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Social Decay in America: The 'I Didn't Do It' Culture
"The gap between our citizens and our Government has never been so wide. The people are looking for honest answers, not easy answers; clear leadership, not false claims and evasiveness and politics as usual..What you see too often in Washington and elsewhere around the country is a system of government that seems incapable of action. You see a Congress twisted and pulled in every direction by hundreds of well financed and powerful special interests. You see every extreme position defended to the last vote, almost to the last breath by one unyielding group or another. You often see a balanced and a fair approach that demands sacrifice, a little sacrifice from everyone, abandoned like an orphan without support and without friends … Our people are losing…the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. " Jimmy Carter, July 15, 1979
It was an unremarkable incident, really. I happened to be in an American high school setting watching students (grades 9-12) comingling, laughing, discussing and, at the same time, eating lunch. The locale was not the school cafeteria but rather a large school hallway, sandwiched between a lounge and a library, with benches and plenty of floor space for 15-20 students. Adjacent to one of the benches was a trash can. On top of the garbage can was stacked, precariously, many lunch trays with leftover food, silverware and plates. One student accidently bumped the trash can and down came the whole mess crashing to the floor making a sound akin to a popping balloon.
For a moment there was silence, and then the students went about their business. The trays and food sat there on the floor untouched. Some moments passed and then it was time for class. A dozen or more students, from each class level, bypassed the mess on the floor. Not one thought to clean it up. A senior level student, making sure to avoid a banana peel, remarked—with emphasis-- "I Didn't Do It!" and trotted off to the classroom. That senior level student, in an unconscious yelp, echoed America's byline as it approaches the year 2010.
American society merrily avoids accountability and responsibility. Americans seek the loophole and blame others--be they individuals, networks or nations--for their own deficiencies. American leaders direct the consequences of poor judgment down the chain-of-command. Why?
Unaccountable Elite
The American people have taken the bait from the nation's op-ed writers and talking heads, corporate CEO's, financiers, the president, members of congress, justices of the Supreme Court, governors, sports/movie/think-tank/academic stars, and military leaders. In the USA these are the script writers of the American narrative and masters of the American consciousness. They stand firm in their belief that the masses down below will follow their words and deeds, even die for them. They are the Unaccountable Elite.
And the American people don't disappoint. Only on rare occasions is an "American leader" taken to task by a concerned public. The American people revel in their leaders, glorifying and emulating them and striving, one day, to make it like their idols did. In so doing they have forsaken their duty as American citizens to hold their leaders to account and, as consumers, divine what is theater and what is not.
The American Dream is not pretty. It is, in fact, a descent, a struggle to reach the level of the Unaccountable Elite where "I Didn't Do It" is the mantra. This is a cycle that has to be broken for America to change.
President Jimmy Carter (Carter Doctrine, funding the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan) was arguably the last president to tell the American public that some hard decisions had to be made about the way they lived their lives. It wasn't just about energy consumption, as he so eloquently stated in his famed July 1979 speech. It was, at root, about how Americans interact with each other and other nations/groups.
For his frankness on the matter, his popularity with the American public increased. But the Unaccountable Elite was not pleased. They vilified Carter at every turn. The basic retort to Carter's speech went something like this: there is nothing wrong with America or Americans--it's the rest of the world that's the problem. Even the compassionate Ted Kennedy ridiculed Carter.
In short, "We Didn't Do It". We, the people, as instructed by the masters, blamed OPEC, the USSR, the Shah, Vietnam and Carter for all our troubles.
So we remember, wrongly, Jimmy Carter for his "Mired in Malaise Speech" which, of course, was nothing of the sort. His message was timeless and far more relevant now than it was in 1979. Americans are paying the price for not listening to Jimmy Carter, the last president to go beyond the cliché of "There is nothing to fear but fear itself" and speak brutally to the American people about its troubled social infrastructure and cloudy future.
The Joy of Unaccountability
Since the Carter years, what have Unaccountable Elite done to deserve the respect and admiration of the American people?
Morning in America brought to you by Ronald Reagan. Iran-Contra (arms for hostages, shipping missiles to Iran, illegal funding of pro-US Nicaraguan rebels) led to the convictions of Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger, Elliot Abrams (Assistant Secretary of State), Robert McFarlane (National Security Advisor), Claire George (CIA), privatization/deregulation of US government functions accelerated, destruction of US civil service morale, accelerated poverty and homelessness, 200+ US Marine deaths in Lebanon, accelerated funding to nascent Al Qaeda to combat the USSR in Afghanistan and elsewhere, inflated USSR military capabilities for the purpose of massive defense budgets, created national missile defense jobs program, increased arms sales to dictatorial regimes, oversaw the Cold War, sent future Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to work with Saddam Hussein, provided intelligence and chemicals to Iraq for its war against Iran, ruined future US economic performance by expanding deficits, did not game consequences of national security policy and practice.
Thousand Points of Light brought to you by George Bush I. Pardoned those convicted in Iran-Contra (Bush essentially pardoned himself), invaded Iraq and Panama, watched Los Angeles burn during Rodney King riots (later sent troops), continued privatization of government, completely befuddled at USSR's collapse, pushed for NAFTA, increased arms exports, did not know how to shop at a supermarket, did not monitor nascent Al Qaeda and internal troubles in Middle East and Central Asia (break away publics), got the US military embroiled in Somalia, did not game consequences of national security policy and practice.
Bridge to the 21st Century brought to you by Bill Clinton. Brought Republican Party doctrine and practice into the Democratic Party changing the two-party system into one party with two faces, accelerated deregulation of financial institutions and markets, trumped up the war with Serbia after the breakup of Yugoslavia, distracted the nation with Lewinsky Affair and impeachment proceedings, pushed NAFTA through the US Congress, accelerated arms sales to unsavory foreign regimes, did not game consequences of national security policy and practice, failed to competently track a fully funded Al Qaeda and convince national security apparatus of insurgent attack on American soil the result of decades of ill advised national security policy and practice in the Middle East, Central Asia.
Axis of Evil brought to you by George Bush II. Watched New Orleans die during Hurricane Katrina, appointed those convicted and pardoned in Reagan/Father's Iran-Contra scandal, ignored warnings about insurgent attack that took place on 9-11-2001, ignored debt levels of American consumers, accelerated deregulation of financial markets, invaded Afghanistan then proceeded, on false pretenses, to invade Iraq and execute Saddam Hussein, oversaw displacement of 2.5 million Iraqi's, funded insurgent groups in Iran, ignored rise of the BRIC's, approved torture, approved wiretapping and spying on Americans, established Guantanamo Gulag, did not game consequences of national security policy and practice.
Yes We Can brought to you by Barak Obama. Lifted campaign theme from Sammy Davis, Jr. book titled Yes I Can, currently expanding war in Afghanistan, expanding foreign internal defense operations (two US troops die during operations supporting the Philippine Army's battle against insurgents), appoints Clinton operatives to key positions, revives hype on cyberwar from Clinton era, does not close Guantanamo Gulag, maintains policies of Bush II, authorizes trillions in funding to save auto industry and finance industry but maintains paltry effort to save US homeowners/debtors, is not gaming consequences of national security policy and practice (to be continued).
The Unaccountable Elite have promoted, and helped execute, the foreign and domestic policies that have dominated the American experience for decades. The good in all this, if there is such a thing, is dwarfed and distorted by the lies told during lobbying campaigns or campaign speeches, the unnecessary deaths of US troops (New Orleans residents too), the dismal care for the wounded returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, homeowners evicted, jobs lost, savings demolished, health insurance beyond the reach of millions, high murder rates, and individuals tortured whether by water boarding or a Predator.
Are Americans satisfied with this? Will they be surprised when the next insurgent counterattack hits domestically, or at the next wave of company layoffs?
Perhaps the "I Didn't Do It" philosophy is the American Way.
What kind of country spends $1.5 trillion on national security every year - and growing - but has to debate whether to spend $900 billion to make basic healthcare available to all citizens. The nation's human capital - as the Unaccountable Elite like to say - has to be viewed as part of the overall critical infrastructure of the USA.
But to make that happen, the American people have to break the cycle of false consciousness and opt to become something more. If not, the cycle will continue and with a new twist: some sort of benevolent national security state will develop. Is it any wonder that the phrase the Dictatorship of the Proletariat was so appropriate. It's happening here, right now, in the USA. The Unaccountable Elite dictate and the rest follow.
Oh, those trays and food on the floor? I didn't do it but I cleaned it up anyway.
John Stanton is a Virginia based writer specializing in national security and political matters. His latest book is General David Petraeus' Favorite Mushroom: Inside the US Army Human Terrain System. Reach him at cioran123@yahoo.com.


