Story and photo by David McNally - USAG-Yongsan Public Affairs

YONGSAN GARRISON, Republic of Korea - The senior military commander in Korea took time to visit Army housing Jan. 13 at Hannam Village and Yongsan Garrison.

U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Walter Sharp and his wife Joanne toured a Hannam Village model apartment displaying the end-state of a multimillion dollar renovation project funded by the Korea National Housing Corporation. The renovation is set to begin shortly.

Hannam Village is a government-leased housing area near Yongsan Garrison. The 18-month project will provide U.S. Servicemembers and their Family Members with 264 sets of premium apartments.

The Sharps also visited the Hannam Village Commissary and new Community Center, as well as a set of company-grade officer quarters. Later, the group toured the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 524th Military Intelligence Battalion barracks on Yongsan's South Post. Finally, the group visited an unaccompanied colonel's quarters.

Yongsan Garrison was first used by U.S. Forces in 1948. Many of the structures on post are from the Japanese occupation of 1910-1945. The installation is closing at some point in the future as part of the Yongsan Relocation Plan. As a result, there are no major construction projects on the installation.

Installation Management Command-Korea Region Commander Brig. Gen. John Uberti told the general of the challenges facing U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan.

"The Garrison team is constantly identifying critical points, such as the water system, electrical grid and infrastructure and maintaining a balance of capabilities and quality of life," Uberti said. "As part of the Army Family Covenant, we are committed to providing Soldiers and Families a quality of life commensurate with their service."

Uberti said they are improving facilities and housing because it's the right thing to do.

"We are always aware of the living and working conditions of our force," he said.

Even without major construction funding, USAG-Yongsan continues to invest in small-scale renovation projects to improve quality of life.

"We continue to do everything we can to bridge the gap during this time of transition," said USAG-Yongsan Commander Col. Dave Hall. "We are executing transformation on the peninsula, but we are committed to maintaining our facilities at all bases until they are returned to the Republic of Korea."

"The Garrison is doing an incredible job of taking care of the community with limited resources," Gen. Sharp told the commanders.

On 7 March 2014, Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC), ruling in the majority, with Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert dissenting, rendered its judgment in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga. The Chamber was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of Germain Katanga’s guilt as an accessory, within the meaning of article 25(3)(d) of the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, to one crime against humanity (murder) and four war crimes (murder, attacking a civilian population, destruction of property and pillaging) committed on 24 February 2003 during the attack on the village of Bogoro, in the Ituri district of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Decisions on sentencing and victim reparations will be rendered later. The Prosecutor and the Defence may appeal the judgment within 30 days.

“When I eventually decided to move to Leeds, I went to look at a place in Recreation Place. I had two kids at the time. It was perfectly nice inside, but the landlord wouldn’t rent me the place. Saying the area was not suitable for me and my kids. He offered me a place elsewhere, in better surroundings and I ended up living there. This was a ‘Sliding Doors’ moment in my life where I still got to see the other side.

Coincidentally, when my ex-husband moved to Leeds he got a house on this very road. We later had an incident on this road which ended in assault and for the first time I decided to be honest about the co-dependent abuse. This road metaphorically represents the line between habitual and recreational drug use - placed at recreation. It is where my lines were drawn.

I am of no fixed identity. My identity has altered throughout my life. I started life as Heather, but I never fit into the persona. I went through a period where I wanted to stop my ex from taking drugs. I convinced myself that if I took them then he’d see how bad it was and stop. It didn’t work and I took it too far. To me, Heather died of a drug overdose. She was a part of me which was never meant to be. And I made my peace with her.”

Part 2/3 - Committed to Myself (Recreation Place)

Today, 4 February 2021, the Trial Chamber IX of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) found Dominic Ongwen guilty for a total of 61 comprising crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed in Northern Uganda between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005. The verdict may be appealed by either party to the proceedings within 30 days after the notification of the Judgment.

Committed to Safety

A tactic will be used by officers in the City Centre to disrupt criminal activity.

GMP is adopting Project Servator in the City Centre this week, after a trial of the policing tactic, which has been running at Manchester Airport for the past year.

Project Servator will see officers use a tactic working with partners to target offenders of all levels, from petty criminals to terrorists. These include highly visible and unpredictable patrols that can turn up anywhere and at any time across the city.

They will involve both uniformed and plain clothes officers, who are specially trained to spot the tell-tale signs that a person is planning or preparing to commit a criminal act, as well as a range of other tactics including search dogs and horses, police vehicles and utilising CCTV across the City Centre.

Officers will also be encouraging security staff, retailers and the public to be extra eyes and ears and report anything that doesn’t feel right

The project follows 17 other police forces, including the City of London Police which was the first to trial Project Servator in 2014.

Superintendent Chris Hill from GMP’s City of Manchester team said: “Project Servator is very much business as usual for the Force but we don’t want people to worry when they see extra officers out and about or more checks taking place.

“We are relying on the support of the public and local businesses to be our eyes and ears and help us to keep the city centre safe for everyone.

“This is all about working together to send a clear message to potential criminals - we are here, we’re watching and we will stop you.

“The patrols will happen anywhere across Greater Manchester at any time.

“Officers will also be handing out information about Project Servator to encourage people to remain vigilant and report anything that doesn’t feel right.

“If you have any concerns please talk to them or call us on 101. Always call 999 in an emergency. Alternatively you can report any suspicious activity at www.gov.uk/ACT or to the confidential hotline on 0800 789 321.”

The city-wide initiative was launched at Manchester Arndale on Tuesday morning.

David Allinson, Centre Director at Manchester Arndale, said: “We have a close working relationship with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and are pleased to support the roll-out of Project Servator – a police patrol designed to provide visible reassurance to Manchester’s residents and visitors.

"We look forward to building on our long-standing partnership with GMP and supporting officers as they patrol the centre and other key locations across the city.”

Deputy of Greater Manchester Bev Hughes said: “This is a positive police operation that has proved successful in other areas, so I’m pleased to see it launched in Manchester city centre. The public have been telling us that they want to see more visible policing and this operation will help to reassure them that the police are committed to keeping us safe, whilst sending a strong message to criminals that they are not welcome here.

“I also encourage the public to work with the police and report anything suspicious. By working together we can make our streets and communities safer and more secure.”

GMP is encouraging everyone to follow national ACT (Action Counters Terrorism) guidance. More information on what to look out for and how to contact police can be found at www.gov.uk/ACT

The Province has committed to work with the District of West Kelowna to find permanent solutions for flood mitigation on McDougall Creek to help protect homeowners and road access, and also to help prevent the localized flood threat from extending upstream.

Learn more: www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2013/07/funding-committed-to-mcdou...

The Baymont Inn & Suites is committed to providing you with top notch lodging at amazing prices. Beautiful rooms. Beautiful prices. For beautiful people like you. Start your visit to Des Moines the right way by checking into the Baymont Inn and Suites of Des Moines! Your stay is welcomed by an immaculate lobby for you and your guests, followed by exceptional customer service by our hosts. Post check-in, you may be interested in relaxing at the wonderful indoor pool that also features a great hot tub and fitness facility. Towels are always made available for you and your guests located inside the pool area!

Within the vicinity, there are several restaurants for you to enjoy. Iowa Beef Steakhouse is only a half mile from the hotel. This restaurant was voted #1 for the Finest Steak House In Des Moines in 2005. The other restaurants near the hotel are: Bonanza Buffet, Plaza Mexico, Country Kitchen, and Village Inn.

Venues such as the Civic Center, Hoyt Sherman Auditorium, Wells Fargo Arena, and Des Moines playhouse are all within 7 miles of this hotel. You can view all upcoming events by going to www.eventful.com!!!

"Great King Sized Jacuzzi Suite"

Jackie W. - Past Guest

"Best Continental Breakfast"

Past Guest

Amenities

•Complimentary HOT deluxe breakfast

•Complimentary USA Today

•Complimentary Wireless Internet

•Free Local Calls

•Business Services - Fax, Print, Email

•ATM

•Vending Machine

•Indoor Pool

•Hot Tub

•Exercise Room

•In Room Microwave

•In Room Refrigerator

•In Room Hairdryer

•In Room Iron and Board

•In Room Coffee Pot

•Large Work Desks

•Cable Television With Premium Channels

Meeting Facilities

•Two Large Meeting Facilities

•Meeting Room Can Accommodate 130 People

•On Site Catering Service/Garden Courtyard/Hospitality Room Available/Audio & Visual Equipment Included

Check out the beautiful jacuzzi suites while you are here! These are for 21 and up. Anyone under 21 must be accompanied by parent or guardian.

