text:
Tagzzoo Ltd. ("Tagzzoo", "we", "us", or "our") cares about its users' privacy. This cookie policy ("CookiePolicy") is designated to inform Users about the use of cookies, and other automated means of data collection by (1) the Tagzzoo Website; (3) Tagzzoo online products ("Tagzzoo Products") and (2) any other Internet assets (such as Websites, Mobile Applications) which incorporate Tagzzoo's products (each a "Publisher Website"). We will refer to the Tagzzoo Website and Publisher Websites as "Site(s)" and when we refer to "cookies" in this Cookie Policy, we mean both cookies and other automated means of data collection.
By visiting Tagzzoo Website and/or any of the Publisher Websites, you expressly consent to the use of cookies as provided herein. We ask our Publishers to obtain consent on our behalf, where required by applicable data protection laws, so that we may use cookies and other automated means of data collection on their digital properties.
This Cookie Policy does not govern the use of the Publisher Websites, nor the processing of Information Publisher Websites or other third parties who are the source of such cookies. These are governed by the Publisher's and/or third parties documents and policies.
For more information about the terms governing the Tagzzoo Website and how we process your Information on the Tagzzoo Website and when you make use of or interact with our Tagzzoo products on Publisher Websites, please see our Privacy Policy.
Terms not defined here are defined in our Privacy Policy. This Cookie Policy is an integral part of the terms of use available at https://ad-maven.com/advertiser_terms_of_use-html/ (including limitation on liability and law and legal venue which shall apply to this Cookie Policy as well)
Cookies and Automated Means of Data Collection.
This section provides more information about cookies and other automated means of data collection and how they work.
Tagzzoo places cookies on Publishers Assets, Tagzzoo Websites and Tagzzoo Products as set forth in this policy.
A Cookie is a small text file that is placed on the browser of the hard drive of user's computer (or similar device) by websites that the user visits. Cookies are typically used in order to make websites function, or function more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the website.
Cookies usually make your use of the Sites and services more efficient in some cases and improve the functionality of the services we provide to you. Tagzzoo also uses cookies to tailor content and information that we may send or display to you and otherwise personalize your experience while interacting with Tagzzoo Services.
Pixel tags (also known as pixels, web beacons or clear GIFs) are typically transparent graphic images placed on a website. These pixel tags are used in combination with cookies to measure the actions of visitors to their websites. For example, we may use pixel tags to track conversions or to create a custom audience for our advertiser Customers to target on our network (i.e. retargeting).
For more information about relevant advertisements delivered by the Tagzzoo Services, see below and read our Privacy Policy(among others Section 3.3).
The specific cookies that we and our third-party partners use on the Sites and when providing our Services as set forth in Section 3 below.
Anonymous Information on the internet browsing usage of users using Tagzzoo Products (e.g. what websites or pages were visited by each User, any advertisements viewed by Users and resulting actions such as visits to other websites (such as transactions made in such websites); and
The user agent data such as, browser language and version of operating system (e.g., Android, iOS); network provider; language setting; time zone), the internet device operating system and device ID, IP address (from which geo location may be extracted to a level of a city);
What advertising content has been served to a User.
We may also use third parties who collect information about Users through their own cookies, web beacons, and other technologies regarding your online activities, either on our Sites and/or other websites across the Internet, in an effort to understand your interests and deliver you advertisements that are tailored to your interests. These third parties may include attribution partners, fraud detection partners, analytics partners and product and functionality partners.
What Cookies Do We Use and Why?
Applicable definitions –
"First-party Cookies" – are set by the website that the visitor is accessing at the time (e.g. cookies we place on Tagzzoo Website);
"Third-Party Cookies" – are set by a party that is not the owner of that website.
"Session Cookies" – These cookies are temporary and expire once you close your browser (or once your session ends or according to a time frame set in advance).
"Persistent Cookies" – This category encompasses all cookies that remain on your hard drive until you erase them, or your browser does, depending on the cookie's expiration date.
"Strictly Necessary Cookies" – These cookies are used for the sole purpose of (i) carrying out a communication over an electronic network, or (ii) providing services that you request.
"Functionality Cookies" – Sometimes called Preferences Cookies, these cookies allow the Sites to remember choices that you or your device have indicated (such as your username, language, or region) and to provide enhanced, personalized features that improve your web experience.
"Marketing Cookies" – These cookies are used to deliver advertisements that are particularly relevant to you, based on we may think may interest you. These files collect information about a users' browsing habits and are also used to limit the number of times that you see an advertisement and to measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.
We use information collected via cookies to make the Services more enjoyable, to improve the functionality of the Services, and to tailor the content that we display to you. For more information about relevant advertisements delivered by the Services, please read about our Privacy Policy (among others Section 4.1).
First-Party Cookies Used in Tagzzoo's Products and on the Sites. more information about the individual First-Party Cookies used for our Services, on Publishers Websites, Tagzzoo Website and Tagzzoo Products is provided below:
FIRST PARTY COOKIES USED IN TAGZZOO'S PRODUCTS AND TAGZZOO WEBSITE
Cookie Category Third Party Name Cookie Name Purpose Domain Further information
Marketing Cookies Criteo UID remarketing Tagzzoo's domain Session Cookies
LinkedIn remarketing Tagzzoo's domain Session Cookies
Twitter remarketing Tagzzoo's domain Session Cookies
Google Inc. Google Adwords AdWords Remarketing is a remarketing and behavioral targeting service provided by Google Inc. that connects the activity of this Website with the Adwords advertising network and the Doubleclick Cookie. Tagzzoo's domain Session Cookies
Privacy Policy – www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/ Opt Out – www.google.com/settings/ads/onweb/optout
Facebook Inc. Facebook Custom Audience Facebook Custom Audience is a remarketing and behavioral targeting service provided by Facebook, Inc. that connects the activity of this Website with the Facebook advertising network. Tagzzoo's domain Privacy Policy – www.facebook.com/about/privacy/
Functionality Cookies Google Inc. -utma
-utmz These cookies are used to collect information about how visitors use our site. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve our site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited. Tagzzoo's domain Click here for Google's privacy policy in respect of Google Analytics. You may opt out of tracking by Google Analytics by visiting Persistent cookies.
How to Manage Cookies
Cookies used on our Sites: If you do not want the cookies on your device when browsing the Sites, you can adjust your browser settings to manage or reject cookies, or to notify you when a cookie is being placed in your Internet browser software. These settings are usually found in the 'Options' or 'Preferences' menu of your Internet browser. For more information on how to change your browser settings, click on the 'Help' section of your Internet browser. Modern Internet browsers also allow you to see what cookies are currently stored on your device and selectively delete them as you wish.
Cookies used through Tagzzoo Products: If you do not want us to place cookies on your device when you interact with or use Tagzzoo Products, you can adjust your browser settings (as explained above), Applications. To opt-out of the collection and use of data on your mobile application(s), you can adjust your Device's settings. Here are two examples for iOS and Android Devices: iOS Devices: Settings > Privacy > Advertising > Limit Ad Tracking Android Devices: Google Settings App > Ads > Opt Out of Interest-based Advertising Your opt-out process may differ from the examples above, depending on which version of operating system is installed on your Device.
Changes and Updates
This Cookie Policy is current as of the Effective Date set forth above. We may change this Cookie Policy from time to time, so please be sure to check back periodically to stay informed. Tagzzoo will post any changes to this Cookie Policy on Tagzzoo Website
Your continued use of the Site and the Services constitutes your agreement to this Cookie Policy and any updates.
If you have questions about this Cookie Policy, please contact us at: privacy@ad-maven.com


