text:
mia82703
mia82703's Activity (70)
payton1403 added a book review.
Black Beauty (Calla Editions)
The captivating classic, Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell, was the very first book ever written from a horse's perspective. Created in the 1800 hundred's, Black Beauty is still being read and cherished centuries beyond. The genre is realistic fiction, classic literature, and historical fiction (if you were to be reading it far past the day it was written). With clear writing and lots of action, Black Beauty is nothing under a 10/10. He was born as "Darkie", on a small farm in England, in the country. After maturing, he received the name Black Beauty. His mother taught him how to please an owner and carry class. She never told him much about her, so later on, he regretted not knowing her well enough. For example, the book says that "...old Duchess was the mother of them both." That meant that the horse killed in a hunting accident was a secret brother to Black Beauty and that Duchess kept it a secret from her son. Some of the main characters are Merrylegs, Ginger, and Duchess. Merrylegs is described the most as a "...grey horse with a thick body, and a favorite of the family." Merrylegs is a very special character and influence to Black Beauty because when he losses his mom, he teaches him important life lessons. The whole structure if Black Beauty is a life that faces the hardest times, but keeps preserving to find his way back home. Also, a similar story from an animal's perspective is a Dog's Purpose. That book is about a dog's life journey and why the way he is. The type of person interested in this book would be someone with a passion for animals and a taste in adventure. This a very good book that doesn't just have words written of two hundred and something pages. It has meaning.
cburke added a book review.
Welcome to the Dark House
Imagine having this one fear in your life. Not any ordinary fear, not some scary story. A reality. Imagine not being able to sleep at night or do anything you used to do before it happened. Imagine having the eyes of a killer stuck in your memory. Imagine having to change your identity, and have every law force looking after him, yet you know they aren't any closer to finding him. For eighteen year-old Ivy Jensen, this is her life. The story, Welcome to the Dark House, by Laurie Faria Stolarz, is an amazing book with twists and turns around every corner. If I could rate this book 10/5 stars, I would. After reading this, it is now my all time favorite book of the horror genre. The plot build up leaves anyone reading on the edge of their seats, and horror fanatics everywhere would absolutely adore this. The cleverly put in details affecting the course of the story absolutely blow my mind. Unless you're paying real close attention to a small detail, something that a character said that wasn't acknowledged, or even the way a character said something, you can be really confused by the reasoning of a certain way a scene was played out. It blows my mind that certain writers can not only create a horror story, but they can input clues and mysterious identities without giving too much away. It was made to almost sound like you were watching a horror show, yet something was just off about it. The different vantage points from each of the characters helps a lot with the character development, as it is hard to know a character based off of one person's vantage point. The book begins with a backstory. Ivy Jensen was only twelve years old. She lived with her mother and father in a happy little home, and life was happy for the family until one night. Ivy awakened to screams down the hall. They were from her parents. The sound of struggle seemed to go on for hours, until it finally silenced. Music from a cliché horror movie started to play. The killer was on the move, and he revealed his eyes only to Ivy, before uttering the lag words she heard him say before letting her run down the stairs to call the cops, "Good morning Princess." There was no trace of him when the police arrived. Except her name wasn't Ivy. She had to change her name. Her family. Her life. One day she got an email from a junk mail site that sent her ads on the regular. The email was from a horror story director named Justin Blake, and one of his famous stories called "The Dark House". Except, this time she felt different. The email was asking for participants to enter in their nightmares, and they would be flown out to a place to film this movie remediation of "The Dark House". She reluctantly sent one in, thinking it would help her see horror as entertainment. She was chosen along with six other people, as the story tells different parts in different points of views, for each of the participants. When everyone gets to the Dark House Hotel, everything seems fine. However, the story gets really odd when one of the people goes missing. There's a message left in the closet of her room, saying, "Get out before it's too late". The others take it as a joke, especially one of the horror fanatic contestants Garth. The story shows many different examples of foreshadowing. I believe that this helps a lot with having the story put together at the end. For example, the text has all of the contestants share their nightmares with each other, going into great detail about each one of their experiences. The author wouldn't put so much focus on these if it didn't have some effect throughout the story. Through each of the viewpoints, the reader can see what the character is going through. For example, when the text is in the viewpoint of one of the characters, Shayla, it says, "Having spent the last nine years at four different boarding schools, I've had my fair share of abrupt transitions and seen some nasty cases of homesickness. My best friend Dara included." This text example has some serious foreshadowing as to what might happen to Shayla throughout the story. I would recommend reading the story to find out exactly what happens to each character, as it is more interesting finding out for yourself. Another reason I really enjoy this book is because of the character development. For example, when the text explains one of the characters, Shayla, through Frankie's point of view, "There was this really cute girl next to me, and I mean really cute. Her thick rimmed black glasses and cute black pulled back hair was adorable. She introduced herself to Parker, not that she really needed an introduction from how much she was already saying." Even from that small section out of the whole book, the reader has a good idea of who exactly Shayla is. We learn a lot about her personality, including how she is perky and likes to talk a lot. The main reason I like this is because the author has specific traits for certain characters to symbolize their fate or destiny in the book. This book really is a good example of the horror genre. Unlike other cheap films and books that approach horror in a cheap and short way, I believe that Stolarz did an amazing job taking her time with developing the characters and plot from scratch. The amount of time it must have taken to actually put together a well thought out novel with small details and characters that all have reason, is unimaginable. From doing some research on the author, it seems as if she is well known for her works in the horror genre, including many books that had fans literally raging for more sequels. Also, it explains how she got a degree in creative writing, further supporting my idea that she was very creative in coming up with clues and characters for this book. I have seen and read many horror books and movies, and pieces that don't use the mystery clue features that are usually connected with that genre, tend to not be that interesting. These books and movies are definitely unlike Stolarz's work. A type of reader who would enjoy this book is a reader who definitely loves horror and mystery. The types of books that let you piece it together even before the problem is solved using clues. The whole story is based around horror, so it's hard to enjoy this book a lot if you aren't a fan of it. Overall, this is an amazing book and I definitely recommend it for horror or mystery fanatics.
holldoll added a book review.
Imagine yourself as someone who would kill to be popular, but simply can't, just because of what you look like and the people you're friends with. Well, this is the story if the book Camo Girl, by Kekla Magoon. This is a realistic fiction book that in many ways is very real in the world. Yet this book sends a great message to kids all around, and it is simply amazing. Ella and Z have been friends forever. It doesn't matter, when, where, or what they're doing, it's always done together. The author clearly shows that Ella would do anything to be popular, but she simply can't leave Z behind. Since Z is known as the weird kid at school, Ella knows he needs someone there to protect him from the the bullies and popular kids. But things change when the new kid Bailey comes to school. Bailey learns quickly who's popular, and who's not. Ella really tries to make an impression on Bailey at school. One day, Ella comes home to Bailey playing basketball in her driveway. Bailey offers to teach her, and even asks if she wants to hang out. The next day at school, when Ella is called names, Bailey stands up for her, and even leaves the lunch table he was sitting at to go sit with her and Z. Bailey soon learns to accept Ella, but Z disapproves. Z is jealous of all of the time Ella spends with Bailey now, so he separates himself from her. Ella is left with the decision of choosing popularity or her best friend, which puts her in a tough spot. Kekla Magoon is the author of many other books, including The Rock and the River, How it Went Down, and Fire in the Streets. The type of reader that would enjoy this book would be any gender from ages 10-15. This books send a great message to kids about being yourself and making the right decisions in life.
cburkeis now following gracemarie.
holldoll has read this book.
By Kekla Magoon
cburke has read this book.
By Laurie Stolarz
cburkeis now following mia82703.
payton1403 has read this book.
By Anna Sewell
17712 mlk4life 62 points
17713 mira 62 points
17714 mintylife9999 62 points
17715 miley123 62 points
17716 mikonei 62 points
17717 mia82703 62 points
17718 mexymolly12347 62 points
17719 mesz4747 62 points
17720 meggie14 62 points
17721 mcrandall933 62 points


