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Riding Hood & Bad Wolf - Issue #3 "Shoot the Messenger"*
In the past...
The man thought they were his, an old hookup of his that had consequences. He felt obligated to take them in out of the cold, maybe it was the alcohol messing with his head again. The bitter resentment made him regret taking them in, but nevertheless he raised them anyway. Once the boy said his first word he would become independent, watched the TV in the background through the stairs banister, sneaked into school, listened to phone calls. He even named himself and his little sister...
________________________________________________________________
Riding Hood: "Followed? By who?"
*RH draws his pistols looking at the door. Bad Wolf shrugs smelling the air cautiously as he gets to his paws standing in front of RH who peeks under his armpit at the door. Suddenly a white blur shakes through the it vibrating intensely. RH fires his pistols at the blur only to see it speed away past them.*
Riding Hood: "Oh F me in the A. It's a Spe-"
*Before RH can finish his sentence the figure zooms past RH striking him across his jaw making him stagger back against BW who swipes at the empty air with his huge paw*
Riding Hood: "As I was saying! It's a Speedster."
Bad Wolf: *Growls* "I hate them."
Riding Hood: "Yeah they cheat at cards, trust me."
*The white blur circles them like a tornado speeding around, drawing the oxygen out from their lungs. RH knows this trick though, he nods at BW who has a mutual understanding of what to do. BW holds out his paw and RH fires a round between his claws, the blur slows down ever so slightly avoiding the oversized paw only to be shot in the shoulder by the hidden gun. A bright red patch stains the blur as it comes to a skidding halt against the wall dropping on its hands and knees.*
Riding Hood: "Yeah take that speedy!"
*RH grins under his visor as he aims his pistols at the White costumed figure who groans clutching his shoulder trying to get up. RH's pistols auto-lock onto the target just in case he decides to speed away this time. He's about to shoot until BW holds out his furry arm looking down at RH.*
Bad Wolf: "Wait... that's E-Race. He's a hero."
Riding Hood: "Who cares?! Last time I checked we were villains."
*E-Race quickly gets to his feet, his injury fully healed. RH mutters a curse but sees that E-Race is standing still. RH laughs to himself how easy killing him is going to be but BW steps in front of him gently nudging RH's pistols down. He grits his teeth angrily lowering them down.*
Riding Hood: "What?!"
Bad Wolf: "I don't think he wants a fight."
E-Race: "You're friend is right, I've come to warn you both. A source of mine is saying that a team called the 'Convicted 5' are after you, they want blood. Mainly Riding Hood's."
*RH snorts and rolls his eyes under his visor*
Riding Hood: "Tell them to get in line."
E-Race: "These guys are serious though. All psycho's and sociopaths. It would be wise if you just surrendered and came to A.N.G.E.L. to face punishment and avoid them."
*BW looks down at RH meeting his gaze, silently agreeing to surrender, RH cocks his head gripping his pistols*
Riding Hood: "Seriously?! No. We've handled worse. Sorry hero, why not just try and take us in yourself?"
E-Race: "That's what worries me. All heroes have been told not to engage with you both if seen, just to report back about the location."
Bad Wolf: "Which is what you have already done."
Riding Hood: "And are now saying this to stall us."
*E-Race's eyes widen through his mask at how fast they both caught on. RH aims his pistols at E-Race who phase shifts through the wall he's pressed against and winks leaving them both alone. RH fires his guns at the wall in a rage.*
Riding Hood: "Son of a bi-"
Bad Wolf: "RH, language."
Riding Hood: "I was going to say biscuit, jeez!"
*Bad Wolf sniffs the air raising his head and snarls pouncing at RH, he uses his whole body to shield him as the door suddenly flies off its hinges smashing off BW's shoulder. He turns his head growling and stands helping RH gets to his feet. They both look at the doorless entrance, a white bunny suited figure stands there swinging his sledgehammer around giggling crazily*
Riding Hood: "Can nobody use doors?!"
===============DOWNTOWN NEW YORK=================
“So that’s how I almost got ‘im. I swear if he didn’t tear my fackin’ legs off I would have stomped the fucka’ to death!”
Otto Octavius stares blankly at Brian Hibbs, better known as The Kangaroo. He is the class of costumed-criminals Otto intends to avoid in this business.
“Well, Mr. Hibbs,” Otto began, “I appreciate your…embracement of your Australian heritage as well as your confidence in applying for a position on my team. However, I would prefer not to associate myself with a man who wears rabbit ears as if he is celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Yet to lift his metaphorical jaw off the floor, The Kangaroo stared flabbergasted at the eight-limbed man. Otto’s notorious mechanicals arms each let out a chirp, clasping their talons simultaneously. It was almost as if they were giggling at their hosts’s words.
“I’m afraid you will not be earning a position on my team. Thank you for your time. Please leave”, Otto concluded.
Finally, Kangaroo stood from his seat. His cybernetic legs buzzed as he rose, resembling the hind legs of the mammal he named himself after.
“You know what? Fuck you, mate! I won’t take slanda from a wanker who’s name is ‘Docta Octopus’!”.
Otto’s mechanical arms hiss at the man.
“Frankly, Mr. Hibbs’”, he began, “I despise that name quite a lot.”
SHINK.
One of the mechanical arms ejects a blade from the center of its claw, startling The Kangaroo.
“Now that I have your attention, I will not ask you again. Leave”.
The Kangaroo immediately turned and scampered to the door, panting frantically.
“Thank you Mr. Hibbs!”, Otto shouted back with a petty grin, which quickly turned upside down once his guest was out of sight.
Otto sighed in disappointment as he tossed The Kangaroo’s file to the side. He has interviewed a wide array of costumed criminals, but only a handful of applicants have piqued his interest. Forming a team of the deadliest supervillains in New York to destroy Spider-Man once and for all proved to be more difficult than he had expected.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Otto slowly inhaled, filling his chest with as much air as he could before quickly exhaling. He signaled a mechanical arm, which immediately slithered through the air towards the door knob, opening the door. Standing in the doorway was a very battered, sickly-looking man with a duffel bag over his shoulder. Otto is taken slightly off-guard, as he barely recognized the man until he realized his right arm was missing.
“As I live and breathe! Doctor Curtis Connors. Please come in!”
“Hello, Otto”, Curt responded softly as he shut the door, locking it behind him.
“I will admit, you were the last person I thought I would see here. How are you, old friend? You look unwell.”
“I’m not here to join your team, Otto”, Curt sternly clarified.
“Is that so?”, Otto replied sarcastically as a pair of his mechanical arms prepared a cup of tea. “I’m not exactly sure why you have come here then. As you probably already saw, I have a long line of visitors outside and the last thing I need is your other half devouring any potential recruits.”
“I’m here to ask for your help,” Curt announced, dropping a duffel bag onto the ground.
Otto’s left brow peeked above his dimly lit glasses. One of his mechanical arms instinctively places its teacup on its saucer. It investigated the bag, then carefully pinched its zipper, opening it to reveal a pile of cash.
“Curt, what is this?”, Otto inquired.
“I used to consider The Lizard as a physical representation of all of my negative attributes,” Curt abruptly began. “My resentments, my frustration, my insecurities…”
Curt glanced at his amputated arm.
“But it’s become more complicated than that. He is…evolving. He’s become smarter. I can feel his grasp on my psyche growing tighter and tighter and…”
“You want me to help you destroy him”, Otto concluded.
“Yes! This thing has ruined my life! My reputation, my career, my family…”
The sheer thought of his wife and son shatter any composure Curt had when he first entered the room. Tears covered his pupils as he choked on his words.
“Please, Otto,” Curt whimpered. “Take the money. I’ll help you make the cure. We’ll work together, just like old times.”
“You and I remember the ‘old times’ quite differently”, Otto replied. Disgusted at the idea of reminiscing his past, he quickly changes the subject.
“I am sorry Curtis, but my hands are quite full at the moment. All of them, in fact. If nostalgia and your son’s college tuition are all that you have to offer then I am afraid I cannot help you.”
“Otto…he killed Martha.”
“Who did?”
“The Lizard”.
Otto’s left brow raised once more.
“I couldn’t stop him. All I could do was sit behind his eyes and watch as my wife was slaughtered. Slaughtered by me! He broke into my home while she slept…while my son slept and…and…”. Curt’s word’s quickly trailed off, turning into sounds of grief and remorse.
Otto swallowed the lump in his throat. Martha Connors was one of the few people he was quite fond of, and the news of her death at the hands of her own husband rattled even a villain such as himself.
“I do not understand, why would the creature do such a thing?”
“Martha recently discovered a new formula for a cure. His motives have always been solely based on eliminating any threat to his existence. After he got to her, he went after the only other person who knows the formula...”
“Who?”
“Spider-Man.”
The name ignited a primal rage within Otto. Subsequently, it fueled the devious engine within his brain. He raised his tea to his mouth, hiding the eerie grin stretched across his face.
“He almost got him too. I don’t want to put him in any more danger, and you’re the smartest person I know, so I came to you, Otto. I’m afraid…I’m afraid if I turn into him again, it will be the last.”
“I’m flattered”, Otto replied. “But surely the beast intends to finish his mission, no?”
“What…what do you mean?”
“Well, it seems like the reptile and I share a common goal. If he wants to kill Spider-Man, why should I stop him?”
Curt began to panic, resulting in a retort that should have been kept to himself.
“It’s always been about you, Otto. You and your massive ego”, Curt hissed. “Why can’t you just do something good for once? Are you that much of a maniac that you won’t even help an old friend?”
“I like my new friend more.”
THWACK.
With one swift swipe from a mechanical arm, Curt is sent flying across the room into a wall. It cracks on impact, startling the visitors on the other side. He takes one last gasp of air before he begins to convulse and shake. Green scales begin forming at the base of his absent right arm. While the rest of his skin followed, his bones and muscles crack and tear as they shift into different patterns and sizes. Curt’s cries drop several decibels lower while a tail pierces through the skin of his tail-bone. Otto watches attentively, sipping his tea.
Whatever trace of Curt Connors was now absent. What now stood in his place was The Lizard, a massive reptilian creature with the intelligence of his human counterpart. The beast raised its snout upward and licked the air, familiarizing himself with his surroundings. His forked tongue flicks in and out through a slight opening between his fangs.
“Octopussss…”
“Lizard.”
“Why was Connorsss here?”, Lizard asked with a growl.
“He asked me to help relieve him of your presence.”
Lizard scoffed. “How much did he weep?”
“Just enough. Why do you think you are here? I could not listen to him beg any longer.”
“He hasss become desperate coming to you, don’t you think?”
“Indeed. He thought I would fall for his guilt trip, but as you know I am not so easily swayed.”
“Did he tell you?”
“What, how you mauled his wife? Rendering his son a parentless child? Yes, he mentioned it.”
“Did he mention whyyyy?”, The Lizard replied with a snarl.
“Of course, she knew how to get rid of you for good. Along with…a certain someone else.”
“Yesss…the ssspider.”
“Yes. Spider-Man. Connors mentioned you came close to killing him as well?”
“Very clossse…”
“Please, do tell,” Otto implored, taking another sip of his tea.
===================2 MONTHS AGO====================
THWIP.
THWIP.
THWIP.
“I hate quiet nights,” Peter Parker thought to himself as he releases his grip on his previous swing, proceeding into the next. Despite desiring a reality where New York City and the rest of the world are safe from bad people, a crimeless patrol bothers him.
Suddenly, Peter’s emergency communications come online. He immediately web-zips onto a nearby building. Perched on a ledge, Peter places his fingers to his ear, answering a call from Yuri Watanabe. As the captain of the New York Police Department, she is grateful to be able to contact a superhero at a moment's notice.
“Yuri! Talk to me, girl. Everything alright?”
“Spider-Man, where are you?”
“West of 44th. Thought the Tracksuit Mafia would be sneaking around their usual spot but nope. Saw some homeless guy streaking though. Besides that, pretty lowkey night so far.”
“Good. You’re not far from me.”
“Where are you?”
“The Connors residence…”
Peter’s heart plummeted to his stomach.
“I’m on my way”, Peter said, hanging up and leaping in the direction of Curt Connor’s address.
“Me and my big mouth…”
~_~
As Spider-Man drew closer to the Connors’ home, flashing red and blue lights illuminated the neighborhood. He drops from seemingly thin air, landing elegantly on the sidewalk. Police officers and paramedics briefly glance at him with disgust, a look Peter is too familiar with. The one that people give him when they are let down. The one that asks why I wasn’t there earlier. He is approached by Yuri, who gives the other civil servants a nasty glare of her own. She explains the circumstances to Spider-Man, unaware of his alter ego’s close relationship with the Connors family. He tries not to convey too much emotion, but like many, he adored Martha Connors.
“Where’s Billy?”, Peter asked eagerly.
Yuri looked over at an ambulance where Billy Connors sat with her jacket draped over his shoulders. Peter immediately rushed over, sitting next to him on the ambulance’s bumper.
“Hi, Billy,”
“Hi Spider-Man”, Billy responded with a quivering voice.
“Did you call the police?”
Billy nodded his head.
“Good job buddy, you did the right thing. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you.”
The two sit in silence for a brief moment. Peter’s instinct is to comfort the boy but struggles to find words.
“I should’ve stopped him”, Billy wept, tears streaming down his red cheeks.
“Billy, I know you think you could have changed how the way things happened, but there isn’t anything you could have done. Please don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault buddy. Your dad–”
“That thing is not my dad!”, Billy shouted back, gaining the attention of everyone surrounding them. “Not anymore…”, he muttered, looking away.
Peter sat still for a moment before wrapping his arms around the boy. He gently squeezed Billy as he buried his face into his emblem. After a brief moment, Peter steps off the bumper, kneeling down to Billy’s eye level.
“I’m sorry, Billy”, he said as he wiped off his tears with his thumb. “I will make this better. I promise. All I need you to do is to stay strong for me. Can you do that?”
“I’ll…I’ll try.”
Peter gives Billy one last hug before approaching Yuri, who meets him in the middle.
“Do me a favor and go with him to the hospital? He doesn’t have anyone else”, he asked desperately.
“I can do that, but I also need to do my job. We need to find him while his trail is fresh. Any idea where he could have gone?”
“Where he always goes…”
Peter gestured toward a man-hole in the road. He easily yanks the man-hole cover off with a web, scraping the concrete.
“Be careful’, Yuri said.
“Always”, Peter replied. He leaps into the air and into the hole, closing the hole behind him with the web still attached to the cover.
~_~
Peter hangs cautiously from the ceiling of the sewer. His nose scrunches under his mask. After all these years of fighting in all types of sewers, they all smell terribly the same. And look the same. He worries that he won’t be able to find The Lizard in time.
As if on queue, Peter’s Spidey-Sense blared in his head like an alarm clock. He turns to react, but the dark tunnels disorient his vision, allowing his attacker to slice into his back. The pain is sharp and distracting, but Peter assumes an attacking position.
“You–you were waiting for me, weren’t you? You knew I’d come down here looking for you.”
The Lizard emerged from the darkness, letting out a long hiss that echoed through the sewer tunnels.
“Sssmelled you from a mile away, little ssspider.”
“Me too! I just couldn’t differentiate it between you and the poop-water!”
The Lizard lets out a deafening roar before sprinting full speed at the hero, who leaps backward onto his hands, propelling himself onto the ceiling. Now directly above his foe, Peter launches himself downward, socking The Lizard in the snout. Then, a right hook under his jaw. Then a left one. Then another right one. Then another. Peter barrages him with his fists, discombobulating The Lizard before sending him into a wall with one last right hook.
“You killed her! Your own wife!”, Peter shouted, catching his breath.
“Not *my* wife…”, Lizard mutters. He rips a piece of concrete from the wall beside him and chucks it at the hero. Spider-Man swiftly ducks under it, retaliating by catching the concrete with a web and returning it to its sender. Just before impact, The Lizard splices the rock into pieces with his tail.
“What about Billy?!”, Spider-Man yelled back, dodging between the slices of debris launched back at him.
The Lizard snarled at the mention of Billy Connors. “I did not harm the boy!”, he hissed back.
“You’re right.”, Peter scoffed, “You did much worse.”
The Lizard lunged toward Peter, mouth salivating. He dodges multiple swipes, each swinging through the air with relentless intensity. Peter soon realized The Lizard’s tactic. The beast was trying to exhaust him, like a predator with its prey. And it was working. The Lizard manages to catch the hero off guard, wrapping his tail around his throat. He thrashes Peter around, slamming him into the walls and nearby debris. After several collisions with the concrete, The Lizard dangles Peter in front of his face. Peter’s sticky fingers scratch at the beast’s leathery skin, so much so that it begins to peel off. It doesn’t bother the beast in the slightest.
“What’s wrong, ssspider? Having trouble keeping up? Too fassst for you?”
The Lizard’s grip tightens. Peter gasps for air, struggling to trigger his damaged web shooters. They sputter in The Lizard’s face, annoying him. He grabs Peter’s wrists with one hand and squeezes, crushing his web shooters.
“I’m here to ssstay, ssspider. No one is getting rid of me. Not Connorsss. Not his wife. Not even you…”
The Lizard opens his jaws wide open, raising Peter’s head close between them. His eyes widen as they draw nearer to his face. In a desperate attempt to save his life, Peter grabs The Lizard’s tongue and rips it out of his mouth.
The Lizard releases his grasp on Peter, squealing and gurgling. Peter tries to recover with whatever time he has before his tongue will grow back. Just before his last taste bud reforms, Peter leaps over The Lizard. He stomps one foot at the base of his tail while grasping the end.
“I…am really sick…of this tail…”
In one firm tug, Peter rips off The Lizard’s tail from his body. He lets out a deafening screech before he’s swatted in the face with his own tail, knocking him to the ground.
The two stand across from each other for a moment, bleeding and panting. The Lizard’s removed tail wiggles on the ground before going still. A small nub begins to form on his back, growing into a new tail at an alarming rate. Peter braces himself as The Lizard lunges at him once more, knocking him into the water. The two wrestle underwater, each swinging at slower but still impeccable speeds. The environment makes it difficult for Peter to keep track of The Lizard’s movements and finds himself in his grasp once more.
CRUNCH.
Peter lets out a blood-curdling scream as The Lizard’s jaws sink into his left shoulder. He punches the beast’s snout, but his jaws do not open. Water begins to fill Peter’s lungs. He drives his knee into the beast’s throat, releasing himself from his jaws. Peter then grabs one of The Lizard’s teeth, removes it, and shoves it through his eye.
Peter quickly rushes to the surface, unaware of what direction he was truly going. Out of what he thinks to be pure luck, he erupts through the water. He pulls himself onto the pavement and lies on his back. Immediately trying to salvage any remaining web fluid to cover his wounds and prevent any more bleeding, Peter stares at the blood-stained water, waiting for The Lizard to emerge once again.
===================PRESENT DAY======================
“What then?”, Otto asked attentively. “Did you not heal?”
The Lizard responds with a low rumble.
“Right. Of course, you did. But alas, Spider-Man still got away…”
“He always doesss”, The Lizard murmured.
“Which is exactly why I insist you consider a positon on my team! Think about it, my scaly friend. This one man has prevented us from reaching our goals for far too long. It’s time we come together under a common goal, and kill Spider-Man.”
The Lizard squinted at Otto.
“And, in return, perhaps I will look into finding a way to get rid of your other half…”
The Lizard’s eyes widen.
“Ah, now I have your attention”, Otto proudly announced. “So, what do you think?”
“If I do help you, Connorsss will get in the way. If you destroy Connorsss for me, and we do kill the ssspider, I will tell you hisss name…”
Otto’s brows raised above his glasses while each of his mechanical arms perked up simultaneously.
“You know Spider-Man’s real name? How?”
“Hisss scent. It’sss the same as–”
“Same as who?”, Otto interrupted.
The Lizard grinned, his tongue flicking through the front of his yellow teeth.
“Alright”, Otto pouted. “We have a deal, but only if you answer the call when I’ve found enough members, yes?”
“We shall sssee…”, The Lizard responded, his tail slightly waving.
“Very well. Now, please, tell me how you almost drowned him again. I like that part quite a lot.”
======================================================
~Will THE LIZARD accept the offer? Will DOCTOR OCTOPUS finally form a SINISTER team of super-villains to finally destroy SPIDER-MAN once and for all? Find out in the final issue of INTERVIEW WITH AN OCTOPUS: MYSTERIO~
~"The Dalai Lama advises everybody to spend a little time alone each day. Time to reflect and chase away the negative thoughts such as anger, resentment, jealousy, and tiredness. Try to replace those with positive emotions such as optimism, gratitude, love, and peace. He rightly says that the truly calm mind is the source of happiness and good health". ~
The Cat House, designed by the architect Friedrich Schefel, was built in 1909. Friedrich Schefel and Heinrich Scheel are regarded as pioneers of Riga Art Nouveau architecture. The building was owned by a wealthy Latvian trader who, out of bitter resentment for not being admitted to the Great Guild, put cat figures bearing expressive postures on the roof of his building. Tails of the cat figures were turned to the Great Guild building thus expressing the owner's attitude towards the offending organization of traders. The Cat House, built in the style of a medieval castle, was completed with colours of Art Nuveau palette, bringing colourfulness and romantics to the entire city and a share of sarcasm on the turrets of the house too.
