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Front Page Titles (by Subject) OF GIVING THE LIE - Essays of Montaigne, vol. 6
The Online Library of Liberty
A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
OF GIVING THE LIE - Michel de Montaigne, Essays of Montaigne, vol. 6
Essays of Montaigne, vol. 6, trans. Charles Cotton, revised by William Carew Hazlett (New York: Edwin C. Hill, 1910).
Part of: Essays of Montaigne, in 10 vols.
About Liberty Fund:
Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.
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OF GIVING THE LIE
WELL, BUT some one will say to me, this design of making a man’s self the subject of his writing, were indeed excusable in rare and famous men, who by their reputation had given others a curiosity to be fully informed of them. It is most true, I confess and know very well, that a mechanic will scarce lift his eyes from his work to look at an ordinary man, whereas a man will forsake his business and his shop to stare at an eminent person when he comes into a town. It misbecomes any other to give his own character, but him who has qualities worthy of imitation, and whose life and opinions may serve for example: Caesar and Xenophon had a just and solid foundation whereon to found their narrations, in the greatness of their own performances; and it were to be wished that we had the journals of Alexander the Great, the commentaries that Augustus, Cato, Sylla, Brutus, and others left of their actions; of such persons men love and contemplate the very statues even in copper and marble.
This remonstrance is very true; but it very little concerns me:—
“I repeat my poems only to my friends, and when bound to do so; not before every one and everywhere; there are plenty of reciters in the open market-place and at the baths.”
I do not here form a statue to erect in the great square of a city, in a church, or any public place:—
“I study not to make my pages swell with empty trifles; you and I are talking in private:”
’tis for some corner of a library, or to entertain a neighbor, a kinsman, a friend, who has a mind to renew his acquaintance and familiarity with me in this image of myself. Others have been encouraged to speak of themselves, because they found the subject worthy and rich; I, on the contrary, am the bolder, by reason the subject is so poor and sterile that I cannot be suspected of ostentation. I judge freely of the actions of others; I give little of my own to judge of, because they are nothing: I do not find so much good in myself, that I cannot tell it without blushing.
What contentment would it not be to me to hear any one thus relate to me the manners, faces, countenances, the ordinary words and fortunes of my ancestors? how attentively should I listen to it! In earnest, it would be evil nature to despise so much as the pictures of our friends and predecessors, the fashion of their clothes and arms. I preserve their writing, seal, and a particular sword they wore, and have not thrown the long staves my father used to carry in his hand, out of my closet:—
“A father’s garment and ring is by so much dearer to his posterity, as there is the greater affection towards parents.”
If my posterity, nevertheless, shall be of another mind, I shall be avenged on them; for they cannot care less for me than I shall then do for them. All the traffic that I have in this with the public is, that I borrow their utensils of writing, which are more easy and most at hand; and in recompense shall, peradventure, keep a pound of butter in the market from melting in the sun:—
“Let not wrappers be wanting to tunnyfish, nor olives; . . . and I shall supply loose coverings to mackerel.”
And though nobody should read me, have I wasted time in entertaining myself so many idle hours in so pleasing and useful thoughts? In moulding this figure upon myself, I have been so often constrained to temper and compose myself in a right posture, that the copy is truly taken, and has in some sort formed itself; painting myself for others, I represent myself in a better coloring than my own natural complexion. I have no more made my book than my book has made me: ’tis a book consubstantial with the author, of a peculiar design, a parcel of my life, and whose business is not designed for others, as that of all other books is. In giving myself so continual and so exact an account of myself, have I lost my time? For they who sometimes cursorily survey themselves only, do not so strictly examine themselves, nor penetrate so deep, as he who makes it his business, his study, and his employment, who intends a lasting record, with all his fidelity, and with all his force. The most delicious pleasures digested within, avoid leaving any trace of themselves, and avoid the sight not only of the people, but of any other person. How often has this work diverted me from troublesome thoughts? and all that are frivolous should be reputed so. Nature has presented us with a large faculty of entertaining ourselves alone; and often calls us to it, to teach us that we owe ourselves in part to society, but chiefly and mostly to ourselves. That I may habituate my fancy even to meditate in some method and to some end, and to keep it from losing itself and roving at random, ’tis but to give to body and to record all the little thoughts that present themselves to it. I give ear to my whimsies, because I am to record them. It often falls out, that being displeased at some action that civility and reason will not permit me openly to reprove, I here disgorge myself, not without design of public instruction: and also these poetical lashes:—
“A slap on his eye, a slap on his snout, a slap on Sagoin’s back,”
imprint themselves better upon paper than upon the flesh. What if I listen to books a little more attentively than ordinary, since I watch if I can purloin anything that may adorn or support my own? I have not at all studied to make a book, but I have in some sort studied because I had made it; if it be studying to scratch and pinch now one author, and then another, either by the head or foot, not with any design to form opinions from them, but to assist, second, and fortify those I already have embraced.
But whom shall we believe in the report he makes of himself in so corrupt an age? considering there are so few, if any at all, whom we can believe when speaking of others, where there is less interest to lie. The first thing done in the corruption of manners is banishing truth; for, as Pindar says, to be true is the beginning of a great virtue, and the first article that Plato requires in the governor of his Republic. The truth of these days is not that which really is, but what every man persuades another man to believe; as we generally give the name of money not only to pieces of the just alloy, but even to the false also, if they will pass. Our nation has long been reproached with this vice; for Salvianus of Marseilles, who lived in the time of the Emperor Valentinian, says that lying and forswearing themselves is with the French not a vice, but a way of speaking. He who would enhance this testimony, might say that it is now a virtue in them; men form and fashion themselves to it as to an exercise of honor; for dissimulation is one of the most notable qualities of this age.
I have often considered whence this custom that we so religiously observe should spring, of being more highly offended with the reproach of a vice so familiar to us than with any other, and that it should be the highest insult that can in words be done us to reproach us with a lie. Upon examination, I find that it is natural most to defend the defects with which we are most tainted. It seems as if by resenting and being moved at the accusation, we in some sort acquit ourselves of the fault; though we have it in effect, we condemn it in outward appearance. May it not also be that this reproach seems to imply cowardice and feebleness of heart? of which can there be a more manifest sign than to eat a man’s own words—nay, to lie against a man’s own knowledge? Lying is a base vice; a vice that one of the ancients portrays in the most odious colors when he says, “that it is to manifest a contempt of God, and withal a fear of men.” It is not possible more fully to represent the horror, baseness, and irregularity of it; for what can a man imagine more hateful and contemptible than to be a coward towards men, and valiant against his Maker? Our intelligence being by no other way communicable to one another but by a particular word, he who falsifies that betrays public society. ’Tis the only way by which we communicate our thoughts and wills; ’tis the interpreter of the soul, and if it deceive us, we no longer know nor have further tie upon one another; if that deceive us, it breaks all our correspondence, and dissolves all the ties of government. Certain nations of the newly discovered Indies (I need not give them names, seeing they are no more; for, by wonderful and unheard-of example, the desolation of that conquest has extended to the utter abolition of names and the ancient knowledge of places) offered to their gods human blood, but only such as was drawn from the tongue and ears, to expiate for the sin of lying, as well heard as pronounced. That good fellow of Greece said that children are amused with toys and men with words.
As to our diverse usages of giving the lie, and the laws of honor in that case, and the alteration they have received, I defer saying what I know of them to another time, and shall learn, if I can, in the meanwhile, at what time the custom took beginning of so exactly weighing and measuring words, and of making our honor interested in them; for it is easy to judge that it was not anciently amongst the Romans and Greeks. And it has often seemed to me strange to see them rail at and give one another the lie without any quarrel. Their laws of duty steered some other course than ours. Caesar is sometimes called thief, and sometimes drunkard, to his teeth. We see the liberty of invective they practised upon one another, I mean the greatest chiefs of war of both nations, where words are only revenged with words, and do not proceed any farther. | <urn:uuid:c49a59d2-e707-47d7-9c0e-006cae733e6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1747&chapter=91264&layout=html&Itemid=27 | 2013-05-18T06:34:27Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97343 | 2,423 |
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Tags - sukkoth
‘Lets walk the Mikvah in the city of the King' - City of David and Hezekiah's tunnel
Walking in tunnels are exhilarating story reads and with a flashlight in hand, it feels like a Discovery or National Geographic. City of David and the Hezekiah's tunnel became a physical as well as a non-physical reality, for reasons, I learnt eventually.
Then again, the reason had a season. And this was during my fourth visit to Israel. Past three visits, I have walked past the City of David admiring its entrance and even taking photographs with the golden harp, but never ventured within. This time with the group I was with had Ir David in the itinerary. Being the last day of the Sukkoth holiday and there was also a planned prophetic Wedding Feast to attend on return to the hotel.
King David has been one of my heroes and his war strategies have never ceased to amaze me, beginning with knocking down Goliath. And now, here we were in the King's city considered to have been the original Jerusalem. According to our guide the story is as old as 3,000 years ago, when King David left the city of Hebron for a small hilltop city known as Jerusalem, establishing it as the unified capital of the tribes of Israel.
Our visit began at the observation point overlooking Jerusalem. As I stood there overlooking the excavated site, I felt transported in the timeline, way back to the days of Abraham when the foundations of the city were first laid to present days excavations that made me relive King David's conquest of the Jebusite city. The tour-walk moved down the hillside stone stairs heading underground to some of the newer archeological excavations.
As we walked down the steps to an area marked ‘G' - The Royal Acropolis Water System (Warren's Shaft), we were reminded of Charles Warren's discovery of the ancient underground water tunnel outside the walls of the old city from the Western Wall. Apparently, this was recognized to be similar to the underground water tunnel or ‘gutter' as described in 2nd book of Samuel 5. The stepped wall on this hill in the area is believed to be the retaining wall that many archeologists believe to be the ‘Citadel of Zion' mentioned as King David's conquest of the city (2 Samuel 5:9)
The walking down tour ended at the Gihon Spring. This was the major water source of Jerusalem for over 1,000 years and where, according to the Bible, King David's son, Solomon was anointed king.
Somewhere in between the walk down Pat tugged me impatiently, ‘I have to go to the mikvah. Please come?' I looked at her and shook my head. How did she know that I too was curious about the ‘bath'? I had seen the baths in nearly every excavation site I visited, but a real one? How would one experience that? Still baffled, she tugged me along to the ticket counter for the Hezekiah's tunnel walk. That was the mikvah she wanted to walk and I complied, immediately. As with every ‘planned' visit, we were the last ones, after which the ticket counter shut!
There is an interesting fact about this tunnel, mentioned in the 2nd Book of Chronicles 32:30 of how the city was defended from the Assyrian army. King Hezekiah protected the water system by diverting its flow deeper into the city with a tunnel system. This tunnel was built by digging a 1,750 foot tunnel into the mountain. An ancient stone describes this incredible operation.
This stone reminded me of David Van Koevering's key to Quantum Leap ‘All matter has memory - your words are recorded', in which he narrates Joshua 24:27, ‘And Joshua said unto all the people, ‘Behold this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words often LORD which He spake unto us. It shall therefore be a witness unto you, lest you deny your God.'' And then there was Habakuk (2:11) and Yeshua (Luke 19:40) who said the same thing of stones witnessing. So, were the stones listening at the time? Every word, action and deed done in flesh has been recorded, according to the quantum theory.
Trekking this tunnel has today become a highlight for visitors and for Pat, Shalin, Gabriele and me a sense of duty - the Mikvah. How timely was this? After this we had the Wedding Feast of the Lamb to attend.... I enjoy half-planned last minute head-on programs! ADONAI perfectly plans HIS surprises...
The entrance was more like a cave that was well lit and gave the place a golden glow. We bought our little key-chain torches. I was a little disappointed, thought they would be flashlights, like the days of yore. But the excitement didn't wane. We arrived at to our destination - the 2,700 year old water tunnel one of the wonders of early engineering.
The water was cool and rose knee-high as we walked in, barefoot. The air within was cool; it was very dark; the space between shoulders narrowed as we walked forward, bending in some places. How so natural!.. And so well preserved! There was something about these walls -white lime portion of the wall - that seemed to reflect a golden color and it seemed to say something. It was instant - I allowed Quantum physics to let me hear and the Holy Spirit to pave the way of my thoughts. I allowed my left hand to run through the wall and impulsively pressed my ears, as if to hear something.
The walk was a silent one, with only sound of our feet splashing the water, everyone ‘soaked' in their own thoughts. I wonder if anyone thought as loud as I did... In time, we reached the end that opened into the Pool of Shiloach. Fragments of pillars are seen in the pool, which are remains of the Shiloach Church that was built here. We waited for a while watching children play in this pool and decided to do the same, wondering when would this happen again.
As we were leaving, we were self-introduced to a man who took us around to an ongoing excavation from here that showed us a huge wall painting - an artist's impression of the temple steps; shared Baron Edmond de Rothschild leading philanthropic role in acquiring property in the Land of Israel for rebuilding the Jewish Yishuv (Community); and took us to a nearby area where excavation of steps is yet underway, which he said, may probably have been the way that the Holy Priest would have taken during Sukkoth from the Pool to the Holy Temple for the water libation.
We were curious. Who was this man? He says that he was part of the excavation team.. and he too, wasn't sure why he was there. Looks like he owned a shop there, but there was no forceful sales made.
This was more than I had ever imagined or expected from being obedient to my call from my Abba for this Sukkot trip! History, experience and learning for real are a package deal that only Israel could give me till date in my life! Today when I go through challenges and feel blocked in a dark tunnel, I know now that there is a healing Pool of Shiloach at the other end.
‘Let's walk the Old City Ramparts..
Walk about Zion, go round about her,
number her towers, consider well her ramparts,
go through her citadels;that you may tell the next generation that this is God,
our God for ever and ever.
He will be our guide for ever.(Psalm 48:12-14)
.. and see where King David's soldiers stood and what they saw from their vantage points', is what we - Pat, Gabriele, Shalin and I - wanted to do following the ‘water-walking' experience at the Hezekiah's tunnel, all immersed, even in our own memories.
We walked up and down the road from the City of David to the Jaffa Gates and got our tickets. It was a tiny Entrance fee. There seemed to be just a handful of visitors at the time with our little group of four. Adventurous and prepared, were we, all with walking shoes and some water - there was this guide tip - Be prepared for a lot of stone-stairs in varying levels.
One part of the Ramparts Walk begins just outside Jaffa Gate. The entrance is a bit hard to find. Before going through the gate into the Old City, head to the enclosure to the right of Jaffa Gate, as you face the Old City. You'll be walking between two stone walls on a stone path. Follow the signs or ask someone - the entrance is a bit of way down, around a corner to the left. This section takes you from Jaffa Gate to Zion Gate and lets you off near Dung Gate, not far from the Western Wall Plaza and the Jewish Quarter. It offers a stunning view of Old City rooftops, Sultan's Pool, Yemin Moshe, Mt. Zion and the Mt. of Olives. You can also access the ramparts from Damascus Gate follow them to Lion's Gate.
Near the Entrance, there is a stone sit-out. While sitting there, waiting for Shalin to finish her sandwich, I looked around and a thought crossed my mind ‘we are about to walk another piece of Bible history!' What a fun way to get the overview of Jerusalem in the 21st Century, by climbing the olden ramparts (the watch-points, I say) of the Old City and circle the city above. There were moments I wondered what must have passed by the minds of the soldiers standing guard in the varying time periods. Walking on top of the Old City is exhilarating and gives you wonderful view over the new city of Jerusalem through the arrow slits on the turret walls and/or over them.
There are places that I had never seen in my earlier visits, like the cloistered Armenian compound, an old hospital... from each vantage point; we could see the day-to-day Old city life and the exuberance of Sukkoth. The hubbub of city life in this holiday season was worth capturing on film and just drinking in the sight from where each of us stood - bustling markets, sheets hanging on washing lines, a vendor frying falafels, festive dancing on temporary platforms....
The walls of Jerusalem that we see today were built by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century when he restored the ancient city walls that served as military fortifications. During 1948-1967, the Jordanian snipers used the ramparts as a vantage point. Multiple bullet holes stand witness to this shooting position on old buildings facing the Old City. Today, the ramparts serve a more peaceful purpose as a choice destination for school field trips, tourists and Jerusalem enthusiasts, I understand.
The walk is about 4 kilometres. You can't circumnavigate the entire Old City in one shot, since access to the ramparts of the Temple Mount is closed off, and the road bisects the walls at Jaffa Gate. We had to descend at the Lion's or Dung Gate and resumed from the Damascus Gate.