text:
Chapter Reveal: Salvation by Jane Henry
Seven years ago, she was sheltered. In need of guidance. I was a newly-ordained priest with a vow of celibacy. Our love affair was torrid, and wrong, and ended in heartbreak.
We broke it off and went our separate ways.
I left the priesthood. She left her home.
Seven years later, she's stranded in my NYC Club while a blizzard rages outside, and she wants a taste of dominance.
I won't let another man lay eyes on her, much less touch her.
She's still my everything. My salvation.
And there's no way I'm letting her go.
I shiver when I enter the club, and I'm not sure if it's the biting cold or fear that makes me tremble.
I shouldn't be here. I don't belong.
I considered some type of disguise coming here, but then I realized that anyone who would recognize me would be just as guilty as I am.
There's a bouncer at the door, and a particularly strong gust of wind picks up just as he lets me in. I brace against the blast of cold, and he reaches for me, shielding me against the bitter blast of air and shutting the large black door behind me. It bangs with an audible click that makes me jump. Already, I'm out of my element. Men don't touch me without permission.
But this is a BDSM club, and apparently no one plays by my rulebook. The one I was raised with. If I didn't want someone to touch me, I wouldn't be here.
"Name?" The man asks. He's wearing a black t-shirt stretched tight over his muscled chest, stands well over six feet, and looks severe with a neatly-trimmed goatee and shaved head. He's staring at a huge clipboard in his hand.
I blink and stare at him. Shit. I didn't know I was supposed to give my name.
He looks up at me and raises a brow when a beat passes. I'm frozen. I can't tell him who I am. And where the hell is Marla? My strategy to meet up with her definitely could've been improved.
But then again, she doesn't know I don't want anyone to know who I am.
"Chandra," I whisper, hoping that's enough. Does he need my last name, too? Because then I'm screwed. But he gives me a curious look, glances back down at his clipboard, and nods.
"Marla's guest?" he asks.
At that moment, I hear a familiar squeal. "Chandra! You did it, girl! Come on in!"
Marla makes her way to me and the bouncer. "Master Geoffrey, this is my new employee. Her name is Chandra." I smile at him and he shakes my hand, but then the door opens again, and two more people come in behind us. Marla grabs my hand and pulls me past the entryway door. There's an office and what looks like a sitting room of sorts.
"If you come here with your dom, you can discuss your limits and things like that in this room," Marla says.
My dom? I don't have a dom.
"We have contracts and stuff like that. Over there is Master Tobias' office." She waves across the room to an open doorway, where a man sits at a desk typing on a computer. "He's awesome, and you'll love his wife Diana. In fact, you're gonna love a lot of the people here," she says with warmth. "I do."
I nod dumbly when a couple walks through the door that leads to the club. I expected all leather and latex, but they're dressed pretty normally. When they open a door from the room I'm in now, I hear music and voices, and I freeze. Once I step foot in there, there's no going back. This is it.
But I can't turn back now. I've been living and breathing everything I could get my hands on about the BDSM lifestyle for a full year, and I'm so ready to see what this is like.
"Let's go," Marla says, taking me by the hand and giving me a tug. She's the least bashful person I know, and right now, I'm so grateful for that.
"There's a bar," she says. "Drinks are limited for safety reasons, but we can get you a good, stiff drink to start."
I don't tell her that I have literally never in my life touched alcohol. But tonight is a night of firsts.
"Sure," I say quietly. She leads me to the bar. I'm trying to take in all the details, but it's a little overwhelming, and I'm starting to feel that my too-tight black dress that I was so proud of for hitting my badass radar is really way too tame for a place like this. A woman walks past me wearing what looks like a purple leotard, complete with a tail and kitty ears. I must look wide-eyed and shocked, because Marla laughs and hands me a pretty pink drink. I take a sip. It's delicious.
"Drink, honey," she says. "You'll be fine."
"Got a friend with you tonight, Marla?" asks the man at the bar. He's got a southern drawl and looks like he's about my age, with sandy-brown hair and light brown eyes. He's attractive, and seems sweet, so I take his hand and shake it.
"Chandra," I tell him.
He smiles, revealing dimples on either side of his mouth. "Travis. Pleased to meet you, Chandra." I say something barely coherent, but fortunately he's already moving on to the the next person waiting for a drink. My mind is racing. This man's a dom? Is he a sadist, too? Does he like to tie people up? Inflict pain? Does he have rules? I take another long pull from my drink.
I haven't eaten all day, I've been so nervous about coming here tonight, and I'm not so sure it's a smart idea having my first-ever alcoholic drink on an empty stomach. The room feels hot and stuffy, and my head is a little wobbly. I watch Travis fill other girls' drinks and feel disappointed. He looked easy to talk to. And men are rarely easy to talk to.
Marla's perched up on the stool next to me, sipping her drink. "So over there we've got pool tables for everyone to just mingle. This is sort of the meet-and-greet area."
"Mhm." I take another gulp of my drink.
"And beyond that area…" her voice trails off. I watch as couples and single people make their way to a hallway. Someone screams, and I nearly drop my glass. I look with wide eyes at Marla. She smiles and nods.
"The dungeon, honey. That's where the real action takes place."
"It's not in a basement?" I ask curiously. I had visions of the dungeon being built with bricks, complete with metal handcuffs and no lighting whatsoever.
Marla smiles. "Not in this club, no. It's just what we call it."
I finish my drink, plunk it on the counter, and turn to her. Liquid courage, they say. Already, I know why. "Take me?"
She finishes her drink, too, and places it on the bar. "Absolutely."
The room spins, and my head feels light. But I like this. I feel braver. Maybe even more powerful. I've gotten brave enough to come to my first BDSM club, and I'm not just here to mingle. Tonight, I want to see what this is like.
A couple jostles past me, and I lose my footing, but Marla quickly rights me. Still, it makes me feel like I'm on a merry-go-round. I'm definitely woozy, and not sure I like this feeling very much. Why do people do this on a regular basis? I like being in control of myself, and this is stupid.
I follow her past the crowd to the dungeon, excitement building.
"Down here are the private rooms for long-term members," she says. "They're color-coordinated, and long-term members keep their things here. It's like a second home."
"Do you have one?" I ask, shouting to be heard above the noise of the crowd.
"I could," she says thoughtfully, and her eyes grow a little pained. "I don't have a need for one, though."
Marla's single. I nod. But it's at that very moment, just before I step into the dungeon, that I hear a voice that makes my whole body seize. I know that voice.
"Not here," he says. "Take that somewhere else." It's calm but stern and brooks no argument. I look around me to see where the voice is coming from, but there are too many people here.
It's got to be in my head. Some people sound like others, and I've just had a drink. Plus, I'm all keyed up. There's no way that's his voice.
But I'd know that voice anywhere. It's the voice I conjure up when I go to sleep at night, to chase my demons away so I can rest. The voice branded into my memory like names carved in stone, lasting and irrevocable. In my mind, I tell myself it can't be him. There's no way. But in that moment, I'm no longer an anonymous woman who's having a little fun at a BDSM club. I'm the girl who made terrible decisions she lived to regret. All of it comes rushing back to me in a flood of memories I can't ignore, and I try to push it all away, but I'm frozen in place.
"Chandra?" Marla's looking at me with concern, her head tipped to the side. She reaches a hand to my elbow. "Honey, if this is too much, that's okay. We don't have to go in here tonight."
"No," I say, shaking my head. I need to exorcise my past from my memory and know I came here and didn't cave. I swallow hard and take a deep, cleansing breath. "Let's go."
She nods, and her eyes sparkle at me. "Let's go."
When I step foot in the dungeon, I feel something in me shift. I expected to be shocked. And maybe a part of me is, a little. There are some couples wearing outfits that range from outlandish to scandalous, men and women and people wearing masks for anonymity. There are all sorts of activities going on, but it doesn't shock me. Maybe it's the drink or maybe it's because I was so freaked out by hearing the voice that yanked me back to my youth, but I'm excited. My whole body thrums with nervous, eager anticipation.
"Over there is the Saint Andrew's Cross," Marla says, pointing to crossed beams against a wall. No one's on there yet, but I have read enough to know how that works. "We have spanking benches and horses," she says, gesturing to a setup of sturdy-looking equipment. "We have some implements couples can use over clothing, but private implements only for bare skin."
I shiver. I want someone to use an implement on my bare skin.
There are couples sitting on loveseats. I blink at first in surprise, and it takes me a minute to realize that some of them are actually doing sexual things. Right here. In front of everyone. One man's feeling a girl up, tweaking her bare nipples right over the edge of a too-short top. Her head's thrown back, lips parted. I watch as he bends his head down and flicks his tongue over a nipple. My own body heats with arousal. Oh my God.
"I thought you said there were private rooms," I say to Marla in a choked voice.
She grins. "For long-term members only," she says. "And also? Not everyone's here for private play."
I look back at the couple. He's rubbing between her legs while he suckles at her breasts. She's writhing against his hand. I watch in rapt fascination. She's going to climax. Right here. Clothed, and in front of everyone in this room. My own body heats as he moves faster and faster. Is it possible to climax without even being touched? Because this man must be a magician. I'm ready to fly.
I tear my eyes away.
I hear someone speaking right near me.
"That's enough, little one." I look to see where this voice comes from. There's an older man with dark hair and eyes crossing his arms on his chest. He's looking reproachfully at a small blonde woman wearing kitty ears. "Behave yourself," he says.
What happens if she doesn't? My pulse thunders. I've read enough books to know exactly what happens in the world of fiction. What happens here? I watch as she shakes her head with a pout befitting a little girl.
Oh my God. She told him no?
He shakes his head with regret and takes her by the arm. "I warned you," he says. He's marching her over to one of the spanking benches but there's a gleam in his eyes like he hoped she'd disobey. On the way, he grabs the varnished wooden handle of a paddle. I can't breathe or speak, but only watch. He's going to punish her.
I catch a glimpse of her face. She's grinning.
I'd be beet red. But at the same time… I want to know what it feels like.
He bends her over the bench, expertly fastens her restraints, then stands behind her wielding the paddle. Placing one hand on her lower back, he lifts his right hand and brings it slamming down on the woman's clothed ass. She squeals, and he says something in her ear, then brings the paddle down again and again. Every time the wood strikes, blood thunders in my ears. My pussy clenches. I'm so wet, my panties feel damp.
I'm so primed for this.
"Chandra?" Marla's next to me. She's been talking to me, but I've been too busy getting turned on watching the girl get paddled.
"Yes?" I croak.
"This is my friend Viktor," she says. He's shorter than the guy at the door but broad and stern-looking the way I imagined a dom would be, and I'm a little intimidated.
"Hi," I say. I swallow and must look like a total idiot, because I let my eyes go all wide so he doesn't know I'm aroused by the scene in front of me. It must be a funny thing being introduced to a man when you're aroused, and I wonder if it affects my vision, because this man is beautiful and the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing isn't normally my thing.
Then I notice the way he's looking at Marla. He stands just a little too close and his eyes warm when she introduces us.
"Pleased to meet you," he says. He's got a barely-detectable accent that makes him seem even sterner. God, I need another drink.
"Join me tonight?" he says to Marla. She blinks at him and her cheeks pink.
"Well," she says. "I actually need to stay with Chandra. It's her first time here, and I don't want to leave her."
He nods. "Fair enough."
But I see the way he looks at her, and I know how desperate Marla's been for someone to pay attention to her. She's been a member here since they opened, and the other guys that she knows are all friends. They think of her as a sister, not a potential sub, and though she loves the camaraderie and occasional scene, it isn't what she wants. I'd be a crappy friend to hold her back.
"Go," I tell her. "I'm actually just going to get another drink and then just come back and watch. You know. Like a fly on the wall. A voyeur?" I chatter on like someone's wound my tongue up and let it go. "A fly voyeur on the wall." Dear God, someone stopper my mouth.
She blinks. "You sure you need another drink?"
"Oh, so very, very sure."
Viktor chuckles, but takes Marla by the hand. "Be my sub tonight?" he asks.
She looks at me and blinks, then looks back to him.
"Do it," I tell her.
"Wait for me in the foyer," Viktor says in his heavily accented voice. "If we're scening tonight, we'll have ground rules. I have a quick phone call to make, then we talk."
My heartbeat accelerates. This is it! This is what she wanted, and I'm simultaneously consumed with jealousy and excitement for my friend.
"Have fun, you two," I say, turning away from her and heading back to the bar.
"Text me," she says, raising her voice. "If anything goes wrong at all, and you need to—"
But her voice fades as Viktor gives her a playful slap on the bottom. She faces him, he whispers something in her ear, and she nods, then goes beet red
I look away. My heart twists and my throat burns. There's a little tingle in my nose. What the hell is wrong with me? I'm not sad that she's with him. I'm just… jealous?
As I walk alone to the bar, I know, I wouldn't have made a different choice. I don't need a babysitter here. I'm only here to observe, and there is no way I'm participating in anything tonight. Like, at all. But this is hard for me. I grew up in a home where I wasn't even allowed to date. My parents arranged my marriage like their parents did, and even though I bailed on that, a part of me still fears disapproval. If they knew I was here tonight, they'd disown me.
If they knew a lot of things, they'd disown me.
I make my way to the bar. I need a drink stat.
"Hey," Travis says. He's a friendly guy, and really kinda cute, though he looks pretty young, and that feels more like he's my brother than a potential… well, anything. Dom. Boyfriend. Guy I kiss who buys me a drink. I've never been one who's attracted to men my age, and I'm not now.
"Marla took off?" he asks. He wipes his hands on a towel. I can't help but glance at his ring finger. He doesn't wear a ring, but he's got to be in his early twenties or so, and bartenders flirt even if they're dating someone. He's kind, though, and that's always been my weakness.
"Well, she's spending the night with a guy," I say, and then realize that sounds like my friend is whoring herself out. "I mean—well. Okay, so I don't really know how it works here?" I grimace. God, I should just shut up right now. "But there's a guy named Viktor and he wanted to, um… what's the word… scene with her. So they're going to go… I don't know, write up a contract or something?" I've been into this for how long and now I sound like a total newbie? God!
His eyes crinkle around the edges and he smiles at me. "Is that right? Seems like Marla's in need of scenin' good and hard."
"Most of us are in need of scening good and hard," I say before I can stop myself. My hand flies to my mouth and I look at him with wide eyes.
And just like that, the insane arousal that started when I saw the scene in the dungeon ignites. Travis grins.
"Is that right?" he asks in his panty-melting drawl.
Hell. Maybe he is cute.
I shouldn't have come here. I'm way too sex-deprived and needy. I need to get out of here.
"That's right," I squeak. I grab a handful of the nuts in the little bowl on the counter, and pop some in my mouth so I don't say anything stupid. My mind starts playing tricks on me. Travis bending me over the bar and showing me exactly what "scenin' good and hard" looks like. I imagine he reaches for his belt buckle, those golden-brown eyes growing stern and corrective.
Someone lifts their hand across the bar and Travis shoots me a parting wink, then goes to fill the order. I barely restrain myself from burying my head in my hands.
"Buy you a drink?" someone to my right asks.
I look over and there are three men sitting there that look like they could be brothers with Viktor. Maybe they are. Or cousins or something.
"Sorry?" I ask.
"You look like you need a drink," the younger one says. "First time here?"
I nod dumbly. He waves down Travis. "What's your drink?" he asks me.
I shrug like a dumbass.
"Whiskey sour's what Marla gave you." Travis looks disapprovingly at me, and gives me the drink, but shoots the guys next to me a warning look. Is it my imagination? Is he jealous?
I hear someone laughing so loudly behind me, it catches my attention, and I quickly turn and look. There's a crowd of people dressed up in all black, over by the pool tables. I can't quite tell what they're doing, but they're having so much fun. I'm a little jealous, and I know then that I want to be a part of this place. I want to fit in. Have friends that know me and welcome me when I come. And hell, I want to scene.
"What brings you here?" the man next to me asks. He's got a similar accent to Viktor. Russian? He pushes my drink to me, and I take it gratefully.
"Thank you," I say. I gulp it like I'm dying of thirst. The voice I heard plays in my mind, and I need to get it to stop. I'm not that girl anymore, and I don't act like her.
"Whoa, now," the man says, holding his hand palm down. "Take it easy there. Travis is known for his good, strong drinks."
My head is feeling woozy again and my mouth a little thick. "Is he known for good, strong anything else?" I ask.
Oh my God. Did I just say that out loud? The men just laugh, though. I drink until ice hits my lips. Marla's with her man. After tonight, I may never be brave enough to return. Tonight, I'm living it up.
USA Today Bestselling author Jane has been writing since her early teens, dabbling in short stories and poetry. When she married and began having children, her pen was laid to rest for several years, until the National Novel Writing Challenge (NaNoWriMo) in 2010 awakened in her the desire to write again. That year, she wrote her first novel, and has been writing ever since. With a houseful of children, she finds time to write in the early hours of the morning, squirreled away with a laptop, blanket, and cup of hot coffee. Years ago, she heard the wise advice, "Write the book you want to read," and has taken it to heart. She sincerely hopes you also enjoy the books she likes to read.
Web Twitter Facebook Goodreads Instagram
Posted by Judy's Proofreading at 10:00 AM
Labels: Chapter Reveal, Jane Henry, New Release
Blog Tour: Heavy Equipment by Skye Warren
Cover Reveal: Best Laid Plans by Lauren Blakely
Blog Tour + Excerpt: Sacred Sins (The Sin Duet - B...
Release Blitz + Review: Playing by Heart by JB Sal...
Release Blitz: Until Cobi (Until Him - Book 3) by ...
Release Blitz: Naughty or Nice (Christmas Antholo...
Release Blitz: Sacred Sins (The Sin Duet - Book 2)...
Blog Tour + Review + Excerpt: Possesion (Perversio...
Release Blitz + Teaser + Giveaway: Dear Diamond by...
Cover Reveal: It Happens (The Bear Bottom Guardia...
Release Day Blitz + Excerpt: Salvation (NYC Doms) ...
Release Blitz: Even Strength - A Mile High Miner N...
Release Blitz: Lovely Little Liar by J. Kenner
Blog Tour + Review + Excerpt: The Prince The Prick...
Cover Reveal: We Shouldn't by Vi Keeland
Release Blitz + Teasers: Deception by C.A. Harms
Release Blitz: Possession (Perversion Trilogy #2) ...
Release Blitz: The Prince The Prick & The Priest (...
Release Blitz + Excerpt + Giveaway: The First Rule...
Release Blitz + Excerpt + Teasers + Giveaway: The ...
Cover Reveal: Salvation by Jane Henry
Cover Reveal: Repeat by Kylie Scott
Cover Reveal: Birthday Suit by Lauren Blakely
Cover Reveal: Unleashed by L.A. Fiore and Anthony ...
Cover Reveal: Deception by C.A. Harms
Release Blitz + Review + Teasers + Excerpt: Hate N...
Cover Reveal + Giveaway: Playing by Heart by JB S...
Cover Reveal: Finding Alexei by Kendall Ryan
Excerpt Reveal: Hate Notes by Vi Keeland & Penelop...
Cover Reveal + Excerpt + Giveaway: Bad Reputation ...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Ardmore Music Hall + Ripplewood announce new partnership
Article Contributed by Ardmore Music Hall | Published on Saturday, April 6, 2019
Two popular Ardmore businesses, entertainment mainstay Ardmore Music Hall and restaurant hotspot Ripplewood Whiskey & Craft, are joining forces in a new partnership between current AMH owner Chris Perella and Ripplewood owners Biff Gottehrer and Pete Martin. Martin, who purchased the real estate of the former Fellini Café at 29 East Lancaster and adjacent storefronts, approached Perella last fall to discuss the possibility of combining their efforts on Lancaster Avenue. Of the partnership with Ripplewood, Perella shares that it is both "special and sensible" as the teams operating both businesses will be able to share resources, ideas, staff, and support to create an unparalleled fan & guest experience.
Ardmore Music Hall, known as The 23 East Cabaret and Brownies 23 East between 1980 and 2012, was refreshed and rebranded in 2013. When Perella and partners purchased the club in 2014, they began to bring an elevated level of talent to town with nationally touring acts and sold-out shows featuring artists ranging from George Clinton and P-Funk, The Hooters, Toots & The Maytals, The Revivalists, Tim Reynolds, Stanley Clarke, Snarky Puppy, Television, Macy Gray, and The Psychedelic Furs. They also began offering more private events such as Bar & Bat Mitzvahs, the "Funky Brunch" featuring live music and craft vendors, and local acts like Grateful Dead tribute band Splintered Sunlight, who have played the venue over 1,000 times over several incarnations. "Unlike most Philly area venues, AMH isn't backed by a major national corporation… it's a true Mom & Pop operation" says Martin. "By combining our businesses we are strengthening both operations so that we can better serve the Main Line community with great tasting food and great sounding music."
Ripplewood Whiskey & Craft, located directly next door to the Music Hall, opened to much fanfare in April 2018. Martin, who has been a real estate developer, investor, and Main Line resident since the 90's, purchased the real estate for 29 E. Lancaster Avenue in May of 2016 in anticipation of Ardmore coming into new prominence. He then sought Gottehrer, an alum of both the Stephen Starr and Jose Garces culinary empires, to join the operation and create a modern American menu featuring high-quality local ingredients and an innovative cocktail program. The restaurant has quickly risen the ranks of the hottest Main Line eateries. Says Chef Gottehrer: "my first job was in Ardmore, I grew up 5 minutes away, my first show was at Brownies, and it has come full circle to open the Ripplewood and now to partner in AMH and give back to this great community that has been a part of my life since day one."
Perella, Gottehrer, Martin and their management team are currently planning for exciting futures for both businesses, including capital improvements to AMH, such as a Lancaster Avenue-facing marquee and improvements to the service and comfort of the venue for fans & artists. One of the first ways they are combining efforts is the introduction of new menus at Ardmore Music Hall. "We're excited to elevate the food and beverage program at AMH" Perella says. "Offering diverse and interesting food at the Music Hall is something we've always wanted to do, but was difficult considering we are concert-focused first and foremost. With support from the Ripplewood team, we'll be able to offer more fresh, seasonal and inspired food options. This is just the first of many ways we plan to grow with each other, and this community".
To celebrate their partnership and highlight the new and exciting food program, Ardmore Music Hall will be open to the public with an event on Friday April 12th. Guests will be able to sample more than a dozen items from the new menu, created by the Ripplewood & AMH team led by Executive Chef Biff Gottehrer, as well as offerings from the Banquet / Private Events menu featured for Weddings, Mitzvahs & more. In addition to sampling the new dishes, guests will enjoy samples of new craft cocktails created by the Ripplewood & AMH operations team. Live music from two great local bands- The Whiskeyhickon Boys and The Sermon - will provide the soundtrack to the party.
Festivities kick off at 6 PM on 4/12 - visit www.ardmoremusic.com to find out how to reserve your experience. Complimentary samples of the following menu items will be available throughout the evening:
Sliders: Falafel, Pork, Brisket
Caesar Salad Tacos - gem lettuce cups, roasted red peppers, radish, caesar dressing croutons
Burger Bites - special sauce, pickles, lettuce, onion, potato roll
Charred Eggplant Dip on pita
Flatbread Pizzas
Cheesy Bites - chihuahua cheese, cornflake crust, marinara dipping
Fries - hand cut
Mahi Tacos - plantain crust, red cabbage, avocado, chipotle mayo
Chicken Nugs - assorted dipping sauces
Wings - house hot sauce
Meatballs: Pork & Beef
Shrimp - garlic conserva, calabrian chile
Brussels Sprouts - balsamic mustard, apple, bacon
Ardmore Music Hall
5 Folk Acts (that you NEED to know) coming to Philly
Lissie to play Ardmore Music Hall on May 15th
Sat, 04/27/2019 - 12:10 pm
Squirrel Nut Zippers at The Ardmore Music Hall on 4/25
Sat, 04/06/2019 - 7:45 pm
All-Star Grateful Dead Fundraiser: Keller Williams, Circles Around the Sun, Steve Kimock, Bill Nershi, George Porter Jr, Amy Helm & More
Thu, 03/14/2019 - 12:54 pm
Everyone Orchestra shows in Boston & VT this weekend
Mon, 11/26/2018 - 11:55 am
Yonder Mountain & to play Ardmore Music Hall This Saturday
Thu, 11/08/2018 - 5:24 pm
Marc Brownstein's Funk Supergroup 'Star Kitchen' To Make Debut in Ardmore with special guest Robert Randolph
Wed, 11/07/2018 - 10:46 am
Anders Osborne at Ardmore Music Hall | 10/5/18
All-Star Grateful Dead Fundraiser at Ardmore Music Hall on June 8 & 9
Wed, 04/25/2018 - 12:54 pm
Everyone Orchestra + Dopapod Trio @ Ardmore Music Hall


text:
John Chenoweth
date of birth: 15 November 1755
date of death: 16 June 1831
Chenoweth Cemetery
Elkins, Randolph County, West Virginia
GPS coordinates of grave – N 38.88910 W 079.83760
Note: this cemetery is on private land – obtain permission before visiting the cemetery
The Revolutioanry War service of John Chenoweth is further described in the Widow's Pension Claim # W.18899 of Mary (Pugh) Chenoweth, widow of John Chenoweth.
John Chenoweth was born 15 November 1755 in Frederick County, Virginia, the son of William Chenoweth.
He was living in Hampshire County, Virginia when he enlisted in the spring of 1776 and served as a private under Captain Abel Westfall, Colonel Muhlenberg and Colonel Bowman in the 8th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line.
He fought at the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown and was taken prisoner at the Battle of Germantown along with his regiment. He was held ten months as a prisoner, part of that time aboard a British prison ship in New York and then finally exchanged.
He married Mary Pugh on 07 January 1779.
He again served in the fall of 1781 and guarded British prisoners taken at the surrender of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia in October 1781.
He died 16 June 1831 in Randolph County, Virginia (now West Virginia).
Mary Pugh Chenoweth, was allowed a widow's pension on 28 June 1837 for the Revolutionary War services of her husband, John Chenoweth.
proof of service for John Chenoweth: NARA, CatID# 300022, RG 15, Roll 0531, W.18899;


