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And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” - Genesis 3:22
“The Land of Eternal Night” -
Experience the downfall of humankind and the rise of the lords of the night.
In Nox Aeterna, vampire society has flourished and through impressive spellcraft they’ve even bent the sky to their rule guaranteeing that none need fear the rays of the sun ever again.
Atop the mountains sits one such stronghold, sprawling amongst the crags and peaks. Beneath it a village on the edge of a lake, steeped in tradition and protected as much by the denizens above as the forest surrounding it.
Nox Aeterna -
Sponsored by Quills & Curiosities
Region by Dacien & Marcel Blackwood
A Shopping Region
The rainbow flag has become the worldwide banner of the LGBT community because the major colors of the visible spectrum represent diversity among the entire human population. Humankind is one species, but we come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors. We have two basic genetic and anatomical sexes with a small minority that are in between or have some characteristics of both.
Then it gets more complicated. For reproductive purposes, most people are attracted to the opposite sex; however, a fairly big minority is attracted to the same sex, both sexes, or neither, and those attractions may change over the course of a person's life. Gender identity and expression for most people is related to their biological sex but not rigidly tied to it. How a person feels, acts, and presents themselves is part internal and part cultural, so it is subject to change, especially across space and time. Human society is not uniform throughout our planet, and it changes over the years, so is it any surprise that gender appearance, identity, social roles, and behavior can change and vary from person to person?
Unfortunately, some social groups, political organizations, ethnic groups, religious cults, families, and bigoted individuals try to force everybody to conform to rigid sexual conduct, gender roles, and outward appearance. Those who do not conform are branded as evil, perverted, or crazy and either forced to conform, expelled, beaten up, imprisoned, or killed.
In the United States, LGBT folks are fighting for our CIVIL RIGHTS. We are gaining some ground, but so-called "social conservatives" in some state and local governments are trying to erect new legal obstacles in our path. Some of them publicly call for our extermination. Hate crimes against us continue, and a few days ago in Orlando, a major terrorist attack by a lone gunman murdered at least 49 people at a gay nightclub.
2016 is an election year and one of the most vicious ever. In general, the same people who preach hatred against LGBT people are the same crowd who promotes hatred against people of color, opposes reproductive freedom for women, denies Climate Change and opposes meaningful measures to mitigate it, opposes environmental protection, opposes financial regulation, opposes Internet Neutrality, opposes an increase in the minimum wage, opposes election reform, but they approve of CORPORATE GREED, unlimited exploitation of our natural resources, unending overseas conflict, the militarization of our police forces, the expansion of private prisons, and a continued expansion of domestic surveillance without any accountability.
This particular graphic was copied from one of the many LGBT political action groups I subscribe to, and since it is a commonly used banner, this constitutes Fair Use.
Come visit the Cradle of Humankind! Starting in a camp reflecting the 1920s you soon cross a wide river with the wildlife veterinary station and a savanna lying behind. Or you visit a small native village near the dark jungle. Safari feeling guaranteed!
Theme song youtu.be/GibiNy4d4gc
Fun Theme Song
On Thursday 12 July 2018, US president Donald Trump, the most dangerous man in the world, was welcomed to the United Kingdom by the British prime minister Theresa May. The following day the streets of London witnessed the biggest protest for over a decade as thousands marched on Trafalgar Square to express their anger at the British government extending a red carpet welcome for Trump.
Protesters pointed out the extreme threat to democracy, to those dependent on welfare, to womens' rights, to civil rights generally and even to the survival of humankind which Trump presents. Such assertions might seem extreme, but they are unfortunately fully justifiable.
As the president of what is by far the richest and most powerful country on earth, Trump has dedicated his term to accelerating the US addiction to fossil fuels and agribusiness, dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency and withdrawing America from the Paris Climate Accords, thereby accelerating global warming and climate change and presenting a huge threat to the continued existence of humankind.
Trump's presidency also marks another dangerous step in the erosion of democracy in the United States. Far from "draining the swamp" as he promised, Trump has surrounded himself with powerful figures from big business, especially major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, as well as his friends and allies in the fossil fuel and defence industires.
Government policy, more and more, reflects the direct interests of concentrated private power with the public having less and less influence. At the same time the Trump presidency has allied itself with some of the most ruthless regimes in the world and is profiting from Saudi Arabia's illegal war of aggression in Yemen which has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. A serious war crime in which Donald Trump and Theresa May are both complicit.
Trump has also been keen to patronise the extreme nationalist constituency in the United States and through preaching a propaganda of fear his presidency has managed to oversee some of the most racist immigration policies ever to be implemented in the United States, targeted almost exclusively at Muslim countries - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Ironically, all of them have been massively destabilized and impoverished by US foreign policy.
He was also responsible for the ruthless decision to separate children from their parents as they cross into the United States from Mexico, in his determination to block immigration from central America, where decades of US illegal intervention, including the CIA funded Contra terror operations in Nicaragua and enforced free trade (under NAFTA or IMF rules) have devastated the region and merely enhanced the power of corrupt corporate elites and drug cartels.
As if this was not enough to worry about, Trump has also authorized a huge increase in both US defence spending and in the US nuclear arsenal, and changed the strategic posture of the US so that nuclear weapons can be used even for offensive operations and even when their use is not required to preempt a nuclear strike by an enemy power.
As any historian of conflict since the Second World War knows, it is only by a miracle that humankind has survived since 1945 without a nuclear war. Now the situation is more dangerous than ever before. Not only are we are now dependent on Trump's extremely unpredictable temperament but also increasingly on automated systems which can easily malfunction.
Trump and Republicans maintain they need to spend heavily on military equipment in order to counter the supposed Russian threat. However they seldom remind the public that the United States already spends almost as much as the rest of the world combined on defence and that Russia's expenditure is far behind both that of the United States and only on about the same level of Saudi Arabia, and spends only 10% of what NATO spends.
It has also to be remembered that it is NATO and US forces which are operating right on the Russian border, not Russian forces on the American border. Russia's defence spending is clearly recognised by academics to be primarily defensive and responsive to US spending. What is desperately needed is a serious international dialogue at the highest level to decrease the danger of conflict, especially the risk of a terminal nuclear war and begin a process of multilateral disarmament.
On Thursday 12 July 2018, US president Donald Trump, the most dangerous man in the world, was welcomed to the United Kingdom by the British prime minister Theresa May. The following day the streets of London witnessed the biggest protest for over a decade as thousands marched on Trafalgar Square to express their anger at the British government extending a red carpet welcome for Trump.
Protesters pointed out the extreme threat to democracy, to those dependent on welfare, to womens' rights, to civil rights generally and even to the survival of humankind which Trump presents. Such assertions might seem extreme, but they are unfortunately fully justifiable.
As the president of what is by far the richest and most powerful country on earth, Trump has dedicated his term to accelerating the US addiction to fossil fuels and agribusiness, dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency and withdrawing America from the Paris Climate Accords, thereby accelerating global warming and climate change and presenting a huge threat to the continued existence of humankind.
Trump's presidency also marks another dangerous step in the erosion of democracy in the United States. Far from "draining the swamp" as he promised, Trump has surrounded himself with powerful figures from big business, especially major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, as well as his friends and allies in the fossil fuel and defence industires.
Government policy, more and more, reflects the direct interests of concentrated private power with the public having less and less influence. At the same time the Trump presidency has allied itself with some of the most ruthless regimes in the world and is profiting from Saudi Arabia's illegal war of aggression in Yemen which has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. A serious war crime in which Donald Trump and Theresa May are both complicit.
Trump has also been keen to patronise the extreme nationalist constituency in the United States and through preaching a propaganda of fear his presidency has managed to oversee some of the most racist immigration policies ever to be implemented in the United States, targeted almost exclusively at Muslim countries - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Ironically, all of them have been massively destabilized and impoverished by US foreign policy.
He was also responsible for the ruthless decision to separate children from their parents as they cross into the United States from Mexico, in his determination to block immigration from central America, where decades of US illegal intervention, including the CIA funded Contra terror operations in Nicaragua and enforced free trade (under NAFTA or IMF rules) have devastated the region and merely enhanced the power of corrupt corporate elites and drug cartels.
As if this was not enough to worry about, Trump has also authorized a huge increase in both US defence spending and in the US nuclear arsenal, and changed the strategic posture of the US so that nuclear weapons can be used even for offensive operations and even when their use is not required to preempt a nuclear strike by an enemy power.
As any historian of conflict since the Second World War knows, it is only by a miracle that humankind has survived since 1945 without a nuclear war. Now the situation is more dangerous than ever before. Not only are we are now dependent on Trump's extremely unpredictable temperament but also increasingly on automated systems which can easily malfunction.
Trump and Republicans maintain they need to spend heavily on military equipment in order to counter the supposed Russian threat. However they seldom remind the public that the United States already spends almost as much as the rest of the world combined on defence and that Russia's expenditure is far behind both that of the United States and only on about the same level of Saudi Arabia, and spends only 10% of what NATO spends.
It has also to be remembered that it is NATO and US forces which are operating right on the Russian border, not Russian forces on the American border. Russia's defence spending is clearly recognised by academics to be primarily defensive and responsive to US spending. What is desperately needed is a serious international dialogue at the highest level to decrease the danger of conflict, especially the risk of a terminal nuclear war and begin a process of multilateral disarmament.
On Thursday 12 July 2018, US president Donald Trump, the most dangerous man in the world, was welcomed to the United Kingdom by the British prime minister Theresa May. The following day the streets of London witnessed the biggest protest for over a decade as thousands marched on Trafalgar Square to express their anger at the British government extending a red carpet welcome for Trump.
Protesters pointed out the extreme threat to democracy, to those dependent on welfare, to womens' rights, to civil rights generally and even to the survival of humankind which Trump presents. Such assertions might seem extreme, but they are unfortunately fully justifiable.