It is not advised to walk alone or after dark. Should you wish to experience the Rampart Walk, go for it! And again, the tip to heed: the walk requires a lot of stair climbing and descending. Make sure you're wearing comfortable walking shoes, and that you have enough water with you - once you're on the ramparts, there's no getting off until the end and no refreshment kiosk or bathroom along the way. While this is fun for adults and older kids, avoid taking little children, those fearful of heights and people who have trouble walking.
I have visited and traveled the Holy Land, no better description, for pilgrimage, a tour and even for a Bible feast and have yet not had enough. It is so true when people say, 'The Bible comes alive' - every stone talks here! | <urn:uuid:974a355c-1605-48a6-83d3-68a019d193d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travelujah.com/blogs/posts/Irene/tag/sukkoth | 2013-05-21T10:07:52Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971733 | 2,564 |
“Like the rest of Washington, the CIA had fallen in love with technology. The theory was that satellites, the internet, electronic intercepts, even academic publications would tell us all we needed to know about what went on beyond our borders” (Robert Baer). I first read this quote in Robert Baer’s memoir, See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism. The book chronicles the former case officer’s career in the Middle East when the area was not yet a priority in US politics. Ultimately, Baer goes on to critique the changes he noticed in the CIA’s infrastructure. He noticed increased federal and military involvement in the civilian organization’s infrastructure, and thus an increase in bureaucracy and a shift from HUMINT (human intelligence) to SIGINT (signal intelligence).
Baer’s critiques are ones that I have taken to heart when I think about how the US organizes its wars. We have developed a love for bureaucratic systems and technological intelligence. The reality is that wars no longer resemble Clausewitz’s “Trinitarian” model and battles are no longer a matter of who holds the superior technology. These are lessons learned broadly from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War to more detailed outlines provided by Roger Trinquier. In order to adapt to the post-Trinitarian model, there must be a return to HUMINT and strategic flexibility that is not provided in bureaucratic systems. Essentially, the United States is stuck in a bureaucratic system that promotes the use of technology, which is what prevents the military from developing creative solutions and thoroughly understanding the enemy.
First, to explain the problem with the modern military, I’d like to explain how the military and the subsequent branches working for it are bureaucratic. Sociologist Wolf Heydebrand defines bureaucracy as “a formally rational system of administrative control based on technical knowledge [with] a fixed hierarchical structure with long-term career paths and closely guarded borders.” Considering that a top-down hierarchy is the basic structure of militaries with decisions made by a “chain of command,” I would think it’s fair to say that are elements of a bureaucratic system. Rank and promotion dictates everything within the military, top positions given to those with the most experience.
During the 1970s, the United States underwent a renaissance of liberal thought dubbed neoliberalism. This represented a shift in public desires from organized bureaucracy and stability to dynamic expressionism and individualism. While businesses were taking advantage of this dynamic shift in thought, the government proved slow to change. Michel Foucault noticed that the shift did not completely dismantle bureaucratic systems but brought in a new illusionary liberalism: “Neoliberal governmentality.” As Heydebrand notes: “Neoliberal supply-side policies and practices either transformed the remnants of formal-legal bureaucracy or gave rise to new, imaginative and experimental ways of organizational governance, including subcontracting, outsourcing, project teams, the use of casual, contingent, freelance and temporary labor, and the incipient decline of organized labor.”
The problem here is that the illusion of absolute freedom and innovation is given, but there still exists bureaucratic systems in place that control many aspects of how work is produced. In the case of the military, innovative thinkers tend to have some say in how warfare is organized, but there still exists remnants of bureaucracy and social rules in place in this hierarchical system that cannot give full freedom of expression. As we enter a “post-Trinitarian” model of warfare, our military thinkers and strategists must be flexible, as Sun Tzu wrote, we must be able to shift through unknown terrain like “water.”
Tradition and bureaucracy stifles development of thought. Humans have a history of relying upon technology and technological developments to act for us, and to an extent, I think it has been a great motivator for innovation and social progress. However, “Over the past 300 years, people have long since become accustomed to blindly falling in love with the new and discarding the old in the realm of technology, and the endless pursuit of new technology has become a panacea to resolve all the difficult questions of existence” (Unrestricted Warfare).
Although originating in China, where the communist social structure and different history has created a very different system of thought that my Western-centric thought has difficulty grasping, the question of the limits of technology has stirred my mind. When I look at each new predator drone being built, a new missile system, or a new plane developed for military use, I often think to myself “what’s the point?” If I think about these tools of war being developed from a pragmatic standpoint, I can’t think of any good reason. After entering the “post-Trinitarian” model, the use of planes and tanks are hardly practical. They are extremely inefficient in fighting guerilla adversaries, which as Trinquier proposes, are the future enemies of warfare. An ostentatious presence prevents the homogenized military from winning over the population that terrorist cells embed themselves within.
However, the development of these technologies makes sense when I think about them in terms of the bureaucracy that the US military is stuck in. There was a time when Keynesian investment in military technology stimulated the economy, providing jobs and endorsing companies. The United States fights asymmetrically because it is still beneficial to these companies. Aside from this economic standpoint, the reliance on technology reinforces the idea of a hierarchical military, legitimizing the bureaucracy of warfare.
Planes and tanks that will never be put to practical use are very expensive and require a complex system to ensure that they are protected. These are complex technologies that need to be monitored by a chain of command in order to ensure their safety. Training exercises require that they be taken care of by a variety of people, properly shipped to different base locations around the world, and put into training exercises under strict supervision. The maintenance of these tools requires a complex bureaucracy, and thus the military is put into a cycle. Tradition and bureaucracy ensures the manufacturing of these weapons, and the complex nature of the weapons enforces the bureaucratic nature of the system that created them in the first place.
So now that I’ve explained the traditional hierarchy of bureaucracy in the military, how this bureaucracy develops useless technology, and how this developmental process legitimizes itself, I would like to conclude this essay with how this all prevents what I think is the key to evolving into van Creveld’s “post-Trinitarian” warfare: the acquisition of HUMINT. I began this essay with a quote from Robert Baer, who explains that the primary intelligence gathering arm of the US, the CIA, has been stifled in developing due to a reliance on technology and limitations in innovative thought. In short, what Baer is trying to explain is that the US has rendered itself incapable of truly knowing its enemies. Baer’s critique comes from the fact that it’s easy to justify full-scale military action when a satellite image is placed into the hands of a policy-maker. Either data gathered from the depths of the internet or from a satellite image can provoke aggression. Depending on the scale of the threat, either the military is deployed, as it had been in Afghanistan and Iraq, or we rely further on technology and send drones to “surgically remove” key targets in the war against an idea.
These tactics are ineffective because we are not opening our ears, we are not listening to others, we are not learning what others want, and we do not attempt to understand a different society. The US seems to operate under the assumption that human beings can easily adapt from a dictatorial social structure to a democratic model with ease. However, when we attempt to make that shift, we forget to listen to the needs and desires of others. For instance, the main source of income for Afghani farmers would be heroin produced from poppy fields, a direct conflict of interest with the US. How would the US ensure the relative economic stability provided by the Taliban without forfeiting American societal mores?
As professor Corradi explains in The Dream of Sun Tzu or How to Lose a War, “it did not cross their minds to consult sociologists and anthropologists, who could have explained to them that in Iraq, the primary loyalty is to the clan rather than to the nation.” There is no preemptive attempt to understand whom we plan to fight; policy-makers did not listen to sociologists or anthropologists and continue to make this mistake. Eventually, the situation in Iraq became so dire that the US military employed something that I believe to be conceptually brilliant, but too little too late: Human Terrain Teams. Groups of anthropologists go to the battlefield and interact with local populations, attempting to understand their wants and needs. Why did we wait so long to try this? If we are engaged in a nation-building policy, why not attempt to build a nation based on the social structures of the people and not our own standards? If the United States wishes to move forward in the way we think about war, we have to start trying to understand the people. This will require diplomacy, HUMINT gathering by actually deploying personnel on the fields, and academic understanding of who we plan to help or fight, and why.
I fear that war with Pakistan or Iran could be looming around the corner, always hinted at, and yet again, we have not asked ourselves why Iran pursues a nuclear program or why Pakistan has been supporting the Taliban. In order to fight properly, the US needs to abandon asymmetrical warfare, its reliance on technology, and traditional methods. | <urn:uuid:74b51272-7608-4e73-b2d5-0b0813e036c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lalapaloser.tumblr.com/tagged/war | 2013-05-23T18:38:24Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950815 | 2,005 |
"Kissine offers a new theory of speech acts which is philosophically sophisticated and builds on work in cognitive science, formal semantics, and linguistic typology. This highly readable, brilliant essay is a major contribution to the field."
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 12:02:10 +0100 From: Cornelia Tschichold <[email protected]> Subject: World Englishes
AUTHORS: Melchers, Gunnel; Shaw, Philip TITLE: World Englishes SERIES: The English Language Series PUBLISHER: Arnold YEAR: 2003
Cornelia Tschichold, Institute of English, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland
INTRODUCTION This book is a recent addition to the growing number of textbooks on varieties of English around the world. In the preface, the two authors, both from Stockholm University, describe the intended audience of the book as readers familiar with the basics of linguistics and phonetics, thus typically undergraduate students after their first year at a department of English, with English either as their native or a second or foreign language. The book has an accompanying CD, which is sold separately and therefore does not figure in this review.
SYNOPSIS Chapter 1 is a very short chapter on the history of English from 450 to the beginnings of Modern English. The development of the language is illustrated mainly through the most accessible aspect, its loanwords.
Chapter 2 covers the more recent history of English, when the language spread around the globe, first to the so- called 'inner circle' countries, later to the 'outer circle' and finally to the 'expanding circle'. This three- circle model by Kachru is adopted as the organizing principle for the book. The chapter also introduces the distinction often made between English as a second and English as a foreign language, while drawing attention to the problems of terminology and those of differing political viewpoints involved.
Chapter 3 discusses basic terms in language variation and provides the framework for the classification and description of the many varieties discussed in chapters 4 to 6. The authors divide variation into the areas of spelling, phonology, grammar and lexicon, and give a brief overview of the main types of variation in each area. For the description of phonology, Wells' standard lexical sets are introduced. The section on rhythm and intonation explains the concept of stress-times vs. syllable-timed rhythm and mentions high-rising terminals as the most striking phenomena in the area of intonation. The sections on lexis and on the historical origin of varieties introduce a large number of technical terms such as 'heteronymy' or 'substratum'. Other dimensions of classification mentioned include the political stance of some of the more prominent authors in the field, the degree of standardization for varieties and for texts, and the position of a country in the three-circle model.
Chapter 4 portrays the inner circle varieties of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Liberia and the Caribbean. With some exceptions, each of these sections follows the pattern of first giving a brief overview of geography and population, then an account of the general linguistic situation, before the variety itself is described in terms of spelling, phonology, grammar and lexicon. Where appropriate, important internal varieties are briefly touched on as well, such as the main differences between Southern and Northern dialects in England, the two ethnic varieties African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Chicano English in the USA, and Aboriginal English in Australia.
Chapter 5 opens with a discussion of the political questions of language prestige and then tries to identify some common linguistic features of the varieties spoken in these countries. Among the features mentioned are consonant cluster and vowel system simplifications, a trend away from clearly stress-timed rhythm, and more syntactic variety. The countries in this chapter are then discussed in geographical groups, following a similar pattern to that in chapter 4, but giving rather more historical background and extra sections on style and pragmatics. The first variety is South Asian English, with India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as its main countries. The second major variety is African English, with South Africa making a second appearance due to its higher number of speakers who have English as a second language. Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore are dealt with in the group of countries where South East Asian English is spoken. The last section in this chapter very briefly deals with a number of countries with a colonial past: Gibraltar, Malta, and Cyprus in the Mediterranean, Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, the Seychelles and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Guam in the Pacific, without however giving linguistic descriptions of the English spoken there.
Chapter 6 abandons the geographical perspective in favour of the functions English can be seen to have taken over in the expanding circle from the 18th century onwards. Among the domains where English is making inroads the authors mention global politics and economy, tourism, the education system, the mass media and popular culture, advertising and subcultures. On the more strictly linguistic level, the authors see no trend toward standardization, and argue instead that speakers of lingua franca English need a high communicative competence for dealing with the mixture of non-standard features and the large amount of pragmatic variation found in much intercultural communication. The authors then briefly consider the influence of English on the local languages and the choices involved in choosing a variety of English for education.
In Chapter 7, Melchers and Shaw take a look at the likely developments in the near future and identify US power, globalization and information technology as the most important factors favouring the further spread of English across the globe. They posit that the high visibility of unedited English found in computer-mediated communication could have a destandardizing effect on international English, but that the still considerable influence of the school systems might counterbalance this trend.
Finally, Appendix 1 gives a list of the speakers on the accompanying CD, and Appendix 2 contains a number of pre- and post-reading questions for each chapter.
CRITICAL EVALUATION Everyone teaching a course on the varieties of English around the world probably has their own idea of what the ideal textbook for such a course should cover. One of the authors has taught just such a course for many years, and the book under review is proof of this. Many sections read more like lightly edited lecture notes than a textbook meant to be studied by undergraduate students. The authors include a number of anecdotes in the text, a feature that often works well in class, but much less well in a textbook, and they have the rather irritating habit of writing one-sentence paragraphs, something which many university teachers try to eradicate from their students' essays.
It is clear that balancing the content of such a short book is a difficult task, and the authors should be praised for trying to combine most of the relevant sociolinguistic aspects with a large number of linguistic descriptions of individual varieties in a relatively small book. Apart from the style, most of my criticism therefore relates to details of content. A number of sections in the book seem to be the result of compromises of various kinds: One might argue, for example, about the usefulness of a very short chapter on the roots of English, or whether such a a book is the best place for contemplating the influence of English on other languages via borrowing. Possibly these pages might have been put to better use.
One of my quibbles concerns the notoriously difficult problem of the translations or glosses, which have not received the necessary attention to detail. Dialectal variation is illustrated with a Geordie poem ("A hev gorra bairn / an a hev gorra wife / an a cannit see me bairn or wife / workin in the night"), where the word 'gorra' is claimed to stand for the local pronunciation of 'got to' (p.13).
Generally, the maps in the book are often not very useful as they do not show all areas mentioned in the text and do not distinguish between cities and provinces. To give just one example, among the dialects of England discussed in the text are those of Leeds, Derby, West Wirral and Norwich, but only Leeds can be found on one of the maps. One might also wonder about the necessity of listing statistics on area, population and capital for the countries discussed, given that such data can easily be found elsewhere and is of questionable relevance in this context.
Within the descriptions of the individual varieties, spelling, a very accessible aspect, is not systematically commented on, e.g. South Asian English is said to be "spelt in the British style", but British English does not have a section on spelling. In the more extensive section on phonology most of the comparisons of the lexical sets are clearly useful and could have been extended, e.g. it would have been interesting to see the Australian vowels compared not just to RP, but also to American English vowels. In addition to the concept of lexical sets, much of the data used by the authors comes from Wells as well, which often seems a needless repetition, especially where even the examples are taken straight from Wells (1982), a study in three volumes based on data which is now more than a generation old. On the other hand, a number of sections (Liberian English and AAVE, Caribbean English) are so short, they seem more like appetizers than any kind of solid information. In the sections on the lexicon, the authors' use of the word 'tautonym' to refer to words having different meanings in different varieties seems somewhat idiosyncratic.
The references given in the book are not consistently placed in the further-reading sections, but appear either there (sometimes with comment, sometimes without; sometimes with full bibliographic details, sometimes as author plus year only) or embedded in the text. Sharp (2001) is referred to, but missing in the references. Appendix 2 contains a number of pre- and post-reading questions, which - according to the preface - are meant to remind readers of what they know and to check their new knowledge. This generally is a good idea, but one would expect the pre- reading questions to be clearly easier than the post- reading questions. Some questions sound more like activation questions for a seminar group than questions meant to check on the reader's knowledge.
