text:
The US-led War on Terror Has Always Been About Confronting Russia
Joe Quinn
Tue, 24 May 2016 18:30 UTC
© Global Research
Have you ever believed something someone said and then found out it was a lie? You remember the initial feeling of shock and indignation, followed by anger at the audacity of the liar and then perhaps depression that human beings are prone to such weakness and insincerity. Then you might have struggled to understand why, and maybe you achieved that understanding, or not.
Being lied to is undoubtedly something that most people have experienced, and it's a valuable experience in that, ideally, it enables us to spot lies and liars before they cause us too much harm or heartache. The point being, everyone knows that people lie, that they justify some things they do with lies to themselves and others. The reason people lie is generally well understood also. We all live our lives according to a spoken or unspoken set of rules or values. When what a person wants conflicts with those rules, they resort to lying to cover up their momentary departure from living a moral life. Such lies can be conscious or unconscious.
What most people rarely, if ever, experience in the course of their lives, however, is a person who lies as a matter of course or who makes a lifestyle out of lying. We're talking here about someone for whom what they want is always at odds with conventional morality and they can therefore never be honest or express what they really think, feel and want out of fear of being utterly rejected (or worse) by their peers. Such a person would constitute a fundamentally deviant or abnormal human being. They might be fully aware that their desires sharply diverge from those of the average person and actively seek to cover them up with lies, or they may simply react 'instinctively' in each moment with a lie in a (largely unconscious) effort to preserve their ability to exploit others in service to their unwholesome desires.
The reason for this brief analysis of lying is that it relates directly to a shocking realization I recently had about the 'war on terror'.
Over the course of the past few years of watching events play out on the geopolitical stage, it has become increasingly difficult for me to digest them in any classically Cartesian way. In fact, my attempts to do so resulted in a severe case of logical dyspepsia. The problem, which is plain for anyone with the eyes to see, is that the 'war on terror' - described by its architects as a war to eliminate terrorism and promote 'freedom and democracy' - has resulted in a large net increase in terrorism and social and political instability and a concomitant decrease in actual freedom and democracy.
Stupidity or Sadism?
La GCT : génère des profits pour les fabricants d'armes depuis 2001
Faced with this glaring contradiction between stated goals and net results, I had to find a way to explain it. Two main options seemed open to me. The first, and most palatable of the two, is the idea that people waging the 'war on terror' are a cabal of bloody-minded cretins who must have trouble tying their shoelaces each morning. How else to describe a group that stubbornly continues to pursue policies that achieve the direct opposite of their, apparently heart-felt, goals? But that explanation threw up a similar problem to the one I was attempting to resolve; because the Western political, corporate and military policy-makers behind the 'war on terror' are clearly not a bunch of cretins in the official definition of that word. On the contrary, the evidence suggests they are smart, charming, ambitious (often to an extreme) and highly capable in their chosen field of leading the peoples of Western nations.
So I was left with my less-savory second option, which was to look at the results rather than the rhetoric. The conclusion, in that case, is that these people are liars and their 'war on terror' is not about eliminating terrorism and bestowing freedom and democracy on the world. It's about the exact opposite. In line with them being inveterate liars, they would, of course, cover up their agenda to sow chaos and death around the world by lying about it, and what better way to cover up your unholy urges than by presenting them as the exact opposite of what they are. With enough persistence in this deception, and drive to give vent to their abominable appetite, such a person could even end up convincing even themselves that killing civilians was, in a way, 'freeing' them or at least serving the 'greater good' (as long as you don't have to explain in too much detail what your definition of the 'greater good' is).
As I pondered this idea, many other unsavory truths became apparent to me. For example, war is very profitable for the people who own the companies that make the weapons. And war must be frequent and recurring for the profits to keep flowing. In the USA, UK, France, etc., major 'defense contractors' are given US taxpayers' money to make weapons, that are then given to the US military, which is then ordered (on some pretext) to shoot them at people overseas. To ensure that the taxpayer does not become disgruntled about the misuse of their taxes, an enemy posing an existential threat to the taxpayer is necessary. Overseas civilians should, naturally, be targeted by the weapons because this helps to provide a continuous supply of angry people - aka 'enemies' - to bomb, thereby providing a continuous source of income for weapons manufacturers (and their political friends who launch the unending wars).
But enough of generalities. On looking closely at Western government foreign policy over the past 10 or 20 years, it became clear to me that not only is the 'war on terror' about the opposite of freedom, it's not even primarily about that. From a geopolitical point of view, it seems that the USA in particular has a serious problem with Russia. Basically, the 'war on terror' is really a mask for a war (on all fronts) against Russia. I've written about this before in great detail, but as each day passes more and more evidence comes to light that suggests this thesis is accurate.
The Fact of Russia: An Existential Threat to the USA
The US' problem with Russia is that it exists today as the world's largest country with plentiful resources on the Eurasian landmass and with a government inclined to chart its own course towards a multi-polar world. That may not sound like any kind of a threat to you or me, but you have to understand that, until the appearance of Putin, the political and corporate 'elite' in the USA figured they had the whole world at their feet, or certainly they believed they were well on the way to creating that particular reality.
US freedom cookies in support of a fascist coup, Victoria Nuland in Kiev Feb. 2014
Can you imagine being in the position where your life's work was nearing completion when out of nowhere the actions of another person threatened to prevent you from achieving your goal? Not by deceit or with malevolent intentions mind you, but simply as a result of the natural order of things. You'd be entitled to feel angry, frustrated, but would you hatch a plot to destroy the other person? That's precisely the position the US 'elite' have found themselves in, and precisely what they have been trying to do to Russia for having the temerity to question and challenge the 'reality' of an 'imperium americanum'.
So Putin's Russia is most decidedly viewed as an existential threat by those who would own the entire world unchallenged. Everything that has happened over the past few years between the West and Russia, not to mention the 'war on terror', has to be seen and understood in this light.
Recently, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) - which replaced the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), the group that lobbied for a 9/11-type attack in 1999 - produced a paper that confirms what I have just said.
The co-author of the report is PNAC founder Robert Kagan (husband of Asst. Sec. of State Victoria Nuland, the woman responsible for replacing Ukrainian democrats with Nazi-infested putschists in 2014). The CNAS report is titled "Extending American Power: Strategies to Expand US Engagement in a Competitive World Order" and like most other papers published by these chief US policy makers, lobbies again for the use of the US military to achieve unchallenged US world dominance.
American leadership, the report claimed, "is critical to preserving and strengthening the bedrock of today's international order," jeopardized, they believe, by rival world powers Russia and China. As Zbigniew Brzezinski once commented, "some stirred up Muslims" (i.e. jihadi terrorism) is easily tolerated - supported even, in order to provide the rationale for war against Russia - but the world's largest nation attempting to have an equitable input into the global order is beyond the pale for the would-be rulers of the world.
Europe or Bust
While there are many clear examples of the extreme and perfidious actions Washington's 'reality creators' are prepared to take to 'stop Russia' and 'secure the world for America', and I'm sure most readers are well aware of them, the ongoing debacle about the US/NATO "missile defense system" in Poland and Romania is interesting.
'Which way's Russia...I mean IRAN, sir?'
The 14-year-long project(s) finally went live in Romania last week and the Russians were, of course, not happy, seeing the missiles as designed to intimidate them and force them into a position of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't'. I do wonder, however, if Russian annoyance was also partly due to the US government's repeated treatment of the world population as if they were idiots by trying to claim that the missile system is designed to protect against Iranian missiles, despite the fact that Iran was last year welcomed back into the international community, largely by the US government.
Another interesting aspect of the strategy of placing US missile systems in European countries is that Russia is not really intimidated, because Russia could easily blow up any and all such missile systems with its own missiles. But here's the rub: in the event of Russia being forced to do such a thing, it would, de facto, be attacking a European country, as of now, Poland or Romania. This would seriously sour Russian/EU relations for a long time, which is exactly what the US government has been trying to achieve for several years. Are EU officials aware that, if the US were to succeed in forcing Russia's hand to destroy the missile systems in Europe, it is European citizens that would pay the price while psychopaths in Washington high five each other? Or have they become so 'atlanticized' that they have adopted the US elite's strong aversion to reality?
A policy of constant lying can't last forever though. Eventually, actual reality intrudes and you get exposed in one way or another. And since, as the object of the American lies, Russia has every reason to expose the truth about those lies when convenient, the American narrative is falling apart, piece by piece, and more and more people are seeing it. The question that remains then is this: will the U.S. implode from the weight of its own deception and corruption first, or will the psycho reality creators use their 'Samson option' and try to take the world down with them?
As an essayist and print author, Joe has been writing incisive editorials for Sott.net for over 10 years. His articles have appeared on many news sites and he has been interviewed numerous times by Sputnik News and Press TV. His articles can also be found on his personal blog JoeQuinn.net.
Niall knows as well as most of the readers, there is no War On Terror - it's correctly called the War OF Terror.
Illegally invading and occupying sovereign nations under the pretext of 'preventative' national security, then destroying the cultures, infrastructure and political and monetary systems against international law and the US Constitution, doesn't smak of creating a 'stable' civilization.
More to the point, behind the mask of 'terrorism' lurks an out of control and insane Government.
13 Spinning Spirals · 2016-05-24T20:49:43Z
Amerikagulag -- Precisely what I was going to say myself. Just change one little letter . . . from 'n' to 'f' (on to of) and we have the truth. It is so easy to use language to deceive us. Or to inform us of what IS.
We are having to play the role of detectives in order to find the clues and downright lies used to cover the truth in order to solve the crimes committed by these criminals . . . including language criminals. From politically correct words & phrases to linguistic euphemisms that soften the language in order to deflect our recognition of the hard reality of truth.
Thank you Joe for once again removing the dirty little language lies that obscure and cover the pristine shine of truth. It's amazing that so much of our time and energy is required to set the record straight. Not just writing the truth, but also dismantling the lies before one can then present the truth. And that is Doing the Work. And you do an awesome job!
lysna · 2016-05-24T20:58:41Z
I doubt very much that the the USA Government is insane.
Factional to a degree yes...insane no...
Only their level of inhumanity, hubris, personal ambition & greed is insane.
They know exactly what they're doing & what the outcome will be.
Remember they trained us what & how to think.
Whether the other side knows is not even a question worth asking.
They know or are stupid too...and stupid is not an option
Connecting the dots in this fine article by Joe it is even obvious that the European PTB know what is going on...
That's why they support the US narrative..
Either that or they're stupid too...and once again stupid is not an option when it comes to WW3.
Too much smoke & mirrors here to really get to the truth of the matter easily but as I consider all the Governments & PTB in the know as to what's going on & not totally stupid I can't see an all out Armageddon style WW3 at all.
Localized fighting & proxy profit/power play wars yes..
And for all our sakes I hope i'm correct
Ok, they're as sane as a psychopath. Lovely.
Lemuel Gulliver · 2016-05-24T22:35:09Z
JOE... AN ANSWER, MAYBE?
Dear Joe,
"...a person who lies as a matter of course or who makes a lifestyle out of lying.... the evidence suggests they are smart, charming, ambitious (often to an extreme) and highly capable in their chosen field.... being inveterate liars, they would, of course, cover up their agenda to sow chaos and death around the world by lying about it, and what better way to cover up your unholy urges than by presenting them as the exact opposite of what they are...."
This is of course the classical description of a psychopath. As an associate of Laura's you must have studied psychopathy extensively - there has been so much written about it out there. Another symptom of psychopathy is the ability to convince themselves and maintain in the face of absolute evidence that the consequences of their insanity was never their fault. Winston Churchill - a quintessential psychopath - could never admit that WWII was his fault, in spite of Hitler's 13-times-offer to withdraw from every inch of occupied Europe except the Danzig Corridor in Poland which is all he said he wanted from the beginning. Churchill turned him down 13 times, and even turned down Hitler's offer (pre-war) to sign a treaty with Britain guaranteeing that if the British Empire was attacked anywhere in the world, Germany would send troops and warships to its defense.
Had Churchill made peace, or better yet, never declared war, there would have been no Holocaust, no 27 million dead Russians, no 11 million dead Germans, and no 60,000 dead Britons. But Churchill was a psychopath who loved to watch suffering, pain, dismemberment and death (of other people, not his own... he even advocated dropping mustard poison gas on Iraqis, those pesky brown savages as he called them whose civilization was 5,000 years older than that of Britain, which was trying to steal Iraq's oil - sound familiar??) and he loved war beyond everything else, except a juicy fresh young boy's bottom. (If you think I am being sensational, ask me and I'll tell you all about Dear Winnie and his escapades between the sheets - and those of his dear old Mum, as well.)
