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Credits..http://creativeimageryphotography.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/jar-of-hearts.html
"I know I can't take one more step towards you
'Cause all that's waiting is regret
Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore
You lost the love I loved the most
I learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time
And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?
I hear you're asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms
And I've learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time
And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?
And it took so long just to feel alright
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed
'Cause you broke all your promises
And now you're back
You don't get to get me back
And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Don't come back at all
And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
Tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don't come back for me
Don't come back at all
Who do you think you are?..."
Excerpt from www.japan-guide.com/e/e3005.html:
The Ginza (銀座) is Tokyo's most famous upmarket shopping, dining and entertainment district, featuring numerous department stores, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, night clubs and cafes. One square meter of land in the district's center is worth over ten million yen, making it one of the most expensive real estate in Japan.
From 1612 to 1800, today's Ginza district was the site of a silver coin mint (Ginza means "silver mint" in Japanese), after which the district was eventually named. The Ginza evolved as an upmarket shopping district following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
Excerpt from www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/community/art_archi_life_in_me...:
Life in Mei Foo-Now and Then by Ng Yuen Wa
The sixteen panels will be divided into two main parts according to their themes, one part is about the past of Mei Foo and the other illustrates the life of the Mei Foo residents at the present moment. These two main parts can be subdivided into four groups, each group consisting of four panels:
The first group, On the Night of the Mid-Autumn Festival , depicts how the Mei Foo residents used to share their love and joy at the podium under the full moon at the Mid-Autumn Festival.;
The second group, centred on the theme of Memory of the Seashore, brings the viewers back to a time when there was a wonderful seashore at the Mei Foo Sun Chuen. With a touch of nostalgia, this group of works highlights the sublime seascape and the serene atmosphere of the Mei Foo Sun Chuen.
The Mei Foo residents depicted in the third group, Apartment in the Starry Metropolitan, enjoy the glittering night scene of this prosperous metropolitan – Hong Kong – through gazing out of their apartment windows, while they are resting in their apartments after a day of work.
In Mei Foo, a piece of land has been reclaimed from the sea and a park with different kinds of recreational facilities is built on the reclamation area. The fourth group of work, entitled A Delightful Weekend, focuses on the recreational activities of the Mei Foo residents taking place in the park.
5576 US-89.
Currently in mid-renovation.
www.livingstonenterprise.com/townnews/radio/metal-kprk-ra...
Metal KPRK radio rotunda, iconic Livingston symbol removed
Dan Astin Enterprise Staff Writer Dec 1, 2023
The faux stylized radio tower spire, an iconic symbol of KPRK radio and Livingston, was removed on Thursday, as part an ongoing construction project, restoring the derelict broadcasting building and grounds to their formal glory.
In reference to the rotunda's temporary removal during restoration, Andrew Feltenstein, owner of Moleo Media Group, a limited liability company, which is the site's property owner, said "We can't save everything, but we will be putting the rotunda back up."
Juston Gougeon, founder and vice president of operations for Basecamp Construction, the contractor responsible for the restoration, inferred rehabbing the radio station, which has been abandoned for over a decade, will have different challenges, in order to preserve the station's unique exterior architecture.
As part of preserving the building as a public business for the future, steel beams and hydraulics will need to lift the entire structure above the Yellowstone River flood-plane.
The nearly 80 year old structure will have to be brought up to Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility specifications, with all components of the building's infrastructure modernized, without altering the exterior.
An outdoor amphitheater for music events is a planned edition to the rear of the property.
The contractor explained finishing the restoration project, which will be assisted in-part through historic preservation tax credits, will be worth it in the end.
"There's going to be a lot of money invested in Livingston in the next 10 years. Andrew's passion for this project is contagious and Basecamp Construction is excited to be a part of the restoration of one of Livingston's most iconic buildings," said Gougeon.
More info (and a vintage picture) on KPRK's site.
gabbyjaws.blogspot.com/2024/12/wild-fashiondesigner-showc...
WILD FASHION Candice includes earrings
sizes include Erica, GenX, Curvy, Kupra, LaraX, Legacy, Peach, Reborn, Waifu w/20 Texture hud
WILD Fashion & Beauty
LM: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tropical%20Lodge/61/87/27
MP: marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/191525
LANDMARK TO DESIGNER SHOWCASE: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whispering%20Angels/193/51...
Stealthic Barbwire
an lar [poses] The Jane series
LaraX
WoW Skins Valea
Full Body BOM 5 Skin Tones
6 Velour Tones
6 Skinnery Tones
WoW Skins
LM TO Wow Skins: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Vintage%20Romance/158/113/...
Top + Skirt : LEROY - Gabriela Outfit [BLOGGERPACK] x Access Event
Compatible for LaraX - Legacy - Perky - Reborn
HUD available with fatpack.
Hair: Faga. (HUD.Unpack) Cassiopeia / - Fatpack Mainstore
4 SEPARATE COLOR PACKS:
• Essential Pack - Mixing Pack • Fantasy Pack - Streaks Pack
• 100 Colors Each with 3 Combination Options
/ Natural / Roots / E-Girl /
Fatpack Available
2. HEAD SIZES / 4. BREAST SIZES:
• Petite • Medium • Plus Size (Waifu) • Kupra
Materials / Full Shine/ Tint HUD
Style HUD (included in each package):
3 customizable styles for your hair
Nails: ..::Le Mew::.. Electric Waves Nails [add] Mainstore
Compatible for :
Reborn
Belleza GenX Classic & Curvy
Lara & LaraX
Kupra
Bombshell
Legacy
Nhumana
BBL
Muneca
Excerpt from www.gpsmycity.com/attractions/kruispoort-32707.html:
Kruispoort, Brugge
Kruispoort or "Cross Gate" is the best preserved among Brugge's medieval gates. It was erected around 1297 when a second city wall was built around the city. At first, there were eight gates that served as entrances to the city of which only four survive today. The present Kruispoort is not the original one but a structure constructed in 1402. In the 1780s, the city walls were demolished as Brugge started expanding. Four of the gates were left intact to give visitors an idea of how heavily fortified Brugge was in the middle ages.
Kruispoort consists of two tall towers connected by an overhead passage. The passage and the towers have windows through which bullets were fired at the enemy. Initially, there were two bridges and a front gate that have disappeared over time. A drawbridge and two large doors were quickly closed as soon as guards could see the enemy approaching. The interior is preserved in its original condition and visitors can see the seats of the guards on each floor. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Napoleon, and the German army all entered Brugge through Kruispoort. The gate looks magnificent at night when it is illuminated.
el.kingdomsalvation.org/gospel/fate-inseparable-from-Crea...
Ευαγγέλιο
Ο Θεός λέει: «Πού θα πας κάθε μέρα, τι θα κάνεις, ποιον ή τι θα συναντήσεις, τι θα πεις, τι θα σου συμβεί — μπορεί να προβλεφθεί τίποτε απ’ αυτά; Οι άνθρωποι δεν μπορούν να προβλέψουν όλα αυτά τα περιστατικά, πόσο μάλλον να ελέγξουν πώς θα εξελιχθούν. Στη ζωή, τα απρόβλεπτα αυτά γεγονότα συμβαίνουν όλη την ώρα και αποτελούν καθημερινό φαινόμενο. Τα καθημερινά αυτά σκαμπανεβάσματα και οι τρόποι που ξεδιπλώνονται ή τα μοτίβα σύμφωνα με τα οποία διαδραματίζονται, αποτελούν, για την ανθρωπότητα, συνεχείς υπενθυμίσεις πως τίποτα δεν συμβαίνει τυχαία και πως η εξελικτική πορεία που παίρνουν αυτά τα πράγματα και το αναπόφευκτο των πραγμάτων αυτών δεν μπορούν να μεταβληθούν από την ανθρώπινη θέληση. Κάθε συμβάν μεταφέρει μια νουθεσία από τον Δημιουργό στην ανθρωπότητα, ενώ στέλνει επίσης το μήνυμα πως τα ανθρώπινα όντα δεν μπορούν να ελέγξουν την ίδια τους τη μοίρα· την ίδια ώρα, κάθε γεγονός αποτελεί ανταπάντηση στην τρελή και άκαρπη φιλοδοξία και επιθυμία της ανθρωπότητας να πάρει τη μοίρα της στα ίδια της τα χέρια. Είναι σαν ισχυρά, επαναλαμβανόμενα ραπίσματα στην ανθρωπότητα, που αναγκάζουν τους ανθρώπους να επανεξετάσουν το ποιος είναι, εν τέλει, αυτός που κυβερνά και ελέγχει τη μοίρα τους. Επιπλέον, καθώς οι φιλοδοξίες και οι επιθυμίες τους καταπνίγονται και γκρεμίζονται ξανά και ξανά, οι άνθρωποι φτάνουν ανεπιτήδευτα σε μια ασυναίσθητη αποδοχή αυτού που τους επιφυλάσσει η μοίρα, μια αποδοχή της πραγματικότητας, του θελήματος του Ουρανού και της κυριαρχίας του Δημιουργού. Από τα καθημερινά αυτά σκαμπανεβάσματα έως τη μοίρα ολόκληρων ανθρωπίνων ζωών, δεν υπάρχει τίποτα που να μην αποκαλύπτει τα σχέδια και την κυριαρχία του Δημιουργού· δεν υπάρχει τίποτα που να μη στέλνει το μήνυμα πως «η εξουσία του Δημιουργού είναι κάτι που δεν υπερβαίνεται», που δεν μεταφέρει την αιώνια αλήθεια πως“η εξουσία του Δημιουργού είναι υπέρτατη”. ... »
από το βιβλίο «Ο Λόγος Ενσαρκώνεται»
Χριστιανική ταινία
Πηγή εικόνας: Εκκλησία του Παντοδύναμου Θεού
Όροι Χρήσης： el.kingdomsalvation.org/disclaimer.html
Here is Warner Bros. official Letters from Iwo Jima site:
iwojimathemovie.warnerbros.com/lettersofiwojima/framework...
... one of the great historical movies of our time. Yesterday I watched this movie with Scotty, a friend of mine from Austin. Scotty was a marine on Peliliu in November 1944 when that island was taken from the Japanese by U.S. Marines. Scotty has one of the medals, seen worn by General Kuribayashi, The Order of the Rising Sun. Scotty told me the intriguing story of how he came to be in possession of the medal, but I don't have his permission to retell it here. The medal is the one General Kuribayashi is wearing around his neck in the illustration here. Scotty promised to bring the medal next time he comes and I'll scan it and make him a color print of this image, so he can have it framed with a picture of it being worn. Scotty's job with the Marines on Peliliu was to repair telephone lines. In 1944 radios were powred through tubes which had very delicate filaments and were often out of order. Communications therefore fell back on field telephones which transmitted over wires. As the wires were discovered and cut by the enemy, Scotty would be sent out to repair them. At first his commanding officer sent two guards to go with him, but after a few trips, Scotty asked permission to go alone, because three marines made too much noise and increased the danger of the assignment.
And so, two old men sat and watched a movie and gained a better understanding of those people we hated so intensely, so many years ago. Even, had they been victorious, the Japanese soldier suffered more than the American soldier, simply because of cultural differences. The movie reveals this abundantly..
Wikipedia's Plot Summary:
The film is based on the non-fiction books "Gyokusai sōshikikan" no etegami ("Picture letters from the Commander in Chief" by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (portrayed on screen by Ken Watanabe) and So Sad To Fall In Battle: An Account of War[4] by Kumiko Kakehashi about the Battle of Iwo Jima. While some characters such as Saigo are fictional, the overall battle as well as several of the commanders are based upon actual people and events.
In 2005, Japanese archaeologists explore tunnels on Iwo Jima. They find something in the dirt, and the scene changes to Iwo Jima in 1944. Private First Class Saigo, a baker conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army, and his platoon are grudgingly digging beach trenches on the island. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi arrives to take command of the garrison and immediately begins an inspection of the island defenses. He saves Saigo and his friend Kashiwara from a beating by Captain Tanida for having uttered 'unpatriotic speeches', and orders the men to stop digging trenches on the beach and begin tunnelling defenses into Mount Suribachi.
Later, Lieutenant Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi, a famous Olympic gold medalist show jumper, joins Kuribayashi for dinner. They discuss the grim prospect of no naval or air support and the fanaticism their fellow officers would show. Kuribayashi evacuates the civilian population of Iwo Jima to mainland Japan. He clashes with some of his senior officers, who do not agree with his strategy of defending inland instead of the beaches; Kuribayashi believes the Americans will take the beaches quickly, and only the mountain defenses will have a better chance for holding out against the enemy.
Poor nutrition and unsanitary conditions take their toll on the garrison; many die of dysentery, including Kashiwara. The Japanese troops begin using the caves as barracks. Kashiwara's replacement, a young soldier named Superior Private Shimizu, arrives for duty on the island. Saigo and his friends suspect that Shimizu is a spy sent from Kempeitai to report on disloyal soldiers since he was trained at a Kempeitai institute. The first American aerial bombings occur shortly after, causing significant casualties. After the raid, Saigo is sickened when he sees the corpse of a friend, still sitting upright. Another casualty was Jupiter, Baron Nishi's horse, which was also killed by a bomb. The raid forces the Japanese to dig deeper into the volcanic island. A few days later, U.S. Marines land on Iwo Jima and the Japanese open fire. The battle for Iwo Jima begins.
As the landings occur, the American troops suffer heavy casualties, but the Japanese beach defenses are quickly overcome, and the attack turns to the defensive positions on Mount Suribachi. Saigo assists the defense by carrying ammunition to machine gunners. When a Japanese machine gunner is killed by a shell from an American ship, Saigo is ordered by the company commander to use his rifle, since the machine gun is damaged. He handles it so clumsily that he is sent to retrieve some machine guns instead. While delivering the request from his company commander to the commander of the Suribachi garrison, Saigo overhears General Kuribayashi radioing orders to retreat northward. The Suribachi commander, however, ignores the order from the general and instead orders Saigo to deliver a message ordering the men of his company to commit suicide. The Japanese soldiers of Saigo's unit commit suicide with grenades, including Saigo's friend Nozaki, and Captain Tanida shoots himself in the head with his Type 14 8 mm Nambu Pistol, but Saigo runs away and leaves the cave with Shimizu, convincing him that it is more productive to continue the fight rather than die. They come across two other Japanese soldiers, but one gets incinerated by an American flamethrower through a hole in the tunnel, causing the three remaining soldiers to flee. They then come across Japanese soldiers beating and tourturing a captured Marine (There are beliefs the captured Marine was Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowski). The Marine pleads to the Japanese to have mercy on him, although his plea falls on deaf ears as the Japanese soldiers stab him to death with bayonets, much to Saigo's disgust.
Saigo and the remaining Japanese soldiers in Mount Suribachi attempt to flee under the orders of Lieutenant Oiso and flee the tunnels at night. However, they run into U.S. Marines, who wipe out all the Japanese troops except for Saigo and Shimizu. The two men flee to friendly lines, but they are accused by Lieutenant Ito of deserting Suribachi. Ito raises his katana to execute Saigo and Shimizu for cowardice when General Kuribayashi appears to stop the punishment, confirming that he had indeed ordered the retreat and thus saving Saigo for the second time.
The soldiers from the caves attempt a futile attack against American positions, with the Japanese taking heavy losses. Saigo and the surviving soldiers are told to regroup with Colonel Nishi. Ito then heads towards the American lines with three land mines, intending to throw himself under an American tank. The next morning, heavy fighting takes place. The Japanese take casualties, but manage to kill several U.S. Marines and destroy a tank. Lieutenant Okubo, Nishi's executive officer shoots a U.S. Marine, who is subsequently captured by Nishi's men. He reveals his name to be Sam, and Nishi orders his medic to give him aid despite the Japanese's dwindling medical supplies. Despite their efforts, the Marine dies of his wounds. Nishi reads a letter the American received from his mother.
As a bomb hits Nishi's cave, Nishi is badly wounded and blinded. His men bind his wounds, and Nishi orders them to another position on the island. As a last favor, he asks Lieutenant Okubo to leave him a rifle. After leaving that position, the soldiers hear a distant gunshot from Nishi's cave.
Being fed up with the battle, Saigo says to Shimizu that he will surrender to the Americans and does not care if Shimizu reports this to the Kempeitai. Shimizu divulges to Saigo that he had been dishonorably discharged from the Kempeitai. In a flashback, it is revealed that he was discharged because he refused to obey a superior's order to kill a barking dog. He was then reassigned to Iwo Jima. This causes Saigo's attitude towards Shimizu to soften considerably. Shimizu breaks down and fearfully asks Saigo to surrender with him. Shimizu and another soldier attempt to flee the cave where they are stationed. Okubo orders them to halt; when they fail to stop, he shoots the other soldier while Shimizu escapes.
Shimizu surrenders to a U.S. Marine patrol and finds himself in the company of another Japanese soldier who had surrendered. The patrol moves on, leaving Shimizu and the other Japanese soldier and two Marines. One of the American guards, who does not want to be burdened with POWs, later shoots them, much to the other Marine's surprise and the two catch up to their patrol. The dead soldiers are discovered by the Japanese and Lieutenant Okubo points it out as a lesson for anyone else who wishes to surrender. Saigo, deeply saddened by his death, puts Shimizu's senninbari on his dead body.
Meanwhile, Ito has not come across any American forces to attack. Desperate, exhausted, and malnourished, his fanatical will breaks and when American Marines find him, he surrenders.
Saigo and the remaining survivors find that Kuribayashi's cave is under attack, and a fierce battle rages. They charge through the crossfire, and lose several men, including Lieutenant Okubo who successfully neutralizes an American Browning M1919 machine gun and its crew. They enter the cave under a storm of American bullets, meeting up with Kuribayashi, who recognizes Saigo. One last attack with all the remaining men is planned. Kuribayashi orders Saigo to stay behind and destroy all the documents, including his own letters to his family. By this, Kuribayashi saves Saigo's life a third time. Kuribayashi and his remaining troops launch their final attack. Most of Kuribayashi's men are killed, and Kuribayashi is critically wounded.
Kuribayashi's loyal aide Fujita drags him away from the battle. The next morning, Kuribayashi orders his aide to behead him; however, the aide is shot dead by an American sniper as he raises his sword. Saigo appears at this moment, having buried some of the documents in the cave instead of burning them all. Summoning his last reserves of strength, the very weak Kuribayashi asks Saigo to bury him so that nobody will find him. Kuribayashi then draws his pistol, an American M1911 — revealed in two previous flashbacks to be a gift Kuribayashi was given in the United States before the war, at a party in which he was the guest of honor — and shoots himself in the chest. Saigo carries away the dead general (unknowingly leaving the pistol behind near Fujita) and buries his body at another location.
Later in the day, a patrol of American Marines come across Fujita's body. One Marine claims Kuribayashi's pistol and another claims Fujita's sword as war trophies. They then search the area and find an exhausted Saigo with a shovel in his hand. Upon seeing the pistol tucked into a Marine's belt, Saigo swings angrily and wildly at the Americans with his shovel. Too weak to fight properly, Saigo is knocked unconscious with a rifle butt and is taken on to a U.S. aid station on the beach. Awakening a while later, he glimpses the setting sun, with ships in the distance, as well as a U.S. truck, and smiles grimly.
The scene shifts back to the Japanese archaeologists who uncover the bag of letters written by Japanese soldiers on the island, never sent, that Saigo buried in 1945. As the letters fall from the bag, the voices of the fallen Japanese soldiers are heard reading from them.
Book: www.lulu.com/shop/giles-watson/pearl/paperback/product-20...
The story so far: The Dreamer loses his Pearl in a grassy mound - evidently her grave. He swoons with grief, and awakens in an earthly paradise, through which there runs a beautiful stream. The land on the opposite bank seems even more beautiful. He wanders further down the stream, hoping to find a bridge or a ford. Just when he starts to become afraid of the dangers that may be in store for him, he sees a young woman sitting at the foot of a crystal cliff on the opposite bank, and instantly recognises her as his lost Pearl. He hails his Pearl and expresses his relief that she still exists, but she begins to reprove him for his lack of faith. She criticises him for only believing that her soul is immortal now that he can see her, and is shocked by his suggestion that he - a mortal man - has a hope of joining her in Paradise without first experiencing death.
He tells her that for him to walk away from her now that he has found her again would be to suffer a fresh bereavement. She replies that it is divinely decreed that he cannot cross over to her. The Dreamer pleads with his Pearl to accept that his rash questions were borne out of his great grief, and asks her to describe her life in Paradise. She relents, and tells him that she is crowned Queen of Heaven, and is married to the Lamb. The Dreamer is shocked by this assertion. He says that he thought only the Virgin Mary was Queen of Heaven. Pearl replies with a description of a-semi egalitarian heaven in which all inhabitants are kings and queens, and asserts that although Mary has pre-eminence, none of those in heaven would ever question it, because she is so “courteous”. She cites the Pauline notion that the church is the body of Christ in support of her claim.
The Dreamer is even less convinced than before. He wonders how she can have been instantly crowned a Queen of Heaven when she was on the earth for less than two years. She replies at length, citing the parable of the labourers in the vineyard as justification for her rapid advancement in the kingdom of Heaven. She continues to retell the parable, and concludes by insisting that like the workers who worked less than two hours in the vineyard, she was first in line for God’s reward when she reached Heaven. The Dreamer cannot understand. Surely, he argues, those who have endured a lifetime’s pain and temptation must have precedence. She responds that those who die as children die innocent, whereas those who have lived longer are more likely to be tainted by the world, and argues that the Dreamer is underestimating the grace of God. She continues by expounding a series of Biblical texts on the theme of righteousness and justification, culminating with the scene from the gospels in which Christ welcomes the children, and reproves his disciples for attempting to repel them. She continues to expound on this theme, reminding the Dreamer that Christ insisted that one must become like a little child in order to approach him.
The Dreamer admits that she is stupendously beautiful, but wonders how she can have won the title of Queen and bride of Christ, in the face of stiff competition: all those other women who have gone to heaven. Her reply draws upon the Old Testament prophets and the Book of Revelation: the Lamb which was slain in Jerusalem will return to govern the New Jerusalem as its King, with a company of a hundred and forty-four thousand wives – one of whom is the Pearl. She describes the state of bliss experienced by all the brides of the Lamb, and the worship that is offered to him. The Dreamer asks her for a boon: he wants to see the heavenly city or fortress where she lives. She describes the spotless city of the New Jerusalem, and he is so entranced by the glory she describes that he repeats his request to be taken to see it. She grants his request, even though he will not be able to set foot inside the city, and he follows her upstream until he can see the heavenly City. At first, he cannot lift his eyes beyond the twelve tiers at its base, each one wrought of precious stones – with the exception of one, which is fashioned out of pearl. Now, he begins to look up at – and through – the City itself, awed beyond belief by its beauty. He realises that no mortal could ever enter the city and survive its sublime excess – and sees a throng of a hundred thousand and more women, all dressed and jewelled like his Pearl, approaching the throne of God in the company of the Lamb.
Pearl: Part 19
Just as the rising, marvellous moon
Drives the ebbing day-gleams down,
It shakes the very soul of man
To know this City – of rich renown –
Is thronged with retinues of women:
All virgins, wearing the same gowns,
Answering the same unseen summons
As my own bejewelled and blissful one –
And all of them are likewise crowned,
Dripping pearls, and draped in white.
In each one’s breast is firmly clasped
A blissful pearl of great delight.
In great delight they glide together
On golden, glinting, glassy roads;
A hundred thousand of them gather,
All rigged out in matching robes,
Each as radiant as the other.
The splendid Lamb before them rides
With seven horns – a lather
Of priceless pearls encrusts his clothes,
And without clamour, the virgins close
In upon the throne, their ranks all white.
Like maidens at Mass, they rise in rows,
Pouring forth with great delight.
The delight the Lamb’s coming brings
Is too intense for me to tell:
The aldermen, when he arrives,
Swoon at his feet. No pen could spell
Out how that angel-legion throngs,
With thuribles, the delightful smell
Of incense eternally on the rise,
And for that Jewel, their praises swell:
They quake the Earth and cleave Hell.
The virtuous orders of angels smite
My heart. I long to sing as well,
And lose my soul in their delight.
Delighting in the Lamb, I reel,
Rapt in wonder. Just out of reach
He seems: more regal and real
Than prophets could spell out in speech,
His garments all glorious, the seal
Of graciousness upon his face. I search
With wild eyes the wound that spills
His heart’s blood, in a great gush,
The skin so torn. I swoon and lurch,
Sick to think that sin and spite
Thrust in the spear and raised the lash.
Can men do this, and take delight?
And yet, delight is on his face
Despite that open, gushing sore:
The agony has left no trace
On his expression – an exultant stare.
Around him, his retinue of grace,
Lambent with life, enough to sear
My eyes. And there, looking utterly in-place,
My little Queen. Did she stand near
Me in that glade? Christ! I can hear
Her laughter, mingling with the mass, all white.
I must wade these waters, face my fear
With love, and longing for delight.
Late fourteenth century poem, written in a north-west midland dialect of Middle English, paraphrased by Giles Watson.
Adagio: would knock politely at amara's door. the gesture gentle and polite. she'd step back from teh door, her crystal clera voice chiming musically against the steel door. "Hello there darling, I brought you something." She'd smile gently taking a small piece of genger and rubbing it briefly on a few spots around her neck and behind her ears like a perfume.
Amara unshackled the handcuff binding her to the suitcase and opened the door. Immediately, she slanted her head to give the slender women a gentle welcoming kiss. "Long time no see, love. I brought a few things for you as well." Her eyes narrowed lightly at the scent of ginger on Adagio's neck, a light approving hum coming from her lips. "How have you been?"
Adagio: would give a soft smile to amara, a bright smile coming to her face feeling the lips against hers. she'd linger with the kiss for a few minutes just enjoying teh feeling, it had been too long."thank you very much darling, but the only thing you needed to bring was yourself." She'd smile gently giving a soft smile. "Well I've been good. been focusing les son my muscles and mor eon ballet and cardio. I won't be putting you thos egrueling weight routines unless you want to do that anymore. This also means fewer situps."
Amara chuckled at this, letting her arms settle around the other's hips. "I don't mind the sit-ups so much now. After the physicals the board put me through, those workouts were likely more beneficial than I realized." Her head motioned to the boxes. "Most of that stuff is for the Pack or the hospital, given what hasn't already been delivered. Various types of katanas, kunai, and other fine weaponry courtesy of the Japanese branch." As she spoke, she seemed to sway gingerly with a gentle smile on her face. "I missed you, Adagio."
Adagio: would smile a little bit giving a soft chuckle. "Well that's good to know, Im glad that the torture I put you through seems to have made a difference. We'll still do thos ethen, just not so many, Im trying to lose my ten pack actually. I spoke with temp, and well I realized that I looked prettier slim, than bulging. Especially since i prefer ballet rather than weights." She'd smile a little bit giving amara another soft kiss. "Oh you hav eno idea how much I misse dyou darling. in fact, i'd like to welcome you back properly if you're not against it?" she'd smile gently her bright sapphire eyes flicking to the bed.
Amara bit her lip at the suggestion, her hands clenching slightly on Adagio's belt. Every fiber of desire in her seemed to react with glee to Adagio's advance, but the hybrid had something else on her mind, something more important to her. "Umm before that," she'd step backwards, holding Adagio's hands in front of her. "I'd like to give you my vows first…since the opportunity was missed before I left." Amara raised the slender woman's hands, kissing both softly.
Adagio: would smile gently, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red. She'd smile gently a soft flutter rising up from her stomach at the statement. "Amara, i'd lovefor you to give me your vows. thank you."
Amara chuckled at the slow reddening flush of Adagio's cheeks, but took a few breaths to regain her composure. She just wanted to get through it all without crying. "I…It was a joy and a bit of gamble to ask you out back when we were coworkers. Relationships had always been a thing I shied away from…because of my own inner demons with what I was." She looked down a moment, her thumbs rubbing over Adagio's hands slowly. "Never had anyone showed me the kind of affection and love that you opened my heart to. It's allowed me to blossom as a person, as a lover, and as a caretaker." A slight crack in her voice was quickly put in check. She was not going to cry…not yet anyway.
Adagio: would sjust smile warmly, her thumbs slowly rolling over amara's fingers in her hand, the strong fingers feeling like they belonge din her grasp. her gaze would be kind and loving, the bright blue eyes filled with love and affection.
"I know I resisted heavily when you proposed to me, but it was only because I couldn't believe someone would see me in that manner. With all the oddities and uncertainties about me…" Amara admitted. No watery eyes yet, she'd glance over at the table where they had spoken often over tea and the occasional salad. "We have both spent a good portion of our lives in search of different things. Answers to internal questions and the like, but finding each other…that alone provided in a way answers to questions we'd never realized we had. Could I trust this person? Can I love this person? I never used to think of such things."
Adagio: would just smile softly, a few tears coming gently toher eyes, carrying the sweet biting scent of fresh ginger with them. She'd be smiling though, happier than any other time in her life, for once absolutely speechless at the devotion amara was showing to her.
Amara leaned forward, lightly kissing a few of the tears on Adagio's cheek as they streamed down. The fact Adagio was more emotional seemed to calm her down. "I vow to treasure you, this intelligent, glorious woman called Adagio with a uniquely logical mind. I vow to be honest, to not keep secrets. To be a valuable support beam when life's weight becomes too much." Her words were more of a whisper, loud enough just to pierce Adagio's ears. "I vow not to sneak fried foods into your dinner." she joked. "Most importantly, I give my heart, my mind, and soul purely and solely to you, my wife."
Adagio: would just smile broadly, her eyes shining brightly with tears leaking out gently and slowly. she'd smile and try wrapping her arms around amara to pull her towards her in a passionate kiss. All of her soul would be given to the woman in that one action. every fiber of her being carefully transferred to her in that one passionate act.
Amara made a muffled moan as her lips were claimed by the taller woman. With her hands now free, she slid them over Adagio's shoulders and around her neck, her right hand resting comfortably on Adagio's cheek. In between breaths, she'd whisper a soft "love you" as the kiss was extended. Her tongue easily invaded the depths of Adagio's mouth, the taste of spearmint still dancing on her lips. As far as the hybrid was concerned they could stay in this position for the rest of eternity and she'd be thrilled.
Adagio: would just smile gently to amara with the kiss. she'd gently caress the other woman's tongue. She'd just deepen the kiss, the taste of spearmint on her lips intoxicating her, she'd hungrily kiss the lips, as if she were trying to move that delicate sharp flavor from Amara's mouth into her own. She'd just smile gently breakin the kiss for a second. "This is what i've been missing amara, thank you."
Amara only smiled. "Sorry it took so long, Adagio." She playfully nipped at Adagio's lips as she tried to latch on to Amara's lips hungrily. She was feeling rather playful after finally getting those long held words off her chest. Her eyes moved to glance at the black engagement ring still on her finger. The symbolism behind meant to Amara than just a mere sign she was engaged; someone had accepted her as a person. Not a thing, a creature, or a lab rat, but an actual person. "Mmm…that reminds me. I was given the files on the memories the company removed from my mind. I…I actually know what my name is now."
Adagio: would smile gently to her looking at her from a bief distance, just madly in love with her right now. "Oh and what is it darling? I'd like to know what you learned. If it mean you know yourself better then I want to know it too." She'd smile lovingly planting another shorter kiss on her lips, the gesture kind and playful.
" My parents were Marion and Ashley Dubois." Amara said proudly. "And their only daughter was Amara Micheline Dubois. It seems I have a French background I was not aware of." Her gaze followed the longing stare she received in return. She was becoming emotional now, a few stray tears leaving her eyes. She had been overjoyed just to know she had a surname, but now there was an entire history waiting to be rediscovered. "So…" she asked between planting light kisses. " Will it be Mrs. And Mrs. Anselm or Mrs. And Mrs. Dubois?"
milano.blogosfere.it/2008/09/omicidio-abba-tutte-le-foto-...
www.flickr.com/photos/gatto_nero/2873546804/
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www.flickr.com/photos/trakkas/2872574653/
dall'Unità
Milano si ferma per Abdul. La famiglia: non dimenticatelo
Dai Bastioni di Porta Venezia fino a piazza Duomo, con una sosta al muretto dove Abba e i suoi amici si incontravano ogni giorno. Milano ricorda Abdul, il diciannovenne originario del Burkina Faso ucciso una settimana fa dalle sprangate dei gestori di un locale. Ad aprire il corteo, uno striscione che recita «Abba Vive, Razzismo Stop», realizzato dai ragazzi del Comitato per non dimenticare Abba, per fermare il razzismo nato a Cernusco, il paese dove Abdul viveva, sull’onda dell’indignazione per questo omicidio su cui deve rimanere alta l’attenzione.
In testa alla manifestazione ci sono i genitori e la sorella di Abdul che venerdì in una lettera hanno rivolto un appello a partecipare al corteo: «In questi giorni per noi molto difficili – scrivono – stiamo ricevendo la solidarietà e l’affetto di tante persone e per noi questa vicinanza è molto importante perché ci aiuta a superare il dolore per un fatto inspiegabile, ci dà coraggio e non ci fa sentire soli: per questo ringraziamo tutti». Sabato bisogna esserci, dicono, «per dire che quello che è successo non deve più accadere, per dire no al razzismo, per non dimenticare».
Già, perché il rischio è che si archivi l’omicidio di Abdul come uno dei tanti, e magari si diffonda l’idea che forse un po’ Abba e i suoi amici se la sono andata a cercare. Ma l’autopsia sul corpo di Abdul ha riscontrato segni di accanimento che non hanno giustificazioni, ferite plurime inferte dall’odio verso chi è diverso. Quello che gli amici di Abdul che quella sera erano con lui raccontano da giorni. E che Fausto e Daniele Cristofoli, i due aggressori, non sono riusciti a spiegare.
La polizia ha calcolato che sono almeno settemila i partecipanti alla manifestazione. Durante il percorso, ci sono state diverse soste in cui i manifestanti si sono seduti per terra gridando «Vergogna» e chiedendo «Giustizia». Alcuni momenti di tensione si sono registrati al termine del corteo, quando alcune decine di giovani hanno iniziato a correre da piazza Duomo verso via Mengoni, per raggiungere il luogo dell'aggressione, mentre la polizia in tenuta antisommossa tentava di fermarli.
Roma, gli italo-africani in libreria: «Attenti alla nostra rabbia»
Luciana Cimino e Cesare Buquicchio
«Purtroppo l’Italia è il mio paese...». Jessica si blocca subito e si corregge. «No. Perché ho detto purtroppo? Non è vero, io adoro l’Italia. Io sono italiana. Ma non è giusto…». Jessica ha 21 anni e studia giurisprudenza. A ricordarle Capo Verde, il paese d’origine di sua madre, c’è solo il colore della pelle. Lo stesso che ha segnato il tragico destino di Abdul Guibre, il 19enne ucciso a sprangate domenica notte a Milano per il solo sospetto d’aver rubato un pacco di biscotti. Jessica ha scelto la piccola libreria Griot a Trastevere, affollata per la maratona di letture organizzata giovedì sera per ricordare "Abba", per lanciare il suo allarme. «State attenti. Attenti alla nostra rabbia - dice prendendo il microfono -. Continuano a cadere gocce che prima o poi faranno traboccare il vaso. Non tutti vogliono sempre stare zitti. Continuare ad avere pazienza, come mi diceva mia madre quando tornavo da scuola in lacrime dopo l’ennesimo insulto razzista, non basta più».
La minuscola libreria sembra una piazza. Stipate nella stanza, sedute per terra, aggrappate alle porte, centinaia di persone hanno portato il loro contributo alla serata intitolata "Nessuna aggravante!". Non soltanto una manifestazione in memoria del ragazzo sullo stile delle veglie funebri africane, ma, soprattutto, una testimonianza di sdegno per la «ricostruzione discutibile fatta dagli inquirenti che escludono la motivazione razziale dall’aggressione ad Abdul e che preoccupa tutti coloro che osservano con sgomento il crescente clima d’intolleranza in Italia». «Avevamo pensato a un sit-in - dice al pubblico Igiaba Scego, scrittrice italiana di origine somala - ma a Roma di questi tempi è difficile ottenere i permessi». Già, «di questi tempi». «C’è un clima da "Mississipi Burning" che fa tremare i polsi».
Tornano gli incubi per gli stranieri che vivono in Italia, lo ammette Jean Leonard Touadi, nato in Congo, deputato del Pd ed ex assessore alla sicurezza al Campidoglio, che dopo le letture e i canti prende la parola per introdurre il dibattito. «Ma siamo qui stasera - dice rispondendo a Jessica - proprio per evitare che quella rabbia esploda. Per evitare che un giorno uno di voi metta una bomba nella metropolitana come è successo a Londra».
«L’idea di un bianco che nella notte insegue un nero è un’angoscia che sta nella nostra memoria collettiva, è successo sempre e succede ora anche contro donne e gay». Ali Baba Faye, sociologo con un lungo passato di militanza politica, racconta di quando, qualche sera fa, passeggiando nel popoloso quartiere di Garbatella, ha visto due bianchi che lo guardavano e, per la prima volta dopo anni, ha avuto paura. «Il linguaggio è la prima forma di violenza, dovrebbero ricordarlo i media italiani, soprattutto quei grandi quotidiani che danno spazio agli sfoghi dei cittadini che hanno paura e che confessano che stanno diventando razzisti».
Qualcosa forse si è rotto nei meccanismi, mai stati semplici, di convivenza di questo paese. «Quello di Abdul non è un caso isolato - aggiunge Lakhous Amara, autore del libro "Scontro di civiltà per un ascensore a piazza Vittorio", che si definisce "italo-algerino" - ma è frutto della costruzione sistematica del nemico, che sia musulmano o nero o gay». «La novità di oggi - spiega Anna Maria Rivera, antropologa - è che è avvenuta una saldatura tra razzismo istituzionale e razzismo popolare, ma la cosa che fa più paura è che a sinistra non sembra esserci abbastanza consapevolezza della deriva in cui è precipitata la società italiana».
Accoglie la critica Marcella Lucidi, ex sottosegretario all’interno con delega all’immigrazione del governo Prodi, in piedi tra il pubblico con Laura Boldrini, dell’Alto Commissariato delle Nazioni Unite per i rifugiati: «Dobbiamo capire cosa significhi essere cittadini in una società in cui le questioni sociali diventano penali». E Touadi si domanda «dove eravamo quando il Mediterraneo si è trasformato da luogo del dialogo in cimitero per "candidati" all’immigrazione?». «Quando sono arrivato io - continua Touadi - gli italiani dicevano "dateci tempo, l’immigrazione per noi è un fatto nuovo". Il tempo è scaduto, le seconde generazioni pretendono percorsi diversi, rischiamo l’implosione sociale». La serata in onore di Abdul non basta, ci vogliono altri momenti di riflessione, lo dice il pubblico della piccola libreria trasteverina specializzata in testi africani. Incontrarsi e parlare non basta ad Alphousseyni. Lui sta partendo per Milano per la manifestazione che ci sabato oggi alle 14.30. Ma è anche uno dei membri più attivi dell’associazione G2 che riunisce i ragazzi della "seconda generazione".
Per Giusy, «qui ci siamo ritrovati, ora c’è bisogno di una reazione». Intanto ci saranno una serie di incontri (forse a cadenza settimanale) per rinvigorire l’appannato movimento antirazzista romano e poi una grande manifestazione nazionale il 4 ottobre, che si concluderà con un concerto a piazza Venezia. A Milano sabato si andrà in piazza e a Bologna e in altre città si stanno moltiplicando le iniziative simili a quella organizzata da Griot per Abdul, un ragazzo italiano.
THE SIXTH EXTINCTION
Exerpts by Niles Eldredge
There is little doubt left in the minds of professional biologists that Earth is currently faced with a mounting loss of species that threatens to rival the five great mass extinctions of the geological past. As long ago as 1993, Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson estimated that Earth is currently losing something on the order of 30,000 species per year — which breaks down to the even more daunting statistic of some three species per hour. Some biologists have begun to feel that this biodiversity crisis — this “Sixth Extinction” — is even more severe, and more imminent, than Wilson had supposed.
Extinction in the past
The major global biotic turnovers were all caused by physical events that lay outside the normal climatic and other physical disturbances which species, and entire ecosystems, experience and survive. What caused them?
The previous mass extinctions were due to natural causes.
First major extinction (c. 440 mya): Climate change (relatively severe and sudden global cooling) seems to have been at work at the first of these-the end-Ordovician mass extinction that caused such pronounced change in marine life (little or no life existed on land at that time). 25% of families lost (a family may consist of a few to thousands of species).
Second major extinction (c. 370 mya): The next such event, near the end of the Devonian Period, may or may not have been the result of global climate change. 19% of families lost.
Third major Extinction (c. 245 mya): Scenarios explaining what happened at the greatest mass extinction event of them all (so far, at least!) at the end of the Permian Period have been complex amalgams of climate change perhaps rooted in plate tectonics movements. Very recently, however, evidence suggests that a bolide impact similar to the end-Cretaceous event may have been the cause. 54% of families lost.
Fourth major extinction (c. 210 mya): The event at the end of the Triassic Period, shortly after dinosaurs and mammals had first evolved, also remains difficult to pin down in terms of precise causes. 23% of families lost.
Fifth major extinction (c. 65 mya): Most famous, perhaps, was the most recent of these events at the end-Cretaceous. It wiped out the remaining terrestrial dinosaurs and marine ammonites, as well as many other species across the phylogenetic spectrum, in all habitats sampled from the fossil record. Consensus has emerged in the past decade that this event was caused by one (possibly multiple) collisions between Earth and an extraterrestrial bolide (probably cometary). Some geologists, however, point to the great volcanic event that produced the Deccan traps of India as part of the chain of physical events that disrupted ecosystems so severely that many species on land and sea rapidly succumbed to extinction. 17% of families lost.
How is The Sixth Extinction different from previous events?
The current mass extinction is caused by humans.
At first glance, the physically caused extinction events of the past might seem to have little or nothing to tell us about the current Sixth Extinction, which is a patently human-caused event. For there is little doubt that humans are the direct cause of ecosystem stress and species destruction in the modern world through such activities as:
-transformation of the landscape
-overexploitation of species
-pollution
-the introduction of alien species
And, because Homo sapiens is clearly a species of animal (however behaviorally and ecologically peculiar an animal), the Sixth Extinction would seem to be the first recorded global extinction event that has a biotic, rather than a physical, cause.
We are bringing about massive changes in the environment.
Yet, upon further reflection, human impact on the planet is a direct analogue of the Cretaceous cometary collision. Sixty-five million years ago that extraterrestrial impact — through its sheer explosive power, followed immediately by its injections of so much debris into the upper reaches of the atmosphere that global temperatures plummeted and, most critically, photosynthesis was severely inhibited — wreaked havoc on the living systems of Earth. That is precisely what human beings are doing to the planet right now: humans are causing vast physical changes on the planet.
What is the Sixth Extinction?
We can divide the Sixth Extinction into two discrete phases:
-Phase One began when the first modern humans began to disperse to different parts of the world about 100,000 years ago.
-Phase Two began about 10,000 years ago when humans turned to agriculture.
Humans began disrupting the environment as soon as they appeared on Earth.
The first phase began shortly after Homo sapiens evolved in Africa and the anatomically modern humans began migrating out of Africa and spreading throughout the world. Humans reached the middle east 90,000 years ago. They were in Europe starting around 40,000 years ago. Neanderthals, who had long lived in Europe, survived our arrival for less than 10,000 years, but then abruptly disappeared — victims, according to many paleoanthropologists, of our arrival through outright warfare or the more subtle, though potentially no less devastating effects, of being on the losing side of ecological competition.
Everywhere, shortly after modern humans arrived, many (especially, though by no means exclusively, the larger) native species typically became extinct. Humans were like bulls in a China shop:
-They disrupted ecosystems by overhunting game species, which never experienced contact with humans before.
-And perhaps they spread microbial disease-causing organisms as well.
The fossil record attests to human destruction of ecosystems:
-Wherever early humans migrated, other species became extinct.
-Humans arrived in large numbers in North America roughly 12,500 years ago-and sites revealing the butchering of mammoths, mastodons and extinct buffalo are well documented throughout the continent. The demise of the bulk of the La Brea tar pit Pleistocene fauna coincided with our arrival.
-The Caribbean lost several of its larger species when humans arrived some 8000 years ago.
-Extinction struck elements of the Australian megafauna much earlier-when humans arrived some 40,000 years ago. Madagascar-something of an anomaly, as humans only arrived there two thousand years ago-also fits the pattern well: the larger species (elephant birds, a species of hippo, plus larger lemurs) rapidly disappeared soon after humans arrived.
Indeed, only in places where earlier hominid species had lived (Africa, of course, but also most of Europe and Asia) did the fauna, already adapted to hominid presence, survive the first wave of the Sixth Extinction pretty much intact. The rest of the world’s species, which had never before encountered hominids in their local ecosystems, were as naively unwary as all but the most recently arrived species (such as Vermilion Flycatchers) of the Galapagos Islands remain to this day.
Why does the Sixth Extinction continue?
The invention of agriculture accelerated the pace of the Sixth Extinction.
Phase two of the Sixth Extinction began around 10,000 years ago with the invention of agriculture-perhaps first in the Natufian culture of the Middle East. Agriculture appears to have been invented several different times in various different places, and has, in the intervening years, spread around the entire globe.
Agriculture represents the single most profound ecological change in the entire 3.5 billion-year history of life. With its invention:
-Humans did not have to interact with other species for survival, and so could manipulate other species for their own use
-Humans did not have to adhere to the ecosystem’s carrying capacity, and so could overpopulate
-Humans do not live with nature but outside it.
Homo sapiens became the first species to stop living inside local ecosystems. All other species, including our ancestral hominid ancestors, all pre-agricultural humans, and remnant hunter-gatherer societies still extant exist as semi-isolated populations playing specific roles (i.e., have “niches”) in local ecosystems. This is not so with post-agricultural revolution humans, who in effect have stepped outside local ecosystems. Indeed, to develop agriculture is essentially to declare war on ecosystems - converting land to produce one or two food crops, with all other native plant species all now classified as unwanted “weeds” — and all but a few domesticated species of animals now considered as pests.
The total number of organisms within a species is limited by many factors-most crucial of which is the “carrying capacity” of the local ecosystem: given the energetic needs and energy-procuring adaptations of a given species, there are only so many squirrels, oak trees and hawks that can inhabit a given stretch of habitat. Agriculture had the effect of removing the natural local-ecosystem upper limit of the size of human populations. Though crops still fail regularly, and famine and disease still stalk the land, there is no doubt that agriculture in the main has had an enormous impact on human population size:
-Earth can’t sustain the trend in human population growth. It is reaching its limit in carrying capacity.
-Estimates vary, but range between 1 and 10 million people on earth 10,000 years ago.
-There are now over 6 billion people.
-The numbers continue to increase logarithmically — so that there will be 8 billion by 2020.
-There is presumably an upper limit to the carrying capacity of humans on earth — of the numbers that agriculture can support — and that number is usually estimated at between 13-15 billion, though some people think the ultimate numbers might be much higher.
This explosion of human population, especially in the post-Industrial Revolution years of the past two centuries, coupled with the unequal distribution and consumption of wealth on the planet, is the underlying cause of the Sixth Extinction. There is a vicious cycle:
-Overpopulation, invasive species, and overexploitation are fueling the extinction.
-More lands are cleared and more efficient production techniques (most recently engendered largely through genetic engineering) to feed the growing number of humans — and in response, the human population continues to expand.
-Higher fossil energy use is helping agriculture spread, further modifying the environment.
-Humans continue to fish (12 of the 13 major fisheries on the planet are now considered severely depleted) and harvest timber for building materials and just plain fuel, pollution, and soil erosion from agriculture creates dead zones in fisheries (as in the Gulf of Mexico)
-While the human Diaspora has meant the spread, as well, of alien species that more often than not thrive at the detriment of native species. For example, invasive species have contributed to 42% of all threatened and endangered species in the U.S.
Can conservation measures stop the Sixth Extinction?
Only 10% of the world’s species survived the third mass extinction. Will any survive this one?
The world’s ecosystems have been plunged into chaos, with some conservation biologists thinking that no system, not even the vast oceans, remains untouched by human presence. Conservation measures, sustainable development, and, ultimately, stabilization of human population numbers and consumption patterns seem to offer some hope that the Sixth Extinction will not develop to the extent of the third global extinction, some 245 mya, when 90% of the world’s species were lost.
Though it is true that life, so incredibly resilient, has always recovered (though after long lags) after major extinction spasms, it is only after whatever has caused the extinction event has dissipated. That cause, in the case of the Sixth Extinction, is ourselves — Homo sapiens. This means we can continue on the path to our own extinction, or, preferably, we modify our behavior toward the global ecosystem of which we are still very much a part. The latter must happen before the Sixth Extinction can be declared over, and life can once again rebound.
© 2005, American Institute of Biological Sciences. Educators have permission to reprint articles for classroom use; other users, please contact editor@actionbioscience.org for reprint permission. See reprint policy.
Paleontologist Dr. Niles Eldredge is the Curator-in-Chief of the permanent exhibition “Hall of Biodiversity” at the American Museum of Natural History and adjunct professor at the City University of New York. He has devoted his career to examining evolutionary theory through the fossil record, publishing his views in more than 160 scientific articles, reviews, and books. Life in the Balance: Humanity and the Biodiversity Crisisis his most recent book.
www.gc.cuny.edu/directories/faculty/E.htm
Articles and Resources on The Sixth Extinction
Consequences of the Sixth Extinction
The article “How Will Sixth Extinction Affect Evolution of Species?,” on our site, describes how the current loss of biodiversity will affect evolution in the long run.
www.actionbioscience.org/newfrontiers/myers_knoll.html
BioScience Article
“Global Conservation of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.”
Habitat destruction has driven much of the current biodiversity extinction crisis, and it compromises the essential benefits, or ecosystem services that humans derive from functioning ecosystems. Securing both species and ecosystem services might be accomplished with common solutions. Yet it is unknown whether these two major conservation objectives coincide broadly enough worldwide to enable global strategies for both goals to gain synergy. In this November 2007, BioScience article, Will Turner and his colleagues assess the concordance between these two objectives, explore how the concordance varies across different regions, and examine the global potential for safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services simultaneously. Read the abstract, or log in to purchase the full article.
caliber.ucpress.net/doi/abs/10.1641/B571009
Biodiversity in the next millennium
American Museum of Natural History’s nationwide survey (undated) “reveals biodiversity crisis — the fastest mass extinction in Earth’s history.”
cbc.amnh.org/crisis/mncntnt.html
National Geographic
A 2/99 article about the Sixth Extinction, with views from several leading scientists.
www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/9902/fngm/index.html
Extinction through time
Find out about cycles of life and death and extinction patterns through time.
www.carleton.ca/Museum/extinction/tablecont.html
Is Humanity Suicidal?