As the president of what is by far the richest and most powerful country on earth, Trump has dedicated his term to accelerating the US addiction to fossil fuels and agribusiness, dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency and withdrawing America from the Paris Climate Accords, thereby accelerating global warming and climate change and presenting a huge threat to the continued existence of humankind.
Trump's presidency also marks another dangerous step in the erosion of democracy in the United States. Far from "draining the swamp" as he promised, Trump has surrounded himself with powerful figures from big business, especially major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, as well as his friends and allies in the fossil fuel and defence industires.
Government policy, more and more, reflects the direct interests of concentrated private power with the public having less and less influence. At the same time the Trump presidency has allied itself with some of the most ruthless regimes in the world and is profiting from Saudi Arabia's illegal war of aggression in Yemen which has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. A serious war crime in which Donald Trump and Theresa May are both complicit.
Trump has also been keen to patronise the extreme nationalist constituency in the United States and through preaching a propaganda of fear his presidency has managed to oversee some of the most racist immigration policies ever to be implemented in the United States, targeted almost exclusively at Muslim countries - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Ironically, all of them have been massively destabilized and impoverished by US foreign policy.
He was also responsible for the ruthless decision to separate children from their parents as they cross into the United States from Mexico, in his determination to block immigration from central America, where decades of US illegal intervention, including the CIA funded Contra terror operations in Nicaragua and enforced free trade (under NAFTA or IMF rules) have devastated the region and merely enhanced the power of corrupt corporate elites and drug cartels.
As if this was not enough to worry about, Trump has also authorized a huge increase in both US defence spending and in the US nuclear arsenal, and changed the strategic posture of the US so that nuclear weapons can be used even for offensive operations and even when their use is not required to preempt a nuclear strike by an enemy power.
As any historian of conflict since the Second World War knows, it is only by a miracle that humankind has survived since 1945 without a nuclear war. Now the situation is more dangerous than ever before. Not only are we are now dependent on Trump's extremely unpredictable temperament but also increasingly on automated systems which can easily malfunction.
Trump and Republicans maintain they need to spend heavily on military equipment in order to counter the supposed Russian threat. However they seldom remind the public that the United States already spends almost as much as the rest of the world combined on defence and that Russia's expenditure is far behind both that of the United States and only on about the same level of Saudi Arabia, and spends only 10% of what NATO spends.
It has also to be remembered that it is NATO and US forces which are operating right on the Russian border, not Russian forces on the American border. Russia's defence spending is clearly recognised by academics to be primarily defensive and responsive to US spending. What is desperately needed is a serious international dialogue at the highest level to decrease the danger of conflict, especially the risk of a terminal nuclear war and begin a process of multilateral disarmament.
Virgin Mary is rarely depicted showing her breast that indicates the motherly love for the humankind
Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.
Chief Seattle, 1854
Best seen large: www.flickr.com/photos/lynchburgvirginia/2322485808/sizes/l/
"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together … all things connect.” —Chief Seattle
Is humankind’s modern way of living
Sodom and Gomorra in the eyes of our savior?
Might our extreme actions be the trigger
For Gods harsh behavior?
Suffocating temperatures and endless drought,
Food and water shortages that become acute,
All a result of our neglect for Earths creation,
Let's hope these torments will not become our daily fruit.
Poem: Jan Elemans
2018
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extreme behavior out in the open
during the Nijmeegse Vierdaagse of 2018.
Europe's most extreme summer thus far.
Beuningen
The Netherlands
featured in www.flickr.com/groups/pregame/discuss/72157639044918743/ Challenge: Framed within the frame / Winner / Thanks!
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featured in www.flickr.com/groups/yes_or_no/discuss/72157640132114635/ Challenge: Pre game awarded / Winner/ Thanks!
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The Santísima Trinidad del Paraná Mission is considered the biggest of all the missions. Natives that came from the missions of San Carlos (nowadays in territory of Argentina) were its founders in 1712.
This mission has the biggest built temple among all the Jesuit Missions, with an altar carved in a once piece stone. In it, is represented the persecution of the natives at that time. It has a Central Square, the town’s place of meeting and a museum, located in the old sacristy, are the sculptures and a scale model of the mission.
These ruins are being restored and maintained constantly.
It is a Cultural Patrimony of Humankind.
www.cameralenscompare.com/photoAwardsCounterDetails.aspx?...
“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”
― Chief Seattle
Aminbazar, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The sun, who embellished this earth with life.
The fire, who gave birth to civilization.
The humankind, who placed the mighty hands of control, on both of them.
Captured from Aminbazar Garbaze dump, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The children and adults living on valuables procured from the garbage pile are warming themselves on a chilly evening of winter, while the sun is setting on the far horizon.
All rights reserved worldwide. DO NOT use this image in any commercial, non-commercial or blogging purpose without my explicit permission. Otherwise, you'll face legal action for violating national or international copyright law.
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monir.micro@gmail.com
monirmbdu@yahoo.com
May the Warm Winds of Heaven, Blow softly upon your house. May the Great Spirit, Bless all who enter there. May your Mocassins, make happy tracks in many snows,and may the Rainbow Always touch your shoulder.
~ Cherokee Blessing
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
A hater of humankind.
Toothache = Dentist. Dentist = Novacaine. Novacaine = breathing difficulties. Breathing difficulties = Tonsilitis. Tonsilitis = Antibiotics. Amoxicillin = hives. Hives = doctor. Doctor = hospital. Hospital = CT scan. Friday...Saturday...Sunday...Monday...Tuesday = no test results.
~
Story of how my week was spent.
At least I got to go to the mountains?
During the first step of humankind’s first-ever lunar-Earth flyby, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission captured this stunning view of the Moon.
The image was taken by Juice monitoring camera 1 (JMC1) at 23:25 CEST on 19 August 2024, soon after Juice made its closest approach to the Moon. This successful flyby of the Moon slightly redirected Juice’s path through space to put it on course for a flyby of Earth on 20 August 2024.
The image shows some sign of real colour differences in the large-scale features on the lunar surface.
The Juice monitoring cameras were designed to monitor the spacecraft’s various booms and antennas, especially during the challenging deployment period following launch.
They were not designed to carry out science or image the Moon. A scientific camera called JANUS is providing high-resolution imagery during the cruise phase flybys of Earth, Moon and Venus, and of Jupiter and its icy moons once in the Jupiter system in 2031.
JMC1 is located on the front* of the spacecraft and looks diagonally up into a field of view that sees deployed antennas, and depending on their orientation, part of one of the solar arrays. JMC images provide 1024 x 1024 pixel snapshots. The images shown here are lightly processed by Simeon Schmauß and Mark McCaughrean.
Guide to Juice’s monitoring cameras
More information on the lunar-Earth flyby
Rewatch the livestream of Juice’s first Moon images, including Q&A with the team
More images from Juice's monitoring cameras in ESA's Planetary Science Archive
*Additional technical information: ‘front’ means +X side of the spacecraft (the opposite side, -X hosts the high gain antenna). JMC1 looks towards the +Y/+Z direction.
Credits: ESA/Juice/JMC; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Acknowledgements: Simeon Schmauß & Mark McCaughrean
Spacewalks are a risky business and wearing a spacesuit that protects against the vacuum outside our atmosphere is cumbersome. This glove is a mockup concept for astronauts that adds extra functions to the five fingers.
As humankind explores the Universe we will work hand in hand with robots that scout ahead, prepare landing sites and go to places too dangerous or impracticable for humans.
The gloves in this photo are an independent project from French company Comex and designer Agatha Medioni based on materials from the ESA-funded activity Pextex to develop novel space suit materials for the Moon.
The gloves have three extra functions in addition to protecting an astronaut’s hands from vacuum. They can be used to control a martian drone or lunar rover with gestures alone. They have an integrated laser light that can measure distances or target objects. Lastly the materials have a display to show the status of supplies such as oxygen levels. Current spacesuits have this display on the torso and astronauts use a mirror on their wrist to be able to see it.
Future missions will aim to establish a permanent presence on the Moon and new spacesuits would be used for longer and more frequently than those from the Apollo era.
The Pextex project aims to identify and test advanced textiles for spacesuit in Europe. The garments are near airtight and waterproof, can withstand temperature differences of +120°C to –170°C while keeping the astronaut safe though insulation from heat and radiation as well as being strong enough to resist the abrasive lunar dust – all while allowing the human inside maximum movement to get their work done.
Bonus features of a future European spacesuit material might include self-repair, energy harvesting, integrated sensors, robot control and displays. The materials for the Pextex project will be tested with the partner organisations in France (Comex), Germany (DITF) and Austria (Austrian Space Forum, OeWF) and will run for two years.
Credits: COMEX, Agatha Médioni
"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."
~Chief Seattle, 1855
Happy Earth Day! (and HBW...)
During the first step of humankind’s first-ever lunar-Earth flyby, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission captured this stunning view of the Moon.
A closer look reveals a casual ‘photobomber’ – Earth shows itself as a dark circle outlined by a light crescent at the top centre of the image, peeking out from behind the spacecraft structure.
The image was taken by Juice monitoring camera 2 (JMC2) at 23:15 CEST on 19 August 2024, soon after Juice made its closest approach to the Moon. This successful flyby of the Moon slightly redirected Juice’s path through space to put it on course for a flyby of Earth on 20 August 2024.
JMC2 was designed and positioned to monitor the multi-stage deployment of Juice’s 16 m-long Radar for Icy Moons Exploration (RIME) antenna. RIME is an ice-penetrating radar that will be used to remotely probe the subsurface structure of the large moons of Jupiter.
The Juice monitoring cameras were not designed to make science observations or image the Moon. A scientific camera called JANUS is providing high-resolution imagery during the cruise phase flybys of Earth, Moon and Venus, and of Jupiter and its icy moons once in the Jupiter system in 2031.
