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Az Indiana Jones és az utolsó kereszteslovag (Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade) egy 1989-ben bemutatott, Steven Spielberg által rendezett kalandfilm Harrison Ford főszereplésével. A filmben ismét Az elveszett frigyláda fosztogatói és az Indiana Jones és a végzet temploma vakmerő kalandora, Indiana Jones a főszereplő. A film 1938-ban, az első rész eseményei után játszódik.

Történet

A történet 1912-ben, Utah államban veszi kezdetét, amikor a még kamasz Indiana Jones szemtanúja lesz, amint néhány sírrabló egy barlangban megtalálja Coronado régóta elveszettnek hitt keresztjét. Indy az őt kísérő barátját megkéri, értesítse a seriffet, majd elorozza a keresztet a rablók elől, akik aztán üldözőbe veszik. Menekülés közben a lováról felkapaszkodik egy cirkuszvonatra, ahol veszélyes állatokkal megtöltött kocsikon keresztül próbál egérutat nyerni, sikeresen. Hazaérve az apjától akar segítséget kérni, ám az csak a naplója írásával van elfoglalva. Ekkor állít be hozzájuk a seriff, akinek Jones átadja a keresztet. A seriff azonban a háta mögött megjelenő rablók kezébe nyomja a műkincset, azt állítva, hogy ők a jogos tulajdonosok. A rablók egy panamakalapos üzletembernek adják át a keresztet, a vezérük azonban, mivel tetszett neki Indy elszántsága, biztató szavak kíséretében a fejére nyomja saját kalapját – amely a későbbiekben Jones ruházatának elmaradhatatlan részévé válik.

1938-ban, a portugál partok közelében Indiana ismét a keresztért küzd, s bár elfogják, a viharban hánykolódó hajón lerázza fogvatartóit, s visszaszerzi a műkincset az ezúttal is jelenlévő panamakalapos férfitől. Némi dulakodás után sikerül leugrania a hajóról, amelynek szállítmánya néhány másodperccel később felrobban, s minden utasa meghal. Indy egy mentőövnek köszönhetően menekül meg.

A munkahelyéről, az egyetemről néhány titokzatos férfi Walter Donovan műgyűjtőhöz viszi Jonest. Donovan egy félbetört homokkőtáblát mutat meg neki, amelynek 12. századi latin szövege a Szent Grál megtalálásának helyét írja körül, de túlzottan homályosan, és a letört darab miatt hiányosan. A Grál egy kehely, amelyről a párbeszéd során kiderül, hogy a legenda szerint Jézus ebből ivott az utolsó vacsorán, keresztre feszítése után pedig Arimathiai József ebben fogta fel a sebeiből kifolyó vért; ezer éven át elveszettnek hitték, a keresztes hadjáratok során azonban három keresztes lovag, három testvér megtalálta. Egyikük ott maradt a kőtábla szerint örök életet adó Grált őrizni, ketten pedig 150 év elteltével visszaindultak Frankhonba, de csak egyikük ért haza; ő a történetet elmesélte egy ferences rendi szerzetesnek, aki egy – immár Donovan birtokában lévő – könyvben meg is örökítette a beszámolót. Donovan szerint az írás felfedheti azt a két, a hazatérő lovag által hátrahagyott "útjelzőt", amelyekből fény derülhet a Grál helyére. Az egyik útjelző a félbetört tábla, a másik pedig az útközben meghalt lovag koporsójában van, a kutatás vezetőjének feltételezése szerint valahol Velencében. Kiderül, hogy a kutatás vezetője nem más, mint a Grált már 40 éve kereső idősebb Henry Jones, Indy apja, aki azonban a kutatási anyagával együtt nyomtalanul eltűnt. Donovan ezért Indianát kéri meg a keresés folytatására.

Jones apja házához hajt munkatársa, Marcus Brody társaságában. Valakik azonban jártak ott előttük, mert a berendezést feldúlva találják. Indy rájön, hogy azt a csomagot keresték, amelyet néhány órával korábban az egyetemen kapott kézhez: apja Velencéből elküldte neki a Grál-naplóját, a teljes kutatási anyagot. Indy úgy dönt, utána indul Velencébe.

Marcus is vele tart, Indy zsebében pedig ott van a Grál-napló. A lagúnák városában a fiatal és csinos Dr. Elsa Schneider várja őket, az idősebb Jones korábbi munkatársa. Elmondja nekik, hogy Indy apja egy könyvtárban tűnt el, s csak egy római számokat tartalmazó papírfecni maradt utána. Visszamennek a könyvtárba, ahol a papíron és a teremben látható három római szám (III., VII., X.) alapján Indy rájön, hogy a lovag sírjának valahol az épület alatt kell lennie. Az X által jelzett helyen felnyitják a kőpadlózatot, s találnak egy katakombát, amelybe Schneider és Jones lemásznak. Az őrködő Brodyt rövid idő múlva hátulról leüti néhány férfi, Indyék pedig egy patkányoktól hemzsegő, petróleummal teli folyosóra érnek. Sikerül megtalálniuk a koporsót, benne a pajzzsal, amelyről lemásolják a felirat hiányzó részét, de üldözőik rájuk gyújtják a petróleumot, s csak a koporsó alatt találnak menedéket. Végül meglelik a kijáratot, de továbbra is menekülni kényszerülnek. Motorcsónakba ugranak, s a szerencsének is köszönhetően sikerül lerázniuk üldözőiket. A vezetőjüket, Kazimot foglyul is ejtik, s megtudják tőle, hogy a Keresztes Kard Testvéri Társaság tagjaként a Grál védelmezése az egyetlen célja. Úgy döntenek, elengedik őt, mert elárulja nekik, hogy az idősebb Jonest a német-osztrák határ közelében található brünwaldi kastélyban tartják fogva.

A velencei hotelban Indy és Marcus a felirat másolatából megtudják, hogy a keresett város neve Alexandretta (a mai İskenderun), annak a közelében találják majd meg a Grált. Indy és Elsa szobáját eközben valaki feldúlja. A nő csak ekkor tudja meg, hogy a napló a férfinál van, veszekedés tör ki közöttük, amely végül szeretkezésbe fordul.

Ausztriába már csak Elsa kíséri el Indyt, s miután a kastélyba könnyen bejutnak, felfedezik, hogy egy náci főhadiszálláson vannak. Megtalálják Henry szobáját, Indy az ablakon keresztül be is jut hozzá, mindeközben azonban Elsát elfogja egy Vogel nevű SS-tiszt. Indiana leteszi a fegyverét, hiába figyelmezteti az apja, hogy a nő is náci: Elsa maga veszi ki a naplót a férfi zsebéből, s adja át Vogelnek. A kastélyban feltűnik Donovan is, aki tehát szintén a nácikkal együttműködve kutat a Grál után. A naplóban azonban hiába keresi a kulcsfontosságú térképet, mivel az Marcusnál maradt, aki közben már İskenderunba utazott. Ott találkozik Salah-val, Indy régi barátjával, de mindössze néhány perc után elrabolják.

A két Jonest a kastély egyik termében egymáshoz kötözik, majd magukra hagyják. Egy öngyújtó segítségével próbálnak kiszabadulni, de az idősebb Jones ügyetlenségében felgyújtja a szobát. A tűz elől egy kandallónak látszó, valójában a szomszéd szobába nyíló titkos forgóajtóhoz vonszolják magukat; véletlenül megfordítják az ajtót, és egy nácikkal teli rádiós szobában találják magukat, de miután leoldozzák a kötelet, sikerül megszabadulniuk tőlük, majd a kastélyból is kijutnak. Oldalkocsis motoron folytatják a menekülést, de négy motoros üldözőbe veszi őket. Miután őket is lerázzák, egy útelágazáshoz érnek, ahol vita alakul ki köztük, mert a fiatalabb Jones Marcus után akar menni, az idősebb szerint viszont szükség van a naplóra, mert abban van leírva, hogy milyen csapdák várnak a Grál megtalálóira. Berlinbe indulnak tehát, ahol a Führer jelenlétében éppen könyvégetés és katonai parádé folyik. A náci egyenruhába bújó Indy visszaszerzi a naplót Elsától, aki hagyja elmenekülni a két Jonest, a tömeg azonban éppen az aláírásokat osztogató Hitler útjába sodorja őket; a váratlan találkozás eredményeként ők is kapnak egy autogramot a naplóba.