The same thing is happening today. Instead of "The Boche" or "The Hun" we are told to fear "The head-chopping Jihadi" or "The Russian Bear." You wonder how the American people could fall for this crap and how they could be so stupid. Well, their dumbing-down has been 100 years in the making, (Yes, all documented, financed by the Carnegie Institute, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation back in 1910-1930,) and was financed by the SAME FAMILIES - the very same - who want to conquer and loot Russia today. They have wanted to loot Russia, actually, since 1815, when, at the Congress of Vienna, "Lord" Rothschild (actually no more than a snot-nosed hairy Yid, who had bought his title off the equally snot-nosed German "King" of England,) offered the Czar to create a Central Bank for Russia, and his offer was declined. He swore he would destroy the Czar and all his family and all the nobility and take over Russia. It took just over 100 years, but they did it in the end.
Same way, in 1791 closely following the ratification of the US Constitution, the Rothschilds financed the First Bank of the United States with a 20-year charter, which expired in 1811. At that time the Congress refused to renew the charter, and Lord Rothschild said in London, "Well, then, we will give them a war and bring them to their senses." Such was his power that he could make Britain provoke the USA into the War of 1812. After the 1815 Congress of Vienna aforementioned, the Second Bank of the United States was chartered by Congress in February 1816.
So, you see Joe, it's all about money, robbery and plunder on a scale the public cannot begin to imagine, and it has been so for hundreds of years. Somewhere between one and three hundred million human beings have died in wars since 1791 to achieve the latest statistic, which say that 62 human beings - yes, sixty-two - own HALF the wealth of the entire planet. Yes, 62 men now own as much as 7,500,000,038 other people.
But hey, life is good if you are one of the 62. You can pick up the phone, call the White House, and tell the President how many sheets of bog paper he is allowed to use to wipe his arse, and you will be obeyed. The CIA is your private hit squad, just like the Gambinos and the Genoveses had their assassins, the elite have the CIA to murder anyone they want murdered. Like all psychopaths, their hands are clean, and nothing that happens - torture, murder, millions of dead mothers and children, wars, ecological disaster, the end of civilization, nothing is their fault. No, they have their private pew in the church or the synagogue, and they are to be seen there praying meekly every Sunday or Saturday to their God, who is pleased with them and grants their every wish. (But if God does not grant their prayers, the CIA is always there to make them come true.)
[And Satan took Him up unto a high mountain, and shewed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and all the glory thereof, and said unto Him: "All this will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship Me." And Jesus said unto him, "Get thee behind me, Satan."]
Satan, of course is known in several places in the Bible, a book filled with wisdom, as "The Prince Of Lies." And so, we come full circle to your thesis about the lies that constitute the War Of Terror, and conclude that, depending on your religious opinions, the system under which we all live, and have lived for thousands of years, is either psychopathic, or Satanic.
Maybe both....??
Well said..I'm glad you took the time to write such a long speech though..
Not sure about the Bible being a source of such fine wisdom though unless one cherry picks it though.
It's just more of the same old in the future until a people wake up catastrophe happens.
Which do you prefer to deal with, the 'imaginary' and mythological construct of Satan, or a planet run by psychopaths? Mmmm.
"This is of course the classical description of a psychopath."
"the system under which we all live, and have lived for thousands of years, is either psychopathic, or Satanic."
two words that describe the same thing. Call it what you will. These people are not human by any normal definition of the word.
L. Wood · 2016-05-25T11:44:24Z
"Satan, of course is known in several places in the Bible, a book filled with wisdom, as "The Prince Of Lies."
Right on. But, because it is a Biblical reference, this may turn people off... for the Bible itself is continually used to deceive. However, strip away the associated social stigma of "religiosity", and this identification of "deception" with Satanism as being its essence is simple, accurate, concise, pragmatic, and we would do well to heed the Biblical warnings about the dangers of using deception for the control over others for our own profit... while often being exceedingly greedy. This is the formula for perpetual war.
Truth, expressing goodwill toward others, generosity, hard work, and at all times, honor.... these are Christian teachings, and have been taught to be the "key to the door" through which we must pass to reach a peaceful, equitable, and loving future. From experience, I believe this to be true and have no better suggestion.
sorry for the..."thoughs"..one drink too many though...oops
Lysna,
No problem. Excessive though-ing understood and forgiven. Try halving the vodka in the mix.
It's late. Don't know about you, but it's long past my bedtime. I'll pay for this in the morning.
Hey, why worry about it? If you have a nice comfortable bed, enjoy it - we may not be able to do so for ever. Nothing in life is permanent, not even life itself, so we might as well enjoy what we have.
A secret - enjoyment is not dependent on WHAT you have, since it is all impermanent anyway, but rather on what you MAKE of what you have. A kid can enjoy a toy that cost $2.99 just as much as Larry Ellison can enjoy his 285-foot yacht that cost $350,000,000.00. Imagine that.
Imagine all the people..... living life in peace.
@Ruth..Give me reality any day..we can deal with that
Arwenn · 2016-05-24T23:33:30Z
Great article Joe. I am reminded of Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and it's scary to see just how much of it they managed to implement. I can only hope that more and more people awake to their utter lies, and stop their inexorable path to endless war and suffering.
PROTOCOL No. 7
1. The intensification of armaments, the increase of police forces - are all essential for the completion of the aforementioned plans. What we have to get at is that there should be in all the States of the world, besides ourselves, only the masses of the proletariat, a few millionaires devoted to our interests, police and soldiers.
2. Throughout all Europe, and by means of relations with Europe, in other continents also, we must create ferments, discords and hostility. Therein we gain a double advantage. In the first place we keep in check all countries, for they will know that we have the power whenever we like to create disorders or to restore order. All these countries are accustomed to see in us an indispensable force of coercion. In the second place, by our intrigues we shall tangle up all the threads which we have stretched into the cabinets of all States by means of the political, by economic treaties, or loan obligations. In order to succeed in this we must use great cunning and penetration during negotiations and agreements, but, as regards what is called the "official language," we shall keep to the opposite tactics and assume the mask of honesty and complacency. In this way the peoples and governments of the ... will still continue to accept us as the benefactors and saviours of the human race.
PROTOCOL No.12
'1. The word "freedom," which can be interpreted in various ways, is defined by us as follows –
2. Freedom is the right to do what which the law allows. This interpretation of the word will at the proper time be of service to us, because all freedom will thus be in our hands, since the laws will abolish or create only that which is desirable for us according to the aforesaid program.
3. We shall deal with the press in the following way: what is the part played by the press to-day? It serves to excite and inflame those passions which are needed for our purpose or else it serves selfish ends of parties.....
@ Arwenn,
Please go to this link. It is one of the most important books you will ever read: [Link]
The Protocols are the product of a 2,700-year-old agenda. Quite amazing that it has survived and flourished for 120 generations. One wonders if there is some paradimensional evil force behind it. Maybe there is more going on in this universe than meets the eye?
Yes, the "protocols" are interesting in that they describe quite well how the world 'works'. Any "elite" group that follows such a strategy is, however, very likely to be above and beyond any religion or ideology save the ideology of control, pure and simple (and evil). Modern day popular religions and ideologies being merely tools to better control people. I don't subscribe to the "zionist" plot idea for this reason. My only issue with Israel and Zionism is the fact that they are being used to justify the torture, maiming and murder of innocent civilians.
locust · 2016-05-25T02:11:54Z
Consider this...
Consider this - the leaders of the West and of Russia are playing us for the fools which we usually are.
They conspire to keep us in a constant state of fear. They even make it seem like WW3 is a possibility (why would the elite destroy the very world on which they live? They don't want total destruction, they want to continue stealing all they can from us).
Don't forget - people with anxiety buy more useless stuff, people in fear are more easily controlled.
Kissinger, the Death Merchant himself, recently met with Putin. What was that about? Coordinating the game plan?
Even though Russia and the USA are seemingly one step away from starting Armageddon, they both calmly and peacefully cooperate totally in regards to the ISS and Antarctica.
Nothing to see here, nothing suspicious here, go back to sleep if you want. Ignorance is bliss while the Truth hurts.
Have you ever considered the possibility that ICBMs don't actually work? What evidence do you have that they work? I know, I know, the Authority Figures say that they work and that's good enough for you.
ICBMs don't work and the threats of WW3 are but psychological warfare against us.
Folks, they are lying to us about everything. And why wouldn't they? Because that would be wrong? Because we would see through the lies? (LOL)
Stop thinking nationally. Start thinking globally. They want a new WORLD order, not a new national order.
"Kissinger, the Death Merchant himself, recently met with Putin."
That's interesting. I notice that a lot of people - from Arab kings to Asian Prime Ministers such as Mr. Abe - have been making the pilgrimage to Moscow recently to kiss Putin's ring, as it were.
Maybe there is no evil agenda being hatched, but just a dawning suspicion that Mr. Putin is a wily beast who has outfoxed them all so far, and it would be better to be the friend of such a champion chessmaster than his enemy?
Personally, I find it all fascinating. Every day, I wake up and hope to hear of some new event in which Mr. Putin has poked his finger in the eye of the USA and its suck-titty vassals in Europe. Like you, I suffer from a terminal case of suspicious cynicism, but I suspect Mr. Putin is the reed that bends with the wind and springs back, and thus does not break.
Lovely show. Better than Game of Thrones. Especially sine we all get to be in it.
mijswerdna · 2016-05-25T10:43:57Z
I have a strong intellect and when I was younger I tried to use it to figure everything out. As I've gotten older, I've found that my intuition works better. I intuitively know that whatever Putin is doing or not doing relates directly to the welfare of the Russian people. He loves his people. We have no such leaders here. They are draining us like a pack of vampires. Creating a major controversy over bathrooms for God sake! Anything to distract and divide us...
@ mijswerdna
PS: By way of explanation...
Folks... When I quote the Bible, it is not an advocacy of Christian dogma, which is a manufactured political agenda designed to strengthen the Byzantine Empire of the 4th Century, and which has been used ever since to support political systems and keep the masses in ignorance and subjugation. NOTE ONE: Same for Islam! NOTE TWO: Same for Judaism - perhaps even more of a control mechanism, being the foundation of the other two, and which has subjugated the Jewish Race for 2,700 years.
But whoever wrote the ideas and concepts in the New Testament was a wise and enlightened soul, whose words have been corrupted and distorted for 2,000 years now. Not original thoughts either - they have been expressed by the founders of many religions, from Zoroastrianism to Buddhusm to Mithraism to the Egyptian mysteries. Universal truths are universal, and remain truths across cultures and down through the centuries.
As hard as the psychopaths try to suppress the truths of what it means to be fully human and replace them with lies, they have failed, and will always fail. Psychopaths do not understand normal humanity - if they could, they would give up trying to control us.
- LG.
I love sott.net
because it lets me know I'm not crazy.
nedlud · 2016-05-25T11:00:55Z
gunfight at the ok corral
Government is an extension of the megalomaniac mind, our recent history shows that, quite clearly. Governments are an obsessive bunch of really bad, lying and cheating and killing people, who like to 'take over'.
Certainly, though, there are some megalomaniacs (Russia) better than others (USA)?
And most certainly, we must find, determine and support those?
Certainly, there is no other way to live and so it is ok because that is 'how it is'.
We would all like to do our 75-80 years, our 'time' here, would we not?
And so certainly we must decide on the right megalomaniac.
Then duck and run for cover, as they fill the planet with holes.
Bang, bang.
Go Russia, go big daddy. We wuv wu.
BANG!!!!!!!!!
ned, out
Niall · 2016-05-25T19:41:58Z
"And most certainly, we must find, determine and support those?"
Not per se. It's about learning to see the unseen and gauging the lines of force through which the ultimate controllers do their deeds.
I appreciate your comments on the Protocols of Zion. I believe just about the same thing. I never let my self get sucked in by ideas that make any one people scapegoats or proxy scapegoats for all the evil in this world. It seems a great deception in itself to think and believe this way.
The ideas you expressed in this particular article confirm what I picked up on as soon as Russia got involved in the effort to rid Syria of terrorists. I connected some dots. Before that I was more just really upset about the Ukraine situation because I am Ukrainian but I couldn't see what Ukraine had to do with Syria. Now I pretty much do.
Nap · 2016-05-25T15:40:59Z
Thanks again Joe
Your analysis was another breath of fresh air to give us a clear understanding of the stench that we live in. Keep up the great work.
trevo · 2016-05-26T21:24:41Z
plus ça change, plus c'est la même
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength
just thinking · 2016-05-27T01:46:11Z
THE MOST ANTISEMITIC VIDEO EVER! The Truth About Jews Full Evalion
I think this cartoon [Link] sums up the Pravda 2.0 media's influence on the weak minded.
nonsense---by ppp, the relevant measure, poverty largely eliminated in China. speculations here only china the only developed nation where GDP...
smertzasmert
Since I've gained a new perspective (moved out of the USA), a few observations: 1. I feel sorry for hondurans who think they'll have a better life...


