View allAll Photos Tagged Positive
This was for a family-oriented article about adults improving children's behavior. (why do all of my men have beards?)
Rigid positive master mold is now done; compare this to the 3D model shown earlier. Next, a relatively hard but flexible polyaddition RTV silicone molding rubber (ACC M242, 42 Shore A) is poured into the mold and left to cure to produce a negative (or multiple negatives).
Getting this part right actually took three attempts on top of the earlier screw diameter typo, due to a bad behavior of the CAM program. The software - supposedly sampling the part and fitting toolpaths with a 0.001 mm resolution - failed to realize it should drive a 0.4 mm end mill to the very end of a region with a generous 0.41 mm allowance. This resulted in an imperceptible (0.2 mm or so missing) but significant flaw in gear tooth geometry that made the mechanism noisy and inefficient. Troubleshooting something you can't even see is hard - and indeed, it took a lot of poking, prodding, and manual toolpath analysis over the course of two days to figure out what went wrong.
The number of bugs and design issues that I stumbled upon in various CAM programs in the past two years nears 25 or so; and I run into them only when I am too lazy to run a simulation and examine it under a magnifying glass ;-)
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++++ FROM WIKIPEDIA ++++
The International Finance Centre (abbr. IFC, branded as "ifc") is a skyscraper and an integrated commercial development on the waterfront of Hong Kong's Central District.
A prominent landmark on Hong Kong Island, IFC consists of two skyscrapers, the IFC Mall, and the 55-storey Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Tower 2 is the second tallest building in Hong Kong (415 m), behind the International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon. It is the fourth-tallest building in the Greater China region and the eighth-tallest office building in the world, based on structural heights; by roof height, only the Taipei 101, Shanghai World Financial Center, Willis Tower, International Commerce Centre and Burj Khalifa exceed it. It is of similar height to the former World Trade Center. The Airport Express Hong Kong Station is directly beneath it.
IFC was constructed and is owned by IFC Development, a consortium of Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land and Towngas.[6]
In 2003, Financial Times, HSBC, and Cathay Pacific put up an advertisement on the facade that stretched more than 50 storeys, covering an area of 19,000 m2 (0.2 million square ft) and a length of 230 m, making it the world's largest advertisement ever put on a skyscraper.[7]
Contents
1 History
2 One International Finance Centre
3 Two International Finance Centre
4 Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
5 IFC Mall
6 Gallery
6.1 2 International Finance Centre
6.2 International Finance Centre Mall
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
History
Tower 1 is also known as 1IFC and branded in lowercase letters, as "One ifc". Likewise, Tower 2 is also known as 2IFC and branded as "Two ifc".[8]
1IFC opened in December 1998, towards the end of the Asian financial crisis. Tenants included ING Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, Fidelity International, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority[9] and the Financial Times.[10]
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority purchased 14 floors in 2IFC;[10] the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation signed a 12-year lease on 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m2);[11] Nomura Group agreed to take 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m2) at 2 IFC; the Financial Times, an existing tenant at One IFC, took 10,000 sq ft (900 m2).[10] Ernst & Young took six floors (from the 11th to 18th floors), or about 180,000 square feet (16,700 m2), in 2IFC, to become the biggest tenant.[12]
2IFC, which was completed at the height of the SARS epidemic,[9] was initially available to rent at HK$25-HK$35 per square foot.[13] In 2007, as the economy has improved, high quality ("Grade A") office space is highly sought after; rents for current leases are $150 per square foot as of March 2007.[14]
The IFC's towers have featured in several Hollywood films, including Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, where Lara Croft leaps off the then-under-construction 2 International Finance Centre, landing on a ship out in the Kowloon Bay, and The Dark Knight, where Batman leapt from 2 IFC to 1 IFC, where an action scene then takes place.[15]
The 88th floor of 2IFC is the backdrop of core scenes of the German Thriller "Im Schatten der Lombardis" [1] by Berit Paton Reid, a German writer based in Dubai, UAE.
One International Finance Centre
One International Finance Centre
IFC mall Phase 1 shopping arcade
One International Finance Centre was constructed in 1998 and opened in 1999. It is 688 feet (210 m) tall,[16] has 39 storeys and four trading floors, 18 high speed passenger lifts in 4 zones, and comprises 784,000 square feet (72,800 m2). It is similar in design and appearance to 30 Hudson Street in Jersey City, New Jersey. The building currently accommodates approximately 5,000 people.
Two International Finance Centre
Two International Finance Centre, completed in 2003, is attached to the second phase of the ifc mall. This 415-metre-tall (1,362 ft) building, currently Hong Kong's second tallest, is quoted as having 88 storeys and 22 high-ceiling trading floors to qualify as being extremely auspicious in Chinese culture. It is, however, short of the magic number, because "taboo floors" like 14th and 24th are omitted as being inauspicious – because 4 sounds like 'die' in Cantonese.
The highrise is designed to accommodate financial institutions. For example, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is located at the 55th floor. It is equipped with advanced telecommunications, raised floors for flexible cabling management, and nearly column-free floor plans. The building expects to accommodate up to 15,000 people. It is one of relatively few buildings in the world equipped with double-deck elevators.
The 55th, 56th and the 77th to 88th floors were bought by the HKMA for US$480 million in 2001.[11] An exhibition area, currently containing an exhibit of Hong Kong's monetary history, and a library of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Centre occupy the 55th floor, and are open to the public during office hours.[17]
Despite common practice for owners to allow naming buildings after its important tenants, the owners decided not to allow renaming of the building.[18]
Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
Main article: Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong
The Four Seasons Hotel is a luxury hotel that was built near the IFC One and Two. It was completed and opened in October 2005. The 206 m (674 ft), 60-storey oceanfront hotel is the only Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong. The hotel has 399 guest suites, and 519 serviced apartments. Amenities include a French restaurant Caprice and spa.[19]
IFC Mall
It is an 800,000 sq ft, 4-storey shopping mall, with many luxury retail brands and wide variety of restaurants. The first official Apple Store was also located in this mall (a 3-storey flagship store in Hong Kong).
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港; pronunciation in Hong Kong Cantonese: [hœ́ːŋ.kɔ̌ːŋ]), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary in East Asia, south of the mainland Chinese province of Guangdong, and east of the former Portuguese colony and fellow special administrative region of Macau. With around 7.3 million Hong Kongers of various nationalities[note 1] in a territory of 1,104 km2, Hong Kong is the fourth-most densely populated region in the world.
Hong Kong was formerly a colony of the British Empire, after the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island from Qing China at the conclusion of the First Opium War in 1842. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860, and acquired a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during the Second World War, until British control resumed in 1945. The territory was returned to China under the framework of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed between the United Kingdom and China in 1984 and marked by the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997, when it became a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.[13]
Under the principle of "one country, two systems",[14][15] Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system apart from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong retains independent executive, legislative, and judiciary powers.[16] Nevertheless, Hong Kong does directly develop relations with foreign states and international organizations in a broad range of "appropriate fields",[17] being actively and independently involved in institutions such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum[18] and the World Trade Organization.[19]
Hong Kong is one of the world's most significant financial centres, holding the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranking as the world's most competitive and freest economic entity.[20][21] As the world's eighth-largest trading entity,[22] its legal tender, Hong Kong dollar, is the world's 13th most traded currency.[23] Hong Kong's tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by competitive simple taxation and supported by its independent judiciary system.[24] Although the city boasts one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, it suffers from severe income inequality.[25]
Hong Kong features the most skyscrapers in the world, surrounding Victoria Harbour, which lies in the centre of the city's dense urban region.[26][27] It has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the world's longest life expectancy.[28][29] Over 90% of its population makes use of well-developed public transportation.[30] Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring industrial areas of mainland China, which adopts loose emissions standards, has resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates in winter.[31][32][33]
Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Prehistory
2.2 Imperial China
2.3 British colony
2.4 Japanese military occupation
2.5 Post-war industrialisation
2.6 Transfer of sovereignty
2.7 Special administrative region
3 Government and politics
3.1 Legal system and judiciary
3.2 Foreign relations
3.3 Regional and administrative divisions
3.4 Electoral and political reforms
3.5 Sociopolitical issues and human rights
3.6 Military
4 Geography
4.1 Climate
4.2 Architecture
4.3 Cityscape
5 Demographics
5.1 Languages
5.2 Religion
5.3 Personal income
6 Economy
6.1 Financial centre
6.2 International trading
6.3 Tourism and expatriation
6.4 Policy
7 Infrastructure
7.1 Energy
7.2 Water and sanitation
7.3 Health
8 Transport
8.1 Rail
8.2 Roads and taxis
8.3 Aviation
8.4 Ferries
8.5 Buses and trams
9 Education
10 Culture
10.1 Sport
11 Media
12 Notable people
13 See also
14 Notes
15 References
15.1 Citations
15.2 Sources
16 Further reading
17 External links
Etymology
Hong Kong
Hong Kong in Chinese 2.svg
"Hong Kong" in Chinese characters
Chinese 香港
Cantonese Yale Hēunggóng or Hèunggóng
Literal meaning Fragrant Harbour,
Incense Harbour[34][35]
[show]Transcriptions
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Traditional Chinese 香港特別行政區
(香港特區)
Simplified Chinese 香港特别行政区
(香港特区)
Cantonese Yale Hēunggóng Dahkbiht Hàhngjingkēui
(Hēunggóng Dahkkēui)
or
Hèunggóng Dahkbiht Hàhngjingkēui
(Hèunggóng Dahkkēui)
[show]Transcriptions
The name Hong Kong originally referred to a small inlet between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. The town of Aberdeen was an initial point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen.[36] The source of the romanised name is not known, but it is generally believed to be an early imprecise phonetic rendering of the spoken Cantonese pronunciation of 香港 (Cantonese Yale: hēung góng), which means "Fragrant Harbour" or "Incense Harbour".[34][35][37] Fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water influx from the Pearl River estuary or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Victoria Harbour was developed.[37] Another theory is that the name originates from the Tanka, early inhabitants of the region; it is equally probable that a romanisation of the name in their dialect was used (i.e. hōng, not hēung in Cantonese).[38] Regardless of origin, the name was recorded in the Treaty of Nanking to encompass all of Hong Kong Island, and has been used to refer to the territory in its entirety ever since.[39]
The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926.[40] Nevertheless, a number of institutions founded during the early colonial era still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric, and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
History
Main articles: History of Hong Kong and History of China
Prehistory
Main article: Prehistoric Hong Kong
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.[41][42][43] Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the Paleolithic Period. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue to Hong Kong.[44][45] Eight petroglyphs dated to the Shang Dynasty were discovered on the surrounding islands.[46]
Imperial China
Main article: History of Hong Kong under Imperial China
In 214 BC, the Qin dynasty conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern-day Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the area of Hong Kong into China for the first time.[47] After a brief period of centralisation and subsequent collapse of the Qin dynasty, the area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the Nanyue kingdom, founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC.[48] After the Han conquered Nanyue in 111 BC, Hong Kong was assigned to the Jiaozhi commandery. Archaeological evidence indicates an increase of population and expansion of salt production. The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built as a burial site during the Han dynasty.[49]
Sung Wong Toi, believed to be a memorial to the last two boy emperors of the Southern Song dynasty, as it appeared before the Second Sino-Japanese War.
During the Tang dynasty, the Guangdong region flourished as an international trading center. A military stronghold was established in Tuen Mun to strengthen defence of the coastal area.[50] Lantau Island was a salt production centre and smuggler riots occasionally broke out against the government. The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 in the modern-day New Territories by the Song dynasty.[51] During their war against the Mongols, the Southern Song court was briefly stationed at modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site) before their ultimate defeat at the Battle of Yamen in 1279.[52]
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer, who arrived in 1513.[53][54] Having established a trading post in a site they called "Tamão" in Hong Kong waters, Portuguese merchants commenced with regular trading in southern China. Subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal, however, led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from southern China.[55] After the Qing conquest, Hong Kong was directly affected by the Great Clearance, an imperial decree that ordered the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong from 1661 to 1669 as part of his efforts against Ming loyalist rebels in southern China. Over 16,000 inhabitants of Xin'an County, which included Hong Kong, were forced to migrate inland; only 1,648 of those who had evacuated returned in subsequent years.[56] With frequent pirate attacks and ever increasing incursions by European explorers, forts were constructed at Tung Chung and the Kowloon Walled City.[57]
Though maritime trade had previously been banned, after repopulation of the coast and final defeat of all rebels with Ming sympathies, the Kangxi Emperor lifted the trade prohibition in 1684 and allowed foreigners to enter Chinese ports.[58] Trade with Europeans was more strictly regulated and became concentrated in the Pearl River Delta after establishment of the Canton System in 1757, which forbade non-Russian ships from northern Chinese ports and forced all commerce to be conducted solely in the port of Canton, just north of Hong Kong.[59] While European demand for Chinese commodities like tea, silk, and porcelain was high, Chinese interest in European manufactured goods was comparatively negligible, creating a large trade imbalance between Qing China and Great Britain. To counter this deficit, the British began to sell increasingly large volumes of Indian opium to China.[60] Faced with a drug addiction crisis,[61] Chinese officials pursued ever more aggressive actions in an attempt to halt the opium trade.[60]
British colony
Main articles: British Hong Kong and History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)
City of Victoria, 1860s
In 1839, threats by the Qing imperial court to place sanctions on opium imports caused diplomatic friction with the British Empire. Tensions escalated into the First Opium War. After British victory in the Second Battle of Chuenpi, the Qing initially admitted defeat. As part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Qishan, Viceroy of Liangguang, Hong Kong Island was declared to be ceded under the Convention of Chuenpi. British forces took formal possession of the island on 26 January 1841. However, disputes between high-ranking officials of both countries led to the failure of the treaty's ratification.[62] After more than another year of further hostilities, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom under the terms of the Treaty of Nanking on 29 August 1842.[63] The British officially established a Crown colony and founded the City of Victoria in the following year.[64]
The population of Hong Kong Island was 7,450 when the Union Jack raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841. It mostly consisted of Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners, whose settlements scattered along several coastal hamlets. In the 1850s, a large number of Chinese refugees crossed the open border fleeing from the Taiping Rebellion. Other natural disasters, such as flooding, typhoons, and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place for safe shelter.[65][66] Further conflicts over the opium trade between the British and Qing quickly escalated into the Second Opium War. Following the Anglo-French victory, the colony was expanded to include Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street) and Stonecutter's Island, both of which were ceded to the British in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860. The colony was expanded further in 1898, when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of additional territory from the Qing under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory; Lantau Island, the area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon up to the Sham Chun River, and over 200 other outlying islands were given over to British control.[67][68][69]
Queen's Road Central at the junction of Duddell Street, c. 1900
Hong Kong soon became a major entrepôt thanks to its free port status, attracting new immigrants from both China and Europe. However, the population remained racially divided and polarised under early British colonial policies. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper-class by the late-19th century, racial discrimination laws, such as the Peak Reservation Ordinance, prevented ethnic Chinese from acquiring property in reserved areas, such as Victoria Peak. At this time, the majority of the Chinese population in Hong Kong had no political representation in the British colonial government. The British governors did rely, however, on a small number of Chinese elites, including Sir Kai Ho and Robert Hotung, who served as ambassadors and mediators between the government and local population.
File:1937 Hong Kong VP8.webmPlay media
Hong Kong filmed in 1937
The colony continued to experience modest growth during the first half of the 20th century. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's first higher education institute. While there had been an exodus of 60,000 residents for fear of a German attack on the British colony during the First World War, Hong Kong remained unscathed. Its population increased from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and reached 1.6 million by 1941.[70]
In 1925, Cecil Clementi became the 17th Governor of Hong Kong. Fluent in Cantonese and without a need for translators, Clementi appointed Shouson Chow to the Executive Council as its first ethnic Chinese member. Under Clementi's tenure, Kai Tak Airport entered operation as RAF Kai Tak and several aviation clubs. At the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, when the Empire of Japan invaded China from its protectorate in Manchuria, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared the colony a neutral zone to safeguard Hong Kong's status as a free port.
Japanese military occupation
Main article: Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
Liberation of Hong Kong in 1945. Picture taken at the Cenotaph in Central.
