Imaginary Consequences, 2016

Consequence California HELLS LEGION MC

This representation of Bomonga is actually several years old. I originally choose not to photograph and upload onto Flickr because I really didn't think the MOC was that impressive.

 

The idea behind this MOC was to present the other members of the Toa Hagah as if LEGO had chosen to release Bomonga either alongside of or instead of sets 8762 Toa Iruini and 8763 Toa Norik. I hope you enjoy!

 

Bomonga – Toa Hagah of Earth

 

Status: Active

 

Primary color: Metru black, secondary – Metallic Silver

 

Brain-stalk: Trans-Green

 

Element: Earth

 

Mask: The Mask of Growth (carved in the shape of a former Toa hero), gave its user the power to grow larger, up to a maximum height of 60 feet. The user's strength grew directly in proportion to their enlarged size, but did not give them strength equivalent to a Pakari user. The user's tools/weapons also grew in proportion to the user’s enlarged size.

 

Powers: Extreme Strength. The ability to create, control, and absorb earth.

 

Primary weapon: Seismic Spear – The only known use of the weapon was the ability to channel his elemental power of Earth through the spearhead.

 

Secondary weapon: Rhotuka Launching Shield – Unknown

 

Key traits: Strong, solitary, nocturnal, and is able to see through the dark. He said little, but carried great wisdom when he did so. A trait common too many Toa of Earth, Bomonga did not act rashly, carefully thinking through the consequences of his actions before carrying them out.

 

When I create custom Bionicle (Toa), I generally only use parts from 2-4 existing sets. The result is a simplistic design that resembles an official LEGO product.

 

====The Moth-Cave===

 

Bruce- Walker, may I use your computer? I can upload my files on the Belfry from there and hopefully send a signal to the other Gotham-Based vigilantes

 

Drury- Uh, sure sounds good to me.

 

Bruce- Thanks, right, I'm getting a faint signal... Electrocutioner?

 

Lester- Eep!

 

Bruce-... I was just wondering if you could boost the signal.

 

Lester- ... Uh yeah. I can do that.

 

Floyd- What's buzz cut's problem?

 

Miranda- PTSD. Of sorts.

 

Spider- Yeah, I heard Batman took him out with one punch. Poor guy pissed himself.

 

Lester- That didn't happen!

 

Bruce- Yes it did.

 

Lester- Yes sir. Sorry sir.

 

Drury- Lester, look at me. He's not sir, I'm sir. Ok?

 

Anatoli- I thought you were "Boss"?

 

Drury- I can have more than one title, alright?

 

Floyd- I dunno mate. Seems kinda greedy.

 

Len- *on computer* Hello? Can anyone hear me? Drury?

 

Drury- This is Drury, over. Who is this?

 

Len- Only your favourite former bartender!

 

Drury- Lenny! Haha! Give me a moment... Cypher?

 

Cypher- *Putting it through to video mode now.*

 

Drury- That's better. Right ... Um, how have you all been?

 

Len- Oh fine. Just fine. It isn't like the whole entire city was gassed, was it?

 

Drury- Good to see you. All of you- Jules, Abner, Drake... Anyone else?

 

Krill- Just us. Sorry

 

Blaze- Aww. Look at it this way Drury, you'll see them all again! In the psyche ward!

 

Drake- Tell me Drury, is this your latest alliance? I can't help feel discriminated against

 

Jules- Yeah, after all we've been through...

 

Drury- Look, you got an issue? Take it up with-

 

Simon- There's a lot of tension here, I think we should all calm down and-

 

Bruce- Getting another call. Stay with us.

 

Damian- Batman. Robin here. We feared the worst. I sent the rest of the Titans home and therefore-

 

Roman- Is someone there? Someone call the fucking cops! Oh god I-

 

Damian- Silence! Apologies father.

 

Drury-... Was that Sionis?

 

Damian- It was nothing citizen.

 

Bruce- Robin!

 

Damian- *TT* As I said, nothing of consequence Batman.

 

Jules- Let's just forget the brat, he's still "discovering himself". *to Batman* What's the plan Bats?

 

Drury- Excuse me, it's my plan.

 

Jules- Sorry. When you have Batman with you, people tend to think he's in charge.

 

Drury- Look, we have this handled so...

 

Krill- Yeah, a city on fire. Perfectly handled.

 

Drury- Yeah. Gar'd love this. The city on fire.

 

Miranda- Can we stop talking about Gar please?

 

Krill- Someone's jealous...

 

Cypher- *Such a succelent woman. She would make a wonderful companion...*

====Justice League Watchtower===

 

Barry- No word from Bruce?

 

Vic- That device knocked out all communications down there. I can't go down without seizing up and I'm pretty sure that the gas has trace elements of-

 

Clark- Kryptonite. I just tried getting in ... I'm sorry, I'm of no use to you all down there.

 

Diana- It's not your fault Clark. We'll find a way to stop this Scarecrow.

 

Vic- Hold up Diana, I'm getting an incoming call.

Diana- By Hera. From whom?

 

???- This is Abacus. Scarecrow is the least of your worries. Luthor wants to wipe out all life on the planet and I fear he now has the power to do so. Whatever you have planned, I'd advise you to do it quickly, I do not know how much longer we can delay him. Enclosed in this file below are coordinates to the Hall of Doom, Luthor's current hideaway, as well as intel on his most loyal lieutenants. Now, I am risking my life telling you this, I only wish you can do what we can not. Best of luck.

 

Hal- ...Am I missing something or does anyone else have no clue who the heck Abacus is?

A personal consequence of BREXIT?

Haus Lange in Krefeld is an address of pilgrimage for architectural studies and those people interested in Ludwig Mies von der Rohe’s style setting early work. Splendid and ageless architecture and garden environment.

Most recently this building became a new home for BREXIT refugee family that felt no longer welcome in England. Has it really become ‘a home’? If you watch the series of photos I took you might feel shocked as I was when I first lingered thru the stylish rooms. The car was still packed. The door was open… I entered as invited, saw valuable furniture, most goods still in boxes, piles of books. The pantechnicon obviously just left. Also very obvious: The landlady, mother and wife also left and will stay absent: ‘You will never see me again’ written on the mirror. That wasn’t a good sign. I felt sorry.

Then to my utmost horror I found the host floating dead in the pool… A husband, a father: dead! And nobody seems to care!

Even more desperate the boy hiding in the dining room – his distressed body language seems to ask: Can this be my home? Where is my mother? Who is my mother? Where are my roots?

You may form your own opinion on this photo story – but being uprooted is the worst prerequisite for a new and positive start. Reasons are manifold. But if it comes to politics as a cause: Think before you vote, choose well whom you elect. It might affect your families’ life, too.

 

The artists Michael Elgreen and Ingar Dragset make us think with their fictive story and installation of an unhappy start in Haus Lange, Krefeld.

I as a photographer tried to transfer this mood and the atmosphere into 17 picture series ‘Die Zugezogenen’.

 

Krefeld, February 2017

Thomas Kopf

 

Without a thought of consequence

To my heart or to my mind

-Valerie Plame by The Decemberists

 

3/52

 

So over spring break I did a mission trip instead of going home so my parents decided that they would fly me home for Easter weekend so luckily I got to come back to warm ole Houston. It's been a really nice break but yesterday we celebrated Easter with my mom's family and me and my older brother are the only ones our age so we got bored and I made him drive us to this nature preserve and I took this picture. The whole time mosquitoes were biting us like crazy but I made the sacrifice and waited for like ten minutes posing while the self timer went off each round of shots haha. #sacrificeforart

I know this picture is a day early or so but I can't help it. When I decided to take a picture I just can't stop until I put it up on here. One picture a week is too little....maybe I might just start uploading a couple a week but only one counts towards my 52 weeks haha

 

HAPPY EASTER!

Also I launched my new website: here

 

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You can find me on instagram at: tnick2

btw this looks much better on black so press L !

This is one more picture that I have shot at the upper terrace which is at a few meters from Bivi Razaia Masjid, a small mosque, located in the chawk of Varanasi (Benaras).

Up there I know a Muslim family who works on the dyeing process of the famous silk Banarsi sarees.

I like to come there and to walk among the saris which are drying under the sun.

Each time a new color spreads out, like an offer with no restraint to the celestial king of light.

There is a dreamy atmosphere which takes me somewhere over the Silk road like in a ghazal by Shujaat Husain Khan...

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bckvBBUPVJw

 

Join the photographer at www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography

 

© All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.

Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).

The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

 

Hero City: Voronezh.

From 10 to 17 September 2011, Voronezh celebrated its 425th anniversary. The anniversary of the city was given the status of a federal scale celebration that helped attract large investments from the federal and regional budgets for development. On December 17, 2012, Voronezh became the fifteenth city in Russia with a population of over one million people. Today Voronezh is the economic, industrial, cultural, and scientific center of the Central Black Earth Region. As part of the annual tradition in the Russian city of Voronezh, every winter the main city square is thematically drawn around a classic literature. In 2020, the city was decorated using the motifs from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. In the year of 2021, the architects drew inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen as well as the animation classic The Snow Queen from the Soviet Union.

Every tiny little moment of our lives has the ability to make a profound impact on our futures. Every single action has consequences but the reaction is not always "equal and opposite," as it were. No, oftentimes the tiniest action we take can snowball into something massive. An unstoppable force that can change our lives forever without us even realizing it.

 

As was the case with our two sisters seen here. Growing up in the same household with the same parents in the same schools and yet so wildly different from one another. The eldest sister Riven was ambitious and determined, the perfect fit for Slytherin just like her father, grandmother, great-grandparents, and so on as far back as anyone could remember. Emily, meanwhile, was clever and wise and always had her nose buried in some book or other and would thus find herself quite at home among the learned in Ravenclaw tower.

 

So many tiny little moments led each of these children to being the person they were and caused the dusty old sorting hat to send the girls right where they belonged.

 

The sisters always had a rather strained relationship and this only became more severe once the girls started their lives at Hogwarts. Emily often called Riven out for some of her more unsavory slytherin behaviors while Riven would often push the younger girl beyond her limits and well outside her comfort zone in some misguided attempt at helping the younger girl grow.

 

Toward the end of Emily's first year, she found herself waiting in line to face her boggart and little did she know this experience would only further drive the sisters apart. When Emily approached, the room was deathly still and the first year could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Any moment now her greatest fear would burst out of the wardrobe to torment her but even after countless hours of speculation she had no idea what it might be. The moment stretched on for an eternity and just as she’d thought the boggart had given up for the day...

 

"Suddenly, there was a knock from the other side of the door. Slowly, it opened and a figure peeked her head out. It’s Riven! However, she looked a bit older as she stepped out onto the floor. Riven was dressed fairly nicely, albeit in very typical pureblood style like she’d been taking fashion advice from Octavia Dechants. The girl was eerily calm before smiling. She looked at Emily with a wrinkled nose as she spoke out. “I don’t know why you continue to befriend those filthy mudbloods, especially the ones causing issues for You-Know-Who! It’s awfully embarrassing to have to deal with a troublemaker you’re related to,” she tsks- scolding her sister as if she were a child. She pulled a wand from her sleeves and aimed it at Emily with a tight scowl, “unfortunately, if I want to prove my loyalties, I’ll have to get rid of you.”"

 

Emily shrank back when the image of her older sister appeared from within the wardrobe and whimpered a soft, “R… Riven?” This was her first time facing the dreaded boggart and she’d had no idea what to expect but this most certainly wasn't it. She shook her head and blinked, trying very hard to force herself to believe it wasn't real. It wasn't!! Right!? But what, exactly, was she seeing?? Emily seemed rather lost and confused. Was it a boggart? Was it a dream? Or was it some horrific glimpse of things yet to be. With a trembling hand, Emily raised her wand and squeaked a soft, "riddikulus..." but there was nothing. The tendrils of fear had driven far too deep around the girl's mind.

 

"The boggart-Riven looked surprised, then smiled wickedly and raised its wand. "You thought you could kill me?" it asked Emily, then started to chuckle. "That's...really..." it said, stumbling a little, as more laughter bubbled out of its own throat. "You can NEVER defeat me!" it shrieked, drawing back the wand even as more laughter spilled from its own throat. The laughter had the same effect on the boggart whether it came from the fear it's presenting or another, and even as the boggart-Riven shouted 'AVAA-', it was sucked back into the wardrobe which closed hard enough to rock the heavy wood on its feet.”"

 

The real Riven, meanwhile, stood in the back corner of the room with her Slytherin housemates glaring at the scene. The older girl had her arms crossed and was scowling at the first year, already plotting how she would make the younger girl pay for trying to tarnish her reputation in such a way.

 

But of course this was only one of many possible outcomes for the girls and fate saw fit to drive them down a different path.

 

A path that led to Riven being sorted into Ravenclaw and Emily into Slytherin. And it was Riven’s boggart that showed the twisted version of Emily instead, the protective older sister fearing what may become of the younger girl under the wrong influence.

 

We may never know what small and seemingly insignificant decisions, actions, or events led to the girls being who they’d actually become. We can only imagine and ask ourselves… what if?

 

Idea credit (stolen with permission): flickr.com/photos/194538309@N04/52776099920

 

Boggart text credit (altered to fit the reversal of roles): Mischief Managed staff: mischiefmanagedsl.net/

Some Background:

The Space Defense Robot-04-Mk. XIV Destroid Nimrod was an anti-air/heavy artillery mecha, and intended as a replacement for the SDR-04-Mk. XII Phalanx, a Destroid specifically designed for space operations to defend the SDF-1 Macross, along with its sister unit, the cannon-armed ADR-04-Mk. X Destroid Defender.

 

The Phalanx had been developed in a hurry under the pressure of the raging war against the Zentraedi and suffered, as a consequence, from several disadvantages. For instance, its combat operation capability decreased substantially once the missile ordnance (a total of forty-four 430mm caliber missiles, half of them ready to fire and the rest held in reserve in internal magazines) had been exhausted. To counter this, a few models were modified in the field, e.g. with additional light Gatling guns mounted within the head unit, as well as other variations, but most Phalanx’ remained basically bipedal heavy missile launchers. A sub-variant with improved sensors and missile guidance systems, as well as the ability to deploy the new reflex missiles, the Phalanx Mk. XIII, was also built, but only in small numbers, and it could not overcome the flaws of the original design.

 

The Nimrod was the attempt to mend these shortcomings after initial combat experience with the type. The so-called SDR-04-Mk. XIV utilized the proven MBR-04 ambulatory system and shared a common hip and leg structure with a wide range of other Destroids. Like the Phalanx, the Nimrod’s newly designed upper body was a simple core structure that neglected any silliness for a weapon composition consisting of missiles, radar, and propulsion system, all mounted on the main rotating body which could be detached from the lower torso for maintenance of in case of emergency.

The Nimrod filled the same tactical niche as the Phalanx but was a more sophisticated design with improved capabilities and a – though limited – secondary close-range combat capability. The radar and sensor suites for target acquisition as well as missile guidance were improved, so that the Nimrod became even suited for air space surveillance and as a guidance/coordination unit for other Destroids. Due to this additional workload, the Nimrod’s crew was expanded by a WSO to two in a tandem cockpit.

 

The armament remained tailored to medium and long range, but there were some improvements. On the Nimrod, the Phalanx’ bulbous drum-shaped missile magazines gave way to more streamlined 540 mm caliber reflex missile containers, which were carried in staggered clusters of four twin-pods on each shoulder, holding a total of 48 missiles with sixteen of them ready to fire and the rest in reserve. This modification reduced weight and frontal area, and in a case of emergency the missile containers could be jettisoned.

In order to improve the Nimrod’s tactical value after its missiles had been deployed, it was furthermore provided with a secondary close-range combat capability in the form of a pair of particle beam guns. These were integrated into the arms, protected by the missile containers, and these reliable weapons could be effectively used against both air as well as ground targets. Thermal smoke dischargers completed the Nimrod’s defensive measures.

 

Like the Phalanx and other Destroids, the Nimrod was capable of limited space operations due to its vernier thrusters all over the hull. This allowed for units that were stationed on the deck of the SDF-1 to propel themselves back to the battle fortress if they were knocked off.

 

The Nimrod was, like the Phalanx, first deployed on the SDF-1 and was used to augment the ship's own weapon system to protect the vessel from Zentraedi attacks, even though the type came relatively late and was only used in the final phase of the war and only in limited numbers. After the conflict, production was throttled down (only a total of fifty SDR-04-Mk. XIVs were eventually built), and the surviving Nimrods from the SDF-1 were stationed at airbases in New Macross City and in nearby cities, such as Monument City.

  

Specifications:

Designation: SDR-04-Mk XIV

Mecha Class: Destroid

Crew: 2 (Pilot, WSO)

Weight: 21.8 tons (dry)

45.5 tons (loaded)

Height: 12.36 m (hull only, incl. radome)

13,50 m (with raised arms)

Breadth: 9,32 m

Depth: 5.0m

Max. walking speed: 72 kph loaded

 

Armament:

2x weapon clusters in shoulder locations, each with:

- Eight launch tubes for 540mm caliber mid-/long-range missiles (typically with anti-air capacity, artillery

rockets as alternative), with eight missiles ready and another sixteen as reserve (for a total of 48)

- One Mauler PBG-06 liquid-cooled electrically-charged twin particle beam gun

- Three thermal smoke dischargers

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is a fictional Macross Destroid, with a highly modified Imai Phalanx kit at its core. It depicts a potential successor for the missile-only-armed Phalanx, but it has been totally made up. Inspiration came when I recently procured a bunch of Kotobukiya’s MSG sets for mecha conversions – one of these sets included the quadruple missile launchers that now make up the Nimrod’s new “arms”. I was torn between using a Defender or a Phalanx as conversion basis, but due to the weapon pods’ bulkiness I went for the more massive Phalanx.

 

Beyond the MSG parts and the replacement of the Phalanx “missile drums”, there was initially no real plan for the conversion – things evolved gradually, depending on the donor parts at hand. However, several fundamental changes were made. The most important improvement measure that works for all Destroid kits with the “04” chassis is the integration of a completely now hip joint arrangement. OOB, the model's posture is pretty stiff, with the legs and feet facing straight forward. The model is just supposed to stand upright, and with the model’s OOB joint options it is really hard to create a vivid poise. Furthermore, the bolts that hold the legs are prone to break off, even more so because the Imai kit is from the 1st generation of mecha kits, without vinyl caps and just relying on a very tight joint fit for hold.

 

My proven solution: the implantation of a new hip “bone” made from plastic-coated steel wire, which is stiff in itself but can be bent in two dimensions. The thighs had to be modified accordingly, since the wire is much thinner than the original bolts. Inside of the pelvis, the W-shaped wire was attached with the help of sprue material and styrene profiles, a thorough fixation is necessary because a lot of load has to be held in place in a very small space.

 

In order to attach the legs to the wire, there’s a convenient trick: the receptor holes in the thighs were simply filled with small vinyl rings, standard material from other mecha kits (e.g. from Arii’s 1:100 VF-1 Battroids or the Gunze Sangyo/Aoshima Dorvack PAs), the rings’ outer AND inner diameter fit perfectly into the new arrangement. With this trick, a much more dynamic and "natural" leg position could be achieved, also thanks to the large feet and their joints of the “04” Destroid chassis. This tuning measure improves the model considerably. The legs were otherwise taken OOB, just some small styrene bits were added to the lower legs’ front sides (improving another small detail flaw of the model), and some openings on the lower legs’ rear side were filled with putty and styrene sheet. Furthermore, the open insides of the “heels” were filled with putty, too.

 

In order to integrate the new missile bins, suitable adapters for the shoulder had to be found. Being somewhat lazy and trying to use as many parts from the Phalanx kit as possible, I decided to integrate a styrene tube all through the upper body, so that I got better attachment points. This tube was extended so far that I could re-use the Phalanx’ blast exhausts from the original missile bins as shoulder joint covers. This looks very natural and these re-dedicated parts fit well over the implanted central styrene tube channel as well as into the channel that runs along the MSG missile containers’ inner side. In order to attach the new arms/containers, a smaller diameter styrene tube was glued into these channels, so that the new pods could be moved vertically.

 

As a weapon improvement over the Phalanx, a pair of particle beam guns was added to the new missile containers – they come originally from a Dorvack PA-36K “Berlon” kit, but they were tailored considerably in order to fit into their new position. They also help to hide the new shoulder joint, which was covered from above with parts from the Phalanx kit (the boxed that are normally attached to the upper legs) and the space between them with paper tissue, drenched with white glue. The result is a good visual transition.

 

The central hull was changed in order to move the look away from the Phalanx base. The rear side uses OOB parts, but these were modified and attached to the hull in a different way, so that the back is not as deep as on the Phalanx. The front received a vertical pair of searchlights (formerly return rollers from a 1:35 tank…), set into the breast plate. The cockpit bulge between the shoulders as well as the head unit are completely new. The cockpit cover is a leftover hull piece from a Kotobukiya helicopter drone, and it was moved forward, so that a crew of two is more plausible. The head unit on the elongated spine behind and above it consists primarily of a donor from a wrecked VT-61 “Tulcas” mecha (Dorvack), plus a small dish antenna for a tracking radar on the right (left over from a Dorvack PA-36K “Berlon” kit) and a round radome for target acquisition – scratched from main wheels of a Matchbox PB2Y and set upon a mount made from styrene profiles. Looks strange, esp. with that flat, square head unit underneath, but I wanted a unique and different look that sets the Nimrod apart from other canonical Destroid designs. And this certainly worked.

 

A final word concerning the Phalanx kit itself: like all other Destroids models, this is basically a simple affair and the model goes together well – but expect some PSR on every seam, and there are some improvements possible that IMHO raise the model’s quality. The lack of vinyl caps makes later movement a tricky affair, though, and it is interesting to see that while the “04” chassis Destroids (Phalanx, Tomahawk and Defender) share the same lower body, all three kits are different! As a positive trait concerning the finish, the Phalanx is also the only kit of this trio that comes with decals for the typical white trim on the lower legs of these Destroids.

  

Painting and markings:

Once more I wanted to stay true to the original look of a typical Macross Destroid from the “04” series. These tend to carry a uniform livery in murky/dull tones of green, brown and ochre: unpretentious "mud movers". Anything else is rare (I am aware of dark blue Phalanx’ on board of the SDF-1), and complex camouflage patterns are AFAIK not seen (probably a tribute to the TV series’ cel production). In consequence, I gave the Nimrod an overall livery in a rather unidentifiable brownish tone, namely RAL 7008 (Khakigrau), a tone that was carried by German WWII Afrikakorps tanks and very similar to the tone IDF vehicles like the Merkava typically carry nowadays. Since I only had this tone in a rattle can available, the model and its components were painted accordingly, with an additional hushed spray over the upper surfaces with a slightly lighter tone as a shading measure. After this basic painting, the parts received a washing with thinned black ink.

 

Decals mostly come from the OOB sheet, plus some extra stencils, including the "nose art" painted on the left leg (from a P-38); many Destroids and also Armored Valkyries seem to bear such markings. Gives the mecha a personal touch, though.

 

Finally, before everything was assembled, the kit received a dry-brushing treatment with light grey and an overall coat with matt acrylic varnish. As a final step, mineral pigments were dusted over the model, esp. around the feet and the lower areas of the mecha.

  

A rather straightforward conversion project that gradually evolved – but with a postive outcome, after some twists and turns. The fictional Destroid Nimrod turned out more believable than expected, thanks to the good donor parts that went into it, and the simple livery also adds to the design’s “realism” within the Macross universe. Even though the thing still looks odd – but not worse than the other canonical Destroids from the original TV series!

Most of my slides from the protest came out terrifically overblown, a consequence of trying to strike a balance between protesters silhouetted against a bright sky. Between color cast and exposure though, this is by far one of my favorite images.

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 40.398+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.

  

***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on May 11th 2021

  

CREATIVE RF gty.im/1317437017 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**

  

This photograph became my 5,302nd frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.

  

©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

 

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty four metres at 07:27am on a showery morning on Monday 10th May 2021, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

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THE EASTERN GRAY/EASTERN GREY SQUIRREL (SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS)

  

By Paul Williams

  

The Grey (or Gray) squirrel, you either love 'em or you hate 'em. Cute and fluffy little funsters or destructive critters who ruin trees, kill bird chicks and trees and damage our homes... oh and it's their fault we lost our native Red squirrels as well!

  

OK

  

I get it and I see both sides of the story of course. For my part, I am a nature, wildlife and landscape photographer who prefers the company of animals and natural beauty to fellow humans who are systematically plundering Mother Earth's resources and killing off her beautiful creatures at an alarming rate! I believe there is a natural order of things, creatures kill other creatures to survive, they adapt to situations and when mankind encroaches on their territory to make a fast buck, those animals sometimes adapt to survive and the order changes. That is the balance of nature which is ever changing and affected by us..... the dumbest of the great apes. Some species are driven out by others, some may be destined to become extinct, the fittest will survive, and sometime a species will need intervention and help from mankind in order to survive... usually as a direct consequence of mankind's own actions in destroying the animal kingdom's natural habitat of course.

  

I adore these little fellas and at almost sixty years old, I never grew up knowing red squirrels at all. I've seen reds in Scotland and black squirrels in Stanley Park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, but in my beloved home country of England I have always known and loved the cute little Greys. They visit my garden and give me hours, days, weeks of happiness and wonderful photographic opportunities, and I see them in Parks and forests all around me, so it's time to offer up an insight into the Grey squirrel, much loved, much hated... a sort of Marmite rodent if you will.

  

WHAT EXACTLY IS A SQUIRREL?

  

The word 'Squirrel', was first recorded in 1327 and hails from the Anglo-Norman word 'Esquirel', from old French 'Escurel', which was a reflex for the Latin word 'Sciurus'.The Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is also known as the Eastern Grey squirrel or simply grey squirrel depending on the region of the world it is found. It is a tree squirrel, of the squirrel family Sciuridae including over one hundred arboreal species native to all continents of the world other than Antarctica and Oceania. Tree squirrels live mostly in trees, apart from the flying squirrel. The best known genus is Sciurus, containing most of the bushy tailed squirrels which are found in Europe, North America, temperate Asia as well as central and south America.

  

The scientific classification for the Eastern Grey is:

 

KINGDOM: ANIMALIA PHYLUM: CHORDATA CLASS: MAMMALIA ORDER: RODENTIA FAMILY: SCIURIDAE GENUS: SCIURUS SUBGENUS: SCIURUS SPECIES: SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS

  

They were first noted by German naturalist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist, and malacologist - Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788.

  

A mammal and rodent, predominantly herbivorous they are none the less an omnivore with a life span of between two and ten years. They can grow to 70cm in length and weigh up to 8kg. There are more than two hundred and sixty species of worldwide squirrel, the smallest being the African pygmy squirrel at just 10cm in length, whereas the Indian giant squirrel is three feet long! The oldest fossil of a squirrel, Hesperopetes, dates back to the late Eocene epoch period Chadronian period of 40-35 million years ago. The tree squirrels rotate their ankles by 180 degrees, so that the hind paws pointy backwards gripping tree bark which enables them to descend a tree headfirst.

  

Originally native to Eastern and Midwestern United States of America, they were first introduced into the United Kingdom in 1876 in Henbury Park, Macclesfield in Cheshire when Victorian banker Thomas V. Brocklehurst released a pair of Greys that he brought back from a business trip to America after their attraction as pets had waned. Victorians had a penchant for collecting exotic animals and birds of the world, but trends came and went and subsequently animals were simply discarded into the wilderness. There are early records of greys released near Denbighshire in north Wales from private collections. Later introduced to several regions in the UK, they quickly settled and spread, colonizing an area of three hundred miles in a quarter of a century between Argyll and Stirlingshire in Scotland.

  

Introductions of the Greys between 1902 and 1929 (the year of the last recorded introduction), included: Regent’s Park in London, Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Hampshire. Grey Squirrels spread into Gloucestershire and eastern Wiltshire with animals coming directly from the United States or from Woburn. One hundred greys were released in Richmond Park in Surrey in 1902, Ninety one into Regent’s Park between 1905 and 1907 and a further ten New Jersey imported greys were introduced into Woburn Park in Bedfordshire.

  

Predators include hawks, weasels, raccoons, bobcats, foxes, domestic and feral cats, snakes, owls, and dogs, African harrier-hawks in Africa and... oh yes, Mankind pretty much everywhere who despise, mistreat, cull or eat it .

  

FACTS, MYTHS AND THAT POXY PARAPOX!

  

The massive decline in native red squirrels blamed upon the spread of the invasive greys has always been perhaps a little harsh as reds were already in a steep decline due to loss of habitat and disease and thus the greys simply took over the areas where the reds were dwindling. It's also a fact that reds were also seen as a plague, branded as pests who killed birds and damaged trees and the culling of reds almost brought them to the brink of extinction. Licenses to kill reds could still be obtained up until the seventies!

  

Reds suffered at the hands of mankind thanks to a combination of agricultural deforestation also linked with war and fuel needs which caused extinction in Southern Scotland and Ireland by the early eighteenth century, way before greys had been introduced. Harsh winters killed off the less hardy red population in the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

  

Greys are more adept at finding food and adapting to locations and environments, but also carry the squirrel poxvirus (SQPV) which although not particularly harmful to them, is a serious infection for the reds.

  

Parapox in red squirrels causes swollen lesions around the mouth, eyes, ears and nose also the front paws and sometimes genitals and skin ulcers and kills a red within fifteen days. There is no definitive correlation between the spread of the virus and the spread of the Greys, it actually arrived in several areas before the greys began to colonize there. An epidemic virus was observed in Red squirrels from at least 1900 with isolation attempts failing, and the first case of Parapox in the UK was in 1980 in the county of Norfolk. Greys cannot transmit the virus to reds via saliva or faeces, but reds can between each other from bodily secretions and at animal feeders in gardens. The transmission from greys to reds is though to come from parasites. Eight to ten per cent of reds survive the virus, and there is some evidence that reds are slowly building an evolved resistance.

  

Greys are seen as pests to forest land, stripping bark from trees during May and June, and are also capable of destroying household bins, water pipes, causing roof damage not to mention taking eggs and killing young chicks of ground nesting and songbird populations. They also take from bird feeders and there is a whole industry for creating squirrel proof feeders these days.

  

THE CULLING OF GREY SQUIRRELS

  

Grey squirrels have limited legal protection and can be legally controlled all year round by a variety of methods including shooting and trapping. Methods of trapping and killing include Dray poking and shooting, Tunnel trapping using spring traps set in accordance with BASC’s trapping pest mammals code of practice. They can also be shot using a shotgun or powerful air rifle or up until September 30th 2014 poisoned by Warfarin (Now outlawed).

  

Whilst professional trapping and extermination is hopefully done as humanely as possible, there have been cases, many of them where cost savings have been gained by battering the squirrels to death! Grey squirrels are trapped in ghastly metal contraptions for hours and hours, wearing themselves out frantically trying to escape by gnawing at the metals bars. They bite the floor and scratch at them with their claws and do not get a moments peace or rest through absolute fear. Once the traps are retrieved, each squirrel, terrified will be thrown into a sack and smacked on the head countless times with a blunt instrument. When a mother is slaughtered, her babies who are totally dependent on her, will die a slow death of thirst and starvation.

  

There is an argument for the control of Greys on many grounds but also a counter argument that Culling does not work, and has not on countless times where, once a population of greys have been culled, the nearest group will move back in and claim the land. The university of Bristol concluded that there was little evidence that culling greys to save red squirrels was effective, and that perhaps finding a way of boosting red squirrel immunity to the poxvirus or planting areas of yew trees where reds are known to thrive and spending money on research into positive moves might be a better option.

  

In Ireland, the re-introduction of the Pine marten, a species made extinct originally by the very same land owners who also wish to do the same to the grey squirrel, has seen the rapid demise of the grey and the re-introduction of the native reds. Red squirrels are smaller and more nimble than their grey counterparts, and as such can get to the very ends of tree branches where neither the pine martins, nor more importantly the heavier greys can, thus surviving and thriving. As a result in Ireland, the grey squirrel population has crashed in approximately 9,000 km2 of its former range and the reds has become common once more after a thirty year absence... oh and Pine Martens are protected again!

  

In Scotland, Pine Martens exist in areas where Red squirrels thrive, and greys do not. So perhaps there is a lesson here, as in England where there are no pine martens, the greys are prolific breeders. So there is an argument against the barbarity of shooting and poisoning greys, and if, as so many believe, the greys MUST be controlled, how about a more humane and natural method that nature intended.. with re-introduction of predators. Just a thought!

  

So a few facts and figures on the greys and to wrap up, from a purely personal perspective I love these little guys, as I do almost every creature in nature other than those eight legged beasties that shall not be named and for which I have a deep and powerful phobia that borders on paranoia!

  

I could no more harm an animal deliberately than eat a McDonald's McRib (Once saw how they are made and let me just say... eeeuuuuuwwwww!!).

  

They are small, cute, cuddly, furry, they photograph beautifully, have great personality and make me smile. They trust me enough to take food from my hand in parks, and I can't bare the though of ugly, hairy land owners sticking a shotgun in their face and blowing them away! I appreciate they can be a pest, a problem, a menace, that their PR managers might have a bit of a problem winning you over when they flay small chicks alive on your lawn or decimate the songbird population by stealing their eggs.... and perhaps there is a need to keep the population under control and try and re-establish the red population.....

  

Yep I get that....

  

I just hope we can solve the problem more humanely to create a peaceful coexistence of the reds and greys in different areas. A man can dream can't he.

  

Paul Williams June 18th 2021

©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams).

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length 600mm Shutter speed: 1/640s Aperture f/6.3 iso800 Tripod mounted with Tamron VC Vibration Control set to position 3. Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L (8256 x 5504). NEF RAW L (14 bit uncompressed) AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. AF-S Priority selection: Focus. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual mode Metering mode: Spot metering White balance on: Auto1 (4570k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Manfrotto MT057C3-G Carbon fiber Geared tripod 3 sections. Neewer Carbon Fiber Gimble tripod head 10088736 with Arca Swiss standard quick release plate. Neewer 9996 Arca Swiss release plate P860 x2.Jessops Tripod bag. Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

    

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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.33s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.33s

ALTITUDE: 58.0m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 92.8MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 24.20MB

  

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PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

 

DID YOU KNOW: Seoul generates a staggering 75& of South Korea’s GDP! Parag Khanna of geostrategic advisory firm Hybrid Reality shares that this situation is “extraordinarily lopsided and dangerous”. As more people move into mega cities to take advantage of the agglomeration benefits, the consequences of poor infrastructure manifold as well. In this article by Perspectives@SMU, find out how the state of infrastructure, agriculture, and scale will determine the success of The Asian Century. — bit.ly/1VrkO2L

Five afternoons ago, 22 February 2015, on my way out of Fish Creek Park, an enormous flock of Bohemian Waxwings swarmed around the tall coniferous trees along the edge of the road. Hundreds of them landed at the tops of these trees and then they would swoop down to the snow-covered ground and eat the snow for a few seconds before flying to the other side of the road and back again. "Waxwings often drink water or eat snow in winter, since the sugar in their fruit diet tends to dehydrate the birds through an osmotic effect. In the summer, the fruits are juicier and water is less of a problem" (from Wikipedia).

 

These Bohemian Waxwings visit us in winter and then fly north for the summer, to breed. Here, in summer, we get the Cedar Waxwings instead.

 

I pulled over to try and get a shot or two - quite the feeling to have so many of these beautiful, sleek birds flying around you when you are standing there. Earlier in the afternoon, this mass of birds landed in the parking lot trees. Interesting to hear the loud "whoosh" when they all took off so close to where we were standing.

 

"The name "Bohemian" refers to the nomadic movements of winter flocks. It comes from the inhabitants of Bohemia, meaning those that live an unconventional lifestyle or like that of gypsies.

 

The Bohemian Waxwing does not hold breeding territories, probably because the fruits it eats are abundant, but available only for short periods. One consequence of this non-territorial lifestyle is that it has no true song. It does not need one to defend a territory." From AllAboutBirds.

 

"The Bohemian waxwing's call is a high trill sirrrr. It is less wavering and lower-pitched than that of the cedar waxwing. Other calls are just variants of the main vocalisation; a quieter version is used by chicks to call parents, and courtship calls, also given during nest construction, have a particularly large frequency range. Although not a call as such, when a flock takes off or lands, the wings make a distinctive rattling sound that can be heard 30 m (100 ft) away." From Wikipedia.

 

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bohemian_waxwing/lifehistory

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_waxwing

Did you know many African countries continue to pay colonial tax to France since their independence till today!

When Sékou Touré of Guinea decided in 1958 to get out of french colonial empire, and opted for the country independence, the french colonial elite in Paris got so furious, and in a historic act of fury the french administration in Guinea destroyed everything in the country which represented what they called the benefits from french colonization.

 

Three thousand French left the country, taking all their property and destroying anything that which could not be moved: schools, nurseries, public administration buildings were crumbled; cars, books, medicine, research institute instruments, tractors were crushed and sabotaged; horses, cows in the farms were killed, and food in warehouses were burned or poisoned.

 

The purpose of this outrageous act was to send a clear message to all other colonies that the consequences for rejecting France would be very high.

 

Slowly fear spread trough the african elite, and none after the Guinea events ever found the courage to follow the example of Sékou Touré, whose slogan was “We prefer freedom in poverty to opulence in slavery.”

 

Sylvanus Olympio, the first president of the Republic of Togo, a tiny country in west Africa, found a middle ground solution with the French.He didn’t want his country to continue to be a french dominion, therefore he refused to sign the colonisation continuation pact De Gaule proposed, but agree to pay an annual debt to France for the so called benefits Togo got from french colonization.It was the only conditions for the French not to destroy the country before leaving. However, the amount estimated by France was so big that the reimbursement of the so called “colonial debt” was close to 40% of the country budget in 1963.

 

The financial situation of the newly independent Togo was very unstable, so in order to get out the situation, Olympio decided to get out the french colonial money FCFA (the franc for french african colonies), and issue the county own currency.

 

On January 13, 1963, three days after he started printing his country own currency, a squad of illiterate soldiers backed by France killed the first elected president of newly independent Africa. Olympio was killed by an ex French Foreign Legionnaire army sergeant called Etienne Gnassingbe who supposedly received a bounty of $612 from the local French embassy for the hit man job.

 

Olympio’s dream was to build an independent and self-sufficient and self-reliant country. But the French didn’t like the idea.

 

On June 30, 1962, Modiba Keita , the first president of the Republic of Mali, decided to withdraw from the french colonial currency FCFA which was imposed on 12 newly independent African countries. For the Malian president, who was leaning more to a socialist economy, it was clear that colonisation continuation pact with France was a trap, a burden for the country development.

 

On November 19, 1968, like, Olympio, Keita will be the victim of a coup carried out by another ex French Foreign legionnaire, the Lieutenant Moussa Traoré.

 

In fact during that turbulent period of African fighting to liberate themselves from European colonization, France would repeatedly use many ex Foreign legionnaires to carry out coups against elected presidents:

 

- On January 1st, 1966, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, an ex french foreign legionnaire, carried a coup against David Dacko, the first President of the Central African Republic.

- On January 3, 1966, Maurice Yaméogo, the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso, was victim of a coup carried by Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana, an ex French legionnaire who fought with french troops in Indonesia and Algeria against these countries independence.

- on 26 October 1972, Mathieu Kérékou who was a security guard to President Hubert Maga, the first President of the Republic of Benin, carried a coup against the president, after he attended French military schools from 1968 to 1970.

In fact, during the last 50 years, a total of 67 coups happened in 26 countries in Africa, 16 of those countries are french ex-colonies, which means 61% of the coups happened in Francophone Africa.

 

Number of Coups in Africa by country

 

Ex French colonies Other African countries Country Number of coup Country number of coup Togo 1 Egypte 1 Tunisia 1 Libye 1 Cote d’Ivoire 1 Equatorial Guinea 1 Madagascar 1 Guinea Bissau 2 Rwanda 1 Liberia 2 Algeria 2 Nigeria 3 Congo – RDC 2 Ethiopia 3 Mali 2 Ouganda 4 Guinea Conakry 2 Soudan 5 SUB-TOTAL 1 13

 

Congo 3

 

Tchad 3

 

Burundi 4

 

Central Africa 4

 

Niger 4

 

Mauritania 4

 

Burkina Faso 5

 

Comores 5

 

SUB-TOTAL 2 32

 

TOTAL (1 + 2) 45 TOTAL 22

 

As these numbers demonstrate, France is quite desperate but active to keep a strong hold on his colonies what ever the cost, no matter what.

 

In March 2008, former French President Jacques Chirac said:

 

“Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power”

 

Chirac’s predecessor François Mitterand already prophesied in 1957 that:

 

”Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century”

 

At this very moment I’m writing this article, 14 african countries are obliged by France, trough a colonial pact, to put 85% of their foreign reserve into France central bank under French minister of Finance control. Until now, 2014, Togo and about 13 other african countries still have to pay colonial debt to France. African leaders who refuse are killed or victim of coup. Those who obey are supported and rewarded by France with lavish lifestyle while their people endure extreme poverty, and desperation.

 

It’s such an evil system even denounced by the European Union, but France is not ready to move from that colonial system which puts about 500 billions dollars from Africa to its treasury year in year out.

 

We often accuse African leaders of corruption and serving western nations interests instead, but there is a clear explanation for that behavior. They behave so because they are afraid the be killed or victim of a coup. They want a powerful nation to back them in case of aggression or trouble. But, contrary to a friendly nation protection, the western protection is often offered in exchange of these leaders renouncing to serve their own people or nations’ interests.

 

African leaders would work in the interest of their people if they were not constantly stalked and bullied by colonial countries.

 

In 1958, scared about the consequence of choosing independence from France, Leopold Sédar Senghor declared: “The choice of the Senegalese people is independence; they want it to take place only in friendship with France, not in dispute.”

 

From then on France accepted only an “independence on paper” for his colonies, but signed binding “Cooperation Accords”, detailing the nature of their relations with France, in particular ties to France colonial currency (the Franc), France educational system, military and commercial preferences.

 

Below are the 11 main components of the Colonisation continuation pact since 1950s:

   

#1. Colonial Debt for the benefits of France colonization

The newly “independent” countries should pay for the infrastructure built by France in the country during colonization.

 

I still have to find out the complete details about the amounts, the evaluation of the colonial benefits and the terms of payment imposed on the african countries, but we are working on that (help us with info).

   

#2. Automatic confiscation of national reserves

The African countries should deposit their national monetary reserves into France Central bank.

 

France has been holding the national reserves of fourteen african countries since 1961: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

 

“The monetary policy governing such a diverse aggregation of countries is uncomplicated because it is, in fact, operated by the French Treasury, without reference to the central fiscal authorities of any of the WAEMU or the CEMAC. Under the terms of the agreement which set up these banks and the CFA the Central Bank of each African country is obliged to keep at least 65% of its foreign exchange reserves in an “operations account” held at the French Treasury, as well as another 20% to cover financial liabilities.

 

The CFA central banks also impose a cap on credit extended to each member country equivalent to 20% of that country’s public revenue in the preceding year. Even though the BEAC and the BCEAO have an overdraft facility with the French Treasury, the drawdowns on those overdraft facilities are subject to the consent of the French Treasury. The final say is that of the French Treasury which has invested the foreign reserves of the African countries in its own name on the Paris Bourse.

 

In short, more than 80% of the foreign reserves of these African countries are deposited in the “operations accounts” controlled by the French Treasury. The two CFA banks are African in name, but have no monetary policies of their own. The countries themselves do not know, nor are they told, how much of the pool of foreign reserves held by the French Treasury belongs to them as a group or individually.

 

The earnings of the investment of these funds in the French Treasury pool are supposed to be added to the pool but no accounting is given to either the banks or the countries of the details of any such changes. The limited group of high officials in the French Treasury who have knowledge of the amounts in the “operations accounts”, where these funds are invested; whether there is a profit on these investments; are prohibited from disclosing any of this information to the CFA banks or the central banks of the African states .” Wrote Dr. Gary K. Busch

 

It’s now estimated that France is holding close to 500 billions African countries money in its treasury, and would do anything to fight anyone who want to shed a light on this dark side of the old empire.

 

The African countries don’t have access to that money.

 

France allows them to access only 15% of the money in any given year. If they need more than that, they have to borrow the extra money from their own 65% from the French Treasury at commercial rates.

 

To make things more tragic, France impose a cap on the amount of money the countries could borrow from the reserve. The cap is fixed at 20% of their public revenue in the preceding year. If the countries need to borrow more than 20% of their own money, France has a veto.

   

#3. Right of first refusal on any raw or natural resource discovered in the country

France has the first right to buy any natural resources found in the land of its ex-colonies. It’s only after France would say, “I’m not interested”, that the African countries are allowed to seek other partners.

   

#4. Priority to French interests and companies in public procurement and public biding

In the award of government contracts, French companies must be considered first, and only after that these countries could look elsewhere. It doesn’t matter if the african countries can obtain better value for money elsewhere.

 

As consequence, in many of the french ex-colonies, all the majors economical assets of the countries are in the hand of french expatriates. In Côte d’Ivoire, for example, french companies own and control all the major utilities – water, electricity, telephone, transport, ports and major banks. The same in commerce, construction, and agriculture.

 

In the end, as I’ve written in a previous article, Africans now Live On A Continent Owned by Europeans!

   

#5. Exclusive right to supply military equipment and Train the country military officers

Through a sophisticated scheme of scholarships, grants, and “Defense Agreements” attached to the Colonial Pact, the africans should send their senior military officers for training in France or French ran-training facilities.

 

The situation on the continent now is that France has trained hundreds, even thousands of traitors and nourish them. They are dormant when they are not needed, and activated when needed for a coup or any other purpose!

   

#6. Right for France to pre-deploy troops and intervene military in the country to defend its interests

Under something called “Defence Agreements” attached to the Colonial Pact, France had the legal right to intervene militarily in the African countries, and also to station troops permanently in bases and military facilities in those

countries, run entirely by the French.

 

French military bases in Africa

 

French-military-bases-in-africa

 

When President Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d’Ivoire tried to end the French exploitation of the country, France organized a coup. During the long process to oust Gbagbo, France tanks, helicopter gunships and Special Forces intervened directly in the conflit, fired on civilians and killed many.

 

To add insult to injury, France estimated that the French business community had lost several millions of dollars when in the rush to leave Abidjan in 2006 the French Army massacred 65 unarmed civilians and wounded 1,200 others.

 

After France succeeded the coup, and transferred power to Alassane Outtara, France requested Ouattara government to pay compensation to French business community for the losses during the civil war.

 

Indeed the Ouattara government paid them twice what they said they had lost in leaving.

   

#7. Obligation to make French the official language of the country and the language for education

Oui, Monsieur. Vous devez parlez français, la langue de Molière!

 

A French language and culture dissemination organization has been created called “Francophonie” with several satellites and affiliates organizations supervised by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.

   

#8. Obligation to use France colonial money FCFA

That’s the real milk cow for France, but it’s such an evil system even denounced by the European Union, but France is not ready to move from that colonial system which puts about 500 billions dollars from Africa to its treasury.

 

During the introduction of Euro currency in Europe, other european countries discovered the french exploitation scheme. Many, specially the nordic countries, were appalled and suggested France get rid of the system, but unsuccessfully.

   

#9. Obligation to send France annual balance and reserve report.

Without the report, no money.

 

Anyway the secretary of the Central banks of the ex-colonies, and the secretary of the bi-annual meeting of the Ministers of Finance of the ex-colonies is carried out by France Central bank / Treasury.

   

#10. Renonciation to enter into military alliance with any other country unless authorized by France

African countries in general are the ones with will less regional military alliances. Most of the countries have only military alliances with their ex-colonisers! (funny, but you can’t do better!).

 

In the case France ex-colonies, France forbid them to seek other military alliance except the one it offered them.

   

#11. Obligation to ally with France in situation of war or global crisis

Over one million africans soldiers fought for the defeat of nazism and fascism during the second world war.

 

Their contribution is often ignored or minimized, but when you think that it took only 6 weeks for Germany to defeat France in 1940, France knows that Africans could be useful for fighting for la “Grandeur de la France” in the future.

   

There is something almost psychopathic in the relation of France with Africa.

 

First, France is severely addicted to looting and exploitation of Africa since the time of slavery. Then there is this complete lack of creativity and imagination of french elite to think beyond the past and tradition.

 

Finally, France has 2 institutions which are completely frozen into the past, inhabited by paranoid and psychopath “haut fonctionnaires” who spread fear of apocalypse if France would change, and whose ideological reference still comes from the 19th century romanticism: they are the Minister of Finance and Budget of France and the Minister of Foreign affairs of France.

 

These 2 institutions are not only a threat to Africa, but to the French themselves.

   

It’s up to us as African to free ourselves, without asking for permission, because I still can’t Understand for example how 450 french soldiers in Côte d’Ivoire could control a population of 20 millions people?

 

(Extrait de : panafricanvisions.com/2014/14-african-countries-forced-fr...)

 

blogs.mediapart.fr/jecmaus/blog/300114/franceafrique-14-a...

 

In its report ‘Links with Africa,’ Jersey Finance claims it can help ‘offer a safe business environment while helping Africa fulfil its economic potential.’ The reality might be somewhat different. This article explores how the activities of multinational corporations operating out of Jersey contribute to the modern looting of the continent.

A history of exploitation

Some of the earliest contacts between African kingdoms and European explorers were harmonious and based on mutual respect. In the seventeenth century Dutch traders marvelled at the riches of Benin and stood in awe of its cultural achievements. A century earlier, Portuguese missions established trading relationships with Nzinga Mbemba of the Kongo, whom they managed to convert to Christianity, naming him Afonso I.

With the opening up of the Americas and the establishment of the plantation economy there, relationships rapidly turned sour. Mbemba wrote to the Portuguese monarch in 1526, complaining about the depopulation of his territories at the hand of the Portuguese:

“And we cannot reckon how great the damage is, since the mentioned merchants are taking every day our natives, sons of the land and the sons of our noblemen and vassals and our relatives, because the thieves and men of bad conscience grab them wishing to have the things and wares of this Kingdom which they are ambitious of; they grab them and get them to be sold; and so great, Sir, is the corruption and licentiousness that our country is being completely depopulated, and Your Highness should not agree with this nor accept it as in your service.”

Alas, the stage was set for one of the most heinous crimes in history; the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

Over the course of the next few centuries, Europe grew astonishingly rich through enslaving, looting and exploiting the continent which arguably possesses the richest deposits of resources found anywhere. The incredible wealth of Africa ended up in Europe, contributing to the flourishing of cities like Amsterdam, Antwerp, Liverpool, Lisbon and others, which since then boast majestic architecture and breathe the atmosphere of cosmopolitanism.

All of this was created and made possible by the blood and sweat of African slaves, while later, the proceeds of colonialism further added to the grandeur of European civilisation and the misery of many African communities.

In fact, historically, Britain owes much of its wealth and power to the exploitation of the African continent. In the Channel 4 documentary The Empire Pays Back, Robert Beckford estimates Britain’s debt to Africans in the continent and diaspora to be in the trillions of pounds. Without Africa and its Caribbean plantation extensions, the modern world as we know it would not exist. Britain financed its Industrial Revolution through profits from slavery and it found markets for its commodities in its African colonies.

Today, exploitation is still in full swing, albeit through more subtle mechanisms. Europe no longer loots Africa directly, by kidnapping its people or stealing its gold, but by enlisting the support of local elites and locking its people into vicious economic structures which robs the continent of billions every year. Jersey plays a pivotal role in this modern form of piracy.

The UK, Africa and the Jersey connection

When Britain was finally forced to give up its African empire in the wake of WW2 and the rise of local resistance movements, it attempted to maintain trading privileges with some of its former colonies, either through the Commonwealth or the so-called Bretton-Woods institutions like the World Bank and the IMF.

Britain’s primary objective was to get its hands on Africa’s riches. In 1968, the Foreign Office writes: ‘(…) we should bend our energies to help produce a world economic climate in which our external trade, our income from invisibles and our balance of payments can prosper.’

Two years later, a report entitled ‘Priorities in our Foreign Policy’ noted that Britain needed to promote ‘the protection of our interests in the rest of the world from which so many of our raw materials derive’.

There are many more examples which highlight the priorities of Britain’s policies regarding Africa. While British leaders have been keen to point out Britain’s role as an aid-provider, assisting with the development of emerging African economies, the reality is somewhat different. In spite of official rhetoric, Britain’s policies have been directed at profit making, as well as creating the structures which ensure a steady flow of these profits.

A New Scramble for Africa

While the world speaks about an ‘African Renaissance’ and the G20 congratulates Africa on its economic growth, it fails to mention that most of the wealth generated on the continent does not actually remain there; it is owned by foreign companies registered in tax havens. Research by the NGO War on Want in 2016 revealed that 101 companies, most of them British control $305 billion worth of platinum, $276 billion worth of oil and $216 billion worth of coal at current market prices. They furthermore own ‘mines or mineral licences in 37 African countries and control vast swathes of Africa’s land: their concessions cover a staggering 1.03 million square kilometres on the continent. This is over four times the size of the UK and nearly one twentieth of sub-Saharan Africa’s total land area.’

Where Africa receives aid or foreign investment, this is usually conditional and tied to a strict regime of liberalising markets, deregulation and attractive taxation practices for foreign corporations. Consequently, Africa annually receives $134 billion in aid and foreign investment, but at the same time, $192 billion flows elsewhere, mostly in the form of profits for multinational corporations, tax evasion and structural adjustment. It is no coincidence that the profits from African ventures end up in the same countries which provide aid and investment to the continent. Africa is thus a ‘developing’ continent in the full and active sense of the world. Its wealth helps ‘develop’ the rich world, currently at $58 billion a year.

Even where African countries do receive foreign direct investment (FDI), this only very rarely benefits the country itself as investment concentrates on mergers and takeovers of existing businesses, benefiting the larger players on the market and in effect pushing out local competitors. Multinational corporations do not integrate themselves into African communities, but remain enclaves, relying on international suppliers and employment, while local employment is often highly exploitative. Additionally, they are often major polluters, destroying far more livelihoods than they create. One only has to look at the havoc Shell has wreaked in the Niger Delta.

Now surely, the activities of multinational corporations could potentially benefit African nations in terms of employment, investment and trade. There are some isolated examples of this, for instance in Nigeria or South Africa. However, World Trade Organisation rules make it impossible for African governments to insist on employing locals or purchasing products locally, as this is considered to be a ‘distortion’ of market economics, in a fine example of how international structures and British profitability intertwine.

One of the biggest factors in the modern looting of Africa has to do with taxation. It is in this field that Jersey plays an enormous role.

Illicit Financial Flows and Jersey finance

Enormous amounts of money leave Africa annually through what are called illicit financial flows (IFFS). While the true size of illicit flows are hard to pinpoint exactly, Global Financial Integrity estimates that Africa’s outflows were almost 50% higher than all other developing countries. These illicit flows are not necessarily illegal, albeit morally questionable and include practices of tax avoidance and commercial transactions aimed at exploiting fiscal loopholes.

Considering that half of all world trade passes through tax havens or so-called ‘secrecy jurisdictions,’ we can see how Jersey plays its part.

In fact, in 2011, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man were the largest providers of Foreign Direct Investment to the Global South. NGO Action Aid has demonstrated that one in every two dollars of corporate investment in Africa comes from an offshore jurisdiction. As mentioned before, these investments rarely benefit local communities and are instead aimed at generating profits, before re-funnelling them back into the structures of the corporation.

The previously mentioned report by War on Want focuses on mineral companies, as they provide a huge source of potential revenues for African countries. The following companies are (partly) based in Jersey and, consequently, benefit from some of the expertise Jersey has to offer.

The main way through which Jersey’s tax structures help these corporations funnel proceeds out of African countries is known as trade mispricing.

Trade mispricing

Multinational companies have become experts in manipulating the prices and costs of their products to reduce the tax on them. So a company mining in Ghana will sell its products to its parent company based in a tax haven at a vastly reduced price, virtually eliminating its tax liability in Africa. Its parent company will then sell those same products on the global market, charging market prices, whilst paying virtually no tax in the tax haven they are based. Two governments miss out on tax and the company profits.

Another way in which companies will rout the system is when an African company will hire expert consultants who work for the same company, based in Jersey or another tax haven. The offshore company will charge disproportionate high prices for their ‘services’, causing their African subsidiary to register low profits and in some cases even losses, reducing their tax liability. Parent companies however, can add the payments for their ‘services’ to their profits, on which they are not taxed in the offshore jurisdiction in which they are based. ‘Services’ can include loans at exceptionally high interest rates.

The whole system is clouded in high levels of secrecy, with companies often not obliged to disclose information about who runs them, making it hard to expose these practices, let alone to crack down on them.

Companies operating from Jersey

Examples of mineral companies operating out of Jersey include Glencore, whose practices in Zambia have come under scrutiny for environmental degradation, labour abuses and tax avoidance. The $233 billion annual profits in 2013, amounted to just under ten times Zambia’s GDP and calls into question the extraordinary power these multinational corporations hold over governments, reducing public accountability and redistributing global wealth upwards. Is it a coincidence that it is extractivist companies like Glencore and Bellzone Mining record ever-larger profits, while both global inequality and climate change are spinning out of control?

Glencore Plc, its registered office in Jersey, also holds interests in Western Sahara, a territory illegally occupied by Morocco since 1975. By doing so, the company violates international law as defined by the United Nations and it also stands in defiance of the Sarahawi people, who were driven from their land by the Moroccan invasion and have since then fought for self-determination. By doing business with the Moroccan government for mining activities in Western Sahara, Glencore can be held accountable for boosting the international legitimacy of Morocco’s illegal occupation, financing its military efforts in suppressing dissent, while undermining the UN peace process.

Is this the type of ‘potential for prosperity’ Jersey Finance talks about in its report about increasing Jersey’s links to Africa? Are we hosting some of the world economy’s largest pirates, whose operations span the entire globe, making a massive contribution to the escalation of inequality everywhere?

Does our island play a major role in the modern looting of Africa?

 

medium.com/nine-by-five-media/looting-africa-299932cc22f1

A dark heart isn't particularly implied as cruel, but saddened by the consequence for being misunderstood!

Schweiz / Uri - Schöllenen

 

Schöllenen Gorge (German: Schöllenenschlucht; Schöllenen) is a gorge formed by the upper Reuss in the Swiss canton of Uri between the towns of Göschenen to the north and Andermatt to the south. It provides access to the St Gotthard Pass.

 

Enclosed by sheer granite walls, its road and railway require several spectacular bridges and tunnels, of which the most famous is a stone bridge known as the Teufelsbrücke ("Devil's Bridge").

 

Geology

 

The lower Urseren marks the boundary of the Aar massif with the autochthonous sediment of the Gotthard nappe ("Urseren-Zone"). In Altkirch quarry, on the southern end of the gorge, Triassic and Jurassic sediments are exposed. In the Schöllenen Gorge (at the Urnerloch tunnel), the Reuss enters the cristalline Aar massif (Aar granite), the gorge itself being an exemplary late alpine fluvial Water gap.

 

History

 

Early history

 

The name of the gorge is from Rumantsch *scalinae ("stairs, steps"); recorded in German as Schellenden in 1420. It formed the upper limit of Alemannic settlement in the Alps prior to the 12th century, and the border between the bishoprics of Constance and Raetia Curensis.

 

The gorge appears to have been passable by a difficult footpath by the mid-12th century. This path was forced to avoid the southern part of the gorge, taking a steep ascent from Brüggliwaldboden, climbing above 1,800 m before descending to Hospental via Bäzberg. The eponymous scalinae presumably referred to steps hewn into the rock to facilitate the ascent.

 

The gorge was first opened up as a bridle path with the construction of a wooden bridge in c. 1230 (before 1234). This was of great strategic importance because it opened the Gotthard Pass, with historical consequences both regionally and to the Italian politics of the Holy Roman Empire.

 

The original bridle path across Schöllenen was realised by means of a wooden ledge attached to the rock wall, known as Twärrenbrücke, and a wooden bridge across the gorge, recorded as stiebende Brugge ("spray bridge") in 1306. The Twärrenbrücke (from twer "across, athwart") rested on beams laid across the gorge. A tradition imagining it as supported by hanging chains developed only after its collapse in the 18th century. The technology associated with the construction of the Twärrenbrücke is attributed to the Walser, who are known to have begun settlement in Urseren still in the 12th century. 16th-century historiography attributes the construction of the bridge to one Heini (Heinrich), blacksmith in Göschenen. Robert Schedler published a historical novel surrounding the construction of the Schöllenen bridle path, Der Schmied von Göschenen, in 1919.

 

Devil's Bridge legend

 

In Early Modern Switzerland, a legend developed which attributed the construction of the bridge to the Devil. This is a motif attached to numerous old bridges in Europe (see Devil's Bridge for a comparative account). The name Teiffels Brucken ("Devil's Bridge", modern German: Teufelsbrücke) is first recorded in 1587.

 

The legend is related by Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1716). According to Scheuchzer, he was told a local legend according to which the people of Uri recruited the Devil for the difficult task of building the bridge. The Devil requested to receive the first thing to pass the bridge in exchange for his help. To trick the Devil, who expected to receive the soul of the first man to pass the bridge, the people of Uri sent across a dog by throwing a piece of bread, and the dog was promptly torn to pieces by the Devil. Enraged at having been tricked the Devil went to fetch a large rock to smash the bridge, but, carrying the rock back to the bridge, he came across a holy man who "scolded him" (der ihn bescholten) and forced him to drop the rock, which could still be seen on the path below Göschenen. A modern retelling was published by Meinrad Lienert, Schweizer Sagen und Heldengeschichten (1915). According to Lienert's version, a goat was sent across the bridge instead of a dog, and instead of the holy man, the Devil, when he was taking a break exhausted from carrying the rock, came across an old woman who marked the rock with a cross, forcing the Devil to abandon it and flee.

 

The legend does not appear to have existed before the 16th century, and its origin in local tradition is uncertain. Lauf-Belart (1924) surmised that the name Teufelsbrücke was originally due to an erroneous interpretation by learned travellers, which only in the 17th century gave rise to the local legend involving the Devil.

 

The Devil's Stone (Teufelsstein) is a large block of granite near Göschenen, with a height of c. 12 m and a mass of c. 2200 tons. In 1887, it was sold to the Maestrani Schweizer Schokoladenfabrik for 80 francs. Painted yellow, it now served as an advertisement for chocolate. In 1923, there were plans to demolish it, but it was preserved on the initiative of Max Oechslin, president of Naturforschende Gesellschaft Uri. In 1970, the Devil's Stone was again scheduled for destruction, to make way for the N2 motorway. This time, there was a broad movement to preserve it, and in 1971, federal authorities agreed to move the stone, with projected costs of 250,000 francs (of which the canton of Uri was to contribute 7,000). This led to a popular campaign opposing the plan because the cost was seen as excessive. The liberal newspaper Gotthard-Post proposed to spend the money on the construction of a retirement home instead, collecting 1,000 signatures in support. The cantonal government now argued that there was no legal basis for the destruction of the stone because it had been the property of Naturforschende Gesellschaft Uri since 1925. On 1 September 1972, the Federal Council finally agreed to moving the stone, and it was moved 127 metres in an operation costing CHF 335,000. It is now situated on the ramp of exit 40 (Göschenen) of the motorway, at the entrance of Gotthard Road Tunnel, visible both from the railway and from the motorway.

 

Early modern history

 

In 1595 the wooden Stiebender Steg bridge was replaced by a stone bridge which came to be known as Devil's Bridge (German: Teufelsbrücke).

 

On St Patrick's Day (17 March) 1608, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, was fleeing from Ulster to Rome with 98 of his fellow-Gaels. As they crossed the Devil's Bridge, one of the horses carrying his fortune plunged into the torrent below; the horse was recovered, but not the gold, which was lost in the raging torrent

 

A new road, including a tunnel with a length c. 60 m (200 ft),[14] replacing the Twärrenbrücke was built in 1707/08. The tunnel, constructed by Pietro Morettini (1660–1737) and known as the Urnerloch ("Uri Hole"), was the first road-tunnel to be built in the Alps. Following its construction, the Twärrenbrücke was no longer maintained and was allowed to collapse.

 

Hans Rudolf Schinz in 1783 mentions another bridge, marking the border between Uri and Urseren, known as Mittelbrücke or Tanzenbein.

 

In September 1799 the Teufelsbrücke became one of the sites of the battles at the Saint-Gotthard, and one of the most dramatic battles of Suvorov's Italian and Swiss expedition during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The bridge was heavily damaged by the retreating French army. As a result, the route's trade with Italy shifted to the Splügenpass. In the 1890s the Russian Empire commissioned the Suvorov monument, just south of the Devil's Bridge.

 

Modern engineering

 

A replacement cut stone bridge was planned and executed by Karl Emanuel Müller (1804–1869), the cantonal engineer in charge of the stretch of the new Gotthard road between Göschenen and Hospental. Construction took 10 years, and was the subject of a famous painting by Karl Blechen in 1830–1832. The new bridge allowed (single-lane) motorized traffic, opening the Gotthard Pass to automobiles. The 1595 bridge fell out of use after the completion of the second bridge in 1830, and it collapsed in 1888.

 

The Gotthard railway project of 1872 avoided the Schöllenen Gorge by building the Gotthard Rail Tunnel under it, but the Schöllenenbahn, a rack railway, was built through the gorge in 1917. The modern road bridge and tunnel date to 1958. It served as the main road across the Central Alps during the 1960s and 1970s, but since the construction of the Gotthard Road Tunnel in 1980 it has only been of regional importance, connecting Uri with canton of Valais and the Surselva.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Die Schöllenen (rätoromanisch La Scalina) ist eine Schlucht im schweizerischen Kanton Uri. Durch die Schlucht fliesst von der Gemeinde Andermatt im Süden die Reuss nach Göschenen im Norden. Über den Fluss führt im oberen Teil der Schlucht die bekannte Teufelsbrücke sowie nahe Göschenen die wiedererrichtete Häderlisbrücke.

 

Die wilde Schöllenenschlucht war seit alters ein nur schwer zu überwindendes Hindernis auf der Route über den Gotthardpass, die den Kanton Uri mit dem Tessin verbindet. Vermutlich um 1200 waren es Walser aus dem gegen Norden nur über den Bäzberg zu erreichenden Urserental, welche die Schlucht erstmals mit dem Bau eines für damalige Verhältnisse waghalsigen Saumweges mit mehreren Brücken begehbar machten, was einen bedeutenden Schritt in der Entwicklung der Schweiz darstellt.

 

Name

 

Früher bestand vom Bäzberg hinunter in die Schöllenen ein in den Fels gehauener Stufenweg. Die Einmündungsstelle in die Schlucht heisst Steiglen, was mit dem lateinischen Wort scalineae (= Treppe) und dem rätoromanischen Wort scalina als Ursprung der Bezeichnung Schöllenen übereinstimmt.

 

Geschichte

 

Twärrenbrücke

 

Bevor die erste Brücke über die Reuss gebaut werden konnte, musste zuerst die Schöllenen erschlossen werden. Da der harte, fast senkrecht zur Reuss abfallende Fels den Bau eines festen Weges unmöglich machte, kam gemäss der Überlieferung um 1220 ein Schmied aus Göschenen oder Andermatt auf die Idee, an der Felswand entlang des Chilchbergs Ketten zu befestigen, an denen aus dem Fels ragende Tragebalken hingen. Über diese Querbalken wurden Bretter gelegt, welche die eigentliche Brücke bildeten. Eine andere Theorie über die Bauweise des Steges besagt, dass in ausgeschlagenen Nischen lagernde Querbalken von Fels zu Fels gespannt waren, auf denen die eigentlichen Bretter des Steges lagen.

 

Es ist denkbar, dass die Walser bei der Errichtung des Weges durch die Schöllenen eine wichtige Rolle spielten. Man nimmt an, dass sie über technische Fähigkeiten verfügten, die sie beim Bau von Wasserleitungen (Suonen) in unwegsamem Gelände und von Wegen und Brücken in den steilen Walliser Tälern erworben hatten.

 

Über das genaue Datum des Baus besteht keine Einigkeit. Die erste überlieferte Beschreibung einer Reise über den Gotthard datiert aus dem Jahr 1234 und stammt vom Bremer Domherrn und Abt Albert von Stade.

 

Die 60 Meter lange Twärrenbrücke bestand bis zum Jahr 1707. Der Name Twärrenbrücke stammt von den quer liegenden Hölzern, über die der Weg führte. Oftmals wird die Twärrenbrücke irrtümlich als stiebender Steg bezeichnet. Der stiebende Steg jedoch ist eine andere Bezeichnung für die erste Teufelsbrücke.

 

Erste Teufelsbrücke

 

Die erste hölzerne Brücke über die Reuss wurde um 1230 errichtet. 1595 wurde sie durch eine massive Steinbrücke ersetzt. Nach Fertigstellung der zweiten Brücke 1830 wurde sie nicht mehr begangen und dem Verfall überlassen. Am 2. August 1888 stürzte sie ein. Auf der nördlichen Flussseite sind ihre Fundamente noch sichtbar.

 

Ein angelehnter Nachbau der zerstörten ersten steinernen Teufelsbrücke steht seit 1837 im Park Klein-Glienicke in Berlin, der eine Alpenüberquerung nachahmt: Der nördliche Parkteil repräsentiert mit seinen waldartigen Partien die deutschen Lande, der südlichere Parkteil zeigt hingegen weiteres, offenes Gelände wie in Italien. Dazwischen stellt ein für Berliner Verhältnisse beachtlicher Höhenzug die Alpen dar.

 

Erster Tunnel: Das Urnerloch

 

Da Brücke und Steg jedoch immer wieder durch die Reuss beschädigt wurden – 1707 riss eine grosse Überschwemmung die Twärrenbrücke weg – wurde nach einer anderen Möglichkeit gesucht, den Verkehr durch die Schlucht zu leiten. Noch ist eine Urkunde erhalten, in der es heisst: „Nachdem durch ein yberschwänchlich waszerflusz die brig, so von holz war, hinweg genommen, so ist mit Einsatz unsern gnäd. Herren von Ury Erachtet worden, durch den gählingen bärg zuo brächen, damit fürderhin die groszennkösten gedachter Holzinen Erspahrt werde.“

 

Am 20. September 1707 erhielt der aus Cerentino in der Valle Maggia stammende Festungsbaumeister Pietro Morettini, ein Schüler des französischen Festungsbaumeisters und Architekten Vauban, den Auftrag, eine neuwe Strass durch den lebendigen Felssen zu bauen. Mit dem Werk sei innerhalb von zwei Wochen zu beginnen und bis zur Vollendung durchzuführen, damit man spätestens im Frühling 1709 ungehindert und frei passieren könne. Den Vertrag unterzeichneten Morettini und im Namen des Thals Urssern Johannes Russi, der von 1700 bis 1702 Talammann im Urserental war.

 

Zur allgemeinen Verwunderung beendete man den 64 Meter langen Tunnel, den ersten Tunnel einer Alpenstrasse, schon nach elf Monaten, um den 15. August 1708. Der Ingenieur hatte groß Verdruss gehabt, den das Wärchkt ist schwär gewässen. Die Kosten fielen höher aus als berechnet, nicht durch die Schuld Morettinis: ohne seine Müehe undt Versaumbnuss. Gemäss Vertrag wären es 1680 französische Taler gewesen, tatsächlich kostete der Bau 3080. Damit Morettini keinen Schaden davontrug, sicherten ihm die Urner 1400 französische Taler als Trichkgelt zu. Ursern bezahlte und durfte dafür die Zölle erhöhen, bis die Auslagen gedeckt waren.

 

Zweiter Koalitionskrieg

 

Während des Zweiten Koalitionskriegs fanden in der Umgebung der Schöllenenschlucht am 25. September 1799 Kampfhandlungen zwischen napoleonischen Truppen unter Claude-Jacques Lecourbe (1758–1815) und von Feldmarschall Alexander Suworow befehligten russischen Truppen statt. Die erste Teufelsbrücke wurde dabei schwer beschädigt und unpassierbar. Erst über dreissig Jahre später wurde mit der zweiten Teufelsbrücke Ersatz geschaffen.

 

In der Nähe der Teufelsbrücke steht das 1898 errichtete Suworow-Denkmal, das an die Schlacht erinnert.

 

Zweite Teufelsbrücke

 

Nach dem Ende der Koalitionskriege 1815 herrschte im Kanton Uri wirtschaftliche Not. Brücke und Passweg konnten aufgrund fehlender Mittel vorerst nicht wieder begehbar gemacht werden, und der Verkehr nach Süden wurde zunehmend über den Splügenpass abgewickelt. Erst 1820 konnte der Auftrag für die Errichtung der zweiten Teufelsbrücke erteilt werden, die nach zehnjähriger Bauzeit fertiggestellt wurde und auch heute noch besteht. Sie wird heute vom Langsamverkehr genutzt und ist unter anderem Bestandteil der Nord-Süd-Route.

  

Schöllenenbahn

 

Die rund vier Kilometer lange Schöllenenbahn verbindet seit 1917 als zweite Verkehrsachse Göschenen mit Andermatt. Die Zahnradbahnstrecke weist eine Maximalsteigung von 179 Promille auf.

 

Staumauer

 

Zwischen 1920 und 1944 wurden mehrere Projekte für Wasserkraftwerke ausgearbeitet, die den Bau einer bis zu 208 Meter hohen Staumauer beim Urnerloch vorgesehen hätten. Es wäre ein Stausee im Urserental entstanden, der die Umsiedlung der Dörfer Andermatt, Hospental und Realp nötig gemacht hätte, wovon etwa 2000 Personen betroffen gewesen wären. Wegen des Widerstands der lokalen Bevölkerungen wurde das Projekt eines Urserenkraftwerkes 1954 aufgegeben. Anstelle dessen wurde im Urnerloch eine Wasserfassung für das Kraftwerk Göschenen gebaut.[5]

 

Dritte Teufelsbrücke

 

Die zweite Teufelsbrücke und die schmale Strasse waren Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts den Anforderungen des modernen Verkehrs nicht mehr gewachsen. 1958 wurde daher rund 30 Meter östlich der zweiten Brücke und etwas erhöht die dritte Teufelsbrücke eröffnet, die direkt in den ebenfalls neu erbauten Fadeggtunnel übergeht. Mit zwei Spuren konnte sie den zunehmenden Verkehr besser aufnehmen.

 

Über der Brücke prangt an der Felswand ein markantes Teufelsbild des Urner Malers Heinrich Danioth, geschaffen 1950 in Ölfarbe. 2008 wurde das rote Bild bei einem Vandalenakt mit blauer Ölfarbe beschmiert und darauf im Sommer 2009 aufwendig restauriert.

 

Sage zur Teufelsbrücke

 

Einer Sage zufolge wurde die erste Teufelsbrücke vom Teufel errichtet. Die Urner scheiterten immer wieder an der Errichtung einer Brücke. Schliesslich rief ein Landammann ganz verzweifelt aus: „Do sell der Tyfel e Brigg bue!“ (Da soll der Teufel eine Brücke bauen!) Kaum ausgesprochen, stand dieser schon vor der Urner Bevölkerung und schlug ihnen einen Pakt vor. Er würde die Brücke bauen und als Gegenleistung bekomme er die Seele desjenigen, der als Erster die Brücke überquere. Nachdem der Teufel die Brücke gebaut hatte, schickten die schlauen Urner einen Geissbock über die Brücke. Der Teufel war über diesen Trick sehr erzürnt und holte im Wassener Wald einen haushohen Stein, mit dem er die Brücke zerschlagen wollte. Es begegnete ihm aber eine fromme Frau, die ihn zu einer Rast während seiner schweren Arbeit überreden konnte. Während der Teufel ruhte, ritzte sie ein Kreuz auf den Stein. Der Teufel war nun nicht mehr in der Lage, den Stein aufzuheben und sei seither im Tal nie mehr gesehen worden.

 

Der 13 Meter hohe Felsblock aus Aaregranit unterhalb von Göschenen wird „Teufelsstein“ genannt. Für 80 Franken verkaufte der Bauer Josmarie Dittli im Jahr 1885 seine Matte mit dem Stein darauf an die Schokoladefabrik Maestrani. Fortan wurde der Stein als Werbefläche für Maestrani verwendet. Der Stein wurde braun bemalt und mit dem Schriftzug Maestrani versehen. Im Jahr 1905 wurde dieses Ärgernis sogar nochmals aufgefrischt. 20 Jahre später verschenkte Maestrani den Stein an die Naturforschende Gesellschaft Uri.[9] Die NGU kämpfte 50 Jahre später gegen die Sprengung des Steins zusammen mit dem Gemeinderat von Göschenen, der Urner Regierung, den Zeitungen, der Schuljugend oder der «Eidgenössischen Kommission für Natur- und Heimatschutz». Stattdessen wurde 1973 der rund 2000 Tonnen schwere Fels für damals 300'000 Franken um 127 Meter verschoben, um der Gotthardautobahn Platz zu machen. Die Verschiebung des Teufelssteins wird in einer modernen Erweiterung der Volkssage für die Häufung von Verkehrsunfällen bei Kilometer 4 des 17 Kilometer langen Gotthard-Strassentunnels verantwortlich gemacht. Die Naturforschende Gesellschaft Uri ist vertraglich verpflichtet, den Stein bis ans Ende aller Tage zu bewahren.

 

Geologie

 

Die Schöllenenschlucht entstand durch Auswaschungen der Reuss im Aarmassiv.[12] Das hiesige Gestein ist gleich- und mittelkörniger Biotitgranit, mit zum Teil schwach grünlich gefärbten Feldspäten. Die Klüfte in der Schöllenenschlucht sind durch Risse während der Extension entstanden.

 

(Wikipedia)

Berlin boasts two zoological gardens, a consequence of decades of political and administrative division of the city. The older one, called Zoo Berlin, founded in 1844, is situated in what is now called the "City West". It is the most species-rich zoo worldwide. The other one, called Tierpark Berlin ("Animal Park"), was established on the long abandoned premises of Friedrichsfelde Manor Park in the eastern borough of Lichtenberg, in 1954. Covering 160 ha, it is the largest landcape zoo in Europe.

 

Rund 15 Prozent der Erdoberfläche werden von Savannen bedeckt. Damit gehören sie zu den größten und wichtigsten Lebensräumen des Planeten. Seit dem 26. Mai 2023 wird Besucher*innen im Tierpark Berlin ein Einblick in diese faszinierende Landschaft gewährt und sie können mehr über die unterschiedlichen Bewohner der ostafrikanischen Savanne und ihren natürlichen Lebensraum erfahren.

Ein wahrer Höhepunkt der neuen Tierpark-Savanne ist der 120 Meter lange Giraffenpfad: Hier werden die Gäste den bis zu fünf Meter hohen Grazien der Savanne zukünftig auf Augenhöhe begegnen können – wer sich traut, bahnt sich den Weg durch den Wald bis zu den Aussichtsplattformen über eine abenteuerliche Hängebrücke. Der Tierpark Berlin erreicht mit der Eröffnung der Afrikanischen Savannenlandschaft ein neues Etappenziel auf seinem Weg zu einem Zoo der Zukunft. Seit knapp neun Jahren wird der 1955 gegründete und 160 Hektar große Tierpark Berlin zu einem naturnahen Geozoo umgebaut. Um einen Einblick in den Lebensraum der einzelnen Tierarten und deren Interaktionen, Besonderheiten und Problematiken zu ermöglichen, werden die Tiere im Tierpark größtenteils nach geografischen Gesichtspunkten zu sehen sein.

 

www.tierpark-berlin.de/de/aktuelles/alle-news/artikel/wil...

 

Around 15 per cent of the earth's surface is covered by savannahs. This makes them one of the largest and most important habitats on the planet. Since 26 May 2023, visitors to Tierpark Berlin have been given an insight into this fascinating landscape and can learn more about the different inhabitants of the East African savannah and their natural habitat.

A true highlight of the new zoo savannah is the 120-metre-long giraffe trail: here, guests will be able to meet the up to five-metre-high graces of the savannah at eye level in future - those who dare will make their way through the forest to the viewing platforms via an adventurous suspension bridge. With the opening of the African Savannah Landscape, Tierpark Berlin has reached a new milestone on its way to becoming a zoo of the future. For almost nine years, the 160-hectare Tierpark Berlin, which was founded in 1955, has been transformed into a near-natural geozoo. In order to provide an insight into the habitat of the individual animal species and their interactions, peculiarities and problems, the animals in the zoo will largely be seen according to geographical aspects. www.tierpark-berlin.

 

de/de/aktuelles/alle-news/artikel/wil...

19" x 6" & 19" x 9", ceramic, glass, sliced agate

 

These 2 small pieces were commissioned to hang on either side of an earlier & much larger work, here.

I like that they can also stand on their own :)

 

I'm pleased with this photo because it shows the iridescence of the white tiles (see the large bubble in the upper right). All the white tiles have that special quality which is hard to capture in photos, but give it a magical, ever changing presence in real time :)

After biding goodbye to the strange girl, Seimei and Amadeo headed back home together. The latter firmly refused to hold hands despite Seimei's insistence. He felt bad enough as it was.

They didn’t speak at all, either.

The moment they finally reached their home, a small figure immediately latched itself on the half-demon.

"Mama!"

Seimei blushed, embarrassed.

"Ciel…! I’m always telling you, I'm not a girl...!" But his son’s adorable little pout made him melt, and all other argument just vanished from his mind. He sighed. "Oh well... mama it is. Come here, my sweetheart." And he craddled the boy in his arms, kissing the tip of his nose to make him giggle.

"Uncle Amy?" Ciel peeped from under his "mommy"'s long, dark locks. "Are you okay? You're not hurt.... right?"

The young vampire bit his lower lip. So even the little pest had been worried... great. Now he felt even worse.

"I'm alright." he said simply.

"Good." Ciel nodded, his pout never wavering. "Because… I wasn't worried or anything! I wasn’t! Not one bit, nope, I don’t care at all, you know!" Yeah, right. He didn’t even believe it himself.

The door suddenly swung open behind them, and Requiem entered. He too seemed out of breath. A look of relief crossed his features when his eyes fell on his little brother. But he quickly hid it, replacing it by cold anger.

“Your room. Now.”

Amadeo knew better than to disobey. He followed his brother to his room, and sat silently on the chair. He pressed the Death Note against his chest in a desperate attempt at keeping it concealed – he knew he was in for a good telling-off, and he certainly didn’t want to make matters worse.

Requiem knelt beside him.

“Sei.” he said. “Can you leave us for a moment, please?”

“Ok…” Seimei looked at Amadeo apologetically. “Don’t be too harsh on him... Please? I’m sure he meant no harm…”

But his lover made no sign of acknowledgment. So the demon-boy gave Amadeo one last reassuring smile, then walked away with Ciel.

That left the two brothers all alone…

“So…” Requiem’s tone was ice-cold, and Amadeo instinctively lowered his eyes. “Will you explain me why you had to run away without a word? And in the f*cking middle of the day?!”

The younger one shifted uncomfortably.

“I… I just needed some alone time.”

Requiem raised one eyebrow.

“What “alone time”? Being alone in your room isn’t enough, now? That’s no excuse! You’re hiding something, Amy, and I’m warning you, you’d better not lie to me!”

That was it. Amadeo just couldn’t keep it in anymore; he couldn’t bear his brother’s inquisitive look. He jumped from the chair.

“I wanted to kill your Seimei, okay?!” he snapped, shame, guilt, sadness all forgotten in his fit of anger. “I found that stupid book, a-and I thought about it for days, and I almost did it, almost, since I didn’t know what else I could do to have you look at me again!!!" He paused and breathed deeply. He felt as if a huge weight had being taken off his shoulders... "There. Hope you’re happy now.”

And throwing the Note at his brother’s feet, he ran to his dressing room and slammed the door shut.

 

Sixth part of Amadeo's story~

Aaah… adolescents and their existential crisis XD. My little vampire sure is hot-headed, but he’s not a bad kid! He just needs someone to cool him down~

To be continued…! :)

Hyderabad (Listeni/ˈhaɪdərəˌbæd/ HY-dər-ə-bad; often /ˈhaɪdrəˌbæd/) is the capital of the southern Indian state of Telangana and de jure capital of Andhra Pradesh. Occupying 625 square kilometres along the banks of the Musi River, it has a population of about 6.8 million and a metropolitan population of about 7.75 million, making it the fourth most populous city and sixth most populous urban agglomeration in India. At an average altitude of 542 metres, much of Hyderabad is situated on hilly terrain around artificial lakes, including Hussain Sagar - predating the city's founding - north of the city centre.

 

Established in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, Hyderabad remained under the rule of the Qutb Shahi dynasty for nearly a century before the Mughals captured the region. In 1724, Mughal viceroy Asif Jah I declared his sovereignty and created his own dynasty, known as the Nizams of Hyderabad. The Nizam's dominions became a princely state during the British Raj, and remained so for 150 years, with the city serving as its capital. The city continued as the capital of Hyderabad State after it was brought into the Indian Union in 1948, and became the capital of Andhra Pradesh after the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. Since 1956, Rashtrapati Nilayam in the city has been the winter office of the President of India. In 2014, the newly formed state of Telangana split from Andhra Pradesh and the city became joint capital of the two states, a transitional arrangement scheduled to end by 2025.

 

Relics of Qutb Shahi and Nizam rule remain visible today, with the Charminar - commissioned by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah - coming to symbolise Hyderabad. Golconda fort is another major landmark. The influence of Mughlai culture is also evident in the city's distinctive cuisine, which includes Hyderabadi biryani and Hyderabadi haleem. The Qutb Shahis and Nizams established Hyderabad as a cultural hub, attracting men of letters from different parts of the world. Hyderabad emerged as the foremost centre of culture in India with the decline of the Mughal Empire in the mid-19th century, with artists migrating to the city from the rest of the Indian subcontinent. While Hyderabad is losing its cultural pre-eminence, it is today, due to the Telugu film industry, the country's second-largest producer of motion pictures.

 

Hyderabad was historically known as a pearl and diamond trading centre, and it continues to be known as the City of Pearls. Many of the city's traditional bazaars, including Laad Bazaar, Begum Bazaar and Sultan Bazaar, have remained open for centuries. However, industrialisation throughout the 20th century attracted major Indian manufacturing, research and financial institutions, including Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, the National Geophysical Research Institute and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. Special economic zones dedicated to information technology have encouraged companies from across India and around the world to set up operations and the emergence of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in the 1990s led to the area's naming as India's "Genome Valley". With an output of US$74 billion, Hyderabad is the fifth-largest contributor to India's overall gross domestic product.

 

HISTORY

TOPONYMY

According to John Everett-Heath, the author of Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Place Names, Hyderabad means "Haydar's city" or "lion city", from haydar (lion) and ābād (city). It was named to honour the Caliph Ali Ibn Abi Talib, who was also known as Haydar because of his lion-like valour in battles. Andrew Petersen, a scholar of Islamic architecture, says the city was originally called Baghnagar (city of gardens). One popular theory suggests that Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of the city, named it "Bhaganagar" or "Bhāgnagar" after Bhagmati, a local nautch (dancing) girl with whom he had fallen in love. She converted to Islam and adopted the title Hyder Mahal. The city was renamed Hyderabad in her honour. According to another source, the city was named after Haidar, the son of Quli Qutb Shah.

 

EARLY AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY

Archaeologists excavating near the city have unearthed Iron Age sites that may date from 500 BCE. The region comprising modern Hyderabad and its surroundings was known as Golkonda ("shepherd's hill"), and was ruled by the Chalukya dynasty from 624 CE to 1075 CE. Following the dissolution of the Chalukya empire into four parts in the 11th century, Golkonda came under the control of the Kakatiya dynasty from 1158, whose seat of power was at Warangal, 148 km northeast of modern Hyderabad.

 

The Kakatiya dynasty was reduced to a vassal of the Khilji dynasty in 1310 after its defeat by Sultan Alauddin Khilji of the Delhi Sultanate. This lasted until 1321, when the Kakatiya dynasty was annexed by Malik Kafur, Allaudin Khilji's general. During this period, Alauddin Khilji took the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which is said to have been mined from the Kollur Mines of Golkonda, to Delhi. Muhammad bin Tughluq succeeded to the Delhi sultanate in 1325, bringing Warangal under the rule of the Tughlaq dynasty until 1347 when Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah, a governor under bin Tughluq, rebelled against Delhi and established the Bahmani Sultanate in the Deccan Plateau, with Gulbarga, 200 km west of Hyderabad, as its capital. The Bahmani kings ruled the region until 1518 and were the first independent Muslim rulers of the Deccan.

 

Sultan Quli, a governor of Golkonda, revolted against the Bahmani Sultanate and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty in 1518; he rebuilt the mud-fort of Golconda and named the city "Muhammad nagar". The fifth sultan, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, established Hyderabad on the banks of the Musi River in 1591, to avoid the water shortages experienced at Golkonda. During his rule, he had the Charminar and Mecca Masjid built in the city. On 21 September 1687, the Golkonda Sultanate came under the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after a year-long siege of the Golkonda fort. The annexed area was renamed Deccan Suba (Deccan province) and the capital was moved from Golkonda to Aurangabad, about 550 km northwest of Hyderabad.

 

MODERN HISTORY

In 1713 Farrukhsiyar, the Mughal emperor, appointed Asif Jah I to be Viceroy of the Deccan, with the title Nizam-ul-Mulk (Administrator of the Realm). In 1724, Asif Jah I defeated Mubariz Khan to establish autonomy over the Deccan Suba, named the region Hyderabad Deccan, and started what came to be known as the Asif Jahi dynasty. Subsequent rulers retained the title Nizam ul-Mulk and were referred to as Asif Jahi Nizams, or Nizams of Hyderabad. The death of Asif Jah I in 1748 resulted in a period of political unrest as his sons, backed by opportunistic neighbouring states and colonial foreign forces, contended for the throne. The accession of Asif Jah II, who reigned from 1762 to 1803, ended the instability. In 1768 he signed the treaty of Masulipatnam, surrendering the coastal region to the East India Company in return for a fixed annual rent.

 

In 1769 Hyderabad city became the formal capital of the Nizams. In response to regular threats from Hyder Ali (Dalwai of Mysore), Baji Rao I (Peshwa of the Maratha Empire), and Basalath Jung (Asif Jah II's elder brother, who was supported by the Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau), the Nizam signed a subsidiary alliance with the East India Company in 1798, allowing the British Indian Army to occupy Bolarum (modern Secunderabad) to protect the state's borders, for which the Nizams paid an annual maintenance to the British.

 

Until 1874 there were no modern industries in Hyderabad. With the introduction of railways in the 1880s, four factories were built to the south and east of Hussain Sagar lake, and during the early 20th century, Hyderabad was transformed into a modern city with the establishment of transport services, underground drainage, running water, electricity, telecommunications, universities, industries, and Begumpet Airport. The Nizams ruled their princely state from Hyderabad during the British Raj.

 

After India gained independence, the Nizam declared his intention to remain independent rather than become part of the Indian Union. The Hyderabad State Congress, with the support of the Indian National Congress and the Communist Party of India, began agitating against Nizam VII in 1948. On 17 September that year, the Indian Army took control of Hyderabad State after an invasion codenamed Operation Polo. With the defeat of his forces, Nizam VII capitulated to the Indian Union by signing an Instrument of Accession, which made him the Rajpramukh (Princely Governor) of the state until 31 October 1956. Between 1946 and 1951, the Communist Party of India fomented the Telangana uprising against the feudal lords of the Telangana region. The Constitution of India, which became effective on 26 January 1950, made Hyderabad State one of the part B states of India, with Hyderabad city continuing to be the capital. In his 1955 report Thoughts on Linguistic States, B. R. Ambedkar, then chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution, proposed designating the city of Hyderabad as the second capital of India because of its amenities and strategic central location. Since 1956, the Rashtrapati Nilayam in Hyderabad has been the second official residence and business office of the President of India; the President stays once a year in winter and conducts official business particularly relating to Southern India.

 

On 1 November 1956 the states of India were reorganised by language. Hyderabad state was split into three parts, which were merged with neighbouring states to form the modern states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The nine Telugu- and Urdu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in the Telangana region were merged with the Telugu-speaking Andhra State to create Andhra Pradesh,with Hyderabad as its capital. Several protests, known collectively as the Telangana movement, attempted to invalidate the merger and demanded the creation of a new Telangana state. Major actions took place in 1969 and 1972, and a third began in 2010. The city suffered several explosions: one at Dilsukhnagar in 2002 claimed two lives; terrorist bombs in May and August 2007 caused communal tension and riots; and two bombs exploded in February 2013. On 30 July 2013 the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of India declared that part of Andhra Pradesh would be split off to form a new Telangana state, and that Hyderabad city would be the capital city and part of Telangana, while the city would also remain the capital of Andhra Pradesh for no more than ten years. On 3 October 2013 the Union Cabinet approved the proposal, and in February 2014 both houses of Parliament passed the Telangana Bill. With the final assent of the President of India in June 2014, Telangana state was formed.

 

GEOGRAPHY

TOPOGRAPHY

Situated in the southern part of Telangana in southeastern India, Hyderabad is 1,566 kilometres south of Delhi, 699 kilometres southeast of Mumbai, and 570 kilometres north of Bangalore by road. It lies on the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of the Deccan Plateau. Greater Hyderabad covers 625 km2, making it one of the largest metropolitan areas in India. With an average altitude of 542 metres, Hyderabad lies on predominantly sloping terrain of grey and pink granite, dotted with small hills, the highest being Banjara Hills at 672 metres. The city has numerous lakes referred to as sagar, meaning "sea". Examples include artificial lakes created by dams on the Musi, such as Hussain Sagar (built in 1562 near the city centre), Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar. As of 1996, the city had 140 lakes and 834 water tanks (ponds).

 

CLIMATE

Hyderabad has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen Aw) bordering on a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). The annual mean temperature is 26.6 °C; monthly mean temperatures are 21–33 °C. Summers (March–June) are hot and humid, with average highs in the mid-to-high 30s Celsius; maximum temperatures often exceed 40 °C between April and June. The coolest temperatures occur in December and January, when the lowest temperature occasionally dips to 10 °C. May is the hottest month, when daily temperatures range from 26 to 39 °C; December, the coldest, has temperatures varying from 14.5 to 28 °C.

 

Heavy rain from the south-west summer monsoon falls between June and September, supplying Hyderabad with most of its mean annual rainfall. Since records began in November 1891, the heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24-hour period was 241.5 mm on 24 August 2000. The highest temperature ever recorded was 45.5 °C on 2 June 1966, and the lowest was 6.1 °C on 8 January 1946. The city receives 2,731 hours of sunshine per year; maximum daily sunlight exposure occurs in February.

 

CONSERVATION

Hyderabad's lakes and the sloping terrain of its low-lying hills provide habitat for an assortment of flora and fauna. The forest region in and around the city encompasses areas of ecological and biological importance, which are preserved in the form of national parks, zoos, mini-zoos and a wildlife sanctuary. Nehru Zoological Park, the city's one large zoo, is the first in India to have a lion and tiger safari park. Hyderabad has three national parks (Mrugavani National Park, Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park and Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park), and the Manjira Wildlife Sanctuary is about 50 km from the city. Hyderabad's other environmental reserves are: Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy Botanical Gardens, Shamirpet Lake, Hussain Sagar, Fox Sagar Lake, Mir Alam Tank and Patancheru Lake, which is home to regional birds and attracts seasonal migratory birds from different parts of the world. Organisations engaged in environmental and wildlife preservation include the Telangana Forest Department, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the Animal Welfare Board of India, the Blue Cross of Hyderabad and the University of Hyderabad.

 

ADMINISTRATION

COMMON CAPITAL OF TELANGANA AND ANDHRA PRADESH

According to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 part 2 Section 5: "On and from the appointed day, Hyderabad in the existing State of Andhra Pradesh, shall be the common capital of the State of Telangana and the State of Andhra Pradesh for such period not exceeding ten years. After expiry of the period referred to in sub-section, Hyderabad shall be the capital of the State of Telangana and there shall be a new capital for the State of Andhra Pradesh."

 

The same sections also define that the common capital includes the existing area designated as the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation under the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955. As stipulated in sections 3 and 18 of the Reorganisation Act, city MLAs are members of Telangana state assembly.

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) oversees the civic infrastructure of the city's 18 "circles", which together encompass 150 municipal wards. Each ward is represented by a corporator, elected by popular vote. The corporators elect the Mayor, who is the titular head of GHMC; executive powers rest with the Municipal Commissioner, appointed by the state government. The GHMC carries out the city's infrastructural work such as building and maintenance of roads and drains, town planning including construction regulation, maintenance of municipal markets and parks, solid waste management, the issuing of birth and death certificates, the issuing of trade licences, collection of property tax, and community welfare services such as mother and child healthcare, and pre-school and non-formal education. The GHMC was formed in April 2007 by merging the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) with 12 municipalities of the Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medak districts covering a total area of 625 km2. In the 2009 municipal election, an alliance of the Indian National Congress and Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen formed the majority. The Secunderabad Cantonment Board is a civic administration agency overseeing an area of 40.1 km2, where there are several military camps. The Osmania University campus is administered independently by the university authority.

 

Law and order in Hyderabad city is supervised by the governor of Telangana. The jurisdiction is divided into two police commissionerates: Hyderabad and Cyberabad, which are again divided into four and five police zones respectively. Each zone is headed by a deputy commissioner.

 

The jurisdictions of the city's administrative agencies are, in ascending order of size: the Hyderabad Police area, Hyderabad district, the GHMC area ("Hyderabad city") and the area under the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA). The HMDA is an apolitical urban planning agency that covers the GHMC and its suburbs, extending to 54 mandals in five districts encircling the city. It coordinates the development activities of GHMC and suburban municipalities and manages the administration of bodies such as the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB).

 

As the seat of the government of Telangana, Hyderabad is home to the state's legislature, secretariat and high court, as well as various local government agencies. The Lower City Civil Court and the Metropolitan Criminal Court are under the jurisdiction of the High Court. The GHMC area contains 24 State Legislative Assembly constituencies, which form five constituencies of the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Parliament of India).

 

UTILITY SERVICES

The HMWSSB regulates rainwater harvesting, sewerage services and water supply, which is sourced from several dams located in the suburbs. In 2005, the HMWSSB started operating a 116-kilometre-long water supply pipeline from Nagarjuna Sagar Dam to meet increasing demand. The Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited manages electricity supply. As of October 2014, there were 15 fire stations in the city, operated by the Telangana State Disaster and Fire Response Department. The government-owned India Post has five head post offices and many sub-post offices in Hyderabad, which are complemented by private courier services.

 

POLLUTION CONTROL

Hyderabad produces around 4,500 tonnes of solid waste daily, which is transported from collection units in Imlibun, Yousufguda and Lower Tank Bund to the dumpsite in Jawaharnagar. Disposal is managed by the Integrated Solid Waste Management project which was started by the GHMC in 2010. Rapid urbanisation and increased economic activity has also led to increased industrial waste, air, noise and water pollution, which is regulated by the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TPCB). The contribution of different sources to air pollution in 2006 was: 20–50% from vehicles, 40–70% from a combination of vehicle discharge and road dust, 10–30% from industrial discharges and 3–10% from the burning of household rubbish. Deaths resulting from atmospheric particulate matter are estimated at 1,700–3,000 each year. Ground water around Hyderabad, which has a hardness of up to 1000 ppm, around three times higher than is desirable, is the main source of drinking water but the increasing population and consequent increase in demand has led to a decline in not only ground water but also river and lake levels. This shortage is further exacerbated by inadequately treated effluent discharged from industrial treatment plants polluting the water sources of the city.

 

HEALTHCARE

The Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare is responsible for planning, implementation and monitoring of all facilities related to health and preventive services. As of 2010–11, the city had 50 government hospitals, 300 private and charity hospitals and 194 nursing homes providing around 12,000 hospital beds, fewer than half the required 25,000. For every 10,000 people in the city, there are 17.6 hospital beds, 9 specialist doctors, 14 nurses and 6 physicians. The city also has about 4,000 individual clinics and 500 medical diagnostic centres. Private clinics are preferred by many residents because of the distance to, poor quality of care at and long waiting times in government facilities, despite the high proportion of the city's residents being covered by government health insurance: 24% according to a National Family Health Survey in 2005. As of 2012, many new private hospitals of various sizes were opened or being built. Hyderabad also has outpatient and inpatient facilities that use Unani, homeopathic and Ayurvedic treatments.

 

In the 2005 National Family Health Survey, it was reported that the city's total fertility rate is 1.8, which is below the replacement rate. Only 61% of children had been provided with all basic vaccines (BCG, measles and full courses of polio and DPT), fewer than in all other surveyed cities except Meerut. The infant mortality rate was 35 per 1,000 live births, and the mortality rate for children under five was 41 per 1,000 live births. The survey also reported that a third of women and a quarter of men are overweight or obese, 49% of children below 5 years are anaemic, and up to 20% of children are underweight, while more than 2% of women and 3% of men suffer from diabetes.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

When the GHMC was created in 2007, the area occupied by the municipality increased from 175 km2 to 625 km2. Consequently, the population increased by 87%, from 3,637,483 in the 2001 census to 6,809,970 in the 2011 census, 24% of which are migrants from elsewhere in India, making Hyderabad the nation's fourth most populous city. As of 2011, the population density is 18,480/km2. At the same 2011 census, the Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration had a population of 7,749,334, making it the sixth most populous urban agglomeration in the country. The population of the Hyderabad urban agglomeration has since been estimated by electoral officials to be 9.1 million as of early 2013 but is expected to exceed 10 million by the end of the year. There are 3,500,802 male and 3,309,168 female citizens - a sex ratio of 945 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 926 per 1000. Among children aged 0–6 years, 373,794 are boys and 352,022 are girls - a ratio of 942 per 1000. Literacy stands at 82.96% (male 85.96%; female 79.79%), higher than the national average of 74.04%. The socio-economic strata consist of 20% upper class, 50% middle class and 30% working class.

 

ETHNIC GROUPS, LANGUAGE AND RELIGION

Referred to as "Hyderabadi", residents of Hyderabad are predominantly Telugu and Urdu speaking people, with minority Bengali, Gujarati (including Memon), Kannada (including Nawayathi), Malayalam, Marathi, Marwari, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil and Uttar Pradeshi communities. Hadhrami Arabs, African Arabs, Armenians, Abyssinians, Iranians, Pathans and Turkish people are also present; these communities, of which the Hadhrami are the largest, declined after Hyderabad State became part of the Indian Union, as they lost the patronage of the Nizams.

 

Telugu is the official language of Hyderabad and Urdu is its second language. The Telugu dialect spoken in Hyderabad is called Telangana, and the Urdu spoken is called Dakhani. English is also used. A significant minority speak other languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Bengali and Kannada.

 

Hindus are in the majority. Muslims are present throughout the city and predominate in and around the Old City. There are also Christian, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist and Parsi communities and iconic temples, mosques and churches can be seen. According to the 2001 census, Hyderabad district's religious make-up was: Hindus (55.41%), Muslims (41.17%), Christians (2.43%), Jains (0.43%), Sikhs (0.29%) and Buddhists (0.02%); 0.23% did not state any religion.

 

SLUMS

In the greater metropolitan area, 13% of the population live below the poverty line. According to a 2012 report submitted by GHMC to the World Bank, Hyderabad has 1,476 slums with a total population of 1.7 million, of whom 66% live in 985 slums in the "core" of the city (the part that formed Hyderabad before the April 2007 expansion) and the remaining 34% live in 491 suburban tenements. About 22% of the slum-dwelling households had migrated from different parts of India in the last decade of the 20th century, and 63% claimed to have lived in the slums for more than 10 years. Overall literacy in the slums is 60–80% and female literacy is 52–73%. A third of the slums have basic service connections, and the remainder depend on general public services provided by the government. There are 405 government schools, 267 government aided schools, 175 private schools and 528 community halls in the slum areas. According to a 2008 survey by the Centre for Good Governance, 87.6% of the slum-dwelling households are nuclear families, 18% are very poor, with an income up to ₹20000 (US$300) per annum, 73% live below the poverty line (a standard poverty line recognised by the Andhra Pradesh Government is ₹24000 (US$360) per annum), 27% of the chief wage earners (CWE) are casual labour and 38% of the CWE are illiterate. About 3.72% of the slum children aged 5–14 do not go to school and 3.17% work as child labour, of whom 64% are boys and 36% are girls. The largest employers of child labour are street shops and construction sites. Among the working children, 35% are engaged in hazardous jobs.

 

NEIGHBOURHOODS

The historic city established by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah on the southern side of the Musi River forms the "Old City", while the "New City" encompasses the urbanised area on the northern banks. The two are connected by many bridges across the river, the oldest of which is Purana Pul ("old bridge"). Hyderabad is twinned with neighbouring Secunderabad, to which it is connected by Hussain Sagar.

 

Many historic and tourist sites lie in south central Hyderabad, such as the Charminar, the Mecca Masjid, the Salar Jung Museum, the Nizam's Museum, the Falaknuma Palace, and the traditional retail corridor comprising the Pearl Market, Laad Bazaar and Madina Circle. North of the river are hospitals, colleges, major railway stations and business areas such as Begum Bazaar, Koti, Abids, Sultan Bazaar and Moazzam Jahi Market, along with administrative and recreational establishments such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Telangana Secretariat, the Hyderabad Mint, the Telangana Legislature, the Public Gardens, the Nizam Club, the Ravindra Bharathi, the State Museum, the Birla Temple and the Birla Planetarium.

 

North of central Hyderabad lie Hussain Sagar, Tank Bund Road, Rani Gunj and the Secunderabad Railway Station. Most of the city's parks and recreational centres, such as Sanjeevaiah Park, Indira Park, Lumbini Park, NTR Gardens, the Buddha statue and Tankbund Park are located here. In the northwest part of the city there are upscale residential and commercial areas such as Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Begumpet, Khairatabad and Miyapur. The northern end contains industrial areas such as Sanathnagar, Moosapet, Balanagar, Patancheru and Chanda Nagar. The northeast end is dotted with residential areas. In the eastern part of the city lie many defence research centres and Ramoji Film City. The "Cyberabad" area in the southwest and west of the city has grown rapidly since the 1990s. It is home to information technology and bio-pharmaceutical companies and to landmarks such as Hyderabad Airport, Osman Sagar, Himayath Sagar and Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park.

 

LANDMARKS

Heritage buildings constructed during the Qutb Shahi and Nizam eras showcase Indo-Islamic architecture influenced by Medieval, Mughal and European styles. After the 1908 flooding of the Musi River, the city was expanded and civic monuments constructed, particularly during the rule of Mir Osman Ali Khan (the VIIth Nizam), whose patronage of architecture led to him being referred to as the maker of modern Hyderabad. In 2012, the government of India declared Hyderabad the first "Best heritage city of India".

 

Qutb Shahi architecture of the 16th and early 17th centuries followed classical Persian architecture featuring domes and colossal arches. The oldest surviving Qutb Shahi structure in Hyderabad is the ruins of Golconda fort built in the 16th century. The Charminar, Mecca Masjid, Charkaman and Qutb Shahi tombs are other existing structures of this period. Among these the Charminar has become an icon of the city; located in the centre of old Hyderabad, it is a square structure with sides 20 m long and four grand arches each facing a road. At each corner stands a 56 m-high minaret. Most of the historical bazaars that still exist were constructed on the street north of Charminar towards Golconda fort. The Charminar, Qutb Shahi tombs and Golconda fort are considered to be monuments of national importance in India; in 2010 the Indian government proposed that the sites be listed for UNESCO World Heritage status.

 

Among the oldest surviving examples of Nizam architecture in Hyderabad is the Chowmahalla Palace, which was the seat of royal power. It showcases a diverse array of architectural styles, from the Baroque Harem to its Neoclassical royal court. The other palaces include Falaknuma Palace (inspired by the style of Andrea Palladio), Purani Haveli, King Kothi and Bella Vista Palace all of which were built at the peak of Nizam rule in the 19th century. During Mir Osman Ali Khan's rule, European styles, along with Indo-Islamic, became prominent. These styles are reflected in the Falaknuma Palace and many civic monuments such as the Hyderabad High Court, Osmania Hospital, Osmania University, the State Central Library, City College, the Telangana Legislature, the State Archaeology Museum, Jubilee Hall, and Hyderabad and Kachiguda railway stations. Other landmarks of note are Paigah Palace, Asman Garh Palace, Basheer Bagh Palace, Errum Manzil and the Spanish Mosque, all constructed by the Paigah family.

 

ECONOMY

Hyderabad is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP), tax and other revenues, of Telangana, and the sixth largest deposit centre and fourth largest credit centre nationwide, as ranked by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in June 2012. Its US$74 billion GDP made it the fifth-largest contributor city to India's overall GDP in 2011–12. Its per capita annual income in 2011 was ₹44300 (US$670). As of 2006, the largest employers in the city were the governments of Andhra Pradesh (113,098 employees) and India (85,155). According to a 2005 survey, 77% of males and 19% of females in the city were employed. The service industry remains dominant in the city, and 90% of the employed workforce is engaged in this sector.

 

Hyderabad's role in the pearl trade has given it the name "City of Pearls" and up until the 18th century, the city was also the only global trading centre for large diamonds. Industrialisation began under the Nizams in the late 19th century, helped by railway expansion that connected the city with major ports. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Indian enterprises, such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Bharat Electronics (BEL), Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) and Andhra Bank (AB) were established in the city. The city is home to Hyderabad Securities formerly known as Hyderabad Stock Exchange (HSE), and houses the regional office of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). In 2013, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) facility in Hyderabad was forecasted to provide operations and transactions services to BSE-Mumbai by the end of 2014. The growth of the financial services sector has helped Hyderabad evolve from a traditional manufacturing city to a cosmopolitan industrial service centre. Since the 1990s, the growth of information technology (IT), IT-enabled services (ITES), insurance and financial institutions has expanded the service sector, and these primary economic activities have boosted the ancillary sectors of trade and commerce, transport, storage, communication, real estate and retail.

 

Hyderabad's commercial markets are divided into four sectors: central business districts, sub-central business centres, neighbourhood business centres and local business centres. Many traditional and historic bazaars are located throughout the city, Laad Bazaar being the prominent among all is popular for selling a variety of traditional and cultural antique wares, along with gems and pearls.

 

The establishment of Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL), a public sector undertaking, in 1961 was followed over the decades by many national and global companies opening manufacturing and research facilities in the city. As of 2010, the city manufactured one third of India's bulk drugs and 16% of biotechnology products, contributing to its reputation as "India's pharmaceutical capital" and the "Genome Valley of India". Hyderabad is a global centre of information technology, for which it is known as Cyberabad (Cyber City). As of 2013, it contributed 15% of India's and 98% of Andhra Pradesh's exports in IT and ITES sectors and 22% of NASSCOM's total membership is from the city. The development of HITEC City, a township with extensive technological infrastructure, prompted multinational companies to establish facilities in Hyderabad. The city is home to more than 1300 IT and ITES firms, including global conglomerates such as Microsoft (operating its largest R&D campus outside the US), Google, IBM, Yahoo!, Dell, Facebook, and major Indian firms including Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Polaris and Wipro. In 2009 the World Bank Group ranked the city as the second best Indian city for doing business. The city and its suburbs contain the highest number of special economic zones of any Indian city.

 

Like the rest of India, Hyderabad has a large informal economy that employs 30% of the labour force. According to a survey published in 2007, it had 40–50,000 street vendors, and their numbers were increasing. Among the street vendors, 84% are male and 16% female, and four fifths are "stationary vendors" operating from a fixed pitch, often with their own stall. Most are financed through personal savings; only 8% borrow from moneylenders. Vendor earnings vary from ₹50 (75¢ US) to ₹800 (US$12) per day. Other unorganised economic sectors include dairy, poultry farming, brick manufacturing, casual labour and domestic help. Those involved in the informal economy constitute a major portion of urban poor.

 

CULTURE

Hyderabad emerged as the foremost centre of culture in India with the decline of the Mughal Empire. After the fall of Delhi in 1857, the migration of performing artists to the city particularly from the north and west of the Indian sub continent, under the patronage of the Nizam, enriched the cultural milieu. This migration resulted in a mingling of North and South Indian languages, cultures and religions, which has since led to a co-existence of Hindu and Muslim traditions, for which the city has become noted. A further consequence of this north–south mix is that both Telugu and Urdu are official languages of Telangana.[164] The mixing of religions has also resulted in many festivals being celebrated in Hyderabad such as Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali and Bonalu of Hindu tradition and Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha by Muslims.

 

Traditional Hyderabadi garb also reveals a mix of Muslim and South Asian influences with men wearing sherwani and kurta - paijama and women wearing khara dupatta and salwar kameez. Muslim women also commonly wear burqas and hijabs in public. In addition to the traditional Indian and Muslim garments, increasing exposure to western cultures has led to a rise in the wearing of western style clothing among youths.

 

LITERATURE

In the past, Qutb Shahi rulers and Nizams attracted artists, architects and men of letters from different parts of the world through patronage. The resulting ethnic mix popularised cultural events such as mushairas (poetic symposia). The Qutb Shahi dynasty particularly encouraged the growth of Deccani Urdu literature leading to works such as the Deccani Masnavi and Diwan poetry, which are among the earliest available manuscripts in Urdu. Lazzat Un Nisa, a book compiled in the 15th century at Qutb Shahi courts, contains erotic paintings with diagrams for secret medicines and stimulants in the eastern form of ancient sexual arts. The reign of the Nizams saw many literary reforms and the introduction of Urdu as a language of court, administration and education. In 1824, a collection of Urdu Ghazal poetry, named Gulzar-e-Mahlaqa, authored by Mah Laqa Bai - the first female Urdu poet to produce a Diwan - was published in Hyderabad.

 

Hyderabad has continued with these traditions in its annual Hyderabad Literary Festival, held since 2010, showcasing the city's literary and cultural creativity. Organisations engaged in the advancement of literature include the Sahitya Akademi, the Urdu Academy, the Telugu Academy, the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, the Comparative Literature Association of India, and the Andhra Saraswata Parishad. Literary development is further aided by state institutions such as the State Central Library, the largest public library in the state which was established in 1891, and other major libraries including the Sri Krishna Devaraya Andhra Bhasha Nilayam, the British Library and the Sundarayya Vignana Kendram.

 

MUSIC AND FILMS

South Indian music and dances such as the Kuchipudi and Kathakali styles are popular in the Deccan region. As a result of their culture policies, North Indian music and dance gained popularity during the rule of the Mughals and Nizams, and it was also during their reign that it became a tradition among the nobility to associate themselves with tawaif (courtesans). These courtesans were revered as the epitome of etiquette and culture, and were appointed to teach singing, poetry and classical dance to many children of the aristocracy. This gave rise to certain styles of court music, dance and poetry. Besides western and Indian popular music genres such as filmi music, the residents of Hyderabad play city-based marfa music, dholak ke geet (household songs based on local Folklore), and qawwali, especially at weddings, festivals and other celebratory events. The state government organises the Golconda Music and Dance Festival, the Taramati Music Festival and the Premavathi Dance Festival to further encourage the development of music.

 

Although the city is not particularly noted for theatre and drama, the state government promotes theatre with multiple programmes and festivals in such venues as the Ravindra Bharati, Shilpakala Vedika and Lalithakala Thoranam. Although not a purely music oriented event, Numaish, a popular annual exhibition of local and national consumer products, does feature some musical performances. The city is home to the Telugu film industry, popularly known as Tollywood and as of 2012, produces the second largest number of films in India with the largest number being produced by Bollywood. Films in the local Hyderabadi dialect are also produced and have been gaining popularity since 2005. The city has also hosted international film festivals such as the International Children's Film Festival and the Hyderabad International Film Festival. In 2005, Guinness World Records declared Ramoji Film City to be the world's largest film studio.

 

ART AND HANDICRAFTS

The region is well known for its Golconda and Hyderabad painting styles which are branches of Deccani painting. Developed during the 16th century, the Golconda style is a native style blending foreign techniques and bears some similarity to the Vijayanagara paintings of neighbouring Mysore. A significant use of luminous gold and white colours is generally found in the Golconda style. The Hyderabad style originated in the 17th century under the Nizams. Highly influenced by Mughal painting, this style makes use of bright colours and mostly depicts regional landscape, culture, costumes and jewellery.

 

Although not a centre for handicrafts itself, the patronage of the arts by the Mughals and Nizams attracted artisans from the region to Hyderabad. Such crafts include: Bidriware, a metalwork handicraft from neighbouring Karnataka, which was popularised during the 18th century and has since been granted a Geographical Indication (GI) tag under the auspices of the WTO act; and Zari and Zardozi, embroidery works on textile that involve making elaborate designs using gold, silver and other metal threads. Another example of a handicraft drawn to Hyderabad is Kalamkari, a hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile that comes from cities in Andhra Pradesh. This craft is distinguished in having both a Hindu style, known as Srikalahasti and entirely done by hand, and an Islamic style, known as Machilipatnam that uses both hand and block techniques. Examples of Hyderabad's arts and crafts are housed in various museums including the Salar Jung Museum (housing "one of the largest one-man-collections in the world"), the AP State Archaeology Museum, the Nizam Museum, the City Museum and the Birla Science Museum.

 

CUISINE

Hyderabadi cuisine comprises a broad repertoire of rice, wheat and meat dishes and the skilled use of various spices. Hyderabadi biryani and Hyderabadi haleem, with their blend of Mughlai and Arab cuisines, have become iconic dishes of India. Hyderabadi cuisine is highly influenced by Mughlai and to some extent by French, Arabic, Turkish, Iranian and native Telugu and Marathwada cuisines. Other popular native dishes include nihari, chakna, baghara baingan and the desserts qubani ka meetha, double ka meetha and kaddu ki kheer (a sweet porridge made with sweet gourd).

 

MEDIA

One of Hyderabad's earliest newspapers, The Deccan Times, was established in the 1780s. In modern times, the major Telugu dailies published in Hyderabad are Eenadu, Andhra Jyothy, Sakshi and Namaste Telangana, while the major English papers are The Times of India, The Hindu and The Deccan Chronicle, and the major Urdu papers include The Siasat Daily, The Munsif Daily and Etemaad. Many coffee table magazines, professional magazines and research journals are also regularly published. The Secunderabad Cantonment Board established the first radio station in Hyderabad State around 1919. Deccan Radio was the first radio public broadcast station in the city starting on 3 February 1935, with FM broadcasting beginning in 2000. The available channels in Hyderabad include All India Radio, Radio Mirchi, Radio City, Red FM and Big FM.

 

Television broadcasting in Hyderabad began in 1974 with the launch of Doordarshan, the Government of India's public service broadcaster, which transmits two free-to-air terrestrial television channels and one satellite channel. Private satellite channels started in July 1992 with the launch of Star TV. Satellite TV channels are accessible via cable subscription, direct-broadcast satellite services or internet-based television. Hyderabad's first dial-up internet access became available in the early 1990s and was limited to software development companies. The first public internet access service began in 1995, with the first private sector internet service provider (ISP) starting operations in 1998. In 2015, high-speed public WiFi was introduced in parts of the city.

 

EDUCATION

Public and private schools in Hyderabad are governed by the Central Board of Secondary Education and follow a "10+2+3" plan. About two-thirds of pupils attend privately run institutions. Languages of instruction include English, Hindi, Telugu and Urdu. Depending on the institution, students are required to sit the Secondary School Certificate or the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education. After completing secondary education, students enroll in schools or junior colleges with a higher secondary facility. Admission to professional graduation colleges in Hyderabad, many of which are affiliated with either Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH) or Osmania University (OU), is through the Engineering Agricultural and Medical Common Entrance Test (EAM-CET).There are 13 universities in Hyderabad: two private universities, two deemed universities, six state universities and three central universities. The central universities are the University of Hyderabad, Maulana Azad National Urdu University and the English and Foreign Languages University. Osmania University, established in 1918, was the first university in Hyderabad and as of 2012 is India's second most popular institution for international students. The Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Open University, established in 1982, is the first distance learning open university in India.

 

Hyderabad is also home to a number of centres specialising in particular fields such as biomedical sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, such as the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) and National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). Hyderabad has five major medical schools - Osmania Medical College, Gandhi Medical College, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Deccan College of Medical Sciences and Shadan Institute of Medical Sciences - and many affiliated teaching hospitals. The Government Nizamia Tibbi College is a college of Unani medicine. Hyderabad is also the headquarters of the Indian Heart Association, a non-profit foundation for cardiovascular education.

 

Institutes in Hyderabad include the National Institute of Rural Development, the Indian School of Business, the Institute of Public Enterprise, the Administrative Staff College of India and the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy. Technical and engineering schools include the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH), Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani – Hyderabad (BITS Hyderabad) and Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) as well as agricultural engineering institutes such as the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University. Hyderabad also has schools of fashion design including Raffles Millennium International, NIFT Hyderabad and Wigan and Leigh College. The National Institute of Design, Hyderabad (NID-H), will offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses from 2015.

 

SPORTS

The most popular sports played in Hyderabad are cricket and association football. At the professional level, the city has hosted national and international sports events such as the 2002 National Games of India, the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, the 2004 AP Tourism Hyderabad Open women's tennis tournament, the 2007 Military World Games, the 2009 World Badminton Championships and the 2009 IBSF World Snooker Championship. The city hosts a number of venues suitable for professional competition such as the Swarnandhra Pradesh Sports Complex for field hockey, the G. M. C. Balayogi Stadium in Gachibowli for athletics and football, and for cricket, the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium and Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, home ground of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Hyderabad has hosted many international cricket matches, including matches in the 1987 and the 1996 ICC Cricket World Cups. The Hyderabad cricket team represents the city in the Ranji Trophy - a first-class cricket tournament among India's states and cities. Hyderabad is also home to the Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad. A previous franchise was the Deccan Chargers, which won the 2009 Indian Premier League held in South Africa.

 

During British rule, Secunderabad became a well-known sporting centre and many race courses, parade grounds and polo fields were built. Many elite clubs formed by the Nizams and the British such as the Secunderabad Club, the Nizam Club and the Hyderabad Race Club, which is known for its horse racing especially the annual Deccan derby, still exist. In more recent times, motorsports has become popular with the Andhra Pradesh Motor Sports Club organising popular events such as the Deccan 1/4 Mile Drag, TSD Rallies and 4x4 off-road rallying.

 

International-level sportspeople from Hyderabad include: cricketers Ghulam Ahmed, M. L. Jaisimha, Mohammed Azharuddin, V. V. S. Laxman, Venkatapathy Raju, Shivlal Yadav, Arshad Ayub and Noel David; football players Syed Abdul Rahim, Syed Nayeemuddin and Shabbir Ali; tennis player Sania Mirza; badminton players S. M. Arif, Pullela Gopichand, Saina Nehwal, P. V. Sindhu, Jwala Gutta and Chetan Anand; hockey players Syed Mohammad Hadi and Mukesh Kumar; rifle shooters Gagan Narang and Asher Noria and bodybuilder Mir Mohtesham Ali Khan.

 

TRANSPORT

The most commonly used forms of medium distance transport in Hyderabad include government owned services such as light railways and buses, as well as privately operated taxis and auto rickshaws. Bus services operate from the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station in the city centre and carry over 130 million passengers daily across the entire network. Hyderabad's light rail transportation system, the Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS), is a three line suburban rail service used by over 160,000 passengers daily. Complementing these government services are minibus routes operated by Setwin (Society for Employment Promotion & Training in Twin Cities). Intercity rail services also operate from Hyderabad; the main, and largest, station is Secunderabad Railway Station, which serves as Indian Railways' South Central Railway zone headquarters and a hub for both buses and MMTS light rail services connecting Secunderabad and Hyderabad. Other major railway stations in Hyderabad are Hyderabad Deccan Station, Kachiguda Railway Station, Begumpet Railway Station, Malkajgiri Railway Station and Lingampally Railway Station. The Hyderabad Metro, a new rapid transit system, is to be added to the existing public transport infrastructure and is scheduled to operate three lines by 2015. As of 2012, there are over 3.5 million vehicles operating in the city, of which 74% are two-wheelers, 15% cars and 3% three-wheelers. The remaining 8% include buses, goods vehicles and taxis. The large number of vehicles coupled with relatively low road coverage - roads occupy only 9.5% of the total city area - has led to widespread traffic congestion especially since 80% of passengers and 60% of freight are transported by road. The Inner Ring Road, the Outer Ring Road, the Hyderabad Elevated Expressway, the longest flyover in India, and various interchanges, overpasses and underpasses were built to ease the congestion. Maximum speed limits within the city are 50 km/h for two-wheelers and cars, 35 km/h for auto rickshaws and 40 km/h for light commercial vehicles and buses.

 

Hyderabad sits at the junction of three National Highways linking it to six other states: NH-7 runs 2,369 km from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, in the north to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, in the south; NH-9, runs 841 km east-west between Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and Pune, Maharashtra; and the 280 km NH-163 links Hyderabad to Bhopalpatnam, Chhattisgarh. Five state highways, SH-1, SH-2, SH-4, SH-5 and SH-6, either start from, or pass through, Hyderabad.

 

Air traffic was previously handled via Begumpet Airport, but this was replaced by Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) (IATA: HYD, ICAO: VOHS) in 2008, with the capacity of handling 12 million passengers and 100,000 tonnes of cargo per annum. In 2011, Airports Council International, an autonomous body representing the world's airports, judged RGIA the world's best airport in the 5–15 million passenger category and the world's fifth best airport for service quality.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Consequences . I first heard it when i was a kid . It was a vinyl 3 record box set and it was brilliant . I Have heard clips and sound bites from it in ads lately so searched this CD version and got it from Japan . Not quite the same but still BRILL!

It has been 1,067 days since Russia invaded Ukraine – the war continues – normality does not settle in – yet life goes on amidst the war, its consequences, and its losses.

Everything in life has a consequence. It's funny because a lot of people come into the military for discipline. We can't call in sick to work, we get separated from our families, you don't have a choice about getting vaccinations, your opinion gets quieted because you have to represent the whole and not yourself, you don't get to wear what you want to work, your job is dangerous, you can be called away on the "business trip" at a moments notice...I could keep going. But, the reality is you don't HAVE to do anything. There's a very direct reaction to it, but you truthfully can say no to anything listed above. I've gone back and forth, a couple of times on Flickr actually, about where my future lies in the military. I've been thinking more about it since things are going to change a lot for me in the next 6 months and I've had to start thinking about what I want out of my life. 8 years under my belt. **8** Do you guys realize it's already November? I mean time flies! The more I thought about it the more I realized I was so grateful for my experiences. Even if things hadn't turned out the way I expected I seriously wouldn't be the person I am today without these stripes. I am making plans for tomorrow but I will never forget about yesterday, or the day before. And while there's plenty to complain about the truth is it could always be worse. That entire list may have been things I was sort of in awe about when I first came in but now their just second nature. When I'm told I have to get the flu shot I just drag my happy ass to immunizations and endure the sickness. There can be a serious inconvenience with any job but today I'm totally okay with it because of all the great things that come with it. Living in California for the past 8 years, enjoying no snow-unless I want it, creating some amazing friendships, traveling to other countries and living in their culture for 4 months, a reliable paycheck, working out of the elements, never having to worry about what to wear, and they pay for it, having the chance to defend my country, having a chance to defend my country's right to say what they want, I get to shoot a really awesome gun in two weeks, carrying on my family's military heritage...I could list more but I won't ;) I'm getting ready for work and then going to bed! See you guys in a few days!!

Many tourist shops

Many counterfeiting (Murano Glass )

 

Campo dei Frari

Venezia

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Explored October 20, 2008

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A tridimensional satellite view over the western coast of La Palma Island shows the consequences afteer more than 3 months of volcanic activity that radically change the geography of the island. Hotsposts of the lava flows are still visible, as well as emissions from the crater. Image acquired by Sentinel-2 satellite on Dec. 29