JMC2 is located on the top* of the spacecraft. JMC images provide 1024 x 1024 pixel snapshots. The images shown here are lightly processed by Simeon Schmauß and Mark McCaughrean.
Guide to Juice’s monitoring cameras
More information on the lunar-Earth flyby
Rewatch the livestream of Juice’s first Moon images, including Q&A with the team
More images from Juice's monitoring cameras in ESA's Planetary Science Archive
*Additional technical information: "top" means +Z side of the spacecraft and the centre of the field of view of JMC2 lies roughly in the XY plane. The -Z side of the spacecraft is attached to the launcher, which rotates around the Z axis during the ascent phase.
Credits: ESA
“The Land of Eternal Night” -
Experience the downfall of humankind and the rise of the lords of the night.
In Nox Aeterna, vampire society has flourished and through impressive spellcraft they’ve even bent the sky to their rule guaranteeing that none need fear the rays of the sun ever again.
Atop the mountains sits one such stronghold, sprawling amongst the crags and peaks. Beneath it a village on the edge of a lake, steeped in tradition and protected as much by the denizens above as the forest surrounding it.
Nox Aeterna -
Sponsored by Quills & Curiosities
Region by Dacien & Marcel Blackwood
A Shopping Region
Mainly antagonists of the Young Olympians, the Monstrosities are outcasts from the world, deciding to band together to destroy humankind. The members consist of Naur, Miss Direct, Vizier, Calyx, Draconis, and Pertros the Stone Warrior
Name: Naur
Gender: Male
Allegiance: Villain
Backstory: As one of the more bestial Marked members, Naur had a rough go at things. He just wanted to be left alone by the masses. But as they kept prodding, he got more enraged. This led to him joining the Monstrosities team, where he felt he was actually part of something. To finally be seen as greater than humans. Soon after, he convinced Draconis to join the team, and the Monstrosities became a forced to be reckoned with. Now they seek to bring down destruction on mankind for their hatred of them.
Powers: Besides being highly durable and having his trusty maul with him, he is able to enrage himself, which increases his strength, and speed. Once enraged, it is hard for him to control, so it's possible he may hit teammates. Also, he becomes quite angry, hence the rage portion. When disarmed, he likes to ram into people with his horns.
Alias: Miss Direct
Real Name: Kayla Hart
Gender: Female
Allegiance: Villain
Backstory: Kayla Heart felt as though she was invisible. No one would pay her any attention growing up.. She didn't have any friends, and her parents were away from home most of the time. She would later become a stage magician, but she wasn't very popular there either. Day in and day out, there would be barely anyone in the audience. Though, there was one person who would show up everyday. He saw the potential in her, and wanted her to show the world her potential in a different way.. He began training her to become a deadly assassin. Eventually, she is proven worthy, and he gives her this helmet. Known as the Helmet of Invisibility, and was apparently worn by Hades, she works alongside Pertros, and the other Monstrosities, to serve her master's will.
Alias: Vizier
Real Name: Unknown
Gender: Male
Allegiance: Villain
Backstory: Not much is known about the Vizier. He has rarely been seen, with the only people seeing him are those that follow him. He is presumed to be the leader of the Monstrosities, but no one knows for sure.
Powers: Mind Control, Telepathy, Telekinesis, Can create illusions. Basically a whole slew of different psychic abilities.
Alias: Calyx
Real Name: N/A
Gender: Female
Allegiance: Villain
Backstory: The half sister of Theroniya Costas. Theronyia's mother had an affair with Calyx's father, which led to Calyx being born. Her mother, ashamed of what she had done, stopped seeing Calyx's father immediately. So she grew up with only her father taking care of her. When she learned the truth about her mother, she was furious. They would move to Cardinal City soon after. She vowed to get revenge, and for that, she wanted power. That came from the mysterious Bestower, who would give her that power she wanted. Eventually, she would join the Monstrosities alongside Miss Direct, Pertros, Naur, Draconis and a few others under the leadership of the Vizier. She has the ability to control different plants. Although she's always hated flowers.
Real Name: Draconis
Gender: Male
Allegiance: Villain
Backstory: As one of the Marked, he grew up with Lykos and became friends with him early on. They grew apart as time went on, and Draconis grew angry of humans perception of their people. This attitude of his eventually lead to him joining the Monstrosities. Fellow Marked associate Naur convinced Draconis to join. Under the leadership of the Vizier, he and the rest of the Monstrosities set about on the destruction of humankind.
Powers: Upon activating his dragon marking on his arm, he takes on attributes of a dragon. Flight, breathing fire, increased armor, and claws.
Alias: Pertros the Stone Warrior
Real Name: N/A
Gender: Assumed to be male before turned to stone
Allegiance: Villain
Backstory: All that's known about his history is that he tried to help Perseus kill Medusa, until he was turned to stone. After Perseus left with Medusa's head, he just stood there for centuries. Not being able to cry out for help, or anything. Years later, and finally he was reanimated by someone who would then become his master. His armour is to remind himself of the horrors of the past. Now he serves his master with everything he has, even if it means fighting against the Young Olympians time and time again.. As he's made out of stone, he is denser, and stronger than the average human.
“In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”
― Charles Darwin
The fact of flying has always been a challenge for humankind. But, ... it's not that much about flying, but about breaking our natural limitations, as well as improving ourselves. Even following our souls. Even with the rest of humankind. Our freedom is in the search of our Being, individual and colective.
Today is the day of United Nations.
El hecho de volar ha sido siempre un reto para la humanidad. Pero, ... no es tanto volar, sino el romper nuestras limitaciones naturales, así como mejorarnos a nosotros mismos. Incluso siguiendo nuestra alma. Incluso con el resto de la humanidad. Nuestra libertad está en la búsqueda de nuestro Ser, individual y colectivo.
Hoy es el día de las Naciones Unidas.
See where this picture was taken / Ver dónde se hizo la foto [?]
The struggles of humankind to overcome disease and the never-ending fight to survive and prevail! It is fitting that the largest of the street art murals screams this out in defiance, at the entrance to the tunnel! Taken in Atlanta at the Krog Street tunnel.
The sun sets over the "Cradle of Humankind", close to where the Homo naledi fossils were found (an UNESCO Word Heritage Site, Kromdraai, South Africa).
The most complete fossil of Australopithecus africanus was also found in this area in 1947.
From the fossil records, Sabre-Tooth Tigers were abundant in this area, close to where I live.
Photo usage and Copyright:
Photograph uploded with Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licensing Terms (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
Martin
-
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The moon asked, "Has humankind forgotten the moon? Where have the Americans gone?" I answered that twelve humans walking on the moon was enough and that soon enough the human population of the Earth will decline to less than twelve. The moon responded, "The Earth will be just fine post-humankind, as my experience has proven conclusively."
one whole bright yellow sun in the yellow sky of sunrise. Observe the happiness of all the humans who happened to witness this sight. Given how impressive an animal humankind is it is quite difficult to contemplate the Earth after humankind has gone extinct. The Universe will find it difficult to continue existing without humans to destroy everything on the Earth.
Not even God can imagine the post-human Earth and the post-human Universe. Humankind is -- without a doubt -- a very special animal!
The most credible scenario for humankind might be one of the most important reasons we need swallow the red pill and get serious about virtual worlds now. canarybeck.com/2014/12/22/the-importance-of-virtual-world...
Crows are friends with deaths. Part of crow symbolism deals with memory-keeping. This is a big symbolic point here. Many cultures believe crows hold memories of ancient worlds, ancient ways of living, and beautiful secrets.
CROW SYMBOLISM IN CULTURAL MYTHS AND LEGENDS-
Greeks pegged the crow as a white bird initially. But the white crow gave Apollo (Greek god of prophecy, healing and much more) some bad news and Apollo turned it black as a mark of displeasure. From that day on, the crow kept her secrets to herself in an effort to protect her brood, and her knowledge.
The Latin term "Corvid" identifies the crow family. This word is derived, in part, from the word "cunning". This is so true with the crow. These birds have been known to outsmart other birds & many animals.
The Egyptians noticed their tendency to keep one mate and deemed this bird as a symbol of devotion and faithfulness.
Chinese lore places the crow on a throne of masculine rule. In ancient Asian legend, the crow was said to be the father of the Asian race. As a result, the crow is respected and given great devotion (at least it was back in the day) as the parent of humankind.
Native American legend positions the crow in an honorable place of carrying souls into the other side of life. In other words, for these cultures, the crow is an intermediary between life and death.
And here is the quick reference list of crow symbolism:
Cocky
Tricky
Playful
Magical
Curious
Secretive
Confident
Protective
Mysterious
Unpredictable
Every time i see these crows made me realize CROWS ZERO.
The Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu is an important New Kingdom period structure in the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt. Aside from its size and architectural and artistic importance, the temple is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III. The first European to describe the temple in modern literature was Vivant Denon, who visited the temple in 1799-1801.Champollion described the temple in detail in 1829. Initial excavation of the temple took place sporadically between 1859 and 1899, under the auspices of the Department of Antiquities. During these decades the main temple was cleared, and a large number of Coptic period buildings, including a substantial Coptic Church in the second court, were destroyed without notes or records being taken. The further excavation, recording and conservation of the temple has been facilitated in chief part by the Architectural and Epigraphic Surveys of University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, almost continuously since 1924.The temple, some 150 m long, is of orthodox design, and resembles closely the nearby mortuary temple of Ramesses II (the Ramesseum). The temple precinct measures approximately 210 m (690 ft). by 300 m (1,000 ft) and contains more than 7,000 m2 (75,347 sq ft) of decorated wall reliefs. Its walls are relatively well preserved and it is surrounded by a massive mudbrick enclosure, which may have been fortified. The original entrance is through a fortified gate-house, known as a migdol (a common architectural feature of Asiatic fortresses of the time). Just inside the enclosure, to the south, are chapels of Amenirdis I, Shepenupet II and Nitiqret, all of whom had the title of Divine Adoratrice of Amun. The first pylon leads into an open courtyard, lined with colossal statues of Ramesses III as Osiris on one side, and uncarved columns on the other. The second pylon leads into a peristyle hall, again featuring columns in the shape of Ramesses. This leads up a ramp that leads (through a columned portico) to the third pylon and then into the large hypostyle hall (which has lost its roof). Reliefs and actual heads of foreign captives were also found placed within the temple perhaps in an attempt to symbolise the king's control over Syria and Nubia. In Coptic times, there was a church inside the temple structure, which has since been removed. Some of the carvings in the main wall of the temple have been altered by coptic carvings. The Royal Palace was directly connected with the first courtyard of the Temple via the "Window of Appearances".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medinet_Habu_(temple)
On many a temple wall in Egypt one will see carved pictures of Ancient Egyptian Gods holding long metal rods said to have possessed incredible cosmic powers. They were called “Rods of Ptah,” named for the Egyptian Creator God, Ptah, and would, over time, eventually become known as “was” scepters.