text:
from Constance Hornig, Book Chamber Chair
Join us Tuesday, November 17, (3rd Tuesday) to discuss together . . . no, that's not true . . to LAUGH together at feckless, insipid, and obtuse Bertie Wooster; and his butler, the stolid, laconic, and ingenious Jeeves; with appearances by Bertie's school buddy, young Bingo (AKA "old blighter", "poor fish" "dear old fathead" and "old crumpet"). Throughout their romps Wodehouse devises ingenious similes sure to savor and amuse:
It sounded like about six hundred pigs having their tails twisted simultaneously, but it was simply the kid Harold, who appeared to be having some species of fit.
Jeeves coughed one soft, low, gentle cough like a sheep with a blade of grass stuck in its throat, and then stood gazing serenely at the landscape.
The kid with the voice like a slate-pencil took a deep breath and started to let it go once more.
There was a scrambling sound, a kind of yelp, a scream in the offing, and a splash.
But just then the most frightful shindy started in the bedroom. It sounded as though all the cats in London, assisted by delegates from outlying suburbs, had got together to settle their differences once and for all. A sort of augmented orchestra of cats.
You may not have flown in a plane recently, but remember: Relax… Sit Back… And Enjoy the Ride through Bertie's and Bingo's chronicles of befuddled loves in timeless English country houses. . . governed by austere, inexorable, and relentless Aunts .
(Free online at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/783)


text:
Q: how to search in json using jquery I have JSON data in a local file, and I have success to load using jQuery. Now I need to search pId = "foo1" only.
JSON
{
 "1":{
      "id": "one",
      "pId": "foo1",
      "cId": "bar1"
     },
 "2":{
      "id": "two",
      "pId": "foo2",
      "cId": "bar2"
     },
 "3":{
      "id": "three",
      "pId": "foo3",
      "cId": "bar3"
     }
}

jQuery
id = "1"; // Or whatever
var entry = objJsonResp[id];

console.log(entry);

But it shows id, pId and cId values and I only need the pId value, not other.

So what is the best way to get the value of pId

A: Calling objJsonResp[id] returns the whole first object.
Try using:
console.log(entry.pId);

A: obj = JSON.parse("{\"1\":{\"id\": \"one\",\"pId\": \"foo1\",\"cId\": "bar1"},"2":{"id": "two","pId": "foo2","cId": "bar2"},"3":{"id": "three","pId": "foo3","cId": "bar3"}}");
// These \ are called escape chars, they say javascript that " is part of string.

After this you've got object of your JSON, so you have one parent object [obj] and 3 children objects ["1","2","3"] with properties of id,pId,cId. To get property of child you want to do it like parent[child_name][property_name] like this:
pid1 = obj["1"]["pId"];  // returns foo1
pid2 = obj["2]["pId"]; //return foo2

But what you asked for is JSON.parse() function, which gives you object representing your JSON

A: So i have solved by help @Hackerman and @prashkr

Both comments are right.
So final solution to get only value of pId as asked by me is to target it like this that are provide in comments above.
console.log(entry.pId);
console.log(entry['pId']);

A: Obviously, the server, with whom you are communicating, is the (only) one who can return the appropriate set of results to you.   Therefore, your communication with the server must (somehow) include that search criteria, so that the server's reply will only include the records of interest.   This will require additional programming on your part, on both the client and the server sides . . .