Baymont Inn presents eight different Jacuzzi Suites for guest enjoyment. During Valentine's weekend, the suites start to book from December. The guest may choose from 8 different styles. As of March 2009, the following styles are available:

•Luxury

•Japanese

•Canopy Bed

•Floral

Each suite features a 2-person hot tub with power jets. You will also find in-room amenities such as coffee pot, iron, microwave, refrigerator, and hairdryer! In the morning, please enjoy complimentary hot breakfast served from 6-9 am. We look forward to meeting you!

4685 Northeast 14th Street, Des Moines, IA 50313

Phone (515) 265-4777

Fax (515) 262-7469

On 7 March 2014, Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC), ruling in the majority, with Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert dissenting, rendered its judgment in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga. The Chamber was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of Germain Katanga’s guilt as an accessory, within the meaning of article 25(3)(d) of the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, to one crime against humanity (murder) and four war crimes (murder, attacking a civilian population, destruction of property and pillaging) committed on 24 February 2003 during the attack on the village of Bogoro, in the Ituri district of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Decisions on sentencing and victim reparations will be rendered later. The Prosecutor and the Defence may appeal the judgment within 30 days.

Repsol is committed to being a responsible operator in all areas of our business. Our values of flexibility, transparency, responsibility, integrity and innovation are at the core of everything we do. Repsol holds an interest in 170,000 net acres in the Marcellus, which is one of the largest natural gas fields in the world. Our acreage is primarily located in northeastern Pennsylvania in Bradford, Susquehanna and Tioga counties.

Learn more about our U.S. exploration and production business at www.repsolusa.com.

Repsol se compromete a actuar con responsabilidad a lo largo de toda la cadena de valor. Nuestros valores de flexibilidad, transparencia, responsabilidad, integridad e innovación marcan nuestra manera de trabajar. Repsol tiene un interés de 170.000 acres netos en el Marcellus, es uno de los mayores campos de gas natural en el mundo. Nuestra área de operación se encuentra principalmente en el noreste de Pennsylvania en Bradford, y en los condados de Susquehanna y Tioga.

Más información sobre nuestro negocio de exploración y producción en EE.UU. www.repsolusa.com .

On 7 March 2014, Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC), ruling in the majority, with Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert dissenting, rendered its judgment in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga. The Chamber was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of Germain Katanga’s guilt as an accessory, within the meaning of article 25(3)(d) of the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, to one crime against humanity (murder) and four war crimes (murder, attacking a civilian population, destruction of property and pillaging) committed on 24 February 2003 during the attack on the village of Bogoro, in the Ituri district of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Decisions on sentencing and victim reparations will be rendered later. The Prosecutor and the Defence may appeal the judgment within 30 days.

Well I tried to do some Portraits of this group this year, and I did them in B&W as it fits their motif. This is my first time doing a portrait session like this, so I am grateful for the chance to do this.

Strobist info:

ISO 200

f 4

Shutter 1/10th

Ambient light to the right, a Canon 480 EXII flash to the left with a Firefly Softbox fired using a Hahnel Trigger.

St Baldricks Brevard at The Avenue Viera by commercial photographer Rich Johnson of Spectacle Photo. Dedicated to the St. Baldrick's Foundation Events on the Space Coast of FL and raising awareness for Childhood Cancer. The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives.

Leading off the 2013 Fourth of July parade in Clifton Park, NY.

The Town of Clifton Park is committed to ensuring the public safety and protecting the citizens and property of community. In addition to dedicated contract policing by the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department and the New York State Police {Clifton Park Station} maintains a Town of Clifton Park Security Patrol.

Town Security Patrols cover town facilities – Buildings, Parks, Recreational / Sport Venues and residential neighbors to insure the public safety, protect public and private property. Town Security is responsible for the following items also –

Conducts speed checks on town roadways to ensure general compliance with posted speed limits,

Security Patrols days, evenings, weekends at various hours to meet residential needs and concerns,

Security / Code Enforcement Officers are responsible for the enforcement of all Town Codes and ordinances,

Enforces all Fire Lane and Handicapped Parking Laws,

Provides security and law presence at all Town Board, Committee Meetings, in the Justice Court and general public gatherings in Town Hall and Town Court located at the Town Public Safety Building,

Conducts “Vacation” home security checks to deter unlawful activity, upon written request of the homeowner, while away on vacation. Please See “Online Vacation Form”.

Traffic Control and Crossing Duties -

Assists the Shenendehowa Schools with Crossing Guard duties on busy highways,

Provide crossing duties for Town Sponsored events - Day Camp sites, civic events, Sports Tournaments, Parades, and / or town emergencies,

The Town of Clifton Park Security Department consists of 3 - Full Time Security Officers, 4 - Part-time Security Officers, 4 - Guards and 2 – Armed Court Officers and all Full Time, Part-time and Court Officers are New York State Certified Officers and all Public Safety Security Vehicles are fully radio equipped to interact with Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department or the New York State Police.

Source:

www.cliftonpark.org/index.php?option=com_content&view...

Photo By Derek J. Ewing

Copyright 2013 - All Rights Reserved

NAIMISHARANYA

Naimisaranyam, also known as Neemsar, Nimsar or Nimkhar is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.[1] It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars. The temple is believed to be of significant antiquity with contributions at different times from the ruling kings. The temple is counted as one of the eight temples of Vishnu that self-manifested and is classified as Swayamvyaktha Kshetra. The temple is open till 6pm. The holy tank Chankra Kunda is associated with the temple and it is a pilgrimage centre where people take a holy dip during festive occasions

Sage Narada is believed to have searched for the best theertha (water body) in three worlds. He went to Kailasa, the abode of Shiva, then to Parkadal, the abode of Vishnu and finally landed in the water body in the Naimisha Forest. The central deity is also believed to be worshipped by sudharma and devas(celestical deities).[1][2]

Indra, the king of the devas, was once driven out of devaloka by an asuranamed Vritra. The asura was the recipient of a boon whereby he could not be killed by any weapon that was known till the date of his receiving the boon and additionally that no weapon made of wood or metal could harm him. Indra, who lost all hope of recovering his kingdom went to seek the aid of Vishnu. Vishnu revealed to Indra that only the weapon made from the bones of the sageDadhichi would defeat Vritra. Indra and the other devas therefore approached the sage, whom Indra had once beheaded, and asked him for his aid in defeating Vritra. Dadhichi acceded to the devas' request but said that he wished that he had time to go on a pilgrimage to all the holy rivers before he gave up his life for them. Indra then brought together all the waters of the holy rivers to Naimisaranya, thereby allowing the sage to have his wish fulfilled without a further loss of time. Dadhichi is then said to have given up his life by the art of yoga after which the devas fashioned the Vajrayudha from his spine. This weapon was then used to defeat the asura, allowing Indra to reclaim his place as the king of devaloka.[3]

As told in another legend, when sages were planning to perform penance, Brahma, the god of creation, brought out a ring from darba grass. He asked the sages to perform penance at the place where the ring fell, which is believed to be Naimisaranya. The sages performed penance and at the end of it, Vishnu appeared to the sages and accepted their offerings. It is believed that the forest still has Vishnu and all sages as trees

Naimisaranyam is located at the junction of the roads from Sitapur and Khairabad, 32 km from Sitapur and 42 km from the Sandila railway station, 45 miles north of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. Naimisaranya is also known as Nimsar or Nimkhar and is located on the left bank of the river Gomati.[5] The sacred well, namely Chakra Kunda is believed to have started from the weapon of Vishnu, Chakra. There are shrines dedicated to Chakranarayana, Ganesh, Rama, Lakshman

This place has also been visited by Sankaracharya[8] and the famous poet, Surdas resided here. Suthar, the author of 18 puranas is believed to have lived here and presented his sayings to the sages. The central deity is believed to have presided over the forest and hence the puja (rituals) are done to the forest.[2]

The temple is counted as one of the eight temples of Vishnu that self-manifested and is classified as Swayamvyaktha Kshetra.[9] (Seven other temples in the line are Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple, Bhu Varaha Swamy temple, Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, and Vanamamalai Perumal Temple in South India and Saligrama, Pushkar and Badrinath Temple in North India).[10] Naimisaranya temple is revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the 7th–9th century Vaishnava canon, by Thirumangai Azhwar in ten hymns. The temple is classified as a divyadesam, the 108 Vishnu temples that are revered in the Vaishnava canon.