You won’t find much scientific explanation for these Egyptian “magic” rods anywhere in traditional Egyptology. Many scholars have written off tales of their great powers as pure myth. Yet what once seemed mythical, takes on a new perspective with modern-day scientific advancement. These rods actually have roots in the advanced science of Atlantean superalloys. A science that has been lost for centuries and is slowly re-emerging.
This knowledge was handed down over 50,000 years ago to the Ancient Egyptians by the Atlantean Order of Melchizedek (the cosmic high priests to the priests) after the third and final upheaval of the advanced civilization known as Atlantis. Those who knew how such science worked shared this knowledge only with the elite few who had been highly trained and initiated into the Mystery Schools of Egypt.
Throughout the Egyptian dynasties, pharaohs and kings would oftentimes show their power by displaying such scepters at their side. Most were nothing more than symbolic props. The real Rods of Ptah, and their true owners, had the ability to transmute energy into matter—a power which only a God would seem to possess.
In the earliest of ancient times there was a “Council of Twelve” high priests from the Order of Melchizedek which possessed such rods. Many were from the healing sound Temples of Saqqara as well as the from the Temple of the Prophets at Abydos (which I have written about in a previous blogs). The Melchizedek Priesthood were recognized as Ascended Masters, Cosmic Avatars, that were dedicated to the very highest ascension and evolution of man. Their roots go back even further than Atlantis, to the source of creation and the very origins of humankind.
During the unknown years of Jesus, Jesus was initiated into the esoteric ways of this great brotherhood and became one with Melchizedek, the “Lord of Righteousness.” Jesus, having been brought up in the mystical sect of the Essenes, would then go on to model this priesthood, based on these Council of Twelve teachings with his own 12 Apostles. Many of mankind’s most ascended masters have come from the Melchizedek Priesthood. Some have had multiple reincarnated lifetimes (i.e. Lord Melchizedek became Akhenaten; Akhenaten would then became Jesus).
ATLANTEAN SUPERALLOYS
So many have asked what were the Atlantean superalloys that created such magic rods? The answer lies in the marriage of both physics and chemistry. All of nature’s alloys have a resonance pattern—like a unique frequency fingerprint. If combined with other resonant alloys through a transmutation process, it can create an atomic blending that releases a powerful reaction by-product.
For example, the electrical properties of copper, when equally combined with the magnetic properties of iron, will exhibit super hardness, super magnetism, and superconductivity properties which are required for anti-gravity propulsion and interstellar space travel. The Ancients were privy to this knowledge and they could only have learned it from a higher more advanced civilization where it had already been successfully mployed.
The reintroduction in modern times of such advanced superalloy concepts can be traced back to the secret work of Nikola Tesla with the well-known psychic, Edgar Cayce, during the years intervening the World Wars (1918-1939). Tesla had many past-life readings with Cayce to gain further insight into his work. (A pseudonym was used to protect his identity.)
Speaking through Cayce in trance, the Source provided specific references to several fusion reactions used in Atlantean metallurgy for the production of superhard metal alloys that were applied in the complex multi-stage fabrication of supersharp swords and electro-surgical scalpels, as well as in the construction of aerial vehicles that were thinner, lighter and stronger than those commonly used in industry today.
“We find the entity there made use of the metal known as iron, or the combinations of iron and copper –which have long since been removed from use in the present; or copper so tempered by the use of same with a little of the iron, or in its formation in such a way and manner as to be hardened to the abilities for same to be used much in the way that many of those combinations have been found in the Egyptian, the Peruvian and portions of the Chaldean lands –and more will be found in the Indo-China city yet to be uncovered.
“As indicated. In conducting experimentions, by passing a great current through certain compounds or mixtures of metals, that would produce –in smelting– a different metal. The combinations of iron, copper, and of course impregnated with the various forms, which heretofore and in the present have been unable to be used in the forms of smelting that are the experience of man today.
Q: How may we work together now to accomplish much that we did in Egypt?
A: In interesting those who use or require great quantities of iron, or the varied metals, to experiment in making lighter –and yet strengthening– the usages of such metals. Copper and brass, gold and iron –through the combinations in their crude state– may be made to be much stronger in usage, lighter in the needs for present developments, and not as expensive in the combinations.”
During ancient times, the Council of Twelve from the Order of Melchizedek knew that the transmutation processes of copper and iron caused a resonant nuclear fission reaction which created a mysterious force called “Vril” energy. They fashioned instruments (Rods of Ptah) to direct this force.
These ancient men of science discovered that when they coupled this Vril force with the power of sound and the directive power of the mind, they could unlock the divine forces of nature and gravity. This allowed them to levitate and move large objects easily. One could say the ancient priests of Saqqara invented the term, “mind over matter.” When the mind was clear, one could perform incredible feats.
While some from the Order knew how to use this directed energy for transmutation which would appear as miracles (i.e., Jesus changing water to wine or multiplying a few loaves and fishes to feed the masses), the use of highly tuned rods could tap into even greater cosmic forces.
Very few possessed these powerful Rods of Ptah. Those who did were initiated at the very highest levels of the Order of Melchizedek. As a part of the initiation process, each recipient was involved in the construction process of their own Rod. It was a sacred ceremony where their higher consciousness intent, which created a unique cosmic fingerprint, was then infused into the melding process. Their rod would be at their side throughout their life, taking on a sacred responsibility.
The Rods of Ptah were “U-shaped” at the bottom, resembling resonant tuning forks that could be struck in ways to create electromagnetic effects. At the top were the symbols of the Ankh (the symbol of life) and the Djed Pillar (a symbol for the spine of the God Osiris and rising energy). These powerful symbols could only be used by a High Priest or a Pharaoh (who had also undergone initiation, which were very few).
The Rods could only be used within the right mindset of the operator or the power could be destructive to themselves as well as others. Each initiate pledged a solemn oath to the Council of Twelve and the Melchizedek Priesthood to use these rods only for the higher good.
You will not find these instruments in museums anywhere today. The High Priests of the Ancient Mystery Schools destroyed them to keep them out of the hands of those who would abuse the power they could harness, much like the Ark of the Covenant was later secreted away for safety and protection.
Unfortunately, good does not always triumph over evil. Some priests from the Order of Melchizedek were targeted and killed for their power and knowledge, many by other temple priests (the Amun priesthood) who were an unsavory and oftentimes corrupted lot. Many from the Order fled the area or took their knowledge underground where it remained hidden for centuries. It is believed that once initiated into the Order of Melchizedek, one is initiated for all lifetimes to come. Many of those from the Melchizedek Priesthood walk among us today, still employing their spiritual knowledge and good works.
Angelique, Geleen, Netherlands, 2016
This Saturday I visited the exposition “Street People Project; A Diversity of Humankind” of Nis Willemse (see also www.nisgraphy.nl) at Quartier Geleen. After I had left the exposition and was walking towards my car, I saw Angelique.
She was wandering around in front of a finally closed shop. Isolated from the other people of the street, it looks she didn’t want to took part of the things that were happening on the street. Shy? Shut out? I couldn’t tell.
After passing her I stopped and walked towards her, and asked if she wants to pose for a street portrait. She immediately agreed.
I didn’t confront her what I thought of her wandering in front of the shop. It was not the right time and right place to do so I thought.
Angelique thanks for posing!
100 Strangers Group
This picture is #45 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
The Human Family Group
This is portrait #18 in my Human Family project. To view more street portraits and stories visit The Human Family
Photographed at --Akalbodhon Sarbojonin Durgotsab, Chetla, South Kolkata.
Worshiping Durga, As I feel :
To me worshiping goddess Durga encompasses so many deeply seated aspects of human lives and nature. The imagination of such a Goddess-form has its age old story depicted in the Hindu Puranas and that had been fabricated by the wisdom of ages as a symbolic one for Bio-Geo-Socio-Economic-Cultural and Aesthetical upliftment of humankind and its relationship with nature, through the practice of worshiping.
Once in a year She, The Mother Durga, is thought to come from her abode at mount Kailash in Himalaya to the land of Bengal at the time of Autumn, the finest of all six seasons when Bengal turns into a nature’s paradise. The snow white clouds against the deep azure of the sky, the gentle cool breeze carrying the sweet fragrance of flowers, the turning colors of the leaves, the golden sunlit lush green paddy fields and the waving clusters of dazzling white inflorescence of Kash dramatically prepare the minds of Bengal apt for celebration of life. Artists of versatile talents from Bengal and other states culminate their finest ever skill and efforts for making the idols of Durga using conventional natural resources like clay, wood, organic colors, that are all mostly biodegradable. The pandals( the temporary abodes of Devi Durga) all over Bengal, especially in urban cities turn into the finest galleries of art and culture covering an unimaginably wide range of form and traditions, represented by Bengal and neighboring states of India. Durga puja becomes a wide open opportunity to discover and re-discover the art and artistry of Bengal, and not only that, this is the biggest festival of Bengal that provides a great competitive platform for innumerable artists and workers to learn and earn.
