My dad and I have taken to trading off on dinner duty. Today, he was running around town finishing his errands (one of which included a much-needed trip to the grocery store), so I ransacked the refrigerator and tried to figure out what I could make with what was left inside.
I'd been craving some Tex-Mexicana but I didn't want to go through the time-consuming (but worth it) effort of making our very popular chicken enchiladas, so I kind of improvised.
First I set two chicken breasts to poach in half chicken broth, half water, so they were covered about an inch with liquid.
The trick with poaching is to bring the water to a boil and then very quickly turn it to low, so you only get the slightest little bubble.
I left them like that for about 45 minutes or so, then drained them and shredded them with a fork.
I set that aside and turned my mind to other things.
Like grating up some cheddar cheese. I like lots of cheese. I diced up a large onion and chucked in in a large pan with two teaspoons garlic-in-a-jar and the same in olive oil.
I also diced up a sweet yellow pepper and three small tomatoes fresh from the garden (ah, Ontario produce, how I have missed you!).
I sautéed the onions with the garlic until they were softened.
Chucked in the other vegetables. How's that for lovely colour?
Then I added a teaspoon ground cumin and two teaspoons chili powder. You can of course adjust this to suit your own preferences.
I then added some of the tasty hot sauce leftover from my brother's wedding.
Then a can (680mL, a little more than two and a half cups) of tomato sauce (puréed tomatoes would also work here).
Let that simmer and thicken on medium heat for about twenty minutes. Or as long as it takes you to cook your rice. My rice takes about twenty minutes, if I cook it according to my husband's very exacting standards.
Add your shredded chicken to your tomato sauce mixture and stir it around until the chicken is thoroughly coated and nice and warm.
Serve over your rice with grated cheddar cheese.
We even had some leftover, so I would say this recipe serves 4 or even 5 (Dad had seconds). Not bad for a we-have-nothing-in-the-fridge kind of meal.
Because the weather outside refuses to cooperate, I wholeheartedly reject the idea that it is actually spring out there. Accordingly, I'm still making the steamy comfort food characteristic of the winter months. These little pies come out of the oven molten hot, and the tart flavours of the sauce really accent the classy biscuit topping.
This is a Martha Stewart recipe, and it's quick and easy and a great way to use up leftover spaghetti sauce. Normally the Pie and I use stuff we make ourselves, but tonight I was lazy and so I followed the recipe (shocking, I know). I apologize in advance for the lighting in the photographs. It was late in the day and it's been a rainy week.
Preheat your oven to 450°F and position your rack on the lowest or second-lowest possible level.
In a saucepan or large skillet over medium heat, warm up about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add in 1 medium onion and 2 carrots, finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until tender (about 8 minutes).
Add in 1 pound or so of lean ground beef. Break up the meat with a utensil and cook until no longer pink (about 5 minutes). You could also definitely do a vegetarian version of this, just omit the meat and 'beef' up your sauce a bit. I suggest cheese.
Pour in 2 cups tomato or spaghetti sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed rosemary, and a pinch of salt. As an aside, I got the above mortar and pestle for about 2 bucks at IKEA. It's a very handy thing to have around.
Make a well in the centre and pour in 1/2 cup milk and 4 tablespoons melted butter. Stir just until dough comes together.
Set 4 8-ounce ramekins on a baking sheet. Spoon in the meat mixture.
Mound spoonfuls of dough on top.
Bake until the topping is golden and you can stick a toothpick in it and have it come out clean (about 12 minutes).


Gold Coast singer songwriter ROMII probably doesn't need her own music career, but with songs like 'Cupid Love', we're glad she does.
See, ROMII has settled in Los Angeles in recent times where she's been writing songs that have landed on Rihanna's desk, working with big name songwriters and making all the right connections.
'Cupid Love' is the first little hors d'oeuvres of her time in the US.
Penned alongside Bryant Siono (who himself has worked alongside some of the best in the business including J-Lo, Prince and Kelly Rowland), the track is a little ode to Cupid.
It's quite the pop gem and we think you're going to fall in love with it yourself.
'Cupid Love' is available at all DSPs today.