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Postal union backs end to Gaza blockade - #BDS
TORONTO — The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is urging Canadians to send postcards to Palestinians on a ship that will attempt to run the blockade of Gaza.
CUPW, which supports boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) efforts to isolate Israel, said Israel's suspension of mail delivery to Gaza "is for us a more global issue. Gaza is for us like a prison for 1.5 million people. They cannot receive day-to-day necessities," CUPW president Denis Lemelin said.
CUPW is backing an effort by a coalition of Canadian organizations, many of them Arab or Muslim, to run the blockade some time in October. An organization called Canadian Boat to Gaza states on its website that it is attempting to raise $300,000 to finance a boat and crew that will bring aid and supporters to Gaza. The website says the ship will also "carry exports out of Gaza. Thus asserting their right to export, trade and provide for themselves rather than be at the mercy of international aid." CUPW hopes to include the postcards on the ship.
Posted by Farah at 9:24 PM
PA ministry clamps down on substandard produce - #BDS
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Palestinian Authority Ministry of National Economy consumer protection officers carried out 290 inspections across the West Bank last week, officials said Sunday.
Officers, in cooperation with the PA Ministries of Agriculture and Health, inspected 2,498 stores, of which 210 were found to be in violation of laws and regulations, officials explained. Customs agents assisted in the inspections.
Twenty-two samples were taken for testing and 18,596 kg of different varieties of goods were disposed of for falling below Palestinian standards and specifications. Additionally, 33 merchants were referred to prosecution for violating the Consumer Protection Law, the Settlement Boycott Law, or for failing to display prices appropriately.
Irish groups to buy ship for new Gaza aid flotilla - #BDS
DUBLIN, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Pro-Palestinian groups in Ireland launched a fundraising drive on Monday to buy a ship for a second attempt to breach Israel's sea blockade of Gaza.
The Irish Ship to Gaza campaign aims to send between 30 and 50 Irish people, including public figures, journalists and activists, to join a flotilla taking aid to people in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
"Preparations are well under way internationally for the Second Freedom Flotilla, which is being assembled by the same groups that organised the Freedom Flotilla in late May," organisers said in a statement.
Between 10 and 15 ships are expected to take part, cargo ships as well as passenger vessels.
Israeli commandos killed nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists in a melee after they boarded a vessel in the previous flotilla, which also included Irish activists. Israel and the United Nations are holding separate investigations into the incident.
In response to Western criticism, including from its biggest ally the United States, Israel has since eased a land blockade of Gaza where 1.5 million Palestinians live, allowing some civilian goods through, while continuing to enforce its naval embargo of the coastal territory.
Israeli leaders have said their troops, on boarding the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara, opened fire in self-defence after being set upon by activists wielding cudgels and knives.
Turkey, once Israel's close strategic ally, called the bloodshed Israeli "state terrorism", withdrew its ambassador from Israel and cancelled joint military exercises. (Reporting by Carmel Crimmins, editing by Tim Pearce)
Art as resistance: "Against the Wall" reviewed - #BDS
The relationship between art and politics has always been ambiguous and contested. For many people, "art is above politics," overlooking that art is embedded in the social world and at the mercy of those (publishers, promoters, galleries, etc.) whose mediation between artist and public is in the fullest sense political.
Artists may trust to the innate power of their work to transcend its exploitation as propaganda. Or they may offer it precisely for such purposes (agit-prop). Or they may seek to withhold it by participation in a campaign of cultural boycott, a tactic being increasingly deployed against the Israeli state.
A seemingly exceptional situation arises when the political context from which art emerges is simultaneously the surface on which it is inscribed. The Berlin Wall has been described as "the world's longest canvas" and was used as such by artists like Thierry Noir, Keith Haring and a host of unknowns.
'Blues Brother' helps UJA campaign kick-off - #BDS
TORONTO — UJA Federation of Greater Toronto's 2011 campaign has raised a total of $15.5 million so far, campaign co-chair Jeff Rosenthal announced at last week's official campaign launch.
The tally was more than he expected: donors had come forward earlier that night to pledge a total of $2.5 million. The event, held Aug. 24 at the Carlu in downtown Toronto, featured actor/comedian Dan Aykroyd.
This year, organizers want to raise an additional $2.5 million beyond what was raised last year, to help young Jews counter negative messages about Israel.
If previous donors can increase their gifts by five per cent, and if those who haven't given to UJA in the past contribute now, that goal can be achieved "easily," said Rosenthal.
Last year, UJA raised $64 million. More than $9 million of that amount was raised by UJA Women's Philanthropy, said women's philanthropy chair Sarena Koschitzky.
New UJA initiatives this year include reducing the Birthright Israel waiting list from its current number, 1,200, to 600; providing Israel advocacy training for high school and university students; enhancing the quality of Jewish education in day and supplementary schools; and increasing funding to strengthen Jewish summer camps and increase the number of children attending, Rosenthal said.
IBM and EU Partner to Enable the Digitization of Historic European Texts on a Massive Scale - #BDS
HAIFA, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the EU have expanded their research collaboration, which now includes more than two-dozen national libraries, research institutes, universities, and companies across Europe to provide new technology that will enable highly-accurate digitization of rare and culturally significant historical texts on a massive scale. Unlike past digitization projects where the result has been static, online libraries of texts, this unique widescale effort, called IMPACT (IMProving ACcess to Text), will offer new tools and best practices to institutions across Europe that will enable them to efficiently and accurately continue to produce quality digital replicas of historically significant texts and make them widely available, editable and searchable online.
Funded by the EU, IMPACT's research combines the power of new innovative Web-enabled adaptive optical character recognition (OCR) software with "crowd computing" technology -- a fast growing concept designed around individuals, or 'crowds,' enhancing a process or product by sharing their knowledge and expertise to dramatically improve its quality and efficiency. Combined, these technologies will allow institutions for the first time to adapt digitization to the idiosyncrasies of old fonts, anomalies and even vocabularies–while reducing error rates by 35% and substitution rates by 75%.
Topman to open stores in Israel - #BDS
Topshop's male subsidiary slated to open first Israel stores in Herzliya's Arena mall, Beersheba. Over next three years, both chains to open 25 branches in Jewish state
Israeli men are in for a nice surprise: British men's clothing chain Topman is scheduled to open stores in Herzliya's Arena Mall and Beersheba's Seventh Avenue shopping center. Topman is the subsidiary of women's fashion retailer Topshop.
Topman's Arena Mall store will stretch over roughly 8,612 square feet and will be adjacent to the mall's Topshop store. It will share its Beersheba branch with Topshop and Miss Selfridge.
The brand's Israel franchiser Sakal Sport said that some 25 Topshop and Topman branches will open in Israel over the next three years. Topshop's prices in Israel are relatively high and Topman's rates are slated to be no different.
The Topshop brand was created in Sheffield, England in 1964. It now operates stores in more than 20 countries around the world.
Read | Edit | View history - #BDS
The next Wikimania conference is set to take place in Haifa, Israel on August 4 – 7, 2011. The location was chosen based on a city bid to host the conference.
We are a group of young women and men, from around the world, who are deeply concerned with this problematic choice of venue. We, therefore, respectfully call on the Wikimedia Foundation to:
Read our plea;
Edit the location of Wikimania 2011; and,
View history of apartheid in Israel.
This campaign is open source in that everyone is invited to contribute their own messages to further our cause. We invite you to comment here or email us on free[at]wikimania2011.com to send us your supportive arguments so that we can post them on this website.
An Open Letter to All Who Support Shalit's Family - #BDS
If the price for the release of one thousand Palestinian political prisoners is an Israeli soldier who was part of the criminal siege of Gaza, then so be it.
You understand that the Israeli government is responsible for the fact that Shalit is still a prisoner because Netanyahu's government refuses to release the Palestinian prisoners that Hamas demands. You are willing to exchange Shalit because in your eyes the life of one Israeli is more valuable than the lives of one thousand Palestinians. As long as you hold to this racist outlook, you remain prisoners of the Israeli state. All 11,000 political Palestinian prisoners should be released, because they belong to a nation struggling against the oppression that you are part of.
What you do not understand is that the Israeli state is responsible for the criminal siege of Gaza, where 1.5 million people are living in a huge open-air prison, most of them refugees expelled by the Israeli state in 1947-8 and their descendants. You have not demanded an end to the siege, or the return of the Palestinian refugees, or the release of all Palestinian political prisoners – because you still believe that the enemy is the Palestinian nation and in particular those who have dared to struggle against their oppression.
You believe that the Hagana, Etzel and Palmach, organizations which used terror against the Palestinians, were freedom fighters, but that the Palestinians who are struggling for their freedom are terrorists.
You do not understand that it is not the Palestinian people who are your enemy but the racist imperialist state, Israel. A state that is not only oppressing the Palestinians but is a death trap for you as long as you support and identify yourselves with this state.
London Ahava Shop Vandalized...Again - #BDS
An Israeli skin care shop has had red paint thrown across its windows in a suspected targeted attack.
The Ahava store – famous for its Dead Sea products – was covered in the paint during the incident in Covent Garden, central London, on Wednesday night.
Staff discovered the damage when they arrived for work on Thursday morning.
Shop assistant Rita Trindad said: "We don't know exactly what happened. I came in this morning and there was red paint all over the windows. We cleaned the windows this afternoon and we are still open – it's business as usual."
She said the attack had been reported to police who are now investigating.
Campaign to buy Israeli goods is launched - #BDS
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- A pro-Israel group has launched an online campaign to buy Israeli goods.
StandWithUs announced the Buy Israeli Goods campaign to counter the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which calls for boycotting and divesting from companies that do business with Israel and sanctioning Israel for actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
"This is a movement to counter BDS with positive energy," said StandWithUs executive director Roz Rothstein.
In its online flyer, the group lists six reasons to oppose boycotts against Israel.
Boycotting Israel hurts the peace process by encouraging hard-liners and "does nothing to help the Palestinians improve their lives," the flyer states, adding that shoppers should buy both Israeli and Palestinian products as "an investment in peaceful coexistence."
StandWithUs has released an online button promoting the campaign for supporters to post to their Facebook walls.
The campaign website, which will be live in about a month, will include a list of products made in Israel that are available in North America. Supporters are asked to speak with local merchants and request that they carry the listed products.
مقاطعة المنتجات الإسرائيلية في اسكتلندا
قالت صحيفة أسكتلندية الأحد إن تجارا مسلمين في غلاسغو بدؤوا حملة مقاطعة للمنتجات الإسرائيلية احتجاجا على الاستيطان وممارسات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي ضد الفلسطينيين.
وأوضحت أسبوعية صنداي هيرالد في خبر خاص بها أن أولئك التجار يرفضون تخزين المنتجات الإسرائيلية في مخازنهم, قائلة إن هذه الخطوة أثارت قلق الجماعات اليهودية.
ووفقا للصحيفة, فإن نحو ثلاثين محلا تجاريا لعائلات مسلمة من أصول آسيوية في الجزء الجنوبي من المدينة –وهي أكبر مدينة في أسكتلندا, وثالث أكبر مدينة في المملكة المتحدة- تشارك في الحملة.
وقالت إن مؤيدين للحملة خرجوا السبت إلى الشارع تأييدا للتجار الذين يرفضون تخزين تلك المنتجات, وأعلنوا أنه سيقع التشهير بالمتاجر التي لا تلزم بالمقاطعة.
وذكرت الأسبوعية الأسكتلندية أن عددا من المتاجر المشاركة في التحرك الذي تقوده حملة التضامن الأسكتلندية الفلسطينية, وجمعية أصدقاء الأقصى في غلاسغو, وضعت ملصقات كتب عليها "لا نبيع منتجات إسرائيلية".
وأعلن منظمو حملة المقاطعة أنهم سيوسعون نطاقها لتشمل أنحاء أسكتلندا الأخرى بعد نجاحها في غلاسغو.
Posted by Farah at 10:54 AM
TEDx: Equating the Colonizer and Colonized
It has come to our knowledge that TED, a non-profit organization carrying the slogan "Ideas Worth Spreading" has started a program called the "TEDxHolyLand." This is supposed to be an experience which seeks to "bring together the people of Palestine and Israel who do not ordinarily meet to share a half day together hearing and discussing TED talks on a wide range of topics of common interest."[i] The Palestinian Students' Campaign for the Academic boycott of Israel and University Teachers' Association in Palestine consider this an act of normalization that violates the boycott guidelines issued by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)[ii]. TED seems to be unaware of the fact that the reason why "the people of Palestine and Israel" cannot get together is because the former are colonized and the latter are settler colonists. It also ignores the fact that Israel is an apartheid state, as former American president Jimmy Carter and anti-Apartheid activist and Nobel Laureate Desmund Tutu called it; a state that discriminates against more than 1.2 million Palestinians living in it as second class citizens.
The Israeli partner in this program is Liat Aaronson who is the executive director of an entrepreneurship program at the Interdisciplinary Centre (IDC) at Herzliya University. The program describes the Palestinian and Israeli organizers as coming from a background "that defines them as enemies" and seeks to allow them to "challenge each other, understand each other, and empower each other." Before we get carried away by the seemingly false utopian aura of the program and its poetic tinge, we ought to ask if the Israeli participant will be willing to admit to her Palestinian counterpart that the creation of the state of Israel was responsible for the (continuing) ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people since 1948? That it illegally occupies the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and racially discriminates against the 1948 Palestinians in what the United Nations Special Rapporteur John Dugard described as the only remaining case after South African Apartheid fell, "of a Western-affiliated regime that denies self-determination and human rights to a developing people and that has done so for so long."? A state responsible for ongoing house demolitions, illegal settlement expansions and the building of a monstrous Apartheid Wall—not to mention the collective punishment of 1.5 million Palestinians of Gaza, who are subjugated to a brutal, medieval siege entering its fourth year?
We wonder how Aaronson will remember the 413 children killed by Israel in the last genocidal war against the Palestinians of Gaza. Will that also be squeezed into the falsely beautified and ambiguous slogan of "let's stop the violence?" Unless this is a reference to the violence of the colonizer; the fourth largest army in the world with hundreds of nuclear heads?
Where are the "two sides" of this "conflict?" This is an issue of injustice around continuous dispossession and subjugation of one people by another people. Do we understand from the organizers of TED that there was a "conflict" between the native Blacks of South Africa and the White supremacists of the apartheid regime?
If "challenging" the Palestinian partner in the program means that Aaronson will admit to these atrocities committed by her own state, as a group of courageous Israeli activists from Boycott From Within and BOYCOTT!! have done, then perhaps we can reconsider our position.
This initiative is one more arrogant attempt to equate between; colonizer and colonized; oppressor and oppressed ;victim and executioner. The mere fact that TED's Palestinian partner is unable to confront Aaronson with the reality of her displaced people is proof enough of the inequality and bias this program is based upon.
Once again, we would like to call on the Israeli partner, who is in a privileged position, to consider joining hands with the conscientious Israeli Boycott from Within anti-apartheid activists. Then, perhaps the "vision" of the TED experience and the "Ideas Worth Spreading" would involve spreading the voices of the marginalized, suppressed, and silenced Palestinians in the impoverished and crowded refugee camps, in the Gaza concentration camp, and in the Bantustanized West Bank, promoting their right to self-determination and the right of return of all those displaced and forcefully removed throughout Israel's occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands in accordance with International Law.
We, therefore, consider this project a continuation of a campaign of normalization that aims at whitewashing Israel's tarnished image and does nothing but falsely creates the facade that there are actually two equal sides to "the conflict."
Besieged Gaza,
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI)
pscabi@gmail.com
University Teachers' Association
[i] http://www.tedxholyland.com/?page_id=228
[ii] http://pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1108
London Student Officers Condemn Funjoya "Festival"
We strongly condemn the Israeli government's disgraceful attempt to
whitewash their crimes against the Palestinians with their "student
festival" Funjoya.
We are not surprised that students are considered a "target group" by
Israel; in London we were out in our thousands opposing the war crimes in
Gaza in 2009, when we marched on the streets and occupied our universities
demanding action from our Universities and Government. More and more
students across Europe are joining the international movement in
solidarity with the Palestinians, especially since we witnessed on our TV
screens the slaughter of aid activists on a humanitarian ship to Gaza.
What state uses special commando troops to attack a civilian aid boat in
international waters? How could we possibly encourage our students to
attend a festival organised by such a state? A state responsible for the
brutal siege on the people of Gaza, the continued military occupation, and
expansion of illegal settlements, in the West Bank. A state responsible
for the discrimination of Palestinians living in Israel, including the
ethnic cleansing taking place to this very day in the Negev. How many
students from these communities will be attending "Funjoya"?
We join you in your call for students to boycott this festival. Not only
will we not be attending, but will also be encouraging our fellow students
in London to join us in boycotting this attempt to hide the crimes of
apartheid and occupation.
Clare Solomon, President, University of London Union
James Haywood, Campaigns and Communications Officer, Goldsmiths Students'
Arfah Farooq, Black and Ethnic Officer, Goldsmiths Students' Union
Sean Rillo Raczka, Union Chair, Birkbeck Students' Union
Ashok Kumar, Education Officer, LSE Students' Union
Jasper Kain Co-President Sports and Societies, SOAS Students' Union
Elly Badcock, Secretary, SOAS Students' Union
Milaad Rajai, Co-President Welfare and Education, SOAS Students' Union
Mark Bergfeld, National Union Students, National Executive Committee
Hanif Leylabi National Union Students, LGBT Committee
All signatories write in a personal capacity.
UK Unions single out Israel boycott
Britain's trade unionists will vote on a resolution next month at their annual conference, condemning Israel for stepping up its atrocities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The resolution to be adopted by Britain's six-and-a-half million trade union members at thier conference in Manchester, northwest England, condemns Israeli-imposed siege on the Gaza Strip where the living conditions are increasingly being deteriorated for more than 1.5 million impoverished people living in the impoverished territory.
It states that Israel is undermining the viability of the occupied West Bank and the East Al-Quds areas and their potentials for establishing an independent Palestinian state through the deliberate strategy of annexing massive swathes of land, destroying Palestinians' homes and erecting walls and checkpoints in defiance of international laws and UN resolutions.
The resolution also strongly condemns Israeli army's assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla last year which was seeking to take humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, calling on world leaders to hold Israel accountable for massacring international activists in international waters.
The UK's Trade Union Congress (TUC) Global Solidarity will also urge the British government and the EU leaders to take "much stronger political steps" to ensure Israel abides by UN resolutions.
Join the 2010 Olive Harvest Campaign
At a time of increasing settler violence in the West Bank, the International Solidarity Movement is issuing an urgent call for volunteers to participate in the 2010 Olive Harvest Campaign at the invitation of Palestinian communities.
Who profits from Israeli occupation?
After the Israeli attack on Gaza earlier this year, the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Campaign (BDS Movement) escalated all around the world. Now, activists are targeting AHAVA, an Israeli cosmetics company founded by and based in an Israeli settlement in the Occupied West Bank. The AHAVA company, as many others in Israel that are based in the Palestinian Territories or profit from their occupation are owned by the powerful Israel family - the Livnat family. Lia Tarachansky investigates how the family's dynasty is invested in the economy of the occupation.
"كلمات بلا حدود": دعوة للحوار بين المستعمِر و المستعمَر
لقد أصدرت المجلة الأدبية الالكترونية "كلمات بلا حدود" مؤخراً مبادرة بعنوان "حوار عبر الثقافات في الشرق الأوسط" و الذي يتعارض مع نداء المجتمع المدني الفلسطيني لمقاطعة إسرائيل وسحب الاستثمارات منها وفرض العقوبات عليها.
إن القائمتان على هذه المبادرة هما إزارين فار دير فليت علومي، والتي تقدم نفسها على انها مسلمة إيرانية، والإسرائيلية شانا موجينستيرن اللتان تقابلتا اثناء برنامج دراسات عليا في جامعة براون بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.
إن فان دير فليت عولومي وموجينستيرن في القدس الآن حيث تقومان بتولي مهمة السفر "عبر الحدود" وفتح باب "الحوار" مع أشخاص في مناصب ثقافية وسياسية مختلفة. و أوضحت كل منهما أن الغرض من تعاونهما في البرنامج هو " أننا نأمل في كسب وجهات نظر أوسع بشأن الطرق التي تتعامل من خلالها الثقافات الفلسطينية المعاصرة مع النسيج الاجتماعي المختلط والمعقد في المنطقة". وأضافتا: " إن هذه السلسلة, وكما نتوقع, سوف تغطى كل النشاطات الشعرية و تؤدي الى التعاون بين الكتّاب والمثقفين الفلسطينيين والاسرائيلين و مقابلات مع منتجي الأفلام المحليين والدوليين خاصة في مهرجان أفلام القدس بالإضافة إلى زيارة مختلف المؤسسات الثقافية الشعبية في الضفة الغربية" (حوار عبر َالثقافات في الشرق الأوسط, 29يوليو 2010).
على الرغم من أن غرض هذه المبادرة مبهم، فانه من المهم لأى شخص يرغب في الاشتراك في حوار جاد في هذه المنطقة أن يكون واعيا بان ما يسمى "صراعاً" هو بالأحرى إضطهاد يمارسه الاحتلال و نظام الفصل العنصري الاسرائيلي على السكان الأصليين. و كجزء من إستراتيجية المقاومة السلمية، كانت مؤسسات المجتمع المدني الفلسطيني قد اصدرت نداء دولياً لمقاطعة إسرائيل وسحب الاستثمارات وفرض العقوبات عليها حتى تنصاع الأخيرة للقانون الدولي وتحترم حقوق الإنسان الفلسطيني.
PA ministry clamps down on substandard produce - #...
Irish groups to buy ship for new Gaza aid flotilla...
Art as resistance: "Against the Wall" reviewed - ...
'Blues Brother' helps UJA campaign kick-off - #BDS...
IBM and EU Partner to Enable the Digitization of H...
An Open Letter to All Who Support Shalit's Family ...
London Student Officers Condemn Funjoya "Festival"...
"كلمات بلا حدود": دعوة للحوار بين المستعمِر و المس...


OTTAWA—At the request of the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, will visit West Africa from October 23 to 30, 2018. She will undertake State visits to Burkina Faso, from October 23 to 26; to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, from October 26 to 28; and to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, from October 28 to 30. Her Excellency will return to Canada on October 31.
Her visit to West Africa will be an opportunity to highlight Canada's strong commitment on the African continent by emphasizing issues our countries are facing, including the importance of youth involvement in society, equality of opportunity, inclusion and diversity, democracy, access to education, promoting science and innovation, the impacts of climate change and the need to support the arts and culture.
The Governor General will be greeted by His Excellency Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, President of Burkina Faso, Mr. Edmond D. Wega, Ambassador of Canada to Burkina Faso, and representatives of the Burkinabè government. There will be a brief meeting with the President at the airport.
On January 15, 2016, hotels and restaurants in the Burkina's capital came under terrorist attack, resulting in 30 deaths, including 6 Canadians, and more than 70 wounded. The capital has since had two other attacks: the first, in August 2017, that resulted in the deaths of 19 people, including 2 Canadians, and 22 wounded; the second, in March 2018, which had 8 victims and more than 80 wounded. The marker is located near the attack of January 15, 2016.
The Governor General and Canadian delegation will visit the Salon international de l'artisanat de Ouagadougou (SIAO).
Upon arrival in Abidjan, Her Excellency will be greeted by Mr. Daniel Kablan Duncan, Vice-President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Ms. Julie Shouldice, Ambassador of Canada to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, and representatives of the Ivorian government. The Garde Rouge will also be present.
The Governor General will be officially greeted by His Excellency Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. During the ceremony, the Governor General will receive military honours and inspect the Garde Rouge.
The Governor General and members of the Canadian delegation will meet with President Ouattara and representatives of the Ivorian government to discuss topics of mutual interest to Canada and Côte d'Ivoire.
The Governor General and the Canadian delegation will visit a cocoa plantation to learn more about the challenges of this industry. They will be able to see the efforts of this sector's stakeholders to respond to the threat of climate change and to reduce deforestation resulting from cocoa cultivation.
On the occasion of her State visit to Côte d'Ivoire, Her Excellency will meet with individuals who have made continued and exceptional efforts in promoting and enhancing the Canada-Côte d'Ivoire relationship.
The Governor General will meet with His Majesty Tanoé Amon Désiré, King of the N'Zima-Kotoko, and Guetia 2, the Queen Mother, during a traditional greeting at the N'Zima Royal Palace, in the French Quarter of Grand-Bassam.
The first capital of Côte d'Ivoire, Grand-Bassam is an example of a late 19th- and early 20th-century colonial town planned with quarters specializing in commerce, administration, housing for Europeans and housing for the Indigenous population.
The Governor General and Canadian delegation will meet with teams of graduate students at the master's and doctoral levels and teachers who will present the findings of their cutting-edge research. Her Excellency will then deliver remarks in which she will describe her own career path and the importance of science and innovation. The remarks will be followed by a question period with the students.
The Governor General will be greeted by Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, before taking part in a discussion with representatives of the Agency on Nigeria's efforts in the aerospace field. Her Excellency will then give a presentation on space to primary and secondary students. Following the presentation, she will visit technical laboratories before visiting the National Space Museum, where she will donate a personal memento from space before meeting with the media.
Members of the public can follow the Governor General's visits to Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria on Facebook and Twitter, and online at www.gg.ca, where speeches, photos and videos will be posted.


text:
Photo by: Getty Images
LADY ELLIOT ISLAND, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: A Hawksbill sea turtle is seen swimming on January 15, 2012 in Lady Elliot Island, Australia. Lady Elliot Island is one of the three island resorts in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMPA) with the highest designated classification of Marine National Park Zone by GBRMPA. The island of approximately 40 hectares lies 46 nautical miles north-east of the Queensland town of Bundaberg and is the southern-most coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
VERIFY: Does 90% of ocean plastic come from 10 rivers in Africa and Asia?
Four years ago a viral photo of a sea turtle was used to urge awareness of plastic-use, especially straws. Now some people claim this consciousness is unnecessary.
Author: Terry Spry Jr.
Published: 7:45 PM MST January 1, 2020
Updated: 8:19 PM MST January 1, 2020
An image posted in September 2019 was spread around Facebook with the following message: Americans' plastic straws--and plastic waste in general--is not the problem when it comes to ocean trash.
There are a number of claims made in it, some of which can be fact-checked and some of which cannot. However, there is plenty to break down and there's good reason to do so.
Post by richard.denkmann.
Is the information in this image true?
Some of the stuff in it is correct or nearly correct, but much of it is wrong, including the major claims made at the bottom.
WHAT WE FOUND
First of all, the information about the sea turtle itself is correct. This sea turtle was found in 2015 and, according to articles from that time, had been discovered near Costa Rica.
And it is true Costa Rica has had a trash dumping problem. A report from 2010 concluded that 250 tons of trash were illegally dumped into rivers and streets.
However, it's notable that this trash is illegally dumped. Costa Rican law bans dumping trash directly into rivers, just like the United States does. That runs contrary to what the image is implying when it contrasts Costa Rica's dumping problem with the United States' ban on dumping.
The claim about the ten Asian and African rivers incorrectly refers to a study from 2017. The study states, "the 10 top-ranked rivers transport 88−95% of the global load into the sea." However, that data refers to all trash transported from rivers to the sea only. That means about 88-95% of trash which flows from rivers to oceans comes from those 10 rivers (eight of which are in Asia and two of which are in Africa). One of the researchers even came out and said that this does not refer to all sources of ocean trash.
Not everyone agrees on those numbers either. The Ocean Cleanup, a charity dedicated to preserving the world's seas, estimates that 80% of river plastic emissions entering the oceans comes from 1000 rivers. Only one of those rivers, the Delaware, is in the United States. It's worth noting their findings are still under scientific review.
It's also not true that Americans create almost none of the ocean's plastic. A 2015 study estimated that the U.S. put the 20th-most plastic into the ocean among all coastal countries. It estimated this by calculating the amount of coastal mismanaged plastic waste a country produced. While there are other countries that do generate more ocean plastic waste, it is untrue to say the U.S. creates "almost none."
RELATED: VERIFY: Does this map pinpoint human trafficking hotspots?
This image is a good example of how misinformation can spread on social media, how you can detect it, and how you can try to navigate it. If a claim doesn't cite any sources for its data, approach it with skepticism. If you try to fact-check the claim yourself, don't just assume it's all true or all false based on the first piece of information you check. Many images like this have a mix of true and false information.
Something you'd like VERIFIED? Click here to submit your story.


text:
Document #1191156
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
China : Treatment of Guanyin Famen practitioners (Kuan Yin Famen, Guanyin Method, Quanyin Famen, Way of the Goddess of Mercy, Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association) (2014-August 2015) [CHN105272.E]
Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa
Information on Guanyin Famen and the treatment of its practitioners was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
1. Overview of Guanyin Famen
Sources indicate that Guanyin Famen was established in 1988 by its founder, Shi Qinghai (Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug. 2013; CIW 5 June 2015), in Taiwan (ibid.).
The Dui Hua Foundation, a non-profit humanitarian organization based in San Francisco that monitors and advocates for those detained in China, notably on religious and political grounds (Dui Hua Foundation n.d.a), states that Guanyin Famen
is registered with the Taiwanese Ministry of the Interior and is known internationally as the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association. … The group is estimated to have more than 2 million disciples worldwide, with about 300,000 in Taiwan. (ibid. 29 Aug. 2013)
The Dui Hua Foundation adds that Guanyin Famen was "introduced to mainland China around 1992, it had 500,000 followers across over 20 provinces at its peak" (Dui Hua Foundation 10 July 2014). Information on the number of members in 2015 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
According to the Dui Hua Foundation, Shi Qinghai is an ethnic Chinese woman born in Vietnam who is known as "the Supreme Master Ching Hai" by her followers (Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug. 2013). Guangdong newspaper the Daily Mirror, reports that she "styles herself as 'supreme teacher' equal to Siddharta Gautama, Jesus Christ, and Allah" [1] (CIW 5 June 2014).
Sources characterize Guanyin Famen as a Buddhist group (Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug. 2013; US 10 Oct. 2009, 115) or a "Taiwan-based sect" of Buddhism (ibid.). In another article, the Dui Hua Foundation describes Guanyin Famen as "highly commercialized" and as being "marketed on healthy practices like vegetarianism and meditation" (10 July 2014). In particular, sources report that Guanyin Famen operates a worldwide chain of vegan restaurants and meditation centres (Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug. 2013; Phoenix New Times 2 June 2011).
The Dui Hua Foundation also provides the following information on the group's beliefs:
Core to the practice is daily meditation and a vegan lifestyle defined by "five no's"—no killing, no lying, no stealing, no lewdness, and no drinking. According to the China Anti-Cult Association, GYFM [Guanyin Famen] believes that two thirds of the world's population must become vegetarian to prevent the catastrophic effects of climate change (Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug. 2013).
2. Perception and Treatment of Its Practitioners by Authorities
Sources indicate that the Dui Hua Foundation adds that Guanyin Famen is banned in China (US 28 July 2014, 4; Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug. 2013). The US Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) states that the Chinese government banned the group in July 1999 (US 22 Aug. 2005). The CECC states that the group is designated as a "'cult organization'" by the government (US 10 Oct. 2009, 115).
The Dui Hua Foundation states that
[t]hose who engage in Buddhist worship without permission from [the Buddhist Association of China] or local religious bureaus have been charged with disturbing social order, fraud, illegal business activity, or crimes under Article 300 [of the Criminal Law]: 'organizing or using a cult to undermine implementation of the law.' Punishment for these offenses results in confiscations, fines, detention, reeducation through labor, or imprisonment. (Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug 2013)
Article 300 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China states the following:
Whoever organizes and utilizes superstitious sects, secret societies, and evil religious organizations or sabotages the implementation of the state's laws and executive regulations by utilizing superstition is to be sentenced to not less than three years and not more than seven years of fixed-term imprisonment; when circumstances are particularly serious, to not less than seven years of fixed-term imprisonment.
Whoever organizes and utilizes superstitious sects, secret societies, and evil religious organizations or cheats others by utilizing superstition, thereby giving rise to the death of people is to be punished in accordance with the previous paragraph.
Whoever organizes and utilizes superstitious sects, secret societies, and evil religious organizations or has illicit sexual relations with women, defraud money and property by utilizing superstition is to be convicted and punished in accordance with the regulations of articles 236, 266 [regarding rape and fraud respectively] of the law. (China 1979)
The CECC Annual Report 2009 states that "the 6–10 Office, an extralegal Party-run security force that suppresses banned religious groups has stepped up efforts in some provinces to gather intelligence on Guanyin Famen and curb its spread" (US 10 Oct. 2009, 115).
According to the Dui Hua Foundation, business activity conducted by the group "is characterized by the Chinese government as foreign infiltration and swindling" (Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug. 2013). The Dui Hua Foundation adds that the group
was accused of visiting China frequently 'under the cover of traveling, visiting, investing, and opening up factories for the purpose of recruiting and founding secret meeting places' and 'intending to amass vast fortunes by opening vegetarian chain restaurants.' Shi has been described by the China Anti-Cult Association as anti-communist for remarks made in the early 1990s about communism's inevitable demise in China, Vietnam, and the Eastern Bloc. But others affiliated with the group have reportedly been persecuted not for their political beliefs, but their business practices and association with foreigners. (Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug. 2013)
Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints of this Response.
3. Specific Cases Regarding Treatment of Guanyin Famen Practitioners
The Dui Hua Foundation provides the following information regarding particular cases involving Guanyin Famen practitioners:
Dui Hua's Political Prisoner Database (PPDB) [2] has information on over two dozen GYFM members, most of whom were detained between 1996 and 2005. Thirteen leading members were given prison sentences of one-and-a-half to eight years' imprisonment under Article 300. …Although the number of publicized cases has decreased sharply in recent years, local government records continue to provide evidence of repression. On March 21, 2009, Urumqi police confiscated a total of 86,800 leaflets and detained four suspects. In 2011 authorities prevented a total of 242 members from exiting Jilin Province to attend a puja in Taiwan.
The most recent conviction reported in Chinese media was in 2012. In March, Jilin's Tiedong District People's Court sentenced two defendants to seven years' imprisonment for organizing or using a cult to undermine implementation of the law. Both were accused of using donations of 10,000 yuan [approximately 2,000 Canadian dollars] to purchase and distribute leaflets and 2,600 copies of a book on vegetarianism and climate change. Two additional defendants, a couple who organized a video screening at their home, were given suspended sentences. (Dui Hua Foundation 29 Aug 2013)
The CECC also notes cases involving the detention of six Guanyin Famen practitioners in Zhangye city, Gansu province in 2009 (US 10 Oct., 2009, 115). The CECC also reported that six other members in Urumqi were sentenced in 2005 to imprisonment ranging from two to four years for "'cult' activities" (US 22 Aug. 2005).
Further information on more recent cases involving Guanyin Famen practitioners could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
The Dui Hua Foundation also noted that the group is "frequently listed in local records" as an "inspection target," without providing details (Dui Hua Foundation 10 July 2014).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
[1] The Australian Centre on China in the World (CIW), a research institution at the Australian National University (CIW n.d.), provides an English summary of the Daily Mirror news article on its website (CIW 5 June 2015).
[2] According to the Dui Hua Foundation, the Foundation's Political Prisoner Database "contains information about political and religious prisoners incarcerated in China since 1980" (Dui Hua Foundation n.d.b). The Dui Hua Foundation states that the database information on non-violent political dissidents, religious practitioners, ethnic minorities and petitioners is obtained mainly through open-source material (ibid.).
China. 1979 (Amended 1997). Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. [Accessed 12 Aug. 2015]
CIW, Australian Centre on China in the World (CIW). N.d. "Australian Centre on China in the World." [Accessed 14 Aug. 2015]
_____.5 June 2014. "The Eleven Most Active Religious Cults in China." [Accessed 12 Aug. 2015]
Dui Hua Foundation. 10 July 2014. "Identifying Cult Organizations in China." [Accessed 5 Aug. 2015]
_____. 29 August 2013. "The 'Cult' of Buddha." [Accessed 5 Aug. 2015]
_____. N.d.a. "About Dui Hua." [Accessed 11 Aug. 2015]
_____. N.d.b. "Databases." [Accessed 12 Aug. 2015]
Phoenix New Times. 2 June 2011. Stephen Lemons. "Critics Claim Supreme Master Ching Hai's Followers' Restaurants Featuring Tasty Vegan Fare Front for an Exploitive Movement." [Accessed 11 Aug. 2015]
United States (US). 28 July 2014. Department of State. "China (Includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)." International Religious Freedom Report for 2013. [Accessed 10 Aug. 2015]
_____. 10 October 2009. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). Annual Report 2009. [Accessed 10 Aug. 2015]
_____. 22 August 2005. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). "Urumqi Court Sentences Six Guanyin Famen "Cult" Members." [Accessed 5 Aug. 2015]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: The following were unable to provide information for this Response: Doctoral candidate, Australian Centre on China in the World; free-lance journalist based in Beijing; Lecturer, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Auckland; Lecturer, Department of Politics and International Relations of Chinese Politics, University of Auckland; Professor, Duke Divinity School; Scholar at the Asia Institute of the University of Melbourne.
Attempts to contact the following were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Associate Professor in the Politics of China, Department of Politics and International Relations, Merton College; Director, Australian Centre on China in the World; independent human rights researcher.
Internet sites, including: Adherents.com; Amnesty International; Asia Harvest; Asian Human Rights Commission; Center for Studies on New Religions; China Aid Association; China Daily; China Digital Times; ChinaSource; ecoi.net; Factiva; Global China Center; Global Times; Guanyin Famen – God's Direct Contact, Supreme Master Ching Hai News Magazine; Human Rights Watch; Human Rights in China; Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Hong Kong; Journal of Chinese Buddhist Studies; Radio Free Asia; Religioustolerance.org; United Kingdom – Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Home Office; United Nations – Refworld.
ecoi.net summary:
Query response on treatment of Guanyin Famen practitioners between 2014 and August 2015 (overview of Guanyin Famen religious organisation; perception and treatment of its practitioners by authorities; information on specific cases of detained Guanyin Famen practitioners)
Original link:
http://www.irb.gc.ca/Eng/ResRec/RirRdi/Pages/index.aspx?doc=456054&pls=1
Document ID:
1191156 (former ID 314492)


