So live your life, ay ay ay.

 

Instead of chasing that paper.

 

Just live your life (Oh!), ay ay ay.

 

Ain’t got no time for no haters

 

Just live your life (Oh!), ay ay ay.

 

No telling where it’ll take you.

 

Just live your life (Oh!), ay ay ay.

 

Cause I’m a paper chaser.

 

Just living my life.

 

I’m the opposite of moderate, immaculately polished with the spirit of a hustler

 

and the swagger of a college kid.

 

Allergic to the counterfeit, impartial to the politics.

 

Articulate but still would grab a nigga by the collar quick.

 

Whoever had problems, they reckonsile they just holla ‘tip.

 

If that don’t work and just fails, then turn around and follow ‘tip.

 

I got love for the game but ay I’m not in love with all of it.

 

I do without the fame and the rappers nowadays are comedy.

 

The hootin’ and the hollerin’, back and forth with the argueing.

 

Where you from, who you know, what you make and what kind of car you in.

 

Seems as though you lost sight of whats important with the positive.

 

And checks until your bank account, and you’re about poverted.

 

Your values is a disarrayed, prioritized are horribly.

 

Unhappy with the riches cause you pis-pone morraly.

 

Ignoring all prior advice and fore warning.

 

And we might be full of ourselves all of a sudden aren’t we?

 

Models: Moa+nono+Hayooy+yasmeen(yoyo)+nenos I poid

 

Piced by: Moa xD

 

Edit: Miss Flower <3

 

Click here if you want to navigate away from this site quickly.

 

An image produced by one of the Force's photographers to illustrate forced marriage.

 

Forced marriage is a criminal offence and is:

 

"A marriage conducted without the valid consent of one or both parties, where duress is a factor".

 

Duress can include physical, sexual, emotional, and financial and psychological pressure. This will include coercion and deception to force someone into marrying.

 

Forced marriages are a form of domestic abuse and are dealt with as such by the police.

 

Forced marriages are where one or both persons involved get forced into a marriage that they do not want to enter and do not consent to the marriage.

 

Sometimes it is parents forcing their child to get married or sometimes it can be the extended family or community

It can happen between people in this country or between someone from this country with someone abroad.

 

How do arranged marriages differ from forced marriages?

 

Where the families of both parties take a leading role in arranging the marriage, but the choice as to whether or not to accept the arrangement remains with the prospective spouses.

 

Which communities do forced marriages happen in?

 

We are aware it happens in many communities and we want to encourage communities to understand that this is force and to be confident enough to report to the police.

 

Victims

 

Forced marriage is primarily, but not exclusively, an issue of violence against women. Most cases involve young women and girls aged between 13 and 30 years, although there is evidence to suggest that as many as 15 per cent of victims are male.

 

It is felt that men may still be a reluctant to report to the police that they have been forced into a marriage.

 

We are aware that there are a number of cases going unreported and we hope to encourage more reporting by raising awareness of the issues.

 

Click here if you want to navigate away from this site quickly.

 

How can police help?

 

We want to encourage potential victims and those already in a forced marriage to seek support and help from the police. We have specialist officers who can deal with the issues and they will help and support you throughout the process.

 

Obviously we understand that many victims do not want to criminalise family members and may be reluctant to call the police; however we would encourage you to do so if this is the only way to get you out of the situation and so that we can offer you some support and protection.

 

Foreign and Commonwealth assistance

 

The Forced Marriage Unit at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are also available to help and advice you and they can be contacted on 0207 008 0151 or email: fmu@fco.gov.uk

 

In particular the FCO can help to repatriate you back to this country if you have been forced into a marriage abroad. It is important that you don’t feel like there is no one there to help you.

 

Reporting a Forced Marriage

 

We will respect the victim's wishes, respect confidentiality, establish lines of communication and provide appropriate support and guidance via a number of support agencies.

 

You can report a forced marriage via the normal means of communicating with GMP listed on the Contact Us page. Always call 999 in an emergency where there is a threat to life of a crime in progress. In a non-emergency, call 101.

 

In addition we have Specialist Domestic Abuse Investigators on each division or by calling 0161 872 5050.

 

Police Response

 

Forced marriages are a legitimate issue to report to the police. We will support and protect the victim and investigate criminal offences.

 

Click here if you want to navigate away from this site quickly.

 

Situations whereby a forced marriage may come to the attention of the police include:

 

An individual who fears they may be forced to marry.

A report by a third party of an individual having been taken abroad for the purpose of a forced marriage.

 

An individual who has already been forced to marry either in this country or abroad or to someone from abroad.

The Legal Position

 

Forced Marriage is a criminal offence

 

This legislation came into effect on 16 June 2014. For further information on the legislation click: www.cps.gov.uk/legal/h_to_k/forced_marriage_and_honour_ba...

  

Forced Marriage Protection Orders (Civil Protection Act 2007)

 

A Forced Marriage Protection order can be made by a Family Court in order to protect victims, both adults and children of a potential forced marriage or people who are already in a forced marriage. This is a legal document issued by a judge designed to protect individuals according to their particular circumstances. It contains legally binding conditions and directions that require a change in the behavior of a person or persons trying to force another person into marriage.

 

Forced Marriage Protection Orders may be made to prevent a forced marriage from occurring, to stop intimidation and violence, to reveal the whereabouts of a person, to stop somebody from being taken abroad, to hand over passports etc.

 

A breach of any of the conditions is a criminal offence. www.cps.gov.uk/legal/h_to_k/forced_marriage_and_honour_ba...

 

You can find out more about forced marriage protection orders here.

 

Safety Advice

 

If you really don’t want to talk to the police or other agencies then please think about the following safety advice if you think you may be forced into a marriage in this country or abroad:

 

Keep a copy of your passport including dual nationality passports.

 

Tell a trusted friend if you are travelling abroad and give them addresses of where you will be staying and also details of your return flight so they can alert the police if you fail to return on that date.

 

Have a spare mobile to hand that you can be contacted on and leave the number with trusted people so you are contactable

Memorise police phone numbers, and/or email addresses of the Forced Marriage unit and trusted friends in case you have to call them in an emergency.

 

Have addresses of British Embassies available

Support Agencies.

 

Click here if you want to navigate away from this site quickly.

 

Bangladeshi Women’s Centre - 0161 257 3867

Advice, information and support for Bangladeshi women including the issues of domestic abuse, forced marriage and ‘honour’ based violence. Other areas covered include welfare rights, housing, health, education and training, employment and immigration and nationality.

 

Henna Foundation - 02920 498600/496920

Henna Foundation is a registered charity that whose work involves supporting and seeking assistance to protect victims of ‘honour’ related crime, abuses & violence including cases of Forced marriages.

 

Honour Network (Karma Nirvana) - 0800 5999 247

The Honour Network helpline is a confidential helpline providing emotional and practical support and advice for victims and survivors (male & female) of forced marriage and/or ‘honour’ based violence and abuse.

 

Independent Choices - 0161 636 7534

This is a voluntary organisation promoting the rights and meeting the needs of women who have experienced domestic abuse. Supports victims and provides a help line facility and refuge accommodation.

 

Iranian and Kurdish Women’ Rights Organisation (IKWRO) - 020 7490 0303

Provides support and advice in Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish and Farsi to women, girls and men living in Britain, in areas including domestic abuse and ‘honour’ based issues.

 

Click here if you want to navigate away from this site quickly.

 

Saheli - 0161 945 4187

Saheli is an organisation for Asian women run by Asian women. Saheli provides emergency, temporary refuge accommodation to South Asian women and their children who are fleeing domestic abuse situations. The refuge offers a children's service to ensure that children's needs are met, for example through play session and one to one work.

 

Southall Black Sisters - 020 8571 9595 (10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-4pm)

This is a resource centre offering information, advice, advocacy, practical help, counselling, and support to black and minority women experiencing domestic abuse. Southall Black Sisters specialise in forced marriage particularly in relation to South Asian women. The office is open weekdays (except Wednesday)

 

Lesbian and Gay Foundation - 0845 3 30 30 30

Confidential helpline and centre offering information, advice, advocacy, practical help, counseling, and support to men and women experiencing domestic abuse, honour based violence or are victims of forced marriage.

 

Men’s Advice Line - 0808 801 0327 (Mon-Fri 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm)

Confidential helpline for men who experience violence from their partners and ex partners. They provide emotional support, practical advice and inform men of specialist services that can give them advice on legal, housing, child contact, mental health and other issues.

 

NSPCC

This free, confidential service for anyone concerned about children at risk of harm offers counselling, information and advice. The service also connects vulnerable young people, particularly runaways, to services that can help. It is open Monday to Friday between 11am and 7pm.

 

Asian Child Protection Helpline

 

Bengali speaking advisor - 0800 096 7714

Gujarati - 0800 096 7715

Hindi - 0800 096 7716

Punjabi - 0800 096 7717

Urdu - 0800 096 7718

English - 0800 096 7719

This free, 24-hour helpline provides information, advice and counselling to anyone concerned about a child at risk of abuse.

 

0808 800 5000 (helpline)

0800 056 0566 (text phone)

Broken Rainbow - 08452 255 6234

Support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people experiencing domestic violence.

 

Careline - 0208 8514 1177

This is a national confidential counselling line for children, young people and adults on any issue including family, marital and relationship problems, child abuse, rape and sexual assault, depression and anxiety.

 

Child Line - 0800 1111

This service is for any child or young person with a problem.

 

The Citizens Advice Bureau

The Citizens Advice Bureau offers free, confidential and impartial information and advice on a wide range of subjects including consumer rights, debt, benefits, housing, employment, immigration, family and personal matters.

 

Manchester Airport Immigration 0161 489 3576

Immigration may be able to assist you with enquiries in relation to passports and dual nationality

 

Mondays and Tuesdays: 10am – 1pm

 

Wednesdays: 1pm – 4pm

An email service is also offered by the Helpline for non-urgent concerns with an aim to respond within 3 working days: helpline@independentchoices.org.uk

 

To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website.

www.gmp.police.uk

 

You should call 101, the national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.

 

Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.

 

You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.

  

Click here if you want to navigate away from this site quickly.

... But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.

 

- Hemingway

 

No real relevance in including this quote with this image other than it's one of my faves and I felt like sharing it. And does anyone know what these flowers are called? I don't remember. I want to say fire pokers?

Deadly Nightshade continues to celebrate our second year as a brand, to end that with a bit of fun I've decided to put on a Flickr photo contest. From now until the 6th of May any photo/videos posted to the Deadly Nightshade Flickr flic.kr/g/vRGjM and following the rules below will be considered.

 

Rules

• Title of the photo must contain “Deadly Nightshade Photo Contest”

• Photos must contain atleast one .~DN~. item

• Items must be clear and visible.

• Photos must be of high quality

• Photos must be added to the .~DN~. Flickr Group.

• You must tag Triss Nightshade in your photos

• You can submit more than one photo.

 

First Prize 1000L$

Second Prize: 750L$ .~DN~. Gift Card

Third Prize: A current .~DN~. product of Your Choosing

 

Winners will be decided by a panel of impartial judges.

On September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution. The 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress proposing the amendments is on display in the Rotunda in the National Archives Museum. Ten of the proposed 12 amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The ratified Articles (Articles 3–12) constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the U.S. Bill of Rights. In 1992, 203 years after it was proposed, Article 2 was ratified as the 27th Amendment to the Constitution. Article 1 was never ratified.

 

Transcription of the 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress Proposing 12 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution

 

Congress of the United States begun and held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.

 

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.

ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.

 

Article the first... After the first enumeration required by the first article of the Constitution, there shall be one Representative for every thirty thousand, until the number shall amount to one hundred, after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall be not less than one hundred Representatives, nor less than one Representative for every forty thousand persons, until the number of Representatives shall amount to two hundred; after which the proportion shall be so regulated by Congress, that there shall not be less than two hundred Representatives, nor more than one Representative for every fifty thousand persons.

 

Article the second... No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

 

Article the third... Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

 

Article the fourth... A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

 

Article the fifth... No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

 

Article the sixth... The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

 

Article the seventh... No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

 

Article the eighth... In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

 

Article the ninth... In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

 

Article the tenth... Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

 

Article the eleventh... The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

 

Article the twelfth... The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

 

ATTEST,

Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Speaker of the House of Representatives

John Adams, Vice-President of the United States, and President of the Senate

John Beckley, Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Sam. A Otis Secretary of the Senate

i'm going to be a mountain someday

and just stand all the time

stalwart and mighty

collecting crystal s from heaven

and dispersing them ever so gently

kindly and impartially

to thirsty fields below

 

i will rise to alpine stature

i will be a mountain

firm and ever a humble beacon

a lofty rising peak

that calls to the brave and strong

urging all yearnings

to look up

to arise

and stop determined storms

and be a rocky sanctuary

more than a point of reference

above the din of banality

and hostile indifference

loving in the purity

of nearness to God

 

crowned in white that holds all color

fed by the groanings of the earth

standing, always standing

yes, i'm going to be a mountain

someday

for this

i rise up

k-2 world 2nd and deadliest mountain explored by The Trekkerz July 2010

 

My name is James Brendan Corrigan, and I’ve been dead for half of my life. In 1940, I was following a fresh lead on the notorious New York mobster Gat Benson. As a dedicated detective and an even more dedicated husband, I was determined to find and punish the man who took the one thing I loved most away from me. Predictably lured into a trap by Benson and his men, I was beaten to near death before I was thrown into a river, where I would drown, and to never be seen again. Filled with rage, I sank into the freezing cold water, begging anyone who would listen for a second chance. No one answered. I was dead. Darkness had already consumed everything. Until, suddenly, a mysterious presence appeared, offering me a deal to avenge my wife’s death, so long as I followed its orders. I agreed and was transformed into a spirit of vengeance. Since then, I’ve used my omnipotence and eternal wrath to seek justice for the innocent, and instill punishment to those who deserve it. I am vengeance. I am The Spectre.

 

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

 

July 7th, 1953. 11:17 am.

 

I arrive at the precinct for an interrogation session with the recently arrested Paul Reinman, the small-time criminal villain Yellow Wasp. He was apprehended by my JSA teammate Blue Beetle, who informed me personally of Reinman’s actions. I walk into the interrogation room with utter disgust, but I suppress my frustration. I can not abuse my power. I must retain my duty as a cop to entrust the system to punish the scum of this world. Even if he deserves to suffer in Hell for eternity.

 

“How we doin’ today Mr. Reinman?”, I ask sarcastically as I take a seat in front of him.

 

“'You my lawyer?” he asks impulsively.

 

“No. No, I am not”, I respond. “I’m detective Jim Corrigan, and I have a few questions to ask you”.

 

Disappointed, the suspect rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s get this over with”.

 

My resentment begins to manifest. “Do you know what you did, Mr. Reinman?”.

 

The suspect seems annoyed at my question like I’m his insistent mother who’s given him the same lecture five times already. It infuriates me.

 

“You know what, let me make it easier and answer that for you. Besides the countless other murders and prison escapes in the past, earlier this morning you decided to rob a convenience store as your Yellow Wasp persona. You succeed without any casualties until an unlucky woman gets in your way. An unlucky, pregnant woman. Then, without hesitation, you shoot her in her chest with your insect-styled firearm, killing her and her unborn child. Do you know what that means, Mr. Rein--”.

 

“Alright, piggy I get it. I’m going to jail. Bla bla bla”, he interrupts. “Just bang me up a bit and send me off. I’ll just be back in town next week and--”

 

I swing at the man’s jaw, sending him flying into the wall behind him. The old brick cracks on impact. The power goes out, leaving the man vulnerable in the pitch-black darkness.

 

A deep and sinister voice escapes gritted teeth. “Paul Reinman”, the voice bellows. “You have slain the innocent without consequence for far too long. It is time you face punishment for your crimes”.

 

The man screams for help as he is levitated off the ground and pinned against the wall. He is slowly approached by a plane figure draped in a green cloak. Staring into the figure’s bright green eyes, he notices skulls in the center of its pupils. It horrifies him. The chain from the suspect’s handcuffs suddenly extends in length and wraps around his neck. Reinman gurgles for air, only to be dropped at the last second before he drew his last breath.

 

“You will be judged”, the voice warns the Yellow Wasp, now sobbing helplessly on the floor in a fetal position.

 

I close the door behind me in relief. What happened in there? Why am I so...emotional? I could’ve killed him but...doesn’t he deserve it? No. That’s for the system to decide. I must maintain control. I must--

 

The increased volume of a newscast on a nearby radio interrupts my thoughts.

 

“This is Joan Mason reporting live from NYC on an apparent robbery-in-progress by the supervillain Psycho Pirate. The Justice Society members The Flash, Wind Dragon, and El Dorado are already on the scene but have yet to apprehend the villain...”

 

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

 

Jay Garrick bolts to the side of the front doorway of the bank. Peering inside, to his surprise, seeing civilians filling crates, sacks, whatever can hold paper money, with cash. In the center of the building stands Psycho-Pirate atop a table, presenting some sort of speech to the helpless civilians around him.

 

“Thank you all! It’s quite generous of all of you to aid in my robbery. Truly, it means a lot.”

 

Then almost instantly, the civilians become more aggressive with their duties. They begin to grab dollar bills by the handful, unbothered by them being completely crumpled.

 

“Careful now!”, the Psycho-Pirate warns. “Our men in arms are losing their patience”. He gestures to the guards, who are pointing their pistols at the civilians. Their hands and arms shake, making their fingers a tad more trigger happy every time.

 

“He’s making them his slaves!”, Flash thought to himself, growing more frustrated by the minute.

 

Flash looks around the room at the civilian’s faces, each stuck with a forced smile on top of a terrified expression.

 

He zips back to his original cover spot, his teammates El Dorado and Wind Dragon awaiting his return.

 

“Dorado, Wind Dragon, thanks for backing me up today”, Jay Garrick says.

 

“Por supuesto Flash! Which pendejo are we up against today?”, Fernando Escandon asks as his voice juggles between an American and a Spanish accent.

 

Toshio Eto nods in agreement as he maneuvers a miniature leaf through his fingers without touching either of them.

 

“Charles Halstead, the Psycho-Pirate. He wears some magical mask to control people’s minds...or something”, answers Jay. “20 hostages, 5 armed. Boys, we need that mask off of him. We’re putting him away for good this time”.

 

“Unfortunately it won’t be that simple”, I say, startling the heroes with my low, eerie voice.

 

“Spectre! Long time no see! You here to help us pummel Psycho-Pirate?”, Jay hollers at his friend.

 

“Hello, Jay. I have been distant from the team for some time. I apologize.”

 

“Hey, don’t worry about it, Jim”, he responds, placing a firm hand on my shoulder.

 

My gaze shifts to individuals I have never met before. Jay notices my confusion and introduces them as El Dorado, who seems to be unsettled by my appearance. Wind Dragon, who is calm, but has one hand on the handle of his sheathed katana.

 

“I look forward to working with you both”, I say, easing the tension between the three of us. “Halstead wears an ancient, supernatural weapon called Medusa’s Mask, bestowing him the power to project emotions onto others and feed on them simultaneously.”

 

“Damn vampire…”, Jay mumbles to himself, resentful of what he saw moments ago. “He’s got some balls doin’ this in broad daylight”.

 

“I assure you, Flash, he will not escape this time. Spectre, you have mystical connections, no?”, Toshio inquires. “Perhaps you can counter his spell in some way?”.

 

“As a paranormal being, I am immune to any psychic influence. Therefore, the mask itself has no effect on me. However, the mask can still detect any threats towards its wearer, physical or not. If it senses my presence, it may put the hostages in more harm” I respond.

 

“Can you provide us protection from his seduction while we remove the mask?, Toshio persistently asks, gesturing to his teammates.

 

“Mi amigo”, Fernando Interrupts, whispering, “my English is still a little rough. What does...se-dukt-shun mean?”.

 

Toshio glares at his superfriend. “It is another word for ‘attraction’”, he responds.

 

“Ah...gracias. I understand now”, Fernando proudly inquires.

 

Suddenly, the Spectre casts his arm out from under his cloak, placing a psychic block on each of the heroes’ souls and minds. They feel awkward at first but adjust to the temporary alteration.

 

Jay, who had just finished a silent, but intense brainstorming session with himself, finally announces, “Alright boys, here’s the plan...”

 

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

 

Once the debriefing was finalized, the three heroes infiltrated the bank. Despite being required to maintain distance from Psycho Pirate outside, I am still able to watch the events unfold through my teammates' eyes. Each responsible for a specific task instructed by the Flash, who quickly disarms each armed individual in the building. He is aggressive but gentle at the same time, leaving each person unharmed but detained. Out of the corners of his eyes, he notices several casualties lifeless on the polished tiled floors. It angers Jay Garrick, but it is only another reason to run faster.

 

Wind Dragon leaps through the entrance of the bank making precise maneuvers with his sword, unleashing gusts of wind with each swipe. Each guest is directed at a container of cash, launching the bills into the air. Bending the air around the money, he directs the thousands of bills into the vault where they belong.

 

Simultaneously, El Dorado is teleporting civilians out of the building to my location, where I begin to psychically purge each one's minds from the influence of Medusa’s mask. The civilians wallow in fear as they slowly recover from the emotional torment. The process is traumatizing for the civilians, but it must be done. This man constantly causes distress for the innocent, and the system constantly fails to punish him. It frustrates me.

 

A sudden flash of light appears out of thin air, revealing El Dorado. “Everyone’s out!”, Fernando calls to me as he gently lays another civilian on the ground. We regroup with Flash and Wind Dragon in the bank, where Psycho-Pirate is nowhere to be seen.

 

“I’ll find him”, Jay says before immediately darting out to search for him. While the others aid civilians, I float up through the ceiling and into the bright sky to watch as a red blur cuts through the vast city. There are moments when it stops, but only for a second. Presumably to aid someone unrelated in our endeavor. After all, this is New York City. Not nearly as bad as Gotham, but it’s no Metropolis. Suddenly, I lose track of Jay and teleport myself to his most recent location. I am able to find him thanks to the common sight of men picking up their hats and newspapers twirling in the air. My final clue was skid marks leading into an alley, where I found Jay clutching Psycho Pirate by the collar.

 

“Spectre!”, Jay announces, “He tried to get a hold of me but little did we know we had you,” he proudly exclaims. “I tried to take the mask off but it won’t budge!”.

 

“Allow me”, I say, before entering Halstead’s subconscious. I dive deep, finding fragments of the mask’s previous hosts' memories. To witness the countless lives it is tormented through greed, lust, and pride, sins that are engraved in one's legacy forever. It's too much for me to bear, and I am forcibly removed from Halstead’s mind.

 

“What happened?”, Fernando asks as he and Toshio arrive.

 

“I...cannot remove the mask”, I answer, worrying them.

 

“Haha! Do you think this is coming off? The mask is forever bonded to me!”, Psycho-Pirate yells. “The mask told me so! Do you think this is over? I’ll be back again! I promise! I’ll be ba--”, a loud crack interrupts the villains venting.

 

“I’d watch my mouth if I were you, Chuck”, Jay warns. “Spectre, got any idea on what to do with this freak?”.

 

Over and over again, the villain's words replay in my head. The suffering of the Psycho Pirate’s victims torments me. It all begins to swell into an unstoppable pain in my body. “Charles Halstead.”

 

“Jim! Don’t!”, Jay calls out as he and the others launch towards me. I freeze them in place, their faces stuck in a concerned expression. They watch as, with one gesture of my hand, Charles Halstead is engulfed in a bright green fire. He screams in agony as the flames incinerate his flesh. I send Medusa’s Mask, untouched by the flames, through a small gateway to the Tower of Fate, where it will be locked away safely. Once I release my ex-teammates from their frozen state, Flash runs directly towards me, Dorado blasts a beam of light, and Wind Dragon sends a small tornado in my direction. All are useless while I am in my evasive form. Realizing what I’ve just done, I open a portal to my escape.

 

“Jim...don’t”, Jay begs.

 

“I’m sorry…”, I say before entering the portal. Transported to my apartment, the green cloak disappears as my detective uniform replaces it. I collapse onto my knees and begin to weep. I’ve just lost control, something I promised myself I’d never do. I’ve just broken everything I’ve ever stood for as a cop, and I can’t go back to the JSA either.

 

“What do I do now? God...what do I do?”, I ask myself again, and again until suddenly, He answers.

 

“James…”, a voice calls out. “James…”

 

My head swings up. “What’s...what’s happened to me? Why couldn’t I control it?”.

 

“It is time, James. Time to fully embrace the power I gifted you long ago.”

 

“‘Gifted?’ This isn’t a gift. It’s a curse. Why...why did you do this to me? Why couldn’t you just let me die?”.

 

“In order for my power to be used responsibly, I needed a host that could be a fair and impartial judge for evil. Only a human host such as you is capable of such a task”.

 

A few moments pass before I can truly comprehend the role I’ve been given. Finally, I realize, time and time again I’ve been disappointed in humanity’s consistently vile behavior. And each and every time I would entrust the flawed concept of justice, a concept which restricts vengeance and allows undeserved second chances. I followed it once as Jim Corrigan, but now, I am only vengeance. I am only...The Spectre.

Some silent treatment followed. Euro Uncle pouted at the porch and Afro Uncle kept him company, because of fraternal solidarity.

Inside the house Euro Auntie sat in a living room at aunt Alvina's sofa and Afro Auntie kept her company, as a proof of sisterly solidarity.

Manna stayed impartial and was a little confused. It was obvious, that there was not going to be any baking today.

  

Copyright - All Rights Reserved - Black Diamond Images

 

For the record tonight, 6th November 2024, I find myself in utter disbelief that Americans could wilfully elect such a deeply floored individual as Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States of America.

I'll go on record here and say that nothing good will come from a Trump Presidency other than the embellishment of the wealthy and the ideological vested interest groups who got him there.

Trump and Musk will take an existing impressive economy and society backwards. I hope for the sake of Americans that I'm wrong, but at the end of 4 years I will be happy to be proven demonstrably incorrect.

The question now is, will future non-partisan fair elections be even possible, and will impartial judicial decisions reflect the US constitution.

Good long serving eminently experienced impartial public servants will get the chop, and the extent to which Trump carries out his threats to take revenge on his opponents, journalists and non-compliant media and surround himself with unqualified sycophants remains to be seen.

With billionaire Elon Musk in tow one can only assume massive job cuts are inevitable.

The extent to which America becomes a Christo-fascist state threatening women's autonomy and that of non-white groups is also an open question. Indeed, all the signs are there.