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Iran commander vows "harsher revenge" against U.S., but there's relief in Tehran
Iranian commander warns of "future revenge"
Last Updated Jan 9, 2020 10:10 AM EST
Tehran — Hours after President Trump said Iran appeared to be "standing down" after an intense week of soaring tension, a senior Iranian military commander vowed Thursday that there would be "harsher revenge" taken against the U.S. Mr. Trump indicated on Wednesday that he plans no further military response against Iran in a statement intended to lower tension in the Middle East.
But the general chosen to replace Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian commander killed in a targeted strike on Mr. Trump's order last week, said Thursday morning that he would follow the same path as his predecessor.
Abdollah Araghi, a member of Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said meanwhile that the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard would "impose a harsher revenge on the enemy in the near future," according to the country's state-run media.
The messages show that the U.S. can't afford to let its guard down, but they also highlight continued deep divisions inside Iranian society. Iran's political leaders said Wednesday that the Islamic Republic had "concluded" its response to America's targeted killing of a top Iranian general.
CBS News senior foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer says that while Iran's military commanders are vowing to fight on, with the goal of getting U.S. forces to leave the region, the headline in Tehran on Thursday was that — in the short term — the Americans aren't planning another military strike.
Crisis in the Middle East: Fears of War with Iran
In the first real snowfall of the winter, residents of Iran's capital went about their business on Thursday feeling safer.
One resident, Caroline, told Palmer she had definitely been afraid of the prospect of an all-out war with the U.S. Like millions of others in Iran, she listened to President Trump's speech very closely.
She said she was relieved when he said there would not be any further American attack, and she "slept very well" after his remarks.
"The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it," Mr. Trump said Wednesday. "We do not want to use it."
On Iranian state-run TV, the president's decision not to strike back was framed as a climb-down by the U.S., and a win for Iran's Revolutionary Guards, who were able to showcase their missile arsenal with the strikes this week against Iraqi bases housing U.S. forces.
Those strikes were retaliation for the U.S. attack that killed Soleimani on Friday. His death brought millions of people into the streets of Iranian cities in a show of national unity, but the mourning masses didn't convey the whole story.
Just a few weeks ago, thousands of demonstrators were in the streets to vent their fury and frustration with their own government, for its corruption, ineptitude and repression.
But Palmer says the mood has changed completely since then, and for now the voices of dissent have gone quiet.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Home > Journals > Visions > Vol. 16 > No. 2 (1997)
A Typology for the Understanding of Structure and Function of a Sports Industry: A Case Study of NASCAR
Duarte Morris, Bowling Green State University
David L. Groves, Bowling Green State University
Examination of sport from a molecular level will help to increase understanding about the nature of a sport. NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Racing) is a growing sport that has the potential to serve as a case study to understand the structure and function of sport from a molecular level. A framework was developed to analyze the relationships among the actors in NASCAR.
Morris, Duarte and Groves, David L. (1997) "A Typology for the Understanding of Structure and Function of a Sports Industry: A Case Study of NASCAR," Visions in Leisure and Business: Vol. 16 : No. 2 , Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/visions/vol16/iss2/3
All Issues Vol. 22, No. 2 Vol. 22, No. 1 Vol. 21, No. 1 Vol. 20, No. 4 Vol. 20, No. 3 Vol. 20, No. 2 Vol. 20, No. 1 Vol. 19, No. 4 Vol. 19, No. 2 Vol. 19, No. 1 Vol. 18, No. 3 Vol. 18, No. 2 Vol. 18, No. 1 Vol. 17, No. 4 Vol. 17, No. 3 Vol. 17, No. 2 Vol. 17, No. 1 Vol. 16, No. 4 Vol. 16, No. 3 Vol. 16, No. 2 Vol. 16, No. 1 Vol. 15, No. 4 Vol. 15, No. 3 Vol. 15, No. 2 Vol. 15, No. 1 Vol. 14, No. 4 Vol. 14, No. 3 Vol. 14, No. 2 Vol. 14, No. 1 Vol. 13, No. 4 Vol. 13, No. 3 Vol. 13, No. 2 Vol. 13, No. 1 Vol. 12, No. 4 Vol. 12, No. 3 Vol. 12, No. 2 Vol. 12, No. 1 Vol. 11, No. 4 Vol. 11, No. 3 Vol. 11, No. 2 Vol. 11, No. 1 Vol. 10, No. 4 Vol. 10, No. 3 Vol. 10, No. 2 Vol. 10, No. 1 Vol. 9, No. 4 Vol. 9, No. 3 Vol. 9, No. 2 Vol. 9, No. 1 Vol. 8, No. 4 Vol. 8, No. 3 Vol. 8, No. 1 Vol. 7, No. 3 Vol. 7, No. 2 Vol. 7, No. 1 Vol. 6, No. 4 Vol. 6, No. 3 Vol. 6, No. 2 Vol. 6, No. 1 Vol. 5, No. 4 Vol. 5, No. 3 Vol. 5, No. 1 Vol. 4, No. 4 Vol. 4, No. 2 Vol. 3, No. 4 Vol. 3, No. 3 Vol. 3, No. 2 Vol. 3, No. 1 Vol. 2, No. 3 Vol. 2, No. 2 Vol. 2, No. 1 Vol. 1, No. 4 Vol. 1, No. 3 Vol. 1, No. 2 Vol. 1, No. 1


