text:
Posts tagged refugees
Helping the Syrian people
As the bodies of those trying to reach Europe continue to be found piled in trucks or washed up on shores, are we finally acknowledging the almost unfathomable magnitude of this humanitarian crisis, and our responsibility to help? Many ordinary citizens are doing more than their governments.
German train stations are overwhelmed by donations for arriving refugees. An online fundraising campaign has raised $150,000 to benefit a Syrian father of two selling pens on the streets of Beirut. Over ten thousand Icelanders took to Facebook to volunteer to host Syrian refugees (after their government announced it would take 50).
If you are an American, you can sign this petition to resettle more Syrian refugees in our country (we have taken less than 1,000 so far). The suffering of these people is a historic calamity, and a shame on us all.
PostsUrsula Lindsey September 3, 2015 syria, refugees
Syrian rebels and refugees
In the Guardian, Martin Chulov reports from rebel-held towns in Syria on the tensions between different anti-Assad groups and the preparations of jihadis for the US attack. The best part is this incredible description of a restaurant patronized by rebel fighters:
Kalashnikovs are laid across tables next to salt and pepper shakers, which the waiters gently rearrange to serve plates of grilled chicken and salads. "Let him have it," joked one hulking Libyan as a waiter shifted a rifle to find space for a plate of hummous. "We can take him outside and show him how to use it."
Meanwhile, Karl reMarks is trying to help Western powers find the moderates among Syrian's militias (although "It's not even clear why moderates would join a revolution, but let's not pull on that string"). Among the groups he identifies:
The Red Unicorn Brigade
The red unicorns are the true visionaries and utopians of the Syrian revolution. They are the most radical moderate group intellectually, even though their fighting skills leave much to be desired. The unicorns' slogan is 'why can't we all just get along?' which their vicious enemies have attempted to portray as a rhetorical question.
And the plight of Syrian refugees in Egypt -- who have fallen victim to the rabid anti-Islamist sentiment (because the Brotherhood was welcoming to them, suddenly now they are accused of being terrorists) and xenophobia of the moment -- is getting increased attention. In the Washington Post, Abigail Hauslohner reports that:
Syrian refugees say they are insulted and taunted on the streets, charged double for commodities and services, increasingly mugged and robbed, and are harassed by police. Many said they hope to leave.
This petition says many, including children, have also been arrested.
PostsUrsula Lindsey September 9, 2013 syria, rebels, refugeesComment
Damascus hotel a home for Syrians displaced by war
Lee Keath of AP manages, miraculously, to tell a story from Damascus that doesn't make you hate everything.
Once total strangers hailing from far-flung parts of the countryside around Damascus, they have created a sort of communal family in the hotel's cramped quarters. They all live on the third floor, and the wives cook together in the kitchen of the restaurant on the top floor, to which the owner has given them free rein. Their kids play together, dashing around the hallways and up and down the narrow staircase. The husbands — those who still have jobs — come back in the evening and play backgammon together in the restaurant, where the TV is.
In a gesture of support, the owner has cut room rates in half for them, to around $5 a day.
AsidesUrsula Lindsey September 1, 2013 syria, damascus, hotel, refugees
The Zaatari refugee camp
Parastou Hassouri has written for the blog before. She has been living in Cairo since 2005, has worked in the field of international refugee law and specializes in issues of gender and migration. This is a detailed (and really engrossing) acccount of her experience working in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, where hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees currently reside.
In March, the United Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced that the number of displaced Syrians had reached one million (the real number is surely higher as many Syrians leaving for other Arab countries do not necessarily register as refugees). The UN's announcement was accompanied by a plea for funding: Only one third of the funds needed had been received. Meanwhile, a number of non-governmental organizations concerned with the Syrian refugee crisis have issued reports, some focusing on the plight of children and women, detailing the urgency of the humanitarian crisis.
Having devoted a good deal of my professional career to refugee law, and yet never having worked in a refugee camp in the midst of an ongoing refugee crisis, I decided to respond to a call put forth by the UNHCR, and spend some time working at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. I only spent three months in Zaatari (November 2012 to February 2013) and what follows are my thoughts based on this limited time period and reflects only my experiences and opinions, and not those of the UNHCR.
First, a bit of background: The Zaatari refugee camp is about 70 kilometers north of Amman, near the town of Mafraq and approximately 30 kilometers from the Syrian border. The camp was officially opened at the end of July, 2012, as the numbers of Syrians coming to Jordan were rising. Prior to Zaatari's opening, Syrians were housed in the Beshabsheh housing complex, near the town of Ramtha in northern Jordan. Once Zaatari opened, all Beshabsheh residents were transferred to Zaatari camp.
During the time I was in Jordan, two other sites hosting Syrian refugees, also near Ramtha, were King Abdallah Park (a flat, gravelly open space containing prefabricated single room units and shared kitchen and bathroom facilities), and Cyber City (a six-story, simple concrete building, dormitory style, with shared kitchen and bathrooms at the end of each hallway). Both of these facilities were much smaller (each held about 1,000 refugees), and at least half of the Cyber City residents were Palestinians who had fled Syria.
During my time in Jordan, there was talk that an additional camp was going to open east of the town of Zarqa. That camp has not opened yet. As for why Jordan decided to use camps to host Syrian refugees when they had not really done so for Iraqis, most people told me that it had to do with numbers and the fact that Jordan simply couldn't afford to absorb more refugees. As long as refugees are in camps, the brunt of the expenditure is born by the international community.
When I arrived at Zaatari, the number of residents was estimated to be around 40,000. By the time I left Zaatari, the number had climbed to well over 75,000. The number of refugees in the camp, as of early March, had doubled again, to over 140,000. Of course the exact number of people in the camp on any given day was unknowable. Every day, some people would leave Zaatari: some would leave for other parts of Jordan, some would return to Syria (many only to return again).
Before coming to Zaatari, I had read quite a bit of the anti-refugee camp literature. The term used to refer to the practice is "human warehousing." One objection (of many) to refugee camps is that they restrict freedom of movement. And yes, technically, once in the camp, Syrians were not allowed to leave the camp (except with permission, or if "bailed out" by a Jordanian). But in reality, there was a good deal of movement in and out of the camp.
Many would ask me if Syrians _had_ to live in a refugee camp in Jordan. The camp was actually set up for people who entered Jordan "illegally." It is a bit confusing since Syrians do not need visas to enter Jordan. So, the term "illegal" doesn't have so much to do with their presence in Jordan as it has to do with their manner of leaving Syria -- "illegally," without the exit visas from government. The term used in Arabic is "tahreeb". These persons have been escorted to the border by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and crossed the border on foot. Once in Jordanian territory they are met by the Jordanian army and taken to the Mafraq Screening Center where names are recorded, IDs are checked and taken, and the persons and their luggage are searched before the International Organization of Migration (IOM) transports them by bus to Zaatari camp, where they arrive starting between midnight and dawn (although by the time I left Zaatari, when daily arrivals were in excess of 2,000 refugees a day, the buses were coming at all hours).
At the border, anyone holding a military ID is separated and sent to a different camp called Al-Rajhi camp. These individuals, who are presumably Syrian Armed Forces (SAF) deserters, are separated from the rest of the camp population, even if they have come with their families (so, the wife and children would be sent to Zaatari and the husband to Al-Rajhi). I was told that this was to preserve the "civilian nature" of the camp. More likely, it was to prevent any security incidents at the camp, since there are many Free Syrian Army (FSA) members at Zaatari. I was not able to understand how the presence of FSA in the camp was tolerated and did not threaten the "civilian nature" (especially given concerns about recruitment activity in the camp) when SAF were ostensibly excluded.
One problematic practice at the border was the fact that Jordanian authorities would turn away anyone without ID. The practice was so widespread and prevalent that apparently FSA even informed people of this before they crossed the border. Under international refugee law, the lack of ID should not preclude individuals from obtaining protection (consider that the circumstances under which refugees flee may at times prevent them from accessing IDs or other documentation prior to their flight). Nonetheless, the Jordanians were pretty steadfast on this and only made exceptions for minors. There were also reports of young single men being turned away. The authorities relied on broad "security reasons" for turning away single men. This very quickly led some men to "attach" themselves to families in order to enter (a fact we would learn later when interviewing new arrivals at the camp).
As for the camp itself, well, it was much like what you would expect a refugee camp to be. It is situated in a stretch of desert that was flattened and graveled, with one main paved road running the length of the camp, and rows upon rows of tents and prefabricated containers to either side of the paved road. People with far more experience than I have would tell me that it was a nice camp. One UNHCR photographer called it the "Hilton" of refugee camps (this only made me shudder to think what other camps are like).
Zaatari residents mostly resided in tents. The tents were "winterized" -- which as far as I could tell meant that they were covered in a tarp-like material meant to water proof it. An enclosed aluminum-type portal -- everyone called it a "zinko" -- was placed a the entry of tents (creating a vestibule of sorts) so that heaters could be placed there (so the heaters wouldn't be taken directly inside the tent and the chances of fire could be reduced).
Of course even with winterization, the tents could not keep water out during the heavy rainstorms of January, which was one of the wettest months Jordanians could remember. And many Zaatari residents decided to use the zinko to make little kiosks on the main street of the camp, from which they sold everything from fruits and vegetables to saaj bread, falafel sandwiches, `awameh and other sweets, clothing, used mobile phones, and much, much more. As a result, heaters were used in tents, and there was the occasional tent fire which would result in injuries, and in a couple of cases fatalities.
A recent photo essay featured Syrian refugees showing the one item they were sure to bring with them when they fled their homes. Though undoubtedly many refugees have left Syria uncertain of when they would return, a good number of the refugees at Zaatari would make the trip back home to bring back provisions, or would call relatives who were on the way to bring them things. How else did the market at Zaatari sell items that my Jordanian colleagues swore were brands that did not exist in Jordan? On a number of occasions when I worked the night shift at the camp and saw people getting off the bus, I noticed them carrying large bushels with olives, makdous (pickled eggplant stuffed with walnuts), and other food items they insisted were superior to the Jordanian variety.
Some refugees were housed in pre-fabricated structures (called "caravans") at the camp. At one point the Saudis donated about 1,500 of them. Allocating the caravans to the refugees became something of a nightmare. Some caravans were allocated to residents based on their length of residence at the camp - those who arrived earlier prioritized over later arrivals. Some were designated for "vulnerable" families (a term you come to hate after working in a refugee camp, because who is more or less vulnerable in situations like these?). So, "vulnerable" families came to be those with members who had serious medical conditions, very elderly persons, female-headed households where a mother has multiple children and no other relatives in the camp. Each day someone tried to make a case that they were more vulnerable than their neighbor who had been allocated a caravan.
The camp has shared bathrooms and shared kitchens, and watering holes. The World Food Program distributes dry foods on a bi-weekly basis (aside from a "welcome" meal refugees receive upon arrival). UNICEF runs the schools (the Bahrainis have also set up a nice school). And, there are some medical facilities – a French hospital, a Moroccan, a Saudi, a Jordanian-Italian one and a Jordanian clinic. And a number of UN agencies and other NGO's operate in the camp.
As I mentioned before, movement in and out of Zaatari was a lot more fluid than what was technically allowed. Yes, there is a main entrance with Jordanian police regulating who gets in and out (there are visitation days for families who have relatives inside the camp to visit them. It is important to bear in mind that the majority of the Syrian refugees in Jordan live outside the camp. The total number of Syrians registered with the UNHCR, as of late March, was over 320,000 – a number that still does not represent all Syrians residing in Jordan. However, people were fleeing the camp every day. The real tragedy was that each day we also dealt with people seeking "re-admission" to the camp, because they could not cope outside the camp: Jordan is quite expensive for Syrians and assistance is even more limited outside the camps. Also, some Syrians who had entered Jordan "legally" and were authorized to live outside would seek admission to the camp because they could not survive in urban centers like Amman or Zarqaa or Ramtha.
Otherwise, the only "legal" way to leave the camp is either to be "bailed out" by a Jordanian (it's a somewhat bureaucratic process, but not too cumbersome as a few thousand Syrians have been bailed out), or to officially put in a request to return to Syria. In both cases, whether seeking a "bailout" or "return," to Syria, the process is overseen by the Jordanian authorities, and not the UNHCR. Unfortunately, the "bail out" process lent itself to exploitation. Although the majority of people were bailed out by friends or relatives, there were also those who discovered they were expected to work for little pay in exchange for a bailout. Or, in some cases, the "bailout" system became a way for men to try to marry Syrian wives.
As for returns to Syria, it was interesting to me just how fluid the situation at the border was. The UNHCR's official position was that they do not encourage or facilitate return. But almost every day, a busload or two of Syrians would return to Syria. Some were going back to get more provisions or money. Some were going to retrieve a family member left behind. Some were going to attend funerals of relatives back home, or even sometimes for more joyous occasions like weddings. Some returned, saying camp conditions were difficult and they'd rather die in their homeland, but with their dignity intact. Some of the people who returned to Syria came back after finding their homes had been destroyed, or upon hostilities flaring up again in their area.
Some of those returning were men intent upon joining the fight, over the pleas of their anxious mothers and wives. Instructed by international organizations concerned about the issue of child soldiers, the Jordanian authorities were supposed to forbid any unaccompanied boys under the age of eighteen to ride on a Syria-bound bus. Many young boys would spend hours arguing with the authorities, trying to convince them they were older. In their eyes I saw their determination to avenge the death of an older brother. Sometimes I succeeded in talking them out of making the trip, only to learn three days later that they had somehow managed to get on a bus. The first few times this happened, I spent days worrying about what might have happened to these boys once back in Syria. But over the weeks, amidst all the other concerns and tragedies of the camp, my concerns about these young men became just one more thing over which I felt I had no control.
When I was in the camp, the majority of the camp residents were originally form the Dara`a governorate. There were also some people from Homs and surrounding areas and from Damascus and its suburbs. By and large, the people who were in the camp were those with no recourse but to live in a refugee camp. I noticed a marked difference between the residents who hailed from Dara`a and those coming from Damascus or Homs. The population from Dara`a was primarily rural, most having completed a few years of schooling (especially the women), and poor. The camp really highlighted for me the gap between urban and rural areas of Syria and also led me to see why Dara`a was the province where the uprising first took hold.
A significant portion of the camp (easily a third) consisted of female-headed households. Some had been sent by their husbands, who were staying behind in Syria to tend to their work or homes, or were actively fighting. Some of the women were widows, and some had husbands who had disappeared.
I was also taken aback by what large families they had, and how young women were when they got married. It was astounding how many women I met who, by the time they were in their 30's, had already given birth to upwards of 7 or 8 children (and looked like they were much, much older). It was devastating to meet widows who were only 19.
The early marriage issue is one with which the UNCHR was and I imagine still is grappling. Under Jordanian (and international) law, girls under 18 should not be married. However, it was proving difficult, if not impossible to prevent early marriages in the camp, which were mostly being arranged through Sheikhs who just wrote out marriage "contracts" on a piece of paper. Most girls were married between the ages of 14 and 16. Once in a while, I would talk to families thinking about marrying their daughters, and when I advised them to wait until she was at least eighteen, they would look at me like I was insane. When I asked girls how they felt, they would just look at the ground, or say they would do what their parents thought best. I once spoke to a 19-year old who had been engaged in Syria and whose engagement was broken off when her fiancé (also her cousin) decided to join the FSA. She didn't want to risk the possibility of widowhood. I was speaking to her because her family had initially arranged for her to be "bailed out" of the camp through marriage to a Jordanian man. They then decided against the bailing out after learning that the man in question was much older than they had initially imagined and already married and with children and expected his new bride to live with his first wife. I sat the whole family down and explained the importance of being vigilant, that some men would take advantage of the desperation of some refugee women and make such arrangements, that just because she was 19 and with a broken engagement, she shouldn't "settle" for just any marriage.
But the problem is that with all the stories circulating about women being forced into prostitution and survival sex, lots of parents do see marriage as the most viable way to keep their daughters safe (and honorable).
The truth is that for the time being, with the refugee crisis ongoing and with new people arriving at the camp every day, the UNHCR and all other agencies involved in the camp are very much in "logistics" mode. They are dealing with registration, with distribution, with just making sure that people can survive. The luxury to develop programs, to think about income-generation projects for women (and men for that matter) is not there.
My biggest frustration at Zaatari was the amount of time I devoted each and every day (and I went to the camp six days a week, leaving Amman at 7:00 a.m. and returning to Amman at 7:00 p.m. or later) to dealing with logistical and bureaucratic issues driven by concerns about fraud, itself caused by the scarcity of resources. Basically, each family (or in the case of persons who are alone each individual) receives a ration card upon registration with the UNHCR which entitles them to the services in the camp (food rations, medical care, etc.). A lot of time is spent monitoring the ration card, dealing with people who fled the camp (maybe gave their ration card to a relative inside the camp) and are now returning and asking for a new card, or who returned to Syria and then came back to Jordan, again, seeking a new card.
It is common for media reports about Zaatari (or any refugee camp for that matter) to depict the refugees as hapless victims and the UN and international organizations there as the heartless bureaucrats for whom this is just another humanitarian catastrophe. And no question, there is a lot of suffering in the camp and UN agencies could be doing a better job. But these accounts also fail to consider the agency of the refugees themselves and the fact that there are those who try to manipulate the system. My thought on this was that when you place people in a position of total dependency, they are of course going to manipulate the system, the one area in life where they can exercise control. But, I also understood the UNHCR's concerns. Resources are limited and ration card fraud harms everyone in the camp because some people end up taking the shares of others.
Most of the time, I found myself hating the fact that this was the way things had to be. I hated the fact that people who didn't have much to begin with, lost what they had, now had to be reduced to trying to manipulate the system so they could get an extra bag of lentils or oil that they then tried to sell so they could buy fresh fruits and vegetables in the market. I hated the fact that I suddenly would find myself intervening between an aid worker and a refugee who were arguing over blankets. I hated the fact that I knew that if she got that extra blanket, there would not be enough for the new arrivals.
One day, one NGO that distributed diapers found that some people had broken into their storage facility and stolen a large quantity of them. For some reason, they decided to collectively punish all the refugees in the camp by halting diaper distribution for a few days. Imagine this in a camp full of children, where children were also being born every day. And then imagine sitting and listening to a Syrian woman crying in your office saying: "We expect Bashar to behave like a dog, but how could one refugee steal from another refugee?"
And I think for me this woman's question epitomized the depth of the tragedy of Syria. It is tragic that tens of thousands of Syrians have lost their lives, their homes, their livelihoods. It is tragic that whole neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, including neighborhoods and markets and buildings that were hundreds of years old. It is tragic that there is no easy political resolution to the conflict. It is also tragic that a million plus Syrians have become refugees and that some of them, in the desperation of exile, have turned against one another. And the more protracted this exile becomes, the more desperate, the more difficult becomes rebuilding the peace and harmony of what was once Syria.
PostsUrsula Lindsey April 2, 2013 Syria, Zaatari, refugees
Links for 11.09.09 to 11.12.09
✪ Report: Angelina Jolie planning to adopt child from Syria - Haaretz - Israel News | Jolie and Pitt thinking of adopting an Iraqi refugee baby in Syria. They also met with Bashar and his wife, apparently. United Colors of Adoption... this will cause a stir.
✪ Israel & Palestine: Can They Start Over? - The New York Review of Books | Malley & Agha's latest, in which they criticize the two-state solution, criticize alternatives to it (notably one-state), and sketch out the alternative: a hudna, a long-term interim truce while work on fundamental questions is carried out. Not entirely convincing, too vague at times, but there's something interesting there nonetheless. I wish they could be more straightforward.
✪ UN: Gaza needs construction material before winter - Yahoo! News | Even greater humanitarian crisis looming.
✪ Palestinian borders could solve settlements row: Fatah - Yahoo! News | Muhammad Dahlan picks up Daniel Levy's line about deciding on borders. Worrying.
✪ Israeli flights over Lebanon break resolution: UN - Yahoo! News | "UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – All Israeli military flights over Lebanon break a resolution aimed at ending the 2006 hostilities between the two neighbors, a UN envoy said Tuesday." So let's have the UN set up air defenses, then!
✪ Abbas slams Israel on settlements at mass Arafat rally - Yahoo! News | Funny pic of Abbas alongside this story. Well he's shown he can have some balls, at least, and highlight the dismal failure of the Israelis and Americans on the settlement question.
✪ Israel mulls draft refugee law - Yahoo! News | "JERUSALEM (AFP) – A draft law stipulating that any Middle East peace treaty must mention compensation for Jews forced to leave Arab states has passed a preliminary reading in the Israeli parliament, a spokesman said on Wednesday."
✪ Gaza, Gilad Shalit, Hamas, and Israel : The New Yorker | Somewhat flawed piece by Lawrence Wright, but nice descriptions of the misery of Gaza. Too much Gilad Shalit for my taste.
✪ Arab Reform Bulletin - Brotherhood Faces Leadership Challenge | Ibrahim al-Hudaiby about the MB's internal dispute and its need to institutionalize decision-making.
✪ Memo From Riyadh - Influence of Egypt and Saudi Arabia Fades - NYTimes.com | An interesting story on Egypt and Saudi Arabia's dwindling relative power to influence regional affairs. Except I would not put Cairo and Riyadh in the same basket: Egypt is in absolute decline, Saudi in relative decline. Also interesting stuff on differences between the two on how to handle Syria.
✪ 6 Guantanamo detainees resettle in Palau Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English) | The absurdities of the war on terror: "KOROR, Palau (AP) - Six Chinese Muslims released from Guantanamo Bay but still wanted at home as separatists arrived Sunday on their new tropical island home of Palau after the tiny Pacific nation agreed to a U.S. request to resettle the men."
✪ Géopolitique des médias arabes (1/2) : Rotana, mondialisation et normalisation | Culture et politique arabes | First post in a series of the geopolitics of Arab media. This one largely focuses on Kingdom Holdings and Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal.
✪ الرئيس جمال عبد الناصر، الصفحة الرئيسية | Gamal Abdel Nasser archives at the Alexandria Library.
✪ In Turkey, fertile ground for creationism - washingtonpost.com | On Islamist creationists in Turkey.
✪ Al-Ahram Weekly | Egypt | Obituary Amin Howeidi (1921-2009) Vexed, not villainous | Gamal Nkrumah's obituary of former Egyptian spy chief Amin Howeidy.
LinksIssandr El Amrani November 12, 2009 Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Media, Religion, Syria, alwaleedbintalal, aminhoweidy, creationism, dahlan, gaza, history, islam, mahmoudabbas, malley, mepp, nasser, obituary, refugees, rendition, saudi, settlements, turkey, weirdComment
Links for 07.05.09
FT.com / Comment / Opinion - Chinese exports could crush fragile markets | With consequences in Arab world, sub-Saharan Africa.
Sic Semper Tyrannis : Harper on Ross, Clinton et al | An argument that Dennis Ross' move to NSC is a demotion, plus Hillary vs. Barack stuff.
'Aqoul: Palmyra's Last New Month Post? | Is Aqoul.com dying? I know how difficult it is to keep momentum going on a blog, but let's hope not, come on guys...
Shishani on Salafi-Jihadism in the Levant — jihadica | On the Salafasation of Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
Egyptian chronicles: Gamal Mubarak ; The Prince of Upper Egypt | Will Assyut actually have a "Midan Gamal Mubarak"?
A thing called "politics" carries on « The Moor Next Door | Another excellent post by Kal on Mauritanian politics
Les « règles de l'art » et le prix d'un intellectuel (en Egypte) | Culture et politique arabes | A very good post on Egypt's state literary prizes and the politics of being nominated for them or accepting them, with an extra contribution on recent literary news (and the Farouq Hosni / UNESCO saga) by the august Richard Jacquemond. Bookmark this site, if you read French.
LinksIssandr El Amrani July 6, 2009 Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Mauritania, Obama, aqoul, assyut, bloggers, china, dennisross, gamalmubarak, literature, refugees, salafism, upperegypt, uspolicy Comments
Links for January 14th
Automatically posted links for January 14th:
Daily Kos: Bush fawns over the U.A.E. - Great takedown of Bush's appraisal of UAE as "model society"
Total, Suez, Areva to build two nuclear plants in Abu Dhabi - The Middle East nuclear race that really matters
Bush Nudges Mideast on Democracy - Story number 129747247 on Bush abandoning democracy talk
Official Version of Naval Incident Starts to Unravel - Tiny Iranian boats not aggressive and posed no threat
Pursuing happiness behind the veil - The LAT's Jeffrey Fleishman: king of the mixed metaphor
Islamists emerge in stifled Tunisia - Returnee mujahideen spell trouble
Kuwait set to invest as Merrill seeks $4bn - Another big Gulfie investment in top Western financial firm
EGYPT HOLDS ARMY OFFICERS FOR 'PLOTTING ISRAEL ATTACKS' - Now, if you were an Egyptian Islamist in the army, would it be Israel that's your target?
EGYPT: Iraqi refugee return driven by lack of money IRIN Middle East | Middle East | Egypt | EGYPT: Iraqi refugee return driven by lack of money | Early Warning Refugees/IDPs | News Item - Iraqis fleeing death find poverty in Egypt
LinksIssandr El Amrani January 15, 2008 Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Islamism, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, US, Women, abu, arab, army, bush, democracy, dhabi, finance, gulf, merrill, navy, nuclear, refugees, uae, veil Comment


text:
Home / Bible Commentaries / Ironside's Notes on Selected Books/ Isaiah
Ironside's Notes on Selected Books
Isaiah Isaiah 8
EXPOSITORY NOTES ON
Harry A. Ironside, Litt.D.
edited for 3BSB by Baptist Bible Believer in the spirit of the Colportage ministry of a century ago
ISAIAH CHAPTER SEVEN
THE VIRGIN'S SON
"And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established" (verses 1-9).
WE ARE now to consider a portion which has been the subject of endless controversy throughout the Christian centuries, but which the Holy Spirit makes clear to those who are ready to receive His testimony, because of the way in which this scripture is used in connection with the birth of our blessed Lord. During the reign of King Ahaz, the grandson of Uzziah, war broke out between Judah and Israel. Pekah, the son of Remaliah, who was king of Israel, entered into a confederacy with Rezin, king of Syria; and these together went up to besiege Jerusalem. Though the siege lasted for some time, they were unable to subjugate the holy city. When Ahaz learned of the confederacy against him, his heart and the heart of his people were moved with fear, for Ahaz had walked in the ways of the kings of Israel rather than in those of the house of David. He had, therefore, little or no reason to expect divine help against his foes. But GOD's heart was toward the people of Judah, for the time had not yet come to deliver them up to their enemies.
There had been quite a measure of return to the Lord during the days of Jotham, the father of Ahaz, and GOD heard the prayers of His almost distracted people and sent the prophet Isaiah to
meet Ahaz and give him a word of encouragement. Isaiah took with him his son Shear-jashub, whose name meant, "The remnant shall return." All of Isaiah's children seemed to have been named prophetically in order that they might be signs to the people of Judah.
The message that came to Ahaz was one of trust and comfort. He was exhorted to take heed and be quiet, to fear not nor be fainthearted, because of the two kings who had linked their forces against him. In the sight of GOD they were but as two smoking firebrands soon to be extinguished. Their own wickedness and ungodliness was such that the Lord was about to deal with them in judgment; and, therefore, would not permit them to overcome Judah or subdue Jerusalem. It was in vain that they took counsel together against Ahaz and his people, and sought to make a breach in the defenses of Jerusalem. The Lord GOD declared that their counsel should not stand nor come to pass, but that within a definite period of sixty-five years Ephraim's power would be utterly broken; they would be no longer a people, and Syria would be unable to help them against the king of Assyria, who, in GOD's own time, was to carry the northern kingdom into captivity.
"Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings" (verses 10-16).
It was at this time that GOD gave, through Isaiah, a confirmation of the gospel message in the Garden of Eden. He had declared that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. The "Seed of the woman" is a most significant expression and refers to the Virgin Birth of the Messiah. All others born into the world are definitely of the seed of the man, but the great Deliverer was to come only through the woman.
Isaiah told Ahaz to ask for a sign from the Lord in order to confirm the Word the prophet had spoken. Ahaz refused to do this, and his words sound pious enough, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord." Actually, these were the words that came from an unbelieving heart; he was afraid to ask for a sign lest it should not come to pass. Isaiah then declared that GOD Himself should give a sign and of such a character that men would believe it impossible to come to pass. "Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?"
The pretended humility of Ahaz was hateful to GOD. He who is all-powerful might have given any sign that had been asked. Therefore, Isaiah went on to say, "The Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" Immanuel, as we know, being interpreted, "God with us." The virgin's Son was to be "God manifested in the flesh." It is only unbelief that would try to nullify the force of this passage by reading in place of "virgin" a "young woman," and attempting to make that young woman to be the wife of the prophet, and the son born to be his son through her.
It is perfectly true that the word rendered virgin might also be rendered maiden, but every maiden is presumably a virgin - if not, something is radically wrong - so that the prophecy here clearly and definitely declared that an unmarried virgin should become a mother and the child should be named GOD with us. This is not to say, as Rome does, that the virgin Mary is herself the mother of GOD. She became the mother of the humanity of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, but He who was thus born of her was GOD manifest in the flesh.
However, this sign was not to be fulfilled during the days of Ahaz nor yet for some time afterward, for the prophet immediately added, "Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings." Thus, before this child should come on the scene and grow up to years of maturity, not only the king of Israel but also the king of Judah would have ceased to reign, and the land would be left without a son of David sitting on the throne of Judah, or any representative sitting on the throne of Israel.
The expression "butter and honey shall he eat" is very striking, for it indicates the true humanity of the Child to be born of the virgin. In chapter nine we read of Him again and fuller details are given. While He was to be supernaturally conceived, He would have a real, physical body which would be nourished by proper food as in the case of others. Butter (curds) is the quintessence of animal food, and honey the quintessence of vegetable food.
With such as these, therefore, the holy Child was to be nourished that He might grow from infancy to manhood in a normal way. When we turn to the New Testament records we do not read of some remarkably precocious child whose early activities were different from those of other little ones. "He increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man." Feeding upon the food provided, He grew from childhood to youth and from youth to manhood.
In the so-called Apocryphal Gospels many curious and weird legends are connected with the boy JESUS. From the very first He is pictured as acting in a supernatural way, even at His very birth taking three steps forward to the amazement of those attending upon His mother, and when playing with other boys He would work strange miracles that amazed them, though, on the other hand, if they failed to appreciate Him He is said to have visited judgment upon them. But this is not the CHRIST of GOD, but rather a creature of man's unholy imagination. As babe, growing child, youth, and man, our Lord's humanity was exactly like that of others, apart from sin. He was made in all things like unto His brethren that He might properly represent us before GOD as our Kinsman-Redeemer.
"The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head,
and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; and it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle" (verses 17-25).
Upon Ahaz and his people and his father's house, GOD would bring distress and trouble through the coming into the land of the king of Assyria. In fact, Judah was to be the bone of contention between two great powers; Assyria on the east, and Egypt on the west. As they contemplated the increasing might of Assyria they turned desperately toward Egypt, hoping to find in that people an ally who would help to protect them from the eastern power; but they learned in the end that Egypt was a broken reed. Instead of becoming helpful she would herself turn against them.
As a result of the conflict that would ensue, the day was not far distant when famines and pestilence would sweep through the land. The great cities of Judah would fall; whereas, out of the country places those who remained would exist upon the produce of the soil, and even this in limited quantity, for thorns and briers would soon cover large districts where once had been flourishing industries, plantations, and vineyards. Nevertheless, GOD would still intervene to protect the poor of the flock and those who waited upon Him, so that in response to their toil the land would once more bear fruit instead of the thorns and briers, and oxen and sheep would again be raised in sufficient quantities to meet the needs of the people.
To some it might seem strange that the prophecy of the virgin's Son, who was also, as we know elsewhere from Scripture, to come into the world as the Son of David, would be given in such an unexpected place, but we need to remember that GOD ever had CHRIST before Him and every king of Judah was the anointed of the Lord at that time. Our word "Messiah" simply means "the Anointed," and therefore each of these kings was set by GOD to prefigure His own blessed Son, who was to come into the world in the fullness of time and be presented to the chosen nation as the anointed One in whom alone deliverance was to be found.
Many of these kings failed utterly to picture the Lord Himself. Their behavior shows that they were far removed in spirit from GOD's thoughts for them. Ahaz had shown himself forgetful of the law of the Lord, and so in the hour of his distress he would not have the courage to count upon GOD or to expect help from Him. How natural then that under the circumstances GOD should speak of another king, a Son of David, who was to be born into the world supernaturally and in His own time would show who was the "blessed and only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords."
~ end of chapter 7 ~
Ironside, H. A. "Commentary on Isaiah 7:4". Ironside's Notes on Selected Books. http://odl.studylight.org/commentaries/isn/isaiah-7.html. 1914.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If you are on the Pre-Authorized Giving Plan, you will still receive a smaller green box of envelopes, since these include Initial, New Year's, Christmas, Easter and Maintenance envelopes. Your box can be found on the table beside the regular offertory boxes in the Gathering Space.
Voting will occur in the next week.
Mosaic Interfaith invites you to attend an afternoon of inspiring stories from our various faith traditions on equality, justice and peace and a presentation on Martin Luther King, Jr. this Sunday January 15th at Thornhill United Church, 25 Elgin Street, Markham (one block east of Yonge St., entrance on Dudley Ave). To RSVP or for more information call Nora at 416 218 0680. See notice on bulletin board.
Thank you for a phenomenal response to the Potluck Dinner! All tickets were sold on the weekend of January 7th/8th. At last count, twenty-two different ethnic groups were represented.
We look forward to an evening of diverse culinary and cultural experience. It will also be a wonderful opportunity for us to meet on a more personal level. Participants are encouraged to come to the Dinner in their ethnic costumes!
The Sneak Peek Orchestra is pleased to present its major concert of the 2011/12 season, Dreams of Flying. On February 4th, 2012 at 7:30 PM. Toronto composer Rob Teehan's Juno-nominated Dreams of Flying will open the concert, followed by Kevin Lau's newest creation, Foundation. Dazzling soloist Rachel Mercer will perform this cello concerto. Finally, return to earth but let your spirit soar with Ludwig von Beethoven's epic masterpiece, Symphony No. 7 in A major. The concert will take place here at St. Gabriel's Church. Tickets will be available after all the Masses for the next 2 weeks and will also be sold at the door. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. Check out www.sneakpeekorchestra.com for more information.
This Bulletin entry was posted on Sunday, January 15th, 2012.


All participants who attend 4 or more sessions receive a $25 gift card!
An evidence based self-management Stanford workshop developed at Stanford University.
This program supported by funds made available for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support under grant DP13-105.
Generous support is also provided by the Connecticut Community Foundation.


A group of Mercyhurst University students have come together as part of the global competition "Peer to Peer (P2P): Challenging Extremism." The aim of the P2P program, which is sponsored by EdVenture Partners, is to provide a challenge to university students to push back against online hate and extremism, while empowering their peers.
Under the direction of Michael Lamm, assistant professor of Intelligence Studies, five Mercyhurst students banded together to counteract the proliferation of extremist rhetoric online.
They launched a social media campaign of their own, the On(E)rie Campaign. It speaks out in support of refugees across social media channels. The On(E)rie initiative was designed to locate and mitigate the underlying causes of domestic extremism.
Specifically, they refocused attention on online messages of peace and tolerance — a concept called counterspeech. Hateful messages transmitted in a digital context are particularly hurtful, and do not represent the feelings of the majority of citizens.
Thus, the P2P campaign creates constructive dialogue that resonates with the community in an authentic way. The students did all this in order to promote the peaceful integration of refugees into Erie.
The five students involved, senior Biochemistry major Aleique Allen, sophomore Intelligence Studies major Bernie Garwig, sophomore Intelligence Studies major Joshua Slawatycki, senior Intelligence Studies major Roger Yuhao Yang and senior Intelligence Studies major Jenbli Cox, are attempting to change the narrative about refugees in the United States.
They have chosen to focus their efforts on discrediting the false and negative stereotypes of refugees and to counteract online hate with messages of love for one another. They take inspiration from Erie's diversity as a city and promote positive cultural exchange among community members.
The students hosted a free public event called "For the Love of Erie" on Nov. 9 in the Marriott Café. It was a social event for students to learn more about refugees and to hear their stories.
"The immigrant spirit built America, builds America and will determine her future. We are all immigrants, and we all want the best for this great nation," Lamm said.
Depending on the success of their initiative within the P2P competition, the students may be invited to present their ideas in Washington, D.C., later this year.
The main challenge for the students is creating the platform where people can credibly talk about how they feel in a way that lifts up others.
The students are hosting an additional event based on community interaction on Dec. 2, which everyone can be a part of. The group is also working with the International Institute of Erie to collect donations of hygiene products that can be given to refugees in our city. The group's Facebook page, @OnErieMU, announces all upcoming events.
Furthermore, they are hoping to create a club on campus for students interested in projects like these, which will allow the campaign to continue into the future.


This interactive workshop by SCORE Naples' Matthew Dunham Nova will introduce Excel to first-time or infrequent users; walk them through some best practices and basic formulas and highlight key differences between Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
Bring your laptop for hands-on help!
$30 or Part 1 and Part 2 for $50.


A continuation of yesterday's post... the highlights from 2011.
Greg goes to London ten days before me, and I am left a single woman in Provo. Somehow, I survive. Journal entry from July 24, 2011: "Well, I am a lone woman in the garden of Eden and have been for the last week. Mandy came down on Monday and stayed until Thursday morning. It was like we were roommates again! We had so much fun and spent the days sleeping in, swimming, playing volleyball, playing Settlers of Cataan, and watching late night TV."
I spend some quality time with Mary before she leaves on her mishky. July 27, 2011: "One night this week I spent up at my mom's and I slept out on the trampoline with Mary. It was so fun, just like we were little kids again! I do adore Mary. She has one of the best hearts of anyone I know. It is pure all the way through. With Mary, no matter what stage of life we are in, we've always been able to talk and laugh for hours. We get a kick out of the same things. I'm sure going to miss her when she leaves on that mission of hers. I'm stoked for her, though. I know how much my mission meant to me and I want Mary to be able to have that same kind of experience."
London, Paris, Edinburgh! Journal entry from August 1, 2011: "Paris is beautiful. There really is some ineffable quality about the city that somehow makes it magical. We wandered around the streets, eventually making our way to the eiffel tower. It was astounding. It is one thing that I feel like totally lives up to its hype and even beyond. There is nothing that could prepare me for the beauty, majest, and grandeur of that structure. It really is breathtaking! I think the thing I was most surprised by was the size of it. It is so much bigger than I could have ever imagined, and its massive size simply blew me away.
We miss our flight to Scotland- the second flight I have missed in my life. Journal entry from August 7, 2011: "I'm in a realy pissy mood. Today has been the worst day ever. We had to get up at 4:30 am, leave at 5:15 am to get our flight. We all missed the plane. Everyone was looking for someone to blame, but the the truth is, we just didn't allow for enough time to get to the airport. So Chris had to find flights for all 15 of us leaving from a different airport. We have spent all day long in the airport. We left the apartment 13 hours ago. It wouldn't be so bad if I had Greg with me, instead we got put on separate flights. The other super sucky thing is (I feel like I might as well get it all out now as long as I'm ranting and raving) that in Scotland all the girls share a room together and all the boys share a room together. Meaning I'm staying apart from Greg. BOO HOO! I am so sad. I'm seriously in the worst mood right now. Very pouty and whiny and self-pity. I realize it's annoying to read, but I don't care, all I want to do is POUT!"
I see a show at the Globe Theatre, a lifelong dream of mine: Journal entry from August 12, 2011: "My favorite thing that I did in London was go to a show at the Globe! Seeing Shakespeare at the Globe was seriously like a dream come true for me. The play was awesome. Oh my gosh, it was so amazing to lean up against that stage and see the best Shakespeare in the world being performed and to share it with my hubby and to laugh and just be completely immersed in that play. It was a magical night with perfect weather and one of the best dates of my life!"
Our bed and breakfast in Stratford is plagued by a ghost and keeps Hubs and I up half the night. Details too scary to post.
Mary leaves on her mission. Journal entry from August 30, 2011: "Saying goodbye to Mary was hard. She's my best friend besides Greg and the family feels so different without her around. I know it's been especially hard for mom. Ever since dad left, Mary's kind of been mom's right hand man. Mary does everything for my mom and has been there in a way that I never could be."
School starts back up and I resign myself to another year of a 50 minute commute. I tell myself I am strong and that it ain't no thing. I'm lying to myself, of course. Journal entry from September 11, 2011: "School started back up. I really do love my job and I am so blessed to have steady work that I genuinely enjoy doing. It is like night at day the difference between last year and this year. I am so much more comfortable teaching. I know exactly what I am doing and it require so much less time and preparation. I have a lot of juniors this year that I had as sophomores last year and it's so fun to have them again, to be able to joke with them and feel comfortanble with them. It's fun to come back to a place where I know all the teachers, the principal, etc. I don't have a doubt in my mind that I chose the right profession, nor do I have a doubt in my mind that I chose the right school to work with.
I start blogging pretty consistently, and thus, almost stop completely writing in my journal. Oops.
Hubs and I enjoy a long weekend in St. George that involves hours of Mafia, Settlers of Cataan, and volleyball. In a moment of passion I call him a son of a b**** and at that point I realize I am too competitive and vow to take it down a notch.
After several plans for fall break fall though, Hubs and I decide to vacation by staying home. Journal entry from October 23, 2011: "After four successful attempts, we finally just decided to stay home for the break. And it was awesome. We pulled the mattress out into the front room and had a movie sleepover, woke up and went to McDonald's for Lunch/breakfast, organized some volleyball in the church with friends, donated plasma, stayed up late, slept in, went out to dinner, etc. It was a great weekend. So maybe I don't need to go on a big trip to enjoy my time off of work."
Hubs and I dress up like zombies for Halloween and I have nightmares of Hubs as a zombie for weeks after. True story: I had a dream featuring Zombie Hubs just last night.
I release my anger and frustration over the NBA Lockout via a blog post. After some encouragement from my aunt, I send the article in to the newspaper, and to my delight, it is published a few days later. It is the widest audience I have ever had for something I have written and I am beside myself with glee.
After seeing a strange dance at our Thanksgiving celebration, Hubs tells me that had he experienced that before our wedding, we wouldn't have gotten married. That's why you gotta lock em down quick, people.
I experience a surge of wifely desire and decide to decorate the house for Christmas. Journal entry December 11, 2011: "Winter has definitely arrived and Christmas is right around the corner. I decorated our little apartment with stockings and lights and even a little miniature christmas tree. It's so cute and makes the apartment so festive. It is mine and Greg's first Christmas together so that makes it extra special. It'll be so nice to have the break, too, and to be able to spend tons of time together. Lately he's been so busy with rehearsels that I've hardly seen him so Christmas will be bomb."
The NBA Lockout ends and the Jazz's season starts up. I promise myself not to get too emotionally involved, and after the two opening blow out games, I don't think it should be too difficult.
I spend my first Christmas with Hubs' family, and manage to not miss my own family too much. I have a sudden epiphany that millions have likely had before me: No matter the difficulties, struggles, or sorrows, there is much more good in life than bad, more happiness than sadness, and more joy than pain.


text:
Biografia

Carriera politica e militare

Si sa poco sugli inizi della sua carriera. Da un'iscrizione si viene a sapere che fu coinvolto nella soppressione di una rivolta di schiavi in Apulia, prima del 14, insieme a Marco Elio Celere. Fu console suffetto nella seconda metà del 29 e forse fu governatore della provincia della Pannonia. Nei primi anni del regno di Claudio sappiamo da un'inscrizione che supervisionava la costruzione di una strada tra Trieste e Fiume.

Claudio gli affidò il compito di condurre l'invasione della Britannia nel 43, in supporto di Verica, re degli Atrebati e alleato di Roma, che era stato deposto dai Catuvellauni. Al comando di quattro legioni (la IX Hispana, la II Augusta, la XIV Gemina e la XX Valeria Victrix), oltre a circa 20.000 ausiliari (compresi Traci e Batavi). La II Augusta era sotto il comando del futuro imperatore Tito Flavio Vespasiano. Gli altri comandanti erano: il fratello di Vespasiano, Tito Flavio Sabino e Gneo Osidio Geta (di cui parla Cassio Dione). Gneo Senzio Saturnino, che è menzionato da Eutropio, potrebbe, in realtà, avere soltanto accompagnato solo successivamente Claudio.

Sulle coste settentrionali della Gallia Plauzio fece fronte ad un ammutinamento delle sue truppe, riluttanti ad attraversare l'Oceano e ad andare a combattere ai limiti del mondo conosciuto. Rientrato l'allarme, l'invasione ebbe inizio (i Romani potrebbero essere approdati a Richborough, nel Kent). I Britanni, guidati da Togodumno e Carataco dei Catuvellauni, erano riluttanti ad affrontare in campo aperto i Romani, ma preferivano, invece, darsi alla guerriglia. Tuttavia, Plauzio sconfisse prima Carataco e poi Togodumno sui fiumi Medway e Tamigi. Togodumno morì poco dopo, mentre Carataco, che era sopravvissuto, continuò ad essere una spina nel fianco per gli invasori (fino al 51, quando, sconfitto da Publio Ostorio Scapula, si rifugiò presso i Briganti, ma venne fatto prigioniero dalla loro regina, Cartimandua, alleata di Roma).

Raggiunto il Tamigi, Plauzio, ricevuti rinforzi, marciò sulla capitale catuvellauna, Camulodunum (Colchester). Su questo territorio venne creata una provincia, mentre alleanze vennero strette con i popoli vicini. Plauzio divenne governatore, carica che mantenne fino al 47, quando fu sostituito da Publio Ostorio Scapula. Rientrato a Roma, a Plauzio fu tributata un'ovatio.

Parentele
Plauzio era probabilmente un lontano parente della prima moglie di Claudio, Plauzia Urgulanilla. Quinto Plauzio, console nel 36, era probabilmente suo fratello più giovane. Sua sorella sposò Publio Petronio: loro figlio (forse adottivo), Publio Petronio Turpiliano, fu poi console e governatore di Britannia.

Valendosi della sua patria potestà nel 57 Aulo Plauzio sottopose la moglie Pomponia Grecina a giudizio perché accusata di essere seguace di un «culto estraneo».

Aulo Plauzio nella cultura di massa

Le figure storiche di Aulo Plauzio e Pomponia Grecina hanno ispirato gli omonimi personaggi nel romanzo Quo vadis? di Henryk Sienkiewicz. Nel film tratto dal romanzo, così come nel romanzo stesso, lui e la moglie vengono rappresentati come appartenenti alla prima comunità cristiana di Roma e genitori adottivi di Licia. Moriranno entrambi nella persecuzione del 68 d.C. voluta dall'imperatore Nerone: prima lei, che viene sbranata dai leoni, poi lui, che viene arso sul rogo mentre viene riconosciuto essere il conquistatore della Britannia da Nerone e Tigellino.

Inoltre, a partire dal 2018, Plauzio appare come protagonista-antagonista nella serie televisiva targata Amazon Prime-Sky Original Britannia, dove è interpretato dall'attore britannico David Morrissey.

Note

Bibliografia
Fonti primarie

 (versione in inglese disponibile qui)

Frontino, Strategemata (testo latino)
  Versione in inglese disponibile qui.

  (versione in inglese disponibile qui)
  (versione in inglese disponibile qui)

Fonti storiografiche moderne

Albino Garzetti, L'Impero da Tiberio agli Antonini, Bologna, Cappelli, 1960.

 (recensione di Tristano Gambini)
 Santo Mazzarino, L'Impero romano, 3 voll., Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1973 e 1976 (v. vol. I); riediz. (2 voll.): 1984 e successive rist. (v. vol. I)
 Mario Pani, Il principato dai Flavi ad Adriano in AA.VV., Storia di Roma, Einaudi, Torino, 1990, vol. II, tomo 2; ripubblicata anche come Storia Einaudi dei Greci e dei Romani, ediz. de Il Sole 24 ORE, Milano, 2008 (v. vol. XVI)

Collegamenti esterni
  Aulo Plauzio  in Roman-Britain.org

Plauzio, Aulo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


One day you woke up and feel excited that you got thousands responses for your Google forms survey. When you opened the spreadsheet, you're staggered. Most of responses are garbage spams.
Some guys hope reCAPTCHA to be integrated with Google Forms. At least at the moment of writing this article, such integration is yet to come.
So how do you fight your forms from being spammed? We shows you 3 imperfect workarounds to reduce spams. Just like flu, we can get flu shots for a season protection, but we cannot be immune from spams forever.
First of all, we assume you published a naked google form on social medias or embedded in your own site. Anyone can discover the form link and submit answers without any restrictions.
The old school password strategy is easy to understand.
Secure. If you have a long strong password, it's hard for spammers to break into.
Dilemma. If you don't share the password with the public link, no one can submit any answer. If you shared, it makes no senses.
Add a Short answer question, named Password.
Type in a long and strong password and an error message when respondents typed a wrong password.
Now try to submit a response with a wrong password. You will find you cannot. It tells you the password is incorrect.
This method is apparently the easiest since it's one click. This method will more or less slow down spammers and thus decrease the number of spams.
May lower conversion rate for the extra step.
In the General tab, check the Limit to 1 response option.
When you are done, any respondents without their google accounts logged in will see the following screen.
When they want to re-submit another spam answer, they will be blocked.
This method relies on a form addon to work, named Captcha for Forms. It adds an additional security layer without compromise of flexibility. The addon adds a dynamic captcha code challenge for respondents. Unlike the dilemma using password method above, the tool is able to expire the captcha frequently so no permanent spamming is possible.
Download and install Captcha for Forms. You may follow this full installation guide.
Once you are done with installation, open Captcha for Forms from the menu.
In the popped sidebar, turn on Enable Captcha.
Now let's see the respondent's screen.
It's difficult for bot to respond the captcha challenge but human.
Anti-spam is an endless game. Please leave any comments if you have any questions.


MPH has successfully placed experienced consultants from architects, quality control inspectors, CAD operators to the more sophisticated project managers and C-suite executives. The demand for experts working in this field is set to continue and grow as the world population is on the increase and is expected to reach over 9 billion by 2050. Presently more than 54 per cent of the world's population lives in urban areas and this is set to further increase to 66 per cent by 2050.
Governments have to increasingly invest in infrastructure projects to help their economies grow and remain competitive with both public and private sectors supporting each other in this race.
MPH has over three decades of experience providing specialized workforce solutions to this sector where engineers are seen to work on multiple prestigious projects in the cosmopolitan cities of the world.
MPH works with project management, construction and property developers including Six Construct, Bouygues and Msheireb Properties (a subsidiary of Qatar Foundation).


The page lists all of the constituent tasks that make up the Cognition Battery, and links to the separate task pages for each of those tasks. It also allows specification of "derived indicators," which are composite measures that are derived from performance across multiple tasks. Using this feature, we plan to represent all of the neuropsychological test batteries commonly used today.
This is clearly just a start at defining this theory, but we believe that this feature can nonetheless provide a very useful formal summary of many of the theories in the domain of psychology. Registered users should go ahead and add their favorite theory today!
As always, your thoughts and suggestions are welcome and greatly appreciated!
I started with RDF dumps of the concepts and tasks, which are available from the SPARQL endpoint page. Assertions about relations in the database are not currently available from the endpoint, so I got a custom dump of those as well. I then wrote a python script to finesse all of this into an OWL ontology. I have to say that this is a great way to learn about the structure of OWL! I used Protégé to help validate my OWL and examine the contents, which was really useful.
Part of the work in setting up this ontology was deciding how to align it with other ontologies, particularly with CogPO. I had a long meeting at OHBM2011 with Jessica Turner and Angie Laird, during which we hashed out a set of classes and relations that will serve to structure the task representation in both of our ontologies. For our representation of tasks, we are inheriting the BehavioralExperimentalParadigm class from CogPO.
I have also registered the Cognitive Atlas with the NCBO BioPortal site, which I hope will give it increased visibility. In the long run, I plan to create a pipeline by which the ontology will the automatically generated and updated directly from the database, but for now will do regular manual updates.
We have also welcomed Jack Van Horn from UCLA to the Cognitive Atlas team; Jack will be working with the rest of the team to develop new ways to seed the database and visualize the results.
I have also just recently made a thorough curation run through the database and will soon be cleaning out the database. Discussions with a number of people (particularly Gwen Friskoff from Georgia State) highlighted that there were some terms in the database that were not really mental constructs. For example, there were a number of linguistic concepts (such as "vowel" and "agglutinative language") which refer to things in the world rather than to mental constructs. Because the concepts list in the Cognitive Atlas is meant to include only mental constructs, these are not appropriate for the knowledge base. Instead, a concept like "vowel processing" would be appropriate because it would refer to a mental construct rather than to a thing in the world.
Another common confusion is between tasks and concepts. For example, "trace conditioning" was previously listed as a concept in the database. However, trace conditioning is an empirical phenomenon that is evoked using particular learning paradigm; it is, of course, supported by particular learning processes, and it is those processes that count as mental concepts, rather than the experimental paradigm, which should instead be listed as a task.
Finally, we are in the process of making a thorough sweep through the task database, integrating with a number of other task lexica, and cleaning it up so that entries are more consistent.
We look forward to your continued contributions and always welcome feedback about the project.


When organisations join STQRY, they and are plotted on the app's map for everyone to discover and enjoy. This diverse network of hyper-connected organisations has organically formed into what become known as "the STQRY ecosystem." Users can find organisations using the platform in the area, get directions to their venue and begin to engage with the content at the venue.
Organisations own and manage their own content, allowing them to effectively build a customised mobile experience at a fraction of the cost and effort required to build a bespoke application.
The initial idea coming about during a trip to the Wellington Zoo in June of 2012, says CEO and co-founder Chris Smith. "Ezel [Kokcu, the other co-founder] and I wanted to know more about the animals and thought there should be a fun, fast, and engaging way to satisfy their curiosity. So we built a platform, and it's taken off."
It has. STQRY is currently working with over 250 art & cultural organisations across New Zealand, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The STQRY app receives over 200,000 active users every month. The platform is now represented at almost all major New Zealand destinations, including all 83 iSite venues, city councils, notable museums, zoos and aquariums.
Original generation time 3.9861 seconds. Cache Loaded in: 0.0459 seconds.


The Smart Serial Cable (Cat No SM-SCBL) is a 6-foot cable for use with Smart COM 2-5. It provides a female terminal block for the COM port side, and a 9-pin D-shell connection at the user device side. The D-shell can be used with either male/female serial ports on the user device side.


text:
Q: Ruby on Rails "support for the experimental syntax 'jsx' isn't currently enabled" I am building an app with rails-react. One of my views, search_terms/index, utilizes a react component called SearchTermIndex.js as follows:
<%= react_component("SearchTermIndex", {

    currentUser: current_user,
    admin: User.where(admin: true)

          }) %>

When I try to load that page, the console gives me the error support for the experimental syntax 'jsx' isn't currently enabled. I have tried adding a .babelrc file as suggested here, and also tried changing my babel.config.js file from this:
...
return {
    presets: [
      isTestEnv && [
        '@babel/preset-env',
        {
          targets: {
            node: 'current'
          }
        }
      ],
      (isProductionEnv || isDevelopmentEnv) && [
        '@babel/preset-env',
        {...

to this:
...return {
    presets: [
      isTestEnv && [
        '@babel/preset-env',
    '@babel/preset-react',
        {
          targets: {
            node: 'current'
          }
        }
      ],
      (isProductionEnv || isDevelopmentEnv) && [
        '@babel/preset-env',
    '@babel/preset-react',
        {...

I am guessing that the way Rails handles react files and bypasses the regular structure doesn't allow me to effectively make these changes, since the root folder of my application is outside the React environment(I guess?). Should I make the .babelrc file inside the components folder? Or somewhere else?
These also didn't seem to fix my issue, all of them seem to be for react-only apps:
Creating a babel.config.js
install babel/preset-react, add .babelrc to /src folder

A: Fixed it by running the following(basically reinstalling react-rails):
bundle install
rails webpacker:install
rails webpacker:install:react
rails generate react:install

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Good, but non-essential
Buy THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT Music
1. La Sagrada Familia (8:44)
2. Too Late (4:34)
3. Closer to Heaven (5:54)
4. Standing on Higher Ground (5:02)
5. Money Talks (4:23)
6. Inside Looking Out (6:19)
7. Paseo De Gracia (3:43)
Bonus tracks on 2008 remaster:
8. Too Late (Eric Woolfson rough guide vocal) (4:13)
9. Standing on Higher Ground / Losing Proposition (vocal experiments) (3:59)
10. Money Talks (Chris Rainbow / percussion overdubs) (0:38)
11. Money Talks (rough mix backing track) (4:28)
12. Closer to Heaven (sax / Chris Rainbow overdub section) (0:50)
13. Paseo De Gracia (rough mix) (3:47)
14. La Sagrada Familia (rough mix) (7:25)
- Alan Parsons / sound Fx (1,6), computer voice programming (5), producer
- Eric Woolfson / synth piano (1), piano & accordion (3), Rhodes by Yamaha DX7 (6), synth (7), lead vocals (3,6)
- John Miles / lead vocals (1,5)
- Lenny Zakatek / lead vocals (2)
- Geoff Barradale / lead vocals (4)
- Chris Rainbow / backing vocals
- Ian Bairnson / guitars, Spanish guitar (6,7)
- Richard "Trix" Cottle / synths, sax (1,3)
- Laurie Cottle / bass
- Stuart Elliott / drums, percussion
- John Heley / cello (1)
- Andrew Powell / choral & orchestral arranger and conductor (1,7)
- The English Chorale / chorus vocals (1)
- Bob Howes / choirmaster (1), timpani (1,7)
Artwork: Maude Gilman
LP Ariola - 208 084 (1987, Europe)
CD Arista - 258 084 (1987, Europe)
CD Arista - 82876838632 (2008, UK) Remaster by Alan Parsons & Dave Donnelly w/ 7 bonus tracks, previously unreleased
Buy THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT Gaudi Music
More places to buy THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT music online
THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT Gaudi ratings distribution
Collectors/fans only (14%)
THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT Gaudi reviews
Review by greenback
This album has many rhythmic & atmospheric modern keyboards, a bit like on the "Stereotomy" album. The vocals are still very good, and the songs are more pop than progressive; the tracks are although well made and catchy enough. Not bad at all, this album has quite good keyboards textures and electric guitar solos. Compared to "Stereotomy", it is just a bit less atmospheric and more pop. I find the songs on the "Eye in the sky" album more catchy and varied. Turn up the volume on "Too late" to appreciate all the bottom ambience and the power involved. "Standing on higher ground" sounds like the Mike Rutherford's good stuff.
Posted Wednesday, April 7, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #5665)
Review by Proghead
Final album under the ALAN PARSONS PROJECT name (Alan PARSONS would later on simply record as Alan PARSONS). I find this album a notch better than "Vulture Culture" and "Stereotomy", but of course, this is no "I Robot" either. The music is about Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, the guy who created truly bizarre and unusual buildings and structures (despite his very conservative political and religious views), such as the Sagrada Familia cathedral, Casa Milà apartments (with some truly bizarre chimneys and ventilation shafts on the roof, making going up on the rooftop of the Casa Milà an absolute must), and Güell Park. Pretty much, the music on this album is as you expect from The ALAN PARSONS PROJECT, heavily orchestrated pop-rock, but there are some more '80s synth-pop type numbers such as "Too Late", "Standing on Higher Ground" and "Money Talks".
Nice to see two of their key vocalists, Eric Woolfson and Lenny Zakatek make a return here (they seemed oddly absent on "Stereotomy"). There are two Eric Woolfson ballads, "Closer to Heaven" and "Inside Looking Out". It might not be the best thing APP ever done, but it could've been a lot worse.
Posted Tuesday, April 27, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #5661)
This is really the Eric Woolfson Project, Parsons being almost entirely absent from the album credits. He is listed as co-writer of the songs, but I suspect this is very much in the way Lennon/McCartney shared every song. This album is the nearest to prog the Alan Parson's Project have come since "Tales of Mystery and Imagination..", and is a very good collection to boot. This is of course a concept album about the architect Gaudi, and consists of generally longer tracks than other APP albums.
"La Sagrada Familia" kick off album with much pomposity and orchestration. At almost 9 minutes it is a fine piece, with great vocals by John Miles ("Music") and dramatic instrumental overtones. Miles also performs lead vocals on the disappointing "Money talks", which sound like little more than a thinly disguised mimic of Pink Floyd's "Money". Indeed, it is the tracks on which Woolfson take on lead vocal that shine brightest. "Inside looking out" is particularly pleasing, similar in many ways to the classic APP track, "Silence and I".
"Standing on higher ground" is more like standard APP fare, with it's relaxed mid-paced rhythm, and catchy hook, a sort of "Eye in the sky part 2".
In all though one of the Project's best works, my only real beef being that it is disappointingly short, at well under 40 minutes.
Posted Friday, July 9, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #5662)
Review by Chris S
I have to confess giving up on the Alan Parson's Project after Gaudi, Sure he kept concept albums going but the quality and freshness of new ideas never materialises in the music and I can only describe the work as poor. Only die hard fans and completionsists need apply.' Standing on Higher Ground' is catchy though.
Posted Thursday, September 2, 2004 | Review this album | Report (Review #5663)
"Gaudi" was the final album under the Alan Parsons Project name and later he gave his record under Alan Parsons. Yes, at firs place why it was called "project" because as far as I know it means something which has definite "start" and "finish". With 10 studio albums and changes of musicians are already a long period to say it as a project. For me personally this album is better than "Vulture Culture" and "Stereotomy", but of course, but is not as good as "I Robot".
As far as music offering, "Gaudi" has many melodic, rhythmic & atmospheric modern keyboards with firm drum beats and very little tempo / style changes, a bit like on the "Stereotomy" album. The vocals are good (this is probably the attraction point on why I kept buyong The APP albums), and as usual, the songs are more pop than progressive. It has quite good keyboards textures and electric guitar solos. When I compare this to "Stereotomy", it is just a bit less atmospheric and more pop . and a bit boring. Probably the songs on the "Eye in the sky" album are more catchy and varied.
Conceptually, ss is the case with "Tale" album, this album has a story line about Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, the guy who created unusual buildings and structures such as the Sagrada Familia cathedral, Casa Milà apartments, and Güell Park. Musically, it's pretty much the same as you might expect from The Alan Parsons Project, an orchestrated pop-rock. There are some more synthesizer-pop type numbers such as "Money Talks" (with great guitar work), "Too Late", and "Standing on Higher Ground". Eric Woolfson and Lenny Zakatek are back here.
It's a good album at least for a break after listening too heavy stuffs with complex arrangements, probably. Don't expect something "prog" with this album but I still urge you to ..Keep on proggin' ..!
Posted Saturday, April 22, 2006 | Review this album | Report (Review #75833)
Review by ClemofNazareth
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk Researcher
Another technically precise offering under the label Alan Parsons Project that, like most of the latter albums from the Project, is rather tepid and soulless.
The formula was well-known by the time this one released: a pop-driven opening track ("La Sagrada Familia") that once again tries to recreate the magic of "Games People Play" and "Eye in the Sky" that falls a bit short; a danceable but lackluster following track "Too Late" that sounds suspiciously like Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night"; a couple tepid and forgettable filler tracks ("Inside Looking Out", "Money Talks"); an Eric Woolfson ballad "Closer to Heaven"; and the obligatory instrumental "Paseo De Gracia".
And of course a radio-friendly potential single ("Standing on Higher Ground"), this one from Vitamin Z vocalist Geoff Barradale.
The magic was unfortunately long-gone by 1987, and Parsons probably should have packed it in by this time. He pretty much had, since this is largely an Eric Woolfson project with the Parsons name and production work to give it the semblance (but not the spirit) of legitimacy. The good parts here are Woolfson's vocals and Parsons' excellent studio skills. The bad part is the predictable and tired formula that didn't really vary from the start of the eighties until this final nail in the coffin. This album sounded pretty good when it had a light green cover and was entitled "Eye in the Sky" in 1982, but after five more album covers with different names but the exact same music it had become almost embarrassing.
I would give this one star except that "Standing on Higher Ground" is a pretty decent tune. Other than that this is completely forgettable and only of interest to Parsons collectors and possibly to mildly curious fans of Gaudi's architecture. So two stars may be generous, but is a respectful concession to a once-great producer who had reached his creative end.
Posted Monday, January 8, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #106686)
Alan Parsons Project had become less and less interesting with boring pop albums like Ammonia Ave, Stereotomy or Vulture Culture, but on Gaudi one finds fine moments in the purest APP style. It didn't bring anything new, but the familiar formula - a mixture of pomposity, dreaminess and tidy pop balladry wrapped in the perfectionistic production - got one more fairly succesful result here, if not as good as Eye In the Sky, talking of the 80's albums only. Gaudi is unfortunately rather short and has only seven tracks, and not all of them very good. But maybe there are enough enjoyment for three stars.
It is a loosely conceptual album inspired by the Barcelonan architect legend Antoni Gaudi, most openly so on 'La Sagrada Familia' (that's the famous cathedral which never was finished) and the closing part of 'Inside Looking Out' (with a collache of voices talking about Gaudi). Naturally architecture or visual arts in general is more difficult to 'interpret' in music than for example horror stories, but I think they could have tried at least to put more Spanish feel to it, if the 'Gaudian' feel was too distant for them (electronic artist Robert Rich managed to get the mosaic-like atmosphere on his Gaudi album).
There's the usual bunch of vocalists: Woolfson, Zakatek, Chris Rainbow, and my favourite APP vocalist John Miles on the grandiose 'La Sagrada Familia'. That one, 'Inside...' and the instrumental 'Paseo De Gracia' (sadly the only one) are the highlights for me. As a whole Gaudi is not among the very best of the APP albums.
Posted Friday, September 7, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #136829)
Gaudi was the Alan Parsons Project's tenth studio album and technically the last to be released by the Project. The formula used isn't anything different from previous affairs: a core collection of session musicians, guest vocalists, Parsons amazing production abilities, and an overall theme to the album. Gaudi was inspired by the life and work of a Catalan architect named Antonio Gaudí.
The music and structure of this album is somewhat similar in respects to their previous album, Stereotomy. However, once you get past the opening track, La Sagrada Familia, it's just a series of pop rock songs fitting for the 1980s era. In addition to Woolfson, vocalists included John Miles, Lenny Zakatek, Chris Rainbow, and Geoff Barradale (Vitamin Z). Though not quite as poor an outing as Vulture Culture, Ammonia Avenue, or Eve, it's a rather mediocre ending for the Project, although at the time they didn't know this would be their last album.
APP had planned to record an album called Freudiana (inspired by Sigmund Freud). Freudiana was produced by Parsons (and had the Project regulars on board), but because Woolfson wanted to turn it into a musical, it caused a rift between Parsons and Woolfson. So Freudiana became Woolfson's first solo album (although some consider it a Project work) and Alan Parsons started his solo career.
Definitely a must-have for die-hard APP fans, but there are much better albums to acquire before even thinking about this one. As always, I recommend starting with their debut. Two stars.
Posted Tuesday, December 11, 2007 | Review this album | Report (Review #155153)
The opening and closing tracks on this album are excellent! These two tracks are clearly among the Alan Parsons Project's best material ever. The opening track rocks harder than most Alan Parson's Project songs, and it has a very strong melody too, very bombastic and powerful song. The closing track is an instrumental that reprises the theme of the opening track with excellent acoustic guitar playing in a Spanish flamenco style! Great way to open and close the album.
What comes in between is a little bit of a mixed bag, however. All the songs are good, but as on every Alan Parson's Project album there are simply too many singers ans styles involved making almost all their albums sound like compilations of different artists work rather than as works by one and the same band. Not even the conceptual nature of their albums can make them sound like fully coherent works. This album, based on Antonio Gaudi - a famous architect - is a bit more consistent than many other Project albums.
Surprisingly, this album has actually become my favourite by the Alan Parsons Project! It is more rock than pop, and the Disco influences of some earlier albums are absent here. Clearly, this is one of the best ones from the Alan Parsons Project and, I would say, an early choice if you want to explore the project.
Underrated!
Posted Sunday, November 30, 2008 | Review this album | Report (Review #191158)
This album was a good surprise for me, more consistent and proggier than most of their 80´s stuff. I agree with SouthSideOfTheSky when he says this is an underrated work. Gaudi follows after the good Stereotomy and ends the APP saga with much dignity.
This is a concept album about the life and works of the famous catalan architect Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926). There are some line up changes with long time bassist/vocalist David Patton gone and vocalist Chris Rainbow absent (he is not credit as lead singer in none of the six tracks, something that never happened before. Maybe he did some backing vocals). But the rest are here. even if this is the album Alan Parsons himself was less involved musically.
The first three tracks are great ones: La Sagrada Familia is probably one of APP´s best, in all its 8 minutes. Stading On A Higher ground is a bit too derivative and Money Talks is the only real let down on the entire CD (although the guitar parts are excellent). The album´s quality rises again with the last two, the fine Inside Looking Out and the brilliant instrumental Paseo De Gracia (another highlight). As usual the production is spotless and Andrew Powell´s orchestrations are excellent.
Conclusion: one of the best APP´s latter day albums. Not as brilliant as their 70´s stuff, of course, but very fine anyway. 3,5 stars.
Posted Thursday, June 4, 2009 | Review this album | Report (Review #219847)
There is no real revolution with this album. Only that it is probably better than their production from the last decade.
Nothing extraordinary (but that's not a breaking news), but a whole composite and decent album actually. I even tend to like the long opening number: a strong track which is my highlight here and which could indicate that the worse of the band is fortunately behind. Almost bombastic and decently prog!
The overall mood is more ambient, as if these awful synthetic sounds (even if "Standing On Higher Ground" is not too far away from these) are a definite thing from the past. Obviously, there aren't too much prog hold in "Gaudi", but some crafted vocals harmonies ("Closer To Heaven") which in some ways are a nice return to old melodies.
Some heavier and AOR beats are quite hard to grasp during "Money Talks". An uninspired song which could have been avoided to be honest. If ever you like ELO (which was my case, up to the late middle seventies), you'll be amazing by the nice melody available during "Inside Looking Out". A very pleasant moment, I should say.
Actually, I do share the same advice as Bob about this album: it might well be their best one since their debut. I am only less optimistic about the rating: three stars. Still, it is a pleasant surprise.
Posted Tuesday, July 21, 2009 | Review this album | Report (Review #227763)
Review by AtomicCrimsonRush
"Gaudi" is The Alan Parsons Project's 1987 release following two very poor albums of questionable quality. Given the fact that these last two albums were so disappointing and un-prog, I must admit I approached this album with trepidation. To my amazement the first track is a prog gem! La Sagrada Familia is back to true form for the amazing talent on offer from incomparable Eric Woolfson, and Andrew Powell's symphony orchestra. The track is majestic, uplifting and well structured with killer melodies and wonderful vocals by John Miles. I have to wonder where this quality was hidden in the last two albums. It is a pleasant return to form and is consistent throughout the album.
Too Late is an uptempo song with clear guitar work and great vocals from Lenny Zakatek. The lead break is excellent and although it house the 80s sound the drums are way better on this release, not as tinny and synth like.
Closer To Heaven is a melancholic Eric Woolfson composition driven by keyboards and his gentle airy vocals. It sounds more like the APP of old and is a welcome track for fans of the earlier APP material. I like the way the beat builds slowly and the monotone bassline. It is a lovely song with a sweet melody and excellent studio production. The dreamy saxophone solo by Richard Cottle is beautiful.
Standing On Higher Ground returns to the formulaic pop radio sound that I was never into. It is okay but not as good as the material previous. It does break time sig which makes a change from all the 4/4 tempos, and I like the guitar solo here.
Money Talks has a quirky guitar motif driving it, and John Miles sings well. It is catchy enough but again nothing special. The lead breaks lifts it up a tad but it feels like filler. Inside Looking Out returns to Woolfson's airy vocals and very soft musicianship. It is a real smooth composition, dreamy and ambient with subtle vocals over gentle music; one you can fall asleep to for sure. It even has some dialogue voices over an acoustic layer which are interesting.
The album closes with Paseo De Gracia, an instrumental to bid the band farewell. As the last APP album "Gaudi" is definitely an improvement on the previous 2 releases and at least the band finished with something worthwhile. Eric Woolfson turned the album into the rock opera "Freudiana" in 1990. Alan Parsons continued as a solo artist and released "Try Anything Once" in 1993, that completes the cycle started with this album. "Gaudi" is certainly not quite up to the excellence of the first 3 albums or "Eye in the Sky" but this is a decent consistent quality album worth hearing from the Alan Parsons Project.
This is the album which I started to progressive. With some emotion, I can say this is the best of The Alan Parsons Project. Eric Woolfson comes back here! And don't ever forget John Miles' legendary vocal! Opening song "La Sagrada Familia" is one of the striking songs I have even heard. Excellen ... (read more)
Report this review (#1694816) | Posted by ctasan | Tuesday, February 21, 2017 | Review Permanlink
Well, it's time for me to review an album of Alan Parsons Project again and now the time has come for their tenth one and the final with the Alan Parsons Project name, even if it's not the final album. I think the album in many ways is characteristic for the band's whole career. As total they ha ... (read more)
Report this review (#1285911) | Posted by DrömmarenAdrian | Monday, September 29, 2014 | Review Permanlink
I own everything the Project ever released. I'll admit that as time has gone on and my tastes have taken me in more challenging directions (The Flower Kings, Anglagard, Weather Report, etc.) that my liking for for this band (as well as other bands I was heavily into, like ELO and ELP) has waned a ... (read more)
Report this review (#953259) | Posted by Mr. Gone | Friday, May 3, 2013 | Review Permanlink
From 1987, this is one of the better of the ALAN PARSONS PROJECT releases, especially when judged against most of their later output. It has the typical Parson's mix of pleasant, harmless prog/pop and rock songs a the token ballad and instumentals. I find the opening track "La Sagrada Familia" to be ... (read more)
Report this review (#279837) | Posted by mohaveman | Thursday, April 29, 2010 | Review Permanlink
I still remember vividly the day this album came out. I had loved every album that Alan Parsons Project had put out up to that point. I drove down to the local record shop, I was a college student at the time. I eagerly purchased Gaudi, took it home, unwrapped it, listened to it...and took it ... (read more)
Report this review (#200119) | Posted by PhilPDX | Wednesday, January 21, 2009 | Review Permanlink
Apparently , Alan Parson in collaboration with hired artists such as John miles , Andrew Powell , and surely ERIC WOOLFSON did their best in accomplishing what Architect Antoni Gaudi starts in La Sagrada Familia Cathedral .. Until certain limits they we ... (read more)
Report this review (#164859) | Posted by trackstoni | Monday, March 24, 2008 | Review Permanlink
A definite return to form for the Alan Parsons project after the disappointing prevous two outings. Gaudi isn't quite of the stature of Tales of Mystery and Imagaination, but stands up pretty well to I,Robot and Pyramid. An atmospheric beautifully produced CD one of the better progressive leaning al ... (read more)
Report this review (#157954) | Posted by barp | Monday, January 7, 2008 | Review Permanlink
"Gaudi" is a another good album by Alan Parsons, not their best but stronger the "Eve" for example. The album starts very songly with "La Sagrada Familia" a 8 min song with very beatiful classical guitar during the verse to completly change into full electric during the very strong chorus, wow! ... (read more)
Report this review (#83374) | Posted by Fido73 | Monday, July 10, 2006 | Review Permanlink
Hey-Ho...Let's be honest here we've got "standing on higher ground" & "money talks" a bit more biting than their former fare... If you truly hate it your in luck you wont have to deal with APP till 1993's "try anything once"Come on folks let's not get limp here APP rocks / still ... (read more)
Report this review (#5664) | Posted by | Monday, January 24, 2005 | Review Permanlink
Post a review of THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT "Gaudi"