Comparing the book under review to other books on the market that might be considered as textbooks for courses on world Englishes, one could mention Trudgill and Hannah (1994), a book that gives considerably more linguistic detail on the varieties discussed, but devotes only very little room to varieties in the expanding circle (an aspect which is of much interest to students in potentially expanding-circle countries in Europe) and does not cover the sociolinguistic and political perspectives. The latter aspect can be found in Crystal (1997) to a certain extent, or more thoroughly in Brutt-Griffler (2002). Crystal (1995) provides an widely available source for maps, statistics and historical background. Bauer (2002) is mostly limited to varieties of the inner circle. Jenkins (2003) is very useful as an overview for the debate on the sociolinguistic and political aspects, but does not give linguistic descriptions. Cheshire (1991) and Allerton et al (2002) finally are edited collections of papers that provide accessible further reading on a range of subtopics on world Englishes.
Writing a relatively short textbook of such a scope is a very big bite to chew, and while I would like to congratulate the authors on their choice of content, I wish they had chosen a different style for the book and spent more time on revision and ensuring internal consistency.
REFERENCES Allerton, D.J., Skandera, P. and Tschichold, C., eds. (2002). Perspectives on English as a World Language. Basel: Schwabe.
Bauer, L. (2002). An Introduction to International Varieties of English. Edinburgh University Press.
Brutt-Griffler, J. (2002). World English: A Study of its Development. Multilingual Matters.
Cheshire, J., ed. (1991). English around the world: Sociolinguistic perspectives. Cambridge UP.
Crystal, D. (1995). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge UP.
Crystal, D. (1997). English as a Global Language. Cambridge University Press.
Jenkins, J. (2003). World Englishes: A resource book for students. Routledge.
Trudgill, P. & J. Hannah (1994, 3rd ed.). International English: A guide to the varieties of standard English. Arnold.
Wells, J.C. (1982). Accents of English, vols I - III. Cambridge University Press.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER:
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Cornelia Tschichold teaches English linguistics at
Neuchâtel University. While her research interests focus on
English phraseology, computational lexicography and
computer-assisted language learning, she teaches a wide
range of courses in English linguistics, including courses
on sociolinguistics, the history of English, and varieties
of English around the world. | <urn:uuid:eb43ea76-2540-45c2-ae23-dc27a6a5300d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://linguistlist.org/pubs/reviews/get-review.cfm?SubID=20284 | 2013-05-23T18:31:54Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930054 | 2,754 |
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The Weekly Standard
January 7, 2013
by Lee Smith
An explosion in southern Lebanon last week destroyed what is believed to have been a Hezbollah weapons depot. This latest in a series of mysterious "accidents" in Hezbollah-controlled precincts proved, as one Israeli official wryly remarked, that those who "sleep with rockets and amass large stockpiles of weapons are in a very unsafe place." With the Party of God's overland supply route through Syria choked off by the 22-month-long uprising against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and Israel virtually in total control of the maritime route, Hezbollah's stockpile is being systematically degraded.
Yet the arsenal of Iran's other regional proxy force, Hamas, is growing. The Israeli Defense Forces' campaign against Hamas last month in Gaza targeted Iranian missiles, including the Fajr-5, capable of reaching Tel Aviv and other points north, and destroyed most of them within the first hours of the conflict. But Hamas is already rearming, and it's not clear that Israel or even Muslim Brotherhood-governed Egypt, which is ostensibly capable of controlling the Sinai tunnel networks through which Hamas receives its arms, can do much about it.
Israel's next war with Hamas—a further confrontation is almost inevitable—may well feature not only Iranian missiles smuggled through Sudan, but NATO-quality small arms and shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles that come by way of Hamas's most recent weapons supplier, post-Qaddafi Libya.
Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense also zeroed in on Hamas commanders, most notably Ahmed al-Jabari, Hamas's chief of staff, responsible for the group's military operations. It was Jabari who replaced Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, assassinated in a Dubai hotel room almost three years ago in an operation usually attributed to Israel. In a sense, then, Pillar of Defense began back in January 2010 in that most profligate of the United Arab Emirates—which is also a veritable weapons bazaar.
"It's the Casablanca of the Middle East, with all sorts of shady characters, money laundering, and arms deals," says Michael Ross, a former Mossad operations officer. "With the Mabhouh assassination, the UAE authorities had all this video feed of what were allegedly Mossad operatives moving in and out of Dubai, but what they didn't show was footage of Mabhouh meeting with a banker, then with his contact from the IRGC [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps]." According to Ross, Mabhouh's briefcase was a treasure trove of information detailing what items Hamas procured from the Iranians and the logistics of getting them to Gaza.
Arms smuggling was a problem in Gaza long before Hamas took control, says Major (Res.) Aviv Oreg, formerly in charge of the al Qaeda and global jihad desk in Israel's military intelligence service and now head of a private consulting firm specializing in terrorism, CeifiT. "In the past, there was a maritime route via Syria or Lebanon, and when the smugglers approached the location they'd put the weapons in large flotation devices with the hope that the current would take it ashore," says Oreg. "Sometimes it got tangled up in fishermen's nets."
When the Israeli Navy interdicted the Karine A freighter in 2002 and stopped a large cache of Iranian-made weapons from reaching Gaza, it not only turned George W. Bush against Yasser Arafat for good, it also signaled that Israel had closed Iran's maritime route to Gaza once and for all. And yet as Israel's 2005 disengagement from Gaza cleared the way for Hamas's 2007 takeover, the outfit sought more sophisticated weapons, and Iran's support. The question for Tehran was how to get arms to their Palestinian clients.
"The ships usually start in the port of Bandar Abbas," says Oreg. "They come through the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, around the Arabian Peninsula, and crossing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, docking in Port Sudan." Occasionally the Iranians will dock in Eritrea, "just to mix things up," but their preferred point of entry is Sudan.
Sudan is critical, agrees Michael Ross. "This is where the parts for Iranian weapons are assembled. The guys in Gaza aren't too swift in putting together complicated systems like the Fajr-5. Some assembly may be required when it hits Gaza, but the more complicated, high-tech aspects of the weapons systems are assembled in Sudan by Iranians, who have a large presence in Khartoum, at places like the al-Yarmouk factory."
In October, an operation widely credited to Israel destroyed this key Iranian weapons depot. Other attacks on Sudanese soil attributed to Israel, such as the spring 2009 series of strikes on weapons convoys, have left some wondering what the government in Khartoum has to gain from painting a big target on its head for the IDF.
Money is part of it, says Matthew Levitt, director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who points to extensive economic cooperation between Iran and Sudan. "But there are also ideological reasons. These are radical Islamists, they've been angry at the world since their president, Omar al-Bashir, was indicted for war crimes, and they don't like Israel."
Even if it were possible to convince Khartoum to sever ties with Tehran, says Oreg, "the Iranians would find a replacement without too much difficulty, Eritrea or Somalia, both places where the central government is incapable of extending control over its territory." In any case, the real problem is Egypt.
Sudanese smugglers, mostly from the Rashaida tribe, transport the weapons from Port Sudan in trucks across the Nubian Desert to the Egyptian border, all the way through Egypt's Eastern Desert along the Red Sea, and through the Suez Canal deep into the Sinai Peninsula. "The easiest way to cut off Hamas's weapons supply," says Ross, "would be to shut down the shipments coming out of Sudan, at the source, rather than in Sinai. The routes are limited, and this could easily be accomplished if the Egyptian military made an effort. But the army has always been the problem. While Mubarak was president, it was the intelligence service under Omar Suleiman that stopped shipments, kept radical elements at bay, and cooperated very closely with Israel. The military looks the other way and just doesn't care."
In fact, since the August jihadist attack in the Sinai that killed 16 Egyptian border guards, the army has been more vigilant, recognizing that its own security, and not merely Israel's, is at stake. The proliferation of foreign fighters in the Sinai, some of them aligned with Egypt's Salafist movement, moreover, poses a big political risk for Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. Judging by his actions during Pillar of Defense, Morsi believes that keeping the peace with Israel is in the national interest. That still leaves plenty of room for him to be outflanked on his right by the Salafists and armed fighters whose prestige rests precisely on the fact that they are fighting Israel. The problem, then, is that if Morsi closes the tunnels, affecting both Hamas and the Sinai jihadists, the latter will turn on him; if he doesn't, the jihadists will eventually come for him anyway.
In any case, he has an excuse for the United States and Israel ready at hand: Practically speaking, it's almost impossible to shut down the entire network of tunnels between Sinai and Gaza—and for that, he can lay some of the blame at Mubarak's feet.
"The nomadic tribes in the Sinai were neglected by the government for years," says Oreg. "There are no roads, no employment, and their main source of income became smuggling—not only weapons into Gaza, but routes into Israel also, smuggling drugs and women." The Tarabin tribe, he explains, is the most dominant—and the wealthiest. "In Sinai, the biggest and most expensive houses belong to smugglers. For one AK-47, a smuggler gets $1,000."
Besides the profit motive for smuggling, there are also geographical issues that make it difficult to close the industry. "With the high mountains in the Sinai," says Oreg, "it's easy for the smugglers to move around, and not even the Egyptian Army can do much about it."
The Gaza side of the border is even more economically dependent on the tunnel networks that, since Hamas took over, have become highly regulated. "After the blockade of Gaza," says Oreg, "everything went through tunnels. All of Gaza's international trade is conducted through the tunnels, thousands of them. Hamas has basically institutionalized the tunnel industry, requiring registration for tunnels and imposing taxes on them. You can make up to $50,000 a month on a tunnel."
Not surprisingly, Libyan entrepreneurs now want a piece of the action. The supply line, according to Oreg, is the same—via Sudan. "But eventually," says Oreg, "they will likely build smuggling networks through the Libyan desert into Egypt." What's different, says Ross, is the materiel. "For instance, they've got FN F2000s, a Belgian-manufactured military assault rifle. The Europeans, in their infinite wisdom, treated Qaddafi like just another client. And so after Qaddafi, people found warehouses full of munitions, and if you're sitting on a stockpile, it's not too tough to make contacts with middlemen and facilitators. What a wild west that's become."
Israeli officials might be worried about the Sinai turning into an Afghanistan on their border, but with Hamas, they're looking at a garrison equipped with Iranian missiles and European small arms. "We saw how much Hamas had at its disposal with Operation Pillar of Defense," notes Ross. "There was no ground incursion this time around, but you'd have seen them breaking out all sorts of stuff, like NATO-quality small arms. We've come a long way from the First Intifada and 8-year-olds throwing rocks."
Lee Smith is a visiting fellow at Hudson Institute and is the author of The Strong Horse: Power, Politics and the Clash of Arab Civilizations (Doubleday, 2010).
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Washington apprised American security officers John Ford and Joe Bezjian of the situation at their base of operations at the American Embassy in Paris, France. Both gentlemen were security professionals but Joe was the technical expert. The embassy invited them to come to Moscow to see if they could solve the mystery. Like the allied search team, they turned up nothing and determined that the Soviets had removed the device. This occurrence added fuel to the concern that the Soviets possessed a new technology that could effectively evade western search equipment and techniques. This was further compounded when an American military attaché, Major Van Latham, stationed at the Mohkavaya building (the American Embassy Chancery building at that time) overheard the ambassador’s voice while monitoring his radio. A frantic search ensued but once again, nothing was found.
In September, Joe and John returned to Moscow to perform another search of U.S. facilities. They searched U.S. Embassy facilities thoroughly and turned up nothing. Joe suspected that his search may have been compromised but decided to make one last effort. As with Ambassador Kennan, he was aware that the renovation of Spaso House presented an opportunity for the KGB to introduce something technical – he just didn’t know what. Discussing the matter with the Ambassador they worked out a plan. The plan included surreptitious delivery of Joe’s search equipment to the house and a bogus classified dictation session by the Ambassador in his study. Joe moved all of his personal effects into a guest room at Spaso House and took up the life of a house guest for several days. He invited people over for dinner, played bridge in the evening, and quietly watched the normal routines of the house and its occupants.
On September 12, the embassy personnel officer, Sam Janey, brought Joe’s disguised search equipment to the house. The two men hid the equipment in a residence safe. According to plan, Ambassador Kennan called his longtime secretary, Ms. Dorothy Hessman, to perform dictation in the ambassador’s study. The ambassador dictated from an old embassy dispatch. The dispatch consisted of an unclassified portion of published diplomatic correspondence and to the uninformed ear could well sound worth collecting.
Soon after Ms. Hessman arrived, Joe and Sam carried the equipment from the safe to the attic. Almost as soon as the equipment warmed up Joe spun his dial and heard Ambassador Kennan’s voice and Ms. Hessman’s typing. Joe’s attentions snapped onto his receiver and a surge of adrenalin sharpened his focus, but he controlled his excitement and continued his quiet hunt using the radio strapped to his chest like a concessionaire at a ball game. Hearing the ambassador’s voice “on the air” Joe sent Sam down to the study with a note to the ambassador. Sam passed the note to Ambassador Kennan and then implored him, via sub-vocal whispers, to “keep on, keep on.” The room charged with an unknown presence lurking beyond the shadows.
Joe carried his equipment slowly down the stairs, entered the study, and started parsing the room, searching for the signal’s origin. He lowered his whip antenna, diminishing the receiver’s sensitivity, and quietly treaded from corner to corner. Ambassador Kennan continued dictating but held his eyes riveted on Joe as he fiddled with his dials and antenna. Using the meter on his receiver and the shifting audio in his headset, Joe tracked the signal to the study’s left rear corner. A corner table displayed many small things including a Zenith radio. Joe pointed to Sam to remove the radio and then in turn pointed at different items for him to remove from the table. Joe heard no effect on the device’s audio as the ambassador continued to read. Above the table hung a large wooden replica of the U.S. Great Seal. After Sam removed all the items from the table Joe’s eyes fixed on the Seal. He approached it delicately, suspecting that it might be covering up something planted in the wall.
Placing his receiver down, Joe picked the Great Seal off the wall gingerly and placed it on an overstuffed chair at the room’s center. The signal dropped off and just as suddenly returned. Joe returned to examine the wall. He slowly scanned back and forth with his eyes and ran his finger tips across the plaster surface seeing and feeling nothing. He slowly turned and fixed his gaze on the Great Seal. He went back to the chair where it sat and began examining it closely. He ran his receiver back and forth across where the Great Seal lay on the chair confirming that the signal emanated from behind the bald eagle’s head. In his excitement, he bumped the wooden Seal and the signal disappeared once again. Fearing that his search had been discovered, Joe told Ambassador Kennan that he had lost the signal but it undoubtedly came from inside the Great Seal. The signal suddenly returned a few moments later but then went off the air – forever.
The ambassador looked at Joe and quietly asked about leaving the device in place to feed prepared information back to the Soviets in a misinformation campaign. Joe assured the ambassador that the Russian operator undoubtedly knew that the search effort was compromised. He felt sure they were listening to his activities and quite probably knew of his discovery of their intelligence operation. Joe advised the ambassador that the device needed to be studied to determine its capabilities. Further, Joe contended, the considerable U.S. effort to discover the device required that it be secured to keep the Soviets from “recovering” it, denying western governments the opportunity to understand and protect themselves from the new technology.
Joe, eager to examine the device, remained uneasy because of the possibility that the device contained a booby trap that might explode and destroy its secrets as well as hurt the person opening the device or the people standing nearby. Joe instructed Ambassador Kennan, Sam, and Ms. Hessman to leave the study. But he was also driven by his curiosity to see what was inside of the wooden carving, enough curiosity to overrule his caution. He carefully examined the Seal and noted a seam in the edge. With a sharp-edged masonry hammer he slowly, deliberately cracked the seal open, splitting the plaster circumference ring and having the seal fall into its front and back pieces. Nothing self-destructed. Hidden within a large carved cavity inside the seal the disassembly revealed a cleverly hidden device called a cavity resonator. The device required no internal power source and uses the basic physical principles of resonance to steal audio from its surroundings. It had no electronic components, just a nonferrous microphone and an antenna crafted to resonate at the appropriate frequency. Much as a diva can explode a piece of glass with her voice resonating until the excess energy causes it to shatter, a cavity resonator can modulate (change) an externally supplied radio signal and use its clever combination of radio-frequency resonance and audio modulation to eavesdrop on nearby conversations. The resonator gave the Soviets a tactical and strategic edge in the battle for Cold War supremacy.
An anonymous Russian had given the wooden replica to Ambassador Averell Harriman as a personal gift sometime in 1945. Initially, Ambassador Harriman did nothing with the seal. It was during the war and his time was limited. After several months in storage, someone hung the seal in the Ambassador’s study. Ambassador Harriman did not remember when, nor who hung the seal. When asked some 15 years later, all Ambassador Harriman remembered was that when leaving his assignment in the USSR the large size of the seal prevented it from being packed into his personal effects. He left it hanging on the wall of the house’s study for his successor.