Every new moon day, a large number of people purify themselves with a dip in the holy well. If the new moon falls on a Monday, it is believed that a holy bath in the well and offering to the presiding deity Lalitha will wash away all the sins committed in their lifetime

By Kailash Mansarovar Foundation Swami Bikash Giri www.sumeruparvat.com , www.naturalitem.com

Kane County @ Michigan 060398

WOTV Sports. I've watched many a game beside Kenny; the last was the night before Channel 41 laid off their news staff.

Yes, Ken was a press guy, and he's now a minor league executive. But we treated him like the other regular fans.

===============

I wrote this on August 22, 2003, the day after Ken was released:

Sad news: WOTV laid off their news staff yesterday.

When Ken Hyde broadcast game highlights from Battle Cats/Yankees games, the videotape was generally shot from Box 20. I watched many a game at C.O. Brown with Ken--or one of Ken's interns--beside me in the front row. We behind-the-plate regulars came to know Hyde when he first came to BC. After years of watching games with him, dragging him into our conversations, teasing him about his broadcasts, chatting about sports and life--well, we all consider him our friend.

We're gonna miss you, Kenny.

This cannot be good news for the team. WOOD TV is committed to the Whitecaps, and it's been years since WWMT gave our team serious coverage (after all, Kalamazoo does have the Kings). The market's grown weaker.

Huế (Vietnamese: [hwě] is a city in central Vietnam that was the seat of Nguyen Dynasty emperors and the national capital from 1802–1945. A major attraction is its vast, 19th-century Citadel, surrounded by a moat and thick stone walls. It encompasses the Imperial City, with palaces and shrines; the Forbidden Purple City, once the emperor's home; and a replica of the Royal Theater.

HISTORY

Huế originally rose to prominence as the capital of the Nguyễn lords, a feudal dynasty that dominated much of southern Vietnam from the 17th to the 19th century. In 1775 when Trịnh lord Trịnh Sâm captured it, it was known as Phú Xuân.

In 1802, Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (later Emperor Gia Long) succeeded in establishing his control over the whole of Vietnam, thereby making Huế the national capital.

Minh Mạng (r. 1820-40) was the second emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty, reigning from 14 February 1820 (his 29th birthday) until his death, on 20 January 1841. He was a younger son of Emperor Gia Long, whose eldest son, Crown Prince Cảnh, had died in 1801. Minh was well known for his opposition to French involvement in Vietnam, and for his rigid Confucian orthodoxy.

During the French colonial period, Huế was located in the protectorate of Annam. It remained the seat of the Imperial Palace until 1945, when Emperor Bảo Đại abdicated and a communist DRV government was established with its capital at Hà Nội (Hanoi), in the north.

While Bảo Đại was proclaimed "Head of the State of Vietnam" with the help of the returning French colonialists in 1949 (although not with recognition from the communists or the full acceptance of the Vietnamese people), his new capital was Sài Gòn (Saigon), in the south.

During the Republic of Vietnam, Huế's central location very near the border between the North and South put it in a vulnerable position in the Vietnam War. In the Tết Offensive of 1968, during the Battle of Huế, the city suffered considerable damage not only to its physical features, but its reputation as well, due to a combination of the American military bombing of historic buildings held by the North Vietnamese, and the massacre at Huế committed by the communist forces.

After the war's conclusion, many of the historic features of Huế were neglected because they were seen by the victorious communist regime and some other Vietnamese as "relics from the feudal regime"; the Vietnamese Communist Party doctrine officially described the Nguyễn Dynasty as "feudal" and "reactionary." There has since been a change of policy, however, and many historical areas of the city are currently being restored.

GEOGRAPHY

The city is located in central Vietnam on the banks of the Perfume River, just a few miles inland from the East Sea. It is about 700 km south of Hanoi and about 1,100 km north of Hồ Chí Minh City.

CLIMATE

Huế features a Tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification. The dry season is from March to August, with high temperatures of 35 to 40 °C. The rainy season is from August to January, with a flood season from October, onwards. The average rainy season temperature is 20 °C, sometimes as low as 9 °C. Spring lasts from January to late February.

CULTURE

Located in the center of Vietnam, Huế was the capital city of Vietnam for approximately 150 years during feudal time (1802–1945), and the royal lifestyle and customs have had a significant impact on the characteristics of the people of Huế. That impact can still be felt today.

NAME GIVING

Historically, the qualities valued by the royal family were reflected in its name-giving customs, which came to be adopted by society at large. As a rule, royal family members were named after a poem written by Minh Mạng, the second king of Nguyễn Dynasty. The poem, Đế hệ thi", has been set as a standard frame to name every generation of the royal family, through which people can know the family order as well as the relationship between royal members. More importantly, the names reflect the essential personality traits that the royal regime would like their offspring to uphold. This name-giving tradition is proudly kept alive and nowadays people from Huế royal family branches (normally considered 'pure' Huế) still have their names taken from the words in the poem.

CLOTHING

The design of the modern-day áo dài, a Vietnamese national costume, evolved from an outfit worn at the court of the Nguyễn Lords at Huế in the 18th century. A court historian of the time described the rules of dress as follows:

Thường phục thì đàn ông, đàn bà dùng áo cổ đứng ngắn tay, cửa ống tay rộng hoặc hẹp tùy tiện. Áo thì hai bên nách trở xuống phải khâu kín liền, không được xẻ mở. Duy đàn ông không muốn mặc áo cổ tròn ống tay hẹp cho tiện khi làm việc thì được phép.

Outside court, men and women wear gowns with straight collars and short sleeves. The sleeves are large or small depending on the weather. There are seams on both sides running down from the sleeve, so the gown is not open anywhere. Men may wear a round collar and a short sleeve for more convenience.

— Đại Nam thực lục

This outfit evolved into the áo ngũ thân, a five-paneled aristocratic gown worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by Paris fashions, Nguyễn Cát Tường and other artists associated with Hanoi University redesigned the ngũ thân as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s. While the áo dài and nón lá are generally seen as a symbol of Vietnam as a whole, the combination is seen by Vietnamese as being particularly evocative of Huế. Violet-coloured áo dài are especially common in Huế, the color having a special connection to the city's heritage as a former capital.

CUISINE

The cuisine of Huế forms the heart of Central Vietnamese cuisine, but one of the most striking differences is the prominence of vegetarianism in the city. Several all-vegetarian restaurants are scattered in various corners of the city to serve the locals who have a strong tradition of eating vegetarian twice a month, as part of their Buddhist beliefs. Another feature of Huế dishes that sets them apart from other regional cuisines in Vietnam is the relatively small serving size with refined presentation, a vestige of its royal cuisine. Finally, another feature of Huế cuisine is that it is often very spicy.

In Hue cuisine, it has both luxurious and rustic popular dishes. All are cooked with talent skills of the Hue people, creating special flavor of Hue food. With such a rich history, Hue's royal cuisine (foods served for the King) is the combination between taste and aesthetic. It consists of several distinctive dishes from small and delicated creations which originally created to please the appetites of Nguyen feudal lords, emperors and their hundreds of concubines and wives. Furthermore, there is another thing making "amazing cuisine" of Hue is traditional foods. Hue's traditional cuisine is so distinctive from other regions in the country, which is considered as the best in Vietnam.

RELIGION

The imperial court practiced various religions such as Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The most important altar was the Esplanade of Sacrifice to the Heaven and Earth, where the monarch would offer each year prayers to the Heaven and Earth.

In Huế, Buddhism enjoyed stronger support than elsewhere in Vietnam, with more monasteries than anywhere else and the nation's most famous monks.

Famously in 1963, Thích Quảng Đức drove to Saigon to protest anti-Buddhist policies of the South Vietnamese government and set himself on fire on a Saigon street.

Thich Nhat Hanh, world-famous Zen master now living in France, originates from Huế.

TOURISM

Huế is well known for its historic monuments, which have earned it a place in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. The seat of the Nguyễn emperors was the Imperial City, which occupies a large, walled area on the north side of the Perfume River. Inside the citadel was a forbidden city where only the emperors, concubines, and those close enough to them were granted access; the punishment for trespassing was death. Today, little of the forbidden city remains, though reconstruction efforts are in progress to maintain it as a historic tourist attraction.

Roughly along the Perfume River from Huế lie myriad other monuments, including the tombs of several emperors, including Minh Mạng, Khải Định, and Tự Đức. Also notable is the Thiên Mụ Pagoda, the largest pagoda in Huế and the official symbol of the city.

A number of French-style buildings lie along the south bank of the Perfume River. Among them are Quốc Học High School, the oldest high school in Vietnam, and Hai Ba Trung High School.

The Huế Museum of Royal Fine Arts on 3 Le Truc Street also maintains a collection of various artifacts from the city.