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Be-Encouraged
Coming Releases
Children's and Adults' Titles
Know Ophie
Jokes Shouldn't Hurt Others (Adventures at Camp Pootie-Cho)
Published : 12/ 25 / 2020
Friday evening, when the campers got together for their social night Joke-telling activity, everybody's jokes got laughs except Cyrus and Quincy's jokes. To get laughs, the boys decided to play a prank by hiding Gola's favorite boots. But they, too, get pranked when someone switches the boys' hiding place.
Make sure the joking you do with your friends (and others) is done in a way that won't hurt anyone's feelings. When the person you are joking with gets mad or starts to cry, know that your words or actions are hurtful. Watch what you say or do to each other. Use positive words. Remember, we don't hurt our friends.
Sapo for President (Adventures at Camp Pootie-Cho)
Its elections at Camp Pootie-Cho
Sapo for President is an important book that will teach young Liberian children about the importance of their vote, from candidates to debate, from the ballot to voting.
In order to teach the campers about selecting a leader, Mr. Bayogar decides to do a mock election. Sapo is running against Bendu and the campers have to cast a vote for the best candidate. What do you do when you are best friends with both candidates?
Hopefully, Liberian children will come away with a better understanding of the complex election-process, enduring respect for it. If you run for president, you would have to do a lot of hard work. You would study Liberia's problems, tell the Liberian people about your plans, select a running mate, and debate your opponents so the Liberian people will get to know if you are the best choice for Liberia.
Christmas in Sanoyea (Ian & Applecat)
In West Africa, Liberians love to celebrate the holiday season and spend time with family. This Christmas, Ian is looking forward to spending the holiday with his twin cousins, Nostelor and Nostelda, who have come to Liberia from America for their first Christmas. But they won't be spending Christmas in Monrovia, where the city is bursting with all kinds of entertainment. Christmas in Sanoyea, on Grandpa's farm, would surely be unforgettable.
Good Manners ABCs: activity book (Adventures at Camp Pootie-Cho)
Easy lessons to teach social skills to young children. Each letter of the alphabet is represented, relating to teaching social standards with the principles of right conduct and good character. Learn the American Sign Language alphabets and numbers too!
This book is full of different activities as well as plenty of coloring pages, suitable for kids from preschoolers to sixth graders.
Games and Puzzles Activity Book (Adventures at Camp Pootie-Cho)
Dozens of challenging fun games and puzzles from the Adventures at Camp Pootie-Cho. Try your hand at Mazes, Crosswords, Coloring Activities, Secret Codes, Word Search, Sudokus, and much more!
Keeping Secrets (Ian and Applecat)
It's fun having a dog, but there's nothing funny about keeping the dog out of trouble. Applecat has chewed Lydia's favorite book to shreds and could be sent away. Ian has to decide if he should Tell or Not. He loves his dog, but it's hard keeping Applecat's secret.
Toby Pannoh's Good Manners for Boys and Girls
Eight-year-old Toby Pannoh lives with his family in Grand Kru County, Liberia. Toby behaves most of the time, but not his five-year-old little sister, Mah. She cries for things, loves to slam doors, and hates to take afternoon naps. In order to deal with Mah's tantrums, Toby decides to teach his little sister some good manners to help her behave better. Cleverly, he uses the alphabet, teaching Mah her alphabets and good manners.
Solomon's Porch: a wealth of treasured wisdom
What are proverbs and parables good for? In most cultures, like our African culture, elders have a passionate belief in the importance of teaching as a means of making a positive difference in someone's life.
The nuggets found in Solomon's Porch have been chosen from a variety of cultures and this collection contains the cream of parables & proverbs which are used all over the world.
Between the covers of Solomon's Porch, you will find more than a hundred proverbs; over 75 subject matters indexed from A to Z by topic to easily find what you want.
I'm About To
This story is about a little pepper bird named Korlu who never wanted to learn anything. Korlu was not even willing to try. She ignored important lessons until one day she had to learn to fly. Follow Korlu on her short adventure as she travels from her comfortable nest, all the way to Sinta Village.
Liberia Unscrabbled
Here for the first time are 200 pages of never-before-published puzzles devoted entirely to Liberia. These puzzles will challenge your knowledge of history, everyday life, and the obscure related to Liberia.
Grab a glass of palm wine, or Club beer, and solve them all.
Dead Gods: HM2
On Africa's west coast where the first woman-president is elected to bring hope to the world's number one corrupt nation, the heart-man kills again; and this time it's a nine-year-old boy. For some, it's a business. For Officer Lonos, it's personal. And for the Douglas family, it's an opportunity to clear their name.
It hasn't been all that long since RJ Douglas's last visit to Liberia when his father was under suspicion of murder, then tried and executed. Now it is RJ's secret that takes him back—his love child. In the main time, deep inside Monrovia brews an undercover operation called the Net, far from James Bond-ish operations, but nonetheless, one established to free the country of the iniquitousness certain people continue to curse Liberia with.
And from this, Rufus Bohn's private security agency turns gangsters into dead gods and ordinary citizens into heroes.
Montserrado Stories
Published : 02 / 15 / 2012
Human history discloses the anger and despair that too often mar the lives of people. This is Lewis' second collection of short stories, beautifully illustrating real-life challenges, a great storyline, and a sweet voice sure to woo readers.
The stories provide a view into Liberia society one cannot get from the headlines and written with a perfect cultural rhythm that will bring readers to Liberia with the characters.
Four Novellas make up this exciting book: In GOOD FATHER, a cassava farmer, hard-pressed to provide for his family, questions his teen son's dream of becoming a football star. His encounter with an American coach and a heart-to-heart conversation with his old father ensues the love a father feels for his son. In SWEET MOTHER, the fate of two strangers collides, Sundaymah Boye, a rape victim of the war with no desire for improving her life, and Nick Anderson, a thirty-something-year-old African-American who is losing his life to cancer; what each has to offer is priceless. A vital moral lesson prevades in FIRESTONE, when a 15-year-old boy caught breaking and entering is taken to the path of opportunity rather than prison. In BELIEVE, divine power unites with human effort as Youwah Saytue's faith is tested by the threat of a lethal African black mamba.
The Dowry of Virgins: and other stories
In this collection of seven imaginative short stories; themes represented in the work are of African and Liberian cultural influence. It seeks to explore within African settings the emotions of ordinary people when they face extraordinary situations.
The emotions range from love, hate, greed, envy, and fear.
A New Chief for Gwapala,
What the Moon Leaves Behind,
Songs of the Pepper Birds,
The Dowry of Virgins,
Obikai's Heart,
Common Threads,
and Cries of the Pepper Birds.
Heart Men (a novel)
A story of LOVE, RITUAL KILLINGS, and JUSTICE.
Lewis takes readers on an intimate journey into the lives of Heart Robbers and Heart Breakers. This riveting tale chronicles the journey of RJ, an Atlanta Lawyer, from the U.S. to Liberia in order to defend his father against a Ritual Killing accusation. Along the way, he is exposed to secrets that took place in his father's native country of Liberia as well as in his own family. The main character, RJ, introduces readers to many of the issues that plague nations around the world; as well as many of the hopes and dreams they share.
Good Manner Alphabets: how to be a super polite kid
The Good Manner Alphabets (how to be a super polite kid!), makes learning good manners as easy as the ABCs.
This AWESOME 36-page book includes a Good Manners Certificate at the end, signed by Sapo!
Each page will transform a child from an ordinary kid into an EXTRAORDINARY one. After all, people are not born with good manners, good manners have to be taught.
And what better way to teach good manners than with the alphabets. Smaller children can memorize one-line sentences, while older kids recite paragraphs.
Journeys (a collection of poems)
"Readers peeking into Lewis' world will find a poet who teases love, sings love, and dances love. Yet love's sprinkles of sadness are never absent. How one person runs a wide range of love themes and still holds the attention of an audience is just wonderful. If love brings people together, if love celebrates life, here, between the covers of Journey lie examples of some perfect lyrical narratives that should warm many hearts." K-Moses Nagbe, former president of the Liberia Association of Writers.
"Journey deserves a place on any coffee table. Lewis delivers with uncommon prose that her readers will fall gladly for." Mary Payne, Editor.
My Dear Liberia
From the inhuman bondage and overwhelming weight of slavery, black 'freemen' from America and the British colonies returned to Africa; along with native Africans and slaves rescued from seized slave ships found their own nation. "There is no other country in the world quite like Liberia," says Lewis, of this African nation that has been independent and self-governed since its establishment. "There is a certain pride that comes with every person that traces his/her roots to Liberia."
Liberians enjoyed freedom until the civil war in the nineties. My Dear Liberia brings to life the enjoyable days of the past.
Village Tales Creatives
villagetalespub@gmail.com
ophie2020@yahoo.com
Work hard pray harder.
Teacher Jeanette
Sexy Like a Book
Please Help - Donate
Liberia Literary Society
LLS Reading Room
Village Tales Publishing
Copyright © 2000 - 2023 Ophelia S. Lewis. All rights reserved


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USA / Israel and OPT: Dismal 'peace deal' will only exacerbate violations
The Trump administration's dismal package of proposals to violate international law and further strip Palestinians of their rights is a handbook for more suffering and abuses in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Amnesty International said today.
The organisation urged the international community to reject measures contravening international law that are set out in President Donald Trump's so-called "deal of the century". These include a formal extension of Israel's sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the vast majority of the illegal settlements in the rest of the occupied West Bank in exchange for land currently inside Israel.
The proposed land swaps include the potential transfer of areas of Israel with a high proportion of Palestinian residents to a future State of Palestine. This in itself raises concerns that Palestinian citizens of Israel in these areas might be disenfranchised.
Amnesty is calling on the international community to reject annexation proposals, which violate international law, and reiterate the illegality of Israeli settlements in occupied territory. Such proposals will not change the legal obligations of Israel, as the occupying power, under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, nor deprive Palestinians of protections guaranteed under these legal frameworks.
In addition, the deal demands that the Palestinian authorities take "no action against any Israeli or United States citizen before Interpol or any non-Israeli or United States (as applicable) legal system". This is a blatant attempt to stop Palestinians seeking justice in national courts of third countries using universal jurisdiction, an essential tool of international justice.
The deal also includes proposals to create a "compensation mechanism" for Palestinian refugees, instead of granting them their right to return. With currently more than 5.2 million registered refugees, Palestinians are one of the world's largest refugee populations. Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in 1948, and their descendants, have a right to return under international law.
Philip Luther, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Research and Advocacy Director, said:
"While the Trump administration has emphasised the principle of land swaps in its deal, we should make no mistake that it is proposing further annexation of Palestinian territory, which would flagrantly violate international humanitarian law.
"During more than half a century of occupation Israel has imposed a system of institutionalised discrimination against Palestinians under its rule, denying them basic rights and access to effective remedies for violations. The deal amounts to endorsement of these brutal, unlawful policies.
"Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees are trapped in overcrowded camps, more than 70 years after they, their parents or grandparents were first forced out of their homes. This proposal ignores refugees' rights under international law and the decades of suffering they have endured.
"A just and sustainable peace requires a plan that prioritises the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis, and must include justice and reparation for victims of war crimes and other grave violations. This plan not only fails this fundamental test; it seeks to torpedo efforts towards justice for both Palestinians and Israelis that are currently under way."


