With this glorious weather we're experiencing down on the South West coast, the fishermen of Lyme Bay Reserve have been hard at work bringing in the sustainable fish and shellfish this area has to offer. Fisherman Brett Newton (pictured) on board his boat Maverick is a member of Reserve Seafood – a premium brand which markets the sustainable, high-quality, provenance-assured seafood of Lyme Bay. Did you know... all vessels under Reserve Seafood use a monitoring app to ensure all catch is provenance assured. This guarantees the traceability of each catch and goes a long way towards the long-term sustainable future of Lyme Bay for both fish and fishermen.
For more information about Reserve Seafood head over to www.lymebayreserve.co.uk/reserve-seafood and if you're in the market for Reserve Seafood get in touch with Plymouth Trawler Agents who will 'hook' you up with some (pun intend); 01752 262816.
Ever wondered what life looks like on the seabed of Lyme Bay Reserve? Delve deep into this video filmed by University of Plymouth Marine Institute to discover.
These cameras were left on the seabed to film for long periods of time in order to capture footage of all the mobile organisms present in an area of Lyme Bay. The pole you can see is a metre in length with a baited cage at the end in order to attract all nearby animals into the field of view. The footage captured was analysed back at Plymouth University's Marine Institute and made up a significant part of the Lyme Bay Experimental Potting Study data collection.
Introducing our fisherman of the week, Oscar.
Oscar Fearnley-Derome is the skipper of the Hollie Rose E563 who works out of Axmouth Harbour. The unusual February weather we experienced had him smiling and in a T-shirt!
Oscar is part of Reserve Seafood, a scheme developed by the Blue Marine Foundation which markets and promotes the sustainable, premium quality, provenance-assured seafood of Lyme Bay. This premium product is a result of the fishermen's dedication to catch quality, whereby each fisher is signed up to the Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve and is accredited by the Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme, which assures catch quality and fishing standards.
The voluntary Codes of Conduct that each fisherman adheres to and the science, which measures the results of fishing efforts in the Bay, informs the sustainability of the product. Each vessel is also fitted with iVMS (inshore Vessel Monitoring System), which guarantees the traceability of each catch. All of this goes a long way towards the long-term sustainable future of Lyme Bay for both fish and fishermen.
As part of 'Green Fortnight' – Food, Farming and the Future' Transition Town Bridport are holding a discussion panel led by local food producers including Ellen Simon of Tamarisk Farm, Jyoti Fernandes, Martin Yeates of Manor Farm, Swyre, and our very own scallop fisherman John Worswick from West Bay fishing in Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve. Held at Bridport Town Hall from 7.30pm. Bar and food will be served from 7.00pm (contributions welcome). £3 from Tourist Information Centre or on the door.
Fancy eating fish this week?
Don't forget to keep an eye out for our Reserve Seafood sticker in fishmongers windows along the South-West coast so you can enjoy and support this innovative brand.
Looking to buy Reserve Seafood locally?
Cracking group photo we just had to share with you.
The Blue Marine Foundation invited a dozen artisanal fishermen from six small fishing communities in the Mediterranean to Lyme Bay. Many of the fishermen had never been on an aeroplane, some had never left their home country. They were a brave collection of seamen who wanted to learn more from the fishermen of Lyme Bay. The visitors were aware of the remarkable recovery of marine life in Lyme Bay Reserve and the superior quality of fish sold through Reserve Seafood.
In his latest blog, Rory Moore, Senior Projects Manager at Blue Marine Foundation looks back on BLUE's successful European fisheries exchange event that saw fishermen from five different countries visit BLUE's Lyme Bay Reserve to learn from local small-scale fishermen.
Look out for our Reserve Seafood logo when buying seafood around Lyme Bay. This one was spotted at Beer fish shop down on Beer beach. One of our aims at the Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve is to help fishermen achieve top pricing for their catch. To do this we have created the Reserve Seafood brand, which markets the sustainable, premium quality, provenance-assured seafood of Lyme Bay. An initiative developed by the Blue Marine Foundation.
Blue Marine Foundation (facilitators of Lyme Bay Reserve) successful small-scale fisheries exchange event in Lyme Bay last week was featured on BBC Spotlight. Fishermen from Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey came together to learn about the success of the Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve from the Lyme Bay fishermen themselves.
Jo Lamiri from The Independent spent a day in Lyme Bay speaking to local fishermen and learning about Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve, a project facilitated by the Blue Marine Foundation, which uniquely brings together fishermen, conservationists and marine regulators to create a new model of sustainable fishing in Lyme Bay through scientifically informed, best-practice management.
Jo sampled some deliciously fresh and sustainably caught Reserve Seafood – our premium quality, provenance-assured seafood of Lyme Bay, which was expertly prepared by Paul Shearing from Roast Restaurant.
Great to see photos by Saeed Rashid Focus Visuals and Colin Munro Photography featured in the article.
Over the weekend fishermen from Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy and the UK came together in sunny Lyme Bay for the European Small-scale Fisheries Exchange facilitated by the Blue Marine Foundation.
Knowledge and experiences were shared by groups from the five countries. Fishermen from the Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve explained to their Mediterranean counterparts that improvements to port infrastructure like chiller units and ice machines have greatly improved the quality of their catch, allowing them to fetch premium prices for their sustainably caught fish and shellfish.
The agenda was packed starting with port visits on Saturday morning then workshops at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis in the afternoon with dinner and speeches to round up the day. Sunday saw a fishing trip from Beer to Lyme Regis in the morning followed by lunch and closing speeches.
A big thank you goes out to the fishermen of Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve who gave up their weekend to take part in this unique knowledge sharing experience. Without the support and dedication our fishers show the Reserve wouldn't be what it is today.
The sun shone for our visitors this weekend as we welcomed fishers from Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey to find out how Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve fishers catch their fish and exchange knowledge during the Blue Marine Foundation European Small Scale Fishers Exchange.
Watch BBC Spotlight cover this unique exchange of knowledge starting at 0:47.
Stay tuned this week as we bring you a full round-up from the weekend.
A vacancy has arisen for a Coordinator (South-West) to join the Blue Marine Foundation team. The Coordinator will be part of a team responsible for developing and managing BLUE's Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve project and other projects in the South West of England.
BLUE's highly successful project in Lyme Bay, for the last six years has not only achieved conservation improvements, but also improved livelihoods of local fishermen.
The post-holder should have a good understanding of UK fisheries and at least three years' experience in delivering UK or international marine conservation projects. Experience working directly with fishermen is a positive.
Application deadline is Friday 8th March 2019.
This weekend sees an ideas sharing workshop for the best small-scale sustainable fisheries in Europe. The Blue Marine Foundation (facilitators of Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve) have invited fishermen from Italy, Greece, France and Turkey to Lyme Bay to take part in the workshop which is designed for fishermen to talk to fishermen – to learn about the Lyme Bay model, the benefits the model may bring, to exchange ideas and ancient knowledge, to create bonds across borders, to understand that they are not alone and to create a coherent voice for European small-scale fishermen.
Morven Robertson, UK Projects Manager at BLUE quotes, "Our work in Lyme Bay has demonstrated that it is possible to achieve conservation gains while benefiting small-scale fishermen. The success of this has been the fishermen themselves and the ownership they have taken over the MPA. This exchange will allow this experience to be shared with those who are just setting out".
Pictured is Lyme Bay fisherman Gavin Ziemann (right) who will be sharing his knowledge and experience over the weekend.
Stay tuned as we cover the weekend via our social media channels. Kindly supported by the Adessium Foundation.
John is from West Bay within Lyme Bay Reserve. He dives down to the bottom of Lyme Bay to collect scallops by hand – a sustainable way to harvest this beautifully fresh, sweet and meaty seafood.
As a combined result of the ban on mobile gear in Lyme Bay and the collaborative approach introduced by Blue Marine Foundation (facilitators of Lyme Bay Reserve), there has been a four-fold increase in flora and fauna reef species since 2008, a doubling of hand-dived scallop landings and a quadrupling of juvenile lobsters (observed and put back). A "win-win" model for fishing and conservation.
A fantastic day was had yesterday with The Independent journalist and the Roast Restaurant team coming together to promote Reserve Seafood, the sustainable, premium quality, provenance-assured seafood of Lyme Bay. Morven Robertson, UK Projects Manager at the Blue Marine Foundation (facilitators of the Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve) visited all four ports along with the journalist, met with fishermen to discuss the Reserve, the challenges they are facing as small scale fishermen and how the partnership with Blue Marine Foundation is helping to address these. We were very lucky to have Chef Paul Shearing from ROAST with us once again to cook Axmouth fisherman John Wallington's line caught pollack (we picked it out the chiller together), Jim Newtown's crab and some hand dived scallops, all Reserve Seafood, at fisherman Mark Dack's restaurant the Kingfisher. All within less than 24 hours since the catch was landed.
And watch this space for The Independent write-up.
The 38th Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve Consultative Committee Meeting will take place this evening in Lyme Regis.
Over the last seven years Blue Marine Foundation (facilitators of Lyme Bay Reserve) have developed a collaborative model with fishermen, scientists, marine regulators, conservationists and recreational interests to effectively manage Lyme Bay Reserve and facilitate an open forum to discuss relevant developments in the sector.
The Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve, facilitated by the Blue Marine Foundation (BLUE) has been so successful in the UK that BLUE is taking the Lyme Bay model to the Mediterranean, a sea plagued by overfishing and mismanagement of marine resources. In the Mediterranean, small-scale, low-impact fisheries constitute over 80% of the fishing fleet.
The picturesque fishing port of Beer in Devon, located within Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve, is situated on the UNESCO World Heritage Jurassic Coast. It is a site of outstanding international importance for Earth Science. For this reason the Dorset and East Devon Coast – the Jurassic Coast – was designated as England's first natural World Heritage Site in 2001: www.jurassiccoast.org.
The pebble beach is home to a small fleet of working fishing boats and the surrounding white chalk cliffs provide a natural suntrap sheltering the cove from prevailing westerly winds. After a day of fishing the beach is lined with fishing boats who bring in their daily catches, many of which are sold to Reserve Seafood; a sustainable, premium quality, provenance-assured brand of Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve.
Pictured are some of the fishing fleet on Beer's pebble beach.
Fisherman of the week is Angus Walker!
Angus is the Harbour Master at Axmouth in Devon. He described the chiller unit and ice machine supplied by Blue Marine Foundation as part of our Reserve Seafood scheme as 'the best thing to happen to this port in 100 years'.
It really is amazing what the Blue Marine Foundation (facilitators of the Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve) have achieved over the past year. Sit back, relax and read the Blue Marine Foundation 2018 Review in wonder.
Can you guess whose eggs these belong to?
Found on fisherman Jim Newton's lobster pots whilst out fishing in Lyme Bay Reserve.
If you catch a ray whilst out fishing in Lyme Bay please take 2 minutes to record your catch via our free, downloadable mobile app Epicollect5.
Fisherman Jim Newton from Beer, Devon pictured checking his crab and lobster pots. Jim along with other fishermen fishing in Lyme Bay Reserve adheres to a Voluntary Code of Conduct which limits the number of pots to 250 in the interest of the environment. This sensitive management of the Reserve has led to a flourishing of marine life and evident recovery in fish populations.
As fishermen like Jim have agreed to a reduction in gear levels it is therefore desirable to help them achieve an optimum price for their catch by way of providing basic chiller facilities within their ports which has happened in Beer, Axmouth, Lyme Regis, West Bay.
Huge congratulations to Dr Adam Rees on his freshly printed thesis on The Ecological Effects of Increasing Potting Density in the Lyme Bay Marine Protected Area.
Adam's PhD was a collaborative project with the fishermen of Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve, the Blue Marine Foundation and the University of Plymouth to assess the impact of potting density on seabed biodiversity and target species within the Lyme Bay Marine Protected Area.
Can you help us identify this specie?
Fisherman Jim Newton from Beer, Devon caught this whilst out fishing in Lyme Bay last week. We asked Dr Adam Rees, our Research Officer at Blue Marine Foundation (facilitators of Lyme Bay Reserve) but he has no idea either. Do you?
(Answer: It looks to be a Alpheus glaber - Pistol Shrimp. Usually found in soft muddy sediment, but can easily be amongst the reefs. Reason why we should protect the site not just the reef feature. A nice large specimen if so).
Filmed yesterday morning about five nautical miles out in Lyme Bay Reserve by Catherine Whitley, Blue Marine Foundation UK Researcher from fisherman Jim Newton's boat, Bess.
Shout out to our fisherman of the week, Jim Newton!
Jim is the skipper of Bess and fishes out of Beer in Devon, where the boats are still pulled up onto the beach. Jim is a member of Reserve Seafood and the Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve.
See how Cefas researchers and fishermen are working together in Dorset on a really important project.
We are encouraging recreational fishers in Lyme Bay to use our free, downloadable mobile app Epicollect5 to record their ray catches as part of our ongoing study.
Instructions on how to use the app are below, alternatively, fishers can enter their data online at Blue Marine Foundation Epicollect5.
If fishers want to contact us directly they can speak to Catherine Whitley, UK Researcher from the Blue Marine Foundation (facilitators of the Lyme Bay Reserve).
The South West's first major event in 2019 attracted 158 anglers to the South Hams to fish the annual Angling Trust Wyvern Open Festival. The weather conditions for a change was perfect with a light west/north west wind and a flat calm sea for the five hour event.
Whiting, Dogfish, Mackerel, Garfish & Grey Gurnard were caught during the event. The results were announced within half an hour of the close of scales at 6.45 pm at the Festival Headquarters at the Stokeley Farm Shop.
The worthy winner was Ben Bradstock (Honiton Sea Angling Club) who recorded a specimen Whiting of 1.98lb and a L.S.D. of 1.87lb (206.8%), it was Ben's second year in a row winning last year's event.
Written by Press Officer Mike Spiller of Honiton Sea Angling Club who represents the Angling Trust Wyvern Region at the Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve Consultative Committee Meetings.
Pictured are the winners of the night.