On 8 December 1941, the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Imperial Japanese Army moved south from Guangzhou and crossed the Sham Chun River to attack Hong Kong as part of a coordinated military offensive against the Allied Powers.[71] The Battle of Hong Kong lasted for 17 days, through which British, Canadian, Indian, and local colonial units defended Hong Kong. By the fifth day, Commonwealth troops, under heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, had been forced to abandon their positions in Kowloon and retreated to Hong Kong Island.[72] With the remaining troops unable to further mount an effective defence, Governor Young surrendered the colony on Christmas Day. This day is remembered by locals as "Black Christmas".[73]
During the occupation, the garrisoned Japanese soldiers committed many atrocities against both civilians and prisoners of war, including the St. Stephen's College massacre. Local residents suffered widespread food shortages, strict rationing, and hyperinflation arising from the forced exchange of currency from Hong Kong dollars to Japanese military yen. Widespread starvation and forced deportation of residents for use as slave labour to mainland China drastically reduced the population of Hong Kong from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when control of the colony returned to the British.[74]
Post-war industrialisation
Main articles: British Hong Kong, 1950s in Hong Kong, 1960s in Hong Kong, 1970s in Hong Kong, 1980s in Hong Kong, and 1990s in Hong Kong
Flag of British Hong Kong from 1959 to 1997
Hong Kong's population recovered quickly after the war, as a wave of skilled migrants from the Republic of China sought refuge from the Chinese Civil War in a territory neutral to the conflict. When the Communist Party took full control of mainland China in 1949, even more refugees fled across the open border in fear of persecution.[67] Many newcomers, especially those who had been based in the major port cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou, established corporations and small- to medium-sized businesses and shifted their base operations to British Hong Kong.[67] The establishment of the People's Republic of China caused the British colonial government to reconsider Hong Kong's open border to mainland China. In 1951, a boundary zone was demarked as a buffer zone against potential military attacks from communist China. Border posts along the north of Hong Kong began operation in 1953 to regulate the movement of people and goods into and out of the territory.
Hong Kong in 1965
In the 1950s, Hong Kong became the first of the Four Asian Tiger economies that was undergoing rapid industrialisation driven by textile exports, manufacturing industries, and re-exports of goods to China. As the population grew, with labour costs remaining low, living standards began to rise steadily.[75] The construction of the Shek Kip Mei Estate in 1953 marked the beginning of the public housing estate programme, which provided shelter for the less privileged and helped cope with the continuing influx of immigrants.
Under Governor Murray MacLehose, the government began a series of reforms to improve the quality of infrastructure and public services through the 1970s. Systemic corruption in the uniformed services had crippled trust in the government; MacLehose established the ICAC, an independent security service under the direct authority of the Governor, to restore the integrity of the civil service.[76] Chinese was recognised as an official language during his tenure, accelerating the process of localisation in the government, slowly handing key official posts long held only by British members of the government over to local ethnic Chinese people.[77][78] To alleviate road traffic congestion and provide a more reliable means of crossing the Victoria Harbour, the Mass Transit Railway was constructed and began operations of its first line in 1979. The Island Line, Kwun Tong Line, and Tsuen Wan Line all opened in the early 1980s, connecting Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and parts of the New Territories to a single transport system.[79] MacLehose was the longest-serving colonial governor and, by the end of his governorship, had become one of the most popular and well-known figures in the territory. MacLehose laid the foundation for Hong Kong to establish itself as a key global city in the 1980s and early 1990s.
A sky view of Hong Kong Island
An aerial view of the northern shore of Hong Kong Island in 1986
Since 1983, the value of the Hong Kong dollar has been pegged to that of the United States dollar. The territory's competitiveness in manufacturing gradually declined due to rising labour and property costs, as well as new industrial capacity developed in southern China under the Open Door Policy, which was introduced in 1978. Nevertheless, by the early 1990s, Hong Kong had established itself as a global financial centre, a regional hub for logistics and freight, one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, and the world's exemplar of laissez-faire market policy.[80]
The Hong Kong issue
In 1971, China's permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council was transferred from the Republic of China, which had evacuated to Taiwan at the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, to the People's Republic of China. Hong Kong was soon after removed from the organization's list of non-self-governing territories, at the request of the PRC. Facing an uncertain future for the colony and the expiration of the New Territories lease beyond 1997, Governor MacLehose raised the question of Hong Kong's status with Deng Xiaoping in 1979.
Diplomatic negotiations with China resulted in the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984. The United Kingdom agreed to transfer to China the entirety of the colony, including the perpetually ceded areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula, at the conclusion of the 99-year New Territories lease in 1997, when Hong Kong would become a special administrative region governed separately from the mainland, retaining its free-market economy, common law judicial system, independent representation in international organizations, treaty arrangements, and self-governance in all areas except foreign diplomacy and military defence. The treaty further stipulated that the territory would be guaranteed a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years after the transfer, with the Basic Law of Hong Kong serving as its constitutional document.[67]
A street at the edge of the Kowloon Walled City at night.
Under the terms of the Second Convention of Peking, the colony was expanded out to the New Territories, but the treaty did not include a small military outpost over which the Kowloon Walled City would later be built. After the end of Japanese occupation, thousands of refugees fleeing from the mainland during the Chinese Civil War made their way to the Walled City and became squatters occupying this parcel of land where China was technically still the sovereign power. Over the following decades, the population of this 2.6-hectare (6.4-acre) area dramatically increased, reaching 33,000 by 1987, making the Walled City the most densely populated area in the world at its peak.[81][82] Despite widespread illegal activity and unsanitary living conditions, the British largely took a 'hands-off' approach with regard to the Walled City due to the area's muddled territorial status and to avoid confrontation with the mainland authority.[83] The Sino-British Joint Declaration laid the groundwork for cooperation between the British and Chinese governments concerning any Hong Kong-related issues, including the fate of the former military fort. The Chinese government acquiesced to the demolition of the settlement in 1987.[84] The structure was cleared away in 1994 and the area converted into the Kowloon Walled City Park.[85]
Transfer of sovereignty
Main article: Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, where the handover ceremony took place in 1997
On 1 July 1997, sovereignty over Hong Kong was officially transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, marking the end of 156 years of British colonial rule. As Britain's last major and most populous remaining colony, the handover effectively represented the end of the British Empire. This event made Hong Kong the first special administrative region of China. Exactly at midnight, all government organisations with royal patronage simultaneously dropped the Royal prefix from their titles and any regalia with references to the Crown were replaced with insignia bearing the Bauhinia.[86] After the handover ceremony, Chris Patten, the last Governor of Hong Kong, together with Prince Charles, departed the city on board the Royal Yacht Britannia.[87]
Special administrative region
Main articles: 2000s in Hong Kong and Hong Kong–Mainland conflict
Almost immediately after the transfer of sovereignty, Hong Kong's economy was severely affected by the Asian financial crisis and further depressed by the outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian flu. Financial Secretary Donald Tsang used the substantial territorial foreign currency reserves to maintain the Hong Kong dollar's currency peg and spent over HK$120 billion on significant holdings of major Hong Kong companies to prevent a general market collapse.[67] While complete disaster was averted, Chief Executive Tung's housing policy of building 85,000 subsidised flats a year triggered a housing market crisis in 1998, depressing property prices and causing some homeowners to become bankrupt.[88] Hong Kong was again gravely affected by the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003.[89][90] In total, 1,755 people were infected, with 299 fatalities.[91] Economic activities slowed and schools were closed for weeks at the height of the epidemic. An estimated HK$380 million (US$48.9 million) in contracts were lost as a result of the epidemic.[92] While Hong Kong was also severely affected by the global recession of the late 2000s, the Tsang government introduced a series of economic stimulus measures prevented a prolonged recession.[93]
Infrastructure post-handover has been rapidly developed, with major transport links continuing to be planned and constructed. The Rose Garden Project, which began under British administration, to construct a new international airport was completed in 1998 and operations began at the new site during the same year. The Ngong Ping Cable Car, West Kowloon Cultural District, multiple new railway lines, and additional cross-harbour tunnels were all completed in the first 20 years of territorial self-governance. Direct infrastructure links with mainland China are also being actively developed, with both the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge and Hong Kong section of the national high-speed railway currently under construction. Construction of the rail link generated a high level of controversy surrounding the demolition of key landmarks and displacement of residents along the planned route.[94]
Hong Kong Island north coast, overlooking Victoria Harbour and Central and East Kowloon from middle section of Lugard Road at daytime
Political debates have centred themselves predominately on issues surrounding electoral reform and Hong Kong's jurisdictional independence from the central government. Following the handover, democratic reform of the Legislative Council was immediately terminated and the government attempted to legislate sweeping national security legislation pursuant to Article 23 of the Basic Law. Coupled with years of economic hardships and discontent of Chief Executive Tung's pro-Beijing stance, over 500,000 people demonstrated against the government, which eventually led to Tung's resignation in 2005.[95] Further proposals by the government to introduce a national education curriculum and nominee pre-screening before allowing Chief Executive elections triggered a number of mass protests in 2014, collectively known as the Umbrella Revolution.[96] Violent attacks on journalists, an increasing level of press self-censorship, alleged extraterritorial abduction of anti-China publishers,[97] and covert intervention into Hong Kong's educational, political, and independent institutions have posed challenges to the policy of one country, two systems. In the 2016 legislative election, there were reports of discrepancies in the electorate registry, which contained ghost registrations across constituencies, as well as political intervention to strip pro-independence individuals of their right to stand in elections[98] and alleged death threats to election candidates.[99] Social tension heightened during Leung's term, with many residents believing that China increased their efforts to exert influence on everyday life in Hong Kong. A survey in 2016 showed that only 17.8% of residents considered themselves as "Chinese citizens", whereas 41.9% considered themselves purely as "citizens of Hong Kong".[100]
Government and politics
香港候任特首林鄭月娥13.jpg 政務司司長張建宗15.jpg
Carrie Lam
Chief Executive Matthew Cheung
Chief Secretary
Main articles: Government of Hong Kong, Politics of Hong Kong, and Elections in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, maintaining a separate legislature, executive, and judiciary from the rest of the country. It has a parliamentary government modelled after the Westminster system, inheriting this from British colonial administration. The Sino-British Joint Declaration guarantees the territory's capitalist economic system and autonomous system of government for 50 years after the transfer of sovereignty.[note 2] Under this framework, the Basic Law of Hong Kong is the regional constitutional document, establishing the structure and responsibility of the government.[101][102] The head of government is the Chief Executive, who is selected by the Election Committee for a five-year term that is renewable once. The central government provides oversight for the regional government; final interpretative power of the Basic Law rests with the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the Chief Executive is formally appointed by the State Council after nomination by the aforementioned Election Committee.[101] Responsibility for foreign and military affairs is also assumed by the central authority.[note 3]
Government House, official residence of the Chief Executive.
A chamber within the Legislative Council Complex.
The grey dome and front gable of a granite neo-classical building, with a skyscraper in the background against a clear blue sky.
Court of Final Appeal Building in Central. Formerly housed the Supreme Court and the Legislative Council before its current function.
The Legislative Council is a unicameral legislature with 70 members, consisting of 35 directly elected members apportioned to geographical constituencies, 30 members representing professional or special interest groups formed as functional constituencies, and 5 members nominated by members of the District Councils and elected in territory-wide elections.[14][103] Legislators are elected using multiple different voting systems, determined by whichever constituency a particular seat is representing. All directly elected seats are filled using a proportional representative system, while functional constituencies other than the all-territory District Council constituency choose their councillors using first-past-the-post or instant-runoff voting.[104]
Government policy is determined by the Executive Council, a body of advisors appointed by the Chief Executive with the authority to issue delegated legislation and proposes new bills to the legislature for debate and promulgation. Direct administration is managed by the Civil Service, an apolitical bureaucracy that ensures positive implementation of policy.[14][105] Hong Kong is nationally represented in the National People's Congress by 36 delegates chosen through an electoral college.[16][106]
22 political parties had representatives elected to the Legislative Council in the 2016 election.[107] These parties have aligned themselves into three ideological groups: the pro-Beijing camp who form the current government, the pro-democracy camp, and localist groups.[108] The Communist Party does not have an official political presence in Hong Kong and its members do not run in local elections.[109]
The Monetary Authority is the currency board and de facto central bank of the territory.[110] It is responsible for regulation of the Hong Kong dollar and, along with HSBC, Standard Chartered Hong Kong, and the Bank of China, issues currency in the form of banknotes. Coinage is solely minted by the Monetary Authority.[111]
Legal system and judiciary
Main articles: Law of Hong Kong and Judiciary of Hong Kong
The judicial system of Hong Kong is derived from the common law system of English law, and was created at the establishment of the territory as a British colony. Chinese national law does not generally apply in the region, and Hong Kong is treated as an independent jurisdiction.[112] The Court of Final Appeal is the territory's highest court, exercising final adjudication over interpretation of laws and has the power to strike down statutes and legislation inconsistent with the Basic Law.[113][114] It is led by the Chief Justice and consists of three additional permanent judges and one non-permanent seat filled by judges from overseas common law jurisdictions on a rotating basis.[14][115] However, final interpretation of the Basic Law itself is a power vested in the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Judges on all courts are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of an independent commission.[14][116] As a common law system, judicial courts in Hong Kong may refer to precedents set in English law and Commonwealth jurisdictions.[14][115][14]
The Department of Justice is responsible for handling legal matters for the government. Its responsibilities include providing legal advice, criminal prosecution, civil representation, legal and policy drafting and reform and international legal co-operation between different jurisdictions.[112] Apart from prosecuting criminal cases, lawyers of the Department of Justice act on behalf of the government in all civil and administrative lawsuits against the government.[112] The department may call for judicial review of government action or legislation and may intervene in any cases involving the greater public interest.[117] The Basic Law protects the Department of Justice from any interference by the government when exercising its control over criminal prosecution.[14][118] Law enforcement is a responsibility of the Security Bureau and the Hong Kong Police, with agencies like the Customs and Excise Department and Immigration Department handling more specialised tasks.
playing with Lightroom presets and processing!
the sun was in and out today so able to get the stones lit at times
Artist: Axel, Lindahl
Date/place: ca. 1876, Stockholm
Subject: Edvard Grieg
Medium: photographic positive/negative, B&W
Notes: postcard with original signature
Persistent URL: www.bergen.folkebibl.no/arkiv/grieg/fotografi/stor_edvard...