Following Ambassador Harriman was Ambassador Walter Bedell Smith, soon-to-be director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He remembered the seal quite well. The ambassador remembered only one time throughout his entire Moscow tenure when the seal did not hang in the study. He noticed that a crack had appeared in the Seal’s rim and ordered it repaired prior to the arrival of the Secretary of State, George Marshall, who used the study as his bedroom. Ambassador and Mrs. Smith wanted the room to be as tidy as possible for the Secretary. A Russian handyman took the seal and kept it for approximately a week. The seal reappeared in excellent shape with no indication of a crack on any of its edges, well before Secretary Marshall’s arrival to negotiate with the USSR.
The Seal, apparently, had hung in the study from 1945 until Joe discovered it on September 12, 1953. State Department Security Engineers had examined the Seal twice in 1951 with a metal detector. The detector indicated the presence of the obvious metal screws and studs on the reverse side but nothing in the middle – fooled by the nonferrous brass construction of the resonant cavity. After Joe’s successful technical search, he continued his inspection with hand tools. He and Sam performed a destructive search destroying the wall on which the Seal had hung for so long. They found nothing: no cables, no power source, no indications at all. After they demolished the wall and finished searching for any associated devices at 3 A.M., they posted a Marine Guard in the study.
Joe placed the cavity resonator under his pillow and placed the Great Seal under the bed and settled in for a couple of hours of restless sleep. The next morning he accompanied Ambassador Kennan in his limousine to the Chancery heading directly towards the Kremlin on the way to the embassy. At the chancery, Joe photographed multiple angles of the cavity resonator and the Seal. He carefully packed the seal and resonator in boxes and hand carried them to the communications vault and packaged them in a diplomatic pouch. The next pouch shipment sent them to the Department’s Regional Security headquarters in Paris. Once the pouch reached Paris, Security Engineer Fred Snyder repacked the pouch and hand carried the Seal and the resonator to Washington, D.C. In D.C., it rapidly made its way to Secretary Acheson’s office, who immediately arranged to show it to President Truman. The President ordered the Seal given to the FBI lab for reverse engineering. State Department Security Officer Robert Eckert hand carried the seal and device to the FBI lab for analysis.
President Truman tasked the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to develop countermeasures for cavity resonators. The NRL developed several passive and active devices for revealing resonant cavity devices and sent them to Moscow to be used. Despite diligent searches, no further devices utilizing this technology were discovered. It’s likely the Soviets removed any other devices after Joe made his discovery in order to maintain operations security over their other successes. The U.S. made several copies of both the cavity resonator and the Great Seal for various briefings to Congress and other Agencies. | <urn:uuid:381783c9-a8f1-4889-a5e5-c123787d876f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.securitymanagement.com/article/a-trojan-seal-006971?page=0%2C1 | 2013-05-26T03:06:11Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97499 | 2,240 |
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(Arusha, Tarangire, Ngorongoro)
Experience some of wildest parks in Africa on this adventurous private guided safari through Tanzania. Start with a scenic drive in your 4x4 Land Cruiser exploring Tarangire National Park, known for its large population of elephant, baobob trees and lovebirds. Travel to Lake Manyara, famous for its jungle-like scenery, blue monkeys and abundant birdlife. You may even catch a glimpse of the famous tree climbing lions! Finish up in the fabled Ngorongoro Crater - A UNESCO World Heritage Site. This legendary crater has been likened to "Noah's Ark" for its concentration of all different kinds of wildlife. Drive back to Arusha, stop for a refreshing lunch, and finish with some souvenir shopping before returning home from this unforgettable safari.
Kensington Tours has its own offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Arusha, Tanzania. Our prices include the support of our own dedicated team on the ground! Another reason we deliver unbeatable value.
Airport transfer between your Arusha hotel and Kilimanjaro International airport with private vehicle and english speaking driver.
In the unfortunate event of serious illness or injury, all travellers are covered by this “Flying Doctors” Insurance policy. This emergency evacuation insurance policy covers the cost of the evacuation flight back to Nairobi for treatment. This insurance policy however DOES NOT cover the cost of any medical treatment received.
Mount Meru Hotel is situated at the foothills of Mount Meru in the city of Arusha, Tanzania. The Mount Meru Hotel lies on 9 acres of lush landscape, surrounded by some of Africa’s most breath-taking vistas, rich with a diverse array of wildlife, etched against the fertile slopes of this beautiful mountain. The Mount Meru Hotel, its management and staff members have made every endeavour to ensure that your stay is a rejuvenating and refreshing experience of African hospitality and look forward to meeting you in person.
From Arusha, your guide will drive you to the Tarangire National Park. This commute takes approximately 3 hours to complete.
On this game drive you might notice the swamps, tinged green year round, which are the focus for 550 bird varieties. This park boasts of having the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world. On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world's largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys. More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colourful yellow-collared lovebird and the somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all endemic to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania.
Kikoti Camp is situated above one of the most highly populated wildlife arenas in Africa, Tarangire National Park, where privacy is guaranteed and guests are privy to 35 000 acres of unrefined living species. The dramatic landscape surrounding the camp’s 10 permanent en-suite tents makes for a stunning African experience full of discoveries and sights like no other. Dishes prepared at the camp feature local cuisine of the most tasteful sort, filled with adventurous spices and succulent meats. Vegetables and fruits are gathered from nearby farms, and there are no formalities around meals as it is meant to be a fulfilling, wholesome endeavor. Activities range from bush trekking and bush dining to cultural talks to add to your knowledge on the area.
In the early morning hours, your skilled guide will pick you up and take you for a game viewing drive through Tarangire National Park. The main highlight here is elephant, which mass in enormous numbers during the dry season June to December. General game is also good, although predators tend to be quite difficult to find. From January to May the park is beautiful and offers a more private experience with very low visitor numbers. Year round this is a unique safari experience.
Time permitting, there are many optional activities. Depending on which lodge you're staying at, activities range from nature walks to cultural village visits. Some of these can be prebooked through your destination specialist while others can be booked directly with the lodge upon arrival.
From Tarangire National Park, your guide will drive you to the picturesque Lake Manyara. This drive will take approximately 3 hours.
Enjoy a box lunch while you travel (included in tour price).
On todays game drive you will have to keep your eyes peeled in order to spot some of this area's beautiful and elusive big cats. It will take a keen eye to take notice of the tree climbing lions, or the camouflaged spotted leopards. You should try to look around shaded area during the hotter hours of the day, as the wildlife will be looking for a cool area to relax.
A small and exclusive lodge facing the Oldeani Volcano, only 5 kms. from the Ngorongoro Lolduare gate was built, meant to offer our clients an original experience reminiscent of the atmosphere of the old days.
Descend into the Ngorongoro caldera to view the wildlife on the crater floor. The crater is roughly 20 km/12 mi wide and 600 m/2,000 ft deep, once you've reached the top of the caldera it takes about 45 minutes to descend to the crater floor. The floor is home to a rich and highly concentrated wildlife. Some 20,000 mammals live there, including about 20 black rhinoceros, making the crater the best place in Tanzania to see the rhino. The crater floor also has one of the highest carnivore densities in the world. Lions, cheetahs, hyenas and jackals are commonly seen, while leopards, servals and bat-eared foxes may be seen with some good luck. You'll spend most of the day in the crater.
Private transportation and guide in the Ngorongoro national park.
Enjoy a picnic lunch (included in tour price).
From Ngorongoro, your guide will drive you to Arusha. This drive will take approximately 2.5 hours.
Stop for lunch at the Arusha Hotel in this tourism capital of Tanzania. Shop the local souvenir market.
Includes opportunity to visit local handicrafts market to stock up on souvenirs.
Depart from Kilimanjaro international airport - end of itinerary.
VISA/PASSPORTPassport valid for at least six months, visa and evidence of yellow fever immunization are required for both US and Canadian citizens. Visa may be purchased on arrival at the airport. Single entry visa is $50 per person ($100pp for US citizens), payable in cash (no credit cards). Visas may also be obtained in advance through a visa service. Processing generally takes 5 working days and costs approximately $75.
Please note obtaining a visa is your responsibility. These requirements change often and therefore it is best that you check with the embassy of Tanzania for the most up to date visa information.
NOTE: Only newly printed USD currency and local currency will be accepted in East Africa, any USD currency printed without the new security measures will not be accepted. HEALTHHealth insurance is essential. Guests of Kensington Tours are covered by East African Flying Doctor Services included in the tour price. This coverage guarantees that any member injured or ill while on safari will be airlifted back to Nairobi to the international hospital.
We recommend that you see a health-care provider who specializes in Travel Medicine. The doctor or health-care provider will determine what vaccinations and medication you will need, depending on factors such as your health and immunization history, areas of the country you will be visiting, and planned activities. For more information on travel requirements, visit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/tanzania.aspx
A yellow fever shot is NOT required for visitors from US/Canada/UK/EU direct, however if you are travelling through Kenya into Tanzania, you will need the vaccine.
COUNTRY INFOLanguage: Swahili and English are the official languages. Several indigenous languages are also spoken. Currency: Tanzanian shilling (TZS). Most tourism prices are in US Dollars.ATMs are available in major cities only. Major lodges, some hotels accept credit cards. Time: GMT +3. Electricity: 230 volts AC, 50Hz. Rectangular or round three-pin plugs are used. Communications: The international country dialing code for Tanzania, as well as Zanzibar, is +255.
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DVD Release Date: May 6, 2008 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Number of Discs: 4
Number of Episodes: 30
Running Time: approx. 760 minutes
Total Run Time of Special Features: N/A
Languages, Subtitles, Closed Captioning: English, Spanish, French and Portuguese languages; Spanish & Portuguese subtitles; Closed-Captioned.
Special Features: Sony TV DVD Previews; Minisodes
After a long 10-month wait, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment brings us another season of Bewitched on DVD, this time The Complete Sixth Season! Dick Sargent takes over the role of Darrin Stephens joining Elizabeth Montgomery, Agnes Moorehead, Erin Murphy, and David White all return for more spellbinding and magic at Morning Glory Circle! Also joining the series in a recurring role is Alice Ghostley playing the shy Esmeralda. This is also the season where Samantha gives birth to her second child, Adam. Join the Stephens family as we see Tabitha running away to be in “Jack and the Beanstalk” because she is jealous of her baby brother, Darrin being frozen into a mirror when Sam’s dad Maurice finds out the baby isn’t named after him, Endora being upset at Samantha celebrating Halloween, so she turns Darrin into a warlock. Paul Lynde returns as Uncle Arthur botching his magic hat trick at Tabtha’s birthday party and a Playboy bunny comes out! So join Elizabeth Montgomery in ... Bewitched! (Now the theme music is stuck in your head, isn’t it?)
Memorable Episodes / Notable Guest Stars:
This season is the first season with Dick Sargent as Darrin, as we mentioned...and I think I liked Bewitched the best these last few seasons with Sargent as Darrin. As I mentioned before, Dick Sargent joins the cast in “Samantha and the Beanstalk,” in which Tabitha is jealous of the new baby and runs away to this classic...literally. In “Samantha’s Yoo-Hoo Maid,” Alice Ghostley joins the cast as Esmeralda the bumbling shy witch. Samantha gives birth to her second child and Maurice (Sam’s dad) makes sure that everyone who passes by falls in love with the baby in “...And Something Makes Four.” The very next episode has Maurice raging mad because the new baby is not named after him in “Naming Samantha’s New Baby.” Samantha is working on Halloween costumes for a UNICEF benefit and Endora is dismayed at Samantha for celebrating Halloween in “To Trick or Treat or Not to Trick or Treat.” In the two-part episode, “Daddy Comes For a Visit/Darrin the Warlock,” Maurice gives Darrin a magic watch, giving him magical powers, much to the dismay of Samantha. Esmerelda brings up the real Santa Claus and cannot get him back to the North Pole in “Santa Comes to Visit and Stays and Stays.” Phyllis (Darrin’s mom) catches Samantha using her magic powers and does not really know what to think...what will happen? Find out in “Samantha's Secret is Discovered.” Tabitha wants to go to the park, but Samantha tells her that she has many chores to do around the house...so Tabitha creates “another” Samantha in “Tabitha's Very Own Samantha.” In “Generation Zap,” with a touch of magic, Endora turns a client's sensible daughter Dusty Harrison into a raving sex machine with the hots for Darrin. Mr. Dinsdale, a handsome lady-killer client falls for Samantha because she looks like Serena in “Chance of Love.”
Some famous guests this season include Johnny Whitaker, Deacon Jones, Jack Cassidy, Bernie Kopell, Carol Wayne, John Fielder, Lloyd Bochner, Charles Lane, Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart, Henry Gibson, and Danny Bonaduce. Recurring actors include Alice Ghostley, Bernard Fox, Paul Lynde, Sandra Gould, Robert F. Simon, Mabel Albertson, Kasey Rogers, Maurice Evans, and George Tobias.
Like the previous sets, we get nice slim cases! This set is a four-disc set, like the last few, so we have two slim cases, each holding two discs each. However, before we get to the full slim case details, let’s go back to the box. The cover of the box is a nice light purple color scheme. It has the attractive Bewitched logo (saying Elizabeth Montgomery in) in script with a photo of an animated Samantha on top of that. There is a nice photo of Samantha in the middle, with Tabitha & Darrin to the left and Endora to the right in a nice city type of background with a huge moon, reminiscent of the opening credits. The back of the box has synopsis of the show and the set, with three nice snapshots on the left side, and continuing the night city setting.
On the front of each slim case, there are pictures of various cast members. Case 1 has Samantha featured, with an image each of Darrin and Tabitha to the left. Case 2 has another shot of Samantha, with Serena and Endora on top. On the back of each case, there is a listing of all of the episodes on the discs contained inside as well as a brief description of those episodes. All of this is similar to previous sets, so no surprises.
The art contained on the discs is simple, purple in color with the city skyline in the background and pictures of different characters on each disc. Disc 1 has a picture of Samantha, Disc 2 has a picture of Darrin, Disc 3 has a picture of Endora, and Disc 4 has a picture of Tabitha. Disc 1 contain episodes 1-8, Disc 2 contains episodes 9-16, Disc 3 contains episodes 17-23, and Disc 4 contains episodes 24-30 (and the bonus previews crap and minisodes). When you take the discs out, you will see nice photos surrounding the slim case inside. Again, a Sony catalog comes with the packaging. It is not really up to date on some things...it says Married with Children Season 8 coming soon, but that was released already. It does have some actual correct coming soon wordings, such as I Dream of Jeannie S5 and Just Shot Me! S3.
Menu Design and Navigation:
The menus are simple like the previous sets. Each menu screen on each of the four discs is different. It starts with an animated showcase of Sam (each disc is different) twitching you to the menu screen. Disc one menu is pink, the disc two menu is green, disc three menu is purple, and disc four menu is blue...just as the previous set. They have one thing common; they have an animated Darrin (yes, Sargent version) & Sam. The theme song plays in the background (and it does loop if you stay awhile). The options are... Play All Episodes, Episode Selections, and Languages. The Episode Selections option clouds you to a simple menu where you can choose the episode you want to see (pictures from the episodes are shown in what appears to be picture frames on a wall). Languages allow you to select what Audio and Subtitles you want. Audio is English, French, Spanish or Portuguese. Subtitles are either Spanish or Portuguese. Minisodes and Bonus Previews options are on disc four. The menus are the same as the previous set...well except for the addition of the minisodes.
Video and Audio Quality:
Bewitched has been good in video for previous sets. Although the last set was not as good, though in terms of video quality...but this set is MUCH better! Sony says in the press release that this set is digitally mastered, but the packaging does not say that, but I think it is...because it looks GREAT! Samantha must have uses witchcraft at Sony to fix the problem from the last set! All episodes appear to be unedited with run times all over 25 minutes (mostly about 25:20). The audio track is good, in Dolby Digital mono. There are no major problems, and the volume is at a good level. Chapter stops are available at the right places and we have five chapter stops per episode. The new Sony Pictures logo is at the end of each episode running like 5 seconds. The FBI warning is available at the start of the first episode on each disc...but you can chapter skip it. In all, this set is much better in audio and video than the previous set!