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Freedom, art…and bullying – on Charlie Hebdo, satire and Euro-Muslims
We need to kill them. We need to kill them. You're in danger, I'm in danger. We're at war. And this is not going to stop. Bomb them, bomb them and bomb them again.
Jeanine Pirro, This is ridiculous, even for Fox News, Independent, 12 January 2015
I have to wonder whether any of my colleagues felt the same queasy mix of emotions I did on hearing about the assassinations in Paris: beneath the outrage, sorrow and solidarity, a small, irrational twinge of guilt that we're not doing anything worth shooting us over.
Tim Kreider, When Art Is Dangerous (or Not), New York Times, 10 January 2015
Charlie Hebdo has had a much more savage, unforgiving, doing-it-for-the-sake-of-doing-it spirit than any American publication. That's not so much an American impulse. Especially today there's a sophisticated dialogue about what privilege means, and a feeling that you don't need to insult people, especially downtrodden people, to make your points.
Tom Spurgeon, Charlie Hebdo Attack Chills Satirists and Prompts a Debate, New York Times, 9 January 2015
Charlie Hebdo's cartoons are polemic, unsophisticated and offensive for the sake of being offensive. The cartoons provide no insight or witty analysis, but reflect an adolescent fascination with smutty images and garnering attention by trying to offend as many people as possible.
Sassy Sourstein, Fuck Charlie Hebdo, or, Take Your Free Speech and Stick It, 100 Flamingos, 8 January 2015
Hypocritically even Charlie Hebdo, the magazine at the centre of the controversy, those 'champions of free speech', sacked a journalist in 2009 for making anti-Semitic comments but interestingly never took similar action for anti-Islamic comments, articles or cartoons. The hypocrisy of French commentators took this absurd lie to new heights. The rapper Monsieur R was put on trial for 'insulting the French state'. Do you remember the Western world's outrage over that? — me neither. Attack the Prophet of the Muslims, OK — but the French state — NO! But its not just the French State you cannot criticize, its their Allies! France that bastion of freedom, became the first country in the world to ban marching in support of those being ethnically cleansed in Palestine…The elites' narrative was simple: a left-wing magazine, had produced 'satirical cartoons' about all religions and politicians, some of them about the Prophet of Islam — only Muslims took offence (subtext because their backward barbaric religion was alien and intolerant)… Most white people don't like to admit it, but those cartoons uphold their prejudice, their racism, their political supremacy, and cut it how you will — images like that upheld a political order built on discrimination… It was as if white people had a right to offend Muslims and Muslims had no right to be offended? The difference was, when white people were offended, they have the state, white corporate media and the threat of a right wing mob to make their point — Muslims have nothing… I argue, that we are creating extremists by the bucket load and have done so exponentially, since we declared this endless war of terror . Our policies are hardening views on all sides… Our bombs dont leave much room for 'freedoms' and now neither do theirs. Extremism leads to extremism
Asghar Bukhari, Charlie Hebdo: This Attack Was Nothing To Do With Free Speech — It Was About War, Medium, 7 January 2015
The first comics I ever had access to were the comics of Naji al-Ali. Though political comics existed in the Middle East before he started creating work, this guy worked his mojo. I think it's safe to say that he's still the most famous Arab cartoonist to date. His iconic character, Handala, is still referenced in comics drawn today. He was a Palestinian refugee, and his work very much reflects this. He felt for the Palestinian everyman and was scathing toward the ineffectiveness of Arab countries, the ambivalence of the West, and the cruelty of Israel. No one was safe in his comics, and he made so many enemies that he was exiled from most Middle-Eastern country and settled in London, where he was murdered in 1987. They never caught the perp.
Marguerite Dabaie, Not Just Charlie Hebdo, The Hooded Utilitarian, 12 January 2015
Emotionally abuse, degrade, bait, scatologically smear, demean, and antagonize a group of people with juvenile, vapid, petulant, crude, lazy, provocative without being thought-provoking, stereotyped caricatures (art?) of their identity, beliefs and practices, in a context of illegal wars and daily discrimination and demonization, as if their feelings did not matter, as if they were not complex human beings deserving respect;
Do it over and over, and over again, sprinkling salt on their wounds, causing offense for the sake of it, to make a living;
Like a true psychopath, refuse to show a measure of common decency, to establish a connection and to engage in a non-confrontational conversation, where you really listen to what they have to say;
Make sure that everyone thinks that Muslims have to prove that they are not extremists (presumption of innocence does not apply to them) and that if they leave they won't be missed;
Make sure that an ever growing number of people embrace your crusade for the rejection of difference and the negation of individuality, ratcheting up tensions to boiling point, drive them to believe that they cannot live with Muslims, that Muslims must go, that Islam should be banned from "civilised" Europe;
Push the edge, see how far you can go, until some Muslims finally snap and lash out;
Condemn the whole group for the actions of a few violent ones;
Vow to keep abusing them, even more forcefully, just because you can (you are a white male: yes you can!) and are entitled to do it, no matter what;
Pat yourself on the back for being a champion of (unaccountable, irresponsible, childish, sociopathic) freedom in a cosmic struggle between Valiant Knights and Savage Beasts, even though all you have accomplished is building a forum and a platform for abuse and hate speech, firing a cartoonist for a mildly anti-Semitic remark and starting a petition to disband a political party you disagree with;
Repeat to build up radicalism on both sides and increasingly homogenize attitudes and mindsets, because hating is so easy and creating more division and anger is fun;
After the Utoya massacre, the Norwegian Labour Party asked social media users to refrain from reposting Norwegian flags, because Breivik was a rabid nationalist and such a massive display of patriotism would enormously please him (Charlie Hebdo: Norway's Christians didn't have to apologise for Anders Breivik, and it's the same for Muslims now, Independent, 8 January 2015).
What Norwegian politicians understood is that symbols are pregnant with meanings which switch on and off cognitive control and response mechanisms. This is the process behind advertising sloganeering and propaganda, which work in pretty much the same manner.
This is also why, from a sociological and psychoanalytical perspective, art is seldom "just" art and why the slogan "I'm Charlie" is not necessarily harmless. It could mean several things, such as, for instance, "I agree with Charlie", or "You, you're not Charlie" (The Problems with Being Charlie, Consortium News, 15 January 2015).
This happens regardless of our subjective interpretations, when we spread a meme.
Symbols are alive, they do have meanings in themselves, and slogans represent the opposite of thoughtful consideration, objectivity, discernment, insight, and wisdom.
Muslim communities in Europe are currently seriously at risk of being ostracised (New mosque ban in Padua after Paris attacks, The Local, 9 January 2015; Paris shootings lead to firebomb attacks on French mosques, Telegraph, 8 January 2015; Protesters demand end to Sweden mosque attacks, Guardian, 2 January 2015).
Looking ahead, things could get even worse:
Of the 10 internment camps in which about 120,000 Japanese-Americans were confined during the war, it was Tule Lake that held those branded "disloyal," the ones who answered "no" to two critical questions in a loyalty test administered by the federal government. After the end of the war, the no-noes, as they were known, not only struggled to find a place in mainstream society, but also were regarded with suspicion by other Japanese-Americans, whose pledge of undivided loyalty and search for larger acceptance could have been threatened by the no-noes.
At Internment Camp, Exploring Choices of the Past, New York Times, 8 July 2012
Ultimately, just as the terrorists are not representative of hundreds of millions of Muslims, so Charlie Hebdo is not the symbol of European values (at least not the ones we should cherish – The Great Human Renaissance – Towards a New World Order, FuturAbles, 9 January 2015).
This was a targeted attack, not a broad attack on the French population a la Twin towers or 7/7 style. So who was this attack against? The whole of France/EU society? Or specifically this magazine. The difference lies in how this is reported not in how terrible the act is obviously – murder is murder either way… but poses a narrower question of the "why"? attack on french society and values? Only if you consider CH's racist caricatures to be the best of European intellectual production (total whitewash on that at the moment).
Was this really an attack on "Free speech"? Who is attacking free speech here exactly? Does an attack by 2-3 guys on a controversial magazine equate to a civilizational attack on European values..? Really?
"I am Charlie" as an alienating slogan – with us or against us type of statement – one can be anti-CH's racism and ALSO against murdering people(!) (obvious I know but worth stating).
Danger in making this a free speech aka "European Values" under attack binary is that it once again constructs European identity in opposition to Islam (sacred depictions) and cements the notion of a European identity under threat from an Islamic retrograde culture of which the attackers are merely the violent tip of the iceberg (see the seeping of Far Right discourse into French normalcy with Houellebecque's novel for example). The key is to look at the biographies of these guys – contrary to conventional wisdom, they were radicalised by images of Abu Ghraib not by images of the Prophet Mohammed. You don't actually stick it to the terrorists by insulting the majority of Muslims by reproducing more cartoons – you actually entrench the very animosity and divisions these guys seek to sow.
This is a clash of extremist fringes…
Salah-Aldeen Khadr, executive producer, on Al Jazeera coverage of events in Paris, 8 January 2015
Defending freedom of expression in the face of oppression is one thing; insisting on the right to be obnoxious and offensive just because you can is infantile. Baiting extremists isn't bravely defiant when your manner of doing so is more significant in offending millions of moderate people as well. And within a climate where violent response—however illegitimate—is a real risk, taking a goading stand on a principle virtually no one contests is worse than pointless: it's pointlessly all about you.
Bruce Crumley, Firebombed French Paper Is No Free Speech Martyr, Time, 2 November 2011
With all due respect to the great cartoonist Ann Telnaes, it is simply not the case that Charlie Hebdo "were equal opportunity offenders." Like Bill Maher, Sam Harris and other anti-Islam obsessives, mocking Judaism, Jews and/or Israel is something they will rarely (if ever) do. If forced, they can point to rare and isolated cases where they uttered some criticism of Judaism or Jews, but the vast bulk of their attacks are reserved for Islam and Muslims, not Judaism and Jews. Parody, free speech and secular atheism are the pretexts; anti-Muslim messaging is the primary goal and the outcome. And this messaging – this special affection for offensive anti-Islam speech – just so happens to coincide with, to feed, the militaristic foreign policy agenda of their governments and culture.
Glenn Greenwald, In Solidarity With a Free Press: Some More Blasphemous Cartoons, The Intercept, 9 January 2015
Democracies and free speech
Austria – Criminal law Article §188 : Vilification of Religious Teachings
Brazil – Article §208 of the penal code states that "publicly vilifying an act or object of religious worship" is a crime punishable with one month to a year of incarceration, or fine
Canada – blasphemous libel is an offence under section 296(1) of the Criminal Code. It is an indictable offence and is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
Denmark – Paragraph §140 of the penal code, The hate speech paragraph (266b)
Ireland – Article §40.6.1.i. of the Constitution, which states "The publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious or indecent matter is an offence which shall be punishable in accordance with law"
Finland – Section 10 of Chapter §17 of the Criminal Code relate to blasphemy.
Germany – Article §166 of the German criminal law, if a deed is capable of disturbing the public peace, Whoever publicly or by dissemination of writings (§ 11 par. 3) defames, in a manner suitable to disturb the public peace, the substance of the religious or world view conviction of others, shall be fined or imprisoned for up to three years.
Greece – Article §198 "Malicious Blasphemy", One who publicly and maliciously and by any means blasphemes God shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than two years.
Israel – Articles §173 of the penal code "Insult to religion", If a person does any of the following, then the one is liable to one year imprisonment: (1) One publishes a publication that is liable to crudely offend the religious faith or sentiment of others;
Italy – Article §724 of the penal Code, blasphemy now is considered as an "administrative offense" and punished with a fine.
New Zealand – section §123 the Crimes Act 1961 to publish any blasphemous libel. The maximum punishment is one year imprisonment.
Poland – penal code, "Whoever offends religious feelings of other people by publicly insulting an object of religious cult or a place for public holding of religious ceremonies, is subject to a fine, restriction of liberty or loss of liberty for up to 2 years"
Russia – Article §148 of Russian Crimianl Code 1 it is declared a federal crime to conduct "public actions, clearly defying the society and committed with express purpose of insulting religious beliefs".
Spain – Article §525 of the penal law in Spain considers "vilification" of religious "feelings", "dogmas", "beliefs" or "rituals".
Switzerland – Article 261 of the penal code titled "Attack on the freedom of faith and the freedom to worship" (Störung der Glaubens- und Kultusfreiheit) criminalizes public and malicious insult or mockery of religious convictions of others
U.K – The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 (c. 1) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which creates an offence in England and Wales of inciting hatred against a person on the grounds of their religion.
"Religious insult", which is a subset of the crime of blasphemy. It is forbidden in Andorra, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.
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January 14, 2015 by stefano fait	Breivik, Charlie Hebdo, Euro-Muslims, European values, free speech, freedom of expression, I'm Not Charlie, internment camps, islamophobia, Je suis Charlie, satire, symbols, terrorism

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Home / Entertainment / gaming / Jagex continues to attract industry-leading talent as the RuneScape franchise celebrates the most successful year in its 19-year history
Jagex continues to attract industry-leading talent as the RuneScape franchise celebrates the most successful year in its 19-year history
Jagex, a leading UK developer and publisher of Living Games, has today announced a strengthening of the studio with the hiring of industry-leading talent across all levels and disciplines. This latest growth builds upon the successes of 2019 which saw Jagex hire more than 100 new employees across development, publishing and operations at its growing Cambridge HQ. This includes senior leaders joining from EA, Blizzard, Activision, Ubisoft, Riot and more, adding vast games industry experience to the Jagex team. 2020 is poised to be yet another year of significant investment in recruiting, with new additions across all levels and disciplines.
David Bamberger has been appointed as the new Head of Product Marketing for RuneScape. David is a games industry veteran with nearly 25 years of experience in games marketing. Most recently he worked at Tencent America as Marketing Manager for PUBG Mobile. He has previously launched top brands including Final Fantasy VII, Twisted Metal, Prince of Persia, Hitman, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Alongside David, Ouni Kwon has joined Jagex's publishing powerhouse as Head of Product Marketing for Old School RuneScape. Prior to this, Ouni spent nine years at Wargaming, where he worked on World of Tanks, and was most recently Global Product Marketing Director for Total War: Arena.
Joeyray Hall has joined Jagex in the new role of Creative Services Director. Before joining Jagex, Joeyray spent more than 23 years at Blizzard Entertainment where he advanced from 3D Artist through to senior management roles, including Cinematics Senior Project Manager.
Mike Donatelli has joined as Product Director of Old School RuneScape. Mike has nearly 20 years of experience in the industry, having begun his career at Mythic Entertainment. He holds a wealth of knowledge in online gaming having worked in senior roles on products such as Dark Age of Camelot, Warhammer Online and Wildstar.
Stewart Stanbury joins as Director of Business Development. Throughout Stewart's career he has worked with clients – including Adobe, Dell, Ubisoft, EA, Rockstar, King, and Wargaming – providing insight, strategy, research, marketing and player retention support. Stewart will be leading Jagex's outreach to external studios while seeking investment, retail and licensing opportunities for Jagex's corporate portfolio.
Anna Mostyn-Williams has joined Jagex as Director of Publishing Partnerships. She brings over a decade of experience working with world-leading brands such as Xbox, Quantic Dream and Discovery Communications as well as launching two successful technology start-ups. Anna will be leading on Jagex's outreach and relationships with platform, distribution and marketing partners.
Phil Mansell, Jagex CEO, said:
"With the significant talent we're able to continuously attract to Jagex, it's very clear that big things lie ahead for the studio as we approach our 20th Anniversary of RuneScape. We recognise the importance of investing in exceptional talent, with 100 new hires welcomed to Jagex in 2019 alone, we have witnessed a record-breaking year whilst hitting exciting milestones, and we plan to continue to build our talent pool through 2020 and beyond."
These new appointments come as Jagex announces a further all-time high for the RuneScape franchise. RuneScape and Old School RuneScape combined achieved their highest-ever membership peak in 2019, with more than 1.1million players taking advantage of subscription packages that delivers exclusive quests and content in an expanded game world.
To find out more about further career opportunities at Jagex, visit the studios careers portal, www.jagex.com/careers.
Jagex continues to attract industry-leading talent as the RuneScape franchise celebrates the most successful year in its 19-year history Reviewed by Admin on January 20, 2020 Rating: 5


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Cross the River
You are here: Home» Theology» Sermons (1998 - 2004) =>» Cross the River
Gotta Cross the River One Day
Joshua 3:1-17 Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan. They camped there before crossing over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it, so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it." Then Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you."
To the priests Joshua said, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people. The LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'"
Joshua then said to the Israelites, "Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God." Joshua said, "By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan.
So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap." When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people.
Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
Direct Biblical quotations in this site are taken from The New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The people of Israel stood outside the Promised Land
They didn't know the way they were going, they had not been that way before.
They had to trust God to take them into the New Land, to part the waters for them. They could not cross the spring floods themselves.
And once they had crossed over there would be no going back for the waters were closed again.
They could trust God that they would be led into a new land, which would be the promised land, or they could play it safe and stay where they were.
If they stayed where they were, then they would remain in the wilderness, with the slavery of Egypt always at their backs. And the promised land would be cut off from them.
But to enter the Promised Land they had to trust, had to enter the swollen spring river bearing the nation's most treasured possession, the Ark of the Covenant, risking losing everything to receive the promise. They had to risk the possession which was their most treasured sign of God's presence and blessing.
It reminds me of a song by Eric Bogle called Change in the Weather
Like a river my life hurries by
If I jump in perhaps I might drown
But if I don't then my spirit could die
Before that change in the weather comes round.
We are in a situation like this in our parish.
We are standing at a river
The old way of church has become an Egypt for us. Do you remember how Egypt was the place of salvation for Jacob and his family during the famine, but then after many years became a place of slavery?
Is this not what has happened to our old way of being church? The churches to which we have come each week have been the place of our salvation. But the way we do church no longer works. We cannot afford to pay for our three ministers, and barely for two. Today's young people do not want church like we do it. It simply does not work for them.
Our many expenses and properties are beginning to enslave us and become a burden rather than being the houses of our salvation, and the nourishing homes of our life as a church.
(And the way we live as ministers and elders no longer works. Ministers can not keep up with the work. Elders and ministers alike, all over the church, are disillusioned and disempowered.)
We are beginning to feel like we are in a wilderness, we do not see how we can keep going. We are lost. If only we could go back to the way things were.
We would like someone to rise up among us and to say to us: Here is the way. Do this, Do that, and your church will thrive and your people will grow strong and many will come.
I do not think there is such a person who will come to us. One of the fearful things of this age in which we live is that no one knows what the new church will be like.
There are some who seek to build large churches with lots of people and razzmatazz and extravagant promises about what God will do; but the ones I have heard compromise the gospel. They order you what to do. They tell you what to believe. They make a slavery of the gospel. They sound like the heresies of old dressed in new clothes.
They often become a new Pharisaism. Remember that Jesus said: The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.
They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.
He also said: The greatest among you will be your servant, talking again of the compassion and gentleness the old translations call mercy.
Yet in all the confusion we do have among us some Joshuas. We have among us people who are calling us to take a new way. They are calling us to �enter the river.� There are radical ideas for the joining of congregations together. There are other ideas for the sale of properties and rebuilding on a new site. Other people have made suggestions for new ways of employing ministers, and for caring for each other.
These people do not know, and I do not know, what will come. We only know that we are being called to enter into the river of change. We are being called to a radical new way. We are being called to cross over, risking everything on a new venture, from which there will be no turning back.
We also know that to stay here, on this side of the river, as we are, is to invite death. There is no future here. This way of being church is finished. It will linger on, but it does not have a future. Churches and parishes like us are fading away and closing down all over the country. God is calling us to something new.
God's promise is that the waters will part for us. There will be a way. and God�s promise is for a new church a new way. It has always been so. Ever since the time of Christ we have been called to cross the swollen rivers of new circumstance. And it has been hard and costly. Some have gone, some have stayed behind and been lost.
But we... we are only here because our forbears in the faith crossed a river flowing full with doubt and fear, and flooded with new and unpleasant change.
Will we cross over for the sake of the people who are to come?
Jesus says he will never leave us or forsake us. He will remain with us here, always. But if we wish to go into what is new and is the promised land of the future, we must cross over, leaving this way behind. Amen.
Trouser Perspectives (1992?)
The Flag (1992?)
Neighbours (1993)
Why do I Hate Women? (1995)
Compassion (1997)
I will be old too, one day! (1999)
God Loves You? - July 2001
Our Achillies Heel (1999)
Misunderstood Ideas (1999)
Resurrection Now
Who killed Jesus? (2003)
Wedding Sermon
Christmas in Luke (2003)
Labourers in the Vineyard
Ride the Storms (2003)
Outback Sunday (2004)
Pitjantjatjara Funeral
No Resurrection without Death
Honestly Post Spong
Two Times Jesus
Divorce (1992)
Parable of the Talents (1999)
Stars (2000)
Jesus a Refugee (2001)
The Divine at the root of all things (2003)
Right Relationships (2003)
Greenock -God is here
Justified?
Live the Life (2004)
I will not leave you desolate
Choosing Our Divisions (2004)


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Mark Erickson, appointed to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges and other hires, promotions and awards
Jun 30, 2019 | 1:00 AM
Erickson (Northampton Community College / HANDOUT)
Mark Erickson
Mark Erickson, president of Northampton Community College has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges. The Executive Committee leads the PACCC Board of Directors in determining the statewide direction and policy interests of its 14 community colleges. Executive Committee members serve two-year terms, which begin July 1, 2019.
Erickson became the fourth president of Northampton Community College on July 1, 2012, driven by a strong belief that the most innovative, exciting and important work in higher education was, and is, taking place at the nation's community colleges.
Erickson holds a bachelor's degree in American history from Princeton University and a master's degree in education from Harvard University.
Schissler (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / SLUHN)
Valerie Schissler
Valerie Schissler, CRNP, has joined Dr. Michael Patriarco at the St. Luke's Center for Advanced Gynecology. Schissler brings over 18 years of experience as a nurse practitioner in urogynecology specializing in the nonsurgical management of urinary incontinence and prolapse. She has expertise in pelvic floor evaluation, pessary fittings and the management, evaluation and treatment of urinary incontinence and voiding dysfunction.
Schissler was formerly a nurse practitioner at St. Luke's Women's Health Center in Allentown from 2003 to 2009 before deciding to devote herself full time to urogynecology.
Cyr (PETER GOURNIAK / NATIONAL PENN BANCSHARES)
Lewis Cyr
BB&T has named banking veteran Lewis Cyr market president for the Greater Lehigh Valley. In this expanded role, Cyr is responsible for leading the team that delivers banking services and advice to BB&T's commercial clients and prospects in the Lehigh Valley region while also coordinating the regional activities for BB&T. Cyr begins his new role immediately and reports to Travis Rhodes, BB&T's regional president, Delaware Valley and Lehigh Valley region.
Most recently, Cyr served as senior vice president of BB&T's Corporate Banking Team in the Greater Lehigh Valley region.
Prior to joining National Penn in 2011, Cyr was an executive for First Niagara Bank and its predecessor in eastern Pennsylvania, Harleysville National Bank. During that time Lewis was responsible for leading the bank's corporate and business banking efforts in suburban Philadelphia, Berks County and the Lehigh Valley.
Cyr's holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware.
McNeill (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO / Valley Preferred)
Kevin McNeill
Valley Preferred, a leading Preferred Provider Organization affiliated with Lehigh Valley Health Network, announced that Associate Medical Director Dr. Kevin McNeill, was selected as a winner in the 2019 Healthcare Heroes Award program, sponsored by Lehigh Valley Business. The award honors individuals who are making a significant impact on health care in the Greater Lehigh Valley through medical expertise, innovative approaches, management skills, community outreach, and patient care.
McNeill has spearheaded efforts across the region to educate providers and prioritize methods that mitigate the epidemic of opioid abuse in our Lehigh Valley and neighboring populations. McNeill and colleague Dr. Gillian Beauchamp, initiated a stewardship committee in 2017 with the mission of "safe and effective use of opioids for chronic pain across the LVHN enterprise." Committee members disseminate education to health care providers, take part in community outreach, and monitor progress among providers as they implement protocols and workflows on chronic pain throughout LVHN.


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Survey: One in nine IIS servers compromised
Sam Costello (ARN) 05 November, 2001 11:24
Arrow ECS ANZ
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One in nine servers running Microsoft's IIS (Internet Information Services) has software installed on it that would allow attackers to take complete control of the system, according to a new survey by Web server information firm Netcraft Ltd.
The survey, conducted in October, found that 11 per cent of all queried servers running IIS have the "root.exe" hacking program installed on them. That figure is up from the 8.5 per cent found in September. Netcraft sends a monthly automated query to servers to discover information such as what software runs the server, what average server uptime is and what security flaws are present in servers. The October survey drew data from 33.1 million Web sites.
IIS security has come under particular scrutiny in recent months as at least half a dozen serious security flaws in IIS have been discovered since January and two major Internet worms, Code Red and Nimda, have exploited those flaws to infect hundreds of thousands of IIS systems worldwide.
Although patches have been issued for all those security holes, not all vulnerable systems have had the patches applied, so both worms were able to cause substantial inconvenience and even forced some companies offline. A new Nimda worm appeared Tuesday, exploiting the same flaws as the first Nimda, which had evidently not been patched on many servers.
The presence of four other IIS security flaws rose from September to October, the survey found. The "Administration pages accessible" hole was present on 25 per cent of machines, up from 17 per cent in September; the "Sample pages and scripts" problem jumped from 17 per cent to 26 per cent of systems; the "Server paths revealed" flaw was found on 10 per cent of systems, up from 8.5 per cent; 2.5 per cent of systems were vulnerable to the Code Red worm, up from zero the month before.
The survey also found that a number of Web sites had moved from using IIS to competitor's products. Over the course of the month, more than 1,500 sites moved from IIS to Zeus Technology's Web server and more than 1,700 moved to Netscape Communications' server. Open-source server Apache also gained substantial share, Netcraft said. Netcraft also noted that a number of vendors offered promotions and discounts to entice IIS users to their products.
Patches for the security holes in IIS can be obtained at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/current.asp?productid=17&servicepackid=0


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Malaka Gharib
Malaka Gharib is the deputy editor and digital strategist on NPR's global health and development team. She covers topics such as the refugee crisis, gender equality and women's health. Her work as part of NPR's reporting teams has been recognized with two Gracie Awards: in 2019 for How To Raise A Human, a series on global parenting, and in 2015 for #15Girls, a series that profiled teen girls around the world.
Gharib is also a cartoonist. She is the artist and author of I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir, about growing up as a first generation Filipino Egyptian American. Her comics have been featured in NPR, Catapult Magazine, The Believer Magazine, The Nib, The New York Times and The New Yorker.
Before coming to NPR in 2015, Gharib worked at the Malala Fund, a global education charity founded by Malala Yousafzai, and the ONE Campaign, an anti-poverty advocacy group founded by Bono. She graduated from Syracuse University with a dual degree in journalism and marketing.
This graphic novel imagines what would happen if you could buy and sell wishes
Artist and author Deena Mohamed created a graphic novel about how wishes would — or wouldn't — work in modern-day Egypt. Her much-praised book is now out in English. It's ... a wish come true!
What do you want to accomplish in 2023? This New Year's resolution guide can help
Connie Hanzhang Jin
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8 listeners share the powerful ways they keep in touch with their ancestors
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Hosting a holiday party? NPR's audience shares their best untraditional party ideas and themes — and their strategies to make the experience truly epic.
9 more ways to show your friends you love them, recommended by NPR listeners
Last month, we asked NPR's audience to share creative ways they show affection in their platonic relationships. Some ideas? Ask friends how they're really doing ... and give them the gift of time.
How can we help humans thrive trillions of years from now? This philosopher has a plan
William MacAskill's book, What We Owe the Future, urges today's humans to protect future humans — an idea he calls longtermism. Here are a few of his hardly modest proposals.
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NPR readers share their favorite tips on how to cope with heat without an air conditioner. Among the tips: take a shower with a sheet on, then wear it to bed.
'Scream for Me, Africa!': How the continent is reinventing heavy metal music
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Former U.N. 'relief chief' shares his secret for coping with crises: a 'sunny gene'
From 2017 to 2021, Sir Mark Lowcock was the U.N.'s "relief chief," the world's most senior humanitarian official. He talks to NPR about what inspired him and why crises are getting worse.