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Team USA Hockey
Vancouver & Victoria, B.C. | Dec. 26-Jan. 5
The U.S. National Junior Team went 5-0-1-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) and earned a silver medal to extend its unprecedented medal streak in tournament play to four straight IIHF World Junior Championships.
The 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship took place Dec. 26, 2018 – Jan. 5, 2019, in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. The tournament saw the U.S. earn second in Group B during the preliminary round, which included history being made as the U.S. staged the largest and latest comeback in tournament history. Down 4-0 to Sweden, Team USA rallied for four goals in the final 10:26 of regulation before falling, 5-4, in overtime. In the playoff round, the U.S. defeated the Czech Republic (3-1, QF) and Russia (2-1, SF) before meeting Finland in the gold-medal game. There, the U.S. again fell behind, this time 2-0, before back-to-back goals 1:46 apart midway through the third period saw the U.S. draw the game level. With 1:26 to play in regulation, Finland was able to score the decisive goal as the U.S. finished with a silver medal, its 12th ever medal in the tournament's 43-year history.
Serving as head coach for Team USA was Mike Hastings (Crookston, Minn./Minnesota State), head coach of Minnesota State men's ice hockey team. He was joined behind the U.S. bench by assistant coaches David Lassonde (Durham, N.H./Dartmouth College), Steve Miller (Columbus, Ohio/Ohio State University), Scott Sandelin (Hibbing, Minn./University of Minnesota Duluth) and Jerry Keefe (Saugus, Mass./Northeastern University). John Vanbiesbrouck (Detroit, Mich./USA Hockey), assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, served as general manager.
U.S. Final Roster
U.S. Stats
2019 U.S. Schedule
All U.S. games televised live on NHL Network
Games in Victoria at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre
Games in Vancouver at Rogers Arena
Opponent/Round
Time (Local/ET)/Result
U.S. Player of Game
Wed., Dec. 26 Slovakia
Preliminary Victoria, B.C. W, 2-1 Evan Barratt
Fri., Dec. 28 Kazakhstan
Preliminary Victoria, B.C. W, 8-2 Jason Robertson
Sat., Dec. 29 Sweden
Preliminary Victoria, B.C. OTL, 4-5 Ryan Poehling
Mon., Dec. 31 Finland
Preliminary Victoria, B.C. W, 4-1 Tyler Madden
Wed., Jan. 2 Czech Republic
Quarterfinals Victoria, B.C. W, 3-1 Noah Cates
Fri., Jan. 4 Russia
Semifinals Vancouver, B.C. W, 2-1 Cayden Primeau
Sat., Jan. 5 Finland
Gold-Medal Game Vancouver, B.C. L, 2-3 Sasha Chmelevski
U.S. WJC Notebook
Tournament Awards
Award(s)
Tournament MVP Ryan Poehling
Best Forward Ryan Poehling
Media All-Star Team Ryan Poehling
Top 3 U.S. Players Mikey Anderson(Defense)
Ryan Poehling (Forward)
Jason Robertson
Final 2019 IIHF WJC Rankings
6 Canada
Full U.S. Schedule
2018 WJSS
IIHF Tournament Homepage
2019 WJC News
2019 WJC Notebook: Relive Team USA's Silver-Medal Journey
By USAHockey.com 01/06/2019, 2:15pm EST
Daily updates on Team USA's journey toward a fourth-straight IIHF WJC medal
U.S. Falls to Finland, 3-2, To Earn Silver at 2019 WJC
By USAHockey.com 01/05/2019, 10:45pm EST
U.S. Captures Fourth Straight Medal; Poehling Tabbed Tournament MVP
Gameday: U.S. Goes for Gold at 2019 World Juniors
By USAHockey.com 01/05/2019, 10:00am EST
U.S. meets Finland in gold-medal game at 8 p.m. ET on NHL Network
World Juniors History
World Jr Summer Showcase
World Juniors Features
©2019 Team USA Hockey / SportsEngine. All Rights Reserved.

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Shadi Khasrouf, one of the civil rights advocates was abducted, physically assaulted and released yesterday.
"Houthi rebels on Saturday allegedly abducted a Yemeni activist in the capital Sana'a after his participation in a rally to call for the expulsion of the group from the city, eyewitnesses said. Activist Shadi Khasrouf was kidnapped by Houthis near a military zone in Sana'a and transferred to an undisclosed location, an eyewitness told Anadolu Agency. "The militants assaulted several protesters and fired shots into the air," the witness said..." reported ME.
Shadi's father wrote on his Facebook wall and described in details the assault on his son, 'Ansar Allah has beaten my son on his neck, face, eye, shoulder. They even bite him...."


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Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program 2019 for Graduate, Predoctoral, Postdoctoral and Senior Researchers
Posted by Opportunity Desk On August 22, 2018 0 Comment
Deadline: November 1, 2018
Applications for the 2019 Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP) are now open. The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program offers in-residence opportunities for independent research or study related to Smithsonian collections, facilities, and/or research interests of the Institution and its staff.
Fellowships are offered to graduate students, predoctoral students, and postdoctoral and senior investigators to conduct independent research and to utilize the resources of the Institution with members of the Smithsonian professional research staff serving as advisors and hosts. These fellowships are offered through the Smithsonian's Office of Fellowships and Internships, and are administered under the charter of the Institution, 20 U.S. Code section 41 et seq.
The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program offers fellowships for research and study in the following fields and encourages applications of an interdisciplinary nature:
Animal behavior, ecology, and environmental science, including an emphasis on the tropics
Anthropology, including archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistics, and physical anthropology
Astrophysics and astronomy
Earth sciences and paleobiology
Evolutionary & systematic biology
History of art, especially American, contemporary, African, and Asian art, twentieth-century American crafts, and decorative arts
Social and cultural history of the United States
Fellowship Conditions
Predoctoral, postdoctoral and senior fellowships are awarded for periods of three to twelve months.* Appointment periods are in accordance with the applicant's proposal for the research, unless the length of tenure requested is considered by reviewers to be more than required. All graduate student fellowships are ten weeks long. In accepting an appointment, the fellow will be expected to devote full-time effort to the research proposed and to be in residence at the Smithsonian except for approved absences.
Financial support, in addition to a Smithsonian fellowship, for such purposes as research travel and equipment may be received from other sources provided that no special demands are made upon the fellow's time. Permission to receive additional stipend support must be requested in writing from the Office of Fellowships & Internships.
Fellows will be provided with space to conduct their research within the department in which they are working.
Stipends and allowances are provided as stated below:
Senior Fellowships – for scholars at least seven years beyond the Ph.D.
Term: 3 to 12 months
Stipend: $50,400 per year
Research Allowance: up to $4,000
Postdoctoral Fellowships – for scholars up to seven years beyond the Ph.D.
Predoctoral Fellowships -for doctoral candidates to conduct dissertation research.
Ten-week Graduate Student Fellowships -for graduate students to conduct independent research usually before having been advanced to candidacy if in a Ph.D. program.
Term: 10 weeks
Stipend: $7,500
Applicants must propose to conduct research at the Smithsonian in one of its areas of research as outlined in the publication, Smithsonian Opportunities for Research and Study, for a period of three to twelve months, or ten weeks for the Graduate Student Fellowship. Past or current fellowship recipients are eligible to apply for another award.
No employee or contractor of the Smithsonian Institution may hold a Smithsonian fellowship during the time of his/her employment or contract, nor may an award be offered to any person who has been employed by or under contract to the Institution in the previous year, without the prior approval of the Office of Fellowships & Internships.
Applicants whose native language is not English are expected to have the ability to write and converse fluently in English. All application materials must be presented in English (foreign transcripts may be translated, see below).
Determination of the fellowship category for which to apply should be based on the anticipated academic level at the time the fellowship would begin:
Graduate Student Fellowships: When they apply, students must be formally enrolled in a graduate program of study at a degree-granting institution. Before the appointment begins fellows must still be enrolled and must have completed at least one full-time semester or its equivalent, or have completed the graduate program within the past four months. Graduate Student Fellowships are usually intended for students who have not yet been advanced to candidacy if in a doctoral program.
Predoctoral Fellowships: Students enrolled in a university as candidates for the Ph.D. or equivalent are eligible for predoctoral fellowships. By the time the appointment begins, the university must approve the undertaking of dissertation research at the Smithsonian Institution and certify that requirements for the doctorate, other than the dissertation, have been met.
Postdoctoral Fellowships: The doctorate degree must be completed by the time the fellowship begins.
Senior Fellowships: Applicants must have held a Ph.D. or equivalent for at least 7 years.
Applications are evaluated and fellows are selected, by scholars in appropriate fields, on the basis of the proposal's merit, the applicant's ability to carry out the proposed research and study, the likelihood that the research could be completed in the requested time, and the extent to which the Smithsonian, through its research staff members and resources, could contribute to the proposed research. The number of appointments made each year is determined by the availability of funds for the program. The Smithsonian Fellowship Program does not discriminate on grounds of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age, or disability.
All applications must be submitted through the Smithsonian Academic Appointment System (SOLAA). The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP) is listed in SOLAA under the Office of Fellowships.
Notification of decisions will be made through SOLAA on March 1st.
For more information, visit Smithsonian Institution Fellowship.
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Der Burgus Dunakömlőd, der auch unter den Namen Zádor–Imsós und Contra Lussonium bekannt geworden ist, war ein ehemaliger römischer Ländeburgus, dessen Besatzung in der Spätantike einen Flussübergang am pannonischen Donaulimes sicherte. Die Anlage befand sich am Ostufer des Stromes, schräg gegenüber dem Kastell Lussonium, auf einer schon im Barbaricum befindlichen Halbinsel, heute das Gemeindegebiet von Dunakömlőd, im ungarischen Komitat Tolna.