In addition to the various touristic attractions in Hué itself, the city also offers day-trips to the Demilitarized Zone lying approximately 70 km north, showing various war settings like The Rockpile, Khe Sanh Combat Base or the Vinh Moc tunnels.

The first 11 months of 2012, Huế received 2.4 million visitors, an increase of 24.6% from the same period of 2011. 803,000 of those 2.4 million visitors were foreign guests, an increase of 25.7%.

Although tourism plays a key role in the city's socioeconomic development, it also has negative impacts on the environment and natural resource base. For example, services associated with tourism, such as travel, the development of infrastructure and its operation, and the production and consumption of goods, are all energy-intensive.

Research by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network has identified traditional ‘garden houses’ as having the potential to increase tourist traffic and revenue. Apart from the environmental, economic and cultural benefits provided by garden houses, their promotion could pave the way for other low carbon development initiatives.

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The second half of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket takes place primarily in and around the bombed-out ruins of the city of Huế. The scenes were filmed in the disused Beckton Gas Works a few miles from central London.

The 6th Campaign mission in Call of Duty: Black Ops, takes place in Hue City.

vietcong 2 from 2005 is set in hue. The player assumes the role of an American MACV soldier and young Vietcong recruit fighting before and during the Tet Offensive.

INFRASTRUCTURE

HEALTH

The Huế Central Hospital, established in 1894, was the first Western hospital in Vietnam. The hospital, providing 2078 beds and occupying 120,000 square meters, is one of three largest in the country along with Bạch Mai Hospital in Hanoi and Chợ Rẫy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, and is managed by the Ministry of Health.

TRANSPORTATION

Huế has a railway station with connections to all major Vietnamese cities. Phu Bai International Airport is located just south of the city centre.

WIKIPEDIA

I committed the unpardonable sin yesterday. After Breanne and I took some photos I accidentally deleted them from the card. I've never done that before, not once. When I realized what I had done I could feel the tears well up. So first thing this morning I sat down and confessed to Breanne my transgression and promised to do better. And even though jumping is hard on a 23 year old body (cough) she agreed to let me retake them :)

84 million people in the European Union are living in poverty and many more are at risk. That's why hundreds of people formed a human ring around the EP on Friday (November 19) to call for solidarity and a response to the crisis. The event was organized by the 2010 Coalition of Social NGOs Across Europe. The EP is committed to the cause - during the October session it adopted a resolution on combating poverty. "It's not only a question of money, it's a question of dignity" - said Isabelle Durant, the vice-president (BE, Greens/EFA).

www.2010againstpoverty.eu

©European Parliament/Pietro Naj-Oleari

Yui / 唯 is a Luts KDF Summery.

We were committed as & type to do some live calligraphy and typography

during an event in Milan called Hyper Music. Organized by Womade hosted by la Fabbrica del Vapore

Those are some of my calligraphy made during the event, to see the full project www.behance.net/gallery/17979325/Hyper-Music

One of my favourite frogs, the Northern leopard frog. Sadly these frogs are endangered in British Columbia. I'm proud to say that @vanaqua is part of the Northern Leopard Frog Recovery Team, a group of organizations committed to saving this species from extinction. As part of this group, we breed these frogs and release tadpoles into the wild to boost population numbers; we also maintain an assurance population on-site. #joblove #realactivists #vanaqualife #frog #endangered #leopardfrog #fuji #fujifilm #fujixt10 #myfujifilm

PHOTOS BY :

ABDALRHEM ALARJAN

El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe was established in 1979 by a small number of enthusiastic, talented and committed artists. Since then, El-Funoun has been throned as the lead Palestinian dance company. In Palestine, as well as among Palestinians in exile, El-Funoun has achieved an unprecedented popular recognition; in fact, quite a few of the Troupe’s songs and dances have become household tunes.

Since its inception, El-Funoun has aimed at expressing the spirit of Arab-Palestinian folklore and contemporary culture through unique combinations of traditional and stylized dance and music. The Troupe’s repertoire comprises folkloric dance forms, called “dabke”, in addition to more elaborate choreographed forms that embody El-Funoun’s own unique vision of Palestinian dance.

El-Funoun is widely recognized as the cultural entity that has played the most significant role in reviving and reinvigorating Palestinian dance and music folklore. This accomplishment is particularly important, since it effectively countered the systematic attempts by the Israeli occupation to suppress the Palestinian national identity through banning or expropriating any forms of Palestinian cultural expression.

El-Funoun is composed of seventy-five dancers, singers, musicians and support personnel. It is an independent, non-profit organization that is virtually entirely volunteer-based. The members are therefore motivated by the vision of the Troupe more than by any other factor. This not only keeps the Troupe’s administrative cost quite low, but also ensures a strong sense of belonging to and ownership of the group. This resolve, coupled with a driving commitment to artistic excellence and an authentic Palestinian vision have all afforded El-Funoun its current leadership status.

In Palestine, the Troupe holds an impressive track record of over one thousand performances since 1979, including its very well attended performances in Palestine International Festivals of 1992 through 1999. Moreover, El-Funoun has participated in the following:

US Tour (15 cities) in 1986

US Tour (20 cities) in 1991

Jerash International Festival, Jordan in 1994

Jerusalem Festival, United Arab Emirates in 1995

Raatvick International Folklore Festival, Sweden in 1996

Babylon International Festival, Iraq in 1996

Expo 98 Lisbon in Portugal 98

US Tour (5 cities) in 1999

France Tour (5 festivals) in 1999

Egyptian Opera House, Cairo in 1999

Lebanon Tour (5 performances) 2000

Expo 2000 Hannover in Germany 2000

United Arab Emirates in 2001

Egyptian Opera House, Cairo in 2003

Ribat Festival, Morocco in ‏2004‏‏

Rhythm Diversity, Malta in 2004

Corpi Sensibili Festival, Italy in 2005

Busra International Festival, Syria in 2005

Bahrain International Music Festival, Bahrain in 2005

US Tour (3 cities) in 2005

US Tour (4 cities) in 2006

UK, London in 2007

St. Plolten, Austria 2007

Vienna, Austria 2007

Berlin, Germany 2008

Vlaardingen, Holland 2008

Syria, Damascus 2008

The 15th Al Qurain Cultural Festival, Kuwait 2008

El-Funoun played a key role in establishing the Popular Art Centre, a community organization committed to raising awareness about the arts, and opening opportunities for community members to participate in artistic activity and expression. The Centre offers classes in traditional dance, ballet, jazz, music, puppets and drama, in addition to a host of other programs. Through the Centre, El-Funoun’s message has propagated to many schools, organizations and localities.

El-Funoun has won several commendation certificates and awards, most prominent among which is the Palestine Award for Popular Folklore 1997, the highest honour award given in this field by the Palestinian Authority. In addition, El-Funoun's dance film "Emotional Rescue" directed by the German Director Helena Waldmann, won a special prize as part of Al-Jazeera film festival 2006.

El-Funoun believes in building cultural bridges with the world, both to have a healthy exchange of experience, ideas and techniques and to present the long-suppressed Palestinian culture before other nations.

تأسست فرقة الفنون الشعبية الفلسطينية عام 1979 بجهود حفنة من الفنانين والفنانات المتحمسين والواعدين.

منذ ذلك الحين، توجت "الفنون" كرائدة للرقص الشعبي الفلسطيني، حاصدة في مسيرتها العديد من الجوائز الأولى وشهادات التقدير المميزة من مهرجانات محلية ودولية. لقد حققت "الفنون" بين الفلسطينيين في الوطن كما في الشتات شعبية لم يسبق لها مثيل، حيث تحولت أغاني ورقصات الفرقة لأنغام يشدوها الفلسطينيون أو يرقصونها في مختلف أماكن تواجدهم.

منذ ولادتها، حرصت الفنون على الجمع بين الأصالة والمعاصرة من خلال مزيج من الرقص المستوحى من الفلكلور والرقص المستحدث، الخاص بالفرقة. فجاءت أعمال الفرقة معبرة عن روح التراث الشعبي وعن ثقافتنا الحاضرة. يحوي سجلّ الفرقة أنماط الرقص التراثي (الدبكة) بالإضافة إلى أشكال متنوعة من الرقص، تعكس في تصميمها رؤية الفرقة الخاصة للرقص الفلسطيني المعاصر.

أنجزت الفرقة ثمانية أعمال فنية في تاريخها الحافل: "لوحات فلكلورية"، "وادي التفاح"، "مشعل"، "أفراح فلسطينية"، "مرج بن عامر"، "طله ورا طله"، "زغاريد"، و"حيفا بيروت، وما بعد..."، بالإضافة لبعض الرقصات التجريبية التي تسبق كل عمل فني جديد لتحديد مساره.