Ezután a reptér felé veszik az irányt, ahol sikerül jegyet szerezniük az első olyan léghajóra, amely elhagyja Németországot. Vogel itt is a nyomukban van ugyan, de az ezúttal egy jegyellenőr egyenruháját magára öltő Indy egyszerűen kidobja őt az éppen indulni készülő hajó ablakán. Útközben a Grál megtalálása előtt rájuk váró három csapdát tanulmányozzák, a hajó azonban egyszercsak megfordul, hogy visszatérjen Berlinbe. Indyék ezért ellopják a zeppelinhez rögzített dupla szárnyú kisrepülőt, de nem sokáig tudnak a levegőben maradni, mert két Messerschmitt a nyomukba ered, s bár ők nem találják el a gépüket, az ismét ügyetlenkedő idősebb Jones géppuskával szétlövi a saját repülőjük függőleges vezérsíkját. A kényszerleszállást követően autóval folytatják a menekülést. Az egyik vadászgéptől egy alagútban sikerül megszabadulniuk, ahova egy rossz manőver következtében követi őket. A másik repülőgépnek az ezúttal hasznossá váló idősebb Jones okozza vesztét: esernyőjével felzavarja a tengerparton összegyűlt sirályokat, éppen a közeledő vadászgép légcsavarjai közé, amely emiatt irányíthatatlanul csapódik a közeli sziklafalba.

Donovant és Vogelt İskenderunban fogadja a Hatay Köztársaság vezetője, akivel a kutatás és a Grál elszállításának engedélyezéséről tárgyalnak. Ellentételezésként egy láda kincset ajánlanak fel, a szultánnak azonban az a Rolls-Royce Phantom II tetszik meg, amellyel Donovanék érkeztek. Elragadtatásában fegyveres kíséretet, lovakat, tevéket és egy első világháborús tankot ajánl fel Donovannak.

A két Jones szintén megérkezik a városba, és Salah társaságában a Marcust és Elsát is szállító konvoj nyomába erednek. Feltűnik Kazim is, aki hittársaival sikertelen támadást indít a nácik és kísérőik ellen. A kavarodásban Indy lovakat, Salah tevéket szerez, az idősebb Jonest azonban foglyul ejtik, amikor meggondolatlanul bemászik a tankba Marcus után.

A harckocsi Vogel parancsnoksága alatt üldözőbe veszi a lovon menekülő Indyt, a nehezen manőverező jármű azonban képtelen eltalálni őt a pontatlanul célzó ágyúival. Jones felkapaszkodik a tankra, egy lövéssel megöl három katonát, de Vogel hátulról elkapja a nyakát egy vastag lánccal. Egy alkalmas pillanatban az idősebb Jones és Brody is rátámad fogvatartóikra, és – többek között egy töltőtoll segítségével – sikerül ártalmatlanítani őket, amit Henry arra használ fel, hogy belelő a mellettük haladó, katonákkal teli teherautóba. A robbanás miatt a még mindig Vogellel verekedő Indy leesik a tank tetejéről, és csak az egyik oldalsó ágyúcsőben tud megkapaszkodni. Vogel ásóval ütni kezdi a kezét, ami miatt elengedi a csövet, de táskájának a szíja fennakad, így nem képes leugrani. Éppen egy sziklafal közvetlen közelében haladnak – Indy is ezen az oldalon lóg –, néhány méterre egy nagy kiszögelléstől, ezért Vogel kiadja a parancsot a tankvezetőnek (aki a dulakodásból mindvégig kimaradt, ezért Henryék nem foglalkoztak vele), hogy tartsa a járművet a szikla felé. Marcusék eközben megpróbálnak kimászni, az egyik magához térő náci azonban az idősebb Jonesra veti magát. Brody egy lövedékkel hátulról leüti a katonát, akinek a fegyvere ettől elsül, a golyó pedig gellert kapva homlokon találja a jármű vezetőjét; holtteste éppen úgy dől rá a botkormányra, hogy azzal a sziklafaltól távolabbra irányítja a tankot. A váratlan manővertől Vogel elveszti az egyensúlyát, ami időt ad Indynek, hogy visszakapaszkodjon a harckocsira. Henry és Marcus végre kimásznak, de Vogel ismét rájuk támad. Indy véletlenül lelöki a járműről Brodyt, de nem történik baja, az idősebb Jones azonban a lánctalpakra esik az ásóval csapkodó Vogel miatt, s Indy csak az ostorával tudja elkapni a lábszárát, hogy ne essen a tank elé. Salah épp jókor érkezik lovon, lesegíti Henryt a tankról, amelyet már csak néhány méter választ el egy mély szakadéktól. Indy és Vogel tovább verekszik, nem észlelve a veszélyt, az utolsó pillanatban azonban Jones le tud ugrani a Vogellel együtt mélybe zuhanó járműről.

A nácik, Donovannal és Elsával, megtalálják a Grált rejtő, sziklába vájt templomot, de már az első csapdán sem tudnak átjutni. A szultán katonáit kényszerítik próbálkozásra, de többjüket lefejezi egy hatalmas penge. Közben megérkeznek Indyék, és a háttérből figyelik egy darabig az eseményeket, ám felfedezik őket. Donovan hasba lövi az idősebb Jonest, így kényszeríti Indyt, hogy saját maga induljon útnak. Neki – a napló segítségével – sikerül átjutnia az első próbán, a csapdát hatástalanítja, így a többiek követni tudják őt. A második és a harmadik próbán szintén túljut, majd megérkezik egy aranykelyhekkel teli helyiségbe, benne a Grált őrző lovaggal. A lovag rátámad Indyre, de kardjának súlya lehúzza öreg testét, így legyőzöttként át akarja adni fegyverét Indynek, hogy ő őrizze tovább a Grált, ebben a pillanatban azonban belép Donovan és Elsa. A lovag figyelmezteti őket, hogy amíg a Grál életet ad, addig a többi kehely megöli azt, aki iszik belőle, és maguknak kell választaniuk. A tanácstalan Donovan Elsára bízza a döntést, a nő azonban szándékosan rossz kelyhet ad a férfi kezébe, akinek a teste a vízbe kortyolást követően néhány másodperc alatt megöregedik, majd elporlad. Indy is keresgélni kezd, s egy fából készült kehelyre esik a választása. Miután iszik belőle, a lovag megerősíti döntése helyességében, azonban figyelmezteti őt, hogy a templomból nem lehet kivinni a Grált: ez a halhatatlanság ára.

Indy apjához igyekszik, és a Grál vizével másodpercek alatt begyógyítja a súlyos sebet. Elsa ezután kezébe veszi a kelyhet, majd a lovag figyelmeztetése ellenére átlépi a határt jelző nagy pecsétet, amitől a templom omladozni kezd, a föld pedig megnyílik alattuk. Elsa belecsúszik a kinyíló szakadékba, Indy kapja el a kezét, ám ahelyett, hogy kimászna, a nyílás szélén megakadó Grált próbálja elérni, de hiába, a keze kicsúszik Indyéből és lezuhan. A tovább omló föld miatt Jones is majdnem utána esik, apja fogja meg a kezét, ám először ő sem felkapaszkodni próbál, hanem a Grált elérni, végül mégis hallgat apja figyelmeztető szavára, a Grált pedig ott hagyják. Miután kimenekülnek az épületből, Marcus és Salah társaságában lovaikon távoznak a naplementében.