Alias: Iron Man
Real Name: Tony Stark
Status: Deceased
Gender: Male
Alignment: Hero
Backstory: Born to billionaires Maria, and Howard Stark, with an older brother, Arno. His father Howard, had originally helped develop Peggy Carter's shield, and the original Iron-Man suit. As a teenager, he would often get into trouble, bringing his friend, James Rhodes, along. He'd blow the money on girls, cars, and alcohol. He had zero sense of responsibility. His father would eventually send him to boarding school overseas, hoping he'd come back changed for the better. Before he left, he would find the prototype Iron-Man exosuit armor, worn back during the war. Unfortunately, this did hardly anything, and Tony came back the same as he left. A few years later, his parents would pass away, and for some reason, instead of Arno, Tony inherited Stark Industries. But he wasn't much of a businessman. During his time overseas, he'd meet Gene Kang, who would later become one of his greatest nemesis, as Mandarin. Before that however, they became friends. Anyways, a group of mercenaries would be hired, to kill Tony Stark. Tony would manage to escape just barely, with the rusted bucket of bolts that the prototype Iron-Man suit is. Though during the conflict, he would get shot. This caused him to create the arc reactor which saved his life. The beginning of the next Iron-Man. For years, Tony would fight many foes. But none were as deadly as Mandarin. In fact during their first battle, Gene would kill James Rhodes. Tony eventually won that fight, but he still lost. His alcoholism problem appeared once more, but Pepper Potts, his secretary at the time, would help him through the grieving process. He'd find himself lost in the garage of the young Harley Keener. Harley would help repair the Iron-Man armor, and helping track Mandarin down. Tony wouldn't forget this, as he would take Harley in, years later, after marrying Pepper. Tony would even give Harley an internship at Stark Industries. He would fight alongside the rest of the Avengers quite a while, but ultimately, Tony perished in a battle against Kang the Conqueror, along with the Masters of Evil.
Alias: Captain America
Real Name: Sharon Rogers
Gender: Female
Status: Alive
Alignment: Hero
Backstory: The grand daughter of the original Captain America, Peggy Carter, and Steve Rogers, the original Iron-Man. Even though Peggy Carter was British, she would be called Captain America, as she was serving with the US military.. Anyways, Sharon admired her grandmother so much, that she followed in her grandmothers footsteps, joining SHIELD as soon as she could. Sharon rose through the ranks rather quickly. She decided to use a fake last name at the time, so that she would be judged on her own merits, and not constantly within the shadow of Steve and Peggy Rogers. She would also find her grandma's old costume. Undergoing a similar, but updated version of the Super Soldier procedure, she would become the next Captain America, as more threats emerged. Sharon later would form the Avengers, with Tony Stark, and a few others.
Alias: Wonder Man
Real Name: Simon Williams
Gender: Male
Status: Alive
Alignment: Hero
Backstory: An actor that's kind of in a slump, that has a cult following. His name would be brought back into the limelight with his death, during what others would call an accident, resulting in his death. However, Simon Williams wasn't dead. He had undergone an experimental, ion based treatment, which would end up giving him superpowers. Part of the first incarnation of the Masters of Evil, he would go up against the first Avengers team, as only the Masters had the treatments which could keep him alive. But Simon wasn't a bad person, and would turn on the Masters of Evil during the conflict. With the help of the Avengers, he would find a way to treat his condition. Now cured, he would go on to help the Avengers throughout the years, even vouching for Henry Pym Jr when he wanted to join the Avengers as Ant-Man.
Alias: Black Widows
Real Names: Natasha Romanoff, and Yelena Belova
Genders: Both Female
Status: Both Alive
Backstory: Natasha and Yelena would be trained from birth, within the walls of the Red Room program. They would become expert assassins. They were almost inseparable, growing close within a matter of years, even though that was seen as weakness. They were still rivals in a way though, as they would alternate, being at the top of their class. Each pushing the other to do better. The Black Widows, that showed no mercy to their opponents. What they were unaware of however, is that the Red Room was a breeding ground for future Hydra Agents, and not for the interests of Soviet Union. One of their handlers during this time, was in fact a high ranking Hydra officer, who was subliminally messaging/brainwashing them. Natasha, and Yelena would run away, to America, in search of a way to expose Hydra. Yelena would dye her hair red, and two of them would essentially become one person in identity, the Black Widow. If one of them was caught, the other could provide an easy alibi to their whereabouts. It would be a few years later, that they would encounter the Avengers, and eventually, join them.
Name/Alias: Magni
Gender: Male
Status: Alive
Alignment: Hero
Backstory: The son of Thor, and Amora the Enchantress. Magni's life was threatened early on due by Baldur's betrayal. Sif and the Warriors Three would be there to save him however, killing Baldur. As it turned out however, this just turned out to be a well developed illusion, made by Loki, and Baldur wasn't a traitor in the slightest. Loki just wanted to pit Asgard's warriors against each other, once more. Magni would be worthy of Mjolnir. His brother, Modi, on the other hand, was not worthy. Much like Thor and Loki would end up becoming enemies, Magni and Modi would become bitter with one another. Their father, Thor, would pass, during the world ending Ragnarok event, with the brothers, and their mother, Amora, somehow surviving. From their, the nation of Asgard had to rebuild from the ground up. This led Magni to Earth, where his father, Thor, was heavily feared. Apparently, he slaughtered mortals without a second thought. He would meet a mortal girl, named Jordahl, a thief, who he would later fall in love with. Eventually, Magni would convince Jordahl to give up her life of crime. He would try and redeem his family name by becoming a hero to the people of Midgard. Later, he form the Avengers, with Tony Stark, and Sharon Rogers.
Alias: Ant-Man
Name: Henry Pym Jr.
Gender: Male
Status: Alive
Alignment: Hero
Backstory: The son of the first Ant-Man, Hank Pym, and his wife, Janet Van Dyne. Henry's sister, Hope, was the smarter of the two children, becoming the apple of their parents eyes. This led to typical resentment towards his sister. Henry went into crime, adopting the name, Big Man. Eventually he would be asked to join one of the later incarnations of the Thunderbolts. He'd take his father's old identity, Ant-Man, even stealing one of the old suits. At first, it was all pretend. A way to hide the criminal actions.. But as time went on, he grew into being the Ant-Man more and more. He actually enjoyed helping people as a hero. So he would decide to truly become a hero. Wonder Man, vouched for his legitimacy, seeing that he actually wanted to be better.
Hiya all
I was on yahoo the other day a read a little article about Caitlyn/Bruce Jenner and the fact that her kids are finding the whole trans thing a tad difficult.
Only to be expected.
I read the story then moved on to the comments. one after the other spouting vile hatred calling us perverts, freaks and all manner of misfit. each comment had huge numbers of thumbs up as opposed to thumbs down. I was finding it all rather sad that these people don't have a brain cell large enough to accept that people are different.
so I posted the following with the result below
9users disliked this comment 1 liked this comment
The comment was hidden due to lack of interest apparently. I have since removed my comment
Just to answer a few questions posed by some of you. Caitlyn waited 65 yrs and got married 3 ties and had children because way back in his youth being trans was just a complete no no. even being GAY was a taboo. So he tried to be a man just like all the other lads he knew, he lived a lie to himself and to his partners and family. but he could never have been the person he wanted to be.
Another trans related post that has been commented on by some here related to a child of seven who identifies as trans (MTF ) this child wants to live as a girl/woman, she doesn't want to live the lie Bruce/Caitlyn did and she doesn't want to cause suffering to others ( possible wife and children) caused by her actions. yet the poster here want to stop this chid doing what it thinks is the right thing to avoid the above problem. Yes I do agree 7 is to young but to beb able to pass convincingly the onset will have to be stopped. this is however a different subject matter totally.
Caitlyn unlike most TG persons has jumped in feet first. she has no life experience as a woman or a trans woman, she doesn't know what is like walking back to her car in the dark, he has never experienced the unwanted attention from that drunk lad in the bar, she will never have to find work, she will never have to compete against men just like real women have to or like a trans woman in mainstream life has to.
To think that you can tell your nearest and dearest that you are crossdresser in one breath, then days later say you are trans, then tell them you want to be a woman is complete madness. and to top it all by having surgery and doing a vogue photo shoot it will only cause resentment. these kids adults ex partners needed time to get to know Caitlyn as did the general public. this should never have been rushed.
Just as a final point. I am trans MTF and i have come out to family and friends. it took over a year for my wife and kids to come to terms with my announcement (they are fine now) I have lost most of my friends and discovered life can be lonely. I have however also discovered how much love and acceptance there is in the world. those who comment in a negative way just have no experience of this kind of thing so will never understand it. much that same as I will never understand the fun one can get having a street fight, hunting animals for fun, belittling those who are different, raping women, bullying anyone or supressing freedom of choice and speech.
we however are all entitled to our opinions, but please do think how you would react if your son came home and said he was trans or gay. I do hope you would not disown them and let them suffer in pain and loneliness on there own. for if you do they will most likely take their own life . A little tolerance goes a long way. my kind are not hurting as many people as the so called normal folk in this world.
One person replied in a very positive manner another replied in the normal brain dead way these kind of people do .
the Article ref the 7 year who wants to be a girl got the same vile response.
Maybe things are not as good in trans land as we sometimes think it is.
Anyway it was a fun experiment to put a comment up with more than twenty words and no expletives. I think this is what confused them all lol.
The sad thing is the people at yahoo decided my response was not worth being seen. what does that say about a big multinational company and its stand point on LGBT rights?
One of a few small children who somehow survived an anti-semitic massacre of their small village in the Russian Occupied Baltic region, (now Latvia, Estonia [?]), in the late 1800s; most likely carried out by civilians heavily influenced by Czar Alexander III who fanned the flames of hate through newspapers, the Russian Orthodox church and ‘Russian’ run schools.
Sander was discovered in the rubble of his home by relatives who had heard of the attack and had rushed to the site of the village. As the family legend goes, he was found in his trundle bed, covered in a blanket. They took him to their home and adopted him. He grew up, had 7 children. One of his two sons was murdered at the age of 7, kicked to death by his Russian School Master, (no charges were ever filed). Sander was a Jew and based on one or two old photos, probably had a farm or ranch. He may also have had a butcher shop. He is reported to have been very scholarly and possibly a rabbi. To finance the escape of his 6 remaining children from Russian occupied territory, he sold beef to the occupying Russian military, (as if being a Jew amongst nationalistic gentiles who had been indoctrinated to be anti-semitic, was not bad enough). When each of his children reached the age of 16 he gave them money, an address and explained how the “Underground Railroad” of the Jews worked. He explained that they could go anywhere except America, telling them its society was “traif”, a Yiddish word for ‘not kosher’, ‘unclean’ in many ways. Perhaps he encouraged them to find their way to Palestine, where 1800 years before, the Jews were driven out due to the destruction of the political nation of Israel and Jerusalem by the Roman military, (His children, one-by-one, ended up in Cincinnati, Ohio, [apparently the Moonitz kids had a plan of their own]).
Old and alone, his ‘Mission’ accomplished, he froze to death one winter and is buried with his wife, Chiah, in a Jewish cemetary in Griva, southern Latvia.
This is a photo of an old, well preserved photograph hanging on my aunt’s wall.
Sander was my Great Grandfather on my Father’s side.
Please do not get the idea that I harbor any resentment or animosity towards the Russian people, most of the Russian people I know are good friends and that is as it should be… and besides, i am one of a few jews who worship Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah and resentment and revenge are not welcome in our hearts.
Once Again, Anti-semitism, filled with rage and violence, is on the rise throughout the middle east, Europe, North Africa, (Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria), Iraq, Iran, South Africa, Belgium, Netherlands, Asia, Canada, and America, my homeland. Here we go again …on college and high schools, mobs are declaring their agenda of hate chanting “kill ALL jews, anywhere, everywhere” against a generation whose resolve is - “NEVER AGAIN”!!!
God said to Abraham 5,000 years ago,
“I will Bless those who bless thee and curse those who curse thee. In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”. HE later affirmed this to Isaac, then Jacob.
The arrogant anger of fools will ironically pave the way for the will of God to prevail.
A collection of seven whole years worth of miserable crap out of my head. I don't know why I have held onto it all for so long... when I flick through the pages, it's never a positive experience.
Mostly traumatic. Mostly horrific. Mostly... not very nice.
As we discovered the other week, holding onto these things has ended up with me harbouring deep resentment and hurt – and being unable to let go of some unhappy times. As such, I'm currently in the process of destroying these.
For those that are/were interested in some of the more artistic content (some examples of which can be found here; vauxhall sunday, GET IN LANE, &c.), I'm in the process of getting some prints made on some lovely Giclee Canson Aquarelle Rag if anybody's interested.
All Rights Reserved, as stated. Re-posts are with expressed permission only.
You may not use this image, edit it or alter it in any way (and as a result, claim the image or the derivative as your own). And it's not for Tumblr / weheartit.com either.
Il castello Orsini-Odescalchi, noto anche come castello di Bracciano, è un castello nel comune italiano di Bracciano risalente al XV secolo. Costituito da tre cinta di mura esterne, presenta cinque torri, una per ogni vertice della fortificazione esterna. Fu costruito dopo il 1470 da Napoleone Orsini probabilmente con la collaborazione di maestranze Sistine. Il castello apparteneva a Braccio da Montone (Casata Bracci) dietro richiesta del papa (per motivi politici) fu donato al suo sottoposto capitano Orsini. Ne è prova lo stemma del comune un braccio che tiene una rosa (uno dei simboli degli Orsini). Il fratello di Napoleone (il Cardinale Latino Orsini) era il camerlengo di papa Sisto IV proprio negli anni in cui venivano costruiti quasi simultaneamente la Cappella Sistina e il Castello di Bracciano. Oggi è di proprietà degli Odescalchi, famiglia che proprio dagli Orsini rilevò il Ducato di Bracciano alla fine del XVII secolo. Il castello, aperto al pubblico nel 1952 da Livio IV Odescalchi, è visitabile e viene spesso usato per ricevimenti, celebrare matrimoni e per altri eventi privati e culturali. Il castello sorge nel 1470 intorno alla vecchia rocca medioevale dei Prefetti di Vico, risalente al tredicesimo secolo, su ordine di Napoleone Orsini che poi viene portata a termine dal figlio Gentil Virginio Orsini nel 1485. Nel 1485 fu ospite della famiglia Orsini il vescovo di Mantova Ludovico Gonzaga, figlio del marchese di Mantova Ludovico III Gonzaga, che fuggì da Roma a causa della peste. Nella sua storia il castello subisce molti cambiamenti inclusi i progetti di Francesco di Giorgio Martini che fu ospite nella corte di Genti Virginio nel 1490 per restaurare varie fortezze. Papa Alessandro VI nel 1496 arriva a confiscare il castello, animato da un profondo risentimento verso gli Orsini. In questi anni risalgono le prime decorazioni, tra i più famosi il ciclo della donna medievale che illustra la vita di corte del tardo Medioevo e l'affresco di Antoniazzo Romano che riproduce il trionfo di Gentil Virginio Orsini, pagina importante di questo pittore del Quattrocento. Terminato il diverbio con il papa gli Orsini riprendono il possesso del castello continuando così l'abbellimento e ampliamento del castello. Alla fine del Cinquecento Giacomo Del Duca, allievo di Michelangelo, realizza una serie di interventi in occasione del sontuoso matrimonio tra Isabella de' Medici e Paolo Giordano Orsini. In quella circostanza i fratelli Taddeo e Federico Zuccari furono chiamati a decorare alcune sale, tra le quali quella che nel 1481 ospitò papa Sisto IV della Rovere in fuga dalla peste che infuriava a Roma. Gli Zuccari, due tra i più importanti artisti della fine del Cinquecento, realizzarono gli affreschi con l'oroscopo dei due sposi e gli emblemi delle due insigni casate. Nel 1696 agli Orsini subentrarono gli Odescalchi antica famiglia di origine comasca, il cui prestigio si incrementò notevolmente quando uno dei suoi membri ascese al soglio pontificio con il nome di Innocenzo XI.
The Orsini-Odescalchi castle, also known as the Bracciano castle, is a castle in the Italian town of Bracciano dating back to the 15th century. Consisting of three outer walls, it has five towers, one for each vertex of the external fortification. It was built after 1470 by Napoleone Orsini, probably with the collaboration of Sistine workers. The castle belonged to Braccio da Montone (Casata Bracci) at the request of the pope (for political reasons) and was donated to his subordinate captain Orsini. Proof of this is the coat of arms of the municipality an arm holding a rose (one of the symbols of the Orsini). Napoleon's brother (Cardinal Latino Orsini) was the chamberlain of Pope Sixtus IV precisely in the years in which the Sistine Chapel and the Castle of Bracciano were built almost simultaneously. Today it is owned by the Odescalchi, a family who took over the Duchy of Bracciano from the Orsini at the end of the 17th century. The castle, opened to the public in 1952 by Livio IV Odescalchi, can be visited and is often used for receptions, weddings and other private and cultural events. The castle was built in 1470 around the old medieval fortress of the Prefects of Vico, dating back to the thirteenth century, by order of Napoleone Orsini which was then completed by his son Gentil Virginio Orsini in 1485. In 1485 the bishop of Mantua was a guest of the Orsini family Ludovico Gonzaga, son of the Marquis of Mantua Ludovico III Gonzaga, who fled from Rome due to the plague. In its history the castle undergoes many changes including the projects of Francesco di Giorgio Martini who was a guest in the court of Genti Virginio in 1490 to restore various fortresses. Pope Alexander VI in 1496 confiscated the castle, animated by a deep resentment towards the Orsini. The first decorations date back to these years, among the most famous the cycle of the medieval woman illustrating the court life of the late Middle Ages and the fresco by Antoniazzo Romano which reproduces the triumph of Gentil Virginio Orsini, an important page of this fifteenth-century painter. After the quarrel with the pope, the Orsini regain possession of the castle, thus continuing the embellishment and expansion of the castle. At the end of the sixteenth century Giacomo Del Duca, a pupil of Michelangelo, carried out a series of interventions on the occasion of the sumptuous marriage between Isabella de 'Medici and Paolo Giordano Orsini. On that occasion the brothers Taddeo and Federico Zuccari were called to decorate some rooms, including the one that hosted Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere in 1481 fleeing the plague that was raging in Rome. The Zuccari, two of the most important artists of the late sixteenth century, created the frescoes with the horoscope of the couple and the emblems of the two famous families. In 1696 the Odescalchi, an ancient family of Como origin, took over from the Orsini, whose prestige increased considerably when one of its members ascended to the papal throne with the name of Innocent XI.
Le château Orsini-Odescalchi, également connu sous le nom de château de Bracciano, est un château de la ville italienne de Bracciano datant du XVe siècle. Composé de trois murs extérieurs, il possède cinq tours, une pour chaque sommet de la fortification extérieure. Il a été construit après 1470 par Napoleone Orsini, probablement avec la collaboration des ouvriers de Sixtine. Le château a appartenu à Braccio da Montone (Casata Bracci) à la demande du pape (pour des raisons politiques) et a été donné à son capitaine subordonné Orsini. Preuve en est le blason de la commune un bras tenant une rose (l'un des symboles des Orsini). Le frère de Napoléon (Cardinal Latino Orsini) était le chambellan du Pape Sixte IV précisément dans les années où la Chapelle Sixtine et le Château de Bracciano ont été construits presque simultanément. Aujourd'hui, il appartient aux Odescalchi, une famille qui a repris le duché de Bracciano aux Orsini à la fin du XVIIe siècle. Le château, ouvert au public en 1952 par Livio IV Odescalchi, peut être visité et est souvent utilisé pour des réceptions, des mariages et d'autres événements privés et culturels. Le château a été construit en 1470 autour de l'ancienne forteresse médiévale des préfets de Vico, datant du XIIIe siècle, sur ordre de Napoleone Orsini qui a ensuite été achevée par son fils Gentil Virginio Orsini en 1485. En 1485, l'évêque de Mantoue était un invité de la famille Orsini Ludovico Gonzaga, fils du marquis de Mantoue Ludovico III Gonzaga, qui a fui Rome à cause de la peste. Au cours de son histoire, le château subit de nombreux changements, notamment les projets de Francesco di Giorgio Martini qui fut invité à la cour de Genti Virginio en 1490 pour restaurer diverses forteresses. Le pape Alexandre VI en 1496 confisqua le château, animé d'un profond ressentiment envers les Orsini. Les premières décorations datent de ces années, parmi les plus célèbres le cycle de la femme médiévale illustrant la vie de cour de la fin du Moyen Âge et la fresque d'Antoniazzo Romano qui reproduit le triomphe de Gentil Virginio Orsini, page importante de ce XVe- peintre du siècle. Après la querelle avec le pape, les Orsini reprennent possession du château, poursuivant ainsi l'embellissement et l'agrandissement du château. À la fin du XVIe siècle, Giacomo Del Duca, élève de Michel-Ange, réalisa une série d'interventions à l'occasion du somptueux mariage entre Isabelle de Médicis et Paolo Giordano Orsini. A cette occasion, les frères Taddeo et Federico Zuccari ont été appelés à décorer certaines chambres, dont celle qui a accueilli le pape Sixte IV della Rovere en 1481 fuyant la peste qui sévissait à Rome. Les Zuccari, deux des artistes les plus importants de la fin du XVIe siècle, ont créé les fresques avec l'horoscope du couple et les emblèmes des deux familles célèbres. En 1696, les Odescalchi, ancienne famille originaire de Côme, succèdent aux Orsini, dont le prestige s'accroît considérablement lorsqu'un de ses membres monte sur le trône pontifical sous le nom d'Innocent XI.
"Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place"
Mark Twain
The Brazos River The Historic suspension bridge and beautiful Crepe Myrtle.
Dear friends!
Congratulations to you all a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!
Let in the outgoing year stay all the unpleasants, all the disappointments and resentments.
Let in the new year there will be only pleasant moments and meetings, kind and sincere people near you!
I wish you all health, happiness and good luck in everything!
Nice view from the local dump.
Finally surrendered the pre digital tv of my mum's which had been sitting in the garage for years after I bought her a fancy updated one.
This place is not a stinking mess, but kept very neat and tidy..there's no huge mountains of refuse out in the open.
A quick drive up a slope above huge transport containers and each sort of garbage goes into designated ones, for household, garden prunings, plastics, aluminium cans etc.
Just throw it down from the car.
Tv's have to be carried into a special enclosure too. Probably the electronics..
Unfortunately it's not a 'Recycle Depot' where you can buy 2nd hand items ~ shame, because I've seen some great stuff there, and physically impossible (also not allowed..) to retrieve, once they're deposited into these 'pits'.
These transport containers are routinely loaded up on a semi trailer and taken away somewhere else.
The supervisor told me that sometimes absolutely fantastic items, decent furniture etc., get brought in by the ute load ~ nasty leftovers from a broken marriage.
Reminders of ex's, tossed out with anger, heartbreak, resentment… revenge, LOL.
Sorry, just had to chuckle...
Great policy for a fresh new beginning…if one can afford it !!
So anyway, it's quite a pretty place up on this plateau, 2 mins from town.
Almost a 360 degree view.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself. It is not as much something you do for someone else.
Forgiveness challenges you to give up your destructive thoughts about the situation and to believe in the possibility of a better future.
Forgiveness builds confidence that you can survive the pain and grow from it.
Forgiveness is an act of the imagination. It dares you to imagine a better future, one that is based on the blessed possibility that your hurt will not be the final word on the matter.
Choice is always present in Forgiveness.
You do not have to Forgive but there are consequences to that:
Refusing to Forgive by holding on to the anger, resentment and a sense of betrayal can make your own life miserable.
A vindictive mind-set creates bitterness and allows the betrayer to claim one more victim.
Best summarized by Mahatma Gandhi:
"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
To Forgive is a Divine act.
Copyright © 2008 - 2025 Tomitheos Photography - All Rights Reserved
“Perdona a todos y perdónate a ti mismo, no hay liberación más grande que el perdón; no hay nada como vivir sin enemigos. Nada peor para la cabeza, y por lo tanto para el cuerpo, que el miedo, la culpa, el resentimiento y la crítica (agotadora y vana tarea), que te hace juez y cómplice de lo que te disgusta.”
― Facundo Cabral
"Forgive all and forgive yourself, there is no greater liberation than forgiveness; There is nothing like living without enemies. Nothing worse for the head, and therefore for the body, than fear, guilt, resentment and criticism (exhausting and vain task), which makes you a judge and accomplice of what you dislike. "
- Facundo Cabral
Tom spends some nights in his studio (in the basement) writing songs and recording. Most of the time, I am so happy that he something that he loves so much. But there are those days, when this poem applies.
I Resent It
It's a strange thing
resentments.
Yesterday you felt fine.
Today, somehow
the things you loved, admired, even spoke fondly of
make you feel alone,
even angry and betrayed.
possible 2nd ending, depending on the day:
And then, as you put it into words on paper,
you realize;
What you resent today,
tomorrow will be forgotten.
You'll appreciate your solitude.
Space.
Room to do your thing.
And later,
when he reappears;
You can listen well to the thing he's created,
that yesterday
you begrudged him.
10/31/06 by Melody Harrison Hanson
"Be the noble curator of your excellence, for
fate made you perfect. In all things, be precise:
standing, sitting, staring, walking, sniffing, eating,
sleeping, killing. Never look in mirrors,
which are windows for the insecure. Sleep
in a variety of comfortable places, which
were created for you alone. Make acquaintances,
never friends. The latter tend to cling.
All phenomena are potential enemies. Therefore,
stare, listen, listen, stare, sniff, stare, listen, sniff,
hide, stare, and listen. Never perform tricks. Leave
those to dogs, who need to be wanted and want
to be liked. Talk as necessary, but never just
to chit-chat. Crack the whip of feline fury as
you wish. Keep the blades of your four feet sharp
and retracted like long-held resentments. Let
your soul's motor idle and strum the taut cord
of your body. No one owns you.
God made you and likes you best. In a world
that's dubious, you are certain. You never
make mistakes. You are entitled to what
you want; otherwise, why would you want it?
No matter what else you may be undertaking,
never be reticent to stop and groom yourself,
for you are superb, and self-maintenance
doubles as self-admiration. You are a cat,
a form of beauty that enters stealthily,
naps, and agrees to be admired. You
are a cat. Everything is as it should be."
Hans Ostrom
++++ FROM WIKIPEDIA ++++
Myanmar (Burmese pronunciation: [mjəmà]),[nb 1][8] officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east and China to its north and northeast. To its south, about one third of Myanmar's total perimeter of 5,876 km (3,651 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km (1,200 mi) along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The country's 2014 census counted the population to be 51 million people.[9] As of 2017, the population is about 54 million.[10] Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometers (261,228 square miles) in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city and former capital is Yangon (Rangoon).[1] Myanmar has been a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997.
Early civilisations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Burma.[11] In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell due to the Mongol invasions and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty, the country was for a brief period the largest empire in the history of Mainland Southeast Asia.[12] The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The British took over the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century and the country became a British colony. Myanmar was granted independence in 1948, as a democratic nation. Following a coup d'état in 1962, it became a military dictatorship.
For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country.[13] In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. This, along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, has improved the country's human rights record and foreign relations, and has led to the easing of trade and other economic sanctions.[14] There is, however, continuing criticism of the government's treatment of ethnic minorities, its response to the ethnic insurgency, and religious clashes.[15] In the landmark 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a majority in both houses. However, the Burmese military remains a powerful force in politics.
Myanmar is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources. In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion.[6] The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the former military government.[16] As of 2016, Myanmar ranks 145 out of 188 countries in human development, according to the Human Development Index.[7]
Etymology
Main article: Names of Myanmar
In 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to Burma's colonial period or earlier, including that of the country itself: "Burma" became "Myanmar". The renaming remains a contested issue.[17] Many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use "Burma" because they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government or its authority to rename the country.[18]
In April 2016, soon after taking office, Aung San Suu Kyi clarified that foreigners are free to use either name, "because there is nothing in the constitution of our country that says that you must use any term in particular".[19]
The country's official full name is the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်, Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw, pronounced [pjìdàʊɴzṵ θàɴməda̰ mjəmà nàɪɴŋàɴdɔ̀]). Countries that do not officially recognise that name use the long form "Union of Burma" instead.[20]
In English, the country is popularly known as either "Burma" or "Myanmar" /ˈmjɑːnˌmɑːr/ (About this sound listen).[8] Both these names are derived from the name of the majority Burmese Bamar ethnic group. Myanmar is considered to be the literary form of the name of the group, while Burma is derived from "Bamar", the colloquial form of the group's name.[17] Depending on the register used, the pronunciation would be Bama (pronounced [bəmà]) or Myamah (pronounced [mjəmà]).[17] The name Burma has been in use in English since the 18th century.
Burma continues to be used in English by the governments of many countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom.[21][22] Official United States policy retains Burma as the country's name, although the State Department's website lists the country as "Burma (Myanmar)" and Barack Obama has referred to the country by both names.[23] The Czech Republic officially uses Myanmar, although its Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions both Myanmar and Burma on its website.[24] The United Nations uses Myanmar, as do the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia,[25] Russia, Germany,[26] China, India, Bangladesh, Norway,[27] Japan[21] and Switzerland.[28]
Most English-speaking international news media refer to the country by the name Myanmar, including the BBC,[29] CNN,[30] Al Jazeera,[31] Reuters,[32] RT (Russia Today) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)/Radio Australia.[33]
Myanmar is known with a name deriving from Burma as opposed to Myanmar in Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and Greek – Birmania being the local version of Burma in the Spanish language, for example. Myanmar used to be known as "Birmânia" in Portuguese, and as "Birmanie" in French.[34] As in the past, French-language media today consistently use Birmanie.,[35][36]
History
Main article: History of Myanmar
Prehistory
Main articles: Prehistory of Myanmar and Migration period of ancient Burma
Pyu city-states c. 8th century; Pagan is shown for comparison only and is not contemporary.
Archaeological evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in the region now known as Myanmar as early as 750,000 years ago, with no more erectus finds after 75,000 years ago.[37] The first evidence of Homo sapiens is dated to about 11,000 BC, in a Stone Age culture called the Anyathian with discoveries of stone tools in central Myanmar. Evidence of neolithic age domestication of plants and animals and the use of polished stone tools dating to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 BC has been discovered in the form of cave paintings in Padah-Lin Caves.[38]
The Bronze Age arrived circa 1500 BC when people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice and domesticating poultry and pigs; they were among the first people in the world to do so.[39] Human remains and artefacts from this era were discovered in Monywa District in the Sagaing Division.[40] The Iron Age began around 500 BC with the emergence of iron-working settlements in an area south of present-day Mandalay.[41] Evidence also shows the presence of rice-growing settlements of large villages and small towns that traded with their surroundings as far as China between 500 BC and 200 AD.[42] Iron Age Burmese cultures also had influences from outside sources such as India and Thailand, as seen in their funerary practices concerning child burials. This indicates some form of communication between groups in Myanmar and other places, possibly through trade.[43]
Early city-states
Main articles: Pyu city-states and Mon kingdoms
Around the second century BC the first-known city-states emerged in central Myanmar. The city-states were founded as part of the southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states, the earliest inhabitants of Myanmar of whom records are extant, from present-day Yunnan.[44] The Pyu culture was heavily influenced by trade with India, importing Buddhism as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts, which would have an enduring influence on later Burmese culture and political organisation.[45]
By the 9th century, several city-states had sprouted across the land: the Pyu in the central dry zone, Mon along the southern coastline and Arakanese along the western littoral. The balance was upset when the Pyu came under repeated attacks from Nanzhao between the 750s and the 830s. In the mid-to-late 9th century the Bamar people founded a small settlement at Bagan. It was one of several competing city-states until the late 10th century when it grew in authority and grandeur.[46]
Imperial Burma
Main articles: Pagan Kingdom, Taungoo Dynasty, and Konbaung Dynasty
See also: Ava Kingdom, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Kingdom of Mrauk U, and Shan States
Pagodas and kyaungs in present-day Bagan, the capital of the Pagan Kingdom.
Pagan gradually grew to absorb its surrounding states until the 1050s–1060s when Anawrahta founded the Pagan Kingdom, the first ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Pagan Empire and the Khmer Empire were two main powers in mainland Southeast Asia.[47] The Burmese language and culture gradually became dominant in the upper Irrawaddy valley, eclipsing the Pyu, Mon and Pali norms by the late 12th century.[48]
Theravada Buddhism slowly began to spread to the village level, although Tantric, Mahayana, Hinduism, and folk religion remained heavily entrenched. Pagan's rulers and wealthy built over 10,000 Buddhist temples in the Pagan capital zone alone. Repeated Mongol invasions (1277–1301) toppled the four-century-old kingdom in 1287.[48]
Temples at Mrauk U.
Pagan's collapse was followed by 250 years of political fragmentation that lasted well into the 16th century. Like the Burmans four centuries earlier, Shan migrants who arrived with the Mongol invasions stayed behind. Several competing Shan States came to dominate the entire northwestern to eastern arc surrounding the Irrawaddy valley. The valley too was beset with petty states until the late 14th century when two sizeable powers, Ava Kingdom and Hanthawaddy Kingdom, emerged. In the west, a politically fragmented Arakan was under competing influences of its stronger neighbours until the Kingdom of Mrauk U unified the Arakan coastline for the first time in 1437.
Early on, Ava fought wars of unification (1385–1424) but could never quite reassemble the lost empire. Having held off Ava, Hanthawaddy entered its golden age, and Arakan went on to become a power in its own right for the next 350 years. In contrast, constant warfare left Ava greatly weakened, and it slowly disintegrated from 1481 onward. In 1527, the Confederation of Shan States conquered Ava itself, and ruled Upper Myanmar until 1555.
Like the Pagan Empire, Ava, Hanthawaddy and the Shan states were all multi-ethnic polities. Despite the wars, cultural synchronisation continued. This period is considered a golden age for Burmese culture. Burmese literature "grew more confident, popular, and stylistically diverse", and the second generation of Burmese law codes as well as the earliest pan-Burma chronicles emerged.[49] Hanthawaddy monarchs introduced religious reforms that later spread to the rest of the country.[50] Many splendid temples of Mrauk U were built during this period.
Taungoo and colonialism
Bayinnaung's Empire in 1580.
Political unification returned in the mid-16th century, due to the efforts of Taungoo, a former vassal state of Ava. Taungoo's young, ambitious king Tabinshwehti defeated the more powerful Hanthawaddy in the Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–41). His successor Bayinnaung went on to conquer a vast swath of mainland Southeast Asia including the Shan states, Lan Na, Manipur, Mong Mao, the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Lan Xang and southern Arakan. However, the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia unravelled soon after Bayinnaung's death in 1581, completely collapsing by 1599. Ayutthaya seized Tenasserim and Lan Na, and Portuguese mercenaries established Portuguese rule at Thanlyin (Syriam).
The dynasty regrouped and defeated the Portuguese in 1613 and Siam in 1614. It restored a smaller, more manageable kingdom, encompassing Lower Myanmar, Upper Myanmar, Shan states, Lan Na and upper Tenasserim. The Restored Toungoo kings created a legal and political framework whose basic features would continue well into the 19th century. The crown completely replaced the hereditary chieftainships with appointed governorships in the entire Irrawaddy valley, and greatly reduced the hereditary rights of Shan chiefs. Its trade and secular administrative reforms built a prosperous economy for more than 80 years. From the 1720s onward, the kingdom was beset with repeated Meithei raids into Upper Myanmar and a nagging rebellion in Lan Na. In 1740, the Mon of Lower Myanmar founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom. Hanthawaddy forces sacked Ava in 1752, ending the 266-year-old Toungoo Dynasty.
A British 1825 lithograph of Shwedagon Pagoda shows British occupation during the First Anglo-Burmese War.
After the fall of Ava, the Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War involved one resistance group under Alaungpaya defeating the Restored Hanthawaddy, and by 1759, he had reunited all of Myanmar and Manipur, and driven out the French and the British, who had provided arms to Hanthawaddy. By 1770, Alaungpaya's heirs had subdued much of Laos (1765) and fought and won the Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67) against Ayutthaya and the Sino-Burmese War (1765–69) against Qing China (1765–1769).[51]
With Burma preoccupied by the Chinese threat, Ayutthaya recovered its territories by 1770, and went on to capture Lan Na by 1776. Burma and Siam went to war until 1855, but all resulted in a stalemate, exchanging Tenasserim (to Burma) and Lan Na (to Ayutthaya). Faced with a powerful China and a resurgent Ayutthaya in the east, King Bodawpaya turned west, acquiring Arakan (1785), Manipur (1814) and Assam (1817). It was the second-largest empire in Burmese history but also one with a long ill-defined border with British India.[52]
The breadth of this empire was short lived. Burma lost Arakan, Manipur, Assam and Tenasserim to the British in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). In 1852, the British easily seized Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. King Mindon Min tried to modernise the kingdom, and in 1875 narrowly avoided annexation by ceding the Karenni States. The British, alarmed by the consolidation of French Indochina, annexed the remainder of the country in the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885.
Konbaung kings extended Restored Toungoo's administrative reforms, and achieved unprecedented levels of internal control and external expansion. For the first time in history, the Burmese language and culture came to predominate the entire Irrawaddy valley. The evolution and growth of Burmese literature and theatre continued, aided by an extremely high adult male literacy rate for the era (half of all males and 5% of females).[53] Nonetheless, the extent and pace of reforms were uneven and ultimately proved insufficient to stem the advance of British colonialism.
British Burma (1824–1948)
Main articles: British rule in Burma and Burma Campaign
Burma in British India
The landing of British forces in Mandalay after the last of the Anglo-Burmese Wars, which resulted in the abdication of the last Burmese monarch, King Thibaw Min.
British troops firing a mortar on the Mawchi road, July 1944.
The eighteenth century saw Burmese rulers, whose country had not previously been of particular interest to European traders, seek to maintain their traditional influence in the western areas of Assam, Manipur and Arakan. Pressing them, however, was the British East India Company, which was expanding its interests eastwards over the same territory. Over the next sixty years, diplomacy, raids, treaties and compromises continued until, after three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885), Britain proclaimed control over most of Burma.[54] British rule brought social, economic, cultural and administrative changes.
With the fall of Mandalay, all of Burma came under British rule, being annexed on 1 January 1886. Throughout the colonial era, many Indians arrived as soldiers, civil servants, construction workers and traders and, along with the Anglo-Burmese community, dominated commercial and civil life in Burma. Rangoon became the capital of British Burma and an important port between Calcutta and Singapore.
Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Yangon (Rangoon) on occasion all the way until the 1930s.[55] Some of the discontent was caused by a disrespect for Burmese culture and traditions such as the British refusal to remove shoes when they entered pagodas. Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement. U Wisara, an activist monk, died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike to protest against a rule that forbade him to wear his Buddhist robes while imprisoned.[56]
Separation of British Burma from British India
On 1 April 1937, Burma became a separately administered colony of Great Britain and Ba Maw the first Prime Minister and Premier of Burma. Ba Maw was an outspoken advocate for Burmese self-rule and he opposed the participation of Great Britain, and by extension Burma, in World War II. He resigned from the Legislative Assembly and was arrested for sedition. In 1940, before Japan formally entered the Second World War, Aung San formed the Burma Independence Army in Japan.
A major battleground, Burma was devastated during World War II. By March 1942, within months after they entered the war, Japanese troops had advanced on Rangoon and the British administration had collapsed. A Burmese Executive Administration headed by Ba Maw was established by the Japanese in August 1942. Wingate's British Chindits were formed into long-range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines.[57] A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders, followed the Chindits into the Burmese jungle in 1943.[58] Beginning in late 1944, allied troops launched a series of offensives that led to the end of Japanese rule in July 1945. The battles were intense with much of Burma laid waste by the fighting. Overall, the Japanese lost some 150,000 men in Burma. Only 1,700 prisoners were taken.[59]
Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese as part of the Burma Independence Army, many Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, served in the British Burma Army.[60] The Burma National Army and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942 to 1944 but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945. Under Japanese occupation, 170,000 to 250,000 civilians died.[61]
Following World War II, Aung San negotiated the Panglong Agreement with ethnic leaders that guaranteed the independence of Myanmar as a unified state. Aung Zan Wai, Pe Khin, Bo Hmu Aung, Sir Maung Gyi, Dr. Sein Mya Maung, Myoma U Than Kywe were among the negotiators of the historical Panglong Conference negotiated with Bamar leader General Aung San and other ethnic leaders in 1947. In 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Myanmar, a transitional government. But in July 1947, political rivals[62] assassinated Aung San and several cabinet members.[63]
Independence (1948–1962)
Main article: Post-independence Burma, 1948–62
British governor Hubert Elvin Rance and Sao Shwe Thaik at the flag raising ceremony on 4 January 1948 (Independence Day of Burma).
On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister. Unlike most other former British colonies and overseas territories, Burma did not become a member of the Commonwealth. A bicameral parliament was formed, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Nationalities,[64] and multi-party elections were held in 1951–1952, 1956 and 1960.