The following are the runtimes for each episode:
1. Samantha and the Beanstalk 25:20
2. Samantha’s Yoo Hoo Maid 25:20
3. Samantha’s Caesar Salad 25:21
4. Samantha’s Curious Cravings 25:21
5. And Something Makes Four 25:21
6. Naming Samantha’s New Baby 25:21
7. To Trick or Treat or Not to Trick or Treat 25:19
8. A Bunny for Tabitha 25:20
9. Samantha’s Secret Spell 25:19
10. Daddy Comes to Visit 25:23
11. Darrin the Warlock 25:20
12. Samantha’s Double Mother Trouble 25:19
13. You’re So Agreeable 25:20
14. Santa Comes to Visit and Stays and Stays 25:19
15. Samantha’s Better Halves 25:20
16. Samantha’s Lost Weekend 25:22
17. The Phrase Is Familiar 25:20
18. Samantha’s Secret Is Discovered 25:22
19. Tabitha’s Very Own Samantha 25:21
20. Super Arthur 25:20
21. What Makes Darrin Run 25:19
22. Serena Stops the Show 25:21
23. Just a Kid Again 25:19
24. Generation Zap 25:21
25. Okay, Who’s the Wise Witch 25:20
26. A Chance on Love 25:23
27. If the Shoe Pinches 25:21
28. Mona Sammy 25:22
29. Turn on the Old Charm 25:21
30. Make Love, Not Hate 25:24
The first two seasons had great extras, but ever since we have not gotten anything at all, just the Sony Previews. Previews for this set are Blonde Ambition (movie), My Mom’s New Boyfriend (movie), Saawanya (movie), The Water Horse (movie), Ladies Night (TV), and ‘80s Hits (TV...but it actually movies, Sony can’t label it right). Just one TV trailer and it is so old. Again, it is not even funny anymore Sony!
We also have two Sony Minisodes from Sony’s Minisode Network. We get a Minisode of The Partridge Family, “Eleven Year Itch” that runs 5:35. Maybe we get this Minisode because Danny Bonaduce guest starred on Bewitched? We also have a minisode of I Dream of Jeannie, “Where’d You Go-Go?” that runs 5:02. I bet we have that because the series is somewhat similar to Bewitched. These are really to promote this online network.
Between seasons four and five, we had a 9-month wait, now between seasons five and six we get a 10-month wait. Therefore, I would guess we would get season 7 in another 9-10 months or so. I hope they go at a faster pace again so we get seasons 7 and 8 faster. There are eight seasons of this show, and we are 75% finished now...just two more sets! Come on Sony, let’s release them faster! As for this set, it is decent, video quality is much better than the previous set that it is so noticeable. Other than that, the set is on par with the last four sets, and of course down from the first two where we got great special features. Get on board Samantha’s witchcraft on season six of Bewitched where the word of the season is “change,” because there is a lot of it...and it is good to have change because it works here! Bewitched! | <urn:uuid:9583961b-6105-4cce-86ec-8dd40d8e45da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sitcomsonline.com/bewitchedseason6dvdreview.html | 2013-05-21T17:37:40Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911097 | 2,655 |
[ A.K.A SEKMINËS – Seventh Sunday after Easter
In Lithuania and in neighboring countries, traditions of Pentecost are
related with the end of sowing and the start of summer labors. This is
a spring gathering and shepherds' holiday. The most distinctive feature
of Pentecost is nature worship. The power of nature was attributed to young,
green birch trees. It was believed that the birch tree can pass her vitality
to the soil, to animals, protect from illness and all evils. On the eve
of Pentecost, village girls dispersed in fields and woods in search of
flowers and greenery that were used to make wreaths. Young men picked branches
off birch trees, which they placed around doors, gates, inside porches
and in living rooms. Wreaths and bunches of flowers decorated the entire
house. Tables were covered with linen tablecloths, garden paths were sprinkled
with sand and greens. It was believed that the souls of the dead, while
visiting homes on Pentecost, rested on birch tree branches. Shepherds decorated
cows with birch wreaths, to keep them calm and together, be good milkers
and to please the mistress of the house so she would be kind and generous
throughout the year.
The writer, B.Buraèas described this tradition of decorating
the herds in his writings, saying that on the night before Pentecost, shepherds
returning home with the herd dressed the animals with birch and marsh marigold
wreaths. They even tied birch branches to cattle horns.
In some regions women placed a piece of bread in a white linen kerchief,
tied it with three double birch branches and tied this kerchief to their
apron sash believing this to be a protection from snake bites. Whipping
with bathing birch- rods in bathhouses was believed to chase all ailments
out of the body. On Pentecost morning, the master of the house whipped
his cows to make them more active while grazing in the fields.
When Christianity came to Lithuania, churches began blessing grasses.
Then on this holiday, churches were decorated with birch trees and other
greenery. People arrived in church carrying bunches of greenery , which
were blessed. These blessed greens were set on fire and their smoke was
used to incense dying persons, new buildings and storm clouds. It was believed
that smoke from Pentecost greens had the power to chase away evil spirits,
protect buildings and send storm clouds away. Wayside crosses and ritual
tables were also decorated with Pentecost greenery.
J.Balys wrote in " Lithuanian Calendar Holidays" how plants are used
in charmings. First of all, many wreaths were twined and each one was given
a man's name. The largest wreath was given the name of the girl who wanted
to know the name chosen name. The wreaths are thrown into the well or into
the pond in the evening, so as not to be seen by anyone. Early in the morning
the girl went to see if her wreath was beside the largest wreath. If it
was, she would marry him.
Before Pentecost one must twine a large wreath of cornflowers with
three branches of rue in it. Before evening this wreath is placed on the
girl's head and fastened to the hair so it would not fall off. He, who
in a dream removes this wreath, will be the one too take away her virginity.
N.Gimbutas in " Baltic Mythology" , wrote that there was tradition
to go to the woods on Pentecost. A birch tree was picked out, decorated
and taken into the village. About hundred years ago this was an important
ritual which involved the entire community.
On this holiday there are fire and water glorification rituals. The
church on Pentecost blessed fire and water. In many regions holy water
was sprinkled on grain seeds, so that they would sprout fast and that birds
would not peck at the grain. Sprinkling with holy water was meant to keep
insects away from the crops and keep ponds and rivers safe from drownings.
To keep horses well and give them shinny coats, their food was also sprinkled
with holy water.
After Pentecost, according to the folk calendar, it was safe to swim
in rivers and lakes, especially if these bodies of water were close to
churches, they were blessed by the priests to protect the swimmers from
drownings. Country folk poured holy water into their wells and ponds for
Pentecost is one bright day in the shepherds' year. This day was begun
by the blare of the herdsman's trumpet before sunrise, awakening the shepherds.
That day, every shepherd planned to take his herd out at the earliest and
play his small horn. Each shepherd made his own small horn for Pentecost
from osier or alder wood and added a hollow cow's horn to give it a better
As the animals were leaving the barn, they were incensed with burning,
dried herbs by the mistress of the house. The herd grazed until noon, then
the shepherds decorated the entire herd and themselves and returned to
the village singing and playing their horns. Then the feasting began, hosted
by the head herdsman.
Shepherds' outings were organized on Pentecost, called shepherds' omelet,
[ a.k.a. pautienë ]. In some regions shepherds stopped at homesteads
in the morning to pick up prepared foods, while in others they asked for
eggs, flour, butter, milk and salt so that they could bake their own omelet.
In Dzûkija the following greeting was voiced, " happy Pentecost,
spent happily and peacefully with horses neighing and cows mooing. I was
sent to you by the oxen for bread, for milk by the cows, by sheep for flour,
by hogs for bacon and fat, by the motley hens for eggs, by the rooster
for pancakes and by the shepherds for money". If some households gave nothing,
the returning herd was decorated with nettle wreaths and brooms tied to
the cows' horns, so that everyone would know about the stinginess of that
household.. However, most homeowners were generous because they knew that
by not giving the cows' milk would be decreased.
After collecting all he goodies, the shepherds went to feast, picnic
in the woods. After the omelet was baked, the shepherds went into the forest,
climbed a tree and called out to wolves and bears to come and have breakfast
with them, saying, " if you do not come out now, you will never come out
during the coming year". This is an ancient prayer, an incantation.
In some regions of the Highlands [ a.k.a. Aukðtaitija ], shepherds
were allowed to sleep in while the herding in the morning was carried out
by girls. They herded out very early, before the larks awakened. Hearing
the larks, village lads came out playing reed and pan pipes. They also
brought food, lit bonfires. The important ritual was made up of a game
called " Arrange a Wedding". The prettiest girl was chosen to play the
bride and a lad was chosen to play the groom, while other girls dressed
as bridesmaids. After the wedding rites, the newlyweds were taken to bed
in a granary, a tent made of tree branches. After that came their awakening
and the end of the wedding ritual games. People in ancient times believed
that peoples' sexual love and fertility stimulate earth's productivity.
On the second day of Pentecost, the hired hands together with the owner's
sons carried on in the same manner as the shepherds. They provided drinks
and music while maidens prepared the food. The maidens walked along fields
of grain, singing songs with magical meanings:
You osier, clover,
Green bush, clover,
How tall you grew, clover,
At the first gate, clover,
The sun rose, clover,
At the second gate, clover,
The moon trundled, clover,
At the third gate, clover,
The maiden walked, clover.
Entire families visited the rye fields. Checked both theirs' and neighbors'
fields and shared farming advice. In some regions, hired hands brewed beer
before Pentecost so that they could treat the owners after their walks
in the grain fields. Everyone gathers to eat and drink , while the young
people sing and dance.
Girls had separate amusements. They sat in a nice spot on a hill, twined
wreaths, cast lots, told tales, sang and walked around grain fields.
When Christianity spread throughout Lithuania, priests turned these
ancient walkings around grain fields into blessings of the grain fields.
People gathered in one farmstead upon the priests' arrival and went together
to bless the grain fields. Feasting took place after the blessing.
This tradition disappeared at the beginning of 20th
century, when villages broke up into individual farms. | <urn:uuid:3a16fd44-7721-48a6-a5a5-3373efd12ec3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ausis.gf.vu.lt/eka/customs/pentecost.html | 2013-05-24T01:56:57Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969552 | 2,021 |
Republican Senators need more proof that the increase in super tornadoes and Level 5 hurricanes is caused by global warming, which they view as a myth (although the New York Times recently had a front page story listing the proof, and also the theory that human activity affects the weather.) So here’s a mantra for them to repeat in the shower before going on Fox News: “UFOs cause monster tornadoes. After all, one theory is as good as another, right? A theory is a theory is a…” Wait a minute, isn’t gravity a theory? Since they’ll never actually read a science book in their lifetime, someone should point out to them that some “theories” are never anything more than a “theory.” Like the theory that pollution accumulates. Oh wait, that’s a LAW, isn’t it? (The law of conservation of mass and energy. Thermodynamics also has a role.) In any event, maybe Wal Mart should acquire Warehouse 13, and get some help in fighting this stuff (as shown in the video below.) Since many Wal Mart shoppers and Fox News watchers believe in UFOs and alien beings from dying planets, (but don’t believe our planet is affected by anything WE do) it’s a marriage made in a hotter place—the Earth of the future. With Warehouse 13 as just another big box store, maybe then all the conspiracy nuts will be happy that the government isn’t hiding everything from them, and the NRA can use a new slogan: “From my bold red hands!”
Terminator 5: Family Die will be perhaps the most unique and original of the series, although Arnold is absent from the script. Inspired by Family Guy, the plot begins with the singularity (that moment when computers become sentient, often suggested as being 2045.) Instead of SkyNet, the entity is one massive ego—Sky Guy—who offers humans (and this means you) one year to either commit suicide with a katana (a la Tarantino) or download your consciousness into a machine to become a robot (with quantum help from Sky Guy, who figured out how in under an hour.) Meaning no one ever needs to eat or pollute or sleep again. Would you do it? Could you give up Coke and Pepsi, after so many billions spent in commercial brainwashing? What about French fries? Your party’s political views? In the movie, the Way family (in Shanghai) is the First Family, the test case family everyone is tweeting about. Because you can’t kill them, no matter how much you might want to. They are bullet and bomb proof. So…what’s it gonna be? Wanna be like them? Time is running out to decide. Humm. Do we hold onto our vices and delusions or live forever with a sky high I.Q.? Now there’s a plot.
Matrix 4: Evolutions will also hit the big screen on the same day, April 1, 2014, with all your favorites reprising their roles. Unfortunately, it’ll be a spoof with cheaper special effects. The plot revolves around people giving up on looking for work or risking more babies, and taking the red pill (instead of the little blue one), then staying in their alien cubicles to watch reality TV, particularly Duck Dynasty and Mob Wives. J.J. Abrams will direct, since his command of science is on the level of Daffy Duck.
Max Payne INTERVIEWS Max Brooks
And now an interview with World War Z writer Max Brooks, interviewed by video game gunman Max Payne.
Max Payne) So, dude, I see you were on Sons of Guns and The History Channel, talking about weapons to buy to use against zombies. And you’re not even a cartoon character like me. What gives?
Max Brooks) I love guns. Sue me.
MP) Okay, I just did on behalf of Marvel Comics and Rockstar Games.
MB) That was quick.
MP) Not really. Any twelve year old can change the clip of a Bushmaster quicker. …So, the Discovery Channel and History Channel believe in zombies, do they?
MB) Actually, I was talking about hordes. You know, crowds of young men attacking castles and caves and places like that throughout history. Hordes.
MP) Oh, I see. You mean like at soccer matches or monster truck rallies. But why are the examples shown all dead men come back to life? Where exactly has that happened lately?
MB) Congress, returned from recess? Just kidding. Okay, well…how about right now? You, for instance.
MP) I was never alive, Max.
MB) What about the other guy, Mark Wahlberg?
MP) He’s not here right now. I am. And I’m not a horde, looking to eat only very rare and never ever medium or well done meat for some nutjob reason no one has ever explained. It’s just me, here, right now, Max…with your weapon of choice.
MB) Stop aiming that thing at me!
MP) Why not? I’m not real. I’m just a character in a violent video game played by kids whose dads ignore them. So this gun can’t be real either, right? Stop sweating! You’ll be fine. Here, let me show you…
MP) Oh, I know what you’re thinking… Did he fire thirty shots or only twenty-nine. Tell the truth, in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But bein’ this is the most popular assault rifle in the world…
That’s right, the moon is destined to become a giant billboard in the sky. So look elsewhere for inspiration or romance. Who is behind this? The exclusive and shocking details are revealed in the video below…
The body of union boss Jimmy Hoffa, missing since 1975, has been found after an exhaustive search by the FBI costing taxpayers $69 million dollars. Apparently Hoffa had taken a boat ride with three mafia enforcers, and as in the Sopranos scene when Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero got taken out by Tony, Pauli and Patsy, he was shot 18 times in the chest for whispering sweet nothings to the Feds (in this case, something about “the grassy knoll.”) The three hour boat tour then strayed out of Jersey into the Bermuda Triangle, and fate took it to Greenland from there. John Stossel is set to take up the case as soon as he finishes with the boondoggle known as the Mars Mission, first proposed by Bush, and set to cost taxpayers upwards of a Trillion dollars—and all to plant an American flag on the barren world (sponsored by Directv, ESPN, and Coca-Cola.) Stossel’s take on this? “Wow, there’s so much waste everywhere I can’t freaking cover it all! I’ll get to it, okay? Give me a break!” When we asked him about Mars, he said, “As Time magazine put it, going to Mars is ridiculous since money will have to be cut from other NASA projects to do it…stuff that’s actually producing real science, like probes and space telescopes, or working on better propulsion systems. Not to mention health research, education, and filling potholes in the economy the size of Rhode Island!” We at NEN agree, but for the record have found one reason in favor of the Kardashians going to Mars: to discover how the Martians managed to reverse their population boom, and what they did with all those plastic bottles.
Coke Formula Exposed!
The formula for Coke has been hacked by the Chinese, and they have sent the ingredients to WikiLeaks. Appears that there is no trace of cocaine in the formula anymore, presumably because cocaine is so expensive. The most astonishing fact about the formula is what it DOESN’T contain. Not only is there no sugar, (since that’s too expensive, and has been replaced by the addictive high fructose corn syrup, a cheaper manmade product that can lead to diabetes,) but there is no happiness either! That’s right: happiness is not part of this product, although it’s advertised as being the main product, with slogans like “Open Happiness.” For the full formula, go here.
In other news, celebrities gathered aboard the Celebrity Century to witness a rare South Pacific meteor shower consisting of debris from the Sandusky Comet. No one survived. The ship’s black box was recovered from 5400 feet by robot submersible. Luckily, the sports, music and film stars who perished were all C and D List. Celebrity Cruises reports that everyone who is anyone are still safe, and offers condolences to “those who is not.”