Szereplők

Jegyzetek

További információk

1989 filmjei
Amerikai kalandfilmek
Paramount Pictures-filmek
Steven Spielberg-filmek
UIP-Duna Film-filmek
Velencében játszódó filmek

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Dorsett a walking Bahamian legend
Robert Beatty— August 23, 2013
WEST PARK — For years Bahamian culture has been a staple presence in South Florida. The history of the Bahamian settlers of such towns as Coconut Grove, Key West, Overtown and Liberty City gets a mention (such as when the Goombay Festival in the Grove comes around), and then attention tends to move on. Even Bahamian-Americans who are half-Cuban, half-Dominican, half-Haitian, half-Jamaican and half other nationalities, tend not to identify very much with their Bahamian side for various reasons.
This presents a concern and to address this concern, it is necessary to seek out those with knowledge of family and Bahamian history in the community, such as Thomas Washington Dorsett.
Dorsett is a West Park city commissioner, the first Bahamian-born citizen to come to the United States and hold office as an elected official.
A founding member of the City of West Park, he is also first vice-mayor of the city, a member of the National League of Cities – Small City Council, Broward League of Cities director, chairman of the State Road 7 Collaborative Project, president of Carver Ranches Community Development Cooperation, member of the Make a City Committee, member and former vice chairman of the Broward County Building Code Services and Enforcement Board, past chairman of the Carver Ranches Homeowners Association and a eucharistic minister in his church for the past 14 years. As the famous quotation by statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke says, "Those who don't know their history are destined to repeat it."
Dorsett is a man who knows where he comes from, a necessary component as a community leader.
He was born on the island of Exuma, in the Bahamas on July 4, 1935. His role model was his father, Thomas Dorsett Sr., who also was very active in his community, as a musician, a teacher and founder/organizer of the educational system for the Anglican Church in the BaBahamas.
Over the years Dorsett witnessed many changes, from the horse as a main method of transport to a vehicle in every driveway to the information superhighway. His knowledge of "his-story" goes further than his arrival in South Florida 40 years ago, prior to the development of surrounding towns. It goes beyond his training in general construction at Bahamas Technical School, beyond the visit of the Duke of Edinburg in 1956, to Williamstown, where he was born.
With personal records Dorsett is able to trace ancestry back to his paternal grandfather's arrival at Cotton Cay before being transported to Nassau shortly after the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.
The slave ship cargo had arrived directly from Sierra Leone, West Africa. This uncommon account of slaves arriving directly to the Bahamas from Africa is an impressive aspect of Bahamian history from an impressive man.
In addition to being a tower of strength for progressive, efficient public service and an advocate for economic development for his community, Dorsett, now a widower, is the father of six sons and four daughters. In his spare time, the former construction superintendent visits his hometown and enjoys farming.
Next post 'The unsquarest man' – Albert Murray, 97
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About the Author Robert Beatty
Overtown son, Delrish Moss, becomes Ferguson police chief
Associated Press, April 7, 2016
Cuban migration to US nearly doubles in last quarter of 2015
Supreme Court to weigh juror's racial bias case

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
In Apple Case, Feds Green-Light Corporate Discrimination Against Conservatives
It's time for Congress to take notice of the role the SEC plays in shaping corporate proxy ballots — and how that process is empowering corporate America's march to the left.
By Justin Danhof
It's 2020, and the federal government just sanctioned corporate blacklisting of employees and potential hires based on political affiliation.
You could be forgiven for thinking I am describing 20th-century McCarthyism, or 17th-century witch trials, or even a twist on a George Orwell novel. But sadly, no. It's 2020, and it appears much of our government's historically backward thinking remains.
A few months ago, we at the Free Enterprise Project filed a shareholder resolution with Apple. Our proposal sought to have the Silicon Valley mainstay amend its equal employment opportunity policy to protect individuals from viewpoint discrimination. We thought it a simple request.
After all, Apple — as with most major American corporations — already has protections based on race, gender, and sexual orientation. Some companies, such as Walmart and Coca-Cola, already protect viewpoint diversity by explicitly safeguarding employees from retribution for private political activities. Not Apple. Upon our request for Apple to implement similar policies, its lawyers recoiled with vigor.
With the high-profile ousters of Silicon Valley conservatives such as James Damore and Kevin Cernekee at Google, Brendan Eich at Mozilla, and Palmer Luckey at Facebook, it stands to reason conservatives in the Valley have real cause to fear for their job security. And there is ample evidence conservatives may face discrimination at Apple.
The iPhone maker previously rejected our 2019 shareholder proposal requesting that its board consider balancing its ideological makeup. Apple's board is made up of overwhelmingly dyed-in-the-wool leftists such as former Vice President Al Gore and Disney CEO Bob Iger. The board strongly objected to our request, and the company voted to let its leadership body remain a leftist collective.
At the 2019 Apple shareholder meeting, an investor confronted CEO Tim Cook over the anti-conservative bias within the company. On behalf of her conservative friend who works at Apple and feels shunned for her viewpoint, she asked Cook what her friend should do. Cook, unable to refute the concern, suggested that staffers who perceive they're discriminated against should feel free to talk to him.
That's farcical. Cook lavishly supports far-left politicians and uses his helm at Apple to promote LGBT issues. Apple funds anti-religious freedom organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign. Cook has vociferously maligned state-level religious freedom laws.
Perhaps most egregious is Cook's ringing endorsement of and funding for the widely discredited Southern Poverty Law Center, a group that lumps mainstream Christian organizations into a "hate group" designation with the Ku Klux Klan. Cook has given $1 million of Apple shareholders' money to this bigoted organization. So no, I don't believe conservative Apple employees should go to Cook with their workplace concerns, lest they be ushered off the company's Cupertino, California, campus with haste.
If Cook were a man of his word — that all viewpoints are welcome at Apple — then why did he order Apple attorneys to fight our resolution seeking that very protection?
After we filed our proposal, Apple petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking to remove it. The company's legal team sought to maintain the right to make employment decisions based on a person's ideological viewpoint. We responded to that petition, thinking the SEC lawyers would surely reject Apple's attempt to blackball employees based on politics. We were wrong.
SEC staffers allowed Apple to remove our resolution. So we appealed to the SEC's commissioners, who refused even to hear our appeal. The SEC's approval of Apple's abhorrent behavior is bad on its face, but underneath the surface, it's much more sinister. That's because our resolution is nearly identical to a prior leftist proposal the SEC supported.
In 2019, Walden Asset Management, an activist left-wing firm, filed a resolution with CorVel Corporation seeking to compel that company to amend its equal employment opportunity policy to add protections for "sexual orientation" and "gender identity." When CorVel challenged the proposal, the SEC ruled in favor of Walden. Our proposal followed the same operative language of Walden's proposal; it simply sought protection for viewpoints rather than for sexual orientation and gender identity.
Rather than making decisions based on objective criteria, the SEC is now deciding the fate of shareholder resolutions based on subjective and decidedly left-leaning biases. In rejecting our resolution, the SEC made a mockery of the shareholder proposal process. It's time for Congress to take notice of the role the SEC plays in shaping corporate proxy ballots — and how that process is empowering corporate America's march to the left.
Justin Danhof is the General Counsel for the National Center for Public Policy Research, as well as Director of the Center's Free Enterprise Project.
Photo Arild Finne Nybø/Flickr
Al Gore Apple Bob Iger corporate bias corporate wokeness equal employment opportunity Progressivism SEC Securities and Exchange Commission Silicon Valley viewpoint discrimination


6:30 pm - WorkShop 1 - "SINTE KONOFE & Orodara Sidiki"
8:00 Pm - Workshop 2 - "YANKADI"
African xylophones have a beautiful resonance. Called "Balafon", these wooden instruments have gourd resonators that provide amplification.
You will learn easy to-play patterns that also fit well with drum ensembles. Class hand outs with notation are provided.Colour stickers are on each key to help us find the notes.
There are two different workshops - each one is a separate rhythm. You can take one, or the other, or both. The different workshops are not sequential so you can come at 8 pm without having taken the 6:30 and vice versa. You are also welcome to bring an audio recording device to tape the workshop for your own reference.
The workshop are will be held at the UVic SCHOOL OF MUSIC, Room A169 in the MacLaurin A-Wing.
If you are unsure as to how to find the classroom, please send me an email and I will give you more detailed directions.