Lage
Die antike topographische Situation ist heute vor Ort nur mehr sehr schwer zu rekonstruieren, da sich der Lauf der Donau seither vollständig verändert hat. Bis zur Flussregulierung in den 1840er Jahren floss der Strom in einem mächtigen, nach Norden ausgreifenden Bogen östlich des 1785 als "Kimling" wiederbegegründeten Ortes Dunakömlőd vorbei. Dieser Bogen, dessen nördlichster Punkt früher als "Krümmung Imses" (Krümmung von Imsós) bekannt war, ist noch durch Altwasserarme und Waldsäume im Gelände erkennbar. Der heutige Donaulauf hat die einst als "Halbinsel Imsós" bekannte Landzunge vollständig ausgespart. Von Nordosten kommend, fließt der Strom seit dem 19. Jahrhundert statt nach Nordwesten zur "Krümmung Imses" direkt nach Westen und knickt dann nach Südwesten ab. Nahe diesem Knick, an den das Nordende der Stadt Paks reicht, wurden die Reste des Burgus Dunakömlőd in der Donau entdeckt. Einst kam der Fluss in diesem Bereich nicht von Osten, sondern von Norden, von der "Krümmung Imses" her. Und entsprechend lag der Ländeburgus nicht wie heute am Nordufer des Flusses, sondern an dessen Ostufer auf der "Halbinsel Imsós". Nordwestlich des Burgus, auf der damaligen anderen Uferseite stand möglicherweise bereits seit dem Ende des 1. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. auf einem hohen Lössberg das Kastell Lussonium. Beide rund 1,2 Kilometer voneinander entfernt liegenden Militärplätze besaßen auch Sichtkontakt zueinander.

Die Wahl des Bauplatzes für den Ländeburgus entsprang nicht dem Zufall, sondern war wohlüberlegt, da in diesem Bereich schon seit prähistorischer Zeit ein häufig benutzter Donauübergang bestand, die sog. "Überfahrt Imsós". In der späteren ungarischen Geschichte setzten hier mehrfach große Heeresverbände über den Strom. Besondere Berühmtheit erlangte in diesem Zusammenhang das Übersetzen der Revolutionstruppen des ungarischen Nationalhelden Ferenc Rákóczis 1705/1706 unter der Führung des Generals János Bottyán. Nachdem dessen Truppen sicher das Westufer erreicht hatten, verschanzten sie sich auf dem Areal des einstigen Kastells Lussonium. Die Stelle trug auf den Landkarten von da ab den Namen "Bottyán vár" (Bottyán-Burg), heute "Bottyán-Sánc" (Bottyán-Wall).

Name
Der in der Vergangenheit vielfach angenommene, rekonstruierte Name Contra Lussonium lässt sich durch die antiken Quellen nicht belegen. Bereits der Limesexperte Sándor Soproni (1926–1995) hielt diese Namensrekonstruktion für weniger wahrscheinlich. Insgesamt ist die Diskussion um verschiedene erhalten gebliebene bzw. rekonstruierte antike Namen entlang des ungarischen Donaulimes noch nicht abgeschlossen.

Forschungs- und Baugeschichte
Die Anlage ist – wie auch der etwas weiter nördlich gelegene Burgus Bölcske – heute vollkommen von der Donau überspült. Sigmund Szelle, ein Hobbyarchäologe, untersuchte 1879 bei Niedrigwasser die Baureste, die sich damals bereits "14 m unter 0" befanden. Szelle ging davon aus, dass die Ursache dieser tiefen Lage in einer Absenkung des Bodens und einer Verlagerung durch die Strömungskräfte zu suchen sei. Szelle gab in seinem unter dem Titel Die Römerschanze in der Donau bei Paks veröffentlichten Untersuchungsbericht weiter an, dass die Gebäudereste eine Ausdehnung von 100 × 55 Meter besessen haben. Mit diesen Abmessungen entspricht die Fortifikation auch ungefähr den Dimensionen der anderen vom ungarischen Donaulimes bekannt gewordenen spätantiken Ländeburgi, so beispielsweise dem etwas weiter südlich gelegenen Burgus contra Florentiam (59 × ca. 85 Meter). Dies lässt, neben weiteren Faktoren, klare Rückschlüsse auf seine Erbauung im 4. Jahrhundert zu. Noch bis in die 1920er Jahre konnten die Mauern des Ländeburgus bei niedrigem Wasserstand beobachtet werden.

Funde
Gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts wurden im Bereich des Burgus von Fischern und Schiffern immer wieder Ziegelstempel aufgefunden, darunter auch solche der OF ARN-Gruppe. Neben diesen Ziegelstempeln kamen auch Spolien älterer verbauter Inschriftensteine ans Licht. Nachfolgend sind die Inschriften der Stempel aufgelistet.

 OF AR MAXENTI AR (5 Stücke),
 CO MAXIMIN (1 Stück),
 [F]L SENECIO … (2 Stücke) und
 AP LVPO ORD (1 Stück).

Außerdem fanden sich ein valentinianischer Stempel der in Vindobona (Wien) kasernierten Legio X Gemina (10. Legion, die Zwillinge):
 [LEG X G MAG S]ATVRNINVS (1 Stück)

Stempel der OF ARN-Gruppe lassen sich in die Zeit der Herrschaft der Kaiser Constantius II. (337–361) und Valentinian I. (364–375) datieren. Da sich die Stempelabkürzungen AR, ARN bzw. ARAN einstweilen jedoch nicht eindeutig erklären lassen, bleiben die bisherigen Übersetzungsvorschläge spekulativ. Möglich wäre Officinae auxiliares ripenses. Nach Meinung des Archäologen Barnabás Lőrincz (1951–2012) können die Ziegel des vorgenannten Maxentius der Zeit zwischen 351 und 354 n. Chr. zugeordnet werden. Andere Forschungsergebnisse, welche die Ziegelstempel des Maxentius in den Provinzen Pannonia I und Valeria sowie im benachbarten Barbaricum analysierten, legen das Auftreten dieser Stempel entweder an das Ende der 50er Jahre des 4. Jahrhunderts oder in die letzten Jahre der Herrschaft Valentinians I.

Ziegel des Fl(avius) Senecio sind bisher aus anderen Festungen nicht bekannt geworden. Der Archäologe Jenő Fitz nahm an, dass Stempel vom Typ LEG X G MAG SATVRNINVS aus der Privatziegelei eines Saturninus stammen könnten, diese Vermutung gilt heute jedoch als überholt.

Der wohl als AP(parante) LVPO ORD(inario) zu lesende Stempel des Zenturios Lupus (nicht LVP(pian)O, wie häufig in der älteren Literatur genannt) tritt auch in Vergesellschaftung mit dem am Burgus Dunakömlőd bisher nicht aufgefundenen Stempel des Frigeridus dux auf, was eine zeitliche Zuordnung möglich macht. Frigeridus besaß höchstwahrscheinlich zwischen 371 und 373/374 den militärischen Oberbefehl über die pannonische Provinz Valeria (Dux Valeriae ripensis), zu der auch das Gebiet um Dunakömlőd gehörte.

Zu den Flußfunden aus Paks soll auch eine fast vollständig erhaltene, unverzierte Beinschiene gehören, die sich in der berühmten, Wissenschaftlern zugänglichen Berliner Privatsammlung von Axel Guttmann befand, bevor diese nach dem Tod des Sammlers 2001 aufgelöst und teils über Auktionsverkäufe weltweit verstreut wurde. Das Stück stammte aus dem 2./3. Jahrhundert und gehört damit nicht zum Komplex des spätantiken Burgus Dunakömlőd.

Limesverlauf vom Burgus Dunakömlőd bis zum Kastell Tolna
Der südliche Abschnitt des pannonischen Limes in Ungarn wurde von der Forschung bis zum Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts weitgehend vernachlässigt, so dass etliche Analysen noch auf die Erkenntnisse der Ausgräber des 19. Jahrhunderts zurückgehen.

Fundverbleib
Frühe Funde wie Ziegelstempel kamen im 19. Jahrhundert in das Museum von Gödöllö.