Meaningful action to address climate change impacts is also in grave danger.

 

Two days out from the election and already there's evidence of some foreign heads of state patronisingly currying favour with Trump,but to the winner go the spoils.

 

I do however look forward to Trump ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza/Lebanon within 24 hours of taking office, as promised, though without ceding to the aggressors.

 

When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king! The palace becomes a circus.

Old Turkish Proverb

I often become emotionally connected to a photo, making it difficult to view it impartially. This image is a prime example. I love diving before sunrise so I usually focus on macro subjects in the dark. However, one morning, I stumbled upon an energetic school of small fish swimming outside their coral refuge. I spent the entire dive with them, feeling their energy. As the sun rose and it got lighter, predatory fish showed up and started hunting, prompting the fish to retreat to the protect of the coral. I wanted to capture this predawn fish frenzy so the next morning, took my wide angle lens into dark waters. The scene reappeared but my technique and therefore my results were poor. I thought about it the whole day, what camera settings to change and for the next two morning, tried to improve my results. These may not be the most exciting images but they bring me joy, reminding me of the effort that went into capturing them.

Hoping for an evening all to himself to unwind after a week of mind numbing training, Stormtrooper Bruce settles down for a bit of R&R knowing things are about to get crazy now that the holidays are here. Case in point.

 

Vader: Pardon my intrusion but now that the Emperor has announced the next Bake Off Contest I wanted to be the first to offer my services.

 

STB: Sorry, not following you. I’ve been baking for years, so I’m pretty sure I don’t need any help.

 

Vader: Oh but you do, and I want to help. You need an Official Taste Tester.

 

STB: Sorry, but that’s what my buds are for.

 

Vader: No, really. They just want to eat your cookies. And they would never hurt your feelings if something tasted bad. I, on the other hand, can be impartial.

 

STB: You really don’t know them very well. They don’t hesitate in the least to let me know when something sucks.

 

Vader: But I can be impartial.

 

STB: I’m sure you can but it’s cookies not rocket science. I’m afraid I have to turn down your generous offer.

 

Vader: So that’s a no?

 

STB: Sorry to disappoint.

 

Vader: I doubt that but since I’m here, may I assist you in wrapping some presents?

 

STB: Sorry, sir. All done. Just finished.

 

Vader: In that case, is that hot cocoa you’re drinking? I can’t remember the last time I had some. Do you have any more?

 

STB: Only made enough for one cup. And before you ask, there’s no more donuts either.

 

Vader: You know, at times I find your borderline insubordination refreshing. This is not one of those times.

 

STB: Sorry, sir. All that survival training made me resistant to all forms of adverse conditions and torture.

 

Vader: Indeed. However … I see two donuts on that plate.

 

_______________________________________________

Viewing Large is always fun. Just click on the image.

402 Commercial Avenue.

"This ornate brick building, the first of its kind in Skagit County, was constructed by Lewis & Dryden Engineers of Portland, Oregon. It was originally chartered as the Bank of Anacortes. The Bank closed during the depression of 1893. Two vaults and other bank-related features have survived alterations."

- City of Anacortes.

 

"The Platt Building on the SW corner of P/Commercial and 4th was the first brick building on Fidalgo Island. It was built by John Platt during the summer of 1890. The ANACORTES AMERICAN reported on 7-31-1890, "Platt bank building will be done in 30 days." On 10-9-1890, "The New Bank ... Fine store and Offices ... To John Platt is due the credit and honor of building and occupying the first brick block to be erected upon Fidalgo Island."

The building had several names, such as Post Office Building (Post Office housed here from 1895 to at least 1898) and, in 1901, the Wells Building after it was purchased by W. V. Wells. The structure also housed the first telephone company."

anacortes.pastperfectonline.com/photo/96E694C9-0FE0-46F1-...

 

The term Anunnaki is often used in ancient texts as referring to a group of gods. The name is a derivative of the names heaven and earth, Anu and Ki but is also translated by some as “those of royal blood” and also “princely offspring”.The name is variously written “a-nuna”, “a-nuna-ke-ne”, or “a-nun-na”, meaning “princely offspring” or “offspring of Anu”. Some even believe the Anunnaki are sons and daughters of the gods, heaven, and earth.ANUNNAKI: DNA Code. They are said to have created or come from the Mesopotamian culture. There are others who believe they are a form of extra-terrestrial beings (reptilian or serpent race) from outer space or sometimes more specifically from the planet Nibiru/Planet X that at one time lived on this planet or still do on another plane of existence. The Anunnaki were served by the Igigi until the Igigi revolted, forcing the Anunnaki to create Mankind. These servants were not slaves; they were held in high regard, and they were created only to relieve the gods of their labour. In the beginning, Mankind had no set lifespan, and so the gods could only control overpopulation via flood, plague, and famine. During the final deluge, the gods wept at the suffering of Mankind, and so Man was given a set lifespan. It is during this deluge that Ziusudra (Noah) survived with his wife on the ark. The story of the final flood can be found in Atra-Hasis and the Epic of Gilgamesh. This is the first myth of the relationship between ENKI- ANU.This is called the Sky God and Earth Mother myth, which illustrates the relationship between the Sky and Earth. There is also a deity called Enlil that controls and watches of the sky as his kingdom. Another counter argument for the Anunnaki theory is the question of “Looking for Gold” and trying to dig gold from planet Earth. If applied to the technology of the Cosmic Era, the idea of looking for gold is ridiculous and absurd since already in the modern era, transmutation has been very possible by using energy from the Vacuum, also known as Luminous Aether. The technology comes from electricity, and is very based on Cosmic technology, meaning that the Anunnaki would’ve already known how to make gold through transmutation of cheap metals, therefore why would they look for gold, in fact they are already a cosmic civilization and missing this key fact that they can perform transmutation from radiant energy, it would demoralize them in the face of the cosmos.The Anunnaki are a race of beings that traveled across into the depths of space. They’ve settled on a planet called Earth. The Anunnaki ruled the race called “Igigi” who worked for the Anunnaki. But after 2500 years of labor, the Igigi rebelled against the Anunnaki. Enki suggested creating a new race. The Anunnaki observed the possibilities, and in a place called Eden, they have created the Human race, mixing clay with the flesh and blood of an Anunnaki so that the new race could have the divine wisdom. Nintu put the dollop into “shells” and nine months later, humankind was born. In the end, the humans proved to be a good workforce. The Annunaki deities were worshiped by the Ancient Sumerians. In the Sumerian religion, they were forbidden to show the Annunaki Gods in their true form, so instead, the Sumerians depicted them as anthropomorphic animals in place of their true form. Later on the Sumerian ethnic group has been replaced by Akkadians then later Babylonians until they’ve been converted to monotheistic religions such as Zoroastrianism and Christianity. The Anunnaki have no defined appearance, although according to the fertile crescent mythology, the Anunnaki are most likely to look like humans in their original forms, but in larger height. The Anunnaki are a shape-shifting race and can mold themselves into many shapes and sizes. According to certain conspiracy theorists, the Sumerian language appears to be the language taught to the humans by the Annunaki, since it’s assumed to be the first language ever written. It has been said that the language of the Annunaki is considered to be pre-Sumerian. If this is true, the closest language to the Annunaki could be Hungarian since, in pre-modern history, many linguists have found many similarities between the Hungarian language and the Sumerian language. The Hungarians are believed to be the exiled remains of the Sumerians, and many legends from ancient Hungarian culture relates to the Annunaki myth. The Manysi and the Khanty ethnic group, like the Hungarians are classified in the “Ugaric” language family and one individual converted to shamanism, into believing the Mansi to be descendants of Sumerians. However, linguistic affinities are also being found between Hebrew, hinting the another link of Sumerian with the Semitic languages, in which biblical scriptures were originally written in. Akkadian was a Semitic language once used often with Sumerian, during the arrival of Akkadians into Iraq. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria. The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Human DNA consists of about 3 billion bases, and more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in all people. The order, or sequence, of these bases, determines the information available for building and maintaining an organism, similar to the way in which letters of the alphabet appear in a certain order to form words and sentences.

‘Alien’ DNA Strands Discovered in Human Genome

Science has already successfully mapped the human genome and identified the functions of specific genes in hereditary characteristics, such as skin color. But few people know that some of the DNA strands in the human genome are not even human in origin, making them quite “alien.” A recent research paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has revealed that the human genome contains at least nineteen pieces of ancient viral DNA. More so, complete genetic strands of the viruses were found in two percent of the people who were tested.The ancient genetic fragments from viruses found in our genome are known as human endogenous retroviruses, or HERVs. The study examined the genome of 2,500 people across the globe and found genetic markers for HERVs. Approximately eight percent of the DNA in the human body is from viral genetic fragments. These are the DNA strands that became integrated with the human genome and passed on to several generations. Darwin’s theory of evolution has given a very big struggle with the views thought from the world’s religions. The Anunnaki play a key role as a point of Evolutionists, Creationists and Ancient historians meet. The Anunnaki version of creationism was based on ancient excavations of ancient documents and artifacts that support the evidence of ancient civilizations being helped by extraterrestrials. In ancient manuscripts, there are several accounts that imply ancient civilizations having knowledge in advanced science that we humans have just learned in the modern era. The double helix model of the DNA is sometimes linked with the double-helix snake on a road symbol, found commonly among medical symbols. This has been linked to the fact that the snake symbol is based on the DNA model, which is some evidence of ancient historians having knowledge about the DNA genome model. The ancient liturgical texts of Mesopotamia was linked with different passages in the Hebrew Bible, for example, the Epic of Gilgamesh parallels the Noah’s Ark story, and the Genesis in the Torah parallels to the Sumerian creation myth, involving the Annunaki. In Modern Conspiracy Theory, which revolves around subjects like the Illuminati and the secret plans of the world elite such as the NWO, the Anunnaki have gained much interest from conspiracy theorists. The Annunaki are thought to be linked to Reptilians, and have been continuously said to be the same species; however, there is no evidence to support that argument. Humans would be reptilian in nature and most of our world religions would have reptiles rather than giant humans such as seen in the Sumerian tablets of the humanoid Anunnaki. Other than that, there are statements saying the world elite are directly related to the Annunaki, now secretly collaborating a doomsday plot to rid or enslave humanity once again. Humans directly related to the superior Anunnaki have claimed to be the first to discover humanity’s purpose near our creation. The Anunnaki creation myth is annotated to have different views, for instance, some claiming it’s great evidence supporting creationism, and others claiming negative views of the creation myth, viewing the Anunnaki as a malevolent race, wanting to make mankind complete slaves.

 

www.matrixdisclosure.com/anunnaki-dna-code/

 

Did Giant humans roam Ancient America in the past? Did the Native American’s have a royal class of giant rulers entombed in massive burial mounds?The historical record certainly seems to support this reality. Over a two hundred year period, more than 1000 accounts of seven-foot and taller skeletons have been reported unearthed from ancient burial sites in North America. Newspaper accounts, town and county histories, letters, scientific journals, diaries, photos and Smithsonian ethnology reports have carefully documented this. These skeletons have been reported from coast to coast in burial chambers, stone crypts, caves, ancient battlefields and massive mounds. Strange anatomic anomalies such as double rows of teeth, jawbones so large as to be fit over the face of the finder, and elongated skulls, were documented in virtually every state. Smithsonian scientists identified at least 17 skeletons that stood at over seven feet in their annual reports, including one example that was 8 feet tall, and a skull with a 36-inch circumference (an average human skull has a circumference of about 20 inches). The Smithsonian Institution is mentioned dozens more times as the recipient of enormous skeletons from across the United States. In late 2014, an article from a satirical website claimed that a Supreme Court ruling forced the Smithsonian Institution to admit to the historic destruction of giant skeletons. It was published not long after our Search for the Lost Giants TV show that aired on History Channel. The headline read: “Smithsonian Admits to Destruction of Thousands of Giant Human Skeletons in Early 1900s.” 2 The article was convincing, and this apparent exposé of the National Museum hit a chord with people. Right away, we were inundated with emails from people believing the story was real. In reality, if such a story were true, it would surely be front-page worldwide news. However, when an Internet post is mentioning a startling find and not verifying any of the professionals involved, or real organizations or institutions they belong to, one can quickly conclude that it is a misrepresentation of facts or an outright lie. Maybe someday, however, the Smithsonian will admit to the irony of this story.

The over-willingness to believe seems to be the culprit for such stories gaining life. This is the reality we have had to deal with when researching the strange case of the North American giants, as hoaxes and exaggerations were often reported as truth. This is further complicated by the lack of physical evidence, and the moral and ethical implications of investigating human remains. When the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was passed in 1990, any remaining giant skeletons and bones were removed from public display and buried according to the traditions of individual tribes. We often get asked: “where are the bones?” and we reply: “ask the Smithsonian and the Native Americans.” Even with these obstacles, we have done our best to chase down every account to the end and to be as impartial as possible. The book Giants on Record, is not trying to be a long scientific paper but rather an assemblage of data and documents that have been hidden in libraries and local historical societies, and quietly shunned by orthodox anthropology and archaeology for over a century. The following accounts are part of this forgotten legacy, which carry implications that may someday shake the foundations of American academia. Most of the reports we have uncovered are from well-known newspapers such as The Washington Post and The New York Times, but we begin our analysis with this account from The Worthington Advance (November 18, 1897, pg.3) that describes the ethnological work of the Smithsonian Institution’s Division of Eastern Mounds, and quotes the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology at the time, John Wesley Powell. The image below accompanies the news report, “It is officially recorded that agents of the Bureau of Ethnology have explored more than 2,000 of these mounds. Among the objects found in them were pearls in great numbers and some of very large size… It is a matter of official record that in digging through a mound in Iowa the scientists found the skeleton of a giant, who, judging from actual measurement, must have stood seven feet six inches tall when alive. The bones crumbled to dust when exposed to the air. Around the neck was a collar of bear’s teeth and across the thighs were dozens of small copper beads, which may have once adorned a hunting skirt.” As part of the Search for the Lost Giants show, Jim and fellow researcher James Clary investigated the following account that had this heading:

“An Ancient Ozark Giant Dug Up Near Steelville: Strange discovery made by a boy looking for arrowheads, gives this Missouri Town an absorbing mystery to ponder.” Highlights of the lengthy report from The Steelville Ledger (June 11, 1933) are given: “…he turned up the complete skeleton of an 8 foot giant. The grisly find was brought to Dr. R. C. Parker here and stretched out to its enormous length in a hallway of his office where it has since remained the most startling exhibit Steelville has ever had on public view… An appeal to Dr. Aleš Hrdlička, anthropologist of the National Museum in Washington and celebrated authority on primitive races is expected to help. Dr. Parker has written to him, offering to forward the skull or the whole skeleton, if necessary for scientific study.” Jim and James Clary found the exact location where the 8-foot skeleton was removed, which was from along the north wall of a cave. They met with several relatives of Billy Harmon, who all professed to the legitimacy of the find. They also found where R. C. Parker’s office once was, and ran into an old timer, who was Dr. Parker’s patient in his youth. While reading through the microfilm at the Steelville library, three reports of the find where uncovered, including the photo that shows Les Eaton, a 6-foot man laid out next to the 8-foot skeleton in Dr. Parkers office (see image below).

The Smithsonian Institution is continually linked to giant skeletons, or at least the lack of them. Most of the reports end in something like this: “The bones were shipped to the Smithsonian Institution for further study.” This ongoing problem of the “missing bones” has become a matter of legend, as there are dozens of reports of the Smithsonian receiving artifacts and giant skeletons. Today, however, they deny their existence. We investigate this thoroughly in our book, and conclude that a cover-up may have been instigated in the late 1800s because it did not fit in with their new ideologies of ‘Manifest Destiny’ and ‘Evolution.’ Although the giants were sidelined in the early stages of scientific discovery, they were, thanks to earlier explorers of America, already in the written record. ;As far back as the 1500s when the Spanish navigators were exploring the coast of the Americas, sightings of live giants were being recorded. Three captains of Spanish ships reported these taller-than-average native people on their expeditions to America, as well as Sir Francis Drake, Captain John Smith, a Smithsonian professor, and several other notable eyewitnesses. In 1519, Spanish explorer Alonzo Álvarez de Pineda was mapping the coastline of the Gulf Coast, marking the various rivers, bays, landmarks, and potential ports, declaring that they belonged to the king of Spain. Not far from where the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico he “found a large town, and on both sides of its banks, for a distance of six leagues up its course, some forty native villages.”3 He also noted that other than giants, the tribes also had a race of tiny pygmies. Pineda described the tribes that settled near the Mississippi river as: “A race of giants, from ten to eleven palms in height and a race of pigmies only five or six palms high.” (Webster’s Dictionary defines a palm used as a unit of measurement to range from seven to ten inches, so the giants were at least 6 feet 7 inches to 8 feet tall). On his return from Tampico to the Mississippi, Pineda unknowingly sailed right past a tribe of equally huge Texas Indians.3 A report on the Karankawas, John R. Swanton, of the Bureau of American Ethnology, describes the men as being: “…very tall and well formed…Head-flattening and tattooing were practiced to a considerable extent.” However it was also recorded that they:

“…do not eat men, but roast them only, on account of the cruelties first enacted against their ancestors by the Spanish.”

So that’s OK then! A few years later in 1523, as the Spanish fleet discovered, dominated, and overran the Caribbean Islands, a strange report came forth via historian Peter Martyr who assisted at the Council of the Indies. The account was originally shared by a native who was Christianized and taken to Spain: “The report ran that the natives were white and their king and queen giants, whose bones, while babies, had been softened with an ointment of strange herbs, then kneaded and stretched like wax by masters of the art, leaving the poor objects of their magic half dead, until after repeated manipulations they finally attained their great size.” In early 1521, Francisco Gordillo and Pedro de Quejo undertook a secret voyage from Spain. They sailed over to America and along the Carolina coast to capture Native American slaves, and to scout out potential locations for new Spanish colonies. They managed to capture seventy members of the Chicora tribe to bring back to their homeland: “The chiefs of the province of Chicora, a portion of what is now South Carolina, were famous for their height, which was supposed to prove their royal blood.” While Gordillo and Quejo treated the enigmatic Chicora Indians with treachery, their relationships with the Duhare peoples were much more gentlemanly. This was probably because the inhabitants of Duhare were described as looking European, with red or brown hair, tanned skin and gray eyes. Strangely, for this part of the world, the men had full beards and towered over the Spanish. They did not appear to be Native American. He visited with many of the Native American tribes in the area and recorded their customs, rituals and ways of living. The report on the Duhare stated: “Ayllon says the natives are white men, and his testimony is confirmed by Francisco Chicorana. Their hair is brown and hangs to their heels. They are governed by a king of gigantic size, called Datha, whose wife is as large as himself. They have five children. In place of horses, the king is carried on the shoulders of strong young men, who run with him to the different places he wishes to visit.” The Spanish describe Datha as being the largest man they had ever seen. He had a wife as tall as him. He wore brightly colored paint or tattoos on his skin that distinguished him from the commoners. This was all happening at the same time that the Patagonian giants (pictured below with Dr. Frederick A. Cook in 1898) were being witnessed on the southern tip of South America. For “Giants” became fashionable in the 1500s. In the summer of 1579, just north of San Francisco, Sir Francis Drake recounted his witnessing of living giants in his diary. In 1602, the California Channel Islands were ‘discovered’ by the Spanish, an area that has become a mecca for giantologists. Over 3,000 skeletons were discovered on the islands in the early 1900s, some being between 8 and 9 feet tall. Numerous mysterious reports of skulls containing ‘double rows of teeth’ were also reported on the neighboring islands.Hundreds of skeletal exhumation reports across the United States have demonstrated some very unusual anatomical features. These include macrocephalic (large) skulls, elongated craniums, enormous jaws that were fit over the face of the finders, and double rows of teeth. They come from official Smithsonian reports (with one account describing a third set of teeth), newspaper articles, and letters and journals from doctors and respected members of the local community. The ‘double row of teeth’ phenomenon is what we will briefly look at here, as it has been described in multiple accounts with evidence going as far back as 6,000 years, from the area of the Canadian Great Lakes.

 

grahamhancock.com/vieiranewman1/

Thirty Strangers - One Question: What makes you happy?

 

An answer so obvious, I'm surprised it's taken so long for anyone to think of it. Mums always make everyone happy :) One thing after completing this project I've come to realise is that I should really have asked everyone why they wrote what they wrote... As it would be interesting to know what about it that makes them happy.

 

This guy was just having coffee with his two friends and was really enthusiastic about the project, It was really nice talking to them about it.

 

Doing this project you get exposed to a whole range of people, the ones who think that it's a really cool idea and want to know more, the ones who are pretty impartial to what I'm doing and why... sometimes to the point of not even asking what the picture is for haha, and then the people who get angry when I ask and tell me to piss off :(

Sir Thomas Brisbane:

 

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane (1773-1860), governor, was born on 23 July 1773 at Brisbane House, near Largs, Ayrshire, son of a family of ancient Scottish lineage. He was educated by tutors and attended both the University of Edinburgh and the English Academy, Kensington. In 1789 he was commissioned an ensign in the 38th Regiment, which next year he joined in Ireland; there he struck up a long and profitable friendship with a fellow subaltern, Arthur Wellesley. From 1793 to 1798 he served in Flanders as a captain, from 1795 to 1799 in the West Indies as a major, and from 1800 to 1803 he commanded the 69th Regiment in Jamaica as a lieutenant-colonel, earning high praise from the governor, Sir George Nugent. From 1803 to 1805 he served in England, but when the 69th was ordered to India went on half-pay in Scotland because of his health.

 

He then was able to indulge his interest in astronomy, which he developed after nearly being involved in a shipwreck in 1795, and in 1808 he built at Brisbane House the second observatory in Scotland. In 1810 he was promoted colonel and elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London, and in 1812 at Wellington's request he was promoted brigadier-general. He commanded a brigade which was heavily engaged in the battles of the Peninsular war from Vittoria to Toulouse, and continued to practise his astronomy so that in Wellington's words, he 'kept the time of the army'. In 1815 he was created a K.C.B., received the thanks of parliament, and commanded a brigade in the American war. From 1815 to 1818 he commanded a division in the army of occupation in France and in 1817 he was created a K.C.H. (G.C.H., 1831). He returned to England in 1818 and next year married Anna Maria, daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Hay Makdougall of Makerstoun, Scotland, whose surname he added to his own by letters patent on 14 August 1826. In 1815 he applied for appointment as governor of New South Wales, but the post was not then vacant; in November 1820 on Wellington's advice Brisbane, then in command of the Munster district in Ireland, was appointed. He arrived in the colony on 7 November 1821 and took over from Governor Lachlan Macquarie on 1 December.

 

Brisbane's policies for the colony were usually sensible answers to pressing problems, based on Commissioner John Thomas Bigge's report and the instructions derived from it, modified by his own impressions. Though he was on good terms with Macquarie he condemned the latter's 'system' and told Earl Bathurst later that he had changed New South Wales in so many ways that if Macquarie had returned 'he would not have recognised the place'.

 

When Brisbane arrived 340,000 acres (137,593 ha) of promised grants had still to be located and there were many confused permissive occupancies and nebulous promises. Lands were occupied and transferred without legal title, and boundary disputes seemed never ending. Proper survey was essential for a workable policy of alienation to be evolved, and the Ripon regulations of 1831 were made to a large extent possible by the practical development of the policies which Brisbane had implemented.

 

In 1822 he issued tickets-of-occupation which enabled land to be immediately occupied without a preliminary survey and graziers to be given security against trespass without the land being permanently alienated. Additional assistant surveyors were appointed to reduce arrears in the surveying and granting of land, but Brisbane promised land only to those with the inclination and ability to use it productively, forbade the acceptance of chits signed by irresponsible persons as valid titles, and gave tickets-of-occupation only when extra stock had actually been obtained. He granted land to sons of established settlers only if their fathers' properties had been considerably improved, and to immigrants in proportion to their capital. He was reluctant to make grants to his newly-appointed officials, even though this subjected him 'to a most unpleasant feeling'. In order to promote settlement of the colony by settlers who really wanted to improve the land and to deter speculators with fictitious capital, he insisted that grantees should maintain one convict labourer, free of expense to the Crown, for every 100 acres (40 ha) they were given, and he maintained this rule against criticism from the Colonial Office that it would hamper settlement. Brisbane insisted that although the regulation had been temporarily unpopular genuine settlers did not oppose it, for convict servants were coming to be looked on as a boon. It would help to control the intense demand for land, though even that check would not be sufficient. 'Not a cow calves in the colony but her owner applies for an additional grant in consequence of the increase in his stock', he wrote. 'Every person to whom a grant is made receives it as the payment of a debt; everyone to whom one is refused turns my implacable enemy'. He asked the British government 'to fix an invariable proportion of land to be cultivated in every grant' and to appoint a Commission of Escheat, for without it, since a judgment by Barron Field, the 'clearing and cultivating clauses' in the grants had become 'a dead letter'. The instructions on the disposal of crown lands which were sent from London in January 1825 owed so much to Brisbane's advice that he found 'great satisfaction' in noticing 'the very prominent similarity' between them and the practice he had been following in New South Wales.

 

Acting on one of Bigge's suggestions Brisbane in 1824 had begun selling crown lands, at 5s. an acre. 'While the system of free grants exists, there is little chance of extensive improvement taking place generally in the colony, as the improver of land can never enter the market in competition with the individual who gets his land for nothing', Brisbane told Bathurst. Between May and December 1825 more than 500,000 acres (202,345 ha) were sold. In land policy Brisbane had recognized the need to encourage men of capital, though at the same time opposing over-lavish land grants. Seeing the need for consolidation rather than expansion, and for more accurate surveys of the settled areas, he gave less encouragement to land exploration than either his predecessors or successors, but he continued, as instructed, to organize coastal surveys.

 

Brisbane received from Bathurst full instructions on convict affairs, derived from Bigge's report. These were based on the belief that Macquarie had been too lenient and too extravagant, and Brisbane conscientiously carried them out. He rigidly adhered to the rules against the premature granting of tickets-of-leave. He reduced the number of road-gangs, whose members often indulged in dissipation and crime, and the numbers employed on public works in Sydney, and organized in their place gangs to clear land for settlers in return for payment to the government; this greatly speeded up the rate of clearing. He ordered convict mechanics to be hired instead of being assigned; this brought in revenue and made for a more efficient distribution of labour. He established new centres of secondary punishment as Bigge had recommended, first at Moreton Bay and later at Bathurst's suggestion on Norfolk Island, and he sent educated convicts to be confined first at Bathurst and later at Wellington valley, but he opposed excessive corporal punishment, reprieved many prisoners sentenced to death and was criticized by Bathurst for his improvidence in granting pardons.