text:
Roundtable: Marina Rebeka, Lisette Oropesa, Michael Fabiano, Matthew Polenzani, Artur Rucinski on Teatro Real de Madrid's 'Traviata'
By Mauricio Villa
At the beginning of July, the Teatro Real de Madrid kicked off a project that many other opera houses around the world observed attentively.
The company launched a production of Verdi's "La Traviata" with some of the world's greatest opera stars, presenting the work 27 times over the course of an entire month. That production's run came to an end this past week with the company announcing that it came off without a hitch. In sum over 22,000 people saw the opera during that time and the company was also able to broadcast one of the performances worldwide.
Opera Wire talked to several leading singers during the performances of "La Traviata" at Teatro Real, getting an opportunity to understand the circumstances that took place to enable this monumental feat.
OperaWire: How did you react when Teatro Real phoned you to let you know that "La Traviata" was finally happening?
Marina Rebeka: It was great, amazing. You see, when this situation happened, I was sitting home and it thought it would be a week-long situation but it then became months and I had this idea that the world that we knew was vanishing.
Then I decided to take profit from the situation and do all the things I couldn't do in my previous time. For example I became a proper mother and helped my child with home schooling and homework, with her music practice: solfeo and piano lessons. I started cooking with the help of my husband, as I am a terrible cook. And finished some details of my apartment I had never had the time to do like small furniture, curtains. And it was easy to do because Latvia was never totally closed down, we didn't even wear masks and we have dealt very well with the situation.
Then as all my work was in the air, and we usually have everything planned three years ahead, I started working on two CD recordings, and studying new roles. I turned down five digital concerts because for me the real sense in singing is a live performance and not singing for an empty hall and a camera. Also I don't specially like the filming. The final result depends so much on the make-up, the TV operator, the light…I mean you can look 20 years older if the light is wrong.
So then, I got this phone call from Teatro Real and I had to move my recording plans. Then coming to Madrid felt like if we were in war times when you need all this special permission, and wearing masks, and everyone was in a very strange mood.
Michael Fabiano: I was relieved! But I also felt great pride because I know Joan Matabosch to be a strong man and very courageous, and he was doing a courageous choice ahead of other people. He is very creative and forward-thinking, and that is the reason that I like to work for Joan Matabosch. He is willing to put the chips on the table. He is willing to play the game. He knows that art is at stake if we don't get to work and get to business, and he had a way to make it happen with safety, health, and the right protocol. And he did it, and I felt an immense amount of pride.
Artur Rucinski: These performances were actually planned for April and May, and then I had "Lucia" in Covent Garden. But as the global locked down happened, everything got cancelled and I obviously understood. And I cannot say I complained because the last months had been crazy and I have traveled so much, so at last I could spend some quality time at home with my family and be a real father.
But after three months I was dying to be back on the stage. I have been making some recordings and streaming concerts, but it would never be the same as a truly live performance. So, when I received the call that the production was finally happening, I was more than happy. And this is something historical as they are giving an example to the rest of the world that you can do art with this COVID situation. Because here, at Teatro Real they are offering a performance of "Traviata" everyday, as there are four casts. Also, this theatre is supporting these artists who were workless for months.
I am in a good situation where I can support myself and my family without working for quite some time. But for the artist that depends on the monthly contracts because they are at the beginning of their careers it is a catastrophe as they received no support from the government.
But Teatro Real is showing that is possible, they accomplished all restrictions, and no one has been infected during the rehearsals of performances here in Madrid. We are so happy to be back on stage and the audience as well, fans come to meet us every night after the performance and express how grateful they are to be back at the theatre and enjoy real live singers, rather than on screen, computer or TV. This should never replace a real performance and I feel so sorry for my colleagues who are sitting at their homes in real trouble.
Lisette Oropesa: At first I was afraid, I was petrified! No really. Literally. I was not sure that the summer would be soon enough to travel to Europe and get back into the theatre. The Teatro Real informed me that it would be far from the normal type of production we were all used to doing. They reassured me all the measures that were taking place, and all the precautions they were following strictly. And in a way, I was right, the summer was too soon to travel, for Americans.
I'm fortunate to hold dual citizenship and thus be able to travel to Spain using my Spanish passport. It was scary flying for the first time in months. But the airlines have been pretty good about reassuring us that the air gets cleaned and recycled and that everyone is obligated to wear masks. Still, it felt like flying for the first time. I haven't been around groups of people in months! We have been in pretty constant isolation since March, both at home in Baton Rouge, and in an apartment we rented in Santa Fe. So that was my main "reaction," I guess you could say.
Upon our arrival in Europe, I felt more at ease to see the vast majority of people, even on the streets in 90+ degree weather, wearing masks and not making a fuss about it. In stores, 100 percent of people. It's much more accepted and practiced and I can't say the same for the US. When we were driving through Texas and Louisiana to get to New Mexico, any rest stop or gas station was full of people not wearing masks, except the employees, and this made us feel very apprehensive. So I'm glad to be in an environment now where the practice is not only encouraged, but voluntarily followed.
Matthew Polenzani: I had a huge amount of surprise, because I did not expect it to be possible, especially considering how bad things have been in America and also in Madrid. And I thought: "How is it even possible?"
Even after two conversations with my agent and Joan Matabosch where they explained to me all the extreme measures they were taking to perform, I still believed it would not be possible. I had a little bit of fear about being on a plane and being on stage with the chorus, and my colleagues in a closed building, as they were saying that closed places would make the infection more possible.
But once I fully understood all the precautions that the theater was taking, I was okay. The other issue was convincing my wife. She was so scared. She did not want me to do it. It was not a question of being in Madrid. I mean, right now I don't feel safer here that I would be in New York or somewhere else. It was about what would happen while being on stage. But it took get a couple of days to settle down about the whole idea.
(Credit: Javier del REal)
OW: How do you feel about performing a semi-staged version with restrictions of movement and contact?
Marina Rebeka: Working with Leo Castaldi was amazing, because he was so flexible and let every Violetta of the cast act in their own way. It's great because it gives you the opportunity to express the role as you feel it. But the last act was hard with this huge bed and not being able to embrace. The idea that worked for me was that from this point and within two meters there is death. So if you reach out your hand and you touch the other person, you will die. And during the last act, you realize you are responsible for the people around you.
It was hard, but on the other hand I had to make it work and make it emotional. But there was a moment through rehearsals and performances that during the second act the understanding with Artur / "Germont" was so strong that just looking into our eyes we knew which direction we were gonna take so we could move freely but keeping the safe distance. And right now I have a clear idea of what two meters are without looking at the marked squares on the floor. It was hard for me also during the bows of not being able to hold your colleague's hands.
But after all, it is not important, because people who are coming to the performances are not afraid to come. They want to forget about their lives and enjoy the arts, and the circumstances are different. And the thing is we don't know who the virus hit; some people get sick while others don't. And I strongly believed that the mood of a person helps, and there are studies which says so, therefore I would say: come to the opera, so your mood will change and you will be safer.
But being serious, we are imposed which music to hear. You go shopping and you are forced to listen to music that you maybe don't like, and it is always the same kind of commercial music. But who decides that? Why is there no support for opera or classical music in general? One good example is Japan, where I found Haydn being played in a big shopping mall or in the lobbies of the hotels. But Japan is a very crowed but organized civilization, so they choose classical music to help them calm down and keep order. In fact, there is a Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto who found out that the molecules of water, when they freeze tend to change their shape according to the music they listen to, and humans are 90 percent water, which proves that classical music in general does affect our bodies, not only in our moods but our health also. So this , I believed should be the future.
Once this knowledge is admitted worldwide and people think, "I need to go to the opera or musical concerts because I need to improve my health." That's why what we are doing at Teatro Real is so important, because we are giving normality, a chance to people to enjoy live art again, and in my believe, a chance to help the virus by changing people's mood.
Michael Fabiano: I wouldn't like it in normal conditions because obviously singing "Traviata," the one thing I couldn't do on stage is show that I am an emotional man and connect well with Violetta in a way I normally would. It is something that really belongs to you and that actually blocked a little bit of my performance. Because something that I care very deeply when I perform on stage is to have personal and physical connection with my colleagues. I know how to relate to people and I think that it means something not only to my colleagues but also to the audience. And because I couldn't do that there was a small block in my personal characterization of the role, so I maybe looked colder than I would normally be as Alfredo, to be really honest. But considering the environment we were in it was totally correct. We were able to create a beautiful show, especially for Violetta, the chorus and the orchestra, and I am just very proud to be part of it.
Artur Rucinski: Well, this title is in fact a great idea, because it talks about a dangerous contagious illness which was Tuberculosis, so we can find a true parallelism with the current situation. And we can use the restrictions in our favor, as we have to keep always a two meters of distance and cannot touch each other. So we had to look for different ways of expressing our feelings to the audience. It is always, of course, harder for the characters of Violetta and Alfredo who have to play love scenes. So we have to focus on showing more emotion through our voices than the theatrical side. But after a twenty years career I felt like a beginner coming back from the quarantine, even if I have kept on singing all this time. But I am so happy that Joan Matabosch and all the people of this theatre made this possible.
Lisette Oropesa: As for the operatic experience, well it has been more tricky. We had a brief layout rehearsal onstage, where we learned the do's and don'ts of the production. I had a full musical rehearsal with the conductor, who I must say is so very energetic and supportive. Nicola Luisotti. Amazing.
Stepping out onstage for the first time to perform was surreal. To see my colleagues when I was walking out there and do my best to make music with them was beautiful but also a bit challenging. They all have to stay two meters away and this makes the intimate connections difficult to establish. I can only really see them out of the corner of my eye, or turn in profile or upstage to look at them. It has been more of a mental journey for Violetta in this case. We are taking the idea of "social distance," and "isolation" and making it the absolute theme of the production. In a way, it hits closer to home than I think many of us realize! She WAS sick, with a very contagious disease. She WAS isolated. It is beautiful to interpret this role in any setting, and this one is particularly memorable.
My favorite choice that we are making is that at the end, she doesn't collapse and die as we traditionally see Violetta do. She dies and walks into the light, which I think highlights our need for hope in this difficult time. So many of us have literally lost loved ones suddenly to this terrible virus, and to see a tragic ending to Violetta staged that way would have been harrowing…so Leo Castaldi opted for the optimistic staging, that has Violetta swamped in a tunnel of light, as she passes into the next realm.
Matthew Polenzani: Well, it is very difficult for me to portray a love affair without physical contact, and this is really the main idea that we have to let go of. We have to feel that two people are in love with each other, although they cannot kiss, or hug or touch. And it is challenging, at the very beginning above all, when you have the love duet. You are supposed to be seducing and captivating Violetta with this idea of love that has been growing inside you for one year, when you are standing two meters away in one place. And I miss it at the end when I wish he could hold her during "Parigi o Cara."
But for the time right now, this works, as we played with the idea that Violetta does not want to get anyone around her sick, and it feels real. And so far, I am lucky nobody in my family has been sick, but everyone knows someone who has been, so the socially distanced production is challenging but it works.
I saw one performance of the first cast and even if it is not the same it works. The best part is that music is alive, emotion, love, soul….it is all here, and we as humans we need music, and this interaction with live orchestra, and not only opera, but Broadway and plays. And the CDs, and broadcasts and HD, thank God we have them, but they are not the same.
InterviewsStage Spotlight

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Die Alte Burg, heute Kirchhof genannt, ist eine abgegangene Spornburg in Lauffen am Neckar, einer Stadt im Landkreis Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg. Die fränkisch-ottonische Burg befand sich auf einem Bergsporn des Lauffener Neckardurchbruchs. In fränkischer Zeit war die Burg ein Königshof, als solcher Schauplatz der Regiswindislegende, und sie war vor dem Bau der Grafenburg auf der Neckarinsel wahrscheinlich Sitz der Grafen von Lauffen. Die Burg ging im Laufe der Jahrhunderte in der Bebauung des Dorfs Lauffen auf. Ihre Ausdehnung ist heute noch anhand der Baulinien erkennbar.

Lage
Die Lauffener Neckarschlinge ist die jüngste trocken gefallene Schlinge des Neckars, der Durchbruch ereignete sich etwa 400 bis 100 v. Chr. An der Stelle des Durchbruchs trennte der Neckar den einstigen Umlaufberg ab und schuf hier eine rund 40 Meter breite, heute 14 Meter erhöht liegende Bergzunge, deren Lage prädestiniert für eine Burg war. Die auf  gelegene Spornburg umschloss eine Fläche von rund 1,2 Hektar. An ihrem östlichen Rand, zum Neckar hin, lag innerhalb des Areals die Martinskirche, der Vorgängerbau der heutigen Regiswindiskirche. Aus der Burg heraus entwickelte sich das links des Neckars gelegene Dorf Lauffen.

Geschichte
Die Ursprünge der Alten Burg in Lauffen sind unbekannt, es ist jedoch anzunehmen, dass sie in der Mitte des 8. Jahrhunderts angelegt wurde oder dass in dieser Zeit eine bereits vorhandene Befestigung ausgebaut wurde. Ebenfalls in die Mitte des 8. Jahrhunderts ist die Martinskirche, der Vorgänger der heutigen Regiswindiskirche, zu datieren. Für das 9. Jahrhundert ist Lauffen als Standort eines fränkischen Königshofs, von dem angenommen wird, dass er sich innerhalb der Burganlage befand, durch Urkunden Ludwigs des Frommen von 822 und Ludwigs des Deutschen von 845 belegt. Wie die Höfe in Wimpfen und in Heilbronn lag der Lauffener Königshof an der strategisch bedeutenden Route vom Mittelrhein den Neckar entlang nach Alemannien, Ulm und an den Bodensee.

Der Regiswindislegende zufolge wurde ein Adeliger namens Ernst – oft gleichgesetzt mit dem Grafen Ernst aus dem Nordgau – im Mai 832 von Ludwig dem Frommen mit der Burg belehnt, und seine Tochter Regiswindis soll hier um das Jahr 839 ermordet worden sein.

Um das Jahr 1000 war die Alte Burg das Zentrum Lauffens. Die damaligen Besitzverhältnisse sind unklar, es wird jedoch vermutet, dass die Vorfahren der Grafen von Lauffen zumindest über Anteile verfügten und hier ihren Sitz hatten. Im Jahr 1003 nennt eine durch Heinrich II. für den Würzburger Bischof Heinrich I. ausgestellte Urkunde die Burg explizit als solche in Zusammenhang mit einer vermutlich nicht zu Stande gekommenen Gründung eines Nonnenklosters innerhalb der Burg. Später wichen die Grafen von Lauffen – wohl aufgrund beengter Verhältnisse – auf die künstlich geschaffene Insel inmitten des Neckardurchbruchs aus. Nach 1227, als die Burg und die Stadt rechts des Neckars nach dem Aussterben der Grafen von Lauffen an die Staufer fielen, gewann das Bistum Würzburg innerhalb des Burgareals an Einfluss. Im gleichen Jahr begann der Bau der Regiswindiskirche als neuer Lauffener Pfarrkirche.

Beschreibung
Die Alte Burg war keine Burg im Sinne eines Adelssitzes des späteren Mittelalters. Stattdessen verteilte sich der befestigte Bereich auf verschiedene Eigentümer, darunter die Kirche und verschiedene Adelsfamilien. Zur Befestigung gehörten der Halsgraben, der den Bergsporn nach Westen hin zum ehemaligen Umlaufberg hin sicherte, sowie Mauern und ein Zwinger nördlich und südlich. Durch die erhöhte Lage über dem Neckar gab es nach Osten hin außer der Stützmauer keine weiteren Befestigungen. Wahrscheinlich verfügte die Anlage auch über Türme und Tore, worüber jedoch keine Angaben überliefert sind. Es wird angenommen, dass die Südwestecke im Bereich des heutigen Hauses Grabenstraße 6 besonders stark befestigt war und dass sich am Eingang der Kirchbergstraße einst ein Tor befand. Der heute hier befindliche Brücke zwischen Kirchhof und Diakonat ist möglicherweise ein Überbleibsel des Wehrgangs eines ehemaligen Tores.

Weitere Entwicklung
Die Burg entwickelte sich im Mittelalter innerhalb ihrer Mauern zu einem befestigten Ortskern. 1537 gab es mit den Staffeln an der West- und an der Nordseite neben den Toren bereits weitere Zugänge, die jedoch verteidigt werden konnten. Spätestens mit der Wende zum 18. Jahrhundert dürfte die Befestigung aufgegeben worden sein. Eine Besonderheit stellt der wohl um 1700 überwölbte, bis heute erhaltene Halsgraben dar, durch den in einem Tunnel die Graben- und die Berggasse verlaufen.

Die Häuser an der Nordseite sitzen heute auf der einstigen Burgmauer, ebenso an der Südseite, wo sich heute an der Stelle des Zwingers Gärten befinden. Zum Neckar hin, an der Regiswindiskirche, gibt es auch heute noch eine mächtige Stützmauer, die das Lauffener Stadtbild prägt. Innerhalb des alten Burgareals befinden sich heute neben Regiswindiskirche und -kapelle und dem Kirchhof rund 20 Wohnhäuser. Von der ursprünglichen Bausubstanz haben sich keine Überreste erhalten.

Literatur

 Alois Schneider: Der "Kirchhof" in Lauffen am Neckar Befestigungsanlage in einem zentralen Ort des frühen und hohen Mittelalters. In: Denkmalpflege in Baden-Württemberg. 44. Jg. 2015, Heft 4, S. 226–231. (denkmalpflege-bw.de PDF; 10,5 MB).

Königspfalz
Lauffen, Burg
Ehemalige Burganlage im Landkreis Heilbronn
Alte Burg
Abgegangenes Bauwerk im Landkreis Heilbronn

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A 60-minute guided Distillery experience, our whisky tour begins by exploring the elements of craft whisky making and what it means to be "Craft" in B.C. Guests will get an insight into craft whisky production before being treated to a guided tasting of 4 of our premium whiskies in our private whisky room. Depart with a Signature Okanagan Spirits Whisky glass for you to enjoy at home.
Bookings: Please reserve in advance to secure your preferred tour date and schedule. If you have any questions or require further information please contact us at 1-888-292-5270 or by email at vernon@okanaganspirits.com.
Please direct mail deliveries to the Vernon Head Office.


