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My Black History Month: A Retrospective Diary
October was the 25th UK Black History Month. I attended 20 related events over the last 8 weeks, and thought I'd write a blog diary of them in retrospect, to show the diversity of approaches and venues I encountered. As you will see, the diary begins in September and ends in November- showing that Black History Month is well on its way towards becoming Black History Season. But, ultimately, I'd like to see it disappear, because as Andrea Stuart has argued, it will only be a success once it has become redundant, because we have what Tony Warner of Black History Walks calls a "Full- Colour History", all year round. In the interim, we need Black History Month, to educate and campaign for an inclusive approach.
I've tried to keep the entries brief, but sometimes there was a lot to say. Let me know which ones you'd like me to discuss further in later posts!
1. Sunday 29th September: Influential Black Londoners exhibition opens at National Trust Sutton House
Still on till the end of November, the exhibition opened with a Family Fun Day on the last Sunday of September, with activities and an appearance by John Blanke himself!
I was delighted to see the letters I'd written to 9 Londoners in situ, with great artwork by Jane Porter.
The featured individuals were: John Blanke, fl.1507-1512; Lascars, 17th-20th century; Ignatius Sancho, c.1729-1780; Francis Barber, c.1735-1801; Olaudah Equiano, c.1745-1797; Dido Elizabeth Belle, c.1761-1804; George Bridgetower, 1780-1860; Mary Seacole, 1805-1881; Samuel Coleridge- Taylor, 1875-1912.
Sutton House in Hackney was a great venue to tell the story of Black Londoners as it was built in the Tudor period by Ralph Sadleir, who might have encountered our earliest Black Londoner, John Blanke, at the court of Henry VIII.
You can read more about the project here. And see more photos here.
2. Monday 30th September: Othello at the National Theatre
What better play to watch on the eve of Black History Month? I've studied the "Moor of Venice" in the context of my research into Africans in Shakespeare's England but the experience of watching Adrian Lester, Rory Kinnear and Olivia Vinall play out the tragedy of jealousy was something else. My viewing was in part informed by having seen Toni Morrison's excellent Desdemona last year at the Barbican. I felt the modern setting was a distraction, but was most disturbed by the speed at which Othello is transformed from a hero to a violent, irrational murderer in the central scene. Food for thought as I write an article for Literature Compass on '"Making the beast with two backs": interracial relationships in early modern England'- due out next year.
3. Thursday 10th October: Influential Black Londoners Launch
Back to Sutton House for the official launch event for the exhibition, with some honoured guests- including some of those Influential Black Londoners of the 1980s and 1990s nominated to be included in the exhibition next year. (The eventual winner was Doreen Lawrence).
This was also my first glimpse of some of the local school children's fantastic artistic responses to the letters. See this photo album for more.
4. Friday 11th October: Dan Lyndon-Cohen, Black History in the National Curriculum talk at Balham Library
Dan is Head of History at Henry Compton School, Fulham and the creator of www.blackhistory4schools.com. He gave us a useful summary of the complicated political wranglings over the curriculum over the last year and then proceeded to demonstrate how he manages to incorporate Black History into his own teaching. Much of his approach is summarised in this article he wrote for History Workshop.
There was some strong feelings in the room- some wanted to get rid of Black History Month, others told of the troubles they'd had trying to convince their children's schools to teach Black History.
Nonetheless, Dan's pioneering approach is a model that others should emulate.
The BHM display at Beauchamp.
5. Wednesday 16th October: Africans in Stuart England 1603-1642 talk at Beauchamp College, Leicester.
On a rainy Wednesday, I travelled to Leicester to speak to some 6th formers who were "doing" the Stuarts, 1603-1642 for A-Level. This was remarkably close to a paper I had sat back in 2000- and of course had no reference to the black presence in Britain at that time.
Using plenty of images, I told the story of Africans in Stuart Britain, what they were doing, how they got here and how they were viewed in the eyes of the law. I enjoyed showing them pictures of both Oliver Cromwell and Prince Rupert depicted with black pages, and showing them a different side to history. Hopefully this will be reflected on their Black History Month display board next year- the teacher who invited me later tweeted: "my students want to start a hist soc to talk about things we don't normally do. Think your talk helped :-)."
6. Friday 18th October: Righting Past Wrongs? The Case for and Against Reparations, Senate House
Having read about the latest move by Caricom to seek reparations for slavery, and that they were being advised by London law firm, Leigh Day, who won the Mau Mau case earlier this year, I was very curious to hear Daniel Leader of that firm talk. Also speaking were Sir Ronald Sanders, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and a former Caribbean diplomat (who has blogged about reparations here) and Professor Philip Murphy, Director of the Institute.
It was agreed that there had always been a strong moral case for reparations, but the question was whether it was possible to bring a legal case.
Daniel Leader spent a long time explaining the details of the Mau Mau case, which was fascinating, but didn't give us much idea how he would go about bringing a case for slavery reparations. Professor Murphy made the point that it would be a bad idea to have politicians feeling morally cleansed, having paid reparations- can a residue of guilt serve as an inoculation against future mistakes? Sir Ronald brought up the worry that pursuing reparations might have a negative impact on the tourism industry on which Caribbean countries are dependent.
There were some strong feeling in the room that it was wrong that the case for reparations was being judged in a European court by European legal standards. From a historical perspective, I found it interesting that the case was being brought against Britain, France and the Netherlands by their former colonies, but that there is no sign of a similar move by the former Spanish and Portuguese colonies- when the Spanish and Portuguese were the originators of the transatlantic slave trade, with over 13,000 voyages marked with their flags on the
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Voyages database.
Ultimately the issues involved are too varied to go into here but I will watch the progress of this with interest. There's already been some interesting comment in The Telegraph, The Economist and the New York Times.
7. Friday 18th October: My review of Slavery and the British Country House is published in the TLS.
A fascinating collection of essays based on the 2009 conference of the same name, making a big step towards breaking the silence on this subject that has been deafening for too long.
You can read my review here, and find out more about my own research into links between English Heritage properties and Slavery & Abolition here. The book was launched in September at the Little Britain's Memory of Slavery Conference, and has been made available to download for free on the English Heritage website.
8. Monday 21st October: Image and Reality of Africans in Renaissance England (IRBARE) talk at Sutton House with Michael Ohajuru.
Miraculously managed to arrive to give this talk on time, having attended my godfather's funeral in Vienna that morning!
I presented on John Blanke, and the reality of the lives of Africans in England, in contrast to Michael's work on the Black Magi. You can read more about our double act on the IRBARE2013 website.
9. Thursday 24th October: Michael Ohajuru's Hidden in the Collections- Africans in Medieval & Renaissance Art- guided tour of the V&A
Really enjoyed Michael's tour of the V&A which he wrote up on his blog. It's a wonderful place, and the tour showed a different side to the art presented there. Michael's approach showed up some shortcomings in the museum's interpretation of some of the works on show- see his blog on this. I've heard they've already taken steps to rectify the mis-identification of Simon of Cyrene in the Marnhull Orphery (see this page for more accurate info, which has not yet been interpolated into the main listing), but it's even more vital to provide some context to the Tilman Reimenschneider statue to show that St. Maurice was usually depicted as of African origin. Michael has written a persuasive document to this effect here, but really all you need to see is the statue (below, left) alongside other images of the saint (below) and more on Pinterest:
10. Thursday 24th October: Unveiling of Mary Seacole statue maquette at the Royal College of Nursing
Having written about Mary Seacole earlier this year in The Times, it was fantastic to see the unveiling of this 1/4 size maquette of the statue, which is to be placed outside St. Thomas's hospital, striding towards the river and the Houses of Parliament. This will be the first statue erected to commemorate a black woman in Britain. More info on the Memorial Appeal website.
As a historian, I was particularly fascinated by artist Martin Jennings's account of his trip to the Crimea to find the site of Seacole's British Hotel. Using old maps and with the help of the local authorities, he was able to pinpoint the exact place, and found remnants of bottles and pots still lying on the ground. The 15 ft high disc behind Mary in the statue will bear the imprint of stone from a quarry near the site, which has a detonation mark from a WW2 tank. I'll be watching out for the documentary, due to air on ITV in 2015.
11. Tuesday 29th October: Image and Reality of Africans in Renaissance England talk at SOAS with Michael Ohajuru.
A second performance of the IRBARE double act, this time at SOAS, the School of Oriental and African Studies. Michael explained the appearance of a Black Magus in 1520s Devon while I talked about the realities of life for Africans in Renaissance England, through the experience of John Blanke, the Tudor court trumpeter (who I've now been asked to write an entry on for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). Read more on the IRBARE2013 website.
12. Wednesday 30th October: Africans in London, 1500-1640 talk at Queen Mary University London.
The next night, I rushed to QMUL after a day spent proof-reading the Sunday Times Food List, to talk about Africans in early modern London. I had kindly been recommended to my hosts, the QMUL History Journal, by Professor Kate Lowe, who is doing some fascinating research into sub-Saharan Africans and African objects in Southern Europe between 1440 and 1650, and was involved in the great Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe exhibition I reviewed for History Today earlier this year. The QMUL History Journal had a Black History theme this term (read it online here), with an essay entitled To what extent was 'race' used to categorise people as 'other' in early modern England? by Joanna Hill, one of Kate Lowe's students, which I look forward to reading.
13. Thursday 31st October: 100 Great Black Britons at the National Portrait Gallery
in 2003, as a response to the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons poll, in which the most diverse individual was Freddie Mercury (born in Zanzibar), Patrick Vernon launched 100 Great Black Britons, with Mary Seacole eventually topping the list. Ten years later, the campaign is being re-launched.
The debate at the NPG posed the questions: What are the issues, challenges and impact of black achievement in Britain today? And who should we be calling Great?
Patrice Lawrence of Every Generation Media chaired the debate on black achievement and British identity. The speakers were: Rev Rose Hudson–Wilkin, The House of Commons Speaker's Chaplain; Elizabeth Pears, News Editor, The Voice newspaper; Dean Atta, writer and poet and Patrick Vernon OBE, Founder of 100 Great Black Britons.
Luckily, not everyone arrived on time, so we were treated to an impromptu performance by Dean Atta. I liked the line: "Silence is not golden/Silence is the truth stolen"- seemed to chime with the Mansfield Park Complex of not speaking about slavery I wrote about here. Dean pointed out when he spoke later that all the terms "Great", "Black" and "Briton" are problematic and require definition. We discussed whether the list should expand in size, or include categories, such as Science, Law, Business, Medicine, Young achievers, Parenting, and Regional lists.
The Rev Hudson-Wilkin pointed out how important it is that white people see images of successful black people. In the same way as some people see BHM as a segregation, this Black-only list has the same problem. But, as long as the mainstream doesn't include these stories, we need BHM and 100GBB as campaigning tools. Elizabeth Pears made the point that perhaps the BBC should re-run their poll, to see whether attitudes have changed. I pointed out in the discussion that, although there's still a long way to go, there are some signs of progress in mainstream media- such as the increasing inclusion of people of African and Asian origin or descent in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the National Trust's Influential Black Londoners exhibition at Sutton House, Hackney and recent discussion on the BBC Radio 4 Media Show on how to reach black audiences.
14. Friday 1st November: Black History's Future, Islington
This event, organised by Everyvoice, brought together some key decision-makers from Islington Council with a great panel of speakers to debate the future of BHM.
The conference sought to address the question: how do we reach a place where people's histories are not marginalised, so there will be no need for Black History Month? How do we ensure that diversity is integrated in mainstream education and celebrations all year round?
I had in mind the thought-provoking article I'd read by Andrea Stuart in the Guardian the day before on the same subject. I blogged my response to the article here.
The speakers were so engaging that no one seemed to mind that the event overrun its timetable. One of the most impressive images I saw was the map above that Patricia Lamour showed us that the African continent is larger than the United States, China and India put together. Dr. Robin Whitburn and Abdullahi Mohamud spoke about their Doing Justice to History project, which is designed to explode two false premises: 1) Black people did not play a significant role in British life before 1948; 2) Multiculturalism doesn't work. They used some fascinating case studies to prove their point, such as the story of Somali sailor Mahmood Hussein Mattan, who was unjustly hung in 1952. Tony Warner, Director of Black History Walks showed us how Black History is everywhere when you know how to look, and reminded us that the BFI has a regular African Odysseys film programme, as well as showing us a very disturbing video of the black doll/white doll experiment. Kandace Chimbiri talked about her Black History books for children, including one to accompany the recent Origins of the Afro Comb exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. History teacher Martin Spafford summarised the latest curriculum wrangling and explained how Black History could still be taught within the new framework, sharing stories such as the North African "Ivory Bangle Lady" who lived in Roman York and the Indian Hockey team that beat Germany in the 1936 Olympics, which can easily be incorporated into study of "The Romans" or "Nazi Germany".
The ensuing discussion was passionate and varied. It was mostly agreed that BHM needs to continue for now, as a campaigning tool, a stepping stone to where we'd like to be, with a "Full-colour" history.
15. Wednesday 5th November: Graeme Evelyn's Call and Responses: Odyssey of the Moor at Kensington Palace
Was lucky enough to be invited to a private view, where Graeme spoke about the piece. You can see it at Kensington Palace until 6th January.
The work is a contemporary response to John van Nost's Bust of the Moor – a marble sculpture commissioned by King William III in 1688/1689.
Evelyn places the bust within a gilded cage, but with its doors flung open to capture the view over Kensington Gardens, creating for the Moor a dream of self-determination and freedom. The inside of the cage is circled with a series of tiles telling an imagined story of the Moor's life, using the premise that this man had read Homer's Odyssey and seen parallels.
Evelyn's earlier work, Reconciliation Reredos, an altarpiece in Bristol confronts the fact that the church, St Stephen's, blessed every ship that left the port, including every slaver that left the city harbour for Africa to trade for enslaved people during the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Evelyn's work is part of a wider trend in which heritage institutions seeks to commission the work of black artists. Other temporary installations, e.g. Yinka Shonibare's Mrs Oswald and Colonel Tarleton Shooting (2007) for Scratch the Surface at the National Gallery and his current exhibition in Greenwich. This was discussed by
Lubaina Himid, Joy Gregory and Sokari Douglas Camp on the artists in conversation panel at the Little Britain's Memory of Slavery conference at UCL in September.
Call and Responses: Odyssey of the Moor poses many unanswered questions about Africans in late 17th Century England and Holland. Evelyn has thrown down the gauntlet to historians to answer some of these questions. For example, at it's base, the installation incorporates a contemporary report of William of Orange marching into Exeter in 1688 with: "200 Blacks brought from the plantations of the Netherlands in America, Imbroyder'd Caps lin'd with white Fur, and Plumes of white Feathers, to attend the Horfe." Evelyn hopes the piece will inspire historians to research the context of this, and what impact the advent of a Dutch monarch had on the history of Africans living in England and the history of English involvement in the slave trade.
The work has already inspired a response by Delia Jarrett-Macauley, who won the Orwell Prize for Political Writing for her debut novel, 'Moses, Citizen and Me' and is currently a Fellow in English at the University of Warwick.
You can listen to the music Graeme Evelyn listened to while creating the work here: ODYSSEY of the MOOR art 2013
Arthur Torrington and Keithlyn Smith
16. Wednesday 5th November: Making Freedom exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society
On until Sat 21st December, this important exhibition marks the 175th anniversary of the emancipation of nearly 1 million Africans in the Caribbean. This is taking the date of freedom as 1838, when indentured labour ended, as opposed to 1834, when slavery was officially abolished.
In front of a large map of the Caribbean created specially, to show all the islands and their capitals, Burt Caesar quoted Claude McKay's If We Must Die (1919), which sets the tone for this exhibition's tale of constant resistance, "Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!".
Sir Keithlyn Smith, author of To Shoot Hard Labour told the story of his grandfather's great grandmother, Mother Rachel's quest to be reunited with her daughter Minty in 1838. You can listen to the story here. Benjamin Zephaniah performed his powerful poem White Comedy and shared some of his own experiences of racism. He pointed out how important this exhibition is, to dispel the myth that "slaves were given freedom by the white man". In fact, their constant resistance and rebellion made the slave system increasingly hard to sustain. Toussaint L'Ouverture's uprsing in Haiti in 1791, leading to the declaration of independence in 1804 was the most successful, but not an isolated occurrence. The exhibition tells the stories of other attempts to make freedom- in Barbados in 1816, Guyana in 1823 and in Jamaica in 1832.
This exhibition put the agency back in African hands and tells the other side of the story we heard in 2007. A must -see! And there's now talk of putting it on at the House of Commons next year!
17. Thursday 6th November: Black People in Tudor England and Inclusive Curriculum event at the House of Commons
There was an impressive crowd gathered in Committee Room 11 of the House of Commons to hear Onyeka talk about his new book, Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, their presence, status and origins, published by Narrative Eye and discuss how to get a more inclusive history curriculum with Stella Creasy MP, Chi Onwurah MP, Cllr Lester Holloway, and Tony Warner of Black History Walks.
Onyeka gave a passionate and gripping speech about his research- he has been working on the subject since 1991. When he first set out to look into the history of Tudor Africans, people told him he was wasting his time, that he would find nothing. I heard similar opinions when I started my research on the subject in 2004. I was very pleased to get my hands on a copy of his book, for although I've known Onyeka for years, this was the first time I'd been able to read his work at greater length.
It was fantastic to see the political support for the subject from Stella Creasy, Chi Onwurah and Lester Holloway. I'm looking forward to reading the book and engaging further on the challenge it poses to politicians and educators.
18. Friday 8th November: Africans in Urban Britain, 1500-1640, talk at the University of Leicester
Went up to Leicester again, this time to talk about Africans in Urban Britain, 1500-1640 at the University's Centre for Urban History. I told some stories about the lives of Africans in 16th and 17th century England and Scotland's ports and cities, explaining how they arrived in Britain, what occupations and relationships they found in the city and how they were treated by the church, the law courts and the other inhabitants of urban Britain. This provoked a lively debate and I also learned about my host Dr Kidambi 's fascinating research into the All India Cricket Team's 1911 tour of England.
19. Friday 8th November: Vincent Carretta on Ignatius Sancho: Britain's First African Man of Letters at the British Library
I rushed back from Leicester to catch expert Vincent Carretta talking about Ignatius Sancho, one of the Influential Black Londoners I had written to at Sutton House.
The British Library has recently acquired 13 of Sancho's signed letters to his friend and patron William Stevenson, plus two to his father the Rev. Seth Ellis Stevenson. These are the only letters by Sancho that are known to survive.
The British Library's Untold Lives has an interesting blog post on this, but, as Carretta himself remarked, it's a great pity Sancho does not feature in the Georgians Revealed exhibition.
Carretta provided us with a handout with quotes from them and Sancho's other correspondence and proceeded to explain the significance of the new acquisition in context. One thing that makes these letters really significant is that they can now be studied alongside the printed text of 1782, revealing identities obscured and also proving beyond any doubt that Sancho wrote the letters himself. For this was questioned by none other than Thomas Jefferson who, in his Notes on the State of Virginia (1781) grudgingly admitted him "to the first place among those of his own colour who have presented themselves to the public judgment", but went on to say "This criticism supposes the letters published under his name to be genuine, and to have received amendment from no other hand; points which would not be of easy investigation." The acquisition of the Stephenson archive has made this investigation much easier and will allow scholars to defend Sancho from this underhand attack.
20. Tuesday 19th November: Image and Reality of Africans in Renaissance England talk at Greenwich University with Michael Ohajuru.
A third outing for IRBARE, this time in Greenwich, the location of the old royal palace, built by Henry VII on the site of today's Old Royal Naval College, where John Blanke would have worked. You can read more about the presentation on the IRBARE2013 website. In the light of discussion of Black History Month's future, it's interesting to note that this talk took place in the second half of November, as part of the Greenwich Student Union's Black History Week (see poster). Could we be making a transition to a Black History Season?
Black History 365...
For me, this is really an artificial end, because I seek out events like these all year round! Check my Talks page for details of my upcoming talks, and if there isn't one near you, invite me to your local school, university, library or history society!
Shakespeare: Staging Africa
I really enjoyed my visit to the Shakespeare exhibition at the British Museum last week: hurry and see it before it shuts on 25th November! Thought I'd do a little round-up of the exhibits related to Africans in Shakespeare's Britain for you... Staging Africa in 13 objects, if you will. I've listed the objects in the order you would encounter them in the exhibition, with some help from the excellent exhibition catalogue. Some of the links are obvious, others a little more obscure!
Detail from Hollar's London showing St. Olave's
1. Africans in Shakespeare's London
One of the first things you see when you enter the exhibition is this amazing map of London, created by Wenceslaus Hollar in 1647 (so technically a while after Shakespeare died). It shows the Globe, and also lots of churches, such as St. Olave Tooley Street, shown here across the Thames from the Tower. St. Olave's was the parish where Reasonable Blackman, a silkweaver, and his family lived in the 1590s and 'Constantyn a negare' was buried on 5 November 1605. Many of the other churches marked on the map have similar entries in their parish registers...
Iznik Turkish ceramic ewer, British Museum.
2. Bayning's ewer?
This Iznik Turkish ceramic ewer, made in London in 1597-8, may have been made for Paul Bayning, a prominent Levant merchant. What is not revealed in the exhibition is that Baning was also a huge sponsor of privateering voyages and had at least five Africans in his household. In 1593 'three maids, blackamores', are recorded as lodging in his house. In March 1602 'Julyane A blackamore servant Wyth Mr Alldermanne Bannying of the age of 22 yeares' was christened at St. Mary Bothaw. In 1609, 'Abell a Blackamor' appeared before the Governors of the Bridewell, 'his M[aste]r Paul Bannyinge present', and Bayning's 1616 will made provision for the education of 'Anthony my negro'.
African horn, British Museum
3. African horn
This horn was carved in the Calabar region (modern Nigeria) in the 1500s, then found its way to England, where in 1599 it was recarved as a drinking cup, and inscribed:
"Drinke you this and thinke no scorne
Although the cup be much like a horn."
It was later further adapted to be an oil lamp. This strange object has travelled a long way, through many incarnations. It demonstrates the existence of trading links with Africa in Shakespeare's time, which were increasingly regular from the 1550s. Richard Hakluyt chronicled many of these early voyages in his Principall Navigations.
c.1600, University of Birmingham
4. Portrait of the Moroccan ambassador
Abd-al-Wahid bin Masoud bin Muhammad al-Annuri, portrayed here, led an embassy to the court of the 'sultana Isabel' (Elizabeth I) in 1600, but was in fact only one of a series of such ambassadors. Moroccan envoys also visited London in 1551 and 1589. The shared enemy was Spain, but the proposed alliance never amounted to much. A clue to the problems can be found in the letter John Chamberlain wrote to Dudley Carleton on 15 October 1600:
"The Barbarians take theyre leave sometime this week, to goe homeward for our merchants nor mariners will not carry them into Turkie, because they thinck it is a matter odious and scandalous to the world to be friendlie or familiar with Infidells but yet yt is no small honour to us that nations so far removed and every way different shold meet here to admire the glory and magnificence of our Queen of Saba [Sheba]."
Detail from Sir Henry Unton, c.1596, National Portrait Gallery
5. Sir Henry Unton's masque
The unusual biographical portrait of Sir Henry Unton, painted posthumously for his widow c.1596 shows this masque of Mercury and Diana being performed at his wedding in 1572. The procession behind these main characters consists of small, childlike black and white figures, which have been identified as Cupids. The black figures are of interest as they are a rare visual depiction of the trend for "counterfeit blackamoors" in pageantry and masques. For example, in 1566, on the occasion of the baptism of the future James VI and I, six shillings was laid out from the royal coffers for: 'thre lamis skynnis quhairof was maid four bonnets of fals hair to the saidis mores'- so four Scots wore lamb's wool wigs to imitate African hair as part of their costumes. Why were these "Masques of Moors" so popular in the sixteenth century?
German broadside, late 1580s, British Library
6. Sir Francis Drake
This German broadside from the late 1580s celebrates Drake as a Protestant hero, freedom-fighter and scourge of the Catholic Spanish.
The catalogue speaks of his circumnavigation and raids on the Spanish Caribbean, but doesn't mention his many encounters with Africans on those voyages (which I blogged about here) or the fact that some of them returned to England with him.
Recollection of Titus Andronicus, Henry Peacham, c.1594, Longleat Hose, Wiltshire
7. Titus Andronicus
This drawing, c. 1594 by Henry Peacham illustrates Titus Andronicus. It shows that the character of Aaron, described as a 'moor' is certainly thought of as black, not merely 'tawny'. The actor is most likely an Englishman, in costume. A good book on this (which in fact uses this image on its cover) is V.M. Vaughan's Performing Blackness on English Stages.
Playing card, 1644
8. Cleopatra
Cleopatra was of course an African Queen, though some people seem to forget Egypt is in Africa, a complaint I've heard from Tony Walker, who shows people Cleopatra's Needle on the Embankment on his Black History Walks. Shakespeare at least imagined Cleopatra as having dark skin. He describes her as having a 'tawny front' (Antony and Cleopatra, I. i. 4-6) and being 'with Phoebus' amorous pinches black' (I. v. 29). This identity is not always clear in the various images of the Egyptian queen in the British Museum's collection. The artists seem to have been more interested in portraying her death by snake venom- most including an asp biting her bared bosom. My favourite was the set of French playing cards (shown left): Le Jeu des Reynes Renommées (The Game of Famous Queens) by Stephano della Bella (1644). The gift shop really missed a trick by not stocking a replica pack!
Sardonyx cameo, Northern Italian, late 1500s, British Museum
Roman, c.50-40 BC, British Museum
c. 1525-30, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
9. Portrait of an African Man
This amazing portrait was painted by Jan Jansz. Mostaert c. 1525-30. He worked at the court of Margaret of Austria, regent of the Netherlands, in Mechelen, near Antwerp. Unfortunately, we know very little about the man in this painting. We don't even know his name. But he has all the trappings of a high-ranking courtier. Of special significance is the badge in his hat, which has been identified as a badge given to pilgrims who had visited the Madonna of Hal, a shrine associated with the Valois and Hapsburgs. The British Museum has one in its collection (below, right). This sends a clear message that this man, like Othello (II, iii, 307) and at least 67 Africans in Britain, 1500-1640, was a baptised Christian. Curiously, the Madonna of Hal (below, left) is a Black Madonna, an ambiguous symbol, but one that seems strangely appropriate here!
The Black Madonna of Hal
Pilgrim badge of the Madonna of Hal, Belgium or the Netherlands, early 1500s, British Museum
Venetian Commission, 1587, British Library
10. Allegorical African
This illustration of a commission granted to Tommaso Morosini dalla Sbarra (1546-1622), a Venetian patrician, is sadly not a portrait, but part of an allegory of Truth and Justice that has yet to be fully explained. It's suggested that the black figure wearing the family's heraldic colours of gold and blue may be a pun on the 'Moro' (Moor in Italian) of 'Morosini'. So in some ways, this is a more artistic development of the Moor's heads found on heraldic coats of arms across Europe, and even in the arms of the current Pope, Benedict XVI.
Cameo, N.Italy or Prague, c. 1600, British Museum
11. Aesthetic of blackness
Black Africans appeared in decorative works of art, from cameos, like this one showing an African woman, made c.1600 in Prague or North Italy (now set in a modern gold ring), to sculptures, such as this marble, classically-inspired bust made by Nicholas Cordier in Rome (below, left), and even the splendid gilt-silver cup made by leading Nuremberg goldsmith,Christoph Jamnitzer in about 1602 (below, right). This cup may in fact have been a sports trophy at a Saxon court tournament to celebrate Christian II's wedding to Hedvig of Denmark, which makes me think of the Tournament of the Black Lady held at the court of James IV of Scotland a hundred years before, described in William Dunbar's poem, Ane Blak Moir.
Bust of a black African, Nicholas Cordier, Rome, c.1610, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden
Moor's head cup, Christoph Jamnitzer, Nuremberg, c.1602, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich
Skyphos, Boeotia, Greece, 450-420 BC, British Museum
12. Sycorax and Circe
Shakespeare's 'damned witch Sycorax', mother to Caliban in Shakespeare's The Tempest (1610-11), was a native of Algiers. Her name may have been inspired by Circe, the witch who turned Odysseus's men into swine on her Greek island.
Interestingly, this Greek pot shows Circe as a black African woman. In the Tempest, Sycorax is said to have been:
'hither [to the island] brought with child,
And here was left by th'sailors.' (I. ii. 318-20)
Her fate is not entirely fictional. On his circumnavigation voyage of 1577-80, Drake abandoned a heavily pregnant African woman on Crab Island, Indonesia, an action for which he 'purchased much blame' at the time, but not in later legend.
A Daughter of Niger, Inigo Jones, 1605, Chatsworth
13. A Daughter of Niger
On 6 January (Twelfth Night) 1605, Ben Jonson's Masque of Blacknesse was performed at the Old Banqueting House before the court of James I and Anne of Denmark. This sketch by architect and scenery-builder extraordinaire Inigo Jones shows the costume of one of the masquers, to be dressed as a 'Daughter of Niger'. This performance and its sequel, the Masque of Beauty (1606), in which the Queen and her ladies themselves blacked up to play the daughters of Niger, who seek beauty and become white thanks to the rays of the British sun (which represented King James) were perhaps the most sophisticated expression of an ongoing interest in 'Masques of Moors' (see no.5, above).
So, as you can see, there are plenty of fascinating things in the Shakespeare exhibition that illuminate the history of Africans in Early Modern Britain and Europe. I'd seen pictures of some of these things in books, and it was a thrill to see them for real. Others were new, and so all the more intriguing. I hope you get the chance to see them before 25th November- and even better, to see them alongside so many other relics of that long-ago time, all lovingly linked to a snippet of Shakespearean verse. And as imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I will leave you with these words:
"I speak of Africa and golden joys" (Henry IV, Part 2: V, iii, 101)


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New York Times Paperback Business Books Best Sellers 2013
There are 4 books listed as #1 best seller in New York Times Paperback Business Books Best Sellers 2013. Outliers written by Malcolm Gladwell is listed as the #1 best seller for 28 weeks.
There are 37 books in the New York Times Paperback Business Books Best Sellers 2013 list. Outliers written by Malcolm Gladwell is in this list for 50 weeks.
Complete List of New York Times Paperback Business Books Best Sellers 2013
1. Outliers
Weeks listed as #1: 28
by: Malcolm Gladwell
Unexpected factors that explain why some people succeed, such as upbringing, timing and 10,000 hours of deliberate practice.
2. Thinking, Fast And Slow
Weeks listed as #1: 9
by: Daniel Kahneman
The winner of the Nobel in economic science discusses how we make choices in business and personal life and when we can and cannot trust our intuitions.
3. Lean In
by: Sheryl S, berg , Nell Scovell
The chief operating officer of Facebook urges women to pursue their careers without ambivalence.
4. Nothing To Lose, Everything To Gain
by: Ryan Blair
Advice from a former gang member turned millionaire entrepreneur.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Python to PHP - Base64 encode SHA256 Can anyone help me with converting the following Python script to PHP?
data = json.dumps({'text': 'Hello world'})

content_sha256 = base64.b64encode(SHA256.new(data).digest())

The value of content_sha256 should be

oWVxV3hhr8+LfVEYkv57XxW2R1wdhLsrfu3REAzmS7k=

I have tried to use the base64_encode function, and will only get the desired result if I use the string:
$data_string = "{\"text\": \"Hello world\"}";
base64_encode(hash("sha256", $data_string, true));

but I want to get the desired result by using and array, not a quote-escaped string...

A: You need to replace python json.dumps with php json_encode
$data_string = json_encode(array('text' => 'Hello world'));
base64_encode(hash("sha256", $data_string, true));

Both of these functions take an associative array and transform it into a string representation. It is then the string that you do a hash/base64 encoding on.

A: Paul Crovella, you pointed out the correct direction.
I have to do a string replace on the json encoded variable before I send it through the base64, to get the same string as the one made by Python:
$data_array = array("text" => "Hello world");
$data_string_json_encoded = json_encode($data_array);
$data_string_json_encoded_with_space_after_colon = str_replace(":", ": ", $data_string_json_encoded);

$data_string_base64 = base64_encode(hash("sha256", $data_string_json_encoded_with_space_after_colon , true));

Then I get the desired result, the same as in the Python script:
oWVxV3hhr8+LfVEYkv57XxW2R1wdhLsrfu3REAzmS7k=

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
the wrathful dove
An e-Rant about Politics, Religion, Software, etc.
Reflections on the Strengths and Weaknesses of The Last Jedi
December 24, 2017 / John Weathers	/ 1 Comment
Two years ago, after ten years of absence, Star Wars returned to the big screen and for the first time the space opera saga was in the hands of someone other than its creator George Lucas. The Force Awakens arrived in theaters around the world greeted with great excitement. Many early viewers heralded it as a resounding success. In contrast, I found myself initially quite disappointed with what I saw as a piece of entertaining, but lazy filmmaking that overly relied upon viewer nostalgia and recycled plot points to carry it across the finish line. Despite this first impression, I gave myself the opportunity to view the film on multiple occasions and the time to truly reflect upon it and process my feelings. Two weeks later, I posted a detailed look into what I saw as the film's weaknesses and strengths: My Thoughts on The Force Awakens.
Despite having many criticisms of The Force Awakens, I made peace with the film and ended my post on a positive note:
The Force Awakens remains a mixed package for me. While it entertained me and allowed me some of the thrills of visiting a galaxy far far away, its reliance upon nostalgia and sloppy rehashing of a superior film left me disappointed and missing the fresh wonders, the creativity, and the substance that George Lucas always brought to each new Star Wars film. Still, I remain thankful for the parts that worked as well as for the promise of an Episode VIII from Rian Johnson that just might deliver a fully authentic Star Wars experience again. May the Force be with him!
My favorite parts of The Force Awakens all revolved around the new characters and the questions and hints surrounding their pasts and futures that the film set up for further exploration. I was very excited to see what the talented Rian Johnson would accomplish with these raw materials as I admired his earlier film Looper as well as his directing work on Breaking Bad.
Now, after two years of anticipation, The Last Jedi has arrived and despite my optimism going into the film, I once again found myself leaving the theater after my first viewing wondering what I had just watched and feeling as though I had been handed a mixed bag. While Johnson has avoided most of the mistakes of The Force Awakens and has delivered what is in many respects a beautiful film, The Last Jedi suffers greatly from a persistent tone deafness where many of its more interesting and strange choices when taken together in succession – especially on a first viewing – go beyond introducing fresh ideas and instead break the compositional constraints that identify something as Star Wars. Additionally, in striving to develop his themes and characters in the most dramatically exciting way that he can, Johnson finds himself in conflict with the constraints imposed by The Force Awakens and so commits the sin of violating legitimate expectations for the development of plot points set up in that film. What could have been among the strongest of Star Wars films is something of a mess filled with exciting action pieces, creative ideas, odd misfires and missed opportunities. It is a great film that shoots itself in the foot and that will turn off many non-casual viewers producing the intensely polarized response to the film currently seen on social media and around water coolers.
The unifying factor behind the chief problems with The Last Jedi is a failure to provide coherence between this film and what has come before it. Ben Burtt the innovative sound designer for the first seven Star Wars films and the editor for the prequel trilogy said on the Attack of the Clones blu-ray commentary:
Since these films are made over a period of many years, one's artistic sensitivities are constantly in motion and sometimes when you look at the Star Wars films and you're responsible for putting it together either as an editor or as a sound designer, you have a tendency to say "Well, let's try something really new here". Some things that in some way just reflect all the changes you visit as an artist and that you have a different sensitivity. Or maybe you want to imitate something else you've seen recently. Or your inspiration comes from a different spot ,and although some of that creeps into each film, there's a much stronger force at work to keep things consistent stylistically so that ultimately when these films are seen as a chronicle of six films that they all will seem to be one continuous style. These films all belong together as chapters, really, in one big epic. One giant mega-serial. And therefore, they need to seem as though they all were produced and created at the same time by the same filmmaker who exercises the same authorship to them and so a lot of things we do are governed by what has happen previously in the Star Wars films.
When viewed in isolation from the rest of the Star Wars saga films, The Last Jedi is a deeply entertaining and well-executed film. I would expect your average movie goer to love it. But when viewed in the larger context of being a single chapter in a larger epic, for someone intimately familiar with characters such a Luke Skywalker or with the shared sensibilities that have bestowed this world with its verisimilitude, some of Johnson's stylistic departures and character choices feel discordant in the same way that a familiar Mozart piano sonata would if the pianist decided to throw in some jazz chord progressions along with a few off-key notes at points where a measure was supposed to resolve.
The first example of tone deafness in the film appears shortly after the opening scroll with Poe Dameron's prank "phone call" to General Hux. Johnson seems fond of modern quippy humor, and he peppers the film with it. While this scene might be amusing and certainly drew laughter from audience members, this kind of humor feels wrong in a Star Wars film in much the same way that the poop and fart jokes that Lucas introduced into The Phantom Menace felt out of place. When I first saw this scene on opening night, I felt like I was watching a Star Wars sketch from Robot Chicken instead of an actual Star Wars film. Johnson further compounds this problem by frequently inserting quippy humor into otherwise sincere and nicely dramatic scenes. What was once a highly moving moment at the end of The Force Awakens where Rey finally encounters the long missing Luke Skywalker is in this film reduced to the setup for a cheap gag where Luke flippantly tosses the light saber away. Or consider when Luke finally meets Leia towards the end of the film in a dramatic reunion that audiences have been greatly anticipating. Instead of playing it straight with the sincerity it deserves, Johnson has Leia make a joke about changing her hair. In the middle of a serious discussion between Luke and Rey about who she is and why she has traveled so far to find him, Johnson has Luke make a snarky joke about Jakku being truly nowhere. This last example not only makes use of the ill-fitting humor style, not only positions the joke in a place that handicaps the unfolding dramatic moment, but also serves as an introduction to another form of tone deafness in The Last Jedi: Luke Skywalker doesn't talk like this. While at least Poe Dameron was established in The Force Awakens as someone who makes these kind of snarky quips, Luke Skywalker has never shown such a tendency, and I could never imagine the Luke Skywalker that we have known for three films acting this way.
This problem of Luke Skywalker frequently seeming like another character altogether than the one that we left in Return of the Jedi goes beyond having him occasionally crack one liners. The Last Jedi inherits from its predecessor the conundrum of why the mature, compassionate, and victorious Luke Skywalker from Return of the Jedi would ever abandon every person and every cause that he loves to go into hiding as a complete failure. While this scenario is not an entirely inconceivable state of affairs, it represents a huge character shift and something that demands to be shown on screen or at the very least justified through something other than a few lines of exposition. Nevertheless, that is exactly what The Force Awakens did, leaving it to Rian Johnson to explain how Luke came to such a state. Unfortunately, Johnson's solution is to suggest that Luke momentarily considered the idea of killing his nephew in his sleep because he sensed the depths of darkness within the young man's soul and that this brief temptation together with the resulting fight with Ben led Luke to go into hiding ashamed of his failure as a teacher and an uncle. While a surprising and dramatically interesting choice in the context of this single film, Luke considering such an action seems completely alien to the established character's core traits of loyalty, compassion, and determination. How are we supposed to believe that a natural progression of the Luke Skywalker from Return of the Jedi would even think of killing his nephew in his sleep rather than doing everything in his power to bring him back from the influence of the dark side? It's especially hard to swallow in a film that simultaneously has Rey deciding to try to redeem Ben Solo when only days before she watched in horror as Ben brutally murdered his father her new friend Han Solo. If Rey can so quickly develop enough compassion to consider it worth risking everything to try turning Ben Solo back to the light, then how are we to think that Ben's own loyal and compassionate uncle Luke would have given up so easily on him?
In addition to odd humor choices and having well-established characters act in a manner contrary to their nature, Johnson wrote some scenes that struck me as bizarre or surreal on a first viewing. One such scene was the strange and yet beautiful "space ballet" sequence where Leia uses the Force to save herself from interstellar space. While I appreciated this scene's visual aesthetics even on my first viewing, it is undeniably odd to see it in the middle of a Star Wars film and the notion that Leia could use the Force to prevent herself from quickly dying in the extreme conditions of open space strikes me as straining credibility. Some people try to dismiss this criticism with a lazy deflection: "It's the Force! It's magical!". However, the Force was never presented as a piece of deus ex machina, but instead was governed by its own laws and limits even if they are never precisely defined. This consistency is one of the reasons why the Star Wars films always functioned as pieces of quasi-realism much like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
Another tonal mismatch in The Last Jedi that really stood out for me and that continues to linger in subsequent viewings is the entire Canto Bight subplot. The events leading to this subplot and immediately following it are all extremely grim. Many people including Rose's sister Paige have died, Finn is fearful for Rey's life should she follow the homing beacon back to the Resistance fleet, and the agents of the First Order are whittling down the remaining Resistance forces at an alarming rate. And yet once they set foot on Canto Bight, the film takes on a light-hearted feeling where both Finn and Rose are running around smiling, laughing in delight, and frequently seeming to have the time of their lives running amok through the luxurious casinos of the Star Wars 1% while being aided by cute, scrappy children and cute creatures that look like they escaped from the NeverEnding Story. It feels like we have somehow stumbled into a different movie altogether. And that's not even factoring in the heavy-handed weak commentary on the decidedly not light-hearted subjects of child labor and war profiteering thrown into the mix as monologues by Rose.
Besides these tonal difficulties, one thing in The Last Jedi that really bothered me during my first viewing of the film was the way that Johnson violates legitimate dramatic expectations that were set up by The Force Awakens. In that film, we are introduced to Rey and her past is presented as a mystery that demands answers and not only that but we are given several hints that she has some connections to both Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren. The fact that Anakin and Luke's lightsaber "calls" to her and unleashes a potent Force vision on her where we hear the sounds of Vader, Luke, Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Kylo together with glimpses of young Rey being left behind on Jakku by a mysterious ship all suggest the possibility that Rey might be a Skywalker – a revelation which would be entirely appropriate seeing as the Star Wars Saga is the generational story of the Skywalker family. Not only does the film deliberately point us at some past connection to Luke, it also hints at a connection to Kylo Ren. When Kylo first hears about Rey helping BB-8 escape from the First Order on Jakku, he angrily demands from the hapless messenger: "What girl?!" as though he knows of Rey or someone like her in the past. When Kylo captures Rey and interrogates her, he seems surprised by her opposition to him when he states in wonder: "You still want to kill me." If we examine The Force Awakens novelization based upon earlier versions of the script, we find Kylo thinking "It IS you…" when Rey surprises him by Force summoning Anakin's lightsaber past Kylo's grasping hand into her own grip. Again, these are deliberate markers that The Force Awakens carefully places to foreshadow something that Abrams intended his successor to develop further. Instead, Johnson teases at some revelation about Rey's past through much of the film only to throw away all the hints from The Force Awakens and reveal Rey to be a "nobody" who has "no place in this story". This might be a surprising "twist" in the isolated context of this film, but it is bad storytelling to violate the legitimate expectation for dramatic payoff from previously established plot points.
A similar violation occurs with Snoke. The Force Awakens introduced us to the mysterious Snoke and left audiences wondering where this extremely powerful dark side user sprouted from to corrupt Ben Solo and forge a powerful First Order from the ashes of the Empire. One of the sins of The Force Awakens is that it simply thrusts us into a such a dramatically different state of affairs with virtually no explanation. Some counter-critics make the weak claim that Snoke needs no justification because we never needed one for the Emperor in the original trilogy, but that reasoning is a bad analogy. We didn't need a justification for the Emperor because he was just an easily understood fact at the beginning of the story. The Force Awakens however is not the beginning of the story. When Snoke arrives, the story has been in progress for quite some time and his appearance from seemingly nowhere and his ability to take control of the remnants of the Empire demands answers as it is not plausible that such a powerful potential rival would be lurking and go unnoticed by Palpatine or Vader. Instead of providing some satisfying explanation for Snoke that ties together all three trilogies and makes Snoke seem less like a pale rehash of the Emperor and more like a logical outgrowth from the previous six films, Johnson simply kills the character off in yet another short-sighted "twist" that renders Snoke a pointless character.
At this point, one might be forgiven for thinking that I am not a fan of The Last Jedi as I have spent so much time zeroing in on things in the film that didn't work for me. The opposite is true: I quite enjoyed The Last Jedi on many levels and think it is a marvelous piece of cinema that rewards multiple viewings. It is filled with beautifully composed shots, splendid action scenes that capture a grandeur appropriate for Star Wars, rich and fascinating character progressions, captivating performances, interesting thematic development that ties into almost every piece of the story, and a consistent ambition to subvert our natural expectations so as to propel the drama forward in exciting ways.
From the opening shot, Johnson gives us our first interesting visual piece while also effectively declaring the film's mantra that he will later have Luke Skywalker utter: "This is not going to go the way you think". The camera dives into the escaping Resistance fleet and seems to be zooming towards an opening on one of the large spacecraft where we see a tiny ship about to enter an open hangar bay only to have the camera throttle on towards the planet below rather than follow the ship inside for a cut to the interior. It's a subtle reversal of expectations, but it is a nice taste of what is in store as well a fresh kinetic spin on the familiar Star Wars film opening of a ship in space. Moments later, we find ourselves thrust into a proper space battle befitting a film called Star Wars where we find one of my favorite moments: the shocking and riveting sight of the Resistance bomber ships crumbling like exploding dominos in a disastrous chain reaction after which the camera finally cuts to a close up on the doomed Paige Tico's reaction as she helplessly watches all her comrades go up in flames. It is this interplay of small and big moments that work cinematic magic. Johnson serves up a full banquet of visual riches over the course of the film's two and a half hours. Other favorite examples include Leia's beautiful and graceful "space ballet" scene accompanied by a soaring rendition of her theme, the trance-like scene of infinite reflections as Rey seeks answers in the cave on Ach-To, the striking scenes in Snoke's throne room with its rich red decor and the matching samurai-inspired elite praetorian guards poised like coiled snakes, the brilliant hyperspace bombing scene where the screen fills with a spectacular explosion of white cracks rippling across Snoke's starship as it splits in half under the weight of a deafening total silence that elegantly conveys the enormity of the raw power being unleashed, and finally the battle on Crait with its dazzling eruptions of red salt sand in the wake of the Resistance fighters as they race to meet the First Order walkers. There are so many other striking images and beautifully arranged shots here, and it gives me joy to see that Rian Johnson like George Lucas or Denis Villeneuve truly seems to appreciate the unique visual characteristics that cinema possesses as a medium.
I love how Johnson single-mindedly pursues his vision of undermining our expectations in this film. In what other movie do we get to see a daring hotshot character like Poe Dameron utterly fail with every risky bet-it-all gamble that he takes? This sequence of deconstructed expectations provides the spine for a compelling story arc for Poe that neatly ties into one of Johnson's central themes: failure as the greatest teacher. Oscar Isaac does such a great job with the role and his charisma is such that I still find myself liking the character despite the deadly consequences of his repeated failures.
Poe is not alone in having a nice character progression. Johnson takes care in composing his story threads so that all our main characters emerge from their experiences as changed individuals. Rey wrestles with her need for a sense of belonging and learns to accept that she is the author of her own destiny and that she cannot cling to the past for answers. Finn grows beyond his constant impulse to protect only himself and those dearest to him, eventually coming to identify with the Resistance group that he has joined and opening himself up to the possibility of self-sacrifice for a greater cause. Kylo Ren finally cuts himself loose from his chains under Snoke and fully embraces his philosophy of destroying the old to build the new, rising to become the new supreme leader of the First Order. Meanwhile, Luke must overcome his failures as a teacher to fashion something inspiring from the mantle of Luke Skywalker the Legend that he has only experienced as an albatross since his failure with Ben Solo. The actors all do a fine job of bringing these characters and their struggles to life. In particular, Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley dominate the screen whenever they appear and have an excellent, compelling chemistry together. Their stellar performances manage to completely sell the attraction between Rey and Kylo Ren despite the difficulty in believing that Rey would find herself drawn towards a man whom she watched murder her friend.
The Last Jedi's many strengths ultimately make it an excellent addition to the Star Wars saga. For me, most of its flaws tend to vanish on second viewings as they are the sort of nuisances that are only really disruptive when one doesn't know that they are coming. In contrast, the strengths multiply with each viewing as I am better able to appreciate the many layers that Rian Johnson has crafted with care while the thrilling high notes such as when Rey and Kylo Ren join forces to fight the praetorian guards continue to deliver a fresh rush of emotion. I look forward to seeing The Last Jedi again in the theater and am impatient to see what J.J. Abrams will do to hopefully give this trilogy and the entire nine film saga a fitting end with 2019's Episode IX.
Art, Entertainment, Film	Art, Entertainment, film, Star Wars
My Thoughts on The Force Awakens
Great Write-up….this should be worth $$$.
A Brief History of Prequel Bashing or Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Feeling Annoyed
Initiation to Horror
abortion Anarchism Art beliefs bible Bizarre blogging censorship Christianity Christmas communism debates democracy dogs elections Entertainment ethics faith Family films grief horror Internet Kucinich laws life media Mephisto music nader photos Politics president quotes religion reviews semantics series socialism Star Wars study television vacation voting writing
500 Words (13)
Mephisto (5)
A Division by Zer0
Directionless Bones
Humphrelia
Melinthropy
The Mendicant Bug


text:
International PEO / EOR services
Global Talent Acquisition
Employer Of Record in Trinidad and Tobago
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How we can help you expand in Trinidad and Tobago
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Through our PEO and EOR services, you can hire qualified talent in your industry without the trouble of opening your own legal entity.
In just a few days, you can easily and safely build a presence in Trinidad and Tobago being sure that your staff will be hired in compliance with labor and tax regulations
Payroll Cycle:
Trinidad and Tobago is a country made up of two main islands and other smaller islands. It is located north of Venezuela, with an ocean boundary connected to Grenada and Barbados, and it is part of the West Indies. Its official name is the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence in 1962 and became a republic in 1976. The country is rich in petroleum and gas and has developed a strong industrial economy. The nation's currency is the Trinidad and Tobago Dollar (TTD). About 38 thousand people visit Trinidad and Tobago every year, and to get around people use mainly buses operated by the Public Transport Service Corporation. The major cities are Chaguanas, Mon Repos, San Fernando, and Port of Spain.
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago relies heavily on its energy resources, particularly petroleum and gas, which account for 80% of its exports. Other main industries are chemicals, food processing, cement, and beverages. The country's main export partners are the United States, Jamaica, and France. Its natural resources have placed the country as one of the strongest economies in the Caribbean and it continues to attract international investors.
Small and medium businesses make up about 45% of Nicaragua's GDP and they account for 74% of jobs. The country has improved its investment climate by reducing the time needed to get a business license or construction permits. There are also improvements in access to patents and trademarks. The United States has provided grants to the food agribusiness, clothing textiles, leather goods, wooden furniture, and artisan products. The Nicaraguan Ministry of Labor has trained many small and medium businesses on worker health and safety to reduce turnover and absenteeism. SMEs should continue to provide growth for the country.
Any person from any nationality may start a business in Trinidad and Tobago. An investor will have the choice of creating a Limited Liability Company, a Partnership, or a Sole Proprietorship. To register a business, the investor will need to complete online registration using a Single Electronic Window portal. The fee to register a business name is TT$25.00 and the fees to register legal status of the business is TT$220.00. The business becomes legal once it has received the Certificate of Business Registration. This is the third wealthiest area in the Caribbean, and is recognized as a high-income economy. This is due to the large reserves of oil and natural gas. With a high growth rate, this is a good place to start a business, especially in liquefied natural gas and petrochemicals, aluminum and plastics. It also supplies a wealth of food and beverages, and cement.
Payroll Cycle Pay is made monthly
Minimum Wage Pay is received bimonthly, otherwise employees in manual work are paid weekly.
TTD$ 17.5
Wages The standard working week is 48 hours and overtime pay is 100% of the regular salary. There is a maximum of 9 hours a week, and 3 hours a day. If employees work on a rest day, they receive above 100%. Pregnant employees cannot perform night time work.
The median salary3.994 euros per month
Overtime Overtime work is paid at a rate of 150% for the first four hours and then bumps to 200%
Employees have the right to paid absences for the following things: Paid time off, and sick days vary depending on the industry. There are 14 weeks for paid maternity leave, which can be extended, and there are no stipulations for paternity leave
The country of Trinidad and Tobago offers foreign tax credits to avoid double taxation. Registered foreign companies also benefit from a tax holiday which lasts up to 10 years. The exemption may be total or partial. Profits may be shared tax free and net losses can be carried forward for 5 years for set offs. The Tourism Development Act 2000 allows for approved tourism development projects, like hotels and resorts, to benefit from a tax holiday for 7 years. A Free Zone allows certain companies, like manufacturing, to be tax free. Promotional expenses for services and produced goods are tax deductible as an expense at 150% and companies grating scholarships can deduct the amount. There is a 150% allowance for audiovisual expenses and if a company chooses to set up a child care facility for a maximum of TTD$ 500,000. There is a 150% deduction for wear and tear of equipment and machinery and a company can claim a deduction of 150% for training employees. All of this ensures that businesses can remain running, and give their employees good benefits.
The country has a long history of trade with global partners, and it enjoys a high living standard.
People from both islands are kind and thoughtful. People have a high regard for the clergy and for the elderly, and they are known for their ability to get along.
Trinidad considers itself a modern metropolitan island, while Tobago is usually considered more laidback.
The language of business is English, but many professionals speak versions of Creole based on French, Spanish, Hindu, and Chinese languages
Relationships matter more than memberships in companies, so it is important to spend time getting to know each other.
People eat a lot of seafood, a variety of fruits, and leafy vegetables. It is a land where many cultures have crossed, and it shows in the variety of dishes. People like to make dumplings such as the Aloo pie, which is a soft fried pastry filled with vegetables. But Indian desserts and sweets are popular. On the street, people can readily find gyros, kebabs and wontons. Ice-cream is also a local favorite and is often made with coconut milk and condensed milk.
Trinidadians and Tobagonians have diverse ethnic roots coming from India, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Most people are of Indian (35%) or African (34%) descent. The religious landscape is varied. They value family relationships and will typically leave close to extended family. The majority of people consider themselves Christians, but there are also many Hindus and Muslims. They also love music and invented the now famous calypso drum.
The country is an archipelagic republic in the southern Caribbean, northeast of Venezuela. It enjoys a tropical climate with dry and wet seasons. The southern part of Trinidad island is rich in oil and has the world's biggest asphalt deposit on the southwest side of the island, which is called Pitch Lake. Tobago is a much smaller island that is known for its amazing coral reef called the Buccoo Coral Reef. This reef is popular with divers.
Chaguanas
This is the biggest city in terms of population and is located in Trinidad and has nearby sugar, cocoa and coconut estates. It is the fastest growing city in the country. Its economy is based around retail with a lot of malls but is also the home to the banking headquarters.
The second most populated city is located along the southwest coast of Trinidad, and it grew mostly due to surrounding sugar plantations but cacao and petroleum led to further growth. Today the economy relies on that petroleum, therefore, this city is known as the industrial capital.
This city is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the economy is based on public administration, as well as shopping centers and commercial businesses. It became the capital in 1757 and grew due to the increase in commercial activity.
General Highlights
Country Trinidad and Tobago
Capital Port-Of-Spain
Num. States / Province There are 9 regions Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Diego Martin, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Penal/Debe, Princes Town, Sangre Grande, San Juan/ Laventille, Siparia, Tunapuna/Piarco.
Local Currency Trinidad and Tobago dollar
Major Religion Christianity
Thousands Separator Format 999,999,999,99
Country Dial Code +868
Time Zone GMT-4
Population 1.399m
Border Countries Island in the Caribbean Sea, close to Venezuela
Continental surface 1,980 mi²
Fiscal Year October 1st – September 30th
VAT % 12.5%
Minimum Wage $17.50/hour
Taxpayer Identification Number Name in the country Numéro National (NN)
Current President Paula-Mae Weekes
What you need to know about employing personal in Trinidad and Tobago:
Laws and Agencies that regulate labor relationships
Trinidad and Tobago are part of the International Labor Organization, and these laws govern how employment is handled. However, there is flexibility between the employer and the employee.
Laws Brief Description
Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago This constitution was published in 1976
Organization membership – ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National Insurance Board (NIBTT) and Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) Every employee that is hired needs to be reported to the NIBTT within the first 7 days. And also the BIR
Social Security 1934 (public-sector mandatory occupational pension), 1939 (old-age social pension), 1951 (social assistance), and 1971 (social insurance). Social Security does not always cover a self-employed person or certain employees of international organizations. An employer pays 2/3 of 13.2% of weekly or monthly reference payroll, based on 16 wage classes
Key Tax and Labor Authorities
Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority (TTRA) Collects government revenue
Ministry of Finance Principal tax collecting agency
Inland Revenue Division Principal tax collecting agency
The Industrial Stabilisation Act During the 1950s to early 60s, there were an increasing amount of strikes and instability in the economy due to labor disputes. The government put the Industrial Stabalisation Act in place, which introduced the concept of compulsory arbitration and the Industrial Court
Labors Contracts
Several Contracts Can be Agreed Upon • Permanent contract • Part-time contract • Fixed-term contract • Agency contract • Contractor agreement • Casual contract.
Verbal vs Written Contracts Contracts in Trinidad and Tobago can be verbally or explicitly expressed.
Compensation Laws An employer must provide an employer a written payslip, which contains information about earnings, tax deductions and NIS numbers.
Collective Bargaining Agreements Collective bargaining agreements happen between companies and the recognized majority union. And the employee and employer can also bargain collectively. The Industrial Relations Act regulates the process of this bargaining.
Work Hours People work 8 hours a day, five days a week, or 40 hours a week.
Annual Taxable Income The personal income tax rate in Trinidad and Tobago is 25%. It is imposed on different sources of income, like labor, pensions, dividends and interest. This source of income is important to the government. Those who are a resident, or domiciled, are taxed based on their worldwide income. However, a non-resident is taxed on income only from Trinidad and Tobago, except where applicable double taxation treaties apply. Corporate Tax Rates The standard corporation tax rate is 30%, but different types of corporations have different levels of taxation.
Corporation Type Tax Rate %
Ordinary Companies 30
Petrochemical Companies/ banks 35
Life Insurance Companies 0/15/25/30
Petroleum Production Companies 50
Petroleum Production Companies (deep sea) 35
The Labor Code provides for public holidays that are observed in Trinidad and Tobago:
Date Holiday Name
1 January New Year's Day
30 March Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day
15 April, Friday before Easter Good Friday
18 April, Monday after Good Friday Easter Monday
2-3 May Eid al-Fitr
30 May Indian Arrival Day
16 June Feast of Corpus Christi
20 June Labour Day
1 Aug Emancipation Day (of Trinidad and Tobago)
31 Aug Independence Day
24 Sep Trinidad and Tobago Republic Day
24 Oct Diwali
25 December Christmas Day
26 December Boxing Day
There must be grounds for dismissal when letting an employee go in Trinidad and Tobago, with an open ended contract.
Type of Termination Brief Description
Justified Dismissal There must be a valid reason to let an employee go. Therefore, the employer must investigate any misconduct. If the employee has broken any policies, then they must be told so and given the opportunity to respond. The employee must always be warned that their job is in jeopardy and given fair trial. However, if there is gross misconduct, the employer does not need to give notice.
Unjust Dismissal When an employee alleges unjust dismissal, he or she may seek union representation, and if there is no settlement, it can be taken to Industrial Court. There they could argue for reinstatement or re-employment, compensation or damages, which include exemplary damages in lieu of reinstatement. There is no law the court is bound to follow. They will base their decision on an opinion of fairness.
Other forms of compensation upon termination include: Severance pay is officially only given to employees terminated due to redundancy, or 'retrenched'. Some em- ployees may still give payment other than in cases of redundancy, however, it is rare when the employee is terminated for cause. Terminated employees are owed their accrued benefits.
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text:
Alberto Górriz Echarte (Irun, 16 de fevereiro de 1958) é um ex-futebolista espanhol.

Carreira
Alberto Górriz fez parte do elenco da Seleção Espanhola de Futebol da Copa do Mundo de 1990. Ele fez quatro presenças. Fez 599 partidas pela equipe da Real Sociedad. Recordista do time basco.

Títulos
Real Sociedad
Campeonato Espanhol: 1980–81 e 1981–82
Supercopa da Espanha: 1982
Copa del Rey: 1986–87

Ligações externas
 Perfil em NFT.com

Naturais de IrunTi
Futebolistas da Espanha
Jogadores da Seleção Espanhola de Futebol
Jogadores da Copa do Mundo FIFA de 1990

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Niccolò Machiavelli's The Art of War is essential reading for any student of military history, strategy, or theory. The format of 'The Art of War' was in socratic dialogue. It's purpose is "To honor and reward virtù, not to have contempt for poverty, to esteem the modes and orders of military discipline, to constrain citizens to love one another, to live without factions, to esteem less the private than the public good." To these ends, Machiavelli notes in his preface, the military is like the roof of a palazzo protecting the contents. The Art of War was first published in 1521 and was the only historical or political work printed during Machiavelli's lifetime.


text:
Q: iPhone - Chinese and Japanese in UITextField I want to make sure some code I've written works well with Chinese and Japanese characters. I tried changing the iPhone Simulator language to Chinese and Japanese, but it doesn't look like the character set for the UITextFields change. How do you do that?

A: I have come across the same (or similar) issue (chinese/japanese keyboards do not appear for UITextField even though they are enabled in settings whilst others, such as french, do appear).
Eventually I discovered that I had set the KeyboardType property to UIKeyboardTypeAlphabet. Commenting out this line caused the non-latin keyboards to show as expected.

A: Go to Settings > General > International > Keyboards to enable the Japanese keyboard.


The process is palpable in the atmosphere of oral storytelling, when a tale may be elaborated in one direction or another according to the circle of listeners, each hearing the storyteller's 'voice' in a unique way. But it applies also to the written word. When reading, I enjoy the story I see inside the story – the one that is not actually written down but is there, for me, when I read closely. The human capacity for language is a miraculous gift: the words and ideas we can generate are limitless, and that applies equally to writers and readers.
Novelist and short story writer Angela Carter was well aware that readers 'make' their own stories: "Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself…You bring your history and you read it in your own terms." And she proved it in her revisionary writings of traditional fairy tales, demonstrating that universal human themes transcend time.
I've mentioned before on Creative Flux my ambivalence towards education – the affects of rules and strictures on creativity. I withdrew from English literature as a subject in high school because it was spoiling my pleasure in books. Critics and teachers told me what they thought the author was saying, or worse – what the author should have said. I had my own ideas, but most of all I wanted to ask the author why they wrote it, what they wanted to say. I longed for the inside story.
Having finally completed a long nonfiction project, I was browsing through a file of my short stories, wondering whether I could put together a collection, when an intriguing thought emerged. Because it was a while since I'd written some of them, I was viewing them as a reader. One in particular I now realised was about something other than what I thought at the time I wrote it. What, after all, is the difference between a reader and a writer? The overlap is enormous, and anyway, the minds of all of us are structured around narrative.
The initial idea of a short story collection became something entirely different: collaboration between my inner writer and my inner reader which I could share with other writers and readers to mutual benefit. And I could tell the 'inside story' in the process. The short story form has so much to offer, so many layers of understanding. An experience of a life condensed yet intensely penetrated, a short story can provide rich insights not only into our own lives as readers, but into the craft of writing.
Exploring around this new concept I discovered that many of my favourite authors began their writing careers with short stories – many still love to write and read them. Their brevity enables us to appreciate the holistic nature of story, to examine in detail how the elements of story are woven into a tiny but perfect garment. Their very conciseness invites deep reading to delve into metaphors, symbols and layers of meaning. And their urgency spotlights critical human concerns and emotions.
It is a pity most publishers and reviewers pay them scant attention. Every so often there is a 'short story month'; some devotees tried hard to make 2012 an unofficial 'year of the short story'. The Man Booker International Prize has twice been awarded to short story writers: in 2009 to Alison Munro, who made the short story form her life's work, producing 14 collections so far, and in 2013 to Lydia Davis, who writes micro-fiction sometimes only a sentence long.
Of course, The New Yorker Magazine has always been faithful to the form, and currently, The Guardian's Chris Power is running a fascinating series of articles, A Brief Survey of the Short Story, and is already beyond number 50. This is welcome because stories have formed us since we roamed the Savannah; they are forever, not for a month or a year. They deserve more constancy.
So I found a way to celebrate short stories that brings readers and writers together, exploring the significance to them both of issues like 'inspiration', 'voice', 'character', 'theme' and 'structure'. Some understanding of the writer's task gives depth to a reader's experience and rewards close reading. I focused on key aspects with specific articles, and shared the meaning of it all by analyzing my own stories because I knew how they had been created. The result is not a 'how-to' book: more the sort of companion I would love to have at hand to bounce off thoughts as I write and read.
Like any innovative idea, I had to make up my own rules at times; working through snags to achieve a balance in offering insights on reading as well as writing, but it has been a stretching and exciting project. Inside Stories for Writers and Readers has now been released by Collca: I look forward to my audience completing the 'story' with their own inner 'voices'.
This entry was posted in Creatives and tagged Alice Munro, Angela Carter, Antonio Gaudi, Collaboration, Craft, Fairy Tales, Guest Posts, Interpretation, Lydia Davis, Man Booker International Prize, Reading, Short Story, The Guardian, The New Yorker Magazine, Writing by Trish Nicholson. Bookmark the permalink.
Excellent post. I'm sharing it with all my writing group. Thank you.
Wonderful, Tom! So nice to see you here, and I agree with you. I think that Trish has described the reason we connect with certain characters and storylines and why we savor certain books/stories. Her short story facts are also intriguing, particularly Chris Power's series of articles.
Trish, you've offered up another gem, thank you so much for sharing it on CF!
Hello Thomas, and Terre, so glad the post offers some inspiration. Inside Stories aims to be companiable, so it is a happy thought that I might be in the company of your writing group, Thomas. I love contributing to Creative Flux, Terre, it is so open and stimulating, an ideal atmosphere for creativity. Thank you so much for giving us Creative Flux, and supporting us all in our involvement.


The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the leadership and management practices of in-service District Education Officers (DEOs) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K). The study explored the roles and responsibilities of the DEOs and the factors which foster or hinder them to perform their roles and responsibilities. It also explored the adopted strategies of the DEOs which maximize their fostering factors and minimize their hindering factors to perform their roles and responsibilities effectively. The study was carried out through exploratory case study method within the qualitative research design to undertake intense, holistic and a complete picture of the DEOs leadership and management practices. In depth leadership and management practices of the DEOs were explored through understanding their challenges and their adopted techniques to overcome the challenges. It was found that initiating improvement processes, facilitating academic activities, and providing human and material resources to their jurisdiction schools are the major responsibilities of the DEOs. The DEOs are fostered by their co-workers, their learnt leadership and management skills, their peers, and some of their super ordinates in performing their roles and responsibilities. The DEOs are hindered by some politicians of the context, lack of human and material resources in their jurisdiction schools, and their administrative workload in performing their roles and responsibilities effectively. The strategies taken by the officers to overcome their hindrances are: providing moral and legal support to the field officers of their jurisdiction schools, try to satisfy the politicians of the context with reference of rules, and being patient when they face hardships while performing their roles and responsibilities. This is a pioneer study of AJ&K context. It will contribute new knowledge to the existing body of educational leadership literature. It will also help the researcher and the research participants to perform their roles and responsibilities in a better way. In addition; it will motivate the policy makers of AJ&K to facilitate the DEOs of AJ&K in performing their roles and responsibilities more effectively.
Awan, S. (2010). Exploring leadership and management practices of district education officers in the context of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (Unpublished master's dissertation). Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.


This is an excellent guide from Publisher's Weekly, everything you ever wanted to know about booksellers in the United State. Among other things, many other things, you can find out which state has the most bookstores and which state has the most bookstores per capita. Answers: a tie between Texas and California; and Montana, respectively.
Excellent news: Most states have more traditional bookstores than big-box stores, and in 10 states, the ratio of traditional bookstores to big-box stores was 2:1 or greater. And check out the Queen of Traditional Booksellers: Vermont, where the ratio is 37:1!


text:
Public Release: 10-May-2018
Genetic clues reveal origins of killer fungus behind the 'amphibian plague'
IMAGE: A captive Oriental fire-bellied toad (Bombina orientalis) imported into Europe from South Korea. view more
Credit: Frank Pasmans
A deadly fungus responsible for the devastation of amphibian populations around the world may have originated in East Asia, new research has found.
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), known as chytrid fungus, has long been identified as a cause of the decline and extinction of species of frogs, toads, newts and other amphibians across several continents.
Chytrid is distributed around the world but to date it has remained unclear where killer strains of the pathogen first emerged.
Now, new research published in the journal Science and led by researchers at Imperial College London alongside partners including ZSL (Zoological Society of London), suggests the killer fungus currently ravaging global amphibian populations originated in East Asia.
The researchers highlight the need to tighten biosecurity across borders, including a potential ban on trade in amphibians as pets to ensure the survival of vulnerable species.
Dr Simon O'Hanlon, from the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial and first author of the paper, said: "Biologists have known since the 1990s that Bd was behind the decline of many amphibian species, but until now we haven't been able to identify exactly where it came from."
"In our paper, we solve this problem and show that the lineage which has caused such devastation can be traced back to East Asia."
Chytrid is passed from animal to animal and spreads rapidly in the wild, causing catastrophic mortality and declines in some species, while others are less affected.
The fungus causes a disease called chytridiomycosis, which attacks the animal's skin, affecting their ability to regulate water and electrolyte levels and leading to heart failure.
In this latest study, an international team involving 38 institutions gathered samples of the pathogen from around the world. They sequenced the genomes of these samples, combining the data with genomes from previous Bd studies to make a collection of 234 samples.
Researchers analysed the data, looking at differences between the genomes. From the samples, they identified four main genetic lineages of the fungus, three of which are distributed globally. A fourth lineage was found only in Korea, on frogs native to the region.
Cultures from this Korean lineage were found to contain much more genetic diversity than any other lineage. Deeper analysis of the Korean Bd showed no history of global outbreaks within their genomes suggesting the Korean chytrid strains were native to the region, and most closely resemble the ancestor of all modern Bd.
Using the genetic data, the team estimated when the killer strain of Bd currently plaguing amphibians diverged from its most recent common ancestor. Their findings support the idea that rather than dating back thousands of years, as previously thought, the range of the disease expanded greatly between 50 and 120 years ago, coinciding with the rapid global expansion of intercontinental trade. The team's finding Asian strains of Bd in pet Oriental fire-bellied toads strongly supported this idea.
According to the researchers, human movement of amphibians - such as through the pet trade - has directly contributed to spreading the pathogen around the world.
They add that the paper provides strong evidence for a ban on trade in amphibians from Asia, due to the high risk associated with exporting previously unknown strains of chytrid out of this region.
The group also highlights the threat of another amphibian pathogen which has also emerged from Asia (B. salamandrivorans or BSal) affecting salamanders in Europe and whose spread is also linked with the global trade in pet amphibians from Asia.
Professor Matthew Fisher, from the School of Public Health at Imperial, said: "Our research not only points to East Asia as ground zero for this deadly fungal pathogen, but suggests we have only uncovered the tip of the iceberg of chytrid diversity in Asia. Therefore, until the ongoing trade in infected amphibians is halted, we will continue to put our irreplaceable global amphibian biodiversity recklessly at risk."
The research was supported by funding from the National Environment Research Council.
Follow the team @ChytridCrisis @fisher_lab http://www.fisherlab.co.uk
1.	'Recent Asian origin of chytrid fungi causing global amphibian declines' by Simon O'Hanlon et al, is published in Science.
2.	Imperial College London is one of the world's leading universities. The College's 17,000 students and 8,000 staff are expanding the frontiers of knowledge in science, medicine, engineering and business, and translating their discoveries into benefits for our society.
Imperial is the UK's most international university, according to Times Higher Education, with academic ties to more than 150 countries. Reuters named the College as the UK's most innovative university because of its exceptional entrepreneurial culture and ties to industry.
http://www.imperial.ac.uk/
3.	About ZSL: Founded in 1826, ZSL (Zoological Society of London) is an international scientific, conservation and educational charity whose mission is to promote and achieve the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. Our mission is realised through our ground-breaking science, our active conservation projects in more than 50 countries and our two Zoos, ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. For more information visit http://www.zsl.org
Ryan O'Hare
r.ohare@imperial.ac.uk
@imperialspark
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/college/news
Fire Bellied Toad (2 of 2) (IMAGE)
Sampling for Chytrid (IMAGE)
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1. Exeter Hospital expects NAPA's regional leadership structure to support the local anesthesia team and hospital administrations.
2. The hospital will also benefit from NAPA's operating platform designed specifically for anesthesia services, according to Exeter Hospital Vice President-Ambulatory Brian Campbell.
3. Established in 1986, NAPA serves more than 1 million patients annually at hospitals, ASCs and office-based practices.


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Legion Gold is a classic turn based strategy game set in ancient Rome. At the strategic level the player controls vast armies and must carve an Empire from the assortment of tribes and city states that occupied ancient Italy and France. At the tactical level the player must position their armies to take advantage of terrain and make use of the best formations, to ensure victory. With it's addictive gameplay and low minimum spec, Legion Gold is the ideal laptop entertainment for those long business trips! Do you have what it takes to become the next Emperor?