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beardedmrbean · 3 days ago

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JACKSON, Miss. — Seven years ago, Chokwe Antar Lumumba swept into the Jackson mayor’s office with plans to shake up local politics. At 34, he was the city’s youngest ever mayor, and he campaigned on a promise of self-determination for the predominantly Black city.

Now Lumumba, 41, stands accused in a sprawling corruption scandal that has also ensnared Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens and City Council members Aaron Banks and Angelique Lee. Lumumba, Owens and Banks have pleaded not guilty. Lee, who resigned in August, pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.

Some officials fear the indictments could overshadow the city’s efforts to improve residents’ quality of life — or undermine local leadership.

“I’m just praying that the legislators and state leadership can see beyond these indictments and realize that we still need help from the state in getting some very specific things done,” City Council President Virgi Lindsay said.

While Lindsay hopes the state will still provide funds for necessary improvements to infrastructure and blight, she acknowledged the request is coming at a fraught time.

Even before the indictments, the state’s Republican leadership had pushed for greater control of the city’s affairs. Political observers say this new crisis could intensify a long-running battle between the state’s mostly white Republican elected officials and the city’s largely Black Democratic leadership.

“Race is always a factor. It’s an ongoing factor in Mississippi politics,” said Leslie McLemore, a former Jackson State University political science professor who also once sat on the Jackson City Council. “You cannot in a very real sense separate Mississippi history in general from the tensions you find in the city of Jackson,” McLemore went on to add. “It’s an ongoing saga.”

Jackson is Mississippi’s largest city. But with roughly 144,000 residents, it is also small enough that constituents have a decent chance of running into local politicians around town.

“All of these folks were well-trusted, well-liked individuals,” said Bishop Ronnie Crudup Sr., the head pastor of New Horizon Church International in Jackson. “When you have servants from the mayor to City Council members to the local DA all being indicted, that’s a tremendous hit for the city.”

Jackson has already taken plenty of them. In 2022, a water crisis caused residents to go without clean water for days on end. That was on top of years of boil-water notices that eroded residents’ trust in the city’s water supply. Then, last year, Jacksonians went without municipal trash collection for roughly two weeks amid a contract dispute. And while some violent crimes have dropped, the homicide rate is still among the nation’s highest.

“It’s not even shock anymore,” Kim Meeks, who runs a locksmith shop in Jackson’s Fondren neighborhood with her husband, said about the indictment. “When’s the next shoe going to drop?”

Federal prosecutors have alleged the officials accepted, or in Owens’ case facilitated, bribe payments from out-of-state developers pitching a hotel project in downtown Jackson. Unbeknownst to them, the men were undercover FBI agents, according to a recently unsealed indictment. The mayor’s office declined to comment; calls to Owens’ attorneys, Banks and Lee were not returned.

“I know the state does not trust the administration of the city of Jackson,” said Democratic state Rep. Zakiya Summers, whose district includes parts of Jackson. Summers, who took office in 2020, said she is used to seeing “anti-Jackson” legislation come across her desk, referring to what she called the state’s push for oversight of city resources.

A spokesperson for Republican Governor Tate Reeves did not respond to questions about the relationship between the city and state. She referred to his Nov. 7 comments on the indictments, where he called the charges "serious."

"It is early in the process and because it is an ongoing criminal matter, I don’t believe I should make any other comment," Reeves told reporters.

The House Speaker and Lt. Governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In April, a push by conservative legislators to strip local control of the city’s water system failed for the second time in the House. More recently, a state-run police force has expanded its presence in Jackson. Last year, residents and civil groups also protested House Bill 1020, legislation sponsored by Republican lawmakers that would mandate the creation of a new court for Hinds County, of which Jackson is part, with a special judge and prosecutors appointed by state officials.

Supporters of the court say it will promote public safety, but Lumumba called the bill “an attack on Black leadership,” and the U.S. Justice Department and the NAACP weighed in on the city’s behalf.

“H.B. 1020 intentionally discriminates against minority voters in Hinds County by creating a system of judicial and prosecutorial appointments specifically designed to undermine the historical power of Black residents, through their elected officials, to self-govern,” they said in a complaint.

A federal judge dismissed the NAACP’s efforts to block the court in December; appointments for the court have not yet been announced.

Next year’s legislative session will overlap with primaries in the mayor’s race, which could be more competitive for Lumumba than either of his two previous races.

Some of his popularity stems from his revered father, Chokwe Lumumba, a civil rights activist, who was known on a national stage for calling for reparations, representing Black revolutionaries and successfully defending Tupac Shakur against assault charges.

The elder Lumumba became mayor of Jackson in 2013 but died suddenly at age 66 only eight months into his term. His son announced his plans to run later that year, vowing to continue fighting for the city.

“I propose that the people didn’t just vote for a man, they voted for a vision and for a movement,” he told The Clarion-Ledger newspaper at the time. “And no person is better suited to move that vision forward than myself, who co-authored it.”

Jacksonians will soon decide whether they still support that vision.

Before his indictment, Lumumba announced his intentions to run again. Outside his arraignment, his sister, Rukia Lumumba, said those plans had not changed. He could face a crowded Democratic primary.

Annie Cooper, 74, a retiree who lives in Northwest Jackson, said she voted for Lumumba in the past but has not decided whether she will again.

“I think that it’s important for people to do things in a professional manner,” she said, regarding the management of the city. “If it’s not run in a certain way, it just gives the state more reason to take over.”

Byron D'Andra Orey, a political science professor at Jackson State University, said the bribery scandal could shape the municipal elections. “He’s innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “But it doesn’t help his candidacy given the challenges Jackson faces. The negative attention it brings to his administration compounds what’s already there.”

The Rev. CJ Rhodes, who leads Mount Helm Baptist Church in Jackson, said he was “grieved” by the indictments but hopes the moment could prompt a change.

“There could be people in the city of Jackson who remind us of our greatness and see this crisis more as an opportunity than as a death sentence,” he said. “I think this is a great opportunity to convert the darkness rather than curse it.”

#nunyas news

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newstfionline · 4 years ago

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Headlines

World refugee numbers rise (Foreign Policy) A new report by the United Nations refugee agency found that the number of refugees worldwide increased by 9 million in 2019, adding to a total of roughly 80 million people. Only 107,000 refugees were resettled in third countries, with Canada receiving the most with 31,100. The United States received the second highest number with 27,500 resettled in 2019.

Migrant farmworkers die in Canada, and Mexico wants answers (Washington Post) Each summer for the past five years, Aaron has traveled from his home in Mexico to Canada as one of the tens of thousands of temporary foreign workers who seed, tend and harvest the crops that keep the country fed. This year’s journey was unique. Flights were limited. There were temperature screenings and questionnaires before he took off and after he landed. On arriving in British Columbia this month, he was checked into a hotel for a 14-day quarantine. But in this year of the coronavirus, the precautions have not kept all of Canada’s migrant farmworkers safe. At least 600 have contracted covid-19, and at least two, both Mexicans, have died. Mexico, which provides nearly half of Canada’s migrant farmworkers, has become so concerned that officials said this week they’re hitting the “pause button” on plans to send up to 5,000 more to Canada until they’re satisfied the conditions that led to the deaths will be rectified—threatening a labor crunch for Canada’s already squeezed agricultural sector. The pandemic has highlighted Canada’s dependence on the 60,000 temporary foreign workers who arrive each year from countries such as Mexico and Jamaica as part of a federal government program, and without whom hundreds of thousands of tons of blueberries, asparagus stalks and grapes would wither on the vine.

DACA lives on (NYT) When this country started hearing a decade ago about Dreamers—people who came to the United States as small children without legal permission—many of them were in their teens or early 20s. These Dreamers are now full adults, with careers and families, and many have spent years anxiously wondering whether they would be thrown out of the only country they’ve really known. Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, which barred President Trump from deporting the Dreamers anytime soon, came as a tremendous relief to them. “It feels amazing,” Vanessa Pumar, 31, an immigration lawyer who came from Venezuela at age 11, said. “I have been holding my breath. It feels like I can finally breathe.” Roberto G. Gonzales, a Harvard professor who has been studying DACA since it went into effect in 2012, calls it “the most successful immigration policy in recent decades.” Gonzales explains: “Within a year, DACA beneficiaries were already taking giant steps. They found new jobs. They increased their earnings. They acquired driver’s licenses. And they began to build credit through opening bank accounts and obtaining credit cards.”

AP-NORC poll: Majority of Americans support police protests (AP) Ahead of the Juneteenth holiday weekend’s demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality, a majority of Americans say they approve of recent protests around the country. Many think they’ll bring positive change. And despite the headline-making standoffs between law enforcement and protesters in cities nationwide, the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds a majority of Americans think law enforcement officers have generally responded to the protests appropriately. Somewhat fewer say the officers used excessive force. The findings follow weeks of peaceful protests and unrest in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died pleading for air on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes. A dramatic change in public opinion on race and policing has followed, with more Americans today than five years ago calling police violence a very serious problem that unequally targets black Americans.

Atlanta police call out sick over charges in fatal shooting (AP) Atlanta police officers called out sick to protest the filing of murder charges against an officer who shot a man in the back, while the interim chief acknowledged members of the force feel abandoned amid protests demanding massive changes to policing. Interim Chief Rodney Bryant told The Associated Press in an interview that the sick calls began Wednesday night and continued Thursday, but said the department had sufficient staff to protect the city. It’s not clear how many officers called out. “Some are angry. Some are fearful. Some are confused on what we do in this space. Some may feel abandoned,” Bryant said of the officers. “But we are there to assure them that we will continue to move forward and get through this.”

Beware the trampoline (NYT) Sales of outdoor equipment has surged as families try to keep their children entertained while on lockdown. But that has led to a spike in injuries from bikes, scooters, and especially trampolines. Some E.R. doctors have begun referring to trampolines as “orthopedic fracture machines.” Many injuries occur when multiple children, especially a mix of older and younger ones, are jumping on a trampoline at the same time. That’s what happened to the daughter of our colleague Adam Pasick, who broke her tibia on a trampoline on Wednesday. Stay safe out there, kids!

Missing in Mexico (Foreign Policy) Families of people thought to have gone missing amid Mexico’s drug war surrounded a motorcade carrying President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in the state of Veracruz on Monday demanding he do more to bring their loved ones home. Some 61,000 people are estimated to be missing in the country, and relatives fear that austerity measures, which could see a 75 percent budget cut to a government agency that provides funding and support to families of the disappeared, will only make matters worse. While coronavirus-related lockdowns have stalled search efforts, gang violence and disappearances have continued.

France and Turkey spar over ship incident (Foreign Policy) Tensions between France and Turkey rose after French Defense Minister Florence Parly said a Turkish ship refused to identify itself and its mission after an approach by a French vessel on a NATO mission to check on suspected weapons smuggling to Libya. Turkish sailors donned bulletproof vests and took up positions behind light weaponry during the incident, according to Parly. “This act was extremely aggressive and cannot be one of an ally facing another ally who is doing its work under NATO command,” Parly said. Turkey called France’s claims “baseless.” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that NATO is investigating the incident “to bring full clarity into what happened.”

Anger Surges in India Over Deadly Border Brawl With China (NYT) An Indian government minister has called for Chinese restaurants to be closed. Other Indian officials have suddenly put contracts to Chinese companies under review. And crowds of men are now smashing Chinese-made televisions in the street. A wave of anti-Chinese anger is cresting across India as the nation struggles to absorb the loss of 20 Indian soldiers beaten to death this week by Chinese troops in a high-altitude brawl along India’s disputed border with China. And the tensions are hardly easing. Sonam Joldan, a teacher in the Ladakh region near the India-China border, reported on Thursday seeing a line of 100 Indian Army trucks heading toward the front line, wending its way up the Himalayan mountains “like a caravan of ants.”

China charges Canadians with espionage (Foreign Policy) Chinese prosecutors announced today that they have charged two Canadians in Chinese detention with espionage. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have been held by Chinese authorities since 2018 in what is seen as a reciprocal move by Beijing after the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, by Canadian police. Meng is currently under house arrest in Vancouver while fighting a Canadian court battle to halt her extradition to the United States.

Singapore opens gyms, dining out as China outbreak steadies (AP) Singaporeans can wine and dine at restaurants, work out at the gym and socialize with no more than five people at a time as of Friday, when the city-state removed most of its pandemic lockdown restrictions. Getting back to business in Singapore came as China declared a fresh outbreak in Beijing under control after confirming 25 new cases among some 360,000 people tested. That was up by just four from a day earlier. Singapore’s malls, gyms, massage parlors, parks and other public facilities reopened their doors with strict social distancing and other precautions.

Palestinians fear displacement from an annexed Jordan Valley (AP) For generations, the people of Fasayil herded animals on the desert bluffs and palm-shaded lowlands of the Jordan Valley. Today, nearly every man in the Palestinian village works for Jewish settlers in the sprawling modern farms to the north and south. The grazing lands to the west and east, leading down to the banks of the biblical Jordan River, have been swallowed up by the settlements or fenced off by the Israeli military. So instead of leading sheep out to pasture, the men rise before dawn to work in the settlements for around $3 an hour—or they move away. “Everyone here works in the settlements, there’s nothing else,” said Iyad Taamra, a member of the village council who runs a small grocery store. “If you have some money you go somewhere else where there is a future.” Palestinians fear communities across the Jordan Valley will meet a similar fate if Israel proceeds with its plans to annex the territory, which accounts for around a quarter of the occupied West Bank and was once seen as the breadbasket of a future Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to annex the valley and all of Israel’s far-flung West Bank settlements, in line with President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan, which overwhelmingly favors Israel and has been rejected by the Palestinians. The process could begin as soon as July 1.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince uses travel restrictions to consolidate power (Washington Post) The formal term in Arabic is mana’a al-safar, or “travel bans.” But the practical effect of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policy of restricting journeys abroad by what appear to be thousands of Saudis is to intimidate those he regards as political threats. “This is hostage-taking as a tool of governing,” argued Khalid Aljabri, a Saudi cardiologist who lives in Toronto. Two of his younger siblings, Omar and Sarah, now both in their early 20s, were banned from travel in June 2017 shortly after MBS, as he’s known, became crown prince. MBS wanted leverage against their father, a former Saudi intelligence official named Saad Aljabri, hoping to force him home to face corruption allegations that Khalid says are false. An investigation shows that this practice of restricting foreign travel is much broader than generally recognized and is part of a larger system of organized repression in the kingdom. MBS has used these tools to consolidate power as he moves toward what some U.S. officials believe may be an attempt, perhaps this year, to seize the full powers of government from his ailing father, King Salman. The total number of Saudis who are subject to travel restrictions, according to Saudi and U.S. analysts, probably runs into the thousands. Those who are banned don’t usually know about their status until they go to the airport or try to cross a border post, where they’re stopped and told that exit is forbidden on order of the state security organization, which operates through the royal court. No formal, written explanation is typically given.