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text:
法 lü 信息
What happens, if the European Union and Great Britain do not agree on a new trade agreement?
Recently, Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker have appeared on the media and declared joyfully that they had agreed on the first principles of Great Britain leaving the European Union. The agreement about money and about the positioning of foreigners living in the respective country is a first step only. The main question remains if Great Britain and the European Union will agree on a new-trade agreement. In case they will not agree on such a new trade agreement, the rules of the WTO as the World Trade Organization would apply. And if such WTO rules replace the current regulations of the European Union, the European Union will be required to apply an "external tariff" in line with the principal of the so called "Most Favorite Nations" according to the WTO regulations. This principal is in accordance with the charter of the WTO which states that all other 161 WTO members have to receive the same treatment.
In such case, the United Kingdom could face substantial tariffs and expenditures far higher than anticipated by politicians at the present time. Recent researches conducted by the political think tank Civitas show that in a scenario, in which the tariffs have to be adopted according to WTO rules, United Kingdom exports could face the potential of more than five billion GBP in tariffs on goods being sold to the European Union. Such estimate results from the fact that around 16% of United Kingdom exports that come to the European Union would face tariffs of more than 7%. A high amount of exports refers to motorcars which could face tariffs of up to 10%.
The car industry is specifically a factor that has become one of the most debated topics of concerns since the referendum of England leaving the European Union due to the WTO rules. The car industry of the United Kingdom represents the biggest element of its export values: In 2015, United Kingdom export on cars to the European Union in the value of some GBP 10.2 billion, which represents more than half of the United Kingdom car exports worldwide. In particular, the region of north east of England has one of the highest shares of European Union exports in the United Kingdom regional economy, which results from an investment of Japanese car manufacturers. 10% tariff on such industry would imply an additional charge of around GBP 1.3 billion.
Moreover, the United Kingdom would also be forced to raise its tariffs under the WTO rules, which would make components to the car industry that are being sourced from the European Union significantly more expensive. At the present, more than 40% of the components purchased by United Kingdom car industry are manufactured in countries within the European Union, which would further increase the United Kingdom car industries prices. Similar, the agricultural industry of the United Kingdom would suffer severely from tariffs according to the WTO regulations as such tariffs could average to a staging of 35%. The average tariff on the tobacco industry alone is at 43 % and amounts to some 35% for smoking and tobacco. This might increase the state of health of Citizens of the European Union due to the fact that cigarettes from the United Kingdom will almost become unaffordable. It will, however, also continuously hurt the United Kingdom industries and significantly damage the business of export in the United Kingdom and foreign investors based within the United Kingdom.
Looking at the alternatives for a free trade agreement, from a legal perspective, it shows, that a fallback position to the WTO rules in applying its tariffs to the United Kingdom trade with the European Union will have a significant detrimental impact on United Kingdom exporting industry. Even as those numbers are staggering, it remains uncertain, if the European Union is willing to come to very favorable terms with Great Britain as clearly the European Union objective is to show to the rest of its members that leaving the European Union will come with a high sacrifice and economic downturn.
Dr Christoph Kerres LLM (Georgetown)
For more legal information please contact Mr Kerres via tel +43 (1) 516 60 or e-mail office@kerres.at.
This information is provided as a public service to highlight matters of interest and does not imply an attorney-client relationship. It is not intended to constitute a full review of any subject matter, nor is it a substitute for obtaining specific legal advice from competent, independent counsel. If you would like to receive specific legal advice, please speak to your usual contact at KERRES I PARTNERS. All liability for damages arising from the information provided is explicitly excluded.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Google's computer program AlphaGo defeated its human opponent, Lee Sedol, in the first game of their highly anticipated five-game match.
Wednesday's victory by AlphaGo, the artificial intelligence program developed by Google DeepMind, over South Korean Go champion Lee is significant because the ancient Chinese board game, one of the most creative and complex games ever devised, was difficult for computers to master.
The near-infinite number of board positions in Go requires players to rely on intuition in making their moves. AlphaGo was designed to mimic that intuition in tackling complex tasks.
AI experts had forecast it would take another decade for computers to beat professional Go players until AlphaGo beat a European Go champion last year.
The remaining four more matches will end on Tuesday.


