2021 and returning on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 Cheap flights Santiago - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Monday, April 5, 2021 and returning on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 Cheap flights Sao Paulo - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Monday, February 22, 2021 and returning on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 Cheap flights Sydney - Rio De Janeiro Departing on Thursday, April 1, 2021 and returning on Thursday, April 8, 2021 Rio De Janeiro Int. Gol Transportes Aereos Rio De Janeiro Santos Dum. AZUL Rio De Janeiro Int. TAM Linhas Aereas Rio De Janeiro Santos Dum. Gol Transportes Aereos Rio De Janeiro Santos Dum. TAM Linhas Aereas Rio De Janeiro Int. AZUL Top flights in Croatia (Hrvatska) Zagreb - Berlin Split - Berlin Dubrovnik - Berlin Split - Athens Dubrovnik - Athens Zara - Brussels Rio De Janeiro airports map Weather forecast for Rio De Janeiro Other similar destinations Zagreb - Rio De Janeiro Flights from Zagreb to Brazil Zagreb - Sao Paulo Zagreb - Recife Main flight connections from Croatia (Hrvatska) to Brazil Dubrovnik - Sao Paulo Pola - Rio De Janeiro Zara - Rio De Janeiro Zagreb - Riga France - Vol Zagreb Rio De Janeiro
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Faces of Brighton greet rail passengers for Fringe exhibition Posted On 09 May 2016 at 3:52 pm By : Jo Wadsworth A selection of the people which help make Brighton such an amazing place are featured in a new exhibition at Brighton Station this month as part of the Fringe Festival. Drag queen Dan Turrell Celebrities, artists, activists, and many more city characters have been photographed by Danny Fitzpatrick as part of his Faces of Brighton exhibition. Danny, who moved to Brighton about 13 years ago and fell in love with the city, first had the idea to photograph faces of Brighton last year, and the slow-burning project finally came to fruition in time for this year’s festival. He said: “I thought the project would be a good way to learn about the city because I didn’t know all the people I was going to photograph when I started. “It was a good way for me to meet new people and see things I hadn’t seen before, discover the people of Brighton. I was constantly asking people for recommendations and then if they could put me in touch with people. Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim “I always wanted to show the portraits at the station because it’s an amazing venue – it’s big, accessible and people are going past it all the time. It’s open for everyone to see. “When I was putting them up with the help of my family, people kept wandering past and saying how much they liked particular portraits – it was great having that conversation with people face to face while hanging them. ” Mim, Queen of the Mermaids A total of 23 portraits are included in the exhibition, including well known faces such as Brighton MP Caroline Lucas and Fatboy Slim but also lesser known people like drag queen Dan Turrell, Queen of the Mermaids Mim King, fisherman and sculptor Rory and leather artisan Wolfram. They can be seen on the walkway from the back of the station to the concourse for the next four weeks. Brighton sea swimmer Yvo
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Click Here for More Articles on SHAKESPEARE SPOTLIGHT Independent Shakespeare Co. to Stage New Adaptation of ROMEO AND JULIET, 4/4-5/3 BroadwayWorld.com Mar. 10, 2014 Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC), presenters of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, announce a new adaptation of Shakespeare's ROMEO & JULIET, directed by Independent Shakespeare Co.'s Artistic Director Melissa Chalsma. ROMEO & JULIET will open on Friday, April 4 at 7:30pm and will perform through Saturday, May 3 at the Independent Shakespeare Co. Studio in the Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex, 3191 Casitas Ave., #168 in Atwater Village. The most famous love story of all time gets an athletic and imaginative staging in this new adaptation that incorporates dynamic choreography and visually rich design. Eight multitalented performers tell the story of adolescent bliss spinning out of control by combining the textual clarity ISC is known for with spirited and lyrical movement. This production is 90 minutes long and features Erika Soto and Nikhil Pai in the title roles. Comments Independent Shakespeare Co.'s Artistic Director Melissa Chalsma, "We'll be using the experimental opportunity provided by our Studio to explore how movement and stage craft helps us tell the story of Romeo & Juliet in an immediate and actor-driven way. The actors will be involved in every aspect of what the audience sees, from manipulating the lighting to creating the live sounds." ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM AND CAST MELISSA CHALSMA (Director) is the Co-founder and Artistic Director of Independent Shakespeare Co. Under Melissa's leadership, the company created the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, which has grown into the largest theater event of its kind in Los Angeles. She directs many ISC productions, including last season's Los Angeles Times Critic's Choice She Stoops to Conquer. Other directing projects include the Western Premiere of Akio Miyazawa's Hinemi (California State University, Northridge) and the original musical Red Barn at the Independent Shakespeare Co. Studio. As an actor, she has been seen in leading roles in ISC productions and has performed in theaters across the US, the UK, and on Broadway (including the American premiere of Harold Pinter's Moonlight with Jason Robards and Blythe Danner.) J'AIME MORRISON-PETRONIO (Choreographer) is a choreographer, movement director and dance scholar. She has lectured at UCLA, NYU, Stanford University, Shanghai Normal University, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and the National University of Ireland and has held residencies with Mabou Mines in NYC and The Tyrone Guthrie Center for Working Artists in Ireland. She received an NEA award for her cross-border dance projects in Belfast Northern Ireland and was awarded a Fulbright in Movement to Lisbon, Portugal. Ms. Morrison holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and is a Professor in the Theatre Department at California State University Northridge. The cast of ROMEO & JULIET will feature: Kevin Angulo (Montague/Friar John), Lovelle Liquigan (Benvolio/Lady Capulet), André Martin (Capulet/Mercutio), Nikhil Pai (Romeo), Evan Lewis Smith (Tybalt/Friar), Erika Soto (Juliet), Bernadette Sullivan (Nurse/Apothecary) and Xavier J. Watson (Paris/Prince). Scenic and Lighting Design is by Cat Sowa. Sound Design is by Melissa Chalsma. Costume Design is by Daniel Mahler. The stage manager is William Elsman. ROMEO & JULIET will open on Friday, April 4 and run through Saturday, May 3 at the Independent Shakespeare Co. Studio, 3191 Casitas Ave., #168, (between Fletcher Drive and Glendale Blvd.) at the Atwater Crossing Arts + Innovation Complex, Los Angeles, CA 90039. Free, ample lot and street parking. Opens Friday, April 4. Regular performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm & Sundays at 2pm. Closes Saturday, May 3. Special student matinees are Tuesdays and Wednesdays from April 8 - 30. Tickets are $20; $15 for Students. For tickets, please call (818) 710-6306 or buy online at www.iscla.org. BWW Review: CRAZY LOVE – The Live Production at The Shakespeare Theatre of NJ Entrances BWW Feature: Reinventing Summer Shakespeare, Los Angeles Style The Drive-in At Santa Monica Airport Announces Final Event Galerie XII Presents WOMEN.ON.WOMEN (WOW) Exhibition Honoring the Strength of the Female Spirit The Broad Stage Presents HEARTBEAT OPERA Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre Presents THE OUTSIDERS The Music Center Continues FOR THE LOVE OF L.A. Digital Series CAP UCLA Presents Douglas J. Cuomo's SEVEN LIMBS Featuring Nels Cline and the Aizuri Quartet City of L.A. Invites Latino Theater Company to Manage Downtown's Los Angeles Theatre Center for Additional 30 Years Los Angeles SHOWS Billy Stritch Sings Mel Torme Cabaret Project St Louis (1/23 - 1/30) Funny B?nz P3 Theatre Company (2/13 - 2/13) PHOTOS VIDEOS CAST Theatre Thursdays Coachella Valley Repertory (1/21 - 1/21) ACTING & IMPROVISATION INTERACTIVE ONLINE CLASSES FOR CHILDREN & TEENS Edgemar Center For The Arts (10/24 - 3/25) Center Theatre Group (12/9 - 2/7)
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This Is My Brave Announces Partnership With Napa Valley College Performing Arts This Is My Brave, Inc. (TIMB), the national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the stigma surrounding mental illness through storytelling, returns to Napa Valley to focus on young people ages 14-24. Auditions for the 2020 Napa Valley College Performing Arts presents This Is My Brave performance will take place November 17-19, 2019. The resulting performances will be presented on February 8, 2020 at Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center and February 9 at St Helena High School Performing Arts Center. Performances will feature area young people who live with mental health challenges or substance use disorders, telling their stories through spoken word, poetry, music, dance, and more. "We are excited to return to the Napa Valley with this new focus," said Jennifer Marshall TIMB Executive Director and Co-Founder. "For six years, This Is My Brave has been shining a light on mental illness and the brave people who live and thrive with it all across the U.S. We recently launched high school and college programs and I am so pleased to extend these efforts to the West Coast and help young people talk openly about mental health issues." "I am overjoyed that Napa Valley College Theater Arts is partnering with This Is My Brave," commented Jennifer King, Director of Performance Arts at Napa Valley College. "We have been programming the Emergence Festival for New Work at NVC for the past two years, and this seemed like the perfect centerpiece for the 2020 Emergence Festival in February. Personally, I am inspired to be working as one of the producers for this show." Napa & St. Helena Auditions Napa Area: Sunday, November 17, 3pm-6pm Location: Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center, 2277 Napa Vallejo Hwy, Napa, CA 94558 Napa Area: Monday, November 18, 5:30pm-9pm St. Helena Area: Tuesday, November 19, 5:30pm-9pm Location: Grace Episcopal Church, 1314 Spring St, St Helena, CA 94574 Register to Audition:https://thisismybrave.org/event/auditions-this-is-my-brave-napavalley/ (parental consent form required for those under 18) TIMB invites area teens, college students, and young people between the ages of 14-24 to audition and share their personal stories about living with mental illness and/or substance use. No performing arts experience is necessary and personal essays, original music, poetry, and dance are welcome. Video submissions are also welcome; email Kristine@thisismybrave.org. One in six American youth between the ages of 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year (National Institute of Mental Health), yet the topic continues to carry shame. This Is My Brave aims to end this stigma and silence by celebrating the stories of teens and young adults living successful lives with mental health and substance use challenges. Since its first show in 2014 in Arlington, VA, This Is My Brave: The Show has featured more than 750 people sharing their stories in 64 performances across the United States and in Australia. Each performance is produced by a local producer or partner organization, with support from TIMB. Auditions can encompass perspectives on any form of mental illness or substance use including depression, anxiety, OCD, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, schizophrenia, PTSD, and more. Stories can be shared via spoken word essay, original poetry, comedy or original music; caregivers and loved ones are also encouraged to audition. Pieces should be limited to five minutes. More Audition Information: https://thisismybrave.org/auditions/ Audition Tips: https://thisismybrave.org/blog/audition-tips Related Articles View More San Francisco Stories Shows IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH Extends Through September 6, 2021 Nearly 100 Costumes Stolen From San Jose Dance Theatre Shotgun Players and Oakland Theatre Project Exceed Their Fundraising Goals Theatre Rhinoceros Presents LONE MOUNTAIN News Major Players Join Prima Theatre Board Touchstone Theatre Digitally Presents Santa Fe-Based Theater Grottesco's PIE Bucks County Playhouse Presents MY RISE TO THE MIDDLE The Historic West Shore Theatre to Undergo Restorations San Francisco SHOWS Waste Management: The Show The Marsh (1/13 - 1/13) Leap Into the New Year Virtual Benefit San Francisco Ballet (1/14 - 1/14) The Eyes of Tammy Faye Comes to Theaters April 30 Theaters (4/30 - 4/30) Leap Into the New Year San Francisco Opera Presents Moby-Dick BroadwayHD (11/17 - 11/17)
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'Supergirl' Season 6 Spoilers: What Would Be A Proper Ending For Kara Zor-El? KM Diaz Supergirl season 6 will be the final installment of the superhero drama. This news has been confirmed in September 2020, with the final chapter consisting of 26 episodes. Now, fans have been wondering how Kara Zor-El's (Melissa Benoist) story will end. There is a real concern when it comes to Kara's ending in Supergirl season 6, with some speculating she's going to meet her tragic death -- just like Arrow's Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell). In the comics, Kara's story didn't conclude on a happy note. While Kara deserves a satisfying ending, death might be a proper send-off for her. In fact, the series has teased the superhero's death several times. For instance, the second installment poster hinted at her death in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths comic book series. The character's death was further teased as the possible consequence of the 2018 Elseworlds event. In the event Kara dies, just like how Oliver did, fans might be disappointed. The good thing is that there are other options for her story without killing her in Supergirl season 6. According to Screen Rant, the series could opt for an ending similar to the Justice League Unlimited. Lex Luthor and Darkseid were defeated, but they would still come back. The outlet noted that the show could make a similar ending that will leave National City's heroes free to cameo elsewhere. Others suggest that Kara would retire from being a superhero. But while she could settle with a romantic interest, it's unlikely for the character to let others continue the legacy she started. She may still decide to remain a superhero, occasionally appearing elsewhere to help other superheroes save the day. Meanwhile, the decision to end Supergirl season 6 came shortly after Benoist gave birth to her first child. Even though nothing is confirmed, some fans suspected the series is ending because the actress wanted to be a full-time mother. Also, the announcement was made after she met with the showrunners. As for the official release date of the final installment, nothing is confirmed at the moment. The series halted its production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the show officially returns, it will pick up the events that happened in the fifth installment. The main priority is to wrap up the remaining episodes in season 5. The titular character has been facing a lot of threats, with Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) being the biggest one. His storyline wasn't properly addressed and he'll play a huge part in the early run of Supergirl season 6. 'Supergirl' Season 6 Spoilers: What's Next For Lex Luthor? 'Supergirl' Season 6: Latest Poster Features Nia Nal; Will There Be A New Big Bad? Prince William Loses Private Secretary Who Worked For Cambridges For 10 Months January 21, 2021 by Rachel Cruz
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Ecclesiastical institution for combating or suppressing heresy Inquisition (Lat. inquirers, to look into).—By this term is usually meant a special ecclesiastical institution for combating or suppressing heresy. Its characteristic mark seems to be the bestowal on special judges of judicial powers in matters of faith, and this by supreme ecclesiastical authority, not temporal or for individual cases, but as a universal and permanent office. Moderns experience difficulty in understanding this institution, because they have, to no small extent, lost sight of two facts. On the one hand they have ceased to grasp religious belief as something objective, as the gift of God, and therefore outside the realm of free private judgment; on the other they no longer see in the Church a society perfect and sovereign, based substantially on a pure and authentic Revelation, whose first and most important duty must naturally be to retain unsullied this original deposit of faith. Before the religious revolution of the sixteenth century these views were still common to all Christians; that orthodoxy should be maintained at any cost seemed self-evident. However, while the positive suppression of heresy by ecclesiastical and civil authority in Christian society is as old as the Church, the Inquisition as a distinct ecclesiastical tribunal is of much later origin. Historically it is a phase in the growth of ecclesiastical legislation, whose distinctive traits can be fully understood only by a careful study of the conditions amid which it grew up. Our subject may, therefore, be conveniently treated as follows: I. The Suppression of Heresy during the first twelve Christian centuries; II. The Suppression of Heresy by the Institution known as the Inquisition under its several forms: (A) The Inquisition of the Middle Ages; (B) The Inquisition in Spain; (C) The Holy Office at Rome. I. THE SUPPRESSION OF HERESY DURING THE FIRST TWELVE CENTURIES —(1) Though the Apostles were deeply imbued with the conviction that they must transmit the deposit of the Faith to posterity undefiled, and that any teaching at variance with their own, even if proclaimed by an angel of Heaven, would be a culpable offense, yet St. Paul did not, in the case of the heretics Alexander and Hymeneus, go back to the Old-Covenant penalties of death or scourging (Dent., xiii, 6 sqq.; xvn, 1 sqq.), but deemed exclusion from the communion of the Church sufficient (I Tim., i, 20; Tit., iii, 10). In fact to the Christians of the first three centuries it could scarcely have occurred to assume any other attitude towards those who erred in matters of faith. Tertullian (Ad. Scapulam, c. ii) lays down the rule: “Humani iuris et naturalis potestatis, unicuique quod putaverit colere, nec alii obest aut prodest alterius religio. Sed nec religionis est religionem colere, qu: a sponte suscipi debeat, non vi”, in other words, he tells us that the natural law authorized man to follow only the voice of individual conscience in the practice of religion, since the acceptance of religion was a matter of free will, not of compulsion. Replying to the accusation of Celsus, based on the Old Testament, that the Christians persecuted dissidents with death, burning, and torture, Origen (C. Cels., VII, 26) is satisfied with explaining that one must distinguish between the law which the Jews received from Moses and that given to the Christians by Jesus; the former was binding on the Jews, the latter on the Christians. Jewish Christians, if sincere, could no longer conform to all of the Mosaic Law; hence they were no longer at liberty to kill their enemies or to burn and stone violators of the Christian Law. St. Cyprian of Carthage, surrounded as he was by countless schismatics and undutiful Christians, also put aside the material sanction of the Old Testament, which punished with death rebellion against the priesthood and the judges: “Nunc autem, quia circumcisio spiritalis esse apud fideles servos Dei ceepit, spiritali gladio superbi et contumaces necantur, dum de Ecclesia ej iciuntur” (Ep. lxxii, ad Pompon., n. 4)—religion being now spiritual, its sanctions take on the same character, and excommunication replaces the death of the body. Lactantius was yet smarting under the scourge of bloody persecutions, when he wrote his “De Divinis Institutionibus” (in 308); naturally, therefore, he stood for the most absolute freedom of religion. “Religion“, he says, “being a matter of the will, it cannot be forced on anyone; in this matter it is better to employ words than blows [verbis melius quam verberibus res agenda est]. Of what use is cruelty? What has the rack to do with piety? Surely there is no connection between truth and violence, between justice and cruelty… It is true that nothing is so important as religion, and one must defend it at any cost [summa vi]… It is true that it must be protected, but by dying for it, not by killing others; by long-suffering, not by violence; by faith, not by crime. If you attempt to defend religion with bloodshed and torture, what you do is not defense, but desecration and insult. For nothing is so intrinsically a matter of free will as religion” (op. cit., V, xx). The Christian teachers of the first three centuries insisted, as was natural for them, on complete religious liberty; furthermore, they not only urged the principle that religion could not be forced on others—a principle always adhered to by the Church in her dealings with the un-baptized—but, when comparing the Mosaic Law and the Christian religion, they taught that the latter was content with a spiritual punishment of heretics (i.e. with excommunication), while Judaism necessarily proceeded against its dissidents with torture and death. (2) However, the imperial successors of Constantine soon began to see in themselves Divinely appointed “bishops of the exterior”, i.e. masters of the temporal and material conditions of the Church. At the same time they retained the traditional authority of “Pontif ex Maximus”, and in this way the civil authority inclined, frequently in league with prelates of Arian tendencies, to persecute the orthodox bishops by imprisonment and exile. But the latter, particularly St. Hilary of Poitiers (Liber contra Auxentium, c. iv), protested vigorously against any use of force in the province of religion, whether for the spread of Christianity or for preservation of the Faith. They repeatedly urged that in this respect the severe decrees of the Old Testament were abrogated by the mild and gentle laws of Christ. However, the successors of Constantine were ever persuaded that the first concern of imperial authority (Theodosius II, “Novelise”, tit. III, A.D. 438) was the protection of religion and so, with terrible regularity, issued many penal edicts against heretics (cf. E. Vacandard, “L’Inquisition: Etude historique et critique sur le pouvoir coercitif de l’Eglise”, Paris, 1907, p. 10). In the space of fifty-seven years sixty-eight enactments were thus promulgated. All manner of heretics were affected by this legislation, and in various ways, by exile, confiscation of property, or death. A law of 407, aimed at the traitorous Donatists, asserts for the first time that these heretics ought to be put on the same plane as transgressors against the sacred majesty of the emperor, a concept to which was reserved in later times a very momentous role. The death penalty, however, was only imposed for certain kinds of heresy; in their persecution of heretics the Christian emperors fell far short of the severity of Diocletian, who in 287 sentenced to the stake the leaders of the Manichaeans, and inflicted on their followers partly the usual death penalty by beheading, and partly forced labor in the government mines. So far we have been dealing with the legislation of the Christianized State. In the attitude of the representatives of the Church towards this legislation some uncertainty is already noticeable. At the close of the fourth century, and during the fifth, Manichaeism, Donatism, and Priscillianism were the heresies most in view. Expelled from Rome and Milan, the Manichaeans sought a refuge in Africa. Though they were found guilty of abominable teachings and misdeeds (St. Augustine, “De haeresibus”, no. 46), the Church refused to invoke the civil power against them; indeed, the great Bishop of Hippo explicitly rejected the use of force. He sought their return only through public and private acts of submission, and his efforts seem to have met with success. Indeed, we learn from him that the Donatists themselves were the first to appeal to the civil power for protection against the Church. However, they fared like Daniel‘s accusers: the lions turned upon them. State intervention not answering to their wishes, and the violent excesses of the Circumcellions being condignly punished, the Donatists complained bitterly of administrative cruelty. St. Optatus of Mileve defended the civil authority (De Schismate Donatistarum, III, cc. 6-7) as follows: “…as though it were not permitted to come forward as avengers of God, and to pronounce sentence of death!… But, say you, the State cannot punish in the name of God. Yet was it not in the name of God that Moses and Phineas consigned to death the worshippers of the golden calf and those who despised the true religion?” This was the first time that a Catholic bishop championed a decisive cooperation of the State in religious questions, and its right to inflict death on heretics. For the first time, also, the Old Testament was appealed to, though such appeals had been previously rejected by Christian teachers. St. Augustine, on the contrary, was still opposed to the use of force, and tried to lead back the erring by means of instruction; at most he admitted the imposition of a moderate fine for refractory persons. Finally, however, he changed his views, whether moved thereto by the incredible excesses of the Circumcellions or by the good results achieved by the use of force, or favoring force through the persuasions of other bishops. Apropos of his apparent inconsistency it is well to note carefully whom he is addressing. He appears to speak in one way to government officials, who wanted the existing laws carried out to their fullest extent, and in another to the Donatists, who denied to the State any right of punishing dissenters. In his correspondence with state officials he dwells on Christian charity and toleration, and represents the heretics as straying Iambs, to be sought out and perhaps, if recalcitrant, chastised with rods and frightened with threats of severer punishment, but not to be driven back to the fold by means of rack and sword. On the other hand, in his writings against the Donatists he upholds the rights of the State: sometimes, he says, a salutary severity would be to the interest of the erring ones themselves and likewise protective of true believers and the community at large (Vacandard, 1. c., pp. 17-26). As to Priscillianism, not a few points remain yet obscure, despite recent valuable researches. It seems certain, however, that Priscillian, Bishop of Avila in Spain, was accused of heresy and sorcery, and found guilty by several councils. St. Ambrose at Milan and St. Damasus at Rome seem to have refused him a hearing. At length he appealed to the Emperor Maximus at Trier, but to his detriment, for he was there condemned to death. Priscillian himself, no doubt in full consciousness of his own innocence, had formerly called for repression of the Manichaean by the sword. But the foremost Christian teachers did not share these sentiments, and his own execution gave them occasion for a solemn protest against the cruel treatment meted out to him by the imperial government. St. Martin of Tours, then at Trier, exerted himself to obtain from the ecclesiastical authority the abandonment of the accusation, and induced the emperor to promise that on no account would he shed the blood of Priscillian, since ecclesiastical deposition by the bishops would be punishment enough, and bloodshed would be opposed to the Divine law (Sulp. Severus, “Chron.”, II, in P.L., XX, 155 sqq.; and ibid., “Dialogi”, III, col. 217). After the execution he strongly blamed both the accusers and the emperor, and for a long time refused to hold communion with such bishops as had been in any way responsible for Priscillian’s death. The great Bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose, described that execution as a crime. Priscillianism, however, did not disappear with the death of its originator; on the contrary, it spread with extraordinary rapidity, and, through its open adoption of Manichaeism, became more of a public menace than ever. In this way the severe judgments of St. Augustine and St. Jerome against Priscillianism become intelligible. In 447 Leo the Great had to reproach the Priscillianists with loosening the holy bonds of marriage, treading all decency under foot and deriding all law, human and Divine. It seemed to him natural that temporal rulers should punish such sacrilegious madness, and should put to death the founder of the sect and some of his followers. He goes on to say that this redounded to the advantage of the Church: “quae etsi sacerdotali contenta iudicio, cruentas refugit ultiones, severis tamen christianorum principum constitutionibus adiuvatur, dum ad spiritale recurrunt remedium, qui timent corporale supplicium”—though the Church was content with a spiritual sentence on the part of its bishops and was averse to the shedding of blood, nevertheless it was aided by the imperial severity, inasmuch as the fear of corporal punishment drove the guilty to seek a spiritual remedy (Ep. xv ad Turribium; P.L., LIV, 679 sq.). The ecclesiastical ideas of the first five centuries may be summarized as follows: (I) the Church should for no cause shed blood (St. Augustine St. Ambrose, St. Leo I, and others); (2) other teachers, however, like Optatus of Mileve and Priscillian, believed that the State could pronounce the death penalty on heretics in case the public welfare demanded it; (3) the majority held that the death penalty for heresy, when not civilly criminal, was irreconcilable with the spirit of Christianity. St. Augustine (Ep. c, n. 1), almost in the name of the Western Church, says: “Corrigi eos volumus, non necari, nec disciplinam circa eos negligi volumus, nec suppliciis quibus digni sunt exerceri”—we wish them corrected, not put to death; we desire the triumph of (ecclesiastical) discipline, not the death penalties that they deserve. St. John Chrysostom says substantially the same in the name of the Eastern Church (Horn., XLVI, c. i): “To consign a heretic to death is to commit an offense beyond atonement”; and in the next chapter he says that God forbids their execution, even as He forbids us to uproot cockle, but He does not forbid us to repel them, to deprive them of free speech, or to prohibit their assemblies. The help of the “secular arm” was therefore not entirely rejected; on the contrary, as often as the Christian welfare, general or domestic, required it, Christian rulers sought to stem the evil by appropriate measures. As late as the seventh century St. Isidore of Seville expresses similar sentiments (Sententiarum, III, iv, rm. 4-6). How little we are to trust the vaunted impartiality of Henry Charles Lea, the American historian of the Inquisition, we may here illustrate by an example. In his “History of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages” (New York, 1888, I, 215), he closes this period with the words: “It was only sixty-two years after the slaughter of Priscillian and his followers had excited so much horror, that Leo I, when the heresy seemed to be reviving in 447, not only justified the act, but declared that, if the followers of a heresy so damnable were allowed to live, there would be an end of human and Divine law. The final step had been taken and the Church was definitely pledged to the suppression of heresy at whatever cost. It is impossible not to attribute to ecclesiastical influence the successive edicts by which, from the time of Theodosius the Great, persistence in heresy was punished with death.” In these lines Lea has transferred to the pope words employed by the emperor. Moreover, it is simply the exact opposite of historical truth to assert that the imperial edicts punishing heresy with death were due to ecclesiastical influence, since we have shown that in this period the more influential ecclesiastical authorities declared that the death penalty was contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, and themselves opposed its execution. For centuries this was the ecclesiastical attitude both in theory and in practice. Thus, in keeping with the civil law, some Manichaeans were executed at Ravenna in 556. On the other hand, Elipandus of Toledo and Felix of Urgel, the chiefs of Adoptionism and Predestinationism, were condemned by pope and councils, but were otherwise left unmolested. We may note, however, that the monk Gothescalch, after the condemnation of his false doctrine that Christ had not died for all mankind, was by the Synods of Mainz in 848 and Quiercy in 849 sentenced to flogging and imprisonment, punishments then common in monasteries for various infractions of the rule. (3) About the year 1000 Manichwans from Bulgaria, under various names, spread over Western Europe. They were numerous in Italy, Spain, Gaul and Germany. Christian popular sentiment soon showed itself adverse to these dangerous sectaries, and resulted in occasional local persecutions, naturally in forms expressive of the spirit of the age. In 1122 King Robert the Pious (regis iussu et universae plebis consensu), “because he feared for the safety of the kingdom and the salvation of souls”, had thirteen distinguished citizens, ecclesiastic and lay, burnt alive at Orleans. Elsewhere similar acts were due to popular outbursts. A few years later the Bishop of Chalons observed that the sect was spreading in his diocese, and asked of Wazo, Bishop of Liege, advice as to the use of force: “An terrenae potestatis gladio in eos sit animadvertendum necne” (“Vita Wasonis”, cc. xxv, xxvi, in P.L., CXLII, 752; “Wazo ad Roger. II, episc. Catalaunens”, and “Anselmi Gesta episc. Leod.” in “Mon. Germ. SS.”, VII, 227 sq.). Wazo replied that this was contrary to the spirit of the Church and the words of its Founder, Who ordained that the tares should be allowed to grow with the wheat until the day of the harvest, lest the wheat be uprooted with the tares; those who today were tares might tomorrow be converted, and turn into wheat; let them therefore live, and let mere excommunication suffice. St. Chrysostom, as we have seen, had taught similar doctrine. This principle could not be always followed. Thus at Goslar, in the Christmas season of 1051, and in 1052, several heretics were hanged because Emperor Henry III wanted to prevent the further spread of “the heretical leprosy”. A few years later, in 1076 or 1077, a Catharist was condemned to the stake by the Bishop of Cambrai and his chapter. Other Catharists, in spite of the archbishop’s intervention, were given their choice by the magistrates of Milan between doing homage to the Cross and mounting the pyre. By far the greater number chose the latter. In 1114 the Bishop of Soissons kept sundry heretics in durance in his episcopal city. But while he was gone to Beauvais, to ask advice of the bishops assembled there for a synod, the “believing folk, fearing the habitual soft-heartedness of ecclesiastics” (clericalem verens mollitiem), stormed the prison, took the accused outside the town, and burned them. The people disliked what to them was the extreme dilatoriness of the clergy in pursuing heretics. In 1144 Adalbero II of Liege hoped to bring some imprisoned Catharists to better knowledge through the grace of God, but the people, less indulgent, assailed the unhappy creatures, and only with the greatest trouble did the bishop succeed in rescuing some of them from death by fire. A like drama was enacted about the same time at Cologne. While the archbishop and the priests earnestly sought to lead the misguided back into the Church, the latter were violently taken by the mob (a populis nimio zelo abreptis) from the custody of the clergy and burned at the stake. The best-known heresiarchs of that time, Peter of Bruys and Arnold of Brescia, met a similar fate—the first on the pyre as a victim of popular fury, and the latter under the headsman’s axe as a victim of his political enemies. In short, no blame attaches to the Church for her behavior towards heresy in those rude days. Among all the bishops of the period, so far as can be ascertained, Theodwin of Liege, successor of the aforesaid Wazo and predecessor of Adalbero II, alone appealed to the civil power for the punishment of heretics, and even he did not call for the death-penalty, which was rejected by all. Who were more highly respected in the twelfth century than Peter Cantor, the most learned man of his time, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux? The former says (“Verbum abbreviatum”, c. lxxviii, in P.L., CCV, 231): “Whether they be convicted of error, or freely confess their guilt, Catharists are not to be put to death, at least not when they refrain from armed assaults upon the Church. For although the Apostle said, `A man that is a heretic after the third admonition, avoid’, he certainly did not say, `Kill him’. Throw them into prison, if you will, but do not put them to death” (cf. Geroch von Reichersberg, “De investigatione Antichristi”, III, 42). So far was St. Bernard from agreeing with the methods of the people of Cologne, that he laid down the axiom: Fides suadenda, non imponenda (By per-suasion, not by violence, are men to be won to the Faith). And if he censures the carelessness of the princes, who were to blame because little foxes devastated the vineyard, yet he adds that the latter must not be captured by force but by arguments (capiantur non armis, sed argumentis); the obstinate were to be excommunicated, and if necessary kept in confinement for the safety of others (aut corrigenda sunt ne pereant, aut, ne perimant, coercendi). (See Vacandard, 1. c., 53 sqq.) The synods of the period employ substantially the same terms, e.g. the synod at Reins in 1049 under Leo IX, that at Toulouse in 1119, at which Callistus II presided, and finally the Lateran Council of 1139. Hence, the occasional executions of heretics during this period must be ascribed partly to the arbitrary action of individual rulers, partly to the fanatic outbreaks of the overzealous populace, and in no wise to ecclesiastical law or the ecclesiastical authorities. There were already, it is true, canonists who conceded to the Church the right to pronounce sentence of death on heretics; but the question was treated as a purely academic one, and the theory exercised virtually no influence on real life. Excommunication, proscription, imprisonment, etc., were indeed inflicted, being intended rather as forms of atonement than of real punishment, but never the capital sentence. The maxim of Peter Cantor was still adhered to: “Catharists, even though Divinely convicted in an ordeal, must not be punished by death.” In the second half of the twelfth century, however, heresy in the form of Catharism spread in truly alarming fashion, and not only menaced the Church‘s existence, but undermined the very foundations of Christian society. In opposition to this propaganda there grew up a kind of prescriptive law—at least throughout Germany, France, and Spain—which visited heresy with death by the flames. England on the whole remained untainted by heresy. When, in 1166, about thirty sectaries made their way thither, Henry II ordered that they be burnt on their foreheads with red-hot iron, be beaten with rods in a public square, and then driven off. Moreover, he forbade anyone to give them shelter or otherwise assist them, so that they died partly from hunger and partly from the cold of winter. Duke Philip of Flanders, aided by William of the White Hand, Archbishop of Reims, was particularly severe towards heretics. They caused many citizens in their domains, nobles and commoners, clerics, knights, peasants, spinsters, widows, and married women, to be burnt alive, confiscated their property, and divided it between them. This happened in 1183. Between 1183 and 1206 Bishop Hugo of Auxerre acted similarly towards the neo-Manichaeans. Some he despoiled; the others he either exiled or sent to the stake. King Philip Augustus. of France had eight Catharists burnt at Troyes in 1200, one at Nevers in 1201, several at Braisne-sur-Vesle in 1204, and many at Paris—”priests, clerics, laymen, and women belonging to the sect”. Raymund V of Toulouse (1148-94) promulgated a law which punished with death the followers of the sect and their favorers. Simon de Montfort‘s men-at-arms believed in 1211 that they were carrying out this law when they boasted how they had burned alive many, and would continue to do so (unde multos combussimus et adhuc cum invenimus idem facere non cessamus). In 1197 Peter II, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona, issued an edict in obedience to which the Waldensians and all other schismatics were expelled from the land; whoever of this sect was still found in his kingdom or his county after Palm Sunday of the next year was to suffer death by fire, also confiscation of goods. Ecclesiastical legislation was far from this severity. Alexander III at the Lateran Council of 1179 renewed the decisions already made as to schismatics in Southern France, and requested secular sovereigns to silence those disturbers of public order if necessary by force, to achieve which object they were at liberty to imprison the guilty (servituti subicere, subdere) and to appropriate their possessions. According to the agreement made by Lucius III and Emperior Frederick Barbarossa at Verona (1148), the heretics of every community were to be sought out, brought before the episcopal court, excommunicated, and given up to the civil power to be suitably punished (debita animadversion puniendus). The suitable punishment (debita animadversio, ultio) did not, however, as yet mean capital punishment, but the proscriptive ban, though even this, it is true, entailed exile, expropriation, destruction of the culprit’s dwelling, infamy, debarment from public office, and the like (J. Ficker, “Die Einfuhrung der Todesstrafe fur Ketzerei” in “Mitteilungen des Instituts fur Osterr. Geschichtsforsch.”, I, 1880, p. 187 sq., 194 sq.). The “Continuatio Zwellensis altera, ad ann. 1184” (Mon. Germ. Hist.: SS., IX, 542) accurately describes the condition of heretics at this time when it says that the pope excommunicated them, and the emperor put them under the civil ban, while he confiscated their goods (papa eos excommunicavit, imperator vero tam res quam personas ipsorum imperiali banno subiecit). Under Innocent III nothing was done to intensify or add to the extant statutes against heresy, though this pope gave them a wider range by the action of his legates and through the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). But this act was indeed a relative service to the heretics, for the regular canonical procedure thus introduced did much to abrogate the arbitrariness, passion, and injustice of the civil courts in Spain, France, and Germany. In so far as, and so long as, his prescriptions remained in force, no summary condemnations or executions en masse occurred, neither stake nor rack were set up; and, if, on one occasion during the first year of his pontificate, to justify confiscation, he appealed to the Roman Law and its penalties for crimes against the sovereign power, yet he did not draw the extreme conclusion that heretics deserved to be burnt. His reign affords many examples showing how much of the vigor he took away in practice from the existing penal code. II. THE SUPPRESSION OF HERESY BY THE INSTITUTION KNOWN AS THE INQUISITION A. The Inquisition of the Middle Ages 1. Origin —During the first three decades of the thirteenth century the Inquisition, as an institution, did not exist. But eventually Christian Europe was so endangered by heresy, and penal legislation concerning Catharism (see Cathari) had gone so far, that the Inquisition seemed to be a political necessity. That these sects were a menace to Christian society had been long recognized by the Byzantine rulers. As early as the tenth century Empress Theodora had put to death a multitude of Paulicians, and in 1118 Emperor Alexius Comnenus treated the Bogomili with equal severity, but this did not prevent them from pouring over all Western Europe. Moreover, these sects were in the highest degree aggressive, hostile to Christianity itself, to the Mass, the sacraments, the ecclesiastical hierarchy and organization; hostile also to feudal government by their attitude towards oaths, which they declared under no circumstances allowable. Nor were their views less fatal to the continuance of human society, for on the one hand they forbade marriage and the propagation of the human race, and on the other hand they made a duty of suicide through the institution of the Endura (see Cathari). It has been said that more perished through the Endura (the Catharist suicide code) than through the Inquisition. It was, therefore, natural enough for the custodians of the existing order in Europe, especially of the Christian religion, to adopt repressive measures against such revolutionary teachings. In France Louis VIII decreed in 1226 that persons excommunicated by the diocesan bishop, or his delegate, should receive “meet punishment” (debita animadversio). In 1249 Louis IX ordered barons to deal with heretics according to the dictates of duty (de ipsis faciant quod debebant). A decree of the Council of Toulouse (1229) makes it appear probable that in France death at the stake was already comprehended as in keeping with the aforesaid debita animadversio. To seek to trace in these measures the influence of imperial or papal ordinances is vain, since the burning of heretics had already come to be regarded as prescriptive. It is said in the “Etablissements de St Louis et coutumes de Beauvaisis”, ch. cxxiii (Ordonnances des Roys de France, I, 211): “Quand le juge [ecclesiastique] l’aurait examine [le suspect] se it trouvait, qu’il feust bougres, si le devrait faire envoier a la justice laie, et la justice laie le doit fere ardoir.” The “Coutumes de Beauvaisis” correspond to the German “Sachsenspiegel”, or “Mirror of Saxon Laws”, compiled about 1235, which also embodies as a law sanctioned by custom the execution of unbelievers at the stake (sal man of der hurt burnen). In Italy Emperor Frederick II, as early as November 22, 1220 (Mon. Germ., II, 243), issued a rescript against heretics, conceived, however, quite in the spirit of Innocent III, and Honorius III commissioned his legates to see to the enforcement in Italian cities of both the canonical decrees of 1215 and the imperial legislation of 1220. From the foregoing it cannot be doubted that up to1224 there was no imperial law ordering, or presupposing as legal, the burning of heretics. The rescript for Lombardy of 1224 (Mon. Germ., II, 252; cf. ibid., 288) is accordingly the first law in which death by fire is contemplated (cf. Ficker, op. cit., 196). That Honorius III was in any way concerned in the drafting of this ordinance cannot be maintained; indeed the emperor was all the less in need of papal inspiration as the burning of heretics in Germany was then no longer rare; his legists, moreover, would certainly have directed the emperor’s attention to the ancient Roman Law that punished high treason with death, and Manichaeism in particular with the stake. The imperial rescripts of 1220 and 1224 were adopted into ecclesiastical criminal law in 1231, and were soon applied at Rome. It was then that the Inquisition of the Middle Ages came into being. What was the immediate provocation? Contemporary sources afford no positive answer. Bishop Douais, who perhaps commands the original contemporary material better than anyone, has attempted in his latest work (L’Inquisition. Ses Origines. Sa Procedure, Paris, 1906) to explain its appearance by a supposed anxiety of Gregory IX to forestall the encroachments of Frederick II in the strictly ecclesiastical province of doctrine. For this purpose it would seem necessary for the pope to establish a distinct and specifically ecclesiastical court. From this point of view, though the hypothesis cannot be fully proved, much is intelligible that otherwise remains obscure. There was doubtless reason to fear such imperial encroachments in an age yet filled with the angry contentions of the Imperium and the Sacerdotium. We need only recall the trickery of the emperor and his pretended eagerness for the purity of the Faith, his increasingly rigorous legislation against heretics, the numerous executions of his personal rivals on the pretext of heresy, the hereditary passion of the Hohenstaufen for supreme control over Church and State, their claim of God-given authority over both, of responsibility in both domains to God and God only, etc. What was more natural than that the Church should strictly reserve to herself her own sphere, while at the same time endeavoring to avoid giving offense to the emperor? A purely spiritual or papal religious tribunal would secure ecclesiastical liberty and authority, for this court could be confided to men of expert knowledge and blameless reputation, and above all to independent men in whose hands the Church could safely trust the decision as to the orthodoxy or heterodoxy of a given teaching. On the other hand, to meet the emperor’s wishes as far as allowable, the penal code of the empire could be taken over as it stood (cf. Audray, “Regist. de Gregoire IX”, n. 535). 2. The New Tribunal (a) Its essential characteristic.—The pope did not establish the Inquisition as a distinct and separate tribunal; what he did was to appoint special but permanent judges, who executed their doctrinal functions in the name of the pope. Where they sat, there was the Inquisition. It must be carefully noted that the characteristic feature of the Inquisition was not its peculiar procedure, nor the secret examination of witnesses and consequent official indictment: this procedure was common to all courts from the time of Innocent III. Nor was it the pursuit of heretics in all places: this had been the rule since the Imperial Synod of Verona under Lucius III and Frederick Barbarossa. Nor again was it the torture, which was not prescribed or even allowed for decades after the beginning of the Inquisition, nor, finally, the various sanctions, imprisonment, confiscation, the stake, etc., all of which punishments were usual long before the Inquisition. The Inquisitor, strictly speaking, was a special but permanent judge, acting in the name of the pope and clothed by him with the right and the duty to deal legally with offenses against the Faith; he had, however, to adhere to the established rules of canonical procedure and pronounce the customary penalties. Many regarded it as providential that just at this time sprang up two new orders, the Dominicans and the Franciscans, whose members, by their superior theological training and other characteristics, seemed eminently fitted to perform the inquisitorial task with entire success. It was safe to assume that they were not merely endowed with the requisite knowledge, but that they would also, quite unselfishly and uninfluenced by worldly motives, do solely what seemed their duty for the good of the Church. In addition, there was reason to hope that, because of their great popularity, they would not encounter too much opposition. It seems, therefore, not unnatural that the inquisitors should have been chosen by the popes prevailingly from these orders, especially from that of the Dominicans. It is to be noted, however, that the inquisitors were not chosen exclusively from the mendicant orders, though the Senator of Rome no doubt meant such when in his oath of office (1231) he spoke of inquisitores datos ab ecclesia. In his decree of 1232 Frederick II calls them inquisitores ab apostolica cede datos. The Dominican Alberic, in November of 1232, went through Lombardy as inquisitor haereticae pravitatis. The prior and sub-prior of the Dominicans at Friesbach were given a similar commission as early as November 27, 1231; on December 2, 1232, the convent of Strasburg, and a little later the convents of Wurzburg, Ratisbon, and Bremen, also received the commission. In 1233 a rescript of Gregory IX, touching these matters, was sent simultaneously to the bishops of Southern France and to the priors of the Dominican Order. We know that Dominicans were sent as inquisitors in 1232 to Germany along the Rhine, to the Diocese of Tarragona in Spain, and to Lombardy; in 1233 to France, to the territory of Auxerre, the ecclesiastical provinces of Bourges, Bordeaux, Narbonne, and Auch, and to Burgundy; in 1235 to the ecclesiastical province of Sens. In fine, about 1255 we find the Inquisition in full activity in all the countries of Central and Western Europe, in the county of Toulouse, in Sicily, Aragon, Lombardy, France, Burgundy, Brabant, and Germany (cf. Douais, op. cit., p. 36, and Fredericq, “Corpus documentorum inquisitionis haereticae pravitatis Neerlandicae, 1025-1520”, 2 vols., Ghent, 1889-96). That Gregory IX, through his appointment of Dominicans and Franciscans as inquisitors, withdrew the suppression of heresy from the proper courts (i.e. from the bishops), is a reproach that in so general a form cannot be sustained. So little did he think of displacing episcopal authority that, on the contrary, he provided explicitly that no inquisitional tribunal was to work anywhere without the diocesan bishop’s cooperation. And if, on the strength of their papal jurisdiction, inquisitors occasionally manifested too great an inclination to act independently of episcopal authority, it was precisely the popes who kept them within right bounds. As early as 1254 Innocent IV prohibited anew perpetual imprisonment or death at the stake without the episcopal consent. Similar orders were issued by Urban IV in 1262, Clement IV in 1265, and Gregory X in 1273, until at last Boniface VIII and Clement V solemnly declared null and void all judgments is-sued in trials concerning faith, unless delivered with the approval and cooperation of the bishops. The popes always upheld with earnestness the Episcopal authority, and sought to free the inquisitional tribunals from every kind of arbitrariness and caprice. It was a heavy burden of responsibility—almost too heavy for a common mortal—which fell upon the shoulders of an inquisitor, who was obliged, at least indirectly, to decide between life and death. The Church was bound to insist that he should possess, in a pre-eminent degree, the qualities of a good judge; that he should be animated with a glowing zeal for the Faith, the salvation of souls, and the extirpation of heresy; that amid all difficulties and dangers he should never yield to anger or passion; that he should meet hostility fearlessly, but should not court it; that he should yield to no inducement or threat, and yet not be heartless; that, when circumstances permitted, he should observe mercy in allotting penalties; that he should listen to the counsel of others, and not trust too much to his own opinion or to appearances, since often the probable is untrue, and the truth improbable. Somewhat thus did Bernard Gui (or Guidonis) and Eymeric, both of them inquisitors for years, describe the ideal inquisitor. Of such an inquisitor also was Gregory IX doubtlessly thinking when he urged Conrad of Marburg: “ut puniatur sic temeritas perversorum quod innocentiae puritas non 1wdatur “—i.e., not to punish the wicked so as to hurt the innocent. History shows us how far the inquisitors answered to this ideal. Far from being inhuman, they were, as a rule, men of spotless character and sometimes of truly admirable sanctity, and not a few of them have been canonized by the Church. There is absolutely no reason to look on the medieval ecclesiastical judge as intellectually and morally inferior to the modern judge. No one would deny that the judges of today, despite occasional harsh decisions and the errors of a few, pursue a highly honorable profession. Similarly, the medieval inquisitors should be judged as a whole, and not by individual examples. Moreover, history does not justify the hypothesis that the medieval heretics were prodigies of virtue, deserving our sympathy in advance. (b) Procedure.—This regularly began with a month’s “term of grace”, proclaimed by the inquisitor whenever he came to a heresy-ridden district. The inhabitants were summoned to appear before the inquisitor. On those who confessed of their own accord a suitable penance (e.g. a pilgrimage) was imposed, but never a severe punishment like incarceration or surrender to the civil power. However, these relations with the residents of a place often furnished important indications, pointed out the proper quarter for investigation, and sometimes much evidence was thus obtained against individuals. These were then cited before the judges—usually by the parish priest, although occasionally by the secular authorities—and the trial began. If the accused at once made full and free confession, the affair was soon concluded, and not to the disadvantage of the accused. But in most instances the accused entered denial even after swearing on the Four Gospels, and this denial was stubborn in the measure that the testimony was incriminating. David of Augsburg (cf. Preger, “Der Traktat des David von Augsburg fiber die Waldenser”, Munich, 1878, pp. 43 sqq.) pointed out to the inquisitor four methods of extracting open acknowledgment: (i) fear of death, i.e. by giving the accused to understand that the stake awaited him if he would not confess; (ii) more or less close confinement, possibly emphasized by a curtailment of food; (iii) visits of tried men, who would attempt to induce free confession through friendly persuasion; (iv) torture, which will be discussed below. (c) The Witnesses.—When no voluntary admission was made, evidence was adduced. Legally, there had to be at least two witnesses, although conscientious judges rarely contented themselves with that number. The principle had hitherto been held by the Church that the testimony of a heretic, an excommunicated person, a perjurer, in short, of an “infamous”, was worthless before the courts. But in its detestation of unbelief the Church took the further step of abolishing this long-established practice, and of accepting a heretic’s evidence at nearly full value in trials concerning faith. This appears as early as the twelfth century in the “Decretum Gratiani”. While Frederick II readily assented to this new departure, the inquisitors seemed at first uncertain as to the value of the evidence of an “infamous” person. It was only in 1261, after Alexander IV had silenced their scruples, that the new principle was generally adopted both in theory and in practice. This grave modification seems to have been defended on the ground that the heretical conventicles took place secretly, and were shrouded in great obscurity, so that reliable information could be obtained from none but themselves. Even prior to the establishment of the Inquisition the names of the witnesses were sometimes withheld from the accused person, and this usage was legalized by Gregory IX, Innocent IV, and Alexander IV. Boni-face VIII, however, set it aside by his Bull “Ut commissi vobis officii” (Sext. Decret., 1. V, tit. ii); and commanded that at all trials, even inquisitorial, the witnesses must be named to the accused. There was no personal confrontation of witnesses, neither was there any cross-examination. Witnesses for the defense hardly ever appeared, as they would almost infallibly be suspected of being heretics or favorable to heresy. For the same reason those impeached rarely secured legal advisers, and were therefore obliged to make personal response to the main points of a charge. This, however, was also no innovation, for in 1205 Innocent III, by the Bull “Si adversus vos”, forbade any legal help for heretics: “We strictly prohibit you, lawyers and notaries, from assisting in any way, by council or support, all heretics and such as believe in them, adhere to them, render them any assistance or defend them in any way.” But this severity soon relaxed, and even in Eymeric’s day it seems to have been the universal custom to grant heretics a legal adviser, who, however, had to be in every way beyond suspicion, “upright, of undoubted loyalty, skilled in civil and canon law, and zealous for the faith.” Meanwhile, even in those hard times, such legal severities were felt to be excessive, and attempts were made to mitigate them in various ways, so as to protect the natural rights of the accused. First he could make known to the judge the names of his enemies: should the charge originate with them, they would be quashed without further ado. Furthermore, it was undoubtedly to the advantage of the accused that false witnesses were punished without mercy. The aforesaid inquisitor, Bernard Gui, relates an instance of a father falsely accusing his son of heresy. The son’s innocence quickly coming to light, the false accuser was apprehended, and sentenced to prison for life (solam vitam ei ex misericordia relinquentes). In addition he was pilloried for five consecutive Sundays before the church during service, with bare head and bound hands. Perjury in those days was accounted an enormous offense, particularly when committed by a false witness. Moreover, the accused had a considerable advantage in the fact that the inquisitor had to conduct the trial in cooperation with the diocesan bishop or his representatives, to whom all documents relating to the trial had to be remitted. Both together, inquisitor and bishop, were also made to summon and consult a number of upright and experienced men (boni viri), and to decide in agreement with their decision (vota). Innocent IV (July 11, 1254), Alexander IV (April 15, 1255, and April 27, 1260), and Urban IV (August 2, 1264) strictly prescribed this institution of the boni viri—i.e. the consultation in difficult cases of experienced men, well versed in theology and canon law, and in every way irreproachable. The documents of the trial were either in their entirety handed to them, or at least an abstract drawn up by a public notary was furnished; they were also made acquainted with the witnesses’ names, and their first duty was to decide whether or not the witnesses were credible. The boni viri were very frequently called on. Thirty, fifty, eighty, or more persons—laymen and priests, secular and regular—would be summoned, all highly respected and independent men, and singly sworn to give verdict upon the cases before them according to the best of their knowledge and belief. Substantially they were always called upon to decide two questions: whether and what guilt lay at hand, and what punishment was to be inflicted. That they might be influenced by no personal considerations, the case would be submitted to them somewhat in the abstract, i.e., the name of the person inculpated was not given. Although, strictly speaking, the boni viri were entitled only to an advisory vote, the final ruling was usually in accordance with their views, and, whenever their decision was revised, it was always in the direction of clemency, the mitigation of the findings being indeed of frequent occurrence. The judges were also assisted by a consilium permanens, or standing council, composed of other sworn judges. In these dispositions surely lay the most valuable guarantees for an objective, impartial, and just operation of the inquisition courts. Apart from the conduct of his own defense, the accused disposed of other legal means for safe-guarding his rights: he could reject a judge who had shown prejudice, and at any stage of the trial could appeal to Rome. Eymeric leads one to infer that in Aragon appeals to the Holy See were not rare. He himself as inquisitor had on one occasion to go to Rome to defend in person his own position, but he advises other inquisitors against that step, as it simply meant the loss of much time and money; it were wiser, he says, to try a case in such a manner that no fault could be found. In the event of an appeal the documents of the case were to be sent to Rome under seal, and Rome not only scrutinized them, but itself gave the final verdict. Seemingly, appeals to Rome were in great favor; a milder sentence, it was hoped, would be forthcoming, or at least some time would be gained. (d) Punishments.—The present writer can find nothing to suggest that the accused were imprisoned during the period of enquiry. It was certainly customary to grant the accused person his freedom until the sermo generalis, were he ever so strongly inculpated through witnesses or confession; he was not yet supposed guilty, though he was compelled to promise under oath always to be ready to come before the inquisitor, and in the end to accept with good grace his sentence, whatever its tenor. The oath was assuredly a terrible weapon in the hands of the medieval judge. If the accused person kept it, the judge was favorably inclined; on the other hand, if the accused violated it, his credit grew worse. Many sects, it was known, repudiated oaths on principle; hence the violation of an oath caused the guilty party easily to incur suspicion of heresy. Besides the oath, the inquisitor might secure himself by demanding a sum of money as bail, or reliable bondsmen who would stand surety for the accused. It happened, too, that bondsmen undertook upon oath to deliver the accused “dead or alive”. It was perhaps unpleasant to live under the burden of such an obligation, but, at any rate, it was more endurable than to await a final verdict in rigid confinement for months or longer. Curiously enough torture was not regarded as a mode of punishment, but purely as a means of eliciting the truth. It was not of ecclesiastical origin, and was long prohibited in the ecclesiastical courts. Nor was it originally an important factor in the inquisitional procedure, being unauthorized until twenty years after the Inquisition had begun. It was first authorized by Innocent IV in his Bull “Ad exstirpanda” of May 15, 1252, which was confirmed by Alexander IV on November 30, 1259, and by Clement IV on November 3, 1265. The limit placed upon torture was citra membri diminutionem et mortis periculum—i.e., it was not to cause the loss of a limb or imperil life. Torture was to be applied only once, and not then unless the accused were uncertain in his statements, and seemed already virtually convicted by manifold and weighty proofs. In general, this violent questioning (quaestio) was to be deferred as long as possible, and recourse to it was permitted only when all other expedients were exhausted. Conscientious and sensible judges quite properly attached no great importance to confessions extracted by torture. After long experience Eymeric declared: Quaestiones sunt fallaces et inef/ iicaces—i.e. the torture is deceptive and ineffectual. Had this papal legislation been adhered to in practice, the historian of the Inquisition would have fewer difficulties to satisfy. In the beginning, torture was held to be so odious that clerics were forbidden to be present under pain of irregularity. Sometimes it had to be interrupted so as to enable the inquisitor to continue his examination, which, of course, was attended by numerous inconveniences. Therefore on April 27, 1260, Alexander IV authorized inquisitors to absolve one another of this irregularity. Urban IV on August 2, 1262, renewed the permission, and this was soon interpreted as formal license to continue the examination in the torture chamber itself. The inquisitors’ manuals faithfully noted and approved this usage. The general rule ran that torture was to be resorted to only once. But this was sometimes circumvented—first, by assuming that with every new piece of evidence the rack could be utilized afresh, and secondly, by imposing fresh torments on the poor victim (often on different days), not by way of repetition, but as a continuation (non ad modum iterationis sed continuations), as defended by Eymeric; “quia iterari non debent [tormenta], nisi novas supervementibus indiciis, continuari non prohibentur.” But what was to be done when the accused, released from the rack, denied what he had just confessed? Some held with Eymeric that the accused should be set at liberty; others, however, like the author of the “Sacro Arsenale”, held that the torture should be continued, because the accused had too seriously incriminated himself by his previous confession. When Clement V formulated his regulations for the employment of torture, he never imagined that eventually even witnesses would be put on the rack, although not their guilt, but that of the accused, was in question. From the pope’s silence it was concluded that a witness might be put upon the rack at the discretion of the inquisitor. Moreover, if the accused was convicted through witnesses, or had pleaded guilty, the torture might still be used to compel him to testify against his friends and fellow-culprits. It would be opposed to all Divine and human equity—so one reads in the “Sacro Arsenale, ovvero Pratica dell’ Officio della Santa Inquisizione” (Bologna, 1665)—to inflict torture unless the judge were personally persuaded of the guilt of the accused. But one of the difficulties of the procedure is why torture was used as a means of learning the truth. On the one hand, the torture was continued until the accused confessed or intimated that he was willing to confess. On the other hand, it was not desired, as in fact it was not possible, to regard as freely made a confession wrung by torture. It is at once apparent how little reliance may be placed upon the assertion so often repeated in the minutes of trials, “confessionem esse veram, non factam vi tormentorum” (the confession was true and free), even though one had not occasionally read in the preceding pages that, after being taken down from the rack (postquam depositus fuit de tormento), he freely confessed this or that. However, it is not of much greater importance to say that torture is seldom mentioned in the records of inquisition trials—but once, for example, in 636 condemnations between 1309 and 1323; this does not prove that torture was rarely applied. Since torture was originally inflicted outside the court room by lay officials, and since only the voluntary confession was valid before the judges, there was no occasion to mention in the records the fact of torture. On the other hand it is historically true that the popes not only always held that torture must not imperil life or limb, but also tried to abolish particularly grievous abuses, when such became known to them. Thus Clement V ordained that inquisitors should not apply the torture without the consent of the diocesan bishop. From the middle of the thirteenth century, they did not disavow the principle itself, and, as their restrictions to its use were not always heeded, its severity, though often exaggerated, was in many cases extreme. The consuls of Carcassonne in 1286 complained to the pope, the King of France, and the vicars of the local bishop against the inquisitor Jean Goland, whom they charged with inflicting torture in an absolutely inhuman manner, and this charge was no isolated one. The case of Girolamo Savonarola (q.v.) has never been altogether cleared up in this respect. The official report says he had to suffer three and a half tratti da fune (a sort of strappado). When Alexander VI showed discontent with the delays of the trial, the Florentine government excused itself by urging that Savonarola was a man of extraordinary sturdiness and endurance, and that he had been vigorously tortured on many days (assidua quaestione multis diebus, the papal prothonotary, Burchard, says seven times) but with little effect. It is to be noted that torture was most cruelly used, where the inquisitors were most exposed to the pressure of civil authority. Frederick II, though always boasting of his zeal for the purity of the Faith, abused both rack and Inquisition to put out of the way his personal enemies. The tragical ruin of the Templars is ascribed to the abuse of torture by Philip the Fair and his henchmen. At Paris, for instance, thirty-six, and at Sens twenty-five, Templars died as the result of torture. Blessed Joan of Arc could not have been sent to the stake as a heretic and a recalcitrant, if her judges had not been tools of English policy. And the excesses of the Spanish Inquisition are largely due to the fact that in its administration civil purposes overshadowed the ecclesiastical. Every reader of the “Cautio criminalis” of the Jesuit Father Friedrich Spee knows to whose account chiefly must be set down the horrors of the witchcraft trials. Most of the punishments that were properly speaking inquisitional were not inhuman, either by their nature or by the manner of their infliction. Most frequently certain good works were ordered, e.g. the building of a church, the visitation of a church, a pilgrimage more or less distant, the offering of a candle or a chalice, participation in a crusade, and the like. Other works partook more of the character of real and to some extent degrading punishments, e.g. fines, whose proceeds were devoted to such public purposes as church-building, road-making, and the like; whipping with rods during religious service; the pillory; the wearing of colored crosses, and so on. The hardest penalties were imprisonment in its various degrees, exclusion from the communion of the Church, and the usually consequent surrender to the civil power. “Cum ecclesia”, ran the regular expression, “ultra non habeat quod faciat pro suis demeritis contra ipsum, idcirco eundem relinquimus brachio et iudicio sirculari”—i.e. since the Church can no farther punish his misdeeds, she leaves him to the civil authority. Naturally enough, punishment as a legal sanction is always a hard and painful thing, whether decreed by civil or ecclesiastical justice. There is, however, always an essential distinction between civil and ecclesiastical punishment. While chastisement inflicted by secular authority aims chiefly at punishing violation of the law, the Church seeks primarily the correction of the delinquent; indeed his spiritual welfare is frequently so much in view that the element of punishment is almost entirely lost sight of. Commands to hear Holy Mass on Sundays and holidays, to frequent religious services, to abstain from manual labor, to receive Communion at the chief festivals of the year, to forbear from soothsaying and usury, etc., can scarcely be regarded as punishments, though very efficacious as helps towards the fulfillment of Christian duties. It being furthermore incumbent on the inquisitor to consider not merely the external sanction, but also the inner change of heart, his sentence lost the quasi-mechanical stiffness so often characteristic of civil condemnation. Moreover, the penalties incurred were on numberless occasions remitted, mitigated, or commuted. In the records of the Inquisition we very frequently read that because of old age, sickness, or poverty in the family, the due punishment was materially reduced owing to the inquisitor’s sheer pity, or the petition of a good Catholic. Imprisonment for life was altered to a fine, and this to an alms; participation in a crusade was commuted into a pilgrimage, while a distant and costly pilgrimage became a visit to a neighboring shrine or church, and so on. If the inquisitor’s leniency were abused, he was authorized to revive in full the original punishment. On the whole, the Inquisition was humanely conducted. Thus we read that a son obtained his father’s release by merely asking for it, without putting forward any special reasons. License to leave prison for three weeks, three months, or an unlimited period—say until the recovery or decease of sick parents—was not infrequent. Rome itself censured inquisitioners or deposed them because they were too harsh, but never because they were too merciful. Imprisonment was not always accounted punishment in the proper sense: it was rather looked on as an opportunity for repentance, a preventive against backsliding or the infection of others. It was known as immuration (from the Latin murus, a wall), or incarceration, and was inflicted for a definite time or for life. Immuration for life was the lot of those who had failed to profit by the aforesaid term of grace, or had perhaps recanted only from fear of death, or had once before abjured heresy. The murus strictus seu arctus, or carter strictissimus, implied close and solitary confinement, occasionally aggravated by fasting or chains. In practice, however, these regulations were not always enforced literally. We read of immured persons receiving visits rather freely, playing games, or dining with their jailors. On the other hand, solitary confinement was at times deemed insufficient, and then the immured were put in irons or chained to the prison wall. Members of a religious order, when condemned for life, were immured in their own convent, nor ever allowed to speak with any of their fraternity. The dungeon or cell was euphemistically called “In Pace”; it was, indeed, the tomb of a man buried alive. It was looked upon as a remarkable favor when, in 1330, through the good offices of the Archbishop of Toulouse, the French king permitted a dignitary of a certain order to visit the “In Pace” twice a month and comfort his imprisoned brethren, against which favor the Dominicans lodged with Clement VI a fruitless protest. Though the prison cells were directed to be kept in such a way as to endanger neither the life nor the health of occupants, their true condition was sometimes deplorable, as we see from a document published recently by J. B. Vidal (Annales de St-Louis des Francois, 1905, p. 362). “In some cells the unfortunates were bound in stocks or chains, unable to move about, and forced to sleep on the ground… There was little regard for cleanliness. In some cases there was no light or ventilation, and the food was meager and very poor. “Occasionally the popes had to put an end through their legates to similarly atrocious conditions. After inspecting the Carcassonne and Albi prisons in 1306, the legates Pierre de la Chapelle and Belanger de Fredol dismissed the warders, removed the chains from the captives, and rescued some from their underground dungeons. The local bishop was expected to provide food from the confiscated property of the prisoner. For those doomed to close confinement, it was meager enough, scarcely more than bread and water. It was not long, however, before prisoners were allowed other victuals, wine and money also from outside, and this was soon generally tolerated. Officially it was not the Church that sentenced un-repenting heretics to death, more particularly to the stake. As legate of the Roman Church even Gregory IX never went farther than the penal ordinances of Innocent III required, nor ever inflicted a punishment more severe than excommunication. Not until four years after the commencement of his pontificate did he admit the opinion, then prevalent among legists, that heresy should be punished with death, seeing that it was confessedly no less serious an offense than high treason. Nevertheless he continued to insist on the exclusive right of the Church to decide in authentic manner in matters of heresy; at the same time it was not her office to pronounce sentence of death. The Church, thenceforth, expelled from her bosom the impenitent heretic, whereupon the state took over the duty of his temporal punishment. Frederick II was of the same opinion; in his Constitution of 1224 he says that heretics convicted by an ecclesiastical court shall, on imperial authority, suffer death by fire (auctoritate nostra ignis iudicio concremandos), and similarly in 1233: “praesentis nostrae legis edicto damnatos mortem pati decernimus.” In this way Gregory IX may be regarded as having had no share, either directly or indirectly, in the death of condemned heretics. Not so the succeeding popes. In the Bull “Ad exstirpanda” (1252) Innocent IV says: “When those adjudged guilty of heresy have been given up to the civil power by the bishop or his representative, or the Inquisition, the podesta or chief magistrate of the city shall take them at once, and shall, within five days at the most, execute the laws made against them.” Moreover, he directs that this Bull and the corresponding regulations of Frederick II be entered in every city among the municipal statutes under pain of excommunication, which was also visited on those who failed to execute both the papal and the imperial decrees. Nor could any doubt remain as to what civil regulations were meant, for the passages which ordered the burning of impenitent heretics were inserted in the papal decretals from the imperial constitutions “Commissis nobis” and “Inconsutibilem tunicam”. The aforesaid Bull “Ad exstirpanda” remained thenceforth a fundamental document of the Inquisition, renewed or reinforced by several popes, Alexander IV (1254-61), Clement IV (1265-68), Nicholas IV (1288-92), Boniface VIII (1294-1303), and others. The civil authorities, therefore, were enjoined by the popes, under pain of excommunication to execute the legal sentences that condemned impenitent heretics to the stake. It is to be noted that excommunication itself was no trifle, for, if the person excommunicated did not free himself from excommunication within a year, he was held by the legislation of that period to be a heretic, and incurred all the penalties that affected heresy. (e) The Number of Victims.—How many victims were handed over to the civil power cannot be stated with even approximate accuracy. We have nevertheless some valuable information about a few of the Inquisition tribunals, and their statistics are not without interest. At Pamiers, from 1318 to 1324, out of twenty-four persons convicted but five were delivered to the civil power, and at Toulouse from 1308 to 1323, only forty-two out of nine hundred and thirty bear the ominous note “relictus curiae saeculari”. Thus, at Pamiers one in thirteen, and at Toulouse one in forty-two, seem to have been burnt for heresy, although these places were hotbeds of heresy, and therefore principal centers of the Inquisition. We may add, also, that this was the most active period of the institution. These data and others of the same nature bear out the assertion that the Inquisition marks a substantial advance in the contemporary administration of justice, and therefore in the general civilization of mankind. A more terrible fate awaited the heretic when judged by a secular court. In 1249 Count Raymund VII of Toulouse caused eighty confessed heretics to be burned in his presence without permitting them to recant. It is impossible to imagine any such trials before the Inquisition courts. The large numbers of burnings detailed in various histories are completely unauthenticated, and are either the deliberate invention of pamphleteers, or are based on materials that pertain to the Spanish Inquisition of later times or the German witchcraft trials (Vacandard, op. cit., 237 sqq.). Once the Roman Law touching the crimen laesae majestatis had been made to cover the case of heresy, it was only natural that the royal or imperial treasury should imitate the Roman fiscus, and lay claim to the property of persons condemned. It was fortunate, though inconsistent and certainly not strict justice, that this penalty did not affect every condemned person, but only those sentenced to perpetual confinement or the stake. Even so, this circumstance added not a little to the penalty, especially as in this respect innocent people, the culprit’s wife and children, were the chief sufferers. Confiscation was also decreed against persons deceased, and there is a relatively high number of such judgments. Of the six hundred and thirty-six cases that came before the inquisitor Bernard Gui, eighty-eight pertained to dead people. (f) The Final Verdict.—The ultimate decision was usually pronounced with solemn ceremonial at the sermo generalis—or auto-da-fe (act of faith), as it was later called. One or two days prior to this sermo everyone concerned had the charges read to him again briefly, and in the vernacular; the evening before he was told where and when to appear to hear the verdict. The sermo; a short discourse or exhortation, began very early in the morning; then followed the swearing in of the secular officials, who were made to vow obedience to the inquisitor in all things pertaining to the suppression of heresy. Then regularly followed the so-called “decrees of mercy” (i.e. commutations, mitigations, and remission of previously imposed penalties), and finally due punishments were assigned to the guilty, after their offenses had been again enumerated. This announcement began with the minor punishments, and went on to the most severe, i.e., perpetual imprisonment or death. Thereupon the guilty were turned over to the civil power, and with this act the sermo generalis closed, and the inquisitional proceedings were at an end. (3) The chief scene of the Inquisition’s activity was Central and Southern Europe. The Scandinavian countries were spared altogether. It appears in England only on the occasion of the trial of the Templars, nor was it known in Castile and Portugal until the accession of Ferdinand and Isabella. It was introduced into the Netherlands with the Spanish domination, while in Northern France it was relatively little known. On the other hand, the Inquisition, whether because of the particularly perilous sectarianism there prevalent or of the greater severity of ecclesiastical and civil rulers, weighed heavily on Italy (especially Lombardy), on Southern France (in particular the county of Toulouse and on Languedoc), and finally on the Kingdom of Aragon and on Germany. Honorius IV (1285-7) introduced it into Sardinia, and in the fifteenth century it displayed excessive zeal in Flanders and Bohemia. The inquisitors were, as a rule, irreproachable, not merely in personal conduct, but in the administration of their office. Some, however, like Robert le Bougre, a Bulgarian (Catharist) convert to Christianity and subsequently a Dominican, seem to have yielded to a blind fanaticism and deliberately to have provoked executions en masse. On May 29, 1239, at Montwimer in Champagne, Robert consigned to the flames at one time about a hundred and eighty persons, whose trial had begun and ended within one week. Later, when Rome found that the complaints against him were justified, he was first deposed and then incarcerated for life. (4) How are we to explain the Inquisition in the light of its own period?—For the true office of the historian is not to defend facts and conditions, but to study and understand them in their natural course and connection.