لعبت الفنون الدور الأبرز بين المؤسسات الثقافية في إحياء التراث الموسيقي والراقص للشعب العربي الفلسطيني. وقد كان هذا الإنجاز، ولا يزال، مصدر فخر للفرقة إذ أنها من خلال هذا الدور شاركت في التصدي للمحاولات المنهجية من قبل الاحتلال الإسرائيلي لقمع الشخصية الثقافية الفلسطينية ولمصادرة رموز الهوية الفلسطينية.

منذ البداية، سعت الفرقة في أعمالها إلى غرس روح التراث والفن الفلسطيني في قلوب الناشئة، فشكلت فرقة "براعم" للفتية والفتيات، لرفد الفرقة الأم براقصين/ات جدد ولضمان استمرار المسيرة.

فرقة الفنون جسم فني مستقل، غير ربحي، يعتمد بالأساس على جهود متطوعيه ومتطوعاته الذين يبلغ عددهم ما يقارب الخمسين، بين راقص/ة ومغني/ة وإداري/ة. وتعتبر الرؤيا والفلسفة والأهداف التي تقوم عليها الفرقة هي عناصر الجذب الرئيسية لعضوية الفرقة، مما يعزز الشعور بالانتماء لدى الأعضاء فيرفع منسوب عطائهم وإبداعهم. أعطت هذه العناصر مجتمعة، بالإضافة إلى التزام الفرقة الراسخ بتقديم فن فلسطيني مميز، أصيل، وجميل، الفنون موقعها الحالي في المقدمة.

يحفل تاريخ الفرقة بأكثر من ألف عرض منذ 1979 في مدن وقرى ومخيمات فلسطين. أبرز عروض الفرقة كانت في مهرجان فلسطين الدولي من 1992 حتى 1999. أما في العالم، فقد شاركت الفنون في التالي:

جولة الولايات المتحدة الأولى (15 مدينة)، 1986

جولة الولايات المتحدة الثانية (20 مدينة)، 1991

جولة بريطانيا وفرنسا (جوقة الغناء)، 1992

مهرجان جرش الدولي، الأردن، 1994

مهرجان "من أجلك يا قدس"، الإمارات العربية المتحدة، 1995

مهرجان ريتفيك الدولي للفلكلور، السويد، 1996

مهرجان بابل الدولي، العراق، 1996

إكسبو 98، البرتغال 1998

جولة الولايات المتحدة الثالثة (5 مدن)، 1998

جولة فرنسا ( خمسة مهرجانات فلكلورية)، 1999

دار الأوبرا – القاهرة، 1999

جولة لبنان - (خمسة عروض)، 2000

إكسبو 2000، هانوفر، ألمانيا

الإمارات العربية المتحدة (ثلاثة مدن)، 2001

دار الأوبرا- مسرح الجمهورية-القاهرة، 2003

مهرجان الرباط، مسرح محمد الخامس، المغرب، 2004

فاليتا، مالطا، 2004

إيطاليا،(اودبنة، بولونيا)، 2005

مهرجان بصرى الدولي، سوريا، 2005

مهرجان الموسيقى العربية،البحرين،2005

جولة الولايات المتحدة، (3 مدن)، 2005

جولة الولايات المتحدة، (4 مدن)، 2006

لندن، بريطانيا، 2007

سانت بولتن ، النمسا 2007

فينا، النمسا 2007

برلين، المانيا 2008

فلاردينجن، هولندا 2008

سوريا، دمشق 2008

مهرجان القرين الخامس عشر، الكويت 2008

لعبت فرقة الفنون الدور المحوري في تأسيس مركز الفن الشعبي، وهو مؤسسة تهدف لرفع الوعي الثقافي والفني في المجتمع ولإتاحة الفرص للمشاركة في النشاطات الفنية وفي أشكال التعبير الفني المبدع.

حاز فيلم "إنقاذ عاطفي" للفنون مع المخرجة الألمانية هيلينا ولدمان على جائزة خاصة من مهرجان الجزيرة الدولي للإنتاج التلفزيوني الثاني " لتفرده بالشكل الفني المتميز في تعبيره عن معاناة الشعب الفلسطيني" قطر 2006.

حازت فرقة الفنون على جائزة فلسطين للتراث الشعبي لعام 97 عن عملها " زغاريد".

تؤمن فرقة الفنون في بناء جسور ثقافية مع العالم، لتعزيز الحوار الحضاري ، ولتبادل الخبرات والأفكار والتقنية الفنية وكذلك لتمثيل الفن الفلسطيني في الخارج رغم محاولات العزل والحصار.

Rudolf Hess "The Last Man in Spandau" committed suicide in Spandau Prison 17 Aug 87 (or see various conspiracy theories!). He was conveyed to the British Military Hospital in Berlin, fortuitously opposite my flat. While he was in the BMH there was of course intense press interest and equally, a huge security operation. I had to take the photos covertly as "rubbernecking" was definitely frowned upon. His body was moved out of the BMH to be flown out of the city in a big operation involving a dummy convoy to fool the paparazzi. Here, RMP are manning a BMH ambulance in preparation for the removal of Hess' body.

An entire floor of the BMH was dedicated to Rudolf Hess on the off chance he would need treatment. This meant that pressing the button for the second floor in the lift was futile, it would not stop there.

The British in Berlin had been waiting for years for Hess to die, not out of any malice, but because Spandau Prison was, after his death, always going to be demolished and a smart NAAFI and leisure centre built there. By the time of his death however, plans were scaled down and the leisure centre never materialised. We did get a smart new shopping mall though, the Britannia Centre. A competition was organised to pick the name, but by the second week, it was announced that no more entries for "Hessco's" were going to be accepted, and it was definitely NOT going to be picked!

This is what independence looks like - independence from oil and fossil fuels.

The Jay Heritage Center is committed to innovative education and environmental stewardship. So it was a smart choice to be sustainable and install a geothermal closed loop system in the 1838 Peter Augustus Jay House. And we made history doing it. The 1838 Peter Augustus Jay House is the 1st National Historic Landmark structure in Westchester with a geothermal system and the oldest (174 years old) NHL in New York State to have one.

Switching to geoethermal for heating and cooling is a terrific choice particularly for older buildings in that it helps preserve historic fabric and original design when the outdated inefficient systems are removed --original ceiling heights and air circulation patterns are restored. Our system is of course connected to newer MEPS that are more efficient too. From our standpoint, adaptive reuse is in some ways a new kind of architecture because designers are choosing to "build" with the embodied energy already contained and represented in these older structures.

The house has many other sustainable features including a new bathroom with low VOC paint, motion-activated sensors and recycled concrete tile. We do not use pesticides, and we are replanting native trees and grasses that are historic to the site.

This accomplishment is one that the JHC is extremely proud of as we serve to be a model for our community and other cultural and academic institutions. Preservation is green! And architecture doesn't have to be new to be sustainable.

Jay Heritage Center

210 Boston Post Road

Rye, NY 10580

(914) 698-9275

Email: jayheritagecenter@gmail.com

www.jayheritagecenter.org

Follow and like us on:

Twitter @jayheritage

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A National Historic Landmark since 1993

Member of the African American Heritage Trail of Westchester County since 2004

Member of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area since 2009

On NY State's Path Through History (2013)

Today, 4 February 2021, the Trial Chamber IX of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) found Dominic Ongwen guilty for a total of 61 comprising crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed in Northern Uganda between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005. The verdict may be appealed by either party to the proceedings within 30 days after the notification of the Judgment.

On 21 March 2016, Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) declared, unanimously, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo guilty beyond any reasonable doubt of two counts of crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three counts of war crimes (murder, rape, and pillaging). The crimes were committed in Central African Republic (“CAR”) from on or about 26 October 2002 to 15 March 2003 (“2002-2003 CAR Operation”) by a contingent of Mouvement de Libération du Congo (“MLC”) troops. Mr Bemba was a person effectively acting as a military commander with effective authority and control over the forces that committed the crimes.

Pictured here: Marie-Edith Douzima-Lawson, Legal representative of Victims, during the delivery of the verdict in Bemba case on 21 March 2016. © ICC-CPI/Armin Taslaman

. . . this are handprints of widows who committed sati on their husbands funeral pyre

_______________________________________________

Sati was (is) a social funeral practice among some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman would immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. The practice was banned several times, with the current ban dating to 1829 by the British.