Two non-gay men in the suburbs of Boston didn’t watch the Superbowl. When reached via satellite phone by ESPN’s Rio office, Bob Stockwell said, “We went for a walk.” Authorities in America have been alerted, and the men will be rounded up for examination by psychiatrists. NEN has learned that ESPN found out about the men through its worldwide surveillance network, which monitors cable subscribers (wherever you see a little red light flicker, it has taken your x-ray.) The network has supercomputers in Rio, London, and 600 feet beneath Disneyland, funding provided by Coca-Cola and the fast food chains of PepsiCo (additional funding provided by Merck, Pfizer, and United Healthcare.) When asked if they didn’t realize that walking on deserted streets during the Superbowl was also a criminal act indicative of Anti-American sentiment, and punishable by waterboarding, Leonard Meade said, “No, are you thinking of deporting us? If so, we’ll be happy to show up at any of the top twenty airports, where we’ll sign anything you wish.” ESPN is considering asking for that, depending on what the strip-searches and other examinations turn up. Unknown to them, however, the men meant the top twenty airports in the world, not just in the U.S.. Of the World’s 20 Best Airports, not one is in the United States. Number one is South Korea, a country with a booming economy because the U.S. pays their defense bill. Number two is Shanghai, then Hong Kong, Amsterdam, and Beijing. Etc. Meanwhile, the U.S. needs to spend trillions to repair degrading infrastructure, but only seem to find money from taxpayers to build new stadiums. In related news, astronomer Frank Abagnale has released this statement, “Keep things in perspective, people. One mountain-sized rock among zillions casually straying into our path unnoticed, and it’s lights out for the human race. This puts the ‘glory’ of the greatest athlete or politician or movie star or prima donna on the same level as the lowest clerk sorting Washington’s swizzle sticks in China. And if your trust is in God, I hate to say it but He doesn’t watch Sports Central, either. You need to step back about 1500 light years to a star called Deneb, at the apex of Cygnus. Sports transmissions won’t start reaching it for another 1400 years, and yet it is within our own galaxy, which, by the way, is one of billions. Deneb doesn’t stand out too much because there are stars which look brighter only because they are closer. But the closer you got to Deneb the more impressed you would be. Come within a hundred million miles of Deneb and your spaceship would not survive, much less your ball team, even with the heaviest shielding NASA and Sports Illustrated could devise. How bright is it? Okay, sports fans. You love comparing things, and keeping scores about ‘star performers.’ Let’s give our Sun a score of 1 and Deneb a score of 200,000. That’s right. It is 200,000 times as bright as our Sun, a blue white supergiant that puts out 100,000 times the Sun’s energy. It has 20 times the mass, and 200 times the radius. And it is by no means the brightest star in the galaxy. If you want to stray to a nearby dwarf galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, you would find R136a1. The score? Against our Sun’s ’1′ R136a1 has clocked a score of…wait for it… ’8,700,000.’ And you were worried about some comment made about Beyonce’s lip-syncing?” | <urn:uuid:8486138d-9810-407f-b712-ab9366159d90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://notentertainmentnews.wordpress.com/tag/science/ | 2013-05-24T01:44:51Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948663 | 2,707 |
Geotags, aerial synths, street synths… capturing events as they happen. If you can mark it on a map, then this is the place to talk about it.
There are some really cool places in the world that I'd love to see synths of, but for lack of time and money haven't been able to make it to (yet). Here's my list. What about other people, what would you like to see?
• Shiptons Arch, China
• Angel Falls, Venezuela
• Nazca lines, Peru
• Bungle Bungles, Australia
• some bones in dinosaur national monument, Colorado/Utah
• Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia
• K2/Baltoro Glacier, Pakistan http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=35.759607~76.548615&style=h&lvl=11&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&cam=-54.055532~-37.330167&scene=-1&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1
• Deer Cave, Malaysia
The Ice Hotel!
[Insert large cavern system here] preferably shot both as a walk-through (and back!) but also as panoramics in areas of interest so we get lots of donuts.
Another one high on my list would be an aerial synth of the Grand Canyon, preferably done about 200' below the altitude of the rim so you're down in it the whole way. Ideally, photograph it using a hemispherical array of cameras all synchronized to a single shutter control so you get instant donuts every time an exposure is taken.
But you know what would be tops on my list? For the Mars rover teams to submit their pictures as massive synths. MWAHAHAHAHAHAA! I'd love to boldly go where no man has gone before. Ok, so little wheeled robots have, but...
I realize I'm posting things that aren't likely to be picked up by someone local to the place who says, "Sure! That's easy enough!" but these really are the places I'd love to see synthed.
How about New Zealand. Not exciting? I'm talking about someone Synth'ing their Bungie trip from the walk up, to the jump off, the way down, and the bounce back up.
That camera had better be strapped onto their helmet...
Fracture - this thread was meant to be list of all the places in the world we'd like to see a synth of where we currently don't have one. We actually have OK coverage of NZ, but havent seen any taken while bungie jumping. That would be fairly cool, skydiving as well.
Can you guys think of any more places/situtation we need synths of?
Son Doong Cave In Vietnam
While I was replying to a thread about collaborative synths, this came to mind:
I know Photosynth won't synth water, but a closer statement would be that it won't synth the water's surface. Underwater there are loads of fixed points to tie images together. Soooo...
I'd love to see a synth of a coral reef. That would be a BLAST.
Even better, I'd love to figure out a way to tie the below-water images to the above-water shots and have someone on the reef and someone else on shore doing a collaborative synth. You'd be able to "stand on the beach" at the beginning of the synth, and "dive underwater" to see the reef.
(Oh PLEEEEZE tell me someone is interested in doing this! I don't have an underwater housing on my camera!!)
I think Tom's onto something here. I think the transition from above water to below water would be the absolute hardest part, but I too would LOVE to see this.
A good polarizer and a really careful choice of angles might work. I've had underwater features show up in a couple of synths I've done this way. It might be enough to tie the two, though the other direction would be a LOT harder.
(Anyone on the Big Island with an underwater housing for their camera? I'll do the dry-land photography!)
Cave systems in halong bay/Cat Ba island Vietnam would fit your suggestion TBenedict, and I'd love to see them
http://images.google.com/images?q=halong bay cave system&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7HPEA_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi
Also synths of reefs.. excellent idea. There are a huge team of underwater photographers in Egypt and some awesome dive sites I'm sure the Devs here could fire off some emails to camel divers & they could use it for promo work ;) ;) One possiblility would be the use of a glass bottom boat to ease the transition from land to water?
I'd particularly like to see some underwater wrecks, starting underwater at the boat near a shallow reef and descending down. Some well phrased emails would definately start off a few clusters of this type of synth!
Any series of photos from space... The saturn mission has some good stuff going around Titan - their pictures are already in the public domain as well, I reckon they might be up for some synthing..
I honestly think you're right, the above/below beach/reef synth should ideally be done by underwater photographers.
I REALLY like the idea of the glass bottomed boat for the transition. That or something similar on a smaller scale.
I'm still interested in doing this, but I hope an honest to goodness underwater photographer beats me to it. It will be far better done.
Your mention of space synths (of which I think NASA has done several) gave me an idea... I'll try to get this one done later in the week (time permitting.)
Okay, I'm now obsessed with large scale underwater reef synthing... Underwater photography is tough, normally holiday divers don't have the equipment to balance the red shift (deeper water has less blue light) it's a pain to have to add/remove coloured slides for every photo.. (sorry--going off topic there)
I emailed one dive centre in Sharm el Sheik but they haven't responded so I have sent emails out to dive centres I have worked at in the past suggesting they make a synth map a part of their dive master/master scuba diver course or make a synth to use for promos, there are centres where professionals dive the same reefs month in month out, 20 photos per dive, 70 dives per month... Anyways, I'll let you know if I get any success synth fishing :D
Also, to return to the thread topic - I'd love to see a synth from the front of a train, some rapid fire photos might do the trick from trains both ways?
*deeper water has less red light... doh!
Glad to see you taking point on this, Mister_Blondie! I don't even qualify as a holiday diver, and my equipment is nil. I really like the direction you're taking with that, especially the idea of using photos from centers where professionals are in there all the time. I'd really like to see how that turns out!
I don't know about the front of a train, but a while back Darius posted a link to a "drive through" synth where someone was taking pictures from inside a car, coming and going. The technique works quite well. At the speeds most trains go, though, you might need a pretty high frame rate to pull that off. Glad you thought of doing it both ways. For the viewer to be able to turn around and go back, that's essential.
No dice on the space synth I hoped to do this week. I'll have another chance next week, so I'll give it another go then.
A sculpture park. A whole big sculpture park...
Here's an fantastic attempt at a sculpture park: http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=97153326-97b4-4df7-ba8d-aaf9851fa34d
This is pushing the upper limit of the synther as it is, so a park larger than this would be very difficult. The overhead view in this one is great.
awesome, thanks :)
I'd like to see some Mt Everest base camp synths.
This takes a step out of the realm of the real world, but I'd absolutely love to see Michael Chesko's miniature model cities thoroughly synthed.
He's worked on models of New York City, but also has a fictional city of his own design, entitled 'Britannica'. I happened to bump into his work on Robyn Miller's blog some time ago and have been hooked on the idea of synthing his models ever since.
You can find one of Robyn's Britannica posts here: http://tinselman.typepad.com/tinselman/2008/08/stop-and-smell.html
Unfreakin'real. I second that, Nathanael. I'd be willing to be there are no small number of photographers who would be ready to jump at the chance. (I WOULD!)
I would love to synth Jack Lewis's house, "The Kilns".
Short of being able to tackle it myself, though, I'd truly enjoy someone else doing a good job of it. | <urn:uuid:aa71c29b-fc84-4974-ab2d-24a501adf539> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://photosynth.net/discussion.aspx?cat=a03647b9-821e-439b-8dbc-ae0239d6870d&dis=af7481c3-563f-44ee-8c43-034792821894 | 2013-05-24T01:37:21Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932575 | 2,037 |
Don D. Lyon
ANDOVER — Don D. Lyon, 70, of Andover died Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. He was born Nov. 30, 1939, in Parsons to Lloyd and Eloise (Woodruff) Lyon. He served in the U.S. Air Force. Mr. Lyon retired after 35 years with Shelter Insurance. He married Ruby Cosby on Jan. 17, 1959, in Miami, Okla. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a cruise. She survives. Mr. Lyon was a devoted husband and father. He was an avid sports fan, especia...
Roland W. Brown
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Roland W. Brown, 84, of Kansas City, Mo., died at St. Luke’s Hospital on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. He was born to Phillip T. and Lena (Bolter) Brown and raised in Brimfield, Mass. He graduated from Hitchcock Free Academy in 1944. A World War II veteran, he volunteered and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He earned his degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas in 1950. He began his career at Charles D...
OSWEGO — Dorothy Garland, 80, of Oswego died at her home on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010, after a long struggle with cancer. She was born June 30, 1930, in McCune to Everett and Bessie Nutt. She is survived by her husband, Larry Garland; six children, Jeri Sanders of Chetopa, Alan Atwood of Johnston, R.I., Robin Atwood and Rodney Atwood of Omaha, Neb., John Atwood and Lori Atwood of Oswego; seven grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and two ...
Arden Walker ‘Jim’ Day
AUSTIN, Texas — Arden Walker “Jim” Day, 93, a former Parsons resident, died Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, in Austin, Texas, where he had lived the past two years. He was born July 15, 1917, in Springfield, Mo., to William Walker and Gertrude Estella (Nash) Day. The family moved to Parsons in 1926, when he was 9 years old. He graduated from Parsons High School in 1935. He began his career with the Katy Railroad in Parsons in 1936, working in the...
Helen V. Mohney
Helen V. Mohney, 93, a resident of the Good Samaritan Society of Parsons, died there at 6:23 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010.
She was born Jan. 19, 1917, at Elizabeth, Pa., to Lawrence H. and Margaret (Daugherty) Sadler. She grew up in Parkersburg, W.Va., and graduated from high school there.
She continued living in Parkersburg until moving to Wichita in 1957, where she was employed by the Boeing Aircraft Co. In 1976 she moved to Parsons.
Steven Dale Fontes
CHERRYVALE — Steven Dale Fontes, 52, of Cherryvale died Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, at Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita. He was born Dec. 25, 1957, in Providence, R.I., to Joseph A. and Anita M. (Doquette) Fontes. He attended schools in West Warwick, R.I. Mr. Fontes did landscape work. Survivors include five sisters, Doreen M. Hopkins of Cherryvale, Janet D. Benson of Independence, Jeanette G. Teauge of Chautauqua, Diane C. Barne...
Schuyler J. ‘Bud’ Blair
ERIE — Schuyler J. “Bud” Blair, 91, of rural Erie died Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010, at the home of his daughter, Marcia Schuette, in Jackson, S.C. He was born July 24, 1919, in rural St. Paul to Ed and Elsie Blair. He grew up and attended school in St. Paul and was a 1936 graduate of St. Paul High School. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army. He was a farmer. He married Dorothy Jean Houghton on March 30, 1946, in Pittsburg. She pre...
Leonard I. Nunnink Sr.
ST. PAUL — Leonard I. Nunnink Sr., 89, of St. Paul died at 2 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010, at Prairie Mission Retirement Village in St. Paul. He was born Jan. 31, 1921, in St. Paul to Charles and Mary (Linden) Nunnink. He grew up in St. Paul and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a retired building contractor and a member of St. Francis Catholic Church in St. Paul. Survivors include his wife, Lois Nunnink of the home in S...
Helen V. Mohney
Helen V. Mohney, 93, a resident of the Good Samaritan Society of Parsons, died there at 6:23 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010. Her son, Robert Mohney of Parsons, survives.
The service will be at 2:30 p.m. Monday at Good Samaritan Society. Burial will be in Memorial Lawn Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Carson-Wall Funeral Home from 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Complete obituary details will be provided later.
Margaret L. Forshey
Margaret L. Forshey, 59, of Parsons died at 12:25 a.m. Monday, Oct. 18, 2010, at Labette Health. She had been in failing health. She was born on Dec. 17, 1950, at Lawrence to Howard and Juanita (Divine) Forshey. She grew up at Parsons and attended Parsons schools. She resided in several states until she moved back to Parsons in 1984. She worked as a convenience store clerk. She enjoyed playing bingo, fishing and visiting with family and fr...
Dorothy F. Scott Larez
CHANUTE — Dorothy F. Scott Larez, 87, former resident of Wichita, died Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, at Heritage Health Care Center in Chanute.
She was born June 30, 1923, in Parsons the daughter of Samuel Jefferson Sr. and Mattie (Russell) Coots. She was the last survivor of seven children. She was raised in Southeast Kansas, but lived her adult life in Wichtia and San Jose, Calif.
She married Marvin Scott, who preceded her in death Aug. 18, 1995. ...
Schuyler J. ‘Bud’ Blair
ERIE — Schuyler J. “Bud” Blair, 91, of rural Erie died Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010, at the home of his daughter, Marcia Schuette, in Jackson, S.C. He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy Jean (Houghton) Blair, on July 10, 1998.
A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Lakeview Cemetery near Erie. The Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Parsons is in charge of arrangements.
Complete obituary details will be announced.
Online condolences m...
Thelma Louise Marnell
WICHITA — Thelma Louise Marnell, 86, of Wichita died at 7:15 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. She was born Feb. 19, 1924, in Greenbush to John and Esther (Brophy) Marnell. She grew up and attended school in Greenbush and St. Paul and was a graduate of St. Paul High School. She was a sister at the Adorers of the Blood of Christ in Wichita. While in Parsons, she taught school at St. Patrick Catholic School. S...
Debbie L. Head
Debbie L. Head, 59, of Parsons died early Monday, Oct. 18, 2010, at her home. She had been in failing health several years. She was born Dec. 11, 1950, in Parsons to James B. and Mary Ann (Shores) Head. She lived in Erie and Wichita as a small child. In 1955 she moved to California. She graduated from high school in Oakland, Calif., and attended junior college at Stockton, Calif. She was employed in Stockton as a nurse assistant and in the...
Roger Dale O’Kane
Roger Dale O’Kane, 62, a former longtime Altamont resident, died Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010, at his home. Obituary details and funeral arrangements are pending.
Opal F. Overman
OSWEGO — Opal F. Overman, 91, of Oswego died Friday, Oct. 15, 2010, at St John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin.