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Home » Breaking Music News » STEEL PANTHER RELEASE NEW VIDEO; ALBUM OUT TODAY
STEEL PANTHER RELEASE NEW VIDEO; ALBUM OUT TODAY
Posted by Bryan Joe Corder in Breaking Music News // 0 Comments
STEEL PANTHER RELEASE LATEST VIDEO FOR THE SONG
"FUCK EVERYBODY"
TO COINCIDE WITH THE WORLDWIDE RELEASE OF
HEAVY METAL RULES
California's greatest export and professional life coaches Steel Panther are celebrating the release of their new album the only way they know how; with a full-on sensory overload as only the Panther can. The band has released a video for the song "Fuck Everybody" from their latest release. The "not quite 3D" clip was premiered at the band's record release party in NYC earlier this week and shot over 100K views in days. The video can be seen here: https://youtu.be/09CXtsWXWeQ. The song comes from their "now available everywhere" latest album, Heavy Metal Rules (https://lnk.to/HeavyMetalRules).
"This is the record you put on when you're getting ready to go out and party. This is the record you put on when you've had a bad day at work. This is the record you put on when you wanna practice making babies. This is the record you ALWAYS just put on. Why? Because….HEAVY METAL RULES," explains Steel Panther.
To celebrate the release of the new album, Steel Panther had a record release event at St Vitus bar in Brooklyn, NY. The event featured a playback of the entire album for fans, a stand-up comedy set by former That Metal Show host Jim Florentine, and then a Q&A with the band moderated by Florentine. Longtime friends from Alter Bridge Mark Tremonti and Scott Phillips were also in attendance. The entire event was captured by Revolver and the video from the evening can be see here: https://facebook.com/steelpanther.
Steel Panther recently announced the Heavy Metal Rules Tour, which kicks off in early October and runs through mid-December. Crobot and Stitched Up Heart have been added as openers with Crobot opening from October 8th to October 20th and Stitched Up Heart opening from November 24th to December 22nd. The 27-date trek will make stops in markets such as Orlando, FL; Boston, MA; New York, NY; Detroit, MI; and Chicago, IL to name a few. Steel Panther live is always the ultimate party and has developed them a loyal fanbase around the globe. The band recently announced a European tour for 2020 that is set to take Heavy Metal Rules around the globe. Tickets are currently on-sale and more information on all shows can be found at: https://www.steelpantherrocks.com/pages/tour.


Analysis of data for 2011 shows that the chance of success for a refugee to stay in Canada can depend on who hears the case at the Immigration and Refugee Board.
Analysis of data for 2011 shows that the chance of success of a refugee's plea to stay in Canada can depend on who hears the case at the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).
Sean Rehaag, an assistant professor at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School, requested data through Access to Information on all IRB claims heard in 2011 and analyzed the thousands of cases.
"I feel there is some support for allegations that some people are unlucky," Rehaag said.
Rehaag's analysis shows that Daniel McSweeney approved none of the 127 cases he adjudicated in 2011. He joined the IRB in 2007 and had a yes rate of 42.47 per cent that first year. Then his acceptances decreased.
Another adjudicator, David McBean, approved two of the 108 cases he heard last year. He had rejected all of the 169 cases he handled between 2008 and 2010.
Others granted refugee status in many of the cases they heard, including Jacques Fortin, who approved 81.3 per cent of 269 decisions and Harriet Wolman who approved 77.8 per cent of 189 decisions.
Rehaag's findings for 2011 are similar to statistics he compiled from 2006 to 2010 and made public last year. The latest results, he says, show inconsistent decision-making continues at the refugee board.
"It is important to note," says Rehaag, "that some of the recognition rate variation may be due to member specialization in particular types of cases.
"For example, some members are assigned a large number of expedited cases, which generally result in positive decisions. Similarly, some members specialize in geographic regions with especially high or low refugee claim recognition rates."
However, Rehaag says he has taken factors related to specialization into consideration and there are still "massive disparities" in case decisions.
"What worries me, what is really problematic, is that these kinds of decisions are life and death. If the board doesn't recognize refugee status when the person meets the definition, the person will be sent back to a country where he will be potentially tortured, persecuted or killed. That's what really worries me," says Rehaag, who points out there is no way to appeal an adjudicator's decision except on legal technical grounds.
If one adjudicator says no the claimant is deported.
The law professor is releasing his report as MPs consider a new immigration bill that changes the refugee claim process in Canada. Bill C-31 introduces an appeal board and the legislation is expected to pass this summer.
The minister of Immigration and Citizenship, Jason Kenney, told CBC's Power and Politics in February that the legislation is the highest benchmark in fairness.
He said, "What we are proposing goes well beyond our obligations under either the Canadian Charter of Rights and the UN Convention on Refugees."
Kenney went on to say: "If I were a refugee advocate, I would be supporting our approach to this because we are finally putting in place the Refugee Appeal Division, a full fact-based appeal. For the vast majority of claimants that get rejected at the IRB this is enhancing fairness not reducing it."
Yet, a major issue for people who advocate for refugee claimants is that, according to a numeric formula in the bill, countries with high rejection rates now will be considered safe countries. Claimants from safe countries will not be allowed to appeal.
"Part of what my data shows is that there is inconsistent first-instance decision making at the IRB and that it is important for everyone to have access to a refugee appeal division," says Rehaag.
It is expected, for example, that Mexico, a country with an 82.9 per cent rejection rate overall, will be designated a safe country even though Canada accepted 1,043 refugee claimants from Mexico in 2011.
Last year Mexico was the country with the highest number of refugee claimants to Canada – 6114.
The director of the FCJ Refugee Centre in Toronto, Francisco Rico, says it's expected that many Mexicans will stop applying for refugee status, but will, instead, simply enter Canada and live underground in the country.