CURRENT INCIDENCE

Sati still occurs in the rural areas of India, reports extending into the 21st century. Some 30 cases of sati from 1943-1987 in the Rajput/Shekavati region are documented according to a referred statistics, the official number being 28. A well documented case from 1987 was that of 18-year old Roop Kanwar. In response to this incident, additional recent legislation against the practice was passed, first within the state of Rajasthan, then generally, the central government of India.

In 2002, a 65-year-old woman by the name of Kuttu died after sitting on her husband's funeral pyre in the Indian Panna district. On 18 May 2006, Vidyawati, a 35-year old woman allegedly committed sati by jumping into the blazing funeral pyre of her husband in Rari-Bujurg Village, Fatehpur district in the State of Uttar Pradesh. On 21 August 2006, Janakrani, a 40-year-old woman, burned to death on the funeral pyre of her husband Prem Narayan in Sagar district. On 11 October 2008 a 75-year-old woman, Lalmati Verma, committed sati by jumping into her 80-year-old husband's funeral pyre at Checher in the Kasdol block of Chhattisgarh's Raipur district.

ETYMOLOGY

The term is derived from the original name of the goddess Sati, also known as Dakshayani, who self-immolated because she was unable to bear her father Daksha's humiliation of her husband Shiva. The term may also be used to refer to the widow. The term sati is now sometimes interpreted as "chaste woman". Sati appears in both Hindi and Sanskrit texts, where it is synonymous with "good wife"; the term suttee was commonly used by Anglo-Indian English writers.

ORIGN

Few reliable records exist of the practice before the time of the Gupta empire, approximately 400 CE. After about this time, instances of sati began to be marked by inscribed memorial stones. The earliest of these are found in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, though the largest collections date from several centuries later, and are found in Rajasthan. These stones, called devli, or sati-stones, became shrines to the dead woman, who was treated as an object of reverence and worship. They are most common in western India. A description of suttee appears in a Greek account of the Punjab written in the first century BCE by historian Diodorus Siculus. Brahmins were forbidden from the practice by the Padma Purana. A chapter dated to around the 10th century indicates that, while considered a noble act when committed by a Kshatriya woman, anyone caught assisting an upper-caste Brahmin in self-immolation as a "sati" was guilty of Brahminicide.

The ritual has prehistoric roots, and many parallels from other cultures are known. Compare for example the ship burial of the Rus' described by Ibn Fadlan, where a female slave is burned with her master.

Aristobulus of Cassandreia, a Greek historian who traveled to India with the expedition of Alexander the Great, recorded the practice of sati at the city of Taxila. A later instance of voluntary co-cremation appears in an account of an Indian soldier in the army of Eumenes of Cardia, whose two wives jumped on his funeral pyre, in 316 BC. The Greeks believed that the practice had been instituted to discourage wives from poisoning their old husbands.

Voluntary death at funerals has been described in northern India before the Gupta empire. The original practices were called anumarana, and were uncommon. Anumarana was not comparable to later understandings of sati, since the practices were not restricted to widows – rather, anyone, male or female, with personal loyalty to the deceased could commit suicide at a loved one's funeral. These included the deceased's relatives, servants, followers, or friends. Sometimes these deaths stemmed from vows of loyalty, and bear a slight resemblance to the later tradition of junshi in Japan.

It is theorized that sati, enforced widowhood, and girl marriage were customs that were primarily intended to solve the problem of surplus women and surplus men in a caste and to maintain its endogamy.

Apart from the Indian subcontinent, origins of this practice have been found in many parts of the world; it was followed by the ancient Egyptians, Thracians, Scythians, Scandinavians, Chinese, as well as people of Oceania and Africa.

Sati remained legal in some princely states for a time after it had been abolished in lands under British control. Jaipur banned the practice in 1846. Nepal continued to practice Sati well into the 20th century.

On the Indonesian island of Bali, sati (known as masatya) was practised by the aristocracy as late as 1905, until Dutch colonial rule pushed for its termination.

Following outcries after each instance, the government has passed new measures against the practice, which now effectively make it illegal to be a bystander at an event of sati. The law now makes no distinction between passive observers to the act and active promoters of the event; all are supposed to be held equally guilty. Other measures include efforts to stop the 'glorification' of the dead women. Glorification includes the erection of shrines to the dead, the encouragement of pilgrimages to the site of the pyre, and the derivation of any income from such sites and pilgrims.

Another instance of systematic Sati happened in 1973, when Savitri Soni sacrificed her life with her husband in Kotadi village of Sikar District in Rajasthan. Thousands of people witnessed this incident.

Although many have tried to prevent the act of sati by banning it and reinforcing laws against it, it is still being practiced (on rare occasions) in India under coercion or by voluntary burning, as in the case of Charan Shah: a 55 year-old widow of Manshah who burnt herself on the pyre of her husband in the village of Satpura in Uttar Pradesh on 11 November 1999. Her death on the funeral pyre has provoked much controversy, as there have been questions as to whether she willingly performed the Sati or was coerced. Charan Shah had not professed strong feelings to become a Sati to any of her family members, and no one saw her close to the burning body of her husband before she jumped into the fire. The villagers, including her sons, say that she became a Sati of her own accord and that she was not forced into it. They continue to pay their respects to the house of Charan Shah. It has become a shrine for the villagers, as they strongly believe that one who has become a sati is a deity; she is worshipped and endowed with gifts.

NUMBERS

There are no reliable figures for the numbers who died by sati across the country. A local indication of the numbers is given in the records kept by the Bengal Presidency of the British East India Company. The total figure of known occurrences for the period 1813 to 1828 is 8,135; another source gives a comparable number of 7,941 from 1815 to 1828, thus giving an average of about 507 to 567 documented incidents per year in that period. Raja Ram Mohan Roy estimated that there were ten times as many cases of Sati in Bengal compared to the rest of the country. Bentinck, in his 1829 report, states that 420 occurrences took place in one (unspecified) year in the 'Lower Provinces' of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, and 44 in the 'Upper Provinces' (the upper Gangetic plain).

WIKIPEDIA

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Ancient Ruins of Masada in the Desert of Judea, the last jewish resistance against the roman empire in the first century AD. All members of Masada resistance committed suicide except an old woman, an young girl and small chidren

(New York, 24 March 2017)—UN Member States today committed to ensure women’s full and equal participation and leadership in the economy, as well as women’s right to work and rights at work, as a vital step to achieving sustainable development. This strong pledge to women’s economic empowerment came at the closing of the 61st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61), the two-week meeting that concluded today.

The Agreed Conclusions from the UN’s largest gathering on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights highlight barriers that women face, such as unequal working conditions, women’s over-representation in the informal economy, gender stereotypes and social norms that reinforce women’s concentration in certain sectors, such as health and social sectors, and the uneven share of unpaid care work that women do.

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Read More: www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/3/press-release-un-c...

On 7 March 2014, Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC), ruling in the majority, with Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert dissenting, rendered its judgment in the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga. The Chamber was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of Germain Katanga’s guilt as an accessory, within the meaning of article 25(3)(d) of the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, to one crime against humanity (murder) and four war crimes (murder, attacking a civilian population, destruction of property and pillaging) committed on 24 February 2003 during the attack on the village of Bogoro, in the Ituri district of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Decisions on sentencing and victim reparations will be rendered later. The Prosecutor and the Defence may appeal the judgment within 30 days.

Committed couple getting a head in downtown Montgomery.

Greater Manchester Police is committed to protecting the lives of both adult and child victims of domestic abuse, to investigate all reports effectively, to bring offenders to justice and hold them accountable for their actions and to adopt a proactive multi-agency approach in order to prevent and reduce domestic abuse.

For more information please visit our website.

www.gmp.police.uk

Fog City Wrestling presents: Committed

The agendas of the SECRET WARRZ left change on the face of FCW, but now the battle lines are drawn and we will find out who is COMMITTED

Babi Slymm & K-Dubb v. Lustor the Legend and Adam Thornstone

also on the card:

Dylan Drake

Dan Danielson

Vennis DeMarco

El Chuppacabra

Nathan Graves

The Matt Carlos Movement

Markus Mac & Pink Mink Inc.

Deadly Sexy Riders

The Sideshow

And all your Favorite stars of Fog City Wrestling

More information @ www.fogcitywrestling.com

Tix Available now @ www.dnalounge.com

DNA Lounge

375 Eleventh St

Tix $15

Doors open @ 130p

Bell Time @ 2p

ALL AGES!!!

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At the beginning of the Vietnam War, there was little interest in a dedicated counterinsurgency (COIN) aircraft. The USAF was too committed to an all-jet, nuclear-capable force, while the US Army was satisfied with its helicopter fleet; the Navy concentrated on its carriers, and while the Marines were mildly interested, they lacked funding.

Vietnam was to change that. Horrendous losses among US Army UH-1s was to lead to a rethinking of helicopter doctrine, and pointed up the lack of a dedicated COIN aircraft. The USAF found itself depending on World War II-era A-26K Invaders, former US Navy A-1 Skyraiders, and converted trainers like the T-28 Trojan. The USAF also found itself in the market for a better forward air control (FAC) aircraft, due to the high loss rate of its O-1 Birddogs and O-2 Skymasters. Finally, the US Navy needed something to better cover its Mobile River Force units in the Mekong Delta, which could not always depend on USAF air support. In 1963, all three services issued a requirement for a new light design capable of performing as both a COIN and FAC aircraft. North American's NA-300 was selected in 1964 and designated OV-10A Bronco.

The OV-10 design drew heavily on independent research done at the China Lake research establishment, which in turn was inspired by the World War II P-38 Lightning fighter. The P-38 used a central "gondola" fuselage to concentrate all of its firepower along the centerline, which made for better accuracy; the OV-10 would do the same. As in the P-38, the engines were contained in twin booms that stretched back to the tail. The Bronco's four machine gun armament was placed in sponsons on either side of the fuselage, while ordnance was carried beneath the sponsons. To satisfy the USAF's requirements for a FAC aircraft, the two-man crew flew underneath a large, spacious canopy that gave them superb visibility. Because the Marines wanted an aircraft that could carry a Recon team, the fuselage was extended and, if the rear seat was removed, five paratroopers could be squeezed into the back, or two stretchers.

When the OV-10 arrived in Vietnam in 1968, there was a fear that the Bronco would be the jack of all trades and master of none. In fact, it proved to be excellent in all of its roles. As a FAC, it was a huge improvement over the slower O-1 and O-2; as a COIN aircraft, it was also a good aircraft, though it could not carry the same amount of ordnance as an A-1. The Navy equipped one squadron with OV-10As as VAL-4--nicknamed the "Black Ponies" for their dark green camouflage--and these were used extensively over the Mekong Delta. There were problems with the design: the airframe was actually too heavy for the engines, which left it underpowered, and ditching was invariably fatal for the pilot, as his seat tended to hurl forward into the instrument panel. Nonetheless, the Bronco turned in a sterling performance in Southeast Asia.

Though the Navy transferred its surviving Black Ponies to the Marines after the end of American involvement in Vietnam, the USAF and Marines would keep theirs for the next 20 years. For the 1970s and 1980s, the OV-10 replaced all other FAC designs in USAF service, aside from a handful of OA-37B Dragonfly squadrons. The Marines also kept their OV-10s and further refined the design by adding all-weather capability in the long-nosed OV-10D variant.

By the First Gulf War in 1991, the OV-10 was starting to show its age. The USAF began retiring its fleet even before Desert Storm; the Bronco was considered to be too slow to survive a modern air defense environment. Though the Marines used some of their OV-10Ds, the loss of two aircraft also led the USMC to retire their Broncos after war's end. Both services chose jets as replacements--the USAF with modified OA-10A Thunderbolt IIs, and the Marines with two-seat all-weather F/A-18Ds.

OV-10s were also a mild export success, going to seven other countries, mainly in the COIN role. Most have since been retired in favor of newer designs, though the Philippines still has a large and active OV-10 force. The type enjoyed a brief renaissance in 2015 when two former Marine OV-10Ds were taken up by the USAF for use against ISIS forces in Iraq, to see if the design was still viable. Though the OV-10s performed well, the USAF is not likely to put it back into production. 360 were built, and at least 25 are on display in museums aside from the aircraft that are still operational.

Though painted as a Marine OV-10A, this aircraft is actually 67-4615. Virtually nothing can be found about this aircraft's military career, other than it was one of the aircraft selected for the Pave Nail program in 1970, in which OV-10s were fitted with laser designators for use over the Ho Chi Minh Trail: Nail FACs would paint targets for F-4s equipped with laser-guided bombs. As the Pave Nail OV-10s served with the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron at Nakhon Phanom RTAFB, Thailand, 67-4615 likely served with that squadron, making this aircraft a Vietnam veteran.

After Vietnam, 67-4615 probably stayed with the 23rd TASS back to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, where it may have remained; another possibility is that it served in West Germany with the 601st Tactical Air Support Wing at Sembach, where many of the USAF's OV-10s ended up. It was retired with the rest of the USAF's Broncos in 1991, and in 1993 was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management to coordinate forest firefighting efforts and survey BLM lands. In 2013, 67-4615 was grounded permanently and donated to the Estrella Warbirds Museum in Paso Robles, California.

When Estrella got 67-4615, it was repainted in 1980s-era USMC colors of dark green over white, but by 2022 it had been repainted again, this time as a OV-10A serving with VMO-2 during Operation Desert Storm. VMO-2, which successfully used their OV-10s as FACs despite a heavy Iraqi antiaircraft fire threat, had painted their Broncos in this two shades of brown and tan desert scheme. We saw this aircraft in June 2023.

New Jersey

March 2015

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Ft. Vancouver High School Library Media Center -- Margaret Mead quotation: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world."

(New York, 24 March 2017)—UN Member States today committed to ensure women’s full and equal participation and leadership in the economy, as well as women’s right to work and rights at work, as a vital step to achieving sustainable development. This strong pledge to women’s economic empowerment came at the closing of the 61st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61), the two-week meeting that concluded today.

The Agreed Conclusions from the UN’s largest gathering on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights highlight barriers that women face, such as unequal working conditions, women’s over-representation in the informal economy, gender stereotypes and social norms that reinforce women’s concentration in certain sectors, such as health and social sectors, and the uneven share of unpaid care work that women do.

Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Read More: www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/3/press-release-un-c...

Today, 21 June 2016, Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) sentenced Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo to 18 years of imprisonment. On 21 March 2016, the Chamber had found Mr Bemba guilty beyond reasonable doubt as a military commander responsible for two counts of crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three counts of war crimes (murder, rape, and pillaging) committed in the Central African Republic between October 2002 and March 2003. ICC Trial Chamber III is composed of Presiding Judge Sylvia Steiner (Brazil), Judge Joyce Aluoch (Kenya) and Judge Kuniko Ozaki (Japan).

Pictured here: Trial Chamber III entering ICC Courtroom I at Mr Bemba's sentencing hearing © ICC-CPI

Clifford’s Tower is one of the best-loved landmarks in York. It is the largest remaining part of York Castle, once the centre of government for the north of England. The 11th-century timber tower on top of the earth mound was burned down in 1190, after York’s Jewish community, some 150 strong, was besieged here by a mob and committed mass suicide. The present 13th-century stone tower was probably used as a treasury and later as a prison.

Archaeological evidence shows that there was activity in this area in Roman times (with a Roman cemetery lying across the site) and perhaps even earlier, but it was William the Conqueror who first established a castle here. When he marched north in 1068 to suppress a rebellion against his rule, he built a series of castles as he went, including one here where Clifford’s Tower now stands.

The Norman motte-and-bailey castle saw several violent incidents during its earliest years, including further revolts and an attack by Danish invaders. As the political situation settled down in the 1070s, however, the damage of these early years was repaired, and the castle, built largely of earth and timber, probably survived relatively unaltered through most of the 12th century.

The Mass Suicide and Massacre of 1190

The castle of York was the setting for one of the most notorious events in English history: the mass suicide and massacre in March 1190 of York’s Jewish community.

Tensions between Christians and Jews had been increasing throughout England during the 12th century, partly because many people were in debt to Jewish moneylenders and partly because much crusading propaganda was directed not only against Muslims but also against Jews. Anti-Jewish riots in several cities followed the coronation of the crusader king Richard I in 1189, and a rumour (untrue) was put about that he had ordered a massacre of the Jews.

In York, as described by William of Newburgh and other contemporary chroniclers, about 150 people from the Jewish community were given protective custody in the royal castle, probably the site of Clifford’s Tower.

Somehow, though, trust between the royal officials and the Jews broke down. The officials, finding themselves shut out from the tower, summoned reinforcements to recapture it. These troops were joined by a large mob, which soon ran out of control, incited by both anti-Jewish preachers and local gentry eager to escape their debts.

On 16 March, the eve of the Sabbath before Passover, when the Jews realised that there would be no safe way out for them, a rabbi urged his fellow-inmates in the tower to commit suicide rather than fall into the hands of their persecutors. Heads of households killed their own families before killing themselves, and the wooden tower itself was set on fire.

According to several accounts a number of Jews did survive and came out of the tower under an amnesty, only to be murdered by the attackers. A plaque at the base of the mound, commemorating these events, was installed in 1978.