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This very special Lincoln biography, originally published in 1952, benefits from the 1947 opening of the Robert Todd Lincoln Collection (which had been closed for 21 years). All previous Lincoln biographies, however well researched and well written, are the poorer for not having access to this treasure trove of information. Add to this that Lincoln historian Benjamin Thomas was a superb writer, whose clean, direct prose complements his subject's mastery of language, and what you have is an outstanding biography of our 16th president. At 549 pages, Thomas' biography reads smoothly and makes for a quick read. I have read three Lincoln biographies, and this one is without question, the best. If you plan to read one Lincoln biography, this is it.
On the surface, Lincoln was born into a life that was not promising. He hated the hard-scrabble life of his father--which was farming--but otherwise had little hope of bettering his lot in life. Being a sensitive and unusually bright child, the fact that he suffered from depression throughout much of his life should not be surprising. His father, Thomas, was a particularly hard man who neither appreciated nor understood his son.
When Abraham was nine, his mother died of milk sickness. Thomas quickly remarried a widow named Sarah Bush Johnson, who had three children of her own. Right away, she recognized Abraham as unusually bright, and encouraged him to develop his intellect. She gave him several of her books, books that would broaden his mind and influence his speaking and writing skills, particularly later as a lawyer and a politician. Among the books were: "Aesop's Fables," Parson Weem's "Life of Washington", "The Pilgrim's Progress," "Robinson Crusoe," and "Webster's Speller." She came to love him as much or more than her own children. Many years later she said of him: "Abe was the best boy I ever saw. He never gave me a cross word . . ."
Lincoln said of her that she had been "his best friend in the world", and that no son could love a mother more than he loved her.
Meanwhile, the distance between Abraham and his father broadened ever wider. Thomas accepted that his son wanted to expand his mind rather than be a farmer, but he didn't like it. Abe said of his father, "he never learned me to love him." From Kentucky where Abraham was born, his father moved the family first to Indiana (where Thomas met and married Sarah); and then to New Salem, Illinois where Lincoln grew into manhood, and discovered he had a knack for amusing people with his stories and self-deprecating humor. At the same time he found himself at the center of attention wherever people gathered, such was his charisma.
People saw a special quality in this rough-hewn young man with the pronounced Southern drawl: he was quick witted, honest, funny, and eager to learn. New Salem had a debating society, which Abraham joined. Among this high-brow group, he made friends, polished his elocution, borrowed books, and spent much of his time improving himself, with reading. What did he read? Now in his early 20s, he favored the plays of William Shakespeare, and the poetry of Robert Burns. A local justice of the peace lent him books on the law, in particular "Revised Laws of Illinois." Lincoln also purchased a tattered volume of Blackstone's "Commentaries on the Laws of England," then the most popular legal text in the English-speaking world. These books inspired his desire to pursue law as a profession.
Lincoln served one term in the Illinois State Legislature where he met John Stuart, who was so impressed with Lincoln that he invited him to join his law firm in Springfield.
As a lawyer, traveling the eighth circuit of southern Illinois, Lincoln mastered the art of public speaking. In arguing a case, Lincoln generally appealed to reason. His manner was casual as he questioned witnesses in a friendly tone, and was known to threw in a witticism or two. To the prosecuting attorney, he conceded point after point, until he seemed to be giving away his case. But on the crucial point he was relentless, trying to put it clearly before the jury, bringing the argument around to it again and again until the dullest mind on the jury understood it. For lucidity of statement and the ability to clarify by means of homely analogies, Lincoln had no peer. He was almost unbeatable when simple right and justice were involved.
It was while living in Springfield that Lincoln met, wooed, and--after a stormy courtship--married Mary Todd. In many ways they were polar opposites. He was slow-moving and easy going; she was precipitate and volatile. He was a man of simple tastes; she liked fine clothes and jewelry. His personality and mind were the sort that grew continuously; hers remained essentially in a set mold. Both were ambitious, but her determination was so much more intense than his that it would be like a relentless prod, impelling him onward whenever he might be disposed to lag.
Lincoln was not an easy man to live with. His careless ways and dowdy dress, and his interludes of abstractions and dejection surely annoyed his wife. But Mary learned to overlook his shortcomings. Writes the author, their letters written when they were apart reveal sincere affection. They went to parties together and they often entertained friends in their home. Together they met defeats and rejoiced in victories.
Abraham Lincoln loved children, and was an affectionate father of four sons. The oldest, Robert Todd Lincoln, was born in 1843, and was the Lincoln's only son to live to maturity. The second son, Edward Baker Lincoln, born in 1846, died prematurely young, probably from tuberculosis, and was buried in Springfield. The third son, "Willie" Lincoln was born in 1850, and died of a fever at the White House, on February 20, 1862. The youngest son, Thomas "Tad" Lincoln, was born in 1853, and survived his father, but died of heart failure at age 18, in 1871.
In 1844, Lincoln opened his own law firm and took as a partner William Herndon, a young man just licensed to practice law. At the time Lincoln was among the most successful attorneys in Illinois. He advised his young partner: "Billy, don't shoot too high. Aim lower and the common people will understand you." Part of Lincoln's success was that he trusted people, and they in turn trusted him. According to the author, he had supreme faith in their right-mindedness, provided thy could be made to understand, and he never questioned their powers of comprehension when the facts were presented to them simply and honestly.
Lincoln served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives (1847-1849). While in office, he backed a bill that would have abolished slavery in the District of Columbia. The idea of slaves being sold openly within earshot of the Capitol building offended him greatly. Unfortunately, the bill failed (as president, early in his administration, Lincoln finally managed to have slavery outlawed in Washington D.C.)
It was while campaigning for a seat in the House, that his opponent accused him of not being a true Christian. Lincoln (a lifelong Bible reader) set the record straight: "That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general, or of any denomination of Christians in particular."
Lincoln had a curious mind, and a fondness for mathematics. As a mental discipline, he mastered the six books by Euclid. He also read books on astronomy. He particularly enjoyed the plays of William Shakespeare. His favorites were the tragedies, particularly "King Lear", "Richard III", "Hamlet" and "Macbeth". He also enjoyed Shakespeare's comedies, but preferred to see them performed on stage. During the darkest days of the Civil War, he turned to the Bible requently, and at one of his darkest hours as president, found paritcular solace in the Book of Job.
By the 1850s, the slavery issue was making headlines across the nation, particularly after passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. One of its biggest proponents was the man who wrote the law, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas. Lincoln feared slavery would spread, but he could not stand by and watch it happen. He had to speak out. In Peoria on October 16, 1854, Lincoln gave his "House Divided" speech; it revived his sagging political career and paved the way for the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
The debates made him a national political figure. He lost the 1858 Senate race to Douglas, but two years later was nominated by the newly-formed Republican party to be their candidate for president of the United States.
On election day, Lincoln carried the Northeast and West, but failed to carry a single state below the Mason-Dixon line. In the end he tallied 180 electoral votes to 72 for Breckinridge, 39 for Bell, and only 12 for Douglas. But while those closest to him celebrated, Lincoln brooded. Though he held out hope that reason would prevail in the Deep South, he suspected the national divide over slavery was too great and that his years as president would be difficult ones. Fate had brought him to the White House, only to lead the Northern states in the most calamitous crisis of our nation's history.
On his way to Washington, he made a remarkable speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia where he declared: "I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence . . . that all men are created equal . . . not alone to the people of this country, but hope to the world for all future time."
Lincoln knew nothing of the art of war, but as with everything else in his life he proved to be a fast learner. After a few missteps, in Ulysses S. Grant, he found a general who would fight. Grant fought some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, and in doing so defeated the one general no other Union general could whip--Robert E. Lee. Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, in April of 1865, which ended the Civil War. Tragically, within a month, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theater. Noting his untimely death, Lincoln's Secretary of State, one-time political rival, and good friend, William Seward, said: "Now he belongs to the ages."
The book concludes with this remarkable paragraph: "Lincoln saw his countrymen as inheritors of a trust. To them it had been given to make democracy succeed, to cleanse it of the hypocrisies that deprive it of its just example in the world. For in democracy, made genuine, he saw our 'last, best hope' of frustrating any tyrant who seeks to regiment or debase or mislead people, anywhere, and of achieving peace on earth and good will among men through 'the universal liberty of mankind.'"
END -
The last thing I needed was to read another Lincoln biography. But a Lincoln biography given to me by my brother Charles, continued to beckon from the bookshelf where I had placed it. One day curios