Original belongs to the Edvard Grieg Archives at Bergen Public Library
Seemoos, Lake Constance
300 seconds exposure @ ISO 1,5
Camera: Harman TiTAN 4x5
Lightmeter: Sekonic L-508
Paper: Harman Direct Positive Paper FB Glossy
Developer: Tetenal Eukobrom (rotation development)
Stop Bath: Ilfostop
Fixer: Ilford Rapid Fixer
INSTALAÇÕES | INSTALLATIONS
Ali Miharbi - Movie Mirrors - Estados Unidos | United States
Anne Save de Beaurecueil + Franklin Lee / Equipe SUBdV (Victor Sardenberg, André Romitelli, Lucas de Sardi & Fabrício G. de Oliveira) - High Low - Brasil | Brazil
Annica Cuppetelli & Cristobal Mendoza - Nervous Structure - Estados Unidos | United States
Ben Jack - Elucidating Feedback - Nova Zelândia | New Zealand
Eric Siu - in collaboration with the member of Ishikawa Komuro Laboratory, University of Tokyo, Yoshihiro Watanabe, Ohno Hiroaki & Takeoka Hideki - Body Hack 1.0 - Japão | Japan
Hye Yeon Nam - Please Smile - Estados Unidos | United States
Joon Y. Moon - Augmented Shadow - Coréia do Sul | South Korea
Julian Palacz - algorithmic search for Love - Áustria | Austria
Juliana Mori - timeLandscape - wool rhythms - Brasil | Brazil
Karina Smigla-Bobinski - ADA - analoge interactive kinetic sculpture - Polônia e Alemanha | Poland and Germany
Kimchi & Chips - Link - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Kimchi & Chips - Journey: Seoul - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Lars Lundehave Hansen - Spiderbytes - Alemanha | Germany
Lawrence Malstaf - Nemo Observatorium 02002 - Bélgica | Belgium
Matt Roberts - Waves - Estados Unidos | United States
Ryoichi Kurokawa - rheo: 5 horizons - Bélgica | Belgium
Yujiro Kabutoya & Kazushi Mukaiyama - IJIROS - Japão | Japan
HIPERSÔNICA | HYPERSONICA PERFORMANCE
Alfredo Ciannameo - Ionesis - sonic plasma - Holanda | Netherlands
André Rangel, Anne-Kathrin Siegel & Fernando Alçada - SynDyn - Portugal | Portugal
Eduardo Nespoli, Projeto Aquarpa (Thiago Salas Gomes, Lucas Almeida, Flavio Jacon de Vasconcelos & Leandro Pereira Souza) - Mnemorfoses - Brasil | Brazil
Eduardo Patrício - Zin - Brasil | Brazil
Euphorie - França | France
Giuliano Obici - Concerto para Lanhouse - Brasil | Brazil
Nicolas Maigret - Pure Data read as pure data - França | France
HIPERSÔNICA | HYPERSONICA SCREENING
Alison Clifford & Graeme Truslove - Substratum - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Fernando Velázquez - auto-retrato - Brasil | Brazil
Fernando Velázquez - the mindscapes suite - Brasil | Brazil
Jaap: Harriet Payer & Jorge Esquivelzeta - Cyberspace Photsynthesis - México | Mexico
Jaap: Harriet Payer & Jorge Esquivelzeta - Dog's Eye View - México | Mexico
Paul O Donoghue aka Ocusonic - Phasing Waves - Irlanda | Ireland
Warsaw Electronic Festival 2010: Przemyslaw Moskal - Digital Sculptures for Analog Sounds - Estados Unidos | United States
HIPERSÔNICA PARTICIPANTES | HYPERSONICA PARTICIPANTS
Alvaro X - Dead in DUMP - Brasil | Brazil
Bernhard Loibner - Unidentified Musical Subject - Áustria | Austria
Claudio Parodi - The things that are missing - Itália | Italy
CLEBER GAZANA | SIMPLE.NORMAL - F. WILL I DREAM? - Brasil | Brazil
DANIEL GAZANA - NOSOCÔMIO - Brasil | Brazil
Joaquin Cofreces - Hamoni Lapude Anan ( "we used to make canoes" in yaghan language) - Argentina | Argentina
The Tiny Orchestra - Time Wounds All Heels - Canadá | Canada
Juan Pablo Amato - Duo Encaprichado en alisar rugosidades mentales - Argentina | Argentina
Mauro Ceolin - Spore's Ytubesoundscape and his wildlife - Itália | Italy
Panayiotis KOKORAS - Magic - Grécia | Greece
FaoBeat - Beat'nTime / Lift'nBeat - Brasil | Brazil
Philip Mantione - Fabrics - Estados Unidos | United States
Music For Installations - Braindamage - Bélgica | Belgium
RINALDO SANTOS - MUSICONTOS - Brasil | Brazil
Sergio Cajado - Constatações Urbanas - Passado, Presente e Futuro - Brasil | Brazil
Sergio Granada Moreno - Digital Rainbow (2009) - Colombia | Colombia
Sol Rezza - Preguntas - Questions - México | Mexico
MÍDIA ARTE | MEDIA ART
A. Bill Miller - gridSol-precomps - Estados Unidos | United States
A. Bill Miller - gridSol-altar1 - Estados Unidos | United States
Aaron Oldenburg - After - Estados Unidos | United States
Agam (A.) Andreas - La Resocialista Internacional - Holanda | Netherlands
alan bigelow - This Is Not A Poem - Estados Unidos | United States
Alcione Godoy, Camillo Louvise, Bruno Azzolini, Rafael Araujo, Rodolfo Rossi, Marina Maia & Vinicius Nakamura - Hipercepção - Brasil | Brazil
Alex Hetherington - Linda Fratianne - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Anders Weberg - P2P ART - The aesthetics of ephemerality - Suécia | Sweden
Anders Weberg - JE SUIS PÈRE ET MON PÈRE EST PÈRE I'm a Father and my Father is a Father - Suécia | Sweden
Anders Weberg - Expose Yourself - Suécia | Sweden
Anstey/Pape: Josephine Anstey & Dave Pape - Mrs. Squandertime - Estados Unidos | United States
Balam Soto - Self Portrait Videos - Estados Unidos | United States
Bárbara de Azevedo - VIDEO ESTADO SIMULACRO CINEMATOGRÁFICO - Brasil | Brazil
Ben Baker-Smith - Infinite Glitch - Estados Unidos | United States
Brit Bunkley - Pardox of Plenty - Nova Zelândia | New Zealand
Brit Bunkley - Up River Blues - Nova Zelândia | New Zealand
Brit Bunkley - Springfield Paradox - Nova Zelândia | New Zealand
Bruno Xavier, Fabiane Zambon, Felipe van Deursen, Frederico Di Giacomo & Kleyson Barbosa (Equipe principal) | Ana Freitas, Ana Prado, André Sirangelo, Alisson Lima, André Maciel, Alexandre Versignassi, Dalton Soares, Daniel Apolinario, Douglas Kawazu, Emiliano Urbim, Érica Georgino, Leandro Spett, Gil Beyruth, Gustavo Frota, Marina Motomura, Maurício Horta, Rafael Kenski, Renata Aguiar & Simone Yamamoto (Parceiros e colaboradores) - Newsgames da Superinteressante - Brasil | Brazil
charly.gr - peronismo (spam) - Argentina | Argentina
charly.gr - Joan - Argentina | Argentina
Chen, I-Chun - Measuring Distance Between the Self and Others - Taiwan | Taiwan
chiara passa - the virtual prigione - Itália | Italy
Christopher Otto - PXLPNT - Estados Unidos | United States
Cleber Gazana / Daniel Gazana - UNTITLED - Brasil | Brazil
Daniel Duda - Araucaria angustifolia - Brasil | Brazil
David Muth - 1 C A a 01x - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
David Sullivan - Fugitive Emissions - Estados Unidos | United States
Doron Golan - Waking Quad - Israel | Israel
Douglas de Paula - Interfaces Predatórias / Plundering Interfaces - Brasil | Brazil
Elétrico: Ludmila Pimentel, Carolina Frinhani & Bruna Spoladore - Experimento de Corpo - Brasil | Brazil
Grupo Vertigem: Juliana Rodrigues, Natalia Santana & Ygor Ferreira - Downtown 2.0 - Brasil | Brazil
Jarbas Agnelli - Birds on the Wires - Brasil | Brazil
Jason Nelson - Sydney's Sibera - Austrália | Australia
Jessica Barness - Common Sounds: Positive Elements, Negative Spaces - Estados Unidos | United States
Joana Moll & Heliodoro Santos - THE TEXAS BORDER - Espanha | Spain
jody zellen - Lines of Life - Estados Unidos | United States
Jorn Ebner - (L'ultimo turista) - Alemanha | Germany
jtwine - ONSPEED - Estados Unidos | United States
Kenji Kojima - RGB Music News - Estados Unidos | United States
kinema ikon: calin man - kinema ikon - Romênia | Romania
Leyla Rodriguez & Cristian Straub - Isle Of Lox "The face" - Alemanha | Germany
Luca Holland - rain.html - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Luis Henrique Rodrigues - Internet Series - Brasil | Brazil
Luiz Gustavo Ferreira Zanotello - N.A.V.E - Brasil | Brazil
MALYSSE - THE BIOPERVERSITY PROJECT #1 - Brasil | Brazil
Matt Frieburghaus - Song - Estados Unidos | United States
mchrbn - Afghan War Diary - Suíça | Switzerland
Members: Aymeric Mansoux, Dave Griffiths and Marloes de Valk - Naked on Pluto - Holanda | Netherlands
Michael Takeo Magruder - Data Flower (Prototype I) - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Nagasaki Archive Committee: Hidenori Watanave, Tomoyuki Torisu, Ryo Osera & others - Nagasaki Archive - Japão | Japan
Nanette Wylde - MettaVerse - Estados Unidos | United States
Nicholas Economos - Apophenia - Estados Unidos | United States
Nicholas Knouf - Journal of Journal Performance Studies (JJPS) - Estados Unidos | United States
Nurit Bar-Shai - FUJI spaces and other places - Estados Unidos | United States
Osvaldo cibils- everything breathes - Itália | Italy
Owen Eric Wood - Return - Canadá | Canada
Paolo Cirio - Drowning NYC - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Quayola - Strata Series - Bélgica | Belgium
rachelmauricio - [[o]] - Brasil | Brazil
rachelmauricio - 3Y - Brasil | Brazil
rachelmauricio - ldj8jbl - Brasil | Brazil
Rayelle Niemann & Erik Dettwiler - www.citysharing.ch - Suíça | Switzerland
Remco Roes - Everything in between - Bélgica | Belgium
rage - Impermanência Formal - Brasil | Brazil
Representa Corisco: Vj Eletroman - Representa Corisco - Espanha | Spain
Richard J O'Callaghan - 'thechildrenswar' - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Rodrigo Mello - Faces - Brasil | Brazil
Rosa Menkman - Collapse of PAL - Holanda | Netherlands
Santiago Ortiz - Impure - Espanha | Spain
seryozha kOtsun - Synesthesiograph - Rússia | Russia
Stuart Pound - Green Water Dragon - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Stuart Pound - Time Code - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
TAMURA YUICHIRO - NIGHTLESS - Japão | Japan
TOMMY PALLOTTA: Submarine Channel - Collapsus: The Energy Risk Conspiracy - Holanda | Netherlands
Vladimir Todorovic - The Snail on the Slope - Singapura | Singapore
Vladimir Todorovic - Silica-esc - Singapura | Singapore
MAQUINEMA | MACHINIMA
André Lopes aka spyvspy aeon - Clockwork - Brasil e Portugal | Brazil and Portugal
André Lopes aka spyvspy aeon & slimgirlfat - MooN - Brasil e Portugal | Brazil and Portugal
Bernard Capitaine aka Iono Allen - Fears - França | France
Bernard Capitaine aka Iono Allen - Fusion - França | France
BobE Schism - Love Is Sometimes Colder Than Ice - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
C.-D. Schulz aka Rohan Fermi - 9 - Alemanha | Germany
C.-D. Schulz aka Rohan Fermi - Order in chaos - Alemanha | Germany
Chat Noir Studios: Sherwin Liu & Kate Lee - Death in Venice - Estados Unidos | United States
Chat Noir Studios: Sherwin Liu & Kate Lee - Incubus - Estados Unidos | United States
David Griffiths aka nebogeo - Missile Command - Finlândia | Finland
Evan Meaney - The Well of Representation - Estados Unidos | United States
Gottfried Haider - Hidden in plain sight - Áustria | Austria
Harrison Heller aka Nefarious Guy & Amorphous Blob Productions - Clockwise: Part 1 - Estados Unidos | United States
Harrison Heller aka Nefarious Guy & Amorphous Blob Productions - Stop, Rewind - Estados Unidos | United States
Henry Gwiazda - history - Estados Unidos | United States
Henry Gwiazda - infectious - Estados Unidos | United States
Iain Friar aka IceAxe - Trichophagia - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Jun Falkenstein, Ben Covi, Brad Mitchell & Pete Terrill - The Lake - Estados Unidos | United States
Kerria Seabrooke & Paul Jannicola - Tiny Nation - Estados Unidos | United States
LES RICHES DOUANIERS: Gilles RICHARD & Fabrice ZOLL - The Lonely Migrant - França | France
Nonsense Studio: Drozhzhin, TimaGoofy, ultraviolet, ElGrandeBigB, Radiated & Takuhatsu - Johnny Cash - God's gonna cut you down - Finlândia | Finland
Pierre Gaudillere, Thomas Van Lissum, Oliver Delbos, Audrey Le Roy & Jonnathan Mutton - Unheimliche - França | France
Piotr Kopik - Psychosomatic rebuilders animation #002 - Polônia | Polland
Piotr Kopik - Psychosomatic rebuilders emoticons machinima - Polônia | Polland
Pooky Amsterdam, Draxtor Despres & Samuel's Dream - I'm Too Busy To Date Your Avatar! - Estados Unidos | United States
Saskia Boddeke aka Rose Borchovski - Lost in counting - Holanda | Netherlands
Saskia Boddeke aka Rose Borchovski - WHY IS THERE SOMETHING? Part 5: Greek Myth, The Battle of the Gods - Holanda | Netherlands
Saskia Boddeke aka Rose Borchovski - WHY IS THERE SOMETHING? Part 6: Israel Myth, The punishment - Holanda | Netherlands
Tom Jantol - Dear Fairy - Croácia | Croatia
Tom Jantol - Duel (Part) - Croácia | Croatia
Tom Jantol - The Remake - Croácia | Croatia
Tony Bannan aka ammopreviz - Selfish Gene - Austrália | Australia
Trace Sanderson aka Lainy Voom - Ctrl-Alt-Del - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Trace Sanderson aka Lainy Voom - Dagon - HP Lovecraft - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Tutsy Navarathna - My familiar dream - Índia | India
DOCUMENTA
Garry Shepherd – Global Shuffle - Austrália | Australia
Jim Haverkamp e Brett Ingram – Armor of God – Estados Unidos | United States
Khaled D. Ramadan – Psychic-Dentity - Dinamarca | Denmark
Lucius C. Kuert – Project 798, New Art In New China – China | China
Teilo Vallacott e J.A. Molinari – Altered_Egos – Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Vincenzo Lombardo – The VEP Project – Itália | Italy
Watch Mojo - A História do Daft Punk – Canadá | Canada
FILE ANIMA+
8-Bits Team: Valere Amirault, Jean Delaunay, Sarah Laufer & Benjamin Mattern - 8-Bits - França | France
Alan Becker - Animator Vs Animation - Estados Unidos | United States
Alessandro Novelli - The Alphabet - Itália | Italy
Alexander Gellner - 1 Minute Puberty - Alemanha | Germany
Andrew Huang - The Gloaming - Estados Unidos | United States
Ben Thomas & Leo Bridle - Train of Thought - Inglaterra | England
Birdo Studio: Luciana Eguti & Paulo Muppet - Bonequinha do Papai - Brasil | Brazil
Birdo Studio: Luciana Eguti & Paulo Muppet - Caixa - Brasil | Brazil
Birdo Studio: Luciana Eguti, Paulo Muppet & Allan Sieber - Animadores - Brasil | Brazil
Birdo Studio: Luciana Eguti, Paulo Muppet & Jimmy Leroy - Pequeno Cidadão - Brasil | Brazil
Brendan Angelides & Cyriak Harris - Eskmo - Estados Unidos | United States
Christopher Alender - Eye of The Storm - Estados Unidos | United States
Coala Filmes: Cesar Cabral - Dossiê Rê Bordosa - Brasil | Brazil
Dante Zaballa & Matias Vigliano - The Head - Argentina | Argentina
David O’Reilly - Please Say Something - Irlanda e Alemanha | Ireland and Germany
David O’Reilly - The External World - Irlanda e Alemanha | Ireland and Germany
David Wilson - Japanese Popstars “Let Go” - Inglaterra | England
Dominik Käser, Martin-Sebastian Senn, Mario Deuss, Niloy J. Mitra & Mark Pauly - Silhouettes of Jazz - Estados Unidos | United States
Esteban Diácono - Ólafur Arnalds - Ljósið - Argentina | Argentina
Fábio Yamagi & Denis Kamioka ‘Cisma’ - Photocopy Romance - Brasil | Brazil
Fernando Sanches - Xixi no Banho - Brasil | Brazil
Gabrielle Lissot, Pierre Lippens, Laurent Jaffier & Nicolas Deprez - Tous Des Monstres (All Monsters) - França | France
Guilherme Marcondes - Tyger - Brasil | Brazil
Guillermo Madoz - Head Honcho - Argentina | Argentina
Hi-Sim - Jump - Inglaterra | England
Home de Caramel - Alone Together - Espanha | Spain
Jasmin Lai - Brave - Estados Unidos e Tailândia | United States and Thailand
Jason Wishnow - Oedipus - Inglaterra | England
Jean-Paul Frenay - Artificial Paradise, Inc - Bélgica e França | Belgium and France
Joanna Lurie - Tree’s Migration - França | France
Joaquin Baldwin - Sebastian's Voodoo - Estados Unidos | United States
Joaquin Baldwin - The Windmill Farmer - Estados Unidos | United States
Ken Turner - TIM - Canadá | Canada
Lee Tao - Seedling - Canadá / Canada
Lemeh42 - Wool & Water - Itália / Italy
Leszek Plichta - Dreammaker - Polônia e Alemanha | Polland and Germany
Malcolm Sutherland - Bout - Canadá | Canada
Malcolm Sutherland - Umbra - Canadá | Canada
Marc Silver - There Are No Others - Inglaterra | England
Marlies van der wel - Protest Flatness - Holanda | Netherlands
Martin Piana - LUMI - Argentina | Argentina
Martin Woutisseth - Stanley Kubrick, a filmography - França | France
Matatoro Team: Mauro Carraro, Raphaël Calamote & Jérémy Pasquet - Matatoro - França | France
Matthias Hoegg - August - Inglaterra | England
Matthias Hoegg - Thrusday - Inglaterra | England
Max Hattler - SPIN - Inglaterra | England
Meindbender Animation Studio - The Pirate - Suécia | Sweden
Michael Paul Young - The Interpretation - Estados Unidos | United States
Michal Socha - Chick - Polônia | Polland
Michal Socha - Koncert - Polônia | Polland
Mr McFly - Baseball - França | France
MUSCLEBEAVER: Tobias Knipf & Andreas Kronbeck - How your money works - Alemanha | Germany
Napatsawan Chirayukool - What makes your day? - Tailândia e Inglaterra | Thailand and England
Pahnl - Nowhere near here - Inglaterra | England
Peppermelon TV - Advanced Beauty - Inglaterra e Estados Unidos | England and Unites States
