#2015 in Tirana

[kommabortsig]

Tirana_from_South.jpg

[federer7]

Hajria, 52, and Gonxhe, 50. Best friends since forever, they said. Both friends work as waiters at the train coffee shop for many years. Tirana, Albania. August 2015

Photo: Enri Canaj

[tilbageidanmark]

The Wolf of Tirana Street.

[mariacallous]

A study launched in Tirana on Thursday has uncovered how gender equality, achieved to an extent through quotas for local councils, has failed to produce real equality in political debates, and that women still risk being told to “shut up”.

Albania’s parliament first approved 50-per-cent quotas for women candidates in the 2015 local elections. But the reform initially failed to change much, with some municipalities electing only 10 per cent female representatives.

New rules improved the situation in the following elections. In the latest local elections in Albania in 2023, 43 per cent of those elected were women.

But inequality between the sexes remains present in debates in municipal councils, according to the new study, “When Numbers Lie”, authored by Marsela Dauti and Geldona Metaj, for the Albanian Network for Women’s Empowerment

In the five months between August and December 2023 monitored by the researchers, councillors spoke some 8,300 times in 43 monitored meetings. Mostly it was men doing the talking.

“Men spoke some 6,169 times (74.33%) while women spoke 2,131 times (25.67%),” the study underlines. Men dominate all the councils monitored but, in some municipalities they were responsible for up to 85 per cent of all discussions, the study adds.

Female members of the councils also sometimes faced a hostile environment when they decided to speak up or were taunted with misogynist remarks when they did.

“The mayor or other members of the council or staff members of the municipality were observed ordering [women] speakers to stop,” the study notes.

“We have evidenced some 977 such cases in which women were told to stop 453 times out of the 2,131 times that they spoke (21.26%); some 524 male councillors were told to stop [speaking] out of 6,169 times that they spoke, (8.49%),” it adds.

Interviews with female members of the councils reveal that women feel obsolete compared to men in their respective parties, where male chairmen have sway over almost all decisions, including on the list of the candidates for elections.

They also reported cases when, while they were speaking, someone tried to shut them up by commenting over their voice: “Who do you think you are?” or “You don’t know what you are talking about.” Their requests for information or proposals were simply ignored, they said.

Municipal councils in Albania are widely perceived as powerless, with little ability to hold the mayor or the administration of the municipality to account. Albania has inherited a political system from the communist era with powerful leaders that have undisputed status within their party.

Currently more than half of the members of the Council of Ministers – the cabinet – are female, and one in three MPs are women.

However, the study says this number may give a false impression of progress towards gender equality.

“Autocratic leaders use the numerical increase of women in politics to improve their reputation in the international arena, for the purpose of gaining legitimacy in the eye of the public or civil society groups, or to detract attention from political or economic crisis – a strategy that helps them to hold on power longer,” the study observes.

In these cases, “reforms for gender equality are transformed into a manipulative instrument that, although seems to encourage good governance, in reality damages it,” it adds.

[ortodelmondo]

Hajria, 52, and Gonxhe, 50. Best friends since forever: they said. Both friends work as waiters at the train coffee shop for many years. Tirana, Albania. August 2015.

Enri Canaj

[aviaposter]

Airbus A319 Adria Airways

Registration: S5-AAX Type: A319-111 Engines: 2 × CFMI CFM56-5B5/P Serial Number: 1000 First flight: Mar 30, 1999

Adria Airways was Slovenia's flagship airline and the largest airline operating scheduled and charter flights to various European destinations. Founded in March 1961 as Adria Aviopromet, it later became known as Inex-Adria Airways, and then acquired its final name – Adria Airways.

The airline joined the Star Alliance in 2004 and entered into codeshare agreements with several major airlines, including Aeroflot, Air India, Air Serbia, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines and Turkish Airlines. Adria Airways' main hub was Ljubljana's Jože Pucnik Airport, and it also operated flights from Pristina and Tirana. On September 30, 2019, Adria Airways ceased operations due to financial difficulties.

In the last years of operations, Adria operated a fleet consisting of Airbus, Bombardier and SAAB. The airline began acquaintance with the Airbus A320 family in 1989. It was the first A320 aircraft equipped with International Aero Engines V2500 engines. Subsequently, most Airbuses at Adria Airlines flew on such engines.

The A319 aircraft were mainly used for short- and medium-haul flights within Europe. A number of popular routes included flights from Ljubljana to Manchester, from Bucharest to Munich, as well as other European destinations. Adria Airways received its first Airbus A319 in April 2010 and registered S5-AAP. Just a month later, Adria received a second A319, registered as S5-AAR. Both aircraft were traditionally equipped with IAE V2500 engines.

The third A319 with registration S5-AAX was the airline's latest acquisition, and it joined its fleet only in 2015. It was different from its counterparts – it had CFM56 engines under the wing, 142 seats were installed in the cabin (instead of 144), and it had a "round" serial number – 1000. In short, he was a great original.

Poster for Aviators aviaposter.com

[maybeevilsdays]

Dafina Hoxha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dafina Bora Hoxha (born 17 March 2000)[1] is an albanian actress. She gained international fame portraying Kierra Boothman in The Daughter from across the sea from 2015 until 2018.

Dafina Hoxha speaks fluently four languages including: albanian; English; Japanese and Italian. She also know some Korean and Spanish. Is also said she started self teaching herself Turkish.

Early Life

Dafina Bora Hoxha was born on 17 March 2000 in Tirana, Albania,[2] to Aida Hoxha and Ardit Hoxha. Her dad is from Tirana and her mother from Duress.

Pyramid of Tirana, Albania

Hoxha was raised in Tirana in her early years, and later moved to Glasgow. She began boarding at Hyndland Primary School at age six, moving to Caldercuilt Primary School at age eight.

Dafina started acting at age six after her first school staged a show for the end of the year.

Career

Early work (2006-2014)

While still getting background roles, Hoxha began appearing on the big screen thanks to Mike Navelle[3] rom-com movie Cupid’s Little Helpers (2006) for Scotland BBC.

She appeared in one episode of Doctor Who[3] “Whispers in the Sanctuary”[4] (2007); she was a guest star in a couple of episode of Game of Thrones[5] (2011-2014).

In 2013 Hoxha appeared in Only Lovers Left Alive[5] in a guest role. But it was in 2014 and early 2015 that she started getting some popularity thanks to KidUlt[6] (2014) and Hello, Hi-tech[7] (2015)

Breakthrough and worldwide recognition (2015-2018)

Dafina Hoxha on the set of The daughter from across the sea

Hoxha is well-known for his portrayal of Kierra in the 2015 TvShow The daughter from across the sea. She was invited to audition by Lei Hoire the show’s director, after he had heard nice words about her. Hoxha said about Hoire “He changed my personal life and my career. At first the Japanese team didn’t want me because of my basic knowledge of the language but he managed to change their minds.” [8] Dafina Hoxha was given eight weeks to improve her japanese, so she started as soon as she left the audition venue to study the language. It took her only six weeks to get on a good enough level for the production team but never told them until she brought it up during an interview. Empire magazine ranked Hoxha’s portrayal of Kirra as the 20th Greatest Show Character of All Time.[9]

While in Japan she started putting together a couple of ideas which ended being the plot for A love so fragile[10] and She is called Mythology,[11] two of her most famous screenplays.

In Japan Hoxha had her debut as a magazine model, posing for Cosmopolitan[12], BAZAAR[13], GQ Japan[14], Dazed[15] and Vogue japan.[16]

She got overnight recognition in Japan being the first western celebrity with an Asian fanbase bigger than her western one.

Her fanbase in 2016 was composed by the 10% of Japanese and Korean celebrities, BTS[17] and Bigbang[18] are part of that percentage that knows and supports her.

Varied roles and further success (2019-present)

After coming back from Japan, Hoxha started working more behind the scenes as a screenwriter.

Her first project A love so fragile aired the 14th February 2019 and was praised by the critic, making Hoxha the youngest successful screenwriter in Hollywood.

Between 2019 and the end of March 2020 she kept a low profile as an actress and kept on working on writing from the big and small screen, creating a tv show called She is Mythology based on greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian mythology and more. The pilot, Freya’s Day, Cats’ day[19], was very successful. The critic said “Dafina Hoxha is a young mind, taking risks and bringing integrity on screen” as she pushed the casting directors to cast albanian actors for the show. She is called Mythology casted a total of 100 and more albanian actors both in leading and supportive role.

2021 and 2022 were the years she went back into acting working on two movies, that expanded her western fanbase, Ephemeral Echoes[20]and Whispers in the Shadow[21]

Dafina Hoxha on the set of Ephemeral Echoes

In 2021, while in Australia, Dafina Hoxha, met Chris Hemsworth. The two bonded over their appreciation for sharks. Hoxha was able to follow Hemsworth around during the shootings of Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth.[22]

The 3rd January 2022 another one of her screenplays, Killer Nights, was aired and got nominated for 2023 BAFTA’s Original Screenplay[23] which she won.

Upcoming projects

Late 2023 Hoxha announced she was going to host the 2024 Oscars Awards.

In October 2019 it was announced that she is will be starring in Disney+ limited series Unrequited friends.[24]

In May 2022, it was announced that she is set to star in Netflix remake of Only Lovers Left Alive.[25]

Personal life

Hoxha resides in Los Angeles as of 2021

She is a huge Canucks[26] fan and was spotted a couple of times at some games of the team, mostly in America until 2023. Between 2023 and 2024 she started attending their home games as well.

She dated Hailee Steinfeld between 2018-2020

She was rumored to have dated Dove Cameron but the rumors where denied when the two revealed that they weren't seeing each other as much as before.

At the end of 2021 it was rumored she was dating Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, the rumors were confirmed during New Years Eve but the couple had been spotted together just for a couple of months.

Halfway through the hockey season of 2023 some rumors started going around about a relationship with hockey player Quinn Hughes. Hoxha and Hughes got photographed a lot while together. They confirmed their relationship saying it bloomed after a year of good friendship.