 

Brisbane set up an agricultural training college and was the first patron of the New South Wales Agricultural Society, founded in 1822, which among other activities, financed the importation of livestock. On Bathurst's instructions, he drastically reduced the assistance given to new settlers and so, by making it virtually impracticable to begin farming without capital, helped to improve production. He conducted experiments in growing Virginian tobacco, Georgian cotton, Brazilian coffee and New Zealand flax, but unfortunately without much success.

 

Brisbane looked forward to getting the 'Colony on to its own Resources' and regarded the achievement of economy in government expenditure as one of his major successes. In 1822, on the advice of Frederick Goulburn, colonial secretary, and William Wemyss, deputy commissary general, he initiated currency reforms by which commissariat payments were to be made in dollars at a fixed value of 5s. or about one-eighth above their intrinsic value. This attempt to set up a dollar standard was intended both to reduce expenditure and to provide the colony with a coinage which would prevent a repetition of the issue of store receipts as practised by the former commissary, Frederick Drennan, and it would discourage imports by depreciating the local currency. But the system was not a success and after the terms on which the dollars would be received had been modified the dollar standard was replaced by a sterling exchange standard on instructions sent from London in July 1825. In 1823 all commissariat supplies were called by tender, though the introduction of price competition hurt small farmers and favoured the larger ones; when only three month's grain was bought by tender, instead of a year's at a fixed price, a minor depression occurred, but this was partly due to the suddenness of the change.

 

Brisbane was devout and broadminded in religious matters, and prepared to support any sect that did not threaten the state. He encouraged Wesleyan societies, advocated and gave financial aid to the Roman Catholics, but opposed what he regarded as extravagant demands by the Presbyterians, considering them wealthy enough to build their own church. He supported Bible and tract societies. He attempted to encourage education by appointing a director-general of all government public schools, but this was quashed by the Colonial Office. He believed that clergy, like government officials, should not indulge in private trade, which of course made him unpopular with Samuel Marsden. His policy towards Aboriginals was ambivalent. On one occasion he ordered some to be shot; on another he imposed martial law beyond the Blue Mountains because of 'the aggressions of the Native Blacks'. However, he favoured compensating them for lost land, and in 1825 granted the London Missionary Society 10,000 acres (4047 ha) as an Aboriginal reserve.

 

Like other governors, Brisbane found the emancipist-exclusive quarrel a major difficulty, and the success of many of his policies was vitiated because some of his officials ignored him and favoured the exclusives. Brisbane himself did not have great faith in the future of a colony based on emancipists; but though he preferred the large-scale immigration of free settlers, especially those with capital, his cautious liberalism was to the emancipists' tastes. Unlike the exclusives, they gave him a warm farewell. Brisbane appears to have believed, as he said at a public meeting just before he left, that free institutions could be safely established in New South Wales. In 1824 he did not apply any censorship when William Charles Wentworth's Australian began publication, and ended control of the Gazette by government officials. He ordered the holding of Courts of Quarter Sessions at which there would be trial by jury, an experiment which Chief Justice (Sir) Francis Forbes reported to have been very successful; they were abolished by the Act of 1828, but not before the exclusives had grossly misused them at Parramatta in their vendetta against Henry Grattan Douglass. The Legislative Council set up by the New South Wales Act of 1823, which began meeting in August 1824, operated calmly under his rule and began the process of reducing the powers of the governor from the autocracy of the past.

 

At first Brisbane had too few men to do the work of government; by 1824 he found himself with a number of departmental heads appointed independently of him, varying in ability, at odds with each other and the government. He thought Judge Barron Field and Judge-Advocate (Sir) John Wylde responsible for much of the party feeling in the colony, and was heartily glad to see them go in 1824, but John Oxley, Saxe Bannister and Frederick Goulburn were also sources of trouble. Men like George Druitt, John Jamison, Marsden, John Dunmore Lang, the Macarthurs and the Blaxlands frequently made vicious misrepresentations in London about Brisbane's administration. They gave the governor much to contend with and, though he 'evinced a forbearance amounting to Stoicism', in the end he felt compelled to remove some 'exclusive' magistrates for grossly improper behaviour. It was partly to counter their misrepresentations that he sent Dr Douglass to London in February 1824, but his patronage of Douglass, who was in trouble with the War Office, in the end contributed to his recall. Brisbane did not find Goulburn easy to work with and in January 1824 asked for an assistant-secretary. Goulburn refused to carry out some of Brisbane's instructions; he suppressed letters or answered them without reference to the governor; on 19 April 1824 he even claimed that the governor's proclamations and orders were invalid unless they went through his department. Such conduct Brisbane clearly could not countenance and he protested to the Colonial Office; the reply in December was the recall of both governor and secretary, and in November 1825 Brisbane departed.

 

Brisbane did not concern himself with all the details of his administration; but a governor could no longer attend to everything. The colony had expanded in size in recent years, and Macquarie had ruined his health and peace of mind by a concern with every administrative detail and petty squabble as Governor (Sir) Ralph Darling was soon to do also. Brisbane had worked well with Lieutenant-Governors William Sorell and (Sir) George Arthur in Van Diemen's Land, which was still under his jurisdiction, and he had no trouble there. Unfriendly contemporaries, Marsden, Archdeacon Thomas Scott and the Macarthurs, found Brisbane amiable, impartial but weak. His enemies accused him of a lack of interest in the colony, but this was untrue. Judge Forbes, whom he found 'a great blessing', praised his work; an emancipist address on his departure spoke of 'a mild, an unpartial, and a firm administration'; but soon afterwards John Dunmore Lang was to make what became the standard comment on his governorship; 'a man of the best intentions, but disinclined to business, and deficient in energy'. Of the quality of his intentions there is little doubt: highly patriotic, and regarding New South Wales as being of considerable moral, political and strategic value to the United Kingdom, he was genuinely concerned in its future progress. The stock criticisms, that he was weak and lacked interest in administrative detail, either because he was lazy or more concerned with 'star-gazing', are very misleading. 'In place of passing my time in the Observatory or shooting Parrots, I am seldom employed in either. And Altho' I rise oftener at 5 o'clock in the Morning than after, I cannot get thro' the various and arduous duties of my Government', he wrote. Brisbane had been a very respected and successful soldier, as indicated by Nugent's admiration and Wellington's occasional recorded praise and continued championship. Brisbane's dispatches are permeated with bitter realism about the greed and duplicity of leading colonists, and his policies for the colony were usually sensible. He was ready to delegate work to subordinates who were too often untrustworthy, but he was extremely diligent in the duties which he undertook himself as pertinent to his office. Sensitive, respectful to others, and never vindictive, he was rather out of his element when surrounded by the arrogance of the New South Wales magistracy, the disloyalty and factiousness of officials and the explosive rifts in colonial society. At the same time a more forceful man, living in Sydney not Parramatta, who ignored his wife and infant family (two of whom were born in the colony and a third on the voyage home), would probably have had more success in overcoming his difficulties. It was an unhappy period in Brisbane's life and, as Wellington commented on his recall, 'there are many brave men not fit to be governors of colonies'.

 

His astronomical activities had continued in Australia and indeed were probably a reason for his seeking the appointment. He built an observatory at Parramatta and made the first observations of stars in the southern hemisphere since Lacaille's in 1751-52 of which he published an account. 'Science' was 'not allowed to flag'. When he departed he left his astronomical instruments and 349 volumes of his scientific library to the colony, as he wanted his name to be associated with 'the furtherance of Science'; but he had had to leave most of his observatory work to Christian Rümker. There is little reference to astronomy in his letters after 1823, but he kept up his interest and in 1828 reported on the subject to the Royal Society, London. His astronomical achievements indeed brought him as much fame as his military and vice-regal career. When in 1823 Oxford University made him a D.C.L. he wrote that 'no Roman General ever felt prouder of the Corona Triumphatus … than I do on this occasion'. In 1826 he built another observatory at Makerstoun. Later he became president of the Edinburgh Astronomical Institution and did much to make the Edinburgh Royal Observatory highly efficient. In 1832 he was elected president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in succession to Sir Walter Scott. In 1836 he was created a baronet, in 1837 awarded a G.C.B. and in 1841 promoted general. In 1826 he had been given command of the 34th Regiment; in 1836 he was offered the command of the troops in the North American colonies, but refused on grounds of ill health, as he did in 1838 when offered the Indian command. In 1858, when he was 'the oldest officer in the Army' he twice sought a field-marshal's baton; but though asked for without emolument it was refused. Much of his later life was occupied in paternal works at Largs. He improved its drainage, endowed a parish school and the Largs Brisbane Academy. Predeceased by his four children, he died on 27 January 1860, after enjoying locally great popularity and respect. The city of Brisbane, Queensland’s capital since 1859, was founded as a convict settlement in 1824, and it and its river were named for the governor at the suggestion of the explorer Oxley, the first European to survey the area. Brisbane himself visited the new settlement that year. It was declared a town in 1834 and opened for free settlement in 1839.

 

Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography.

Well it's the Rugby World Cup final tonight and everyone's favourite team....ENGLAND.........are playing the mighty South Africa.

A lot of countries have tried and failed.....they are all back home now and they will be sitting in front of the telly with their slippers on.......unfortunately they were not good enough..........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But ENGLAND are good enough........!!! We have the advantage....GOD is a keen supporter of ENGLAND ,....in fact she is ENGLISH but has to adopt an impartial stance for obvious reasons.

In the bar last night she told me ENGLAND would win 16-15.......and that afterwards the Cup will be safely back home, in ENGLAND, where it belongs....................

Well sports fans.......gotta go........don't forget,.......... everyone's favourite football team....Manchester United ......are also playing today......so that's a bonus,don't forget to watch them.......and of course Lewis Hamilton will win the Formula One World Championship at the Brazillian Grand Prix on Sunday..............

Oh well..........better put my slippers on.......

Carte de visite by Black & Case of Boston, Mass. For three days in June 1864, thousands of wounded and sick soldiers poured into the newly established Union base at City Point in Virginia. All were victims of heavy fighting that raged in front of Petersburg during a desperate push to destroy the Confederate army.

 

Hundreds of black men in blue from the Ninth Corps numbered among them. Upon their arrival, they were removed to a makeshift hospital separate from the whites. There were little if any resources. “It was, however, in no other sense a hospital than that it was a dépôt for wounded men,” observed one writer. “There was defective management and chaotic confusion. The men were neglected, the hospital organization was imperfect, and the mortality was, in consequence, frightfully large.

 

Stories of their suffering reached the nurses, many on the brink of exhaustion due to the overwhelming numbers of patients. No one volunteered to help the African-American troops.

 

Finally, a slight woman with a resonant voice, dressed in gray flannel, stepped forward. Helen Louise Gilson knew by instinct and experience that her duty was plain.

 

Fellow nurses pleaded with her not to go. They told her she would not survive.

 

Helen replied, according to one source, “that she could not die in a cause more sacred,” and set out alone to aid the neglected men.

 

This was quintessential Helen, who often went where no others dared to go.

 

Her early life experience reveals a young woman who overcame adversity. Helen hailed from modest circumstances in Boston, where she and her two sisters became orphaned after heart-related ailments claimed the life of her father in 1849, and her mother two years later. She went to work as head assistant at the all-boys Phillips Grammar School in Boston, but left after several years due to her own health issues.

 

The start of the war found her in the Boston suburb of Chelsea, in service as governess to the three children of prosperous businessman and town mayor Frank B. Fay. He was fourteen years her senior. According to his postwar reminiscences, Helen “expressed her strong desire to serve in the army as a nurse. She had noble qualities of mind and heart. She was a winning personality, and she was strong and brave, and we knew she would do good work there.”

 

A letter of application was promptly sent to Dorothea Dix, the autocratic superintendent of army nurses in Washington, D.C. Dix invited Helen to join if she met the minimum age requirement of thirty. Helen, only twenty-six, did not qualify. The authors of the 1867 book Woman’s Work in the Civil War noted that Helen’s rejection was one of Dix’s greatest miscalculations.

 

Helen remained in Chelsea, became active in local aid societies, and also worked as a contractor to make army clothing for soldiers.

 

Meanwhile, Mayor Fay’s life took a dramatic turn. When word reached him that several of his fellow townsmen had been wounded and killed in the July 18, 1861, skirmish at Blackburn’s Ford along Bull Run in Virginia, he caught the next train to Washington to bring them home. The events that followed stirred his soul, for he was a philanthropist at heart, and called him into service to relieve the sufferings of soldiers.

 

Time passed. In April 1862, Helen received an urgent request from Dix to report to Washington. According to Mayor Fay, “Miss Dix was surprised to find her so young and attractive, and to her eyes so unfitted for service,” that she dismissed Helen as a serious candidate for a nurse. Dix sent her off to a Washington hospital in an unofficial capacity with no serious duties.

 

Helen did not remain in administrative limbo for long. Later that spring, Mayor Fay made his way back to Washington from the Army of the Potomac, then engaged in the Peninsula Campaign. At Fortress Monroe, he crossed paths with Rev. Frederick N. Knapp, a prominent player in the powerful U.S. Sanitary Commission. Knapp was headed with a boatload of supplies and nurses for the front. A conversation ensued. Mayor Fay discovered that Knapp needed recruits and recommended Helen. Knapp recalled meeting her in Washington, and asked Mayor Fay to send her down to Virginia.

 

Helen jumped at the chance. She headed south without Mayor Fay, who had returned to Chelsea to resupply. She soon arrived at White House Landing, the advancing Union army’s main supply base along the Pamunkey River outside Richmond. One of her first actions proved her mettle. “I saw the transport Wilson Small in the offing, and knew that is was full of wounded men; so, calling a boatman, and directing him to row me to the vessel, I went on board. A poor fellow was undergoing an amputation; and, seeing that the surgeon wanted help, I took hold of the limb, and held it for him. The surgeon looked up, at first surprised, then said, ‘Thank you;’ and I staid (i.e. stayed) and helped him.”

 

Towards the end of June 1862, Helen and others were forced to abandon White House Landing after Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederates seized the offensive against his plodding nemesis, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan. Helen found safe passage on a vessel downriver to the safety of Fortress Monroe, then promptly caught a tugboat headed up the James River to the new forward supply base at Harrison’s Landing.

 

Helen arrived on July 3, and found the Union army in full retreat at the end of the Seven Days Battles. “Our small tugboat on which we were packed came alongside the Monitor, which was anchored at Harrison’s Landing. We were almost surrounded by gunboats, and the firing was kept up all about us. We could see the bursting shells and hear the explosions,” she recalled.

 

This was the first of many times that she came under hostile fire.

 

The next day, the Fourth, all was chaos as Union forces made a hasty withdrawal from the shores of the James in the face of the advancing enemy.

 

“The shore was alive with troops, and steamers were constantly arriving for the transport of the sick and wounded who were lying on the ground, to be counted by acres,” Helen observed.

 

Trainloads of the ill and injured kept on coming. Helen continued, “It was a touching sight to see these brave youth of our country, reduced by disease, come tottering towards us, entreating with imploring tones for a piece of bread or a cup of cold water. Everybody was in a whirl of activity, and the rush, heat, and confusion on shore one can never forget, as these overloaded trains arrived with their suffering freights of the wounded, who were fairly thrust upon these waiting boats.”

 

Helen volunteered with others to accompany 500 wounded men on the hospital steamer Knickerbocker. Onboard was Mayor Fay, who had returned from Chelsea.

 

They made the overnight trip to Washington, where the patients were carefully removed from the Knickerbocker and transported to area hospitals for further treatment.

 

Reflecting on the massive withdrawal after the Battles of the Seven Days, the editor of Mayor Fay’s wartime papers declared, “It was into such a holocaust of suffering and death as this that Mr. Fay and Miss Gilson began their hospital work.”

 

Their highly effective partnership spanned the next three years as they traveled to battlefields in service of the sick and wounded—Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and elsewhere. They functioned as an independent relief agency in cooperation with the Sanitary Commission, who supplied them with resources when Mayor Fay ran low.

 

That the Commission allowed them to operate is remarkable, for its organizers believed in a single unified system for soldier care. They realized, however, that Mayor Fay and Helen performed a critical function that the Commission could not. One of the Commission’s major fundraisers, Horace H. Furness, explained. “Neither the Sanitary Commission nor the Medical Department, admirable as they both are, can alleviate all the misery caused by the war. In reality, about one-eighth of the sum total remains unalleviated.” By supporting them, he argued, “We are helping to diminish that eighth, and in such a way as not to conflict with the method and discipline of the Medical Department, or with the grand federal principle of the Sanitary Commission.”

 

The Commission eventually established the Auxiliary Relief Corps in 1864 to extend its battlefield reach. Mayor Fay, credited with the concept, directed the service for a time.

 

Furness made a special mention of Helen in his comments. “As a general rule, the battle-field is not the place for women; but no one who has ever seen Miss Gilson in the field hospitals can doubt that her case is the great exception to the rule. Never flustered, never complaining, always acting with impartiality, decision, and promptness, she moves about ministering to all wants, introducing order and method where all was confusion; her hands never idle, her mind never resting, and her eyelids scarcely ever closing.”

 

Numerous accounts of praise for “Miss Nellie” or “Sweet Helen Gilson” from soldier-patients echoed Furness’s sentiments. Clay MacCauley, a second lieutenant in the 126th Pennsylvania Infantry, noted, “She had a rare power over the soldier’s heart; it acknowledged her sway always. With us, her life was hidden from the world; it lay a constant sacrifice before every needy patriot friend, and rich were we who received its blessings.” Another soldier, unnamed, testified for many when he stated, “There is not a man in our regiment, who would not lay down his life for Miss Gilson.”

 

The warmth she radiated reflected her true nature and Unitarian faith. “The more this experience comes to me,” she wrote in one letter, “the more I am lifted into the upper ether of peace and rest; I am stronger in soul and healthier in body; yet, I have never worked harder in my life.” In another, she stated, “I have tested myself sufficiently under shot and shell to know that in danger I can be calm. And that is needed on the field.”

 

She never lost sight of her own humanity. According to a biographer, “Miss Gilson’s love of nature, and quick apprehension of its grandeur and beauty, never deserted her. She enjoyed sunset skies and wintry storms, the sound of waters and the perfume of flowers, with a keen and loving earnestness; and her sense of harmony, both in lights and sound, was made to minister to the comfort and pleasure of many a feeble sufferer whom such influences were still potent to reach.”

 

Perhaps her finest hour occurred in service to African-American troops. The hospital camp at City Point, set up by the Medical Corps, did not measure up to snuff. She wrote during the earliest days of her efforts, surrounded by dead and dying in temperatures hovering near the one hundred-degree mark, “The dust is intolerable. We have never endured so much. No roses here, nothing of beauty, only a parched and arid plain, —a mile square of hospital tents, filled with sick and wounded men.”

 

Helen made it her business to bring it up to the same standards as the white soldiers. She introduced new policies to improve conditions, and did so with the political acumen of a seasoned diplomat to soothe the pride and prejudice of medical authorities. Under her leadership the kitchen and daily routines were established.

 

Night after night, working by the flicker of candlelight, Helen moved quietly through the wards, alert for the faintest sounds that might signal a need for her attention. Her work brought down the mortality rate and the African-American hospital became one of the best at City Point. She spent most of the last year of the war ministering to the soldiers of the U.S. Colored Troops and area freedmen.

 

In the summer of 1865, Helen and Mayor Fay concluded their work.

 

Fay continued his philanthropic works. He lived into the 20th century, and was fondly remembered by Chelsea citizens as the “War Mayor.”

 

In October 1866, Helen married Edward Hamilton Osgood, a Boston merchant active in the Sanitary Commission. Before long, the newlyweds looked forward to bringing their first child into the world. Helen’s health, compromised by the rigors of army fieldwork, deteriorated as her pregnancy advanced. On April 20, 1868, she died at age 32. A biographer recorded her last words. “When the hour came, she put her hand upon her forehead, felt the damp, and said calmly, ‘This is death. The door is open, let me go.’”

 

The baby joined Helen in death. Her devastated husband legally changed his name to Hamilton Osgood, attended medical school and graduated in 1870. He remarried that same year and went on to become the father of a daughter. He rose to some prominence as a physician and died in 1907.

Believe it or not the 'appointments' being presented amounted to the total 'protection' available to a police officer whilst patrolling the streets of Central London (UK) both night and day.

 

How men and women took on this personal challenge to protect their communities knowing that their 'appointments' were the only barrier between them and the 'cutting edge' of fighting crime in a major capital city such as London is hard to comprehend in today's world.

 

'Appointments' refer to a 'truncheon', 'whistle', and 'report books' as shown above. Amazing to think that this practice continued to as recently as the early 1970's.

 

The Metropolitan Police truncheon was made from the Lignum Vitae tree, (wood of life) more information here:

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignum_vitae

 

More about the Metropolitan Police Whistle here:

 

thewhistlegallery.com/spotlight/013-metropolitan-police-w...

 

Note the striped armband that signified that the officer was 'on duty'.

 

Policing has changed dramatically since those days, there were no tasers, no stab vests, no handcuffs, no hi viz jackets, no personal radios and guns were literally unheard of by the majority of police officers and indeed by the Metrpolitan Police Force itself.

 

Even scarves, shoes {boots only} and beards were banned, unkempt stubble would have been dealt with by a fine under discipline regulations.

 

Regulations required that officers could not wear spectacles or be colour blind (related to evidence given in court particularly in cases involving the traffic light system) and contrary to common belief they could not have flat feet! Medical requirements were stringent, teeth condition had to be perfect as well as eyesight. There was no leniency offered regarding the minimum height limit.

 

Officers would have to request permission to marry (a potential wife would be 'checked out') and buy or rent their own house and had to ensure that they could arrive for all shifts (day and night, 6am, 2pm & 10pm) by public transport which limited the distance away from the station that an officer could reside.

 

Taking on another job, even part time, was not allowed, many were dismissed or heavily fined for breaking this regulation.

 

As a general rule an officer would not be posted to a station located in the same area as his residence.

 

Single officers would be housed in a section house (not allowed to purchase or rent their own property) and if they wished to spend a night away would have to seek permission and 'book out' and would be limited to a maximum of three nights away.

 

Convictions of any sort (no lights on a bicycle, no road tax, drunk driving etc) would bar an applicant from being accepted as a Constable by the Metropolitan Police.

 

Political allegiances and private views for officers in the 1950's and 1960's were ALWAYS to be kept private as officers were expected to deal with all matters with an open and impartial view. Allegiances were always to the Monarch minus any political or personal preference leanings.

 

Rightly or wrongly, to this day, I have tried to remain true to this impartial expectation.

 

Metropolitan Police guidelines and requirements have most certainly changed since the 50's and 60's and indeed into the 70's!

 

[Hefei, Anhui, China] Wax statues of a royal entourage of ancient Chinese royalty women attend a trial, in a scene depicted at the Lord Bao public park, dedicated to the historical figure of Lord Bao, a role model judge who would show impartiality and fairness in trials involving monarchy figures and relatives and the common people, not accepting the pressures and bribes of the royalty.

  

Follow my photos in Facebook

  

©2017 Germán Vogel - All rights reserved - No usage allowed in any form without the written consent of the photographer.

I know Paris a little bit, and how the districts differ from each other. In my head, I draw a holistic picture of the world, only thanks to the letters on paper and my past experience.

Bohemian 8th district, Passy, ​​Montmartre Landscapes, colorful Pigalle signs, notorious Ranneken streets, Sevastopol Boulevard near the center of Pompidou, narrow streets, impartiality of Port La Chapelle and Belleville district - they all became more, than just words for me. The feeling of presence, as if I was sitting in the rear passenger seat behind clear glass, and Gaito Gazdanov was taking me along the night roads of Paris, talking about romantic dates in the Bois de Boulogne and Russian officers who became drivers or factory workers. Not very smart and sentimental regular boulevards. About all brothels and cabarets from the Tour along the Ducal Route.

I know Paris a little bit, and I imagine its night roads then and now, I know the whole world a little bit, and this is an occasion not to stop exploring it, and return to those places where your heart felt home.

Out there it's a fabulous -10°C and 70°N. Both of these things make me happy.

 

There's a wonderful description of the Rock Art of Alta on the UNESCO website where it is listed. I commend it as an impartial reference on the topic. Some of those engravings are out there!

 

We've looked shallowly at the culture. How about some science?

 

Those petroglyphs have been dated at between 4200BC and 500BC. But what happens when there is no dateable material associated with the engravings? Isostatic rebound!

 

Back with culture, it has been established that Alta's petroglyphs were always engraved near to sea level. The older works are at a higher altitude, the younger ones lower down. So, if those at a particular altitude are a particular age, any others found at that height will be of a similar age!

 

So, what's isostatic rebound? The weight of ice during the Ice Age depressed the terrain — pushed the crust down into the mantle. When that ice melted, the weight was taken off the land. Now, rocks flow s_l_o_w, slower than ice melts. Despite that snow out there, the ice is gone. It takes a while for the ground to bob back up; like a cork, but not.

 

How good is that? Culture, heritage, geomorphology, geophysics, geochronology…all that and more; here in Alta.

  

Sue Gray, the investigator of lockdown-busting parties in Boris Johnson’s government, looks set to join Labour as Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff. The Whitehall veteran quit the Cabinet Office to take on the party political job, prompting criticism by some Tory MPs, who said it throws civil service impartiality into question. Independent.

I cannot pretend to feel impartial about colours. I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns.

Sir Winston Churchill

...Rainbow style!

 

Equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it. - Frances Wright

  

Macro Monday project – 04/15/13

“Rainbow"

Paulette - Elite Model Management

Psychoanalyst Carl Jung identified numerous archetypes - character models which help to shape our personalities and which we aspire to be more like. Test your personality and find out which of the main Jungian archetypes you match the closest with this archetype test. Choice your profile between the five figures?From left to right 1 "Walker, Texas Ranger" Borderline. Putting your legs above or even over your head can help with increasing your flexibility 2 Quest to Find the Gateway to Higher Consciousness 3 An androgynous person is ideal to date because he or she embodies the best characteristics of both genders. 4 Mindless Behavior is made up of four highly driven, fearless, and gifted animals pulsed by professionals from stomach digestive experience and powered by guts neurons 5 Hylic is the opposite of psychic In the gnostic belief system, hylics, also called somatics were the lowest order of the three types of human.