text:
Putting a Price on Health
When Naresh Chandra first heard about the Narendra Modi governments ambitious plan to roll out the Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission, toured as the world's biggest health insurance scheme, it sounded like the answer to his prayers. The 62-year-old Bareilly resident hasn't been able to walk for some months now. He needs knee replacement surgery immediately, but he's way down in the long queue of patients in government hospitals. Chandra cannot afford the surgery in a private hospital. The World Bank says rising expenditure on private healthcare is keeping millions of Indians in poverty. State-run health services have not kept pace with the population. Sixty percent of the 60,000-70,000 public/ private hospitals in the country have less than 30 beds and only some 3000 of them have 100 or more beds. India has just two million hospital beds, which is merely one per 625 people. The Ayushman Bharat scheme rather loftily promises to bridge this gap by ensuring healthcare for 100 million of India's poorest families. The Union health ministry claims the scheme has been drafted after studying health schemes being run in states and by the Center. Funded by the central and state governments on a 60:40 ratio (Jammu and Kashmir, north-eastern and other hill states and Delhi will contribute 90 percent), the scheme aims to provide a ₹5 lakh health insurance cover free of cost to an estimated 500 million people.
Some 150,000 health and wellness center's are envisaged, on a budgetary outlay of ₹1200 crore, to cater to minor ailments. The insurance will cover in-patient costs for 1350 diseases and medical procedures, including medicine expenses. Both private and state-run hospitals are expected to participate, with the money earned by government hospitals being used to strengthen their infrastructure. NITI Aayog member Vinod K. Paul, who helped draft the program, says, The government's emphasis will be to develop a basic infrastructure while providing insurance to a large number of people. But it's evidently not going to be easy. The government faces the huge challenge of keeping the treatment costs down while convincing private hospitals to participate in the scheme. Compounding the problem is the abysmal state-run health infrastructure and the demand-supply gap for qualified doctors, nurses and paramedics. Under the scheme, both private and state-run insurance companies will be given contracts after a state-wise bidding process. Insurance premiums will be fixed according to the number of eligible beneficiaries in each state. Bhaskar Nerukar, who heads the health administration team at Bharat Allianz, is upbeat. He says the company's experience with similar state-run schemes in Gujarat, Mizoram and Uttarakhand have been positive. Kapil Mehta, founder and CEO of insurance brokerage firm Secure Now, feels Ayushman Bharat will spur major growth in the insurance sector. He adds a caveat, though. Treating so many people with the existing infrastructure will be a challenge, says Mehta, adding that the scheme's success hinges on making the primary health infrastructure more robust and ensuring the participation of private hospitals as they cater to 80 percent of the healthcare needs.
There is another hurdle. Ayushman Bharat cannot be implemented without all the states coming on board. Thus far, only 24 states have signed the agreement. Of the remaining states, Odisha has opted out while the others have expressed reservations. Union health minister JP Nadda is nonetheless confident. MoUs have been signed with 24 states. We are confident all the [other] states will be linked with the scheme, he said, assuring adequate funding. In Delhi's case, the biggest problem would be reaching a consensus with private healthcare providers on the rates approved for treatment. Girdhar J. Gyani, director general of the Association of Healthcare Providers, calls the rates fixed by the central government as presumptive and unrealistic. The government is under an illusion that treatment is possible at these rates, he says, cautioning that few private hospitals are likely to show interest. Ramneek Singh Bedi, former national vice-president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), who runs a paediatrics hospital in Chandigarh, says Ayushman Bharat is likely to compromise the quality of healthcare to citizens. He, too, questions the rates stipulated for various procedures. The rate for delivery by caesarean section is just ₹9000, including a five-day stay in hospital, medicines, consumables, doctors, and nurses fees and food for the patient, he says. There's no provision for emergency procedures or complications arising during childbirth. Cost studies by the IMA in Tamil Nadu, in contrast, put the cost of a caesarean procedure at over ₹57,000. T. Narsinga Reddy, IMA president for Telangana, says government hospital rates have been used to fix the treatment costs under the scheme. Bedi says the rates should be realistic and factor in expenses such as infrastructure, equipment, import duties on equipment and even water and electricity charges, which private hospitals pay at commercial rates.
Ayushman Bharat Mission CEO Indu Bhushan rejects the criticism. The government has decided the rates on the basis of a median. Every state has a different cost structure, which is why no particular rate for any disease can have fixed across the country. We have given flexibility to the states to make necessary changes, she says. IMA representatives, however, say the 10 percent flexibility allowed to states is inadequate. Gyani says some 2500 super-speciality hospitals across the country have already refused to participate in the program. Paul says the treatment costs have been fixed as per the existing rates under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) and after discussions with a group of experts and some 60-70 hospitals. Private hospitals should proceed with these rates for one year, he suggests, following which the government could review them. Even if the government were to rationalise the costing, doctors say the insurance model proposed has pitfalls. The IMA's Chandigarh president, Niraj Kumar, points out that a ₹5 lakh insurance cover to a family for a premium of just ₹1250 cannot work. The pay-outs record of existing government health schemes, such as CGHS and Aarogyasri (Telangana), aren't encouraging either. CGHS payments to healthcare providers are routinely kept pending for over six months. In May, over ₹200 crore was pending to hospitals under Aarogyasri. Bedi says while the bigger private hospitals somehow tide over the delayed payments, the smaller (under 50 beds) hospitals face the brunt.
Oxfam Indias Shamaila Khalil argues that the Ayushman scheme will further weaken the state-run health infrastructure, forcing people to seek private treatment even for minor ailments. Some experts feel the ₹1200 crore budget for 150,000 health and wellness centers is grossly inadequate. Kumar and his colleagues at the IMA also fear an escalation in violence against doctors. There would be a huge gap in the expectations of poor patients and the services available, especially services that need to be outsourced, says Bedi. Since 2001, the Medicos Legal Action Group, a trust managed by doctors from across the country, has documented several hundred instances of patients' relatives assaulting doctors on duty. IMA functionaries warn that, in its present form, the Ayushman Bharat scheme could serve as the proverbial last nail in the coffin for smaller and medium-scale private hospitals, which are already feeling the heat from skewed laws, such as the Clinical Establishments (Registration & Regulation) Act, 2010. The act was brought in to create a database of medical establishments in the country, but Kumar says it's becoming a tool for harassing [smaller] hospitals. Although the IMA did sign a partnership agreement with the government in July, its national president, Ravi Wankhedkar, has said that the differences over [medical] package rates remain. Prime Minister Modi is stated to be keen to make Ayushman Bharat his big-ticket announcement this Independence Day. However, with some states yet to come on board and many private hospitals developing cold feet, a formal launch, say sources, may be deferred to October. – India Today


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Tag Archives: Horned Lark
Horned Larks in Waukesha County Wisconsin on February 27, 2022
By admin | March 2, 2022 - 7:54 pm | March 2, 2022 Bird Categories, Larks
Birding in the Oconomowoc area I came across 5 Horned Larks finding seeds on the roadside to eat. These birds typically don't let you get too close to them so these couple of images were taken out of the car window while parked. A sunny morning with cool temps but low winds made for a nice birding run. Images were taken on February 27, 2022.
The Horned Lark in a grassy area finding seeds to eat…
This Horned Lark on a small bank of snow just perched…
Tagged Horned Lark
Horned Larks at Lakeshore State Park in Milwaukee Wisconsin on October 11, 2020
By admin | October 12, 2020 - 7:58 pm | October 12, 2020 Bird Categories, Larks
While birding Lakeshore State Park I had brief views of Horned Larks. There were 5 present feeding along the east end of the park. I got a couple of shots off, but with all pedestrians, dog walkers, bikers, etc, these birds did not hang around and left the park. It was nice to see them even for a couple of minutes. A cloudy day but temps were pleasant. Images were taken on October 11, 2020.
Horned Lark, a little bit of a horn showing here…
5 of the feeding in a area just off the walk…
Looking for something to eat, that is all they did…
Maybe something here…
Horned Larks at Lakeshore State Park in Milwaukee Wisconsin on November 1, 2019
By admin | November 1, 2019 - 5:50 pm | November 1, 2019 Bird Categories, Larks
While birding Lakeshore State Park in Milwaukee the highlight of the walk were two adult Horned Larks feeding on seeds in the grass in the snow. On one occasion I saw one eat an insect, so they are not strictly seed eaters. They pulled seeds off of plants and ate nicely while I watched from a distance until a jogger not knowingly flush them off a ways. It was partly cloudy, low winds and temps around 30 degrees. Images were taken on November 1, 2019.
Horned Lark, one of two present…
Horned Lark
Binomial name: Eremophila alpestri
Category: Chickadees and Titmice
Size: 7.25" long, 12" wing span
Picking seeds off of a plant and eating them…
Seed in the bill…
Getting another seed off the plant….
Another seed in the bill…
They were in a grass area for a moment…
Insect in the bill here…
Horned Lark at McKinley Beach in Milwaukee Wisconsin on October 18, 2017
Birding some of the lakefront in Milwaukee this morning it was basically quiet. On my second run to McKinley Beach I got a text from Mike W. He had seen a Horned Lark. I arrived seconds later and it was still present in the beach area. It fed along the beach area sorta hanging with a Sanderling. I feel this bird is a adult male in non-breeding plumage. It hung around for a while and I did some other birding in the area. I checked later and the bird had left. I would think the bird is in the area. The only other bird there as mentioned was the one lone Sanderling. It was just a gorgeous day with full sun, warm temps and a nice breeze to keep things cool. Images were taken on October 18, 2017
Horned Lark just working the beach for food
Horned Lark in search for food…
Horned Lark with possibly something to eat…
Horned Lark just standing pretty…
Horned Lark looking..
Horned Lark digging around for something to eat…
Horned Lark on the move…
The close up…
Horned Larks at Johnson Creek in Jefferson County Wisconsin on February 11, 2016
By admin | February 11, 2016 - 8:56 pm | February 15, 2016 Bird Categories, Larks
1 of a few Horned Larks at Johnson Creek on February 11, 2016. Cool birds that are typically found in small and large flocks on the roadside shoulders or in open fields eating weed seeds this time of year. Images were taken on February 11, 2016.
By admin | June 15, 2013 - 8:13 am | February 1, 2014 Larks
Horned Lark Waukesha County WI. Photographs taken on January 18, 2012
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Sponsorship Speech
Committee Report No. 163, Senate Resolution No. 788
Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) with Australia
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues:
I have the honor to seek approval of Senate Resolution No. 788, entitled "Resolution Concurring in the Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of Australia Concerning the Status of Visiting Forces of Each State in the Territory of the Other" prepared and submitted by the Committee on Foreign Relations on May 30, 2012 per its Committee Report No. 163.
The Philippines at the Strategic Center
The consideration of this Agreement required a serious look at three issues: 1. What are the security threats facing us today versus the threats of fifteen years ago? 2. What does this Agreement mean to the people who are sworn to be the protectors of our sovereignty, and the enforcers of the mandate to protect the Filipino people? 3. Above all, how is this Agreement aligned with the imperatives of constitutional defense?
"Water is going to be the 21st century's defining battleground,"[1] said Robert Kaplan, a National Correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly.
"Europe is a landscape. East Asia is a seascape," he adds, as he described Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia as the world's "new center of naval activity".[2]
The region hosts the world's second busiest international sea-lanes and over half of the world's supertanker traffic passes through the region's waters.
The Philippines is the world's second largest archipelago, and has one of the world's longest coastlines, but we also have one of the most ill equipped maritime forces in the world.
In the midst of these realities is the fact that global terrorism and non-traditional security threats like piracy, sea robbery and smuggling have heightened during the past decade. They have also become organized. For this, we need a better-prepared and better-equipped naval and military force.
The threats are not imagined. On February 27, 2004, 116 passengers were killed and 300 others were wounded in the Superferry 14 bombing. This has gone down in history as the worst terrorist attack in Asia since the 2002 Bali bombing.
The Asian region experienced a 60 percent rise in piracy in 2010, with a majority of attacks occurring in Southeast Asia, thus renewing maritime security anxieties. [3]
Illegal activities at sea, such as human trafficking, trade of illicit drugs, smuggling of arms, maritime terrorism are among the challenges that we face today.
Mr. President, distinguished Colleagues,
We are faced by grave dangers and threats not present fifteen years ago and the Philippines is at the strategic center of all these realities.
A strategic center that has no fulcrum will not be able to realistically wage a sustainable, winning crusade against these regional and global threats.
Shared Strategic Interest with Australia
Understanding why Australia trains our military, and why they seek to have a legal framework that will govern the visits of their troops to the Philippines necessitates an understanding of its strategic interests in the region. National interest demands that we know and understand Australia's motives.
Australia and the Philippines are two sovereign nations whose survival will be defined by its defense and protection of its maritime domains.
We share with Australia a strong interest in maritime security cooperation and a shared strategic interest in the security of Southeast Asian shipping lanes.
Australia is ASEAN's first dialogue partner, and is an active participant of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) as well as a party to the Treaty on Amity and Cooperation (TAC).
Building on Cooperation with Australia
Since 2001, Australia has extended defense assistance to the Philippines totaling an estimated PhP1.16 billion.
The Philippines and Australia have undertaken security cooperation over many years, resulting in significant benefits to our defense upgrading efforts, including:
1. Military education and training of an average of 120 AFP officers annually in Australia, costing an average of US$ 26.751 million per year; 2. Contribution of US$ 17.834 million worth of riverine boats as part of efforts to upgrade counter-terrorism and maritime security capabilities; 3. Supporting the implementation of the Coast Watch System to strengthen our capabilities in addressing maritime security challenges; 4. Conduct of counter-terrorism trainings and mutual training assistance to help us develop inter-operability between the special operations units of the armies and navies of Philippines and Australia.
Beyond these, Australia is the largest grant aid donor to the country, with approximately USD235 million aid for 2010-2012. Australia assists us in developing capacities in the field of disaster risk reduction and management such as in the Project Enhancing Greater Metro Manila's Institutional Capacities for Effective Disaster/Climate Risk Management towards Sustainable Development or the READY project. This strengthens institutional capacities of local government units and national government agencies to manage disaster and climate change risks.
What is SOVFA?
The SOVFA was proposed by the Philippines in 2006, signed in 2007, and ratified by Australia on the same year. President Aquino ratified it on 23 December 2010.
The SOVFA is not a product of any country's desire to expand and preserve its position of advantage over others.
Anchored on the 1995 Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperative Defense Activities with Australia, the Agreement provides for enhanced bilateral defense and military cooperation between the Philippines and Australia through exchange of visits.
SOVFA is intended to enhance cooperation on maritime terrorism and other security threats.
It defines the rights as well as the responsibilities between the visiting forces and the host government on such matters as criminal and civil jurisdiction, claims, entry and exit of personnel and property, movement of vessels, aircraft and vehicles and carrying of arms, among others.
The Agreement provides, in no uncertain terms, that "visits by personnel of either Party will be organized and conducted in accordance with the laws, regulations and procedures of the receiving country."
Without the SOVFA, defense cooperation between the Philippines and Australia will be limited to tabletop exercises.
SOVFA: Benchmark for Future Agreements
The SOVFA offers a benchmark for future bilateral or multilateral arrangements of a similar nature. Let me tell you why.
1. The SOVFA was crafted in a manner that ensures respect for and ascendance of laws of the Receiving State. The benefits extend beyond education and training, as they also include assistance in disaster response and other humanitarian activities.
2. The SOVFA does not confer basing rights nor will it authorize either country to deploy troops or conduct operations in the other's territory.
3. It is reciprocal, which means that it envisions Philippine forces visiting and conducting joint exercises with Australian forces in Australian territory.
4. It addresses the sensitive issue of criminal jurisdiction through a clear set of rules.[4]The authorities of the Receiving State have jurisdiction over visiting forces with respect to offences committed within the Receiving State and punishable by the law of the Receiving State, but not by the law of the Sending State.
5. Where there is concurrent jurisdiction, or where an offense is punishable under the laws of both the Receiving and Sending States, the Sending State has the primary right to exercise jurisdiction ONLY in relation to offences against its own property or security, or property of another member of the visiting forces, or offences in the course of official duty. The Receiving State has primary jurisdiction over ALL OTHER OFFENSES. An offense that falls outside official duty clearly falls under the jurisdiction of the Receiving State.
6. A Joint Committee, composed of representatives from both the Philippines and Australia, not a military commander, is vested with the duty to resolve jurisdictional issues, if such should ever arise. Such issues may also be submitted to LOCAL JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES for resolution. This is a provision which clearly addresses concerns borne out of previous experiences.
7. The provisions of the SOVFA on criminal jurisdiction do not grant to offenders any kind of immunity from criminal prosecution for offenses committed in the Philippines.
8. No offender from the visiting forces who commits a crime in the Philippines will escape justice under the SOVFA.
9. It has specific provisions on claims[5] for loss or damage to property and injuries to or death of both visiting forces and third parties.
10. Article 23 expressly provides that the Sending State shall cooperate with the Receiving State to prevent any abuse or misuse of the privileges granted and proper discharge of the obligations imposed on visiting forces.
The SOVFA with Australia sets a precedent in defense agreements in that it has unique provisions on environmental protection.[6] The Agreement explicitly prohibits the conduct of exercises or other activities in protected areas, ancestral domain areas, critical watersheds and protected forest areas. It also provides that any environmental damage will be subject to claims and compensation and that the Sending State will be responsible for the rehabilitation of damaged areas.
Mr. President, a well-formulated bilateral agreement is just one part of the equation. The strict enforcement of its provisions and the close monitoring of its implementation is the other part.
By our Committee Report, we ask the following agencies of government to establish the necessary monitoring and administrative mechanisms with the view to ensuring strict compliance with our laws by the members of the visiting forces. Specifically, we ask:
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to closely monitor all SOVFA activities toward ensuring that these activities do not violate any of the environmental laws and ordinances of the Philippines;
The Department of Justice (DOJ) to draw appropriate guidelines that will prevent conflicts on jurisdictional issues and uphold the primacy of Philippine jurisdiction, in accordance with the provisions of the SOVFA;
The Department of National Defense (DND) to maximize the benefits of the Agreement, consistent with the objectives of the National Coast Watch System, and to improve disaster risk reduction and management. We also ask the DND to formulate a clear, long-term national defense and security strategy that would also reflect a list of equipment, armaments, hardware, and other necessary provisions for the benefit of the men and women of our armed forces.
The realities facing our armed forces frequently escape us because our roles and status shield us from the conditions and inadequacies they experience everyday.
Mr. President, the realities facing our armed forces are discomforting. We had the best naval force in Southeast Asia between 1960s and 1970s. Our navy is now one of the weakest, not in terms of the grit and determination of our forces, but in terms of naval assets. We need to find means by which the internal resources we devote for AFP modernization may be boosted by a regime of cooperation with allies with whom we share strategic security interests.
I endorse this Agreement on a clear understanding that we have the prerogative to exercise the option to unilaterally terminate this Agreement, if, at any time, we deem it to have betrayed the objectives it was set out to achieve.
Mr. President, I will be the first to reject this measure if I do not see its value in terms of serving our interests as a nation. As a reserve Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, I have an unswerving commitment to defend our constitution. As a Filipino, I am duty-bound to help our soldiers fulfill their duties as vanguards of national security.
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, I respectfully urge you to concur in the ratification of this Agreement. Thank you.
[1] The South China Sea Is the Future of Conflict, published by the Foreign Policy Group, a division of The Washington Post Company, 2012.
[2] The Article "The South China Sea is the Future of Conflict" describes East Asia as consisting of two general areas: Northeast Asia, dominated by the Korean Peninsula, and Southeast Asia, dominated by the South China Sea.
[3] Rommel C. Banlaoi , Maritime Piracy in Southeast Asia: Current Situation, Countermeasures, Achievements and Recurring Challenges, 2011.
[4] Article 11.


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text:
National traditions of the Kazakhs spring from pagan cultural traditions of the Great Steppe. With the spread of Islam the Kazakhs adopted main religious holidays and traditions of the Arabic East which changed later incorporating local peculiarities.
Kazakh rituals and traditional holidays impress by their color, rich content and full expression of the soul of the Kazakh people – openness, hospitality and aspiration to live in harmony with the surrounding world.
Wedding ceremony of the Kazakh people fully reflects the above-mentioned features of its character. Like many other nations Kazakhs believed in mystical essence of marriage. They used to say: "Three things cannot be guessed in life: the person whom you will enter into marriage with, sex of future child and date of death". People believed that union of man and woman had been prescribed long before their birth. The process of wedding was divided into several stages; each of them was accompanied by a number of traditions and rituals.
The first stage of the wedding ceremony was matchmaking. It started from a preliminary collusion. With this aim the future bridegroom's father sent a matchmaker (his relative or the most respected person in aul) to the bride's father. Kazakhs used to send matchmakers on "happy day" – Wednesday or Thursday. If the bride's father gave his consent on marriage, the sides agreed on the size of the bride-price – kalyn mal - and the order of its payment. From this moment on the preparation of the dowry was set into motion in the bride's home.
After the payment of the kalynmal, the bridegroom made his first official visit (uryn baru) to the bride's aul and brought presents in korzhyn (a big bag) to the bride's parents and relatives. These were expensive clothes for the relatives and sweets for the children. Besides, the bridegroom's parents sent a mare to their new matchmakers.
Crossing the threshold of his father-in-law's house the bridegroom had to bow three times – to old women, father and mother of the bride. The bride's mother gave him a bowl of milk and blessed him. Some of the women threw shashu – candies, dried fruits, sweets - on the bridegroom. This ceremony was called esik ashu (door opening)
Kazakhs preferred to marry their daughters and sons in autumn or in the end of summer when the month of Ramadan passed.
The wedding ceremony was held first in the bride's house then in the bridegroom's aul.
Neke qiyu is an important religious part of the wedding ceremony . Usually it took place before the couple's first wedding night, but sometimes it was held after all ceremonies and wedding night. Neke qiyu was held in the yurt of the bride's father or in a special yurt. Mullah (teacher of Islam) briefly recited some verses from the Quran and asked the couple to confess the faith of Islam. After then the couple drank water from one bowl. They usually added salt and sugar in water which symbolized happy future of the newlyweds.
Nauryz holiday
Nauryz Meiramy (Nauryz Holiday) is the most momentous, long-expected and favorite holiday of the Kazakh people. Nauryz is the holiday of birth of spring, renovation of nature.
In fact, it is a New Year's Eve which coincides with the day of spring equinox according to the ancient Oriental calendar. Nauryz is also called as Ulys Kuni (The first day of the New Year) or Ulystyn Uly Kuni (The Great Day of the nation).
Nauryz symbolizes spring renovation, triumph of love, fertility and friendship. When the holiday comes, Kazakhs put on festive clothes, pay visits to each other, exchange congratulations, best wishes of well-being and good luck in the coming year.
Celebration of Nauryz is accompanied with all-round joy, games, horse-races and various amusements. Traditionally they cook and roast and make all sorts of tasty meals during the holidays, for they should symbolize well-being and abundance in the coming year.
Nauryz Kozhe is the major ritual drink of the holiday. The drink is made from 7 ingredients symbolizing 7 elements of life: water, meat, salt, fat, flour and cereals (rice, corn or wheat) and milk. They symbolize joy, success, wisdom, health, well-being, speed, growth and God's protection.
When Kazakhs celebrate Nauryz, presence of the figure of "7" is indispensable - it embodies 7 days of the week - time units of universal eternity. They put 7 bowls with Nauryz Kozhe in front of aksakals ("white beards" or old men). On this day every Kazakh should visit 7 houses and invite 7 guests.
On Nauryz Kazakhs congratulate each other with the word "Koktem tudy!" (Spring came!). Thousands of people enjoy akyns' (poets) contests – aitys, national sports competitions – kazakhsha kures (wrestling), togyz kumalak - and horse races.
During the Soviet period celebration of Nauryz was forbidden. Since 1923 till 1988 the nation was deprived of this wonderful holiday. In 2001 Nauryz (March, 22) was announced an official holiday and non-working day.
Kazakh dastarkhan
The word "dastarkhan" can be translated as a low table served with various viands. Kazakh dastarkhan has a long history of its own, its traditions and rituals inherent to Kazakh nation only known for a quite particular manner of receiving and serving guests. Dastarkhan is a symbol of hospitality, amiability, home-like atmosphere. It is the place where everybody is welcome.
Kazakh traditions provide for respectful attitude to the guests who were honored to sit at the top of the table (tor). The Kazakh people have never been particularly interested in riches or wealth. They accept each other as friends, and always serve their guests as if they were gods. Festive dastarkhan impresses with its richness and abundance. Yurts were erected in auls (villages) where toi (feast) was held. Women used to process kumys and shubat. Meat was cooked in large pans – taikazans. The number of the guests was not limited. Any person going by such aul could stay there as long as he wished and take part in the feast.
Konakasy is the name of the tastiest food (usually meat) offered to a guest. There was a tradition to come to toi with a present – shashu (kurt, baursaks, sweets and cookies).
In special occasions, like at birth of a long-awaited child, Kazakhs slaughtered a white camel and cooked different dishes from its meat. This ritual is called "ak tuyenin karny zharyldy".
Sogym is a kind of cattle meat which the Kazakh people would eat in the winter. On the day of livestock slaughter (usually horse) the hosts invited their relatives, neighbors and friends to try the dish. Zhol ayak is a ritual providing for treatment of the neighbors before the host's long journey.
Yerulik. The word yerulik stands for "following the arrived". It has a deep meaning. It is well-known that herdsmen constantly followed their animals and moved from space to space – from winter camps to spring pastures, from summer pastures to autumn fields. Usually in summer many auls chose one and the same place to settle for its green grass and clean water. Some people arrived there earlier, some of them –later. Those who settled earlier would treat the next people to arrive at the dastarkhan. Treating the newcomers gave the latter an opportunity to have a rest and eat something before their yurts would be erected. Until today Kazakhs have adhered to the proverb "Korshi hakysy, tanir hakysy" (Neighbor's wish is the God's wish)
Dastarkhan rituals
A person to Kazakhs is a whole Universe that deserves understanding and respect. That is why, perhaps, the culture of treating one at the table is closely linked with the traditions of mutual help and support for one another.
Beshbarmak is the most popular Kazakh dish. First they cover a round or an oval dish with small round flat pieces of boiled paste followed by small bars of boiled meat. Then comes onion cut in rings and scalded with hot broth; all this strewn with a green mixture of fennel, parsley and coriander.
The most honored guest is usually offered a boiled sheep's head – koi basy. The guest is to dress it and distribute among the other participants of the dastarkhan. Each part of the head is attached particular significance and meaning: young men are treated with ears for them to be attentive, girls - with a palate (it is believed that this would make them more diligent). Thus the guest cuts meat in small pieces and shares it with the others.
Here too one has to mind certain habits and superstitions. For instance, hipbone and crust are offered to most honored guests while the breastbone goes to the son-in-law or daughter-in-law, cervical vertebra - to married women, pregnant ones first and foremost.
Certain bans are also to be observed. Thus even the most honored guest may not be treated with a "koi-basy" if his father is present at the table.
Children may not be offered brains (they might become weak-willed), just as an elbow bone - to a young girl (she might be "left on the shelf"). Adopted sons were treated with tibia.
Low round table (ustel) covered with a cloth was a traditional dinner table of the Kazakhs. Nowadays this table is used mostly in rural areas. They sit on felt pillars or blankets. Tea is usually poured by daughter-in-law who sits by samovar.
Kazakhs carefully guard women, future mothers and cook their favorite dish. Young women are treated with tibia, brisket, older women are given hipbone and other parts. Daughters-in-law are treated special dish – betashar tabak.
Laying dastarkhan
Kazakh dishware is remarkable for various traditional ornaments and paintings. Kumys was poured in a big bowl decorated with silver or in small painted bowls. Meat was put on a wooden dish with wide edges. Breadstuffs were painted with juice of various grapes. Tea was poured in small drinking bowls – kese. Astau – wooden container – was used for dough making. Dairy drinks airan, shubat and kumys were brought in special bowls – tegene. Wooden ladles (ozhaus) were usually decorated with sliver, bone or carving. Every family had wooden spoons which were called kasyk.
Sapty ayak is a wooden bowl with a handle. For removing dishware there was used ayakkap – felt or wooden cover. Foodstuffs and dishware and other household items were kept in kebezhe – a wooden cupboard decorated with carving, paintings, silver or bone. Wood was also used for making buckets, tubs (kubi), mortars (keli) with pestles (pispek). As for metal dishware, cast iron pots, kazans, were widely spread. Kazans were of different sizes. Tea was normally boiled in copper or cast iron jugs – kumgan, more prosperous families had samovars.
Big dinner dish is called tabak. In ancient times it was made of wood and decorated with different ornaments in the bottom and edges. There were four types of tabak – main, middle, honorary (for special guests) and small. It should be noted that certain parts of carcass were put in each tabak. For instance, they put koi-basy and hipbone in the main and honorary tabaks, tibia – in middle and other parts of carcass – in small ones.
Leather dishware and household items were also widely used in the Kazakhs' everyday life. Thus, saba – a cone-shaped bag made of horse leather – was used for preparing kumys and butter.
Kazakh tea ceremony
The part tea plays in the Kazakh dastarkhan is altogether remarkable. Tea is brewed in a special porcelain teapot – akkuman. Water is boiled in samovar. Kazakhs say the tea brewed in water from samovar has a peculiar taste. Traditionally it is only up to girls and women to pour the tea. And they do this wonderfully though it is far from easy. For one should see to it that the guests' drinking bowls be always full, there must be no confusing them, there must be no remains of tea leaves on the edge of the bowls. Even if the guest gives to understand that he has already quenched his thirst he must not be left unattended - the hostess must offer him a so-called syi-ayak - a tea bowl of honor. Tea is normally accompanied with cream, butter, jam, dried and fresh fruit, nuts, cakes, other sweetmeats.
Kazakh dastarkhan not only satisfies your thirst and hunger, but it is a philosophy of hospitality, family and social relations. People learn much about one another at a dastarkhan. And the word "hospitality" means not only a heart meal accompanied by merrymaking and laughter: it means above all a cordial conversation with the guest.


Notes from the Choir: The choir will approach the chalice, first in line followed by the children in the pre-school class. If you want to sing at Pascha, plan now to practice every Sunday in March.
House Blessings: Please contact Fr. Peter Jon before Great Lent.
Orthodoxy 101 on Wednesday, February 22: Dr. John Craton's topic is 'Baptism'.
There will be a Basket Collection next Sunday supporting the Antiochian Women's Annual Project. The funds raised this year go to strengthen ministries in the Archdiocese such as planning senior housing projects; founding missions; supporting seminarians; encouraging youth ministries; protecting the unborn; teaching the Faith; caring for the elderly and those in prisons, nursing homes and hospitals; helping to feed, house, and clothe the poor; and inspiring monastic vocations.
Fundraiser Today: Those planning to attend Antiochian Village Summer Camp will favor us with a meal during Social Hour. Camp fees are due in early March if the $50 discount for each camper is deducted from the $750 fee for two weeks. Please support our youth in this experience that affects their lives in many positive ways.
Wednesday, February 22: Daily Vespers at 6:00 – O101 follows.
Thursday, February 23: Bible Study at Becky's home with Kh. Marilyn leading 3-5p.m.
Sunday, February 26: Matins at 9:00; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 – Collection taken for Ministry Project – Myrrh Bearers meet around noon.
February 27: Great Lent begins with Services each evening at 6:00 Monday-Friday.
March 5: Choir practices begin with Pascha music as the focus.
Prayer List: Please keep Hal (following successful surgery) and Alex (continuing issues) in your special prayers.
"For the suffering Christians of Syria, Palestine, Iraq, & all of the Middle East, and for those suffering in Ukraine." Alex John; Fr. Steven Rudy (cancer); Finley (infant girl child with stroke and spasms); Subdn. Daniel; Fr. Basil; Fr. Philip; Grant (Leukemia); Chris; Doug & Dorothy Barrett; Eileen; the Tabbals; Mary Ann & Jen; Dee and Don; Kh.Kristina; Betsy and Hannah; Leslie (paralysis); Jasmine; Deborah & Thomas; James; Becky H; Tom; Annie; Catherine; Janett; Julian; Kh. Mary Sue Walker; Vicki; Hoppes & Jesse Brandow (Missionaries); Vivian; Natalie; Senior Saints; Patricia; Nicetas; Barb; Shirley; Metropolitan Paul, Archbishop John; Fr. John Koen; Archpriest George; Adrian; Heather; Susan; Gabriella & Matt; Sara; Shelley; Geni; Emily D; Emma; Nancy; Neal; Bob R; Leanne; Beth; Lillian; Julie; Roger; Virginia; Marilyn; Eric; Cheryl; Lori; Pam; Debbie; Natasha; Michael & Shelley: Gabriel; Mary; Janet; Kelly; Matushka Raisa; Marty; Charles; Mary; Marvin, Alice; Katie; Ruth; Steve; Romaine; Derek, Claire & Micah; Tim; Sharon; Sherri; Dianna; Michael and Diane; Aaron; Brent; Jennifer; Brigid; Ethan; Lena, Dean; Gayle; Thomas; Amy; Heidi; Gene & Connie, Caleb D; Megan & Colin; Bill & Sandy; Sabrina.
Brethren, food will not bring us closer to God; for neither if we eat, are we the better, nor if we do not eat, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this authority of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if any one sees you, as someone who has knowledge, reclining at a table in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of the one who is weak be emboldened to eat of the things sacrificed to idols, and through your knowledge the weak brother perishes, for whom Christ died? And thus, sinning against the brethren, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will not eat meat forever, lest I cause my brother to stumble.
The Lord said, "When the Son of man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and He will place the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at His right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see Thee hungry and feed Thee, or thirsty and give Thee drink? And when did we see Thee a stranger and welcome Thee, or naked and clothe Thee? And when did we see Thee sick or in prison and visit Thee?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Then He will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see Thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to Thee?' Then He will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to Me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
When Thou comest, O God, to earth with glory, and all creatures tremble before Thee, and the river of fire floweth before the Altar, and the books are opened and sins revealed, deliver me then from that unquenchable fire, and make me worthy to stand at Thy right hand, O righteous Judge.


Every Wednesday, seniors gather in Nettleton Parish Hall. Holy Communion begins at 10 am followed by stretching exercises, Bible study and lunch. Teams rotate from week to week to cook and serve lunch. The study topics vary from season to season. If you are over 50 years old and want to enjoy fellowship with a lively group of people, please join the Wednesday Bunch. Members and non-members welcome!
For more information, contact Linda Donnie or Elaine Massiah.


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/ DC
Could John Diggle as Green Arrow Be Endgame?
By Russ Burlingame - November 2, 2017 09:29 pm EDT
During an interview with ComicBook.com, Arrow actor David Ramsey speculated that his character's current, admittedly temporary run as the Green Arrow might be setting up for something more long-term down the line.
Saying that John Diggle's role as a team leader has ramifications beyond the six-episode arc in which he is Green Arrow, Ramsey told ComicBook.com that he does not believe fans have seen the last of the Diggle family and the Green Arrow legacy.
"It automatically lifts the character to a place of leadership that you mentally knew he could do, but now you've seen it, so you won't have any problems seeing it next time," Ramsey said. "I don't think that's necessarily by accident in this case, and I'll tell you why: last season, when we did the crossover and we were placed in a dream state...we lived in the world, within this alternate state of reality, where we were living the lives that we always wanted to have. Oliver was able to right the wrongs he made with Laurel, and Diggle was the Green Arrow. I think that's interesting in this situation."
That note -- the idea that Diggle as the Green Arrow is some kind of wish fulfillment for John -- might explain why he has been making questionable decisions that could harm him or the team, whether it is lying to his teammates or taking performance-enhancing drugs. As soon as Oliver offered him the role of Green Arrow, it could have placed additional pressure on John to live up to what he has always believed he could do if given the opportunity.
"And we see later on in the future, at least one future, that John Diggle's son takes on the mantle of the Green Arrow -- he's Connor Hawke," Ramsey said. "So the Diggle family and the mantle of leadership within the mythos of the Green Arrow isn't something that I think we're necessarily done with. Even if it is outside of his being the leader as Green Arrow, him being a leader in and of himself is something that now we come away with -- that he is someone who can carry a team and protect the city competently, with or without the hood."
Arrow airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Thursday nights, following new episodes of Supernatural on The CW.
Black Lightning: The Book of Markovia Chapter Two Preview Released
Joker Star Joaquin Phoenix Attended Pig Vigil After Winning SAG Award for Best Actor
Crisis on Infinite Earths Edit Perfectly Unites Three Eras of Superman
Ruby Rose Cried While Reading Batwoman's Coming Out Scene
Supergirl Reveals That the Multiverse Doesn't Exist for Earth-Prime
Here's How Black Lightning's World Has Changed Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths
When Does The Flash Return?
Black Lightning Recap With Spoilers: Jefferson Faces His New Reality in "The Book of Markovia Chapter One: Blessings and Curses" Reborn


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Carabodes comas är en kvalsterart som beskrevs av Kulijev 1979. Carabodes comas ingår i släktet Carabodes och familjen Carabodidae. Inga underarter finns listade.

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Shady Part Of Me Review
Published: Thursday, December 10, 2020 - 19:00 | By: Joseph Allen
I often feel like a 2D character would be horrified by a 3D game environment. Imagine contemplating an entire extra dimension, seeing movement in a way that makes no physical sense to you. Similarly, 3D characters must struggle with 2D worlds; imagine trying to live in a world in which movement along an entire axis is totally impossible. It's these fundamental metaphysical differences that the two protagonists of new puzzle-platformer Shady Part of Me must overcome. In the 3D segment, a little girl pads through a surreal dreamscape; the 2D segment follows her shadow.
That's both the narrative setup and the central gameplay conceit of Shady Part of Me. The two gameplay styles intertwine and link with one another, so you'll often need to solve puzzles in one world in order to make progress in the other. All of this is wrapped up in the kind of "indie darling" presentation beloved by many developers, with winsome piano music and half-finished sentence fragments floating across the screen as you play. Will Shady Part of Me deliver on the compelling promise of its premise, or will its gameplay prove one-dimensional?
Shady Part Of Me Looks Great, But Makes No Sense
The story in Shady Part of Me is too vague to be compelling or involving.
Aesthetically, Shady Part of Me (incidentally, it's not a great title) is beautiful. Its sepia-tinged black-and-white presentation is fluid and artistic. Developer Douze Dixièmes has opted for a sketchbook-style aesthetic which works great; the 3D environments are full of pencil-sketch tones, while the 2D-platforming segments more resemble a child's coloring book, complete with broad crayon strokes. The contrast between the two is gorgeous, and I found myself stopping to look at new levels as they presented themselves simply so I could drink in the art style.
Aesthetically, Shady Part of Me... is beautiful.
Unfortunately, the flipside to that coin is Shady Part of Me's story, which is less than satisfactory and at times outright pretentious. Douze Dixièmes is another developer to fall prey to the curse of ambiguity. As you play, sentences and words featuring generic emotional concepts and clichés ("am I good enough?," "I'll draw between the lines," et cetera) display themselves diegetically as part of the scenery. These lines feel like they could have been lifted from any faux-meaningful join-the-dots story. There's something to be said for a strong narrative hook, and Shady Part of Me lunges straight for the indie metaphors without establishing any real context, which hurts the narrative.
Gameplay In Shady Part Of Me Is A Joy
The puzzles in Shady Part of Me are well-implemented and clever.
Thankfully, the gameplay is there to pick up the slack for the story. Shady Part of Me is a two-part experience: it's a 3D puzzler and a 2D platformer. Moving objects in the 3D world often has an effect on the 2D world. You may, for example, need to push a box in order to make its shadow smaller so your 2D friend can climb onto it. Alternately, pulling a lever in the shadow world might cause a light to move, allowing the little 3D girl (who hates light) to move forward. This interplay between the two gameplay styles is Shady Part of Me's greatest strength; the puzzling remains clever and intuitive throughout.
Shady Part of Me's strong core gameplay loop keeps it feeling fresh.
Despite being a relatively short experience, Shady Part of Me manages to wring pretty much everything it can out of its core gameplay loop. At times, it's a remarkably imaginative experience; one particularly memorable sequence involves a train winding its way through the 3D section while the 2D girl leaps and bounds across its carriages in her world. Even during its more uninspired segments—following a shadow as it tracks across a well-lit corridor, for example, or some of the more rudimentary 2D platforming—Shady Part of Me's strong core gameplay loop keeps it feeling fresh.
Replayability in Shady Part of Me
You likely won't find many reasons to go back to Shady Part of Me once you're done.
Shady Part of Me's brevity works in its favor when it comes to wringing ideas out of its core gameplay, but in replayability terms, you might not find much here. There are optional origami bird collectibles to discover, each of which, in theory, reveals a new part of the story. Unfortunately, since the story is so piecemeal and obscure in the first place, this isn't a particularly rewarding prospect. Of course, going out of your way to collect these extras is enjoyable in and of itself; some of them are very well hidden, and others require a pleasing mixture of skill and observation to spot and retrieve.
For better or worse, Shady Part of Me feels like a one-and-done experience. It's not something you'll categorically revisit unless you've got a particular fondness for its narrative and aesthetic stylings. There aren't any branching paths through levels, extra difficulty modes, or other goodies to discover here. That said, while it lasts, Shady Part of Me is an absorbing experience with a strong core mechanic. That alone may well make you want to replay it, simply to drink in its ambience and revisit some of its cleverer puzzles again.
Shady Part of Me | Final Thoughts
Shady Part of Me has its shortcomings, but it's fun enough.
All in all, Shady Part of Me is a rather enjoyable little puzzle platformer. If you don't have much tolerance for flighty ambiguity, the narrative will infuriate you; it's more content to suggest and whisper than to definitively state. However, its core mechanics are delightful, and many of its puzzles will put a smile on your face simply through the way they incorporate light and shade into their solutions. It's not here for a long time, just a good time, and if you're looking for a game full of mechanics to master, you won't find it here. What you will find is a perfectly pleasant way to pass a few hours, even if you will be scratching your head by its conclusion.
TechRaptor reviewed Shady Part of Me on PC via Steam using a code provided by the publisher. It's also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Shady Part of Me has a frustrating story and a terrible title, but it's a great little puzzle platformer with a very neat central mechanic.
2D-3D Gameplay Loop Works Great
Many Truly Inspired Puzzles
Beautiful Artistic Aesthetic
Pretentious Narrative
Over Too Quickly
Not Much Replayability
Topics | Indie