Zimbabwe on the brink (Foreign Policy) Three female opposition activists in Zimbabwe have been forced to remain in prison following a bail hearing on Monday as they face charges of fabricating allegations of being abducted, tortured, and humiliated by police. The charges against the women are widely thought to be politically motivated, while the U.N. called on the authorities to “urgently prosecute and punish the perpetrators of this outrageous crime.” The case against the women, one of whom, Joana Mamombe, is a member of Parliament, comes at a tense time in the country as inflation has risen to 785 percent. The price of bread and sugar has surged by 30 percent over the past week, evoking memories of the hyperinflation seen in 2008 that rendered the country’s currency worthless. Economic crisis and rising public anger have led to mounting speculation that a coup could be in the works. The national security council of Zimbabwe dismissed the rumors in a press conference last week, saying they were being fueled by allies of the late Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe.

#headlines #news

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berniesrevolution · 6 years ago

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JACOBIN MAGAZINE

On April 30, 1983, a group of Dutch radicals based in Amsterdam’s Pijp-quarter undertook preparations for their country’s yearly May Day — or Labor Day, as it’s called in the Netherlands. As the Pentecost of the global workers’ movement, the date is the only bank holiday without pagan or Christian precedents, standing out as the proud achievement of a century of hard-won class struggle. In 1884, Samuel Gompers’ Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions called for a demonstration for an eight-hour working day on May 1, 1886; four years later, after a violent day of strikebreaking that killed five , Gompers urged the founding congress of the Second International in Paris to adopt the first of May as its “official” holiday.

In 1983, however, the group in question thought the name “Labor Day” rather obsolete. Although the Dutch government had never accepted the validity of the day — mainly due to its overlap with the earlier Queen’s Day (April 27) – it remained a landmark for left-wing parties, with large demonstrations and fairs held in Dutch cities. The group proposed rebaptizing May 1 as the “Day Against the Work Ethic” (Dag tegen het arbeidsethos), celebrating the advent of a world in which humanity would be exempt from the “duty to labor” altogether. Earlier that year, members had gathered in the Amsterdam cinema Rialto to found a consortium representing the “conscientiously unemployed” (bewust werklozen) under the name “Dutch Council Against the Work Ethic” (Nederlandse Bond Tegen het Arbeidsethos). Soon, journalists showed interest, while “angry” members of the Dutch Labor Party (the PvdA) and trade unions voiced their discontent. Although the organization was officially a union of the “jobless,” figures within the mainstream labor movement expressed disagreement with the group’s intention to halt the re-integration of the Dutch army of unemployed into the labor market. Work was to remain central, the laborites claimed, and the Council was playing a dangerous game.

Opposition from the established Left, however, did little to temper the Council’s ambitions. Over the course of the 1980s, the organization grew up to be one of the most vocal components of the anti-work Left, with its monthly magazine Luie Donder (Lazybones), joining a growing chorus of leftists who believed that “the society of work” had reached its endpoint.

From Post-Capitalism To Post-Work

In many ways, the stand-off between Council and the Dutch Labor Party prefigured many of our current debates on “post-work.” In the last ten years, a distinctly new form of anti-capitalist theorizing has emerged under the heading of so-called “anti-work” politics: from Paul Mason’s Postcapitalism (2015) to Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams’ Inventing the Future (2015) to Aaron Bastani’s Fully Automated Luxury Communism (forthcoming, 2019). In contrast to an older, outmoded form of workerism, this “new” New Left has sought to distance itself from the “cult of labor” of previous socialist parties, and instead provide an unpretentious apology for idleness – much as the Council did before them.

Empirically, post-workerists claim to have marshaled enough evidence to underpin their project. “For the vast majority of people,” Srnicek and Williams write, “work offers no meaning, fulfillment or redemption” and is “simply something to pay the bills.” Since there is “already a widespread hatred for jobs” (coupled with the growing threat of a mass wipe-out of current jobs), socialists ought to respond to the “widespread demand that others adopt the work ethic… only by the disdain we feel for our own jobs. ” Like Bastani and Mason, both authors see the solution in active support for automation and a massive expansion of free time, taking “full unemployment” rather than “full employment” as the ultimate horizon. “In the end,” they state, “our choice is between glorifying work and the working class, or abolishing them both.”

To be sure, the authors’ brand of anti-work agitation is hardly a historical novelty on the Left. Late nineteenth-century anarchists already celebrated the “refusal of work” as the ultimate anti-capitalist tactic, while Dutch communists in the 1930s castigated their country’s “work ethic” as the “biggest disease of the century.” Most famously, Marx’s son-in-law Paul Lafargue wrote the famed pamphlet The Right To Be Lazyin 1880, to wide acclaim in socialist circles – although it was later silenced by workerists in the German SPD.

Almost a century later, the French May 1968 and the Italian “hot autumn” of 1969 were fresh high points for European anti-work politics. Situationists, Maoists, and devotees of Operaismo cast the tumultuous May Days as a general revolt against the “imperative to produce” in industrial society; as the Belgian communist Raoul Vaneigem put it in his 1967 The Revolution of Everyday Life, “from the Nazi Arbeit macht frei to Henry Ford to Mao,” the “cult of labor” was now a universal fact in the communist and capitalist worlds.

This cult could not last, however. The late 1960s, Vaneigem insisted, would witness “automation and cybernetics” cause “mass replacement of workers by mechanical slaves.” The rise of computerized production would reveal the increasing superfluity of human labor, and show “its adherence to the barbarous procedures of the established order.” “The trickery of work has been exhausted,” Vaneigem postulated in 1967, “and there is nothing left to lose, not even the illusion of work.”

Vaneigem’s plea is surprisingly similar to that of Srnicek and Williams for “full automation” – replace “cybernetics” with “mass automation,” “mechanical slaves” with “robots,” and one quickly gets the impression that there is nothing new under the post-workerist sun.

Yet there is some new about this latest wave of anti-work agitation, and there are several ways of gauging its newness. The fate of Paul Lafargue’s tract in socialist circles, for instance, testifies to the fraught reception anti-work writing had within the labor movement in its early stage. When Friedrich Engels tasked his SPD-colleague Eduard Bernstein with a translation of the work, Bernstein cut out several passages and framed the book as a “caricature” and a “joke” – Lafargue’s book being nothing more than a “polemic against bourgeois morality,” not applicable to the workers’ movement itself. Characteristically, Bernstein delivered a “revisionist” take on Lafargue and took the sting out of his subversive piece. But the same can be said of Bernstein’s enemies as well. Soviet panegyrists of “work,” like Lenin and Trotsky – who proposed nothing less than the “full militarization of labor” and a frantic acceleration of the work ethic – hardly qualify as post-work either.

(Continue Reading)

#politics #the left #jacobin #jacobin magazine #working class

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yuki-boshi · 2 years ago

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Kuro no Kiseki II Crimson Sin - Chapter 2 Side A English Summary

Table of Contents:

Prologue

Intermission 1

Chapter 1 Side A

Chapter 1 Side B

Chapter 2 Side A

Chapter 2 Side B

Intermission 2

Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3 Part 2

Chapter 3 Part 3

Finale

Aaron and Feri are seen performing at Longport. Van and Ashen are in the background discussing that it was a great performance but now it’s time for the Spriggan to do his line of work.

Swin offscreen called Van from the capital. The day before at the inn, Van gets acquainted with Aaron, Feri, Ashen, Jack, and Hal. Ashen explains that the Lai family has been kicked out from the council at Heiyue due to Cao Lee’s evidence during the Oracion death game. Because of this a rebellion occurred in Langport with multiple factions fighting. Ashen appears to be bothered that Cao has been extremely busy rebuilding the underworld after Almata was taken off the field. Aaron has no intention of joining Ashen and Heiyue’s schemes but will give his aid with Van.

The next day, the group arrive on 2nd avenue, which Van mentions he didn’t visit last time he was at Langport. Feri mentions that Aaron and his friends helped out the city during the New Years, much like a Spriggan member would and he gets kind of flustered when Van praises him.

Aaron also explains about the Heiyue Civil War and that they need to deal with the Lai Family remnants. The group find the Lai family hideout and raid it. Along the way, Risette joins the party. After the rebellion is handled by the group, Risette mentions that Kasim is on a business trip.

Just in, Aaron gets reached out by Sid who tells him that Fan Lu (Ashen’s father), owner of the Kowloon Bank has been arrested on charges for tax evasion. Old Man Gien appears before Aaron telling him to tell Ashen about the bad news before he collapses. After being escorted to the hospital, Cao makes his introduction in the game, telling the group that a substance was found in his body. Van says there has to be a traitor within the Lu family.

Van wonders who could be behind this as they waited for Cao to be off to Crossbell, framing Ashen’s father for tax evasion and poisoning Gien. Aaron says though he’s not part of Heiyue, he will do it for Gien, who’s raised him well. Ashen also says that they can’t afford to stay quiet now that their reputation has been smeared.

At the dock, they find Mirabel and Kasim talking to Professor Cronkite. He explains that he is helping Marduk with the AF (Assault Frame, aka the mobile suit) and that Marduk has implemented an AI that can classify areas in real-time based on importance and if it requires Marduk to intervene or not.

The group stops by the public bath with Aaron and Van reminiscing events from the first game and bond. Meanwhile, Risette comments that Feri has grown taller a little. She doesn’t think so, but she’s more worried since she’s getting older and her chest isn’t growing, she asks Risette how she and Agnes could have boobs. Van and Aaron are about to leave but they’re surprised that Shizuna is on the male side for bathing.

Shizuna joins the group to eat together, eating an almond flavored gelato. Van comments on her outfit, and Shizuna says she saw it on the street and fell in love with it to deal with the cold winds. Van thinks it doesn’t look that bad compared to the super tight suit before.

Shizuna explains that she also takes odd jobs as a part timer so she can spend money freely as she travels. She asks Aaron if there’s anything worth sightseeing because of all the commotion happening in the town and wants to see the Sea Cave from the first game. Van refuses telling her to find someone else to be her tour guide and she tells him to don’t be a jerk. She then leaves and says she’s off to do her part time job.

You can find Jack at the bar where you can play the SH minigame.

----

Sidequest 1:

Minhou from the Red Star requests for the group’s help when their “dragon car” was suddenly stolen. It is a symbol used to display power for their group every festival and it would damage their reputation. The model is based on the body of a “Nexus 3” and with all the modifications, is worth 30 million mira.

Gathering information inside in the theater, Fuuka the receptionist mentions that about 3 hrs ago, a Red Star employee took the car. The group clarifies that Red Star pulled out 4 hours ago. The time discrepancy meaning that someone dressed to look like an employee to take the car.

They talk to Anthony who might have an idea where it is because there was a former warehouse used by the mafia that was emptied out recently and should be unused. The group think it is perfect to hide a car and a truck holding the car.

They investigate the warehouse owned by Laihon but there was nothing there. They talk to a cargo manager and gather information.

The first answer is the first, it was done by multiple people, the second answer is that it was done by a small group, and the third answer is that they’re hiding out in the castle. They think it might be the Debanchi brothers from the first game.

After using the yacht to go the castle from the first game, they defeat the brothers and return the car.

Sidequest 2:

Bracer Shaolin requests help from Van, asking her to be his partner in a dojo match against her brother. They approach Riryen at the dojo. He explains that he’s a pharmacist, not a martial artist like his sister. Shaolin upset that her brother isn’t taking her request seriously says she will quit being a Bracer. He finds it unfair that she would threaten such a thing and finds the 2v2 to be unfair for either parties, so Van decides to find an instructor for Riryen.

They find Shenlee, a childhood friend of Riryen. The two team up against Shaolin and Aaron. Aaron wins obviously. Shaolin says that her brother should take over the dojo, but again he refuses, saying that it’s strange to make the loser take over the dojo.

Van tries to empathize with Riryen, but the group is attacked by a man with tattoos on his right arm. He apologizes for interfering and was just worked up by seeing them all fight and leaves.

Sidequest 3:

There’s a cooking showdown. Meishin, the owner, wants to the group to find a special sake that’s to be used as a broth The brewery that used to have it closed, and other competing stores were also tampered with.

They run into a hostess from the Lai family liquor store. Lanley explains that though the store is closed, the head chef was able to secure the kitchen for use and that he doesn’t seem to be the type to tamper with anything.

Van goes to see Kuwano who says that his restaurant is running low on ingredients too. Van asks if his restaurant was damaged in any way, and Kuwano says the water supply in the back was tampered with, but the damage is minor.

They go see Monshao at the food truck who sells the a Millenium duck. The group buy it, eat it, and call it suspiciously too good for street food.

Next they go the inn and talk to the chef, Wuhan, who talks about missing ingredients.

At this stage, almost every store has been sabotaged. Van goes to see Vase seller Jigen to buy what Meishin requires. They go to Church and get the second item for Kuwano. Thirdly, you fish a crab up for Wuhan. When the tournament occurs, Monshao is almost declared the victor with Millenium Duck, but Van interrupts by bringing in Mr. Ronkai, who analyzed the duck wrap and says that it possessives a highly addictive substance. He is arrested, and Meishin is declared the winner.

---

Back to the main story, the group investigates the Sea Cave to find out why it has been closed off for tourism and find that there are talismans that are all over the cave that inhibit human perception.

Kasim arrives to saying the MK AI system declared the Sea Cave to be a Red Zone Area. They explore the area and find remnants of the Lai family at the center with a Genesis fragment. They run into the tattooed martial artist, Gouran from the dojo sidequest. Gouran is a practitioner of the Moon Flower style and is rumored to be its strongest martial artist in this style. They ask if he’s the one pulling everything behind the strings since they’ve rarely seen his face before and he tells them to interpret it as they’d like. Aaron didn’t think that the Lai family had it in them to start a rebellion, but now that he has his eyes set on Gouran, he can avenge Fan and Gien. The group has the upperhand at first, but they are quickly forced back. When they try to pincer attack him, Shizuna appears siding with Gouran. Van says “so that’s what you mean by part time odd jobs” and they engage in a fight with the group and Kasim. Gouran uses the fragment of the Genesis to empower himself asking if the group’s weakness was just a fluke or not while Shizuna activates her Spirit Unification against Kasim.

The battle ends in the group’s favor as they knock the fragment off from Gouran while Shizuna is pushed back by Kasim. When Feri tries to get the fragment, a shadow grabs it from her grasp, with a voice asking Gouran if they should intervene. He says it’s unneeded and tells the group they should sharpen their fangs for his sake before vanishing with the shadows.

Kasim says he will be helping the navy so don’t expect any direct cooperation from him unless it’s needed, meanwhile Shizuna got dumped, so Van takes her along in his boat. He said he probably shouldn’t have, but Shizuna said that she could’ve easily just swam her way home. Shizuna mentions that she received an e-mail on her Xipha to aid those hiding at the sea and she complied.

Aaron comes up with a theory of the true mastermind behind everything, but it’s simply just circumstantial evidence, but Risette agrees with Aaron that it has to be that person. That person, being Cao Lee himself.

---

There are two sidequests

Sidequest 4: One is to kill a wanted mob

Sidequest 5:

The next sidequest involves a rumor spreading about Aaron. The group learns from Sid that Aaron’s former hookup Ruiri has been spreading lies about Aaron. Aaron explains that they grew distant after he traveled to Edith with Van’s group.

They learn from Jack and Hal about her employment, and they say that they’ve seen her gambling in the bar from time to time and has been seen with a dangerous group known as Dean and Jet, and the group asks her manager who reveals that she’s recently gathered a gambling addiction.

When they confront her, she leaves with a man, and the group are forced to contact Dean and Jet, who tell them that Ruiri has accumulated a 500,000 mira debt from gambling. They agree to tell the group her location if they can beat them in a card game. They give her location afterward and Aaron splits from the group to handle unfinished business elsewhere.

At the dock they find her and the man she was with. The man she was with earlier is a member of the Lai family who thought Aaron was a showoff and wanted to smear his name with his former sweetheart who was heartbroken by Aaron after he went to the capital. Though Aaron blames it on her for her not reaching out to him, she was bitter that he had a side to him that she never knew was possible and grew bitter at how much he changed. The Lai family member said that he would write off her debt if she smeared Aaron’s reputation and she agreed because she was already heartbroken. However, her attitude change when the Lai family member has the gang group on Aaron as she did not want to see him hurt. However, Van and Aaron easily subdue the gang and Aaron punches the Lai family member and tells him to stay away from her. He threatens that she still owes him 500,000 mira and Aaron throws the exact money at his face and tells him to get lost and he won’t give him a second warning. After reconciling with Ruiri, the two depart on good terms.

----

Back in the main story, they find Langport Station overrun by the rogue Lai family.

Lucrezia of Ouroboros decides to help them by using her weapon that can cut through space and bypass entrance while Jack, Hal, Sid, and Mirabel cause a distraction at the entrance.

Upon reaching the top of the building they find Ashen restained in a barrier and Shizuna refers to Cao as the client of the odd job. Cao is surprised that Van has quite the ensemble, ranging from a Divine Blade, to a Marduk employee, and even an Ouroboros Enforcer.

Aaron gets straight to the point and asks if Cao is behind everything. He nods and says it is. However, Cao justifies it by saying this is what Heiyue needs to prosper. Ashen in disbelief says that he’s acting nothing like the Cao she grew up with as a child.

After Cao’s forces are defeated, he tells them that Gien was the one who agreed to the rebellion due to the betrayal of the Lai family teaming with Almata. Though the Lai family was to be kicked out of the council, Heiyue would’ve looked bad as its second-most ranked family was colluding with them. By fabricating the tax evasion, the poisoning of Gien, and taking advantage of the Lai family rebellion, they were able to reassure the public and the other doubtful families in the Heiyue organization to prevent further division and any further rebellions in the Heiyue organization. Cao says that Fan is actually going to be released, and Gien has already recovered from the poison, telling Ashen to be rest assured.

Cao says he will make Heiyue the organization that controls the back of the Republic and establish itself as a name to be reckoned with in the underworld. As Van and Shizuna question why go to the extra lengths of entrapping himself, plus the odd job to protect Gouran. Cao reveals that he will establish a new House in Heiyue, the Lee Family, taking advantage of the power gap created by the Lai family.

Jolda shows herself and attacks from the shadows, introducing her formally to the group as their enemy. Cao uses the Genesis fragment to empower her, himself, and Gouran. The group fights and win. Fan and Gien enter the room and were taken aback that Cao wanted to establish a new House. Ashen asks why they aren’t stopping him. They explain they mustn’t because Heiyue will become even more divided and that trust won’t be restored with Fan’s family even if he was not prosecuted. Cao takes this as acceptance of his new rule and departs, giving Van the Genesis fragment as a thank you even if it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. Lastly, Cao tells Ashen that she needs to give up on the past version of him she’s clung onto and that she needs to awaken from her dream before leaving, causing her to break down in tears.

Elsewhere, Cronkite and Kasim witness the battle from afar. A hologram of a man in a suit says it was worth giving the equipment to Kasim and Cronkite and mentions that the AI that determines the Red Zones have updated its parameters to SSS for extremely dangerous locations. Before he can say the location, the screen transitions to Harwood smoking and Jolda appears from the shadow saying her work is done.

#kuro no kiseki 2 #kuro no kiseki #kuro no kiseki ii #summary #kiseki series #trails series

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nsula · 6 years ago

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Harrington to join Hall of Master Folk Artists

NATCHITOCHES – Long time Natchitoches musician, songwriter and philanthropist Rodney Harrington, singer for Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs, will be inducted into the Louisiana Folklife Hall of Master Folk Artists at the 39th Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival which will be held on July 20-21 in Prather Coliseum on the Northwestern State University campus. In addition to being inducted into the Hall of Master Folk Artists, Harrington will perform at the Festival. On the evening of July 21 Harrington will appear along with Rock & Roll Hall of Famer guitarist James Burton, Estelle Brown of the Sweet Inspirations and Grammy winner and Cajun folk artist Jo-El Sonnier, as guests of Johnny Earthquake and The Moondogs in the Festival’s grand finale concert. The concert will include a tribute to Elvis Presley featuring a recreation of the King’s Vegas-style show.

“We are honored to induct Rodney Harrington into the Hall of Master Folk Artists,” said Dr. Shane Rasmussen, director of the Louisiana Folklife Center and the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival. “He is not only a great musician, but his philanthropic efforts have benefited so many throughout the state. Audiences throughout the South respond so powerfully to the music of the Moondogs because of the band’s love for Louisiana culture and music. As leader of the Moondogs, Rodney has been a phenomenal cultural ambassador for Natchitoches and Louisiana.”

Harrington has been involved in music his entire life and has been an active part of the Natchitoches and Louisiana music scene for more than 30 years. During that time, Harrington’s contribution to Louisiana’s regional roots and original music have been in his various capacities as a performer, song writer, producer, attorney, concert and festival promoter and organizer, philanthropist and radio host.

Harrington helped form a popular Natchitoches group in the late 1980s called Dick Dante and the Infernos which performed for several years. In 1995, Harrington and some friends formed the group Johnny Earthquake and the Moondogs. Over their nearly 25 years of existence, the Moondogs have become a popular band not only in the Natchitoches area, but across the South. Under Harrington’s leadership, the Moondogs have managed to constantly change members (over 60 musicians have been members of the band over the years) while steadily increasing in popularity. The Moondogs have garnered numerous awards and been called by City Lights Entertainment Magazine “Quite simply Louisiana’s best show band.” Offbeat Magazine of New Orleans, a Louisiana roots magazine, in its review of one of the Moondogs’ critically acclaimed albums has observed “Tradition never sounded so good.” Harrington has written and recorded several Louisiana and Natchitoches flavored original songs. One of them, Cane River Blues, was featured in a Hollywood movie. Various compilation albums include his songs, such as “Hey Santa” which was featured on the recent The Very Best of Louisiana Christmas, a compilation released by the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, with songs by Fats Domino, Aaron Neville, Dr. John, Brittney Spears and other Louisiana artists. Harrington’s music related philanthropic activities have been numerous. He helped organize and for several years has served on the board of the James Burton Foundation which has provided hundreds of guitars for school children, veterans and their families and ailing children in hospitals. The Foundation has also started music programs in schools that would not otherwise have them. Harrington has also served on the board of The Friends of the Municipal Auditorium, which worked on the preservation of that historic venue and on the Board for the Ark La Tex Music Heritage Foundation, which raises money to purchase musical instruments for schools. For several years, Harrington has served as the chairman of the board for the Natchitoches Jazz and R&B Festival. Under Harrington’s leadership, the Festival has grown over the years to become one of the more popular music festivals in Louisiana and the South. Harrington has often helped raise money for the Northwestern State University Department of Music. When the Natchitoches Central High School Orchestra needed funds to go to Carnegie Hall, Harrington organized and produced a fundraising concert which raised thousands of dollars for the trip which made it possible for many students to make the trip who otherwise would not have been able to. When Natchitoches blues artist Hardrick Rivers needed a prosthetic leg, Harrington came up with an idea for a concert called HardrickFest, which he organized and produced to raise money to purchase a prosthetic leg for Hardrick. For the past 20 years, Harrington has hosted the syndicated radio show “Jammin’ With Johnny—The Johnny Earthquake Show.” The show, which is broadcast over much of Louisiana and into East Texas, has been rated number one in its timeslot. In addition to spotlighting and promoting area community cultural events, the show often features interviews with artists and live music in the studio featuring local and area artists. “Jammin With Johnny” is believed to be the only radio program in North and Central Louisiana that features live music on a regular basis.

The Festival will be held in air-conditioned Prather Coliseum located at 220 South Jefferson Street on the NSU campus in Natchitoches. The Festival will be held Friday, July 20 from 4:30 p.m. until 10:15 p.m. and all day on Saturday July 21 from 8 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.. The family-oriented festival is wheelchair accessible. Children 12 and under are admitted free of charge. For a full schedule of events, to purchase tickets or for more information call (318) 357-4332, send an email to [email protected], or go to louisianafolklife.nsula.edu.

Support for the Fiddle Championship and the Festival is provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Foundation and the Shreveport Regional Arts Council.

The Festival is also supported by generous sponsorships from Acme Refrigeration of Baton Rouge, Dr. James Arceneaux, Bank of Montgomery, Louie Bernard, City Bank, the City of Natchitoches, Cleco, John Conine; Corkern, Crews, Johnson & Guillet; CP-Tel, Delta Car Wash, Dan and Desirée Dyess, Georgia’s Gift Shop, La Capitol FCU, the Harrington Law Firm, Billy Joe Harrington, Jeanne’s Country Garden, Maglieaux's Riverfront Restaurant, the Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Natchitoches Wood Preserving, Inc., NSU Men’s Basketball, Page Builders, LLC, Sabine State Bank, R.V. Byles Enterprises, UniFirst, Dr. Michael Vienne, David and Shirley Walker, Waste Connections and Young Estate LLC.

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classyfoxdestiny · 3 years ago

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World won’t be vaccinated against Covid until 2024, says UK government

Britain’s announcement that it is sending 9 million surplus doses of coronavirus vaccine to developing countries has been denounced as “shamefully inadequate”, on a day when the UK again blocked moves to enable poorer nations to start producing their own supplies.

The People’s Vaccine Alliance said the consignment amounted to little more than 1 per cent of the amounts needed to meet the African Union target of protecting 60 per cent of the continent’s people, describing the gift as “a bit like sending a block of cheese to a food crisis”.

And campaigners noted that it came on the day that the World Trade Organisation’s general council deferred a decision on waiving intellectual property rights to Covid-19 vaccines until October, following continued opposition from rich-world countries led by Germany and the UK.

More than 3 million people have died with coronavirus worldwide since India and South Africa proposed the waiver last October, and campaigners warn that three months’ delay could cost another million lives. Just 0.3 per cent of the estimated 4bn vaccines administered globally have been injected in the 29 lowest-income countries, home to 9 per cent of the world’s population.

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said he hoped the UK’s donation would help speed up a vaccination drive which at current trends will not see the world protected until the end of 2024.

But the UK government was accused of failing to put pressure on big pharmaceutical companies to share the technology and know-how needed to end a situation described by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa as “vaccine apartheid”.

Meanwhile, Oxford University’s regius professor of medicine Sir John Bell warned that leaving the poor world unvaccinated will create a petri dish for the emergence of new variants which could bypass existing vaccines.

While the UK’s decision to send the first batch of doses abroad was welcome and “long overdue”, there was “more heavy lifting to do” in helping poorer nations put distribution systems in place, said Sir John.

“If you want variants, you’ve got the perfect storm for that, and it is not in Watford – it is in Zimbabwe and Rwanda and South Africa,” he warned.

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8 June 2021

REUTERS

Leaders of the major industrialised nations at the G7 summit chaired by Boris Johnson in Cornwall pledged more than 1bn doses of Covid-19 vaccine – 870m shared directly and the rest through funding to the UN-led Covax initiative.

But aid groups said the pledges failed to meet the scale of the challenge, which requires at least 11 billion jabs to protect the world. Former prime minister Gordon Brown called it an “unforgivable moral failure”.

In response to today’s UK announcement, People’s Vaccine Alliance senior health policy advisor Dr Mohga Kamal-Yanni said: “The 9 million doses the UK is sending are around 1 per cent of the doses currently needed for Africa, so it’s a bit like sending a block of cheese to a food crisis.

“All countries are struggling with new waves of the virus. While the UK and other rich countries are protected by vaccines, developing countries are not. Millions of doses are needed right now and we need to see a proper redistribution of doses going to people at risk in all countries, rather than small acts of charity.

“To vaccinate the world, all qualified manufacturers in the global South need to be enabled to produce Covid-19 vaccines, by sharing the technology and knowledge which is being kept under pharma monopoly.”

Aid campaign Global Justice Now condemned Mr Raab’s statement that some 20 per cent of the donated jabs would be distributed on a a “strategic basis”, arguing that it should not be up to the foreign secretary to decide the distribution of vaccines according to the UK’s national interests.

The group’s director Nick Dearden said: “Britain’s donations today are shamefully inadequate. And the government wants to use this as a form of diplomacy, offering many doses on the basis of their strategic interests. This is a global health crisis, not an opportunity for vain self-promotion.

“Worse still, this shoddy piece of PR went out on the very day the UK is blocking real solutions at the WTO that would allow many of these countries to produce their own vaccines in far greater quantities than donations will ever achieve.”

The WTO’s 164 member states take all decisions by consensus, so a minority of nations have been able to block the waiver despite support from the US and China.

Speaking at the two-day general council meeting in Geneva, WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell said there was agreement on the need to ramp up production quickly, but disagreement on how to do it. While surplus production capacity exists in countries like Senegal, Bangladesh, India, South Africa, Thailand, Morocco and Egypt, local manufacturers need access to technology and know-how from the industrialised world for local production of vaccines to be possible.

“Getting production in developing countries to a higher level so that more shots can go into more arms in Africa, Latin America and Asia, is of critical importance to everyone here,” Rockwell said.

Mr Raab said that the first batch of excess UK vaccines will be start being shipped to vulnerable nations and Commonwealth allies this week, with Indonesia receiving 600,000 doses and Jamaica 300,000. Some 817,000 are to be transported to Kenya, whose president Uhuru Kenyatta was meeting Mr Johnson at his Chequers country retreat.

“I think what it shows, as well as the domestic rollout and the importance of coming out of the lockdowns in the UK, is that global Britain is also a lifesaving force for good in the world,” said the foreign secretary.

Speaking during a visit to the Oxford Biomedica factory, which produces the AstraZeneca vaccine, Mr Raab said: “We know on the current trajectory the world will only be adequately vaccinated at 2024, at the end.

“We want to get that date back to the middle of next year, and that will make a massive difference to those countries affected.”

Romilly Greenhill, UK director of the One Campaign, said the delivery of the doses was “encouraging”.

But she added: “Sadly, we are still only scratching at the surface of this crisis, leaving millions of people dangerously exposed to a pandemic that is very far from over.”

Responding to protests over Britain blocking of the so-called TRIPs waiver, a government spokesperson said: “The UK is proud to be playing a leading role in the global effort to create and distribute Covid-19 vaccines. The government supported the development of the Oxford AstraZeneca, which is being made available at cost worldwide.

“We are engaging constructively with the US and other WTO members on the waiver issue and will carefully review any proposal submitted to the TRIPs Council, but we need to act now to expand vaccine production and distribution worldwide.

“The UK wants to push ahead with pragmatic action, including voluntary licensing and technology transfer agreements for vaccines, support for COVAX, and solutions for production bottlenecks and supply chain issues.”

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architectnews · 4 years ago

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Gensler Architects Practice, USA Design Office

Gensler Architects USA, American Design Office, Architectural Studio, Interiors

Gensler Practice Information

International Architecture Studio: Design Firm News + Images

May 12, 2021

Arthur Gensler – In Memoriam

Celebrating Art Gensler, architect, USA

photograph : Emily Hagopian

Celebrating the Life, Contributions and Achievements of Architectural Icon and Groundbreaking Interiors Proponent, Arthur Gensler, Inaugural IFI PRIZE Recipient (2020)

In 2020, IFI was privileged to award Mr. Gensler with the inaugural IFI Global Awards Program (IFI GAP) PRIZE in recognition of his indelible contributions to our discipline. As its first recipient, he established the highest benchmark for practice and the profession for this, the top honor for Interior Architecture/Design at the world level. We celebrate his life and are appreciative of his leadership and the impactful legacy he has made to the built environment. On behalf of the world community of IFI, we share our condolences with Mr. Gensler’s family, the Gensler firm, his friends and colleagues.

On this occasion, we share the following public announcement from Diane Hoskins & Andy Cohen, Co-CEOs, Gensler

We come to you today with heavy hearts to share with you the passing of Art Gensler. Art was an industry icon and entrepreneur with the vision that we not only design spaces, but that we do so with the understanding of how they have the power to shape the way we experience the world and who we become within it.

In 1965, with his wife Drue and James Follett, Art founded the firm that he led until the Board introduced the Co-CEO leadership structure in 2005. He is credited with making interior design a new area of architectural practice, raising it to a new level of professionalism. Art led the firm to break new ground as early proponents of interior spaces that reflect and reinforce a company’s brand and unique culture. His “inside-out” approach to architecture, examining the user journey in a building, laid the seeds for the human experience framework our firm still embraces to this day.

In his later years with the firm, Art’s leadership helped Gensler blossom into a full-service practice. He helped craft the blueprint for the firm’s interdisciplinary approach seen through the creation of practice areas. These decisions helped the firm earn clients’ trust and paved the way for Gensler’s expansion abroad.

Art’s lasting legacy is a global brand that only he could have created. He mentored his colleagues to put clients first, fostering a dynamic that can be seen in the firm’s decades-long relationships with clients. He championed the adaptive, proactive, and client-focused approach that treated service as a privilege and clients as partners. His philosophy of working alongside our clients to provide solutions for their most pressing challenges was part of this trademark style for yielding the most value for clients. His spirit and people-focused values will always be the pillars of Gensler.

Art passed away peacefully today, May 10, at his home in Mill Valley, California. He was 85 years old.

Art was predeceased by his wife of nearly 60 years, Drucilla (Drue) Cortell Gensler. He is survived by his four sons and their families: David and his children (Aaron, Thisbe, Dunia, and Pales) with Alisoun; Robert and his wife Gillian; Douglas and his children (Cortie, Cailin, and Mamie) with Kinzie; and Kenneth and his children (Morgan, Jake, and Sam) with Jennifer and grandchild (and Art’s great-grandchild) Charlotte.

Gensler Architects News

Gensler Architects – Latest News

17 May 2018 The Stephen Lawrence Centre, Deptford, London, UK photography : Gareth Gardener The Stephen Lawrence Centre BW: Workplace Experts is thrilled to have delivered the fit-out for Your Space; an evolution of the design of the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Deptford, London.

29 Apr 2018 The Nest, Wapping, East London, England, UK Architects: Gensler image from architects The Nest in Wapping Gensler creates creative co-working space for Cherryduck studios. A striking, architect-designed, creative co-working hub called The Nest has just opened in Wapping, near London’s St Katharine Docks.

3 Oct 2016 Temporary UK Parliament Concept on the River Thames, England, UK picture © Project Posiedon Temporary UK Parliament on the River Thames in London

29 Jan 2013 Gensler Ranks 2nd in World Architecture 100 Survey Gensler 2nd ranking : World Architecture 100 Survey Gensler has been ranked the world’s second largest architecture practice in the World Architecture 100 (WA100) survey.

16 Aug 2012 The Developing City – Vision 2050, London, UK Gensler Developing City Walking Tour A major exhibition on the past, present and future of the City of London as a centre for international trade.

image from architects office

The Walbrook Building, London EC4 21 Jun – 9 Sep 2012

5 Sep, 13.15-14.30 The City in 2050 Walking Tour Take a step into the future on this free guided walking tour around the City of London, exploring how the City might look in 2050. Led by leading global architects and planners Gensler, the walk will examine future visions for five London districts, using the architecture firm’s panoramic visualisation app.

Take a peek at the fusion of innovation and creativity characterised by the tech media and life sciences sectors which will co-exist and thrive in proximity to the well established legal and banking industries. See also how the City will expand beyond its historic walls embracing the post war ‘ring of opportunity’ which will encompass the vibrant fringe districts of Aldgate, Shoreditch, Barbican, Smithfield and the Upper Thames Street. And hear about the pioneering infrastructure, new public parks and world class transport improvements that will ensure that the City of London becomes the ultimate Business Capital of the World.

Information: This event is free but registration is essential Meeting point: Reception of The Developing City exhibition at The Walbrook Building, London EC4, 10 minutes prior to the start time

If you can’t make it take a virtual tour yourself…http://bit.ly/POIew3

An NLA exhibition in conjunction with the City of London

The Developing City – Vision 2050, London, UK The Developing City – Vision 2050 – 19 Jun 2012 London consolidates its position as the world’s Financial Centre and emerges as the first genuinely “Global City.” The competition from New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai is over. London has positioned itself as the capital of a global free trade zone which extends from the US to China. London is no longer one of two world cities; it is the only global city.

Gensler Architects : main page with news + key projects

21 Feb 2012

Gensler Appointment News

GENSLER APPOINTS PHILIP TIDD AS HEAD OF CONSULTING

London – this leading architecture, design and planning firm is delighted to announce that Philip Tidd has been appointed as Head of Consulting EMEA. The newly created role sees Philip lead architecture firm’s consultancy practice area across the EMEA regions, building on the success of Gensler’s US based consultancy teams.

image © Gensler

Working with Gensler London’s leadership team, led by Managing Principal Chris Johnson, Philip will work closely with senior colleagues across Europe, the US and Asia to enhance the architecture firm’s rapidly growing consulting practice area in the EMEA region. He will also be an intrinsic member of the firm’s consulting practice area global leadership team, together with US based Gervais Tompkin and Andrew Garner-Wortzel.

Philip joined the architecture practice from DEGW where he undertook a number of leadership roles over a 20 year career, most recently as UK Managing Director. His career includes more than 15 years experience across mainland Europe, including establishing new businesses in Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian markets.

David Gensler, CEO Gensler said “We’re delighted to welcome Philip to Gensler, as he brings a wealth of experience garnered across Europe. Philip will be the driving force behind our strategy to emulate the success of our global consultancy practice across EMEA.”

Philip Tidd, Head of Consulting at the architecture practice, said “I am delighted to have joined Gensler. The London office continues to go from strength to strength and the consulting group has tremendous opportunities ahead of it in the EMEA region. This is a fascinating period which I believe will see more fundamental change to ‘The Future of Work’ in the next decade than we have seen in the last twenty years. At the heart of Gensler’s DNA is design thinking coupled with close and enduring relationships with many of the world’s leading global corporate organizations; and we are ideally placed to bring creative insights and solutions to our client’s challenges”.

Philip is an active member of CoreNet, the British Council of Offices (BCO), the Workplace Consulting Organisation (WCO) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and is a regular speaker at Industry conferences in the UK and Europe on a wide range of ‘Workplace and City’ issues.

His appointment follows three recent promotions at Gensler London. Ian Mulcahey and Duncan Swinhoe’s appointments as Managing Directors, and Krista Lindsay’s promotion to Principal. These promotions further demonstrate the architecture practice’s continuing commitment and growth within the EMEA region, whilst nurturing and rewarding the success and talent amongst its employees.

2 Feb 2012

Gensler London Appointments News

NEW LONDON LEADERSHIP

London – the leading architecture, design and planning firm today announces the appointments of Ian Mulcahey and Duncan Swinhoe as the new managing directors of the London office.

The new senior management positions underline the firm’s continued commitment to the London market. The new managing directors key responsibilities will be the strategic direction of the London business across all design disciplines and typologies, building on the reputation established since the office opened over 25 years ago. They will also provide support to regional managing principal, Chris Johnson, and the Gensler offices in Abu Dhabi and Doha.

images © Gensler

Chris Johnson, Managing Principal EMEA at the architecture office said “2011 was an exceptional year for the London office and similar expectations are anticipated for 2012. These new positions reflect the architecture practice’s success and growth within the EMEA region. The appointments are also recognition of Ian and Duncan’s dedication and leadership in driving the business forward.”

Ian Mulcahey joined the architecture practice in 2000 and is the firmwide leader of Gensler’s Planning & Urban Design practice area. Ian has 24 years experience in the design and implementation of complex urban projects working in major cities in the UK and across the globe. Whilst at Gensler, Ian has worked on a number of high profile developments and masterplans, including Glasgow Clyde Gateway, Scotland, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dubai, UAE, Aqaba Special Economic Zone, Aqaba, Jordan and the London River Park.

Duncan Swinhoe is the architectural studio’s firm-wide leader for Commercial Office Buildings with extensive experience in large-scale architectural developments in the UK, Europe and the Gulf region. Duncan joined the architectural practice as design director in 2004 and has led numerous projects at the practice, including the World Trade Centre and Gulf Corporation Council HQ buildings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the Tameer Towers in Abu Dhabi.

6 Dec 2011 Gensler Film Surface Design Show have a new video, featuring a discussion between architects and designers from this architecture practice and 1508 London on the ways their roles can complement, or aggravate, each other: (no longer active)

More Gensler buildings online soon

Location: headquartered in USA – international offices

USA Architects Practice Information

Gensler Architects Background

This is a global design, planning, and strategic consulting firm, with over 2,200 professionals networked across 32 locations on five continents. Consistently ranked by U.S. and international industry surveys as the leading architecture and interior design firm, the studio leverages its deep resources and diverse expertise to develop design solutions for industries across the globe.

Since 1965, this architecture studio has collaborated with clients to create environments that enhance organizational performance, achieve measurable business goals, enrich people and communities, and enhance everyday experiences. For its longstanding commitment to the advancement of sustainable design, the architectural studio received the Leadership Award from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2005. Gensler Architects’ Bay Area offices include San Francisco, San Jose and San Ramon.

This architectural studio is an international architecture and design firm that was founded in San Francisco in 1965. In 35 years the firm has grown from one office to a broad-based organisation with offices in London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Tokyo and a total of 18 offices in the USA. The London office of Gensler was opened in 1989. It has a team of 210 staff and has designed over 25 million sqft of office space and is responsible for over £1 billion of construction in the UK.

American Architects

BD’s Largest 100 World Practices 2007 : 1st place

Former Gensler designer : Marshall Strabala architect

First Featured Project by this US Architects Practice

New Street Edinburgh £100m mixed-use development by Gensler Architects received detailed planning permission but didn’t proceed: image : Gensler, architects Calton Gate was originally designed for the Cuckfield Group by one of the world’s largest practices, Gensler, with Hackland & Dore Architects of Edinburgh.

Website: Building

Buildings / photos for the Gensler Architects page welcome

Website: https://www.gensler.com/

The post Gensler Architects Practice, USA Design Office appeared first on e-architect.

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dfroza · 4 years ago

Text

“Don’t be afraid or intimidated by others,

for God will bring everything out into the open and every secret will be told.”

A line from Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the book of Matthew

[Chapter 10]

Jesus gathered his twelve disciples and imparted to them authority to cast out demons and to heal every sickness and every disease.

Now, these are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who is nicknamed Peter, and Andrew, his brother. And then Jacob and John, sons of Zebedee. Next were Phillip and Bartholomew; then Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; Jacob the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus; Simon, the former member of the Zealot party, and Judas the locksmith, who eventually betrayed Jesus.

Jesus sent out the Twelve with these instructions: “Don’t go into any Gentile or Samaritan territory. Go instead and find the lost sheep among the people of Israel. And as you go, preach this message: ‘Heaven’s kingdom realm is accessible, close enough to touch.’ You must continually bring healing to lepers and to those who are sick, and make it your habit to break off the demonic presence from people, and raise the dead back to life. Freely you have received the power of the kingdom, so freely release it to others. You won’t need a lot of money. Travel light, and don’t even pack an extra change of clothes in your backpack. Trust God for everything, because the one who works for him deserves to be provided for.

“Whatever village or town you enter, search for an honorable man who will let you into his home until you leave for the next town. Once you enter a house, speak to the family there and say, ‘God’s blessing of peace be upon this house!’ And if those living there welcome you, let your peace come upon the house. But if you are rejected, that blessing of peace will come back upon you. And if anyone doesn’t listen to you and rejects your message, when you leave that house or town, shake the dust off your feet. Mark my words, on the day of judgment the wicked people who lived in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah will have a lesser degree of judgment than the city that rejects you, for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah did not have the opportunity that was given to them! Now, remember, it is I who sends you out, even though you feel vulnerable as lambs going into a pack of wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes yet as harmless as doves.”

“Be on your guard! For there will be those who will betray you before their religious councils and brutally beat you with whips in their public gatherings. And because you follow me, they will take you to stand trial in front of rulers and even kings as an opportunity to testify of me before them and the unbelievers. So when they arrest you, don’t worry about how to speak or what you are to say, for the Holy Spirit will give you at that very moment the words to speak. It won’t be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

“A brother will betray his brother unto death—even a father his child! Children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death. Expect to be hated by all because of my name, but be faithful to the end and you will experience life and deliverance. And when they persecute you in one town, flee to another. But I promise you this: you will not deliver all the cities and towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

“A student is not superior to his teacher any more than a servant would be greater than his master. The student must be satisfied to share his teacher’s fate and the servant his master’s. If they have called the head of the family ‘lord of flies,’ no wonder they malign the members of his family.

“Don’t be afraid or intimidated by others, for God will bring everything out into the open and every secret will be told. What I say to you in the dark, repeat in broad daylight, and what you hear in a whisper, announce it publicly. Don’t be in fear of those who can kill only the body but not your soul. Fear only God, who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. You can buy two sparrows for only a copper coin, yet not even one sparrow falls from its nest without the knowledge of your Father. Aren’t you worth much more to God than many sparrows? So don’t worry. For your Father cares deeply about even the smallest detail of your life.

“If you openly and publicly acknowledge me, I will freely and openly acknowledge you before my heavenly Father. But if you publicly deny that you know me, I will also deny you before my heavenly Father.

“Perhaps you think I’ve come to spread peace and calm over the earth—but my coming will bring conflict and division, not peace. Because of me,

A son will turn against his father,

a daughter her mother

and against her mother-in-law.

Within your own families you will find enemies.

“Whoever loves father or mother or son or daughter more than me is not fit to be my disciple. And whoever comes to me must follow in my steps and be willing to share my cross and experience it as his own, or he is not worthy of me. Those who cling to their lives will give up true life. But those who let go of their lives for my sake and surrender it all to me will discover true life!

“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the One who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is God’s messenger will share a prophet’s reward. And whoever welcomes a righteous person because he follows me will also share in his reward. And whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of my disciples, I promise you, he will not go unrewarded.”

The Book of Matthew, Chapter 10 (The Passion Translation)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 7th chapter of the book of Ezra that includes a letter given to Ezra:

[Ezra Arrives]

After all this, Ezra. It was during the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia. Ezra was the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the high priest.

That’s Ezra. He arrived from Babylon, a scholar well-practiced in the Revelation of Moses that the God of Israel had given. Because God’s hand was on Ezra, the king gave him everything he asked for. Some of the Israelites—priests, Levites, singers, temple security guards, and temple slaves—went with him to Jerusalem. It was in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

They arrived at Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king’s reign. Ezra had scheduled their departure from Babylon on the first day of the first month; they arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month under the generous guidance of his God. Ezra had committed himself to studying the Revelation of God, to living it, and to teaching Israel to live its truths and ways.

* * *

What follows is the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra, priest and scholar, expert in matters involving the truths and ways of God concerning Israel:

Artaxerxes, King of Kings, to Ezra the priest, a scholar of the Teaching of the God-of-Heaven.

Peace. I hereby decree that any of the people of Israel living in my kingdom who want to go to Jerusalem, including their priests and Levites, may go with you. You are being sent by the king and his seven advisors to carry out an investigation of Judah and Jerusalem in relation to the Teaching of your God that you are carrying with you. You are also authorized to take the silver and gold that the king and his advisors are giving for the God of Israel, whose residence is in Jerusalem, along with all the silver and gold that has been collected from the generously donated offerings all over Babylon, including that from the people and the priests, for The Temple of their God in Jerusalem. Use this money carefully to buy bulls, rams, lambs, and the ingredients for Grain-Offerings and Drink-Offerings and then offer them on the Altar of The Temple of your God in Jerusalem. You are free to use whatever is left over from the silver and gold for what you and your brothers decide is in keeping with the will of your God. Deliver to the God of Jerusalem the vessels given to you for the services of worship in The Temple of your God. Whatever else you need for The Temple of your God you may pay for out of the royal bank.

I, Artaxerxes the king, have formally authorized and ordered all the treasurers of the land across the Euphrates to give Ezra the priest, scholar of the Teaching of the God-of-Heaven, the full amount of whatever he asks for up to 100 talents of silver, 650 bushels of wheat, and 607 gallons each of wine and olive oil. There is no limit on the salt. Everything the God-of-Heaven requires for The Temple of God must be given without hesitation. Why would the king and his sons risk stirring up his wrath?

Also, let it be clear that no one is permitted to impose tribute, tax, or duty on any priest, Levite, singer, temple security guard, temple servant, or any other worker connected with The Temple of God.

I authorize you, Ezra, exercising the wisdom of God that you have in your hands, to appoint magistrates and judges so they can administer justice among all the people of the land across the Euphrates who live by the Teaching of your God. Anyone who does not know the Teaching, you teach them.

Anyone who does not obey the Teaching of your God and the king must be tried and sentenced at once—death, banishment, a fine, prison, whatever.

[Ezra: “I Was Ready to Go”]

Blessed be God, the God-of-Our-Fathers, who put it in the mind of the king to beautify The Temple of God in Jerusalem! Not only that, he caused the king and all his advisors and influential officials actually to like me and back me. My God was on my side and I was ready to go. And I organized all the leaders of Israel to go with me.

The Book of Ezra, Chapter 7 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for friday, march 12 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons about not giving up:

The Lord is likened to a potter and we are as clay in his hand (Isa. 64:8). Life on the "potter's wheel" can be messy, unsettling, and sometimes excruciatingly hard, but it is God's sovereign work to form your life according to his design and purposes....

Contrary to the assumption that the life of faith should always be triumphant, we all inevitably will experience various setbacks, pratfalls, troubles and sorrows in our lives. This does not mean that God does not care for us however, because on the contrary, this is by his design; a plan supervised by God's love and blessing, and the afflictions we therefore encounter are part of his work for our good (Rom. 8:28; Heb. 12:6). We descend in order to ascend. It make seem counterintuitive, but the heart of faith gives thanks for all things - the good as well as the evil (see Job 2:10). We affirm: "This too is for the good," yea, even in the midst of our struggle, no, even more -- precisely in the midst of our struggle -- for this, too, is for our good. Faith is the resolution to trust in the reality of God's goodness even during hard times when we feel abandoned or lost (Isa. 50:10). The Lord uses the "troubles of love" (יִסּוּרֵי אַהֲבָה) for our good - to wake us up and cling to him all the more, since this is what is most essential, after all...

The difficulty of personal suffering is intensely intimate: how do you keep hope in the midst of this tension? “Lord I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). How do you affirm that your heavenly Father will heal you but at the present hour you must endure suffering? Do you devise a “soul-building theodicy” seeking to explain your struggle – providing an answer about the “why” of your suffering – or do you attempt to sanctify suffering as a means of healing others by the grace of the Messiah (Col. 1:24)? Or do you wither in your despair? As Soren Kierkegaard said, “It is one thing to conquer in the hardship, to overcome the hardship as one overcomes an enemy, while continuing in the idea that the hardship is one's enemy; but it is more than conquering to believe that the hardship is one's friend, that it is not the opposition but the road, is not what obstructs but what develops, is not what disheartens but ennobles" (Four Upbuilding Discourses, 1844).

When Yeshua victoriously proclaimed, “It is finished” just before he died on the cross, he foreknew that his followers would experience a “purging process,” a “refining fire,” and time on the “potter’s wheel” to perfect their sanctification. At the cross of Yeshua death itself was overcome – and all that it implies – and yet it is nevertheless true that we will suffer and die and that death persists an enemy (1 Cor. 15:26). While we celebrate the reality of the final redemption, the “instrumentality of our sanctification” needs to be willingly accepted and endured. I say “endured” here because I don’t think we will ever have a complete answer to the question of “why” we undergo the various tests we face in this life. Our disposition in the midst of this ambiguity, in the midst of seemingly unanswered prayers, is where our faith is disclosed: will we despair of all temporal hope or not? Will we console ourselves with the vision of a future without tears and loss – a heaven prepared for us? Will we trust God with our pain and submit to his will, or will we “curse God and die” inside – losing hope and despairing of all remedy?

God forbid we should give up now, friends. Faith “sees the unseen” and believes that the day of our ultimate healing draws near. You are in good hands as the Lord forms your soul for the glory of his purposes... Stay strong and keep your hope alive (Psalm 27:14). [Hebrew for Christians]

3.11.21 • Facebook

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

March 12, 2021

The Limited Knowledge of Jesus

“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” (Mark 13:32)

This verse has always been difficult to understand. If Jesus was God, how could He be ignorant of the time of His second coming? Indeed He was, and is, God, but He also was, and is, man. This is a part of the mystery of the divine/human nature of Christ. In the gospel record, we see frequent evidences of His humanity (He grew weary, for example, and suffered pain), but also many evidences of deity (His virgin birth, His resurrection and ascension, as well as His perfect words and deeds).

He had been in glory with the Father from eternity (John 17:24), but when He became man, “in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren” (Hebrews 2:17), except for sin. As a child, He “increased in wisdom and stature” like any other human (Luke 2:52). Through diligent study (as a man), He acquired great wisdom in the Scriptures and the plan of God. After His baptism and the acknowledgment from heaven of His divine Sonship (e.g., Matthew 3:16-17), He increasingly manifested various aspects of His deity, but He still remained fully human.

With respect to the time of the end, this depends in some degree on human activity. For example, He said that “the gospel must first be published among all nations” (Mark 13:10), and only God the Father could foresee just when men will have accomplished this. Although the glorified Son presumably now shares this knowledge, in His self-imposed human limitations He did not.

In no way does this compromise His deity. In our own finite humanity, we cannot comprehend fully the mystery of the divine/human nature of Christ, but He has given us more than sufficient reason to believe His Word! HMM

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ericvick · 4 years ago

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With voting timetable uncertain, prospect industry is in topsy-turvy manner

Walsh resignation day is important The field of likely candidates to be successful Mayor Walsh, Secretary of Labor-designate in the Biden Cupboard, dwindled down above the final week as city councillors and other folks eyeing the seat waited warily to see what kind of election routine they will be confronting during this municipal election calendar year.

The preferred incumbent from Dorchester will probable resign sometime following month upon his Senate confirmation, in the process passing his responsibilities off to City Council president, Kim Janey, who will provide as performing mayor until an election is held.

The timing of when voters will get their to start with option to select a successor will possible effect who will operate, and who won’t. For every the city’s constitution, if Walsh resigns ahead of March 5, his departure would result in a exclusive election— a preliminary adopted by a runoff concerning the two best vote getters— that would be scheduled for early summer months.

The council, however, is taking into consideration a Home Rule Petition that would override that statutory provision and go away the overall issue for voters to make your mind up in the regularly scheduled elections in September and November.

The petition, which was debated by the full council previous week and despatched to a committee for additional evaluate, would require to be accredited by a majority of the council and by Walsh ahead of likely to the Legislature and the governor for thought. (See connected tale in this edition.)

As that important difficulty is sorted out, the industry of achievable candidates has been sluggish to consider full shape. So considerably, only two candidates are firmly in the succession industry: Councillors Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell, both equally of whom released campaigns last year when Walsh was even now regarded as a possible prospect for re-election. Previous week, two most likely robust candidates – Suffolk Sheriff Steve Tompkins and downtown Boston condition Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, chair of the Methods & Signifies Committee at the State House – withdrew their names from the mayoral blend.

Individuals however weighing bids for the total-time submit, according to numerous resources shut to them, include things like Janey, who will run Town Hall for at minimum a number of months after Walsh leaves Annissa Essaibi-George, an at-significant councillor from Dorchester who has built an increasingly robust citywide foundation above the very last three election cycles and Councillor-at-Substantial Michael Flaherty, the longest-tenured member of the council who lives in South Boston.

Point out Sen. Nick Collins, who represents South Boston, most of Dorchester, and areas of Mattapan, is also mulling a run as are Marty Martinez, a Dorchester resident who serves as the city’s main of Health and fitness and Human Companies for the city John Barros, a further Dorchester resident who is the city’s chief of Financial Development in the Walsh cupboard, by these who have talked to him William Gross, the city’s police commissioner, who instructed reporters final week that he was leaning towards a go and point out Rep. Jon Santiago, a health practitioner who signifies the South Finish and Back again Bay in the Legislature.

Wu and Campbell can both of those assert significant head starts more than new entries in the race.

Wu officially introduced her bid for mayor past September— two months in advance of Campbell. The at-significant councillor from Roslindale— now in her fourth phrase on the council— notched the race’s initially significant-name endorsement on Jan. 9 when US Sen. Elizabeth Warren threw her assist to Wu, whom Warren taught as a professor at Harvard Law.

Campbell, who life in Mattapan, has represented District 4 on the council because unseating longtime incumbent Charles Yancey in 2014. She announced her bid previous September, citing her policy function on the council and her roots in the metropolis.

In accordance to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), Wu had $535,589 in the bank at the conclude of 2020 and Campbell was a bit powering her at $523,731.

Janey, who will be the initial Black man or woman — and the to start with woman— to serve comprehensive-time as the city’s main government, has not nevertheless said if she will search for a whole, 4-12 months phrase. She experienced $96,965 in her campaign account at the conclusion of very last 12 months.

Essaibi-George is said to be very seriously weighing a mayoral campaign, in accordance to resources shut to her. A previous Boston Public Schools trainer and the operator of the Stitch House on Dorchester Avenue, she has been a longtime ally of Walsh, whom she has identified considering the fact that childhood. She has developed her citywide foundation around 3 phrases in workplace, and is a single of numerous folks with ties to Walsh’s political group and donors who could mount a feasible candidacy. She concluded 2020 with around $110,000 at her disposal for electioneering.

Flaherty initial joined the town council in 1999, and following functioning inadequately towards incumbent Mayor Thomas M. Menino, he returned to the council in 2013. He has approximately $198,000 in the bank, according to new experiences.

Flaherty informed the Reporter very last week that he is “weighing” his alternatives, including, “There are a lot of aspects to think about, such as who enters the race and irrespective of whether we have a particular election or not. Our town wants a mayor and leaders in each and every elected situation who are thoroughly dedicated to both bringing our metropolis through this pandemic and continuing the work of building Boston a far better, far more resilient and equitable area for all its citizens.”

Martinez, who at present has the large-profile occupation of top the city’s Covid response, told reporters last 7 days that his experience in that role would be an asset in the mayor’s business.

“The following mayor … will have a large duty to make sure we can finish this response and get to an equitable restoration, and I’m absolutely looking at jogging for mayor,” he claimed.

Martinez does not yet have an account registered with campaign finance office and neither does Barros, who is also observed as a probably prospect. A Dorchester resident who ran for mayor in 2013 and finished fourth in the preliminary election, he is now a seasoned City Hall veteran with powerful connections to the city’s business and civic leaders.

Of Cape Verdean descent, Barros was the longtime chief of the Dudley Street Community Initiative prior to signing up for the Walsh cupboard.

Gross advised reporters final 7 days that he is “90 % in” as a prospect himself. He was promoted to the BPD’s best spot by Walsh in 2018 and is a well known determine amongst officers and their families.

A Dorchester resident in his youth, Gross lived in Milton in more new yrs just before transferring again into the city— to Roslindale— right after his appointment as police commissioner.

“I can not give you an respond to 100 p.c,” Gross explained last week when requested about his candidacy. “But out of regard, I’m heading to give this deep consideration. If there’s a person detail that rings real, I would hardly ever be as presumptuous as just to throw my hat in the ring when the mayor was just announced.”

Michlewitz, who life in the North Close, reported past week that he will not run for mayor, that he will retain his seat in the Legislature, the place, he said in a assertion, “I imagine I can be most efficient to the inhabitants of the metropolis of Boston in my current function as the chair of Strategies and Means with a seat at the desk major us via the financial recovery essential to see the commonwealth of Massachusetts out of the problems brought about by the pandemic.”

Tompkins issued a very similar statement final 7 days: “While I am significantly flattered by each my inclusion in the dialogue as a contender for this honor and by the many calls of assistance and encouragement I have been given from pals and colleagues, urging me to critically take into account having the leap, it is with effective conviction and a renewed feeling of goal that I respectfully decline this prospect to provide the individuals of Boston in this capability.”

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#Industry #manner #prospect #timetable #topsyturvy #Uncertain #voting

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lunaschild2016 · 7 years ago

Text

Worth Fighting For - Chapter 1: Begin At The End

Rating: M (violence, smut, language, references to abuse and violence)

Romance/Tragedy

He was ruthless, cunning and completely committed to protecting his city but her arrival to Dauntless called everything he ever thought he believed into question. Duty and following orders were no longer enough. They both found more than they ever thought possible. They both found something worth fighting for. Eric/OC AU M Tragedy/Romance

@kenzieam@ericdauntless@jojuarez26@jaihardy@iammarylastar@captstefanbrandt@captainviolets@badassbaker@readsalot73@fuckthatfeeling@dani5102@beltz2016@beautifulramblingbrains@affabletimelady@irasancti@meganbee15@pathybo @lauraaan182@gylisaa@scorpio2009 @gylisaa

A/N: Posting this here but is also on ff.net site.

_____________________________________________________________

The Choosing age has changed twice since Eric and Four joined Dauntless at sixteen. First it went to eighteen and then two years before our story starts it was changed yet again by the orders of Marcus Eaton to the age of twenty. Eric and Four have been members of dauntless for over eight years at the start of the story. The last two years before choosing the dependents were kept to doing faction oriented duties.

Eric Coulter: 24, Dauntless Leader, transferred from Erudite at 16. (Jai Courtney-original cast member)

Kat Prior, 20, Initiate, transferred from Abnegation at 20 (Chloe Grace Moretz)

Chase Oldham, 24, Dauntless Training Instructor/Intel Ops Officer, transferred from Candor at 16 (Liam Hemsworth)

Tris Prior, 20 (almost 21), Initiate, transferred from Abnegation at 20 (Shailene Woodley-original cast member)

Tobias ‘Four’ Eaton, 24, Dauntless Instructor/Control Room Officer, transferred from Abnegation at 16 (Theo James- original cast member)

Zach Godfrey, 25, Dauntless Legal Liaison Officer, transferred from Candor at 16 (Aaron Taylor-Johnson)

Zeke Pedrad, 24, Dauntless Intel/Control Ops Officer, Dauntless-born had choosing at 16 (Charles Michael Davis)

Uriah Pedrad, 20, Initiate, Dauntless-born (Keiynan Lonsdale - original cast member)

Marlene Banks, 20, Initiate, Dauntless-born (Suki Waterhouse-original cast member)

Lynn Morrison, 20, Initiate, Dauntless-born (Rosa Salazar-original cast member)

Max Cornell, 48, Dauntless Senior Leader, Dauntless-born had choosing at 16 (Idris Elba)

Christina Stevenson, 20, Initiate, transferred from Candor at 20 (Zoe Kravitz -original cast member)

Will Madsen, 20, Initiate, transferred from Erudite at 20, (Ben Lloyd-Hughes-original cast member)

Tori, 32, Dauntless Tattoo Artist, transferred from Erudite at 16 (Maggie Q-original cast member)

Bud, 44, Tattoo Shop Owner/Artist, Dauntless-born choosing at 16 (Sebastian Roche)

So hard to let go

And I still hear the sound

Of your voice singin’ in my head

I can’t surrender

‘Cause the ropes slowly coming apart

But hangin’ by a thread

It’s gone on

For too long

And this is it

So take a look into my eyes one last time

So we never forget

The way we were before

When we came alive at the moment we met

This is still worth fighting

Still worth fighting for

A glass that’s half empty

Won’t wash away the mistakes

It only makes a mess

It’s worth defending

A tiny glimpse it would take

To make us better yet

It’s gone on

For too long

And this is it

So take a look into my eyes one last time

So we never forget

The way we were before

When we came alive at the moment we met

This is still worth fighting for

A love that wants to live

I’ll give you all I’ve got to give

So let’s try one last time

So we never forget

This is still worth fighting

Still worth fight for

Now that we know just who we are

Now that we’ve finally come this far

I’m ready for one more battle scar

‘ Cause this is still worth fighting for

[Still Worth Fighting For; My Darkest Days]

Chapter 1 - Begin At The End

Third Person: Candor Complex, Final Justice Annex

In a cold, sterile room made of white marble with swirls of black covering the walls and floor was a chair of black leather. The only piece of furniture in the center of the stark room, similar in shape to that of a dentist chair.

Strapped to the chair was a man clothed all in black. The first time he had been allowed to wear the colors of his faction since his own arrest a week and a half ago. A small gesture from those leaders that disagreed with what would be happening today.

Maybe it was supposed a kindness or a show of support. Just like their insistence that they still be allowed to be the ones to proceed with his sentence, his execution. It was ironic really that at the end of it all he was finally getting the respect from the faction he had always given everything to. A respect he had never received during his close to nine years there, no matter what he did or gave before. In the end...he was giving his life.

But it hadn’t been all for them or even the city. He was still selfish enough to admit that freely.

‘Was it worth it, Eric? Betraying your faction? Your city? Was she worth it, Coulter?’

The bitter and taunting words of a deranged woman from her own cell when his sentence had been pronounced reverberated through his head.

Movement around him draws his attention as the forms of the leader’s council come into view. The Dauntless surround him but the noted absence of one brings to him relief and pain. Four of the five current leaders take their places to either side of him while the rest of the faction leaders take up places on the outer edges.

One Erudite, Cara he thinks as he remembers her name, steps forward to join the Dauntless. In her hand she holds the instrument of his death. A locked box containing the death serum they had pronounced would be used on him instead of being allowed the death of a Dauntless, the customary bullet to the brain. The reasoning was that since all five of the Dauntless leaders had voted Not Guilty that it wasn’t a true Dauntless execution.

It was all just bullshit and another way to try and make him pay for the crimes he committed, yes, but also the ones the other leaders wouldn’t hold themselves responsible for.

“Eric Coulter, for the crimes committed against your city, your faction and humanity; you have been sentenced to death by injection of the Erudite death serum. This will be carried out by one of the Dauntless leaders, per permission of this council. Will the chosen for the proceedings step forward.” Jack Kang’s voice rings out from the side of the room.

Instantly Eric goes tense and a growl erupts from him as the petite blonde steps forward. “Not her!” He barks out commandingly. “Anyone but her.”

“Eric..” She starts to object, tears in her eyes as she continues to step forward.

He tosses his head from side to side, lips thinned and red in anger. “Not happening, Tris. You know you can’t do this. She will never fucking forgive you. Not like this...not after all the shit I…” He stops and takes a deep breath. “She can’t lose her sister too.”

Tris bites her lip and looks away nodding, knowing he is right but knowing her duty.

“Fuck it. I volunteer in her stead.” Four steps forward holding Eric’s eyes showing him he understands and will take care of it. Knowing that he risks losing his oldest and best friend for this.

Eric flashes a grateful look and relaxes back into the chair while Four puts a comforting hand on Tris’ shoulder to move her back but she shakes her head and raises her chin.

Her eyes flash with fire, a look he knows so well and it is comforting to see even if the color of her fire is off from the one he loves so much.

“She wanted to be here….but after the trial and then…” Tris trails off and Eric chuckles wryly knowing exactly why her sister wasn’t allowed into this room.

“Unless you want to add to the body count this was the only way to go.” Eric agrees.

There is a clearing of the throat and then Jack Kang speaks again. “Do you have any last words?”

There is a pause while they allow him to gather himself, or just give him time to speak if he is going to. The words of a deranged and enraged Jeanine Matthews were still ringing through his mind and a slow smile crossed his face. Not the cruel or wicked smile he was a legend for. This was her smile. The one that was only for her and could only be brought forward by her or thoughts of her.

They flooded him now. Their first meeting to their last kiss. And he answers the question that had been in his mind from the day she stepped on his roof.

“She is worth it. She and we, were worth fighting for. I found my reason and my purpose, something greater than myself. I can live with it...the blood on my hands...because I know it all comes down to her and those she cares about being safe.” Then Eric’s face turned hard, more into the expression everyone who knew the ruthless and fierce ex-leader would expect him to have. “Don’t fuck up this second chance.” His tone rings with a command that sends chills through the other leaders but amusement and pride through those in black.

The rest of the world fades away for him as he tunes it all out. He doesn’t see the room around him anymore as the murmured ‘be brave’ motto of their faction comes from the four to his sides. He doesn’t feel anything as Cara and Four begin to prep his neck for the injection.

All his senses and thoughts are on a playback mode. Starting from the day that changed his life forever and the course of the city. It occurs to him during this that it had started for them much earlier than that day she jumped from the train into his life. It began with the promise of a ten year old girl to set things right. Pride and love burn through him along with the pain of the modified serum.

“You did it angel. You kept your promise.” Eric’s final words were a whisper on his last breath and a smile tilted his lips.

#eric coulter #divergent #fanfiction #divergent fanfiction #eric coulter fanfiction #jai courtney #tris prior #four eaton #liam hemsworth

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sonofhistory · 7 years ago

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This may be a weird question, but what was Madison's relationship/thoughts on Washington?

The strongest argument for ratifying the constitution was the approval of George Washington, signaled by his presence at the convention and his support afterward. James Madison understood that Washington was the “heavy weight champion” (Brookhiser 7) of American public life, which is why he stuck to him from the planned stages of the convention through the early days of Washington’s presidency.

The revolutionary war thrust Madison together with George Washington who was the commander in cheif for the continental army at the time. Washington was nineteen years Madison’s senior and at first he could only serve him from afar as an admirer. In 1778, the Governor’s council, noting “the great fatigues” to which Washington was exposed, decided to send him “a stock of good rum, wine [and] sugar.” Two years later, a congressional committee Madison sat on sent Washington a dozen boxes of lemons and two casks of wine. “As for our illustrious general,” Madison wrote, “the rich Madeira should flow in copious streams.”

The two finally met in person in the winter of 1781-1782 (Brookhiser 31), when the commander in chief came to Philadelphia to plan the war’s end with congress. In Madison, Washington found “devotion, hard work and (in time) good advice. The younger man provided a gift which he revealed man years later in a discussion of Washington, “The story so often repeated of [Washington] never laughing,” Madison told, “is wholly untrue; no man seemed to enjoy gay conversation, through he took little part in it himself. He was particularly pleased with the jokes, good humor and hilarity of his companions.”

“Madison’s filial admiration for Washington was what almost any revolutionary, especially of his generation, would feel. But Madison would have more opportunities than most to serve his idol”

In November 1784, Washington went to Richmond to lobby the assembly for improvements to the Potomac. A bill was also introduced by Joseph Jones but after Jones left the legislature to take a seat on the Governor’s council, Madison took over management of a bill supported by Washington. Washington supplied the prestige and persuasion while Madison got the legislative work done. “Your own judgment in this business will be the best guide,” Washington acknowledged in a letter to his “partner”. As a result, the Potomac River Company was chartered in the spring of 1785, with Washington as president.

Madison’s first visit to Mount Vernon followed in the fall (Brookhiser 45). After he left, Washington extended an open-ended invitation to further collaboration: “if anything should occur that is interesting, and you leisure will permit it, I should be glad to hear from you on the subject.” He sighed his letters with “affectionately. At Madison’s urging the assembly had given Washington fifty shares in the Potomac River Comany, valued at more than $22,000. Madison drafted a letter for him, asking the assembly to give the profits of his shares to charity. This would not be the last time Madison would be the General’s “ghost-writer”.

As one of Virginia’s representatives in Annapolis, Madison had called for a convention in Philadelphia. As a member of Virginia Assembly in Richmond, he wrote a bill to approve the recommendation he had made. With Madison’s input, the assembly picked a slate for Philadelphia that included Edmund Randolph, Patrick Henry, George Mason, Madison himself and George Washington headed this list. Henry refused and Washington did not want to go either. Madison spent all that winter and spring “wooing” him. When he wrote Washington in December 1786 to tell him that he was on the list of delegates, he underplayed his own role in putting Washington on there. “It was the opinion of every judicious friend whom I consulted that you name could not be spared… In these sentiments, I own I fully concurred.” On his way back on congress in December 1787, he stopped at Mount Vernon to speak with Washington. Madison would also provide Washington with updates as to what exactly was occurring in the congress chamber.

George Washington took the oath of office in New York City on April 30th, 1789. Madison left no description of the day but he had stopped at Mount Vernon on his way back to New York in late February to help Washington write his inaugeral address. Madison wrote a more wieldy version, in six paragraphs. After Washington got the speech in the Federal Hall, Madison wrote the House’s response and Washington’s answer to the House’s response.

Whenever Washington’s abilities were questioned in the House, Madison came to the defense of him. When Washington asked Thomas Jefferson to be Secretary of State and he refused the first time, Madison was to play “matchmaker” and floated the offer back to Jefferson who finally agreed in February 1790. Despite James Madison’s disapproval with Bank Bill in February 1791, Washington had not yet during his presidency exercised his veto power. Washington talked the Bank Bill over with Madison, “listening favorably as I thought to my views,” and asked Madison to prepared a veto message.

1792, Madison’s new political party named itself the Democratic-Republicans, but Madison’s most urgent task went far beyond politics: it was to persuade George Washington to stay in office for a second term as President of the United States. In the Spring the Commander-in-Chief asked his advisor how to let the country know that he would retire at the end of his term. Madison offered his opinions on the proper time for such an announcement (mid-September) and the proper manner (an article in the newspapers), and drafted an eight-paragraph Farewell Address. But he included a plea, “Having thus, Sir, complied with your wishes…I must now gratify my own by hoping [that you will make] one more sacrifice, severe as it may be, to the desires and interests of your country.”

Washington seemed above this. Madison “cherished Washington and his own closeness to him, could not acknowledge how much closer Washington had become with his former staff [Alexander Hamilton],” (Brookhiser 110). Washington subsequently decided to stay on at the urging of others such as Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. By 1793, Madison’s secret endorsement was for Philip Freneau. Freneau was a Princeton friend from their college days who published a newspaper openly attacking Washington and others of the rising Federalist party and sentiment. Jefferson and Madison distributed the papers.

With the Whiskey Rebellion underway, Washington called up the militia of 15,000 led by Alexander Hamilton. This passed without protest from Madison but aspects of the affair worried his nevertheless: “a standing army was necessary for enforcing laws.” Madison worried less about the attack on western Pennsylvania than an attack on public opinion by George Washington. Washington believed that the crisis had been stirred up by the Democratic Societies. Edmund Randolph wrote to Washington that a Democratic Society in South Carolina had named itself “Madisonian.” This, Washington had not liked at all. He was attempting to uphold the law, while Madison was “consorting with its enemies.” (Brookhiser 120). Washington and Madison had disagreed on many things over the past four years, but now Washington began to suspect that his old friend was growing against him.

In 1794, Aaron Burr introduced the bachelor Madison to Dolley Payne Todd whom he soon married. This courtship was encouraged by George and Martha Washington (Brookhiser 121). By April 1796, Madison began to take on Washington directly and his unhappiness showed. Despite their recent political disputes, he and Washington and still maintained somewhat of a friendship. He had supplied with his Madeira, helped with him canals and constitution-making; Washington had even blessed his marriage. Madison reminded the president that he was not a “king”, that the government had not “hereditary prerogatives and reminded him of the power of public opinion. Yet Madison admitted Washington’s “high authority” and insisted that he himself used only “decent terms” to refute it. Madison divided mind weakened his argument. Washington found it easy to reject the younger man’s opposition. He ended the relationship. Though Madison would attend a few state dinners at the presidential mansion, he and Washington exchanged no more letters, paid no more visits. Madison’s own side was unhappy with him too. They blamed him for not fighting Washington “enough”.

In his Farewell Address, Washington followed the advice Madison had given to him four years earlier about how to “set the stage.” George Washington died on December 14th and Madison moved that the assembly wear mourning throughout their session. “Death,” he said, “has robbed our country of its most distinguished ornament, and the world of one of its greatest benefactors.” Madison had never fully accepted the estrangement to Washington and stayed rather loyal till the end. In 1818, many years later when establishing the University of Virginia, one of the texts Madison added to library was Washington’s first inaugural and his Farewell Address.

#james madison #george washington #Flood Pressles box #Sincerely Anonymous #american history

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sweatshirtbrigade · 7 years ago

Text

A Timeline of Planetary History

Notes: BP stands for “Before present”

The Leveler Era

Before 500 BP: Terraforming period. Interstellar human settlers that would one day be known as the Levelers settle the planet and its moon. Through unknown or poorly understood methods, they created oceans, conditioned the planetary atmosphere, and introduced the planet’s biota, ostensibly derived from their own. Contact between the human settlers and their mysterious home world is severed.

The Reconstruction Era

~500 BP: The last of the major Leveler machines cease function.

497 BP: Commander Mapother and staff makes the first attempts at collecting and preserving Leveler technology. While some of the staff members continue to attempt to make contact with extraplanetary entities and between other sites across the planet, others begin collecting and preserving samples and diagrams of small-scale machinery.

490 BP: Earliest recorded instance of rope-sniffing (the act of burning and smoking hemp rope as a therapeutic or recreational hallucinogen).

~480 BP: First of the settlements that would eventually form part of the civilized cores become established.

~500–480 BP: Printing period. The reintroduction of mass-production paper allowed several post-Leveler societies across the planet to use the still-functional physical printers to encode and print out the databanks.

~470 BP: Societies across the planet fully revert to pre-Leveler technological levels and adopt agrarian, mercantile, and pastoral societies. Papercraft continues to dominate in regions where a printing industry has been established.

The Axial Era

~470–400 BP: Areas where an established printing industry begin to expand in influence. Typically fueled by an agrarian base and living a largely settled existence, these became known as the civilized cores. Last of the databanks cease to function. Gradual redevelopment of technology begins, concentrating on creating machines based on blueprints.

470 BP: Traditionally reckoned founding of the Empire of Poldevia, the oldest recorded civilized core.

469 BP: Traditional date of coronation of the monarchy of Poldevia, the office of which would be known as “Emperor of the Sea.”

466 BP: Traditional date of the founding of the Emirate of Pascal, commemorating the crowning of the First Emir. The founding document of the Republic of Amercy, the Treaty of Co-determination, is signed and ratified months later.

459 BP: Central authority in Southern Jejima is established at Plaridel, which diffused across many landed estates. Other cities would follow suit, establishing a feudal system across the entire continent.

440 BP: Traditionally reckoned founding of the Kingdom of Sakoro off the coast of Jejima.

420 BP: “Rope sniffer” uprising takes place in the Emirate of Pascal, followed by a brutal reprisal from the government

421–400 BP: Formal consolidation of settlements in the Shiran regions.

410 BP: The Kingdom of Concord is established. Aaron, now known as the Magnificent, is crowned king.

404 BP: Pirate havens established in the island of Niccolonia.

400 BP: The constitution of the Republic of Amercy, off the southeast coast of the Mainland, is formally established.

399 BP: First Shiran Congress held between the chieftains of the Shires.

The Age of Sail

398 BP: The nation presently known as Poldevia consolidates power in the islands of the eponymous ocean.

395 BP: The feudal states of Belisario break out into a protracted civil war.

390 BP: The foundations of the Sapirian Empire at Southwest frontier of the Meridian continent is established through a network of alliances between many of the wealthiest alliances of settled autonomous regions in Meridian’s western civilized core.

388 BP: King Aaron of Concord founds the Royal Capital City, the world’s first planned urban complex.

385 BP: The first Emperor of Meridian is crowned, formally founding the Sapirian Empire.

381 BP: The Kingdom of Sakoro is established and separates itself from the other states of Jejima.

380 BP: Expeditions sponsored by the Republic of Amercy sought to establish contact and trade relations with settled peoples in a region they knew as “Poldevia.” The nation they established contact with subsequently adopted the name for themselves.

375 BP: The charter of the Granian council of nobles is established, creating what would become the Granian Empire. The first Emperor of the Granians is elected.

370 BP: The first of Concord’s great universities, the Royal Academy, is founded.

368 BP: The warring states of Belisario are unified under the Taipan of Serubo.

366 and 362 BP: The feudal realms of Jejima separate into two distinct political centers. The alliance of Mendesalia consolidates near the coastal city of Joao, whereas the nation of Marcelia gravitated toward the continent’s interior at Plaridel.

365 BP: Coronation of the first emperor of Mendesalia, the first “Jiman Empire.”

363 BP: Skirmishes, growing threats of northerly aggression, and anti-royalist sentiments force the southern Jiman aristocracy to talk of unification at Plaridel.

362 BP: The charter for the Commonwealth of Marcelia is signed at Plaridel, with the formal election of the first Lord Protector, Clive Lassiter.

356 BP: The kingdom of Sakoro off the coast of Jejima becomes a constitutional monarchy.

350 BP: Concordian settlement extends to the western frontier. Settlers coin these eastern provinces “Bufferia,” derived from the name of the largest new province, Buford.

340: Height of Concordian culture. The first instance of the eastern civilized core of the country being poetically called “Madrasah,” referring to its great universities, is attested.

320 BP: The first of the “University Riots,” politically charged conflicts between rival university fraternities, is recorded in Concord.

~310 BP: Establishment of pirate states in the Petronesian islands of the Barrian ocean.

~300 BP: Nomadic hunter-gatherer societies in the Teslan and Soren plains of the Mainland began practicing shifting agriculture and gradually began transitioning to settled society.

300 BP: The Sapirian Meridian Empire begins establishing semi-independent settlements across the Western Meridian coast.

299 BP: Traditionally reckoned founding of the Telsan Confederacy. The chieftain of Coil Town becomes the first monarch of the new principality.

280 BP: The Granian Emperor allows expeditions into Shinar and its outlying islands. Babel colony established.

279 BP: A similar colonial expedition is enacted by Concord. Concordians settle the island of Rudyard, formally beginning the colonial realms known as “New Concord.”

275 BP: The states of the Peanut Coast of the Mainland become protectorates of Concord.

270 BP: Settlement of the Soren plain by immigrants from the state of Amercy begins. The city presently known as Marshall Yard is established as a trading post.

~260 BP: Further inward settlement is undertaken by the Rads of Amercy, intermingling with the natives of the Soren plain.

260 BP: Rad mercantile brotherhoods from Amercy establish the trading post at Rockford. The Rockford Collective is established as a mercantilist state.

255 BP: In response to growing tension between their tribes and the Rad settlers to the east and the Chapekosian duchy to the west, the Teslan Confederacy s begin to shift gears and adopt the formalized styles of the states from the civilized cores.

240–230 BP: The Sail Wars. Marcelia and allied city-state Amorsolo become embroiled in maritime conflict with Poldevia and the pirate states of Niccolonia.

230 BP: The Teslan Confederacy begins to weaponize electricity.

~210 BP: Rads begin to settle in the Peanut Coast.

200 BP: Natural gas pockets are discovered in the Shiran steppe. Stephensonia industrializes ahead of the rest of the feudal states of the Shiran realms in the Mainland.

The Steam Era

199 BP: The Peanut Coast is consolidated as a colony by the Concordian Empire as Radocarveria.

190 BP: Buoyed by the military support from Pascal, the Principality of Barrie becomes the first “legitimate” state in the Petronesian archipelago. It would remain a de facto protectorate for most of its history.

189–179 BP: Rebellions erupt in the Peanut Coast.

185 BP: Industrialization spreads to Chapekosia, Rockford, Amercy, and the Soren plain colonies.

182 BP: Amercy and its colonies reorganize their government to become the Federation of Soren.

181 BP: A trade partnership is established between the new Federation of Soren and the Emirate of Pascal.

180 BP: Industrialization in Concord and Pascal. Border skirmishes for outlying islands ensue. Rampant corruption racks the Concordian royal court and parliament.

179 BP: The last of the Peanut Coast Rebellions is quashed in a decisive and violent victory for Concord. Chapekosia and the Teslan Confederacy form an alliance.

175 BP: The outer Shinarian colonies withdraw from the Granian Council and seek devolution, which is granted due to practical concerns. Self-rule becomes the norm for Shinar.

170 BP: Industrialization in Grania and Sapiria.

165 BP: The royal massacre at Sapiria leaves only one heir, the elector Frederick Blackheart, who inherits the throne and is shrewdly elected to the Meridian Crowns. The Meridian Empire is now a united monarchy.

150 BP: The charter creating the Southern Federation, an organization comprising of the states of Soren, Rockford, Chapekosia, Pascal, and the Teslan Confederacy, is formed.

149 BP: The Shires, save for the regions influenced by Stephensonia, are occupied and made a suzerain by the Jejima-based nation of Marcelia under Lord Protector Martin Lassiter, Jr. The resistant Stephensonia becomes an independent state. The Principality of Barrie becomes a client state of Marcelia.

145 BP: The Southern Federation standardizes its weights, measures, and rail gauges.

145–120: The ambitious transcontinental railway is undertaken by the Southern Federation, backed initially by investments by the Lassiter Banking Group in Marcelia. Pascal’s involvement in the first and second Steam War, and Marcelia’s conflict with potential trade partner Stephensonia, caused great delays in the completion of the railway.

145–130 BP: First Steam War triggered by a sea lane dispute between Pascal and Concord. Decisive victory for Concord. A chunk of the northern frontier of Pascal, known subsequently as Gateway Colony, is ceded to the growing Concordian Empire.

137 BP: Chapekosia and the Teslan Confederacy are united in personal union by the marriage of the two nations’ monarchs. The resulting union, Theslochapekia, becomes a de facto singular nation, though both nations retain their identity.

130–120 BP: The Great Game of Jejima. Meridian attempts to counter the growing influence of the fledgling Federation in the southern hemisphere through open conflict and political sabotage against the North Jiman Empire of Mendesalia. Marcelia stays neutral, while Pascal is forced to sit at the sidelines, stunting the Federation considerably.

125 BP: Aplomb of Marcelian hegemony, with the state having control over suzerains in Sakoro, Niccolonia, and the Shires. A minor war nearly begins when Stephensonia sought a trade agreement with the Southern Federation. A compromise was made that recognized Stephensonia’s membership to the Federation while cancelling all continued interests of the Lassiter Banking Group withdraw.

121 BP: The northern monarchy at Mendesalia falls under pressure from Meridian.

120 BP: Second Steam War, which ends in the occupation of Pascal by Concordian troops. The Federation devolves to infighting and is nearly dissolved. The railway project, though far from complete and connected only within the Sorenian and Theslochapekian territories, became functional enough to facilitate trade.

118 BP: Meridian establishes a military presence in the Pequod islands, creating a large naval base and shipyard in what is now Hermanople.

117 BP: A renegade prince from the Kingdom of Concord leads a coup in the island of Rudyard. The Kingdom was forced to relinquish the territory in a matter of months.

The Electric Era

115 BP: The first electric dams open in Stephensonia

110 BP: Political refugees are granted asylum by King Aaron III of Concord, who grants them citizenship and allows them to establish towns in a frontier region now known as Booker.

108 BP: Skyscraper development in Babel marked the emergence of Shinar as a “model colony.

100 BP: The insular states of Poldevia, Darwallia, Rudyard, and Amorsolo establish Allied Insular League.

99 BP: The Hypathia massacre. The weapon carried by the Meridian Destroyer ship Hypathia is fired, aimed at the Concordian Royal Family’s summer palace. The allegedly revanchist actions launched by Meridian against Concord led the nations to a warpath.

98 BP: Princess Maryam, only surviving daughter of Aaron III and sister of Aaron IV, ascends the throne as Miriam I. She recognizes the independence of her cousin the Prince of Rudyard, who also becomes the de jure ruler of a self-ruling Radocarveria on the Peanut Coast, gaining support from promises for self-rule and eventual independence.

98–95: Third Steam War, concluding with the collapse of the Emirate of Pascal and the formation of two warring states in the process. The Emir is sent into exile.

87 BP: The Allied Insular League barters an economic and military partnership with the Federation.

87–73 BP: Repeated treaties between the Allied Insular League and the Federation continue to strengthen the bond between the two alliances.

81 BP: Conclusion of the Third Steam War.

80 BP: The Southern Federation admits Marcelia, Mendesalia, and the states of the Allied Insular League. A charter amendment essentially creates the modern United Federation.

The First Great Game of the Powers

79 BP: Another amendment of the Federation Charter is made, which proposed the establishment of a permanent seat for the United Federation council and member assembly. The small coastal plain town of Galt, formerly part of the smallest member republic Tezuka, is adopted for the purpose.

75 BP: Gas Massacre at Pennant. An attempt by the Prisman government to settle peace talks favorably through drugging the populace leads to an unintended mass poisoning through toxic hallucinogenic gas on the date of the treaty negotiations. The Prismans, appalled by the consequences of their actions, counteroffer with unilateral surrender.

74 BP: The Emir is welcomed back to Pascal as the Pennantine and Prisman governments renounce legitimacy and re-recognize the Emir’s government.

73 BP: The final amendment of the modern Federation charter, that of unified diplomacy, is proposed. This amendment formalizes the status of the United Federation as a single government

71 BP: Pascalese reconstruction begins.

71–65 BP: The second phase of the Federal railway construction, supported by Marcelia and using more modern tracklaying projects, takes place. Marcelia and Mendesalia meanwhile, undertake their own railway modernization project.

70–65 BP: Concordian Civil War/Bufferian Revolution. The long-neglected provinces of Bufferia launch a civil war against the Crown. The northern frontier of Concord is taken by the Meridian Empire in the ensuing chaos. Revolutionist Caledon Perot becomes the first chancellor of an independent Bufferia.

70 BP: The third generation of standardized infrastructure projects is finalized by the United Federation government, solidifying the union of its members.

68 BP: Upon Perot’s assassination, leadership of the Bufferian nation was succeeded militarist Adolfo Benedetti.

67: Adolfo Benedetti is overthrown in a coup d’etat after Royalist Concordian forces retake the city of Thuran. He is succeeded by the charismatic marshal Caudillo Delgado, a known proponent of Nuclear power.

66 BP: Bufferia’s 3rd Chancellor, the “Iron Marshal” Caudillo Delgado, enacts a program that established the state’s firm military control over Concord’s central steppes. Having been largely abandoned by loyalist forces, the northern frontier, Campbell declares neutrality in the civil war. The Royalists begin fortifying their western mountain ranges.

65 BP: Fourth Steam War. A resurgent alliance between a strengthened Southern Federation recaptures the lost territories of the Emirate of Pascal. Bufferia’s Chancellor Delgado continues to pursue rapid development of the country’s military industrial complex, culminating in the creation of the nuclear program. His diplomats attempt to court the Ban and the devolved Campbellian council, now de facto independent, to join with Bufferia or grant them mining rights.

64 BP: A referendum held by the Ban of Campbell never manifests as the Meridian Empire invades the province.

The Detente

64–55 BP: Raymond Horace Beaufort rules as Lord Protector of Marcelia. His daughter Caitlin would marry into House Seagrave, ruling family of the city-state of Amorsolo.

63 BP: The governments of the Peanut Coast receive independence backing as scheduled. Rudyard and the now-independent republics of Makoma and Carver are granted membership into the United Federation.

60 BP: The Federation continues to pursue Internal Unification through the introduction of its standard currency, the Moneto.

56 BP: The Threshold Conference signals both the formal end of the Steam War and first sign of the unanimity of the Federation members, signaling the arrival of the United Federation as a singular world power.

55 BP: Herman Sanderson succeeds R.H. Beaufort as Lord Protector of Marcelia.

50 BP: The Federation Assembly approves the roadway standardization project.

45 BP: Marcelia’s new Lord Protector, Herman Sanderson declares the State of Emergency in the Commonwealth of Marcelia under Sanderson. The city-state of Amorsolo is forcibly annexed by the Commonwealth of Marcelia.

41 BP: Chancellor Delgado of Bufferia dies of cancer and is succeeded by his protégé Ernest Schickgruber.

40 BP: Sanderson occupies Mendesalia on the pretext of keeping order.

39 BP: Sanderson, claiming “birthright,” establishes a short-lived “Empire of Jejima,” much to the condemnation of the United Federation assembly.

38 BP: Chancellor Schickgruber of Bufferia pursues the repression of opposing political parties.

37 BP: The colony of Campbell and Booker, conquered by Meridian approximately 40 years prior, is declared “pacified.”

35 BP: “Moneto recession” grips the United Federation, causing the collapse of several economies in the United Federation. The Suzerainty of the Shires, a Marcelian possession, declares bankruptcy, fueling the desire for independence. A resurgent Meridian Empire begins to fund a nuclear program of its own.

33 BP: Pro-independence demonstrations in The Shires gain immense traction and popular support in spite of Marcelian repression.

30 BP: The government of the Suzerainty of the Shires formally defects to the pro-independence movements, freeing it of its debt obligations. Sanderson’s representatives cast the winning vote for greater internal unity within the United Federation, to the consternation of many.

29 BP: The independent Shiran government is recognized as a Federation Canton.

25 BP: The first completely nonviolent, uncontested election takes place in Bufferia. Winston Volgin becomes Chancellor.

24 BP: Sanderson’s government pulls out of Mendesalia. The resulting successor government will later name itself North Jejima to distance itself permanently from any claim of monarchy.

23 BP: Marcelia expels its longtime lord protector Sanderson with the support of many member states of the United Federation. Caitlin Seagrave becomes Lord Protector of South Jejima, a canton formed from the formal merging of two of Sanderson’s realms, centered on Amorsolo.

17 BP: The Concordian government secretly cedes the island of Rotwang to Shinarian pro-independence activists.

The Second Great Game of the Powers

15 BP: Shinarian revolutionary standoff leads to the independence of the Republic of Shinar from the Meridian Empire. A similar uprising emerges in the colony of Campbell, in response to the suspension of the People’s Front of Campbell after a crackdown on pro-democracy sentiments in the Meridian Empire.

14 BP: The Shinarian revolutionary movement consolidates power in the population centers in the south of the country but fails to cross the interior scrublands and desert to take the entire continent. The People’s Front of Campbell is formally dissolved.

2 BP: The first presentation of the Meridian nuclear program is revealed to the public in an event held in Amorsolo.

1 BP: Pro-democracy movements in Sakoro become embroiled in a culture war against the loyalists of the country’s corrupt prime minister.

#sweatshirt brigade #world building #history #civilization #events #timeline #World Building June 2017

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smartsheffield · 8 years ago

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Notes from the Meetup #3: Getting things talking to each other

The third edition of the SmartSheffield meetup was held on Monday the 6th Feb 2017, and despite the freezing cold and rain we were graced with a record turnout. So thanks everyone who came along!

Here are my notes from the talks and conversations:

Ian Stewart on Arqiva's Sigfox network

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Arqiva is a British telecoms infrastructure company, who operate two low-power wide area network technologies in the UK: FlexNet, which is used for connecting things like electricity and water smart-meters, and is being used in national roll-outs of those devices, and Sigfox which is perhaps more relevant to the SmartSheffield community as it provides an accessible test bed for connected sensors and devices.

Ian Stewart and Simon Scerri-Taylor talked us through Arqiva's strategy in general, and the Sigfox implementation in particular.

Here are the key points:

Sigfox is low energy, low bandwidth and low integrity (meaning it doesn't guarantee that all messages will get delivered).

It is a 'lightweight' network, or a 'chirping' technology rather than a transmission technology.

It provides no encryption natively.

It's messages transport 9 bytes of user data, alongside the package metadata.

The metadata includes the timestamp.

There is no handshaking - messages are simply sent three times in succession to improve the chances of reception.

Devices can send a maximum of 140 messages per day.

Data is stored in Sigfox's cloud storage facility, where it can be accessed by clients or transferred and processed elsewhere.

Sigfox devices can potentially run for over a decade on a couple of AA batteries

Range depends on the environment and power used, but it does penetrate buildings and coverage can quite easily be extended (receivers are the size of a thick laptop).

There is a strong global community and 3rd party support ecosystem for the technology.

Arqiva's have implemented Sigfox networks in 11 cities, including Sheffield.

All this means that this network is suitable for a large number of small, cheap devices that don't need to continually transmit data, but only sporadically, or when things change.

Ian’s presentation and Q&A is on Trello, here: https://trello.com/c/v3tmPO1j

Mark Wheeler on Broadway Partners and TV Whitespace

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Mark Wheeler from Broadway Partners presented their work in TV Whitespace, i.e. using unused television spectrum, to deliver Internet connectivity to areas that are under-served.

Many of these areas are in rural and hard to reach parts of the country, and Broadway Partners have run successful trials in such places, notably on the isle of Aaron in Scotland. However there are a large number of under-served and digitally excluded communities in cities and towns as well, and the company is also developing urban solutions, working with housing associations and local authorities to fill in 'not-spots' where the traditional phone and fibre-based market is not providing adequate coverage. TV Whitespace is particularly suitable for this as it provides for non-line of sight transmission, along with high bandwidth - by the end of the year 100mbps devices will be available for under £100.

Mark's presentation and Q&A are on Trello, here: https://trello.com/c/4G1o13sK

Scott Knowles from ObjectForm on Barclay's Pop-up Eagle Lab and LoRaWAN

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Scott Knowles from 3D Printing firm ObjectForm talked to us about the ‘pop-up Eagle Lab' he is organising with Barclays next month, and particularly the LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) node that he is setting up.

Barclays Eagle Labs are innovation / incubation spaces that Barclays Bank are setting up around the country - there are currently 9 in operation, and Sheffield could become the next. In preparation for that, Barclays in conjunction with ObjectForm and Sheffield Hallam University, are running an Eagle Lab for a month as a trial, from the 27th February in the beautiful Sheffield Institute of Arts building on Fitzalan Square.

There will be a whole range of activities and technologies to try out and experiment with, and Scott will be publishing full details of the initiative soon (and we'll report it when he does). Of particular interest to SmartSheffield, though, is the fact that the lab will be setting up Sheffield's first LoRaWAN node and provides a great opportunity for developers to try out applications and see what the technology is capable of.

This also provides an opportunity to set up a community-run communications network in the city, and join other northern cities like Leeds and Manchester in joining the Amsterdam-based "Things Network" which is a global community of grassroots LoRaWAN network operators.

Scott's talk and Q&A is here: https://trello.com/c/CS9dks0p

My Sheffield Pound

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The 4th speaker of the evening was Kurtis Wright, who explained his ambition to create a local digital wallet for Sheffield, in order to provide a convenient payment mechanism for local independent retailers, and boost the local economy by reducing payment fees and providing opportunities to keep money circulating within the city.

In essence Kurtis' scheme is similar to other local currency schemes such as the Brixton or Bristol Pounds, and just like those it is a Sterling equivalent and has a fixed 1-to-1 exchange rate, however it differs in that it is designed to be digital first, with payment transactions via bluetooth LE, and uses blockchain as it's secure ledger to record transactions.

Kurtis' ultimate aim is to create an entire local ecosystem around the currency, with an e-commerce platform and a range of business, delivery and logistics services enabled through it.

Kurtis' presentation and Q&A is here: https://trello.com/c/W284yVuT

SmartSheffield News

There’s no video of SmartSheffield news this month unfortunately, but here are the topics I raised:

Public City Centre WiFi

Sheffield City Council is currently seeking bids for a concession contract to provide free public wifi in the city centre. Sheffield Digital recently issued an open letter to the council to encourage them to consider a number of aspects of keen interest and importance to the local digital community.

This letter can be found here, and a follow up post is here.

“In Praise of Air” comes to an end

The 2 year planning permission for The University of Sheffield’s giant ‘catalytic poetry’ experiment is about to end, which means the huge banner showing a poem by Simon Armitage on the side of the Alfred Denny building is going to come down. The banner is treated with a photocatalytic surface developed at the university, that harnesses sunshine and oxygen to break down air borne pollutants. It’s estimated that the banner has removed over 20 tons of pollutants from the air since it was put up twenty years ago, and represents a world first in urban air quality interventions of this type.

More information about this is available here.

Air Pollution Petition

On the theme of the city’s air pollution problem, there is a petition currently active on Change.org requesting a new Air Pollution Action Plan for the city.

The petition and accompanying open letter is here.

#SYGrit

There is a #SYGrit hashtag on Twitter that is used by local authorities, partners and the public to keep people informed about gritting across South Yorkshire, including asking people to report the levels of their local grit bins. This is worth bearing in mind should anyone experiment with using sensors to monitor grit-bin levels.

State of Sheffield Report

The State of Sheffield Report is being launched on Tuesday the 14th Feb. This will be the seventh year of the report, which is designed to take a sober and honest look at the city across a number of different dimensions, and represents a good way of understanding the major challenges that the city faces.

Information about the report, and its previous editions, can be found here.

Sheffield City Region Vision - A Better Future Together

For roughly a the last year, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the two Sheffield universities have been working with other partners to develop a vision for the city region that takes a 25 year view of its challenges and opportunities. This vision document is being launched on Friday the 17th Feb.

More information can be found here.

SmartCity Funding Opportunities

Following the talks, we also discussed some smart city funding opportunities, and how we might work together to unlock some of them. Below are the three funds that I highlighted that could present opportunities for the Sheffield smart city ecosystem to develop consortia and pilot projects. In addition, we discussed whether to use some of the meetup time to develop ideas and proposals, but the consensus decision was that the meetups weren’t the best forum for this, mainly because this process needs time and attention, both of which are in short supply at the meetups especially following a good programme of talks and discussion.

Therefore, we will look to create some side-events to look at specific opportunities and invite the community to self-select their attendance and level of participation. We can either organise these or promote and support community members who want to initiate their own collaborations (likely both), so please get in touch and let us know if there is an opportunity you would like to work on and are seeking partners to develop with, and we’ll get the word out and help with venue, etc.

Here are the current funding opportunities that we highlighted at the meetup:

Innovate UK: Innovation in Infrastructure Systems - Round 2

In summary:

Projects must show significant innovation in one of the priority areas:

‘smart’ infrastructure

energy systems

connected transport

urban living

Proposals must improve business growth, productivity and/or create export opportunities for at least one UK small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) involved in the project.

There are 2 competition options:

£5 million for projects that last from 3 months to 1 year with costs from £25,000 to £100,000

£10 million for projects lasting from 1 year to 3 years with costs between £100,000 and £5 million

The competition opened on 16 January 2017.

Initial registrations must be in before midday on 15 March 2017.

Full details can be found here.

Innovate UK: Sustainable Urbanisation Global Initiative - Food/Water/Energy Nexus

In summary:

This competition looks for new understanding and solutions to the systemic management of food, water and energy in cities. It is an international collaborative competition requiring the participation of at least 3 different countries.

The total available budget for this competition is €28.5 million, including support from the European Commission through Horizon 2020. The UK is to provide around £1.6 million in order to fund 6 to 7 UK projects. The maximum amount of funding for a UK project will be €300,000.

Collaborative UK consortia will be jointly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Innovate UK. All UK consortia must include partners and work programmes that are relevant to all 3 funding agencies. The UK element of the competition will be managed by ESRC.

The competition opened on 9 December 2016

The deadline for pre-proposals is 6:00pm (GMT) on 15 March 2017

Full details are here.

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund - Integrated & Sustainable Cities

This funding stream is still in the consultation phase and full details have not been released yet, however we know that the “Integrated and Sustainable Cities” application area is one of ten areas the UK government is looking to support with research and development funding under this umbrella, and there is an article on the current situation and planned activity at Innovate UK’s blog here.

Right, that’s it for this month. Thanks everyone for coming and getting involved!

We’ll announce the next meetup, and workshop activities shortly but meanwhile please mark Monday the 6th March in your diary as that will most likely be the date of the next meetup.

Cheers,

#smartsheffield #smartcities #sigfox #tv whitespace #LoRaWAN #public wifi #Innovate UK

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