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'It's like gangs:' NBA stars share memories of European basketball crowds
Joseph Casciaro
1mo ago
Photo illustration by Nick Roy / theScore
It's opening night in the NBA, and the first game of the 2019-20 season has just wrapped up, with the Toronto Raptors edging the New Orleans Pelicans in overtime after receiving their championship rings and raising the franchise's first championship banner.
It's a memorable night all around, and you would imagine especially so for a rookie who just made his NBA debut. But after scoring 14 points and connecting on four 3-pointers against the champs, Pelicans big man Nicolo Melli - a 28-year-old Italian rookie who spent his prime in Europe - makes an interesting postgame observation that goes mostly unnoticed.
Melli notes the amazing atmosphere in Toronto and the championship ceremony he observed, but unsolicited, adds the following: "In Europe, you're used to a little more of a hot environment. Here, everyone is hype, but very polite. In Europe, there's a little bit more going on."
I ask Melli about this comment before he rushes out of Scotiabank Arena, and he tells me to ask players around the league who've played in Europe. So I do.
Nicolo Melli, center, played for Fenerbahce in Turkey last season. Tolga Adanali / Euroleague / Getty Images
I begin by walking down the hall to Toronto's locker room, where I know Raptors rookie sharpshooter Matt Thomas has just come off of two seasons in Spain.
"I had played in some great environments in college. I went to Iowa State, and Hilton Coliseum is an incredible environment, as is Allen Fieldhouse (at Kansas). But it's just different in Europe," Thomas laughs when told about Melli's comments.
"My first memory is definitely Belgrade. We (Valencia) were playing Partizan in EuroCup. I walked out to the court and there's all these police in swat gear or riot gear, I guess, holding those clear shields, basically as a barrier between the game and the crowd. Our bench had covers over it," adds Thomas, who recalls friends who played in Europe telling him about fans throwing objects at visiting teams.
"I mean shit, there's games where you hear that they're starting fires and stuff in the crowd."
Though I wasn't able to pin Melli down for a phone conversation about his own stories of European crowd chaos, I did ask a number of other players with European experience to explain how nothing they encounter in an NBA arena can shake them.
Here are some of those responses, in their own words:
Svi Mykhailiuk
Current team: Pistons
Played for team in Ukraine
In the NBA, fans come to games mostly to enjoy it. Playoffs are different, but still not like Europe. In Europe, every game is like a war. Fans come with their flags and their music. They make their own songs for their teams and stuff. I really have no idea why it's so different. In the NBA, a lot of fans know every player and cheer for players. In Europe, you just cheer for your team and your city.
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Current team: Kings
Played for teams in Serbia and Turkey
Here (in the NBA), there are lots of fans of individual players. Over there, it's more about the teams. There are different cultures in every league in every country there. It's unbelievable. The fans there really take it personal, like they are in the games. They are really nervous and mad in the games like the players. But to me, that makes it nice to play there, even on the road. It's a different kind of pressure. You have to experience it for yourself. For me, I'm used to it, so playing in a game where fans are throwing coins or lighters or phones is nothing new. Over there, it's normal. They're pointing lasers in your face while you shoot free throws.
P.J. Tucker
Current team: Rockets
Played for teams in Israel, Ukraine, Greece, Italy, and Germany
There's nothing like Greece and Turkey. Israel's pretty turned up, too. But yeah, over there, it's not like fans. It's like gangs. It's like hoods. It's about where you're from, and they take it very personal. They love - love - their teams. When I was in Greece, I played for Aris, and when we played PAOK, I had to have a security detail, because it's a big, big rivalry in Thessaloniki. It splits the city. When we played, it got so crazy that they shut the fans out and we had to play a game (later) that season with no fans (in the arena).
I played a game in Turkey where fans were lighting coins - like using a lighter to light the coins - then throwing them at us.
Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images
Current team: Heat
Played for teams in Slovenia and Spain
I've played a lot of games in Belgrade and other places where if you're not careful, you can get hurt. They throw crazy stuff. I've been a part of one game in Olympiacos (Greece) where they threw oranges on the court. I never found out why. In Belgrade, they just throw coins and lighters. In Europe, most of the arenas, they put a protection, like a tunnel, behind the benches, so players don't get hit. When you're sitting on the road bench in Europe, all you hear is 'tick tick tick' - things hitting the tunnel. It's part of it. You get used to it.
One game I played in Croatia, in Zadar, and they have this organization of fans that are really crazy. We had an incident where one of our players got in a fight with a Zadar player, and these fans broke onto the court, and we just took off, we had to run (away) to the locker room in the middle of the game. I was only 16 at the time.
It's funny you know, over there, when you're on the road, you don't know if the security guys are with them or if they are going to protect you.
Current team: Magic
Played for a team in Montenegro
During the (2011 NBA) lockout, I went and played back home (in Montenegro) for Buducnost. It was supposed to be my last game. We played against Partizan at home. The arena was beyond sold out. We had our group of fans, they had their group of fans, and the whole game, both sides were cheering, jumping, they had flares in the crowd, but nothing bad really happened during the game. Then at the end of the game, I was doing my postgame interview close to the Partizan fans, and as I was talking (to the reporter), a cellphone flew right in front of me, just missed my face. Someone threw it at me.
But honestly, I've gone to games as a fan, like Partizan versus Red Star for example - I'm a huge Red Star fan - and it's a great experience to see and especially to play in. It's amazing. The way that the fans are organized and support their teams, to me, is just amazing. Unfortunately sometimes (bad) things happen, and it creates a bad image, but for the most part, the way they support their teams, the way they organize, and the work that goes into doing that is amazing. Serbia and Greece are probably the top two countries in Europe for that in basketball.
Orlando teammates Nicola Vucevic, left, and Evan Fournier in a national team friendly in August 2019. Catherine Steenkeste / Getty Images
Played for teams in France
It really depends on what country you're playing in. In France, not that we're soft, but we don't do crazy stuff. It's more Eastern Europe.
From my experience, the craziest was in Turkey. I was playing for the (French) national team in an Under-16 tournament. I was playing in a small gym that fits maybe 4,000 people, but there had to be at least 6,000. Whatever the number was, it was actually dangerous. It was way too packed. People were standing on the edge of the arena and railings. It was a semifinal, but it wasn't even the European Championship or anything. It was just an Under-16 tournament, and I was only 15 at the time, and just thinking like, 'What the f--- is this?' They were just extremely, extremely loud and you couldn't hear anything. They didn't throw anything because we were kids, but it was still crazy.
Brad Wanamaker
Current team: Celtics
Played for teams in Italy, France, Germany, Turkey
The craziest arena I've ever played in was Red Star's arena in Belgrade, Serbia. Their fans are ruthless. Before the game, the fans are on the court yelling at us. The craziest interaction I had with a fan in Europe was someone threw a towel at me while I was taking the ball out, but yeah, Red Star's fans throw coins at you.
In Greece, a lot of fans smoke in the arena. It's the norm over there. You come back out after halftime and the whole arena is full of (cigarette) smoke and cloudy. It's tough to play in that. You're constantly inhaling it and coughing, and you can barely breathe.
At first, when I went over there, I thought (the atmosphere) was pretty cool, because it felt like a college atmosphere, where the fans are very engaged and passionate about the sport. But then when you start seeing real fights in the crowd, people throwing things on the court, coaches over there going crazy and making scenes, the crowd reacting to it, I realized, like, 'Damn, this is very different.'
Current team: Hornets
I've played EuroLeague games where it gets pretty crazy. Serbia, Turkey, and Greece are the top three in my mind. My first NBA game, I had to play against the Lakers in Staples Center against Kobe (Bryant) - MVP Kobe. Coach (Nate McMillan) was like, 'You won't be scared to play against Kobe in front of 20,000 people, will you?' I was like, 'Coach, I've played in Greece, in Belgrade … this will be nothing compared to that.'
It's just different. The atmosphere is crazy. Panathinaikos, Partizan Belgrade, Fenerbahce, those places. The first EuroLeague game I ever played in Turkey, they had protection over the benches, and during the timeouts, while my coach was talking, all you could hear was things hitting the shield, like, 'bap, bap, bap.'
Joe Ingles, right, and Bogdan Bogdanovic during a game at the 2016 Olympics. Andrej Isakovic / AFP / Getty Images
Current team: Jazz
Played for teams in Spain and Israel
Serbia and Turkey were always the craziest, but I remember in Greece one year, in Panathinaikos, someone threw a plastic cup of Coke at us during a timeout, and it landed right on our coach's whiteboard while he was drawing up a play. That's pretty funny, but it wasn't funny at the time. He was pretty mad, but what are you going to do? They don't kick people out for that stuff there or try to find out who did it.
One of my teammates, I don't remember if it was a lighter or a thick coin, but one of my teammates one year got his head split open from someone throwing something. But then there's a good kind of crazy, too. Maccabi (in Israel), where I played, no one was throwing anything, but to have 15,000 people love being such a part of the game, it was wild.
Bojan Bogdanovic
Played for teams in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, Croatia, and Turkey
I played for Fenerbahce, and anytime we played Galatasaray, it was the biggest game in Turkey. The towns were on fire. When we were on the road for those games, we couldn't take our team buses to the games, because everyone knows how it is over there. It would be dangerous for us, or people would throw stuff at our bus. But I loved that atmosphere. I really enjoyed playing in those games in their arena.
That was just normal over there. It's not like here in the NBA, where if you maybe throw something, you get kicked out or (banned) for life. Things that get fans kicked out here happen there every single game.
Frank Ntilikina
Current team: Knicks
Played for a team in France
My craziest memory was the (2016) EuroCup final against Galatasaray. The away game in Turkey, I remember walking to the locker room before the game and the walls were shaking because the fans were already so crazy inside. We (SIG Strasbourg) couldn't hear our coach talking in the locker room, because of the fans in the arena.
Furkan Korkmaz
Current team: 76ers
Played for teams in Turkey
They will talk shit about your family, and not like here. About your mom, your dad, if you have sisters, they know everything. They will Google stuff about your family, and I was still really young when I played over there, so think how crazy that is.
Played for teams in Spain
When I was playing for Madrid, we had a EuroLeague game in Turkey. I'll always remember this: That I was warming up before the game, and I lost the ball, and it bounced and rolled all the way to the stands, and I remember, I didn't even think about going to get the ball like here (in the NBA). The fans there are really crazy. You really feel scared sometimes. There's no way here I would feel (scared) like that. The people there really support their teams and you have to respect them, but sometimes they also cross the line.
There are some arenas here that are really quiet, you don't even notice people are there, so for us (who have played in Europe), not that the NBA is easier because you never want to say easy, but maybe getting used to the crowds there doing everything crazy, makes it easier for us to focus on the game here. Here, we don't even have to pay attention to the fans.
Joseph Casciaro is theScore's senior NBA writer
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We give you thanks for this day: the first in a new year of life and faith.
We can guess what this year might hold.
There will be joy, and there will be heartbreak.
There will be mistakes, and there will be achievements.
There will be hands to hold, tears to dry, stories to tell, and grace to receive.
Do not let us miss it, God.
Open our eyes, that we might recognize your presence around us.
Open our ears, that we might hear your voice in the words of our neighbor.
Open our hearts, that we might feel the depth of your love for this world.
Open our minds, that we might discover more of who you are.
Forgive us the promises we make and do not keep.
You are our God, and we are your beloved.
Or the to-do lists we tackled.
And filled our lives with your grace.
Do not let us miss it.
Rev. Anna George Traynham is a graduate of Union Presbyterian Seminary ('14) and Presbyterian College ('11). She currently serves as an Associate Pastor at Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. You can read more of her writing at her blog And also with you.
I live in Charlotte. Last week, on the national news and social media, we became another in a long list of cities which have experienced a violent death, protests, and even riots. Some of you know what we've been through. One of the images that will stick with me is a line of Charlotte's faith leaders, from many faith traditions, standing arm in arm between the protesters and the police trying to be a buffer to keep the protests non-violent.
If your setting is like mine there are many different opinions on how or even if to respond to these public events. Typically, pastors may speak from pulpits to bring a witness of our faith tradition to our public lives. I am ordained as a pastor, but my vocation, my call is to lead in educational ministry. So I want to speak to educators, those on multiple staff teams to be sure, but even more to part-time and volunteer educators serving in smaller congregations across North America.
Use these terrible events as teachable moments. Bring the rich traditions of our reformed faith to life by connecting what is happening in the news with what we believe. Look to your confessional statements that address racial and societal injustice. Look to denominational statements released at times like this. Look to prayers and devotions for times of local and national crisis. Look to resources and studies to help your folks understand a bigger picture. Look to the Bible and its relentless call to justice and righteousness. Look to Jesus the Christ who models the compassion of God and God's inclusion of those we would reject. Look and find and share.
If yours is a lone voice, connect with other educators in your area. Cross denominational and even interfaith lines to find a support system for your efforts. Help your people — children, youth, and adults — prepare for the realities of the world we live in.
Sometimes you have to stand, arm in arm, between opposing forces to be a faith-based buffer when chaos erupts. But don't wait for the chaos. Engage in the daily, weekly, ongoing task of forming a people who are shaped by the God of grace, compassion, non-violence, and love. Then, when you are facing the chaos, they will have your back.
Join APCE members & friends on this journey of a lifetime to the Holy Land departing April 24, 2017!
And hands-on mission workshops you won't want to miss!
The conference will take place at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, which is undergoing a full transformation, scheduled to be complete this fall. With warm colors and artwork indicative of Colorado, guest rooms and meeting spaces are inviting and restorative. The entire renovated hotel has been reserved for the APCE community for this event.
The Annual Event team and the Denver local committee have been working diligently to creatively design this Annual Event to inspire you and refresh your spirit and to connect, enrich, empower, and sustain you in your ministry. Come to Denver January 25-28, 2017 and experience "God With Us in the Chaos"!
Our calling as educators can lead us at times to focus on increasing the intelligence of those in our pews and classrooms. We also focus on building their gifts. But if the result is only surface change, we have missed out on the challenge to nurture the transformation of people at a deep and profound level—where God's Spirit is shaping disciples to reshape the world.
In APCE's 2015 annual event in Baltimore we proclaimed, Fear Not! This year in Chicago we proclaimed that God is doing a New Thing, See It, Hear It, Live It. Is this not the journey into deeper discipleship—leaving our fear behind and then putting our faith into action?
The current series of Advocate articles focus on spiritual practices–but not because we need another thing to do. We focus on spiritual practices because centuries of life as God's people have shown that it takes practice and discipline to develop, in ourselves and in others, the deeper discipleship that makes deep people.
It will take deep people to address the challenges all around us–the decline of Christendom, changes in funding patterns for churches and religious organizations, the deterioration of the role of educator, popular culture that has little need for religion, political culture that forsakes the common good, not to mention global threats to human life. We are called to join in God's work of bringing in the kingdom of God. God is with us, so we will not fear. God is already at work among us and bids us join in.
The spiritual practices of the church can help us develop the depth we need to see and hear God's work and the courage to live it. So make use of them. Make them part of your inner life. God will use you in the transformation of your people and the world.