Denkmalschutz
Die Denkmäler Ungarns sind nach dem Gesetz Nr. LXIV aus dem Jahr 2001 durch den Eintrag in das Denkmalregister unter Schutz gestellt. Zuständig ist das Staatliche Amt für das Kulturelle Erbe (Kulturális Örökségvédelmi Hivatal; KÖH) in Budapest. Der Burgus Dunakeszi sowie alle anderen Limesanlagen gehören als archäologische Fundstätten nach § 3.1 zum national wertvollen Kulturgut. Alle Funde sind nach § 2.1 Staatseigentum, egal an welcher Stelle der Fundort liegt. Verstöße gegen die Ausfuhrregelungen gelten als Straftat bzw. Verbrechen und werden mit Freiheitsentzug von bis zu drei Jahren bestraft.

Siehe auch
 Liste der Limeskastelle in Ungarn

Literatur
 Jenő Fitz (Hrsg.): Der Römische Limes in Ungarn. (= Az István Király Múzeum közleményei. Serie A. Band 22). Fejér Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága, Székesfehérvár 1976
 Tibor Nagy: Das Mithrasrelief von Paks. In: Acta antiqua Academiae scientiarum Hungaricae. 6/3–4, Budapest 1958, S. 407–431.
 Sándor Soproni: Der spätrömische Limes zwischen Esztergom und Szentendre. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest 1978, ISBN 963-05-1307-2.
 Zsolt Visy: Der pannonische Limes in Ungarn. Theiss, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0488-8.

Anmerkungen

Bodendenkmal in Ungarn
Archäologischer Fundplatz in Ungarn
Römische Befestigungsanlage (Pannonia Valeria)
Erbaut im 4. Jahrhundert
Paks

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Each year, Project EverGreen dedicates one week to shine a bright spotlight on the GreenCare for Troops program, which provides free lawn care and landscape services to families of currently deployed military personnel and post 9/11 veterans with a service-connected disability.
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McLaren Automotive showed the second model in its growing range of high performance sports cars, the new 12C Spider, for the first time in public at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The 12C Spider was revealed at the prestigious Gooding & Company Auction preview in Monterey, California on Friday, August 17, and then displayed on the Concept Car Lawn throughout the weekend.
The 12C Spider is lightweight with a high-powered engine, which boasts 616 bhp, a unique Retractable Hard Top (RHT) folding roof system that can be lowered or raised on the move, and a carbon 'MonoCell' chassis identical to that of the groundbreaking 12C coupe. Aside from shared architecture, the 12C and 12C Spider share a unique combination of spectacular performance with remarkable usability.
The new 12C Spider will be priced from £195,500 in the UK and is now available to order from McLaren retailers across the globe. First deliveries to customers are planned for early next year.


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by Ecco Press
In this hilarious roman a clef, Bukowski draws on his experiences while writing the script for the 1987 film Barfly.
Henry Chinaski, the author's alter ego in the film, here returns to write--despite misgivings--a Hollywood screenplay, The Dance of Jim Beam. The film is based on Chinaski's early life as a barfly and brawler, before he became a famous author. As he and his companion Sarah are caught up in the Hollywood whirlwind, Bukowski satirizes a host of well-known movie personalities. While Bukowski fans will welcome the reappearance of Chinaski, with his penchant for booze, women, and horse racing, film buffs should enjoy the novel for its delightful and irreverent portrayal of Hollywood.
Henry Chinaski, Bukowski's alter-ego, is pushed to translate a semi-autobiographical book into a screenplay for John Pinchot. He reluctantly agrees, and is thrust into the otherworld called Hollywood, with its parade of eccentric and maddening characters: producers, artists, actors and actresses, film executives and journalists. In this world, the artistry of books and film is lost to the dollar, and Chinaski struggles to keep his footing in the tangle of cons that comprise movie making. Hollywood is Dirty Old Man Bukowski at his most lucid. It overflows with curses, sex, and alcohol. And through it all, or from it all, Bukowski finds flashes of truth about the human condition.
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London's former mayor says he knew about the report showing deprived schools were disproportionately affected by air pollution, so why wasn't it made public?
The former mayor of London's response to claims he buried a report on how toxic air disproportionately affects deprived schools was trademark Boris Johnson bluster. To allege there was a cover-up was "absurd" and "risible", he said. Of course he hadn't hid the impact of dirty air.
But in defending his record on air pollution, he also seemed to make things worse. On Monday we didn't know if Johnson himself was personally aware of the findings of the unpublished report that the new mayor Sadiq Khan accuses him of suppressing.
There was no denial from Johnson that the report (which was completed in September 2013) had not been published but perhaps it had never been brought to his attention. It is hard to actively suppress a report if you don't even know about it.
Now we know he did know about it - or at least some of its key findings.
On Tuesday, Johnson said there could be no cover-up because he had already made a speech in 2015 about pollution in deprived schools. "I made the very point about primary schools and poor air quality in areas of deprivation. So as cover-ups go it wasn't a particularly brilliant one, considering I made a speech about it," he told reporters during a visit to an aluminium plant.
Set aside the fact that the actual figure is 83% or the fact that it was the schools that were considered deprived rather than the areas. What's interesting about this is it tells us Johnson had read the report, or had at least been briefed on its conclusions - and was talking about it nearly two years after it was handed over to City Hall by the authors.
But neither he, his office or the former deputy mayor for environment and energy, Matthew Pencharz, can explain why it wasn't published. Johnson thought its key finding was striking enough to mention in a speech, and yet the full report was not made public.
Pencharz tweeted in response to people outraged at the apparent cover-up that if they listened to Johnson's response on Tuesday, they'd know "we were aware of [the] problem & [there was] no cover-up." But there was no explanation of why the report was not published.
There's also the question of the delay. If Johnson was so passionate about reducing the brutal inequality of air pollution why did he wait until June 2015 to mention the key finding in a report produced in September 2013?
Even the author of the report, the director of the Oxford-based environmental consultancy Aether, says that the GLA under Johnson publicly disclosed some of the report's positive conclusions, but held back the negative ones.
"The crux of the report was about understanding the inequalities of air pollution, so they chose not to make public the findings regarding inequality," Katie King told the Guardian. "The information that they did take from the report was the positive, that exposure was predicted to fall in the future." (You can now read the full document, titled Analysing Air Pollution Exposure in London).
For now, it's impossible to say whether Johnson personally intervened to prevent the report's publication.
But what is clear is that the report's findings - that of the 433 primary schools in the capital affected by illegal pollution, 83% were deprived schools - were as politically toxic as the air in question.