—It is indisputable that in the past scarcely any community or nation vouchsafed perfect toleration to those who set up a creed different from that of the generality. A kind of iron law would seem to dispose mankind to religious intolerance. Even long before the Roman State tried to check with violence the rapid encroachments of Christianity, Plato had declared it one of the supreme duties of the governmental authority in his ideal State to show no toleration towards the “godless”—that is, towards those who denied the state religion—even though they were content to live quietly and without proselytizing; their very example, he said, would be dangerous. They were to be kept in custody “in a place where one grew wise” (sophronisterion), as the place of incarceration was euphemistically called; they should be relegated thither for five years, and during this time listen to religious instruction every day. The more active and proselytizing opponents of the state religion were to be imprisoned for life in dreadful dungeons, and after death to be deprived of burial. It is thus evident what little justification there is for regarding intolerance as a product of the Middle Ages. Everywhere and always in the past men believed that nothing disturbed the common weal and public peace so much as religious dissensions and conflicts, and that, on the other hand, a uniform public faith was the surest guarantee for the State’s stability and prosperity. The more thoroughly religion had become part of the national life, and the stronger the general conviction of its inviolability and Divine origin, the more disposed would men be to consider every attack on it as an intolerable crime against the Deity and a highly criminal menace to the public peace. The first Christian emperors believed that one of the chief duties of an imperial ruler was to place his sword at the service of the Church and orthodoxy, especially as their titles of “Pontif ex Maximus” and “Bishop of the Exterior” seemed to argue in them Divinely appointed agents of Heaven. Nevertheless, the principal teachers of the Church held back for centuries from accepting in these matters the practice of the civil rulers; they shrank particularly from such stern measures against heresy as torture and capital punishment, both of which they deemed inconsistent with the spirit of Christianity. But, in the Middle Ages, the Catholic Faith became alone dominant, and the welfare of the Commonwealth came to be closely bound up with the cause of religious unity. King Peter of Aragon, therefore, but voiced the universal conviction when he said: “The enemies of the Cross of Christ and violators of the Christian law are likewise our enemies and the enemies of our kingdom, and ought therefore to be dealt with as such.” Emperor Frederick II emphasized this view more vigorously than any other prince, and enforced it in his Draconian enactments against heretics. The representatives of the Church were also children of their own time, and in their conflict with heresy accepted the help that their age freely offered them, and indeed often forced upon them. Theologians and canonists, the highest and the saintliest, stood by the code of their day, and sought to explain and to justify it. The learned and holy Raymund of Pennafort, highly esteemed by Gregory IX, was content with the penalties that dated from Innocent III, viz., the ban of the empire, confiscation of property, confinement in prison, etc. But before the end of the century, St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theol., II-II, Q. xi, aa. 3, 4) already advocated capital punishment for heresy, though it cannot be said that his arguments altogether compel conviction. The Angelic Doctor, however speaks only in a general way of punishment by death, and does not specify more nearly the manner of its infliction. This the jurists did in a positive way that was truly terrible. The celebrated Henry of Segusia (Susa), named Hostiensis after his episcopal See of Ostia (d. 1271), and the no less eminent Joannes Andreae (d. 1348), when interpreting the Decree “Ad abolendam” of Lucius III, take debita animadversio (due punishment) as synonymous with ignis crematio (death by fire), a meaning which certainly did not attach to the original expression of 1184. Theologians and jurists based their attitude to some extent on the similarity between heresy and high treason (crimen laesae maiestatis), a suggestion that they owed to the Law of Ancient Rome. They argued, moreover, that if the death penalty could be rightly inflicted on thieves and forgers, who rob us only of worldly goods, how much more righteously on those who cheat us out of supernatural goods—out of faith, the sacraments, the life of the soul. In the severe legislation of the Old Testament (Deut., xiii, 6-9; xvii, 1-6) they found another argument. And lest some should urge that those ordinances were abrogated by Christianity, the words of Christ were recalled: “I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matt., v. 17); also His other saying (John, xv, 6): “If any one abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth” (in ignem mittent, et ardet). It is well known that belief in the justice of punishing heresy with death was so common among the sixteenth century reformers—Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and their adherents—that we may say their toleration began where their power ended [N. Paulus, “Die Strassburger Reformatoren and die Gewissensfreiheit” (Freiburg, 1895); “Luther and die Gewissensfreiheit” (Munich, 1905); “Ketzerinquisition im lutherischen Sachsen”, supplement to “Germania” (1907), nos. 18 and 19; “Ist die Toleranz auf Luther zuriick zufiihren?” ibid. (1909), no. 12; “Luther’s These fiber die Ketzerverbrennung”, in “Histor.—polit. Blatter”, CXL (1907), no. 5; “Calvin als Handlanger der papstlichen Inquisition”, ibid., CXLIII (1909), no. 5; “Zwingli and die Glaubensfreiheit”, ibid., CXLIII (1909), no. 9]. The Reformed theologian, Hieronymus Zanchi, declared in a lecture delivered at the University of Heidelberg: “We do not now ask if the authorities may pronounce sentence of death upon heretics; of that there can be no doubt, and all learned and right-minded men acknowledge it. The only question is whether the authorities are bound to perform this duty.” And Zanchi answers this second question in the affirmative, especially on the authority of “all pious and learned men who have written on the subject in our day” [Historisch-politische Blatter, CXL, (1907), p. 364]. It may be that in modern times men as a rule judge more leniently the views of others, but does this forthwith make their opinions objectively more correct than those of their predecessors? Is there no longer any inclination to persecution? As late as 1871 Professor Friedberg wrote in Holtzendorff’s “Jahrbuch fur Gesetzgebung”: “If a new religious society were to be established today with such principles as those which, according to the Vatican Council, the Catholic Church declares a matter of faith, we would undoubtedly consider it a duty of the state to suppress, destroy, and uproot it by force” (Kolnische Volkszeitung, no. 782, September 15, 1909). Do these sentiments indicate an ability to appraise justly the institutions and opinions of former centuries, not according to modern feelings, but to the standards of their age? [cf. Th. de Cauzons, “Histoire de l’Inquisition en France“, Tome I: “Les Origines de l’Inquisition” (Paris, 1909); O. Pfaff in “Stimmen aus Maria-Laach“, no. 8 (1909), pp: 290 sqq.]. In forming an estimate of the Inquisition, it is necessary to distinguish clearly between principles and historical fact on the one hand, and on the other those exaggerations or rhetorical descriptions which reveal bias and an obvious determination to injure Catholicism, rather than to encourage the spirit of tolerance and further its exercise. It is also essential to note that the Inquisition, in its establishment and procedure, pertained not to the sphere of belief, but to that of discipline. The dogmatic teaching of the Church is in no way affected by the question as to whether the Inquisition was justified in its scope, or wise in its methods, or extreme in its practice. The Church established by Christ, as a perfect society, is empowered to make laws and inflict penalties for their violation. Heresy not only violates her law but strikes at her very life, unity of belief; and from the beginning the heretic had incurred all the penalties of the ecclesiastical courts. When Christianity became the religion of the Empire, and still more when the peoples of Northern Europe became Christian nations, the close alliance of Church and State made unity of faith essential not only to the ecclesiastical organization, but also to civil society. Heresy, in consequence, was a crime which secular rulers were bound in duty to punish. It was regarded as worse than any other crime, even that of high treason; it was for society in those times what we call anarchy. Hence the severity with which heretics were treated by the secular power long before the Inquisition was established. As regards the character of these punishments, it should be considered that they were the natural expression not only of the legislative power, but also of the popular hatred for heresy in an age that dealt both vigorously and roughly with criminals of every type. The heretic, in a word, was simply an outlaw whose offense, in the popular mind, deserved and sometimes received a punishment as summary as that which is often dealt out in our own day by an infuriated populace to the authors of justly detested crimes. That such intolerance was not peculiar to Catholicism, but was the natural accompaniment of deep religious conviction in those, also, who abandoned the Church, is evident from the measures taken by some of the Reformers against those who differed from them in matters of belief. As the learned Dr. Schaff declares in his “History of the Christian Church” (vol. V, New York, 1907, p. 524), “To the great humiliation of the Protestant churches, religious intolerance and even persecution unto death were continued long after the Reformation. In Geneva the pernicious theory was put into practice by state and church, even to the use of torture and the admission of the testimony of children against their parents, and with the sanction of Calvin. Bullinger, in the second Helvetic Confession, announced the principle that heresy could be punished like murder or treason.” Moreover, the whole history of the Penal Laws against Catholics in England and Ireland, and the spirit of intolerance prevalent in many of the American colonies during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries may be cited in proof thereof. It would obviously be absurd to make the Protestant religion as such responsible for these practices. But having set up the principle of private judgment, which, logically applied, made heresy impossible, the early Reformers proceeded to treat dissidents as the medieval heretics had been treated. To suggest that this was inconsistent is trivial in view of the deeper insight it affords into the meaning of a tolerance which is often only theoretical and the source of that intolerance which men rightly show towards error, and which they naturally, though not rightly, transfer to the erring. B. The Inquisition in Spain 1. Historical Facts —Religious conditions similar to those in Southern France occasioned the establishment of the Inquisition in the neighboring Kingdom of Aragon. As early as 1226 King James I had forbidden the Catharists his kingdom, and in 1228 had outlawed both them and their friends. A little later, on the advice of his confessor, Raymund of Pennafort, he asked Gregory IX to establish the Inquisition in Aragon. By the Bull “Declinante jam mundi” of May 26, 1232, Archbishop Esparrago and his suffragans were instructed to search, either personally or by enlisting the services of the Dominicans or other suitable agents, and condignly punish the heretics in their dioceses. At the Council of Lerida in 1237 the Inquisition was formally confided to the Dominicans and the Francis-cans. At the Synod of Tarragona in 1242, Raymund of Pennafort defined the terms hcereticus, receptor, factor, defensor, etc., and outlined the penalties to be inflicted. Although the ordinances of Innocent IV, Ur-ban IV, and Clement VI were also adopted and executed with strictness by the Dominican Order, no striking success resulted. The Inquisitor Fray Ponce de Blanes was poisoned, and Bernardo Travasser earned the crown of martyrdom at the hands of the heretics. Aragon’s best-known inquisitor is the Dominican Nicolas Eymeric (Quetif-Echard, “Scriptores Ord. Pr.”, I, 709 sqq.). His “Directorium Inquisitionis” (written in Aragon, 1376; printed at Rome 1587, Venice 1595 and 1607), based on forty-four years’ experience, is an original source and a document of the highest historical value. The Spanish Inquisition, however, properly begins with the reign of Ferdinand the Catholic and Isabella. The Catholic faith was then endangered by pseudo-converts from Judaism (Marranos) and Mohammedanism (Moriscos). On November 1, 1478, Sixtus IV empowered the Catholic sovereigns to set up the Inquisition. The judges were to be at least forty years old, of unimpeachable reputation, distinguished for virtue and wisdom, masters of theology, or doctors or licentiates of canon law, and they must follow the usual ecclesiastical rules and regulations. On September 17, 1480, Their Catholic Majesties appointed, at first for Seville, the two Dominicans Miguel de Morillo and Juan de San Martin as inquisitors, with two of the secular clergy as assistants. Before long complaints of grievous abuses reached Rome, and were only too well founded. In a Brief of Sixtus IV of January 29, 1482, they were blamed for having, upon the alleged authority of papal Briefs, unjustly imprisoned many people, subjected them to cruel tortures, declared them false believers, and sequestrated the property of the executed. They were at first admonished to act only in conjunction with the bishops, and finally were threatened with deposition, and would indeed have been deposed had not Their Majesties interceded for them (Pastor, “Geschichte der Papste”, 2nd ed., II, p. 583). Fray Tomas Torquemada (b. at Valladolid in 1420, d. at Avila, September 16, 1498) was the true organizer of the Spanish Inquisition. At the solicitation of Their Spanish Majesties (Paramo, II, tit. ii, c. iii, n. 9) Sixtus IV bestowed on Torquemada the office of grand inquisitor, the institution of which indicates a decided advance in the development of the Spanish Inquisition. Innocent VIII approved the act of his predecessor, and under date of February 11, 1486, and February 6, 1487, Torquemada was given the dignity of grand inquisitor for the kingdoms of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Valencia, etc. The institution speedily ramified from Seville to Cordova, Jaen, Villareal, and Toledo. About 1538 there were nineteen courts, to which three were afterwards added in Spanish America (Mexico, Lima, and Cartagena). Attempts at introducing it into Italy failed, and the efforts to establish it in the Netherlands entailed disastrous consequences for the mother country. In Spain, however, it remained operative into the nineteenth century. Originally called into being against secret Judaism and secret Mohammedanism, it served to repel Protestantism in the sixteenth century, but was unable to expel French Rationalism and immorality in the eighteenth. King Joseph Bonaparte abrogated it in 1808, but it was reintroduced by Ferdinand VII in 1814 and approved by Pius VII on certain conditions, among others the abolition of torture. It was definitely abolished by the Revolution of 1820. —At the head of the Inquisition, known as the Holy Office, stood the grand inquisitor, nominated by the king and confirmed by the pope. By virtue of his papal credentials he enjoyed authority to delegate his powers to other suitable persons, and to receive appeals from all Spanish courts. He was aided by a High Council (Consejo Supremo) consisting of five members—the so-called Apostolic inquisitors, two secretaries, two relatores, one advocatus fiscalis—and several consultors and qualificators. The officials of the supreme tribunal were appointed by the grand inquisitor after consultation with the king. The former could also freely appoint, transfer, remove from office, visit, and inspect or call to account all inquisitors and officials of the lower courts. Philip III, on December 16, 1618, gave the Dominicans the privilege of having one of their order permanently a member of the Consejo Supremo. All power was really concentrated in this supreme tribunal. It decided important or disputed questions, and heard appeals; without its approval no priest, knight, or noble could be imprisoned, and no auto-daft held; an annual report was made to it concerning the entire Inquisition, and once a month a financial report. Everyone was subject to it, not excepting priests, bishops, or even the sovereign. The Spanish Inquisition is distinguished from the medieval by its monarchical constitution and a greater consequent centralization, as also by the constant and legally provided for influence of the crown on all official appointments and the progress of trials. The procedure, on the other hand, was substantially the same as that already described. Here, too, a “term of grace” of thirty to forty days was invariably granted, and was often prolonged. Imprisonment resulted only when unanimity had been arrived at, or the offense had been proved. Examination of the accused could take place only in the presence of two disinterested priests, whose obligation it was to restrain any arbitrary act; in their presence the protocol had to be read out twice to the accused. The defense lay always in the hands of a lawyer. The witnesses, though unknown to the accused, were sworn, and very severe punishment, even death, awaited false witnesses (cf. Brief of Leo X of December 14, 1518). Torture was applied only too frequently and too cruelly, but certainly not more cruelly than under Charles V’s system of judicial torture in Germany. The Spanish Inquisition deserves neither the exaggerated praise nor the equally exaggerated vilification often bestowed on it. The number of victims cannot be calculated with even approximate accuracy; the much maligned autos-dale were in reality but a religious ceremony (actus fidei); the San Benito has its counterpart in similar garbs elsewhere; the cruelty of St. Peter Arbues, to whom not a single sentence of death can be traced with certainty, belongs to the realms of fable. However, the predominant ecclesiastical nature of the institution can hardly be doubted. The Holy See sanctioned the institution, accorded to the grand inquisitor canonical installation and therewith judicial authority concerning matters of faith, while from the grand inquisitor jurisdiction passed down to the subsidiary tribunals under his control. Joseph de Maistre introduced the thesis that the Spanish Inquisition was mostly a civil tribunal; formerly, however, theologians never questioned its ecclesiastical nature. Only thus, indeed, can one explain how the popes always admitted appeals from it to the Holy See, called to themselves entire trials, and that at any stage of the proceedings, exempted whole classes of believers from its jurisdiction, intervened in the legislation, deposed grand inquisitors, and so on. (See Tomas de Torquemada.) C. The Holy Office at Rome —The great apostasy of the sixteenth century, the filtration of heresy into Catholic lands, and the progress of heterodox teachings everywhere, prompted Paul III to establish the “Sacra Congregatio Romance et universalis Inquisitionis seu sancti officii” by the Constitution “Licet ab initio” of July 21, 1542. This inquisitional tribunal, composed of six cardinals, was to be at once the final court of appeal for trials concerning faith, and the court of first instance for cases reserved to the pope. The succeeding popes—especially Pius IV (by the Constitutions “Pastoralis Officii” of October 14, 1562, “Romanus Pontifex” of April 7, 1563, “Cum nos per” of 1564, “Cum inter crimina” of August 27, 1564) and Pius V (by a Decree of 1566, the Constitution “Inter multiplices” of December 21, 1566, and “Cum felicis record.”, of 1566)—made further provision for the procedure and competency of this court. By his Constitution “Immensa eeterni” of January 22, 1587, Sixtus V became the real organizer, or rather reorganizer of this congregation. The Holy Office is first among the Roman congregations. Its personnel includes judges, officials, consulters, and qualificators. The real judges are cardinals nominated by the pope, whose original number of six was raised by Pius IV to eight and by Sixtus V to thirteen. Their actual number depends on the reigning pope (Benedict XIV, Const. “Sollicita et Provida”, 1733). This congregation differs from the others, inasmuch as it has no cardinal-prefect: the pope always presides in person when momentous decisions are to be announced (coram Sanctissimo). The solemn plenary session on Thursdays is always preceded by a session of the cardinals on Wednesdays, at the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and a meeting of the consulters on Mondays at the palace of the Holy Office. The highest official is the commissarius sancti officii, a Dominican of the Lombard province, to whom two coadjutors are given from the same order. He acts as the proper judge throughout the whole case until the plenary session exclusive, thus conducting it up to the verdict. The assessor sancti officii, always one of the secular clergy, presides at the plenary sessions. The promotor fiscalis is at once prosecutor and fiscal representative, while the advocatus reorum undertakes the defense of the accused. The duty of the consulters is to afford the cardinals expert advice. They may come from the secular clergy or the religious orders, but the General of the Dominicans, the magister sari palatii, and a third member of the same order are always ex-officio consulters (consultores nati). The qualificators are appointed for life, but give their opinions only when called upon. The Holy Office has jurisdiction over all Christians and, according to Pius IV, even over cardinals. In practice, however, the latter are held exempt. For its authority, see the aforesaid Constitution of Sixtus V “Immensa aeterni” (see Roman Congregations). JOSEPH BLOTZER
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Death threats and burning effigies: Sir John A. Macdonald controversy gets extreme The controversy over what to do with statues of Sir John A. Macdonald in Canada prompted CBC's The National to dispatch Nick Purdon and Leonardo to Regina and Kingston to ask: 'To remove or not to remove.' What are we really arguing about when we argue about Sir John? CBC News · Posted: Nov 10, 2018 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: November 10, 2018 David Garneau, dressed as Louis Riel, confronts Sir John A. Macdonald's statue in a park in Regina. (Nick Purdon/CBC) The ongoing controversy over what to do with statues of Sir John A. Macdonald in Canada prompted CBC's The National to dispatch Nick Purdon and Leonardo Palleja to Regina, Sask., and Kingston, Ont., to ask: "To remove or not to remove?" Standing beside his minivan as Regina's afternoon traffic rushes past, David Garneau puts on an oversized three-piece suit that he spray-painted gold. Once dressed, he looks like a cross between a scarecrow and an Elvis impersonator. Then he covers his head with a black hood and hangs a noose around his neck. Moments later, Garneau walks off through the park to confront a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald — Canada's first prime minister. Garneau, a Métis artist and professor at the University of Regina, says he dresses up as the ghost of Louis Riel — the Metis leader who founded Manitoba and clashed with Macdonald in the 1880s — because he sees the statue as a deliberate provocation. "The provocation is to remind Indigenous people to shut up," Garneau says. "It says 'remember what happened to the last guy who stood up.' It is there to remind Indigenous people in the Regina area about John A. and Louis Riel." David Garneau, a Métis artist and professor at the University of Regina, says his reaction to Macdonald's statue is deeply personal, because his great-great-grandfather Laurent Garneau took part in the Métis resistance. (Nick Purdon/CBC ) Erected in Victoria Park in 1967, the statue is just steps away from where Riel was tried for treason and hanged in 1885 for resisting Canadian encroachment into Métis lands. Garneau says the threat is deeply personal, because his great-great-grandfather Laurent Garneau took part in the Métis resistance. "He was arrested and put in jail for six months and threatened with hanging," Garneau says. "So I grew up with the idea that that's a possibility. It led to what I call the great silence, when Métis people just went underground and assimilated. My family assimilated — just went quiet." Garneau wants the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Regina removed, or relocated to a museum. (Nick Purdon/CBC ) For years things were pretty quiet for Sir John A. Macdonald, too. For example, during the Canada 150 celebrations in 2015 an Ipsos poll showed that a quarter of Canadians couldn't even name the country's first prime minister. But since then Macdonald's legacy has come under increasing scrutiny — particularly his role as the architect of Canada's Indian residential school system, where thousands of Indigenous children died and many others were abused. Sir John A. Macdonald's legacy to be recast in his native Scotland amid raging debates over historical figures Kingston to consult public on Sir John A. Macdonald legacy Removing Sir John A. Macdonald statue not the answer, says Native Council Ghost of Louis Riel 2 years agoVideo David Garneau, dressed as the ghost of Louis Riel, talks to Sir John A. Macdonald's statue in Victoria Park, Regina, as part of a demonstration against Macdonald's legacy. 0:40 Kingston, a city divided In Kingston, Ont., where Macdonald grew up after he and his family emigrated from Scotland, the former PM holds a place of honour. His statue in City Park is perhaps the most impressive in the country. Until recently, a crowd gathered around it every year on his birthday and drank a toast to the former prime minister. Warren Everett, the head of the Kingston historical society, says he's wary of moves to scrap Sir John A.'s historical monuments. 'I think if this statue came down, you start to erode the legacy and history of the country.' (Nick Purdon/CBC) Warren Everett, the head of the Kingston historical society, made every gathering he could. When asked if he'd like to meet Macdonald, his face lights up. "Oh yeah! I would love to have a drink with him," Everett says. "He is the Father of Confederation, and it was his drive and ambition and vigorous approach that stopped us being a colony. I am not sure where we would be if it hadn't been for him." And while Everett understands that Macdonald's policies toward Indigenous people had serious problems, he points out it wasn't just Macdonald. WATCH: Nick Purdon's feature on the Sir John A. Macdonald controversy from The National "He shouldn't be the lightning rod, because if he is, so is Laurier, so is Borden, so is Bennett — everybody up to Pearson. They may not have started it, but they certainly didn't stop it." Everett's worry is that if the Macdonald statues go, where does it end? "You could have a growth industry in wrecking," he says. "I think if this statue came down, you start to erode the legacy and history of the country. I think it would leave a big hole in Canadian history if taken down." Death threats at the local pub Sir John A. Macdonald has always been important to the economy in Kingston as a driver of tourism, but that relationship is more difficult today. For example, the city is currently asking residents to voice their thoughts about the changing legacy of Sir John A. Macdonald and how the city should address it it. And then there's what happened down at the pub. Paul Fortier's Sir John's Public House has drawn the ire of both supporters and detractors of Canada's first Prime Minister. (Nick Purdon/CBC ) Paul Fortier opened Sir John's Public House in the building that used to house Sir John A. Macdonald's law offices. Then on Labour Day weekend in 2017, a group of protestors gathered outside the pub and yelled at customers as they went in and out. Fortier says they accused patrons of supporting "a colonial business." "They had Sir John A. hanging on a stick with a noose around his neck," Fortier says. "They didn't burn it here, but they took it to the park and set it on fire." Even though Fortier considers himself a fan of Macdonald, he listened to the protestors and decided to change the name of his pub. He dropped Macdonald and rebranded the bar as simply The Public House. That wasn't the end of it. After the name change, Macdonald's supporters were angry. "People were coming into the pub and saying that we shouldn't have done this, that we have caved to the liberal-minded individuals," Fortier says. "There were some very hurtful messages and death threats left on the answering machine." Sledgehammering Sir John How is it that some Canadians are so passionate about Sir John A. Macdonald that they'll burn effigies of the prime minister or leave death threats on a person's answering machine? Patrick Johnson, a musician from Vibank, Sask., faces a mischief charge for spraying red paint on the statue of Macdonald in Regina's Victoria Park. Johnson admitted he committed the act, but he refused to plead guilty because he doesn't believe what he did was wrong. Patrick Johnson, a musician from Vibank, Sask., faces a mischief charge for spraying red paint on the statue of Macdonald in Regina's Victoria Park. (Nick Purdon/CBC) "Maybe the question is, am I guilty of mischief or am I guilty of public education?," he says. "Is it vandalism or is it a political statement?" While Johnson's case will be settled by a mediator, it isn't the first time he's vandalized the statue. "I brought a sledgehammer, and I gave him three whacks on this side and three whacks on the other." But to Johnson's amazement — and disappointment — nothing happened except the statue made a noise like a giant bell ringing. "It was frustrating," he admits, "but it was also eye-opening that it would take more than me to change something, if you will. As if this were a metaphor for something else — one person couldn't do it by themselves." Johnson says his actions against the Macdonald statue are rooted in his distaste for the way Canada treats Indigenous people. (Nick Purdon/CBC ) Johnson explains that he's compelled to damage the statue because he doesn't like the way Indigenous people are treated today. "For me, it is appalling that we celebrate our country Canada as being civilized, and yet we let a certain portion of our people live in poverty without clean drinking water, without adequate housing and education." At that moment, a man named Gordon Blackmore was riding by on his bicycle. He recognized Johnson and shouted at him for being a vandal. Here's what happened next: Statue dispute Patrick Johnson argues with Gordon Blackmore about the statue of Sir John A MacDonald in Victoria Park, Regina. 0:42 What are we really arguing about? After doing 30 years of research into the relationship between Indigenous people and Canada, Jim Daschuk, an associate professor at the University of Regina, thinks he knows exactly what we're arguing about. "For the defenders of the Macdonald commemorations across the country, the discussion about Macdonald's legacy challenges their identity," says Daschul. "They want to keep them up, because they want their representation of Canada to survive." Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps apologizes for excluding voices in statue removal debate Ontario deletes 'offensive' posts from internal employee debate over John A. Macdonald statue removal 'Anti-colonial vandals' deface Sir John A. Macdonald statue in Montreal Daschuk says the debate has shocked many people across the country. "Canadians have a high opinion of themselves, we think of ourselves as decent people, and in many ways we haven't had a decent relationship with our Indigenous population. So when we find out about it, it's a shock, it punishes our identity." Jim Daschuk, an associate Professor at the University of Regina, says if Canadians can't have a civil discussion about Sir John A. Macdonald, it doesn't bode well for productive talks about reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. (Nick Purdon/CBC ) Daschuk says there's no doubt that Macdonald was the father of Canada, but points out it's not that simple. "He also the father of the dysfunctional country we live in today. His policies have a direct reverberation into the present." And Daschuk has a warning for all Canadians about the possibility of reconciliation with Indigenous people. "If we can't have a discussion about the statues, about the legacies of Macdonald's policies," Daschuk says, "we are not ready to deal with justice issues and transfer of land, wealth and education, health — those things are real and they need to be addressed." Daschuk's point is that it is tempting to dismiss the conflict over the statues as being about the past, but he insists it's really more about the future of the nation. Lecturing Sir John A. Macdonald David Garneau, a Métis artist and professor at the University of Regina, dresses as Louis Riel and lectures the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Regina's Victoria Park about why simply erecting a Riel statue nearby won't stop the public debate over Macdonald's monument. 1:48 Watch Nick Purdon's feature on the Sir John A. Macdonald controversy from The National Nick Purdon and Leonardo Palleja
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C.G.G. Weekly Newsletter Called to Follow by Richard T. Ritenbaugh CGG Weekly, June 13, 2014 "The Christian faith has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried." If there is one great principle of Christian living, it is walking in Christ's footsteps (I John 2:6). Sounds easy, but putting it into practice is one of the most difficult tasks of a Christian's life. If we succeed, however, we will be one of those to whom He says in the resurrection, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We will have not only lived as He did, we will have put on His character image, the great goal of the Christian life (Romans 8:29). In Matthew 4:18-22, Jesus begins to call His disciples, particularly the pairs of brothers, Peter and Andrew and James and John: And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately, they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. The sparse prose of the gospel account makes it seem as if the four of them just dropped their nets, jumped off the boats, and never looked back! Evidently, this was Jesus' first command to each of His disciples. Maybe He did not say these exact words to each one, but it seems that Matthew gives this account as an example of Jesus' pattern in calling them: He commanded them, "Follow Me." And they immediately left what they were doing and followed Him. On the surface, "Follow Me" may appear to mean simply, "Go where I go," but there is far more to it. The disciples would learn over the next three and a half years that "Follow Me" meant a great deal more than just "Walk behind Me." It also means "Do what I do," "Live as I do," and "Experience what I experience." Ultimately, it also means "Suffer and die like Me." Yet, on the other hand, it also means "Share eternal life and My rewards, too." That simple command runs the entire gamut of Christian life and potential. From a negative perspective, Luke 9:57-62 considers the costs of being a follower of Christ: Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Clearly, following Jesus is neither easy nor risk-free. Its sacrifices and hardships are sometimes severe. It involves a commitment that most people are just not willing to make because true discipleship involves absolute devotion and dedication to Christ Himself. Thus, Jesus said these things, testing these men, finding out what was really in their hearts—if they were willing to commit themselves to Him, to His way of life, and to His purposes. In the final verse, He lets us know the bottom line of what is required: One who is fit for God's Kingdom is willing to give all. German clergyman Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who lived under the Nazi regime, wrote a book called The Cost of Discipleship. In it, he sums up the Christian calling with a now well-known quotation, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." In this passage, Luke records three instances in which someone gives an excuse to refuse Christ's calling to follow Him, illustrating three general areas in which people fail. The first reason is that the Christian life is one of discomfort. Jesus tells the man that He did not have a place to lay His head. In God's Word, Christians are often called "strangers" and "sojourners." We are travelers going through a land or residing only temporarily. In a spiritual sense, we are not citizens of the lands in which we live (Philippians 3:20). So, as travelers along the road of life toward the Kingdom of God, we cannot expect to have all the comforts of home. We cannot allow the accoutrements of this world and of this life to hold us back in our devotion to Christ. Our homes, jobs, vacations, clothes, pastimes—none of these things compare to the importance of this Christian life. We must be willing to forsake all of these things if they inhibit our relationship with God. It may make life uncomfortable, but the rewards are wonderful. The second reason some fail is because the Christian life is sacrificial. The man asks Jesus if he could first bury his father, but He answers, "No. You go and preach the Kingdom of God." We, because of our calling, must often forsake the customary duties, privileges, associations, and activities of normal life. The Christian's focus, Jesus says, is on the living, those whom God has called and given the truth, whose focus is also on God's work (see John 6:29). When God calls a person, His will comes first. We may end up "missing out" on many of this world's activities. Some people miss them so much that they feel short-changed by God. Whether we pass or fail on this point depends on our priorities. If our ties to the world and its ways are too strong, we will be unwilling to sacrifice them to follow Christ. To be a true disciple, He says, we have to cut many or most of those ties. The third reason people refuse Christ's call follows from the second: The Christian life demands new loyalties. The third man wanted to say farewell to his close friends and family. Jesus' reply is that once we commit to God's way, we cannot turn back, or we will be considered unfit. Many Christians are the only ones called from their particular families. They often find that, over time, they must forsake their own blood to a degree because they discover that they have little in common with them. Their ways of life are so dramatically divergent that separation becomes natural. In the church under a new and better way of life, they find a new identity, a new family, and a new purpose. It is said that blood is thicker than water, but Jesus warns that our devotion to Him and God's way of life must be stronger. It requires an act of will to make our devotion to Him stronger than our blood ties. The Holy Spirit will not just infuse us to be totally committed to God. We have to set our wills to believe and follow through with making God our first priority in life, to go where He says to go. This is the new loyalty that Christ's calling demands. In this way, we begin to live the life of Christ. Parables of Counting the Cost Conditions of Discipleship (Part One) Principled Living (Part One): Imitating Christ Life, Fortunes, Sacred Honor Post-Resurrection Lessons Is America a Christian Nation? (Part Five) Being a Christian Blood is Thicker than Water Devotion to God Disciples, Calling of Disciples, The Discipleship, Cost of Forsaking All Jesus Christ, Following Jesus Christ, Imitating Loyalty to Christ Sacrificial Attitude
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Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence > Year 1950 > September 1950 Decisions > G.R. No. L-3450 September 19, 1950 - IN RE: PURIFICACION M. JOSON, ET AL. v. MARIANO NABLE, ET AL. In the matter of the petition of PURIFICACION M. JOSON and EROTITA M. JOSON, Petitioners, v. MARIANO NABLE, in his capacity as Judge of the Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija, FELICISIMO C. JOSON, CAROLINA JOSON, RICARDO JOSON, VICTOR JOSON, EDUARDO JOSON, and CONSUELO JOSON, Respondents. E. Voltaire Garcia, for Petitioners. Francisco Lavides, for Respondents. 1. WILLS; PROBATE; NOTICE TO HEIRS INDIVIDUALLY WHEN UNNECESSARY; SERVICE OF NOTICE TO INDIVIDUAL HEIRS AS MATTER OF PROCEDURE. — Under the provision of section 4 of Rule 77 of the Rules of Court, individual notice upon heirs, legatees and devisees is necessary only when they are known or when their places or residence re known. In other instances, such notice is not necessary and the court may acquire and exercise jurisdiction upon the publication of the notice in a newspaper of general circulation. What is, therefore, indispensable to the jurisdiction of the court is the publication of the notice in a newspaper of general circulation, and the notice on individual heirs, legatees and devisees is merely a matter of procedural convenience to better satisfy in some instances the requirements of due process. 2. COURTS; LACK OF JURISDICTION AND EFFECTS OF PROCEDURAL ERROR, DISTINGUISHED. — There is indeed a great difference between the consequences of lack of jurisdiction and the effects of a mere procedural error. In the first instance, the proceedings are null and void unconditionally, while in the second, the proceedings are also null and void if and when the error is shown to have caused harm. MORAN, C.J. : This is a special civil action to set aside a decision rendered by the respondent Court admitting to probate a will allegedly executed by the deceased Tomas Joson. Petitioners, Purificacion M. Joson and Erotita M. Joson, are the daughters of the deceased, Tomas Joson, had with his second wife, Pomposa Miguel, also deceased. The respondents, surnamed Joson, are the children and grandchildren of the deceased, Tomas Joson, had with his first wife, Eufemia de la Cruz, also deceased. On July 19, 1945 a petition was filed with the Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija for the probate of a supposed will left by the deceased Tomas Joson. In that petition the residence of petitioners herein was given as Dagupan Street No. 83, Manila. An order was issued by the court notifying all interested parties that the hearing of the petition would take place on August 22, 1945 at 9 o’clock in the morning and said order was published in the Philippines Free Press once a week for three consecutive weeks. The petition was called for hearing on the date and time above-mentioned, and nobody appeared to contest the will. Evidence was introduced to prove the authenticity and due execution of said will by the deceased Tomas Joson, and on August 22, 1945 a decision was rendered finding the will to have been executed by Tomas Joson in accordance with law. Felicisimo C. Joson, one of the respondents, was appointed executor thereof with a bond of P5,000. No appeal was taken from this decision and the regular course of the proceedings was followed for the liquidation and distribution of all the properties left by the deceased. More than three years later, or on December 7, 1948, petitioners filed a motion to set aside the decision rendered on August 22, 1945, upon the ground, among others, that petitioners had not been notified of the hearing of the petition for probate. The court granted the motion, but upon reconsideration, the decision of August 22, 1945 was restored into full force and effect. Hence this petition for certiorari, instead of an appeal. 1 As to whether or not petitioners were duly informed of the petition for probate, hearing for several days had been held before the respondent court, where evidence was presented by both parties, which is not now before this court. Had an appeal been taken from the order complained of, it would have been taken to the Court of Appeals, where the evidence could be examined fully for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not petitioners were informed of the petition for probate. But petitioners maintain that the respondent court acted without absolutely any jurisdiction in admitting the will to probate. They rely on Rule 77, section 4 which reads as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph "SEC. 4. Heirs, devisees, legatees, and executors to be notified by mail or personally. — The court shall also cause copies of the notice of the time and place fixed for proving the will to be addressed to the known heirs, legatees, and devisees of the testator resident in the Philippines at their places of residence, and deposited in the post office with the postage thereon prepaid at least twenty days before the hearing, if such places of residence be known. A copy of the notice must in like manner be mailed to the person named as executor, if he be not the petitioner; also, to any person named as co-executor not petitioning, if their places of residence be known. Personal service of copies of the notice at least ten days before the day of hearing shall be equivalent to mailing."cralaw virtua1aw library Petitioners maintain that no notice was received by them partly because their residence was not Dagupan Street No. 83 as alleged in the petition for probate. If the allegation of the petition was wrong and the true residence of petitioners was not known, then notice upon them individually was not necessary. Under the provision above-quoted, individual notice upon heirs, legatees and devisees is necessary only when they are known or when their places of residence are known. In other instances, such notice is not necessary and the court may acquire and exercise jurisdiction simply upon the publication of the notice in a newspaper of general circulation. What is, therefore, indispensable to the jurisdiction of the court is the publication of the notice in a newspaper of general circulation, and the notice on individual heirs, legatees and devisees is merely a matter of procedural convenience to better satisfy in some instances the requirements of due process. There is indeed a great difference between the consequences of lack of jurisdiction and the effects of a mere procedural error. In the first instance, the proceedings are null and void unconditionally, while in the second, the proceedings are also null and void if and when the error is shown to have caused harm. 2 In the instant case, the supposed lack of notice upon petitioners, without a showing that they were thereby prejudiced, would be considered a harmless error which is not reversible on appeal. 3 This is the reason why it is provided that a motion for relief under Rule 38 should be accompanied by affidavits of merits 4 which are intended as a means of evincing that, in case the relief prayed for is granted, it is not granted uselessly, for petitioner possesses sufficient evidence to establish the merits of his case. There are no such affidavits of merits accompanied to the motion filed by petitioners before the respondent court. There are conclusions stated in said motion and also a general averment of fraud. But facts, not conclusions, should be stated in an affidavit of merit, 5 and fraud must always be averred with particularity. 6 Petitioners are furthermore guilty of laches. There is sufficient data in the record to show that petitioners had knowledge of the proceedings since August 19, 1945 and yet, without any justification whatsoever, they failed to take any move, for more than three years, against the decision of August 22, 1945. From all the foregoing, petition is denied with costs against the petitioners. Ozaeta, Paras, Bengzon, Tuason, Montemayor and Reyes, JJ., concur. 1. Monteverde v. Jaranilla (60 Phil., 297). 2. Banco Español Filipino v. Palanca (37 Phil., 921); Perkins v. Dizon (69 Phil., 186). 3. Rule 53, sec. 3. 5. Estrella v. Zamora (5 Phil., 415); Coombs v. Santos (24 Phil., 446). 6. Rule 15, sec. 12.
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Where Faith and Politics Meet Charisma News : Latest News (Home) Back to Charisma News Judicial Watch Gets a Hearing in Its Effort to See the Abedin Laptop Emails ⇑ back to "Issues" 7:00AM EST 3/3/2017 Bob Eschliman Emails and documents found on a laptop owned by Huma Abedin, who was Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff at the Department of State, will be discussed at a hearing in federal court next week as part of Judicial Watch's ongoing FOIA lawsuit over Clinton's emails. (Reuters photo) Ronald Reagan once uttered the famous phrase "Trust, but verify." So when the FBI announced just before the 2016 presidential election that it found emails from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's private email server on an unsecured laptop owned by former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and his wife—and Clinton deputy chief of staff—Huma Abedin, it said no new information was found. Judicial Watch just wanted to verify that was correct. Those emails were reportedly handed over the Department of State, which is already subject to a judge's order to hand over emails—but has been doing so at a snail's pace. There are seven disks of documents, but it's still releasing just 500 at a time, monthly, from the first disk. At this pace, it could take years to find out what the public should have already known months ago. Judicial Watch released the following statement about its case: Judicial Watch today announced a hearing will be held Tuesday, March 7, 2017, regarding Judicial Watch's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails that were sent or received during her tenure from February 2009 to January 31, 2013, as well as all emails by other State Department employees to Clinton regarding her non-'state.gov' email address (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:15-cv-00687)). The case is before Judge James E. Boasberg. Items of discussion at the hearing will be the emails of Clinton aide Huma Abedin that were found on the laptop of Anthony Weiner, Abedin's estranged husband. Judicial Watch also will be seeking answers as to the timing of the release of Clinton's emails that were recovered by the FBI in its investigation of the server used by Clinton and others. The State Department has previously been ordered to produce documents to Judicial Watch, and is currently processing 500 pages per month from disk one of seven available disks. At the upcoming hearing, the State Department must address the number of documents subject to FOIA on the remaining disks. This new hearing will begin a 9:30 a.m. EST at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It will be the first time Judicial Watch will go head-to-head with the Jeff Sessions-run Department of Justice. The original lawsuit that this hearing relates to was initiated in May of 2015. Related topics: Email | FBI | Hillary Clinton | Investigation
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‘Bosch’ Season 7: Release Date, Storylines, and Everything Else We Know So Far Harry Bosch’s final case is on the horizon. The LAPD detective at the heart of Amazon’s popular Bosch series will soon be turning in his badge. The upcoming seventh season of the crime drama will be the show’s last. So, when will Bosch be back on the small screen? Here’s everything we know so far about Bosch Season 7. A ‘Bosch’ Season 7 premiere date hasn’t been announced Titus Welliver in Bosch | Saeed Adyani Bosch premiered in 2014 and is Amazon’s longest running original series. The show, which is based on a series of novels by Michael Connelly, follows detective Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) and various other law enforcement officers as they investigate crime and corruption in Los Angeles. Amazon announced an early renewal for Bosch Season 7 way back in February 2020, several months before the season 6 premiere. The streaming service also revealed that season 7 would be the show’s last. So far, a premiere date for the last season of Bosch hasn’t been announced. Recent seasons of the show have arrived in mid-April. However, it seems likely that production delays related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic mean fans will have to wait a bit longer than expected for new episodes. New and returning cast for ‘Bosch’ Season 7 RELATED: ‘Bosch’: Harry Bosch Tracks a Terrorist in New Season 6 Trailer as Amazon Announces Release Date Naturally, Welliver will be back in the title role for Bosch’s final season. Jamie Hector will also return as Bosch’s partner Jerry Edgar. Amy Aquino will be back as Lt. Grace Billets, as will Lance Reddick as Chief Irvin Irving and Madison Lintz as Bosch’s daughter Maddie. New cast members for season 7 include Gino Vento and Carlos Miranda, Deadline reported. Vento will play a character named Mickey, while Miranda will play Det. Chris Collins. The next season of ‘Bosch’ is based on ‘The Concrete Blonde’ and ‘The Burning Room’ Connelly has written nearly two dozen books featuring his Harry Bosch character. Several of those have been loosely adapted for the show, including Angels Flight, The Black Echo, and Trunk Music. Season 7 will take inspiration from The Burning Room and The Concrete Blonde. (The latter was also a source for Bosch Season 1.) In season 7, Bosh and his partner will be pursuing separate murder investgations. One involves high-level white-collar crime, while the other involves the street-level drug business. Michael Connelly talks about the ‘Bosch’ ending Bosch Season 6 | LACEY TERRELL In an interview with TV Insider published in July, Connelly spoke about concluding Harry Bosch’s story and what role 2020’s protests against police brutality and racial injustice will have on the show’s last season. “It’s difficult, because we are already down the road,” he shared. “We outlined the season, taking the last six and seven years into account. We want to write to an ending, and we have that ending. It was set in January before any of this happened. We’re faced with the question, do we retool? Do we spend the time and money to retool and start over? Or can we do some stuff in this last season with what we already have and change it and tweak it?” Connelly added that he didn’t want to share too many details for fear of spoiling the upcoming episodes. But he did reveal the events of the season would likely take place prior to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “I think when this season is finished, it will be set before the killing of George Floyd,” he said. “But it’s going to have an echo that goes forward to that. It’s going to be germane. It is the best way to put it.”
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Oral History Spotlight: Play Ball! Baseball in Mill Valley In this series, we spotlight oral histories from our collection. The Mill Valley Oral History Program is an ongoing collaboration between the Mill Valley Historical Society and the Mill Valley Public Library. We gather the stories and opinions of individuals from the community and preserve them for posterity. You can explore this collection of over 250 interviews by visiting us in the History Room at the Library. A growing number of interviews is also available online. Play Ball!: Baseball in Mill Valley By Marissa Friedman Although baseball had existed in some form since the 1820s, public interest in the game exploded in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Baseball clubs proliferated. The rules of the game developed and were codified in documents such as the 1857 Laws of Baseball, referred to by many historians as the sport’s Magna Carta. Large crowds of spectators gathered for baseball games across the country. Of course, Marin was not immune to baseball fever – in fact, it became a hot spot for the sport by the 1870s. According to Robert Harrison, “baseball was no doubt being played by Marin teams in the 1860s but there is no reference to a local team until October 23, 1869 when the Marin Journal reported, ‘Base Ball Club – A base ball club was organized in this place on Tuesday night last’” (Harrison, 2018). San Rafael boasted several teams, soon to be joined by teams in Tomales, Nicasio, Sausalito, Mill Valley, Novato, and Ross Valley. Baseball is a primary thorough line in the history of sport and recreation in Mill Valley. Mill Valley old-timers fondly recall the days when youngsters and adults alike would gather to play or watch baseball, whether it was joining pick-up games among youthful friends or watching semipro teams play at Boyle Park. As Fred Bagshaw recounts in his oral history, baseball games were one of the main forms of recreation for Mill Valleyans when he was growing up in Mill Valley: “we used to go and sit on a hill and watch them….they had good semipro teams that played every Sunday. Players came here from the Army camp at Fort Baker.” Former semi-pro player and Mill Valleyan Edward Reichmuth echoed these sentiments in his oral history, exclaiming “that was a lot of fun in them days, you know. People would love to go to a baseball game Sunday afternoon!” Mill Valleyan Peter Brindley, one of the many youngsters who played in informal pickup games and attended semi-pro games in Boyle Park in the ‘40s and ‘50s, recalled “in those days there was a large grand stand and all the fellows that had come back from World War II would play in a league that included Tiburon, San Rafael, Richmond and San Francisco. These games would be very highly attended, probably 500 or 600 people at every game. People would park their cars up along Buena Vista right in center field.” Mill Valley began hosting semi-pro teams as early as 1910, when a community-wide effort got underway to construct the city’s first baseball field in Boyle Park. In his oral history, former Tam High baseball player George Pimlott recalls the team effort which went into building the ballfield: “the town [built it]. It just gradually built up. Originally there were two great big ditches on either side. One creek comes down from around Buena Vista, and another comes in from the golf links. Those two creeks came together right behind where the grandstand was, and then it eventually came on down to this creek. They were deep ditches. I can remember when they filled the first one. They dumped a lot of old cars right behind the grandstand, the backstop, and filled it up. Eventually they filled the other ditch, and that made it beautiful. Before those days they could knock a ball over into the willows and they'd have a hard time finding it.” Center fielder Reichmuch allegedly would stand on Buena Vista Avenue when heavy hitters came up to bat! Over the years, Mill Valley hosted several semi-pro teams sponsored by local businesses, including the Mill Valley Merchants. While sponsorships covered uniforms and equipment, they did not cover pay for players. Poor field conditions and lack of compensation didn’t deter Mill Valley’s many local talents from playing on these semi-pro teams, including Tommy Bickerstaff, town burgher Ralston White, Hugh Cavalli, and Rudy Kaufman, as well as Sid Boyle, Clay Budar, Lou Locati, Red Taylor, Ed Ashoff and Tom Tawns. Of course, Mill Valleyans took part in organized baseball at all levels. The city boasted four pitchers who played minor league baseball in the Pacific Coast League in the ‘30s and ‘40s: Bob Jensen (S.F. Seals), Tony Freitas (Sacramento Senators), Art Shallock (Hollywood Stars and New York Yankees), Ed Stutz (went to majors). Freitas would make history as the first Mill Valleyan to play professional ball, playing for the Philadelphia Athletes and the Cincinnati Redlegs. Tam High played a significant role in the development of many local baseball players. Pimlott, a former Tam High baseball player, credited the school’s remarkably long streak of winning seasons to the tutelage of Coach Wendering. Former student-athlete Frederick LeRoy Martin recalled that the high school “always had championship baseball teams.” It was Tam High baseball coach Jim Langdon who led the American Legion Junior Team, which played out of Boyle Park, to the national semifinals in 1929 – this team included many Mill Valleyans, including Ed Stutz (a future major league player), Fred Martin, Tom Mori, Mickey McGowan, Bill Franchini, Al Bedecarrax and Dick Wright. Martin recalls their epic run in his oral history: “we were league champions in the West. They gave us little medals and if we'd have won that game the next day from the New Orleans team, we'd have gone back to see the New York Giants in the World Series with Babe Ruth playing.” Many professional ballplayers also came out of the program at Tam High, including Sam Chapman, future Philadelphia Athletics’ outfielder, Yankee pitcher Art Scholloch and outfielder Carl Olsen, who played for the Boston Red Sox. By the late 1950s, the semipro league had moved its play site elsewhere, making room at Boyle Park for the newly minted Mill Valley Little League, co-founded by Reichmuth. The grandstand was demolished at this time, while new dugouts and stands for spectators were added. In the city’s inaugural Little League season, 1954, Mill Valley hosted two teams while Sausalito and Tiburon hosted one teach each respectively, with each team playing a total of 12 games. The Mill Valley Boys Club Yankees won that first Little League title. Little League grew quickly in popularity, bolstered by a team of enthusiastic volunteers who kept the league up and running. In his oral history, Fred Mack, retired Tam High teacher and athletic coach, fondly remembers the local fathers and coaches who poured their heart and soul into funding and constructing baseball fields at Sycamore Park and Alto Field, and developing Little League baseball opportunities for Mill Valley children. According to Mack, “I knew, as I got older, I understand this even more, that the guys that were coaching in Mill Valley, that brought me along and brought the other kids along, deserve a lot of credit. They’re just dads that are out there, guys from the bar, or whoever they were, that taught these kids how to run the bases, to do the relays, to do the basic baseball stuff… Mill Valley was a blue-collar community, that was it, and you get your professional athletes, particularly baseball, out of those blue-collar communities. There were these guys that played, and came back, and they were living in town. So, we were getting some pretty good help from the dads, and it wasn’t about them, you could tell. They were in there to help kids get along. It didn’t matter what kid it was; not just their kid. They were helping all of them; it was kind of like my dad. So, they were a great resource.” Mack’s oral history in particular reveals the tight-knit, community-oriented baseball culture of Mill Valley in the ‘50s and ‘60s, which supported all levels of play, from Little League to high school baseball, semipro players, and beyond. Jenny Fulle: The Girl Who Took on Little League and Won Mill Valley found itself in the national spotlight in the ‘70s thanks to ten-year-old Mill Valleyan Jenny Fulle who dreamed of playing Little League baseball with the boys. Fulle showed up at Little League tryouts in 1972 only to be rebuffed. Devastated, she took her case to President Richard Nixon herself and received a letter back from him in support. As Title IX had been passed earlier that year, Jenny and her family decided to keep fighting, alongside a host of other girls across the country who also sought legal redress for their exclusion from Little League. Fulle’s groundbreaking legal victory in 1973 ensured that girls across the country gained the right to play Little League baseball. This determined, big-hitting girl from Mill Valley became the first ever to play Little League that season, after a series of legal battles, contentious Mill Valley city council meetings, and much abuse directed at Fulle and her family. She recalls the struggle in great detail in her oral history: “So we had gone to City Council meetings, we had been to Parks and Rec meetings, it had been, “No, no, no, no.” In my mind, the infamous story now with Mayor Jean Barnard, the City Council, one of our last council meetings, was split. I think it was 3-3. So the deciding vote went to the, I think, first female mayor of Mill Valley, and she actually voted against it, against me, and against girls playing. Basically, her reasoning was, “Vive la différence.” And I remember actually being pretty heartbroken and pretty shocked by that even as a kid. So after that, NOW had gotten an ACLU lawyer, Rico Hurvich, to legally represent the case, and he had been working on his side of that throughout this whole process, and he’d been with us since the council meetings. So it ended up in Superior Court in Marin County, just as the Little League season was starting in what would have been my final year of eligibility. He ended up in Superior Court, and the judge ruled in our favor, saying that this is discrimination and it goes against Title IX. Either Little League lets girls play, or Little League cannot use public facilities anymore. Boyle Park is a public park. So that ruling happened. Meanwhile, there were, I believe, there had been about four or five of us spread across the United States that were fighting at the same time. I had heard that it almost bankrupted Little League fighting all these cases. So they had decided to take one to Supreme Court. So they took it, they chose to go to New Jersey Supreme Court with that case. They were just prepping for that case and getting ready to go to trial with that, when our Superior Court judge ruled in my favor.” Ed Addeo, a successful veteran Little League coach himself, chaired the Parks and Rec Commission which voted 4-3 to let Jenny Fulle play Little League. He recalled how divisive the case was for Mill Valleyans and the country at large in his oral history. According to Addeo, “It was a big trial up in Superior Court, and Little League sent out psychiatrists from — big Beverly Hills psychiatrists, all kinds of doctors and orthopedists testified how terrible it would be if a girl played Little League — and the bad language the boys use she shouldn’t be able to hear, and how girls weren’t structured, their skeletal features were for having babies, not for athletics. It was just terrible.” And yet Fulle triumphed in the face of blatant and institutionalized sexism. She remembered that “armed with a court order, literally, and a bunch of cameras following behind, I showed up at the first practice. I was assigned to a team and I showed up at the first practice, court order in hand, and played my one and only season of Little League.” In 2000, Fulle, now a film executive in Hollywood, was invited back to Mill Valley to throw out ceremonial first pitch at the MVLL Opening Day celebrations. In 2017, she led the Mill Valley Little League’s 64th Annual Opening Day parade and caught the first pitch at Boyle Park, where a plaque was installed in her honor. Generations of girls across the county, including dozens here in Mill Valley, can thank Fulle for ensuring that they can play baseball, too. Oral History of Ed Addeo, by Stella Perone. (2015). Mill Valley Public Library. Oral History of Edward Reichmuth, by Paul De Fremery. (1989). Mill Valley Public Library. Oral History of Fred Mack, by Nancy Emerson. (2019). Mill Valley Public Library. Oral History of Frederick LeRoy Martin, by Jean Mosher. (1979). Mill Valley Public Library. Oral History of George Pimlott, by Betsey Andresen. (1975). Mill Valley Public Library. Oral History of Jenny Fulle, by Debra Schwartz. (2017). Mill Valley Public Library. Oral History of Peter Brindley, by Dale Komai. (2001). Mill Valley Public Library. Oral History of Thomas Frederick Bagshaw, by Carl Mosher. (1975). Mill Valley Public Library. Broverman, Neal. “A Hero’s Journey.” The Advocate. (January 29, 2007). Retrieved from https://www.advocate.com/politics/commentary/2007/01/29/heros-journey. Harrison, Robert. “Early History of Baseball.” Anne T. Kent California Room Community Newsletter. (October 19, 2018). Retrieved from https://annetkent.kontribune.com/articles/8699. Kleiner, Joyce. Legendary Locals of Mill Valley. Arcadia Publishing, 2014. Pg. 81-83. Livingston, Dewey. “Baseball: A Marin Tradition.” Anne T. Kent California Room Community Newsletter. (October 26, 2018). Retrieved from https://annetkent.kontribune.com/articles/8704. MacGowan, Bruce. “Marin sports history: Rich tradition of semipro baseball in county attracted big names, big talent.” Marin Independent Journal (June 21, 2008). Retrieved from https://www.marinij.com/2008/06/21/marin-sports-history-rich-tradition-of-semipro-baseball-in-county-attracted-big-names-big-talent/ “Marin History: Baseball in Marin.” Marin Independent Journal. (April 2, 2018). Retrieved from https://www.marinij.com/2018/04/02/marin-history-baseball-in-marin/ Mill Valley Historical Society. “Boyle Park, Bones, & Baseball: Twenty-Eighth Annual Walk Into History.” (May 29, 2005). Retrieved from https://www.mvhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/plugin-hist-walk-guidebook-2005.pdf. Weldy, Stephanie. “First female Little Leaguer recognized at Mill Valley’s Opening Day.” (March 18, 2017). https://www.marinij.com/2017/03/18/first-female-little-leaguer-recognized-at-mill-valleys-opening-day/. Yeomans, Jeannine. “Little League Player Went to Bat For Girls.” SF Gate. (March 10, 2000). Retrieved from https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Little-League-Player-Went-to-Bat-for-Girls-2796521.php. Mill Valley City Hall 26 Corte Madera Avenue Hours: 8:00a.m. - 12:00 noon; 1:00p.m. - 5:00p.m. Closed Alternate Fridays Translate Website:
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Bill Wagnon: Public must provide 'checks and balances' By Bill WagnonSpecial from Gannett Kansas Feb 4, 2020 at 11:04 AM Feb 4, 2020 at 11:24 AM Republican refusal to call additional witnesses in the impeachment trial represented nothing more than cowering before the Wizard. They either drank the Kool Aid or quailed fearful of their future in party primaries. In shedding their responsibility to block the usurpation of executive power, they have severely handicapped the Constitution’s mandate to exercise checks and balances as the guardian of American liberty. Americans have been here before and the outcome was entirely different. In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, tiring of conservative opposition to his New Deal reforms, organized a purging of congressional opponents within his own party. He recruited a cadre of New Dealers to oppose incumbent senators and representatives, particularly in the South. Solid South Democrats controlled Congress through seniority. As committee chairmen, they blocked many of Roosevelt’s efforts at economic recovery. In primary election after primary election, Roosevelt's conservative incumbents won re-election. But in November, FDR carried every southern electoral vote for his re-election to a second term. Not content with his failed purge, Roosevelt undertook a campaign to get the new congress to change the make up of the Supreme Court, in order to allow him to pack it with new justices favorable to New Deal reforms. That power grab failed also, teaching President Roosevelt about the realities of “checks and balances.” Indeed, his deference to local isolationist politics shaped his strategy in responding to spreading European and Asian fascism. Pearl Harbor would nationalize politics that backed his role as commander in chief and lead the nation to victory in WWII. Exercise of executive power in behalf of the Four Freedoms assured that Constitutional structures would remain in place. U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neal would later coin the phrase “all politics is local.” The power of that concept shaped presidential leadership through the Cold War era. However, 21st Century Republican leaders have successfully demonized opponents, producing a polarized nationalized electorate in the process. Donald Trump is simply the latest and most successful of this new cadre. Unfortunately, his goal seems to be nothing like the Four Freedoms of WWII, but rather his own personal edification. The Republican-dominated Senate is blinded by this development. Rather than taking inspiration from their 1930s predecessors, they have simply abandoned any responsibility to bell the cat. Our only hope is that the national electorate will take that duty seriously in the forthcoming election and end this travesty. Bill Wagnon is emeritus professor of history at Washburn University and former member of the Kansas State Board of Education.
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United Way hosts virtual Day of Giving United Way of Greater Topeka’s first Day of Giving looked a little different than anticipated. While the coronavirus pandemic changed how the event operated, it hasn’t stopped community members from giving to the nonprofit. As of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, United Way had raised over $13,000 of its $20,000 goal. That money adds to the organization’s yearly workplace campaign, which has a goal of $2.65 million. That campaign to date totals just over $2.3 million. In the past, United Way would spend the last month of its campaign talking to the community about helping meet its goal. According to Jessica Lehnherr, CEO of United Way of Greater Topeka, the nonprofit decided to instead dedicate an entire day to giving. Community members can donate to United Way by visiting unitedwaytopeka.org/dayofgiving. “Individuals can donate to any variety of projects that we have, whether that’s through our education work, financial stability,” Lehnherr said. “We also have some other special projects like our Shawnee County Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.” Lehnherr said COVID-19 has created many challenges for the nonprofit community and has affected United Way’s ability to host in-person campaigns. “We also had a fundraiser that we would have been doing this month that we had to cancel,” Lehnherr said. “I know that’s had a huge impact for a lot of our nonprofits.” Despite the cancellations, Lehnherr said, she has been impressed with the continued support from the community. “At the beginning of COVID-19, we had started a relief fund and we had a really wonderful response from our community (and) individuals that donated to that relief fund,” she said. “So I think despite all of the changes and things that happened, our community has still stepped forward and really provided a lot of support.”
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Sheriff IDs 7-year-old Kansas girl hit, killed at bus stop ABILENE — Authorities have identified a 7-year-old Kansas girl killed when she was hit by a car as she crossed a street to board her school bus. Cecilia Graf, a first-grader at St. Andrew's Catholic School in Abilene, was fatally hit by a car Wednesday morning, Dickinson County Sheriff Gareth Hoffman said. Hoffman said the bus was stopped with its flashing red lights on when a car driven by a 15-year-old high school student hit the girl, who died at an Abilene hospital. No charges or citations had been announced in the case by Thursday morning. The school said in a statement that it had activated its team of counselors to provide support for students, staff and families.
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On Friday morning, the men and women of the Jackson Police Department’s homicide/robbery division spent time revisiting some areas where they’ve recently closed cases. A wreath adorns the grass not far from America’s Star Inn, where last month Juan Carlos, 34, was shot dead after a woman and her boyfriend allegedly robbed him. “They were very cooperative, and we solved it with their cooperation,” said Robbery/Homicide Sgt. Derrick Jordan. The hotel had a dependable camera system that was clear enough to show the details of a suspect’s tattoos, and when he was caught, he was easy to identify, Jordan said. The detectives went back in and spoke to the desk clerk, asking if there was anything they could do to help the motel with any concerns they had, and then they left fliers reminding patrons that anything that is visible in their vehicles may be stolen. “Armed robberies were peaking, so we came up with a strategy to put things in place to try to cut down on some of those crimes,” he said. At the Clarion Inn on I-55, clerk Kris Cotton looked over a diagram police gave her that helps victims of crime know beforehand what to look for to help identify vehicles, people, and makes of weapons. “This can help us identify the suspect as far as height, weight, age, as well as the type of gun,” she said. The detectives, six in all, also visited local gas stations and a grocery store, talking to management and customers about safety and handing out literature as well. Santush Baddu, a clerk at a Citgo that had recently been the site of an armed robbery, said he’s happy to know he can call and have a police escort when he closes down his store. “Probably there are chances from 10 to 11 p.m. where it’s completely dark, and if there are police surrounding our place, we are safer and can do our work without any fear,” he said. “We can be stronger if there are police surrounding us.” It’s also a positive that people know the detectives before disaster strikes, so that if they are the victims of a crime, they’re familiar with the men and women who respond to their situation. “The main thing is that we put faces with names and continued building that relationship and partnership between the community and the police department,” Jordan said. Detective Marlo Brinnon also talked to store owners and managers about their security systems. While some people can’t afford really updated systems, they can still take small measures to keep theirs working to the best of their ability. “Even if you don’t have a great system, one thing you can do is make sure you keep your lenses clean and clear,” Brinnon said. “They can develop a haze on them just like car headlights, and you need to check them at least once a month. You can have a great system, but if that haze is on the lens, you’re not going to be able to identify the suspect.” Deputy Chief Amy Barlow said operations like Friday’s are an important part of a several-faceted attack that local law enforcement is waging on crime. But she said officers can’t and won’t rest until there’s no crime left to combat. “We have had a significant drop in violent crime,” she said. “The people that are carjacked or armed robbed, they don’t feel that drop in crime. There’s a lot of work to be done, and we’re not going to be satisfied until we’ve eradicated these problems. Other initiatives helping clean up the streets are the Metro Area Crime Enforcement initiative, also known as MACE, and the 120 day crime initiative with the attorney general’s office, the ATF, and other federal agencies. “That has been instrumental in getting a lot of our career criminals into the federal system and that’s really what we needed,” Barlow said, adding that arresting certain alleged criminals has actually helped the numbers go down quite quickly. “It’s not hard to figure out that we have several people who choose crime as a vocation. They get up every day to commit crime like we get up every day to fight crime.” Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com or (601) 961-7236. Follow @TRex21 on Twitter.
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Home Publishers Boom Studios SDCC ’20: BOOM! Studios creators talk BRZRKR, b.b. free, a new EMBER... SDCC ’20: BOOM! Studios creators talk BRZRKR, b.b. free, a new EMBER IN THE ASHES graphic novel, and more BOOM! Studios' "Discover Yours" panel talked about some of the publisher's current projects and teased some new ones for the future. With a line-up of graphic novels and original series spanning genres and housed under multiple imprints, BOOM! Studios is one of the most interesting publishers in the industry today. A panel of the publisher’s diverse creators came together for [email protected] to discuss their projects and tease some new titles. The panel, moderated by BOOM! President Filip Sablik, featured An Ember in the Ashes: A Thief Among the Trees collaborators Sabaa Tahir and Nicole Andelfinger, b.b. free writer Gabby Rivera, Folklords writer Matt Kindt, and Giant Days writer/artist John Allison. After panelist introductions (minus Allison, who would join later), Sablik asked the panelists about what’s been bringing them joy recently given the otherwise fraught and difficult times in which we’re living. Tahir said she was excited to see a debut author, Rosanne Brown, make the New York Times bestseller list. Sablik mentioned that Tahir also made the list with her debut novel many years ago. Andelfinger said the news that Percy Jackson is coming to Disney+ as a series made her very happy. Rivera said it’s been tough to find joy recently, but that she’s been enjoying a “wacky little show on Netflix” called The Big Flower Fight, a show that features people making enormous sculptures out of flowers. Kindt said he’s had a lot of extra time to catch up on Red Dead Redemption due to not traveling, but that the high point of his week was walking into the bank wearing what he described as a “bandit mask” and it being totally fine. Sablik asked Rivera about the graphic novel adaptation of her novel Juliet Takes a Breath. The story follows the main character as she travels across the country to take her dream job, and as she comes out as queer. Rivera said writing Juliet was trying to write about herself as she was at nineteen years old, but also that she wants the character and her curiosity about the world to be a model for readers as something they could try to be as well. She explained that she wanted to write a novel that her friends could read and see themselves in, particularly in terms of their queerness. Sablik said b.b free is similar, though it’s set twenty years in the future after 60% of the population has been wiped out by a bacterial infection (“I wrote this last year! You can call me a soothsayer if you want,” Rivera joked). Rivera said she tries to bring a gentleness to her character that she thinks kids of color don’t often see reflected. She described the world of b.b. free as one in which the characters are trying to rebuild together. Sablik described the “exuberance” of the series, particularly as illustrated by artist Royal Dunlap, juxtaposed against b.b.’s struggle against the system, and asked Rivera if she drew from personal experience for that aspect of the series. Rivera said she wanted b.b. to be a lighter character, but that she needed something to push back against. Asked what advice she has for young people, she said they’re already “exceptionally motivated,” and that she wants them to know that they’re supported. Sablik next jumped to a previously-recorded segment with UK-based Allison to talk about his current series, Wicked Things, which focuses on a teen detective who has appeared in previous work by Allison. Sablik asked Allison who his favorite teen detective is, and Allison named Veronica Mars as his favorite. Sablik agreed and compared it to Allison’s work in that it takes familiar procedural and genre elements and adds something new to them, particularly in terms of the dialogue. On the question of how Wicked Things’ main character, Lottie, has dealt with going from being an independent detective to working with the police, Allison joked that people don’t really like the police now, and describe it as “a square peg/round hole kind of deal” with Lottie bumping up against the institutions. Allison said the series was inspired by people he knew who had dropped out of academia and moved into the workforce more nimbly and who had to grow up more quickly than those who remained in academia. He described the series as very plot-driven, whereas Giant Days was more of a character-driven series, which resulted in his taking a different approach to writing the series. Asked which Giant Days character he misses the most, Allison said he misses all of them, but that he probably misses Susan the most because of her personality and her ability to give him new story paths. Returning to rest of the group, Sablik transitioned into Tahir and Andelfinger’s A Thief Among The Trees graphic novel, a prequel to Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes novels. Tahir praised Andelfinger for the ease of their collaboration, and how much she has learned about scripting graphic novels from her. She said the graphic novel allowed her to dig more deeply into her characters’ pasts than she was able to in her novels, and that the graphic novel answers a lot of questions about the characters’ origins and how they ended up the way they were at the beginning of the first novel. Andelfinger said she was honored to be trusted to work with Tahir’s characters and world, and said the experience has been “a blast.” She said that, as much as Tahir learned from her, she also learned from Tahir during the scripting process. Sablik asked Tahir and Andelfinger about the parallels between An Ember in the Ashes with what’s happening with young people in the world today, and if they have any advice for young people. Tahir said she “wouldn’t dare to give advice to young people,” and reiterated what Rivera had said earlier about how well they’re doing already. She said that she sees young people finding hope in the world, similar to how the characters in her novels do the same thing, and that she’s amazed by that and by readers’ abilities to take things away from her books. Tahir said she likes to write about younger characters because young people have a sense of optimism that older people often lack. Andelfinger said the characters in Thief Among the Trees inspire her in terms of knowing when to listen and when to speak up, particularly coming from a place of privilege and being able to know when to say “I was wrong.” Sablik joked that the book may end up being more helpful to older readers than younger ones in that respect, and Tahir said there are conversations that need to be had with older generations that young people are more willing to have than older people are. Tahir teased that there will be another Ember in the Ashes prequel graphic novel, for which she just turned in an outline. Moving to Kindt, Sablik mentioned the recent announcement of his collaboration with Keanu Reeves for BRZRKR. Asked about working with Reeves, Kindt said he approached it like any other collaboration, with a certain level of apprehension, After hearing Reeves’s pitch, about an immortal warrior in a story that spans from the beginning of time to the far future, Kindt said was excited by the amount of thought and research Reeves had put into it, and that he’d been kicking around an idea for a character who can’t die for a while but that it had never come together for him on his own. Kindt said that, beyond the initial pitch, Reeves has been “so involved” in the creative process, from plotting to outlining and developing the characters. He said he wouldn’t have wanted to work on the project if Reeves was just going to put his name on it and walk away, but that Reeves has brought not just science and research to the project but also the visual storytelling elements. He described hearing Reeves read the dialogue out-loud as “kind of a nightmare” for him as a writer, but said it’s a great test of the writing, and that they both bring something the other is missing to the project. On the topic of Folklords, Sablik asked Kindt what lessons the story’s lead, Ansel, can teach about the value of perseverance. Kindt joked that he doesn’t put lesson in his books, and said he never knows what his books are going to be about until they’re done. He described Folklords as “this weird waking dream I had” in which he imagined a character in regular clothes in a fantastical setting, and he’s only found out what it’s about from fans who talk to him at cons. “I’m old,” he said, “so I think old people have figured out how the system works but they don’t know what to do, and then the kids know what to do and they don’t know how to do it. So it’s important for the old people to help the young kids that know what to do, to help them do it.” Asked about the initial spark for An Ember in the Ashes, Tahir said in the mid-’00s she worked the night shift at the Washington Post on the international desk, and that reading stories coming in from Iraq, from Afghanistan, and from other middle-eastern countries made her realize that a lot of the fiction she was seeing is very Euro-centric and not reflective of what’s going on in other parts of the world. She described a story she read out of Kashmir about male family members who are taken and never seen again, and she said Ember was an answer to the question of how their female family members would react to that situation and get their family member back, even if just in a fictional realm. Rivera already addressed where b.b. free came from, but said that a story she wrote for a speculative fiction anthology featuring writers of color called A People’s Future featured an early version of the world of b.b. free, and that the baby born at the end of that story became b.b. in the comic. “I wanted to make sure that she was gentle and curious, and that even if you remove all the greed in the world, there’s still a world for you to inherit and take care of, and there’s still a world that is gonna challenge you, and there’s still a world that you might even be afraid of, but that you have that energy and that goodness in you to handle it all and find your magic.” Miss any of our other SDCC 2020 coverage? Click here for much more! Gabby Rivera nicole andelfinger Previous articleSDCC ‘20: The History Goes Graphic panel talks the process of accurately representing history in comics Next articleSDCC ’20: What we did in the SHADOWS panel EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: The hunt for Lancelot continues in ONCE & FUTURE #15 Hine, Haberlin, & Van Dyke reimagine a classic in JULES VERNE’S:...