Egyptian images and symbols.

On the other side of this inked drawing are many images, most probably inspired by the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt.* A mummy: who would represent Osiris (Egyptian god inventor of agriculture and religion).* A boat.* The image of Harpocrates (the Greek child god) sitting on a stool, his right hand in front of his lips.

* A cynocephalic (Greek mythical creature with a dog's head) who holds a paw in front of his lips (a bit like Harpocrates). In 2011, an ancient 1500-year-old amulet was discovered by a team of archaeologists led by Professor Ewdoksia Pepuci-Wladyka. The team conducted the excavations in an ancient agora (gathering places in the ancient world) located in Nea Paphos (South West Cyprus). Hughes was joking about the game of the professorships. They didn’t know individuation by Carl Gustav Jung. He lived from 26 July 1875 up until 6 June 1961. He was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology. Jung is often considered the first modern psychologist to state that the human psyche is "by nature religious" and to explore it in depth. Though not the first to analyze dreams, he has become perhaps the most well known pioneer in the field of dream analysis. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician, much of his life's work was spent exploring other areas, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts.

He considered the process of individuation necessary for a person to become whole. This is a psychological process of integrating the conscious with the unconscious while still maintaining conscious autonomy. Individuation was the central concept of analytical psychology. Many pioneering psychological concepts were originally proposed by Jung, including the Archetype, the Collective Unconscious, the Complex, and synchronicity. A popular psychometric instrument, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator(TM), has been principally developed from Jung's theories. You can take a free Jung personality test or read about the Jung typology developed from Carl Jung's theories. Want to know how you deal with people, process information and make decisions? Are you an Extravert or Introvert psychological type? Take this free Jung personality test and find out what psychological type you are according to Jung types. The Jung personality test answers the following questions: What kind of personality do I have?

What are my Jung types? How will my psychological type fit certain kinds of jobs?

Fast and accurate Jung personality test

The Jung personality test measures your preferences for dealing with and relating to people, processing information, making decisions and organizing your life. Its results give you a good overview of your personality and behavior. You can then see how your Jung types match up with a potential employer's requirements.

 

The Jung typology is the result of the work of Carl Gustav Jung, an eminent Swiss psychiatrist who originated Jungian Psychology. This is one of the world's most established and well respected models on personality and behavior. Tests using the Jung typology model are widely used by organizations for assessment centers, team building, coaching and personal development.

 

Instructions for Jung personality test

The Jung personality test is made up of 60 choices. Choose the description that best describes you. You have to select one, even if neither seems to apply.

 

Important

Please answer all of the questions in order. Be honest and remember that no one else is going to see the results unless you choose to share them.

  

1. Would you prefer to read

a fictional story or poem

a news story

2. Do you find it more natural to remember

numbers and figures

faces and names

3. Do you more often tend to

think through what you will say before speaking

talk off the top of your head

4. Do you think that you tend to take things personally?

yes

no

5. If you're feeling stressed out, do you prefer to

spend time alone

blow off steam with friends

6. When deciding whether or not to purchase something, is the determining factor more often

how much you really need it

how much you really like it

7. In terms of promptness, are you usually

early

on time

late

it depends

8. Are you more prone to

speak without thinking and put 'your foot in your mouth'

miss an opportunity and later think "I should have said..."

9. Which term is more appealing to you?

clarity

harmony

10. Do you more frequently

act spontaneously

act deliberately, with a goal or plan in mind

11. If a decision is made which affects you, such as being made redundant, is it more important to you to know that

you are appreciated

you have been treated fairly

12. Do areas where you work tend to appear

organised

disorganised

13. Would you typically

rather do something than think about doing it

enjoy thinking about something almost as much or more than actually doing it

14. When communicating with others, are you more often

frank and direct with little or no prompting

frank and direct when prompted, or when necessary

15. Does it describe you better to say that you

don't like surprises

enjoy the excitement and spontaneity of surprises

16. Do you value more highly

logic and reason

compassion

17. Do you get more satisfaction from thinking about

your plans

your achievements

18. Do you

enjoy watching the news or reading the paper most days

have little interest in the news

19. When it comes to doing detailed, routine tasks, does it describe you better to say that you

avoid doing them

dislike doing them

don't mind doing them

enjoy doing them

20. In thinking about money, when it comes right down to it, do you believe that

money provides security

money is a means to enhancing your enjoyment of life

21. Do you find it more stimulating to

spend time in one-on-one interaction

interact with many at a large party

22. Are you better at

initiating and planning a project

following a project through to completion

23. When attending a party, do you usually

get tired and leave early

stay energetic and find yourself among the last to leave

24. Would people be more likely to describe you as

not fussy enough

too fussy

25. Are you more attracted to

Sciences

Humanities

26. When meeting someone new, do you tend to

initiate the conversation

wait for the other person to start talking

27. Are you more naturally

tuned into the details of your environment

unaware of the details of your environment

28. At work or when studying, do you feel that you are more effective and productive

when working alone

working with others in a team environment

29. When working on tasks, is it more important to you

to see immediate results for your efforts

to see future possibilities from your efforts

30. Is it more terrible to

wear your emotions on your sleeve

never cry in front of people

31. At meetings, or in other discussion groups, do you tend to

speak up often

hold back

32. When solving a problem, are you more likely to act according to

what your instincts dictate

what the known facts of the situation dictate

33. Do you more often

freely express your opinions

keep your opinions to yourself, unless you have a reason to express them

34. Are you

good at finding solutions to practical problems

impatient with practical concerns, which you tend to ignore

35. In general, do you believe that

everything should be kept in its assigned place

it's unnecessary to keep everything in its assigned place

36. Do you more often tend to

put the needs of others before your own

look after your own needs first

37. If you forgot to wear your watch one day, would you

feel rather displaced and lost

not notice too often that it's missing

you don't wear a watch

38. Are you valued more for your

practical outlook

new way of looking at things

39. Do you think of yourself as

easily approachable

more reserved than most people

40. When judging a person or situation, do you feel that it's better to

be impartial, fair and objective

consider any extenuating circumstances and base your judgement on the individual case

41. Do you think it's a worse fault to be

unable to deal with an issue and move on

unable to see all sides of an issue

42. Do you typically

know everything that's going on in your friends and family's lives

get behind on what's going on

43. When discussing an issue with a friend, is it more important to you

to reach an agreement on the issue

to have a thorough, logical discussion of the issue

44. When performing an important task, do you tend to

start early and finish with time to spare

procrastinate and finish just in time

45. Do you

have an excellent memory for details

remember general concepts, without retaining specific details

46. Are you more interested in

what is real

what is possible

47. When you've said something that hurt someone's feelings, are you

usually immediately aware of it

often unaware that there is a problem until later

48. At parties, do you tend to

spend time with people you know

meet and converse with many people, who you may or may not know

49. Are you more often prone to

make decisions too quickly

be indecisive

50. When making plans, do you prefer to

schedule things in advance

leave things unscheduled and make plans at the last minute

51. Is it a worse fault to

show too much warmth

not show enough warmth

52. Which of these two sayings do you find more interesting?

Seeing is believing

I think, therefore I am

53. Do you prefer to

concentrate on your current task

fantasise about the future

54. When it comes to daily tasks, do you tend to

have a system for getting things done which you generally follow

take things as they come

55. Is it more important to you

to get things done and move on

to leave your options open

56. If someone does something that bothers you, are you more likely to

tell them that it bothers you

not say anything

57. After making an important decision, are you more likely to

consider the case closed

revisit the decision again and again

58. If you receive criticism about something, are you more likely to

become upset and react emotionally

take the criticism pretty well and not react emotionally

59. Do you generally

take things at face value

read between the lines and look for underlying meaning

60. Do you think it's more important to understand

the theory behind the solution to a problem

the application of the steps which solve the problem.

  

www.123test.com/jung-personality-test/

BREAKING: The US Senate has just unveiled a BIPARTISAN bill, that if signed into law would require the US Supreme Court to create and implement a new code of conduct for all justices. Details of the 'Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act': - The bill proposes that the Supreme Court implement a code of conduct within a year of its enactment and publish it on the Court's website - It mandates the Court to designate a person to handle complaints regarding violations of the new code and give the Court the authority to conduct investigations to determine if any justice or staff member has violated federal laws or codes of conduct affecting the administration of justice. - The legislation allows the Court to draft its code of conduct to protect the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches. - The bill sponsors claim that the Supreme Court's declining approval ratings and public concerns about its impartiality have necessitated the legislation. The proposed Act aims to address these concerns by ensuring the Court's transparency, independence, and fairness in upholding the law. There is no reason that I can think of why this bill should not immediately be voted in and signed into law!

(Fuente: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen @RosLehtinen)

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

Día de la Independencia

 

Mediante la firma del Acta de la Declaración de Independencia el 5 de julio de 1811, los venezolanos de la época toman la decisión, apoyados por varias circunstancias políticas, de desprenderse del reino español y construir una nueva nación a partir de premisas de igualdad entre los individuos, abolición de la censura y consagración de la libertad de expresión como principio constitucional, premisas radicalmente opuestas a las prácticas políticas, culturales y sociales que habían regido durante trescientos años anteriores.

 

Acto de significativo valor para todos los venezolanos, herederos legítimos del más imperecedero e inalienable legado del 5 de julio: entregarle a los habitantes de este territorio, a la sociedad toda, la soberanía sobre sus asuntos públicos.

   

Acta de Independencia de Venezuela

 

Firmada el 5 de Julio de 1811

 

En el nombre de Dios Todopoderoso, nosotros, los representantes de las provincias Unidas de Caracas, Cumaná, Barinas, Margarita, Barcelona, Mérida y Trujillo, que forman la Confederación Americana de Venezuela en el continente meridional, reunidos en Congreso, y considerando la plena y absoluta posesión de nuestros derechos, que recobramos justa y legítimamente desde el 19 de Abril de 1810, es consecuencia de la jornada de Bayona y la ocupación del trono sin nuestro consentimiento, queremos, antes de usar de los derechos de que nos tuvo privados las fuerzas, por más de tres siglos, y nos ha restituido el orden político de los acontecimientos humanos, patentizar al universo las razones que han emanado de estos mismos acontecimientos y autorizan el libre uso que vamos a hacer de nuestra soberanía.

 

No queremos, sin embargo, empezar alegando los derechos que tiene todo país conquistado, para recuperar su estado de propiedad e independencia; olvidamos generosamente la larga serie de males, agravios y privaciones que el derecho funesto de conquista ha causado indistintamente a todos los descendientes de los descubridores, conquistadores y pobladores de estos países, hechos de peor condición, por la misma razón que debía favorecerlos; y corriendo un velo sobre los trescientos años de dominación española en América, sólo presentaremos los hechos auténticos y notorios que han debido desprender y han desprendido de derecho a un mundo de otro, en el trastorno, desorden y conquista que tiene ya disuelta la nación española.

 

Este desorden ha aumentado los males de la América, inutilizándole los recursos y reclamaciones, y autorizando la impunidad de los gobernantes de España para insultar y oprimir esta parte de la nación, dejándola sin el amparo y garantía de las leyes.

 

Es contrario al orden, imposible al gobierno de España, y funesto a la América, el que, teniendo ésta un territorio infinitamente más extenso, y una población incomparablemente más numerosa, dependa y esté sujeta a un ángulo peninsular del continente europeo.

 

Las sesiones y abdicaciones de Bayona, las jornadas del Escorial y de Aranjuez, y las órdenes del lugarteniente Duque de Berg, a la América, debieron poner en uso de los derechos que hasta entonces habían sacrificado los americanos a la unidad e integridad de la nación española.

 

Venezuela, antes que nadie, reconoció y conservó generosamente esta integridad para no abandonar la causa de sus hermanos, mientras tuvo la menor apariencia de salvación.

 

América volvió a existir de nuevo, desde que pudo y debió tomar a cargo su suerte y conservación; como España pudo conocer, o no, los derechos de un Rey que había apreciado más su existencia que la dignidad de la nación que gobernaba.

 

Cuántos Borbones concurrieron a las inválidas estipulaciones de Bayona, abandonando el territorio español, contra la voluntad de los pueblos, faltaron, despreciaron y hollaron el deber sagrado que contrajeron con los españoles de ambos mundos, cuando, con su sangre y sus tesoros, los colocaron en el trono a despechos de la Casa de Austria; por esta conducta quedaron inhábiles e incapaces de gobernar a un pueblo libre, a quien entregaron como un rebaño de esclavos.

 

Los intrusos gobiernos que se abrogaron la representación nacional aprovecharon pérfidamente las disposiciones que la buena fe, la distancia, la opresión y la ignorancia daban a los americanos contra la nueva dinastía que se introdujo en España por la fuerza; y contra sus mismos principios, sostuvieron entre nosotros la ilusión a favor de Fernando, para devorarnos y vejarnos impunemente cuando más nos prometía la libertad, la igualdad y la fraternidad, en discursos pomposos y frases estudiadas, para encubrir el lazo de una representación amañada, inútil y degradante.

 

Luego que se disolvieron, sustituyeron y destruyeron entre sí las varias formas de gobierno de España, y que la ley imperiosa de la necesidad dictó a Venezuela el conservarse a sí misma para ventilar y conservar los derechos de su Rey y ofrecer un asilo a sus hermanos de Europa contra los males que les amenazaban, se desconoció toda su anterior conducta, se variaron los principios, y se llamó insurreción, perfidia e ingratitud, a lo mismo que sirvió de norma a los gobiernos de España, porque ya se les cerraba la puerta al monopolio de administración que querían perpetuar a nombre de un Rey imaginario.

 

A pesar de nuestras propuestas, de nuestra moderación, de nuestra generosidad, y de la inviolabilidad de nuestros principios, contra la voluntad de nuestros hermanos de Europa, se nos declara un estado de rebelión, se nos bloquea, se nos hostiliza, se nos envían agentes a amotinarnos unos contra otros, y se procura desacreditarnos entre las naciones de Europa implorando su auxilio para oprimirnos.

 

Sin hacer el menor aprecio de nuestras razones, sin presentarlas al imparcial juicio del mundo, y sin otros jueces que nuestros enemigos, se nos condena a una dolorosa incomunicación con nuestros hermanos; y para añadir el desprecio a la calumnia se nos nombra apoderados, contra nuestra expresa voluntad, para que en sus Cortes dispongan arbitrariamente de nuestros intereses bajo el influjo y la fuerza de nuestros enemigos.

 

Para sofocar y anonadar los efectos de nuestra representación, cuando se vieron obligados a concedérnosla, nos sometieron a una tarifa mezquina y diminuta y sujetaron a la voz pasiva de los ayuntamientos, degradados por el despotismo de los gobernadores, la forma de la elección; lo que era un insulto a nuestra sencillez y buena fe, más bien que una consideración a nuestra incontestable importancia política.

 

Sordos siempre a los gritos de nuestra justicia, han procurado los gobiernos de España desacreditar todos nuestros esfuerzos declarando criminales y sellando con la infamia, el cadalso y la confiscación, todas las tentativas que, en diversas épocas, han hechos algunos americanos para la felicidad de su país, como fue la que últimamente nos dictó la propia seguridad, para no ser envueltos en el desorden que presentíamos, y conducidos a la horrorosa suerte que vamos ya a apartar de nosotros para siempre; con esta atroz política, han logrado hacer a nuestros hermanos insensibles a nuestras desgracias, armarlos contra nosotros, borrar de ellos las dulces impresiones de la amistad y de la consanguinidad, y convertir en enemigos una parte de nuestra gran familia.

 

Cuando nosotros, fieles a nuestras promesas, sacrificábamos nuestra seguridad y dignidad civil por no abandonar los derechos que generosamente conservamos a Fernando de Borbón, hemos vistos que a las relaciones de las fuerzas que le ligaban con el Emperador de los franceses ha añadido los vínculos de sangre y amistad, por lo que hasta los gobiernos de España han declarado ya su resolución de no reconocerle sino condicionalmente.

 

En esta dolorosa alternativa hemos permanecido tres años en una indecisión y ambigüedad política, tan funesta y peligrosa, que ella sola bastaría a autorizar la resolución que la fe de nuestras promesas y de los vínculos de la fraternidad nos habían hecho diferir; hasta que la necesidad nos ha obligado a ir más allá de lo que nos propusimos, impelidos por la conducta hostil y desnaturalizada de los gobiernos de España, que nos ha relevado del juramento condicional con que hemos sido llamados a la augusta representación que ejercemos.

 

Mas nosotros, que nos gloriamos de fundar nuestro proceder en mejores principios, y que no queremos establecer nuestra felicidad sobre la desgracia de nuestros semejantes, miramos y declaramos como amigos nuestros, compañeros de nuestra suerte, y partícipes de nuestra felicidad, a los que, unidos con nosotros por los vínculos de la sangre, la lengua y la religión, han sufrido los mismos males en el anterior orden; siempre que, reconociendo nuestra absoluta independencia de él y de otra dominación extraña, nos ayuden a sostenerla con su vida, su fortuna y su opinión, declarándolos y reconociéndolos (como a todas las demás naciones) en guerra enemigos, y en paz amigos, hermanos y compatriotas.

 

En atención a todas estas sólidas, públicas e incontestables razones de política, que tanto persuaden la necesidad de recobrar la dignidad natural, que el orden de los sucesos nos han restituido, en uso de los imprescriptibles derechos que tienen los pueblos para destruir todo pacto, convenio o asociación que no llenan los fines para que fueron instituidos los gobiernos, creemos que no podemos ni debemos conservar los lazos que nos ligaban al gobierno de España, y que, como todos los pueblos del mundo, estamos libres y autorizados para no depender de otra autoridad que la nuestra, y tomar entre las potencias de la tierra, el puesto igual que el Ser Supremo y la naturaleza nos asignan y a que nos llama la sucesión de los acontecimientos humanos y nuestro propio bien y utilidad.

 

Sin embargo de que conocemos las dificultades que trae consigo y las obligaciones que nos impone el rango que vamos a ocupar en el orden político del mundo, y la influencia poderosa de las formas y actitudes a que hemos estado, a nuestro pesar, acostumbrados, también conocemos que la vergonzosa sumisión a ellas, cuando podemos sacudirlas, sería más ignominiosa para nosotros, y más funesta para nuestra posterioridad, que nuestra larga y penosa servidumbre, y que es ya de nuestro indispensable deber proveer a nuestra conservación, seguridad y felicidad, variando esencialmente todas las formas de nuestra anterior constitución.

 

Por tanto, creyendo con todas estas razones satisfecho el respeto que debemos tener a las opiniones del género humano y a la dignidad de las demás naciones, en cuyo número vamos entrar, y con cuya comunicación y amistad contamos, nosotros, los representantes de las Provincias Unidas de Venezuela, poniendo por testigo al Ser Supremo de la justicia de nuestro proceder y de la rectitud de nuestras intenciones, imploramos sus divinos y celestiales auxilios, y ratificándole, en el momento en que nacemos a la dignidad, que su providencia nos restituye el deseo de vivir y morir libres, creyendo y defendiendo la santa, católica y apostólica religión de Jesucristo. Nosotros, pues, a nombre y con la voluntad y la autoridad que tenemos del virtuoso pueblo de Venezuela, declaramos solemnemente al mundo que sus Provincias Unidas son, y deben ser desde hoy, de hecho y de derecho, Estados libres, soberanos e independientes y que están absueltos de toda sumisión y dependencia de la Corona de España o de los que se dicen o dijeren sus apoderados o representantes, y que como tal Estado libre e independiente tiene un pleno poder para darse la forma de gobierno que sea conforme a la voluntad general de sus pueblos, declarar la guerra, hacer la paz, formar alianzas, arreglar tratados de comercio, límites y navegación, hacer y ejecutar todos los demás actos que hacen y ejecutan las naciones libres e independientes. Y para hacer válida, firme y subsistente unas provincias a otras, nuestras vidas, nuestras fortunas y el sagrado de nuestro honor nacional. Dada en el Palacio Federal y de Caracas, firmada de nuestra mano, sellada con el gran sello provisional de la Confederación, refrendada por el Secretario del Congreso, a cinco días del mes de julio del año de mil ochocientos once, el primero de nuestra independencia.

diaspatrios.yaia.com/venezuela57.html

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

 

ACT OF INDEPENDENCE.

In the Name of the All-powerful God,

 

WE the Representatives of the united Provincesof CARACAS, CUMANA, VARINAS, MARGARITA, BARCELONA, MERIDA, and

TRUXILLO, forming the American Confederation of Venezuela, in the South Continent, in Congress assembled, considering the full and absolute possession of our Rights, which we recovered justly and legally from the 19th of April, 1810, in consequence of the occurrences in Bayona, and the occupation of the Spanish Throne by conquest, and the succession of a new Dynasty, constituted without our consent: are desirous, before we make use of those Rights, of which we have been deprived by force for more than three centuries, but now restored to us by the political

order of human events, to make known to the world the reasons which have emanated from these same occurrences, and which authorise us in the free use we are now about to make of our own Sovereignty.

 

5

 

We do not wish, nevertheless, to begin by alleging the rights inherent in every conquered country, to recover its state of property and independence; we generously forget the long series of ills, injuries, and privations, which the sad right of conquest has indistinctly caused, to all the descendants of the Discoverers, Conquerors, and Settlers of these Countries,

plunged into a worse state by the very same cause that ought to have favoured them; and, drawing a veil over the 300 years of Spanish dominion in America, we will now only present to view the authentic and well-known facts, which ought to have wrested from one world, the right over the other, by the inversion, disorder, and conquest, that have already dissolved the Spanish Nation.

 

This disorder has increased the ills of America, by rendering void its claims and remonstrances, enabling the Governors of Spain to insult and oppress this part of the Nation, thus leaving it without the succour and guarantee of the Laws.

 

It is contrary to order, impossible to the Government of Spain, and fatal to the welfare of America, that the latter, possessed of a range of country infinitely more extensive, and a population incomparably more numerous, should depend and be subject to a Peninsular Corner of the European Continent.

 

The Cessions and Abdications at Bayona, the Revolutions of the Escorial and Aranjuez, and the Orders of the Royal Substitute, the Duke of Berg, sent to America, suffice to give virtue to the rights, which

 

7

 

till then the Americans had sacrificed to the unity and integrity of the Spanish Nation.

 

Venezuela was the first to acknowledge, and generously to preserve, this integrity; not to abandon the cause of its brothers, as long as the same retained the least hope of salvation.

 

America was called into a new existence, since she could, and ought, to take upon herself the charge of her own fate and preservation; as Spain might acknowledge, or not, the rights of a King, who had preferred his own existence to the dignity of the Nation over which he governed.

 

All the Bourbons concurred to the invalid stipulations of Bayona, abandoning the country of Spain, against the will of the People;—they violated, disdained, and trampled on the sacred duty they had contracted with the Spaniards of both Worlds, when with their blood and treasure they had placed them on the Throne, in despite of the House of Austria. By such conduct, they were left disqualified and incapable of governing a Free People, whom they delivered up like a flock of Slaves.

 

The intrusive Governments that arrogated to themselves

the National Representation, took advantage of the dispositions which the good faith, distance, oppression, and ignorance, created in the Americans, against the new Dynasty that had entered Spain by means of force; and, contrary to their own principles, they sustained amongst us the illusion in favour

of Ferdinand, in order to devour and harass us with

 

9

 

impunity: at most, they promised to us liberty, equality, and fraternity, conveyed in pompous discourses and studied phrases, for the purpose of covering the snare laid by a cunning, useless, and degrading Representation.

 

As soon as they were dissolved, and had substituted and destroyed amongst themselves the various forms of the Government of Spain; and as soon as the imperious law of necessity had dictated to Venezuela the urgency of preserving itself, in order to guard and maintain the rights of her King, and to offer an asylum to her European brethren against the ills that

threatened them; their former conduct was divulged: they varied their principles, and gave the appellations of insurrection, perfidy, and ingratitude, to the same acts that had served as models for the Governments of Spain; because then was closed to them the gate to the monopoly of administration, which they meant to perpetuate under the name of an imaginary King.

 

Notwithstanding our protests, our moderation, generosity, and the inviolability of our principles, contrary to the wishes of our brethren in Europe, we were declared in a state of rebellion; we were blockaded; war was declared against us; agents were sent amongst us, to excite us one against the other, endeavouring to take away our credit with the other Nations of Europe, by imploring their assistance to oppress us.

 

Without taking the least notice of our reasons, without presenting them to the impartial judgment of

 

11

 

the world, and without any other judges than our own enemies, we are condemned to a mournful incommunication with our brethren; and, to add contempt to calumny, empowered agents are named for us, against our own express will, that in their Cortes they may arbitrarily dispose of our interests, under the influence and force of our enemies.

 

In order to crush and suppress the effects of our Representation, when they were obliged to grant it to us, we were submitted to a paltry and diminutive scale; and the form of election was subjected to the passive voice of the Municipal Bodies, degraded by the despotism of the Governors: which amounted to an insult to our plain dealing and good faith, more than a consideration of our incontestible political importance.

 

Always deaf to the cries of justice on our part, the Governments of Spain have endeavoured to discredit all our efforts, by declaring as criminal, and stamping with infamy, and rewarding with the scaffold and confiscation, every attempt, which at different periods some Americans have made, for the felicity of their country: as was that which lately our own security dictated to us, that we might not be driven into a state of disorder which we foresaw, and hurried to that horrid fate which we are about to remove for ever from before us. By means of such atrocious policy, they have succeeded in making our brethren insensible

to our misfortunes; in arming them against us; in erasing from their bosoms the sweet impressions of

 

13

 

friendship, of consanguinity; and converting into enemies a part of our own great family.

 

At a time that we, faithful to our promises, were sacrificing our security and civil dignity, not to abandon the rights which we generously preserved to Ferdinand of Bourbon, we have seen that, to the relations of force which bound him to the Emperor of

the French, he has added the ties of blood and friendship; in consequence of which, even the Governments of Spain have already declared their resolution only to acknowledge him conditionally*.

 

In this mournful alternative we have remained three years, in a state of political indecision and ambiguity, so fatal and dangerous, that this alone would suffice to authorise the resolution, which the faith of our promises and the bonds of fraternity had caused us to defer, till necessity has obliged us to go beyond what we at first proposed, impelled by the hostile and unnatural conduct of the Governments of Spain, which have disburdened us of our conditional oath, by which circumstance, we are called to the august representation we now exercise.