The time of Puja is the time for togetherness, is the time for sharing and caring. The traditional concept of making the idols of Durga, her four children and her husband Lord Shiva against a single background structure( which is in Bengali: Ek chalchitra) seems to me a very symbolic one! It implicates to me a strong bondage between the family members, or in a greater sense the relationships between individuals. An example of unity in diversity.
To save the world, Brahmma(the god of creation), Vishnu( the god of sustenance), Moheshwara/ Shiva(the god of destruction) and all of the gods emitted beams of fierce light from their bodies. The blinding sea of light reached Parvati, and Durga emerged from this pool of light. This is very symbolic. I see durga as a domain where there have been convergence of all form of energies; she is the symbolic epitome of unified force, as it is the most cherished theory of modern-day physics- “the unified field theory”. And therefore, She is the Symbolic epitome of concentrated knowledge and wisdom. She can create(sristi), She can sustain( sthiti), and She can destroy(loy). She comes over here to create all good things and to sustain them on this earth, and to destroy all evil power, as depicted by triumph over Mahisasura.
Her four children are very symbolic to me for four aspects of socio-economic- cultural upliftment. These are the four aspects to create a balanced nation or a person as an individual.
“Lakhsmi”, her elder daughter, is a symbol of wealth. She carries with her a bunch of ripe paddy and a container of vermilion. Ripened paddy is the symbol of agricultural success. And vermilion is the symbol of peaceful marriage in Hindu custom.
“Swaraswati”, her younger daughter, is a symbol of art and culture. She carries with her a sitar, a classical Indian instrument depicting music, that is the highest form of the faculty of art.
“Kartika”, her elder son, is the commander-in-chief of the gods for war. He is the warrior and protector from enemies. He carries a bow and arrows. He knows how to target an enemy. And he is the symbol of leadership qualities.
“Ganesha”, her youngest son. He is the symbol of knowledge and wisdom.
And Mother Durga is the creator of all her four children, the four faculties associated with biological, social, cultural and intellectual evolution of man.
Therefore, She is the idealistic epitome of Gunas (qualities), that we all her children should acquire for. And there lies the true meaningfulness of worshiping our mother, Durga.
On the tenth day after the triumph, the day of Vijaya Dashami ( suvobijoya), mother along with her family sets her journey back to her final adobe in himalaya, leaving the earthly world behind. The clay idol is thus immersed in the holy water of Ganges to symbolize her journey. And thus the whole celebration comes to an end.
The eagle has been associated with the belief in renewal or rebirth. In a fragment of an ancient Babylon text, there is the story of King Erana being taken to the heavens on the wings of an eagle. It was a widely used custom in many ancient cultures to release eagles at the funeral of a ruler: the flight of an eagle, as the body was cremated, symbolized the departure of the soul to live among the gods. In Palmya, in ancient Syria, the eagle was associated with the sun-god; and thought capable of rejuvenation like the phoenix. As a killer of snakes and dragons, the eagle represents the victory of the light forces over the dark. The positive traits of this kingly bird are energy, renewal, contemplation, acuity of vision of vision, and royal heritage which substantiates it being an attribute of the god Jupiter.In Christian iconography the eagle is often seen to symbolize John the Evangelist, the ascension of the prophet Elijah, and the ascension of Jesus Christ. The eagle's ability to fly high is why it symbolizes Christ's ascension and is frequently depicted on baptismal founts.
The eagle's alchemical symbolism can readily be recognized in that the goals of alchemy are the transmutation of base (impure) metals or spirits into more purer or finer ones. This called for the destruction of the base metals to release the spirit and the renewal or reunion of the spirit in the new one. This is a renewal process, the death one the one and birth of the new, symbolized in the eagle. The eagle is thought as a royal bird as alchemy was called the royal art.In its psychological association the eagle shares and opposite symbolism which can be reversed through personal effort. Being symbolic of St. John the evangelist most firmly established in the intellectual realm, the eagle symbolizes the height of intellectual activity; however, this bird also can represent the degrading, consuming passion, of the intellect, which causes humans not to be ruled by the mind but the body. The eagle displays such behavior when he interrupts his elegant flight to swoop down on his prey to satisfy his carnal needs. At times humans behave the same way, their passions control them. This is the reason the eagle symbolized Adam, the first man, in medieval bestiaries: Adam, too, who originally dwelt close to heaven, lost his glory when sighting the forbidden fruit. Humankind like the eagle can improve its status by returning to the intellectual realm. This also has alchemical symbolism: when an experiment failed the alchemist had to start over again. A.G.H.
www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/~alchemy/eagle.html
Philalèthe nous affirme que chacune des réitérations prend le nom d'aigle; la cinquième Aigle résout la lune avec 7 à 9 spécimens pour atteindre la splendeur du soleil . Aigle en grec ancien viens de éclat lumière flambeau.l’Aigle de Jean, c’est ce qui donne les pouvoirs ou la clairvoyance ou la lucidité ou l’ésotérisme. L’aigle du monde, c’est le prédateur et les pouvoirs malsains.
Un alchimiste déclarera que le globe symbolise éventuellement le matras philosophique, mais surtout les quatre éléments par la croix du globe et le feu avec ses degrés successifs pour régénérer la matière et lui-même par la même occasion. L’image (la croix, la rose, le matras surmonté d’une croix, etc..) est extérieure, les degrés des feux secrets et les moyens, intérieurs. Il ajoutera que sa connaissance supplémentaire vient d’un don de Dieu, de la grâce, ou simplement de ses facultés de réflexion et d’interrogation. Et un jour, Cela se produit. Enfin, dans le symbolisme solaire, la répartition par quatre, ou le cercle coupé par une croix symbolise le cycle solaire et accessoirement d’anciennes techniques « des mangeurs ou Maîtres de feux » (le globe lorsqu’il est entouré de flammes, la voie de la salamandre, les marcheurs sur les braises, etc..). Et un jour, ces adeptes pratiquent des choses impensables, comme de prendre dans la voie du feu, un objet en métal rougi à blanc comme dernière et ultime épreuve. La croix est la Rédemption et le cercle le Monde tant pour le chrétien ésotérique que pour l’alchimiste, ou simplement le chercheur qui veut en savoir plus et à qui le monde pourra éventuellement appartenir, sans qu’il ne soit plus tout à fait de ce monde : l’appartenance, la non-appartenance, la performance ne sont qu’illusions. Les trois croix supprimées dans certaines représentations notaient un triple sens ou trois répétitions d’un même processus, une première opération étant l’obtention du soufre alchimique ou médecine du premier ordre, la seconde, le soufre du second ordre, la troisième la croix centrale, les médecines du troisième ordre ou pierre mystique. Ce symbole est rappelé par les trois colonnes mystérieuses du premier appartement avec les Mots Foi, Espérance, Charité, mots qui permettent d’entreprendre le voyage de trois jours, (alchimiquement le travail des trois ordres) de l’orient vers le septentrion, de l’occident au midi, c’est à dire dans les quatre directions ou selon les quatre éléments anciens, en faisant 33 tours. Faut-il signaler, puisque 33 tours c’est long, qu’en faisant qu’un tour, l’ancien sens est perdu (sans jeu de mot). Et qu’en ne gardant que les Mots (F.E.C.), dans le sens social, l’humain a toute juste une partie des clés de sa responsabilité dans ses rapports avec lui-même et les autres, mais uniquement au niveau externe. Faut-il alors signaler le tablier noir, l’ouvre au noir, passant par le sang - (l’oeuvre au rouge) du grade de chevalier de l’Aigle (du Pélican, de Rose-Croix, d’Heredom, de Saint André, de Parfait Maçon écossais 4ième, etc..) repris dans le R.E.A.A. au 18ième. et l’Aigle rappelaient la puissance de l’Homme divin, héritée de celle du Père ou du Fils dans le symbolisme chrétien, à l’image du Pélican qui soufre mais se sacrifie pour nourrir son ou ses enfants, donc sa progéniture, ou ses héritiers spirituels, bien au-delà du sens social, par l’interne et l’externe. Et l’Aigle de Jean, c’est ce qui donne les pouvoirs ou la clairvoyance ou la lucidité ou l’ésotérisme. L’aigle du monde, c’est le prédateur et les pouvoirs malsains. Jésus Nazaremus Rex Judeorum etc..