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Blogs > Just The Facts on the RIA Conflict of Interest Rule Just The Facts on the RIA Conflict of Interest Rule The Department of Labor published a much-discussed conflict of interest (fiduciary) rule on April 8, 2016. With all the conversation about the implications of the changes for the profession, it’s difficult to keep track of exactly what new requirements will apply to registered investment advisers (RIAs). This post covers the basics of the DOL’s new fiduciary duty rule and its key implications for RIA compliance. The new DOL rule aims to ensure that investment advisers treat retirement investment advice as fiduciary advice. This affects advice on every 401(k) plan, every IRA, and every rollover or distribution. It also changes the way RIAs receive compensation, but allows for two exemptions that will allow the current method of compensation – each with their own set of requirements. Definition of a “fiduciary” In general terms, a fiduciary is a person who “is invested with rights and powers to be exercised for the benefit of another person,” and must act with “the scrupulous good faith and candor” required by the trust inherent in such a relationship. Under the DOL’s new rules, any person who receives compensation for providing advice with the understanding that advice is based on a particular person, plan sponsor, plan participant, or IRA owner’s needs qualifies as a fiduciary. “Advice” includes such things as what assets to purchase or sell, and whether to rollover from an employment-based plan to an IRA. Origins of the new rules Recognizing that its rules for investment advice had not changed significantly since the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in 1974, the DOL began a multi-year project in 2009 focused on updating conflict of interest rules for investment advisers to take into account the rise of new investment vehicles such as 401(k)s and IRAs. That project resulted in the rules promulgated in April. Compliance basics Fiduciaries to plans and plan participants: must act impartially and provide advice that is in their clients’ best interest; and cannot receive payments creating conflicts of interest unless they comply with the conditions of a listed exemption (see below). Compliance timeline The final regulation went into effect on June 7, 2016, but investment advisers have until April 10, 2017 to comply with most of the new rules. For other rules, advisers have even more time before the rules become applicable. The DOL has adopted a “phased” implementation approach for Best Interest Contract and the Principal Transaction Exemptions (BICE and PTE, respectively). The full disclosure provisions, the policies and procedures requirements, and the contract requirement for BICE and PTE do not fully go into effect until January 1, 2018. During the period between the general applicability date in April 2017 and this later date, fewer conditions will apply. Firms and advisers must still follow certain rules prior to 2018 under the phased approach. According to the DOL, “firms and advisers must adhere to the impartial conduct standards, provide a notice to retirement investors that, among other things, acknowledges their fiduciary status and describes their material conflicts of interest, and designate a person responsible for addressing material conflicts of interest and monitoring advisers’ adherence to the impartial conduct standards.” The DOL intends to focus on providing compliance assistance to help make the transition to the new rule and its exemptions as painless as possible. Creation of a fiduciary duty The new rules have generated much discussion concerning when RIAs must sign a contract with a plan investor to formally recognize and commence the RIA’s fiduciary duty. For ERISA plans, the new rule eliminates the need for a formal contract. Firms simply need to acknowledge in writing that they, and their advisers, are acting as fiduciaries when providing investment advice to the plan, participant, or beneficiary. For IRA holders, the new rules don’t change when a contract needs to be signed. The parties can sign a contract at the same time as, or before, any account-opening documents. Any advice given before a contract was signed must be covered by the contract and must also meet a best interest standard, however. For both ERISA plans and IRAs, firms must continue to retain records showing they complied with the new requirements. The Best Interest Contract Exemption The BICE allows firms and advisers to maintain their existing forms of compensation through receiving third party payments and selling proprietary products. In order to take advantage of this exemption, firms must accept “Impartial Conduct Standards” that they contractually warrant for IRA accounts. These rules ensure that any variability in differential compensation is based on “neutral factors.” To apply for a BICE, firms will need: Well-documented policies and procedures addressing their adherence to the Impartial Conduct Standard Anti-conflict policies and procedures A system that places these policies and procedures into an effective supervisory structure Principal Transaction Exemption The DOL also created a Principal Transaction Exemption that allows fiduciaries to sell or purchase certain recommended debt securities. The Principal Transaction Exemption allows for the purchase of debt security, unit investment trusts, or CDs based on certain credit and liquidity standards, as well as the sale of all securities. The PTE includes the same requirements as the BICE, and financial institutions may not give advisers financial incentives to make recommendations that go against the customer’s best interest. Penalties for non-compliance Retirement investors can institute proceedings to hold advisers and firms accountable for any breach of the new rules. Depending on the type of plan, this could occur via a breach of contract claim or under the provisions of ERISA. The resources listed here have valuable information. For specific advice and legal interpretations, ask your legal counsel or your compliance department. Jurispect can also alert you about any agency activity on this rule. This includes: Agency guidance and interpretations Adjustments of the compliance dates Get all the information you need in one place with Jurispect’s advanced regulatory tracking system. [1] https://www.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/documents/files/ u.s._chamber_-_assessment_of_the_dol_fiduciary_rule.pdf [2] http://thelawdictionary.org/fiduciary/ [3] https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/dol-final-rule-to-address-conflicts-of-interest [4] https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/06/fact-sheet-middle-class-economics-strengthening-retirement-security [5] http://blogs.reuters.com/financial-regulatory-forum/2016/06/27/impact-analysis-dol-fiduciary-rule-may-require-multiple-paths-to-compliance/ Tags: conflict of interest, Department of Labor, DOL, fiduciary, registered investment adviser, RIA
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AFRICOM: A Neocolonial Occupation Force? by Eric Draitser Photo Source Blleininger | CC BY 2.0 Amid the George HW Bush imperial death-orgy, the endless saga of Midtown Mussolini’s daily news cycle, the seemingly unprecedented political upsurge in France, and countless other show-stopping news stories, you likely missed three very sad, yet revealing, incidents out of the Sahel region of West-Central Africa. First, on November 18th, a massive offensive against a Nigerian military base by a faction of the Boko Haram terror group known as the Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) killed upwards of 100 soldiers. The surprise attack came at a time when Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who famously (and repeatedly) has declared victory against Boko Haram and terrorism, has faced a crisis of legitimacy, falling approval ratings, and an impending election in early 2019. Just days later, on November 22nd, while most Americans were gathering with family and eating turkey on Thanksgiving, a contingent of about 50 armed militants kidnapped at least 15 girls in Niger, just outside a town in the Diffa region, near the border with Nigeria. While Boko Haram did not officially claim responsibility, many have attributed the action to the terror group, or one of its factions, given their propensity to use kidnappings for propaganda and fundraising. And on the very same day, also in Diffa near the Niger-Nigeria border, suspected Boko Haram militants killed seven employees of Foraco, a French well drilling and mining company. This spate of deadly, and rather brazen, attacks on civilians along the Niger-Nigeria border paints a troubling picture of the continued instability of the region, and give the lie to the idea that counter-terrorism operations, ongoing for a number of years now, have put Boko Haram and other terror groups on the back foot. This reality is undoubtedly a political liability for Nigerian President Buhari who was elected on the promise of stamping out terrorism and bringing stability and the rule of law to Nigeria. Of course, a number of uncomfortable questions can and should be asked of Buhari, his top military commanders, and other bureaucrats in his administration. But perhaps the more salient questions should be posed, not to Nigeria’s government, but to the US Government itself, and specifically its African Command (AFRICOM). For it is Washington, not Abuja, that has poured billions of dollars into counter-terrorism and surveillance in the Sahel and West Africa. Considering the laundry list of attacks and killings, one could naturally ask the question: What exactly is the US doing over there, if not counter-terrorism? Nigeria, Niger, and AFRICOM These most recent incidents paint a worrying portrait of the on-the-ground reality in the region where terror groups not only continue to exist, but seemingly are thriving. Lucrative trade in illicit goods, drugs, human trafficking, and more has continued to line the pockets of these militant organizations. But the very fact that these killings are continuing calls into question the efficacy of, and agenda behind, the US AFRICOM force. As the Washington Post reported back in 2013, the US has chosen Agadez, Niger as the site of a massive new drone facility that will act as a “strategic foothold” in West Africa, specifically with regard to the stated mission of surveillance of terrorist networks. And the US has been flying drones from the facility for more than five years. However, as The Intercept’s Nick Turse has reported, what was originally intended to be a relatively small facility hosting a few US drones and military advisers has ballooned into a more than $100 million investment that will be one of the US’s most costly foreign military construction projects. And instead of simply housing a handful of Predator drones, the facility will be the base for MQ-9 Reaper drones before the end of next year. Naturally, it’s unclear just how many drones are already flying out of the facility, though knowledgeable observers assume a significant number already are. This base, which will act as a hub of the broader AFRICOM drone surveillance network sprawling over much of the African continent, is just a short flight from where these latest horrific incidents have taken place. And yet, it seems the US either was unable or unwilling to do anything to stop them. Even with the most advanced surveillance and communications equipment, somehow groups of dozens or hundreds of fighters are moving into towns conducting mass kidnappings, pillage, and worse all under the nose of Washington. And beyond the Agadez base, the US has a military presence in both Niger and Nigeria, with both countries routinely hosting US soldiers and military advisers, often with the specific intent of assisting local forces in the fight against Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. An ambush attack against 4 US soldiers in Niger has recently brought the issue into the headlines as Washington considers reducing the number of ground operations its soldiers directly participate in. It should also be noted that the US operates a number of other clandestine surveillance hubs throughout the continent, at least one of which is in relatively close proximity to the area where the attacks took place. As the Washington Post’s Craig Whitlock reported in 2012: “A key hub of the U.S. spying network can be found in Ouagadougou, the…capital of Burkina Faso… Under a classified surveillance program code-named Creek Sand, dozens of U.S. personnel and contractors have come to Ouagadougou in recent years to establish a small air base on the military side of the international airport. The unarmed U.S. spy planes fly hundreds of miles north to Mali, Mauritania and the Sahara.” Moreover, AFRICOM leads annual, large-scale military exercises throughout the region, as well as focusing on broad strategic initiatives that embed US military forces into the military command structures of these countries. It should be noted that the US has been involved in the Sahel region going back to the early years of the George W. Bush administration, even before the establishment of AFRICOM, which was later greatly expanded by the Obama administration. After 9/11, the United States began to grow its military footprint on the African continent under the guise of a ‘War on Terror’, selling this notion to a United States gripped with fear of terrorism. With programs such as the Pan-Sahel Initiative, later broadened into the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative, Washington managed to provide military and financial assistance to compliant countries in North Africa – a policy whose practical application meant that the US military became the dominant force in the Sahel region, supplying the human and material resources for which the governments of the region were starved. Naturally, this meant an implicit subservience to US military command. And with the establishment of AFRICOM, these relationships were further cemented such that today we see annual, massive military exercises such as Exercise Flintlock which brings together numerous African countries under the auspices of US military leadership. While this year marked the first time that the more than 20 nations’ militaries were led by African forces, it remains US military at the head of the table. Any guesses where Flintlock 2018 took place? That’s right, Niger. It’s the Resources, Stupid President Obama was not the architect of AFRICOM, which was established in 2007 under Bush, but he was perhaps its greatest champion, greatly expanding its scope and funding. Obama grandly proclaimed in 2014: “Today’s principal threat no longer comes from a centralized Al Qaeda leadership. Instead, it comes from decentralized Al Qaeda affiliates and extremists, many with agendas focused in the countries where they operate…We need a strategy that matches this diffuse threat; one that expands our reach without sending forces that stretch our military thin, or stir up local resentments.” As with all things Obama, the truth and disinformation so seamlessly blend together that it can be difficult to parse one from the other. While no doubt there is truth in what he stated, the underlying subtext is much more interesting to consider. For while Obama and his cohorts would endlessly wax poetic about security and stability, the true mission of AFRICOM is neocolonial in nature. Yes, it must be said that in fact AFRICOM is an occupying force that in no way functions to guarantee the security of African people (see Libya, among others), but rather to guarantee the free flow of resources out of Africa and into the Global North, particularly former colonial powers like France and Britain, and of course the US. In case there’s any doubt, consider the following statements from Vice-Admiral Robert Moeller, military deputy to former commander of AFRICOM General William ‘Kip’ Ward, who told an AFRICOM conference in 2008 that AFRICOM’s goal was “protecting the free flow of natural resources from Africa to the global market.” Furthermore, Moeller wrote in 2010, “Let there be no mistake. AFRICOM’s job is to protect American lives and promote American interests.” So, if we strip away the flowery rhetoric about stability and security, both, of course, vital to resource extraction and export, it becomes clear that it is, in fact, natural resources that drive the US strategic interest in Africa, along with countering the growing Chinese footprint on the continent. The last decade has seen major oil discoveries throughout the Lake Chad Basin which have transformed how the states of West Africa view their economic future. At the heart of the basin is Lake Chad, surrounded by the countries of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. According to a 2010 assessment from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Chad Basin has “estimated mean volumes of 2.32 billion barrels of oil, 14.65 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 391 million barrels of natural gas liquids.” The potential size of these resources has attracted the attention of political and business leaders, both in the region and internationally. Those oil reserves have gained the attention of each of the Lake Chad littoral states, and led to something of a scramble among them to siphon off as much oil from their neighbors as possible. Of course, it’s not only oil and gas that are of interest, especially since the US has become a net exporter of oil. But for France, the former colonial power in the region, which still maintains a large military presence in the Sahel under the auspices of Operation Barkhane, oil remains an essential priority in Africa. As a top oil executive in Chad told Nigerian daily This Day that, “Currently, oil from Lake Chad being drilled by the Republic of Chad is…shipped through tankers to the international refineries at the Port of Le Havre in France.” And in Niger, a country rich in mineral deposits such as uranium which are vital to France’s vast nuclear energy sector, France remains the dominant economic player. As Think Africa Press reported in 2014: “France currently sources over 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear energy and is dependent on Niger for much of its immediate and future uranium supply. This dependence could grow even further when production at the recently-discovered Imouraren uranium deposit is up and running in 2015. The mine is set to produce 5,000 tonnes of uranium per year and would help make Niger the second-largest uranium producer in the world. Areva, which is 87 percent owned by the French state and holds a majority share in three out of the four uranium mining companies operating in Niger, is funding the new mine.” And oh, by the way, Niger’s president Mahamadou Issoufou is a former employee of Areva, the French company that dominates the uranium trade in Africa. Perhaps then we should return our thinking to the recent attack that killed seven employees of the French drilling company Foraco. Was this part of the broader efforts by French capitalists to continue extracting uranium and/or other minerals for shipment back to the “mother country”? One has to wonder, considering Foraco does not confine itself solely to drilling wells for water. Is the US surveillance architecture so brittle and inept that it simply missed the movement of hundreds of members of the very organizations Washington is allegedly fighting in the region? Is it simply that the US is unable to effectively spy on this area until its massive Agadez base is complete? Is it that these terror groups have grown in sophistication such that they are able to elude the most advanced military and spying capabilities in the world? The answers to these questions might take some time to fully emerge. But what we do know is that US military in Africa is effectively an occupation and resource extraction force that uses local militaries as proxies for its own agenda. The terror groups operating in the region have made untold millions and committed countless atrocities right under the noses of the purportedly benevolent American military forces. So, if counter-terrorism is really what the US is interested in in the Sahel and West Africa, then the AFRICOM mission is an abject failure. Of course, seen as a neocolonial occupying force utilizing both hard and soft power to entrench US hegemony and guarantee the free flow of resources from Africa, it is a rousing success. Eric Draitser is an independent political analyst and host of CounterPunch Radio. You can find his exclusive content including articles, podcasts, audio commentaries, poetry and more at patreon.com/ericdraitser. He can be reached at ericdraitser@gmail.com. Nick Licata A Slanted Narrative on Slanted Journalism Eric Mann Dr. Martin Luther King’s Challenge to the Movement, as the Fascists Storm the Capital The Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump: Can He be Convicted? Albena Azmanova – Marshall Auerbach Lessons From the 6 January Insurrection Time to Trash the Terrorist Watch List, a Police-State Frankenstein Gone Off the Rails Fran Shor Trump’s Failed Coup Henry Giroux Why Trumpism Will Live On Coup, Coup, Kachoo Sonali Kolhatkar Dear Republicans, Was Your Deal With Trump Worth It? Thomas Klikauer – Norman Simms An Ordinary German Neo-Nazi Hannah McCarthy Peace in Nagorno-Karabakh Remains Fragile, With Key Issues Unresolved Lynching Political Correctness Wim Laven Misusing King’s Message The New No Fly List: More Dangerous than the Capitol Rioters
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UConn Women Sources Say Complaint Came From Vanderbilt ESTERO, Fla. — Sources within women's basketball confirmed Saturday that the NCAA's ruling of a secondary violation regarding Geno Auriemma's congratulatory phone call to Little League star Mo'ne Davis resulted from a Southeastern Conference complaint on behalf of Vanderbilt University. Officials at Vanderbilt, the team UConn played Saturday night in the Gulf Coast Showcase, declined to comment. In September, UConn was instructed to order corrective action for Auriemma that was to include rules education and a letter of admonishment. When the sanction was announced, UConn athletic director Warde Manuel said he did not agree with it. [Related] Mike Anthony: Tara VanDerveer living her spartan life and advancing a sport alongside Geno Auriemma » "The NCAA has determined a secondary rules violation did occur and while UConn accepts this decision, we do not agree with it," Manuel said at the time. "Prior to attempting to reach Davis, Coach Auriemma checked with the UConn compliance department and was advised such a call would be permissible since Davis is not considered a prospective student-athlete by the NCAA and the call was to be congratulatory rather than recruiting in nature." This is at least the second time in a decade that the SEC has taken Auriemma to task. The first was at the request of Tennessee over the recruitment of Maya Moore. The tension over that situation ultimately led to the end of the most famous non-conference rivalry in the sport's history. But sources told The Courant that Vanderbilt, not Tennessee, filed the latest complaint. The SEC was the only major conference to issue "no comment" when specifically questioned by The Courant about possible complicity in the complaint. [Related] Geno Auriemma may not feel the series’ rivalry like it once was, but there’s still plenty at stake in the UConn women’s first game at Tennessee in 15 years. » Davis, 13, made history by pitching a shutout and driving in a run to lead the Philadelphia-based Taney Dragons to the U.S. semifinals at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Before her team's semifinal game against Nevada, Auriemma placed a call to Little League's administrative office, on behalf of a request from the Philadelphia 76ers, to say hello to Davis. What made Davis stand out in Connecticut more than her accomplishments on the field was the UConn sweatshirt she wore everywhere she went, along with her public admission that she dreamed of playing point guard for Auriemma and the Huskies. Debbie Corum, UConn's senior athletic administrator, says the immediate Thanksgiving tournament future of the UConn women's team isn't clear. [Related] UConn women add marquee nonconference game against No. 15 Arkansas next week » "I have one more game to fill for next year's schedule and we are looking," Corum said. "To be honest, it's been on hold for the last few weeks because those we need to speak to have been scattered about. There is nothing even definite planned and I wouldn't even be able to supply [the fans] any hints about what might be going on." Corum said she has spoken to Brooks Downing, whose company runs the Gulf Coast Showcase among many other holiday tournaments in men's and women's college basketball. Downing is trying to start another tournament next season in the Southwest and is considering Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego and an unnamed site in Texas as potential locales. "We're in the discussion stage right now," Downing said. "But it would be the same time period as this tournament with the idea of duplicating this event [the three-day, three-game, eight-team format]. The interest has been so great on the women's side that we feel we have enough teams to start a new event. We'll know more in about 30 to 45 days. But in any tournament we might create, we would extend an invitation to UConn if it was available." The problem is, UConn's commitment to a three-game tournament, classified as an "exempt" tournament by the NCAA, would count for two additional games on its schedule. "If we do that . . . we would have to drop a game we've previously committed to for next season and that is something I do not like to do," Corum said. "I don't want to bounce anybody, for any reason. We've worked too hard with our partners to put this schedule together. [Related] Evina Westbrook is ‘anxious and excited’ to return to Tennessee for first time since transferring to UConn » "I could likely talk to an opponent about committing to a one-game [holiday] event, but that's not as appealing for us. I'm just hoping to pull a rabbit out of the hat." But there is some interesting news: Corum said she has been speaking to Texas about a future non-conference relationship beginning in 2016-17 "Texas would like to play us in Madison Square Garden, but we haven't spoken to the Garden about that yet," Corum said. "I believe it would be very cool to play that game." The Huskies are eligible to travel to Europe again next summer, as they have often done in the past, but it's unlikely that Auriemma would want to do that when he has three freshmen arriving. Not Like The Old Days Latest UConn Women Geno Auriemma may not feel the series’ rivalry like it once was, but there’s still plenty at stake in the UConn women’s first game at Tennessee in 15 years. UConn's longtime Big East rival, Villanova, is one of the eight teams in the Gulf Coast Showcase. And for Wildcats coach Harry Perretta, it triggers memories of what life was once like for his program. "The new conference is different for me because I had great camaraderie with all the coaches who worked in the old league," Perretta said. "It's not like I don't share that with the new group, but they are much younger and I don't know them as well. "But it's more energizing because we have a better chance to win. Our kids once felt like they might never win a Big East championship again. Now they believe they have a chance. [Winning the Big East with UConn, Notre Dame and Louisville around] just doesn't happen very often. "In the old days, if you weren't a 1 or 2 seed [in the Big East tournament], you had no chance. Now a 5 or 6 seed has a legitimate chance to go on a roll on a weekend and win it. And that feels good." UConn Women's Basketball
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Professor's 'insensitive' statistics PROFESSOR Sir Roy Meadow yesterday admitted his use of statistics at the trial of Sally Clark for the murder of two of her children was "insensitive". Professor Meadow said the likelihood of both children dying from cot death was like that of a punter successfully backing an 80-1 shot at the Grand National four years in a row. He was giving testimony at the General Medical Council where he is accused of giving "misleading and flawed" evidence at the trial of Mrs Clark, who was wrongly convicted of the murders. He denies serious professional misconduct. During the trial, he famously said the chance of a double cot death was "one in 73 million". Mrs Clark was released by the Court of Appeal in January, 2003, after judges ruled her conviction unsafe.
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Hosting Thanksgiving for the first time? Some tips NEW YORK—The potatoes are wrong. The football game’s too loud. The kids aren’t dressed right. Thanksgiving can, of course, be a great joy, but with so many beloved traditions on the line it can also be prime ground for sniping and griping the first time the torch has been passed. Your mother, mother-in-law, father or father-in-law might be thrilled to give up hosting after many decades, but that doesn’t mean they’ll behave themselves once sidelined, said Ruth Nemzoff, author of “Don’t Bite Your Tongue: How to Foster Rewarding Relationships with Your Adult Children.” Before you find yourself wrapping yellow crime scene tape around the kitchen as you slurp white wine from the bottle with a crazy straw, just listen to what Nemzoff has to say: — Give them a role, whether it’s asking mom to make her famous pumpkin pie or contribute a favorite family tablecloth, platter or candlesticks. — Don’t implode. There’s no need to convince yourself you couldn’t possibly measure up. Rather than get crazy with comparisons, let the elders know you hope to emulate them. — Make new foods but keep the old. Thanksgiving is about the familiar. Families expect to see the same dishes each year. Introduce menu changes slowly. — Don’t feel you have to make everything yourself like your predecessors. It’s fine to reach out for side dishes or — gasp — cater. Secretly or otherwise. Andrew Royce Bauer, 21, of Neptune, New Jersey, and his 21-year-old cousin, Alexandra, are doing all the cooking this year but sticking to the usual place, the largish upper Manhattan apartment of Alexandra’s mother. And they’re doing something else: providing a la carte side dishes and other menu tweaks to accommodate the Atkins groupies, Paleo followers and gluten-free folks among the 15 to 25 people expected — something that hasn’t consciously happened in the past. “We’re a little apprehensive,” he said. “It’s one of our family’s favorite holidays. They’re going to be watching over our backs to make sure we don’t start any fires.” The mother and stepfather of Gabriel Constans, who lives in Santa Cruz, California, are 80 and 86. They’ve hosted the large family for Thanksgiving for more than 40 years at their house in Northern California but are no longer up to the task. So Constans, 60, and his wife decided to rent a large house near the elders for three days as a haven for themselves and other out-of-town loved ones. They’ll throw Thanksgiving there, for 40 people. He and others in the family know it would be too difficult for his parents to watch them take over their kitchen. They wanted to carry on some menu traditions, so Constans’ sister took their frozen cranberry salad with marshmallows out for a test run last year to rave reviews. She’ll make it again this year. And they’ve asked Constans’ stepdad to do what he does best: gravy. Somebody else in the family has already successfully duplicated the family’s favorite stuffing. Covering one of the tables will be his parents’ go-to Thanksgiving cloth of purple and green with tassels and a design of squares. Constans heads into hosting duty knowing some of the pitfalls. One is not allowing his nephew, who hunts and is in charge of the bird, to use one that he shot himself. “He tried it once and my stepdad said no way. He thought he could catch something from it. He wouldn’t come out of his room for hours, until my nephew promised that he would go to the store and cook a different turkey.” Newbie Annalisa Parent in Colchester, Vermont, is sweating some “what ifs” as she heads into hosting her first Thanksgiving, for 22 people. “Not only is my large French Canadian family gathering, but I’ve also invited my boyfriend’s family to meet mine for the first time,” she said. One of her biggest stresses is pulling off the tourtiere, a minced meat pie handed down from her great-great grandmother. The meat filling is also used as a stuffing and the men in her family can’t get enough. “If I fail, Memere will probably let me know and then help me make another batch,” Parent said. And that’s as it should be, said Taryn Mohrman, senior editor at Woman’s Day magazine. She agreed that the first year can be challenging all around. “When you’re a parent going to your child’s house for the first time, the thing to remember is that hosting can be overwhelming. People who have done it for years tend to forget how stressful it can be,” she said. But some things aren’t as difficult as they might seem, Mohrman said. Is it really that hard to peel a pile of potatoes and mash some while roasting others, or cook a mass of stuffing and use different mix-ins to please more palates? For elders who want to be a real asset rather than merely kibitz, she suggests offering help in small ways, such as managing RSVPs or putting together a timeline for day of. “That helps the parents feel involved,” Mohrman said. “But don’t be offended if your son or daughter insists they have it covered because they’re probably excited that you get to finally sit back, relax and be a guest for once.” On the big day, torch-passers should stay out of the kitchen unless specifically invited, Mohrman said. “If you’re banished, offer to take coats, make drinks, greet people at the door,” she said. “There’s plenty to do elsewhere.” Torch-takers might want to chew on this: If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t have to be a permanent thing. “Maybe next year it needs to be somewhere else,” Mohrman said. “It’s more about family than the place.” Follow Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie
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Study of Toronto’s gay village underway Community meeting planned for May 14 By Andrea Houston Apr 30, 2013, 12:00 AM EDT A study of the Church and Wellesley Village is currently underway, led by the 519 Church Street Community Centre and TD Canada Trust. Credit: dbking (flickr) The queer community will have a voice in the changes coming to the Church-Wellesley Village as Toronto prepares to host WorldPride in 2014 and the Pan Am Games in 2015. Maura Lawless, executive director of the 519 Church Street Community Centre, is co-chairing a new study of the gay Village with Tim Thompson, chief operating officer of TD Canada Trust. She says the study will look at how best to prepare for, and capitalize on, the upcoming international festivals and determine what kind of neighbourhood the Village can be in the coming decades. Urban planning firm The Planning Partnership will conduct The Village Study with the help of Toronto architect Ken Greenberg; community activist and former executive director of Jane’s Walk, Jane Farrow; WorldPride human rights conference co-chair Doug Kerr and N Barry Lyon Consultants. “Community planning studies are the best place to start when you look at a neighbourhood,” Farrow says. “This is starting at the ground level, looking at big questions, like what is the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood? Where should it go? And how should it get there?” Lawless says she hopes the study creates a vision and a roadmap for the Village. “I think there is a real opportunity right now to make sure the Village develops and grows.” Until May 4, an online survey is asking residents what qualities about the area are most important, such as preserving its history as a gay village or courting future economic development and tourism. Farrow says the Village still has enormous political, social and cultural importance to Toronto and should be protected. For many gay and lesbian people, particularly youth who move to the big city from smaller communities, it is often the first destination because they know they will be safe there. “It’s an arrival neighbourhood,” she says. “Once they get [to the Village], they might leave. They might only come back for Pride once a year, but they like to know that someone is going and enjoying it, even though they may feel more at home partying with a mixed crowd in Parkdale. Is the Church and Wellesley Village irrelevant and do we live in a post-gay world? I personally don’t think so. “This neighbourhood was formed, in many ways, because people stood their ground and fought back. They said, ‘It’s not enough to have a place to drink and dance; we want a neighbourhood.’” Lawless says the study will include a comparison of other gay villages around the world to see what is working and what isn’t. “Some of the jurisdictions we chose include Montreal, San Francisco, Liverpool,” she says. “Are there things that we can learn and replicate here?” On May 14, the group will host a community meeting at The 519. “That will give an opportunity for the community to see some of the work that’s been done and get some feedback,” Lawless says, noting the initial plan and concept drawings will be complete by the end of June. The group will also set up a public display for visitors to learn about the project during Pride Week. “That’s when a million or so folks can provide their thoughts on the plan. We want to get as wide a scope of feedback as possible,” Lawless says. “The goal is to develop content that, along with various reports that will come out of this, will help potentially shape the future of the Village.” Funding for the project, estimated at around $60,000, came from TD Canada Trust. “TD is on the project steering committee,” Lawless says. “They really see the Village as an important component in their work, so they really wanted to be involved.” Final reports will be complete by September, she says. This story is filed under News & Ideas, Rights & Liberties, Toronto, Punctuation, Quotation mark, News Ontario bans conversion therapy for youth Pride Toronto clears first hurdle to keep city funding When queer sexual mentorship comes in the form of cling wrap HG Watson Jun 08, 2015 Arshy Mann May 10, 2017 Katie Sly Dec 08, 2016 Ten awful ways Rob Ford treated LGBT people like garbage Arshy Mann Mar 31, 2016 Gay fired Canadian public servants want more than pardons
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Grounded: Nearly two-thirds of US Navy’s strike fighters can’t fly By: Christopher P. Cavas February 6, 2017 Congress’ inability to pass a budget is hurting the fleet, leaders say WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet strike fighters are the tip of the spear, embodying most of the fierce striking power of the aircraft carrier strike group. But nearly two-thirds of the fleet’s strike fighters can’t fly — grounded because they’re either undergoing maintenance or simply waiting for parts or their turn in line on the aviation depot backlog. Overall, more than half the Navy’s aircraft are grounded, most because there isn’t enough money to fix them. Additionally, there isn’t enough money to fix the fleet’s ships, and the backlog of ships needing work continues to grow. Overhauls — "availabilities" in Navy parlance — are being canceled or deferred, and when ships do come in they need longer to refit. Every carrier overall for at least three years has run long, and some submarines are out of service for prolonged periods, as much as four years or more. One submarine, the Boise, has lost its diving certification and can’t operate pending shipyard work. Leaders claim that if more money doesn’t become available, five more submarines will be in the same state by the end of this year. The Navy can’t get money to move around service members and their families to change assignments, and about $440 million is needed to pay sailors. And the service claims 15 percent of its shore facilities are in failed condition — awaiting repair, replacement or demolition. The bleak picture presented by service leaders is in stark contrast to the Trump administration’s widely talked about plan to grow the Navy from today’s goal of 308 ships to 350 — now topped by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson’s new Force Structure Assessment that aims at a 355-ship fleet. Richardson’s staff is crafting further details on how the growth will be carried out — plans congressional leaders are eager to hear. It seems to many as though the Navy will be showered with money to attain such lofty goals. Sign up to get The Drift Sign up for our weekly newsletter to go deeper into all things Navy with David Larter. Yet, for now, money is tight, due to several years of declining budgets mandated first by the Obama administration, then Congress, and to the chronic inability of lawmakers to provide uninterrupted funds to the military services and the government at large. Budgets have been cut despite no slackening in the demand for the fleet’s services; and the Navy, to preserve shipbuilding funds, made a conscious choice to slash maintenance and training budgets rather than eliminate ships, which take many years to build and can’t be produced promptly even when funding becomes available. Congress has failed for the ninth straight year to produce a budget before the Oct. 1 start of fiscal 2017, reverting to continuing resolutions that keep money flowing at prior year levels. CRs have numerous caveats, however, and many new projects or plans can’t be funded since they didn’t exist in the prior year. There is widespread agreement that CR funding creates havoc throughout the Pentagon and the industrial base that supports it — often substantially driving costs higher to recover from lengthy delays. Yet, like the proverbial weather that everyone talks about but no one can change, there seems to be little urgency in Congress to return to a more businesslike budget profile. The current continuing resolution through April 28 marks the longest stop-gap measure since fiscal 1977 — outstripping 2011 by only a couple weeks, noted Todd Harrison, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in a post on Twitter. This also marks the first CR situation during a presidential transition year. And while the talk about building dozens of more ships grabs headlines, it is not at all clear when or even whether Congress will repeal the Budget Control Act — sequestration — which, if unabated, will continue its restrictions to 2021. Meanwhile, some details are emerging of the new administration’s efforts to move along the budget process. In a Jan. 31 memorandum, Defense Secretary James Mattis described a three-phase plan that included submission by the Pentagon of a 2017 budget amendment request. The request would be sent to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget by March 1. Under the plan, the full 2018 budget request is due to OMB no later than May 1. The third phase of the plan involves a new National Defense Strategy and FY2019-2023 defense program, which "will include a new force sizing construct" to "inform our targets for force structure growth," Mattis said in the memo. The services will make their case to Congress this week when the vice chiefs of the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps testify in readiness hearings before the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday and the Senate Armed Services Committee the following day. The vice chiefs are expected to make their pitches for money that can be spent right away, rather than funds for long-term projects that, with only five months left in the fiscal year even if Congress passes a 2017 budget, can’t be quickly put to use. "If we get any money at all, the first thing we’re going to do is throw it into the places we can execute it," a senior Navy source said Feb. 2. "All of those places are in ship maintenance, aviation depot throughput — parts and spares — and permanent changes of station so we can move our families around and fill the holes that are being generated by the lack of PCS money." The backlog is high. "There’s about $6-8 billion of stuff we can execute in April if we got the money," the senior Navy source said. "We can put it on contract, we can deliver on it right away." Even if the budget top line is increased, Navy leaders say, the immediate need is for maintenance money, not new ship construction. A supplemental Navy list of unfunded requirements for 2017 that was sent to Congress in early January and is still being revised made it clear that maintenance needs are paramount. "Our priorities are unambiguously focused on readiness — those things required to get planes in the air, ships and subs at sea, sailors trained and ready," a Navy official declared. "No new starts." The dire situation of naval aviation is sobering. According to the Navy, 53 percent of all Navy aircraft can’t fly — about 1,700 combat aircraft, patrol, and transport planes and helicopters. Not all are due to budget problems — at any given time, about one-fourth to one-third of aircraft are out of service for regular maintenance. But the 53 percent figure represents about twice the historic norm. The strike fighter situation is even more acute and more remarkable since the aircraft are vitally important to projecting the fleet’s combat power. Sixty-two percent of F/A-18s are out of service; 27 percent in major depot work; and 35 percent simply awaiting maintenance or parts, the Navy said. With training and flying hour funds cut, the Navy’s aircrews are struggling to maintain even minimum flying requirements, the senior Navy source said. Retention is becoming a problem, too. In 2013, 17 percent of flying officers declined department head tours after being selected. The percentage grew to 29 percent in 2016. Funding shortfalls mean many service members are unable to relocate to take on new assignments. So far in 2017, the Navy said, there have been 15,250 fewer moves compared with 2016. Under the continuing resolution, the senior Navy official said, another 14 ship availabilities will be deferred in 2018 — one submarine, one cruiser, six destroyers, two landing ship docks, one amphibious transport dock and three minesweepers. Programs seeking to buy items that were not included in the 2016 budget can’t move forward, including CH-53K helicopters, Joint Air-to-Ground Missiles, Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles and littoral combat ship module weapons. Many more programs that were to increase 2017 buys over 2016 levels can’t do so. And with only five months left in fiscal 2017, even if a budget is passed in late April, there is some talk about a yearlong continuing resolution — a prospect at which the senior Navy official shook his head. "The full CR is not a good situation at all," he said. US agency forecasts cost for missile defense plans over next decade US Navy halts deliveries of Freedom-class littoral combat ship American warship, F-35 jets to deploy with British fleet Why America needs a layered homeland missile defense Off the California coast, the US Navy tests hunting subs with an aerial drone
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Email: admin@deltastate.gov.ng A Stronger Delta is not just a dream, but a reality... Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi A. Okowa Chief Judge of Delta State Juciary Service Commission Customary Court Multi-Door CourtHouse Contract Complaints Governor’s Speeches SMART Agenda Okowa assents to Delta’s 2021 budget of N383bn Home / News / Okowa assents to Delta’s 2021 budget of N383bn by Editor in News Delta Governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, has assented to the state’s 2021 Appropriation Bill, with assurance that the state government would strive to recover from the economic challenges engendered by COVID-19 pandemic. Okowa, who signed the bill on Monday in Asaba, commended the state’s House of Assembly for speedy passage of the Bill and said that signing the budget with a month to the end of 2020 would avail the state government the opportunity to plan further towards the implementation of the 2021 budget from January, 2021. He thanked God for the warm working relationship between the executive and the legislature in the state, and said that the government would remain focused in implementing the budget as passed, for the benefit of all Deltans. “You have just witnessed my signing into law the 2021 Appropriation Bill, and as I said on Oct. 27, during the presentation of the bill, we are in very difficult times this year, no doubt both in this country and globally. “And, with the second wave of the pandemic, it will create a further challenge for the recovery of the economy of our nation. “However, we are optimistic that in the 2021 fiscal year, things will gradually improve and we will be able to get back to the levels of infrastructural development and the human capital development for our people. “This is very necessary because there is a lot of pain; there is a lot of unemployment and our people are generally getting restive nationally and I pray that God will help us and this nation to rediscover ourselves and to commit every work of our people and our state and nation for the common good of all our citizens. “The budget is termed ‘budget of economic recovery’ because we are very much aware of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, both on our health systems and the economy of the country, which is still largely dependent on the oil economy,’’ he said. The governor explained that a lot was being done to grow the agricultural sector nationwide, including Delta’s debt profile, but stated that the programme would take time for it to begin to manifest meaningfully. According to him, as long as we are still dependent mainly on the oil economy with the global pandemic going, we definitely have a lot of shortfall, both in the prices and the volumes of oil that is being sold in the international market. “This obviously impacted negatively on our budget in 2020 that we had to reduce our budget downward twice in the year. “However, I want to use this medium to appreciate our various contractors who had continued to stay in their various sites to work even when it is becoming increasingly difficult to make payments on contractual agreements already made. “We will continue to be very responsible as a state and we will continue to work with them to deliver on our projects,” he stated. The governor expressed delight that some of the key projects were still on course, including the new Secretariat building which was nearing completion and Ughelli-Asaba road dualisation, which would be completed in March, 2022. “I want to reassure you, Mr Speaker and all Deltans that the executive will keep focus on the development of projects that we are involved in, in the development of roads, schools, health institutions and we will continue to stay on course in trying to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive,” he said. He disclosed that work had commenced at the Ogwashi-Uku Agro-Industrial Park, and reaffirmed that the state government was committed to delivering the project on time. Okowa stated that the state would continue to focus on entrepreneurship programmes, and would take it to higher levels in the 2021 fiscal year by engaging more youths. He said that the state government was also paying attention to the girl-child and the empowerment of our women. “It is our hope and prayer that we will be able to achieve a reasonably budgeted amount of revenue, so that we can truly impact positively on all aspects of our economy, touching every community and every local government in the state. “Deltans have done so well in praying for us and I can assure them that we shall finish all of those programmes and when we shall be leaving in 2023, Deltans and the government will have cause to say `thank God’ for all that we have achieved,” Okowa stated. Presenting the Appropriation Bill to the governor earlier, The Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori, said that the Bill went through all legislative process before passage. Oborevwori recalled that Bill was presented to the House on 27th October, 2020 and was passed on 17 November, 2020 after it was considered sector-by-sector. “It is with great pleasure that I present to you the 2021 Appropriation Bill passed by the House of Assembly for your assent. “The urgency with which it was passed was informed by the legislative agenda of the House to partner with the executive to put the state on the path of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic which has ravaged the world. “We were mindful of the fact that the quick passage of the bill was necessitated by Your Excellency’s vision to bring the state out of the economic challenges posed by the pandemic,” he said. The budget figure was increased to N383 billion from N378.48 billion proposed by the governor. Recurrent expenditure is N173 billion and capital expenditure, N210billion. The speaker had explained that the increase in the budget as proposed by the governor was to provide for some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that were not captured in the proposal. Tags: 2021 Appropriation Bill, 2021 budget, COVID-19 pandemic Okowa deplores rising attacks on clergy men, worship centres by Editor Jan 18 2021 Armed Forces Remembrance Day : Stakeholders call for sustenance of victims’ families Community Policing: Delta Ready with 378 Special Constabularies Agro-Industrial Park: Catalyst for Delta economic transformation – Aniagwu ABOUT DELTA STATE Delta State is an oil and agricultural producing State of Nigeria, situated in the region known as the South-South geo-political zone with a population of 4,098,291. The capital city is Asaba, located at the northern end of the State with an estimated area of 762 square kilometres (294 sq mi), while Warri is the economic nerve center of the State and also the most populated… Explore Thank you for stopping by. You can reach us through any of the means below. Government House, – P.M.B. 5001 – Asaba, Delta State. Nigeria. – (+234) 813 554 3579 – admin@deltastate.gov.ng © 2021 Delta State Government. All Rights Reserved.
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It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again: Supreme Court To Revisit the Scope of Specific Jurisdiction Feb.03.2020 For the seventh time in the past ten years, the United States Supreme Court has agreed to address the contours of personal jurisdiction over out-of-state defendants. The question presented, in two consolidated product liability cases, is whether a lawsuit can be said to “arise out of or relate to” a defendant’s contacts with the forum state1 when none of those contacts caused the plaintiff’s claims. The Court’s decision may help clarify where specific jurisdiction lies over manufacturers of nationally distributed products or portable products that may be sold in one state and then transported to another. On January 17, the Court granted certiorari in cases from Montana and Minnesota involving crashes of Ford vehicles.2 The plaintiff in the Montana case was killed when a tire tread on her Ford Explorer separated and the vehicle rolled into a ditch. Her Explorer had been manufactured in Kentucky, and a dealership in Washington State had first sold it to a resident of Oregon. In the Minnesota case, the plaintiff suffered a severe brain injury when the Crown Victoria in which he was riding rear-ended a snow plow. He alleged that the passenger-side airbag had failed to deploy. The vehicle was designed in Michigan and assembled in Canada; its fourth owner registered it in Minnesota 17 years later. Each accident occurred in the forum state. Neither plaintiff’s accident involved a vehicle designed, manufactured, or originally sold in the forum state. Nevertheless, both the Montana and Minnesota courts affirmed findings of specific jurisdiction over Ford. The Montana Supreme Court applied a “stream of commerce plus” theory, citing Ford’s advertising and sales in Montana, to hold that Ford had “purposefully availed itself” of the privilege of doing business in the state. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that no causal connection is required between the defendant’s contacts with the forum and the plaintiff’s claims. Rather, due process was satisfied by such factors as Ford’s sales of thousands of Crown Victorias in the state, the location of the accident, the registration of the car in Minnesota, and the plaintiff’s treatment in the state. Ford’s certiorari petitions pointed to “a deep conflict,” unanswered by the Court in its most recent specific jurisdiction decision, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, 137 S. Ct. 1773 ( 2017), about the degree of connection between the plaintiff’s claims and the defendant’s contacts that must be shown if the exercise of specific jurisdiction is to satisfy due process. Ford identified four different approaches to the issue in the federal circuits and the highest courts of several states. Over the past decade, the Roberts Court has repeatedly revisited both general and specific jurisdiction, using the Due Process Clause to limit the reach of lawsuits against non-residents. It has held that, absent exceptional circumstances, corporations are “at home,” and therefore subject to general jurisdiction, only in their states of incorporation or principal place of business.3 It has rejected the “stream-of-commerce” metaphor as a basis for jurisdiction.4 It has ruled that jurisdiction can be based only on the defendant’s contacts with the forum, not those of the plaintiff.5 And in Bristol-Myers Squibb, it refused to allow state courts to assert specific jurisdiction over the claims of non-resident mass tort plaintiffs who did not allege any harm within the state.6 Still, there are significant unanswered questions beyond those presented in the two cases to be reviewed: Does Bristol-Myers Squibb apply to class actions?7 Does it apply in federal courts?8 Does registering to do business in the state constitute consent to be sued there on claims unrelated to the state or the defendant’s contacts with the state?9 Answers to any or all of these questions could have a dramatic impact on manufacturers and other nationwide businesses. As cases raising these questions work their way through trial and appellate courts, look to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Ford cases for a signal of what may next come before the Court and, possibly, of how the Court might be inclined to rule. Clifford J. Zatz Email: czatz@crowell.com Gloria Martinez Trattles Email: gtrattles@crowell.com 1 Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 472 (1985). 2 Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Ct., 443 P.3d 407 (Mont. 2019); Bandemer v. Ford Motor Co., 931 N.W.2d 744 (Minn. 2019). 3 Daimler AG v. Bauman, 571 U.S. 117, 132, 137 (2014); BNSF Railway Co. v. Tyrell, 137 S. Ct. 1549, 1559 (2017). 4 Goodyear Dunlop Tires Ops., S.A. v. Brown, 564 U.S. 915, 926-27 (2011); J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro, 564 U.S. 873, 882-83 (2011). 5 Walden v. Fiore, 571 U.S. 277, 285 (2014). 6 Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Ct., 137 S. Ct. 1773, 1780 (2017). 7 E.g., Molock v. Whole Foods Mkt., Inc., 297 F. Supp. 3d 114, 126-27 (D.D.C. 2018) (finding “a substantial ground for difference of opinion” and certifying interlocutory appeal); Mussat v. IQVIA Inc., No. 17 C 8841, 2018 WL 5311903, at *5 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 26, 2018) (applying Bristol-Myers Squibb and granting motion to strike claims of out-of-state class members). 8 See Bristol-Myers Squibb, 137 S. Ct. at 1784 (“[W]e leave open the question whether the Fifth Amendment imposes the same restrictions on the exercise of personal jurisdiction by a federal court.”). 9 See, e.g., Allstate Ins. Co. v. Klein, 422 S.E.2d 863 (Ga. 1992) (finding that registration to do business was sufficient basis on which to found the fiction of corporate defendant’s “presence” in Georgia for purposes of general jurisdiction); Webb-Benjamin, LLC v. Int’l Rug Group, LLC, 192 A.3d 1133 (Pa. Super. 2018) (holding that registration subjected foreign corporation to general jurisdiction under Pennsylvania’s jurisdictional statute).
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How Supreme Court ruling on Texas could reduce affirmative action across US The Supreme Court, which has shifted to the right, may use the Texas case to overturn the 2003 decision that achieving classroom diversity could justify the use of race-based affirmative action. Molly Riley/Reuters/File The US Supreme Court may use a Texas case to overturn the 2003 decision achieved classroom diversity. By Warren Richey Staff writer @WarrenRichey The US Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday to examine the race-based admissions plan at the University of Texas raises the possibility it may rule in a way that dramatically reduces the use of affirmative action plans at public colleges and universities across the country. At issue in the Texas case is whether that’s school’s use of affirmative action to supplement minority enrollment at the state’s flagship university violates the equal protection rights of nonminority students competing for the same places in the freshman class. University officials relied on a Supreme Court decision in a 2003 case, Grutter v. Bollinger, to support its use of race in an attempt to achieve a critical mass of racial and ethnic diversity in every class taught at UT. Critics say the effort is an abuse of the diversity rationale approved by the Supreme Court in 2003. Supporters say it is necessary to fulfill the university’s educational mission of providing a diverse learning environment. Legal analysts said the court may use the Texas case to revisit – and perhaps overturn – the 2003 decision in which the majority justices established for the first time that classroom diversity could provide a compelling interest justifying the use of race-based affirmative action. That decision in Grutter v. Bollinger involved an admissions program at the University of Michigan Law School. The justices voted 5 to 4 to uphold the race-based program. The critical swing vote was cast by then-Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who wrote in her decision that such race-based programs should be phased out as unnecessary within 25 years. Since then, Justice O’Connor has been replaced on the high court by Justice Samuel Alito, who is far less open to race-based admissions plans than was O’Connor. In addition to this rightward shift at the court, Justice Elena Kagan, an affirmative action supporter, is recusing herself from consideration of the case. Justice Kagan worked on the Texas case as the Obama administration’s solicitor general before joining the high court. “The last time the court considered affirmative action in higher education was the 2003” Grutter case, says Brian Fitzpatrick, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School. “It is possible the court could use this case to overturn Grutter’s permitting universities to use affirmative action for diversity purposes.” But he notes that it is not the only potential outcome. “It is also possible the court will narrowly focus on the unique circumstances of the University of Texas,” he says. For example, if the court was troubled by the university’s broad use of race to attempt to achieve diversity in every classroom at the university, the justices could strike down that portion of the university’s plan as being outside the guidance offered by the high court in the 2003 Grutter decision. More problematic from the perspective of affirmative action supporters is the possibility that the justices use the Texas case to completely reexamine the diversity rationale that was narrowly approved in 2003. “The court is right to take the case, because the justices must keep an eye on what schools are doing,” says Roger Clegg, president of the Center for Equal Opportunity and a long-time critic of race-based admissions programs. “Instead of preferences being phased out, in some ways they are getting worse – as our studies have documented,” Mr. Clegg said. “What’s more, as our nation becomes more and more multiracial and multiethnic, it becomes more and more untenable for our public institutions to label, sort, and discriminate on the basis of skin color and national origin.” Ted Shaw, a Columbia Law School professor and former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, says the decision to take the Texas case is “potentially troubling news for colleges and universities and those who support efforts to diversify institutions of higher education.” At the University of Texas the vast majority of minority freshman enter by means of a state law that requires race-neutral admission for anyone in the top 10 percent of a Texas high school class. The university adopted a race-based supplement plan after the high court’s ruling in 2003. It is that supplement plan that is at the center of the legal fight over the use of race in Texas admissions. Shaw identifies four potential routes the Supreme Court might follow in the Texas case. “The court could uphold the University of Texas plan, it could strike it down as unnecessary in light of its race-neutral ‘Ten Percent’ plan without overturning Grutter, or it could abandon res judicata principles and revisit its 2003 decision in Grutter,” he says. In addition, Shaw said the justices could dismiss the case as moot given that the plaintiff is about to graduate from the other university she applied to after being rejected by Texas. Given those options, Shaw is not optimistic. He notes that the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is more conservative on this issue than was the court under Chief Justice William Rehnquist – with Justice O’Connor. “In its 2007 decision striking down voluntary school desegregation efforts, [the Roberts Court] evinced hostility to race-conscious diversity efforts,” Shaw said. With Justice Kagan recused, Justice Anthony Kennedy’s potential swing vote becomes essential in an eight-member court, Shaw says. An evenly divided court would affirm the lower court’s ruling upholding the Texas race-based plan. But if the same five justices that voted against a race-based plan in 2007 join forces in the Texas case, the plan may be in trouble. “The court grant is not entirely a surprise,” Shaw said. “Affirmative action and diversity opponents have been looking for the ‘right case’ to overturn Grutter since the day it was decided.” Joshua Thompson, an attorney with the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation, said the court’s decision to take up the Texas case was “good news for everyone who believes in equal rights and equal opportunities.” “It is time for the court to take another look at this area of law, and stake out a clear position against race-based preferences and discrimination in university admissions,” Mr. Thompson said. “Racial diversity in a student body does not guarantee a diversity of experience and perspectives,” he said. “A policy of race-based preferences and discrimination in admissions is not just unfair, it is unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.” Test your knowledge How much do you know about the US Constitution? A quiz. Affirmative action in college admissions goes back before Supreme Court California court backs in-state tuition for illegal immigrants
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New Haven to rescind rules limiting crowds, to match governor’s orders By Mary E. O’Leary June 9, 2020 Updated: June 9, 2020 8:05 p.m. New Haven to rescind rules limiting crowds, to match... 1of2Career High School in New Haven in 2020.Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media file photo / 2of2Career High School will be used as a shelter for homeless people who have coronavirus, or Covid-19.Photo: TBD NEW HAVEN — Mayor Justin Elicker is rescinding some of the actions taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, while continuing to monitor any spread of the disease. His order prohibiting gatherings of 10 or more people will no longer be in effect as of Sunday. Elicker said he wanted to be in sync with changes made by Gov. Ned Lamont for simplicity’s sake, while from a safety perspective, it was the right decision as well. Also, the isolation shelter at Hill Regional Career High School for homeless people needing medical monitoring after being hospitalized for the coronavirus has been closed, with extensive cleaning undertaken by the city. A total of 15 people had been treated there. By Alexander Soule Bridgeport, Hartford trail in jobs recovery, Danbury and... By Amanda Cuda Wife’s faith helped husband survive coronavirus By Randall Beach So long, Clark’s, thanks for the memories Haar: Recession, of course, but what does that mean for us? CT office managers ‘figuring out the footprint’ for work... By Paul Schott and Alexander Soule A menu of worries as restaurants prep for indoor dining June 17 The total number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in the city stood at 2,622 with 109 fatalities. He said as the city monitors the data, and while it appears to continue to be on a downward trend the Health Department will watch carefully in the wake of multiple protests in the past week. The mayor also announced at his virtual press conference Monday that Albertus Magnus College has offered a portion of its facilities as a shelter for people who need a place to isolate after being exposed to COVID-19 It can serve a maximum of 30 people. Elicker said a maximum of 25 people can gather at non-religious outdoor gatherings; a maximum of 10 for non-religious indoor gatherings that are social or recreational; certain outdoor events are banned entirely, such as baseball because of touching; a maximum of 50 people can be at an indoor religious service or 150 outdoors. The other specifics as laid out by the governor can be found at his website. Rick Fontana, the city’s emergency management chief, said the isolation center at Career was put on standby on May 27 as its last guest left. On May 28 he said the city started a process, which used the Aeroclave electrostatic decontamination system to give the area of the school used as a shelter a deep clean. Fontana said they have been using the cleaning device on fire apparatus and areas with high amounts of traffic, patrol cars and ambulances. The solution it spreads is one of the most effective to kill COVID-19 instantly, Fontana said. He said it includes a high concentration of chlorine, but it is “extremely safe,” and can be sprayed on skin. He said it not only clears the air within the facility, but anything that was touched, whether it is the bleachers where the guests sat, the cots and some of the equipment. “We went through it very methodically,” Fontana said. The two machines used to spray the decontaminate belong to the Fire Department, which uses it routinely. After the spraying, Fontana said they let the area sit unused for some five days and then Board of Education personnel started the cleaning and disinfection process. “We were very methodical making sure we covered every area that any of the individuals were in,” he said. Elicker thanked everyone who made use of the facility by persons in need possible. These included individuals in his administration as well as those who volunteered for the Medical Reserve Corps and school officials — Interim Superintendent of Schools Ilene Tracey (who will take the job full-time on July 1) and the schools CEO Michael Pinto. He gave special thanks to Dr. David Rosenthal, who was the lead medical adviser. A physician at the Veterans Affairs medical center, Rosenthal advised on wrap-around services, as well as staffing, quality improvement, operations and he was also “a strong ethical compass along the way for some challenging decisions that we needed to make,” Elicker said. “We’re so grateful to Dr. Rosenthal for your willingness to step up and your willingness to help. This is obviously not just one moment in your life that you do this. This is something that you do all the time, but we are very grateful to have benefited from your expertise, your wisdom and your support,” Elicker said. Dr. Mehul Dalai, the city’s community services administrator, said the whole operation “was no small feat. This had not been done in just short order before and it could not have been done without Dr. Rosenthal’s help and dedication. It wasn’t in just the planning and the medical side, I can truly say he was involved in every single aspect.” Dalai said having the facility helped stop the spread of the virus by giving homeless individuals a place to recuperate. Rosenthal thanked the city and praised the 60 volunteers who came forward as part of the Medical Reserve Corps, who he called “amazing.” “When there was a need and the mayor put out a call, lots of people stood up,” Rosenthal said. He called it a team effort and also thanked James Harriot from the city who, as the site manager, put in countless hours. The mayor said since the virus is still circulating, the city wanted to continue to provide a site for people who don’t have the ability to isolate when exposed to the coronavirus. Albertus has offered 12 of its suites which have a kitchen, bathroom and sleeping area. It is now active until the end of July; no one is using them at the moment. Dalai said they will have medical trained staff on site around the clock. The city also had an update on the COVID-19 testing site at Day and Chapel streets. Health Director Maritza Bond said there was a “glitch” between Murphy Medical Associates, which runs it, and the lab it was using to analyze the tests that delayed the results for sometimes more than two weeks. Bond said it is now fixed and the city apologized for the delay. Murphy Medical Associates has also put up sites at the Lincoln Bassett and Hill schools in New Haven, as well as other pop-up sites, and is testing all the residents and staff at Tower One/Tower East. mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com; 203-641-2577
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Singing With The Beatles: An Interview with Lizzie Bravo by Sean Gaillard Let’s step into a time machine and travel back to February 1968… Imagine standing outside Abbey Road Studios with a group of devoted Beatle fans. You’re hoping for a fleeting glimpse of the source of your fandom. Seeing any version of John, Paul, George, and Ringo will suffice as a sacred imprint in your memory. A photograph of a Beatle sprinting urgently into the recording studio is even better. An acknowledgment of your faithful presence from The Fab Four is akin to discovering the Holy Grail. Related: “The Beatles’ ‘Help!’: Breaking Down the Vocal Tricks” How about we raise the ante on the possibilities of an encounter with The Beatles? What if you were invited to participate in a recording session with them? Visiting London in 1968, Lizzie Bravo, a sixteen-year-old native of Brazil, can be heard providing background vocals on the original version of “Across the Universe.” Bravo’s voice is distinctly heard on the track along with another lucky fan, Gayleen Pease. Recently, Lizzie Bravo was able to share her incredible experience via an e-mail interview. What originally brought you to London in February 1967? When The Beatles stopped touring at the end of 1966, my friend Denise and I realized we would never see them. She convinced her parents AND mine to send us to London as a gift for our 15th birthdays, which had happened in May and June. The sole purpose of the trip was to see the Beatles. She went a few weeks ahead of me since my father was abroad, and he needed to sign for me to travel alone. I saw the four Beatles, Brian Epstein, and Mal Evans the same day I arrived, leaving EMI Studios at night. They were recording Sgt. Pepper. Related: “The Beatles: Through the Eyes of A Teen and Top Brass” Describe the fateful invitation you received to contribute to a Beatles recording. What feelings and emotions were going through your mind when you got invited into Abbey Road Studios? There were only a handful of us fans waiting for them to come out that night. It was a Sunday; they didn’t normally record on weekends. The doorman had let us inside the building. Paul came out of the glass doors and asked: “Can any of you girls hold a high note?” I went in and asked to bring my friend Gayleen. You have to realize that we were used to seeing them almost every day, so this particular night was just a much nicer situation since we were inside and not outside the studios. We were just enjoying our time with them (approximately two hours), we were too young to realize what was really going on: we were recording with the biggest rock and roll band that ever was… sharing a microphone with John and Paul (there were two mikes, I was with John first and then we switched). How were you received by The Beatles during the “Across the Universe” recording session? What did you notice about their interaction as a band? They were very nice and made us feel at home. They were funny and we laughed at the jokes and situations. They seemed to get on well. You have to realize we were 16 and 17, just enjoying our time with them. We weren’t there to analyze them as a band or as people. What were your initial thoughts about “Across the Universe” as a song? It took a long time for us to hear it for the first time. For me, it was on Kenny Everett’s radio show. I thought it was beautiful. How did your family and friends respond to this extraordinary event of you singing on a Beatles song? I personally didn’t tell very many people. There was a note in the March 1968 issue of The Beatles Monthly and that was it. For many years it never appeared in any books or magazines. I don’t remember anyone making a big fuss out of it. It happens a lot more nowadays. What is the one lingering memory from recording with The Beatles that has stayed with you over the years? There are many moments I remember vividly, too many to list here. Being beside John Lennon, my idol, singing on the same microphone with him, so close… Please share any other encounters you have had with The Beatles. As I said before, we used to see all four of them almost every day, it would be impossible to list. My book (Do Rio a Abbey Road, for now only in Portuguese and sold out) has my diary entries and photos. I left London in late October 1969. In February 1990 I saw Paul at a conference for Brazilian press in Indianapolis, Indiana. As he shook my hand, he asked me “why do I remember you?” So, I told him, and he remembered. How do The Beatles still hold meaning for you today? I love their music, I love them as people, and I have met countless amounts of fans all over the world that have become my Beatles family. Since 1964… What caused you to leave London and return to Brazil? The boys weren’t going to the studios or to Apple every day like before. It was kind of obvious something was going on. I wanted to get on with my life. I had been a maid at a 3rd class hotel, a maid at a family’s home and later an au-pair at another family’s home (this last family was very nice, and we have remained friends). This for a middle-class Brazilian girl who had a very comfortable life in Rio, we had a live-in maid, and I had never made a bed in my life. How do you wish for today’s fans to carry on the legacy of The Beatles? The Beatles sang so much about love. I hope young people can still feel that love when they listen to their music. And I don’t need to wish: all the time people tell me about their children or relatives that have started liking The Beatles even as toddlers! It will never stop, they are eternal. Lizzie Bravo’s tale is eternally preserved on the original version of “Across the Universe.” The track was first donated by The Beatles on a 1969 charity album for the World Wildlife Fund, compiled by British comedian Spike Milligan. That album is out of print, but one can experience the original “Across the Universe” on The Beatles compilation, Past Masters. The epic Wall of Sound production of “Across the Universe” is on the 1970 Let It Be album. For whatever reason, producer Phil Spector deleted the original background vocals of Lizzie Bravo and Gayleen Pease. Regardless, we have a wonderful story of one fan’s brief collaboration with her favorite band. -Sean Gaillard Photo: Lizzie Bravo and John Lennon in 1967 Tagsabbey road • Across the Universe • Apple Scruffs • beatles • Classic rock • CultureSonar • CultureSonarInterviews • fifth beatle • Gayleen Pease • john lennon • let it be • Lizzie Bravo • paul mccartney • Sean Gaillard AboutSean Gaillard Long-time school educator and self-proclaimed Beatles fanatic, Sean Gaillard is the author of The Pepper Effect – a book that talks about how the band’s secrets to success and creative collaboration can be applied not only in the schoolhouse but to life. In his spare time, you’ll find him browsing used record stores. smgaillard 1 comment on “Singing With The Beatles: An Interview with Lizzie Bravo” Lizzie lived every fan’s dream. I can’t wait for her book to come out in English in UK.
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Real Cyber Story #2 – Cosmic Cocktails Cosmic Cocktails boss Clint Gurney remembers all too well the panic he felt when he realised his business website had disappeared from the internet. “I put in cosmiccocktails.com.au and I went, ‘Holy crap, where are we?’,” he says. “That’s just a feeling that you do not want to have. It’s like someone just kicked you in the guts.” In a haze of disbelief, Gurney kept searching frantically. But the site wasn’t there. It had been taken down by hackers almost six months earlier. The hack devastated the business. “We had nothing in our diary for the next 12 months, which was just unheard of,” Gurney says. “We closed the business for two months. I had to put off all my staff, and just figure out what the hell we were going to do.” Being attacked by cyber criminals wasn’t on Gurney’s radar – and he’s not alone. Small businesses are the target of 43 per cent of all cyber crimes in Australia, but most businesses are ill-equipped for an attack. “They don’t know what they don’t know,” says WA AustCyber Innovation Hub at ECU director Dr Ian Martinus. “From my experience, dealing with small business in this state, particularly over the last 20 years, [they’re] not very prepared at all.” ECU Security Research Institute (ECUSRI) director Professor Craig Valli agrees. “They’re one of the most attacked places, but of course they don’t have the expertise or knowledge to actually help protect themselves,” he says. Valli adds many small business owners also assume they won’t be targeted, without realising cyber criminals could be after money or trade secrets, or use their business as a stepping stone to get to their larger customers.
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Home » Articles » Archives » Gearing up for the big game Gearing up for the big game Although software makers and equipment manufacturers are still romancing the corporate market, there’s another audience that’s challenging developers to come up with faster, shinier, and more compelling technology. Behold the power of gaming. Innovation is a curious beast. You never know where it’s going to come from or, more interestingly, where it’s headed. In the past few decades, much innovation has taken place in the computing world because corporate IT departments have been hungry for faster processing speed, more secure networks, and better ways to communicate. Although software makers and equipment manufacturers are still romancing the corporate market, there’s another audience that’s challenging developers to come up with faster, shinier, and more compelling technology. Behold the power of gaming. Unlike general computer users, who have a wide array of technology demands, gamers have very specific needs: fast processing, cool-looking computers, noise-cancelling headphones, and quick-responding monitors. Some may argue that such requirements merely make them into early adopters, but that’s not quite accurate. Gamers aren’t just a batch of technology-hungry geeks who happen to like buying the newest machines on the market. They’re a group that’s actually driving innovation, not just buying it. Gamers present a challenge for companies attempting to sell to them, because they stray outside the boundaries of normal marketing tactics. For regular consumers, companies usually build a product they think will appeal to a mass audience, and then try to convince people that they need it or want it. It doesn’t work out that way for gamers, who have such specific requirements that often a product must be built from the ground up just for them, rather than developed and then marketed to them after design and production. One example of this is headphones, which many gamers use during tournament play to block out the chaotic sounds of dozens of other games in the same room. To meet the needs of the gaming community, companies often have to invest more time and energy in research, to find out what gamers really want. Bill Whearty, vice president of Connecticut-based headphone company Sennheiser Communications, says that the firm makes products specifically for gamers, and they developed them with plenty of input from game aficionados. “We’ve been in the audio business for a long time,” Whearty says, “Our stuff is used heavily in the music industry, and has been for many years.” Despite having the blessing of studio musicians, the company still had to build its gaming headphones somewhat from scratch. Whearty adds, “Serious gamers expect a certain kind of product, one that fits what they’re doing very well. You can’t create a product and hand it to them and say, ‘Here, this is good for you, buy it.’ You have to ask them what they need, and then develop it.” Art of seeing With the ears taken care of, we turn to the eyes. The gaming community has been driving monitor designers to work a little harder on getting them a usable LCD monitor. Up until now, gamers have been using CRTs because they have a faster response time, better performance, and no ghosting effects. However, now that monitor makers know the size and buying power of the gaming world, they’ve been racing to develop a flat panel that any character in Vice City would be proud to appear on. Samsung in particular has been keen to get gamer interest, and recently introduced the SyncMaster 172X 17-inch LCD display that they say is ideal for gaming. It has a 12-millisecond response time, which ensures better performance of motion video and produces smoother edges, clearer images, less eye fatigue, and a more natural image response. The company has its fingers crossed that gamers will be enthusiastic about switching to its display. Well, it might be putting in a bit more effort than just crossing its fingers, actually. To get the word out, the company is a major sponsor of the World Cyber Games, and plans to market gamers more heavily in the coming months. “The 172X isn’t for the average person, and it’s not for using every day,” says Monica Islas, Samsung product manager for monitors. “It’s being pushed for the gamer, because that’s who it was developed for. It’s for people who buy Alienware.” Samsung isn’t the only company seeking to woo gamers with specially-built LCD monitors. Dell, which has announced a major expansion plan into consumer electronics, recently unveiled the 2001FP LCD with a 16m response time. Other companies are working to meet the gamer need as well, and it shouldn’t be long before gaming and flat panels go together like Sims and hot tubs. Winners in the all-around To get the best picture of how gaming is driving innovation, it may be easiest to just take a glimpse at the machines being created for gamers and gamers alone. The top contenders for this market are Alienware, Voodoo PC, and Falcon Northwest. For these computer makers, every component is in the equipment for only one reason: because gamers want it there. “The two founders of the company are hardcore gamers,” says Kevin Wasielewski, Alienware vice president of marketing. “They started the company because they thought there would be other people that would want machines built just for gaming. Turns out, they were right.” Building entire machines, as opposed to just processors or monitors, for the gaming audience is fairly challenging, Wasielewski notes, because they not only have specific needs to be met, but also lengthy wish lists of things they’d like to have, like faster gameplay and better refresh rates. To make sure that every gamer can get as close to what they want as possible, the company allows for a very high degree of customization. In fact, every machine is built to order. Recently, the company developed a laptop, the Area-51m, that is destined to be ubiquitous LAN parties across the globe. Speed and graphics are nice, of course, but don’t think for a second that gamers care only about how fast the characters can jump in Star Wars Galaxies. To really appeal to gamers, companies also have to focus on making their products look cool. The molded Alienware case has glowing eyes, and its laptop looks like it fell from the hatch of a passing UFO. Voodoo PC has a range of chassis that cover a computer’s guts with aluminum, funky colors, cut-out windows, and quirky designs. CEO Ravi Sood says, “We appeal to the user who truly wants a work of art on their desk. They want to know they’re working on a finely-tuned machine.” For computer users who aren’t gamers, and don’t invest in the type of equipment adored by joystick lovers, the technology developments that are created for the gaming market are worth noticing. After all, if gamers demand better monitors, faster computers, and spiffy headphones, it won’t be long before those perfected products land on the mass market. “What drives this industry isn’t Dell or Intel or even Voodoo,” says Sood. “It’s innovation. Gamers are at the forefront of that.”