Retail news round-up on December 15, 2015: UK businesses to bear the brunt of living wage, and Sports Direct blasted for paying less than minimum wage.
Government advisors have warned that the introduction of the compulsory National Living Wage in 2016 will have an effect on businesses in the UK by costing them more than £1bn.
The Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC), an independent body appointed by the government which verifies the costs and savings of proposed changes to businesses and civil society, predicts the change will cost employers £804.4m in extra wages and staff costs.
The RPC also said a further £234.3m of 'spillover' costs from keeping pay differentials will take it over £1bn.
Chancellor George Osborne announced in this year's summer budget that workers above 25 will receive a minimum of £7.20 per hour.
Mike Ashley's Sports Direct has received criticisms in the British parliament over claims that it has not been paying the minimum wage.
Nick Boles, the skills and equalities minister, told MPs that although no staff from the retailer had complained to HM Revenue and Customs, it could still take enforcement action.
"I don't care how famous an employer is, I don't care how well connected they are, I don't care frankly how much money they have made, they need to obey the law," Boles told the House of Commons.
"If they don't obey the law we will enforce the law, we will fine them and disqualify the directors if necessary."
Former shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna submitted an urgent question on the wage position at the retailer that led to the debate.
Umunna branded Sports Direct a "bad advert for British business and one with a culture of fear in the workplace" that we should not wish to see repeated elsewhere.
B&Q staff are rallying against changes to pay rates and benefits they claim are being made to counteract the cost of the living wage.