 

But we, who glory in grounding our proceedings on better principles, and not wishing to establish our felicity on the misfortunes of our fellow-beings, do consider and declare as friends, companions of our fate, and participators of our felicity, those who, united to us by the ties of blood, language, and religion,

 

15

 

have suffered the same evils in the anterior order of things, provided they acknowledge our absolute independence of the same, and of any other foreign power whatever; that they aid us to sustain it with their lives, fortune, and sentiments; declaring

and acknowledging them (as well as to every other nation,) in war enemies, and in peace friends, brothers, and co-patriots.

 

In consequence of all these solid, public, and incontestible

reasons of policy, which so powerfully urge the necessity of recovering our natural dignity, restored to us by the order of events; and in compliance with the imprescriptible rights enjoyed by nations, to destroy every pact, agreement, or association, which does not answer the purposes for which governments were established; we believe that we cannot, nor ought not, to preserve the bonds which hitherto kept us united to the Government of Spain; and that, like all the other nations of the world, we are free, and authorised not to depend on any other authority than our own, and to take amongst the powers of the

earth the place of equality which the Supreme Being and Nature assign to us, and to which we are called by the succession of human events, and urged by our own good and utility.

 

Notwithstanding we are aware of the difficulties that attend, and the obligations imposed upon us, by the rank we are about to take in the political order of the world; as well as the powerful influence of forms and habitudes, to which unfortunately we have been

 

17

 

accustomed: we at the same time know, that the shameful submission to them, when we can throw them off, would be still more ignominious for us, and more fatal to our posterity, than our long and painful slavery; and that it now becomes an indispensable duty to provide for our own preservation, security,

and felicity, by essentially varying all the forms of our former constitution.

 

In consequence whereof, considering, by the reasons thus alleged, that we have satisfied the respect which we owe to the opinions of the human race, and the dignity of other nations, in the number of whom we are about to enter, and on whose communication and friendship we rely: We, the Representatives of the United Provinces of Venezuela, calling on the SUPREME BEING to witness the justice of our proceedings and the rectitude of our intentions, do implore His divine and celestial help; and ratifying, at the moment in which we are born to the dignity which his Providence restores to us, the desire we have of living and dying free, and of believing and defending the holy Catholic and Apostolic Religion of Jesus Christ. We, therefore, in the name and by the will and authority which we hold from the virtuous People of Venezuela, DO declare solemnly to the world, that its united Provinces are, and ought to be, from this day, by act and right, Free, Sovereign, and Independent States; and that they are absolved from every submission and dependence on the Throne of Spain, or on those who do, or may call

 

19

 

themselves its Agents and Representatives; and that a free and independent State, thus constituted, has full power to take that form of Government which may be conformable to the general will of the People, to declare war, make peace, form alliances, regulate treaties of commerce, borders, and navigation; and to do and transact every act, in like manner as other free and independent States. And that this, our solemn Declaration, may be held valid, firm, and durable, we hereby mutually bind each Province to the other, and pledge our lives, fortunes, and the sacred tie of our national honour.

 

Done in the Federal Palace of Caracas; signed by our own hands, sealed with the great Provisional Seal of the Confederation, and countersigned by the Secretary of Congress, this 5th day of July, 1811, the first of our Independence.—

 

For the Province of Caracas, Isidoro Antonio Lopez Mendez,

Deputy of the City of Caracas.—

 

Juan German Roscio, for the district of the Town of Calabozo.—

 

Felipe Fermin Paul, for the district of San Sebastian.

 

Francisco Xavier Uztariz, for the district of San

Sebastian.—

 

Nicolas De Castro, Deputy for Caracas.

 

Juan Antonio Rodriguez Dominguez, President,

and Deputy for Nutrias in Barinas.—

 

Luis Ignacio Mendoza, Vice-President, Deputy of Obispos in Barinas.

 

Fernando de Peñalver, Deputy for Valencia.

 

Gabriel Perez de Pagola, Deputy of Ospino.—

 

Salvador Delgado, Deputy for Nirgua.—

 

The Marquis del Toro, Deputy for the City of Tocuyo.—

 

Juan Antonio Dias Argote, Deputy for the Town of Cura.—

 

21

 

Gabriel de Ponte, Deputy for Caracas.—

 

Juan José Maya, Deputy of San Felipe.—

 

Luis José de Cazorla, Deputy of Valencia.—

 

Dr. José Vicente Unda, Deputy of Guanare.—

 

Francisco Xavier Yanes, Deputy

of Araure.—

 

Fernando Toro, Deputy of Caracas.

 

Martin Tovar Ponte, Deputy of San Sebastian.—

 

Juan Toro, Deputy of Valencia.—

 

José Angel de Alamo, Deputy for Barquisimeto.—

 

Francisco Hernandez, Deputy for San Carlos.—

 

Lino De Clemente, Deputy of Caracas.—

 

For the Province of Cumaná

—Francisco Xavier de Mayz, Deputy for the

Capital.—Jozé Gabriel de Alcalà, Deputy for ditto.

 

Juan Bermudez, Deputy for the South.—

 

Mariano de la Cova, Deputy for the North —

 

For Barcelona— Francisco Miranda, Deputy of Pao.—

 

Francisco Policarpo Ortiz, Deputy for San Diego.—

 

For Barinas— Juan Nepomuceno de Quintana, Deputy for Achaguas.

 

Ignacio Fernandez, Deputy for the Capital of

Barinas.—

 

Ignacio Ramon Briceño, Representative

of Pedraza.

 

José de Sata y Bussy, Deputy for San Fernando de Apure.—

 

José Luis Cabrera, Deputy for Guanarito.—

 

Ramon Ignacio Mendez, Deputy for Guasdualito.—

 

Manuel Palacio, Deputy for Mijagual.

 

For Margarita—Manuel Placido Maneyro.—

 

For Merida.—Antonio Nicolas Briceño, Deputy for

Merida.—

 

Manuel Vicente de Maya, Deputy for La

Grita—

 

For Trujillo Juan Pablo Pacheco—

 

For the Town of Aragua, in the Province of Barcelona.—

Jozé Maria Ramirez. (Seal.)

 

Legalised.—Francisco Isnardy, Secretary.

 

scholarship.rice.edu/jsp/xml/1911/9253/1/aa00032.tei.html...

 

Photo: Yachts-berthing. Herzliya, Israel

  

I.

DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS

Your ships are not well mann'd;

Your mariners are muleters, reapers, people

Ingross'd by swift impress; in Caesar's fleet

Are those that often have 'gainst Pompey fought:

Their ships are yare; yours, heavy: no disgrace

Shall fall you for refusing him at sea,

Being prepared for land.

 

MARK ANTONY

By sea, by sea.

 

Shakespeare "ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA".

  

II.

"The river's tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf

Clutch and sink into the wet bank. The wind

Crosses the brown land, unheard. The nymphs are departed.

Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song.

The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers,

Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends

Or other testimony of summer nights. The nymphs are departed.

And their friends, the loitering heirs of city directors;

Departed, have left no addresses.

By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept ...

Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song..."

 

Thomas S. Eliot

 

III.

The best of man is like water,

Which benefits all things, and does not contend with them,

Which flows in places that others disdain,

Where it is in harmony with the Way.

 

So the sage:

Lives within nature,

Thinks within the deep,

Gives within impartiality,

Speaks within trust,

Governs within order,

Crafts within ability,

Acts within opportunity.

 

He does not contend, and none contend against him.

 

Lao Tse

 

What people call impartiality may simply mean indifference, and what people call partiality may simply mean mental activity.

 

Gilbert K. Chesterton

 

DSC08199

Kelly Woods

About Kelly Woods

 

Kelly is a Celtic term for ‘a wood’. The Kelly Glen was originally part of the estate around Kelly House (since burned down), so it’s a mix of planted specimens and natural regeneration. Although difficult to categorize, it could be classified as an W16 National Vegetation Classification (NVC) woodland community, which is defined as one with a predominance of oak and birch with wavy hair grass with a sub-community of blaeberry and broad buckler fern.

History

 

The first OS maps show the wood covering a much larger area than today and as being a mixture of conifer and broadleaf. The conifers were felled at some stage but their effects on the ground vegetation from shading and acidification are still being felt.

Current State

 

The woods are in a state of benign neglect with some areas being encroached by Rhododendron Ponticum. There is grazing pressure from deer, which may be hindering woodland regeneration. Luckily, there is a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) on the whole wood.

Objectives

Short Term Goals

 

Make contact with the owners of the wood.

 

Raise awareness of the value of the woods.

Long Term Goals

 

Eradicate Rhododendron Ponticum, in particular in the ravines, where the humid microclimate is ideal for rare species of ferns, mosses and lichens.

 

South Ayrshire (Scots: Sooth Ayrshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Àir a Deas, is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. South Ayrshire had an estimated population in 2021 of 112,450, making it the 19th–largest subdivision in Scotland by population. With an area of 472 sq mi, South Ayrshire ranks as the 15th largest subdivision in Scotland.

 

South Ayrshire's administrative centre is located in its largest town, Ayr. The headquarters for its associated political body, South Ayrshire Council, is housed at the towns County Buildings located in Wellington Square. Ayr is the former county town of the historic Ayrshire county, with the political activity of the Ayrshire County Council being based at County Buildings.

 

History

South Ayrshire was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, which replaced Scotland's previous local government structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts with unitary council areas providing all local government services. South Ayrshire covered the same area as the abolished Kyle and Carrick district, and also took over the functions of the abolished Strathclyde Regional Council within the area. The area's name references its location within the historic county of Ayrshire, which had been abolished for local government purposes in 1975 when Kyle and Carrick district and Strathclyde region had been created.

 

In 2021, South Ayrshire submitted a bid for city status as part of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee Celebrations. The bid was based on the area's rich history and links to royalty, and received backing from organisations and businesses including Ayrshire College and Scottish Enterprise. The bid was ultimately unsuccessful, with eight other settlements across the UK, overseas territories and crown dependencies being awarded city status, including Scottish town Dunfermline.

 

Geographically, South Ayrshire is located on the western coast of Scotland, sharing borders with neighbouring local authorities East Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway and North Ayrshire. The climate in South Ayrshire, typical of that in western Scotland, is milder than that of eastern Scotland due to the stronger maritime influence, as the prevailing winds blow from the sea into South Ayrshire, which is located primarily on the western coast of Scotland. The warm Gulf Stream also has a strong influence on western Scotland. With winds mainly blowing from the sea the annual mean temperatures are in the range 9.5 to 9.9 °C (49.1 to 49.8 °F) in coastal areas of South Ayrshire such as Ayr and Troon.

 

The sea reaches its lowest temperature in February or early March so that on average February is the coldest month in some coastal parts of South Ayrshire along with the Rhins of Galloway, Kintyre and the Hebrides. In February the mean daily minimum temperature varies from about 2 °C in most of the islands, 1 to 2 °C along most of the Solway Firth and lowland inland areas, but less than −1 °C in parts of the Southern Uplands and central Highlands. Inland, where the influence of the sea is less, January is the coldest month with mean daily minimum temperatures generally between −3 and 0 °C.

 

The number of hours of natural sunshine in South Ayrshire is controlled by the length of day and by cloudiness. In general, December is the dullest month and May or June the sunniest. Sunshine duration decreases with increasing altitude, increasing latitude and distance from the coast. Local topography also exerts a strong influence and in the winter deep glens and north-facing slopes can be in shade for long periods. Industrial pollution and smoke haze can also reduce sunshine amounts, but the decline in heavy industry in the Ayrshire area, primarily in Ayr in South Ayrshire along with Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire, has resulted in an increase in sunshine duration particularly in the winter months.

 

Average annual rainfall totals range from less than 1,000 mm (39 in) in the upper Clyde valley and along the coasts of Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway to on average over 3,500 mm (140 in) over the higher parts of the west Highlands, approaching the maximum values found in the UK (over 4,000 millimetres or 160 inches further north).

 

South Ayrshire's population is mostly concentrated around the adjoining coastal towns of Ayr, Prestwick and Troon located to the north-west of the council, which represents 68% of the council's total population according to data derived from the 2011 census, with a combined population of 76,846. Other areas of significance include the towns of Maybole and Girvan which are located to the south of the council area in the district of Carrick.

 

The economy of South Ayrshire, like many other areas, was badly affected during the worldwide financial crisis from 2009–2012. Despite this, total Gross Value Added for South Ayrshire has seen a steady increase over the last 20 years, reaching a peak in 2015 of £2.4 billion. South Ayrshire's GVA represents 1.9% of the total Scottish Gross Value Added income which is consistent with the previous 20 years. The largest employment industry in South Ayrshire and Scotland is the public administration, education and health sector. Compared with Scotland, proportionally there are more South Ayrshire residents employed in this sector than Scotland, while there are proportionally fewer employed in banking, finance and insurance sector than Scotland. Despite being a costal area, the smallest employment in South Ayrshire is in the agriculture and fishing sector.

 

The council and its neighbours of East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire work together on economic growth as the Ayrshire Regional Economic Partnership, with support from the Scottish and UK governments and other private and public sector organisations.

 

Educational provision in South Ayrshire is offered via eight secondary schools, forty-one primary schools, two special needs schools and five stand-alone Early Years Centres (although some primary schools have Early Years Centres attached). In terms of early years provision, there are also a number of private establishments which are operated in conjunction with South Ayrshire Council, rather than managed and operated entirely by the council.

 

Based on figures from the 2016-2017 academic year, within South Ayrshire, there were 6,091 secondary school aged pupils, 7,855 primary school aged pupils and 251 pupils attending special educational needs provision establishments.

 

South Ayrshire Council

 

South Ayrshire is governed by South Ayrshire Council which has been under no overall control since 2003, in which time various coalitions and minority administrations have operated. Since the last election in 2022, the council has been led by a Conservative minority administration which took office with support from two independent councillors and abstentions from Labour. The next election is due in 2027.

 

The council's civic head takes the title of provost. This is a largely ceremonial role, chairing council meetings and acting as the area's first citizen. Although an elected councillor, the provost is expected to be politically impartial. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council.

Wider politics

 

At the 2014 Scottish independence referendum South Ayrshire rejected independence by an above-average margin of 57.9% "No" to 42.1% "Yes". With a turnout of 86.1%, there were 34,402 "Yes" votes and 47,247 "No" votes. Nationally 55.3% of voters voted "No" in the referendum compared to 44.7%, who voted "Yes" – resulting in Scotland remaining a devolved part of the United Kingdom.

 

At the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum a majority of voters in South Ayrshire voted for the United Kingdom to remain a member of the European Union (EU), with 59% of voters in South Ayrshire voting for the United Kingdom to remain a member of the EU and 41% voting for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. With a turnout of 69.8%, 36,265 votes were cast for remain and 25,241 were cast for leave. 62% of Scottish voters voted remain whilst 38% voted leave, whilst nationally 51.8% of voters in the United Kingdom as a whole voting to leave and 48.2% voting to remain

 

Fortuna's identity as personification of chance events was closely tied to virtus (strength of character). Public officials who lacked virtues invited ill-fortune on themselves and Rome: Sallust uses the infamous Catiline as illustration – "Truly, when in the place of work, idleness, in place of the spirit of measure and equity, caprice and pride invade, fortune is changed just as with morality..."Fortuna (Latin: Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) was the goddess of fortune and personification of luck in Roman religion. She might bring good or bad luck: she could be represented as veiled and blind, as in modern depictions of Lady Justice, and came to represent life's capriciousness. She was also a goddess of fate: as Atrox Fortuna, she claimed the young lives of the princeps Augustus' grandsons Gaius and Lucius, prospective heirs to the Empire. Fortune, in the guise of a standing woman, wavering on a sphere or carried on the waves by a conch equipped with a sail, is the symbol of a mysterious power, supposed to fix the fate of human beings. At the age when a Name, offering us an image of the unknowable which we have poured into its mould, while at the same moment it connotes for us also an existing place, forces us accordingly to identify one with the other to such a point that we set out to seek in a city for a soul which it cannot embody but which we have no longer the power to expel from the sound of its name, it is not only to towns and rivers that names give an individuality, as do allegorical paintings, it is not only the physical universe which they pattern with differences, people with marvels, there is the social universe also; and so every historic house, in town or country, has its lady or its fairy, as every forest has its spirit, as there is a nymph for every stream. Sometimes, hidden in the heart of its name, the fairy is transformed to suit the life of our imagination by which she live In Rome, she is honored at the Fortunalia on the eve Of the summer solstice. It is important, in fact, to put on the side of this dangerous divinity, which dispenses its fates at random. It is opposed to vertuous, firmly planted on a square base, symbol of stability. Representation of Fortune on a marine conch alludes to the uncertainties of navigation.Its main attributes are the cornucopia, and above all the wheel, a symbol of destiny, which sometimes elevates and lowers men, whatever their merits and merits, to which are added various attributes in connection with its many aspects: The polos (sphere, symbol of universality.The earth, obedient, opened wide, and by a dark descent, where there was every need of a guide as brilliant as Love, the queen reached Hades. She dreaded meeting her husband in the form of a serpent; but Love, who some times busies himself in doing kindnesses to those who are unfortunate, had foreseen everything, and had already commanded Green Serpent to become what he was before his penance. However great was Magotine's power, she could do nothing against Love. So the first thing the queen found was her husband, and she had never seen him under so handsome a form; he, likewise, had never seen her so beautiful as she had become: however a presentiment, and perhaps Love, who was with them, helped them to divine who they were. The queen at once said to him with exquisite tenderness.Fortuna's Roman cult was variously attributed to Servius Tullius – whose exceptional good fortune suggested their sexual intimacy – and to Ancus Marcius. The two earliest temples mentioned in Roman Calendars were outside the city, on the right bank of the Tiber (in Italian Trastevere). The first temple dedicated to Fortuna was attributed to the Etruscan Servius Tullius, while the second is known to have been built in 293 BC as the fulfilment of a Roman promise made during later Etruscan wars. The date of dedication of her temples was 24 June, or Midsummer’s Day, when celebrants from Rome annually floated to the temples downstream from the city. After undisclosed rituals they then rowed back, garlanded and inebriated.Also Fortuna had a temple at the Forum Boarium. Here Fortuna was twinned with the cult of Mater Matuta (the goddesses shared a festival on 11 June), and the paired temples have been revealed in the excavation beside the church of Sant'Omobono: the cults are indeed archaic in date. Fortuna Primigenia of Praeneste was adopted by Romans at the end of 3rd century BC in an important cult of Fortuna Publica Populi Romani (the Official Good Luck of the Roman People) on the Quirinalis outside the Porta Collina.[9] No temple at Rome, however, rivalled the magnificence of the Praenestine sanctuary.An oracle at the Temple of Fortuna Primigena in Praeneste used a form of divination in which a small boy picked out one of various futures that were written on oak rods. Cults to Fortuna in her many forms are attested throughout the Roman world. Dedications have been found to Fortuna Dubia (doubtful fortune), Fortuna Brevis (fickle or wayward fortune) and Fortuna Mala (bad fortune).She is found in a variety of domestic and personal contexts. During the early Empire, an amulet from the House of Menander in Pompeii links her to the Egyptian goddess Isis, as Isis-Fortuna. She is functionally related to the god Bonus Eventus, who is often represented as her counterpart: both appear on amulets and intaglio engraved gems across the Roman world. In the context of the early republican period account of Coriolanus, in around 488 BC the Roman senate dedicated a temple to Fortuna on account of the services of the matrons of Rome in saving the city from destruction. Her name seems to derive from Vortumna (she who revolves the year.The earliest reference to the Wheel of Fortune, emblematic of the endless changes in life between prosperity and disaster, is from 55 BC. In Seneca's tragedy Agamemnon, a chorus addresses Fortuna in terms that would remain almost proverbial, and in a high heroic ranting mode that Renaissance writers would emulate:“O Fortune, who dost bestow the throne’s high boon with mocking hand, in dangerous and doubtful state thou settest the too exalted.Headband The headband, which can either bandage the eyes or girdle the forehead, is a symbol of power and blindness. The ambiguous symbolism of blindness The blindfold that hides the eyes and hinders sight is a blind symbol of blindness, but not only in a negative sense. The stances of blindfolded women in front of the courts are legion in the West. This is the re-presentation of the Greek goddess Themis Justicia in the Romans.) In antiquity, the goddess is Its chief attributes are the cornucopia, and above all the wheel, a symbol of fate, which sometimes elevates and lowers men, whatever their merits and demerits, to which are added various attri- Relationship with its multiple. Its main attributes are the cornucopia, and above all the wheel, a symbol of destiny, which sometimes elevates and lowers men, whatever their merits and merits, to which are added various attributes in connection with its many aspects: The polos (sphere, symbol of universality).BANNERY yet not carved blindfolded eyes and it seems that this attribute dates back to the sixteenth century. Justicia blindfolded to demonstrate his ability to mediate impartially without being influenced by the senses. The law becomes abstract and universal, whatever the person judged Eros (Cupid in Latin) is often represented blindfolded. But this representation would in fact be tar dive. In the sixteenth century, the idea of ​​Cupid blind is common. Shakespeare writes in the Midsummer Night Dream "Love is not seen with the eyes but with the mind, so the winged Cupid is painted blindly." At the end of the Middle Ages the goddess For tuna often described as Caca, blinded by the Latin authors, was represented blindfolded, indifferent to the fate of individuals and to the distribution of happiness, turning its wheel It is also in the Middle Ages that we owe the representation of the Synagogue The Synagogue is depicted by the statue of a woman, a fallen queen with blindfolds, holding a banner with a broken stick, while the victorious Church triumphs. Never have sceptres obtained calm peace or certain tenure; care on care weighs them down, and ever do fresh storms vex their souls. ... great kingdoms sink of their own weight, and Fortune gives way ‘neath the burden of herself. Sails swollen with favouring breezes fear blasts too strongly theirs; the tower which rears its head to the very clouds is beaten by rainy Auster. ... Whatever Fortune has raised on high, she lifts but to bring low. Modest estate has longer life; then happy he whoe’er, content with the common lot, with safe breeze hugs the shore, and, fearing to trust his skiff to the wider sea, with unambitious oar keeps close to land.”[Ovid's description is typical of Roman representations: in a letter from exile, he reflects ruefully on the “goddess who admits by her unsteady wheel her own fickleness; she always has its apex beneath her swaying foot.”Fortuna did not disappear from the popular imagination with the ascendancy of Christianity.[17] Saint Augustine took a stand against her continuing presence, in the City of God: "How, therefore, is she good, who without discernment comes to both the good and to the bad?...It profits one nothing to worship her if she is truly fortune... let the bad worship her...this supposed deity".[18] In the 6th century, the Consolation of Philosophy, by statesman and philosopher Boethius, written while he faced execution, reflected the Christian theology of casus, that the apparently random and often ruinous turns of Fortune's Wheel are in fact both inevitable and providential, that even the most coincidental events are part of God's hidden plan which one should not resist or try to change. Fortuna, then, was a servant of God, and events, individual decisions, the influence of the stars were all merely vehicles of Divine Will. In succeeding generations Boethius' Consolation was required reading for scholars and students. Fortune crept back into popular acceptance, with a new iconographic trait, "two-faced Fortune", Fortuna bifrons; such depictions continue into the 15th century.The ubiquitous image of the Wheel of Fortune found throughout the Middle Ages and beyond was a direct legacy of the second book of Boethius's Consolation. The Wheel appears in many renditions from tiny miniatures in manuscripts to huge stained glass windows in cathedrals, such as at Amiens. Lady Fortune is usually represented as larger than life to underscore her importance. The wheel characteristically has four shelves, or stages of life, with four human figures, usually labeled on the left regnabo (I shall reign), on the top regno (I reign) and is usually crowned, descending on the right regnavi (I have reigned) and the lowly figure on the bottom is marked sum sine regno (I have no kingdom). Medieval representations of Fortune emphasize her duality and instability, such as two faces side by side like Janus; one face smiling the other frowning; half the face white the other black; she may be blindfolded but without scales, blind to justice. She was associated with the cornucopia, ship's rudder, the ball and the wheel. The cornucopia is where plenty flows from, the Helmsman's rudder steers fate, the globe symbolizes chance (who gets good or bad luck), and the wheel symbolizes that luck, good or bad, never lasts.

Fortune would have many influences in cultural works throughout the Middle Ages. In Le Roman de la Rose, Fortune frustrates the hopes of a lover who has been helped by a personified character "Reason". In Dante's Inferno (vii.67-96) Virgil explains the nature of Fortune, both a devil and a ministering angel, subservient to God. Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium ("The Fortunes of Famous Men"), used by John Lydgate to compose his Fall of Princes, tells of many where the turn of Fortune's wheel brought those most high to disaster, and Boccaccio essay De remedii dell'una e dell'altra Fortuna, depends upon Boethius for the double nature of Fortuna. Fortune makes her appearance in Carmina Burana (see image). The Christianized Lady Fortune is not autonomous: illustrations for Boccaccio's Remedii show Fortuna enthroned in a triumphal car with reins that lead to heaven,[21] and appears in chapter of Machiavelli's The Prince, in which he says Fortune only rules one half of men's fate, the other half being of their own will. Machiavelli reminds the reader that Fortune is a woman, that she favours a strong, or even violent hand, and that she favours the more aggressive and bold young man than a timid elder. Even Shakespeare was no stranger to Lady Fortune:When in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes.You all alone beweep my outcast state... Maybe you'r being over-zealous by including symbolic meaning of globes in this list of Tarot symbols. I mean, globe meanings are pretty obvious, and most people can intuit their symbolic gist. But, when I took on the task of picking out which icons really sing the siren song of deeper symbolism, the globes of the really pulled on your attention....Why? I think it's because they are like "mini-me's" of our planet. They are the miniature version of the Earth, and so globes are symbolic of all things made manifest. When I see globes in the cards (depending on the surrounding cards) I am under the impression my client has a "global view" of the situation. He or she has a broad understanding. He or she may also have global holdings - meaning, my client has influence/responsibility of a mammoth size. globe meaning in this picture...What about scrying? You know, like gazing into crystal balls for telling futures. What's kind of sad about most divinatory practices is the general misunderstanding connected with the object. It is not the object that tells the future. The globe is just a tool. Looking into the crystal ball can shift vision. I'm talking metaphysical vision here. Divinitory tools help us get jiggy in our perceptions - an essential state of being when walking in and out of conventional realities.. That's the whole point of all divinatory tools - including Tarot. We are seeking ways to get jiggy with our energy - to move out of the mechanical-clockwork of common reality - and dance into Aether-realms where different sets of rules apply..So when we see globes is a symbolic cue of fortelling? Prophesy? Divining accurate futures? Yes, sure, but the real symbolism in globes is the shift. Not the act of future-telling, but the shift in vision is where the jackpot is...How can you see your world differently?What can you do to shift your vision about who you are?What techniques could you employ to alter your common reality? When you look for solutions - do you look globally or only locally?In other words, do have a broad view of potential, or is your vision limited to only immediate solutions?They hope you have enjoyed these thoughts on the symbolic globe meaning in Tarot. It might be noteworthy to mention globes are 3 dimensional versions of the circle, and there's tons of symbolism rolling around there: Cycles, Inclusion, Protection, Femininity, Wholeness, Community - to name a few attributes.