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Faraci, David (2018). Review of Explanation in Ethics and Mathematics: Debunking and Dispensability. Analysis 78(2): 377-381. DOI: 10.1093/analys/any019 This volume covers two related debates in both meta-ethics and the philosophy of mathematics, with brief forays into the philosophies of logic and religion and the history of ethics. The first debate is about ‘evolutionary debunking arguments’ (EDAs) – roughly, arguments that because evolutionary pressures do not track realistically construed ethical and mathematical (EM) truths, the evolutionary origins of our EM-beliefs suggest that they do not track such truths. The second debate is about ‘indispensability arguments’ (IAs) – roughly, arguments that we are justified in including realistically construed EM-entities in our ontology because they are indispensable for some important project.
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Lindsey M. Burke, Ph.D., EdChoice Fellow Director, Center for Education Policy and Will Skillman Fellow in Education, The Heritage Foundation As director of the Center for Education Policy, Lindsey Burke oversees the Heritage Foundation’s research and policy on issues pertaining to preschool, K-12 and higher education reform. In 2013, Burke was also named the Will Skillman Fellow in Education Policy, devoting her time and research to reducing federal intervention in education at all levels and empowering families with education choice. Burke’s commentary, research, and op-eds have appeared in various newspapers and magazines, and she has appeared on numerous radio and television shows and spoken on education reform issues across the country and internationally. She has published evaluations of education choice options for various public policy foundations and has done extensive work developing and evaluating education savings accounts (ESAs). In 2015, Burke won Heritage’s prestigious W. Glenn and Rita Ricardo Campbell Award in recognition of her work fighting against national standards and tests and for expanded education choice options. Burke holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Hollins University in Roanoke, Va. and a master of teaching degree in foreign language education from the University of Virginia. She is currently pursuing a PhD in education policy and research methods at George Mason University, where she examines the intersection of education choice and institutional theory.
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By Cindy Cohn and Trevor Timm Following on the heels of the Guardian reporting that the NSA is collecting all US call data records of Verizon customers, the Guardian and Washington Post yesterday reported that nine of the biggest Internet companies, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, are also working with the government in a vast spying program, where a massive amount of online data flows to the NSA, all in secret. The revelations not only confirmed what EFF has long alleged, they went even further and honestly, we’re still reeling. EFF will, of course, be continuing its efforts to get this egregious situation addressed by the courts. But one thing is clear. Congress now has a responsibility to the American people to conduct a full, public investigation into the domestic surveillance of Americans by the intelligence communities, whether done directly or in concert with the FBI. And it then has a duty to make changes in the law to stop the spying and ensure that it does not happen again. In short, we need a new Church Committee. In the mid-70s, in response to revelation that the government was engaging in systematic domestic surveillance on domestic targets—including anti-war activists, academics, and government critics like Martin Luther King Jr., John Lennon and Daniel Ellsberg—the distinguished Senator from Idaho, Frank Church, convened a Senate investigative committee that ultimately put a stop to large scale domestic spying for decades. The Church Committee report, which can be read in full here, led to the passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), setting up the secret FISA court that put strict procedures in place for conducting surveillance for intelligence activities. Most importantly, following a Supreme Court ruling in 1973, FISA required an individualized, probable cause warrant for national security spying, just as the Fourth Amendment requires. While there is much to criticize in the original FISA, it did rein in the government, and its system of checks and balances remained largely in place until shortly after September 11, 2001, when President George W. Bush first authorized a broad warrantless wiretapping program. The government decided to illegally bypass the FISA court and started warrantlessly wiretapping the communications, as well as collecting and data-mining the communications records of innocent Americans. When a portion of the NSA warrantless surveillance was revealed by the New York Times in 2005, there was widespread outrage among the American people. Unfortunately, Congress reacted in the opposite way as the Church Committee once did. Instead of fixing the problems, they institutionalized most of them and swept the rest under the rug. In 2008, Congress gutted the original balance of FISA with the FISA Amendments Act, which allowed the government to get court orders with less than probable cause that would target groups of people—instead of individuals, like the Constitution requires. The law also allowed the NSA to collect information on innocent Americans when they are talking to people outside the US who are targeted by the government. But it gets worse. EFF and others had long alleged that, despite the rhetoric surrounding the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act, the government was still vacuuming up the records of the purely domestic communications of millions of Americans. And yesterday, of course, with the Verizon order, we got solid proof.. And it appears that the reach of this vacuum goes much further, into the records of our Internet service providers as well. Now it’s not as if these efforts haven’t been challenged. EFF has been seeking judicial review of the dragnet surveillance, both wiretapping and records collection, since 2006, facing one procedural maneuver after another by the government. The ACLU brought a strong constitutional challenge to the FISA Amendments Act that was dismissed by the Supreme Court only two months ago for lack of “standing.” The court ruled in a contentious 5-4 decision that because the ACLU couldn’t prove for a “certainty” that their clients were being surveilled, they couldn’t challenge the law. Well, it turns out, the new revelations prove everything the ACLU was arguing, in addition to confirming all of the allegations in EFF’s warrantless wiretapping case, Jewel v. NSA. Of course, the evidence has been there all along. Even after the FISA Amendments Act passed, the New York Times reported in 2009 the NSA was still collecting purely domestic communications in a “significant and systematic” way after the original bill passed in 2008. And just last year, the government admitted, the secret FISA court has ruled “on at least one occasion” that the government’s surveillance under the law had violated the Fourth Amendment. That secret FISA court ruling is still classified, as are the OLC memos that supposedly give the government’s best case that all this purely domestic surveillance is legal. But one has to wonder, if the FISA court “routinely” authorizes the collection of all US call data, what kind of surveillance was the NSA conducting that they couldn’t approve? Shamefully, Congress has had a chance to add provisions to both the Patriot Act and FISA Amendments Act in the last two years. In 2011, the Obama administration opposed all transparency and accountability amendments to the Patriot Act when key provisions were renewed for another five years. Just six months ago in December 2012, the administration again opposed all oversight amendments, even those more moderate than the ones he voted for as Senator in 2008. So here’s your wake up call Congress, and an opportunity to be a hero. We need a Church Committee for a new era. It could be headed by Ron Wyden and Mark Udall, the two Senators who have been trying to warn the American people about the government dangerous interpretation of the Patriot Act for years. Udall said today, he “did everything short of leaking classified information” to stop it. But someone in Congress needs to step up and fill Frank Church’s shoes. They are big ones, but EFF stands willing to help. And so, we suspect, will millions of innocent Americans whose privacy has been violated and who are ready to have their constitutional rights back.
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Interview with Sir Mike Rake, Chairman of BT Nicholas O'Regan (University of the West of England, Bristol, UK) Abby Ghobadian (Henley Management College, Henley‐on‐Thames, UK) Journal of Strategy and Management Publication date: 7 August 2009 British Telecom (BT) has achieved a classic turnaround that involved divestment and efficiency drives. This interview with Sir Mike Rake, Chairman of BT, sheds light on BT's past development and future growth. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes the form of an interview with Sir Mike Rake, Chairman of BT. The interview outlines a number of important factors in running a resilient and effective global company such as culture and common values, leadership at board and executive levels, remuneration transparency, skills, technology, and corporate governance. The paper provides insight into the strategic journey of BT. O'Regan, N. and Ghobadian, A. (2009), "Interview with Sir Mike Rake, Chairman of BT", Journal of Strategy and Management, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 288-295. https://doi.org/10.1108/17554250910982516
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Solidere plans eco project in Turkey Lebanese real estate developer Solidere is studying new projects in Turkey, Oman, Egypt and North Africa, a senior official at the company’s international arm said yesterday. “We are looking into an ecological tourism development project with the Turkish Government,” Mounib Hammoud, executive director of Dubai-based Solidere International, said. Hammoud said his company, which was established in July 2007 with the aim to make Solidere a regional real estate developer on both sides of the Mediterranean, plans to expand from Oman to North Africa. Hammoud did not provide any information on the expected capital expenditure to finance these projects. Solidere was founded in 1994 by then-prime minister Rafik Al Hariri and is seen as the most important force behind Beirut’s re-emergence after the 1975-1990 civil war. It is listed on Beirut and Kuwait stock exchanges. The firm, which has a market capitalisation of $3.53 billion (Dh12.9bn), has a partnership with the Government of Ajman and has a strong presence in Saudi Arabia, where it is also expanding its projects. “We are currently working on a large project in the main spine of the Saudi capital, which we did not announce before,” Hammoud said. He added that a number of other projects are under consideration in Egypt, where Solidere has a strategic partnership with the Egyptian property developer Sixth of October Investment and Development (Sodic). Solidere International and Sodic are developing two mixed-use city centres in the suburbs of Cairo, WesTown, on the highway between Cairo and Alexandria and EasTown in Kattameya, an eastern Cairo suburb. “We are currently working on the master plan and are awaiting government authorisation,” Hammoud said. “We expect to build the infrastructure of the two projects during this year and hopefully buyers will start to move in within three years’ time,” he added. Hammoud estimated the cost of investment in the two projects at 26 billion Egyptian pounds (Dh17.3bn) and the expected sales value at 35bn Egyptian pounds. “Although these are conservative estimations,” he said. (Reuters)
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At least 2 injured in Wisconsin chemical plant explosion Published Wednesday, March 19, 2008 An explosion at a chemical plant in northwestern Wisconsin severely injured two workers and forced the evacuation of homes and businesses, authorities said. The plant, owned by Cortec Corp, makes aerosols and paint solvents and has about eight employees. “The bright red flames were 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) in the air and the smoke was pitch black,” said Minong resident Jim Biros, who drove by about five minutes after the blast Tuesday. “There were pieces of ash falling everywhere.” The cause of the explosion was not known. It appeared no hazardous chemicals were involved in the fire that broke out at the time of the blast, Wisconsin Emergency Management spokeswoman Lori Getter said. The cause of the explosion is “really a mystery at this point in time,” said Cortec vice president Anna Vignetti. Homes and businesses within a half-mile (800 meters) of the plant were evacuated, the state patrol said. Residents were allowed to return Tuesday afternoon after tests showed the air was safe. The two injured workers suffered what were believed to be first- or second-degree burns, Vignetti said. Both were reported in critical condition on Tuesday night. Another four employees inside at the time of the blast were not hurt. The blast destroyed much of the building, the patrol said. The plant, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Minneapolis-St Paul, was shut down pending further investigation. The plant was evacuated, and emergency workers set up a two-block perimeter around it, Getter said. Nearby schools were keeping children inside after the explosion, Getter said. Spooner has a population of about 2,700. St Paul, Minnesota-based Cortec manufactures products for corrosion control. (AP)
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Fri 11th Jun 2021, 7:30pm T.Rextasy at Yeadon Town Hall Supplied by TicketSource. Customers with disabilities please call 0113 279 0033 to book. The Greatest Hits Tour Marc Bolan and T.Rex, were one of the most flamboyant, charismatic stars of the original glam-rock era. With Bolan’s special ingredient of Rock-a-Boogie songs, the band had a string of huge hits throughout the 1970s. T.Rextasy have performed around the world for over 20 years and the band is now accepted as the world’s only official live tribute band dedicated to T.Rex. They are the only band endorsed and approved by Marc Bolan’s family, estate, original ex-members of T.Rex, and Bolan’s catalogue management. The band has been described by many as ‘beyond the boundaries of tribute’. T.Rextasy are the only band to have been authorised and endorsed by Marc Bolan’s Catalogue Management, are now officially recognised as the world’s No.1 group dedicated to the greatest glam rocker of them all, Marc Bolan of T.Rex. With their uncanny doppelganger lead singer and lead guitarist, Danielz, T.Rextasy perform a powerful and mesmerising presentation of Marc Bolan’s rock and pop anthems. With a career spanning over 25 years, T.Rextasy are now regarded beyond the boundaries of ‘tribute’ and are respected in their own right. They are also the only band to have the blessing and support from Marc’s own family and Ex-T.Rex band members, including June Bolan (Marc’s wife), Gloria Jones (Marc’s Girlfriend), Rolan Bolan (Marc’s Son), Mickey Finn (T.Rex conga player), Tony Visconti (T.Rex producer), and others They have toured worldwide playing at venues such as the gigantic Ariake Coliseum in Japan, and Wembley Arena in London. They also perform alongside artists such as Wizzard, Cockney Rebel, Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople), and Slade amongst others. See 91 tour dates featuring T.Rextasy > Yeadon Music > Yeadon Town Hall Yeadon Town Hall LS19 7PP yeadontownhall.co.uk Find places to stay on Fri 11th Jun 2021
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Civil Everett event series At what point does a conversation become a battle? Starting this fall, Everett Public Library, the City of Everett, and community partners will host a series of events centered on the theme of civil discourse. Tackle tough conversations together with other members of the community. The kick-off event for the Civil Everett series features philosopher David E. Smith. He takes a deep look at those moments when civility breaks down and explores how we can have meaningful, respectful conversations on notoriously difficult topics. Smith provides participants with the tools needed to embark upon more thoughtful, fruitful discussions. This event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 3, at Cascade High School. Call 425-257-8000 to register. Future Civil Everett events will be posted at www.epls.org/civil. Librarian of Congress visits Everett Everett Public Library recently had the honor of welcoming Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden and Congressman Rick Larsen. Hayden visited Everett Public Library on Aug. 1 as part of a tour of Washington state libraries. Congressman Larsen, a lifelong fan of libraries, personally selected a variety of books from the Library of Congress surplus book program. Together, Larsen and Hayden presented this selection to Library Director Abigail Cooley and Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin to grow and enhance the Everett Public Library collection. Click here to find these books and place a hold in the library catalog. Virtual Reality is back! Have you ever wanted to visit the moon? Or swim with dolphins? Have you navigated through the International Space Station, or created three dimensional art on a digital canvas? From the comfort of the library, you can do so with our virtual reality program. Virtual reality headsets immerse users into 3-dimensional experiences. Many allow users to interact with and navigate through the environment. In January 2019, the Washington State Library, in conjunction with the University of Washington, selected Everett Public Library as a host site for public programs using the Oculus Rift and Go virtual reality headsets. Now we’ve extended the program to run from September to March 2020. Sessions run from 1- 4 p.m. on Saturdays at the Main Library through the end of the year. In 2020, the program will be held at the newly remodeled Evergreen Branch. Whether you’re an early adopter of technology, or simply want to revisit favorite places in the world, this program is for you. For more information, visit www.epls.org/VR. Summer Reading celebrations Mayor Cassie Franklin congratulated over 250 of our Summer Readers at two celebrations on Aug. 20 at the Main Library and Emerson Elementary School. Thank you to volunteers, staff, and attendees for making these parties a success. Nearly 700 children completed the 24-hour summer reading challenge! Hands on History: Documentaries from the Archives: "Such a Special Place: Clark Park" Tuesday Sept. 10, 6-7:30 p.m. Join local history enthusiasts for a screening of "Such a Special Place: Clark Park," produced by the Bayside Neighborhood Association. Capturing the voices of early Everett through oral history, this documentary describes the important role that Clark Park played in building a sense of community among residents. A question and answer session with filmmakers, Elle Ray and Lloyd Weller, will follow the screening. Sea Songs, New and Old Saturday, Sept. 14, 2-3:30 p.m. Whether they are singing contemporary songs with maritime themes or the old sea shanties of the Age of Sail, Pint & Dale deliver a high energy performance with dynamic vocals and exciting instrumental fireworks. Early music to modern, traditional to contemporary, heart wrenching to downright silly. It’s hard to believe that two people can make so much music. Make a Graphic Memoir! Sunday, Sept. 15, 2-3:30 p.m. Bring your story to life in a graphic format. Acclaimed comics artist Mita Mahato will present a workshop at Everett Public Library showing how to bring your story to life using the unique strengths of the graphic format. Teens and adults are welcome. No artistic talent required, but registration is. Call 425-257-8000 to register. Pete Seeger: The Man and the Music Saturday, September 28, 2019, 2-3:30 p.m. Hank and Claire will explore how Pete Seeger’s activism inspired his music, tell stories from his life, and sing songs he wrote or popularized. You’ll see historic photos, and learn the backstories for songs like “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “Turn, Turn, Turn.” A powerful blend of history, politics, and songs in tribute to this legendary activist. Events for Youth Fall Storytimes begin Sept. 9 10:30 a.m., Activity Room Mondays: Waddlers - for ages 12-24 months Tuesdays: Baby - for infants ages 3 - 12 months Wednesdays: Toddler - for children 2 years old Thursdays: Preschool - for children 3-5 years old Parents and caregivers participate in storytime with their children to help them learn. Brick Builders Club Thursdays from 4-5 p.m., beginning Sept. 12 This club is for children ages 4 to 12 years old who like to build and create. The library provides the LEGO® bricks, you provide the imagination. Parents or caregivers of children under 12 should remain in the library during this program. The programs conducted by The Everett Public Library are not affiliated, sponsored, or endorsed by LEGO® Education or the LEGO® Group. Saturdays in September and October 10:30-11:15 a.m. This class emphasizes the importance of music and movement in early childhood development. The fun-filled, interactive program is geared toward families with children ages 3 and under. A Reading Life Blog Friends of the Everett Public Library Everett Public Library Catalog epls.org Northwest Room EPL Calendar of Events Download Electronic Books Copyright 2019 Everett Public Library. All Rights Reserved. 2702 Hoyt Ave Everett, WA 98201
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WATCH: Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Get Some Practice Ahead of F1’s Return Dhruv George With the 2020 season finally set to kick off, teams are steadily trying to get back in the groove. Firstly, Mercedes set the ball rolling with a private test in Silverstone, with Scuderia Ferrari having its own test at Fiorano. Now, McLaren have joined the bandwagon with their drivers, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. However, there is a massive plot twist, as the duo were spotted at Silverstone in F3 cars. Admittedly, it is surprising to see them in F3 cars, and not F1 cars. On the other hand, both Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz have been away from an F1 car for a while. Why did Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz drive F3 cars? Jumping straight into the 2020 F1 car would have been a terrible idea as it takes the body a while to adjust. The Mercedes duo opted for a similar tactic, except they hopped in an older Mercedes. It is entirely possible that the older F1 cars and the F3 cars place significantly less strain on the drivers. At the same time, it helped them build a little more tolerance, so that when they drive the 2020 cars, they do not struggle. For a long time, the drivers had to while away their time at home in front of their simulator rigs. Now though, all 20 drivers can finally rejoice because F1 is back in action in early July. Coming back to Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, the F3 cars are the closest they can get to its F1 counterpart before the season begins. Theoretically, once they feel confident enough, they can get back to driving the 2020 McLaren car. In addition to that, they do not want to unnecessarily wear out the engine or gearbox, which could cost them in the season. Finally, it is a chance for Sainz and Norris to shake off any rust. Tags: Carlos SainzFormula OneLando NorrisMcLaren
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You can get a Rolls Royce Dawn in Malaysia for RM4 million By Kathleen Fernandez Rolls Royce has launched its new model, the Dawn, in Malaysia, a convertible four-seater that comes with a hefty RM4 million price tag. Inspired by the 1950s Silver Dawn, this luxury car is targeted at high-nett worth individuals in the country. According to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Kuala Lumpur managing director, Datuk Michael Ong, the brand has been attracting the younger generation of affluent buyers in the last few years, reported New Straits Times. The Dawn is powered by a 6.6 litre V12 engine, has a top speed of 250km per hour, and goes from 0 to 100km per hour in 5 seconds. Automotive site paultan.org, noted that the Dawn will be on display from 22nd to 24th July at Bangsar Shopping Centre, and it will be available for private viewing. Photos from Rolls Royce. Related Categories: Driving & News Get $100 Google Play Gift Card Codes anyone else like this post as much as me
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EMDR Treatment Services EMDR Treatment What is EMDR Treatment? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a powerful method of psychotherapy. To date, EMDR has helped an estimated two million people of all ages relieve many types of psychological distress. How Was EMDR Developed? In 1986, psychologist Dr. Francine Shapiro made the chance observation that eye movements can reduce the intensity of disturbing thoughts, under certain conditions. Dr. Shapiro studied this effect scientifically. In a 1989 issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress, she reported success using EMDR to treat victims of trauma. Since then, EMDR has developed and evolved through the contributions of therapists and researchers all over the world. Today, EMDR is a set of standardized protocols that incorporates elements from many different treatment approaches. How Does EMDR Work? When a person is very upset, their brain cannot process information as it does ordinarily. One moment becomes “frozen in time,” and remembering a trauma may feel as bad as going through it for the first time because the images, sounds, smells, and feelings haven’t changed. Such memories have a lasting negative effect that interferes with the way a person sees the world and the way they relate to other people. EMDR seems to have a direct effect on the way the brain processes information. Following a successful EMDR session, a person no longer relives the images, sounds, and feelings when the event is brought to mind. You still remember what happened, but it is less upsetting. Many types of talk therapy have similar goals. However, EMDR appears to be similar to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Therefore, mental health professionals think of EMDR as a physiologically-based therapy that helps a person see disturbing material in a new and less distressing way. If you would like to meet with a therapist who specializes in EMDR therapy in Eugene, please request an appointment.
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Community News: Fairfield Museum wins history award; Notre Dame hosting Legacy Gala, tuition raffle; and more March 15, 2019 Updated: March 15, 2019 12 a.m. The Connecticut League of History Organizations has selected the Fairfield Museum and History Center’s 2018 exhibition “Culper Ring: The Spies of George Washington” for a CLHO Award of Merit. Fairfield Museum wins history award The awards presentation will take place in April at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford. CHLO called the exhibition “visually stunning,” and said it was impressed with the Museum’s “creative response to the community’s interest in the Culper spies” and its exploration of “the relationship between storytelling and historical accuracy.” The recognized exhibition featured panels from a graphic novel with artwork by Kirk Manley that showed how spies played an essential role throughout the Revolutionary War in the local area. One of George Washington’s spies, Caleb Brewster, collected information brought across Long Island Sound, and would then meet with Benjamin Tallmadge in Fairfield. Tallmadge would carry his reports to Washington’s headquarters in Westchester County. Notre Dame hosting Legacy Gala, tuition raffle Notre Dame High School-Fairfield will be hosting its Lancer Legacy Gala on March 16 at the Waterview in Monroe. This event is a celebration honoring Notre Dame’s 62-year history of helping students grow in character, faith and intellect. The evening will include cocktails, dinner and a silent auction, as well as the presentation of the Lancer Legacy Awards and Alumni and Athletic Hall of Fame inductions. The event is open to the public and all proceeds will benefit the students of Notre Dame. For tickets, sponsorship, donations and additional information, visit notredame.ejoinme.org/2019Gala or contact us at 203-372-6521. Notre Dame will also be hosting a fundraiser, raffling $15,000 tuition to the grand prize winner’s school of choice (kindergarten through college). The raffle is open to the public (any U.S. resident); schools must be accredited and located in the U.S. Additionally, it can be used to pay back college loans. The scholarship can benefit up to two students of any age or grade. There are only 500 tickets available for sale at a cost of $100 per ticket. The prize will be transferred directly by Notre Dame to an institution designated by the winner. The winner may designate self, family or friends. Eligible expenses include tuition, room and board, books and school-related fees. The prize is not redeemable for cash. The winning ticket will be drawn on March 16, during the Legacy Gala. The winner need not be present to win. Health and Fitness Expo this weekend The town of Fairfield, in partnership with the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, invites the public to attend the 2019 Fairfield Health and Fitness Expo on March 16 at the Fairfield University RecPlex from 11 a.m. ot 4 p.m. “This year, the Fairfield Health and Fitness Expo will have something for the entire family to enjoy,” states Beverly Balaz, president of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce. Free and open to the public, the expo will feature 70-plus exhibitors plus special activities for young and old alike. Food trucks will be available, serving a variety of tasty food items, and special drawings for prizes. A variety of demos available at the expo will include Dojo Fairfield: COBRA Self-Defense, an elliptical-based workout, kettlebells, KAATSU, yoga, Pilates and more. Shaving heads for charity The annual St. Baldrick’s/Team Teddy-OHS event will be held, for the 10th year, at Osborn Hill School on March 15 at 5:30 p.m. Anyone interested in raising money by having their head shaved can sign up in advance by going to www.stbaldricks.org and typing in “Team Teddy — Osborn Hill School.” Or they can sign up on March 15 in person. Team Teddy was created to honor Teddy Gerber, who was in third grade at OHS when he was diagnosed with undifferentiated sarcoma, a rare and aggressive type of pediatric cancer. Teddy was recovering from two major surgeries in March 2010, but he was able to attend the event. He even acted as an honorary barber, shaving his dad’s, brother’s, and some friends’ heads. Less than six months later, he passed away at the age of 9. Team Teddy continues on in his memory, and to date has raised over $1,051,000. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation funds more childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government.
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Forensic Risk Alliance International Expertise Corporate Compliance Monitorships Disputes and Arbitration Data Governance, Technology Solutions and Forensics Accounting, Audit and Regulatory Advisory eDiscovery Consulting Disgorgement, Gain and Ability to Pay Calculations Compliance and Risk Assessment AML and Sanctions Mobile Discovery Solution A History of Success FRA Pulse An ability to pay assessment and why it may matter the most “May you live in interesting times”. Thought to be an ancient Chinese curse, it is in fact neither ancient nor Chinese, but likely arose from an 1898 speech by Joseph Chamberlain, a British politician, in which he stated “I think that you will all agree that we are living in most interesting times.“ UPDATED (2) December 2020: Included in the 4,000-plus pages of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (“NDAA”) recently approved by Congress is an amendment to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 which gives the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) statutory authority to seek disgorgement of any unjust enrichment resulting from violation of a securities law and establishes a 10-year statute of limitations for disgorgement and equitable remedies. The amendment will be applicable not just to future cases but also to those still pending at the time the NDAA is enacted, at a stroke increasing the potential size of the disgorgement sought by the SEC through federal courts. For those cases where illicit profits have been ‘earned’ by wrongdoers over many years, the return of ten years’ worth of ill-gotten gains could well result in a significant increase to the size of payments being made by the targets of SEC disgorgement actions, further raising the importance of ability to pay as a factor to be considered. See also Liu v. SEC Continues to Impact the Disgorgement Landscape. UPDATED November 2020: The recent plea agreement between Sargeant Marine and the DOJ explained that the significant reduction of the ‘appropriate total criminal penalty’ from $90 million to a final $16.6 million was due to recognition that a larger penalty ‘would substantially threaten the continued viability of the Company’. This demonstrates once again that authorities will listen to arguments for reduction in penalties based on inability to pay from any company negotiating a settlement under conditions of genuine financial hardship. The challenges faced by companies from the near closure of the global economy in response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic are certainly without precedent in modern times. For many, demand for products or services has fallen precipitously. Even with government support, the number one concern is preserving cash to maximise the chances of outlasting the pandemic and having the financial firepower to restructure and rebuild in the new normal which follows. Further the majority of the COVID-19 impact to date has yet to appear in their published financials. Before the ‘new normal’ What, then, of companies which are currently or will soon be negotiating financial settlements to regulatory investigations into business activity undertaken in less challenging times? Where a financial settlement quantum would likely have been painful but manageable in less interesting times, in the midst of the pandemic, it could well hasten the demise or threaten the future viability of a company. It is important to recognise that, in general, regulators have no interest in putting otherwise good companies out of business. Where a company can objectively demonstrate that it has a limited ability to make a financial settlement, this will be taken into account. The COVID-19 pass? However, no one should be under the impression that this makes the COVID-19 pandemic into a free pass. Regulators’ view of ability to pay is not a static, point in time assessment. It takes into account a company’s ability to pay in instalments over a period of several years. A reduction in settlement based on ability to pay requires clear arguments and evidence as to why a company cannot reasonably expect to pay a settlement even with the benefit of deferral and instalments. A high level understanding of how regulators approach ability to pay can be gleaned from the eponymous “Benczkowski Memo” published by the attorney general of the US Department of Justice in October 2019. ‘The burden of establishing an inability to pay rests with the business organization making such a claim’. Credibility is key Unsurprisingly, the onus is on the company to develop its inability to pay argument. The credibility of its argument is, of course, paramount. In our experience, arguments should be based on objective, quantitative data and forecasts which have been produced in the normal course of business and subject to scrutiny by operations, external auditors and/or at board level to be credible. Likewise, arguments which demonstrably explore all areas of a company’s business, identify all potential sources and uses of funds and apply credible stress tests are also required to establish credibility. Regulators understand that forecasting is not an exact science. They accept that company forecasts are often more aspirational than central case. Regulators also understand that a company will need to maintain a working capital buffer sufficient to survive credible fluctuations. A clear exposition of the company’s planning process will help to bridge the gap between aspirational, central case and the downside stress test scenarios which inform on ability to pay, as highlighted in the aforementioned memo. ‘The organization must cooperate fully in providing information and access to appropriate company personnel to respond to prosecutors’ inquiries.’ Squaring the circle Engagement with regulators on ability to pay can involve disclosures, presentations, responses to enquiries and negotiations over an extended period which may run over several quarterly reporting periods and potentially a financial year end. It is inevitable that a company’s business will evolve over such a period. Contracts may be won or lost. Claims may be initiated or resolved. Market conditions may change. Regulators do not expect a company to foresee black swan type events. However, their perception will be harmed if there was a failure to be fully transparent about the existence and potential outcomes of an issue which subsequently, in their opinion, had a material impact on a company’s ability to pay. A company which prepares and presents its own ability to pay assessment to regulators faces two major hurdles to overcome. The first is that the company starts with perhaps limited credibility with the regulators given the investigative context in which the engagement is taking place as well as its inherent interest in minimising the fine. The second is that the company starts with no experience of what is expected by regulators. Engaging independent advisers with experience of conducting and presenting ability to pay studies to regulators addresses both of these issues by providing assurance as to objectivity and independence. Furthermore, the individuals in a company with the knowledge and experience required to contribute to an ability to pay assessment are typically in business critical positions which take up the majority, if not all of their working hours. Cooperation with regulators does not take a break for quarter or year ends. While every business operates under a different financial landscape and are subject to a variety of industry specific economic and trading sensitivities, the current pandemic has complicated the landscape. Prior business plans drawn up for 2020 have been rendered obsolete. Companies’ focus has been on survival. None can reliably forecast when their business will recover or what it will look like when the new normal settles in. In the current environment, there may be an argument for regulators to defer the setting of a penalty. However, given the uncertain duration of the pandemic and their usual focus on closing out investigations, in our opinion regulators are unlikely to accept this. We think it more likely that regulators will want to set a penalty as soon as possible taking into account inability to pay if a company can make the case for this but deferring payment until the pandemic is likely to have passed. Given uncertainty about the future business environment and their aim not to put otherwise good companies out of business, regulators may be willing to reconsider a penalty prior to payment if a company’s viability is threatened. Rob Mason Rob Mason is a Partner in FRA’s London office. Rob joined FRA in 2014 after 20 years working at top-tier investment banks. Since joining FRA, Rob has acted as expert […] Want to receive updates from FRA? Audrey House 16-20 Ely Place London EC1N 6SN 40 Westminster St. One Cowboys Way 44, avenue George V 20 Place du Commerce Nuns’ Island Montreal, Quebec H3E 1Z6 434 W. 33rd Street 727 Norristown Road Building 8 Spring House Innovation Park, Suite 206, Lower Gwynedd, PA 19002 Postitalo Spaces Mannerheiminaukio 1A Helsinki 00100 7A Centralen Zurich Office/Datacenter Richtistrasse 7 © 2021 The FRA group in the UK comprises Forensic Risk Alliance Limited (number 3895636) and FRA Solutions Limited (5863958). Both are limited companies registered in England & Wales, and have their registered office at 3rd Floor, Audrey House, 16-20 Ely Place, London EC1N 6SN. The term partner is used to denote senior employees of the limited companies. All rights reserved.
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Officials: Juveniles threatened people at Minneapolis light rail station MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Authorities are investigating after a group of juveniles reportedly threatened people at a light rail station Friday night in Minneapolis. According to University of Minnesota officials, around 9:45 p.m., police officers were dispatched to the East Bank Light Rail station on a report that a group was threatening people. The suspects, seven juvenile males, fled the platform, but were stopped by police. Officials said two suspects were carrying metal pipes. The two suspects were identified through video surveillance and witness descriptions. According to authorities, there were no known injuries as a result of this incident. Two of the seven were cited for disorderly conduct and taken to the Juvenile Supervision Center.
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FMA allows for the first Time, trading in securities on Token-base – Coin Hero FMA allows for the first Time, trading in securities on Token-base Home News FMA allows for the first Time, trading in securities on Token-base Matthias Nemack – Many industry experts believe that the Blockchain will affect in the coming years more and more of the classic trading in securities and change. The FMA of Austria approves, for the first time a securities issue on a Blockchain-based. Startup wants to provide investors with security and voice The company hydro-miner IT-Services GmbH, based in Vienna, can look forward to. Because the company received by the financial market authority of Austria in this week’s green light for a prospectus to the capital market. It includes securities that at the time of issue, the Blockchain will serve as a basis. The papers are to be issued on a “tokenized” as it is called in the media messages. Within the EU, the reports, there was, as yet, no comparable case in which it comes to the Deposit of a Security Token, including the regulation for the protection of the Emission. The volume of securities could be up to a Maximum of 75 million Euro. Blockchain allows you to Start the new Token Has been developed for the under the so-called H3O-Token to be found in the framework of ICOs on the way to the market and how the Bitcoin or Litecoin on the Blockchain will be based, as it is called by the accompanying international firm Stadler peoples currently catch. In the case of hydro miners is a Startup company. Interested investors come in the next ICO in the enjoyment of a Quasi-equality with shareholders of the classic value of paper-shops. Unlike many allegedly dubious market Token of this kind of launches in which serves, in this case, of the Security as of the securities laws. Financial Background: the hydro-miner wants to spend on so-called “qualified subordinated profit participation rights”. The provider focuses on “green” Mining The company is in the area of “Green Mining,” and want to mine Bitcoins and other currencies, environmentally friendly and sustainable. Who is involved in the ICO on companies, has not only economic demands, but is also involved in decisions of the company, which is quite a contrast to many of the stock variants on the market. As Blockchain technology has the H3O Token, the System Ethereum by the provider for transaction-processing to obtain the “Supplement”. The Token comes as a key – holder can make to the organization to identify, at the same time, but his rights. As the issue date, the company announced the 01.02.19, can invest only in Austrian and German investors.
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Jennifer Lawrence to Reunite with David O. Russell for Abscam Drama by Ben Pearson Despite director David O. Russell's occasional on-set tirades, the director is nothing if not loyal to his cast members. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker is up for Best Director at the Oscars for Silver Linings Playbook, and is already set to reunite with star Bradley Cooper on a project he'll next direct formerly known as American Bullshit. His The Fighter star Christian Bale was set to play the lead, was replaced by Jeremy Renner, and then jumped back on in a supporting role. Now Deadline reports Russell's recent collaborator, Best Actress nominee Jennifer Lawrence will play a lead role in the film that still doesn't have a title. The movie, written by Eric Warren Singer, tells the true story of Abscam, a sting operation in the 1970s and early 80s led by an FBI agent (Cooper) who teams with the world's best con man (Bale) in order to shine a light on corruption in Congress. A New Jersey state assembly leader (Renner) is also in the mix. Adams will play Maxine "Max" Gardner, the mistress and co-conspirator of Bale's character, and Lawrence will play Bale's character's wife, who is presumably unaware of all of his shady deeds. Lawrence is the latest to sign on, joining Louis C.K. and another of Russell's former The Fighterstars, Amy Adams. It's common for directors to work with the same actors multiple times - just look at Chris Nolan's recent casts, or Russell's former buddy Mark Wahlberg working with Michael Bay - and it looks like Russell is gathering an exceptionally talented group of people that all enjoy making movies together. Lawrence is a wonderful talent and a great addition to the Abscam movie, and it's exciting to think about what projects Russell could organize in the future with these actors in mind for key roles. Find more posts: Casting, Movie News Reader Feedback - 1 Comment Bale, Adams, Cooper, Renner, C.K., and now Lawrence... what a cast. Andrew DiDonato on Feb 15, 2013
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Album: Abraxas 1) Singing Winds, Crying Beasts More Info... 0:05 2) Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen More Info... 0:05 3) Oye Como Va More Info... 0:04 4) Incident at Neshabur More Info... 0:05 5) Se a Cabo More Info... 0:03 6) Mother's Daughter More Info... 0:04 7) Samba Pa Ti More Info... 0:04 8) Hope You're Feeling Better More Info... 0:04 9) El Nicoya More Info... 0:01 Performer Notes ABRAXAS, the second album by the original (and arguably most powerful) Santana line-up, proved the band's commercial breakthrough. The album's contains two of the group's biggest hits, "Black Magic Woman," a slinky, smooth-edged interpretation of the song written by Fleetwood Mac's Peter Green, and their take on Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va," which injects Carlos Santana's stinging guitar leads into a surging salsa groove. The band's unique, genre-blurring approach makes these singles--and everything else here--unlike anything that had been heard before. The opener, "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts," showcases Carlos Santana's passionate, soulful six-string mastery over a drifting, psychedelic backdrop. The album ranges in feel, encompassing furiously propulsive jams ("Se A Cabo"), low-key Brazilian grooves ("Samba Para Ti"), and jazzy instrumentals ("Incident at Neshabur"). All the elements that made Santana's debut dazzling--roiling, polyrhythmic percussion, dense, pancultural influences, virtuoso guitar work--are here--sharpened and painted with the rich, heady sound of late-'60s San Francisco (Santana was just as exploratory and innovative as their hometown cohorts the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane). ABRAXAS remains a seminal Latin-rock release, and one of the undisputed classics of the era. Rolling Stone (12/24/70, p.54) - "...On ABRAXAS, Santana is a popularized Mongo Santamaria and they might do for Latin music what Chuck Berry did for the blues....a total boogie and the music is right from start to finish." Q (5/00, p.131) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Displays even more grace and power...[than their] fresh, fierce debut..." Vibe (12/99, p.156) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century Musician (7/98, pp.86-88) - "...Sony Legacy's sonic wizards have made...[Santana's] first three albums reappear, each appended with additional live recordings....epochal works...an explosive fusion of Hispanic-edged rock, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and interstellar improvisation..." Uncut (magazine) (p.83) - "[A] mix of psych, blues and salsa, all tied together by the fluid guitar of one of rock's great stylists." Home » Music » Pop » Hard Rock Home » Music » Vinyl » Rock/Pop » Rock SANTANA - ABRAXAS Music Santana Music You can earn a 8% commission by selling Abraxas on your website. It's easy to get started - we will give you example code. After you're set-up, your website can earn you money while you work, play or even sleep! You should start right now!
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Brad’s Status Review Director: Mike White Starring: Austin Abrams, Ben Stiller, Jenna Fischer Click here for more articles on Brad's Status » Click here for articles on movies like Brad's Status » Over a decade ago, Ben Stiller starred opposite Jack Black in Envy. As the title suggests, the entire movie was about Stiller’s character being envious of Black’s success. Brad’s Status finds Stiller in a similar role, although the film goes beyond simply telling jokes about dog poop. It’s a humorous, relatable, and wise film, although not wholly original. We’ve seen many of the themes here in movies that took more chances with inspired twists. For what we do get, however, writer/director Mike White’s script will resonate with anybody that’s ever experienced the phenomenon of disappointment. Stiller plays the titular Brad, a middle-aged man with a loving wife (Jenna Fischer), a gifted son (Austin Abrams), and a respectable job at a nonprofit business. So naturally, Brad is incredibly unsatisfied with how his life has turned out. Although Brad should be grateful for everything he has, he can’t help but compare himself to his more successful friends from college. This includes Jemaine Clement’s Billy, who retired by age 40, Luke Wilson’s Jason, who apparently has a private plane, and Michael Sheen’s Craig, a political figure that used to work at the White House. As Brad takes his son on a college road trip to Harvard, he starts to reconnect with some of his old friends. Of course he spends more time thinking about the luxurious lifestyles they must have. When he’s not resenting his former classmates, Brad is fantasizing about the roads not taken and what his son will be like if he ever finds success. His internal monologue sums up white privilege in a nutshell, as he continually whines about First World problems. At a certain point you might ask yourself, “why should I sympathize with a guy who has it better than a wide fraction of the world?” While we may not sympathize with Brad per se, we do come to identify with him. Especially in an age of social media, it’s common for people to look up old friends and see how much better they’re doing. A person can seemingly be on top of the world, but still feel like they’re below someone else. Like Beatriz at Dinner, another film White wrote, Brad’s Status isn’t afraid to tackle some uncomfortable situations and make its characters unlikable on occasion. Even when Brad is at his worst, though, Stiller’s subtle performance brings a real humanity to the character we can all see ourselves in. If you’ve seen American Beauty, City Slickers, Sideways, or any other movies about men that endure a midlife crisis, Brad’s Status probably isn’t going to be an eye-opening outing. The film can be overly familiar and might’ve benefited if the runtime had been cut down by about fifteen minutes. At the same time, though, the film is like a little vacation. It allows the audience to take a moment and clear their heads, putting things into perspective. Walking out of the theater, you’ll likely feel more content with your place in the world and that’s the kind of reassurance everybody could use. This entry was posted in Reviews and tagged Comedy on September 16, 2017 by Nick Spake. ← Better Watch Out Trailer Kingdom Hearts III, why has it taken so long? → nine + = 18
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Business / Tech Fight the Fake France 24 live Watch France 24 on TV About France 24 Contact France 24 France Médias Monde websites The Observers © 2021 Copyright France 24 - All rights reserved. France 24 is not responsible for the content of external websites. Audience ratings certified by ACPM/OJD. France 24 - International breaking news, top stories and headlines Astros seek answers as Nationals lead World Series Houston Astros players met among themselves to seek solutions before Friday's must-win third game of the World Series against a Washington Nationals team poised to seize a stranglehold on the Major League Baseball title. The Nationals swept two games in Houston to take command of the best-of-seven series and come home for the first World Series games in the US capital since 1933. "I know it's going to be exciting here," said Nationals manager Dave Martinez. "They waited for a long time for this opportunity. They are going to be loud. "It has been unbelievable. It really has. It has been overwhelming. The fans have bought in and it has been great. This place gets really loud and it's electric. So I know the boys are excited to play." Meanwhile, the Astros' players-only gathering sought answers to how a hard-hitting team that led baseball in regular-season wins has been stifled by the Nationals. "We're going to come out tomorrow and try to apply pressure. When we play our best baseball we apply pressure," Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said. "We've just got to do a better job. It takes one day to stop the bleeding. You play good one game, the bleeding stops. Panic stops. You start playing the way you want. "We were outplayed for two straight games. We stop the bleeding tomorrow it's going to be a lot of fun the rest of the series," Bregman added. "We can't focus on anything else. Whatever happened before, it's over with. All we've got to do is win game three." Only three teams in World Series history have overcome two home losses at the start to capture the crown, the most recent the 1996 New York Yankees. But 17 of the last 18 teams in a 2-0 hole lost the World Series. - No gloom and doom - "Yes, it's an uphill battle, but it's not impossible, not when you have the best record in baseball over the course of 162 games," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "We're still optimistic. Our club has a lot of confidence and we have a lot of resilience. "There's no gloom and doom with us. We've got to try to do better. We've got an opportunity to do it in game three and absolutely flip any sort of perceived momentum in our direction." Hinch sees the players-only meeting as "players picking up players. Guys are trying to fight for the season. They've won two and a lot of questions are coming our way. "I understand that everybody wants the pressure put on us. That's great. We've responded great to pressure. We're ready to play. "Their view of the finish line is a little closer than ours. But I wonder what everybody will feel like if we can win game three? And all of a sudden it flips a little bit." Martinez has taken steps to make sure that doesn't happen. "We talked about complacency. I don't think our guys would ever do that, but we said, 'Hey, we've still got a lot of baseball left,'" Martinez said. "We don't try to get ahead of ourselves. These guys need to understand the focus on the here and now and do the little things. That's what's got us here." - No DH in Washington - What got the Astros this far was solid pitching and timely hitting, but their star hurlers have struggled and the batters have stranded 20 base runners in two games. It won't get any easier on Houston's lineup without the designated hitter being used in the National League ballpark. That benches Yordan Alvarez unless he plays the outfield. "We need as much offense as we can get, certainly with runners in scoring position," Hinch said. "There's the other side of the ball, as well. I'll have to make that decision." US President Donald Trump says he would attend a fifth game on Sunday if the Astros can avoid a sweep. "He's the president of this country. If he wants to come to the game, it's something that he wants to do. Of course everybody has to respect that situation," Nats game three pitcher Anibal Sanchez said. "I don't want to attack him like I got something against. I'm from Venezuela. I'm out of this country, but then I respect all those situations. He's the president and if he want to come, why no?"
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New movies this week: 'Eddie the Eagle,' 'Gods of Egypt' “EDDIE THE EAGLE”: The story of Eddie (the Eagle) Edwards, a British skier who in 1988 became the first competitor to represent Britain in Olympic ski jumping. Taron Egerton, Christopher Walken and Hugh Jackman star. Rated PG-13 for suggestive content, partial nudity and smoking. Screenings Thursday. “GODS OF EGYPT”: This fantasy film about ancient Egyptian deities finds god of darkness Set (Gerard Butler) taking over the Egyptian empire and mortal hero Bek (Brenton Thwaites) partnering with the god Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to save the world and to rescue his love. Rated PG-13 for violence and action and some sexuality. Screenings Thursday. “TRIPLE 9”: A gang of criminals and corrupt cops plans the murder of a police officer in order to pull off a huge heist. With Kate Winslet, Teresa Palmer, Woody Harrelson and Casey Affleck. Rated R for violence, language, drug use and nudity. Screenings Thursday. “A WAR”: A Danish company commander stationed in Afghanistan makes a split-second, life-saving decision during an attack, but the decision has grave consequences for him and his family when he returns home. Rated R for language and war images. In Danish with English subtitles.
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Posted on August 3, 2020 by Russell Kent Op-Ed: HEALS Act replete with wasteful spending Four months after governors and local officials announced stay-at-home orders, Americans continue to struggle financially and suffer from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Congress has tried to provide Americans relief and stability through the turmoil, but it has been difficult for lawmakers to part ways with their wasteful spending habits. The recently introduced Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act is replete with wasteful spending that will do nothing to protect struggling Americans. It’s time to root out these pork-barrel projects and target relief to families and business that need help the most. Taxpayers could be forgiven for thinking that a coronavirus relief bill would, well, stick to coronavirus-related health and financial concerns. But on Capitol Hill, any spending measure inevitably morphs into a bonanza for special interests and federal agencies. The bill provides $1.8 billion for a new FBI facility and $818 million for NASA exploration, yet lawmakers fail to explain how these line-items will help curb COVID-19. And, nearly $30 billion is provided for the Department of Defense. It is highly doubtful that the novel coronavirus will be vanquished by: $720 million for additional C-130J aircraft; $686 million for additional F-35A aircraft; $650 million for A-10 wing replacements; $290 million for a space sensor laser; $200 million for Ground-Based Midcourse Defense; $66 million for hypersonic defense; and $39 million for cruise missile defense. The additional $686 million for the F-35 is especially worrisome considering the horrendous track record of the aircraft. Despite all the earmarks and pork-barrel spending flowing to the program, the Pentagon is still having trouble procuring parts for the pricey jets. The Government Accountability Office notes, “personnel at F-35 squadrons are pulling parts off of other aircraft that are already unable to fly instead of waiting for new parts to be delivered through the supply chain.” Evidently, the recently passed $740 billion Defense bill passed by the House and Senate wasn’t enough to fund the Pentagon’s many budget-busting programs. Add in the $10.5 billion in military spending authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the Pentagon is poised to rake in roughly $780 billion in taxpayer money via recent spending bills. In other words, each American household is being asked to spend more than $6,000 to further pad the Pentagon’s pockets. Unfortunately, wasteful spending in the HEALS Act isn’t limited to Pentagon boondoggles. There’s roughly $20 billion in the bill for farm subsidies, ensuring that large, politically connected agribusinesses will continue to be protected from competition. The aid is designed to cast a wide net, benefiting “producers, growers, and processors of specialty crops, non-specialty crops, dairy, livestock and poultry.” And if the past is any guide, this broad-based “relief” will wind up benefiting the largest, wealthiest farms. Heritage Foundation scholar Daren Bakst notes, “Large-scale farms (large and very large family farms) accounted for just 2.9 percent of all farms yet received over a third of the commodity payments (35 percent) and almost half of the crop insurance indemnities (46 percent).” These payments and subsidies from the federal government are nothing new, nor is the regressive redistribution that inevitably follows. There’s nothing wrong with helping struggling businesses, but beneficiaries should be small operations with a legitimate fear of going under. Despite all of this waste and poor targeting, there’s plenty to like about the HEALS Act. The “sequel” to the Paycheck Protection Program limits eligibility to businesses with fewer than 300 employees (compared to the original threshold of 500 employees). In addition, the new, improved PPP program ensures that recipients have seen at least a 50 percent reduction in gross revenues. These limitations are critical in ensuring that PPP funds go to those who truly need them instead of well-heeled corporations. But unless lawmakers get serious about rooting out waste in COVID-19 relief legislation, struggling taxpayers will be buried under a mountain of debt. With the deficit this year alone approaching $4 trillion, the federal government must properly target aid spending. Increased waste and red ink will only increase suffering at the worst possible time. https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2020/08/web1_Ross-Marchand.jpg Ross Marchand is vice president of policy for the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. Hi! A visitor to our site felt the following article might be of interest to you: Op-Ed: HEALS Act replete with wasteful spending. Here is a link to that story: http://www.galioninquirer.com/news/56210/op-ed-heals-act-replete-with-wasteful-spending
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Give Me My Remote > two and a half men FRIENDS, FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR and More Show Openings Get 8-Bit Treatment March 30, 2018 by Marisa Roffman Filed under #1 featured, TV News Comments Off on FRIENDS, FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR and More Show Openings Get 8-Bit Treatment To celebrate the movie adaptation of READY PLAYER ONE, Warner Bros. revamped a number of its classic shows’ opening titles—FRIENDS, FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR, FULL HOUSE, and TWO AND A HALF MEN—in the style of 8-bit. (And yes, they’re adorable.) Check them out! Read more Tags: fresh prince of bel-air, fresh prince of bel-air 8-bit opening, Friends, friends 8-bit opening, full house, full house 8-bit opening, two and a half men, two and a half men 8-bit opening TWO AND A HALF MEN to End After Season 12 May 14, 2014 by Marisa Roffman Filed under TV News, Two and a Half Men Comments Off on TWO AND A HALF MEN to End After Season 12 TWO AND A HALF MEN will end its run next season, CBS announced. “This will be TWO AND A HALF MEN’s final season,” Nina Tassler, Chairman, CBS Entertainment, told press this morning. “Chuck Lorre is creating a season-long event. I think we did very well last year of announcing [a] final season of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, too. Chuck is very excited about this. He has some great ideas in store, some very big surprises. And we know that fans, and we know that audiences respond to that. And that should really give us a nice boost.” Are you sad TAAHM is coming to an end? Tags: two and a half men CBS Renews NCIS, CSI, PERSON OF INTEREST, MOM, and 14 Other Shows Filed under CBS, TV News CBS has renewed 18 shows for the 2014-2015 season, the network announced. “The best way to launch new shows in the fall and throughout the season is to surround them with a strong and stable lineup of successful series,” said Nina Tassler, Chairman of CBS Entertainment in a statement. “The shows we’re picking up today cut across every night of the week and feature genre leaders, time-period winners and the most-watched shows on broadcast television.” So which shows made the cut? Check out CBS’ announcement… Tags: 2 Broke Girls, blue bloods, CBS, criminal minds, CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION, Elementary, ERSON OF INTEREST, HAWAII FIVE-0, MIKE & MOLLY, Mom, NCIS: LOS ANGELES, the good wife, the millers, two and a half men In Case You Missed It…THE FOLLOWING, BONES, ONCE UPON A TIME, and More! February 16, 2014 by Marisa Roffman Comments Off on In Case You Missed It…THE FOLLOWING, BONES, ONCE UPON A TIME, and More! THE FOLLOWING: Jessica Stroup Teases Max’s Relationships and Why ‘It’s Good to Be Good’ BONES: David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel Preview What’s to Come When the Show Returns THE FOLLOWING Season 2 Trailer: Catch Up on All the Events (So Far) and Get a Glimpse of What’s to Come Shane West on His New Show, SALEM, Being ‘Easily the Best Script I Read’ and NIKITA’s Happy Ending ONCE UPON A TIME: Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis Tease the Wicked Witch Versus the Evil Queen, Going to Oz, and More STAR-CROSSED: Watch the First 5 Minutes of the Pilot! MIXOLOGY: Watch the First Two Episodes of the New ABC Comedy Now PENNY DREADFUL: Showtime Releases a Full-Length Trailer CASTLE: ‘Room 147′ Photo Preview THE FOLLOWING: ‘Reflection’ Photo Preview GLEE: ‘Frenemies’ Photo Preview ALMOST HUMAN: ‘Beholder’ Photo Preview ALMOST HUMAN, RAKE, and THE FOLLOWING: Check Out Some Behind-the-Scenes Pictures! SCANDAL: ABC Uses John Legend’s ‘All of Me’ to Tease the Fitz-Olivia-Jake Triangle GOTHAM: The New Fox Series Casts Alfred, The Penguin, and More 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY: GAME OF THRONES’ Michelle Fairley to Replace Judy Davis GOTHAM: TERRIERS’ Donal Logue Joins the Cast PaleyFest 2014: Panelists Announced for LOST Reunion, VERONICA MARS, SLEEPY HOLLOW, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, THE ORIGINALS, and More The CW Picks Up SUPERNATURAL, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, ARROW, THE ORIGINALS, and REIGN for 2014-2015 CBS Sets UNFORGETTABLE, BAD TEACHER Premiere Dates, Plus THE CRAZY ONES and TWO AND A HALF MEN Time Slot Swap BACKSTROM: Genevieve Angelson Set As the New Female Lead Tags: 24: Live Another Day, Adam Horowitz, Almost Human, Arrow, Backstrom, bad teacher, bones, CASTLE, David Boreanaz, donal logue, Eddy Kitsis, frenemies, Genevieve Angelson, glee, Gotham, jessica stroup, john legend, lost reunion, michelle fairley, mixology, Nikita, ONCE UPON A TIME, penny dreadful, Rake, reign, salem, Scandal, shane west, Sleepy Hollow, star-crossed, Supernatural, terriers, the crazy ones, The Following, The Originals, the vampire diaries, two and a half men, unforgettable, veronica mars Filed under Bad Teacher, CBS, The Crazy Ones, TV News, Two and a Half Men, Unforgettable CBS has opted to swap time periods for THE CRAZY ONES and TWO AND A HALF MEN, the network announced today. Also, new comedy, BAD TEACHER, has gotten a series premiere date, and UNFORGETTABLE has received its season 3 launch spot. Take a look at what the network had to say… Tags: bad teacher, the crazy ones, two and a half men, unforgettable THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL is Coming to CBS February 5, 2014 by Marisa Roffman Filed under CBS We may have a few months before CBS’ fall 2014 lineup gets solidified, but one big piece of the puzzle has been placed: CBS has won the rights to air NFL’s Thursday Night Football — which consists of eight early season games — the network announced today. “We are very pleased to build on our outstanding partnership with the NFL by expanding our coverage to Thursday nights,” said CBS Corporation President and CEO Leslie Moonves in a statement. “CBS is a premium content company and the NFL represents the best premium content there is. I look forward to all this new deal will do for us not only on Thursday nights, but across our entire schedule.” With CBS using eight Thursdays on the sporting event, no word yet on what impact that will have on its scripted shows currently there. (Perhaps a few will be shuffled, and a few others will be delayed?) Do you think you’ll check out football on CBS? Tags: CBS, Elementary, football, The Big Bang Theory, the crazy ones, the millers, two and a half men
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Digital Missions HomeGod’s Generals SpeaksGod's Generals - Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti and ZAOGA Foward In Faith! God's Generals - Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti and ZAOGA Foward In Faith! Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti was born on 5 May in 1923 in an area called Ngaone in the small town of Chipinge in the Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. He is married to Eunor Guti who is also a religious leader in the church. The couple has a child together, Ezekiel Junior Guti who is also an evangelist in their ministry. History gives account of a young boy by the name Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti (Founder and President of ZAOGA Forward in Faith Ministries International) born in the remote eastern districts of Zimbabwe who heard his mother talking about the Lord Jesus Christ after she had heard a man preaching about a place called hell. Filled with much fear, the boy began to wander and weep under the tree talking to the creator whom he knew was there but did not know how to reach him. One day he met a simple man who explained clearly to him the way of salvation. He accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour and was eventually baptised in the Holy Spirit. Ten years later, Ezekiel felt the call of God to preach the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ to the people. The Lord subsequently revealed himself to him in many ways. He started with a few people who increased to eighty (80) churches with a membership of 43 000 born again Christians. He was Pastor at Highfield Revival Centre for 15 years where many miracles happened. The fame drove many from distances afar to seek the Lord and his healing power. Today, fifty years after its humble beginnings, Forward in Faith Church has grown to be the fastest growing Pentecostal church in Southern Africa and has touched over seventy nations throughout the world including Europe, Southern Africa, parts of West & East Africa, USA, India, Germany, Australia etc, with the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church has over 5000 Pastors who serve God in this great church. The ministry has got 4 million members in Zimbabwe. Truly, this humble man of God has unmistakable marks of apostleship upon him. (1 Corinthians 9. 1-3). "This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our sight.” (Matthew 21.42). For more info about Forward In Faith Ministries International & it’s Founder, visit our global website, www.fifmi.org. You may also watch our television on Ezekiel TV on line through the same site. Credentials. Guti holds a number of degrees from different academic institutions. He holds a Bachelor of Christian education and Doctorate from Northgate Graduate School, from Zoe College USA. He also has the following qualifications: BA; MA; D.D; D Min and PhD in Religion.[3] Life as a Religious Leader Between 1948 and 1949, Guti travelled to the then Salisbury (now Harare) where he met a man he had been shown in a dream who explained and baptised him. He started to speak in tongues. He preached in Mbare but was to be chased from the church after getting extensive press coverage. In 1958, he ministered in Highfield, in a church started by a South African pastor who had been chased from his own church. Guti too was later to be expelled from that pastor’s church as the leaders the pastor had left on his return to South Africa had not liked him. The church is now a big empire, operating in 106 countries worldwide. It has diverse investments, including 120 dressmaking schools in Zimbabwe, bible schools, colleges and vocational training centres, hospitals and clinics, primary and secondary schools, and so many other properties in various countries. In 2010, ZAOGA FIFMI celebrated its 50th anniversary, where Guti addressed a crowd of over 50,000 believers in Zimbabwe at theNational Sports Stadium in Harare. The event was broadcast live on Ezekiel TV, a Christian television network broadcasting from South Africa, found by Guti and wife. On the international arena, Guti has accepted invitations to preach and teach in several African nations, Europe, USA, Asia-Pacific countries, and the Bahamas. He has spoken in Bible schools, colleges, universities, and on Television and Radio programs. Success Growth of the Church Guti has founded bible schools in Zimbabwe, Ghana, Zambia, and Mozambique where he has trained over 4,000 pastors from more than 55 nations. He also founded the Forward in Faith Orphanage Center, F.I.F Children's Ministry, F.I.F College and High School Ministry, Gracious Women's Fellowship International, along with the Husband's Agape International Fellowship. He oversees over five thousand pastors and evangelists worldwide and is a great intercessor, a man of love and compassion, with a hunger to win souls to Jesus Christ. Guti is also well known for performing miracles, and in 2009, a prominent singer, visually impaired and former Jairosi Jiri Band member, David Mabvuramuti, who had only six per cent vision due to the hereditary illness retinitis pigmentosa, was able to see for the first time in his life after Guti prayed for him. Guti was behind the establishment of Mbuya Dorcas Health Centre in Zimbabwe. In December 2010, ZAOGA was granted a licence by the Zimbabwean government to set up the Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University inBindura in Mashonaland Central Province.[3]He has also funded a number of children;s homes, orphanages, old people's homes, health service centres and academic institutions including ZEGU. Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti God's Generals God’s Generals Speaks Mega Sundays Gift Handiling © Copyright © | Glory Ministries with Apostle P. Sibiya [All Rights Reserved] Glory Ministries is an international movement which was founded in 2001 by Apostle P. Sibiya, in Chitungwiza, Zengeza, the greater part of Harare, Zimbabwe. It is a global ministry with the vision of taking God's glory to the nations of the world. Bishop Pride Sibiya
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Home > News > Global Health Matters > Global Health Matters Nov/Dec 2015 > NIH aims to increase collaboration on chronic diseases Print NIH aims to increase collaboration on chronic diseases Full November / December 2015 Global Health Matters newsletter [PDF <1M] © 2007 Divya Pal Singh, courtesy of Photoshare A home-care nurse measures the blood pressure of a terminal cancer patient in Uttam Nagar, New Delhi. Noncommunicable diseases kill 38 million people a year, most of them in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to the WHO. These chronic conditions - which include cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and diabetes - threaten health as well as social and economic development. To address the growing global burden, representatives from multiple U.S. government organizations recently gathered at the NIH. "How can we work together on global noncommunicable disease research?" asked Dr. Ted Trimble, director of the National Cancer Institute's Center for Global Health, as he opened a two-day conference. The Center convened officials involved in research, prevention and control, capacity building and development to help synergize the government's NCD initiatives. The global health landscape is changing, noted Ambassador Jimmy Kolker, HHS Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs, in his keynote address. U.S. global health collaborations historically have focused on controlling infectious diseases, improving maternal and child health, and bolstering health systems. Now, there's the challenge of chronic diseases. "The global recognition of the rising problems of NCDs, and opportunities to prevent the risk factors such as tobacco use, hypertension and obesity is a changing paradigm in global health," Kolker said. "It's not just about external threats that infectious diseases pose, but a global view that we live in this networked, commercialized world with health challenges that affect all of us." In 2011, the U.N. launched a campaign to stem the epidemic and included NCDs in the recently announced Sustainable Development Goals. Kolker said the U.S. could learn from, and share information with, other countries working to reduce NCD deaths and facing similar dilemmas regarding risk factors as well as access, cost and quality of care. Kolker pointed out another global health shift, calling the donor-recipient relationship "very last century." Countries are looking to the U.S. for technical partnerships to build the capacity of their scientists and service providers, he observed. "Even in the poorest countries, the question is, ‘How do you do this in the United States?'" The incidence of NCDs is rising faster, occurring at a younger age, and having worse outcomes in LMICs than in wealthier nations. They take an enormous economic toll. A recent Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) report named it "the emerging global health crisis." Meanwhile, a study by the World Economic Forum and Harvard University put a dollar figure on the problem - estimating NCDs will cost developing countries about $21.3 trillion over the next two decades. "If you can make an economic case for investing in global health, you probably should start with NCDs in low- and middle-income countries because the overwhelming proportion of burden falls between the most productive years of life," explained Thomas Bollyky, a CFR senior fellow, who presented highlights from the Council's report. "Given the scale at which this is happening," he added, "it reverberates through households, health systems and national governments, and it starts to have global effects." While health spending in LMICs has tripled over the last two decades, it's still low, Bollyky said. The governments of all LMICs together, representing about 5.7 billion people, spend as much or less on health than the governments of Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany combined, which only serve about 300 million citizens. In LMICs, people are poorer and can't afford to buy health care out of pocket and governments aren't providing the preventive and chronic care higher income countries do. That, Bollyky explained, is a key driver of the problem. Related NIH funding Planning for Regional Centers of Research Excellence in Noncommunicable Diseases in Low and Middle Income Countries (P20) (RFA-CA-15-007) Given that lifestyle choices, such as a diet and exercise, are modifiable risk factors, both Bollyky and Kolker suggested engaging the private sector to find solutions. On the research front, Trimble drew attention to a new funding opportunity to develop regional centers of research excellence focusing on noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Chronic, noncommunicable diseases information and resources from Fogarty UN 2011 High-level Meeting on Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases UN report by the Secretary-General on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (A/66/83), May 2011 World Health Organization (WHO) resources: WHO noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors WHO noncommunicable diseases fact sheet, updated January 2015 The emerging global health crisis: Noncommunicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries Council on Foreign Relations, December 2014 The Global Economic Burden of Noncommunicable Diseases A report by the World Economic Forum and the Harvard School of Public Health, September 2011
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Do you have Northern Territory ancestry? This data set contains three volumes, 1887, 1888 and 1890. It's a great genealogy tool for anyone searching their family history and building a family tree. The Northern Territory Almanac Directory (1887 Solomon, V.L) covers everything from the colonial governors to customs licences, from the board of health to the Palmerston hospital and from statistics of imports and exports to the police department. There are over 100 topic categories. There is a brief history of the Northern Territory 'as it is' in 1886, which gives not only a general overview, but also a brief rundown of some events of the past year. The business directory, while it is not extensive, is still useful as it provides details of some of those with occupations in Palmerston, Southport, The Road, Port Darwin Camp and Grove Hill, Twelve Mile - McKinlay, Burrundie, Union, Pine Creek, and Katherine. The public institutions, companies, clubs section is also interesting, as it provides the names of all the committee members for the various societies, clubs etc.. This copy is missing the map which was originally included in this useful guide to the Northern Territory, its people and businesses. This is the fourth edition of the Northern Territory Almanac and Directory and brings together information specific to people, places and businesses in the Northern Territory during 1888. This Directory is rather different from most, in that it contains names of the lessees of pastoral blocks in the Northern Territory, as well as a section on sports results. This covers inter-colonial rowing, swimming, running, cricket, and horse racing events right around Australia. There is a calendar that contains anecdotal information for every day of the year, as well as a chronological landmarks list, which puts events into their historical context. A useful reference guide for those who have an interest in the Northern Territory or its people during this era. The Business and General Directory in this volume is divided into banks, newspapers, public institutions, clubs, insurance agencies, steamship companies, trades and businesses. Information covering early history, exploration, customs, chronological landmarks, maps of mines, hospitals, law courts and the police department, Northern Territory events, pastoral rents, postal information, quarantine, railway fare and distances, rainfall statistics, sporting notes and vessels registered in Port Darwin.