Peppermelon TV - First - Inglaterra e Estados Unidos | England and Unites States
Peppermelon TV - Target - Friends with you - Inglaterra e Estados Unidos | England and Unites States
Robert Seidel - Vellum - Alemanha | Germany
Rogier van der Zwaag Nobody Beats The Drum - Grindin - Holanda | Netherlands
Ross Phillips - 5 Second Projects ( Ballons) - Inglaterra | England
Ross Phillips - 5 Second Projects ( Reverse) - Inglaterra | England
Sasha Belyaev - The Rite of Youth - Letônia | Latvia
Scott Pagano - Pororoca - Estados Unidos | United States
Scott Pagano - Trust In The 'M' Machine - Estados Unidos | United States
Serene Teh - Parkour - Cingapura | Singapore
Stephen Irwin - Black Dog's Progress - Inglaterra | England
Stephen Irwin - Horse Glue - Inglaterra | England
Sylvain Marc - Cocotte Minute - França | France
Sylvain Marc - Fertilizer Soup - França | France
Tanya Aydostian - L'autre - França | France
Taylor Price - Hunt - Canadá e Estados Unidos | Canada and United States
Treat Studios - E4 - Inglaterra | England
Veronika Obertová - Viliam - Eslováquia | Slovakia
Wesley Rodrigues - Pinga com Saquê - Brasil | Brazil
Zach Cohen - The Chair Not Taken - Itália | Italy
Andrew Ruhemann & Shaun Tan - The Lost Thing - Austrália / Australia
Animatório - Neomorphus - Brasil | Brazil
Bertrand Bey & Pierre Ducos - La Détente - França | France
Birdo Studio: Luciana Eguti, Paulo Muppet & Amir Admoni - Monkey Joy - Brasil | Brazil
Coala Filmes: Cesar Cabral - Tempestade - Brasil | Brazil
Fábio Yamaji - O Divino, de repente - Brasil | Brazil
Max Loubaresse, Marc Bouyer & Anthony Vivien - Salesman Pete - França | France
GAMES
Adam Saltsman & Danny Baranowsky - Canabalt - Estados Unidos | United States
Alex May & Rudolf Kremers - Eufloria - Reino Unido
| United Kingdom
Alexander Bruce - Hazard: The Journey of Life - Austrália | Australia
Binary Tweed - Clover: a Curious Tale - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Cats in the Sky - Cargo Delivery - Brasil | Brazil
Christoffer Hedborg - Toys - Suécia | Sweden
Colibri Games - The Tiny Bang Story - Rússia | Russia
Edmund McMillen & Tommy Refenes - Super Meat Boy - Estados Unidos | United States
ENJMIN - Paper Plane - França | France
Evan Blaster - Infinite Blank - Estados Unidos | United States
Frictional Games - Amnesia: The Dark Decent - Suécia | Sweden
Gaijin Games - BIT TRIP BEAT - Estados Unidos | United States
Kiaran Ritchie, Jasmine Ritchie & Francisco Furtado - Beep Game - Canadá | Canada
Mark Essen - "Nidhogg" - Estados Unidos | United States
Mediatronic - Monsters Probably Stole My Princess - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Nicklas Nygren - Saira - Suécia | Sweden
Paolo Pedercini / Molleindustria - "Every Day The Same Dream" - Estados Unidos e Itália | United States and Italy
Richard E Flanagan / Phosfiend Systems - FRACT - Canadá | Canada
Spaces of Play - Spirits - Alemanha | Germany
State of Play Games - Lume - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Tales of Tales - The Path - Bélgica | Belgium
FILE TABLET
Aircord: Toshiyuki Hashimoto, Masato Tsutsui & Koichiro Mori – REFLECTION – Japão | Japan
Alex Komarov & Sergey Rachok – ACCORDION – Estados Unidos e Rússia | United States and Russia
Cruz-Diez Foundation - CRUZ-DIEZ "INTERACTIVE CHROMATIC RANDOM EXPERIENCE" – Venezuela | Venezuela
Fingerlab: Antoine Lepoutre & Aurélien Potier – MULTIPONG – França | France
Jason Waters – SPIROGROW – Estados Unidos | United States
Jay Silver & Eric Rosenbaum - SINGING FINGERS – Estados Unidos | United States
Nate Murray & TJ Fuller - IPAD GAME FOR CATS - Estados Unidos | United States
Pavel Doichev - ART IN MOTION – Estados Unidos | United States
Pavel Doichev - LINE ART – Estados Unidos | United StatesPavel Doichev – TESLA – Estados Unidos | United States
Rob Fielding – MUGICIAN – Estados Unidos | United States
RunSwimFly - Richard Harrison – GLOOP - Austrália | Australia
Scott Snibbe – ANTOGRAPH (ou MYRMEGRAPH) – Estados Unidos | United States
Scott Snibbe – BUBBLE HARP – Estados Unidos | United States
Scott Snibbe – GRAVILUX – Estados Unidos | United States
Scott Snibbe – OSCILLOSCOOP – Estados Unidos | United States
Scott Snibbe – TRIPOLAR – Estados Unidos | United States
Smule - MAGIC FIDDLE – Estados Unidos | United States
Spaces of Play: Mattias Ljungstrom, Marek Plichta, Andreas Zecher & Martin Strak – SPIRITS – Alemanha | Germany
Ted Davis - TEXT2IMAGE – Estados Unidos | United States
Typotheque / Resolume - DANCE WRITER – Estados Unidos | United States
WORKSHOP
Workshop Fiesp - AA School: Franklin Lee, Robert Stuart Smith (Kokkugia), Anne Save de Beaurecueil (SUBdV), Sandro Tubertini (Environmental Engineering Agency, BDSP), Thiago Mundim, Ernesto Bueno, Arthur Mamou-Mani, Arya Safavi, Yoojin Kim & Victor Sardenberg
Parametric Architecture - Reino Unido | United Kingdom
Careful program of exercises explains Jeri Ryan measurements. The secret is to be regular with a positive view.
i know everyone is fed up with this winter weather, but I look at it this way. I live in the north, it will be winter for at least 4-months, so why not have snow? it is much better than looking at brown and gray all winter long.
Compost Toilets @ Boom
*
Boom 2014
Photo-Reports by Wolfgang Sterneck
A Reality called Boom - Rhythms @ Boom 2014 *
www.flickr.com/photos/sterneck/sets/72157646523564525
A Reality called Boom - Visions @ Boom 2014 *
www.flickr.com/photos/sterneck/sets/72157646103367017
A Reality called Boom - Spiral Dance @ Boom 2014 *
www.flickr.com/photos/sterneck/sets/72157646505988761
Wolfgang Sterneck:
In the Cracks of the World
Photo-Reports : www.flickr.com/sterneck/sets
Articles (german / english) : www.sterneck.net
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Boom-Festival
04.08.-11.08.2014
Boom-Festival
Idanha-a-Nova Lake - Portugal
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BOOM VISION
Boom is not only a festival, it is a state of mind. Inspired by the principles of Oneness, Peace, Creativity, Sustainability, Transcendence, Alternative Culture, Active Participation, Evolution and Love, it is a space where people from all over the world can converge to experience an alternative reality.
Boom is a festival dedicated to the Free Spirits from all over the world. It is the gathering of the global psychedelic tribe and of whoever feels the call to join in the celebrations!! Boom is a weeklong unpredictable and unforgettable adventure. It takes place, every two years, during August Full Moon, on the shores of a magnificent lake in the sunny Portuguese inland and every one is invited!
BOOM IS A MODEL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS
An environmentally conscious event is a way to offer a concrete example that it is possible to live on this Planet in respect of Mother Earth and of one another. This is possible through a deep understanding of the cycles of life and humanity’s place within these cycles. Permaculture is a brilliant example of how such understanding can be turned into practice.
Boom’s pioneering Environmental Program applies the principles of Permaculture to every single aspect of the Festival production. Moreover Boom widely promotes knowledge and practices of sustainability through lectures, workshops and… practical example!
100% compost toilets (still to this day the only large event in the world to reach this result!); 100% on-site water treatment facilities, off-the-grid energy solutions, bio-construction, permaculture gardens, vegetable oil for the generators… these are just a few of the ground breaking projects that have granted Boom the most prestigious international prizes in environmental efficiency.
For further details please visit the environmental program page.
BOOM BELIEVES IN A BORDERLESS WORLD
Since its beginning in 1997, Boom is the home of the global nomadic tribe. Since then, it has grown organically by word of mouth into an incredibly culturally diverse festival, attracting people from 116 nationalities (2012). Boom is the celebration of the Earth’s multicolored Oneness. EVERY ONE is invited and EVERY ONE is called to consciously co-create a positive reality of Love and Peace, for us and for the next generations. We Are One!
BOOM BELIEVES IN TRANSCENDENCE THROUGH MUSIC
At Boom music is sacred. The dancefloors are temples where to transcend ordinary states of perception and the limitations of our egos. Through dance and music, we can reconnect to our own individual divine essence, while in synch with the beating heart of the whole tribe. All in One!
Scattered across four stages, music at Boom is as diverse as it gets: electronic, acoustic, classic, any style is welcome and represented in a different area, live concerts, djs sets, solo artists, bands… Boom started as a psytrance festival and has developed into an inclusive gathering, unveiling the surprising diversity of quality underground soundscapes.
Psytrance culture remains one of the inspiring sources of Boom's vision and intention. And Boom remains as a testimony of the evolutionary potentials of such a culture.
Check the pages of the single areas for details on the different visions.
BOOM ACTIVATES TRANSFORMATION
Boom’s ultimate aim is to facilitate individual and collective transformation. The Boom experience has been conceived to activate the vital force directing every being towards the fulfillment of its highest potential. To reach this ambitious goal, Boom relies on the continuous exchange of radically innovative knowledge and practices by countless Boomers, musicians, artists, teachers, visionaries, healers, farmers, ecologists, wisdom keepers, researchers, scientists, activists
Besides the music stages and the countless art installations scattered all over the site, the other areas where Boom channels transformation are the Liminal Village, the Healing Area and the Visionary Art Museum. Here our hearts, bodies and minds can receive a full download of information through workshops, presentations, rituals and meditations Check the single areas’ pages for more details.
NO TO CORPORATE SPONSORS, CORPORATE LOGOS AND VIPs, YES TO INDEPENDENCE, SOLIDARITY AND CREATIVITY!!!
Boom is an autonomous zone of cognitive liberty and therefore is and will always be free from corporate sponsorship and logos. Boom is funded by the financial support of the thousands of people that buy the tickets and come to the festival.
Boom does not believe in VIP areas and special treatments, since every Boomer is a VIP! Boom adheres to the principle of ’thinking outside the box’, for the co-creation of novel ways of viewing reality and acting for its evolutionary unfolding.
www.boomfestival.org/boom2014/news/boom-vision
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BOOM-VISION
Die Boom ist nicht nur ein Festival – Sie ist ein Lebensstil
Es sind kleine Momente, in denen das Lernen stattfindet. Jene Momente in denen du versteht wie wichtig es ist, Fünfe einfach mal gerade sein zu lassen. Und jene Momente in denen dir klar wird, dass du es an anderen Stellen genauer nehmen musst. Diese kleinen Momente prägen dich, deine Einstellung und dein Handeln – und mit dir die Grundlage für große Veränderungen. Genau hier setzt die Idee der Boom an: Als schillernder Kristallisationspunkt einer Neo-Stammeskultur möchte sie inspirieren. Und zwar durch jene magische Erfahrung, die zwischen zeitgenössischer Musik, visionärer Kunst und intellektuell-spirituellem Input entsteht.
Veränderung fängt bei dir an, bei deiner Weltanschauung. Du bist der Flügelschlag des Schmetterlings, der am anderen Ende der Welt einen Wetterumschwung bewirkt. Lerne, deine Flügel zu gebrauchen!
Zu diesem Zweck kippen wir das Schubladensystem, das unseren Alltag bestimmt, einfach mal komplett aus. Und zwar mitten hinein in die sonnige, unverdorbene, nuklearfreie Natur Portugals. Dann nehmen wir uns 7 Tage lang Zeit, um spielerisch neue Denkwege und Handlungsweisen, um eine neue Ordnung zu erkunden. Das ist unsere Vision von psychedelischer Kultur und sie wollen wir aktiv vortreiben.
Auf unserer Webseite findet ihr ausführliche Informationen zu den freien Künsten, den multidimensionalen Installationen und den kreativen Liebensbomben, die auf unsere temporäre autonome Zone regnen werden.
Boom ist eine Lebenseinstellung – und sie lebt in euch, liebe Boomer!
INTERKULTURELL
Andere Länder, andere Lebensstile. Auf der Boom kannst du erleben wie inspirativ diese einfache Tatsache ist. Und zwar in konzentrierter Form: Im Jahr 2012 reisten Stammesangehörige aus 116 verschiedenen Ländern an, um in ihrer multikulturellen Mischung eine durchweg positive Vision für die Zukunft zu manifestieren: We Are One – Wir sind eins!
NATUR
Die Kulisse für unser Stammestreffen gestaltet die wohl besten Dekorateurin überhaupt: Mutter Natur. Jene jahrhundertealte iberische Baumlandschaft der umliegenden Hügel, versonnene Gärten und der weitläufige See, in dem sich die Magie des August-Vollmonds spiegelt, schaffen ein einzigartiges Panorama.
STRAND
Nachdem du dich in schwitzende Trance getanzt hast oder wenn dir die Wärme des portugiesischen Sommers zuviel werden sollte: Die nötige Erfrischung ist maximal ein paar hundert Meter entfernt - egal wo du gerade bist. Der große See bestimmt nicht nur das Bild der Boom, sondern auch ihre Stimmung. Wie beim Strandurlaub kannst du jene fließende Ruhe des Wassers aufsaugen, die dich sanft umspült.
DESIGN FÜR DEN GEIST
Das Liminal Village bietet Gelegenheit, dir dein Oberstübchen neu einzurichten: Mit Lebensphilosophie und praktischem Wissen. Im intellektuellen Brennpunkt der Boom finden Vorträge und Diskussionen zu Themen wie Aktivismus, Psychedelik, Freie Kultur, Rituale der Ahnen, Mythologie, Ökologie, Traumlandschaften, Permakultur, Trance, Heilige Pflanzen oder Alternative Medizin und Wissenschaft statt. Dazu waren in den letzten Jahren Referenten wie Vandana Shiva, Alex Grey, Daniel Pinchbeck, Graham Hancock, Robert Venosa, Erik Davis und Shipibo Don Guillermo Arevalo zu Gast. Ein Filmprogramm zur neuen, planetarischen Kultur bietet noch mehr Stimulation auf intellektueller Ebene.
PSYCHEDELISCHES KUNSTMUSEUM
Was ist psychedelische Kunst, was visionäre? Will sie die Eindrücke einer psychedelischen Erfahrung wiedergeben? Will sie ähnliche Emotions- und Assoziationsstrukturen auslösen wie eine Vision? Mach dir selbst ein Bild! In atemberaubender Vielfalt präsentieren einige der talentiertesten Maler von allen Kontinenten des Planeten ihre bewusstseinserweiternden Werke.
INSTALLATIONEN
Bildende Kunst stößt die Pforten unserer Wahrnehmung weit auf und eröffnet uns so die Sicht auf Aspekte unserer Realität, welche normalerweise hinter dem Grauschleier des Alltags verborgen liegen. Um dich mitten hinein in dieses ästhetisch-surreale Paralleluniversum zu katapultieren, kommen überall auf dem Gelände Medien wie Malerei, Bildhauerei, Land Art oder Video zum Einsatz. Sie lassen deine Reise über die Boom zu einer Reise in eine außerirdische Welt von fremdartiger Schönheit werden.
MUSIK
Über verschiedene Tanzplätze verteilt verwirklicht die Boom ihre psychedelische Vision im Spektrum der hörbaren Frequenzen. Dabei entstehen viele verschiedene Rhythmus- und Harmonie-Texturen die alle darauf abzielen, deine Synapsen zu kitzeln, deine Fantasie zu stimulieren und dich zu beflügeln. Die Klanglandschaften der Boom erstrecken sich auf Genres wie Psytrance, Progressive, Dub, Bass Music, Dubstep, World Music, Glitch, Nu Funk, IDM, Cosmic oder Psy Brakes. In ihrer Gesamtheit schwingen sie sich zum kosmischen Groove der universellen Liebe auf!
TANZTEMPEL
Mit jedem Herzschlag der Boom bebt das portugiesische Hinterland. Im monumentalen Tanztempel verschmelzen utopische Zukunftsvisionen und das archaische Ritual des Stammenstanz zu einer einzigartigen Trance-Erfahrung. Um euer Bewusstsein dorthin zu schicken, wo Worte zu Hülsen und Bedeutungen zu Variablen werden, haben wir einige der besten DJs, Liveacts und Tribal Bands eingeladen, uns mit extralangen Sets zu verzaubern. Denn Qualität ist wichtiger ist als Masse. Mit viel Liebe zum Detail planen wir eine Reise durch jene multidimensionale Welt namens Psy, wobei wir in Regionen wie Dark, Twilight, Forest, Tribal, Prog, Full-On, Groovy Full-On, Goa und Nu-Goa vorstoßen.
Die Grundidee der Boom unterscheidet sich ganz erheblich von der einer kommerziellen Massenproduktion. Wir möchten raus aus dem Schattenreich des Egoismus, hinein in eine kollektive Erfahrung. Mithilfe von DJs, VJs, Dekorateuren, Designern und -am allerwichtigsten- mithilfe von euch, den Boomern. Auf dass wir unsere multikulturelle kreative Energie zu einer wahrhaft großen Erfahrung vereinen: Wir sind eins!
UMWELT
Auf der Boom werden die Erkenntnisse und Prinzipien der Permakultur in ein Festival umgesetzt. So wird ganz konkret erfahrbar: Auch große, internationale Menschenansammlungen lassen sich mit maximalem Respekt vor unserer heiligen Mutter Natur vereinbaren. Dieser Ansatz wurde in den Jahren 2008 und 2010 mit dem Greener Festival Award ausgezeichnet, 2010 und 2012 außerdem mit dem European Festival Award.
Auf der Boom kommen ausschließlich Komposttoiletten zum Einsatz. Das Nutzwasser wird mithilfe von Pflanzen zu 100% wiederaufbereitet. Es gibt kostenlose Taschenaschenbecher. Für die Generatoren wird gebrauchtes Pflanzenöl verwendet. Außerdem nutzen wir Technologien wie Solarenergie, Windräder, Biobau und ökologische Abwasserentsorgung, die jedes Jahr weiterentwickelt werden. Auch hier gilt: Die Boom seid ihr, die Boomer. Tragt bitte dazu bei, dass sie ein nachhaltiges Festival ist. Respektiert Mutter Natur und hinterlasst keinen Müll!
SPIRITUALITÄT
Anreize für spirituell-sozialen Aktivismus, die sich in Form von Yoga, Ayurveda, Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Watsu, Therapien, alternativen Heilmethoden und ganzheitlichen Lehren manifestieren. Auch das ist ein zentraler Aspekt unserer Vision. Denn die Harmonie zwischen Geist und Körper ist ein erster Schritt in Richtung globale Harmonie.
INFRASTRUKTUR
Freies Wasser. Freies Camping. Freier Wohnmobil-Park. Babyboom für die jüngsten Boomer (bring deine Familie mit zur Boom!) Freie medizinische Versorgung. Freies WIFI. Schließfächer. Boom-Busshuttle von den Flughäfen Lissabon und Madrid. 100% Komposttoiletten. 100% Aufbereitung des Duschabwassers mithilfe von Pflanzen. Ayurvedische Apotheke. Spezielle Einrichtungen für Behinderte. Lebensmittelgeschäft. Gemeinschaftsküchen. Und vieles, vieles mehr!
LOGO-FREIE ZONE
Die Boom finanziert sich einzig und allein über den Ticketverkauf, sie ist frei von jeglichem Firmen-Sponsoring und wird es immer sein. Auch in dieser Hinsicht möchten wir einen Freiraum schaffen, in dem sich der menschliche Geist unbefangen ausbreiten und entfalten kann.
Obwohl das Boom Team den Rahmen schafft – das eigentliche Erlebnis, die eigentliche Inspiration und der eigentliche Geist lebt in euch. Denn ihr seid die Energie, ausgehend von euch kann sich diese Welt ändern.
BESONDERE BEDÜRFNISSE
Wir möchten die Einrichtungen und Angebote für Behinderte weiterentwickeln. Wenn du oder jemand deiner Freunde behindert ist, sendet uns bitte bis Juni 2014 eine Email um optimale Bedingungen zu garantieren: specialneeds@boomfestival.org
FLEXIBLE EINTRITTSPREISE
Unser globaler Stamm ist in vielen verschiedenen Ländern zuhause, in denen ganz unterschiedliche Einkommensverhältnisse herrschen. Außerdem leben wir in Zeiten des finanziellen Abschwungs. Wir waren sehr betroffen als wir nach der Boom 2012 hörten, dass einige Menschen schlichtweg nicht genug Geld aufbringen konnten um Teil der kollektiven Erfahrung zu sein. Deshalb haben wir uns entschieden, auf diese Tatsache mit einem flexiblen Eintrittsmodell zu reagieren. Es gibt spezielle Ticketpreise für Länder außerhalb der Europäischen Union, der USA, Kanada, Australien, Neuseeland und Japan. Außerdem für jene Länder, die aktuell die ökonomischen Spekulationen der Rating-Agenturen und der IMF durchlaufen: Portugal, Irland, Griechenland und Spanien. Diese Tickets sind nur bei den Boom Botschaftern des jeweiligen Landes erhältlich, nicht über die Webseite der Boom.
www.boomfestival.org/boom2014/multilingual/deutsch
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The 103rd BAY TO BREAKERS RACE in SAN FRANCISCO with over 40,000 registered runners. Lots of fun. Lots of costumes. and some nudity !
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( July 1, 2010 ) Senator-elect Vicente "Tito" Sotto III takes his oath of office before Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Reynato Corona.
In line with his campaign promise, Senator Sotto commenced his legislative initiatives as he filed recently Senate Bills seeking for the creation of Special Drug Courts and a National Penitentiary for drug crimes which shall be deliberated upon in the 15th Congress slated to open on July 26,2010.
July 3, 2010 Compiled news clipping from Manila Bulletin on-line
DFA airs concern on rising OFW drug cases
By MADEL R. SABATER
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) expressed concern on Saturday on Filipinos continuously being used as “drug mules” following the recent arrest of three Filipinas in Hong Kong and Macau.
According to the Philippine Consulate-General (PCG) in Macau, a Filipina was arrested last June 26 for allegedly smuggling almost one kilogram of drugs hidden in three pairs of sports shoes in her luggage.
Consul-General to Macau Renato Villapando said the DFA is concerned with the increasing number of Filipinos serving sentences in Macau for drug trafficking. Currently, 17 Filipinos are detained in Macau.
He stressed that the DFA will help the Filipina who was recently caught in Macau for alleged drug trafficking.
In Hong Kong, two Filipinas were also arrested in separate occasions for alleged drug trafficking.
The first of the two Filipinas was arrested last June 2 at the Hong Kong International Airport after authorities allegedly found 1,040 grams of heroin hidden inside the soles of three pairs of shoes in her suitcase. The estimated street value of the drugs was HK$930,000 or US$119,500.
The second Filipina was arrested last June 24 for taking in 876 grams of heroin with an estimated street value of HK$780,000 (US$100,300). She is currently confined at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and will later be taken for custodial remand to the Tai Lam Center for Women.
"The Consulate-General will ensure that these Filipinas will have legal representation in all their court appearances and will continue to monitor their cases," Philippine Consul-General to Hong Kong Claro Cristobal said.
It will be recalled that the DFA has been warning Filipinos against becoming drug couriers.
In China, drug trafficking of 50 grams or more of illegal drugs is punishable by 15 years in prison, life imprisonment, or death. In Muslim countries, drug trafficking is punishable by death, according to Shariah law.
June 28, 2010 Compiled news clipping from Manila Standard
Pasay admits worsening menace of illegal drugs
Pasay Mayor-elect Antonino Calixto admits a worsening case of drugs and the need for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to be stationed in the city.
“Illegal drugs has become one of Pasay’s biggest problems. This has a become a big threat not only to the security of our constituents but also to our economic progress,” he said.
Calixto said he would ask the PDEA to establish a detachment before drug trafficking goes out of hand.
In the past weeks, PDEA has been raiding suspected drug dens in Pasay leading to the arrest of a local policeman selling cocaine.
“The presence of a PDEA unit here makes a lot of difference. Drug traffickers will become increasingly wary of their activities, and sooner or later they will leave the city and shift their business somewhere,” Calixto said.
Last month, the entire 12-man anti-illegal drugs unit and its commander was sacked after a series of PDEA raids.
Senior Supt. Raul Petrasanta said Chief Insp. Salvador Solana, head of the Station Anti-Illegal Drugs-Special Operations Task Force has been placed in floating status while his 12 men were sent to desk jobs at the Pasay police headquarters.
On April 27, PDEA agents arrested nine suspected drug traffickers inside the Apelo Cruz Compound, resulting in the confiscation of several grams of shabu and drug paraphernalia.
This was followed by the arrest of PO1 Rodelio Raña, of Precinct who yielded 1.5 kilos of cocaine during a sting operation at the parking lot of SM Mall of Asia.
PDEA agents also raided Barangay 43, 44, and 45 in Tramo district and arrested at least 15 people following reports of rampant sale of shabu. Ferdinand FabellaBan:
June 28, 2010 compiled news clipping from mb.com.ph
Drug trafficking, abuse hindering MDG efforts
By MADEL R. SABATER
Drug abuse and drug trafficking are hindering efforts to achieve the United Nations’ Millenium Development Goals, according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
“Our work to achieve the MDGs and fight drugs must go hand-in-hand. In seeking to eradicate illicit crops, we must also work to wipe out poverty,” Ban said.
Drug-related crimes “deepen vulnerability to instability and poverty,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s 2010 World Drug Report released last week said that the Philippines is among three Southeast Asian countries which have the highest annual prevalence of using prohibited drugs (amphetamines) in East and Southeast Asia, the other two are Laos and Thailand.
The report said that Amphethamine – type stimulants (ATS) abuse is highest in East and Southeast Asia at 36 percent, with the global number of people using ATS expected to exceed those using opium and cocaine.
The report also said the Philippines was among countries that have significant ATS manufacture since 2000, along with Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, South Africa, and USA.
Ban noted that aside from deepening poverty, prohibited drugs also help spread HIV/AIDS through injected drugs. It also undermines achieving environmental sustainability through such side-effects as chemical runoffs from cocaine laboratories.
June 23, 2010 - compiled news clipping from Inquirer.net
Shabu hidden in false bottom of Malaysian's luggage seized at Naia
By Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:16:00 06/23/2010
CUSTOMS POLICEMEN SEIZED 10 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) from a Malaysian who arrived from Thailand at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday night.
Bureau of Customs (BOC) Duty Collector Romulo Mahor identified the male passenger as How Eng Pheow, 41, who arrived at Naia Terminal 2 on board Philippine Airlines Flight 337 from Bangkok at around 7:30 p.m.
Roque said that while at the customs examination lane, the suspect went back and forth to a counter manned by collector Manuel Mendoza several times. Pheow then left the trolley bag he was carrying in front of Mendoza’s counter and tried to leave the customs area.
Mendoza alerted customs policemen and told them not to allow Pheow to leave and to return him to the examination counter.
Pheow’s luggage contained personal items on top, but Mendoza said a further search revealed that the bag had a false bottom.
Inside were several plastic bags containing the suspected banned substance.
Roque said an on site chemical test on one of the bags indicated that the contents were shabu.
The cache has been turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Airport Police for verification.
Pheow was placed under arrest and later charged with violation of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
The BOC, PDEA and airport policemen have organized a team force to find out if Pheow had contacts at the airport premises or if a syndicate could have been involved in the drug smuggling.
Only a little over two months ago, a Malaysian national was arrested after arriving in the country with 14 kilos of shabu.
July 10, 2010 Compiled news clipping from the philstar.com
100-million shabu seized in Sta. Ana drug raid
By Non Alquitran
MANILA, Philippines - The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) arrested five Chinese nationals and confiscated from them 20 kilos of shabu with a street value of P100 million during a raid in Manila Thursday.
NCRPO chief Director Roberto Rosales said the five suspects reportedly belong to a drug syndicate believed behind the operation of a clandestine shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) laboratory discovered in Taguig City recently.
“This anti-drug operation is a continuing process. We expect to arrest other members of the syndicate in due time,” Rosales said in an interview.
Those arrested were identified as Ming Yuan Yuet, 40; Danny Tan, 30; Aga Co, 33; Eugene Co, 32, and Michelle Lee, 24, all Chinese nationals.
After the raid in Taguig City months back, Rosales directed Superintendent Leo Francisco, head of the regional police intelligence and operation unit (RPIOU), to conduct follow-up raids.
Based on information given by suspects arrested in the Taguig raid, Francisco conducted surveillance operation on tenants of Unit 63 Eurovilla Homes along New Panaderos street in Sta. Ana.
Rosales said samples bought during a test buy were determined by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) as high-grade shabu.
Francisco served Thursday a search warrant in the presence of barangay chairman Abraham Sejosta; Manila assistant prosecutor Ma. Theresa Basillo and Jean Banaay, administrator of the Eurovilla Townhomes. The warrant was issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Amor Reyes.
Francisco said the five suspects gave themselves up peacefully. Aside from 20 kilos of high-grade shabu, the raiding team also seized two containers of a brown liquid they suspect to be raw material for the manufacture of shabu, as well as various other laboratory equipment.
Police also found six plastic bags of brown capsules, 14,500-milliliter bottles of glucose solution, a washing machine and dryer, and two weighing scales.
The NCRPO chief said the Chinese nationals chose to remain silent. “They pretend that they cannot speak our dialect. Our agents engaged them only in a sign language,” Rosales said, adding that they are hiring an interpreter.
Rosales ordered that all confiscated items be turned over to the PDEA while the five suspects were charged for possession of dangerous drugs and other paraphernalia before the Manila prosecutor’s office.
July 6, 2010 - compiled news clipping from Inquirer Headlines / Metro
Judge denies ‘Alabang Boy’s’ petition for bail
By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:58:00 07/06/2010
A JUDGE HAS JUNKED THE PETItion for bail filed by one of the so-called “Alabang Boys” nearly two years after the three were arrested on drug peddling charges.
In his July 2 order, Judge Jaime Salazar of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 103 said the evidence Joseph Tecson had presented in court to back up his petition—a denial of the accusation that he sold cocaine to a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agent—was weak.
“A denial, per jurisprudence, is a weak kind of evidence when arrayed against an affirmative and positive identification. In a bail petition, the main concern is whether the prosecution’s evidence is strong and such positive identification of the accused is strong,” Salazar said.
He added that the defense’s questioning of the PDEA’s administrative procedures could be fully explored during a court trial.
“As [for] the alleged noncompliance with certain administrative procedures by the PDEA team, the same will be assessed when the case is studied on the issue of guilt or innocence of the accused,” the judge said.
Tecson was arrested in September 2008 after he allegedly sold cocaine to Louie Valdez, a PDEA agent, in Cubao, Quezon City. Separate operations led to the arrest of Richard Brodett and Jorge Joseph for drugs in Ayala, Alabang.
July 16, 2010 Compiled news clipping from philstar.com
Nahulihan ng 2.5 kilo ng heroin sa Indonesia, Pinay mabibitay
Ni Ellen Fernando (Pilipino Star Ngayon)
MANILA, Philippines - Isa na namang Filipina ang mahaharap sa parusang bitay matapos mahulihan ito ng 2.5 kilo ng heroin sa kanyang bagahe habang papasok sa Ngurah Rai Airport sa Bali, Indonesia.
Sa natanggap na ulat kahapon ng Department of Foreign Affairs mula sa RP embassy sa Indonesia, ang naarestong may dala ng 2.5 kilo ng heroin ay si Carolina Sarmiento, 41 anyos. Naaresto ito ng Customs Police noong Martes sa Ngurah Rai Airport.
Si Sarmiento ay agad na inaresto matapos ang isinagawang pagsusuri ng Customs officers sa kanyang luggage ilang minuto lamang pagkababa niya sa nasabing paliparan noong Lunes ng gabi.
Lumabas naman sa report ng The Jakarta Post na nagmula sa Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia si Sarmiento at tinangkang pumasok dala ang 2.5 kilong heroin na nagkakahalaga ng Rp5 bilyon (pera ng Malaysia) o P26.5 milyon papasok sa Indonesia.
Sinabi ng Bali Customs officials na nadiskubre ang heroin habang nakatago sa loob ng hardcase luggage ng nasabing turistang Pinay.
Ang pagkaka-aresto umano sa Pinay ay ang ikalawang insidente ng pagkakasabat sa mga hinihinalang drug mules sa loob lamang ng 24 oras sa Indonesia matapos na matiklo din ng Customs officers ang isang babaeng Malaysian na may dalang 220 gramo ng methamphetamine hydrochloride o shabu na nakatago sa ibaba ng kanyang suot na pantalon habang papasok sa Dumai seaport noong Martes.
27th May 2012. Sinar F 4x5 camera. Schneider Repro Claron 135mm f/8 lens at f/8 on Kentmere VC select (RC multigrade) paper, 1/2s.
Direct positive (reversal) process. Scanned directly, and tones corrected in the GIMP to look as close to final print as possible (i.e. there should be no artifacts from scanning/digitising). The yellow/blue duo-tone is how it comes out.
I had unfinished business here.
Jools and I were here at the end of October, since then I have regretted leaving early before having taken more shots. So, when Jools said she had a course in Deal, rather than kick my heels at home, I said I would like to go back to London. I asked a fellow Flickrite, Graham, if he fancied meeting up.
He did.
So, just before ten we meet outside, and once inside we split up as it was his firs time, and I wanted to go straight to the Lady Chapel.
Not many people about, so I could get the shots I wanted, making my way all the time further east.
Its funny, I thought I'd recorded it well on my first visit, but I see many more details and views opening up.
Into the Lady Chapel, the light is glorious, pouting in through plain and stained glass, ranks of banners hanging down, and seats in the quire adorned with figures of brightly coloured animals, castles and bolts of lightning.
Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots slumber on still, separated by the steps leading to the Lady Chapel, surrounded by the tombs of their courtiers.
After going round with the 50mm lens, I went round the other way with the big lens, snapping details unseen for the most part.
-------------------------------------------
Some three months ago, Jools and I went up to London to visit Westminster Abbey, where I took a lots of shots, but got "curched out". Two weeks ago we were to meet a friend, Graham when we went to the Tate, then he tested positive for COVID the morning of the trip, so couldn't go.
I promised him we would return soon, to London.
Sooner than I thought, as it turned out. As Jools had a class in Deal on Saturday afternoon, so I could go up to London on the train, go tot he Abbey, take another load of shots, meet Graham and then we could go to the pub.
Brilliant.
Even better when Graham said he could make it, so the plan was made; meet outside the Abbey at ten. Take shots. Walk to pub. Drink beer. Come home.
Simple plan with clear goals.
Jools did shopping on Friday afternoon so all we had to do was get up and be at the station for ten to eight.
We got up, had a coffee, fed the cats and so on. I dodged breakfast planning on getting something out.
Jools dropped me off at half seven, just before sunrise. Frosty but clear, so I went onto the platform to take some shots before mine was due at ten to.
Not many people about, most waiting to go to Ramsgate, or stations between there and Dover, I snapped their train come in, pause to pick them up, then wait for the road to be clear.
The train doesn't really fill up that much, I guess about 50%, for a train getting into London at about nine on a Saturday, should be packed. Still early days, I guess.
Anyway, it was light so I could look out of the large windows, andmark our progress through Folkestone, Ashford to Ebbsfleet then under the river into Essex. Away on the left, Canary Wharf stand bathed in warm sunlight, still 15 miles away, like some 21st century version of Mordor.
I leave the train at Stratford, and instead of walking through Westfield, I take the DLR to Stratford. Or would have done only to see on pull out of the station as I come down the escalator, leaving me with ten minutes to wait. No matter, I have time.
I get out at Stratford and cross to the Jubilee Line, where in the train, most are wearing masks, and people keeping their distances.
A half hour run across the East End to London Bridge, Waterloo and into Westminster, where I get out and go to street level, taking off my mask once safely outside and breath in the fresh air.
I walk round Parliament Square, past the Houses of Parliament with Big Ben (I know not its real name) now partially revealed having had its scaffolding removed, the repainted face and new guilding glistened in the sunlight, though the west face was ten minutes behind the north one.
As I walked towards the entrance to the Abbey, I saw my friend, Graham on the other side fo the road waiting to cross, I hail him and once he's safely over we shake hands.
After taking some exterior shots, we go in and spit up, as its his first time and my second.
I have a list of targets, mainly redoing Henry VII's Lady Chapel as I only did that with the wide angle last time, then going around with the big lens for details of the windows and tombs.
After an hours and a half, we were both done. On the way out I point out some other details, including the Chapter House and pass what we see i s labelled "the oldest door in Brit dating to AD1060!
What shall we do?
Walk along the river to the Black Friar.
Good idea.
Though we stop for a coffee at the van outside, and was really good coffee indeed.
-------------------------------------------
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and a burial site for English and, later, British monarchs.
The building itself was originally a Catholic Benedictine monastic church until the monastery was dissolved in 1539. Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral and seat of the catholic bishop. After 1560 the building was no longer an abbey or a cathedral, after the Catholics had been driven out by King Henry VIII, having instead was granted the status of a Church of England "Royal Peculiar"—a church responsible directly to the sovereign—by Queen Elizabeth I.
According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, a church was founded at the site (then known as Thorn Ey (Thorn Island)) in the seventh century at the time of Mellitus, a Bishop of London. Construction of the present church began in 1245 on the orders of King Henry III.[4]
Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have occurred in Westminster Abbey.[4][5] Sixteen royal weddings have occurred at the Abbey since 1100.[6]
The Abbey is the burial site of more than 3300 persons, usually of prominence in British history: at least 16 monarchs, 8 Prime Ministers, poets laureate, actors, scientists, military leaders, and the Unknown Warrior. As such, Westminster Abbey is sometimes described as "Britain's Valhalla", after the iconic hall of the chosen heroes in Norse mythology.
Between 1042 and 1052, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peter's Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first church in England built in the Romanesque style. The building was completed around 1060 and was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week before Edward's death on 5 January 1066.[9] A week later, he was buried in the church; and, nine years later, his wife Edith was buried alongside him.[10] His successor, Harold II, was probably crowned in the abbey, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later the same year.[11]
The only extant depiction of Edward's abbey, together with the adjacent Palace of Westminster, is in the Bayeux Tapestry. Some of the lower parts of the monastic dormitory, an extension of the South Transept, survive in the Norman Undercroft of the Great School, including a door said to come from the previous Saxon abbey. Increased endowments supported a community that increased from a dozen monks in Dunstan's original foundation, up to a maximum of about eighty monks.
The abbot and monks, in proximity to the royal Palace of Westminster, the seat of government from the later 13th century, became a powerful force in the centuries after the Norman Conquest. The Abbot of Westminster often was employed on royal service and in due course took his place in the House of Lords as of right. Released from the burdens of spiritual leadership, which passed to the reformed Cluniac movement after the mid-10th century, and occupied with the administration of great landed properties, some of which lay far from Westminster, "the Benedictines achieved a remarkable degree of identification with the secular life of their times, and particularly with upper-class life", Barbara Harvey concludes, to the extent that her depiction of daily life provides a wider view of the concerns of the English gentry in the High and Late Middle Ages.[13]
The proximity of the Palace of Westminster did not extend to providing monks or abbots with high royal connections; in social origin the Benedictines of Westminster were as modest as most of the order. The abbot remained Lord of the Manor of Westminster as a town of two to three thousand persons grew around it: as a consumer and employer on a grand scale the monastery helped fuel the town economy, and relations with the town remained unusually cordial, but no enfranchising charter was issued during the Middle Ages.[14]
The abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings. None were buried there until Henry III, intensely devoted to the cult of the Confessor, rebuilt the abbey in Anglo-French Gothic style as a shrine to venerate King Edward the Confessor and as a suitably regal setting for Henry's own tomb, under the highest Gothic nave in England. The Confessor's shrine subsequently played a great part in his canonization.
The following English, Scottish and British monarchs and their consorts are buried in the Abbey:
Sæberht of Essex (d. c. 616) [possibly]
Edward the Confessor (d. 1066) and Edith of Wessex (d. 1075)
Henry III of England (d. 1272) [his wife, Eleanor of Provence, is buried at Amesbury Priory]
Edward I of England (d. 1307) and Eleanor of Castile (d. 1290)
Edward III of England (d. 1377) and Philippa of Hainault (d. 1369)
Richard II of England (d. 1400) and Anne of Bohemia (d. 1394)
Henry V of England (d. 1422) and Catherine of Valois (d. 1437)
Edward V of England (d. c. 1483) and his brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York (d. c. 1483) [possibly]
Also known as the Princes in the Tower. In 1674, the remains of two boys were exhumed from the Tower of London and at the orders of Charles II, they were interred in the wall of the Henry VII Lady Chapel.
Anne Neville (d. 1485), wife of Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales [m. 1470–71; buried at Tewkesbury Abbey] and of Richard III [m. 1472–85; buried at Leicester Cathedral]
Henry VII of England (d. 1509) and Elizabeth of York (d. 1503)
Edward VI of England (d. 1553)
Anne of Cleves (d. 1557), former wife of Henry VIII [buried at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]
Mary I of England (d. 1558)
Elizabeth I of England as shown on her tomb
Mary, Queen of Scots (d. 1542), mother of James VI & I of England and Scotland [brought from Peterborough Cathedral in 1612]
Elizabeth I of England (d. 1603)
In the 19th century, researchers looking for the tomb of James I partially opened the underground vault containing the remains of Elizabeth I and Mary I of England. The lead coffins were stacked, with Elizabeth's resting on top of her half-sister's.[9]
James VI & I of England and Scotland (d. 1625) and Anne of Denmark (d. 1619)
The position of the tomb of King James was lost for two and a half centuries. In the 19th century, following an excavation of many of the vaults beneath the floor, the lead coffin was found in the Henry VII vault.[9]
Charles II of England and Scotland (d. 1685)
Mary II of England and Scotland (d. 1694) and William III of England and II of Scotland (d. 1702)
Anne, Queen of Great Britain (d. 1714) and Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland (d. 1708)
George II of Great Britain (d. 1760) and Caroline of Ansbach (d. 1737)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burials_and_memorials_in_Westminste...
Religious leaders and chiefs play a vital role in driving positive change throughout communities. So far 2,188 community leaders committed to abandon FGM/C during public ceremonies in Burkina Faso.
Father of seven, Chief Naba, led the fight against FGM/C in his community in central Burkina Faso.
"Education and talking is important. Cutting women is very bad for them and causes suffering. If women suffer, men also suffer", he says.
"It's been a long process, but we've abandoned the practice in our community now".
UK aid is supporting peer education through the UNICEF and UNFPA Joint Programme in Burkina Faso and across Africa.
The UNICEF-UNFPA Joint Programme has been critical in the creation of networks of influential people that can support the campaign against FGM/C.
Find out more about our work: www.gov.uk/government/news/breaking-the-cycle-of-female-g...
Take a stand. Pledge to end FGM, child marriage and forced marriage now: www.girlsummitpledge.com/
Picture: Jessica Lea/DFID.
EXPLORE # 373 -- STOP THE PRESSES!!!!!!! BULLETIN!!!! I finally got the Brown Creeper Sunday at Vicki's and Harry's House. So, I am interrupting posting of the South Texas Specialty Birds for this little guy. And , you know what? This bird is one of the more difficult to photograph, as the light was unfortunately low and he moves VERY FAST.
If you notice that yellow looking stuff stuck to the tree trunk--it is called Bark Butter and is only available at Wild Bird Unlimited stores. It was formulated by the gentleman who started the franchise, specifically formulated to attract Brown Creepers. This photo is proof positive that his product does indeed work!!!!
Something else about this bird-his feathers look "out of focus" ---I thought it was me not being able to focus the lens---well, that's the way his feathers look, perfectly "in focus". They just look 'fuzzy' or out of focus--- another way his camouflage works to avoid being seen by predators!!!!
Not a 'glamorous puss' by any means, but I am more proud of this photo of this bird than many I have taken over the years!!!!
This bird barely sits still or literally not at all!!!! I took many photos over the 3-4 hours I was there. He showed up 4 times in 4 hours, and I was ready with my camera for 2 "events". I missed two appearances----- First time was when I first arrived, and the other was when I took a break to go inside and warm up a little!!!!
I was very happy to salvage about half a dozen shots of many I took---I deleted so many simply because they were blurred--yes, he moves that quickly!!!!
Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour"), officially Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea. Hong Kong is known for its skyline and deep natural harbour. It has an area of 1104 km2 and shares its northern border with the Guangdong Province of Mainland China. With around 7.2 million Hongkongers of various nationalities, Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely populated metropolises.
After the First Opium War (1839–42), Hong Kong became a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong remained under British control for about a century until the Second World War, when Japan occupied the colony from December 1941 to August 1945. After the Surrender of Japan, the British resumed control. In the 1980s, negotiations between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China resulted in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which provided for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong on 30 June 1997. The territory became a special administrative region of China with a high degree of autonomy on 1 July 1997 under the principle of one country, two systems. Disputes over the perceived misapplication of this principle have contributed to popular protests, including the 2014 Umbrella Revolution.
In the late 1970s, Hong Kong became a major entrepôt in Asia-Pacific. The territory has developed into a major global trade hub and financial centre. The 44th-largest economy in the world, Hong Kong ranks top 10 in GDP (PPP) per capita, but also has the most severe income inequality among advanced economies. Hong Kong is one of the three most important financial centres alongside New York and London, and the world's number one tourist destination city. The territory has been named the freest market economy. The service economy, characterised by free trade and low taxation, has been regarded as one of the world's most laissez-faire economic policies, and the currency, the Hong Kong dollar, is the 13th most traded currency in the world.
The Hong Kong Basic Law empowers the region to develop relations and make agreements directly with foreign states and regions, as well as international organizations, in a broad range of appropriate fields. It is an independent member of APEC, the IMF, WTO, FIFA and International Olympic Committee among others.
Limited land created a dense infrastructure and the territory became a centre of modern architecture, and one of the world's most vertical cities. Hong Kong has a highly developed public transportation network covering 90 per cent of the population, the highest in the world, and relies on mass transit by road or rail. Air pollution remains a serious problem. Loose emissions standards have resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates. Nevertheless, Hongkongers enjoy the world's longest or second longest life expectancies.
NAME
It is not known who was responsible for the Romanisation of the name "Hong Kong" but it is generally believed to be an early imprecise phonetic rendering of the pronunciation of the spoken Cantonese or Hakka name 香港, meaning "Fragrant Harbour". Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour (香港仔, Sidney Lau: heung1gong2 jai2, Jyutping: hoeng1gong2 zai2, or Hiong1gong3 zai3 in a form of Hakka, literally means "Little Hong Kong")—between Aberdeen Island and the south side of Hong Kong Island, which was one of the first points of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. As those early contacts are likely to have been with Hong Kong's early inhabitants, the Tankas (水上人), it is equally probable that the early Romanisation was a faithful execution of their speech, i.e. hong1, not heung1. Detailed and accurate Romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time.
The reference to fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River, or to the incense from factories, lining the coast to the north of Kowloon, which was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before the development of the Victoria Harbour.
In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking was signed and the name, Hong Kong, was first recorded on official documents to encompass the entirety of the island.
The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
The full official name, after 1997, is "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". This is the official title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Hong Kong Government's website; however, "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Hong Kong" are widely accepted.
Hong Kong has carried many nicknames: the most famous among those is the "Pearl of the Orient", which reflected the impressive night-view of the city's light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The territory is also known as "Asia's World City".
HISTORY
PRE-BRITISH
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area (now Hong Kong International Airport) from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.
Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the Paleolithic Period. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue (Viets) to Hong Kong. Eight petroglyphs, which dated to the Shang dynasty in China, were discovered on the surrounding islands.
ANCIENT CHINA
In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the territory into imperial China for the first time. Modern Hong Kong was assigned to the Nanhai commandery (modern Nanhai District), near the commandery's capital city Panyu. In Qin dynasty, the territory was ruled by Panyu County(番禺縣) up till Jin Dynasty.
The area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the kingdom of Nanyue (Southern Viet), founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC after the collapse of the short-lived Qin dynasty. When the kingdom of Nanyue was conquered by the Han Dynasty in 111 BC, Hong Kong was assigned to the Jiaozhi commandery. Archaeological evidence indicates that the population increased and early salt production flourished in this time period. Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built during the Han dynasty.
IMPERIAL CHINA
Started from Jin dynasty to early period of Tang dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed by Bao'an County (寶安縣). In Tang dynasty, the Guangdong region flourished as an international trading center. The Tuen Mun region in what is now Hong Kong's New Territories served as a port, naval base, salt production centre and later, base for the exploitation of pearls. Lantau Island was also a salt production centre, where the salt smugglers riots broke out against the government.
Under the Tang dynasty, the Guangdong (Canton) region flourished as a regional trading centre. In 736 AD, the first Emperor of Tang established a military stronghold in Tuen Mun in western Hong Kong to defend the coastal area of the region. The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 AD in the modern-day New Territories under the Northern Song dynasty. After their defeat by the Mongols, the Southern Song court briefly moved to modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site), before its final defeat at the Battle of Yamen.
From the mid-Tang dynasty to early Ming dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed by Dongguan County (東莞縣/ 東官縣). In Ming dynasty, the area was governed by Xin'an County (新安縣) before it was colonized by the British government. The indigenous inhabitants of what is now Hong Kong are identified with several ethnicities, including Punti, Hakka, Tanka) and Hoklo.
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1513. Having founded an establishment in Macau by 1557, Portuguese merchants began trading in southern China. However, subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from the rest of China.
In the mid-16th century, the Haijin order (closed-door, isolation policy) was enforced and it strictly forbade all maritime activities in order to prevent contact from foreigners by sea. From 1661 to 1669, Hong Kong was directly affected by the Great Clearance of the Kangxi Emperor, who required the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong. About 16,000 people from Hong Kong and Bao'an County were forced to emigrate inland; 1,648 of those who evacuated were said to have returned after the evacuation was rescinded in 1669.
BRITSH CROWN COLONY 1842–1941
In 1839, the refusal of Qing authorities to support opium imports caused the outbreak of the First Opium War between the British Empire and the Qing Empire. Qing's defeat resulted in the occupation of Hong Kong Island by British forces on 20 January 1841. It was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpee, as part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Governor Qishan. While a dispute between high-ranking officials of both countries led to the failure of the treaty's ratification, on 29 August 1842, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Treaty of Nanking. The British officially established a Crown colony and founded the City of Victoria in the following year.