The geographical area Burma encompasses today can be traced to the Panglong Agreement, which combined Burma Proper, which consisted of Lower Burma and Upper Burma, and the Frontier Areas, which had been administered separately by the British.[65]
In 1961, U Thant, then the Union of Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations, a position he held for ten years.[66] Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was a young Aung San Suu Kyi (daughter of Aung San), who went on to become winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
When the non-Burman ethnic groups pushed for autonomy or federalism, alongside having a weak civilian government at the centre, the military leadership staged a coup d’état in 1962. Though incorporated in the 1947 Constitution, successive military governments construed the use of the term ‘federalism’ as being anti-national, anti-unity and pro-disintegration.[67]
Military rule (1962–2011)
On 2 March 1962, the military led by General Ne Win took control of Burma through a coup d'état, and the government has been under direct or indirect control by the military since then. Between 1962 and 1974, Myanmar was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by the general. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalised or brought under government control under the Burmese Way to Socialism,[68] which combined Soviet-style nationalisation and central planning.
A new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974. Until 1988, the country was ruled as a one-party system, with the General and other military officers resigning and ruling through the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP).[69] During this period, Myanmar became one of the world's most impoverished countries.[70]
Protesters gathering in central Rangoon, 1988.
There were sporadic protests against military rule during the Ne Win years and these were almost always violently suppressed. On 7 July 1962, the government broke up demonstrations at Rangoon University, killing 15 students.[68] In 1974, the military violently suppressed anti-government protests at the funeral of U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976, and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force.[69]
In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the 8888 Uprising. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General Saw Maung staged a coup d'état and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalised plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989.[71] SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989.
In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years and the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 492 seats (i.e., 80% of the seats). However, the military junta refused to cede power[72] and continued to rule the nation as SLORC until 1997, and then as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) until its dissolution in March 2011.
Protesters in Yangon during the 2007 Saffron Revolution with a banner that reads non-violence: national movement in Burmese. In the background is Shwedagon Pagoda.
On 23 June 1997, Myanmar was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana in November 2005, officially named the new capital Naypyidaw, meaning "city of the kings".[73]
Cyclone Nargis in southern Myanmar, May 2008.
In August 2007, an increase in the price of diesel and petrol led to the Saffron Revolution led by Buddhist monks that were dealt with harshly by the government.[74] The government cracked down on them on 26 September 2007. The crackdown was harsh, with reports of barricades at the Shwedagon Pagoda and monks killed. There were also rumours of disagreement within the Burmese armed forces, but none was confirmed. The military crackdown against unarmed protesters was widely condemned as part of the international reactions to the Saffron Revolution and led to an increase in economic sanctions against the Burmese Government.
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused extensive damage in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division.[75] It was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history with reports of an estimated 200,000 people dead or missing, damage totalled to 10 billion US dollars, and as many as 1 million left homeless.[76] In the critical days following this disaster, Myanmar's isolationist government was accused of hindering United Nations recovery efforts.[77] Humanitarian aid was requested but concerns about foreign military or intelligence presence in the country delayed the entry of United States military planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies.[78]
In early August 2009, a conflict known as the Kokang incident broke out in Shan State in northern Myanmar. For several weeks, junta troops fought against ethnic minorities including the Han Chinese,[79] Wa, and Kachin.[80][81] During 8–12 August, the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians fled to Yunnan province in neighbouring China.[80][81][82]
Civil wars
Main articles: Internal conflict in Myanmar, Kachin Conflict, Karen conflict, and 2015 Kokang offensive
Civil wars have been a constant feature of Myanmar's socio-political landscape since the attainment of independence in 1948. These wars are predominantly struggles for ethnic and sub-national autonomy, with the areas surrounding the ethnically Bamar central districts of the country serving as the primary geographical setting of conflict. Foreign journalists and visitors require a special travel permit to visit the areas in which Myanmar's civil wars continue.[83]
In October 2012, the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar included the Kachin conflict,[84] between the Pro-Christian Kachin Independence Army and the government;[85] a civil war between the Rohingya Muslims, and the government and non-government groups in Rakhine State;[86] and a conflict between the Shan,[87] Lahu, and Karen[88][89] minority groups, and the government in the eastern half of the country. In addition, al-Qaeda signalled an intention to become involved in Myanmar. In a video released on 3 September 2014, mainly addressed to India, the militant group's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said al-Qaeda had not forgotten the Muslims of Myanmar and that the group was doing "what they can to rescue you".[90] In response, the military raised its level of alertness, while the Burmese Muslim Association issued a statement saying Muslims would not tolerate any threat to their motherland.[91]
Armed conflict between ethnic Chinese rebels and the Myanmar Armed Forces have resulted in the Kokang offensive in February 2015. The conflict had forced 40,000 to 50,000 civilians to flee their homes and seek shelter on the Chinese side of the border.[92] During the incident, the government of China was accused of giving military assistance to the ethnic Chinese rebels. Burmese officials have been historically "manipulated" and pressured by the Chinese government throughout Burmese modern history to create closer and binding ties with China, creating a Chinese satellite state in Southeast Asia.[93] However, uncertainties exist as clashes between Burmese troops and local insurgent groups continue.
Democratic reforms
Main article: 2011–12 Burmese political reforms
The goal of the Burmese constitutional referendum of 2008, held on 10 May 2008, is the creation of a "discipline-flourishing democracy". As part of the referendum process, the name of the country was changed from the "Union of Myanmar" to the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar", and general elections were held under the new constitution in 2010. Observer accounts of the 2010 election describe the event as mostly peaceful; however, allegations of polling station irregularities were raised, and the United Nations (UN) and a number of Western countries condemned the elections as fraudulent.[94]
U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Aung San Suu Kyi and her staff at her home in Yangon, 2012
The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party declared victory in the 2010 elections, stating that it had been favoured by 80 percent of the votes; however, the claim was disputed by numerous pro-democracy opposition groups who asserted that the military regime had engaged in rampant fraud.[95][96] One report documented 77 percent as the official turnout rate of the election.[95] The military junta was dissolved on 30 March 2011.
Opinions differ whether the transition to liberal democracy is underway. According to some reports, the military's presence continues as the label "disciplined democracy" suggests. This label asserts that the Burmese military is allowing certain civil liberties while clandestinely institutionalising itself further into Burmese politics. Such an assertion assumes that reforms only occurred when the military was able to safeguard its own interests through the transition—here, "transition" does not refer to a transition to a liberal democracy, but transition to a quasi-military rule.[97]
Since the 2010 election, the government has embarked on a series of reforms to direct the country towards liberal democracy, a mixed economy, and reconciliation, although doubts persist about the motives that underpin such reforms. The series of reforms includes the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission, the granting of general amnesties for more than 200 political prisoners, new labour laws that permit labour unions and strikes, a relaxation of press censorship, and the regulation of currency practices.[98]
The impact of the post-election reforms has been observed in numerous areas, including ASEAN's approval of Myanmar's bid for the position of ASEAN chair in 2014;[99] the visit by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December 2011 for the encouragement of further progress, which was the first visit by a Secretary of State in more than fifty years,[100] during which Clinton met with the Burmese president and former military commander Thein Sein, as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi;[101] and the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the 2012 by-elections, facilitated by the government's abolition of the laws that previously barred the NLD.[102] As of July 2013, about 100[103][104] political prisoners remain imprisoned, while conflict between the Burmese Army and local insurgent groups continues.
Map of Myanmar and its divisions, including Shan State, Kachin State, Rakhine State and Karen State.
In 1 April 2012 by-elections, the NLD won 43 of the 45 available seats; previously an illegal organisation, the NLD had not won a single seat under new constitution. The 2012 by-elections were also the first time that international representatives were allowed to monitor the voting process in Myanmar.[105]
2015 general elections
Main article: Myanmar general election, 2015
General elections were held on 8 November 2015. These were the first openly contested elections held in Myanmar since 1990. The results gave the National League for Democracy an absolute majority of seats in both chambers of the national parliament, enough to ensure that its candidate would become president, while NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency.[106]
The new parliament convened on 1 February 2016[107] and, on 15 March 2016, Htin Kyaw was elected as the first non-military president since the military coup of 1962.[108] On 6 April 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the newly created role of State Counsellor, a role akin to a Prime Minister.
Geography
Main article: Geography of Myanmar
A map of Myanmar
Myanmar map of Köppen climate classification.
Myanmar has a total area of 678,500 square kilometres (262,000 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 9° and 29°N, and longitudes 92° and 102°E. As of February 2011, Myanmar consisted of 14 states and regions, 67 districts, 330 townships, 64 sub-townships, 377 towns, 2,914 Wards, 14,220 village tracts and 68,290 villages.
Myanmar is bordered in the northwest by the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh and the Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh states of India. Its north and northeast border is with the Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan province for a Sino-Myanmar border total of 2,185 km (1,358 mi). It is bounded by Laos and Thailand to the southeast. Myanmar has 1,930 km (1,200 mi) of contiguous coastline along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to the southwest and the south, which forms one quarter of its total perimeter.[20]
In the north, the Hengduan Mountains form the border with China. Hkakabo Razi, located in Kachin State, at an elevation of 5,881 metres (19,295 ft), is the highest point in Myanmar.[109] Many mountain ranges, such as the Rakhine Yoma, the Bago Yoma, the Shan Hills and the Tenasserim Hills exist within Myanmar, all of which run north-to-south from the Himalayas.[110]
The mountain chains divide Myanmar's three river systems, which are the Irrawaddy, Salween (Thanlwin), and the Sittaung rivers.[111] The Irrawaddy River, Myanmar's longest river, nearly 2,170 kilometres (1,348 mi) long, flows into the Gulf of Martaban. Fertile plains exist in the valleys between the mountain chains.[110] The majority of Myanmar's population lives in the Irrawaddy valley, which is situated between the Rakhine Yoma and the Shan Plateau.
Administrative divisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of Myanmar
A clickable map of Burma/Myanmar exhibiting its first-level administrative divisions.
About this image
Myanmar is divided into seven states (ပြည်နယ်) and seven regions (တိုင်းဒေသကြီး), formerly called divisions.[112] Regions are predominantly Bamar (that is, mainly inhabited by the dominant ethnic group). States, in essence, are regions that are home to particular ethnic minorities. The administrative divisions are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into townships, wards, and villages.
Climate
Main article: Climate of Myanmar
The limestone landscape of Mon State.
Much of the country lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. It lies in the monsoon region of Asia, with its coastal regions receiving over 5,000 mm (196.9 in) of rain annually. Annual rainfall in the delta region is approximately 2,500 mm (98.4 in), while average annual rainfall in the Dry Zone in central Myanmar is less than 1,000 mm (39.4 in). The Northern regions of Myanmar are the coolest, with average temperatures of 21 °C (70 °F). Coastal and delta regions have an average maximum temperature of 32 °C (89.6 °F).[111]
Environment
Further information: Deforestation in Myanmar
Myanmar continues to perform badly in the global Environmental Performance Index (EPI) with an overall ranking of 153 out of 180 countries in 2016; among the worst in the South Asian region, only ahead of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The EPI was established in 2001 by the World Economic Forum as a global gauge to measure how well individual countries perform in implementing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The environmental areas where Myanmar performs worst (ie. highest ranking) are air quality (174), health impacts of environmental issues (143) and biodiversity and habitat (142). Myanmar performs best (ie. lowest ranking) in environmental impacts of fisheries (21), but with declining fish stocks. Despite several issues, Myanmar also ranks 64 and scores very good (ie. a high percentage of 93.73%) in environmental effects of the agricultural industry because of an excellent management of the nitrogen cycle.[114][115]
Wildlife
Myanmar's slow economic growth has contributed to the preservation of much of its environment and ecosystems. Forests, including dense tropical growth and valuable teak in lower Myanmar, cover over 49% of the country, including areas of acacia, bamboo, ironwood and Magnolia champaca. Coconut and betel palm and rubber have been introduced. In the highlands of the north, oak, pine and various rhododendrons cover much of the land.[116]
Heavy logging since the new 1995 forestry law went into effect has seriously reduced forest acreage and wildlife habitat.[117] The lands along the coast support all varieties of tropical fruits and once had large areas of mangroves although much of the protective mangroves have disappeared. In much of central Myanmar (the Dry Zone), vegetation is sparse and stunted.
Typical jungle animals, particularly tigers, occur sparsely in Myanmar. In upper Myanmar, there are rhinoceros, wild water buffalo, clouded leopard, wild boars, deer, antelope, and elephants, which are also tamed or bred in captivity for use as work animals, particularly in the lumber industry. Smaller mammals are also numerous, ranging from gibbons and monkeys to flying foxes. The abundance of birds is notable with over 800 species, including parrots, myna, peafowl, red junglefowl, weaverbirds, crows, herons, and barn owl. Among reptile species there are crocodiles, geckos, cobras, Burmese pythons, and turtles. Hundreds of species of freshwater fish are wide-ranging, plentiful and are very important food sources.[118] For a list of protected areas, see List of protected areas of Myanmar.
Government and politics
Main article: Politics of Myanmar
Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw)
The constitution of Myanmar, its third since independence, was drafted by its military rulers and published in September 2008. The country is governed as a parliamentary system with a bicameral legislature (with an executive President accountable to the legislature), with 25% of the legislators appointed by the military and the rest elected in general elections.
My younger brother and I have a long running dispute with our youngest brother that has saddened the whole family for nine years.. I came across this and it spoke volumes to me:
The donkey said to the tiger, "The grass is blue"
The tiger replied, "No, the grass is green"
The discussion became heated, and the two decided to submit the issue to arbitration, so they approached the lion.
As they approached the lion on his throne, the donkey started screaming: ′′Your Highness, isn’t it true that the grass is blue?”
The lion replied: “If you believe it is true, the grass is blue.”
The donkey rushed forward and continued: ′′The tiger disagrees with me, contradicts me and annoys me. Please punish him.”
The king then declared: ′′The tiger will be punished with 9 years of silence.”
The donkey jumped with joy and went on his way, content and repeating ′′The grass is blue, the grass is blue…”
The tiger asked the lion, “Your Majesty, why have you punished me, after all, the grass is green?”
The lion replied, ′′You’ve known and seen the grass is green.”
The tiger asked, ′′So why do you punish me?”
The lion replied, “That has nothing to do with the question of whether the grass is blue or green. The punishment is because it is degrading for a brave, intelligent creature like you to waste time arguing with an ass, and on top of that, you came and bothered me with that question just to validate something you already knew was true!”
The biggest waste of time is arguing with the fool and fanatic who doesn’t care about truth or reality, but only the victory of his beliefs and illusions. Never waste time on discussions that make no sense. There are people who, for all the evidence presented to them, do not have the ability to understand. Others who are blinded by ego, hatred and resentment, and the only thing that they want is to be right even if they aren’t.
When IGNORANCE SCREAMS, intelligence moves on!
So endeth the lesson for three brothers.
Every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift.” ~Jessica Ghawi, Colorado shooting victim
Today, in the aftermath of the tragic Colorado shootings, I am reminded of just how fragile, and fleeting, life can be. How one minute, you can be sitting in your seat in a crowded movie theater, excitedly waiting for the film to start…and the next, hear shots ring out and see someone’s life in the seat right next to you end. It’s almost more than I can wrap my mind around. And though there aren’t enough words in the English language to properly convey my sense of sadness and loss on behalf of the victims, their families, and the town of Aurora…I hope that this incident, and victim Jessica Ghawi’s words above, will serve as a reminder to all of us to live life to the fullest, make each day count, and to appreciate every moment of every day that we are lucky enough to grace this earth. It seems that there is so much animosity in the world today…so much hatred, and anger, and unrest. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day drama of living. But when all is said and done, when everything else goes away, when we’re standing at the end of our lives, however long or short they may be…the only thing that REALLY matters is love. The people we love, the ones who love us, the love and kindness and compassion we show others, and the goodness we sew back into the world. As cliché as this old song can sometimes sound, when it comes right down to it, never has it been more true:
Today I urge you to LOVE. Love bigger, love better, love harder. Forgive old grievances and drop old resentments. Replace bitter with sweet. Show kindness to everyone you meet. Tell the person you’ve been too terrified to be honest with how you feel about them. You have absolutely NOTHING to lose, except fear.
Give your family extra hugs…yes, even the ones that drive you crazy…because in the end, they’re the only ones who matter. Do the thing you’ve been putting off. Don’t let something you meant to do become something you never did. Tell someone who changed your life thank you.
Life is for the living, not for the planning…so throw away your itinerary of what you think SHOULD happen and open yourself up the beauty of what COULD happen.
And as Jessica said in the quote above, a little over a month before she died, most of all, remember that “Every second of every day is a gift.”
Latest Musings
If I Could Have a Conversation With My Younger Self...
I think all of us have SOMETHING we wish we could travel back in time we could re do or re say
some will never get that chance, Jessica won't
will you, will I? Don't wait
Quote Taken From Single Woman
LOVE PASS IT FORWARD
billie
After five months of building, bookmarking individual steps of Vahki6′s instructions, and saving up to buy enough black pin-axles, I have finally fulfilled a childhood dream and built my favorite Dark Hunter.
“Lurker” is a highly-accomplished Dark Hunter assassin, charged primarily with assassinating enemy targets. Upon his indoctrination into the Dark Hunter organization, “Lurker” was issued with a sophisticated type of exomorphic armor designed to increase his natural endurance. This armor was equipped with noise-cancelling technology, levitation capabilities, and mechanical stingers, which were able to be operated as independent mechanical appendages.
Proving himself an especially prideful operative, “Lurker” often fancied himself as one of the most accomplished Dark Hunters, harboring feelings of intense resentment towards Toa. “Lurker” could be distinguished by his affinity for melee weaponry, favoring blades and claws over ranged projectile launchers. Despite this, the Dark Hunter has been known to use a Hagah Plasma Cannon when his assignments demand more pronounced destruction.
Life Before The Third Reich
Hall Display
Jewish Community Center
Tucson, Arizona, USA
Ten million Jews lived in Europe in the late 1930s
It was a continent overtaken by economic depression and racial/religious resentment.
Jews in Europe existed along a religious spectrum from strictly orthodox to highly secular; and along an economic spectrum from the crushing poverty of the vast majority to a small well to do elite of successful entrepreneurs.
- IMG_6989 - Version 2
2 humans, 2 bicycles, 2 picnic tables.
Couple taking a bike break on the seawall in Hugh Taylor Birch State Park.
And the history of the park from the "Friends of Birch State Park" website:
The park’s Contemporary History begins at the point of contact between Europeans and Native Americans.
Ponce de Leon “discovered” Florida for Europe in 1513 as he returned from a number of brutal conquests in the “New World.” Archeological evidence suggests local sites among the sea grapes as the first Spanish contact with Florida. Fresh water was a tremendous find for the seafarers. The fragmented Coastal Dune Lakes that still exist within the park were a treasure pull for everything from wildlife to humans.
It took Spain nearly 100 years of failed attempts to take foothold on the peninsula of Florida. The original tribes of Florida, which numbered in a couple dozen, had learned first-hand about the slaving trade mitigated throughout the Caribbean and Central America. Spanish ships were nearly always met with a war party on our Florida coastline.
Once Spain took hold of the peninsula, there were two centuries of European battle for ownership of Florida shifting between Spain and Britain (with some French influence). Eventually the then “territory” was shifted to the young United States. Florida was a remote outpost accessible by sea with activity centering around Key West and the Port of Miami.
Roughly the same time that the Seminoles began to arrive in what was eventually to become Broward County (first it was to become Dade and Palm Beach Counties roughly dividing the territory in half), two families arrived and set up homes along the New River—the Lewis family (Carles or Surlie and Frankee Lewis)and the Robbins family, who had arrived in Florida from the Bahamas.
The First Seminole War (1814 to 1819) coincides with the Spanish Crown ceding the territory to the United States in 1821. Several years earlier, tensions had been inflamed between the colonists and the Seminole Indians relating to General Andrew Jackson’s attack and destruction of Negro Fort in Florida in 1816. Jackson also attacked the Spanish at Pensacola killing over 350 people. Ultimately, the Spanish Crown ceded the colony to United States rule. The British had had also enlisted many native people to resist the U.S. army. Resentment had further grown between the tribes for a number of reasons, including the Creek Wars that had ended in 1814 pushing many native further south to join as the Seminole people.
In 1821 The Adams-Onis Treaty – between Spain and the United States ceded Florida to the United States in exchange for U.S. forfeiture of a $5 million debt owed by Spain. Florida became a U.S. Territory.
The Second Seminole War was from 1835 to 1842: It largely resulted from further frustration from a series of continued broken treaties and removal acts prompted by the US Government on the Seminole people. Osceola arose as one of the most powerful forces of resistance against the US interests.
1845 – Florida becomes the 27th State in the Union.
1847 – Hugh Taylor Birch was born on August 2, 1847.
1854 – August – Secretary of War Jefferson Davis initiated a program to force the Seminole into a final conflict (more initiatives to force them to leave Florida). The plan included a trade embargo against them, the survey and sale of land in southern Florida (currently reservation land) to European-American settlers, and a stronger Army presence to protect the new settlers.
1855 – 1858 – The Third Seminole War.
1861 – Florida secedes from the Union, Civil War begins. Florida coast blockaded by Union Navy.
In 1876, the U.S. Life Saving Service built “Houses of Refuge” for shipwrecked sailors. These Houses of Refuge were staffed usually be a family. Local archeologists suggest that the Service mistakenly built the House of Refuge on what is now Hugh Taylor Birch State Park property. Surveys have not been made to date. The idea for these Houses of Refuge was to provide a string of un-staffed shelter-shacks along the coast for those who came ashore.
Hugh Taylor Birch was a Chicago attorney and legal counsel for Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. In the early 1890s, he had traveled by rail to Titusville, the end of the line, and rented a sloop to make his way further down the Atlantic Coast. A storm forced him ashore at an inlet called Lake Mabel. He loved the area’s stark beauty and it’s isolation even more. Mr.Birch was a bit of an eccentric and did not like crowds, and this new Florida life style appealed to him.
In 1893, Mr. Birch was inspired by Henry Flagler’s exposition at the Chicago World Fair on “Florida.” He had been “in the business” to buy more property in a remote area. He traveled to Titusville, Florida, rented a small sail boat and sailed down the coastline. Being forced inland from an oncoming storm, he took shelter in the House of Refuge that had been constructed near the New River inlet. Here is where Mr. Birch found the property that he described as, “the most beautiful that I have seen on all of my travels.”
In 1894 Mr. Birch returned to Florida with business partner McGregor Adams. The two men began purchase of their first oceanfront property parcels in what is now Fort Lauderdale. Some suggest that some of this land sold for less than $1.00 per acre. Other acreage sold for more, but in today’s standards of prime realestate there is no comparison.
In 1896, Henry Flagler’s railroad connected Miami with Jacksonville and the North. Six years later, the railroad reached Key West. In 1911, the City of Fort Lauderdale was incorporated. Lake Mabel later became Port Everglades.
In 1919, his daughter married a Chicago artist of some note: Frederic Clay Bartlett. As a wedding present, Mr. Birch gifted the newlyweds thirty acres from his Florida estate. Here they build the magnificent Bonnet House, just south of the park’s location. He continued to winter with them until he had his most recent beach-front home, built in 1940 on his remaining land to the north. That house now serves as the park’s Terramar Visitor Center and meeting place for the Friends of Birch State Park.
Much history transpired from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century, but eventually the properties of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park and the Bonnet House became more and more defined amidst an abrupt urban development. The property which is now Hugh Taylor Birch State Park he called “Terramar” which is a play upon words meaning land and sea. In 1940 Mr. Birch built his final winter home, The Terramar Estate, which can be found as the historical iconic building in the State park today.
Thanks to the generous donation of Hugh Taylor Birch, the 180-acre Birch State Park will remain an Island Paradise in the middle of urban Fort Lauderdale. The park contains several natural areas including mangrove swamp, hardwood hammock, beach, and coastal dune lake system. It is home to many threatened and endangered plant and animal species. This green oasis provides for excellent environmental education and nature study opportunities as well as resource-based recreational opportunities such as walking, running, canoeing, biking, fishing, inline skating, picnicking and beach swimming.
Tai Chi
: an ancient Chinese discipline of meditative movements practiced as a system of exercises —called also tai chi chuan, t'ai chi ch'uan \-chü-ˈän\
Driving through town on brilliant, crisp Tuesday morning; I came across this gentleman doing Tai Chi, in Wyman Park. I watched for a few minutes and was taken in by the slow and tranquil movements. Now given that Tai Chi was developed as a martial art, translated as "supreme ultimate boxing"; I realized the need for peace and balance within ourselves, as we fight for the same in the world. Resist the call of anger & resentment, as we resist the forces trying to throw the world out of balance. In other words, take care of yourself and those around you.
As always contact me for all your image needs.
gerry@gerrychase.com
Music: Right Click and select "Open link in new tab"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp017Crrx7I
Love will tear us apart - The Swans
When routine bites hard
And ambitions are low
And resentment rides high
But emotions won't grow
And we're changing our ways, taking different roads
www.flickr.com/photos/genefreeman/51808907911/in/photostr...
АNNO 1971
...in personal approximation
and search of single quantum of freedom
to Exist, as personality of Individual, as being
me-Myself in all aspects as resonance
of binding positive emotions to be degraded
and trans-mutated from the norm
of being Human, and independent member of
Human race existed with out stated theorem,
or critical re-marks with out its collectively
dysfunctional chimera, object, model of named
sublimed such "persona incognito non-grata" -
I missed my train again, and run and run anew
through their vigilant totalitarian sharp eyes of the
control, dictating me and everyone including you,
in every fragmentary aspect that I can't,
and what I should, or must I do by their tyrannic
"Do!" command from Party far above, controlling ego,
brain, plus consciousness and Will in their armful
sweaty, hairy hands by digging, sorting and
Personality and Dreams, and reliability behavior
of Subject, by their model-built ability to smash
and kill, and such regime presents Commissars'
politically manifested force, its pointer, political
and total supervision and power to oppress,
to hold securely, suppress and to control
not only by the strength of my hands:
the most important to hold in iron vise the Will,
and brains, of mine and others, by bending
under their yoke, and breaking by a force
free moments and dynamics of free Will,
because:
"The Party is the Helmsman, and Honor
and Conscience" of all the People,
(which is the punch-line of Marxist manifesto!)
and to suppress me in their effort to be my-self,
by forcing by Decrees to think, to dance and
to express according "as bequeathed" by their
bloodies and greatest leaders at behest of
Karla-maxa, having shot a-mass, infected all
by Spanish-flu, and forcing mass to starve by
shortages of food, and mass-repressing entire
nation by iron-fist of "Red-Terror" under
convoy to underground mines and all Siberian taiga,
too-too! to deadly frozen Solovki, and Kolyma, and everywhere to omni-potent monstrous GULAG,
and each of bloody labor camps, exterminating life
as if at "Eastern Front", according to manifested
"quarantine" decrees, and totalitarian mandates
that deadly changed my Mother's life
and consciousness of her to Null-and-zero...
All those agitators, activists and party's leaders
being armed with Marxian indoctrination
against legality of Owners' capital to take away,
for which extortion I Per-se objected and gave up my citizenship by naivete for illusory Freedom to be my-self
in own volume of modest thoughts and Soul,
were running through the cinder Post-and-block, and
through rails and ways to history unfortunate in
its entirety to replicate "It-self", to move away from
history and set of lost ago in vanished Past initial,
abolished points been flowing from the basin "A" into arbitrary set of "B" inherent in stream off fluid where
eyes shaped these Water flocks, and rather
upon further fast attraction to alphabet
washed up me on the shores of flooded,
but still bucolic Vienna already prematurely
aborted and deserted without crowd and
without pillars in arms of euphoria of jubilation
and Yugends, Folks, and such enthusiastic
as it never happened before, almost emptiness,
approaching Spring has been already swept
away a remnant snow from so shiny pavements
with admiration raged, forgetting firmly ringing
echo of horseshoes and steps-chased by
lacquered boots from such unknown always
returning cycle "Again"...
And many trees by losing their leaves spelled
uttered silent whisper "I'm sorry ..." for those
years that have passed since sad resentment,
however, all fat muzzles were devoured, growing
as it should be, two hanging navels, almost like
ham in color of their shiny eyes, showcases,
and counters with "pillar-to-eat", deserted
streets without helpful taxis-cabs,
without marching nurses and rallies with poster:
"I want to live like my Dear-Soviet nurse!"
brainwashed by propaganda off,
O, you F...en-naive-Ladies! for my three
grosh-a-pennies, yes! for a salary at night
emergent over-loaded rooms by pain
were brought in shifts to Ob-Gyn floor at midnight
by "miscarriage-patients" full-filled all night by
unfortunate poor predominantly working-class
young Females from all the outskirts of One-million
city in my forgotten days - they brought all those from
exhaustive overwork, and losing lives of premature
life-less macerated fetuses, and endless repetition
of tragic losses was also communal Soviet way of
communistic Life, the only thing perhaps
"uniquely fair", and so roams pain raking
tribute to Marxist regime from Near Mills
"to-opposite" behind the fence and cemetery's
gates without an escort, along the graves
without "Peace" ...
But in that Vienna stood a market with
all essential for me The Books, on Lingos far
before my birthday lost-forgotten, and from
the Soviet period hunger ripples to this day
stands before my eyes,
but there was no penny to dive into the revelry
of the abundance of pages still unread...
Additionally, there is exists a first impression.
almost invisible as feeling, rather an epiphany,
from first firmness of independent steps,
even before of reading all the whiteness of
folios, and pages, and other things, as pledge
of my foundation upon the Snow-First of virgin
in the midst of fright! of course delight that
foot of mine steps upon so firmly on something
covered with thick and many! white! by childish
standards still subject to transmutation by
energies of Hope emitted
through thousands of days of expectation,
that fundamentally intrinsic a-la dim Dream
between initial and current, but still a Dream...
Yes, the sum of expectations still old and left
in similarity of sled about mountain from
those Past remaining since, as if in depths upon
Neuronal bundles and transmitters conducting
impulses to cortex Consciousness formation,
and within the Cortex and structures deep
between admitted that I am only a particle
of Your majestic Greatness,
and in the miserliness of this phenomenon
does not diminish belongings and flesh
and crumbs the course of thought
to realize my-Self just as elementary particle...
(Night-Shift-ER-Gyn-Obs, 1971 начато, 2022 доработано, неокончено)
Il terzo Chakra si localizza nel plesso solare; esso è legato alla nostra capacità di organizzare e di mettere in pratica le nostre idee e di gestire con efficacia i nostri confini.
Quando è iperattivo il soggetto è dotato di un’eccesso di aggressività; quando, al contrario, è scarsamente attivo, il soggetto cerca sempre di evitare la lite ma cova rancore a lungo, esplodendo poi in modo inappropriato quando “la goccia fa traboccare il vaso pieno”.
The third chakra is localized in the solar plexus, it is tied to our ability to organize and implement our ideas and to manage our BOUNDARIES.
When the subject is hyperactive with an excess of aggression, and when, by contrast, is poorly active, the subject is always trying to avoid the dispute but brooding resentment for a long time, then exploding in an inappropriate manner when "the straw breaks the camel full ".
Se abbiamo notato i segnali spia dell’aggressività nascosta, siamo caduti nella trappola del sorriso arrabbiato, un atteggiamento che ci porta a reprimere le emozioni negative comportandoci come se nulla ci avesse scalfito. Controllare la rabbia è importante ma il modo giusto per raggiungere l’autocontrollo non è reprimendo quello che proviamo. Covare rancore, nascondere il nostro risentimento ci porterà ad implodere energie negative, allontanandoci dall’equilibrio e compromettendo i rapporti con gli altri.
Se ci stiamo chiedendo come sfogare la rabbia repressa è già un buon segno perché stiamo ammettendo di avere un problema ad esprimere le nostre emozioni. Non sempre è colpa nostra. Ci insegnano che alcune emozioni sono negative, la rabbia in primis. In realtà di negativo c’è solo non buttarle fuori e non imparare a conviverci, ad affrontarle.
Ma non sfoghiamo la rabbia in modo autodistruttivo.....giù la mani dalla Nutella!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of my favorite movies is, "The Breakup" starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston. It's a really funny take on how (most) relationships devolve into hostility and resentment.
There were no dogs in the movie, however, me taking this photo reminded me of a sarcastic remark that Jennifer's character made to Vince's character as the relationship was nearing its end.
On another note, my hands were FREEZING out there on that boardwalk.
I greatly admire those who make crease patterns into art. I've seen paintings and casts and laser wood burnings and soccer fields.... But what if we folded the crease patterns?
Unboxes are traditionally used to hold abstract concepts, much as magnetic bottles are used to hold plasma. As you can see, this one is full of Invincible Ignorance. Tomorrow, I'm going to buy some Implacable Resentment and put that in there. And, if there's still room, some Bootless Rage. (I love Bootless Rage, don't you?)
After five months of building, bookmarking individual steps of Vahki6′s instructions, and saving up to buy enough black pin-axles, I have finally fulfilled a childhood dream and built my favorite Dark Hunter.
“Lurker” is a highly-accomplished Dark Hunter assassin, charged primarily with assassinating enemy targets. Upon his indoctrination into the Dark Hunter organization, “Lurker” was issued with a sophisticated type of exomorphic armor designed to increase his natural endurance. This armor was equipped with noise-cancelling technology, levitation capabilities, and mechanical stingers, which were able to be operated as independent mechanical appendages.
Proving himself an especially prideful operative, “Lurker” often fancied himself as one of the most accomplished Dark Hunters, harboring feelings of intense resentment towards Toa. “Lurker” could be distinguished by his affinity for melee weaponry, favoring blades and claws over ranged projectile launchers. Despite this, the Dark Hunter has been known to use a Hagah Plasma Cannon when his assignments demand more pronounced destruction.
Yesterday, Christmas was celebrated in Nazareth. I was invited on a press tour for journalists to see what was happening and to talk with Arabs in Nazareth.
Nazareth, like Haifa, has a very mixed society: Arab Christians, Arab Muslims, Jews, and many Russian-speaking immigrants. All the Arabs we met yesterday said the same thing: we are happy to live in Israel; we just want to be equal, we want to develop our culture, we want to cooperate. We want to be equal members of society.
There is no apartheid in Israel. But I cannot say that everything is smooth. I am an immigrant here. I do not feel like a stranger, but I also cannot say that I have fully integrated into Israeli society. First of all, because of the language. I already speak and understand a little Hebrew, but it is not enough. The immigrant’s bread is hard. It is truly a trial—when, at one moment, you are thrown out of your country where you lived, where you had friends, relatives, and housing, after all. You did not prepare for emigration. You did not have money set aside for it. I am not complaining, but I would like to state clearly that emigration is a hard thing, especially forced emigration.
As for Arabs, I understand them very well. They have resentment toward Jews—historically formed. At the same time, over and over again I see how, even in the police, all nationalities are mixed: a Jewish police officer in a kippah hugs an Arab police officer and says to him, “akhi, brother, how are you?” But the millennia-old conflict on this land cannot be erased. There is always war in Israel. I am new here and trying to understand what is happening. There is also conflict between Arab Christians and Arab Muslims.
Nevertheless, both in Haifa and in Nazareth, the population is mixed, and despite grievances, people live quite peacefully. Jews have their own grievances toward Arabs—some distrust and a constant expectation of terrorist attacks. This was discussed a lot yesterday. It was said that one of the most important ways to build friendship is education: providing good education from childhood and raising the standard of living. When you are educated, when you have a purpose in life and an interesting job, you will not go and commit a terrorist attack; you will not become a suicide bomber. Israeli universities have quotas for Arabs, and many Arab school graduates enter medical universities—and that is very good.
Sorry for the long text. As a person who had to leave Moscow because of the war unleashed by Putin and move to Israel, where a war unleashed by Hamas began, I keep thinking about how all these conflicts could be resolved. And apart from the thought make the world around you better, I have no other answers—except help your neighbor, help whoever you can, or at least do no harm. Merry Christmas to all those celebrating, with greetings from the Holy Land.
Dati Tecnici
a) Leica M8 + Leica Apo Summicron M 90mm f.2,0 Asph. 6bit;
b) Tempo 1/125s con apertura a f.2,8 (a mano libera);
c) Lettura Esposimetrica con Gossen Lunalite;
d) Conversione con Adobe Photoshop CS3;
e) 1°/a Post-Produzione Corel Photo-Paint X5;
f) Post-Produzione di completamento con Nikon Capture NX 2.
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Mio breve Curriculum Vitae: - My Brief Curriculum Vitae:
Luigi Mirto/ArchiMlFotoWord Profilo Linkedin
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Ascoltare il suono del silenzio.....
Listening to the sound of silence .....
.
.
.
oltre quel riflesso….
.
….chiudi la porta
in questo delirante vuoto,
tu,… hai deciso tutto,
aiutami ad uscire da qui,
poi, senza un motivo apparente
annaspi nelle ipotesi,
aiutami a comprenderti
devo trovare una ragione
…..aiutami a guardare
con la tua mente.
E rimane sempre li….
ogni dolore, ogni finta gioia.
Pietre, macerie, alberi spezzati
il cuore a pezzi, una vita distrutta
…..quella strada è sempre uguale
come un binario che
conduce ad una meta…
….l’infinito,
quell’infinito senza fine.
Cancellare le certezze
degli inganni, il declino
della stupidità del risentimento
nel pentagramma della vita.
Ci sono note che
risuonano nella memoria
ti sconvolgono con rabbia,
con delusione, vissute come
se fossero le ultime ore
di una vita,
di quella vita vuota che
si riflette in uno specchio,
un riflesso sbiadito,
…. ti prego
guarda oltre,….
oltre quel riflesso….
di questa falsa vita.
…………………………..Luigi Mirto
.
.
beyond that reflection......
.
….close the door
in this delusional emptiness,
you, ... you've decided everything,
help me get out of here
then, for no apparent reason
reel in the hypothesis,
help me understand you
I have to find a reason
... ..help me look
with your mind.
And it always remains there ....
every pain, every false joy.
Stones, rubble, broken trees
the heart in pieces, a life destroyed
... .. that road is always the same
like a track that
leads to a goal ...
.... infinity,
that endless infinity.
Delete certainties
of deception, the decline
of the stupidity of resentment
in the pentagram of life.
There are notes that
they resound in the memory
they upset you with anger,
with disappointment, experienced as
if they were the last hours
of a life,
of that empty life that
It is reflected in a mirror,
a faded reflection,
.... please
look over,….
beyond that reflection ...
of this false life.
.............................. .. Luigi Mirto
.
.
Luigi Mirto/ArchiMlFotoWord's most interesting photos on Flickriver
"Why am I here, Otto?" Felicia asked, curious as to why she was summoned here, of all places. The lair of one Doctor Otto Octavius. More specifically, his office.
"It's Doctor Octavius to you, Ms. Hardy. And I don't know, you tell me. You came here of your own accord... To tell your story to secure a place in the plan. A plan that gives us that cursed arachnid on a silver platter. If you don't want to join--" Octavius replied, gently tapping the table with one of his tentacles.
"Right, no, I get that. I meant, why this office? Don't you think it's a little dull? That it could use more of a lavish touch." She replied, looking around the office.
"You have the audacity to come in here and insult my décor!" Octavius answered, growing slightly agitated. His tentacles were ready to attack at a moment's notice. Thankfully, the doctor was able to restrain himself, calming down moments later.
"I'm just saying, I've stolen from some of the wealthiest people in New York. There's nothing valuable here." Felicia acknowledged as she readjusted her sitting position.
"To you, perhaps... Which, in all honesty, is for the best. To me, it's perfect just the way it is." Octavius remarked, a small smile spreading across his face as he admired his handiwork.
After a moment of silence, the doctor spoke up once more.
"But enough with the pleasantries . Let's get on with the story." Octavius insisted, looking rather impatient.
"If you insist." Felicia simply replied, leaning back in her seat as she began her story.
---------------------------------
There it was.. The cat's-eye sapphire, shining brightly in its case. I knew from the moment I saw it that it had to be mine. Unfortunately, it was part of Wilson Fisk's private collection, which meant high security. But you know me, the harder the score, the more thrilling it is to pull it off. I always thought Fisk was more of an art guy. I guess that's mostly due to his wife's influence. Even the Kingpin of Crime can branch out and dabble in other prospective endeavors. I'm sure he won't mind me taking this off his hands. Not that I really care either way. If I'm being honest, he deserves far worse than this.
---------------------------------
"Cat's-eye sapphire? Even for you, it's a little on the nose." Otto commented, interrupting the story.
"That's rich, coming from you, Doctor Octopus... " She replied in a mocking tone.
"I didn't choose my name! Why doesn't anyone understand that?" Octavius lamented, before continuing. "Either way, what does this have to do with the wall-crawler?"
"You wanted the whole story, right? Be patient, Otto.. I'm getting to that.."
"Again, it's Octavius to you." The doctor muttered, but Felicia ignored him. She then continued her story, skipping over 'irrelevant details'.
---------------------------------
So, there I was... I had successfully exited the compound with the jewel in my hand. I was getting ready to make my great escape off the roof, when my cat sense started tingling. Instinctively, I place the jewel safely inside my backpack.
---------------------------------
"Cat sense? Is this a recent development? I don't recall that being one of your abilities." Octavius asked, curiously.
"You know what they say about curiosity and cats, don't you, Doc? I'm not looking to lose any more of my nine lives right now." Felicia replied, noticing Octavius' newfound interest.
"Yes, I'm aware... Curiosity killed the cat. Ha ha, so very amusing... He replied sarcastically before continuing his train of thought. "Could you elaborate on this cat sense, nonetheless?"
"Sure, I guess... A cat sense. Like how Spider has his sixth sense, I have mine." Felicia paused for dramatic effect. The doctor leaned in, intrigued. "It's called a woman's intuition." Felicia laughed, clearly amused, as she toyed with Doctor Octavius.
It's at this point that the doctor lowered his head in disappointment.
"Hey, you asked! Now, can you please stop interrupting me?" Felicia insisted, to which the doctor nodded his head.
"My apologies. Continue." Octavius apologized, clearly feeling defeated as he went back to writing on his notepad.