text:
sesshomaru's empire
NEW SERIES COMING
CHAPTER 9 - A PROBLEM ONLY SHE CAN RESOLVE
Since the day that Rin drank the blood of the Great Demon Shehomachi, she has been feeling in perfect health and strength. Rin is very grateful to her husband, Lord Sesshomaru for saving and preserving her life; She now feels that she will be able to spend a long, happy life with her beautiful family. Some time passes and it is time for Rin and Zephra to get the weapons forged from demon bones,fangs and claws from Lady Sango. When Rin and Zephra arrive at the human village, Sango's two daughters are very happy to see Zephra, they look up to her and admire the way she carries herself. Zephra and Rin are happy with the weapons that have been created, there are four weapons, two for each girl and they will be very useful on nights when the girls are in their human state.. The first is called a Kijin, it is forged from the bones of a powerful demon, it is round and has been sharpened to perfection. The weapon can be used like a frisby to be thrown at the enemy. It is sharp enough to slice or maim and will return to the person who tossed it after rounding a perfect U turn. Due to the sharpness of the blade, Sango advises that whomever will be handling this weapon, will do well to wear thick gloves to avoid cutting themselves. The other weapon is called a Boruchen which is a ball and chain weapon, the ball created and smoothed from multiple demon fangs can be used to knock down a foe, being forged from demon fangs it has the power to penetrate straight through the body of an enemy when used with enough force. Attached to the ball is a handle and a long chain that can contract or extend with ease, used for binding. The third weapon is a pair of ninja sias and finally the fourth is a hand weilding weapon with four sharp blades on it. Because these weapons are made from demon parts, they carry a mass of demonic energy and hold great power for bringing down other demons. After looking over the weapons and discussing their abilities, Rin and Sango enter inside the hut to talk a bit and have a cup of tea while Zephra and the twin girls continue to look over the weapons. The girls inquire with Zephra as to why she would need to have demon slayer weapons with her being so powerful, Zephra informs them that she turns into a full human on a certain night every so often and at that time she becomes the same as they are; she also tells them that most half demons go into hiding when they are in human state however she and her sister Nephra will never hide out from enemies or cowar in fear but instead stand brave and prideful using their fighting skills along with these weapons to bring down their enemies during times of vulnerability. Sango's daughters are so impressed with Zephra's fearless and powerful attitude that she possesses with or without her demon powers, that they look to mimick it and decide when they come of age they want to follow her in her endeavors. From inside the hut Zephra can hear Rin calling for her and she tells Sango's girls that she will return in a moment. Zephra is speaking with her mother about their long travel back to the empire, Sango offers and suggests that they remain at her home for the night and resume travel back to the castle in the morning but Rin is sure that Lord Sesshomaru will be worried and wondering of their where abouts however even flying with Au Un the trip will be long and exhausting. Rin also decides that she would like to visit Granny Kaede before she leaves and decides they will remain at the human village for the night; she hopes that her husband will not worry too much knowing that her friends are here at the village. After speaking with her mother, Zepha returns outside to the girls at that time seeing they seem to have been in some sort of scuffle. One of Sango's daughters tells Zephra, "Zephra, a demon girl came and tried to steal the weapons my mother forged for you. We fought her off as best we could but her demon powers were too much for us, we were able to protect most of the weapons but I'm afraid she was able to obtain one of the weapons and she took off with it." Zephra asks, " Are either of you hurt?" They both respond in unison, "No my Lady." Zephra inquires, " have you girls ever seen this demon before?" One of Sango's daughters respond, "Oh yes My lady, she comes around, we know how to find her. This is not the first time we have had to fight her, she is always at the lake during daybreak when we go to fetch water for our mother, she gives a hard time every morning" Zephra responds, "Perfect, My mother and I will remain here until morning. At dawn, before she wakes...you girls will guide me to the lake and point out this demon, I will then retrieve the weapon and be back here before the sun rises."
Early the next morning, before dawn...the three girls slowly and quietly get up and leave the hut. It is a bit dark however a dull light is forming indicating sunrise is slowly approaching. The two girls guide Zephra to the lake where they encouter the demon girl almost every morning in hopes that she will be there. When they reach the lake Zephra stays out of sight not wanting to alert the demon girl of her presence, she wants the demon to think that only Sango's daughters will be there. The girls walk up and there as always the demon girl is there collecting stones over by the lake. When she see's Sango's daughters approaching she says, "How many times do I have to fight you to keep you away from here? I've already told you this area is my turf, Humans!" One of Sango's daughters replies, "You took something from us and we're not leaving here until we get it back!," The demon girl replies back, "Oh you mean this fine weapon? It's mine now and I will obtain more of your possessions again and there's nothing you can do about it." The girls get themselves prepared to fight her when Zephra's voice stops them. As she walks up she speaks, "Girls, I asked you to guide me to this demon girl and you have. Your work is done, Now stand well back and observe. " The demon girl asks, "Who are you and what are they going to observe? You're nothing but a half demon, do you think you can take me on?" Zephra responds smiling with confidence but asking, "We will find out...won't we?" The girl instantly transforms into a true demon form of an eel and strikes at Zephra with bolts of electricity coming from her hands however Zephra does not seem phased by them as she uses her slash blades with impeccable speed blocking each strike that comes at her. Zephra growing bored of blocking the strikes and needing to speed things up, Jumps high and flips at such a fast speed that the demon girl was not able to see where she went and began looking from side to side to find Zephra whom is standing right behind her. Zephra then slashes at the demon girl using her claws causing the demon to yell out in pain as blood from the demon drips to the ground. The demon girl turns around attempting to attack Zephra again, this time using her sharp teeth, Zephra again avoids the strike with her fast movement but then strikes the demon girl with a hard kick to the chest causing the demon girl to fall back. With the demon lying on her back, Zephra stands above looking down at her and diplaying her claws as she say, "I'm in a hurry so shall I finish you off now with my poison darts or shall I take my weapon and leave you?" The demon girl changes back into human form and says "Take your weapons, I don't want any more trouble over this." A light flashes and catches Zephra's eye, she had not noticed before but the demon girl was wearing a bracelet that had little shiny diamonds all around it, pleasing to Zephra's eye she flashes a sinister smile and tells the demon girl, "remove that trinket from around your wrist and give it to me." The demon girl responds, "This is no trinket...it is a precious heirloom that was passed on to me from my great grand mother, it possess power you can not handle." Zephra responds with great joy, "Oh, that's good to know, now I really must have it...Take it off!" The demon girl reluctantly takes the peice of jewlery off and gives it to Zephra as she thinks: I don't want to fight this half demon again, she never even flinched from any of my attacks, she is too powerful. Zephra takes hold of the bracelet and gives the demon girl a warning, "Two things, first I advise you not to tell anyone about our fight or about your heirloom being taken, you will be wise to tell your family that it was lost and second, you know those human girls that come to the lake every morning to collect water, Well...if you mess with them, you will have to answer to me. Dont forget that. " Zephra begins to walk off with her weapon returned to her and a new shiny diamond bracelet as she tells the girls, "Let's get back quickly girls." One of Sango's daughters quickly catches up with Zephra while the other looks over at the demon lying there pitiful and in bad bloody shape informing the demon girl, "You had better heed the advice of my mistress or she will be back to finish you off." She then walks off following Zephra and her sister back to her mother's hut as the sun rises above the clouds.
Sango makes a big breakfast for her family, inviting Rin and Zephra to join them. After breakfast Rin wants to pay Granny Kaede a little visit before heading back to the castle. When she arrives at Granny Kaede's hut she can tell that something is wrong, the huts entrance has been broken down and the hut has some damage. Rin is worried and she tells Zephra to remain where she is as she runs inside the hut. The inside of Lady Kaede's hut has been ransacked and many of her belongs seems to be missing, Rin can hardly believe what she's seeing as she yells out, "Granny Kaede, are you here, are you okay?" Rin runs to the other room where she used to sleep before she moved to the castle and there was Lady Kaede lying on the floor on her back with a huge bump to her head. Rin's heart stops when she sees Lady Kaede in such a condition and she runs to her side instantly, She feels for a pulse and there is one, to Rins great relief. Rin runs back outside and yells out to Zephra, "Go back to Lady Sango's and have them get a village doctor for Lady Kaede, she's hurt...Please Hurry Zephra!!!" Zephra does as her mother orders and she returns with Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha and the village doctor. The village doctor cares for Lady Kaede as Miroku and Inuyasha work on fixing the damage to Lady Kaede's hut. The village doctor diagnoses her condition, "She has a nasty bump on the head, it knocked her unconscience...She will be fine but right now she just needs some rest." Rin asks, "May we see her now?" The village doctor allows Rin and Sango to enter the room to see Lady Kaede, she seems weak but is able to speak when she sees Rin and tries to sit up, "Rin, you're here." Rin quickly stops her, "No Granny, don't try to sit up..you just lie back and rest now." Rin sits close to Lady Kaede and holds her hand. Sango asks Lady Kaede, "What happened, do you remember anything? Kaede responds, "It was late last night, I was trying to tidy up before bed when two men rushed into the hut, they were asking for my valuables. I tried to tell them that I am a simple old woman, I have nothing of value. The moment I said that, one of them struck me hard with an object and that is the last thing I remember." Sango tells her, "It looks like they did get away with a bit of money, food and few other items." Rin then asks, " Granny, did you not see at all what they looked like?" Kaede tries to think and responds, "All I remember is that one of them had an fierce jagged scar on his right cheek and they both wore beards." Sango reminds Rin, "You'd better be getting back Rin, Sesshomaru will be worried. I will remain here with Lady Kaede for the night and she will stay with Miroku and I until this situation blows over." Rin responds in an unsure voice as she leans in close to Kaede, " I can't just leave like this." Kaede places a hand on Rin's cheek, "It's okay my sweet girl, now that I have seen you again, I am over joyed and my old self once more." Rin knows she must leave today, two days away from the castle and Lord Sesshomaru will surely show up here at the human village looking for her and Zephra; she does not want her husband burdened or worried due to their absence. Rin and Zephra begin their travel to the castle,they plan to fly but Rin has one more stop she wants to make, She wants to find these bandits that attacked Lady Kaede...They will die for what they have done and Rin feels no sympathy or mercy for evil bandits. Rin has never forgotten the brutal murder her family suffered at the hands of bandits and now her sweet Granny attacked, she cannot leave until she finds these bandits even if it means spending one more night at the village. Rin begins to ask around the village about a bandit that has a jagged scar on his right cheek and wears a beard; it turns out that Rin does not have to search or inquire much before someone gives her the information she seeks. Rin finds out the name of this bandit is Akuno, he is well known through out the northern human villages but lately he along with his comrade, has been pillaging the area of the West where lady Kaede's village is, she is also told where he normally spends most of his time when he is not terrorizing some human village. Rin is glad that she has come upon this information and so quickly, she plans to confront this thief and make it home to her castle before night fall, however it takes Rin longer to find him than it did for her to find the information, it is dusk when she locates the hideous man with the jagged scar on his right cheek. He and his follower are walking and talking when from behind they hear a woman's voice shout out, "AKUNO, TURN AROUND AND FACE ME NOW!!" Rin tells Zephra to remain on Au Un and out of the way as she unmounts Ah Un. The bandits turn around, Akuno asks, "What business do you have with me woman?" Rin informs him, "Last night you raided the hut of an old woman who is very dear to me so now you will pay with your life." Akuno and his friend both laugh at the thought of a mere woman thinking she has the ability to slay them. Rin continues to stand by waiting for him to approach, she is