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ASEAN to Push for Strengthened Bio-Safety and Bio-Security
March 15, 2017 Posted in Culture
ASEAN member states will work to strengthen cooperation to build capacity in bio-safety and bio-security for laboratory and hospital technicians.
They made the statement at the ASEAN-Canada Global Partnership Program (GPP) Forum, which was held in Vientiane Capital on March 15. The forum was supported by Global Partnership Canada.
The three-day meeting aims to enhance and improve laboratory technicians' and policymakers' understanding of bio-safety and bio-security issues and maximize the use of national resources employed to comply with internationally-mandated requirements.
It also aims to improve bio-safety and bio-security for laboratories and hospitals to protect both health workers and patients from occupational hazards associated with the handling of hazardous laboratory supply chemicals and to promote the sharing of experience among ASEAN member states for Lao implementation.
A total of 55 participants including representatives of ASEAN member states, the Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Forestry, Defense and related partners participated in this forum.
"In recent years, there have been a number of new and emerging deadly infectious disease outbreaks worldwide, such as Ebola in West Africa, MERS-CoV in Korea and the Zika virus. In Lao PDR, the recent report of Zika virus transmissions and cases of the circulating vaccine-derived polio virus remind us that serious biological threats persist in this region as well," said Head of the Office of the Canada Embassy to Laos, Ms Lee Anne Hermann.
The government of Canada, in collaboration with ASEAN partners, supports significant efforts in the ASEAN region to help address biological threats posed by emerging infectious disease outbreaks, whether naturally caused or resulting from a deliberate attack.
Areas of priority include the strengthening of laboratory capacity for emerging and dangerous pathogens, enhancing bio-safety and bio-security, disease surveillance and regional interconnectivity capabilities and establishing an ASEAN Emergency Operations Centre network.
The forum on strengthening bio-safety and bio-security is part of Canada's commitment to the Global Health Security Agenda bio-safety and bio-security Prevent-3Action Package and efforts to mitigate biological threats in the ASEAN region.
A robust national bio-safety and bio-security system will ensure that especially dangerous pathogens are identified, secured, and monitored according best practices and will play an important role in countering biological threats.
"In this regard, I trust that this forum will provide a valuable opportunity to share best practices and experiences to enhance national and regional bio-safety and bio-security capabilities to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to biological threats posed from high-consequence pathogens within Southeast Asia," said Ms Hermann.
Source: Lao News Agency
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U.S. Independence Day Celebrated in Vientiane


This collection of naval court martial transcripts and related documents from the time of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars contributes not only to our understanding of military jurisprudence in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries but also to our knowledge of Georgian and Regency criminal law in general. Each chapter presents transcripts relating to different groups of offences. Chapter one deals with procedural matters; Chapter Two covers trails arising from transgressions of the laws of Georgian and Regency society like drunkenness, theft, violence and homosexuality. Chapter Three is devoted to proceedings against types of naval offence, such a mutiny, insolence, desertion or loss of ship. Chapter Four treats of cases involving adjudications for multiple infractions. These transcripts are presented in their entirety and offer a unique window to the social conditions and behaviour aboard the King's ships at the time.


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A.S. Byatt
A.S. Byatt is internationally known as a novelist, short-story writer and critic. Her novels include Possession (winner of the Booker Prize in 1990), and the quartet of The Virgin In The Garden, Still Life, Babel Tower and A Whistling Woman, as well as The Shadow of the Sun, The Game and The Biographer's Tale. Her novel The Children's Book was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2009. She is also the author of two novellas, published together as Angels And Insects, and four collections of stories, and has co-edited Memory: An Anthology.
Educated at York and Newnham College, Cambridge, she taught at the Central School of Art and Design, and was Senior Lecturer in English at University College, London, before becoming a full-time writer in 1983. She was appointed CBE in 1990 and DBE in 1999.
http://www.asbyatt.com/
Books by A.S. Byatt
Possession: A Romance
Winner of the 1990 Booker Prize


Do you have a car sitting around this summer? Want to loan it out and make some cash? We need a car during our vacation around the Lakes Region. Will provide own insurance. Needs to be reliable and in good mechanical condition, we'll just use it locally for 6 weeks or so. (end of June - begin August). Non smoking only please! $150/week cash.


Besides, pointing out what you need to do, I also get into some details as to how you might go about doing it. As usual, I take a simple practical approach based on my 17-18 years experience in small business.
How much money do you need to start a web design business?
In this session of the Business of Web Design, I look at how much money you need to start a web design business.
The great news is, that you don't need hardly any money at all, so just about everyone can get in!
The following session addresses a common question put to me many times: what hardware and software do you need to run a web design business? Do you need to upgrade to 'industrial strength' tools?
I should also mention that I also touch on a few other things too that I know many of you will find interesting.


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What We Lose: A Novel
Zinzi Clemmons
A National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree NBCC John Leonard First Book Prize Finalist Aspen Words Literary Prize Finalist California Book Award First Fiction Finalist Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Debut Novel Nominee Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction & the Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize Named a Best Book of the Year by Vogue, NPR, Elle, Esquire, Buzzfeed, San Francisco Chronicle, Cosmopolitan, The Huffington Post, The A.V. Club, The Root, Harper's Bazaar, Paste, Bustle, Kirkus Reviews, Electric Literature, LitHub, New York Post, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Bust "The debut novel of the year." —Vogue "Like so many stories of the black diaspora, What We Lose is an examination of haunting." —Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker "A richly volatile study of grief, wonderment and love." —Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal "A startling, poignant debut." —The Atlantic "Raw and ravishing, this novel pulses with vulnerability and shimmering anger." —Nicole Dennis-Benn, O, the Oprah Magazine "Stunning. . . . Powerfully moving and beautifully wrought, What We Lose reflects on family, love, loss, race, womanhood, and the places we feel home." —Buzzfeed "Remember this name: Zinzi Clemmons. Long may she thrill us with exquisite works like What We Lose. . . . The book is a remarkable journey." —Essence From an author of rare, haunting power, a stunning novel about a young African-American woman coming of age—a deeply felt meditation on race, sex, family, and country Raised in Pennsylvania, Thandi views the world of her mother's childhood in Johannesburg as both impossibly distant and ever present. She is an outsider wherever she goes, caught between being black and white, American and not. She tries to connect these dislocated pieces of her life, and as her mother succumbs to cancer, Thandi searches for an anchor—someone, or something, to love. In arresting and unsettling prose, we watch Thandi's life unfold, from losing her mother and learning to live without the person who has most profoundly shaped her existence, to her own encounters with romance and unexpected motherhood. Through exquisite and emotional vignettes, Clemmons creates a stunning portrayal of what it means to choose to live, after loss. An elegiac distillation, at once intellectual and visceral, of a young woman's understanding of absence and identity that spans continents and decades, What We Lose heralds the arrival of a virtuosic new voice in fiction. One of the New York Times, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Redbook, Marie Claire, Essence, Houston Chronicle, LA Daily News, Nylon, and Elle's Books to Read This Summer
Viking 224 pages


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budget›
Budget 2021: Gems and jewellery industry seeks reduction of import duty to 4%
Mumbai, Jan 13 () The gem and jewellery industry has sought reduction in customs duty on gold to four per cent, withdrawal of tax collected at source (TCS), cut in import duty on polished precious and semi-precious gemstones, in the upcoming Union Budget 2021-22. All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) Chairman Ashish Pethe told , "We urge the government to reduce the customs duty to 4 per cent from the current 12.5 per cent. If the tax rate is not kept at this level, it will encourage smuggling and encourage people to do unorganised business."
He further urged the government to keep goods falling under HSN-71 (Harmonised System Nomenclature) out of the purview of TCS provisions as the amount of funds blocked in TCS is 6.67 times more than the ability to pay income tax, resulting in blockage of funds.
Pethe also said the facility of equated-montly instalment (EMI) should be extended to the gems and jewellery industry and to increase the cash purchase limit to Rs 1 lakh from the current Rs 10,000.
Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Chairman Colin Shah urged the government to reduce import duty on cut and polished precious and semi-precious gemstones to 2.5 per cent, from the current 7.5 per cent.
In its Budget recommendations, GJEPC has also proposed a hike in import duty on synthetic cut and polished stones to 25 per cent from 5 per cent.
Shah said GJEPC has also proposed amendment in taxation provisions to allow sale of rough diamonds in special notified zone in Mumbai.
Malabar Group Chairman MP Ahammed has urged the government that tax rate, including import duty on gold and GST, should be reduced to 7 per cent.
Ahammed has also said the government should create an enabling environment for the jewellery retail trade to introduce MRP pricing in jewellery without any pricing break-up in terms of GST or other taxes.
Currently, gold attracts 12.5 per cent import duty and 3 per cent GST and total duty and GST implication works out at 15.5 per cent.
"Such high taxes have led to large-scale smuggling and tax evasion. Therefore, reducing import duty-GST implication to 7 per cent is an effective measure to prevent those industry malpractices," he added.
Although the tax and duty implication is 15.5 per cent on gold, the actual implication comes to around 20 per cent after adding the mining royalties.
The gold and diamond trade together accounts for 7.5 per cent of the country's GDP and 14 per cent of the country's total exports. About 60 lakh people are employed in this sector.
Therefore, Ahammed noted that the government should take steps to facilitate comprehensive development of the grade trade sector so that it can continue to play a pivotal role in the growth of the economy.
PNG Jewellers Chairman and Managing Director Saurabh Gadgil opined that 2020-21 has had a negative impact on the industry over all.
"While jewellers are on track to recover from the impact of the pandemic and a muted wedding season, we are hopeful that the Budget 2021-22 will look at the jewellery industry favourably and roll out many SOPs and important policy changes that can help revive the industry in the next one year," he said.
It is critical that the government also look at policies that encourage banks to kick-start lending once again to the jewellery sector, which will help businesses across the board to maintain liquidity and ensure survival and success, he pointed out.
From the consumer perspective, he said gold should be deemed as an asset class like the mutual funds, allowing an increase in consumer investment confidence as well as the availability of facilities like EMI schemes to invest in gold products.
"Setting up of a spot exchange, announced in the 2018 Budget on an immediate basis, will ensure consistency in pricing of gold across the country. This will boost consumer confidence and help people sell their gold at daily transparent prices," he added. SM HRS
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DC Histories: General Zod
Posted on 06/12/13 at 9:00 AM in Articles, Features by Jeff Reid
Here at DC Histories, we try to make sense of the continuity that perplexes, befuddles, and intimidates. We discuss what worked and what didn't. This week, we're talking about General Zod, the Kryptonian madman from the Phantom Zone who has been hounding Superman for decades.
Superman: War of the Supermen #1 (2010) Cover
The first time General Zod was mentioned, he was one of a whole list of villains who had been sent into the Phantom Zone. Used by the Kryptonians to house their worst criminals, the Zone had been discovered by Jor-El, Superman's father. Jor-El also created the Phantom Zone Projector, the only known device that could send someone from our world into the Phantom Zone and bring them out again. After realizing that it was too dangerous a weapon to be left on Krypton, the leaders of Krypton sent the Projector deep into space along with a variety of weapons. Eventually, everything crashed onto Earth and a young Superboy stumbled across them. A Thought Helmet included with the weapons told Superboy of the Phantom Zone Projector's history and of the men and women it had sent into the Zone. Zod was among them.
From Adventure Comics (Vol. 1) #283 (1961)
Using an army of Bizarro duplicates, Zod had attempted to take over Krypton. However, the government wasn't as docile as it seemed and the battle went against the attempted dictator. He joined others in the Zone like the rogue rocket scientist Jax-Ur, a serial killer of men named Faora, and an evil chemist named Dr. Xadu. All deserved their time in the Zone for their various crimes.
The Zone was a mighty prison but it was not a perfect one. While inside the Zone, the criminals learned they could manipulate the real world with a limited form of telepathy. Working together, they could even control someone outside the Zone with limited success. By this and other means, the Phantom Zone criminals, including Zod, managed to escape a handful of times over the years. Every time they did so, they found themselves on Earth, living under a yellow sun just like Superman. This granted them all the powers that Superman possessed. One of them alone could give Superman a run for his money but together, they seemed unstoppable.
From Action Comics (Vol. 1) #473 (1977)
Still, Superman always found a way to send the criminals back into the Zone at the end of every confrontation. Zod was really no more interesting of a character than any of the other Phantom Zone criminals and he even took a back seat in many stories to Jax-Ur and Faora.
That all changed in 1980. Though other members of the Phantom Zone may have had more personality in the comics, Zod was selected to appear as a minor character in 1978's Superman: The Movie and a major one in 1980's Superman II. His co-conspirators in these movies, the silent Non and the feisty Ursa, were created just for these stories. The challenge that this trio posed to the Man of Steel leapt these three to the forefront of Superman's foes. In particular, Terence Stamp's portrayal of General Zod as a calculating figure used to giving orders caused the name Zod to be cemented in the public consciousness. Stamp's memorable line reading of "Kneel before Zod" certainly helped.
From Superman II (1980)
The next time Zod appeared in the comics, he was thrust into the leadership role among the Phantom Zone criminals. This time, it was Zod and not Jax-Ur or one of the other villains who spoke for the group when they again escaped the confines of the Zone. The issue's title also named this group the Zod Squad, a phrase that hadn't before been uttered nor do I hope it ever gets mentioned again.
When the Crisis on Infinite Earths hit a few years later, the Superman mythos was shifted. Now, Superman was truly the last son of Krypton. No other Kryptonian survived their planet's destruction. Gone were Supergirl, Krypto, the Bottle City of Kandor, and all of the other Silver Age Kryptonians. Also gone were the Phantom Zone criminals. Zod and his ilk suddenly no longer existed.
John Byrne, the main writer and artist of the post-Crisis Superman's stories, still found a way to work versions of these old characters into the new continuity. First, he introduced the Matrix Supergirl, an alien who was inspired by Superman but who wasn't Kryptonian. She was from a pocket dimension tangentially tied to the mainstream DCU. Matrix came to Earth to get Superman's help in a battle against some powerful foes. Superman agreed and when he arrived in her home dimension, he found a landscape of destruction. In the middle of this mess was an alternate version of the Silver Age Zod alongside versions of a few other Phantom Zone criminals. Seeing the evil they'd unleashed, Superman exposed the three killers to that dimension's version of Kryptonite, which killed them.
From Superman (Vol. 2) #22 (1988)
This was the first time that Superman ever chose to kill his opponents and it would go on to haunt him for over a decade of continuity.
With the only Zod in all of the various dimensions dead, that could have been the end of it. In fact, that was the end of it for 13 years. However, in 2001, Superman traveled to an alternate reality version of Krypton. Looking very much like the Krypton of the Silver Age, this planet was visited by Superman and Lois during the course of an adventure. While Superman was on the planet, he ran into a young version of his parents and the wanna-be fascist leader Zod. Superman and Jor-El beat Zod back and defeated his plans.
Now, two alternate universe versions of Zod were dead. But that didn't keep Zod down.
During the run up to the Our Worlds At War event which ran through many of the DCU's titles in 2001, Superman stumbled across a figure dressed in red armor. Hailing from Russia, the figure appeared to have a personal vendetta against the Man of Steel. Also, he called himself Zod. This brought back some bad memories for Superman.
Two years after this Zod's first appearance, Superman finally found the secret behind Zod's origins. This version of Zod was the son of Russian astronauts. In a plot line straight out of the show Smallville, Zod's parents had been killed when a swarm of Kryptonite passed by their spaceship. The radiation from the Kryptonite changed their chemical structures, killing them but not before they gave birth to Zod. Due to his parents' mutation, Zod found that yellow sunlight hurt him while red sunlight powered him to the physical heights of Superman. Also, he took the name "Zod" after he was visited by an evil spirit who may or may not have been the spirit of one of those alternate dimension versions of Zod.
In any case, this Zod was definitely not Kryptonian and certainly not the same character introduced in 1961. This version of Zod died battling against the Man of Steel soon after his origins were told and no one mentioned him again.
So, that was three versions of Zod down. But, that wasn't the last one. Just two years later, Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee brought yet another version of Zod to the table in their "For Tomorrow" storyline. This Zod wore spiky black armor and could have been from Krypton just like Superman. But plot lines began in this tale were never followed through on and there appeared to be a tacit agreement among the DC offices to not mention this particular version of Zod ever again.
From Superman (Vol. 2) #215 (2005)
Finally, the full-on Kryptonian Zod who had been sent into the Phantom Zone finally returned in a 2007 story written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner. Just like his Silver Age counterpart, Zod had been placed in the Phantom Zone for crimes against Krypton. As he had been ever since Superman II, he was portrayed as being the leader of the criminals, not just another person sent into the Zone.
Zod seemed a bit surprised that Superman had heard of him, but since there had been four other versions running of him running around the DCU since the Crisis, Zod should have been surprised if the entire world hadn't heard about him.
At the end of Zod's first time outside of the Phantom Zone since Krypton's destruction, he and his allies were sent right back where they came from.
The Phantom Zone criminals were let out again when the bottle city of Kandor was brought back to full size. In a story mirroring another Silver Age tale, Superman stumbled across a Kryptonian city named Kandor that the alien Brainiac had shrunk down before the planet's destruction. Superman helped enlarge Kandor, which eventually created a whole new planet for itself which circled our galaxy's sun in a pattern which kept it continually far away from Earth. Still, the Kandorians had reason to fear Earthlings. In a bid to feel safe, it was decided to free Zod and his followers from the Phantom Zone in order for them to protect their new planet. Superman, not trusting Zod, agreed to live on New Krypton in order to keep an eye on his opponent.
From Superman: War of the Supermen #0 (2010)
At the story's end, Zod was once again returned to the Phantom Zone. He remained there until Flashpoint wiped away all previous continuity.
In the New 52, Zod has made his presence known to a limited extent. In a flashback to before Krypton's destruction, Zod and many other criminals were seen in the Phantom Zone. There it seemed that Zod may have the technology to escape the Zone if he tried hard enough.
From Action Comics (Vol. 2) #5 (2012)
Zod is getting his own one-shot in September. However, before that, he'll be appearing this week in the brand new Man of Steel film. This will be the third time an actor has played a live-action Zod after Superman II and Smallville, in which Zod was a major character in the series' ninth season. Will this new Zod on film be tied to the Phantom Zone like his predecessors? Will this new Zod in the comics have plans to make over Earth in Krypton's image? These answers will come in time. For now, all we can do is wait and speculate.
Jeff Reid would probably kneel before Zod, if so commanded. He doesn't pretend to be a hero though he occasionally plays one on Twitter.
Filed Under: Articles, Features Tagged With: DC Comics, DC Histories, General Zod, Man of Steel, Phantom Zone, Superman, Superman II, Zod
DC Histories: The Phantom Zone
DC Histories: The Bottle City of Kandor
DC Histories: The Matrix Supergirl
DC Histories: Lex Luthor
General Zod: Where Do I Start?
IthoSapien says:
Man what I long and convolted history. 4 versions of Zod running around? Phew, it boggles the mind. Its weird how as many times DC has erased the Silver Age elements from Superman other writers keep bringing them back. Not sure which I prefer, I guess the Silver Age stuff is more interesting and makes the Supes mythos more colorful.
Looking back on Smallvile Im amazed at how many times Zod was used. First as a ghost possessing Lex, then a ghost again I think, then they finally used the "real" Zod who I liked for awhile but grew tired of (much like Smallville itself after season 7).
The new Zod stuff sounds pretty cool (except for "For Tomorrow", what a trainwreck that was), so I might check that out.
Good article, fun stuff. Now if you wouldn't mind, Y'know, kneeling before Zod?
John Anderson says:
Isn't that Xa-Du in the New 52 scene, not Zod?
Although, now that I saw it out loud, Morrison may have been implying that Xa-Du was the correct Kryptonian spelling of Zod or something.
ctrosejr says:
Great article. I will watch Man of Steel with more interest now. Thanks!
JohnVFerrigno says:
I find it interesting that Zod is considered one of Superman's top adversaries, but it is almost entirely based on Terence Stamp's portrayal of him in the movies. Based just on comics, Zod is kind of a nothing. That is really fascinating to me.
TreeoftheStoneAge says:
Jeff, why was Zod chosen to be the bad guy for the movie? Did the lawsuit Siegel and Shuster had going with DC have any baring on this choice? What I'm trying to say is because he was this ancillary sort of villain in the comics at the time Superman II came out, I assume he was not created by Shuster and Siegel and therefore the best character to use. A lot of speculation on my part, so if you can clarify some of this.
Good stuff, as usual, btw.
Jeff Reid (@JeffRReid) says:
True, Siegel and Shuster didn't create Zod but they also didn't create a lot of other Superman villains. Brainiac, Metallo, Parasite, and others were created by other people. I doubt much legal thought was put into their use.
I assume that Zod and his allies were used in Superman II because they were the cheapest to film. They didn't require huge amounts of make-up or extra special effects beyond what had already been created for the Superman character. The real question should be why was Zod used and not Jax-Ur or someone more prominently featured in early Phantom Zone stories. My guess there is that a military general seems more intimidating on screen than a rogue scientist.
I'm not as familiar with Jax-Ur or other select Superman baddies, that's why I defer to the experts on these matters. As it stands your guess sounds about right.
I think the name "General Zod" is also very audience-friendly. Just by hearing it, you know he's A) probably a man, B) accomplished miltiarily, and C) probably a bad guy ("Z" names tend to be for bad guys, Zorro and Zoolander being the obvious exceptions.) WIith name like Jax-Ur, you're kinda flying blind. Could be a man, could be imp. Zod is also really easy to spell and non-alien.
srh1son says:
Plus we get that great exchange in Superman II in the Oval Office. Demoralized president kneeling "Oh God." The smug general corrects him "Zod".
abstractgeek says:
The original script for Superman had 4 kryptonian villains, one of which was Jax-ur. he was cut for budgetary reasons.


text:
Three in five households recycled regularly: NEA survey
SINGAPORE: While three in five households reported that they recycled regularly and that most knew what items could be placed in recycling bins, households were less aware of items that should not be deposited for recycling, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Friday (Jan 14).
In its latest survey on household recycling conducted last year, NEA said that it saw other positive findings, which come as the country aims for a 70 per cent overall recycling rate by 2030 under the Zero Waste Masterplan and the Singapore Green Plan 2030.
Eight out of 10 households were aware that recyclables collected from blue recycling bins and recycling chutes were sorted at central sorting facilities - this was an improvement from 57 per cent in 2018.
About 6 per cent of households had the misconception that recyclables were mixed with general waste and incinerated, down from 12 per cent in 2018.
Related:
Most households were aware that common recyclables generated at home, such as shampoo or detergent bottles, beverage cartons, glass bottles and plastic egg cartons could be placed into the blue recycling bins.
However, households were less aware of items that should not be deposited for recycling. For instance, about half of those surveyed thought that soft toys and Styrofoam items could be recycled.
The survey also found that 72 per cent were not aware that households did not need to sort their recyclables before depositing them into the blue recycling bins or recycling chutes.
"To make recycling more convenient for households, Singapore has a single-stream recyclables collection system where households can place four types of recyclables – paper, plastic, glass and metal – into recycling bins and recycling chutes," said NEA.
"This not only saves on the effort for households to segregate recyclables at home, but also reduces the carbon footprint of collecting recyclables, when compared to the multiple truck trips needed for the separate collection of different recyclable streams."
The agency noted that if Singapore does not reduce waste generation, Semakau Landfill is expected to be full by 2035 given the country's current rate of waste disposal.
"Through recycling, we can not only divert waste from Semakau Landfill, but can also turn trash into treasure and close the resource loop as part of a circular economy."
Currently, all HDB blocks have one recycling bin per block or a recycling chute, while landed houses each have a dedicated recycling bin.
At condominiums and private apartments, one recycling bin is also provided for each residential block. These bins, as well as the dedicated recyclables collection trucks, are all coloured blue to differentiate them from the general waste bins and the refuse collection trucks.
NEW RECYCLING MASCOT
This year's recycling campaign will introduce a new recycling mascot named Bloobin - a disgruntled blue recycling bin "frustrated by the years of contamination, and on a mission to educate the public on how to recycle right".
"20 years ago, Bloobin started out as a dreamer full of hope. He believed that when everyone banded together to recycle, we could create a greener Singapore with less waste sent to Semakau Landfill," reads Bloobin's origin story.
"Over the years, however, Bloobin felt that Singapore's recycling rate showed insufficient improvement. And he became increasingly frustrated, due to constant bin contamination … and it was breaking his heart. People had been treating the blue recycling bins as trash bins and he has finally had enough of the years of abuse and misuse!
"So Bloobin is now on a mission to get everyone to recycle right, which will help increase recycling rates and extend the lifespan of Semakau Landfill."
Educational posters featuring NEA's new recycling mascot Bloobin. (Graphics: NEA)
Bloobin stickers at general waste and recycling chutes at public housing developments will serve as a "last-mile reminder" to nudge households to check their items before appropriately disposing of them as general waste or recyclables, said NEA.
To nurture proper recycling habits, interactive educational resources such as an e-activity book for pre-schoolers and e-games for older students will be made available.
An Inter-Institutes of Higher Learning challenge - Ready, Set, Recycle - will be launched to mobilise youth to take action for recycling and develop deeper and more meaningful engagement programmes.
Bloobin stickers at general waste and recycling chutes at public housing developments will serve as a "last-mile" reminder to nudge households to check their items before appropriately disposing of them as general waste or recyclables. (Graphic: NEA)
NEA's website filter showing what can or cannot be recycled at www.go.gov.sg/recycleright. (Graphic: NEA)
NEA COLLABORATIONS
On Friday, NEA said it is collaborating with the community, non-Governmental organisations, corporate and industry partners to encourage the public to recycle more and recycle right, and to explore and implement new methods of making recycling convenient in neighbourhoods and homes.
It will also work with local Public Waste Collectors to distribute a recycling receptacle to each household in 2022 in a bid to nudge households to step up their recycling efforts.
More details will be announced at a later stage, said the agency.
NEA highlighted an ongoing trial of using transparent recycling bins at Hong Kah North Single Member Constituency and East Coast Group Representative Constituency to facilitate an intuitive and informed recycling process amongst the public.
"The establishment of a Producer Responsibility Scheme for regulated e-waste on Jul 1, 2021, resulted as well in the setting up of dedicated e-waste bins around the island and the scheduling of e-waste collection drives at housing estates, making the recycling of such waste more convenient," it said.


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Q: Web server to deny the request because the query string is too long I tried to hit the route /home/login on my asp.net web app, but the query string auto generated to be very long!!

I read articles about making changes in web.config and trying to change default values of query string length but I want to know why is it happening at first place??
Here is my Home Controller (I had commented the non useful part)
namespace Data_Grid.Controllers
{
    public class HomeController : Controller
    {
        //public HomeController(
        //  ILogger<HomeController> logger,
        //  IConfiguration configuration,
        //  UserManager<IdentityUser> userManager,
        //  SignInManager<IdentityUser> signInManager
        //)
        //{
        //    _userManager = userManager;
        //    _signInManager = signInManager;
        //    _logger = logger;
        //    _configuration = configuration;
        //    con.ConnectionString = _configuration.GetConnectionString("OEM_US_SQL_CORL");
        //}

        //SqlCommand com = new SqlCommand();
        //SqlDataReader dr;
        //SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection();
        //List<TableData> proactivemonitoring_missing_pvr_orders_errors = new List<TableData>();

        //private readonly ILogger<HomeController> _logger;
        //private readonly IConfiguration _configuration;

        //private readonly UserManager<IdentityUser> _userManager;
        //private readonly SignInManager<IdentityUser> _signInManager;

        public IActionResult Index()
        {
            FetchData();
            return View(proactivemonitoring_missing_pvr_orders_errors);
        }

        //-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        // /Home/Login
        //-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        [Authorize]
        public IActionResult Login()
        {
            return View();
        }

        //[HttpPost]
        //public async Task <IActionResult> Login(string username, string password)
        //{
        //    //login functionality
        //    var user  = await _userManager.FindByNameAsync(username);
        //    if(user != null)
        //    {
        //        var signInResult = await _signInManager.PasswordSignInAsync(user, password, false, false);

        //        if (signInResult.Succeeded)
        //        {
        //            return RedirectToAction("Index");
        //        }
        //        else
        //        {
        //            return RedirectToAction("Index");
        //        }
        //    }
        //    else
        //    {
        //        return RedirectToAction("Index");
        //    }
        //}

        //-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        // /Home/Register
        //-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        public IActionResult Register()
        {
            return View();
        }

        //[HttpPost]
        //public async Task <IActionResult> Register(string username, string password)
        //{
        //    //Register functionality
        //    var user = new IdentityUser
        //    {
        //        UserName = username,
        //        Email = "",
        //    };

        //    var result = await _userManager.CreateAsync(user, password);

        //    if (result.Succeeded)
        //    {
        //        var signInResult = await _signInManager.PasswordSignInAsync(user, password, false, false);

        //        if (signInResult.Succeeded)
        //        {
        //            return RedirectToAction("Index");
        //        }
        //        else
        //        {
        //            return RedirectToAction("Index");
        //        }
        //        //sign user here
        //    }
        //    return RedirectToAction("Index");
        //}

        //public async Task<IActionResult> Logout()
        //{
        //    await _signInManager.SignOutAsync();
        //    return RedirectToAction("Login");
        //}

        //private void FetchData()
        //{
        //    if(proactivemonitoring_missing_pvr_orders_errors.Count > 0)
        //    {
        //        proactivemonitoring_missing_pvr_orders_errors.Clear();
        //    }
        //    try
        //    {
        //        con.Open();
        //        com.Connection = con;
        //        com.CommandText = "SELECT * FROM ProActiveMonitoring_Missing_PVR_Orders where isICMSent='No'";
        //        dr = com.ExecuteReader();
        //        while (dr.Read())
        //        {
        //            proactivemonitoring_missing_pvr_orders_errors.Add(new TableData() {
        //                CustomerNbr = dr["CustomerNbr"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                CustomerName = dr["CustomerName"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                MSOrderNumber = dr["MSOrderNumber"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                Quantity = dr["Quantity"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                PromoQuantity = dr["PromoQuantity"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                QtyDiff = dr["QtyDiff"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                NetAmount = dr["NetAmount"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                PromoNetAmount = dr["PromoNetAmount"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                AmtDiff = dr["AmtDiff"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                ExtendedAmount = dr["ExtendedAmount"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                PromoExtendedAmount = dr["PromoExtendedAmount"].ToString()
        //            ,
        //                IsICMSent = dr["IsICMSent"].ToString()
        //            });
        //        }
        //        con.Close();
        //    }
        //    catch (Exception ex)
        //    {
        //        throw ex;
        //    }
        //}

        [ResponseCache(Duration = 0, Location = ResponseCacheLocation.None, NoStore = true)]
        public IActionResult Error()
        {
            return View(new ErrorViewModel { RequestId = Activity.Current?.Id ?? HttpContext.TraceIdentifier });
        }
    }
}

Other routes like /Home/Register and /Home/Index are working absolutely fine!! Then why this?

A: I think you need to remove the [Authorize] attribute of the "Login" action.

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