The service will be at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the First United Methodist Church, Oswego. Burial will follow in the Oswego Cemetery.
Online condolences may be left at www.murdockfuneralhomes.com.
Arthur Dale ‘Art’ Graves
BARTLETT — Arthur Dale “Art” Graves, 92, longtime Bartlett farmer and rancher, died at 2:11 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010, at Chetopa Manor.
He was born July 3, 1918, in Neosho, Mo., to Loa and Pearl (Bendure) Graves. As an infant, he moved with his family to Bartlett where he attended Lake Creek School.
He married Lois Neely on March 9, 1941, in Independence. Following marriage, they made their family home in rural Bartlett. During the 1950...
Arthur D. ‘Art’ Graves
BARTLETT — Arthur D. “Art” Graves, 92, a longtime Bartlett resident, died at 2:11 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010, at Chetopa Manor nursing home. He is survived by his wife, Lois Graves, of the home. Bath-Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Chetopa will announce obituary details and funeral arrangements later. Online condolences may be left at www.forbeshoffman.com.
Alex Fred Denton
OSWEGO — Alex Fred Denton, 91, of Oswego died on Oct. 13, 2010, following a short illness. Fred served five years in the U.S. Navy from 1941 to 1946. He married Goldie L. Page on Aug. 4, 1948, in Independence. He bought and managed Denton Hardware in Oswego from 1962 to 1985. From 2002 to 2007, he served as a volunteer at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin. He enjoyed raising his cattle on the family farm. Fred was an avid support...
John R. Pranker
John R. Pranker, 54, of Parsons, died early Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010, at his home. He was born Sept. 9, 1956, in Lake Charles, La., to Edward Jr. and Jessie Mary (Parmentier) Pranker. As a young boy, he grew up and attended school in Ash Grove, Mo. He worked as a mechanic. He married Patty Midgett on Jan. 6, 1979, in Steelville, Mo. She survives. Other survivors include two sons, Michael Pranker of Joplin and William Pranker of Pittsburg; ... | <urn:uuid:53731f91-1561-4604-97f6-6f4d4bb41aac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parsonssun.com/pages/obituaries/push?class=&x_page=47&per_page=20&rel=&k_group=1 | 2013-05-24T01:38:57Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974923 | 2,444 |
Joint Press Availability With Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis
Secretary of State
Madam Secretary, I think that we have had very good talks, so we have touched upon many issues. Let me highlight the most important one. Greece and the U.S. are natural friends and allies, and I am not only talking about mutual economic interests, which are, of course, important, but I’m talking about our joint passion for freedom and liberty. And this is something which comes – overcomes national borders. Friends prove themselves in difficult times, and as we know, Greece is doing through difficult times right now. The United States (inaudible) firm and steadfast manner, in a decisive manner. We have – we believe that we shall come out of this difficulty victorious. Many on both sides of the Atlantic have bet on the collapse of Greece, and they have been proven wrong. We will continue to prove them wrong, and this – and to this, our collaboration will be very important.
We have also discussed the opportunities which appear in this country for investment, for tourism, which we expect and we hope will interest – is of interest to everybody in this hall. We have also discussed issues relating to our normal job, the foreign affairs issues. We have reviewed the discussions, political discussions and the Contact Group for Libya. We will be in touch and we will be in touch in September in our efforts to revise the peace process.
We have also talked about the Balkans, which is a top priority for Greece, but this is a vision which we share with the U.S.. We want peace, stability, and security in our region. We want to do away with the nationalist feelings of the past and for all the countries in the region to build a relationship of cooperation under our joint European home. I have told the Secretary of State that instead of trying to rewrite history, this is a good opportunity for us to write history, to make history, and this is something we should all try to achieve.
Also, we have the 2014 agenda which we have also discussed. I also had the opportunity of informing the Secretary about the negotiations on the Cyprus issue. I believe that it is possible to make progress, but this, of course, mainly requires political will on the – on behalf of Ankara. We have also discussed the efforts to normalize Greek-Turkish relations, the progress achieved, the remaining difficulties. And I am especially happy in conclusion, my dear Hillary – I’m especially happy to say that later on today we will be signing an MOU to do away with the smuggling of antiquities. And with this opportunity, we will have – we will visit the Acropolis museum together with my friend, minister of culture of Greece.
Ladies and gentlemen, here beside me stands a lady who is a friend of Greece, a friend of Hellenism, a person who has forged strong bonds of trust with the Greek-American community, which is a permanent bond linking Greece to the United States. Welcome to Greece, Madam Secretary.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, Stavros, and it is a great pleasure for me to be here for this meeting, and I am greatly honored that I am your first foreign minister visitor. But you are becoming quickly a veteran in just one month in office. And I am also pleased to be here during these challenging times to demonstrate unequivocally the strong support that the United States has for Greece. We know that we are your friend and we are your ally and we are proud to be both. We stand by the people and Government of Greece as you put your country back on a path to economic stability and prosperity.
It is, for us, essential because we have a lot riding on our relationship together. As a NATO ally, we appreciate Greece’s partnership on a shared agenda that spans the globe. The foreign minister and I have just completed a very productive conversation, not just about Greece’s immediate challenges but about the full range of issues that form the core of our enduring alliance. We discussed our ongoing efforts in the NATO coalition operations to protect civilians and help the Libyan people claim a better future. Our diplomatic and military efforts are gaining momentum, and we are grateful for Greece’s engagement and support, especially your willingness to host coalition military assets at Souda Bay and other sites close to Libya.
We also are concerned about what’s going on in Syria, and we have condemned the violence. And I appreciate Greece’s support in speaking strongly against the attack on our Embassy and the French Embassy in Damascus. We will work together as part of the international community to support a vision for a Syria with representative government, respect for civil liberties, equal protection for all citizens under the law.
We will also continue to work with Greece to support democratic transitions across the Middle East and North Africa. We commend the Greek Government for seeking a constructive approach in consultation with the United Nations to addressing the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza and working to avoid the risks that come with attempts to sail directly to Gaza.
At a moment when domestic issues are rightly taking center stage here in Greece, we remain grateful for Greece’s continued engagement in meeting the shared challenges we confront. I appreciate the work that Prime Minister Papandreou and the government are doing to resolve many longstanding issues and integrate the Western Balkans into European and transatlantic institutions.
Now, of course, Greece and the United States are bound together by far more than our shared challenges. We are bound together by our shared values. In fact, we are grateful for Greece’s contribution to those values and their enduring legacy. Millions of Americans claim Greek ancestry, and last year President Obama was pleased to welcome Prime Minister Papandreou to the White House to celebrate Greece’s entry into our Visa Waiver Program. That makes it easier for Greeks to visit family and friends in the United States. And later today, as the minister said, we will be signing a cultural preservation agreement to make it more difficult for looters and smugglers to make that same trip carrying Greece’s historic treasures. That will protect tourism and ensure that the remarkable cultural heritage of this country remains in the hands of the Greek people.
And finally let me say just a few words about the economic situation in Greece. Americans know these are difficult days, and again, we stand with you as friends and allies. The United States strongly supports the Papandreou’s government’s determination to make the necessary reforms, to put Greece back on sound financial footing, and to make Greece more competitive economically. Committing to bring down the deficit and passing the medium-term fiscal strategy were vital first steps. We know these were not easy decisions. They were acts of leadership. And those acts of leadership will help to build a better economic future.
Now the challenge will be to keep moving forward with the same determination and commitment to make good on the fiscal targets and continue to deliver reform that drives future growth. Now, in many cases, these changes will require immediate and sustained implementation. And while the payoff for these sacrifices may not come quickly, it will come. We know that. We can look around the world and point to successful examples. And we also know that the price of inaction would have been far higher now and far into the future. The steps ahead will not, they cannot, be pain-free, but there is a path forward to resolve Greece’s economic stability and to restore Greece’s economic strength. I have faith in the resilience of the Greek people and I applaud the Greek Government on its willingness to take these difficult steps. Greece has inspired the world before, and I have every confidence that you are doing so again. And as you do what you must to bring your economy back to health, you will have the full support of the United States.
And so again, Minister, thank you for this opportunity to visit with you and thank you also for this chance to express from my heart our strong support for what Greece and particularly the Greek people are facing, but also to reiterate our confidence that this will be the path forward that will pay off, not only now but for generations to come.
QUESTION: Good morning, Madam Secretary. You have said that rising deficits are a national security issue for the United States, so it’s presumably also the case for Greece and parts of the EU. Are you concerned that the Europe crisis, the debt crisis, might undercut NATO’s ability to finance its missions? Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Christophe, I am not. I think the NATO alliance is undergoing some very important analysis about how we will continue to be the strongest military and operational alliance in the history of the world. The NATO allies know how important this alliance is to our own security and to those problems that are over the horizon but which affect the security and stability of the Euro-Atlantic community. So yes, will there be some changes that we will foresee in the future? Of course. What has made NATO such a strong, vibrant, enduring alliance is that we have had to evolve and reform our own internal processes from time to time. But the United States not only has great confidence in NATO, we are committed to the fulfillment of the strategic vision that was adopted unanimously at the Lisbon summit and which we think provides the foundation for what needs to be done in the future.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) I have a question to both of you. You referred to the economic crisis. Both the U.S. and Europe are suffering because of an economic crisis. This – last year we were talking about Greek crisis. This year we’re talking about European crisis. You did mention some things, nevertheless society is feeling gloomy, and I would like to ask you politicians can you offer an optimistic message to society, tell people that what they are sacrificing will pay off?
FOREIGN MINISTER LAMBRINIDIS: (Via interpreter) There is no question that today’s Greece has nothing to do whatsoever with Greece of two years ago. There is no question that despite the doomsayers, we are proceeding and that we shall come out of this victorious. Of course, we have no magic solutions, but there is no question the sacrifices that the Greek people have made have not only done away with the very real past risk of default but will create a sound basis for recovery.
And of course, we need the Greek measures, but we also need European solidarity. The European solidarity, which we believe and hope will express itself in a key manner in the near future, is very important because in a united Europe, hope or the light at the end of the tunnel is not about each individual country, but it is about our immense economic power when we all stand together more than 500 million people in 27 countries. This message was a bit lost on – was almost lost in some member-states recently, but the fact that Greece has regained in credibility with the sacrifices and the important measures that we are taking has brought us back to the forefront of – to the center of discussion and has brought us, I believe, at the forefront of a Europe of growth which will offer jobs to our citizens, to their citizens.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, of course, I agree with what the minister said, and let me just put it into context from what we see looking from the United States toward Greece. We believe that the recent legislation that was passed will make Greece more competitive, will make Greece more business-friendly. We think that is essential for the kind of growth and recovery that is expected in the 21st century when businesses can go anywhere in the world and capital can follow. We think that will provide a firm financial footing on which Greece will be able increasingly to attract businesses and create the jobs that Stavros said are absolutely important for the Greek people. Because businesses seek consistent, predictable regulatory and taxation regimes. Investors seek a level playing field. They expect transparency, streamlined procedures, protection of commercial and intellectual property rights, effective contract enforcement, all of which was part of your reform package.
Therefore, I am not here to in any way downplay the immediate challenges, because they are real, but I am here to say that we believe strongly that this will give Greece a very strong economy going forward. There are lots of analogies – having to take the strong medicine that tastes terrible when it goes down and you wish you didn’t have to, or the chemotherapy to get rid of the cancer. There are all kinds of analogies. But the bottom line is this is the best approach and we strongly support it.
FOREIGN MINISTER LAMBRINIDIS: Thank you very much. Hillary, thank you so much. | <urn:uuid:880dd21f-cdd2-4bb0-802e-66a6aff84e4a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.state.gov/md168669.htm | 2013-05-19T02:07:28Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963944 | 2,611 |
Written by Mary Kay Barton
An insidious plan to install the “New World” state-supported religion – Environmentalism
“Agenda 21” was first introduced to the world at the 1992 UN-sponsored “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro. It addresses virtually every facet of human life and describes in great detail how the concept of “sustainable development” should be implemented at every level of government. (click map to enlarge)
“Agenda 21 proposes an array of actions which are intended to be implemented by every person on earth…. It calls for specific changes in the activities of all people.… Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a profound reorientation of all humans, unlike anything the world has ever experienced.” [emphasis added] Agenda 21: The Earth Summit Strategy to Save Our Planet, United Nations (1993)
“The Sustainable Development Challenge Grant program is also a step in implementing Agenda 21, the Global Plan of Action on Sustainable Development, signed by the United States at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. All of these programs require broad community participation to identify and address environmental issues.” Environmental Protection Agency, 63 Fed. Reg. 45157 (August 24, 1998).
On January 26, 2012, I attended the final meeting in Batavia, NY for the Finger Lakes “Regional Sustainability Plan,” part of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s $10 million statewide program to have regional Planning Departments orchestrate “sustainability” plans described in NYSERDA’s “Cleaner, Greener Communities” Program. Following is my take on what is going on across New York State in regard to these extensive plans in the making.
As those who have studied the United Nations’ “Agenda 21” plan know, “Sustainability” is a key buzzword that is part-and-parcel of the UN’s Agenda 21 agenda. It’s also meaningless and malleable – allowing activists and planners to bend and shape it to serve their agendas.
the Hollywood crowd loves sustainable development, Agenda 21 and Al Gore.There is no doubt that the “Sustainability” Plan currently being devised by Planning Departments across the state, all of which are acting “under NYSERDA’s thumb” (as one planner phrased it at their first meeting in Batavia), is Agenda 21, under development and in practice (think carbon taxes, “green” energy transfer-of-wealth schemes, and one-world governance). No wonder
At the “open-house style” meeting in Batavia, folks were asked to read the poster boards relevant to each part of the overall plan: Land Use, Water Use, Agriculture, Forestry, Waste Management, Economic Development, and Energy – and then use sticky notes to post their comments on the boards for each particular segment of the plan.
Free-market economists sharply differentiate between central government planning and decentralized market planning (See F.A. Hayak's, Road to Serfdom, pages 34 - 35). Thus, while many see little wrong with developing an overall plan, remember that their coercion crowds out your own planning. And while different aspects of the extensive plans look good at first glance, the devil is in the details.
The fact that NYSERDA is the bureaucracy overseeing this process is the tell-tale warning sign, as the development of renewable energy across the state and ways to regulate hydrocarbon use and carbon dioxide emissions is the overarching goal in each area of the plan.
This should leave everyone very wary about the remaining $90 million – which came from the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) ratepayer dollars, and which will be offered as “grants” (the proverbial “carrots” used to lead the sheep) to guide our communities into “compliance” with the overall underlying agenda – that of Agenda 21(video series, part 1 on left).
Who knows where the money will come from for Governor Cuomo’s proposed billion-dollar “Green Bank” and $1.5 Billion dollar Solar fund? Remember when Obama President Obama said there were other ways of “skinning the cat” besides cap-and-trade?
One of the biggest warning flags I noted at the meeting (besides the “green” energy push and carbon regulation goals) was on the chart regarding “Land Use.” I noted one line that said, “Home Rule” interferes with inter-municipal cooperation.…” The obvious subliminal message here is that “Home Rule” is a bad thing.
Our municipalities’ long-held, Constitutional right to “Home Rule” is being progressively undermined through this whole process of State-led planning. We are unwittingly, slowly and methodically giving over total control to unelected bureaucrats, planners and activists, who are devising these “green” “sustainability” plans – which are part and parcel of Agenda 21 (which many officials and bureaucrats insist they still know nothing about).
The sad reality is that most of these planners are not at all educated about energy and power. As I was getting ready to leave the meeting, one of the FL Planners asked me what I had thought of the display.
I told him straight out that the obvious push for “unreliables” (aka “renewable”) like wind is a complete waste of our tax- and rate-payer dollars. I told him that while I am certainly all for scientifically-vetted, economically-sound energy-innovation, industrial wind was the biggest scam to ever come down the pike.
Sadly, he responded with the decades-old propaganda line, “Well, we have to do something. Oil is responsible for so much of our pollution.”
I responded, “I’m not talking about oil – which is used for transportation. I’m talking about unreliable wind power – which is used for electricity!”
He tried to argue that eventually we would end up going to all electric vehicles. I just laughed, and said, “Sir, I’m afraid you’ve drank the Kool-Aid! I couldn’t even make it home and back in an electric car.” And imagine trying to recharge car batteries using expensive, intermittent, bird-killing wind turbines!
Thankfully, a local guy who does get it stepped in and said, even if electric vehicles became more prevalent, they could never be used to do the kind of heavy work required on our farms.