Charity work

She has supported several charities, including Shatterproof, Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), The California Wolf Center, The Shark Research Institute, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, National Indian Child Care Association,  Indigenous Roots, Polished Man Campaign.[27][28][29[30][31][32][33][36][37]

Acting credits and awards

Main articles: List of Dafina Hoxha performances and awards and nominations

According to Rotten Tomatoes and Box Office Mojo, Hoxha's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films and shows are Cupid's Little Helpers (2007), Game of Thrones (2011-2014), The Daughter from across the sea (2015-2018) and Hello, Hi-Tech (2015)

Hoxha has received a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar Award among other accolades.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.20 (after 1940)

1942 – World War II: Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace. 1943 – World War II: American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies. 1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms. 1944 – World War II: The "Big Week" began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers. 1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Atoll. 1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League. 1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy. 1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate. 1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes. 1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts. 1968 – The China Academy of Space Technology, China's main arm for the research, development, and creation of space satellites, is established in Beijing. 1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert. 1979 – An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java. 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years. 1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. 1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters. 1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. 2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others. 2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout. 2009 – Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack. 2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago. 2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, many reportedly killed by snipers. 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services. 2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.

[dailyinside24]

Från fotboll till politik, till spelberoende, Indri Fortuzis berättelse med ett "lyckligt" slut

Efter 9 år återvänder Indrit Fortuzi till Tirana och möter en del av människorna som kände sig lurade av honom, samtidigt som han hade fått miljontals lek i skulder på grund av spelberoende.

Efter en plötslig avgång 2015, som åtföljdes av många frågor, och med skamfläcken av bedrägerier och skulder, den tidigare legenden om Tirana-fotbollen, har Indrit Fortuzi återvänt till staden där han växte upp och snabbt blev en legend. Efter 9 år har fotbollsstjärnan i Tirana och det albanska landslaget hittat modet att möta många av de människor som kände sig lurade och utpressade av honom, samtidigt som det verkar som att han har vunnit kampen med rättvisa. Allt på grund av en spelvana som "fågeln" som han var känd på spelplanen nu säger har botat honom.

Den välkände ex-fotbollsspelaren i det albanska landslaget och Tirana-laget, Indri Fortuzi, lämnade Albanien i november 2015, efter att hans fru anklagats för bedrägeri, samt efter att ex-fotbollsspelaren förlorat stora summor pengar i spel. tur och var skyldig mycket pengar. Hans fru var efterlyst av albansk rättvisa eftersom hon hade sålt falska biljetter genom den turistbyrå hon drev. En 20-årig man hade lämnat in ett klagomål mot Junida Fortuz om att han hade lurat henne. Junida Fortuzi visade sig vara ägare till "Just Travel" och hade sålt den unge mannen 4 flygbiljetter till ett belopp av 1200 euro, vilket senare visade sig vara ogiltiga. 

3 år spårlöst

Den första nyheten om Indrit Fortuzi efter att han lämnat skulle ges 2018, där det rapporterades att han börjat jobba som tränare i Kanada. Fortuzi hade börjat jobba som tränare i det kanadensiska laget ProStars FC, ett lag som spelar i den tredje kanadensiska divisionen. Han har tränat herrlaget, bland de många damlagen, eller till och med akademierna, som ProStars-klubben har.

Återkomsten efter 9 år i Tirana, och bekännelsen om spelberoende

Igår dök Indrit Fortuzi upp offentligt för första gången och gav en intervju med journalisten Endi Tufa. Fortuzi har erkänt att beslutet att lämna Albanien på det sättet kan ha varit förhastat, men han gjorde det för att bevara sin och sin familjs image, samtidigt som han var under ständig press från skulder. Under intervjun bad Fortuzi om ursäkt till alla människor som han kan ha orsakat problem, samtidigt som han pratade om vännerna han förlorade på vägen.

"Efter 9 år tittar jag på en förändrad Tirana, en bullrig Tirana. Syftet med denna intervju är att jag skulle vilja be om ursäkt till de personer som jag kan ha orsakat obehag. Som alla andra har jag haft mitt dåliga ögonblick, kanske sättet jag lämnade kunde ha varit mer dämpat. Allt är dock över, människor både faller och reser sig. Tirana, så stor som den har blivit, verkar för mig ha krympt samtidigt.

Jag hade ett svårt ögonblick, i en press i en ångest gjorde jag en otänksam avvikelse, det var just nu. Men allt som hände dem var resultatet av en last jag hade. Jag gick och tittade på två saker, den första var att komma bort från den saken och den andra var att skydda min familj. Saker som jag tror att jag uppnådde trots att jag hade min kostnad, även för bilden. Det är dock delar av livet som människan har sina egna upp- och nedgångar.

En annan sak jag ville förtydliga är att jag aldrig har haft sociala medier och det har varit många som har öppnat profiler i mitt namn, gett sina åsikter och förbannat, men jag vill förtydliga för alla att jag aldrig haft det, det var en piratkopiering som kommer från någon eller olika personer. Det har aldrig varit en del av mig och om jag någonsin har orsakat någon problem så ville jag bara göra det klart att det inte var jag. Tvärtom, människor som har drabbats har faktiskt varit mina vänner.

Jag ville inte säga att jag hade press från någon, men det var ett ögonblick som jag inte hade känt mig lägre än då, en sorts ångest, en sorts förlust av självförtroende. Saker och ting blev svårare dag för dag och kunde bli värre. Att jag lämnade var inte bara för att inte återvända eller att inte svara, utan jag såg en flod av förolämpningar och jag tänkte att det är bäst att jag är med huvudet bakåt, jag kommer tillbaka. Kanske var det fel beslut, det kan amorteras, men i de ögonblicken tror du att det är bättre att lämna, inte ha den typen av press, försöka komma ifrån lasten, försöka rädda familjen. Sedan finns det de andra stegen, att man kan gå tillbaka en dag, i det ögonblicket som det var tanken, kanske det kan vara fel och jag tror att det kan vara fel eftersom det måste amorteras, men i de ögonblicken har man inte enkelt att tänka.

Det har pratats mycket om det, jag har också hört från folk som jag ansåg vara vänner, men jag dömer inte människor, för att säga dig sanningen och jag vill inte hysa agg, för... Jag skyller mer på mig själv . Folks reaktion var min del av felet, vi kan inte prata om effekten när orsaken är något annat och jag lämnade dem bakom mig. Tack gode Gud, med hjälp av min familj och en nära vän som jag vill hälsa, Dritan Gjinali, som hjälpte mig i dessa mycket svåra stunder, gick jag igenom och jag hoppas att allt kommer att återhämta sig”. 

Indrit Fortuzi har varit en av de bästa fotbollsspelarna i Tirana och har samtidigt registrerat flera deltaganden i landslaget. Innan han försvann från Albanien engagerade han sig i politiken, medan han i flera år ledde en minikommun i Tirana, under det demokratiska partiets fana. Han var också en del av listan över kandidater till suppleant bland denna politiska kraft.

[elmas-66]

Endri Beqo e il suo amore per l'arte..." Nel 2013 Endri partecipò in collaborazione con suo fratello stilista a Firenze presso un teatro di abbigliamento e vignette. Oltre a tutto ciò abbiamo citato sopra, da 7 mesi Endri rispecchia la sua arte, anche come professore al corso per i bambini piccoli nel ramo pittura presso il Centro "ZojArt" Academy."

Foto cortesia ENDRI BEQO E IL SUO AMORE PER L’ARTE E I PICCOLI ARTISTI Endri Beqo è nato l’8 gennaio 1988 a Tirana (Albania). Nel 2010 – 2015 si laurea presso l’Università delle Arti di Tirana nel campo della scultura e della grafica.Endri ha partecipato a diverse attività nella categoria dell’arte del fumetto in ritratti e illustrazioni, con diversi libri, articoli e giornali. Inoltre, egli ha…

[carmenvicinanza]

Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa è una musicista da record. Tra le artiste più influenti e innovative del pop contemporaneo, è la prima con tre brani che superano i due miliardi di streaming su Spotify: Don’t start now, One kiss e New rules.

Voce potente e icona di stile per le nuove generazioni, ha iniziato nel 2015 e già vinto tre Grammy, sei BRIT Award, due American Music Award, due MTV Europe Music Award e un MTV Video Music Award.

È nata a Londra, il 22 agosto 1995 da genitori di etnia albanese emigrati nel 1992 da Priština, nell’allora provincia jugoslava del Kosovo.

Si è formata culturalmente e musicalmente tra Londra e Pristina, dove ha vissuto per diversi anni, seguendo gli spostamenti di lavoro del padre, ex musicista.

A 14 anni pubblicava cover dei suoi brani preferiti su YouTube e già scriveva e registrava le sue prime canzoni.

A sedici anni ha iniziato a lavorare come modella e a diciassette ha pubblicato la sua prima demo Lions& Tigers & Bears. L’anno successivo ha girato lo spot di lancio di X Factor UK 2013 nel quale si esibiva a cappella in Lost in Music delle Sister Sledge.

Il debutto ufficiale nella musica è avvenuto nel 2015 con il suo primo singolo New Love.

Il successo internazionale è arrivato due anni dopo con l’album eponimo Dua Lipa, progetto che ha prodotto una serie di hit planetarie, tra cui Be the One e New Rules che ha raggiunto la vetta delle classifiche in molti paesi compresa l’Inghilterra (seconda artista femminile a raggiungere la testa della classifica inglese dopo Adele).

Sempre nel 2017 ha partecipato al festival di Glastonbury ed è stata la musicista con più streaming su Spotify oltre a vantare quattro brani nella Top Ten britannica. Ha partecipato alla cover di Bridge over Troubled Water in favore delle vittime dell’incendio della Grenfell Tower a Londra, ricevuto il premio MTV Europa come miglior rivelazione e aperto tre tappe sudamericane del tour dei Coldplay. La rivista statunitense di cultura moderna The Fader ha prodotto un documentario su di lei dal titolo See in Blue.

Nel 2018 è stata la prima artista a ricevere cinque nomination ai BRIT Award, vincendone due come miglior solista e miglior rivelazione femminile.

Si è esibita allo stadio olimpico di Kiev nella cerimonia d’apertura della finale di Champions League, nello spettacolo d’apertura del Gran Premio di Singapore e ha vinto, per il secondo anno consecutivo, un premio di MTV Europa come migliore artista pop dell’anno.

Nel 2019 ha vinto due Grammy Award come miglior artista esordiente e per la miglior registrazione dance per il singolo Electricity, realizzato in collaborazione con Silk City.

Il secondo album, Future Nostalgia, uscito a fine marzo 2020, in piena pandemia, in una sola settimana ha raggiunto la prima posizione della classifica britannica e vinto il Grammy al miglior album vocale e due BRIT.

Il suo brano Don’t Start Now è stato l’inno ufficioso delle manifestazioni democratiche che hanno festeggiato la vittoria elettorale di Joe Biden per le strade di New York e Los Angeles.

Il 13 agosto 2021 con Elton John, ha pubblicato Cold Heart, il suo terzo singolo a primeggiare la classifica del Regno Unito.

Il Future Nostalgia Tour, iniziato a Miami nel febbraio 2022 si è concluso con un concerto gratuito a Tirana a fine novembre dello stesso anno.

Nel 2022 si è di nuovo affermata ai BRIT Award come miglior artista pop/R&B. 

Dua Lipa, che non ha mai mancato di citare le sue radici di albanese del Kosovo come parte fondante della propria cultura, nel 2022 è stata nominata Ambasciatrice Onoraria del Kosovo e ha ricevuto la cittadinanza albanese concessa per meriti artistici.

Nel 2023 ha inciso Dance the Night, singolo trainante della colonna sonora del film campione di incassi Barbie, con cui si è aggiudicata la sua quarta posizione numero uno nel Regno Unito e la quinta top ten negli Stati Uniti. La pellicola ha visto anche un suo piccolo ruolo di attrice. 

Parallelamente, si è dedicata a concludere la lavorazione al terzo album di inediti, la cui promozione è cominciata nell’autunno 2023 con la pubblicazione del singolo Houdini.

In febbraio 2024 uscirà il film Argylle – La super spia, thriller che la vede nel cast come attrice.

Attiva e impegnata in diverse cause sociali, ha partecipato a importanti eventi di beneficenza e dimostrato forte attenzione all’emergenza climatica e i diritti delle persone Lgbtq+.

Si è schierata contro lo “sportwashing” durante i mondiali in Qatar rifiutando di esibirsi.

Insieme a suo padre ha creato la Sunny Hill Foundation, associazione di beneficenza destinata a sostenere la formazione di giovani artisti del Kosovo che non hanno possibilità economiche e che organizza anche il Sunny Hill Festival, manifestazione canora che si tiene dal 2018 a Pristina.

È uno di quei personaggi di cui si parla ogni giorno, oltre che per la musica anche per i suoi look, le dichiarazioni senza filtri e le relazioni sentimentali vere o presunte.

[dru-reblogs-stuff]

14 and 22

[from the End of the Year Asks game]

Hiya 'Mous

14. Favorite book you read this year?

Hands down How I Rob Banks and Other Such Places by Freakyclown. It's a non-fiction about what the author calls 'ethical hacking' and most other people I've heard call Penetration testing.

The idea is that a good actor challenges the physical and cyber security of a building or system so the organisation can strengthen it against a bad actor. It's filled with interesting anecdotes about the authors work and introductory (ethical!) B&E suggestions.

Writing The Ruby Falls has allowed me to indulge my love of espionage, which is why I've been buying books like this.

22. Favorite place you visited this year?

Probably the Jelling Stones in Denmark.

The Jelling Stones are a set of monoliths which have been carved and decorated with a proclamation from Harald Bluetooth (yes - that Bluetooth) stating that he was King of all Denmark, and it was he who brought Christianity to the Danish empire (which, if memory serves, was Denmark, Iceland, Norway and part of Sweden. I don't think it yet included the south and west coasts of Britain).

I have a Thing about visiting decorated manuscripts. I saw the Book of Kells and the real Lindisfarne gospels in 2019, the Mappa Mundi in Worcester in ~2000 and all four Magna Carters in 2015. As Danes don't really go in for books but do like their rocks, the Jelling stones were the closest equivalent - and were also a bucket list item I didn't know I had to tick off until I was told about them and their historical importance.

It was supposed to be a small stop on a kind of tour of Jutland (the Gent lives on Zealand and we'd not yet been across to any of the other islands), we'd look at the stones, look at the church, look at the bigass mound and then move on. However in 2021, they built a museum. And it's a fantastic museum! We spent nearly 3 hours there pouring over the interactive and detailed exhibition before going outside to wonder at the stones themselves, then to climb the mound. And it is Big. Denmark has no mountains, so they made this to replicate them 😉️ From the top, you can see the white poles erected to show the outer palisade of Bluetooth's enclave, and it's a small town's worth of space. King Harald had ambitions and sure managed to live up to them.

So yes, the wonder of the record stones and the surprise museum definitely made that the highlight of my year.

(Also I did love Tirana, Albania, but there was no one place I liked best, but it was brilliant as a whole experience)

[mariacallous]

Ukraine is short of artillery and other hardware – and the Balkan countries can help fill important gaps.

The Western Balkans face a multi-faceted threat from Russia, either through its allies in the region or through hybrid threats coming from Russia itself.

The region is also faced with several divisive elements stemming from the 1990s, which are undermining regional cooperation efforts, reconciliation and the region’s Euro-Atlantic future.

Meanwhile, Ukraine faces both hybrid threats and a direct threat to its survival as we know it. Arming Ukraine as much as it is needed is important. This was underlined by the region’s NATO members and by Ukraine President Zelenskyy during the February 2024 Ukraine-Southeastern Europe Summit in Tirana, Albania. Ukraine needs artillery and other hardware, and the Balkans can help.

The impact of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine echoed in the Western Balkans. This was seen in the rise of anti-Western disinformation campaigns, Russian support for certain regional political actors working to undermine the democratic process in their respective countries, and in challenges to regional security.

While the West rallied behind the Ukrainian cause, introducing comprehensive economic and political sanctions against Moscow and providing much-needed financial and military aid, the internal divisions in the Western Balkans came to the surface.

This was seen in the failure of some Western Balkan countries to introduce sanctions against Russia and in protests supporting Russian policies.

Additionally, the Russian war in Ukraine, combined with its hybrid activities in the region, sparked internal political divisions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

The latter, however, together with two other NATO members from the region, North Macedonia and Albania, joined the rest of the Alliance in condemning the invasion. Kosovo’s position, however, was challenging. Its bilateral relations hindered more substantial support for Ukraine on the international scene but it still became a part of other support mechanisms.

Potential to supply arms at low prices

On the other hand, the military-industrial complex of the region, noted for its ability to produce both NATO and Soviet-standard munitions, quickly came into focus for its potential to supply Ukraine (or the West) at a relatively low price.

The former Communist regimes in the region aimed to create self-sufficient militaries and invested substantial resources in companies producing almost anything needed to equip them.

In practice, this means that each of them has the know-how and the infrastructure for the production and maintenance of artillery shells, small arms ammunition, vehicles, or any other hardware Ukraine needs.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the regional leader in production capabilities, followed closely by Serbia, and Albania. However, almost all countries of the region, except the three NATO member states (Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia), have either prohibited arms exports to war zones or simply don’t have the capacity for the production of military hardware in the numbers that Ukraine needs.

This means that the investments from the West, or the mechanisms suggested by President Zelenskyy in February are paramount, for Western Balkan arms companies them to meet the needs of the Ukrainian army.

For instance, the 155 mm artillery shells Ukraine needs are produced by several companies in the region, especially by Bosnian companies such as BNT, PRETIS, and Binas.

BNT, a company stationed in Novi Travnik, has a wide array of artillery pieces production with a total yearly output of 500.000 units.

But as of 2015, Bosnia has prohibited the exports of arms to war zones, while Serbia requires buyers to have end-user certificates for easier tracking of sales.

These certificates, however, are not a dealbreaker. Weapons made by Zastava, a Serbian company specializing in small arms and rifle production, EDePro, Krušik, and others have been seen in use by the Ukrainian forces.

In February 2023, pictures posted on X by the Ukrainian Weapons Tracker showed a shipment of Krusik-made 122mm Grad surface-to-surface rockets.

It was later reported that Krusik sold the rockets to SOFAG, a private company owned by a daughter of U.S-sanctioned Slobodan Tesic, which sold it to Canadian JNJ Company. The rockets were then sold to Turkish Arca Savunma Sanayi Ticaret Company, which changed the end-user certificate and transferred them to Slovak MSM Nováky Company, which then moved the missiles to the Canadian Global Ordnance Trading Company, which has a supply agreement with the Ukrainians.

Besides Bosnia and Serbia, as the region’s top producers, Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia are also quite active, either through multilateral mechanisms or bilaterally. All three opted to donate their Cold War Soviet-standard equipment, with North Macedonia being the frontrunner.

North Macedonia donated around 30 pieces of T-72 Soviet-era main battle tanks, including unknown quantities of 125 mm tank rounds, as well as 12 Mi-24 Soviet-era attack helicopters and four SU-25S ground attack jets with spare parts and unknown quantities of 30 mm ammunition for the jets’ guns, all of which were bought from Ukraine during the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia.

Montenegro sent almost all its obsolete naval artillery to Ukraine, including some 760 pieces of 57×438 mm shells used by Bofors 57 mm L/70 naval automatic gun, which were fitted on now decommissioned Končar class missile boats, and artillery shells in various calibers in a total amount of 15.000 pieces of 57 mm and 76 mm shells.

Over two years, Albania has sent 22 US-made International M1224 MaxxPro MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles to Ukraine. These vehicles, fitted with machine guns, have so far been observed in frontline positions, where their thick armor is useful in protecting Ukrainian soldiers. Chinese-made 7.62mm small arms sounds as well as 60mm Type 63 mortar rounds have also been seen in the theatre, as well as in-house-made 82mm mortar rounds.

On the other hand, Ukraine’s position as a non-recognizer of Kosovo’s independence and Kosovo’s lack of membership in international cooperation fora like NATO or the EU, stopped Kosovo from sending military aid to Ukraine.

However, political and financial support for the Ukrainian cause and humanitarian aid was not lacking from Kosovo. Kosovo has committed 26 instructors as part of the UK-led Operation Interflex, and some 150 Ukrainians were trained in demining in Kosovo.

Investment needed in region’s production capabilities

The proximity of the Western Balkans to Ukraine and Central Europe makes it an ideal region for the production of much-needed arms for Ukraine because of ease of transport to Ukraine and a low-price workforce.

What is much needed for this potential to materialize is some form of capital investments in the region from NATO or the EU, which would focus on increasing production capabilities in terms of products produced in a day.

These investments would focus on Bosnia and Serbia, as the two largest producers in the region, but could also focus on the reconstruction of arms industry facilities in Kosovo. This can be done through the EU-sponsored Peace Facility Programme, for which the Western Balkan countries are eligible.

In this way, Western Balkans can help Ukraine fight the war while providing long-term jobs and security within the six regional countries, as well as combatting Russia’s malign influence, and resolving bilateral issues. This would also be an opportunity to further friendly relations between Ukraine and the region while facilitating experience exchange and economic cooperation.

[brookston]

Holidays 7.16

Holidays

Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day

Assata Shakur Day

Atomic Bomb Day

Catcher in the Rye Day

Closet Space Appreciation Day

DC Day

Elderly Women Day (Kiribati)

Engineer’s Day (Honduras)

Festival of Convivial Tools

Fiesta de La Tirana (Tarapacá Region, Chile)

Guinea Pig Appreciation Day

Harela (Uttarakhand, India)

Holocaust Memorial Day (France)

International Disability Awareness Day

International Drag Day

International Juggling Day

Islamic Calendar Day

Lady of Carmen Day (Chile)

La Paz Day (Bolivia)

Manu’s Cession Day, Day 2 (American Samoa)

National Atomic Veterans Day

National Change Your Font Day

National D.R.E.S.S. Syndrome Day

National Emily Day

National Geordie Day (UK)

National Jerry Day

National Peace Day (Dia de la Paz; Bolivia)

National Stick Shift Day

National Wedding Invitation Day

No Kissing Day

Order of the Arrow Day (BSA)

Parking Meter Day

Parks Day (Canada)

Reading Together Day (UK)

Rural Transit Day

716 Day

Talk to a Telemarketer Day

Tare Day (French Republic)

Trinity Test Day

Urs Shah-I-Hamdan Sahib (Kashmir, India)

World PR Day

World Snake Day

World Wizkid Day (Nigeria)

Food & Drink Celebrations

Darwin Beer Can Regatta 2023 (Australia) [Date Varies]

Fresh Spinach Day

Hot Coal Chicken Day (Peru)

Hot Dog Night

Ice Cream Cone Day

National Cherry Day (UK)

National Corn Fritter Day

National Funnel Cake Day

National Personal Chef Day [also 2.26]

3rd Sunday in July

Anne Hutchinson Memorial Day (Rhode Island) [Sunday closest to 20th]

Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim (Istanbul, Turkey) [3rd Sunday]

Children’s Day (Cuba) [3rd Sunday]

Galla Bayramy (Turkmenistan celebration of the wheat harvest) [3rd Sunday]

Ginibiimanaan (a.k.a. Lake Superior Day) [3rd Sunday]

Lake Superior Day [3rd Sunday]

Luxembourg Beer Festival [3rd Sunday]

Metallurgist’s Day (Russia) [3rd Sunday]

National Ice Cream & Beer Day (mix some vanilla ice cream with your favorite Porter or Stout) [3rd Sunday]

National Ice Cream Day [3rd Sunday]

National Ice Cream Soda Day [3rd Sunday]

Sundae Sunday [3rd Sunday]

Independence Days

Custosia (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Andrea del Sarto (Artology)

Asalha Puja Day (Buddhist Lent begins)

Bobby Henderson Day (Pastafarian; Saint)

Charles Sheeler (Artology)

Dr. Doom Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Display of the Embarrassing Swimsuits (Church of the SubGenius)

Eustathius (Christian; Saint)

First Sermon of Lord Buddha (Bhutan)

Gondulphus of Tongeren (Christian; Saint)

Helier (a.k.a. Elier; Christian; Saint)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Christian; Saint)

Phoebe Cates Day (Humanism)

Reineldis (Christian; Saint)

Rotary Doozer (Muppetism)

Skip This Day Day (Pastafarian)

Solstitium XI (Pagan)

The Troubadours (Positivist; Saint)

Vardavar (Pagan Prank Day; Armenia) [14 Weeks after Easter]

Zoot (Muppetism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Prime Number Day: 197 [45 of 72]

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, by Diana Ross (Song; 1970)

Alice’s Restaurant Massacree, by Arlo Guthrie (Song; 1976)

Akira (Anime Film; 1988)

Ant-Man (Film; 2015)

The Blair Witch Project (Film; 1999)

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salenger (Novel; 1951)

Die Entführung aus dem Serail, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Opera; 1782)

Dragon Around (Disney Cartoon; 1954)

Drop Dead Gorgeous (Film; 1999)

Eyes Wide Shut (Film; 1999)

False Hare (WB LT Cartoon; 1964)

Free Willy (Film; 1993)

From Up on Poppy Hill (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 2011)

George of the Jungle (Film; 1997)

The Half-Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling (Novel; 2005) [Harry Potter #6]

Hocus Pocus (Film; 1993)

Inception (Film; 2010)

The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins (Novel; 1868)

Mouse and Garden (WB LT Cartoon; 1960)

Once A Day, by Connie Smith (Song; 1964)

Poison Ivy, recorded by The Coasters (Song; 1959)

Pom Poko (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 1994)

Schmigadoon! (TV Series; 2021)

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (TV Series; 2015)

Space Jam: A New Legacy (Animated Film; 2021)

Space Race (Video Game; 1973)

Stargate: Atlantis (TV Series; 2004)

Topper (Film; 1937)

Today’s Name Days

Carmen, Irmgard, Maria (Austria)

Yulian, Yuliana, Yuliya (Bulgaria)

Elvira, Karmela (Croatia)

Luboš (Czech Republic)

Tychos (Denmark)

Rein, Reinhold, Reino, Reinu, Reinut, Rinaldo, Ronald (Estonia)

Reino, Rene (Finland)

Elvire (France)

Carmen, Irmgard (Germany)

Valter (Hungary)

Maria, Vitaliano (Italy)

Hermīne, Rasulite (Latvia)

Danguolė, Faustas, Vaigaudas (Lithuania)

Sanna, Susanne (Norway)

Andrzej, Benedykt, Dziersław, Dzierżysław, Eustachiusz, Eustachy, Faust, Maria Magdalena, Marika, Ostap, Ruta, Stefan (Poland)

Drahomíra (Slovakia)

Carmen (Spain)

Reine, Reinhold (Sweden)

Ruth, Valentina, Valia (Ukraine)

Carmel, Carmela, Carmelo, Carmen, Shelby, Sherman, Sherwood (USA)

Carma, Carmel, Carmela, Carmelita, Carmella, Camelo, Carmélo, Carmen, Carmencita, Carmi, Carmie, Carmina, Carmine, Karmen, Phoebe (Universal)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 197 of 2024; 168 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 28 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 7 of 28]

Chinese: Month 5 (Wu-Wu), Day 29 (Yi-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 27 Tammuz 5783

Islamic: 27 Dhu al-Hijjah 1444

J Cal: 17 Lux; Theesday [17 of 30]

Julian: 3 July 2023

Moon: 1%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 1 Dante (8th Month) [The Troubadours]

Runic Half Month: Ur (Primal Strength) [Day 3 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 26 of 94)

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 26 of 31)

Calendar Changes

Dante (Modern Epic Poetry) [Month 8 of 13; Positivist]

[venividivicinanza]

BLOG #17 – VA BENEDRYL 

Dopo due mesi, ricomincio a scrivere il mio blog. Il mio italiano non è perfetto ma sono nelle vicinanze di fluidità nella lingua. E sono finalmente tornato agli Stati Uniti dove mi sono laureato qualche giorno fa dall’Università di Virginia nella lingua e letteratura francese. Avrei dovuto laurearmi 23 anni fa, ma ho avuto molti problemi lungo la strada, e ho deciso nel 2015 di cominciare a viaggiare. Ma in ogni caso la cosa è fatta. 

Nel mio ultimo blog, ero in Tirana, Albania dove si parla italiano dopo la lingua principale, albanese. Volevo continuare a praticare l’italiano senza essere nel paese; per cause della regola Schengen sono dovuto partire dopo il terzo mese nella zona. Albania fa parte della diaspora italiana perché è proprio dall’altra parte del mare Adriatico. Lì, potevo continuare a parlare in italiano– la più parte delle persone preferiscono parlare in italiano, e non in inglese.

Ma in Albania, sapevo che andavo a fare una delle cose che temo di più: volare per tornare negli Stati Uniti per la mia cerimonia di laurea! Vabbè mi sono detto, un pochino nauseabondo. Ero molto ansioso anche se il mio volo era tra sei settimane. Ma era più di questo: io sapevo che andavo tornare negli USA dopo sei anni di assenza, e che andavo laurearmi dopo due decadi, e che avevo il mio primo libro in uscita. Questo volo sarebbe speciale perché ha simbolizzato un nuovo capitolo nella mia vita.

Per fortuna un'amica della mia cugina a Sofia, Bulgaria, mi ha raccomandato di prendere due Benadryl un’ora prima del volo. Così potevo dormire durante il volo. Ero scettico perché la mia paura di volare era grandissima grazie a tutte le altre circostanze circondate! Lei mi ha detto che le pillole di Benadryl mi farebbero dormire tutto il volo di otto ore e mezzo, ma non l’ho creduto. Per questo volo da Francoforte a Washington, D.C. c’erano approssimativamente cinquanta persone che non erano venute all’aeroporto per il volo! Quindi molti dei passeggeri avevano un'intera fila di sedili per noi stessi. Dopo aver sollevato i braccioli, ho dormito per gran parte del volo.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.20 (after 1940)

1942 – World War II: Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace. 1943 – World War II: American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies. 1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms. 1944 – World War II: The "Big Week" began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers. 1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Atoll. 1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League. 1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy. 1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate. 1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes. 1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts. 1968 – The China Academy of Space Technology, China's main arm for the research, development, and creation of space satellites, is established in Beijing. 1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert. 1979 – An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java. 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years. 1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. 1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters. 1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. 2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others. 2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout. 2009 – Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack. 2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago. 2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, many reportedly killed by snipers. 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services. 2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.