  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortuna

 

Revenir au moyenâgeux ...Hélas !!!, ether , d'être ou d'avoir été.Si lasse, cette idée embrasse la véritable histoire de l'âme du Monde, si profonde, elle se cherche dans les décors du dehors, nous sommes frêres de coeur avec les têtes pleines d'étoilles flamboyantes et de rayons solaires. Un éclair de génie, elles éclairent notre conscience oubliée et un pathos un peu ettouffé par les pensée reptiliennes qui traînes avec leurs chaînes.Elle tourne la tête au esprits autistes de libres pensées.Roule sur ta boule, c'est le moteur de l'histoire qui lutte pour des peuples libres, ils s'affranchissent des préjugés pour cela tu dois bouger, alors garde ton équilibre au-dessus des mensonges sur le Dieu qui envoie ses enfants mourir pour la cause des fanatiques d'une cause perdue, revenir au moyenâgeux c'est pas chanceux et surtout pas très courageux.D'après Hermes l'invisible est plus important; O Ames aveugle...arme toi du flambeau des Mystères et dans la nuit terrestre, tu découvriras ton Double lumineux Ton Ame céleste. Suis ce guide divin et qu'il soit ton Génie. car tu tient la clef de tes existences passées et futures. Appelaux initiés.(d'après le Livre des Morts.Le bandeau, qui peut soit bander les yeux, soit ceindre le front, est un sym bole de pouvoir et d'aveuglement. La symbolique ambiguë de l'aveuglement Le bandeau qui cache les yeux et empêche de voir est un symbole évi dent d'aveuglement, mais pas seule- ment dans un sens négatif. Les sta tues de femmes aux yeux bandés posées devant les tribunaux sont légion en Occident. Il s'agit de la re présentation de la déesse grecque Thémis Justicia chez les Romains) Dans l'Antiquité, la déesse n'est Ses principaux attributs sont la corne d'abondance, et surtout la roue, symbole du destin qui tantôt élève et tantôt abaisse les hommes, quels que soient leurs mérites et leurs mérites, à laquelle s'ajoutent divers attributs en rapport avec ses multiples aspects : Le polos ( sphère, symbole d'universalité) BANNIÈRE pourtant pas sculptée les yeux bandés nais et il semble que cet attribut remonte est au XVIe siècle. Justicia se bande les yeux pour démontrer sa capacité à arbitrer de façon impartiale, sans être influencée par les sens. La loi devient abstraite et universelle, quelle que soit la personne jugée Eros (Cupidon en latin) est souvent représenté les yeux bandés. Mais cette représentation serait en fait tardive. Au XVIe siècle, l'idée de Cupidon aveugle est courante. Shakespeare écrit dans le Songe d'une nuit d'été "L'amour regarde non avec les yeux mais avec l'esprit. Ainsi Cupidon ailé est-il peint aveugle. À la fin du Moyen Age. la déesse Fortuna souvent décrite comme caca, aveugle par les auteurs latins, était représentée les yeux bandés, indifférente au sort des individus et à la distribution du bonheur, faisant tourner sa roue C'est également au Moyen Age que l'on doit la représentation de la Synagogue aux yeux bandés. Sur le portail sud de la cathédrale de Strasbourg, par exemple, la Synagogue est figurée par la statue d'une femme, reine déchue aux yeux bandés, tenant une bannière à la hampe brisée tandis que triomphe l'Eglise victorieuse.

300/365

 

"He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.”- (Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

 

Today was eventually a better day then yesterday. Thank you all for your kind, encouraging feedback and comments. Sometimes I get into a mess in my little over-active mind and it's hard to get out :) I called a friend today who told me, "everyone falls from their pedestal, the trick is not to get on one." Man she is wise, right? I have written that down in numerous places, that is so kick ass!

 

MFIMC - Nora Nona The make-up artist for this week's challenge, is pretty effing awesome. Check her out

 

Hope you all have a great Wednesday <3

  

► A shot against the sun on an ornamental pillar with a colossal replica of the Holy Quran sitting on top of it. This is in Kota Bharu, the capital town for the state of Kelantan, 450 km from Kuala Lumpur. Located in the northeastern coast of Malaysia, this state is known for its strong rooting of Islamic creed since time immemorial that their religious convictions even spilled over in the state administrations of today.

 

NOTE: THIS IS LOCAL CONTENT

(Can only be understood by Malaysians, and only Kelantanese know it better)

 

They just never learned their lesson.

 

Don’t touch on that old man. Don’t belittle or disparage him in any ways. This “Tok Guru” is a bona fide icon above the political figure that appears on the surface – physically frail but feared and revered by friends and foes, wins hearts of many through his gentle line of attack. If Manek Urai constituency is that important as to show the influence and power, why still adopt old strategy? It was proven disastrous in PRU12 as it would possibly spell catastrophic in this by-election.

 

It initially thought as a trump card with the issue of unity rebuff but the volley returned rather easily as a political snare by the counterpart. Drumming up on the physical development issue as to make an impression of the outpost of Manek Urai is left out in cold all these while is just as bad as scoffing at the candidate. (The candidate running for the seat is a big brother of Zaidi Abdullah, 5 Alpha 82 – now only my ex-schoolmates connect to this) Perhaps the biggest bluster is on the attempt telling the world the coalition is susceptible and the state is in shamble under the existing administrations. Rumor has it that, with all these political "correctness", it is a blessing in disguise on the adversary – that technically creates sympathizers.

 

I am impartial all the way through that I’d cynically if not sarcastically laugh over the absurdities on both sides, but I am observing the whole process with full of interests.

 

One side is noisily hammering nail on the head whilst another side quietly jostling a spear right into the heart. Which side will garner bigger support? Time will tell.

 

The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is an accurate, easy-to-read translation of the Bible. It has been published in whole or in part in over 120 languages. More than 200 million copies have been distributed, it contains archaeological evidence in the back of ancient writings written over 2100 years ago, with the inscription of Gods name Jehovah. it covers lifes history from the beginning of creation Genesis to Revelation. its pages mention Jesus' coming to reveal his true followers (instructions are within to see 1 peter 2:21, Luke 4:43, Luke 10.1, Luke 8:1 Matthew 24:14 are just a few to highlight who they are) & remove the wicked that have no regard for Gods Laws & for the earth we live on, it took 3500years to complete by 40 people while under the direction of Gods Holy Spirit, they came from all walks of life to show that God is impartial. if you havent read it I suggest you do, it contains instructions on how to please Jehovah (Gods name) and a very important life saving message that is shortly going to take place (read Matthew chapter 24 to see the evidence or signs Jesus said where to take place in his presence.. its happenings now) any more info please visit JW.ORG it has plenty more info quench your spiritual thirst.

Indigo is a combination of deep blue and violet, holding the attributes of both these colours. The colour meaning of indigo reflects great devotion, wisdom, justice, fairness, and impartiality

~

www.flickr.com/groups/temporaryexhibitionsartgallery/

Art Week Gallery Theme

This week 300 June -6 July our theme is:

~~~~~ Blues and Purples ~~~~~

hi!!!

 

Finally into 3 years of creating junks, i'm looking forward to creating even more!

 

So we're currently searching to add new awesome bloggers into the team and hope anyone who likes my designs (even though i hate them) join us!

 

You DO NOT have to purchase any of my design, neither do you have to had blogged my item before to qualify for this application.

 

Please understand that I won't be able to add everyone that applies, but I promise I will definitely take a look at every single application seriously and impartially!

 

To apply blogging for NYU, please kindly follow this link to the application form: (Application is closed)

 

Visit my inworld store if you wish to take a look at my creations before applying!

 

NYU: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Neo/180/100/889

 

(feel free to pass the link to your friends if they're interested too ♥)

Carl Jung's psychology, experienced through the symbol-producing process of individuation, along with the symbolic representation of this process contained in the ancient practice of alchemy, serves as a map and container for our understanding of the alchemical process of calcination.

Fire and heat—what occurs outside in nature and is viewed as a natural process there can also occur inside of us in the form of symptomology. But because of one dimensional views on natural psychological phenomenon on the inside, we sometimes call it pathology there. Like forest fires and the heat produced by the flames, symbolic “heat and fire” can be a natural process for us on the inside too, when viewed through the lens of alchemy and the alchemical phase of calcinatio.

 

Psychological symptoms of calcinatio and “fire and heat” may include the emotion of a burning anger. Cognitively, there may be an inability to think clearly. Bodily, you may feel a sense of “heat” somewhere in the body. Sitting in the heat and allowing for a psychological process of burning away of the old is not easy, but fortunately the psyche has ways of communicating to us when we are in such an important phase.

 

Although I only mentioned a few examples of how calcinatio imagery may manifest in the mind/body symbolically, the psyche has a myriad of other ways to illustrate this natural process of fire and heat.

 

Fire and heat on the inside, has the potential to be viewed in other ways. It can be viewed as something that burns through old ways of being, old attitudes, and allowing for the new to emerge. When we sit in the psychological fire and experience heat, we are allowing for a natural process to take place which has the potential to transform us.

 

Two days of driving across the high desert in 100 + degrees Fahrenheit temperatures and with forest fires, smoke, and a broken air-conditioner, served as a catalyst for me on thinking about the experience of heat, fire and its transformative potential. Suffering the extreme heat and smoke-filled, foul air forced me to turn inward and attempt to find solutions there.

 

Becoming authentic and true to the deepest parts of ourselves sometimes requires fire and heat to burn through the old and allow for the new. Carl Jung’s psychology, experienced through the symbol-producing process of individuation, along with the symbolic representation of this process contained in the ancient practice of alchemy, serves as a map and container for our understanding of the alchemical process of calcinatio.

 

We can also look to nature and forest fires to see the regenerative powers of fire and heat. It goes without saying that forest fires can also be destructive to both plants and animals, including human animals. But when viewed through the eyes of a naturalist and over a period of years, one can see how fires can also transform old, decaying forests into forests with potential for new growth and increased diversity. I have witnessed this firsthand through observing Yellowstone National Park over the years and how it has recovered since the great fires of 1988.

 

The psychological phase of calcinatio can have significant consequences. When forest fires burn down important human possessions, like our homes, these are of course, devastating losses. Initially, we can feel the same when we are enduring the phase of calcinatio. When a family suffers the loss of a home from a forest fire, there are times of grief, often followed by the rebuilding of both homes and lives.

 

The same potential for growth and renewal can be true for us when we are in a calcinatio phase and feel as if we are sitting in the fire and heat and being “burned down” by symbolic forest fires. As I mentioned earlier, calcinatio imagery can reveal itself in our emotions and/or body, and it is also not uncommon for dreams to utilize the imagery of heat and/or fire to illustrate these phases. Many of us choose to look the other way and we try to run and escape from the heat and flames. Like animals that flee from raging forest fires and extreme temperatures, the human animal often wants to escape from our inner symbolic fire and heat.

 

"NPS Photo by Ann Deutch"

“NPS Photo by Ann Deutch”

 

This is understandable, but often it is not in our best interests even though this may seem counterintuitive. Like certain trees such as the Redwood and the Lodgepole pine that will often not disperse seeds until the cones are subjected to fire, humans sometimes need symbolic psychological fires inside, the alchemical phase of calcinatio, to burn away outdated thoughts, attitudes and patterns of behavior to make way for new ways of being and seeing our world.

 

In other words, sometimes we need to sit in the heat and fire. Like I mentioned above, I was reminded of this truth on a recent drive across the high desert in extreme heat, with a broken air conditioner, and forest fires burning in the distant mountains. In my own experience of this, I wanted to run, to get away from my suffering and the intensity of scorching heat. Instead, I decided to accept the fact that there was nothing I could do. I took standard precautions and drank massive amounts of fluids.

 

But ultimately, I decided to accept my situation and to sit with the real heat and symbolic fire and its meaning for me. It was with this attitude that my situation became much more tolerable and even meaningful. This approach to the heat helped me to see how the old needed to go so that new life could come.

 

No matter how we choose to live our lives, we will all have to endure times of symbolic fire and heat. We can run from this important phase of our lives, with its inherent possibility of providing a time of transformation—a “burning away of the old.” Or we can choose to sit with the heat and fire—to learn about what it may have to teach us. Either way, we will suffer in an alchemical phase of calcinatio. But when we are able to sit with the fire, approach it consciously, we can find meaning there. Suffering in the case of enduring the alchemical phase of calcinatio, can transform—allowing for the new to emerge from the ashes of the old.

  

Just as the seated Helvetia on our homepage looks down the Rhine into the distance, the Alchemists risk a glimpse into the interior and want to discover things there that will help us - and perhaps also our fellow men - to progress.

 

How do they intend to achieve this?

 

Being Alchemist means never having reached an unchangeable state. It can only be the beginning of a lifelong process that could be called "work on itself". We are neither a debating club, nor a religious community, nor a therapy group, far more likely one can call us a "group of similar-minded people" or a "workshop for humanity".

 

Alchemy is not a secret society. The secret that we share is the personal experience that cannot be expressed in words.Alchemists have no concrete concept of God, but use the term Almighty Master Builder of all worlds. This is a symbol of creator power. Personal faith and a possible image of God are left to each brother.It does not come from the imagination, but from the sensation of what has matured after observing the light and colors in the course of the day and year. In this picture there is "nothing" to see, but something to experience. When the observer dives into the colors, the soul comes into motion. As soon as the imagination is stimulated, experiences, stories flow in and the viewer has become a participant. The colors it chooses playfully turn the picture into passages, horizons or suites. It is a matter of concern to reach the viewer's soul where it is inquiring and searching.

Alchemy brings together people of different origins. They bring their ways of thinking and life experiences with them. What binds them together is that they want to approach each other in an impartial manner and wipe off ideological, religious, political or social prejudices. The Alchemists want to go through life with a free spirit.

Alchemists therefore form an open society - but with a discrete character. The covenant unites people who share values such as tolerance or openness, who value the diversity of people and are willing to question themselves and work on themselves. The resulting openness broadens the perspective and gives strength to consciously shape life. In their meetings, they discuss topics from different areas of life. Symbols borrowed from the tradition of egyptians patterns use them as tools to deal with and learn from the alchemic system of values.

In Switzerland, the Swiss grand lodges Alpina unite over 80 alchemic lodges with about 3800 members. It is not subject to any international organization, but maintains friendly relations with grand lodges all over the world. Worldwide there are about 34,000 boxes with more than 3 million members.Today's Alchemy is the result of the Enlightenment of the 18th century. Its basic principles are humanity, tolerance and cosmopolitanism. Also during this time, several lodges in England joined together to form a grand lodge, thus giving Alchemy its present form of organization. The Confederation had a great attraction because it brought together men of no standing, religion or political color who might never have found life together under normal circumstances.

 

In the seclusion of a box, the free word, which could have been compromising in public at that time, was possible and desirable to everyone. It was not uncommon for great minds of that time, politicians, philosophers, scientists and artists to join a lodge. We find names like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, George Washington. Adolf Knigge, Jan Sibelius and others.

 

A main symbol is the Solomon Temple, built in honour of God. It stands as a symbol of human communion, where every single human being is seen as a stone and only with his fellow human beings (other stones) represents an artistic building. The Freemasons also call the meetings of the Lodges temple work because it is built at the temple of humanity. This building unites the brothers - and beyond that all people - in their striving for spiritual perfection.

The regular and traditional highlight of Loge's life is the ritual work, which takes place about once a month. It is the central event of every Alchemic lodge. Alchemy is unthinkable without its degree specific rituals.

 

The rituals cannot simply be learned in the mind, but must be experienced in the innermost part of the soul. It's like a piece of music: although we can read the score, we have never heard and experienced the music before.

Rituals take place in the temple. This name is traditionally derived from the royal building of the Solomon's temple. Later, the medieval building fraternities that built the cathedrals of the Occident praised Solomon's temple as their highest ideal that could never be attained. It represents the image of the universe and symbolically corresponds to the temple of humanity.

 

The protection and seclusion of the temple are by no means an end in itself, not an escape from the world, but a temporary retreat, as it were, in order to give the individual the opportunity to constantly examine the motives of his actions against the ethical norms postulated by membership in Alchemy for himself.

   

A temple ministry is usually followed by a fraternal feast in the refectory. The sociable also has an important place in Alchemy. At the common meal (agape), often beautiful and valuable conversations arise.

www.santacruzpsychologist.com/blog/2013/calcinatio-sittin...

have a very long explanation of this picture and why i took it but i want it to count towards my suffering 365 project so i have 16 minutes to upload it from now...

 

short and shallow commentary:

 

took a set of self pics in this dress and other clothing around 3pm today. it was fun.

 

i bought the dress over 2 years ago and this is the first time i wore it. i may not be keeping it. i probably should not keep it. when i decide to get rid of my possessions i often like to photograph them before they go though, so that i can remember things associated with them or remember why i bought them or what i liked about them.

 

i took around 100~200 pics so there is a small possibility i will edit and upload another one later.

 

worst of all though-- i am more than just a little bit drunk right now and i edited this whole pic while in la la land so although you could say that my style of editing images has become to deliberately fuck up and distort them, this one might be fucked up without intent. which is an entirely different thing from experimenting or from intentionally warping something, although i tried. there are some things i did to this picture that i think unbalance it and bother me when i look at it, but i'll let other people make their minds up about that because i can't view my own pics impartially.

 

have more to say, but later. this wasn't very short.

of all the reasons I have to care about you it's your smile that gets me every time.

 

This is an outtake from yesterday's paint antics. I saved it 'cause it was Demi's favourite. :']

About to do an almighty tag description. If you don't want to find out obscene amounts of irrelevant information about me, leave now ;)

 

1. Favourite 5 Disney movies.

- UP.

- Nemo!

- Pirates of the Caribbean

- The fox and the hound :']

- That one about the mouse.. not tales of despereux though.

 

2. what makes you happy, and what makes you sad?

- I have a feeling most of you would be able to guess this. I'm happiest when around certain people; the one's I'm close to, usually the worst influences. The ones who make me laugh my stupid loud laugh and whose company I feel genuinely at home in. I'm happiest when talking to them, or spending with them, or even just wasting time with them.

What makes me sad, more than anything, is seeing those people upset. I try not to be but I'm easily influenced by them and their emotions and while I often steal happiness from their supplies the same can be said for their sadness.

 

and 3.

- What's the last movie you watched? Ooft. A documentry on the spanish american war ;)

- What's your favorite noise? laughter.

- Do you like some kind of light on when you go to bed, or just darkness? I used to be afraid of the dark and now I can't bear the light.

- What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten? Not sure; some sort of bizarre concoction formed at a sleepover during a dare, no doubt.

- What's something you really want right now but don't need? Summer, I guess.

- What's your hair look like right now? Wet, tied back.

- Have you seen Waldo? If so what the heck man! Weirdest question ever? It's called Wally here. and yeah, I saw lots of adults running round the city dressed as him one saturday night :')

  

5 thoughts I've had today,

- I've had a nice day.

- Am I hungry?

- Why do I spend so very much time on public transport?!

- Must update ipod.

- I hope that works out.

 

10 truths:

Oh dear.

- I don't drink tea or coffee, I drink steamed milk and vanilla syrup.

- I have a fairly good taste in music, but some very very guilty pleasures. Usually involving american teen stupidly-famous actors.

- I will literally forgive anyone for anything and am trying to stop doing it.

- People who don't make an effort annoy me more than anything, but that makes me a hypocrite sometimes.

- I have three scars; one from falling down a drain in malawi by the roadside, one from burning my hand on the oven when I got home from malawi and one from chickenpox when I was tiny.

- I spent most of last year in the doctor's surgery at least once a week pretty much, because I have so many minor maladies.

- I'm a complete geek when it comes to videogames like pokemon.

- I want to be head girl.

- I spent a long, long time wishing I was someone else but now I no longer wish that because I've seen them a little more through someone else's eyes.

- I clearly crave attention :')

 

Hahaa, and this:

1. Thing you cannot leave the house without? camera.

2. Favorite Brand of Make up? ehh, maxfactor mascara, I'm impartial about everything else.

3. Favorite Place? Home (:

4. Favorite clothing store? Ruby red boutique :)

5. Favorite band? Uhm, too many to count. Blink 182 maybe.

6. Heels or flats? Pahaa, flats by day, heels by night ;)

7. Do you make good grades? Generally

8. Favorite colors? Deep red

9. Do you drink energy drinks? No :')

10. Do you drink juice? Too often.

11. Do you like swimming? Love it.

12. Do you eat fries with a fork? Depends who I'm with!

13. Favorite song? Iris - googoo dolls

14. Do you want to get married later on in life? Yep.

15. Do you get mad easily? Oh yes :)

16. Are you into ghost hunting? Nope, but going on a ghost hunt soon xD

17. Any phobias? Fire.

18. Do you bite your nails? Not unless something's on my mind

19. Have you ever had a near death experience? Nope. touchwood!

20. Do you drink coffee? Not YET. ;)

 

5 places I'd like to visit:

Rome (or Florence)

New York

Tokyo

Mexico city (beginning to sound like my geography case study list)

Bavaria

 

Allright. And now the almighty ten facts.

AHH SO MANY TAGS. :)

 

1. I played volleyball today; we kicked ass, but lost. In style. Ish.

2. I miss someone I see everyday and spend a lot of time with. Weird or what?

3. I feel like going and curling up with a book, which I'll do in a sec, since I acquired three today - the great gatsby, a history one and draculaaaa.

4. I would LOVE to work in a bookstore. I've applied, but so has my life arch nemesis.

5. HAHAH yes, I have an arch nemesis xD

6. I'm not in school much over the next few weeks, mixed feelings about this.

7. I must, must get a job. Or stop spending money.

8. Mum just gave me the local newspaper to read; my dad's school is in the midst of a money scandal. Oh, dear.

9. I had ice cream for breakfast this morning. Vanilla.

10. I also wear vanilla perfume.

 

OKHAY I'M DONE.

Mugbil Al-Thukair was likely photographed in his bedchamber at his house in Manama, sitting on a prayer rug with a pious wistful countenance in a dapper embroidered silk Jubbah (open coat) and an ornate Cashmere Ghutra Shawl (headdress) fastened with the obsolete thick Najdi Agal (headband), the distinctive formal attire once worn by wealthy Arab merchants and tribal chieftains in Central Arabia and the northern Arabian Gulf in the early twentieth century as Al-Thukair supposedly was facing a Victorian colonial Anglo-Indian Raj four-poster teak wood bed (palang) surrounded by all the trappings of wealth typifying the lifestyle of a Gulf-rich pearl merchant and his household at the time, such as the open Indian teak wood wardrobe cabinet with an inside mirrored door on the left where a visible Cashmere Ghutra Shawl hangs from an open wardrobe drawer, a Victorian glass-shaded gas lamp in the right corner next to a pendulum clock in the back of a reclining wooden cane chair with its vertically striped cushion and several sitting chairs stacked high with books together with a variety of Persian rugs and carpets strewn across the floor during Jacques Cartier's second extended visit to Bahrain (from the 14th to the 26th of March 1912) the focal point of his Arabian Gulf pearl purchasing trip on Thursday, the 16th of March, 1912.

 

(Mugbil Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thukair was born in 1844 in the rural town of Unaizah in the Al-Qassim region in northern Najd, Central Arabia as Al-Qassim has always been considered the agricultural heartland of the Arabian Peninsula known since pre-Islamic times as the "Alimental Basket" or granary of Arabia for its abundant agricultural assets into a prestigious erudite family of merchants widespread across Arabia and the Fertile Crescent with a trading history that could be traced back to the early eighteenth century from a young age Al-Thukair was endowed with natural business acumen combined with deep intellectual and literary interests following in the footsteps of generations of his family's enterprising male offspring which drove him first in 1867 at the tender age of 23 to the prosperous port town of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast of Arabia with its bustling market and cosmopolitan outlook the obvious first choice for any ambitious young man from the hinterlands of Arabia mainly Najd in those days where he began to make his mark as a budding young merchant at the same time exploring any available business opportunities in the port cities and towns of the Near East (Middle East) and those in the neighbouring Indian subcontinent principally in the newly British-founded port city of Bombay (Mumbai), the quickly burgeoning commercial hub on the Arabian Sea, the main western gateway to India and the key gathering place for Arab merchants and their families from Arabia in the subcontinent forming a dynamic expatriate Arab community that would continue to exist from the mid-nineteenth century until India's independence from Britain in 1947 Bombay also provided a good head start for scores of young merchants from the Arabian Peninsula at the time some of whom became well-known household business names across the region most notably Alireza of Jeddah, Alghanim, Al-Kharafi and Alshaya of Kuwait among others, spurring young Al-Thukair to learn Hindi, the pre-oil seafaring age's business lingua franca in the Arabian Peninsula since the majority of Arabia's trade passed through Indian entrepôts and in due course he became proficient in the essential business language, the thriving port city of Basra in southern Iraq was yet another desirable alternative business opportunity for Al-Thukair, a familiar business destination for his family for many decades and a second adopted domicile for several family members as Iraq's only maritime gateway to the rest of the world, often visited by him in the early to mid-1870s while en route to Iraq's only port on the Arabian Gulf his ship would stop at Bahrain one of the three major ports of the Arabian Peninsula in the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries (the other two were Aden and Jeddah) allowing him during the few hours interval between passengers and cargo disembarkation and embarkation to wander around the town of Manama the cosmopolitan commercial hub on the main island of the Bahraini archipelago examining closely along the way Manama's ethnically diverse purveyors of bountiful goods from all over the world meanwhile assessing the business possibilities of the Bahraini market especially its booming pearl trade prompting him to dabble in the lucrative commodity with great success as part of his general trading business interests and after spending ten years in the coastal town of Jeddah now as a seasoned well-established general merchant Bahrain beckoned as the centre of the pearl trade in the Arabian Gulf and beyond a pioneering position consolidated by possessing in its northern waters the richest pearl oyster beds in the Gulf renowned worldwide for producing the finest quality pearls for their iridescent lustre, size and variety of colours making it the place of choice for anyone wishing to try his luck in the pearl business back then which was the mainstay of the Arabian Gulf economy prior to the discovery of oil similarly sundry of his Central Arabian Najdi merchant counterparts from the austere Arabian inland such as Algosaibi, Al-Ajaji, Al-Qadi and Al-Bassam were lured to Bahrain by the country's newfound political stability following the accession of the young, astute and literarily inclined Sheikh Isa Bin Ali Al Khalifa (1848-1932) to the throne in 1869 ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity after decades of turmoil and instability as reflected in the renewed confidence and heightened profitability prospects of the Bahraini pearl market driven by increasing international demand particularly in the West for high-quality natural pearls from the Arabian Gulf as rapidly soaring demand propelled pearl prices to unprecedented heights against such a heady backdrop Al-Thukair decided in 1877 at the age of 33 to relocate to Bahrain with his immediate family consisting of his wife and two young sons Abdullatif and Abdulmuhsin, a decision that would change his life forever Bahrain with its lush date palm groves and freshwater springs proved to be more suitable to his agrarian temperament than arid Jeddah though comparable to its vibrant multicultural and multi-ethnic society as it was the closest thing to a second home for the mature aspiring assiduous merchant after his beloved birthplace of Unaizah within a matter of years after arriving in the small island country he managed to become a leading pearl merchant and a highly esteemed public figure well-known for his philanthropic disposition, honest dealings, impeccable integrity and intellectual prowess so much so that he was dubbed "The Pride of Merchants" by the Bahraini business community he also took on the role of honorary chairman of the Manama business community and the titular head of the Najdi diaspora in Bahrain as a natural progression of his tremendous entrepreneurial successes and admirable character traits due to this exalted social status and the large network of highly influential personages he cultivated throughout the region Al-Thukair became increasingly sought-after as an arbiter of disputes including those of a political nature in Bahrain and elsewhere in the region but among the many scattered instances of his arbitration cases in the declassified annual Gulf reports from the British Archives, the following case from the latter stage of his life in Bahrain is one of the most striking examples of his high-level arbitrations where a family of illustrious clerics and judges resorted to his conscientious arbitration when asked by Ibrahim one of the two younger brothers of Bahrain's highest religious Muslim authority for nearly half a century the eminent cleric and unofficial supreme judge Sheikh Qasim Al Mehza (1847-1941) dubbed the "chief judge" unanimously by adherents of both Sunni and Shiite cross-sectarian Muslim denominations of Bahraini society for his scholarly knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence to intercede between the two younger siblings one of whom Ahmed was a highly respected cleric in his own right the first Bahraini graduate of the Al-Azhar of Cairo in 1887 and ironically their elder brother the highly learned cleric and judge Sheikh Qasim, here is the next slightly edited citation from the British Gulf residency report of 1912 concerning local Bahraini affairs from 1st to 30th September, exact date unspecified (A difference over the ownership of a plot of land and a shop recently arose between Sheikh Qasim Bin Mehza and his two brothers Ahmed and Ibrahim and the two parties were not on speaking terms. At the request of Ibrahim, Sheikh Mugbil and Yusuf Kanoo intervened and succeeded in arranging a comprise) correspondingly he was acting as an unpaid adviser, interlocutor and mediator to some of the Arabian Peninsula's rulers as attested by one of the earliest documented references to Al-Thukair in the British Archives in late 1888 and early 1889 where he was linked to a series of accounts dealing with the recurring violent hostilities between the neighbouring Sheikhdoms of Qatar and Abu Dhabi in which he acted as a go-between on behalf of Sheikh Qasim Bin Muhammad Al-Thani (r. 1868-1913) the first British-recognised Qatari ruler independent of Bahraini suzerainty and founder of the Al-Thani ruling dynasty to help broker a peaceful settlement between the two parties and other key players in the conflict including the Al Rasheed the then rulers of Arabia's northern region of Ha'il and their Ottoman backers both of whom intervened on behalf of the Qatari side, from early on as a middle-aged man Al-Thukair had gained recognition as an ethical impartial figure and a reliable confidant to the majority of the rulers in the Arabian Gulf as demonstrated in numerous instances in this mini-biography of the man, the following two edited extracts are part of a comprehensive report on the latter stage of the long-drawn fitful hostilities between Qatar and Abu Dhabi covering the period from March 1888 to June 1890 by the British Gulf residency in Bushehr Persia (Iran) on the bloody conflict which involved lengthy correspondence between the British political agent in Bahrain and his superior the political resident in Bushehr where Al-Thukair is frequently mentioned, a conflict that started as a random mid-sea raid by Qatari corsairs on an Abu Dhabi-owned pearl fishing vessel in Qatari waters killing all of its crew presumably around the year 1880 escalating into a prolonged fierce enmity between Sheikh Zayed Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan (r. 1855-1909) ruler of Abu Dhabi and Sheikh Qasim Bin Muhammad Al-Thani (r. 1868-1913) ruler of Qatar spiralling into uncontrollable atrocious carnage and depredation reprisals manifested in the thrice sacking of the Qatari capital Doha during the third of which Qatar ruler's son Ali was killed and the multiple sackings of the sedentary communities of Abu Dhabi's western region of Al Dhafra and other towns between 1880 and 1892 the first extract is a full-text letter while the second consists of the last two paragraphs of a longer letter the first of which is as follows (No. 10, dated the 20th January 1889. From-The Residency Agent, Bahrain. To-The Political Resident, Arabian Gulf. After compliments. I beg to send herewith a copy of a letter sent by Qasim Bin Thani (ruler of Qatar) to the Chief (ruler) of Bahrain with a special messenger who has also brought a number of other letters giving welcome tidings to Muhammad Bin Abdulwahab (Al-Faihani), Mugbil (Al-Thukair) and (Abdulrahman) Bin Aidan; and mentioning the number of people who were slain out of the inhabitants of Liwa (the Al Dhafra region is centred on the large Liwa Oasis in Abu Dhabi's westernmost domain); viz., 520 persons; and that they took from them large booty and numerous camels and that Sheikh Qasim returned safely with his army. I hear from reports that Sheikh Qasim lost 8 men killed. Others say 48, others again 110. But as yet there is no correct report as since the arrival of this messenger no one has come from Qatar owing to heavy "shemall" (northern gusty) winds. It is stated that Sheikh Qasim has not yet reached Al-Bidda (Doha). I hear that Isa Bin Ziyab a cousin of Sheikh Zayed Bin Khalifa (Al Nahyan) has arrived in Bahrain from Abu Dhabi and interviewed the Chief (ruler of Bahrain). According to what he says there are not so many people at Liwa and that Sheikh Zayed had not received any report of Sheikh Qasim's proceedings from Qatar to Liwa or any other place. I shall make further reports when I receive any fresh news) the second extract is as follows (No. 52, dated the 28th of March 1889. From-The Residency Agent, Bahrain. To-The Political Resident, Arabian Gulf. I have seen a letter from Qasim (ruler of Qatar) to Mugbil (Al-Thukair) in which the writer says that he is prepared to meet Zayed (ruler of Abu Dhabi) and that he is not afraid of his advance; on the contrary that he will himself march out to attack Zayed in case the latter should not advance against him. In that letter he also wishes Mugbil to believe that Ibn Rasheed (ruler of Ha'il in northern Arabia) will not fail to fulfil his promise. The date of this letter is 17th March. It is apparent that Qasim wrote that letter before the arrival of Nafi (Ibn Rasheed messenger) My own opinion is that if the news about Zayed's advance be true and also that if Qasim be supported by the Turkish soldiers, Zayed's forces will have hard work before them; for Qasim is regardless of expense and the Turkish soldiers are greedy as is known. Their number at Al-Bidda (Doha) is 250) the previous references were among several in this special report to Al-Thukair's top-level intermediation in this particular bloody conflict a small sample of his early political intermediation in regional affairs that would last until he unwillingly left his second adopted homeland Bahrain in mid-1917 but in connection with his frequent interactions with the rulers of the Arabian Peninsula the most significant of those were Sheikh Isa Bin Ali Al Khalifa (r. 1869-1932) of Bahrain, Sheikh Qasim Bin Muhammad Al-Thani (r. 1868-1913) of Qatar and Abdulaziz Ibn Saud (r. 1902-1953) ruler of Najd and its dependencies who was styled as such from the 13th of January 1902 onwards after the subtle young industrious scion of the House of Saud succeeded in recapturing the ancestral seat of power of his forefathers, the then small town of Riyadh from the bellicose Ottoman-backed Al Rasheed ruling clan of the northern Arabian region of Ha'il in an audacious dawn attack, the future king of what would become the sprawling Kingdom of Saudi Arabia perceptibly in the course of time Al-Thukair became such a revered sage that the ruler of Bahrain Sheikh Isa Bin Ali Al Khalifa asked him to be one of the signatories of a solemn pledge of allegiance deed to his eldest surviving son the 24-year-old newly appointed crown prince and future ruler Sheikh Hamad (r. 1932-1942) on 8th October 1896 following the untimely death of his eldest son and heir apparent Salman near Riyadh in Najd Central Arabia three years earlier on his exhausting perilous long land journey home from the Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca during the formal investiture ceremony for the crown prince an honour reserved for only a select few high-ranking merchants from the highest echelons of the Bahraini business community who were recognised as pillars of society outside the ranks of senior members of the ruling family, tribal chieftains and clergy leaders amongst whom were Hussain Bin Salman Matar (1817-1911) and Ahmed Bin Muhammed Kanoo (1835-1905) as for Al-Thukair's aforementioned special relationship with Ibn Saud the marriage of his niece Lulwa the daughter of his brother Yahya to Ibn Saud solidified that relationship enabling him to negotiate on behalf of Ibn Saud a favourable agreement with the Ottomans on the withdrawal of their garrison from the Al-Hasa Oasis and its environs in eastern Arabia which would become part of the future eastern province of Saudi Arabia as Ibn Saud was poised to take control of the oasis in mid-1914 soon before the outbreak of World War One given that by the year 1890 after more than a decade of his arrival in Bahrain Al-Thukair began to pursue in earnest his profound and ardent passion for spreading knowledge and learning an indelible lifelong characteristic of his initially by starting a literary salon at his house in Manama similar to that of his friend and first cousin to the ruler of Bahrain classical poet and intellectual Sheikh Ibrahim Bin Muhammad Al Khalifa's literary salon in Muharraq and those of several educated and well-travelled merchants and ruling family members in both Manama and Muharraq Bahrain's former political capital from 1810 to 1923 however the literary salon of Al-Thukair was rather different from its local counterparts in that it was more educationally oriented than the others by allocating a well-furnished spacious room in his house as a permanent location for the salon equipped with a relatively sizable varied library whose contents were kept in its wall alcoves as it was the antecedent of his most ambitious cultural and educational project ever the "Bahrain Literary Society" twenty-three years later since those literary salons (clubs) collectively played a discernible educational role as they were haunts for the knowledge-hungry local literate young men prior to the establishment of formal education following the end of the First World War furthermore Sheikh Ibrahim requested Al-Thukair to be the principal supplier of Arabic periodicals in Bahrain by making use of his network of regional business agents to acquire popular newspapers and magazines from the Levant and Egypt, therefore he took it upon himself to supply all of the needs for published materials of other literary salons as a courtesy moving in the same vein he also vigorously sponsored the publication of seminal literary and theological works from the Arab Islamic mediaeval heritage as well as non-formal charity schooling and public libraries well-stocked with diverse books and respected periodicals largely from the Levant and Egypt (such as Al-Muqtataf, Al-Mu'ayyad, Al-Hilal, Al-Manar and others) in both Bahrain and his birthplace of Unaizah in addition to his educational and cultural dissemination efforts he was acutely sensitive to the daily hardships of ordinary impoverished and marginalised people as evidenced by the next edited excerpt from the 1910 British Gulf residency report (Almas, Negro the Confidential Adviser of Sheikh Isa (ruler of Bahrain) died on 11th January and was replaced by Ali Bin Abdullah (Al-Obaidli) on the advice of Ali Bin Abdullah, Sheikh Isa called upon house owners to produce the sanads (Arabic singular title deed: سند, Romanised English plural: sanads) in virtue of which they held their property on their failing to do so they were evicted and no consideration was paid to the period of possession, Sheikh Mugbil Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thukair protested to Sheikh Isa against this measure as it pressed hardly on the poor the protest had the desired effect and the Sheikh (ruler) promised to refrain from such actions in the future) the abrogation of the ruler's decree in the past incident is the definitive indication of the unflinching deference accorded to Al-Thukair by everyone who came into contact with him from those in power to the ordinary man in the street he was also involved in a wide range of philanthropic activities that were not confined to the conventional charity act of almsgiving since he was a practical man who took a number of practical steps to assuage human suffering in any way he could defying common human prejudices among his various practical philanthropic contributions in Bahrain and elsewhere in the Gulf was the commissioning of a water well next to his house in Manama around the year 1900 akin to the undertakings of prominent fellow local pearl merchants Salman Bin Hussain Matar (1837-1944) and Muhammad Bin Rashid Bin Hindi (1850-1934) of Muharraq who attempted to alleviate some of the freshwater supply predicament that plagued Bahrain's urban dwellers predominantly those of Manama and Muharraq the two main densely populated towns in the small island nation at the turn of the twentieth century where the majority of the population had difficulty securing their daily domestic supply of freshwater owing to the lack of potable drinking water infrastructure in Bahrain and much of the Near East as in many other parts of the globe including some of the underdeveloped regions of the Western world in the early part of the twentieth century despite the fact that Bahrain had abundant freshwater resources unlike some of its Arab Gulf neighbours a small example of the central socioeconomic roles that rich mercantile elites played throughout Arab polities in the Arabian Gulf before the discovery of oil and the subsequent establishment of the modern welfare state Al-Thukair also tended to the spiritual needs of the inhabitants of his neighbourhood in Manama at roughly the same time he commissioned the water well he financed the renovation of an old dilapidated bijou Mosque within the vicinity of his house dating back to the late seventeen hundreds placing a nearby shop he owned as a charitable endowment for the Mosque which the locals of the area after him affectionately called Mugbil Mosque even though he was not its original builder he was also instrumental in locally funding the construction of Bahrain's second hospital after the opening of the "American Mission Hospital" in Manama on 26th January 1903 at the request of the British to fulfil their envisaged "Victoria Memorial Hospital" between 1902 and its formal opening on 9th November 1906 to commemorate the late Queen Victoria (defunct since 1948) situated in the Ras Rumman area in Manama south of the British political agency (present-day British Embassy) by rallying other leading merchants to contribute to this vital medical project as Bahrain was in desperate need of a quarantine medical facility to combat the rampant spread of recurring deadly epidemics specifically plague, cholera and typhus as reported in the British Gulf residency report of 1902 this is a slightly edited excerpt from the detailed report dated 23rd August 1902 by J. C. Gaskin, Esq, Assistant Political Agent, Bahrain where Gaskin was delegated by his superiors in the British Indian government the task of securing funds for the proposed hospital locally by taking the pulse of the local mercantile elite through cosying up to rich local merchants chief among them Al-Thukair to enlist their financial assistance in building the hospital, stated as follows (I would venture to report that since the receipt of your communication I have spoken on the subject to some of the leading native merchants and from their replies to me I got the impression that they would give liberal donations towards the hospital: and subsequently Haji Mugbil Al-Thukair the leading Bahraini merchant called on me and offered to subscribe R1,000. (One thousand rupees) Haji Mugbil's handsome offer will influence the native merchants who usually follow his lead) in recognition of his role in securing local funding for the hospital British colonial authorities invited Al-Thukair along with other donors to the hospital opening ceremony, the following edited excerpt from the British Gulf residency report for the year 1906-1907 formulated by the British political agent in Bahrain Captain F. B. Prideaux sheds light on the event (on the 9th November 1906 advantage was taken of the presence of the Political Resident (Major P. Z. Cox) in the Arabian Gulf to hold a public meeting for the opening of the Victoria Memorial Charitable Hospital nearly all the contributors to the Rs. 21,000 which the construction had cost were present on the occasion as were also the Chief (ruler) of Bahrain and his sons after the Resident had delivered a short extempore speech, the leading Arab merchant Haji Mugbil Al-Thukair read a reply expressing gratitude to the British Government for their interest in and protection of Bahrain and wishing long life to the Ruler Sheikh Isa Bin Ali) for some the antagonistic stance of Al-Thukair towards the British as expounded in detail further in the text seemed contradictory as he gladly collaborated with them in their efforts to secure funding for the construction of the said hospital in tandem with their other measures to improve public sanitation and hygiene to help curb the spread of virulent diseases in Bahrain's two major towns Manama and Muharraq as he saw his sporadic cooperation with the advanced British in a different light as he would endorse any attempt to better the lives of ordinary Bahrainis even if it meant occasionally cooperating with a foreign colonial power he vehemently opposed in that sense he was a modern practical man, it could not be denied that the least tangible of his philanthropic efforts but perhaps the most life-changing