Cette formule vidée de son sens catholique n’est pas inintéressante non plus. Elle souligne la dérision (l’humour ?) de Ponce Pilate celui qui se lave les mains et qui provoque un homme pour qu’il affirme sa royauté et son destin sur le monde, alors qu’il s’agit du monde intérieur, sans rapport avec le monde profane de la puissance terrestre. Dans de nombreuses écoles, ce thème du divin en l’homme, pour qu’il exerce son pouvoir créateur et royal, des facultés cachées en l’homme pour qu’il se réalise, prend parfois des proportions de l’ordre du titanesque, mais aussi de l’illusion de puissance soulignée par Axel (volonté de puissance et volonté de l’ego basé sur la mort, les armes et l’or) face à Janus, son Maître instructeur (basé sur la maîtrise du Soi et sur la Vie), et par les multiples pérégrinations de la tribu de Juda. La royauté de Jésus, issu de Juda, donc le pouvoir de puissance de tout homme, c’est l’homme royal, à la puissance de ses facultés. Nazareth d’où il vient et non Bethléem (qui signifie la naissance de l’enfant) d’où Jésus de Nazareth ou Jésus le Nazarénien, ou Jésus le Nazoréen (celui qui a été consacré, mais dans ce cas, pour certains théologiens qui refusent cette théorie, il n’aurait pas été roi, encore moins Dieu, puisque seulement prince en jouant sur les qualités, et la seule consécration possible étant l’oint de David ou céleste) est en fait la ville où il passe, où il aura une vie secrète en revenant d’Égypte. Il ne s’arrête pas en chemin, car cette ville représente l’ancienne foi, l’ancienne loi, l’ancienne connaissance, la ville de l’ancienne Rome et c’est de là qu’il commencera son périple. Si la royauté de Jésus est en mouvement, si elle va vers son destin de mourir pour la régénération, tout homme est concerné par une dynamique de la présence et du mouvement régénérateur, sorte de mort à soi-même et en même temps de lucidité accrue, pour agrandir son champ d’action et reconquérir ses puissances et ses facultés dans sa vie (en trois jours, par la voie rapide, en quelques quarante jours selon Balsamo, en fait pendant un certain temps ou toute une vie). Il quitte alors le royaume des morts et de la mort, pour la Vie.Dans l’optique judaïque. Nazareth était la ville où devaient s’accomplir les prophéties," nazir" signifie séparé, mais aussi consacré. Celui qui passe par Nazareth est aussi celui qui a été consacré, l’élu selon l’éthique. Le mot assyrien veut dire aussi celui qui est maudit ou ensorcelé, celui qui fait un voeu, celui qui s’abstient. L’homme pour être rétabli, pour être sanctifié, pour retrouver ses facultés latentes, pour atteindre sa divinité doit passer par un certain état signifié par le Nazaréat, rite hébraïque. Dans la tradition juive, Samson, consacré au rite, au-delà de la mort et ayant obtenu la force, Samuel dont les cheveux ne furent jamais coupés, Jacob qui bénit Joseph selon la bénédiction du nazaréen le citant prince entre ses frères, Judas Machabée qui emmène les consacrés au temple, interdit aux profanes, Saint Jean Baptiste consacré au rite du Nazaréat, Saint Paul, Saint Jacques le Mineur sont les exemples ou traces de ce vieux rituel hébraïque. Le Christ est appelé le Nazaréen, ainsi que les tous premiers chrétiens. Nazareth, le Nazaréat, est le symbole de l’ascétisme, pour un temps déterminé ou pour la vie des élus consacrés, leurs voeux ne portaient que sur des pratiques extérieures (se couper les cheveux, s’abstenir de certains aliments, etc.).Il s’agit d’un rite remontant à l’époque patriarcale, issu selon Cyrille de rites égyptiens, vraisemblablement venu de Chaldée, pour consacrer une partie de la vie d’un homme au culte divin, sans être prêtre pour autant. Le rite consiste à se séparer des hommes pour se consacrer à la divinité ou à la recherche spirituelle, en pleine connaissance de cause. Il semble que Martines de Pasqually s’inspire pour ses émules de telles pratiques ascétiques (jeune, chasteté, abstinence de certaines parties du corps de l’animal, prières, onctions, purifications, etc.) avant les cérémonies d’initiation. Sur Juda. Dès lors les dogmes, les croyances ne peuvent être que provisoires, dans Nazareth pour sortir de l’enceinte, et revenir au royaume de la royauté de la tribu de Juda de la dernière lettre (Judéorum). Quelle est cette tribu ? C’est celle qui se nombrait à 77.600 hommes, depuis l’âge de vingt ans et au-delà, bons pour la milice, ou dans le camp de Juda, 186.400 et qui partent toujours en tête : Juda est le lionceau, le lion, la lionne. L’homme de Juda est celui qui possède le sceptre et le bâton de commandement, (Thème repris par Martinez de Pasqually pour les Reaux+). Il fait obéir les peuples, il conduit l’homme au combat. Ses attributs sont la Gloire, la Force et la Souveraineté. C’est de cette tribu que naîtra Jésus. En contrepartie de cette puissance chthonienne, dans sa partie obscure, le lion de Juda est terrible, c’est un prédateur, avide de butin et de puissance, symbolisé par le règne de David et de Salomon. De ce peuple sont élus les Juges. Maconniquement Zorobabel est issu de la tribu de Juda, comme Prince. Ce sont des Élus. Ou selon l’optique du Nazaréat, des hommes de haute vertu morale, qui réservent une partie de leur vie pour devenir plus parfaits, plus purs et plus exemplaires, par pureté et consécration. L’emblème de la rose mystique sur la croix renvoie également à la mystique juive et au Zohar, où la communauté est la Rose et où le mot Moroth signifie à la fois Lumières ou Malédiction et que dans le « pays de la vie » il convient « de tailler les fleurs qui existent dans ce pays » au moment où l’arc-en-ciel apparaît. Le calice (utilisé au 18ième pour les agapes) est la coupe des bénédictions, de même que la rose mystique, considérée aussi comme calice du salut, et qui repose sur les cinq doigts de la main ou cinq pétales. Inri est en fait synonyme du Mot mystique de quatre lettres et le symbole de l’alliance n’est pas autre chose que le chapelet des 42 noms ou quarante deux grains de matière fécondante pour opérer l’ouvre de la création. Les fleurs qu’il convient de tailler renvoient à l’expression « Telle que la rose entre les épines, telle est ma bien aimée entre les filles » où la rose est la communauté. Elle est rouge et blanche (comme la pierre cubique qui sue sang -rouge- et eau -blanc- du tracé de loge) et elle correspond aux piliers tantôt de la rigueur tantôt de la clémence. Emprunté à la cabale juive du Zohar et des mystiques espagnols, le thème évoque les trois croix et la lumière, peut-être issue des trois écoles visitées par le Messie lui-même relié au Saint Beni Soit-il, ou Messias (mot utilisé par les martinistes de Martinez), celle de Rabbi Simeon, celle d’Ezechias, roi de Juda cité en IV Rois et par Isaîe, et celle d’Ahias (III Rois), elles-mêmes liées par des colonnes aux écoles célestes et aux mystères cabalistiques, où la lumière est plus éclatante que la lumière du soleil. (Ainsi le rituel déclare que le maçon ne fait plus de planches, mais grave des colonnes au nom de la Trinité et le signe de reconnaissance montre le Ciel ; le bijou est or et argent, symboles solaires). Le Zohar (I, 4) précise, « vous qui êtes en bas dans le sommeil réveillez-vous. Vous avant de monter ici transformez l’obscurité en clarté (un thème du 18ième). Ceux qui n’ont pas espéré (un thème du grade : Espérance) n’ont aucune part ici ». S’étonnant qu’un homme puisse entrer dans le monde céleste avec ses habits terrestres, (thème de la transfiguration), Rabbi Siméon constate avec Rabbi Hiya la gloire du juste qui « marche dans les voies de la justice au milieu des sentiers de la prudence, pour enrichir ceux qui m’aiment et pour remplir leurs trésors » (thème du grade La charité). Le sage par la formule « alchimique » Inri (intérieur) sera celui qui découvre dans les ténèbres ce qui est dans les profondeurs. Il sera ainsi capable d’unir les ténèbres et la lumière pour faire naître le Verbe qui fait découvrir les Mystères, c’est à dire de séparer lumière et ténèbres, donc discerner la lumière parmi les ténèbres. « Et la lumière de la lune sera aussi éclatante que celle du soleil » du Talmud pour unir le jour et la nuit est le même symbole que le soleil et la lune figurant au-dessus ou des côtés de la rose mystique dans les rituels alchimiques de ce 18ième degré et qui permet la conjonction vers la Pierre chose une et unique. Sur Rafel, la Nature à régénérer, et la Rose alchimique. Dans l’action alchimique, l’alchimiste du Pseudo Lulle est montré devant Tobie et l’archange Raphael. La nature s’arrache les cheveux ou gémit. Un ange au-dessous tient le monde, la sphère. L’initié reçoit dans le monde les secrets de l’alchimie, puisque Tobie rend la vue à son père aveugle. L’alchimie dans la suite du texte est considérée comme une agriculture céleste, par corruption, décomposition mortification, puis renaissance. L’ange sert d’intermédiaire entre l’homme et la Nature. Dans « Les remontrances de Nature à l’alchimiste errant », les trois racines de l’alchimie sont indiquées, par les trois racines dans le sol (les trois colonnes) et l’arbre se sépare en quatre branches (la croix) où les rameaux voit s’épanouir une fleur jaune à cinq pétales (la rose aux cinq pétales) qu’arrose la couleur jaune des rayons célestes (la fleur solaire). Igne, le feu secret est dans l’athanor sous Dame Nature. Celle-ci est ailée comme l’Archange et couronnée des différentes planètes. Souvent les roses sont blanches et rouges. Dans Azoth, le hérault rouge (rose mystique) est représenté comme le fils puissant du soleil et de la lune, la rose est rouge, le lys blanc. Le nombre 7 du rituel renvoie au nombre de purifications nécessaires pour purifier encore la matière qui sue, ce qui signifie que Igne doit être constant par le feu : l’eau passe par le Lion au midi et l’ours au Nord.