angry and never more serious about ending his life in fact her urge to kill him seems stronger than normal but she doesn't concern herself with this negative feeling and embraces it instead. Akuno pulls out his sword and runs to strike Rin as she swiftly jumps and half twirls as she kicks the sword out of his hand with ease, she then pulls out the hand yeilding weapon that was made for her daughters and slashes it with amazing speed and force making attack noises with each thrust. The bandit has a difficult time dodging her strikes and is unable to reach his sword, Rin wounds Akuno twice with the hand weapon when suddenly the other bandit jumps in realizing that Akuno is unable to handle her on his own as he thought. Using his sword he tries to strike at Rin and finds it difficult as she is blocking his strikes with the hand weapon and they constantly clash blades as all that is heard is metal on metal sound. Akuno gathers himself and gets a hold of his weapon and launches it at Rin as it flies in her direction, Zephra sitting near Au Un thinks she should block the sword from hitting her mother by using her slash blade but realizes that Rin has it under control...as the sword jets in Rins direction she quickly rams the hand weapon deep into the stomach of the bandit and shifts him in the direction of the flying sword, using him as her shield and making him the victim of that attack unstead of her. She removes her hand weapon from his stomach and the bandit falls to the ground moaning and groaning in pain before he dies. She walks toward Akuno and informs him, "You are next. " Akuno is not sure what to do as he slowly backs away but Rin walks directly up to him and slits his throat with the sharp hand blade, when she does that some of the blood from Akuno spurts out onto Rin's face and clothes. As Rin attempts to walk away, the smell of the blood is calling to her; she suddenly remembers the taste of Shehomachi's blood and craves it once more. Though she knows she can not consume any more demon blood, there is nothing stopping her from enjoying the taste of fresh human blood, especially human scum like bandits. She turns back to the bandits lying there with their blood oozing out and the closer she gets to it the stronger the smell and craving is for her. Rin rummages through the pockets and carry bags of the bandits and finds many items but she is able to make use of a bottle used to hold liquor, she cleans the bottle out as best she can and decides it will come in handy as a way to store their blood. Zephra, confused of her mother's actions watches on as her mother makes fresh slashes to the bandits body to obtain more and heavier blood flow to enter the bottle. Finally after collecting all the needed blood, Rin corks the alcohol bottle and places it in a bag with the weapons as she and Zephra fly with Au Un back to the castle making it there late in the night.
Rin and Zephra finally return to the castle, Jaken greets them at the entrance asking, "Rin, Zephra...where have you been? Lord Sesshomaru has been waiting for you." Rin responds, "I will speak to him right away, Master Jaken." Rin kneels down and caresses Zephra's hair while instructing her to head up to her room for bed. She continues walking down the corridor of the castle and greets Sesshomaru at his throne, when he sees Rin he immediately stands up and walks to her and they embrace in a hug as he asks, "Rin, I expected you back last night." Rin responds quickly, "I know, I apologize Milord. It couldn't be helped...Lady Kaede, she was attacked and beat by bandits the very night we were to return. I couldn't leave her without ensuring her recovery." Sesshomaru notices the smell of blood, "Rin, there is something else. I can smell the blood of a man." Rin hesitates with providing her answer then reluctantly admits as she looks away, "I could never live with myself if I had just let them get away with hurting her. Now, I can rest well knowing that they will never hurt an innocent person again." Sesshomaru is not sure what to make of this, he knows that Rin holds bitter feelings for bandits but she is not prone to killing humans, He thinks to himself: Could this be a side effect of Shehomachi's blood or has her hatred for bandits reached it's limit? Rin informs Sesshomaru, "It's been a long trip, I'm going to bathe in the spring ,will you join me, Milord?" Sesshomaru informs that he will join her as Rin heads up to their room to obtain towels and their kimono robes so that they can bathe in the families private lake in back of the castle. After they bathe, Rin and Sesshomaru retire to the room for the night; he holds Rin close to him in bed as they fall asleep. After a few hours, Sesshomaru opens his eyes and notices that Rin is no longer wrapped in his arms nor is she in the bed with him. He sits up in bed, seeing from the window that the sun has not risen yet, he wonders where she could be. Sesshomaru gets out of bed and goes to his daughter's room to check on them and both Nephra and Zephra are sleeping peacefully. He leaves the girls room and begins to walk back to his room when the strong smell of human blood hits him again. Sesshomuaru decides to follow the smell of the blood and as he continues to walk he notices the smell becoming stronger as he comes close to Heroshya's room. He thinks to himself: Hmm, Heroshya is not at the castle tonight. What's going on? The door to Heroshya's room is slightly ajar providing him the opportunity to look inside the room, he finds Rin sitting there on Heroshya's bed and she is transferring blood from a bottle into several small viles. She corks the viles and sets them aside but she takes a swig from one of the small viles before putting the rest of them into a small carry bag. Sesshomaru is startled by what he is seeing, this is not his sweet Rin but he remembers Shehomachi's warning regarding a change in her demeanor. Sesshomaru enters the room making his presence known to her as he softly calls out, "Rin". Rin freezes when she hears Sesshomaru's voice and does not turn around to face him as she speaks, "Please My Lord, do not think of me as wicked. I will explain all to you in due time." Sesshomaru tells her, "It is unnecessary for you to explain, I am aware of what is happening...It is a side effect of the blood you drank belonging to Shehomachi." Rin raises her head and turns to look at Sesshomaru, her face showing an expression of surpise and relief in finding out the reason for the uncontrollable urges with in her. Sesshomaru continues, " Rin, you must use the power of your own will to return to normal. Otherwise your cravings will become stronger." Rin goes swiftly over to Sesshomaru and embraces him tightly, he caresses her hair as she informs her husband, "I can do that, I won't take another drop."
The next morning, Zephra tells Nephra about the diamond bracelet that she obtained from the demon girl near Lady Sango's village. Zephra trusts her sister with this information as she must keep it secret from her mother and father. The girls go to the woods near the castle to play around with the bracelet attempting to unleash it's power but they are unable to figure out what the diamonds do. Zephra is in love with the way the diamonds shine and glisten on her wrist and can not resist the urge to wear it, she hopes that maybe her parents will not notice it. Nephra asks, "Maybe you shouldn't have taken it Zephra, What if the girl's family comes looking for her property back?" Zephra answers, "They won't, she doesn't even know who I am." Zephra wears the diamond and continues the normal activities around her family as usual, several days go by and no one notices the jewelry around her wrist. At night Zephra admires her trinket and fantasizes to herself about the types of magical abilities it may hold. When Rin comes to the girls room to tuck them in, she finally notices the bracelet on Zephra's wrist and asks her where it came from. Zephra tells her mother that she found it. Rin asks, "Where did you find it?" Zephra informs her, "At the lake near Lady Sango's hut." Rin still curious asks, "When did you go to the lake? I don't recall you leaving to go there." Zephra does not answer her because she has no explaination, Rin becomes suspicious and knowing that Zephra has a bit of bad streak in her she decides to probe more. She softly takes hold of Zephra's arms and asks, Zephra, did you take this bracelet away from someone?" Zephra answers, "Mother, does it really matter anymore?...it's done. I've been in possession of this trinket for many days now." Rin slightly tightens her grip on Zephra's arms as she scolds her, "Zephra, this makes you no more than a thief, where would you pick up such habits? Your behavior could hurt the reputation of your father's empire." Zephra responds, "Mother, the demon I took this bracelet from is nothing more than a thieving brat herself. I stole from the very one who stole from me, we would have never encountered each other had she not stolen one of the weapons we had forged." Rin is so disappointed by her daughter's actions she says, "I don't care Zephra, You shouldn't lower yourself to her level by mimicking her behavior,we are going to take that bracelet back to the lake for her to retrieve it, it's not yours to keep." Zephra having no intention of returning the bracelet plays a trump card against her mother, "Very well Mother, Shall we return the blood that you took from those bandits you killed also?" Rin's eye's raise in shock, she'd forgotten that Zephra was with her when she bottled the blood. Zephra continues, "I suppose we can not return it now can we, you've been drinking viles of it every day even though you told father you would not." Rin can not believe how much information Zephra has and how she is using it against her. Zephra gives her final word on the subject, "Mother, just remember that you killed to get what you wanted; the girl I took this bracelet from is at least still alive." Rin is speechless and silent for a moment. She decides to drop the subject, resuming her original task of tucking Zephra and Nephra in as she says, "Good night girls, sleep well." she walks out and leaves the room. Nephra who was lying in her bed the whole time sits up and looks over at Zephra quietly saying, "You shouldn't have said those things to mother Zephra, I think you hurt her feelings." Zephra tells Nephra in a quiet voice, " I know, I didn't want to upset her but what else could I do...I'm not giving this bracelet back. I will make it up to her and bring her flowers tomorrow." Zephra turns to her side to sleep.
Rin has continued to drink viles of blood from the bandit she killed, going back on her word to avoid drinking any. She finds the urge for blood too overwhelming for her to control especially with viles of blood in the castle. When Rin goes to drink one of the blood viles she realizes that she is down to the last one and she tells herself that this will be it, no more blood. She tries to be a normal mother and wife by making clothes; cooking meals for her daughters and assisting her husband with affairs of the empire when she can in the hopes that a busy life will keep her mind off of her unusual problem. Her plan seems to work but at night it is extremely difficult for her to cope with her craving and each night she has intense sweats combined with chills, stomach pains and headaches. Some nights Sesshomaru is not around to see the pain that his wife is going through but other nights he witnesses her ailments and feels irritation at the fact that there is nothing he can do to help her often wondering if providing her with the blood of a demon was actually a wise decision after all. Sesshomaru does not realize that Rin has continued to drink more blood since the last time he saw her filling the viles, so he is confused as to why she is still having pain and negative reactions from not ingesting blood and he worries that she will never be able to live without supplying herself with blood everyday however at the same time Sesshomaru remembers that the demon Shehomachi clearly said that if Rin uses the strength of her own will power, she will be able to overcome the changes she is experiencing so he thinks that if they are patient things will return to normal. It's been five nights since Rin drank her last vile of blood and she is not looking forward to another sleepless, uncomfortable night, she tells Sesshomaru that she is going to sit outside the castle and enjoy the scenery of the night sky instead of going to bed. Sesshomaru has a strange feeling that he should sit with her and remain at her side but he dismisses it thinking that he may be acting unnecessarily paranoid. Many hours passing it is soon to be morning but the sun has not risen, Sesshomaru lying in bed opens his eyes and looks next to him and his wife has still not joined him in bed, her side of the bed looks to be undisturbed. He thinks to himself: No way is she still sitting outside, I must find her. Looking all around the castle he does not have any luck in finding her, realizing she is no longer in the castle nor is she outside of the castle. Sesshomaru talks to the demon guards outside of his castle asking, "Where is Rin, she would have passed through here." The guard responds, "My lord, she left with Au Un some time ago. She did not say when she would be returning however she wore battle gear, her weapons and a nap sack, Milord." Sesshomaru does not speak, only looks out into the night wondering to himself what is happening to his wife.
When Rin returns it is still dark, Sesshomaru is sitting at his throne waiting for her entrance. Rin is startled to see him as she had hoped that she would have been able to easily slip in and out of the castle unbeknownst to her family. The moment she sees her husband is waiting she stops in her tracks and says, "Milord, the sun has not yet risen, you should be resting." Sesshomaru responds softly, "I should say the same to you, where have you been?" Rin quickly replies, "I...I felt restless and I went to our forest to test out the weapons I had forged for the girls." Sesshomaru thinks to himself: This is not good, In all of the years I have known Rin, she has never lied to me and she normally never would. This is very unlike her. He continues on indulging her pretense, "In this late of night?" Rin responds, "Well, as I said I couldn't sleep and thought I would get a bit of exercise but now wild horses will not keep me from sleep. I think I will retire now, at least for a few hours before the girls wake up." Sesshomaru tells her, "Very well Rin, if you are tired you should rest...however I must insist you leave your nap sack and weapons with me." Rin looks at Sesshomaru unsure what to say or do next as she thinks to herself: He knows I have blood in this nap sack, of course he can smell it with his keen sense of smell...how could I have forgotten that? He knows I have been lying about where I've been, what must he think of me? Rin being overly consumed by her cravings for blood acts completely out of character and says, "I am sorry Milord. No, I will not." Sesshomaru is shocked, again she has never denied a request from Lord Sesshomaru in all of her years with him. Sesshomaru stands up and with a raised voice he says, "What was that Rin?!" Rin responds, "Milord, please do not ask me to hand over my nap sack. I have never disobeyed you but I can not submit to your request." Sesshomaru walks up to Rin as she tries to back away from him securing her nap sack close to her. He looks at Rin clutching the nap sack close to her and says, "You will not hand the nap sack over to me? Then I will go to the human village to seek Kohaku and I will kill him." Rin can not believe what she is hearing and she responds," Kohaku, what does he have to do with any of this?" Sesshomaru explains, " I would have killed him before when he attacked you and our then unborn twins, however, I held back. I held back for you Rin, because you asked me to. It seems we are no longer honoring each other's requests, therefore I will return to my original coarse of action and kill him." He turns to walk away to retrieve his swords intent to carry on the task of killing Kohaku when she stops him, "Wait, what do you want with my nap sack." Sesshomaru tells her, "I want to observe it's contents." Rin still unsure of his intentions, "You already know what it contains, don't you?" He holds out his hand and Rin reluctantly submits her nap sack to him. Sesshomaru opens the nap sack and removes the medium sized bottle that contains blood throwing it across the room smashing it into pieces causing the blood to splash to the floor. When Rin sees the blood splash to the floor she feels frustration thinking about all she had to go through to obtain it and the nights she will have to endure symptoms without it. She groans softly as she begins to run over to the spilled blood in the attempt to scoop up what she can but Sesshomaru quickly grabs her arm stopping her from going any further ; asking, "Who did you have to kill in order to retrieve this blood for yourself Rin?" Rin angrily answers, "Nothing more than bandit scum during one of their village night raids." Sesshomaru thinks to himself: I will not let this obsession take you away from me Rin. He says out loud to her, "You will obey me." He then lifts Rin over his shoulder and carries her up to their room continuing to speak, " You will not consume any more blood from this day forth." Sesshomaru decides he will watch Rin from here on, He will remain at her side, ensuring she does not leave to get more blood.
Zephra loves her beautiful new bracelet though she admires it everyday she still can not stop wondering about the power it possesses. The demon girl who was an eel demon said that it possess some power but what? Every day for many days Zephra has tried to bring the power out...she shakes it, tosses it, flings it, speaks to it but nothing works. Neprha and Zephra are outside, Nephra feeds Ah Un as Zephra plays around with the bracelet more and becomes frustrated as she speaks to Nephra, "You know, I bet this jewel has no power at all. That pathetic demon most likely just wanted to make herself seem more powerful than what she is." Nephra responds, " It was foolish of her to tell you that, she had to know that you would want to possess a powerful trinket for yourself." Zephra insists, "No, she was lying...Oh just wait til I see her again!" Zephra punches her fist into the palm of her hand indicating a beat down for this demon when just then an extreme surge of lightning races through the palm of her hand. Zephra yelps, "Owww" as she swings her hand up and shakes it. Nephra asks, "What just happened Zehpra? Are you okay?" Zephra also confused answers, " I don't know, I just felt a horrible shock to my hand. It really hurt and..." Zephra stops in mid sentence thinking: It was the bracelet? Zephra wants to test it again but she does not want to feel that surge of pain go through her again so she tells Nephra, "Stay well back and out of the way Nephra, I want to try something." Nephra steps aside with Au Un and gives Zephra some room. Zephra punches in front of her although no one is there, when she does this... a strike of powerful current bursts and flies out straight ahead of her. She punches in front of her again at no one but this time using more force in her punch, a lightning strike flies out again this time stronger making a loud "CLAP" and "BOOM" sound as it hits a tree that was a distance in front of Zephra causing the tree to fall to the ground. Zephra is absolutely elated and delighted with this power she has just discovered, "Ha Ha...I've got it, That's it Nephra, That's the power of my bracelet." Nephra responds, "Amazing. No one is more better suited for it than you. One thing I don't understand though, if the demon girl that originally owned the bracelet was an eel demon, she already has the power of electricity within her, why would she need that bracelet." Zephra thinks she knows the answer, "She doesn't need it, It was an heirloom. I think that all the demons in her family have worn this bracelet for years passing it down from generation to generation each time more demonic energy being passed to it. She was only wearing it to keep with tradition, however it will prove to be extremely useful to me." Nephra brings one thing to Zephra's attention, "Keep in mind, I don't believe you will be able to use that bracelet when in your human state Zephra. Your demonic energy may be needed to bring the power out." Zephra agrees, "I think you might be right...Urrr, Blast that night we turn full human!! It's such a bother. "
For several days Sesshomaru keeps a close eye on Rin never allowing her to be alone. However he is unable to remain with her at all times. Due to the affairs of his empire, Sesshomaru will sometimes leave gaurds to follow Rin's every movement to ensure she does not leave the castle alone for any reason. Rin prepares herself to bathe in the hot spring outside, she finds it soothing, relaxing and very enjoyable. Sesshomaru is aware that bathing in the hot spring is one of Rin's favorite things to do but he can not risk her being left alone in fear she will run off again. As Rin steps out of the sleeping quarters with her towel and wearing her bathing Kimono, she sees the two demons gaurding the door as one of them asks, "Is there something we can get you My Lady?" Rin responds, "No Thank you, I'm only going to bathe in the hot spring outside, I will return shortly." The demon guard informs her, " I do apologize Milady but the master has ordered that you are not to bathe in the hot spring until his return at day's end." Rin responds, "Oh,I see...Then I shall do as Lord Sesshomaru orders." The guard then asks, "May we have your lunch sent up My Lady? Or perhaps we can accompany you to a walk through the forest if you are in need of fresh air?" Rin thanks the demons again, "Thank you but no, I am fine." Rin retreats back into the sleeping quarters and boredly stares out the window as she thinks to herself: Hmm, so he doesn't trust me now. I guess I've given him every reason not to. Rin continuing to stare out the window looks down and can see the grass and ground below, it is a long way down but for a moment, desperate for blood to drink and wanting freedom from the guards , thinks she may be able to climb down but dismisses the idea as she thinks: there are guards all over this place, I'm sure he has alerted them all to keep a look out. She lies down on the bed and continues to thinks to herself: Anyway, I've got to try harder to overcome this addiction, we can't live like this forever. Lord Sesshomaru shouldn't have to waste his time watching over me like I was a helpless little girl again. I won't be a burden to him, I love him so much and I don't want to lose him. After some time Jaken returns to the castle with Nephra and Zephra, they go to the sleeping quarters to visit Rin. She hugs her little girls asking them, "How was your sparing session." Zephra tells her, "It was great, I love sparing." Nephra responds, "It was fine mother, now Zephra promised me she would pick berries with me." Zephra assures Nephra, "Okay Okay, I said I will and I will." Nephra asks her mother, "Mother, after we pick berries...will you bake us a pie? Rin responds, "Of course Nephra." Jaken chimes in, "Oh Whoo Whoo, I sure love those pies Rin. I can hardly wait." Nephra excited also says, "Let's get going, the faster we get the berries the faster we can enjoy pie." Nephra and Zephra dash out of the room as Jaken starts to follow behind them. Rin still very bored and lonely asks, "Master Jaken, let me come with you all. I can't stand this any longer, I feel like a prisoner." Jaken responds, "Oh no you don't Rin, Lord Sesshomaru doesn't trust you and I don't either. The minute my back is turned you'll run off and Lord Sesshomaru will have my head. If he is punishing YOU like this, I cringe to think what he'll do to ME if I disobey his orders." Jaken shakes with fear just thinking about it, "If you want to go out with us, you'll just have to let the gaurds accompany you." Jaken hurries out of the room shouting, " Hey you girls wait for me!!!" Rin plops down on the bed disappointed as she says out loud to herself, "Stupid Master Jaken, I wasn't going to run away."
When Sesshomaru returns, his daughters are enjoying a bath, splashing around in the hot spring out back while Rin is baking a pie for them with the berries they brought. There are two demon gaurds at the entrance of the dining quarter watching Rin's every move. Sesshomaru dismisses the gaurds for the evening taking over the task of looking after Rin. Sesshomaru tells her, "Rin, I understand that it must cause you great discomfort to have demon gaurds following you around through out the day, therefore, you are free to roam as you so please." Rin is extremely happy to hear that she has her freedom and privacy back but she asks her husband, "My Lord, I have caused so much trouble. Do you trust me again?" Sesshomaru responds, "No, It is obvious you will kill again and continue to collect blood but there is nothing I can do to stop it. This is a problem only you can resolve Rin. Locking you away in the castle will not remedy it either. " Sesshomaru walks out of the dining quarters and to his throne. Rin does not realize that Sesshomaru has another little trick to help Rin strengthen her will power. He is hopeful that it will work but if it does not, he is willing to accept that Rin will forever feed on human blood however, as long as it doesn't harm her and she is taking the blood from bandits, Sesshomaru is not really too concerned. Having much time on her hands Rin makes a big dinner for her family instead of having the servants do it; after dinner.... she,the girls and Jaken enjoy the berry pie. Rin is in such good spirits having the freedom to move about the castle as normal, that she decides to go and enjoy the hot spring out side. Afterwards she goes to the sleeping quarters where her husband is already resting. She softly kisses and makes love to her husband as she tells him how much she loves him and that she will never be untruthful to him ever again... while at the same time thinking how lucky she is to be married to ' The Great Lord Sesshomaru.' She thinks to herself that she never wants to worry or anger him again but when the sun rises and Sesshomaru awakes he yet again finds Rin gone. Her scent is still fresh in the room so he knows she must have just left, He springs into action and collects their daughter Nephra, having her hold on to him as they fly to the nearest area that bandits are known to gather. Sesshomaru is fast getting to Rin and spots her quickly, He and Nephra quietly swoop down landing on the side of Rin who has a bandit on the ground ready to strike him dead. Sesshomaru allows Nephra to watch as Rin is raising her weapon to strike the bandit. She can clearly see Nephra standing with Sesshomaru as she turns her attention back to the bandit she declares, "Please Milord, do not let our daughter see." Sesshomaru responds, "She will see and afterwards, you will explain your actions to her." Nephra having a kind heart like her mother asks, "Mother, are you going to kill this man? Why?" Rin responds, "He has killed many innocent human beings Nephra...he does not deserve to live." Nephra reminds her mother of what she told Zephra, "But I thought you said we should not lower ourselves to their level, we should not mimic their bad behavior." Rin has a strong grip on her weapon and holds it there at the neck of the bandit for a moment, she finally stands up and tells the bandit, "Be gone, I have no use for you." The bandit nearly losing his life happily obliges and swiftly runs off. Rin goes over to Nephra and hugs her saying, "You are right, we are a strong and powerful family but our actions are never evil. Let's go home." Rin suddenly finds it much easier to resist her craving for blood and her symptoms are weaker with each passing day. She wants her daughters to realize they are strong and can overcome anything, Rin knows she has to practice living by the same lessons that she teaches to her daughters and not be hypocritical of her own words; also she does not want her daughters to see her as a blood thirsty murderous killer. Sesshomaru knew that Rin would feel this way and he knew that Nephra was the perfect one to help her see the wrong in what she was doing. With in months, there are no more instances of Rin disappearing in the night or in the morning and as the years pass, she no longer has any craving or desire for human blood.