Edward O. Wilson asks us why we stay on the course to our own self-destruction.
www.well.com/user/davidu/suicidal.html
A Field Guide to the Sixth Extinction
Niles Eldredge writes in 1999 about a few of the millions of plants and animals that won’t make it to the next millennium. The second link takes you to the site’s main page, entitled “Mass Extinction Underway — The World Wide Web’s most comprehensive source of information on the current mass extinction,” which provides links to numerous other resources.
www.well.com/user/davidu/fieldguide.html
www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html
Global Environment Outlook 3
The United Nations Environment Programme released this major report in May 2002. The report collated the thoughts of more than 1,000 contributors to assess the environmental impact of the last 30 years and outline policy ideas for the next three decades. It concluded that without action, the world may experience severe environmental problems within 30 years. The entire report can be read online or purchased online.
www.unep.org/geo/geo3/index.htm
Test your environmental knowledge
A 1999 survey showed that only one in three adult Americans had a passing understanding of the most pressing environmental issues. How do you measure up? Explanatory answers provided.
www.youthactionnet.org/quizzes/global_environment.cfm
World Atlas of Biodiversity — interactive map
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the firstWorld Atlas of Biodiversityin August 2002. This link takes you to their online interactive map that helps you search for data about species/land/water loss, extinction over time, and human global development. Click on the “?” for a help page that explains how to interact with this map.
stort.unep-wcmc.org/imaps/gb2002/book/viewer.htm
The Sixth Great Extinction: A Status Report
Earth Policy Institute’s 2004 update on the status of loss of biodiversity.
www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update35.htm
Books
» The Biodiversity Crisis: Losing What Countsby The American Museum of Natural History (New Press, 2001).
» The Sixth Extinction: Patterns of of Life and the Future of Humankindby Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin (Doubleday and Company, 1996).
Get Involved
The Biodiversity Project
You can choose a way to get involved in protecting biodiversity — from educational resources to community outreach.
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* * *
Tiger Illustration by Dorothy Lathrop from
"Fierce-Face: The story of a tiger" by Dhan Gopal Mukerji (1936)
Kern Invite - 11/01/08
Hart Park - Bakersfield, CA
www.andynoise.com/kernxcinvite08.html
Varsity Girls - 2008 Kern County Cross Country
Championships
School Athlete Time Overall Scoring Team
1. Ridgeview Tijerra Lynch 18:58.24 1 1 1
2. Shafter Elizabeth Wittenberg 19:02.62 2 2 1
3. Garces Monica Guzman 19:15.89 3 3 1
4. North Celilia Lopez 19:21.87 4 4 1
5. Ridgeview Ashley Duran 19:23.47 5 5 2
6. Ridgeview Jessica Huizar 19:25.81 6 6 3
7. Foothill Natalie Fernandez 19:35.65 7 7 1
8. East Lucia Garcia 19:46.20 8 x 1
9. Stockdale Amber Nelson 19:59.40 9 8 1
10. Taft Megan Thompson 20:01.34 10 x 1
11. Stockdale Carolin Haney 20:01.70 11 9 2
12. Stockdale Shelbe Pennel 20:03.86 12 10 3
13. Shafter Moriah Milwee 20:05.23 13 11 2
14. Ridgeview Desiree Armendariz 20:08.00 14 12 4
15. Arvin Tanya Hernandez 20:10.02 15 x 1
16. Highland Nichole Berry 20:19:01 16 13 1
17. BHS Sarah Baker 20:25.37 17 14 1
18. North Medeline Maier 20:29.38 18 15 2
19. Ridgeview Monica Lazo 20:33.39 19 16 5
20. Shafter Lindsee Handel 20:36.70 20 17 3
21. Centennial Jessica Folsom 20:41.80 21 18 1
22. BHS Emily Shuford 20:45.35 22 19 2
23. Ridgeview Linda Gonzalez 20:58:28 23 20 6
24. BHS Gabrielle Lerma 21:03.97 24 21 3
25. Stockdale Courtney Moore 21:06.02 25 22 4
26. North Meagan Menzel 21:10.17 26 23 3
27. BHS Gracie Garcia 21:11.76 27 24 4
28. Foothill Perla Veloz 21:13.21 28 25 2
29. Foothill Crystal Rodriguez 21:20.30 29 26 3
30. Independence Katelynn Webb 21:21.51 30 27 1
31. Golden Valley Karina Rocha 21:23.57 31 28 1
32. Shafter Katerina Plaza 21:27.21 32 29 4
33. North Blanca Perez 21:27.98 33 30 4
34. Wasco Amanda Castellon 21:28.25 34 31 1
35. Foothill Kaitlyn Mrasak 21:31.45 35 32 4
36. Tehachapi Brenda Gonzalez 21:33.34 36 33 1
37. Highland Gabi Rodier 21:34.56 37 34 2
38. Centennial Margaret Martinez 21:35.39 38 35 2
39. Stockdale Cynthia Lopez 21:35.61 39 36 5
40. Centennial Jessica Crowe 21:43.49 40 37 3
41. Highland Hilaria Vasquez 21:43.76 41 38 3
42. North Yadira Perez 21:49.62 42 39 5
43. Foothill Erica Castro 21:53.39 43 40 5
44. Centennial Stephanie Dittman 21:55.56 44 41 4
45. Independence Natalie Ambriz 22:08.45 45 42 2
46. Stockdale Madison Schutzner 22:14.92 46 43 6
47. Highland Katherine Mayberry 22:16.42 47 44 4
48. Centennial Jorey Braughton 22:18.95 48 45 5
49. North Kaylee Meyer 22:20.98 49 46 6
50. Garces Lauren Brown 22:21.19 50 47 2
51. Golden Valley Denise Silva 22:23.90 51 48 2
52. Foothill Violeta Quintanar 22:24.92 52 49 6
53. Highland Desiree Martinez 22:25.59 53 50 5
54. Independence Sara Sullivan 22:25.95 54 51 3
55. Garces Lizbeth Lopez 22:28.11 55 52 3
56. Garces Tammy Vu 22:35.68 56 53 4
57. West Selam Habebo 22:39.75 57 x 1
58. Shafter Leana Lara 22:51.69 58 54 5
59. Independence Carlie Croxton 22:55.06 59 55 4
60. Cesar Chavez Rosa Montanez 22:57.28 60 x 1
61. Foothill Maria Zepeda 22:57.55 61 56 7
62. Garces Marissa Machado 22:57.92 62 57 5
63. Shafter Mayra Torres 23:00.88 63 58 6
64. Golden Valley Carmelita Aguilar 23:04.07 64 59 3
65. Ridgeview M. Salgado 23:14.56 65 60 7
66. Golden Valley Anna Avina 23:20.23 66 61 4
67. Golden Valley Ninive Alveno 23:26.73 67 62 6
68. Golden Valley Mercedes Salgado 23:26.73 68 63 5
69. Centennial Paige Anderson 23:30.27 69 64 6
70. Garces Sammie Lobardo 23:34.37 70 65 6
71. Arvin Bianca Quinonez 23:41.85 71 x 2
72. Kern Valley S. Hinkey 23:42.47 72 x 1
73. Frontier Ariel Driskill 23:43.12 73 66 1
74. Centennial J. Estrada 23:50.91 74 67 7
75. Kern Valley S. Hazzard 23:51.80 75 x 2
76. Garces G. Ortiz 23:54.66 76 68 7
77. North Priscilla Cruz 23:55.51 77 69 7
78. BHS Kristina Logan 24:04.10 78 70 5
79. Frontier Jasmine Mattos 24:05.42 79 71 2
80. Stockdale Delilah Diaz 24:10.83 80 72 7
81. West Wennie Agbalog 24:28.90 81 x 2
82. Wasco Anna Orozco 24:29.57 82 73 2
83. Wasco Ruby Jacabo 24:30.22 83 74 3
84. Tehachapi Anna Duke 24:33.57 84 75 2
85. Wasco S. Castellon 24:42.66 85 76 6
86. Independence Shelby Woolf 24:58.35 86 77 6
87. BHS Sarah Stidham 24:58.76 87 78 6
88. Arvin Gaby Gomez 25:04.17 88 x 3
89. Highland Cristina Valenzuela 25:05.21 89 79 6
90. McFarland Monica Gonzalez 25:42.30 90 x 1
91. Tehachapi Susie Cuevas 25:57.15 91 x 3
92. Wasco B. Medina 26:00.11 92 80 4
93. Cesar Chavez Shannan Albay 26:00.32 93 x 2
94. BC Tiffany Rodriguez 26:26.77 94 x 1
95. Tehachapi Ariel Deval 26:50.73 95 81 4
96. Wasco A. Rios 27:14.74 96 82 5
97. Independence Samantha Antu 27:17.44 97 83 5
98. Tehachapi L. Shoemaker 27:44.92 98 84 5
99. BC Victoria Wheeler 28:09.47 99 x 2
100. Tehachapi J. Bahera 29:20:93 100 85 6
101. Frontier T. See 29:29.12 101 86 3
102. Frontier Savanah Olson 30:18.04 102 87 4
103. Frontier A. Rojas NT 103 88 5
DECOR
Bed → [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Bed Adult
Pillow → [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Three Pillows Embroidery
Two Pillows Plain → [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Two Pillows Plain
Two Pillows Embroidery→[ zerkalo ] Delhi - Two Pillows Embroidery
Rug → [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Rug Round Embroidery
Rug → [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Rug Square Embroidery
Rug → [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Rug Round Plain
Table → [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Table (Copper, Rose Gold, Gold)
Coffee Maker→ [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Coffee Maker (Black, Silver, White)
Coffee → [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Coffee Cup
Cookies → [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Cookies
Tray → [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Tray (Black, Silver, White)
Lantern→ [ zerkalo ] Delhi - Lantern (Black, Silver, White)
Armchair → [ zerkalo ] Grassington Armchair w/Cloth - PG @access
Candy → [Merak] - Candy Delight
Candy box→ [Merak] - Box of Xmas Delights
Basket → [Merak] - Memmories Basket (A)
Ornament → Apple Fall Ornamental Elephant - Bronze
Mirror → Fancy Decor: Leaning Mirror
Lantern → Aphrodite Arabian Standing Lantern -Purple-
Table → Zen Creations -Tarnished Table 3 (slat)
Table → Zen Creations - Tarnished Table 3 (shorter)
Candles → Zen Creations - Stone Candle in bowl (touch for flames)
Frame → Zen Creations - Vintage Herb Art Sage
Frame → Zen Creations - Vintage Herb Art Basil
Frame → Zen Creations - Vintage Herb Art Parsley
→.peaches. Skye's Travel Clutter
el.godfootsteps.org/videos/God-issuing-the-law.html
Αφότου ο Μωυσής οδήγησε τους Ισραηλίτες έξω από την Αίγυπτο, ο Θεός θέσπισε τους νόμους και τις εντολές που καθοδήγησαν τη ζωή των Ισραηλιτών επί της γης και δίδαξαν τους ανθρώπους πώς να λατρεύουν τον Θεό. Αυτοί οι νόμοι και οι εντολές όχι μόνο καθοδήγησαν τους Ισραηλίτες, αλλά πρόσφεραν και πληροφόρηση και δημιούργησαν ένα πρότυπο θεσμοθέτησης για τις επόμενες γενιές, κι έθεσαν τα θεμέλια για τα νομικά συστήματα της μελλοντικής ανθρωπότητας.
γκοσπελ μουσικη
Πηγή εικόνας: Εκκλησία του Παντοδύναμου Θεού
Όροι Χρήσης: el.godfootsteps.org/disclaimer.html
Los hermanos y hermanas que realmente creen en el Señor conocen la parábola de las 10 vírgenes (cinco vírgenes prudentes y cinco vírgenes insensatas) en la Biblia, entonces, ¿qué es una virgen prudente y cómo una virgen inteligente recibir al Señor?
Dios dice: “Mis ovejas oyen mi voz, y yo las conozco, y me siguen;”（Juan 10:27 ）
“Todos los que pueden obedecer las declaraciones actuales del Espíritu Santo son benditos. No importa cómo solían ser o cómo el Espíritu Santo solía obrar en ellos, los que han obtenido la última obra son los más bendecidos y los que no pueden seguir la última obra hoy son eliminados. Dios quiere a los que son capaces de aceptar la nueva luz y Él quiere a los que aceptan y conocen Su última obra. ¿Por qué se dice que debéis ser una virgen casta? Una virgen casta puede buscar la obra del Espíritu Santo y entender las cosas nuevas y, además, puede desechar las antiguas concepciones y obedecer la obra de Dios hoy”.
De “La Palabra manifestada en carne”
La Palabra de Dios nos dice que la clave para ser una virgen prudente es escuchar la voz de Dios, cuando alguien escucha el testimonio del regreso del Señor, poder dejar de lado sus propias ideas y buscar y investigar humilde, saber distinguir la voz del Señor. Al igual que Natanael registrado en la Biblia, cuando Felipe dio testimonio el Señor Jesús a Natanael, Natanael imaginativamente dijo:“‘Y díjole Natanael: ¿De Nazaret puede haber algo de bueno? Dícele Felipe: Ven y ve. Jesús vió venir á sí á Natanael, y dijo de él: He aquí un verdadero Israelita, en el cual no hay engaño. Dícele Natanael: ¿De dónde me conoces? Respondió Jesús, y díjole: Antes que Felipe te llamara, cuando estabas debajo de la higuera te vi. Respondió Natanael, y díjole: Rabbí, tú eres el Hijo de Dios; tú eres el Rey de Israel.’”（Juan 1:46-49）
Se puede ver que aunque Natanael tuvo una idea del Señor Jesús desde el principio, creía que el Mesías no debía nacer en Nazaret, pero no mantuvo su propia concepción e imaginación, sino que también buscó con la mente humilde y escuchó al Señor Jesús. Cuando escuchó al Señor Jesús decir la cosa que él había orando debajo de la higuera, sintió que el Señor es todopoderoso y omnisciente. El Señor Jesús puede inspeccionar los corazones y los mentes de las personas, lo cual es completamente diferente de la gente común, entonces dejó de lado sus ideas, reconoció que el Señor Jesús era el Mesías venidero, aceptó al Señor Jesús y recibió la salvación del Señor. Ahora, al final de los últimos días, la profecía del regreso del Señor se ha cumplido. El Señor Jesús dijo:“Aun tengo muchas cosas que deciros, mas ahora no las podéis llevar. Pero cuando viniere aquel Espíritu de verdad, él os guiará á toda verdad; porque no hablará de sí mismo, sino que hablará todo lo que oyere, y os hará saber las cosas que han de venir.”（Juan 16:12-13）
También la profecía Apocalipsis 3:20：“He aquí, yo estoy á la puerta y llamo: si alguno oyere mi voz y abriere la puerta, entraré á él, y cenaré con él, y él conmigo.”
Y la profecía de Apocalipsis 2: 7:“El que tiene oído, oiga lo que el Espíritu dice á las iglesias. ”
De estos versículos podemos ver que el Señor hablará nuevamente en los últimos días y nos dirá todas las verdades y misterios. Cuando escuchamos alguna iglesia es testigo del regreso del Señor para hablar o alguien nos dio un testimonio del regreso del Señor, tenemos que dejar nuestras ideas y buscar con humildad, vea si estas palabras pueden suplir nuestras necesidades espirituales, resolver nuestros problemas reales, señalar el camino de practicar, mientras se determine que es la voz de Dios y la expresión de la verdad, aceptamos la verdad y obedecemos la obra de Dios, para que podamos dar la bienvenida el regreso del Señor.
Para obtener más información, vea la película del evangelio "El momento de la transformación" Escena 1 - ¿Cómo son arrebatadas las vírgenes prudentes?
Ver más: www.kingdomsalvation.org/es/videos/the-moment-of-change-1...
Las escrituras tomadas de LA BIBLIA DE LAS AMERICAS® (LBLA) Copyright © 1986, 1995, 1997 por The Lockman Foundation usado con permiso. www.LBLA.com.
by Albert Bouchard, Eric Bloom, Sandy Pearlman and Donald Roeser
©1974 B. O'Cult Songs, Inc.
Well I’ve opened up my veins too many times
And the poisons in my heart and in my mind
Poisons in my bloodstream
Poisons in my pride
I’m after rebellion
I’ll settle for lies
Is it any wonder that my mind’s on fire
Imprisoned by the thought of what to do
Is it any wonder that my joke’s an iron
And the joke’s on you
Experiments that failed too many times
Transformations that were too hard to find
Poisons in my bloodstream
Poisons in my pride
I’m after rebellion
I’ll settle for lies
Yes I know the secrets of the iron and mind
They’re trinity acts, a mineral fire
Yes I know the secrets of the circuitry mind
It’s a flaming wonder telepath
Well I’ve opened up my veins too many times
And the poisons in my heart and in my mind
Poisons in my bloodstream
Poisons in my pride
I’m after rebellion
I’ll settle for lies
Is it any wonder that my mind’s on fire
Imprisoned by the thought of what to do
Is it any wonder that my joke’s an iron
And the joke’s on you
And the joke’s on you
And the joke’s on you
And the joke’s on you
And the joke’s on you
And the joke’s on you
And the joke’s on you
And the joke’s on you
And the joke’s on you
And the joke’s on you
And the joke’s on you
And the joke
- Blue Oyser Cult -