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Why There Is a Macaque, or How "The Adventures of Reese Macaque, P.I." Came to Be When I was around eleven or twelve, I used some of my lawn mowing money to join the Science Fiction Book Club. I still have the bonus volume that came with my first order. I subscribed for years. There’s no telling what impact Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination had on my social imagination. When The Drowned World and The Wind from Nowhere were published as twin novelettes by the Science Fiction Book Club in 1965, I fell under the spell of J.G. Ballard and never escaped. The most generous offer ever made (Wikipedia). Captain Edward Ruppelt’s long-lived UFO classic was up front in 1956, bookended with Asimov’s 1955 The End of Eternity. (Wikipedia) Sci Fi covers were terrific (photo Gary Mawyer) Science fiction is a way of exploring the future without going there, but science fiction is not all about futuristic machinery; it is a genre of social writing and often takes the nature and future prospects of Civilization as its topic. A capitalized Civilization, because in Sci Fi, civilization is frequently the main subject. Building, maintaining, losing, and if necessary rebuilding civilization is the huge theme taken in hand by countless science fiction works, short and long. Another great theme is an outrageous protagonist surviving in a dysfunctional civilization. Or not surviving… (Wikipedia) It’s a daunting tradition and I never imagined I would trespass in the haunted grove myself. But about fifteen years ago my son Edward thrust into my hands an untitled manuscript 30 pages long, framing the mad adventures of Reese Macaque. More than a few people saw Ted’s work and thought it was either deadly funny or too disturbing to be funny. It was a manuscript ambitious past the dreams of English majors, told from inside a startlingly real world, a world disturbingly like ours, and yet backlit with unjustified flashes of hope and aspiration. For a time Ted and I worked on a short story version of the original manuscript, and Ted produced several more short passages that would most naturally go to other stories. The main artistic question about Rhesus A. Macaque was not simple. How is it that Macaque is a human? Or is he a monkey? As you can see, the main artistic question promptly split in half on us, but both halves pointed in the same direction: is there just one Macaque or are they a kind of thing? That was how I found myself writing a science fiction detective novel, The Adventures of Reese Macaque, P.I. Detective novels are generally novels of manners. A science fiction detective novel of manners is (I suppose) about social interactions in a future world—and an obvious way to dissect social behaviors in our world. In the case of this book, the society in question is ours, in the year 2296. In this world Yeats was obviously quite correct: “Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold.” That being said, iit was years before I realized that Macaque was science fiction. For a good while I assumed it was a fantasy, specifically a nonsense fantasy in the same genre as Edward Lear’s The Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Round the World or John Collier’s His Monkey Wife, first published in 1930 and still very much in print. Of course nonsense is a very serious business. Edward Lear’s The Story of the Four Little Children Who Went Round the World. ​(Photo by Gary Mawyer) But over the last few years, I began to believe that the little tales of mystery and detection that Ted and I have laid out in The Adventures of Reese Macaque, P.I. are set in a more-than-probable future world—a world we will in fact be hard pressed to avoid. Though the world of P.I. Macaque didn’t seem likely to be an accurate or literal description of the future at first, I have come to think the present social moment is already close to it. Macaque seems to be on the road to actuality after all. So thanks, Ted. In an act of imagination, or maybe prescience, you created the world of Reese Macaque. We’re its first citizens but I have a notion that in the years to come just about everybody is probably going to have to live in it, whether they read this book or not. Gary Dale Mawyer has been writing for over four decades, and to date has published four novels, Rockfish, The Southern Skylark, Exemptions, and The Adventures of Reese Macaque, P.I., as well as a biographical history, Sergeant Wolinski and the Great War, and a short story collection, Dark and Other Stories. Gary's writings draw on a wealth of history, lore and lived experience. He has a B.A. and an M.F.A. from the University of Virginia. Gary is a Central Virginia native with over 40 years of publishing and editing experience. His interests include American and Virginia history, military history, geology, hiking, travel, landscaping and gardening. He is the father of four grown children and has four grandchildren. He lives with his wife Karen and two cats in Albemarle County. Buy Gary's books now afroculinaria.com/ ​largea.wordpress.com/​livinglisteningandthingsilove naturalpresencearts.com/ someperfectfuture.com
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France's Thousand Year War Against the Jews by Susan Warner https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6902/france-war-against-jews Ironically, according to Islamic doctrine, many Muslims may well see themselves as lining up in Europe to supersede the Catholic Church as they pursue their dream to conquer the world for Allah. Some suggest that if current population trends continue, prodded by the new migration and the extended families that are sure to follow, Islam will soon be the new majority. Such a demographic shift would not only leave Christians in jeopardy, but Jews in double jeopardy -- antipathy from their own government and overt hostility from Islam. While it was not French Christians per se who fired the gun on the Jewish shoppers outside Paris in January, it is legitimate to question the role that Christian anti-Semitism plays in creating this climate shift as Jews, yet again, become victims in their own homeland. The "Supersessionist" DNA, hidden beneath the surface of society, is what drives secularized Christian nations such as France, Britain and Sweden to appease Islamists, who are working to increase their influence, numbers and decibel levels. "France does not really oppose Palestinian terrorism. On the contrary, France facilitates it. Every year, the French government pays millions of euros, dollars and shekels to Palestinian NGOs whose stated goal is to destroy Israel." – Caroline Glick. The Islamization of France is peeking over the horizon. In a stinging article commemorating the recent 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Charles Krauthammer noted, "The rise of European anti-Semitism is, in reality, just a return to the norm. For a millennium, virulent Jew-hatred — persecution, expulsions, massacres — was the norm in Europe until the shame of the Holocaust created a temporary anomaly wherein anti-Semitism became socially unacceptable. "The hiatus is over. Jew-hatred is back, recapitulating the past with impressive zeal." For French citizens, the Holocaust seems a faded memory. The anti-Jewish sentiment that drove the French Vichy government to serve up an estimated 77,000-90,000[1] French Jews to the maw of Hitler's Jew-killing machine was not driven by anything that looks like today's Islamic jihad, but by the same majority of French Catholics. After almost two millennia of French-Christian anti-Semitism, their DNA imprint remains. Anti-Jewish racism is hardly a faded memory for the increasing number of French Jews now fearfully contemplating flight from their homeland in the wake of disturbing current events. The long history of French anti-Semitism reaches as far back on the calendar as Christianity itself. In 325 CE, with a sweep of his pen, the Emperor Constantine, at the first Council of Nicaea, unwittingly signed the death warrant for millions of yet-to-be-born Jews throughout what is now Christian Europe. The writings of the Church Fathers such as Tertullian and Origen, who accused the Jews of killing Jesus (deicide), also assert that God revoked his everlasting covenant with Abraham (and the Jewish people) as described in ancient holy books. The Catholic Church has taken over that doctrine by claiming its rights as "The New Israel." In its arrogance, the Catholic Church arrogated to itself God's Covenant, originally contracted with the Jews in Genesis Chapter 12, in which God promises the Hebrew people -- through Isaac and Jacob -- a land, a nation and a specific destiny. By the new inverted Catholic definition, members of the Catholic Church now became "first class citizens," and Jews became second-class citizens. This theological inversion, referred to by scholars as "Supersessionism" or by the more colloquial expression "Replacement Theology," infers that God's covenant with the Jews has been repealed, and the Jews have supposedly been replaced by "the Church." This doctrine, combined with the incendiary writings of the ancient church fathers, nurtured hatred for Jews throughout Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant majority nations from the 3rd Century, throughout the ensuing centuries, until 1965. It was then that an official Vatican II document, "Nostra Aetate," absolved the Jews of the ancient charge of deicide and restored at least a portion of their claims to the original covenant relationship with God. Sadly, "Nostra Aetate," however, did not nullify the false doctrine[2] of "Replacement Theology." Roman Catholic teaching still affirms the "Supersessionist" position that Catholics are the "New Israel" or "The Israel of God." The exact wording from the document is subtle but unmistakably clear; "Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures." If the Catholic Church considers itself the "New Israel," then why not allow Pope Francis make a unilateral declaration of Palestine as a state? So that is just what he did a few months ago. With a historic stroke of his pen, the Pope took it upon himself summarily to cross out Israel's sovereign rights to her land, and her legitimate authority to negotiate her national destiny. The guiding principle of "Replacement Theology" is a silent permission slip to demonize and destroy the Jews and Israel. In France as in the rest of Europe, it contributes to the political, social and religious atmosphere in which the growing influence of radical Islam merges with the long-held French inclination to ignore, disparage or minimize the concerns of their Jewish minority. Despite the secularism enveloping much of Europe, France is still considered a Catholic nation, with over half of its citizens members of the Catholic Church The "Supersessionist" DNA, hidden beneath the surface of the society, is what drives secularized Christian nations such as France, Britain and Sweden to appease Islamists, who are working to increase their influence, numbers and decibel levels. Some suggest that if current population trends continue, prodded by the new migration and the extended families that are sure to follow, Islam will soon be the new majority. Such a demographic shift would not only leave Christians in jeopardy, but Jews in double jeopardy — antipathy from their own government and overt hostility from Islam. Throughout the 1600 years between the Emperor Constantine and the HyperCacher kosher market massacre in January 2015, the "Supersessionist" Christian "death warrant" was reconfigured and rewritten hundreds of times. Until the late 1700s and the aftermath of the French Revolution, France was governed by religious, not secular, forces. Anti-Semitism ebbed and flowed through French history in the form of local, national and international edicts and actions against Jews. The Dreyfus affair (1894-1906), for example, was a political scandal that uncovered a virulent French anti-Semitism. While it was not French Christians per se who fired the gun on the Jewish shoppers outside Paris in January, it is legitimate to question the role that Christian anti-Semitism plays in creating this climate shift as Jews, yet again, become victims in their own homeland. London's Guardian, writing about the recent attacks on Charlie Hebdo and the HyperCacher supermarket, said: "[The] dramatic increase in the number of Jews moving from France... had already become the subject of international discussion before last week -- with some commentators going so far as to invoke the specter of Fascism during the 1930s. It is almost as though the fate of French Jewry is seen as a cipher for widespread, even existential, fears about the future of Europe itself." On the one hand, France's President François Hollande wants his audience to believe that decisive action is being taken against Islamic terrorism. For example, in the aftermath of the most recent terrorist attacks in Paris, the French government has assumed a bold, militaristic posture of vengeance and retribution against terrorism. Likewise, after the HyperCacher massacre, Prime Minister Manuel Valls gave an impassioned speech before the French National Assembly, where he vehemently denounced the alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the nation. Hollande also decried anti-Semitism, vowing to institute preventative programs, as he stationed temporary military guards at Jewish holy sites and schools. But on the other hand, France may be feeding the alligator, hoping it will eat him last. Recently, at the UN, for example, France proposed to install security cameras on Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Although the proposal was allegedly meant to quell violence on the Temple Mount, and would have been excellent had France suggested that Israel install those cameras there, the specifics of the French plan threatened Israel's sovereignty over the site. According to journalist Caroline Glick: "France's decision to use its diplomatic position to advance a plan which if implemented would end Israeli sovereignty over Judaism's holiest site is first and foremost a French act of aggression against the Jewish state. "Contrary to what the French government would have us believe, France's Temple Mount gambit is not an effort to quell the violence. French protestations of concern over the loss of life in the current tempest of Palestinian terrorism ring hollow. "France does not really oppose Palestinian terrorism. On the contrary, France facilitates it. "Every year, the French government pays millions of euros, dollars and shekels to Palestinian NGOs whose stated goal is to destroy Israel. Through its NGO agents, France finances the radicalization of Palestinian society. This French-financed radicalization makes Palestinian terrorism inevitable. "Much of the current rhetoric used by the Palestinians to reject Israel's legitimacy and justify violence against Jews is found in strategic documents that France paid Palestinian NGOs to write." In a sleight of hand, the French government wants the world to believe that it is against anti-Jewish violence. On the other hand, France wasted no time initiating profitable business deals with Iran as the ink was drying on the anti-Israel nuclear deal, while the Ayatollahs were chanting their genocidal appeals to destroy Israel and the Jews.[3] The Islamization of France is peeking over the horizon. While official French figures do not distinguish between ethnic or religious groups, several recent studies suggest that in 2014, France's estimated 6.5 million Muslims now comprise "roughly 10% of the country's total population of 66 million. In real terms, France has the largest Muslim population in the European Union." The voting bloc represented by these figures is enough to present a threat to the incumbent Socialist Party government, and can certainly influence the aspirations of any contenders for national office. The cries of a small Jewish minority of less than 1% pale by comparison. It is hopeful to see that France, even prior to last week's bloody massacres in Paris, had been making some legal headway in its counterterrorism programs. Recent laws to cut welfare benefits to known jihadis, increase surveillance and upgrade police equipment are all signs that France may finally be confronting some of its problems — or at least trying to mount a convincing public relations show. In 2017, Hollande, not an especially popular Socialist President, is up for reelection. He will be facing the pro-Israel ex-president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who will run as a so-called moderate against the right-wing Front National Party of Marine Le Pen. The Front National's staunch anti-immigration agenda has been increasingly successful in wooing Jews into its fold as it claims to be reframing its anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi history. The mounting fears of France's Jews are not going away anytime soon. Record numbers are packing their bags and moving to Israel, Canada, Britain, the U.S. and Australia. It is to be hoped that the French government, by now historically all too familiar with the problem, will have the courage, the desire and the will to remedy it, not only for the future of France but the future of Europe. Susan Warner is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of Gatestone Institute and co-founder of a Christian group, Olive Tree Ministries in Wilmington, DE, USA. She has been writing and teaching about Israel and the Middle East for over 15 years. Contact her at israelolivetree@yahoo.com. [1] There are various estimates of the total number of Jews that were slaughtered by the Nazis. The number of 90,000 is used by Jewish Virtual Library. Other Jewish sources use 72,000. [2] "False doctrine": There has never been anything written in Scripture (Old or New Testaments) that explains that God has nullified his Covenant with the Abraham and the Jewish people. I have written about this in several other articles. [3] Genocide: "Rafsanjani's Qods Day speech (Jerusalem Day)", Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, in Persian, translated by BBC Worldwide Monitoring, original broadcast December 14, 2001. Related Topics: France Recent Articles by Susan Warner Venezuela, Iran, USA and Narco-Terrorism, 2016-10-13 Venezuela's "Death Spiral", 2016-09-14 Christian Summer Conferences Offer Israel Blessings and Curses, 2016-08-16 Father Naddaf: Beacon of Light to the Christians of Israel, 2016-06-19 Methodists Scramble for Peace and Justice - at Israel's Expense, 2016-03-29 Dean • Dec 12, 2015 at 07:44 This whole article can be summarized in one of its included statements: "But on the other hand, France may be feeding the alligator, hoping it will eat him last." The blood of all these murdered Frenchmen is on the hands of their leaders and a result of their open border policy. The same policy, pushed by our "leaders" that is facilitating the murder of Americans in their own hometowns. Maybe if these "leaders" weren't surrounded by armed bodyguards 24/7 and some of their wives and children were slaughtered by the next band of Allah's disciples, they might have an awakening. Maybe. Ginette Cohen • Dec 9, 2015 at 01:31 As a French women, I left France 12 years ago with my family because of the anti-Semitism rampant specially in the bourgeoisie and the high society. When Mitterrand was elected, he opened the borders and we were invaded by the North Africans and the 3rd world. They had all the privileges that the elderly people were losing day after day. I knew that it was time for me to leave. I was born in Morocco where I spent 20 years of my life and I knew that all those invaders will not be able to adapt themselves to the rules and regulations of France and it will be the chaos. France and its anti-Semitism did the biggest mistake by choosing the Muslim versus the Jews. The chaos instead of the peace the fanaticism instead of intellectualism, the poverty instead of public wealth. Aaron Marelly Ginette Cohen • Dec 10, 2015 at 03:55 During the Second World War, Moroccan Jews who lived outside the Mellah (The Jewish Quarter) were expelled by the French Authorities who governed Morocco as a Protectorate. The French Authorities in Morocco were more than happy and exalted to have the possibility and the power to send the Moroccan Jews to German concentration camps. Fortunately Mohamed V, King of Morocco, protected his Jewish citizens. In my opinion the French slogan: Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, are empty words that helped the French colonialists to invade foreign territories and to steal their land and their resources but more important their freedom and pride. steven L • Dec 8, 2015 at 23:04 France has been the major European instrument in the attempt to create Eurabia. Bat Ye'or has written extensively on this topic from the 1960s on. Probably not a single US student in school has ever heard of her name. As far as Sarkozy is concerned, he has been a MAJOR deception for the French people and the Jews in particular. Besides, he apparently took $millions from Qatar and perhaps other fanatical countries. His role in Libya is ????? Those ex-Christian anti-Semites, called seculars, are no different from those who remained Christians. Anti-Semitism is a core value of Europe. Anti-Semitism is one of those unique "transmissible" mental and almost incurable diseases. Stan Lee • Dec 8, 2015 at 20:37 The ordinary French bigotry of Jews over centuries becomes blind hatred when passed through generations of French who once were Catholics, but today mostly secular. French institutional Jew hatred brings about dehumanization of Jews, French Jews or otherwise, Jews stand trial every day of their lives in France. Yet, they have made contributions to France and those I've met proudly state that they are Jews of France. This begs the question of why many French weren't compared to NAZI Germans during WW2? In Germany, Jew persecution was a fact of German life. How much different were the French? I think they weren't, they were only too eager to identify French Jews in order for the Gestapo to arrest them and bring about their disappearances in a far away NAZI concentration camps. Neena Deibler • Dec 8, 2015 at 13:44 Excellent, well-thought out article on the past and current (and future) anti-Semitism in France, and its impact not only on France's Jewish citizens, but on the country as a whole. We can only pray that the recent attacks may serve as a wake-up call to those who think, wrongly, that the Jews are their enemies, and Muslims are their friends! Avi Pemper • Dec 8, 2015 at 11:44 Hello Susan, I read with much interest your Gatestone Institute article on France, French Jews and Europe's Muslims. I had already come to understand the source of antisemitism in that, biblically, Jews are God's chosen people: the envy that comes along with this belief and the genocidal premise that, if all Jews are wiped out, the supreme killers will take our place with God. As simplistic and immature as it sounds, I don't see how else to explain the persistent hatred and persecution we have been subjected to for millennia - by pagans, Christians and Muslims. Similarly and so differently, East Asian religions are completely devoid of supremacist antisemitism, again supporting the same conclusion. Your article furthers my understanding and seals my argument, at least with respect to Christianity. European society is based on millennia of Catholic and later Protestant indoctrination, including its guiding principle of Supersessionism aka Replacement Theology, which is saying the same thing - Catholics/ Christians are God's covenant people, not the Jews. Like DNA, it is deep-rooted in European psyche, both religious and secular, conscious or unconscious. Where I'm in need of clarification and hoping for further discussion is how this mentality drives secularized Europeans to appease Islamists. I'm missing the link. Thank you for your time and for contributing this important article. J Levin • Dec 8, 2015 at 10:37 My wife's parents fleeing Nazi Europe were arrested near the Swiss border in France, by French police, shipped to the holding camp in Paris, and then to Auschwitz, where they perished. The International Red Cross eventually sent us the arrest record--it was entirely in French, signed by French authorities, under a French government authorization. Unlike in other countries, no German supervision was required. It was entirely a French action. Susan Warner J Levin • Dec 10, 2015 at 09:15 Your comment and personal story brought tears to my eyes. Thanks so much for sharing this powerful testimony. Frank Adam • Dec 8, 2015 at 10:23 These dozen years news from France also triggers my memory of the Churchillian growl quoted in the title from a speech in May - June 1940. However do remember the French one way or another saved over half their Jewish community from the Nazis both local and occupying. More important remember that the country almost went Protestant Calvinist in the 16th century during The Reformation, and that The Revolution was as much against the [Catholic] Church as against the King and eventually a century ago La Republique "libre et laique" (free & secular) as French children still learn in school won in no uncertain terms. What the Islamists and a lot of the moderately religious of all stripes of clerical dress forget to their peril is that certain disestablishmentarian aspects of French, and to a lesser extent US society and government, exist to stop the Christian extremists tearing the place apart. Any attempt to mount a Moslem take over -- or its defeat -- of France can be short odds certain bloody and bitter to be remembered and cited..." in evidence against you..." for another four centuries. David B. • Dec 8, 2015 at 10:16 As a life-long Roman Catholic, educated by Jesuits during most of my school years, I have never been taught such heresy as "Replacement Theology." Instead, the priests and sisters taught us that the Jew's Father (Yahweh) was Our Father and that Christ himself was a Jew ... never was I taught any rancor or hatred for the Jews. In fact, I remember praying in school for Israel in both the Six Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Perhaps, this is a European anomaly. Regardless, it is wrong as can be and all of the free world needs to be standing against both anti-Semites and radical Islamists. Europe will cease to exist if she does not mend her ways in this regard. Janice Laureyssens • Dec 8, 2015 at 08:20 You find anti-Semitism in Europe only on the left side. That's also what Churchill(?) said after the war. "The Fascists of the future will be the anti-fascists." When Fascism comes to America, it will be called anti-Fascism!" Huey Long in 1935. From what I can see and observe in Europe is this statement true. Michael Eiford Janice Laureyssens • Dec 13, 2015 at 12:59 Your comment amazed me! Churchill, and Huey Long, same insight! I have been observing the pathological insistence that the Right is Fascist, and the Left Democratic, while the Leftist advocate everything Fascist/Socialist that leads to the loss of Freedom. Thank you Frank Leavitt PhD "Yeruham" • Dec 8, 2015 at 07:35 This is an excellent article. But you use the term "homeland" incorrectly. The homeland of the People of Israel is here, in the Land of Israel. The blessing which might come from the current troubles in Europe would be the massive return of Jews to Israel. Trev Adams • Dec 8, 2015 at 06:52 Replacement Theology is blasphemous; it makes Almighty God to be a liar. Romans 11:25 states in part that "..............blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved , as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant with them, When I take away their sins.'" It is a very stupid person who curses Israel. When God spoke to Abram, He said, "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." The Holocaust can, in part, be blamed on the silent pulpits in the catholic churches in Germany. We are now in very troubled times and it is only going to get much worse. I suggest to people who call themselves Christian to not take notice of worldly dogma, but search the Scriptures for the truths of God. Hans Lembøl • Dec 8, 2015 at 05:39 It is true that the Catholic Church has, throughout history, been anti-Semitic. It is also true, that Martin Luther was a rabid anti-Semite. However, after 1945, European anti-Semitism has existed at a very low level (criticism of Israel's policy in the occupied territories of the West Bank is not to be mixed up with anti-Semitism). In the article it says, that Sweden is an anti-Semitic country. Wrong. Like the Danes and Norwegians, Swedes are not anti-Semitic. During WW II, the Danes saved thousands of Jews, who found refuge in Sweden. The anti-Semitism now appearing in Europe, is neither Christian nor European in its origin. It is an Islamic anti-Semitism that has spread and risen with the influx of Muslim immigrants. This is why, among other things, many of us Europeans are strongly against Muslim immigration. So please don't call us anti-Semites, because we are not -- apart from a small minority who has learnt nothing. The anti-Semitism now rising in Europe, is Islamic. And that is a deplorable fact. Stan Lee Hans Lembøl • Dec 9, 2015 at 17:45 Hans: I appreciate your comments, I don't think your name is French, but your comments dealt with Europe, not France alone. It seems absurd that Jew-hate in Europe came as a result of Muslim immigration to Europe. With all due respect, I doubt it, sir. You cite Martin Luther, who was a Roman Catholic priest who became the father of the Lutheran Church. At the time, no record of Luther's hate for Jews, to the contrary he wanted to convert them. But, Jews rebuffed conversion and it was from that time that Luther plunged himself into antisemitism. The Scandinavian countries practice Lutheranism, I know Danes are not antisemitic, unless one would meet an old WW2 veteran who was a member of the German Army-Denmark volunteers. The same holds true for Norwegians,enough of them volunteering to serve Germany in Norwegian volunteer units. We cannot assign their volunteering for Jew-hate, though they certainly knew they'd be serving Hitler. The name "Quisling" came from the Norwegian politician who headed a Norge government for Nazi Germany. Sweden is antisemitic of late, its government was very critical of the ancient Jewish "koshering" of meats, the process unlike that of Christians. If anything, it was this Jewish practice which was duplicated by Muslims who call their process "halal." (A slaughtered animal required to bleed out rather than to be knocked unconscious). Why? That I don't know. There was also a French SS volunteer unit, plus Bosnian Muslim unit serving the Nazis. Christians of the Balkans will remember them. As soldiers for Germany, they obeyed orders, common orders singled-out Jews. None of this died out until Muslims emigrated to Europe, it didn't stop from the previous Jew-bias throughout Europe, from Czarist Russia in the east to Portugal in the west. In that long period of time, some Europeans may have rethought such pathology, Pope John Paul, himself a Pole by birth, impressed me as a real champion of the oppressed Europeans,among them survivors of Hitler's Jew-hate policies. Apparently, there is a population of Jews still in Europe, their hopes of Europe never faded. Ed in North Texas Hans Lembøl • Dec 10, 2015 at 08:42 It isn't a matter of some people suggesting, but rather a factual course which appears to be unalterable. Those who don't recognize that Muslims will be the majority in Europe after a few generations are mathematically illiterate. Ethnic Europeans have not had children in sufficient numbers to sustain the population of their countries for some time. Muslims have far more children, often at the expense (literally) of the ethnic European people. It is a matter of simple math that those who procreate in sufficient numbers will become the majority. And the "Person of the Year" is importing millions more to help ensure the Muslim future majority. "Mutti Merkel" is hard at work destroying Germany's culture, and the eventual elimination of ethnic Germans. Ruth • Dec 8, 2015 at 04:57 Thanks for the interesting analysis. I just wonder if there is any fundamental difference between the history of anti-Semitism in France and that in the rest of Europe. Susan Warner Ruth • Dec 9, 2015 at 16:09 Thanks for your question. Currently I am researching articles of a similar nature in Catholic majority nations in Europe. Interesting that anti-Semitism never was dispelled by Protestantism. Trev Adams Susan Warner • Dec 10, 2015 at 02:09 Susan, this is one of the most perplexing faith matters I have dealt with. I have read the words of Martin Luther regarding the Jews and felt sick at the hate that was expressed in his diatribes. If you wish to see the reality of the hatred of Jews continuing after the Reformation just google it and you will find many, many, many examples. It wasn't only the Catholic Church which hated the Jews. Frank Adam Ruth • Dec 10, 2015 at 09:57 French anti-Semitism historically, is roughly in line with that of the rest of Europe -- La France est fille ainée de l'Eglise (France is the eldest daughter of the Church). A traditional line which was quoted by President Valerie D'Estaing on the Papal visit and caused half of France to grind their teeth. In a combination of circumstances, including the intellectual leadership of Europe by its biggest population in the two centuries after the Thirty Years War (1618 - 48), and French being the international language that everybody with an education had, French ideas spread very quickly, at least till the 1940's. France was expected in the late 19th century to beat everybody else to violent persecution of its Jews and totalitarian republicanism. It was a bit of a surprise that Hitler's Germany, "worked a flanker," and turned dirty and viciously violent first. After all Germany was the centre of all technical and much other "Progress" in 1870 - 1930, while Tsarist Russia was neither "Enlightenment" nor republican. Andrew H Ruth • Dec 10, 2015 at 12:02 It's a pity because there have often been brilliant people in the arts in France, but history shows them to be at best "difficult" people and specialists in cutting off their nose to spite their face. Caesar discovered this a long time ago and he dealt with it in practical ways. He killed off a third of Gaul. Then they started up again and he went back and killed off another third. In Islam they meet their match. Difficult meets difficult leading perhaps to impossible. Not a happy party in which to hang around. A pox on both their houses. Susan Warner Trev Adams • Dec 10, 2015 at 15:00 You are exactly right. The Protestant movement under Luther and also Calvin developed their own versions of Replacement Theology. While they may may have rebelled against Catholicism on some fronts, not on this one. You might want to go to my fist article for Gatestone and a couple that I wrote for frontpagemagazine.com about this very topic. Thanks for your astute response. Michael Eiford Susan Warner • Dec 13, 2015 at 16:37 I would disagree in part. Some Protestant groups are highly supportive of God's People, ie: conservative evangelicans--being one, I can attest to that. Really appreciated your article, and will be at your site to discover more about Christian anti-semitism. Michael Eiford Trev Adams • Dec 13, 2015 at 16:54 Trev; Luther was Catholic, Calvin was Catholic, by definition, all Protestant movements were Catholic. Warren's article was dealing with French anti-Semitism, and France is historically Catholic. The pervasiveness and persistence of the anti-Semitism begun in the Catholic Church is some of what she is writing about. There are indeed many Christian churches that are anti-Semitic, and some do not realize it. ALL Christians are NOT anti-Semitic. Russell • Dec 8, 2015 at 04:07 Well said.The French have never supported Israel. Wolf Murmelstein • Dec 8, 2015 at 03:56 In history, the German tribes who invaded the Roman Empire had been tolerant until they converted to Catholic Church; only exception I know are the Longobards and the Normans in Italy. When Jewish work had been needed, rulers were tolerant and economic life flourished. As soon as a ruler had been unable or unwilling to resist clergy, intolerance grew and economic conditions worsened and the monks in their preaching blamed the Jews. To be a Jew means sharing a Fate not only the Faith. Paul Renan • Dec 8, 2015 at 03:10 I could not agree more. The most interesting aspect of replacement theology, is the way it sweeps under the carpet the very explicit writings of the prophets, and the words of the Lord Jesus Himself. Ezekiel 36 makes it clear that God considers the Jews being without a land as a profanity to His Name, and will therefore bring them back to the land. It is not presented as a condition, but a prophecy. Replacement theologians acknowledge that "all scriptures are inspired by God" and then ignore the majority of them to continue their doctrine against the Jews. Therefore, even from a purely secular viewpoint, they have committed the cardinal sin in philosophy -- the sin of self contradiction. FREE SHAKIL AFRIDI! Dr. Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani physician who helped the U.S. locate Osama bin Laden, has been in jail in Pakistan since he was arrested days after the raid on bin Laden's compound in 2011. In 2013, he was granted a retrial, with a new charge that appears politically motivated: charged with murder in regard to the death, eight years earlier, of a patient he had treated. Afridi has gone on a hunger strike protest his unspeakable prison conditions -- including torture. His former lawyer, Samiullah Khan Afridi, was murdered by the Taliban in March 2015. The Obama Administration appears to have abandoned him.
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Tom Perez, Democrats wary of 2020 debates ‘kids’ table’ spectacle Herding cats may turn out to be child’s play compared with the task of corralling what could be some two dozen Democratic candidates vying for a place on the debate stage as the party tries to pick its opponent to President Trump in 2020. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez is expected to reveal his plans before Christmas for how many debates the DNC will sanction and how it will decide who makes the cut. The decisions are likely to be tricky. A debate with more than a dozen candidates could seem ridiculous, but the spectacle of shunting high-profile minority candidates to a “kids’ table” afterthought debate because they aren’t polling high enough — as the Republican Party did in 2016 — could dent the DNC’s outreach efforts. Jane Kleeb, a DNC member from Nebraska, said she hopes the party holds a lottery in the early debates to determine who makes which grouping. “It is a luck of a draw,” she said, adding that could rub some well-known contenders the wrong way but would help ensure the process is fair and give little-known candidates a chance to break out. “We never know who the dark horse is going to be.” “In the beginning, I do think you have to have a level playing field or make it as level as you can make it, but after three debates, you really do know who the top contenders are,” she said. She also urged the party to consider holding a debate in rural America. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who ran for the presidential nomination in 2016 and is considering another bid, said the DNC must learn from the mistakes of the last time. Otherwise, he said, the 2020 debates will be a “bizarre cross between the Jerry Springer Show and the old celebrity game show ‘Hollywood Squares.'” Mr. O’Malley said both parties in 2016 caved to an “infotainment” model of debates, rewarding some candidates with more attention because they made for good TV rather than because they contributed to substantive discussions. “It is not only about the schedule; it is also about the format,” he said. “The party needs to have some semblance of equal time when it comes to these debates and if we have so many candidates that we have to have two different debates, then so be it.” Mr. O’Malley suggested that the candidates be broken up into three tiers: “billionaires, celebrities and public servants.” Mr. Perez has kept close wraps on the debate details that he is hashing out with a handful of party operatives, including Mary Beth Cahill, who managed John F. Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004. He has indicated there would be more debates than 2016, when the Democratic contenders faced off nine times. He also said he is inclined to avoid the main card-undercard format that Republicans relied on to juggle 17 candidates. “When I ran for DNC chair, I said one of the things we are going to do to rebuild trust is to make sure that we set out a primary debate calendar long in advance of who we know will be in the race,” Mr. Perez said at a recent breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor. “Our job is to make sure that everybody gets a fair shake, and the process is fair — fair in fact and fair in perception.” Democrats appear to have a nearly limitless — and high-powered — field shaping up, with a former vice president, a former first lady and secretary of state, a former attorney general, a former national security adviser, at least eight senators, a handful of members of the House, sitting and ex-governors and the odd billionaire or two eyeing runs. “I want to make sure that everybody feels their candidate got a fair shake because what we have to ensure coming out of the convention is that we have a wind at our back, we have unity and we have excitement,” Mr. Perez told reporters. That didn’t happen in the 2016 race, when the party was run by Rep, Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. Mr. O’Malley and others complained that the vast majority of debate questions were directed at Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernard Sanders, and the debates were penciled in at odd times — falling on weekends, outside of prime time and at the same time as major sporting events. “The debates last time where a bit of a fraud,” Mr. O’Malley said. “It was almost as if the Democratic Party didn’t want people to see our debates.” Dave O’Brien, a DNC member from Massachusetts, said the party should strive for a process that is fair but avoids a political circus rewarding candidates with the biggest mouths saying the most controversial things to grab the limelight. “The fear I have is the debates are going to be whoever puts out the red meat is going to be the traction for that week, but I am afraid that is not how someone is going to win long term,” he said. When it comes to debates, he said, “you cannot please everybody.” PreviousThe left and its national security problem NextChuck Schumer and his ‘petty campaign pledge’ shows penchant for lying The climate debate: Malleable 'proofs' Graham releases Russia probe docs, slams original investigation as ‘incompetent, corrupt’ Thrown off the gravy train 7:45 pm September 9, 2017 Liberals’ evil nonsense on parade 10:40 am September 4, 2018
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Overseas staff to cook up a treat to celebrate diversity in the NHS Communications Team 11th April 2018 News Hospital staff will be cooking dishes from around the world next month at a special event to welcome overseas nurses, doctors and healthcare workers to the NHS. Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will host the food event on Nurses Day on May 9 to celebrate the diverse cultures now working at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital. In the past few years, the trust has welcomed staff from countries including Spain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Finland, Portugal, The Philippines and the Indian sub-continent through its “Remarkable People, Extraordinary Place” recruitment campaign. Now, staff from wards and departments will be invited to taste massaman curries from Thailand, hamburgers from the USA, Neopolitan pizza from Italy, spring rolls from China and Indian speciality Masala Dosa to welcome the different nationalities devoted to caring for sick people from Hull and the East Riding. Senior nurse Louise Beedle, head of patient experience, said: “We now employ nurses, doctors and healthcare staff from all over the world. “We hope this event will mark the richness in cultures we now have right here in Hull. Louise Beedle, right, with her Indian-born mother Jan Handley with some of their family’s favourite food “We want our staff, no matter where they come from, to feel welcome in the city and to highlight their heritage through food. It might be a dish passed down their family for generations or something that reminds them of a place that means a lot to them. “Food is a great way to break down cultural barriers and create new friendships, celebrating strengths in diversity but also the common bond we share in doing the best for our patients.” The World Food event will be held at Castle Hill Hospital’s Nightingales Restaurant on May 9 between 4pm and 8pm.
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Home / News / IIFA 2020: International destinations like Seoul and Lisbon among others invite IIFA to their city IIFA 2020: International destinations like Seoul and Lisbon among others invite IIFA to their city One of the most celebrated ceremonies – International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) celebrated its 20th edition last year. Now, according to sources, several international destinations like Seoul – South Korea, Istanbul- Turkey, Lisbon – Portugal and Cyprus are bidding to invite IIFA to their city to celebrate its 21st edition. Last year, for the first time in its history, IIFA was held in Mumbai to celebrate its 20th Homecoming Edition. The show was hosted by Ayushmann Khurrana and Aparshakti Khurana. The nominees were announced on 28 August 2019. IIFA is a set of awards presented annually by the International Indian Film Academy to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in Bollywood. The first awards were presented in 2000 at The Millennium Dome in London, United Kingdom. From then onwards, the awards are held at locations around the world signifying the international success of Bollywood. Since 2000, the event has expanded from a one-night event to a three-day celebration, hosting various events and activities relating to the Indian film industry. Jacksan63 views0 likesFeb 3, 2020NewsShare
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Somali refugee community takes lead in local integration in South Africa By Pumla Rulashe RUSTENBURG, South Africa, (UNHCR) – Over the years, many Somali refugees in South Africa have achieved substantial independence and self-sufficiency without the assistance of the UN refugee agency. These skilled traders have relied on cultural and religious ties and networks, business savvy, determination and single-mindedness to establish businesses and ensure their communities function on clearly formulated lines. Newly arrived Somali refugees – avoiding the congested cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth – venture into rural towns that have had no significant interaction with refugees and other foreigners. But the refugees' encroachment into these areas is increasingly triggering fierce resistance, which often ends in the loss of property or even life. One Somali community is acting to end the animosity. Abdul Mohammed is chairperson of the newly constituted Somali Community Board of Rustenburg, a mining town in rural North West Province, an organization that is the first place Somali refugees in the region call when faced with problems ranging from domestic discord to issues of life and death. When a UNHCR team arrived at his office in early March, he was on the telephone arranging the funeral of a fellow refugee killed by unknown assailants at his business premises. "This is the eighth unprovoked killing of a Somali refugee within a year in this area," he told UNHCR Senior Community Services Assistant Mmone Moletsane. She had been invited by Mohammed and his organization, which is straining to respond to his community's growing needs. Assaults on Somali refugees in South Africa have been increasing. In 2007, the Eastern Cape Province was at the centre of some of the most horrific attacks on Somali refugee traders. This trend has spread to three other rural provinces, leaving provincial governments red faced and wondering how to respond. UNHCR is helping them develop strategies to raise awareness on the presence of refugees, their basic human rights and South Africa's responsibility to protect these rights. The Somali Community Board has completed its own research on why the Somali community is under threat. Mohammed acknowledges his countrymen have done little to promote their integration in the communities in which they have established their small and medium-sized businesses. "We have just come in and set up our shops, without seeking information and understanding the culture of the area in which we have settled," he admitted. A poor command of English and no knowledge of local languages have further alienated these communities. They cannot communicate with their patrons beyond a greeting and stating prices. As a priority, the Somali body has committed to introducing members to community leaders, tribal authorities and organizations to explain why they are in the country. To ease tension with local business interests, they have committed to placing their shops two kilometres apart so local traders can compete for customers without being squeezed out by a concentration of Somali-owned stores. They are also ready to elect representatives from the Somali refugee community to participate in Community Policing Forums, which together with the South African Police Services maintain law and order in communities. "From a community development point of view, I really commend the Somali Community Board for their proactive initiatives towards addressing the problems they face," said Moletsane, who has been active in UNHCR's efforts to combat xenophobia. "They are very organized and have demonstrated the capacity to solve some of their problems even." Alongside its own solutions for promoting integration, the Somali organization has raised a number of concerns that require the refugee agency's intervention. The continued lack of access to state documents showing their status – and a lack of recognition by many officials after they are obtained – perpetuates the refugees' vulnerability. "Because our refugee permits are generally not recognized by people in authority the threat of harassment and imprisonment is an ever present possibility for all of us," said Mohammed. "Parents keep their children out of public schools fearing their victimization by teachers and students. Because of this they need to enrol in private schools whose fees are completely out of our reach." The organization also wants to acquire premises for a shelter to house and feed the most vulnerable in their community, which includes widows and single parent-headed households. This will require some support, guidance and assistance from UNHCR, which is now under discussion. Although Mohammed puts on a brave face, the strain of his responsibilities and the fear that lurks just beneath the surface is evident in his demeanour. But he is clearly relieved he has now made contact with UNHCR to get extra support for a refugee community that has shown it is ready to help itself. Source: UNHCR, Mar 19, 2008 Attacks on foreigners deplored - Sapa Nigerian officers in Somalia ahead of troop deployment - AFP Guards for African leaders battle; dozen injured - CNN Somalia: Situation Report no. 11 – 20 Mar 2008 - UN-OCHA SOMALIA: "Runaway inflation" hurting livelihoods in Puntland - IRIN Somali insurgents overrun government bases; 7 killed - AP 7 killed in latest raid by Somalia's Islamic insurgents - AP South Africa: Somali shot, robbed at shop - Sapa
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Museum of Archaeology opens on campus The Linda Byrd Smith Museum of Biblical Archaeology was dedicated April 13, 2017. Enrich your biblical understanding. The museum is home to more than 100 artifacts. Grasp deeper meaning of God's word. The museum is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. or by appointment. Linda Byrd Smith Museum of Biblical Archaeology Welcome to the Linda Byrd Smith Museum of Biblical Archaeology. With more than 100 artifacts displayed, the museum can be used as a resource for students to provide context and help them better understand their biblical studies. The museum has 10 sections that showcase items such as storage jars, perfume bottles, coins, weapons, wine skins and other artifacts from daily life in the ancient world. Other displays include excavation tools, explanations of ceramic typology and carbon dating, and a timeline from 2000 B.C. to 700 A.D. Linda Byrd Smith (’67) donated the initial funds to begin the museum. She teaches Bible classes for Arkansas jails and prisons, her home church, and other religious organizations. Smith has also produced videos for the Center for Christian Broadcasting about women in the Bible. Wine skin/water skin (1) Most students of the Bible likely remember Jesus’ reference to wineskins: “Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved” (Matt. 9:17 ESV; cf. Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37-38). The issue is that as new wine ferments it creates gasses which stretch the skin to extreme limits. If it is an old wineskin, the first batch of wine will have stretched the skin’s elasticity to its limit permitting little additional expansion—thus the new wine’s fermentation exceeds the limits of the old wineskin’s elasticity, rupturing the vessel. There are quite a few other references to skins in the Bible and most of them refer to skins as containers for wine. After listening to the futile efforts of Job’s friends to respond suitably to Job’s plight, Elihu compared his frustration to keep silent to a distended wine skin ready to burst (Job 32:19). The Gibeonites’ deceived the Israelites by using old, worn-out wine skins that were patched (Josh. 9:4, 13; note the patches on the goatskin in the case!). Nehemiah referred to the large quantity of wine that supplied his daily court (Neh. 5:18) although he declared that he did not demand this from the subjects of Judea. Interestingly, the ruins in Persian Persepolis portray servants bearing wineskins to the royal court (photo 1; Cincinnati), indicating that these were not necessarily vessels relegated to the poor! Evidence of the value attached to water skins and wine skins is the preservation of an alabaster model of a skin vessel in the Early Bronze Age II-III temple and sanctuary at Ai (photo 2; Rockefeller Museum). The vessel is poorly preserved but the folded rear legs and the neck with its closing rope are still distinct. William Flinders Petrie had found a similar “model waterskin” at 3d millennium BC Egypt (Amiran 1970: 174-77). The degree of work involved to manufacture such a vessel and to produce a full-size version in alabaster speaks to the value placed upon the objects. Goats were probably the most prevalent animals whose skin would be used to make wine and water skins. If properly removed (peeled off from the rear to the head) they would be suitable containers to carry a liquid. The rear of the animal would be sewn shut and the legs tied closed; the neck would remain as the opening through which to fill and drain the skin. Furthermore goat skins would generally be large enough to hold a reasonable amount of liquid, but not too large to be bulky and difficult to carry. Skins have been used until quite modern times as containers for water in Middle and Near Eastern countries as well as parts of Africa (see photo 3 of man carrying a skin on his back as if a backpack [Mahmoud]). The sample in our museum is probably about 100 years old. One photo shows goat skins being processed at Hebron sometime between 1898 and 1914 (photo 4; Lib of Congress, Bolen). One portrayal of the use of water skins is in the epic movie Lawrence of Arabia (1962), starring Peter O’Toole and set in the context of World War I roughly the date of our example in the photograph. The first reference to skins as vessels in the Bible appears when Hagar and Ishmael were expelled from Abraham’s household and their water skin had run out. Hagar feared for their lives without water (Gen. 21:14), but the Lord directed her to a nearby well where she filled the skin (21:19). Milk was also stored and churned in skins. When Sisera fled from the battle field and sought refuge in Jael’s tent, she opened a skin of milk and gave him its contents (Judg. 4:19). Evidence of processing milk into a yogurt-type product dates at least as far back as the Chalcolithic period as shown in the discovery of ceramic churns which mimicked animal skins (photo 5; Israel Museum). Anthropological studies reveal that skins were often used to churn milk into a yogurt-like drink that was part of the diet of antiquity; this “technological” discovery enhanced the ability of people to store and market goods (Grigson 1995: 266). The narrative of Abraham serving his three guests curds and milk (Gen. 18:8) implies the use of a skin to produce the curds, which basically was the yogurt-like drink (see also King and Stager 2001: 103). Amiran, Ruth. 1970. “The Egyptian Alabaster Vessels from Ai.” Israel Exploration Journal 20/3-4: 170-79. Cincinnati Art Museum. Photo by Daderot via Wikimedia Commons. Grigson, Caroline. 1995. “Plough and Pasture in the Early Economy of the Southern Levant.” Pp. 245-68 in The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. Ed. T. E. Levy. New York: Facts on File. Israel Museum, courtesy of (Photo by D. Manor). King, Philip J. and Lawrence E. Stager. 2001. Life in Biblical Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-matpc-06775/www.LifeintheHolyLand.com; with permission of Todd Bolen. Mahmoud Abu Eid. Photo gift from Mahmoud of the Oriental Museum, Jerusalem—Old City; 37 King David Street. Tell el-Yahudiyeh Juglet (2) These juglets have very distinctive forms in that they usually have a double handle and punctiliated geometric patterns on their bodies. Originally the vessels had white paint in the impressions, dramatizing the contrast with the body of the vessel. The name derives from a site in Egypt, known as Tell el-Yahudiyeh where the vessel design was first identified. The term Tell el-Yahudiyeh means “Mound of the Jews,” although it is an anachronism to apply the term to the Middle Bronze Age remains. The term probably has some credence for the Exilic period when there was a Jewish temple/shrine at the site. William Flinders Petrie identified the Middle Bronze Age site with the Hyksos who were Canaanites who for a while took control of the northern Delta region of Egypt during what is identified as the XV Dynasty (ca. 1650-1550 B.C.). The vessel design originated in Canaan and eventually found its way to Egypt through trade and migration. Baines, John and Jaromir Malek. Ancient Egypt. The Cultural Atlas of the World. Oxford: Andromeda, 1990 (p. 174). Holladay, John S., Jr. 2001. Yahudiyya, Tell el-. Pp. 527-29 in Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 3. Ed. D. B. Redford. New York: Oxford, 2001 Sparks, Rachael Thyrza, ed. 2007. A Future for the Past: Petrie’s Palestinian Collection. London: Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 2007 (pp. 84-85). Perfume/Kohl bottle (3) This small vessel was a luxury item in the ancient world and dates from the Middle Bronze Age. Its design and manufacture find their origins in Egypt where they held ointments, perfume, or kohl. Kohl was the black substance that the Egyptians used around their eyes. Kohl was not just for beauty purposes, but it reduced the sun’s glare as well as ward off pesky insects from the eyes. The coating on the vessel is faience, an early form of glaze that used crushed silica or quartz; when fired it becomes semi-glossy. Travel between Egypt and Canaan was fairly open during the Middle Bronze Age, as evidenced by the famous Beni Hasan Tomb painting which shows a group of Canaanites traveling to Egypt, partly to market kohl. The Bible indicates a similar openness as Abraham and his family moved to Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan (Gen. 12:10). This was one of the occasions when Abram presented Sarai as his sister and she was taken into the Pharaoh’s harem. It is probable that among the gifts bestowed upon Sarai would have been faience items similar to this one. The Bible refers to painting the eyes, using the word kohl, although it is much later than the Patriarchs. The occasion was in a tirade against Israel and Judah and their unfaithfulness with other countries and gods: “For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments” (Ezek. 23:40). The verb “paint” is the word kohl (ljk). There is no evidence that they would have used a vessel of this type in that period, but it shows the prevalence of kohl in the ancient world. Carinated bowl (4) The term “carination” refers to the sharp ridge bend in the side of the vessel. Carinated bowls were quite common in the Middle Bronze Age—the likely period when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived. There were several versions of these vessels which typically developed through time as is the usual case with ceramic typology (see the chart elsewhere in the museum). What is sobering is the probable role of a vessel of this nature when Esau came in from the field, famished with hunger and asked for a bowl of Jacob’s “red stew” (Gen. 25:30, ESV). Jacob manipulated the situation to his advantage by proposing that Esau trade his birthright for the stew. Esau agreed and so began his reputation as an irreligious person who sold his inheritance for a single meal (cf. Heb. 12:16; some versions describe him as “unholy” [ESV] or “profane” [KJV]). It is sobering to think that one would be so short-sighted to sell his inheritance for such a relatively paltry commodity. Sumerian law code (5) This is a resin reproduction of a law code tablet dating from ca. 1860 B.C. It was discovered in Nippur in modern Iraq during an excavation sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania. It is written in Sumerian using cuneiform as the style of writing. Cuneiform means “wedge-shaped,” and refers to the impressions left in the clay which express syllables or alphabetic letters (depending on the language; e.g., Ugaritic which was an alphabetic cuneiform). This example preserves the Laws of Lipit-Ishtar who ruled in the first dynasty of Isin (ca. 1934-1924 B.C.). While it has often been said that Hammurabi’s Code is the first law code, a number of law codes have been discovered that predate Hammurabi, among which is this one. Admittedly, Hammurabi’s Code is much larger, but law codes predated him by centuries. Examples of others have been discovered dating from as early as 2100 B.C. (the laws of Ur-Nammu). It is thought that this small example was a writing exercise for school practice. — Data from Barry Eichler and Carole Linderman and a brochure that came with the artifact from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. www.museum.upenn.edu Sumerian clay cone inscription (6) This clay cone dates to ca. 1950 B.C., probably from the temenos wall area of the temple of Gula, at Isin in modern Iraq. The following collation was produced in 2006 by Professor John D. Fortner, retired Professor of Hebrew Bible. Ishme-Dagan, (and) its work force from corvee powerful male, he remitted king of Isin, the great wall of Isin king of the four world corners, he built. when (for) Nippur That wall (which) the city beloved he built, 〈by〉 Enlil “Ishme-Dagan beside Enlil is the great arm of Anu" its tribute is its name. he cancelled; Essentially it is a commemorative inscription put into the structure of the wall to extol the greatness of the king, Ishme-Dagan, who granted release from taxes and military service while the people were building the temple. Duckbill axe (7) The term “duckbill” applies for its obvious similarity—we do not know what the people of antiquity called it. The weapon, which was a natural typological development out of the earlier sequence of copper axes, was the last in the line of these designs and yet the first that was made out of bronze. It clearly was not used to chop down trees, but was a weapon. The famous Beni Hasan tomb painting in Egypt depicts a group of Canaanites migrating to Egypt and the last person in the line of Canaanites is shown carrying one of these axes. It would have been very effective as a weapon and was a classic advance in technology as people learned how to work with bronze. The date of the tomb painting, and hence the time period of the “duckbill” axe, is to sometime in the 20th century B.C. Cylinder seal (8) Cylinder seals were used by people in ancient times as identity stamps. The seal would be rolled in a soft substance (e.g., clay), leaving an impression that was uniquely associated with the person who owned it. The owner usually carried the seal attached to a toggle pin (to which this one is attached) which then served as a sort of clasp/button on the garment (as shown on the drawing with the display). It is clear that seals were typically only associated with people of influence and wealth—the cost to produce the fine detail inscriptions and drawings was prohibitive. It was almost certainly one of these that served as the point of tension in the story of Tamar and Judah in Genesis 38. Judah’s son, Er, had married Tamar, but the Lord was angry with him and killed him. Since Levirate marriage was the custom, Er’s brother, Onan was to marry her and raise up children in the name of Er. Onan, however, refused to comply with the law and he, too, was killed. That left Judah’s third son, Shelah, as the one to perform the rights of the brother-in-law. He, however, was too young. But when it was clear to Tamar that Judah was not honoring the law, she dressed as a prostitute and negotiated with Judah to have relations with him. Since he did not have anything to pay her, she asked for his seal, the cord and his staff to be held as security until he could send suitable payment. The seal and the cord refers to a cylinder seal and the accompanying cord and toggle pin. After she had secured the seal, cord and staff, she left, not waiting for the “suitable” payment. When it was discovered that she was pregnant, Judah declared that she should be executed. At that time she produced the seal, cord and staff declaring that the one to whom these belonged was the father. Judah’s guilt was revealed—the seal was as good as his signature. Half-Shekel Temple Tax (9) The Law of Moses required that when a census would occur, each adult male was to give to the Temple a half-shekel (Exodus 30:12-14). Eventually this tradition became an annual tax. In addition, Mosaic law recognized the logistical challenge to take sheep, goats, grain, and cattle long distances to sacrifice in Jerusalem, so the Lord permitted his subjects to sell the goods and take the money to Jerusalem to exchange for the required elements (Deuteronomy 14:22-26). By the first century, the Temple authorities had implemented quality control requirements, restricting the currency they would accept. The money changers whom Jesus drove out of the Temple precinct were part of this system (cf. Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-16)—not only would they convert money back to animals, but they would be part of the quality control to convert foreign currency to the only accepted currency—the Tyrian shekel. The Tyrian shekel was originally minted in Tyre and was a purer silver content—94 percent! The irony of requiring this coin for the temple tax and exchange is that the coin preserved the profile image of a Greek god—Melqaart/Heracles—on one side and an eagle on the reverse—both of which would be graven images seemingly in violation of the Decalogue’s prohibition of graven images (cf. Exodus 20:3-4). Normally the half-shekel would be the fee for the temple tax (Matthew 17:24-27), but when Peter was challenged regarding whether Jesus would pay the tax or not, Jesus directed Peter to go fish and in the fish’s mouth would be the full shekel with which to pay the tax for himself and Peter. The silver shekel and half-shekels were likely also the currency given to Judas as the betrayal money since it came out of the temple treasury (cf. Matthew 27:3-6). Betlyon, John W. “Coinage.” Pp. 1076-89 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 1. Ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Franz, Gordon. “The Tyrian Shekel and the Temple of Jerusalem.” Bible and Spade. 2002. Perkin, H. W. “Money.” Pp. 402-09 in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, vol. 3. Ed. G. W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986. Denarius (10) The denarius was worth the equivalent of ten (10) asses/donkeys (Bilkes [2009]: 136), which would have represented a sizable degree of wealth in the first century. During the first century A.D., this silver coin constituted the normal day’s salary for the common laborer (Betlyon [1992]: 1086). While there were several denarii issued by the Roman government and most all of them depicted the emperor, this version shows Tiberius Caesar on one side and on the other side is a portrayal of his seated mother, Livia who was Caesar Augustus’ wife. There were several versions of the denarius in circulation at the time of Jesus, but the one issued by Tiberius (dating from 14-37 A.D.) would have easily spanned the time frame of his ministry. It is for this reason that most scholars are inclined to identify this version of the denarius as the one Jesus used in his famous dictum after asking whose inscription was on it: “…render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). An understanding of the general value of the denarius as a day’s wages dramatizes its significance in a number of events in the New Testament narrative. Among them is the episode when Judas objected when Mary anointed Jesus with the nard and he argued: “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:5). The value of the nard was extraordinary for a common person, and while it could have helped alleviate the suffering of many poor people, Judas’ lust for the wealth was his dominant concern (John 12:6). Bilkes, Gerald M. “Money, Coins.” Pp. 130-37 in The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 4. Ed. K. D. Sakenfeld. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009. Widow’s Mites (11) The term “Widow’s Mite” applies to the two copper/bronze coins that the widow deposited into the treasury of the Temple and which prompted Jesus to commend her generosity (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4). The Greek word transliterates to lepton (sing.; lepta, pl.) and means “small” or “thin” (Liddell and Scott [1968]: 1039-40), and alludes to its minimal value in the economic structure. The value of the coin was approximately 1/128 that of the denarius (cf. Schmidt [1992]: 805)—or to put it another way, since the denarius was considered the equivalent of a day’s wages for a common laborer, the lepton would equate to about six minutes of work (on the basis of a twelve hour work day). The traditional identification has derived from those issued by Alexander Jannaeus, of the Hasmonean period who “reigned” from ca. 103-76 B.C. If the Alexander Jannaeus coins are the ones under consideration in the story of the widow, one side depicts an anchor and the other an eight-spoked wheel or eight-ray star (it is not clear which is meant). Alternatively, her contribution could have been a combination of any of the lepta that would have been in circulation during Jesus’ ministry. Hence, they could have included not only the Alexander Jannaeus examples, but also those issued by Coponius, Ambibulus, Gratus, or Pilate himself (examples for some of whom are in the display case). In Jesus’ parable of the workers (Matthew 20:1-15), the people who were hired the 11th hour would have expected to be paid about ten (10) of these coins, but instead were generously given a full denarius! Liddell, H. G. and R. Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon with Supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968. Schmidt, T. E. “Taxes.” Pp. 804-07 in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Eds. J. B. Green, S. McKnight, and I. H. Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992. Treasure Hidden in a Field (12) Banks, as repositories of wealth from which the average person could draw, were unknown in the ancient world, plus there was the danger of unscrupulous personnel. The tendency, then, was either to carry the wealth with you in some fashion or hide it. To bury a treasure in a field was one of those tactics. Jesus used that tradition in one of his parables as he discussed the kingdom: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). This is similar to the practice utilized by the Dead Sea Scroll community who put their valuable manuscripts into clay jars and hid them in the caves above Qumran, expecting to return to the area and retrieve them. This was their version of the “treasure in jars of clay” similar to what Paul said of the gospel message: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). In these practices, the contents of the vessels was perceived as far more valuable than the container. This practice of burying one’s valuables was a common strategy and museums often show examples of earthen vessels which have been plowed up or otherwise discovered in which bits of silver and/or gold had been preserved—and long forgotten (photo #1). The practice is well-known to the Arabic population in the Middle East as well as elsewhere. One problem that archaeologists had in the early years of excavation focused on this tradition. Many times when a worker would uncover a complete vessel, he would bust it open to see if it had gold and/or silver inside. Archaeologists certainly understand the value of the gold and silver, but the intact vessel also preserves great value as well! While we have glue to restore vessels, we would prefer not to have to use it! Photo #1: A collection from 11th century B.C. Dor; Courtesy of Israel Museum; photo by D. W. Manor Coin of Constantine the Great (13) While technically not an artifact of Biblical Archaeology, this coin was issued by Constantine the Great (died 337 A.D.) who was the Roman leader who in 313 A.D. legalized Christianity, thus permitting the Gospel to be spread more openly. Tesserae/Tessera (14) Tesserae are the small stones that are used to make mosaics. Different colors of stone would be chosen to represent the various patterns, whether geometric or of scenes. The smaller the stones the more detail and crispness tends to characterize the piece of art. The size of the stones might be compared to the number of pixels per inch on your computer screen—the lower the number, the less well-defined the image; the higher the number, the more detail you can have. Of course, the higher the number, the greater the labor intensity to produce the mosaic. As you might suspect, typically only the elite could afford to have mosaics as their floors. Many of the mosaics in the biblical world are extremely elaborate and colorful. Some are geometric designs, others are elaborate scenes of nature or other designs. Among the most elaborate are those at Sepphoris, a town about four miles (six kilometers) northwest of Nazareth. A famous mosaic from Sepphoris has been dubbed “The ‘Mona Lisa’ of the Galilee” from the house of Dionysos and dates from the 3rd century A.D. The depiction of the woman is part of a larger mosaic measuring 7.0 x 5.5 meters (ca. 23 x 18 feet) and consisting of 1.5 million stones of in twenty-three colors (photo 1). Kondoleon, Christine and Lucille A. Roussin. “Mosaics.” Pp. 50-55 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, vol. 4. Ed. E. M. Meyers. New York: Oxford University, 1997. Meyers, Carol L. and Eric M. Meyers. “Sepphoris.” Pp. 527-36 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, vol. 4. Ed. E. M. Meyers. New York: Oxford University, 1997. Meyers, Eric M.; Ehud Netzer, and Carol L. Meyers. “Artistry in Stone: The Mosaics of Ancient Sepphoris,” Biblical Archaeologist 50/4 (1987): 223-31. Stone Cup (15) During the first century B.C. into first century A.D., stone vessels became particularly popular. It appears that the rationale for their development was a response to Levitical legislation dealing with kosher laws. Leviticus 11 discusses various means by which vessels could become unclean; among them would be if a dead rat, mouse, lizard, or gecko were to fall on an item. If the item were made of wood, cloth, or leather, it was to be washed and would remain unclean until the evening after which it could be used. If any of these were to fall on a ceramic vessel, the vessel was to be broken (Leviticus 11:29-34). The rabbis observed that the legislation says nothing about stone vessels, so they inferred that these were exempt at least from the decree of breakage. (Metal objects apparently were also exempt from destruction; cf. Numbers 31:21-24). The reference to the six stone water jars at the wedding feast in Cana probably alludes to this ideological practice. The text explicitly notes that the jars were “there for the Jewish rites of purification” (John 2:6; ESV). An example of four large jars appears in photo #1. Recent excavations at a site near Nazareth have uncovered a cave where some of these ritual vessels were produced. The cave yielded “numerous remains of stone vessels in various stages of production,” (Arutz Sheva). Arutz Sheva Staff. “Excavations in Galilee reveal 2,000 year-old stone factory.” Arutz Sheva, on-line publication. 21 Aug. 2016. www.israelnatonalnews.com/News/News.aspx/216697 Yonatan Adler. “Jewish Purity Practices in Roman Judea: The Evidence of Archaeology.” The Ancient Near East Today 5/2 (2017): on-line publication: asorblog.org/jewish-purity-practices-roman-judea-evidence-archaeology Photo #1: Courtesy of Israel Museum; photo by D. W. Manor Sundial (16) This reproduces an artifact that probably belonged to a priest associated with Herod’s temple in Jerusalem. It was discovered in the pile of debris beneath the retaining walls of the Herodian Temple. It is a “pocket-watch” which the owner could use to align with a designated place on the wall to determine the time of day. It was probably used to determine the times of prayer. The New Testament mentions the “hour of prayer” when Peter and John were going to the Temple to pray (Acts 3:1). This determination would have been particularly important for a priest. The incised portrayal of a menorah on the back of the sun-dial implies its use by priests who were supposed to be the only ones authorized to use it. The two indentations are thought to permit one properly to align the dial. The description in the Biblical Archaeology Review states that “the dial’s face is carefully calibrated for Jerusalem” (Levy 1998: 20). Levy, Abraham. “Bad Timing: Time to Get a New Theory.” Biblical Archaeology Review 24/4 (1998): 18-23. Judean pillar figurines (17) These figurines typically take two basic forms. The bodies of both forms consist of the pillar and its anatomical features; the differences are in how the head is portrayed. The exemplar on display is what is called a “molded head” since the face and head were made in a mold and then attached to the body. Some of the examples of the molded face forms preserve flecks of paint implying an element of sophistication. The other form (not on display) has the same body but the head is called a “pinch-face” or “bird-face” figurine since all that exists to represent the face is a pinched head to show the face extending forward (photo 1). The probable reasons for the differences is economic—the pinch face could be produced much more easily than the one requiring a mold. Scholars consistently believe that these were used in some kind of religious/ceremonial function, the details of which are open to argument. Darby (404-05) basically argues that they were used as elements of a kind of magic in the healing arts. Manor (1995: 226-96) and Never (2005: 176-94) argue that they represented small, domestic versions of Asherah, the goddess frequently condemned in the Hebrew Bible (cf. e.g., Deut. 16:21; Judg. 6:25; 1 Kgs. 15:13; 2 Kgs 17:16 et al.). Most of the pillar figurines date to the 7th century B.C. and particularly to the end of the century basically contemporary with the reign of Josiah, who attempted to eradicate the worship of Asherah (2 Kgs. 23:1-15). He attempted to eliminate the use of household gods and idols; it is probable that these are examples of that attention. Darby, Erin. Interpreting Judean Pillar Figurines. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe, 69. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014. represents appeal for healing (pp. 404-05) Dever, William G. Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005. Pp. 176-94 (194). Manor, Dale W. An Archaeological Commentary on the Josianic Reforms. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Arizona. Ann Arbor: UMI Dissertation Services, 1995. Pp. 226-96. Copper Serpent (18) This full-size replica is of a copper serpent that was found inside a shrine at the site of Timna’ just north of the Gulf of Eilat. The area was known for its copper mining, and the shrine dates to the early 12th century B.C. The excavators postulated that the occupants were Midianites who worked the site (Rothenberg 1972: 183-84). The time frame is fairly closely connected with the time of the Judges of the Bible and perhaps just after the Exodus. Geographically, the area around Timna’ was where the Bible narrates that the Israelites complained about their plight in the wilderness (and it is a wilderness!!!) and God sent poisonous serpents into the camp to bite the people (Numbers 21:6-9). God then directed Moses to fashion a bronze serpent to serve as a focal point for people to be healed. The Timna’ shrine went out of use by the middle of the 12th century. Small copper/bronze serpents were fairly widely distributed in ancient Canaan (photo #1). Among other locations, examples have been found at Hazor (Yadin et al. 1960:117, pl. 181), Megiddo (Loud 1948: pl. 240, no. 1), and Mevorakh (Stern 1984: 22, fig. 3.1, pl. 31.1). It is not clear to whom or how these serpents were used. One theory is that they were associated with fertility; another suggests association with healing (hence the caduceus as a symbol of healing; photo #2). In the episode with Moses, the serpents brought death and the bronze serpent was a focal point for healing. Apparently the Israelites enshrined the bronze serpent, because Hezekiah made it part of his religious purge several hundred years later (cf. 2 Kings 18:4), when it was named Nehushtan. The etymology of the term nehushtan is ambiguous; it could derive from a root word meaning “copper” or it could derive from a root word meaning “snake” (Brown, Driver, Briggs 1972: 639). Either source would work. Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1972. Loud, Gordon, ed. Megiddo II: Seasons of 1935-1939: Plates. Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1948. Manor, Dale W. “Timna’.” Pp. 553-56 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 6. Ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Stern, Ephraim. Excavations at Tel Mevorakh (1973-1976). Qedem 18. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Yadin, Yigal et al. Hazor II: An Account of the Second Season of Excavations 1956. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press The Hebrew University, 1960. Bird-shaped cult bowl (19) This reproduction is of an artifact (photo 1) that was uncovered in a Philistine Temple (Temple 131) at the site of Tell Qasile, on the grounds adjacent to the Eretz-Israel Museum near Tel Aviv, Israel. The temple originally stood in the late 11th-early 10th centuries B.C. (i.e., ca. 1025-950 B.C.). The ritual bowl was found in a building which preserved numerous vessels of clearly ritual character. Regretfully, we are unable to determine exactly how the vessel was used. The base of the vessel was broken off, but compared with similar bird-shaped vessels in the room, it probably had a stem extending below the bottom which would have fit inside a special stand in the room. It likely was used to receive liquid offerings of some kind; quite a number of other vessels in the room were designed clearly for ceremonies that involved liquids. Eretz-Israel Museum, courtesy of (photo by D. Manor) Mazar, Amihai. Excavations at Tell Qasile, Part 1: The Philistine Sanctuary: Architecture and Cult Objects. Qedem 12. Jerusalem: Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1980. Horse-and-rider figurines (20) The reforms of Josiah describe removing the “horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun” that were become associated with the Temple complex in Jerusalem (2 Kgs. 23:11). The time frame for the preponderance of these figurines is toward the end of the 7th century BC and it is tempting to associate them with Josiah’s reforms. While this animal looks more like a dog than a horse, the fact that the person is on its back bridling the animal indicates implies a horse. The clay disk between the ears probably represents the sun. Likely these models were miniature representations of the activities and rituals in the Temple, perhaps to serve as domestic focal points of worship (alongside the pillar figurines?). Dever (1994: 152-53) has associated these figurines with the solar deities. Dever, William G. “The Silence of the Text: An Archaeological Commentary on 2 Kings 23.” Pp. 143-68 in Scripture and Other Artifacts: Essays on the Bible and Archaeology in Honor of Philip J. King. Eds. M. D. Coogan, J. C. Exum, L. E. Stager. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994. Rattle (21) Rattles occur with some frequency in the archaeological record, but usually in either tomb or ritual contexts. They thus may have been associated with ritual and/or music. There is no particular reason simply to associate them with infants or children. Their presence in tombs likely were issues of divination as people would use them to drive away perceived spirits that they thought might be looming in the tombs. Alternatively, we have examples of rattles on ritual items, among which is a unique ritual scepter (photo 1) that was used in an Edomite worship site of Qitmit located southwest of the Dead Sea (note the rattle shape at the top of the head of the face). While the date of the museum example is unknown, these items may have been part of the Josianic reform as he sought to eradicate divination (2 Kgs. 23:24) which was often associated with mediums and necromancers (Manor 1995: 351-52). Israel Museum, photo courtesy of (photo by D. Manor). Manor, Dale W. An Archaeological Commentary on the Josianic Reforms. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Arizona. Ann Arbor: UMI Dissertation Services, 1995. Models of pomegranates often appear in ritual contexts. Mosaic legislation required that the hem of the High Priest’s garment be decorated with alternating bells and pomegranates made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarns (Exo.28:33-34; 39:24-26). Images of the pomegranate later became part of the Solomonic Temple as well (1 Kgs. 7:18-20, 42). Pomegranates were among the fruits the spies brought back from their mission as testimony of the productivity of Canaan (Num. 13:23). The Hebrew word for pomegranate is rimmon which appears a number of times in the Old Testament as place names, implying the prevalence of pomegranate trees in the vicinity (cf. Josh. 15:32; 19:7; Judg. 20:45-47). Pomegranates grow on small trees in the warmer areas of Canaan (photo 1). In many cultures pomegranates represented fertility and productivity since they are so rich in seeds. They are among the many metaphors by which the lovers in the Song of Songs describe each other (Song of Songs 4:3, 13; 6:7). The pomegranate is a versatile product, not only yielding a tasty, healthful red fruit drink from pressing the seeds, but it was used to flavor wines as well (cf. Song of Songs 8:2). Its flowers, bark and rind can be used to produce a red dye particularly effective on leathers (cf. perhaps used to produce the “ram skins dyed red” in the NIV; Exo. 25:5; cf. Props 2006: 374 contra ESV rendering). Medicinal uses of the plant would be treatment of tapeworm, diarrhea, and skin ailments (Jacob and Jacob 1992: 808). Jacob, Irene and Walter Jacob. “Flora.” Pp. 803-17 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 2. Ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Propp, William C. H. Exodus 19-40. Anchor Bible 2A. New York: Doubleday, 2006. Ashdoda (23) The original of this unique piece was discovered in the excavations at Ashdod in modern Israel. The site had been one of the Philistine Pentapolis cities which included Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, Gath, and Ekron (cf. references in Josh. 13:3). The piece was found in a cultic/ritual context of what appeared to be a temple dating from the 12th century B.C. (Dothan, M. 1971a: 161; 1971b: 192-93). The design of the Ashdoda reflects strong Mycenaean influences and looks very similar to pieces discovered scattered throughout the ancient Mycenaean world in and near the mainland of modern Greece. This, along with other lines of evidence, prompt many to infer connections of the Philistines with the Mycenaean world. The Ashdoda probably represents an adaptation of a Mycenaean female deity and throne (Dothan, T. 1982: 234-37). Dothan, Moshe. Ashdod II-III: The Second and Third Seasons of Excavations 1963, 1965, Soundings in 1967. Text. Atiqot IX-X. Jerusalem: Department of Antiquities, 1971a. Dothan, Moshe. Ashdod II-III: The Second and Third Seasons of Excavations 1963, 1965, Soundings in 1967. Figures and Plates. Atiqot IX-X. Jerusalem: Department of Antiquities, 1971b. Dothan, Trude. The Philistines and Their Material Culture. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1982. Chalice (25) Many people refer to these as “fruit bowls,” but their presence in ritual contexts in the ancient world tends to imply something more lofty. Admittedly we do not know for sure how they were used, their presence in ritual settings associates them with religious practice in some way. One postulate is that they were containers in which to burn incense; another, and more likely theory, argues that they were more formalized drinking vessels (people in the ancient biblical world were more inclined to drink wine from bowls rather than cups in the sense that we think of them; cf. Amos 6:6). Chalices would be more formal portrayals of bowls. The Bible refers to “drink offerings” which many times and these often consisted of about a quart (biblical hin) of wine (cf. Exodus 25:29; Leviticus 23:13 et al.). A famous Assyrian relief shows Assurbanipal and his wife drinking from bowls while they recline in their garden after the victory over the king of Elam (cf. Pritchard 1969: fig. 451). Another, later example made of bronze dates from the 4th century B.C. and had an inscription in which the cup is dedicated to Shamash—a common Mesopotamian deity (Avigad and Greenfield 1982). Avigad, N. and J. C. Greenfield. “A Bronze phials with a Phoenician Dedicatory Inscription.” Israel Exploration Journal 32/2-3 (1982): 118-28. Pritchard, James B. The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. 2d edition with Supplement. Princeton: Princeton University, 1969. Mycenaean Psi Figurine (26) These artifacts date to seem to what biblical archaeologists would define as the Late Bronze Age (as far as the land of Canaan is concerned). They seem to originate from the ancient Mycenaean world (e.g., ancient Greece). There are several forms of them: this one is known as a Psi figurine and the other predominant form that appears in Canaan is the Phi figurine (photo #1). These names reflect the stylized similarity to the Greek letters phi and psi. We should not infer that the people of antiquity referred to them by these names. The presence of similar artifacts in Canaan tend to cluster in sites where the Sea Peoples settled, of whom the Philistines were a part. You might notice the similarity of the stylistic design of the Psi Figurine with the Ashdoda. The functions of the Psi and Phi figurines remain problematic, but the preponderance of them, at least in the Mycenaean world, seem to be associated with boundary rituals—whether physical (buildings and doorways) or spiritual (e.g., burials). That does not preclude their use in other settings as well. Several sites in ancient Canaan have yielded examples of these including one found at Beth-Shemesh (photo #2). It was found in debris so it was impossible to determine a contextual setting for it. Tsonou-Herbst, Ioulia Nikalaou. A Contextual Analysis of Mycenaean Terracotta Figurines. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of Cincinnati, 2002. Photo #1: Courtesy of Delphi Museum; photo by D. W. Manor Photo #2: figurine from Tell Beth-Shemesh Excavation Project; photo by D. W. Manor Canaanite God El (27) This “reproduction” is similar to the artifact that was found in the excavations at Megiddo in the debris associated with the Stratum VII Late Bronze Age Temple. The portrayal is of El, the chief Canaanite god. In the literature of Ugarit, which was contemporary with the Late Bronze Age, El was the chief god of the Canaanite pantheon, although he had basically relinquished most of his responsibilities to Baal, the storm god, while still retaining supreme authority. El was often portrayed as a beneficent god, sitting with his hand raised in a poise of blessing. Baal, on the other hand, was more often portrayed with a raised arm holding something to throw or with which to smite. The Megiddo version is in the University of Chicago Oriental Institute Museum and shows El sitting with a high conical hat, his hands extended and holding a feather (?) in his left hand. While somewhat peripheral in the contentions in the Bible, since El was another god, he was a rival to Yahweh of Israel, and hence one whom the Israelites were not to worship. The portrayal of such a god as an object of worship was also in violation of the Ten Commandments (cf. Exodus 20:3-4). Day, John. “Baal (Deity).” Pp. 545-49 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 1. Ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Loud, Gordon. Megiddo II: Seasons of 1935-39, Text. University of Chicago Oriental Institute Publications, LXII. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1948. (p. 105). Loud, Gordon. Megiddo II: Seasons of 1935-39, Plates. University of Chicago Oriental Institute Publications, LXII. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1948. (pl. 237, 238). Rose, Martin. “Names of God in the OT.” Pp. 1001-11 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 4. Ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992. lemelek (Klml) Storage Jar and Handle (28) While these are separate items, they relate to one another. The fragmentary jar is the bottom part of a storage jar. Obviously, the neck and handles are missing; there would normally have been four handles, an example of which appears on the shelf with it (but this handle was not originally part of this jar). The handles of the jar were often stamped with a seal impression which read lemelek across the top of the impression, then there was the portrayal of a scarab, beneath which was another Hebrew word naming one of four towns in Judah—Hebron, Socoh, Ziph, or a town whose consonants are mmst (we know neither where this site was, nor exactly how to pronounce its name). Regretfully, this example of a stamp impression is badly marred, having been double stamped which obscured the inscription and image. You may see the obscured image of the scarab with its wings spread. Photo #1 shows a clearer example of one of these impressions (photo #1); the town mentioned at the bottom is Socoh. Photo #2 shows an example of the entire vessel—you can see the impression on the handle (photo #2). These items were produced as a direct result of Hezekiah’s decrees. With the advance of Sennacherib and the Assyrians (2 Chronicles 32:1-5) we can infer that part of the rationale for these vessels was to try to protect Judah against their threats. The Bible notes that Hezekiah built storehouses and stockpiled grain, wine, and oil (2 Chronicles 32:27-30), and while the passage implies that some of this was for his royal use, we may infer that some of it was for the welfare of his subjects. Hundreds of examples of such storage jars and stamp impressions have been found widely scattered in Judah, but mainly in the perimeter towns that would have served as the border cities. Photo #1: stamp impression courtesy of Tel Beth-Shemesh Excavation Project; photo by D. W. Manor Photo #2: storage jar courtesy of Israel Museum; photo by D. W. Manor Storage Jar with Draining Cradle (30) This storage jar dates to the Early Bronze Age I-II (3200-2800 B.C.) and was designed to hold liquid—almost certainly olive oil. Olive oil was a very versatile product being used as a fuel source for light, for cooking, for ritual, for medicine, and for commerce. The small protrusion on the shoulder of the vessel has a drain hole in it. The people would use a small vessel, such as the one at the base of the storage jar with which to dip out the liquid. They would then return the small vessel to the cradle to permit the oil which was on the outside of the dipper vessel to drain back down into the main body of the storage jar. (The small vessel at the base of the storage jar is from an earlier period, but is used here as an example of the size that might be involved). Sling and Stones (31) The sling was a formidable weapon in antiquity and still can be. Unfortunately we tend to minimize the power of these weapons when we assume that the stones were about the size of marbles. On the contrary, evidence indicates their potential size at least up to tennis balls! In addition, a good sling-thrower can throw a stone upwards of 200 meters (Korfmann 1973: 37). Interestingly, on the Lachish Reliefs which show Sennacherib’s siege of Lachish, the slingthrowers are behind the archers (cf. Korfmann 1973: 36). Korfmann also notes that the projectile could be thrown at a speed upward of 100 km per hour (= 60 mph; 1973: 40). The implications of this range could change one’s perceptions of the encounter between David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). We usually envision the encounter of the two as only about 20 yards or so from each other. While we cannot deny that, David could very easily have been well out of range of Goliath’s javelin throw. In addition, the possible size of the projectile striking Goliath’s forehead would have created severe skull fractures (the text states that the stone sank into his forehead; 17:49)! The lead example at the front of the case, is a reproduction of half of a lead sling bullet that was found from 4th century B.C. Athens. The weight of the full bullet was almost four (4) ounces! It preserved an inscription that reads: “Take [this].” British Museum. “Sling-shot.” 4th century B.C. Weight of original: 105.16 grams. Museum number: 1851,0507.11 Korfmann, Manfred. “The Sling as a Weapon.” Scientific American 229/4 (1973): 35-42. Cosmetic Palette (32) This is carved out of stone. Its function as a cosmetic palette is the consensus of the scholarly world, but the conclusion lacks definite proof. If it functioned as a cosmetic palette, the person would put the raw material for the make-up in the central depression and grind it to powder. Then the powder would be mixed with an oil or animal fat to provide a liquidity. Kohl (the black makeup) was common, especially around the eyes. One significant value of the black make-up was to reduce the sun’s glare. But it quickly was appreciated as a means to enhance the beauty of the eyes. It also provided a medical benefit in that it helped repel flies that were not only nuisances, but also could transmit disease. The Bible mentions painting the eyes three times: one was when Jezebel painted her eyes just as Jehu arrived (2 Kings 9:30); a second appears in an indictment in Jeremiah (4:30); a third is in Ezekiel in a similar context of condemnation (Ezekiel 23:40). We should not necessarily infer that painting the eyes was necessarily evil, but the contexts of these last two passages imply that the effort deliberately done to align with ways contrary to God’s expectations. Other colors could have been processed in such receptacles. We have discovered red and yellow ochre in the excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh. Other colors would include white lead and green (probably from copper ore). Dayagi-Mendels, Michal. “Cosmetics.” Pp. 67-69 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, vol. 2. Ed. E. M. Meyers. New York: Oxford University, 1997. “The Eyes Have It.” Odyssey 6/6 (2003): 64. Thompson, Henry O. “Cosmetic Palettes.” Levant 4 (1972): 148-50. “Tear” Vial (33) These are thought by many to be containers in which the mourners of the deceased would collect tears and leave the vessel in the chamber as tokens of their grief at the deceased’s passing. Many have argued that the reference in Psalm 56:8 is to this practice, applied metaphorically: “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” (ESV). This translation, however, is flawed in that the Hebrew word—no’d (dan) rendered “bottle” actually refers to an animal skin vessel. While it might still allude to the practice (as if the tears have cascaded so profusely as to require such a large vessel), the probability is that the reference in Psalms did not refer to collecting tears. (An alternative is to consider that the phrase parallels the reference to “book” and that the Lord has kept track of the psalmist’s mourning, hence the NIV rendering: “Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll—are they not in your record?”) That said, there is some evidence that in later cultures the practice of collecting tears on behalf of the deceased may have occurred, regretfully it is still difficult, however, to determine for sure whether this was done in the Greco-Roman world or not. It is just as likely that the vessel was used for perfumes of some kind in the burial procedure. Lutz, Tom. Crying: The Natural and Cultural History of Tears. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999. (p. 303). Millard, Alan. Discoveries from the Time of Jesus. Oxford: Lion Publishing, 1990. (p. 19) Wilson, Mark R. and Edwin M. Yamauchi. “Mourning and Weeping.” Pp. 388-417 in Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical and Post-Biblical Antiquity, vol. 3. Ed. E. M. Yamauchi and M. R. Wilson. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2016. (p. 394). Mudbrick with Mason Mark (34) This is about half of a fairly standard sized mudbrick. (Photo #1 shows a wall from the 14th century B.C. Beth-Shemesh). The building material is fairly easy to make, consisting of mud mixed with straw that helps reduce the shrinkage of the mud as it dries. The mixture is dumped into a rectangular mold (referred to in Nahum 3:14*), which is then removed and the brick dries in the sun. The straw also improves the insulation capacity of the bricks, forming dead air pockets in the product. The provision of straw, of course, was one of the points of that Pharaoh withheld in his attempt to punish Israel. The Israelites were forced to search elsewhere to secure the needed straw (cf. Exodus 5). The Exodus narrative refers to the required quota of bricks per day (cf. Exodus 5:19). This is probably the function of the mason mark. The mason mark on the brick in the museum consists of two parallel lines formed with the fingers and dragged across and into the wet brick before drying the brick. The mason mark in the photo shows a three-line mason mark (photo #2). The mason mark was probably the means by which the worker could identify the number of bricks he had made. When he met the quota, he likely would be freed from his obligation—at least for the day. *The Hebrew word in Nahum derives from an Aramaic term meaning “rectangle” referring to the wooden mold used to form the bricks (see Koehler and Baumgartner 1995: 587). Herzog, Ze’ev. “Building Materials and Techniques: An Overview.” Pp. 360-63 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, vol. 1. Ed. E. M. Meyers. New York: Oxford University, 1997. Rosen, Arlene Miller. Cities of Clay: The Geoarcheology of Tells. Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1986. Photo #1: mudbrick wall from Tel Beth-Shemesh Excavation Project; photo by D. W. Manor Photo #2: mudbrick with mason mark from Tel Beth-Shemesh Excavation Project; photo by D. W. Manor Cooking Juglet (35) The black sooted exterior of this vessel reflects its direct contact with coals—this vessel was used when cooking. It is probably what the Hebrew Bible refers to as a parur (rwrp). The vessel was used to cook a soup or gruel type food (King and Stager 2001: 65) and this is implied in Numbers 11:8 when Israel gathered the manna and might boil it in a pot (Heb. parur). The same word appears in the Gideon story when he prepared the broth to present to the angel of the Lord (Judges 6:19). The only other place the word appears in the Hebrew Bible is in 1 Samuel 2:14 where Samuel’s sons abuse their roles as priests (this passage implies a larger version of the pot). Mazar concedes, however, that the vessel may have been used for other purposes as well (2015: 16; cf. Plate 1.1.21.1). Interestingly, the time frame of the use of the words in the Hebrew Bible coincides well with the life of the vessel in its use archaeologically. Both lines of evidence (at this point) dovetail into the latter part of the Late Bronze II and into the Iron Age I periods. After this, we tend not to find these one-handled cooking jugs nor does the word appear in the Hebrew Bible to refer to vessels after this period. King, Philip J. and Lawrence E. Stager. Life in Biblical Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001. Mazar, Amihai. “Iron Age I: Northern Coastal Plain, Galilee, Samaria, Jezreel Valley, Judah, and Negev.” Pp. 5-70 in The Ancient Pottery of Israel and Its Neighbors from the Iron Age through the Hellenistic Period. Ed. S. Gitin. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 2015. Rider-and-Saddle Grinding Stones (36) These are both fragments of basalt which were used to grind grain. The “rider” is the upper stone which the people would pass over the lower stone, which we refer to as the “saddle” (in Native American cultures these are called the “mano" and “metate” respectively). The grain would be placed on the saddle and ground with the “rider.” Basalt was an ideal stone for this procedure since it was very hard and thus reduced the amount of stone grit that would become part of the flour. In addition the porosity of the stone would tend to help hold the grain in place when it was being ground. The sizes of the “saddle” tend to range from eighteen inches to three feet long and about a foot to a eighteen inches wide (photo #1 is of a “saddle” from Beth-Shemesh). The rider would be a stone small enough to grip in the palm and retain control over it while passing it back and forth over the grain resting on the saddle. The Bible typically refers to the stones as the millstone and the upper millstone. These were indispensable to one’s survival and the Bible legislates against appropriating them as collateral: “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge” (Deuteronomy 24:6; ESV). An upper millstone (i.e., the “rider”) was the “weapon” that a woman used to crush Abimelech’s head when he was besieging the people of Thebez (Judges 9:53). Joab later anticipated that David would allude to this incident when he engineered the murder of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:21). Apparently the incident had become a cautionary tactic of war! The excavators at Tall al-‘Umayri tested the destructive capability of a millstone using a watermelon as their target. They collected six upper millstones which had weights ranging from 4-9 pounds. They threw the basalt stone at the watermelon down slope and state: “The first participant, Gina, hit Abimelech dead-on. With the damage she did, if she had hit a warrior rather than a watermelon, he would not have been able to ask his armor bearer to finish him off!” (Herr and Boyd 2002: 37). Herr, Denise Dick and Mary Petrina Boyd. “A Watermelon Named Abimelech.” Biblical Archaeology Review 28/1 (2002): 34-37, 62. Photo #1: saddle millstone in situ courtesy of Tel Beth-Shemesh Excavation Project; photo by D. W. Manor Wax Writing Slate (37) This reproduces a wooden writing board that was discovered in a well in Nimrud from eighth century B.C. Assyria. A collection of writing boards were discovered—most of them ivory, but among them was a walnut tablet as well. The discovery was fortuitous in that the tablets were embedded in an anaerobic context which preserved not only the wood, but also some of the bees wax that served at the vehicle of recording; the wax still preserved some of the cuneiform writing (Mallowan 1966: 151-53). Portrayals of writing occur on some artwork from Assyria and elsewhere and Mallowan argues that some of those portrayals probably show depictions of collections of hinged wax writing slates (Mallowan 1966: 158). Pritchard has two artists’ renderings of similar scenes (Pritchard 1969: 74); both examples show two individuals writing and the description suggests that one of the people was shown writing on skin or papyrus while the other was using a stylus to write on clay tablets. Given Mallowan’s discussion, it is likely that the portrayal with the stylus depicts writing on wax tablets from which the text would then be transferred to the more permanent clay medium. Whitt notes that one of the values of the wax medium is that the tablets could easily be reused by smoothing the wax. He further notes that “Writing boards were often used for writing memoranda and drafts of documents” (Whitt 1995: 2392-93). I am indebted to Mr. Gaston of Melbourne, Arkansas for carving out the interior depression of the walnut tablet to receive the bees wax. Thanks to Dr. Daniel Oden who applied the cuneiform characters of the beginning of Enuma Elish on the tablet. Mallowan, M. E. L. Nimrud and Its Remains, vol. 1. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1966. Pritchard, James B. ed. The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. 2d edition with Supplement. Princeton: Princeton University, 1969. Whitt, William D. “The Story of the Semitic Alphabet.” Pp. 2379-97 in Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. 4. Ed. J. M. Sasson. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1995. Tel Dan Inscription (38) This very important inscription (reproduction) is from Tel Dan, a site which sometimes serves to identify the most northerly of Israel’s territory (e.g., the occasional phrase “from Dan to Beersheba,” Jdg 20:1; 1 Sam 3:20; 2 Sam 3:10; 2 Sam 17:11; 1 Sam 24:2; etc.). Until the discovery of this inscription, a number of scholars had developed a skeptical view of the historical value of the biblical narrative and had begun to argue that there never was a person by the name of David or Solomon. With this discovery, that argument tended to be deflated (however, many scholars remain skeptical of the Bible’s historical value). The inscription is written in Aramaic and records the victory of a foreign king over a “king of Israel” and a king of “the house of David.” This would be the earliest reference to David outside of the Bible that has been firmly identified in the archaeological record (however, see below). The reference to “house of David” implies a dynastic succession, which the Bible certainly narrates as the case for Judah (cf. 2 Sam. 7:10-16). The inscription implies that there was an alliance of the two Israelite kings against whom the foreign king fought and over whom he was victorious. Regretfully, the full names of none of the participants are preserved on the inscription fragments, however, parts of the names of the kings of Israel and Judah apparently exist. The fragment of what is likely the name of the king of Israel ends with the letters “—rm” (ancient Hebrew and Aramaic do not show the vowels). The only king of Israel who appears in the biblical text with a name that ends thus is “Joram [or Jehoram], son of Ahab” (his name is spelled “Jehoram” in 2 Kgs 1:17; 3:1, but he appears as “Joram” in 2 Kgs 8:16). The name of the person who appears to be the king of Judah (i.e., of the “house of David”) ends with “—yhw,” and almost certainly refers to Ahaziah, king of Judah (spelled in Hebrew ’hzyhw; Younger, 293). The Bible indicates that Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah fought against Hazael king of Syria (2 Kgs 8:25-29), so we may infer that the Aramaic king against whom Joram and Ahaziah fought was Hazael. Thus, the date of the inscription appears to derive from ca. 840 B.C.—only about 110 years after the death of Solomon, David’s son. This date would be within the span of the lives of some grandchildren of people who had been children at the end of Solomon’s reign. A few scholars have vehemently resisted the reading of “House of David,” even to the point of arguing that the inscription is a recent fabrication (Lemche in Lemche, Thompson, Dever, and McCarter, 36-37). The majority of scholars—even skeptical scholars—appear now to concede that David and Solomon were real historical personalities. Biran, Avraham and Joseph Naveh. “An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan.” Israel Exploration Journal 43.2-3 (1993): 81-98. Biran, Avraham and Joseph Naveh. “The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment.” Israel Exploration Journal 45.1 (1995): 1-18. Lemche, Niels Peter, Thomas Thompson, William Dever, P. Kyle McCarter. “Face to Face: Biblical Minimalists Meet Their Challengers.” Biblical Archaeology Review 23.4 (1997): 26-42, 66. Younger, K. Lawson, Jr. “The Tel Dan Inscription and the Deaths of Joram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah.” Pp. 293-98 in Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts. Eds. J. S. Greer, J. W. Hilber, and J. H. Walton. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2018. Hezekiah’s Tunnel Inscription (39) This artifact reproduces the inscription that originally was near the southern end of what we usually refer to as Hezekiah’s Tunnel. The construction of this tunnel was part of the defensive measures that Hezekiah initiated to try to secure the water supply of Jerusalem against the juggernaut of Sennacherib’s Assyrian threat (ca. 701 BC). The tunnel is only referred to in passing in two epitaphs of Hezekiah and in a brief allusion in Isaiah. One epitaph reads: “The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?” (2 Kgs. 20:20; ESV). The other epitaph appears in Chronicles (not the book alluded to in the Kings passage) and is more cryptic: “This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David” (2 Chr. 32:30). Isaiah’s remark is: “You collected the waters of the lower pool, …You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool” (Isa. 22:9-10). Hezekiah and his officers had recognized that Jerusalem’s water system was a vulnerable point for the town—it had been the means by which David had earlier captured the town from the Jebusites (2 Sam. 5:5-10; 1 Chr. 11:4-9). They thus determined to secure the water system and block easy access to it (cf. 2 Chr. 32:2-5). They dug a tunnel from the Gihon spring (which basically lay outside the city of Jerusalem) through the spur of land on which the city rested and routed the waters to a new reservoir inside the city which they protected with a fortification wall (the pool eventually became known as the “pool of Siloam;” cf. John 9:7). The inscription was carved into the eastern wall of the tunnel not far from the pool of Siloam and recorded the strategy by which the workers dug. Workers began at opposite ends of the tunnel’s intended route and dug toward each other. Eventually they intersected near the middle. The inscription states that the distance was ca. 1200 cubits (= ca. 1750 feet). The descent of the tunnel is “a 0.06% average slope with the height differential between the spring and exit being a very moderate gradient (≈0.32 m)” (Younger 145). The inscription apparently was “discovered” by Jacob Eliahu and a friend in 1880 while they were exploring the tunnel. Bertha Spafford Vester, daughter of Horatio Spafford (of “It is Well With My Soul” fame) knew the lad and wrote about the exploration and discovery in her record of her family’s mission work in Palestine. According to her, someone removed the inscription from the wall of the tunnel and soon after, the Ottoman Turkish authorities managed to retrieve the remnants of the inscription and shuttled it off to the Istanbul Museum where it is now on display (Vester, chapter 8). Reich, Ronny and Eli Shukron. “Jerusalem: The Gihon Spring and Eastern Slope of the City of David.” Pp. 1801-07 in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 5: Supplementary Volume. Ed. E. Stern. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 2008. Shiloh, Yigal. “Jerusalem: The Water-Supply Systems.” Pp. 709-12 in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, v. 2. Ed. E. Stern. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992. Vester, Bertha Spafford. Our Jerusalem. n.p.: Read Books Ltd., 2011 (on Google books.com), original composition in 1950. Younger, Jr., K. Lawson. “Hebrew Inscriptions: The Siloam tunnel Inscription (2.28).” The Context of Scripture, 4 vols. Eds. William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, Jr. Leiden: Brill, 2000. 2: 145-46. Gilgamesh Flood Epic, Tablet XI (40) From 1846-1851, Austen Henry Layard on behalf of the British worked at Kuyunjik, which was part of ancient Nineveh. Upon Layard’s departure, his assistant, Hormuzd Rassam, continued the excavations at Kuyunjik and eventually discovered the library of Assurbanipal (668-627 BC) eventually consisting of some 24,000 cuneiform tablets among which was the Mesopotamian flood story of Gilgamesh. The cache of tablets took a long time to translate, especially since the decipherment of Akkadian was still in its formative stages. In Britain, however, a young man, named George Smith and who had no formal training in cuneiform texts, became fervently interested in the discoveries and taught himself Akkadian. He eventually ingratiated himself to the British Museum personnel, who employed him in about 1862 to work on piecing together the broken fragments that the excavation project had shipped back to England. By 1866 his talents had proven themselves to the extent that the museum appointed him to the Department of Oriental Antiquities to help with the publication of the texts. While engaged in this effort, he identified and translated what we call tablet XI of the Gilgamesh Flood story and read it to the Society of Biblical Archaeology in London on December 3, 1872. Understandably, his reading elicited considerable excitement. One of the problems he encountered in his work, however, was that some of the text was missing. Smith was provided funds then to go to Nineveh and excavate in the hope of finding the missing part. He left for Mesopotamia in 1873 and dug at Nineveh in 1873 and 1874. During these two efforts he indeed found the part of the tablet he was looking for! The full-size reproduction that is on display is of tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Scholars tend to think that there were twelve tablets, but that the last one is sort of an appendix. Tablet XI is the one that deals with the flood story and caused the sensation when it was deciphered in the 1800s in the midst of an increasingly skeptical climate that was beginning to undermine peoples’ confidence in the Bible (this largely coincided with the popularization of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species [1859] and Julius Wellhausen’s Prolegomena of the History of Israel [English 1885]). As one might suspect, the reactions to the discovery elicited positive excitement in the hearts of many Bible believers, while at the same time could be viewed as a background for a more skeptical view of Scripture. Tablet XI reflects some aspects of similarity to the Flood story in the Bible, but comparison of the two shows significant differences in the story lines. The flood story is only a small portion of a much larger storyline about Gilgamesh. Furthermore, the Gilgamesh texts tablets that now have been identified range over a span of about a thousand years, with some significant variations between them; there were the earlier Sumerian and Akkadian versions that eventually became the “Old Babylonian Version” (ca. early 2nd millennium BC) eventually to yield to the so-called “Standard Version” (from the late 2nd millennium BC). The text of the latter derives mainly from Assurbanipal’s library of the 7th century BC. Essentially none of the storylines are complete and much textual critical work has been done often piecing together somewhat disparate sources to try to come up with a coherent narrative. The Gilgamesh story enjoyed a wide audience. The excavations at Megiddo have yielded a fragment of the story, dating from the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1450-1350 BC). For translations of the text, I would refer the reader to the work either of Foster (which is only part of tablet XI) or Speiser (which translates tablets I-XII, some of which come from the Old Babylonian texts). Aharoni, Yohanan. “Megiddo.” Pp. 1003-12 in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 3. Ed. E. Stern. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992 (p. 1011). Foster, Benjamin R. “Gilgamesh (1.132).” Pp. 458-60 in The Context of Scripture, vol. 1. Eds. W. W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, Jr. Leiden: Brill, 1997. Hoberman, Barry. “BA Portrait: George Smith (1840-1876)—Pioneer Assyriologist.” Biblical Archaeologist 46.1 (1983): 41-42. Moorey, P. R. S. A Century of Biblical Archaeology. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1991 (pp. 11-12). Moran, William. “The Gilgamesh Epic: A Masterpiece from Ancient Mesopotamia.” Pp. 2327-36 in Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. 4. Ed. J. M. Sasson. New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1995. Schoville, Keith N. Biblical Archaeology in Focus. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1978. (p. 199). Speiser, E. A. “Epic of Gilgamesh.” Pp. 72-99 in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3d ed. with Supplement. Ed. J. B. Pritchard. Princeton: Princeton, 1969. Stronach, David and Kim Codella. “Nineveh.” Pp. 144-48 in Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, vol. 4. Ed. E. M. Meyers. New York: Oxford, 1997. Cyrus Cylinder (41) The decree on the Cyrus Cylinder has been called “The First Bill of Human Rights” (Curtis 16), since it granted essentially the liberation of all the captive peoples that the Babylonians had conquered. Not only were they permitted to return to their homes, but Cyrus also decreed the repatriation of the temple implements that the Babylonians had appropriated (you may read full translations of the decree in Oppenheim [1969] 315-16 or Cogan 314-16). The decree on this preserved cylinder is somewhat generic, but the Bible refers to its sentiments as tailored to the Hebrews in Chronicles (2 Chr. 36:23) and Ezra (1:2-4; 6:3-5), which raises the question whether there was a decree specifically for the Hebrews or not. Given the reference in Ezra 6 to a scroll that was found in the archives in Ecbatana it appears that there may have been decrees delivered to various ethnic/cultural groups rather than simply a generic decree. The cylinder commemorated Cyrus the Great’s capture of Babylon in 539 BC. The Babylonian king, Nabonidus, had neglected the worship and responsibilities that he was to oversee in the adoration of Marduk the chief deity of Babylon. Instead, Nabonidus had begun to emphasize the worship of Sin—the Babylonian moon god. Because of Nabonidus’ neglect of his religious responsibilities he was viewed by many as essentially an apostate. The Cyrus cylinder claims that Marduk raised up Cyrus to reign and to capture Babylon and reinstitute proper worship of Marduk. Because of Marduk’s blessings, Cyrus was permitted to capture Babylon without conflict. The Babylonian Chronicle corroborates the claim of an absence of battle against the city (Millard 468). Because of Cyrus’ victory and the restoration of Marduk’s position, Cyrus was viewed as a sort of savior. Isaiah tends to depict Cyrus in this fashion as one who fulfilled the will of the LORD (cf. Isa. 44:28-45:5). Scholars have concluded that the transition to Cyrus’ rule indeed was fairly free of social disruption. Charpin (826) notes that “there is no interruption of family archives, which attest to very few changes.” Cyrus’ earlier campaign against Croesus of Lydia similarly had reflected a kindness and respect of the defeated king and his subjects (Saggs 137-38). The actual artifact (of which this is a full-size replica) was discovered by Hormuzd Rassam in 1879 in the vicinity of Babylon’s Marduk Temple (Yamauchi 77, 87)—the Temple which Cyrus restored to its place of honor among the Babylonians. It is not clear exactly how the inscription was displayed (or if it was—the excavation details are vague), but Curtis (33-35) argues reasonably that it was a foundation deposit. As one might infer, foundation deposits were not intended for public display but were dedicated to the deity (in this case Marduk) lauding the accomplishments of the king and they were designed to be read by later kings who might either rebuild or embellish the temple complexes (Oppenheim [1977] 148). Charpin, Dominique. “The History of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Overview.” Pp. 807-29 in Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. 2. Ed. J. M. Sasson. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1995. Cogan, Mordechai, “Achaemenid Inscriptions: Cyrus Cylinder (2.124).” Pp. 314-16 in The Context of Scripture, vol. 2. Eds. W. W. Hallo and K. L. Younger, Jr. Leiden: Brill, 2000. Curtis, John. The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia. London: Trustees of the British Museum, 2013. Millard, Alan. “The Babylonian Chronicle (1.137).” Pp. 467-68 in The Context of Scripture, vol. 1. Eds. W. W. Hallo and K. L. Younger, Jr. Leiden: Brill, 1997. Oppenheim, A. Leo, “Cyrus (557-529).” Pp. 314-15 in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3d ed. with Supplement. Ed. J. B. Pritchard. Princeton: Princeton, 1969. Oppenheim, A. Leo. Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization. Rev. by E. Reinter. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1977. Saggs, H. W. F. The Greatness that Was Babylon. Fully rev. and updated. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1988. Yamauchi, Edwin M. Persia and the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996. Mesad Hashavyahu Inscription (42) This ostracon (in archaeology, an ostracon is a piece of pottery that has writing on it) preserves an early plea for social justice. It dates from roughly the time of Josiah (ca. 640-609 BC) and comes from the site of Mesad Hashavyahu, about nine miles south of Joppa. It records the plea of a field worker who has written to the local authorities with a complaint—at the end of a work day the custodian of the field refused to return his garment. It appears that there may have been a dispute about the quota of productivity, and perhaps that was what prompted the field supervisor to confiscate the worker’s garment (see Pardee for a translation of the text and a brief historical setting). While the ostracon does not make a specific appeal to Hebrew Law, the impropriety of one to confiscate a worker’s “garment,” finds legislation in the Torah. Both Exodus 22:25-26 and Deuteronomy 24:12-15, 17 demand that people consider the needs of those who are less fortunate. Amos 2:8 similarly indicts the Israelite elite who would appropriate garments taken in pledge, using them essentially as mattresses in false worship. The ostracon appears to have been written in a social world in which it should have generally been understood that this misappropriation of one’s personal garment was a violation of basic moral propriety. Pardee, Dennis, “Hebrew Letters: The Mesad Hashavyahu (Yavneh Yam) Ostracon (3.41).” Pp. 77-78 in The Context of Scripture, vol. 3. Eds. W. W. Hallo and K. L. Younger, Jr. Leiden: Brill, 2002. Love Poem from Babylon (43) This ceramic replica comes from the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. The artifact was among the collection of tablets that Layard found in his excavations at Nimrud. It remained in the Istanbul Museum (artifact no. 2461) until 1951 when Samuel Noah Kramer was rummaging through the collection and noticed it. Part of what caught his eye was “its state of preservation” (Kramer 299). The poem was written to celebrate the beauty and love between a bride and the king SHU-SIN, who ruled in the 20th century BC. It appears to be part of a New Year festival celebration (anonymous, from descriptive flyer with artifact). The poem resonates with sentiments reminiscent of the Song of Songs in the Bible (but significantly predates the Song of Songs) and translates in part as follows (from Kramer 300-01) “Bridegroom, dear to my heart, Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet, Lion, dear to my heart, Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet “You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you, Bridegroom, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber. Lion, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber. "Bridegroom, let me caress you, My precious caress is more savory than honey, In the bed chamber, honey filled, Let us enjoy your goodly beauty, Lion, let me caress you, My precious caress is more savory than honey. “Bridegroom, you have taken your pleasure of me, Tell my mother, she will give you delicacies. My father, he will give you gifts. “Your spirit, I know where to cheer your spirit, Bridegroom, sleep in our house until dawn, Your heart, I know where to gladden your heart, Lion, Sleep in our house until dawn. You, because you love me, Give me pray of your caresses, My lord god, my lord protector, My Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil’s heart, Give me pray of your caresses. Anonymous, “The Oldest Love Poem.” Istanbul Archaeological Museums. Flyer that accompanied the artifact from the gift shop at Istanbul Museum. Kramer, Samuel Noah. History Begins at Sumer. 2d ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 1961. Neo-Babylonian Document Grating Freedom to a Slave (44) This is an almost full-size ceramic reproduction of an Akkadian tablet from the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute (object no. A 32099; it was acquired by the Oriental Institute in 1961 from the Haverford College; its provenience is unknown). It is a witnessed document from one named Shamash-zer-ibni who grants freedom to a slave woman named Laqiptu and her children. The tablet calls down various curses from the gods Marduk, Zarpanitu, Nabu, Sin, Shamash, Dilbat, and Ishtar, should anyone attempt to curtail her granted freedom. The tablet is dated to the 7th day of Nisan in the second year of Amel-Marduk, king of Babylon (a date that would convert to April 1, 560 BC). Amel-Marduk is known in the Hebrew Bible as Evil-Merodach and is the king who liberated Jehoiachin from his prison in exile (cf. 2 Kgs 25:27-30; Jer. 52:31-34). The range of Amel-Marduk’s reign was from 562-560 BC. (The data for this description are condensed from the flyer that came with the artifact when purchased from The Suq—the giftshop of the Oriental Institute. The flyer was written by J. A. Brinkman of the Oriental Institute). Pictographic Writing (45) This reproduction shows part of the very early development of writing in Mesopotamia. Most scholars believe that the early steps toward writing began with the need to record economic and statistical transactions. Eventually that morphed into drawing pictures to represent the ideas that the pictures depicted (i.e., ideograms). Then the pictures evolved into other representations—whether syllables or phonemes. This example is a full-size resin reproduction of the tablet in the University of Pennsylvania Museum (artifact no. B16105) which was purchased by J. H. Haynes in 1896 when he was excavating Nippur in Mesopotamia (Barton 4; ca. 112 miles SW of Bagdad). The inscription is on a soft black stone, although its execution mimics a clay tablet. It is thought to date to the end of the 4th millennium BC (Pritchard, photo/item 242, pp. 76, 277). Barton (5) translates the pictographic inscription to be a record of efforts to eradicate locusts and caterpillars from land parcels. It ends with a statement of success: “he made it bright,” alluding to the final “ceremonial purification of the field” (Barton 5). Barton, George A. “One of the Oldest Babylonian Tablets in the World.” The Museum Journal [Philadelphia] 3.1 (1912): 4-6. Pritchard, James B., ed. The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. 2d ed. with Supplement. Princeton: Princeton, 1969. Beer Receipt (46) This is a full-size resin replica of a tablet from the University of Pennsylvania collection (UM 29-13-889; CDLI #: P255761). Writing appears on both sides—six on one side and four on the other. It is from the Mesopotamian site of Nippur (ca. 112 miles SW of Bagdad) and dated from ca. 1400-1100 BC. The text is written in Akkadian and is a receipt for the purchase of beer, pots, and spices. Heel Bone with Nail (47) This reproduces the only piece of evidence of a crucifixion ever identified in the Mediterranean basin.* It was discovered in 1968 in an ossuary in a tomb which would have been north of the first century city of Jerusalem. The crucifixion evidence consists of a nail which penetrated the right heel bone (calcaneum), thus attaching the individual to the central post of the cross. The end of the nail is thought to have bent when it struck a hard knot in the wood. The piercing end of the nail preserved fragments of the central post which was of olive wood. On the outside of the nail, next to its head was a wooden washer, apparently to make it harder for the victim to remove his foot from the nail. The badly corroded look of the bone and nail was the result of the bones having been immersed in liquid inside the ossuary. Additional osteological studies on the skeleton that was in the ossuary indicate that the victim’s lower leg bones (tibia and fibula) were shattered, probably to accelerate the execution (cf. John 19:32). Additionally sobering is the fact that the ossuary containing the bones held the remains of two individuals—an adult male (24-28 years old) and a child (3-4 years old). The exterior of the ossuary preserved an inscription, probably referring to the adult male whose name was Jehohanan. Haas. “Anthropological Observations on the Skeletal Remains from Giv’at ha-Mivtar. Israel Exploration Journal 20/1-2 (1970): 38-59. Naveh. “The Ossuary Inscriptions from Giv’at ha-Mivtar.” Israel Exploration Journal 20/1-2 (1970): 33-37. Vassilios Tzaferis. “Crucifixion—the Archaeological Evidence.” Biblical Archaeology Review 11/1 (1985): 44-53. *The collection of bones from the tomb have been ceremonially reburied and are no longer available for study. Position of Foot (48) The replica of the archaeological artifact from the crucifixion indicates a different position of attachment to the cross than is traditional presented. Most portrayals of the crucifixion show the nails penetrating through the metatarsals (e.g., the long bones in the main part of the foot between the ankle and the toes) with the feet crossed on the front of the vertical post. Tzaferis indicates that “The earliest Christian representation of the crucifixion dates to the late fifth or early sixth centuries A.D., i.e., about 200 years after crucifixion was legally abolished by the emperor Constantine the Great” (1985: 52 note), hence it was probably on the basis of tradition that the portrayal developed. This artifact, however, indicates that the nail pierced the calcaneus (heel bone) of the victim and implies that he was attached to the cross with each foot opposite the other straddling the post. An objection that one might pose to this procedure is the fact that the Bible affirms that “Not one of his bones will be broken” (John 19:36 ESV). Discussions with some osteological physicians, have revealed that a nail piercing the calcaneus would not shatter the bone (as indicated on this sample) and would be a very effective means to hold the weight of the person. It may be the case that the prophetic statement was more designed to address the tendency of the Romans to shatter the fibula and tibia (as was the case with the victim of this crucifixion) as the text of John indicates happened with the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus (John 19:31-33). That said, one should be cautious about demanding a uniform strategy for crucifixion. Josephus commented on the Roman crucifixions in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Given the number of crucifixions and the attitudes of the soldiers… “The soldiers out of rage and hatred amused themselves by nailing their prisoners in different postures; and so great was their number, that space could not be found for the crosses nor crosses for the bodies” (Josephus, Jewish Wars 5.451). An intriguing statement, however, appears in Scripture perhaps to corroborate the nail through the heel as the means of crucifixion—God prophesied to Satan in the Garden (Gen. 3:15, ESV):* “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” *I am indebted to Sotis Alexandris of Athens, Greece for this observation. Tzaferis, Vassilios. “Crucifixion—The Archaeological Evidence.” Biblical Archaeology Review 11/1 (1985): 44-53. Carved Ossuary (49) Ossuaries were repositories for secondary burials. The primary burial involved leaving the deceased in the tomb for about a year to wait for the body to decompose. After the decomposition had occurred, the bones were gathered and most of them placed into an ossuary for more permanent storage. The ossuary was carved out of a single piece of stone and an accompanying lid closed the contents. Some ossuaries preserved the remains of multiple individuals. Such burial practices were typical of wealthy individuals and probably would have been the standard procedure associated with Joseph of Arimathea (cf. Matt. 27:57), who took custody of the body of Jesus after the crucifixion. Had Jesus not been raised from the dead, his remains would have found a similar treatment after a year. Usually a tomb would eventually contain a number of ossuaries arranged in different ways. The photo (photo 1) shows a collection of ossuaries in a tomb complex at a church ground on the slopes of Gethsemane. Tzaferis indicates that ossuaries were often filled to the rim with bones of various people including women and children (1985: 47). Bones of women were probably women associated with the family—wives, daughters, etc. One of the ossuaries in the same tomb in which the crucified individual rested (described in item #47) had an inscription which read “Simon, the Temple Builder” (photo 2). This inscription implies an element of pride that the family member had had a role in the construction of the Herodian Temple. One of the more notable ossuaries in recent years was discovered in the 1990s; it had an inscription on the end of it that reads: “Joseph the son of Caiaphas” (photo 3). It is fairly well-accepted that this reference to Caiaphas is to the High Priest before whom part of Jesus’ trial occurred (cf. Matt. 26, 3, 57; although I know of no one who argues that the bones were those of Caiaphas—it was part of the Caiaphas family tomb). The realization of the practice of reburying an individual in an ossuary after a year’s decomposition may help alleviate some tension that people often feel in the episode where the man volunteers to follow Jesus but requests: “‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead’” (Matt. 8:21-22). Jesus’ response seems cold and insensitive—after all Jesus would later go to mourn his friend, Lazarus’, passing (cf. John 11). It may be that the person making the request in Matthew had in mind this secondary burial rather than the initial passing of his father, in which case, the death had occurred a year earlier (or so) when there would have been serious mourning. In a sense, the secondary burial was a redundancy. We are grateful to Mr. Page Thomas, of Dallas, Texas, for the donation of this ossuary. Gordon Franz. “Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead.” Archaeology and Biblical Research 5/2 (1992) 54-58. Oil Lamp (50) These lamps are the typical size for lamps in the first centuries B.C. and A.D. The fuel source was olive oil, which would be poured through the main opening on the top. A wick protruded from the spout and the light emitted was about the same as a typical modern candle. The volume of oil which these lamps held provided a flame for about 10 minutes before needing to refuel. Various designs appeared on the lamps, ranging from plain to quite ornate. For our modern world, this seems to be quite inefficient, but it is necessary to remember that with the advent of electricity, the cycle of activity has changed dramatically—we stay up much longer than people typically did in pre-industrial societies. The ancient people (and actually not that long ago) usually retired for the evening an hour or so after sunset and usually rose about sunrise. This cycle was very characteristic of people living and working in agriculturally based societies. Canopic Jars (52) Canopic jars contained the mummified organs of the deceased. The headed vessels represented the sons of Horus each of whom was entrusted with an individual, yet vital organ that was necessary for the deceased to be awakened in the afterlife. The baboon-headed jar was protected by Hapy, and contained the lungs. The human-headed jar, protected by Imsety, contained the liver of the deceased. Kebehsenuef was the falcon-headed jar containing the intestines, while the jackal-headed jar depicted Duamutef and preserved the stomach. Ironically, the heart was not typically removed since the Egyptians believed it was the seat of the person. The brain was largely ignored in the entire procedure, having been removed through the nostrils and disposed of. While these are small versions, the Egyptians did eventually develop the belief that the vessels symbolized the custody and hence the miniaturization became a practice. Aidan Dodson, “Canopic Jars and Chests.” Pp. 231-35 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 1. Ed. D. B. Redford. New York: Oxford, 2001. Horus (53) Horus is usually represented in some form of a falcon and was “the first known national god, the god of kingship” (Meltzer, 119). In that role he served as the defender of the Egyptian king and his avenger, should something happen to the king. He was generally considered a son of Osiris and Isis, although there are mythological variations of this genealogical attribution. He was viewed as a sky god. This model is very similar to the much larger version that guards the entrance into the Ptolemaic Horus temple at Edfu (although earlier versions of the temple are evident at Edfu). Sylvie Cauville, “Edfu.” Pp. 436-38 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 1. E. D. B. Redford. New York: Oxford, 2001. Edmund S. Meltzer, “Horus.” Pp. 119-22 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 2. Ed. D. B. Redford. New York: Oxford, 2001. Seated Scribe (54) This small reproduction of a seated scribe portrays the value placed upon literacy in ancient Egypt. A number of documents and figurines show the high regard in which scribes were held. “The profession of scribe was considered so important that a special type of statue represented this official, sitting cross-legged, holding a papyrus open on his lap, with a reed pen ready to write and sometimes a palette slung over one shoulder” (Piacentinin, 191). Such statues are found in temples and tombs. Patrizia Piacentini, “Scribes.” Pp. 187-92 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 3. Ed. D. B. Redford. New York: Oxford, 2001. Shabtis/Shawabtis/Ushebtis (55) All three terms apply to essentially the same kind of object, but the term varies through the history of Egypt and sometimes with geographical limitations as well. These are funerary figurines that the family would bury with the deceased to serve him or her in the afterlife, usually providing agricultural assistance in the afterlife. Some tombs have been found with hundreds of these in the collection (e.g., Tutankhamun’s tomb had over four hundred!). Donald B. Spanel, “Funerary Figurines.” Pp. 567- 70 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 1. Ed. D. B. Redford. New York: Oxford, 2001. Egyptian Necklace (56) We believe this necklace is an actual antiquity, but the beads have recently been restrung. The material is either faience or frit (we have been unable to specify which, since the two are very similar in appearance). The beads would have been strung in a similar fashion to what is shown or may have been arranged differently to be part of a type of vest or collar. Yvonne J. Markowitz, “Jewelry.” Pp. 201-07 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 2. Ed. D. B. Redford. New York: Oxford, 2001. Paul T. Nicholson, “Faience.” Pp. 491-96 in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 1. Ed. D. B. Redford. New York: Oxford, 2001. Sennacherib’s Prism (57) This artifact is a reproduction of an inscription authorized by Sennacherib, king of Assyria (704-681 BC), in which he narrates various conquests in Mesopotamia and Canaan. Among the peoples against whom he fought was Hezekiah, king of Judah, who tried to defend his country against the Assyrian onslaught. The confrontation between Hezekiah and Sennacherib is narrated in several places in the Bible (2 Kings 18-19; 2 Chronicles 32; and Isaiah 36-37). On this Assyrian document, Sennacherib describes his campaign to Judah and his encounter with Hezekiah. He was unsuccessful in his effort to neutralize Hezekiah, but does say: Hezekiah “I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage” (Pritchard, 288)—a tacit admission that he did not fully defeat Hezekiah. Three almost exact ancient copies of this prism exist. One is in the British Museum (of which this is a copy); another is in the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago; the third is in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This copy—the so-called Taylor Prism—is thought to have been found at the ancient site of Nineveh in 1830 before the site was excavated by either the French or British. Pritchard, James B. (ed.). Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3d edition with Supplement. Princeton: Princeton University, 1969. Bilbil (58) The bilbil is a unique vessel dating to the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1400-1300 B.C.). Its shape has intrigued scholars for years, but it has been suggested that the vessel was used to store and transport an opiate derivative dissolved in either honey or wine. If the vessel is held upside down, the unique shape somewhat replicates that of the poppy from which the opium comes (compare with the poppy pods in the display). Note the collar on the stem, coordinating with the painted white lines on the vessel. The white lines on the bulb represent incisions on the body of the plant by which the harvesters collect the latex, incising the bulb to permit the latex to ooze out (note the photograph on the back wall of the cabinet). Residue tests on some of these vessels have confirmed that at least some of them were used to store an opiate product. The name of the vessel is modern, reflecting an onomatopoeia of the sound that a viscous liquid makes when poured from the narrow spout—bil, bil, bil, bil, bil… Merrillees, Robert S. “Opium for the Masses: How the Ancients God High.” Odyssey 2/1 (winter) 1999: 20-29, 58. Bunch of Hyssop (59) Hyssop first appears in the Exodus story when God directed that those who would observe the Passover were to kill the lamb and smear its blood on the posts and lintels of the houses using a bunch of hyssop at the applicator (cf. Exodus 12:22). Hyssop became a component in the cleansing and purifying ceremonies of the Israelites. The Bible decrees that when “lepers” observed the cleansing ceremonies, the offering included hyssop (Leviticus 14:4). In addition it was part of the liquid sprinkling when one needed to be cleansed after contact with the deceased (Numbers 19). It is likely against this background of contamination that David pleads with the Lord metaphorically to purge him with hyssop after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and conspired to have Uriah murdered (cf. Psalm 51:7). When Jesus went to the cross, he was offered a mixture of sour wine and myrrh which was extended to him on a hyssop branch (John 19:29). Mandrake (60) The mandrake is related to the potato whose root depicts a human form, thus contributing to its perception as an aphrodisiac. The plant is slightly poisonous and imbibing it has a mild narcotic effect. Frankincense (61) This granulated resin could be processed to produce a liquid as well. Being a product from southern Arabia (cf. Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:20), it was very expensive and thus its presentation at the birth of Jesus was a notable gift along with the gifts of myrrh and gold (Matthew 2:11). It was used for incense, perfumes, and ointment. It also has a antibacterial property. Frankincense was one component of the incense compound that regularly was burned in the tabernacle and temple (Exodus 30:34-38). Generally, the Old Testament sacrificial system required frankincense as part of the offerings (Leviticus 2). It was viewed as a metaphor for prayers (Psalm 141:2; cf. also Revelation 5:8). In a less formal, yet romantic setting, frankincense appears frequently in the Song of Songs (3:6; 4:6, 14). Myrrh (62) Myrrh is mentioned numerous times in the Bible and was among some of the spices in the romance of the Song of Songs (3:6; 4:6, 14 et al.). Among other places, it was grown in the area of Gilead and was one of the commodities that the Ishmaelite caravan was taking to Egypt, when Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:25). Like frankincense, myrrh can be processed into a liquid and in that state it was a significant component of the anointing oil used to induct priests into their offices (Exodus 30:22-33). In the New Testament, the wisemen gave myrrh as part of the three gifts at Jesus birth (Matthew 2:11). At his death it was offered as he was being crucified where it might have helped dull the pain of the torture (Mark 15:23), but he refused it. Joseph and Nicodemus used an extraordinary quantity of a mixture of aloes and myrrh when they prepared Jesus’ body for his burial (John 19:39). Carob (63) Carob was used mainly as animal fodder and likely were the “pods” that the prodigal son fed on after exhausting his resources (cf. Luke 15:16). It is also known as “locust bean tree” and “St. John’s Bread” on the postulate that the “locusts” John the Baptist ate were carob pods. The pods grow on tree and yield a very consistently weighted seed that it became the standard for the “carat” weight. Borowski, Oded. Agriculture in Iron Age Israel. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1987 (p. 131). Fig (64) A proverbial fruit that is both highly nutritious and has medical properties, the fig was considered one of the proverbial blessings of the land of promise (cf. Deuteronomy 8:8). As evidence of the productivity of Canaan, the fig was among the produce that the spies brought to Kedesh (Numbers 13:23). God promised Israel that faithfulness would result in every man able to sit “under his vine and under his fig tree” (1 Kings 4:25; Micah 4:4). Alternatively, God’s condemnation was emphasized with the destruction of the fig tree (Jeremiah 5:17). Chick Pea (65) The chick pea is a highly nutritious and versatile plant. The seeds may be eaten raw (although they are very hard), boiled, roasted, or made into a paste. Some have argued that the “sour wine” into which Ruth was invited to dip her bread (Ruth 2:14) was in reality what we would call hummus—the Hebrew word being very close to the modern Arabic word. It would also make more sense in the narration. When viewed from a certain angle, the seed remarkably resembles a baby chick! Kellerman, D. “hms.” Pp. 487-93 in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. 4. Eds. G. J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren. Trans. D. E. Green. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980. Apis Bull Figurine (66) The Apis bull was thought to be an animal who transported the deceased safely to Osiris, the god of the dead. In addition the Apis bull was part of the theology that guaranteed the flourishing of the bovine herd for the royal court as well as an affirmation of its legitimacy. The worship of the bull was concentrated in Memphis. Hagen, Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagan. Egypt: People, Gods, Pharaohs. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2003. p. 144 Redford, Donald B. (ed.). “Bull Gods.” Pp. 29-34 in Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology. New York: Berkley Books a division of Penguin Books, 2003. Nard/Spikenard (67) When Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with a pound (ca. a soft-drink can volume) of nard the scent would have been overwhelming and almost stifling (John 12:3). Nard comes from the lower elevations of Nepal and hence it was an expensive perfume. This is part of the basis of Judas’ remark about selling the perfume for 300 denarii (a denarius was usually considered the salary of one day’s labor). The value of the perfume was accentuated by its storage in an alabaster jar. The romance of the Song of Songs (1:12; 4:13-14) speaks of nard as part of the conversation. The pomegranate was one of the stereotypical blessings of the land of promise (Deuteronomy 8:8). The fruit has a hard, leathery, husky rind, but the inside is packed with hundreds of seeds, each of which is encased in a gel-like sack, yielding a satisfying juice. The rind could be used to produce a red dye, and a past from the rind was sometimes helpful with skin problems. It was also a treatment for tape worm. The lovers in the Song of Songs refer to the fruit in their romantic exchanges (4:3; 6:7; 8:2). Medical Instruments (70) While medical procedures are not commonly discussed in the Bible, the Greco-Roman world had a long tradition of rather sophisticated practices. The following identify the various pieces with some commentary (information taken from Dr. Rosa Proskynitopoulou of the National Archaeological Museum of Greece): on the left… a copper alloy spoon for applying medicines a copper alloy knife handle with the blade missing. A small mouse is part of the decoration on the handle thus connecting the instrument with Asklepios. from the top in the middle… a double hook used to work on aneurysms, eye membranes, tonsils, and edges of wounds a knife with a snake decoration on the handle (for larger cuts on the main torso) spoon-shaped probe needle to sew bandages and perhaps internal organs a copper spatula probe to apply ointments and for examinations of various kinds another spatula probe on the right hand side… a needle shaped probe for cleaning wounds and examinations and applying medicines a tool to clasp and cut away flesh such as tumors Remains have been found in ruins from the ancient world (e.g. Beth-Shemesh et al.). Wheat was one of the stereotypical features of the land of promise (cf. Deuteronomy 8:8). In addition to being the primary source of sustenance, it was often offered as part of the sacrifices in the form sometimes of leavened bread (Leviticus 7:14), but much more often as unleavened bread (Leviticus 8:2 et al.). The versatility of wheat was also helpful. Not only was it the source of making bread, it was also a primary component in the production of beer. Its straw stalks and stems could be used effectively as fodder, animal bedding, and to make baskets. The stems were also often used in the construction of mud-brick. Henna was used as a hair dye and to provide coloration with skin decoration. In addition it was sometimes used in the process of mummification in Egypt. The Song of Songs refers to henna in 1:14 and 4:13. The blossom of the plant smell like roses, thus an appealing scent. The remainder of the plant can yield colors of yellow, orange, and red used for the various decorations. Precious Stones (73) Precious stones were valued by the ancients just as much as today. Some of them, however, have diminished in value in our culture. Jewelry made of hematite is fairly common. Carnelian was used extensively in Egypt and Canaan; John notes that one of the foundations of the city of God is carnelian (21:20). Amethyst is described as part of the priestly breastplate (Exodus 28:19; 39:12) and as part of John’s vision of the city of God in Revelation (21:20). Turquoise is not mentioned in the Bible, but it was mined by the Egyptians in the Sinai Peninsula. Jawbone of Donkey (74) While this is not a typical weapon, it dramatizes Samson’s encounter with the Philistines when he seized the jawbone of a donkey and killed a thousand Philistines (Judges 15;14-17). The text notes that his was fresh and thus would have weighed a bit more as well as be less brittle. The section near the lower front teeth is very well suited as the handle and makes for a remarkable well-balanced “weapon!” Interestingly, this example was purchased from Peru where it is used as a musical instrument! Bull Image (75) The Canaanite god, Baal, was often represented by a bull-calf, thus it served as a focal point for worship that violated God’s will. Aaron’s construction of the golden calf at Mt. Sinai was just on the heels of God’s prohibition against worshiping any other gods or making any graven image (cf. Exodus 32, with 20:3-4). Israel continued to be tempted to use bull-calves in their worship. This example is a reproduction of one that was found in the area that was allotted to Manasseh and dates from the time of the period of the Judges. Hosea will much later will lambast the Israelites for their holding the calf in reverence (cf. Hosea 8:5-6; 10:5). Mazar, Amihai. “The ‘Bull Site’—An Iron Age I Open Cult Place.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 247 (1982): 27-42. Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah (76) This is a reproduction of the great Isaiah Scroll found in Cave I near the Dead Sea. It is open to 40:3 (after the break in the second line in the left column). The passage was a favorite of the Qumran community and records: “A voice cries in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” The original scroll appears to have been produced in the latter part of the second century B.C. This reproduction is made from the original photographs that John Trever made of the scroll immediately after it came to light. His photographs have been very helpful for the preservation of the text, since the original in Israel has deteriorated through time and a lack of appropriate care. Thus much of the image that you see in this copy is better than the original in its current condition. Pilgrim Flask (77) These vessels began to appear in the Late Bronze Age (1600-1200 BC) and continued through the Iron Age (1200-586 BC). They are not easy vessels to make in that they consist of two bowls that are put together and then sealed with an opening/spout at the top. Two handles then attach to the body of the vessel and to the neck of the spout (Amiran, 166). Traditionally, these were thought to be water canteens (Kelso, 30), but generally they are too fragile to be very functional for that kind of daily use. Mazar suggested that they were used for “perfumes or oils” (18). This postulate has recently been corroborated with residue studies that have identified the presence of “cinnamaldehyde,” the flavor that gives cinnamon its distinctiveness (Jarus, and “Traces”). Ten of the twenty-seven flasks that were studied yielded this result. Cinnamon is not a native plant of the Levantine coastal areas but was imported from southern India and/or Sri Lanka. Apparently the spice was transported dry and then mixed with a liquid and “bottled” in the pilgrim flasks. Jarus notes two scholars, Dvory Namdar and Ayelet Gilboa, who suggest that the cinnamon may have been used to flavor wines. Trace analyses of other Late Bronze Age vessels transported in the eastern Levant into Egypt, have yielded evidence of pistacia resin, and either sesame or olive oil (these vessels were NOT pilgrim flasks, however, but amphora [e.g., storage jars]; Serpico). The Bible notes the use of cinnamon as a component in the anointing oil associated with the tabernacle (and by extension the Temple of Solomon; cf. Exodus 30:23; the Hebrew word for the spice is qinneman). It, too, needed to be imported from either what is now Sri Lanka or southern India. Amiran, Ruth. Ancient Pottery of the Holy Land. Jerusalem: Massada Press, 1969. Jarus, Owen, “Evidence of 3,000-Year-Old Cinnamon Trade Found in Israel.” Live Science (20 August 2013). https://www.livescience.com/39011-cinnamon-trade-found-in-israel.html Kelso, James L., and W. F. Albright. “The Ceramic Vocabulary of the Old Testament.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Supplementary Studies, no. 5/6, 1948, pp. 1–48. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20066597. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020. Mazar, Amihai, “Iron Age I: Northern Coastal Plain, Galilee, Samaria, Jezreel Valley, Judah, and Negev.” Pp. 5-70 in The Ancient Pottery of Israel and Its Neighbors from the Iron Age through the Hellenistic Period. Ed. S. Gitin. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 2015. Serpico, Margaret, “The Canaanite Amphorae Project.” Amarna Project (https://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/recent_projects/material_culture/canaanite.shtml) “Traces of Cinnamon Found in 3,000-Year-Old Vessels.” Archaeology on-line (22 August 2013). https://www.archaeology.org/news/1237-130822-israel-cinnamon-spice-trade Pazuzu (78) The Pazuzu image was a composite creature of the mythological world consisting of a scorpion body and tail with bird’s feet, a leonine head, and claw-like hands. Pazuzu was a Mesopotamian “demon” of the hot winds. Several of these have been found in excavations, and at least one example has an inscription on its back that reads: “I am the god Pazuzu, son of the god Hanbi, king of the evil wind-demons. It is I who rage mightily in the Mountain (of the Underworld) so that they come up. As to those winds which accompany them, the west wind is stationed at their front. The winds, their wings are broken” (Saggs, 260). The hot winds could be the source drought and/or storms, but another somewhat peculiar feature of Pazuzu that appears in the mythology is to counter the deathly influence of Lamashtu’s behavior against pregnant women and infants (Green, 1844; Farber, 1897). Somewhat ironically, even though Pazuzu was the demon in charge of the hot winds, he could also be the protector against them since, he had the power to curtail the winds’ effects (Green, 1844). The original of this reproduction is in the Oriental Institute of Chicago; its provenance is unknown. Neither Pazuzu nor this piece is mentioned in the Bible, but the image reflects the belief systems of many of the cultures around Israel, which often affected Israel itself. Isaiah sarcastically lambasts the Israelites: “When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you! The wind will carry them off, a breath will take them away” (Isaiah 57:13). While Pazuzu may not be the focus of this indictment, in principle he easily fit the motif. The Pazuzu image became part of pop-culture with the production of the horror movie, The Exorcist (1973). Farber, Walter. “Witchcraft, Magic, and Divination in Ancient Mesopotamia.” Pp. 1895-1909 in Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. 3. Ed. J. M. Sasson. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1995. Green, Anthony. “Ancient Mesopotamian Religious Iconography.” Pp. 1837-55 in Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, vol. 3. Ed. J. M. Sasson. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1995. Khopesh Sword (79) Sometimes referred to in the literature as a “sickle sword,” the term khopesh is the Egyptian term applied to the sword and means “literally ‘the foreleg of an animal’” (Yadin, 79, 204). Its cutting edge was on the outer, convex curve making for an efficient hacking strategy. The Egyptians would usually depict the sword raised over the heads of the soldiers poised to hack the enemy. Thus Merneptah is depicted on the Hypostyle of Karnak as well as a soldier shown besieging Ashkelon. Ramses III appears on his funerary temple at Medinet Habu with the sword raised in his right hand while holding the hair of his enemies in the left ready to receive his devastating blow. The Hittites depict themselves in a relief from Yazilikaya near Boghazkoy carrying khopesh swords on their shoulders (dating from the Late Bronze Age as well). One of the ceremonial shields preserved in Tutankhamun’s tomb (ca. 1340 BC) shows him slaying two lions that he holds by their tails, while brandishing a khopesh sword (Silverman, 44-45). Joshua’s successful conquest of Ai narrates that he signaled the troops lying in ambush using his outstretched “javelin" (NIV, NASB, ESB; the KJV and NKJV render the Hebrew word as “spear”). Many scholars believe that the signaling weapon was actually a khopesh, which would be contemporary with the Late Bronze Age period (see Molin; Boling and Wright, 240-41; Hess, 37-38). Yadin suggested that this sword is well-adapted to the hacking move implied in the frequently appearing phrase in Joshua: “he smote them with the edge of the sword” (79; cf. Josh 6:21; 8:24; 10:28 et al.). A downside of this interpretation is the fact that the phrase “edge of the sword” uses a different Hebrew word to render “sword.” Joshua 8 uses kidon, whereas the other references to “sword” in Joshua used the word hereb. Koehler-Baumgartner define kidon as “scimitar” (2: 472), which could describe a khopesh sword. King and Stager argue that the Hebrew does not necessarily differentiate the forms of the weapon (224). Boling, Robert G. and G. Ernest Wright. Joshua. AB 6. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1982. Hess, Richard S. “Joshua.” Pp. 2-93 in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, vol. 2. Ed. J. H. Walton. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009. King, Philip and Lawrence Stager. Life in Biblical Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001. Koehler, Ludwig and Walter Baumgartner. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, vol. 2. Leiden: Brill, 1995. Molin, G. “What is a Kidon?” Journal of Semitic Studies 1.4 (1956): 334-37. Silverman, David P. Fifty Wonders of Tutankhamun. New York: Crown Publishers, 1978. Yadin, Yigael. The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963. Military Diploma (80) The Romans had a policy to award military personnel retirement benefits. These, of course, varied with time. One criterion was that the person should have served honorably for at least twenty-five years. Beginning about AD 52, military diplomas were issued to personnel in the army who were non-Roman citizens. One benefits with these diplomas was that the person was granted citizenship as a Roman. Depending on the time period of the issuance, the diploma might also grant citizenship the man’s spouse and children. The diploma consisted of two bronze plates. The text on the plates was very formulaic, but indicated the honorable discharge of the man from military service. The plates were then wired together through the two middle holes which then were twisted and sealed by seven witnesses whose names appear. Philippi was a Roman Colony (Acts 16:12), which Octavian (Augustus) established as such in 42 BC, granting land privileges to retired military personnel (see Dio Cassius, Roman History 51.4.6), hence implying a dominant military presence at the town. During Augustus’ reign the retirement began to shift from land allotments to monetary dispersement (Dio Cassius, Roman History 54.25). Hence, the diplomas do not date back as early as the establishment of Philippi, but its establishment was among the precedents for the retirement practice. This replica (a resin squeeze of the original) refers to the retirement of a “cavalryman, P. Veriburis, son of Dabonis of Dacia.” The text indicates that he retired in the sixteenth year (ca. AD 154) of the reign of Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161, who reigned between the tenures of Hadrian [who is mentioned on the plates] and Marcus Aurelius). Veriburis’ wife was also granted citizenship. Chrissanthos, Stefan G. “Keeping Military Discipline.” Pp. 312-29 in The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World. Eds. B. Campbell and L. A. Tritle. New York: Oxford University, 2013 (page 325). Watson, G. R. The Roman Soldier. Ithaca: Cornell, 1969 (pp. 136-40). Dagger of Tutankhamun (81) Two daggers were among the paraphernalia in Tutankhamun’s tomb. Both of them were actually with the mummy itself. They were probably ceremonial and not for practical use. There is a question of the origin of the daggers since the motifs associated with them are foreign to typical Egyptian motifs. Many believe that they probably came from the Hittite world, or the craftsman who made them (if in Egypt) was of foreign extraction. The replica on display here (a 3/4 scale replica) portrays the gold bladed dagger with floral designs on the handle with alternating bands of colored glass and semiprecious stones. The other dagger (not represented here) was quite unique in that the blade was of meteoric iron, from a time when iron was not mined or smelted. Comelli, Daniella et al. “The meteoritic origin of Tutankhamun’s iron dagger blade,” Meteoritics and Planetary Science 51.7 (July 2016): 13-1-09. Reeves, Nicholas. The Complete Tutankhamun: the King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure. London: Thames & Hudson, 1990. Pp. 177. Silverman, David. Wonders of Tutankhamun. New York: Crown Publishers, 1978. Pp. 46-47. Roman Centurion Helmet (82) The centurion was the main officer in the rank and file of the Roman army. The term “centurion” derives from a word meaning one hundred, but usually the centurion commanded a group of eighty (80) men rather than one hundred (Kennedy, 790). Six groups called “centuries” made up a cohort of 480 men; ten cohorts made a Legion. The centurion was very much a professional soldier with quite a number of perks relative to those of lower rank, plus there were promotional options (while still being a centurion). While writing quite later than the emergence of first century Christianity, Vegetius (ca. AD 400) describes the character of a centurion: “…a centurion is chosen for great strength and tall stature, as a man who hurls spears and javelins skillfully and strongly, has expert knowledge how to fight with the sword and rotate his shield and has learned the whole art of armatura, is alert, sober and agile, and more ready to do the things ordered of him than speak, keeps his soldiers in training, makes them practise their arms, and sees that they are well clothed and shod, and that the arms of all are burnished and bright,…” (Vegetius, De re Militari 2.14 “The troops of legionary cavalry,” as translated in Milner, 46). Several centurions appear in the New Testament account—usually with neutral-to-favorable reflection. A centurion of Capernaum petitioned Jesus to heal his servant and requested that Jesus not enter his house since he considered himself unworthy. Jesus commended his faith as unequaled in Israel (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10). Luke’s account indicates the centurion’s kindness to the Jews in that he had at least helped in the construction of the synagogue in Capernaum (Luke 7:5), remains of which may still exist (Loffreda, 294-95). A centurion who watched over the crucifixion event was among the first to declare the deity of Jesus: “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54; cf. Mark 15:39) and affirm Jesus’ innocence (Luke 23:47). For many, the most immediately notable of the New Testament centurions is Cornelius who was converted to Christ with the visit by Peter (Acts 10). Given how the narrative unfolds, it appears that Cornelius was familiar with the story of Jesus (cf. Acts 10:36-37). Various centurions were involved in first ushering Paul to safety from the threats on his life in Jerusalem (Acts 22-24) and then ushered his transport to Rome after his appeal (Acts 27). Very likely, Paul has one of these in mind when he advises the Christian to “take the helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17). Campbell, Duncan B. “Part II: Arming Romans for Battle.” Pp. 419-37 in The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World. Eds. B. Campbell and L. A. Tritle. Oxford: Oxford University, 2013. Pp. 429-30, 432-33. Kennedy, David. “Roman Army.” Pp. 789-98 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5. Ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Loffreda, Stanislao. “Capernaum.” Pp. 291-95 in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 1. Ed. E. Stern. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993, Milner, N. P., trans. Vegetius: Epitome of Military Science. 2d rev. ed. Liverpool: Liverpool University, 2001. Egyptian War Trumpet (83) The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb yielded two metal, flared trumpets. One was silver and the other was copper. The silver one measured ca. 23 inches and the copper one was ca. 20 inches. These would have been used to signal the army in the field. The children of Israel were instructed to make two silver trumpets for use to direct the camp’s gathering and breaking (Numbers 10:2). The Hebrew word hatzotzirah refers to a “straight instrument used for signal calls” (Koehler, Baumgartner, 344). While one of their functions was to be in military engagements (Numbers 10:8-9; 31:6; Hosea 5:8), they were also used in some capacity in religious ceremony (Numbers 10:10; 1 Chronicles 15:24). The criteria to differentiate the use of the metal trumpets over the ram’s horn trumpets is unclear, since there were occasions when both types of instruments were used in similar settings. Both instruments are referred to in 2 Chronicles 15:14. While it is unclear if the ones in the post-exilic period were the same as these, Josephus (3.291) describes them as follows: “In length a little short of a cubit, it is a narrow tube, slightly thicker than a flute, with a mouthpiece wide enough to admit the breath and a bell-shaped extremity such as trumpets have.” On the Triumphal Arch of Titus, the Romans depicted the trumpets as part of their spoils of war against the Jews (although the depiction shows them significantly longer than Josephus describes; see Fine, Schertz, and Sanders, 30, 34). Paul alludes to a military signal with trumpets in 1 Corinthians 14:8: “And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?” The Egyptian trumpets were first played in modern times in 1939 over the BBC (British Broadcasting System) from Cairo. A delightful recording of that event may be found on YouTube. T. G. H. James, former Keeper of the Egyptian Collection of the British Museum, engineered and narrates the event. youtube.com/watch?v=zr_olu7chEY (Its title is misspelled, and reads: “Trumpets of Tutnakhamun”). The video is just over fourteen minutes long with a very interesting backstory. The trumpets themselves begin to sound at about 10:52. Fine, Steven, Peter J. Schertz, and Donald H. Sanders, “True Colors: Digital Reconstruction Restores Original Brilliance to the Arch of Titus.” Biblical Archaeology Review 43.3 (2017): 28-35, 60-61. Reeves, Nicholas. The Complete Tutankhamun: the King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure. London: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Pp. 164-65. Shofar (84) Shofar is the Hebrew word which basically means “trumpet” or “horn” (Koehler and Baumgartner, 1447-48), but in the Joshua narrative of the conquest of Jericho the horn is specifically identified as the horn of a ram (Joshua 6:4, 6, 8, 13). The instrument, apparently derived from various horned animals and was used in both religious contexts (Leviticus 25:9; Psalm 98:6 et al.) as well as battle situations (Judges 7:19-20; Nehemiah 4:18, 20; Jeremiah 4:19; Hosea 5:8). One should see the Jericho episode as a melding of religious and battle issues as the LORD and Israel dedicate the town as a perpetual offering to the LORD. Regarding from what species the horns come, the Mishnah (“Rosh Hashanah” 3.2-4, dating from ca. 1st-2nd centuries AD) directs: “All shofars are valid save that of a cow, since it is a ‘horn’” (3.2). The shofar that was used for the Rosh Hashanah ceremony (i.e., the New Year celebration) was supposed to be “of the wild goat, straight…” (3:3), whereas those used on other occasions such as fasting days, were to be “ram’s horns, rounded [i.e., ‘curved’]…” (3.4). From these data, Lewis indicates (1443) that the “processed horn of one of the five species of animal—sheep, goat, mountain goat, antelope, and gazelle” was permissible. The large example on display is from a Kudu antelope. A smaller species of Kudu lives in eastern Africa, hence nearer Egypt and Canaan, while a larger species lives in southern Africa. The smaller horn on display comes from a more common ram. Danby, Herbert. The Mishnah. London: Oxford University, 1933. Lewis, Albert L. “Shofar.” Cols. 1442-47 in Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. 14. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing, 1972. Phaistos Disk (85) The Phaistos Disk is so-called because of its discovery in the Minoan Palace of Phaistos on the island of Crete. The date of the artifact appears to be ca. 1700 BC and reflects a hieroglyphic form of what is thought to be writing. Exactly where this fits into the sequence of the development of writing remains a bit of a mystery, but it is clear that it did not enjoy wide popularity. The writing was produced apparently using a collection of stamps that permitted a form of “printing.” Clearly the writing is laid out in a spiral formation, but it is not clear exactly from what location it began—from the middle outward or from the edge inward. The assumption is that the vertical lines in the circular maze represent word dividers. The form of writing does not conform to any of the developments that were in vogue in the Minoan world, but seem to have more of an affinity to some forms from ancient Lycia in the area of modern southwestern Turkey. The decipherment of the inscription remains elusive and while various proposals have been made of what it says, the scholarly world has not come to a consensus. Dow, Sterling. “The Linear Scripts and the Tablets as Historical Documents: Literacy in Minoan and Mycenaean Lands.” Pp. 582-608 in The Cambridge Ancient History: The Middle East and the Aegean Region c. 1800-1380 B.C., vol. II, pt 1. 3d ed. Eds. I. E. S. Edwards et al. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1980. Pp. 595-98. Hutchinson, R. W. Prehistoric Crete. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1962. Pp. 66-70. Artemis (Diana) of the Ephesians (86) Artemis is a bit of an enigma in that she appears to be an amalgam of various goddesses (Martin, 465). The form she has in Ephesus appears to derive significantly from Phrygian Cybele. In Greece she was considered a virgin huntress goddess, but ironically she was also associated with childbirth and fertility. The Cybele representation carried with it the idea of a “mother goddess” (Clinton, 414). A quaint, but significant temple at Brauron (near Harding University’s overseas Greece campus) in Greece is dedicated to her where her worship primarily involved young girls who learned trades and prepared for puberty and marriage. Artemis was often associated also with wildlife—deer, bear, etc. The attendants at Brauron were dubbed “bears” (Mee and Spawforth, 111). While various rituals were involved, they were fairly innocuous given the tendency mistakenly to portray Artemis as a lustful deity. Artemis of the Ephesians was manifest as a woman with multiple bulbous representations across her chest. There has been on-going debate as to what these represent, with proposals suggesting they were breasts, “ostrich eggs, steer testicles, grapes, nuts, and acorns” (Arnold, 414). Regardless, these are almost universally interpreted to be some kind of representation of fertility. Her association with the animal world is depicted on the image (with some variation depending on the specific artifact) in the portrayal of “lions, bulls, deer, rams, griffons and bees” (Erdemgil, 150). While there is a lack of clarity of what exactly the “silver shrines of Artemis” were that Demetrius made (Acts 19:24), an inscription from the ancient world described a Roman official named C. Vibius Salutaris who presented a “silver image of Diana” to the theatre (Deissmann, 113), which sounds like it was miniature of the statue. For Ephesus, Artemis’ worship constituted a significant religious as well as cultural, sociological, and economic dynamic. While other deities were worshiped, Artemis, however, was supreme as far as the Ephesians were concerned (Oster). Artemis was widely recognized in the ancient world. Demetrius emphasized this point as he argued that Artemis was one “whom all Asia and the world worship” (Acts 19:27). His assessment was not an exaggeration. Pausanias, writing in the 2d century AD, described: “Among the people of Calydon, Artemis, who was worshipped by them above all the gods, had the title Laphria… But all cities worship Artemis of Ephesus, and individuals hold her in honor above all the gods. The reason, in my view, is the renown of the Amazons, who traditionally dedicated the image, also the extreme antiquity of this sanctuary. Three other points as well have contributed to her renown, the size of the temple, surpassing all buildings among men, the eminence of the city of the Ephesians and the renown of the goddess who dwells there” (Pausanias, Description of Greece, 4.31.7-8). The pervasiveness of her worship is clear in that as early as 1896 AD, scholars knew of thirty-three sites from the ancient world where Artemis was venerated (Bruce, 399, n.59). A statue of Artemis was recovered from the ruins of the 2-3 century AD theater in Caesarea Maritima (Frova, 274; photo on 272). Arnold, Clinton E. “Acts.” Pp. 218-503 in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, vol. 2. Ed. C. E. Arnold. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002. Bruce, F. F. The Book of Acts. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971. Deissmann, Adolf. Light from the Ancient East: The New Testament Illustrated by Recently Discovered Texts of the Graeco-Roman World. Trans. L. R. M. Strachan. Grand Rapids: Baker, reprint 1978. Erdemgil, Selahattin. Ephesus: Ruins and Museum. 16th ed. Istanbul: Net Turistik Yayinlar, 1989. Frova, Antonio. “Caesarea: The Theater.” Pp. 273-74 in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 1. Ed. E. Stern. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. Martin, Hubert M. Jr. “Artemis.” Pp. 464-65 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 1. Ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Mee, Christopher and Antony Spawforth. Greece: Oxford Archaeological Guides. New York: Oxford, 2001. Oster, Richard, “The Ephesian Artemis as an Opponent of Early Christianity.” Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 19 (1976): 24-44. Mycenaean Vaphio Cup (87) This cup is one of a pair that are on display in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece. The cups came from a tholos (“bee hive”) tomb in Vaphio, Laconia, which is part of the Peloponnese peninsula. They date from the Late Helladic II period (ca. 1610-1490 BC = Late Bronze Age I in Canaan) and are made of gold. The cup is made in three parts, similar to our modern vacuum bottles, with an outer surface of repoussé artwork and an inner lining, also of gold. The inner lining folds over the upper edge of the outer surface. A handle was then attached to the vessel. This version depicts four relatively tame bulls which share the scene with a man. The other cup depicts (not portrayed) the attempt of a man to capture several wild bulls that attack and gore him as he tries to capture them. When they were discovered, one cup rested at each hand of the deceased. Davis argues that the two vessels were made by different artisans and that the “quiet” scene (as in our example) was produced by a Minoan artist and that the more violent scene by a Mycenaean artist (472). Davis, Ellen N. “The Vapheio Cups: One Minoan and One Mycenean?” The Art Bulletin 56.4 (1974): 472-87. www.jstor.org/stable/3049295 (accessed 9-17-2020) Tarbell, Frank Bigelow. A History of Greek Art. New York: Macmillan, 1896 (reprint 1902). College of Bible & Ministry bible@harding.edu
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US Northeast Natgas Prices Jump Ahead of Winter Storm Wed, 12/16/2020 - 12:00 PM (Source: Shutterstock.com) U.S. Northeast power and natural gas prices for Dec. 16 jumped to their highest level in almost a year as energy companies prepare for what could be the region's biggest winter storm in years. Meteorologists at AccuWeather said the Nor'easter could unload 2 ft (61 cm) of snow or more, while temperatures will reach only the upper 20s to low 30s F (-2 to zero C) in New York and Boston over the next few days. Normal highs are in the low 40s F in those cities at this time of year. Since most Northeastern homes and businesses use gas for heat and much of the region's electricity comes from gas-fired power plants, electric and gas prices usually soar during extremely cold weather. Next-day power and gas in New England and gas prices in New York rose to their highest levels since December 2019. New York and New England do not have enough gas pipeline capacity to supply all the fuel needed for both heat and power generation on the coldest days, so many gas-fired plants have to switch to more expensive oil when temperatures drop. The group responsible for reliability of the North American power grid warned in November that extreme weather could put New England fuel supplies at risk. So far on Dec. 16, however, power generators in the region were still getting all the gas they needed and ISO New England, the regional electric grid operator, said the system was operating normally. "We don’t expect the storm to have a significant impact on the transmission system, but ... storms like this can be unpredictable," ISO spokesman Matthew Kakley said. The ISO said New England's power plant fuel mix was 55% gas, 25% nuclear, 10% renewables (mostly wind and wood), 7% hydro, 2% coal and less than 1% oil the morning of Dec. 16. NGL Energy Partners To Expand Permian Water Footprint With $600 Million Deal NGL Energy Partners agreed to acquire Hillstone Environmental Partners, which owns a produced water transportation and disposal system located in the Northern Delaware Basin. It’s Been A Very Good Ride For Pipeliner KC Yost It's been 100 years since his grandfather, Maurice Yost, started pipelining. For KC Yost, a career in the oil and gas business was seemingly set. Pipelining Helped Save Major Leaguer’s Family Ever wonder what it’s like to work on a large-diameter pipeline? The author answers that question with the help of the son of a Major League baseball star, who is a second-generation pipeliner.