---------------------------------
I turned around, and sure enough, there he was.
"Look who decided to come play. Along came a spider... Here I thought tonight would be all work and no fun." I say with a smile, as I walk towards the hero.
"Nice to see you too, Felicia. I wish I could say it was under better circumstances." He replies, taking a few steps back.
"That's all you have to say to me? C'mon Spider... I know you love this dance of ours just as much as I do."
"I don't make for much of a dance partner. After all, I've been told I have two left feet." Spider jokes, but I could tell something was off.
"Is that what the redhead tells you? What's her name again? Michelle?" I lied, knowing full well what her name was. Mary Jane Watson. The good girl ... The perfect one that Spider always ends up with. How could she ever do anything wrong? Unlike me, the bad influence. That's all I'll ever be known as. Unfortunately, even that didn't get much of a response from him.
"Mary Jane." He replies, correcting me.
"Mary Jane.. Right. Michelle, Mary Jane, close enough. Does she know you're here right now, with me?"
"No...-- Well, we're not exactly on speaking terms right now." He says this while looking out at the Manhattan skyline.
"Awh, is that why you're so down? You know, I can take your mind off it." I say, trying to console him. I place my hand on the right side of his mask.
"Uhhm, I'm sure you could. But as tempting as that is, I'm afraid I'll have to decline. Superhero rep to protect and all.. You get that, right? We don't need to give J Jonah Jameson more ammunition in his webhead manhunt." Spider responds, slightly embarrassed, as he leaps back and up onto an elevated section of the rooftop, now in a crouched position.
It looks as though, for once, Spider didn't miss leg day. He fills out that spandex quite nicely.
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"I don't need to hear you objectifying that cursed arachnid! There's no relevance there. Give me the story of how you almost got him, nothing more, nothing less." Octavius interrupted once more, growing increasingly frustrated.
"It's important for context." Felicia responded with a huge smirk on her face.
"Doubtful, but fine... Continue." Otto sighed, continuing to write on his notepad.
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"You know this won't end well. Going after Fisk like this." He says, warning me, but it falls on deaf ears.
" After everything he's done... To you, me, and this city... He's got it coming." I reply, my voice seething with resentment.
"This isn't the way, Felicia. Deep down, you know that! I know your history with Fisk is complicated. But this will only make him angry. Are you really willing to risk a war with Wilson Fisk over a sapphire?"
"Heavy risk, but the prize... When it's this beautiful? Definitely." I pause for a few seconds before continuing, "Wait, are you worried about me?" I can feel myself getting slightly flustered over the thought.
"Is that really so surprising? Of course I am. I've seen firsthand what Fisk is capable of." Part of me gets disappointed when I hear that it's more about Fisk, than me.
"Are you saying I haven't?"
"No, I'm saying you're playing a dangerous game here, Felicia."
"You know as well as I do that I live for the danger."
"Yeah. I'm just afraid that this won't end well. Nine lives won't be enough to stop Fisk." He cautioned.
"It's cute, knowing that deep down, you do care. But I'll be just fine. I can take care of myself."
"A part of me will always care. Even though we're not together anymore, you're still important to me." He sighs. "That's why I can't let you do this. Please, just let me do this the right way!"
"How many times do I have to tell you, your way doesn't work ? Fisk, like all your foes, is free by day's end, every single time." I reply, slightly annoyed.
"Last chance, Felicia. Hand over the sapphire." He replies, trying his best to sound intimidating, while ignoring my criticism. But everything I've said is true. Whether Spider remains optimistic or not... Unfortunately, it won't stop him from trying to do the right thing .
"Oh, this little thing?" I ask, taunting him slightly by holding up the sapphire. "Sorry, but you know that's not happening. It looks like I've got to run. Catch me if you can, Spider." I winked at him, placing the jewel back in the backpack, before running towards the edge of the rooftop.
That's when one of our typical rooftop chases began. With him swinging after me as I leapt from rooftop to rooftop. Sometimes, I'd slow down just enough for him to catch up. He'd try to slow me down with his webs. It'd work, momentarily. Thankfully, my claws are sharp enough to cut through the webbing.
"You know, you can stop chasing me anytime now!" I say, looking over my shoulder, as I leap into the air, using my whip once more.
"I wouldn't have to chase you if you weren't running away!" He responds, thwipping and then tugging on my right foot with a webline. I hit the rooftop hard seconds later.
"If you wanted to play rough, you could've just asked!" I grunt, while still trying to recover from the impact of the fall.
"I'll be taking this! Yoink!" Spider exclaimed, yanking the backpack containing the sapphire with his webline.
"There's the Spider we all know and love." I say, biting my lip. Turning around, I ran towards him.
We exchange blows, from punches to kicks. Like usual, he's pulling his punches, but the ones that do land still hurt. Half of the fight is spent performing various acrobatics in an attempt to avoid the other. At one point, I managed to tackle him. My arms were holding his arms down, and my knees were on his chest.
He uses his webshooters to try to break free from the pin. But unfortunately for him, luck isn't on his side.
"Looks like you're out of webfluid. Talk about unlucky... Better luck next time." I say with a coy smile, leaning my face down, closer to his. I pull his mask up, so only his lips are exposed.
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"You're telling me that you had him pinned. You could've killed him right then and there. But you didn't?" Octavius interrupted for the final time.
"That's right." Felicia replied, nodding.
"Why? How could you possibly let that arachnid live?" Octavius asked, dumbfounded.
"Where's the fun in that? If I killed him, the dance would be over. And sorry, but I rather enjoy the dance me and Spider share."
"Clearly, this was a mistake. I gave you the benefit of the doubt, but you've completely wasted my time. Your shot at getting in is nonexistent."
"Kind of figured as much, thanks. I won't lose sleep over not getting into your sad little revenge club."
"Why show up if you knew you weren't interested?" Octavius questioned.
"I was bored, and I had some time to kill. Also, I was curious to see whose asses Spider will be kicking in a few weeks, whenever this plan of yours comes to fruition. Even if you're only locked up for a couple days... That, and I wanted to see how much I could rile you up. Since you know, I haven't forgotten about the time you punched me in the face... Costed me a tooth. Back when you were masquerading as Spider. The nerve you had doing that... I can't wait to see this Six flop like all the others." Felicia mused before leaving Octavius' office.
"This will be an excruciatingly long day." Octavius muttered to himself as the next applicant entered, coming from the waiting room.
The Doctor's electrifying search continues in INTERVIEW WITH AN OCTOPUS: ELECTRO!
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ZEN Story
A professor wandered far into the mountains to visit a famous Zen monk. When the professor had found him, he introduced himself politely, called all of his academic title and asked for instruction.
'Do you want tea? " asked the monk. Yes, gladly, "said the professor. The old monk gave a tea. The cup was full, but the monk gave a further, until the tea overflowed and dripped on the table to the floor.
"Enough! cried the Professor '. Do not you see that the cup is already full? It goes into anything.
The monk replied: Like this cup you are full of your knowledge and your prejudices. To learn new things, you must first empty your cup.
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Documentation USA 1996 Jane Elliott, a former teacher from Iowa (USA), has for over 30 years, a committed fight against prejudice, ignorance and racism in their society.
Her "after the death of Martin Luther King. Began in 1968 with her pupils, she practiced today with teachers, students, firemen, or entire banking workforce.
In workshops, she shares the blue-eyed and brown-eyed man in the blue-eyed, and assigns all the bad qualities that are attached in our societies, blacks, immigrants, disabled people, gays, lesbians and women.
It explains the brown-eyed for better and smarter and provide them with privileges they the blue-eyed, which they dismissed as bad, inferior, and stupid is not granted. Many whites (especially men) for the first time, sensing the feeling of belonging to those who can never win, and being treated like how society treats women, blacks treated or people who are physically different. Within 15 minutes it succeeds Jane Elliott a microcosm of our society to create with all the phenomena and feelings, which also appear in reality.
Also, participants who know about the concept of the workshop can not ignore their role. The workshop will enable participants to recognize the effects of discrimination on structures in our societies. Purpose of the workshop is, according to Jane Elliott, for these people to sensiblisieren structures and to clarify that it is not enough to do nothing to combat racism.
"In order for racism, it is sufficient for good men to do nothing." (Jane Elliott) This film about Jane Elliott and her workshop concept was shot by the filmmakers Bertram Verhaag Munich 1995 in the United States and shows parts of a workshop, part of presentations and interviews with Jane Elliott who can invite remains to offer their workshop and to report about their experiences.
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∎ YouTube: brown eye blue eye, Jane Elliott
∎ Wikipedia: Jane Elliot
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Blue-eyed, stupid, rebellious
of Sannah Koch
"The week of 9 April 1998
Lessons about racism is to self-experiment in terms of discrimination
Anger, indignation, rebellion: The atmosphere in the classroom is to breaking point. Students bawl swear. Not all, only in the middle, forced squatting on the floor and on wobbly chairs, are applied. Quiet are the students who have taken on both sides comfortably. They must also wear no green collar, because they are brown-eyed - the smarter, more industrious, better people.
The blue-eyed people are behaving badly refuse to cooperate, oppose, are failures ... Practices, the coaches Jürgen Schlicher has predicted accurately. "Blue-eyed are stupid, lazy and rebellious. This is due to low melanin content of their eyes," he had said the brown-eyed students, "you will see it immediately when we call in it." The young people had given him some silent, others listened, shaking his head. Now they do, how to fulfill his prophecies.
Discrimination is now on the timetable of the Willy-Brandt-Secondary School in Hertford. The subject is taught is not theoretical, in the 9th Class is very practical and specifically discriminated against today. "Sit down, shut up, legs together!" This command starts for one half of the students of the Monday morning. wearing a green collar, the blue-eyed people are sent into an empty room. There they wait almost an hour. No one tells them why. After that hour they are ripe. And then - unknowingly meet - all the negative predictions.
No brainwashing, no cruelty to children, but a workshop called "Blue-Eyed experience" the real students. Here in Hertford, a small town in the Ruhr, the proportion of the Turkish people is as big as the resentment against them. "I have nothing against foreigners, but Turks are shit that make a bad always on", the default ruling of the 9th Class. Teacher Angela Winkelmann had tried to counter this attitude with the current educational concepts. They organized project weeks and courses. But her students went on strike. "They want to but simply that we talk positively about foreigners," they thought of her. Now the teacher the Marburg political scientist Jürgen Schlicher has signed on, which leaves the students experienced discrimination firsthand.
Schlicher received the brown-eyed in the classroom with juice and biscuits. Now he has made statements: "The problem with blue-eyed people is that they want to learn anything. You do not hear and forget everything immediately. "That was like blondes, a boy nods," they are also stupid. "
Then they are instructed in the rules: As a brown-eyed, they must not show solidarity with the other, offering no explanation. Otherwise, the degradation threatens the blue-eyed. For discrimination, "Schlicher said, go there to exercise power of a group. So should the top and bottom remain clearly separate. The one dictating the rules that others must abide by it: "We will expect your classmates for two hours, what other people have to endure a lifetime, not only foreigners but also the disabled, homosexuals, women."
The two groups sorted according to eye color to do the morning under entirely different conditions. The blue-eyed people remain uninformed and are disadvantaged at all. They see what it's like to be on the wrong side, no chance to ever have to win. The brown-eyed to see how willing they fit into the role of the privileged.
The American teacher Jane Elliott developed the "Blue-Eyed" concept 30 years ago. After the assassination of black civil rights leader Martin Luther King, they saw themselves confronted with the task of explaining to their pupils the white background of the assassination. They were never before encountered people with different skin color or social distress. Elliott recalled the Indian wisdom:
"Keep me not to condemn one another, not before I've run one mile in his moccasins."
The role play work. So much so resounding that Elliott their training today in the world performing, not only in schools and large companies but also with the U.S. Army and the Secret Service. 1997 Elliott trained seven coaches in Europe, Jürgen Schlicher by the Documentation and Information Centre on Racism Research in Marburg was one of them. Now he is "Blue-Eyed" in German schools.
The blue-eyed burst like a bomb into the classroom: Loud and aggressive, they refuse to place in their assigned seats to take. Schlicher reacts strict: His instructions are unfriendly but never aggressive. "Now you see it," he says over the heads, "Blue-eyed can not even sit down in rows of two. The blue-eyes bawl. The brownies react tense, uncomfortable. But none of muckt. Blue eye-Mike tries to be the first as a ringleader. Schlicher it has in the last row of chairs, "Oh, here you are playing the cool boss!" The boy is red and is quiet as a mouse. Other blue-eyed longer fight - against the statement, read posters ("Blue-eyed us take away the training courses, blue-eyed tend increasingly to crime"), on the other hand, is "to be dictated listening-session rules." Any misconduct will be commented: "Look at her! Blue-eyed can not even ..."
After a short time the whole class is divided: in the privileged, somewhat uneasily, but adapted to a large extent, and in the disadvantaged, a sometimes angry, sometimes despondent heap. Later it comes back and back to solidarity: Biscuits and water are served from behind, comforting and encouraging words whispered. But a common showdown fails to materialize.
After two hours ringing a Schlicher the final round: The young people are to write down how they felt and the others have noticed. After this is discussed. Many are angry, that their attitude of defiance does not. Others are more introspective. "That was the worst hour of my life," says Alexa. And the blue-eyed Peter, who has been through the exercise as a brown-eyed confesses: "I felt brown-eyed."
The blue-eyes are not only angry Schlicher, but also on the Brown: "They are still subordinated total, looked at us like dirt." The fight back: "We suck us felt watching it, like you treated." "And yet it worked," Schlicher said, her brown-eyed you can make me, and her blue-eyed people have remained despite the chicane in the room. " Not all Schlicher penetrates through with his statements. The leaders stay with their slogans and dominate the discussion.
Four weeks later, during post-round, however, the tide has turned. Now talk about the others. How much they are still angry about the fact that they have not stood by their friends. They tell of racist incidents that they have observed. They also talk about the conflicts between boys and girls in the class. Schlicher to question who believe to have learned something raise, nearly all of the finger.
Welcome aboard The Multidimensional Ship! Its observation deck is your entire perceptual reality. And it is now in motion. YOU are now in motion. If you only realized how fast you were going, you would probably feel a bit ill. In truth, many of you are currently experiencing signs and symptoms of what we call Global Acceleration Syndrome. We provide this title to honor your medical paradigm, even though it is not any kind of official medical diagnosis. Muscle aches and pains, lethargy, fatigue, spacey-ness, panic attacks, depression, insomnia, memory-loss, confusion---these are just a few of the uncomfortable side-effects produced by the incredible velocity at which you are traveling.
Your world appears to continue as it always has because YOUR MIND requires this in order to keep from flying apart. Your anxiety and hesitancies are the same feelings shared by those who sailed with Columbus. Bound for a new world, they trembled as they sailed, believing their world to be flat. Even so....... many of you also tremble---certain that you may "go over the edge" at any moment!
If you can receive assistance by a health care professional, and your inner guidance affirms this course of action, we encourage you to do so. However, if everything you try seems empty and useless......be strong! Be patient. Deliverance is soon at hand. The journey has begun, and there are wonders ahead, and beauty beyond imagining. The travails of childbirth are many, but the prize that follows far outweighs the pain. Believe this, receive it, and your anxious heart will slowly learn to find rest.
INSIDE THE SHIP
Spaceship Earth is a Holographic Being. Structurally, it is like a gift box that some imaginative person sends you for Christmas. When you remove the lid, you find a slightly smaller box, fully wrapped---just like the first one, containing another (even smaller) box, which contains yet another, and another, and another.........all the way down to your one-celled creatures. Each "level" of your Ship contains all of the basic elements of every other "level." Some of the features are minimized, in certain aspects, so that others can be maximized and focused upon. But it's all there! And it's all synchronized, like moving parts in a pocket watch. It all blends together beautifully.
You have been packing for this journey for quite sometime now. Around the planet there has formed a band of energy---several concentric bands, in fact. The one of which we speak is electromagnetic in nature. It contains diagrams, spreadsheets, poetry, tables of elements, fragments of speech, music, data, archives of human history, bits of TV shows, radio broadcasts, faxes, motion pictures, cell-phone conversations, digital art, and much more besides. When you prepared for this particular journey, you knew you had to pack LIGHT.......because you knew that was the only thing that could go! We are speaking here of your Earth Essence Timeless Capsule.
This "Level" of the Planetary Ship is connected to and modulated by sacred powerspots all over the planet. It is, literally, an ARC of Energy..........not unlike that other Ark which was built by Noah, so long ago. Within it, you have placed the best of you---your creations, your memories, your very lives! However, be advised. Entry onto The Arc is not made two-by-two. This "level" of the Oneself is leaving duality behind. Each individual must pass through what is called the "Eye of the Needle," as a Unified Oneself, in order to come aboard.
Meanwhile, back on the "hard deck," a good portion of humanity is determined to stay the course, fully in denial---apparently choosing to "play it cool" all the way through the Fourth Dimensional Corridor. Now *that* should make quite a picture, indeed.
But you, Dear Ones....... you need not suffer any longer with this illusion. Everything you have felt within---the many surges and flashes of energy up and down your spine---are quite real. They are transmutative jump-starts for new and important programs that have been installed in your consciousness. Soon, all your new perceptual software will come completely online. And then, the fun begins! A very wise man once said: "Don't compare your insides with other people's outsides." We underscore this message whole-heartedly. You are not crazy, and you are not falling apart. It just occasionally feels that way. In fact, you are really falling together! So let it be.
MORE ABOUT THE PORTALS
There is no one present upon Planet Earth at this time who is not regularly traversing Energy Gates and Portals. Some are very aware of it, and even relish the idea. Others are quite disturbed, because the experiences are not exactly what they had planned, or seem beyond their immediate understanding and control. Still others have found effective ways to insulate themselves almost entirely from this knowledge---which serves a purpose, albeit a temporary one. Soon all humanity will be speaking fluently about Trans-Portals, though they may be called by many names. Indeed, these Energy Gates will soon form a good deal of the conceptual framework for your upcoming human journey.
We are The Reconnections. We are all those parts of your Expanded Self which you had to forget about when you came into physical form. We've never been very far from you, just far enough. If there is something that you currently believe about yourself, we make up *everything else* that you could also believe. If there is something that you deny about yourself, we form a repository for that energy until you feel ready to take it up again. Endless variety, endless ability.........all neatly catalogued for your use at any time or place. If something is not present *within* you, then it is being stored here, *within* us. This is because, in Oneness, there really is no such thing as "out." All doorways are marked "enter," and all pathways lead directly home.
MEETING YOUR OPPOSITION
Before a person can successfully fight a battle, he must define who the enemy is. Though we have frequently reminded you that everything is a reflection of self, you must realize that there are aspects of that "self" that have been created to oppose you, as grounding elements, or for educational purposes. As you will see later in this transmission, identifying and meeting your opposition is crucial to your next levels of unfoldment.
Every birthing process involves both expansion and contraction. One part of the body pushes forward, while other parts resist. This is your dance of positive and negative energy. It is rapidly becoming impossible for a person to achieve enduring success without making contact with the "rest" of who he is. We are speaking now of the Multidimensional Self. There is much more to any situation than meets your physical eye. In truth, the puppets that currently dance in the theater of the physical are manipulated by strings being held by unseen hands. Every dance, every drama that is being enacted here, is designed to teach you more and more about those unseen forces.
Relationship conflicts, financial difficulties, and political upheavals are perfect venues for a reconnecting soul to learn how to identify with *all sides* of any question. It is only when you are able to lift yourself out of a polarized state, into The Oneself, that you become able to access the necessary elements which will turn the tide for whatever physical challenge that is before you.
Many people today are desperately looking for peace and safety. If something seems to be thwarting their goals, or irritating their status quo, they want to deal with it, so they can bring about a rapid resolution. They will choose to fight, or to negotiate---whichever seems most effective in the moment---and then they want to be able to return to "business as usual." But Friends, business can never be "usual" again. And any attempt on your parts to make it so will simply result in deeper and more complicated upheavals. The "box" in which you have all been living is being heated up from the outside. Aspects of your Expanded Self are stirring things up energetically so that you will be forced to look *outside of the physical world* in order to understand what has been creating your reality all along.
THE ASTRAL PLANE
Beyond the borders of your physical world, there are levels of consciousness that vibrate so rapidly that their purpose and presence often escapes the notice of those who are living and functioning in 3D. The Astral Plane contains beings that are either moving toward or away from physical density, yet which often have considerable influence over what is explored there at any given time.
If you were to equate levels of human consciousness to keys on a piano, you would find that each "note" or tone represents one of the energy centers (chakras) functioning within, for example, your human body. You begin your tonal scale with "do," which is the first (root) chakra of that body, and you move up.......through "re" (the second chakra), mi (the third chakra), and so on..........all the way up to "ti," (the crown chakra) where you find yourself ready to begin playing again at a new octave. The Astral Plane begins the gateway into the next octaves of your conscious experience.