As our conversation proceeded, we had the attention of the entire small crowd that was in the room – which played out great, as the facts totally destroyed this planner’s entire argument.
Not one of the five planners who were there knew what “Capacity Value“ was, nor that wind provided virtually NONE. I told him that wind is not the future, and in all actuality, there is a direct correlation between RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE power, and increased health and longevity in this country, which he could verify by doing a little research.
I ended up leaving a copy of John Etherington’s The Wind Farm Scam: An Ecologist’s Evaluation and Robert Bryce’s Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future with one of the head planners there.
Hopefully, they will actually read them and reverse course, so that New York State can cut its budget, preserve the environment, and safeguard our neighbors’ quality of life and property values – all at the same time. As it is now, the energy-illiterate planners guiding the development of (UN-initiated) “Sustainability Plans” in New York State (Governor Andrew Cuomo and his cohorts at NYSERDA) are not basing their decisions on sound science, but on politics surrounding the UN’s “New World,” state-supported religion of “Environmentalism.”
As Paul Driessen stated so well: "Climate alarmism and pseudo-science have justified all manner of regulations, carbon trading, carbon taxes, renewable energy programs and other initiatives that increase the cost of everything we make, grow, ship, eat, heat, cool, wear and do – and thus impair job creation, economic growth, living standards, health, welfare and ecological values."
Whether the “Sustainability Plans” are in New York State or Timbuktu, there is nothing at all that is “sustainable” about any of this.
Mary Kay Barton is a retired health educator and New York State small business owner, and a tireless advocate for scientifically sound, affordable and reliable electricity for all Americans. She has served over the past decade in local water quality organizations and enjoys gardening and birding in her National Wildlife Federation “Backyard Wildlife Habitat.” | <urn:uuid:b34abff3-91bb-4af6-9073-fd2a89982cd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rightsidenews.com/2013030732132/life-and-science/energy-and-environment/new-yorks-sustainability-plan-aka-agenda-21/print.html | 2013-05-19T02:24:37Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949649 | 1,903 |
"Silver Linings Playbook" is a frequently hilarious, often poignant romantic comedy about two deeply damaged people. At the center of it is Bradley Cooper, who strikes notes of despair not previously explored in his more mainstream films like "The Hangover" and "Wedding Crashers."
While his co-stars Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lawrence and Jacki Weaver are all past Oscar nominees (or, in De Niro’s case, Oscar winners) whose work has been celebrated, Cooper’s biggest kudo to date was being named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. On Wednesday, he won best actor honors from the National Board of Review for "Silver Linings Playbook." It’s not belittling his work in the "Hangover" films to say that we didn’t know he had this in him.
In David O. Russell’s sharp, smart film, Cooper is a revelation as a bipolar man struggling to readjust to life after a stint in a mental institution.
This film and this role are a challenging mixture of comedy and drama. Was that intimidating?
I was very nervous starting out because nobody had ever given me the opportunity to do something like this before. I thought, “I don’t know if I can do it, and I certainly know that if it’s David O. Russell directing, I can’t fake it.”
Was there a lot of rehearsal?
No. It was very much, Show up having done your work. Without the rehearsal process, the exploration occurs on film. There is no, “Let’s nail the scene.” With David it’s all about, “Let’s explore the scene.” There are these emotional buoys to get to, but there are many ways to get there.
This is your second movie with Robert De Niro. Why do you like working with him?
It’s the safest place you want to be on the field. It’s like saying you’re going to do this two-on-two basketball game, and Michael Jordan’s your partner.
Was De Niro helpful during filming?
I was trepidatious about many aspects of this film, and Robert De Niro was a big part of the reason that I thought that I could possibly do it. He allayed any fears I had by saying, “Don’t worry. You’re from Philly, you know this.” He said, “Your mother should play your mother. We should screen test her. Let me talk to David.” I said, “Bob, hold on, I don’t think my mother needs to play my mother.”
David said he saw a lot of anger in you. Did you know that was there?
He’s talking about the character I played in "Wedding Crashers," that he saw a lot of real anger in me, not acting anger. We talked about our past. I’m 37, and I’m a lot different than I was at 25 and, yeah, there are parts of my life that I was ruled by anger, I guess. I never thought the first thing you get from me is anger. But you know what, he’s a very sensitive guy, and he might not have been wrong.
There is such a strong sense of place in the film. This Philadelphia suburb is almost a character in the movie, no?
Very much like "The Fighter." He’s in a real sweet spot with that, David O. Russell. It’s something that interests him and inspires him, stories about specific cultural entities. The house also is almost a character in this movie, and one almost believes we’re living in that house. David had people cooking as we were shooting so you could smell the food.
Football culture dominates this movie. You grew up in Philly, were you an Eagles fan?
Huge Eagles fan.
Is it as violent a culture as it is in the film?
Philly is notorious. Philly is the town that throws batteries at the opposing team and famously threw an ice ball at Santa Claus.
Have you experienced that culture at all?
My father was old school, and he would take us to games all the time. When he grew up, the idea of stadium was a huge deal and we would wear ties. Man, oh man, that’s asking for trouble, because I had this bowl haircut and blond hair and looked like a girl with a tie on. As I got older I took him to Eagles games, and that was kind of wonderful. Right before he died -- the Sunday before he died -- I took him to the Green Bay-Philly playoff game.
The movie has a lot to do with fathers and sons. Did you draw on your own relationship with your father?
You draw on everything. In this film, Philadelphia, that house, the smell of the gravy, the creaking of the stairs just like my grandparents’ house helped. All of that makes the imaginary feel very real.
Did you research what it’s like to be bipolar?
What I’ve learned about bipolarity is that it’s like snowflakes: No two are the same. It’s about how do I find that in my life, by using my experience and what I’ve observed. That meant exploring things in my life and people I know, and that also meant looking at documentaries, footage, tons of stuff.
You don’t want to overpower the audience with the condition, because they’re not going to come on board. We found that in the first week of shooting. I tried some things that felt real, and David thought it’s just too much, we needed to dial it down a bit.
One thing you seemed to do was alter your speech to signal that something is a bit off about this guy.
This guy doesn’t have a filter when he speaks because things are processed differently. He speaks in a completely different pattern than the way I talk, and that pattern was guided by David O. Russell and the way it was written.
Is the film trying to remove the stigma associated with mental illnesses?
It’s not for us to say. I remember watching Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson being interviewed after a screening for "There Will Be Blood," and they were asked, “Is this an environmental indictment?” And they said, “Uhh, it’s about this guy.” From knowing David and going through this process, he had one objective and that is to tell an authentic story about people who are very dear to his heart. The more specific you make it, the more things that can be extracted. If you try to start with a big idea, it could become pedantic.
You seem to be doing personal projects after appearing in more mainstream fare. Are you enjoying the rewards of being bankable?
I never was like, “I’m going to make three movies like "The Hangover" which will finance my friends’ movies and then work with the directors I’ve longed to work with my whole life.” It’s really simple: I just want to work with great directors.
From De Niro to co-star Jennifer Lawrence, you have frequent collaborators. Are you trying to create a sense of community through your work?
I’m always looking for a sense of community in life and work. There’s a reason why Martin Scorsese works with Robert De Niro for six movies and then Leonardo DiCaprio for six movies. Because when it works, cinema is a collaborative art form.
To that end, you are working with David again. What is your next project about?
It’s an untitled project about Abscam. In the late ’70s in New Jersey and Delaware, there was a takedown of politicians through an FBI sting operation. It’s not a good guy/bad guy thing. Just like "The Fighter" wasn’t really about fighting, it’s the same thing. It’s about this world.
What about directing. Is that in the cards?
Oh yeah, dying to. If I had a project, I’d be doing it right now. There’s one that me and my friend are writing. We’re adapting this series of books by Dan Simmons called "Hyperion," but it’s a massive story. It’s like saying, “There’s this thing called "Avatar" that I’m looking to get my hands on.”
What does it mean to you to be in the Oscar conversation?
If I’ve learned anything from the 10 years I’ve been in this business, it’s don’t ever listen to hype. I remember doing "Kitchen Confidential," this TV series. After shooting the pilot and that got picked up, someone said, “Sit back, your life’s about to change. You’re going to get an Emmy.” I said, “Really?” Three episodes aired. They canceled it after three.
What do you think about awards?
They are ridiculous, in the sense that, How can you pick the best of a subjective art form? That said, I grew up watching the Oscars. I don’t think I’ve ever missed an Oscars show. I’ve definitely succumbed to the pageantry of it all as a lover of film, while at the same time recognizing that it means nothing. If you ask somebody do you know what was the best movie the year that "Goodfellas" came out, I would be reluctant to think that people would say "Dances With Wolves." Yet that won Best Picture.
Are there any performances this year that you’ve been impressed with?
Yes, Sam Rockwell in "Seven Psychopaths." I know that he’s had a lot of success, but I still think he’s under appreciated. I loved what Tom Hardy was doing in "The Dark Knight Rises." I wish I could have seen his face more, because I think it was so clear that he was tapped in. | <urn:uuid:a03c0fe6-e0f3-4af2-838f-10ce6d5fd35e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/silver-lining-playbooks-bradley-cooper-goes-mental-67556 | 2013-05-19T02:09:27Z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979356 | 2,187 |
Texas Sate School Board
Dear Mrs. Leo,
I read about the ugly confrontation you recently had with Barney the Dinosaur. I know at first glance, it may have seemed like just another attempt by the secularists to poison our children's minds with science, but their choice of Barney hints at an even more sinister purpose.
Just take a look at him. He's as purple as a church deacon in The Castro on a Saturday night. Don't you doubt for a moment why he's colored in that hue. He's purple for a purpose. He's telling the world he's out and proud and here to recruit our children by pushing his homosexual agenda in their schools.
He's a huge threat to our efforts to put God back into the classroom. And you, as one of God's staunchest defenders on the school board, have to stop him. Now, you're not going to get anywhere challenging his science curriculum or attacking his homosexual agenda. We've been trying to defeat both for years without success. You need to take another approach; you need to bring him into Christ's fold.
I suggest you try to convert him to Mormonism. Yes, I know it's kind of cultish and all, but it does offer an advantage you can't find in any other sect--it will bleach the purple right out of his 5000 year-old hide. According to Mormon scripture, his skin will turn "white and delightsome" once he joins the Lord's team. Then, he'll be useless to the Gay and their scientist co-demons.
Heterosexually yours in a chaste and biblically appropriate kind of way,
Gen. JC Christian, patriot
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Political Cartoon is by Nate Beeler in The Washington Examiner.
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I'm sure a lot of you were wondering what happened to Ann Coulter this election season. The right has trotted her out to wage culture wars reliably ever since 1998. But she hardly was visible at all this year.
Well, if you happen to be one of those lost souls who belongs to the Conservative Book Club, then you received one of these e-mails in your Inbox this week from Coulter.
[Click here to see the full letter.]
As you can see, it's a letter that starts out by teeing off the emerging right-wing meme attempting to blame Barack Obama for the current economic meltdown, mostly by noting that Wall Street firms donated more heavily to Obama's campaign than to John McCain's:
If you've been wondering why the financial industry is in meltdown -- and taking your 401(k) or investment portfolio down with it -- now you know.
Let's face it: The former frat boys who populate Wall Street today understand economics as well as the pinko professors whose courses they snored through.
Now, it's true that Democrats were heavily preferred by Wall Street campaign donors this year, but that has far more to do with their historic preference for lining up behind the perceived likely winners of a given election season. And even a blind pig -- or a right-wing pundit -- could sense before the season even started that the Republican brand was giving off the distinct odor of fetid slop.
But if those same Wall Street pinko-educated frat boys are as ignorant of economics this year as Coulter claims, then wouldn't they have been equally so in 2000 and 2004, when they gave heavily instead to Coulter's then-preferred candidate, George W. Bush? Something doesn't exactly add up here.
That's all just throat-clearing, though, for Coulter's main pitch: She's selling you a financial newsletter written by a fellow named Mark Skousen, whose PhD in economics seems to impress Coulter mightily (if only she gave as much credence to people who actually won the Nobel Prize in economics).
Three years ago, Skousen was selling the same scam through the Heritage Foundation, promising super-hot stock tips if only you subscribed to his pricey investment newsletter. No word on how that hot tech stock actually did -- but I'd wager it performed about as well the return on assisting former Nigerian prime ministers.
Skousen, however, is not just your average "conservative economist." He actually is an adherent of the same far-right school of "libertarian" economics as Ron Paul: he advocates a return to the gold standard, the dismantling of the IRS and the Federal Reserve, and most of the other conspiratorial nonsense that accompanies these theories. Like Paul, he's a devotee of the Ludwig Van Mises Institute, which promotes much of this malarkey, and he's likewise actually a Bircherite in libertarian clothing. Indeed, Paul was one of the headliners at Skousen's "FreedomFest" earlier this year in Las Vegas.
Like most of the Bircher wing of the libertarian movement, Skousen consistently takes a far-right political position on labor issues, too. He wrote a piece denouncing "card check" union organizing just last month.
Skousen is the nephew of the late noted John Birch/Mormon figure W. Cleon Skousen; his brother, Joel Skousen, is famous for promoting Patriot-style "New World Order" conspiracy theories. All three of them promote the far-right version of "constitutionalism," which is all about the belief that secret elites manipulate the economy and the political process, wield the IRS and Federal Reserve as political weapons along with a huge federal bureaucracy, all of which violates the original unamended (or "organic") Constitution.
So this is what Ann Coulter is reduced to these days: Shilling for Patriot-style right-wing moneymaking scams.
But then, I guess it isn't surprising that Coulter is heading down this same path. During the past campaign, she actually came out in support of Ron Paul.
Well, fools and their money are soon parted. And anyone foolish enough to take their investment advice from Ann Coulter will get everything they deserve.
But I'm wondering when we'll see Coulter turn up in late-night infomercials for gold Liberty Dollars with her own image stamped on them. Because that's the road -- the one leading to ignominious obscurity and irrelevance -- she's headed down.
And I can't think of a more deserved fate.
With the resolution of Missouri for McCain and NE-2 for Obama, the final EV count is 365-173. Which makes the winner of our Presidential Forecast Contest reader Roger Lewis, who had the only entry which correctly guessed the exact number of Electoral Votes. (Full list of entries here). Interestingly, no one got all the states (even ignoring NE-2) correct. It was the MO/IN combination that was difficult - only two entries correctly gave MO to McCain and IN to Obama. Roger had the two states wrong, but still nailed the total EV count since both states had 11 EVs.
Johnny, tell Roger what he's won:
Roger, you've won an assortment of credentials to Democratic Conventions, both from this year and from years past. You've also won an official Obama-Biden yard sign, and other Obama "stuff".
Thanks to everybody for taking part.
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Go Gators! Just to kick off our nightly college football discussion. Just kidding.
This is an Open Thread.
Chris Cillizza has the scoop: Barack Obama has cut a new 60-second radio ad in support of former state Rep. Jim Martin's Senate campaign in Georgia. In the ad, which was obtained by The Fix moments ago, Obama thanks everyone who voted for him on[...]
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During a White House meeting last week, a group of governors asked President Bush and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about their backup plan for Iraq. What would the administration do if its new strategy didn't work?
The conclusion they took away, the governors later said, was that there is no Plan B. "I'm a Marine," Pace told them, "and Marines don't talk about failure. They talk about victory."
Pace had a simple way of summarizing the administration's position..."Plan B was to make Plan A work."
And now, as the White House scrambles to get a Status of Forces agreement signed:
Q: I just have a quick one on Iraq. The Hill is being briefed on the final agreement. What happens if the Iraqi parliament does not approve it on Monday -- or Sunday or Monday? Do you have to then go to the U.N., or what happens there?
MS. PERINO: Well, our focus is on Plan A, and trying to get Plan A to work, which is to get this agreement done...
Q: So you don't think there's any Plan B that's going to take place?
MS. PERINO: We think we're on a good trajectory right now.
Once again, with lives on the line, the White House is flying by the seat of their pants.
Rupert Murdoch’announced today that Fox News’s top executive, Roger Ailes, has signed a five year contract extension with News Corp. “Roger has done a remarkable job building FOX News into a force in journalism and built a great asset for News Corporation,” said Murdoch in a statement. Ailes said that he looks “forward to carrying out Mr. Murdoch’s legendary vision in the future.”
I bought a copy of the homeless written and sold Street Sense magazine today, after seeing this[...]
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