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Blog posts and articles from the Royal Society
Schools Network
Octopus: a radical new approach to scientific publishing
Read more about Dr Alex Freeman's idea "Octopus: a radical new approach to scientific publishing".
By Dr Alex Freeman
Alex was one of the winners of 'The Pitch' competition at the Royal Society's Research culture: Changing expectations conference.
Dr Alex Freeman
Executive Director of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication
Dr Alex Freeman is the Executive Director of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, a role she took up in 2016. She previously spent 16 years working for the BBC, primarily a producer and director for BBC Science.
Alex was one of the winners of 'The Pitch' competition at the Royal Society's Research culture: Changing expectations conference with her idea "Octopus: a radical new approach to scientific publishing".
My pitch at the Research culture: Changing expectations conference
On that late October evening one year ago, when I walked up the steps onto the stage at the Royal Society, I was preparing to expose one of my most radical and passionately-held ideas to the public scrutiny of the scientific establishment.
A recent newcomer to the world of academia after a career in science television I had been shocked at many aspects of the worldwide research culture that had become apparent to me when I took a job at a university. I was of course aware of the 'reproducibility crisis' and exceptional cases of misconduct, both scientific and personal. What I hadn't been prepared for was the full extent of the community's reliance on the scientific publishing system – a system that was not designed or incentivised to bear the weight of this heavy responsibility.
If you forget how scientific work is shared and assessed now, and instead imagine how it could best be done, the current system would not enter anyone's mind. In fact, I have never yet met anyone who thinks that the scientific publishing system is working perfectly well. Most people focus on the burden of publishing costs, but it seems to me that there are much deeper problems in the system which are affecting the way science is done. Perhaps it is because I come from outside the system that these problems seem so glaring and acute to me – or perhaps it just makes me incredibly naïve in thinking that there's a relatively simple solution. But I do.
So it came about that I stood in front of the assembled illuminati of the Royal Society – including the editor-in-chief of the journal Nature – and announced that I wanted to replace both journals and papers as the means of sharing primary scientific research.
Radical as this sounds, I believe that it is a necessary step in order to improve both the research culture and scientific research itself. The publishing of papers has become almost the sole way that a researcher's merit is measured, and so naturally most researchers end up concentrating their efforts on getting as many papers into as highly-perceived journals as possible. And of course this final aim drives the whole research process that leads up to the point of publication. This is where I think the most ingrained problem lies.
There is a fundamental difference between writing a narrative that sells a story – makes it engaging, concise and persuasive – and writing to communicate fully and exactly what was thought, considered, done, and with what consequences.
The first is essentially journalism, and success can rightly be judged on metrics such as readership and sharing on social media: how much people subjectively like it. But this is not what the primary research record is all about. Good science does not always (usually?) make a good story. In order to make progress on the problems we are all striving to solve in science, we need to communicate our ideas and work fully, to learn from and build on each others' work. And 'success' needs to be judged on quite a different set of metrics: how well the scientific work has been done – whether that is coming up with new ideas, or methods or careful data collection, analysis, or application to the real world.
The current journal and paper system has, through natural forces, come to incentivise the former. In order to align incentives with good science, we need to move to a system in which work that is well thought-out, well carried-out, and well communicated – regardless of the 'story' it tells – is given the highest accolades. Changing what is rewarded will change what is done.
At this point in my 5 minute address to the Royal Society meeting I put up a slide to show my idea of what that new system could look like: a platform I called Octopus.
In my imagination, Octopus uses all the advantages of the digital world to make the publishing and reading of work not only entirely free but language-agnostic, using automatic language translation tools. Thus in one fell swoop it broadens access to the world of scientific endeavour. To keep costs minimal enough to sustain this, it is as fully-automated as feasible. There are no gate-keeper 'editors': authors take full responsibility for the editorial content and the formatting of their articles, and all reviewing is done transparently post-publication. In fact, reviews are treated as a publication in their own right, meaning insightful and constructive critiquing of work is incentivised. There is no advantage to 'quantity over quality' with publications either, because all publications (including reviews) are rated by their readers on pre-set criteria that allow the scientific community to define what makes 'good science'.
Perhaps most radically, though, Octopus does not allow the publication of 'papers' in the old-fashioned sense. Instead, publications are one of eight kinds which link together to forms 'chains': Scientific Problems are at the top of the chain, followed by Hypothesis/Theory, Method/Protocol, Data/Results, Analysis, Interpretation and Real World Application. Each of these can only be published when linked to a publication of the type 'above' them in the chain (Problems can branch off from any publication, as can the eighth type, the Review).
The eight kinds of publication form 'chains'.
These smaller units of publication will allow faster (and less time-consuming) sharing of work, and also smaller author groups. In turn this will make science more meritocratic and accountable as it will be clearer what contribution each author has made and allow more specialist, single-author work. At last, statisticians or technicians will be able to publish stand-alone analyses or protocols; anyone can publish data regardless of the size of the dataset (or what the data appears to suggest); researchers working with few resources can publish problems, hypotheses, methods, analyses, interpretations or reviews to as much acclaim as they can muster.
With my 5 minutes on stage up, I rushed through some of the other advantages I saw of Octopus: how it could save huge resources spent on administrating grant applications as funders could select well-rated hypotheses or protocols, say, and offer funding to multiple people to carry out the 'next stage' – increasing reproducibility at the same time; how journals could change their remit slightly – instead of trying to be the primary record, serving their readers' needs by producing editorialised views on current research.
I ended on the practicalities: that whatever people thought of my idea, for me science was too important to leave in its current state without at least trying such a disruptive move. The Octopus platform, I argued, would be technically relatively easy to build so whatever the difficulties of the necessary cultural change, it seemed beholden on me – on us – to take the first step and get the system up and running in order to see how it worked in practice.
I felt this so strongly that I had no problem being so bold as to state it to the room. What their reaction would be, I didn't know. Not until a live vote was held. When I saw the green bar of votes next to the word Octopus on the screen lengthen and lengthen I had such a feeling of excitement. Other people – people who knew the system and the culture far better than I did – agreed with me. The idea was worth trying.
The award from the night was £1,000 to spend on the next step for Octopus – but for me it was the vote of confidence from the audience and the judges that made the most difference. Now I knew that this was something I should dedicate my efforts to.
Building the platform
Within weeks I was sitting with a design company, working out how to allow people to visualise and navigate the chains of publications, and what the automated publication process would look like.
In the first week of January I heard that Mozilla were backing Octopus with a mini science grant, and by March I was talking about it at the biomedical transparency summit in Paris, off to talk at Harvard and MIT, and meeting people all across the UK with advice to give on how best to get Octopus built and used.
Now, less than a year after that night at the Royal Society, Octopus exists as a prototype. Built by a combination of a team of computer science students at Imperial College and software engineers bought by the Mozilla grant, all overseen by a volunteer technical architect, the full platform should be ready early in 2020.
A cultural change
Technically, then, as I said, it wasn't so difficult to make happen. Next comes the challenge of creating cultural change. In order to make Octopus a place to publish (shortly followed by THE place to publish) I now need to seed it with all the existing scientific work that is not behind paywalls. To do this, I am searching for the perfect piece of AI that can scan Open Access papers, extract from them the key problem that they are addressing, and cluster them. Doing this will form the branching central nervous system of Octopus: the pre-existing structure to which all new publications will be linked.
Initially I think Octopus will be the place where people can come to find and read existing publications. Then they might start adding ratings, reviews, small data sets, hypotheses that they do not themselves plan to follow up… It will be quick and easy to publish, so why not? Meanwhile I will be working on getting recognition for Octopus within institutions and funders. If employers and grant-givers start checking researchers' Octopus profiles (with their helpful peer ratings giving a better assessment of each piece of work's actual merit) then I think it will start being used as a pre-print server: publish there first and then submit to a journal. Finally, that painful last step will become unnecessary. Octopus will become the primary scientific record. Work will be faster, less wasteful, and good work will be recognised and incentivised. And, importantly, any researcher, around the world, regardless of their language or resources, will be able to collaborate on the grand endeavour that is science.
That is the future that I want to see – and I am impatient to see it. Culture change can happen very fast when a model appears that serves everyone's needs better than the existing model, and Octopus is designed to do exactly that. In another year's time just perhaps I'll be thinking back in disbelief to that fateful evening when I had 5 minutes on stage at the Royal Society and Octopus was just a dream.
Disclaimer: the views and opinions presented in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Royal Society.
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'Worry' is a word that I don't allow myself to use.
An atheist is a man who watches a Notre Dame – Southern Methodist University game and doesn't care who wins.
Any man who wants to be president is either an egomaniac or crazy.
Don't join the book burners. Do not think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed.
Don't think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed.
Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels – men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.
I can think of nothing more boring for the American people than to have to sit in their living rooms for a whole half hour looking at my face on their television screens.
I feel impelled to speak today in a language that in a sense is new-one which I, who have spent so much of my life in the military profession, would have preferred never to use. That new language is the language of atomic warfare.
I have found out in later years that we were very poor, but the glory of America is that we didn't know it then.
I have one yardstick by which I test every major problem – and that yardstick is: Is it good for America?
I have only one yardstick by which I test every major problem – and that yardstick is: Is it good for America?
I'm saving that rocker for the day when I feel as old as I really am.
If men can develop weapons that are so terrifying as to make the thought of global war include almost a sentence for suicide, you would think that man's intelligence and his comprehension… would include also his ability to find a peaceful solution.
If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking… is freedom.
In most communities it is illegal to cry 'fire' in a crowded assembly. Should it not be considered serious international misconduct to manufacture a general war scare in an effort to achieve local political aims?
In the final choice a soldier's pack is not so heavy as a prisoner's chains.
It is far more important to be able to hit the target than it is to haggle over who makes a weapon or who pulls a trigger.
Only strength can cooperate. Weakness can only beg.
Our forces saved the remnants of the Jewish people of Europe for a new life and a new hope in the reborn land of Israel. Along with all men of good will, I salute the young state and wish it well.
Our pleasures were simple – they included survival.
The best morale exist when you never hear the word mentioned. When you hear a lot of talk about it, it's usually lousy.
The older I get the more wisdom I find in the ancient rule of taking first things first. A process which often reduces the most complex human problem to a manageable proportion.
The people of the world genuinely want peace. Some day the leaders of the world are going to have to give in and give it to them.
The purpose is clear. It is safety with solvency. The country is entitled to both.
The sergeant is the Army.
The world moves, and ideas that were once good are not always good.
There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were.
This world of ours… must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.
We are tired of aristocratic explanations in Harvard words.
We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
Well, when you come down to it, I don't see that a reporter could do much to a president, do you?
What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it's the size of the fight in the dog.
When you are in any contest, you should work as if there were – to the very last minute – a chance to lose it. This is battle, this is politics, this is anything.
You don't lead by hitting people over the head – that's assault, not leadership.