Those who have made serious studies into ethereal reality tend to be somewhat negative in their attitude towards the Astral Plane. Many think of it as an etheric "junk yard," wherein divergent and confused energies wander aimlessly, trying to make sense of where they are, and how they came to be there. But these judgments are usually drawn by those who have already committed themselves to something. They forget how blissful it can be to simply window shop, to consider, and to resonate with several potential realities at once.
Beyond the Astral Plane exists the Reconnected Oneself. Whereas the Astral is made up of consciousness that thinks or believes it knows things..........the Unified Oneself is the part of you which absolutely knows. It KNOWS because it contains all possible levels of every possible situation or interaction.
When a person is finished with window shopping---having sufficiently explored all the possibilities---he or she will begin Reconnecting to Oneness. This is a process that can only be accomplished while that person is still present in physical form. In order to do it, he must be willing to forego all his mental ponderings, judgments, and emotional reactivity that makes up most of the drama in your everyday life. He must find a way to go above it, or perhaps to tunnel under it, connecting directly to the Universal Touchstone of Oneness with everything and everyone. When contact with that level of being is reached, all of his attachments and bondage to earthly outcome are erased. At that point, anything becomes possible.
THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW
Consider for a moment the image of a strong man, standing on a mountain peak, high above the Earth. Through the mist that surrounds his mountain, the man sees a second peak, directly across the valley. The thought enters his mind that he would like to experience that other peak, but there is way too much valley between the two. If he chose, the man could climb down from his mountain, travel through the valley, which seems rather dark and forboding, and climb up the mountain on the other side. The mere thought of moving through that shadowy void, however, makes the whole prospect seem fearsome and impossible.
The primary obstacle which blocks the attainment of this man's desire is the separation which he perceives between the two mountains. There seems to be just too big a gap for him to leap across. In many ways, this "gap" is at the root of nearly all problems which arise today in 3D reality.
Change the scene. Two men meet together in a public park. One of them says or does something which deeply offends the other, and a shouting match occurs. The topic could be politics, religion, finances, or romance. It usually does not matter. This encounter is a programmed response, anyway. As each continues to speak his mind, the "gap" between them grows deeper and wider. Resentment, hatred, and disdain now exist where once there could have been trust and goodwill.
Both of these men are Multidimensional. They are jewels with many facets. Each of them have selves that live high, on the mountain top, and each of them has variations of selves that live deep down in the Valley as well. In the Valley there are horrors galore---guilt, shame, and anger that never seems to be satisfied. What creates a shadow is some object or person that stands between a reflecting surface and the light. In the language of metaphor, your shadow is the part of your own self that is hidden from you because you are standing in your own way.
What each man in the above story is reacting to is his own Shadow Reflection, seen in the face of the other. We have spoken about this principle at length in our transmission entitled "Relationships: A Time for Healing." For many years, this process of Creative Shadow Work has provided your planet with tools to complete certain alchemical changes that are required for the Reconnection of your Mental Body. Now it is time for you to begin penetration into your Emotional Body. It is time for you to leave the Valley of the Shadow and to learn the art of building Astral Bridges.
WHAT IS AN ASTRAL BRIDGE?
In the above story of the two mountains, our wishful climber could surely benefit from some form of Connection, spanning peak to peak, which would allow him to avoid having to go down his mountain and through the Valley to get to the other side. If he knew about his Divine Multidimensional Nature, and had knowledge of how to build an Astral Bridge, his problems would be solved.
"Many of you may remember a film that was released a few years back called "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." This film includes a particularly inspiring scene, in which the hero finds himself needing to cross from one high place to another (very much like in our story above). In a required act of faith, appropriate to the plot, he places his foot upon what *appears to be* empty air, and a bridge instantly appears beneath his feet, allowing him to cross safely to the other side."
In another famous film, "The Matrix," released only a couple of years ago, one of the heros demonstrated a mastery of physical force, using what was called a "Jump Program," which enabled him to leap across a huge expanse of physical space, moving freely from one high building to another. Even characters in the film exclaimed "Whoa! That's impossible."
An Astral Bridge begins as an Etheric Connector which brings together two points in physical space which appear to be separated by a gap. The Bridge itself originates somewhere else in the Multiverse---performing a clear purpose within an alternative level of here and now. Through a process we shall explain shortly, a perceptual cursor is passed over the image, and it is highlighted and copied (to use familiar computer terms) to a place where it is desperately needed.
At the moment of its transposition, an Astral Bridge is constructed almost entirely of faith. It has been written that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." People don't believe in things because they appear. Things appear in physical space because people believe in them. So it is with an Astral Bridge. At the moment it is required, the Bridge gets pasted directly into your NOW.........in a process that only could be described as miraculous........even though it often appears to be a natural part of your flow.
HOW MANIFESTATION OCCURS
As we mentioned in Trans-Portals 1 and 2, the key to travel within the Multiverse is found in a person's ability to detach himself from his current surroundings, by finding a state of neutrality, so that he can journey anywhere else he wishes to go. What keeps you all trapped in your current 3D context is your continuous *clinging* to outcomes (cause and effect relationships) that you imagine are in operation there. My Dear Friends, this is ILLUSION.
When something manifests in your 3D world, it arrives because you *called for it* with your mind and heart. It makes little difference whether your call was a conscious one, or whether it was something that was issued from beneath your Veil of Forgetfulness. It came from you, and you need to own that before you can break free from its influence. Those who have trouble with this concept may need to circle back and do some Creative Shadow Work, as we mentioned a bit earlier in this transmission.
Basically..... a successful "call" for reality manifestation involves (at least) two elements:
1. A clear statement of belief or intent, spoken or held in a positive way........followed immediately by........
2. A complete release of the outcome into the hands of the Expanded Self.
A person doesn't manifest his or her world out of nothing. Rather, each of you forms your personal reality from the *everything,* which exists all around you. In order to make something physical, you simply focus upon it.....(which slows down the vibration sufficiently for it to solidify), and then you install Perceptual Veils around it, to block out the awareness of everything else that is there. This is your own perceptual equivalent of putting blinders on a horse.
As you begin your process of focusing, you must clearly realize how the creative element of your mind works. The explanation we are going to make for you now is a linear one, because you are currently operating within a linear reality base. Please realize that you have the power to change the order or the rules of this process at any time.
Like the printer on a computer, which faithfully stacks and programs its activity based upon keys hit by the operator, your very own Creative Manifesting Mind begins printing out reality based upon statements which you, yourself, hold to be true. Even though your statement is uttered only within your own mind, and is held for just one second, it has absolute power to form your world. And it frequently does!
Your affirmative statements, especially when accompanied by true desire and passion, are like Genies from a bottle, granting you everything you could ever wish for. As one Dear Entity once phrased it: "The universe rearranges itself according to your beliefs about what is real." It does this through your own declarations of *what is,* not through declarations of *what is not.*
The programming software in your Creative, Manifesting Mind *does not* recognize or respond to words like "no," "not," "don't," or "can't." It automatically eliminates them from your command line. Therefore, whenever a person declares, within himself: "I don't want to smoke" or "I am not going to be angry today," the Creative Manifesting Mind hears (and responds to) an affirmative version of those statements. What it hears is: "I do want to smoke," and "I am going to be angry today."
You must realize that physical reality is created from FOCUS. If you are constantly focusing upon what you *don't want," rather than on what you *do want,* your manifestation power will tend follow that focus. The locus of power in a Call to Manifest is located between the subject and the desired (or declared) action or outcome. The commands are stacked and prioritized in your printer, according to the following factors:
1. The "Level" of Self that is making the command (The more Expanded Aspects of you get the most clout when it comes to ordering up your manifestations)
2. The Desire, Intensity, and Clarity behind the declaration.
3. The Order of Command Presentation to the Creative Mechanism.
If the desire and intensity of command lines are equal, and they all come from the same level of Self, the manifestations will print out according to the order in which the commands were made. Indeed, this is a very 3D explanation, and we realize that. However, it absolutely works, as long as you are still operating within a 3D format. If a command line comes in from "outside the box" (from your Expanded Self), it will automatically hold precedence over commands that are presented from the Ego Aspect. In other words, it gets to crowd ahead of you in the cafeteria line. But the Ego still has creative power, as all aspects of you have divinity.
Statements of similar velocity, which are contradictory, tend to cancel each other out. Their expression is like a husband and wife who go together to vote in a public election. He votes republican and she votes democratic. In truth, the 3D effect produced is no different than if they would have stayed home (except for the satisfaction they receive from exercising their options). In the same way, your inner consciousness frequently entertains divergent points of view. At times, many aspects of you can be barking contradictory commands with virtually the same intensity. If this occurs, your printer gets jammed, and you may end up having to reboot!
LETTING IT HAPPEN
When using Trans-Portals, either for personal travel or to take delivery on key aspects of your current reality, it is crucial that you learn to *let go of the process* after you have clearly issued the command line. In essence, the Trans-Portal System in the Multiverse functions very similar to the digestive tract in the human body. After materials and energy are introduced into the system, you need to relax and allow the mechanism to do its job. You must let go of your focus *entirely,* and go busy yourself with something else.
Clearly making a statement of desire and intent leaves an etheric impression in the "reality bubble" of a person's existence. It registers, whether he is aware of it or not. An order gets introduced. As long as a "cancel order" is not sent in after it, the Creative Mechanism (the internal search engine) will begin collating results and alternatives to meet the command.
Following a command statement with an attitude of *complete release and confidence* (in other words......with faith)...... pulls the Ego of the operator away from the keyboard, for reassignment elsewhere. Energetically, this produces a backdraft of energy (a vacuum) which accelerates the "digestion" process and speeds up delivery. In essence, your attitude of trust actually *sucks* your order through the pipeline more quickly, drawing to you whatever it is that you desire.
To place an order, and then to stew over it, creates an attitude of doubt in your creative ability. It's like sitting down to eat with 20 people watching your every bite. After awhile, you begin to get a lump in your stomach. The digestive juices become inhibited, and the whole system slows down. It is no different with Trans-Portals. Your desires and commands are transmitted organically, and your physical body (especially your nervous system) is very much involved in the process.
BUILDING ASTRAL BRIDGES
Now that we have briefly explained the process of everyday manifestation, we will teach you how this applies to Astral Bridges. As we have said, the need for a Bridge involves the presence of a GAP that exists between two or more objects (or individuals) in physical space. This can either be a physical distance, or it can be a relationship impasse that has formed, keeping folks from understanding and integrating with each other.
The need to get from "here to there" in 3D arises from a belief in and support of a paradigm of Separation. The Valley of the Shadow represents all the reasons why the Separation formed in the first place. When this situation involves people separating themselves from other people, the Shadow Effect is created because there are aspects of your "other" that you have difficulty accepting as self. Until now, your focus in Reconnection has been to examine this other person, and mentally analyze what it is about this person that you have been denying in yourself. And this is all very good. It feeds your consciousness, and expands awareness. But there is more to full integration than that.
The reason you find it hard to "digest" certain types of people into your Oneself Body stems not from what exists in that person, but what is missing in you. We call your attention back to our analogy of Trans-Portals being similar to the human digestive system. When people demonstrate an "allergy" to certain foods, it usually stems from some *processing element* (like an enzyme, for example) that is missing from their digestive process. For some reason, their body doesn't create that chemical, and the whole process suffers because of it. Despite their best attempts to prepare the offending foods properly, with style and variation, the digestive system continues to have problems until the necessary supplement gets added to the process.
Not all the people and situations you encounter in physical space are meant to become permanent parts of your life. Sometimes, they simply appear as catalysts for you to reach into your Multidimensional Self and discover new qualities or elements that you have forgotten. And, during a time of conflict, your task of integration and acceptance may not always be focused upon the person who is irritating you. That may only be incidental to the bigger picture.
You must remember that both you and the people with whom you have conflicts are Multidimensional Beings. If you are having a dance with someone in current 3D reality, you can count on the fact that there are dances going on between you all up and down the vibrational spectrum---literally involving a whole spreadsheet of possible/probable contacts--many of which are quite pleasant.
The resolution of present-moment conflict with another person (or society, for that matter) is brought about by opening a Portal between the physical aspect of you that exists *here* and an alternative aspect of you that exists *elsewhere*---particularly an aspect that is currently enjoying harmonious contact with the very same type of energy which is giving you such heartburn in this current moment.
My Friends, if it were possible for you to analyze the energy "chemistry" of the version of you that exists HERE, and the alternative version of yourself that is functioning THERE, you would notice that one or more key elements are missing. To remedy this, an Astral Bridge is formed by taking a "soul sample" of that alternative self and infusing it into yourself here. This is all done in just the ways we outlined for you above.
Once the required "energy supplement" gets added to your digestive system, you will find that the whole TONE of your current relationships begin to change. And, it happens automatically, without conscious effort or struggle. The only thing you require is a clear statement of intent (which would be blending with a more Expanded Level of Yourself), and the faith that is required to bring it all about.
With all of this in mind, the process for Building Astral Bridges in a relationship would be as follows:
1. Notice the exact SENSE of dissonance that exists. Many people are not aware of their sensory impressions, or of any hard feelings that exist between themselves and others. The same is true with allergic foods. Because you aren't aware of what is happening, you keep eating the offending foods, and you keep Shadow Boxing in your current relationships, rather than calling for the necessary "medicine" to complete your process, so your systems can begin to function at a new level.
2. Notice how you FEEL when you are in the presence of your "other." How does your body react when he or she approaches you? This is very important information if you are going to command a "search engine" to locate an alternative version of you that can assist in the integration process.
***A Key Principle: The first step toward feeling better is becoming better at feeling.
3. Ask yourself what you WANT to be different in this relationship. When you do this please *do not* concern yourself with whether or not the change would be possible. Anything is possible if you can believe.
4. Make a clear statement of intent, asking your Multidimensional Self to help you find a "Guide" that possesses the "medicine" which you require. A statement that might serve the process might be:
"I am Stephen, of the Oneself. I am seeking to contact a level of my Multidimensional Self that is now enjoying a harmonious relationship with this energy currently mirrored to me in Fred. I wish to begin a blending, a sampling of energies with that Self, so that I may be transformed---so that I may be let go of all resistance to accept Fred as a valid and beautiful part of my universe. In faith, I believe. In perfect timing, I shall receive. So let it be."
(The wording will come to you when you are ready. These are not established formulas, but simply samples of what is possible if you are ready to move into this process)
5. Turn the outcome completely over to the universe. If the offending individual tries to engage you in debate, deep discussion, or argument, you can say to him (as politely as possible) "I am unable to discuss this with you now, but I will get back to you as soon as I can." Then, forget about it. Involve yourself with other tasks. Do not analyze it further, and do not approach the person (unless you must, in order to handle necessary business together) as long as there is any remnant of dissonance remaining. Your sense of continued discomfort is your indicator that the required "enzyme" has not yet spread itself throughout your system. And your relief from same will be your barometer concerning when you have had enough of this particular medicine.
If two individuals in a relationship space are performing this alchemical process together, it can be Onederful, but only one "operator" is really required. That is because there is only one of you there anyway! When your "digestion" processes begin to change, you will be amazed at how your own perception of this person begins to shift. It will be like gazing at a hologram in a painting. The picture looks a certain way in one moment, and it changes completely in the next. Realize now that this is due, almost entirely, to energetic changes that have occurred in you.
Reconnection to Oneness involves making contact, first and foremost, with your Expanded Self, with your own "Big Story." Only then will your "small story" sub-plots begin reflecting the harmony that is your birthright. As the Psalm clearly states: "Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow..........I will fear no evil.......for thou art with me." In these powerful days of Phase Shifting and Alchemical Blending, the Expanded Oneself is not just with you.......He/She/We are *within you* as well. You will be rapidly developing your own functional immunity to the many energetic "diseases" that have troubled your soul during this outgoing Paradigm of Separation. In fact, the very word "immune" almost brings to mind the words "I AM IN YOU," does it not? And so it is becoming, My Friends.
STANDING ON A MOUNTAIN TOP
It is the privilege of The Reconnections to "fill in all the gaps" that separate your Limitation Self from your Expanded Self. We do it slowly, and with much love. There is no need to rush. You have all the time in the world. Each of you came to this place from realms of expression that were nothing less than fantastic. In your "former estate," you were able to do or have anything you wished, just by thinking it. Being natives of such splendor, you yearned for a vacation, of sorts. You wanted to know what it would be like to embody *something* rather than to be *everything.* You wanted to distinguish yourself from others, from various objects and animals, and you wanted to learn what it feels like to need.
Soon your research project will be completed. Has this form of reality gotten your goat? Never fear, he's right up there.......perched upon that mountain top. Watch him as he leaps from peak to peak, with perfect grace, perfect ease. Travel freely the Bridges Across Forever!
There are Portals, Gates, Bridges, and Inner Pathways all around you.......each volume on a bookshelf, each picture that is hanging on the wall. Words can be a Portal, a statue can be one, or even a rose. An encounter with any symbol can be a spark of remembrance, leading you through a perceptual doorway---into a limitless storehouse of possible/probable versions of that same one thing. Connect two of them, or three, or four.........and the dance goes on into infinity.
Some of you will begin to perceive immediately, with no help. Others may need to initiate visualization or meditation processes to tap into their stored memories. All you need do is drop your shields, and the guiding energy will begin to open your eyes. Some will do it sooner, others will do it later. Each person to his own plan, and his own style of unfoldment. As we have said previously, each event is its own miracle. However, some people require more "nudges" than others in order to shake off their slumber.
Remember that everything is perfect, and everything is there, filed neatly within the Multiverse. The primary purpose of your physical journey is to explore details, and make alchemical adjustments before you make the leap to more expanded realms. As always, we shall be available to you on the inner planes. Look for us there, and we shall appear to you in whatever form you require.
Selected by Getty Images: www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/shiver-royalty-free-imag...
This horse galloped into the paddock after a long ride at the end of a hot day.
First, it tried to cool off by rolling in the sand, then headed to the farm shed - but the farm dog chased it out again.
The horse got agitated and started a set of exercises to show its discontent and resentment.
Stamping on the ground fiercely it raised a cloud of dust, capturing the afternoon sun sneaking in through the trees and creating the perfect setting for this series of photos.
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Ingrid Betancourt (born 25 December 1961) is a Colombian-French politician, former senator, anti-corruption activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008. The rescue operation, dubbed Operation Jaque, rescued Betancourt along with 14 other hostages (three Americans and 11 Colombian policemen and soldiers). In all, she was held captive for 2,321 days after being taken while campaigning for the Colombian presidency as a Green. She had decided to campaign in rebel controlled areas despite warnings from the government, police and military not to do so. Her kidnapping received worldwide coverage, particularly in France, because of her dual French citizenship. She has received multiple international awards, such as the Légion d'honneur. In 2008 she received the Concord Prince of Asturias Award.
Betancourt was born in Bogotá, Colombia. Her mother, Yolanda Pulecio, is a former beauty queen who later served in Congress representing poor southern neighborhoods of Bogotá. Her father, Gabriel Betancourt, was minister for the General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla dictatorship (1953–1957), the assistant director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, then ambassador of Colombia to UNESCO in Paris, and head of the education commission of the Alliance for Progress in Washington, D.C. under John F. Kennedy. The Betancourt family is one of Colombia's oldest oligarchic families, descended from French Norman immigrants who arrived from Grainville-la-Teinturière three centuries before.
After attending private school in France, a boarding school in England as well as the Liceo Francés in Bogotá, Betancourt attended the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (commonly known as Sciences Po).
Íngrid Betancourt launched her presidential campaign on May 20, 2001 next to a statue of Simon Bolivar in Bogotá. She then began a campaign bus trip around the country to attend local community meetings.
As part of her campaign for the presidency in 2002 Betancourt decided to go to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the town of San Vicente del Caguán to meet with the FARC. This was not unusual—many public figures took the opportunity afforded by the DMZ to meet with the FARC as part of the negotiation process. At the time she decided to go, the Colombian Army suggested her not to go, since they would be unable to provide protection, due to hostility in the area after the DMZ had been militarized again. They made her sign a document that said just that, which she immediately signed. The election was eventually won by Álvaro Uribe, who never attended such meetings after having received threats from the rebel group.
The peace talks reached an impasse dead after more than three years of negotiations. From the beginning, the FARC would not agree to a truce for the duration of the negotiations, nor that the peace talks be overseen by different representatives of the international community. Though the DMZ was purported to be a "laboratory for peace", in practice the FARC continued its kidnapping activities, military attacks, purchasing of weapons, and even building roads and airstrips for trafficking narcotics. Critics considered the DMZ to have been turned into a safe haven in which the FARC imposed its will as law launching military attacks and acts of terrorism outside the DMZ before withdrawing back to it, in order to avoid direct confrontation with government armed forces. Also during this time, hundreds of civilians were kidnapped throughout different cities and rural areas of the country. They were then transported back to the DMZ where they were kept in cages, many of them having been kidnapped for economic extortion, others for "political reasons". By the end of 2001 the Colombian government and public opinion (according to different polls) were growing impatient and discouraged at the situation.
In February 2002, a turboprop plane flying from Florencia to Bogotá—a distance of some 1000 km (600 miles)—was hijacked in midair by FARC members. The plane was forced to land on a highway strip near the city of Neiva and then a member of the Colombian Congress was kidnapped. As a consequence, President Andrés Pastrana canceled the talks with the FARC and revoked the DMZ, arguing that the FARC had betrayed the terms of the negotiation and had used the DMZ to grow stronger in military and logistical capabilities. In a televised statement, the president expressed the government's intention of retaking the DMZ, informing that the military operation would begin at midnight, and also urged the FARC to respect the lives and the livelihood of those civilians still present in the DMZ.
Most candidates for political office that intended to do so backed off when authorities warned them of the danger. Ingrid Betancourt, as another one of these candidates, insisted on being taken to the former DMZ by a military aircraft. President Pastrana and other officials turned down this petition, arguing that neither they, nor the Colombian Army, could guarantee her safety during the turmoil that would follow the retaking of the DMZ. Additionally, Betancourt was running for president in the 2002 elections; aiding her in such a request would have meant that the government was rendering its resources to Betancourt's private political interests, as well as that the government was either backing a candidate for the presidential elections or, alternatively, that it then had to assist every single candidate in their demands of using official and military resources for their private interests.
When denied transport aboard this military helicopter that was heading to the zone, she decided to head into the DMZ via ground transport, together with Clara Rojas, her campaign manager who was later named running-mate for the 2002 election, and a handful of political aides. On 23 February 2002, she was stopped at the last military checkpoint before going into the former DMZ. Military officers insisted that Betancourt and her party not continue in their effort to reach San Vicente del Caguan, the village used for the peace talks. San Vicente's mayor was the only Oxigeno elected official in the entire country by then. Intense fighting was taking place inside the DMZ and the security situation was rapidly deteriorating. Betancourt dismissed their warnings and she continued her journey. According to her kidnapper, the later captured Nolberto Uni Vega, Betancourt ended up at a FARC checkpoint where she was captured. Her kidnap was never planned beforehand, said the rebel. Ingrid still appeared on the ballot for the presidential elections; her husband promised to continue her campaign. In the end, she achieved less than 1% of the votes.
Ever since the days of the Pastrana negotiations, when a limited exchange took place, the FARC have demanded the formalization of a mechanism for prisoner exchange. The mechanism would involve the release of what the FARC terms as its "political hostages", currently numbering 28, in exchange for most jailed guerrillas, numbering about 500. For the FARC, most of its other hostages, those held for extortion purposes and which would number at least a thousand, would not be considered subject to such an exchange, as of yet.
The newly elected Uribe administration initially ruled out any negotiation with the group that would not include a ceasefire, and instead pushed for rescue operations, many of which have traditionally been successful when carried out by the police's GAULA anti-kidnapping group in urban settings (as opposed to the mountains and jungles where the FARC keeps most prisoners), according to official statistics and mainstream news reports.
However, relatives of Ingrid and of most of FARC's political hostages came to strongly reject any potential rescue operations, in part due to the tragic death of the governor of the Antioquia department, Guillermo Gaviria, his peace advisor and several soldiers, kidnapped by the FARC during a peace march in 2003. The governor and the others were shot at close range by the FARC when the government launched an army rescue mission into the jungle which failed as soon as the guerrillas learned of its presence in the area.
2002
A day after Betancourt's kidnapping several non government organizations (NGO) under the lead of Armand Burguet were organized in the European Union and around the world to establish an association or committee for the liberation of Íngrid Betancourt. The committee initially consisted of some 280 activists in 39 countries.
One month after her kidnapping, her father Gabriel died of heart and respiratory trouble.
2003
In July 2003 Opération 14 juillet was launched, which both failed to liberate Betancourt and caused a scandal for the French government. A video of Betancourt was released by FARC in August 2003.
2004
In August 2004, after several false-starts and in the face of mounting pressure from relatives, former Liberal presidents Alfonso López Michelsen especially and also Ernesto Samper (whom Ingrid had criticized) backed in favor of a humanitarian exchange, the Uribe government seemed to have gradually relaxed its position, announcing that it has given the FARC a formal proposal on 23 July, in which it offers to free 50 to 60 jailed rebels in exchange for the political and military hostages held by the left-wing FARC group (not including economic hostages as well, as the government had earlier demanded).
The government would make the first move, releasing insurgents charged or condemned for rebellion and either allowing them to leave the country or to stay and join the state's reinsertion program, and then the FARC would release the hostages in its possession, including Íngrid Betancourt. The proposal would have been carried out with the backing and support of the French and Swiss governments, which publicly supported it once it was revealed.
The move was signaled as potentially positive by several relatives of the victims and Colombian political figures. Some critics of the president have considered that Uribe may seek to gain political prestige from such a move, though they would agree with the project in practice.
The FARC released a communiqué, dated 20 August but apparently published publicly only on 22 August, in which they denied having received the proposal earlier through the mediation of Switzerland (as the government had stated) and, while making note of the fact that a proposal had been made by Uribe's administration and that it hoped that common ground could eventually be reached, criticized it because they believe that any deal should allow them to decide how many of its jailed comrades should be freed and that they should return to the rebel ranks.
On 5 September, what has been considered as a sort of FARC counter proposal was revealed in the Colombian press. The FARC-EP is proposing that the government declare a "security" or "guarantee" zone for 72 hours in order for official insurgent and state negotiators to meet face to face and directly discuss a prisoner exchange. Government military forces would not have to leave the area but to concentrate in their available garrisons, in a similar move to that agreed by the Ernesto Samper administration (1994–1998) which involved the group freeing some captured security forces. In addition, the government's peace commissioner would have to make an official public pronouncement regarding this proposal.
If the zone were created, the first day would be used for traveling to the chosen location, the second to discuss the matter, and the third for the guerrillas to abandon the area. The government would be able to chose as the location for the "security zone" among one of the municipalities of Peñas Coloradas, El Rosal or La Tuna, all in Caquetá department, where the FARC had influence. It was speculated by retired military analysts that the FARC could potentially set up land mines or other traps around local military garrisons while the zone is in place.
The FARC proposal to arrange a meeting with the government was considered as positive by Yolanda Pulecio, Íngrid's mother, who called it a sign of "progress...just as the (government) commissioner can meet with (right-wing) paramilitaries, why can't he meet with the others, who are just as terrorist as they are."
2006
In February 2006, France urged the FARC to seize the chance offered by a European-proposed prisoner swap, accepted by Bogotá, and free dozens it had held for up to seven years. Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said it was "up to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to show they were serious about releasing former Colombian presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt and other detainees".
In an interview with French newspaper L'Humanité in June 2006, Raul Reyes, a leader of the FARC, said that Betancourt "is doing well, within the environment she finds herself in. It's not easy when one is deprived of freedom."
2007
In May 2007, a kidnapped Colombian National Police sub-intendant Jhon Frank Pinchao managed to escape from FARC captivity, claiming that Betancourt was being held in the same prison camp he had been in. He also reported seeing Clara Rojas, who had given birth to a son (Emmanuel), while in captivity.
On 18 May, President Álvaro Uribe reiterated his orders for the rescue by military means of Íngrid and other political figures. This happened after he interviewed a police officer captured by the FARC who ran away and told his story saying many of the prisoners were sick.
Shortly after taking office in mid-May, French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked Uribe to release FARC's "chancellor" Rodrigo Granda in exchange for Betancourt.
On 4 June, 30 incarcerated members from the FARC were liberated as a goodwill gesture by the government to pursue the liberation of Betancourt and others. However this did not result in her freedom.
On 26 July 2007 Melanie Delloye, Ingrid Betancourt's daughter, reported two French diplomats had been unsuccessful in confirming that Íngrid Betancourt was still alive according to news agency EFE. President Sarkozy affirmed this to the press. However former hostage Jhon Frank Pinchao (see above) repeated that Betancourt was alive, and had attempted to escape several times from the FARC camp where both were held, but had been recaptured and "severely punished".
In August 2007, reporter Patricia Poleo, a Venezuelan national exiled in the United States, stated that Ingrid Betancourt was being held in Venezuela and that her release was near. The government of Colombia expressed doubts about this information through its minister of foreign affairs Fernando Araújo. Poleo also criticized Hugo Chávez for using this situation to improve relations with France after an impasse with the government of Jacques Chirac in which they refused to sell arms to Venezuela. A few days after Poleo's statements, President Chávez openly offered his services to negotiate between the FARC and the government in an effort to release those kidnapped, but denied knowing about the whereabouts of Betancourt.
On 11 November 2007, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela told French newspaper Le Figaro that he hoped to be able to show Sarkozy proof before their meeting on 20 November that Betancourt was alive, while on 18 November Chávez announced to the French press that he had been told by a FARC leader that she was still alive.
November 2007 FARC video and letter
On 30 November 2007, the Colombian government released information that they had captured three members of the urban cells of the FARC in Bogotá who had with them videos and letters of people held hostage by the FARC, including Betancourt. In the video Betancourt appears in the jungle sitting on a bench looking at the ground. She "appeared extremely gaunt". A letter intended for Íngrid's mother, Yolanda, which was found at the same time, was also published in several newspapers.
2008
In 2008, Chávez, with the initial permission of the Colombian government and the participation of the International Red Cross, organized humanitarian operations in order to receive several civilian hostages whose release had been announced by FARC. The first, so-called Operation Emmanuel, named in honor of Clara Rojas' son, initially failed but later led to the release of Clara Rojas and Consuelo González. Emmanuel was rescued previously after a stunning declaration from president Uribe, where it was discovered the infant was left in a foster home after being severely mistreated by the guerrillas.
On 27 February 2008, a second operation was carried out, freeing four former members of the Colombian Congress. The released hostages were very concerned about the health of Ingrid Betancourt. One described her as "exhausted physically and in her morale ... Íngrid is mistreated very badly, they have vented their anger on her, they have her chained up in inhumane conditions." Another said that she has Hepatitis B and is "near the end". Nicolas Sarkozy said he is prepared to personally go to accept her release if necessary.
On 27 March, the Colombian government, with President Uribe's support, offered to free hundreds of guerrilla fighters in exchange for Betancourt's release.
On 31 March, Colombian news station Caracol quotes several sources saying Betancourt has stopped taking her medication and stopped eating. She was said to be in desperate need of a blood transfusion.
On 2 April, Betancourt's son, Lorenzo Delloye, addressed the FARC and the President, Álvaro Uribe, to facilitate the freeing of Íngrid in order to prevent her death. He quoted the need for a blood transfusion in order to keep her alive and its urgency, saying that otherwise she may die in the next few hours.
On 3 April, an envoy left for Colombia to try to make contact with Betancourt and many of the other captives, who have become ill after years of captivity in the jungle. After two days, the envoy, including a doctor, still hadn't heard from the FARC, but received orders from the French government to wait. Five days after arrival of the envoy the FARC released a press note on the Bolivarian Press Agency website, refusing the mission access to their hostages, because "the French medical mission was not appropriate and, moreover, was not the result of an agreement." Following the rebels' refusal, the French government called off the humanitarian mission and said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner would visit the region.
On 2 July 2008, news reports stated that Ingrid Betancourt and three American hostages were recovered. Altogether, 15 hostages were freed, among them 11 Colombian soldiers. Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said all the former hostages were in reasonably good health, although Betancourt indicated that she was tortured during her captivity.
2009
In a book titled Out of Captivity, written by American Northrop Grumman contractors, Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Thomas Howes and published in February 2009, they described Betancourt's behavior as selfish, feeling she deserved more than other captors due to her political and social standing. Keith described her as the "most disgusting woman he'd ever met" due to her selfishness which caused resentment among her fellow prisoners, according to a 20/20 interview aired 2/27/2009. The American contractors said Betancourt would take and demand more food because of her political and social status but they wouldn't tolerate her actions.
On 2 July 2008, Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos called a press conference to announce the rescue of Betancourt and 14 other captives. The operation that won their release, codenamed "Jaque" (Spanish for "check" as in checkmate), included members of the Colombian military intelligence who infiltrated local FARC squads and the secretariat of FARC, according to Santos. The rebels in charge of the hostages were duped into accepting a faked request from headquarters to gather the hostages together, supposedly to be flown to guerrilla commander Alfonso Cano. Instead, they were flown by government personnel dressed as FARC to San José del Guaviare. No one was harmed during the rescue. Three American Northrop Grumman contractors, Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Thomas Howes, were among those released.
Military agents spent months planting themselves within FARC, gaining the rebels' trust, and joining the rebels' leadership council. Other agents were assigned to guard the hostages. Using their authority in the group, the agents ordered the captives moved from three different locations to a central area. From this point, the hostages, agents, and about 60 real rebels made a 90-mile march through the jungle to a spot where, agents told their unsuspecting comrades, an "international mission" was coming to check on the hostages. On schedule, an unmarked white helicopter set down and Colombian security forces posing as FARC rebels jumped out. They told the rebels that they would take the hostages to the meeting with the "international mission." All of the captives were handcuffed and placed aboard the helicopter, along with two of their FARC guards, who were quickly disarmed and subdued after the helicopter lifted off. According to Betancourt, a crew member then turned and told the 15 hostages, "We are the national military. You are free." Israeli tracking technology was used by the rescuers to zero in on their target.
On 16 July 2008 it became public that one of the Colombian officials was misusing a Red Cross emblem during the rescue operation.
President Uribe stated that the rescue operation “was guided in every way by the light of the Holy Spirit, the protection of our Lord and the Virgin Mary.” The hostages indicated that they had spent much time in captivity praying the rosary, and Ms. Betancourt, formerly a lapsed Catholic who prayed daily on a wooden rosary which she made while a hostage, attributed the rescue as follows: “I am convinced this is a miracle of the Virgin Mary. To me it is clear she has had a hand in all of this.”
On 21 July 2008, Ms. Betancourt and her family made a pilgrimage to Lourdes to give thanks and to pray for her captors and those who remained hostage.
In August 2008, Betancourt and her family were received by Pope Benedict XVI in a brief audience.
The liberated Betancourt didn't hesitate to give thanks to the Colombian armed forces and to President Álvaro Uribe and even gave her approval to his third term as a president, even though her mother criticized him severely all along. She urged neighbouring presidents Hugo Chavez (Venezuela) and Correa (Ecuador) to help Colombia and rather seek the political transformations in her country by democratic means. And she stated that she will dedicate herself now to teaching the world about the reality of the FARC and their cruel hostage taking policy. It has been recognized that the liberation of Betancourt caused a dramatic change of the political scene.
In an interview on French radio shortly after her return to France, Betancourt distanced herself from Uribe's approach, while accepting that his security policy had been successful. She said the situation was at a point where "the vocabulary has to change" arguing that "the way in which we talk about the other side is very important."
She has not ruled out a return to the Colombian political scene. In fact while she has said that "France is my home" she also was "proud to be Colombian" said hopes to serve her nation in the future. She has not ruled out a future presidential campaign.
Sarkozy sent a French Air Force jet with Betancourt's children, her sister Astrid and her family, and accompanied by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner for a tearful reunion. After paying her respects at her father's tomb she and the family boarded the jet and flew to France where she was greeted by Sarkozy and the First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. She gave speeches and urged the world not to forget and continue for the liberation of the rest of the hostages. She also spent several days in hospital.
On July 9, President Michelle Bachelet of Chile said she would nominate Betancourt for a Nobel Prize. Sarkozy announced that she would receive the Legion of Honor at the Bastille Day celebrations.
On July 20, Betancourt appeared next to singer Juanes at a rally in Trocadero in Paris to celebrate Colombia's independence day and to once more urge the FARC to release all their hostages. Speaking directly to Alfonso Cano she said:
See this Colombia, see the extended hand of President Uribe, and understand that it is time to stop the bloodshed. It is time to drop those weapons and change them for roses, substitute them with tolerance, respect, and as brothers that we are, find a way so that we can all live together in the world, live together in Colombia.”
On 4 July 2008, Radio Suisse Romande reported that unnamed "reliable sources" had told it the rescue took place after a payment of USD 20 million by the United States. According to Le Monde, the French Foreign Ministry denied the payment of any ransom by France.
Frederich Blassel, the author of the Radio Suisse Romande story, told Colombia's W Radio that, according to his source, the release wasn't negotiated directly with FARC but with alias César, one of the two guerrillas captured during the operation, who would have received the payment of USD 20 million. According to Blassel, the two rebels could be given new identities by Spain, France and Switzerland.
The Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos, and Vice President Francisco Santos, in response to these claims, denied any payment. "That information is absolutely false. It has no basis. We don't know where it comes from and why its being said". He also added with a touch of irony that "Actually, it would have been a cheap offer, because we were willing to give up to USD 100 million..." "We would be the first to inform publicly, because it is part of our rewards system policy, and besides, it would speak much worse about the FARC".
According to Colombia's El Tiempo and W Radio, General Fredy Padilla de León, Commander of the Colombian Armed Forces, denied the existence of any payment by the Colombian government. General Padilla argued that if any payment had been made, it would have been better to make it publicly known, to use it as an incentive and to cause confusion within FARC's ranks.
(Text's source: Wikipedia)
The Two Wolves
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.
One is Evil.
It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other is Good.
It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.
The grandson thought about it for a minute and than asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed".
Thanks to Zensmom1 for sending me this short story..
“Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will [ever] see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
Holiness is so important to God. The Bible says that holiness is the key to seeing the Lord. When you obey the Word of God and allow Him to work in your life, you are pursuing holiness. You will see the Lord working in your life. Notice this verse starts by saying that we should live at peace with the people around us. When we have peace in our lives, in our homes, and in our relationships, it opens the door for God to work. But when we have strife, bitterness, anger or resentment in our relationships, it blocks God’s blessing. Remember, when it comes to disagreements in relationships, it doesn’t always matter who is right, it matters what is right. And choosing peace is right. Is there someone in your life today that you need to restore peace with? A simple act of kindness, a note or small gift, can open the door for restoration in your relationships. Step out today and let the peace create a foundation for the blessing God has in store for you!
-Joel Osteen
During the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1809, a group of Serbs engaged an Ottoman army at the Battle of Cegar Hill outside of Nis. The Serbs led by Stevan Sindelic were surrounded and were overwhelmed after holding off the Ottomans successfully. Faced with few options, Sindelic fired at his entrenchments gun powder magazine setting off a massive explosion that killed him, the Serb rebels, and thousands of Ottoman troops. The Ottoman governor of Rumelia, Hurshid Pasha, was outraged, and ordered the heads of Sindelic and his men to be skinned and sent to the Sultan, Mahmud II. The skulls were then returned to Nis and the Ottomans built the skull tower to serve as a warning to anyone who would think of causing a rebellion again. It was built on the road from Belgrade to Constantinople, which was a popular route at the time. The original tower consisted of a total of 952 skulls, including Sindelic's.
Upon visiting the tower in 1833, French poet Alphonse de Lamartine remarked "May the Serbs keep this monument! It will always teach their children the value of the independence of a people." In 1861, the last Ottoman governor of Nis, Midhat Pasha ordered that the tower be dismantled as it served as a symbol of resentment among the Serbian populace. A newly independent Serbia in 1878 would capture Nis and the surrounding area. The ruins of the tower would become an altar to the fallen dead and in 1892, a chapel would be built around the tower. As of 2023, the tower has 58 skulls, with Sindelic's (alleged) skull being in a glass container next to it. The monument is seen as a symbol of independence and is visited by tens of thousands of tourists annually.
Special thanks to Noah and Emil for their help with this project.
So, after a sleepless night, I headed off out at 6am in the complete darkness.
I only had my 50mm lens as I was really tired and forgot to grab other lenses.
I had the pleasure of hearing the birds sing, seeing deer lock antlers, watching sparrow hawks gliding & temporarily losing a shoe in the mud.
I didn't get any good photos and now I am going to have to sleep all day to make up for the lack of sleep.
However.....I had a beautiful time, alone, in a gorgeous location.
I was going the opposite way to the rest of the traffic and while all the other car drivers had bitter faces, full of resentment of what their working day has in store for them - why put yourselves through that day in day out - I was purely at one with my surroundings that I had been lucky enough to see this morning.
Do what you enjoy in life.
Unless it comes bursting out of you in spite of everything, don't do it.
“I've come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call "The Physics of The Quest"- a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: "If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting(which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments)and set out on a truth-seeking journey(either externally or internally),and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared - most of all -to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself....then truth will not be withheld from you." Or so I've come to believe.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
nrhp # 76000813- Broadway-Phelps Park Historic District- The first courthouse for Winneshiek County was a two-story building completed in 1858 for $18,000.[3] The sheriff's residence and jail were located in the stone basement, offices were located on the first floor, and the courtroom occupied the second floor.
The movement to replace the courthouse began about 1890, but there was not enough citizen support until 1902. To pass the referendum the county Board of Supervisors asked for approval to spend $75,000, even though they knew it would cost more.[4] After construction of the present courthouse was underway they asked for an additional $50,000, which was nearly defeated because of resentment over the way the situation was handled. The cornerstone was laid in 1903 and the building was completed in 1904.
from Wikipedia