The population of Hong Kong Island was 7,450 when the Union Flag raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841. It mostly consisted of Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners, whose settlements scattered along several coastal hamlets. In the 1850s, a large number of Chinese immigrants crossed the then-free border to escape from the Taiping Rebellion. Other natural disasters, such as flooding, typhoons and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place for safe shelter.
Further conflicts over the opium trade between Britain and Qing quickly escalated into the Second Opium War. Following the Anglo-French victory, the Crown Colony was expanded to include Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street) and Stonecutter's Island, both of which were ceded to the British in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860.
In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease from Qing under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, in which Hong Kong obtained a 99-year lease of the Lantau Island, the area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon up to Shenzhen River and over 200 other outlying islands.
Hong Kong soon became a major entrepôt thanks to its free port status, attracting new immigrants to settle from both China and Europe alike. The society, however, remained racially segregated and polarised under British colonial policies. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper-class by the late-19th century, race laws such as the Peak Reservation Ordinance prevented ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong from acquiring houses in reserved areas, such as the Victoria Peak. At this time, the majority of the Chinese population in Hong Kong had no political representation in the British colonial government. There were, however, a small number of Chinese elites whom the British governors relied on, such as Sir Kai Ho and Robert Hotung, who served as communicators and mediators between the government and local population.
Hong Kong continued to experience modest growth during the first half of the 20th century. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's oldest higher education institute. While there was an exodus of 60,000 residents for fear of a German attack on the British colony during the First World War, Hong Kong remained peaceful. Its population increased from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and reached 1.6 million by 1941.
In 1925, Cecil Clementi became the 17th Governor of Hong Kong. Fluent in Cantonese and without a need for translator, Clementi introduced the first ethnic Chinese, Shouson Chow, into the Executive Council as an unofficial member. Under his tenure, Kai Tak Airport entered operation as RAF Kai Tak and several aviation clubs. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out when the Japanese Empire expanded its territories from northeastern China into the mainland proper. To safeguard Hong Kong as a freeport, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared the Crown Colony as a neutral zone.
JAPANESE OCCUPATION 1941–45
As part of its military campaign in Southeast Asia during Second World War, the Japanese army moved south from Guangzhou of mainland China and attacked Hong Kong on 8 December 1941. The Battle of Hong Kong ended with the British and Canadian defenders surrendering control of Hong Kong to Japan on 25 December 1941 in what was regarded by locals as Black Christmas.
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the Japanese army committed atrocities against civilians and POWs, such as the St. Stephen's College massacre. Local residents also suffered widespread food shortages, limited rationing and hyper-inflation arising from the forced exchange of currency from Hong Kong Dollars to Japanese military banknotes. The initial ratio of 2:1 was gradually devalued to 4:1 and ownership of Hong Kong Dollars was declared illegal and punishable by harsh torture. Due to starvation and forced deportation for slave labour to mainland China, the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when Britain resumed control of the colony on 30 August 1945.
ECONOMY
As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade. The currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the eighth most traded currency in the world as of 2010. Hong Kong was once described by Milton Friedman as the world's greatest experiment in laissez-faire capitalism, but has since instituted a regime of regulations including a minimum wage. It maintains a highly developed capitalist economy, ranked the freest in the world by the Index of Economic Freedom every year since 1995. It is an important centre for international finance and trade, with one of the greatest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region, and is known as one of the Four Asian Tigers for its high growth rates and rapid development from the 1960s to the 1990s. Between 1961 and 1997 Hong Kong's gross domestic product grew 180 times while per-capita GDP increased 87 times over.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the seventh largest in the world and has a market capitalisation of US$2.3 trillion as of December 2009. In that year, Hong Kong raised 22 percent of worldwide initial public offering (IPO) capital, making it the largest centre of IPOs in the world and the easiest place to raise capital. The Hong Kong dollar has been pegged to the US dollar since 1983.
The Hong Kong Government has traditionally played a mostly passive role in the economy, with little by way of industrial policy and almost no import or export controls. Market forces and the private sector were allowed to determine practical development. Under the official policy of "positive non-interventionism", Hong Kong is often cited as an example of laissez-faire capitalism. Following the Second World War, Hong Kong industrialised rapidly as a manufacturing centre driven by exports, and then underwent a rapid transition to a service-based economy in the 1980s. Since then, it has grown to become a leading centre for management, financial, IT, business consultation and professional services.
Hong Kong matured to become a financial centre in the 1990s, but was greatly affected by the Asian financial crisis in 1998, and again in 2003 by the SARS outbreak. A revival of external and domestic demand has led to a strong recovery, as cost decreases strengthened the competitiveness of Hong Kong exports and a long deflationary period ended. Government intervention, initiated by the later colonial governments and continued since 1997, has steadily increased, with the introduction of export credit guarantees, a compulsory pension scheme, a minimum wage, anti-discrimination laws, and a state mortgage backer.
The territory has little arable land and few natural resources, so it imports most of its food and raw materials. Imports account for more than 90% of Hong Kong's food supply, including nearly all of the meat and rice available there. Agricultural activity - relatively unimportant to Hong Kong's economy and contributing just 0.1% of its GDP - primarily consists of growing premium food and flower varieties. Hong Kong is the world's eleventh largest trading entity, with the total value of imports and exports exceeding its gross domestic product. It is the world's largest re-export centre. Much of Hong Kong's exports consist of re-exports, which are products made outside of the territory, especially in mainland China, and distributed via Hong Kong. Its physical location has allowed the city to establish a transportation and logistics infrastructure that includes the world's second busiest container port and the world's busiest airport for international cargo. Even before the transfer of sovereignty, Hong Kong had established extensive trade and investment ties with the mainland, which now enable it to serve as a point of entry for investment flowing into the mainland. At the end of 2007, there were 3.46 million people employed full-time, with the unemployment rate averaging 4.1% for the fourth straight year of decline. Hong Kong's economy is dominated by the service sector, which accounts for over 90% of its GDP, while industry constitutes 9%. Inflation was at 2.5% in 2007. Hong Kong's largest export markets are mainland China, the United States, and Japan.
As of 2010 Hong Kong is the eighth most expensive city for expatriates, falling from fifth position in the previous year. Hong Kong is ranked fourth in terms of the highest percentage of millionaire households, behind Switzerland, Qatar, and Singapore with 8.5 percent of all households owning at least one million US dollars. Hong Kong is also ranked second in the world by the most billionaires per capita (one per 132,075 people), behind Monaco. In 2011, Hong Kong was ranked second in the Ease of Doing Business Index, behind Singapore.
Hong Kong is ranked No. 1 in the world in the Crony Capitalism Index by the Economist.
In 2014, Hong Kong was the eleventh most popular destination for international tourists among countries and territories worldwide, with a total of 27.8 million visitors contributing a total of US$38,376 million in international tourism receipts. Hong Kong is also the most popular city for tourists, nearly two times of its nearest competitor Macau.
DEMOGRAPHICS
The territory's population in mid-2015 is 7.30 million, with an average annual growth rate of 0.8% over the previous 5 years. The current population of Hong Kong comprises 91% ethnic Chinese. A major part of Hong Kong's Cantonese-speaking majority originated from the neighbouring Guangdong province, from where many fled during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War, and the communist rule in China.
Residents of the Mainland do not automatically receive the Right of Abode, and many may not enter the territory freely. Like other non-natives, they may apply for the Right of Abode after seven years of continuous residency. Some of the rights may also be acquired by marriage (e.g., the right to work), but these do not include the right to vote or stand for office. However, the influx of immigrants from mainland China, approximating 45,000 per year, is a significant contributor to its population growth – a daily quota of 150 Mainland Chinese with family ties in Hong Kong are granted a "one way permit". Life expectancy in Hong Kong is 81.2 years for males and 86.9 years for females as of 2014, making it the highest life expectancy in the world.
About 91% of the people of Hong Kong are of Chinese descent, the majority of whom are Taishanese, Chiu Chow, other Cantonese people, and Hakka. Hong Kong's Han majority originate mainly from the Guangzhou and Taishan regions in Guangdong province. The remaining 6.9% of the population is composed of non-ethnic Chinese. There is a South Asian population of Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese; some Vietnamese refugees have become permanent residents of Hong Kong. There are also Britons, Americans, Canadians, Japanese, and Koreans working in the city's commercial and financial sector. In 2011, 133,377 foreign domestic helpers from Indonesia and 132,935 from the Philippines were working in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's de facto official language is Cantonese, a variety of Chinese originating from Guangdong province to the north of Hong Kong. English is also an official language, and according to a 1996 by-census is spoken by 3.1 percent of the population as an everyday language and by 34.9 percent of the population as a second language. Signs displaying both Chinese and English are common throughout the territory. Since the 1997 Handover, an increase in immigrants from communist China and greater interaction with the mainland's economy have brought an increasing number of Mandarin speakers to Hong Kong.
RELIGION
A majority of residents of Hong Kong have no religious affiliation, professing a form of agnosticism or atheism. According to the US Department of State 43 percent of the population practices some form of religion. Some figures put it higher, according to a Gallup poll, 64% of Hong Kong residents do not believe in any religion, and possibly 80% of Hong Kong claim no religion. In Hong Kong teaching evolution won out in curriculum dispute about whether to teach other explanations, and that creationism and intelligent design will form no part of the senior secondary biology curriculum.
Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of religious freedom, guaranteed by the Basic Law. Hong Kong's main religions are Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism; a local religious scholar in contact with major denominations estimates there are approximately 1.5 million Buddhists and Taoists. A Christian community of around 833,000 forms about 11.7% of the total population; Protestants forms a larger number than Roman Catholics at a rate of 4:3, although smaller Christian communities exist, including the Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses. The Anglican and Roman Catholic churches each freely appoint their own bishops, unlike in mainland China. There are also Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Bahá'í communities. The practice of Falun Gong is tolerated.
PERSONAL INCOME
Statistically Hong Kong's income gap is the greatest in Asia Pacific. According to a report by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 2008, Hong Kong's Gini coefficient, at 0.53, was the highest in Asia and "relatively high by international standards". However, the government has stressed that income disparity does not equate to worsening of the poverty situation, and that the Gini coefficient is not strictly comparable between regions. The government has named economic restructuring, changes in household sizes, and the increase of high-income jobs as factors that have skewed the Gini coefficient.
WIKIPEDIA
At the Elizabeth Board of Education meeting of June 21 at Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy, the meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Jefferson Arts Academy senior Makiah Robinson; the Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key performed by Jefferson Arts Academy A Capella Choir; and the Pledge of Ethics led by Jefferson Arts Academy sophomore Ariana Montoya; as well as performances, including an anti-bullying step dance routine to "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John by the Terence C. Reilly School No. 7 Dance Troupe, and “This is Me” by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul performed by Jefferson Arts Academy A Capella Choir.
Board President Maria Carvalho recognized Boys Varsity soccer coach Joseph Cortico, who has retired as coach of the team after the longest tenure ever by a varsity soccer coach, following the boys soccer team being honored by the Board and receiving jackets and medals for their Union County Co-Championship in Fall 2017. As she shared the accolades Coach Cortico’s career, which spanned 34 years, a video showed many of the snapshots of those memorable moments. Elizabeth Public Schools Director of Athletics Ben Candelino expressed his congratulations to Coach Cortico on behalf of the district and the athletic department.
The Board also recognized Elizabeth Public Schools Chief of Operations Francisco Cuesta and Teacher Raymond (John) Muller for their outstanding community work in receiving the 2018 New Jersey Governor’s Jefferson Award. Cuesta has helped raise nearly a half million dollars for the Elizabeth Promise Scholarship Awards and Muller has been very active in Bear Hugs for the Holidays at Overlook and Morristown hospitals as well as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for many years.
Jefferson Arts Academy Principal Michael Ojeda presented to the Board the approach he has taken to be able to address various issues that resulted in Jefferson Arts Academy being designated a Focus School by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE). In April 2012, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s administration announced the final list of Priority, Focus, and Reward Schools as part of its new statewide accountability system, which included 183 Focus Schools. A Focus School is a school that has room for improvement in areas that are specific to the school. As part of the process, Focus Schools receive targeted and tailored solutions to meet the school’s unique needs. The types of Focus schools include those with low graduation rates, largest within-school gaps, and lowest subgroup performance.
As a result of this approach by Ojeda and the team members of Jefferson Arts Academy, the NJDOE has announced that Jefferson Arts Academy will be exiting Focus School status in June 2018.
During the meeting, the Board celebrated and recognized excellent achievements of members of the Elizabeth Public Schools Professional Learning Community and the greater Elizabeth community. Among those honored at the meeting were:
STUDENT EXCELLENCE
Union County Educational Services and Project Research
Kevin Sabino, 12th Grade Student John E. Dwyer Technology Academy
Athletics
Baseball
Andre Tirso-First Team All Conference
Israel Santana-First Team All Conference
Coach: Matt Belford
Soccer
Matthew Almeida
Josser Amaya
Nahuel Barboza
Nelson Capela
Renato Castillo-Maguina
Henry Chavez
Sebastian Diaz
Denilson Dominique
Herney Echeverry
Sebastian Escobar
Louis Flores
Ian Flores
Andrew Gamero
Manny Grova, III
Michael Guzman
Matheus Jaimes
Stanley Marshall
Andrew Martins
Max Meja
Rodrigo Moreira
Youkendly Pacius
Cesar Pereira
Ariel Reyes
Edgar Rivera
Chirstopher Segura
Juan Vidal
Jayson Villatoro
Alejandro Zapata
Coaches:
Joseph Cortico
Jacques Gonzales
Gustavo Della Corte
Lou Argondizza
Colomb Petit
STARS OF EXCELLENCE
NJ State Governor’s 2018 Jefferson Awards
Francisco Cuesta
Raymond Muller
Parents and Staff of Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy
Parents: PTSO Officers
President: Margarita Matos
Vice President: Luis Matos
Treasurer: Migdalia Santiago
Secretary: Riza Geronimo
Team Members
Arts Education
Edward D'Alessandro
Diego Gallardo
Nash Guillermo
Erika Hicks
Yasmin Maher
Fatima Maqboul
Kelly Ann Mc Aleney
Dennis Mc Sorley
Carmen Melchionna
Kerrie Messineo
Ana Pineiro
Mary Reilly
Mary Rivera
Steven Sabet
Sandra Toll
Thomas Urban
AVID Teacher Leadership
Joseph Carnevale
Christina Carroll
Robert Fontaine
Alicia Heymann
Erika Moniz
Daniella Piegaro
Natalya Promyslovskaya
Sarah Satterfield
Instructional Support
Abraham Ahn
Adam Rodriguez
Donald Steup
Student Services
Lisa Baginski-Matlosz
Anthony Del Polito
Kristy Kumar
Imani Lewars
Natasha Morrissey
Lincoln Pantoja
Ashley Rully
Supporting School Success
Anthony Burgess
Carmen Caceres
Robert Carrero
Lisandro Colon
Juan Comesana, Jr.
Daphne Cromartie
Frank Diakos
Nyla Graham
Luigi Guiducci
Herbert Hayward
Frederick Lucich
Giacomina Magliano
Wanda Santana
Supporting Student Success
Eduardo Bastidas
Joao Camacho
Dolores Camp
Paul Cardoso
Kenneth Echezona
Dayana Gil
Christine Irwin
Supporting Student Success
Brian Mortensen
Antoinette Murphy
Robert Negron
Evelyn Rosario
Patricia Rosen
Rubina Saghir
Angela Traum
Aleksandr Ulanovskiy
New Jersey Positive Behavior Support in Schools (NJ PBSIS)
Partnerships for Student Success
Paper Mill Playhouse Adopt-A-School Project
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
YES Program of Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy
Positive social connections are important for our physical and mental wellbeing. Examples of human connection are things such as the below: having a personal conversation about what is important to you with someone and feeling listened to and understood taking the time to listen to someone else and feeling real empathy for them helping someone else out of unconditional goodwill offering sincere gratitude to another and receiving gratitude from others catching a strangers eye and both smiling a shared experience with others that involves laughter and goodwill.
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Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour"), officially Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea. Hong Kong is known for its skyline and deep natural harbour. It has an area of 1104 km2 and shares its northern border with the Guangdong Province of Mainland China. With around 7.2 million Hongkongers of various nationalities, Hong Kong is one of the world's most densely populated metropolises.
After the First Opium War (1839–42), Hong Kong became a British colony with the perpetual cession of Hong Kong Island, followed by Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and a 99-year lease of the New Territories from 1898. Hong Kong remained under British control for about a century until the Second World War, when Japan occupied the colony from December 1941 to August 1945. After the Surrender of Japan, the British resumed control. In the 1980s, negotiations between the United Kingdom and the People's Republic of China resulted in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which provided for the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong on 30 June 1997. The territory became a special administrative region of China with a high degree of autonomy on 1 July 1997 under the principle of one country, two systems. Disputes over the perceived misapplication of this principle have contributed to popular protests, including the 2014 Umbrella Revolution.