text:
A man was night fishing at surf's edge in the darkness of a new moon.
He felt a strong tug on his rod and the battle began with what he thought must be a hammerhead shark. But as he began to win the contest and reeled the creature to shore, he saw a tumble of arms and legs. These were so pale that they glowed with their own sort of moonlight. These human limbs were almost phosphorescent.
It was a boy, he figured a corpse, some luckless soul drowned at sea.
As he pulled the body onto dry sand, using his hands now, he heard a sputtering, and fish-like sounds came from the mouth. Though it appeared to be a boy with long jet black hair, webs and fins were all about the body. This "boy" had human legs. It was not a merman. The creature seemed stunned from having been pulled from its element.
"Speak!" the man commanded the creature.
But it could only gurgle in the air. Perhaps, he thought, it could speak only underwater.
So the fisherman took his club and beat it to death.
When the fisherman served the flesh of the sea creature in a soup to his son, the boy was puzzled by the strange taste.
"What sort of fish is this?" he asked. A clear distaste was evident in his face, the twisting of his handsome features.
"Monkfish," the father replied, without looking up from his own bowl.
They had only each other as family. The boy's mother had died in childbirth. He had learned to trust his father. Though the young man did not like the taste of the strange "fish," in fact despised it, he dutifully finished the meal.
Soon after that night, the fisherman's son fell sick. He fell into a torpor and then a fever. He raved in his bed as he tossed and turned. He talked constantly of the sea. He told his father he would die if he were not placed in the sea.
A doctor was consulted but could do nothing. The father felt great shame for having fed his son the flesh of the creature. Oddly enough, he himself had not fallen ill, though he had eaten the same meal.
After more than a week of his son's suffering and worsening of his condition, the father took his son to the sea. The moon was now restored, bright. He carried the boy to the surf's edge. He laid him in the soothing, wet sand.
As soon as he began splashing some water on his son's face, the boy seemed to improve a little. He said it helped.
"These clothes," his son moaned. The father understood and helped him out of his sweat-drenched vestments. He was horrified to see the fins that had sprouted on his son's arms, on his legs near his ankles, the webbing between his toes and around his neck.
The boy began to crawl towards the sea.
The father saw him struggling and helped him to reach a depth of water where he could float. He could feel his son growing stronger by the minute as they went further into the ocean.
His son smiled. Then he laughed.
"Thank you, father. Thank you thank you thank thank you…." he said as he swam away.
(This is my adaptation of a Japanese folktale of which countless versions exist.)
January 30, 2017 benightedtraveler	contemporary fiction, creepy, fantasy, fantasy fiction, fatherhood, fiction, flash fiction, folktale, horror, horror fiction, japan, Japanese, mermaid, myth, mythology, ningyo, sci fi, science fiction, short fiction, speculative fiction	Leave a comment
The Psychic Story
This story is 5002 words.
I have just thought it into your brain using extrasensory perceptual push.
(It saved me so much typing!)
Please let me know what you think. I appreciate critical feedback.
June 29, 2015 benightedtraveler	conceptual, conceptualism, concetpual fiction, fiction, metafiction, poem, prose, prose poem, prose poetry	Leave a comment


text:
Appeal of a STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY, by his parent, from action of the Board of Education of the Mamaroneck Union Free School District regarding an individualized education program.
Shaw & Perelson, LLP, attorneys for respondent, Lisa S. Rusk, Esq., of counsel
MILLS, Commissioner.--Petitioner appeals the determination of the Board of Education of the Mamaroneck Union Free School District ("respondent") to deny his son the use of a TI-92 calculator in his Math 3A class. The appeal must be dismissed.
Petitioner resides with his wife and son in respondent's school district. Petitioner's son is seventeen years old and is classified as a student with a learning disability by respondent's committee on special education ("CSE"). An individualized education program (IEP) for the 1998-1999 school year was developed for petitioner's son which permitted him to use a TI-82 calculator in his Math 3A class. The student's IEP also allowed him limited use of a TI-92 calculator but only to check his work in his Math 3A class.
By letter dated December 16, 1998, petitioner's wife requested an impartial hearing to challenge her son's IEP to the extent that it limited his use of the TI-92 calculator in his Math 3A class. At the impartial hearing which commenced on January 25, 1999, petitioner's wife stated that she and her husband share custody of their son and that she was acting on her son's behalf in the impartial hearing. The hearing decision rendered on June 2, 1999 upheld the student's IEP. Petitioner's wife appealed the hearing decision to the State Review Officer (SRO) where it is pending.
At a meeting of the board of education held on April 13, 1999, petitioner asked respondent to permit his son to use the TI-92 calculator in his Math 3A class. However, respondent did not entertain petitioner's request because, as a matter of general policy, it does not verbally respond to questions posed by audience members at board meetings. By letter dated June 11, 1999, petitioner informed respondent that the impartial hearing for his son had concluded and asked for a written response to his April 13, 1999 request.
On June 18, 1999, respondent sent petitioner a letter indicating that the hearing decision had addressed the matter appropriately. Petitioner's son received a failing grade of 51 in Math 3A and began attending The Smith School's summer 1999 program, taking sequential mathematics III for half credit.
Petitioner commenced this appeal on June 29, 1999. Petitioner specifically seeks to expunge his son's failing grade in Math 3A from his school records and to substitute the grade his son received in The Smith School's summer program into such records. Petitioner also seeks reimbursement of $1500.00 for the cost of tuition at The Smith School, as well as expenses for continued math tutoring for his son.
Petitioner contends that respondent's refusal to allow his son to use the TI-92 calculator in Math 3A was the direct cause of his failing grade in that class. Petitioner also contends that respondent's practice and policy of denying use of the TI-92 calculator to his son and other learning disabled students constitutes discrimination under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and a violation of Section 200.1[2][x] of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.
Respondent denies petitioner's allegations and contends that the appeal should be dismissed as untimely and because it is an attempt to circumvent the appeal process set forth in Education Law "4404. Respondent also contends that the appeal should be dismissed because it seeks an advisory opinion, unavailable through Education Law "310, regarding school district policies on the use of assistive technology for students with disabilities. Respondent defends the grade issued to petitioner's son in his Math 3A class and contends that his failure was due to his refusal to complete tests and quizzes at the direction of his mother. Respondent further contends that petitioner's request for reimbursement of tuition is improperly directed to the Commissioner and was denied by the impartial hearing officer.
With regard to timeliness, an appeal to the Commissioner of Education must be brought within thirty days of the making of the decision or act complained of unless excused by the Commissioner for good cause shown (8 NYCRR "275.16, Appeal of Nicotri, 38 Ed Dept Rep 80, Decision No. 13,987). The petition does not clearly identify a specific decision or act of respondent that is the subject of this appeal, other than respondent's denial of the use of a TI-92 calculator for his son. If petitioner is appealing from respondent's lack of response to his request at its April 30, 1999 meeting, then this appeal must be dismissed as untimely. However, petitioner claims in his reply to be appealing from respondent's June 18, 1999 letter which stated that "the Board has received the findings of the Hearing Officer and is satisfied that the matter has been addressed appropriately by all concerned." In view of petitioner's appeal within thirty days of respondent's June 18, 1999 letter I will not dismiss the appeal as untimely.
However, the appeal must be dismissed on jurisdictional grounds. The limit on petitioner's son's use of a TI-92 calculator in his Math 3A class was a result of action by respondent's CSE and is included in the student's IEP. Respondent's June 18, 1999 letter merely stated that the matter in dispute was addressed in the June 2, 1999 hearing decision. The proper avenue of redress in a dispute over a CSE's determination is an impartial hearing (Education Law "4404[l]; 8 NYCRR "200.5; Appeal of a Student Suspected of Having a Disability, 37 Ed Dept Rep 565, Decision No. 13,928; Appeal of a Student with a Disability, 36 id. 4, Decision No. 13,634; Appeal of a Student with a Disability, 35 id. 405, Decision No. 13,585. If either party is dissatisfied with the hearing officer's decision, they may seek review by the State Review officer ("SRO") pursuant to Education Law "4404[2]. The record shows that petitioner's wife appealed the hearing decision to the SRO, where it is pending. Since petitioner's son has been afforded the process due in the proper forum, this appeal must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
To the extent petitioner appeals his son's failing grade in Math 3A, I will not substitute my judgment for that of school officials with regard to the determination of a student's grade absent a clear showing that the determination was arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable (Appeal of John W. and Lorraine W., 37 Ed Dept Rep 713, Decision No. 13,965; Appeal of Hickey, 32 id. 12, Decision No. 12,741; Appeal of Timbs, 29 id. 392, Decision No. 12,331). Petitioner has not proved the cause of his son's failing grade and has not demonstrated that respondent was arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable.
I have considered petitioner's remaining claims and find them without merit.