for those affected by it was the hidden assistance he rendered in paying off the debts of struggling insolvent merchants in Bahrain and across the Arabian Gulf with a special priority given to his own debtors who either had their debts temporarily reprieved or cancelled altogether as in this revealing slightly edited citation from the 1913 British Gulf residency report asserting the regional scope of his business interests dated 5th of May 1913 stating as follows (Sheikh Qasim Bin Thani (ruler) of Qatar has asked Yusuf Kanoo to use his influence with Sheikh Mugbil Al-Thukair in bringing about an amiable settlement between the latter and his Qatar debtors who are unable to pay their debts on account of the dullness of the pearl market) surpassed only by Bahrain's preeminent pearl merchant of all time dubbed by the Bahraini people "Father of orphans and protector of widows" for his unequalled altruism and magnanimity Salman Bin Hussain Matar, yet his most important legacy was the founding in mid-1913 of the first officially recognised Literary Society in Bahrain as touched upon earlier located in close proximity to the American Mission Bible Bookshop in Manama on what is now Sheikh Isa Al Kabeer (Isa the Great) Avenue in its own special-purpose premises inaugurated under his patronage and with the full endorsement of the ruler of Bahrain Sheikh Isa Bin Ali Al Khalifa and the moral support of a number of local literary figures and dignitaries led by Bahrain's foremost literary figure in the early twentieth century the acclaimed classical poet Sheikh Ibrahim Bin Muhammad Al Khalifa (1850-1933) in conjunction with Al-Thukair's younger and trusted energetic friend, the influential comprador merchant and shrewd entrepreneur founder and sole owner of Bahrain's first Western-style Bank in 1890 a true man of the world the maverick Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo (1861-1945) this society was not merely an ordinary Literary Society but a modern educational institution in the true sense of the word a wellspring of radiance for the Bahraini people at the time comprising an extensive library, a school for teaching Arabic, English, mathematics and Islamic theology and a lecture hall ably managed by the gifted 33-year-old Al-Azhar graduate educator Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Mana (1882-1965) who would become the first chairman of the Directorate of Knowledge (Ministry of Education) in the newly-established Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the future judge and Grand Mufti (jurisconsult) of Qatar handpicked by Al-Thukair to undertake the onerous task of transforming this institution into a beacon of enlightenment and forward-thinking in a short period of time one of the many cultural contributions of the educated and enlightened Bahraini business elite who were at the vanguard of modernity and progress in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through their previously mentioned literary salons and also through their lesser-known but no less important financing of numerous free of charge non-formal local schooling initiatives as those were among the earliest semi-modern organised educational institutions to tackle the prevalent illiteracy in Bahrain other than the existing traditional Quranic schools strikingly among the several non-formal schools of the time one stood out as the first female-founded charity school in Bahrain and most likely the entire Gulf established on the island of Muharraq the former capital of Bahrain in 1887 by the noblewoman and philanthropist heiress Sheikha Saida Bint Bishr (1834-1892) who defied all expectations of traditional domestic roles for women in the highly patriarchal society of late-nineteenth-century Bahrain by allocating the revenue of a date palm orchard she owned in Manama as an endowment for the school eponymously named after her nevertheless some of the independent charity schools date back to the early part of the nineteenth century since the earliest recorded charity school in Bahrain was that of Sheikh Isa Bin Rashid in Muharraq in 1829 an eminent cleric of the Island of Muharraq predating the reign of Sheikh Isa by forty years however this proliferation of educational initiatives noticeably in the last third of the nineteenth century was the fruit of the long-lasting stability of Sheikh Isa's reign the role of the Bahraini business elite was not limited to just paving the way for the establishment of modern education but also was directly involved in the development of Western-influenced formal education leading to the opening of the first elementary school for boys in Muharraq in 1919 followed by another for girls in 1928 also in Muharraq with a nine-year gap where some of the senior members of the said elite (such as Matar, Algosaibi, Al-Zayani and Fakhro) served on the first governmental educational regulatory body in the modern history of the country the education supervisory committee (the forerunner of the Ministry of Education) which oversaw the development of the nascent government's educational system chaired by Sheikh Abdullah (1883-1966) the youngest son of the ruler of Bahrain in the honorary position of minister of education, the first and only local state official to hold such a position under British colonial rule in Bahrain this exception was made due to the high status of its occupant considering he was the son of the ruler since the office of a minister was a symbol of sovereignty in an independent sovereign state which was not the case with Bahrain an office he would continue to occupy until his death in 1966 the education committee continued as the main financial backer of education in Bahrain by financing the construction of schools across the country since its formation in 1919 until the mid-1930s when the Bahraini government became financially self-sufficient as a result of stable oil export revenues lastly allowing the government to replenish its empty coffers permanently resolving the protracted financial problems that had beset the Bahraini government for decades rendering it a thing of the past simultaneously with the establishment of formal education in 1919 another milestone was the creation of the first partially elected municipal councils in both Manama and Muharraq which were dominated by elected and appointed senior members of the Bahraini business elite who played a crucial role in sponsoring a number of infrastructure projects in the country including the Manama port project in 1919 as happened in the pre-oil era throughout the Gulf as the 1920s and 1930s saw the gradual emergence of the modern Bahraini bureaucratic centralised state and good governance replacing the existing centuries-old obsolete mediaeval fiefdom system an inexorable obstacle to human development in its entirety anywhere in the world of the early twentieth-century industrial age, it would be misleading not to mention the facilitating quintessential role of Britain in bringing those reforms to fruition as represented by the four most influential British colonial administrators and officers in the British colonial history of Bahrain whose contributions to the establishment of modern Bahrain could not be ignored or underestimated under any circumstances serving consecutively one after the other starting with the delicate and focal preliminary task of the wily Arabist and orientalist military commander and intelligence officer Captain N. N. E. Bray (1885-1962) as a political agent in Bahrain from November 1918 to June 1919 with clear directives to "seek the amelioration of the internal government by indirect and pacific means and by gaining the confidence and trust of the Sheikh (ruler)" followed by Major H. R. P. Dickson (1881-1959) with a brief yet extremely productive tenure from 1919 to 1920 he would later serve as a political agent in Kuwait from 1929 to 1936 then succeeded by the demoted from Colonel to Major for recklessly violent behaviour in post-World War One Iraq, inadvertently responsible for single-handedly igniting the first spark of what would become "The Iraqi revolt against the British" also known as the 1920 Iraqi Revolt or the Great Iraqi Revolution, the disgraced Anglo-Irish Clive Kirkpatrick Daly (1888-1966) with his divisive and controversial tenure from 1921 to 1926 and finally Charles D. Belgrave (1894-1969) who served as an administrator and financial adviser to the ruler of Bahrain in the newly created office of the "Adviser" to purposefully overshadow the increasingly unpopular post of the political agent for its association with Daly's heavy-handed colonial rule, Belgrave's long tenure from 1926 to 1957 is seen by historians as a consolidation of the modernising reforms of his predecessors particularly Daly, whom Belgrave held in high regard where the reforms gained more momentum following the steady flow of oil revenues after the discovery of the essential commodity in 1932 as all four carefully chosen highly competent and hardy tricenarian Arabist officers were assigned by the British Government with specific instructions to introduce all required administrative reforms at their own discretion in line with the broader British regional strategy of placating the growing social discontent among the disenfranchised lower classes by redressing the pressing multigenerational injustices in Bahraini society specifically in the semi-feudal systems of pearl fishing indentured workers and agricultural farmers coordinating their reforms with the financial and moral support of the cooperative Bahraini business elite under such circumstances the first batch of reforms in education, municipal and fiscal sectors was implemented almost immediately after Bray's assisting initiative by Dickson, whereas customs, judiciary, police and land reform fell to the authoritarian Daly while Belgrave is credited with creating several new government departments including the "Directorate of Religious Endowments" in 1927 his first significant reform after assuming office as a financial adviser to stem the chronic unfettered corruption of some of the local clergy whom the government entrusted to administer religious endowments (waqf) without any supervision or legal accountability followed by the slow process of his decades-long vital initiative to develop modern public utility infrastructure for electricity, water and telephone services which commenced effectively in early 1928 he was also instrumental in securing the oil concession that led to the discovery of oil in 1932 but his everlasting achievement was the founding of the "Minors Funds Directorate" in 1932 to protect the inheritance rights of orphans and widows, a life-changing cross-sectarian institution in the service of the Bahraini people operating without interruption since its inception the first governmental institution of its kind in Bahrain and Belgrave's most enduring legacy however Belgrave faced fierce and persistent opposition from deeply conservative reactionary and corrupt elements within the Sunni and Shiite cross-sectarian main religious composition of Bahrain who sought to obfuscate and obstruct the introduction of such a governmental institution as those elements had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, deeming such a move as tantamount to heresy but Belgrave's dedication and perseverance prevailed in the end, sadly for many Bahrainis this remarkable feat of his remains a little-known historical fact the upcoming excerpt is one of numerous recurring instances in Belgrave's diary on this motion from 20th February 1931 until it was ratified on 15th January 1932 by the deputy ruler Sheikh Hamad less than a year before his accession to the throne on 9th December after being put forward for public debate by the government involving the wonted religious and mercantile elites of Bahraini society as alluded to earlier illustrating the great lengths Belgrave went to for the creation of this totally new governmental regulatory body with no precedent at least in Bahrain (Sunday 17th Jan 1932 Called on Yusuf Kanoo in the morning and discussed with him the question of the Proclamation which we are issuing ordering all wills to be registered with the Government and no persons to administer estates without getting permission from Government. It will to a certain extent safeguard the rights of widows and orphans who at present are being robbed wholesale) but the timing of the urgency in implementing the reforms cannot be overlooked as it coincided with the execution on the ground of the 1916 secret Sykes-Picot agreement on dividing the legacy of the vanquished Ottoman Empire between the two main World War One victorious powers, Britain and France giving birth to the ubiquitous British coined term "Middle East" recognising the fact that the Hejaz, the western region of the Arabian Peninsula where the holy cities of Mecca and Medina are located was once under direct Ottoman rule and that the Peninsula as a whole was and still is considered an extension of Iraq and the Levant in addition to achieving sustainable political stability in the Gulf as the advanced western Arabian frontier of the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent the jewel in the crown of the British Empire in the final analysis, the seemingly avowed altruistic goals of the reforms in Bahrain were part of the colonial "grafting process" reform assimilation policy of Britain through tactfully transplanting British hegemonic ideas into the newly formed Middle East as in other parts of the British Empire in contrast to its fellow draconian and pompous French to ensure the long-term strategic interests of Britain in the aftermath of World War One, thus everything the British undertook was to this end, Al-Thukair was concerned not only with the spread of modern learning and science but also with the introduction of modern technology in the region as he was either the first or second local to own a motor car in Bahrain in 1908 ten years before the supposed official arrival of the first motor vehicle in the country as recorded in the travel diary of international jeweller Jacques Cartier of the iconic Parisian Cartier jewellery house during his second visit to Bahrain in March 1912 among his numerous noble deeds was the utilisation of his high social status as a business doyen, arbiter of disputes and man of letters both locally and regionally in mustering financial and moral support for the Libyan resistance in the wake of the Kingdom of Italy's bloody invasion of Ottoman Libya in October of 1911 and Mussolini's subsequent genocidal fascist settler colonial regime of this vast sparsely populated North African Arab desert nation where Al-Thukair successfully raised twenty thousand rupees in relief aid donations in Bahrain and elsewhere in the Gulf with the effective collaboration of the motivated cleric and merchant Sheikh Abdulwahab Bin Heji Al-Zayani (1863-1925) who travelled to Lengeh (an Arab coastal town in modern-day Iran) and Dubai as part of a Gulf-wide fundraising campaign for the embattled Libyans of Tripoli to be forwarded after the end of the subscription on the steamship SS. "Patiala" on 8th July 1912 to the Ottoman Red Crescent Society in the Iraqi city of Basra to be sent from there via Egypt to Tripoli, Libya as stated in the following are slightly edited excerpts from the 1912 British Gulf residency report concerning the Turco-Italian war and local and regional reactions to it from February and July respectively the first describes Sheikh Abdulwahab Al-Zayani's tireless zeal for collecting donations for the Libyan cause while the second describes Al-Thukair's delivery of those donations, it was clearly a collaborative effort rather than a single individual endeavour however this is not meant to diminish the efforts of Al-Thukair as he was either the driving force behind all of those initiatives or an integral member of the majority of them the first excerpt is as follows (The Arabs of Muharraq incited by an influential Mullah Sheikh Abdulwahab (Al-Zayani) have opened a subscription list for The Red Crescent Society in order to help it in bringing succour to the wounded in Tripoli. So far about Rs. 5,000 have been collected. This sum will be largely increased if the Arabs of Manama, Budaiya and Hidd join in as they have promised to do. The same Mullah is stated to have paid visits to Lengeh and Dubai about a month ago. At Lengeh he succeeded in collecting some 5,000 rupees but met with no success at Dubai where the people were sceptical as to the probability of the money ever reaching its ostensible destination) while the second as with the first shows the British meticulous documentation of the conclusion of the initiative (Sheikh Mugbil Al-Thukair forwarded on the 8th of July per SS. "Patiala" the sum of Rs. 20,000 being the total amount of subscription raised in Bahrain for the Red Crescent Society to Basra for transmission to Tripoli via Egypt) leading to the incensing of the British colonial authorities in Bahrain against him he also played a significant role in the Bahraini relief campaign to provide financial aid to the displaced Muslim refugees of the Balkan war precipitated by the raging Turco-Italian War over Ottoman Libya the "Balkan League" was formed in 1912 under the auspices of the Russians with the aim of putting an end to the Ottoman presence in the Balkans once and for all resulting in the ethnic genocide of nearly one and a half million Balkan Muslims with more than four hundred thousand refugees fleeing to Anatolia as news of the harrowing atrocities reached Bahrain cleric and pearl merchant Sheikh Abdulwahab Bin Heji Al-Zayani referred to earlier one of Bahrain's most revered national figures in the early twentieth century the leader of the first Bahraini independence movement from Britain at the turn of the twentieth century set up a fundraising refugee relief committee with the full backing of the ruler of Bahrain Sheikh Isa Bin Ali Al Khalifa who launched the donation fundraiser with the generous sum of ten thousand rupees appointing Al-Thukair as secretary-treasurer of the committee who rose to the occasion by exerting immense efforts to garner financial aid for the displaced Muslim refugees by exhorting the Bahraini populace to donate to their stranded Muslim brethren through his eloquent oratorical motivational skills, thus by the end of the fundraising the accumulated amount had risen to well over a hundred and four thousand rupees a sizable sum for a tiny country the size of Bahrain in the early twentieth century Sheikh Abdulwahab Bin Heji Al-Zayani and Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo were entrusted by the committee with the task of faithfully delivering the donations to the representative of the Ottoman Governor of Iraq in the Iraqi port city of Basra on 28th December 1912 according to the 1912 report of the British political agency in Bushehr compiled by a number of political agents in the region including Captain D. L. R. Lorimer and Major A. P. Trevor both of whom served in Bahrain the following edited excerpt is part of Major Trevor's section of this thorough report written after he succeeded Lorimer as Political Agent in Bahrain on 1st November 1912 (The subscription raised by the Arabs of Bahrain for the Turkish Red Crescent Society having reached the handsome figure of Rs. 1,04,100 the amount was taken to Basra by SS. "Bahrain" (of the Arab Steamers, Limited) on 28th December by Sheikh Abdulwahab Al-Zayani and Yusuf Kanoo for despatch to the Sultan. Yusuf Kanoo stated that it was their intention to land at Bushehr and send a telegram to the Sultan stating the amount of the sum raised for the Red Crescent Fund and mentioning that it had been subscribed by the Sheikhs and people of Bahrain for the sick and wounded. The object of this telegram of course was to prevent hanky-panky on the part of the Wali (Ottoman Governor) of Basra) it should be pointed out that Sheikh Abdulwahab Al-Zayani was exiled to the Indian port city of Bombay by the British colonial authorities in Bahrain in 1923 along with several of his comrades in the Bahraini independence movement where he died and was laid to rest there in less than two years in 1925 on a similar note an oblique account related to a letter dated 11th April of the same year sent by an anonymous Indian Muslim leader requesting Al-Thukair to organise an unspecified cause relief aid campaign for the Muslims of an unnamed Indian province was included in the 1913 report of the British political agency in Bahrain demonstrating the widely acclaimed reputation he achieved through the efficacy of his fundraising campaigns however by the middle of the Great War Al-Thukair had suffered considerable losses in his pearl business wrought in part by the dire effects of war particularly on the luxury goods market but mainly attributed to British interventions aimed at undermining his business interests primarily in Bahrain as some Bahraini historical researchers concluded as a consequence of his active role in supporting the Libyan resistance movement against Italian colonialism as previously stated, needless to say from the British point of view the uncompromising character of Al-Thukair and his unequivocal stance against Western colonialism in all of its forms constituted a threat to British colonial economic hegemony in the region that needed to be addressed decisively by thwarting any attempt to achieve any form of economic independence no matter how insignificant or trivial it might seem as in Al-Thukair's participation as a founding major shareholder with a five percent stake alongside several wealthy pearl merchants from Bahrain and Kuwait together with the rulers of the said countries and those of Qatar and Oman, the venture was led and chaired by the regionally famous Kuwaiti pearl merchant Jassim Bin Muhammad Al-Ibrahim (1869-1956) with the leading Bahraini pearl merchant Muhammad Bin Abdulwahab Al-Mishari (1864-1922) in the position of general manager in establishing the first truly regional Arab shareholding firm and the first fully Arab-owned ocean liner shipping company in the Arabian Gulf on 30th April 1911 "The Arab Steamers, Limited" marking a turning point in the modern history of the Gulf by putting up for the first time a medium-sized fleet of Western-built passenger steamships the next edited extract from the 1912 report of the British Gulf residency in the Persian (Iranian) coastal city of Bushehr gives an inkling of the size of the company's fleet (The Arab Steamers, Limited-This company started a service to the Arabian Gulf in July 1911 and during the past year, 18 of their steamers have called at Lengeh outwards from Bombay while 10 steamers called on the return journey from Basra) one must note that the fleet included the passenger and cargo ship "Tynesider" renamed "Faris" in early 1912 on which the Parisian jeweller Jacques Cartier (1884-1941) travelled to India and the Arabian Gulf the same year as the company's board named the previously mentioned respected Bahraini banker and merchant Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo as its agent in Bahrain since he was friends with most of the board members incidentally it was Yusuf Kanoo's first shipping agency in 1911, thus starting his shipping agency business which would become the posthumous cornerstone of the eponymous regional multinational Y.B.A. Kanoo conglomerate in the post-World War Two Arabian Gulf oil economy, the following excerpt from the 1912 report of the British Gulf residency describes the sense of jubilation and pride of the Bahraini people at the arrival of the first passenger steamship of "The Arab Steamers, Limited" to bear the name Bahrain on its maiden voyage (SS. Bahrain a new acquisition of the Arab company, arrived at Bahrain on 1st March, fully dressed with flags. It was explained that the decoration was in honour of the first visit of the ship to its name-place. The name is a source of great delight to the local Arabs) apart from the legitimate premise of economic independence the real reason for the establishment of this firm was a response to the monopolistic exploitative practises and racially discriminatory colonial policies of the "British India Steam Navigation Company" (B.I.) against non-European passengers in general and Arabs in particular as attested by the exorbitant ticket prices of Arab travellers not to mention the additional cargo charges exacted on Arab-owned goods exacerbating the whole situation by barring affluent Arab first-class passengers from eating in the dining rooms and halls of its ships rightfully regarded as a disparaging and demeaning hierarchical colonial policy that posed an egregious affront to human dignity irrespective of race, colour, ethnicity or creed commonly practised by Western colonial powers of divesting non-white peoples of their humanity in order to legitimise their subjugation on the other hand unfortunately the fate of this pioneering highly successful company was tragically sealed unceremoniously in 1915 when it was sold to the "Bombay & Persia Steam Navigation Company" (The Mogul Line) as a direct result of insurmountable British pressure after less than five years of operation a pressure that began by dissuading Gulf Arab rulers from investing in such a venture while the company was still in formation under the usual infantilising colonial mendacious pretenses of catastrophic financial losses and no practical feasibility for themselves and their peoples whether in the near or distant future but their spurious discouraging attempts were in vain with the British-owned (B.I.) resorting to an all-out price war immediately after the start of the company's operations all these flagrantly malicious actions by the British helped stoke the flames of Arab patriotic sentiments to the fullest against them in the Gulf by causing Gulf Arabs including Iraqis to travel almost exclusively on the ships of "The Arab Steamers, Limited" still the company managed to command the substantial sum of three-quarters of a million British Indian silver rupees as a sale price exactly threefold the paid-in capital just over four years earlier given the geopolitical situation of the Great War adverse international economic conditions, sending the pearl-based mono-cultural economies of the Gulf into a tailspin along with wartime restrictions on sea travel to compound matters further, the British Admiralty requisitioned one of the company's vessels, the passenger and cargo ship SS. "Budrie" originally named SS. "Golconda" for the war effort where it ended up being scuttled as a blockship at Scapa Flow in northern Scotland on 3rd October 1915 a clear testament to the enormous success that this ill-fated company enjoyed in its short-lived existence, the following excerpt is from a thoroughly detailed report on the trade movement of Oman by Major S. G. Knox the British consul in Muscat, Oman and its de facto ruler dated 13th April 1912 on sea trade and shipping movement in and out of the country, refers to the effect of the launching of "The Arab Steamers, Limited" on freight shipping rates (The British India Company who have got the contract for the carriage of mails from and to India provide one weekly fast mail service up and down and 1 fortnightly coasting slow mail service both ways. The vessels of the Arab Steamers, Limited have also maintained a weekly service. In consequence of the weekly service maintained by the Arab Steamers, the freights to India, etc., were greatly reduced during the year and those for United States of America enhanced) the doomed fate of this company became a cautionary tale for anyone attempting to challenge British colonial economic hegemony in the region with its impact lingering for decades until the defining watershed historical moment of Britain's future role as a global power in the outcome of the new harsh bipolar world order realities of the 1956 Suez crisis (known as the "tripartite aggression" in the Arab world) marking the beginning of the end of the British imperial presence in the Middle East incrementally superseded by American influence in all aspects nevertheless on the positive side racial discrimination, unwarranted prices and mistreatment of Arabs and non-Europeans on British passenger ships came to an end as the British realised though belatedly that such discriminatory practises could impinge on their long-term economic interests in the region epitomising British pragmatism at its finest one of the most contributing factors to the British Imperial enterprise's resounding successes over the centuries in comparison to its other European counterparts and finally culminating in the straw that broke the camel's back Al-Thukair's staunch allegiance to the sworn enemy of Great Britain in the region the Ottoman Turks on the eve of World War One demonstrably embodied itself in his spearheading of a very large Gulf-wide fundraising campaign rivalling or even exceeding his previous ones to raise financial aid for the Ottomans with a special emphasis on enlisting the financial assistance of Arabian Gulf heads of state, leading merchants and clerics achieving resounding success under the watchful eye of the British colonial authorities in the region confirmed by a concise reference in the British Archives to the recently deceased ruler of Qatar Sheikh Qasim Bin Muhammad Al-Thani who died on 17th July 1913 in relation to the worrying antagonistic fundraising activities of Al-Thukair the British in anticipation of the looming global conflagration of World War One (as it would be known in the West as the Great War or perhaps more idealistically as "the war to end war" the paradoxical catchphrase created by prolific English author H. G. Wells) as an inevitable conclusion in light of the fraught international situation of the escalating crisis in Europe among the newly allied powers of Britain, France and Russia since the turn of the twentieth century in the face of rising militaristic and economic power of Germany as the leader of the Central Powers alongside the Austro-Hungarians and the beleaguered Ottomans in the same previously referred to 1913 report of the British Gulf residency stated as follows (Sheikh Qasim Bin Muhammad Al-Thani has sent 25 thousand rupees to Sheikh Mugbil and Yusuf Kanoo here with instructions to send the amount to Basra. It is the subscription of the Qatar people for the Turkish relief) a war of the kind that the ailing Ottoman Empire dubbed "The Sick Man of Europe" in the West would be playing its definitive role in deciding the future of the Middle East after four centuries of imperial dominance just as war-weary Britain would be playing itself forty years later in the face of the growing new American influence in the region in the aftermath of the Second World War though in a peaceful conciliatory mode as should be the norm between close strategic partners ultimately Al-Thukair's relentless and far-reaching fervour on all fronts caught up with him forcing the venerable septuagenarian merchant to reluctantly relinquish his most rewarding and cherished achievement the "Bahrain Literary Society" resulting in its permanent closure in 1917 due to the unfortunate fact that he was the sole benefactor of this progressive institution having spared no expense on his beloved creation during its fruitful albeit brief existence followed soon thereafter by the selling of nearly all of his assets in Bahrain starting in early 1917 with virtually all his properties in Manama including his commercial buildings and four houses to his friend and equal in character and exalted social stature the prominent pearl merchant Salman Bin Hussain Matar (1837-1944) and ending with his most prized possession his huge date palm orchard named "Tinar" on the outskirts of Manama near the historic Al-Khamis Mosque which he sold to his fellow countryman and successor in heading the Najdi community of Bahrain and Ibn Saud's local representative the notable pearl merchant Abdulaziz Bin Hassan Algosaibi (1876-1953) shortly before his final departure to his birthplace Unaizah where he would die six years later in 1923 at the age of 79 this is undoubtedly the clearest manifestation of his unwavering loyalty to his Central Arabian Najdi roots in spite of making Bahrain his home in every sense for forty years however some of his descendants chose to remain in Bahrain namely his Bahraini-born youngest son Abdulrahman who spent the best part of his life moving back and forth between Bahrain and the birthplace of his ancestors Unaizah and whose descendants still live in Bahrain remarkably those last few years of his life were not spent idly on the contrary notwithstanding his financial woes Al-Thukair rose above it all by erecting a charity school complex with free lodging for teachers in his beloved hometown of Unaizah he also funded the publication of two classical Islamic theological works to be distributed gratuitously among its literate residents as a last token of gratitude to the place that played a pivotal role in shaping his formative years the ultimate proof of his noble unfaltering magnanimous nature in the face of overwhelming vicissitudes of fortune in other words for Al-Thukair moral agency and altruism took precedence over expediency, personal gain and selfish interest this idealised narrative might be viewed by some with incredulity however the veracity of the preceding portrait of Al-Thukair was corroborated by an independent foreign source free of any cultural affiliation to the region represented in the travel diary of the young French jeweller Jacques Cartier who painted a more poignant portrait of him than even some of his local and regional contemporaries devoid of duplicity and guile (such values and principles as some commentators suggested were detrimental to Al-Thukair's business activities of course from a pragmatic unscrupulous perspective) as expected at the death announcement of Al-Thukair at dawn on the 13th of May 1923 in his then small sleepy rural hometown of Unaizah thousands of mourners of all genders and walks of life thronged to join the sombre funeral procession of one of Unaizah's most illustrious natives while paying their respects to the family of this noble pious benevolent man the least honour they could afford for someone who gave so much to his people as word of his passing spread beyond Unaizah, cables and letters of condolence started to pour in from regional potentates, political leaders, notables and leading merchants from around the Arabian Peninsula he was also mourned and deservedly eulogised in Iraqi, Levantine and Egyptian journals and periodicals by clerics, writers and intellectuals from the Gulf to Iraq and all the way to Egypt some of whom were personal friends such as the loyal Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Mana (1882-1965) the published author, judge and future Grand Mufti of Qatar and at one time the semi-adopted son and business assistant of Al-Thukair who wrote a heart-wrenching eloquently effusive obituary for Al-Thukair titled "The death of a great man and a famous philanthropist" in the respected Egyptian Magazine Al-Manar on 9th June 1923 less than a month after his death the unique closeness of Al-Mana to Al-Thukair in all respects including their shared birthplace allowed him to serve as a key link between Al-Thukair and all of his regional friends another personal friend was Sheikh Muhammad Saleh Khonji (1880-1967) the esteemed Bahraini multi-talented cleric, poet, writer, intellectual, historian, administrator and educator the second Bahraini to graduate from the reputable Al-Azhar Islamic University of Cairo, Egypt in 1902 a worthy member of the 1919 prestigious education supervisory committee and a regular patron of the "Bahrain Literary Society" the brainchild of Al-Thukair before and after its official inauguration in 1913 a prolific correspondent with Sheikh Muhammad Rasheed Rida the owner of Al-Manar Magazine in Cairo who also happened to be an epistolary friend of Al-Thukair as noted further down in the text curiously enough Khonji's upcoming literal translated description of Al-Thukair was the least ornate of his contemporaries written in a plain stoic unrhetorical spare style displaying the typical ascetic attributes of his writings (Mugbil was a well-educated big merchant who had correspondence through his many agents in India, East Africa, Arab countries and Europe may God Almighty rest his soul) Al-Thukair also formed abiding epistolary friendships throughout his adult life which began as a means to quench his lifelong thirst for intellectual knowledge by forming long-standing literary correspondents that evolved into genuine epistolary friendships as in the case of Mahmud Shukri Al-Alusi (1856-1924) the revered multidiscipline Iraqi Islamic thinker, linguist, historian and reformer editor-in-chief of the first Iraqi periodical the renowned weekly newspaper Al-Zawra'a and once professor and mentor to Al-Mana during his student days in Baghdad however there is strong evidence that the friendship of Al-Alusi and Al-Thukair was not solely epistolary as it was perfectly possible for both gentlemen to meet several times during Al-Thukair's numerous business trips to Iraq particularly in the 1890s there was also occasional specific correspondence between the two concerning the latter's generous and varied assistance to Al-Alusi including the forwarding of several batches of books each containing hundreds of copies of a newly printed first edition of an Islamic theological work by Al-Alusi printed and shipped to Iraq from India one batch at a time at Al-Thukair's expense in addition to financial assistance this was the main topic of a series of letters between the two parties dating back to the year 1893 but for the sake of historical accuracy some of the batches in question were consigned by the ruler of Qatar Sheikh Qasim Bin Muhammad Al-Thani to be delivered to Al-Alusi by Al-Thukair a trusted friend of the ruler as was the case with other Arabian Gulf rulers mentioned earlier the other distinguished epistolary friend of his was Sheikh Muhammad Rasheed Rida (1865-1935) the eminent Levantine-Egyptian Islamic theologian reformer, Quranic exegete, author and journalist founder and owner of Al-Manar Magazine in Cairo, Egypt to whom he regularly wrote seeking his scholarly counsel on Islamic jurisprudence issues who was alerted to the demise of Al-Thukair by their mutual friend Al-Mana, eliciting a brief yet meaningful obituary by Rida in his own Al-Manar Magazine; the following text is a literal translation of the obituary (we beseech thee Almighty God to bless the life of our mourning brother the just judge of Qatar and to bestow his mercy and blessings upon our departed brother and to unite us with him {In an Assembly of Truth, in the Presence of a Sovereign Omnipotent} (The Moon Surah (chapter) "verse 55" Quran) and to mitigate the grief of his family and offspring and to guide them in following his righteous path) the first impression of this final example of his lasting correspondence is that it was arguably the only one of his consequential epistolary friendships that remained exclusively epistolary since there is no record of any meeting between Al-Thukair and Rida that had ever occurred since their first correspondence at the end of the nineteenth century until the death of Al-Thukair a premise reinforced by an excessive degree of formality and reserved mutual respect a constant feature mirrored in their writings for each other over the years these are the most noteworthy examples to name a few of the monumental veneration that Al-Thukair received upon his death, an explicit attestation of the high standing that he enjoyed at all levels)

« L'artiste devrait être non pas le juge de ses personnages et de leurs dires, mais seulement un témoin impartial. »

Anton Tchekhov

The day before midsummer, the queen bee used to fly the enormous distance to a far-off ocean. She plunged to its depths in search of the rare sea flower: Neptune’s Clover. No other bee in all history could accomplish such a feat. For two thousand years, this same queen had gathered the rejuvenating and curative pollen from Neptune’s Clover.

 

As the days rolled on, the queen still had not returned. The colony was besides itself in worry and set forth to find her. They all latched their feet onto the hive, which was as large as a hill, and flapped their wings for lift off. When finally, they arrived to what they believed to be the area of Neptune’s Clover, their exhausted wings failed. The queen bee was nowhere to be seen. The hive, heavy with honey, and all its pilots fell into the sea. The two-thousand-year-old colony perished on a beautiful, calm afternoon, beneath the impartial waves.

 

Nowadays, bees might construct their hives in the nooks and crannies of human architecture. Unbeknownst to the people, their floating civilization is built right over the site of the sunken hive. Perhaps the bees of this century instinctively feel its presence, and so we find them in profusion adding their honeycombs to the present architecture.

 

Sunken Honey is the Arts & Entertainment Region

 

Sponsored by Misfit Dance

 

Sunken Honey by Lilia Artis and Haveit Neox

Like watercolor we all should blend as one nation of equal citzens!

 

"Virtue can only flourish among equals. - Mary Wollstonecraft"

 

Macro Monday project – 04/15/13

“Rainbow"

セっしゅ is captured and tied to a pole. He tries to free himself but it is hopeless. He starts to cry. As his tears fall to the ground he starts to draw a painting of a mouse with his feet using his tears as the paint. He creates a master works and is pardoned.... So the legend says... These famous places is where Fiz-iks is happy to shoot at; rich in history and culture and somewhat famous.

 

We dialed them up in hopes of getting permission. We received a very positive response on the phone with a "you should shoot here" type of attitude. We told the person on the phone that we would be there after 9pm....

 

We arrived at 9:45 and ring the bell as instructed on the phone to announce our presence. We were greeted by a monk who seemed impartial to meeting us. He was simply fulfilling his duty and showing any emotion was obviously not accepted. Just as doors were closing and we were about to start shooting the head priest shows up.... A booming voice shouts "Who are you?" We desperately tried to explain that we had phoned earlier but he was angered and was taking zero excuses. He dishes out a nasty scolding like he is talking to a group of 5 year old children... it hurt to listen to and out of respect of the Japanese people I was with I did not unleash my own scolding as it was obvious he was drunk and simply awoken by our visit which resulted in his angry tirade. I thought monks were forgiving and kind. This guy was drunk and belligerent....

 

We shot this and, against the advice of my mates, shot one more before leaving way earlier than we had planned...

 

5Dm2 + 17-40L, temple lit with xenon torch and "eye" done with LEDs. SOOC.

I was tagged by some f-friends so this is my wishlist, partial and impartial! :D

 

I omitted many dolls and dresses (contemporary and Non-Mattel dolls), I would been extremely cheeky if I had written everything! :D

 

Okay, from the top to the bottom (dolls):

- yes, the first - a #1 Barbie - blonde or brunette, doesn't really matters to me (LOL!!)

- # 3 blonde ponytail with blue eyeliner (the only variant of this doll missing in my collection)

- Standard Barbie blonde (in any shade) and red haired

- no bangs Francie, better blonde

- standard (straight legs) blonde Francie

- platinum blonde side part bubblucut Barbie, either stiff or AG body. (FOUND IT IN 2017)

(vintage dresses group)

- Pretty as a picture

- Golden Glory (FOUND IT IN 2017)

- Reception line

- Disc Date

(mod dresses group)

- Special sparkle

- Goldswinger

- Extravaganza

(Francie dresses group)

- Shoppin' Spree

- Sissy Suit

- Tenterrific

- Pertners in print

- Border-line

- The silver cage

 

I started to collect dolls in 1996, I reached many important goals during all these years, I'm a happy and satisfied collector. :-)

Only one thing is always the same after all these year, my enthusiasm, I will restart over and over again! :-)