A Bourges, la rose est entourée de trois couronnes ou cinq feuilles en étoile et plus loin, une sphère dans une coupe est enflammée. Le vitrail des Cordeliers à Paris garde le même symbolisme que la rose entourée d’une couronne d’épines. Ici, la rose se trouve en germination à partir du cour qui saigne, avec cinq larmes, au lieu de la pierre qui sue dans une couronne d’épines. La rose se nommait Rota lorsqu’elle était centrale, ou feu de roue (dans nos campagnes, on garde encore à la St Jean d’été, le feu mis et tournant sur la roue du chariot dont la plupart ont perdu le symbole). Cependant, s’il s’agit du thème chrétien (à ne pas confondre avec catholique) et l’ésotérisme de Jean que le rituel évoquait, c’est en complément autre chose, c’est d’abord l’errance dans les ténèbres dans l’attente de la régénération et l’illumination. Car le thème chrétien ésotérique n’est pas la récompense dans l’au-delà. L’enseignement ardu de Jean est pour ceux qui se réalisent ici et maintenant et pas dans le paradis futur (Je meurs à la présence future pour être attentif à la présence immédiate). Dans le rite de perfection, la deuxième chambre est appelée enfer, et l'Alchimiste sera conduit par un mot sur quatre, mot qui est bien l’archange Rafael, dans la formule n° 2 ou Raphaël. Dans cette version, non par le christianisme, mais par la cabale des noms et des nombres, Rafael fait quand même partie citons Deny l’aréopagite « des Anges et de ceux des anges qui se caractérisent par une masse de sagesse et de connaissances, » l’aptitude à recevoir les dons de la lumière (que reflète ce degré). Rafael (utilisé dans certains rituels de la G.D. et cabalistiques pour garder une région du monde) est en relation avec la voie cardiaque martiniste et de Saint Jean : le grade est la Rédemption par l’amour. Il est « le guérisseur de Dieu », l’archange du Soleil, maître du rayonnement physique et spirituel (dans le grade, la lumière disparaît puis revient). Dans l’optique du rituel, il est le Maître des Chevaliers, comme régulateur solaire avec le métal or et la Sephirah Tipheret, la Beauté (Sagesse, Force et Beauté du premier appartement du grade) avec l’argent. Il préside à la prière du matin. Mais quels que soient les noms, le nom ineffable du Tétragramme hébraïque a été latinisé à l’aide de trois lettres plus une d’alphabet moderne, et ce sans vraisemblablement dénaturer l’esprit de ceux qui savaient très bien que ce mot était perdu et qu’il s’agissait d’un rappel de la tradition hébraïque notamment, aussi par l’utilisation dans ce rituel du chandelier à sept branches éteint, puis rallumé. On ne peut pas faire mieux comme symbole de l’extinction des lumières du temple et la réanimation, ainsi que la perte et découverte de la parole perdue, rappel d’anciens rites solaires et d’évocation de la lumière des cultes de Mithra, puis égyptianisé, hellénisé et enfin christianisé. Dans le rite français, lors de l’extinction, le rituel déclarait « Celui qui était venu pour régénérer l’humanité a été méconnu et mis à mort » et lors de la réanimation, le maître devait prononcer « La doctrine de celui qui mourut honteusement est devenue l’un des flambeaux de la Vérité ». Si ce n’est l’allusion au Christ et à l’évangile, que serait-ce sinon indiquer le sens de la régénération et la manière d’être un flambeau, même sans être chrétien, en rapport avec d’anciens cultes et processus d’évolution ? Le18ième est à la fois un grade charnière, mais aussi un grade reposant sur un enseignement initiatique de haute valeur basé sur la Rose-Croix, le chandelier à sept branches ou la Menorah et la Cène du repas rituélique, basé sur une alchimie oubliée, une cabale qui ne dit pas son nom, le Johannisme plus ou moins perdu et d’antiques notions liée à la lumière et aux transformations internes. Issu du grade de chevalier Rose croix de Kilwining et d’heredom, ce rituel trop complexe et trop lourd à comprendre intégralement a donné lieu très rapidement à des versions simplifiées. Mais les versions simplifiées omettent des détails qui avaient leur importance pour les initiateurs des grades. Et trop de simplification devient indigeste, comme de substituer un repas par un biscuit vitaminé puis par une pilule. Pour Berteaux, il n’est donc pas étonnant que chaque époque ait conduit à des modifications et que l’on voit bien « l’incidence de l’esprit du temps ». Ainsi les hommes ont fait les rituels en fonction de leur choix. L’on trouve des rituels basés sur les Testaments, sur la Philosophie, la sociologie, la psychologie, etc. et seule la comparaison de plusieurs rituels permet de découvrir des sens nouveaux ou plus approfondis par les détails. Plus on raccourcit, moins il en reste. Les supprimer, c’est faire autre chose. A chacun son chemin !
“Curious” – A Morning Encounter in the Olive Grove - Some mornings begin not with words, but with eyes meeting in silence. This was one of them. “Curious – Eyes of the Wild”
Wildlife and nature have always captivated humankind. Perhaps it’s my background in journalism, but nature has gradually drawn me in with a similar pull — that of curiosity, patience, and quiet pursuit.
This morning, I decided to revisit a remarkable encounter I had in the olive groves near my home. It was around 07:00 when I set out — just a ten-minute drive, followed by a walk across freshly tilled earth, soft and uneven beneath my feet. The goal: to find “Curious,” the wild Anatolian squirrel I had met for the first time just days before.
Not far into the grove, I spotted a pale, slender wild rabbit who darted off the moment it sensed me — despite my silent steps. I wondered if I would be lucky enough to cross paths with Curious again. With that thought, I pressed on, determined yet calm.
As I neared the gnarled trunk of an ancient olive tree, nature fell silent. Only the faint calls of birds filled the air. Then suddenly, there he was — Curious. Tucked under a lower branch, his tail wrapped tightly, he stared at me intently, our eyes locking. I hadn't brought nuts this time. I wanted to see how he'd react to just my presence — without any incentives.
I stood still, watching from about two meters away. Curious vanished into his hollow, but I gently stepped closer. Moments later, he peeked out like someone watching from a window, eyes fixed on mine. Then, to my amazement, he climbed out and onto the olive bark, stretching in the morning light as if to put on a show.
I remained silent, steady. In a single leap, he landed on a trimmed branch stump and posed. With no monopod, I began to photograph him with my Nikon Z8, using the Teleconverter TC-14E II for the first time. Curious allowed me within just under 1 meters — a sign of growing trust. It felt like we had momentarily erased the boundary between wild and human.
Later, I followed him to a mulberry tree where, like a silkworm, he nibbled delicately on the fresh young leaves. I also witnessed him gnawing on the bark and twigs of the olive tree — behavior I had never documented before.
This morning was a gift — not only for the images captured, but for the silent conversation we shared. I’ve published six portraits of Curious on my Flickr page, each telling its own quiet story. I hope they resonate with others as deeply as the experience touched me.
Wishing you a beautiful day,
Anatolian Squirrel (Sciurus anomalus) – Distribution and Details in Turkey
The Anatolian squirrel (Sciurus anomalus), also known as the Caucasian squirrel or Persian squirrel, is a tree squirrel species native to parts of the Middle East. It is the only native squirrel species in Turkey and plays an important ecological role in forested habitats.
Distribution in Turkey
The Anatolian squirrel is widely distributed throughout much of western, central, and southern Turkey, particularly in the following regions:
Aegean Region: Olive groves, oak woodlands, and fig orchards (like those in Pelitköy) provide suitable habitat.
Marmara Region: Thrace and surrounding mixed forests.
Central Anatolia: Especially in forested and steppe transition zones.
Mediterranean Region: Taurus Mountains and surrounding coastal forests.
Eastern Black Sea foothills: Patchy populations, typically in deciduous and mixed forests.
They prefer forests with oak, pine, walnut, almond, fig, and mulberry trees — and are commonly spotted in traditional olive groves, especially where some natural tree cover is retained.
Habitat & Behavior
Arboreal (tree-dwelling), diurnal (active by day).
Solitary and territorial, though tolerant of other squirrels in rich feeding areas.
Nests in tree hollows or builds leaf nests high in the canopy.
Feeds on a variety of nuts, seeds, fruits, and tree buds, including figs, almonds, acorns, and mulberries.
In cultivated landscapes like olive groves, they adapt well if large trees are present. The presence of fig and mulberry trees near human settlements helps maintain stable populations.
Conservation Status & Threats
Currently classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
However, local population declines have been observed due to:
Habitat fragmentation (especially loss of old trees and tree hollows),
Agricultural expansion, and
Climate change impacts, particularly in southern and drier regions.
Monitoring efforts in Turkey are still limited, and there's a growing call among researchers and nature photographers for increased ecological surveys and community awareness programs.
Curiosity
The Anatolian squirrel has adapted well to traditional Turkish agroforestry landscapes. In mythology and folklore, squirrels are sometimes seen as guardians of trees, and this species continues to serve that symbolic role in Anatolia.
I've captured some unforgettable moments with my camera, and I hope you feel the same joy viewing these images as I did while shooting them.
Thank you so much for visiting my gallery, whether you leave a comment, add it to your favorites, or simply take a moment to look around. Your support means a lot to me, and I wish you good luck and beautiful light in all your endeavors.
© All rights belong to R.Ertuğ. Please refrain from using these images without my express written permission. If you are interested in purchasing or using them, feel free to contact me via Flickr mail.
Lens - hand held or Monopod and definitely SPORT VR on. Aperture is f5.6 full length.. All my images have been converted from RAW to JPEG.
I started using Nikon Cross-Body Strap or Monopod on long walks. Here is my Carbon Monopod details : Gitzo GM2542 Series 2 4S Carbon Monopod - Really Right Stuff MH-01 Monopod Head with Standard Lever - Really Right Stuff LCF-11 Replacement Foot for Nikon AF-S 500mm /5.6E PF Lense -
Your comments and criticism are very valuable.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and explore :)
As it enters a new millennium humankind is undergoing a process of radical change. We are all witnesses to this transformation as humankind sets out the markers for a new civilization. In the northern hemisphere the industrial age is almost over. Knowledge, and thus humankind, is embarking on a new era in history. It seems that the new millennium will be more ‘ethical’.
The effective use of high technology and human skills is now a prerequisite for successful management. Kültür A.Ş.’s management philosophy is based on these two fundamentals. Our company aims to make maximum use of knowledge, high technology and human skills. The company’s communications infrastructure is based on an ISDN switchboard, the most advanced communications system in the world. Our working processes are integrated through extensive use of the Internet and other data transfer systems. Information technologies are adopted on the basis of a functionalist and production oriented approach rather than just applying what is ‘technologically fashionable’.‘Lax management’ is our country’s main problem. Yet modern management means ‘total quality awareness’. Last year our corporate agenda was dominated by restructuring and total quality awareness. Within this conceptual framework, positions and tasks were redefined and the corresponding regulations and directives rewritten in accordance with a Corporate Organizational Chart.
Kültür A. Ş. successfully organized cultural and artistic activities throughout 1999, mostly on behalf of the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul’s Department of Cultural Affairs. The ‘21st Century Conferences’ made a considerable contribution to intellectual life. A conference entitled ‘Istanbul and the Earthquake’ was also organized. Select artistic exhibitions were held at our cultural venues. The Bosphorus Festival, the Mystic Music Festival, the Youth Festival are among our important activities. Even more cultural and artistic activities will be organized on national and international platforms in the coming years.‘Culture, Arts and Istanbul’ has been prepared as a promotional book in which you can learn about our company and the events we organize. I would like to add that the book also aims to be informative. Our concept of ‘open management’ means that we attribute great importance to sharing information. Given that all the shares in our company are owned by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and its subsidiaries, for us sharing information is not just a principle, it is an obligation.
Kültür A.Ş. organizes activities in the fields of culture and the arts, operates cultural facilities, invests in culture and publishes books, CDs, CD-ROMs and DVDs. Yet, despite being a public sector company, in doing all of the above it strives for total quality awareness, profitability and productivity.I believe that setting such principles as our target which we achieved last year and will achieve this year as well, is as good, splendid and proper an example as the activities we organize and the products we produce.
Öyküsü su seslerine karışan 1500 yıllık bir mekan
Sultanahmet’te bulunan Yerebatan Sarnıcı, 542 yılında Bizans İmparatoru Justinyen tarafından At Meydanı’nın diğer tarafında bulunan Büyük Saray’ın su ihtiyacını karşılamak üzere yaptırılmıştır.
Fetihten sonra yaklaşık yüzyıl süreyle sarnıcın varlığı fark edilmemiş; ancak bodrumlarında su biriktiren ve deliklerden sepet sarkıtarak balık tutan insanların varlığının anlaşılmasıyla keşfedilmiştir. Osmanlı döneminde onarılarak kullanılan sarnıcın giriş kısmındaki evler 1940’larda belediye tarafından istimlak edilerek, giriş için düzenli bir bina yapılmıştır.
1985-1988’de Büyükşehir Belediyesi geniş ölçüde bir temizlik ve onarımdan geçirilen sarnıçtaki su ve dipteki çamur birikintisi boşaltılmış, temizlenmiş, batıdaki ucuna kadar uzanan bir iskele yapılmış, ayrıca kuzeydoğu köşeye de bir platform inşa edilmiştir.
Yerebatan Sarayı olarak adlandırılan sarnıç içten 145 metre uzunluğunda 65 metre genişliğindedir. Yaklaşık 9800 metrekarelik bir alanı kapsamaktadır.Her bir dizide 28 tane olmak üzere 12 sıra sütun tuğla kemerleri ve bunların desteklediği tonozları taşır. Toplam sayıları 336 olan sütunlardan 8’i kuzey bölümde Örme kılıf içine alınmış, güneybatıda 37 sütun, etraflarını çeviren bir dolgu duvarın içinde kalmıştır.
Son restorasyonda içi kuru olmasına rağmen sarnıca tekrar su geldiğinden bugün hala 1-2 m arasında su bulunmaktadır. Halen İstanbul Kültür ve Sanat Ürünleri Ticaret A.Ş. tarafından işletilen Yerebatan Sarnıcı’nda İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi’nin çeşitli kültür etkinlikleri gerçekleştirilmektedir.
http://www.yerebatan.com
On Thursday 12 July 2018, US president Donald Trump, the most dangerous man in the world, was welcomed to the United Kingdom by the British prime minister Theresa May. The following day the streets of London witnessed the biggest protest for over a decade as thousands marched on Trafalgar Square to express their anger at the British government extending a red carpet welcome for Trump.
Protesters pointed out the extreme threat to democracy, to those dependent on welfare, to womens' rights, to civil rights generally and even to the survival of humankind which Trump presents. Such assertions might seem extreme, but they are unfortunately fully justifiable.
As the president of what is by far the richest and most powerful country on earth, Trump has dedicated his term to accelerating the US addiction to fossil fuels and agribusiness, dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency and withdrawing America from the Paris Climate Accords, thereby accelerating global warming and climate change and presenting a huge threat to the continued existence of humankind.
Trump's presidency also marks another dangerous step in the erosion of democracy in the United States. Far from "draining the swamp" as he promised, Trump has surrounded himself with powerful figures from big business, especially major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, as well as his friends and allies in the fossil fuel and defence industires.
Government policy, more and more, reflects the direct interests of concentrated private power with the public having less and less influence. At the same time the Trump presidency has allied itself with some of the most ruthless regimes in the world and is profiting from Saudi Arabia's illegal war of aggression in Yemen which has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. A serious war crime in which Donald Trump and Theresa May are both complicit.
Trump has also been keen to patronise the extreme nationalist constituency in the United States and through preaching a propaganda of fear his presidency has managed to oversee some of the most racist immigration policies ever to be implemented in the United States, targeted almost exclusively at Muslim countries - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Ironically, all of them have been massively destabilized and impoverished by US foreign policy.
He was also responsible for the ruthless decision to separate children from their parents as they cross into the United States from Mexico, in his determination to block immigration from central America, where decades of US illegal intervention, including the CIA funded Contra terror operations in Nicaragua and enforced free trade (under NAFTA or IMF rules) have devastated the region and merely enhanced the power of corrupt corporate elites and drug cartels.
As if this was not enough to worry about, Trump has also authorized a huge increase in both US defence spending and in the US nuclear arsenal, and changed the strategic posture of the US so that nuclear weapons can be used even for offensive operations and even when their use is not required to preempt a nuclear strike by an enemy power.
As any historian of conflict since the Second World War knows, it is only by a miracle that humankind has survived since 1945 without a nuclear war. Now the situation is more dangerous than ever before. Not only are we are now dependent on Trump's extremely unpredictable temperament but also increasingly on automated systems which can easily malfunction.
Trump and Republicans maintain they need to spend heavily on military equipment in order to counter the supposed Russian threat. However they seldom remind the public that the United States already spends almost as much as the rest of the world combined on defence and that Russia's expenditure is far behind both that of the United States and only on about the same level of Saudi Arabia, and spends only 10% of what NATO spends.
It has also to be remembered that it is NATO and US forces which are operating right on the Russian border, not Russian forces on the American border. Russia's defence spending is clearly recognised by academics to be primarily defensive and responsive to US spending. What is desperately needed is a serious international dialogue at the highest level to decrease the danger of conflict, especially the risk of a terminal nuclear war and begin a process of multilateral disarmament.
On Thursday 12 July 2018, US president Donald Trump, the most dangerous man in the world, was welcomed to the United Kingdom by the British prime minister Theresa May. The following day the streets of London witnessed the biggest protest for over a decade as thousands marched on Trafalgar Square to express their anger at the British government extending a red carpet welcome for Trump.
Protesters pointed out the extreme threat to democracy, to those dependent on welfare, to womens' rights, to civil rights generally and even to the survival of humankind which Trump presents. Such assertions might seem extreme, but they are unfortunately fully justifiable.
As the president of what is by far the richest and most powerful country on earth, Trump has dedicated his term to accelerating the US addiction to fossil fuels and agribusiness, dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency and withdrawing America from the Paris Climate Accords, thereby accelerating global warming and climate change and presenting a huge threat to the continued existence of humankind.
Trump's presidency also marks another dangerous step in the erosion of democracy in the United States. Far from "draining the swamp" as he promised, Trump has surrounded himself with powerful figures from big business, especially major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, as well as his friends and allies in the fossil fuel and defence industires.
Government policy, more and more, reflects the direct interests of concentrated private power with the public having less and less influence. At the same time the Trump presidency has allied itself with some of the most ruthless regimes in the world and is profiting from Saudi Arabia's illegal war of aggression in Yemen which has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. A serious war crime in which Donald Trump and Theresa May are both complicit.
Trump has also been keen to patronise the extreme nationalist constituency in the United States and through preaching a propaganda of fear his presidency has managed to oversee some of the most racist immigration policies ever to be implemented in the United States, targeted almost exclusively at Muslim countries - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Ironically, all of them have been massively destabilized and impoverished by US foreign policy.
He was also responsible for the ruthless decision to separate children from their parents as they cross into the United States from Mexico, in his determination to block immigration from central America, where decades of US illegal intervention, including the CIA funded Contra terror operations in Nicaragua and enforced free trade (under NAFTA or IMF rules) have devastated the region and merely enhanced the power of corrupt corporate elites and drug cartels.
As if this was not enough to worry about, Trump has also authorized a huge increase in both US defence spending and in the US nuclear arsenal, and changed the strategic posture of the US so that nuclear weapons can be used even for offensive operations and even when their use is not required to preempt a nuclear strike by an enemy power.
As any historian of conflict since the Second World War knows, it is only by a miracle that humankind has survived since 1945 without a nuclear war. Now the situation is more dangerous than ever before. Not only are we are now dependent on Trump's extremely unpredictable temperament but also increasingly on automated systems which can easily malfunction.
Trump and Republicans maintain they need to spend heavily on military equipment in order to counter the supposed Russian threat. However they seldom remind the public that the United States already spends almost as much as the rest of the world combined on defence and that Russia's expenditure is far behind both that of the United States and only on about the same level of Saudi Arabia, and spends only 10% of what NATO spends.
It has also to be remembered that it is NATO and US forces which are operating right on the Russian border, not Russian forces on the American border. Russia's defence spending is clearly recognised by academics to be primarily defensive and responsive to US spending. What is desperately needed is a serious international dialogue at the highest level to decrease the danger of conflict, especially the risk of a terminal nuclear war and begin a process of multilateral disarmament.