Though Jewish life did in fact revive in York within a few years of the massacre, it came to an end a hundred years later, in 1290, when Edward I expelled all Jews from England. This time their exile lasted until the 17th century.

The Medieval Castle

The tower burnt down in 1190 was rebuilt very shortly afterwards. Further repairs and rebuilding, some in stone, took place in the castle during the early 13th century. Then in the middle years of that century, as war with Scotland loomed, King Henry III decided to build a completely new stone tower on the mound.

A writ of March 1245 may refer to the construction of the tower. It orders Master Henry the mason and Master Simon the carpenter to advise the sheriff on strengthening the castle’s defences. Master Henry is often identified as Henry of Reyns, master mason of the new abbey at Westminster. At the abbey, as at Clifford’s Tower, English architectural detailing was applied to a plan influenced by French prototypes.

Documentary sources show that construction was intermittent and the tower was probably not finished until the 1270s, possibly not until the 1290s.

Despite the regional and national importance of York, its royal castle did not generally act as a royal residence. Together with Clifford’s Tower it was instead used chiefly for administrative purposes, notably for imprisonment, for storage and for judicial sessions. Occasionally it acted as a home for the Exchequer and its various treasuries when wars against the Scots caused the government to relocate to the north of England. It also housed an important royal mint.

The castle’s buildings, particularly Clifford’s Tower, whose mound was scoured by floods of the river Fosse, fell more than once into disrepair. By 1360, several of the structural defects which are visible today had already appeared.

The Tower in Decay

The history of the castle and Clifford’s Tower during the 15th and 16th centuries is obscure. Accounts of Henry VI, Richard III and Henry VIII suggest that several buildings were ruinous, and efforts were concentrated on maintaining a small number of them as gaols.[14] In 1540, just three years after Robert Aske (one of the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace) had been hanged ‘on the height of the castle dungeon’, John Leland wrote that the ‘arx is all in ruin’.

In 1596–7 a public scandal arose when the aldermen of York accused the gaoler, Robert Redhead, of trying to demolish the derelict tower and sell the stone for lime-burning. Contemporary correspondence about these events contains the first recorded use of the name ‘Clifford’s Tower’.

The name is sometimes interpreted as evidence that the Clifford family claimed the post of constable to be hereditary. Alternatively, it may refer to the rebel Roger de Clifford, who was executed after the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322 and whose body was displayed on a gibbet at the castle.

War and Explosion

After a brief period when Clifford’s Tower passed out of royal ownership, in 1643 it was occupied again by a royal garrison during the Civil War. The building was re-roofed and re-floored, apparently at the behest of Queen Henrietta Maria, creating storage rooms for ammunition and a gun platform on the roof. The forebuilding was largely reconstructed.

The city fell to Parliamentarians the following year. The tower continued to be occupied by a garrison of between 40 and 80 men and it may also have served occasionally as a prison. The Quaker George Fox was imprisoned here for two nights in 1665, on his way to Scarborough Castle.

The garrison’s dissolute behaviour caused discontent among the citizens of York, who called for the demolition of the tower, scathingly nicknamed ‘the Minced Pie’. On 23 April 1684 the interior was partly gutted by fire, allegedly as a result of the firing of a ceremonial salute for St George’s Day. Destruction was not total, though, and parts of the building remained in use for storage, while cannon were still positioned on the roof.

By 1699, however, when Clifford’s Tower was released to freeholders, sketches of the interior by Francis Place show that it was completely roofless.

Gaol and Monument

The 18th century was a period of changing ownership for the tower and mound. Clifford’s Tower was treated as a garden folly and possibly as a stable or cattle shed.

In marked contrast, the former bailey of the castle was redeveloped as a prison. New courthouses and gaol buildings were built, until in the 1820s and 1830s the prison encompassed the entire castle area. The mound and tower were enclosed and effectively hidden from view. Clifford’s Tower was accessible only with permission from a magistrate.

In 1902 a radical campaign of repairs and investigations was undertaken by Mr Basil Mott, including the partial reconstruction of the mound in an effort to underpin the south-east lobe of the tower with buried concrete ‘flying buttresses’. During these works, the most detailed archaeological investigation to date of the internal structure of the mound was carried out.

On 30 March 1915, Clifford’s Tower was taken into state guardianship. The structure was repaired and public access improved in 1935 with the demolition of the surviving 19th-century prison buildings, notably the wall enclosing the mound on its north and west sides. The lower parts of the slope were restored to their presumed medieval profile, and a stairway leading up to the forebuilding in a straight line was created, replacing a spiral path.

Today, 21 June 2016, Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) sentenced Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo to 18 years of imprisonment. On 21 March 2016, the Chamber had found Mr Bemba guilty beyond reasonable doubt as a military commander responsible for two counts of crimes against humanity (murder and rape) and three counts of war crimes (murder, rape, and pillaging) committed in the Central African Republic between October 2002 and March 2003. ICC Trial Chamber III is composed of Presiding Judge Sylvia Steiner (Brazil), Judge Joyce Aluoch (Kenya) and Judge Kuniko Ozaki (Japan).

MISSION STATEMENT

The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, as a sovereign Nation, is committed pursuant to its Constitution, to maintain, improve and protect the Tribe; To preserve its resources and cultural heritage; To create opportunities for its members to thrive and become economically and socially self-sufficient as individuals, families and as a tribal government; and, thereby, promote the harmony of traditional values, beliefs which will ensure a positive course of action for future generations.

THE WINNEBAGO INDIAN RESERVATION

The Winnebago Indian Reservation lies in the northern half of Thurston County in northeastern Nebraska. The largest community on the Reservation is the Village of Winnebago. Located on the eastern side of the Reservation, Winnebago is home to most Winnebago tribal members and accounts for almost thirty percent of the Reservation's resident population. The closest large urban centers are Sioux City, Iowa, about 20 miles north of the Reservation, and Omaha, Nebraska, approximately 80 miles to the south. Reservation land holdings extend to Iowa to the east and are not accessible within the Reservation boundaries. There are approximately 1800 acres situated in Thurston County and in the Woodbury County area of western Iowa.

The Winnebago Indian Reservation covers approximately 120,000 acres of cropland, woodland, and pasture in the northern half of Thurston County, Nebraska. The Missouri River on the east, the Omaha Indian Reservation on the south, and the Dakota-Thurston County line to the north border the Reservation. The western boundary parallels State Highway 16 about two miles to its east. Approximately one third of the Reservation acreage is owned by the tribe and individual tribal members. Non-tribal members, however, farm much of the Indian land.

At present, approximately 2,600 people live on the Reservation. Based on demographic modeling, the Reservation population is expected to increase from its year 1990 level of 2,377 to 5,050 in year 2040, due in large part to the high birth rate and relatively youthful composition of the Native American inhabitants. Much of the growth will occur in the Village of Winnebago, where it is anticipated that the population will more than double by year 2040. Some population expansion and settlement will occur outside Winnebago but the extent, scope and direction of this development is primarily dependent on accessibility within the reservation area.

Important sectors of employment on the Reservation include health and education services, manufacturing, agriculture, public administration, and retail trade. Relative to statistics for the state of Nebraska and the nation as a whole, unemployment is rather high and household and per capita income is low for Native Americans living on the Reservation. According to 1990 U.S. Bureau of Census figures, unemployment on the Reservation was 20.4 percent overall and 20.4 percent for the Native American population compared to 3.7 percent unemployment statewide and 5.6 percent unemployment nationally. It is estimated that 44 percent of the Native American population on the Reservation lives at or below the poverty level.

The Winnebago Tribe’s Trust Lands and holdings in Iowa are approximately 1800 acres at present with plans to extend ownership as development occurs. The Winnevagas Casino and the Convenience Store/Gas Station complex plays a significant part in the general economy both in employment and revenue for the tribe.

Just goes to show that the Harley and tattoos don't mean he is a rebel. He was such a quiet man, just out on a ride with a bunch of mates.

Committed to Guitar Hero II

I've heard that said quite a few times over the years but I wonder how fully committed I would be in this circumstance... even the shoes were left behind to lighten the load. The truth of the matter is that while most of us talk good, when it comes to being fully committed to something or someone things change over time and when the circumstances change... when we have to work harder at making it last, we find it easier to take a less difficult path.

I have nothing but respect for this athlete as there is no question that they are "all in"...

My encouragement today is for the rest of us to take the time to step away and evaluate our circumstances in our jobs, our relationships, in our lives, and commit to keep stepping forward and hopefully one day we can also say we're "all in"

blessings my friends...