A very good afternoon to my fellow readers! For today's topic I would like to discuss about one of Apple's product which is the Apple Watch. We are going to go through all the generations that these Apple Watch evolve from one to another. There are five generations of Apple Watch that has been released by Apple which are the Original Apple Watch (or we may call it as the Apple Watch Series 0), the Apple Watch Series 1,the Apple Watch Series 2, the Apple Watch Series 3 and the Apple Watch Series 4. Each of these models have different specifications in the term of case materials, colours and sizes. The wristband is customizable, comes with many choices and it is replaceable to suit your own style.
The original Apple Watch is released on April 2015, but you will not be able to find this model as Apple has stopped letting it out on the market nowadays so that means you can only get this original Apple Watch from third-parties. The original Apple Watch is restricted to specific features only as it is not installed with the latest operating system which is the watchOS 5 software. Apple Watch Series 1 is later be introduced a year after the original Apple Watch which believes to provide faster performance as it runs with a much more advanced dual-core chipset.
A few innovations with a new technology is implemented to the Apple Watch Series 2 which is released not long after the Apple Watch Series 1, such as the built-in GPS, water-resistance and a slightly increased size of the battery for a longer usage. In 2017, Apple announced Apple Watch Series 3 that comes with an LTE connection which is optional, enhanced GPS and the ability to keep track of your health and fitness. The latest generation of the Apple Watch Series 4 comes with an additional heart rate features to help you detect your heart rhythm.
To summarize these comparisons, the original Apple Watch is the cheapest amongst all of the other models but it is quite strenuous to find one so as Apple Watch 1 and 2. Apple Watch Series 1 has an improved speed performance than the original Apple Watch. The Apple Watch Series 2 has more features included than of what in Apple Watch Series 1. The Apple Watch Series 3 and 4 are the only models that are available on the store if you have in ind of purchasing one.
Next, I would like to break down some of the features that separate these watches such as the design, display, performance, etc. These Apple Watch come with a quite similar in terms of design, a square finish that fits well-nigh perfectly on your wrist. Apple Watch Series 4 is the first to release a different availability in size, which measures 40 mm or 44 mm for a larger display screen, while the rest maintain the size of 38 mm and 42 mm. For your information, there is a presence of Haptic feedback on the digital crown of the Apple Watch Series 4. With this haptic feedback, you can actually feel the vibrations as you go scroll through your the menu on your Apple Watch.
Moving on, the display of the Apple Watch is an OLED Retina display with Force Touch at 450 nits and for the latest models have 1000 nits. Force Touch is actually the sense of pressure of your Apple Watch, that practically means that your Apple Watch can sense it if you are doing a light tap or a deep press. Nits is the brightness of the display, luminance and the intensity of the light for a display. So the Apple Watch Series 4 has a greater display and much bigger screen as well!


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