Sometimes I get lucky and the right books find me. So much thought packed into these four books. I've been a Houellebecq fan for quite a while and buy the English versions of his books because they come out earlier than the US. Jack Donovan keeps popping up through different groups of friends. I'm going to reread this one a second time as a leadership manual. Sam Sheridan tours the world fighting and shows the devotion and work it takes to be tough. Huntington's book is a classic that counters a lot that we've been taught to think.


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Kyphocarpa zeghoei är en amarantväxtart som beskrevs av Passarge. Kyphocarpa zeghoei ingår i släktet Kyphocarpa och familjen amarantväxter. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Amarantväxter
zeghoei

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Hole in the Bottle è un singolo della cantante statunitense Kelsea Ballerini, pubblicato il 27 maggio 2020 come terzo estratto dal terzo album in studio Kelsea.

Pubblicazione
La canzone è inizialmente uscita il 28 febbraio 2020 come singolo promozionale, per poi essere inviata alle radio statunitensi come terzo singolo estratto dall'album il 27 maggio. Il 13 novembre 2020 ne è stata resa disponibile una versione remix in collaborazione con Shania Twain.

Video musicale
Il video musicale, diretto da Hannah Lux Davis, è stato pubblicato il 31 agosto 2020.

Tracce
 Download digitale (remix)

Classifiche

Note

Collegamenti esterni

Videoclip diretti da Hannah Lux Davis


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Siegfried at the ROH
I have tickets to all the Ring operas! Annoyingly I'm seeing them out of order (Rheingold, Siegfried, Gotterdammerung, Walkure), so it will be difficult to appraise the cycle properly as a piece of story telling, but better this than nothing!
On the whole I really enjoyed Siegfried. I usually find that Act I drags until the forging song, because up until then it might uncharitably be described as an argument between a malevolent midget and an angry simpleton, but here I was completely captivated throughout, both by the dramatics and the music. In the opening minutes of the opera we are shown chronological slices of Siegfried's youth from pram to adolescence with Mime's increasingly desperate attempts to forge him a sword. Gerhard Siegel offers a Mime that combines his humorous patheticness with a genuine pathos and sadness. He is disturbing not because he is evil, but because his normality is just a shell: he has many of the familiar drives that we have, but at his core there is a vacuum, where something very fundamental is missing (In this he is a much like Hagen). There is no doubt, for instance, that his scheming for the ring is only half the story - there is a genuine desire towards parenthood, even if he can only be a terrible parent. We question what Mime's own awful upbringing might have been like with Alberich, and what psychological scars is he trying to heal with his "own" son. Siegel put this all across in a rather understated way and vocally his truly perfect diction, power and sensitivity are a model for the other singers.
Siegfried's own inarticulate longing for his mother are ravishingly captured in the music of Act II, and one wonders even whether there is not some erotic tension present in the music as well, what with his already sexually confused heredity, and him sharing direct lineage with Brunnhilde in the form of Wotan; indeed he confuses her for his mother in Act III. (As an aside, because of the incestuous genetics, both Brunnhilde and Siegfried have half of Wotan's genes. Second aside: It has been noted by feminist writers that the physical between a mother and her child is an erotic one, centred on the breast, and that intense pleasure is often derived from both parties.) Staging wise, this bit is the best thing about Act II: Siegfried disappears down a hole in the middle of the stage, the roof of which then rises to reveal a star lit sky and green paddock: apart from anything it's just a rather beautiful, if typically quirky image. I heard grumbles in the interval about the deer on wheels that appear, but Keith Warner's slightly light hearted aesthetic is very firmly established by this point, so I didn't find it jarring. The difficult to stage dragon scene is acceptably presented - the dragon head is quite scary, and moves with a threatening air, though the fight is rather perfunctory as usual, and though Siegfried is meant to see the whole thing as a sort of joke, at one point he just runs round the stage to make the scene last longer it seems, which is clumsy and undramatic.
Stefan Vinke's Siegfried is a very different matter from Siegel's articulate, needy Mime - Vinke never once genuinely connects with another person on stage, and although I don't think this is an intentional acting choice, it works as an interpretation: the only human contact that Siegfried has had has been from his emotional cripple of a parent, and so he would clearly be a rather underdeveloped or even damaged young man, incapable of the normal range of human emotions. He feels closer to the animals he sees, and what saves him is his radiant energy, love of freedom and instinctive feeling that Mime's actions are wrong. I like this almost autistic interpretation - but if this was the intention it could have been more precise, definite and troubled. Vocally it's not exactly the most exciting voice, but this is an impossible role, and he sings all the notes, largely in tune, and can even sing quietly when needed. He was clearly saving himself for the final duet in which he truly erupted volume wise, and I don't think I've ever heard an ovation so loud at the ROH.
Wagner of course broke off after Act II, as he felt he couldn't yet compose the music he needed to for the close of Siegfried, and so honed his skill with two little compositional exercises commonly referred to Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nuremberg. The abrupt and inevitable change in style between Act II and Act III is hard to complain about when the later music is of such manifest inspiration and consistent beauty and power: Act III combines the ecstatic erotics of Tristan, with the magnificent grandeur of Meistersinger, making it one of the most sheerly pleasurable Act of any of Wagner's operas in terms of aural beauty. What also changes though is the pacing - Wagner slows things right down, and suddenly psychology and philosophy are meant to do the heavy lifting drama wise. I liked Wotan's casting aside of his books and objects of power as he prepares to reject the Will, though the scene with Erda is slightly underwhelming. He does hurry along his desire to end the gods' power by goring her which was rather strong. Vinke's goonishly smiling Siegfried is well contrasted to Terfel's wracked Wanderer though again the scene didn't quite resonate with the energy it needed. Then the fated meeting of Siegfried and Brunnhilde: this is where Warner's staging begins to falter, and he finds it difficult to consummate the eroticism that is in the text and music. First is the botched scene when Siegfried awakens Brunnhilde - it all occurs behind a large wall, which Siegfried pops out from behind occasionally to tel the audience about what he's thinking/doing. When Brunnhilde has actually woken up and the duet occurs they are barely touching, let alone interracting - often they are stationed at opposite sides of the stage singing about the feel of warm breath and bodies. Does Warner not believe in their genuine attraction? At one point we see them either side of a table: Brunnhilde's domestication - the transformation from goddess to woman, but still there's no intimacy. Strangely her horse is dead, and only the head remains - are they both delusional about this? Is it a clue to the rest? (This doesn't resolve itself in Gotterdammerung either...) The ending then is unsatisfactory and a disappointment after the compelling first two acts.
Terfel's Wanderer is quite interesting - subtly acted and with a lot of vocal nuance - but also problematic. He doesn't quite register with the quiet import that he should, and though he can more than sing all the notes, the timbre is very bright and metallic for a bass baritone - not quite what we have come to expect in this role. Having missed Susan Bullock's Brunnhilde in Walkure (I'm seeing it 18th Oct), my first experience of her was much less bad than the reports I had been hearing. She certainly wasn't too quiet as so many have claimed, at least from where I was sitting, though she is clearly working quite hard, and can't truly "ride" the orchestra in the fashion of the truly great Brunnhildes. It's not a very beautiful sound and there is significant wobble on the high notes which are squally and metallic, but she can sing quite beautifully in the quiet moments, and anything below about a g above the staff is basically OK. Her diction is good and she manages to get the text across quite well. (I liked her more in Gotterdammerung, so will talk more of her there.) Similarly to Rheingold, I thought Maria Radner had the right colour, but not enough weight for Erda. I really don't think Sophie Bevan is cast well when doing these light, high lyric coloratura roles (as here with the Woodbird)- she can sing the notes, but the voice is heavier and darker than is ideal. Wolfgang Koch and Eric Halfvarson both more than did the job as Alberich and Fafner.
Pappano takes an almost Straussian delight in the wonderful orchestral effects of the first two acts and makes them exciting and surging, while sensitively accompanying the cast. The orchestra are sounding magnificent under him at the moment, and the warmth and beauty of Act 3 was quite wonderful. It's not the grandest or deepest Wagner you've ever heard in terms of long range structure or shape, but that possibly wouldn't play ideally to the slightly fragile cast. In the purely orchestral sections he really lets the orchestra go, and the momentum and power is infectious - I couldn't wait for the conclusion in Gotterdammerung (which I have now seen).
Labels: Antonio Pappano, Bryn Terfel, Eric Halfvarson, Gerhard Siegel, Keith Warner, Maria Radner, ROH, Siegfried, Sophie Bevan, Stefan Vinke, Susan Bullock, Wagner, Wolfgang Koch
Breast aesthetics, there is a lot I do not know about. There are those from Turkey you recommend Dr. Ali mezdeği. Do you have that information?
Die Walküre at the Royal Opera House
The Magic Flute at the ENO
Götterdämmerung at the Royal Opera House
Rusalka with Glyndebourne on Tour
The Emperor of Atlantis with English Touring Opera
Julietta at the ENO
Das Rheingold at the ROH
Ann Murray Masterclass at the Royal Academy