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Gardon, John HomeVisitLibrary ArchiveOral History DepartmentGardon, John False Papers Budapest (Hungary), Rakosszentmihaly Gardon was born in 1928 in Budapest, Hungary, the only child of Lajos and Clara Gardon. His father and maternal grandfather were partners in their wholesale wine business. The family was affluent, assimilated, and well connected to Hungarian society, both socially and politically. Yet they still maintained their connection to Judaism by belonging to a conservative temple. Gardon attended the prestigious Minta Gymnasium (combination of junior and senior high school) in Budapest and was one of the last Jewish students to graduate before quotas severely limited the number of Jews who could be admitted. Anticipating anti-Semitic legislation enacted in 1942, which banned Jews from certain businesses, Gardon’s father nominally sold his wine business to a close friend and confidant. The understanding was that the sale was temporary, to be annulled after the war. Gardon’s father still retained control of the business and maintained contact with his employees until the German invasion of Hungary. This confidant, a member of the Hungarian gentry and now the new owner of Gardon’s wine business, also became the honorary consul for Finland during World War II. He located the Finnish consulate in the Budapest apartment of Gardon’s maternal grandparents. It was assumed that Gardon’s entire family would seek refuge in that apartment, protected by the extraterritorial diplomatic status of the consulate. But when the German army occupied Hungary in March, 1944, the three generations of the Gardon family went into hiding. Rather than remain together, they decided that there was greater safety in splitting up. The grandparents located in a small village, approximately fifty miles from Budapest, to which many of the Hungarian nobility fled. They remained there, undisturbed, for the remainder of the war. Gardon’s parents, however, suffered greater instability during this time. They first sought refuge in the apartment of a Hungarian colonel. There they were discovered, apprehended, and taken to a brick factory. This factory was used as a transit camp from which thousands of Hungarian Jews were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The Gardons’ ingenuity and a chance encounter with a Catholic priest, however, saved their lives. Claiming to have been given a “certificate of protection” from the Catholic Church (much like the Swedish affidavits issued by Raoul Wallenberg), Gardon’s parents were freed. Thereafter, they joined their son who was then hiding in a remote area outside Budapest. Meanwhile, sixteen year-old Gardon was on his own, armed only with false papers that gave him a Hungarian-Christian identity and a list of reliable Gentiles he could depend on for help. These people had been entrusted with money that would pay for the family’s expenses and had also been generously compensated for their assistance and cooperation. So Gardon spent the next eight months hiding in five different locations. First he spent two months in a Budapest hospital, protected by a physician’s voucher that he was ill and needed hospital care. One night, the hospital air-aid shelter in which Gardon was sitting was struck by a bomb. Miraculously, the bomb failed to detonate, so he remained unharmed. But the event indicated how dangerous it was to remain in his present location. Moving from one hiding place to another, Gardon then sought shelter from one aunt, a German woman living in Hungary, who nevertheless took the boy in and cared for him. Eventually Gardon moved to a remote area in the country outside Budapest, called Rakosszentmihaly. On this particular location there were only two houses, built in viewing distance from one another. One served as a hiding place for Gardon and his parents. The other much larger house was inhabited by a man who appeared to outsiders to be an influential Nazi. The size of this house, the constant availability of an automobile, and the occupant’s apparel, which included high-leather boots, seemed to indicate strong connections to the Nazi Party. In January of 1945, Gardon and his family were liberated by the Russian Army. Able to finally emerge from hiding after eight months, the Gardons discovered, to their amazement, that the suspicious occupant of the neighboring house had actually been hiding more than twenty Jews in his basement. These were Czech Jews who had come to Hungary in 1938. They had financed for this Hungarian Gentile the construction of a large house, which included an underground tunnel for escape, and the purchase of an automobile. When the German army marched into Hungary, this man honored his initial obligation, which was to hide these Czech Jews in the basement and provide for their welfare during the German occupation. After the war the Gardon family returned to Budapest. They resumed their activities in the wine business and lived reasonably well until the Communist takeover of Hungary in 1948. At that time their business was confiscated by the Communists and nationalized. Gardon’s parents left for Israel while his grandparents lived out their remaining years in Hungary. Gardon himself had already left for Switzerland, where he attended the Swiss federal Institute of Technology to study chemistry. It is there that he met his future wife, Berta, a survivor from Austria. In 1951 Gardon left for Canada and received his Ph.D. from McGill University in Montreal. He then married and settled in the United States in 1958. He has worked as chemist and later as a research executive. He is also an internationally known polymer chemist with a distinguished record of publications. Interview Information: Interviewer: Esther Littmann Format: Video recording
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Home city guide things to do in hospet You have plenty of interesting things to do in this famous city of Hospet. Moreover, the transport facilities here make it easier for you to get around the city and have fun. The bus stand has regular buses to Hampi from Bay 10 every half-hour (Rs.10, 30 minutes). There are two overnight buses heading to Panaji (Rs.215, 11 hours) through Margao and Express buses to Bengaluru (ordinary/deluxe for Rs.320/400, nine hours). There are also regular buses to Bijapur (Rs.130, six hours) and Hyderabad (Rs.340, 10 hours). You can reach Hospet’s railway station by a Rs.15 auto­rickshaw ride from town. A 6.30am express train starts to Vasco da Gama (sleeper/2AC Rs.178/643, 8½ hours) every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. There is a daily Hampi Express to Hubli at 7.50am (2nd class, Rs.43, 3½ hours) and to Bengaluru at 7.50pm (sleeper/2AC Rs.193/738, 10 hours). Do not miss Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan's Indian vegeterian delicacies and delicious thalis for just Rs.45. This hygienic spot is just opposite the bus stand. Sight-seeing in Hospet There is a lot of sight-seeing to do in Hospet. These great sight-seeing places include historical spots as well as religious spots. Some of the best places to visit in Hospet are Underground Temple, Queen’s Bath, Archaeological Museum, Virupaksha Temple, Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary, and so on. The Underground Temple is believed to be the oldest temple in Hampi and was built many meters below the ground level for some unknown causes. There is a water canal built around the main temple. However, this canal is dry and so people can walk to the maximum accessible point. The opening hours for this temple are 8.30am to 5.30pm. The Queen’s Bath is a beautiful historical structure which looks plain on the outside but is wonderfully built within. This ancient bath contains an amazing gallery, verandas and beautiful overhanging Rajasthani balconies. The bath contains steps leading to the water body for bathing, so it is also known as the Stepped Bath. The opening hours are 8.30am to 5.30pm. The Archaeological Museum is the first museum established in Hampi by the Archaeological Survey of India. This famous museum has four galleries and it encloses a model of the Hampi valley surrounded by a corridor. The first gallery of the museum displays different sculptures of the Saiva sect. The second gallery displays antiquities like brass plates, copper plate grants, arms and armoury, and religious metal objects. There are also many denominations of gold and copper coins of the Vijayanagar dynasty present here. The Virupaksha temple is part of the group of monuments at Hampi and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The most beautiful of all structures in the temple is the central pillared hall believed to be Krishnadevaraya's addition to this temple. The very lively chariot festival is celebrated here every February. The opening hours of the temple are from dawn to dusk. The Elephant Stables is another famous tourist destination. It is an exquisite building with domed chambers and it is said that this was where eleven state elephants once resided. There are 11 domed tall chambers with some being inter-connected. The opening hours are 08:30pm to 17:30pm. A famous wildlife spotting area worth visiting is the Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary. This shelter for many free ranging sloth bears is located near Kamlapur which is just 12 km from Hospet. Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary is popular for 'bear watching' which can be done from the watchtower on top of a hillock. The sanctuary also serves as a home for several wild animals. Bird spotting is also extremely famous here and we can spot species like and yellow throated bulbuls and painted spur fowl. The opening hours of this sanctuary are 9.30am to 6pm. July to March is the best time for sighting wildlife. Sloth bears can be sighted at all times of the year including oppressing hot summer months. Best Places To Eat Out in Hospet Food is another one of the best things to do in Hospet. Hospet specilizes in local food as well as multi-cuisine delicacies. There are many famous good quality restaurants worth giving a try. If you look for good vegetarian restaurants, check out the following: Amruth Refreshments Shanbagh Hotel Shanthi Hotel If you look for good non-vegetarian restaurants, check out the following: Hotel Mayura Hotel Nagarjuna Restaurant & Bar Hotel Vaishali The following are some other famous restaurants in and around Hospet: Mango Tree Restaurant Rural-themed vegeterian eat-out spot. The Mango Tree restaurant, named after a huge mango tree in the middle of the restaurant, is very famous here. The terraced and laid-back setting is perfect for a relaxation spot. To make it more special, the ambience inside the restaurant is different during the day and different at night. In the night, the ambience is dim since the electric lights are removed, leaving only a few bulbs here and there. To add to the beauty of the environment, the gushing sound of the river and the screeching sound of crickets are heard beneath. At night, the tables are only provided with lanterns. The traditional Indian feel of the environment is enhanced by the matted floor seating, where the people sit cross-legged, with the low table in front. The menu includes typical Indian vegetarian delicacies, though there are also egg based dishes available. This restaurant full of creativity and food excellence is famous for its special vegetable curry (Rs.100), banana fritters (Rs.60) or the spaghetti with cashew nuts and cheese (Rs.100). We can't say that the prices are the lowest in Hampi’s standards, but they are okay. The meals range from Rs.80 to Rs.150. The opening hours of the restaurant are 7.30am to 9.30pm. Durga Huts A popular restaurant in Hampi with good food and awesome music. Famous music fusion tracks are on airplay here along with a few guitars and drums kept for jam sessions. The prices for the main meals range from Rs.70 to Rs.90. New Shanthi Restaurant A hippie style restaurant in Hampi filled with trance music and acid-blue lights. The popular cuisines here are Mexican, Italian and Indian, and the popular side items are cookies and crumbles. There is also a wide range of teas (herbal, jasmine and lemongrass) available. The prices for the main dishes range from Rs.90 to Rs.140. Drama and Theatre in Hospet Nataraja Kala Mandira in Kampli, Bellary, Hospet Taluk has a huge drama theatre where many plays and dramas are performed. This famous drama theatre has the capacity to seat 200 people. Thus, these are some of the best things to do and some of the best places to visit in Hospet. Hospet is thus a very delightful tourist destination! Comments / Discussion Board - Things to do in Hospet
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Next Stop Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE Home Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Entertainment 44 Netflix shows you probably missed but should definitely watch Kim Renfro Facebook Icon The letter F. Snapchat icon A ghost. Link icon An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Email icon An envelope. It indicates the ability to send an email. Twitter icon A stylized bird with an open mouth, tweeting. Pinterest icon The letter "P" styled to look like a thumbtack pin. Fliboard icon A stylized letter F. Elisabeth Doppler in "Dark." There are more Netflix original shows than the average viewer can possibly track. Insider picked our favorite 44 Netflix series you might have overlooked. "Maniac," "On My Block," "Unbelievable," "Gentefied," and more are among the recommendations. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Even if you love Netflix, you probably haven't seen some of its best shows. There are a bunch of other shows that might have slipped under your radar, since there are more than 110 brand new shows arriving on Netflix this year alone. If you want see simply see the best of Netflix this year, read our ranking of the 41 top TV shows here. Keep reading to see all the best Netflix original shows you might have overlooked. We've included the Rotten Tomatoes critics' score for each show, as well as the year they debuted. Carrie Wittmer contributed to a previous version of this article. "Gentefied" (2020) Karrie Martin and Julissa Calderon star in "Gentefied." Kevin Estrada/Netflix Critic score: 90% Netflix description: "In this badass bilingual series about family, community, brown love, and the displacement that disrupts it all, three Mexican-American cousins struggle to chase the American Dream, even while that same dream threatens the things they hold most dear: their neighborhood, their immigrant grandfather, and the family taco shop." Why you should watch it: Charting the timely issues of gentrification in Los Angeles with plenty of heart and wit, "Gentefied" is one of the best new comedies of 2020. With just 10 episodes clocking in around 30 minutes each, it's a fun and engaging binge-watch. "Unbelievable" (2019) Merritt Wever and Toni Collette on Netflix's "Unbelievable." Beth Dubber/Netflix Netflix description: "Inspired by real events, a teen reports and eventually recants her reported rape, while two female detectives, states away, investigate evidence that could reveal the truth." Why you should watch it: The first episode of "Unbelievable" is one of the most gutting hours of television made this year, especially when you know it's based on real reported events. After the horrifying events of the premiere, the following seven episodes are intensely cathartic and downright incredible. It's no wonder the series just landed several Emmy nominations. This is a show everyone should be talking about, especially at a time when the subject of sexual assault investigations are under intense scrutiny. Editor's note: Viewers who have experienced sexual assault may find the events portrayed throughout the series (and especially the pilot) too upsetting. "Special" (2019) The offbeat comedy is based on series creator and star Ryan O’Connell’s memoir, "I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves." Netflix description: "'Special' is a distinctive and uplifting new series about a gay man, Ryan with mild cerebral palsy who decides to rewrite his identity and finally go after the life he wants." Why you should watch it: "Special" is a new type of Netflix original series that delivers its comedy (with the perfect dash of drama) in very short episodes. Each installment is just under 15 minutes, which means you can easily binge the whole fantastic first season in under two hours. "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance" (2019) Hup, Deet, and Rian together in "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance." Kevin Baker/Netflix Netflix description: "The journey begins as darkness rises. Join three Gelfling heroes on an epic quest to save their world." Why you should watch it: This ambitious live-action puppet series acts as a prequel to the 1982 Jim Hensen film "The Dark Crystal." Working in a medium never-before-seen on Netflix, it tells a fantastic epic fantasy tale with an incredible star-studded cast. "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson" (2019) "I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson" is streaming now on Netflix. Eddy Chen/Netflix Netflix description: "There is no such thing as an ordinary interaction in this offbeat sketch comedy series that features a deep roster of guest stars." Why you should watch it: "I Think You Should Leave" is a collection of comedy sketches, each with a uniquely off-kilter style that will leave you crying with laughter and quoting random phrases for days afterwards. "Never Have I Ever" (2020) Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Jaren Lewison costar in "Never Have I Ever." Netflix description: "'Never Have I Ever' is a new coming-of-age comedy about the complicated life of a modern-day first-generation Indian American teenage girl." Why you should watch it: This Netflix original comedy has short episodes, a compelling dramatic subplot, and an original spin on the classic teen coming-of-age story. You'll find yourself surprised, amused, and (in the end), deeply moved by Devi's journey. "Feel Good" (2020) Charlotte Ritchie and Mae Martin costar in "Feel Good." Critic score: 100% Netflix description: "'Feel Good' is a deeply personal, dark but hilarious story about two young people navigating the modern-day landscape of love, addiction, and sexuality - and trying to form a meaningful and lasting connection." Why you should watch it: "Feel Good" is the kind of perfect, short show you can binge in an afternoon and feel, well, good about. Telling the autobiographical story of comedian (and recovered addict) Mae Martin as she falls in love and tries to balance her mental health, it's funny and earnest and endearing and raw all at once. "Dark" (2017) The first two seasons of "Dark" are streaming now, with a third and final installment on its way. Julia Terjung/Netflix Netflix description: "A missing child sets four families on a frantic hunt for answers as they unearth a mind-bending mystery that spans three generations." Why you should watch it: It's a slow burn, but it's worth sticking to because it expertly weaves tension into the sci-fi noir world. "Next in Fashion" (2020) Tan France and Alexa Chung are the cohosts of "Next in Fashion." Netflix description: "Hosted by fashion designer and TV personality Tan France and designer and global style icon Alexa Chung, 'Next in Fashion' begins with 18 designers who face challenges centering on a different trend or design style that has influenced the way the entire world dresses." Why you should watch it: If you enjoy reality competition shows, particularly ones centered around fashion design challenges, "Next in Fashion" is a new can't-miss series. The contestants are fabulous, and each weekly challenge produces some stunning new designs. "When They See Us" (2019) "When They See Us" was created, co-written, and directed by Ava DuVernay. Netflix description: "Based on a true story that gripped the country, 'When They See Us' will chronicle the notorious case of five teenagers of color, labeled the Central Park Five, who were convicted of a rape they did not commit." Why you should watch it: This gripping, Emmy-winning limited series is one of the best dramas of 2019 thanks to the phenomenal performances and poignant script which adapts an appalling true story. "The End of the Fxxxing World" (2018) Jessica Barden and Alex Lawther star as Alyssa and James on "The End of the Fxxxing World." Netflix description: "A budding teen psychopath and a rebel hungry for adventure embark on a star-crossed road trip in this darkly comic series based on a graphic novel." Why you should watch it: With short, under-30-minute episodes and a compelling story about two teens who embark on a shocking journey, "The End of the Fxxxing World" is one of the most surprisingly heartfelt (and violent) shows on Netflix. "I Am Not Okay With This" (2020) Sophia Lillis costars in "I Am Not Okay With This." Netflix description: "'I Am Not Okay With This' is an irreverent origin story that follows a teenage girl who's navigating the trials and tribulations of high school, all while dealing with the complexities of her family, her budding sexuality, and mysterious superpowers just beginning to awaken deep within her." Why you should watch it: Cocreated by the same director from "The End of the Fxxxing World," Jonathan Entwistle, "I Am Not Okay With This" shares the similarly pitch-perfect sense of style and musical tone. The cast is fantastic, and it's another short binge-watch series you wish you could spend more time falling in love with. "Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts" (2020) This new series follows a human girl as she encounters new mutants and friends. Critic score: N/A Netflix description: "'Burrow girl' Kipo's life turns upside down when she surfaces in a wild world of mutant creatures. She'll need all the help she can get to go home." Why you should watch it: Netflix has been producing beautiful animated original series for some time now, and "Kipo" is a great addition to the catalog of modern animated storytelling. It's gorgeous, funny, weird, endearing, and easy to devour in a single weekend. "Sacred Games" (2018) Kalki Koechlin costars on "Sacred Games" season two. Ishika Mohan Motwane/Netflix Netflix description: "A link in their pasts leads an honest cop to a fugitive gang boss, whose cryptic warning spurs the officer on a quest to save Mumbai from cataclysm." Why you should watch it: "Sacred Games" is based on Vikram Chandra's 2006 novel of the same name, and it's one of the best crime thrillers on Netflix. Nominated for best drama at the 2019 International Emmy Awards, it has yet to truly pick up with US audiences. But if you like underworld crime drama, "Sacred Games" is the show for you. "Tuca and Bertie" (2019) Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong costar on "Tuca and Bertie." Netflix description: "They're just two ride-or-fly BFFs winging it together." Why you should watch it: Though "Tuca and Bertie" was sadly cancelled by Netflix after the first season premiered this year, it's one of the critics' favorite new shows on the streaming service. This oddball adult animated show is a perfect blend of funny, sweet, and insightful. "Elite" (2018) The second season of "Elite" premiered on September 9, 2019. Netflix description: "When three working class kids were given scholarships to Spain's most elite high school, they thought they were in for their big break. But when one of their classmates turns up dead, everyone is under question. Welcome to Las Encinas." Why you should watch it: "Elite" is a perfect blend of epic teen drama and murder mystery intrigue. If you enjoy shows like "Riverdale" and "Gossip Girl," add this one to your "must watch" list. "Dear White People" (2017) There are three seasons of "Dear White People" currently streaming on Netflix. Netflix description: "Students of color navigate the daily slights and slippery politics of life at an Ivy League college that's not nearly as 'post-racial' as it thinks." Why you should watch it: It's sharp social commentary that will make you think just as often as it will make you laugh. "The OA" (2016) There are two seasons of "The OA" currently streaming on Netflix. Netflix description: "From Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, the visionary filmmakers behind 'Sound of My Voice' and 'The East,' comes a powerful, mind-bending tale about identity, human connection and the borders between life and death." Why you should watch it: "The OA" is one of the most unique and compelling shows on Netflix right now. You'll need to sink into a world of interdimensional travel and outcasts, but the sometimes-uncomfortable journey is well worth it. Unfortunately, "The OA" was canceled after just two seasons (and a wild cliffhanger). But it's still worth experiencing, even if you're stuck with the short-changed version. "Santa Clarita Diet" (2017) Drew Barrymore stars on Netflix's "Santa Clarita Diet." Netflix description: "They're ordinary husband and wife Realtors until she undergoes a dramatic change that sends them down a road of death and destruction. In a good way." Why you should watch it: Drew Barrymore eats people, and her chemistry with Timothy Olyphant ("Deadwood," "Justified") is sparkling. It's also a clever satire of suburban life. "Atypical" (2017) There are two total seasons of "Atypical" on Netflix. Netflix description: "When a teen on the autism spectrum decides to get a girlfriend, his bid for more independence puts his whole family on a path of self-discovery." Why you should watch it: It has great performances and a realistic representation of autism, which is not an easy feat. "Ozark" (2017) There are two total seasons of "Ozark" on Netflix. Netflix description: "A financial adviser drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder $500 million in five years to appease a drug boss." Why you should watch it: The premise is similar to "Breaking Bad" and Jason Bateman delivers a great performance as a guy who launders money for a drug dealer. "Everything Sucks!" (2018) Netflix canceled "Everything Sucks!" after just one season. Netflix description: "It's 1996 in a town called Boring, where high school misfits in the AV and drama clubs brave the ups and downs of teenage life in the VHS era." Why you should watch it: Most of the episodes are only 20 minutes, and it brings a compelling emotional story into the 90s nostalgia. "One Day at a Time" (2017) Netflix made three seasons of "One Day at a Time" before it was cancelled and picked up by Pop TV. Adam Rose/Netflix Netflix description: "Follows three generations of the same Cuban-American family living in the same house: a newly divorced former military mother, her teenage daughter and tween son, and her old-school mother." Why you should watch it: It's positive, funny, smart, culturally relevant, and isn't afraid to take on dramatic material. This is yet another great Netflix show that was canceled, but PopTV has since picked it up. So start the show on Netflix, and then hop over to the other network for new episodes. "Big Mouth" (2017) Netflix has so far made two seasons of "Big Mouth" plus a Valentine's Day special. Netflix description: "Teenage friends find their lives upended by the wonders and horrors of puberty in this edgy comedy from real-life pals Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg." Why you should watch it: It's as vulgar as it is adorable, and will remind you of your experience with puberty, but not in a bad way. It will make you feel less alone knowing that a lot of people had the same experiences. "Collateral" (2018) "Collateral" was a limited series, with only one season planned and produced. Netflix description: "Investigating the murder of a pizza delivery man, a London detective uncovers a tangled conspiracy involving drug dealers, smugglers and spies." Why you should watch it: It is a thriller combined with biting political commentary, and a stunning performance from Carey Mulligan. "Seven Seconds" (2018) Netflix made one season of "Seven Seconds." Netflix description: "The death of a 15-year-old African American boy in Jersey City sets off a police cover-up and a search for the truth." Why you should watch it: It's a brutal watch, but an important reflection on race and the flawed justice system. "Salt Fat Acid Heat" (2018) There is one season (and four total episodes) of "Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" on Netflix. Netflix description: "Master these four elements, master the kitchen. Based on Samin Nosrat's best-selling book, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat is the essential guide to the basic elements of good cooking." Why you should watch it: Samin Nosrat takes the well-tread premise of a food documentary and breathes new life into it with her contagiously joyful personality and educational approach. "Mindhunter" (2017) The first season of "Mindhunter" is streaming now, with a second on its way. Netflix description: "In the late 1970s two FBI agents expand criminal science by delving into the psychology of murder and getting uneasily close to all-too-real monsters." Why you should watch it: It's a slow-paced but thrilling psychological drama and crime procedural that completely reinvents what a procedural can be. "Sense8" (2015) There are two total seasons of "Sense8" on Netflix. Netflix description: "From the creators of 'The Matrix' and 'Babylon 5' comes this tense series in which eight people can telepathically experience each other's lives." Why you should watch it: It's visually stunning and focuses on diverse characters from many different backgrounds. "3%" (2016) There are two total seasons of "3%" on Netflix. Netflix description: "In a future where the elite inhabit an island paradise far from the crowded slums, you get one chance to join the 3% saved from squalor." Why you should watch it: It's a skillful character study in a dystopian setting, which is good because most dystopian stories focus on the setting over the characters. "Castlevania" (2017) There are two seasons of "Castlevania" on Netflix. Netflix description: "A vampire hunter fights to save a besieged city from an army of otherworldly beasts controlled by Dracula himself. Inspired by the classic video games." Why you should watch it: The animation is exquisite, and the season is really short. "On My Block" (2018) There are two seasons of "On My Block" on Netflix, with a third on the way. Netflix description: "In a rough inner-city Los Angeles neighborhood, four smart, funny and streetwise teens find their lifelong friendship tested as they begin high school." Why you should watch it: Both funny and heartbreaking, it focuses on an underrepresented community (especially when it comes to shows for teenagers). "Russian Doll" (2019) The first season of "Russian Doll" is streaming now on Netflix, with a second on its way. Courtesy of Netflix Netflix description: "Nadia keeps dying and reliving her 36th birthday party. She's trapped in a surreal time loop — and staring down the barrel of her own mortality." Why you should watch it: "Russian Doll" is bleak and hilarious, melancholy and silly, and all fantastically brought to life by Natasha Lyonne. "Maniac" (2018) There is just one season of "Maniac" on Netflix. Michele K. Short/Netflix Netflix description: "Two struggling strangers connect during a mind-bending pharmaceutical trial involving a doctor with mother issues and an emotionally complex computer." Why you should watch it: With an incredible ensemble cast and a gorgeously unique imagining of an alternate future, "Maniac" is one of the most fun and poignant sci-fi shows ever made. "She's Gotta Have It" (2017) There are two seasons of "She's Gotta Have It" on Netflix. Netflix description: "Nola Darling struggles to stay true to herself and her dreams while juggling three lovers in this Spike Lee series based on his breakout film." Why you should watch it: It's a fun, feminist reinvention of Spike Lee's first big movie. "Godless" (2017) "Godless" was a miniseries, so there's just one season on Netflix. Netflix description: "A ruthless outlaw terrorizes the West in search of a former member of his gang, who's found a new life in a quiet town populated only by women." Why you should watch it: It was made to binge, and embraces every Western cliche in a good way. "Anne with an E" (2017) There are two seasons of "Anne with an E" on Netflix. Netflix description: "A plucky orphan whose passions run deep finds an unlikely home with a spinster and her soft-spoken bachelor brother. Based on 'Anne of Green Gables.'" Why you should watch it: It's a sophisticated modern twist on a classic character. "Love" (2016) There are three total seasons of "Love" on Netflix. Netflix description: "Rebellious Mickey and good-natured Gus navigate the thrills and agonies of modern relationships in this bold comedy co-created by Judd Apatow." Why you should watch it: It's a love story that every millennial can relate to in some way, and Judd Apatow's presence is felt in its gross humor and sentimentality. "Glow" (2017) There are two seasons of "Glow" streaming now on Netflix, with a third on its way. Netflix description: "In 1980s LA, a crew of misfits reinvent themselves as the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. A comedy by the team behind 'Orange Is the New Black.'" Why you should watch it: It's hilarious, inspiring (but not in a cheesy way), and filled with complicated women as well as references to the 80s, in a less on-the-nose way than "Stranger Things." "Easy" (2016) There are three seasons of "Easy" on Netflix now. Netflix description: "Features eight vignettes that follow the complicated, loosely connected lives of young Chicagoans in their twenties and thirties as they tackle love, sex and self-improvement." Why you should watch it: It explores relationships from a modern lens in a truly unique but very realistic way. "Lady Dynamite" (2016-2017) There are two seasons of "Lady Dynamite" on Netflix. Netflix description: "Comedian Maria Bamford stars in a series inspired by her own life. It's the sometimes surreal story of a woman who loses — and then finds — her s**t. Why you should watch it: It sweetly showcases Maria Bamford's talent. Her strange but brilliant perspective is a perfect foil for her comedic style. "Alias Grace" (2017) "Alias Grace" is a miniseries, with just six total episodes on Netflix. Netflix description: "In 19th-century Canada, a psychiatrist weighs whether a murderess should be pardoned due to insanity. Based on Margaret Atwood's award-winning novel." Why you should watch it: It dives deep into how gender, social status, and mental illness were treated in the past, and how it can affect people to this day. "American Vandal" (2017) Netflix cancelled "American Vandal" after its second season premiered in 2018. Netflix description: "A high school is rocked by an act of vandalism, but the top suspect pleads innocence and finds an ally in a filmmaker. A satirical true crime mystery." Why you should watch it: It's a poignant and funny reflection on true-crime entertainment, social media, and teen culture. "Sex Education" (2019) The first season of "Sex Education" premiered on Netflix in 2019. Sam Taylor/Netflix Netflix description: "Channeling his sex therapist mother, inexperienced teen Otis decides to set up a sex therapy clinic at school for the hopeless students of Moordale High. Get ready for love, laughs, lube, and the best time of their lives." Why you should watch it: Heartfelt, raunchy, sex-positive, and just overall enjoyable, "Sex Education" is a must-see Netflix show. See all 83 new Netflix shows coming out in 2020 Every Netflix original TV show that's been canceled The 101 best TV shows to watch on Netflix right now Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s). FOLLOW US: INSIDER Entertainment is on Facebook More: Features Netflix Netflix Originals TV Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Looking for smart ways to get more from life? Visit Insider Coupons and get discounts on Fashion, Electronics, sports, home... and more! Get Insider In Your Inbox Like what you see here? Subscribe to our daily newsletter to get more of it.
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After Sachin, Virat Kohli features on Wisden cover, second Indian to do so Virat Kohli achieves a new feat in cricketing world as he becomes the second Indian to feature on the cover of Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack after cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli has been praised for his captaincy as well apart from his spot-on batting consistency. Kohli has been on the winning side of back to back series which has led to veterans lauding his effort. After former captain MS Dhoni stepped down from the captaincy he has won the ODI and T20I series against England as well. Wisden’s editor Lawrence Booth has nothing but praises for Kohli who sent touring England empty-handed, beating them in every format of the game. He has reinvented himself as a Test batsman as well scoring double-hundred against West Indies and England. Booth told a leading cricket website, “It underlines the fact that he is a very modern cricketer. It felt like the right time to get some unorthodoxy onto the cover. People often think of Wisden as a bastion of orthodoxy, but cricket is changing so rapidly that it felt like the right time to reflect that, and Kohli was the right man for the job,” Earlier Sachin Tendulkar featured on the cover of Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack in 2014. “Kohli will be fresh in the mind of all cricket fans after his performances against England,” Booth said. “He has pulled clear of the likes of Steve Smith, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and AB de Villiers, and is clearly the most exciting all-format batsman in world cricket,” he added.
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Get the Inverness Courier sent to your inbox every week and swipe through an exact replica of the day's newspaper Highland Heroes Shinty Active Outdoors Nicky Marr Home News National Article In profile: Husband and wife ‘dream team’ behind the Covid-19 vaccine By PA News Contribute to support quality local journalism Physicians Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci are the husband and wife ‘dream team’ behind the breakthrough Covid-19 vaccine that will soon be rolled out across the UK. The UK is the first country in the world to approve the vaccine, which is shown to be 95% effective and works in all age groups. BioNTech chief executive Prof Sahin worked alongside his wife and the firm’s chief medical officer, Dr Tureci, to develop the jab. BioNTech began preparing against the coronavirus in January after Prof Sahin read an article in a medical journal that left him convinced the virus would spread into a full-blown pandemic. BioNTech, founded just 12 years ago, has been working alongside 171-year-old titan of the pharmaceutical industry, Pfizer. Prof Sahin came to Germany from Turkey when he was four years old. He graduated as a doctor from the University of Cologne in 1990. Dr Tureci also of Turkish heritage, earned her MD at the Saarland University Faculty of Medicine in Homburg, Germany, and is now also the president of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy. Bonded by a shared love of medical research and oncology, the couple founded BioNTech in 2008, with the aim of pursuing a broader range of cancer immunotherapy tools. On their wedding day in 2002, according to reports, the pair only briefly left their work at the lab to attend the registery office. While the couple are said to be worth billions, Prof Sahin still reportedly cycles to work. They are ranked 93rd among the richest Germans, according to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine – enough to vaccinate 20 million people. Around 10 million doses of the vaccine are expected to be available for use in the UK in the coming weeks for priority groups, including healthcare workers, with 800,000 doses arriving next week. This website is powered by the generosity of readers like you. Please donate what you can afford to help us keep our communities informed. In these testing times, your support is more important than ever. Thank you.
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'Rise of Skywalker' won't retcon Rey's backstory, Rian Johnson suggests It sounds like 'The Last Jedi' isn't going anywhere. Tres Dean Right from the announcement of the title, it seemed Star Wars: Episode IX might reverse course on much of what director Rian Johnson established in The Last Jedi. From the title to the first trailer’s reveal of the film featuring Emperor Palpatine, The Rise of Skywalker has seemed like a massive reset by director J.J. Abrams to steer the film closer to his vision from The Force Awakens. As such, it’s been hard not to speculate as to how the ninth installment may find ways to backtrack on the eighth. However, making a massive multibillion-dollar franchise is a collaborative effort. While many of Johnson’s decisions in The Last Jedi may have seemed reckless, the reality is that the film was made in collaboration with Lucasfilm, Disney and Abrams. There’s no way Johnson could have gone completely off-piste without their consent. Johnson reminded fans of this during a recent Q&A at the BFI London Film Festival. He claims that the story beats of the saga have largely remained the same since his time with the franchise. “It’s really been a bit unusual in that the editing process, much of what we have in the third act is exactly what we always had.” Johnson says, confirming that The Rise of Skywalker will work with the story he set up in the eighth installment, rather than try to wipe the slate clean as much as possible. The Last Jedi Rey Cave Lucasfilm Abrams has also been vocal about the extent to which he made the effort to work with what Johnson gave him. ““I never found myself trying to repair anything,” he says, “If you’re willing to walk away from the thing that you created and you believe it’s in trustworthy hands, you have to accept that some of the decisions being made are not gonna be the same that you would make. And if you come back into it, you have to honor what’s been done.” Much fan theorizing regarding the ninth installment has focused on the ways in which what Johnson did with the story, and specifically his revelation that Rey is not from a notable Star Wars family, would be done away with in favor of a big, bombastic reveal. Rey Kenobi, Rey Skywalker and Rey Palpatine have all been suggested by fans. But perhaps it’s time for us to remember that some of the answers are already right in front of us, specifically regarding whether or not Abrams’ film will work with what it’s been given. It clearly will. Both directors have said as much and neither has given us any reason to doubt them. And ultimately, isn’t that so much more exciting? Abrams has said that Johnson made some decisions he wouldn’t have made were he the director of The Last Jedi but it’s so much more interesting to think about what he’ll do to work with those story beats rather than how he’ll undo them. If he’s telling the truth here, The Rise of Skywalker is looking far more interesting and far more exciting than ever. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker comes to theaters December 20.
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Dr. Ramakant Sharma Postdoctoral fellow (2018-) 2017 Ph. D. in Indian Institue of Technology, Bombay, India 2009 M.S. in Fergusson College, University of Pune, India 2007 B.S. in RTM Nagpur University, India Dr. Palanisamy Rajakannu Postdoctoral fellow (2018-2019), Research Professor (2019-) 2015-2017 Post-Doctoral Fellow, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan 2012-2015 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India 2012 Ph. D. in University of Delhi, New Delhi, India 2008 M.S. in Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu, India 2006 B.S. in Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu, India Dr. Hanul Moon Postdoctoral fellow & Research Professor 2014 Ph. D. in KAIST, Electrical Engineering 2009 M.S. in KAIST, Electrical Engineering 2007 B.S. in Pusan Univ., Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering Dr. Dipti Gupta Postdoctoral fellow (2007-2008) Currently an Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India (Dept. of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science) 2005 Ph. D. in Indian Institute of Tech., Kanpur, India 2002 M.S. in Indian Institute of Tech., Kanpur, India 2000 B.S. in Indian Institute of Tech., Kanpur, India Dr. Eric Teo Postdoctorial fellow (2009-2010) 2009 Ph.D. in National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Dr. Jongjin Lee Research Professor (2013-2014) Currently an Associate Professor at Kyungsang National Univ. (Dept. of Physics) 2013-2014 BK21 Research Professor, KAIST (Dept. of Electrical Eng.) 2011-2013 Senior Researcher, GIST (Research Center for Solar Energy) 2008-2010 Research Professor, GIST (Heeger Center) 2004-2008 Research Engineer, Samsung Electronics (Semiconductor) 2004 Ph. D. in Physics, Seoul National Univ. 2000 M.S. in Physics, Seoul National Univ. 1996 B.S. in Physics, Seoul National Univ.
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ELA II, Pre-AP Syllabus Word Within a Word Ms. Makay English II, Pre-AP, 10th Grade jmakay@houstonisd.org Ms. Makay is a native of southwest Michigan and graduated high school in a small town near the Indiana border called Cassopolis. She obtained her Bachelors in the Arts with a double major in English and Theater Education with an emphasis in Secondary Education. She is currently working towards completion of a Masters of Arts in Education through Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor, Michigan. Ms. Makay previously taught English, Theater Arts, and Speech at several Michigan schools until late 2008 when she took a hiatus from teaching to work as a civilian contractor in Iraq providing support to members of the Department of Defense and Department of State. She left Iraq in 2012 and moved to Houston to continue work in government contracting after a short stay home in Michigan. After six years, Ms. Makay is returning to the role of teacher here at Lee High School and is looking forward to the opportunity to help mold young minds once again. You may find Ms. Makay's lessons on the PowerUp HUB at www.houstonisd.org/hub.
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Help us continue to fight human rights abuses. Please give now to support our work July 1, 2009 2:52PM EDT Letter on Rights for Migrant Domestic Workers H.E. Ghazi al-Shubaikat Minister of Labor Ministry of Labor Dear Minister al-Shubaikat, We write to urge you to introduce amendments to the draft Regulation for Domestic Workers currently under consideration by your office. We have recognized Jordan's pioneering role in amending its labor law in July 2008 to include domestic workers, whose rights and duties were to be spelled out by a separate ministerial regulation, now under consideration. Almost one year after the law's amendment, the current draft of this separate regulation, which spells out rights and duties of employers and domestic workers and defines a role for the Ministry of Labor, includes both positive clarifications and points requiring further scrutiny and revision. We have based our comments on international human rights and labor standards, which are also the basis for a proposed new International Labor Organization Convention regulating domestic work. We have attached a guide to the proposed new ILO Convention. I thank you for your attention to this matter and would be pleased to meet with you to discuss ways to protect the rights of migrant domestic workers in Jordan. Christoph Wilcke Middle East and North Africa Division Suggested Amendments to Jordan's Draft Regulation on Domestic Work Proposed by Human Rights Watch Article 2: Definitions: Definition of the term "home owner" should include a the condition that he be of legal capacity , and we recommend that term "using" be replaced by "or contracting with" or at a minimum that there is clarification that the "use" by the home owner of the domestic worker is a contractual agreement. Definition of the term "domestic worker" should include a minimum age of at least 15 years of age for Jordanian domestic workers and 18 years of age for non-Jordanian domestic workers. Article 4 - Home Owner Obligations It should be made clear that these are minimum obligations, and that employers and workers may agree on further contractual guarantees. 2. We welcome the introduction of obligations by the home owner to pay the worker's salary every month into the worker's bank account. This article should specify that the amount stipulated in the contract is due in full to the worker every month. Because late or non-payment of salaries is commonplace, the regulation should include fines for employers who violate this provision. 3. We welcome the restriction of places of work to the home owner's current or temporary place of residence. We think it prudent to add that only the home owner's family members are authorized to issue instructions to the worker, in order to help shield the worker from having to perform tasks outside the scope of the contract. 4. We welcome inclusion of specific home owner obligations to provide the domestic worker with adequate living conditions. We recommend specifically obliging the home owner to provide safe and healthy conditions of work, with respect to the type of work, the tools used to work, and the work premises. Furthermore, the clause should specify that the worker's accommodation be safe, private, and lockable from the inside, and that the worker have access to the bathroom and shower. Furthermore, the clause should make clear that domestic workers have the right to seek accommodation off the premises of their employer's household. 6. We welcome the prohibition of interference with the worker's right to "hand- written" correspondence, but urge you to remove the word "hand-written" in order to safeguard the worker's right to correspond freely with others through any means. Furthermore, we welcome the home owner's obligation to pay for the worker's call home once a month, but the clause should specify that workers have the right to make additional calls at their own expense. 8. We believe that the home owner should be required to pay for repatriation costs incurred by the worker not only after the end of the two-year contract, but also earlier, under certain conditions. The home owner should pay in cases in which he chooses to terminate the employment when the worker is not at fault, and in cases in which the worker terminates the employment because he has been charged with, sued for, or found guilty of committing violations of Jordanian law or the contract with the worker that caused the worker to terminate the employment. In addition, the home owner should be obliged to provide the worker with free accommodations (not necessarily in his home) for a reasonable amount of time before the worker can arrange for her repatriation or new employment in cases in which he terminates the employment before the end of the contract without fault of the worker. In cases in which the worker terminates employment, the recruitment company should be held liable for the costs of repatriating the worker as is current practice, with the Ministry of Labor paying those costs if the agency fails to do so promptly. The Ministry shall have recourse to reclaim those costs from the agency. Workers do not have the means to pay for tickets home and get trapped and indebted if they do not have the ability to quickly return home. 9. We welcome the obligation on the home owner to medically insure the worker, and recommend including obligations for social security on terms provided by Jordan's Social Security and Labor Laws and maternity protection on par with what Jordanian law provides to other types of foreign workers. 11. We welcome explicit recognition of the worker's freedom of religion but are troubled by the current restrictions on practices that "conflict with normative behavior and acceptable ethics and morals," which are vague and could be abused by home owners unfamiliar with religious practices other than their own. Such restrictions, if they remain at all, should be drawn far more narrowly, for example stating "apart from exceptional cases where such religious practices are impossible to reconcile with public morals in Jordan." We also suggest adding that the worker shall have the right to perform her religious duties during her work hours for short durations, provided the work does not suffer as a result, and outside her work hours in association with others outside of the home. And also we suggest adding a specific requirement that home owners respect worker's dietary requirements, unless it is impossible for them to do so. 12. We strongly recommend adding a clause that prohibits the home owner from holding the worker's passport, residency papers, and the work authorization, regardless of the worker's consent, and in any event requires all such papers to be given to the worker immediately on request of the worker. This practice has facilitated a host of other abuses, including non-payment of salaries, forced confinement, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, and lack of judicial redress. Article 5 - Domestic Worker Obligations a. We strongly urge you to cancel this clause conditioning a worker's freedom of movement outside the house on the home owner's permission. Such conditions condone unlawful deprivation of liberty, punishable by Jordanian law and no domestic regulation should facilitate a crime taking place in Jordan. Jordan is required by international law to respect the freedom of movement of everyone without any discrimination. Restrictions on workers' freedom of movement are pervasive abuses and often contribute to other violations, such as unpaid salaries, physical and sexual abuse, and conditions of forced labor. We strongly urge you replace it with language specifically guaranteeing a worker's freedom of movement and freedom to choose her place of residence. We recommend including specific language indicating that any contractual clause conditioning the worker's freedom of movement outside the house on any type of permission is void. c. We believe that this clause holding the worker liable for damages caused as a result of "mistakes" is overly broad and subject to abuse by employers. The worker should only be held liable for willful or grossly negligent damages caused in the course of carrying out her work duties. The employer should not have any right to deduct damages from salary which is open to abuse, but instead should only be able to require payment after proving willful or grossly negligent damage. Damage caused off duty should be subject to normal procedures in the courts. d. and f. We suggest cancelling these clauses obliging the worker to perform her duties with utmost loyalty and honesty and not to disclose any confidential information because they do not add legitimate, concrete, and verifiable obligations on the worker that are not already covered in clause b. obliging the worker to respect the home owner's privacy and the general obligations under the terms of the work contract. We would also suggest removing the clause requiring the domestic worker to respect prevailing customs and norms. This is not appropriate in a Regulation, especially as it is very vague. The domestic worker will in any event have to comply with all applicable Jordanian law, which presumably sets out those customs and norms that are appropriate to be enforced by law. g. We welcome the restriction on the worker's liability for paying for her own repatriation costs in cases in which the employer caused the worker to "escape," but suggest "termination of employment," in lieu of "escape" (see also our comment on art.4.8. above). Furthermore, we recommend that the worker not have to pay for repatriation costs in any circumstance Article 6 - Working Hours a. We welcome the limit of the work day to eight hours but suggest that the clause say "no more than" eight hours, instead of specifying that the "total hours" spent working per day shall be eight hours. Additional work hours should be accorded overtime pay and not exceed what the Labor Law specifies. This clause should also include acknowledgment of the right to take meal breaks. b. The freedom of the home owner to set the worker's hours needs to be better specified. This clause should define hours worked to include any "stand-by time," that is, time that the worker spends without concrete duties but is not free to dispose of as she wishes. It is acceptable to discount stand-by time at a reasonable rate compared to worked hours. Daily and weekly work hours, including stand-by hours, should have a maximum ceiling. Workers should be entitled to compensate stand-by time with time-off instead of accepting additional pay. c. We strongly urge you to raise the minimum amount of continuous rest time per day to which a worker is entitled to an absolute minimum of eight hours per day, but recommend raising it to 12 hours. d. In light of our comments to clause 6.a., we strongly urge you cancel in its entirety this clause allowing the home owner to confine the worker to the home during non-work hours. Article 7 - Weekend and Holidays a. We recommend that you replace the word "one day" of weekly rest with the words "36 hours." If the worker and the employer by mutual consent agree that the worker postpones her weekly time of rest and works instead, the hours worked should be compensated at the standard overtime rate, or be compensated by a reduction in the number of future working days as set forth in the Labor Law. Furthermore, we recommend that this clause include the worker's obligation to take 36 hours of rest once every week, or the minimum set in the Labor Law. b. We recommend increasing the amount of annual leave to four weeks. We also recommend that this clause specify that the worker has full freedom of movement during her leave. We also recommend that this clause specify that accompanying the home owner on vacation shall not count toward the worker's annual leave of 14 days. The worker should be able to take her leave at other times during the contract in part or in full, not just at the end. c. We welcome the inclusion of 14 days medical leave, but suggest the addition of an obligation on the employer to facilitate visits to the doctor, including by providing lists of specialists and general practitioners with whom the worker can communicate, if needed, with the help of the worker's embassy and the ministries of Labor and Health. This is due to the generally isolated nature of domestic work and language barriers. We suggest a specific clause that the home owner will grant leave for all religious holidays of the worker on request, unless the home owner can show it is impossible to do so in a particular instance. Such leave for religious purposes may be taken from the worker's annual leave. We recommend that the "Non-Jordanian Domestic Workers' Affairs Committee" include representatives of the embassies of domestic labor-sending countries as well as non-Jordanian domestic workers as members, or at least as observers should selection of domestic worker representatives prove difficult. We also recommend that this article expressly recognize the right of non-Jordanian domestic workers to organize collectively, to form associations, and to freely assemble and express themselves. Article 10-Ministry of Labor Obligations [suggested title] We strongly recommend that this Regulation include an obligation on the Ministry of Labor, in cooperation with the Public Security Directorate, the Commission on Family Affairs, the Commission on Women's Affairs, and the Ministry of Health, to provide for removal and recovery programs for workers facing abuse, including the provision of safe, temporary accommodation free of charge, physical and psychological health care, and legal assistance. The Ministry should provide accessible complaint mechanisms, including a fully-staffed, multi-lingual 24-hour telephone hotline with emergency response capabilities and helpdesks at the airport and at areas domestic workers regularly frequent. These services should be publicized widely through public awareness campaigns directed at domestic workers. The Ministry of Labor should keep a registry of domestic workers' personal and employment data and provide all domestic workers with a handbook listing telephone numbers of embassy officials, labor offices, police, and social services translated into the relevant languages. The Ministry should further conduct orientation seminars for employers on their legal duties and issue guidelines on how to resolve conflicts resulting from employing non-family members in the home. a. Ministry of Labor duties should include efforts to promote occupational safety through monitoring and regulation and to identify and remediate hazardous work environments for domestic workers, including protection from toxic substances and exposure to falls from high altitudes. The Ministry of Labor should provide training course to home owners and workers on occupational safety, health requirements, and legal obligations of both parties. b. The Ministry of Labor should put in place a mechanism of financial guarantees, involving the recruitment agency and the home owner, depending on the situation discussed above in arts 4.8. and 5.g. to ensure that the worker does not bear costs of repatriation. This clause should include language ensuring that financial guarantees for repatriation of a worker without outstanding legal claims or who wishes to return despite outstanding legal claims by her against another person should be made available to the worker without delay. d. The Ministry of Labor, in cooperation with the Borders and Residency Department at the Ministry of Interior, should put in place regulations to ensure that the worker can obtain legal residence in cases where acts by the home owner or the recruitment agency have led to a termination of employment under the contract. Legal residency should be available for the duration of the settlement of any legal claims. The Ministry of Labor should consider issuing ad-hoc work permits to persons in such situations. Article 11 - Inspection a. We suggest that this clause be removed, or at a minimum the "shall" be replaced with "may" and a provision added that amicable resolutions of a complaint under this clause be "within the rights and duties established by this Regulation, the Labor Law, and other legislation in force" to avoid settlements that infringe on the rights of the worker. It is important to stress that the conflict resolution approach may not be appropriate in all cases, especially those with allegations or other evidence of serious abuse. In such cases requiring the abused worker to attend a meeting with their abuser, and then return home with them, will put pressure on them to withdraw any complaint. b. We recommend that complaints of a criminal nature be immediately referred to the nearest police station and prosecutor's office for prompt investigation, and that the inspection by Ministry of Labor officials be restricted to complaints arising from this Regulation that are not covered by other legislation in force. It is important that the police and others are under a duty to investigate, speedily and fairly, all cases where there is credible evidence of serious abuse, and not only where there is an official complaint. In the event of substantiated complaints of a violation of law or a serious violation of the contract, workers should be able to suspend or terminate their employment without penalty, and not be obliged to remain at work pending a possible resolution of the violation or an improvement in the situation. c. We recommend that the Ministry of Labor require the worker to appear at the Ministry of Labor inspection office without the presence of the home owner within the first month of work to ensure she is aware of her rights and duties under her employment contract and under this Regulation, of which she should receive a copy in a language she understands. Exploitation, Forced Labor & Trafficking UAE: Reality of Abuses Contradicts Tolerance Rhetoric Saudi Arabia: Personal Drivers Face Abuse August 24, 2020 Report "How Can We Work Without Wages?" Salary Abuses Facing Migrant Workers Ahead of Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 November 14, 2017 Report “Working Like a Robot” Abuse of Tanzanian Domestic Workers in Oman and the United Arab Emirates January 8, 2021 Dispatches Trump Administration Again Weakens LGBT Protections January 20, 2021 Dispatches On Day One, US President Biden Reverses Odious Travel Ban February 14, 2018 Q & A Trump's 'Mexico City Policy' or 'Global Gag Rule' January 9, 2017 Commentary Barack Obama’s Shaky Legacy on Human Rights Mali/France: Investigate French Airstrike Killing 19 Protecting Rights, Saving Lives Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in 90 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe. Join our movement today. Blackbaud Security Incident
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Pedestrian crossing to be built in Kimbolton thanks to £20,000 funding Published: 3:00 PM September 11, 2020 Updated: 4:37 PM November 1, 2020 Pedestrian crossing to be built in Kimbolton thanks to £20,000 funding. Picture: GOOGLE EARTH - Credit: Archant A new £20,000 pedestrian crossing will be built in Kimbolton to help residents on a busy stretch of road. The village will benefit from the crossing on Thrapston Road thanks to Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding. It comes as part of a joint funding partnership with Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) and Cambridgeshire County Council. HDC Cabinet members supported the decision to use CIL funding of £20,000 as co-funding towards the project on the understanding that the project is completed by September 2023. Cambridgeshire County Councillor, Ian Gardener said: “This is a fantastic example of how CIL money and partner collaboration is enabling improvements to our communities and making a real difference to people’s lives.” Chairman of Kimbolton and Stonely Parish Council, Councillor Paul Seabrook added: “Kimbolton Parish Council has long recognised the issue for residents crossing the B645, particularly for those with young children, the elderly and disabled.” Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) helps fund new community infrastructure to support development in an area on projects such as new schools, transport links, open spaces, and recreational facilities.
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IMS was founded in 1978. In 1981 the company became a private limited company. In the early years, the company produced footbridges, large boilers and tanks for the process industry. After buying the rights to the production of watertight doors from Golar Metall in 1986, the company’s Florida office was opened in order to gain access to the US market. IMS is the world’s leading manufacturer of sliding, watertight doors for ships and the offshore industry. All engineering, and most manufacturing, is carried out in Norway. This is split between the company’s mechanical engineering department at Akland and the automation department in Risør. We also have a sales office here in Florida which manufactures specially for the US market. IMS has a subsidiary in Germany, as well as a worldwide network of agents. In recent years, IMS has expanded into making spare parts for other industries. Some of the machines that were purchased for the purpose of manufacturing doors have proved highly competitive at producing spare parts. Our automation department has expanded into producing distribution boards for industrial applications. Each day, distribution boards with ratings of up to 4 000A leave our production line at Krana in Risør. As a result, IMS is doing well, and we will never stop introducing the latest technology in order to help our customers become leading players in their segments. By choosing IMS as your partner, you can share in our success! Custom Made Ships Spares Knekking Laserskjæring Lifecycle Service Service and Upgrades Safety Alerts, Bulletins Safety Windows Prosjektgalleri Vanntette dører Dørmodeller Copyright 2015 IMS group | this website is developed in collaboration with SSR Reklamebyrå AS | Privacy Policy
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Girls with Sharp Sticks Other Editions of This Title: Digital Audiobook (3/18/2019) Paperback (2/18/2020) Compact Disc (3/19/2019) From New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Young comes the start of a thrilling, subversive new series about a girls-only boarding school with a terrifying secret and the friends who will stop at nothing to protect each other. Some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns. The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardian, they receive a well-rounded education that promises to make them better. Obedient girls, free from arrogance or defiance. Free from troublesome opinions or individual interests. But the girls’ carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears. As Mena and her friends uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations Academy will learn to fight back. Bringing the trademark plot twists and high-octane drama that made The Program a bestselling and award-winning series, Suzanne Young launches a new series that confronts some of today’s most pressing ethical questions. Praise For Girls with Sharp Sticks… "This book has enough plot twists to give a reader whiplash." — Cosmopolitan, "Books You Won't Be Able To Put Down in 2019" "Readers will be revved up for the inevitable uprising . . . a suspenseful and timely read. Readers will look forward to the sequel." — Kirkus Reviews Gr 9 Up–“The only worthy girls are well-behaved girls.” So teaches the staff at Innovations Academy, proud of producing the best girls, who are “beautiful, quiet, and pure.” Mena trusts the men running the academy to know what’s best. Yet when one of her friends disappears, Mena begins to question whether these men are acting out of protection or some darker purpose. Mena’s journey out of complacent ignorance is harrowing and exhilarating. Young imbues her narrator with a keen intelligence that has been stunted with drugs and lies, and as Mena rids herself of those impediments, she unravels mysteries and learns how to fight back. This novel, the first in a planned series, is like The Stepford Wives refashioned for teens coming of age in our volatile modern era. The curriculum of the Innovations Academy is basically the ideology of rape culture made explicit: girls are expected to please and acquiesce to men, men cannot be expected to control themselves, and girls who have not remained pure are considered “devalued.” Mena’s initial parroting of these ideas, slowly giving way to questioning and then outrage, creates a suspenseful and claustrophobic atmosphere that eventually threatens to boil over with vindictive violence. The real fodder for ethical debate arises as Mena and her friends decide how to react to the truths they’ve uncovered. Readers will be inspired by Mena’s awakening, and particularly by the unbreakable and loving sisterhood she shares with her classmates. VERDICT Highly recommended.–Elizabeth Lovsin, Deerfield Public Library, IL — School Library Journal "The story presents a clear, overt examination of gender and power, and it’s a carefully constructed one, highlighting the complexities of a patriarchal system that is so ingrained and so absolute that even the most well-intentioned men and women unwittingly uphold it. . . . A timely, perceptive read, this will leave readers, especially those grappling with the implications of the #metoo era, anxious for the sequel." — BCCB Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781534426139, 400pp. Suzanne Young is the New York Times bestselling author of The Program series. Originally from Utica, New York, Suzanne moved to Arizona to pursue her dream of not freezing to death. She is a novelist and an English teacher, but not always in that order. Suzanne is also the author of Girls with Sharp Sticks, All in Pieces, Hotel for the Lost, and several others novels for teens. Visit her online at AuthorSuzanneYoung.com or follow her on Instagram at @AuthorSuzanneYoung.
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Art and Entertainment > John Lee Hooker Biography blues musician Born: 8/22/1917 Birthplace: Clarksdale, Miss. legendary blues musician whose somber lyrics and endless one-chord guitar riffs helped to define boogie blues. He has influenced bands ra.ging from the Rolling Stones to Carlos Santana to ZZ Top. Hooker won a Grammy Award for “I'm in the Mood,” a 1989 duet with Bonnie Raitt, and two more in 1997 for the album Don't Look Back. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Died: Los Altos, Calif., 6/21/2001 Katie Holmes H Hootie & the Blowfish Entertainment Bios — H Hootie & the Blowfish Biography Ben Harper Biography
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Gives Back Rewards 2020 Must Haves New Picture Books Ages 4-8 New Middle Grade Fiction Ages 7-12 New Fiction Teens Age 12 & Up Joseph-Beth Book Clubs Jenna Bush Hager Lexington's Picks Battle of the Books 2020-2021 Kentucky Bluegrass Awards 2020-2021 Anti-Racist Reading Infant-Pre K Kindergarten-2nd Grade 2nd-4th Grade 3rd-5th Grade Paperblanks Planners Flame Tree Studios Out of Print Clothing David Arnold 2/9 Brontë Bistro Bulk Book Orders Register Your Book Club Bulk Orders for Classrooms or Libraries Educator Resource Network Field Trip to Joseph-Beth Golden Apple Program Required School Reading Fall 2020 Kids Indie Next List “Jacqueline Woodson brings us into the life of 12-year-old ZJ, whose father is a beloved football star. But after years of professional head-bashing, something is terribly wrong: he now has headaches, memory loss, and mood swings. With the help of his mother and good friends, ZJ faces his father’s decline. An important and heartfelt prose poem.” — Liza Bernard , Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, VT Jacqueline Woodson (www.jacquelinewoodson.com) is the recipient of a 2020 MacArthur Fellowship, the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the 2018 Children's Literature Legacy Award. She was the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, and in 2015, she was named the Young People's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. She received the 2014 National Book Award for her New York Times bestselling memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, which was also a recipient of the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor, the NAACP Image Award, and a Sibert Honor. She wrote the adult books Red at the Bone, a New York Times bestseller, and Another Brooklyn, a 2016 National Book Award finalist. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Jacqueline grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from college with a B.A. in English. She is the author of dozens of award-winning books for young adults, middle graders, and children; among her many accolades, she is a four-time Newbery Honor winner, a four-time National Book Award finalist, and a two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner. Her books include New York Times bestsellers The Day You Begin and Harbor Me; The Other Side, Each Kindness, Caldecott Honor book Coming On Home Soon; Newbery Honor winners Feathers, Show Way, and After Tupac and D Foster; and Miracle's Boys, which received the LA Times Book Prize and the Coretta Scott King Award. Jacqueline is also a recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement for her contributions to young adult literature and a two-time winner of the Jane Addams Children's Book Award. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. * “Woodson's text may be spare, but it has the emotional wallop of an offensive tackle.”—Shelf Awareness, starred review * “Woodson’s latest novel in verse conveys that not all success stories have a fairy-tale ending. Readers will feel an immediate connection to ZJ and his group of authentic, complex friends and family. The idea of showing the dark side of fame through the experiences of a young family member is a unique perspective that will resonate with readers of all ages. ZJ’s story will stay with the audience long after the last page is read. A first choice for all collections. A unique take on sports and fame told from an unexpected perspective, and another incredible read ­delivered by Woodson.”—School Library Journal, starred review * “Using spare and lyrical language for ZJ’s present-tense narration, which moves back and forth through time, Woodson skillfully portrays the confusion, fear, and sadness when a family member suffers from brain injury and the personality changes it brings. . . . The well-rounded secondary characters complete a mosaic of a loving African American family and their community of friends. . . . A poignant and achingly beautiful narrative shedding light on the price of a violent sport.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review * “Woodson delivers a poignant new novel in verse that highlights an important topic within the sports world, especially football. . . . ZJ’s life quickly turns from charmed to tragic as he has to face that his father and family are forever changed. . . . Woodson again shows herself to be a masterful writer, and her meaningful exploration of concussions and head injuries in football, a subject rarely broached in middle-grade fiction, provides young athletes with necessary insights into sport's less glamorous side. In addition to this, it is a novel that explores family, mental illness, and the healing that a tight-knit, loving community can provide.”—Booklist, starred review * “Woodson explores the impact of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) on football players and their families from the perspective of ZJ, son of tight end Zachariah ‘44’ Johnson. . . . In lyrical verse, Woodson conveys the confusion and loss that many families feel as they try to figure out what is wrong with their loved one. Each of the poems ably captures the voice of the story’s preteen boy protagonist; readers can feel the sense of love and loss that ZJ is experiencing as his dad slips away. Even though that loss is difficult, Woodson reminds readers that life’s challenges are more easily faced with the support of friends and famiy.”—Horn Book, starred review * “A beautiful and heart-wrenching story. . . . Eloquent prose poetry creates a moving narrative that reveals the grief of a child trying to understand why his father has changed and why nothing can be done. An ardent account of the multitudes of losses experienced by those who suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy and its effects on their families, ZJ's doleful tale unveils the intense nostalgia and hope one can feel despite realizing that sometimes what is lost can never be regained."—Publishers Weekly, starred review “This is a heartbreaking tale brimming with sympathy, and it draws much of its impact from the characterization of Zachariah’s father; while the portrait is obviously burnished by ZJ’s hero worship, it’s also clear that Zachariah Senior is a man of deep kindness and generosity who loves his son greatly, and whose decline leaves a huge hole in his fiercely close African-American family. ZJ’s move toward music and his increasing reliance on his friends are age-appropriate shifts that have particular poignance given the situation. While the football and CTE elements give this resonance for young athletes, many readers will be sadly familiar with the painful waning of a family member, and they’ll be heartened by ZJ’s love and resilience.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books Juvenile Fiction / Health & Daily Living / Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries Juvenile Fiction / Family / Parents Juvenile Fiction / Sports & Recreation / Football CD-Audio (September 1st, 2020): $25.00 Thanks for supporting Joseph-Beth, your local, independent bookstore. Hours & Directions | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Return Policy | FAQ | Help Joseph-Beth Booksellers | 2692 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45208 | 513-396-8960 Copyright ©Joseph-Beth Booksellers
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Free at Last? The Gospel in the African American Experience The IVP Signature Collection by Carl F. Ellis Jr. Foreword by Amisho Baraka Arts/Creativity Church & Culture The words of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech have become enshrined in US history. But after the end of King's generation of leadership, what happened to the African American struggle for freedom? Like the ancient Israelites, the African American community has survived a four-hundred-year collective trauma. What will it take for them to reach the promised land that King foresaw—to be truly free at last? In this classic historical and cultural study, Carl Ellis offers an in-depth assessment of the state of African American freedom and dignity. Stressing how important it is for African Americans to reflect on their roots, he traces the growth of Black consciousness from the days of slavery to the 1990s, noting especially the contributions of King and Malcolm X. Ellis examines elements of Black culture and offers a distinct perspective on how God is active in culture more broadly. Free at Last? concludes with a call for new generations of "jazz theologians" and cultural prophets to revitalize the African American church and expand its cultural range. The book also includes a helpful glossary of people, events, and terms. Ellis writes, "It is my prayer that the principles contained in this book will play a role in building bridges of understanding and facilitating reconciliation where there has been alienation." With a new preface by the author, this groundbreaking book is now available as part of the IVP Signature Collection. "Dr. Carl Ellis was and is ahead of his time. This book was first introduced in the early 1980s; however, the items Ellis deals with have been timeless issues to African Americans. I have read and reread this book and quoted from it more than I can say. In essence, this is a classic work. It has found new life, as the same question of black identity is rearing its head again. The gospel must be applied to our issues contextually without changing its content. The scope of the gospel must be engaged in the black experience. Dr. Ellis is a brilliant theologian and sage! I recommend Free at Last? as foundational cross-ethnic reading for thinking through and dealing with the issues of today. Kudos to IVP for rereleasing the seminal work. I'll be continuing to refer to it in my ministry and recommend it to the lost and the found for shaping their journey." Eric M. Mason, lead pastor of Epiphany Fellowship Church, Philadelphia "I was a first-year seminary student in 2001 when I first heard the name Carl Ellis. My professor, John Frame, listed Free at Last? among the list of recommended books in his course syllabus. I was at a majority-white seminary in need of resources written by black authors. Little did I know the gift this book would be for my formation as a disciple of Jesus Christ and shepherd in his church. Everyone should read this book. Learn of the faithfulness of God to a particular people from this elder and sage. Thank you IVP for putting it in the hands of a new generation!" Irwyn L. Ince, director of the Grace DC Institute for Cross-Cultural Mission, author of The Beautiful Community "Outside the Bible, Free at Last? has had the most influence upon my life, ministry, and identity. My twenty-five-year-old copy is wrinkled, tattered, and dog-eared on virtually every page. I reread it at least once a year and have counseled countless others to do the same. This book nourishes my soul and quickens me to action, which is why it has traveled with me to Uganda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, and back to these shores we call home. In Free at Last? Carl Ellis invites us to believe that we too might be a jazz theologian—one who can see the way to the Promised Land." Robert Gelinas, lead pastor at Colorado Community Church, author of Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith Preface to the Signature Edition 1. Toward a Promised Land Part I: A Primer 2. Picking Up the Pieces 3. “Oh, Freedom!” Part II: “Reflecting Back” 4. Soul Dynamic 5. A Formative Phase 6. Two Streams 7. “De Lawd” 8. “A Shining Prince” 9. A Great Legacy Part III: Roots and Fruits of Consciousness 10. A Little “White” Lie in the Name of Black Truth 11. “Busting Out” 12. “That Boy Sho’ Can Preach!” 13. Cultural Seeding Part IV: Toward a New Agenda 14. New Vistas 15. The Fields Are Black unto Harvest Glossary of People, Events and Terms Download the Press Kit. Birmingham Revolution Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0 Healing Racial Trauma Reconciliation Blues The Decline of African American Theology How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind ABOUT Carl F. Ellis Jr. Carl F. Ellis Jr. (DPhil, Oxford Graduate School) is Provost's Professor of Theology and Culture at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is also academic dean of The Makazi Institute, which he cofounded to train the next generation of high-level cultural analysts, and he serves on numerous boards and as a consultant on cultural matters.
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National stadium cost soars to ¥252 billion Kyodo, Staff Report The government has decided to stick to the ambitious architectural plans for the new National Stadium, with its two signature arches. But the cost is now expected to balloon to ¥252 billion, an increase of roughly ¥80 billion from the last estimate, government sources said Wednesday. The centerpiece for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was projected last year to cost almost ¥170 billion, including demolition costs for the stadium it replaces. The overrun raises questions about whether the plan can win support from critics who have been calling for a change in the design by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. Construction is expected to begin in October and a deal is likely to be signed with contractors soon, the sources said. The stadium project is to be completed ahead of the Rugby World Cup in 2019. The government is believed to have judged that changing the design at this stage would incur construction delays, even as criticism mounts that the current plan is too costly and does not fit in with the landscape. The new stadium will have two massive arches that form the backbone of the roof, a feature that critics have blamed for raising the overall construction costs. The new structure will replace the iconic National Stadium built for the 1964 Summer Olympics, which is currently being demolished. The central government plans to report its decision to a meeting of organizations currently preparing for the Olympics, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the sources said. So far, the central government has been at odds with the metropolitan government over how to share the costs. The squabble started last month, when education minister Hakubun Shimomura requested that the metropolitan government foot ¥50 billion of the stadium’s estimated ¥169 billion cost. Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe fired back on June 5, saying that this would violate the Local Government Financial Act, which prohibits municipalities from bearing the cost of building national facilities. He did allow that Tokyo could bear the ¥5 billion he estimates will be needed for development of the surrounding area, rather than the stadium itself. The governor also said the debate over Tokyo’s contribution should come after the national government explains how it came up with its cost estimate and how the money will be used. The sports ministry and the Japan Sports Council had estimated that construction would cost ¥162.5 billion and the demolition of the old stadium ¥6.7 billion. To slash construction and other costs, they have proposed delaying installing a retractable roof over the stadium until after the Olympics and providing only temporary seating for roughly 15,000 of the projected 80,000 seats. Architect Fumihiko Maki and others have argued that doing away with the two-arch structure and retractable roof would help cut the overall costs of the project significantly. Tokyo 2020, 2020 Olympics, Yoichi Masuzoe, Zaha Hadid, National Stadium, 2020 Tokyo Olympics
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Home Thanet News Article Coronavirus Kent: Farley's Furniture in Thanet delivering shopping for people in self isolation ByOliver Kemp okemp@thekmgroup.co.uk Published: 10:48, 18 March 2020 | Updated: 10:49, 18 March 2020 A furniture business in Kent is offering to purchase and deliver shopping for people in self isolation from coronavirus. Farley's, which has been in Thanet since 1928, wants to give something back to the community that has supported it throughout the years. The company are offering shopping help in the area Claire Bain, shop manager for the company, said: "We've been here for 92 years and obviously the local community is the reason, so why not do something to help them? "Our delivery drivers aren't as busy as they normally are, because we often do roadshows and things in old people's homes and we can't do those right now. "If anyone contacts us, if they need anything, we'll get it for them and deliver it." The business wants to support anyone in need living in Ramsgate, Margate, Broadstairs, Westgate, Birchington and Sandwich. The company will be using its two delivery drivers and two vans to purchase and deliver shopping to residents in need across the area. Shoppers across the county are reporting empty shelves in supermarkets. Pic: Vikki Lince. So far two elderly people have taken Farley's up on their offer, and are hoping many more will follow. The business said people who want to use the service can pay them for the shopping in cash on delivery or by bank transfer. Claire said many of their customers are in the 70+ age bracket, who have been advised to stay inside as they are more at risk if they contract Covid-19. She added: "We're just trying to make people feel better really." Despite goodwill spirits running high, the business, like many others, is still in the dark about what the near future holds. "We're just trying to make people feel better really..." Claire said: "We don't know whether we're still going to get goods for the next couple of weeks, we don't really know where we stand. "A lot of suppliers have sent emails saying that everything is running as normal, but that's going to change daily isn't it." Currently the company is also continuing to fit bathrooms, kitchens and carpets in people's homes, but they say that could change any time from now. Farley's joins many others across the county who are trying to alleviate the difficulties of self-isolation, like this group in Medway who are delivering essential items to those in need. For the latest coronavirus news and advice, click here. Read more: All the latest news from Thanet CoronavirusHuman InterestKentThanet Oliver Kemp
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Arkansas looks to stay hot vs. Central Arkansas Eric Musselman has a few more games to sort out his rotation before Southeastern Conference play begins. Arkansas’ head coach has doled out playing time in smaller doses during the team’s nonconference schedule. No one is averaging more than 27 minutes per game, but 10 players are averaging at least 14 minutes. Another player has received an average of 8.7 minutes a game. Musselman will likely employ the same approach against Central Arkansas on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark. The Razorbacks (5-0) recorded a 79-44 victory over Southern on Wednesday, leading by as much as 27 points during the first half. “Our young players in a game like this, they got an opportunity to go out there and continue to gain a little bit of experience,” Musselman said. “We know when the SEC comes … there’s some very close games. We need to find out what our rotation is.” That SEC opener doesn’t come until Dec. 30, when Arkansas faces Auburn. There are two more nonconference outings against Oral Roberts and Abilene Christian to get through prior to conference play. The Razorbacks have five players averaging double figures, led by Moses Moody (16.2). Freshman Davonte Davis is the team’s seventh-leading scorer (7.7) but had a team-high 14 points in 16 minutes off the bench against Southern. Connor Vanover only scored three points but showed why he’s the Razorbacks’ main man in the middle. He grabbed nine rebounds, blocked three shots and had three steals. “He deserved to play more than 20 minutes, regardless of the score,” Musselman said. “He was phenomenal. He didn’t force shots, he had three steals, had three blocks. I can’t say enough good things about Connor and his attitude. In a closer game, Connor would’ve played more, I can promise you that.” Central Arkansas (0-3) had its first four games canceled. The Bears will be playing their fourth of eight consecutive road games. In their last outing, the Bears fell to St. Louis 88-65 on Tuesday. They committed 27 turnovers, which led to 30 St. Louis points. “Saint Louis is an outstanding team,” head coach Anthony Boone said. “We may not face a team that’s better than them, maybe Baylor. But our guys competed. We beat them on the glass but then we turned the ball over a lot. That’s something we’ll have to address. … But this is something to build on. I think our guys really pulled together in the second half.” They have two guards averaging in double figures, Rylan Bergersen (17.3) and DeAndre Jones (13.7). Wednesday Sports in Brief by By The Associated Press / Jan 21, 2021 INDIANAPOLIS (AP)Longtime NFL quarterback Philip Rivers has decided to retire after playing one year in Indianapolis. by By BY STEPHEN WADE / Jan 21, 2021 TOKYO (AP)Former IOC vice president Dick Pound says the Tokyo Olympics could go ahead without fans. And he predicted the games will open on July 23 despite surging coronavirus cases in Japan and around the globe. ''The question is - is this a `must-have' or `nice-to-have.' It's nice to have spectators. But it's not a must-have,'' Pound said in an interview with Japan's Kyodo news agency published on Thursday. Tyler man charged with murder after allegedly shooting two people, killing 1 Prosecutors finished with DNA testing in Tyler capital murder case, plea deadline one month away AM Showers Precip: 48%
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Home→Blog→Liturgical Vestments and the Vesting Prayers ← iPadre #172 – Vatican International Exhibition iPadre #173 – Christmas Special → Liturgical Vestments and the Vesting Prayers IPadre Catholic Podcasting Posted on December 18, 2009 by admin December 18, 2009 1 Today, Zenit had a section on “Liturgical Vestments and the Vesting Prayers”. Following my trip to Mundeline this past June for training in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, I began saying the vesting prayers daily as I prepare for the celebration of the Holy Mass, whether in the Ordinary or the Extraordinary Form. I also began saying one of the prayers of preparation, followed by the statement of intention. The Article by Fr. Gagliardi is very enriching for priests, but also for the laity who wish to go deeper in the mysteries of our Faith. I made two cards that I framed for my sacristy. The first is of the vesting prayers in Latin and the second is prayer of St. Thomas to prepare for Mass and the statement of intention. Feel free to download them from the links and use them in your sacristy, or frame them as a gift to your priest. I find that they help me to have a better focus as I prepare to celebrate the Holy Mass. ROME, DEC. 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- In this article, Father Mauro Gagliardi, a consultor of the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, explains the prayers the celebrant says while vesting for the liturgy. These prayers — the reciting of which is an ancient custom — are brief, but very rich from a biblical, theological and spiritual point of view. “Such a liturgical practice must be retained rather than jettisoned,” he explains. “Its beauty and utility for the priest’s spiritual life needs to be rediscovered.” The vestments used by the sacred ministers in liturgical celebrations derive from ancient Greek and Roman secular clothing. In the first centuries the raiment of persons of a certain social level (the “honestiores,” persons of rank with property) was adopted for the Christian liturgy and this practice was maintained in the Church, even after the peace of Constantine. As we see in some Christian writers, the sacred ministers wore the best clothing, which was most probably reserved for liturgical use.[1] While in Christian antiquity the liturgical vestments were distinguished from secular clothing, not by their particular form but by the quality of the material and their special decorum, in the course of the barbarian invasions the customs and, with them, the vesture of new peoples were introduced into the West and brought about changes in profane clothing. But the Church kept, without essential alteration, the vestments used by the clergy in public worship; in this way the secular use of clothing was distinguished from the liturgical use. Finally, in the Carolingian epoch (which began in roughly the 8th century), the vestments proper to the various degrees of the sacrament of orders, with a few exceptions, took on their definitive form, which they retain to this day. Function and Significance Beyond the historical circumstances, the sacred vestments had an important function in the liturgical celebrations: In the first place, the fact that they are not worn in ordinary life, and thus possess a “liturgical” character, helps one to be detached from the everyday and its concerns in the celebration of divine worship. Furthermore, the ample form of the vestments, the alb, for example, the dalmatic and the chasuble, put the individuality of the one who wears them in second place in order to emphasize his liturgical role. One might say that the “camouflaging” of the minister’s body by the vestments depersonalizes him in a way; it is that healthy depersonalization that de-centers the celebrating minister and recognizes the true protagonist of the liturgical action: Christ. The form of the vestments, therefore, says that the liturgy is celebrated “in persona Christi” and not in the priest’s own name. He who performs a liturgical function does not do so as a private person, but as a minister of the Church and an instrument in the hands of Jesus Christ. The sacred character of the vestments also has to do with their being donned according to what is prescribed in the Roman Ritual. In the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite (the so-called Mass of Pius V), the putting on of the liturgical vestments is accompanied by prayers for each garment, prayers whose text one still finds in many sacristies. Even if these prayers are no longer obligatory (but neither are they prohibited) by the Missal of the ordinary form promulgated by Paul VI, their use is recommended since they help in the priest’s preparation and recollection before the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice. As a confirmation of the utility of these prayers it must be noted that they are included in the “Compendium Eucharisticum,” recently published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.[2] Moreover it is useful to recall that Pius XII, with the decree of Jan. 14, 1940, assigned an indulgence of 100 days for the individual prayers. The Vestments and the Prayers 1) At the beginning of his vesting he washes his hands, reciting an appropriate prayer; beyond the practical hygienic purpose, this act has a profound symbolism, inasmuch as it signifies passage from the profane to the sacred, from the world of sin to the pure sanctuary of the Most High. The washing of the hands is in some manner equivalent to removing the sandals before the burning bush (cf. Exodus 3:5). The prayer hints at this spiritual dimension: “Da, Domine, virtutem manibus meis ad abstergendam omnem maculam; ut sine pollutione mentis et corporis valeam tibi servire” (Give virtue to my hands, O Lord, that being cleansed from all stain I might serve you with purity of mind and body).[3] After the washing of the hands, the vesting proper begins. 2) The priest begins with the amice, a rectangular linen cloth, which has two strings and is placed over the shoulders and around the neck; the strings are then tied about the waist. The amice has the purpose of covering the everyday clothing, even if it is the priest’s clerical garb. In this sense, it is important to recall that the amice is worn even when the celebrant is wearing a modern alb, which often does not have a large opening at the neck but fits closely around the collar. Despite the close fitting neck of the modern alb, the everyday clothing still remains visible and it is necessary for the celebrant to cover his collar even in this case.[4] In the Roman Rite, the amice is donned before the alb. While putting it on the priest recites the following prayer: “Impone, Domine, capiti meo galeam salutis, ad expugnandos diabolicos incursus” (Place upon me, O Lord, the helmet of salvation, that I may overcome the assaults of the devil). With the reference to St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (6:17), the amice is understood as “the helmet of salvation,” that must protect him who wears it from the demon’s temptations, especially evil thoughts and desires, during the liturgical celebration. This symbolism is still more clear in the custom followed since the Middle Ages by the Benedictines, Franciscans and Dominicans, who first put the amice upon their heads and then let it fall upon the chasuble or dalmatic. 3) The alb is the long white garment worn by the sacred ministers, which recalls the new and immaculate clothing that every Christian has received through baptism. The alb is, therefore, a symbol of the sanctifying grace received in the first sacrament and is also considered to be a symbol of the purity of heart that is necessary to enter into the joy of the eternal vision of God in heaven (cf. Matthew 5:8). This is expressed in the prayer the priest says when he dons the alb. The prayer is a reference to Revelation 7:14: “Dealba me, Domine, et munda cor meum; ut, in sanguine Agni dealbatus, gaudiis perfruar sempiternis” (Make me white, O Lord, and cleanse my heart; that being made white in the Blood of the Lamb I may deserve an eternal reward). 4) Over the alb and around the waist is placed the girdle or cincture, a cord made of wool or other suitable material that is used as a belt. All those who wear albs must also wear the cincture (frequently today this traditional custom is not followed).[5] For deacons, priests and bishops, the cincture may be of different colors according to the liturgical season or the memorial of the day. In the symbolism of the liturgical vestments the cincture represents the virtue of self-mastery, which St. Paul also counts among the fruits of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22). The corresponding prayer, taking its cue from the first Letter of Peter (1:13), says: “Praecinge me, Domine, cingulo puritatis, et exstingue in lumbis meis humorem libidinis; ut maneat in me virtus continentiae et castitatis” (Gird me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity, and quench in my heart the fire of concupiscence, that the virtue of continence and chastity may abide in me). 5) The maniple is an article of liturgical dress used in the celebration of the extraordinary form of the Holy Mass of the Roman Rite. It fell into disuse in the years of the post-conciliar reform, even though it was never abrogated. The maniple is similar to the stole but is not as long: It is fixed in the middle with a clasp or strings similar to those of the chasuble. During the celebration of the Holy Mass in the extraordinary form, the celebrant, the deacon and the subdeacon wear the maniple on their left forearm. This article of liturgical garb perhaps derives from a handkerchief, or “mappula,” that the Romans wore knotted on their left arm. As the “mappula” was used to wipe away tears or sweat, medieval ecclesiastical writers regarded the maniple as a symbol of the toils of the priesthood. This understanding found its way into the prayer recited when the maniple is put on: “Merear, Domine, portare manipulum fletus et doloris; ut cum exsultatione recipiam mercedem laboris” (May I deserve, O Lord, to bear the maniple of weeping and sorrow in order that I may joyfully reap the reward of my labors). As we see, in the first part the prayer references the weeping and sorrow that accompany the priestly ministry, but in the second part the fruit of the work is noted. It would not be out of place to recall the passage of a Psalm that may have inspired the latter symbolism of the maniple. The Vulgate renders Psalm 125:5-6 thus: “Qui seminant in lacrimis in exultatione metent; euntes ibant et flebant portantes semina sua, venientes autem venient in exultatione portantes manipulos suos” (They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Going they went and wept, casting their seeds, but coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their maniples). 6) The stole is the distinctive element of the raiment of the ordained minister and it is always worn in the celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals. It is a strip of material that is embroidered, according to the norm, whose color varies with respect to the liturgical season or feast day. Putting on the alb, the priest recites this prayer: “Redde mihi, Domine, stolam immortalitatis, quam perdidi in praevaricatione primi parentis; et, quamvis indignus accedo ad tuum sacrum mysterium, merear tamen gaudium sempiternum” (Lord, restore the stole of immortality, which I lost through the collusion of our first parents, and, unworthy as I am to approach Thy sacred mysteries, may I yet gain eternal joy). Since the stole is an article of enormous importance, which, more than any other garment, indicates the state of ordained office, one cannot but lament the abuse, that is now quite widespread, in which the priest does not wear a stole when he wears a chasuble.[6] 7) Finally, the chasuble is put on, the vestment proper to him who celebrates the Holy Mass. In the past the liturgical books used the two Latin terms “casuala” and “planeta” synonymously. While the term “planeta” was especially used in Rome and has remains in use in Italy (“pianeta” in Italian), the term “casula” derives from the typical form of the vestment that at the beginning completely covered the sacred minister who wore it. The Latin “casula” is found in other languages in a modified form. Thus one finds “casulla” in Spanish, “chasuble” in French and English, and “Kasel” in German. The prayer for the donning of the chasuble references the exhortation in the Letter to the Colossians (3:14) — “Above all these things [put on] charity, which is the bond of perfection” — and the Lord’s words in Matthew, 11:30: “Domine, qui dixisti: Iugum meum suave est, et onus meum leve: fac, ut istud portare sic valeam, quod consequar tuam gratiam. Amen” (O Lord, who has said, “My yoke is sweet and My burden light,” grant that I may so carry it as to merit Thy grace). In conclusion, one hopes that the rediscovery of the symbolism of the liturgical vestments and the vesting prayers will encourage priests to take up again the practice of praying as they are dressing for the liturgy so as to prepare themselves for the celebration with the necessary recollection. While it is possible to use different prayers, or simply to lift one’s mind up to God, nevertheless the texts of the vesting prayers are brief, precise in their language, inspired by a biblical spirituality and have been prayed for centuries by countless sacred ministers. These prayers thus recommend themselves still today for the preparation for the liturgical celebration, even for the liturgy according to the ordinary form of the Roman Rite. [1] Cf. for example, St. Jerome, “Adversus Pelagianos,” I, 30. [2] (Libreria Editrice Vaticana: Città del Vaticano, 2009), pp. 385-386. [3] We are using the text of the prayers that is found in the 1962 “Missale Romanum” of Bl. John XXIII (Harrison, NY: Roman Catholics Books, 1996), p. lx. [4] The “Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani” (2008) at No. 336 permits the amice to be dispensed with when the alb is made in such a way that it completely covers the collar, hiding the street clothes. In fact, however, it rarely happens that the collar is not seen, even partially; hence, the recommendation to use the amice in any case. [5] No. 336 of the “Istitutio” of 2008 also allows the cincture to be dispensed with if the alb is made in such a way that it fits closely to the body without the cincture. Despite this concession, it is important to recognize: a) the traditional and symbolic value of the cincture; b) the fact that the alb — in the traditional style, and especially in the modern style — only fits snugly to the body with difficulty. Although the norm foresees the possibility, it should only be regarded as hypothetical when the facts are taken into account: indeed, the cincture is always necessary. Sometimes today one finds albs that have a cloth fastener that is sown about the waist of the garment that can be drawn together. In this case the prayer can be said when this is tied. Nevertheless, the traditional style remains absolutely preferable. [6] “[T]he Priest, in putting on the chasuble according to the rubrics, is not to omit the stole. All Ordinaries should be vigilant in order that all usage to the contrary be eradicated.” Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” March 25, 2004, No. 123. Posted in Blog Tagged Liturgy, Mass, Vesting Prayers, vestments permalink Liturgical Vestments and the Vesting Prayers — 1 Comment Philip Ryan on December 4, 2011 at 1:14 pm said: Dear Fr Finelli, having lost my father last October and my mother this March i have experience, as you might imagine, so extreme’s of feelings and emotions. One of the main comforts during this time has been to witness and experience the warmth and love of my father’s side of the family in the Republic of Ireland. Needless to say, they are Catholic, as was my father. Dad, god bless him, never brought me up as a Catholic and i now realise this was largely due to the fact my mother was not Catholic and this was possibly something they could not agree on. In hindsight, i can see this was something that must have been difficult for him but in his own unique way, he would do his best to give opportunities to know and understand as well as give examples of many of the qualities and values one would aspire to as a good Catholic. I have always loved and treasured the Bible he gave to me Christmas 1967 with the simple inscription inside; “To Philip, to help you understand the true meaning of Christmas” The experience of taking him “home” to Ireland from the UK was quite eye opening; the love and support of not just my family but the entire Catholic family, and the wonderful requiem Mass in the North Cathedral in Cork. Just prior to my fathers death, through the difficult time of the funeral i have found a interest in and need to understand and learn more and more about the Catholic faith, especially as i found out only recently that i was “informally” baptised in Ireland by my grandmother when i was 4 years old. It is, as part of this voyage of discovery, that i cam across your podcast. I have downloaded them all and i am enjoying the experience of not only learning more about the Catholic faith but also how you have developed your podcasts. I have only been listening to them for a couple of months, so from the the first one on 1st September 2005, i have only got to the end of April 2006. I must say they are informative, pleasantly informal and entertaining. I particularly enjoy the interviews and the last one with Fr William Casey (#17) was very interesting and a source of much information; as was podcast #4 on St Padre Pio. Next is something i really have been looking forward to learning more about, The Mass. Many many thanks for such a wonderful, interesting and peaceful podcast. I listen to one on my train journey to work and as well as leaving me more informed they also put me in a wonderful frame of mind for the rest of the day. I would like to put a pin in the map you mention but can not seem to find this,or the podcast vote link, on your website, have they been removed or am i just not looking closely enough. God bless you and thankyou again. Philip Ryan Hertfordhire
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Modernization Theory In Jordan Why we can’t apply Modernization Theory in Jordan? The major challenges that Jordan is facing are the limited recourses specially water and the unemployment’s, and both of them effect the economics of Jordan. The government try to solve some of these problems by privatization, but did that really solve the problem? Or did that solve the problem of unemployment? Modernization have some gaps that makes it inapplicable for Jordan here I will discuss the following to show why it’s a problematic for Jordan : a) The open market for investment and privatization did not improve the economic in Jordan, b) The external factors and the population growth as Jordan in the middle of a conflict zone. Here in this essay I will give a background…show more content… Jordan's lack of arable land and insufficient supplies of water means that agriculture is mostly a non-relevant sector and that the country invests heavily in water recycling. Jordan’s economy is highly influenced by the state. Jordan’s economy is among the smallest in the Middle East, with insufficient supplies of water, oil, and other natural resources, underlying the government's heavy reliance on foreign assistance. Other economic challenges for the government include chronic high rates of poverty, unemployment, inflation, and a large budget…show more content… What Modernization Theory basically says:” if you want to develop, be like us (the West).” Which mean that undeveloped county have to fallow the stages of development as the develop country. These stages are : 1)traditional societies with limited production functions ,2)preconditions for takeoff which is to start use modern science in production,3)Takeoff which mean increase investment rose from 5% of national income to 10%, 4) The drive toward maturity this will be About 60 years after take-off, a society attained maturity in this stage ,10–20% of the national income came to be reinvested in the economy, and growth outstripped any increase in population (that is, productivity per capita increased). And the final stage 5) High mass consumption, where the leading Industrial sectors became durable consumer goods and services, welfare in the Malthus's Theory On Population Theory Malthus said that the rate of population growth was much higher than the increase in food capacity needed for human nutrition, which inevitably creates a crisis. Malthus, who exemplifies the population growth in the United States, in particular, has suggested that if the population is released, the population will increase one time every twenty-five years. According to this, the balance between the population and the foodstuffs is deteriorating and the difference between population growth and sources must be Impact Of Technical Aid At the savings constraint stage, low wages make it difficult for people to meet their basic needs let alone to save. Foreign aid is therefore needed to boost savings and investment activities. The final stage is the trade constraint. Developing countries are fragile and have worsened terms of trade with high trade deficit. Foreign aid is needed at this stage to fill this Conclusion About Poverty Illiteracy rates are mostly high in rural areas because the government can’t afford to improve school facilities. Without education, people won’t be able to find jobs and will never escape from poverty. Another effect of lack of education is lack of family planning. Uneducated people will have so many children (that they can’t support), and this will result in overpopulation- which is one of the main causes of poverty. It’s a massive problem because these kind of families only earn a small amount of money. Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Welfare State The Weimar constitution highlights their need to support the citizens through welfare reforms. However the welfare state “failed in the end to live up to the grandiose promises” (Evans, 2004) because it was over-strained stated Richard Evans. The welfare reforms economically weakened the regime and caused a social divide in opinions. This investigation will explore the political, Laos Poverty Rate Upland ethnic people are marginalized and socially isolated because of their customs, beliefs, and their languages. The geographic location of their villages also makes them more isolated. Poor, rural communities in remote areas have limited access to facilities and services, such as electricity, roads, markets, schools, health services, and financial aid. During rainy seasons, they become unreachable, isolating them geographically and institutionally. One-third of the population live below the national poverty line, lacking the resources to lead healthy lives. Essay On Underdeveloped Economy But in underdeveloped economies, it is not possible to raise production due to scarcity, which just raises inflation instead of level of employment. Keynes also stated that the key determinant of investment is the marginal efficiency of capital (MEC). Investment and MEC has an inverse relationship where rise in investment would decrease MEC and vise-versa. (Catalan 2012) This relationship is not applicable to such underdeveloped countries due to low investment level and low MEC. Such irony is from lack of capital resources, small market size, high cost, uncertainty and inefficient money markets. Africa Integration By devaluating a currency, it would result in an anti-inflationary measure negatively affecting real interest rates, exchange rates and more importantly impacting the flow of foreign capital coming into the country which inevitably cripples the country’s economy (E-Tom 1994, 9). Due to these external discrepancies, it is highly unlikely for a country to be fully integrated into the global economic system. Although the devaluation of a country’s currency has proved to obstruct developing countries integration into the global economic system, another factor that should be addressed is the monetary policies established by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These policies have rather hindered development rather than encouraged or promoted development (E-Tom 1994, 9). These policies tend to “drastically reduce access to basic infrastructural essentials including education, training, health and food” (E-Tom 1994, 9). Importance Of Diversification As with diversification success, there are many reasons that could explain why diversification strategies are often unsuccessful. • Market volatility and entering into a new venture within such turbulence could be one potential reason why diversification strategies that are undertaken can refuse to yield success. • Another reason would be focusing on the potential upside and failing to understand difficult conditions. If "rewards for managers are usually greater when a firm is pursuing a growth strategy," focusing on these rewards as opposed to conditions that surround the diversification strategy might be where the failure lies. Additionally, some diversification strategies such as mergers might not succeed because of lack of institutional support. Linkage Effects On one hand, great importance was attached to physical infrastructure in the poverty reduction efforts of developing countries and on the other hand, many in the international development community viewed assistance for infrastructure with considerable skepticism on three grounds (DFID 2002). First, though it was important for economic growth, infrastructure investment had little relevance to poverty reduction. The second one is actual benefits from infrastructure were significantly less than anticipated. And the third one, weak governance and institutions gave way to corruption, distorted public investment choices, and neglected maintenance, thereby lowering infrastructure’s contribution to economic growth and diverting benefits intended for the poor. Presently, almost 70% of infrastructure investment in developing countries is financed by governments or public utilities from their own resources or from nonconcessional borrowings, 3% from aid, and the balance from the private sector (DFID 2002). Kashf Swot Analysis Weaknesses: Lending methodology is too much vulnerable because of no collateral provided by the customers. Too much difficult to recover the loan losses could be another weakness. Opportunities: Low GDP per capita, endless unbankable population, less opportunities for female entrepreneurs and long range of cottage industry are the main opportunities for expansion of Kashf Foundation’s business. Threats: Kashf Foundation may prone to threats like political instability, Islamic Radicalism and inconsistence Govt policies. 6. More about Modernization Theory In Jordan
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Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran The Omid Memorial Add to the Memorial Student exhibit Human Rights Defenders Timeline Juvenile Executions ┗ Impact of Executions Set them free About Abdorrahman Boroumand Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran One Person’s Story Mina Sheikhi Nationality: Iran Religion: Islam (Sunni) Civil Status: Married Date of Killing: November 16, 2019 Location: Tehran, Tehran Province, Iran Mode of Killing: Arbitrary execution Charges: Unknown charge Age at time of offense: 59 Memorial Home Human rights violations in this case The Legal Context Islamic Revolutionary Courts, 11 February 1979-1994 In the immediate aftermath of the 11 February 1979 Revolution, an ad hoc tribunal, initially referred to as the Extraordinary Revolutionary Tribunal, was set up to try the officials of the previous regime, for which no specific procedures were devised. In a decree dated 24 February 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini, the revolutionary religious leader, appointed a cleric as Shari’a Judge and instructed him “to issue Shari’a-based rulings,” thereby establishing the foundation of a system of special courts. Initially, the revolutionary courts’ jurisdiction was determined by the religious judge’s interpretation of the Shari’a (Islamic law based on the teachings of the Qur’an, the traditions of the Prophet, the 12 imams, and the teachings of Shi’a scholars. On 17 June 1979, the Revolutionary Courts and the Prosecutor’s Office Rules of Procedure, which was only selectively observed, established the latter’s jurisdiction and make-up. The Courts’ jurisdiction encompassed a wide array of offenses including moharebeh (“waging war with God”), efsad e fel arz (“spreading corruption on Earth”), crimes against national and international security, economic crimes, murder, profiteering, prostitution, rape, and narcotic drugs-related crimes. The law required that two of the three principal members of the Revolutionary Courts be Shari’a judges. Islamic Revolutionary Courts, 1994-2002 With the adoption of the Law for the Establishment of General and Revolutionary Courts of 14 June 1994, and the Code of Criminal Procedure for General and Revolutionary Courts of 19 September 1999, a uniform code of procedure was applied to both revolutionary and general courts. The jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Courts was limited to 6 categories of offenses: 1. Crimes against national and international security,“moharebeh” (enmity with god) and “efsad e fel arz” (corruption on earth;) 2. defaming Ayatollah Khomeini and the Supreme Leader; 3. plotting against the Islamic Republic of Iran, armed action, terrorism, and sabotage; 4. espionage; 5. smuggling and drug-related crimes; 6. claims under Principle 49 (economic crimes) of the Constitution. 6. Furthermore, pursuant to the Law on the Manner of Punishing Individuals Engaged in Unauthorized Audio and Visual Activities, Article 11, the revolutionary courts have jurisdiction over crimes that fall within the purview of said Law, including production and distribution of obscene materials and misuse and abuse thereof. These courts continued, however, to try cases falling outside their jurisdiction, such as theft and sexual offenses. Further, the vagueness of laws regarding national security allowed the revolutionary courts to try political and media crimes whenever they wished to do so. The new law eliminated the Prosecutor’s Office and gave the judges inthe Revolutionary Courts the power to perform the duties of the prosecutor, as well as their own, in any case brought before them. Islamic Revolutionary Courts, 2002-Present The Amended Law for the Establishment of General and Revolutionary Courts of 2002 reinstated the Prosecutor’s Office in both revolutionary and general courts. In cases involving political and media crimes, revolutionary courts’ jurisdiction overlaps with that of Province Criminal Courts. With the passage of the new Rules of Criminal Procedure in 2014, and its coming into force in June 2015, the jurisdiction of the revolutionary courts remains unchanged, with slight modifications in procedural aspects of adjudication. For instance, the new law provides that for crimes subject to the death penalty, life imprisonment, amputation, third degree, or higher, the revolutionary court shall convene with three judges, whereas, prior to the passage of this law, adjudication of all crimes within the jurisdiction of revolutionary courts took place with only a single judge. The Appellate System of Revolutionary Courts, 1979-Present From their inception until 1994, the rulings of the Revolutionary Courts were not subject to appeal. In the early 1980s a court entitled the Supreme Court of Qom was established in the city of Qom and which reviewed cases of execution and confiscation of properties, thereby forming a first tier form of appeal. The exact date of the creation of the court is not clear, but, based on available information, the court became operational in the early 1980s, even though Ayatollah Khomeini's official order for its creation is dated 1985. The court’s procedure was not systematic and did not meet the international standards for a court of appeals; there was no official record of its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of Qom was dissolved in 1989. The Law of 14 June 1994 subjected the Courts’ decisions to appeal. An appellate court was established at each provincial capital, called the Province Court of Appeals, composed of a three-judge panel, to review decisions made by the Revolutionary Courts. The Supreme Court was designated as the appellate authority for particular decisions, including those involving capital punishment. Narcotic drugs-related crimes constitute a significant exception to the appeals process. Governed by the Anti-Narcotic Drugs Law of 1988, as Amended on 8 November 1997 and 31 July 3 2010, these crimes are within the jurisdiction of, and are adjudicated on a regular basis by, Revolutionary Courts whose decisions are final. After being handed down by the judge, death sentences are sent to the Prosecutor General or the Head of the Supreme Court as a matter of administrative approval. With the passage of the new Rules of Criminal Procedure in 2014 (and its coming into force in June 2015), however, drug related crimes became subject to appeal as well. General Courts, 1979-1982 In cases not falling under the jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Courts, the system devised under the previous regime continued to function in parallel with new systems devised by laws passed by the Judicial Council, one of which, entitled The Legal Bill for the Establishment of General Courts of 11 September 1979, radically changed the entire structure and categorization of the courts. It divided the courts in three branches: Criminal, Civil, and Peace (a sort of arbitration court dealing with minor financial and other disputes). Specialized courts such as family courts were eliminated. The Law of the Amendments to the Rules of Criminal Procedure of 1982 established a new criminal courts system, Criminal Courts I and II. Criminal Court I, established only in provincial capitals, had jurisdiction over more serious offenses, including those punishable by death, and Criminal Court II heard less serious crimes. The Law for the Establishment of General and Revolutionary Courts of 14 June 1994 established umbrella courts called General Courts, which replaced and dissolved pre-existing civil and criminal courts. The law dissolved the Prosecutor’s offices and tasked a single person with the roles of judge, prosecutor, and investigator. In 2002, the 1994 Law was amended, reviving the role of the Prosecutor’s Office in General Courts. The prosecution offices were re-established in a gradual process over several years. The amended law also re-established specialized branches within general courts dealing separately with criminal and civil matters. In addition, this law allocated a number of branches of the Province Court of Appeals to have original jurisdiction over a number of cases including the most serious offenses, as well as political and media crimes. In these cases, the branches are called the Province Criminal Court. General Courts, 2015 to Today With the passage of the new Rules of Criminal Procedure in 2014 and its coming into force in June 2015, general courts underwent certain changes as well. Criminal courts were divided into Criminal Court One, Criminal Court Two, Military Court, Juvenile Court, and Revolutionary Court. Criminal Court One has jurisdiction over serious crimes such as those subject to the death penalty, life imprisonment, amputation, third degree, and higher, as well as political and media crimes. Criminal Court Two has jurisdiction over other crimes. Another change consists of the establishment of juvenile courts, which adjudicates crimes committed by individuals less than 18 years of age. In cases where the individuals less than 18 commit serious crimes such as those subject to the death penalty, however, Criminal Court One will have jurisdiction, observing rules of juvenile criminal procedure. The Appellate System of General Courts, 1979-Present The Legal Bill for the Establishment of General Courts of 11 September 1979, abolished appeal of most criminal courts’ decisions. The law of 1982 restricted the appeal possibility even further. According to the Islamic Republic authorities’ interpretation of Islamic Law, a qualified jurist’s decisions were not subject to appeal except under special circumstances, such as when the judge realized his own mistake, or another judge advised him so, or when he did not have jurisdiction over the case. Even in such situations, the case would not go to a higher court but would be subject to review by the same judge or another judge at his level. The judges were even urged to call their verdicts “opinions,” so that the possible change in the verdict would not be “haram” (“sinful,” the highest level of prohibition in Islam, disobedience of which would result in a sin). In October 1988, the Majles (Iranian parliament) passed a law regarding review of court judgments. This law provided for an appeal if the conviction was claimed to be based on invalid documentation or false testimony. The defendant could also base an appeal on a point of law or a procedural violation. The appellate system was expanded in other laws in the late 1980s and in 1993. The Law for the Establishment of Criminal Courts I and II of 11 July 1989 created the Branches of the Supreme Court. Crimes of less importance, tried in Criminal Court II, were subject to review by Criminal Court I. For the most important crimes involving death punishment, which were under the jurisdiction of Criminal Court I, the law allowed limited appeal to the Branches of the Supreme Court. Defendants had the right to petition the Supreme Court for appeal in certain cases involving false testimony or procedural violations, and if granted, the case would be remanded to either another criminal court or the original one. Finally, the Law for the Establishment of General and Revolutionary Courts of 1994, as amended in 2002, established an appellate court at each provincial capital, called Province Court of Appeals, composed of a three-judge panel, to review decisions made by both general and revolutionary courts. The Supreme Court was designated as the appellate authority for particular decisions, including those carrying the death penalty, as well as decisions made by the Province Criminal Court. The amended law of 2002, continued the appellate procedure to the Branches of the Supreme Court established by the afore-mentioned law of 11 July 1989 The Supreme Court continues to be the competent authority to rule on new trials, which have been provided for in limited circumstances. With the passage of the new Rules of Criminal Procedure in 2014 and its coming into force in June 2015, the Court of Appeals shall be the competent authority to hear appeals from Criminal Court Two decisions, and the Supreme Court shall hear appeals from Criminal Court One decisions. Special Courts for the Clergy These courts are rooted in a 1979 decree, issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, which established a committee of religious and noble figures in every region to purge the clergy of anti-revolutionary elements under the supervision of the Revolutionary Courts. Between late 1981 and 1984, a special court in the city of Qom handled, though not systematically, the trial of clerics. On 29 July 1987, Ayatollah Khomeini officially appointed a prosecutor and a member of the clergy as Shari’a judge for Special Courts for the Clergy. On 6 August 1990, a directive was issued regulating the conduct of these courts, the jurisdictional ambiguity of which is such that it effectively extends to “anyone where one of the parties is a cleric” and to “all matters in which the Court is designated as competent by the Supreme Leader.” The court, which was not mentioned in the Islamic Republic's constitution, was mandated to try “pseudo clerics, those related to/connected with the clergy, for public and/or anti-revolutionary crimes, and violations of the prestige of the clergy,” and where the principal suspect is a member of the clergy, “any co-conspirator or assistant, whether a cleric or not.” These courts are generally not open to the public and can issue sentences for all acts and omissions punishable under codified Iranian laws or Shari’a or for any other acts or omissions which can bring dishonor to the clergy or to the Islamic Revolution. Further, in certain particular cases – which have not been defined – where no punishment has been devised by either the Penal Code or even the Shari’a, the Court “can rule as it deems fit.” The Appellate System of the Special Court for the Clergy, 1979-Present There is no information on any appeal process for the Special Court for the Clergy prior to the 1990 directive. Article 49 of said directive set up, however, an appeals court called Special Appellate Court for the Clergy, the head of which is appointed by the Supreme Leader, to which the decisions of the lower court can be appealed. Military Courts The military court system, independent from the judiciary under the previous regime, became a part of it on 1 December 1981. The Judiciary Organization of the Armed Forces, established in 1986, replaced and merged other military courts and tribunals in existence at the time, namely the pre-revolution Judiciary Organization of the Army, the Revolutionary Tribunal of the Army (established on 8 December 1979), and the Revolutionary and General Court for the Revolutionary Guards (established on 15 July 1979.) The Judiciary Organization of the Armed Forces has its own Criminal Code and follows the country’s general rules of criminal procedure. The Law of the Criminal Procedure of the Armed Forces of 15 May 1985 created Military Courts I and II. Military Court I has jurisdiction over more serious offenses, including those punishable by death, and Military Court II hears less serious crimes. The Appellate System of Military Courts, 1979-Present The law of 8 December 1979, establishing the Revolutionary Military Court, did not provide for any appeals. The Law of 15 May 1985 created a system of appeals through the creation of a two-tier system of courts. The decisions of Military Court II were subject to review by Military Court I. This law also provided that multiple Branches of the Supreme Court be designated as the appellate court to review decisions of Military Court I. 1979-1997: Prosecutors and judges are not necessarily law graduates and jurists. Shortly after the Islamic Revolution, a five-member Committee was established to purge the judicial system of undesirable elements, pursuant to the Legal Bill for the Modification of the Judiciary and the Law for Hiring Judges of 8 March 1979. The power of the committee was absolute and its decisions, resulting in a widespread purge of the judiciary, final. The Law for the Conditions of Selection of Judges of 4 May 1981 established the conditions of eligibility for judges. The latter were to be hired among men who were legitimate children and had practical commitment to Islam and allegiance to the Islamic Republic. The law, which led to the hiring of clerics and Islamic legal scholars, also allowed hiring practically anyone as a judge who could “obtain the Judicial High Council’s permission.” Moreover, Note 2 of the Amendments of 4 October 1982 to this law allowed widespread employment of seminary students “who ha[d] general knowledge equivalent to a high school diploma” as judges at prosecutor’s offices in general as well as Revolutionary Courts. By 1989, the judiciary counted about 2,000 new judges trained in theological seminaries (graduates and students) and political appointees, many having replaced judges trained in law schools. 1997-Present: As of this writing (2013) the Law for Hiring Judges and its amendments of 4 October 1982, 7 February 1987, and 9 May 1988 are in full force and form the basis for hiring judges. The Executive Rules of Procedure of 22 December 1997 subjected such hiring to passing an entrance examination and successful completion of an apprenticeship program, the duration of which ranges between one and two years. The law does not limit hiring to men only but does not specify in what capacity women will be functioning, other than an advisory one. Currently, judges are selected in accordance with the Guidelines on the Recruitment, Selection, and Internship for Judicial Candidates and the Hiring of Judges. Dismissal of Judges: From 1979 to 1989, the judiciary was run by the Supreme Judicial Council which was composed of the head of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General (both of whom were appointed by the Supreme Leader), and three judges elected by the entire body of judges in the country. The Council had the power to hire and dismiss judges in accordance with the law. The constitutional reforms of 1989 substituted the Supreme Judicial Council with one person, the Head of the Judiciary. The Supreme Leader, whose mandate is not subject to popular vote, appoints the Head of the Judiciary for a 5-year term. The latter has significant power to influence the dismissal of judges. Dismissal cases are referred to three types of disciplinary courts, presided over by judges appointed by the Head of the Judiciary, who has veto power over any decisions made by the relevant courts. Two of these courts, established in 1991 and 2011, are charged with examining the judges’ conduct from a religious and ideological standpoint. The process does not necessarily involve the defendant and the final decision, left to the Head of the Judiciary, is not subject to appeal. Based on the available information, the following human rights may have been violated in this case: The right to liberty and security of the person. The right not to be subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 9.1. The right not to be punished for any crime on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence, under national or international law, at the time it was committed. UDHR, Article 11.2; ICCPR, Article 15, Article 6.2. The right not to be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honor and reputation. UDHR, Article 12, ICCPR, Article 17.1. The right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, including the right to change and manifest one’s religion or belief. UDHR, Article 18; ICCPR, Article 18.1, ICCPR, Article 18.2; Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Article 1 and Article 6. In its general comment 22 (48) of 20 July 1993, the United Nation’s Human Rights Committee observed that the freedom to "have or to adopt" a religion or belief necessarily entailed the freedom to choose a religion or belief, including the right to replace one’s current religion or belief with another or to adopt atheistic views, as well as the right to retain one’s religion or belief. Article 18, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights bars coercion that would impair the right to have or adopt a religion or belief, including the use of threat of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to adhere to religious beliefs and congregations, to recant their religion or belief or to convert. The right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. UDHR, Article 19; ICCPR, Article 19.1 and ICCPR, Article 19.2. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly. UDHR, Article 20; ICCPR, Article 21. The right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of one’s interests. UDHR, Article 20; ICCPR, Article 22.1. The right, as a member of a religious or ethnic minority, to enjoy one’s own culture or to profess and practice one’s own religion. The right to equality before the law and the right to equal protection of the law. UDHR, Article 7; ICCPR, Article 26. The right to due process The right to be presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent and impartial tribunal in accordance with law. ICCPR, Article 14.1 and Article 14.2. Pre-trial detention rights The right to know promptly and in detail the nature and cause of the charges against one. UDHR, Article 9(2); ICCPR, Article 9.2 and Article 14.3.a The right to counsel of one’s own choosing or the right to legal aid. The right to communicate with one’s attorney in confidence ICCPR, Article 14.3.b and Article 14.3.d; Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Article 1, Article 2, Article 5, Article 6, and Article 8. The right to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defense case. ICCPR, Article 14.3.b. The right not to be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess to guilt. ICCPR, Article 14.3.g. The right not to be subjected to torture and to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. ICCPR, Article 7; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Article 1 and Article 2. Trial rights The right to a fair and public trial without undue delay. ICCPR, Article 14.1, Article 14.3.c. The right to examine, or have examined, the witnesses against one, and the right to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on one’s behalf under the same conditions as prosecution witnesses. ICCPR, Article 14.3.d and Article 14.3.e. The right to have the decision rendered in public. ICCPR, Article 14.1. Judgment rights The right to appeal to a court of higher jurisdiction. The right to seek pardon or commutation of sentence. ICCPR, Article 6.4. The right not to be tried or punished again for an offence for which one has already been convicted or acquitted. The inherent right to life, of which no one shall be arbitrarily deprived. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 6.1; Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, Article 1.1, Article 1.2. The right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. About this Case Correct/ Complete This Entry Mrs. Sheikhi was outraged by security forces' shooting at protestors: "Shame on you why are you killing people's children? Information regarding the death of Ms. Mina (Dadeh Mina) Sheikhi, child of Nosrat and Mohammad Gharib, was obtained through interviews conducted by the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center (ABC) with persons who knew her. (December 7, 2019, and July 15, 2020). Additional information about this murder was collected from the websites of Ensaf News (June 20, 2020); Khabar Online (June 8, 2020); HRANA News Agency, the news arm of Human Rights Activists in Iran (December 3, 2019); IRNA, Islamic Republic News Agency (December 31, 2019); Kurdistan Human Rights Network (December 5, and 27, 2019); Radio Zamaneh (December 9, 2019); and Ms. Sheikhi’s death certificate issued by the town of Saqqez Personal Particulars Registry Organization (November 21, 2019). Ms. Sheikhi was the second child of a well-known political family in the town of Saqqez. According to persons close to her, “Mina was a joyful, exuberant, and sprightly woman and was the most courageous, fearless, and playful among people in her age group, and she had one particular feature that she lived with until the very end. She always had a smile on her face, and was kind and empathetic.” (ABC interview). She had an elementary school education. After her mother’s death, the responsibility of taking care of her brothers and sisters fell on Mina’s shoulders. She got married in 1978-79. She had 4 sons and 2 daughters. After her husband died in an automobile accident in 1988-89, she raised them all by herself. She did not remarry after her husband’s death. Ms. Sheikhi’s two brothers, Mohammad Amin Sheikhi and Mohammad Sheikhi were supporters of Iranian Kurdistan Society of Toilers – Komala. Mohammad Amin was killed in an [automobile] accident in 1985-86, and her other brother, Mohammad, was arrested in 1990-91 and executed two months later at Saqqez Central Prison by a firing squad. Her cousin Fereydun Sheikhi was also killed in 2002-03 in an auto accident under suspicious circumstances while serving his mandatory military service in the city of Hamedan’s Army Base. Her father and uncles on her father’s side each spent time in the Islamic Republic prisons for their political activities. Ms. Sheikhi had no illnesses and was of completely sound mind and healthy intellect. She loved recreational activities, travelling, mountains, plains, and nature. She lived in Tehran because of her children’s work conditions. Right before midnight on November 14, 2019, the Iranian government announced a sharp increase in the price of gasoline (a 50% increase for rationed gasoline, and a 200% increase for regular gasoline). Following the government’s announcement, nationwide protests began on November 15. According to available reports and videos, the protesters gathered peacefully in public places on November 15 and 16, and caused very heavy traffic by blocking a number of streets. The protesters also chanted anti-governments slogans. Protesters across the country were asking their compatriots to turn their cars off and chant anti-regime slogans (1). According to reports, by the end of the day on November 16, banks had been set on fire in certain regions. Gunshots can be heard in some videos. That same night, the government blocked internet access in the entire country for at least ten days. Lack of access to information severely diminished the protesters ability to organize protests and report on the regime’s brutal and ruthless clampdown of the demonstrators (2). The reaction of the Iranian authorities was swift, disproportionate, extreme, and deadly. From the very early days of the protests, that is, by November 16, the leaders of the Islamic Republic started to put the blame on the people in their public statements, and demonstrated that they would not tolerate any dissent or expression of discontent. The protesters were accused of being “hoodlums” and “in contact with forces outside the country”, and were warned that they would suffer grave punishment if they damaged public property. News of the first casualty was reported on November 15. On the second day of the protests, the number of the dead increased as police and security forces continued to open fire on the populace in several cities. In video footage received from Iran, police and security forces can be seen firing their weapons into the demonstrators in circumstances where it does not appear that their lives are in danger. Plainclothes forces can also be seen beating people with clubs and arresting them. In certain cases, demonstrators blocked roads or gathered in front of police precincts or other government buildings, or pushed police and security forces back by throwing rocks. In several provinces, banks and other public buildings were set ablaze, seemingly by angry protesters, and the police can be seen damaging public property in some videos. The protests, which had spread to dozens of towns (120), roads, and locations outside urban areas, were quashed within a few days. The then-Minister of the Interior implicitly declared the number of dead to have been between 200 and 250 people. According to him, “about 40 or 45 individuals, that is, approximately 20 percent of those killed, were killed with weapons that were not government issue.” (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting’s Television Network One, May 31, 2020). The exact number of casualties is not clear at the time of this writing. In most cases, government agents took the dead and wounded protesters away. In an effort to hide the truth, these officials obtained written pledges from the victims’ families that the would remain silent in return for the bodies of their loved ones, and even forced some of them to bury their dead at night under the veil of darkness, and under the control and watchful eye of security agents. Others were asked for various sums of money. In its latest report published on May 20, 2020, Amnesty International announced the number of dead to have been at least 304 (3). A large number of the demonstrators had been shot in the head and chest. Hundreds of others were wounded, and the fate of many is unknown. The Iranian government confirmed the death of 6 members of the police and security forces. On May 31, 2020, the Interior Minister declared the number of people killed in the November protests to have been between 200 and 225, 20 percent of whom were shot by non-governmental bullets (4). On June 1, 2020, the Head of Majless’ (“Parliament”) National Security Commission declared the number of people killed in the protests against the increase in the price of gas to have been 230, including members of the police and security forces (5). According to a Majless Representative, at least 7000 people were arrested during and after the protests. Lack of transparency regarding the arrests, official reports of the “confessions” of those arrested following the protests where they acknowledged their responsibility and guilt, in addition to reports of the overcrowding of prisons and detention centers way beyond their capacity, caused very serious concerns about the safety and the security of the detainees. Mr. Sheikhi’s Death According to available information, at 9 PM on the night of November 16, 2020, Ms. Sheikhi was shot three times by plainclothes agents in the heart and the left side of her chest, at the Khalij-e Fars (“Persian Gulf”) neighborhood located in the southwest of Tehran. She was severely wounded, and ultimately died at Tehran’s Fayazbakhsh Hospital due to the severity of her injuries. On that day, Ms. Sheikhi was busy cooking food while the streets surrounding the apartment building where she resided were crowded because of the protests. She had gone to the rooftop several times because of all the noise and come back to her home. Approximately 20 residents of the apartment building had gathered on the rooftop. They were trying to inform the protestors of the presence of the Special Unit forces. The account is that Ms. Sheikhi was standing in the back rows of the residents on the roof top. According to the interviewee; however, “ the residents had gone to the rooftop because of all the noise and commotion caused by the crowds, the destruction of banks and of the fences in the streets, and the attack by government forces on the crowd of people. They saw that security agents and the police force had attacked and were beating the people with the utmost savagery and cruelty. Ms. Sheikhi yelled at the forces from the rooftop and said: ‘Shame on you. Why are you beating [these people], this is somebody’s child you’re beating up. Why don’t you get lost and be gone, you cowards! Look what conditions you’ve created for the people. The Islamic Republic has gone wild like a rabid dog. What have the people done [to deserve this], you dishonorable cowards?’”. In those very moments, Ms. Sheikhi who had her hand on her heart, called out for her children in a loud voice. It was initially thought that she had had a heart attack because of the shootings and the chaos on the streets below. Her children quickly took her to the hospital, but even they had not realized that she had been shot. Their car was stopped several times by the police. Her children explained that their mother had had a heart attack and were thus able to get through the stops and get her to the hospital. According to people who were present at the site of the event, Ms. Sheikhi’s must have been shot from another rooftop by sharpshooters, and [these witnesses] believed that she was singled out because she was wearing traditional Kurdish clothes and was shot on purpose for that reason. On January 15, Ms. Sheikhi’s body was taken to Fayazbakhsh Hospital’s morgue. According to hospital personnel, that same night, the Revolutionary Guards’ security and protective forces took the bodies of the dead out of the hospital at 2 o’clock in the morning and turned them over to the Medical Examiner’s Office. Officials’ Reaction According to available information, the officials refused to turn Ms. Sheikhi’s body over to her family at first. In the death certificate issued by the Saqqez Personal Particulars Registry Organization, Ms. Sheikhi’s cause of death has been stated as “blunt force trauma or force from sharp objects”, the place of death is stated as Tehran, and the date of death as November 17, 2019. (Death Certificate, November 21, 2019). Three days later, on January 18, 2020, and in the presence of the Prosecutor at the Medical Examiner’s Office, the family was given the authorization to take Ms. Sheikhi’s body to Saqqez, but only after several written pledges were given by Ms. Sheikhi’s family to the effect that they would not hold services, and that the burial, and services for the Third, Seventh, and Fortieth day of passing [in accordance with tradition] would be held with the authorization of security forces, (ABC interview). The authorities sent Ms. Sheikhi’s body to the town of Saqqez in an ambulance and the driver was told to deliver the body to Information forces in Saqqez. Ms. Sheikhi’s family accompanied the ambulance in their respective cars and arrived at Saqqez. Saqqez Information agents contacted them several times, asking how many people were accompanying the body. Around 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning of Saturday, January 18, 2020, Ms. Sheikhi was buried in the dark of night at Aychi Cemetery due to prohibitions by the agents, even though they had announced in their obituary that services would be held for her the next day and that she would be interred in Golestan Cemetery next to her brother. In order to put pressure on her family, one day prior to her burial, law enforcement personnel took Ms. Sheikhi’s niece and nephew into custody as they were putting up announcements detailing the time and date of her burial and funeral services, beating them, and effectively taking them hostage. At Police Precinct 11, the officers continued to beat them, and forced them to make incriminating statements against themselves to the effect that the announcements were not notices of burial and funeral services but a call to action for an [illegal] gathering. They were then released upon signing a written pledge [to refrain from certain actions]. Familys’ Reaction Ms. Sheikhi’s family believes that her death was not an accident but was intentional murder “because it was done through directly shooting at her and with the intention to kill. There were 23 other individuals at the hospital who had been killed that same night, and, according to the hospital personnel, they had all been shot in the heart or the head. There were no wounded people, [only people who had been shot dead].” (ABC interview). It must be noted that Ms. Shekhi’s funeral announcement said that “she had lost her life in a sudden accident”. According to a person close to Ms. Sheikhi, “since Ms. Sheikhi died on the rooftop and not among the protestors [in the street], there has been an effort by her family to avoid the case being considered as that of a protestor. The goal of this effort is to avoid future problems for her children. The family is trying to prove that she was innocent and that she had not participated in the recent protests, because as we can see, the authorities justify killing protestors and other individuals by labelling them as ‘rioters’ who had participated in [illegal] demonstrations”. (ABC interview). The family is demanding a hearing of the complaint they have lodged in connection with Ms. Sheikhi’s killing. Impacts on Family According to available information, Ms. Sheikhi’s brothers and sisters have fallen apart emotionally after her death because she was like a mother to the entire family. According to a person close to her, “her humble home was a refuge for everyone. Dadeh Mina was always ready to lend an ear to everybody’s problems. Because the family’s father was old, Dadeh Mina was also a father figure”. (ABC interview). Ms. Sheikhi’s father passed away a short while after her death. “Dadeh Mina’s death undoubtedly had an effect in shortening the life her father. Dadeh Mina had no psychological or physical issues before she was killed.” (ABC interview). (1) The slogans included: “People, why are you sitting still, you are your own saviors,” “What a mistake we made, when we had a revolution,” “Reza Shah, may your soul be content,” “Death to the Dictator,” “We will have our rights [and justice], we will not be debased and belittled,” “oil money has disappeared, it was spent on Palestine,” “Khamenei beware: we are people, not hoodlums.” (2) Access to internet was re-established to a certain extent in most provinces (with the exception of Khuzestan Province and Sistan and Baluchestan Province); however, citizens did not have access to the worldwide web through their cell phones until early December. During that time, communications were established through phone services and the national internet, which was more easily controlled by the regime. (3) Amnesty International Report, “Iran: Details of 304 Deaths in Crackdown on November 2019 Protests”, May 20, 2020. https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1323082020ENGLISH.PDF (4) IRNA, “The Interior Minister: The Number of Deaths in November 2019 Will be Announced in the Coming Days”, May 31, 2020. www.irna.ir/news/83805499 (5) ISNA, “The Number of Deaths in the November Events in Iran was 230, and 2000 Wounded”, June 1, 2020. https://www.isna.ir/news/99031207389 Correct/ Complete This Entry ❯ Copyright © 2021, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center
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Washington DC park named after Irish patriot and rebel Reservation 302 named after the 19th century hero Robert Emmet @jameswilson1919 Reservation 302 named after the 19th century hero Robert Emmet. William Read A park in Washington DC is to be named after the 19th century Irish patriot and rebel hero Robert Emmet. Reservation 302, as it’s currently known, is a small triangular park on Massachusetts Avenue and has been home to an imposing statue of the executed Dubliner for the past 50 years. The statue was originally lent to the park by the Smithsonian Institute in 1966 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising – whose leaders drew inspiration from Emmet’s failed efforts to end British rule in Ireland in 1803 – and has remained there ever since. The statue was rededicated in April as part of the local Irish community’s effort to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Rising. It was at that time that formal efforts to get the park named after Emmett began. One man involved in the push was Peter Kissel, who told IrishCentral, “It’s been a long-standing effort and it’s been from a coalition of people; the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Irish American Unity Caucus. The effort has been spearheaded by Jack O’Brien who has been a member of both organizations.” “Robert Emmet is the ultimate Irish patriot and martyr who has inspired literally generations of people advocating Irish freedom – particularly the 1916 rebels – and he made a very famous, iconic speech from the dock before he was executed by the English.” The National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission approved the park's new name last month, without any objections, and it is now under consideration by Congress. Kissel is optimistic about the bill’s passage, saying, “The House [of Representatives] has already approved it and we expect the Senate to pass it this week or next.” And as to whether the park can look forward to a formal naming ceremony, they haven’t quite got that far yet, “To tell you the truth we’ve been working so hard to get Congress to approve the legislation that we have not yet focused on when we’ll have an actual naming ceremony but probably in the spring.” Robert Emmet was born in 1778 into a Protestant family in Dublin that supported the American Revolution. When he was 25 he was intimately involved in a failed rebellion against British rule in 1803. The rebellion failed and he was captured and tried for treason; his speech from the dock remains one of the greatest Irish speeches of all time, but it did not save his life and he was hanged the next day. He remains to this a source of inspiration to Irish nationalists across the world. US House of Representatives passes law naming Washington park in honour of Robert Emmet @repjoecrowley https://t.co/cbO8OEjOxE pic.twitter.com/O8baU5cDRr — Simon Carswell (@SiCarswell) September 23, 2016
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Middletown native’s game-winning field goal lifts unbeaten Cincinnati to AAC Championship Sports | Dec 20, 2020 CINCINNATI — Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell believes his team deserves a spot in the College Football Playoff. On Saturday night, his focus was on winning an American Conference championship. “I don’t want to be distracted from what we did tonight,” Fickell said. “When we came in here four years ago, we said we want to play for championships. I believe this team deserves a shot.” Middletown High School grad Cole Smith made a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 6 Cincinnati a 27-24 victory over No. 20 Tulsa in the rainy AAC Championship game. “Right now, I’m going to ride the high,” said Smith, a junior. “I was just thinking to put it right down the pipes. Good snap, good hold, good line to block for me.” Alec Pierce had a career-high 146 yards receiving on five catches, Desmond Ridder passed for 269 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score, and Jerome Ford added a 42-yard scoring run for the Bearcats (9-0, No. 9 CFP). “It’s been a long time coming,” Ridder said of winning the program’s first AAC title. “For this team to fight through adversity in 2020 as crazy as it is. It’s something you never forget.” Tulsa tied it with 3:41 remaining on Zach Smith’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Juan Carlos Santana. But Golden Hurricane defensive tackle Jaxon Player jumped offside on a hard count on fourth-and-2, giving the Bearcats a first down at the 19 to set up Smith’s kick. “That young man has made so many plays for us,” Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery said. “That’s just one of those plays that happens.” The Golden Hurricane relied mostly on their running game with Smith struggling to throw in the wet conditions. He was 13 for 30 with two interceptions. Corey Taylor rushed for 106 yards and a TD. After Jarrell White’s interception ended a promising drive for Tulsa, the Bearcats went ahead 7-0 on Ford’s 42-yard touchdown run. Pierce had a pair of acrobatic catches in the first quarter. He had a one-armed catch to help set up the first touchdown. His 45-yard grab led to a field goal. “He’s been a big part of this team,” Ridder said. “We were able to get behind the deep safety. We can always count on big-time players to make big-time plays. That’s what he did.” Player’s recovery of Ridder’s fumble at the Bearcats 28 set up Taylor’s 10-yard TD run that tied it at 10. Tulsa struggled to cover Pierce. He had 126 receiving yards in the first half, including a 36-yard TD catch to help Cincinnati take a 17-10 lead into halftime. Deneric Prince’s 8-yard TD run capped a 55-yard drive on Tulsa’s opening possession of the third quarter, tying it at 17. Ridder scored on a 10-yard run to put the Bearcats back ahead. In last year’s AAC championship game, Cincinnati led Memphis by one point with four minutes remaining, but lost 29-24. The Golden Hurricane have had 16 come-from-behind wins since Montgomery took over as head coach in 2015. They nearly pulled off another. “I couldn’t be more proud of our guys,” Montgomery said. “Left it all out there on the field, made plays. We’re going to fight for 60 minutes, every second of it. We did that again tonight.” The Bearcats were able to overcome the loss of one of their top defensive playmakers when senior safety James Wiggins left in the first quarter with a right leg injury and did not return. Now, Cincinnati waits to see where it finishes in the College Football Playoff rankings. Fickell said the Bearcats’ body of work speaks for itself. “They’ve met every challenge that’s been thrown in front of them,” he said. “I know how much it would mean to them. You want to fight for everything you can give them. They deserve it.” LONG LAYOFF Cincinnati hadn’t played since Nov. 21 due to COVID-19 issues, and the rust showed with 12 penalties and two lost fumbles. The Bearcats had nine pre-snap penalties. “There was a 14-day pause in there where we had little contact with our guys,” Fickell said. “We had to fight through a lot of things. That’s just a part of not playing for a while. We’ve got some things to work on.” Cincinnati: The Bearcats have seen their hopes of becoming the first non-Power 5 team to reach the College Football Playoff fade in recent weeks. But they are in line for a New Year’s Six Bowl.
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Adoption of precision farming within three Midwest watersheds T. L. Napier, J. Robinson and M. Tucker Journal of Soil and Water Conservation April 2000, 55 (2) 135-141; T. L. Napier M. Tucker Data were collected from 1,011 land owner-operators within three Midwest watersheds to assess the merits of a theoretical perspective developed to predict adoption of precision farming technologies at the farm-level. Data were collected from primary farm operators within watersheds in Ohio, Iowa, and Minnesota using a drop-off-pick-up-later technique. Respondents were asked to indicate the probability that they would adopt precision farming techniques within the next five years. Respondents were divided into two study groups for statistical purposes. Farmers who indicated they would probably adopt precision farming techniques were combined into one group and those who indicated they would probably not adopt were combined into a second group. Discriminant analysis was used to test the merits of the theoretical model used to guide the study. Study findings revealed that the theoretical model was useful for predicting reported intentions concerning adoption of precision farming technologies within all of the watersheds examined. Ted L. Napier, Jill Robinson, and Mark Tucker are in the Department of Human and Community Resource Development, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Second Quarter 2000 You are going to email the following Adoption of precision farming within three Midwest watersheds T. L. Napier, J. Robinson, M. Tucker Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Apr 2000, 55 (2) 135-141; Effects of outreach on the awareness and adoption of conservation practices by farmers in two agricultural watersheds of the Mackinaw River, Illinois
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We are committed to protecting your privacy and maintaining the security of any personal information you provide us with. This statement outlines how we ensure this and how we comply with legislation on data protection. This Privacy Policy will explain any areas of our website which may affect your privacy and personal details, how they are processed, collected, managed, and stored, and how your rights under the new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) are protected. 1: INFORMATION WE COLLECT We may collect personal information from you in order to fulfil your service requests. This includes email addresses, personal name, postal address, and contact numbers. Any personal information used is for the operation and fulfilment of a service requested by you. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 and the General Data Protection Regulations 2018, you have the right to review any personal information provided to us at any time. 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