text:
Q: Android application icon doesn't appear in the app list Android application builds and runs in the BlueStacks emulator, but when I try it on my mobile device it installs, but doesn't show up in the app list. First time asking on stackoverflow. Excuse my english :)
My AndroidManifest.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="org.neriko.sixhandshakes">

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />

    <application
        android:name=".SixHandshakes"
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
        <activity
            android:name=".MainActivity"
            android:screenOrientation="portrait">
            <intent-filter>
                <data android:scheme="vk5536139" />
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
        <activity
            android:name=".VKUserSearchActivity"
            android:screenOrientation="portrait">
        </activity>
        <activity
            android:name="com.vk.sdk.VKServiceActivity"
            android:label="ServiceActivity"
            android:screenOrientation="portrait"
            android:theme="@style/VK.Transparent" />
        <activity
            android:name=".VKDisplayResultActivity"
            android:screenOrientation="portrait" />
    </application>
</manifest>

A: I have finally figured out what was causing the problem. <data android:scheme="vk5536139" /> line seems to be not allowed in the same block with main action and launcher category definition.


Welcome to Okinawan Karate Academy!
Okinawan Karate Academy is a traditional dojo (place of training) which serves students of all ages and training levels. OKA's programs offer a classical Okinawan karate curriculum with a balanced combination of physical fitness, personal development, and self-defense skills. Fundamental principles of courtesy, respect, humility, and self-control are emphasized at all times. Students are encouraged to strive for technical excellence and cultivate a strong mental attitude. They are expected to exert a positive influence on one another, their families, their friends, and their community.


text:
Tag: Class War
Commemoration begins of the bloody weeks of the Paris Commune of 1871
Paris has launched two months of events commemorating a radical experiment in people power, which continues to divide and inspire in equal measures 150 years later.
The 1871 Paris Commune, an uprising against a conservative government by working-class Parisians that was brutally crushed after 72 days, is one of the lesser-known chapters in French history.
But its memory still looms large in left-wing rebellions worldwide and in Paris with the towering Sacre-Coeur basilica in Montmartre, built by the victors on the ruins of the crushed Commune.
The revolt erupted after the Franco-Prussian war and ended in a bloodbath, with government troops massacring between 6,000 to 20,000 people during la semaine sanglante (bloody week) that ended the Parisians' brief flirtation with self-rule.
Last week, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo inaugurated a programme of 50 events commemorating the Commune, including exhibitions, plays, conferences and debates.
But with public sympathies still divided been the "Communards" and the "Versaillais" government, trying to rally Parisians around a shared reading of what Karl Marx described as "France's civil war" is proving difficult. Continue reading "Commemoration begins of the bloody weeks of the Paris Commune of 1871" →
Posted on March 24, 2021 March 24, 2021 by THE HOBBLEDEHOYPosted in History, Paris, politicsTagged 1871 Paris Commune, Anne Hidalgo, Class War, communist, History, Paris, socialist, uprising. Leave a comment
Rebecca Solnit: Whose Story (and Country) Is This?
Watching the film Phantom Thread, I kept wondering why I was supposed to be interested in a control freak who is consistently unpleasant to all the people around him. I kept looking at the other characters—his sister who manages his couture business, his seamstresses, eventually the furniture (as a child, I read a very nice story about the romance between two chairs)—wondering why we couldn't have a story about one of them instead.
Who gets to be the subject of the story is an immensely political question, and feminism has given us a host of books that shift the focus from the original protagonist—from Jane Eyre to Mr. Rochester's Caribbean first wife, from Dorothy to the Wicked Witch, and so forth. But in the news and political life, we're still struggling over whose story it is, who matters, and who our compassion and interest should be directed at.
The common denominator of so many of the strange and troubling cultural narratives coming our way is a set of assumptions about who matters, whose story it is, who deserves the pity and the treats and the presumptions of innocence, the kid gloves and the red carpet, and ultimately the kingdom, the power, and the glory. You already know who. It's white people in general and white men in particular, and especially white Protestant men, some of whom are apparently dismayed to find out that there is going to be, as your mom might have put it, sharing. The history of this country has been written as their story, and the news sometimes still tells it this way—one of the battles of our time is about who the story is about, who matters and who decides.
It is this population we are constantly asked to pay more attention to and forgive even when they hate us or seek to harm us. It is toward them we are all supposed to direct our empathy. The exhortations are everywhere. PBS News Hour featured a quiz by Charles Murray in March that asked "Do You Live in a Bubble?" The questions assumed that if you didn't know people who drank cheap beer and drove pick-up trucks and worked in factories you lived in an elitist bubble. Among the questions: "Have you ever lived for at least a year in an American community with a population under 50,000 that is not part of a metropolitan area and is not where you went to college? Have you ever walked on a factory floor? Have you ever had a close friend who was an evangelical Christian?"
The quiz is essentially about whether you are in touch with working-class small-town white Christian America, as though everyone who's not Joe the Plumber is Maurice the Elitist. We should know them, the logic goes; they do not need to know us. Less than 20 percent of Americans are white evangelicals, only slightly more than are Latino. Most Americans are urban. The quiz delivers, yet again, the message that the 80 percent of us who live in urban areas are not America, treats non-Protestant (including the quarter of this country that is Catholic) and non-white people as not America, treats many kinds of underpaid working people (salespeople, service workers, farmworkers) who are not male industrial workers as not America. More Americans work in museums than work in coal, but coalminers are treated as sacred beings owed huge subsidies and the sacrifice of the climate, and museum workers—well, no one is talking about their jobs as a totem of our national identity.
PBS added a little note at the end of the bubble quiz, "The introduction has been edited to clarify Charles Murray's expertise, which focuses on white American culture." They don't mention that he's the author of the notorious Bell Curve or explain why someone widely considered racist was welcomed onto a publicly funded program. Perhaps the actual problem is that white Christian suburban, small-town, and rural America includes too many people who want to live in a bubble and think they're entitled to, and that all of us who are not like them are menaces and intrusions who needs to be cleared out of the way.
"More Americans work in museums than work in coal, but coalminers are treated as sacred beings owed huge subsidies."
After all, there was a march in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year full of white men with tiki torches chanting "You will not replace us." Which translates as get the fuck out of my bubble, a bubble that is a state of mind and a sentimental attachment to a largely fictional former America. It's not everyone in this America; for example, Syed Ahmed Jamal's neighbors in Lawrence, Kansas, rallied to defend him when ICE arrested and tried to deport the chemistry teacher and father who had lived in the area for 30 years. It's not all white men; perpetration of the narrative centered on them is something too many women buy into and some admirable men are trying to break out of.
And the meanest voices aren't necessarily those of the actual rural and small-town. In a story about a Pennsylvania coal town named Hazelton, Fox's Tucker Carlson recently declared that immigration brings "more change than human beings are designed to digest," the human beings in this scenario being the white Hazeltonians who are not immigrants, with perhaps an intimation that immigrants are not human beings, let alone human beings who have already had to digest a lot of change. Once again a small-town white American narrative is being treated as though it's about all of us or all of us who count, as though the gentrification of immigrant neighborhoods is not also a story that matters, as though Los Angeles and New York City, both of which have larger populations than many American states, are not America. In New York City, the immigrant population alone exceeds the total population of Kansas (or Nebraska or Idaho or West Virginia, where all those coal miners are). Continue reading "Rebecca Solnit: Whose Story (and Country) Is This? " →
Posted on April 19, 2018 April 19, 2018 by THE HOBBLEDEHOYPosted in Culture, MerdeTagged America, Bell Curve, Charles Murray, Class, Class War, Do You Live in a Bubble?, Identity Politics, Joe the Plumber, Palin, PBS, politics, racism, Trump. Leave a comment
Frenchly
Netflix French Movies
Reuters FACT CHECK
UniFrance Movies/Trailers