Etched patterns add another layer to these pretty antiqued silver bottles with a vintage mercury glass look. Choose from these different patterns: branch, snowflake, palm, and cluster, shown from left to right. Just add a mix of your favorite flower stems to these bottle vases for an easy floral accent or centerpiece.


HELLBOY: A New Hard R Rated Sizzler Trailer Hits for the April 12th Release!
Vin Diesel May Have Just Signed Up for Director James Cameron's AVATAR Sequels!
Well this might be the most unexpected news we've heard this week but it may appear that FAST AND FURIOUS star Vin Diesel may have just enlisted in James Cameron's upcoming sequels to AVATAR. The actor posted a video with Cameron on the set of one of the anticipated sequels saying that he has always wanted to work with the director and that all good things come to those who wait. Cameron mentions that this is all top secret so we will have to wait to see what Diesel's involvement pertains to.
HELLBOY'S David Harbour Joins Scarlett Johansson's BLACK WIDOW SOLO FILM!!
INTERFACE: Director Ben Ramsey Drops a New 4K Trailer for His Epic Sci-Fi Action Short Film!
BLU-RAY Giveaway! Win a Copy of the Hong Kong Heist Action-Thriller GOLDEN JOB from Well Go USA!
REVIEW: NO SURRENDER (KARMOUZ WAR) STARRING: Amir Karara, Ghadah Abdulrazeq, Ahmed el-Sakka, Rogina, Mayan El Sayed, Bayyumi Fuad, Mostafa Khater, Eman El-Assy, Abed Fahd, Mahmoud El-Bezzawy and Scott Adkins DIRECTED BY: PETER MIMI OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: Alexandria, Egypt, 1940. Three young Egyptians come to the aid of an Egyptian woman who is being attacked by three British soldiers. One of the soldiers, the nephew of the British military governor of Alexandria, is arrested and thrown in jail.
Scott Adkins is Ready to Bring the Pain as AVENGEMENT is Due to Hit DVD this June!
The trend of fierce and dangerous leading ladies in the action genre continues this April as Sony Home Entertainment is set to release the action-thriller MISS BALA on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital. The film which stars Gina Rodriguez and Marvel's Anthony Mackie is poised and ready to hit the home market and it tells the story of a woman who must use all her strength, conviction and wits to stay alive when she gets sucked into the deadly world of crime that resonates on both sides of the border.
The Dark Knight is Upon Us in the Official Poster for the Series Finale of GOTHAM!


So you may have seen Sir Kenneth of Block playing cop in last week's TG TV episode, but there's a wide world of specialist ATVs (All-Terrain Vehicles) out there. It gets a bit confusing as manufacturers blur the lines and start calling 'their' versions something subtly different, but TopGear.com thinks that the acronym TTGOBAC (Things That Go Offroad But Aren't Cars) is hard to remember.
So KB gets a custom Can-Am as his law enforcing chariot on TG TV, but there's a reason. Well, two reasons. One, Ken actually owns a few customised Can-Ams for playtime at his well-stocked-with-toys garage and therefore obviously likes them, and two, they're the best ATV-type toy on the market. Which might have something to do with point One.
Anyway, if you want something tough enough to act like a 2/3rds-scale Trophy truck, have cash to spare and a big enough garden/access to a desert, you can't do better than a Can-Am Maverick X3. From the basic 900 HO (n/a 90bhp Rotax, 18-inches of suspension travel front and back and a QRS CVT 'box) with side-by-side two-person configuration, to the X RS Turbo R (Turbo 172bhp Rotax, 24-inches of travel, diff-locks, CVT and Fox Racing suspension), there's something for pretty much everyone. And there are four-person variants for those of us who have friends they need to terrify.
Traditional ATV-ness in the shape of Honda's bulletproof TRX500 Foreman. A small, rugged quad, the Foreman is a 475cc four-pot with high and low ratios, an auto transmission with manual selection and plenty of versatility. Basically, it's the kind of thing that acts like a tiny tractor on a farm (it can tow 600kg), for smaller workhorse jobs. No, it might not have the flash and speed of something like the Can-Am, but for farmers, foresters, game keepers and the like, it's one of those faithful companions that become a proper useful tool.
Matt's choice of ATV for this weekend's episode is a peculiar little thing. The Sherp is a Russian-built, go-anywhere, amphibious ATV that's a lot smaller than it looks. Ok, so only 44bhp from a prosaic Kubota V1505-t four-cylinder snowmobile engine might not sound like much, but the top speed of 27.9mph can be achieved on pretty much any surface, from pack ice to mud, and it floats, so you can also wander through rivers and lakes at a walking pace 3.7mph. The tyres act as paddles on water, and it uses a rudimentary-but-rugged skid-steer system like a tiny tank. Own-length donuts anyone? The best bit is that the Sherp's huge 63/23-25 tyres operate at super-low pressures, meaning that wherever it goes, it treads lightly, leaving little or no tyre-track damage.
It's a TINY TANK and we love it. In fact, the Argo XTi 8x8 is a quad-tracked amphibious ATV that can literally go anywhere - you name a surface and the XTi has you covered. Purportedly for 'industrial users requiring a durable, robust extreme terrain tracked vehicle to transport people, equipment and supplies', the XTi comes with a V-twin 750cc Kohler engine, handlebar steering (simple stuff), and a weird-but-reliable 'Admiral' steering transmission. It can carry 590kg on land and 450kg on water, and has a top speed of 17mph and 3mph on either (and anything in-between), respectively. No, it's not designed as a thrill machine, but for those people who absolutely have to get to places where an off-roader just can't, this is the kind of thing you need: super simple, reliable, rugged.
So now for something really silly. An actual tank. Which means it doesn't get much more ATV than this. In fact, Howe and Howe's Ripsaw EV ('Extreme Vehicle' rather than electric) is a 'luxury' lightweight tank, and the fastest tracked vehicle ever developed. It's available to buy in limited production, and can cost upwards of half a million dollars, depending on spec. And yep, you can configure one pretty much however you want, from the EV3F1 single-seater to the EV3F4 four person.
Ripsaws come with petrol engines ranging from 500 to 1,500bhp, diesels from 500 to 1,000bhp and gearing to around 60mph. But that's 60mph up, over and across pretty much anything. And it's comfy, too - even the cockpit has its own air suspension system on top of the vehicle's own 16-inches of suspension travel. Tracks? Not just for trains.
Is the Unimog the only vehicle you'll ever need?