It's been a busy time at City Hall as the Council is wrapping up its legislative session before summer recess. Councilmembers are discussing several measures to place on the November ballot.
There are several important issues I wanted to update you on. Like many of you, the issues of housing affordability and homelessness are key concerns of mine. Since I took office in December 2016, I have made addressing these important issues a top priority. The City Council has initiated new programs to provide shelter, services, and housing for our unsheltered population. Below is an update on the Pathways STAIR Center.
In addition, we are moving ahead with two exciting affordable housing projects: the 154-unit Berkeley Way project to provide affordable housing, permanent supportive housing and shelter; in addition to a new Small Sites Program to acquire and rehab multi-unit buildings to preserve affordability.
While these initiatives are important steps to expand housing opportunities, they sadly do not go far enough. Berkeley is far behind in meeting its regional targets for extremely low, very low, low and moderate income housing. Every week, people are being displaced from our city due to rising housing costs, and the cost of a single family home is at $1.1 million. Fortunately there are new funding sources available through the State of California, but Berkeley does not have the local dollars to help projects get built.
To prevent displacement and create new affordable housing, the City Council recently placed on the November 2018 ballot a $135 million Affordable Housing General Obligation Bond (please read below for more information). This Tuesday, the Council will also consider placing a 1% increase in the Real Property Transfer Tax (the tax paid when properties are sold or transferred) for properties over $1.5 million dollars. The Council is placing this measure on the ballot to increase funds for services like homeless shelter, Navigation Centers, housing subsidies, and mental health services.
The City Council will also be considering a ballot measure to amend the Rent Ordinance to exempt lawfully established Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) from rent control, in addition to other changes. This will help encourage the creation of ADUs which are a more affordable way to increase housing.
City Council will be on summer recess starting August 1st, however the Mayor's Office will be open to serve you.
I hope you are enjoying the great summer sunshine and thank you for the honor of representing you.
Good news! In less than two weeks after opening, all 45 beds at the Pathways STAIR Navigation Center for the homeless are full and five people have already moved into permanent housing. The STAIR Center is no ordinary homeless shelter: Here people can bring their pets and partners, come and go as they please and have access to case management, addiction treatment, employment programs and assistance with finding a permanent place to live.
I am thrilled with the progress the Pathways Project has already made in giving vulnerable people in our community, many of them longtime Berkeley residents, a hand up, not just a hand out. Solving the homelessness crisis will require regional leaders working together to find both short-term and long-term solutions, including building more affordable housing, providing access to mental health and addiction treatment, and an increase in wages. While we work on these long-term solutions, I am happy that the STAIR Center is addressing immediate need in our community and hope that other cities throughout the Bay Area follow suit.
We know that a 45-bed facility does not, by itself, adequately address our homeless crisis. That's why over the past year, my office has been busy working on something we've dubbed "the 1,000 Person Plan," a reference to the number of people who are currently unsheltered in our community. The goal of the plan is to work with our regional partners to build 8,500 deeply affordable units throughout Alameda County by 2023. In between now and then, we plan to leverage A1 (paid for by all county residents) and newly allocated state money ($500 million in FY 2019) to build more tiny home villages, micro units and other transitional housing until permanent affordable housing is built.
One project that is part of the 1,000 Person Plan and already underway is Berkeley Way, slated for downtown Berkeley. The project will create 154 new units of housing, including 89 apartment for working families making below $73,000 a year for a one person or $104,000 for a family of four. There would also be 15 beds for veterans and 54 units of permanent "supportive" housing, meaning that people living in them would also have access to case managers trained in addiction, mental health and other services.
The goal of the 1,000 Person Plan is to create enough shelter and affordable housing to address the needs of our unsheltered population.
We know that no city alone can "solve" homelessness. But working together with other Alameda County cities, we can significantly lower the homeless population and make sure that fewer people have to sleep on the streets.
Sketch of planned Berkeley Way affordable housing development, to be located in downtown Berkeley.
We all know that Berkeley is facing a housing affordability crisis which affects everyone, from the homeless to the middle class. We need to significantly increase the production of affordable housing. That is why this November, Berkeley voters will be asked to approve a $135 million Affordable Housing General Obligation Bond measure. The measure -- which translates into approximately $100 /year per average Berkeley home -- will allow the city to implement its vision of building more affordable housing from extremely low income to middle income, such as teachers making below the Area Median Income. It will also allow existing tenants and non-profit developers to acquire apartment buildings to establish permanently affordable housing.
After a year of research and discussion, the Berkeley City Council voted on July 23rd to permit Berkeley Police, Fire and other staff to participate in the 2018 Urban Shield exercises. I cast the deciding vote allowing our first responders to receive training to be better prepared for mass shootings and other manmade and natural disasters. However, this may be the last year for Urban Shield, as the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted earlier this year not fund Urban Shield in 2019 as currently constituted.
While I recognize the importance of tactical training for our first responders, I also have strong concerns with the heavy emphasis on militaristic tactics, the presence of ICE in Urban Shield, and the expo where in the past vendors have sold "Black Rifles Matter" t-shirts mocking the Black Lives Matter movement. Because of these and other concerns, there has been a growing movement to end Urban Shield. As a result of the years of advocacy, the Board of Supervisors is undergoing a major review of Urban Shield with the goal of reforming it.
The City Council voted to send a detailed letter to the Sheriff's Office and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors with suggestions on how to make Urban Shield more in line with our city's values of non-discrimination, community policing, sanctuary and respect for civil and human rights. In addition, we plan to lobby the U.S. Congress to remove the program's current requirement that training be connected to terrorism and redirect toward broader emergency preparedness.
Removing obstacles to urban farming in Berkeley has been a legislative priority of mine. Improving food security is important to reduce hunger, improve health outcomes and make our city more resilient. As a result of our efforts, on July 10th the City Council adopted the Urban Agriculture Ordinance. This legislation establishes Urban Agriculture as a land use and creates a streamlined permitting process that will allow cultivation of local produce on private vacant and occupied property throughout the city, many of which only requiring a Zoning Certificate. It also greatly expands areas for gardening and limited sales of produce and other agricultural products (such as honey), makes it easier to start rooftop gardens and use sheds, greenhouses, trellises and greenhouses for food production. This new policy will absolutely create more green spaces in our community, increase access to fresh produce, bolster the economy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food transport. For more detail, visit council item 8.
If you are a first generation to college student or come from a socio-economically challenging background, you may be eligible for a Berkeley Promise scholarship, part of the 2020 Vision initiative. Scholars receive $1,500 while at Berkeley City College, along with group mentoring and transfer assistance. Once students transfer to a four-year school, they receive $4,000/year and one-on-one mentoring. Deadline to apply is September 28, 2018.


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Grays 39 deaths: Statement from DCI Daniel Stoten
By Staff Reporter on December 22, 2020 No Comment
Grays 39 deaths:
Statement from DCI Daniel Stoten
EVERY man, woman and child, who died in the lorry trailer came from Vietnam.
They may have started their journeys at different times but, ultimately, they were all following the same false promise of a better life.
They put their trust in people they hoped would deliver them safely to our shores.
As we all now know, sadly, that's not how their story ended.
Today, I think of the families and friends of the victims.
The victims were mothers, fathers, son, daughters, brothers, sisters and friends to many. Two of them – Dinh Dinh Binh and Nguyen Huy Hung were just 15 years old. Every victim has a family who misses them terribly.
Their families and friends won't hear their voices again and they won't receive pictures of their lives in a new country.
Their family, many of whom are still thousands of miles away from where I stand today, have suffered an unimaginable loss.
I know this because my team at Essex Police have heard their stories, and carefully recorded their testimony at first hand.
The people found guilty today made their money from misery.
They knew that what they were doing was dangerous, but they didn't care.
They tried to hide what they were doing. The tried to cover their tracks. Some fled the country, thinking that we could not get them back.
Today, they have been proved wrong on every count.
Since our investigation started, on October 23rd last year, more than 1,400 people have worked on this case.
Officers, staff and volunteers from Essex Police, from Police forces across the UK and from national and international law enforcement collected hundreds of thousands of pieces of pages of evidence – which has delivered justice for the victims and their families.
I am sure that this will be a case we will never forget.
I'd like to speak directly to the families now:
We are one step closer to getting you the justice you deserve and I hope that it will offer some solace.
Our thoughts are with you, today and always.
Grays 39 deaths: Statement from DCI Daniel Stoten added by Staff Reporter on December 22, 2020
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Music is amazing. It has the ability to change moods. But, think of how amazing it is when your child learns to play beautiful music.
Whether it's guitar or piano, violin or trumpet learning to play music not only teaches the art of music, it teaches math skills, performance, and discipline.
Knowing that we were going to move to Missouri, I knew that my son was going to struggle with saying goodbye to his piano teacher.
She's an awesome teacher who is very gifted with both musical talent and the ability to teach. I too, was a bit sad to have to let her go knowing just how far he has come under her tutelage.
So I approached her and asked if she would be willing to FB video chat his lessons and allow him to continue through the rest of the school year.
Plus, he had been working on a very difficult piece since for the annual recital in May and I didn't want him to miss out. She said, "Let's give it a try." So since we had just moved that approach worked well for us as we finished out the school year.
We traveled back to Ohio for his recital and he was able to complete the difficult piece he had worked on.
Since then, we've been blessed to find a local music conservatory and we've enrolled him. They've assigned his lessons with a classical Russian pianist.
And, I've been amazed at how he's grown under her instruction. He's now playing difficult pieces from a wide variety of genres.
But, it got me to thinking about other homeschoolers who perhaps live in a rural area or can't afford traditional lessons. So I began researching!
I've compiled a list of online learning options so that you might also have a chance for your kids to learn to play an instrument from the comfort of your own home.
Gentle Guitar – Be sure to Sign up for a FREE Trial!
Be sure to see my Free Piano Learning Apps post as well for ideas for how to let your kids learn to play the piano for free.
The upside is that you get to provide a musical instrument education for your children from wherever you are. The downside is that you are reliant upon internet services. Which, could mean that on a windy, a cloudy or rainy day may be glitchy.
There is a risk of dropped lessons if connectivity is a problem either for you or the teacher. But, I think overall the rewards will outweigh the problems which may occasionally occur.
Have you utilized an online musical instruction in your homeschool? If so, let me know about your experiences in comments below.
This post if part of iHomeschool Network's Life Skills Every Kid Should Learn before Leaving Home.
This 5-day Homeschool Hopscotch is part of the iHomeschool Network Homeschool Hopscotch.
Now a days everything will be available in online. Learning music through online is really interesting. I would love to learn music.
Hello Renee, I love this! very informative and comprehensive. It would really help those who'd like to learn piano at home.


We couldn't go to Disney World without me making Mickey & Minnie outfits! We bought the kids mickey crocs and as you can see, Gavin couldn't take his eyes off from them. He even slept in them the first night.


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Crimson power back to tame Tigers
Crimson take ECAC championship with wins over St. Lawrence, Clarkson
Abysmal first half sparks Crimson to defeat Princeton, Penn
By Gervis A. Menzies Jr. Harvard News Office
In basketball, embarrassment can be excruciating, but it can also serve as a powerful motivator. As the second-place Harvard women's basketball team entered the weekend against the Princeton Tigers and Penn Quakers (the Ivy League's third- and fourth-place teams, respectively), no one needed to explain to them the importance of winning. Yet, it still took an embarrassing first half against Princeton (Feb. 20), in which the Crimson trailed 6-28 at one point, for Harvard to muster a bit of motivation.
To say the Crimson played an ugly half of basketball does little justice to all things ugly. After 20 minutes of play, Harvard glared down the barrel of what would have easily been their most mortifying losses of the season. Starting the game, the Crimson missed 19 of their first 20 shot attempts, finishing the half with a 14.8 (4-27) field goal percentage and down 15-34. And to make matters worse, Harvard was outscored in the half, 24-15, by just two Princeton starters (both had 12 points).
"I was very, very, very angry with this team," said Harvard head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith about her team's first-half performance. "It may have been [the] worst half of basketball in my 27 years. … It was the worst defense in the entire world coupled with the worst offense in the entire world."
But the frustrated and embarrassed team that entered the Harvard locker room was not the same one that stormed the court in the second half. From the start, the Crimson put together a comeback of epic proportions, opening the period with a staggering 27-5 run. The team came out hot and firing, and by the game's 6:44 mark, Harvard had already stolen the lead.
"It could not have gotten worse," reflected Delaney-Smith. "All the more reason why I admire this team is because [they were] that awful. Princeton was laughing at us, they were toying with us, they should have laughed at us."
The biggest difference in the second half was — hands down — Harvard's more aggressive play around the basket, and it ultimately paid off with a win.
As an unstoppable force in the post, sophomore forward Emma Markley scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in that second half to guide the Crimson to victory.
"We didn't come out strong enough in the first half, dug ourselves into a big hole, but we worked ourselves back, step by step. We shouldn't have come out that way to begin with," said Markley, who also added eight rebounds and three blocks.
"[In the second half] we actually ran our system, we were less frantic, we were balanced, we had team play versus everyone trying to go one-on-one," said Delaney-Smith.
Once the Crimson took the lead, they never trailed again, and defeated Princeton by a score of 54-50.
The next night against Penn, determined to avoid another slow start, Harvard put together a dominant first half against the Quakers, leading by as much at 17 points, and holding Penn to just 18 points in the first stanza. The team was once again led by Markley, who asserted herself in the post, scoring 24 points to go along with 14 rebounds. Brogan Berry '12 added 19 points and Emily Tay '09 scored 14, tallying nine assists, as the Crimson (15-8) romped the Quakers by a final score of 69-54 and advanced to a 7-2 Ivy League record.
With five games remaining and the Crimson currently two games behind Ivy leader Dartmouth, the recent victories keep Harvard in contention for the Ivy League crown.
Friday and Saturday, the Crimson will hit the road to take on the newly seated, third-place Columbia Lions (Feb. 27) and fourth-place Cornell Big Red (Feb. 28), as they enter their last two weeks of play.


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Africa Hinterland was an overland travel company set up in the UK in the early 1980s to smuggle arms into South Africa for the military struggle against the apartheid system.  It was founded  by exiled members of the African National Congress and made over 40 trips into South Africa by truck, carrying up to a ton of weapons on each trip hidden in secret compartments welded under the truck seats.

The operation was never exposed at the time, and was revealed several years after the last trip had run. The story was told in the documentary film, "The Secret Safari" made in 2001, directed by Tom Zubrycki and produced by David Max Brown and Sally Browning.

Background
The truck was designed by Rodney Wilkinson, who a few years earlier had planted two limpet mines at the Koeberg nuclear power station in South Africa, just a few weeks before he completed his contract there as the after-building designer. The mines were set to explode just before the facility was loaded with nuclear material, but the damage was significant. Rodney was never suspected. Under-cover and bored in London he came up with a simple, but ingenious design for an overland truck that could carry passengers and a ton of hidden weapons. ANC leader Joe Slovo showed the design to Mannie Brown, a businessman and ANC exile, and asked him to set up a travel company and recruit reliable drivers.

The Bedford truck was modified at a farm outside London by Rodney and Mannie's nephew and shipped to Kenya. The tourists were flown to Mombasa from the UK. For the first few trips the tourists were mainly from Europe and America, but it soon became apparent that the most hardy travelers were from New Zealand and Australia, so the Hinterland team quickly began to target their publicity to areas around Earl's Court in London, where there was a high population of Australians.

The drivers were mainly recruited from the British and Dutch Communist parties and were brave young men and women who knew exactly what they were doing, and that they would have to look after the paying tourists between Kenya and South Africa, as well as collecting the weapons in Lusaka, Zambia and driving the load safely to a camp site near Johannesburg or Cape Town. The most dangerous part of their journey would begin here when the drivers would unload the steel containers of weapons out from the secret compartments in the truck and into smaller passenger vehicles. These would be driven to drop off areas where unidentified operatives of the ANC would collect and further distribute or strategically bury the weapons.

The South African military knew that weapons were leaking into the country and put spies onto all sorts of transport that was crossing the border. Africa Hinterland was no exception, and came to their special attention because it was one of a handful of tour companies that was openly breaking international travel sanctions to South Africa. Nonetheless they sent over to London an experienced Australian special forces operative who had volunteered his services to them (to the South African Security services?). He bought his ticket and traveled on the second of the Africa Hinterland trips in late 1986 or early 1987. The very young and inexperienced English driver, Stuart Round suspected he had a spy among his passengers and reported as much to his handlers in the ANC, but the decision was taken to continue as normal. The cover of the tourists was so complete that the South African spy reported that the Africa Hinterland operation was 'clean' and after this close shave, the trips continued almost without hitch.

Many of the weapons were used as part of the ANC military campaign against the apartheid regime, but significant caches were dug up and handed over to the new government in 1995.  A closely guarded secret within the ranks of the ANC until 2001, is the fact that the Africa Hinterland operation continued to operate after Nelson Mandela's release in February 1990, and for three years after his speech in August 1990 when he announced the cessation of the movement of men and arms into South Africa. It would have been under Mandela's command that the Africa Hinterland operation was ordered to continue and relocate in 1990 from the United Kingdom to South Africa. The drivers, at that time from London from Amsterdam, opened an office in Johannesburg and ran trips with South African passengers paying for excursions to the Okavango and returning via Bulawayo, where the truck was loaded up with weapons. These trips took two weeks compared to the long haul six weeks from Kenya, and as long as the tourists could be found to fill the truck and provide the cover the trips continued until late 1993 when it was clear that elections would actually happen and the fighting between different factions was dying down.

Very few leaders in the ANC knew about the Africa Hinterland operation and the hidden weapons, but those that did know have said that it gave them some bargaining muscle during the negotiations process. Oliver Tambo and others such as Chris Hani and Mac Maharaj had also been planning Operation Vula, which ran until the early 1990s and aimed to also bring weapons and personnel into South Africa.

See also
 South Africa under Apartheid

References

 Sheree Russouw, "On display: The secret history of the struggle", Johannesburg News Agency, March 6, 2003

External links
 The Secret Safari at IMDb

Arms trafficking
Apartheid in South Africa
South Africa–United Kingdom relations

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Accused Syracuse killer tells cops he had finger on trigger when his girlfriend grabbed loaded gun
Updated Apr 15, 2019; Posted Apr 15, 2019
Syracuse police investigate a shooting on Village Drive in Syracuse, near Shop City, on Sunday afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Doran)
By Sarah Moses Buckshot | sbuckshot@syracuse.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Darien Shellman told Syracuse police his girlfriend grabbed his loaded handgun when she was fatally shot Sunday afternoon in their apartment near Shop City in Syracuse, according to a felony complaint filed in Syracuse City Court.
Sarah Tombs, 22, was pronounced dead inside the couple's apartment at 325 Village Dr., at 5:07 p.m. Sunday by a Syracuse Fire Department captain, records said.
Shellman, 24, told police he got out of bed and retrieved an unloaded, registered Smith & Wesson MP .45-caliber handgun from a safe inside the bedroom that he shared with Tombs. He took the unloaded firearm and sat on the bed next to his girlfriend who had just woken up, according to the felony complaint.
Shellman loaded a magazine containing ammunition into the handgun and "racked the slide," or charged the firearm, which loaded the ammunition into the gun, according to the complaint.
Shellman told Syracuse police that he "inadvertently disengaged" the gun's safety and had his finger on the trigger when Tombs "abruptly grabbed" the gun. With gun still in Shellman's grasp, one round discharged and fatally struck Tombs in her head, the complaint said.
Tombs' 4-year-old daughter, who also lives in the apartment, was unharmed, police said.
"There was no justifiable reason for the above described to have occurred," the felony complaint said.
Shellman was charged with second-degree manslaughter. Shellman was arraigned Monday morning in Syracuse City Court. He's due back in court on Friday.
He's being held at the Onondaga County Justice Center on $100,000 cash or $200,000 bail, according to county inmate records.
Shellman graduated from Henninger High School in 2012 and completed basic training in the Navy in 2013, according Syracuse.com archives. He was discharged from the Navy in 2016, according to the Navy.
Boyfriend fatally shoots girlfriend in Syracuse, police say
Sarah Tombs, 22, of 325 Village Dr., was fatally shot Sunday afternoon, Syracuse police said.


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Металкор () — гибридный музыкальный жанр, находящийся на стыке экстремального метала и хардкор-панка и объединяющий в себе их элементы. Название представляет собой словослияние названий двух образующих его жанров.

Металкор появился во второй половине 1980-х годов, когда такие группы, как Agnostic Front и Cro-Mags, выделившие себя из кроссовер-трэш-сцены, и исполнители второй волны хардкора Hogan's Heroes, Converge, Hatebreed, Earth Crisis и Snapcase, начали экспериментировать с более тяжёлым звуком, добавляя в свою музыку элементы экстремального метала. Отмечается также влияние альтернативной музыки или пост-хардкора. В начале 2000-х годов исполнители второй волны металкора испытывали на себе влияние эмо и поп-музыки. От хардкора металкор перенял брейкдауны и скриминг, а от метала — скоростную игру на ударных (в том числе и бласт-биты) и тяжёлые техничные гитарные риффы.

Ранний металкор находился под влиянием субкультуры хардкор-панка, а значит, его исполнители придерживались главных идеологий панк-движения — социальная и политическая свобода, стрэйт эйдж, DIY. До конца 1990-х жанр преимущественно находился в андеграунде. Серьёзный коммерческий успех пришёл к металкору в первой половине 2000-х годов, когда такие группы, как Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, Bullet for My Valentine, As I Lay Dying, All That Remains и Avenged Sevenfold, вышли за пределы своей субкультуры и попали в мейнстрим. Металкор пришёл на смену ню-металу, и в настоящий момент является самым популярным и успешным в коммерческом плане жанром на метал-сцене. Также наряду с мелодичным хардкором и пост-хардкором металкор является одним из самых успешных ответвлений хардкора.

Металкор оказал значительное влияние на развитие панк-метал-музыки и поджанров хардкора в 2000-х годах. Также среди поклонников и исполнителей жанра образовалась металкор-субкультура.

История

Предшественники жанра и формирование (1980-е — начало 1990-х)

У истоков жанра стояли хардкор-панк и трэш-метал, которые, благодаря ряду хардкор- и метал-групп, экспериментировавших с звучанием этих жанров, смешивались друг с другом, создавая новый уникальный стиль.

Первые комбинации метала и хардкора стали появляться в ранних 1980-х, когда такие трэш-метал-группы, как Slayer и Metallica начали добавлять в свой привычный стиль элементы хардкора, например, скоростные риффы и партии ударных. С другой стороны родоначальники хардкора Black Flag и Bad Brains, а также британские группы стрит-панка Discharge и The Exploited в свою очередь черпали вдохновение в метале. Тем не менее, панк и метал оставались отдельными течениями в первой половине 1980-х годов.

В 1986 году, когда иссякла первая волна хардкора, он окончательно слился с трэш-металом, образовав новый гибридный стиль кроссовер-трэш, который под влиянием youth crew стал более радикальным. Полученный новый жанр объединил трэш-метал с такими элементами хардкора, как партии скриминга и брейкдауны. В том же самом году американская кроссовер-трэш-группа Agnostic Front выпустила альбом , ставший значимым шагом в эволюции от хардкора к металкору. Наконец, в конце 1980-х и начале 1990-х началась вторая волна хардкора, получившая название новая школа или нью-скул (). Исполнители второй волны , Converge, Hatebreed, Earth Crisis и  испытывали на себе ещё большее влияние хеви-метала. Примерно в это же самое время метал-группы, такие как Sepultura и Pantera начали экспериментировать с элементами хардкора. Оба этих независимых друг от друга движения заложили основу для развития нового музыкального жанра, получившего название «металкор». Испытывая на себе влияние хардкор-групп Black Flag, Agnostic Front и Cro-Mags (последние две также ассоциируются со становлением металкора), трэшкор-групп D.R.I. и Suicidal Tendencies и экстремальных групп Death и Entombed, металкор стал окончательным связующим звеном между хардкором и тяжёлым металом.

Пребывание в андеграунде: металлический хардкор (1990-е)

Earth Crisis, Converge и Hatebreed брали многое от хардкор-панка и дэт-метала. Первой группой, начавшей исполнять настоящий металкор, считается Earth Crisis. Коллектив начал свой творческий путь в 1989 году в городе Сиракьюс, штат Нью-Йорк, как хардкор-группа, постепенно привнося в свою музыку элементы тяжёлого метала. В 1995 году группа выпустила, как считают многие, первый настоящий металкор-альбом Destroy the Machines. Он получил смешанные отзывы среди критиков и поклонников группы, однако звучание альбома распространилось в индустрии метала, и побудило к образовыванию новых групп, играющих металкор. Наряду с Earth Crisis влиятельными группами той поры также были , , Biohazard, Converge,  и The Dillinger Escape Plan. Вместе они сформировали первую волну металкора.

«Вместе с ключевыми записями от Dillinger Escape Plan и Botch Give Them Rope — это андеграундный этап, который помог проложить путь для того, что вскоре было названо "металкором". Рискуя звучать слишком упрощённо — слишком поздно! — металкор был естественной последовательностью, где встретились экстремальный метал и хардкор, но с быстро растущими временными отметками, что, однако, чувствовалось более агрессивным».

Исполнители первой волны металкора в своих песнях использовали в основном скриминг и практически полностью избегали чистого вокала. Каждая группа имела своё уникальное звучание, но их объединяли несколько ключевых атрибутов: тяжёлые рифы метала, эстетика хардкора и чувствительность альтернативного рока и пост-хардкора. В 1997 году резко возросло внимание к металкору со стороны прессы, что привлекло целое поколение молодёжи к жанру. Несмотря на рост числа исполнителей металкора и тот факт, что к середине десятилетия он стал самым распространённым течением на хардкор-сцене, жанр в 1990-е оставался в андеграунде, где он пробыл до начала 2000-х. Во многом на это повлияла тесная связь металкора с хардкор-панком, философия которого негативно воспринимала коммерциализацию музыки и поддерживала обособление от мейнстрима.

Металкор того времени находился под серьёзным влиянием хардкор- и панк-субкультуры, песни этого жанра были политизированы и соответствовали обычной тематике хардкора, а многие исполнители были сторонниками таких философий панка, как DIY, хардлайн и Straight Edge. Более того даже с музыкальной точки зрения жанр был ближе к хардкору, чем к металу, поэтому иногда его именовали как металлический хардкор ().

Предпосылки коммерческого успеха: появление мелодичного металкора (начало 2000-х — 2004)
Во второй половине 1990-х годов наиболее популярным и коммерчески успешным стилем тяжёлого метала оставался ню-метал. Однако к началу нового десятилетия его популярность резко пошла на спад, что привело к коммерческому кризису на метал-сцене. В то время самыми тяжёлыми группами, играющими на радио и MTV, были Nickelback и Trapt. Металкор воспользовался возможностью занять новую, пока пустующую нишу в тяжёлом метале, которая понравилась бы слушателям. После падения популярности ню-метала многие его группы распались, либо в поисках новой коммерческой жилы сменили свой стиль и начали играть металкор. Так, например, в 2003 году распалась ню-метал группа Jeff Killed John, участники которой в том же самом году образовали новую металкор-группу Bullet for My Valentine. Также в начале нового тысячелетия жанр попал под влияние достигнувшего к тому времени пика своей популярности эмокора. Исполнители в большей степени переключили тематику песен на личные проблемы человека, а также стали использовать в песнях чистый и эмоциональный вокал. Также в начале 2000-х начали появляться и становиться популярными поджанры и производные стили металкора: маткор, дэткор и мелодичный металкор. Растущая популярность металкора не обошла стороной и Россию — в начале нового тысячелетия на российской сцене стали появляться первые металкор-группы: Stigmata и Amatory.

В то время как композиции жанра металкор по-прежнему не имели крупной поддержки со стороны радио, он стал самым популярным стилем тяжёлого метала 2000-х годов. Коммерческий успех металкора в 2000-х во многом был создан благодаря стараниям таких групп, как Killswitch Engage, Bleeding Through, Unearth и . Эти коллективы набрали популярность, основываясь на прообразе металкора и добавляя более приятные слушателю спетые чистым вокалом припевы.

Killswitch Engage считается самой успешной в коммерческом плане группой в истории металкора. Коллектив выпустил в 2000 году дебютный одноимённый альбом, который не достиг коммерческого успеха и не попал в чарты, однако смог обратить внимание и на группу, и на сам металкор со стороны Roadrunner Records, одного из влиятельных лейблов в метал-индустрии. Майк Гиррет, творческий менеджер Roadrunner Records, прокомментировал:

«Чувствовалось, что это было что-то, коснувшееся классического метала, но протянуло его через хардкор и создало нечто довольно новое и абсолютно захватывающее. Как только музыка стала проигрываться в офисе, сразу же возникло ощущение "Боже… это бесподобно!" по этому поводу».

В 2004 году группа выпустила третий альбом The End of Heartache, представляющий собой смешение экстремального тяжёлого метала, хардкора и успокаивающих мелодий. Одноимённая песня была номинирована на премию «Грэмми» в категории «Лучшее метал-исполнение». Killswitch Engage со своим третьим альбомом дали поклонникам коммерческого метала именно то, что они хотели. Успехи Killswitch Engage вдохновили на появление множество новых металкор-групп. Так, в начале 2000-х годов появилась целая волна её последователей в лице таких групп, как Bullet for My Valentine, As I Lay Dying, Avenged Sevenfold, Heaven Shall Burn, Maroon, Trivium, Underoath, Alesana, Adept, Architects, The Devil Wears Prada, Parkway Drive и . Новые группы Alesana, Bullet for My Valentine и Avenged Sevenfold стали использовать ещё больше элементов поп-музыки и эмо в металкоре. Благодаря приятному чистому вокалу и текстам песен, но в то же время агрессивному экстремальному вокалу, тяжёлым риффам, бласт-битам и брейкдаунам, эти группы смогли породить интерес к жанру как среди поклонников эмо, так и среди слушателей метала и хардкора. Благодаря мелодичности и более приятному для слушателя звучанию, вторую волну металкора охарактеризовали как мелодичный металкор ().

Прорыв мелодичного металкора в мейнстрим (2004 — н. в.)

В 2004 году альбомы The End of Heartache,  и , записанные группами Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall и Atreyu соответственно, впервые попали в американский чарт альбомов Billboard 200. В следующем году валлийская металкор-группа Bullet for My Valentine выпустила дебютный альбом The Poison, который был продан тиражом в 1,2 миллиона экземпляров по всему миру. Песня «Tears Don't Fall» стала хитом и выиграла премию Kerrang! за лучший сингл. В 2007 году As I Lay Dying выпустили альбом An Ocean Between Us, ставший очень успешным: было продано более 39 500 экземпляров альбома, а сам диск занял место в десятке шести хит-парадов Billboard, причём в чартах Top Hard Rock Albums и Top Rock Albums он занял первое место. В 2008 году песни «Nothing Left» из An Ocean Between Us и «Redemption» от Shadows Fall были номинированы на премию «Грэмми» в категории «Лучшее метал-исполнение». Сингл с песней «Two Weeks» группы All That Remains занял девятую позицию в хит-параде Mainstream Rock Tracks.

В 2008 году британская группа Bring Me the Horizon выпустила второй альбом Suicide Season, на котором коллектив отошёл от дэткора в сторону металкора, что принесло альбому больше успеха, чем было у его предшественника. В частности, в американском чарте Top Heatseekers альбом занял второе место. После успеха Suicide Season Bring Me the Horizon продолжили записывать материал в жанре металкор. Однако новый музыкальный стиль группы всё равно находился под влиянием дэт-метала, грайндкора и эмо. Следующий альбом группы, вышедший в 2010 году, под названием There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret стал самым быстропродаваемым альбомом в истории группы и одним из самых быстропродаваемых метал-альбомов в США, где в первую неделю после выхода альбома было продано 20 200 экземпляров.

Примеру Bring Me the Horizon последовала и американская дэткор-группа Chelsea Grin. На своём альбоме Ashes to Ashes коллектив совмещал элементы мрачного дэткора с металкором. Мэтт Крэйн из журнала Alternative Press причислил Chelsea Grin к ряду перспективных групп (наряду с Memphis May Fire, Bring Me the Horizon, Beartooth и т. д.), за которыми стоит будущее жанра. Некоторые издания уже полноценно причисляют Chelsea Grin к исполнителям металкора.

В настоящее время металкор по-прежнему остаётся одним из самых популярных поджанров метала, даже несмотря на критику со стороны некоторых фанатов андеграундных направлений. В подавляющем большинстве случаев под словом «металкор» подразумевают именно современный мейнстримный металкор. Этот термин также тесно связан с мейнстримным пост-хардкором, скримо и электроникором.

Металкор за пределами США: региональные сцены и лейблы

С ростом популярности металкора в первой половине 2000-х годов жанр вышел за пределы США и распространился по всему миру. Так, например, в Канаде металкор-сцена представлена такими группами, как Protest the Hero, The Agonist, Blessed by a Broken Heart, , Cancer Bats, The End, Ion Dissonance, Threat Signal и т. д. Дистрибуцией релизов этих коллективов в основном занимаются лейблы Vagrant Records и Century Media Records. Также металкор получил распространение в Европе: на известном лейбле Nuclear Blast издаются немецкие группы Caliban, Callejon, Neaera, Maroon и Heaven Shall Burn. На шведской сцене металкора стоит выделить группу Adept, издающуюся на лейбле Napalm Records. Коллектив Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! был образован во Франции и по настоящее время издаётся компанией Fearless Records. В Уэльсе существует группа Bullet for My Valentine. Английские коллективы Bring Me the Horizon и Architects, а также австралийские Parkway Drive и I Killed the Prom Queen издаются на лейбле Epitaph Records. Помимо этих коллективов Epitaph занимается распространением многих других групп металкора внутри и за пределами США. В Азии отдельные региональные сцены наблюдаются в Малайзии и Японии. Даже в странах Африки, таких как Нигерия, ЮАР, Кения, Мадагаскар, Ангола, Мозамбик и так далее, имеются местные региональные сцены металкора.

Металкор также получил распространение в России. Среди групп российской сцены металкора стоит отметить Stigmata, Amatory, Rashamba, Challenger и The Korea. Первые два коллектива издаются на лейбле звукозаписи Капкан Records. Расцвет металкора в России произошёл в 2007 году, в том же самом году, на который пришёлся пик популярности субкультуры эмо в этой стране. Однако к настоящему моменту популярность металкора в России спала. Распространённый в России интернет-мем «Верни мне мой 2007-ой», пропитанный ностальгией по ушедшей популярности эмо, может также быть отнесён к металкору. Отвечая на вопрос о возможном возрождении металкора в России, участники коллектива Challenger пояснили: «Популярность не вернется. Раньше слушать металкор было модно. Это как человек, который меняет старый автомобиль на новую марку, а есть тот, кого устраивает старая отреставрированная модель, классика. Кто-то гонится за модой, а кто-то делает для души, как мы».

Музыкальная характеристика

Металкор представляет собой смешение элементов хардкор-панка и тяжёлого метала. В отличие от других гибридных жанров панк-метала, к примеру, кроссовер-трэша, металкор испытал на себе большее влияние экстремального тяжёлого метала. В частности, от него он перенял энергичную игру на кардане, называемую бласт-битом. Металкор совмещает в себе элементы хардкора, такие как скриминг и брейкдауны, с гитарными риффами, соло, техничным исполнением и пониженными гитарными строями от таких экстремальных течений метала, как дэт-метал и трэш-метал.

На ранних металкор-релизах, как правило, использовались исключительно экстремальные подвиды вокала — скриминг (причём, использовался как основная манера пения) и гроулинг. Однако всё больше современных групп используют в своих песнях строчки или даже куплеты с припевами, спетые эмоциональным чистым вокалом. Во многом эта манера появилась из-за влияния эмокора на жанр. Немногие группы используют харш и гуттурал в своих песнях. Среди исполнителей металкора также имеются коллективы с женским экстремальным вокалом: The Agonist, In This Moment, Eyes Set to Kill, Jinjer, Walls of Jericho, Oathbreaker, Straight Line Stitch, Expellow и др.

Так как первоначально сцена металкора формировалась вокруг хардкор-панка, то и корни идеологии металкора находятся в этом жанре. В основном исполнителями из хардкор-панка была взята идеология стрэйт эйдж и социополитическая тематика, но были и исключения вроде Integrity и Converge. Свою лирику Converge базировали на личных переживаниях и неудавшейся любви. Позже в результате влияния со стороны эмокора такая тенденция вошла в мейнстрим среди металкор-групп в коммерчески успешных 2000-х годах. Участники российской металкор-группы Challenger так описали жанр:

«Получилась теплая и хорошая музыка, о которой метал 80-х — 90-х не имел понятия, например, можно петь о чувствах к девушке. Металкор дал мотивацию петь о каких-то позитивных вещах. Например, любовь к богу. Раньше метал был музыкой протеста и не позволял это сделать, был как панк-рок, а сейчас адаптировался под общество. Теперь люди спокойно ходят на работу и играют метал по вечерам».

Также в тематике песен металкора очень распространено христианство. Такие группы, как The Devil Wears Prada, As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red, ,  и Norma Jean совмещают в своём творчестве христианский метал и христианский хардкор. В отличие от экстремального метала песни металкора более позитивные с меньшим оттенком жестокости в лирике.

Влияние и восприятие жанра
Группы, играющие металкор, по-разному находятся под влиянием хардкор-панка и метала. Так, например, ранние группы металкора Shai Hulud, Judge, Born, Integrity, Hogan's Heroes,  и Earth Crisis, вышедшие из панк-сцены, в своём музыкальном стиле больше склонялись к хардкору. Современные же группы мейнстрим-металкора — Killswitch Engage, Underoath, All That Remains, Trivium, As I Lay Dying, Bullet for My Valentine, I Killed the Prom Queen и The Devil Wears Prada, в большей степени находятся под серьёзным влиянием метала.

«Я и мои друзья всегда ссылались на них, как на "металкор", потому что это не было чистым хардкором и это не было чистым металом. Это было похоже на утяжелённую хардкор-группу с этикой и позицией хардкора, но с очевидным влиянием метала».

По мнению MTV, бразильская метал-группа Sepultura оказала влияние на становление металкора, создав для него почву. Другая влиятельная группа Pantera в своё время вдохновляла такие группы, как Trivium, Atreyu, Bleeding Through и Unearth. После появления металкор испытывал на себе влияние ряда направлений хардкор-панка: трэшкора, youth crew и кроссовер-трэша, а также со стороны экстремального метала: дэт-метала, трэш-метала, грув-метала, мелодик-дэта и готик-метала. В конце 1990-х годов прослеживалось влияние пост-хардкора, гранжа и альтернативного рока. В начале 2000-х металкор попал под влияние эмо, что коренным образом изменило жанр. Влияние эмокора отслеживалось практически везде: тематика песен стала затрагивать личные проблемы и переживания человека, в песнях новые металкор-группы начали использовать эмоциональный чистый вокал, среди исполнителей и поклонников появилась мода на причёски и элементы одежды из эмо-субкультуры. Также в то же самое время на жанр повлияла поп-музыка.

Металкор смог разрешить коммерческий кризис, который возник на сцене тяжёлого метала после того, как популярность ню-метала резко пошла на спад. Более того металкор снова обратил внимание слушателей на каноничные звуки трэш-, дэт- и блэк-метала, забытые во время эпохи ню-метала, а также дал шанс относительно неизвестным исполнителям хардкора проявить себя в новом ставшем популярным жанре.

Росс Хаенфлер раскритиковал металкор, назвав слияние метала и хардкора проблемой, которая только усилила негативные и жестокие тенденции, и так представленные на хардкор-панк-сцене. Жанр был охарактеризован, как звук негативности, в том смысле, что он передаёт негативные социальные ценности и что коммерциализованный, продажный звук разрушил аутентичность металкор-субкультуры. Анализ сцены, проведённый Хаенфлером, подтвердил, что большинство молодых членов субкультуры не имеют ни малейшего представления о позитивных сторонах хардкора и youth crew и знают только о современном, самом негативном воплощении хардкор-сцены — металкоре. По этой же причине, современный металкор получает критику со стороны приверженцев позитивного хардкора. Более того в своей книге «Straight Edge: Hardcore Punk, Clean Living Youth, and Social Change» Хаенфлер предположил, что успех таких жанров, как металкор, эмо и инди-рок, затмил успех других стилей и течений и не дал таким движениям, как DIY и Straight Edge, получить должного внимания.

Поджанры и производные стили
В середине 1990-х целый ряд музыкальных групп, таких как Converge, Botch, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Neurosis, Deadguy, , , Coalesce, Candiria и Psyopus, начал экспериментировать c металкором, добавляя в него элементы мат-рока и грайндкора. Так получился новый музыкальный жанр, получивший название маткор (). Сам термин был придуман по аналогии с мат-роком. Некоторые группы, такие например как  добавляют в свою музыку множество прогрессивных элементов.

В начале 2000-х начала формироваться вторая волна групп металкора. Отличительным признаком этих коллективов, был намного более сильный упор на мелодичность музыки и заметное родство с группами пост-хардкора. Основной базой для этого послужило смешение металкора с мелодичным дэт-металом, преимущественно шведской сцены вроде таких групп, как At the Gates, Arch Enemy, In Flames и Soilwork, и в некоторых случаях эмо. Результатом подобного слияния жанров стал мелодичный металкор (). Большинство групп мелодичного металкора исполняют основные вокальные партии чистым вокалом. Согласно статье в журнале Revolver, мелодичный металкор — это привнесение типичных клише метала 1980-х в современный хардкор.

С ростом популярности металкора, некоторые черты последнего проникли в дэт-метал. Группы Maroon, Heaven Shall Burn, The Red Chord, Whitechapel, Suicide Silence, Carnifex, All Shall Perish, Salt the Wound и Job for a Cowboy объединили металкор и дэт-метал и получили новое музыкальное течение — дэткор (). В данном поджанре скоростные ударные (в том числе бласт-биты), низко настроенные гитары, тремоло и гроулинг от дэт-метала сочетается со скримингом, мелодичными риффами и брейкдаунами от металкора. По заявлению журнала Decibel, наработки группы Suffocation послужили основой для появления дэткора. Из-за большей агрессивности и меньшей мелодичности дэткор пользуется меньшей популярностью, чем металкор, поэтому среди дэткор-групп наблюдается тенденция менять свой стиль в пользу более коммерчески успешного металкора.

Целый ряд групп, к которым можно отнести All Shall Perish и , экспериментировал с дэткором, добавляя в него элементы маткора, мелодик-дэта, прогрессивного метала и металкора. От подобного смешения появился ещё один музыкальный жанр — мелодичный дэткор. Он характеризуется меньшей брутальностью, чем дэткор, а также в жанре наблюдается использование красивых мелодий.

В начале 2000-х в результате слияния пост-хардкора и электронных течений музыки, таких как транс, техно, драм-н-бейс и дабстеп, образовался электроникор (). Годы расцвета нового музыкального жанра пришлись на вторую половину 2000-х — первую половину 2010-х, когда на жанр повлиял уже набравший к тому времени большую популярность металкор. Такие группы, как Asking Alexandria и We Butter the Bread with Butter совмещали в своём стиле брейкдауны и скриминг от металкора с секвенсорами и синтезаторами от электронной музыки.

В конце 1990-х стараниями пост-хардкор-группы Horse the Band, экспериментировавшей с такими жанрами, как электроник-рок, металкор, нойз, хардкор-панк и 8-битная музыка, был создан ещё один поджанр электроник-рока — нинтендокор (). Влияние металкора на стиль наблюдается в использовании скриминга и брейкдаунов.

В середине 2000-х годов американская поп-панк-группа New Found Glory смешала поп-панк с мелодичным хардкором, получив новый жанр изикор (). Вскоре такие последователи данного течения, как Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! и A Day to Remember, внесли в него элементы металкора, а именно: экстремальный вокал и брейкдауны.

Металкор-субкультура

Наряду с металкором появилась молодёжная субкультура поклонников данного жанра, претерпевшая многочисленные изменения за несколько десятилетий существования жанра. Так, например, в 1980-х годах металкор-субкультура была тесно связана с нью-йоркской сценой хардкора и ассоциировалась с субкультурой скинхедов: бритые головы, ботинки от Doc Martens, подвёрнутые джинсы и подтяжки. Ранняя субкультура металкора была в основном мужской. Женское участие тогда ограничивалось только сопровождением своего парня на концертах и шоу. С эволюцией как музыкального жанра, так и субкультуры корни NYHC-сцены были оставлены позади. К середине 1990-х годов поклонники металкора мужского пола носили очень короткие стрижки, но головы не брили. К элементам одежды относили одноцветные футболки, поношенные и потёртые джинсы. В качестве обуви использовались кроссовки с низким голенищем, в отличие от высоких ботинок скинхедов. Несмотря на то что ботинки тоже встречались среди поклонников жанра, они не носились с подвёрнутыми джинсами. Футболки, как правило, были не чёрного цвета, так как в то время металкор пока ещё был отдалён от субкультур тяжёлых стилей метала, где чёрный цвет был основным. Часто на этих футболках изображались названия групп и логотипы, но не так открыто, как в хэви-метале. Толстовки с капюшонами были предназначены для холодной погоды и были украшены логотипами и названиями различных групп. Они были тёмного цвета, в частности, синими или чёрными, и носились вне зависимости от пола. Примерно в то же время группы стали выпускать одежду, предназначенную для женского пола. Она была меньшего размера и имела несколько отличий от стандартных дизайнов, как например, футболки без рукавов и тонкими лямками. Это позволило девушкам стать более активными и заметными членами металкор-субкультуры.

Боди-арт стал ещё одной особенностью металкор-сообщества с самых ранних лет его существования. Татуировки были широко распространены на нью-йоркской сцене хардкора с середины 1980-х, в частности, с такими группами, как Agnostic Front и Cro-Mags, которые принимали активное участие в становлении металкора. К 1990-м годам полные рукава татуировок можно было встретить на поклонниках и участниках обеих групп. Татуировки зачастую были сделаны с использованием ярких цветов: красного, синего, жёлтого и зелёного. Татуировки фанатов представляли собой строчки из песен, обложки альбомов и даже названия лейблов звукозаписи, тесно связанных с металкор-сценой (например, Victory Records). Татуировки у музыкантов имели более личное содержание и отражали изоляцию и отчаяние, которое они пытались передать через свои песни. Изображения наносились не только на руки, но и на другие части тела — на грудь, спину и ноги, но не на лица. Пирсинг также был широко распространён, но с некоторыми тонкостями. Например, среди мужчин не было принято носить серьги в ушах, вместо них носились тоннели. Среди девушек использовались и тоннели, и серьги. Пирсинг на лице вне зависимости от пола делался на губах, на носу, на щеках и на бровях.

Металкор-группы крайне редко выступали в клубах и барах, если только это не были мероприятия без возрастного ограничения на вход. Вместо этого независимые промоутеры проводили мероприятия в общественных центрах, а иногда даже в заброшенных зданиях, чтобы привлечь молодую аудиторию. Информация о проводимых мероприятиях распространялась на самодельных флаерах или же словесно, что способствовало улучшению коммуникабельности и сплочённости среди сторонников субкультуры. На концертах слушатели не исполняли мош и слэм, как это делали на хэви-метал-концертах. Вместо этого они образовывали круг перед сценой и каждый по очереди выходил в центр и исполнял различные движения, например, топот, вращение руками или кручёные удары ногами. Это помогало поклонникам снискать уважение со стороны других последователей металкор-субкультуры.

После того, как металкор попал под влияние эмо и вырвался в мейнстрим, принципы и требования субкультуры были оставлены позади большинством фанатов и исполнителей. Среди мужчин появилась тенденция носить длинные волосы и чёлки из субкультуры эмо, а также мода на зауженные джинсы, высокие кеды от DC и мерчёвые футболки различных металкор-групп. Также относительно много групп и слушателей потеряли связь с корнями Straight Edge. Многим нет дела до Minor Threat, Youth of Today и прочих пионеров данного движения, более того они могут не любить такие течения, как youth crew и классический хардкор. Подобная тенденция сохраняется и по сей день.

Наиболее значимые релизы
Список ключевых релизов в истории жанра представлен порталом Metal Descent.

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Previous Christmas gifts for your partner: what to buy
2023 Wedding Ideas
Next Most iconic facial hair
FIVE WEDDING TRENDS FOR 2023
As predicted by The Un-Wedding
Words: M. Woods
It's no exaggeration to say that 2022 has been big for the wedding industry with so many weddings happening in such a short space of time as a result of the post-pandemic wedding boom and the pipeline of postponements finally bursting through.
The fact that engaged couples are now able to plan their weddings with more freedom and confidence than at any other time in history will no doubt be reflected in the choices they make in 2023.
We've already seen a huge surge in couples turning their backs on outdated wedding traditions in favour of new traditions and rituals that are more personal to them. This element of personalisation in weddings will continue to soar in 2023.
Perhaps the most exciting and important thing for weddings in 2023 is the fact that couples will finally be able to enjoy the wedding planning process for the first time in a long time and this is going to transpire into some amazing celebrations. In fact, 2023 might just be the most exciting year for weddings yet.
These are my five 2023 wedding predictions:
Photo: Unsplash
Celebrant-led ceremonies
As weddings evolve, it's safe to say that more and more couples are thinking out of the box with their wedding plans. Gone are the days of the limited choices when it comes your wedding ceremony… church (priest) or registry office (registrar). A celebrant-led wedding ceremony can take place anytime and anywhere. Your favourite beach at sunset, that enchanted spot of woodland at dawn, or your own back garden. The possibilities are endless, so you can get really personal with the when, the where and the why. Having your celebrant-led wedding ceremony take place somewhere that has a special meaning to you both is a great way to make your guests feel part of the experience and your journey.
Celebrant-led weddings are very bespoke, putting the couple at the centre of ceremony as opposed to religion or law so it's no wonder we are seeing a rise personalised wedding ceremonies. Couples who choose to have a celebrant-led wedding tend to do so after attending one themselves. Celebrant-led wedding ceremonies have a positive knock-on effect that is set to continue in 2023.
Photo by Sidey Clark
Alternative wedding entertainment
Gone are the days of the standard wedding reception sit-down meal followed by a boogie to the Jive Bunny megamix before 'carriages at midnight', thankfully. Modern couples can do much better than that and have been pushing the boundaries of wedding entertainment over the last few years. Just as with your wedding ceremony, your wedding entertainment does not need to be formulaic and should be an extension of your personality.
We've progressed from the obligatory photo booth complete with Tommy Cooper-Esque fez to super-stylish GIF booths that look good on the dance floor. The Un-Wedding's Book Of Love directory is a hotbed for some of the UK's most alternative wedding entertainment options because couples want to give their guests a night to remember. Think retro-gaming stations, live illustration, even tarot card reading.
2023 wedding entertainment will be less about following traditions and more about giving your guests the best and most unique experience.
Personalised details
Say no to conveyor belt weddings. This is something that more creative couples have been rebelling against for a while now because weddings are not a one-size-fits-all scenario. The personalisation of your wedding is the thing that sets your wedding apart from everyone else's.
Whether it's a bespoke wedding ceremony, a personalised wedding favour for your guests, or a signature cocktail served at your wedding reception because it's your favourite tipple, there are a plethora of ways that you can personalise your wedding. The more weird and wonderful, the better, as we approach a time in wedding history where almost anything goes.
2023 is the year to stop being generic and put your stamp on your wedding.
Photo by Natalia Paulina
We've seen a huge rise in couples being more mindful about the sustainability of their wedding and rightly so because historically, weddings can be opulent and indulgent occasions.
Today's modern couples are proving that we can find ways to celebrate without harming the planet or breaking the bank, and a great way to do this is by repurposing where possible.
Whether it's creating styling elements from your own home using plants and furniture, or having your wedding co-ordinator breakdown your ceremonial flowers to use them as your table centre-pieces. Couples are savvier than ever when it comes to finding ways to breathe new life into old things and this will continue to surge in 2023 given the rise in the cost of living.
Colours, prints and textures
Colours, prints and textures are set to be big in for 2023 as more and more couples throw out the rule book when it comes to weddings. This is especially exciting for grooms wear which historically, lacks in variety. Well, not anymore. Even the shrinking violets amongst you can go big with a colourful tie, printed sock, textured jacket, or all 3.
Wedding Trends 2023: Conclusion
2023 weddings are going to be all about representing you as the couple, what you really want and what you love. Continue to say no to the outdated traditions and formulas, make more intentional decisions regarding the styling and details. Do you really need it? Wil it make a positive impact? Show your guests a good time without all the excess. Oh yeah, and get back into the joy of planning your wedding. Leave all the stress behind. It's supposed to be fun!
The Un-Wedding is the UK's coolest wedding planning platform and wedding fair for modern couples. Find the most unique independent wedding suppliers in their Book Of Love directory and shop cool gifts for the whole squad in their online store.


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The High Income Threshold And Salary Reductions Resulting From COVID-19 – Does reducing salary avoid unfair dismissal applications?
By NB Lawyers | July 31, 2020
In Unfair Dismissal Applications – an employee must demonstrate their annual rate of earnings at the time of dismissal were below the high income threshold prescribed by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)[1] in order to be protected from unfair dismissal. The current high income threshold (applicable to all dismissals taking effect after 1 July…
How we can help? Ensuring Redundancies are 'Genuine Redundancies'
Unfair Dismissal Applications – When an employee alleges their termination of employment was harsh, unjust or unreasonable, the Fair Work Commission (the FWC) is required to consider a number of preliminary matters[1] including whether the employee was a person protected from unfair dismissal. One of these matters is whether the employee's dismissal was a case…
3 Practical Legal Tips for HR Practitioners in Manufacturing to overcome legal obstacles
COVID-19, the pandemic has caused massive disruption to industry. Manufacturing has been no exception and although there have been a number of companies who have benefited from clients "going local" and others who have pivoted into other areas – hand sanitizers been an obvious one. Many HR professionals in Manufacturing companies are coming to grips…
Protections for Landlords: Retail Shop Leases and Other Commercial Leases Regulation 2020
By NB Lawyers | July 6, 2020
The Retail Shop Leases and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19 Emergency Response) Regulation 2020 is one of the latest pieces of legislation enacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This legislation was made under the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act 2020 (Qld) and Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 (Qld) with the purpose of mitigating the effect of COVID-19 on small businesses and giving effect to the good faith leasing principles as outlined in the National Cabinet's Mandatory Code of Conduct.
What can Business expect from the IR Roundtable? 4 Reforms potentially on the table
In recent times we have had a number of unique and challenging decisions come out of the Fair Work Commission – Skene and Rossato come to mind. We have also had a pandemic which has led to a number of changes to Modern Awards, directions and stand downs. New challenges have been forced on organisations…


I have the Dymo Maxi 1755 label maker that takes 9mm x 2m tape. I am in search of the tape that is suitable for this label maker. Can you please best advise me, as when I've searched I've found that the 2m tape is discontinued."


Pensions Freedoms: Window of Opportunity for SMEs?
The introduction of pensions freedoms that came into force in April 2015 has without doubt introduced a further layer of complexity for company Defined Contribution (DC) schemes set up under auto-enrolment legislation introduced in 2012. But for smaller companies who are navigating to-wards their auto-enrolment staging date or have recently become auto-enrolment ready, there is now a window of opportunity to integrate processes to cope with pensions freedoms without having to unravel too much hard work.
The introduction of pensions freedoms means, barring any fundamental changes a potential new government will introduce, employees in DC schemes over the age of 55 will have the right to access their pension pots how and when they want. This could be via large lump sums, regular withdrawals over a number of years, or both.
Firstly, workforce demographics, particularly age. Analysis of the current age of the work-force, as well as future business plans that may fundamentally affect the make up of the workforce should be undertaken. Where a higher percentage of the workforce is close to 55, the design of the pension scheme in place and investment choices on offer will need to be taken carefully into ac-count.
Secondly, the structure of the pension scheme will need clear thought, so that access to pension funds by eligible members is available on demand. Processes need to be put in place so that the integrity of data is guaranteed, the scheme remains financially robust and members are kept up to date.
Finally, educating employees not only on their pension choices, but also the fact they will be able to access savings when they reach 55 is likely to cause a heightened level of confusion. It will require clear signposting in order for companies to avoid becoming liable in the future for bad decisions made by employees in the past. Remember the key aim of auto-enrolment is to encourage people to save for their retirement, so working with your financial partner to actively engage with employees on choices will become an important part of due diligence. While the changes require extra work, particularly for smaller companies, if dealt with correctly and expert advice sought, both the burden and cost can be significantly reduced. Equally important, is an approach that can help employees engage with their pension scheme and financial choices so that better long term outcomes are achieved.


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Baladiyah (; plur. baladiyat, ) è un tipo di suddivisione amministrativa tipica di alcuni Paesi arabi per indicare un comune o un'analoga ripartizione territoriale.

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Espressioni geografiche della lingua araba


As we land on the March 1st release date, the first phase of that landing has just happened. Ebooks for the new title, Reality's Dawn, is now available in epub, pdb, pdf, and prc formats. To purchase, visit my store.
I recently announced that the ebook versions of my anthology of short stories and flash fictions, Ethereal Worlds, was available for sale. After going through two proofs, I've now put the paperback on sale as well.


Getting a business license renewed is easier than ever before! Business license in Dubai are renewed annually. You can now renew your business license in Dubai in three simple steps. Thanks to new measures adopted by Department of Economic Development – DED in Dubai.
If you are a businessman or entrepreneur, you could renew your business license on your own. The Dubai Department of Economic Development DED has put forth several initiatives. Like the smart electronic services and registered agents that help you renew your business license in Dubai. Send a SMS and renew business license in Dubai. Moreover, online renewal helps reduce delays and save time and efforts spent in visiting the ministry offices.
These measure where brought in to develop easy business procedures and streamline an accommodating environment.
The tenancy contract should have a minimum validity of one month, and the longer the better. Place of business is extremely important when it comes to company license renewal Dubai, thus double-check on the validity of your company's tenancy contract in order to avoid delays in getting a business license.
Every specific business activity has selective requirements as well as may need certifications and licenses from specific authority. For instance, a car rental company or a private motor vehicle service need an approval from the Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA), whereas a private medical clinic needs a certification from the Ministry of Health and Prevention of Dubai and so on. Thus, get approval for the business activity for the respective judicial or governmental department well-in-advance before you apply for the business license.
Collaborate all the certifications and the application for the trade license renewal in Dubai. Submit it to Department of Economic Development DED is several ways.
Department of Economic Development (DED) can renew your business license through various offline modes such as business service provider, authorized service agents, law firms, happiness lounge, etc.
DED has a comprehensive website and e-Services for the business customers through which they can renew business license online. Getting business license renewed online can be reliable with minimal paperwork as well as speeds-up the process.
In order to improve the country's investment and business climate, the Economic Department has initiated an auto-renewal process through which the renewal could be fast-tracked. Investors seeking to renew their license only need to send an SMS with their license number to 6969. The business license renewal cost is sent via SMS. The business owners can then pay this fee through offline as well as online methods.
Delay and non-renewal of Business License in Dubai can attract penalties and even could blacklist the company. Moreover, plans for setting up business in the future might also be jeopardised. Thus, several businessmen feel appointing a business service provider in UAE is a safer and easier option.
Remembering the due date of your business license is not the only factor. Business license renewal takes longer time, especially if the documents are not in order. You need to be certain about the validity of your tenancy contract and certifications involved. Running around the ministries and governmental authorities at the last minute could be tiresome. Therefore, investors and businessmen feel best to outsource the renewal process.
The DED has made the regulations extremely simple for businessmen in Dubai. However, help from a business setup services provider makes administrational procedures even more convenient. A business setup service provider in Dubai significantly improves the quality of company formation and regulation. As a businessman you have instant awareness about the procedure, and you can be carefree on what goes next.
Go with Shuraa Business Setup–one of the well-known and established business setup service providers in UAE.
Shuraa Business Setup helps establish and obtain information about your company from the authority. We also issue and renew commercial registrations, keep a tab on the expiry dates and remind any renewals involved.
Shuraa Business Setup also offer number of administrative services that enable you to easily manage and operate your businesses. To know more speak to our business consultants or drop in a quick inquiry and we will get back to you!
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text:
Q: When starting a new Activity, the Home screen background is visible for a split second When running the trivial test activity below on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1" (Android 3.1), I see a short flash of the home screen background, before TestActivity2 is started.
This flash is not seen
- when running without the FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_WHEN_TASK_RESET
- when running on a Galaxy Tab 7" running Android 2.3
Any idea what is causing this flash and how I can avoid it?
public class TestActivity1 extends Activity
{
  protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
  {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    TextView t = new TextView(this);
    t.setText("TestActivity1");
    t.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener()
    {

      @Override
      public void onClick(View v)
      {
        //start TestActivity2
        Intent intent = new Intent(getApplicationContext(), TestActivity2.class);
        intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_WHEN_TASK_RESET);
        startActivity(intent);
      }
    });
    setContentView(t);
  }

}

When comparing the LogCat of a test-run with and without the FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_WHEN_TASK_RESET, I noticed the following difference.
With FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_WHEN_TASK_RESET

... INFO/SurfaceFlinger(223): id=71 Removed com.zappware.test/com.zappware.test.TestActivity1 idx=2 Map Size=3

Without FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_WHEN_TASK_RESET

... INFO/SurfaceFlinger(223): id=75 Removed com.zappware.test/com.zappware.test.TestActivity1 idx=3 Map Size=3

Maybe this can help?

A: Well, you are cleaning the stack so maybe that's why its happening. May I suggest overring the back button behavior?
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2009/12/back-and-other-hard-keys-three-stories.html
Edit:
I was thinking on something like this. Starting with 2.0 you can do this:
@Override
public void onBackPressed() {
Intent intent = new Intent(getApplicationContext(), MyActivity.class);
startActivity(intent);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This is a little late in coming, but I wanted to point all of you towards this fantastic post by The Present Group about Obama's Small Business Jobs Act. The new law is large and complicated, but Oliver and Eleanor did all the hard work for you and pulled out the sections that are relevant to independent creative professionals.
Only two more months until we close the books on 2010. Make sure you read this before filing those taxes!


text:
By Hannah Chantry In Featured
Be wowed by the murals of the Beyond Walls program in Lynn. See our drone-captured video footage.
TEST KITCHEN:
Restaurant incubators provide new opportunities for entrepreneurs in Lawrence and Worcester
JUST BEFORE noon, customers start flowing into CocoRay's in downtown Lawrence. Located in a satellite campus of Northern Essex Community College, the restaurant is frequented…
Linda Enerson in Possibilities
WATERWAYS:
The Lowell Waterways Vitality Initiative makes advances
THE LOWELL Waterways Vitality Initiative is a collaborative effort to enhance Lowell's remarkable waterways with lighting, accessibility improvements, and new retailers. The idea was conceived…
Maureen McInerney in Possibilities
MAKING AN IMPACT:
ImpactLABS of New Bedford brings business home
IN 2015, Chris Rezendes and his partners decided to open the digital research and investment firm Impact LABS in New Bed ford because"it was a…
Catherine Tumber in Possibilities
T HIS YEAR marks the tenth anniversary of the Gateway Cities movement. The story, as we tell it, begins with a study produced by John Schneider and a team of researchers, myself included, from the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.
Like most origin stories, this account is incomplete. The germ of the idea actually came from CommonWealth, the journalism arm of MassINC.
Crisscrossing the state on assignment, CommonWealth reporters often found themselves in urban centers. Whether it be Springfield or Worcester, Fall River or Lowell, Brockton or Pittsfield, they saw how decades of disinvestment and uneven economic growth had taken a heavy toll on places Bay Staters had long known as proud all-American cities. The early issues of CommonWealth cover this struggle —but the tone is often notably upbeat. Rather than laying down and accepting the decline that many experts foretold, these communities were standing up and fighting for a vibrant and prosperous future.
Fast-forward a decade and here we are with Gateways, a new publication devoted to telling the stories of these valiant leaders and the change they are forging through blood, sweat, tears, and boundless optimism.
This legion includes Chris Rezendes, founder of ImpactLABS in New Bedford.Chris grew up in Fall River, left for larger stages, took away what he could, and returned home to make good with his partners at a socially-responsible technology company. With similar ideals, the Nash brothers followed a path back to their hometown of Pittsfield to launch Blue Q, "producers of life-improving, joy-bringing products."
Our premier issue also features roving entrepreneurs drawn to Gateway Cities simply because they saw opportunity. This camp includes Brooklyn-born chef Jared Forman (no relation), who came to Worcester to open deadhorse hill, and Al Wilson, the founder of Beyond Walls, an organization tapping into Lynn's architectural and cultural heritage to produce breathtaking works of public art.
The Beyond Walls profile is just one of several examples of the prominent role artists are playing in the transformation of our Gateway Cities. Gloria Hall writes about the evolution of Art in the Park, describing how Worcester residents have rallied around the biennial installation to make each iteration stronger. We also have a piece from the Lowell-born poet Princess Moon, a testament to how cultural expression heals and unites.
Historic structures and a diverse cultural milieu are crucial ingredients, but leadership is ultimately most essential to Gateway City regeneration. This premier issue includes words of wisdom from Niki Tsongas, the retiring Congresswoman from Lowell who has made that iconic mill city's comeback her life's work; former Pittsfield
Mayor James Ruberto, a major force in the birth of the Gateway Cities movement; and current Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer, who embodies the spirit of collaborative leadership Gateway Cities will need to forge ahead through turbulent times.
Conceived to celebrate an anniversary, this new product demonstrates that we are 10 years young. I hope these pages will imbue you with the collective energy of our Gateway Cities, reigniting the the passion in those who have been with us since the beginning, and inspiring others to come onboard
Ben Forman
Editor, Gateways
Research Director, MassINC
Executive Director, The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute
A BOUT TEN years ago MassINC began to focus on what we came to brand the Gateway Cities — regional economic hubs that had been traditional gateways to good wages and the American Dream for immigrants and others. The goal was to spark the economic revival of these communities. Our work with elected officials, community leaders and business people has begun to bear fruit and exciting things are happening in these places.
We at MassINC are in the business of rigorous research and journalism — promotion is not our thing — but something happened on this ten year journey: we have fallen in love with the Gateway Cities. And so we are launching Gateways to bear witness to all that is happening here. Gateways will be a cheerleader for the Gateway Cities as places for people to live and thrive, places to raise children, places to start and operate a business, places to visit and explore, and places to be inspired. We hope you will be inspired by the stories in this pilot issue. Please share it with your neighbors and colleagues. We hope that you will be moved to help insure that our vision of Gateways as quarterly journal will be realized. Please support Gateways by advertising in or purchasing a subscription. For more information about advertising or subscribing, please contact our Managing Editor, Maureen McInerney, at 617.224.1625 or mmcinerney@massinc.org.
Lauren Louison Grogan
Publisher, Gateways
Chief Operating Officer, MassINC
What's a gateway city?
Gateway Cities are midsize urban centers that anchor regional economies around the state. For generations, these communities were home to industry that offered residents good jobs and a "gateway" to the American Dream.
EXAMPLES OF community conflict sown by talking heads and internet trolls are all too common these days. Pittsfield could be a place where one might…
Benjamin Forman in People
DOING GOOD & DOING WELL:
The folks at Blue Q in Pittsfield do more than just make people happy
THE FOLKS at Blue Q just want you to be happy.There's always a certain practicality with the products they sell. Who doesn't need socks, bags,…
Maureen McInerney in People
POETRY:
"AT A YOUNG AGE, we are all taught the act of disappearing" writes Princess Moon. It's impossible to envision Princess Moon as invisible. Standing on…
Princess Moon in People
MAKERSPACES:
Hives of creative activity, makerspaces and co-working spaces are thriving
Historic buildings now home to successful businesses
Helena Fruscio Altman in Places
DEADHORSE HILL:
A review of the restaurant that ushered in an era of good eats in Worcester
WORCESTER, the second-largest city in New England, wasn't really known for food. It had local mainstays on Shrewsbury Street, but nothing that stood out. When…
Joshua Gee in Places
CROMPTON COLLECTIVE:
A Worcester native follows her passion to success
WHEN AMY CHASE was going to school for interior design in Worcester, she would drive by the old Crompton Loom Works every day on her…
Ashira Morris in Places
24 HOURS IN…PITTSFIELD:
Explore the Heart of the Berkshires
PACK YOUR BAGS for a good time in the hub of the Berkshires. We scouted the city of Pittsfield and its surrounding areas, touching on…
Maureen McInerney in Places
ART IN THE PARK:
A testimony to the impact of public art in Worcester
I TOOK A leap of faith when I suggested placing large-scale sculptures throughout Worcester to my fellow members of the Worcester Arts Council in 2005.…
Gloria D. Hall in Places
MILL NO. 5:
Beloved Lowell shops that you need to know
All shops are open Thursday and Friday from 5 p.m.until 8 p.m., Saturday from 12 p.m. until 8 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. until…
Catch the holiday spirit across the Commonwealth
Holiday Festival of Crafts November 24-26 Worcester Center for Crafts 25 Sagamore Rd., Worcester worcester.edu/Holiday-Festival The Worcester Center for Crafts is transformed into a European-style…
With Reinvention Comes Opportunity
by Niki Tsongas
Gateway Cities need a coherent federal urban policy
TWO CENTURIES ago, a revolution took place directly outside my office in Lowell. Titans of industry joined forward-thinkers, women ahead of their time, and immigrants from around the world to form an innovation hub that propelled the region and the country into a new age. Lowell's legacy of reinvention remains a hallmark of the city to this day and is echoed in the transformative stories of Gateway Cities across the Commonwealth.
By Joshua Gee In Post Script
The deadhorse hill team in Worcester is opening simjang, a Korean-American restaurant, this fall. We asked chef Jared Forman a…


text:
Q: Restricting Firebase security to a specific Google Apps domain? I'm currently looking to use Firebase for an internal application that can only be accessed by employees with a Google Account from our organization.
I have an understanding how I can restrict read/write access only to google logins, e.g.
{
  "rules": {
    ".read": "auth.provider === 'google'",
    ".write": "auth.provider === 'google'"
  }
}

But I can't figure out how to restrict access to a specific domain/organization within Google accounts. I know this can be done at the application level, but given the number of channels we'd use to access the database, I want to enforce the auth at the database level in addition to the application level.
Has anyone done this before? Thanks.

A: You can restrict access for your gmail domain with:
{
  "rules": {
    ".read": "auth.token.email.endsWith('domain.com')",
    ".write": "auth.token.email.endsWith('domain.com')"
  }
}

A: I was also looking for this feature, but it looks like this feature is not available unless you write your own Token/Custom Authentication.
In the future, Firebase states that they "think we have an even better solution." Read more...


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text:
Q: Softkeybord case using libgdx I've using a libgdx TextField to receive a name from the user for a highscores table, and I'd like to set up the soft keyboard or the TextField so that the first character typed is capitalised. Is there an easy way to do this within libgdx, or do I need to use Android specific code?
private void addNameTextEdit() {
    stage = new Stage();
    skin = new Skin(Gdx.files.internal("uiskin.json"));

    nameText = new TextField("Last Name", skin);
    nameText.setMaxLength(HighScore.MAX_NAME_LENGTH);
    nameText.selectAll();
    nameText.addListener(new EventListener() {

        @Override
        public boolean handle(Event event) {
            if (event instanceof InputEvent) {

                if (((InputEvent) event).getKeyCode() == Input.Keys.ENTER) {
                    addHighScoreAndSave();
                    return true;
                }
            }
            return false;
        }
    });

    table = new Table();
    stage.addActor(table);
    table.add(nameText).width(290).height(45);
    stage.setKeyboardFocus(nameText);
    table.setSize(290, 45);
    table.setPosition(20, 400);

    inputMultiplexer.addProcessor(stage);
    Gdx.input.setOnscreenKeyboardVisible(true);
}


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Judging from what I saw in David's video from yesterday the protesters are quibbling about the fact that they were on the curb and it isn't George's property.
WFTV interviewed several of the protesters and one of them, Patricia, said "It really wasn't a proper thing for him to do".
What's not proper is the fact that the protesters are out there in the first place. They are trying to press charges though, but it's the State Attorney's office that's going to determine if charges are going to be filed.
So here are a few things that the Anthonys and their neighbors may want to consider should the protesters keep it up, from the Orange County Ordinances.
Chapter 31.5, Article IV, Section 31.5-141 Political signs and ideological signs.
(a) Political signs or ideological signs may be permitted in all zoning districts.
(b) Political signs or ideological signs may be erected in residential districts only with the written permission of the landowner.
Don't know if the signs the protesters are carrying fall under this law or not. I would also be interested in knowing how many people have been showing up the last couple of nights because it may or may not fall under needing a public assembly permit if it has gotten to 100 or more, although I don't think it has so far.
Don't know the chapter, Article IV, Section 21-72 Public Assembly Permit, when required.
(a) No person shall stage, promote, conduct, engage in, participate in, aid, form, advertise or start any public assembly in or on any public right-of-way that is attended at any one time, is calculated to be attended at any one time, or is reasonably expected to be attended at any one time, by one hundred (100) or more people, unless a public assembly permit has been applied for and obtained from the county administrator pursuant to this article. In order to minimize disruptions to vehicular traffic in or on public rights-of-way, no person shall stage, promote, conduct, engage in, participate in, aid, form, advertise or start any public assembly in or on the portion of any public right-of-way used for vehicular traffic unless it is attended at any one time, is calculated to be attended at any one time, or is reasonably expected to be attended at any one time, by one hundred (100) or more people, and a public assembly permit has been applied for and obtained from the county administrator pursuant to this article.
(a) No person shall stage, promote, conduct, engage in, participate in, aid, form, advertise or start any public assembly in or on any public property that is not in or on a public right-of-way or public park, except in an area as may be designated by the county administrator and under conditions which ensure that the manner in which the public assembly is conducted will not be incompatible with the principal purpose and use of the public property.
(b) Notwithstanding anything in this article which may appear to the contrary, no public assembly shall be permitted at any non-traditional public forum, including the county corrections facility.
Perhaps I just misread that stuff, obviously I'm not a lawyer but the way I read it is that they cannot use the road or sidewalk out in front of the Anthony's house to legally stage a protest and since the yard itself is public property they would have to get the permission of one of the Anthony's neighbors to protest there. Section 21-74 of the same ordinance even says that there is an exception for an assembly exclusively on private property but obviously you need to be invited first.
Enough of the damned legal stuff. It just pisses me off that so many people are gathered at their house for this crap. Go search for the girl if you have so much free time.
In a somewhat unrelated deal there seems to be some controversy surrounding Gale St. John and some woman that was helping her out. I don't have the details of it but a couple of sites are discussing it. Something to do with credit card fraud and some other crap. Think I'll stay away from that for now.
Apparently George Anthony got a bit ill with the protesters hanging out around his house and pushed two of them. While he wasn't there during the assault, David Lohr did interview one of them in the video below. You can also check out updates at this page.
Damned worthless trailer trash with nothing better to do but sit on front of someone's house and harass them. The lady in the video has some really good points but protesting in front of the Anthony's home is just not the way to do it.
The sheriff's department was in the area at around 8:30 when he posted his video and blog entry, handing out tickets to people that were driving by and honking their horns, as well as those in cars blocking the road.
water hose on the protesters, and media.
What I don't get instead of protesting in front of their house, why don't they do something more productive and maybe join the search teams look for her. Some people have too much time on their hands.
I guess the thought of leaving the sidewalk and actually doing something just scares them. Hell, some of them even had camp chairs and stuff. A week or two ago I posted a video with George throwing some stuff off the cub that belonged to protesters. They had two chairs and a table with an umbrella. Guess those folks were there for the long haul. Assholes.
I agree they are major assholes. I also wondered how many are there for their 15 minutes of fame with all the cameras there?