In the late 1970s, Hong Kong became a major entrepôt in Asia-Pacific. The territory has developed into a major global trade hub and financial centre. The 44th-largest economy in the world, Hong Kong ranks top 10 in GDP (PPP) per capita, but also has the most severe income inequality among advanced economies. Hong Kong is one of the three most important financial centres alongside New York and London, and the world's number one tourist destination city. The territory has been named the freest market economy. The service economy, characterised by free trade and low taxation, has been regarded as one of the world's most laissez-faire economic policies, and the currency, the Hong Kong dollar, is the 13th most traded currency in the world.
The Hong Kong Basic Law empowers the region to develop relations and make agreements directly with foreign states and regions, as well as international organizations, in a broad range of appropriate fields. It is an independent member of APEC, the IMF, WTO, FIFA and International Olympic Committee among others.
Limited land created a dense infrastructure and the territory became a centre of modern architecture, and one of the world's most vertical cities. Hong Kong has a highly developed public transportation network covering 90 per cent of the population, the highest in the world, and relies on mass transit by road or rail. Air pollution remains a serious problem. Loose emissions standards have resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates. Nevertheless, Hongkongers enjoy the world's longest or second longest life expectancies.
NAME
It is not known who was responsible for the Romanisation of the name "Hong Kong" but it is generally believed to be an early imprecise phonetic rendering of the pronunciation of the spoken Cantonese or Hakka name 香港, meaning "Fragrant Harbour". Before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour (香港仔, Sidney Lau: heung1gong2 jai2, Jyutping: hoeng1gong2 zai2, or Hiong1gong3 zai3 in a form of Hakka, literally means "Little Hong Kong")—between Aberdeen Island and the south side of Hong Kong Island, which was one of the first points of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. As those early contacts are likely to have been with Hong Kong's early inhabitants, the Tankas (水上人), it is equally probable that the early Romanisation was a faithful execution of their speech, i.e. hong1, not heung1. Detailed and accurate Romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time.
The reference to fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River, or to the incense from factories, lining the coast to the north of Kowloon, which was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before the development of the Victoria Harbour.
In 1842, the Treaty of Nanking was signed and the name, Hong Kong, was first recorded on official documents to encompass the entirety of the island.
The name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the single-word form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
The full official name, after 1997, is "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China". This is the official title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Hong Kong Government's website; however, "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "Hong Kong" are widely accepted.
Hong Kong has carried many nicknames: the most famous among those is the "Pearl of the Orient", which reflected the impressive night-view of the city's light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The territory is also known as "Asia's World City".
HISTORY
PRE-BRITISH
Archaeological studies support human presence in the Chek Lap Kok area (now Hong Kong International Airport) from 35,000 to 39,000 years ago and on Sai Kung Peninsula from 6,000 years ago.
Wong Tei Tung and Three Fathoms Cove are the earliest sites of human habitation in Hong Kong during the Paleolithic Period. It is believed that the Three Fathom Cove was a river-valley settlement and Wong Tei Tung was a lithic manufacturing site. Excavated Neolithic artefacts suggested cultural differences from the Longshan culture of northern China and settlement by the Che people, prior to the migration of the Baiyue (Viets) to Hong Kong. Eight petroglyphs, which dated to the Shang dynasty in China, were discovered on the surrounding islands.
ANCIENT CHINA
In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, conquered the Baiyue tribes in Jiaozhi (modern Liangguang region and Vietnam) and incorporated the territory into imperial China for the first time. Modern Hong Kong was assigned to the Nanhai commandery (modern Nanhai District), near the commandery's capital city Panyu. In Qin dynasty, the territory was ruled by Panyu County(番禺縣) up till Jin Dynasty.
The area of Hong Kong was consolidated under the kingdom of Nanyue (Southern Viet), founded by general Zhao Tuo in 204 BC after the collapse of the short-lived Qin dynasty. When the kingdom of Nanyue was conquered by the Han Dynasty in 111 BC, Hong Kong was assigned to the Jiaozhi commandery. Archaeological evidence indicates that the population increased and early salt production flourished in this time period. Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb on the Kowloon Peninsula is believed to have been built during the Han dynasty.
IMPERIAL CHINA
Started from Jin dynasty to early period of Tang dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed by Bao'an County (寶安縣). In Tang dynasty, the Guangdong region flourished as an international trading center. The Tuen Mun region in what is now Hong Kong's New Territories served as a port, naval base, salt production centre and later, base for the exploitation of pearls. Lantau Island was also a salt production centre, where the salt smugglers riots broke out against the government.
Under the Tang dynasty, the Guangdong (Canton) region flourished as a regional trading centre. In 736 AD, the first Emperor of Tang established a military stronghold in Tuen Mun in western Hong Kong to defend the coastal area of the region. The first village school, Li Ying College, was established around 1075 AD in the modern-day New Territories under the Northern Song dynasty. After their defeat by the Mongols, the Southern Song court briefly moved to modern-day Kowloon City (the Sung Wong Toi site), before its final defeat at the Battle of Yamen.
From the mid-Tang dynasty to early Ming dynasty, the territory that now comprises Hong Kong was governed by Dongguan County (東莞縣/ 東官縣). In Ming dynasty, the area was governed by Xin'an County (新安縣) before it was colonized by the British government. The indigenous inhabitants of what is now Hong Kong are identified with several ethnicities, including Punti, Hakka, Tanka) and Hoklo.
The earliest European visitor on record was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1513. Having founded an establishment in Macau by 1557, Portuguese merchants began trading in southern China. However, subsequent military clashes between China and Portugal led to the expulsion of all Portuguese merchants from the rest of China.
In the mid-16th century, the Haijin order (closed-door, isolation policy) was enforced and it strictly forbade all maritime activities in order to prevent contact from foreigners by sea. From 1661 to 1669, Hong Kong was directly affected by the Great Clearance of the Kangxi Emperor, who required the evacuation of coastal areas of Guangdong. About 16,000 people from Hong Kong and Bao'an County were forced to emigrate inland; 1,648 of those who evacuated were said to have returned after the evacuation was rescinded in 1669.
BRITSH CROWN COLONY 1842–1941
In 1839, the refusal of Qing authorities to support opium imports caused the outbreak of the First Opium War between the British Empire and the Qing Empire. Qing's defeat resulted in the occupation of Hong Kong Island by British forces on 20 January 1841. It was initially ceded under the Convention of Chuenpee, as part of a ceasefire agreement between Captain Charles Elliot and Governor Qishan. While a dispute between high-ranking officials of both countries led to the failure of the treaty's ratification, on 29 August 1842, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded in perpetuity to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Treaty of Nanking. The British officially established a Crown colony and founded the City of Victoria in the following year.
The population of Hong Kong Island was 7,450 when the Union Flag raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841. It mostly consisted of Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners, whose settlements scattered along several coastal hamlets. In the 1850s, a large number of Chinese immigrants crossed the then-free border to escape from the Taiping Rebellion. Other natural disasters, such as flooding, typhoons and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place for safe shelter.
Further conflicts over the opium trade between Britain and Qing quickly escalated into the Second Opium War. Following the Anglo-French victory, the Crown Colony was expanded to include Kowloon Peninsula (south of Boundary Street) and Stonecutter's Island, both of which were ceded to the British in perpetuity under the Convention of Beijing in 1860.
In 1898, Britain obtained a 99-year lease from Qing under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, in which Hong Kong obtained a 99-year lease of the Lantau Island, the area north of Boundary Street in Kowloon up to Shenzhen River and over 200 other outlying islands.
Hong Kong soon became a major entrepôt thanks to its free port status, attracting new immigrants to settle from both China and Europe alike. The society, however, remained racially segregated and polarised under British colonial policies. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper-class by the late-19th century, race laws such as the Peak Reservation Ordinance prevented ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong from acquiring houses in reserved areas, such as the Victoria Peak. At this time, the majority of the Chinese population in Hong Kong had no political representation in the British colonial government. There were, however, a small number of Chinese elites whom the British governors relied on, such as Sir Kai Ho and Robert Hotung, who served as communicators and mediators between the government and local population.
Hong Kong continued to experience modest growth during the first half of the 20th century. The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 as the territory's oldest higher education institute. While there was an exodus of 60,000 residents for fear of a German attack on the British colony during the First World War, Hong Kong remained peaceful. Its population increased from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and reached 1.6 million by 1941.
In 1925, Cecil Clementi became the 17th Governor of Hong Kong. Fluent in Cantonese and without a need for translator, Clementi introduced the first ethnic Chinese, Shouson Chow, into the Executive Council as an unofficial member. Under his tenure, Kai Tak Airport entered operation as RAF Kai Tak and several aviation clubs. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out when the Japanese Empire expanded its territories from northeastern China into the mainland proper. To safeguard Hong Kong as a freeport, Governor Geoffry Northcote declared the Crown Colony as a neutral zone.
JAPANESE OCCUPATION 1941–45
As part of its military campaign in Southeast Asia during Second World War, the Japanese army moved south from Guangzhou of mainland China and attacked Hong Kong on 8 December 1941. The Battle of Hong Kong ended with the British and Canadian defenders surrendering control of Hong Kong to Japan on 25 December 1941 in what was regarded by locals as Black Christmas.
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, the Japanese army committed atrocities against civilians and POWs, such as the St. Stephen's College massacre. Local residents also suffered widespread food shortages, limited rationing and hyper-inflation arising from the forced exchange of currency from Hong Kong Dollars to Japanese military banknotes. The initial ratio of 2:1 was gradually devalued to 4:1 and ownership of Hong Kong Dollars was declared illegal and punishable by harsh torture. Due to starvation and forced deportation for slave labour to mainland China, the population of Hong Kong had dwindled from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 in 1945, when Britain resumed control of the colony on 30 August 1945.
ECONOMY
As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade. The currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the eighth most traded currency in the world as of 2010. Hong Kong was once described by Milton Friedman as the world's greatest experiment in laissez-faire capitalism, but has since instituted a regime of regulations including a minimum wage. It maintains a highly developed capitalist economy, ranked the freest in the world by the Index of Economic Freedom every year since 1995. It is an important centre for international finance and trade, with one of the greatest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region, and is known as one of the Four Asian Tigers for its high growth rates and rapid development from the 1960s to the 1990s. Between 1961 and 1997 Hong Kong's gross domestic product grew 180 times while per-capita GDP increased 87 times over.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the seventh largest in the world and has a market capitalisation of US$2.3 trillion as of December 2009. In that year, Hong Kong raised 22 percent of worldwide initial public offering (IPO) capital, making it the largest centre of IPOs in the world and the easiest place to raise capital. The Hong Kong dollar has been pegged to the US dollar since 1983.
The Hong Kong Government has traditionally played a mostly passive role in the economy, with little by way of industrial policy and almost no import or export controls. Market forces and the private sector were allowed to determine practical development. Under the official policy of "positive non-interventionism", Hong Kong is often cited as an example of laissez-faire capitalism. Following the Second World War, Hong Kong industrialised rapidly as a manufacturing centre driven by exports, and then underwent a rapid transition to a service-based economy in the 1980s. Since then, it has grown to become a leading centre for management, financial, IT, business consultation and professional services.
Hong Kong matured to become a financial centre in the 1990s, but was greatly affected by the Asian financial crisis in 1998, and again in 2003 by the SARS outbreak. A revival of external and domestic demand has led to a strong recovery, as cost decreases strengthened the competitiveness of Hong Kong exports and a long deflationary period ended. Government intervention, initiated by the later colonial governments and continued since 1997, has steadily increased, with the introduction of export credit guarantees, a compulsory pension scheme, a minimum wage, anti-discrimination laws, and a state mortgage backer.
The territory has little arable land and few natural resources, so it imports most of its food and raw materials. Imports account for more than 90% of Hong Kong's food supply, including nearly all of the meat and rice available there. Agricultural activity - relatively unimportant to Hong Kong's economy and contributing just 0.1% of its GDP - primarily consists of growing premium food and flower varieties. Hong Kong is the world's eleventh largest trading entity, with the total value of imports and exports exceeding its gross domestic product. It is the world's largest re-export centre. Much of Hong Kong's exports consist of re-exports, which are products made outside of the territory, especially in mainland China, and distributed via Hong Kong. Its physical location has allowed the city to establish a transportation and logistics infrastructure that includes the world's second busiest container port and the world's busiest airport for international cargo. Even before the transfer of sovereignty, Hong Kong had established extensive trade and investment ties with the mainland, which now enable it to serve as a point of entry for investment flowing into the mainland. At the end of 2007, there were 3.46 million people employed full-time, with the unemployment rate averaging 4.1% for the fourth straight year of decline. Hong Kong's economy is dominated by the service sector, which accounts for over 90% of its GDP, while industry constitutes 9%. Inflation was at 2.5% in 2007. Hong Kong's largest export markets are mainland China, the United States, and Japan.
As of 2010 Hong Kong is the eighth most expensive city for expatriates, falling from fifth position in the previous year. Hong Kong is ranked fourth in terms of the highest percentage of millionaire households, behind Switzerland, Qatar, and Singapore with 8.5 percent of all households owning at least one million US dollars. Hong Kong is also ranked second in the world by the most billionaires per capita (one per 132,075 people), behind Monaco. In 2011, Hong Kong was ranked second in the Ease of Doing Business Index, behind Singapore.
Hong Kong is ranked No. 1 in the world in the Crony Capitalism Index by the Economist.
In 2014, Hong Kong was the eleventh most popular destination for international tourists among countries and territories worldwide, with a total of 27.8 million visitors contributing a total of US$38,376 million in international tourism receipts. Hong Kong is also the most popular city for tourists, nearly two times of its nearest competitor Macau.
DEMOGRAPHICS
The territory's population in mid-2015 is 7.30 million, with an average annual growth rate of 0.8% over the previous 5 years. The current population of Hong Kong comprises 91% ethnic Chinese. A major part of Hong Kong's Cantonese-speaking majority originated from the neighbouring Guangdong province, from where many fled during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Civil War, and the communist rule in China.
Residents of the Mainland do not automatically receive the Right of Abode, and many may not enter the territory freely. Like other non-natives, they may apply for the Right of Abode after seven years of continuous residency. Some of the rights may also be acquired by marriage (e.g., the right to work), but these do not include the right to vote or stand for office. However, the influx of immigrants from mainland China, approximating 45,000 per year, is a significant contributor to its population growth – a daily quota of 150 Mainland Chinese with family ties in Hong Kong are granted a "one way permit". Life expectancy in Hong Kong is 81.2 years for males and 86.9 years for females as of 2014, making it the highest life expectancy in the world.
About 91% of the people of Hong Kong are of Chinese descent, the majority of whom are Taishanese, Chiu Chow, other Cantonese people, and Hakka. Hong Kong's Han majority originate mainly from the Guangzhou and Taishan regions in Guangdong province. The remaining 6.9% of the population is composed of non-ethnic Chinese. There is a South Asian population of Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese; some Vietnamese refugees have become permanent residents of Hong Kong. There are also Britons, Americans, Canadians, Japanese, and Koreans working in the city's commercial and financial sector. In 2011, 133,377 foreign domestic helpers from Indonesia and 132,935 from the Philippines were working in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's de facto official language is Cantonese, a variety of Chinese originating from Guangdong province to the north of Hong Kong. English is also an official language, and according to a 1996 by-census is spoken by 3.1 percent of the population as an everyday language and by 34.9 percent of the population as a second language. Signs displaying both Chinese and English are common throughout the territory. Since the 1997 Handover, an increase in immigrants from communist China and greater interaction with the mainland's economy have brought an increasing number of Mandarin speakers to Hong Kong.
RELIGION
A majority of residents of Hong Kong have no religious affiliation, professing a form of agnosticism or atheism. According to the US Department of State 43 percent of the population practices some form of religion. Some figures put it higher, according to a Gallup poll, 64% of Hong Kong residents do not believe in any religion, and possibly 80% of Hong Kong claim no religion. In Hong Kong teaching evolution won out in curriculum dispute about whether to teach other explanations, and that creationism and intelligent design will form no part of the senior secondary biology curriculum.
Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of religious freedom, guaranteed by the Basic Law. Hong Kong's main religions are Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism; a local religious scholar in contact with major denominations estimates there are approximately 1.5 million Buddhists and Taoists. A Christian community of around 833,000 forms about 11.7% of the total population; Protestants forms a larger number than Roman Catholics at a rate of 4:3, although smaller Christian communities exist, including the Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses. The Anglican and Roman Catholic churches each freely appoint their own bishops, unlike in mainland China. There are also Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Bahá'í communities. The practice of Falun Gong is tolerated.
PERSONAL INCOME
Statistically Hong Kong's income gap is the greatest in Asia Pacific. According to a report by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 2008, Hong Kong's Gini coefficient, at 0.53, was the highest in Asia and "relatively high by international standards". However, the government has stressed that income disparity does not equate to worsening of the poverty situation, and that the Gini coefficient is not strictly comparable between regions. The government has named economic restructuring, changes in household sizes, and the increase of high-income jobs as factors that have skewed the Gini coefficient.
WIKIPEDIA