text:
Visit our Archive of Documents from US Government Agencies
[01] RUSSIA THREATENS BP, SHELL
[02] JOURNALISTS' NGO SAYS AWARD TO PUTIN 'UNWORTHY OF FRANCE'
[03] IRAN SAYS IT MIGHT COMPLETE NUCLEAR PLANT WITHOUT RUSSIAN HELP
[04] IMAM FATALLY SHOT
[05] SUSPECT GETS FOUR YEARS IN HAZING CASE
[06] NATIONAL BOLSHEVIKS ARRESTED AT PROTEST
[07] CHECHEN PREMIER TARGETS FORMER SUBORDINATE
[08] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION ACCUSES MINISTER OF 'CRIMINAL' TIES
[09] ARMENIAN PROSECUTOR-GENERAL PRESIDES OVER NEW NGO COALITION
[10] PRESIDENTIAL AIDE DISMISSES CRITICISM OF AZERBAIJANI DEMOCRATIC REFORMS
[11] AZERBAIJANI POLICE DISPERSE STUDENT DEMONSTRATION
[12] MILITANT AZERBAIJANI GROUP CALLS FOR WAR TO RESOLVE KARABAKH CONFLICT
[13] OPPOSITION LEADERS ACCUSE GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES OF INTIMIDATION...
[14] ...AS U.S. AMBASSADOR WARNS OF IMPLICATION OF ELECTIONS
[15] KAZAKH PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW TRANSPORTATION MINISTER
[16] KAZAKH PRO-PRESIDENTIAL PARTIES COMPLETE MERGER
[17] KAZAKH OPPOSITION PARTY TO TAKE UP SEAT IN PARLIAMENT
[18] KYRGYZ PROSECUTORS WANT DEATH PENALTY FOR INCURSION DEFENDANTS
[19] TAJIK ISLAMIC PARTY TO SKIP PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
[20] CHINESE-TAJIK COUNTERTERRORISM EXERCISE ENDS
[21] SOUTH KOREA TO IMPORT UZBEK URANIUM
[22] BELARUSIAN SCHOOLCHILDREN PROTEST BAN ON POLISH TEACHERS
[23] EU TO EXTEND VISA BAN ON BELARUSIAN OFFICIALS
[24] UKRAINIAN PREMIER WANTS TO DRAFT PRESIDENTIAL DECREES
[25] POLL SAYS YANUKOVYCH IS MOST TRUSTED POLITICIAN IN UKRAINE
[26] KYRGYZSTAN SAID TO BLOCK UKRAINE'S WAY TO WTO
[27] ETHNIC ALBANIAN LEADER IN MACEDONIA SAYS PROGRESS FROM OHRID AT RISK
[28] BOSNIAN SECURITY OFFICIAL SAYS THREE BOSNIAN CITIZENS ON LIST OF AL-QAEDA SUPPORTERS
[29] SERBIAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN CALLS FOR UN ENVOY TO STEP DOWN
[30] SERBIAN NUCLEAR WASTE TO GO TO RUSSIA
[31] ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER SAYS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MAY NEED TO IMPOSE KOSOVA SOLUTION
[32] WOLESI JIRGA SPEAKER ACCUSES PAKISTAN OF INTERFERENCE, AFGHAN GOVERNMENT OF FAILURES
[33] WOMEN'S AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT HEAD GUNNED DOWN IN SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN
[34] DISTRICT CHIEF GUNNED DOWN IN SOUTHEASTERN AFGHANISTAN...
[35] ...AND BORDER COMMANDER KILLED BY NEO-TALIBAN
[36] IRANIAN NUCLEAR BOSS IN MOSCOW
[37] IRANIAN STUDENT ACTIVIST ARRESTED, CAMPUS PUBLICATIONS SEIZED
[38] REPORT CLAIMS IRANIAN WEBSITE WITH PRESIDENTIAL CONNECTION BEING FILTERED
[39] IRANIAN WELFARE MINISTER SACKED
[40] ANFAL TRIAL IN CHAOS AS FORMER IRAQI LEADER EJECTED AGAIN
[41] IRAQ'S PARLIAMENT APPROVES COMMITTEE TO REVISIT CONSTITUTION
[42] KURDISH PARLIAMENTARIANS WITHDRAW IN PROTEST OF SUNNI DEPUTY'S COMMENTS
[43] IRAQI DEPUTY PREMIER WARNS OF COUP PLOT
[44] KUWAITI MINISTER CALLS FOR GREATER BORDER SECURITY
[45] U.K. MILITARY CLAIMS TO KILL AL-QAEDA FUGITIVE IN IRAQ
[46] KOSOVA MOVES TOWARD A SOLUTION Tuesday, September 26, 2006 Volume 10 Number 178 Russia
The Prosecutor-General's Office issued a warning on September 25 to Britain's BP that it might lose its license to develop the Kovykta gas field in Irkutsk Oblast with the Russian firm TNK because of alleged environmental concerns, RIA Novosti reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 20 and 25, 2006). This appears to be one of several recent attempts by the Russian authorities to call into question an existing production-sharing agreement (PSA) with a Western company, ostensibly because of ecological issues. Some observers have suggested, however, that the Kremlin wants to renegotiate the terms of the deal in favor of a Russian state-run monopoly like Gazprom or Rosneft. The authorities are also continuing to put pressure on Royal Dutch Shell over the Sakhalin-2 gas PSA, London's "The Independent" reported on September 26. They are, however, now threatening it with a fine in the hundreds of millions of dollars rather than an outright loss of its license. PM
The French-based international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in a statement on September 25 that President Jacques Chirac's recent presentation to President Vladimir Putin of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor -- the highest award France can give to a foreign head of state -- is unworthy of France (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 25, 2006). The statement argued that "the dismantling of civil liberties in Russia, the gagging of the press, and the state terror and news blackout policies being implemented in Chechnya were not mentioned in any official statement issued during [Putin's recent] visit. The French government's decision to award Putin the Legion of Honor is a shocking endorsement of his policies." The NGO added that "elevating a press-freedom predator to the rank of Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor is an insult to all those in Russia who fight for press freedom, the freedom to be informed, and the survival of effective democracy in their country." Reporters Without Borders also noted the extent to which the state and state-run corporations have taken over virtually all of the most important electronic media and much of the print media as well, greatly limiting the amount of independent news and information available to the public (see "RFE/RL Newsline," June 8 and 29, and September 5 and 22, 2006). Some critics have also spoken of an increasing "Putinization" of the Russian media, meaning a tendency to put the authorities in a favorable light and focus attention away from controversial domestic political issues and onto foreign affairs, sport, entertainment, or business. PM
Iranian Vice President for Atomic Energy Gholamreza Aqazadeh said en route to Moscow on September 25 that his country is able to complete the Bushehr nuclear power plant without Russian assistance "if Russia proves unable," the daily "Kommersant" and ITAR-TASS reported. The plant is slated to be finished later in 2006 and come on line in November 2007. Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the Russians of dragging their heels (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 12 and 16, and September 19, 2006). Aqazadeh is in Moscow on a working visit to meet with Sergei Kiriyenko, who heads the Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom). Kiriyenko has recently spoken in highly positive terms about Bushehr, but "Kommersant" noted that " Aqazadeh brought him unpleasant tidings from Tehran." On September 26, Igor Ivanov, who heads Russia's Security Council, reassured Aqazadeh that Russia will meet its obligations, Interfax reported. In related news, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Los Angeles on September 25 that his country opposes "any ultimatums" in dealing with Iran or the Middle East, news.ru reported. PM
Two unidentified assailants fatally shot a Muslim prayer leader in Kiselovodsk in southern Stavropol Krai on the edge of the North Caucasus on September 25, Interfax reported. The Council of Muftis in Moscow issued a statement on September 26 saying that the killing of the imam in his apartment building was but the latest in a series of xenophobic attacks directed against Muslims and called for punishment of the killers. There has been no independent confirmation of the imam's identity or the possible motivation of the killers. PM
On September 26, the Chelyabinsk Military Court sentenced Sergeant Aleksandr Sivyakov to four years in prison for his alleged role in the brutal hazing of Private Andrei Sychyov at the Chelyabinsk tank school on New Years Eve, Interfax and news.ru reported. Sivyakov was found guilty of "abuse of power leading to grave consequences." Critics have called for the resignation of Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov in connection with the Sychyov case and numerous other hazing incidents, some of which were fatal. Ivanov has suggested that his critics are seeking to undermine the military (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 3, and March 20 and 22, 2006). PM
Police arrested about 40 demonstrators belonging to the National Bolshevik Party on September 25 after they forced their way into the Finance Ministry to protest government policies, news agencies reported. Some commentators see the movement and its offshoots as evidence of growing xenophobia, while other observers say that the Kremlin is manipulating some of them. The National Bolsheviks and their offshoots present a curious mixture of communist and fascist ideas and trappings, reminiscent in some ways of the left-wing currents in Nazism and fascism in the 1920s and 1930s (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 30, 2006). PM
Meeting on September 22 with members of the Gorets (Mountaineer) formation that is subordinate to the Federal Security Service, Raman Kadyrov rejected as without foundation rumors of an ongoing standoff between Gorets and detachments loyal to himself, chechnya.gov.ru and kommersant.ru reported on September 22 and 25, respectively. Kadyrov recalled that some members of Gorets refused to comply with orders in February of this year to disband the unit and deploy its personnel to other armed formations, and he disclosed that the Chechen prosecutor's office has summoned former Gorets commander Movladi Baysarov for questioning in connection with the abduction of five people in Grozny in January 2004. The Chechen resistance website chechenpress.org noted on September 25 that Baysarov has aligned himself with Kadyrov's nominal superior and rival, pro-Moscow Chechen administration head Alu Alkhanov, and that he is suspected of involvement in the killing in 1998 of four British and New Zealand telecommunications engineers (see "RFE/RL Newsline," December 9 and 22, 1998 and April 19, 1999). LF
Several Armenian opposition leaders issued a collective statement on September 25 strongly criticizing Minister for Local Government Hovik Abrahamian and accusing him of representing "criminal elements," RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. One of the statement's signatories, Garnik Markarian, the leader of the small opposition Fatherland and Honor party, accused Abrahamian of expanding his various business interests through "illegal means" and characterized him as an obvious example of "criminal elements" in Armenian politics. He added that Abrahamian owns more than 60 businesses, including almost every winery in his native Artashat district, south of Yerevan. The statement was also backed by the Intellectual Forum, an opposition-linked organization uniting prominent intellectuals critical of the government, but then led to a response from another group of renowned intellectuals supportive of the leadership. In that joint statement, the pro-government intellectuals condemned the opposition's accusations as an "attempt to undermine our statehood" masterminded by unspecified "foreign agents." Although the statement follows an earlier meeting of a dozen opposition leaders in which they attempted to launch a new broad-based "anticriminal movement" to confront the authorities, this was the first time they implicated specific members of the government in illicit activities (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 12, 2006). RG
Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian presided over the formation on September 23 of a new alliance of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and about over 30 "compatriots' unions," according to RFE/RL's Armenian Service. Hovsepian was elected honorary chairman of the group, which also includes his own influential Nig-Aparan organization. The nominal leader of the new umbrella organization, parliamentarian Vahram Baghdasarian, announced on September 24 that the new "congregation" will remain "apolitical" and will have no direct ties to any specific political party. Baghdasarian is a leading member of the recently formed Association for Armenia party, which is widely believed to be sponsored by Hovsepian as a vehicle to promote his candidacy in the 2008 presidential election. RG
Presidential-administration official Ali Hasanov dismissed on September 26 recent criticism of democratic reforms in Azerbaijan and argued that "democracy is developing in Azerbaijan" and "the process of building a state based on law and order is gaining strength," Turan reported. Commenting on recent opposition criticism of election commissions, Hasanov stated that the "current election commissions could conduct democratic, free, and fair elections," and rejected opposition demands for the composition of the election commissions to be based on a parity basis. Hasanov further explained that for both the opposition and civil society in Azerbaijan, "the legal basis" and "genuine conditions for activities" have been ensured, with "freedoms of speech and the press." RG
Azerbaijani police dispersed on September 25 several hundred student protesters attempting to stage an authorized demonstration in Baku, according to Turan. The students, from the Independent Azerbaijan University, were attempting to hold a picket outside of the main Education Ministry building to protest the ministry's decision to revoke the license for their university, which was recently forced to close. A large force of police officers, assisted by several plainclothes security officials, violently dispersed the protest. Vugar Suleymanov, the chairman of the Committee to Protect Students' Rights, vowed that the students will continue their protests until "their right to an education is restored." RG
The Azerbaijani Karabakh Liberation Organization released on September 25 its new "national manifesto," calling on the Azerbaijani government "to quit peace talks" over Nagorno-Karabakh and stating that Armenian-held "territories must be liberated by means of war," ANS-TV reported. Speaking at a press conference in Baku, the group's leader, Akif Nagi, explained that "Azerbaijan must liberate its territories from occupation in a military way" and argued that the group opposes "some nongovernmental organizations" in Azerbaijan that are "implementing projects to build broad, friendly, and fraternal relations with the Armenians." Nagi further denounced them for "even setting up camps in Armenia in order for Azerbaijani and Armenian young people to make friends." RG
Speaking at a press conference in Batumi, Georgian opposition New Conservatives (aka New Rightists) party leader Davit Gamkrelidze said on September 25 that police charged local party leader Tengiz Kakhidze with involvement in a "made-up crime," Caucasus Press reported. Gamkrelidze criticized the local police for "putting pressure" and intimidating local party activists and warned the police "to be more cautious," adding that he will inform U.S. Ambassador John Tefft of all such attempts to harass members of his party. An unidentified official from the opposition Republican Party also accused the Georgian authorities on September 25 of intimidating voters, citing the case of Giorgi Otiashvili, who was arrested for "assaulting" activists of the ruling National Movement after he refused to accept their campaign material, according to Caucasus Press. Republican Party spokeswoman Tina Khidasheli added in a statement released in Tbilisi that "the authorities persecute people who refuse to take their propagandist leaflets." RG
In a televised interview, U.S. Ambassador Tefft said on September 25 that Georgia's approaching local elections "will certainly influence relations between Georgia and NATO," Imedi television reported. He added that the U.S. Embassy in Georgia is "actively following the local election process" and noted that "special groups from the embassy and several NGOs are monitoring the election campaign." The United States is also financing the training of political parties and holding seminars throughout the country to support "free and fair elections" as the October 5 local elections approach. RG
President Nursultan Nazarbaev signed a decree on September 25 appointing Serik Akhmetov minister of transportation, Kazinform reported. A former deputy governor of Astana, Akhmetov was chairman of the board of the Atameken National Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers of Kazakhstan since 2005. The ministerial post opened up when former Transportation Minister Askar Mamin was appointed mayor of Astana, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. DK
Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov, acting chairman of the pro-presidential Otan party, told a news conference in Astana on September 25 that Otan and Asar, a pro-presidential party headed by presidential daughter Darigha Nazarbaeva, have officially merged, Kazinform reported. "In all, the merged Otan party has a membership of 700,000, which makes it the country's largest political party," Zhumagulov noted. DK
Alikhan Baimenov, leader of the opposition party Ak Zhol, told a news conference in Almaty on September 25 that the party has decided to fill the seat it won in the December 2004 parliamentary elections, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. Ak Zhol had refused to fill the seat to protest election violations. Baimenov said that a party conference on September 24 decided that "it is necessary to use the party's mandate for the remaining three years," Kazinform reported. Baimenov did not say who will occupy the seat for his party. DK
Kyrgyz prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for four of six defendants in connection with a May 12 cross-border incursion that left at least 10 people dead (see "RFE/RL Newsline," May 15, 2006), ferghana.ru reported on September 25. Prosecutors are asking for 20-year prison terms for the two remaining defendants. The next court hearing on the case is scheduled for October 3. DK
A conference of Tajikistan's Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP) in Dushanbe on September 25 decided not to participate in the country's November 6 presidential election, Avesta and RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported. The party gave a number of reasons for its decision, including flaws in Tajik election law, skepticism about the Central Election Commission, and the current global climate of suspicion toward Islamic parties. Despite its refusal to advance a candidate, however, the IRP will participate on local election commissions and be present at polling stations, Avesta reported. DK
The Cooperation-2006 Chinese-Tajik military exercises ended in Tajikistan's Kulob Province on September 24, ferghana.ru reported the next day. The exercise involved 150 Chinese servicemen and a number of Tajik companies. DK
South Korean Prime Minister Han Myoong-sook and Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoev signed an agreement in Tashkent on September 25 for South Korea to buy uranium ore concentrate directly from Uzbekistan, the official Uzbek news agency UzA reported. South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted officials traveling with Han as saying the deal envisages that South Korea directly imports from Uzbekistan 300 tons of uranium per year between 2010 and 2014. Yonhap reported that the deal constitutes a precedent, since South Korea currently buys Uzbek uranium indirectly from U.S. companies. The deal is one of several agreed during a meeting between Han and Mirziyoev in Tashkent. Han also met with President Islam Karimov and parliament speaker Erkin Khalilov. UzA says trade between the two countries increased by nearly 40 percent last year, to $565 million. DK
Students of grades eight through 11 of a Polish-language school in Vaukavysk, Hrodna Oblast, staged a walkout last week in protest against a government ban on the use of exchange teachers from Poland, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported on September 25. "We want to continue studying in Poland after grade 11, but now we don't have our former Polish-language teacher. Now we are instructed in the Polish language by a Belarusian teacher but it's not what the teacher from Poland was giving us," a schoolgirl told RFE/RL's Belarus Service. Volha Karotkaya, a local education official, told RFE/RL that the Polish-language school in Vaukavysk has no need to invite teachers from Poland since Belarusian universities now prepare equally qualified specialists in the Polish language. Karotkaya also said the school has no license to invite foreign teachers, as is required by a presidential decree enforced in June. There are nearly 300,000 ethnic Poles living in Hrodna Oblast, who make up 25 percent of the oblast's population. JM
The European Union intends to extend an entry ban on officials from Belarus to include individuals linked to the jailing of former opposition presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin, Reuters reported on September 25, quoting an EU diplomat on conditions of anonymity. In April, the EU barred entry to 31 officials, including President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, in protest against his landslide reelection, which it denounced as rigged. The United States introduced similar measures. The new ban will reportedly apply to judges Alyaksey Rybakou and Leanid Yasinovich as well as prosecutors Syarhey Bortnik and Andrey Mizhun. Kazulin was sentenced in July to 5 1/2 years in prison on charges of hooliganism and incitement to disorder in the wake of the flawed presidential election on March 19. JM
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said on September 25 that the Cabinet of Ministers should be directly involved in the drafting of presidential decrees, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "[The drafting process should include] the minister who will execute the decree and, of course, the prime minister. There is no politics here," Yanukovych noted. Last week the Cabinet of Ministers refused to implement seven presidential decrees, arguing that they were published without the countersignatures of Yanukovych and ministers responsible for their implementation (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 22, 2006). Yanukovych said his refusal to countersign the decrees will help regulate relations between the Cabinet of Ministers and the president. JM
According to a poll conducted in mid-September by the Ukrainian Institute for Social Studies and the Social Monitoring Center, Prime Minister Yanukovych is the most trusted politician in Ukraine, with 50 percent of respondents expressing trust in him and 43 percent distrusting him, Interfax-Ukraine reported. President Viktor Yushchenko is trusted by 37 percent of Ukrainians and distrusted by 55 percent, while opposition leader Yuliya Tymoshenko by 37 percent and 57 percent, respectively. "Today, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych shows himself as a strong personality. The people tend to trust in a strong personality after [experiencing] a weak president," Olha Balakireva, the head of the Ukrainian Institute for Social Studies, commented on the findings. JM
Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on September 25 that Kyrgyzstan is refusing to sign a protocol with Ukraine on mutual access to commodity and service markets, which would pave the way for Ukraine's membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), UNIAN reported. According to Azarov, Kyrgyzstan put forward "unsubstantiated demands to return nonstate debts" as a condition for signing such a protocol with Ukraine. He did not elaborate. JM
The leader of Macedonia's largest ethnic Albanian party said on September 25 that Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's decision to exclude it from the government threatens the progress made since the 2001 Ohrid peace agreement, Reuters reported the same day. Ali Ahmeti, leader of the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI), said Gruevski's move had harmed public trust. "For the past four years we have worked to increase trust among communities," Ahmeti told Reuters in an interview. "After what Mr. Gruevski did, I'm afraid the direction we have taken is in danger. Again there will be a lack of trust between communities, especially the Albanian ethnic community," he added. Gruevski's Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO-DPMNE) won the most seats in Macedonia's July 5 general elections. The BDI won the most votes among Macedonia's 500,000 ethnic Albanians, but Gruevski decided instead to form a government with the BDI's archrival, the Democratic Party of Albanians (PDSH). The decision sparked protests and roadblocks by BDI supporters (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 4 and 16, 2006). BW
A senior security official in Bosnia-Herzegovina has said that at least three Tunisians with Bosnian citizenship are on a UN list of known Al-Qaeda collaborators, AKI reported on September 25. "It's difficult to say where they are at the moment, but we can say with great certainty that they are not in Bosnia and don't use Bosnian passports," Dragan Lukac, assistant director of the Bosnian state security agency, said in an interview with the daily "Nezavisne novine" published the same day. The three were granted passports after fighting in the 1992-92 war. Lukac named the three Tunisians as Mahrez ben Mahmud ben Sashi al Amandani, Shafik ben Mohamed al Ajadi, and Halil ben Ahmed ben Mohamed Jaraja. He added that their last known addresses were in Sarajevo, but they have since disappeared. BW
A Serbian government spokesman on September 25 called on UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari to step down due to bias in favor of Kosova's ethnic Albanians, B92 reported the same day. "It is doubtful whether Ahtisaari will adhere to his mandate and organize serious talks on the province's future, or if he will simply side with Albanian separatists," Srdjan Djuric, head of the Serbian government's media department, said. "It would be fair of him to step down, rather than side with the separatists in front of the whole world," he added. Ahtisaari sparked fierce criticism from Serbia when he said the legacy of the Milosevic era is relevant in determining Kosova's future (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 28, 29, 30 and September 1, 2006). Last week, he angered Serbian officials by saying that Kosova's independence would not set a precedent for other breakaway regions (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 25, 2006). BW
Serbian Minister for Science and the Environment Aleksandar Popovic said on September 25 that Belgrade has reached an agreement to relocate nuclear waste to Russia, UPI reported the same day. Popovic said 2.5 tons of nuclear fuel waste from the Vinca Institute near Belgrade will be moved by three Russian companies over the next year. The waste will be completely relocated to Russia by the end of 2008. Negotiations on the waste transfer began in 2001 and were concluded last week on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference in Vienna. Under the agreement, Serbia will be granted $12.7 million from international donations to cover part of the waste's transportation costs. In 2003, the United States, Russia, and the IAEA agreed the waste should be returned to the country of the fuel's origin. BW
Speaking on September 24, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said Serbia's opposition to Kosova's independence was unrealistic and suggested the international community may have to impose a solution, AP reported the same day. "I believe Belgrade continues to take an unrealistic stand on Kosova's status but that lack of realism should not hamper the final solution," Berisha said. "Albania considers the resolution of Kosova's status, and this country's independence, as vital for Balkans peace and stability, in accordance with the full guarantee of freedom and rights of Kosova minorities and citizens." He added that although a consensus agreement is preferable, an imposed solution may in the end be the only option. "In the Balkans' 150-year history, all deals have been imposed. Let this [on Kosova] be the last and the others be achieved with consensus and good understanding in a democratic Balkans, integrated into Europe," he added. BW
The speaker of the lower house of the Afghan National Assembly, Mohammad Yunos Qanuni, has accused Pakistan of trying to destabilize his country, the Parisian daily "Le Monde" reported on September 23. Islamabad's "strategy toward Afghanistan has not changed," Qanuni was quoted as saying during a recent visit to France, listing the presence of foreign forces and the U.S.-India rapprochement as factors behind Pakistan's desire to "destabilize Afghanistan." Echoing charges repeatedly leveled by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Qanuni said Kabul has "considerable evidence" to support its allegations. Turning to the Karzai administration, Qanuni told "Le Monde" that the "distance between the government and the population has widened" in Afghanistan because the government has failed to honor the expectations it fostered through its "many pledges." Qanuni, who served in Karzai's transitional administrations -- first as interior minister and subsequently education minister -- accused the government of failing in its counterterrorism, counternarcotics, and anticorruption campaigns. AT
The head of Kandahar Province's women's affairs department, Safia Ahmad Jan, was killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire on her vehicle as she was being driven to her office on September 25, Kandahar Television reported. The report notes that Ahmad Jan was an advocate of women's rights who has headed the department since the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001. A website purporting to represent the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -- the name of the country under the Taliban -- claimed on September 25 that "Islamic Emirate mujahedin" killed Ahmad Jan because "under the pretext of women's rights, [she] was spying for the U.S. against the mujahedin." The website is increasingly using the term "mujahedin" to identify neo-Taliban guerrillas. AT
Unidentified gunmen killed Adam Khan, chief of the newly established Allahabad district in Paktika Province, Pajhwak Afghan News reported on September 25. Paktika Governor Akram Khpalwak said Adam Khan was killed after a brief gun battle and the assailant took two cars and two motorcycles from his property. Khpalwak added that nine suspects have been arrested in the case. The "Islamic Emirate" website on September 25 claimed responsibility for having killed Adam Khan in his home. AT
Shamal Khan, who headed training efforts for the border police in Khost Province, northeast of Paktika, was killed when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device, Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported on September 25. The blast also killed Shamal Khan's driver and injured seven police officers. Speaking with AIP on September 25, Mohammad Hanif said the "Taliban today blew up" a police vehicle using a remote-controlled mine, killing three police officers, including the border police commander. AT
Gholamreza Aqazadeh-Khoi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, arrived in Moscow on September 25 and met with Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko, Radio Farda and Fars News Agency reported. The two did not answer reporters' questions afterward, but beforehand they said they would discuss bilateral ties, international diplomacy relating to the Iranian nuclear program, and the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The Bushehr facility's commissioning is scheduled for September 2007. During the trip to Moscow, Aqazadeh said Iranian personnel can complete building the plant if the Russians cannot do so. He noted that the design has undergone many changes over the years. Originally designed by Siemens in the 1970s, the plant was modified by Russians after they took over from Germans, who refused to continue work. Aqazadeh said Iran has no other choice but to turn to the Russians, ISNA reported. Aqazadeh stressed Iran's need for nuclear power, saying that high oil prices make nuclear power the only economical choice. He added that the Energy Ministry has conducted studies on power generation and these will be made public in a month. BS
An activist at Amir Kabir University, Ehsan Mansuri, was summoned to court on September 25 for publishing alleged falsehoods in the student publication "Sahar," ISNA reported. Mansuri was managing director of "Shar" when the offending article appeared in May. Also on September 25, "Vazhe-yi No," a student publication at Amir Kabir University, was closed and all copies were confiscated, ILNA reported. The campus security department said it did not know whether "Vazhe-yi No" has a permit. Two other campus publications, "Dochar" and "Fardapileh," have been closed down in the past few days, ILNA reported. BS
The Aref News website reportedly is being filtered, Aftab reported on September 25. Aref News is connected with President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's Islamic Revolution Devotees Society (Jamiyat-i Isargaran-i Inqilab-i Islami), but it has become increasingly critical of him over the last few months. It has published reports linking his associates, including adviser Mujtaba Hashemi-Samareh, with oil contracts and other suspicious financial deals. Earlier in the month, the Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance provided publications with a list of news agencies they could use as sources, Radio Farda reported. Use of "suspicious" sources -- defined as those that criticize the Ahmadinejad administration or downplay the country's accomplishments in the last year -- was forbidden. BS
Abdolreza Mesri, the parliamentary representative from Kermanshah, was introduced by President Ahmadinejad on September 25 as the new welfare and social-security minister, IRNA reported. Pending a vote of confidence from the legislature, Mesri will succeed Parviz Kazemi. An anonymous ministry official told ILNA that Kazemi was replaced because he allowed subordinates to simultaneously hold leadership positions in businesses. The source claimed Kazemi hired incompetents and that the ministry did not report on its activities satisfactorily. BS
The September 26 session of the Anfal trial erupted into chaos as former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was ejected from the courtroom for the third consecutive session, international media reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," September 25, 2006). Judge Muhammad al-Uraybi opened the session by warning Hussein to contain his outbursts in the courtroom. The judge also allowed Hussein to read a written statement, Reuters reported. The contents of the statement were not disclosed and microphones were turned off so reporters could not hear. An argument later erupted between Hussein and al-Uraybi following the testimony of two Kurdish witnesses during which al-Uraybi ordered Hussein out of the courtroom. Hussein's six co-defendants attempted to follow him out of the courtroom, but the judge ordered all but one, former Defense Minister Sultan Hashim, to be put back in their seats, Reuters reported. KR
The Council of Representatives voted unanimously on September 25 to reexamine the constitution, international media reported the same day. One hundred twenty-nine out of 275 parliamentarians attended the session, agreeing to appoint committee members at the September 26 session, Al-Arabiyah television reported. KR
Kurdish parliamentarians withdrew from the September 25 session after a Sunni Arab parliamentarian accused Kurds of trying to influence the demographic composition of the Ninawah Governorate, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reported the same day. Usama al-Nujayfi, a member of the Iraqi National List, accused the Kurds of trying to populate villages within the governorate in an effort to integrate certain areas into the Kurdish autonomous region. Al-Nujayfi also accused the Kurds of trying to change the demographics of Mosul, the governorate's capital, contending that the city has always been an "Arab" city and should stay that way. KR
Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zawba'i has warned that the government received intelligence that army officers are plotting a coup, Kurdistan Satellite Television reported on September 25. Al-Zawba'i's comments came during a trip to Germany, and he declined to give any details for security reasons, Baghdad's "Al-Mada" reported the same day. KR
Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Jabir al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah issued a warning on September 25 against violations of the northern border with Iraq, KUNA reported the same day. He vowed to take action against anyone trying to violate Kuwait's borders after nearly a dozen border violations from Iraq in recent months. He called on Iraq to take additional steps to secure its side of the border. Meanwhile, Jordan has installed infrared devices along its border with Iraq in an effort to curb drug trafficking, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reported on September 25. There has reportedly been a marked increase in the trafficking of hashish grown in Iraq and transported to Jordan and Saudi Arabia in recent months. Iraq also serves as a transit for drugs coming from Afghanistan, according to one Jordanian official. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told U.S. National Public Radio on September 25 that Syria, Iran, and Turkey are interfering in Iraq's internal affairs. Should the interference continue, Talabani said, Iraq will take steps to respond in kind by supporting opposition groups in neighboring states. KR
The British military has said it killed Al-Qaeda fugitive Umar al-Faruq in a predawn raid on September 25, international media reported the same day. Al-Faruq escaped from an Afghan prison in 2005. U.K. military spokesman Major Charlie Burbridge described al-Faruq, an Indonesian national, as a terrorist of "considerable significance." He was killed in fighting with British troops attempting to storm the house in which he was hiding. Al-Faruq's wife told reporters in Indonesia that she does not believe reports that her husband is dead. KR
[46] KOSOVA MOVES TOWARD A SOLUTION
By Patrick Moore
UN envoy for Kosova Martti Ahtisaari won the support of the major powers on September 20 to resolve the Kosova status question by the end of 2006, after it became obvious that attempts to reach a mediated settlement were getting nowhere. The solution will essentially be an imposed one, with none of the parties directly affected having a veto.
Ahtisaari's move is the latest in a series of diplomatic events that began to take shape in the summer of 2005 in response to the ethnically motivated unrest in Kosova in the spring of 2004. In mid-2005, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, at the recommendation of Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide, recognized that failure to resolve the question of Kosova's status would most likely lead to even more violence. The two men realized that the time had come to end the province's political limbo and proceed toward a settlement. This position was strongly supported by Washington, in particular. Following the latest developments at the UN, Ahtisaari is now expected to have his proposal ready by late October or some time in November.
In view of the demand by the 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority for independence, which they have expressed through all their political parties, the most likely outcome appears to be independence, albeit with strong international guarantees for the Serbs and other ethnic minorities. Serbia has long been put on notice by the international community that it will not be allowed to veto any settlement.
Ahtisaari, moreover, has followed the lead of Denmark's Soren Jessen-Petersen, who recently left Kosova as head of the UN civilian administration (UNMIK), in criticizing the Belgrade politicians for barring Kosova's Serbian minority from taking part in the province's elected institutions, and hence from a assuming a direct role in determining their own future. At the UN on September 20, the six-member Contact Group dealing with Kosova -- the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia -- also slammed what it called Belgrade's "obstruction." The six noted that they "reaffirmed their commitment that all possible efforts be made to achieve a negotiated settlement in the course of 2006." Off the record, some Western diplomats said that they fear a "meltdown" in Kosova by the spring of 2007 unless the status question is resolved by the end of 2006.
The Belgrade politicians, who have expected to face early elections for well over a year, have been speaking in increasingly desperate tones about Kosova and its role in the Balkan political balance. Those leaders are reluctant to say or do anything that voters might interpret as showing "weakness" regarding Kosova. They thus waste time and energy over Kosova, which some of them privately admit is "lost" anyway, that could be put to use in dealing with Serbia's real problems, which are crime, poverty, corruption, and a democracy deficit. Some observers go one step further and suggest that the politicians deliberately talk tough and draw voters' attention to the Kosova issue in order to divert their gaze away from the those same politicians' poor track record in improving the daily lot of ordinary Serbs.
In any event, it is clear that there will be no more serious proposals from Belgrade before Serbia goes to the polls than President Boris Tadic's vague calls for a "creative solution" in dealing with Kosova. It was probably this realization that was instrumental in Ahtisaari's decision to go to the UN for authorization to act.
For their parts, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic -- both of whom fare poorly in Serbian public opinion polls -- have stressed in public statements that Russia will use its Security Council veto to block any settlement that Moscow finds unacceptable.
Russia's role and its definition of what is acceptable are, however, unclear. Under the tsars and the communists alike, its foreign policy in the Balkans was always dictated by its own interests rooted in realpolitik, not by any abstract loyalties to any peoples or states in the region. For a century and a half, it alternated its support as it wished between rivals Serbia and Bulgaria -- both of which are Slavic and Orthodox -- in regard to Macedonia and ultimately in regard to their respective claims to be the dominant power in the region.
Recent statements by President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and other Russian officials suggest that Moscow's main concern with Kosova today is as leverage to pursue Russian interests in what are known as the "frozen conflicts" in the former Soviet Union. The men in the Kremlin argue that if Kosova can become independent, then why cannot Transdniester, for example?
This view leaves out one very important fact, namely that under the 1974 Yugoslav and Serbian constitutions, Kosova had rights almost equivalent to those of the six federal Yugoslav republics, all of which are now independent. The same cannot be said of Transdniester.
What is clear, however, is that Moscow will use the Kosova issue as a bargaining chip for promoting its own interests. These lie very close to its own borders, Russia's growing business interests in Serbia notwithstanding. Despite Kostunica's fulsome praise for the support of Russia and Putin over Kosova, this reality is probably not lost on him or his colleagues in Belgrade.
rferl2html v1.01 run on Tuesday, 26 September 2006 - 12:33:07 UTC


Did you know that insurers can reduce your prescription coverage at any time? On June 6, Shaina Smith, U.S. Pain director of state advocacy and alliance development, traveled to Pennsylvania to speak on a panel asked about improving patient stability by limiting midyear prescription coverage changes. Women in Government partnered with the Pennsylvanians for Fair Health Coverage Coalition, of which U.S. Pain belongs, to host the event.
The state policy roundtable also included members from the Epilepsy Foundation and Community Liver Alliance. Such like-minded groups expressed similar sentiments shared by Smith's presentation, with an emphasis on the impact existing loopholes in Pennsylvania can have on patients being medically treated to manage specific conditions.
Legislation has not yet been introduced by lawmakers in Pennsylvania to ensure continuity of care, but the coalition is in its early stages of providing educational opportunities for patients and General Assembly to better understand why keeping patient consumers stable on medications is detrimental to overall patient safety.
To learn more about continuity of care and nonmedical medication switching, click here.


text:
Illustrators: Delinois, Alix
by Edwidge Danticat and Alix Delinois
Junior tells of the games he played in his mind during the eight days he was trapped in his house after the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Includes author's note about Haitian children before the earthquake and her own children's reactions to the disaster.
Greetings, Leroy
by Itah Sadu and Alix Delinois
"The first day at a new school is nerve-wracking enough, never mind when it's in a new country! In this lively picture book from award-winning storyteller Itah Sadu, Roy realizes he may come to love his new home in Canada as much as he loves his old home in Jamaica"--Provided by publisher
by Walter Dean Myers and Alix Delinois
"Acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers recounts the champ's most famous fights and examines the depth and complexity of the larger-than-life legend Muhammad Ali"--Amazon.com
Biography Oppression & Resilience
Mumbet's Declaration of Independence
by Gretchen Woelfle and Alix Delinois
Mumbet's Declaration of Independence tells the story of a Massachusetts slave from the Revolutionary era--in 1781, she successfully used the new Massachusetts Constitution to make a legal case that she should be free
Biography Cross Group Oppression & Resilience
Diverse BookFinder Books Illustrators Delinois, Alix


Media Day at SHOT SHOW will always be one of the highlights of the event. That is the day that selective media groups have the opportunity to handle, shoot and molest all the latest and greatest in firearms and firearms accessories. For those who have not been there before, it takes place at Boulder City, NV the day before SHOT officially begins. It is a great opportunity to really get a feel for the new year's offerings. This year was no different and a good time was had by all. After spending the day on the range, I wrote a Media Day summary of many of the products I had the opportunity to test. In that summary I hit on a new company called TAC-CON who makes a very unique trigger called the 3MR.
During my brief time on the range I had the opportunity to shoot the TAC-CON and talk with Mike, one of the owners of the company. He broke down how the trigger works, the different positions, specifications, etc. Basically it is a drop in trigger pack, with 3 modes: Safe, Semi-Automatic and Positive Reset. The Positive Reset mode, if manipulated properly, reduces split times between shots.
I was fortunate enough to leave SHOT with a brand new TAC-CON 3MR trigger. Since then I have put a few more mags on it and find it enjoyable and very fun to shoot in the third position. I am also very impressed with the second position function of the trigger. The semi auto selection has a very crisp 4.5 lb, single stage, trigger pull that is very fast in its own right.
The early articles I have read on this trigger have had mixed results. Some writers love it and some are less than impressed. Many of these comments have come from shooters, like myself, that used the TAC-CON for the first time at Media Day. I have heard some folks call it gimmicky, however I would disagree. A gimmick is something that is deceiving or uses false advertisement. In contrast, the TAC-CON 3MR trigger does what it advertises assuming the shooter does their part. Yes, it does take a little getting used to, but it isn't rocket science. With practice rapid fire is easily achievable. I have a feeling the reason for the negativity is due to lack of trigger time. I don't fault those writers for their opinions or experiences, however I would wager the more time they spent with it their opinions would be different or at least better informed.
The next question I hear is, "How fast is it?" Well, that depends on the shooter, now doesn't it? As it is a semi-automatic device, it is up to the shooter to pull the trigger each and every time a round is discharged. How fast that happens is directly proportional to the shooter's ability. My experience shows that it is a quick trigger in the third position. That being said, I have yet to time it against other triggers; however I plan to do so in another segment and video. I envision stacking up the TAC-CON against a mil-spec trigger, and a few after market triggers like Geissele, ALG, CMC and the like. Hopefully I will even compare it to a full auto gun. All the triggers will use my trigger finger and a shot timer for comparison.
"Is it practical?" Again, it depends on who you are talking to. Will the TAC-CON end up on the front lines across the pond? Probably not. Will it end up in a LEO stick in a squad car? Who knows? Personally, I enjoy shooting fast, however it isn't always practical. Case in point, during my time in service, I ran an M4. I very rarely used the fun switch. When I did, it was in two to three round bursts. Why? I was more accurate with my rifle in the semi-auto mode, I could control it better and I could shoot "fast enough." I did take comfort in knowing I had the full auto option, but for my line of work, it wasn't usually necessary.
The last question I get is regarding the $495 price tag. "Is it worth it?" That is a tough one. Had I not got a good deal at SHOT, I most likely wouldn't have forked over five bills for a drop in trigger. That being said, it offers something that no other trigger does. The ability to flip to the third position, get fast shots and still be legal. In addition, it doesn't require your gun to modify the stock or grip or your shooting style. So in that sense, if those are attractive features for a potential buyer, then the price may not be an issue. You will need to decide for yourself if it is right for you.
For more information on the TAC-CON 3MR trigger or to pre-order check out their website at www.tacconusa.com.
Tried the Tac_Con trigger in my 9mm JR Carbine. It would not reset for the second shot. Sent it and my lower to T-C. They returned it saying everything was to spec. Still would not reset trigger for second shot. T-C requested I send the trigger bqack and they would refund my money. Which they promptly did. Was very disappointed that the T-C trigger would not work in my JR Carbine.
I put the Tac-Con trigger in my 9mm DDLES glock lower carbine and it ran pretty well, with an occasional light primer strike. I contacted Tac-con, and they asked me what was happening, and told me that I might have one of the triggers that has a "skipping issue". I live in Arizona, so I met them at Ben Avery, the range, and they checked out my trigger and rifle. Turns out, the problem was a 3 part problem. One, I hadn't truely mastered the trigger. There is a learning curve. Two, the trigger had a problem, the hammer was following the bolt if the trigger was released slowly (I believe, that was the case) It wasn't resetting itself, but that was only about every 10 rounds. And 3, my bolt catch had cracked and bent itself up to drag on the BCG sometimes. That all said, they swapped triggers with me, let me shoot some of their rifles to get the hang of the trigger and gave me a couple of cold drinks, water and gatoraid and sent me happily on my way. I have since switched out the catch, and changed the buffer on the carbine and am loving the trigger. It is not a machinegun. It wasn't designed to be one, but it is as close as I can afford right now. Thank you Tac-con.
Great write up! Thx for sharing your experience.


text:
Q: 500 OOPS: SSL: cannot load RSA private key I am trying to debug a FTP server. I am currently getting
$ sudo /usr/sbin/vsftpd
500 OOPS: SSL: cannot load RSA private key

FTP connections are being refused. This is that status of from systemctl:
$ sudo systemctl status vsftpd.service
● vsftpd.service - vsftpd FTP server
   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/vsftpd.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
   Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Wed 2019-05-15 20:40:34 UTC; 7min ago
  Process: 3220 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/vsftpd /etc/vsftpd.conf (code=exited, status=2)
  Process: 3217 ExecStartPre=/bin/mkdir -p /var/run/vsftpd/empty (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
 Main PID: 3220 (code=exited, status=2)

May 15 20:40:34 ip-10-0-0-27 systemd[1]: Stopped vsftpd FTP server.
May 15 20:40:34 ip-10-0-0-27 systemd[1]: Starting vsftpd FTP server...
May 15 20:40:34 ip-10-0-0-27 systemd[1]: Started vsftpd FTP server.
May 15 20:40:34 ip-10-0-0-27 systemd[1]: vsftpd.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=2/INVALIDARGUMENT
May 15 20:40:34 ip-10-0-0-27 systemd[1]: vsftpd.service: Unit entered failed state.
May 15 20:40:34 ip-10-0-0-27 systemd[1]: vsftpd.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.

Somethings is likely wring with the key file, but I don't know why. It looks normal to me:
$ sudo ls -l /etc/ssl/private/wildcard.key
-r-------- 1 root root 1679 May 15 20:38 /etc/ssl/private/wildcard.key

And contains
-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
...
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

Contents of  /etc/vsftpd.conf:
use_localtime=YES
hide_ids=YES

# Logging
dual_log_enable=YES
xferlog_enable=YES
log_ftp_protocol=YES
debug_ssl=YES

#listen_ipv6=YES
listen=YES

# Local users
anonymous_enable=NO
write_enable=YES
local_enable=YES
chroot_local_user=YES
allow_writeable_chroot=YES
secure_chroot_dir=/run/vsftpd/empty
user_sub_token=$USER
local_root=/home/$USER/incoming

# TLS/SSL

ssl_enable=YES
force_local_data_ssl=YES
force_local_logins_ssl=YES
rsa_cert_file=/etc/ssl/private/wildcard.crt
rsa_private_key_file=/etc/ssl/private/wildcard.key
ssl_sslv2=NO
ssl_sslv3=YES
ssl_tlsv1=YES

ssl_ciphers=ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:AES256-SHA
strict_ssl_read_eof=NO
ssl_request_cert=NO
require_ssl_reuse=NO

# Passive mode
pasv_enable=YES
pasv_address=[REDACTED]
pasv_min_port=50000
pasv_max_port=50099

Output of strace:
$strace /usr/sbin/vsftpd /etc/vsftpd.conf
execve("/usr/sbin/vsftpd", ["/usr/sbin/vsftpd", "/etc/vsftpd.conf"], [/* 22 vars */]) = 0
brk(0)                                  = 0x7f3c864aa000
access("/etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
access("/etc/ld.so.preload", R_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/etc/ld.so.cache", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=24984, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 24984, PROT_READ, MAP_PRIVATE, 3, 0) = 0x7f3c85d15000
close(3)                                = 0
access("/etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libwrap.so.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0p-\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=36632, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c85d14000
mmap(NULL, 2134176, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f3c856c7000
mprotect(0x7f3c856cf000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f3c858ce000, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x7000) = 0x7f3c858ce000
mmap(0x7f3c858d0000, 160, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c858d0000
close(3)                                = 0
access("/etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpam.so.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\300$\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=55856, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 2150904, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f3c854b9000
mprotect(0x7f3c854c6000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f3c856c5000, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0xc000) = 0x7f3c856c5000
close(3)                                = 0
access("/etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libssl.so.1.0.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\240.\1\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=387272, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 2482576, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f3c8525a000
mprotect(0x7f3c852af000, 2097152, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f3c854af000, 40960, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x55000) = 0x7f3c854af000
close(3)                                = 0
access("/etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcrypto.so.1.0.0", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\200\356\5\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=1938752, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c85d13000
mmap(NULL, 4049080, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f3c84e7d000
mprotect(0x7f3c85030000, 2097152, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f3c85230000, 155648, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x1b3000) = 0x7f3c85230000
mmap(0x7f3c85256000, 14520, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c85256000
close(3)                                = 0
access("/etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcap.so.2", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0 \26\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=18952, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 2114160, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f3c84c78000
mprotect(0x7f3c84c7c000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f3c84e7b000, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x3000) = 0x7f3c84e7b000
close(3)                                = 0
access("/etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0P \2\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0755, st_size=1857312, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 3965632, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f3c848af000
mprotect(0x7f3c84a6d000, 2097152, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f3c84c6d000, 24576, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x1be000) = 0x7f3c84c6d000
mmap(0x7f3c84c73000, 17088, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c84c73000
close(3)                                = 0
access("/etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libnsl.so.1", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0`A\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=97296, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c85d12000
mmap(NULL, 2202328, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f3c84695000
mprotect(0x7f3c846ac000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f3c848ab000, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x16000) = 0x7f3c848ab000
mmap(0x7f3c848ad000, 6872, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c848ad000
close(3)                                = 0
access("/etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libaudit.so.1", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\240(\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=104936, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 2241056, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f3c84471000
mprotect(0x7f3c8448a000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f3c84689000, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x18000) = 0x7f3c84689000
mmap(0x7f3c8468b000, 37408, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c8468b000
close(3)                                = 0
access("/etc/ld.so.nohwcap", F_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdl.so.2", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0\320\16\0\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=14664, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 2109744, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7f3c8426d000
mprotect(0x7f3c84270000, 2093056, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7f3c8446f000, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x2000) = 0x7f3c8446f000
close(3)                                = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c85d11000
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c85d10000
mmap(NULL, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c85d0e000
arch_prctl(ARCH_SET_FS, 0x7f3c85d0e740) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c84c6d000, 16384, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c8446f000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c84689000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c848ab000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c84e7b000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c85230000, 110592, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c854af000, 12288, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c856c5000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c858ce000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c85d1c000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c85af3000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
munmap(0x7f3c85d15000, 24984)           = 0
brk(0)                                  = 0x7f3c864aa000
brk(0x7f3c864cb000)                     = 0x7f3c864cb000
open("/etc/vsftpd.conf", O_RDONLY|O_NONBLOCK) = 3
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=1177, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 12288, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c85d19000
mprotect(0x7f3c85d1b000, 4096, PROT_NONE) = 0
mprotect(0x7f3c85d19000, 4096, PROT_NONE) = 0
read(3, "# General. See http://vsftpd.bea"..., 1177) = 1177
mprotect(0x7f3c85d19000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
munmap(0x7f3c85d19000, 12288)           = 0
close(3)                                = 0
stat("/etc/vsftpd.conf", {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=1177, ...}) = 0
getuid()                                = 0
getuid()                                = 0
getpid()                                = 7409
open("/dev/urandom", O_RDONLY|O_NOCTTY|O_NONBLOCK) = 3
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFCHR|0666, st_rdev=makedev(1, 9), ...}) = 0
poll([{fd=3, events=POLLIN}], 1, 10)    = 1 ([{fd=3, revents=POLLIN}])
read(3, "\204\30>\303\fE\234\240VU\233\10\313\361\354^\217@\231\367`\274\260\241\357\234u\211aR^T", 32) = 32
close(3)                                = 0
getuid()                                = 0
open("/etc/ssl/private/wildcard.crt", O_RDONLY) = 3
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0400, st_size=8242, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c85d1b000
read(3, "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nXXXX"..., 4096) = 4096
read(3, "XXX..."..., 4096) = 4096
read(3, "XXX...=\n-----EN"..., 4096) = 50
read(3, "", 4096)                       = 0
read(3, "", 4096)                       = 0
close(3)                                = 0
munmap(0x7f3c85d1b000, 4096)            = 0
open("/etc/ssl/private/wildcard.key", O_RDONLY) = 3
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0400, st_size=1704, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7f3c85d1b000
read(3, "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\nXXXX"..., 4096) = 1704
close(3)                                = 0
munmap(0x7f3c85d1b000, 4096)            = 0
fcntl(0, F_GETFL)                       = 0x8002 (flags O_RDWR|O_LARGEFILE)
fcntl(0, F_SETFL, O_RDWR|O_NONBLOCK|O_LARGEFILE) = 0
write(0, "500 OOPS: ", 10500 OOPS: )              = 10
write(0, "SSL: cannot load RSA private key", 32SSL: cannot load RSA private key) = 32
write(0, "\r\n", 2
)                     = 2
exit_group(2)                           = ?
+++ exited with 2 +++

A: I have made some checks.
Your private key is in a wrong format.
vsftpd expects it to be a PEM encoded PKCS#8 format private key.
You have it as PEM encoded PKCS#1 format private key. To convert it into the correct format, use the following commands:
cd /etc/ssl/private/
openssl pkcs8 -topk8 -nocrypt -in wildcard.key -out wildcard_new.key
mv -f wildcard_new.key wildcard.key

Now your key should be like following:
-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
...
-----END PRIVATE KEY-----

Check your key and certificate match
Run the following commands to check that your private key and certificate match:
cd /etc/ssl/private/
openssl pkey -in wildcard.key -pubout -outform pem | sha256sum
openssl x509 -in wildcard.crt -pubkey -noout -outform pem | sha256sum

The commands should output the same hash values

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange