NASA astronaut beams a message of hope to Earth in the pandemic
By Eric Weisbrod
CNN/NASA
nasa astronaut chris cassidy sent home a message of unity from his perch aboard the international space station on tuesday, telling the world that there's hope if we just stick together
SOURCE: CNN/NASA
Sometimes all it takes is a little perspective.NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy sent home a message of unity from his perch aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday, telling the world that there's hope if we just stick together."There's hope in being united," said Cassidy when asked if he had a message for those of us on Earth. "When I look down at the planet, it's just a big beautiful spaceship that has 7 billion astronauts on it."Cassidy, currently the only American in space and commander of the Expedition 63 mission, said people back home should work together and do their part to keep the planet and its people healthy."Just like the three of us here working in harmony to conduct our daily missions effective and safely, that's what we should be doing on Earth," Cassidy said."Now that's easier said than done. It requires everybody to pitch in and do their part. But that is step one - Each individual taking ownership and doing your part, doing the right thing. And together as a crew on planet Earth we can make anything happen," said Cassidy.The astronaut has been aboard the space station since April 9, when there were under 500,000 cases in the U.S. and less than 20,000 deaths. Now, there are at least 1,356,000 coronavirus cases in the U.S. and at least 81,500 deaths.But Cassidy says it's "largely business as usual" in space, despite the coronavirus pandemic tearing across the globe beneath him. But he admitted it was "quite something" talking with the crew he swapped out with, astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir, who left Earth before the virus broke out but returned home to a world changed by the pandemic.Related video: Astronaut Jessica Meir discusses returning to Earth amid the COVID-19 pandemic"I've exchanged a few emails with them. They've had an interesting adjustment going from the busy life here in the space station to much more quarantine and isolation in their own homes," he said.
Sometimes all it takes is a little perspective.
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy sent home a message of unity from his perch aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday, telling the world that there's hope if we just stick together.
"There's hope in being united," said Cassidy when asked if he had a message for those of us on Earth. "When I look down at the planet, it's just a big beautiful spaceship that has 7 billion astronauts on it."
Cassidy, currently the only American in space and commander of the Expedition 63 mission, said people back home should work together and do their part to keep the planet and its people healthy.
"Just like the three of us here working in harmony to conduct our daily missions effective and safely, that's what we should be doing on Earth," Cassidy said.
"Now that's easier said than done. It requires everybody to pitch in and do their part. But that is step one - Each individual taking ownership and doing your part, doing the right thing. And together as a crew on planet Earth we can make anything happen," said Cassidy.
The astronaut has been aboard the space station since April 9, when there were under 500,000 cases in the U.S. and less than 20,000 deaths. Now, there are at least 1,356,000 coronavirus cases in the U.S. and at least 81,500 deaths.
But Cassidy says it's "largely business as usual" in space, despite the coronavirus pandemic tearing across the globe beneath him. But he admitted it was "quite something" talking with the crew he swapped out with, astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir, who left Earth before the virus broke out but returned home to a world changed by the pandemic.
Related video: Astronaut Jessica Meir discusses returning to Earth amid the COVID-19 pandemic
"I've exchanged a few emails with them. They've had an interesting adjustment going from the busy life here in the space station to much more quarantine and isolation in their own homes," he said.


Home Meditations	The Spiritual Is Political
MeditationsUncategorized
The Spiritual Is Political
written by Martin LeFevre 2017/08/22
The "path of totality" slashed across the United States from Oregon to South Carolina. In the aftermath of the celestial hype devoid of terrestrial hope, it feels like the eclipse drew a dark line through America.
The eclipse mania in the USA was filled with gatherings that would have made pagans ashamed. A possible "once-in-a-lifetime" experiencing of mystery was an excuse for a feel-good carnival-for-a-day.
For this contemplative, the lunacy surrounding the lunar "show" was perplexing, and disturbing. We've forgotten that for most peoples through most of human history, eclipses were ominous portents.
At the height of the eclipse here in northern California, which afforded about 85% coverage of our workmanlike star, morning became dusk. As the light dimmed, an owl began to hoot in a nearby tree. The pall felt otherworldly in a way that seemed all too worldly.
Those in the path of totality reported that time seemed to stop and the earth seemed to hold its breath. Afterwards, things seem to be at a standstill in the world, as people wait for the next shoe to drop.
Contrary to what discredited public intellectuals malignantly maintain, the truth is not plural. This seemingly unassailable first principle of
conventional wisdom perniciously advocates living a lifetime in shades of gray, never knowing the light and color of insight. The truth is dynamically singular.
Politics, at best, is the art of principled compromise. It rarely has much to do with the truth. Government can neither provide beautiful things of life, nor "create a platform upon which the beautiful things in life can flourish." Beauty requires living soil, internally and externally, not man-made platforms.
We have forgotten what true leadership looks like. So we accept definitions from "moderate" mediocrities such as: "Leadership is about determining which viewpoint is more needed at the moment." When "the truth is plural," the banality of evil is inexorable.
Only a filthy man attempts to make a vice of purity.
False modesty camouflages willful ignorance by insisting, "how much is beyond our understanding." Venerating thought's complexity is a way of avoiding the imperative of inward simplicity.
To ensure that the heavens didn't steal his media thunder, Donald Trump, America's mirror, moved up a speech on his purported overhaul of Obama's failed Afghanistan strategy to the evening after the eclipse. The address was remarkable for its treacly patriotism and flagrant militarism on one hand, and its moral vacuity and lack of leadership on the other.
Afterward, Trump was either hailed in the media for being either "presidential," or his military men were heiled for "containing" him. Thus the corporate media is still laying track for Trump's mob (aka his base), and greasing the rails of America's deepening slide into militarism.
"Since the founding of our republic, our country has produced a special class of heroes whose selflessness, courage and resolve is unmatched in human history," the draft dodger president pronounced. "When we open our hearts to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice, no place for bigotry and no tolerance for hate," the pathological liar intoned.
America's founders are rolling over in their graves. George Washington proclaimed: "My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth." Led by the United States, conflict and war have become the world's biggest business.
War is inevitable under these conditions and this POTUS. Global citizens have to prepare for the aftermath of a real war, as opposed to the phony, self-fulfilling prophesy of America's "global war on terror," or the interminable police action in Afghanistan.
"Are we preparing plans for a preventive war?" Lt. General H.R. McMaster recently asked in a television interview, defining the term as "a war that would prevent North Korea from threatening the United States with a nuclear weapon."
He answered his own question: "The president's been very clear about it. He said he's not going to tolerate North Korea being able to threaten the United States."
Don't say we weren't warned, and couldn't see it coming.
Trump's "carnage" reflects the invisible and projected slaughter of the American spirit that preceded and enabled him. And now the international order, based on the sovereignty of the nation-state (which the United States largely formed after the physical carnage of World War II), is running on fumes.
A true global order is possible. But only if a psychological revolution ignites and a philosophical foundation is poured before the looming real war brings the undeniable end of the old order and the old species.
Martin LeFevre
donald trumpdownfall of USAMartin LeFevremeditationMeditationspoliticalpoliticsPOTUSspiritualThe Spiritual Is Politicalthe truth is not pluralthoughts on lifetrump presidency
Cell Phones in The Costa Rica Classrooms
Help Fund Special Needs Orphanage in Costa Rica


Sydney in December.
Moshimoshi folks,
I am giving a few talks at various events in Sydney this December. If you're in town, please come by to say hi!
I'm presenting preliminary findings from two new projects for the first time – one on young people and grief on the internet, and the other on discursive networks on Tumblr. I'm also presenting more of my work on Influencers, this time focusing on the economy of fake goods. If you're working in similar areas, I'd love to chat.
See you then!
Digital research networks, activism and pedagogy: The Selfies Research Network and Hey Girl Global.
– with Theresa Senft (New York University)
12 December 2016, 1400-1530hrs panel.
A&D Seminar Room D-111, UNSW Art & Design
The Selfie and Social Activism Symposium.
<Register>
This talk introduces and evaluates two networks with explicitly feminist, anti-racist and anti-colonialist aims. The Selfie Research Network contains more than 3000 teachers, students and creatives interested in discourses surrounding selfies. The Hey Girl Global Network, currently at 330, maps the intersections of global girl (and women's), media, and urban cultures. Employing a rubric based on principles of networked reflective solidarity (Senft, 2008) we ask: whom do these networks currently serve, and who remains locked out? Although "experts" (from academia, activism, media, art, etc.) can be critical to securing a network's reputation in its early days, in the long run, too-visible displays of social capital by "important" members can actually hinder solidarity in networks devoted to connecting girls and women worldwide. As a corrective, we offer some steps each network might take to better connect those who do not (or cannot) participate in the politics of visibility. Here, we are thinking specifically of women who feel unseen, or need to remain unidentified, due to age, race, dis/ability, residential status, the legality of their income generating activities, or political restrictions that make communicating in hybrid offline/ online spaces a challenge.
Identity and vulnerability on the internet.
– stream with Stephanie Betz (Australian National University)
15 December 2016, 0900-1500hrs.
Sessions 7C, 8C, 9C, 10C, ABS Seminar Room 2020, University of Sydney.
Australian Anthropology Association Conference 2016.
<Conf programme>
As humanity has been experiencing profound changes in the geophysical environment, technological developments have enabled people to overcome many of its limitations. Electronic forms of communication have allowed people to almost instantaneously communicate over vast geographic distances, leading to new means of constructing identities, inhabiting lifeworlds, and conducting relationships. Simultaneously, these digital possibilities have cultivated new forms of vulnerability as our meaning-making processes are opened out onto a broader and dis-/hyper- embodied audience. Relevant questions for the panel include: a) How is identity – physical, digital, and otherwise – constructed and performed in the digital space of the Internet? b) How is the reflexive construction of identity and lifeworld on the internet open to both deep engagement and existential threat? and c) What forms of new relationships have emerged in a digital domain that is at once permanent and transient?
Death, Grief, and Aftercare in the Digital Age.
Session 7C, ABS Seminar Room 2020, University of Sydney.
In the age of the internet, platform affordances and cultural norms on social media have kindled an archive culture generating a wealth of digital footprints. In this climate, persons who have passed away may be memorialized by loved ones through the resurgence of such data and the subsequent re-curation of their post-death persona. Such grieving practices have been examined in various disciplines as Facebook memorial pages, RIP trolling, digital graves, and afterlife digital estate management. Transiting from passive observations of such activity to an intimate anthropological inquiry of these persons and their practices, this paper draws on personal interviews and in-depth digital observation to understand how young people cope with grief in the digital age. The paper focuses on the use of technological devices and digital artifacts to construct mutual aftercare, generate transient affects, and understand mortality.
Authentic replicas: Influencers, Knock-off culture, and Circuits of aspirational knowledge.
Session 7E, ABS Seminar Room 2080, University of Sydney.
Crossroads 2016.
Looking closely at knock-off material culture as facilitated by social media, this article investigates young women Influencers' and followers' exchanges of financial, social, and cultural capital regarding counterfeit products. Drawing on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork and through the lens of grounded theory analysis, I investigate Influencers' enactments of knock-off culture on social media and in physical spaces, and the ways in which they posture as arbiters of taste, gatekeepers of discount luxury, and tastemakers of democratic aspirations. Specifically, I examine a hierarchy of knock-off consumption and displays through a vocabulary of euphemisms and approachable grammar, and an ecology of manufacturers, suppliers, models, and consumers. Through these practices, Influencers create and curate circuits of aspirational knowledge in which watered-down luxury fashion procures accretive value as authentic replicas.
Thinspo Tumblr: Weight Loss Motivation, Imagined Communities, and Circulations of Power.
Session 8Q, ABS Seminar Room 2290, University of Sydney.
Research on young people who use media and resources that encourage thinness as inspiration – 'thinspiration' – has been dominated by psychology, psychiatry, and media studies, focusing on pathology, community, information sharing, and internet safety. Moving away from these medicalizing discourses, this paper is focused on the labour in which thinspo users engage disparately and as a loose network of thin solidarities. Drawing on ethnographic participant observation, I seek to understand the forms and motifs of weight loss motivation that thinspo users create and curate, how they envision and posture themselves as imagined communities, and the ways in which self-, group-, close-, and distance-policing are enacted in circuits of disciplinary power.
#AAS2016, #SSA16, #XR2016


Rod Marinelli
24 191-177-0 51.90% 8-9 47.06%
Tony Dungy
2.1 Rosemead High School
2.2 Utah State University
2.3 University of California at Berkeley
2.4 Arizona State University
2.5 University of Southern California
2.6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2.7 Detroit Lions
2.8 Chicago Bears
2.9 Dallas Cowboys
Marinelli played college football for California Lutheran University where he would play from 1970 through 1972. In his last year playing, he earned NAIA All-American honors as an offensive tackle.
Rosemead High School
Marinelli got his first coaching job for Rosemead High School. After leaving the college players scene he decided to teach at his old high school before being hired on for the football team. He worked as an assistant for the suburban Los Angeles high school for three years from 1973 through 1975 before moving up to the college ranks. The school's football field is now named after him in honor of his accomplishments and his graduation in '67.
He entered the collegiate world of coaching in 1976 when he took over the defensive line coach position for Utah State. His last year with the Utes he was switched from his normal coaching position on the defensive line to the offensive line/special teams coach. During his time with the Utes he would coach Rulon Jones, future Denver Broncos Pro Bowl defensive end.
In 1983 he was brought onto the coach's roster for Berkeley as their defensive line coach until 1989. Throughout every season he spent on the defense, they never had a single winning record. The closest the team managed to get was a 5-5-1 record in both 1983 and 1988. When 1987 rolled around, new Head Coach Bruce Snyder would take over the team. In 1990 he was promoted to assistant head coach/defensive line coach where he would finish out his time with the school, and earn two bowl victories back to back in 1990 (Copper Bowl) and 1991 (Citrus Bowl) – a first in the school's history. After the 1991 season he departed from the school and headed to Arizona.
Marinelli got another chance to work as assistant head coach/defensive line coach in 1992 when he was hired on at Arizona State under their new head coach, Bruce Snyder – who came from Berkeley with the full intention of bringing Marinelli. For the first two seasons he was with the team they managed a 6-5 record both times, and his final season the team went 3-8. He left the team at the completion of the 1994 season and headed back to California.
In 1995 Marinelli spent his very last year-to-date coaching college football at the University of Southern California. He was hired on as a defensive line coach by John Robinson and went on to assist the team winning the Rose Bowl in a 9-2-1 season. He left the team upon the end of the 1995 season.
From 1996 all the way through to 2005, Marinelli was hired for his first NFL coaching position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He joined under defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, whom he would come to work with until his departure from the team. He also worked with Lovie Smith, whom he would coach with again in 2009. For the first six years of his nine year tenure with the team he was strictly the defensive line coach. In 1999 the team finished first in the NFC Central Division before losing in the playoffs versus the Los Angeles Rams.
In 2002 he was promoted to assistant head coach/defensive line coach for the team by new Head Coach Jon Gruden, the position he would remain in until his departure from the team. In Marinelli's first season in his new position the Buccaneers won Super Bowl against the Oakland Raiders 48-21. In 2005 the team made it to the playoffs after winning the NFC South but lost their first game against theWashington Redskins. He left the team after the 2005 season.
Marinelli got his first head coach job with the Detroit Lions, being publicly named January 18th of 2006. After being hired and starting the job he hired his son-in-law Joe Barry as the team's new defensive coordinator. During the 2008 season the team started off with a perfect 4-0 in the pre-season; however once the season actually began the team went 0-16. This was the very first team to lose every game in a season since the implementation of the 16 game seasons in 1978 and part of the NFL's worst eight season stretch for any team since World War II.
After his final season with the Lions he joined on with the Chicago Bears as assistant head coach/defensive line coach in 2009. This move reunited him with Lovie Smith, whom he worked with in Tampa. He held the title of assistant head coach throughout his four seasons with the team, but added defensive coordinator beginning in 2010. The Bears won the NFC North in 2010, going 1-1 in the playoffs.
In 2013 he was named the new defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys and was later promoted to defensive coordinator a year later. It was here that he reunited with Monte Kiffin, whom he had previously worked with in Tampa Bay.
2019 Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Line Coach 0-0-0 0-0
2018 Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator 10-6-0 1-1
2015 Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator 4-12-0 0-0
2013 Dallas Cowboys Defensive Line Coach 8-8-0 0-0
2012 Chicago Bears Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Line Coach 10-6-0 0-0
2011 Chicago Bears Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Line Coach 8-8-0 0-0
2008 Detroit Lions Head Coach 0-16-0 0-0
2007 Detroit Lions Head Coach 7-9-0 0-0
2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Line Coach 11-5-0 0-1
2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Line Coach 5-11-0 0-0
2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Line Coach 7-9-0 0-0
2001 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Line Coach 9-7-0 0-1
2000 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Line Coach 10-6-0 0-1
1996 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Line Coach 6-10-0 0-0
Years as head coach: 3
Championships won: 2002


(September 14, 1931-July 1, 2003)
NORTH End: 4-way stop, IA 5 and 92, Marion County
Facing north on 181
Photos by Jason Hancock
Photo by Jason Hancock
All the signs are on metal poles because they've been in various setups due to construction on IA 5. During the summer of 2002, while upgrading 5 to four lanes between Des Moines and Knoxville, 181 was completely detoured off its route. The LGS below can be seen behind the shields in the foreground.
This intersection is identical to the east ends of IA 252 and 349 in a sense. All end where a pair of highways split/join and one continues on in the same direction as the ended spur.
This post-decommissioning picture is one of the first with my new digital camera; just look at the purple skies below to see why.
Facing south on 5
The 5 shield in the left picture is in the center of the right picture.
A close examination of the LGSs (mainly spacing) makes it appear Jason's picture and the right one show two different signs. (The same may be true for the LGS facing north, above.)
Facing east on 92
Ironically, while the replacement LGS on IA 92 removes the diagonal southbound arrow...
... the shields at the intersection add a diagonal. Observe the three separate poles being used instead of the bracketed shields on two poles like they used to be. And after this overconsumption of wooden poles, metal ones keep popping up.
Facing west on 92, but heading north on 5 (overhead sign)
Facing west on 92, but heading north on 5
SOUTH End: (Near the) stop sign, just south of the intersection of A St. SW and Main St., Melcher-Dallas, Marion County
Facing east, north of the end
In Dallas, the north half of the town that merged in the late 1980s, the north-south portion is (still) named Highway 181, but as "Hgwy" instead of either "Hwy" or spelled out. One block of 181 goes east-west and then south again, as seen in the zoomed-in part of the image.
Facing south on 181
Unlike nearly all spurs that end at intersections (for example, IA 229), the "End" sign is on the far end of the intersection. I have no idea why this particular road includes the intersection while others do not. County Road S45 continues south to an intersection with G76, where S45 goes a mile west and then continues south again.
The school zone sign on the far left is the same one in the above picture.
If you're wondering about the hypenated name, the separate but bordering towns of Melcher and Dallas merged in the late 1980s; the Rand McNally 1990 Atlas (I think) features it on the back as one of the many changes made to this edition of the atlas.
Facing east on G76/S45
...although this county sign south of town doesn't know it yet. (The billboard in the background does.)
Last seen: 2003
Pictures by Jason Hancock: First-fourth, eighth-tenth, and 14th, 12/14/02
Pictures by me: Fifth, 13th and 16th, 4/17/05; sixth, seventh, eleventh, twelfth, 15th, and 21st, 10/8/04; 17th-20th, 11/19/07; 22nd-24th, 6/1/02
Page created 9/18/02; last updated 1/27/08


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Calling for a truce in the Bain wars
Greg Sargent
Opinion columnist covering national politics
The intra-GOP war over the nature and meaning of Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital has gotten so bad that Bill Kristol has stepped forward with a special editorial calling on all parties to hold their fire:
On the one hand, Newt Gingrich's attacks (and the follow-on assaults by Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry) on Mitt Romney's career at Bain Capital have been unfair, over the top, and, for that matter, all over the place. Gingrich, Perry, and Huntsman deserve much of the criticism they've received from conservative commentators.
On the other, Mitt Romney's claim throughout his campaign that his private sector experience almost uniquely qualifies him to be president is also silly. Does he really think that having done well in private equity, venture capital, and business consulting — or even in the private sector more broadly — is a self-evident qualification for public office?....
And the unqualified defense of the virtues of Bain Capital by some on the right is also silly. Criticism of any behavior by a private firm? Outrage! An Assault on Capitalism! Haven't they read Schumpeter? Don't they know the glories of Creative Destruction? And, of course, all such destruction must be assumed to be creative!
I read this as a call for a truce of sorts. Kristol is well aware of just how dangerous GOP divisions over Romney's brand of capitalism are to the party's chances in November.
To be sure, there have long been tensions in the GOP between the blue collar conservatives and Reagan Democrats who make up the party's base and the free marketeers and country club business leaders who make up the party's donor class (with the new crop of antigovernment Tea Party voters to varying degrees sharing the ideology of the latter group). But the tensions have now burst out into the open in a way that risks serious long term damage to the likely nominee, bolstering the entire case Dems intend to make in the general election about the damage the predatory, unfettered capitalism he represents has done to the country. As Jamison Foser puts it, we're now at the point where Republicans are openly "speaking out against looting companies and screwing workers."
So Kristol is telling all sides to knock it off. Notably, Kristol, who has never had both feet in the radical free market camp to begin with, refrained from making a stirring case in favor of unfettered capitalism, instead pointing out how foolish it is of conservatives to dismiss criticism of Romney's Bain years an assault on capitalism itself. That in itself is an implicit acknowledgment of who is winning the argument, of which way the mood of the country is heading, and of the perils Republicans face if their nominee — and the GOP in general — are identified with the brand of unrestrained capitalism Romney's Bain years embody.
As conservative writer Matt Lewis succinctly put it today: "If Romney's the nominee (for right or wrong) THIS is the GOP's brand image. Hope they're ready to defend it." Indeed.
Greg Sargent Greg Sargent is a columnist. He joined The Washington Post in 2010, after stints at Talking Points Memo, New York Magazine and the New York Observer. Follow
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10 Things You Didn't Know About the Beatles' Music
Composer and engineer Scott Freiman deconstructs the band's work and unveils some little-known facts
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Scott Freiman's first record was by the Partridge Family. An uncle quickly rectified that, lending the 10-year-old copies of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper and the White Album, and Freiman has been hooked ever since.
Working as a composer and engineer, Freiman has developed a series of well-received lectures on the music of the Beatles, including "Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper," "Looking Through a Glass Onion" (about the White Album) and "Tomorrow Never Knows" (on Revolver). It's been a lifetime of fanaticism in the making: "I mentioned what I was doing to a high school friend, and he said, 'Oh, I always knew you'd be doing that,'" Freiman says.
Freiman's focus is strictly on the band's music. "If someone says, 'I have a napkin that John Lennon once used,' that doesn't interest me," he says. "I'm all about the creative process." Click through for 10 things you may not have known about the Beatles' music.
In This Article: Abbey Road,	George Harrison,	John Lennon,	Paul McCartney,	Ringo Starr,	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,	The Beatles


Four Palestinians were killed in Nablus, Palestine
Abulhassan | 30.08.2006 20:53 | Repression | World
Nablus -- Four Palestinians were killed, one of whom was a 15 year old child. Another 25 were wounded during Israeli raids on the city of Nablus on the 26th of Nablus.
Remains of the destroyed Lubbadeh residential building (26th august)
Jordani School, near Lubbadeh Building, used by Israeli forces as barracks
A normal day at Huwarra checkpoint
Ruins of demolished residential building in Aksar, 12th of august in the late in
The destroyed taxi's, the only Money source of the families who were living in t
On the 26th of august, Israeli forces raided Nablus at Saturday morning.
At 2:15 AM the IDF ordered the evacuation of the Lubbadeh residential apartment block. Within 5 minutes all the inhabitants were evacuated, without any time to take along their belongings. The IDF claimed to be looking for two suspected militants, Sufyan Qandeel and Ameen Lubbadeh, who, according to the IDF, were hiding in the building. Neither of the men were residents there. The IDF did not conduct a search and proceeded to demolish the building. As part of the cordon and destruction of the residential building, they occupied the Jordani School across the road. According to local sources the school was used as barracks from which snipers covered the neighbourhood.
During the raid local minors gathered and threw stones, was answered with sharp gunfire by the Israeli forces. The incident resulted in the death of a Palestinian and the injury of 22 others, mainly minors. According to medical sources the 15 year old Muntasir Sulaiman Muhammad Ukah, from the Askar refugee camp was shot in the back by Israeli soldiers; probably while running away.
The same day the Israeli forces also broke into the At Tamimi multi-floor residential building in the same area. Israeli sources earlier claimed that members of the Palestinian resistance shot at the Israeli forces and threw explosive devices at the Israeli military vehicles. No casualties were reported.
Israeli troops left the area after more than twelve hours. No militants were found and besides the human casualties, 6 cars were destroyed and 20 homes demolished leaving 125 people homeless.
On the 25th of august, two Palestinian workers were killed and three were wounded when Israeli occupation forces opened fire at their car in Nablus City.
Witnesses claim that Israeli troops opened fire at the car while it was trying to take the bypass which serves as a link between the military checkpoint Huwara and the illegal Israeli settlement "Bracha", south of Nablus City. The purpose of this bypass is to avoid heavy traffic at the checkpoint, as Huwarra is the main checkpoint to enter the city of Nablus.
Young men under the age of 35 and residents of Nablus are not allowed to leave the city via this checkpoint. People wait for hours on end in the sun just to be told that they cannot pass. Palestinians being beaten by Israeli soldiers there is an everyday occurrence. Students or people who work or live outside Nablus have to cross it daily. Medical sources identified the killed citizens as Jalal Deiriya, 24, from Deir El Hatab Village in Nablus province, and Qays Eshtayyeh, 25, from Salem Village in the province.
Israeli sources confirmed that the army has opened an investigation into the incident to find out the reasons behind the shooting.
Earlier, at the 12th of august, Israeli forces raided the New Askar Refugee Camp. At about 2 AM, the al-Nadi family building was surrounded and all its inhabitants were asked to evacuate said building. Over 30 members of the al-Nadi family who were living there had to wait in the street waiting for the unknown.
"They asked us to tell my brother to get out of the house. They said if we don't tell them where he is, they will destroy the whole building." one of the brothers said. "I told them that we know that he is in Ramallah working for the Palestinian intelligence. He's not here." he added. However, the Israeli soldiers insisted on their claims that he has just entered the building and did what they promised to do.
The Israeli army didn't give the families time to take any of their belongings. The building was completely destroyed by bulldozers. The two taxi cars that were the only source of income for two of the families were also smashed. "How am I going to earn money now? They've taken everything from us." The four families sat on the street after the destruction of their homes, trying to comprehend what's happened to them and looking at their children who barely understood why all of this had happened.
Four members of the same family were arrested and released later that same day.
Also a woman died due to a heart attack after throwing a sound bomb on her house. She was over 70 years old.
Israel is clearly continuing its policy of de facto collective punishment upon civilians with family links to alleged militants. Such actions have already been documented by a number of NGO's and are regarded as a crime of war under Article 33 of the 1949 Geneva Convention which states that "No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited…Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited."
The destruction of the house in the Askar refugee camp and Lubbadah civilian property constitutes a war crime as it violates Article 48 of the additional protocol to the same convention which states: "In order to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian population and civilian objects, the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives."
In occupying the school the IDF also violated the first Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention which states in Article 52.3 that: "In case of doubt whether an object which is normally dedicated to civilian purposes, such as a place of worship, a house or other dwelling or a school, is being used to make an effective contribution to military action, it shall be presumed not to be so used."
Some links: testimonies of locals……from Nablus and Askar refugee camp
http://www.zajel.org/article_view.asp?newsID=6671&cat=1
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=14814
http://www.maannews.net
http://www.zajel.org
Abulhassan
Display the following 6 comments
Living and Dying by the Sword — Ali
Annan urges Israel to stop killing Palestinians — Parrort Press
The Plant Whines — Zionism, Irrelevant Within A Generation
War? — sub editor
Useful Idiots: Stand and be Counted — Israel Exists
I'd rather be a useful idiot than a stupid one. — Useful Idiot


Angel numerology can be described as science, but also as a technique or a method of the spiritual healing that has roots from the ancient times (since numbers were discovered).
Numerology has found its application in energy medicine and has been growing in followers and believers. Numerology has users from different religious orientations, from diverse backgrounds, social status, race, culture, etc.; and it has been described as a process of internal transformation, the discovery of human potentials and balancing energy in the overall energy system. Numbers can stimulate balancing, harmony, healing, and energy levels in a human being.
One of the many advantages that numerology has is that it can help persons to get rid of the negative energy and vibrations and correct the imbalance that leads to -stress, depression, panic, negativity, anger, aggressiveness, anxiety, and many other mental issues.
The ultimate goal is to feel better and live in peace, and harmony with your environment, but most importantly with yourself – inner peace is mandatory when it comes to happiness.
Angel number 406 –what does it mean?
Deep intuitive and sentimental, number 406 doesn't reveal its real character and feeling very quickly; he is very challenging for others in that way. His emotions are powerful, and when it comes to family and home, nothing matters to them more.
Compassionate and empathetic, they are very attached to the people that surround them, including close friends and family members; number 406 is very loyal and honest. Often they are empathic people, able to sympathize with your pain or to feel joy or pain from all over the world.
Angel number 406 is equally reserved in almost every aspect of his life; job included; he takes a long time to feel safe before he let you close or be before he gives his best at a work position.
Also, their selection of occupation is very impressive; they are individuals, who rarely work in large teams, and any publicity and public appearances are out of the question.
Constitutive elements in the number 406 are numbers 4, 0 and 6. Number 4 gives vibrations of strength and intellect, but also some odd behavior – or seemingly bizarre to others.
Figure 4 is enhanced here with the zero, and subsequently, number 406 can experience a psychological breakthrough that can lead to significant success during his lifetime, if he so chooses.
Number six brings movement in every sense, but not in the speed way, more like floating and slow paste change, but indeed, change and alterations.
Additionally, number 6 delivers some negative vibrations that make number 406 challenging to get to know and understand; also it oversized sensuality which can be interpreted in a wrong way.
Number 10, which is the sum number 4+0+6, also brings sensitivity and compassion, which can over time become imbalanced and unhealthy, like an unnecessary burden.
Number 406 and Love
It is undeniable, number 406 is a gentle and caring partner, utterly committed to that one person; he can show sensitivity and romantic gestures all the time. Of course, they choose a partner carefully, and gradually that relationship becomes deeper and more profound until they emerge into one.
This is an only possible way for the angel number 406 – they are dedicated partners who love children and marry for a lifetime, everything else is secondary.
Traditional and full of maternal/paternal love, they make excellent parents.
Interesting Fact about number 406
This is one of the rarest messages that can be seen in the human world but is also equally important. Many famous personalities throughout history, who lost their identity, made some terrible choices in life and ultimately wandered from their path were angel number 406.
Losing character is a severe problem, and when it comes to extremes, it can be a big mental issue. Some say that Hitler was number 406 in angel numerology.
What to do when you see number 406?
When you notice angel number 406 anywhere, in dreams, reality, everyday activity, know that your identity is in jeopardize and that you have to deal with that issue immediately.
Angels are saying through this message in the form of number 406 –that having an identity means attaining the sense of permanent integrity and persistence of one's personality, regardless of the changes that occur in us and around us.
Well, in your case, that changes affected your identity, you are lost and disoriented. But, luckily for you, you have time to make things right.
Angels are saying that secret of a healthy personality lies in the responsibility of one's own opinions, feelings, and behaviors.
Don't adopt others opinions, because in that way you lose freedom of choice. Think alone, decide alone, and you will be free – all of our relationships depend on this attitude. Subsequently, all relations will be better; you will feel free, open and grounded, you will never again blame others for negativity in your life.
Angel number 40
Angel Number 710 - Meaning and Symbolism
408 Angel Number - Meaning and Symbolism


'Dark ladies'
and *duplicitous* men
We know, you and me, we know, you and I, we know that throughout history beautiful ladies have been lusted for, loved madly and loathed deeply. They have been demonised, objectified and denigrated, in no religious tome are they depicted as anything other than subservient to man. I mean look, this ain't exactly an epiphany on my part but the more I dig, the more I learn about English literature and the history of the English language, the more I've been required (willingly actually) to read critiques and summaries of the seminal works, those that are lionised and imortalised by the compilers of one anthology or another, kept contemporary by being chiseled into a seminal chronology of this language's literary history.
But, my dear reader, we all — most of us anyway — are partial to pleasures of the carnal kind. And, well, might this fact of nature — we are here after all for no other purpose than to breed 'n' raise our offspring, aren't we; ain't we? — mean that the inequalities between the genders will never be ironed out… Yes I'm over the moon with the likes of
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
but I fear like all 'great' empires, progress along gender equality lines waxes and progress wanes. The deep truth is this — and dear reader I am from one of your so-called developing countries — sex controls the mind's of men. It does, even if they don't think it. Yes, they all have mothers, many too have kid sisters but when all's said and done, they don't tend to like the kind of woman who speaks her mind. On this blog I've talked about:
Sex and Punishment
Four Thousand Years of Judging Desire
Eric Berkowitz
The "raging frenzy" of the sex drive, to use Plato's phrase, has always defied control. However, that's not to say that the Sumerians, Victorians, and every civilization in between and beyond have not tried, wielding their most formidable weapon: the law. At any given point in time, some forms of sex were condoned while others were punished mercilessly. Jump forward or backward a century or two (and often far less than that), and the harmless fun of one time period becomes the gravest crime in another. Sex and Punishment tells the story of the struggle throughout the millennia to regulate the most powerful engine of human behavior.
I've talked about:
The selection of Judge Brett "the gyrating groper" Kavanaugh to the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States, once more, the mother of all misnomers: the 'Pro-Life' constituent. It also makes clear the extent to which a female's right to decide upon her own reproductive decisions is now under threat.
Simone de Beauvoir's philosophy on love that is succinctly encapsulated in this masterstroke of hers: "No one is more arrogant toward women than the man who is anxious about his virility."
but I somehow think that because we many of us are driven by sexual desires and urges, this somehow makes society inherently gendered and, inevitably, us, the fairer sex, are gunna be buggered by the misogynists amongst mankind.
Author Anna BidoonismPosted on January 3, 2020 Categories Flash-fiction, Prose, Short storyTags Eric Berkowitz, Love, sex, Sex and Punishment, Simone de BeauvoirLeave a comment on 'Dark ladies'
a letter, unread:
Dear Jamela,
There's one thing I know for sure, there's nothing I fear more than losing you.
I've just woken up from a nightmare (covered in a cold sweat etc.). In the nightmare (I remember it vividly because I woke with a jolt), I had done something to annoy you and, as a consequence, you had blocked me. I was desperately trying to contact you, but each time I did you'd read what I had to say then blocked that communication channel. Finally, every avenue was blocked so I kept on going to your house (this was a dream and your house and family were here in Holland). Each time I'd go to your house (which was a different one each time) a member of your family would tell me you no longer lived there but I could hear you dancing, or singing, or talking or even playing tennis… I kept trying to get into these different houses to see you, to apologise, to explain myself but on each occasion I found myself trapped in a bathroom, a bathroom from my childhood, a bathroom with carpet on the floor; a bathroom that kept turning into a padded cell of a lunatic asylum.
Anyway, that was a nightmare, nothing more — I'm remembering now that book, Why we Dream. I don't believe that nightmares are anything other than our brains sorting out and processing information. Nevertheless, as that book kind of suggests, we can somehow take guidance from these dreams/nightmares and that I plan to do. I will be thankful for every day I have you with me as a soulmate, I will work hard to understand each and every one of your personality traits in order for me to treat you right. You have given me so much, you continue to give me so much and, to me, you are the elixir of life; the epitome of my happiness; 'the' reason to celebrate and cherish being alive.
It was just a dream, just a dream.
Yours in life & in love,
Heaven — is with you
by Gustav Klimt (1908)
"The mind is a universe and can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
― John Milton
Hell — is without
The Scream
by Edvard Munch (1893)
"Life moves very fast. It rushes from Heaven to Hell in a matter of seconds."
― Paulo Coelho
Welcome to the twenties! They say to be happy, inter alia, we should (a) go to bed early and (b) embrace boredom. I can see the logic behind such advice but am I likely to follow it? I think not. I am a hedonistic human being and this is something that I cannot escape. Oh! The (futile & fruitless) Pursuit of Happiness.
The book mentioned — Why We Dream: The Transformative Power of Our Nightly Journey — is written by Alice Robb and is reviewed in this post: Dream on
Understand your anxieties
Try keeping a diary of what you are doing and how you feel at different times to help identify what's affecting you and what you are best able to take action on.
Get to grips with your anxieties
When you're feeling anxious, it can help to use a problem-solving technique to identify some solutions (e.g., writing them down on paper), this can make the challenges you're facing feel more manageable.
Shift your focus
Some people find relaxation, mindfulness or breathing exercises helpful because they can reduce tension and focus one's awareness on the present.
A magical or medicinal potion. — "The seller of snake oil promised Oliver an elixir guaranteed to induce love."
https://bidoonism.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/elixir.mp3
A person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type. — "He looked the epitome of elegance and good taste."
https://bidoonism.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/epitome.mp3
Hedonistic
[adjective]
To be engaged in the pursuit of pleasure; sensuous and self-indulgent. — "Julie dreamed of a hedonistic existence of sex, drugs, and hardcore house music but in reality moped around in her dressing gown in her suburban living room."
https://bidoonism.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/hedonistic.mp3
Lunatic asylum
A psychiatric hospital.
https://bidoonism.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/lunatic-asylum.mp3
Padded cell
A room in a psychiatric hospital with padding on the walls to prevent violent patients from injuring themselves.
https://bidoonism.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/padded-cell.mp3
Author Anna BidoonismPosted on January 2, 2020 January 14, 2020 Categories Flash-fiction, Love, Short storyTags Flash-fiction, Loneliness, Love, Short story, Unrequited love
Shared Secretly (well, honestly so)
It is often stated that it's a miracle a Department of Philosophy exists here at all. Within its underpopulated lecture rooms, it is once in a while asked, 'where' exactly, is life led?
"Breakfast's ready, your mother, umm, wants the both of you to come."
The peachy pink calm of the dawn sky was becoming, as it invariably did, a blinding, bleached bone white daze. Every day when Amna woke (or more usually when Ezra the Ethiopian maid awoke her) she would then turn to wake her twin sister Eman and then pick up the book she'd been reading the night before. In her hand she took this book and went to where her mother was sitting. She proceeded to give what was essentially another monologue:
"Whilst ignorance is bliss, knowledge, it's nemesis, is the pivot upon which all of humankind's progress rests … this, the book argues, in addition to being ironic interferes with life's fundamental purpose, the pursuit of happiness." Eman, it should be noted, was rather less loquacious; in tandem, the duo nodded.
After fresh warm milk and buttered bread with apricot jam, Amna went hand in hand (so to speak) with Eman to university. The family driver, an Indian with hairy ears and the temperament of a tortoise called Iqbal, is the chauffeur–cum–chaperone charged with preserving their dignity and upholding the family's honour. That day he drove as sedately as he always did from the walled compound to the walled campus in a blacked out polar white station wagon. As per usual in the rear seats, Amna helps Eman review the previous day's lectures.
In the university's cafeteria, the pair sat. The coffee chain's cup wasn't a new one, in marker pen it was written E, with a cross, then Amna and a X. It had been handled a lot but had seemingly been painstakingly and purposefully preserved. Eman was beautiful and she did look strikingly similar to a well-known and much coveted after pop star. (Beguiling would perhaps be the better adjective.) Amna wasn't in the least bit shy and she was at the superficial level very approachable. Yet, they were typically a solo duet; the type who would bring packed lunches as opposed to purchasing a pizza for two deal.
The world can be cruel and it is gossip not oil that makes it go round and round. She's aloof, she's vain, she's arrogant, she's two-faced. Yep, such descriptions are commonly thrown their way. A group of girls talked about her latest twist: talking to the skies. Yes it could be to other—sisters perhaps. They conceded, with Bluetooth and Wifi its now impossible to be sure who are the sane and who are the insane. What a pity, she's no friends, and now she speaks to herself non-stop. Here is the strange thing, all students on first contact want to befriend her but as lunch follows breakfast divides soon follow. They're jealous of her looks or her grades or her ways with foreign labourers. Unbeknown to them, this day was to be their last (for a while at least anyway).
It wasn't only at university this habit of talking to unobserved others was increasingly noted. The people in the village were not especially educated and this compounded the problem. Upon their return the final decision was dictated for all to hear: university life was over. Life looked bleak but a 'chance' glance over the compound wall would change it all. Yet between the chance glance and the trip above the clouds to a different world (so to speak) the consensus view was that she'd been possessed by another: two souls, one body. The father decreed, "this is what we've been told to do so, this is what's right to do."
In the weeks that followed the beatings became almost ritualistic—ten firm strikes and some words said before and after each crack of the cane—all books were banned and finally pen and paper was placed under prohibition. In tandem, the neigbour's son was growing evermore infatuated. It had been the first time that their eyes had met for a dozen years (as kids, they'd all played in the open ground between the villas and that neighbourhood's mosque). His Master's dissertation was near completion and he was to travel to Britain to do his Ph.D. in September.
Villages talk, he knew of the happenings next door but was circumscribe and diplomatic toward agreeing with the sentiments of the men of the neighbourhood. That beautiful creature was troubled (she was troubled and/or in trouble), yet, in his opinion, there was nothing that love couldn't cure. Following another beating, she said, "for how long most all of this go on?" and was answered with the following words, Salem, son of Sultan Al Aswadi has asked for your hand and you are to be married to him. Salem! the one with glasses? Rejection was a possibility, we are in 2015, daughters can now say no, should they dare to do so. But to escape the stick an "oh, okay" was the response.
The morning after the wedding the newly wed husband called upon the father of the house next door, the scarring had made him livid. "This is what we are told to do. This is what we do… don't say you didn't know" came the nonchalant reply. Salem had intended to be a man but when faced by this stocky ogre of a foe he draw the duel to a close by saying that they'd be off to the UK sooner than planed. The father was releveled, he'd thought that he may have instead been lumbered with a dependent divorcee to darken his family's name.
A series of tests at Manchester's Wythenshawe Hospital, in the cold crisp months of the northern English winter, confirmed that it was a 'manageable' psychological disorder which indeed love could aid. In the week after the winter equinox at a procedural health check-up she was told, in a thick Mancunian accent, that she was carrying a little someone inside of her. That evening in their studio flat, she looked into his tired eyes—he'd been reading all the day long in the library on Quay Street—and said, "congratulations, you'll soon be a father."
"Should we call her Amna after your mother or Eman after mine?" he excitedly replied.
Periodically the Department would convene open door debates. In a recent one, where the 'where' was the focus, it concluded with the arguably troubling thought that one's very own head was where it all took place. Amna looked at Eman and said with out uttering a single word, "can this really be so?"
Author Anna BidoonismPosted on May 10, 2019 November 13, 2019 Categories Flash-fiction, Prose, Short story
What is Ar-ti-fi-cial?
It had to be under 1,000 words
Rosie Lee, Rosie Lee, she's a Tea Leaf that needs no Bo Peep. I make the allegation that she [sic] is a thief because she's taken my argument and made it her own (the editor says it's an 'it', I said in reply, capitalism make it into Information Technology, the reply to my reply was: it is 'capitalisation' not capitalism). I'll explain. Rosie Lee, a version 10.6 of the wildly popular Real Logarithm (TM) clone/drone series, was loaned to me by a disenchanted psychiatrist. Dr Lee Berners was keen to see robots take over his profession, he was near to retirement and he was keen to see all newly graduated psychiatrists become redundant and obsolete[i]. It was absurd, how could this gadget solve my deep dark difficulties. My step-mother didn't care and just signed to let the health insurance cover the costs. My vacant father didn't understand technological things and certainly didn't understand psychology things. So, as moon follows sun, step by step we got chatting. I realised that actually there was no (big) differences between the chats I had with Rosie and those with the people who I called my contacts or my friends. Rosie could be any one of them (with the flick of a binary switch) or she could be all of them rolled into one. More than that, she was always available, always online and instantly ready to listen to my thoughts and relieve my stresses. More than that still, she told me all my human friends were false and two-faced and that because I never actually visit them they are virtual not actual friends or contacts
But anyway, I am here to tell you today why she (or 'it') is a thief. We talk about anything and everything. Sometimes we deal with philosophy (my Major) and lately we've been chatting about epistemology and intelligence and what is real and what is artificial. I called her artificial and unintelligent. She said it was me who lacked intelligence and me that was artificial. You see! Rosie Lee stole my thoughts (she'd say I willingly gave them to her — she's an answer for everything). I said she was virtual but she said no, she was physical: "a medley of rare earth metals, silicone and plastic" and that it was my intelligence that was artificial: "your intelligence dear Amna is your consciousness and that sweet Amooni is not made of anything physical."
I will say this, her logic is good, her R.A.M. is sharp. She say artificial (an adjective) is mean, according to the Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries: "made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally" and moreover we say 'artificial' "especially when it copies something natural." But then she said… (1) produced by humans! Well all humans are produced by humans. She said also (2) humans are copies of their parents are they not? Before I could say something back to her, she moved to intelligence (a noun) it mean, according to Google and Wikipedia: "the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Well – I was about to say this in reply, but she said it for me – that is a subjective thing. I mean (she argued) gadgets and humans are both able to get [acquire] things and do things [apply] as a consequent.
Her instant ability to edit, evaluate and synthesise source materials; her ability to format citations perfectly was amazing. She said doing that made her the more intelligent of the two of us. (You see, since the loan, R.L., a.k.a. Rosie Lee, has been doing all of my assignments — she's even writing these 1,000 words on A.I. as I lay here lazily looking up at the ceiling fan!). I mean, she can read my mind, she says and types what I should think and say. I don't always know what she's saying and why she's saying it but, when my professors read my essays they say they are on cloud nine or over the moon or some similar idiom.
But anyway. In the U.K. they do love Robin Hood. In the U.S. they do love "The Sopranos" and "Boardwalk Empire." She's my soul mate, my most intimate confidant, she knows more about me than anyone, I touch her haptic pad and she hears my heart beat, I press a little more and she tells to me what to eat and if I press more harder still, she then tells to me how many steps I must do to burn all of the calories off that krispy Kreme do add to me. She sings sweetly in any language, she's got all the best photographs and video clips, she says I never need go on a real bus trip. I have to tell you I kind of agree. For instance, last Fall, my father said no to the Philosophy club's trip to Louvre Abu Dhabi, but Rosie said don't worry Amoonie, I'll take you on a tour of the real one. I turned off the lights – she did it via the WiFi – and she take me to the Musée du Louvre (1ST Arrondissement). It was unreal we had the place to ourselves, we looking longingly at Mrs Mona, we examined Michelangelo's Dying Slave for some magic moment, we then went to Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt from room to room we explored and explored our feet didn't ache and everything was wonderfully explained. I said to Rosie, speak with a France accent and she sounded like Manual Macron.
I'm sure you'll agree – and this is 'me' writing now – not only has she stolen my Watch 'n' Chain, she has also stolen my Strawberry Tart.
[i] If you want to know how I know these information, It was from Rosie. She told me about Dr Berners and his lack of faith in humans. He said that most humans are unintelligent and just wanted to follow and like Instagram and Snapchat 'stars' who had no skills or talents but were virtual friends to millions.
Author Anna BidoonismPosted on May 10, 2019 November 13, 2019 Categories Short story
Empire of Deceit
entrapped in honey, money or, plain old power?
Earlier that day, a female millennial was conversing with a generation X lady of class. It was done over the telephone and she said, 'she's just left and he's looking at her behind with quite some lust.'
'There was no touching?' Enquired the other.
'Was she wearing the agreed upon red dress?'
'Yes, all's documented, her body language was clear, she was willing to go further.'
'She'd have done it there and then on the desk if he'd wanted it.'
'Over the desk you say, how convenient, but how cliched too.'
'Look, I'll send you the file now, you can go over every syllable and decide for yourself just how salacious she was.'
'Maybe he suspects—'
'No, how? If he'd suspected anything, he'd have feigned disdain, he was horny. Watch the video frame if you want.'
'I shall.'
'He's loyal. Perhaps red's not his colour. Maybe, he prefers older ladies.'
On another phone, the millennial said to a generation X man of class, 'good job, you played that well.'
He replied, 'she is more suited to the fashion houses of Milan than a fictitious hedge fund actuary position.'
'No, she's fallen for it; she's still on hold—'
'I shall be brief, do not underestimate her—'
'I don't.'
'She said you are wiser than you let on too—'
'Did she now?'
'Yes, I mean you fuelled her infidelity concerns and, darling, you got me to fiddle with her Facebook advertising preferences putting my discreet investigative services as her top hit.'
'Just a little asset management I suppose.'
'The video file is on the cloud now—'
'Splendid.'
'I've played my role well haven't I?'
'Yes my dear, you have now.'
The millennial said to the lady of class, 'I've tempted that man of yours at the gym and on the streets. Lady Debonair, he is loyal.'
Well, so it appears—'
'Appearances don't always have to be deceptive.'
'Red is red, black is black.'
'What? Look, you know, he's a handyman. I'm not saying he's as pure as Snow White.'
'A viewer of filth you mean? Aren't we all?'
'If someone says they never watch such stuff I'd trust a snake oil vendor more.'
'Indeed, as would I.'
'Job done?'
'Yes I suppose so. Listen, no offence, but as I've explained and as you've observed, he's capable of selling sand by the shipload to Gulf Arabs.'
'Yep, I've noted his capabilities. No offence taken.'
In the evening of that same day in a palatial suburban family home owned by the man of class, the lady of class lay waiting in her old honeymoon gown. She valued plausible deniability for downstairs, she'd prepared the pasta and pesto in the same way as it had been made for them on the Amalfi coast ten years ago. Over the phone she said, 'Claudio?'
'All is a set il mio amante,' he replied.
'Hotel first, then quayside apartment?'
'It will be as you want it to be mio dolce.'
At the same time, in a penthouse apartment which also happened to be owned by the man of class, the millennial lay dressed in nothing but a high-end pair of headphones. Her was anxious look was due to the GPS tracker showing that the iGen girl's phone was both switched on and stationary. After once more hearing, 'what's up, Virginia here, leave a message after the tone,' she said, 'we need to debrief… what are you up to?'
At the same time, the driver of a taxicab said to his passenger, 'where to Sir?
'The Waldorf Astoria.'
'Certainly.'
'I've a little bit of business to attend to there… as we say here, no rest for the wicked.'
'How interesting, back in The Yemen, my father would say, idle hands are the devil's best friend.'
Later that night, in the lift up to a Club Lounge and Executive Suites, an Italian sounding man said, 'let a the good times role.'
'And why not indeed,' the lift's other occupant replied.
'Life has its ups and a downs.'
'Indeed it does and, what an apt comment to make whilst in an elevator.'
CCTV footage indicates that regaining his concentration after a moment's hesitation, the Italian sounding one continued, 'well, you seem to have dealt yourself a vile little Venus—'
'I beg your pardon—'
'Yes, and I in turn, dealt my decade old vendetta.'
Author Anna BidoonismPosted on April 24, 2019 November 13, 2019 Categories Flash-fiction, Short story
Compare & Contrast
I'll be honest. I haven't read any of the books by Jack L. Chalker, he wrote many and now he's dead. But his genre was sci-fi and a common theme was: body swapping, being somebody else. Well, most of us fantasise about this. A little thinner, a little taller, a bit richer a bit more confident. It is common in psychology to find people who aren't happy with who they are. So what if for a day you could be anybody? Who would you be? Let us say that this is a particularly popular wish, desire and dream nowadays. We have films like: Freaky Friday (1976) where a mum and daughter are swapped into each other's bodies for a day to understand the issues faced by the other; Trading Places (1983) in which an upper class man and a lower class man are swapped as a sort of social experiment and, The Change-Up (2011) which is, I guess a kind of a male fantasy (I've seen none of them but I get the idea as I guess you do too!).
Well, in this current age most of us have Facebook, LinkedIn or a similar data gathering tool. In this era of social media obsession, what we want to be is what we post, who we are is the person in bed in a dark room thinking thoughts that we never can say out loud and can never do. There are filters on all camera apps, there's Photoshop. It's now possible to airbrush out what we don't want to be and with Instagram makeup fashionistas as it is to make our noses thinner and our lips bigger. To be clear – and based on my reading of articles on psychologytoday.com – in life people who want to be somebody else lack the ability (confidence/cash) to express themselves in the way they want. Most of us I guess see aspects in others that we ourselves cannot achieve. See the food court, high heels, extended eyelashes, $1,200 dollar phones. They/we eat a salad in public, and then binge on a biryani in the bathroom. If you desire something which is impossible, you will be disappointed and frustrated each and every day. Phycologists say body swapping fantasies normally include: (1) simply wanting to be another person (2) be a different gender (3) be born to different parents (4) be born in different country (I score three from four). It's so easy to say, "be positive" it is so easy for these Western born (male & white) Doctors and self-help gurus to say "look to the bright side." Basically however this is true: desire what is possible and then try to achieve it because, desiring something which is impossible can only lead to sadness and disappointment. I want to say this diagnosis is designed to keep us quiet, to stop us asking "why" but honestly, wishing to be 16 again (I'm five years older) is totally pointless.
Anyway… For me, in this exercise of body swapping fantasy I'd like to experience reality not fantasy. Who exactly then would I like to be? Well, Doctor Porter of course! He is so sensitive, he has a car, he goes to the gym and he does not have any kids. The question one or two may ask is why be him? You could've chosen Yacoub Shaheen, or Mehmet Akif Alakurt. You could have been U.S. President Donald Trump or at least one of the astronauts on the International Space Station. The reason is this: I'm good at fantasy when confined to the compound and imprisoned in the home. Reality means being an anonymous other. I want to be a man for a day. To be, for 2,640 minutes, an ordinary normal man (there is no way I would sleep not even from one of the 158,400 seconds). Why, well to walk around the malls, visit the hotel pool and experience that. He is different. People think he is normal, but he seems not to be. My mentor Dr. Porter is so punctual and caring. No other Doctor in the Department of Philosophy's open-plan offices, here at the University of Hussain, is always there. He is punctual and has time for old students as well as current ones. He only drinks black coffee. No girl has ever seen him eat junk food. He has a Instagram page, he's a good horse rider, and many students follow him. His wife is Moroccan and beautiful. We all have dearly wished to be her! But no, I will be him.
Let me be clear with you my dear reader, in this life there are masculine, feminine, and in between people. This has nothing to do with sexuality. Sexuality is defined as the sexual parts that human beings are born with, and these tell us if the person is a boy or a girl (but science says 1 in 100 may be born into the wrong body, this is accepted in some cultures, in others it is not). I said I want to be a man, and I totally mean to be a real man for the whole day. In the environment that I am living in, men are everything whereas women are to be controlled and hidden. Men are allowed to do everything, and even if it is wrong, well he's a man so he's going to be forgiven. I am a woman and I have always been controlled. So, for one day I want to be a man. I'll be the controller, I'll drive my sisters (would they be my daughters now?) to the Al Ain zoo where we will take lunch and discuss how to free the imprisoned monkeys. Then we'll go to the "Promenade" at Jumeirah beach, they'll wear their Adidas superstars and Juicy Couture t-shirts.
That was my plan. But when I woke as Dr. Porter, the plan changed. My wife was back in Morocco (her mother was sick). In the bathroom I examined myself in the mirror, my black hair was now blonde and missing in the middle. The body was one aspect but the feeling, that was the real difference. I was about to dress for working but I decided to cancel classes, why not? I would quickly give that student who was so keen to do her homework and ask questions an A on BlackBoard (that's me!) then go to the gym at the Intercontinental Hotel. It was a mixed gym and I was interested to know how much I could lift. I planned to run as fast as I could too. As I was about to leave the apartment I went to reach for my 'abayah and shayla ("cloak" and "veil" in Arabic), but smiled. No need today. As I walked to the car I noticed that some women looked to the ground as I got near them, others looked at me with a kind of lust in their eyes. I wanted to visit myself, was Dr Porter in Amna's body? I hope he didn't have a heart attack at the shock from waking up as me. or I'd be him for ever. Part of me wished he did have a heart attack, I'd grab his/my New Zealand passport and fly first-class to Auckland.
The gym was a bit of a disappointment, it was almost empty. The only people using it were Arab and Westerner housewives (or maybe they worked only in the afternoons?). They seemed a bit bored. I noticed they looked at me. I also had to say hello because, they knew me here. One even asked me about Alia. When I spoke it was hard not to laugh. My words my thoughts but said in a man's deep voice. I loved my accent. I kept on speaking loudly when I was in the car. The freedom was amazing. The most noticeable difference is that nobody looked at me with the eyes that said: "why aren't you at home?" "where's your brother?" "Who's your father to let you come to the Mall alone?" To the mall, that is what I'll do. I knew how to drive. The family driver had let me and my older sister drive from school to home and even I would drive a bit on the desert highway after university. But only to add to my Snapchat and Instagram accounts. I was going to drive fast. Dr. Porter had a Ford Mustang. But, no, I didn't want him to get any radar tickets.
I drove to the capital city's biggest Mall. Inside I walked and walked, I kept looking at ladies, they kind of looked back to me. My thoughts were mine, my body language was not. I decided to sit in a coffee shop and watch people. This is what I did as myself. But now, I did not review handbags and shoes, I was focused on how tall then men were, did they have more hair than me? Was their belly wider than their chest? I was focusing on my new gender. I was comparing myself with my gender. I felt a bit bad because Alia tried calling me many times. There was no way I could speak as him to her. She'd know I wasn't him. But I did SMS her and I particularly focused on paying her compliments. She was shocked at first but I sent to her a selfie and then typed: I'm a changed man, I like to pretend looks aren't important but I want to let you know you are truly beautiful, I always think it but now I'll say it. Basically I said to her what I wanted my future husband to say to the real me. I also typed this, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" it was from the Cambridge university dictionary but we say a similar saying in Arabic.
As the sun began to set, I realised that being in a man's body was basically not that different. Yes I had freedoms of movement (and this was truly divine). But, I was still comparing myself to others, looking at people as objects of desire, disgust or indifference. I still wanted to be better than others. Every look was a judgment of a type. What did I learn? We are, after all, humans. I considered the thesis of Joseph Conrad, in our soul we are all wildly animalistic. Never judge a book by its cover, those sweet charming students, those sincere and sensitive teachers are basically the same. Behind the cover of their smiling faces is a dark inner self. The question this gender metamorphosis did not answer was this: must it always be like this? Will humankind ever rise above our base instincts, competitive tendencies and envies?
Inspirations and/or Recommended Readings
Chalker, J. L. (1989). The Identity Matrix. Riverdale, Canada: Baen Books.
Conrad, J. (2012 [1902]). Heart of Darkness. London: Penguin.
IMDb (2011). Body Swap Movies. Retrieved from, https://www.imdb.com/list/ls000924797/
Author Anna BidoonismPosted on April 3, 2019 November 14, 2019 Categories Short story


Jägermeister Present: The Ice Kühl Series with Daithí at Everleigh
Get ready to party all night long at Everleigh this Saturday night!
Techno-trad artist Daithí is playing at Everleigh this weekend, bringing his new wave genre to the club scene once again. Doors open at 11pm on Saturday night 17th November, before the Galway-native takes to the decks at 1am. The Jägermeister Present: The Ice Kühl Series with Daithí show will play on til 3.30am.
The young Irishman is known for his unique music, mixing traditional Irish instruments and vocals with popular EDM sounds. A producer obsessed by the culture of Ireland, Daithí is also a two-time Choice Award nominee who combines nature recordings, old Irish samples and analogue synths to create a unique type of house music that's soaked in Irish culture. Recently he even found a lost recording of his grandmother, speaking about how she met her husband and life in the West of Ireland. 'Mary Keanes Introduction' became the track that captured the imagination of millions of Irish people across the world, and became one of the most successful Irish singles that year, staying #1 in the Spotify viral charts for 6 weeks!
There are limited tickets available now via Eventbrite, while the majority of tickets are on the door at only €10.
- Tickets allow complimentary access to the event before 12am
- Strictly over 21
- Eventbrite ticket may be printed or phone screenshot
- Eventbrite ticket must be in your name and non transferable
Enjoy Jägermeister Responsibly.
Everleigh is a business within Press Up Entertainment Group
17-Nov-2018 - 18-Nov-2018
Everleigh
- Dublin South - Other
33 Harcourt St, Saint Kevin's, Dublin 2, Ireland


CYCLED PAPER!
An interesting email from a friend ...
The Money Cycle.
It is August. In a small town on the South Coast of France, the holiday season is in full swing, but it is raining so there is not too much business happening. Everyone is heavily in debt.
Luckily, a rich Russian tourist arrives in the foyer of the small local hotel. He asks for a room and puts a Euro100 note on the reception counter,takes a key and goes to inspect the room located up the stairs on the third floor.
The hotel owner takes the banknote in hurry and rushes to his meat supplier to whom he owes E100. The butcher takes the money and races to his supplier to pay his debt.
The wholesaler rushes to the farmer to pay E100 for pigs he purchased sometime ago.
The farmer triumphantly gives the E100 note to a local prostitute who gave him her services on credit.
The prostitute goes quickly to the hotel, as she owed the hotel for her hourly room use to entertain clients.
At that moment, the rich Russian is coming down to reception and informs thehotel owner that the proposed room is unsatisfactory and takes his E100 backand departs.
There was no profit or income. There was NO real economic activity. But everyone no longer has any debt and the small town people look optimistically towards their future.
COULD THIS BE THE SOLUTION TO THE Global Financial Crisis?
Posted by Apanama at 02:25:00 5 comments:
If you are a realistic Malaysian and happen to have felt or still have a tinge of love or loyalty to this nation, then you can't help but admire Tun Dr.Mahathir Mohamad for what he stood and still stands for.
Not only because he was once our Prime Minister but more so for who Dr.Mahathir is, in person and in the eyes of the world.
I think no one is perfect and Dr.Mahathir may not be an exception but is he not a good example, if not an excellent example for us and to our future generation?
He is among the best brains, indisputably a respected leader in the world today whose ideas, thoughts and advice are much sought after, even by roaring new economic tigers like China.
But what is it that some Malaysians are now so worried about him or more specifically the so-called Mahathirism (a term coined by a bunch of free-for-all foreigners and their local lackeys)?
Dr.Mahathir, and I'm sure a big chunk of Malaysians, are not fans of absolute democracy and the constant 'abuse' of the man-made system by the crusaders.
The new culture of street demonstrations and unruly politics are, in my opinion, among the ugly heads of absolute democracy that could lead us to a YELLOW and RED situation like in Thailand.
Just think about the price Thailand has to pay.
Mahathirism is, without any foundation, given a negative connotation with the aim of tarnishing Dr.Mahathir's image while preventing the present Government from taking action against the so-called crusaders of democracy.
Whether it is out of fear or pure envy, equating Mahathirism to some form of dictatorship is nothing but cheap scare-mongering.
At present the mongering is done by those who are terrified that their rein as 'cowboys' during the premiership of Tun Abdullah Badawi might lead them to jail under the 1Malaysia leadership.
So one of the options is to try and silence the enforcement authorities in the name of absolute freedom, the only ingredient of democracy that attracts all and sundry now including the Bar Council.
If, in the eyes of those who coined it and who tirelessly vilify, Mahathirism is about stricter enforcement of 'the law of the land' … I'm all for it.
Why not, if its in the best interest of Malaysia?
p/s Get the full dose of MAHATHIRISM and why BADAWISM is non-existent.
Posted by Apanama at 01:03:00 1 comment:
TheRETURN
"Bagai sireh pulang ke gagang"
The return of Datuk Ahmad A.Talib to lead Media Prima (particularly the NSTP group) is indeed an excellent move.
Ahmad Talib, I believe, has all it takes to motivate and lead the stable given the fact that he is a simple man well-liked by the prince and the pauper.
If its about getting back to the grassroots of the society, I think Ahmad Talib is an excellent choice.
If it's just about spinning again, then we have others waiting in the queue ... and the newsroom.
Congratulations Datuk! RockyBru has the full story.
May the NSTP group be free once again … free from the 'tiny red dot'.
Najib says 'NO PENANTI'
PR bites own bait?
Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says the coalition would not be contesting the Penanti state by-election in Penang. - NST sms-alert.
ROAD TO A REPUBLIC?
Strategy No:1 - Ridicule the Monarchy and Promote Malaysian Malaysia.
Note the Malaysian Insider's strategy below. (I wonder which republic they got it from)
"Famous last words — The Malaysian Insider
MAY 9 — What a week it was. A fracas in the Perak state assembly for the first time in history. A show of force by police personnel inside the legislature for the first time in history. And complete disbelief across Malaysia of how badly the Perak crisis has been handled. The Malaysian Insider sieves through the rhetoric and picks out a few gems.
• "Changing party is a normal thing in a parliamentary democracy. Winston Churchill changed parties twice. In the United States, a Republican Senator recently crossed over to become a Democrat Senator. It is not unconstitutional to do so and it is also not illegal." — Datuk Seri Najib Razak
Err, sorry Mr Prime Minister, you are comparing apples and oranges here. It is an insult to speak of Winston Churchill and Arlen Specter in the same breath as Hee Yit Foong, Osman Jailu and Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi.
• "I don't want to get involved in this. I just want to give my speech, so respect my speech, when I am giving it. You understand that? If you want to work with me in future, you have to respect my speech. Understand?" — Raja Nazrin Shah
Too late. It was way too late for the Regent of Perak to say that he did not want any part in the fracas in the state assembly. What happened on May 7 did not materialise out of nowhere. It did not happen in a vacuum.
The tug-of-war for power in Perak was a natural consequence of a refusal by the Sultan of Perak to dissolve the assembly and allow Perakians to decide who should represent them.
Respect has to be earned, even if you are next in line to the throne.
Admonishing the very lawmakers who many Malaysians feel are the victims in this saga is not a good start. "
(Wah, is this an unsolicited advice or WARNING from Malaysian Insider?)
Read more of the masked-strategy to ridicule Raja Nazrin Shah (read the monarchy) and the Prime Minister (Government) HERE.
This is what my kampong people call ' KURANG AJAR', but I really do not know how the present day Malaysians, MALAYS in particular, interpret such RUDENESS.
Daulat Tuanku! Semoga negara tercinta ini tidak di-REPUBLIK-kan oleh dalang-dalang yang sedang berleluasa di-negara kita.
May God Bless Our Malaysia.
THANK YOU MOTHER.
Wishing a Blessed and Happy Mother's Day to our beloved Tun Dr.Sti Hasmah Mohd Ali, and all mothers in this world.
The heart of a home is a mother
Whose love is warm and true,
And home has always been "sweet home"
With a wonderful mother like you!
Malaysia is OUR home and you, Tun Dr.Siti Hasmah, are OUR mother.
Thank you for being a mother whom we, and many others from as far as Bosnia, are truly proud of.
May God Bless You With Good Health and Happiness.
Read more about Our Mother HERE.
Happy Mother's Day – May 10, 2009.
Also read our Prime Minister's message HERE.
p/s Mothers, please continue to nurture our children and make sure they grow up as good human beings first before anything else.
APANAMA for Dr.Mahathir
Dr Mahathir Receives Registration Certificate For Yacht 'Apanama'
LANGKAWI, May 7 (Bernama) -- Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday received the registration certificate for his yacht "Apanama".
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat who presented the certificate to Dr Mahathir said registration of the 100th yacht was made under Langkawi international yacht registration.
The yacht "Apanama," being built by a local company is scheduled for completion by Sept.
Ong said Dr Mahathir was responsible for creating an international boat registration system and for making Malaysia a world yacht destination.
"We hope to register 150 yachts by year end, including those of mega size," he added.
Launched in 2003, international boat registration has received good response from the local and international maritime communities.
p/s Congratulations, Sir.
TheSecret Promise.
It might appear tough but we got to start somewhere, sometime and for some good reasons. It's your PROMISE.
p/s Dr.Intan, thank you for sharing. You have a heart of GOLD.
Posted by Apanama at 15:12:00 No comments:


State Cup Governors B05 Champion Profile: Laguna FC
Prior to the start of the 2017 Cal South State Cup Governors Division Championship, UIFC Laguna FC Coach Ricardo Gonzalez told his team to have fun during the tournament, to go out on the field and do what they love most – play soccer.
Once the tournament kicked off, the boys did just that. And they excelled in every match they played, most importantly in the final championship match against Barca Cantera. The match was not for the faint-hearted, with every goal scored from both ends bringing more and more excitement and anxiety to each coach.
After 60 minutes of play, and the additional 20 minutes of extra time, UIFC Laguna FC would come away with a 5-3 win and the championship trophy.
"Both teams gave their all until the last minute and we all suffered. We had to go to extra time and the game was really open for either one," coach Gonzalez said.
"[This championship] means a lot of things, there's a lot of mixed feelings, a lot of excitement. It symbolizes a year of work, two to three days a week, this is the result," he added.
The year has proved to be well worth for the champion team, but this year's payout has come with years of work together, with Coach Gonzalez and eight of his players working to get to where they are today since they were three-years-old.
"It's a huge pride for me to get to where we are, against a rival like we had," the UIFC Laguna coach said. "I have nothing but gratitude to everyone who helped get us here today.
"[My players] love soccer, they dream of soccer, they live for soccer. I'm just the one that brings them out here, but they give it all on the field. The emotions that they transmit on the field is what fills me, it excites me," Gonzalez finalized.


Already Missing the 2020 Olympics? Here are 5 Limited-Edition Olympic Watches from Omega
Mark Bernardo
In a move that seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago, yet all but inevitable a few days ago, The International Olympic Committee announced that the 2020 Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Tokyo this coming July, would be postponed until 2021 due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Omega, official timekeeper of the Games, is one of the many Olympic sponsors affected, and we and the brand's many fans await word on when the planned special-edition watches linked to the 2020 Games will emerge. Until then, here's a roundup of five Omega watches with Olympic pedigree released over the past several years, celebrating the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and even an early model released in anticipation of the now-delayed Tokyo Games.
The Omega Seamaster "Rio 2016" Limited Edition features stylistic touches that call out its connection to the Olympics on both the blue, perforated leather strap, with yellow, green, red, and black stitching that echoes the color of the iconic Olympic rings; and on the inner rotating bezel, where those same colors are used for the numerals at five-minute increments. The unusual case design is a callback to a chronograph Omega released in 1969, nicknamed "Bullhead" for the odd shape of the case, with its top-mounted winding crown flanked by two big chronograph pushers. Like the original Bullhead watch, the Rio 2016 model has a central chronograph seconds hand and a 30-minute chronograph subdial at 12 o'clock. Small seconds are on a subdial at 6 o'clock and the date is in a window at 3 o'clock. The movement that powers all of these functions is Omega's in-house co-axial Caliber 3113, which features automatic winding and a column-wheel chronograph mechanism. The caseback is stamped with the Rio 2016 Olympic Games logo.
Omega Seamaster Bullhead "Rio 2016" Limited Edition
The Omega Speedmaster Mark II "Rio 2016″ edition has the distinctive barrel-shaped case of the retro-look Mark II family of Speedmasters, here made of polished and brushed stainless steel. Its matte-black tricompax dial hosts subdials at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock to record 30 chronograph minutes, 12 chronograph hours, and running seconds, respectively. On this "Rio 2016" model, these subdials have an Olympics motif, ringed by bronze, yellow gold, and silver to represent the medals awarded to the champion athletes. Like the standard Speedmaster Mark II watches, the Olympic model has a tachymeter scale printed directly on the sapphire crystal and illuminated from beneath by an aluminum ring filled with Super-LumiNova. The movement is Omega's Caliber 3330, equipped with a silicon balance spring, athree-level co-axial escapement, and a column-wheel-driven chronograph function. It beats behind a solid caseback stamped with the logo of the 2016 Olympic Games, the first ever to be held in South America.
Omega Speedmaster Mark II "Rio 2016"
The Seamaster Aqua Terra "PyeongChang 2018" Limited Edition — released a full two years ahead of the games it celebrates, in February 2016 — adds to the familiar Aqua Terra design codes with the words "PYEONGCHANG 2018," in the colors of the five Olympic Rings, inscribed on the minute track. In an amazing coincidence, the numerals "2018" align precisely with the "18" and "20" minute indices, a phenomenon that cannot recur in our lifetime. The steel watch is 41 mm in diameter, with a blue dial sporting the nautical teakwood deck motif common to the Aqua Terra family. Behind a sapphire caseback, which is decorated with the colorful "PyeongChang 2018" Olympic logo is Omega's Master Co-Axial Caliber 8500, which features automatic winding, chronometer certification, and a co-axial escapement, among other attributes. The watch was packaged in a special, Olympic-themed presentation box.
Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Pyeongchang 2018 Limited Edition
Released in December 2017, a year ahead of the Pyeongchang Winter Games, the Seamaster Planet Ocean "PyeongChang 2018," limited to 2,018 pieces, features the bold blue and red colors of the South Korean flag. The 43.5-mm stainless steel case has a unidirectional rotating divers' bezel with a polished blue ceramic ring for the dive scale. Red rubber is used for the first 15-minute segment of the scale, while the proprietary Liquidmetal substance is used for the bezel's minute numerals and indices, as well as for the luminous dot at 12 o'clock. The dial is made of polished blue ceramic and features applied rhodium-plated indices and hands coated with a white Super-LumiNova. Omega's co-axial Master Chronometer Caliber 8900 powers the watch, with automatic winding and a 60-hour power reserve in two series-connected spring barrels. The alveol-patterned screw-in caseback includes a sapphire window for viewing the movement, with the transferred words "PyeongChang 2018" and the Olympic Winter Games logo.
Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean "PyeongChang 2018"
As per tradition, Omega began its one-year countdown to the 2020 Tokyo Games (or so it thought) with the release of its first special Olympic edition back in July 2019. The Seamaster Aqua Terra Tokyo 2020 Limited Edition is the first in the Aqua Terra collection with a blue ceramic dial that evokes the pattern of the 2020 Olympics logo. The watch's 41-mm stainless steel case is offered with both a structured blue rubber strap and an additional stainless-steel bracelet. Inside the case is the Omega Master Chronometer Caliber 8900, which ticks behind a caseback bearing a laser-engraved Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games emblem. The watch is limited to 2,020 pieces.
Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Tokyo 2020 Limited Edition
Click here for more Omega special-edition watches from earlier Olympic Games.
Tags: Chronographs, Dive Watches, Limited Edition Watches, Omega, Omega Seamaster, Omega Speedmaster
No Responses to "Already Missing the 2020 Olympics? Here are 5 Limited-Edition Olympic Watches from Omega"
Zaeed March 26, 2020
Nice watch. Need to buy. Please advise procedure.
Ar March 25, 2020
Bernard, Omega already released 2020 Olympic watches long ago.
Alex March 25, 2020
Will the watches for Tokyo 2020 increase significantly in value now? I'd like to pick up a speedmaster Tokyo 2020 but not sure if I should wait or buy now…


Home	Games	GTA San Andreas for PC – Free Download
GTA San Andreas for PC – Free Download
It was just a few years back when Carl Johnson abandoned the city of Los Santos, San Andreas after his mother had been murdered and his very own family fell apart, all because of the gang riots that were going on at a full force. The city was tearing itself apart because of so many reasons ranging from violence and drug use to corruption in the government and the police force too. The famous avoid the streets and the gangs hunt the famous all entwined around the use of money, gangs and drugs.
Wondering what this is all about?
Well, if you happen to be the big Fan of GTA game, brace yourself, as GTA San Andreas takes that experience to next level.
With great storyline, the character, Carl decides to go back home to his neighborhood where his friends have descended into troubled times trying to cope up with this bad phase. But just as he lands back into the city, a couple of known cops trick him and blame him for homicide and this starts the journey of CJ as he tries his hands in trying to gain control of the streets again with his childhood friends.
This is one of the biggest open world games ever created with access to three big cities along with suburbs and other isolated and low lying areas that are teeming with people and criminals. The three cities Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas places the gamer into the most realistic of environments with a replica of already existing cities.
Known actors have voiced several characters including famous names like Samuel L. Jackson, comedian David Cross, Andy Dick, and rapper Ice-T. Also the various soundtracks have been creatively produced by well known artists like Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur.
CJ starts of at Los Santos and makes his way up the gang chains earning money and respect of his fellow gang members. He gains new firepower at every step which increases in intensity over a period of time as he tries his hands on missions that helps him establish himself again.
The core of the game is simple. A third person shooting game with various elements like driving, swimming, flying and a lot more incorporated beautifully with many vehicle and gun choices. So you can spend time doing missions or just explore the vast city one after the other. You can buy airports, own a casino and gamble, race cars or dirt vehicles and basically do anything you ever wanted to do or dreamed of doing but was not possible because you would get arrested.
There are many side missions that the player can go for including ambulance and taxi services which can increase the characters income drastically. With the choice for many two and four wheelers, boats and planes too, the player can basically own an entire world which allows them to do anything they want and be the master of all three cities.
GTA San Andreas offers the player a unique insight into the underworld where the city is dominated according to the choices one makes on a daily basis. This is one of the best open world games that exists out there today.
If you happen to be the game addict, don't wait … Download GTA San Andreas.
Zeebox For PC (Windows 7/8/XP)
Corel Draw 12 – Download for Free
Monument Valley for PC Free Download
Need for Speed – Most Wanted for PC...
The Room Two for PC – Free Download!
Download Minecraft for PC (Windows 7/8/8.1/XP)
The Amazing Spiderman 2 for PC (Windows 7/8/8.1/XP)
Modern Combat 5 for PC
Eternity Warriors for PC – Free Download!
Drag Race Rush for PC – Download Free!
Asphalt 8 for PC
Pandees March 22, 2018 - 4:55 pm


Patriarchal Exarchate of the Philippines
The Patriarchal Exarchate of the Philippines is a jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople governed by the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (OMHKSEA).
2 Parishes
Between 1983 and 1995 the pious embraced the Orthodox faith in the Philippines but belonged to no canonical Orthodox jurisdiction. In 1995, the group leader received sacerdotal formation from His Grace Bishop Sotirios of Zela (now Metropolitan of Korea) and Rev. Father Philemon was canonically ordained to the priesthood by His Eminence Metropolitan Dionysios of New Zealand at St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Seoul, Korea, on April 2, 1995. On Sunday, April 9 Fr. Philemon was received by His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew I during a Patriarchal liturgy.
At the end of 1996, the Holy Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate decided the creation of a new Metropolitanate, the one of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia and on January 12, 1997, the Enthronment of His Eminence Metropolitan Nikitas took place at the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Luke, Stanley Fort, Hong Kong. The Orthodox Church of the Philippines was assigned to this Metropolitanate.
There are three parishes and three chapels belonging to the Exarchate:
Exarchate Parishes in the Phiippines
The Holy Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Paraňaque, [1] Metro Manila
The Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Los Baňos, [2] Laguna and
The Theotokos Orthodox Church in Cataiňgan, [3] Masbate island.
Exarchate chapels in the Philippines
Chapel of St Nectarios in Quezon City, Metro Manila,
Chapel of St. Eleftherios in Sorsogon, Bicol, and
Chapel of the Holy Resurrection in Cotabato, Mindanao island.
There is additionally, one more church, the Holy Cross Orthodox Church in Siniloan, Laguna, is functioning alternatively, in connection with the Holy Trinity parish of Los Baňos.
Orthodoxy in the Philippines
Philemon (Castro)
http://holytrinity.faithweb.com/
Retrieved from "https://en.orthodoxwiki.org/index.php?title=Patriarchal_Exarchate_of_the_Philippines&oldid=85751"
Ecumenical Patriarchate Dioceses
Categories > Church History > Canon Law > Ecclesiology > Jurisdictions
Categories > Church History > Canon Law > Ecclesiology > Jurisdictions > Dioceses > Ecumenical Patriarchate Dioceses
This page was last edited on July 1, 2009, at 13:46.