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Hometowns to Hollywood
Exploring the hometowns and legacies of Hollywood's Golden Age stars.
Inquiries & Contact
5 Favorite Films of the '50s
5 Movies on an Island Blogathon
Five Stars Blogathon
The Busby Berkeley Blogathon
The Hollywood Gangsters Blogathon
The MGM Musical Magic Blogathon
The Wedding Bells Blogathon
Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star.
Banished From Memory
Barbara La Marr: The Girl Who Was Too Beautiful for Hollywood
Merton of the Movies
Movies Are Magic
Seen from the Wings: Luise Rainer. My Mother, The Journey
Such Mad Fun: Ambition and Glamour in Hollywood's Golden Age
The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks
The Ice Cream Blonde: The Whirlwind Life and Mysterious Death of Screwball Comedienne Thelma Todd
The Jean Harlow Bombshell
The Real James Dean: Intimate Memories from Those Who Knew Him Best
5 Favorite Foreign Classic Horror Films
A Powerful Legacy: My Afternoon with Taryn
A Screen Deco Reflection
Blondie: From Strip to Screen
Dolores Del Rio: The Face of Deco
How I "Met" James Cagney
Remembering Mickey Rooney
Sights and Sounds Reunited: The Vitaphone Project
Spotlight on Gene Kelly: The Chicago Years
Style is Eternal: Art Deco Fashion
The Academy Awards and Plenty of Hope
The Wilde Ones: The Twin Careers of Lyn and Lee Wilde
Buster Keaton Convention 2017
Noir City Chicago 2019
Noir City Chicago 2019 Day 1
Red Skelton Festival 2019
Red Skelton Festival 2019 Day 1
TCM Film Festival 2019
TCM Film Festival 2019 Picks
TCM Film Festival 2019 Pre-Fest Coverage
TCM Film Festival 2019 Day 1
Film Reflections
Films of the 1910s
His New Job (1915)
Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929)
The Freshman (1925)
The Gold Diggers (1923)
Wings (1927)
42nd Street (1933)
Baby Face (1933)
Born to Dance (1936)
Double Wedding (1937)
Gold Diggers in Paris (1938)
Grand Hotel (1932)
Hollywood Cavalcade (1939)
Libeled Lady (1936)
Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
Modern Times (1936)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
Sons of the Desert (1933)
Swing Time (1936)
The Music Box (1932)
The Public Enemy (1931)
Vanity Street (1932)
Buck Privates (1941)
Du Barry Was a Lady (1943)
Good News (1947)
Her Highness and the Bellboy (1945)
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Samson and Delilah (1949)
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
The Talk of the Town (1942)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
The File on Thelma Jordon (1950)
The Opposite Sex (1956)
The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017)
Buttons: A Christmas Tale (2018)
My Grandfather, The Tin Man
My Uncle, The Scarecrow
Wait for Your Laugh (2017)
Ginger Rogers's Fruit Muffins
The Gold Digger Films
Eden Memorial Park
Forest Lawn Memorial Park–Glendale
Forest Lawn Memorial Park–Hollywood Hills
Gate of Heaven Cemetery
Glen Haven Memorial Park
Kensico Cemetery
Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery
San Fernando Mission Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Westwood Village Memorial Park
Grauman's Chinese Theatre Forecourt
It's A Wonderful Life Exhibition
Motion Picture Studios
Columbia Pictures, MGM, and Sony Tour
Warner Brothers Classic Tour
The Great American Songbook Foundation
The Hollywood Heritage Museum
The Hollywood Museum
The Road to Tara: The Legacy of Gone with the Wind in Atlanta
Hometowns Abroad
Mae Busch
Lupe Vélez
Hugh Martin
Marion Stadler
Frances Langford
Jeanette Loff
Barbara Hale
Donald O'Connor
Gower Champion
June Haver
Mel Tormé
James Pierce
Ray Bolger
Colleen Moore
Bert Lahr
Joseph Breen
The Barrymores
Jobyna Ralston
Toby Wing
Fan Favorites Segments
TCM 25
TCM Studio Tour
"The bad girls were so much fun to play. I wouldn't have wanted to play Coleen Gray's good-girl parts." -Audrey Totter
One of the greatest leading ladies in the film noir genre has to be Audrey Totter. Gifted in playing the "bad girl" roles necessary for this genre, Audrey's femme fatale appearance and exceptional acting abilities delighted moviegoers throughout noir's heyday.
Audra Mary Totter was born on December 20th, 1917, and raised in Joliet, Illinois. Her parents were John and Ida Mae Totter. Her father was of Austro-Slovenian descent and came to America to be a priest, while her mother was Swedish American. John, a linguist who could speak five languages, fell in love with Ida and the two married. Ida sang beautifully, but was not a professional singer. Afterwards, John took a job as a Joliet streetcar conductor because he felt he could learn English quickly in that position.
Audrey was raised in a strict, moral way in a six-room frame house in Joliet. She had two brothers, Folger and George, and a sister named Collette. Her father did not approve of her becoming an actress initially. When she was twelve years old, the circus came to her hometown, and she wanted to run away with it to be a performer. Once her father found out, he said that if she promised not to run away and to instead finish her schooling, she could then become an actress.
Audrey's acting career began in Joliet High School with both the Joliet Y Players and the Richards Street Players. She acted with another graduate of Joliet, Larry Parks, Class of 1932, who went on to play Al Jolson in The Jolson Story (1946) and Jolson Sings Again (1949).
Upon graduating from Joliet High School in 1936, where she had participated in several school plays and played violin in the school orchestra. In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Audrey's brother, George, referred to a time when she tried out for the senior play but the teacher thought she would not be able to play the part. George recalled:
"He had a favorite student whom he wanted to get that role. When Audrey came back for a visit years later, she went back to the school and that same teacher saw her. The teacher took Audrey into his classroom and introduced her, saying, 'I always knew she'd be a star.' She told me when she heard that she almost vomited in the classroom."
Audrey performed in summer stock shows in Wisconsin and Michigan. She decided to enroll in a dramatic arts school in Chicago. When she told her parents, they worried about how she would pay for it. Audrey responded that she had gotten a job selling wax.
However, Audrey would never make it to dramatics school. She tried out for a part at Ian Keith's repertory playhouse and got the role.
In a fan magazine, Audrey recalled the following:
I wanted to act in anything for anyone. And so it wasn't just stubbornness which made me say no to college and a comfortable existence at home. It was an inner drive which made me certain that, once I'd tried my wings, I would succeed. Selling wax from door to door–my first job when I left my comfortable home–wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind but, when you're young and fired with faith in yourself and your ability, even selling from door to door has a purpose. This gave me time to make the rounds of the agencies and–to my family's amazement and my own–I wrote home, a few weeks after I left, with the news I'd been cast for a nice part in a Chicago play entitled, The Copperhead, with Ian Kieth.
Totter began her professional acting career in Chicago in the late 1930s, receiving small roles in three plays and a more substantial role in My Sister Eileen. As a result, she toured the country with the show.
When Audrey returned to Chicago, she sought work on the radio. Audrey received parts on several radio serials which were broadcast on Chicago stations. She played in soap operas, including Painted Dreams, Road of Life, Ma Perkins, and Bright Horizons.
From Chicago, Audrey moved to New York and spent two years working on stage and radio. Soon after, she would relocate to Hollywood to work for MGM, where she was signed to a seven-year contract. She made her film debut in Main Street After Dark (1945) and established herself as a popular female lead in the 1940s. Although she appeared in various film genres, she became most widely known to movie audiences in film noir productions.
While in Hollywood, Audrey lived in a modest apartment with her sister, who attended the Patricia Stevens finishing school in the area and later became a medical technician. In addition to acting, Audrey swam, played tennis, went horseback riding, and hiked.
In Hollywood, Audrey enjoyed a string of successes, working in films such as The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), Lady in the Lake (1947), The Unsuspected (1947), High Wall (1947), The Saxon Charm (1948), Alias Nick Beal (1949), The Set-Up (1949), Any Number Can Play (1949), and Tension (1950).
By the early 1950s, the bad girl roles of the noir genre were no longer fashionable and as MGM began to work towards creating more family-themed films. Audrey was subsequently released from her contract. She was reportedly dissatisfied with her MGM career and agreed to appear in Any Number Can Play only after Clark Gable intervened. After leaving MGM, she worked for Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox, but the quality of her films dropped. By the late 1950s, her film career was in decline, though she continued to work steadily for television.
While entertaining troops with the USO in Korea, Audrey met Dr. Leo Fred. They got together again when they were in Los Angeles and married. Audrey was married to Dr. Leo Fred, assistant dean of the UCLA School of Medicine. Her brother, Folger, gave her away at her wedding because her father was too sick to attend. The couple stayed married for 42 years, from 1953 to Leo's death in 1995. They had one child named Mae Lane.
After stepping away from Hollywood to raise a family, Audrey actively appeared in several television roles throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including shows like Meet McGraw with Frank Lovejoy and The Joseph Cotten Show. In 1957, she was cast as a woman doctor, Louise Kendall, in the episode "Strange Quarantine" of the NBC western series, The Californians. In 1958, Totter was cast as Martha Fullerton, the widow of a man killed by a gunfighter in the episode "The Empty Gun" of the western series, Cheyenne. Later, she played a boarding house owner in another NBC western series, Cimarron City. In 1964, she made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as defendant Reba Burgess in the title role of "The Case of the Reckless Rockhound." Totter played the continuing role of Nurse Wilcox from 1972 to 1976 in the CBS television series Medical Center. Her last acting role was in a 1987 episode of CBS's Murder, She Wrote, with Angela Lansbury.
Totter died of a stroke on December 12, 2013, eight days before her 96th birthday. Upon her death, she was cremated as part of the Neptune Society.
Audrey would return to Joliet at least once a year to visit her parents and brothers. On one particular visit home, Audrey's brother, Folger, was a recent graduate of Joliet High School, while her brother, George, was married and employed as a chemist by Armour & Co. Her father worked for the Joliet Streetcar Company and had since retired. George, in turn, would visit Audrey in California.
In a fan magazine, Audrey reflected:
My mother and dad moved to Los Angeles last Christmas, partly because I could so seldom get to Joliet. My parents are still my best friends and, when I look around at the relationships between my friends and their parents, I'm eternally grateful that my breaking away from home was accomplished in such a way that there has never been any ill feeling between us.
During the period when I was only in Joliet for fifteen-minute intervals, in-between plane flights from New York to Hollywood, my whole family dashed down to say hello and wave goodbye. My brother's little boy saw me on these rare occasions and about the third time it happened, he asked, 'Aunt Audrey, do you live in the sky?'
Sometimes I feel as if I really do.
Publicity for Audrey linked her to her hometown of Joliet fairly often. While all of her siblings moved to California, her brother, George, stayed in Joliet.
I traveled to the lot of her childhood home on 403 Parks Ave., Joliet, IL. While directories list her home being at 303 Parks Ave., the homes in Joliet were renumbered in 1938. The home is privately owned.
Her high school, which is now called Joliet Central High School, still remains. Its outside exists as Audrey would have remembered it, but the inside has undergone extensive renovations.
The school is proud of their restoration of the main doors, as seen behind Audrey in her yearbook photo. Over the years, the doors had been painted over in several different colors. However, these coats of paint kept the doors protected from general wear and tear, allowing for a smooth restoration.
In my research on Audrey, it was easy to note that family was of deep importance to her. Fittingly, Audrey's legacy lives on firmly through her family.
I have been lucky enough to be in contact with Audrey's granddaughter, Eden Totter, who passed along some great information to me about her grandmother as well as pictures of items that were of significance to her. It is with deep appreciation and sincere gratitude to Audrey's family that I share these amazing photos as part of this article.
Eden sent along some of her grandmother's original wedding photos. They feature shots of Audrey, as well as shots of Audrey with her husband, Leo Fred.
Eden also sent along some more treasures: pictures of the pin that her grandmother wore in Lady in the Lake (1947). Regarding the broach, Eden says:
"The broach is from Lady in The Lake, because her character had the same initials as her–AF–and her married last name was Fred. She kept Totter as her stage name, which is why I made that my stage name, too–for her."
Eden Totter currently works as a voiceover actress in California
Eden also shared a medallion given to her grandmother from the Far East Command headquarters in 1952. The back of the medallion reads, "To Audrey Totter from Special Services in appreciation for contributing to the entertainment of united nations armed forces personnel in Korea."
The final item that Eden sent along was an antique snow globe that was owned by her grandmother.
Audrey's family also owns several movie posters, lobby cards, and press photos from the various stages of her career.
After researching Audrey's life, I was nothing short of inspired. It is clear to see that she was a driven woman with a level head and that she was in complete recognition and control of her talents. She saw purpose in all that she did and took a risk to try out a career in acting because she felt she knew she could succeed–and succeed she did. Best of all, she lived a beautiful and fulfilling life along the way. In closing, Audrey once shared these words about her career during a fan magazine interview:
"I love being Millie of Jackson Heights, I love the villainous-heroine parts I get in the movies, I love the life I lead with its freedom and responsibilities. Using a little good sense, I know any girl can build a happy, wonderful life."
Upon learning about Audrey's accomplishments, I can't help but agree.
6 Responses to Audrey Totter
Cheryl winm says:
Very nice article, it gave a lovely hometown girl background to a woman who often portrayed tough' broads'.It was interesting to see the items she treasured, and I was pleased her story did not have a tragic,noir ending…but rather ,a happy successful marriage and loving family.
Patrick Flahive says:
Hello, Annette! I was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, and I graduated from Joliet Central, which is the same school that Audrey graduated from. You did a fantastic job of writing about Audrey's life and career! I really enjoyed looking at all the pictures as well. Thank you very much! May God bless you and yours. Sincerely, Patrick Flahive
Annette Bochenek says:
Dear Annette, I forgot to ask you this in my previous post. Do you remember if Joliet Central High School had any photos of Audrey displayed anywhere within the school? I graduated from Joliet Central in 1990, so I thought that maybe they've added a famous alumni section over the years. I do not recall such a section when I was a student at the school. It sure was nice of Eden Totter to share her memories and photos of her grandmother. Thank you once again for your fabulous article about Audrey Totter's life and career. May God bless you and yours. Sincerely, Patrick Flahive
Hmm I don't know if there is a famous alumni wall. It may be worth emailing the school and asking! I'm curious, too, now! 🙂
Kris Anderson says:
Thank you, Annette, for this very fine article and "deep dive" into the life of Audrey Totter; one of my personal favorites. She was a strong woman who lived a long and successful life in and out of show business.
Best regards, Kris Anderson
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Land Real Estate | Mims Florida
The history of Brevard County can be traced to the prehistory of native cultures living in the area from pre-Columbian times to the present age. The geographic boundaries of the county have changed significantly since its founding. The county is named for Judge Theodore W. Brevard, an early setter, and state comptroller.[3]
A person selling his/her own property – acting as a For sale by owner (or FSBO) seller – cannot generally put a listing for the home directly into an MLS. Similarly, a licensed broker who chooses to neither join the trade association nor operate a business within the association's rules, cannot join most MLSes. However, there are brokers and many online services which offer FSBO sellers the option of listing their property in their local MLS database by paying a flat fee or another non-traditional compensation method.[3]
Start the pre-approved process by connecting with one of our featured mortgage partners. Getting pre-approved is an important part of the home buying process. We work with local Minnesota lenders with a proven track record.
Melbourne Village
The Vietnam Multiple Listing Service was started in 2010.[13] The MLS in Vietnam is based around the U.S. model, with some changes to accommodate different local market conditions. In particular, the system supports open agency listings as well as MLS listings, as the current market operates mainly on the open agency model. FSBO listings, however, are not allowed.
White (non-Hispanic) (83.0% when including White Hispanics): 77.6% 17.3% German, 15.7% Irish, 12.8% English, 8.7% Italian, 4.0% French, 3.6% Polish, 2.5% Scottish, 2.2% Scotch-Irish, 1.9% Dutch, 1.2% Swedish, 1.0% French Canadian, 0.9% Norwegian, 0.8% Russian, 0.7% Hungarian, 0.7% Welsh, 0.5% Greek, 0.5% Portuguese[81]
Florida is a large subtropical state that experiences hurricanes. Although Brevard county is located along Florida's eastern peninsula, it is less frequently impacted by direct hurricane landfalls than portions of the Panhandle or South Florida. There are two predominant reasons for this. First, westward moving tropical systems often reach an atmospheric ridge weakness in the Bermuda High by the time they approach Florida at a latitude as northerly as Brevard County. Combined with frontal systems that exit the United States' East Coast, many of these tropical systems are steered northwest and eventually curve northward offshore along Florida's East Central Coast. A second reason is that hurricanes landfalling along the Florida peninsula Gulf Coast often weaken to a tropical storm by the time they move northeast to affect Brevard County (with some exceptions, such as 2004's Charley). No major hurricane, defined as category 3 or higher, has ever struck Brevard since 1850, the beginning of recorded climate.[24]
The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge[138] and the Canaveral National Seashore[139] are two national wildlife refuges in the county that offer recreational pursuits such as hiking, wildlife viewing, paddling, and environmental education.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,557 square miles (4,030 km2), of which 1,016 square miles (2,630 km2) is land and 541 square miles (1,400 km2) (34.8%) is water.[5] Most of the water is the Atlantic Ocean, the St. Johns River and the Indian River Lagoon. The county is larger in area than the nation of Samoa and nearly the same size, and population, as Cape Verde.[6] It is one-third the size of the state of Rhode Island.
There is no general MLS for Australia; however, a private company Investorist operates a specialised MLS for off the plan property, which is used by some Australian developers and master agents. Investorist is also accessed by international agents.
Pursuant to §119.071(3), F.S., a social security number, bank account, debit, charge or credit card number must be confidential and exempt only as provided in §119.071(5)(a), F.S., and §119.071(5)(b), F.S., respectively.
Homes & Land Magazine provides you with extensive real estate listings including homes for sale, rental properties, condos, land for sale and building lots from cities across the United States and Canada.
Contact Us | Real Estate Site Map | Find a Real Estate Agent | Home Values | Apartments | Franchise Info | Advertise with Homes & Land | Free Magazine | About Us | Partners | Magazine Directory | Advertiser Login
Space Coast Center for Independent Living offers over-all services for individuals with all types of disabilities: peer support, advocacy, skills training, accessibility surveys, support groups, transportation, specialized equipment, sign language interpreter coordination services,[229] and a program for high school students for career development.[citation needed]
Though the area has a relatively small number of high technology companies, 736, a business journal ranked it eighth in the country as a high tech center in 2009. The area had 23,096 high-tech jobs with a ratio of 124 per 1,000 total jobs.[171]
While Brevard County has transportation available in the usual modes for a coastal county—highways, shipping, and airlines—it has the addition of space transportation, making it unique in the world.[248]
The States Attorney's Office sponsors the Victim/Witness Services.[120] This provides advocates to alleged victims of violent crime and their families. The advocate helps the family understand the legal system as they navigate through it. They also seek out financial assistance or counseling they might need. In 2005 they helped 8,448 alleged victims in Brevard County.
The information displayed on this website comes in part from the Broker Reciprocity Program of Brevard County, Florida. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than RE/MAX SOLUTIONS in Florida are marked with the Broker Reciprocity thumbnail. Copyright 2014 Space Coast Association of REALTORS®, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Memorial Park and Cultural Center features a museum with artifacts and time line of the civil rights movement and the story of Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore, civil rights leaders who were killed when their home was bombed.[citation needed]
The ALA website provides "Guidelines for Choosing a Master's Program in Library and Information Studies" [5] and discusses how to decide whether a master's degree or an associate's degree will best help you meet your career goals. Prospective and current students will find more information on school selection and academic success on websites like LibraryCareers.org[6] and Hack Library School.[7]
CCAFS houses the Air Force Space & Missile Museum as Launch Complex 26, where many unmanned rockets were launched early in the U.S. space program, including Explorer 1, the first US spacecraft placed in earth orbit.[citation needed]
Steve Spano, president and chief operating officer of the Center for Internet Security, recently visited NAR's Washington offices to discuss techniques real estate professionals can employ to stay safe online. Listen to his comments below.
The additional benefit of MLS systems is that an MLS subscriber may search an MLS and retrieve information about all homes for sale by all participating brokers. MLS systems contain hundreds of fields of information about the features of a property. These fields are determined by real estate professionals who are knowledgeable and experienced in that local marketplace, whereas public real estate websites contain only a small subset of property data.[citation needed]
In 2010, 8.6% of the county's population was foreign born, with 59.4% being naturalized American citizens. Of foreign-born residents, 49.1% were born in Latin America, 22.9% were born in Europe, 18.3% born in Asia, 6.4% in North America, 2.4% born in Africa, and 0.9% were born in Oceania.[81]
"Many seller's agents will continue to show the property to potential buyers up until the very last minute, in hopes of obtaining an even more compelling offer," says Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats in New York City.
Listings of india specializing in the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) launches a platform in Dec 2015 in India, for the first time, to connect all authorized Real Estate Agents/Brokers/Agency/ Promotes/Builders through one platform; to showcase their property listings for wider exposure among the network.[12]
A centrally located County Government Center in Viera houses the various county government branches, including Housing and Human Services, Juvenile Justice, Public Safety, Public Works and Solid Waste Management.
The MLIS/MLS curriculum can vary widely.[5] Typically both practical and theoretical components are included, often along with a practicum or internship, and students frequently have an opportunity to specialize in one or more aspects of library and information science. Some schools have stringent course requirements, while others are more flexible and offer a wide variety of electives. Coursework may entail traditional library topics, such as reference work, cataloging, collection development, school libraries, or archiving. There may also be a focus on information science and computer science topics, such as database design, as well as information architecture. Other skills taught may include management or pedagogy. Students generally complete a research project or thesis during the last semester of their program.
Located halfway between Jacksonville and Miami, Brevard County extends 72 miles (116 km) from north to south, and averages 26.5 miles (42.6 km) wide. Marshes in the western part of this county are the source of the St. Johns River. Emphasizing its position as halfway down Florida is the presence of two roads that are halfway down Florida's numbering system, State Road 50 and State Road 500.
Subscribing to your favorite Homes & Land eMagazine has also never been easier! You can now subscribe to the Homes & Land magazine available in your preferred area and be the first to browse the newest issue. From within the magazine, you can also click to contact top real estate agents in the area that will answer your questions about the listings or the local housing market.
The Brevard Symphony Orchestra and the Space Coast Ballet offer shows performed by professionals. There is the professional Space Coast Symphony Orchestra.[262] Community orchestras and bands include, but are not limited to, the Melbourne Community Orchestra,[263] the Space Coast Pops and the Community Band of Brevard.[264] Choral groups include the Brevard Community Chorus,[265] the Indialantic Chamber Singers,[266] and the Brevard Youth Chorus.[267]
Jump up ^ "Brevard County, Florida: SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
Our goal is to make it easy to find your next new home. Simply enter a city and state, zip code or county in our search bar to see the newest homes for sale in our vast real estate listing database including the most recent MLS houses for sale. You can save your favorite search and subscribe to an email alert to receive automated real estate updates emailed to fit your specifications.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A side effect of online banking activities is the growth in fraudulent attempts. Dr. Kraus proposes an attention based architecture for classifying online banking transactions.
Title: "Observing A Quantum Measurement"
Celebrate the day of love at '53 Commons, with or without a date!
In this event, Rachel Hadas will read from her 2018 collection, Poems for Camilla.
Barry Jenkins's (Moonlight) achingly beautiful adaptation of James Baldwin's romantic novel, set in 1970s Harlem.


I liked my study so much that I proceeded to make a painting. It's on a 9×12 small canvas and is a combination of brush and palette knife .
"Timid Glory" 24 x 36 inches, will be featured in my solo show titled ,"Rebirth" taking place at the Joyce Gordon Gallery , 406 14th street, downtown Oakland between Broadway and Telegraph, from March 6 – April 25th. Opening reception is on March 6, 6-9pm.
One of the results of the African Diaspora is the evident influence of Africa in dance all over the world. Even on the streets of San Francisco, this is evident in random street dancing. I was highly entertained by these two. Wish I got there sooner.
I love this city! never a dull moment.


Dr. Ross Clevens performs a variety of Surgical and Non-Surgical Procedures of the face and neck, including Brow Lift, wrinkle removal procedures like Botox and other Dermal Fillers. He specializes in Blepharoplasty, Laser Skin Resurfacing, Rhinoplasty in Orlando, Lip Augmentation, facial implants, Otoplasty, skin cancer removal and more. Dr. Clevens is known for his meticulous attention to detail as well as his artistic vision, providing patients with exceptional, natural-looking results. For those seeking a Facelift in Melbourne, Dr. Clevens uses sophisticated, state-of-the-art Face Lifting Techniques designed to provide a natural, rejuvenated facial appearance. He is also the doctor of choice for those seeking treatment with injectable fillers like Juvederm and Sculptra in Melbourne.
All our providers are "specialists" in their areas of expertise, spending 100% of their time focused on treatments in their specialty areas. So, you can have the confidence of knowing you've chosen the most experienced providers around when you trust your face and body to our specialists.
Our practice was founded by award-winning Facial Plastic Surgeon Ross A. Clevens, MD, FACS. Dr. Clevens is Ivy League trained and has performed surgery in Melbourne, FL for 20 years. Clevens Face and Body Specialists brings together a team of like-minded providers who deliver exceptional, comprehensive patient care with the highest standards for quality and safety. That's the Clevens Difference.
At Clevens Face and Body Specialists, we lead the way with technologies that are proven safe and effective to achieve optimal results with minimal recovery time. Our surgeons are innovators in their respective fields, and our practice was also among the first in the nation to introduce SculpSure Laser Body Contouring. We are also Brevard's first and most experienced provider of Bellafill – an FDA-approved Dermal Filler that achieves results lasting up to five years.
Last year, our practice donated more than $100,000 to support local nonprofits, and Dr. Clevens regularly provides pro bono reconstructive facial plastic surgery to survivors of domestic violence. The Clevens Family also founded Face of Change to provide food and medical care to families locally and abroad. We believe being a good neighbor is just the right thing to do.
Clevens Instant Liquid Rhinoplasty: Get the nose of your dreams with NO surgery and NO downtime!
Face of Change™ is a non-profit charitable organization founded by the Clevens family to aid in administering the staffing and funding of global humanitarian efforts.


Click "File" and then "New"
Put in your men, structures, doodads, rivers, etc.
To make your level playable, you will need it to have the sides controlled by humans. For this example, let's make this a 2v2 game.
Click "Settings" and Click "Side 1"
Check the right hand box. It should say "InitialCred, Initialview, Intelligence"
Set the "InitialCred" field as whatever number of galaxite you want the player to start out with, then switch his Intelligence from "Computer" to "Human"
Hit "File", then "Export mission pack". Name it anything you want. Then come on forums, go to Mission Sharing, start a new topic with the title of your mission, sticky the post, and in the "Add Attachement" field, hit "Browse" and look for the .pdb version of your map. Once you find it, hit "Add Attachement" and then "Submit" Voila!!
If you have any questions (such as triggers or unitgroups), contact any one of us map makers. We're here to help.
Trine, that is a great guide, but don't you think it's in the wrong forum? If you move this(don't just create a new topic) to the Mission Authoring forum, I'll be sure to make it sticky. Thanks for the guide!
I agree - move it to the mission authoring forum. It'll help more mission authors there.
isnt it already in mission authoring?
sorry, i kept it here for future reference. if i could sticky this post on mission authoring, i'd do it.
First of all / /Xenon, it would help me if I had a sample of the map you are working on. And about your question, the triggers seem to be in place. Do you put any units/structures in the map?
P.S. - You can PM me, so I can send you a more thorough explanation. To message me, click the link on the top of the page that says "You have no new messages", then select "New Post", type in my name on the "Username" field, and ask me your question there. Thanks.


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Michael B. Jordan to Lead Animated Series 'gen:LOCK' From Rooster Teeth
"Black Panther" actor is set to voice the lead character on series premiering on Rooster Teeth's streaming service
Reid Nakamura | May 21, 2018 @ 4:54 PM
Michael B. Jordan has signed on to voice the lead character of the upcoming Rooster Teeth series "gen:LOCK."
The animated series takes place as Earth's last free society, on the losing side of a global war, recruits a diverse team of young pilots to control the next generation of mecha — giant, weaponized robot bodies.
Jordan will voice Julian Chase, who leaves his life as a fighter pilot behind to become the first candidate for the program and finds his endurance — as well as his very identity — will be tested beyond anything he ever imagined.
Also Read: 'Fahrenheit 451' Film Review: Michael B. Jordan Remakes Ray Bradbury for the Age of Fake News
The anime-style series, co-produced by Rooster Teeth Animation and Jordan's Outlier Productions banner, will premiere exclusively on the company's $5 per month SVOD service, available on Xbox One, Apple TV, iOS and Android.
"We are excited beyond belief to announce Michael B. Jordan as the voice of Julian Chase in gen:LOCK and welcome him to the Rooster Teeth community. Michael's visionary career choices and commitment to meaningful entertainment, not to mention his love of anime, line up perfectly with what drives Rooster Teeth, and we're thrilled for the opportunity to do some cool sci-fi storytelling together," said Gray G. Haddock, "gen:LOCK" creator and head of Rooster Teeth Animation.
Jordan's previous voice credits include a guest appearance on "The Boondocks" and DC's direct-to-video release "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox." He most recently starred in HBO's live-action adaptation of "Fahrenheit 451" alongside Michael Shannon and played the villainous Killmonger in Marvel's "Black Panther."
Fall TV 2018: 13 Stars to Watch, From Jay Hernandez to Madeleine Mantock (Photos)
Madeleine Mantock, Melonie Diaz, Sarah Jeffery - "Charmed" (CW)
The CW's "Charmed" reboot features three new faces as the Charmed Ones. Mantock previously starred in AMC's "Into the Badlands" as Veil. Diaz has had roles in shows like "Room 104" and "The Breaks." Jeffery has appeared on "Shades of Blue" and "The X-Files." But starring as three witch sisters in "Charmed" -- which The CW is hoping to be a successful drama with its Sunday night time slot after "Supergirl" -- will put these ladies front and center.
Daniel Ezra - "All American" (CW)
Ezra has previously appeared on series like "The Missing" and "Prime Suspect 1973." His character Spencer is the new face of Beverly High football -- and Ezra is the new face of Greg Berlanti's high school drama that gives us "Friday Night Lights" vibes. Are we looking at the next Michael B. Jordan?
Jack Gore - "The Kids Are Alright" (ABC)
You might recognize this young actor's voice from the Blue Sky Studios animated movie "Ferdinand," and now it's time to recognize the face. Gore has also appeared in "Billions."
Kimrie Lewis, Jake Choi - "Single Parents" (ABC)
Lewis and Choi play two of the single parents in ABC's new sitcom along with Leighton Meester, Brad Garrett and Taran Killam. Lewis previously appeared on ABC's "Scandal" as a reporter and Choi has had roles on "Hawaii Five-0" and "Lethal Weapon."
Violett Beane - "God Friended Me" (CBS)
Beane has had roles in "The Flash" and "The Resident." In "God Friended Me" she stars as journalist Cara Bloom, a girl who is suggested to Brandon Micheal Hall's Miles Finer by "God."
Nik Dodani - "Murphy Brown" (CBS)
The "Murphy Brown" revival has a new cast member: Nik Dodani, who plays Pat Patel, the director of technology and social media trying to bring the "olds" into the 21st century who can't believe that Murphy still has a Razr. He previously appeared on "Atypical."
Felix Mallard - "Happy Together" (CBS)
Mallard appeared previously on "Neighbours" and is making his US debut on CBS' new comedy "Happy Together." Mallard stars as a young celebrity trying to stay out of the limelight and he's serving us some One Direction-style charisma.
Jay Hernandez - "Magnum P.I." (CBS)
Your new Thomas Magnum has arrived, and he's a fast car-driving, kayaking, former Navy SEAL who also happens to be a total hunk. We're thinking that Hernandez + action + Hawaii will equal TV stardom.
Sarayu Blue - "I Feel Bad" (NBC)
"I Feel Bad" is one of the shows we're excited to see this fall, and Sarayu Blue is one of the reasons why. She plays a mom struggling with the pressure to come off as perfect, and her realness in the trailer already had us giggling. She previously appeared "No Tomorrow" and "Blockers."
Melissa Roxburgh - "Manifest" (NBC)
Roxburgh plays Michaela Stone, one of the travelers who has been presumed dead for five-and-a-half years. She narrates the trailer, so we're sure that she'll be an important part of the story. She's previously appeared in "Valor" and "Supernatural."
Now that we've had a glimpse at the new series coming this fall, here are new names we're expecting to make a splash
Michael B Jordan Accepts Frances McDormand's Invitation, Will Adopt Inclusion Riders
By Matt Donnelly | March 7, 2018 @ 4:34 PM
Michael B Jordan Burns Books in 'Fahrenheit 451' Trailer (Video)
Michael B Jordan to Exec Produce, Guest Star in 'Raising Dion' Superhero Series for Netflix
By Carli Velocci | October 5, 2017 @ 8:00 AM


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Using a biscuit cutter or a glass, cut the center out of each slice of bread. Butter one side of the bread and the little round pieces you cut out.
Melt some butter in a skillet, place each slice of bread in the skillet, buttered side up, and move the bread around in the butter to coat.
Add a tad more butter to the center of each slice of bread and then crack each egg into the center of the hole in the bread.
Cook till the egg has set just a bit then carefully flip each slice (and the little rounds pieces too).
Cook till your egg is at the doneness you like.
Serve with the little round pieces to sop up the yolk.


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Wincenty Glücksburg (duń. Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander; ur. 8 stycznia 2011 w Kopenhadze) – książę Danii, hrabia Monpezat. Jest trzecim dzieckiem księcia koronnego (następcy tronu) Danii, Fryderyka Glücksburga, oraz jego żony, Marii Donaldson. Zajmuje czwarte miejsce w linii sukcesji do duńskiego tronu, za starszą siostrą, Izabelą, a przed młodszą siostrą, Józefiną.

Życiorys

Narodziny
Urodził się 8 stycznia 2011 roku o godz. 10.30 w szpitalu Rigshospitalet w Kopenhadze jako trzecie dziecko następcy tronu Danii, księcia Fryderyka, oraz jego żony, Marii Donaldson. W chwili urodzin mierzył 47 centymetrów i ważył 2.67 kilogramów. Jest o 26 minut starszy od swojej siostry bliźniaczki.

Ma troje rodzeństwa – Chrystiana (ur. 2005), Izabelę (ur. 2007) i Józefinę (ur. 2011).

Chrzest
Został ochrzczony w wierze luterańskiej 14 kwietnia 2011 roku w kaplicy kościoła Holmen. Chłopiec ubrany był w szatę, którą w 1870 roku zakupiła królowa Luiza Bernadotte. Pierwszy raz szata została założona przez przyszłego króla Danii, Chrystiana X (ostatniego władcę o tym imieniu na duńskim tronie). Ceremonii chrztu przewodniczył biskup Erik Norman Svedsen.

Rodzicami chrzestnymi małego księcia zostali: ówczesny książę Asturii, obecny król Hiszpanii, Filip VI, książę Gustaw Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, John Stuart Donaldson, hrabia Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille, baronowa Helle Reedtz-Thott i Caroline Heering.

W dniu chrztu ogłoszono, że otrzymał imiona Wincenty Fryderyk Minik Aleksander (duń. Vincent Frederik Minik Alexander). Pierwsze imię, Wincenty, otrzymał najpewniej na cześć św. Wincentego, który jest patronem winiarzy. Mówi się, że imię to zostało wybrane ze względu na francuskie pochodzenie jego dziadka, Henryka. Imię Fryderyk otrzymał natomiast po swoim ojcu, księciu Fryderyku. Było to również podtrzymanie zwyczaju panującego w duńskiej rodzinie królewskiej, zgodnie z którym wśród imion duńskich książąt jest albo imię Chrystian, albo Fryderyk. Trzecie imię, Minik, jest imieniem pochodzącym z największej zamorskiej duńskiej posiadłości, Grenlandii. Imię Aleksander otrzymał natomiast po swoim prapradziadku, Alexandrze Donaldsonie.

Młodość
W sierpniu 2017 roku rozpoczął naukę w Tranegårdskolen.

W marcu 2022 roku, wraz z ojcem i młodszą siostrą, złożył kwiaty przed ambasadą Ukrainy w Danii. Była to reakcja na inwazję Rosji na Ukrainę.

Tytulatura

Od 2011: Jego Królewska Wysokość książę Wincenty, hrabia Monpezat

Odznaczenia

 Medal Pamiątkowy 75-lecia Urodzin Księcia Henryka
 Medal Pamiątkowy 70-lecia Urodzin Królowej Małgorzaty
 Medal Pamiątkowy 40-lecia Panowania Królowej Małgorzaty II

Genealogia

Przypisy

Bibliografia
 Oficjalna strona duńskiej rodziny królewskiej
 Almanach Gotajski
 thepeerage.com

Glücksburgowie
Bliźnięta
Duńczycy pochodzenia francuskiego
Ludzie urodzeni w Kopenhadze
Urodzeni w 2011

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Betrayal, Failure, And Snapping The Ties That Bind
I'm not sure how much advice is going to be in this post. I'm not sure how much because what happened in my last L5R game was as much a natural byproduct of running a game with strong roleplayers as anything that I did as a GM to make it happen. In a real way it was like catching lightning in a bottle. It's terrifying and awesome, but you have no idea how you did it or if you could ever replicate it. That said, a lot happened in the session. Characters now trust each other left. We ended with a general feeling of failure. A loved NPC was almost killed due to a bad decision, and in return a PC was almost executed because of misinformation. It was a good session, I want to talk about it, but don't expect this to just work at your table either. With that said, let's talk about what happened.
The Plotline
One of the characters in the L5R game started with two instances of bad fate, secret love and secret enemy. The only thing the character asked is that the love and the enemy not be the same person. As the player is playing a hare, he also wanted to be involved with hunting Maho Tsukai. So I made one secret love a Maho Tsukai, and the secret enemy a different Maho Tsukai. Over the course of the game the character had maho going on around them frequently as the two blood mages effectively fought, one trying to destroy him and the other to keep him alive. Then, things changed. The enemy managed to get herself into the group and be accepted by the player as an apprentice. Now she had closer access to the group, and used it to begin sewing seeds of dissent. The group knew fairly quickly that they had a traitor in their group somewhere, but with the number of NPCs around them had no idea who. The enemy blood mage used this to set up a frame job on one of the other NPCs whose passions could also make them a likely candidate for the crime.
This is the plotline that resolved on Friday.
Events came to a head with not only the death of two NPC group members to blood magic but also interference with other NPCs trying to help the PCs out. In a move to stop being subtle about it, the PC leading the investigation had the home the PCs are staying at torn apart and everyone investigated by a local Kuni Witchhunter. Due to plot reasons (not railroading, actual pre-established factors. For L5R fans, this maho and her master had learned to not receive jigoku's tain while using blood magic which renders a Kuni useless in 4th ed mostly) the Kuni wasn't a big help. However, the PC did find a large amount of evidence (planted) that incriminated the scapegoat NPC. They decided to act.
At the place where all the other PCs and NPCs from the house were to keep them out of the way a commotion started just as the PC investigator showed up. Rather than risk the quarry getting away he attacked and dropped the NPC to out (2 wounds shy of dead) without warning. Another PC, who had not been brought in on the investigation or suspicion, moved to execute said investigator. His blade was stayed only by a perception check by the party lead that let her see just who was about to be killed.
The whole group pulled in, the evidence was quickly deemed circumstancial and possibly planted. They brought in more outside help (a Kitsuki Investigator.) With that help and the whole group trapped the actual maho tsukai was found and revealed to be the investigator's apprentice the whole time. She has been killed, and that is where we left the session off.
The Damage
The fallout from this plot is almost all emotional and it is very interesting. The group had their internal loyalties tested, and now key players can't look at each other the same way. One PC, the one not brought in on the investigation, is no longer capable of trusting the party lead or investigator PC because he feels betrayed. He intends to do his job at Winter Court and then leave. Another PC dealing with her own plot is now more sure than ever that she will be betrayed and attacked from within the group. The others don't knw how to feel. Everyone feels horrible for being wrong about the poor NPC who got nearly killed on planted information.
The fun thing about the session is I'm not sure where things go from here for the PCs internally. They're very close to coming up on the big end game for this generation, and the emotional break will likely not have much time to heal. If anything, the tension is just going to keep amping up, and with that the temptations to dip into reserves of strength best left untapped. The ability for the group to succeed is not in question, but how many of them will die - and how many of them will be allowed to die - is a new dynamic that wasn't in question before.
This plot worked because the players were willing to make what, on an OOC level, they knew to be bad decisions. They stayed in character, acted as they felt they should, and came up with the results they have. Changing any one factor of this could actually make it turn out horribly. It worked due to trust at the table, both with each other and me as the GM. Which, ultimately, is what you need when you want to bring plots like this up for your games.
In the end, I think that's all I can say. In many ways this session served as a counterpoint to "you need bad rolls for good RP." Dice didn't factor into this session's results as much. But it did prove one thing. "You need bad decisions for good tension." Now the trick is to not overdo it and ride the crest up to the climax of the generation.
Labels: GM, Play
I think it's rather interesting that your L5R games run rather similar to my own FATE games... You made your "Death comes for us all"-post just after my own PC decided to take a very large risk. And the fallout from that came out the previous session too. :p So yes, I can definitely see where you're coming from with this advice and I'll add my own two cents.
Unlike yours however, my group has quite a diverse level of experience, ranging from "has experience but doesn't know what to do" to "just started" and me being the most experienced player. So I hatched a plot with my GM where my PC realized her role in the party was actually different from what she had expected, and she was supposed to steer the group in a certain direction. This gave me as a player incentive ingame to let my fellow players shine a bit more, but it also made them rely a bit too much on her. Which is why the current Big Bad of our campaign is pretty much an evil clone of my own PC, who decided to impersonate my PC at an important event the previous session. Only one of the players figured out what was happening and here's the good stuff... this was the player who usually doesn't know what to do, and she decided that even though SHE realized it, her PC wouldn't. And she decided to make the bad decision and her PC trusted the Fake-PC. By the time my PC joined the group again the other PC's (and players too, actually, they were that invested by this point) realized they were completely set up by the Fake-PC and my PC hadn't warned them or anything. At this point they could go two ways: become angry with my PC (which would be the most likely reaction due to the events) or try to figure out a solution with the whole group. Interestingly enough, they didn't just decide to figure out a solution, they absolutely rallied together and fully trusted each other. Note that this is a group that has _never_ done a thing like this before, because they were too busy with witty oneliners which nearly caused a breach in the group between the PC's.
As a whole, I can say the group has definitely grown and learned from the experiences in the sessions leading up to this finale. :) And yes "You need bad decisions for good tension." definitely applied here too. Our experiences were different from your group, but I think that has more to do with how our group functions and how long we have been together compared to your group. But similar to your group, the GM challenged the Status Quo of the group and changed it. Actually having the group trust each other was much, much more difficult than breaking that trust.
A.L. June 23, 2015 at 6:57 AM
Your game sounds really fun. And that sounds like a fun story point to have. I'm glad your group pulled together on it. :)
Staying in character to the detriment of the party requires a cohesive trusting group of players that I think is fairly unusual, particularly as the cost rises.
This is helpful as the player acolytes in my Dark Heresy game are just entering the thick of an investigation with more leads than answers, including NPC bad actors that aren't the culprit. I think my takeaway from your session A.L. is let the storm rage and see what happens....
Sometimes letting the storm rage is the best possible thing in the world. Just watch the players for signs of real tension. Its ok to call a pause after a heated moment and make sure folks are good/having fun. Sometimes you'll know easier than other times, but it's better to be safe than sorry in those situations.


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Throwback Thursday: String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96, "American," Antonin Dvorak
On this day 227 years ago, George Washington was elected the first president of the United States of America. About a century later, a man from Nelahozeves, a town in the Austrian Empire, wrote a piece of music about the country. Clearly, the American experiment was somewhat of a success.
I don't tend to like string quartets, but this is one of the loveliest and more fun pieces of classical music I came across last year. The first movement's first 12 notes will get stuck in your head for days. The second movement (09:08) is a prime example of how to write a heartbreaking melody: keep it simple. The third and fourth movements are cheerful and lively. Whereas string quartets tend to make me feel claustrophobic, this string quartet feels like someone threw open all the windows on a spring afternoon.
Tags fun, happy, lively, melancholy
Worldly Wednesday: "Traveller," Baaba Maal
Oh man – when the song fully kicks in at 1:55, I just can't help myself. I wish I knew Pulaar so I could sing along. Maal, who is a genius musician and composer from Senegal, writes some of my favorite west African music of all time. This is one of my favorite tracks of his. This is guaranteed to turn any day into a good one.
Maal worked on this album with Winston Marshall, of Mumford & Sons, and Johan Hugo, of The Very Best. Appropriately, this is what Maal said is the main message of the album: "Life is travel. You are born, you come to the world, and you are traveling until the end. You never know what you're going to get. When you travel you see that the world is quite interesting—all the different faces, all the different cultures, all the different food, all the different types of music. But it's all human beings, and it's all connected."
A sentiment to remember, surely.
Tags cathartic, dance, fun, happy, Joyful, lively
Termagant Tuesday: "Jumpin' At The Woodside," Count Basie vs. Oscar Peterson
Welp, last night was the Iowa Caucuses. Or, as we say in our household, "Involuntary Nap Night." Honest to God – we had at least 10 browsers open full of different polling data, plus NPR on the radio. We were on it. Tracking. …Until I fell asleep in the leather chair. And by 11pm I couldn't hit the refresh button any more so I went to sleep.
But today is a new day, Tune-Up Nation, and I for one want to see another kind of battle than the one between Clinton and Cruz, or Clinton and Sanders, or Trump and the collective knowledge of mankind. So behold the glory of Count Basie and Oscar Peterson doubling up on that old swing classic, "Jumpin' At The Woodside." They've got my vote.
Tags fun, happy, Joyful, lively
Modernism Monday: "Din Daa Daa" The Roots
The exceptionally funky band The Roots cover the exceptionally cool George Kranz. This track is basically a vehicle to showcase Questlove's amazing drumming and general rhythm skills. But I love it for its spare modernism. It reminds me a lot of what would happen if Bobby McFerrin and Laurie Anderson got together. It's an amazing and fun soundscape until 3:20 when the rest of the song drops.
Tags badass, focused, fun, funky, groove, happy, lively, night out, sassy
Worldly Wednesday: "Smeorach Chlann Domhnaill," Julie Fowlis
Clan Donald (also known as MacDonald), hails from the western islands of Scotland, and counts Finlaggan Castle on Islay as its seat. The clan dates back to the 12th century and became one of the most powerful of the Highland clans in Scotland. In this folk song, the singer praises Scotland and calls it a land of "heroes and poets," beautiful nature, and skilled warriors. The singer ends with his hopes that Sir James MacDonald returns from fighting for the Stuarts at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
The Battle of Worcester was the last great battle during the English Civil Wars that pitted Oliver Cromwell and his 30,000-strong army against Charles the II's 16,000 men, mostly made up of Scotsmen. Although handily defeated by Cromwell, Charles II took back the throne in 1660 and thus began what would become known as the Restoration.
Hooray learning!
Tags focused, intense, introspective
Termagant Tuesday: "Let's Misbehave," Irving Aaronson & His Commandeers
Welp, we're on Day Three of "Job? What Job?" here in our nation's capital. The federal government is closed, the Senate punted votes, the House isn't voting on anything, and we're all still trapped inside. Those of us who can get out rapidly discover there's…really not all that much point, except going to a bar that's open simply because it's open. Yes, it's a little oppressive. And now, perhaps, we can all understand why more babies are born in late summer and autumn than any other time of the year.
Tags fun, happy, lively, sassy
Sacred Sunday: "Wade In The Water," The Staples Singers
Sorry for leaving you stranded yesterday, Tune-Up Nation. Chateau Yankette lost power. It was very sad. But we're back up and running today, just in time to run outside and trudge through three-feet-high snow drifts just to finally get out of the damn house. That said, the city is really beautiful in its snow blanket, and now that the sun is out, everything looks shiny and clean. It's also marvelously quieter than it usually is – no honking, no construction, no sirens. It's delightful.
Tags funky, groove, sassy
Funk Friday: "Fresh Static Snow," Porter Robinson
IT'S SNOWING IT'S SNOWING IT'S SNOWING IT'S SNOWING IT'S SNOWING
The Feds shut down at noon today, which put everyone on the road and on the Metro at the same time, which went totally fine by the way thanks for asking (oh how it hurts to lie). But now we are ensconced in our homes, or in the homes of our friends in my case, watching the rising snow drifts and the synchronous diminution of city activity. So crank that bass up and let's get down to business.
Tags dance, fun, funky, groove, happy, lively, night out, sassy
Throwback Thursday: "Northern Lights," Ola Gjeilo
Here in D.C., we sit in breathless, panicky expectation of a whammy of a snowstorm. It's been a while since we've gotten some serious snow, so we are all tremendously excited and choosing to express our excitement through stock-piling essentials like steamer clams, green tea mochi, and cheese doodles…and then forgetting things like toilet paper and granola. But we got a little taste of the coming storm last night when thick, pebble-sized flakes of snow started drifting down after dark. I shuffled home through the gentle snowfall and stood under a streetlamp for a minute. The snow was beautiful.
Everything is quieter in snow. Snow muffles sound – car wheels, human feet- and in so doing encourages us to keep silent. Snow is the only weather event I can think of that makes no sound. You can hear wind, rain, hail, sleet…but you can't hear snow. You're one sense down, which naturally heightens all other senses to compensate. And we can't help but plug that gap with our own, very personal, feelings. All of a sudden you want to relieve your childhood through sledding, or be a better neighbor through keeping an eye out for the homeless and getting them to shelters, or dive deep into spirituality and mysticism for which silently falling snow provides a natural backdrop.
But, there comes a point in every snowy day when you huddle for warmth and feel very much like the animal you truly are – an animal that is grateful for some shelter, and a moment of stillness in which to contemplate nature's terrible, sacred beauty. This is what Gjeilo's staggeringly lovely choral piece was written to celebrate.
Pulchra es amica mea,
suavis et decora sicut Jerusalem,
terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata.
Averte oculos tuos a me
quia ipsi me avolare fecerunt.
Thou art beautiful, O my love,
sweet and comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army set in array.
Turn away thine eyes from me,
for they have made me flee away.
Tags calm, focused, intense, introspective, mellow
Worldly Wednesday: "Wondering, feat. CAPS," Yotto
In keeping with this week's apparent (and accidental) Scandinavian theme, today we travel from Sweden to its erstwhile east wing, Finland.
Finland is a really neat country, a land of 5.5 million passionate and brooding people who all know how to tango. This track, from Finland's most exciting young electronic musician, Otto Yliperttula – aka, Yotto, is all about passionate and brooding. Yotto specializes in deep house music and last spring joined the highly respectable house label, Anjunadeep. Though he has arguably more popular tracks, this one is my favorite. When the beat drops at 4:48, it's like merging onto an empty Autobahn in an exquisitely sleek sports car.
Tags badass, chill, focused, intense, introspective, melancholy


Jessa Duggar Seewald has been called the "mean girl" in the Duggar family in the past, especially after she published a story discussing the fact that as a small child, she always kicked her older sister Jana Duggar at night. She has also been criticized for posting her wedding albums online several years later, often as someone in her family gets married or announces an engagement, which many have said is because she wants the attention on her. Now, In Touch Weekly has criticized the mom-of-two, saying that she constantly wants to remind people that she and Ben got married.
Jessa Duggar Seewald has had her own Instagram account since she got engaged to Ben Seewald, which seems to be about the time that Duggar children are allowed to have their own social media. Josiah Duggar, however, broke the rules by creating his own Instagram when he was courting ex Marjorie Jackson, but he never took down his social media after they parted ways.
Jessa was previously criticized for posting an entire album of her wedding when her first cousin, Amy Duggar King, got married to her husband. Instead of posting a congratulatory post, her post became simply an album for her wedding, which several fans found to be a bit self-congratulatory.
She was also criticized for making Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth's wedding about her, discussing how "hectic" the days are before your wedding and stating that witnessing her wedding made her reminisce about her own big day.
Many also thought that Jessa Duggar Seewald took the lead in a rather "rude" way when brother Joe Duggar married his new wife, Kendra Duggar. However, Kendra Duggar didn't seem to be too bothered about allowing her sister-in-law to take the lead and instead said she liked having someone to take charge on such a stressful day.
In Touch compared Jessa Duggar Seewald to "that girl from high school" who reposts photos from her wedding every few years.


text:
2Notable sieges
3Modern use
Battering ram
Siege engine originating in ancient times
For other uses, see Battering Ram (disambiguation).
Find sources: "Battering ram" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Medieval battering ram in Italy
Replica battering ram at Baba Vida, Vidin, Bulgaria
An Assyrian battering ram attacking an enemy city, c. 865–860 BC
Replica battering ram at Château des Baux, France
A battering ram is a siege engine that originated in ancient times and was designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, heavy log carried by several people and propelled with force against an obstacle; the ram would be sufficient to damage the target if the log were massive enough and/or it were moved quickly enough (that is, if it had enough momentum). Later rams encased the log in an arrow-proof, fire-resistant canopy mounted on wheels. Inside the canopy, the log was swung from suspensory chains or ropes.
Rams proved effective weapons of war because at the time wall-building materials such as stone and brick were weak in tension, and therefore prone to cracking when impacted with force. With repeated blows, the cracks would grow steadily until a hole was created. Eventually, a breach would appear in the fabric of the wall, enabling armed attackers to force their way through the gap and engage the inhabitants of the citadel.
The introduction in the later Middle Ages of siege cannons, which harnessed the explosive power of gunpowder to propel weighty stone or iron balls against fortified obstacles, spelled the end of battering rams and other traditional siege weapons. Smaller, hand-held versions of battering rams are still used today by law enforcement officers and military personnel to break open locked doors.
A capped ram is a battering ram that has an accessory at the head (usually made of iron or steel and sometimes punningly shaped into the head and horns of an ovine ram) to do more damage to a building. It was much more effective at destroying enemy walls and buildings than an uncapped ram but was heavier to carry.
Design[edit]
The earliest depiction of a possible battering ram is from the tomb of the 11th Dynasty noble Khety, where a pair of soldiers advance towards a fortress under the protection of a mobile roofed structure, carrying a long pole that may represent a simple battering ram.[1]
During the Iron Age, in the ancient Middle East and Mediterranean, the battering ram's log was slung from a wheeled frame by ropes or chains so that it could be made more massive and be more easily bashed against its target. Frequently, the ram's point would be reinforced with a metal head or cap while vulnerable parts of the shaft were bound with strengthening metal bands. Vitruvius details in his text De architectura that Ceras the Carthaginian was the first to make a ram with a wooden base with wheels and a wooden superstructure, with the ram hung within. This structure moved so slowly, however, that he called it the testudo (Latin for "tortoise").[2]
Another type of ram was one that maintained the normal shape and structure, but the support beams were instead made of saplings that were lashed together. The frame was then covered in hides as normal to defend from fire. The only solid beam present was the ram that was hung from the frame. The frame itself was so light that it could be carried on the shoulders of the men transporting the ram, and the same men could beat the ram against the wall when they reached it.[3]
Many battering rams had curved or slanted wooden roofs and side-screens, covered in protective materials, usually fresh wet hides. These canopies reduced the risk of the ram being set on fire, and protected the operators of the ram from arrow and spear volleys launched from above.
An image of an Assyrian battering ram depicts how sophisticated attacking and defensive practices had become by the 9th century BC. The defenders of a town wall are trying to set the ram alight with torches and have also put a chain under it. The attackers are trying to pull on the chain to free the ram, while the aforementioned wet hides on the canopy provide protection against the flames.
By the time the Kushites made their incursions into Egypt, around 715 BC, walls, siege tactics and equipment had undergone many changes. Early shelters protecting sappers armed with poles trying to breach mudbrick ramparts gave way to battering rams.[4]
The first confirmed use of rams in the Occident happened from 503 to 502 BC when Opiter Verginius became consul of the Romans during the fight against Aurunci people:
The following consuls, Opiter Virginius and Sp. Cassius, first endeavored to take Pometia by storm, and afterwards by raising battering rams (vineae) and other works.
—  Livy, Ab urbe condita, History of Rome, Book II, Chapter 17
The second known use was in 427 BC, when the Spartans besieged Plataea.[5] The first use of rams within the Mediterranean Basin, featuring in this case the simultaneous employment of siege towers to shelter the rammers from attack, occurred on the island of Sicily in 409 BC, at the Selinus siege.[6]
Defenders manning castles, forts or bastions would sometimes try to foil battering rams by dropping obstacles in front of the ram, such as a large sack of sawdust, just before the ram's head struck a wall or gate, or by using grappling hooks to immobilize the ram's log. Alternatively, the ram could be set ablaze, doused in fire-heated sand, pounded by boulders dropped from battlements or invested by a rapid sally of troops.
Some battering rams were not slung from ropes or chains, but were instead supported by rollers. This allowed the ram to achieve a greater speed before striking its target, making it more destructive. Such a ram, as used by Alexander the Great, is described by Vitruvius.
Alternatives to the battering ram included the drill, the sapper's mouse, the pick, the siege hook, and the hunting ram. These devices were smaller than a ram and could be used in confined spaces.
Notable sieges[edit]
Battering rams had an important effect on the evolution of defensive walls, which were constructed ever more ingeniously in a bid to nullify the effects of siege engines. Historical instances of the usage of battering rams in sieges of major cities include:
The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans
The Sack of Rome (410)
The various sieges of Constantinople
There is a popular myth in Gloucester, England that the well known children's rhyme, Humpty Dumpty, is about a battering ram used in the siege of Gloucester in 1643, during the Civil War. However, the story is almost certainly untrue; during the siege, which lasted only one month, no battering rams were used, although many cannons were. The idea seems to have originated in a spoof history essay by Professor David Daube written for The Oxford Magazine in 1956, which was widely believed despite obvious improbabilities (e.g., planning to cross the River Severn by running the ram down a hill at speed, although the river is about 30 m (100 feet) wide at this point).
Modern use[edit]
A modern battering ram
Battering rams still have a use in modern times. Police forces often employ small, one-man or two-man metal rams, known as enforcers, for forcing open locked portals or effecting a door breaching. Modern battering rams sometimes incorporate a cylinder, along the length of which a piston fires automatically upon striking a hard object, thus enhancing the momentum of the impact significantly.[7]
Aerial ramming – In military aviation, deliberately causing a mid-air collision to attack an opposing aircraft
Impact (mechanics)
List of siege engines
Naval ram – A battering ram-like device fitted to naval vessels, used to attack, disable and/or sink enemy ships
Ramming – various military and civil tactics
Ram-raiding – using a vehicle as an improvised battering ram to gain access to a building for the purpose of breaking and entering
^ "Siege warfare in ancient Egypt". Tour Egypt. Retrieved 23 May 2020. ...we find a pair of Middle Kingdom soldiers advancing towards a fortress under the protection of a mobile roofed structure. They carry a long pole that was perhaps an early battering ram.
^ Humphrey, John W. Oleson, John P. Sherwood, Andrew N. "Greek and Roman Technology: A Sourcebook". Routledge, 1998, p. 565.
^ "Siege warfare in ancient Egypt". Tour Egypt. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
^ Tucidides, II, 76.
^ Diodorus the Siculus, XIII, 43-62.
^ US Abandoned 2009199613, "Battering ram"
Media related to Battering rams at Wikimedia Commons
"Battering Ram" . The New Student's Reference Work . 1914.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battering_ram&oldid=1126325954"
Roman siege engines
Medieval siege engines
Articles needing additional references from February 2008
Wikipedia articles incorporating citation to the NSRW
Wikipedia articles incorporating citation to the NSRW with an wstitle parameter


What can visitors expect from Moda this season?
Moda will be the place to be in the Midlands to soak up what AW19 has in store for your business and your customers. The show will be buzzing with the best brands in the industry today. There is nowhere else outside of London you can get this number of brands in one space. As well as the all the amazing product to look at, there are speakers, catwalk shows and social content. Fill your fashion boots at Moda!
To be honest I will enjoy coming to the show and just soaking it all in. It's the first time I will have been to show and not been on the Buying side. I can't wait to see it all. I am interested to see Outerwear and Footwear as there are lots of exciting trends happening within those categories and they are the big money takers for the season.
It's the best and only way to immerse yourself and your business in the season ahead. Its such an important part of the buying process to see, touch and feel the product and the trends in one place. You can absorb the atmosphere and the vibe of the brands and the ranges you will be buying into. As a Buyer at trade shows I always used to love just standing back and observing. Who were the new brands to watch, which were the busiest stands and who has the most commercial offer. It's such an exciting place to be, and its can be such a buzz when you come across a new brand or product area that you that you did not expect to find! It's a vital part of the buying cycle that cannot be missed.
It has to be taking the plunge last year and going freelance after 12 years at Next. I now get to utilise my vast experience of Buying to work with smaller businesses as a Consultant advising them on trend and product opportunities. I also passionately love my Blogging and Lecturing in Fashion Management at Nottingham Trent University. I have managed to push myself out of my comfort zone and network outside of my field. It's been exhilarating and very challenging. I've learnt so much and I am only 8 months in.
'You have to believe in yourself that's the secret' it's a Charlie Chaplin quote which I have framed in my kitchen at home it's the first thing I look at everyday as I make a cup of tea. It sets me up for the day! Its such great advice. If you have self-belief you can do anything.


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Dunfallandy, Pictish cross-slab. From J Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, i, pl.xlvii.
SC 342310
Description Dunfallandy, Pictish cross-slab. From J Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, i, pl.xlvii.
Collection General Collection
Catalogue Number SC 342310
Copy of D 8546
Scope and Content Cross-slab known as Clach an t'Sagairt at Dunfallandy, Perth and Kinross Clach an t'Sagairt, meaning the Priest's Stone, stands on Mausoleum Mound. The stone is said to have been moved to the site from an old chapel near Killiecrankie. It is more likely that it still stands in its original location, which was itself an abbey. This is a drawing of the stone which appeared in John Stuart's 1856 publication 'The Sculptured Stones of Scotland'. There are two seated figures, two Pictish Beasts, a double-disc, two crescent and V-rods, a hammer, anvil and tongs. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/342310
Collection Hierarchy - Item Level
Collection Level (551 359) General Collection
> Group Level (551 359/6) SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
>> Sub-Group Level (RAB 359/6/1) ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PRINT ROOM BOOKS
>>> Batch Level (551 359/6/1/432) Illustrations from John Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland
>>>> Item Level (SC 342310) Dunfallandy, Pictish cross-slab. From J Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, i, pl.xlvii.
Dunfallandy
Cross Slab (Pictish), Pictish Symbol Stone (Pictish)
Canmore ID 26295 |


text:
North of Boston is a collection of seventeen poems by Robert Frost, first published in 1914 by David Nutt in Great Britain. Most of the poems resemble short dramas or dialogues. It is also called a book of people because most of the poems deal with New England themes and Yankee farmers. Ezra Pound wrote a review of this collection in 1914. Despite it being called "North of Boston", none of the poems have that name.

Background

Following its success, Henry Holt and Company republished Frost's first book in the United States, A Boy's Will, in 1915. The New York Times said in a review, "In republishing his first book after his second, Mr. Robert Frost has undertaken the difficult task of competing with himself."

List of poems
 "The Pasture" (introductory poem)
 "Mending Wall"
 "The Death of the Hired Man"
 "The Mountain"
 "A Hundred Collars"
 "Home Burial"
 "The Black Cottage"
 "Blueberries"
 "A Servant to Servants"
 "After Apple-Picking"
 "The Code"
 "The Generations of Men"
 "The Housekeeper"
 "The Fear"
 "The Self-seeker"
 "The Wood-pile"
 "Good Hours"

References

External links

 Full text at Project Gutenberg

1914 poetry books
American poetry collections
Massachusetts culture
Poetry by Robert Frost
Works by Robert Frost


Sailors have always been famous for their tattoos.
Use on their own or combine with other wound effects.
Clip the braids into your hair or wig then give yourself some stubble, a few scars and a moustache before finally slipping in the gnarly skull teeth. Presto, you're a pirate.
Get yourself a terrific temporary tattoo, perfect pin-up for pirates.


In the past, GDP (the yardstick of economic sucess) was assumed to be a good approximation of standard of living? which was assumed to be a good indicator of quality of life and of its relative, well-being. However its creators never advocated such usage.
A more common assertion in today's welfare economics? is that by Amartya Sen? that free time? is more directly correlated to quality of life than is any cashflow or service provision metric.
A 2005 study by the Economist found that in 2005, Ireland had the highest quality of life in the world. Another by the OECD studied whether declining social capital was to blame for stalled quality of life increased in welathy countries over the last few decades.
In the UK, the prime minister's Strategy Unit published a paper recommending policies that might increase the nation's happiness . These include using quality-of-life indicators when making decisions about health and education (go for the option that leads to greatest life satisfaction), and finding an alternative to gross domestic product as a measure of how well the country is doing - one that reflects happiness as well as welfare, education and human rights.
health,mental health, human capital,social capital, wealth?,well being.
"We find that GDP per person explains more than 50% of the inter-country variation in life satisfaction, and the estimated relationship is linear. Surveys show that even in rich countries people with higher incomes are more satisfied with life than those with lower incomes. In 24 out of 28 countries surveyed by Eurobarometer, material wellbeing is identified as the most important criterion for life satisfaction. However, over several decades there has been only a very modest upward trend in average life-satisfaction scores in developed nations, whereas average income has grown substantially. There is no evidence for an explanation sometimes proffered for the apparent paradox of increasing incomes and stagnant life-satisfaction scores: the idea that an increase in someone's income causes envy and reduces the welfare and satisfaction of others. In our estimates, the level of income inequality had no impact on levels of life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is primarily determined by absolute, rather than relative, status (related to states of mind and aspirations). The explanation is that there are factors associated with modernization that, in part, offset its positive impact. A concomitant breakdown of traditional institutions is manifested in the decline of religiosity and of trade unions; a marked rise in various social pathologies(crime, and drug and alcohol addiction); a decline in political participation and of trust in public authority; and the erosion of the institutions of family and marriage. In personal terms, this has also been manifested in increased general uncertainty and an obsession with personal risk. These phenomena have accompanied rising incomes and expanded individual choice (both of which are highly valued). However, stable family life and community are also highly valued and these have undergone a severe erosion."
[+] Position: Quality of life must replace GDP as the measurement of sucess.
While important as an economic indicator, the only thing that GDP really measures is throughput. Throughput does not make people happier or heathier, it just makes them busier. Ultimately, the most talented and employable people who seek quality of life are going to vote with their feet and move to places where culture and recreation? are in abundance - and they will take the high productivity service industries with them.


This gets me every time it comes on TV!
I think in this one instance I am lucky to NOT have television! I've never even heard of this product!
It's a cool ad, although the historical costumes really are AWFUL! lol!!
Cool idea, but otherwise... And I wonder why such commercials always are aimed to women, when it's men who suffers from it the most.
Ok, I'm weirded out by the bladder protection. But, I like the idea. It reminds me of the washing machine commercial that starts in the late 1800's and moves to modern day.
OK - the clothes are just awful, and Mr D gave me a very weird look when he heard the bladder protection bit!


text:
The story of microfinance in India
Policy WatchStudent Voices
'Microfinancing' was introduced in India in the 1980s as a solution to poverty and to empower women. Despite its strong potential, the microfinance sector faces challenges related to accessibility in rural India.
Microfinance is a type of banking service provided to those who have difficulty in accessing formal financial services. It is targeted at the low-income and unemployed fraction of the population . The institutions supporting microfinance offer services such as lending, setting up bank accounts and providing micro-insurance products. In developing countries such as India, financial services through formal channels do not meet the demands of the rural poor, so microfinance can help small-scale businesses flourish by providing greater financial stability.
The leading cause of the failure of formal banking institutions in India while lending to the rural poor is the absence of proof of recognised employment or collateral that can be offered by the poor while applying for loans. The high risk and transaction costs of small loan savings deposits create difficulty for the banks as well. This leaves the poor with no alternative but to borrow money from local moneylenders at high-interest rates.
What has been the microfinance story in India?
In India, the first initiative to introduce microfinance was the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in Gujarat, which established SEWA Bank in 1974. Since then, this bank has been providing financial services to individuals who wish to grow their own businesses in rural areas. One successful initiative is Kudumbashree, the Kerala state's Poverty Eradication Mission that was launched in 1998. This female-led community organisation of Neighbourhood Groups (NHGs) brings women from rural and urban areas together to fight for their rights and helps empower them. Through these NHGs, women work on a variety of issues like health, nutrition and agriculture. They can collect income and seek microcredit while working under this scheme. Such small-scale initiatives are promoting financial independence in underprivileged areas.
There is a need to provide microfinance facilities to cater to India's large rural population. The main objectives of microfinance in India should be promoting socio-economic development at the grassroots level through a community-based approach, empowering women and increasing the household income. As with implementing any transformative initiative, running a microfinance programme in rural India comes with some challenges:
Does not reach the deserving poor
The microfinance delivery models fail to focus on people who are below the poverty level as they are deemed to be risky. There is a bias whilst selecting beneficiaries for the scheme. To run the programme successfully and to attain higher repayment rates, the operators of the scheme select economically stable individuals as the programme beneficiaries. The core poor are too risk-averse to borrow for investing in the future. They will, therefore, benefit only to a limited extent from the microfinance schemes.
Limited spread in the poorer states
The coverage of microfinance programme is low in those states where a large percentage of the population lives in poverty. States such as Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh lag behind in implementing microfinance schemes. The successful distribution of microfinance programmes depend on the support extended by the respective state governments, the local culture and practice, and concentration of MFIs in these states.
High interest rates
Borrowers are interest-sensitive, so the capacity of borrowing decreases with an increase in interest rates. Thus, high-interest rates are counterproductive and weaken the economic status of poor clients. It is also exploitative to charge very high interest rates from poor clients. The interest rates do not seem to be well-regulated in microfinance sector. Some MFIs have regulated interest rates. However, they may impose transaction costs which increases the burden that comes with borrowing and makes it less attractive. Whereas the banking sector charge 9-10% annual interest rate, MFIs may charge 11-24%. However, these rates of interest vary with the lending conditions and policies of the MFI.
Low depth of outreach
The outreach of the programme is expanding but the number of loans taken remains small. This amount isn't sufficient to satisfy the financial needs of poor people. The duration of the loans rarely extends over a year. The insufficient loan size and the short period of lending available, restrict borrowers from using the loans for productive purposes. They generally use these small loans to address liquidity issues, rather than borrowing to invest.
Our concerns should lie on people's accessibility to microfinance in rural and urban areas, the regulations that come with it and the provision of basic training for the rural and urban poor on how to use these loans for productive purposes.
What should be the next steps in implementing microfinance in India?
The microfinance programme has witnessed phenomenal growth in India in the last decade. However, the focus of most of the microfinance service providers has remained on expanding the outreach of microfinance programme with little attention to the depth, quality and viability of the financial services. In addition to removing these problems, there needs to be a proper structure to let microfinance empower rural India.
These and other public policy topics in India will form the basis of discussion at Bridge India's upcoming Ideas For India conference
Jhanvi Sonakia
Jhanvi Sonakia is studying MSc International Relations at the University of Bristol and did BA in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She is passionate about human rights and women's empowerment.
Think tanks Bridge India and CUTS International urge closer Indo-Pacific collaboration between the UK and India
Common challenges faced by agriculture in India and the UK, and new opportunities for greener practices
India needs not simply free trade, but strategic globalisation
EU-India relations set for a new era


text:
Israel's Labour Party has never been a progressive movement
October 30, 2017 at 11:29 am | Published in: Article, Europe & Russia, Inquiry, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Palestine, UK
Avi Gabbay, leader of the Israeli Labour Party [Laliv g/Wikipedia]
@AsaWinstanley
The new leader of Israel's Labour Party made it clear once again earlier this month that the supposedly progressive and left-wing of Zionism is as racist as its right-wing version. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has the least bit of familiarity with the movement's history.
Avi Gabbay, a former telecoms executive, said that Labour would never enter a coalition with the Joint List, a predominantly Palestinian Arab bloc in Israel's Knesset (parliament). At the same time he indicated that he would have no problem with entering a coalition alongside Yisrael Beiteinu, the ultra-right party led by Israel's notoriously anti-Arab "defence" minister, Avigdor Lieberman.
Aping Lieberman's belligerent war rhetoric, Gabbay promised that "the Arabs have to be afraid of us" and said that in any "peace deal" Israel need never evacuate any of the Jewish-only settlements built illegally on colonised Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. While spouting some vague words about "compromise" he stated that "the Land of Israel belongs to the Jews" and that he wants to "create a situation in which we live in our country with a Jewish majority."
Not so long ago, Israel's ostensibly "left-wing" propagandists in Britain were hailing Gabbay's elevation to the Israeli Labour Party leadership as a new start for the Zionist left. Groups like Labour Friends of Israel and the Jewish Labour Movement welcomed his arrival on the scene.
Read: Will Jeremy Corbyn be able to fulfil his promises on Palestine?
LFI and JLM disguise the reality of their propaganda on behalf of the Israeli state with platitudes about a "two-state solution" and, more recently, being "pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, pro-peace." They also try to promote the racist Israeli Labour Party as British Labour's "sister party" and a "progressive" influence, which is a lie.
Someone should have updated Gabbay on the propaganda line, because he clearly didn't get the memo about "peace". In fact, his belligerent anti-Palestinian stance is entirely consistent with the Israeli Labour Party's history as the number one enemy of the Palestinian people and the author of the worst atrocities against them.
This may sound counter-intuitive. After all, wasn't the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, during which the Sabra and Shatila massacre of Palestinian refugees took place, conducted under the auspices of the right-wing Likud government? Wasn't the notorious Deir Yassin massacre of 1948 conducted by right-wing Zionist "revisionist" militias? Yes in both cases, but while it may not appear obvious that Israel's Labour Party is just as big a culprit, if not more so, it is a fact.
Read: UK must recognise Palestine to rectify Balfour's mistake
The 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine was masterminded and overseen by David Ben Gurion, whose political party was the direct political antecedent of the Israeli Labour Party. While Deir Yassin was the most well-known, it was only one of many other massacres of Palestinian civilians during the 1947-9 ethnic cleansing of Palestine in which the Haganah – the armed wing of Labour Zionism – provided a supporting role.
Former Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion
Similarly, the 1967 invasion and occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Syria's Golan Heights was conducted by a government run by the same "left-wing Zionist" political current. The Israeli settlement project in the West Bank and Gaza was initiated almost immediately after the occupation started, a decade before the Likud came to power in Tel Aviv.
Like other social democratic parties in the West, the British Labour Party has long had an extremely malign influence when it comes to international issues. It has supported Britain's imperial wars, and on occasion even directly administered and expanded the British Empire itself.
However, competing factions within the Labour Party have at times tempered this war-like tendency. The left-wing faction represented by the current leader Jeremy Corbyn offers hope for a more progressive foreign policy which no longer supports wars, invasions and occupations.
#OccupiedPalestine
Corbyn made a good start on making amends for the Labour Party's role in British wars by apologising for the party's role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He should now go further and seek to break the historical support of the Labour Party leadership for Israel and the Zionist movement which established the settler-colonial entity in the land of Palestine, a land which did not at the time, and still does not, have a majority Jewish population.
The Israeli Labour Party is a different matter. There are no competing tendencies therein; it is 100 per cent Zionist from top to bottom. As such, it is irredeemably wedded to racism, colonialism, settlement expansion, wars of aggression, ethnic cleansing and apartheid. Just like outdated and racist ideas about a "White state", a "Protestant state" or a "Christian state", a "Jewish state" cannot be anything other than racist, and the idea of a "Jewish and democratic" state is a square that cannot be circled.
The newly-energised and empowered Labour Party grassroots in Britain should start the process necessary to break all ties with the Israeli Labour Party. The latter is a party which does not recognise the basic equality and political or human rights of the Palestinian people, and is thus anything but a viable partner for peace and justice.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
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