text:
Die Kathedrale von Saint-Flour ist die Bischofskirche des gleichnamigen Bistums; sie steht im Zentrum der Oberstadt von Saint-Flour im Département Cantal in der zentralfranzösischen Region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes; sie ist dem hl. Florus, einem legendären Bischof des 4. Jahrhunderts der südfranzösischen Stadt Lodève, geweiht. Der Kirchenbau ist seit dem Jahr 1906 als Monument historique anerkannt. In einer Höhe von  gelegen, ist sie die höchstgelegene Kathedrale Europas.

Geschichte
Seit dem 4. oder 5. Jahrhundert befand sich an der Stelle des heutigen Baus ein Sanktuarium, dessen Existenz in einer Bulle Papst Gregors V. († 999) bestätigt wurde. Um das Jahr 1025 gründete Abt Odilo von Cluny eine große romanische Prioratskirche in Form einer dreischiffigen Basilika, die von Papst Urban II. im Jahr 1095 unter dem Dreifach-Patrozinium Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Pierre und Saint-Flour geweiht wurde. Im Jahr 1317 erhob der in Avignon residierende Papst Johannes XXII. den Bau zur Kathedrale eines neugegründeten Bistums.

Nach dem Einsturz von Teilen der Nordseite im Jahr 1396 befahl Bischof Hugues de Magnac einen Neubau in gotischem Stil; dieser wurde im Jahr 1466 geweiht. Papst Sixtus IV. hob 10 Jahre später alle noch bestehenden Bindungen an die Abtei Cluny auf. In den Jahren von 1793 bis 1802 wurde die Kathedrale dem Kult des höchsten Wesens geweiht. Um die Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts wurde sie grundlegend restauriert;  seit dieser Zeit trägt sie nur noch das Patrozinium Saint-Pierre.

Architektur

Außenbau
Die Länge des dreischiffigen und mit einem Chorumgang versehenen Bauwerks beträgt ca. 65 m, die Breite 24,60 m und die Höhe des Mittelschiffs liegt bei ca. 16,50 m; zum Bau wurde basalthaltiges Gestein verwandt, was das dunkle Erscheinungsbild zum Teil erklärt. Die dreiportalige, aber nicht ganz symmetrische Fassade zeigt ein Triumphbogenschema und wird überhöht von zwei ca. 35 m hohen mächtigen Glockentürmen mit durchgängig quadratischem Querschnitt und kleinen Fenstern; lediglich die Schallöffnungen im Obergeschoss sind etwas größer. Der Mittelteil der Fassade tritt geringfügig aus der Bauflucht hervor.

Über den Seitenschiffen und dem Chorbereich wird das spätgotische Strebewerk sichtbar. An den Außenenden der Strebebögen befinden sich kleine Auflasten und Wasserspeier, die das Regenwasser der Mittelschiffstraufen ableiten.

Inneres
Wie bei vielen Großkirchen der Spätgotik ist der Aufriss des Mittelschiffs nur noch zweiteilig; ein mittlerer Laufgang (Triforium) fehlt. Die Stützen sind kapitelllos und schematisch; die Gurtbögen des Gewölbes ruhen auf vorgelegten Diensten; untergeordnete Rippen wachsen aus dem Mauerwerk heraus.

Ausstattung
Zur Ausstattung der Kirche gehören ein Fegefeuer-Fresko unterhalb der Orgel, ein aus derselben Zeit stammender Kruzifixus aus nachgedunkeltem Holz sowie eine hölzerne Pietá – allesamt aus dem 15. Jahrhundert. Ein Reliquienschrein für die sterblichen Überreste des hl. Florus und eine aus weißem Marmor gefertigte kniende und betende Bischofsstatue entstammen dem 19. Jahrhundert.

Orgel

Die Orgel wurde 1843 von dem englischen Orgelbauer John Abbey erbaut, das Gehäuse stammt von dem Künstler Gabriel Ventadour. Das Instrument hat 35 Register auf 3 Manualwerken und Pedal. Die Trakturen sind mechanisch.

Siehe auch
 Liste der französischen Diözesen

Literatur
 Anne Courtillé: Auvergne, Bourbonnais, Velay gothiques. Éditions A. et J. Picard, Paris 2002, ISBN 978-2-7084-0683-4, S. 372–384.
 Joël Fouilheron: La Cathédrale de Saint-Flour. Nouvelles Éditions Latines, Paris 1966.

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Basilika (Bautyp)
Saintflour
Saint-Flour
Erbaut im 15. Jahrhundert
Gotische Kirche
Gotisches Bauwerk in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Kirchengebäude des Erzbistums Clermont
Kirchengebäude in Europa
Monument historique im Département Cantal
Monument historique seit 1906
Monument historique (Kathedrale)
Peterskirche
Römisch-katholische Kathedrale in Frankreich
Kathedrale

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia